The usual beginning is the series of prayers with which most
Divine Services
In the practice of Christianity, canonical hours mark the divisions of the day in terms of fixed times of prayer at regular intervals. A book of hours, chiefly a breviary, normally contains a version of, or selection from, such prayers.
In t ...
begin in the
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...
and those
Eastern Catholic Churches
The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also called the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous (''sui iuris'') particular churches of th ...
which follow the
Byzantine Rite
The Byzantine Rite, also known as the Greek Rite or the Rite of Constantinople, identifies the wide range of cultural, liturgical, and canonical practices that developed in the Eastern Christianity, Eastern Christian Church of Constantinople.
Th ...
.
Normal form
The usual beginning starts with a
blessing
In religion, a blessing (also used to refer to bestowing of such) is the impartation of something with grace, holiness, spiritual redemption, or divine will.
Etymology and Germanic paganism
The modern English language term ''bless'' likely ...
by the
priest
A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...
, which is usually:
*Blessed is our God, always now and ever, and unto the ages of ages.
However, if there is no priest, the
reader
A reader is a person who reads. It may also refer to:
Computing and technology
* Adobe Reader (now Adobe Acrobat), a PDF reader
* Bible Reader for Palm, a discontinued PDA application
* A card reader, for extracting data from various forms of ...
says:
*Through the prayers of our
holy fathers
The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were ancient and influential Christian theologians and writers who established the intellectual and doctrinal foundations of Christianity. The historical per ...
, Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us.
Then, the reader continues:
*Amen.
lory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee!ref name="[]" group=note>The portion in brackets is sometimes omitted.
*[O Heavenly King, Comforter, Spirit of Truth, Who art everywhere present and fillest all things, Treasury of good things, and Giver of life: come and abide in us, and cleanse us from every sin, and save our souls, O Good One!]
[
*The Trisagion: Holy God, holy Mighty, holy Immortal, have mercy on us ''(three times, everyone making a bow at the waist each time)''.
*Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
*O All-Holy ]Trinity
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the F ...
, have mercy on us; O Lord, blot out our sins; O Master, pardon our iniquities; O Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities for Thy Name's sake.
* Lord, have mercy ''(three times)''.
*Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
*Our Father
The Lord's Prayer, also called the Our Father or Pater Noster, is a central Christian prayer which Jesus taught as the way to pray. Two versions of this prayer are recorded in the gospels: a longer form within the Sermon on the Mount in the Gosp ...
, Who art in the heavens, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
The priest concludes the Our Father by saying:
*For Thine is the Kingdom, and the Power and the Glory: of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages.
''Reader:''
*Amen. Lord, have mercy ''(twelve times)''
*Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
*O come, let us worship God our King. ''( Bow.)'' O come, let us worship and fall down before Christ our King and our God. ''(Bow.)'' O come, let us worship and fall down before Christ Himself, our King and our God. ''(Bow.)''
Old Believers
Among the Old Believers
Old Believers or Old Ritualists, ''starovery'' or ''staroobryadtsy'' are Eastern Orthodox Christians who maintain the liturgical and ritual practices of the Russian Orthodox Church as they were before the reforms of Patriarch Nikon of Moscow bet ...
the usual beginning is preceded by the following, known as the "Prayer of the Publican
In antiquity, publicans (Greek τελώνης ''telōnēs'' (singular); Latin ''publicanus'' (singular); ''publicani'' (plural)) were public contractors, in whose official capacity they often supplied the Roman legions and military, managed the ...
":
*God be merciful to me a sinner. ''(After which all make a bow.)''
*Thou hast created me; Lord, have mercy on me. ''(Bow.)''
*I have sinned immeasurably; Lord, forgive me. ''(Bow.)''
After this, some add:
*Have mercy and forgive me a sinner. ''(Bow.)''
Then the ''Axion Estin
''Axion estin'' (Greek: , Slavonic: Достóйно éсть, ''Dostóino yesť''), or It is Truly Meet, is a megalynarion and a theotokion, i.e. a magnification of and a Hymn to Mary used in the Divine Services
In the practice of Christ ...
'' is said, followed by "Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. ''(Bow.)'' Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen. ''(Bow.)'' Lord, have mercy, Lord, have mercy. Lord, bless ''(Bow.)''
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, through the prayers of Thy most pure Mother, by the power of the precious and life-giving Cross, through the intercessions of my holy Guardian Angel
A guardian angel is a type of angel that is assigned to protect and guide a particular person, group or nation. Belief in tutelary beings can be traced throughout all antiquity. The idea of angels that guard over people played a major role in A ...
, and of all the saint
In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...
s, have mercy on me and save me a sinner, for Thou art good and lovest mankind. ''(Prostration
Prostration is the gesture of placing one's body in a reverentially or submissively prone position. Typically prostration is distinguished from the lesser acts of bowing or kneeling by involving a part of the body above the knee, especially t ...
.)''
Abbreviated form
The different services of the Daily Office
In the practice of Christianity, canonical hours mark the divisions of the day in terms of Fixed prayer times#Christianity, fixed times of prayer at regular intervals. A book of hours, chiefly a breviary, normally contains a version of, or sel ...
are often combined into aggregates, often of three services, combined into one continuous period of worship. When this happens, the full usual beginning is only performed at the first service, at subsequent services, only "O come, let us worship..." is said. Sometimes this is preceded by a blessing from the priest.
Pentecostarion
During Bright Week
Bright Week, Pascha Week or Renewal Week ( el, Διακαινήσιμος Ἑβδομάς) is the name used by the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Rite Catholic Churches for the period of seven days beginning on Easter and continuing up to (but n ...
(the week beginning on Easter
Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...
Sunday) the services are completely different from the rest of the year, and there is no usual beginning.
The hymn, "O Heavenly King..." (above) is one of the propers
The proper (Latin: ''proprium'') is a part of the Christian liturgy that varies according to the date, either representing an observance within the liturgical year, or of a particular saint or significant event. The term is used in contrast to the ...
of Pentecost
Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christianity, Christian holiday which takes place on the 50th day (the seventh Sunday) after Easter Sunday. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles in the Ne ...
, and will not be said from Pascha
Pascha (or other similar spellings) may refer to:
* Passover, the Aramaic spelling of the Hebrew word ''Pesach''
**Pesach seder,_the_festive_meal_beginning_the_14th_and_ending_on_the_15th_of_Nisan
*Easter.html" ;"title="san in the Hebrew c ..., t ...
(Easter) until the feast of Pentecost, fifty days later.
From Thomas Sunday
The Second Sunday of Easter is the day that occurs seven days after the Christian celebration of Easter. Those churches which give special significance to this day recognize it by various names. In the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, this day is ...
until the Great Feast
In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the feast of the Resurrection of Jesus, called Pascha (Easter), is the greatest of all holy days and as such it is called the "feast of feasts". Immediately below it in importance, there is a group of Twelve Great Fe ...
of the Ascension, "O Heavenly King" is replaced with the Troparion
A troparion (Greek , plural: , ; Georgian: , ; Church Slavonic: , ) in Byzantine music and in the religious music of Eastern Orthodox Christianity is a short hymn of one stanza, or organised in more complex forms as series of stanzas.
The wi ...
of Pascha:
Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life! ''(Three times)''
From Ascension until its leavetaking, “O Heavenly King” is omitted entirely, and replaced by nothing (symbolizing the physical "absence" of Jesus and the expectant coming of the Holy Spirit
In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is the divine force, quality, and influence of God over the Universe or over his creatures. In Nicene Christianity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is the third person of the Trinity. In Islam, the Holy Spirit acts as ...
). Instead, immediately after the priest's blessing, the reader says: "Amen. Holy God..."
See also
{{Portal, Christianity
* Seven bow beginning
Notes
External links
O Heavenly King and Psalm 51 (Psalm of Repentance)
– usual beginning prayers on the website of the Orthodox Church in America
Byzantine Rite
Christian prayer
Liturgy of the Hours