Byzantine Daily Worship [Hardcover]

Joseph Raya (Author), Jose De Vinck (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Alleluia Pr; 2 edition (December 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0911726071
• ISBN-13: 978-0911726077
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,113,907 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive Eastern Prayer Resource, January 4, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Byzantine Daily Worship (Hardcover)

Archbishop Raya of the Melkite Greek-Catholic Church, together with Jose DeVinck, has produced a tremendous volume of Eastern Christian liturgical spirituality covering a breadth and depth that is quite unsurpassed in any other single volume work. This remarkable book contains the order of prayers for Vespers, Matins, the lesser canonical hours, Compline and Grand Compline, the Liturgies of Chrysostom and Basil, the Presanctified Liturgy, the cycle of the Octo-Echos, weekday hymns and theotokia, as well as proper prayers for every day in the liturgical calendar, including prayers from the Menaion, the Triodion and the Pentecostarion. In addition, texts are included for devotion to the Theotokos (the Akathist Hymn and the Paraclisis) and for Funerals. BDW, as it is affectionately called among Eastern Christians, is a stunningly comprehensive collection of prayers, rubrics and explanations usable by Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholics alike (the book was received by the Greek-Catholic Patriarch in Damascus as well as the Ecumenical Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople) -- presented in a book that is not cumbersome to use and is of a size that makes it fairly easy to transport. Altogether, an excellent treasury of prayer for those who practice Byzantine spirituality.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Ideal Resource for Byzantine Christians, November 5, 2003

By 

Gerald J. Nora - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Byzantine Daily Worship (Hardcover)

I have prayed the Divine Office in the Latin Rite for several years now, and have recently prayed the Byzantine Divine Office. In looking for a copy of the Byzantine Divine Office, I found this book to be unequalled for its depth of liturgical prayer. I was also gratified to see that this book was received by both Catholic and Orthodox patriarchs, and hope that this is a sign of things to come.

The daily prayers of the Church (e.g., evening prayer [Vespers], and morning prayer [Matins]) provide one a great way to infuse one's daily activities with God and a greater prayerful spirit. Sometimes the book gets a little confusing as one adapts the prayers for the differing feast days and seasons, but the core of the prayers is pretty straightforward, so you can work on them and then try to adapt the prayers for the seasons and feasts days as you get more confident. Enlisting the aid of a priest or religious is another possibility if you feel lost.

The book also has the Divine Liturgies in it and also the common prayer service for the dead and various devotions like the Marian Akathist. I was amazed at how much the book was able to contain and yet keep a readable font and reasonable size!

On a final note, Byzantine Daily Worship has great explanations of the theology behind Byzantine liturgy and prayer (which are bound together inseparably), which are particularly welcome for this Roman Catholic who is still learning more about the East.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Previous Reviewer Doesn't Get It, December 3, 2004

By 

Jef Murray (Decatur, GA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Byzantine Daily Worship (Hardcover)

This is an excellent prayer book for Catholics
who observe the Eastern Byzantine rite. Clearly
an earlier reviewer is unaware that the Catholic
church incorporates many, many rites other than
just the Roman (Latin) rite, and has done so for centuries.
This is what makes the Catholic church truly catholic
(=universal). This is a common mistake, even among
Roman Catholics. Many of the latter believe that
just because they best know the Roman rite, they
cannot sample the "heaven on earth" offered by
the other rites of the Church, all of which are
sanctioned and encouraged by the See of Rome.

This book is the best equivalent to the
Latin Liturgy of the Hours that I've found. It is clear,
and is a great introduction to those who already know
or who wish to know the mode of worship that long
preceded the Tridentine and Novus Ordo masses of
the Latin church. Byzantine worship is a whole new
experience for most westerners, and one that is
deeply nourishing to the soul. I heartily recommend
this book as a personal adjuct to worship in the
Byzantine rite of Catholicism.