The life of Thomas Merton was, to a great extent, one of dialogue with
people who were either distant or dead. While forging just such a
relationship with him, the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams
explores the mind and influence of Thomas Merton through essays on such
topics as the connection Merton had with Paul Evdokimov, the Orthodox
theologian, and Karl Barth, the Reformed theologian. Rowan also takes
note of the impact of books on Merton's thought, spanning from Fyodor
Dostoevsky and Dietrich Bonhoeffer to St. John of the Cross. Through his
essays, Williams shows that he and Merton share the regard that
Christian life without a contemplative dimension is incomplete and,
furthermore, that a contemplative life is accessible not only to those
living in monasteries but to anyone who seeks an "interiorized"
monasticism. The mystery of friendship--an enduring relationship held
together not only by affinity, shared questions, and common interests
but also by the awareness that each can help the other in pilgrimage--is
worthy of inclusion in the long list of additions to the Orthodox
sacraments. As the bond between Rowan Williams and Thomas Merton bears
witness, not all friendships depend on being of the same generation.