Eastern Christian Worlds by Mahmoud Zibawi (review)

732book reviews The fifth essay describes the Carolingian age and is labeled the diminishing of baptism. It is a time when "the momentary effulgence of baptism was pushed out on to the periphery" (p. 206) and when "sacrament turns into magic" (p. 219). The sixth and final essay treats what was Cramer's starting-point, the viewpoint of the twelfth century, which he caUs a time of "falling short" or a time concerned with a sense of loss. His insights into baptism come frequently as parallels to the twelfth-century thinking on eucharist. The six chapters are complemented by two Excursuses on the baptistry. They include fourteen illustrations which, unfortunately, are a bit dark and thus hard to appreciate. The book concludes with a twenty-five-page bibliography which is extremely helpful. This book is not for the beginner. Cramer interweaves history, theology, philosophy , poetry, semiotics into a tapistry that is masterful, but complex and dtfficult . The reader would have been greatly aided by summaries at the end of each chapter and especiaUy by a synthesis at the end of the book. StiU, the book is to be read, and indeed re-read. In so doing, one will learn not only a great deal about the sacrament of baptism, but also a great deal about the Middle Ages in the West. Gerard Austin, O.P. The Catholic University ofAmerica Eastern Christian Worlds. By Mahmoud Zibawi. Translated from French by Madeleine Beaumont. (CollegeviUe, Minnesota:The Liturgical Press. 1995. Pp. 272; color pis. 96, b/w figs. 188. $99.95.) In a.D. 451, the Council of Chalcedon was convened to resolve conflicting definitions of Christ's nature, but, instead, the Church SpUt into two major factions —the Monophysites, who foUowed the doctrinal position of the patriarch ofAlexandria, and the so-caUed ChaIcedonians,who adhered to the position formulated by Pope Leo of Rome and supported by the patriarch of Constantinople . The churches of Egypt and Syria foUowed the Monophysite position, and by the seventh century, the Churches of Nubia and Ethiopia were securely in the Monophysite camp, headed by metropolitan bishops appointed by the Monophysite patriarch of Alexandria. These churches are the subject of Eastern Christian Worlds by Mahmoud Zibawi, author of The Icon (1993) and himseU a painter. Introductory chapters include broad surveys of church history and the rise of Islam and its art.The author then moves to chapter-long discussions of each Eastern Church—the Syrian, the Armenian, the Egyptian, and the Ethiopian (the Nubian is omitted)—its history, traditions and practices, and art. Such an undertaking would be a daunting chaUenge for any speciaUst in the his- BOOK REVIEWS733 tory of the Eastern Churches. Zibawi proceeds by summarizing or excerpting from more scholarly treatments of the subjects, an approach which results often in superficial or severely abbreviated essays, with names, terms, or events that remain unexplained.This can be quite frustrating for the reader with limited knowledge ofthe topics. For example,the Palestinian ampuUae are referred to as the "famous ampuUae ofJerusalem"with neither explanation, photograph, nor reference to the definitive monograph Ampoules de Terre Sainte by André Grabar in the footnotes. Zibawi's text contains passages that are flawed, as, for example, the discussion of Iconoclasm, or wrong, such as the statement that "Ethiopian writing adapts the Sabaean alphabet and adds consonants to it" (pp. 21 1-212).The opposite is true: the Ethiopian writing system adds vocaUzation to consonant forms. The author's true purpose appears to be an appreciation of the arts of the Eastern Churches.The text is well larded with aphorisms and quotations from reUgious hymns apparently intended to create a lyrical framework for the presentation of the visual materials, but the aphorisms are sometimes nonsensical: "The cAbbasid caliphate ends forever" (p. 93) or, "ParadoxicaUy, art ignores history and its events" (p. 61).The works of art in the Ulustrations contradict the latter observation. The layout of the color plates is not well conceived, nor are reasons clear for aU choices of works of art iUustrated.The choices of Ethiopian art illustrated in the color plates are especially problematic. Ifthis book is to be the reader's only exposure to Ethiopian religious...