Two prominent hierarchs have given their episcopal endorsement to a newly released volume of homilies by The Very Rev. Dr. John Behr, dean of St. Vladimir's. Both Archbishop Demetrios (Trakatellis), primate of the Greek Orthodox Church in America, and also Bishop Maxim (Vasiljevic) bishop of the Western American Diocese of the Serbian Orthodox Church in North and South America, offered praises, printed on the back cover of The Cross Stands, While the World Turns: Homilies for the Cycles of the Year, released this month.
The collected homilies were delivered during the last decade in Three Hierarchs Chapel at the seminary. They follow three main annual liturgical cycles: Paschal, Nativity–Theophany, and feasts of the Theotokos.
"While succinct, these homilies are nonetheless rich in substance and impart invaluable insight," wrote His Eminence Demetrios. "The author's deep theological knowledge and liturgical expertise are discernible throughout."
His Grace Maxim offered, "The readers of Homilies for the Cycles of the Year are led beyond the word toward the original source of the word, which is a Person. This collection of homilies shows that in Eucharistic synaxis we will see and meet God through our communion with others."
The Rev. Dn. Gregory Hatrak, marketing and operations manager for SVS Press and Bookstore, said, "We are grateful to His Eminence and His Grace for recognizing the quality and importance of this new volume, and we hope these sermons will inspire laity and provide a continuing source of education for Orthodox Christian clergy here in North America.
"I am also grateful to Fr. John Behr for continually offering new books to SVS Press—works of spirituality, history, doctrine, and especially for his initial editorial work on our Popular Patristics Series."
Other recently released books by the press include: Give Me a Word: The Alphabetical Sayings of the Desert Fathers (PPS52), translated by John Wortley; My Life's Journey: The Memoirs of Metropolitan Evlogy, with an introduction by Protopresbyter Thomas Hopko; and The Watchful Mind: Teachings on the Prayer of the Heart, by an anonymous priest-monk on Mount Athos. All are available through SVS Press and Bookstore.
