Written by Saint Dumitru Staniloae

"Orthodox spirituality has as its goal the deification of man and his union with God, without being merged with Him. It has as a basic conviction the existence of a personal God, who is the supreme source of radiating love. He prizes man and doesn't want to confuse him with Himself, but maintains and raises him to an eternal dialogue of love. Such a spirituality has no place where an evolutionary progress of man, connected to a divinity conceived as an impersonal essence, is affirmed. This progress can have no result other than man's disappearance in the impersonal divinity. But the personal God, and thus the supreme source of love, can't be conceived of as a single person, but as a community of persons in a perfect unity. You see then why the Christian teaching of a Trinity of Persons in a unity of essence is the only one which can constitute the basis of a perfect spirituality for man, understood as a full communion with God in love, without his being lost in it."

-Saint Dumitru Staniloae, Orthodox Spirituality 

"It should be remembered, especially in the Western context, that the roots of Christian theology are not only Western, but reach deeply into the theological mind and the living Christian experience of the Orthodox East. Before the medieval political and cultural schism between the Latin and Greek worlds and the subsequent Protestant Reformation, the Christian West was itself, in fact, Orthodox, part and parcel of one united, albeit admittedly bi-polar, Byzantine Commonwealth. In our own time, as Western culture once again gradually comes to recognition of the "Eastern" Orthodox Church as being existentially part of its own root tradition, the imperative of discovering common ground and defining a common frame of reference relative to essentials of Christian spiritual life arises as a matter of some urgency."

-Alexander Golubov, from the Foreword, Orthodox Spirituality

This richly illustrated, pocket-size prayer book adopts the familiar translation of the St. Tikhon’s 1982 edition, refining its language where necessary and presenting it in the elegant typography that defined our popular Hieratikon. Encased in a soft imitation leather cover or hard cover with convenient marking ribbons, Orthodox Christian Prayers is made to be passed on from generation to generation.

The STM Pocket Psalter is officially here! Size: 4.5in x 6.25in

A joint publication of St Vladimir's Seminary Press and St Tikhon's Monastery Press.

These 100% beeswax candles are made by monks of St Tikhon’s Monastery and are sold by the pound.

If you would like to order trikiri/dikiri candles, please email orders@stspress.com. 

Order $800 worth and receive 20% off.

Please be aware that we hand dip candles as we receive orders. Due to the high volume we receive, please allow a minimum of two weeks before your order may be ready for shipment.

NOTICE: Shipping 100% Beeswax Candles during freezing conditions can result in the product shattering.

**Please note that candle amounts are not exact.

"Many people in the West think of the mysticism of Eastern Christianity as something unreal and imaginary, as a dreamy and vague thinking in the clouds. I will try in the following pages to prove the contrary to that opinion.

Our Christian mysticism is wholly different from buddhist mysticism just as much as it is from modern materialism. It is a vision of realities beyond and through transparent symbols and signs of the material universe. This is one of the fundamental teachings of our ancient church of Christ, based upon Scripture and the Fathers.

It is true that there were some persons in the Western World, among Germans, Dutch, Spaniards, French, English, and others who were great mystics. But our mysticism is not individualistic but collective. Our church as a whole, from the beginning, has been mystical in its interpretation of the visible universe, of things and events, as well as of man's and mankind's life and destiny.

If some of my readers would learn from this essay that mysticism of the Eastern Christian Church is nothing else but the science of the highest realities, I shall be amply rewarded.

-Nikolai D. Velimirovich"

Service Book for the Faithful: Vespers, Matins, and Divine Liturgy, Second edition
Printed in Great Britain

Announcing a long-awaited resource for those among the laity who wish to read along with the divine services. This volume contains the complete texts of Vespers, Sunday Matins, the liturgies of St. John and St. Basil, and the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts. These texts mirror those contained in the priest's services books: the Hieratikon, volumes I & II.

An introduction is included which discusses the participation of the faithful in worship, excellent for inquirers. Also contained are pre- and post-communion prayers and hymns for the liturgical year.

Approximate dimensions are 4"x 6.25"
Hardbound in durable leatherette
Gold foil stamp
Three marking ribbons
272 pages

*Please Note: This is NOT an Altar size*

The Hieratikon, Volume I contains the services of Daily and Great Vespers, Small and Great Compline, Midnight Office, Daily and Festal Matins, Hours, and Typica. Also included are special instructions for Lenten and Paschal services, daily and special dismissals, magnifications and prokeimenons for great feasts, and a Menologion. Bound in manufactured leather, with durable, gold gilded paper, and includes three marking ribbons.

Second Edition.
Printed in Great Britain.

Disclaimer: The first edition of the Hieratikon was printed by a printer no longer in business. This second edition is of the same dimensions as the first edition, but the paper weight is marginally heavier, adding about 5mm to the thickness. In addition, for reasons not entirely clear, black has been overprinted on the red, producing a barely perceptible red "glow" to the text. The phenomenon is slight and does not affect legibility. 

Images are from the current printing and demonstrate the slight overprint.

Based on additional interest about Fr. David's retreat, we are now opening the retreat to everyone! This retreat is perfect for everyone including Orthodox men & women who serve as chaplains, social workers, first responders & lay leaders within parish life. Please join us for this 1 day Orthodox Retreat!

The day includes divine services according to the monastery schedule, two, 1.5 hour sessions with Fr. David Alexander, & breakfast, lunch & dinner provided. Please see below for a description of the retreat! Please contact Christopher Messenger if you have any questions at: manager@stmpress.com

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1. The “Hypostatic Interchange” as a Foundation for Pastoral Work
2. The Development of Hypostatic Interchange within the Three Stages of Spiritual
Life
3. The Second Stage as “Hypostatic Arena” for the Shepherd and the Flock
4. The Awakening of “the Two-Fold Vision” in the Hypostatic Mode
5. The Parallel Tasks of “Turning” and “Supporting the Turn” in the Hypostatic Mode
6. “Leaping into the Hands of God”: a Central Hypostatic Vision for the Shepherd

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Awakening, Turning and Leaping is a retreat for clergy centered on the dynamics of
shepherding in the Hypostatic Mode. Drawing from the spiritual vision of Saint Sophrony and some of his spiritual children, the retreat explores pastoral work as a continuous parallel encounter of “self-offering” and “other-reception” between Christ-as-Great-Shepherd, Clergymen-as-Shepherds, and the Sheep of the Faithful, cycling and ever-transforming throughout the Stages of Spiritual Life.

Together, participants will reflect on the “Hypostatic Interchange” as a foundation for
shepherding, the development of Personhood through the Three Stages of Spiritual
Life, and the unique challenges and possibilities of the Second Stage as a shared
“Hypostatic Arena” for both shepherd and flock. Special attention will be given to the
awakening of the “Two-Fold Vision” in pastoral life and the parallel work of “turning” and “supporting the turn” within adversity and spiritual struggle. The retreat culminates in reflecting on a central vision for the shepherd: the continuous
and climactic call for both he and those under his care to “Leap into the Hands of God.”

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Father David Alexander is an Archpriest of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America. He is a graduate of Saint Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary and holds a Ph.D. in Refugee Care from the University of Essex in the United Kingdom. At Essex he studied under Professor Renos Papadopoulos and Hieromonk Nikolai Sakharov.

A joint publication of St Vladimir's Seminary Press and St Tikhon's Monastery Press.

Nearly ten years in the making, this liturgical translation of the Psalter is the result of a collaborative effort between translators, editors, scholars, church musicians, and the communities of St Vladimir's Seminary and St Tikhon's Monastery. The goal for this project was to find a translational register that was both accurate to the original and, at the same time, felt familiar within the liturgical context in which it would be read and sung. Though grounded in a fresh translation from the original Greek Septuagint—that is, not simply a re-working of an existing English text—this translation aligns whenever possible with the existing monuments of English translations of the Psalms.

In addition to the Psalms, divided into their twenty kathismas, The Holy Psalter also includes many additional resources including: selected texts from the Holy Fathers on the Psalms, the Biblical Canticles, various hymns and prayers to accompany the reading of the Psalter, a list of Psalms according to theme, and a separate composite for the Six Psalms.

Smyth sewn and cloth bound, the book measures 6" x 9"

Second printing. Now with three marking ribbons.
Printed in Wales by Gomer Press.

Also available on Audible by clicking here