"House of God" by Vyacheslav Marchenko

Top review from the United States

Good introduction to Orthodox Christinanity for Middle Schoolers
Reviewed in the United States

Our local Unitarian Universalist Church library tries to purchase books that explain or illustrate different faith traditions, especially books written at the middle school level. Of all the various religions and faith traditions found in the United States, it is hardest to find good middle school books about Orthodox Christianity.

"House of God" by Yvacheslav Marchenko (translated into English from the original Russian) was exactly the type of book we were looking for. It is brief--only 15 pages or so of text--and well illustrated, with a colorful Russian flavored drawing on the left page which illustrates the text on the right page. Obviously aimed at Orthodox youth, it's tone is reverential as well as instructional. As an example of the books tone and language, the church is desribed as "the place where God's glory abides; where the Holy Mysteries are performed; where, on the hold alter, the bread and wine is changed into the Body and Blood of our Lord; where the assembly of angels glorifies and praises God; where the Holy Spirit abides with all true believers; and where the King of Glory Himself is invisibly present". This is no dry, fact-filled description of a church; you learn not only what is in an Orthodox church, but also the spiritual meaning of each aspect of the church. I, like most Americans, am largely unfamiliar with Orthodox Christianity. I found this brief book gives enough of the flavor of Orthodoxy to make it an excellent introduction.