Passing Through the Church

This book contains a series of lessons presenting the terms of Christian faith and the ways the faithful acquire knowledge and experience of God. These terms and ways are not presented in a systematic manner, as is often done in the so-called academic theology, that is, through successive themes such as Theology, Christology, Soteriology, etc., but rather in a visual manner, as we come to understand these elements of faith, being revealed to us, by walking thoughtfully through an Orthodox church, from west to east, from the courtyard to the Sanctuary. Each part of the church building introduces or reminds us of specific elements of the Orthodox Christian faith and way of life.

The primary element in these lessons is to remind us and to clarify for us the fundamental terms of the Orthodox Christian faith. In essence, our task is to comment and to interpret what the Church is. But in addition to describing the nature of the Church, these lessons also show us “how” the Church is journeying through history, carrying out the work of salvation accomplished by Jesus Christ. Consequently, their character is instructional, or, to say it with simpler words, they are Catechism lessons for adults.