Nicholas Roumas has written a study on redemption inspired by René Girard’s mimetic theory and theory of sacrifice. In the book’s opening paragraph, the author sets the bar remarkably high by positioning his contribution alongside that of the church fathers. Although he does not reach this standard, his book makes an original contribution.

The book opens with the author’s reflection on envy as ‘the desire for God turned aside’ (p. 1). Roumas promises to focus on the cross, but his critique that Orthodox theologians – including Georges Florovsky – have failed to do so is overstated. In Chapter 1, the author emphasises the reorientation of the mind toward God, arguing for the need to attend to both the visual-spatial and the auditory-temporal representations of divine transcendence. Chapter 2 analyses Girard’s theory to show how Christ’s death transforms humanity’s relationship with God. Employing concepts like mimetic desire, mimetic rivalry and scapegoating, Roumas demonstrates how Girard reframed sacrifice – moving away from a gift presented to God toward a collective substitution wherein the victim absorbs community tensions. Following Girard, Roumas claims that Christ unmasks and subverts this mechanism by becoming its (innocent) victim.

Chapter 3 underlines the primacy of time and eschatology over space, leading into chapter 4’s examination of redemption in biblical history. The Old Testament sacrificial cult, the story of Cain and Abel, apocryphal literature and the Day of Atonement ceremony are among the topics addressed here. Chapter 5 is arguably the book’s strongest chapter. Here Roumas evaluates classic redemption paradigms, giving fair weight to Abelard, Anselm and Gregory of Nyssa (though omitting Athanasius and Maximus). The section on Gregory of Nyssa’s ‘fishhook metaphor’ (p. 99–111) is the finest of the book. Ιn his analysis of Gregory, Roumas demonstrates how God, motivated by love, uses a non-violent and just means to liberate humanity from sin and death. Chapter 6 addresses our mimesis of Christ, who imitates God. Roumas contends that the imitation of the generosity of God eliminates mimetic desire and its violent outcomes. A short epilogue brings the study to a close.

Roumas’ project of reconceptualising redemption from an Orthodox perspective using Girardian theory is stimulating. His focus on mimetic desire explains why envy looms large as the cardinal passion in this work. This is an important insight but perhaps needs some further explanation regarding envy’s relationship to pride. Patristic accounts of envy could have enriched this approach significantly. In addition, Girard’s understanding of sacrifice is treated here as largely axiomatic and universal to the virtual exclusion of other understandings, without sufficient theological (or any other) justification.

In general, Roumas’ central thesis, analysis and line of thought are not entirely clear or easy to follow, nor does he fully demonstrate how Girard’s theory reshapes the overall doctrine of redemption. A more robust introduction, clearer thematic exposition and a longer epilogue offering a systematic integration of traditional theology and Girard’s insights would have been particularly helpful. Instead, Roumas’ epilogue, as it stands, includes some controversial statements (‘the antidemocratic sentiment that more and more permeates American Christianity’, p. 125; ‘the current surge of reactionism in the Church’, p. 126), some that are dogmatically problematic (‘when the Church forgoes its vanity and insecurity’, p. 126 – is this still the ‘holy’ church of the creed?), and others that are patently false (the author claims that only non-baptised people can be excluded from Eucharistic communion; what about heretics or unrepentant sinners?). In its current form Roumas’ epilogue reads like an out-of-place quasi-‘political’ manifesto.

This is an ambitious yet uneven study. It is unfortunate that Roumas fails to make the best possible use of his own creative ideas. His outstanding section on Gregory of Nyssa demonstrates that he could have written a better book. Nevertheless, scholars and readers interested in Christian soteriology, patristics, Orthodox theology and Girardian theory will find this a stimulating read.