A native of Moravia (Czech Republic), Tomas Spidlik is recognized as a theologian equally at home in the Eastern and Western traditions and uniquely able to explain the one to the other. His impressive scholarship never remains pure theory, but always aims at contemporary praxis.
This second volume on Eastern Christian spirituality amplifies in depth the final two chapters of his earlier work, The Spirituality of the Christian East: A Systematic Handbook.
"This more than many another book in the field of religious studies and theology brings the Christian east home to Western readers. Of the scholarly quality of the work there can be no question, but at the present time the book has practical and contemporary religious value also." -Speculum: The Journal of the Mediaeval Academy of America
"In very systematic western fashion, this book surveys the history and themes of Orthodox spirituality. Tomas Spidlik's clear definition of terms, his outlines of common sources and his delineation of the Greek, Coptic, Ethiopian, Syrian, Armenian, Georgian, and Russian traditions provide much-needed assistance for the uninitiated. And since, for the Orthodox, spirituality is doctrine in concrete forms, the whole range of Christian theology is touched upon here." -The Christian Century
