I loved the book, its very informative and really makes you look at prayer seriously.

It is a great edition. The only thing I would like better is bringing back the red leather and having more page markers like the red leather edition. It is a really good bible and getting the orthodox companion set of notes on each book is well worth it. It is good to have a full canon to study

I've only just started to read them but I love what I've read so far.

The Royal Monastic: Princess Ileana of Romania by Bev. Cooke - The Story of Mother Alexandra is captivating. I recently read I Live Again: A Memoir of Ileana, Princess of Romania and Archduchess of Austria and there were many questions of her life that were unanswered since it was written with many years of her life and story left. Royal Monastic answers many of those questions and more. She led such a fascinating life full of service to others.
I really like the Ileana remembers sections of the book where it is like she is speaking to us in her own words.
I would suggest this book be part of your recommend reading for high school students. There is so much to learn about faith, history, and sacrificial love.

Best Orthodox prayer book out there.....

The Royal Monastic: Princess Ileana of Romania is captivating. I recently read I Live Again: A Memoir of Ileana, Princess of Romania and Archduchess of Austria and there were many questions of her life that were unanswered since it was written with many years of her life and story left. Royal Monastic answers many of those questions and more. She led such a fascinating life full of service to others.
I really like the "Ileana remembers" sections of the book where it it like she is speaking to us in her own words.
I would suggest this book be part of your recommended reading for high school students. There is such a wealth of information about the faith, history, and sacraficial love.

I was delighted that Melinda wrote a third installment in this fun, thoughtful, sweet series of books! While I know it’s written for kids, I drew a lot of lessons from it for myself and my choices as a parent. Likewise, I can easily imagine children enjoying the book. And, it’s a tremendous blessing to have Orthodox chapter books for our youth; I’m so glad that there’s another one to add to our library.

Sam and Macrina and the nuns at the monastery offer good lessons for all of us. As a parent, it is so, so hard to stay out of situations with kids and try to let them come to their own understandings and resolutions as they grow. It was an excellent reminder to see that perspective play out as the nuns witnessed Sam and Macrina’s disagreements, yet exercised restraint and wisdom by not interfering. (Their ongoing arguments are not new to this book, by the way, so it’s lovely to see them work things out by the end of the third book.)

I would love to know what kids think when they read those passages. Do they wish that their parents interfered less? Do they feel like they’re able to work things out with other kids without adults’ help? Remembering to take a step back is something I will keep in mind in the upcoming year.

In the same way, I wish I could read this book from a child’s perspective. Will young readers figure out what the only rule is before it’s revealed to them?

The characters are the type that you wish you could meet in person. By the third book, you start to feel like you know them. I found myself wishing that I could be in church with Sam and Macrina, watching bemusedly as they came to peace with each other. I wanted to sit on a bench at the monastery and pray. I wanted to see the angel painted on the side of the barn. And, of course, I wished that my son and myself had such a sanctuary to visit ourselves. Thank you, Melinda, for another beautiful book!

ps - I will also note that my ten-year-old goddaughter loved it!

Under The Laurel Tree

A Review By E. Rabago

Finally a book that touches on Infertility in the Orthodox perspective. Something that I find is such a rarity in the Orthodox world. A great deal of the time Infertility is such a “black sheep” topic. The direct focus on the grieving of infertility is what made it so helpful in my case. As secondary infertility is what touched our family I love that she included ALL forms of Infertility.

I truly appreaciated her in-depth look at the journey of Joachim and Anna, via the Protoevangelium. I found that Dr. Roccas commentary so refreshing and helpful as I have always found parts of the Protoevangelium confusing to say the least. Dr. Roccas adds in just the right amounts of humor and commentary from others to make this very relatable to everyone.

I was happily surprised at the end of the book to find a section that i was able to share with our own priest to help him understand more of what to do to help other couples who are walking down the path of Infertility .

On a personal note this book has helped me so much on my own journey and I felt that I was able to walk down this journey with Dr. Roccas. It brought me comfort and taught me to truly feel the pain of Joachim and Anna, but also to appreciate the absolute blessing that my living children are.

This is such a great resource for Priest and any one who wants to learn more to maybe understand what Infertility is like in the Orthodox perspective.

An important concept this book leads readers to is “seeing others as icons.” Through a fictional Summer at a Monastery, an unlikely friendship and understanding develops between two children who believe they are opposites, but who both have equally challenging spiritual world views. I enjoyed reading this as an Orthodox Christian educator and plan on using this and the two other “Sam” books for my middle age curriculum (ages 9-12). This book clearly communicates through a fictional story the importance of “loving our neighbor” and recognizing (and correcting) our own misconceptions about the Faith for a younger audience. I feel that this series will spark important conversations amongst this age group and perhaps a better appreciation of our value as collective members of the Church through God’s eyes, not our own.

Five stars for the Bible itself. It is very attractive and packed with study and devotional aids. However, I was dismayed to notice that it was printed in China. Many of us are trying to avoid Chinese items, and China's increasingly severe persecution of its Christians and other minorities are cause for added concern.

My parish Priest recommended this prayer book to me when I was struggling with my prayer life. By far my favorite. The contents are always fresh and the quality is fantastic. Highly recommend!

I really like this prayer book. Beautiful cover, clear print, and the prayers flow nicely. It is now my preferred prayer book. I am retiring my others.

I have a greater understanding of the Grace of God........the plan of God enveloping the OT and NT.......the humanness of the first church......the Greek translation gave me greater insight......Father Farley's way of presenting this book of the Bible to the laity is so appreciated....a true gift.

Painting Angels is a fantastic book and our personal favorite of the Sam and Saucer series. My children were quickly engaged with the interactions between the characters, the animals, and the nuns. The themes in this book were relevant to our family. The difficulties of getting along with someone that you don't always like (whether that is a classmate or a brother) occur frequently for children. Through the story, this book helps to teach life lessons of how to love your neighbor and not just love yourself. The main character also struggles with concerns of making mistakes and fear of a God who is keeping score and giving out rewards or punishment for behavior. This is a misconception that many children, and even some adults, have of God. It is beautiful the way that the characters in the story address this view of God and explain how Christ's love is merciful and boundless. The book demonstrates to children that even when they have differences or disagreements with others that with love they can find a common ground and peace. Our family enjoyed seeing these important life lessons taught through the interactions of the characters and the way that the characters transformed to be closer to God and the angels. I highly recommend this delightful book for families and children of all ages.

*Disclosure: This book was gifted to me in exchange for my honest opinion.

Purchased as a gift for a newly illumined sister, this is a perfect introduction to praying the psalms daily. I love the extra blamk pages for reflections and notes.

This is a beautifully produced book, inside and out. I especially appreciate using the "Prayers Throughout the Day" and "Prayers for Everyday Occurrences" sections, which are fuller and more applicable to everyday situations than in other prayer books I have. (Some examples include prayers for "When Getting Dressed," "When Leaving Home," "When Going to Church," "Before Using the Internet," and "Before Taking Prosphora or Holy Water.")

It's too bad that so many different English translations of the same prayers are used among the various North American jurisdictions, but that is not the fault of the makers of this prayer book. 5 stars.

Beautiful details and made a great gift!

Love the calendars! I meet with five faculty members at a Quaker College and we are reading through the Orthodox Way by Kallistos Ware together. The calendars are a fitting visual of our time and life together. They hang prominently in each of our offices.

Great prayer book—nice binding and content!

I think this is unique and good. I've used other prayer books and founds this--for example, Canons and Akathists--that are missing in other prayer books.
Good pocket size, black and red text, illustrations, ecru paper, and leather-like cover.