Heavenly King. Interpretation of the prayer "Heavenly King

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The prayer "Heavenly King" is also the stichera of the Pentecostal service. We call on the Holy Spirit to come and dwell “in us” and this can be understood in two ways: either we want each of us to become the abode of the Spirit, or - for the Holy Spirit to dwell between us, uniting us in the Body of Christ. But one does not exclude the other. Commented by Priest Theodore LYUDOGOVSKY.

Descent of the Holy Spirit. Handwritten Gospel of the Syrian monk Rabula. 586 Library Laurenziana, Florence

Stanza, voice 6:
Heavenly King,
Comforter,
To the soul of truth
Anywhere else
and do everything
Treasure of the Seelie
and life to the Giver,
come
and dwell in us,
and cleanse us from all filthiness,
and save, Blazhe, our souls.

Greek original:
Βασιλεῦ οὐράνιε,
Παράκλητε,
τὸ Πνεῦμα τῆς ἀληθείας,
ὁ πανταχοῦ παρών,
καὶ τὰ πάντα πληρῶν,
ὁ θησαυρὸς τῶν ἀγαθῶν,
καὶ ζωῆς χορηγός,
ἐλθέ,
καὶ σκήνωσον ἐν ἡμῖν,
καὶ καθάρισον ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ πάσης κηλῖδος,
καὶ σῶσον ἀγαθὲ τὰς ψυχὰς ἡμῶν.

Translation by hierom. Ambrose (Timroth):
Heavenly King,
Comforter,
Spirit of Truth,
abiding everywhere
and filling everything
Treasure trove of goods
and the life of the Giver,
come
and dwell in us
and cleanse us from all filthiness,
and save our souls, Good One.

The prayer “Heavenly King” is addressed to the Third Person of the Holy Trinity - the Holy Spirit, the Life-giving Lord, who proceeds from the Father (see the Creed). The origin and authorship of this prayer is unknown, but there is reason to believe that it arose near the end of the first millennium of the Christian era.

"To the Heavenly King" is perhaps one of the most famous prayers, along with "Our Father" (the Lord's Prayer) and the 90th Psalm of King David. It is part of the so-called "ordinary beginning", that is, the sequence of prayers that sounds at the beginning of many services and sequences, including at the beginning of our usual morning and evening prayers: "Heavenly King," the Trisagion, "Holy Trinity" , "Our Father".

In addition, there is a custom to read "Heavenly King" in order to invoke the Holy Spirit before starting any business. Undoubtedly, one of these things is prayer, church worship. And this, presumably, explains the inclusion of the prayer "Heavenly King" in the composition of the usual beginning.
Finally, this prayer is one of the stichera of the service of Pentecost - and it is precisely this circumstance that has become the reason for our today's note. However, let us first consider the text of the prayer itself.

We address the Holy Spirit as the Heavenly King (cf. the beginning of the Lord's prayer: "Our Father who art in Heaven ..."). This conversion, strictly speaking, is not specific to the Third Hypostasis. Thus, for example, at Lenten Vespers the prayer “Heavenly to the King, strengthen the faith ...” is read, which most likely refers to Christ - but this is not entirely clear; one can also think that it is addressed to the Holy Trinity.

This is followed by the appeal "Comforter" (Greek Παράκλητος). This is how the Savior called the Holy Spirit in a conversation with his disciples: “And I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever, the Spirit of truth, which the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him and does not know Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you ”(John 14: 16-17). In addition to the obvious meaning of "one who comforts", this word can also be understood in the meaning of "mediator", "go", "intercessor".

We speak of the Holy Spirit, as well as God "in general," as omnipresent: "He is everywhere." The Church Slavonic expression that follows - "do everything" - probably confuses many. As can be seen from the above Russian translation, in this case we are not talking about the fulfillment of our prayers and desires, but all about the same - about the omnipresent Deity: "do everything" means "everything that fills with Himself." However, here you can see something more: the Holy Spirit not only "mechanically" fills the universe with Himself, but He revives it, supports its existence every second - otherwise everything would fall apart and fall apart, since the world we see has no other reason for its own origin and lasting existence apart from God.

There is another expression in the Church Slavonic translation of the prayer, which, as can be assumed, is misunderstood by many: “The treasure of the good” does not at all mean that the Holy Spirit is some kind of treasure for good people. No, the Life-giving Spirit is a treasury of goods, a container and source of all that is good, good.

Further, we call the Spirit the giver of life - here it is appropriate to recall another chant that sounds quite often at the all-night vigil: "By the Holy Spirit, every soul lives, and is exalted by purity ..."
All those words and phrases that we were talking about now - all this was an appeal, which takes about two-thirds of the prayer. And then comes the pleading part.
What do we ask God for the Holy Spirit? We ask Him to come and dwell "in us." The latter can be understood in two ways (and one understanding by no means excludes the other): either we want each of us to become the abode of the Spirit, the temple of God; or (cf. John 1:14) - for the Holy Spirit to dwell among us, between us, uniting us into one Body of Christ.

Then we ask that the Spirit, dwelling in us, cleanse us from all filth - that is, from passions, from sin - and that He, the Good (that is, the Good), would save our souls, that is, would deliver us from the power of the world, the devil and, again, our own passions, and so that He would grant us the Kingdom of Heaven - that is, His own Kingdom (see the beginning of the prayer).

As mentioned above, the prayer "Heavenly King" is part of the service of the feast of Pentecost (otherwise, the Day of the Holy Trinity). Recall that this prayer is not read in the period from Easter to Pentecost: during the Easter period it is replaced by three readings (or singing) of the troparion of Easter, and from Ascension to Easter it is not replaced at all - and this significant absence emphasizes the tension with which the Church every year looks forward to the day of the sending of the Holy Spirit. And on the day of Pentecost, after seven weeks of a kind of abstinence, the prayer "To the Heavenly King" sounds again (it is often sung publicly) - first at Great Vespers, as the penultimate stichera on the verse, and then twice at Matins - after the 50th Psalm and before the great doxology (instead of the usual "Blessed art Thou, Virgin Mary ..."). From that day on, "Heavenly King" is read daily until the first day of Easter.

Heavenly King: prayer to the One who comforts

PRAYER

« CaryuHfrank,Havethe testimonialDEarlier than truth, Whoever is everywhere and do all things,WITHthe environment of goodness and lifeNSto the giver, come and dwell in us, and cleanse us from all filthiness, and save us,Beven, our souls. "

TRANSLATION by hierom. Ambrose (Timroth):

“Heavenly King, Comforter, Spirit of Truth, abiding everywhere and filling everything, Treasury of good things and life Giver, come and dwell in us, and cleanse us from all defilement, and save our souls, O Good One. »

"Heavenly King" - perhaps one of the most famous prayers, along with the "Our Father" (the Lord's Prayer) and the 90th psalm of King David. It is part of the so-called "ordinary beginning", that is, the sequence of prayers that sounds at the beginning of many services and sequences, including at the beginning of our usual morning and evening prayers: "Heavenly King," the Trisagion, "Holy Trinity" , "Our Father".

Finally, this prayer is one of the stichera of the service of Pentecost - and it is precisely this circumstance that has become the reason for our today's note. However, let us first consider the text of the prayer itself.

All those words and phrases that we were talking about now - all this was an appeal, which takes about two-thirds of the prayer. And then comes the pleading part.

What do we ask God for the Holy Spirit? We ask Him to come and dwell "in us." The latter can be understood in two ways (and one understanding by no means excludes the other): either we want each of us to become the abode of the Spirit, the temple of God; or (cf. John 1:14) - for the Holy Spirit to dwell among us, between us, uniting us into one Body of Christ.

Priest Theodore LYUDOGOVSKY

How do you learn to understand prayers? Translation of the words of prayers from the prayer book for the laity from Church Slavonic, clarifying the meaning of prayers and petitions. Interpretations and quotes of the Holy Fathers. Icons.

Morning prayers

The beginning of morning prayers

Rising from sleep, above all another matter, stand reverently, presenting yourself before the All-Seeing God, and, having made the sign of the cross, say:

In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Amen- truly, truly, so be it (Hebrew).

With the first words of our morning prayer, we invoke the Triune God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - and we dedicate all our prayers to Him, His name.

"We must learn to hold on to the presence of the invisible Lord as we would hold on to the presence of the Lord who makes us visible ..."

Sign of the cross- the sign of the Cross. A sign is a symbol, an image, but also a military banner and a miracle (recall the frequent expression in the Holy Scriptures "miracles and signs"). The sign of the Cross is our testimony of the crucifixion of Christ; it was used in all circumstances of life by the first Christians. This sacred and terrible sign is full of great power, and it should be used clearly, carefully, without the slightest carelessness. The first three fingers of the right hand (thumb, index and middle) are folded together, as a sign of our faith in the One and Inseparable Holy Trinity. The ring finger and little finger are bent to the palm, which signifies the two natures of the Lord Jesus Christ (that he is true God and true Man). Now, with three folded fingers with the words In the name of the Father ... we touch the forehead, as a sign of the sanctification of the mind, then, with the words ... and the Son ... - to the bottom of the chest (and even just below the chest, to the navel, so that the cross inscribed on the body turns out to be proportional , and not inverted), as a sign of the sanctification of the heart, then with the words ... and the Holy Spirit! - to the right and left shoulders, as a sign of the sanctification of the deeds of our hands and all bodily forces. Finally, lowering our hand and bowing, we say: Amen (When the sign of the cross accompanies another prayer, these words, of course, are not pronounced).

The sign of the cross should be imposed on oneself in such a way as to feel the touch of one's own hand (and not to baptize the air), and to bow only after touching the right and left shoulder (not "breaking the cross" before it is drawn).

Then wait a little until all your feelings come to silence and your thoughts leave everything earthly, and then say the following prayers without haste and with heartfelt attention.

***

"Never say prayers in haste, and not in a hurry, with thoughts and feelings, which are expressed in the prayers being read. The correctness of our prayer is disturbed by thoughts. Try to fix it. The first step to this is to start prayer, arouse in yourself the fear of God and reverence; then to become attention in the heart and from there cry to the Lord. "

Saint Theophan the Recluse

From letters to spiritual children.

Publican's Prayer

God, have mercy, wake me a sinner(Bow).

Publican- tax collector; in the 1st century this word was almost equivalent to the word "sinner".

Wake me up- come to me.

The Lord Jesus Christ Himself quoted these words as an example of true prayer in His parable:

"He also said to some, who were sure of themselves that they were righteous, and destroyed others, the following parable: Two people entered the temple to pray: one is a Pharisee, and the other is a publican. The Pharisee, having become, prayed in himself like this: God! Thank you! You, that I am not like other people, robbers, offenders, adulterers, or like this publican: I fast twice a week, I give a tenth of everything that I acquire. ; but striking his chest, he said: God, be merciful to me the sinner! I tell you that this one went to his house justified more than that one: for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted (Luke 18 : 9-14).

If we have good deeds, they are our duty to God, not merit; and our sins are incomparably greater than good deeds, and only one mercy of God can cover our unworthiness: God, be merciful to me as a sinner. In the words of St. Ignatius Brianchaninov, "at least someone who stood at the very height of virtues, but if he does not pray like a sinner, his prayer is rejected by God." In prayer, you need to have a repentant and humble heart, asking and crying.

***

“What is the most important thing for keeping grace in the soul? By humility.

Saint Theophan the Recluse.

***

Initial prayer

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, prayers for the sake of Thy Most Pure Mother and all saints, have mercy on us. Amen.

For prayers- by prayers.

Thy Most Pure Mother- To Your Most Pure Mother (genitive).

***

"... How! God has the power to forsake sins through the prayers of His Most Pure Mother and saints, and not himself independently? - And without the prayers of others he has power - of course, One has power; but to honor the high virtues of the saints, especially His Most Pure Mother, which are His friends, who pleased Him to the last of their strength in earthly life, He accepts their prayer intercessions for us, unworthy, for us, who often have to block their lips because of our great and frequent sinful falls ... Through the prayer of His Most Pure Mother, He has mercy on us, who by themselves, for the great and frequent sins and iniquities, and would be unworthy of His mercy. "

Holy Righteous John of Kronstadt

***

Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

This prayer is called a small estate: we glorify God briefly, give Him praise.

With deep feeling, from the bottom of my heart, this praise can be pronounced in all circumstances of life, in joy and sorrow. A truly Christian sense of life, to which we must approach as much as we can - in the last words of St. John Chrysostom, who died in persecution, in difficult exile: Glory to God for everything!

Prayer to the Holy Spirit

Heavenly King, Comforter, Soul of truth, Who is everywhere and fulfill everything, Treasure of the good and life to the Giver, come and dwell in us, and cleanse us from all defilement, and save, Beloved, our souls.

Heavenly King, Comforter, Soul of truth ... life to the Giver(vocative case) - O Heavenly King, Comforter, spirit of truth ... Giver of life! Anywhere else- You, Omnipresent (located everywhere): like- which the; soy- being, existing, being, abiding; and do it all- and everything that fills with Himself, as well as everything that replenishes and improves; do it- (participle from the verb to perform) - to fill, complete, perform; Treasure of the Seelie- treasury, the source of all good (all good); in us- in us; Closer(also vocative case) - Save, O Good, our souls!

***

This is a prayer to the Holy Spirit as the Person of the Holy Trinity.

Heavenly King: The Holy Spirit, like God, reigns over the entire universe, so that everything is in His power and authority.

Jesus Christ called Him the Comforter and Spirit of Truth in a secret conversation with his disciples at the Last Supper:

But the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of everything that I have told you (John 14:26).

When the Teacher comes, whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me (John 15:26).

When He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth ... He will glorify Me, because He will take of Mine and declare it to you (John 16: 13-14).

The Holy Spirit, having descended on the apostles after the Ascension of the Lord, comforted them in separation from the Lord, and they rejoiced that He dwelt in them and began to instruct them in all truth. In the same way, the Holy Spirit can comfort us in sorrow and misfortune and give us all the good and knowledge of the truth.

Life to the Giver ... These words of the prayer correlate with the words of the 8th member of the Creed: And into the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Life-giving ... all created life, and especially the spiritual life of people. "

We turn to the Holy Spirit at the beginning of our prayers, since the gift of true prayer is also a gift of the Holy Spirit.

He who thinks that he is praying in a real way without the Holy Spirit, and glorifying God in a song, the same thing that blasphemes Him is unclean for a generation and has not yet become friends with God. "

Rev. Symeon the New Theologian

***

"The Holy Spirit teaches true prayer. No one, until he receives the Holy Spirit, can pray such a prayer that is truly pleasing to God. Because if someone, not having the Holy Spirit in him, begins to pray, then his soul is scattered in different directions, from one thing to another, and he in no way can keep his thoughts on one thing, and moreover - he does not properly know himself, nor his needs, nor how to ask and what to ask from God - and does not know who But the person in whom the Holy Spirit dwells, and knows God, and sees that He is his Father; knows how to approach Him and how to ask, and what to ask from Him. to one object - God; and by his prayer he can definitely do everything. "

Saint Innocent, Metropolitan of Moscow

***

Note. From Easter to Ascension, instead of this prayer, the troparion of Easter is read:

Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and giving life to those in the grave(Three times).

From the Ascension to the Trinity, we begin the prayers of the cell rule (morning and for a dream to come) with the Holy God, omitting all the previous ones.

This remark also applies to prayers for future sleep.

Prayer to the Holy Spirit is not read from Easter to Trinity - during the period when, after the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ, we symbolically await the Descent of the Holy Spirit. For the first time after the break, this prayer will sound at the all-night vigil of the feast of Pentecost, or Trinity.

King, Comforter, Soul, Giver, Better- all these are forms of the vocative case, which is always used when addressing. When we say: Lord, God, Jesus Christ, our Father - this is also vocative case.

Treasure of the Seelie: good - will give birth. Case plural average number Roda. In Church Slavonic, in the generalized meaning of a noun, adjectives of the neuter gender are often used, not only of the singular, as in modern Russian, but also of the plural: good is good, or all good, rich is wealth, Holy of holies- literally: Holy from holy; good and useful to our souls ... we ask the Lord (from the pleading ectinia) - we ask the Lord for the good and useful (or: good and good) to our souls; unknown and secret wisdom of yours revealed to me you are(Psalm 50: 8) - the unknown (hidden) and secret (that is, the hidden secret) of Your wisdom You have revealed to me.

Trisagion

Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us(It is read three times, with the sign of the cross and bow in the waist).

Saint- Saint.

This is a prayer to the Three Persons of the Most Holy Trinity.

Under the words Holy god of course God the Father; under the words Holy Mighty- God the Son (He is Mighty, or Almighty, since He destroyed hell and defeated the Devil by His resurrection; the coming Lord Jesus Christ is named by the Prophet Isaiah as Mighty God - chapter 9, verse 6: For the baby was born to us - the Son was given to us; Dominion is on rumen Him, and they will call His name: Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace); under the words: Holy Immortal- God the Holy Spirit (He, like God, is eternal, and He is the Life-giving Spirit: He gives life to everyone, and especially spiritual, virtuous life and immortality to people). Since all Three Persons constitute the One and Indivisible God, the conclusion of the prayer contains the singular verb - have mercy on us - refers to the same Being of God.

The story of this prayer is wonderful. In the 5th century, there was a terrible earthquake in Constantinople. All the people weptly prayed to God. During a public prayer, one boy was lifted by an invisible force high into the air, and then safely lowered to the ground. The boy could not give an answer where he was and what he saw; he only heard a harmonious and touching singing: "Holy God! Holy Mighty! Holy Immortal!" The people understood that it was the singing of Angels, and everyone began to sing the same words, adding: "Have mercy on us!" - and the earthquake stopped. God had mercy on His people. Since then, this song has been used by Christians. It is sung and read in the Church at every church service. It is also called the Angelic Song of the Most Holy Trinity.

Song of Angels "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God!" the prophet Isaiah told us: Around Him stood the Seraphim; each of them had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his legs, and with two he flew. And they cried out to one another and said: Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts! The whole earth is full of His glory! (Is 6: 2-3). This vision is repeated in the Revelation (Apocalypse) of St. John the Theologian: ... in the middle of the throne and around the throne there are four animals, full of eyes in front and behind ... And each of the four animals had six wings around, and inside they are full of eyes; and they have no rest day or night, crying out: Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, is and is coming (Rev. 4: 6-8). This Angelic song, in which God is named Holy three times, was one of the first messages about the great mystery of the Trinity of the Godhead.

***

"The Saints Seraphim through the triple Saints announce to us the Three Hypostases of the Most Substantial Deity. And through the one dominion they announce both the one essence and the one Kingdom of the God-original Trinity."

Determination of the Deity God, Mighty, Immortal, according to the observation of the Monk John Damascene, also stand side by side in Psalm 41: verse 3: My soul thirsts for the Mighty, living God. And, finally, the Trisagion is concluded with the nationwide cry of the Church, her most frequent prayer: have mercy on us!

"We understand the words Holy God about the Father, not only separating the name of the Divine for Him, but knowing both the Son and the Holy Spirit as God. And we understand the words Holy Mighty about the Son, without depriving the Father and the Holy Spirit of the strength. And the words Holy Immortal we refer to the Holy Spirit, not placing the Father and the Son outside immortality, but regarding each of the Hypostases, accepting all the Divine names simply and independently and correctly, imitating the divine apostle, who says: We have one God the Father, of whom everything is, and we are for Him, and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all, and we are by him (1 Cor. 8: 6), and one Holy Spirit, in whom are all and we are in him. "

Venerable John Damascene

"An Accurate Statement of the Orthodox Faith"

***

Glory to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and forever and ever. Amen.

Always- Is always; forever and ever.

This is a short or small doxology. It means that the same glory and worship belongs to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and not only now, but always, as the One, Eternal God, for all ages, for all generations, permanently and unchanging.

"God is One in Three Persons. We do not comprehend this inner mystery of the Divine, but believe in it according to the immutable testimony of the word of God: no one knows God except the Spirit of God (1 Cor. 2:11)."

Saint Philaret.

"Extensive Christian catechism"

***

In prayer books and liturgical books, this prayer, since it is often used, is often abbreviated: Glory, and now: (or Glory: And now :). In such cases, one should read in full: Glory to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and forever and ever. Amen.

Prayer to the Most Holy Trinity

Holy Trinity, have mercy on us; Lord, cleanse our sins; Master, forgive our iniquity; Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities, for Thy name's sake.

Lord, cleanse our sins- an appeal to God the Father; Master, forgive our iniquity- Appeal to God the Son; Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities- appeal to God the Holy Spirit; for your name- for the glory of Your name.

The first words of the prayer: Holy Trinity, have mercy on us- refer to all Three Persons of the Most Holy Trinity, to the One Being of God; then, to strengthen the prayer, a petition is raised to each Person separately: Lord ... Master ... Holy ... Conclusion of the prayer: ... for your name's sake- again refers to all Persons in order to affirm our faith in the One God, Trinity in Persons: One is the Being of God, but in Three indivisible Persons.

The essence of God is incomprehensible to us. If the Angels do not comprehend the Trinity Essence of God, but reverently worship and confess Him, then who are we to dare to test how it is One God in Three Persons? We cannot understand this with the mind; we can only accept with reverent faith what is incomprehensible, and know what is open and known. Openly and we know from the very Word of God that there is from time immemorial One, eternal God, that He is the Spirit, All-Good, Omniscient, All-Righteous, Almighty, Omnipresent, Unchanging, All-Frequent, All-blessed; that He is One in Essence, but Trinity in Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Trinity Consubstantial and Inseparable. For three testify in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one (1 John 5: 7).

***

“As a man, divided into many things, is one by nature, so the Holy Trinity, although it is divided by names and hypostases, is one by nature. ... Do not test about the Trinity, but only believe and worship, for whoever tests does not believe. "

Reverend Nilus of Sinai

(Philosophy vol. 2)

***

Lord have mercy(Three times).

***

"What is the meaning of the verb have mercy or be merciful in all these prayers? This is the consciousness of a person of his death, this is the feeling of that mercy, that self-pity that the Lord commanded us to feel for ourselves and which are felt by very few; this is a rejection of our own dignity ; this is a petition for the mercy of God, without which there is no hope of salvation for the lost. "

Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov

***

"Whoever said: have mercy, he made a confession and recognized his sins, because it is characteristic of those who have sinned to desire mercy. He who said: have mercy on me, he received remission of sins, because those who have mercy are not punished. Whoever said: have mercy on me, he received the Kingdom of Heaven, therefore that God, whom He has mercy, not only frees him from punishment, but also grants him future blessings. "

Saint John Chrysostom

***

Glory, and now:

Let us remind once again that in all cases of such spellings one should read in full: Glory to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and forever and ever. Amen.

Lord's Prayer

Our Father, Who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done, as in heaven and on earth. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, as we also leave our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

Father- Father (address - vocative case). Like Thou in Heaven- living (living) in Heaven, that is, Heavenly (like - who). Yesi- the form of the verb being in the 2nd person of unity. Numbers of the present tense: in modern language we say you are, but in Church Slavonic - you are. The literal translation of the beginning of the prayer: O our Father, the One who is in Heaven! Every literal translation is not entirely accurate; the words: Father, Dry in Heaven, Father in Heaven- closer convey the meaning of the first words of the Lord's Prayer. Hallowed- may it be holy and glorified. Yako in heaven and earth- both in heaven and on earth (like - how). Vital- necessary for existence, for life. Give- give. Today- today. As well- how. From the evil one- from evil (the words crafty, deceit are derived from the words "bow": something indirect, curved, crooked, like a bow. There is also the Russian word "falsehood").

This prayer is called the Lord's Prayer, because our Lord Jesus Christ Himself gave it to His disciples and all people:

“It happened that when He was praying in one place and stopped, one of His disciples said to Him: Lord, teach us to pray!

He said to them: - When you pray, say: Our Father who art in heaven! Hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done, as in heaven, on earth; Give us our daily bread for every day; and forgive us our sins, for we also forgive every debtor of ours; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one "(Luke 11: 1-4).

Pray like this:

"Our Father who art in heaven! Hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done both on earth and in heaven; Give us our daily bread for this day; and forgive us our debts, just as we forgive our debtors. ; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Thine is the kingdom and power and glory forever. Amen "(Matthew 6: 9-13).

***

Reading the Lord's Prayer every day, let us learn what the Lord requires of us: it indicates both our needs and our main responsibilities.

Our Father ... In these words we still do not ask for anything, we only cry out, turn to God and call him Father.

"Saying this, we confess God, the Sovereign of the universe, as our Father - and thus we confess that we have been removed from the state of slavery and assigned to God as His adopted children."

... Even Thou art in Heaven ... With these words we express our readiness in every possible way to turn away from attachment to earthly life as a wanderer and far separating us from our Father and, on the contrary, with the greatest desire to strive for the region in which our Father dwells ...

Having reached such a high degree of sons of God, we must burn with such filial love for God that we no longer seek our own benefits, but with all our desire to desire His glory, our Father, saying to Him: Hallowed be Thy name, by which we testify that all our desire and all joy is the glory of our Father - let the glorious name of our Father be glorified, reverently honored and worshiped. "

Thy Kingdom come - that Kingdom "by which Christ reigns in the saints, when, after the devil has taken power over us and the passions are driven out of our hearts, God begins to dominate in us through the fragrance of virtues - or the one that is promised to all at a predetermined time. perfect, to all the children of God, when Christ says to them: Come, blessed of My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world (Matthew 25:34) ".

The words "Thy will be done" turn us to the Lord's prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane: Father! oh, if you were pleased to carry this cup past me! however, not My will, but Yours be done (Luke 22:42).

Give us this day our daily bread. We ask for the gift of bread necessary for food, and, moreover, not in large quantities, but only for the present day ... So, we will learn to ask for the most necessary for our life, and we will not ask for everything that leads to abundance and luxury, for we do not know, it is useful whether it is to us. Let us learn to ask for bread and all that is necessary only for this day, so as not to be lazy to us in prayer and obedience to God. Let us be alive the next day - again we will ask for the same, and so on all the days of our earthly life.

However, we must not forget the words of Christ that man will not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Matthew 4: 4). It is even more important to remember other words of the Savior: I am the living bread that came down from heaven; he who eats this bread will live forever; the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world (John 6:51). Thus, Christ has in mind not only something material, necessary for man for earthly life, but also eternal, necessary for life in the Kingdom of God: Himself, offered in the Sacrament.

Some of the holy fathers interpreted the Greek expression as "the over-essence" and attributed it only (or mainly) to the spiritual side of life; however, the Lord's prayer encompasses both earthly and heavenly meanings.

And leave us our debts, as we also leave our debtors. The Lord Himself concluded this prayer with an explanation: For if you forgive people their sins, then your Heavenly Father will also forgive you, and if you do not forgive people their sins, then your Father will not forgive you your sins (Matthew 6: 14-15 ).

"The merciful Lord promises us the forgiveness of our sins, if we ourselves show an example of forgiveness to our brethren: leave it to us, as we also leave it. Obviously, in this prayer only he who has forgiven his debtors can boldly ask for forgiveness. heart will not let go to his brother who sins against him, he by this prayer will not ask for pardon, but condemnation: for if this prayer is heard, then, in accordance with his example, what else must follow but inexorable anger and inevitable punishment? Judgment without mercy who did not show mercy (James 2:13) ".

Here sins are called debts, because we, by faith and obedience to God, must fulfill His commandments, do good, move away from evil; do we do this? By not doing the good that we ought to do, we become indebted to God.

This expression of the Lord's prayer is best explained by Christ's parable about a man who owed the king ten thousand talents (Matthew 18: 23-35).

And don't lead us into temptation. Recalling the words of the apostle: Blessed is the man who endures the temptation, because, having been tested, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord promised to those who love Him (James 1:12), we must understand these words of prayer in a wrong way: "Do not let us ever tempted "- but like this:" Do not allow us to be defeated in temptation. "

In temptation, do not say: God is tempting me; because God is not tempted by evil and He Himself does not tempt anyone, but everyone is tempted, being carried away and deceived by his own lust; But lust, having conceived, gives birth to sin, and sin that has been done gives birth to death (James 1: 13-15).

But deliver us from the evil one - that is, do not allow us to be tempted by the devil beyond our strength, but in case of temptation, give relief, so that we can endure "(1 Cor. 10:13).

Venerable John Cassian the Roman

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The Greek text of the prayer, like the Church Slavonic and Russian, allows you to understand the expression from the evil one and personally (the evil one is the father of lies - the devil), and impersonal (the evil one is all unrighteous, evil; evil). Patristic interpretations offer both understandings. Since evil comes from the devil, then, of course, the petition for deliverance from evil also includes the petition for deliverance from its culprit.

Tropari Trinity

Risen from sleep, we fall to Ty, Better, and the angelic song crying to Ty, Stronger: Holy, Holy, Holy Thou art, God, the Mother of God have mercy on us.

Glory: Thou hast raised me from bed and sleep, Lord, enlighten my mind and heart, and open my mouth, in the hedgehog Petit Ty, Holy Trinity: Holy, Holy, Holy, God, have mercy on the Mother of God.

And now: Suddenly the Judge will come, and some of his deeds will be exposed, but we call in fear in the midnight: Holy, Holy, Holy Thou art, God, have mercy on the Mother of God.

Lord have mercy(12 times)

Troparion- a short song in which the deeds of God or His saints are glorified. Trinity - referring to the Most Holy Trinity, addressed to Her, dedicated to Her.

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God, cleanse me, a sinner, for I have done nothing good before You, but deliver me from the evil one, and Thy will be in me, and I will open my unworthy mouth without condemnation, and I will praise Thy holy name, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and ever. Amen.

Yako - here: since. Nicoleje - never. Created - I created (made).

God, cleanse me, a sinner, as if I have done nothing good before You ... "Those who are good in front of God recognize themselves as very small and extremely unfavorable, and it has become natural and indispensable for them to consider themselves low or even nothing ... The rich before God seem to be poor for themselves." ...

And I will praise Your holy name, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and forever, and forever and ever. Amen. The end of this prayer (like many others) introduces into the perspective of human life the communion of Divine eternity: now, always and forever and ever, let man praise the Triune God! This "formula" already contains the promise of our stay in eternity, where, like the Angels, we will praise God - and a reminder that this eternity is before us.

Created - the form of the 1st person singular of the past tense of the verb to create. In Church Slavonic, there are four types of the past tense of the verb; this form belongs to the most common of these times - the aorist. For those who do not specifically study the grammar of the Church Slavonic language, it is enough to pay attention to the fact that in all past tense verbs also change according to persons (in Russian - I, and you, and he - created; in Church Slavonic: I created, you created , he create).

Prayer 2 of the same saint

Rising from sleep, I bring a midnight song to Ty, Savior, and crying out to Ty: do not let me sleep in sinful death, but spare me, crucified by will, and raise me up in laziness, and save me in anticipation and prayer, and after sleep at night Shine my sinless day, Christ God, and save me.

Don't give me - don't give me. Be generous to me - literally: have mercy on me. Crucified by will - voluntarily crucified.

Here is another saying of the Monk Macarius the Great:

"Penetrate into the intelligent essence of the soul, and not penetrate slightly. The immortal soul is a precious vessel. Look how great heaven and earth are, and God did not bless them, but only you. Look at your nobility and dignity, because not Angels. sent, but the Lord Himself came as an intercessor for you, to appeal to the lost, declared, to return to you the original image of pure Adam. God Himself came to intercede for you and deliver you from death. Be firm and imagine what kind of providence is about you. "

Prayer 3, of the same saint

To Thee, Master of Humanity, I run to sleep from sleep, and I strive for Thy deeds by Thy mercy, and I pray to Thee: help me at all times, in every thing, and deliver me from all worldly evil things and devilish haste, and save me, and enter into your eternal kingdom. Thou art my Creator and a Provider and Giver to every good, but in Thee all my hope, and I give glory to Thee, now and ever, and forever and ever. Amen.

I come running - I come looking for help, I ask for help. I ascend by Thy mercy - that is, by Thy mercy. Devil's haste - the assistance of the devil, devil's temptation (haste is help in achieving something). The Thinker - The Thinker. All my hope is in You - in You - all my hope.

To You, Master of Humanity ... I resort ... Although the verb to resort, to resort (to resort to decisive measures), like the related word refuge, is preserved in the modern language - the meaning of the word, its inner form usually escapes our consciousness. The child's perception of the word "resort" is perfectly fair. As a child out of fear always resorts to the mother's womb, and to the protection of the mother's hands, so in prayer we resort to the protection of the Lord, His Mother, His saints. Let us recall the image of a medieval city - a space enclosed by stone walls. The city fence very soon began not to accommodate residents who were forced to settle outside, outside the walls (country residents). But when the troops of the enemy, the enemy, were approaching, the country dwellers fled (often while burning their houses) to the city-city - a refuge, a refuge, to which they looked with great hope. This image takes us to God and the Most Holy Theotokos: They are our refuge from any enemy invasion. The famous image of the Mother of God "The Unbreakable Wall" (in the Church of St. Sophia of Kiev) embodies this very symbol.

... And deliver me from all worldly evil things and devilish haste, and save me, and introduce me into your eternal kingdom. Let us supplement the line from the prayer of the Monk Macarius the Great with the words of his teachings. "The soul, really striving for the Lord, all and completely extends its love to Him and, as much as there is strength, it becomes attached to Him by its own will, and in this it acquires the help of grace, denies itself and does not follow the desires of its mind, because for a reason Thus, as soon as the soul loved the Lord, it is snatched from the nets by its own faith and great zeal, and together with the help from above, it is vouchsafed the Eternal Kingdom and, having really loved it, of its own free will and with the help of the Lord, he will not lose his eternal life. "

“I tell you that every person desires and lusts all this: fornicators, tax collectors, and unjust people would like to receive the Kingdom so easily, without labors and deeds. the shedding of sweat, so that those who really, from all willfulness and with all their might, even to death, loved the one Lord, and with such love for Him no longer had anything else desired for themselves. themselves, according to the Lord's word, and more than their breath, having loved the one Lord, why for their high love they will be rewarded with high heavenly gifts. "

Thou art ... a Thought and a Giver to every good ... The Lord is here called the Thought: He who creates and directs everything in the world by His anticipatory and defining thought of everything. Let us recall the words of the Bible: What you thought, this was accomplished: what you determined, that also appeared and said: Here I am (Judith 9: 5-6). More often we use the noun providence (sometimes in the Slavic text - providence) - "the unceasing action of the omnipotence, wisdom and goodness of God, with which God preserves the existence and strength of creatures, directs them to good goals, helps every good, and suppresses the evil that arises through removal from good or corrects and turns to good consequences "(" Extensive Christian catechism "of St. Philaret of Moscow). In the secular dictionaries of the modern Russian language, we can find a word of the same meaning and an extremely similar form - providence; Wed Church Slavonic: looking (another word of the same meaning).

Prayer 4, of the same saint

O Lord, for Thy great goodness and Thy great compassions thou hast given me, Thy servant, the passing time of sowing nights without adversity is disgusting; You Yourself, Master, of all Creators, grant me with Your true light and an enlightened heart to do Your will, now and ever, and forever and ever. Amen.

To attack is a disaster; temptation. Disgusting from all evil - preserved from all evil. All Creators - the Creator of all things (vocative case). All expressions, all creation, are used in the language of the Church to denote the entire world created by God - earthly and heavenly, visible and invisible.

Prayer 5, St. Basil the Great

O Lord Almighty, God of Forces and all flesh, in the highest, live and look upon the humble, but test the hearts and wombs and the innermost of people, the forerunner, the Beginning and Everlasting of Light, there is no use, or applications of overshadowing; Himself, Immortal King, accept our prayers, even at the present time, for the multitude of Your bounties, we boldly, from the bad ones to You, we do it, and leave us our sins, even in deed and word and thought, knowledge, or ignorance, we have sinned; and cleanse us from all defilement of flesh and spirit. And grant us with a cheerful heart and sober thought all this life of the night to pass away, awaiting the coming of the good and revealed to the day of Thy One Son, Lord and God and Savior of our Jesus Christ, with glory the Judge of all will come, who can be given according to his work; Yes, not fallen and lazy, but awake and uplifting to the work of the one who is dressed, we will cove into the joy and the Divine palace of His glory, where the unceasing voice of those celebrating, and the inexpressible sweetness of those who see Your face, ineffable kindness. Thou art the true Light, enlighten and sanctify everyone, and Thou sings all creation for ever and ever. Amen.

God of Forces and all flesh - God of heavenly Forces incorporeal and all flesh. Living in the highest - living in heaven, in the heights of heaven. Look at the humble (more correctly - look at the humble) - look at the humble, lower, earthly. Test your hearts and wombs - observing the innermost thoughts. The innermost one of men is the forerunner - one who clearly knows the secrets of mankind. The Everlasting One is eternal. Worthless has no change, or transposition, overshadowing - Which is unchanging, does not fade and does not leave anything obscured (change is a change; overshadowing is a shadow). Even - here: which. On the multitude of Thy bounties, those who dare - trusting in the abundance of Thy compassion. The night of the present life is the night of the local, present (earthly) life. Those who are waiting for the coming of the bright and revealed day - who are waiting for the bright and glorious day of the (Second) coming. Vonzhe - into it (on this day). Komudu - to everyone. On business - on business, according to business. Not fallen and lazy - not lying and sleepy. If we get ready, we will be ready; You will find us ready. Idezhe - where. Kindness is beauty, goodness. Everything - everything that exists, the whole world. A creature is a creation.

This prayer contains several expressions from the Holy Scriptures, the understanding and correct translation of which are very important.

In the highest, live and look upon the humble. The heavenly heights are contrasted in this biblical expression with the earthly valleys: Who, like the Lord our God? On high, live, and on the humble, look down on heaven and on earth (Psalm 112: 5-6; in the Russian translation of the psalm: Who is like the Lord our God, who, dwelling on high, bows down to look up to heaven and earth) ... The same expression in Psalm 137: 6: For the Lord is exalted, and he looks upon the humble, and the message is lofty from afar.

Worthless has no change, or transposition, overshadowing. These words are from the Epistle to St. Jacob: Every good gift and every gift is perfect from above, descend from the Father of lights, there is no change or transformation of the wall (James 1:17; in Russian translation: Every good deed and every perfect gift descends from above from the Father of lights, from Whom there is no change and not a shadow of change). The Slavic translation of the apostle's words is somewhat incomprehensible, and the Russian translation is not entirely accurate (the words change and change seem to repeat each other). In the words of transposition, overshadowing is conveyed by the Greek ... meaning the shadow that is formed when the luminary is turned (when turning, the luminary illuminates objects, but they certainly cast a shadow, so that all objects and places cannot be illuminated evenly, and the light of the Divine illuminates everything equally and does not leave a shadow) ...

Those who are bold in your multitude of bounties. The frequent word generosity in our prayers is easily understood as generous mercy. This is true, of course, but the main meaning of the corresponding Greek word is compassion, pity. I dare to come to Your bounties, says the 5th prayer to Holy Communion. The Mercy of the Creator and the Master gives us boldness - boldness in asking; we stand not only before the Righteous Judge, but also before the loving Father; let us hear from Him: Dare, child! your sins are forgiven you (Matthew 9: 2); Dare, daughter! your faith has saved you (Matthew 9:22).

For those who await the coming of the blessed and revealed day of Thy One Son, the Lord and God and our Savior Jesus Christ ... Yes, not fallen and lazy, but awake and uplifted in the work of the ordained, prepare, in the joy and Divine hall of His glory, we will co-exist, where those who celebrate the unceasing voice, and the sweetness of those who see Your face, ineffable kindness. These words of prayer bring to mind the parables of Christ about His Second Coming: May your loins be girded and burning with lamps. And you be like people waiting for the return of their master from marriage, so that when he comes and knocks, immediately open to him. Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, finds awake; Truly I say to you, he will gird himself and sit them down, and, coming up, will serve them (Luke 12: 35-37; see also chapters 24-25 of the Gospel of Matthew).

Inexpressible kindness - the unspeakable beauty of the Face of God - is not an aesthetic concept, but a fusion of the highest beauty and the highest Good. Let us recall the title of the precious collection of patristic teachings on how a person can and should approach God: Philosophy. The beautiful Church Slavonic word kindness, consonant with our goodness, kindness, should return our mind to the understanding of goodness and goodness as the ultimate, highest beauty. To be a Christian means to be awaiting and longing for the coming of the day of God (2 Pet. 3:12), the bright and revealed day, when this supreme beauty of Good will finally be revealed to those who love God. The Apostle James comforts and strengthens us in this expectation: So, brothers, be longsuffering until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer is waiting for the precious fruit from the earth and for him endures for a long time until the early and late rain will receive. Be patient too, strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is approaching (James 5: 7-8).

Stink, stink - into him. Writing in it, in it, is erroneous. Such a spelling was born from the understanding of the word as a combination of the preposition in with the pronoun he; this is true in content, but not in form (at the end of the pronoun, it could never have arisen here, our soft sign). Here it is more likely to be in n, in n: the preposition въ and the form of the pronoun on - i, to which in the position after the vowel of the preposition "n" - въ (n) - stink is added. Wed modern Russian: about them, into him, etc.

Prayer 6, of the same saint

Let us bless thee, the highest God and Lord of mercy, who is always doing with us the great and unexplored, but glorious and terrible, they are innumerable, who gave us a dream for the repose of our weakness and the weakening of the labors of the hard flesh. We thank Thee, as if you did not destroy us with our iniquities, but you usually loved humanity, and in the absence of a thought, lying us you raised up, in a hedgehog to glorify Thy power. Even so, we pray Thy immeasurable goodness, enlighten our thoughts, stripes, and raise our mind from a heavy sleep of laziness; Open our lips, and fulfill Thy praise, that we may unswervingly petit and confess to Thee, in all, and from all to the glorified God, the Fatherless Father, with Thy Only Begotten Son, and the All-Holy and Good and Life-giving Thy Spirit, now and forever, and forever and ever. Amen.

We will bless you - we praise you (the word blessit means in Church Slavonic, after Greek, not only the priestly or parental blessing we are accustomed to, but also a generally good word - praise). Uninvestigated - incomprehensible (recall - this was said in a note to the prayer "Heavenly King" - that in the Church Slavonic language, in the generalized meaning of a noun, neuter plural adjectives are used: great and unexplored, glorious and terrible, there are also innumerable numbers - great and incomprehensible, glorious and horrible without number). Usually - as always, as You constantly do. In non-expectation, lying us - us, sleeping (in a dream, not aware of the surrounding reality). In a hedgehog - so that (note: this is why, why did the Lord awaken us from sleep!). Power is power, power, subject area (that is, the whole world of God). I fulfill - fill them.

Pay attention to the similarity of this prayer with the morning prayer to the Most Holy Trinity. You can compare the two prayers. Note that the prayer to the Most Holy Trinity is built in the singular (addressed to God from "I"), and the prayer of St. Basil the Great - in the plural (from "we"). In the rule of prayer, prayers wisely alternate with "I, me" - such are, for example, all the prayers of the Monk Macarius the Great - and prayers in the plural ("we, us"), an example of which is above all the Lord's prayer. This teaches a Christian to constantly pray for his neighbors, the Church and the whole world of God and at the same time never pray in an abstract way, "in general" - not to forget about the desperate state of his own soul.

Prayer 7, to the Most Holy Theotokos

Icon of the Mother of God Georgian. Icon, XIX century

I sing of Your grace, Lady, I pray to You, my mind for grace. Step on the right, instruct me, by the way of Christ's commandments. Strengthen your children to the song, drive away despondency from sleep. Bound by the captives of the Falls, let Thy prayers, God bride. Preserve me in the night and in the days, the enemies who fight, deliver me. Born to the life-giver of God, revived me by the passions. Even the non-evening light, enlighten my blinded soul. O wondrous Lord of the plateau, create the house of the Divine Spirit for me. Having given birth to a doctor, heal the souls of my long-term passion. Exciting the storm of life, direct me to the path of repentance. Deliver me the everlasting fire, and evil worms, and tartar. Yes, do not show me a demon of delight, like many a sinner. Nova create me, decayed insensible, Immaculate, sinning. Show me a strange torment of all kinds, and beg the Lord for all. Heavenly me, take joy, with all the saints, vouch for it. Most Holy Virgin, hear the voice of Your obscene servant. Give me a stream of tears, Most Pure One, purifying my souls for filth. I bring moaning from my heart to Ti incessantly, be zealous, Lady. Accept my prayer service, and bring it to the blessed God. Exceeding the Angel, create me beyond the merging of the worldly. Light-bearing Heavenly Seine, direct spiritual grace in me. I will lift up my hands and verbally to praise, defiled with filth, All-Immaculate. Deliver the filthy things that have been strangled by me, you diligently plead with Christ; His honor and worship befits, now and forever, and forever and ever, Amen.

The prisoner is a chain. Release - release (release from bonds). Excited - agitated, agitated (that is: "me, agitated ..."; see further: direct me to the path of repentance). Path is a path, a road. Tartarus is a hellish abyss. Like many sins of the guilty party - the culprit of many sins. Dilapidated - exhausted, crushed, old. Strange - a stranger who has remained aloof. Grant - Grant. Obscene - useless (literally - look at the word!). Beneficent - merciful (literally: having a good heart). Exceeding the merging of the worldly me - deliver me from clinging to earthly concerns, from the power of this world (merging - mixing, unification). Sen - canopy, shadow (vocative case).

Nova, create me a decrepit insensible, Immaculate, sinning. Prayer points to an important side in the operation of sin: it makes a person more and more insensitive to the spiritual, becomes less and less noticeable to the sinner, who at the same time loses freshness and strength, decays, weakens, moving further and further from the Source of true grace-filled life.

Exceeding the Angel, create the worldly me exceeding the merging. This is a petition to the Highest heavenly Forces of the Mother of God (the Most Honest Cherub and the most glorious Seraphim) about non-myrrh, a necessary property of a Christian. In an intimate conversation with his disciples at the Last Supper, the Lord repeatedly repeats to them that they are not of the world: If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you (John 15:19). Let us also recall the words of the Apostle: For everything in the world — the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life — is not from the Father, but from this world (John 2:16); it is impossible to cling to this lust of the flesh, the lust of the hair and pride of life, to merge with it, to let it into oneself - it is impossible to avoid such a worldly merger only with the help of God's grace.

Light-bearing Heavenly Seine, direct spiritual grace in me. A canopy is a shadow (remember the Russian word canopy - an extension to a house, giving a shadow, or shadows - a canopy, in hot weather). The expression Luminous Seine in Heaven is so deeply and theologically significant that a simple translation would not explain anything. It is based on the idea of the luminous darkness of the Divine, the incapable, inconceivable, unapproachable God. A cloud covers Mount Sinai when God descends on it in fire to converse with Moses. The mountain burned with fire to the very heavens, [and there was] darkness, cloud and darkness (Deut.4: 11). And the people stood afar off, and Moses entered the darkness where God is (Ex. 20:21). During the exodus from Egypt, the Lord walked before them [the children of Israel] in the daytime in a pillar of cloud ... and at night in a pillar of fire, shining on them (Exod. 13:21) and entered the middle between the camp of Egypt and between the camp of Israel, and was a cloud and darkness [for some] and illuminated the night [for others] (Ex. 14:20). About the appearance of the Lord, David sings: He bowed the heavens and came down, - darkness is under His feet. And he sat on the cherubim and flew, and flew on the wings of the wind. And he made darkness his cover, the darkness around him, the darkness of the waters, the clouds of the air (Ps.17: 10-12; the same - 2 Sam.22: 10-12; the translation is slightly different: he also covered Himself with darkness, like senia, thickening the waters of the clouds of heaven ).

The first chapter of the "Mystical Theology" of St. Dionysius the Areopagite is called "What is Divine Darkness". At the pinnacle of knowledge "in the complete absence of light, in the complete absence of sensations and visibility, our mind, immune to spiritual enlightenment, is illuminated with the brightest light, filled with the purest radiance!" God is absolute light - the true Light, which illumines every person who comes into the world: In Him was life, and life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it (John 1: 4-5,9); but this Light is unapproachable: One and having immortality, Who dwells in an unapproachable light, Which no man has seen or can see (1 Tim. 6:16). You cannot see My face, because a person cannot see Me and stay alive (Ex. 33:20). The impossibility of knowing God and approaching Him is resolved only by the fact that God has become incarnate and incarnate. That is why the Most Holy Theotokos for us is not only the Burning Bush, which is not burned by the fire of the Divine, but also the Luminous Shadow of the Divine "Darkness", similar to Mount Sinai: in Her God appears in the darkness of His light.

Prayer 8
Our Lord Jesus Christ

Most Merciful and All-Merciful, my God, Lord Jesus Christ, many for the sake of love you descended and became incarnate, as if you could save everyone. And packs, Savior, save me by grace, I pray to Thee. If you save me from deeds, there is this grace and gift, but even more debt. She, many in bounties and unspeakable in mercy. Believe in Me, declare, about my Christ, he will live and will not see death forever. If faith, even in Thee, saves the desperate, I believe, save me, for you are my God and the Creator. But faith instead of deeds, let it be imputed to me, my God, not riches more deeds that will in no way justify me. But that my faith prevails in the place of everyone, that it answers, that that justifies me, that that show me the partaker of Your eternal glory. Let not Satan take me away, and boast, in the Word, to tear me away from Your hand and fence; but either I want, save me, or I don't want, O Christ my Savior, beforehand, soon, soon, perished: You fight my God from my mother's womb. Grant me, Lord, now love Thee, as sometimes we love the very same sin, and it’s wan to work for You without laziness, as you did before the flattering Satan. Most of all, I will work for You, my Lord and my God, Jesus Christ, all the days of my life, now and ever, and forever and ever. Amen.

Yes, save everyone - to save everyone. Packies - more. If you save me from my deeds, if You would save me for my deeds. Nest is not. But debt is more - but rather debt (more - more). Advertise - You said. If ubo - because, because. Not at all - absolutely, in no way. Let it prevail - let it be sufficient (suffice - to be sufficient; compare: enough). Participant - participant. Let not ubo kidnap - and let not kidnap (ubo - an amplifying particle; here it can be translated as "same" and as "truly." warn (my desire to be saved - that is, do not wait for this desire.) Perished - I perished. As well as beloved sometimes - as I loved before (sometimes - once, once). Flattering - deceitful. Most importantly - especially, more than anything. My belly - my life.

If you save me from deeds, there is this grace and gift, but even more debt. She, many in bounties and unspeakable in mercy ... But faith instead of deeds, let it be imputed to me, my God, not having found deeds that will by no means justify me. The thought of prayer is based on the words of the Apostle: Reward to the one who does the work is imputed not by mercy, but by duty. But to him who does not do, but believes in Him who justifies the wicked, his faith is imputed to righteousness (Rom. 4: 4-5). Let us recall that generosity is generous mercy, compassion, mercy.

Believe in Me, declare, about my Christ, he will live and will not see death forever. Prayer points directly to the words of Christ Himself: I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in Me, even if he dies, will come to life. And everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die (John 11: 25-26). Compare also: Truly, truly, I say to you: he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life (John 5:24). This is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have eternal life; and I will raise him up on the last day (John 6:40). Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has eternal life (John 6:47). Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever keeps my word will never see death (John 8:51).

Prayer 9, to the Guardian Angel

Holy Angel, stand before the restlessness of my soul and the passion of my life, do not leave me a sinner, step back below me for my intemperance. Give no place to the wicked demon to possess me, the violence of this mortal body; Strengthen my poor and bad hand, and guide me on the path of salvation. To her, holy Angel of God, guardian and patron of my soul and body, forgive me all, for those who have offended you in all the days of my life, and even if those who sinned in this past night, cover me in the present day, and save me from any opposing temptation Yes, in no sin I will anger God, and pray for me to the Lord, may he establish me in His passion, and worthy to show me a servant of His goodness. Amen.

Forthcoming - coming. Cursed - ill-fated, poor, full of struggle. Passionate - here: long-suffering, unhappy (recall that passion means suffering); however, it is slavery to sinful passions that is the main source of unhappiness in human life. Below - and no. To the evil one - to the evil, deceitful. Strengthen my poor and thin hand, and guide me on the path of salvation - in the Greek text of the prayer literally: "take me by the unhappy and drooping (weak-willed) hand and lead me on the path of salvation"; the image of a person who has lost his will and energy, with "drooping" hands, unable to independently get out on the saving path, is given. She - yes, truly (compare colloquial: "she-she"). All ... with great insults - everything that I offended you with (great - how much, how great). Cover - cover, protect. Opposite - opposing, enemy. Worthy will show me a slave of His goodness - will make me a slave worthy of His mercy (to show me usually means not "to bring to an external likeness", as in modern language, but "to make it manifest").

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"Know that the Angels excite us to prayer and stand with us on it, rejoicing and praying together for us. we do not want to beg God for ourselves, but, neglecting our service to God and leaving their God and Master, we conduct a conversation with unclean demons (in thoughts). "

Reverend Nilus of Sinai

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Prayer 10, to the Most Holy Theotokos

My Most Holy Lady Theotokos, by Thy saints and all-powerful entreaties from me, the humble and accursed Thy servant, despondency, oblivion, ignorance, negligence, and all the nasty, crafty and blasphemous thoughts from my accursed heart and my darkened mind; and extinguish the flame of my passions, as I am poor and cursed. And save me from many and fierce memories and enterprises, and from all actions of evil freedoms. For you are blessed from all generations, and Your glorious name is glorified forever and ever. Amen.

Drive away - drive away. Humble - pitiful, low. Enterprises - here: intentions (enterprise - that which precedes the acceptance of thought or action, preliminary intention).

"Why do people sin?" - the Monk Ambrose of Optina sometimes asked the question and himself decided it: "Either because they do not know what to do and what to avoid; or, if they know, they forget, then they are lazy, become discouraged ... These are three giants: despondency or laziness, oblivion and ignorance, from which the whole human race is bound by unsolvable bonds. And this is followed by negligence with the whole host of evil passions. That is why we pray to the Queen of Heaven: My Most Holy Lady the Theotokos, by Your holy and all-powerful prayers to take me away from me, humble and cursed Your despondency, oblivion, ignorance, negligence, and all your nasty, crafty and blasphemous thoughts. "

It is also worth comparing these words of the prayer with one of the petitions of the prayer of John Chrysostom (according to the number of hours of the day and night, from prayers for the coming sleep): Lord, deliver me from all ignorance and forgetfulness, and cowardice, and petrified insensibility.

Your humble and accursed servant ... The words humble and accursed are often found in prayers, so it is worth delving deeper into their main meanings. Humble means not only "endowed with humility" - one of the most important Christian virtues (to say about oneself to God: "I am humble" is even more absurd than to tell people: "I am modest", and in prayer we should not allow even a shadow of exaltation to our imaginary ones " humility "!), - but generally humbled, low, miserable (in the explanation to Prayer 5, it was pointed out to the constant opposition in the Holy Scriptures of the highest - the highest and the humble - the lower). The cursed is the unhappy, rejected, tormented.

Deliver me from many and fierce memories and enterprises, and from all actions of evil freedoms. With these words of prayer, we ask the Most Holy Theotokos to free us from numerous evil (many fierce) thoughts, both about the past (memories) and the future (enterprises), as well as from the evil actions associated with this thoughts. The focus of this petition on keeping the mind and heart is very important. Standing attentively in prayer, we inevitably notice the invasion of those very memories and enterprises, for deliverance from which we pray to the Most Holy Theotokos; the struggle for prayer (and for a truly Christian inner life) is, to a large extent, a struggle against precisely these enemies, who cannot be defeated alone, without the help of God's grace.

Prayer invocation of the saint whose name you bear

Pray to God for me, holy servant of God (name), as I zealously run to you, an ambulance and prayer book for my soul.

Yako az - because I am. I come running - I ask for help.

The prayer to the holy patron in all the prayer books is given in this, the most general, form, but in practice it is often pronounced differently, according to church custom - with the naming of the rite of holiness of the heavenly intercessor: "Pray to God for me, holy Archangel of God Michael ..."; "Pray to God for me, holy prophet of God Elijah ..."; "... holy apostle of God Peter ..."; "... Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Mary Magdalene ..."; "... to St. Father Nicholas ..."; "... holy great martyr and Victorious George ...", "... holy holy martyr ...", "... holy holy martyr ...", "... Venerable Father Sergius ...", "... Venerable Mother Mary ..." - and so on.

In this part of the prayer rule, it is also good to include short prayer invocations to other saints of God most revered by you. You can complete them by addressing all the saints: All holy, pray to God for us! It is also good, at least sometimes, not to be limited to one prayer appeal, but to read or sing the troparion to the saint (or several saints remembered). Troparion to your patron saint should be known and understood.

Giving the baptized one the name of a saint, the Church, as it were, gives him the right to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, where the saint has already moved; at the same time, the Church points out to the baptized one this path to the Kingdom of Heaven, by which the saint of the same name walked - the way of life for which the saint was glorified. By giving a person the name of a saint, the Church, as it were, connects him with a spiritual union with the saint of the same name, entrusts him to intercession, protection and intercession before God. The saints named to us are our prayer books before God, guardians, like the Angels, and our guides, our friends in heaven and assistants.

Song of the Most Holy Theotokos

Virgin Mary, rejoice, Blessed Mary, the Lord is with you; blessed are you in women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, as you gave birth to our souls.

The words of this, the oldest and most beautiful of the countless prayers of the Mother of God, are taken from the Gospel - from the story of the event of the Annunciation:

The Angel Gabriel was sent from God to the city of Galilee, called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a husband named Joseph, from the house of David; the name of the Virgin: Mary. The Angel, entering her, said:

Rejoice, Blessed One! The Lord is with You; blessed are you between wives.

She, seeing him, was embarrassed by his words and wondered what kind of greeting it would be. And the Angel said to her:

Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found grace with God; and behold, you will conceive in your womb, and you will bear a Son, and you will call His name Jesus.

Having received the good news from the Angel, the Blessed Virgin immediately went to her holy relative - the righteous Elizabeth, the future mother of John the Baptist. As soon as Elizabeth saw the Most Pure Virgin, she was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed in a loud voice, and said:

Blessed are You among women, and blessed is the Fruit of Your womb! And where did it come from to me that the Mother of my Lord came to me? (Luke 1: 26-31, 41-43).

The holy righteous Elizabeth, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, uttered the same amazing words as the Archangel Gabriel: Blessed are you among wives (or, in Church Slavonic: Blessed are you in wives). And we add to the words of the Angel and the righteous Elizabeth: as if the Savior gave birth to our souls, thus expressing to the Most Holy Theotokos faith in Her Divine Son, whom we wholeheartedly acknowledge as the Savior of our souls.

Troparion to the Cross and Prayer for the Fatherland

Save, Lord, Thy people, and bless Thy heritage, giving victories to the resistance, and preserving Thy residence with Thy Cross.

Wealth- heritage. On the resistance- over opponents, over enemies. Residence- dwelling, that is, the people of God - Orthodox Christians.

The Cross of Christ has a special power to keep us from all evil. We call this power in prayer to the Cross for all the property of God - for everything that belongs to Christ: on His people, that is, Orthodox Christians, who even bear the name of Christ; to our fatherland and especially to the Holy Church - the society of all true believers, among whom the Lord invisibly dwells and lives.

Prayer for the living

Save, Lord, and have mercy on my spiritual father (name), my parents (names), relatives (names), bosses, mentors, benefactors (their names) and all Orthodox Christians.

Prayer for the dead

God rest, Thy servant of the souls of the departed: my parents, relatives, benefactors (their names) and all Orthodox Christians, and forgive them all sins, voluntary and involuntary, and grant them the Kingdom of Heaven.

Commemoration

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"It is good to remember in prayer for the peace of the Holy Churches and so on for what follows, for this is a testament to the apostles; but in fulfilling this, one must acknowledge oneself unworthy and not having the power to do so. The Gospel and Apostolic word says: Pray for one another to be healed: the fervent prayer of the righteous can do much (James 5:16), and: As you want people to do to you, so do you to them (Luke 6:31). he condemns himself, and therefore I can or cannot, I compel myself to fulfill the commandment. "

Venerable Barsanuphius the Great

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The memorial is usually placed in prayer books at the end of morning prayers, but not everyone is comfortable and possible to pray for the living and the dead in the morning. We must find the most suitable time for the commemoration; for some it will be the evening when all things have been redone, for others it will be the middle of the day, lunch break ...

If you can, instead of short prayers for the living and the departed, read this commemoration: (on the next 2 pages of the editorial site).

About the living

Remember, Lord Jesus Christ, our God, Thy mercy and compassion from the time of existence, for their sake you also became human, and crucifixion and death, for the sake of salvation for the right of You believers, you have deigned to endure; and you rose from the dead, you ascended into heaven, and sit at the right hand of God the Father, and despise humble entreaties with all your heart that call upon Thee; incline Thy ear, and hear the humble prayer of me, Thy obscene servant, in the stench of the spiritual aroma, to Thee for all Thy people who bring. And in the first, remember Thy Holy Church, Catholic and Apostolic, Thou hast supplied Thy Honest Blood to the south, and strengthen, and strengthen, and expand, multiply, die, and preserve the gates of hell forever; Calm the rending of the Churches, quench the pagan swaying, and soon destroy and eradicate the heresies of rebellion, and turn them into nothingness by the power of Your Holy Spirit. (Bow)

Generosity is a manifestation of mercy, compassion. From time immemorial - eternal, existing from the beginning of the world. For their sake - for which, according to which Prizeraeshi - you mercifully look from above, bow down with love. In the stink of the fragrance of the spiritual - as a fragrant spiritual sacrifice (stinking - smell, aroma; the form in the stink is similar here to the form "in sacrifice" in the expression "accept as a sacrifice"). First, first of all, first of all. Yuzhe - which. Provided you - saved, protected (provide - protect, preserve; save). Hell gates - the powers of hell (an ancient, frequent expression in the Bible). Rending - strife, division into parts, separation. Wavering - indignation, rebellion.

Remember, Lord Jesus Christ, our God, Your mercies and mercies from everlasting ... First, remember the prayers - the request to the Lord Jesus Christ to remember the mercies He has done, for the sake of which He became human, and endured crucifixion and death, and was resurrected and ascended. In prayer, the whole work of God's economy - God's providence is remembered. All this - from time immemorial the manifest mercy of God to the human race - is the basis for our subsequent petitions for the whole world.

Save, Lord, and have mercy on our God-protected country, its authorities and its army, and let us live a quiet and silent life in all piety and purity. (Bow)

Save, Lord, and have mercy on the Great Lord and Father of our Most Holy Patriarch (name), the Most Reverend Metropolitans, Archbishops and Orthodox bishops, but the priests and deacons, and all the Church's lamentation, even set Thou to feed Thy verbal flock with my prayers, and with their prayers sinful. (Bow)

Even more - which. Verbal - here: spiritual, reasonable (there is also the expression your verbal flock of sheep).

Save, Lord, and have mercy on my spiritual father (his name), and forgive my sins with his holy prayers. (Bow)

Save, O Lord, and have mercy on my parents (their names), brothers and sisters, and my relatives according to the flesh, and all my neighbors of my kind, and friends, and grant them Thy peace and good grace. (Bow)

Your peaceful and good quality are Your earthly and heavenly blessings (literally: Your worldly and transcendental blessings).

Save, Lord, and have mercy on the elders and the youth, the beggar and the orphans and the widows, and those who are in sickness and in sorrows, troubles and sorrows, circumstances and captivity, in dungeons and imprisonment, more fair in persecution, for You for the sake of the Orthodox faith, from the tongue of the ungodly, from apostate and from heretics, which is Thy servants; and I remember, visit, strengthen, comfort, and soon, through Your strength, I will weakness, freedom and deliver them to them. (Bow)

Essences are those who are, who are. Circumstances - difficult circumstances of life, misfortunes (the main meaning of the word "situation" is a siege). Bigger - especially, most of all. For you and for the Orthodox faith - for you and for the Orthodox faith. From the tongue - from the Gentiles. I ... them. Relief for weakness. Deliverance - deliverance.

Save, Lord, and have mercy on those sent to the service, travelers, our fathers and brethren, and all Orthodox Christians. (Bow)

Save, O Lord, and have mercy on them with the same madness of my temptations, and turn away from the path of salvation, to an evil and unseemly deed; Return the packs to the path of salvation by Your Divine Providence. (Bow)

Theirs - those who. Az - me. Seductions, aversions, pridoh - I seduced, averted, brought (the form of the 1st person singular. Past tense - aorist). Paky again.

Save, Lord, and have mercy on those who hate and offend me, and those who create misfortunes with me, and do not leave them to perish for me for the sake of a sinner. (Bow)

Doing my misfortunes - doing me harm.

Those who have deviated from the Orthodox faith and blinded by the pernicious heresies, enlighten with the light of Your knowledge and count Your Holy Apostles in the Catholic Church. (Bow)

Heavenly King, Comforter, Soul of truth, who is everywhere and fulfill everything, the treasure of good and life to the Giver, come and dwell in us, and cleanse us from all defilement, and save, Beloved, our souls.

Heavenly King, Comforter Spirit of truth, who is everywhere and fills everything, the source of all good and the Giver of life, come and dwell in us, and cleanse us from all sin and save, O Good One, our souls.

The meaning of prayer to the Holy Spirit

A short, precise and comprehensive formulation of the Church's teaching about the Holy Spirit is found in the prayer "Heavenly King", known from childhood to all of us. This prayer, in large part expressed in the words of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, contains everything that we know about the Spirit of God, and what we can ask of Him.

He is called the "King of Heaven", as the Third Person of the Holy Trinity is equal to the Father and the Son. He is called the "Comforter," according to His meaning in our spiritual life, by the name given to Him by Jesus Christ; is called the “Spirit of Truth,” which the Son of God also called Him, that is, revealing to people the truth, teaching people to see and know it, to be jealous of its purity and to preserve it; “Everywhere existing and fulfilling all things,” according to His Divine nature; "The treasure of the good" - that is, fullness, source and custodian of all good for people and the whole world; "The giver of life", both material and spiritual for man and all that exists.

Calling the Spirit of God by such names, we ask Him not for help and success in our external deeds and undertakings, but for our inner being, we ask that He “come and dwell in us” and cleanse us from all spiritual defilement, and by this “saved our souls. "

Thus, in this wonderful prayer, with all clarity and fullness, the significance of the Spirit of God is indicated for our inner life, for our salvation from the inner evil that corrodes us, from sin. Our other prayers to the Spirit of God have the same character. Thus, in the troparion of the third hour, we ask God to send us the Holy Spirit for our inner renewal: "Lord, like Thy Most Holy Spirit in the third hour, Thy Apostle sent Thy Good, do not take us away, but renew us, who pray to Thee!"