In difficult times of life, people turn to the Lord for help, even those who do not have strong faith. Everyone relies on God in the hope of receiving help in resolving this situation.
Often people expect a miracle - getting rid of diseases, employment, gaining prosperity or personal happiness. Many people feel the need to come to the temple and pray, but not everyone understands how to do it. Of course, turning to the Lord can be anything, but often suffering, especially to those who are not distinguished by the presence of strong faith and rarely go to church, it can be difficult to express in their own words what they would like. In this situation, collections of prayer texts come to the rescue. One of the most popular collections is the work of Hieroschimonh Parfeny of Kiev “Prayers and Instructions”.
Who was this man
Hieroschimonhos Parthenius of Kiev lived in the century before last and was one of the most outstanding spiritual leaders of his time. He was an Orthodox ascetic, a man of deep piety and a logical mindset. Parthenius of Kiev in his written works not only left the believers texts for prayers, but also discussions about various vital issues.
Parthenius was respected not only among believers. The clergy also listened to his opinion on various issues. However, this clergyman was canonized not so long ago. He was considered a saint only in 1994. Parthenius was canonized in the person of the saint, and the day of reverence for his memory in Orthodox churches is March 25 - the date of his death.
Children's years of Hieroschimonhos Parthenia
Pyotr Ivanovich Krasnopevtsev was born (that is, according to the metric, the name of a clergyman in the world) in the village of Simonovo. It happened on August 24, 1790. This date is tentative, as clergymen could not find documents on this subject. This is due to the fact that most of the archives suffered at the beginning of the last century during the looting by the revolutionary authorities of temples, churches, monasteries and seminaries. However, archivists and church historians believe that an outstanding Orthodox ascetic was born no later than 1793 and no earlier than 1790. This time period was calculated according to the years of training of the future saint in the seminary.
The family in which the future Hieroschimonos Parthenius was born was not prosperous. However, these people were pious, pious, and hardworking. According to the written works of Yevgeny Poselyanin, a publicist and writer, author of biographies of many spiritual Orthodox figures of the century before last, Pyotr Ivanovich was given a vision from above in adolescence, not only predetermining his fate, but also influencing the choice of his elder brother Vasily. He also became a monk, but was not so respected, known and loved as his younger brother. Vasily Ivanovich did not leave behind himself philosophical books or prayer books, and the Lord knows very little about his service.
How did his service to the Lord begin?
The vision that visited Hieroschimonhos Parthenius in adolescence (according to the biography of the authorship of Yevgeny Poselyanin) consisted in the indulgence of the Holy Spirit in the form of a snow-white dove.
This vision was the impetus for the fact that Peter Krasnopevtsev entered training at the Tula Theological Seminary. He graduated from the training course or not, it is not known exactly. However, it is a fact that after the seminary the young priest became a novice in the Kiev Pechersk Lavra.
For twelve years, the future saint carried obedience as a caretaker. At the conclusion of this obedience, the future saint again had a vision. This time the Monk Nicodemus the Prospector appeared to him. After the vision, the novice Peter Krasnopevtsev memorized the full text of the Psalms. It happened at the beginning of 1824. In the same year, the novice was tonsured a monk and named Paphnutius. His monasticism under this name lasted more than ten years. In 1834, the future saint became the confessor of the laurel.
And four years later (in 1838), he accepted the scheming and gained the name Parthenius. The tonsure was made by Philaret. He called the newly made schemnik in memory of St. Parfenius of Lampsakia.
Hieroschimonh Parthenius died on Good Friday, March 25, 1855.
How hieroschimonh Parthenius himself prayed
The daily Parthenia of Kiev prayer began in the early morning and ended after sunset. Of course, the clergyman spoke not one text for the whole day, but many.
The hieroschymon began his morning by reading the works of one of the four evangelists, he also acted at lunchtime and before the evening meal. In addition, the daily prayer of Hieroschimonhos Parthenius of Kiev included the singing of the Psalms.
Every day I read the priest and the texts of the Akathists of the Mother of God and, of course, the Savior himself. But even this did not end the list of the prayers of the hieroschymon. Parthenius of Kiev’s daily prayer included the song “Hail Mary, Virgin, Hail”. This text, according to the biography, hieroschimonos repeated up to three hundred times.
What prayers did Hieroschimonh Parthenius make?
Being attentive and friendly to the parishioners, Hieroschimon Parfeny noted that many of them do not understand church texts. Thanks to this observation, the prayers of Parthenius of Kiev appeared. The texts of the prayers of the future saint were distinguished by simplicity and conciseness. The meaning of the words used in them was clear and close to each parishioner, regardless of the level of education and the presence of spiritual knowledge.
The spiritual collections of the hieroskhimonakh include various prayers intended for almost all life situations. This is the daily prayer of Hieroschimonhos Parfeny of Kiev, whose text entered the day prayers of many Orthodox churches not only in Russia, but also in Bulgaria, the Balkans, and the lands of Ukraine. In addition to everyday prayer, hieroschimonh Parthenius left other texts of an appeal to the Lord.
What is everyday prayer for?
The daily prayer of Hieroschimonhos Parthenius of Kiev for which was composed and pronounced? This question is asked today by many people who are far from the church traditions of both the past and the present, but who aspire to the Lord.
The text of the prayer is very long. It begins with a request for the granting of purity of thoughts and the prevention of the dominance of vanity, malice, anger and worldly pettiness in the soul of man. After that, the prayer asks God for the granting of a place in “blissful eternity”, as well as for purity and simplicity in his thoughts. Further, the Parthenius of Kiev prayer pays attention to the request that the Lord give man the opportunity to prove himself worthy of a place in the kingdom of God. This is an extremely important point, since few of those involved in the compilation of prayer texts paid attention to the issue of a chance for a person to show his best qualities.
Further, the Parthenius of Kiev prayer focuses on the nuances traditional for spiritual texts. The prayer asks the Lord for the blessing not only to those close to him, but also to all humanity as a whole, about a talisman against temptations and the fall.
At the end of the prayer, the believer asks God for all the orphans, the unfortunate, the wretched and the sick, for the dying and the afflicted, for the untreated doctors and those who wander in darkness without the grace of God. The prayer of Hieroschimonh Parthenius of Kiev ends with a request for repose for all people and their unity with the Lord.
Do I need to read the prayer verbatim
Hieroskhimon himself took up the compilation of prayer texts due to the incomprehensibility for many believers of the existing options read at the services. That is, the clergyman above all put in prayer simplicity and sincerity, and not thoughtless memorization and repetition of what is not entirely clear to a person.
He strove to be close to believers, the prayer of Parthenius of Kiev simple and easy to understand. When to read the text, we will tell a little below.
Many decades have passed since the preparation of the prayer. Although the main themes of the requests that people turn to the Lord remain unchanged, the form of their expression cannot be the same as in the time of Parthenius. Accordingly, literal reading of the text of prayer is not required at all. The Parthenius of Kiev prayer can be pronounced in your own words, you just need to remember the theses that make it up.
How to pray
The original text of everyday prayer is very long. He is full of appeals to the Lord and outdated, out-of-date words. Many modern collections of prayers offer believers short and understandable versions of this text.
Adapted for today, the text of the famous everyday prayer of Jeroskhimonakh can easily be composed independently. But you can use ready-made options.
Example adapted text:
“The Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God! Do not allow vanity, carnal desires, vanity and vain cares, laziness and anger to take hold of me and distract from love for You. Our Lord Almighty, accept my hope and do not give up in deeds and cares. Grant purity to the heart and thoughts, peace of mind and good nature. Do not leave without a chance on the path to your kingdom, let me show meekness and do good deeds. Do not let it fall in temptations and do not allow it to fall, grant peace and meekness, attention to your neighbor. Cleanse yourself from sorrows and do not let it down. Save from troubles and suffering. Do not let the spirit of my idleness, help to avoid laziness and other sins. Accept repentance, for there are no sinners, but there are those who have realized. Grant patience and lead on the true path, reason and do not let turn from you. I entrust myself to Your mercy and ask for all, near and far, friends and strangers. Lord, do not leave souls without repentance, do not let the afflicted fall into disbelief from illnesses and other trials. Show the way to you for lost souls and forgive people their sins. Do not let the murmur, but do not let the inquisitiveness scanty. Do not allow injustices and troubles in your land, let everyone enter the kingdom of God, amen. ”
When composing your short version of the Parthenius prayer or choosing a ready-made text, you must not forget about its main points - remember not only the requests for yourself, but also talk about giving the chance to show the best human qualities, to do good and charitable deeds.
Why pray daily
Each person, waking up in the morning, performs certain actions. As a rule, people wash themselves, drink tea or coffee, have breakfast, and dress. This is a list of what most people do when they are going to work. These actions prepare the human body for day care and the performance of any duties.
Prayer is also preparation for the coming day, but only for the soul. Prayer sets it up for the coming day, just as a cup of strong tea or coffee sets the mind. Prayer gives the soul strength, just as breakfast gives energy to the body. Therefore, you need to pray, and not only in the morning, but before going to bed.
What other prayers did Hieroschimonh Parthenius make?
Not only the everyday prayer of Parthenius of Kiev made up his legacy. He left behind him the hieroskhimon and several versions of prayers to the Lord, texts addressing the Mother of God and praising her.
Particular attention should be paid to the dying prayers of Parthenius. In his discussions about worldly life, the Jeroskhimon paid much attention to the issues of the development of medicine to the detriment of spirituality. The priest did not deny science and medicine, but paid attention to the fact that the body and spirit are one, and in hospitals they forget about it. He emphasized that for the afflicted it is important not only the relief of pain and the cure of bodily ailment, but also spiritual support. This moment is especially important for incurable patients.
Jeroskhimonakh complained that doctors are only trying to rid the body of pain, but do not think about supporting the spirit. A collection of dying prayers was compiled by the clergyman so that the weak, incurable and simply seriously ill people could support themselves spiritually, not fall into despair and despondency, and not lose faith during bodily suffering.
These prayers are not distinguished by long texts. They are extremely short and concise. Of course, literally prayers can also not be remembered, but pronounced them in your own words, without changing the essence.
Example adapted text:
“Lord, have mercy and comfort me. Open the vapor of death and embrace yourselves. Discover the kingdom of heaven and grant me the strength of spirit on his deathbed. Do not allow weakness and die suffering, Amen. ”
The importance of such prayers is hard to overestimate. But they are intended only for those who are really on their deathbed. Those people who do not feel the approach of death, even if its doctors prophesy, should pray to God for health.