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Folks,

From a Byz. Catholic standpoint, is the Book of Needs a valid text for prayer? I am considering purchasing it.

You have to be more specific in your question. Are you asking if the "Book of Needs" is a book for the laity? What is your purpose for wanting to use it? It is a book of specific blessings used publicly by priests and bishops.

Ray

If you are asking if the Trebnik/Book of Needs is used by Greek Catholics, it certainly is. There is the very nice four-volume set published by St. Tikhon's in English. There are also still some English translations of the Slavonic Rome edition floating around from the "St. Joseph's Institute" set of books by Fr. Shary. There are several nice versions in Ukrainian. As Ray has pointed out, these are books of blessings for the priest.

Thank you!!

What does mean?

On a practical note, there are innumerable editions of the Book of Needs. Most priests have a selection of them for various purposes.

Fr. Serge

Our priest said that we can take the book of needs and then adapt them for lay use.

Father said that he does this whenever he is asked to give a blessing at non-Orthodox function. For example, the dedication of a public building. He will take a prayer, and insert a prayer intention into an already existing prayer.

He is not asked very often to offer prayers as some politicians cringe whenever the name of Christ, Lord, Son and Father are mentioned. Furthermore, he does not want to amend prayers to take out the mention of the Holy Trinity as that would be denying Christ.

Once, he took a prayer out of the book of needs, then added a specific prayer for a public event, and submitted it to the review committee. The politicians rejected it as politically incorrect.

Sheesh!

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Dear Fathers:

There are certain phrases within the book of prayers that are reserved for the clergy only.

I understand that we are not to say the doxology at the end of the Lord's Prayer, "For Thine is the Kingdom ..."

Are their any other prayers that are reserved for the clergy, and if so, could you kindly list the substitutions that are allowed?

Respectfully in Christ,
Elizabeth

I meant "valid" purely from a Byzantine Catholic standpoint, and not Orthodox. That is all. Thanks again.

how exactly do you define 'valid'?

Elizabeth Maria:

Christ is Risen!! Indeed He is Risen!!

I don't know about the Book of Needs, nor do I claim to any extensive knowledge of Orthodox or Byzantine Catholic practice concerning the Book of Needs. That being said, I have three orthodox prayerbooks that print this particular doxology at the end of the Our Fatherwith a corss printed just before ". . . of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit . . ." I understood that these were used by everyone, laymen included, in daily prayer--morning and evening. I know that if one is serving as a reader then one stops and allows the priest to take this doxology during public worship. But I was unaware that one does not pray it privately.

Could we have some clarification from the Reverend clergy who post here?

In Christ,

BOB

X. B! (Christ is risen!)
C. I. X! (Glory to Jesus Christ)

What exactly defines Byzantine Catholic prayer from Orthodox prayer?

There is no difference, nor should there be. One may occasionally find an extra or different prayer (or one less) in a Ruthenian liturgical book but that is similar to the fact that sometimes you will find a specific prayer in a Greek edition and not in Russian one (or vice versa).

In practice, Slavonic editions of the Book of Needs have much more material than Greek editions.

Fr. Serge

Dear Bob,

I used to have the paperback Melkite prayerbook, A Book of Prayers, where it listed all the changes to be made in a reader's service without a priest. These changes were noted on a page in the back of the little yellow book. Unfortunately, my little book fell apart from constant use (even as an Orthodox Christian) and I no longer have it.

Would any Melkites here possess a copy of this book?
And would they be willing to share that information?

Thanks
Elizabeth