Orthodox Book of Prayer

Before the advent of printing, prayer books were written by hand and often richly decorated with initials and miniature illustrations telling the stories in the lives of Christ, the saints or events from the Bible. Because of the cost involved, such prayer books were usually only used by clergy, monastics or the wealthy. With the invention of the printing press, prayer books became accessible to the average lay person and have since become an important aspect of Orthodox piety and prayer life.