This is a brief pamphlet by Schmemann on the observation and practice of Great Lent in the Orthodox tradition. It briefly lays out the days leading up to Great Lent, the liturgical days and practices during lent and offers some brief comments on how individual people can enter into and practice Lent. I read this because I am a Schmemann fan and I was planning ahead for Lent. For my purposes, this wasn't particularly helpful (I'm a non-Orthodox Christian) but Schmemann has a longer book on the Great Lent that this book was likely culled from. ( )

Time and linguistic shift have shifted the effectiveness of this book - ironically, in a sense, as Orthodoxy has rightly stood out against the caprice of time (see 89), but writing styles, unlike theology and liturgical practice, are not under the imprimatur of ecclesiology. Nevertheless, Schmemann, that great theologian of Orthodoxy, takes us deep into the meaning of Orthodox Lent, and therefore Orthodoxy's attractive spirituality; for that we should be thankful (even if I admit I am too lazy to swim the Bosphorous!). ( )

For those who appreciate Father Alexander's counsel, there are many gems to mine in this 133-page text. Chief among the precious stones is his discussion of spiritual diseases. For example, Father Alexander unfolds the spiritual diseases that St. Ephrem the Syrian battled in what is now called "the lenten prayer."

These spiritual diseases include sloth, faint-heartedness, lust of power, and idle talk. In a deft analysis, Father Alexander argues that lust of power results from sloth and despondency. (Paraphrasing the author, sloth is a cynical attitude toward life, and despondency is a pervasive view that everything will reach a negative end.) Once other beings have become subordinated to selfish desires (lust of power), then all reserves of the soul have been spent, leaving nothing more to speak than idle words.

For anyone who battles these diseases and cannot see the way clear to reach God, this book is a compassionate guide both during Lent as well as any season of repentance in life. ( )

Reviews the spirituality of Lent through a week by week outline of the Orthodox practice, For everyone who follows the Orthodox way. spiritually bright in Fr. Schmemann.s joyous style ( )