St. Raphael’s seminary thesis now available in English: “The True Significance of Sacred Tradition and Its Great Worth”

Moscow, February 3, 2017

The seminary theological thesis of St. Raphael (Hawaweeny) of Brooklyn, The True Significance of Sacred Tradition and Its Great Worth: A Nineteenth-Century Orthodox Response to Roman Catholic and Protestant Missionaries in the East, is now available for the first time in English.

The site of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America notes that St. Raphael wrote the thesis while a student at the Theological School of the Ecumenical Patriarchate at Halki. The saint is much loved in America as a great missionary, becoming the first Orthodox bishop consecrated in North America. He founded numerous parishes and struggled to raise the level of parochial education in America, to keep the faithful within the saving enclosure of the Church.

Orthodox Christians of St. Raphael’s time (1860–1915) in the Ottoman Empire were constantly exposed to the proselytization efforts of Catholic and Protestant missionaries. St. Raphael’s thesis is a response to their efforts and claims and represents “an interesting and active dialogue with Western Christianity.”

His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew writes in his foreword:

Much of the cause for our personal delight in receiving and reading this book derives from the wonderful and moving insights that it provides in returning our memory and heart to a time when this unique Theological School still vibrantly functioned, when the value of learning classical and foreign languages was held in high regard, and students of theology engaged with sources both inside and outside of their traditions.

The volume, translated from Greek by Fr. Patrick Viscuso, also includes the seminary’s 1874 regulations and a contemporary account of life at the school.

St. Raphael was canonized in 2000 at St. Tikhon’s Monastery in Waymart, PA.

2/3/2017

See also
Manuscript of St. John Maximovitch from archives of Transcarpathian ascetic published in US Manuscript of St. John Maximovitch from archives of Transcarpathian ascetic published in US Manuscript of St. John Maximovitch from archives of Transcarpathian ascetic published in US Manuscript of St. John Maximovitch from archives of Transcarpathian ascetic published in US
The compilation includes two tractates of the saint: On Prayer and On Communion, and also the appendix Instructions for Church Servers; Rules for Acolytes, Compiled by Archbishop John; and A Guide for Subdeacons and Acolytes for Hierarchical Services.
New Interactive Exhibit at Antiochian Village: "Saint Raphael, Scholar and Shepherd" New Interactive Exhibit at Antiochian Village: "Saint Raphael, Scholar and Shepherd"
Titled "Saint Raphael: Scholar and Shepherd," the museum's new touchscreen exhibit offers highlights from the theological thesis which St. Raphael wrote as a young seminarian, and which was recently translated from its original Greek into English by the Rev. Dr. Patrick Viscuso. In addition to excerpts from the thesis, the touchscreen also explores highlights from the life of St. Raphael – from his youth in Damascus through his ministry as a priest and bishop in the United States.
New Book: The Ecclesiological Renovation of Vatican II: An Orthodox Examination of Rome’s Ecumenical Theology Regarding Baptism and the Church, Available from Uncut Mountain Press New Book: The Ecclesiological Renovation of Vatican II: An Orthodox Examination of Rome’s Ecumenical Theology Regarding Baptism and the Church, Available from Uncut Mountain Press New Book: The Ecclesiological Renovation of Vatican II: An Orthodox Examination of Rome’s Ecumenical Theology Regarding Baptism and the Church, Available from Uncut Mountain Press New Book: The Ecclesiological Renovation of Vatican II: An Orthodox Examination of Rome’s Ecumenical Theology Regarding Baptism and the Church, Available from Uncut Mountain Press
A new book, The Ecclesiological Renovation of Vatican II: An Orthodox Examination of Rome's Ecumenical Theology Regarding Baptism and the Church by Protopresbyter Peter Heers is now available for pre-order from Uncut Mountain Press.
Comments
Here you can leave your comment on the present article, not exceeding 4000 characters. All comments will be read by the editors of OrthoChristian.Com.
Enter through FaceBook
Your name:
Your e-mail:
Enter the digits, seen on picture:

Characters remaining: 4000

Subscribe
to our mailing list

* indicates required
×