The Lord of Spirits: An Orthodox Christian Framework for the Unseen World and Spiritual Warfare

A more Modern day view on the unseen world. The author is well versed on mythology , scripture, theology and history. This was the first book on Orthodoxy I read and it was enough to compel me to attend my first Divine Liturgy.y fiancée and I are now both Catechumens. Recommend to read if you are interested in a different perspective of the unseen world, yet still through the lens and heart of an Orthodox Christian

As an Orthodox Christian, I found "The Lord of Spirits" to be further instruction in the Holy Traditions of the church to which I converted. Father Damick writes clearly in an easy to read scholarly, well documented style about the reality of the world we live in that is in a state of war between good and evil. He traces ancient civilizations and their experiences, like ours in the 21st century. However, unlike our westernized secularly influenced lack of belief in a spiritual component in life (and death), most in our present world do not readily accept the mystery of the unseen world around us.Personally, I gained more understanding, inspiration, and yes, commitment to the Christian Orthodox faith that I have embraced for the last twenty years. I think this book would be a valuable read for those of other Christian traditions, and definitely interesting and intriguing to those of secular belief. I would also recommend Father Damick and Father Stephen De Young's podcast by the same name which can be found on Ancient Faith Radio.

Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick wonderfully expounds upon information presented in the podcast whilst also bringing new knowledge to the forefront that ties into the theme of both podcast and book.The book itself is well written with plenty of footnotes to check sources; it is scholarly without being bloviated. It is easy for the layman to read and understand.

Includes lots of info not from the podcast, and is pretty easy to digest. I hear Fr. Andrew’s voice in my head as I read lol. I would recommend it to anyone of any denomination, but more devout low church Protestants might need to take a breather every once in a while.

I cannot say enough good things about this book. In my opinion it is quintessential in understanding the Orthodox Christian cosmology. At this point most people are aware of the Lord of Spirits podcast, and this book is a companion piece in ways that put the topics discussed in the podcast in their proper perspective. If you are considering Orthodoxy, buy this book immediately. It will help you read and understand the world of the Bible in ways you never did before.

As described great book highly recommend.

Wow! I’m still trying to digest what is probably the best contemporary Orthodox Christian book ever written. As a convert to Orthodoxy from evangelicalism 30 years ago, I’m happy that The Lord of Spirits will appeal to both Orthodox and evangelicals.Father Damick has hit a grand slam with this discussion of worship, the war against the gods, and our salvation in Christ: In his explanation of Christ’s true mission and work, he gives historical context to Biblical writings, terms, and beliefs, brings light to the novel Biblical topics that many of us try to ignore (such as giants, monsters, and dragons), and calls the modern Christian reader back to the spiritual warfare mission of the Ancient Church. He even concludes it in context of the ultimate aim of the Orthodox faith: Theosis. Masterful! But the book then concludes with the text of the Harrowing of Hades, an ancient writing that Father Damick reads each year on Holy Saturday. This reminds me of a quote by the legendary NFL coach Vince Lombardi: “I firmly believe that any man's finest hour is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle, victorious.” This is thus Father Damick’s finest hour. By the end of the book, you can see he’s worked his heart out and after reading the Harrowing of Hades, it is evident that he is lying there exhausted – victorious!Father Damick’s book is well-written and he organizes his topics and structures his points in a way that is both evangelical and pastoral. Those who listen to his popular The Lord of Spirits podcast might miss the easy-going historical rabbit holes and pop culture tangents that make the show entertaining. However, the book avoids such digressions and as a result, his points and arguments are tightly and effectively presented. Evangelicals can use this against atheistic claims that the Bible is just another prehistoric book of mythology and Orthodox will find how much of their liturgical practice really IS true worship. I will likely often refer to many parts of it as reference material.The Lord of Spirits, in combination with the excellent works written by his podcast partner, Father Stephen De Young (Religion of the Apostles and The Apocrypha: An Introduction to Extra-Biblical Literature) can be life-changing to many local parishes. There is so much meat in this specific book that it should be the subject of book studies that should be repeated on a regular basis – perhaps within a catechesis context. Merely adding this book as a reference within Bible studies or studies of liturgical texts will be highly profitable.

My wife bought this for me for Christmas 2023. Fr. Andrew synthesizes topics (and some things not covered, at least at the time of the writing of this review) from the Lord of Spirits Podcast in a simple and digestible manner. He helps the reader to begin to understand the ancient world view, and why that should matter to us in the 21st century. I thought the conclusion with the Harrowing of Hades account from the Gospel of Nicodemus was the perfect ending to the book.