Repentance and awareness of sins are of great importance in Orthodoxy. It is known that it was pride and exaltation that caused the fall of the former angel of light - Lucifer. My spiritual father told me about this when I was baptized.
It turns out that repentance alone is not enough, since the human enemy constantly seduces and deceives believers. I will tell you what the publican’s prayer is and how to correctly repent before God in home prayer.
Who is a publican
Modern people do not always understand biblical terms and names, since the Bible was written several thousand years ago. These days there are no publicans; they have long been called tax inspectors. And in the time of Jesus Christ, tax and tax collectors were called publicans. They were considered sinful people because they always took more money from the population than they should have. Nobody loved them for this.
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Also, the Jewish priests considered publicans defiled because they constantly associated with pagans and worked for them. Thus, we see that the publican in the Bible is a complete sinner and a person hated by his people. Moreover, publicans were excommunicated from Jewish society, they became outcasts among their people.
When Jesus preached to the publicans, the Jewish priests slandered him. It was believed that God would never accept the publican and it was useless for him to repent. However, in his parable of the Pharisee and the publican, Christ emphasizes the importance of the latter’s prayer, because he sincerely considers himself a sinner. Why did Jesus place such importance on repentance?
Parable of the Pharisee and the Publican:
What is important to remember when reading morning prayers
There are several important points that should not be forgotten:
- You can learn all the morning prayers by heart, but if you still have to read them from paper or from the screen, there is nothing wrong with that either.
- Morning prayers can be read both out loud and silently.
- It is advisable to do this in privacy and silence, so that there are no distractions. And start immediately after waking up.
Read also:
Prayer for a child. What prayers to read for children
The Importance of Repentance
Due to numerous requests from readers, we have prepared an “Orthodox Calendar” application for smartphones. Every morning you will receive information about the current day: holidays, fasts, days of remembrance, prayers, parables. Download for free: Orthodox Calendar 2022 (available on Android)
Self-righteousness and awareness of sinfulness are two polar states of man. It is self-righteousness that leads to pride and then to the fall of man. Self-righteousness convinces a person that he is better than others. And if it’s better, it means it deserves more favors from God. This leads to demands for rewards, narcissism and rebellion in the end. This is exactly the path that Lucifer took before his fall: he considered it shameful to serve Adam. Who is Adam before him, morning morning?
The Holy Fathers teach that repentance has a beginning, but there is no end . A person is constantly faced with the manifestation of his sinful nature, which must be constantly repented of. If a person is not aware of his sinful nature, it will sooner or later lead to self-righteousness and fall.
However, repentance should be distinguished from confession . You can repent of your sins at home without a priest if a person catches himself committing a bad act, from the point of view of the church. But one should not think that home repentance replaces or excludes confession. At confession, you need to confess your sin to the priest, and only then is the sin completely annulled. After confession, you don’t even have to remember your repentant sins, since they have lost their spiritual meaning. After confession, the believer can, with a pure heart, partake of the holy gifts without consequences for himself.
Note! It is impossible to partake of the holy gifts without confession, since a person will drink and eat condemnation to himself.
A believer must understand that only Jesus Christ lived on earth without sin. His divine nature allowed him to live in purity and holiness. Even the apostles committed sins. For example, the Apostle Peter succumbed to anger and cut off a soldier’s ear. He acted against the commandments of Christ, succumbing to his sinful nature. However, sincere repentance for what he had done freed him from the heaviness in his soul. As we remember, Jesus called the apostle Peter the cornerstone of the church.
Remember that after death it is impossible to repent of sins. Repentance is accepted only during life.
Many people are interested in the advisability of repentance, since God already knows about all sins. The Holy Fathers teach that man is given the freedom to choose to live as a sinner or as a righteous man. Therefore, God does not force anyone to repent. If a person realizes the gravity of his offense and repents, he brings himself closer to God. And unrepentant sins distance us from God.
Morning prayers
The morning prayer rule includes the following components:
- Start
- Publican's Prayer
- Initial prayer
- Prayer to the Holy Spirit
- Trisagion
- Prayer to the Most Holy Trinity
- Lord's Prayer
- Troparia Trinity
- Prayer to the Most Holy Trinity
- Psalm 50
- Symbol of faith
- First prayer of Saint Macarius the Great
- Second prayer, of the same saint
- Prayer three, of the same saint
- Prayer four, of the same saint
- Fifth prayer, Saint Basil the Great
- Prayer six, of the same saint
- Seventh prayer to the Most Holy Theotokos
- Prayer eight, to our Lord Jesus Christ
- Ninth prayer to the Guardian Angel
- Prayer tenth, to the Most Holy Theotokos
- Prayerful invocation of the saint whose name you bear
- Hymn to the Most Holy Theotokos
- Troparion to the Cross and prayer for the fatherland
- About the living
- About the deceased
- End of prayers
Read also:
Prayers for every day and for all occasions
Start
Rising from sleep, before doing anything else, stand reverently, presenting yourself before the All-Seeing God, and, making the sign of the cross, say:
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.
Then wait a little until all your feelings come to silence and your thoughts leave everything earthly, and then say the following prayers, without haste and with heartfelt attention:
Publican's Prayer
(Gospel of Luke, chapter 18, verse 13)
God, be merciful to me, a sinner.
Initial 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.
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.
Trisagion
Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us. (Read three times, with the sign of the cross and 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. (Three times).
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Lord's Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven! Hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, as it is in heaven and on earth. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, just as we forgive our debtors; and do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
Troparia Trinity
Having risen from sleep, we fall down to Thee, the Good One, and cry out to Thee, the Mightier, the angelic song: Holy, Holy, Holy art thou, O God, have mercy on us through the Mother of God.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
From bed and sleep You have raised me up, O Lord, enlighten my mind and heart, and open my lips to sing to You, Holy Trinity: Holy, Holy, Holy, O God, have mercy on us through the Mother of God.
And now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Suddenly the Judge will come, and every deed will be exposed, but with fear we call at midnight: Holy, Holy, Holy art thou, O God, have mercy on us by the Mother of God.
Lord have mercy. (12 times)
Prayer to the Most Holy Trinity
Having risen from sleep, I thank Thee, Holy Trinity, for for the sake of Thy goodness and long-suffering, Thou hast not been angry with me, lazy and sinful, nor hast Thou destroyed me with my iniquities; but you usually loved mankind and in the despair of the one who lay down, you raised me up to practice and glorify Your power. And now enlighten my mental eyes, open my lips to learn Thy words, and to understand Thy commandments, and to do Thy will, and to sing to Thee in heartfelt confession, and to sing Thy all-holy name, of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages. centuries. Amen.
Come, let us worship our King God. (Bow)
Come, let us worship and fall down before Christ, our King God. (Bow)
Come, let us bow and fall down to Christ Himself, the King and our God. (Bow)
Psalm 50
Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your great mercy, and according to the multitude of Your mercies, cleanse my iniquity. Above all, wash me from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin; for I know my iniquity, and I will take away my sin before me. I have sinned against You alone and have done evil before You, so that You may be justified in Your words and triumph over the judgment of You. Behold, I was conceived in iniquity, and my mother gave birth to me in sins. Behold, you have loved the truth; You have revealed to me the unknown and secret wisdom of Yours. Sprinkle me with hyssop, and I will be cleansed; Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. My hearing brings joy and joy; humble bones will rejoice. Turn Your face away from my sins and cleanse all my iniquities. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a right spirit in my womb. Do not cast me away from Your presence and do not take Your Holy Spirit away from me. Reward me with the joy of Your salvation and strengthen me with the Lord’s Spirit. I will teach the wicked Your way, and the wicked will turn to You. Deliver me from bloodshed, O God, God of my salvation; My tongue will rejoice in Your righteousness. Lord, open my mouth, and my mouth will declare Your praise. As if you had desired sacrifices, you would have given them: you do not favor burnt offerings. The sacrifice to God is a broken spirit; God will not despise a broken and humble heart. Bless Zion, O Lord, with Your favor, and may the walls of Jerusalem be built. Then favor the sacrifice of righteousness, the offering and the burnt offering; Then they will place the bullock on Your altar.
Symbol of faith
I believe in one God the Father, Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, visible to all and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the only begotten, who was born of the Father before all ages; Light from Light, true God from true God, born, uncreated, consubstantial with the Father, to Whom all things were. For our sake, man and our salvation came down from heaven and became incarnate from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became human. She was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered and was buried. And he rose again on the third day according to the Scriptures. And ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father. And again the coming one will be judged with glory by the living and the dead, His Kingdom will have no end. And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Life-Giving One, who proceeds from the Father, who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, who spoke the prophets. Into one Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. I confess one baptism for the remission of sins. I hope for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the next century. Amen.
First prayer of Saint Macarius the Great
God, cleanse me, a sinner, for I have done nothing good before You; but deliver me from the evil one, and may Thy will be done in me, may I open my unworthy lips without condemnation and praise Thy holy name, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages Amen.
Second prayer, of the same saint
Rising from sleep, I bring the midnight hymn to Ti, Savior, and falling down crying to Ti: do not let me fall asleep in a sinful death, but be gracious to me, crucified by will, and hasten me lying in laziness, and save me in standing and in prayer, and in sleep Rise up nightly for me a sinless day, O Christ God, and save me.
Prayer three, of the same saint
To You, Lord, Lover of Mankind, having risen from sleep, I come running, and I strive for Your works with Your mercy, and I pray to You: help me at all times, in every thing, and deliver me from all worldly evil things and the devil’s haste, and save me, and bring us into Your eternal Kingdom. For You are my Creator and the Provider and Giver of every good thing, and all my hope is in You, and I send up glory to You, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Prayer four, of the same saint
Lord, Who through Your many goodness and Your great bounty has given me, Your servant, the passing time of this night without misfortune to pass away from all evil that is contrary to me; You Yourself, Master, the Creator of all things, grant me with Your true light and an enlightened heart to do Your will, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Fifth prayer, Saint Basil the Great
Lord Almighty, God of hosts and all flesh, living in the highest and looking down on the humble, testing the hearts and wombs and innermost parts of men, the fore-foreseen One, the Beginningless and Ever-Everlasting Light, with Him there is no change or overshadowing; Himself, Immortal King, accept our prayers, even now, boldly for the multitude of Your bounties, from the bad lips we create towards You, and forgive us our sins, whether in deed, word, and thought, knowledge, or ignorance, we have sinned; and cleanse us from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit. And grant us with a cheerful heart and a sober thought to pass through the whole night of this present life, awaiting the coming of the bright and revealed day of Your Only Begotten Son, the Lord and God and our Savior Jesus Christ, in which the Judge of all will come with glory, to whom he will give to each according to his deeds; May we not fall and become lazy, but be watchful and raised up for the work that is to come, and prepare for the joy and Divine palace of His glory, where those who celebrate the unceasing voice and the ineffable sweetness of those who behold Your face, the ineffable kindness. For You are the true Light, you enlighten and sanctify all things, and all creation sings to You forever and ever. Amen.
Prayer six, of the same saint
We bless you, O highest God and Lord of mercy, who always does great and unexplored, glorious and terrible things to us, countless in number, giving us sleep for the repose of our weakness, and the weakening of the labors of the arduous flesh. We thank Thee, for Thou didst not destroy us with our iniquities, but Thou didst usually love mankind, and in desperation, Thou didst raise us up to glorify Thy power. In the same way, we pray for Your immeasurable goodness, enlighten our thoughts, our eyes, and raise our minds from the heavy sleep of laziness: open our lips, and fulfill Your praise, so that we can unwaveringly sing and confess to You, in all, and from all, to the glorified God, To the Beginningless Father, with Your Only Begotten Son, and Your All-Holy and Good and Life-Giving Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Seventh prayer to the Most Holy Theotokos
I sing Thy grace, O Lady, I pray to Thee, my mind is filled with grace. Go right and teach me the path of Christ’s commandments. Strengthen your children to songs, driving away despondency and sleep. Bound by the captivity of the Falls, allow me through Your prayers, Bride of God. Preserve me in the night and in the day, delivering me to those who fight against the enemy. She who gave birth to God, the life-giver, was killed by my passions and revived. Who gave birth to the non-evening Light, enlighten my blind soul. O wondrous Lady of the Palace, create for me the house of the Divine Spirit. You who gave birth to a doctor, heal my soul of many years of passion. Worried by the storm of life, guide me towards the path of repentance. Deliver me from eternal fire, and from evil worms, and from tartar. Do not show me joy as a demon, who is guilty of many sins. Create me again, having promised to be insensible, Immaculate, without sin. Show me the strangeness of all kinds of torment, and implore the Lord to all. Heavenly grant me joy with all the saints. Most Holy Virgin, hear the voice of Your indecent servant. Give me a stream of tears, Most Pure One, cleansing the filth of my soul. I bring lamentations from my heart to You continually, be zealous, Lady. Accept my prayer service and bring it to the blessed God. Transcending Angel, create me above the fusion of the world. Light-bearing heavenly Seine, direct spiritual grace in me. I lift up my hand and my lips to praise, defiled by filth, O All-Immaculate One. Deliver me from the dirty tricks that are strangling me, diligently begging Christ; To Him is due honor and worship, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Prayer eight, to our Lord Jesus Christ
My most merciful and all-merciful God, Lord Jesus Christ, for the sake of love you came down and became incarnate for many reasons, so that you would save everyone. And again, Savior, save me by grace, I pray to You; Even if you save me from works, there is no grace and no gift, but more than debt. Hey, abundant in generosity and ineffable in mercy! Believe in Me, you say, O my Christ, you will live and will not see death forever. Even if faith in You saves the desperate, behold, I believe, save me, for You are my God and Creator. Let faith instead of works be imputed to me, O my God, for you will not find works to justify me. But may my faith prevail instead of all, may it answer, may it justify me, may it show me to be a partaker of Your eternal glory. Let Satan not kidnap me, and boast to the Word that he has torn me away from Your hand and fence; but either I want, save me, or I don’t want, O Christ my Savior, let me soon, I will soon perish: For you are my God from my mother’s womb. Grant me, O Lord, now to love Thee, as sometimes I have loved that same sin; and again work for You without laziness, just as you worked before the flattering Satan. Above all, I will serve You, my Lord and God Jesus Christ, all the days of my life, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Ninth prayer to the Guardian Angel
Holy Angel, standing before my accursed soul and my passionate life, do not leave me, a sinner, nor depart from me for my intemperance. Do not give room to the evil demon to possess me through the violence of this mortal body; strengthen my poor and thin hand and guide me on the path of salvation. To her, holy Angel of God, guardian and patron of my accursed soul and body, forgive me everything, I have offended you so greatly all the days of my life, and if I sinned this past night, cover me on this day, and save me from every opposite temptation May I not anger God in any sin, and pray for me to the Lord, that He may strengthen me in His passion, and show me worthy as a servant of His goodness. Amen.
Prayer tenth, to the Most Holy Theotokos
My Most Holy Lady Theotokos, with Your saints and all-powerful prayers, take away from me, Your humble and accursed servant, despondency, oblivion, foolishness, negligence, and all the nasty, evil and blasphemous thoughts from my accursed heart and from my darkened mind; and extinguish the flame of my passions, for I am poor and damned. And deliver me from many and cruel memories and enterprises, and free me from all evil actions. For Thou art blessed from all generations, and glorified is Thy most honorable name forever and ever. Amen.
Prayerful invocation of the saint whose name you bear
Pray to God for me, holy servant of God (name), as I diligently resort to you, a quick helper and prayer book for my soul.
Hymn to the Most Holy Theotokos
Virgin Mary, Rejoice, O Blessed Mary, the Lord is with You; Blessed are You among women and blessed is the fruit of Your womb, for You have given birth to the Savior of our souls.
Troparion to the Cross and prayer for the fatherland
Save, O Lord, Thy people, and bless Thy inheritance, granting victories to Orthodox Christians against resistance, and preserving Thy life through Thy Cross.
Prayer for the living
Save, Lord, and have mercy on my spiritual father (name), my parents (names), relatives (names), bosses, mentors, benefactors (their names) and all Orthodox Christians.
Prayer for the departed
Rest, O Lord, the souls of Your departed servants: my parents, relatives, benefactors (their names), and all Orthodox Christians, and forgive them all sins, voluntary and involuntary, and grant them the Kingdom of Heaven.
Sermon of the day
The humble will be exalted, and those who exalt themselves will be humbled.
(Luke 18:14).
To some people who were confident about themselves that they were righteous, and humiliated others, Jesus Christ spoke the following parable. Two people entered the temple to pray: one was a Pharisee, and the other was a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed to himself like this: God! I thank You that I am not like other people, robbers, offenders, adulterers, or like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of everything I acquire. The publican, standing at a distance, did not even dare to raise his eyes to heaven, but, striking himself on the chest, said: God, be merciful to me, a sinner! And further Jesus Christ adds that this one went to his house justified more than the other, for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted (see: Luke 18:10-14).
So, this is what it means to boast about yourself, but to speak bad things about others, to humiliate others! Look at this Pharisee praying in the temple of God. He did not take anything from anyone, did not offend anyone in any way, led a chaste life, fasted twice a week, and gave a tenth of his estate to the church and to the poor. Who will not say that this Pharisee is a righteous man? However, it was not he who went justified to his house, but the publican. Yes, this virtuous Pharisee lost all his virtues by boasting about himself and saying about the publican that he was a bad man.
But look at this publican praying in the temple of God. Look how he stands away from everyone, how he beats his chest, how he lowers his gaze; it is clear from everything that he is a great sinner. However, this great sinner went home justified. Yes, this great sinner is justified because he condemned himself, recognized himself as the sinner that he really was. Let us not, listeners, say bad things about others and boast about ourselves. To boast about oneself means to humiliate oneself. Both God and people will stop loving the one who decides to boast about himself. Our good deeds cease to be good when we boast about them. We lose the proper reward for our labors when we complacently tell everyone about them.
Equally, humiliating others means humiliating yourself. We ourselves become low before God and people when we speak lowly of our neighbor; We dishonor ourselves when we denigrate the honor of others. And how can we say bad things about others? How long will it take for a thin person to become better than us? How long will it take for him to correct himself and receive justification from God? How long will it take him and the publican to say: God, be merciful to me a sinner? We see and hear that this man offends, robs, and lives dissolutely. But do we see, but do we hear how he beats his sinful chest, how he cries about his sins before God? We know how he sins every day, how he commits injustice every hour. But do we know that at the very time we condemn him, he, perhaps, on his knees, covered in tears, stands before the merciful God and prays from the depths of his soul: God, be merciful to me, a sinner? Perhaps at that very moment when we say that this person did this, that, the third, - at that very moment God says to him: I forgive you this, and that, and the third, and I forgive you everything. So, listeners, we perhaps condemn our neighbor at the very time when God justifies him at His righteous judgment. Let us remember that even the lowest sinners are not far from deep humility, for everyone who exalts himself will be humiliated, and he who humiliates himself will be exalted.
Interpretation (meaning of the parable)
The short story is addressed to people who try to elevate themselves by putting others down.
It becomes clear that the Pharisee is not praying, but talking about his merits and successes. Instead of sympathizing with the publican for his sinful fall, he, on the contrary, is glad that he looks better in comparison. The second one came to repent. He asks for mercy and does not even dare to turn his gaze to heaven, as is appropriate for Jewish prayer. The man understands how sinful he is and suffers from it.
The meaning of the parable that the Lord brought to his listeners is that the exalted will be humiliated, and those who humiliate themselves will be exalted.
Many do not entirely agree with the message of the parable. There was a popular proverb: “If only two people went to heaven, one of them would be a Pharisee.” And, indeed, one cannot call him a bad person.
Week of the Publican and Pharisee in 2022
Before Lent, Orthodox Christians celebrate three preparatory weeks, also known as Weeks. Traditionally, they begin on Church Day - Sunday.
First Week from February 14 to February 20 - “The Week of the Publican and the Pharisee”;
The second will begin on the 21st and will last until February 28 - “The Week of the Prodigal Son”;
The third is “The Week of the Last Judgment” from March 29 to March 6.
During the holiday week, fasting is not held on Wednesday and Friday, which is why it is called “continuous week.” The date of its celebration changes every year. It directly depends on the timing of Lent.
