If you stand in a Greek Orthodox service and want to know what the words mean, the app you need is probably not a language app. The Divine Liturgy is printed in Greek and English, and a church app that shows both is a better first tool than a course for the Greek of Athens today.
Church Greek has no app made only for it, so this page compares what a learner of the Liturgy can use: a church app, a Koine course, a Modern Greek course and Bubblegum's Orthodox lessons. The best ways to learn Orthodox Church Greek covers books, free texts and tutors, and the Ancient Greek app comparison covers the other two forms of Greek in Bubblegum.
Other Apps We Looked At (1)
- Digital Chant StandThe Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America's free app holds Orthodox service texts, translations and musical scores, with audio recordings of hymns and complete services. Its description lists Greek and English texts, its App Store page names English as its language, and it works on iPhone and iPad.
Digital Chant Stand is where to look first, because it puts the service you will attend in front of you. Play a hymn, then read the Greek line while the recording runs. It does not teach grammar, so it works best beside a course or lessons that do.
Bubblegum
For serious learners, Bubblegum is the best app to learn Ancient Greek. You learn from Ancient Greek you can mostly understand, which is called comprehensible input.
Tell Poppy, your AI tutor, your level and what you like, and she writes your Orthodox Greek lessons. If a sentence is hard to follow, ask Poppy to explain it. Ask her what Δεῦτε προσκυνήσωμεν (Come, let us worship) means word by word.
With Regenerative Review™, words you save show up again in new lessons, so that you can review words in new contexts without having to use flashcards.
Level 1 for Orthodox Greek reads "I know a few Greek words from church, like Kyrie eleison," so you can start from the phrases you already hear.
- Pick Ancient Greek, then Orthodox, and the lessons are read with Modern Greek sounds, the way the church says them.
- Choose a goal such as following the Divine Liturgy, prayers and hymns, or the Gospel reading, and Poppy writes toward it.
- An Orthodox Greek alphabet course on the website teaches the letters and marks in nine chapters, with a voice from Greece.
- Regenerative Review™ brings saved words back in new lessons, and you can export them to Anki.
- Clear, expressive AI voices read every lesson aloud, with a different voice for each speaker.
- Learn every letter and its sound in the free Classical Greek Alphabet course.
- You can't turn your own service book into lessons. However, you can paste a prayer in the chat, and Poppy will explain it.
- Custom lessons cost us money to make, so you need Bubblegum Pro for unlimited custom lessons. Lessons Poppy wrote for other learners are free for everyone to read.
- Regenerative Review™
Mobile
Mango Languages
The Gospel and epistle readings are Koine Greek, so Mango's Koine course teaches words you will hear on Sundays. Its sounds may differ from the church's, so listen to a lesson beside a service recording.
- Mango lists Greek (Koine) as its own course.
- Its page lists native-speaker audio and a voice comparison tool.
- Flashcards
MobileWeb
Orthodox churches read the old texts with today's Greek sounds, so a Modern Greek course trains your ear for the same letters. Rosetta Stone's Greek course teaches Modern Greek. It will not teach the words of the Liturgy, and many of those words differ from everyday speech.
| Written | What You Hear in Church |
|---|---|
| Κύριε (Lord) | KEE-ree-eh |
| Ἀμήν (amen) | ah-MEEN |
Preply
The tutors are listed under Ancient Greek. Ask for one who reads with Modern Greek sounds, and bring the readings from your parish.
- Preply lists about 130 Ancient Greek tutors from 21 countries.
- If the first tutor isn't a match, you can try two more for free.
MobileWeb
Before you pay, open one lesson to see which language explains the Greek.
| App | Languages You Can Use It In | Full List |
|---|---|---|
| Bubblegum | 76 | Supported language pairs |
| Digital Chant Stand | 1 | Full list |
| Mango | 2 | Full list |
| Preply | 19 | Full list |
Which Orthodox Greek app should a beginner choose?
If you are serious about learning Ancient Greek, start with Bubblegum. Poppy, your AI tutor, writes lessons at your level about things you like. Or install Digital Chant Stand first if you only want to follow a service in Greek and English this Sunday.
Is there an app made for the Divine Liturgy in Greek?
We found none that teaches the language of the Liturgy. Digital Chant Stand shows the texts and plays the hymns, and Bubblegum's Orthodox lessons teach the Greek in them.
Will Modern Greek apps teach me the prayers?
They teach the sounds and the alphabet, and many everyday words differ from the church's. The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom was written in the Greek of its own time, so the prayers need lessons of their own.
Is Bubblegum free?
Yes. Lessons Poppy wrote for other learners are free for everyone to read. Custom lessons cost us money to make, so you need Bubblegum Pro for unlimited custom lessons.
Sources
- Bubblegum: Ancient Greek
- Bubblegum: Orthodox Greek Alphabet course, chapter 1
- Digital Chant Stand on the App Store (Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America)
- St. Anthony's Monastery: Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, Byzantine notation, Greek and English
- Mango Languages: Greek (Koine)
- Mango Languages: available languages
- Mango Languages on the App Store (languages you can use it in)
- Preply: online Ancient Greek tutors
- Preply on the App Store (languages you can use it in)
- Rosetta Stone: Learn Greek (a Modern Greek course)
- Bill Mounce: Read the Greek Testament (free class with modern-pronunciation vocabulary)
- Wikipedia: Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom
- Wikipedia: Koine Greek
- Mango Languages
