Axios Books

Walk with us

Publisher's mission

Now available from Axios Books

The House of Jesus

Enter the Gospel in its time and place.

Now shipping · first edition

“They said unto Him, Rabbi, which means Teacher — where do you live?”

About the book

The House of Jesus invites readers into the world of Scripture, history, linguistic and cultural studies. Archpriest Leonid Grilikhes paints a vivid picture of daily life and thought in first-century Judea. With clarity and warmth, he shows how the experiences of Jesus' contemporaries shed fresh light on the Biblical text. Accessible yet profound in its insight, this book opens the door to the Living Word of the New Testament.

Translated by Vasily Chernov, with Vladimir Chernov, from the original Russian text.

About the author

Archpriest Leonid Grilikhes

Archpriest Leonid Grilikhes (b. 1961) is a biblical scholar and a priest of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR). He has taught at the Moscow Theological Academy, St. Tikhon's Orthodox University, and Lomonosov State University. The author of numerous works on Scripture and patristics, he currently serves at the Church of St. Job the Long-Suffering in Brussels.

Inside the book

A glimpse of what you'll find

The world that produced the Gospels

First-century Judea, painted vividly: pilgrimage, synagogue and school, Roman politics, and the messianic hopes of those “looking for the consolation of Israel.”

The school of Jesus, recognized

In the Hebrew word bayit — house, household, school — Grilikhes shows how Jesus' community would have been recognizable as a school to those who first encountered it, and how the disciples themselves became “living books” of his teaching.

Disputes and provocations

Where Jesus aligns with Hillel against Shammai, where he stands apart from both, and where he shakes the two pillars of Second Temple Judaism — the absolute authority of the Torah and the unconditional election of Israel.

Among those who listened

Grilikhes draws the reader close to the people Jesus actually met — the leper, the tax collector, the Samaritan woman, the fisherman by the lake. The Gospels open up when you know who else is standing in the room.

Future titles

Hear about what's next.

We publish slowly and carefully. Sign up and we'll email you when there's a new book from Axios Books — never more than a few times a year.