Prayer of thanksgiving to St. John of Kronstadt.

About communion

Oh, what great happiness this is! The Lord enters the sinful soul and burns away all the iniquities in it, and the human soul becomes the house of God. So, the Savior left us, as it were, a testament to perform the liturgy and partake of His life-giving body and blood. Liturgy is a wonderful gift from Jesus Christ. Liturgy is a bridge over which one can pass into eternal life. Remember: this is the testament of Jesus Christ! Follow this golden bridge that will save you from the abyss of hell. Do not listen, beloved, to those people who run from the cup of the Savior. These are unfortunate, lost, pitiful people, far from the river of Christ; they fall into the abyss. My dears, love the Divine Liturgy, consider that day of your life lost when you were unable to attend the Liturgy, especially on a holiday. Saint John Chrysostom says that the Divine Liturgy is a great wonderful gift; God's angels envy us, people who have been given the happiness of eating the Divine body and blood.

He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him [John. 6, 56]. It is tangible, and experience confirms this. Blessed, filled with life, is the person who partakes of the Holy Mysteries with faith, with heartfelt repentance for sins. - This truth is tangible, it is clear from the contrary. When you approach the Holy Chalice without sincere repentance for sins and with doubt, then Satan enters you and remains in you, killing your soul, and this can be extremely noticeable.

Appreciate the greatest miracle of Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God, revealed in communion with faith in His divine Mysteries. What miracle? The repose and revitalization of your heart, deadened by sin, so obvious after the heartache and spiritual death that often precedes communion. Out of habit, never regard it as something ordinary and unimportant: such thoughts and dispositions of the heart bring the wrath of the Lord upon you, and you will not taste peace and life after communion. With the most lively, heartfelt gratitude for the gifts of life, obtain life from the Lord, and let your faith grow more and more. Fear and anxiety come from unbelief. Consider their appearance during communion as a sure sign that you are moving away through unbelief from the Life presented in the Chalice, and do not pay attention to them. O faith! faith! You yourself are a miracle for us! You save us: your faith will save you [Mr. 5, 34]. And after living faith in the truth of God, we always depart from the Lord in the world; on the contrary, after lack of faith - always without peace. Oh! Satan often enters after unworthy communion of the Holy Mysteries, and he tries in every possible way to plant his lies in our hearts, i.e. unbelief, because unbelief is the same as lying. A murderer from time immemorial, he tries in every possible way and now to kill a person with his lies and various thoughts and, having crept into the heart in the form of unbelief or some kind of passion, he then shows himself in a manner worthy of himself, more so with impatience and malice. And you see that it is in you, but you don’t suddenly get rid of it often, because it usually tries to lock in your heart all the ways to get out of it - through unbelief, bitterness and other creations of its own. You labor in vain in me, fallen archangel. I am a servant of my Lord Jesus Christ. You, exalted pride, humiliate yourself by fighting so hard against me, weak. So speak mentally to the evil spirit that lies as a heavy burden on your heart and forces you to do evil of various kinds. These words are like a fiery scourge to a proud spirit, and he, disgraced by your firmness and spiritual wisdom, will run away from you. You will now see it, feel it and be surprised at the wonderful change in yourself: the heavy, soul-killing burden in your heart will no longer be, it will become so light, easy, and you will be tangibly convinced that there are spirits of evil in the heavens, constantly seeking our destruction, with the poison of the dark and evil thoughts that poison our heart, intensifying to destroy love for people and sociability with them.

I am with you always, even to the end of the age [Matt. 28, 20]. So, Master, You are with us - all the days, not a single day, we live without You, without Your co-presence. You are with us especially in the sacrament of Your Body and Blood. Oh, how truly and essentially you are in the Mysteries! You clothe yourself, Master, at every liturgy with a body subservient to us, except for sin, and feed us with Your life-giving flesh. Through the Mysteries You are completely with us, and Your flesh is united with our flesh and Your spirit is united with our soul - and we feel, feel this life-giving, most peaceful, sweet union, we feel that, clinging to You in the Eucharist, we become one spirit with You As it is said: cleave unto the Lord; there is one spirit with the Lord. We become like You, good, meek and humble, as You said about Yourself: I am meek and lowly in heart [Matt. 11, 29]. True, often the evil and blind flesh or the prince of this age living in our sinful flesh whispers to us that in the Mysteries there is only bread and wine, and not the very Body and Blood of the Lord, and sends sight, taste and touch as evil witnesses for this. But we do not allow ourselves to listen to his slander and reason like this: for You, Lord, everything is possible; You create flesh for people, animals, fish, birds, reptiles - all creation; Do You not create flesh for Yourself, Who art everywhere and fulfill everything? What sculptor, making sculptures for others, is not able to make one for himself? Moreover, You transform dead matter into a living being, for example, the staff of Moses into a serpent, and nothing is impossible for You. Will You not create flesh for Yourself from bread and wine, which are so close to our flesh, being consumed as food and drink and transformed into our flesh and blood? You do not allow our faith to be tempted more than it can bear, You do not transform the lump of the earth into Your most pure Body and Blood, but white, soft, clean, pleasant-tasting bread; You do not create water with Your blood, but wine suitable to the color of blood (which is called the blood of grapes in Holy Scripture [Sirach. 50, 17]), pleasant to the taste and gladdening the human heart; You know our weakness, the weakness of our faith, and therefore you deigned to use the most suitable substances for the sacrament of Your Body and Blood. Let us firmly believe that under the guise of bread and wine we partake of the true Body and true Blood of Christ, that in the sacrament of communion the Lord will be with us all the days until the end of the age [Matt. 28, 20].

The Lord, with whom I unite daily through holy communion, strengthens me. Otherwise, where could I draw strength for such constant, intense labors, with which I try to serve for the glory of His holy name and for the salvation of my neighbors?

Both after unworthy communion and after unworthy, cold prayer, the soul feels equally bad. This means: the Lord does not enter our hearts, offended by our heartfelt unbelief and coldness, and allows evil spirits to nest in our hearts in order to make us feel the difference between His yoke and theirs.

Peace and abundance of life of the heart after communion is the greatest, invaluable gift of the Lord Jesus Christ, surpassing all gifts related to the body and taken together. Without spiritual peace - with a cramped and tormented heart - a person cannot enjoy any benefits, neither material nor spiritual, for him then there are no pleasures that come from a sense of truth, goodness and beauty, because the very center of his life - the heart - is suppressed and killed , or inner man.

The future life is the perfect purity of the heart that is gradually being cleansed, which is most often closed, darkened by sin and the devil’s breath, and sometimes - through the action of God’s grace - it becomes clearer and sees God, uniting with Him sincerely, in prayer and the Sacrament of Communion.

You wrote a book, let’s say, about the Holy Trinity, and printed it in a thousand copies, or as many as you like. And in all these books you have not only the same spirit, but the same words, the same form. So it is with the offering of the Body of Christ. Throughout the universe, in countless churches it is offered, on all the altars of Christian churches the same Trinity operates, in all lambs there is one and the same Christ and His Spirit (as in the book its contents), everywhere the same form of offering - and it turns out that this Most Holy Sacrament is like one great sacred book of the Lord’s love for the human race, which is prepared in countless quantities throughout the universe in the same form with the same loving Spirit living in it, taking upon himself the sins of the world, the spirit Christ's. Another similarity: what a multitude of individual human personalities there are on earth: they all have the same body shape, they all have the same soul, with the same, although not the same, abilities, and all these individuals have the same name - man. All people are like one person, and from one beginning they all originated: initially from God the Father and the Son and His Spirit, and then from one couple. Therefore, by the way, God’s commandment commands us to love everyone as ourselves, according to identity, i.e. our nature. So, you see many faces, and they are one in the identity of the nature of soul and body. So the Lord, in His life-giving Mysteries, wherever they are offered, is the eternally one and indivisible Creator from the one blood of the entire human race [Acts. 17, 26]. Through His one Spirit, living in the Mysteries of the Body and Blood, performed in all the churches of the world, He wants to unite us with Him, who have fallen through sin and obedience to the devil from union with Him, and that which in all of us is separating from Him and from each other , cut off and cleanse: that they may all be one: as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be one in Us [John. 17, 21]. This is the purpose of communion!

Is it surprising that bread and wine are the Body and Blood of Christ and Christ rests in them, like the soul in the body? Is it surprising that when the devil nests in the insignificant embryo (in the heart) of a baby, it intensifies along with the growth of the body, so that later the baby is born with the devil hidden and nesting in his heart? Oh, what infinite goodness and wisdom of the Lord is revealed in giving us the most pure Mysteries of His Body and Blood, in the fact that they are accepted by a Christian into the very heart! Notice, in the heart, where the devil, who has the power of sin and death, nests [Heb. 2, 14] - as a perfect antidote to it, in giving us holiness and life and in driving away sin and death! Just as it is certain that the devil and every sin often nests in our hearts, so it is certain that Christ the Giver of Life, our shrine, dwells in our hearts. Our Lord is more than the devil, but if the devil lives and acts in our hearts through our various attachments to earthly objects, then how can Christ not enter our heart through faith and repentance, when it was created by Him to be the temple of God? into our hearts to Christ, precisely in His flesh and blood, in accordance with our spirituality and together with carnality? Also: if the devil can give spirit and words to an animal icon [Rev. 13:15], then how can Christ not dwell in bread and wine and not transform them, not completely assimilate them to Himself, like flesh and blood?

By partaking of the Life-giving Mysteries with undoubted faith, I tangibly learn from the omnipresence of Christ. How? This is how: in every particle of the body and in every drop of blood I accept the Whole Christ and, thus, I see with the eyes of my heart that He is at the same time complete in all particles and drops, no matter how many there are, to infinity. In the same way, the Lord is all in every temple, in the Holy Mysteries and in every smallest particle, and just as Orthodox churches are located throughout the entire earth, the Lord is present not only in His Divinity, but also in His soul and body throughout the entire earth, everywhere communicating with the believers all inseparably and producing sweet fruits in them: the cleansing of sins, the sanctification of Christian souls and bodies, righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, uniting everyone with Himself, with the Father and His Holy Spirit. We know, moreover, that through fervent prayer He dwells in the souls of believers with His Father and the Holy Spirit. Being inherent in the entire material world and at once animating it all and every part of it separately, the Lord is all the more inherent in people and especially Christians, living in them: Or do you not know that Jesus Christ is in you, unless you are unskilled in nature? Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit living in you?

Participants of the Divine Mysteries! know how you truly commune with the Lord if you commune worthily. What boldness you have towards the Lord and the Mother of God! What purity they must have! What meekness, humility, gentleness! What dispassion for earthly things! What an ardent desire for heavenly, purest, eternal pleasures!

Many people pray hypocritically, and their hypocritical prayer has become a habit; They themselves do not even notice and do not want to notice that they are praying hypocritically, and not in spirit and truth, so that if someone told them in reproof that they are praying hypocritically, they would be angry with the one who dared to say such, in their opinion, inconsistency. A person does not reach hypocrisy suddenly, but gradually. At first, perhaps, he prayed from the heart, but then - since praying always with the heart is significant work, to which one must always force oneself, for the Kingdom of Heaven, it is said, is forced [Matt. 11, 12] - he begins to pray more with his lips, superficially, and not from the depths of his soul, since this is much easier; and finally, with the intensified struggle between the flesh and the devil, he prays with his lips, without bringing the power of the words of prayer to the heart. There are a lot of such people. The Lord says about them: these people draw near to Me with their lips, and with their lips they honor Me, but their heart is far from Me [Matt. 15, 8 (Isaiah 29, 13)]. What has been said about prayer should also be said about the communion of the holy, immortal and life-giving Mysteries. Often, at first a person receives communion with living faith, with a feeling of love and reverence, and then, with the constant opposition of the flesh and the devil to the truth of God, he gives in to them victory over himself and receives communion hypocritically, not of the Body and Blood, but, according to his thoughts of the heart, of bread and wine . The Mysterious Being is spirit and belly [John. 6, 63], as the Savior said, does not fit [John. 8, 37] in it; he is internally robbed by Satan. God save everyone from such communion, from such blasphemy against the Lord! The same happens with the sacrament of repentance.

Just as the Spirit of God lives in a multitude of Christians and in all of them completely with the Father and His Son Jesus Christ, and at the same time He is completely everywhere - in heaven and on earth - so the Lord Jesus Christ is in every part of His Body and Blood, completely and completely in all Christian churches and at the same time all everywhere in heaven and on earth; like God, He is all everywhere, and there is no place where He is not all. - I take one particle of communion: He is all here, I take another - He is all here; the third and so on, but in all there is one and the same Christ.

Instead of the tree of life - the bread of life; instead of the fruits of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil - the same life-giving bread of life. Then it is said: touch not, lest ye die [Gen. 3, 3], now it is said: eat and live [cf. John 6, 51, 58]. Then Eve and Adam believed the seducer and died; now, on the contrary, we believe the words of the Lord of life: this is My Body, this is My Blood [Matt. 26, 26, 28; Mrk. 14.22, 24] and are revived; by what they fell, they rose; fell through unbelief in God, through disobedience, and rose up through obedience to faith. There we agreed with the devil against God and united with him - a liar - to our own death; Now with all our hearts we agree with the Truth Itself - God the Savior and with a true heart we unite with Him for life, for peace and joy. Ole terrible sacrament! Ole the mercy of God! How I partake of the Divine Body and Blood of clay and become incorruptible [canon of communion, canto 8]!

Christian hope is our hope for union with God in the next century. In our present Christian situation, everything corresponds and is directed towards this union: both material and spiritual goods: the grace of God in the Church, Divine services, the sacraments, conscience, God’s inner testing and purification, prayers, the fruits of prayers, sorrows that cleanse the heart, illnesses (take his cross [Matthew 16:24; Mark 8:34]). The present union in fervent prayer, in the sacrament of communion prepares for heavenly union: the pledge of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of Christians assures us of this. For the same reason, any other connection of the heart, except for God and not for God, is strictly forbidden to us. For the same reason, we must guard ourselves from carnal lusts, from all sin.

Means that affirm Christian hope: prayer, especially frequent, sincere prayerful confession of one’s sins, frequent reading of the Word of God, especially frequent communion of the Holy Life-giving Mysteries of the Body and Blood of Christ.

Some put all their well-being and service before God in reading all the prescribed prayers, not paying attention to the readiness of the heart for God, to their internal correction; for example, many read the rule for communion this way. Meanwhile, here, first of all, we must look at the correction and readiness of the heart to receive the Holy Mysteries; if your heart became right in your womb, by the grace of God, if it is ready to meet the Bridegroom, then thank God, although you did not have time to read all the prayers. The kingdom of God is not in words, but in power. It is good to obey the Mother Church in everything, but with prudence and, if possible, let it accommodate long prayer. But not everyone can comprehend this word [Matt. 19, 11]; if prolonged prayer is incompatible with fervor of the spirit, it is better to say a short but fervent prayer. Remember that one word of the publican, spoken from a warm heart, justified him. God does not look at the multitude of words, but at the disposition of the heart. The main thing is the living faith of the heart and the warmth of repentance for sins.

Christ Himself vouches for the truth of the Mysteries of Christ. Truth is the visible and invisible worlds created by Him and standing in existence, the cleansing of sins, peace and joy of the heart after communion.

Never despair of God’s mercy, no matter what sins you may be bound by the temptation of the devil, but pray with all your heart with the hope of mercy, push through the door of God’s mercy - and it will be opened to you. I, a sinful priest, am an example to you: no matter how I sometimes sin due to the actions of the devil, for example, sometimes you treat your brother with enmity because of something, even because of a just cause, and you become completely upset, and turn your brother against yourself , and you perform the holy sacrament unworthily, not through voluntary neglect, but through unpreparedness and the action of the devil, however, through repentance, the Lord forgives everything, everything, especially after worthy communion of the Holy Mysteries: you will be whitened like snow or a wave by the Blood of Christ; heavenly peace will dwell in your heart; and it will be easy, easy on your heart, you will become blessed. You will forget all the disturbances, worries and oppression of the devil, you will become completely new and as if you will rise from the dead. Do not despair, brothers, no matter what sins you have committed, just repent with a contrite heart and a humble spirit. Glory to Your mercy, Lord! Glory to Your long-suffering, O Lord!

The prayer to John of Kronstadt, the intercessor of the human race before the Almighty, is distinguished by its special healing power. Before the image of the Saint, Orthodox Christians ask for intercession, protection and deliverance from addictions and various ailments.

The meaning of prayers to John of Kronstadt

John of Kronstadt, who in the world bore the name John Ilyich Sergiev, was born into the family of a poor rural deacon Ilya Sergiev and his wife Fedora, who lived in the small village of Sura in the Arkhangelsk region. According to historical information, the date of birth of the Righteous Wonderworker falls on October 19, 1829.

The newborn was so weak and sickly that his parents rushed to baptize him immediately. Soon after the sacrament of baptism, the boy began to recover and grow stronger.

Having experienced hardship and need from early childhood, John grew up thoughtful and reserved, but never refused help and compassion to the poor and needy.

Noticing his son’s interest in the Orthodox faith, his father often took the boy to church services. In the sixth year, the parents began to teach their son to read and write, but science was difficult for the child. Once in the Arkhangelsk parish school, the guy found solace in prayer and the study of the Holy Scriptures. One day, after a sleepless night, which John spent in prayer to God and the Most Holy Theotokos, as if scales had fallen from his eyes, inspiration and interest in science and knowledge opened up.

From then on, John became a diligent student. Having successfully graduated from college and the Arkhangelsk Theological Seminary, he was admitted to the St. Petersburg Theological Academy, where he studied at public expense.

The pastoral life of the Saint occurred in troubled times, when riots, drunkenness, poverty and revolutionary ideas were all around. Despite the difficulties of enlightening non-believers and directing them to the true path, the saint continues to carry good intentions and work miracles. Left without means of subsistence, the shepherd gave all his money to the poor and needy. Thanks to the patience and perseverance of the saint of God, prudence and peace of mind began to return to people who had lost faith in the Lord God.

Succumbing to the influence of the sermons of God's mentor, more and more unbelievers began to turn to God in their prayers and petitions.

Orthodox Christians note that prayers to John of Kronstadt are endowed with special power and are capable of working real miracles:

Prayer for healing relieves gluttony and worldly temptations, helps to cure even the most serious illnesses that were beyond the control of medicine and traditional healers. You can ask not only for your own health, but also for the recovery of your family, friends and acquaintances.
Prayer for drunkenness. Those addicted to alcohol, tobacco products and drugs, having tried various methods to cope with their addictions to no avail, ask the Saint for help and grace.
Prayer for corruption. As the rector of the temple, John often expelled evil spirits and demons from the human body, healed from a terrible misfortune, and helped remove damage and the evil eye.
Prayer for despondency. Experiencing despondency, confusion and turmoil, Christians turn to the Holy One, asking for alms and prosperity.
Prayer for teaching to John of Kronstadt helps to learn various facets of science, prepare for and successfully pass exams, cope with complex subjects and believe in one’s own strength.

Every day many parishioners come to churches to turn to John of Kronstadt with a request for intercession, patronage, healing from various ailments and restoration of faith in themselves and their strengths.

Video “Akathist to the holy righteous John of Kronstadt”

From this video you will learn about the akathist to the holy righteous John of Kronstadt.

Reading texts

About healing

Oh, great servant of Christ, holy righteous Father John of Kronstadt, wondrous shepherd, quick helper and merciful representative! Raising praise to the Triune God, you prayerfully cried out: “Your name is Love: do not reject me, who am erring; Your name is Strength: strengthen me, weak and falling; Your name is Light: enlighten my soul, darkened by worldly passions; Your name is Peace: pacify my restless soul. Your name is Mercy: do not cease to have mercy on me.

Now, grateful to your intercession, the all-Russian flock prays to you: Christ-named and righteous servant of God! With your love, illuminate us, sinners and weaklings, grant us the ability to bear worthy fruits of repentance and to partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ without condemnation; by your power strengthen our faith in us, support us in prayer, heal ailments and illnesses, deliver us from misfortunes, visible and invisible enemies; with the light of your face, incite the servants and primates of the Altar of Christ to holy deeds of pastoral work, grant education to infants, instruct youth, support old age, illuminate the shrines of churches and holy monasteries; die, wonder-worker and visionary of the most extraordinary peoples of our country, by the grace and gift of the Holy Spirit, deliver from internecine warfare, gather the scattered, convert the wicked and unite the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church; By your grace, preserve marriage in peace and unanimity, grant prosperity and blessings to monastics in good deeds, give comfort to the faint-hearted, freedom to those suffering from unclean spirits, have mercy in the needs and circumstances of our lives, and guide us all on the path of salvation.

From drunkenness

Lord, look mercifully on Your servant (name), seduced by the flattery of the belly and carnal joy. Grant him to know the sweetness of abstinence in fasting and the fruits of the Spirit flowing from it. Amen.

About teaching

O great servant of Christ, holy and righteous Father John of Kronstadt, wondrous shepherd, quick helper and merciful representative! Raising praise to the Triune God, you prayerfully cried out: “Your name is Love: do not reject me, who am erring.

Your name is Strength: strengthen me, who is weak and falling. Your name is Light: enlighten my soul, darkened by worldly passions. Your name is Peace: pacify my restless soul. Your name is Mercy: do not cease to have mercy on me. Now the all-Russian flock, grateful to Your intercession, prays to You: Christ-named and righteous servant of God! With your love, illumine us, sinners and weaklings, grant us the ability to bear worthy fruits of repentance and to partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ without condemnation.

With your power, strengthen our faith in us, support us in prayer, heal ailments and illnesses, deliver us from misfortunes, visible and invisible enemies. With the light of your face, incite the servants and heads of the altar of Christ to perform holy deeds of pastoral work, grant education to infants, instruct youth, support old age, illuminate the shrines of churches and holy abodes. Die, O most wonderful miracle worker and prophet, the peoples of our country, by the grace and gift of the Holy Spirit, deliver them from internecine strife; Collect the squandered, convert the deceived, and unite the Holy Ones of Your Catholic and Apostolic Church.

By your grace, preserve marriage in peace and unanimity, grant prosperity and blessings to monastics in good deeds, give comfort to the faint-hearted, freedom for the suffering unclean spirits, have mercy in the needs and circumstances of those who exist, and guide us all on the path of salvation. In Christ living, our Father John, lead us to the unevening light of eternal life, so that with you we may be worthy of eternal bliss, praising and exalting God forever and ever. Amen.

From damage

Glory to You, Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of the beginningless Father, You alone heal every ailment and every illness in people, as you had mercy on the flesh of a sinner and delivered me from my illness, not allowing it to develop and kill me according to my sins.

Grant me from now on, Master, the strength to firmly do Your will for the salvation of my damned soul and for Your glory with Your beginningless Father and Your consubstantial Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Oh, great servant of Christ, holy righteous Father John of Kronstadt, wondrous shepherd, quick helper and merciful representative! Raising praise to the Triune God, you prayerfully cried out: “Your name is Love - do not reject me, who am erring. Your name is Strength - strengthen me, who is exhausted and falling. Your name is Light - enlighten my soul, darkened by worldly passions. Your name is Peace - pacify my restless soul. Your name is Mercy - do not cease to have mercy on me.

Now, grateful to your intercession, the all-Russian flock prays to you: Christ-named and righteous servant of God! With your love, illumine us, sinners and weaklings, grant us the ability to bear worthy fruits of repentance and to partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ without condemnation. With your power, strengthen our faith in us, support us in prayer, heal ailments and illnesses, deliver us from misfortunes, visible and invisible enemies.

With the light of your face, incite the servants and heads of the altar of Christ to perform holy deeds of pastoral work, grant education to infants, instruct youth, support old age, illuminate the shrines of churches and holy abodes. Die, most wonderful miracle worker and visionary, the peoples of our country, by the grace and gift of the Holy Spirit, deliver them from internecine warfare; Gather up the squandered, convert and unite the most precious things of the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.

By your grace, preserve marriage in peace and unanimity, grant prosperity and blessings to monastics in good deeds, give comfort to the faint-hearted, freedom to those suffering from unclean spirits, have mercy in the needs and circumstances of our lives, and guide us all on the path of salvation. In Christ living, our Father John, lead us to the unevening light of eternal life, so that with you we may be worthy of eternal bliss, praising and exalting God forever and ever. Amen.

Out of despondency

The Lord is the destruction of my despondency and the revival of my boldness. Everything is Lord for me. Oh, truly this Lord, glory to You! Glory to You, Father Life, Son Life, Holy Soul Life - Simple Being - God, who always delivers us from spiritual death, caused by passions to our soul.

Glory to Thee, Trinitarian Master, for from one invocation of Thy name you enlighten the dark face of our soul and body and bestow Your peace, which surpasses all earthly and sensual good and all understanding.

Glory to Thee Savior, Almighty Power! Glory to Thee Savior, Omnipresent Power! Glory to Thee, most merciful Womb! Glory to Thee, ever-opening Hearing to hear the prayer of the accursed me, to have mercy on me and save me from my sins! Glory to Thee, brightest Eyes, I will look upon me with kindness and insight into all my secrets! Glory to Thee, glory to Thee, glory to Thee, Sweetest Jesus, my Savior!

***

God! What will I bring to You, how will I thank You for Your constant, greatest mercies to me and to the rest of Your people? For behold, every moment I am enlivened by Your Holy Spirit, every moment I breathe the air You have diffused, light, pleasant, healthy, strengthening, I am enlightened by Your joyful and life-giving light - spiritual and material; I feed on sweet and life-giving spiritual food and the same drink, the holy Mysteries of Your Body and Blood and material sweet food and drinks; You dress me with a bright, beautiful royal robe - with Yourself and material clothes, you cleanse my sins, heal and cleanse my many and fierce sinful passions; You take away my spiritual corruption in the power of Your immeasurable goodness, wisdom and strength, and fill me with Your Holy Spirit - the Spirit of holiness, grace; You give my soul truth, peace and joy, space, strength, boldness, courage, strength, and you endow my body with precious health; You teach my hands to fight and my fingers to fight with the invisible enemies of my salvation and bliss, with the enemies of the holiness and power of Your glory, with the spirits of wickedness in high places; You crown with success my deeds done in Your name... For all this I thank, glorify and bless Your all-good, fatherly, all-powerful power, O God, our Savior, our Benefactor. But be known by Your other people as You appeared to me, O Lover of Mankind, so that they may know You, the Father of all, Your goodness, Your providence, Your wisdom and power, and glorify You, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and to the ages of ages. Amen.

***

I thank Thee, Lord my God, for giving me existence, for giving me birth in the Christian faith, for the Most Pure Virgin Mary, Intercessor for the salvation of our race, for Thy saints praying for us, for the Guardian Angel, for public worship that supports us faith and virtue, for the Holy Scriptures, for the Holy Sacraments, and especially Your Body and Blood, for the mysterious grace-filled consolations, for the hope of receiving the Kingdom of Heaven and for all the blessings You have given me.

Prayer of thanksgiving for deliverance from the temptations of the enemy

Glory to You, Almighty King, that You do not leave me in the darkness of the devil, but always send Your light into my darkness. You are my Lamp, Lord, and enlighten my darkness. My Lord, Lord Jesus Christ! My speedy, swift, unashamed Intercessor! I thank You with all my heart that You graciously listened to me: when I, in darkness, crampedness and flames of the enemy, cried out to You - you quickly, sovereignly, graciously delivered me from my enemies and gave my heart space, lightness, light! Oh, Master, how I suffered from the machinations of the enemy, how timely You showed me help and how obvious Your almighty help was! I praise Your goodness, benevolent Master, hope of the desperate; I praise You that You did not disgrace my face in the end, but mercifully delivered me from the darkness and dishonor of hell. How, after this, can I ever despair of Your hearing and mercy on me, the accursed? I will, I will always call on Your sweetest name, my Savior; But You, O innumerable Blessedness, as always, now and forever, save me according to Your immeasurable compassion, for Your name is the Lover of Mankind and the Savior!

Prayer of thanksgiving for healing from illness

Glory to Thee, Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of the beginningless Father, who alone heals every ailment and every illness among people, for you have had mercy on me as a sinner and delivered me from my illness, not allowing it to develop and kill me according to my sins. Grant me from now on, Master, the strength to firmly do Your will for the salvation of my damned soul and for Your glory with Your beginningless Father and Your consubstantial Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

***

I thank You, eternal sweetness, incomparable, innumerably surpassing all earthly, carnal and rough sweets, incorruptible sweetness, life-giving, holy, quiet, light, premium, joyful, inexhaustible; I thank You, for You have given me these perishable sweets for tasting, pleasure, and, although in part, I know how sweet You are, that You are all sweetness, all desire. Illuminating with the material light, I say: glory to You, the unstoppable, sweet and all-joyful Light, as with this corruptible, but beautiful light - the image of Your unapproachable divine light, you illuminate us, and from this material light we constantly flow in thought to You, the eternal, unstoppable Light, and yes We strive through purity of life to achieve Your all-blessed contemplation.

***

My endless sweetness, Lord Jesus Christ, what sweets did You not give me to taste in my temporary existence! Thank you, my mercy, my sweetness! But if earthly sweets are so numerous, varied, and pleasant, then what are heavenly, spiritual sweets: they are truly endless, countless, unimaginably pleasant. Do not, O most merciful and generous Lord, deprive me of Your heavenly sweets, which You have prepared for those who love You. Do not deprive them and your other people! Let us all know You, Lord, our Sweetness!

A song of praise in the likeness of the Psalms of David

The Lord is my being; The Lord is deliverance from eternal death; The Lord is my eternal belly; The Lord is my cleansing and deliverance from many sins and my sanctification; The Lord is strength in my weakness, space in my crampedness, hope in my cowardice and despondency; The Lord is light in my darkness, peace in my confusion; The Lord is an intercessor in my temptations. He is my thinking, my desire, my activity; He is the light of soul and body, food, drink, my robe, my shield, my weapon. Everything is for me Lord!

Complete collection and description: prayer of John of Kronstadt to the Lord for the spiritual life of a believer.

Prayer of St. John of Kronstadt

Your name is Love: do not reject me, the erring one.

Your name is Strength: strengthen me, who is weak and falling.

Your name is Light: enlighten my soul, darkened by worldly passions.

Your name is Peace: pacify my restless soul.

Your name is Mercy: do not cease to have mercy on me.

Holy Righteous John of Kronstadt - image from the page “Kolomna Saints” of the book “Temples of the Cathedral Square of Kolomna”.

Prayers to the Lord St. John of Kronstadt

filaretuos

The realities of our life

Friends and enemies

Prayers written by the Holy Righteous John of Kronstadt

Morning prayer of Saint Righteous John of Kronstadt

PRAYERS TO THE LORD GOD

God! Your name is Love: do not reject me, a misguided person! Your name is Strength: strengthen me, who is exhausted and falling! Your name is Light: enlighten my soul, darkened by worldly passions! Your name is Peace: pacify my restless soul! Your name is Mercy: do not cease to have mercy on me.

Lord, You are the Judge of the earth, You do not love untruth, hear my unworthy prayer and send Your power, and send Your help where enemies, visible and invisible, will meet me, and so that pillars will stand in the place where Your power will meet them. Amen.

To You, Lord, the only Good and Unmemorable Evil One, I confess my sins; I fall down to you, crying out, unworthy: I have sinned, O Lord, I have sinned, and I am not worthy to look up to the heights of heaven because of the multitude of my iniquities. But, my Lord, Lord, grant me tears of compunction, the only Blessed and Merciful One, as I beg you with them to be cleansed before the end from all sin: it is a scary and menacing place for the imam to pass through, their bodies separated, and a multitude of dark and inhuman demons will hide me, and accompany no one to help or deliver. Thus I bow down to Your goodness, do not betray me to those who offend me, below let my enemies boast about me, Good Lord, below let them say: you have come into our hands and you have been betrayed to us. Neither, Lord, do not forget Your compassions and do not reward me for my iniquity, and do not turn Your face away from me; but You, Lord, punish me, both with mercy and generosity, but let my enemy not rejoice over me, but extinguish his reproaches against me and abolish all his actions. And give me a reproachful path to You, O Good Lord, and having sinned, I did not resort to another doctor and did not stretch out my hands to a foreign god. Do not therefore reject my prayer, but hear me with Your goodness and strengthen my heart with Your fear; and may Your grace be upon me, O Lord, like fire that consumes unclean thoughts within me. For you are, Lord, light more than any light, joy more than any joy, peace more than any peace, true life and salvation that endures forever and ever. Amen.

Prayer of St. Righteous John of Kronstadt on strengthening in the Orthodox faith and unity

“Lord, strengthen my heart and the hearts of all Orthodox Christians in this faith; Instill this faith and this aspiration to live worthily; unite in this faith all the great Christian societies that have miserably fallen away from the unity of the Holy Orthodox Catholic Church, which is Thy Body and whose Head art Thou and the Savior of the Body; overthrow the pride and opposition of their teachers and those following them; grant them to understand with their hearts the truth and saving power of Thy Church and unflatteringly unite with it; gather together Your Holy Church and those who suffer from ignorance, delusion and the stubbornness of schism, breaking through the power of the grace of Your Spirit their stubbornness and opposition to Your Truth, so that they may not perish fiercely in their opposition, like Korah, Dathan and Abiron, who opposed Moses and Aaron, Your servants. All the pagans inhabiting the earth have been attracted to this faith, so that with one heart and one mouth all the pagans will glorify You, the One God and Benefactor of all; in this faith unite us all with the spirit of meekness, humility, kindness, simplicity, dispassion, patience, long-suffering, mercy, condolences and rejoicing.” AMEN.

Prayer is right. John of Kronstadt before the Liturgy

before the Divine Liturgy

“O Most Holy, Almighty, All-Good Head of Your Church, Lord Jesus Christ, Alpha and Omega, Beginning and End!

Give me, unworthy, the grace to perform Your holiness, that is, Your worship is holy, peaceful and firm, cleanse my heart from all passion and from all slander of the enemy!

Ignite me with Your heavenly fire and not only me, but also all those who stand and pray to You with me during my service.

Humble the hearts of the arrogant of this age, subdue their minds to Your truth and their hearts to Your Word. Recreate, renew Thy people, Lord!

I am weak, but may Your strength be made perfect in my weaknesses!”

Prayers of our holy righteous father John of Kronstadt the Wonderworker

^ Prayer Appeal to the Blessed Virgin Mary

Oh, Lady! Let it not be in vain and in vain that we call You the Lady: reveal and continually manifest over us Your holy, living, effective dominion. Reveal, for you can do everything for good, as the all-good Mother of the all-good King; disperse the darkness of our hearts, repel the arrows of crafty spirits, flatteringly driven towards us. May the peace of Your Son, Your peace reign in our hearts, and let us all ever exclaim with joy: who is after the Lord, as our Lady, our all-good, all-powerful and most swift Intercessor? That is why you are exalted, Lady, that is why you have been given an indescribable abundance of divine grace, that is why ineffable boldness and strength at the throne of God and the gift of almighty prayer have been given to you, that is why you have been adorned with indescribable holiness and purity, that is why you have been given unapproachable power from the Lord, that You may preserve, protect, intercede, purify and save us, the inheritance of Your Son and God, and Yours. Save us, O Most Pure, All-Good, All-Wise and All-Powerful! For you are the Mother of our Savior, Who of all names was most pleased to be called Savior. It is common for us who wander in this life to fall, for we are covered with many-passionate flesh, surrounded by spirits of wickedness in high places, seducing us into sin, we live in an adulterous and sinful world, tempting us to sin; and You are above all sin, You are the most luminous Sun, You are the Most Pure, All-Good and All-Powerful, You tend to cleanse us, defiled by sins, like a mother cleanses her children, if we humbly call on You for help, You tend to raise us, who are constantly falling, to intercede , to protect and save us, those who are slandered from the spirits of evil, and to instruct us to march towards every path of salvation.

^ Prayer to the Lord

God! Your name is Love - do not reject me, the erring one.

Your name is Strength - strengthen me, who is weak and falling.

Your name is Light - enlighten my soul, darkened by worldly passions.

Your name is Peace - pacify my restless soul.

Your name is Mercy - do not cease to have mercy on me. Amen.

^ Morning prayer

God! Creator and Lord of the world! look mercifully upon Thy creation, adorned with Thy divine image in these morning hours: may Thy Eye live, may Thy Eye enlighten, in darkness so much brighter than the rays of the sun, my dark soul, mortified by sin. Take away from me despondency and laziness, grant me joy and spiritual vigor, so that in the joy of my heart I glorify Your goodness, holiness, Your boundless greatness, Your endless perfections at every hour and in every place. For You are my Creator and the Lord of my life, Lord, and You are due glory from Your rational creatures for every hour, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

^ Prayer for drunkenness

Lord, look mercifully on your servant (name), seduced by the flattery of the belly and carnal joy: grant him (name) to know the sweetness of abstinence in fasting and the fruits of the spirit that flow from it. Amen

^ Prayer for recovery

Glory to Thee, Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of the beginningless Father, who alone heals every ailment and every illness among people, for you have had mercy on me, a sinner, and delivered me from my illness, not allowing it to develop and kill me according to my sins. Grant me from now on, Master, the strength to firmly do Your will for the salvation of my damned soul and for Your glory with Your beginningless Father and Your consubstantial Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

^ Prayer to save someone from bodily death, e.g. from drowning, from death due to illness, from fire or from any other disaster, (praising the faith of those who ask)

Blessed be your faith, according to your faith may the Lord grant the fulfillment of my unworthy, little-faithful prayer and may He add faith to me.

^ Prayer for the proud and obstinate

Lord, teach Your servant, who has fallen into the pride of the devil, meekness and humility, and remove from his heart the darkness and burden of satanic pride!

^ Prayer for the Evil Ones

Lord, do this Thy servant good by Thy grace!

^ Prayer for the money-loving and greedy

Our treasure is incorruptible and our wealth is inexhaustible! Grant to this Thy servant, created in Thy image and likeness, to know the flattery of wealth, and how all earthly things are vanity, shadow and sleep. Like the grass are the days of every man, or like the abyss, and like You alone are our wealth, peace and joy! Don’t be embittered by anything, conquer everything with love: all sorts of insults, whims, all kinds of family troubles. Know nothing but love. Always blame yourself sincerely, admitting that you are the culprit of the troubles. Say: I am guilty, I am a sinner. Remember that just as you are weak, so is your neighbor, and weakness for weakness is destroyed, and there is nothing to blame for the weak and sinners if they admit their weakness. The devil, strong in evil, must be blamed.

^ Prayer for the envious

Lord, enlighten the mind and heart of this Thy servant to the knowledge of Thy great, countless and unfathomable gifts, which they have received from Thy innumerable bounties, for in the blindness of their passion they have forgotten Thy rich gifts, and impoverished themselves to be considered rich in Thy blessings, and For this reason, he looks with delight at the goodness of Thy servants, in the image, O most unspeakable Goodness, who has mercifully inflicted everyone who is contrary to his power and according to the intention of Thy will. Take away, O all-merciful Master, the veil of the devil from the sight of the heart of Thy servant and grant him heartfelt contrition and a tear of repentance and gratitude, so that the enemy does not rejoice over him, captured alive from him into his will, and may he not tear him out of Thy hand.

^ Prayer to the Mother of God

Lady Theotokos! You, whose love for Christians surpasses the love of every earthly mother, every wife, listen to our prayers and save us! May we always remember You! May we always pray to You fervently! May we always resort to Your holy roof without laziness and without doubt.

Grant me, Lord, to love every neighbor of mine as myself, always, and not to become embittered towards him for any reason and not to work for the devil.

Let me crucify my self-love, pride, covetousness, lack of faith and other passions.

Let our name be: mutual love; Let us believe and trust that the Lord is everything to all of us; let us not worry, let us not worry about anything; may You, our God, be the only God of our hearts, and besides You there is nothing.

Let us be in the unity of love among ourselves, as it should be, and let everything that separates us from each other and separates us from love be in contempt for us, like dust trampled under foot. Wake up! Wake up! Amen.

If God has given Himself to us, if He abides in us and we in Him, according to His true word, then what will He not give me, what will He spare me, what will He deprive me of, what will He forsake me?

So, be very calm, my soul, and know nothing but love.

This commandment I command you, that you love one another (John 15:17)

^ Prayers for healing to the Lord

Lord, it is possible for You to do (this) and (that) to Your servant (name); do this to him, for Your name is the good Lover of Mankind and the Almighty. If we, the wicked being, know how to give good things not only to our children, but also to strangers, since You give all kinds of good things to those who ask You. Good Lover of Humanity! Who made creation with one word and created man from it, visit Thy fallen servant with Thy ineffable love for mankind, so that the work of Thy hand may not perish completely. Amen.

Someone who was mortally ill with inflammation of the stomach for nine days and did not receive the slightest relief from medical benefits, as soon as he received communion of the life-giving Mysteries on the ninth day in the morning, by the evening he became healthy and rose from his sick bed. He took communion with firm faith. I prayed to the Lord for him, so that He would heal him. God! I said: Heal Your servant from his illness. He is worthy, this is to him, he loves Your priests and sends his gifts to them. - I also prayed in church at the throne of the Lord during the liturgy, during prayer: “He who has given us prayers that are common and concordant...” and before the Mysteries themselves. Among other things, I prayed like this: God! Our belly! Just as it is easy for me to think about healing, so it is easy for you to heal every disease; Just as it is easy for me to think about the resurrection from the dead, so it is easy for You to raise every dead person. Heal your servant Vasily from his cruel illness and do not allow him to die, so that his wife and children do not give in to weeping, - and the benevolent Lord pardoned. And then he was on the verge of death. Glory to Thy omnipotence, goodness and good obedience, Lord!

Prayers to John of Kronstadt

They turn to John of Kronstadt with prayers for help in healing and deliverance from any illness. You can ask both for yourself and for your neighbors (children, relatives).

Prayers
- About healing
- From drunkenness
- From despondency, demons, Satan
- From damage
Thanksgiving
- Thank you note (short)
- Thank you note (full)

Prayer to John of Kronstadt for healing

Most wonderful Father John!

You have drawn close to God through many virtues and have been granted spiritual gifts from Him:

heal ailments, drive away passions and quench sorrows.

Moreover, we humbly pray to you:

grant healing to our illnesses and healing to our passions, quench the sorrows that come upon us and infuse spiritual joy into our hearts.

And help us to be imitators of your holy life and all your good deeds, so that together with you we may be worthy of inheriting the Kingdom of Heaven.

Prayer to John of Kronstadt for deliverance from drunkenness

Lord, look mercifully on Your servant (name), seduced by the flattery of the belly and carnal joy.

Grant him to know the sweetness of abstinence in fasting and the fruits of the Spirit flowing from it.

Prayer to John of Kronstadt from despondency, demons, Satan

O great wonderworker and wonderful servant of God, God-bearing Father John!

Despise us and listen compassionately to our prayer, for the Lord has vouchsafed great gifts to you, so that you may become an intercessor and constant prayer-book for us.

Behold, we are overwhelmed by sinful passions and consumed by malice, we have neglected the commandments of God, we have not brought heartfelt repentance and tears of sighing, for this reason we are worthy of appearing through many sorrows and sorrows.

But you, righteous father, having great boldness towards the Lord and compassion for your neighbors, pray to the All-Bountiful Lord of the world,

May He add His mercy to us and tolerate our iniquities, may sin not destroy us for our sakes, but may He mercifully grant us time for repentance.

O saint of God, help us to keep the Orthodox faith immaculately and to piously preserve the commandments of God, so that all iniquity may not possess us,

below the Truth of God will be put to shame in our untruths, but may we be worthy of achieving a Christian death, painless, shameless, peaceful and partakers of the Mysteries of God.

We also pray to you, righteous father, for our Holy Church to be more established until the end of the century, and ask for peace and abiding for our Fatherland and save us from all evils,

Yes, our people, protected by God, in unanimity of faith and in all piety and purity, in the grace of spiritual brotherhood, sobriety and harmony, testify: that God is with us!

In Him we live and move, and we are, and we will remain forever.

Prayer against damage to John of Kronstadt

A short prayer of thanksgiving by John of Kronstadt to the Lord God

I thank You, Lord my God, for the gift of my existence, for my birth in the Christian faith, for the Most Pure Virgin Mary, Intercessor for the salvation of our race,

for Your holy Saints, praying for us, for the Guardian Angel, for public worship, supporting faith and virtue in us,

for the Holy Scriptures, for the Holy Sacraments, and especially Your Body and Blood, for the mysterious grace-filled consolations, for the hope of receiving the Kingdom of Heaven and for all the blessings You have given me.

Prayer of thanksgiving by John of Kronstadt

What will I bring to You, how will I thank You for Your constant, greatest mercies to me and to the rest of Your people?

For behold, every moment I am enlivened by Your Holy Spirit, every moment I breathe the air You have diffused, light, pleasant, healthy, strengthening, I am enlightened by Your joyful and life-giving light - spiritual and material;

I feed on sweet and life-giving spiritual food and the same drink, the holy Mysteries of Your Body and Blood and material sweet food and drinks;

You dress me with a bright, beautiful royal robe - with Yourself and material clothes, you cleanse my sins, heal and cleanse my many and fierce sinful passions;

You take away my spiritual corruption in the power of Your immeasurable goodness, wisdom and strength, and fill me with Your Holy Spirit - the Spirit of holiness, grace;

You give my soul truth, peace and joy, space, strength, boldness, courage, strength, and you endow my body with precious health;

You teach my hands to fight and my fingers to fight with the invisible enemies of my salvation and bliss, with the enemies of the holiness and power of Your glory, with the spirits of wickedness in high places;

You crown my deeds done in Your name with success.

For all this I thank, glorify and bless Thy all-good, fatherly, all-powerful power, O God, our Savior, our Benefactor.

But be known by Your other people as You appeared to me, O Lover of Mankind, so that they may know You, the Father of all, Your goodness, Your providence, Your wisdom and power, and glorify You, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and to the ages of ages.

Prayer to John of Kronstadt for help in his studies and work

Oh, great servant of Christ, holy righteous Father John of Kronstadt, wondrous shepherd, quick helper and merciful representative!

Raising praise to the Triune God, you prayerfully cried out: “Your name is Love: do not reject me, who am erring;

Your name is Strength: strengthen me, weak and falling;

Your name is Light: enlighten my soul, darkened by worldly passions;

Your name is Peace: pacify my restless soul;

Your name is Mercy: do not cease to have mercy on me.”

Now, grateful to your intercession, the all-Russian flock prays to you: Christ-named and righteous servant of God!

With your love, illuminate us, sinners and weaklings, grant us the ability to bear worthy fruits of repentance and to partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ without condemnation;

by your power strengthen our faith in us, support us in prayer, heal ailments and illnesses, deliver us from misfortunes, visible and invisible enemies;

with the light of your face, incite the servants and primates of the Altar of Christ to holy deeds of pastoral work, grant education to infants, instruct youth, support old age, illuminate the shrines of churches and holy monasteries;

die, wonder-worker and visionary of the most extraordinary peoples of our country, by the grace and gift of the Holy Spirit, deliver from internecine warfare, gather the scattered, convert the wicked and unite the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church;

By your grace, preserve marriage in peace and like-mindedness, grant success and blessing to monastics in good deeds, comfort the faint-hearted,

Give freedom to those suffering from unclean spirits, have mercy on them in their current needs and circumstances, and guide us all on the path of salvation.

Living in Christ, Our Father John!

Lead us to the unevening light of eternal life, so that with you we may be worthy of eternal bliss, praising and exalting God forever and ever.

Our Lord Jesus Christ, before administering the Sacrament of Communion, said: “The bread that I will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world” (John 6:51). That is, the food that I want to give you is My Flesh, which I want to give for the revitalization of the whole world. This means that Divine Communion for believers is a necessary component of spiritual and Christ-centered life.

Sacrament Participles established by the Lord Himself last supper- the last meal with the disciples on Easter night before His capture and crucifixion.

If you do not eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink His Blood, you will not have life in you.
In. 6:53

He who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood abides in Me, and I in him.
In. 6:56

With these words, the Lord pointed out the absolute necessity for all Christians to participate in the Sacrament of the Eucharist. The very Sacrament of the Eucharist was established by the Lord at the Last Supper. “Jesus took the bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to the disciples, saying: Take, eat: this is My Body. And taking the cup and giving thanks, he gave it to them and said, “Drink from it, all of you, for this is My Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Matthew 26:26-28). As the Holy Church teaches, a Christian, receiving Holy Communion, is mysteriously united with Christ, for in every particle of the fragmented Lamb the whole Christ is contained. The significance of the Sacrament of the Eucharist is immeasurable, the comprehension of which surpasses our minds. It ignites Christ's love in us, lifts the heart to God, gives rise to virtues in it, restrains the attack of dark forces on us, gives strength against temptations, revives the soul and body, heals them, gives them strength, cultivates virtues - restores that purity of the soul in us , which the first-born Adam had before the Fall.

In his reflections on the Divine Liturgy of St. Seraphim Zvezdinsky, there is a description of the vision of one ascetic elder, which clearly characterizes the meaning for a Christian of communion of the Holy Mysteries. The ascetic saw “a fiery sea, the waves of which rose and seethed, presenting a terrible sight. On the opposite bank there was a beautiful garden. From there you could hear the singing of birds and the scent of flowers. The ascetic hears a voice “Cross this sea!” But there was no way to go. He stood for a long time wondering how to cross, and again he heard the voice: “Take the two wings that the Divine Eucharist gave: one wing is the Divine Flesh of Christ, the second wing is His Life-giving Blood. Without them, no matter how great the feat, it is impossible to achieve the Kingdom of Heaven." Elder Parthenius of Kiev once, in a reverent feeling of fiery love for the Lord, repeated the prayer for a long time: “Lord Jesus, live in me and let me live in You,” and heard a quiet, sweet voice: “He who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood abides in Me and I am in him” (John 6:56).

In some spiritual illnesses, the Sacrament of Communion is the most effective cure: for example, when a person is attacked by so-called “blasphemous thoughts,” the spiritual fathers propose to fight them with frequent communion of the Holy Mysteries.

Righteous John of Kronstadt writes about the significance of the Sacrament of the Eucharist in the fight against strong temptations: “If you feel the weight of the struggle and see that you cannot cope with evil alone, run to your spiritual father and ask him to commune you with the Holy Mysteries. This is a great and all-powerful weapon in the fight.” For one mentally ill person, Father John recommended, as a means of recovery, to live at home and partake of the Holy Mysteries more often.

According to the custom of the Church, the Sacraments of Repentance (confession) and Communion follow directly one after the other. St. Seraphim says that the rebirth of the soul is accomplished through two Sacraments: “through repentance and complete cleansing from all sinful filth by the Most Pure and Life-Giving Mysteries of the Body and Blood of Christ.”

Repentance alone is not enough to preserve the purity of our hearts and strengthen our spirit in piety and virtues. The Lord said: “When the unclean spirit leaves a person, it walks through dry places, looking for rest, and, not finding it, says: I will return to my house from where I came; and, having arrived, finds it swept and put away; then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more evil than himself, and they enter and live there, and the last thing for that person is worse than the first” (Luke 11:24-26).

So, if repentance cleanses us from the defilement of our soul, then the communion of the Body and Blood of the Lord will fill us with grace and block the return into our soul of the evil spirit expelled by repentance. At the same time, no matter how necessary the communion of the Body and Blood of Christ is for us, it cannot take place if repentance does not precede it. The Apostle Paul writes: “…whoever eats this bread and drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily will be guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord. Let man examine himself, and in this way let him eat of this bread and drink of this cup. For whoever eats and drinks unworthily eats and drinks condemnation for himself, without considering the Body of the Lord. That is why many of you are weak and sick, and many are dying” (1 Cor. 11:27-30). As we see from the words of the Apostle Paul, the Sacrament of Communion will be effective only with proper preparation for it, with previous self-examination and repentance of sins. And if the latter did not exist, then the person is doomed to weakness, illness and even death.

What could serve as an indicator for us that we have prepared properly for the Sacrament of Communion? Here is the opinion of the Venerable Simeon the New Theologian on this matter: “Once, when the divinely inspired words of our holy father Simeon of Studium were read: “Brother, never receive communion without tears...” - then the listeners, hearing this - and there were many of them here, not only laymen, but also monks who were famous and renowned for their virtue - they were surprised at this word and, looking at each other, smiling, said unanimously, as if in one voice, “It follows that we will never receive communion, but we must all remain without communion...”. Next, the Monk Simeon examines the features of an active life, full of labors of repentance, that those who go through such a life receive a tender, sensitive heart and tenderness, and for them tears will always accompany communion. Those who spend their lives in self-indulgence, who are lazy, careless, do not repent and do not humble themselves, will always remain with a callous, cruel heart and will not know what tears are like during communion.

As Archbishop Arseny (Chudovskoy) writes, “it is a great thing to receive the Holy Mysteries and the fruits from this are great: the renewal of our hearts by the Holy Spirit, a blissful mood of spirit. And as great as this task is, it requires so much preparation from us. Therefore, if you want to receive the grace of God from Holy Communion, try your best to correct your heart.” However, here we should also remember the words of St. Theophan the Recluse: “The effect of the Sacraments is not always reflected in the feeling, but also acts in secret.”

How often should you receive Holy Communion?

In the fourth petition of the Lord's Prayer, we ask for the daily gift of our “daily bread.” According to the interpretation of many Church Fathers, these words should most likely not mean ordinary bread and food, which God gives us in abundance without our asking (see Matt. 6:31-32). Thus, Saint Cyprian writes: “We call Christ our bread, because He is the Bread of those who eat His Body... We ask this bread to be given to us every day, being in the temple and receiving the Eucharist every day as food for salvation, in the sense that no grave sin occurred and we were not forbidden to partake of this Heavenly Bread... That is why we ask you to give us our Bread, that is, Christ, every day, so that we, who are in Christ, may never retreat from the sanctification of His Body.”

Saint John Cassian the Roman writes on the same issue: “Give us this day our daily bread.” “Essential”, i.e. “super-essential” - the highest of all essences, which can only be the Bread that came down from heaven. When it is said “today,” it is shown that eating it yesterday is not enough if it is not also taught to us now, in convincing us of the daily need to pour out this prayer at all times, since there is no day on which it would not be necessary to strengthen the heart of our inner man by accepting and eating this bread.” And here is the opinion of St. Basil the Great about this. In a letter to Caesarea, he writes: “It is good and useful to commune and receive the Holy Body and Blood of Christ every day. We receive communion four times a week: on Sunday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, as well as on those days when there is a memory of a saint.” The Monk Nil of Sorsky received Holy Communion daily and said that this “apparently supports the strength of the soul and body.” Saint Ambrose of Milan thought the same. In the book on the Sacraments, he writes: “If the Blood is shed many times, which is poured out for the remission of our sins, then we must always accept it so that my sins are forgiven; and if I always sin, then I always need healing... Take every day what can heal you. Live so that you will always be worthy of this acceptance (i.e., communion).”

Saint Theophan the Recluse also blessed one of his spiritual children to receive communion from the reserve Holy Gifts every day. Righteous John of Kronstadt pointed to the forgotten apostolic rule to excommunicate those who have not received Holy Communion for three weeks.

The Venerable Seraphim of Sarov commanded the Diveyevo sisters to “unacceptably confess and partake of all fasts and, in addition, the twelfth and major holidays: the more often, the better, without tormenting yourself with the thought that you are unworthy; and one should not miss the opportunity to use the grace bestowed by communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ as often as possible. The grace bestowed by communion is so great that no matter how unworthy and no matter how sinful a person may be, if only in the humble consciousness of his great sinfulness he approaches the Lord, who redeems us all, even if covered from head to toe with the sores of sins, then there will be to be purified by the grace of Christ, becomes more and more bright, will become completely enlightened and will be saved.”

Of course, it is very good to take communion on your name day and birthday, and for spouses on their wedding day. Reverend Alexy Zosimovsky recommended that his spiritual children also take communion on the memorable days of their deceased loved ones - on the days of their death and name day. This contributes to the unity in Christ of the living and those who have departed to another world.

If you want to receive communion even more often (maybe even every day), you need to follow this instruction of St. Simeon the New Theologian: “Whoever does not reveal the secrets of his heart every day, who does not bring due repentance for them and for the things he has done out of ignorance, who does not go around crying and always complaining and does not carefully pass what was said before, he is truly unworthy [of daily communion]. And whoever does all this and carries out the course of his life with sighs and tears is very worthy to be a partaker of the Divine Mysteries, and not only on holidays, but also every day, and even - although I will boldly say - from the very beginning of his repentance and conversion.” .

As Archbishop Arseny (Chudovskoy) writes, “constant communion should be the ideal of all Christians. But the enemy of the human race immediately realized what power the Lord had given us in the Holy Mysteries. And he began the work of turning Christians away from Holy Communion. From the history of Christianity we know that at first Christians received communion daily, then four times a week, then on Sundays and holidays, and then during all fasts, i.e. four times a year, finally barely once a year, and others and even less often.” “A Christian must always be ready for both death and communion,” said one of the spiritual fathers. So, it is up to us to frequently participate in the Last Supper of Christ and to receive at it the great grace of the Mysteries of the Body and Blood of Christ. And if the heart lives entirely in God - both in deeds, in words, and in thoughts, if a Christian cries in his soul for every sin and has the goal of his life to please God and to acquire the Holy Spirit of God, then he has no obstacles to daily communion of the Holy Mysteries , as Christians of the first centuries did and as Simeon the New Theologian writes about this. One of the wise modern shepherds, Fr. Valentin Sventsitsky writes: “Spiritual life is not abstract theology, but real and most undoubted life in Christ. But how can it begin if you do not accept the fullness of the Spirit of Christ in this terrible and great Sacrament? How, without accepting the Flesh and Blood of Christ, will you be in Him? And here, as if in repentance, the enemy will not leave you without attacks. And here he will plot all sorts of intrigues for you. He will erect many external and internal barriers. Either you will have no time, then you will feel unhealthy, or you will want to. set aside for a while “to prepare better.” Do not listen. Go. Confess. Take communion. You don’t know when the Lord will call you.”

Let every soul listen sensitively in its heart and be afraid to hear the hand of the Distinguished Guest knocking on its door; let her be afraid that her hearing will become coarse from the vanity of the world and will not be able to hear the quiet and gentle calls coming from the Kingdom of Light. Let the soul be afraid of replacing the experience of heavenly joy of unity with the Lord with the muddy entertainments of the world or the base consolations of bodily nature. And when she is able to tear herself away from the world and everything sensory, when she yearns for the light of the heavenly world and reaches out to the Lord, let her dare to unite with Him in the great Sacrament, while dressing herself in the spiritual clothes of sincere repentance and the deepest humility and the unchanging fullness of spiritual poverty. Let also not the soul be embarrassed because, despite all its repentance, it is still unworthy of communion. The righteous Alexy Mechev says about this: “Take communion more often and do not say that you are unworthy. If you talk like that, you will never receive communion, because you will never be worthy. Do you think that there is at least one person on earth worthy of receiving the Holy Mysteries? No one deserves this, and if we do receive communion, it is only by the special mercy of God. We are not created for Communion, but Communion is for us. It is we - sinners, unworthy, weak - who more than anyone need this saving source.”

Why don’t we still receive the blessings of our spiritual fathers for more frequent communion? Only because of our hardness of heart and negligence, because with our sinful life and lack of constant repentance and sobriety, we would begin to accept the Body and Blood of the Lord unworthily.

If Christians of the first centuries tried to approach the Holy Chalice every day, then in the 19th century many Christians in Russia considered the sacrament a dying parting word. In our time, the desire to receive communion frequently has been revived. However, knowing that the Chalice must be started after careful preparation - fasting, many cannot find the strength and time for fasting (which thereby turns into an end in itself).

The basis for deciding the question of how often we need to receive communion is the degree of preparedness of the soul, its zeal, its love for the Lord, its power of repentance. Therefore, the Church leaves this issue to priests and spiritual fathers to decide. It is with the spiritual father that one must agree on how often to take communion, for how long and how strictly to fast before it. Different priests bless in different ways, but to each according to his ability. For people seeking to churchize their lives, many modern pastors recommend taking communion one to two times a month. Sometimes priests bless more frequent communion, but this is the exception rather than the rule. Of course, you cannot take communion “for show,” for the sake of fulfilling certain quantitative norms. The sacrament of the Eucharist should become for an Orthodox Christian a need of the soul, without which it is impossible to live.

About preparation for Communion of the Holy Mysteries

Anyone who wishes to worthily receive communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ must prayerfully prepare himself for this in two or three days: pray at home in the morning and evening, attend church services. Before the day of communion, you must be at the evening service. To the home evening prayers is added (from the prayer book) the rule for Holy Communion. Its size is determined by the spiritual father. Usually it includes the canons: repentance to the Lord Jesus Christ, prayer service to the Most Holy Theotokos, Guardian Angel, as well as the Follow-up to Holy Communion.

At the same time, we must take into account the following instructions of the righteous John of Kronstadt: “some put all their well-being and service before God in reading all the prescribed prayers, not paying attention to the readiness of the heart for God - to their internal correction; for example, many read the rule for Communion this way. Meanwhile, here, first of all, we must look at the correction of our life and the readiness of the heart to receive the Holy Mysteries. If your heart has become right in your womb, by the grace of God, if it is ready to meet the Bridegroom, then thank God, although you did not have time to read all the prayers. The kingdom of God is not in word, but in power” (1 Cor. 4:20). It is good to obey the Mother Church in everything, but with prudence; and, if possible, “he who is able to accommodate” the long prayer “may he accommodate.” But “not all can bear this word” (Matthew 19:11; see also v. 12); if prolonged prayer is incompatible with fervor of the spirit, it is better to say a short but fervent prayer. Remember that one word of the publican, spoken from a warm heart, justified him. God does not look at the multitude of words, but at the disposition of the heart. The main thing is the living faith of the heart and the warmth of repentance for sins.” Prayer is combined with abstinence from fast food - meat, eggs, milk and dairy products, during strict fasting and from fish. The rest of your food should be kept in moderation.

Those who wish to receive communion must, preferably the day before, before or after the evening service, bring sincere repentance of their sins to the priest, sincerely revealing their soul and not hiding a single sin. Before confession, you must certainly reconcile both with your offenders and with those whom you have offended. During confession, it is better not to wait for the priest’s questions, but to express to him everything that is on your conscience, without justifying yourself in anything and without shifting the blame to others. Under no circumstances should you condemn someone or talk about the sins of others during confession. If it is not possible to confess in the evening, you need to do this before the start of the liturgy, or, in extreme cases, before the Cherubic Song. Without confession, no one, except infants under seven years of age, can be admitted to Holy Communion. After midnight, it is forbidden to eat or drink; you must come to Communion strictly on an empty stomach. Children should also be taught to abstain from food and drink before Holy Communion.

How to approach the Holy Chalice?

Each communicant needs to know well how to approach the Holy Chalice so that communion occurs orderly and without fuss.

Before the Chalice one must bow to the ground. If there are many communicants, then in order not to disturb others, you need to bow in advance.
When the royal doors open, you must cross yourself and fold your hands crosswise on your chest, your right hand on top of your left, and with this folding of your hands you must receive communion; you need to move away from the Chalice without taking your hands off
You must approach from the right side of the temple, and leave the left free.
The altar servers receive communion first, then the monks, the children, and only then everyone else. You need to give way to your neighbors, and under no circumstances push.
Women need to wipe off their lipstick before communion.
Approaching the Chalice, you should loudly and clearly call your name, accept the Holy Gifts, chew them (if necessary) and immediately swallow them, and kiss the lower edge of the Chalice like the rib of Christ.
You cannot touch the Chalice with your hands and kiss the priest’s hand.
It is forbidden to be baptized at the Chalice! Raising your hand to make the sign of the cross, you can accidentally push the priest and spill the Holy Gifts.
Having gone to the table with a drink, you need to eat the antidor and drink the warmth. Only after this can you venerate the icons and talk.
If the Holy Gifts are given from several Chalice, they can only be received from one. You cannot receive communion twice a day.
On the day of Communion, it is not customary to kneel, with the exception of bows during Great Lent when reading the prayer of Ephraim the Syrian, bows before the Shroud of Christ on Holy Saturday and kneeling prayers on the day of the Holy Trinity.
Arriving home, you should first of all read prayers of thanksgiving for Holy Communion; if they are read in church at the end of the service, you need to listen to the prayers there. After communion, you should also not spit out anything or rinse your mouth until the morning. Participants should try to protect themselves from idle talk, especially from condemnation, and to avoid idle talk, they must read the Gospel, the Jesus Prayer, akathists, and Holy Scripture.

Communion to the Sick

This observance is a special type of teaching the Sacrament of the Eucharist to people who, due to serious illness, cannot be in church when the Sacrament is celebrated at the full liturgy and cannot participate in its reception. In this case, the ancient Church, forbearing the infirmities of the sick and looking at the Sacrament as the best and most faithful healing of soul and body, sent the Holy Gifts to the faithful at home. The Church does the same now. According to the custom of the Orthodox Church, the Holy Gifts for the sick are prepared on Holy Thursday, but they can be prepared at any other time during the full liturgy. For this purpose, a second lamb is prepared, and in those churches where the liturgy is celebrated daily, only part of the liturgical lamb is set aside. A whole lamb or part of a lamb is prepared for teaching to the sick in the same way as for the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, as directed by the teaching message.

The very sequence of communion for the sick has the following order: The priest takes part of the Holy Mysteries, puts it into the chalice and pours in as much wine as the sick person can comfortably take. After the usual beginning, they read: “Come, let us worship” three times, the Symbol of Faith and prayer for Holy Communion. Then the patient prepared in this way confesses and receives absolution from sins, if he has not been confessed, and otherwise directly receives communion. After communion they read: Now do you let us go, the Trisagion, Our Father, the troparion of the day, the Theotokos and the dismissal of the present day.

Following to Holy Communion

Through the prayers of the saints, our fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us. Amen.

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.

Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us. (Three times)

Most Holy Trinity, have mercy on us; Lord, cleanse our sins; Master, forgive our iniquities; Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities, for Thy name's sake.

Lord have mercy. (Thrice)

Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

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.

Lord have mercy. (12 times)

Come, let us worship our King God. (Bow)

Come, let us worship and fall down before Christ, our King God. (Bow)

Come, let us bow and fall down to Christ Himself, the King and our God. (Bow)