Facing East

This book appeals to those interested in learning more about Orthodox Christianity. It is for readers of spiritual memoirs, Anne Lamott, and Kathleen Norris. In this luminous, affectionate, and deeply personal account, Frederica Mathewes Green tells the story of her family's unexpected pilgrimage into a faith that is as novel to us in the West as it is ancient in the East. Veiled in the smoke of incense, the Eastern Orthodox Church has long been an enigma to the Western world. Yet as Mathewes-Green discovered, it is a vital, living faith, rich in ritual beauty and steadfast in integrity. Following the framework of the Orthodox calendar, Mathewes-Green chronicles a year in the life of her small Orthodox mission church. Among the icons and unfamiliar sacraments, the stately rituals and prayers, Mathewes-Green weaves a beautiful, moving, and funny portrait of her own experience as a cautious convert. And through her own compelling story, and that of her family, Mathewes-Green reveals the human face of a millennia-old tradition, eloquently illustrating the joys and blessings to the worshippers of today.