The Arena is one of the most important and accessible texts of Orthodox Christian teaching on the spiritual life. The author, St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov) describes this work as his legacy “of soul saving instruction.” He promises that “those who carry out these instructions will enter into possession of spiritual riches.” In an age even more alienated from spiritual culture and rooted in materialism, his words pose both a challenge and an invitation to all who ever say to themselves: “There must be more to life than this.” For anyone who desires to deepen their own spiritual journey based upon an encounter with Christ as God, this book is essential reading. “Like the other leaders of this Russian monastic revival, Ignatius was deeply rooted in the ascetic and mystical doctrine of the Greek Fathers, yet there was nothing antiquarian or academic about his devotion to the teaching of the past: for this ancient tradition was something that he had experienced directly, as a creative and dynamic reality in his personal life.” – Metropolitan Kallistos of Diokleia
by St. Ignatius Brianchaninov
Softcover, 328 pp.