Christ Recrucified

Adding to my enjoyment of this story (set in a Greek isle) was my recent trip to several Greek isles. The story was very well-written. The life and settings of the characters, while clearly bearing a resemblance to the gospel narrative of the life of Christ, was so subtle and sparse, I as the reader did not feel a forced-fit was being made, and could enjoy the unfolding of the Greek (and some Turkish) characters in their historical and geographical settings. The story is a brilliant depiction of the struggles within a small Greek village during the period of Turkish rule. The power plays between the Greek religious leaders and their Turkish rulers, often resulting in internal squabbles between people of the same nationality and faith, is colorfully depicted. As the reader I felt drawn into the story at what I would refer to as a street level observer. Loved it!

This is a great and timely book. It's themes are a challenge to anyone calling themselves a follower of Christ.

Good and interesting book.

The print of this edition (paperback) was very small and took time to read. The literary aspects as excellent - well written, great insight and quite theological.

check this guy out.

Great!

The story is set during the Ottoman Empire (though contradictory indications to Muscovite bolshevism suggest that it is after the First World War, somewhere between 1918 and 1922.) Part of the Greek community is in revolt against the Turks, but the Greek village of Lykrovissi in Anatolia is peaceful and under the benevolent rule of an Agha.The novel begins with the village Elders allocating roles in next year’s Passion Play to the villagers, and Grigorios, the fat local pope (priest), enjoining on those chosen to play Christ and his apostles to lead godly lives in preparation for their role. Only three of the apostles figure in this story: Yannakos who is to play Peter, Michelis who is to play John, and Kostandis who is to play James. None of these “apostles” are at all like the respective Gospel figures; but all take their mission very seriously – none more so than the shepherd Manolios who has been chosen to play Christ. Of course they do not find it easy: Manolios, for example, has a struggle giving up his betrothed (but feels a mission to save the woman who has been cast – because of her life-style - as Mary Magdalen. The villagers who are to play Judas (Panayotaros) and Mary Magdalen (Katerina) will behave more or less true to their models, though the reasons for Panayotaros, deeply resentful at having been cast in the role of Judas, is never one of the apostles, and the reason for his hostility to Manolios is not one found in the Gospel story. What happens to Katarina is also in no way related to the Gospels.Greeks in other parts of Anatolia have revolted against the Turks, and have met with violent Turkish counter-measures. In the hope of finding asylum in Lykrovissi, a large group of starving and weak Christian refugees arrives there from another distant village. They are led by their own pope, Fotis, who inspires them to bear their suffering for the sake of Christianity and the survival of the Greek race, However, Grigorios is unwilling to welcome them and resents the rival pope. The villagers, too, will not allow them to stay; but, to the fury of Grigorios, at the prompting of Manolios and the “apostles”, they collect food and alms for them before the refugees set out to seek shelter in some caves above the village. There they will be visited by Manolios and the “apostles”.Manolios, increasingly identifying himself with what Christ would have done, comes to the rescue of the Christian village when the Agha, enraged by the murder of his catamite, intends to kill all the inhabitants unless the murderer is found. No one believed him when he claimed to have been the murderer; someone else also claimed to have been the murderer and was killed. Manolios and the villagers were saved in the nick of time when the real murderer was discovered. That salvation marks more or less the end of the first part of the novel.Manolios becomes ever more pious in the second part. He is revered by many of the villagers for having been willing to die for them. On a religious festival, attended by the prosperous citizens of the village and by the destitute refugees on the barren mountain, he preaches to them that, for the love of Christ and fear of damnation, they should part with a tenth of their wealth to give it to the unhappy refugees. Many of the villagers do just that, but he draws upon himself the bitter anger of others, such as pope Grigorios and some of the village notables, who accuse Manolios and his apostles of being Bolsheviks. Manolios’ employer sacked him, and he went to live on the mountain with the refugees. The idea that Manolios and his apostles were Muscovite agents is also promoted by Panayotaros. When the wealthy father of Michelis died, his son gave all his inherited wealth – including lands in the village – to the refugee community, so that the latter now had land in the village that had refused to give them shelter. The fury of pope Grigorios knew no limits: he excommunicated Manolios. The “apostles” and a few other villagers left the congregation to join Manolios. Panayotaros often goes up the mountain to spy on them and report back to Grigorios. When the refugees came down to cultivate their new vineyards, they were met by violent resistance from the villagers. Both the villagers and the refugees prepare for a violent show-down: Manolios is now the angry Christ figure; pope Fotis likewise leads his ragged followers down the mountain to attack the village.I must not reveal the outcome: the battle had some unexpected features; but the title of the book gives the ending away. Once more, Manolios sacrificed himself by taking all the violence of his followers upon himself; but this time, unlike the last time, he did not escape his fate. And his sacrifice did not save his refugee followers, who, still led by Fotis, had to leave the mountain refuge and resume their wanderings.The situation of unwanted refugees is as relevant today as it was in 1954 when the book was written. There are, of course, many echoes of the Gospel story, though you would search in vain for parallels in very many important incidents (like a sudden and prolonged leprous disfigurement of Manolios). There is some humour in its caricatures of some of the villagers; but I found little subtlety in the book: it is in fact rather crude. The piety of Manolios became somewhat cloying. And, at 470 pages, the novel is very wordy, often repetitive, and many of the episodes, especially in the first part, seem to me to have no particular point. I am surprised it is considered a masterpiece.(Kazantsakis was both a Christian (though often critical of the Greek-Orthodox church), a socialist and a Greek patriot.)

As far as depictions of the life of Christ, "Christ Recrucified" (also published as "The Greek Passion") is far superior to the better known "Last Temptation of Christ" by the same author.This novel is set in a little Greek village during the time of the Turkish occupation. Starting with the assignment of roles of villagers to play in the annual passion play, the novel turns into a real passion play.The village elders, a dismal lot of overfed, oppressive, back- biting types, pick various villagers to play roles in the once- every-seven-years passion play. However, Manolios (chosen to be Christ for his gentle looks) and three friends, chosen as apostles, are humbled by the honor and inspired to begin to struggle with God's will. The crisis is provided by a band of refugees from another village. Run out by the Turks, they seek sanctuary in this village only to be refused both land and food by the village elders who fear their corrupting influence and the loss of revenue. The contradiction between the words of Christ, and the actions of those who claim leadership of the church and the village lead Manolios and his friends to ask dangerous questions. The elders, as elders tend to do, are reluctant to give up any power, and not inclined to accept theological analysis from those who they command. Eventually, the passion is acted out for real, with Manolios accused of treason and the sleepy Turkish overlord acting the part of Pilate to perfection.Liberation Theology is a term we associate with the Roman Catholic Church in Latin America, but I would suggest that this work, dating from 1953, has anticipated the movement in amazing detail. Such standard concepts of Liberation Theology as "the preferential option for the poor," "base communities," reading the Bible out of experience rather than theology, and so forth, are portrayed here as Manolios and his friends struggle with what God has to say to them.

This is one of the best books I have read. Although in essence, it re-enacts Christ's passion the depth of this book is so profound that it throws up, through its extremely strong characters, our failures and our strengths as a human race. Set in the early part of the 20th century in a part of Greece still under Ottoman rule the scenery is vivid, the scenes themselves recognisably Greek in their portrayal. The author travelled widely and the reader can feel that perhaps he doesn't share the same blind faith of good and bad as his characters.

all good

Best book ever.

Best book for years

A book everyone should read... Could do with a better translation, as sometimes its a bit off the mark, but overall one of the books who grip your attention from the first moment..

I first read this book in my native greek 18 years ago. I reread it in english 18 years later and was just as enthralled. Obviously a translation can never exactly match the original, the author thought and felt and described in greek. However the translation is superb and I enjoyed it tremendously. To be honest, as an atheist, maybe I am biased as religion and the fanaticism it can create, is left with a lot to answer for. Nikos Kazantzakis is no stranger to controversy though and when he sets the scene of the new priest arriving in a desperately poor greek village, you know there will be complications. When it is decided to recreate Christ's crucifixion things begin to unravel spectacularly. Highly recommended.

This is a remarkably clever, emotional and challenging novel. It is in essence a simple story: a Greek village re-enacts the life of Christ every four years, individuals are given parts to play - how much are they inherently like or do they taken on themselves the biblical/personalities roles? The long novel of 470pages deepens the idea on so many levels you'll love it.Ok a little more detail. The location is a smallish town called Lycovrissi on mainland Turkey (Anatolia) occupied by Greeks in the 1920s. The town is overseen by the Turkish Agha, who is just about the only Turk mentioned (except his two teenage male lovers?); though the town itself is run by the rich miser Ladas, the old Dr Patrarchis and the conniving priest Grigoris.The town is host to the usual variety of individuals and I found it useful to keep a note of the characters and their given roles (by the priest Grigoris) in the re-enactment so here goes:Panayataros - saddler (Judas)Kostandis - family man and cafe owner (James)Yanakos - carrier and mule owner (Peter)Katerina - widow and hussy (Magdelen)Patrachis - doctor and heavy weight (Pilate)Michelis - Partachis's son (John)Ladas - married to Martha (Caiaphus)Manolios - sheep herd (Jesus)Mariori - Grigoris daughterHadis - schoolmaster & Grigoris brotherLeno - Manolios' loveFortunas - captain and Agha's drinking buddyDemitri - butcherThe village is going strong until a group of displaced (from the Smyrna district), poor and starving Greeks headed by father Fotis descend on the town and moves into the local mountain caves (at a sign from God). The righteous want to help (e.g. Manolios) while the wealthy self-interested want rid (Ladas and Grigoris). The depth of the story comes from the roles the individual have taken on, the turn of events they themselves seem to initiate to actually self-fulfill them e.g. Manolios, and the deeper true roles they actually play e.g. is it Patrachis or the Agha who actual behave like Pilate? Sufficient to say it all ends in tears not least helped along up by Panayatros who introduces the idea of a Bolshevik conspiracy.I loved this story and think it Kazantzakis's best. My blood boiled at the inequity of the priest and the town. The characters are deep and well rounded. There are lots of side interests Mariori's illness, Agha's passions, murder, the hypocrisy, Magdelen's righteousness, the poor's need for violence, Yanakos love of his mule and so on. The one thing I suspect went over my head was the necessary knowledge of the less well known (to me) biblical characters (James, Peter etc) but despite this lack of Christian understanding I can recommend the book.

My enjoyment of this book has been severly impaired by the fact that pages 24 to 48 were missing and were replaced by pages 433 to 456 which also appear in their correct place later in the book.Will anyone at Amazon, Faber & Faber (publishers) or Mackays of Chatham (printers) read or respond to this???

On time. Clean copy though small print.

It makes sense to read this in the environment it was written in. OK Kazantzakis probably didn't write it on the beach but that's splitting hairs.

Good