What do they pray to St. Ambrose for?
When Ambrose, then Sasha Grenkov, turned 12 years old, his parents sent him to a theological school located in Tambov. So he became a seminarian and devoted his entire future life to serving God.
Theological sciences and Holy Scripture were easy for the purposeful boy. In addition to church subjects, he was interested in music, poetry, loved to sing and tried to write poetry. Having a cheerful character, Alexander was always the soul of the company of seminarians.
At first, the young man dreamed of military service. Then, having matured, he realized that worldly life with its vanity was not for him.
The trust of the monastery brethren in Father Ambrose was very great. He received their blessing for spiritual guidance at an early age, when he was not yet 40 years old, and became the youngest “elder” in the Optina monastery.
Even being sick and powerless, Ambrose of Optina received visitors. Entire crowds gathered to see him every day. He listened to everyone, found words of consolation and parting words. He suggested how to cope with trouble, which way to go.
The prayer to Ambrose of Optina is read in the following cases:
- when they ask for health and deliverance from a serious illness for themselves and a loved one (we also offer you a complete collection of prayers for health for yourself);
- if it is necessary to be confirmed in faith;
- when everyday needs arise;
- about helping to instruct children;
- standing up for the fate of the Fatherland.
During his lifetime, Elder Ambrose received from the Lord the gift of healing serious illnesses with prayers. Already an old man, he became a seer and could in some cases predict the fate of a person turning to him.
The prayer rule of St. Ambrose of Optina is compiled from the Psalms of David. The elder never refused to communicate with anyone. He suggested turning to him to get rid of misfortunes and in various kinds of sorrows. Having experienced the power of short prayers in strengthening faith and spirit, he advised parishioners to include them in their morning prayer rule and read them constantly. The reverend elder called for prayer with hope in the omnipotence of the Lord and faith in Him. Ambrose emphasized that all enemy slander and troubles would recede under the bright power of sacred words.
Prayer Rule
The list of prayers that a Christian reads is called a prayer rule. It is different for everyone and may differ depending on the time of day and life circumstances.
Etc. Ambrose adhered to a special rule during times of temptation and tribulation. Spiritual children have adopted the experience. Later, the list of psalms read by the elder was called “The Prayer Rule of Ambrose of Optina.”
Temptations and sorrows, according to the elder, are sent by the Lord for purification.
They help to distinguish those who love God from those who love worldly goods. In order to calm the heart during the temptations of St. Ambrose suggests reading the Psalms of David.
He considers the most suitable: 36, 26, 90. 39.
Psalm 36
Do not be jealous of those who are evil, nor be jealous of those who commit lawlessness.
Like the grass, they will soon dry up, and like the herb, the herbs will soon disappear.
Trust in the Lord and do goodness; and they inhabited the earth, and enjoyed its riches. Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will grant you the petitions of your heart.
Open your way to the Lord and trust in him, and he will do it. And he will bring out your truth like light and your destiny like noon. Obey the Lord and beg him.
Do not be jealous of the one who sleeps on his way, the person who commits a crime.
Stop being angry and abandon rage; do not be jealous, even if you are deceitful, those who are wicked will be consumed, but those who endure the Lord will inherit the earth.
And yet a little while, and there will be no sinner; and you seek its place and will not find it.
The meek ones will inherit the earth and enjoy the abundance of the world.
The sinner despises the righteous and gnashes his teeth;
The Lord will laugh at him, and will foresee that his day will come.
The sinner has drawn the sword, strained her bow, cast down the wretched and the poor, and slain the upright in heart.
Let their sword enter into their hearts, and let their bows be broken. A little is better for the righteous than much for the riches of sinners.
The sinners' muscles will be broken, but the Lord confirms the righteous.
The Lord knows the way of the blameless, and their success will endure forever.
They will not be ashamed in times of cruelty and in days of famine they will be satisfied, as sinners will perish.
Defeat the Lord, and become glorified by them and ascend, disappearing like smoke.
The sinner borrows and does not return; the righteous one is generous and gives.
For those who bless him will inherit the earth, but those who curse him will be consumed.
From the Lord, man’s feet are straightened, and his ways are greatly admired.
When he falls, he will not be broken, for the Lord strengthens his hand.
The youngest was, for he grew old, and did not see the righteous man left, below his seed asking for bread.
All day long the righteous man shows mercy and gives back, and his seed will be a blessing.
Turn away from evil and do good, and dwell in the age of the century.
For the Lord loves judgment and will not abandon His saints; will be preserved forever; But the wicked will become wives, and the seed of the wicked will be consumed.
The righteous will inherit the earth and dwell in it forever and ever.
The mouth of the righteous will learn wisdom, and his tongue will speak judgment.
The law of his God is in his heart, and his feet will not falter.
The sinner looks at the righteous and seeks to kill him; The Lord will not leave him in his hand; he will judge him below when he judges him.
Be patient with the Lord and preserve his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the earth; never be consumed by a sinner, see.
I saw the wicked being exalted and towering like the cedars of Lebanon; and he passed by, and behold, he was not there, and he sought him, and his place was not found.
Maintain kindness and see righteousness, for there is a remnant for a peaceful man.
The lawless ones will be consumed together; the remains of the wicked will be consumed.
The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord, and their protector is in time of trouble; and the Lord will help them and deliver them, and will take them away from sinners and save them, because they trusted in him.
Psalm 26
The Lord is my enlightenment and my savior, whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the protector of my life, from whom shall I fear?
Sometimes those who are angry come close to me, even to destroy my flesh, those who insult me and defeat me, they are exhausted and fallen.
Even if a regiment turns against me, my heart will not fear; If he rises up against me, I will trust in him.
If I ask one thing from the Lord, I will require it; Even if I live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, I see the beauty of the Lord and visit his holy temple.
Because you hid me in your village in the day of my evil, you covered me in the secret of your village, and lifted me up on a stone.
And now, behold, lift up my head against my enemies; waste and devouring in the village of his sacrifice of praise and exclamation; I will sing and make praise to the Lord.
Hear, O Lord, my voice in which I cried, have mercy on me and hear me.
My heart speaks to you; I will seek the Lord, I will seek my face for you, I will seek your face, O Lord.
Do not turn your face away from me and do not turn away from your servant in anger; Be my helper, do not reject me and do not forsake me, O God, my savior.
For my father and mother have abandoned me, but the Lord will receive me. Give me the law, O Lord, in your way, and guide me on the right path for my enemy’s sake.
Do not betray me into the souls of those who suffer; as if I stood up as a witness to unrighteousness, and lied untruthfully to myself.
I believe in seeing the good of the Lord on the land of the living. Be patient with the Lord, be of good courage, and let your heart be strong, and be patient with the Lord.
Psalm 90
He who lives in the help of the Most High will dwell in the shelter of the heavenly God, says to the Lord: You are my intercessor and my refuge, my God, and I trust in him.
As if he will deliver you from the snare of traps and from rebellious words; His blanket will cover you, and you will hope under his wing; His truth will surround you as a weapon.
Do not be afraid from the fear of the night, from the arrow that flies during the day, from the thing that passes in the darkness, from the debris and the demon of the midday.
Thousands will fall from your country, and darkness will fall at your right hand, but it will not come close to you; Look at your eyes and see the reward of sinners.
For you, O Lord, are my hope; The Most High has made you your refuge.
No evil will come to you, and no wound will come near your body; as his angel commanded you, keep you in all your ways.
They will lift you up in their arms, but not when you dash your foot against a stone; tread on the asp and the basilisk, and cross the lion and the serpent.
For I have trusted, and I will deliver; I will cover and because I know my name.
He will call to me, and I will hear him; I am with him in sorrow, I will destroy him and glorify him; with the length of days I will fulfill him and show him my salvation.
Psalm 39
I endured the Lord, and listened and heard my prayer; and raise me up from the pit of passions and from the clay of the mire, and set my feet on stones and straighten my steps; and put into my mouth a new song, singing to our God.
Many people will see and fear, and trust in the Lord. Blessed is the man, who has the name of the Lord as his hope, and does not look upon false vanity and unrest.
You have done many miracles, O Lord my God, and with your thoughts there is no one like you; announced and verbs; multiplying more than the number.
You did not desire sacrifices and offerings, but you completed the body for me; You did not require burnt offerings or sins.
Then reh; Behold, I will come; in the main book it is written about me; I have now done thy will, O my God, and thy law is in the midst of my belly.
The gospel of truth in the great church, behold, I will not forbid my lips; Lord, you meant it.
I did not hide your truth in my heart, I did not destroy your truth and your salvation, I did not hide your mercy and your truth from the multitude.
But you, Lord, do not remove your compassions from me; Your mercy and your truth will take you out and intercede for me.
As if evil has possessed me, there is no end to it; My iniquities befell me, and I was not able to see; You have multiplied more than the hair of my head, and forsake me my heart. Deign, O Lord, to deliver me; Lord, please help me, please.
Let those who seek my soul be ashamed and put to shame; Let those who wish me evil turn back and be ashamed.
May those who speak accept their abyss; good, good.
Let all those who seek you rejoice and rejoice in you, O Lord, and let them all say, May the Lord be magnified, who love your salvation.
But I am poor and wretched, the Lord will take care of me; my helper and my protector, you, my God, do not become stubborn.
When the heart is heavy and grief overcomes, it is better to read psalms: 3, 53, 58, 142, 101.
Psalm 3
Lord, why have you multiplied the cold? many rise up against me, many speak against my soul; there is no salvation for him in his God. But you, Lord, are my intercessor, my glory, and lift up my head.
I cried out to the Lord with my voice, and he heard me from his holy mountain.
I fell asleep and fell asleep, and arose, as if the Lord would intercede for me. I will not be afraid of the people around who attack me.
Arise, Lord, save me, my God; for you have struck down all those who are at war with me in vain, you have crushed the teeth of sinners. Salvation is the Lord's, and your blessing is on your people.
Psalm 53
God, in your name save me and in your power judge me. God, hear my prayer, inspire the words of my mouth; as strangers rose up against me, and sought my soul with strength, and did not offer God before them. Behold, God helps me, and the Lord is the intercessor of my soul; the evil one will turn away my enemy; consume them with your truth.
I will devour you according to my will; let us confess to your name, O Lord, that it is good; for you have delivered me from all sorrow, and my eye has looked upon my enemies.
Psalm 58
Deliver me from my enemies, O God, and deliver me from those who rise up against me; deliver me from the workers of iniquity, and save me from the men of blood.
For behold, having caught my soul, the mighty ones attacked me; Below is my iniquity, below is my sin, Lord; without iniquity we have flown and corrected; arise to meet me and see.
And you, Lord God of hosts, God of Israel, visit all languages; May you not show mercy to all those who practice iniquity.
They will return in the evening, and will hunger like a dog, and will go through the city. Behold, these speak with their mouth, and the sword is in their mouth; like who is listening?
And you, Lord, laugh at them and abase all languages.
I will preserve my power for you; for you, O God, are my intercessor.
My God, His mercy will go before me; My God will show me against my evils.
Do not kill them, lest they forget your law; squander your strength and bring me down, my protector, Lord,
The sin of their lips is the word of their lips; and let them be in their pride, and from oaths and lies they will be proclaimed in death, in the wrath of death, and they will not be; and they will show that God rules over Jacob and over the ends of the earth.
They will return in the evening, and will hunger like a dog, and will go through the city; they will be filled with food; If they don’t get enough, they will grumble.
I will sing of your strength and rejoice in the morning about your mercy; for you were my intercessor and my refuge in the day of my tribulation.
You are my helper, I sing to you; For God is my intercessor, my God, my mercy.
Psalm 142
Lord, hear my prayer, inspire my prayer in your truth, hear me in your righteousness; and do not enter into judgment with your servant, for no one living will be justified before you.
For the enemy has driven away my soul; I humbled my belly to the ground; He planted me in dark, like dead centuries. And my spirit is depressed within me, my heart is troubled within me.
I have remembered the days of old, I have learned from all your deeds, I have learned from your handiwork that I have created. My hands lift up to you; my soul is like a waterless land to you.
Hear me soon, O Lord, my spirit has disappeared; do not turn your face away from me, and I will become like those who go down into the pit.
I hear you show me your mercy in the morning, for I trust in you; tell me, Lord, the way, in the same way I will go, as if I took my soul to you.
Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord, I have come to you.
Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; Your good spirit will guide me to the right land.
For your name's sake, Lord, live for me in your righteousness; remove my soul from sorrow; and by your mercy consume my enemies and destroy all my cold souls; for I am your servant.
Psalm 101
Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you.
Do not turn your face away from me; In the day when I mourn, incline your ear to me; One day I will call you, hear me soon.
As if my days had disappeared, like smoke, and my bones had dried up. I was wounded like grass, and my heart was gone, as if I forgot to take my bread.
Because of the voice of my groaning my bone cleaves to my flesh.
We became like the tawny owl of the desert, like a nighttime corvid on a ruin.
Bdekh and bykh like a special bird on the roof.
All day long I have been reproached by you, and those who praise me are cursed by me.
Behind me there is ashes, as I have eaten my bread and dissolved my drink with weeping, from the face of your anger and rage; For as you exalted you, you cast me down.
My days have turned away like the shade, and I have dried up like hay.
But you, Lord, endure forever, and your memory endures forever.
You have risen, having spared Zion; for the time has come to reward him, for the time has come. For thy servants are well disposed towards his stone, and his dust shall be spoiled.
And the heathen shall fear the name of the Lord, and all the kings of the earth shall fear thy glory; for the Lord of Zion will build and appear in his glory.
Consider the prayer of the humble and do not despise their prayers.
May this be written for generations, and the people of the land will praise the Lord; as if from the height of His holiness, the Lord looked down from heaven to earth, to hear the sighing of the chained, to release the sons of the slain; proclaim the name of the Lord in Zion and his praise in Jerusalem, and always gather together the people and the king who work for the Lord.
Answer him on the way of his fortress; Bring up the lowliness of my days to me; do not bring me to the end of my days; in the generation of your summer.
In the beginning, O Lord, you founded the earth, and the works of your hand are the heavens.
They will perish, but you remain; and they will all promise like a robe, and like a garment they will take away, and they will be changed.
You are the same, and your years will not become scarce. The sons of your servants will dwell, and their seed will be corrected forever.
Akathist to Ambrose of Optina
The akathist in honor of Elder Ambrose consists of several texts: ikos and kontakia. It is performed by the church choir on the day of remembrance of the saint, as well as on certain dates in the Optina Monastery:
- day of death October 23;
- Day of the Council of Optina Elders October 24;
- the day of the discovery of the relics is July 10.
Kontakion 1
Ikos 1
Kontakion 2
Ikos 2
Kontakion 3
Ikos 3
Kontakion 4
Ikos 4
Kontakion 5
Ikos 5
Kontakion 6
Ikos 6
Kontakion 7
Ikos 7
Kontakion 8
Ikos 8
Kontakion 9
Ikos 9
Kontakion 10
Ikos 10
Kontakion 11
Ikos 11
Kontakion 12
Ikos 12
Kontakion 13
This kontakion must be read three times, then the 1st ikos and the 1st kontakion.
First prayer
Second prayer
Third prayer
Icon
There are many icons of St. Ambrose of Optina. In all of them he is depicted as an old man during his tenure as a hieroschemamonk. He wears a mantle - a brown or dark burgundy cloak and chemist vestments. On the head is a black hood or paramana. There is a cross on the chest. In his hands are a rosary, according to which prayer rules were usually read. They symbolize the weapon of a clergyman and are issued upon tonsure as a monk.
On some icons, St. Ambrose can be seen with a scroll in his hands. This is not only a symbol of an elder instructing people, but also a demonstration that the hieromonk wrote many teachings and even translated his statements regarding faith into rhymed short texts.
The icons, where the elder is depicted alone, repeat all his features with great accuracy. You can verify this by comparing his face in images and photographs.
In the Optina Hermitage and other monasteries you can often find icons of St. Ambrose, where he stands among monks and other saints.
Psalm to David, when his son Absalom persecuted him, 142.
Lord, hear my prayer, inspire my prayer in Your truth, hear me in Your righteousness: and do not enter into judgment with Your servant, for no one living will be justified before You. Because the enemy drove away my soul, he humbled my life to eat in the ground, he planted me to eat in dark, like dead ages. And my spirit is sad within me, my heart is troubled within me. I have remembered the days of old, I have learned from all Your deeds, I have learned from Your handiwork. I lift up my hands to You, my soul, like a waterless land to You. Hear me soon, O Lord, my spirit has disappeared, do not turn Your face away from me, and I will become like those who go down into the pit. I hear you show me Your mercy in the morning, for I have trusted in You. Tell me, Lord, the way, I will go, as if I have taken my soul to You. Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord, I have fled to You. Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God. Your Good Spirit will guide me to rightness on earth. For Thy name's sake, Lord, live me, by Thy righteousness remove my soul from sorrow. And by Your mercy consume my enemies and destroy all my cold souls, for I am Your servant.
Where can you venerate the relics of St. Ambrose
The Monk Ambrose spent his last years in a monastery in Optina Pustina. The relics of the great elder are kept in the Vedeno Cathedral. You can worship them at specially designated times when access to them is free.
In the morning, immediately after Midnight. This is at approximately 6.15, and before the start of the early Liturgy, until 6.30. In the afternoon, access to the relics opens immediately after the end of the late Liturgy and you can venerate the holy relics until 17.00. At this time the evening service begins.
WE RECOMMEND: Prayer “Softening Evil Hearts” to the “Seven Arrow Icon”.
Questions for the priest
There are always many people praying in front of the icon of St. Ambrose of Optina. What requests do believers make to him? Are there any known cases of miracles performed by the venerable elder?
There have been many cases where the icon of St. Ambrose helped in finding a job. Young people found a mate and started a family. Those in need ask for financial support and tips on how to improve their affairs. Many cases have been recorded when believers in need turned to the icon of the holy elder with prayer, and as a result, miracles happened literally the next day - immediately after visiting the church and venerating the relics, young people found their soul mates.
The girl was fired from her job unfairly. She was left without a livelihood. She came to church asking for help and prayed to Saint Ambrose for work. The very next day she received an offer to take a new position, more profitable.
In the difficult year of 1990, a young man fell ill with pneumonia. There were no funds for treatment and he went to church. Believing in the power of the Lord and the favor of Saint Ambrose of Optina for all who suffer, he prayed for a long time before his icon. The priest helped the young man and anointed him with the oil consecrated at the icon of the elder.
A miracle happened. In one night the guy was healed of pneumonia and the next morning he got up still weak, but already healthy.
Psalm to David, who at times fled from the face of Absalom his son, 3.
Lord, why have we multiplied the cold? Many people rise up against me, many people say to my soul: there is no salvation for him in his God. But you, Lord, are my Protector, my glory, and lift up my head. With my voice I cried to the Lord, and He heard me from His holy mountain. I fell asleep and fell asleep, and arose, as if the Lord would intercede for me. I will not be afraid of those people around who attack me. Arise, Lord, save me, my God, for you have struck down all those who were at enmity with me in vain: you have crushed the teeth of sinners. Salvation is the Lord, and Your blessing is upon Your people.
