Metropolitan Jonah’s “Reflections on a Spiritual Journey” now available
On Sunday, September 26, 2011, His Beatitude, Metropolitan Jonah, signed copies of his new book, Reflections on a Spiritual Journey, after both Divine Liturgies at Saint Nicholas Cathedral here.
The event was sponsored by the DC-based Holy Archangels Foundation, established during the “cold war” era by His Grace, the late Bishop Basil [Rodzianko], to support his radio broadcasts to those behind the Iron Curtain.
The book is published by St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press and is available from the seminary bookstore. According to the seminary web site, the volume “includes a collection of essays and addresses by Metropolitan Jonah [providing] a glimpse into His Beatitude’s spiritual formation and thinking. The book, which contains not only a lengthy biography of the author but also a Foreword by The Right Rev. Benjamin, bishop of San Francisco and the West, is divided into two main sections.”
Part One, “The Spiritual Life,” contains the author’s reflections on forgiveness and reconciliation; becoming and purifying the true self; the connection between shame and the passions; and human personhood and the value of suffering. Part Two, “One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church,” conveys the author’s vision regarding the identity and mission of the Orthodox Church in America as well as his perspectives on episcopacy, primacy, and the mother churches.
The volume is the first in the press’s new Orthodox Profiles series, which acquaints readers on an intimate level with Orthodox figures who have shaped the direction of the Orthodox Church in areas of mission, ascetical and liturgical theology, scholarly and pastoral endeavors, and various other professional disciplines. Archpriest Chad Hatfield, Chancellor/CEO of the seminary, edits the series.