# 2/3 (9/10) 1996

SUMMARY

     The section "Biblical Studies" opens the 9/10th issue (no. 2/3 in 1996) of the journal "Alpha and Omega". It includes a talk given by Methropolitan ANTHONY (Bloom) during the Christmas Fast in 1981 entitled "The Call of God and the Way of Salvation", and a paper by Fr Gleb KALEDA "Bible and Science on World Creation"; the latter considers the great theoretical discoveries in cosmology of the XXth century in the light of the Book of Genesis. A further selection of Introductions to Biblical books from the Jerusalem Bible follows. In this issue we print Introductions to the Books of Prophets.
     The section "Patristic Exegesis" includes a paper by Fr ILARION (Alfeev) "St Simeon the New Theologian and the Holy Scripture", in which the role of St Simeon's personal mystical experience in his approach to the Holy Scripture is emphasized. The next section "Patristics" contains a passage from "Moral Orations" by St SIMEON the New Theologian, book 1, ch. 6 ("How All the Saints Unite with Christ God and Become One with Him"), "The Answer to Paul Asen" by St GREGORY Palamas, the Conclusion to Fr John MEYENDORFF's book "St Gregory Palamas and the Orthodox Mystics", and a paper by Fr Georges FLOROVSKY "St Gregory Palamas and the Tradition of the Fathers"; in the latter, the importance of the distinction between the divine "essence" and "energy" is discussed, and the author claims that the distinction is rooted in the Christian experience. It is followed by a paper by Aleksej FOKIN "The Transsubstantiation of the Holy Gifts in the Mystery of Eucharist according to the Teaching of St John Chrysostom".
     The next section "Church in History" contains the end of the paper by Fr John MEYENDORFF "Byzantine Views of Islam" (its first part was published earlier in the 7th issue), by Fr Alexander SCHMEMANN "Meaningful Storm. Some Thoughts on Autocephalia, Church Tradition, and Ecclesiology", by Nun IGNATIJA (Petrovskaja) "Oration on Starchestvo", by Andrej POSTERNAK "Ministry of Women in Early Christian Church (I - VI centuries)", and by Marina ZHURINSKAYA "The Russia We Regained". The latter presents a review of the journal "Brothers and Sisters" issued by the community of the hospital Church in the name of St Tsarevich Dimitrij.
     The next section "Church in Eternity" contains "Notes on Russian Hagiology" by Archimandrite MAKARIJ (Veretennikov). It is followed by the section "Apologetics" that contains a paper by Fr Deacon Andrej KURAEV "Man and Woman in the Book of Genesis", and by Petr MALKOV "The Tree of Salvation" in which one of the frequent Biblical symbolic images is discussed. The next section "Church Culture" contains a paper by Jurij MALKOV ""The Holy Trinity" by St Andrej Rublev".
     The last section contains a selection of letters and an autobiography by Archbishop VARFOLOMEJ (Remov, *1888 - †1935) preceded by an editorial in which some problems of his biography are discussed. Materials for study entitled "From the History of the Ecumenical Councils" by Alexander DVORKIN, and information about a dissertation dispute in the Moscow Theological Academy conclude the issue.