Surprised by Christ

Our very own parish priest recently had his life memoir published. After hearing excerpts read to us during our catechism, I am looking forward to reading the book.

Fr. James has lived a full life; he was raised in Orthodox Judaism in Queens by parents who had their faith undermined by the Holocaust, converted to Christianity only to be disowned by his parents (they held a living funeral for him), helped found Jews for Jesus, moved to Berkeley where he was one of the "Jesus People" in every sense of the word (check out the book's pictures!) before his immersion in Scripture and Church history led him to Orthodox Christianity.

The book is available from Conciliar Press and Amazon.

"Surprised by Christ is an autobiography, an intellectual history, and a conversion story, and more than these, conveys a spiritual and theological vision in a message that touches people from many different backgrounds. That vision is of the Living God revealed in Jesus Christ, who is the fulfillment of the Old Covenant, the life of the Faithful, the hope of the despairing, and the motivation for those who strive to preach the Gospel in all its integrity."

-- Hieromonk Jonah, Abbot of St. John of San Francisco Monastery in Manton, California (from the foreword to the book)