Let Us Attend: A Journey Through the Orthodox Divine Liturgy Paperback May 10, 2007

by Lawrence R. Farley

Let Us Attend! A Journey Through the Orthodox Divine Liturgy is a guide to understanding the Divine Liturgy, and a vibrant reminder of the centrality of the Eucharist in living the Christian life. Every Sunday morning we are literally taken on a journey into the Kingdom of God. Fr. Lawrence guides everyday believers in a devotional and historical walk through the Orthodox liturgy. Examining the Liturgy section by section, he proves both historical explanations of how the liturgy evolved, and devotional insights aimed at helping us pray the liturgy in the way the Fathers intended. In better understanding the depth of the Liturgy's meaning and purpose, we can pray it properly. If you would like a deeper understanding of your Sunday morning experience so that you can draw closer to God, then this book is for you.

Genres: Nonfiction, Christian, Religion, Theology, Christianity, Spirituality

Paperback

First published April 25, 2007

About the author

Father Lawrence, born in 1954, completed his M. Div. at Wycliffe College, Toronto School of Theology in 1979. After 6 years in pastoral ministry with the Anglican Church of Canada, he entered the Orthodox Church and completed a Certificate program at St. Tikhon’s Seminary in Pennsylvania and was ordained to the priesthood in 1986. Since 1987 he has served as the pastor St. Herman of Alaska Church in Langley BC, a missionary parish of the OCA (Archdiocese of Canada) founded by local laity, which has since grown to attain regular parish status and purchased its own building. Several priests, deacons, and lay members of new missions have emerged from the membership of St. Herman’s. Fr. Lawrence is the author of the Orthodox Bible Study Companion Series from Conciliar Press, and of a number of other books and articles, and appears in regular weekday podcasts on Ancient Faith Radio. He lives in Surrey B.C. with his family.

Reviews

[Dr. Brian Keen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exceptional for catechumen training.

[Martha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informative yet personal—Ft. Lawrence Farley writes in beautiful words which reveal the profundity of each moving part and moment in the Orthodox Divine Liturgy and how it has been shaped by the Church over the ages.

As a newly Illumined Orthodox Christian, this book opened my eyes to many of the small details and historical origins of each part of the Divine Liturgy.

[Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book would have been great when I first converted to Orthodoxy. It answers all the Why questions I had. Why do we do this? Why do tha? What is the history behind that? A dry read but very informative.

[Tracey · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Let Us Attend” is a book which explained the practices and routines of a Christian Orthodox Church service, Divine Liturgy. The explains all parts of the Sunday liturgy. This is a great resource for those seeking to understand the Christian Orthodox Church service

[Ted · Rating 2 out of 5]

OK as a book, standard Orthodox information.

[Anna Schultz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mycket bra läsning för alla katekumener.

[Steve Bedford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative, short introduction.

[Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

LET US ATTEND: A Journey through the Orthodox Divine Liturgy is a series of meditations by Fr Lawrence Farley on the meaning of the Sunday liturgy, meant to orientate Orthodox Christians in its structure and better appreciate its rich symbolism. It does work fairly well in raising the mind of the believer to better appreciate the presence of Christ and the role of laymen and clergy alike in Orthodox worship, instead of some arcane and impenetrable weekly obligation.

I cannot be too positive about the book, however. The typesetting of this book is quite amateur, with a design that is difficult in the eyes and even, on at least one page, cuts off the text in mid-sentence. Some editing would remove passages that go on for more than is necessarily. The combination of serious explanation of the liturgy and folksy storytelling is one I found jarring.

And this is essentially a book of historic trivia, not an academic treatise. Therefore, anyone wanting a rigourous history of the development of the liturgy should look to Hugh Wybrew's THE ORTHODOX LITURGY, which is not perfect but certainly beats most options.

Nonetheless, for the individual Orthodox Christian looking to get more out of the liturgy, Fr Lawrence's book may be worth picking up.

[Debbi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative & simple to read book on the Orthodox liturgy. Includes historical background as well as devotional/scriptural insight into each part of the liturgy.

Great book for those of us who don't want to wade through Dix's Shape of the Liturgy

[Mimi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A read-aloud with my youngest son in the morning. I've read this one before, and we taught out of it for Church School a couple of years ago. I cannot rave enough about it - an excellent exposition of the Liturgy, the meaning, the historical development, and the prayers.

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

A historical and pastoral analysis of the Divine Liturgy

[Henry Tanaka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing introductiom to the Orthodox Divine Liturgy! A must-read for all the catechumens :)