Eukhologion

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A liturgical book used in Eastern Orthodox churches that contains the prayers and services for the daily offices and sacraments
2. The prayer book of the Byzantine Orthodox Church, gathering the rites, hymns and services used throughout the liturgical year
3. A service book in Greek Orthodox tradition that holds the set prayers, litanies and ceremonies used in worship

Etymology: Eukhologion is a Byzantine Greek liturgical book, the service book that gathers the prayers and rites a priest needs for the sacraments and daily offices. Its name comes from Greek "euchologion," built from "euchē," meaning "prayer" or "vow," and "logion," a diminutive-style suffix tied to "logos," so the title roughly means "little book of prayers." The spelling with "kh" follows the Greek letter chi, which is transliterated "ch" in most English scholarship, so readers will also meet it as "euchologion." The word entered English as a technical term used by specialists in Eastern Christian liturgy, not through everyday speech. Its use in English is therefore confined to scholarship and church studies, and its meaning has stayed fixed on the book itself rather than drifting into broader senses.

Synonyms: euchologion