Customer Reviews

A Manual of Eastern Orthodox Prayers

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This small purple book (originally published in Great Britain in 1945) contains prayers of the Eastern Orthodox Churches, prayers from which any reader can derive joy and benefit and fitting words to praise the one God in three Persons, God who is Light and Life, Transcendence and Immanence, Majesty and Mercy.

There are morning prayers, evening prayers, prayers for different occasions, anthems and hymns for saints and holy feasts (troparia and kontakia), the Orders of Confession according to Greek and Slavonic uses (in English), prayers for use before and after the reception of Holy Communion, and a calendar of the saints who are honoured in holy Orthodoxy.

The "O Heavenly King" can be found on page 2, prayers to the Theotokos on page 8, a prayer of St John Chrysostom "according to the hours of the day and night" on pp. 14-15 (this prayer, or series of short prayers, quite lovely); Metropolian Philaret's prayer where he dares not ask for either cross or consolation, on p. 24; a lengthy and lovely prayer in verse by St Symeon the New Theologian, beginning on page 71, and a penitential pre-Communion prayer of surpassing beauty ("Thou hast smitten me, O Christ, with yearning; and with thy divine love hast thou changed me") on page 77.

The language is reminiscent of earlier days in the life of the Church (thees and thous), and when psalms are quoted, it is the 1662 Book of Common Prayer version that is used. This comparatively young, Western, Roman Catholic reader values this small purple book, A Manual of Eastern Orthodox Prayers, for its loveliness of language, its acute awareness of -- and profound humility before -- Divine Beauty, and its recognition (often absent in the language of modern Western Christianity) that God is Majesty, and that as we approach him, a feeling of awe is not malapert.

As other reviewers have noted, this book has many prayers used by Orthodox Christians in personal devotions. It also has some materials used for public worship, such as scripture lessons for the Twelve Great Feasts and for the Sundays of Great Lent, as well as certain Sunday and weekday troparia (theme-hymns).

Originally published in 1945, its language does predate today's interest in "Modern English for worship". Also, having first been published by an Anglican-Orthodox fellowship, rather than by an Orthodox jurisdiction, the book itself might not necessarily be used by large numbers of Orthodox Christians in English-speaking lands (they might use other collections of these prayers prepared by their own Churches).

However, those other collections might be less accessible to people outside Orthodoxy than this one, which can be ordered so easily through Amazon. It can therefore introduce inquirers to a portion of the rich treasury of Orthodox prayer.

This little book includes most of the prayers that Orthodox laity would be apt to use in their daily life, along with the liturgy and preparation for confession.

Clergy of other denominations interested in Orthodox ritual will probably find this book of use as well, since it points out differences in Russian and Greek usage and also gives the most complete church calendar I have ever seen in English. Anglican readers will find a perhaps unpleasant surprise - Lancelot Andrewes' "preces privatae", rather than being his own inventions, are in fact prayers from the Orthodox preparation for communion, as you will find if you compare them with the versions in this book.

This little book of prayers has changed my life. Coming from a non-liturgical background, this book introduced a foriegn structure into my normally spontenous prayer life. Over the years, it has opened a new world of spiritual formation in my life. Along the way, these simple prayers have stirred me to a greater vision of the awesomeness of our Creator. "Holy God. Holy and Mighty. Holy Immortal. Have mercy on us."

Being a recent convert to Orthodox Christianity from Anglican church, I missed the daily routine of the reading the daily offices, especially morning prayer.

A Manual of Eastern Orthodox Prayers with its beautiful language has filled that void in my daily devotions. It is similar to the 1928 Book of Common Prayer in that it has a service of morning and evening prayer to include a pause in the prayer service for the reading of scripture. Further like the 1928 Prayer Book there are prayers for other occassions along with a section of anthems and hymns for the greater feasts and saints' days.

As a new convert to Orthodox Christianity I have found the calendar of the Eastern Orthodox Church very helpful in learning about the saints and feast days. Coming from the Anglican and earlier Southern Baptist background, I did not realize that there were any other saints beyond those of the Western Church. The suffering and example of the saints of the Eastern Church offer great examples of how to live and moreover the suffering the Eastern Church has suffered from its very beginnings all the way through the 20th century.

Protestants and most Anglicans do not practice confession. There is a section of this prayer manual on the order of confession. We in the Western Church may want to rethink confession. For confession of sin is part of repentance. Something we tend not to discuss in the West.

A daily routine of correct prayer is important in the development of one's spiritual life. This prayer manual guides one correctly on a path of prayer needed to sustain one in a temporal world so full of sin.

I realize that I need a copy of this to carry in my briefcase, so that during my lunch break, I can reconnect with what is important.

My wholehearted recommendation to recent converts and to all Orthodox Christians living in America.

Those who are eastern orthodox or those who are devoutly christian will find the prayers in this book to be helpful in thier own quest for spiritual fulfillment.