Great Catechism Book for Eastern Orthodox or Introduction to Any

Posted by Justin Oliver on 16th Apr 2017

The Law of God is a work that makes an excellent study tool for home and school. This is a great book designed for new followers of the Eastern Orthodox faith. It is written by a priest of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR), which is part of the Russian Orthodox Church who is one head of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Saying that, this book can be used by any Orthodox faithful, whether OCA, Greek, Antiochian, or others. Catholics can also find similar aspects of their faith and enjoyment in this work although it is not about their faith.

The book is split into five sections: Basic Concepts, Prayers, Sacred History of the Old and New Testament, Christian Faith and Life, and the Divine Services of the Orthodox Church. Each section is a brief overview of a section of the Orthodox faith, whether it be standard prayers that one can use in the prayer rule or the history found in the Holy Bible.

Section One deals with basic concepts, such as God, Prayer, the Sign of the Cross, and the architecture of the Orthodox Church. Section Two includes a large group of prayers and the meanings behind them; the Lord's Prayer, Nicene Creed, prayers before and after meals, and others are given. Section Three is the paraphrased history of Christianity as told in the Holy Bible, starting with Genesis and ending with the Acts. It also discusses the conversion of Russia to Christianity. Section four is a small section of theological discussions, included are the seven Ecumenical Councils and their reasons for happening and a discussion of the Beatitudes and the Ten Commandments. The final section discusses actual Orthodox practices and services. Practices included are the clergy and meanings of their vestments, the Holy Feasts, and breakdowns of the Divine Liturgy and major services.

The book, which is hardback, is made very sturdy. The binding holds up quite well and the pages are of good quality. The typeset is great for reading. There are a few misspellings but nothing that would detract from the work itself or as a study aid.

Having read both "The Orthodox Church" by Metropolitan Kallistos Ware and this one, I definitely would recommend the Book of Law as a better book for those new to the Orthodox faith or wanting to learn about the Orthodox faith. Metropolitan Ware is extremely gifted but his book is more of a history of the Church, while this is more helpful with understanding Orthodoxy as a faith. I definitely learned more about the practices of Orthodoxy from this book.