When prayer is in progress, the believer bows his head as a sign of humility and reverence, makes bows and bows to the ground, may lie prostrate with his head bowed to the ground. All these bows, knowing the rules of the church, the believer does not just like that and not when he wants to. Everything in worship is endowed with meaning and has both external and inner side. For example, prostrations with the head touching the ground and immediately following this lifting have a deep symbolic meaning: because of sin, we fell to the earth and, thanks to the redemption of Christ, we again have the opportunity to be taken to heaven. Among all prayers and services, Sundays are special

The Meaning of the Sunday Prayer Service

It is important to know, for example, that there are days in the church when prostrations are not done; moreover, they are prohibited by the charter. This is due to the meaning of the celebrated event. First of all, these are Sunday prayers, polyeleos, from the feast of Christmas to Epiphany itself, the entire Pentecost from Easter to the day of the Holy Spirit, and the days before which polyeleos solemn all-night vigils take place. The prohibition of prostrations these days was already stipulated at the first Ecumenical Council, where it is clearly stated that this rule applies to the entire church, and prayers these days should be performed standing on your feet.

Ordinances of councils

The Church attaches great importance to the celebration at services and at home. This is evident from the fact that the ruling on how to perform Sunday prayers, celebrate polyeleos and Pentecost is repeated in a number of canons. VI also explains in Rule 90 about refraining from prostrations from the evening Saturday entrance until the Sunday evening entrance. This symbolizes the joy and veneration of the resurrection of Christ.

Basil the Great in his writings “On the Holy Spirit” (91 canons) says that at the beginning (day 1) of the week, Sunday prayers must be performed standing and straight, because of the resurrected Christ and our future resurrection with him, our duty to seek the highest. Therefore, on Sunday, standing right before God during prayer is a reminder to us of the grace that has been bestowed. This day is called the single eighth day, symbolizing the time following the present - eternity, an endless age. The Church teaches its parishioners to pray standing Sunday prayers in order to often remind of the endless life, not to neglect to repose in it.

The Purpose of Church Prayer

Celebrating the victory of life over death, Christ over the devil, the church on Sunday builds a service accordingly. Therefore, prayers at the Sunday service on your knees these days are unacceptable, this will contradict the whole meaning of the holiday.

It has an instructive purpose for believers when reading the psalter and hymns. It is important to know about the true teaching of Christ, to become disposed to prayer and repentance. At the same time, it is important in those who pray to evoke a feeling of gratitude to God for everything. It is important for the praying person to feel the need for intensified prayer for further favors to us and to receive peace of mind.

Sunday morning prayers in the church differ from home prayer in that they are performed by clergy who are legally in the church, ordained through the sacrament of the priesthood. Through prayer, a Christian enters into a mysterious communion with God, and through the sacraments he receives from God grace-filled forces for a righteous life.

Church prayers are connected in a special way. They also include the reading of the Psalms, the Holy Gospel. Throughout the service, a certain thought is consistently developed.

The essence of Sunday prayer

The article can describe only some points that reveal the meaning of the Sunday prayer. The text of the full liturgy should be sought in special sources.

About Sunday stichera and troparion

The resurrection verses speak of God leading the soul out of prison. Turning to Christ, the praying one speaks of His great victory over hell, of the death on the cross, of the liberation of the dead. The soul of a penitent sinner prays to Christ, the source of life, to have mercy on her and grant the one who prays to abide with the righteous. He calls out to the Lord from the depths of his heart and asks to hear his voice, the sinner. The soul cries out to God and rejoices in the Resurrection of Christ!

The Sunday troparion speaks of angelic powers and Mary looking for Christ in the tomb. But He is not there - He is risen!

An elderly priest told of how he once received important advice in his youth, which he successfully followed all his life. He turned to an experienced priest with a request for advice,. The young man expected that he would give him a short lecture on prayer, give him specific instructions on this matter. The priest answered with a few words, he said: Just talk to God". And the priest to whom this advice was given said that all his life, starting to pray, he remembered this extremely simple advice, and all his life it helped him and inspired him to pray.

This extremely simple advice is good for us to always remember too. If each of our prayers is a conversation with God, if not immediately complete, but sincere, then, of course, we will be able to achieve great heights in the matter of prayer. We know the examples of many saints who, having barely turned to God, went to deserted places and cried out to the Lord for the rest of their lives. In moments of joy they thanked and praised the Creator, in moments of despair they called for help. When fatigue piled up, they asked for strength and zeal, when troubles happened, they begged for patience and humility, during demonic attacks they asked for protection. So their whole life passed in constant communion with the Lord, and they reached the heights of holiness.

However, the Tradition of the Church contains a lot of advice regarding prayer. Over the two thousand years of the existence of the Church, many saints have gone through a difficult and dangerous path of prayer. And we don't have to start from scratch. It would be much more reasonable to listen to the voice of the Church and follow the path of prayer not by touch, through trial and error, which can cost us mental health or even death of the soul, but along the path trodden by a great many saints. Probably, this experience is especially important for us, people living in the world, loaded with many responsibilities and not having the opportunity day and night to tirelessly cry out to God. And why try to find a path in a dense, dangerous forest, when many of the best guides offer us their experience and knowledge to help us. We will try to give here the main recommendations that will help us to successfully advance in the matter of prayer.

In any case, the beginning is important. Just as a runner takes a special position before the start and freezes in anticipation of the start of the race, so we must gather the strength of our souls before starting prayer. An incorrect start threatens the athlete with the failure of the competition. The lack of proper attention to the preparation for prayer implies a high probability that in a few minutes we will forget what we are doing, and while our eyes and lips will pronounce the words of the prayer, our thoughts will wander far from the essence of what is happening.

In the prayer book before the start of the morning prayers, an indication is given: “ rising from sleep, before any other work, stand reverently, placing 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. After this, hesitate a little until all your feelings subside and your thoughts leave everything earthly: and then begin to pray».

So, the first thing to do when starting a more or less lengthy prayer is to prepare for it. Starting any serious business, we prepare for it for some time: we think over a plan of action, we collect everything necessary for its implementation. Moreover, we must prepare ourselves for a conversation with God. We must force our mind to take a break for the time of prayer from everything with which it is constantly busy, and focus only on prayer. We must try to bring some order and calm into the chaos in which our thoughts and feelings often find themselves. In order to achieve peace and tranquility in our souls, without which it is impossible to meet with God, we are invited to stand silently for a while and try to realize the fact that the Lord is always with us and at the moment He is also addressed to us. Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh advises: stand calmly, close your eyes. Imagine, feel that the Lord is looking at you. Realize the greatness and solemnity of this moment. Think about your unworthiness too. And finally, feel the great love with which the Lord is addressed to you. No need to rush. Let all these feelings gradually find a response in our heart, and then we can stand before God, experiencing at the same time a feeling of reverence, and awareness of our unworthiness, and God's love. And then you can proceed to further prayer. You can stay in a state of silent standing before God for longer. This is already a full-fledged prayer, and therefore one should not be afraid to waste time in vain, to take it away from prayer. But if we feel that it becomes difficult to hold our attention longer, then we should move on to the main part of the prayer.

Now consider some rules that a person who begins to pray should know. These rules are developed as a result of the experience of prayer of many, many saints. Following them, a person can avoid many difficulties and dangers that await him on this difficult path.

First of all, we should always remember that our prayer must be impassive. Or, to put it in other words: prayer in no case should be sensual and emotional. The Holy Fathers paid much attention to the structure of human nature. They singled out three components of our being: spirit, soul and body. In the Fall, these components lost their proper hierarchy, the hierarchy in which the spirit dominated and controlled our entire being; body and soul (by which the holy fathers meant just feelings, emotions) were in the power of sin and began to act uncontrollably in human nature. Now our task is to restore the correct state and position of all components of the human being, but until healing is achieved, we cannot trust our feelings, because instead of reflecting the movements of the spirit, they often turn out to be moved.

Therefore, we must beware of trusting the senses and allowing them to take the lead in prayer. We should try to pray, and the feelings will automatically be involved as you progress in prayer and heal them. For this, the Church proposes pay close attention to the words of the prayer that is, pray only with the mind. In no case should you artificially warm up and cultivate in yourself any emotional states, even if it is such wonderful feelings as love for God, repentance for one's sins, etc. Moreover, people with an emotionally developed mental warehouse need to curb their emotions. Such a prayer may seem dry and too heady, but this will keep it from the danger of being misdirected. If we focus on feelings, then they will come to the fore in our prayer and obscure the spiritual aspect of prayer. The spirit, instead of dominating, will be forced out to the periphery.

At best, this will become an obstacle to correct prayer and improvement in it. Prayer will become something like auto-training: it will help a person relieve stress, restore a normal mental state. In this case, the same mechanisms of our body that help relieve nervous tension will be involved, for example, by watching a touching movie or, conversely, a horror movie. The accumulated stress finds a way out, and the person feels better. However, true prayer has nothing to do with this.

In the worst case, a person is in serious danger of falling into a state of mental exaltation, or even completely losing mental health.

Such an incorrect and dangerous prayer, based on sensual tension, we meet in various sects, it can often be encountered in Christian denominations, in which Tradition is denied. Unfortunately, even in Orthodox churches one can meet many worshipers who are on this wrong path. During prayer, such people raise their hands, sway, roll their eyes, strain their faces, nervously make the sign of the cross, hysterically sing along to the clergy or the choir.

The holy ascetics urgently advise us to pray with the mind. At a certain stage of our spiritual growth, the mind, under the influence of grace, will unite with the senses. Then the feelings will participate in prayer in their entirety. They will take their rightful place in human nature and, under the supervision of the spirit, will ascend to God. It will be a prayer with transfigured feelings, and in it there will be no shadow of that anguish and tension that are so characteristic of our passionate soul.

If feelings are born on their own, we, of course, should not drive them away at all. But we must carefully monitor so that a state of emotional tension does not arise. For this, it is necessary to try, as already mentioned, to experience all feelings with the mind. This recommendation may seem confusing to some. But there are also more specific instructions on how to avoid the danger of being in the power of sensual prayer. Here they are.

First, the body should not be tense. It shouldn't be relaxed, of course. You need to keep him calm and collected. And prayer should not be reflected either in the body or on the face. That is, no wringing of hands or passionate pressing of them to the chest, etc. are unacceptable. The same applies to the state of the face: the muscles should not participate in prayer in any way, the face should be completely calm, and not tense.

Secondly, whether we pray aloud or to ourselves, we must try to pronounce the words evenly and calmly, with a minimum intonation expression. Let us recall the ancient Russian liturgical reading on one note and slow, monotonous znamenny singing. All this was to help the one praying to enter into the correct, spiritually sober, structure of prayer.

And, finally, it is important to ensure that no images arise in our minds during prayer. You can't imagine God, saints, or anything at all. This can be especially difficult for people gifted in this area, for example, artists. However, the images that are born in our minds do not reliably reflect the Divine reality, and most often distort it. In addition, they can cause the wrong response in our feelings, which are very difficult to maintain in a state of relative dispassion.

Considering all of the above, we note that from the very beginning of prayer, when we imagine ourselves standing before the All-Seeing God, we should not give vent to feelings and let any images into consciousness. The temptation to imagine God watching over us must certainly be rejected. During such anticipation, we realize that God is with us invisibly, and we will try to experience this reality more deeply. How can you focus on the fact that God is there if He does not manifest Himself in any way? This is not difficult. Spiritual closeness is actually much more important for us than visible and physically tangible closeness. Sometimes people live side by side for years, but remember each other's existence only when some external events force them to do so. And vice versa, loving people always remember each other's existence. A mother, when her child is seriously ill, constantly remembers his presence. She can prepare medicine for the child, turning away from him, talking to someone, or even doing business outside the room where her sick baby is, but no matter what the loving mother does, she constantly remembers the child, she is constantly aware of his presence in the house. . Let us try in a similar way to remember the presence of God. Such the memory of God should be a constant state for us. But first you need to achieve remembrance of God at least during prayer.

Since the first stage of the prayer life will be, first of all, an exercise for our mind, then the fatigue of the mind from prayer will also be a natural phenomenon. During attentive mental prayer, a slight pain in the head may even appear. The same thing happens when, out of habit, you have to do intellectual work for a long time, for example, read a complex scientific book. But the mind, with proper perseverance, soon gets used to the load, and the pain and tension in the head disappear.

However, to the same extent that it is important not to feel sorry for yourself and continue prayerful exercises, it is necessary to approach this matter wisely. The holy teachers of prayer recommend starting with a short period of time. Let it be 15-20 minutes to start. If there is such an opportunity, then the most useful for the correct and as quickly as possible accustoming one’s mind to prayer will be pray a little but several times a day. This is the perfect pattern of prayer for a beginner. It must be said that most often we never move on to the next stage of prayer and remain beginners all our lives, but this practice of prayer is most useful for us. It forces us to return our thoughts to God throughout the day, and in this it anticipates the ideal state of unceasing prayer, when a person is in a state of constant attentive standing before God. Therefore, for those who consider it possible for themselves, it would be ideal, in addition to morning and evening prayers of 20 minutes each, to set aside a few more periods of time per day for 5-10 minutes. With the help of such a short but frequent prayer, the mind most easily learns concentration and attention. These principles are fundamental in the work of our mind, therefore psychologists and educators recommend that parents of children with especially absent-minded attention engage with their children little by little, but often. Since such children, with all their desire, can gather attention for a maximum of fifteen minutes, all the remaining time will be spent on lessons in vain. It is good if our mind is accustomed to long and attentively do business. If not, then, like an absent-minded child, the mind will only be able to follow the words of the prayer for the first ten or fifteen minutes, then it will get tired, and we will no longer be able to collect it. It turns out that the rest of the time is wasted. A mind that is not accustomed to concentration will have to be gradually accustomed to attention. This is how a mother forces her unlucky son to sit down again and again to do what another could do in one sitting. And if a mother has due patience and perseverance in raising her son, then, sooner or later, she will succeed. Her child will be able to quickly and efficiently perform homework, and his mind, accustomed to work, will no longer want to spend his free time in idleness. Then the child, to the great joy of the mother, will enthusiastically do something intellectual in his free time, which he will now have enough. When we begin to pray, we most often find that our mind behaves like a naughty and lazy child. Therefore, let us be patient and, like a sensible mother, let us give him small, feasible tasks, returning him to prayer several times a day.

In prayer, it is extremely important to be as prudent and practical as you are zealous. This rule is especially true for a worldly person. The vanity and many daily duties are eager to extinguish the initial zeal of a Christian, to switch his attention from eternal to temporary and transient things. The countless entertainments that the world offers, beckon at the first difficulties to give up prayer and give them all your free time. Not so with the monks, whose whole structure of life helps them to take up the work of prayer again and again, if it has been abandoned for some time. For a worldly person, in case of failure, it is much more difficult not to give up prayer completely, therefore prudence is especially important for him in the matter of prayer.

Many trials await a person who is preparing to begin a life of prayer. Among the first - to overdo it in the heat of surging inspiration. A wise mother knows that one should not give free rein to one's desire to teach a child to study right away. By forcing him to study for too long, she will achieve nothing but an aversion to learning. So the string of a bow, stretched too much, will not be able to send an arrow in the right direction, but will break. The well-known principle of the pendulum in psychology, which, having swung in one direction, rolls back in the opposite direction by the same amount, Father Alexander Men successfully applied to our spiritual life. In the spiritual life, and in particular in the matter of prayer, the same thing happens. The Holy Fathers sternly warned: one should not immediately plunge headlong into the ascetic life. This requires moderation and gradualism. Otherwise, after a short period of complete devotion to spiritual exploits, a person faces an almost irresistible temptation to give up everything and return to his former non-religious life.

In order not to end up after some time in the position of a pendulum that has swung in the opposite direction, let us not take on unbearable deeds of prayer. The most correct solution, which will help to avoid kinks in one direction or another, would be plan your prayer life in advance. To some, this may seem like a somewhat mundane decision, unworthy of such a spiritual subject as prayer. But the experience of two thousand years of prayerful history of the Church shows that this is the most correct decision. In the prayer life, less than in any other business, one should wait until the desire arises. It is just as important to observe the routine and regularity in the matter of prayer as we observe, for example, the diet. Once we forgot or didn’t have time to eat - it’s nothing, but if we constantly eat when and how we have to, then it is unlikely that such food will bring proper benefits to our body, keep it in the necessary tone.

This artist can paint one picture and then sit and wait for inspiration to come again. In the prayer life is completely unacceptable sit and wait when the state of prayer comes and the soul asks itself to pray. How could we not find ourselves in the position of a writer, artist, poet, who has several, or even just one, work born in his entire life.

In life, we can let loose minor things, the implementation of which is not so necessary for us. But if you need to achieve a result, you will have to constantly work, regardless of whether there is a mood at the moment or not. So, if the hostess wants her apartment to be in order, she must constantly maintain it. If she cleans only when she wants, then only sometimes the apartment will be clean, usually dirty and messy. And in general, there will be little benefit to the apartment from such inspirational cleaning.

So, so that our prayer does not remain fruitless, but puts things in order in the soul, we will plan the day in advance and allocate a certain time for prayer. In Orthodox asceticism, the prayer routine established in advance is called prayer rule. Even the great ascetics had and fulfilled the prayer rule. Because the rule organizes, does not allow you to relax and become lazy, on the one hand, on the other, in the words of St. Theophan the Recluse, allows "to keep jealousy in its measure."

In order not to be distracted and not to look at the clock all the time, it is convenient to set an alarm clock for a certain time. And in these moments, try to disconnect from everything extraneous and very carefully pronounce the words of the prayer.

priest Konstantin Parkhomenko

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Only in the main we have descriptions of how monks should pray in their cell, how exactly the Desert Fathers practiced and succeeded in the Jesus Prayer. This is very instructive, no doubt, only we are not monks.

Deacon Pavel Serzhantov

Most of us come to God in urban family life, not in the desert. And we are familiar with the experience of ordinary temple prayer, and even home morning prayer, and not a solitary schema prayer rule.

Meanwhile, I think the monastic experience smart prayer will be of some help in our attempts to explain what temple prayer is. Now I will try to reflect on this, I ask the reader to be indulgent to me in advance, because the topic is not so easy.

Different types of prayer

Only occasionally does the whole temple literally pray with one mouth. When does it happen? When they sing ", a troparion and the magnificence of a favorite holiday. Basically, we hear how one priest proclaims a prayer, while all the others stand in silence, only sometimes they cross themselves.

Or another well-known picture: several chanters sing the irmos of the canon of Matins, while people lined up in a dense wall for anointing, so dense that it is almost impossible to cross oneself. Why is this queue not praying at all, only listening to the choristers pray?

In order to come to an exact answer, we need to talk about what types of prayer there are in general. This is where books on cell work come in handy: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.

There are different kinds Jesus Prayer, they even form a sort of . Here are the steps of this ladder:

1. oral prayer(The Jesus Prayer is said aloud in the cell, by mouth, loudly or quietly).

2. smart prayer(it is pronounced silently, with one mind).

3. Smart-Heart Prayer(a particularly deep prayer, during which the mind connects with the heart, or rather, the mind reunites with heart).

Oral and mental prayer

At Vespers, of course, you will not hear the oral Jesus Prayer, but there the reader says, for example, the Our Father prayer. Can this reader's prayer be called oral prayer? Yes, in a broad sense.

And one of the parishioners at the same time as the reader mentally pronounces all the same words of the Our Father prayer. Can this prayer of a parishioner be called a mental prayer? In general, also yes.

Why do I make such reservations: “in general, yes too”?.. Because the Our Father is clearly different from the wise Jesus Prayer. What is the difference? Words are different and more words.

The Jesus Prayer is traditionally called the short-word prayer. Prayer Our Father not so short.

What is special about the short-word Jesus Prayer? It is so short that it is easiest for a weak, absent-minded person to keep his attention on it.

And prayer without attention, like a body without a soul, is a lifeless element, a sad phenomenon. Therefore, it is easier to practice in short-word prayer, it is easier to track how prayer changes in the course of exercises.

So, the concept of “oral and mental prayer” is traditionally referred to as the short-word, repeatedly repeated Jesus Prayer, but in essence it could be applied to the not-so-short, once-repeated prayer Our Father.

So what happens in the temple?

The reader at the all-night service performs an oral prayer, Our Father, and the parishioners perform a noetic prayer. If it occurs to any of the parishioners to add their own voice to the voice of the reader, then inevitably there will be a cacophony, and he will be gently asked to pray to himself.

What happens? There are 200 parishioners at the vigil in the temple. Only one reader creates the Our Father as an oral prayer, and 199 are called at this time to pronounce the same words, only as a noetic prayer.

Let's compare this situation with another: at the Liturgy the deacon and the same parishioners, 195 people, sing the Our Father - this is not quite a classic oral prayer, in ascetic terminology it is called singing prayerful. Simultaneously with this singing, in the altar the primate performs Our Father as an oral prayer, and other clergy and altars perform Our Father as a mental prayer.

Let's get to the conclusions

It turns out that in the parish during the service, we are all called to bring mental prayers to God, and some of us at some moments of the service offer oral prayers. What is easier?

As you know, praying orally for the whole temple requires some special skills. The reader needs to prepare in advance for a long time in order to do it decorously, without hesitation, loudly, calmly and distinctly. It seems to be easier at this time, stand quietly among the people, not making a single sound.

However, many people find it easier to pray when they speak the words with their mouths. And it's harder to pray if the words don't sound out loud. This difficulty arises when a person makes the transition from oral prayer to mental prayer. Such a transition requires some skill in prayer.

A similar situation occurs not only in the spiritual life, but also in ordinary studies. So the child at first hardly masters oral reading i.e. reading aloud. And only having received sufficient skill in oral reading, the child proceeds to reading to yourself, so to speak, to "smart reading".

Let us now return to the subject of prayer. In the church, people sometimes pray orally, which actually means that all of us, coming under the church vaults, are called to "parish intellectual prayer."

This means that it would be good for all of us to have a habit in “home oral prayer” - not, of course, as short as the Jesus Prayer.

It is not enough just to stand quietly among the people, to listen to the singers and the prayers of the priest. You need to gradually participate in the service, pray together with the priest and the choristers. And pray mostly to yourself, not out loud. Difficult task? However, the task of achieving “parish mental prayer” is quite within the reach of everyone. To each!

To feel it better, let's compare smart prayer with smart-heart prayer. The difference is huge. And it is a generally recognized fact that smart-hearted prayer is by no means the lot of each of us. It is a special gift of God and the good fruit of a diligent, long-term spiritual feat under the guidance of an experienced mentor. “Parish intellectual prayer” is, after all, a different matter, it is more generally accessible.

1. If you want, you can quote the words "intelligent prayer"

2. However, one should not exaggerate the difference between the Lord's Prayer and the Jesus Prayer, on the portal we have already made the observation that the Jesus Prayer is "composed on the principle" of the Lord's Prayer (see: "").

How to pray, and what is prayer? This is a verbal appeal to the Lord, in which requests and laudatory speeches are heard. Just as blood is important for the body, so for the soul, whoever does not convert is dead in soul. Saying the words of prayer, they glorify the greatness of God, thank for his mercy, ask for the satisfaction of needs and the forgiveness of sins. Therefore, behind the content of prayer there are laudatory, thankful and supplicatory. Also external - in the walls of the house in front of the icons, and internal - produced in religious buildings. When praying at home, in front of an icon, you need to turn to God verbally, at the same time put on the banner of the cross, and worship the icons. The Christian faith implies three prayers a day.

In the morning, as gratitude, for the night experienced and asking for blessings for the coming day.

During the day, before and after meals, starting and finishing work.

In the evening, going to bed, pray with gratitude for the day you have lived and the opportunity to survive the night.

Inner prayer is available only to a few who have reached perfection and received a special gift of prayer, that is, the ministers of the church, it is performed without bodily movements.

How to pray in the church, in front of the icon?

In the temple, all those who come perform a prayer verbally and put their hearts, glorifying the Creator of all living things, this is the place of God's house, in which he is closer to all those who pray. The meager prayer of one is replenished by the faith of another and is supplemented by the lips of the clergyman, the singers. The behavior of parishioners in the temple should correspond to the location, behave quietly, reverently, surrendering to prayer.

Have you ever paid attention to the shape of temples and churches? Their design is not accidentally made in an oblong, cruciform or round shape. An elongated structure in the execution of churches, as a symbol of Noah's saving ark, a structure made with a cross is a symbol of the fact that the church received its beginning and strength through the cross, a round building means eternity and invincibility.

To reproduce prayer within the walls of the temple, there are certain recommendations.

1. Before you begin, prepare yourself mentally, stand silently for a while, with your eyes closed, until the scattered thoughts come together, and feel the silence.
2. Imagine yourself in front of the God you are addressing.
3. Pray with strong faith, only then will it make sense.
4. Speak with humility and repentance for sins.
5. Ask for earthly needs, faith, love, hope, humility, spiritual wisdom, devotion to the will of God, do not pray for wealth, power and glory.
6. You need to pray only when you have forgiven your enemies, otherwise, if you have not forgiven, you will not be forgiven yourself.

Also, turning to God, you can pray for another person, while simply mentioning his name in the saying in the context of who he is in relation to you, and after the phrase - the servant of God (name).

How to pray for the dead?

In the Christian faith there is no darkness of death, but only repose, dormancy in the hope of the joy of the morning of the resurrection, that is, rebirth in a new guise. There is the concept of the second death, more terrible than the death of the body - the death of the soul, and therefore we pray for the repose of the soul and body that have left earthly life. To comfort the relatives and calm the soul of the deceased, the Psalter is read, mainly church employees do this, after the burial, you need to order a liturgy, the magpie will be performed by the priest for forty days, while the soul of the dead seeks refuge. You can come to the temple on your own and honor the deceased, take a donation for those in need with you, it can be bread, sugar, sunflower oil, cereals, leave what you brought on the alms table. Icons in churches for the dead, as a rule, they are placed separately from the rest, they are distinguished by the rectangular shape of the candlestick. Buy candles, light them and put them in a candlestick, write a note for the dead, with the name of the deceased and leave it in a box, if it’s difficult to navigate, contact the workers, they will not refuse to help. Praying, pronounce the name of the one who remembers, ask for the repose of the soul and the kingdom of eternity. You need to pray on certain memorial days, otherwise you will disturb the soul of the deceased unnecessarily.

May your prayers be heard, thoughts pure, and souls alive forever.

The spiritual life of a Christian is not limited to individual prayer at home. In order not only to be called a Christian, but also to be one in practice, it is necessary to regularly participate in common, that is, church prayer. By uniting in common prayer, Christians form the Church, and only in the Church is salvation given to us.

The meaning and meaning of church prayer

Jesus Christ said: "where there are two or three in my name, there I am among them." In the temple before God stand not just a few people, but in its spiritual unity. Christ is constantly present in the life of the Church, and the sign of His presence is that only a priest can perform. Participation in the sacraments is an essential part of the spiritual life of a Christian.

Joint common prayer of people in the temple

In the temple during worship, believers perform a common prayer. In joint prayer, everyone prays for everyone and everyone - for everyone: when one is distracted, others continue to pray, and prayer does not weaken. Therefore, joint prayer is more important (and stronger) than private prayer.

The service is performed by the priest, who is assisted by the deacon. In the temple, the words of prayers on behalf of all those gathered are said or sung by readers and singers. The rest of the worshipers should listen carefully to what is read and sung. To better understand the words, you can follow the service with the text in your hands. At the same time, you can sing along to the choir, so long as the singing does not interfere with other worshipers.

Divine services of the daily cycle, except for the Liturgy, may be performed by believers without a priest, the so-called lay rite. For this, a temple is not needed, but a chapel is enough.

liturgical prayers

There is a huge variety of liturgical prayers - troparia, kontakions, stichera. Some of them are read only by priests during divine services: luminous prayers, the Eucharistic prayer, the prayer of Ephraim the Syrian, prayers for the sacraments and rites. Such prayers are called priestly or priestly, and they are contained in liturgical books (Octoechos, Menaion, Triodion, Hours).

Some prayers that the parishioners gathered at the service sing along with the priests and the church choir, and the laity need to know them by heart:

• The Symbol of Faith (), prayer and communion verse “Take the body of Christ, taste the source of the immortal” - on;
• song - at the Sunday all-night vigil;
• exclamation "Truly Risen!" in response to the exclamation of the priest "Christ is Risen!" - at the Easter service.

Prayer for those going to the temple

Believers sanctify each of their actions with prayer. Moreover, such an important matter as the path to the temple cannot do without it. What prayers are read when they go to church? There is one going to the temple, and it must be said to oneself or in a low whisper along the way. If you do not remember it by heart, you can read the Our Father or the Jesus Prayer.

Entering the church, you need to cross yourself three times and bow from the waist.

Worship in the Orthodox Church: charter, meaning and order

Since in everyday life a person is constantly distracted by vain thoughts and worries, it is completely must participate in church services. Only there is it possible to escape from everyday life and devote your thoughts to God. This is the main meaning of worship.

Orthodox worship consists of hymns, prayers, the reading of passages from the Holy Scriptures and sacred rites, the order (rite) of which is established by the Church.

The book in which the charter of Orthodox services is written is called the Typicon.

The order and charter of church worship was formed a very long time ago. It is taught in seminaries to future priests, deacons, readers and choir directors. However, any believer should have at least a general idea of liturgical charter in order to understand what is happening in the service.

Each moment of time is simultaneously part of a day, part of a week, and part of a year. According to the same principle, the services of the modern Orthodox Church are divided into three "circles":

• : each hour in the day corresponds to some event from the life of Jesus Christ
• septenary, or: every day of the week is dedicated to remembrance of some event of Sacred History
• : each day of the year is associated with memories of some event from the life of Jesus Christ, the apostles and saints.

The liturgical day begins in the evening, so the evening service (vespers) is considered the first service of the next day. During the day, Matins, the 1st, 3rd, 6th (and sometimes 9th) hours and Divine Liturgy are also served. On the evening before holidays and Sundays, Vespers, Matins and the 1st hour are combined into one solemn service - the All-Night Vigil.

Liturgy and Sacrament of the Eucharist

The most important public service of the day is the Liturgy. Only at the Liturgy is the Eucharist, or Communion, celebrated. During the Eucharist, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, bread and wine are invisibly transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ. Believers, eating them, partake, that is, unite with the Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and eternal life.

Three stages can be distinguished in the following of the Liturgy:

• proskomedia: the priest prepares the Holy Gifts - bread and wine - for consecration;
• liturgy of the catechumens: psalms are sung, the Holy Scriptures are read, the living and deceased relatives and friends of the worshipers are commemorated according to the notes;
• liturgy of the faithful: the Holy Gifts are consecrated, the sacrament of the Eucharist is celebrated, the faithful commune (first the clergy, then the parishioners).

The meaning of the Eucharist in Orthodox Church very large. By participating in this sacrament, believers really, and not symbolically, become bearers of the divine Essence.

Eucharistic Prayer

The key moment of the Liturgy is the reading of the Eucharistic Prayer (anaphora) over the Holy Gifts at the proskomedia.

In the modern Church, the priest reads the anaphora secretly, in the altar, and only some exclamations are heard by those praying in the temple.

The Eucharistic prayer begins with the words "Let's become good!", and at that moment the lights are turned on in the church, and at the end of the prayer the lights are turned off.

Burning in the temple

Incense - symbolic fumigation with fragrant smoke using a censer(a vessel with burning coals) at certain points in the service.

During the small censing, the priest or deacon is on the pulpit and censes the altar, icons and the assembled people. People bow in response to censing.

During the full incense, the clergy go around the entire temple with the censer. Prayers should move away from the walls closer to the middle of the temple to make room. As the censers walk past you, turn slightly and bow. However, it is not necessary to turn your back to the altar.

When the sign of the cross, earthly and waist bows are made

During prayers in the temple, in accordance with the Church Charter, you must:

Sign of the Cross without bow:

• at the beginning of the reading of the Holy Scriptures (Apostle, Gospel, Old Testament)
• at the dismissal at the end of the service, when the priest proclaims "Christ, our true God ..."
• at the evening service at the beginning of the Six Psalm on the words “Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, goodwill towards men” (three times) and in the middle, on the word “Alleluia” (three times)
• at the Liturgy during the singing of the Creed

Sign of the Cross with a bow (three times):

• at the entrance to the temple and at the exit from it
• while reading "Come, let us worship..."
• when reading "Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah"
• when reading "Holy God, holy strong, holy immortal ..."
• with the exclamation of the priest "Glory to Thee, Christ God, our hope, glory to Thee..."
• in the words "Be the name of the Lord blessed from now on and forever"
• in the words "Vouchee, Lord, on this day (evening) without sin, be preserved for us"
• on lithium after the first two petitions of the litany

Sign of the Cross with a bow from the waist (one time):

• in the words "In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit", "Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit"
• on lithium during the litany after all petitions, except for the first two
• during litanies at other services on the words “Lord, have mercy”, “Give, Lord”, “Thee, Lord”
• during any prayer, when the words "bow down", "fall down", "let's pray" sound
• at the Liturgy on the words “Take, eat”, “Drink everything from her”, “Your from Yours I bring you”
• after "The most honest cherub ..." before "Bless the Name of the Lord, Father ..." (low bow from the waist)
• in the morning after reading the Gospel
• at Vespers and Matins after the end of each stichera
• at matins on the canon on every refrain and the words "Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit", "and now and ever and forever and ever, amen"
• at a prayer service with an akathist at the beginning of each kontakion and ikos

At the Liturgy on Sunday and in the period from Easter to Pentecost, when prostrations are not made, the sign of the cross is made with a bow from the waist:

• after the chant "We sing to you"
• after "It's worth eating"
• at the exclamation "Holy to the holy"
• at the exclamation "And vouchsafe us, Master, uncondemned ..." before singing "Our Father"
• when the priest takes out the Holy Gifts in the words “Come with the fear of God and faith”
• then in the words "Always, now and ever and forever and ever, amen"

Belt bow without the sign of the cross:

• on the exclamation of the priest "Peace to all ..."

Earthly Great Bow

For prostration kneel down and touch the floor with hands and head.

Earthly prostrations are performed:

• during fasting at the entrance to the temple and before leaving it (three times)
• during fasting at matins during the Song of the Most Holy Theotokos at the end of the chorus "Most honorable cherub ..."
• Great Lent during the reading of the prayer of Ephraim the Syrian (on each phrase)
• Great Lent at Great Compline at each reading of the verse "Most Holy Lady Theotokos, pray for us sinners"
• Great Lent at Vespers while singing "Our Lady, Virgin, rejoice ..." (three times)
• at the Liturgy on a weekday (not on a holiday): after the hymn “We sing to you”, after “It is worthy to eat”, with the exclamation “Holy to the saints”, with the exclamation “And vouchsafe us, Master, uncondemned ...” before singing “Our Father ”, when the priest takes out the Holy Gifts in the words “Approach with the fear of God and faith”, then in the words “Always, now and forever and forever and ever, amen”

On Sundays and in the period from Easter to Pentecost, prostrations are replaced by bows.

How to pray in the church in front of the icon

You need to come to the temple some time before the start of the service in order to venerate the icon of the day or miraculous icons.

The icon of the day is an image of a saint or an event of Sacred history, the memory of which is celebrated on this day. The icon of the day lies (on a small inclined table). If on this day there is no holiday and no saint is remembered, then the icon of the day is the icon of the saint or the holiday in whose honor the temple was consecrated.

Before the icon you need to cross yourself twice with a waist bow.

Wherein say a prayer to themselves:

• at the icon of Christ - the Jesus prayer "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner"
• before the face of the Virgin - "Most Holy Mother of God, save us"
• at the image of the saint - “Holy servant of God (or: holy servant of God) (name) pray to God for us"

After that, you need to apply your lips to a certain place of the icon:

• at Christ they kiss the blessing hand, feet or edge of the garment
• at the Virgin and saints - a hand or clothes
• on the icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands or the head of John the Baptist - hair

Church Slavonic language - meaning and role

Divine services in Russian, Serbian and Bulgarian are conducted in Church Slavonic. Only passages from Holy Scripture can be read in Russian. Church Slavonic is not always easily perceived by ear, so you can take a printout of the text with a translation with you to services.

People often ask: is it possible to pray in Russian and why is the service not translated into Russian?

You can pray in Russian, in Russian, as in any national language, there is nothing bad or unworthy of prayer. However, at present, a full translation of the service into Russian is impossible: the norms and style of the modern Russian literary language are constantly changing, the language becomes outdated very quickly. In addition, the Russian language simply does not have many words that are used in prayer poetry.