The services and prayer texts of the Orthodox Church are ancient and inspirational, and this invaluable reference guides priests, deacons, servers, readers, and singers in the customs and practices of the church. Including serving the altar and offering worship services, the handbook explains to all laity who desire a further understanding of the church's Typicon—the rule that governs how divine worship is offered—touching upon a variety of topics, including the Hours, Vespers, Vigil, Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, and the Presanctified Liturgy. Drawn from Russian resources, this guide also explores the differences found in Greek usage.

This is perhaps the most comprehensive work on the Orthodox Church's divine services currently available in the English language. It was originally translated and printed before the Russian Revolution, but has since been re-edited to reflect current standards of English-language liturgical usage. The author begins with a discussion of the nature and origin of Divine services. He describes the church building, the persons who perform divine services and their vestments, the cycles of public worship, Great Vespers, Matins, Divine Liturgy, festal services, and different ministrations: Baptism and Chrismation, the Coronation Anointing of the Tsar, Consecration of a Church, Confession, Ordination, Matrimony, Unction, Prayer Services, Monastic Tonsure and Burial.

"Nicholas Cabasilas' Commentary on the Divine Liturgy is a remarkable product of Byzantium's last great flowering of theology. The work has long been essential reading for specialists in the fields of comparative liturgy and history of liturgy, since Cabasilas comments in detail on the Byzantine rite of his day and is able to draw comparisons with the Roman liturgy as well. The work is also invaluable for all those who wish to understand more about the theory and practice of worship in the Orthodox Church. In this edition the text of the Commentary, translated by J. M. Hussey and P. A. McNulty, has been supplemented by a brief foreword which places Cabasilas' work in its historical context. A helpful introduction by R. M. French describes the celebration of the liturgy in the Orthodox Church."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

How has the Orthodox liturgy come to have the shape it has? How different is it from the eucharistic rites of the Western churches? Hugh Wybrew's authoritative but splendidly readable book traces the development of the Orthodox liturgy from the Last Supper to the present day.

This is perhaps the most comprehensive work on the Orthodox Church's divine services currently available in the English language. It was originally translated and printed before the Russian Revolution, but has since been re-edited to reflect current standards of English-language liturgical usage. The author begins with a discussion of the nature and origin of Divine services. He describes the church building, the persons who perform divine services and their vestments, the cycles of public worship, Great Vespers, Matins, Divine Liturgy, festal services, and different ministrations: Baptism and Chrismation, the Coronation Anointing of the Tsar, Consecration of a Church, Confession, Ordination, Matrimony, Unction, Prayer Services, Monastic Tonsure and Burial.The work contains line drawings to illustrate the subject.

Welcome to the Orthodox Church—its history, theology, worship, spirituality, and daily life. This friendly guide provides a comprehensive introduction to Orthodoxy, but with a twist: readers learn by making a series of visits to a fictitious church, and get to know the faith as new Christians did for most of history, by immersion. Mathews-Green provides commentary and explanations on everything from how to “venerate” an icon, the Orthodox understanding of the atonement, to the Lenten significance of tofu. It’s the perfect book for inquirers and newcomers, but even readers who have been Orthodox all their lives say they learned things they never knew before. Enjoyable, easy-to-read, and leavened with humor, Welcome to the Orthodox Church is a gracious guide to the ancient faith of the Christian East.

Making Russians is a valuable and insightful examination, based on a solid archival foundation, of the nationalities policies in tsarist Russia's northwestern borderlands of Lithuania and Belarus. Making Russians explores the various strategies of Russification that the imperial government pursued largely unsuccessfully in this region. The book is essential reading for all students of imperial Russia. It has applications for the present as well, when issues of national identity continue to engage the citizens of both Russia and the states of the Former Soviet Union.John Klier, University College London

In this book, Marva Dawn insists that churches need to engage in a serious process of community discernment concerning worship in order to employ the best tools and forms, and she offers reflections to further the discussion. Each part of A Royal "Waste" of Time begins with a sample Scripture-based sermon since Dawn emphasizes that the church's worship must follow biblical guidelines and form a biblical people.--From publisher's description.