The Return of the Spiritual Psalter

It must have been Holy Week 2021 when, browsing the bookstore shelves of St. Jonah’s Orthodox Church in Spring, Texas, I stumbled upon The Spiritual Psalter, or Reflections on God, by St. Ephraim the Syrian, for the first time. A small, beautifully adorned book, bound in blue leather with gilded edges, it would become a close companion of mine from that moment on.

I came to love this little book so much that I wanted to buy copies for several friends. But there was a problem: it was out of print. While occasionally found in parish bookstores, copies online were selling for four hundred, six hundred, even as high as a thousand dollars! Thankfully, this situation did not last long. Damascene Press has since produced a new edition of The Spiritual Psalter, which promises to be the beginning of a fruitful series of publications.

Damascene Press has released three distinct versions of the Psalter: a paperback, an imitation leather hardcover, and a genuine leather Benefactors Edition. I ordered the hardcover— since it most closely resembles the earlier Saint John of Kronstadt Press (SJKP) editions — and Damascene Press graciously included a paperback copy for review as well.

Construction

The book itself is, like its predecessors, beautifully bound. The brown imitation leather and rounded corners mirror the original 1997 SJKP edition. It’s about a half-inch wider than previous editions, though this is mostly due to the outer cover, which offers better protection for the gilded edges. If you’re like me and put lots of little page flags on important prayers, this is actually a nice feature. The binding is of high quality and will hold up to regular use. The marker ribbon is a thoughtful touch — though I wouldn’t mind one or two more.

The back cover bears the handsome Damascene Press logo embossed in gold. Compared to the SJKP editions, the ornamentation here is simpler and less “busy,” which makes it easier to spot among the many similarly sized reddish-brown prayer books on a prayer corner shelf.

The paper is a soft cream color, which is gentler on the eyes than the bright white of the earlier editions. Like the cover, the pages are also more simply decorated: whereas the SJKP editions had extensive ornamentation — borders, drawings, and so on — the Damascene edition limits itself to an embellished first letter of each prayer and a border at the end of each kathisma.

When I heard they were producing a paperback, my initial thought was, “But why?” In my mind, it would always be worth spending an extra fifteen dollars for the hardcover with gilded edges. But after handling the paperback, I was impressed. The paper is the same quality as the hardcover, and the overall construction is solid. In retrospect, I may have been too quick to judge. I’m thankful they produced this version — it makes the text accessible to a wider audience.

I haven’t handled the Benefactors Edition in person, but it features a dark green genuine leather cover and helps fund Damascene’s upcoming hardcover edition of the Lambertsen translation of the Slavonic Octoechos. I, for one, am thrilled they’re moving forward with that project — it was the first thing I asked about when I contacted them by email — and I believe it’s a worthy investment for anyone looking to support the Church.

Content

So, what is The Spiritual Psalter?

I’m glad you asked.

The Spiritual Psalter is a collection of prayers by St. Ephraim the Syrian — who, along with St. Romanos and others, is often called a “New David” for the beauty and theological depth of his prayers and hymnography. The Psalter is not arranged by St. Ephraim himself but by St. Theophan the Recluse, a great 19th-century Russian ascetic and spiritual writer.

As described in the introduction, The Spiritual Psalter was a labor of love for St. Theophan, who believed it would be of immense spiritual benefit to the Orthodox people of Russia. His publisher, it seems from his letters, was initially skeptical, but was won over by St. Theophan’s persistence and the power of the finished product. For this, we should all be grateful.

St. Theophan arranged the 150 prayers into kathismata, each further divided into three stases. “At the beginning of every section,” he writes, “there is a work on dogma, and every section closes with moral teachings: ‘Life’s Lessons.’” This structure makes the Psalter a powerful tool for spiritual formation — whether used in prayer or as devotional reading.

The text offers prayers for every need and occasion, and these quickly become personal favorites marked for frequent use. One example is the 95th prayer:

A Morning Song
“Praise God in the morning, ye children of the Church. Every morning let us exalt the Good One and worship Him, Who arranged the luminaries in the day and night skies.
When the veil of night is lifted and God’s light has shone forth over creation, the arrival of morning wakes those who sleep. May Thy light, O Lord, irradiate our hearts.
O our Lord, teach us Thyself to exalt Thee and put life in our souls. As Thou hast led us out of darkness, so also deliver us from Gehenna.
According to Thy mercy, nourish the children of the Church, who have cleaved themselves unto Thee. May Thy loving-kindness be our helper, O Lord of the morning and the evening.
May Thy grace, O Lord, accompany us and lead us to the great morning. May Thy generous right hand shower us with blessings and bring us across the sea of fire.
May heaven and earth and all that is within them together exalt Thee at our return.
Exaltation to Thee, to the Father Whom we worship, to Thine Only-begotten Son, and to the Holy Spirit.” (pp. 163–164)

Always close to St. Ephraim’s heart is the remembrance of death and the urgent need for God’s mercy. Many of the prayers are penitential and vividly portray the soul’s journey after death and its encounter with the demonic powers (ie., the toll houses):

“In a short time we shall pass through terrible and fearful places, and there is no one here who can avoid walking this path. There will be no one there to accompany and assist us: neither parents, nor brethren, nor friends, nor relatives, nor wealth, nor any other such thing.
If at that very hour we find ourselves stripped of God’s protection, the princes of darkness shall certainly hold us back. They are unyielding and merciless; they fear not kings, nor do they respect masters; they honor neither the small nor the great. Only from those who live in piety do they withdraw in fear, allowing them free passage.” (pp. 167–168)

And again:

“Be merciful to me, O Master of all, that my soul might not behold the lurid glance of the cunning demons, but may it be received by Thy pure and radiant angels.
Give glory to Thy holy name, and by Thy strength raise me up to Thy divine throne.
When I am judged, may the hand of the prince of this world not seize me and drag me, a sinner, away to the depths of hell. But protect me and be my defender.” (p. 46)

Conclusion

The Spiritual Psalter is a treasury of spiritual riches. Its dogmatic teachings, moral exhortations, penitential prayers, and joyful doxologies are woven together into a single tapestry glorifying God. Only by drinking from the pure waters of patristic piety that flow so effortlessly from the pen of St. Ephraim can one truly understand why this little volume once fetched $600 or more while out of print.

Thanks to Damascene Press, it’s now available for as little as twenty dollars.

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