The Arena ─ Guidelines for Spiritual and Monastic Life

One of the most important and accessible texts of Eastern Orthodox Christian teaching on the spiritual life, this book draws upon the ascetic and mystical doctrine of the Greek Fathers and greats of the Orthodox Christian church. In an age alienated from spiritual culture and rooted in materialism, these teachings pose both a challenge and an invitation to those seeking heightened spirituality. This book is essential reading for anyone who desires a profound spiritual journey based upon an encounter with Christ as God.

Ignatius Brianchaninov was a 19th-century monk and the abbot of the St. Sergius Monastery in St. Petersburg, Russia. He is the author of On the Prayer of Jesus. Kallistos Timothy Ware is an Orthodox Bishop of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and the retired Spalding Lecturer in Eastern Orthodox Studies at Pembroke College, University of Oxford. He is best-known as the author of the classic text The Orthodox Church.