Ancient Christian Devotional by Thomas Oden, Cindy Crosby

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. This guide to prayer and reflection combines excerpts from the writings of the church fathers as found in the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture with a simple structure for daily or weekly reading and prayer.

There are fifty-two weeks of readings follwoing the weekly lectionary cycle A. 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.

Come and find the deep nourishment God offers.

"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."

-John of Damascus, Orthodox Faith 4.17

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.

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.