Having gotten sick, my grandmother just kept saying, I’ll pray to Father Seraphim, he’ll help. The pious old woman did not talk about her assistant and protector. I was afraid that I would start retelling what I heard at school, and we grew up in a period of atheism.
When the persecution of the church stopped, my grandmother advised me to contact the monk. She believed that he was an assistant in a variety of matters. Two dates are also marked in grandma’s calendar: on January 15, the elder appeared before the Lord, and on August 1, his relics were found.
My grandmother aroused my interest in learning more about the saint, who spent his entire life serving God. The elder assured that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Daily and constant prayer is a conversation with the Heavenly Father. The conversation is conducted according to certain rules. One of them is the rule of Seraphim of Sarov.
Morning rule of Seraphim of Sarov
Rule of St. Seraphim of Sarov for the laity
When you wake up, stand at home in front of the holy icons and begin to read three times:
Our Father
Our Father, who art in heaven! Hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, as it is in heaven and on earth. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, just as we forgive our debtors; and do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
This prayer was conveyed to people by Christ himself in the Gospel of Matthew, when he delivered the Sermon on the Mount. Then read it by heart three times
Virgin Mary, rejoice
Virgin Mary, Hail, blessed Mary, the Lord is with you, blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, for you have given birth to the Savior of our souls.
Then sing or say it once
Symbol of faith
I believe in one God the Father, Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, visible to all and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the only begotten, who was born of the Father before all ages; Light from Light, true God from true God, born, uncreated, consubstantial with the Father, by Him all things were; for our sake, man and for our salvation came down from heaven, and became incarnate from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and became human; Crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered and was buried; and rose again on the third day, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father; and again the coming one will judge with glory the living and the dead, His Kingdom will have no end. And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Life-Giving One, who proceeds from the Father, who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, who spoke the prophets. Into the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. I confess one Baptism for the remission of sins. Tea of the resurrection of the dead. And the life of the next century. Amen.
What is Seraphim's Rule
Biography
Prokhor was born in the 18th century into the family of a wealthy Kursk merchant Moshnin. Deeply religious parents and sons were raised in Christian traditions. When a 17-year-old boy decided to go to the Kiev Pechersk Lavra, his mother blessed him. The woman was sure that she owed the Mother of God the miraculous healing of her son after he fell from the bell tower.
From Kyiv, Prokhor's path lay in the Sarov Hermitage. After serving there, he became a monk and received the name Seraphim. The monk led an ascetic life in a solitary cell in prayer. He collected meager food in the forest and in the vegetable garden, which he planted nearby.
The monk revived the eldership in Rus', spending many years in silence. He is also known as a stylite: he prayed at night on a boulder, raising his hands to the sky. During his lifetime he became known as a healer and seer. He predicted terrible trials for Russia and its revival as a strong power. At the beginning of the 20th century, he was canonized on the initiative of John of Kronstadt and Emperor Nicholas II.
History of appearance
The monk was the patron of the Diveyevo convent for many years. He left a prayer rule for the sisters of the monastery. In the morning, read the rule as for the laity (Praviltse), other morning prayers. Doing obedience could not interfere with reading.
From lunch until night, the priest recommended reading “My Lady, Most Holy Theotokos, save us.” Before going to bed - Praviltse and prayers for the coming sleep.
Evening rule of the Diveevo Convent:
- 12 psalms chosen by desert dwellers;
- commemoration;
- teaching;
- 100 bows from the waist with prayers: “Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us sinners!”, “Our Lady, Most Holy Theotokos, save us sinners!” and “Reverend Our Father Seraphim, pray to God for us sinners!”;
- repeat Pravilce.
Other prayers of St. Seraphim
Around the 7th-8th century, the Theotokos prayer rule was known. It helped in illnesses and misfortunes. For some time this rule went out of use. The Sarov elder returned this strong prayer.
You need to say “Virgin Mother of God, rejoice” 150 times a day. After every ten, one should read “Our Father” and “Open doors of mercy for us, blessed Mother of God.” Then comes the troparion in accordance with one of the events in her life.
At the Diveyevo monastery, parishioners marched around the temple with the Song with the blessing of the elder. This tradition is still alive today. After all, numerous pilgrims go to the monastery to venerate the relics of the saint, walk along the Mother of God Canal, and draw holy water from the source.
During his lifetime, the priest helped everyone who turned to him. He does not forget those who come with faith and deep hope. Therefore, in every church there is an icon of the saint, and there are several prayers for communicating with him.
One of the main ones is “Prayer of Seraphim of Sarov for every day” (O most wonderful father).
Patients often turn to the elder asking for help to overcome their illness (About healing and health).
The saint patronizes family matters. It helps all girls who have not found their soul mate after 30 years to choose a worthy spouse. (About love and marriage).
We cannot cope with any problems alone. Then every Christian prays to the monk for help in business and good luck.
Traders honor the patron and pray to Father Seraphim for good trade and good luck in financial matters.
They tell the same story. In 1928, one old man was threatened with arrest. And then Seraphim of Sarov appears to him and orders him to write down the text of the prayer to the Mother of God “All-Merciful” and always read it. The old man endured 18 years of hard labor.
Morning
When you wake up, stand in front of the icons, cross yourself, read “In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen".
Then carefully, slowly say the prayers:
- publican (verse 13, chapter 18, Gospel of Luke);
- Pre-initial;
- Holy Spirit (twice);
- Trisagion (three times with the sign of the cross and bow);
- to the Most Holy Trinity (three times);
- Lord's
- Troparia Trinity;
- to the Most Holy Trinity (with bows);
- Psalm 50;
- Symbol of faith;
- First, Saint Macarius the Great;
- Second. Saint Macarius the Great;
- Third, Saint Macarius the Great;
- Fourth, Saint Macarius the Great;
- Fifth, Saint Basil the Great;
- Sixth, Basil the Great;
- Seventh, Mother of God;
- Eighth, to Our Lord Jesus Christ;
- Ninth, to the Guardian Angel;
- Tenth, to the Most Holy Theotokos;
- Invoking the saint whose name you bear;
- Song to the Mother of God;
- Troparion to the Cross and prayer for the Fatherland;
- about the living (with bows);
- about the departed (with bows);
- end of prayers.
Evening
Before going to bed, we again stand in front of the icons and turn to the Lord. Light a candle, forget about the vanity of the world.
The words of prayers will come from your heart one after another:
- Pre-initial;
- Holy Spirit (twice);
- Trisagion (three times with the sign of the cross and bow);
- to the Most Holy Trinity (three times);
- Lord's
- Tropari;
- 1st, Saint Macarius the Great, to God the Father;;
- 2nd, Saint Antiochus, to our Lord Jesus Christ;
- 3rd, to the Holy Spirit;
- 4th, Saint Macarius the Great;
- 5th, (Lord Our God, who sinned in these days with this word...);
- 6th, (Lord Our God, in Him we have believed...);
- 7th, St. John Chrysostom (24 prayers according to the number of hours);
- 8th, to Our Lord Jesus Christ;
- 9th, to the Most Holy Theotokos, Peter of Studium;
- 10th, to the Most Holy Theotokos;
- 11th, to the Holy Guardian Angel;
- kontakion to the Mother of God;
- prayer of Saint Joannikius;
- the rumor of St. John of Damascus;
- To the Honorable Cross (crossing himself);
- Relax, leave, forgive, God...;
- Forgive those who hate and offend us, O God...;
- everyday confession of sins;
- to go to bed.
Purify your thoughts and heart before prayer, then your soul will be filled with love, and the Reverend will not leave you.
Why is a prayer rule necessary?
Staying in prayerful communication can be compared to exercising. Some people do it from time to time, forcing themselves, realizing that it is necessary for the sake of health, while others have found joy in it and can no longer imagine another life.
During the day, a church-going Christian lives an attentive life, checking his actions to see how pleasing they are to God. It is much easier for Orthodox Christians to strengthen their spiritual life if they have their own spiritual mentor, who will guide and strengthen them in faith through reading the prayer rule. The holy saints knew about the weakness of the human spirit, so they wrote rules for prayer, both complete and brief, so that a person could remain in the presence of God at any time.
Icon of Seraphim of Sarov
An example of a prayer book is Seraphim of Sarov, who learned the joy and importance of communication with the Lord from childhood. Important! The prayer rule of Seraphim of Sarov for the laity is a set of morning, afternoon and evening appeals to the Creator, helping to live the day in spiritual purity
Important! The prayer rule of Seraphim of Sarov for the laity is a set of morning, afternoon and evening appeals to the Creator, helping to live the day in spiritual purity. The Orthodox Church honors the memory of Saint Seraphim on January 15, the day of the saint’s death, and on August 1, on this day the relics of the saint were found
The Orthodox Church honors the memory of Saint Seraphim on January 15, the day of the saint’s death, and on August 1, on this day the saint’s relics were found.
Many Orthodox laity took as the basis of their spiritual life the prayer rules compiled by the reverend elder, who throughout his life was known as a humble prayer book.
A short prayer rule for every hour
how to pray during the rest of the day's troubles
It is clear that in such situations, a person may simply not have enough time or concentration to pronounce the same “Creed” in its entirety. That is why, as an exception, during daytime hours full of anxious worries, Seraphim of Sarov recommends praying to God briefly.
According to the instructions of the saint, at work, at war or on the road, it is enough to say the words addressed to the Son of God Jesus Christ: “have mercy on me, a sinner.” Or “I’m a sinner.” Indeed, in these circumstances (the middle of the working day, the end of the work ordered for you, or simply trying to catch an important meeting or conference), when the majority are not so able to concentrate on the righteousness of the deeds they are doing, a request for mercy and recognition of oneself as a sinful person, mired in the vanity of the worldly well-being before God’s commandments are especially important.
- “Have mercy on me” ─ because in the race for survival, in which today’s society forces all its members, without exception, to enter, it is easy to sin. And every person, at any moment, needs the Lord’s mercy.
- Recognition by the individual performing the prayer of his own sinfulness. Again, it is very relevant for today’s life to literally push one towards the sins of love of money or gluttony and pride.
However, it should be remembered that these “shortened” prayers, which have much in common with the mystical experience of the hesychasts, can only help you:
If you truly, without a doubt, believe in the Lord according to the Orthodox canon. If you are focused on your own spiritual path and understand the importance of every word of these short prayers. If you are inclined specifically towards mystical spiritual self-improvement, which, unfortunately, despite a sufficient number of holy fathers ─ “hesychasts” ─ is not always supported today by both the Church and “official” modern theologians who take a more rational position of interpreting the Bible. If your faith is not so strong, but you are going to be sure to visit the Church after completing your work, confess to your priest and pray in church according to the full rite.
