Fr. Serhii Barshai, member of the Sophia Brotherhood
At the Stauropegion of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Ukraine (located at the St. Andrew’s Church in Kyiv), a presentation was held for the new Orthodox Prayer Book of the Kyiv recension. The book was published with the blessing of Bishop Mykhailo of Komana, the Exarch of the Ecumenical Patriarch in Ukraine, by the Dukh i Litera Publishing House. The compiler and editor of the volume is Ihor Dziuba.
In his welcome address, Bishop Mykhailo noted that the publication of this new Prayer Book is another important step toward preserving our history and spiritual heritage. For some, it may serve as a bridge to praying in modern Ukrainian.
In preparing the Prayer Book, the editors used as sources scans of original Church Slavonic texts of the Kyiv recension, the 1968 Orthodox Prayer Book published by the Exarch of All Ukraine and Metropolitan of Kyiv and Galicia, as well as the 2019 Orthodox Prayer Book.
According to the editors, the goal of this prayer book is to provide Ukrainian Orthodox believers the opportunity to read familiar prayers in a form closer to contemporary Ukrainian pronunciation. The Ukrainian articulation of Church Slavonic has been preserved in an unbroken tradition since the time of Kyivan Rus’, especially in regions such as Halychyna, Volyn, Zakarpattia, and until recently, Bukovyna.
The publishers emphasize that this collection of prayers preserves the traditional content and accentuation of Church Slavonic texts as they are used in current liturgical practice. The Prayer Book is primarily intended for Ukrainian Orthodox believers who regularly pray in Church Slavonic but wish to do so with Ukrainian pronunciation.
The book’s layout features two custom fonts (“solemn” and italic), created specifically for this edition by Kyiv-based designer Oleksii Chekal. The design incorporates stylistic elements from the 16th–17th century publications of the Kyiv-Pechersk and Pochaiv Lavras.
The compiler expresses his gratitude to all who contributed to the creation of this volume, especially to the Sophia Brotherhood and personally to its director, Archpriest Serhii Prokopchuk, for their diverse support and assistance.
