Back
This volume presents for the first time the T S Eliot Lectures delivered in 1982 by Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh. There are four lectures, each a fine example of Metropolitan Anthony’s profound spiritual wisdom, wit, and clarity of expression.
The first lecture is on the subject of meaning, about the way we relate to things only insofar as they mean something to us; the second and third are on beauty in terms of cognition and beauty’s moral characteristics; and the fourth is on ugliness, its significance and creative potential. The lectures have been edited by James Heywood, who has added footnotes for people and literary works mentioned in the text. Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury, has written a Foreword and a Postscript for this collection, which will be of trememdous interest to all who have appreciated the writings of His Eminence, Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh over many decades.
Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh was appointed vicar of the Russian patriarchal parish in London in 1950, consecrated as Bishop in 1957 and Archbishop in 1962, in charge of the Russian Orthodox Church in Great Britain and Ireland. In 1963 he was appointed Exarch of the Moscow Patriarchate in Western Europe, and in 1966 was raised to the rank of Metropolitan. He was perhaps best known as a writer and broadcaster on prayer and the Christian life. Among his acclaimed works are the books Living Prayer, School for Prayer and God and Man.
