There’s a poem by Walt Whitman, When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer, that tells a little story about sitting in a hall listening to a lecture about the facts and figures and proofs about the stars- but he was disquieted. He left, went out and looked up in wonder at the stars. This is a poem that has always stuck with me- that we don’t want to get bogged down in the details of a thing, and lose the thing itself. But is he right? When I look at a flower, my appreciation is pretty superficial. When a botanist looks at a flower, with their expert knowledge, they can appreciate the flower on a much deeper level. They understand the various parts of the plant and how they all work together, and what role the plant has in the wider environment. They know the plant as it lives through the seasons. If they can take that knowledge and still keep the sense of wonder and joy of experiencing a flower, then I envy the extra depth of their experience.

What does this have to do with Orthodox Worship? The most common refrain I hear when it comes to evangelizing the Orthodox faith is to “Come and See” the Divine Liturgy – which really is a beautiful little phrase straight from the scriptures- ““Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Philip.” (John 1:46) Those of us that have experienced the Divine Liturgy know that you can’t understand it until you experience it. So why write a book about it? Because some of us need this book.
The book is divided in two major sections. The first half looks at how Jews in the first century worshipped. It then looks at how that worship is reflected in the Divine Liturgy. The early Christian Community came out of the first century synagogues. If you are a convinced Christian already, looking for the authentic expression of Christianity, finding that the “foreign” Divine Liturgy is rooted in the biblical tradition of First Century Palestine is a huge relief. The second half of the book dives into the Liturgy itself, exploring the Liturgy in all it’s parts and litanies. This is also helpful for the inquirer who can be overwhelmed by the beauty and miss the deep theological meaning of what is occurring around them.

Thinking again of that passage from John, this book is an introduction to Orthodox Worship – you do still need to “come and see” because as “Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.” 51 He then added, “Very truly I tell you, you will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’ the Son of Man.”” (John 1:50-51)

This book was an amazing reading experience for me. I am currently helping to raise my friend's two small children as a live-in nanny/aunt. My kiddos are two and three going on fifteen, and my days are filled with the challenges of learning how to respond to them instead of reacting to them. It is truly one of the hardest things I've ever tried to master.
One afternoon as I was putting the kiddos down for their nap, the three year old began to have a complete meltdown. My automatic reaction was to begin to get annoyed and tell her in no uncertain terms that it was nap time and if she continued to screech she would land herself in big trouble. However I found myself pausing mid reaction and remembering what Mamalakis had said about reacting to our children instead of responding. I sat there for a moment watching the meltdown and thinking about why it was happening, I then heard myself asking my puddle of a three year old if she needed a hug! Naomi quickly stopped melting down and just sat there staring at me with a rather surprised/ unsure look on her face, then with a tiny sniff she crawled towards me and threw her little arms around me. I was stunned, I couldn't believe it, it actually worked and I wasn't even an experienced parent of seven children.
This book taught me so much, it reminded me that I constantly fall short. It has changed my perspective on parenting, especially when it comes to so called discipline, and has allowed me to take hold of the vision of who I want to be as a parent, aunt, or nanny. It is a definite must read for all parents struggling to raise their children in a Christian manner!

The best Orthodox Study Bible on the market. Loads of fantastic information and a beautiful leatherbound version. My only point of contention is the lack of cross-references available AND I would really love to see wider margins for notes. As-is there really is no space to write any notes in the Bible and there are only a few cross-references. It does have some valuable commentary and a few articles but it is not really a "study" bible in and of itself. Nonetheless, it is certainly a well-crafted Bible for Orthodox Christians and a an invaluable resource that has no current parallel for english speaking Orthodox Christians.

Very useful thus far, and i dont have any children yet. Important details on raising children in the faith, helping them to recognize the importance of their own place/attitude in the world, and the importance of how faith itself should be expressed to the world.

A wonderful companion to Holy Week services!

Perfect for our classes, as a reminder to the older ones, but a very good introduction for the younger set.

This was a gift for my daughter. She loves it and has worn it many times. Beautiful bracelet and great quality.

Excellent quality edition

I would recommend this book to everybody.I don’t speak Greek but I attend every Sunday service in a Greek Church.Having this book the Easter week was much easier for me to follow this time.Amazing book!
Thank you so much!

Love this book, helps us follow every minute of a Holy Week! This was an additional one for my 13 year old who was happy to have her own this year!

I love this edition and it was a blessing to read it during Holy Week on days that our family could not make it to Church.

Lovely introduction to the sacrament of confession for the young child.

I heard so much about this book and decided it was time to read it myself. It serves as both an excellent overview of the topic of despondency, or "acedia," covering some of the key modern works (Kathleen Norris, "Acedia and Me" https://amzn.to/2vOz5O7 and "The Noonday Devil" by Dom Jean-Charles Nault O.S.B. https://amzn.to/2Hijvkt) as well as important writings of the Early Church Fathers. I also appreciated how she made it very clear that she takes this topic from an historical and theological perspective, staying away from any incomplete statements about clinical depression, which, while it might overlap with despondency, must still be considered from a clinical perspective as well (however, I am sure that if Nicole Roccas were to investigate this topic from a clinical perspective, she would do a just as thorough and thoughtful job with it).

However, the book is also very practical, with each section followed by a set of "stepping stones" to help readers practice some of the topics she addresses. One of my favorite sections is where she overviews Evagrius of Pontus' Antirrha'tikos ("Talking Back": https://amzn.to/2YjUbA7), which is on my bookshelf waiting to be read - now it will be. This is an extremely practical way of addressing despondent thoughts, and while I am certainly familiar with arrow prayers as a way of dealing with them, Antirrhatikos takes this a step further, equipping us with the verses and statements of truth that answer specific "noonday demons" or thoughts (logismoi).

I appreciated Roccas' authenticity - she shares sometimes painful stories of her own foibles, reassuring us that she is not speaking from a pedestal but from a place of struggling with despondency with us, her readers. I listened to the audio book version of this book, and enjoyed listening to the author narrate it, but I will be buying the hard copy as well because this is a book I will be returning to often.

I heard so much about this book and decided it was time to read it myself. It serves as both an excellent overview of the topic of despondency, or "acedia," covering some of the key modern works (Kathleen Norris, "Acedia and Me" https://amzn.to/2vOz5O7 and "The Noonday Devil" by Dom Jean-Charles Nault O.S.B. https://amzn.to/2Hijvkt) as well as important writings of the Early Church Fathers. I also appreciated how she made it very clear that she takes this topic from an historical and theological perspective, staying away from any incomplete statements about clinical depression, which, while it might overlap with despondency, must still be considered from a clinical perspective as well (however, I am sure that if Nicole Roccas were to investigate this topic from a clinical perspective, she would do a just as thorough and thoughtful job with it).

However, the book is also very practical, with each section followed by a set of "stepping stones" to help readers practice some of the topics she addresses. One of my favorite sections is where she overviews Evagrius of Pontus' Antirrhaªtikos ("Talking Back": https://amzn.to/2YjUbA7), which is on my bookshelf waiting to be read - now it will be. This is an extremely practical way of addressing despondent thoughts, and while I am certainly familiar with arrow prayers as a way of dealing with them, Antirrhatikos takes this a step further, equipping us with the verses and statements of truth that answer specific "noonday demons" or thoughts (logismoi).

I appreciated Roccas' authenticity - she shares sometimes painful stories of her own foibles, reassuring us that she is not speaking from a pedestal but from a place of struggling with despondency with us, her readers. I listened to the audio book version of this book, and enjoyed listening to the author narrate it, but I will be buying the hard copy as well because this is a book I will be returning to often.

GREAT HAVE ONE MYSELF GAVE THIS ONE TO MY GOD SON.THANKS FOR SPEEDY SHIPMENT.

As advertised, a great combination of simplicity and meaningful content best suited for the inquiring nonOrthodox and refreshing Orthodox. Perfect blend of historical introduction and tour of the Orthodox Liturgy. This is on par with The Orthodox Church for books one gives multiple copies away.

It was a gift for my 6year old grand daughter and she loves it. Sometimes I find her reading it al! on her own.

Excellent!!

Very gripping and inspiring!

Well written and easy to read. The information is basic. A more detailed book would have required more pages. Helps Orthodox Christians understand other Christian communities