Blog Post

Orthodox Psychotherapy

by Archimandrite Hierotheos Vlachos
reviewed by Eighth Day Books

Feast of St Crescens the Martyr; Holy Wednesday in East

Anno Domini 2020, April 15

Orthodoxy Psychotherapy: The Science of the Fathers by Archimandrite Hierotheos Vlachos; translated by Ester Williams

There’s something jarring in the title: the juxtaposition of “orthodox” – with its connotations of permanence, objectivity, and antiquity – and “psychotherapy” – evoking modern psychological subjectivity and technique. But the author uses the latter word in its literal sense, that is, “healing of the soul.” The “science” spoken of in the subtitle refers to the systematic application of the teachings of the Philokalia, St. Gregory Palamas, and other spiritual fathers to the arduous process of freeing the heart and mind from evil thoughts and the passions in order to attain to the freedom of the children of God, to enjoy “the unceasing festival of those who behold the ineffable beauty” of the face of God. In short, the author offers us a guidebook in the process of theosis. The result strikes a chord: since its publication in 1987, the book has been translated into English, French, Spanish, Russian, and Arabic.

369 pp. paper $34.95

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