Prayer for the detention of Elder Pansophius of Athos: a petition to the monk for protection from evil spirits

Detention Prayers

These texts are printed for informational purposes only. Before using the texts, it is recommended to consult a priest and ask for a blessing if one is given. (Readed only with the blessing of the confessor) (From the collection of prayers of Elder Pansophius of Athos, 1848) The power of these prayers lies in their concealment from human hearing and sight, in their secret action.

Like a barren fig tree, do not sow me, O Savior, a sinner, but grant me longing for many years, watering my soul with tears of repentance, so that I may bring fruit to You, O Most Merciful.*

Detention Prayer

Merciful Lord, You once, through the mouth of the servant of Moses, Joshua, delayed the movement of the Sun and Moon all day long, until the people of Israel took revenge on their enemies. With the prayer of Elisha the prophet, he once struck the Syrians, delaying them, and healed them again. You once told the prophet Isaiah: behold, I will return back ten steps the shadow of the sun that passed along the steps of Ahaz, and the sun returned ten steps along the steps on which it descended. (1) You once, through the mouth of the prophet Ezekiel, closed the abysses, stopped the rivers, and held back the waters. (2) And You once stopped the mouths of the lions in the den through the fasting and prayer of Your prophet Daniel. (3) And now delay and slow down until the time is right all the plans around those standing around me about my removal, dismissal, removal, expulsion. So now, destroy the evil desires and demands of all those who condemn me, block the lips and hearts of all those who slander, are angry and growl at me, and all who blaspheme and humiliate me. So now, bring spiritual blindness into the eyes of all those who rise up against me and against my enemies. Didn't you tell the Apostle Paul: Speak and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will harm you. (4) Soften the hearts of all those who oppose the good and dignity of the Church of Christ. Therefore, let not My mouth be silent to reprove the wicked and glorify the righteous and all Your wondrous works. And may all our good undertakings and desires be fulfilled.

To you, righteous women and prayer books of God, our daring intercessors, who once with the power of their prayers restrained the invasion of foreigners, the approach of haters, who destroyed the evil plans of people, who stopped the mouths of lions, now I turn with my prayer, with my petition.

And You, the venerable great Elius of Egypt, who once fenced the place of your disciple’s settlement in a circle with the sign of the cross, commanded him to arm himself with the name of the Lord and from now on not to be afraid of demonic temptations. (5) Protect my house, in which I live, in the circle of your prayers and save it from fiery ignition, thieves’ attacks and all evil and insurance.

And you, Reverend Father Poplie of Syria, once with your unceasing prayer for ten days you kept the demon motionless and unable to walk either day or night (6); now around my cell and house ( my

) keep behind his fence all the opposing forces and all those who blaspheme the name of God and those who despise me.

And You, reverend virgin Piama, who once with the power of prayer stopped the movement of those who were going to destroy the inhabitants of the village where she lived, now stop all the plans of my enemies who want to expel me from this city and destroy me: do not allow them to approach this house, stop them with the power of prayer his: “Lord, Judge of the Universe, You, who are displeased with all unrighteousness, when this prayer comes to You, may the Holy Power stop them at the place where it overtakes them.” (7)

And You, blessed Lawrence of Kaluga, pray to God for me, as having the boldness to intercede before the Lord for those suffering from the wiles of the devil. Pray to God for me, may He protect me from the wiles of Satan.

And You, Reverend Vasily of Pechersk, perform your prayers of prohibition over those who attack me and drive away all the machinations of the devil from me. (8)

And you, all the saints of the Russian land, with the power of your prayers for me, dispel all the demonic spells, all the devil’s plans and intrigues - to annoy me and destroy me and my property.

And You, great and formidable guardian, Archangel Michael, cut off with a fiery sword all the desires of the enemy of the human race and all his minions who want to destroy me. Stand inviolably on guard over this house, all those living in it and all its property.

And You, Lady, not in vain called the “Indestructible Wall”, be for all those who are hostile against me and plotting dirty tricks on me, truly a kind of barrier and an indestructible wall, protecting me from all evil and difficult circumstances.

* On Monday morning on the stichera there is a stichera of repentance, tone 7 (1) Isa. 38, 8 (2) Ezek. 31, 15 (3) Heb. 11, 33 (4) Acts. 18, 10 (5) Lavsaik (6) Ancient Patericon, pp. 238-240 (7) Lavsaik (8) Kiev-Pechersk Patericon

Prayer and relic: detailed interpretation

Reading the “Forty-Strong Amulet,” the believer turns to Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, the archangels, martyrs and prophets. And in order for you to more fully feel the intercession of God and His saints, a shrine was made to illustrate the text. It allows you to completely immerse yourself in spiritual vigil, renounce difficulties, and repent of sins. And the prayer of detention with the icon will become more sincere and heartfelt.

Here's who is depicted in the image:

The King of Glory (Jesus on the throne) is the personification of the limitless power and wisdom of the Lord;
The Mother of God is the merciful patroness of humanity;
Archangel Michael - a heavenly warrior who protects Christians from the devil's machinations;
Elius of Egypt - protects people from temptations, adversities, disasters and robbers;
Poplius the Syrian - casts out evil spirits and demonic obsessions;
Piama of Alexandria - exposes enemies, warns betrayal and slander;
Lavrenty Kaluga - heals diseases, protects from ill-wishers;
Vasily Pechersky - bestows success in one’s own business, education, and scientific work;
Prophet Daniel - supports in faith, stops natural disasters, drought, famine;
Prophet Isaiah - strengthens families, admonishes children, instructs parents on the true path.

How will the prayer of Pansophius of Athos help against evil spirits?

Stops and destroys any manifestations of magical, satanic influence
Helps to protect yourself from outsiders’ envy, intimidation and secret wishes for evil
Calms anxiety and foreboding after unpleasant meetings or acquaintances
Removes the threat of dismissal from work, loss of position, and prevents conflicts with superiors and colleagues.

In order for your request to have a result, it is necessary to remember the elder’s instructions, which he followed during his lifetime and later bequeathed to people:

Prayerful reading is a hidden rite, which consists of hiding it from prying eyes and hearing, therefore it is performed not in the church among parishioners, but in private.
Each word must be pronounced with a calm soul, realizing the full depth of its meaning, and restraining unnecessary emotions and nerves. It is important to resolve all disputes and conflicts with family and friends, surrounding yourself with an atmosphere of family harmony and peace.
The prayer of Pansophius of Athos is read or listened to daily, in the morning or evening, nine times in a row for nine days without skipping. You cannot pause, get confused or be distracted. Otherwise, you will have to start reading from the very beginning.
Also, many church ministers warn that you can pronounce the words of such an appeal to the holy elder only after receiving the blessing of a clergyman, because it is not canonical and can only be used with sincere confidence that only such an appeal to the Lord can protect the one asking.

How to pray correctly

For the prayer of detention to work, it is necessary to follow rules similar to a pagan ritual, which also indicate the non-Christian origin of the text.

Preparing for prayer reading

You need 7 days to prepare to read the text:

eat plant foods;
do not smoke, do not drink alcohol;
give up entertainment;
defend 4 or more Liturgies.

Before the prayer of detention, you need to confess and ask for the blessing of the priest.

Reading rules

How the prayer is read:

alone;
morning, evening;
9 days without a break;
without hesitation, by heart;
after an error, start over;
for men - only on men's days - Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays;
for women - on women's days of the week - Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays;
Reading is prohibited on Sunday.

A contradiction - the prayer to the Lord cannot be read in the temple of God. No one should see or hear someone praying such a strong prayer. It is impossible to attract friends to help, although the power of prayer by agreement is known. It is impossible to read the text 9 days in a row, but only on certain days of the week. An error in the text cannot sever the connection with the Lord because a church-going Christian has received the Holy Mysteries and lives in the Lord.

Subtleties and nuances

The prayer of detention is considered a forty-strong amulet. The text, like a magical amulet, protects against 40 troubles. It cannot be read by unbaptized people of other faiths. The reading of the detention requires the blessing of the confessor. And this rule also confirms the unrighteousness of prayer. By asking permission, a person shifts responsibility to the priest. And this condition is convenient - it was not the one who read the text who sinned, but the one who allowed it.

A fair priest will not give a blessing for the reading of the detention, since the text is not recognized by the church. And to go against the rule is to sin. There are those among believers and priests who consider any prayers to be good. Their argument is not what to say, but how. But you cannot put good into wishing for evil. We also know about the icon of detention, depicting Jesus, the Mother of God, the Archangel Michael and all the characters mentioned in the prayer. The authorship of the image, as well as the text of the arrest, is also attributed to the monk Pansophius, but there is no evidence. The image is also not recognized by the church, but the prayer must be read in front of it.

Interpretation of prayer words

The prayer of detention from Elder Pansophius is quite difficult to interpret, because its meaning after reading becomes self-explanatory. The prayer text was written on behalf of a person who considers himself surrounded on all sides by enemies.

Moreover, the prayer contains the statement that they can be both visible and invisible. This means that prayer can become a protective tool, both from the actions of evil people and from the machinations of otherworldly evil forces.

The actions of real forces in prayer are scrupulously listed. The text indicates that enemies can do harm by condemning, slandering, being angry, roaring, blaspheming, humiliating and despising a person. Enemies standing around are harboring evil plans for relocation, dismissal, displacement. Enemies also seek to expel him and destroy him.

The effectiveness of prayer is enhanced already at the beginning of the prayer text when turning to the Merciful God. Here we recall an action from the Old Testament, when God stopped the movement of the Sun and Moon for a whole day in order to provide the Israeli people with the opportunity to take revenge on their enemies.

Various actions that he performed through the mouth of the prophets are also listed. After such a listing, there is a request to delay and slow down all the actions of the enemies of the praying person.

A slightly pagan bias is addressed to all Russian lands, which should help dispel the demonic spell around a praying person. But after this there is an appeal to the Archangel Michael, who leads the army of the Lord. The prayer text contains a request to cut with a fiery sword everyone who wants harm to the human race, those who direct evil against the praying person.

At the end of the detention prayer there is an appeal to the Mother of God depicted in the “Unbreakable Wall” icon. This image of the Most Pure Mother of God is one of the greatest shrines of Orthodoxy. It is believed that Prayer before the icon of the Mother of God “The Unbreakable Wall” grants reliable protection and patronage of the Most Holy Theotokos. If you hang the icon opposite the front door, then a person with evil intentions will not be able to enter the house.

History of origin

The prayer of detention first appeared in the book The Prayer Shield. This is a collection of prayer spells for all sorts of needs: from growing cucumbers to blessing water step by step at home. The book was published by a Voronezh publishing house, supposedly with the blessing of Bishop Nikon of Zadonsk, but this is not true. The source of the prayer of detention is indicated in a collection compiled by Pansophius of Athos in 1848. But where the original is located is unknown.

About the life of Pansophius of Athos it is said that he left the Christian church because of slander and joined the Old Believers. He converted Christians to the Old Believers, but was arrested and ended his days in prison. Why the elder is called Athos, and what he looked like is unknown. The nickname, like the icon, was borrowed from Saint Silouan. No one had heard of Pansofia before the book was published.

Athonite monks face the machinations of demons every day. Enlightened monks see them during the day, and at night in their cells they hear demonic howls. The evil one tempts the pious souls of monks with fear and doubt. But it is not the prayer of detention that saves them, but submission to the Will of the Lord.

When does prayer retention help?

It is recommended to restrain demons in case of illness, money problems, personal relationships, and any situation where there is a suspicion of the evil eye. Patron saints help solve the same problems. Only the “particularly strong” text effect speaks in favor of detention. But prayer is not magic words, but a repentant request coming from the soul. Every negative situation has reasons that lie in an unrighteous life.

During a serious illness

A difficult test of fortitude is the fight against cancer, a chronic disease, when the disease does not recede, returns, and medications do not help. Pain plunges body and soul into weakness. It is believed that the prayer of detention is intended for this case. But if the text helps, it will only be to stop the disease.

Against the ancestral curse

There are ominous signs in the life of a family: accidents, illness, imprisonment, divorce or death at a certain age. The reason is sin passed on from generation to generation. He should not be suspended by the text of detention, but should repent in church, preferably to a priest-confessor.

Against the crown of celibacy

Young people whose souls are open to God and people quickly find each other. The Lord wants to unite their souls into one. But sometimes a person seems to be hidden from the eyes of the opposite sex.

Relationships often don’t work out because of a callous heart and immersion in the bustle of the world. When the eyes of the soul are blind, a person is unable to see the sincere soul. Vices do not allow one to reach out to her divine light, and indulgence in vicious inclinations is mistaken for love. In this case, one should fight not with the crown of celibacy by reading the text about detention, but with the weakness of one’s own soul, and pray for the forgiveness of sins.

Against drums and other otherworldly forces in the house

Manifestations of evil spirits - things disappearing and appearing in unpredictable places, movements noticed out of the corner of the eye, knocking, whispering and moaning at night. A Christian has the power to take advantage of the heritage of the monks of the Mount Athos in the fight against the evil one - through prayer from the heart and repentance. The pacification of demons by detention is the treatment of like with like. After all, the rampant evil spirits are often the result of a passion for the occult, magic, and fortune telling.

In the absence of finances

Financial impasse leads to despair and rash actions. Another loan only tightens the knot more. Lack of money plunges the soul into the sin of despondency or forces it to take the path of crime. Detention prayer will not deter creditors. Financial problems are solved by hard work, cost control and humility.

To protect against the evil eye

Detention prayer protects adults and children from human envy. A person may lose talent, a beautiful character trait, appearance, and often experience bouts of causeless anger.

Children are anxious at night and during the day, do not eat, often cry, are capricious, and angry.

But before you drive out demons, you need to confess, because the reason for their attack could be boasting and pride. As the famous ascetic, Athonite monk Father Paisius, advised, to heal a child you need to pay attention to your soul and get rid of vicious inclinations. A child's soul is pure, and the anger in it is born from the anger of adults.

How to read this prayer correctly (read 40 times)

There are several mandatory rules that should be considered when reciting the prayer of detention. First of all, you need to remember that you cannot offer prayer in a temple. This is a secret rite, so you need to pray in absolute solitude and should not let anyone in on your plans.

This is evidenced by the order of Elder Pansofia, which sounds as follows:

“The power of this prayer lies in the mystery of its ascension from human sight and hearing, in its secret action.”

For prayer, it is necessary to organize a special place in which icons should be installed and candles should be lit.
It is important to ensure absolute silence in the room.
You can read the prayer in the evening and morning hours.
It is important to pronounce every word of the prayer text clearly and distinctly.
This means that you first need to learn the prayer by heart.
It is important to be aware of every phrase spoken.

Another mandatory requirement is to be in a balanced and calm state. Under no circumstances should you throw out negative emotions during the prayer process.

The prayer for the detention of Elder Pansofia is read every day for nine days, and the text is repeated nine times.

It is prohibited to be distracted by extraneous thoughts or actions or pause.

It is believed that in this case the praying person wastes energy, and, consequently, the effectiveness of prayer is reduced. If for any reason a mistake was made while reading the prayer, then the prayer must be read again.

It is important to understand that in order for prayer to have maximum impact, it is recommended that before reading the prayer text, turn to God in any form and ask him for protection and help.

Such a prayer request to the Almighty will help create an aura of love and well-being and will become a real amulet for the praying person, eliminating any unpleasant consequences when reading the prayer of detention. No other special preparation is required for the protective prayer.