The Prayer of a Broken Heart: An Orthodox Christian Reflection on African American Spirituality - Christian Life - Book

What do African American spirituality and Orthodox Christianity have in common? More than you might think. Drawing on both his own background as a biracial convert to Orthodoxy and historical resources that span St. Athanasius to Frederick Douglass, Fr. Paul Abernathy details the many intersections between these two traditions, including a redemptive understanding of the Cross and a faith shaped by suffering and persecution. In so doing, he points to a new path whereby Orthodox Christianity can uniquely answer the spiritual needs of African Americans. Praise for The Prayer of a Broken Heart "The Prayer of a Broken Heart situates itself far beyond the narrow confines of the American moral imagination. Within those confines any descendant of slaves who resurrects narratives of the painful past can only be expected to air 'grievances.' But in Fr. Paul’s hands, these narratives are triumphant, delineating a path heavenward for spiritual ancestors whom we do well to learn from. He interwea