“To the Heavenly King” is the name of the prayer, as is often customary in the Orthodox Church, according to the first words. This is how we begin to pray to the third person of the Holy Trinity - the Holy Spirit.
In the first lines we call the Holy Spirit:
- the ruler of all Heavenly things, that is, the King,
- Comforter, that is, one who will advise, guide on the true path, console in sorrows and relieve from despondency,
- and we also give the name Spirit of truth - that’s what Jesus Christ called him. This name means that he will teach us only the true, what is useful and necessary for our soul.
The short but succinct prayer “To the Heavenly King” is read when a believer asks for help in any matter when he cannot free himself from sin.
During the period 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.
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.
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What does it mean “Who is everywhere and fulfills everything”?
This means that He fills everything everywhere, everywhere, for in Slavic the word “fulfill” means the same as in Russian “filling.” This is what we need to delve into. We need to know that the Holy Spirit is omnipresent and fills everything, that all creation lives by Him, for He is the giver of life.
Scientists do not know and cannot know where life came from. This is the greatest mystery for science. Since ancient times, scientific thought has tried to penetrate the mystery of life and explain how life suddenly arose from dead nature. Where is she from? On the first page of the book of Genesis we read that in the beginning “the earth” created by God was formless and empty, most of it was water, and “the Spirit of God hovered over the waters.” This means that He imparted to the waters the creative energy necessary for life to arise in them. Life arose in water by the power and influx of the Holy Spirit.
“By the word of the Lord the heavens were established, and by the Spirit of His mouth was all their power.”
Heaven was created by the Word of God, the Spirit of God. All the powers of heaven were created by the Spirit of the mouth of God: by the Word of the Lord the heavens were established, and by the Spirit of His mouth all their powers.
The Spirit of God also revived the first body of man, which He created from the dust of the ground, the body of Adam, for the Scripture says that God breathed the breath of life into this body. Only the Holy Spirit lives everything, only from the Holy Spirit does all life begin, and it is in vain to look for another source of life.
What is the human soul? What is the human spirit? Man is created in the image and likeness of God. But God is incorporeal! Of course, we are not in the body the image and likeness of God, but in the Spirit. The human spirit is the breath of the Holy Spirit.
But do not think that only the human spirit has its origin from the Spirit of God. Everything is created, everything lives and everything moves only with that spiritual energy, the source of which is the Holy Spirit Himself. Spiritual energy, the power of the Holy Spirit, which is the source of all material energy - only this spiritual energy lives and moves the whole world. Spiritual energy, the Spirit of God penetrates everything, sanctifies everything, spiritualizes everything. Both animals and plants contain a small particle of the Spirit, for in them there is life, and where there is life, there is the Holy Spirit. Along with their life they received the faint breath of the Holy Spirit.
And not only in living beings, but in all of nature - nature, which people blindly call dead, inorganic nature - in rocks, in rivers, in the waves of the sea, in vast deserts, the Holy Spirit lives and moves everything, for He is “everywhere and everything.” perform .
If the Holy Spirit did not live all nature, organic and inorganic, then the entire universe could not exist in that wondrous harmony and grandeur in which it appears before our eyes. It cannot be assumed that the world was not created by God. The world was created by the outpouring of God's love, and God's love is what I call spiritual energy . Everything was created, and everything moves by the love of God, the love of the Spirit, “in Him we live and move and are.” Everything lives, everything moves, everything is inspired by the Holy Spirit, for He is “everywhere and fills everything.”
Have you ever thought about the significance of that wondrous beauty of God that shines all over the world for us and for all of nature? Where does beauty come from? Why beauty? Can we really think that beauty has only a practical, utilitarian goal? Can it really be said that male birds, who have beautiful plumage and sing in a way that females do not sing, have this beauty only to attract females? Of course not.
Can we really think that flowers that caress the eye shine with beauty only in order to attract insects with their colors and aroma to fertilize them with pollen? Of course not. Beauty shines all over the world, God shows us beauty even in the most tender, weakest creatures. Have you never seen what sweet, meek, pure beauty looks at you from the petals and corollas of forget-me-nots and violets, these tender and blue flowers, these crumbs of God? Haven't you seen how these flowers look at you with their clear eyes? Haven’t you really felt the meekness, purity and beauty in these little creatures of God? Haven't you ever thought that these little ones of God - white, pink, blue - teach us purity and meekness, which they themselves are full of? One must have a very coarse heart not to hear this voice of God, sounding so clearly in the beauty of the material forms of nature.
Have you ever thought that the starry sky, in which countless starry worlds sparkle, has a deep spiritual impact on our hearts with its beauty? After all, looking into the boundless starry sky, we perceive the idea of infinity and eternity. Quiet inner peace, a joyful smile when contemplating the wondrous beauties of the morning and evening dawn, of course, also from the Holy Spirit.
When we look at the mighty formidable rocks, the tops of which are hidden behind dark clouds, when on a stormy day we stand by the sea and see how a hurricane drives huge waves along it, storming the coastal cliffs, doesn’t our heart tremble from the contemplation of the power and strength of nature? Then we feel insignificant and weak. This is how the Holy Spirit humbles and teaches us through the beauty of God’s creations. This is how the deep truth of the Word of God is revealed to us: “The Spirit permeates all things.”
If nature conceals so much beauty, strength, power and silently preaches about it, then what can we say about the source of this strength and beauty - what can we say about the Lord Himself?
He is the source of this beauty and power, He penetrates everything, fills everything. All beauty - both that pure and gentle one, which teaches us meekness and purity, and that formidable greatness of the forces of nature, which makes us tremble - all this is nothing more than a powerful manifestation of the spirituality of all nature, which I am talking about. In all nature, the Holy Spirit lives, He lives in everything, He is “everywhere and fills everything,” everything is permeated with the power of the Spirit of God and His love.
Blind and deaf are those who do not feel the greatness of beauty, who do not feel the breath of the Holy Spirit in everything that surrounds us, and therefore they are unresponsive. Even if they have not heard preaching about God, nature itself preaches about Him. And they say that there is no God, that nature was created by chance. What could be more empty than these words? How can this incident create such a great harmony of the boundless universe?
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.
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.
Dogma of the Holy Trinity
The entire Orthodox teaching about God lies in the dogma of the Holy Trinity. According to him, the one God has three hypostases (Persons). This is God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ, called God the Word in the Gospel) and God the Holy Spirit.
By the unity of God is meant the unity of His nature. God the Holy Spirit is not a third “part” of God. Just like the Holy Trinity, it is not a collection of three “gods.” God is always One, even when they speak of Him as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Knowledge of the existence of God does not exhaust the mystery of the Holy Trinity. After all, God in His essence is unknowable. However, through His actions, people partially come to know God's personal attributes.
“Whoever delves into the depths of the sacrament with precision, although he embraces a certain concept of divine knowledge, modest in its incomprehensibility, cannot, however, understand in words this inexpressible depth of the sacrament: how one and the same thing is numerable and avoids counting, and is divided visibly and is contained in one, and is distinguishable in hypostasis and indivisible in subject” (St. Gregory of Nyssa, 335-394).
God's grace
The good influence of God on man is understood as God's grace. It is also called the grace of the Holy Spirit. According to the teachings of the Church, it is He, the Comforter Spirit, who distributes “life-giving” gifts of grace to people.
“God, although He Himself is primarily in heaven, is communicated by His Life-giving Spirit, as if by His rays, to all rational creation - Angels and men, penetrating their spiritual being, sanctifying, reviving, strengthening and growing, like the rays of the sun penetrating organic and plant bodies , reviving and increasing them. Just as the sun, itself in the sky, illuminates the whole earth, imparting light to every and most insignificant creature and thing, so the Lord enlightens all people with His hypostatic light, for He is the true Light, illuminating every person coming into the world (Gospel of John, 1 :9)" (Righteous John of Kronstadt, 1829-1908).
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.
How to pray correctly
It is customary to turn to God using a prayer written by holy people. You can find the desired text in a prayer book (special collection). You can pray anywhere, but it’s better in a church, in front of a holy icon.
Before prayer, you need to sign yourself with the most holy sign of the cross, that is, cross yourself. To do this, you need to put three fingers of your right hand together (index, middle and thumb), and bend the ring and little fingers to the palm. When making the sign of the cross, you first need to touch your forehead, then your stomach, right and left shoulders. Having crossed yourself, you must say: “In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen". This phrase is said every time a person is baptized, including before morning or evening prayer.
During the prayer ritual, it is advisable not to read the text, but to learn it by heart. God's Spirit is addressed through a prayer beginning with the words “Heavenly King.” The deity is asked to come and inhabit a person, and also to cleanse his sinful soul from filth, to save him from the devil’s machinations. Calling on God's Spirit helps in any difficult situation, for example, when they want to remember prayer words and tune in to a spiritual mood.
It is customary to start the morning with “Our Father.” Then you can read “Hail Mary”, “Glory to the Holy Trinity”, “Creed”, “Under Your Protection”, “Angel of God” and “Hymn to the Holy Spirit”. Throughout the day, believers pray before eating and after eating, as well as before starting any good and pleasing deed to the Almighty. In the evening, it is customary to read the same holy prayers as in the morning, and also a prayer text before going to bed, beginning with the words “Protect me, Lord.” At the end of the prayer requests, you need to say “Amen” and cross yourself again.
When making the sign of the cross, you should always put three fingers together. This is the sacred symbol of the Trinity. When being baptized, believers necessarily remember the Holy Spirit. Without addressing this Deity, the ritual of baptism is unthinkable. During every church service the Third Hypostasis is always remembered. Even the Savior spoke about the Holy Spirit before his crucifixion.
Christ turned to God the Father and asked him to send the Comforter to the believers. At that time people did not know this Deity because it was invisible. Only the disciples and apostles of the Savior understood the secret of the Third Hypostasis. Believers accepted the Divine, who was always with them, helping them not to stray from the righteous path and overcome all difficulties.
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.
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The Power and Meaning of Prayer
In Christianity, the Spirit is an independent entity and an incorporeal creature capable of dwelling in both the world of the living and the world of the dead. They perform the rite of baptism; it is mentioned at the end of the “Our Father” prayer. The spirit is not endowed with a face, character or emotions. Not only is he as invisible as air, but he can take the form of fire or a dove. It can also give a person blessing and strength. He was able to condescend to many saints who regained their sight, became spiritually stronger and were able to bear a burden that was heavy in the past - faith in the one Lord.
Prayer, that is, turning to the Holy Spirit, is morning, universal and very strong. Those who read it daily will definitely be able to enter the Kingdom of God after leaving earthly life, while at the same time having prayed for all their sins. The actions of God's grace are commonly called the gifts of the Holy Spirit. These include: fear of God, that is, recognition of the greatness of the Almighty; piety, that is, mercy towards those in need; knowledge of the surrounding world; courage to resist enemies and the temptations of the devil; a mind for reading the Bible and participating in liturgies; wisdom in order to get as close to God as possible through life experience.
In this prayer, a person turns to a higher power, calling it the King of Heaven, since the Spirit is equal to God the Father and the Son, also owns people and the world, and reigns over them. He is initially endowed with enormous power, capable of comforting and supporting in any earthly misfortunes and sorrows. The Savior called him the Spirit of truth, since it is he who can guide any person on the right path. Jesus called him a comforter during the famous Last Supper with his disciples. The Savior promised humanity that his father would send the Spirit in the name of God, who would glorify the Lord and act on his behalf, helping any person.
The prayer says that God sees everything, hears requests addressed to him from a pure heart, and gives any person what he wants. It is also said that through this omnipotent higher power, people receive from God the gift of spiritual, holy life, help in earthly affairs, cleansing from sins and a place in the Kingdom of God after death. The Holy Spirit is also called the Good Source of the highest good, from which every believer is able to regularly draw strength and energy, strengthening his faith in God and solving his daily worldly difficulties.
This prayer is one of the most powerful in Christianity, it gives a person reason, wisdom, perseverance, as well as advice, piety and the ability to recognize the supremacy of God, that is, the Father and the Son, and also the Holy Spirit - a powerful and bright force, by the grace of which the sacraments are sanctified baptisms, weddings, communions and simply every day of a true believer.
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.
Who should Christians pray to and where should they purchase Orthodox prayer books?
We must pray to the Lord God, One in the Holy Trinity. Only our Heavenly Father can give us what will be useful to our soul. And we turn to the Most Holy Theotokos, all the saints of God and the Angelic Heavenly Powers with a request for their intercession before the Lord. Not a single prayer that comes from the heart, from the whole soul, remains unheard; the Queen of Heaven and the saints hear everything and at the right time provide the necessary help. Prayers to the saints and the Most Pure Lady can be found in Orthodox prayer books. It is necessary to purchase such books in Orthodox churches or monasteries. Books containing prayers must bear the blessing of the Russian Patriarch or the ruling Bishop or the Publishing Council of the Russian Orthodox Church.
If a person takes his first steps to the temple and is trying to strengthen his faith, he should not read prayers from secular newspapers or purchase spiritual literature in bookstores.
You can mistakenly buy occult literature that seems outwardly Christian. It is good to seek advice from a priest. It’s even better if there is a confessor who constantly monitors the state of the soul and the level of spiritual life of his child. You should not immediately try to master complex texts by offering long prayers. The simple, well-known prayers “Our Father” and “Hail, Virgin Mary” are no less effective. If you say them with faith, then the impossible will become possible. A childlike, sincere prayer to the Heavenly Father can work miracles.
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 .
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.
