As the main character remodels a mysteriously inherited home, she also journeys to deconstruct the walls that she’s built around her heart. Katherine Bolger Hyde has crafted a well written, orthodox fiction, mystery, and romance novel that incorporates the ideas of deification, reconciliation, and healing through healthy love and community support. The two main characters are relatives, but this is unknown to the living main character, Kelly as she mysteriously inherits a house from someone who turns out to be her deceased grandmother. Kelly has led a traumatic life filled with those who never respected her feelings and did not treat her with true loving kindness. She begins to remodel the home and as each new piece goes into the house so she also meets new characters who show Kelly “love, true love,” the Orthodox Christian view that we should love all as Christ has also loved us. I would recommend this for anyone seeking a summer (or anytime of year) vacation read or for something uplifting that also incorporates the foundations of our faith.

Definitely more than 50 knots, but I don’t mind. Very lovely prayer rope. Nice in the hand

You’ll absolutely want this prayer book to supplement your prayer life, and you might even potentially want to make this book your primary go-to. The prayers not only contain a wealth of Orthodox theology, affirming what we know about Christ and His condescension, but also help maintain a spirit of repentance. The prayers do focus a lot on one’s sin and asking for forgiveness. I sometimes need a break from that, but they’re also a good reminder that no matter how righteous we seem, we always fall short of the glory of God. I especially appreciate the occasional prayers at the back, which includes some for certain situations, such as facing temptation or reading the Word.

I’ve struggled to get close to the Theotokos in the past and this prayer book is just what I needed. I started to feel closer to her once I started praying the prayers in this book.

Snagged this prayer book set when it came back in stock and I’m very pleased. If it’s out of stock, you might have to wait a few months! But it’s worth the wait. Lovely addition to any prayer practice

This is a good prayer book, but it’s not my favorite. :( It’s structured like a service book and that makes it difficult to feel like I’m talking to God — it’s more like I’m talking at God. I’d only recommend it for advanced Orthodox Christians who are familiar with the various services and hours of the Church. As a beginner, I find it intimidating and convoluted, specially with all the special terms, like metanias, kontakion, and others. The copyediting is also lacking and the interior book design is a bit confusing/hard to follow. The icons, though, are excellent. It’s a beautiful book to have in a prayer corner but not so usable for this particular Christian. For beginners, I recommend the Ancient Faith Prayer book instead.

I own several prayer books and this is my favorite by a long, long stretch. It’s clearly structured and copyedited well, and most importantly, it’s excellent for beginners to the Orthodox faith. The occasional prayer list is also comprehensive. It has prayers for single people, married couples, mothers, children, etc, and also has some for certain situations, such as using the internet or facing temptation. The prayers allow you to express repentance, self-deprecation, worship, love, and longing all at once. Not too much of one or the other. Just right. The price makes it an absolute must-buy

First favorite feature is that it is small and you are able to easily travel with it. My second favorite feature is that it has different times of the day with the recommended prayers.

First favorite feature is that it is small and you are able to easily travel with it. My second favorite feature is that it has different times of the day with the recommended prayers.

All of my life when encountering Protestants and the Latin rite church I've had the strong sense that "something's off here for me, and very different" and couldn't put my finger on it. Dr. Constantinou has given me a vocabulary to express the differences and perhaps maybe even to explain them to those who don't understand my Christian tradition or "soul" as I've called it (now I have a term - phronema). What a relief to finally have the words to go with the truth of my tradition and why the understanding is so different. Now my mind can articulate what my soul has always sensed and I can stop wondering if it's just me or if there really are some big differences here. When I've encountered some converts from Protestantism to Orthodoxy I've sometimes sensed that there's still been some core of Protestantism left, something hard to put your finger on, and again this book helps to articulate what that might be. It's as if our tradition and its mysteries have to permeate our bones, and perhaps the process can take a long time for someone who's been steeped in a Protestant way of thinking or "being" (but don't give up!). At any rate, I think that this book gets at the fact that there is a "certain something" in the Eastern tradition that may take a while to acquire or "become". An important work.

Understanding the how's and why's of all the different aspects of the Liturgy makes attending an entirely enlightening experience! 'Aha!' After 'Aha!' enter into my heart and soul when I now hear the words of the Father. Excellent read!

This was beautiful. We loved the shine on the back of the cross and the chain that was included. Our customer was happy.

This book was a really interesting take on how our family and loved ones become our intercessors when they pass from this world. It is about a grandmother in heaven attempting to connect to her estranged granddaughter by giving her her home. The granddaughter, Kelly, is an architect and as she is remodeling the home, begins to unravel the true mystery behind its inhabitants. It was a very simple and cosy read. As some of the other reviews mentioned, it did lack some character development. Overall, I was really impressed by the "mystery" element of the book. I think this is a great read for Orthodox and non-Orthodox alike as it was not a strongly dogmatical read (nor was it intended to be). I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this book quite a bit. I really liked the architectural and renovation aspect, and although the plot was a bit predictable, there were enough twists to keep it interesting. I liked how the author described and sprinkled in bits of Orthodoxy, in ways that were subtle, but strong, and not overdone. I also enjoyed seeing the main character's transformation as the story progressed. I wish there was a little more overall character development throughout the book, since I felt like a couple of the characters were a bit trite/cliche. Overall though, this book was fun to read and it kept me turning the pages to find out what happened next. I look forward to more stories from this author.
I received a copy of this book in return for my honest review.

Beautiful work. St Andrew's OCC recommends it
https://Celticorthodoxy.com

Wow, I just read this book to preview it before giving it to my young-teen daughter. I’m glad I did, because the themes are pretty intense (assault, drugs, sex) and she isn’t quite ready for this book yet (age 15 and up is a pretty accurate recommendation). But I couldn’t put it down. It brought me to tears (happy and sad) numerous times. I will look forward to sharing this book and all the challenging topics with my daughter in another year or two. It expresses a lot of love and compassion as well as gentle advice/admonishment towards the struggles of youth.

This review was done as part of a promotion.

As a former English major, I appreciated the opportunity to review Katherine Bolger Hyde’s “The Vestibule of Heaven.” The plot is fairly simple and easily understood, as are the characters and their motivations. The author sprinkles in mysteries in the first chapters of the book, which hooked me in quickly. As a fan of home design, I liked the details discussing historical architecture and decorating. In addition, Orthodox Christian ideas are part of the story without being overwhelming—you don’t need to know a lot about theology to grasp the story. I will likely look for more of her works in the future, as these lighter reads are my favorite way to enjoy fiction nowadays.

great accompianment during Divine Liturgy

beautiful quality

Having read Parenting Towards the Kingdom six or seven times cover to cover, I was thrilled to find out that a companion guide was made! I pulled the book off my shelf to re-read yet again, this time with the companion guide by my side. The companion can be used in a book club setting or independently. I used it independently but definitely may be using it in a group setting in the near future. I enjoyed the extra tid bits of wisdom from Dr. Mamalakis throughout the book, and the opportunity to journal about my experiences, thoughts and goals as I read each chapter again. My favorite part is the blue highlighted quotes from saints as well as "tools" to refer to when practicing a particular value from the book. I also loved the "let's learn" sections which would help me think more deeply about scenarios shared in the chapters of the book and help me practice applying the concepts described using a scenario from my own parenting experience. If you would like to find ways to change some of your parenting habits for more effective ones, this companion book is sure to be a friend while you read Parenting Toward the Kingdom!