The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (1866 page)

, the calling to mind of God, brought about by meditation. Formal and informal prayer both begin and end with
ardas
. Praise is expressed through
kirtan
. Out of all this, petition flows.
Zoroastrianism
There are two main types of Zoroastrian prayer: private and more public liturgies. Every Zoroastrian is expected to recite the
kusti
prayers (
naujote
) at least five times daily having first cleansed himself or herself physically (by washing). The duty of prayer is common to all, high or low, male or female. There is a series of Avestan prayers which each Zoroastrian is expected to learn by heart, the
Yatha Ahu Vairyo
(Pahlavi,
Ahunavar
), thought to have been composed by Zoroaster himself: as the greatest of all Zoroastrian prayers, it can, where necessary, replace all other acts of devotion;
Asem Vohu
in praise of truth or righteousness; the
Yenhe hatam
, in praise of holy beings which is recited at the end of litanies; and the
Airyema ishyo
especially recited at weddings and which will be recited by the saviours at
Frasokereti
.
There are also the formal liturgies performed mainly in a temple, though some are still performed in the home.

 
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Judaism
These are books containing the texts of daily and festival prayers. The book containing regular prayers is known as the
Siddur
. The earliest known Jewish prayer book is the 9th-cent.
Seder Rav Amram
Gaon
. Other famous
siddurim
include the 10th-cent.
Siddur
Sa‘adiah
Gaon
and the 11th-cent.
Ma
zor Vitry
compiled by Sim
ah b. Samuel, a pupil of
Rashi
. The
Ashkenazim
use four types of prayer book:
Ha-Ma
zor ha-Gadol
(
Kol Bo
) containing all the yearly prayers, the
Ma
zor
which contains the prayers for each particular festival, the small
Siddur
for individual use, and the fuller
Ha-Siddur ha-Shalem
. The
Sephardim
use the
Tefillat ha-Hadesh
which contain daily and
Sabbath
prayers,
Mo‘adim
which contain the prayers for the pilgrim festivals
Rosh ha-Shanah
containing
New Year
prayers,
Kippur
for the
Day of Atonement
, and
Ta‘aniyyot
which has prayers for
Av 9
. The
asidim
and the
Progressive
movements have produced their own prayer books reflecting their own customs.
Christianity
See
BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER
;
BREVIARY
;
MISSAL
.

 
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see
BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER
.

 
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