Is the prayer of Ephraim the Syrian read on Sunday? Prayer of Ephraim the Syrian: how to read it at home and in church? Rules for reading the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian

During Great Lent, an amazing prayer is read every day - from Sunday evening to Friday.

The prayer that tradition attributes to one of the great teachers of spiritual life, St. Ephraim the Syrian can truly be called a Lenten prayer, since it especially stands out among all the chants and prayers.

Text of the prayer of Ephraim the Syrian

Lord and Master of my life,

Do not give me the spirit of idleness, despondency, covetousness and idle talk.

Grant the spirit of chastity, humility, patience and love to me, Your servant.

Hey, Lord, King!

Grant me to see my sins,

And don't judge my brother

For blessed art thou unto the ages of ages.

Prayer of Ephraim the Syrian. Video:

When is the prayer of Ephraim the Syrian read?

The prayer of Ephraim the Syrian is read twice at the end of each Lenten service from Monday to Friday (it is not read on Saturdays and Sundays, since the services of these two days, as we will see later, differ from the general Lenten order). When this prayer is read for the first time, a prostration is made after each petition. Then the prayer is read to oneself 12 times: “God, cleanse me, a sinner,” with bows from the waist. Then the entire prayer of Ephraim the Syrian is read again, after which one bow to the ground is made.

Why does this short and simple prayer occupy such an important place in the entire Lenten service?

Because it lists in a special way, unique only to this prayer, all the negative and positive elements of repentance and defines, so to speak, a list of our individual exploits. The purpose of these feats, first of all, is liberation from some basic illness that guides our entire life and prevents us from embarking on the path of turning to God.

The main illness is idleness, laziness, carelessness, negligence. This is that strange laziness and passivity of our entire being that always pulls us “down” and does not lift us “up”, that constantly convinces us of the impossibility, and therefore undesirability, of changing anything. This is truly a deeply rooted cynicism in us, which responds to every spiritual call: “Why?” and thanks to which throughout our lives we waste the spiritual powers given to us. “Idleness” is the root of all sins, because it poisons spiritual energy at its very sources.

The fruit of idleness is despondency, in which all teachers of spiritual life see the greatest danger to the soul. A person in the grip of despondency is deprived of the ability to see anything good or positive; for him it all comes down to denial and pessimism. This is truly the devil's power over us, because the devil is first of all a liar. He lies to man about God and about the world; it fills life with darkness and denial. Dejection is the suicide of the soul, because if a person is in the grip of despondency, he is completely unable to see the light and strive for it.

Enthusiasm! Love of power. Strange as it may seem, it is idleness, laziness and despondency that fill our lives with lust. Laziness and despondency distort our entire attitude towards life, empty it and deprive it of all meaning. They force us to seek redress in completely wrong attitudes towards other people. If my soul is not directed towards God, does not set itself a goal Eternal values, she will inevitably become selfish, self-centered, which means that all other beings will become means to satisfy her desires and pleasure. If God is not the Lord and Master of my life, then I myself turn into my master and master, I become the absolute center of my life. own world and consider everything from the point of view of my needs, my desires and my judgment. Lust, thus, radically distorts my attitude towards other people, trying to subjugate them to itself. It does not always encourage us to truly command and dominate other people. It can also be expressed in indifference, contempt, lack of interest, attention and respect for other people. The spirit of idleness and hopelessness in this case is directed towards others; and spiritual suicide is combined here with spiritual murder.

After all this - idle talk. Only man among all the creatures created by God received the gift of speech. All the Holy Fathers see in this the “imprint” of the Image of God in man, because God Himself is revealed to us as the Word (John 1:1). But, being the highest gift, it is at the same time the greatest danger. By truly expressing the very essence of man, his self-fulfillment, it is precisely because of this that he can become a means of fall, self-destruction, deception and sin. The word saves and kills; the word inspires, and the word poisons. Truth is expressed in words, but the devil's lies also use words. Possessing the highest positive power, the word therefore has enormous negative power. It creates positive and negative. When a word deviates from its divine nature and purpose, it becomes idle. It “reinforces” the spirit of idleness, despondency and lust, and life turns into a living hell. The Word then truly becomes the power of sin.

Repentance is thus directed against these four manifestations of sin. These are obstacles that need to be removed. But only God alone can do this. Therefore, the first part of this Lenten prayer is a cry from the depths of human helplessness. The prayer then moves on to the positive goals of repentance. There are also four of them.

Chastity! If we do not give this word, as is often done, only its sexual, secondary meaning, then it must be understood as the positive opposite of the spirit of idleness. Idleness, first of all, means dispersion, division, fracture of our opinions and concepts, our energy, the inability to see things as they are, in their whole. The opposite of idleness is precisely integrity. If chastity is usually considered a virtue opposite to sexual depravity, this is only due to the fact that the brokenness of our existence is expressed nowhere more than in sexual depravity, in the alienation of the life of the body from the life of the spirit, from spiritual control. Christ restored integrity in us, restored the true hierarchy of values, bringing us back to God.

The first wonderful fruit of this integrity or chastity is humility. We have already talked about it. It is, first of all, the victory of truth in ourselves, the destruction of all the lies in which we usually live. Some humble people are able to live in truth, see and accept things as they are, and thanks to this see God's greatness, kindness and love for everyone. This is why it is said that God gives grace to the humble and resists the proud.

Chastity and humility are naturally followed by patience. “Fallen” in his natural nature a person is impatient, because, without seeing himself, he is quick to judge and condemn others. These concepts about everything are incomplete, broken, distorted. Therefore, he judges everything according to his tastes and from his point of view. He is indifferent to everyone except himself, so he wants life to become immediately successful for him.

Patience is truly a divine virtue. The Lord is patient not because He treats us “condescendingly,” but because He really sees the very depth of things, which we, due to our blindness, do not see and which is open to Him. The closer we come to God, the more patient we become, the more we reflect in ourselves what is characteristic of God alone careful attitude, respect for each individual being.

Finally, the crown and fruit of all virtues, all efforts and deeds is love, that love which, as we have already said, can be given by God alone. This is the gift that is the goal of all spiritual training and experience.

All this is brought together in the last petition of the Lenten prayer of Ephraim the Syrian, in which we ask: “to see your sins and not condemn your brother.” Ultimately, there is one danger we face: pride. Pride is the source of evil, and evil is the source of pride. However, it is not enough to see your sins, because even this apparent virtue can turn into pride. The writings of the Holy Fathers are full of warnings against this type of false piety, which in fact, under the guise of humility and self-condemnation, can lead to devilish pride. But when we “see our sins” and “do not condemn our brother,” when, in other words, chastity, humility, patience and love are united in us into one whole, then and only then our main enemy - pride - is destroyed in us.

How to read the prayer of Ephraim the Syrian correctly?

After each request of the prayer of Ephraim the Syrian, we bow to the ground. But not only during the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian is bowed to the ground; they constitute a distinctive characteristic of the entire Lenten service. But in this prayer their meaning is revealed best. In the long and difficult feat of spiritual rebirth, the Church does not separate the soul from the body. Man fell away from God entirely, soul and body. And the entire person must be restored in order to return to God. The fall of sin consists precisely in the victory of the flesh (animal, lust in us) over the spiritual, divine nature. But the body is beautiful, the body is holy. So holy that God Himself “became flesh.” Salvation and repentance then are not contempt for the body, not neglect of it, but the restoration of the body in its true service, as an expression of life and spirit, as a temple of the priceless human soul. Christian asceticism is not a struggle against the body, but for it. That is why the whole person - soul and body - repents. The body participates in the prayer of the soul, just as the soul prays not outside, but in its body. Thus, bowing to the ground, a “psycho-physical” sign of repentance and humility, worship and obedience, is distinctive feature Lenten worship.

St. Ephraim Sirin

Moli tva Ephraim the Syrian is a prayer of repentance, compiled in the 4th century. by St. Ephraim the Syrian (Syrian), which is read at the services of Great Lent:

"Lord and Master of my life,

At the first reading of this prayer, after each of the three petitions, a prostration is made. Then the prayer is read to oneself 12 times: “God, cleanse me, a sinner,” with bows from the waist. Then the entire prayer is read again, after which one prostration is made.

This prayer is read in church during the hours on Wednesday and Friday of Cheese Week and throughout Holy Pentecost, except Saturdays and Sundays; also in the first three days of Holy Week. On these same days, it is included in the home prayer rule.
IN…

During Great Lent, every day - from Sunday evening to Friday - an amazing prayer of Ephraim the Syrian is read

Here is the text of this prayer:

Grant the spirit of chastity, humility, patience and love to me, Your servant.

Hey, Lord, King!

Grant me to see my sins,

And don't judge my brother

For blessed art thou unto the ages of ages.

Prayer of Ephraim the Syrian

This prayer is read twice at the end of each Lenten service from Monday to Friday (it is not read on Saturdays and Sundays, since the services of these two days, as we will see later, differ from the general Lenten order). At…

Prayer of Ephraim the Syrian

Text, translations + wallpapers

The prayer of Ephraim the Syrian is read at daily services during Great Lent until Great Wednesday of Holy Week, except Saturday and Sunday, as well as on cell prayer Houses. They create it this way:

Lord and Master of my life! Do not give me the spirit of idleness, despondency, covetousness and idle talk. (bow to the ground)

Grant the spirit of chastity, humility, patience and love to Thy servant. (bow to the ground)

To her, Lord the King, grant me to see my sins and not condemn my brother, for blessed are you forever and ever. Amen. (bow to the ground)

God, cleanse me, a sinner. (12 times with bows from the waist)

And once again the entire prayer with one bow to the ground at the end.

About the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian can be said to best, simplest and most briefly express the meaning and spirit of what Christians have been calling Great Lent for centuries. This prayer is repeated at the end of each Lenten service: believers read it at home, in their private prayer. (Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann.)

About Ephraim the Syrian.

St. Ephraim the Syrian is a Christian poet, theologian, great teacher of repentance, prayer book, and preacher. Ephraim the Syrian was born at the beginning of the 4th century in Mesopotamia. In a poor Christian family.
Ephraim the Syrian - widely educated person of its time. He spoke Hebrew, had extensive knowledge of the geography and ethnography of Palestine, and attaches special value to his interpretations of the Holy Scriptures. The number of works by Ephraim the Syrian reached 1000, not counting the prayers he composed and poems expounding church teaching. Many poems were set to folk melodies.
St. Ephraim the Syrian taught that forgiveness...

Lord and Master of my life!

Do not give me the spirit of idleness, despondency, covetousness and idle talk.

Grant the spirit of chastity, humility, patience and love to Thy servant.

To her, Lord the King, grant me to see my sins and not condemn my brother,

for blessed art thou unto ages of ages

God, cleanse me, a sinner (12 times)

Prayer of Ephraim the Syrian: Lord and Master of my life

The Prayer of Ephraim the Syrian is a repentant prayer, written by Saint Ephraim the Syrian, read according to the Orthodox church charter at daily services during Lent until Great Wednesday of Holy Week, except Saturday and Sunday, as well as in cell prayer at home.

About the prayer of Ephraim the Syrian

This prayer, which according to legend belongs to St. Ephraim the Syrian, especially stands out among all...

Prayer of Saint Ephraim the Syrian

Lord and Master of my life, do not give me the spirit of idleness, despondency, covetousness and idle talk.

Grant me the spirit of chastity, humility, patience and love to your servant.

To her, Lord the King, grant me to see my sins and not condemn my brother, for blessed are you forever and ever. Amen.

God, cleanse me, a sinner.

Translation of the prayer by Rev. Ephraim the Syrian:

1) Lord and Master of my life! Do not give me the spirit of idleness, despondency, covetousness and idle talk.

(Lord and Master of my life! do not give me a tendency towards idleness - laziness, despondency - hopelessness, lust for power and idle talk.

Idle talk - pronunciation empty words(vain talk), as well as the pronunciation of bad and abusive words).

2) The spirit of chastity, humility, patience and...

Lent- this is a period of abstinence from the usual pleasures to which one is accustomed Orthodox Christian. The Orthodox Church includes not only food as pleasures, but also entertainment - spiritual and physical.

What is the point of the post?

If the meaning of this Christian tradition was only food restrictions, then fasting would be little different from a regular diet. It is believed that only in a state of restraining bodily needs does a person become especially receptive to spiritual work on himself, therefore fasting is a period of abstinence and repentance. And repentance is unthinkable without reading a prayer. What prayers should you read during Lent? The most famous Lenten prayers and prayer books are “For every request of the soul,” penitential canon Saint Andrew of Crete. The most famous and revered prayer of Ephraim the Syrian during Lent is read in all churches and in the homes of Christian believers throughout Lent.

Prayer reading during fasting

The famous Saint Theophan...

During Lent, during each prayer rule or prayer, the repentant prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian “Lord and Master of my life” is read.

St. Ephraim the Syrian, the son of a farmer from the city of Nisibia in Mesopotamia, lived in the 4th century, being reckless and irritable in his youth, but having accidentally ended up in prison on charges of stealing sheep, he received his sight, was honored to hear the Voice of God and humbled himself. After this, he went to Jacob of Nisibia, studied the Holy Scriptures and led an ascetic lifestyle in the mountains until the capture of Nisibia in 363 by the Persians. From that time on, he settled on a mountain near the city of Edessa, taught the people, preached Christianity to the pagans, refusing the rank of bishop offered to him by St. Basil the Great in Caesarea. St. Ephraim died in 373 as a deacon.

Lord and Master of my life,
do not give me the spirit of idleness, despondency, covetousness and idle talk.
Grant me the spirit of chastity, humility, patience and love to Your servant.
Hey, Lord the King,
grant me...

It is read both in churches and in homes throughout Lent. And this prayer is explained, it would seem, in depth and detail. But the essence of holy things, the essence of words born of the Holy Spirit, is such that with increased efforts at study and interpretation, new shades and facets of meaning are revealed. This work does not bring fatigue; on the contrary, it strengthens the worker, makes him happy and indicates the future path.

Let us pay attention to the fact that in this prayer we're talking about about spiritual struggle, that is, about such a struggle where one spirit opposes another. Give me the spirit of “chastity, humility, patience, love” (the man asks in the words of Saint Ephraim), but do not give me the “spirit of idleness, despondency, covetousness and idle talk.” In the language of the Bible, “do not give” can mean “do not allow.” So in the Lord’s Prayer, “do not lead into temptation” means “do not allow yourself to fall into temptation.”

This may seem like an annoying reminder, but let's say it again that fasting is a spiritual struggle, not a gastronomic phenomenon. One spirit...

The Prayer of Ephraim the Syrian is a prayer accompanied by prostrations to the ground, which is read during the weekly (that is, weekday) services of Great Lent.

Traditionally considered to be the work of St. Ephraim the Syrian (c. 306-373, theologian, poet, the most famous of the Syrian Fathers of the Church).

The divine service performed by Egyptian monks of the 4th-5th centuries consisted of reading or singing psalms, interspersed with the silent prayer of monks with raised hands, and ending with bows.

The image of reading the Prayer of Ephraim the Syrian also goes back to this tradition. In Russian practice Orthodox Church this prayer is read aloud by the priest in the presence of those praying, which is explained by the insufficient knowledge of it by the parishioners; the raising of hands is performed only by the priest (or in a number of dioceses it is not performed at all).

In the Greek Churches...

Today at the evening service in churches they begin to read the prayer of Ephraim the Syrian “Lord and Master of my life.” Does this mean that Lent has already arrived? No. The leading columns of liturgical poetry “NS”, priest Theodore LYUDOGOVSKY and poet Olga SEDAKOVA, talk about the liturgical place, meaning and poetics of Lenten prayer.

Prayer to St. Ephraim the Syrian:
Lord and Master of my life,
do not give me the spirit of idleness, despondency, covetousness and idle talk.
Grant the spirit of chastity, humility, patience and love to Thy servant.
Hey, Lord, King,
grant me to see my sins and not condemn my brother,
for blessed art thou unto the ages of ages.
Amen.

Greek text:
…

LENT MEDITATION
TO THE PRAYER OF EPHREM THE SYRIN.

The full text of the “Prayer of Ephraim the Syrian” is given, the Church Slavonic words are explained, and explanations and reflections on this prayer are given. At the end there is a Bibliography.

Great Lent is a joyful period of our lives, since at this time we cleanse ourselves from sin. At this time, in church and at home, during each prayer rule or prayer, the repentant prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian is read. According to the church charter, it is read during the hours and during the entire Holy Pentecost, except Saturday and Sunday.

In Bogoslovsky Encyclopedic Dictionary about St. Ephraim the Syrian, there is the following note: “St. Ephraim the Syrian, the son of a farmer from the city of Nizibia in Mesopotamia, he lived in the 4th century, being reckless and irritable in his youth, but having accidentally ended up in prison on charges of stealing sheep, here he received his sight, was honored to hear the Voice of God and humbled himself. After this he went to Jacob...

During Great Lent, the most famous prayer of repentance of the Church is read - the prayer of Ephraim the Syrian. What are we asking for in it?

Prayer of Ephraim the Syrian

Photo from pravmir.ru

Grant the spirit of chastity, humility, patience and love to Thy servant.

To her, Lord, King, grant me to see my sins and not condemn my brother, for blessed are you forever and ever. Amen".

Lord and Master of my life! Do not give me the spirit of idleness, despondency, the desire to rule and talk idle talk.

On the contrary, grant me, Your servant, the spirit of chastity, humility, patience and love.

O Lord and King! Let me see my sins and not condemn my brother; for You are glorified to the end of time.

What are we asking for?

The prayer of Ephraim the Syrian is a prayer of repentance. It lists the most important sins that prevent us from repenting, and the most important...

Love the most beautiful fast - a worthy and godly deed. Fasting is a chariot that ascends to heaven. Fasting gives birth to prophets; makes legislators wise. Fasting is a good protection for the soul, a reliable companion for the body. Fasting is a weapon for the valiant, a school for ascetics. Fasting reflects temptations and anoints one to achieve the feat of piety; he is the companion of sobriety, the author of chastity. Fasting is valor in battle. Fasting extinguished the fiery power. Fasting stopped the lions' mouths. Fasting raises prayer to heaven. Fasting is the mother of health. Fasting is a mentor to youth, an adornment to elders, a good companion to travelers. Those who fast have an honest body and a precious soul...

Venerable Ephraim the Syrian

Lenten prayer of Ephraim the Syrian

During Great Lent every day - from Sunday evening to Friday it is read

amazing prayer of Ephraim the Syrian

A short prayer by the 4th century Christian saint Ephraim the Syrian is a symbol of Lent.

It especially stands out among all the chants and prayers...

Orthodox literature in WORD (.doc) format and sacred music - Lent / Prayer of Ephraim the Syrian

About the prayer of Ephraim the Syrian

This prayer, which according to legend belongs to St. Ephraim the Syrian, especially stands out among all the chants and prayers of Great Lent. It is most often read in church and the entire Church kneels before the Master and Lord in fervent prayer.

Before going towards the goal, we need to understand it for ourselves, we also need to understand what prevents us from embarking on the path of turning to God.

Our main illness is idleness. This is our laziness, carelessness, carelessness. We are accustomed to thinking that although this is a sin, it is not very terrible. It seems that if you want it, everything will be as it should be. The trouble is that the further you go, the less desire and strength you have to turn things around differently. A strange laziness pulls you down, any desire to force yourself, to force yourself to move from a dead point in spite of everything, disappears. It seems that this is no longer possible, and if so, then why try?

Idleness -…

The Prayer of Ephraim the Syrian is a Lenten repentant prayer, accompanied by prostrations to the ground and read, according to the church charter, at daily services, starting from Wednesday and Friday of Cheese Week, daily with the onset of Lent on weekdays (except Saturday and Sunday) until Great Wednesday of Holy Week .

The prayer was composed by St. Ephraim the Syrian (c. 306–373, theologian, poet, the most famous of the Syrian Fathers of the Church).

The service, performed by Egyptian monks of the 4th–5th centuries, consisted of reading or singing psalms, interspersed with silent prayer by monks with raised hands, and ending with bows.

The image of reading the prayer of Ephraim the Syrian also goes back to this tradition. In the practice of the Russian Orthodox Church, this prayer is read aloud by the priest in the presence of those praying...

Love the most beautiful fast - a worthy and godly deed. Fasting is a chariot that ascends to heaven. Fasting gives birth to prophets; makes legislators wise. Fasting is a good protection for the soul, a reliable companion for the body. Fasting is a weapon for the valiant, a school for ascetics. Fasting reflects temptations and anoints one to achieve the feat of piety; he is the companion of sobriety, the author of chastity. Fasting is valor in battle. Fasting extinguished the fiery power. Fasting stopped the lions' mouths. Fasting raises prayer to heaven. Fasting is the mother of health. Fasting is a mentor to youth, an adornment to elders, and a good companion to travelers. Those who fast have an honest body and a precious soul...

Venerable Ephraim the Syrian

Lenten prayer of Ephraim the Syrian

During Great Lent every day - from Sunday evening to Friday it is read

amazing prayer of Ephraim the Syrian

A short prayer by the 4th century Christian saint Ephraim the Syrian is a symbol of Lent.

It especially stands out among all the chants and prayers of Lent.

Lord and Master of my life!
Spirit of idleness, despondency, covetousness
and don’t give me idle talk.
(Bow to the ground)
The spirit of chastity, humility,
Grant me, Your servant, patience and love.
(Bow to the ground)
Yes, Lord the King, grant me my vision
sins and not condemn my brother,
for blessed art thou unto ages of ages
Amen.
(Bow to the ground)
God, cleanse me, a sinner.
12 times with bows from the waist

And once again the entire prayer
with one prostration at the end

E This prayer is read twice at the end of each Lenten service from Monday to Friday (it is not read on Saturdays and Sundays, since the services of these two days, as we will see later, differ from the general Lenten order). When this prayer is read for the first time, a prostration is made after each petition. Then the prayer is read to oneself 12 times: “God, cleanse me, a sinner,” with bows from the waist. Then the entire prayer is read again, after which one prostration is made.

P Why does this short and simple prayer occupy such an important place in the entire Lenten service? Because it lists in a special way, unique only to this prayer, all the negative and positive elements of repentance and defines, so to speak, a list of our individual exploits. The purpose of these feats, first of all, is liberation from some basic illness that guides our entire life and prevents us from embarking on the path of turning to God.

The main illness is idleness, laziness, carelessness, negligence. This is that strange laziness and passivity of our entire being that always pulls us “down” and does not lift us “up”, that constantly convinces us of the impossibility, and therefore undesirability, of changing anything. This is truly a deeply rooted cynicism in us, which responds to every spiritual call: “why?” and thanks to which throughout our lives we waste the spiritual powers given to us. “Idleness” is the root of all sins, because it poisons spiritual energy at its very sources.

The fruit of idleness is despondency , in which all teachers of spiritual life see the greatest danger to the soul. A person in the grip of despondency is deprived of the ability to see anything good or positive; for him it all comes down to denial and pessimism. This is truly the devil's power over us, because the devil is first of all a liar. He lies to man about God and about the world; it fills life with darkness and denial. Dejection is the suicide of the soul, because if a person is in the grip of despondency, he is completely unable to see the light and strive for it.

Enthusiasm! Love of power. Strange as it may seem, it is idleness, laziness and despondency that fill our lives with lust. Laziness and despondency distort our entire attitude towards life, empty it and deprive it of all meaning. They force us to seek redress in completely wrong attitudes towards other people. If my soul is not directed towards God, does not set itself the goal of eternal values, it will inevitably become selfish, self-centered, which means that all other beings will become means for satisfying its desires and pleasure. If God is not the Lord and Master of my life, then I myself become my lord and master, become the absolute center of my own world and consider everything from the point of view of my needs, my desires and my judgment. Lust, thus, radically distorts my attitude towards other people, trying to subjugate them to itself. It does not always encourage us to truly command and dominate other people. It can also be expressed in indifference, contempt, lack of interest, attention and respect for other people. The spirit of idleness and hopelessness in this case is directed towards others; and spiritual suicide is combined here with spiritual murder.

After all this - idle talk. Only man among all the creatures created by God received the gift of speech. All the Holy Fathers see in this the “imprint” of the Image of God in man, because God Himself is revealed to us as the Word (John 1:1). But, being the highest gift, it is at the same time the greatest danger. By truly expressing the very essence of man, his self-fulfillment, it is precisely because of this that he can become a means of fall, self-destruction, deception and sin. The word saves and kills; the word inspires and the word poisons. Truth is expressed in words, but the devil's lies also use words. Possessing the highest positive power, the word therefore has enormous negative power. It creates positive and negative. When a word deviates from its divine nature and purpose, it becomes idle. It “reinforces” the spirit of idleness, despondency and lust, and life turns into a living hell. The Word then truly becomes the power of sin.

Repentance is thus directed against these four manifestations of sin. These are obstacles that need to be removed. But only God alone can do this. Therefore, the first part of this Lenten prayer is a cry from the depths of human helplessness. Then the prayer moves on to the positive goals of repentance. There are also four of them.

Chastity! If we do not give this word, as is often done, only its sexual, secondary meaning, then it must be understood as the positive opposite of the spirit of idleness. Idleness, first of all, means dispersion, division, fracture of our opinions and concepts, our energy, the inability to see things as they are, in their whole. The opposite of idleness is precisely integrity. If chastity is usually considered a virtue opposite to sexual depravity, this is only due to the fact that the brokenness of our existence is expressed nowhere more than in sexual depravity, in the alienation of the life of the body from the life of the spirit, from spiritual control. Christ restored integrity in us, restored the true hierarchy of values, bringing us back to God.

The first wonderful fruit of this integrity or chastity is humility . We have already talked about it. It is, first of all, the victory of truth in ourselves, the destruction of all the lies in which we usually live. Some humble people are able to live in truth, see and accept things as they are, and thanks to this see God's greatness, kindness and love for everyone. This is why it is said that God gives grace to the humble and resists the proud.

Chastity and humility naturally follow patience . A “fallen” person in his natural nature is impatient, because, not seeing himself, he is quick to judge and condemn others. These concepts about everything are incomplete, broken, distorted. Therefore, he judges everything according to his tastes and from his point of view. He is indifferent to everyone except himself, so he wants life to become immediately successful for him.

Patience is truly a divine virtue. The Lord is patient not because He is “condescending” towards us, but because He really sees the very depth of things, which we, in our blindness, do not see, and which is open to Him. The closer we come to God, the more patient we become, the more we reflect in ourselves the careful attitude characteristic of God alone, the respect for each individual being.

Finally, the crown and fruit of all virtues, all efforts and exploits is Love , that love which, as we have already said, can be given by God alone. This is the gift that is the goal of all spiritual training and experience.

All this is brought together in the last petition of the Lenten prayer, in which we ask: “to see your sins, and not to condemn your brother.” Ultimately, there is one danger we face: pride. Pride is the source of evil, and evil is the source of pride. However, it is not enough to see your sins, because even this apparent virtue can turn into pride. The writings of the Holy Fathers are full of warnings against this type of false piety, which in fact, under the guise of humility and self-condemnation, can lead to devilish pride. But when we “see our sins” and “do not condemn our brother,” when, in other words, chastity, humility, patience and love are united in us into one whole, then and only then our main enemy - pride - is destroyed in us.

After each request for prayer, we bow to the ground. But not only during the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian is bowed to the ground; they constitute a distinctive characteristic of the entire Lenten service. But in this prayer their meaning is revealed best. In the long and difficult feat of spiritual rebirth, the Church does not separate the soul from the body. Man fell away from God entirely, soul and body. And the entire person must be restored in order to return to God. The fall of sin consists precisely in the victory of the flesh (animal, lust in us) over the spiritual, divine nature. But the body is beautiful, the body is holy. So holy that God Himself “became flesh.” Salvation and repentance then are not contempt for the body, not neglect of it, but the restoration of the body in its true service, as an expression of life and spirit, as a temple of the priceless human soul. Christian asceticism is not a struggle against the body, but for it. That is why the whole person - soul and body - repents. The body participates in the prayer of the soul, just as the soul prays not outside, but in its body. Thus, bowing to the ground, a “psycho-physical” sign of repentance and humility, worship and obedience, is a distinctive feature of Lenten worship.

The heartfelt prayer of Ephraim the Syrian cannot leave anyone indifferent who thinks for even a minute about its meaning. So she inspired Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin to write his famous lines:

Desert fathers and blameless wives,
To fly with your heart into the field of correspondence,
To strengthen it in the midst of long storms and battles,
They composed many divine prayers;
But none of them touches me,
Like the one the priest repeats
During the sad days of Lent;
Most often it comes to my lips
And he strengthens the fallen with an unknown force:
Lord of my days! The spirit of sad idleness,
Lust of power, this hidden serpent,
And do not give idle talk to my soul.
But let me see my sins, O God,
Yes, my brother will not accept condemnation from me,
And the spirit of humility, patience, love
And revive chastity in my heart.

Life of St. Ephraim the Syrian

The Monk Ephraim the Syrian, teacher of repentance, was born at the beginning of the 4th century (the year of his birth is precisely unknown) in the city of Nisibia (Mesopotamia) into a Christian family of poor farmers. The parents raised their son in piety. But, distinguished from childhood by a hot-tempered, irritable character, in his youth he often quarreled, committed rash acts, even doubted the Providence of God, until he received admonition from the Lord, which directed him to the path of repentance and salvation. One day he was unjustly accused of stealing sheep and put in prison. In it, he heard a voice in a dream calling him to repentance and correct his life. He was acquitted and released.

IN Ephraim was awakened to deep repentance. The young man retired to the surrounding mountains and became a hermit. This kind of Christian asceticism was introduced in Nisibia by the disciple of St. Anthony the Great, the Egyptian hermit Eugene.

Among the hermits, the famous ascetic, preacher of Christianity and denouncer of the Arians, Bishop of the Nisibian Church, Saint James (January 13), especially stood out. The Monk Ephraim became one of his students. Under the gracious guidance of the saint, the Monk Ephraim acquired Christian meekness, humility, and submission to the Providence of God, which gives strength to endure various temptations without complaint. Saint James knew the high virtues of his disciple and used them for the benefit of the Church - he instructed him to read sermons, teach children in school, and took him with him to the First Ecumenical Council in Nicaea (325). The Monk Ephraim was in obedience to Saint James for 14 years until his death.

P After the capture of Nisibia by the Persians in 363, the Monk Ephraim left the desert and settled in a monastery near the city of Edessa. Here he saw many great ascetics who spent their lives in prayer and psalmody. Caves were their only refuge; they ate only plants. He became especially close to the ascetic Julian (October 18), who shared the same spirit of repentance with him. The Monk Ephraim combined with ascetic labors the unceasing study of the Word of God, drawing from it tenderness and wisdom for his soul. The Lord gave him the gift of teaching, people began to come to him, waiting to hear his instructions, which especially affected souls because he began them by denouncing himself. The monk, both orally and in writing, taught everyone repentance, faith and piety, and denounced the Arian heresy, which was then disturbing Christian society. The pagans, listening to the sermons of the monk, converted to Christianity.

N He also worked a lot in interpreting the Holy Scriptures - explaining the Pentateuch of Moses. They wrote many prayers and chants that enriched church services. Known prayers to Holy Trinity, Son of God, Most Holy Theotokos. He wrote hymns for his Church for the days of the twelve feasts of the Lord (Nativity of Christ, Epiphany), Resurrection, and funeral hymns. His repentant prayer “Lord and Master of my life...” is read during Great Lent and calls Christians to spiritual renewal. Since ancient times, the Church has highly valued the works of St. Ephraim: his works were read in some churches at meetings of the faithful after the Holy Scriptures. And now, according to the Charter of the Church, some of his teachings are supposed to be read on days of fasting. Among the prophets, Saint David is primarily a psalmist; Among the holy fathers of the Church, St. Ephraim the Syrian is primarily a man of prayer. Spiritual experience made him a mentor to monks and an assistant to Edessa shepherds. The Monk Ephraim wrote in Syriac, but his works were very early translated into Greek and Armenian, and from Greek into Latin and Slavic.

IN In the numerous works of the monk there are complete pictures of the life of the Syrian ascetics, the main place in which was occupied by prayer and then work for the common fraternal benefit and obedience. All Syrian ascetics had the same views on the meaning of life. The monks considered the ultimate goal of their exploits to be communion with God and the infusion of Divine grace into the soul of the ascetic, real life was for them a time of mourning, fasting and labor.

“If the Son of God is in you, then His kingdom is in you. Behold, the kingdom of God is within you, sinner. Enter into yourself, search harder and you will find it without difficulty. Outside of you is death, and the door to it is sin. Enter into yourself, abide in your heart, for there is God." Continuous spiritual sobriety and the development of good in a person’s soul gives him the opportunity to perceive work as bliss, and self-compulsion as holiness. Retribution begins in a person’s earthly life and is prepared by the degree of its spiritual improvement. Whoever grows wings on earth, says St. Ephraim, soars there into the sky; whoever purifies his mind here will see the glory of God there; to the extent that everyone loves God, to that extent will he be satisfied with His love. A person who has purified himself and acquired the grace of the Holy Spirit while still here on earth anticipates the Kingdom of Heaven. To acquire eternal life, according to the teachings of St. Ephraim, does not mean moving from one area of existence to another, but means acquiring a “heavenly” spiritual state. Immortal life It is not given to a person by the unilateral will of God, but, like a grain, gradually grows in him through feat, labor and struggle.

Z The sign of deification in us is the Baptism of Christ, the main engine of Christian life is repentance. The Monk Ephraim the Syrian was a great teacher of repentance. Forgiveness of sins in the sacrament of Repentance, according to his teaching, is not external justification, not oblivion of sins, but their complete destruction. Tears of repentance wash away and burn away sin. And yet - they give life, transform the sinful nature, give strength to “walk in the way of the commandments of the Lord,” strengthened by trust in God. In the fiery font of Repentance, the monk wrote, “you melt yourself, sinner, you raise yourself from the dead.”

The Monk Ephraim, in his humility considering himself lower and worse than everyone else, at the end of his life went to Egypt to see the exploits of the great hermits. He was received there as a welcome guest and himself received great comfort from communicating with them. On his way back, he visited Saint Basil the Great in Caesarea in Cappadocia (January 1), who wished to ordain him as a presbyter, but the monk considered himself unworthy of the priesthood and, at the insistence of the saint, accepted only the rank of deacon, in which he remained until his death. Subsequently, Saint Basil the Great invited St. Ephraim to the bishop's chair, but the saint presented himself as a holy fool in order to reject this honor, humbly considering himself unworthy of it.

P About returning to his Edessa desert, the Monk Ephraim wanted to spend the end of his life in solitude. But God's Providence once again called him to serve his neighbors. The inhabitants of Edessa suffered from raging famine. With a strong word, the monk encouraged the rich to help the poor. Using the offerings of believers, he built an almshouse for the poor and sick. Then the monk retired to a cave near Edessa, where he remained until the end of his life.

Dormition of St. Ephraim the Syrian

Prayer to St. Ephraim the Syrian:
Lord and Master of my life,
do not give me the spirit of idleness, despondency, covetousness and idle talk.
Grant the spirit of chastity, humility, patience and love to Thy servant.
Hey, Lord, King,
grant me to see my sins and not condemn my brother,
for blessed art thou unto the ages of ages.
Amen.

Greek text:
Κύριε και Δέσποτα τῆς ζωῆς μου,
πνεῦμα ἀργίας, περιεργίας, φιλαρχίας και ἀργολογίας μή μοι δῷς·
Πνεῦμα δὲ σωφροσύνης, ταπεινοφροσύνης, ὑπομονῆς και ἀγάπης χάρισαί μοι τῷ σῷ δούλῳ·
Ναί, Κύριε βασιλεῦ,
δώρησαί μοι τὸ ὁρᾶν τὰ ἐμὰ πταίσματα και μὴ κατακρίνειν τὸν ἀδελφόν μου·
ὅτι εὐλογητὸς εἶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων.
᾿Αμήν.

Prayer with great throwing
Why do they begin to read the Lenten prayer of Ephraim the Syrian at the height of Maslenitsa?

Priest Theodore LYUDOGOVSKY:
- The prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian († c. 379; commemorated January 28 / February 10) is read, as they usually say, during Great Lent. This is true, but two corrections need to be made here.

Firstly, this prayer should be proclaimed not only during Great Lent, but also, according to the rules, on some days of other multi-day fasts - namely, on those days when at the beginning of Matins (after the Six Psalms and the Great Litany) Hallelujah(but not God Lord, as happens, for example, at an all-night vigil on Sunday).

Secondly, the first time the prayer of St. Ephraim is read before the onset of Lent, on Wednesday and Friday of Cheese Week. This week, during which we no longer eat meat, but every day we can treat ourselves to dairy products and eggs, coincides with the Russian pagan holiday - Maslenitsa.

The pagan spirit of Maslenitsa has faded away over the centuries, but it has also not been possible to “church” it. Judge for yourself: while we are eating pancakes together and having a variety of fun, fast services are held in the church on Wednesday and Friday, both in form and in content.
On these two days there is no liturgy (a sure sign of fasting!) and, as throughout the entire Lenten period, Old Testament prophecies are read - and for the first time the prayer of a Syrian ascetic is heard.

On the other hand, it should be noted that on all Saturdays and Sundays of Great Lent the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian is not read in church, since these days are not liturgical days of fasting: throughout the year, on Saturdays and Sundays the full (and not presanctified) liturgy is served , and, with the exception of Holy Saturday, it is not celebrated in the evening (as, according to the charter, the liturgy of St. Gregory the Dvoeslov should be celebrated), but at ordinary times, in the morning - and this precisely indicates the non-fasting nature of the day.

The prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian has two types of “fulfillment” options.

The first option, more complete, looks like this. The priest goes out to the avmon (the royal doors are closed) and, turning to the altar, says: “Lord and Master of my life, do not give me the spirit of idleness, despondency, covetousness and idle talk,” and bows to the ground (or, as it is often called in liturgical books, “great throwing”).

Then he reads the second part of the prayer: “Give me the spirit of chastity, humility, patience and love,” and makes another bow to the ground. Finally, he reads the third part, bowing again: “Here, Lord the King, grant me to see my sins and not condemn my brother, for blessed are you forever and ever.” Amen". At the same time as the priest, all the parishioners bow.

This is followed by 12 waist (“small”) bows, usually accompanied by the prayer “God, cleanse me, a sinner!” Next, the priest again reads the prayer to St. Ephraim - this time all at once, makes another prostration, and the choir sings "Amen".

The second version of reading the prayer of St. Ephraim - with three bows to the ground, but without bows and without repeating the prayer at the end.

Before Nikon’s reforms, the text of the prayer looked somewhat different: “Lord and Master of my belly, drive away the spirit of despondency, neglect, love of money and idle talk from me. Grant the spirit of chastity, humility, patience and love to me, Your servant. To her, Lord the King, grant me to see my sins, and not to condemn my brother, for blessed are you forever, amen.”

When reading a prayer with 16 bows, all bows were, according to the charter in force at that time, to the ground. This is exactly how this prayer is read today among the Old Believers.

Humble Prayer
The prayer of Ephraim the Syrian does not ask for peaceful and premium blessings, for salvation, for bliss, or for any special spiritual gifts. She doesn't even ask for forgiveness. She asks for spiritual work.

Olga SEDAKOVA says:
Translation of the Greek text of the prayer.

- Prayer by Rev. Ephraim the Syrian was supposed to be written in Syriac. The Syriac text has not survived. History of the Greek text of prayer, its different lists and Church Slavonic translations is a special area. It could be presented professionally by someone who has dealt with this professionally. We limit ourselves to a literal translation of the Greek text and commentaries on individual words. The reader will notice that between Church Slavonic translation and the Greek text there are some differences.
Lord and Master of my life!

And this parity, symmetry produces its effect. We feel something unusual about this. We are accustomed to the fact that liturgical texts are dominated by the number three ( For Yours is the power and the glory and the kingdom; examples can be multiplied). Three is a formative number for temple art.

We unconsciously expect trinity in the construction of the prayer text. But you can't hear her here! I do not want to turn to numerical symbolism, which is undoubtedly important in temple art (and in the art of the Middle Ages in general) - but the search and interpretation of which always leads to unnecessary fantasies.

It is probably enough that the four most directly refers to the four cardinal directions, that is, it creates the impression of universal space. A person who pronounces these four most significant words one after another feels as if he is in the center, from which the four ends of the world extend.

He asks to be allowed to change as if he wanted to change one world to another: a world with coordinates idleness - despondency - lust - idle talk to a world whose “ends” chastity - humility - patience - love. Without delving further into the symbolism, we can say that a structure based on the number three creates the impression of integrity and composure, while something built on two and four creates an impression of openness. And this openness, it seems to me, contains the deep image of Lenten time.

Parallel pair construction, as is known, is a property biblical texts. Hymnography is distinguished by more complex figures of symmetry: chiasmus, first of all. And in our prayer there is one simple chiasmus - and its effect is very powerful. This is a cross syntactic figure.

We have roughly divided the prayer into two parts. Each one begins with an appeal. The first two petitions of the first part, which we talked about, begin with enumerations and end with a verb ( don't give, give). The second part, which contains the third petition, begins with the verb: grant.

And only then comes the subject of the request (again double, as we said: to see your sins - and not to condemn your brother). This change of place of the verb creates the impression that the last petition is, as it were, a finale, something even more significant than the first two. Last thing - and do not judge my brother- sounds like the limit of all these prayers, as the goal of the changes that the person praying for asks for.

I talked about the unexpected power of the first invocation of prayer, Lord of my belly. Word Lord reveals its terrible and simple meaning: not the universe, not angels, not heavenly armies - the whole mine, this one life is in His power.

The word sounds with the same unexpected force Brother at the end of the prayer. Common in many Christian uses, the word Brother comes to life here as a direct, non-symbolic reality - my brother. The "I" we talked about as an unusual moment common prayer, in the end, he sees non-judgment of another as his last goal. And this is not just another, but my brother(the ability to see a brother in another is also a gift and the fruit of spiritual labor).

If you think about it, the modesty of this prayer is amazing. She does not ask for peaceful and premium benefits, for salvation, for bliss, for any special spiritual gifts. She doesn't even ask for forgiveness. She asks for spiritual work. The person praying sees the ability to discern his own imperfection and not pass judgment on another as his greatest gift. The strength and intensity of the petition makes it clear that on our own man cannot achieve this.

As Averintsev notes in his work about Efrem Sirin, “a magnet that would have only one pole is an impossible thing.” In the power of Ephraim the Syrian’s prayer, there is a tension of two poles: personal cosmic greatness, one on one, standing before the Lord, which conveys the entire rhythm of prayer, and almost inhuman modesty of desire.

S.S. Averintsev contrasted the rhetoric of Greek poetry with Byzantium with another principle of composition, which he observed in the poetry of Ephraim the Syrian. He described it as the logic of meditation, that is, involvement in the text, which is created as if by itself, developing its own symbols. Rhetorical construction presupposes the author's distance from the text, his power over the presentation.

The author decided how the matter would end and which way he would lead it to this end. In the surprise of the transition from the first part of the prayer to the second, in the “secrecy” of the meaning that guides this, we see the effect of such meditative logic. Averintsev also calls it the logic of the prophetic text.

In this sense, the central motive of prayer, which, as it were, develops itself, is the sovereignty of God, which man recognizes over himself. This motif appears three times: in the first and second address ( Lord, Master, Lord, King) and in calling oneself a slave ( grant me to Your servant). Word slave comes alive here just like Lord And Brother .

Finally, the end of the prayer is for blessed art thou- can be seen as a kind of reverse perspective: usually psalms, prayers, hymns begin with the blessing of God. After him, after glorification, petitions follow. This is where the blessing ends.

Notes:
1 Or: laziness, negligence (unscrupulous performance), postponing things for later. Words idle, ἀργός, idleness V Church Slavonic language carry a stronger meaning than in Russian: “emptiness”, “emptiness”, “meaninglessness”.

2 It is difficult to explain why περιεργία is a disorderly, excessive activity; concern for minor matters, interference in other people's affairs - is conveyed here to the Slavic despondency. Usually despondency conveys the Greek aἀκηδία.

3 In the Donikon Slavic text this place is marked love of money. One can assume the existence of different Greek prayer lists, where in the place of φιλαρχία (lust of power, desire to excel) there could be φιλαργῠρία (love of money, greed), which is similar in letter composition to it. It is difficult to determine which of these options is the original one. It is worth noting that liturgical texts emphasize the special gravity of the sin of love of money, clearly explaining the betrayal of Judas by his love of money ( "estate steward").

4 In the Donikon text "get rid of me"(“drive away, separate from me”). This difference also probably goes back to different Greek prayer lists. Usually in prayers one asks about one’s own sins and vices in this way: get rid of me or deliver me from

Disputes in connection with these two options (“don’t give me” or “drive me away”) were based on the fact that God cannot “give” passions and vices to a person. However, in our text give me a shout, “give”, δῷς·, used in relation to bad properties, is contrasted with two other verbs with the meaning “to bestow”: χάρισαί (if translated literally, “to bestow by grace”) and δώρησαί (to bestow, reward). In this comparison, “give” can be understood as “allow”, “allow” - cf. "God forbid!".

5 Chastity - σωφροσύνη - in later perception is associated primarily with virginity or moral purity, but its real meaning is the possession of a sound (whole, undamaged) mind, sanity, the ability to distinguish between good and evil.

6 Humility on the Donikonov list, humility- in the new one. The compound word ταπεινοφροσύνη means “modesty,” “recognition of one’s own smallness, insignificance.” In the ancient understanding, such “modesty” is a negative characteristic, something like “cowardice.” In Christian humility- one of the highest virtues, the opposite pride. Prot. Alexander Schmemann, in his interpretation of the Lenten Prayer, notes that one of the main manifestations humility- willingness to accept the truth.

7 "Patience", ὑπομονῆ, perseverance, constancy. Be patient in Slavic, as in Greek, it includes the meaning “to expect”, “to expect with hope”. Wed. “These are all things that endure with one accord in prayer and supplication”(Acts 1:14).

8 Literally “stumbling,” failures, mistakes, πταίσμα. In Russian and in others Slavic languages formations with roots preserved sin- which do not carry religious connotations and mean “mistake”, “miss”. Wed. Russian flaw.

9 κατακρίνειν - to condemn in the sense of “to pass judgment.” Making critical remarks, even slandering is not yet condemning. On the contrary, one can treat someone “tolerantly” precisely based on convictions in this sense: they say, what to take from this! This is where a person is sentenced.

10 There is an excellent work by S.S. Averintsev about the poetry and spiritual appearance of Ephraim the Syrian: Between “explanation” and “covering up”: the situation of the image in the poetry of Ephraim the Syrian. - S.S. Averintsev. Poets. School “languages of Russian culture” M., 1996. SS.97 - 121. Both in this work and in his general essay on Syrian literature (“From the banks of the Euphrates to the shores of the Bosphorus” - A pearl of great price. Translations by S.S. Averintsev. Spirit and literature, Kyiv, 2003) Averintsev - for the first time in domestic and world science - talks about special place, which belongs to Syrian spirituality in Russian culture. Averintsev does not discuss the hypothesis that the Lenten prayer, the Syriac text of which is unknown, is a pseudepigrapha.

11 Pushkin sensitively picked up this “pairedness” in the introduction to the translation of the prayer: “Desert fathers and blameless wives, So that the heart can fly into the regions in absentia, To strengthen it in the midst of long storms and battles...”. Fathers and wives, there are two purposes of prayer - for heaven and for earth.

12 In Pushkin’s arrangement, which occupies seven lines written in Alexandrian iambic hexameter with paired rhymes, all the words included in the prayer are actually preserved. “On his own,” Pushkin added only a clarification to “love of command”: “this snake of the heart.” However, the “hidden” symbol of his arrangement is different. The last request of the prayer is moved forward, and the final request becomes a request for revival:
And the spirit of humility, patience, love
And revive chastity in my heart.
The last word poems - “come to life.” Everything that concerns the theme of the Lord - the Tsar - the slave, central to the prayer of Ephraim the Syrian, in Pushkin goes into the shadows or completely disappears.

Priest Theodore LYUDOGOVSKY, Olga SEDAKOVA

Why is prayer read?

One day, due to the slander of ill-wishers, Ephraim found himself behind prison bars. Indignant at the injustice that had befallen him, he began to listen to the conversations of his fellow prisoners, who told stories from their lives, often sinful.

Venerable Ephraim the Syrian.

In these stories, the future saint also learned of his own misdeeds, for which he was never punished. Having rethought his life, he realized that he ended up in prison by the Will of Above for admonition and repentance for what he had done.

The prisoner constantly prayed to the Savior for forgiveness and was soon released from custody. He began to preach the Teachings of Christ and became an ascetic. Having succeeded in a good deed, he refused the proposed bishopric.

The main task of the life of a strict ascetic was repentance.

The Importance of Prayer

In the church, the prayer of Ephraim the Syrian is read only by the priest, standing facing the Royal Doors.

He makes each of the three petitions loudly, accompanying each with bows to the ground. Having made the third bow, he makes 12 belts, accompanying them with the words “God, cleanse me, a sinner.” Then the cleric repeats the prayer and makes one more prostration.

Ephraim the Syrian.

Following the actions of the cleric, the entire clergy and parishioners present within the walls of the temple make bows.

Important! The Ephraim Prayer is read throughout Lent, except Saturdays and Sundays. But beyond Sunday evening worship her reading resumes.

Holy Wednesday is the last day for reading it.

Repentant prayer of Ephraim the Syrian
Lord and Master of my life, do not give me the spirit of idleness, despondency, covetousness and idle talk. Grant the spirit of chastity, humility, patience and love to Thy servant.
To her, Lord, King, grant me to see my sins and not condemn my brother, for blessed are you forever and ever. Amen.

A little history

The great ascetic was born into a family of pious Christian parents, but grew up mischievous and hooligan. As a youth, he committed many sinful acts and later went to prison.

Dormition of St. Ephraim the Syrian.

God's Providence forced Ephraim to analyze his life, as a result of which a real revolution occurred in the soul of the ascetic. The angel who appeared to him told the young man to repent of his sins and showed him a “thread”, at one end of which sins were collected, and at the other, fair retribution was visible.

Within the prison walls, a sinner was “reborn” into a future saint, teacher of the Church of Christ, author of prayers and chants, theologian and ascetic.