ECTENIA
E. are used very widely and are included in all services of the daily cycle of worship (except for hours and pictorial ones), the rite of the Divine Liturgy, and many others. rites Euchologia (Trebnik). There are 4 main types of E.: peaceful, small, pleading and severe. All these types of E. are present in the rites of Vespers, Matins and the Divine Liturgy.
Peaceful E. opens the service: at Vespers it is read after the opening psalm, at Matins - after the sixth psalm, at Liturgy - immediately after the initial exclamation, i.e. at the beginning of the Liturgy of the Catechumens (once peaceful E., however, opened the Liturgy of the Faithful, i.e. e. was proclaimed after the end of the liturgy of the catechumens; a reminder of this practice are the E. of special composition during the prayers of the faithful before the great entrance and the petitionary E. after it, but afterwards the peaceful E. was moved to the beginning of the service and began to be read before the Trisagion (with IX to XII centuries), and then - in its modern place (starting from the XI century and finally from the XIII century); see: Ibid. P. 29-30).
Small E. are read at Vespers and Matins after kathismas (in some cases these E. are canceled; at Matins, small E. are also read after the 3rd, 6th and 9th hymn of the canon (on the 1st day of Easter - after each hymn of the canon )), and at the liturgy - after the 1st and 2nd antiphons.
Petitionary E. (the content indicates the completion of the prayer - see: Ibid. P. 158; Taft. Great Entrance. P. 318-322) precedes the final part of Vespers and Matins and follows “Grant, O Lord” (to- Roe at Vespers is an independent text, and at Matins it is part of the Great Doxology). At the liturgy, E.'s petitions, which include additional petitions, are read after the great entrance and after the anaphora.
The extended E. in the rites of Vespers and Matins serves as a sign of the festivity status of the service (see Art. Signs of the holidays of the month): in the rites of Great Vespers, Doxological and Polyeleonic Matins, the extended E. precedes the petitionary (at Matins - directly adjacent to it, and at Vespers - placed before “Vouchsafe, O Lord,” and in this case the strict E. of Vespers acquires 2 additional petitions at the beginning: and at Matins these 2 petitions are added to the special E. only once a year - on Holy Saturday); at the daily service with “God is the Lord”, the heavy E. is placed at the very end of Vespers and Matins, before exclamations and dismissal; at the service with the singing of “Alleluia” and prostrations to the ground, the strict E. of Vespers and Matins is canceled. At the liturgy, the special E. is read after the Gospel and always begins with a petition (in the same way, the special E. is read not only at the full liturgy, but also at the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, even if there is no Gospel in it - in this case, the special E. is read after the proverbs , “May my prayer be corrected” and bows). For more details, see the articles Small Litany, Peaceful Litany, Petitionary Litany, and Special Litany.
In addition to the 4 main types of E., there are others, for example. thanksgiving E. at the liturgy after communion; abbreviated august E. (read at Matins at the end of the double psalm, at small vespers, at the so-called midnight office on the night of the 1st day of Easter; the charter calls this E. “small litany”, i.e. “small august”); E., read by the priest at the end of Compline and Midnight Office; peaceful E. at water blessings; shortened peaceful E., read secretly in the altar during consecrations; funeral peaceful, minor and major E. for various commemorations of the deceased, etc. In church practice, various additional petitions for certain needs are well known (these petitions are written out in the Trebnik and the Service Book, and are also compiled anew if necessary), included in the peaceful and especially severe E.
While pronouncing E., the deacon stands on the pulpit, raising the orarion with his right hand (if E. is read by a priest, it is pronounced without raising hands). E. on the 1st day of Easter and throughout Bright Week are pronounced by a deacon with a candle in his hands. It is customary to pronounce funeral E., as well as E. during water blessings, accompanying the proclamation of petitions with incense. In modern rus. In practice, usually, for each request of E., the sign of the cross and a bow from the waist are performed, but in ancient Russian. This custom was not known to tradition. In modern Greek In practice, the deacon and people make the sign of the cross and bow only at the very end of E., but not during their petitions; in the practice of the Old Believers, the sign of the cross is also performed only at the final exclamation of the E. (however, after the initial petition of the special E., it is customary for the Old Believers to make 3 bows to the ground; it can also be noted that in the Byzantine tradition, the reading of the special E. was accompanied by the raising of the hands of the entire people). Acclamations in E. - “Lord, have mercy” and so on - which in the ancient Church were pronounced by all the people, in modern times. tradition, the choir sings (in Greek practice, plural E. can be performed not by a choir, but with intonation of acclamations on E. by one singer or reader). In the 17th century the editors of the Typikon now adopted in the Russian Orthodox Church made an attempt to revive the ancient custom of proclaiming acclamations on E. by the whole people, including in the Typikon a polemical article entitled (see Chapter 49: Typikon. [Vol. 2.] L. 418 vol.- 422. pp. 844-851; the issue of acclamations on E. is considered in the final part of the article: Ibid. pp. 849-851), but this attempt remained unattended.
Lit.: Goar. Euchologion; Nikolsky. Charter; Skaballanovich. Typikon. Part 2. pp. 75-103, 106-107, 143-155, 158-163; Mateos. Célébration. P. 27-33, 148-173.
Diak. Mikhail Zheltov
Eketinia is read on the pulpit, facing the altar
A deacon or priest reads the Eketinia, standing on the pulpit facing the altar. Such a prayer appeal is always read in dialogue with the choir. The response words of the choir are called acclamations. Typically, there are four different acclamations in Eketinia:
- "Lord have mercy".
- “Give it, Lord.”
- "To you, Lord."
- “Amen” is the final one.
Video: Pure eketenia. Metochion of the Moscow Patriarchate gr. Sofia. In the first second, you can see how the priest serves, turning his face to the throne.
The litany begins with a call to prayer, followed by various petitions and ends with an exclamation glorifying God (pronounced by the priest). After each petition, depending on its content, the choir sings “Lord, have mercy,” “give, Lord,” or “To you, Lord.”
The litany ends with the exclamation of the priest, to which the choir responds: “Amen.” The exclamation of the priest in most cases is a loudly voiced ending to a prayer read in a low voice (secretly) during the litany.
The one who ordered a special prayer must himself join in the prayer act
In any case, the spiritual rules of a Christian’s life should be constant work on oneself. That is why the one who ordered a special prayer is obliged to join the prayer act. The fact is that without working spiritually, it is impossible to be saved. Neglecting the rules of spiritual life can lead to spiritual death.
Consecration of the apartment. The consecration of an apartment or house is one of those actions that must be performed as an accompaniment to a special prayer
That is why ordered special prayers must be accompanied by the following actions:
- It is necessary to reevaluate your life and start living according to the commandments.
- Bless the house (apartment) in which you live.
- Pray for the departed. By begging before the beginning of the special prayer of the deceased, we provide assistance to their living relatives.
- Forgive each other, comprehend your entire life, actions and words in order to come to deep repentance.
- Give alms, do good to the people around you.
Often the cause of the problems of the living is the unforgivable sins of deceased relatives up to 3rd or 4th generation.
Very often, the cause of the sins and problems of the living are the unresolved sins of deceased relatives up to the 3rd or 4th generation. Therefore, it is advisable to simultaneously order the magpie and the Psalter about them for 40 days. In addition, it is also worth ordering memorial services for the deceased. Such prayerful work provides significant assistance when reading a special prayer.
The text of the moleben (pure prayer) is different
Despite the fact that a special prayer can be ordered in an Orthodox church or monastery, the prayer test can be said in your own words. Usually the person praying or the priest asks the Mother of God and the saints for help, although you can turn directly to the Lord.
Moreover, during the litany, the prayer usually begins with the words: “Let us pray to the Lord.”
Doctrine of Orthodox worship. Archpriest Vasily Mikhailovsky. 1906 Tests of pure prayer can be found in special church literature
Text of the special prayer:
“Lord Almighty, have mercy on me, your servant (proper name). Send me wisdom and humility, teach me what to do, do not leave your great one without help. Lord judge me with (listing or brief description of a life situation, the essence of the request). Show me the right path, enlighten me and instruct me. Grant, Lord, health and patience.
Help the sick and strengthen the healthy. Give bread to the hungry and fill the well-fed with compassion. Do not leave your children in difficult times and me, your servant (proper name), among others.
There is nothing greater than my faith, nothing greater than my humility, but there is much grief and suffering in the world. In the midst of great concerns for the suffering, strengthen my spirit and grant me to wait for the glorious moment, the sight of help, amen.”
How to correctly order a special prayer for health
In deep prayer we can remember both the living and the dead, since by remembering the dead we help the living. As for the most common prayers, the prayer for health is most often ordered.
At the same time, it is necessary to remember that during prayer one should not only make requests, but also thank God. The fact is that at the same time as the ordered one, you should also do your own prayer at home.
Church notes. All requests for special prayer must be submitted prior to the start of the service.
Notes for a special prayer for health are submitted before the start of the service. Notes can only be submitted about those who are alive. According to church regulations, first the names of saints and church leaders are written, then parents are mentioned, then one’s name is written, children, spouses, relatives - all in the genitive case.
They are later read by the deacon. Prayers for the health of these people are said by the priest standing in front of the throne. In addition, magpie is also ordered about health.
The ordering of special prayers, said by a deacon or priest, in accordance with the church charter, is carried out only for those believers who constantly go to church and participate in the sacraments (confess and receive communion).
In other cases, it is better to order a prayer service for health. It will be served regardless of the liturgy, in a church or at home, in contrast to a special prayer or eketinia.
Church services are ordered only in an Orthodox church or monastery
It is necessary to remember that church services are ordered only in an Orthodox church or monastery. The fact is that only a priest can perform them. Only he can perform a sacrament, for example, the blessing of water. A believer who does not have a priestly title can pray on his own at home.
Pure prayer is usually performed during 7-12 liturgies.
In addition, it is worth going to a temple or monastery because prayer is offered there constantly. Thus, in some monasteries, services are conducted around the clock. As a result, intense prayer will be performed for 7-12 liturgies and even 40 days. Naturally, this cannot be repeated at home.
The priest reads "Sorokoust". A special prayer can be read either for one liturgy or forty
It should be noted that many clergy say that part of the flock’s attitude towards custom prayers is incorrect. For Orthodox Christians, a situation where prayer is ordered as a commodity is unacceptable.
A temple or monastery is not a store. The prayer that the person who ordered it asks for will not bring any benefit when he does not work on himself spiritually. It is necessary to pray, repent and receive communion, then the Lord will more quickly answer the prayer request expressed in a special prayer request.
In prayer, the Lord is asked for help in particularly difficult cases.
Usually, deep prayer occurs at the Divine Liturgy, since this form of prayer is the most effective. At the same time, the deacon or priest prays for the health and repose of those for whom this demand is pronounced. Usually they specifically or purely ask the Lord for a solution to a specific problem.
Typically, special prayer services are ordered for:
- admonition and instruction on the righteous path;
- spiritual and physical health;
- assistance in arranging marriage;
- the gift of a child;
- assistance in learning;
- solving the housing problem;
- assistance in performing military duties;
- protection from demonic attacks;
- forgiveness of the sin of infanticide;
- about recovery from alcoholism, drug addiction, gambling and smoking.
Archpriest Alexander Ilyashenko.
Father Alexander, in his sermons, examines in detail the topic of deep prayer and ecetinia. Miracle-working prayer Official website
Archpriest Alexander Ilyashenko on the miraculous prayer website says that a special prayer service is held at the liturgy. Sometimes one service is enough, but usually the duration of such prayer is determined by the degree of complexity of the problems that require solutions.
Usually, for positive changes, it is recommended to perform intense prayers during 12-40 liturgies. But sometimes (in difficult spiritual situations) intense prayers are performed for six months or even a year.
