Extreme Prep: The Long Triodion Warm-up for Lent

[An earlier version of this post was first published in February of 2020, and Iā€™m reusing the content for the Walking an Ancient Path podcast as well as here. Because preparation for Lent. ā€” LH] Every act of physical hardship requires preparation. Nobody of right mind sets out to run the New York Marathon without serious endurance training. Even for a shorter race, to qualify for one of the early waves inā€¦

Stumbling Stones on the Orthodox Road: Canned Prayers

My religious background might be described as ā€œmotley Christian.ā€ I grew up in a United Methodist Church that was quite evangelistic and also included a cross-section of charismatic members. When I was in high school, some of my classmates were Episcopal, and occasionally I would hear references to their Book of Common Prayer. I thought that was odd. Why would anyone need a book to pray? Donā€™t they know how to talkā€¦