Jesus Christ: His Life and Teaching, vol. 1

by Hilarion Alfeyev

Publisher:

St Vladimir’s Seminary Press

, 2018

Overview

This series of books on Jesus is not so much for those Christians who are rooted in holy tradition as it is for non-believers, those who doubt and who are hesitant. In the first instance, it may give some answers to those who believe that Jesus never even existed. Secondly, it is for those who believe that Jesus existed but do not believe that he is God. Thirdly, it is for those who perhaps consider themselves Christians but relate to the Gospel narratives skeptically or view the Gospels through the prism of the criticism through which it was subjected in the works of Western specialists in the New Testament in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Ultimately, we would like to answer the main question of what Jesus has brought to people and why he is necessary for people today.

Key Features

• Presents the human story of Christ as its central theme
• Concentrates upon the features of Christ’s character and perception of the world, as well as the pecularities of his means of communicating with people
• Intends to provide answers to those who question Christ’s existence, to those who may doubt whether Jesus really is God or to those that may relate to the Gospel narratives with skepticism

Praise for Jesus Christ: His Life and Teaching, Vol. 1

This book is an achievement of Orthodox scholarship in recent times. It is not conceived as a biography of Jesus, but instead as a deep and profound study of his life and message. It embraces four dimensions: historical, exegetical, theological, and hermeneutic. Discussions are insightful and complete, so that the reader may grasp the challenges at work in each issue. The aim of the book is twofold: to show the continuity between the Jesus found in the Gospels and the One confessed by the Church, and to prove the trustworthiness of the Gospels as main witnesses to the portrait of Jesus the author intends to draw. This book will have a prominent place among the works devoted to Jesus Christ, not only within the Orthodox Church but also in the whole Christian world.

rmand Puig-i-Tarrech, S.S.D., author of Jesus: A Biography

This is a work of great importance, in which—as a bishop, monk, and scholar— Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev touches upon the very heart of Christianity, giving us the figure of Jesus Christ represented in its spiritual depth as well as in its historical reality. I sincerely hope that Orthodox Christians, as well as Christians of the Western world, will be touched by this testimony and thus meet Christ in the midst of a world that is increasingly divorced from God.

Pope Benedict XVI

This book is both well informed on a range of scholarship and faithful to the Church’s tradition. It is highly accessible, full of insights (often ancient in origin, but fresh to Western readers), and draws from a range of traditions. And whereas scholarship often concentrates on problem issues, this book instead gives a well-rounded portrait of Jesus’ character and ministry in the Gospels. I found it edifying and informative.

Craig S. Keener, Ph.D., Asbury Theological Seminary

Product Details

• Title: The Beginning of the Gospel
• Author: Hilarion Alfeyev
• Series: Jesus Christ: His Life and Teaching
• Volume: 1
• Publisher: St Vladimir’s Seminary Press
• Print Publication Date: 2018
• Logos Release Date: 2022
• Pages: 561
• Era: era:contemporary
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subjects: Jesus Christ › Person and offices; Bible. N.T. Gospels
• ISBNs: 9780881416084, 9780881416060, 9780881416534, 9780881416541, 0881416088, 0881416061, 0881416533, 0881416541
• Resource ID: LLS:JSSCHRSTTCHNG01
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2024-03-25T20:09:22Z

About Hilarion Alfeyev

Hilarion Alfeyev (born 24 July 1966) is a bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church. At present he is the Metropolitan of Volokolamsk, the chairman of the Department of External Church Relations and a permanent member of the Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Moscow. He is also a noted theologian, church historian and composer and has published books on dogmatic theology, patristics and church history as well as numerous compositions for choir and orchestra.