Columbia, Missouri, August 3, 2017
Photo: lessonsfromamonastery.wordpress.com/ A new title, Following the Holy Fathers: Timeless Guides of Authentic Christianity by Protopresbyter Theodore Zisis will soon be available for purchase from New Rome Press. An announcement was made on the blog of Matushka Constantina Palmer, “Lessons From a Monastery,” whose husband, Rev. Dr. John Palmer, translated the book.
According to Matushka Constantina, “This volume includes translations of articles taken from a number of Fr. Theodore’s publications. It is a collection of valuable scholarship covering both a broad range of Patristic figures dating from apostolic times to the present day, as well as a variety of themes.”
Fr. Theodore, well known as a zealous defender of the Patristic Tradition in the Church of Greece, writes in the prologue of the book:
It must be clearly established in our minds that the Fathers of the Church, those wise and holy teachers of the Orthodox faith, are not the product of some by-gone age; they are not a thing of the past. This is greatly important since many contemporary Orthodox theologians, having fallen under the influence of non-Orthodox scholars, believe and teach that the mark of antiquity renders an ecclesiastical writer a Father of the Church; in other words, in order to be a Father one must have lived in some ancient era. Consequently, this view divides the Church’s indivisible history according to quality and spiritual depth; it treats the Church as if it were not Christ Himself extended unto the ages of ages, as if during particular eras—such as our own—it had ceased to be guided by the Holy Spirit and to produce saints, teachers and theologians. On the contrary, the Church continues on its course through history ever undiminished in quality, sanctifying through Christ its holy head and through the All-Holy Spirit, who remains eternally and continually within it…
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Protopresbyter Theodore Zisis, Professor Emeritus of the School of Theology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki has risen up as a staunch defender of the Patristic phronema of the holy Orthodox Church, speaking the truth in love. He seeks to present to his audiences Patristically-sound theology in a clear and practical manner. A biography of Fr. Theodore can be read at impantokratoros.org.
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Rev. Dr. John Palmer, from Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, received his Master’s degree in 2006 from Durham University in England under the guidance of renowned scholar Fr. Andrew Louth. He commenced his doctoral studies in the department of Dogmatic Theology at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in 2007. He and his wife spent six years in Greece, where they immersed themselves in the Orthodox faith of an Orthodox nation, frequently visiting monasteries, including on Mt. Athos.
Fr. John was ordained to the priesthood in 2013 and currently serves at the Holy Lady of Vladimir Mission in St. John’s in Newfoundland, Canada.
In addition to her blog, Matushka Constantina Palmer is the author of the popular titles The Scent of Holiness: Lessons From a Women’s Monastery and The Sweetness of Grace: Stories of Christian Trial and Victory.
