Mysteries of Silence

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Softcover. 7 x 10. 96 pages. Twenty poems. Four black and white photos accompany one poem. Printed on 55# antique-finish paper. Includes significant author’s notes at the end as well as a full bibliography of completed work and work-in-progress.

$18.95
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From the Back

The soul is a breath of God, and has suffered a mixture of heavenly and earthly, a light hidden in a cave, but, all the same, divine and imperishable.” St. Gregory of Nazianzus Poem 1.1.8, “De anima” (From Patrologia Graeca, vol. 37, 446-456)

Orthodox poet Christopher Lewis reveals his own soul’s journey through this accomplished first collection of poetry. In a rare combination of what is “earthly” and what is “heavenly”, he synthesizes the temporal human journey with the hope for and glimmering experience of that which is “divine and imperishable.” The soul’s longing for God and the deep struggle of prayer and inner stillness breathe through each carefully placed word.

Combining a classic literary skill with the most sublime inclinations of the human heart, the very illumination he seeks shines through the poems themselves. His poetry is both exalted and accessible. He speaks directly to the interior life, using experiences of the natural world to access the hidden, inner depths of spiritual discovery. Cultivating a small plot of ground, watching a child grow, reading the inscription on an old tombstone, all become icons in his life, windows into eternity. Mysteries of Silence is a welcome addition to the field of poetics, and will be well-received by those who thirst for an experience of the soul, the “breath of God” in a man’s life.

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Christopher Lewis has a grasp of natural rhythm and the sonority of language that is missing from much contemporary poetry. In lush language he ushers the reader into the mysteries of the spirit through the doors of the senses.
—Katherine Hyde, novelist, founding editor of The Handmaiden

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Christopher Lewis is a gifted poet whose work I’ve followed for thirty years. His writing is beautiful and mellifluous, reflecting his Orthodox Christian faith and a love of truth and beauty. But above all, Christopher has always been a poet of wonder. He brings the reader into the inner spiritual world which we all so desperately need to be in touch with.
—Mother Macaria, St. Xenia Methochion, Indianapolis, IN

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This is a beautiful collection of poems reflecting a mature faith and deep vision of the Presence of God filling all of life.
—Abbot Jonah Paffhausen, Monastery of St. John of San Francisco, Manton, CA
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What People are Saying

NEW!  Our first book review!  Read it at Orthodox Christian Blogspot.

The book is beautifully done. I’ve especially liked “Three Drops of Silence”. The writing is rich and descriptive… –Diana Partovi
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Powerful writing… –Jim Caetta


Sample Pages

Excerpt “Preparing the Manuscript”
Editor’s Note: “III. Labors of Adam” is one section of a longer poem entitled “Preparing the Manuscript of a Garden Journal”.

Funeral of Fr. Thomas“
The Funeral of Fr. Thomas” is a poem composed after the funeral of Fr. Thomas Davis. He was a well-loved priest of St. Paul’s Antiochian Orthodox Church in Brier, WA. His funeral was held at the church and then a few hundred people travelled 5 hours to his burial at St. John the Forerunner Monastery in Goldendale, WA, where he now peacefully rests.

“Notes” excerpt
 The collection includes the author’s notes on several of the poems as well as a full compendium of his work to date.