“Our desire in publishing the present edition is to nurture souls in a true Orthodox Christian spirit. The material is presented in such a way as to be edifying and to give children and adults an intellectual foundation of support for their faith. While living in an environment which undermines the authority of the Church, The Law of God will supply the reader with support and defence for his beliefs, uncompromised by liberal trends.” —“Introduction to the First English Edition”
CONTENTS
Forward PART I BASIC CONCEPTS 1. The World 2. About God 3. The Attributes of God 4. Prayer 5. Sin 6. The Sign of the Cross 7. Standing and Bows During Prayer 8. Different Types of Prayer 9. When God Hears Our Prayer 10. Where and How We Can Pray to God 11. The Church Building 12. The Priest’s Blessing 13. Icons 14. Why We call Ourselves Orthodox Christians PART II PRAYERS 1. Short Prayers PART III THE SACRED HISTORY OF THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS Introduction to the Sacred History of the Old and New Testaments The Old Testament 1. The Creation of Heaven, the Invisible World 2. The Creation of the Earth, the Visible World 3. How God Created the First People 4. The Life of the First People in Paradise 5. The Fall into Sin 6. The Results of the Fall into Sin and the Promise of a Saviour 7. Discussion of the Fall into Sin 8. Cain and Abel 9. The Flood 10. The Life of Noah and His Children 11. The Building of the Tower of Babel and the Scattering of the Peoples 12. The Appearance of Idolatry 13. Abraham 14. The Appearance of God to Abraham in the Form of Three Strangers 15. The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorah 16. The Offering of Isaac as a Sacrifice 17. The Marriage of Isaac 18. Esau and Jacob 19. Jacob’s Vision of the Mystical Ladder 20. Joseph 21. Joseph in Egypt 22. Joseph’s Meeting with His Brothers and the Moving of Jacob into Egypt with His family 23. The Story of Job the Long-Suffering 24. Moses 25. Pascha (Passover) and the Exodus of the Hebrew People from Egypt 26. The Hebrews Pass Through the Red Sea and other Miracles 27. God Gives the Law on Mt. Sinai 28. The Tabernacle 29. The Forty-Year Wandering of the Hebrew People, the Bronze Serpent 30. The Entry of the Israelites into the Promised land 31. Judges 32. The Story of Ruth 33. Saul, First King of the Israelites 34. King David 35. King Solomon 36. The Division of the Israelite Kingdom into Two: Judah and Israel 37. The Prophets 38. The Downfall of the Israelite Kingdom 39. The Fall of the Babylonian Kingdom 40. The Median-Persian Empire. Prophet Daniel in the Lion’s Den 41. The Return of the Jews from Captivity in Babylon and the Construction of the Second Temple 42. The Greek Empire The Translation of the Books of the Old Testament into Greek 43. The Roman Empire. The Universal Expectation of the Messiah The New Testament 1. The Nativity of the Holy Virgin Mary 2. The Entry into the Temple of the Most-Holy Virgin Mary 3. The Announcement of the Angel about the Birth of the Forerunner 4. The Annunciation to the Holy Virgin Mary 5. The Visit of the Most-Holy Virgin Mary to the Righteous Elizabeth 6. The Nativity of John the Baptist 7. The Nativity of Christ the Saviour 8. The Meeting of the Lord 9. The Flight into Egypt and the Slaying of the Innocents. The Return to Nazareth 10. The Saviour in the Temple as a Youth 11. The Preaching of St. John the Baptist 12. The Baptism of the Lord Jesus Christ 13. The Lord Jesus Christ in the Wilderness and His Temptation by the Devil 14. The Lord Jesus Christ Appears to the People. His First Disciples 15. The First Miracle of Jesus Christ 16. The Merchants are Banished from the Temple 17. The Conversation of Jesus Christ with Nicodemus 18. The Conversation of Jesus Christ with the Woman of Samaria 19. The Healing of the Paralytic at the Pool of Bethesda 20. The Lord Chooses Twelve Apostles 21. The Sermon on the Mount 22. The Power of Faith and the Prayer for Others—The Healing of the Paralytic in Capernaum 23. Parables/The Parable of the Sower 24. The Stilling of the Storm 25. Raising of the Daughter of Jarius 26. The Beheading of St. John the Baptist 27. The Miraculous Feeding of the People with Five Loaves 28. Christ Walking of the Water 29. The Healing of the Daughter of the Canaanite Woman 30. The Confession of Peter. The First Prediction of the Lord about His Forthcoming Suffering, Death and Resurrection 31. The Transfiguration of the Lord 32. The Parable of the Good Samaritan 33. Jesus Christ with Martha and Mary 34. The Saviour Accuses the Pharisees of Sin—Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit. Glorification by Christ of the Mother of God 35. Healing of the Man Born Blind 36. The Parable of the Rich Fool 37. The Parable of the Prodigal Son 38. The Raising of Lazarus 39. The Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem 40. The Parable of the Wicked Tenants 41. The Betrayal by Judas 42. The Mystical (Last) Supper 43. The Prayer of Jesus Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane and His Being Taken Captive 44. The Sanhedrin’s Judgement of Jesus Christ 45. The Apostle Peter’s Denial 46. The Trial of Jesus Christ Before Pilate 47. Pilate’s Last Judgement over Jesus Christ 48. The Crucifixion and Death of Jesus Christ 49. The Taking Down from the Cross and Burial of the Saviour 50. The Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ 51. The Appearance of the Risen Jesus Christ to Two Disciples on the Road to Emmaus 52. The Appearance of the Lord to All the Apostles and the other Disciples, except the Apostle Thomas 53. The Appearance of the Lord to the Apostle Thomas and the Other Apostles 54. The Ascension of the Lord 55. The Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles 56. The Life of the First Christians 57. Persecution of the Christians by the Jews—The First Martyr St. Stephen 58. The Dormition of the Mother of God 59. The Apostolic Council in Jerusalem 60. A Short Summary of the Preaching and Lives of the Holy Apostles 61. The Worldwide Persecution of Christians. The Destruction of Jerusalem 62. The End of Persecution. The Elevation of the Cross of the Lord 63. New Enemies of Christianity 64. The Ecumenical Councils 65. The Fall of the Roman Church. The Enlightenment of the Slavs PART IV CHRISTIAN FAITH AND LIFE 1. The Purpose of Man 2. Supernatural Divine Revelation. Holy Tradition and Holy Scripture 3. Short Summaries of the Ecumenical Councils 4. The Christian Faith 5. Christian Life 6. The Ten Commandments of God’s Law 7. The Nine Beatitudes 8. Contemporary Teachings and Faith in God PART V THE DIVINE SERVICES OF THE ORTHODOX CHURCH 1. The Concept of Serving God, Divine Services 2. The Church Building and its Arrangement 3. The Clergy and Their Sacred Vestments 4. The Order of Divine Services 5. Divine Service Books 6. Reflections on the Major Services. The Various Liturgies and Their Basic Rubrics 7. The Divine Liturgy 8. The Most Important Actions During the Serving of the Mysteries, and Reflections on Their Significance 9. Great Lent 10. The Sundays of Great Lent, Their Significance and Basic Rubrics 11. The Feast of Pascha, the Radiant Resurrection of Christ 12. Concerning Monasticism and Monasteries 13. Bells and Russian Orthodox Peals
Item Number: BKJ272C Publication data: Jordanville, NY: Holy Trinity Monastery, 1996 Format: hardcover Number of pages: xvi + 635 Dimensions (l × w × h): 23.8 cm × 16.0 cm × 4.0 cm Additional information: black-and-white illustrations ISBN: 0‒88465‒044‒8
