Sacred Scripture: "the prayer above all prayers"

The Holy Bible, according to Parthenios of Kiev, a nineteenth century Orthodox commentator, "is the mother of all books, just as it is the prayer above all prayers, and the guide to the Kingdom of heaven. It leads men on earth to the understanding of the Truth, and enables one to see God with the heart while still in the flesh, and in time to come allows one to enjoy face to face the sweet vision of the Holy Trinity"