The grace, splendor, dignity, history, culture, theology of Byzantine civilization.

Byzantine Church and Culture

Archbishop Joseph Raya

Madonna House Pubns

Christmas: Birth of Our Lord God and Saviour, Jesus Christ The events of Christs early life as we encounter them in the scriptures, gaze upon their icons, and study the history of their celebration in the liturgy. When we accept the person of Jesus Christ and receive his self-revelation, the whole wealth and beauty of God become ours. We are thus raised high above our own limitations to the light and life of God.

Christmas: Birth of Our Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ and His Private Life

Religion & Spirituality

An engaging introduction to the spirituality of the Eastern Churches. The Eyes of the Gospel is Archbishop Joseph Raya's heartfelt, passionate song of love for God, and for the Byzantine way of life in Christ. God, he writes, is himself a celebration. Consequently, all of creation man, animals, organic and inorganic life each at its own level is also a celebration. That crystalline insight becomes for Archbishop Raya a springboard for a moving series of meditations on Byzantine spirituality, which he uses as a glorious prism through which to view anew the beauty of life, of love, of the covenants God made with mankind in order to accomplish our salvation, and much more. This wide-ranging series of reflections explores among many other topics the Byzantine Liturgy, the Sacred Mysteries, the Incarnation, the Holy Eucharist, and the mystery of the Church. Each page is suffused with Archbishop Raya's remarkable zeal and exuberant love for the Lord, making The Eyes of the Gospel not just a celebration of Byzantine spirituality, but of the Christian life in general.

The Eyes of the Gospel

The immense, incomprehensible tenderness of God is communicated in this reflection on the spirituality of the Incarnation. Part One looks at Eastern insights on the first incarnation Jesus Christ, the Word of God, taking on our human flesh. Part Two explores the second incarnation, the loving, divine presence in the Gospel, the Liturgy, and in our lives as God divinizes us.

Abundance of Love: The Incarnation and Byzantine Tradition

The Acathist hymn to the Name of Jesus, prayed standing, was first composed in the ninth century. In this presentation in English by Archbishop Raya, he seeks to calm the inner motions of [the] body and free [the] soul to rise and soar and find what [the] heart sighs for. This prayer can be recited in a parish, or individually by those who seek a most intimate relation with the Lord Jesus. The Archbishop introduces the prayer with instructions for how to pray it.

Acathist Hymn Office of Praise to the Name of Jesus

Christian Books & Bibles

This Hymn to the Mother of God was probably composed in the year 532. It is to the Byzantine Church what the Rosary and Litanies of the Blessed Mother are to the Latin rite. In the Oriental Church, there is no better prayer expressing love and veneration for Mary. We praise her in all the figures under which she has been represented in the Scriptures. This hymn always brings us back to the theological truth that Mary is great because she is the Mother of God. The text presented here by Archbishop Raya is suitable either for recitation in a parish church or for reading as a private devotion.

Acathist Hymn In Honor of the Mother of God

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Archbishop Joseph Raya. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Archbishop Joseph Raya

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Archbishop Joseph Raya. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Byzantine Church and Culture

Christmas: Birth of Our Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ and His Private Life

The Eyes of the Gospel

Byzantine Church and Culture

Abundance of Love: The Incarnation and Byzantine Tradition

Acathist Hymn Office of Praise to the Name of Jesus

Acathist Hymn In Honor of the Mother of God