The Prodigal Son, the first volume in the Popular Patristic Series, is a deeply engaging and theologically rich exploration of one of the most beloved parables in the Gospel of Luke (15:11-32). In this work, Nun Christina brings together the voices of the great Fathers of the Church-St. Cyril of Alexandria, St. Ambrose of Milan, Blessed Theophylact, St. Augustine of Hippo, St. Gregory of Nyssa, and Monk Euthymios Zigabenos-offering readers a profound patristic commentary on the spiritual, moral, and sacramental dimensions of the parable.
Far more than a moral story of waywardness and return, the Parable of the Prodigal Son is shown to be a theological microcosm of the entire Christian mystery: the fall of man, the deception of sin, the famine of the soul estranged from God, the grace of repentance, and the overwhelming mercy of the Father who restores the dignity of sonship. Each Father unpacks the story with insight and love, highlighting the figure of the father not as a symbol of passive forgiveness, but as an icon of the active, joyous compassion of God, who runs to meet the penitent soul.