Orthodox Christian Prayers [Prayer Book]

There are many Orthodox Prayer books available, so many! But this one stands out.Pros: Beautiful in appearance, both inside and out. It has a beauty and dignity that is inspired by other classics. It contains lovely traditional line artwork and Iconography inside. And the outside is dignified in an imitation leather cover.Wealth of Material: This little prayerbook is the one prayerbook that does it all. Ok, that may be an exaggeration. But it does include the standard Morning and Night prayers. The usual Akathists and Canons: Akathists to Our Sweetest Lord, the Theotokos, Small Supplicatory Canon to the Theotokos, Canon to the Guardian Angel, and also the Canon or Repentance and Akathist Glory to God for All things! It contains the usual Pre/post Holy Communion prayers and small Compline as expected. But it also contains prayers of the hours of the day, special needs prayers and supplications in times of illness, distress etc... It even includes prayers such as the Te Deum and a Commemeration of Saints. But wait that's not all! Perhaps most surpisingly it has the Troparions for Sundays and the 12 great feasts and a number of other widely celebrated feasts! And even a daily menologion - short list of saints of the day! Finally it even has the Pascal Canon!! I have not mentioned every prayer please see the table of Contents for the full list. But I did want to emphasize the wealth of material in a book of this size.Size: Despite the amount of material this actually is a pocket prayer book that will slide in a coat pocket or fit easily in rucksack front compartment, etc. This has been a pleasant surprise.Readability: For the amount of information contained in this book it is a pleasant discovery to find it readable. The fonts and printing are clear and legible the most difficult parts to read are the Pentecostarion and Menaion which are a smaller font size than most of the book. I believe most people will be able to read without difficulty or simply needing reading glasses for those whose eyes are a bit older.Durability: I cannot speak of long term durability, but the book has held up well so far. Despite use the gold edging has remained attractive. The Cover shows no sign of wear or creasing. The paper pages are wearing well.Language: It is printed in a traditional Liturgical English, without unnecessary anacharisms.Ribbons: Three ribbons not just one! One or two more would be even better!Price: Affordable and money well spent.Overall it appears to have been a labor of love by the editors and the Monastery. The book does inspire you to use it.Cons:Another translation. The Church in the English speaking world is filled with a plethora of translations of our prayerbooks, Liturgies etc. There is no one official translation and the Assembly of Canonical Bishops seems uninterested in tackling this major issue. We the faithful are all too familiar with being unable to sing when we visit different parishes because the translations all vary. And this is another new translation. Overall it is readable, and acceptable to my ears but at times is clunky compared to other well known translations and at others an improvement. It seems to get a copyright one has to make changes sometimes not to the betterment. At times it does away with commonly used phrases such as Come let us worship vs O Come let us worship. Perhaps this is more accurate but it is hard to change a lifetime of use.The Psalms another different translation: See above. For those familiar with using HTM psalms now one has to learn another translation. I wonder if they are coming out with a whole new translation of all the psalms to match the prayerbook? It would be nice to have a set of matching Liturgical books so Prokeimenons match the psalms one recites. It would have been nice had they simply followed a Orthodox rendition of the KJV or possibly Coverdale as they are so memorable. It is difficult to follow along in Church and to memorize psalms when their are so many different translations one gets confused.Calendar: The Menologion follows the Revised Julian Calendar, which really only affects Saints recently glorified. There is a thoughtful mention in italics when the St is celebrated on the traditional Orthodox Calendar date. I would love to see the prayerbook printed with a version for those on the traditional Orthodox Calendar or have the saints mentioned in both places such as ( St Silouan OC) by the OC date. But this is a minor quibble because this difference does not affect the majority of the Calendar. I would not feel the need to replace mine with such an offering.Manufactored in China: It is a shame that a book made for the English Speaking world and primarily Americans is made in China. With their Human rights and violation of Religious freedom it is a sad choice. But as noted above it is affordable. I for one would pay more for American.Artificial Leather: Genuine is a more appropriate for a prayerbook. But this one works well it feels like leather and wears well so far. I would not have known it was not leather if it did not say so in the product description.Conclusion: Overall I am very pleased and satisfied with this prayerbook. It is beautiful to look at, comfortable to use, and most importantly inspires one to prayer. I believe as more people come into contact with it, it will become the defacto Orthodox prayerbook for English speaking believers. ( This is not to denigrate your favourite version : ) Thank you for reading I hope this helps. I am sure there are other points that could have been discussed or have been by others better than myself.

If it's in stock and you want a beautiful Orthodox Prayer Book, then buy this. And also buy the Audible Audio. The Audio doesn't have everything in the Prayer Book, but it's nice to read along and hear a stable voice praying, when you don't feel like audibly praying yourself. But whether in silence, out loud--whether your own voice, or the narrators, you won't find a nicer LOOKING prayer book. Makes a great gift. Get one before it goes out of stock again. Worth the price.

I've found a true companion in prayer with "Orthodox Christian Prayers." This little book, wrapped in soft imitation leather, felt like it was made just for me, especially with my tired eyes. The text, a refined version of the 1982 St. Tikhon’s translation, is wonderfully clear and easy to read. Marking ribbons make flipping through prayers a breeze. The illustrations are a delight, adding a touch of beauty to each moment of reflection. It's not just a prayer book; it's a durable, spiritual friend that I'll cherish for years.

I am new to the Orthodox community and reading this really is so beautiful. I bought two for me and my wife because I loved it so much. Even if you’re not orthodox, since I came from a Baptist background, it’s a beautiful prayer book.

This book of Orthodox Christian Prayers is extremely beautiful and well-made. First off, the choice of prayers is wonderful. There is really something for any need. I especially love the section on prayers to be said throughout the day; sometimes I don't have a specific "need" but simply want to pray for a moment so I love having those. I love the extensive selection of morning prayers, and many others. The fonts used are beautiful, the red and black text, and the illustrations also. The cover is buttery leather (if it's imitation leather, it sure seems real. I'm not sure which it is). This is a prayer book for a lifetime. I'm a Roman Catholic but I still love using it every day!

I own several Orthodox prayer books (Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Jordanville, New Rome Press, among others). I thought, "how could another prayer book be helpful?" This volume is certainly worth starting with, or adding to your collection. Initially a drawback for me, I now really like that this does not contain major services like Matins, Vespers, or Divine Liturgy. If you want those services, you can find them in many locations (including the prayer books I listed above). This book is a treasure chest of beautiful prayers for daily use and numerous special occasions, with the addition of saints for EVERY DAY of the year, the hymns applicable to each day, included the tones for each day of the week. The canons and Akathists selected for this book are AWESOME.The layout and artwork are very beautiful. In my opinion, the aesthetics are superior to the Jordanville book and parallel the Holy Transfiguration monastery's prayer book. The pages are thinner than the (very durable) Holy Transfiguration Monastery prayer book but the pages still "feel" high quality, perhaps because of the color (not bright white), radiused edges, and gilded page edges. The thinner pages make for a more portable volume. The cover is faux leather but has a good feel to it. I like the book so much that I'm giving it 5 stars even though the back hinge page tore the first time I opened back cover all the way. I repaired and fortified both hinges with linen book repair tape and the book feels bombproof. Like I said, even with the weak hinge page I'm giving this book 5 stars for its contents and over all aesthetics. It could be improved only by being printed in North America and perhaps a different cover/hinge material. Buy it!

Follows the OCA format fairly closely. Easy to read, and the translation is good from The Russian.

Good translation of essential prayers. Beautiful and more dense in content than it might at first seem.