The two main prayers that every Orthodox Christian must know are "Our Father" and "Hail Virgin, Hail." The foundation of the basics taught since childhood. Why exactly these prayers? Who established 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 the neophyte asks sooner or later: where did these or other prayers come to us from? Why is “Our Father” the main prayer of the Orthodox? When are the main prayers recited?
Let's start with the first question. In particular, we will find out the origin of the prayer “Our Father”.
It is mentioned in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. Jesus Christ himself commands this prayer to his disciples and all Christians. Reading it, we turn to Heavenly Father, call on His name.
Prayer text
What does one of the main Orthodox prayers sound like? Like this:
Our Father, you shall be in heaven. Hallowed be thy name, may thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven and on earth. Give us our daily bread today. And leave us our debts, as well as we leave our debtor. And do not lead us into temptation. But deliver us from the evil one. Amen!
It would seem a short prayer. quickly read and ran about his own business. But listen to these words, understand the essence of the text.
We glorify God and humbly plunge ourselves into His dominion. That is, we accept the will of God in relation to ourselves. About which we testify in prayer. We appeal to Heavenly Father. And He will give us what is necessary. Only pray and need to ask.
What is the meaning of this prayer?
"Our Father" refers to Orthodox prayers for all occasions. Whether fear bites us, confusion, despondency - we turn to God. And ask for help.
What is the main point of prayer? The pursuit of God - that is the point. The acceptance that everything is from God, everything from Him.
And all that remains for us is to do just a little: to pray, ask and believe in Heavenly Father. See how deep the meaning of prayer is. God gives everything, gives free. And we can even ask Him for such a small thing as food. Although this is not a little Christian, but since the Son of God left this prayer to people, it means so.
Blessed Virgin Mary, save us
How beautiful the prayer sounds: "Hail Virgin, rejoice. Blessed Mary, the Lord be with you ...". Do you know her story?
Everyone knows about the Feast of the Annunciation. On this day, the Archangel Gabriel brought the Good News to the Immaculate Otrokovitsa. 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. As she studied the scriptures, Mary knew the prophecy of the birth of the Savior. She dreamed of being able to become at least a servant of His Mother. When the Archangel informed Mary that she was the chosen one, the Virgin dutifully accepted the will of God.
But where does the prayer come from? If we turn to the Gospel episode, which tells about the visit of Gabriel to the Virgin, there are words of appeal to Her. And these words of the Archangel formed the basis of one of the main Orthodox prayers.
Prayer text
For those who don’t know the prayer “Hail Mary, Hail Virgin”, we publish its text:
Hail Virgin, rejoice! Grace Mary, the Lord is with Thee. Blessed are you in women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. As the Savior gave birth, eat our souls.
By the way, if you go to Diveevo, be sure to go 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, under the Protection of the Queen of Heaven, are found. What is the "Mother of God"? This is the prayer, "Hail Mary, Hail," read 150 times.
"Symbol of faith"
One of the main prayers of Orthodox Christians is the “Symbol of Faith”. Rather, it is not even a prayer, because there is no appeal to God and the Mother of God. "Symbol of Faith" - is a confession of faith.
It consists of 12 parts. These are dogmas that contain the truth of the Orthodox faith.
By reading The Symbol of Faith, 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 has taken embodiment in the human body for the sake of our salvation. However, He did not cease to be God.
Jesus Christ was crucified. That is, He died, was buried, and rose on the third day after His burial. After the resurrection, the Savior ascended into Heaven, to His Father. And now it’s there.
The time will come when the Son of God will come to earth again. It will be the Second Coming of Christ. This time, He acts as a Judge on the human race. There will be a Last Judgment, and the dead will be resurrected to appear before the Judge. At the Judgment, the separation of the righteous from sinners will occur. The first is heaven, and the second will go to hell. Then a new life will come on earth.
Text of the Creed
"Symbol of Faith" refers to the main prayers of the Orthodox for every day. He is in the morning following. 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 Unity of the Lord Jesus Christ - the Son of God. The only begotten, even from the Father born before all ages. Light from Light, God is true from God is true. Born, uncreated, consubstantial with the Father, all the same by him.
Us for the sake of Man, and ours for the sake of salvation descended from Heaven. And embodied from the Spirit of the Holy and Mary of the Virgin, and humanizing.
Crucified for us at Pontius Pilate. And the sufferer, and buried, and risen on the third day according to the Scriptures.
And he who has entered heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. And packs of the future with glory judge the living and the dead. His Kingdom will have no end.
And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord of the life-giving, also from the Father proceeding. Already, with the Father and the Son, we bow down, and glorify the prophet who has spoken.
In the 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 future century. Amen
It is believed that if a dying person reads “The Creed”, he will go straight to God, without going through ordeals.
What's the point?
What is the meaning of the “Symbol of Faith” prayer?
This is a summary of the teachings of the Orthodox faith. Brief, accurate 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 the Orthodox and Catholics? The thing is that in the XI century, Catholics decided to amend the text of the prayer. A single word has led to diverging views. What is it like? "Son." The Catholics in the line "And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord of the Life-Giving, also from the outgoing Father," added the word "Son" after the "Father". As a result, it turned out that the Holy Spirit comes from the Father and the Son. The Orthodox completely disagreed with this. So a split arose.
How to pray in the temple?
We know that there are Orthodox prayers for all occasions. The most basic are Our Father, Virgin Mary, Rejoice, and Symbol of Faith.
How to pray There are two options:
Most often we read all three prayers when we pray in the morning. They are in the morning rule.
In the church, at the liturgy, two prayers are read: "Our Father" and "Symbol of Faith." More precisely, they are sung by the whole temple. First - the “Symbol of Faith”, after which the most difficult and terrible (not afraid of the word) part of the service begins. The Eucharistic canon, when the Body and Blood of Christ are converted into bread and wine. At the altar, the priest reads prayers, performs special actions, and the choir sings at this time, "Grace of the world."
The Eucharist ends with the prayer “Our Father”. After it follows the removal of the Chalice and the sacrament.
How to pray at home?
The main Orthodox prayer at home has not yet been canceled. And it’s not necessary to pray only in the morning. Is there a need? Turn to God and to the Virgin. Read the three prayers listed above.
In general, it is very helpful to pray during the day. In the morning we got up, subtracted the rule. At lunch you can read "Virgin Mary, Hail." A thoughtful and deep reading of 150 prayers takes an hour. If you read quickly, then from 20 to 30 minutes. Fully capable, right?
Let's digress a little from home prayer. When to read the Mother of God rule if there is no time at all? In the morning we got up, we explained homework to work and study, quickly ate and ran to work. And at work - one continuous fuss. Where is there to 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 not to prayer.
Stop. How are we going to work? By car, as a rule. And we listen to music. Music can be replaced by prayer. And they got to work, and prayed.
In public transport, read the prayer mentally. Instead of plugging your ears with headphones and chasing music.
Now back to home prayer. You can do household chores and pray. Or you can stand in front of the icons, flood the lamp and offer your prayer to God and the Virgin.
Do I need training?
The main prayer of Orthodox Christians is in their hearts. Do not be surprised, because you can read a few akathists, thinking completely different. That is, lips read, and thoughts walk.
And you can read only three prayers, but with all your heart. And it will be more beneficial for the asker.
How will we pray at home? What is required for this? A step-by-step instruction, let's say, will help:
Light a lamp or candle in front of the icons.
A woman needs to cover her head with a scarf. Men remain bareheaded.
As for the uniform, this is a moot point. An ideal option for the fairer sex is a skirt. But if there is no way to put on a skirt, trousers will come down. The main thing - no shorts and, of course, you can not get up to prayer in underwear.
Shorts are not allowed for men. Pants and only pants.
Cross slowly, no one is driving you anywhere.
Start reading the prayer. Thoughtfully, without rushing. With all my heart, as they say.
Have you prayed? Now you can ask what you prayed for.
No difficulties, as you can see. Everything is extremely simple and does not take much time.
Morning tip
On weekdays, in the morning, we are all in a hurry. There is very little time, but much needs to be done in these hours. Where can I read the morning rule? Catch the hint. Just do not resort to it when you are lazy. She is in the case when in a very hurry and there is absolutely no time.
Resort to the main prayer of the Orthodox. Three times we read "Our Father", three times - "Virgin 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, brought texts. They told how and when to pray. Not without some interesting facts.
A Christian needs prayer like air. Without it, the body cannot live. Without prayer, the soul cannot live. More often resort to her. Pray, ask for help from God and the Virgin. Can't we devote a few minutes to the One who gives us these minutes?