Of the three major branches of Christianity, Orthodoxy is the least known and most misunderstood. The A to Z of the Orthodox Church provides students, researchers, and specialists with a desk encyclopedia of the theology and theologians, saints, sinners, places and events of the Eastern Church. Two millennia of the religion are surveyed in over five hundred concise entries, concentrating primarily on the last 150 years. Includes an overview of the early Church through the Byzantine and Russian Empires, into the present multinational Orthodox presence in the ecumenical movement. Many of the general entries cannot be found elsewhere in English, and the comprehensive compilation of biographies of 19th- and 20th-century Orthodox theologians (American, Russian, Greek, and many other nationalities) is published here for the first time. This book includes a detailed 4,000-year chronology, illustrations, extensive bibliography, and an appendix listing the current canonical patriarchs and autocephalous churches.

A union list of serials commencing publication after Dec. 31, 1949.

This guide to the Eastern Orthodox churches of the world is presented in alphabetical order by their chief sees or national boundaries. Each entry includes a brief summary of the church's history; the location, number, and language of its members; the official title of the primate; the language used in the church; primary sources for the entry; and a chronology of the reigns of the church's primates from its founding to the present day. A concise preface explains the criteria used to include churches in the book and the process by which the entries were created. Descriptions of more than 75 churches make up the bulk of the volume. Following the individual entries are tables presenting comparative names of the primates (rendered in transcriptions of their original languages); statistical information about the primates (most common names, longest reigns); and current hierarchs as of 2004, arranged by church, date of accession, and date of birth. A glossary, selected bibliography and general index complete the work.

Includes entries for maps and atlases.