Hymns of the Eastern Church (Illustrated)

John Mason Neale (24 January 1818 - 6 August 1866) was an Anglican priest, scholar and hymn-writer. In 1854 Neale co-founded the Society of Saint Margaret, an order of women in the Church of England dedicated to nursing the sick. Many Anglicans in his day, however, were very suspicious of anything suggestive of Roman Catholicism. He was also the principal founder of the Anglican and Eastern Churches Association, a religious organization founded as the Anglican and Eastern Orthodox Churches Union in 1864.

Neale's most enduring and widely known legacy is probably his contribution to the Christmas repertoire, most notably "Good Christian Men, Rejoice" and his original legendary Boxing Day carol, "Good King Wenceslas". He was also responsible for much of the translation of the Advent hymn "O come, O come, Emmanuel", and his hymn "A Great and Mighty Wonder" (translated from the Greek of St Germanus). Neale also published An Introduction to the History of the Holy Eastern Church (1850, 2 vols); History of the so-called Jansenist Church of Holland (1858); Essays on Liturgiology and Church History (1863); and many other works.

This is a collection of translations of hymns from the Eastern Orthodox church, most written during the height of the Byzantine Empire. Neale includes extensive introductory material and biographies of each hymn writer (most of whom have names beginning with 'S.'--'Saint'). This edition is specially formatted with a Table of Contents and includes illustrations of Neale and more.