The hymns of the Orthodox Church encompass its teachings, its doctrines, the spirit of sacrifice, asceticism, philanthropy, repentance, and so on; they are not only doxological but also directly educational; they are the treasures of the Spirit.

This work is an attempt to find an aesthetic bridge between the ancient language and its living daughter, with the noble ambition to win the hearts of the hesitant. This bridge is the preservation of the same verse in the translation, maintaining the same number of syllables and the same accentuation, seemingly impossible, but achievable with the tools of Divine Enlightenment and knowledge of the language.

(from the book's introduction)