Singing in a Strange Land: The Ancient Future of Orthodox Pluralism

Struggles around religion and culture are nothing new. At times they've been comparatively quiet; at others, they've been veritable 'wars.' These struggles have been particularly intense for immigrant and diaspora faith communities like the Orthodox communions as they seek to find an appropriate place and voice in the postmodern West. Like their exilic ancestors in faith, they ask at every turn, 'How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?' This book offers an in-depth reflection on such struggles and questions through the lenses of ancient theology, modern psychology, and postmodern, postcolonial theory. At its heart are mythopoetic historical 'icons,' stories, and visions drawn from ancient, medieval, and modern Greek Orthodox experience - stories and visions that reflect a surprising level of respect for difference, of pluralism, balance and integration. And its core contention is a provocative one - that authentic faithfulness to Orthodox tradition itself demands openness and adaptation in every 'strange land.'