by St. Nikodemos the Hagiorite
Translated by Fr. George Dokos

Series: Orthodox Spirituality

Paperback (December 2010)

ISBN: 978-1-933275-52-9

Price: $12.95 + S&H (USD)

Prayers to Our Lord Jesus Christ by our Ascetic and God-bearing Father Nikodemos the Hagiorite is a beautifully poetic work dedicated to the Name of Jesus and written, according to the Saint, with the express purpose of motivating his readers "to continuously meditate upon and repeat the salvific, most sweet, and joy-producing Name of our Lord Jesus Christ." In reality, it is an Akathist to the Name of Jesus, following the standard pattern of twenty-four stanzas arranged alphabetically according to the Greek alphabet.

A Safeguard for the Soul is a small work divided up into four sections: Meditations, brief Meditations, Examinations, and Readings. It is a very dense but practical section, and was written by the Saint with the intent that his reader would study one brief Meditation per day, hence thirty of them, one for each day of the month. It would seem that the best time for reading these Meditations would be at the very start of the day, since they immediately bring one's mind to ultimate and vital realities, thus setting the proper tone for the day at hand. A veritable Athonite "chicken soup for the soul," this is certainly not a work that falls into the contemporary category of "inspirational" that will make one "feel good," but is rather truly inspired by the Spirit of God since it is concerned with the ultimate salvation of the human person.

ABOUT THE TRANSLATOR

Fr. George Dokos graduated from the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy in 1995 (B.S. Pharm.). In 1999, he received an M.Div. from Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology. In 2010, Fr. Dokos received a Th.D. from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. His dissertation is entitled, The Sacramental Life as the Axis of the Spiritual Life in the Writings of St. Nikodemos the Hagiorite. He has translated three works of St. Nikodemos the Hagiorite: Exomologetarion: A Manual of Confession (2006), Concerning Frequent Communion of the Immaculate Mysteries of Christ (2006), and Confession of Faith (2008), which have all been published by Uncut Mountain Press. Fr. Dokos currently serve as Proistamenos of Sts. Peter & Paul Greek Orthodox Church in Boulder, CO, under Metropolitan Isaiah of Denver. He is married to Christa, with three children: Paraskevi, Nikodimi, and Dimitrios.