THIS book invites us to meditate on the presence of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Church. It is a collection of papers from theologians and leaders of churches, including Roman Catholics, Orthodox, and Anglicans, from the UK and from North America. They were given at a conference arranged by Pusey House in Oxford in May 2022. It followed on after two previous conferences, on the person of the Father within the Trinity and then on the Son as the Word of God. Now it is the person and work of the Spirit which is explored and discussed in 20 talks faithfully reproduced in this volume.
Each speaker talked about understandings and insights from their own areas of research and interest. The talks are arranged in four sections. These explore how an awareness of God’s spirit grows across the sections of the Old Testament; then how the doctrine of the Spirit as a person of the Holy Trinity was expressed in the teaching of the Fathers of the Church; then ways in which the life of the spirit is encountered and expressed in Western Christianity in doctrine, preaching, and poetry; then how we encounter with God’s Spirit in our own faith.
We meet theologians, including Athanasius and Thomas Aquinas, preachers such as Lancelot Andrewes, and the poets George Herbert and T. S. Eliot. Then there are also more general explorations: how we listen better to hear the message behind the words, and how we come to accept abandonment and despair. There are also two homilies preached in the worship of the conference.
It is not a systematic or historical study, and that’s the point. The life of the Spirit of God cannot be defined and explained in an academic treatise, but it brings the presence of God in unexpected and overwhelming ways. The coming of the Holy Spirit of God builds community and creates church. Here, it is the difference and variety of the contributions which give us fresh insights into the person and work of the Spirit.
It is helpful that there are an introduction that sets out the approach and, at the end, a conclusion that brings out some of the themes of the papers. But it is the wide range of the subjects and the differences of approach of the papers which give the collection its character and value. I decided to read one paper a day and then spend some time in reflection and meditation on its message. This opened up new ways of thinking and approaching faith.
The Revd Dr John Binns is Visiting Professor at the Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies, Cambridge.
The Dove Descending: Knowing and loving in spirit and truth
George Westhaver and Jonathan Price, editors
James Clarke £29.50
(978-0-227-17893-5)
Church Times Bookshop £26.55
