In 2002, Elaine Bannon took a working holiday in Kenya. There, her experience as a volunteer not only changed the lives of the semi-nomadic Maasai people with whom she worked, but changed her own life for good. Dedicating herself to volunteer work in eastern Africa, The Power of One charts the inspirational journey and work of one Dublin woman. This book also explores the question of Africa and global poverty, highlighting the inadequate responses of the West and the need for a greater sense of urgency towards the finding of a redemptive solution to the plight of so many millions. The story of Elaine Bannon reminds us that the work of just one person can make a world of change.

John became bishop of Tella in 519, but left for exile only two years later when Justin I enforced the Council of Chalcedon which Syrian Orthodox Christians refused to accept. John became one of Justinian’s most dangerous ecclesiastical opponents by ordaining thousands of deacons and priests who formed the first generation of the Syrian Orthodox hierarchy. In the present text John lays out his faith in a way which gives an inside view of how a non-Chalcedonian bishop of the sixth century located himself and his co-religionists within the Christian tradition and how he understood the foundation of the Church.

Faith Language, Thoughts for each day is a modern meditation on Catholic faith, consisting of a conversation in three faith-langauges: the theological language of the Catechism of the Catholic Church; the catechetical language of daily life; and the Word of God in Scripture. The traditional phrases of catechism and scripture illuminate Paddy Devitts thoughts about the everyday events so eloquently detailed in the book; events both mundane and extraordinary to which, no doubt, every reader can relate.God speaks to us through the bits and pieces of every day, and so the book is made up of these, and happenings of the past and present, to which the reader can readily dip into at any page, whether seeking comfort, counsel or simply enjoyment.

The sacrament of baptism welcomes a child into the family of God in a special way. In the course of its celebration those present will experience a rich tapestry of symbols, actions, gestures, prayers and the Word of God. This book is intended to explain such symbolism and the meanings behind the various parts of the baptism ceremony so that all may fully experience the deep meaning of baptism for the child, the family and the wider Christian community. Full of helpful reminders and practical tips, this book will be an invaluable aid to parents, godparents and the whole family as they prepare for this important day in the life of the new baby.

Why do religious people believe? In this work, Smith describes and interprets the results of interviews conducted with Mormons and Evangelicals about their reasons for faith. In the end, he recommends a particular approach to faith that integrates the sociological, spiritual, and rational elements of religion.

The prophet Jeremiah is among the most complex and intriguing characters in the Bible. This study of the prophet focuses on the major biographical episodes in the prophet’s book and their interpretation. After setting the historical background of the prophet, Avioz then explores Jeremiah’s prophetic call. All major events of his life are parsed for a deeper insight into the prophet's life. Those with whom Jeremiah interacts, the kings of Judah and the false prophets, are assessed in contrast with the prophet. Avioz concludes his study with a consideration of Jeremiah’s legacy down to the present day.

This book examines the development of Augustine of Hippo’s theology of the Jewish people and Judaism. Formulating a typological association between the biblical figure of Cain and the Jews, he crafts a highly intricate theology that justifies and even demands the continuing presence of Jews and their religious practices in a Christian society. Such a theology emerges out of his highly original interpretation of Genesis 4:1–15 and yet mirrors and theologically justifies the reality of Jews and Judaism in the late Roman Empire.

Origen’s construal of the Bible as a textual incarnation of the Word encourages an assimilationist interpretation of the Hebrew Scriptures as a proto-Christian gospel. Although in partial agreement with this thesis, this study suggests a non-assimilationist reading of Origen’s biblical exegesis.

More than a diary of day-to-day activities on stream and lake, Gone Fishing: Anecdotes of an Angler positions angling as a recreation into the context of Denis OCallaghans philosophy of life. Its pages describe the extraordinary characters met over many years, all sharing a passion for fishing and all qualified, in the words of Izaak Walton, as brothers of the angle. Redolent of life in and love of the countryside, this book tells stories of luck both good and bad, of glorious days and successful lands, all accounts that give Gone Fishing its memorable human touches.

Scrinium: Revue de Patrologie, d’Hagiographie Critique et d’Histoire Ecclésiastique, established in 2005, is an international multilingual scholarly periodical devoted to patristics, critical hagiography, and Church history. This volume is dedicated to the memory of R. P. Michel van Esbroeck who studied hagiography of the Christian East and West. However, in keeping with van Esbroeck's broad academic interests, the volume explores other areas of patristics as well.

Scrinium: Revue de Patrologie, d’Hagiographie Critique et d’Histoire Ecclésiastique, established in 2005, is an international multilingual scholarly periodical devoted to patristics, critical hagiography, and Church history. This volume is dedicated to Ethiopian Christianity and Ethiopian linguistics.

Written in the fifth century, during one of the most formative periods of Christian monasticism in Egypt and Palestine, The Ascetic Discourses show a strong influence of the Scripture, both Old and New, and of Early monastic writers. Abba Isaiah has set forth a practical guide for monks, ever aware of the challanges that interpersonal relationships present within monastic communities.

Originally delivered as one of the St. Margaret’s Lectures for 1904, the contents of this booklet are focused on aspects of the Syriac-speaking Church. Extracted from Burkitt’s book Early Eastern Christianity, the fifth lecture explores Bardaisan and his unique contribution to Syriac Christianity.

In this second lecture extracted from Sayce’s Origin and Growth of Religion, the renowned Assyriologist specifically considers the Babylonian deity Bel-Merodach. Noting that Cyrus the Great was a worshipper of this deity, the outlook of the priesthood of Bel-Merodach regarding his conquest of Babylon begins the discussion. Sayce then discusses localized versions of Merodach, considering Eridu, Borsippa, and Assur.

This study seeks to address the common bridal imagery pervasive in ancient Syriac Christianity by asking how Jacob of Serug employed the presentation of biblical women in his homilies to serve as imagery for the Church.

Extracted from Arthur Penrhyn Stanley’s Lectures on the History of the Eastern Church, this set of lectures examines two of the most famous participants of the Council of Nicea, the Emperor Constantine and Saint Athanasius. Together these two figures largely define the Council of Nicea, and their portraits are vividly portrayed here by an eminent church historian.