By Phoebe Farag Mikhail

This is my seventh year since staring Being in Community that I have shared my Great Lent reading list, and it has become one of my most popular posts. This year’s list includes some older books revived for a new audience, and a little more fiction than previous years. It seems my soul needs to be nourished by some holy imagination this Great Lent.

If you’re looking for Lent children’s book recommendations, check out my Great Lent Picture Book Guide, which contains multiple picture book suggestions for children, arranged according to each week of the Coptic Orthodox Church Great Lent lectionary.

Gregory of Nyssa: Sermons on the Beatitudes

I’ve hard several clergy recommend studying the Sermon on the Mount during the Great Lent, and I’ve been reading a lot by St. Gregory of Nyssa lately, so this his Sermons on the Beatitudes tops my list for Lenten reading this year.

Purchase Gregory of Nyssa: Sermons on the Beatitudes on Amazon.

Calmness by Pope Shenouda III

This wonderful book by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III of blessed memory, originally delivered as four sermons in Egypt and later translated to English, has been revised and re-published by Life Giving Springs Press in a beautiful hand-bound edition. The first English edition is available for download as a PDF here.  Purchases of the revised edition support St. Gregory American Coptic Orthodox Church in Anaheim, California to help build the parish community and activities for the youth and at-risk populations in the area. 

Purchase Calmness by Pope Shenouda III on Life Giving Springs | Amazon.

Mother Maria Skobtsova: Essential Writings

Also known as Mother Maria of Paris, this book contains Mother Maria Skobstova’s essential writings, as well as an extensive biography of her in the introduction by Jim Forest. Last year’s Lent Reading List included a wonderful picture book about this modern martyr, who lost her life in the Ravensbrück concentration camp in Germany for hiding Jews in her Paris convent.

Purchase Mother Maria Skobtsova: Essential Writings on Bookshop | Amazon.

Guirguis the Torchbearer by Iris Habib El-Masry

Topping my list of fiction books is this republished work of historical fiction by the late Iris Habib El-Masry, a Coptic Orthodox theologian and historian who is most well known for her two volume history, The Story of the Copts. The novel takes place in eighth century Egypt after the Arab conquest.

Purchase Guirguis the Torchbearer by Iris Habib El-Masry from St. Mary & St. Moses Abbey Press | Amazon.

Brisbane by Eugene Vodolazkin, translated by Marian Schwartz.

Laurus, the international bestseller by Russian author Eugene Vodolazkin has been on my to be read pile for a while, so when this English translation of his new book released in 2022, I resolved to read both this Lent. Brisbane takes place between Russia and Ukraine, in the memories of a musician suffering from Parkinson’s disease through his biographer.

Purchase Brisbane by Eugen Vodolazkin from Plough | Bookshop | Amazon.

The Lost Saint by Christine Rogers

I enjoyed Spyridon’s Shoes by Christine Rogers, so I happily picked up this historical fiction chapter book set in sixteenth century Greece during the Ottoman invasion of Rhodes. It tells the story of a boy separated from his family during battle, and features the little known St Phanourios, the saint that many Eastern Orthodox Christians call upon for looking for lost things.

Purchase The Lost Saint by Christine Rogers from Ancient Faith Publishing | Amazon.

Lent: The Season of Repentance and Renewal by Esau McCaulley

Anglican priest and theologian Esau McCaulley’s book, Reading While Black: African American Biblical Interpretation as an Exercise in Hope is on my TBR, so I quickly snapped up this new little book about Lent as well to read this season. I am always interested in reading how traditions different from mine approach the Great Lent. It helps me see my own tradition with fresh eyes.

Purchase Lent: The Season of Repentance and Renewal by Esau McCaulley from InterVarsity Press | Bookshop | Amazon.

Reclaiming Rest: The Promise of Sabbath, Solitude, and Stillness in a Restless World by Kate H. Rademacher

In many ways, the Great Lent can be seen as a time of solitude and stillness, and this book by Christian author and public health professional Kate Rademacher tells us how to do this practically in a world that actively works to prevent us from rest, reflection and stillness.

Purchase Reclaiming Rest: The Promise of Sabbath, Solitude, and Stillness in a Restless World by Kate H. Rademacher from Broadleaf | Bookshop | Amazon.

Pillars: How Muslim Friends Led Me Closer to Jesus by Rachel Pieh Jones

I highlighted Rachel Pie Jones’ excellent biography of Annalena Tonelli, Stronger than Death, in a previous Lent Book list. Pillars tells more of Rachel’s own story working in the Horn of Africa among Muslims, and how her relationships with them led her closer to Christ. Through them she discovers Christian tradition is deeper and wider than she once believed.

Purchase Pillars: How Muslim Friends Led Me Closer to Jesus by Rachel Pieh Jones from Plough | Bookshop | Amazon.

A Place to Belong: Celebrating Diversity and Kinship in the Home and Beyond by Amber O’Neal Johnston

Many of my readers might not know that I started homeschooling in the Fall of 2020 and haven’t looked back since. I had been following Christian homeschooling mother Amber Johnson on the internet for a while, and was thrilled when her new book came about that helps all families embrace their own heritage while honoring others. I love how she uses “kinship” in this context.

Purchase A Place to Belong: Celebrating Diversity and Kinship in the Home and Beyond by Amber O’Neal Johnston from Bookshop | Amazon.

What are you reading this Lent? What will you be reading with your kids? Will you choose something from this list? Please share in the comments, and don’t forget to subscribe to the Being in Community email list to get access to the Great Lent Picture Book Guide, a Guide to Helping Children Love Reading, AND a spiritual reading reflection guide! May God accept our fast this Lent as we look forward to the Holy Resurrection.

Looking for other Lenten spiritual reading ideas? Check out my book lists for 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, and 2017. 

Need ideas to find time for reading, to start a reading habit, or get back into one? Check out my posts:

Building a reading habit and finding time to read

How I read 230 books in 2019

Some of the links above are affiliate links to Bookshop and Amazon to purchase the books suggested here. Using these links gives me a small commission, and this helps support my blog expenses. Purchasing books on Bookshop also helps local independent bookstores. Some of these books can be found at an even lower price used. If you use my Thriftbooks referral link, you and I will get a promotional code for a free book if you spend $30 or more.

What are you reading this Lent?