There are lots of little facts and explanations in the sidebars that make it a rich reference source on the All-Night Vigil, the Divine Liturgy, and the calendar cycles that intertwine to affect the order of these services. This makes it ideal for everyone from newcomers to Orthodoxy, to experienced Orthodox Christians expanding their own knowledge of their faith, to those trying to teach Ustav to others.

This First Edition is a work in progress (over 600 copies have been sold to date, ed.). The Liturgy section needs to be completed, and some of the formatting needs to be tweaked. When completed, a Second Edition will be released. A Supplement to the First Edition will then be available to those who invested in the First Edition to make it equivalent to the Second Edition. I was urged by many who previewed this book to release it in its present form rather than wait until it is completed.

This book started out as an extensive handout for a lecture at the 1998 St. Herman's Youth Conference, and due to enthusiastic feedback very quickly turned into a full-scale project. This lecture has been sought out and repeated at five Church Musician Conferences since December of 1998. The Synodal Liturgical Music Commission under Metropolitan Laurus has given this book an enthusiastic reception and an initial verbal recommendation and will be officially reviewing (and, God willing, officially blessing) it in the near future.  (January, 2007)