Articles

NOSTALGIA for PARADISE

by Alexander Kalomiros

Drawn from the living spiritual and theological tradition of the Orthodox Church, the author?s themes are guideposts in the faith and life that lead to Jesus Christ. And where Christ is, there is Paradise. The Bible teaches that "God created man to be immortal, and made him to be an image of His own eternity." (Wis. 2:23) Thus, Dr. Alexander Kalomiros writes, "In contrast with the animals, man has an infinite thirst. Within him lives the memory of the Breath of Life lost by disobedience," and a destiny unfulfilled. Nostalgia for Paradise, our true Fatherland, is borne of this memory.

Orthodox Christians and all who seek Christ?s truth will discover compelling and timely illumination on scores of topics, such as: the experience of faith; hesychasm-- stillness of heart and the inner life of prayer; the Church as the single, great mystery of the true communion of persons; Man as the "image of God" by creation, as the "likeness of God" by divinization (theosis); the immortality of our mortal souls; the Keys of the Kingdom--a gift to the Church, not to a throne; the nature of evil; repentance and remission as the healing of our sins; our true Sabbath in the grave and our bodily resurrection in the "new heaven and the new earth."

The writings of Alexander Kalomiros are simple yet powerful, rich with meaning yet accessible to everyone because they avoid academic theories and philosophical discourse. The author goes to the ontological essence of the Scriptures and patristic theology to guide the reader beyond the limitations of human thought, language, and metaphor. Readers will find Nostalgia for Paradise certainly edifying but also spiritually life giving. The words of Dr. Kalomiros ring true, overturning the tired formulas of legalism and rationalism, and his rare gift of insight touches the depths of the reader?s heart and being.

NOSTALGIA FOR PARADISE by Dr. Alexander Kalomiros; laminated softcover, 176 pp. ISBN: 0-9707303-2-2, (Translated by George S. Gabriel) AVAILABLE NOW Price $20 including postage. Write us at Orthodox Mission, P.O. Box 6986, Los Osos, CA 93412 with your check and your address.

TABLE OF CONTENTS: CONTENTS Translator?s Preface I. Nostalgia for Paradise II. Faith III. Within You (The Kingdom of heaven is within you---on the inner life, hesychasm) IV. A Communion of Persons V. Blessed are the Poor... (Commentary on the Beautitude) VI. Seminal Force (Theme on Creation based on St Basil?s Hexaemeron and St Gregory of Nyssa?s On the Making of Man) VII. Spirit and Matter; VIII. The Only-begotten Son, He Hath Declared Him (Jesus Christ as Yahweh of the Old Testament) ; IX. Image and Likeness X. The Optimism of Orthodoxy; XI. The Keys of the Kingdom (Orthodox meaning of the Keys of the Kingdom and its meaning for our spiritual life); XII. Receive Ye the Holy Spirit. XIII. Thy Sins Are Remitted. XIV. Pray for One Another That Ye May Be Healed.

XIV. The True Sabbath; Appendix: Dr. Alexander Kalomiros, a voice of conscience (A profile of the author?s life and works, by his son Dr. John Kalomiros)