"To search the sacred Scripture is very good and most profitable for the soul. For, 'like a tree which is planted near the running waters,' so does the soul watered by sacred Scripture also grow hearty and bear fruit in due season," writes John of Damascus in Orthodox Faith (4.17).
By helping us to read holy writings with ancient eyes, the church fathers help us drink deeply from the only water that can give us true life.
Edited by Cindy Crosby and Thomas C. Oden, this guide to prayer and reflection combines excerpts from the writings of the church fathers as found in the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture (ACCS) with a simple structure for either daily or weekly reading and prayer.
Included are 52 weeks of readings following cycle A of the Revised Common Lectionary. You can read through them in order or by thematic interest. Each day you will also find a simple opening and closing prayer drawn from the prayers and hymns of the ancient church.
Market/Audience
- Devotional readers
- Readers of church history
- Worship team participants and leaders
Features and Benefits
- Connected to cycle A of the Revised Common Lectionary
- Brief biographies of the church fathers are provided
- Organized for weekly use so that you can go through the readings at your own pace each day or just once a week
About the Author
Cindy Crosby is the author of four books, including By Willoway
Brook: Exploring the Landscape of Prayer. Her writing has appeared
in numerous publications, including Books & Culture, Mars Hill
Review and Publishers Weekly. She frequently speaks and teaches on
the relationships between faith, writing and the natural world.
Thomas C. Oden recently retired as Henry Anson Buttz Professor of Theology at The Theological School of Drew University in Madison, New Jersey. He is general editor of the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture and the author of numerous theological works, including a three-volume systematic theology.
