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            The reader should also be told that some parts of this book may seem difficult. In order to obviate difficulties as much as possible, the writer consistently turned to Protopresbyter Michael Pomazansky's Orthodox Dogmatic Theology. As the preface to the English edition of this invaluable book notes, this work has become a standard source of Orthodox theology and has a practical approach that is missing in many works of contemporary academic theology. As the preface also states, Fr. Michael presents the certain and unchanging teaching of the Church in a clear and objective manner, with sober understatement, and thereby eliminates any confusion as to what that actual teaching is. Other sources were also used when they showed an unadorned directness of presentation, something often lacking in the textbook that was used for the correspondence theology course that was the basis of this book. Any further simplification of the answers, though, would have resulted in distorting and degrading them. If difficulties are encountered in a few places, let the reader not be discouraged, but continue until the reading becomes easier. He or she will then gain an understanding of what Western Christianity used to profess (prior to 1054), and what Eastern Orthodoxy still professes to this day, since Apostolic times.

            The perceptive reader will observe that footnotes are not always given for cited texts. This shortcoming could not be emended as the writer no longer has access to many of the books and periodicals whose contents went into this work. When notes were initially gleaned from reading in monasteries and parish libraries around the country, it was never imagined that they would eventually be used in a book, and as a result, oftentimes there was no documentation of sources as would be done in formal research and composing. Moreover, as this work unfolded, it was not intended for publication, and thus there was no editor in its early stages to alter, adapt, refine and otherwise make valuable suggestions in matters of format and style to make the text better suited for presentation. However, author and title are generally given so that anyone interested in acquiring the books may do so. For those with a thirst for more knowledge, most of the books can still be obtained through the catalogues of the following publishing concerns:

Holy Trinity Monastery,

P.O. Box 36, Jordanville, NY 13361-0036

St. John of Kronstadt Press,

1180 Orthodox Way, Liberty, TN 37095-4366

As noted, the updated version of this book was written for individuals of the writer's acquaintance. It is especially meant for those among them who have no knowledge of Orthodoxy's boundless wealth of divinely revealed teaching and the patristic worldview. Living in a post-Christian pseudo-culture, modern people are saturated with Hollywood's decadent false values, and saturated with images and information filtered by a radically secular media bent on programming its audience with an anti-Christian worldview. All people are constantly exposed to many dangers from Christianity's enemies, who have been promoting a systematic destruction of Christian practices, and who have now subverted the entire civilized world that was once fully Christian. It is hoped that this material can serve to antidote that pagan indoctrination, and that it can lift the reader's heart above this fallen world so as to live in expectation of the eternal kingdom.

            In presenting this revised redaction to the reader, a dilemma arose as to whether or not to use “gender neutral” or “inclusive” language. This concern is common to all modern writers, given the awareness that our fallen world has dealt some very real injustices to women, and also because non-sexist language is becoming the preferred standard in the academic and intellectual world. On the other hand, inclusive language hinders clear writing and communication.  It makes for clumsy, cluttered writing that draws attention to construction and hinders meaning. This would very much work against the entire purpose of this work.  Moreover, inclusive language eliminates the possibility of transparency.

            To the women readers of this book, you are probably not the belching, swaggering women who demand to be on top and lord it over men, or who demand that the Christian Churches revise their doctrines according to the feminist prescription. In their act of rebellion against God, these women seek to have God and religion serve their own purposes, and they operate with the idea that human beings are free to construct their own faith. (This way of thinking shows the extent to which subjectivism and relativism have been carried in an age of doctrinal relativity). While these kinds of women are known to the author and are welcome to read these pages, most who actually read this material will be those who seek instead to be found worthy to serve God. It is for these humble women that a note is in order to explain that whenever this book speaks about God and man, the word man in this context is used in the traditional and general sense of mankind, meaning humankind, men and women.