pocket or purse sized, plenty of prayers to start with, thank you for this inspiration to orthodox prayer

Good representation of saints...including Western Orthodox Saints (St. Cuthbert is our patron). Excellent quality of illustrations. And printed in US, NOT China...why are all your board books printed in China? Many parishioners are happy to see this book in our bookstore.
Kh. Helen Waggener
Holy Trinity Orthodox (Antiochian)
Lynchburg, VA

Wonderful bracelet. I bought one for myself and for each member of my family.

It’s time to rid ourselves of the ghost left behind by improper sacrifice – and this book seeks to begin that invaluable work.

For a term used so frequently (and if this book’s author is correct regarding its invocation – rather incorrectly as well) the concept of “sacrifice” sure seems to make people uncomfortable. Sacrifice, as a term, conjures images of blood, violence, gratuitousness, and fear. Culturally speaking, the concept of sacrifice might rest in the mind as a scary space that transports one back to periods of pre-modern moments of history where blood rituals ended the lives of otherwise innocent people and animals – or even modern moments where entire populations are forced to serve a ruling class, even to the point of death. A common thread in these notions of sacrifice is that it glosses over and, in a sense, erases the true philosophical history of sacrifice. What can be reclaimed if one was able to return to the fuller origins of sacrifice, not as a gruesomely bloody “eye for an eye” mentality, but as a means of selfless giving to establish truer relationships? This is part of the larger array of questions tackled by Welcoming Gifts’ author, Fr. Jeremy Davis, and is a must-have for any religious inquirer looking to better understand what ancient Judeo-Christian persons meant when they called for “sacrifice.”

Welcoming Gifts is divided by four main parts (Rediscovering Sacrifice, Old Testament Sacrifice, Christ’s Sacrifice, and Our Sacrifices), which are each further sub-divided into 3-4 chapters. The text is an insightful read for many reasons, but the two that are most apparent among a first read-through might include a critical breakdown of how sacrifice is invoked in ancient pagan cultures and how/where those notions diverge in Orthodox Christian culture[s]. What is particularly curious is how, ultimately, the distinction between ancient pagan and Orthodox notions of sacrifice is that they are more similar than they are distinct to the modern eye, and Fr. Davis does an important work in helping excavate the historical baggage that has been overloaded onto the term. Moving beyond the western juridical notion of sacrifice as a legal atonement for one’s sins, the text pushes the reader to consider how sacrifice is much closer to a self-emptying posture that works to establish a relationship between self and other. Here one can see that sacrifices of all kinds were often sealed with a special meal – oftentimes at a feast; hardly as gruesome a scene as a strictly literal reading of the bible might imply. As Fr. Davis moves from this ancient contextualization of sacrifice to the sacrifice that occurs on the cross (and as a result, the one that is repeated through the rational and bloodless sacrifice inherent to the divine liturgy), the reader is treated with an appreciation of not only the fuller picture of what a sacrifice may be, but also a fuller appreciation of the gravitational range of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. Christians that are interested in the meaning and contextual background of an admittedly sometimes confusing set of Old Testament scripture verses about sacrifice will be rewarded with a connection to the life and work of Jesus Christ.

I came to this text by way of Audible and was more than pleased with the sound quality. The reading was clear, maintains a slow reading pace (not much is lost if one were to minorly increase the speaking-speed), and the quick turnaround of the chapters maintains a good flow of content. The content itself could be considered engaging to many, as I’m sure scholars of cultural engagements with sacrifice and religious historians could join hands with Christian laypeople that are looking to read the Christian story with more illumined eyes. I wish to highlight scholars because the audiobook features an appendix and sometimes pauses to highlight important footnotes that yields additional critical information – suggesting that additional resources are at the disposal of the particularly engaged reader. While this book may appeal to scholars, listeners of Ancient Faith’s radio-podcast Lord of Spirits might uniquely appreciate this reading, as the level of nuance and intellectual investigation that Fr. Davis communicates with an uncanny level of ease would allow one to feel right at home – regardless of one’s scholarly status or vocation.

Without being too cheeky, the book sacrifices the repulsive notions of the term for the truly beautiful ones: it allows Orthodox Christians to better connect to their ancient roots without the confusing, gratuitous, and ultimately alienating elements of sacrifice that have built up in the West over time. For anyone formed or informed by the Judeo-Christian scriptures, this book is a must read to better understand how sacrifice marks our religious past, the always present moment of Jesus Christ, and how we are continually called to sacrifice with our daily lives.

We already own the books. We purchased them again for a gift!

Delightful 💕

Four Stars

Kept one and gave other as a gift. We both love the book.

Its strength is that it presents the Gospel as more 3-dimensional than we are accustomed to thinking of it in western Christianity. It gives you a more authentic, whole idea of what salvation is and why it is to be communicated.

We need more Orthodox prayer books like this that are directly related to specific challenges in our daily lives for inspiration and further prayer on the struggle.. A big Thank you to the author!

Beautiful
But the print was to large,
I did not know it was in old english.
I went back to my old one
"An Orthodox Prayer Book" 2011 pocket edition
New Rome press. It's dog eared and comefortable.

I've been a convert to the Orthodox Church for 19 years, and while I haven't read the book in its entirety yet, I've been reading Scripture for over 35 years and any book that seeks to counteract the current fad in Orthodox circles to water down the clear teaching of Jesus and the Apostles on the reality of Hell (yes, it's a real place just like Heaven, not a state of mind) gets 5 stars. And any books that seeks to abolish the horrific heresy of Universalism that keeps rearing its head in Orthodox circles deserves 10 stars.

Excellent resource.

This has reformed my view of the purposes and heart of the Israelite sacrificial system, and has shown me afresh the grace that is embedded in the Leviticus and Deuteronomy texts. The sacrifice of Our Lord has been made more clear and dear to me because of this book. Well done!

I gave this book to my 10 year old granddaughter and the whole family loved it! She also took it to Sunday school and they read it there.

Truly a wonderful read!!!

Christ is Risen! Truly.
This ornament is truly beautiful, and has held well against the hot Arizona sun. I recommend this product as an adornment to any vehicle- a reminder for myself to love all fellow occupants of a shared road, especially during rush hour.

What I would say is a different view on raising children with excellent examples. He spends a good time looking at motives of both child and parent. Would that I had this 30 years ago.

Great childs book!!
Adults liked it also!!!

Can’t emphasize enough how important it is to have this book in every home! Dr. and Presvytera Jeannie is an erudite jewel in Orthodoxy!