The two main prayers that every Orthodox Christian must know are "Our Father" and "Our Lady of the Virgin, rejoice." The basis of the basics that are taught from childhood. Why these particular prayers? Who made such a rule - to know them? And what are the three main Orthodox prayers? We will talk about this in detail.
Prayer "Our Father"
The main questions that sooner or later the neophyte asks: where did these or those prayers come from? Why is the "Our Father" the main prayer of the Orthodox? When are the main prayers read?
Let's start with the first question. In particular, we will find out the origin of the prayer "Our Father".
She is mentioned in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. Jesus Christ himself commands this prayer to his disciples and to all Christians. Reading it, we turn to the Heavenly Father, call on His name.
Text of the prayer
What does one of the main Orthodox prayers sound like?Like this:
Our Father, who art in Heaven. Hallowed be thy name, may thy kingdom come. May Thy will be done, as in heaven and on earth. Give us our daily bread today. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation. But deliver us from the evil one. Amen!
It seems to be a short prayer. I quickly read it and ran to do my own thing. But listen to these words, delve into the essence of the text.
We glorify God and humbly place ourselves under His dominion. That is, we accept the will of God for ourselves. This is what we testify to in prayer. We turn to the Heavenly Father. And He will give us what we need. All you have to do is pray and ask.
What is the meaning of this prayer?
"Our Father" refers to Orthodox prayers for all occasions. Whether fear gnaws at us, confusion, despondency - we turn to God. And ask for help.
What is the main essence of prayer? Aspiration to God - that's the point. Acceptance that everything is from God, everything is from Him.
And we just have to do a little: pray, ask and believe in the Heavenly Father. See how deep the meaning of prayer is. God gives everything, gives freely. And we can ask Him even for something as small as food. Although this is a little un-Christian, but since the Son of God left this prayer to people, then this is how it should be.
Holy Mother of God, save us
How beautifully the prayer sounds: "Virgin Mother of God, rejoice. Blessed Mary, the Lord is with you…". Do you know her story?
ProEveryone knows the Feast of the Annunciation. On this day, the Archangel Gabriel brought the Good News to the immaculate Maiden. She will become the Mother of the Son of God.
The life of the Virgin is a Christian ideal. The Queen of Heaven had no sins. From an early age, She was given to the temple, where she lived. Studying the Holy Scriptures, Mary knew the prophecy about the birth of the Savior. She dreamed of becoming at least a servant of His Mother. When the Archangel informed Mary that She was the chosen one, the Virgin humbly accepted the will of God.
But what about prayer? If we turn to the Gospel episode, which tells about the visit of Gabriel to the Mother of God, there are words of an appeal to Her. And these words of the Archangel formed the basis of one of the main Orthodox prayers.
Text of the prayer
For those who do not know the prayer "Our Lady of the Virgin, rejoice", we publish its text:
Virgin Mary, rejoice! Blessed Mary, the Lord is with you. Blessed are You in women and blessed is the Fruit of Your womb. Yako gave birth to the Savior, Thou art our souls.
By the way, if you go to Diveevo, be sure to walk along the groove of the Virgin, while reading this prayer. You need to read it 150 times. Even the Monk Seraphim of Sarov said that those who read the Theotokos rule daily are found under the Protection of the Queen of Heaven. What is the "God's Rule"? This is the prayer "Our Lady of the Virgin, rejoice", read 150 times.
Creed
One ofmain prayers of Orthodox Christians - "Symbol of Faith". Rather, it is not even a prayer, because there is no appeal to God and the Mother of God here. "Symbol of Faith" is a confession of faith.
It consists of 12 parts. These are dogmas that contain the truth of the Orthodox faith.
Reading the Creed, we testify that we believe in the Trinity of God. In God the Father, who has always existed, in God the Son, who is the bearer of the same essence as the Father, but took incarnation in a human body for the sake of our salvation. Yet He did not cease to be God.
Jesus Christ was crucified. That is, He died, was buried, and rose again on the third day after His burial. After the resurrection, the Savior ascended to Heaven, to His Father. And now he is there.
The time will come when the Son of God will come to earth again. This will be the Second Coming of Christ. This time He is acting as the Judge of the human race. There will be a Last Judgment, and the dead will be resurrected to appear before the Judge. At the Judgment, the righteous will be separated from the sinners. The first will go to heaven, and the second will go to hell. After that, a new life will come on earth.
Text "Creed"
"Symbol of Faith" refers to the main prayers of the Orthodox for every day. It is in the morning sequence. And at each liturgy the "Symbol of Faith" is sung:
I believe in the One God - the Almighty Father. Creator of Heaven and earth, visible to all and invisible. And in the One Lord Jesus Christ - the Son of God.the Only Begotten, who was born of the Father before all ages. Light from Light, God is true from God is true. Born, uncreated, consubstantial with the Father, he is the whole life.
For us for the sake of Man, and for our sake of salvation descended from Heaven. And incarnated from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and incarnated.
Crucified for us under Pontius Pilate. And suffered, and was buried, and rose again on the third day according to Scripture.
And entered into Heaven, and sitting at the right hand of the Father. And the packs of the future with glory judge the living and the dead. His Kingdom will have no end.
And in the Holy Spirit, the life-giving Lord, who proceeds from the Father. Izhe, with the Father and the Son, we worship, and glorify the prophets who spoke.
In One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. I confess one Baptism for the remission of sins.
Tea of the Resurrection of the dead. And the life of the next century. Amen
It is believed that if a dying person reads the "Symbol of Faith", he will go straight to God, without going through ordeals.
What's the point?
What is the meaning of the Creed Prayer?
This is a presentation of the basic teachings of the Orthodox faith. Brief, precise and approved by the First and Second Ecumenical Councils. Therefore, it is also called Nikeo-Tsaregradsky. In honor of the places where the meetings of the Councils took place.
Do you know why there was a split between Orthodox and Catholics? The thing is that in the XI century, Catholics decided to make a change in the text of the prayer. One single word led to differences of opinion. What is it? "Son". Catholics in the line "And in the Holy Spirit, the LordLife-giving, who proceeds from the Father, "they added the word "Son" after the "Father". As a result, it turned out that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. The Orthodox completely disagreed with this. And so a schism arose.
How to pray in the temple?
We know that there are Orthodox prayers for all occasions. The most basic ones are "Our Father", "Our Lady of the Virgin, rejoice" and "The Creed".
How to pray correctly? There are two options:
- At home.
- In the temple.
Most often we read all three prayers when we pray in the morning. They are in the morning rule.
In the temple, at the liturgy, two prayers are read: "Our Father" and "The Symbol of Faith". More precisely, they are sung by the whole temple. First - the "Symbol of Faith", after which the most difficult and terrible (let's not be afraid of this word) part of the service begins. The Eucharistic canon, when the Body and Blood of Christ are turned into bread and wine. In the altar, the priest reads prayers, performs special actions, and the choir sings at this time "The Grace of the World".
The Eucharist ends with the Lord's Prayer. It is followed by the removal of the Chalice and communion.
How to pray at home?
The main prayer of the Orthodox at home has not yet been canceled. And it is not at all necessary to pray only in the morning. Is there a need? Turn to God and to the Mother of God. Read the three prayers listed above.
In general, it is very helpful to pray during the day. Get up in the morning, readthe prescribed rule. At lunch, you can read "Virgin Mary, Rejoice." With thoughtful and deep reading, 150 prayers take an hour. If you read quickly, then from 20 to 30 minutes. Pretty good, right?
Let's digress a little from home prayer. When to read the Theotokos rule if there is no time at all? We got up in the morning, pushed the family to work and study, ate quickly and ran to work. And at work - one continuous fuss. Where can I pray.
We arrived home in the evening. And it began: in a few hours you need to have time to redo a bunch of things. Again, no time for prayer.
Stop. How are we going to work? By car, usually. And we listen to music. Music can be replaced by prayer. And we got to work and prayed.
In public transport, read the prayer mentally. Instead of plugging your ears with headphones and playing music.
And now back to home prayer. You can do household chores and pray. Or you can stand in front of the icons, light the lamp and offer your prayer to God and the Mother of God.
Do I need preparation?
The main prayer of Orthodox Christians is in their hearts. Do not be surprised, because you can read several akathists, thinking about something completely different. That is, lips read, and thoughts walk.
And you can only read three prayers, but from the bottom of your heart. And it will be more beneficial for the one who asks.
How will we pray at home? What is required for this? Step-by-step instructions, let's say, will help:
- Light a lamp or a candle in front of the icons.
- A woman needscover your head with a scarf. Men remain bareheaded.
- As for the uniform, the issue is debatable. An ideal option for the fairer sex is a skirt. But if you can't wear a skirt, trousers will do. The main thing - no shorts and, of course, you can not get up for prayer in your underwear.
- Shorts are not allowed for men. Pants and only pants.
- Cross yourself slowly, no one is forcing you anywhere.
- Start praying. Thoughtfully, without haste. From the bottom of my heart, as they say.
- Have you prayed? Now you can ask for what you prayed for.
No complications, as you can see. Everything is extremely simple and will not take much time.
Hint for the morning
On weekdays, in the mornings, we are all in a hurry. There is very little time, and much needs to be done in these hours. Where perishing here morning rule to read? Get a hint. Just don't use it when you're lazy. It is for when you are in a hurry and there is no time at all.
Resort to the main prayer of the Orthodox. Three times we read "Our Father", three times - "Our Lady of the Virgin, rejoice", once - "The Symbol of Faith". Now you can run about your business.
Conclusion
We examined in the article the main prayers of Orthodox Christians. They told about the history of each of them, gave texts. They told how and when to pray. Not without interesting facts.
Prayer is as essential to a Christian as air. Without it, the body cannot live. Not without prayerthe soul can live. Reach out to her more often. Pray, ask for help from God and the Virgin. Can't we dedicate a few minutes to the One who gives us these minutes?
