Orthodox prayer “To the Heavenly King. Prayer to the heavenly king, comforter to the soul of truth in Russian

Prayer to the Heavenly King is an appeal to the Holy Spirit, which is part of church worship. The Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Holy Trinity, the Life-Giving Lord. The name of the prayer comes from the first two words of its text. From Easter to Ascension this prayer is not read; its place is taken by the Easter troparion “Christ is Risen...”. From Ascension to the Day of the Holy Trinity, prayer is not said.

Prayer to the Heavenly King - stichera of the sixth tone on the stichera at the Great Vespers of Pentecost. It dates back to the 8th-9th centuries. The authorship of the prayer remains unknown. Exact date it is impossible to indicate, but it is known that it did not exist under the Constantinople Charter of the 9th century. You can also read the prayer to the Heavenly King privately, in home prayer.

We often hear that the King of Heaven is very strong prayer. It can be pronounced when a person:

Asks for help in any matter.
Cannot free himself from the power of sin.
Experiencing a crisis of faith.

But the power of prayer depends not on what text is pronounced, but on the person’s faith. Ritual pronunciation of the text of a prayer without a true conversation with God has no “special” power.

To the King of Heaven text of prayer

Heavenly King, Comforter, Soul of truth, Who is everywhere and fulfills everything, Treasure of good things and Giver of life, come and dwell in us, and cleanse us from all filth, and save, O Good One, our souls.

Explanation:

Soul - spirit. Izhe - which. Sy - existing, abiding. Fulfill everything - fill everything. Treasure is a repository, a source. Good - good. Dwell in us - dwell in us. Defilement is a sin.

In Russian:

Heavenly King, Comforter (Adviser, Mentor), Spirit of Truth, present everywhere (located) and filling everything (with His presence), Treasure of goods and Giver of Life, come and dwell in us, cleanse us from all sin and save, O Most Good One, our souls .

Interpretation of the prayer “Heavenly King”

The Holy Spirit is mentioned in Old Testament three times: twice in the book of the prophet Isaiah and once in the 50 Psalms. But in the New Testament the Holy Spirit appears much more often. In the form of a dove, he descended during the Baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ. Gospel characters spoke about him more than once. He came to the Apostles when they went to preach. Therefore, when pronouncing the prayer to the Heavenly King, there is no usual refrain of “rejoice” or “rejoice,” but there is the word “come,” which calls upon the third person of the Holy Trinity.

About the Holy Spirit in Scripture

Your imperishable spirit abides in everything. Prem.12.1

When He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth, for He will not speak from Himself, but He will speak what He hears, and He will tell you the future. He will glorify Me, because He will take from Mine and proclaim it to you. John 16:13–14

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the ends of the earth. Acts 1:8

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in faith, so that you, through the power of the Holy Spirit, may abound in hope. Rom.15:32

But the time will come and has already come when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is looking for such worshipers for Himself. John 4:23

When they lead you to betray you, do not worry in advance what to say to you, and do not think about it; but whatever is given to you in that hour, then speak, for it is not you who will speak, but the Holy Spirit. Mk. 13:11

For God does not give the Spirit by measure. John 3.34

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. Because you did not receive the spirit of slavery to live in fear again, but you received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba, Father!” This very Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. Rom.8:14–16

And do not offend the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Eph. 4.30

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“Heavenly King” is perhaps one of the most famous prayers, along with the Lord's Prayer (Lord's Prayer) and King David's 90th Psalm. It is part of the so-called " normal start", that is, that sequence of prayers that sounds at the beginning of many services and successions, including at the beginning of our usual morning and evening prayers: “Heavenly King”, Trisagion, “Holy Trinity”, “Our Father”.

The prayer “To the Heavenly King” is also the stichera of the Pentecost service. We call on the Holy Spirit to come and dwell “in us”and this can be understood in two ways: either weWe want each of us to become an abode of the Spirit, or for the Holy Spirit to dwell among us, uniting us into the Body of Christ. But one does not exclude the other.

PRAYER
“Heavenly King, Comforter, Soul of truth, Who is everywhere and fulfills everything, Treasure of good things and Giver of life, come and dwell in us, and cleanse us from all filth, and save, O Blessed One, our souls.”

TRANSLATION
“Heavenly King, Comforter, Spirit of Truth, abiding everywhere and filling everything, Treasury of blessings and Giver of life, come and dwell in us, and cleanse us from all filth, and save, O Good One, our souls.”

– The prayer “Heavenly King” is addressed to the Third Person of the Holy Trinity - the Holy Spirit, the Life-Giving Lord, emanating from the Father (see Creed). The origin and authorship of this prayer are unknown, but there is reason to believe that it originated towards the end of the first millennium of the Christian era.

In addition, there is a custom to read “To the King of Heaven” in order to invoke the Holy Spirit before starting any work. Undoubtedly, one of these things is prayer, church services. And this, presumably, explains the inclusion of the prayer “To the Heavenly King” as part of the usual beginning.

Finally, this prayer is one of the stichera of the Pentecost service - and it was this circumstance that became the reason for our note today. However, let us first consider the text of the prayer itself.

We address the Holy Spirit as the Heavenly King (cf. beginning Lord's prayer: “Our Father who art in Heaven...”). This appeal, strictly speaking, is not specific to the Third Hypostasis. So, for example, at Lenten Vespers the prayer “Heavenly King, establish your faith...” is read, which most likely refers to Christ - however, this is not entirely clear; one might also think that it is addressed to the Holy Trinity.

This is followed by the address “Comforter” (Greek παράκλητος). This is how the Savior called the Holy Spirit in a conversation with his disciples: “And I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever, the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He abides with you and will be in you” (John 14:16-17). In addition to the obvious meaning of “one who comforts,” this word can also be understood in the meaning of “mediator,” “intercessor,” “intercessor.”

We speak of the Holy Spirit, like God “in general,” as omnipresent: “Who is everywhere.” The Church Slavonic expression that follows - “do everything” - probably confuses many. As can be seen from the Russian translation above, in this case we're talking about not about the fulfillment of our prayers and desires, but all about the same thing - about the omnipresence of the Divine: “fulfill everything” means “filling everything with Himself.” However, here we can see something more: the Holy Spirit does not just “mechanically” fill the universe with Himself, but He animates it, every second supports its existence - otherwise everything would fall apart and fall apart, since the world we see has no other reason own origin and lasting existence apart from God.

There is another expression in Church Slavonic translation prayer, which, as one might assume, is misunderstood by many: “Treasure of good things” does not at all mean that the Holy Spirit is some kind of treasure for good people. No, the Life-Giving Spirit is a treasury of goods, a container and source of all that is good and good.

All those words and expressions that were discussed now were all an appeal, which takes up about two-thirds of the prayer. And then comes the pleading part.

What do we ask of God the Holy Spirit? We ask Him to come and dwell “in us.” The latter can be understood in two ways (and one understanding does not exclude the other): either we want each of us to become an abode of the Spirit, a temple of God; or (cf. John 1:14) - so that the Holy Spirit dwells among us, among us, uniting us into the one Body of Christ.

Then we ask that the Spirit, having settled in us, cleanse us from all filth - that is, from passions, from sin - and that He, the Good (i.e., good) would save our souls, that is, would deliver us from the power of the world, the devil and, again, our own passions, and so that He would grant us the Kingdom of Heaven - that is, His own Kingdom (see the beginning of the prayer).

As mentioned above, the prayer “To the Heavenly King” is part of the service of the Feast of Pentecost (otherwise, Trinity Day). Let us remember that this prayer is not read during the period from Easter to Pentecost: during the Easter period it is replaced by three times reading (or singing) the troparion of Easter, and from Ascension to Easter it is not replaced by anything at all - and this significant absence emphasizes the tension with which the Church Every year he waits for the day of the sending of the Holy Spirit. And so on the day of Pentecost, after seven weeks of a kind of abstinence, the prayer “To the Heavenly King” sounds again (it is often sung publicly) - first on Great Vespers, as the penultimate stichera on the stichera, and then twice at Matins - after the 50th psalm and before the great doxology (instead of the usual “Blessed are you, O Virgin Theotokos...”). From this day on, “To the Heavenly King” is read daily until the first day of Easter.

O. Theodore Ludogovsky

“The greatest gift for a person is precisely the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

(From the program “UNITY ”)

“Heavenly King, Comforter, Soul of Truth,
Who is everywhere and fulfills everything,
Treasure of good things and life to the Giver,
come and dwell in us,
and cleanse us from all filth,
and save, O Blessed One, our souls.”

I first became acquainted with prayer to the Holy Spirit while reading the book “Ezoosmos” by Anastasia Novykh. Perhaps I did not understand so much about it intellectually, but inside it penetrated to the very depths. I felt extraordinary spiritual trepidation, enormous gratitude for everything, everything that God has given us, for all His Love for us, His children. Then I returned to this place in the book more than once, each time experiencing this episode as if live. Deep underground, in a cave, against the backdrop of fatigue after a long, the hard way through the labyrinths of underground passages- and suddenly such a solemn, such a heartfelt moment, filled with some life-giving force emanating from the very depths, from the depths, from the very source. So is prayer.

“Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. A-mi-i-yin...

His voice spread throughout the hall, filling the space with its solemn sound. Father paused, obviously listening to the echo, and, clearly being quite pleased with it, began to read a prayer to the Holy Spirit:

Heavenly King, Comforter, Soul of truth, Who is everywhere and fulfills everything, Treasure of good things and Giver of life, come and dwell in us, and cleanse us from all filth, and save, O Good One, our souls.

The sound spreading throughout the hall truly produced an amazing effect. Even goosebumps ran from such powerful vibrations of Father John’s voice coming from the darkness. This sound generated some kind of inner inspiration, penetrated to the depths of the soul, as if it made every cell of the body vibrate in unison. When Father John finished reading the prayer, there was absolute silence, thanks to which last words, like an echo, were repeated in their own minds, accurately reproducing the timbre of the priest’s voice down to the smallest detail. As if spellbound, we sat motionless, enjoying this amazing sound effect. Father got so excited that he began to spend a whole church service. He changed his intonation and gradually switched to a quiet, monotonous singing of prayers. His voice became velvety, soft, soothing. I closed my eyes. A slight drowsiness took over my consciousness.”

(Anastasia Novykh, “Ezoosmos”)

The sermons of Archbishop Luke were recorded first-hand by the people themselves, reprinted, and passed from hand to hand. IN Soviet times, of course, all this was done secretly, at great risk to life. But such was the faith of the parishioners in the living word, filled with the power of God. I would like to carry this word further...

Without reading prayers at home, Christian life cannot be successful, for it is appeals to the Great God, revealed in the Holy Trinity, and to the saints that are the guide to human destinies. The prayer “to the Heavenly King” is an integral part of prayer life, an appeal to the Holy Spirit, the third Hypostasis of the Holy Trinity.

Divine Trinity

In their prayer life, Orthodox Christians most often turn to God the Father and the Son, Jesus Christ, paying little attention to the Holy Spirit, the integral Hypostasis of the Trinity.

Holy Trinity

For those who find it difficult to imagine the Trinity of God, one should look at a man who is simultaneously son, husband and father.

The Holy Spirit originally existed, the prophet Moses writes about Him in the book of Genesis of the Old Testament (Gen. 1:2). Even before the appearance of light, the Spirit of the Lord enveloped the earth.

by the Holy Spirit revealed in the cloud, Jewish people was taken out of Egypt, and through the Archangel Gabriel he conveyed a message to the Virgin Mary.
The Apostle Paul conveys the words of Jesus that the body of every Christian is the temple of God if the Holy Spirit lives in it.
The Third Hypostasis of God manifested itself more than once in the New Testament, appearing for the first time in the form of a dove that sat on the shoulder of Jesus during water Baptism in the Jordan.

The Baptism of Jesus Christ and the Descent of the Holy Spirit in the Form of a Dove

Jesus, going to the Father, left a promise that Christians would gather for the holiday and wait for the Guide, the Comforter, and the Holy Spirit descended during Pentecost, revealing the fullness of the Holy Trinity.

You can trace the actions of the Comforter during the ministry of the Apostle Paul by studying his letter “The Acts of the Apostles.” Once a persecutor of Christians, Paul, a disciple of Christ, Whom he saw only in the Bright Light, in all his messages emphasizes that all the miracles performed through him were performed by the Holy Spirit, sent by Jesus, who works mercy and judgment on people according to the will of the Father.

God's Guide, living in the soul of an Orthodox believer, is his conscience and purity, helps him live, fulfilling God's commandments, walking along the path to eternal life.

Interpretation of the prayer appeal to the Holy Spirit

The prayer “To the Heavenly King,” the text of which is written in Russian, is an appeal to the Hypostasis of the Holy Trinity.

The prayer appeal emphasizes the omnipresence of the Creator; no one and nothing can hide from His Face.
The omnipresent God comes through the prayers of the saints to save them from death and sinful fall.
The Comforter is able to wipe away tears and fill souls with peace in times of trouble and sorrow.
The Spirit of Truth guides Christians through their prayer “to the Heavenly King” on the righteous path, being the Source of life and merciful pardon.
The Holy Spirit living in us cleanses us from bad, sinful thoughts and thoughts, granting salvation through the holy Blood of the Savior Jesus Christ, who sent us the Comforter.
The appeal “To the Heavenly King” is a unifying appeal, emphasizing the trinity of the Creator and the equality of each of the Hypostases.
It is the Holy Spirit that is called the treasure of life, for without Him not a single Christian Sacrament can be performed.
The Giver of Life is the One who gives true life, for, living in sins and addictions, a person is dead, He will lead you through all life's troubles and troubles and lead you onto the path of righteousness and truth.

Icon "The Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles"

General rules for reading a prayer

A prayer to the Heavenly Comforter King was written by an unknown monk at the beginning of the 10th century. The text in Russian is easy to read; it is read not only in church services, but also during home prayers. With this prayer we invite the Holy Spirit into a new day of our lives, to lead us through the vanity of this world, and at the end of the working day to show us all our sins, so that we have time to repent before going to bed.

Heavenly King, Comforter, Soul of Truth, Who is everywhere and Fulfiller of everything, Treasure of good things and Giver of Life, Come and Dwell in us, and Cleanse us from all filth, and Save, O Blessed One, our souls.

Advice! The appeal to the “King of Heaven” is recommended to begin not only a prayer rule at home, but also any new business.

By calling on the One who acts everywhere and at every hour, Christians open the doors to God’s knowledge and His grace, which is capable of:

to restrain from unjust actions;
bless with healing;
free from addictions;
restore harmony in the family and at work;
resolve financial dependencies.

During prayer, Christians submit their churches to the power of the Comforter, giving Him the right to cleanse souls from filth for holiness and filling with God’s love.

It is important to know that for 50 days, from the day of the Resurrection of the Lord until Trinity, the time of the coming of the Comforter, the prayer “to the Heavenly King” is not read.

At this time, “Christ is Risen from the Dead…” is read.

After reading the prayer “to the Heavenly King,” they move on to the daily prayer rule.

Regular reading only prayer rule will bring changes to the Orthodox life of a Christian, but one must not turn it into a formality, reading it for formality, and not the desire of the heart with repentance and reverence.

Prayer to the Holy Spirit