AUTHORS 18 AUTHORS

Authors

The historical authors of the prayers in this collection, listed in chronological order. Where attribution is disputed or traditional, the relevant prayer page documents the scholarly view.

Ephrem the Syrian
c. 306-373 AD · Syriac deacon and hymnographer whose Lenten Prayer is central to Orthodox devotion.
1 prayer
Niceta of Remesiana
c. 335-414 AD · 4th-century bishop and probable author of the Te Deum.
1 prayer
John Chrysostom
c. 347-407 AD · Archbishop of Constantinople and one of the great preachers of the early Greek Church.
2 prayers
Augustine of Hippo
354-430 AD · North African bishop and theologian whose Confessions established the spiritual autobiography as a Christian form.
1 prayer
Patrick of Ireland
c. 387-461 AD · 5th-century missionary bishop and traditional author of the Lorica.
1 prayer
Romanos the Melodist
c. 490-556 AD · Byzantine hymnographer and traditional author of the Akathist to the Theotokos.
1 prayer
Hermann of Reichenau
1013-1054 · 11th-century Benedictine monk and traditional author of the Salve Regina.
1 prayer
Anselm of Canterbury
1033-1109 · Benedictine monk, Archbishop of Canterbury, and father of scholastic theology.
1 prayer
Francis of Assisi
1181-1226 · Founder of the Franciscan order and traditional (but disputed) namesake of the Prayer for Peace.
1 prayer
Thomas a Kempis
c. 1380-1471 · Augustinian monk whose Imitation of Christ is the second-most-translated Christian book after the Bible.
1 prayer
Martin Luther
1483-1546 · German reformer whose Small Catechism reshaped daily Christian prayer in the home.
3 prayers
Thomas Cranmer
1489-1556 · Archbishop of Canterbury and principal author of the Book of Common Prayer.
17 prayers
John Calvin
1509-1564 · French reformer whose liturgy in Geneva shaped Reformed and Presbyterian prayer.
1 prayer
Edward Reynolds
1599-1676 · Bishop of Norwich and author of the BCP General Thanksgiving.
1 prayer
Thomas Watson
c. 1620-1686 · English Puritan minister ejected from his parish in 1662.
1 prayer
John Wesley
1703-1791 · Anglican priest and founder of the Methodist movement.
2 prayers
Charles Haddon Spurgeon
1834-1892 · Baptist preacher at London's Metropolitan Tabernacle and one of the most widely read Christians of the 19th century.
2 prayers
Reinhold Niebuhr
1892-1971 · American theologian and author of the Serenity Prayer.
1 prayer