Many of our contemporaries visit Orthodox churches. They discovered the power of prayer, turning to the Lord and the Sacraments of the Church.
In prayer for their protection, for the management of their path in life, every day they turn not only to God: they pray to the Heavenly Powers - the angels who, after Baptism, are assigned to every Orthodox Christian - and, of course, to the Mother of God, the Mother of God and the Intercessor of the entire human race before God.
Do not forget about turning to your Guardian Angel, because he is your closest and first protector and patron. At birth, each person is assigned a special Angel by the Lord, guiding him along the path of life and ready to come to the rescue at the first call.
Why do you need to read prayers before leaving home?
Home is our fortress, protecting not only from weather conditions, but also from the machinations of the evil one, the negative energy of ill-wishers and envious people. A prayer read before leaving your house/apartment will be a reliable “umbrella” from external negative influences and will give you confidence in your abilities.
Prayer before leaving home:
- calms;
- encourages;
- protects the house/apartment from outside intrusion.
A positive attitude has a beneficial effect on performance, increases intellectual level, and gives self-confidence, which is important when making decisions. At the same time, a favorable atmosphere for communication is formed in relations with others.
A short prayer service is of great importance to protect children upon leaving home. He will protect them from misfortunes caused by their own frivolity and malicious intent from strangers. It is necessary to read the prayer appeal in front of children, accustoming them to this form of communication with Heavenly forces, so that in the future they can also protect themselves.
The prayer appeal is spoken out loud, soulfully, especially for protection from the evil one.
How to choose the right prayer
The main protector of believers is the Lord God. By the grace of God, people's sins are forgiven and help is provided. They pray to the Lord before leaving home, when there is a working day ahead, or when a person is busy looking for a job and has to prove his professional suitability. The Heavenly Lord is asked to give confidence in one’s abilities, to help one gain patience in solving difficult everyday situations outside the home. It is important, relying on faith in God, to avoid the sinful temptations with which modern life is saturated.
The Mother of God does not leave you without support and protection. Prayers to the Mother of God, due to her mercy towards sinners, help to be heard by the Lord. People turn to the Mother of God to achieve success in trading operations: to avoid fraud, to conclude a profitable deal.
Turning to God through prayer to the saints helps to appease the Almighty.
The greatest preacher of the word of Christ, Archbishop of Constantinople, Saint John Chrysostom, earned closeness to God through steadfastness in faith, kindness and humility.
The creator of the liturgy composed a short and succinct prayer to protect the soul from Satan. The attack of the evil one on the spiritual essence of a person is evidenced by constant troubles, absent-mindedness, and irritability. The believer renounces Satan and all his evil spells (pride, envy, despondency) and rushes to God with all his soul.
A guardian angel from birth until the last hour is appointed to be next to the Orthodox believer. But prayer to him helps to strengthen the help of the Heavenly patron. They pray to the Guardian Angel when difficult trials lie ahead: an exam, a job interview, a long journey. A guardian angel helps in all everyday situations. People turn to him to avoid attacks by hooligans, fraud, and accidents on the road.
Chapter II. Divine service of the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation
The Gospel of John says: “On the last great day of the feast, Jesus Christ cried: “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.” This He said about the Spirit, which those who believed in Him were about to receive.” (John 7:37–39).
On the day of Pentecost, the apostles accepted the gift of the Holy Spirit and on the same day began to teach it to those who believed in Jesus Christ. “Let every one of you be baptized,” the Apostle Peter said to the people that day, “and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38).
Initially, the apostles, through prayer and the laying on of hands, brought down the Holy Spirit on those “who gladly received” (Acts 2:44) the word of the gospel and those who were baptized. The Book of the Acts of the Apostles tells that the apostles Peter and John performed this Sacrament over the Samaritans. Having come to them, the apostles prayed for them so that they would receive the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:15-17). And the Apostle Paul sent down the Holy Spirit on the baptized disciples of John the Baptist: “When Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit descended on them” (Acts 19: 2-6).
The need to perform the Sacrament of the Spirit through the laying on of hands required the personal participation of the apostles in the Sacraments. Having dispersed with the preaching of the Gospel throughout the whole earth, the apostles blessed the bishops and presbyters they had appointed to bring down the Holy Spirit on the believers through the anointing of the chrism, and to consecrate the chrism only to bishops. In their actions, the apostles of Christ were always guided by the Holy Spirit, who guided them into all truth and reminded them of everything that the Lord commanded (John 16:13; 14:26). And the replacement of the laying on of hands with anointing had therefore a God-ordained meaning.
The word "mirror" in Greek means "fragrant oil." Myrrh was used for sanctification back in the days of the Old Testament. Moses, for example, when consecrating the tabernacle of the Lord, used myrrh for this. Aaron was anointed with this substance for his high priestly service (Lev. 8:10–12). All subsequent Old Testament high priests, as well as prophets, were anointed with chrism when entering into the service of the Lord. The composition of the world for sacred anointing was indicated to Moses by God Himself (Ex. 30, 22–25). The Holy Scripture calls the preparation of the world a holy work, and the world itself is “great sanctuary” (Ex. 30:32).
The use of peace in the Sacrament of the sending down of the Holy Spirit was perceived by church communities as very appropriate. Bishops and presbyters, appointed by the apostles to shepherd the flock of Christ, performed the Sacrament of Confirmation. “You have the anointing from the Holy One and you know everything,” writes the Apostle John the Theologian in his First Catholic Epistle, “... the anointing that you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; But just as this very anointing teaches you all things, and is true and not false, whatever it has taught you, continue in it” (1 John 2:20,27). The Apostle Paul says the same about the use of the world: “He who established you and me in Christ and anointed us is God, who sealed us and gave the deposit of the Spirit into our hearts” (2 Cor. 1:21-22).
Anointing (χριδμα) has its sacramental significance through another sacred act that precedes it - sealing - the sign of the cross performed over the holy world. “I put a seal”, “I seal” - was understood by Christian writers to mean “I sign”, “I make the sign of the cross”. The expression “into our hearts” indicates the anointing of the chest with holy myrrh, as the part of the body closest to the human heart, the dwelling place of the grace of the Holy Spirit87
The Church has always performed the Sacrament of Confirmation as an independent one, but in connection with Baptism. In the 4th century, the Sacrament was performed through confirmation immediately after Baptism (Laod. Sob. 48 rights). With this anointing, various parts of the body were imprinted: forehead, nostrils, ears, chest - with the words pronounced: “Seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit. Amen" (2 Ecumenical Law. 7). The anointing itself was performed in the form of a cross.
In the Breviaries of the Orthodox Church, the rite of this Sacrament is printed together with the rite of Baptism under the general title “Consequence of Holy Baptism.”
The Sacrament of Confirmation consists of two separate sacred rites: 1) the preparation and consecration of the world and 2) the actual anointing of the newly baptized with the consecrated Chrism, which is performed by the priest immediately after the Sacrament of Baptism. Despite the fact that these two sacred rites are separated from each other in time, there is the same internal organic connection between them as between the consecration of the Holy Gifts and the communion of the faithful with them in the Sacrament of the Eucharist.
In the Ancient Church, the Sacrament of Confirmation was not isolated as an independent rite. It, together with Baptism, formed a single whole and was in close organic connection with the Sacrament of the Eucharist. Since the time of Equal-to-the-Apostles Constantine the Great (IV century), the Baptism of catechumens has been performed on great holidays: the eve of Easter, the feasts of the Nativity of Christ and the Epiphany, the Holy Trinity, the Ascension, the Transfiguration, the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem and the Renewal of the Temple in Jerusalem.88 Most often, the time of Baptism was Holy Saturdays and the holidays of the Nativity of Christ and Epiphany, because the previous fasts provided an opportunity for the catechumens to prepare for the acceptance of the Christian faith through repentance and the assimilation of the basic dogmas of the Church. In the Church of Constantinople, after receiving the Sacrament of Baptism, the newly baptized, singing “Elitsa were baptized into Christ,” went from the baptismal to the temple, led by the clergy and accompanied by their recipients, holding lighted candles in their hands. In the church, in the presence of the entire church congregation, the Sacrament of Confirmation was performed on the newly enlightened, and they participated in the Eucharist for the first time.
In the Russian Church in the 11th-12th centuries, the Sacrament of Confirmation was performed in two versions. According to the rule of Sava (an unknown bishop), the forehead, nostrils, lips, ears, heart and one hand were anointed. According to the rule of Nifont, Bishop of Novgorod, these are the same parts of the body with the exception of the mouth.89 The performance of the Sacrament by Bishop Nifont is presented in the following form: “Put on the robe of the cross and the crown, and thus anoint (him) with the holy Myrrh and give it to him.”90 In the life of Constantine, Prince of Murom, the celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation is described in a similar way. “Mazakh them with chrism,” we read in the life, “and put scarlet crowns on their heads, and on them a cross and white vestments, and caps, and boots, and gave burning candles to everyone.”91
Thus, in addition to the anointing of certain parts of the body with Chrism, the features of Confirmation in the 11th-12th centuries should include dressing in white robes, laying a scarlet crown and presenting a candle.92 By crown should be meant either a bandage covering the forehead of the anointed person, or a kukol - “crown” stitch, scarlet stone, or blue dye, and three crosses are embroidered on it, that is, the robe of the head.”93
After Baptism and Confirmation, the newly baptized received communion at the Liturgy, which immediately followed these Sacraments.
In the 13th century, the Council of Vladimir in 1274 under Metropolitan Kirill noted a certain deviation from the accepted order of performing the Sacrament, when Confirmation and anointing with oil were reduced to a single action. The Council decreed: “It is fitting for one who is enlightened by holy Baptism in Baptism to be anointed with the heavenly ointment: with myrrh one individual, and one with oil.”
In the 14th century, the Sacrament of Confirmation was performed with such features. After the special litany, a prayer was read, which is still being read today, and after it “Be baptized into Christ” was sung without walking around the font. After this, the same parts of the body of the newly baptized were anointed with Myrrh as now.
In the 15th century, Confirmation was performed with the singing of the psalm “Blessed are the iniquities left behind.” In addition to the parts of the body that are anointed today, in the 15th century anointing was sometimes done “on the heart, on the belly and on the shoulders.” According to some lists of the rite, after Confirmation, the newly baptized person should be dressed in swearing and outer clothing. When putting on the first, the priest said: “The servant of God, the name of the rivers, dresses in clothes of joy and rejoicing.” When dressing the second: “Let your soul rejoice in the Lord, for He has clothed you with the robe of salvation.”
In the 16th century, the priest anointed the same parts of the body that are anointed today, but with the addition of “heart, belly and shoulders.” When anointing with Myrrh, it is necessary to pronounce the words: “The Seal of the Gift of the Holy Spirit,” although there were other additions. According to the monuments of one edition of the rites, after Confirmation it is necessary to dress the baby in new clothes with the words: “The servant of God is dressing...”
Full texts of prayers before going outside
Prayer requests before leaving home are short and succinct in content. They are read from memory at the threshold of the front door, making the sign of the cross.
Saint John Chrysostom
Prayer “I deny you Satan”:
“I renounce you, Satan, your pride and service to you, and unite with you, Christ, in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen".
Guardian Angel
Holy Angel of Christ, protector from all evil providence, patron and benefactor!
Just as you take care of everyone who needs your help in a moment of accidental misfortune, take care of me, a sinner. Do not leave me, listen to my prayer and protect me from wounds, from ulcers, from any accident. I entrust my life to you, as I entrust my soul. And as you pray for my soul, the Lord our God, take care of my life, protect my body from any damage. Amen.
Lord God
Bless, Lord, and help me, a sinner, to complete the work I have begun, for Your glory.
Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of Your Father without beginning, You declared with Your most pure lips that without Me you cannot do anything.
My Lord, Lord, with faith in my soul and heart spoken by You, I fall down in Your goodness: help me, a sinner, to complete this work, which I have begun, in You, in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, through the prayers of the Mother of God and all Your saints . Amen.
Holy Mother of God
O Most Honest Lady Theotokos, our All-Honorable Mother Abbess, of all Orthodox monasteries of monastic life, in the holy Mount Athos and throughout the entire universe! Accept our humble prayers and offer everything to our generous God, that He may save our souls by His grace. Look upon us with Thy merciful eye and bring about our salvation in the Lord, for without the mercy of our Savior and Thy holy intercession for us, we, the accursed, will not be able to accomplish our salvation, for our life has been tarnished in the vanities of the world, for the time of Christ’s harvest is approaching. The day of the Last Judgment has arrived. We, the accursed, are perishing in the abyss of sin, for our negligence, according to what was spoken by the holy fathers, the first leaders of the angelic life according to the flesh: as the last monastics, through the negligence of their lives, will become like worldly people, which will come true today, for our monasticism floats with its life on the sea of life. amidst great storms and bad weather: for our holy abodes remain in the dust for the sake of our sins, our All-Righteous Lord Jesus Christ, so benevolent, but we, unworthy, have no place to bow our heads.
O our sweetest Mother Abbess! Gather us, the scattered flock of Christ, into one and save all Orthodox Christians, grant us heavenly life with the Angels and all the saints in the Kingdom of Christ our God, to Him be honor and glory with His Beginning Father and with the Most Holy, Good and Life-Giving Spirit forever and ever. Amen.
Prayer of Saint John Chrysostom
One of the most revered and famous protective prayers is the prayer: “I deny you, Satan, your pride,” written by the theologian John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople. Saint John became famous for his good deeds, comforting the suffering and instructing them on the right path.
During his life, he wrote many theological writings that we still use today. Despite the fact that he was persecuted by the enemies of the Christian faith, Saint John did not renounce his labors, for which he was exiled to the city of Pithiunt. Exhausted by illness, John did not survive the journey, but before his death he managed to receive the Holy Communion, after which he was buried in Comana.
“I renounce you Satan” is a prayer that consists of just one line. It is easy to remember and can be said quickly before going out.
Text of the prayer “I renounce you Satan”
I deny you, Satan, your pride and service to you, and I unite with you, Christ, in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
After saying the prayer, you need to cross yourself.
