Prayer "The most honorable cherub"
In Orthodoxy there are prayers that are especially revered. They are called first. This name indicates that it was the texts of these prayers that appeared earlier than others. Moreover, their authors are the saints, Jesus Christ, and the Mother of God.
The prayer “The Most Honest Cherub” was first written down during the time when the Virgin Mary was pregnant. Since then, this prayer has been very actively used by clergy. The history of its origin is quite interesting, as is its meaning. But not everyone understands it.
Video prayer “Most Honest Cherub”
An Orthodox Christian cannot always visit a temple. In this case, he can listen to the ancient prayer and, in general, the entire morning service online. To do this, you just need to tune in to the prayer service, retire, turn on the video and sing along with the words after the clergyman.
“The most honorable Cherub” is a prayer well known to all Orthodox Christians. An ancient hymn of gratitude to God appeared many centuries ago, on the eve of the birth of Christ. The Mother of God included in it special gratitude for the honor bestowed upon her personally, and words of praise to the Almighty on behalf of all people. There are no restrictions on reading the prayer. It has been noticed that the benefits of it are enormous, especially when a person is at the crossroads of thoughts and actions.
The history of the song of praise
The history of writing the prayer differs from the history of the origin of traditional appeals. Orthodox and Catholic believers are convinced that the text of the prayer was suggested to people by the Virgin Mary herself.
According to legend, the Virgin Mary, while pregnant, visited her elderly relative Elizabeth. Elizabeth dreamed of a child all her life, but was able to get pregnant at an advanced age. The woman’s pregnancy was not easy, so Maria set off on such a long journey, wanting to support her relative.
Meeting of the Virgin Mary and Elizabeth. Painting by R. Santi
Seeing Mary, Elizabeth felt the Divine grace emanating from the mother and child, and realized that She was carrying the Son of God under her heart. The woman and her child immediately felt better. Elizabeth rejoiced, and Mary responded with a song of praise to the Lord. These words later became the basis of the famous prayer.
The first part of the original text of the prayer was written by the Monk Cosmas of Mayum. In a vision, the Mother of God visited him, prompting him with the words of a song of praise. The saint wrote down the text of the appeal, after which the Mother of God appeared to the righteous man again to express her approval.
Humanity found the second part of the prayer a little later. In the monastery of St. Athos, one of the monks prayed day and night. He prayed so sincerely and selflessly that when he turned to the Mother of God, an Angel of God appeared in his cell. He suggested the second part of the prayer to the monk.
The words were so beautiful that the monk bitterly regretted that he did not have any writing materials - the man was afraid to lose even a word of what the Angel told him. Then his guest wrote the words of the prayer with his finger on a granite slab.
The prayer “The most honorable cherub” is based on the text of the eulogy of the Virgin Mary
This is how the song of praise to the Mother of God was formed, which every Christian knows today. It miraculously intertwines human and angelic creations. The original language of the prayer is Greek, but it exists in both Church Slavonic and Russian translations.
The essence of prayer
The text of the prayer glorifies the Mother of God, since She is the mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, and thanks to her purity and godly lifestyle, she stands even above all the Angels and Archangels.
In her words, the Most Pure Virgin thanked the Creator for his mercy towards Her and all humanity. Now, in the words of a song of praise, humanity thanks both the Lord and the Mother of God for protection and mercy.
Important! The text of the appeal is especially dear to believers, since thanks to it, every Christian can glorify the Creator with the words with which the Mother of God herself once sang His glory.
The name of the prayer “The Most Honest” comes from the fact that a chorus was added to the song of praise to the Most Pure Virgin, beginning with the words “The Most Honest Cherub.” Catholics call this prayer the Magnificant, after the first word of the Latin text.
Holy Scripture and Worship
“Try to ensure that the Gospel is assimilated into your mind and heart... Then your activity will conveniently become evangelical . St. Ignatiy Brianchaninov
The source of Orthodox doctrine is Divine Revelation. The Word of God teaches us an image of both right faith and Christian piety. According to the Fathers, every work we do must have the testimony of Scripture. To do this, it must be a constant subject of our attention. Those who neglect this are robbing themselves. “All of us who neglect reading the Scriptures suffer harm and impoverishment from this. In fact, how will we bring our affairs into order if we do not know the very laws by which we need to bring them into order? - asks St. John Chrysostom. A Christian must read, study, and assimilate the Holy Scripture. Scripture, to make efforts to ensure that it - especially the New Testament - becomes the criterion and guide of his entire life.
Orthodox worship, rich in both Old Testament and New Testament biblical texts, is of great help in this. It is worthy of attention that during the divine service the Church teaches us the Holy Spirit. Scripture in the context of its Holy. Tradition, without which Scripture can neither be understood nor assimilated. “Orthodox worship is the Holy Gospel and Sacred Tradition, translated into prayers, miraculous and life-giving stichera, troparia, kontakia, canons, verses, songs, sighs...” writes St. Justin Popovich. These liturgical treasures are the heritage of the Church, which she shares with us.
The song we are talking about today is also from this treasury. Its text is the own words of the Most Holy Theotokos, the chorus is the creation of St. hymn writer Cosmas Maiumsky. The event in which the Virgin Mary sang the song is described in the Gospel of Luke.
From the Gospel story (Luke 1, 39–56)
After the event of the Annunciation (Luke 1, 26-38) - the appearance of the Archangel Gabriel to the Blessed Virgin and Her humble consent to become the Mother of God, Mary hurries to visit her relative Elizabeth, the future mother of John the Baptist. The purpose of the visit is to share His joy with her and to take part in the joy of Elizabeth herself, awaiting the birth of her son. At the moment of the meeting of Mary and Elizabeth, the baby leaped in Elizabeth’s womb, she was filled with the Holy Spirit and uttered prophetic words about the Mother of the Lord who visited her home. According to the fathers, Elizabeth’s words are a joyful greeting from the Earth to the Son of God, who descended from Heaven and was incarnated by the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary. Mary answered her with a solemn inspired hymn: “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior...”, glorifying God for the fulfillment of the promises about the coming of the Savior into the world, and prophetically testified that from now on all generations will please Her for the fact that mercy God's fulfillment of these promises was revealed through Her. Mary's song can be called victorious, since it expresses the triumph of humility and virtue, crowned and exalted by God Himself.
Patristic interpretation
Let us turn to the blessed one for explanations. Theophylact, Archbishop. Bulgarian, whose interpretations of the texts of the New Testament were called “Blagovestnik” and accepted by the Orthodox Church. “When reading the Evangelists, one should also read the Gospel... Reading the Gospel is necessary, it contributes to the correct understanding of the Gospel and, consequently, to its most accurate fulfillment. Moreover, the rules of the Church require that Scripture be understood as the Holy Fathers explain, and not at all arbitrarily,” writes St. Ignatius Brianchaninov.
So, according to the blessed one. Theophylact...
Verses 1–3. The Virgin, being completely confident in the truth of what was predicted to Her, glorifies God; attributing the miracle not to Himself, but to Him, he says: “He looked at Me, the humble one, and it was not I who looked at Him; He showed Me mercy, and it was not I who sought Him. And “from now on all generations will please Me...” Why please? Is it really for My virtue? No! But because God showed greatness to Me.” Indicates that “His mercy” is not for Her alone, but for all who fear Him. The words “throughout all generations” mean that this mercy will be received from God not only in this age, but also in the eternal (see: Matt. 19:29). Regarding the words “My soul magnifies the Lord... and my spirit rejoices” - Blessed. Theophylact explains that first the soul magnifies the Lord, and only then the spirit rejoices. Do you call yourself a Christian? - Do not diminish the dignity of the name of Christ through unworthy deeds, but magnify it through great deeds, then your spirit will rejoice.
Verses 4–6. According to the explanation of the bl. Theophylact, the muscle of God the Father - Son. The Lord “scattered the arrogant” demons, driving them out of human souls. One can also understand here the Jews, who are still in dispersion. “He brought down the mighty from their thrones,” that is, the demons who dominated people and had thrones in their souls. But the Pharisees, strong as the thieves of the property of the poor and as teachers, have thrones from which they have been deposed. “He exalted the humble” - people or pagans whom sin humbled, exalted, giving them sonship; He filled the hungry pagans (since they did not have the Scriptures, the law or the commandments) with the blessings of the Scriptures, and sent the Jews, rich in the law and commandments, outside the borders of Jerusalem, above and below, deprived of all good. “He received Israel his servant” - it is said either about the sensitive Israelites, many of whom believed, and God’s promise to Abraham was fulfilled: “and in you all the families of the earth will be blessed” (Gen. 12:3); or about spiritual Israel: Israel means “those who see God” - God took all those who see God into the heavenly inheritance.
And let’s complete the interpretation of the Song of the Mother of God with spiritual reflections on this topic. Gregory (Lebedev), bishop. Shlisselburgsky (gave his life for Christ in 1937; canonized in 2005). He writes: “The proud and arrogant collects the treasures of the earth and hopes to satisfy his thirst for primacy on earth... But in vain! The Lord satisfies only “those who hunger for righteousness”... They are satisfied with true “goods” and “become rich in God”... And these are blessed... And the arrogant ones chase after the illusory saturation of life, after deceptive wealth. They are not even rich, but “getting rich,” that is, thinking that they are rich. In reality, they are the last beggars, because, chasing after the illusory foundation of life, they remain in emptiness and themselves empty and naked... The Lord sent those who were rich away “with nothing”...
Thus, the humble, who has surrendered himself to God’s guidance and has taken God’s path of life, is confirmed, exalted, and saturated with life; and all this because the Lord “took” him as “Israel, His servant,” and extended over him “His mercy promised to Abraham and his seed (descendants) forever.”
Exalt the Lord, my soul, and rejoice, my spirit, in God my Savior!”
"The most honorable Cherub..."
The chant that serves as the refrain of the Song of the Virgin Mary is not only beautiful, but also deeply dogmatic, confirming the truth that Orthodox worship is a wonderful textbook of theology. This hymn, which expresses the essence of the Church’s teaching about the Mother of God, contains two important truths for our faith - about the Mother of God and the ever-virginity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. These truths clarify the question of the venerability and unparalleled glorification of the Virgin Mary in the Church, placing Her above all created beings - not only people, but also Angels.
About the veneration of the Mother of God
“Of all that is good, She is the best; of all that is holy, She is the holiest; of all that is pure, She is the purest; of all that is wonderful, She is the most wonderful... After the Lord Christ, She is the most perfect All-Virtue in the human race.” St. Justin Popovich
“Most Holy, Most Pure, Most Blessed” the Church calls the Most Holy Theotokos. We honor Her - because this is the will of God; because She is a wonderful Mother of God and Virgin; because She is the Mother of salvation, because She gave birth to the Savior; because She is All-Holy; because She is the Mother of all Christians; because “thou didst not forsake the world in its dormition”... And the personal experience of all those who turn to Her with requests for help and intercession testifies that these requests do not remain unanswered.
At the same time, St. Filaret of Moscow notes that our veneration should not consist only in words. He writes: “Praise is not red in the mouth of a sinner. If we wish to honorably please the Mother of God, then let us love Her dignity and virtues with all our hearts; having loved, let us be jealous, if possible, to worthily follow in life what we please in thought and word.”
When should you pray to the Virgin Mary?
The Queen of Heaven has at all times been considered the intercessor of the human race before the Lord. Believers ask Her for healing from illnesses and quenching sadness. On days of joy and happiness, it is customary to thank the Mother of God for her help and protection.
“The most honorable cherub” is included in the list of the most famous prayers
Often people arrogantly believe that they are able to deal with their problems without the protection of a Higher Power. But in practice it turns out that every deed requires the blessing of the Lord; it is God who gives us the strength to bear our cross and overcome difficulties. Then the words of prayers come to the rescue, with which people ask for help from the Almighty, the Mother of God and the Saints.
Christians read the prayer “More Honest Cherub” in the following cases:
- If you need to find an answer to a complex, troubling question.
- When the human soul is harmed by the greed and malice of other people.
- When sinful thoughts arise in a person’s soul.
Important! If in days of turmoil a Christian reads this prayer, the Mother of God will grant him peace, protect him from unkind people, give him mental strength to cope with troubles, and deliver him from vicious thoughts.
How does the prayer “More Honest Cherub” help?
Since ancient times, the Mother of God has acted as the protector of the human race before the Lord. You can trust her and tell her about all your joys and sorrows. The Queen of Heaven will increase joy and quench sorrow. People turn to her in the following cases:
- diffidence;
- greed, envy and selfish intentions;
- in search of answers to painful questions;
- in a difficult life situation.
The Mother of God bestows humility and fortitude, delivers from all evil thoughts and confirms us on the righteous path. According to the faith of the one who asks, may it come to him.
How and when to read a prayer appeal
Despite the fact that the prayer service is known to almost all Orthodox believers, there are no clear and firm instructions in the Gospel regarding the place and time of its holding. However, many clergy adhere to some rules and traditions of reading the speeches of the Virgin Mary. Nowadays they are considered generally accepted:
- According to the traditions of Orthodoxy, the prayer of the Mother of God “Most Honest Cherub” is usually sung at Matins between the eighth and ninth canons;
- during the ritual of incense, the deacon walks around the temple, starting from the holy throne and altar and ending with the royal gates;
- in the church, the deacon must stand on the right side of the iconostasis, near the icon on which the divine face of the Heavenly Queen is depicted;
- after the clergyman takes this place, the choir begins to sing;
- You can read the prayer both in church and at home;
- The reading of the prayer service must be chanted.
How to read a prayer in a temple
During its execution, the priest conducts incense on the altar and the entire temple. People love this prayer very much. Many say that during her singing, the Mother of God herself walks through the temple and blesses those who pray with zeal.
While in the temple, you can see people crossing themselves and bowing at random. Before making penitential bows, believers should learn all the rules of conduct in church. So, after pronouncing this prayer text it stands:
- make a bow from the waist;
- and then sign yourself with the sign of the cross.
In most churches it is sung by two people or together with the people. Original language: Greek. It is also available in Church Slavonic and Russian transcription.
How to read prayer in church and at home
In the church, the liturgy is preceded by a morning prayer service. The song “The Most Honest Cherub” is included in the required list of texts for the morning service. In this case, several rules are observed:
- The song is read between canons 8 and 9.
- When reading it, one walks in the direction from the altar to the royal gate.
- Having reached the gate, the deacon stops to the right of it, opposite the icon of the Mother of God and ends with the “Most Honorable Cherub.”
- The singing takes place against the backdrop of a choir. The believers sing along quietly with the priest.
“The most honorable Cherub” is an unusual prayer. It is a song with choruses. It is read in a sing-song manner. At the same time, a church choir sings in the church, sometimes two.
Having finished singing, Orthodox Christians make a bow from the waist and make the sign of the cross.
At home, the song is read in the morning; it is often included in the prayer rule. The words should be chanted, in a low voice, in front of the icon of the Mother of God. You need to light a candle or lamp. Fire purifies and carries words spoken with sincerity and faith to heaven, to the Mother of God.
If a person feels the need to read an ancient prayer text, he can retire and read “The Most Honest Cherub” at any time.
WE RECOMMEND: Prayer “Save and Preserve.”
The text of the prayer is completely in Russian
The original text of the prayer to the Mother of God “Most Honest Cherub” was created in Greek and later translated into Slavic.
My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
Chorus: Most honorable Cherub and most glorious without comparison Seraphim, who gave birth to God the Word without corruption, the real Mother of God, we magnify You.
As you look upon the humility of Your servant, behold, from now on all your kindred will please Me.
Chorus: Most honorable Cherub and most glorious without comparison Seraphim, who gave birth to God the Word without corruption, the real Mother of God, we magnify You.
For the Mighty One has done greatness to Me, and holy is His name, and His mercy throughout all generations of those who fear Him.
Chorus: Most honorable Cherub and most glorious without comparison Seraphim, who gave birth to God the Word without corruption, the real Mother of God, we magnify You.
Create power with Your arm, scatter the proud thoughts of their hearts.
Chorus: Most honorable Cherub and most glorious without comparison Seraphim, who gave birth to God the Word without corruption, the real Mother of God, we magnify You.
Destroy the mighty from their thrones and lift up the humble; Fill those who hunger with good things, and those who are rich let go of their vanity.
Chorus: Most honorable Cherub and most glorious without comparison Seraphim, who gave birth to God the Word without corruption, the real Mother of God, we magnify You.
Israel will receive His servant, remembering His mercies, as He spoke to our fathers, Abraham and his seed, even unto eternity.
Chorus: Most honorable Cherub and most glorious without comparison Seraphim, who gave birth to God the Word without corruption, the real Mother of God, we magnify You.
Greek original
ἡ ψυχή μου τὸν Κύριον καὶ ἠγαλλίασε τὸ πνεῦμά μου ἐπὶ τ ῷ Θεῷ τῷ Σωτῆρι μου. ? ίμ, τὴν ἀδιαφθόρως Θεὸν Λόγον τεκοῦσαν, τὴν ὄντως Θεοτόκον Σὲ μεγαλ ύνομεν. Ὅτι ἐπέβλεψεν ἐπὶ τὴν ταπείνωσιν τῆς δούλης Αὐτοῦ· ἰδοὺ γὰρ ἀπ ὸ τοῦ νῦν μακαριοῦσί με πᾶσαι αἱ γενεαί. Ὅτι ἐποίησέ μοι μεγαλεῖα ὁ δυνατὸς κα ὶ ἅγιον τὸ ὄνομα Αὐτοῦ, καὶ τὸ ἔλεος Αὐτοῦ εἰς γενεὰν καὶ γενεὰ ν τοῖς φοβουμένοις Αὐτόν. Τὴν τιμιωτέραν τῶν Χερουβὶμ… Ἐποίησε κράτος ἐν βραχίονι Αὐτοῦ, διε σκόρπισεν ὑπερηφάνους διανοίᾳ καρδίας αὐτῶν. Τὴν τιμιωτέραν τῶν Χερουβὶμ… Καθεῖλε δυνάστας ἀπὸ θρόνων καὶ ὕψωσ ε ταπεινούς· πεινῶντας ἐνέπλησεν ἀγαθῶν καὶ πλουτοῦντας ἐξαπέστειλ ε κενούς. Τὴν τιμιωτέραν τῶν Χερουβὶμ… Ἀντελάβετο Ἰσραὴλ παιδὸς Αὐτοῦ, μνη ????? τῷ σπέρματι Αὐτοῦ ἕως αἰῶνος. Τὴν τιμιωτέραν τῶν Χερουβὶμ
Why is the Mother of God “most honorable Cherub and most glorious without comparison Seraphim”?
Estimated reading time: less than a minute.
Reader question:
Good afternoon. Help us understand the expression “The most honorable is the Cherub and the most glorious without comparison is the Seraphim.”
It is clear that we are talking about the Mother of God. But what does this have to do with the incorporeal beings cherubs and seraphim? And in general, how to express this in modern language? Maybe she is more honest than the cherubim, and more glorious than the seraphim? Although why should it be compared with them? Who are they compared to her?
Priest Sergius Shirapov answers:
Good afternoon
In this prayer we praise the Mother of God, saying that She, with Her honor (most honest) and glory (most glorious), surpasses the highest Angels: Seraphim and Cherubim.
(According to the teachings of the Orthodox Church, all angels (Heavenly Powers) are divided into three faces. In turn, each face is divided into three more. This division is based on two principles: the degree of closeness to God and the type of service).
That is, the Mother of God, in her perfections, stands above everyone - not only people, but also the holy Angels, and the highest ones - the Cherubim and Seraphim, who are closest to God of all the Angels and are more initiated into His Mysteries than all of them. “God-Love is a consuming fire,” I’ll quote from the book “The Invisible World of Angels.” Seraphim, constantly touching this fiery Divine Love, are filled with the fire of the Divine. If for the Seraphim God appears as fiery burning Love, then for the Cherubim God is “taken out,” i.e., eternally luminous Wisdom. The cherubim constantly delve into the divine mind, praise it, glorify it in their songs, contemplate the divine mysteries, and penetrate them with trepidation. That is why, according to the testimony of the Word of God, in the Old Testament the Cherubim are depicted above the Ark of the Covenant, preceded by all other ranks.
Now let's look at the Mother of God. If the Seraphim only contemplate the Fire of God's Love and partially reflect it to the lower ranks and people (as the lips of the prophet Isaiah were cleansed by the Seraphim with the help of a burning coal), then the Mother of God carried this Fire inside Her heart and remained alive, therefore Her prototype is the burning bush that Moses saw. Just as there the bush burned and did not burn, so here the Virgin, a man, had a consuming Fire inside - God and was not burned.
If Cherubim can comprehend the Light of the Divine, then the Mother of God is the Mother of This Light in the sense that she conceived and carried the Child of God. That is why we call Her so. And She is the highest of God’s Creations, since She was worthy to give birth to Her Creator and was thereby sanctified even more.
“Such acceptance of God into oneself is obviously unique, exclusive, unparalleled, inaccessible either to holy men or to holy angels, belonging to the Mother of God alone,” St. Ignatius Brianchaninov writes about this.
If we do not fill the vessel for Communion with anything else and try to preserve it more than other vessels, then even more so the Mother of God, who contained God.
God help you!
An archive of all questions can be found here. If you do not find the question you are interested in, you can always ask it on our website.
On the headband: icon of the Mother of God “The Sign”, fragment
