When emissaries returned to Kiev from Constantinople, where they had attended divine worship in the church of Ayia Sophia, they reported to Prince Vladimir "We did not know whether we were in heaven or on earth, for assuredly such beauty cannot be found on earth anywhere else..." This verdict on the Greek Church and its worship has been echoed by many down the centuries.This introduction to a Church as old as Christianity itself is in two parts. In the first, its buildings and their furnishings, services, customs, festivals, faith, government and constituent institutions are described. But since nothing can properly be understood without some knowledge of its past, the second part contains a brief history of the Church, from its apostolic beginnings to the problems it faces in the contemporary age.From the picturesque ceremony of crowning the bride and groom at their wedding, to the interpretation of the symbolism of icons, to the unique monastic republic where all women are forbidden to set foot, this book provides the visitor with the means to make a holiday to Greece more interesting, and the Westerner with an absorbing introduction to a Church many have believed for almost twenty centuries truly to be a foretaste of heaven on earth.

Between Heaven and Earth

Religion & Spirituality

Tomkinson, John L.

Christian Books & Bibles

Anagnosis

<p>IN "HAUNTED GREECE" JOHN L. TOMKINSON TAKES YOU ON A JOURNEY INTO THE DARK REGIONS OF THE HELLENIC FOLK MEMORY. HERE YOU WILL MEET THE FEARFUL STRANGLES, WHO MURDER INFANTS IN THEIR COTS; BEAUTIFUL NYMPHS WHO ENTICE YOUNG MEN INTO INSANITY: THE DEAD WHO CLIMB OUT OF THEIR GRAVES TO PREY UPON THEIR FRIENDS AND RELATIVES; THE MISCHIEVOUS DEMONS WHO EMERGE FROM THE UNDERWORLD DURING THE TWELVE NIGHTS OF CHRISTMAS; AX-HEATED SERPENTS WHICH HAUNT CHURCHES AND FORETELL DEATH; THE RAINBOW-PLUMAGED BIRD WHOSE FLIGHT SIGNALS IMMINENT CATASTROPHE; AND MANY EVEN MORE TERRIBLE CREATURES. SOME OF THESE MAY HAVE HAUNTED THE IMAGINATION OF THIS MOST INVENTIVE PEOPLE FOR MORE THAN THREE MILLENNIA.</p>

Haunted Greece

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Tomkinson, John L.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Tomkinson, John L.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Tomkinson, John L.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Between Heaven and Earth

Haunted Greece