What prayers to read during the fast before Easter.
Orthodox Christians began fasting on February 27. The multi-day fast ends on April 15. During this period, a person is cleansed spiritually and physically, gets rid of evil and filth, and becomes healthier. Abstinence from eating meaty, dense foods is not the only restriction for believers.
The purpose of strict fasting is as follows:
- expression of obedience to the Church
- limiting the violence of the flesh
- facilitating prayer work
- filling the gaps of spiritual life
- expressing one's deepest respect to the Lord through voluntary ascetic activity
- repentance and resistance to earthly passions
During fasting, a person gets the opportunity to think and rethink a lot. But fasting without saying prayers is the same as simply following a strict diet. Time spent reading the Holy Scriptures and attending Divine services throughout Lent will purify your soul and thoughts.
It is necessary to pray in the days leading up to Easter more than at other times, and to end your daily appeal to the Lord with a prayer to St. Ephraim the Syrian, which is said more often than others throughout Lent.
Prayer of Ephraim the Syrian
At the end of the prayer, 12 times in a row you need to say “God, cleanse me, a sinner,” and bow to the waist. Read the prayer of Ephraim the Syrian two more times and bow to the ground.
The text of the prayer reveals to believers the paths of spiritual improvement:
- how, with God’s help, to get rid of vices, including despondency, laziness, idle talk, condemnation of those around you
- how to ask the Lord to crown with a crown the virtues of humility, patience, love
What prayers to read before Easter
How to pray during Lent:
- choose a time for prayers (preferably the same time, or depending on the circumstances)
- make it a prayer rule to read the four Gospels, comprehending more of the Holy Scriptures
- For daily prayer, choose a place where you can gather your thoughts and where no one will disturb you
- after prayer, comprehend what you read and think about how to live according to Scripture
- give up any everyday thing, chosen independently, and maintain abstinence until Easter
- devote half an hour to prayerful reflection in the morning and evening, but if that doesn’t work, then at least 5 minutes
- do not forget about prayers for a single day of Lent
- you need to start the prayer by crossing yourself or mentally calling on the name of the Lord
- having renounced worldly concerns, we place ourselves before the face of God
- we turn our gaze to the icon, the cross, and in their absence, we close our eyes and imagine the icon or cross in front of us
Fasting without prayer will not help you cleanse yourself spiritually
Lent for the laity is a time of preparation for the celebration of the Holy Resurrection of Christ, when they pray more and devote themselves to good deeds. It is not recommended to plan important meetings or assign unnecessary tasks during this period. All this dissipates, disrupts peace of mind, preventing you from focusing on the main thing: prayers and concentration on thoughts and words.
Prayer during the fast before Easter before meals
After praying, we eat consecrated food, which makes it possible to accept the restrictions of Lent. The prayer also reminds us of the need to avoid the sin of gluttony.
- Lent lasts six weeks, and ends with the bright Easter of Christ - the day of the resurrection of Christ. Christ's Resurrection should be celebrated by cleansing the body and soul. Therefore, it is important to know what prayers are read during Lent.
- The prayer to Ephraim the Syrian, which frees you from all ailments, must be read daily, including the raw week, except Saturday and Sunday.
- Before eating, it is important for a Christian to pray to prevent gluttony.
Short prayers are read in the morning.
Prayer before meals.
The eyes of all trust in You, Lord, and You give them food in good season, You open Your generous hand and fulfill every animal’s good will.
Prayer for the blessing of food and drink for the laity
Lord Jesus Christ, our God, bless us with food and drink through the prayers of Your Most Pure Mother and all Your saints, for blessed are You forever. Amen. (And cross food and drink).
Prayer after eating food
We thank Thee, Christ our God, for Thou hast filled us with Thy earthly blessings; Do not deprive us of Your Heavenly Kingdom, but as You came among Your disciples, Savior, give them peace, come to us and save us.
Venerable Ephraim the Syrian
“Open the doors of repentance”
Open the doors of repentance, Giver of Life - the first of the repentant troparions that we can hear during worship even before the beginning of Lent itself.
Three weeks before the onset of Lent, the preparatory period begins, which leads us to fasting with special readings and chants. Each of the preparatory Sundays has its own name in accordance with the Gospel read at the Liturgy. The first of them is called the Week of the Publican and the Pharisee. Starting from this week until Sunday of the fifth week of Lent, at Matins after the song “Having seen the Resurrection of Christ,” repentant troparia are sung.
More details.
Prayer for Lent before Easter in the morning
To start the morning with a positive mood, read short and easy prayers, maintaining the right mood for the whole day.
Publican's prayer:
“God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” (Bow). According to the Gospel of Luke, this is the prayer of repentance that the publican said in the parable of the publican and the Pharisee. In this parable, Christ cited the publican’s prayer as an example of repentance and asking for God’s mercy.
Lessons from the publican's prayer
: Opening prayer:
“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, prayers for the sake of Your Most Pure Mother and all the Saints, have mercy on us. Amen. Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.”
Trisagion:
“Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us. (Read three times, with the sign of the cross and a bow from the waist). Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen".
Prayer to the Most Holy Trinity:
“Most Holy Trinity, have mercy on us; Lord, cleanse our sins; Master, forgive our iniquities; Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities, for Thy name's sake. Lord have mercy. (Thrice) Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen".
Lord's Prayer:
Lord's Prayer
The last prayer is read both when preparing to eat food and in the evening.
Prayer during Lent before Easter in the evening
Among the prayers that are read before going to bed are the prayers to the Holy Trinity. They are also read in the morning.
How to indulge in prayerful reflection during Lent:
- it is necessary to pray more often and more diligently if someone is sick, suffering, or experiencing difficulties
- pray for those who are in despondency as much as you have enough strength and time
- pray according to a list of especially revered saints compiled in advance, ask and speak to them as if they were your friends or helpers (place candles in front of the icons)
- indulge in calm prayerful reflections that will help avoid unnecessary spiritual ups and downs
Prayer to God the Father:
Prayer to God the Father
Prayer to the Holy Guardian Angel:
Prayer to the Guardian Angel
When preparing for bed, you need to say:
“In Your hands, Lord Jesus Christ, my God, I commend my spirit: You bless me, You have mercy on me and grant me eternal life. Amen".
“May my prayer be corrected...”
“Let my prayer be corrected” - these verses from Psalm 140 of David are usually sung at every vespers. But during Lent they are sung at the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, which is celebrated on Wednesdays and Fridays and on the first three days of Holy Week. According to tradition, during this chant, all worshipers kneel, and the singers go to the center of the temple to the sole.
The text of this prayer has a symbolic meaning. Breathing incense smoke is an image of our prayer. Just as the smoke from a censer rises upward to the heavens, so our prayer ascends to God. But since we are sinful people, our prayer is “flawed.” And we ask God to correct our prayer.
More details.
Photo by Moscow Theological Academy/flickr.com
Prayers for the fast before Easter by day
- Monday of the first week in the temple begins with hymns about John the Baptist and Herod.
- On Tuesday of the first week, the life of St. Andrew of Crete is read, who acquired the gift of speech and dedicated his life to the Lord.
- On Wednesday of the first week in churches, parishioners receive instructions for those entering the fast and read the prayers of Ephraim the Syrian.
- On Thursday of the first week of the week, churchgoers listen to chants of repentance
- On Friday of the first week of week parishioners listen to the life of the Holy Great Martyr Theodore Tiron
- On Saturday of the first week there are hymns about Holy Communion
The most famous prayers read during Lent:
Symbol of faith
Prayer Creed
"On the Rivers of Babylon"
The chant “On the Rivers of Babylon” is another one of the prayers of repentance that prepares us for Lent. From the week of the Prodigal Son (the second preparatory week before Lent) and the two subsequent weeks until the week of the Last Judgment, we hear this chant on Saturday evening at the central part of the All-Night Vigil (polyeleon) after 134 (“Praise the name of the Lord”) and 135 (“Praise the name of the Lord”) and 135 (“Praise the name of the Lord”) and 135 (“Praise the name of the Lord”). Confess to the Lord that He is Good”) psalms of praise.
The text of the song is Psalm 136. It tells of the suffering of the Jewish people in Babylonian slavery under King Nebuchadnezzar. Tens of thousands of Israelites were deprived of their homeland after the failed Jewish revolt in 598 BC. Captive Jews lived outside the cities of the Babylonian kingdom, among the rivers, mourning their lost homeland. They hung their instruments among the branches, because only in Jerusalem could they use them for liturgical chants. For the sake of fun and mockery, the foreigners wanted to hear the sacred texts of the Jews, but not in order to learn to glorify God. The humiliated captives refused, honoring the laws of their ancestors. They proclaim in a strong frenzy, sending curses upon themselves if they stop remembering Jerusalem: “Just as they, when they were deprived of the city, then began to look for it, so many of us will experience the same thing when on that day we are deprived of the heavenly Jerusalem” (St. John Chrysostom, Discourses on Psalms, 46).
The New Testament Church interprets the psalm as a lament about sinful captivity and expulsion from Paradise.
More details.
Video: Creed - Orthodox Prayer (with text)
Prayer of praise to the Lord God (small doxology)
Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.
Prayer to the Holy Spirit
Heavenly King, Comforter, Spirit of truth, Who is everywhere and fills everything, Receptacle of all goodness and Giver of life, come and dwell in us, and cleanse us from all impurity, and save, O Merciful One, our souls.
Prayers before EasterI believe, Lord, but You confirm my faith. I hope, Lord, but You strengthen my hope. I loved You, Lord, but You purify my love and ignite it. I am sorry, Lord, but do it so that I may increase my repentance. I honor You, my Creator, Lord, I sigh for You, I call upon You. Guide me with Your wisdom, protect and strengthen me. I commend to You, my God, my thoughts, may they come from You. Let my deeds be in Your name, and let my desires be in Your will. Illuminate my mind, strengthen my will, cleanse my body, sanctify my soul. May I see my sins, may I not be seduced by pride, help me overcome temptations. May I praise You all the days of the life that You have given me. Amen.
Prayers before Easter
God, my God! Give my heart ignorance of passions and lift my eye above the madness of the world, from now on make my life not to please them and grant me pity for those who persecute me. For Your joy in sorrows is known, my God, and a straight soul will receive it, but its fate comes from Your face and there is no diminishment of its bliss. Lord Jesus Christ, my God, make my ways straight on earth.
What is Lent
One of the main holidays in the Christian world is Easter Sunday.
This day, according to the Christian religion, is a symbol of goodness and rebirth. But at the same time, all believers know what tragic events preceded this Bright Day. That is why the pre-holiday period, which is known to everyone as Great Lent, is filled with abstinence and reflection, which contributes to the purification of the soul. Of all the Orthodox fasts, Great Lent is the longest. Its duration is seven weeks. The most significant is the last week, which is called “Holy Week”. At this time, believers should observe strict rules regarding nutrition and behavior. It is believed that this period, if all requirements are met, opens a stairway to heaven for Christians.
In order to properly go through the period of Lent, not to succumb to temptations and excesses, you need to take into account important points:
- You should clearly understand what Great Lent is. To do this, you must first study special religious literature. It should be understood that fasting is not only about changes in diet. The main thing is to conquer yourself and learn to control all your actions. Overcoming sin means overcoming your passions and shortcomings.
- It is definitely recommended to talk to your priest before starting Lent. A priest can help you get in the right mood and give useful advice.
The entire history of Lent is based on the following principles:
- The spirit rules over the flesh and rules over physical needs. It is important to control your weaknesses and learn to deny yourself them.
- Quitting bad habits, in particular alcohol and smoking.
- Strictly monitor your own emotions, actions, words and thoughts.
- Fill your soul with goodwill and tolerance towards people around you, get rid of evil and resentment.
