Heavenly King
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, souls ours.
Translation: Heavenly King, Comforter (Advisor, Mentor), Spirit of truth, present everywhere (located) and filling everything (with His presence), Treasure of blessings and Giver of life, come and dwell in us (among us), cleanse us from all sin and save, O Most Blessed One, our souls.
From Easter to the Ascension, instead of this prayer, the Easter troparion “Christ is Risen...” is read, but from the Ascension to the Day of the Holy Trinity (49 days) it is not read.
In this prayer we pray to the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Holy Trinity. In it we call the Holy Spirit the King of Heaven, because He, as the true God, equal to God the Father and God the Son, invisibly reigns over us, owns us and the whole world.
We call Him the Comforter, because He comforts us in our sorrows and misfortunes.
We call Him the Spirit of truth (as the Savior Himself called Him - John 15:26), because He, as the Holy Spirit, teaches everyone only one truth, truth, only what is useful for us and serves for our salvation. He is God, and He is everywhere and fills everything with Himself: He is everywhere and fulfills everything.
He, as the ruler of the whole world, sees everything and, where needed, gives. He is the treasure of good things, that is, the source of all good deeds, the source of good.
We call the Holy Spirit the Giver of life, because everything in the world lives and moves by the Holy Spirit, that is, everything receives life from Him, and Christians receive holy eternal life from Him (John 3:5), being cleansed from sins and acquiring virtues.
We ask Him to come and dwell “in us.” The latter can be understood in two ways (and one understanding does not exclude the other): either we want each of us to become an abode of the Spirit, a temple of God; or (cf. John 1:14) - so that the Holy Spirit dwells among us, among us, uniting Christians into the single Body of Christ - the Church.
Cleanse us from all filth, that is, sin, make us saints worthy of Your presence in us, and Save, Good Source of the highest good, our souls from sins and through this grant us the Kingdom of Heaven.
Source of the article: https://azbyka.ru/molitvoslov/carju-nebesnyj.html
Prayer "King of Heaven"
The prayer “To the Heavenly King” is one of the main ones in Orthodoxy. It must be read during every church service. It is also considered a home prayer, which is recommended to be read in the morning after waking up and immediately before bed. In addition, there is a tradition of reading the prayer “To the Heavenly King” with the goal of calling the Holy Spirit into your life before any undertaking.
The origin and authorship of this prayer appeal are unknown. It is clear that this prayer goes back to ancient times. Most clergy are inclined to believe that it arose around the end of the first millennium of the Christian era.
How to read an appeal to God correctly
Prayer is a way for a person’s soul to contact God. It will be powerful if the believer understands how to access Divine power. In prayer, it is not necessary to follow the text with emphasis exactly. The main thing is to have strong faith in the power of the Lord while reading. Such prayer requires a special mental attitude, which can be difficult to achieve. It requires concentration, distraction from vain thoughts and desires. This can be achieved only through constant willpower, overcoming doubts, forgetting for a moment troubles and sadness.
There is no need to try to lead yourself into religious ecstasy or achieve special inspiration. The Lord sees what is in the heart of every person. A prayer will be heard if it comes from the heart, the believer feels his own imperfection and sinfulness, and reveres the greatness and power of God. Daily appeal to the Heavenly King teaches meekness and humility before the will of the Lord.
Before you start reading any prayer in the morning, you should stand up, cross yourself and say: “In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen". Then the text of the prayer appeal is pronounced: out loud or silently. You should not rush to ensure that the essence of each word reaches your consciousness.
The prayer to the Heavenly King can be read in Russian and Old Church Slavonic, with the exception of Monday after the celebration of Trinity (on the day of the Holy Spirit), when it should be said in Old Church Slavonic.
Prayer to the Holy Spirit
In the prayer text “To the Heavenly King” one of the hypostases of our Almighty Lord is sung. This is done infrequently and is due to the fact that the knowledge of believers is based on the Old Testament. And in it, mention of the Holy Spirit occurs three times: twice in the book of the prophet Isaiah and once in the 50 Psalms.
But the power of the Holy Spirit is certainly known to all believers. Every Christian knows that the Holy Spirit descended on the Savior during Baptism. He also came to the Holy Apostles before they went to preach.
Very often, believers have difficulty understanding the image of God in three hypostases, but at the same time Indivisible and Consubstantial. It is on this dogma that the Orthodox Christian doctrine is based. In order to clearly explain, the clergy use an earthly comparison - the image of a woman.
It can be simultaneously:
In general, in the Christian religion the Holy Spirit is a certain independent entity. He represents an ethereal creature that is capable of permeating the world of the dead and the living. The Holy Spirit has no character, face, or emotions. But he is able to fill a person with Divine power and bestow blessings. It is through the Holy Spirit that Baptism takes place. It is noteworthy that due to incorporeality and invisibility, the Holy Spirit cannot act independently, but at the same time it can take on various forms. The most popular image of the Holy Spirit is the dove.
It has been established since the emergence of the Christian religion.
Text of prayer with emphasis
In order to correctly place the emphasis, you need to understand what the prayer is about. Despite the brevity of the prayer address, it contains a deep meaning.
This prayer contains an appeal to the Holy Spirit as the Heavenly King. The title “Comforter” is due to the fact that this is how the Holy Spirit was called by Jesus Christ himself. In one of his conversations with his disciples, he promised that he would beg the Father to give people another Comforter who would abide with them forever. This will be the Spirit of Truth, which will be very difficult for people to accept, since it will be invisible. The combination of the words “Comforter” and “Soul of Truth” can be understood as “mediator” or “intercessor.”
The Holy Spirit is said to be present everywhere in prayer. This very definition also applies to God. What follows is confirmation that the Holy Spirit can fulfill all things. This means not only all the desires and requests of a sincere believer. This phrase indicates that the Holy Spirit fills the whole world around us and enlivens it. Every moment he maintains the existence of the world as a whole, otherwise everything will be destroyed. That is, this prayer focuses on the fact that God is the Creator and Creator.
Treasure of blessings - this means the source of mercies and all good things. Since in the Old Slavonic version this phrase sounds like “Treasure of the good,” one should not understand that the Holy Spirit is in itself a treasure for people.
In the prayer address, the Holy Spirit is called the “Giver of Life.” This is an emphasis on the fact that every righteous soul is nourished by the Holy Spirit. This is exactly what is stated in many church hymns.
After the address comes the petitionary part of the prayer. First of all, the person praying remembers that the Holy Spirit comes and dwells in us. This is understood in two ways. That is, on the one hand, we want each of us to accept the Holy Spirit and become its abode, and on the other hand, each of us has a desire for the Holy Spirit to dwell among us, and therefore unite us, excluding disagreements and quarrels. But it should be understood that no statement excludes the other, they are completely compatible.
Next, in prayer, we turn to the Holy Spirit to cleanse us from various filth. This means a request for forgiveness of sins and protection from devilish temptations. We want the Good, which means the good Holy Spirit, to help save our souls and give us hope for the Kingdom of Heaven.
What is the essence and power of prayerful appeal to the Holy Spirit
In order to understand the essence of prayerful appeal to the Holy Spirit, you need to deeply understand this very concept in religion. You should know that even before a person becomes a Christian, the Holy Spirit already influences him.
Even in childhood, the Holy Spirit begins to communicate what has been accomplished. And he does this through the use of such an internal characteristic of a person as conscience. It is through it that the Higher Power turns to a person and takes part in the formation of his character. If it happens that a person continues to act not according to his conscience, and does not pay attention to the signs that are given from above, then the Holy Spirit leaves him.
The Holy Spirit, moving into a person, brings him closer to God and ultimately leads him to him. This means that a person receives reliable protection from the Lord God, because the Almighty loves each of us, so he does not abandon even sinners in difficult times, trying to teach us to live according to God’s commandments and guide us on the true path. Moreover, the Lord leads us to this truth through the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit comes to every person who sincerely believes in God and decides to live according to the laws of the church, moves into him and lives inside such a person. Thus, the Lord promotes spiritual growth, and at the moment when a Christian begins to sincerely repent of his own sins, he feels that he is heard by some Power. And this power is the Holy Spirit.
A believer is always modest. They never exaggerate their merits, they are not characterized by pride and they never deceive. They also do not commit any other sinful acts. It is these traits that indicate that the Holy Spirit is present in a person. The main gift of the Holy Spirit is the Fear of God. In this case, a person understands that he cannot consider himself self-sufficient, since everything in this world depends on the Lord God. Only after realizing all the greatness of the Lord is it possible for a person to see the reality of the world around him. A sincerely believing person can, over time, by listening to his inner voice, make the right decisions and make the right choice. This is also evidence of the presence of the Holy Spirit.
Source of the article: https://psy-magic.org/molitvy/955-molitva-caryu-nebesnyy.html
Divine Trinity
In their prayer life, Orthodox Christians most often turn to God the Father and the Son, Jesus Christ, paying little attention to the Holy Spirit, the integral Hypostasis of the Trinity.
The Holy Trinity
For those who find it difficult to imagine the Trinity of God, one should look at a man who is simultaneously son, husband and father.
The Holy Spirit originally existed, the prophet Moses writes about Him in the book “Genesis” of the Old Testament (Gen. 1: 2). Even before the appearance of light, the Spirit of the Lord enveloped the earth.
By the Holy Spirit, revealed in the cloud, the Jewish people were led out of Egypt, and through the Archangel Gabriel a message was conveyed to the Virgin Mary. The Apostle Paul conveys the words of Jesus that the body of every Christian is the temple of God if the Holy Spirit lives in it. The Third of God The hypostasis manifested itself more than once in the New Testament, appearing for the first time in the form of a dove that sat on the shoulder of Jesus during water Baptism in the Jordan.
The Baptism of Jesus Christ and the Descent of the Holy Spirit in the Form of a Dove
Jesus, going to the Father, left a promise that Christians would gather for the holiday and wait for the Guide, the Comforter, and the Holy Spirit descended during Pentecost, revealing the fullness of the Holy Trinity.
About prayer to the Heavenly King
Prayer to the Heavenly King is an appeal to the Holy Spirit, which is part of church worship. The Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Holy Trinity, the Life-Giving Lord. The name of the prayer comes from the first two words of its text. From Easter to Ascension this prayer is not read; its place is taken by the Easter troparion “Christ is Risen...”. From Ascension to the Day of the Holy Trinity, prayer is not said.
Prayer to the Heavenly King - stichera of the sixth tone on the stichera at the Great Vespers of Pentecost. It dates back to the 8th-9th centuries. The authorship of the prayer remains unknown. The exact date cannot be determined, but it is known that it did not exist under the Rule of Constantinople in the 9th century. You can also read the prayer to the Heavenly King privately, in home prayer.
We often hear that the King of Heaven is a very powerful prayer. It can be pronounced when a person:
- Asks for help in any matter.
- Cannot free himself from the power of sin.
- Experiencing a crisis of faith.
But the power of prayer depends not on what text is pronounced, but on the person’s faith. Ritual pronunciation of the text of a prayer without a true conversation with God does not have any “special” power.
To the King of Heaven text of prayer
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.
Explanation:
Soul - spirit. Izhe - which. Sy - existing, abiding. Fulfill everything - fill everything. Treasure is a repository, a source. Good - good. Dwell in us - dwell in us. Defilement is a sin.
In Russian:
Heavenly King, Comforter (Adviser, Mentor), Spirit of Truth, present everywhere (located) and filling everything (with His presence), Treasure of goods and Giver of Life, come and dwell in us, cleanse us from all sin and save, O Most Good One, our souls .
On the spiritual meaning of the prayer “To the Heavenly King”
Today, by the grace of God, we honor, glorify, and pray to the Holy Trinity, Consubstantial, Life-Giving and Indivisible, remembering the Gospel words that the Holy Spirit has not yet descended to earth, because Christ has not yet suffered on the Cross. But then He said to Mary Magdalene: I ascend to My Father and your Father . And the God-man ascends into the heavenly abodes, lifts up human nature above earth and heaven, so that, having entered into the glory that He, the Lord, had even before the foundation of the world, he interceded and sent down to us the life-giving grace of the Holy Spirit, the assimilation of which by faith in Christ, Baptism and by remaining in the commandments of Christ there is eternal salvation. And yesterday we called on the Comforter of the Spirit and from now on we will begin every prayer with the words: “To the Heavenly King, the Comforter . And let us briefly delve into these great words, behind which lies the secret of our salvation.
King of Heaven. Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit sends us grace from the depths of the Divine Being and makes the earth heaven, makes us, participants in grace, citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven. And we must always remember this, knowing that our residence is in heaven, we were created not for earth, but for heaven. And in our minds, and in our hearts, in our thoughts, in our intentions, in our aspirations, in our aspirations, let the heavenly things prevail, as the Lord says: philosophize about heavenly things, and not about earthly things. Living on earth and, of necessity, having earthly cares, we will turn them to the glory of the Heavenly King. Do everything, as the Apostle Paul teaches us, for the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, exchanging earthly things for heavenly things. Using earthly treasures, so to speak, for the benefit of our neighbors, we will constantly stock up and multiply the heavenly treasure - the grace of the Holy Spirit.
The Lord Holy Spirit is the King, towards whom we, His faithful subjects, must always be faithful to our calling, reverent, God-fearing. To think nothing lofty about ourselves, but to work out our salvation with fear and trembling,2 that is, to attract the grace of the Holy Spirit with humility, purity and love.
“Comforter” - this is the word Christ called the third Person of the Holy Trinity. There is no such misfortune and sorrow, illness, such painful circumstances that Divine grace cannot dispel. You just need to have faith in Him, the Comforter, complain less to others, or better not complain at all, but listen to other people’s complaints. And to resort to Him, the Comforter, knowing that all who have turned away from this fleeting world and devoted themselves entirely to the Lord, the Holy Spirit will certainly support and strengthen, resolve difficulties, diminish illnesses and heal, and console them in a way that their own mother does not console . For He is God, “Who is everywhere and fulfills all things .
“To the soul of truth ,” we turn to the Holy Spirit, asking Him to guide us into all truth, to deliver us from all mental lies, all delusions, all deceptions, to make our heart simple, pure, our words and actions right and pleasing to God. Man, created in the image and likeness of God, clings to the truth, it is pleasant to him, it is joyful for him. And, on the contrary, all deceit, equivocation, all lies, lies always leave a residue on the soul, they feel heavy. And we ask the Lord to grant us to always walk in the truth, for lies are from the devil, but our God is the way, the truth and the life.
“Be present everywhere and do everything . If our heart's eyes were opened, we would see that the entire universe - the sky, the earth, and every creation of God, the animal and plant world, the heavenly bodies, and people, they all move and exist thanks to being in them Holy Spirit. He is truly the King, Who, being outside this world, permeates everything visible and invisible with His energy. And contemplating the beauty of God’s world, the blossoming nature, looking at people, we must remember the creative creative Spirit and, so to speak, draw inspiration from carefully examining with a clear eye everything that opens to our gaze. But do not cling to anything earthly, because the main object of our lust and hunger is the invisible Lord.
"Life to the Giver" . The Spirit of the Lord brings life with Him; He created this life. The mystery of life will never be solved by a dry and callous, and especially by an unbelieving mind. And giving thanks to the Lord for the gift of life, we must understand that true life is communication with God, union with Him, true life is given to us when we enter the Divine realm, when the Holy Spirit touches our soul, cleanses it in a sacred and mysterious way , decorates it, fulfills it. And accordingly, the breath of life is only prayer, the aspiration to God of our entire nature - body, soul and spirit, thoughts and feelings. And the Lord speaks about this: “Let anyone who is thirsty come to Me and draw and drink the water of life freely.”
On the last great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying: If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.
Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture says, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.
It is by the power of the Holy Spirit that our prayer, assisted by us, brings eternal life into our hearts.
“ Come , we pray, and dwell in us .” The word “dwell” suggests that the grace of God visits us not only in church and not only at the hour of communion, but it always coexists with a God-fearing Christian; we must draw from it throughout the day, and perhaps part of the night. And we ask the Lord that He never part with us and never depart from us, and He promises us to always be with us. This means that most of all we should be afraid of sin, any one: active, verbal, and mental, because sin is the only one that can separate us from this breath of life.
“And cleanse us from all filth,” we ask the Lord God the Holy Spirit, that He may keep us from captivity to the devil, from evil memories, from every transgression of God’s commandments. We ask that He cleanse us from the passions that, unfortunately, are inherent in us. We ask the Lord God to always, with His cleansing energy, keep the clarity of our mind unchangeable, and keep our hearts in peace and love.
“And save, O Lord, our souls . Communion with Christ and the Holy Spirit and the Father is salvation itself. And the one who takes care, having partaken of the Holy Mysteries of Christ, to remain in gratitude, in humility, in love, in prayer, will not tolerate the diminishment of Divine grace even after leaving the temple, because according to God’s destiny, man himself is an animated temple in which he mysteriously dwells Divine grace.
And you and I will continue our festive service in the evening and will pray to the Holy Trinity that the Holy Spirit, who once sanctified the apostles, will touch our hearts, and we will preserve, cherish and multiply Divine grace through repentance, prayer and active love.
1 John 20, 17.
2 See: Phil. 2, 12.
3 John 7, 37 – 38.
Interpretation of the prayer “Heavenly King”
The Holy Spirit is mentioned three times in the Old Testament: twice in the book of the prophet Isaiah and once in the 50 Psalms. But in the New Testament the Holy Spirit appears much more often. In the form of a dove, he descended during the Baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ. Gospel characters spoke about him more than once. He came to the Apostles when they went to preach. Therefore, when pronouncing the prayer to the Heavenly King, there is no usual refrain of “rejoice” or “rejoice,” but there is the word “come,” which calls upon the third person of the Holy Trinity.
Meaning in Orthodoxy
A few lines of a short prayer reveal the essence and role of the Holy Spirit in the life of every person. Divine power is mentioned in the Old and New Testaments. The Holy Spirit descended on Jesus during Baptism, on the apostles after the death of Jesus Christ, when they went to preach. Jesus told his disciples that when they were imbued with the Holy Spirit, the truth would be revealed to them. Divine power is not material, has no image. At the same time, it is omnipresent, it permeates the world of the living and the dead.
The omnipresence of the King of Heaven, his ability to influence the lives of people explains why in prayer they turn to him as:
- to "The Comforter";
- "Spirit of truth";
- “To the source of good”;
- "Giver of life."
The Heavenly King condescends to a person if he strives to get rid of sin and calls him to his aid. The role of Divine power is to unite the soul with the Divine essence. He is not asked to help in specific matters. They turn to Divine power when they want to get rid of alcoholism, drug addiction, envy, greed, laziness, hatred, or experience a crisis of faith. The Heavenly King is the third hypostasis of God: “...In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit...”. The third hypostasis is the love that the Lord radiates. Divine power can be compared to the sun's rays, giving light and warmth.
The presence of the Heavenly King in a person means that his soul has been cleansed of sinful filth and will be given eternal life.
A person feels the influence of Divine power through his conscience. The voice of conscience is its influence on the human soul and mind. The life-giving power of the Heavenly King lies in the fact that he is the source of goodness and love for one’s neighbor, the truth of the soul.
A believer is characterized by modesty, honesty, decency, and kindness. You can pray to the Heavenly King in church and at home (in the morning, after waking up, and before going to bed). You are not supposed to read the prayer from Easter to Ascension and from Ascension to Trinity. Before the Ascension, it is replaced by the threefold “Christ is Risen...”. In the next 10 days, the beginning of prayer is not specifically mentioned. As indicated in the New Testament, this is the time the apostles waited for the descent of the Holy Spirit.
