Service books of the Church
If anyone wishes to recite or to follow the public services of the Church of England, then (in theory, at any rate) two volumes will be sufficient — the Bible and the Book of Common Prayer; similarly in the Roman Catholic Church he requires only two books — the Missal and the Breviary; but in the Orthodox Church, such is the complexity of the services that he will need a small library of some nineteen or twenty substantial tomes. ‘On a moderate computation,’ remarked J. M. Neale of the Orthodox Service Books, ‘these volumes together comprise 5,000 closely printed quarto pages, in double columns‘ (Hymns of the Eastern Church, third edition, London, 1866, p. 52). Yet these books, at first sight so unwieldy, are one of the greatest treasures of the Orthodox Church.( Bishop Kallistos Ware)
Gospel
The Gospel is the Word of God. It consists of the first four books of the New Testament, written by the Evangelists Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The Gospels contain an account of the earthly life of our Lord Jesus Christ: His teaching, His miracles, His Passion and Death on the Cross, His glorious Resurrection and His Ascension into heaven. At the end of an altar Gospel book, several tables indicate the portions read on various days throughout the church year.
Epistles
The book of the Epistles, or Apostle, contains the following books of the New Testament: the Acts of the Apostles, the Catholic or General epistles and the epistles of the Apostle Paul. The Epistle book excludes only the book of Revelation. Like the Gospel, the Epistle is divided into sections with tables at the back of the book, indicating when and how they are to be read.
Psalter
The Psalter is the book of David, the King and Prophet. It is so termed because the majority of the psalms in it were written by the holy Prophet David. In these psalms, the holy Prophet opens his soul to God, with grief in repenting for the sins he has committed, and with joy in glorifying the endless perfection of God. He expresses gratitude for all the mercies of His care; he seeks help amidst all the obstacles that confront him. For this reason the Psalter is used more than any other service book during the course of the services. For liturgical use the Psalter is divided into twenty sections called kathismata (derived from the Greek word “to sit,” as it is customary to sit while they are being read.)
Priest’s Service Book
The Priest’s Service Book is used by priests and deacons. It contains the order of Vespers, Matins and the Liturgy, emphasizing the parts said by those serving. At the end of the book are found the dismissals, prokeimena, megalynaria and a menologion (a list of saints commemorated daily by the Church.)
Horologion
The Horologion is the book which serves as the basic guide for readers and chanters in the choir. It contains the unchanging parts of all the daily services.
Book of Needs
The Book of Needs includes the order of service for the various Sacraments. Other services found in the Book of Needs are the Burial Service, the Blessing of Water, the Prayers at the Birth of a Child, the Naming of a Child and his Churching, as well as blessings for other occasions.
Octoechos
The Octoechos, or Book of the Eight Tones, contains poetic hymns, in the form of troparia, kontakia, canons, and so forth. They are divided into eight groups of melodies, or tones. Each tone contains the hymnody for an entire week, so that the complete Octoechos is repeated every eight weeks throughout most of the year. The arrangement of ecclesiastical chanting in tones was the work of the famous hymnographer of the Byzantine Church, St. John of Damascus (eighth century).
Monthly Menaion (12 books)
The Monthly Menaion contains the prayers and hymns in honor of the saints for each day of the year, as well as the solemn festival services for the feasts of the Lord and the Theotokos which fall on fixed calendar dates. Following the number of months, it is divided into twelve volumes.
Lenten Triodion
The Lenten Triodion contains the special parts of the services for the season of Lent and leading up to Pascha, beginning with the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee. The Lenten Triodion derives its name from the Greek word meaning “three odes,” since the Canon of Matins is based on only three of the scriptural odes or canticles, instead of the usual nine.
Pentecostarion
The Pentecostarion contains the hymnography used from the feast of Holy Pascha through the first Sunday after Pentecost, the Sunday of All Saints.
Prophetologion
The Prophetologion is a text that contains the Old Testament Lectionary readings appointed at Vespers, and at other services during the Church year.
Typicon
(Rubrics) The Typicon contains instructions about the order of the various church services and ceremonies in the form of a perpetual calendar. In monastery usage, the typikon of the monastery includes both the rule of life of the community and the rule of prayer.