Orthodox Calendar – This is a wonderful app that defaults to the Julian Calendar. It contains the lives of the saints, fasting regulations, daily tropars and kondaks, and the daily scriptures. For the lives of the saints, it usually shares several saints per day with biographies that are sometimes quite extensive. It contains a wealth of information on the saints, far more than any other app I’ve seen, and is quite enjoyable to read. The calendar is adjustable to select any day of the year (so you can use it even if you’re on the New Calendar, just go forward thirteen days). It utilizes liturgical language for the daily troparia. The only thing it doesn’t include is a built in prayer book. Google Play Store link here, and iTunes app here.
Daily Readings – This app, released by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, is a good app for reading lives of the saints, fasting regulations, daily tropars and kondaks, and daily scripture. The paid version contains a useful glossary full of liturgical words that are good to know. It is a work in progress, and usually there are only one or two saints whose lives you can read about per day. The entries tend to be brief. One useful feature is that it pulls up the applicable prayers for the current time (i.e. at noon it will pull up the sixth hour prayers and meal time prayers). Any section of the built-in prayer book can be accessed at any time. It is based on the New Calendar, but any day of the year can be pulled up. It utilizes modern language for prayers, troparia, etc. It seems to be a little more feature-rich on the iPhone, but can be downloaded for Android here.
Nowadays, I usually skip the apps and go straight to the Orthodox Church in America’s website. It often has lengthy and informative entries for the Lives of the Saints every day. It also has the scripture readings for the day. Have you ever wondered about the parts of Matins and Vespers that vary with every service? The OCA’s site also has a section where you can view and print the “variable” texts for Matins, Vespers, and the Divine Liturgy here. What that means is you won’t have the entire service in the print-out, but you’ll have the parts that aren’t included in the service books.
The Prologue of Ochrid (St. Nikolai Velimirovich) – Unfortunately, this wonderful collection is no longer available online. However, it’s available in a print edition.
Prayer Books
English Orthodox Prayers (free) – This app is a slightly abbreviated version of the Jordanville Prayer Book, which is the one that I mostly use. Therefore I love this app! If I’m traveling, it has all the necessary prayers (morning, evening, pre-communion, etc) and I don’t have to take a prayer book with me. Unfortunately, it is only available for Android.
Orthodox PrayerBook – A simple app that contains several useful features: a great variety of prayers, daily fasting requirements, daily troparia, and it allows one to select from three different diocese (Antiochian, OCA, Greek) for daily variables. It utilizes liturgical language. iTunes only.
Bibles…Oh the Choices!
Holy Bible (RSV) – Fr. Thomas Hopko’s favorite English translation of the Bible was the Revised Standard Version. It has a few issues with Protestant theological leanings, but overall is better than most English translations. This app itself has room for improvement. It does not remember your last chapter read, and bookmarks are not interactive (can’t be clicked). So each time you open it you have to scroll through the menus to find your last book/chapter. It also has ads. But, if you must have the RSV, then here it is: Android only.
The Orthodox Study Bible (NKJV) – I have a hard copy of this Bible, but I have not used the electronic form. In general, it is a good starting place. The commentary seems to focus largely on the differences between Protestant beliefs and Orthodox theology. Those who frequently read patristic commentaries (i.e. Saints Chrysostom, Theophylact, Augustine, etc) will probably find the breadth of commentary in the OSB to be lacking. However, for most people, especially new converts, it is a great starting point. The real jewel is the Septuagint translation of the Old Testament. Unfortunately, the only affordable option is in the iTunes store.
NKJV Bible by Olive Tree – For those who appreciate the NKJV, but don’t need the commentary of the OSB listed above, and don’t want the ads or frustration of the RSV listed above, this app seems to be a good, free alternative. It doesn’t have the full Old Testament like the OSB since it’s a Protestant work, but it is sufficient for studying the New Testament. iTunes link.
Eastern Orthodox Bible (EOB) – For those who are familiar with this, they will find that having the text of this Bible for such a low price is tempting. It is a New Testament that was translated by an Orthodox Christian. Because it was primarily translated by one person (unlike most classical translations that were completed by a team), it has some weaknesses. iTunes store only.
Other Useful Apps
Ancient Faith Radio (AFR) – One of the more popular apps. With it, you can stream music and podcasts. Some of my favorites include Fr. Thomas Hopko’s many podcasts and the Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy podcast by Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick. Google Play store, and the iTunes link.
Orthodox Prayers and Services – One of the most in-depth works I have seen in an app. It contains a library of Bible commentaries, patristic homilies, liturgical services, prayers, saints, and writings of the fathers. I was greatly impressed with it. The catch: it can take several minutes to open and it may crash older, slower devices. I think it downloads the entire library into your device’s memory rather than loading entries as they are selected. The app is a wonderful idea, it just needs to be designed a bit better to make it easier to load. Google Play only.
Orthodox Calendar – This is a wonderful app that defaults to the Julian Calendar. It contains the lives of the saints, fasting regulations, daily tropars and kondaks, and the daily scriptures. For the lives of the saints, it usually shares several saints per day with biographies that are sometimes quite extensive. It contains a wealth of information on the saints, far more than any other app I’ve seen, and is quite enjoyable to read. The calendar is adjustable to select any day of the year (so you can use it even if you’re on the New Calendar, just go forward thirteen days). It utilizes liturgical language for the daily troparia. The only thing it doesn’t include is a built in prayer book. Google Play Store link here, and iTunes app here.
Daily Readings – This app, released by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, is a good app for reading lives of the saints, fasting regulations, daily tropars and kondaks, and daily scripture. The paid version contains a useful glossary full of liturgical words that are good to know. It is a work in progress, and usually there are only one or two saints whose lives you can read about per day. The entries tend to be brief. One useful feature is that it pulls up the applicable prayers for the current time (i.e. at noon it will pull up the sixth hour prayers and meal time prayers). Any section of the built-in prayer book can be accessed at any time. It is based on the New Calendar, but any day of the year can be pulled up. It utilizes modern language for prayers, troparia, etc. It seems to be a little more feature-rich on the iPhone, but can be downloaded for Android here.
Nowadays, I usually skip the apps and go straight to the Orthodox Church in America’s website. It often has lengthy and informative entries for the Lives of the Saints every day. It also has the scripture readings for the day. Have you ever wondered about the parts of Matins and Vespers that vary with every service? The OCA’s site also has a section where you can view and print the “variable” texts for Matins, Vespers, and the Divine Liturgy here. What that means is you won’t have the entire service in the print-out, but you’ll have the parts that aren’t included in the service books.
The Prologue of Ochrid (St. Nikolai Velimirovich) – Unfortunately, this wonderful collection is no longer available online. However, it’s available in a print edition.
English Orthodox Prayers (free) – This app is a slightly abbreviated version of the Jordanville Prayer Book, which is the one that I mostly use. Therefore I love this app! If I’m traveling, it has all the necessary prayers (morning, evening, pre-communion, etc) and I don’t have to take a prayer book with me. Unfortunately, it is only available for Android.
Orthodox PrayerBook – A simple app that contains several useful features: a great variety of prayers, daily fasting requirements, daily troparia, and it allows one to select from three different diocese (Antiochian, OCA, Greek) for daily variables. It utilizes liturgical language. iTunes only.
Holy Bible (RSV) – Fr. Thomas Hopko’s favorite English translation of the Bible was the Revised Standard Version. It has a few issues with Protestant theological leanings, but overall is better than most English translations. This app itself has room for improvement. It does not remember your last chapter read, and bookmarks are not interactive (can’t be clicked). So each time you open it you have to scroll through the menus to find your last book/chapter. It also has ads. But, if you must have the RSV, then here it is: Android only.
The Orthodox Study Bible (NKJV) – I have a hard copy of this Bible, but I have not used the electronic form. In general, it is a good starting place. The commentary seems to focus largely on the differences between Protestant beliefs and Orthodox theology. Those who frequently read patristic commentaries (i.e. Saints Chrysostom, Theophylact, Augustine, etc) will probably find the breadth of commentary in the OSB to be lacking. However, for most people, especially new converts, it is a great starting point. The real jewel is the Septuagint translation of the Old Testament. Unfortunately, the only affordable option is in the iTunes store.
NKJV Bible by Olive Tree – For those who appreciate the NKJV, but don’t need the commentary of the OSB listed above, and don’t want the ads or frustration of the RSV listed above, this app seems to be a good, free alternative. It doesn’t have the full Old Testament like the OSB since it’s a Protestant work, but it is sufficient for studying the New Testament. iTunes link.
Eastern Orthodox Bible (EOB) – For those who are familiar with this, they will find that having the text of this Bible for such a low price is tempting. It is a New Testament that was translated by an Orthodox Christian. Because it was primarily translated by one person (unlike most classical translations that were completed by a team), it has some weaknesses. iTunes store only.
Ancient Faith Radio (AFR) – One of the more popular apps. With it, you can stream music and podcasts. Some of my favorites include Fr. Thomas Hopko’s many podcasts and the Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy podcast by Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick. Google Play store, and the iTunes link.
Orthodox Prayers and Services – One of the most in-depth works I have seen in an app. It contains a library of Bible commentaries, patristic homilies, liturgical services, prayers, saints, and writings of the fathers. I was greatly impressed with it. The catch: it can take several minutes to open and it may crash older, slower devices. I think it downloads the entire library into your device’s memory rather than loading entries as they are selected. The app is a wonderful idea, it just needs to be designed a bit better to make it easier to load. Google Play only.
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