A Commentary on the Mystical Wisdom of the Earliest Christian Hymns and Poems
Commentary by Abbot George Burke (Swami Nirmalananda Giri)
Odes translated from the Syriac by Brother Simeon Goldstein
The Odes of Solomon is a great work of mystical depth, divine insight, and spiritual illumination and is, like the Dead Sea Scrolls, one of the truly great spiritual and literary discoveries of the Twentieth Century. But unlike the Dead Sea Scrolls which were dramatically discovered by shepherds in a desert cave, the Odes were prosaically found in neglected manuscripts gathering dust on the shelves of London libraries.
Although the identity of the author of the Odes remains a mystery, the closeness of the tone and content of the Odes to the tone and content of the writings of St. John the Evangelist, together with St. Ignatius’ familiarity with and use of the Odes (St. Ignatius was a disciple of St. John) suggest that the Odes could have grown up in the spiritual soil prepared by St. John and his disciples, in or around Antioch.
With penetrating insight, Abbot George Burke illumines the practical value of the Odes of Solomon for spiritual seekers, and the timelessness of these ancient writings. With a unique perspective of a lifetime of study and practice of both Eastern and Western spirituality, Abbot George mines the treasures of the Odes and presents them in an easily intelligible fashion for those wishing to put these priceless teachings into practice.
What Readers Say:
“The “Odes” are a wonderful addition to the “for Awakening” series. Both Hierodeacon Simeon’s lovely translation and Abbot George’s deeply insightful commentary do great justice to this most ancient and exquisite work. It will rightfully hold an honored place in any seriously spiritual library.
“From the get-go it is excellent. The introduction is probably the best account of the document’s provenance that I have seen and should itself go a long way toward drawing attention to this document from that unique moment in time when the followers of Master Yeshua were not quite Jewish, not yet Christian, both and neither at the same time. Wonderful!” –Brother Julian-Ozana
“An insightful and intuitive commentary on the cryptic poetry of the ‘Odes of Solomon’ by Abbot George Burke, pure gold for those interested in a syncretic approach to understanding these gems of esoteric Christian literature.” –Minnie Paul
“With the Odes of Solomon, Abbot George Burke presents us with an apocryphal text in its entirety, which for a long time was considered lost or of which only a few odes were quoted in other texts, such as the Pistis Sophia. The Odes of Solomon speak out of direct experience of God and are an important testimony to early Christian mysticism surrounding John the Evangelist. The commentaries of Abbot George Burke are an immeasurable help to open up these texts in their depth and to make them useful for one’s own spiritual practice.” –Stefan Kaiser
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About the Author
Abbot George Burke (Swami Nirmalananda Giri) is the founder and director of Light of the Spirit Monastery (Atma Jyoti Ashram) in Cedar Crest, New Mexico, USA. He is the author of numerous books on meditation and practical spiritual life. He writes at OCOY.org.
