In The Book of Common Prayer of the Syrian Church, Bede Griffiths, a monk of the Kurisumala Ashram in Kerala, India, presents a rich tradition of biblically based theology articulated through "a wealth of poetic beauty which has never been equaled." Providing an English translation of the daily prayers based on the West Syrian liturgy and approved for use in the Syrian Orthodox and the Catholic Syro-Malankara Churches of South India, Griffiths carefully attends to the rich complexity of the Syriac liturgical tradition. The result is unparalleled access to a distinctively Asian tradition of Christian prayer and theology, prayer and practice, suffused with awe and wonder before the divine mysteries. Originally printed in India, and available only in very limited circulation, Gorgias Press is pleased to introduce Western and worldwide audiences to this rare treasure of the Christian East, presenting Bede Griffiths' The Book of Common Prayer of the Syrian Church to a wide English-language readership of students, scholars, clergy, and laity.
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Father,what's your opinion of the translation of the common prayer by Rev.Dale.A.Johnson(titled"Daily prayers from the language of Jesus")?Which book more closely resembles the original Schema prayers,the one by Rev.Johnson(available on Lulu books) or by Rev.Griffiths?
I am not an expert on the texts, but for what help it may be my understanding is as follows....
"Daily Prayers from the Language of Jesus", Trans. Dale A Johnson, is a modern language digest of the Western Syrian Hours (see Lulu page via goo.gl/6aN5f).
"East Syrian Daily Offices" Trans. Arthur J. Maclean, (see Lulu page via http://goo.gl/2iOZ7), as the title says is from the East Syrian Hours and appears to be a full translation with a glossary etc. I was published in 1874 and so will, no doubt, be in slightly old fashioned English, (perhaps pseudo-King James Bible). This would probably be more useful for study purposes.
Bede Griffiths perhaps made use of the above 1874 book for reference during his translation work. I very much expect that his version is in modern English, will be complete and aimed primarily for those wishing to use it for daily prayer. Although Bede Griffiths was a Roman Catholic Benedictine monk, I expect his translation will be an accurate one, properly reflecting the original. It will also be a work that has itself been steeped in prayer.
I must say that my only sadness about Bede Griffiths book, is that it is so expensive. I realise that it has a lot of pages and a limited readership, but its price, even with the discount offered, means that many who would otherwise benefit from it, will be unable to buy a copy. I very much hope that some way will be found to make it available at a much cheaper price in the future. As I expect this is quite a heavy book, I also feel that a smaller sized edition printed on thin Bible paper would also be very helpful, especially for clergy and others who are out and about a lot, not always able to pray it at home or in church. For this last reason "Daily Prayers from the Language of Jesus" may be a useful subtitute for the time being.
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