Great Art Thou, O Lord!
by Kirill Chernorizov
This first book in English about this greatly loved Orthodox saint opens a vivid window to St. Gabriel’s life and spiritual vigor.
St. Gabriel’s remarkable ascetic life is revealed through the intimate recollections of his family and friends.
Born in 1929 in the Soviet Republic of Georgia, St. Gabriel fervently pursued the spiritual life under the guidance of holy elders. He famously rebuked the idolatry of the godless civil authorities, setting fire to a massive banner of Lenin at a public celebration.
Since he reposed in 1995, his veneration has grown rapidly both in Georgia
and abroad, boosted by countless miracles such as those worked by his jacket, which healed a fourteen-year-old boy of a brain aneurysm and which continues to heal many.
This soft cover, 236-page book is richly illustrated, with a special, 8-page, full-color insert of photographs as well as numerous black and white photos throughout the text.
The Saint Outside the Gate
by David R Smith
A few words in a sermon ignite a spiritual fire in the twelve-year-old Helena, a flame which both cauterizes her passions and purifies her through a life of suffering. The Grace of the Holy Spirit lovingly – and very unpredictably! – shepherds her across the decades through the political upheaval of 6th and 7th Century Syria and a maze of personal struggles. Join her remarkable spiritual journey of sanctification through a life fervently devoted to Christ.
This historical fiction novel splendidly weaves the reality of first-millennium Christians living in the Eastern Roman Empire with enduring spiritual questions contemporary young adults regularly encounter. Peer into the daily life of another culture and reflect on the abiding concerns of every person of faith through the eyes of Helena.
Inspired by the lives of several different saints of the Orthodox Christian Church, this page-turner illumines mature issues ever-present in the modern world with the light of faith.
An afterword by Hieromonk Macarius (Ruegemer) on The Mystery of Suffering provides a theological framework to examine the themes covered in the novel, making this an ideal text for a book club.
Fr. David Smith is author of three books, Mary Worthy of All Praise, Christianity and Pleasure, and Help, I’m bored in Church. A priest for 33 years, he currently serves at St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Church in Syracuse, NY. Along with his wife, Donna, an iconographer who drew the cover and interior illustrations for this book, he has four children and four grandchildren.
You will not want to put this soft cover, 378-page book down!
Become All Flame: Lent with African Saints
by Fr. Deacon John R. Gresham
Recovering the tradition of African Christian holy men and women from centuries-long neglect, Fr. Deacon John R. Gresham, Jr. restores the sacredness of early African Christians to modern seekers. This book is a remedy for the broken images about Black sanctity that have eroded the hope of the African diaspora and the whole Church in the years since violence, greed, and negligence pushed these stories into obscurity. From the African pilgrim who carried Christ’s cross in His passion to the holy women in hiding who overcame demons in Christ’s name, these African Christian ancestors shone so brightly that they still enlighten the Church, extending the call to the African diaspora to reclaim their place at God’s table. With poetic prayers and suggested scripture readings after each brief recollection of a saint, this daily lenten devotional will draw you into habits that will build you up to be more like the saints, too.
This collection of the stories of 49 saints from Africa can be read in Lent or at any time of the year.
