Mists on Mt. Athos
by
Book Details
About the Book
Alex, a first-generation Greek American struggles with conflicts between his Greek heritage and the secular world. He meets Pan, a Greek American comfortable with his heritage. Despite differences, they bond and travel to Mt. Athos. Alex vainly seeks material gain. Pan secretly seeks a miracle for his terminal illness. On the way, chance encounters, such as meeting fortune-teller Despina of astounding powers, open Alex to realities unknowable in his intellectuality. In a monastery, both men experience unfathomable mystery in the liturgy and ask a priest, a physicist, and a psychiatrist on their own spiritual quests to help reconcile their clash of ordinary experience against religious experience, the meaning of religious ritual, and the apparent clash of Holy Scripture with common sense. Both men return home wiser. Pan has a brief episode of new health only to lose it and eventually die. Alex contemplates the death of his friend in the light of their experience on Mt. Athos, and resolves his conflicts in healing faith. The story challenges secular emptiness and the barriers to faith among the unchurched. The action is experienced existentially, making the content, though philosophical at times, accessible.
About the Author
William Capitan was born of Greek immigrant parents and baptized in the Greek Orthodox Church. He holds the B.A. in philosophy from the University of Michigan and the M.A and Ph.D. degrees philosophy from the University of Minnesota. His post-doctoral study includes residencies at the Episcopal Theological Seminary, Cambridge, Massachusetts; Bexley Hall, Gambier, Ohio; and an American Council of Learned Studies Fellowship, Paris, France. He has taught philosophy at the University of Maryland, Oberlin College and held administrative posts at American colleges. He is president emeritus of Georgia Southwestern State University. He has authored and edited books, articles, and reviews on philosophy, art, and religion. He is a sailor, a licensed captain, and a volunteer in the Coast Guard Auxiliary having served as Commander of Division 10, Coast Guard District Seven. He studies the Greek New Testament and watches Turner Classic Movies. He has travelled extensively in the United Kingdom, Europe, and Asia. He is a widower and has a daughter, an attorney and judge, and son, an attorney and bank officer, and four grandsons.