crying

is far less a symbol of a condition than an efficacious vehicle for the far-reaching change of that condition. What they 'mean' in the religious imagination is in the end far less important what they 'do.

'An Obscure Matter': The Mystery of Tears in Orthodox spirituality' (pp. 242-54) by Kallistos Ware is about 'the mystery of weeping' in Eastern Christian sources and functions as an introduction to the concluding essay, ''Howl, Weep and Moan, and Bring It Back to God': Holy Tears in Eastern Christianity' (pp. 255-73), by Kimberley C. Patton. Patton mainly compares the Orthodox Christian with the Jewish religious tradition and argues that 'tears are far less a symbol of a condition than they are an efficacious vehicle for the far-reaching change of that condition. What they 'mean' in the religious imagination is in the end far less important whatt hey 'do'' (p. 264).

Kimberley C. PattonThinkers

Kimberley C. Patton