The monks of Glenstal Abbey Murroe, Co Limerick, have hit the bestsellers' list with The Glenstal Book of Icons.
The book entered the hardback, non-fiction top five at number two, just behind Roy Keane's controversial autobiography, writes Brian McLaughlin
This is the second year running that the Benedictines have had a bestseller. Last year the Glenstal Book of Prayer was an international success, selling over 115,000 copies in Europe alone. Pre-publication orders for the Book of Icons passed the 21,000 mark.
The book features full-colour reproductions of 17 icons, an insight into the image presented in each, followed by meditations and prayers, which the author, Father Gregory Collins OSB, has translated from the Greek and Latin liturgies.
He also offers an introduction to Eastern Christianity and iconography.
Brother Mark Patrick Hederman OSB said icons differ from other paintings "because the icon looks at you rather than simply the other way round. The eye of the icon and the eye of the person connect, which offers a direct connection with another world."
Father Collins is a native of Belfast, and taught Byzantine studies at Queen's University.
A Glenstal monk for 13 years, he is currently a lecturer in Orthodox theology at the Benedictine University of Sant Anselmo in Rome.