James Clarke and Co Ltd Presents GAZING ON GOD by Andreas Andreopoulos

An exposition of Orthodox systematic theology, Gazing on God is written from the point of view of the experience of the faithful, drawing on traditional icons and liturgy.

By tracing the depth of some key Christian concepts - salvation, Logos, the Trinity - Andreas Andreopoulos provides a framework for the theology of experience. In the following chapters seven types of icon are analyzed, in order to demonstrate the theological ideas and themes that may be revealed by studying Christianity through iconography. The analysis touches on topics such as time (the eternity of God as well as 'flat' liturgical time), space, the Church as the Body of Christ, and the Trinity.

Gazing on God offers to all Christian traditions a demonstration that, while our understanding of the development of Christian views and attitudes is guided by the history of theological ideas, Christianity includes from the beginning a strong dimension of meta-linguistic knowledge, which is expressed in its liturgy, as well as in its symbolism. Andreopoulos demonstrates that there is much we can gain from an experiential rather than a rationalistic approach to Eastern Christianity and Christianity in general, and argues for a new direction in theological expression, beyond philosophical theology that incorporates icons and literature as sources of theological thought.

This bold, insightful and stimulating book will be of particular interest to scholars interested in Eastern Christian theology and art, but also lay people with no previous theological knowledge, who are interested in the spirituality of the Christian East.

About the Author: Revd Dr Andreas Andreopoulos is Reader in Orthodox Theology at the University of Winchester and an Orthodox priest. He is also the author of This is my Beloved Son: The Transfiguration of Christ, 2012, Art as Theology: From the Postmodern to the Medieval, 2007, The Sign of the Cross: The Gesture, the Mystery, the History, 2006, and Metamorphosis: The Transfiguration in Byzantine Theology and Iconography, 2005.