SPEAKING WITH GOD FROM THE DEPTH OF THE HEART: The Prayer Book of St. Gregory

By St. Grigor Narekatsi, Translated by Thomas J. Samuelian

Seventh, English only pocket edition of timeless prayer book. Written shortly before the first millennium of Christianity, the prayers of St. Gregory of Narek have long been recognized as gems of Christian literature. St. Gregory called his book an "encyclopedia of prayer for all nations." It was his hope that it would serve as a guide to prayer for people of all stations around the world. A leader of the well-developed school of Armenian mysticism at Narek Monastery, at the request of his brethren he set out to find an answer to an imponderable question: what can one offer to God, our creator, who already has everything and knows everything better than we could ever express it? To this question, posed by the prophets, psalmist, apostles and saints, he gives a humble answer - the sighs of the heart - expressed in his Book of Prayer, also call the Book of Lamentations. In 95 grace-filled prayers St. Gregory draws on the exquisite potential of the Classical Armenian language to translate the pure sighs of the broken and contrite heart into an offering of words pleasing to God. The result is an edifice of faith for the ages, unique in Christian literature for its rich imagery, its subtle theology, its Biblical erudition and the sincere immediacy of its communication with God.

VEM Press (2021)