The category of the “West” has played a particularly significant role in the modern Eastern Orthodox imagination. It has functioned as an absolute marker of difference from what is considered to be the essence of Orthodoxy and, thus, ironically has become a constitutive aspect of the modern Orthodox self. The essays collected in this volume examine the many factors that contributed to the “Eastern” construction of the “West” in order to understand why the “West” is so important to the Eastern Christian’s sense of self.
Anthony O’Mahony, director of the Centre for Eastern Christianity, Heythrop College, University of London:
This new collection has many very interesting articles; including the essay by Robert Taft SJ, “Perceptions and Realities in Orthodox-Catholic Relations Today: Reflections on the Past, prospects for the Future”, in: `Orthodox Constructions of the West’ , Edited by George E. Demacopoulos, and Aristotle Papanikolaou, New York, Fordham University Press, 2013. ISBN: 9780823251926