The Cambridge Companion to Orthodox Christian Theology was edited by Mary B. Cunningham and Elizabeth Theokritoff. The volume's eighteen essays were written by the following authors: Theodore G. Stylianopoulos, Archimandrite Ephrem Lash, Boris Bobrinskoy, Elizabeth Theokritoff, Nonna Verna Harrison, Peter Bouteneff, Bishop Hilarion Alfeyev, Matthew Steenberg, Mariamna Fortounatto, Mary B. Cunningham, John Chryssavgis, Augustine Casiday, Andrew Louth, Michael Plekon, Athanasios N. Papathanasiou, Aristotle Papanikolaou, Nicolas Abou Mrad, Leonid Kishkovsky and John A. Jillions. The essays are divided into two sections. Part 1 is entitled ‘Doctrine and Tradition’ and part 2, ‘Contemporary Orthodox Theology: its Formation and Character’. These two divisions reflect the volume's overarching purpose, which is not only to lay bare the historical roots of the Orthodox Church, but even more, to focus on the fruit that those ancient roots have borne in the modern era. In addition, the greatest attention is given to the Greek and Russian traditions, but not exclusively. The eminent Romanian theologian, Dumitru Stăniloae, for instance, receives comment in several places. Most essays also strive to show the intersection of Orthodox theology with Protestant and Catholic theology.

A review of this length cannot engage every essay in the volume. I will mention only two contributions specifically, followed by some general comments. First, Louth's ‘The Patristic Revival and its Protagonists’, tells a familiar story from new perspectives, often by reintroducing with greater nuance figures and movements we might have thought we already knew. The issues surrounding the patristic revival of the early twentieth century continue to reverberate in contemporary Orthodoxy, and this essay is a helpful guide which traces lines of development from Florovsky and Lossky into various areas of inquiry and into the thought of various theologians. It concludes with the hope that the patristic revival will continue to be ‘an enduring relevant principle of renewal’ (p. 200).

Second, ‘The Spiritual Way’ by Chryssavgis offers a basic vocabulary for discussing Orthodox spirituality. Paradoxically, the most prominent term in the spiritual lexicon is silence. The acquisition of both inner and outer silence is the recurring theme of this contribution, and such a focus emphasises the inherent connection between spirituality and asceticism. Ascetic discipline prevents the spiritual way from becoming a means of self-absorption and, on the contrary, orientates spirituality around ‘forgetting oneself’ (p. 155). Spirituality is also inherently connected to theology when Chryssavgis defines the spiritual way as a living expression of the theology of creation, the incarnation and eschatological hope (p. 162). This essay, then, reflects the supposition that theology is not merely an intellectual exercise, but must issue forth in a prayerful and ascetic way of life.

While the editors of the present volume affirm this latter principle (p. xvi), there is a certain imbalance in their application of it, especially with regard to liturgy and sacraments. Several essays certainly pause briefly to show how biblical exegesis, Christology, triadology or ecclesiology are expressed in worship, while the essay ‘Biblical Interpretation in Worship’ by Lash explores the biblical character of several hymns and prayers. But no essay focuses solely on Orthodox liturgical life. The sacraments, too, are often presupposed, but nowhere carefully explored. The inherent connection between thinking and prayerful living is not absent in this volume, but it might have been expressed more vividly. It is slightly obscured.

It would be wrong, however, to focus on what the volume omits, when much of what it includes provides a helpful introduction to the Orthodox Church. The mere appearance of such a volume is something to applaud and it will surely inspire further study and research.