Publisher's Synopsis
Many Monks across the Sea is a solid resource for scholars and practitioners on monastic praxis. It is about an embodied theology of mission that highlights an early case of monks having roles in their own wider society but also beyond it, 'across the sea'. This is part of a growing body of works that dispels the erroneous notion that monks like mystics were called principally for prayer and meditation in insulated communes. Monasteries were sites of serious scholarship and training but also of broader missional contacts and encounters. The book is a pleasure to read but, it is clearly a product of rigorous research and reflection. Dr David Singh, Oxford Centre for Mission Studies Steve Cochrane is not just a good historian and an excellent researcher, but has spent decades of his life in South Asia. His long first-hand experience with Muslim-Christian relations add another dimension to this book. In light of recent events, it is all the more important that many people discover how the two groups were able to co-exist peacefully in certain times and places. This book is not just about a distant past, but a powerful source of hope for the future. Dr Tom Bloomer, University of the Nations This book seeks to bring light to the Eastern Churches under early Islam, in order to reveal something of the vigour of Christianity where it has been overlooked or unexpected. It brings together existing scholarship and adds new, to provide a picture of a faith that sees the challenge of mission and meets it with integrity, courage and imagination. Prof. David Thomas, University of Birmingham Steve Cochrane (PhD, University of Middlesex), has worked in South Asia for over 30 years, especially in the area of Christian-Muslim relations. He presently works with the University of the Nations in the area of graduate studies development, based in both India and the United States.
