[[ei-en-08-22-novenas-litanies-and-the-little-offices|← Previous]] | [[ei-en-08|TOC]] | [[ei-en-08-24-prayers-for-benefactors|Next →]] # 23 Prayers of the Eastern Churches (Concession Twenty-Three) The nature of her catholicity ensures that “each individual part of the Church contributes through its special gifts to the good of the whole Church, so that the whole and each part increase” (LG, no. 13) in every spiritual bounty given by God—whence prayers from various Eastern traditions have spreadalso among the faithful of the Latin rite, especially in recent years, and are employed with considerable spiritual benefit in both private and public piety. ## Section One § 1 A plenary indulgence is granted to the faithful who devoutly recite the Akathistos hymn or the Office of the Paraclisis in a church or oratory, or in a family, a religious community, or an association of the faithful, and in general when several of the faithful gather for some honest purpose. In other circumstances, the indulgence will be partial. Regarding the plenary indulgence for the recitation of the hymn Akathistos, it need not be recited in full, but it suffices that there be an uninterrupted recitation of some suitable part, according to legitimate custom. Among the faithful of the Eastern Churches, where the practice of these devotions does not exist, other similar exercises in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary, as established by the patriarchs, enjoy the same indulgences. ## Section Two § 2 A partial indulgence is granted to the faithful who, in accordance with particular times and circumstances, devoutly recite one of the following prayers: a Prayer of Thanksgiving (from the Armenian tradition); Evening Prayer, Prayer for the Faithful Departed (from the Byzantine Tradition); the Prayer of the Shrine, the Prayer “Lakhu Mara” known as To You, O Lord, (from the Chaldean Tradition); a Prayer for the Offering of Incense, Prayer to Glorify Mary, the Mother of God (from the Coptic Tradition); Prayer for the Remission of Sins, Prayer for Following in the Footsteps of Christ (from the Ethiopian Tradition); Prayer for the Church, Prayer After the Celebration of the Liturgy (from the Maronite Tradition), and the Intercessions for the Faithful Departed from the Liturgy of St. James (from the Syro-Antiochian Tradition). ## Prayer Of the Armenian Tradition ### A Prayer of Thanksgiving for the Church We thank you, Almighty Father, for having prepared the holy Church for us as a haven of rest, a temple of holiness, where your Holy Trinity is glorified. Alleluia. We thank you, Christ our King, for having given us life through your vivifying Body and your holy Blood; grant us expiation and great mercy. Alleluia. We thank you, true Spirit, for having renewed the holy Church; preserve her immaculate, by means of faith in the Trinity, now and forever. Alleluia. We thank you, O Christ our God, for having given us such a Food of goodness for holiness of life. By means of it preserve us holy and immaculate by living in us with your divine care. Lead us to the pastures of your holy will, O Effecter of good; by means of it fortify us against every snare of the calumniator. Make us worthy to listen to your voice alone, to follow only you, true and victorious Shepherd, and to receive from you the place you prepared for us in your heavenly kingdom, O God and Lord Jesus Christ our Savior, who are blessed with the Father and your Holy Spirit, now and always for ever and ever. Amen. ## Prayers Of the Byzantine Tradition ### Evening Prayer In the evening, in the morning, and at noon we praise you, we bless you, we give you thanks, and we beg you, Master of the universe, grant that our hearts not yield to evil words but free us from all who try to enslave our souls, because our eyes are turned to you, O Lord, and we have placed our hope in you. Do not abandon us, O God! For every glory, honor, and adoration is due to you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, now and always and for ever and ever. Amen. ### Prayer for the Deceased God of the spirits and of all flesh, who have destroyed death and annihilated the devil and given life to your world, may you yourself, O Lord, grant to the soul of your deceased servant N. rest in a place of light, a verdant place, a place of freshness, from where suffering, pain, and cries are far removed. Do You, O good and compassionate God, forgive every fault committed by him in word, work, or thought; because there is no man who lives and does not sin. You alone are without sin and your justice is justice throughout the ages and your word is truth. Since you, O Christ our God, are the resurrection, the life and the repose of your deceased servant N., we give you glory together with your un-begotten Father with your most holy, good, and vivifying Spirit, now and always and for ever and ever. ## Prayers Of the Chaldean Tradition ### Prayer Of the Sanctuary Before the tremendous throne of your majesty, at the exalted place of your divinity, the majestic seat of your glory and the sublime throne of your sovereignty, where your servants the Cherubim continuously sing hymns and where your glorifiers the Seraphim sing unceasingly the “Sanctus,” we bow down with fear, adore with trembling, give thanks, and glorify you without ceasing, at all times, O Lord of the universe, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, for all ages. ### The Prayer “Lakhu Mara” (To You, o Lord) When the essence of the sweetness of your love, O Lord our God, will make itself felt in us, and when our souls will be enlightened by the knowledge of your truth, then will we be worthy to go forth to meet your beloved Son as he comes from heaven and there render thanks and glorify you unceasingly in your victorious Church, full of help and happiness, because you are the Lord and Creator of everything, through all ages. For all the help and the incomprehensible graces that you have granted we give you thanks and we glorify you unceasingly in your victorious Church, full of every help and happiness, because you are Lord and Creator of everything, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, through all ages. ### “Lakhu Mara” To you, O Lord of the universe, we proclaim our confession, and we glorify you, Jesus Christ, because you are the resurrection of our bodies and the savior of our souls. You indeed, Lord, are the resurrection of our bodies and the good savior of our souls and the everlasting keeper of our life, and we are bound to thank you, adore and glorify you at every moment, O Lord of the universe through all ages. ## Prayers Of the Coptic Tradition ### Prayer Of Incense O King of peace, give us your peace and pardon our sins. Dismiss the enemies of the Church and protect her, so that she never fail. Emmanuel our God is in our midst in the glory of the Father and of the Holy Spirit. May he bless us and purify our hearts and cure the sicknesses of our soul and body. We adore you, O Christ, with your good Father and the Holy Spirit, because you have come and have saved us. ### Singing The Praises of Mary You are raised higher than the Cherubim, you are extolled above the Seraphim, because you have drawn down your Son, and have carried him in your arms, and nursed him with your milk! If I say that you are heaven, behold you are worthy of honor more than the heavens of heaven, because he who is above the Cherubim has come and has taken flesh from you without harming your virginity! Blessed are you O Mary! Queen, O immaculate lamb, O Mother of the King! Your name will be blessed in all times by the mouths of the faithful, who will shout out saying: Hail Mary! To you a holy “Ave”! Hail to her who is worthy of honor more than all the earth! Hail Mary! A holy “Ave”! Hail to the Virgin of all sorrows! Hail Mary! A holy “Ave”! Hail to the Queen, to her who is the daughter of the King! Hail Mary! A holy “Ave”! Hail to the new heaven that is now on earth! Hail Mary! A holy “Ave”! Hail to her of whose greatness the patriarchs were proud! Hail Mary! A holy “Ave”! Hail to her whose honor the prophets foretold! Indeed, we beg you, O Mary, O queen, intercede for us with Christ the King. And you, O Lord, through the intercession of the Mother of God, Holy Mary, give us the grace of the forgiveness of our sins. ## Prayers of the Ethiopian Tradition ### Prayers for the Forgiveness of Sins O golden thurible, who carried the blessed burning coal, taken from the sanctuary, which forgives sins and destroys crimes: it is the Word of the Lord made flesh in you, who offered himself to his Father, incense and an acceptable sacrifice. We adore you, O Christ, together with your compassionate, heavenly Father, and your Holy vivifying Spirit, because you have come and have saved us. O Lord our God, as you once destroyed the walls of Jericho by means of the hand of Joshua your servant, son of Nun, so destroy the walls of my sins and of the sins of your people by means of the hands of me your servant. ### A Prayer to Be a Disciple of Christ O Lord of knowledge and Announcer of wisdom, who have revealed to us what was hidden in the depths of darkness, Giver of the voice of joy to those who preach the breadth of your strength, it is you who in the greatness of your goodness called Paul who first had been a persecutor, and made him into a vessel of election, and you took delight in him, so that he would be an apostle and preacher of the Gospel of your Kingdom. O Christ, our God, you are the lover of men. O kind Lord, give us understanding without weariness, a pure conscience which does not depart from you, so that we know and understand and fully comprehend the measure of your holy doctrine which now comes from him, and as he was the imitator of your life, O Lord, so grant that we be his imitators in works and faith and praise your holy Name and that we glory at all times of the shame of your cross, since yours is the kingdom, the power, the greatness and the might, honor and glory for ever and ever. ## Prayers Of the Maronite Tradition ### A Prayer for the Church Glory to your mercies, O Christ our King, Son of God, adored by the universe. You are our Lord and our God, the guide of our life and our blessed hope. You founded on earth a holy Church, in the image of the one above; According to this image you formed it; with love you made her your spouse; in your mercy you have exalted her; through your suffering you brought her to perfection. May her loving beauty not be obscured; may her great richness not be impoverished. Remember the promise made to Peter and fulfill your words in reality. Fortify her gates, secure her locks, exalt her dignity, raise her ramparts; bless her children, protect her faithful; confirm her priests and overcome all those who hate her. ### A Prayer of Farewell After the Liturgy, Before Leaving the Church Remain in peace, O Altar of God. May the offering that I have taken from you be for the remission of my debts and the pardon of my sins, and may it obtain for me that I may stand before the tribunal of Christ without damnation and without confusion. I do not know if I will have the opportunity to return and offer another sacrifice upon you. Protect me, O Lord, and preserve your holy Church as the way to truth and salvation. Amen. ## Prayer Of the Syro Antiochian Tradition ### Intercession for the Deceased from Liturgy of St. James Lord, O Lord, God of the pure spirits and of every flesh, be mindful of us all, of those we have remembered and of all we have not remembered and who have left this world with glorious faith. Give repose to their souls, to their bodies, to their spirits. Save them from future damnation and make them worthy of the joy, which is in the bosom of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, where the light of your countenance shines, where pain, anguish, and cries are banished. Do not impute to them any fault; do not enter into judgment with your servants, because no living being is justified in your sight and because no man on earth is immune from sin and pure of every filth except for our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, through whom we, too, hope to obtain mercy and the pardon of our sins and of those of our deceased. Give rest to their souls; cancel our faults and their faults committed before you willingly or unwillingly, consciously or unconsciously. Grant them rest. Forgive, O God, and pardon the voluntary and involuntary sins committed consciously or unconsciously by word, work or omissions, by secret thoughts, or publicly, deliberately or through error and which your holy Name knows. Grant us a Christian ending without sin and unite us at the feet of your elect whenyou will, where you will and how you will, without us having to blush for our sins because in this as in all things your holy and blessed Name, the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ and of the Holy Spirit, be praised and glorified now and for all ages. Amen. --- ![[maps/bibliography#^biblio-ei]] [[ei-en-08-22-novenas-litanies-and-the-little-offices|← Previous]] | [[ei-en-08|TOC]] | [[ei-en-08-24-prayers-for-benefactors|Next →]]