“The authors of these essays critique the predominant practice among many leading Orthodox thinkers of defining Orthodoxy as ‘that which Western
Christianity is not.’ Through successive layers of historical and theoretical
analysis, the volume shakes this dominant paradigm and demonstrates how much more complex—and problematic—Orthodox constructions of ‘the West’ are.”

This book represents a significant step in the direction of self-reflection and self-criticism that has almost completely eluded Orthodox identity narratives colored by centuries of political oppression and demographic challenges.
After too long a wait, such an initiative is all the more remarkable: it approaches the prophetic. Demacopoulos and Papanikolaou are to be recognized for having assembled a world-class array of scholars in diverse fields to produce a compilation that is fascinating, accessible, and at points highly challenging. It will inspire heated debate, and will surely become a staging point for future work.