The Great Canon: The Work of St. Andrew of Crete

by Andrew of Crete, Holy Trinity Monastery (Editor), Kallistos Ware (Translator)

This is the classic canon of repentance, chanted in parts over the first four days of the Lenten Fast and in its entirety on the Thursday of the fifth week. The full text of the life of our Holy Mother Mary of Egypt is also given, as read liturgically during Matins on the Thursday of the fifth week. Traditional English translation. This second edition uses the translation of Bishop Kallistos Ware and Mother Mary for the canon text. The Canon of St Andrew of Crete is a treasure from the Lenten worship services of the Orthodox Christian Church.

Genres: Religion, Christianity

96 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 710

About the author

Saint Andrew of Crete (Greek: Ἀνδρέας Κρήτης, c. 650 – July 4, 712 or 726 or 740), also known as Andrew of Jerusalem, was an 8th-century bishop, theologian, homilist and hymnographer. He is venerated as a saint by Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Christians.

Reviews

[Dimitris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ένα αριστούργημα και μια ακόμη πιο αριστουργηματική έκδοση με αντίστοιχη νεοελληνική απόδοση και εκατοντάδες αναλύσεις.

[Christian Proano · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful hymn of repentance.
Deep, deep, deep, and long but an amazing journey throughout the Bible, teaching us to repent by observing the examples in the Bible and calling us to faith and action.
It works as an amazing summarized commentary of biblical passages while focusing the wording toward our repentance.

[Jesse · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the greatest works of repentance

[Confused Hamburger · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had to do 1000 prostrations because of this book!!!!! Very tiring!!!! My legs are like burning flames
>:(

[Ioja Cris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Modul în care Sfântul Andrei Criteanu își " plânge " greșeala este magistral.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is made up of two very different sections. The Canon of St. Andrew and a biography of St. Mary of Egypt.

For many historical religious texts, the supporting sections (introduction, author's note, prologue, epilogue etc.) are often more meaningful to the reader than the actual text. I found this to be true for The Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete. The Canon itself is liturgical in nature and its subject is extreme repentance. The symbolic nature of the Canon would be lost completely on most people without the supporting notes. Even with the supporting notes I found it to be difficult to grasp. The impression it left on me is "EXTREME".

Just as extreme but in a different sense is the biography on the Life of St. Mary of Egypt. If you are orthodox you already know the basic story of St. Mary of Egypt. Reading this book you will finally know the full story along with the explanation of how the story came to its present form along with the acknowledgment of variations due to its oral history. Nonetheless, the meaning of the story is emphasized and regardless of the ACTUAL story, it full of meaning.

[Tom Schmdit · Rating 5 out of 5]

While Lent can be long and grueling, yet rewarding, this Canon encapsulates that. A beautiful prayer that takes one from humbly going over how our actions are worse than many in history, through a joyful recollection that we are children of a loving God. My favorite Lenten services and what I refer to as "Orthodox crossfit".