The Mountain of Silence : A Search for Orthodox Spirituality

Bantam Dell Pub Group, November 2002. Paper Back. New. This unusual book reflects a rather extraordinary spiritual pilgrimage. The author was raised nominally Greek Orthodox, typically abandoned his faith in college and the initial years of an academic career as a university instructor in sociology, then began in turn to move away from that easy agnosticism to a series of investigations of what many might consider a New Age sort of shaman from Cyprus. This book marks another stage along the way: an encounter with a young elder, Father Maximos, from the very center of traditional Orthodox spirituality, Mt. Athos. Returning to Cyprus after many years, Markides becomes a spiritual son of Father Maximos, and in his determination to return to his Orthodox roots in an authentic way, Markides transmits his instruction from Father Maximos in the form of this book. His teaching rings true -- it is cohesive and consistent with the essentials of Orthodox spirituality. <i>The Mountain of Silence<i> has all the attractions of a personal, impressionistic narrative, coupled with a synthesis of the treasures of scripture, the Desert Fathers, and the <i>Philokalia</i>, thoroughly traditional, yet in touch with the temper of the children of modernity. 256 pp.