1st Hour (Prime Prayers)

INTRODUCTION TO EVERY HOUR

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen.

Kyrie eleison, Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy, Lord bless us. Amen.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now and forever and unto the age of all ages. Amen.

Make us worthy to pray thankfully:

Our Father Who art in heaven; hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread.  And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, in Christ Jesus our Lord. For Thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, forever. Amen.

 

THE PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING

Let us give thanks to the Beneficent and Merciful God, the Father of our Lord, God and Saviour, Jesus Christ. For He has covered us, helped us, guarded us, accepted us to Himself, spared us, supported us, and has brought us to this hour. Let us also ask Him to guard us in all peace this holy day and all the days of our life, the Pantocrator, the Lord our God.

O Master, Lord, God the Pantocrator, the Father of our Lord, God and Saviour Jesus Christ, we thank You for everything, concerning everything, and in everything. For You have covered us, helped us, guarded us, accepted us to Yourself, spared us, supported us, and have brought us to this hour. Therefore, we ask and entreat Your goodness, O Lover of Mankind, grant us to complete this holy day, and all the days of our life in all peace with Your fear.

All envy, all temptation, all the work of Satan, the counsel of wicked men, and the rising up of enemies, hidden and manifest, take them away from us, and from all Your people, and from this Your holy place. But those things which are good and profitable do provide for us, for it is You who have given us the authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and upon all the power of the enemy. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

Through the grace, compassion and love-of-mankind, of Your only-Begotten Son, our Lord, God and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Through whom the glory, the honour, the dominion, and the worship are due unto You, with Him, and the Holy Spirit, the Giver of Life, who is of one essence with You, now and at all times, and unto the age of all ages. Amen.

 

PSALM 50

Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your great mercy; and according to the multitude of Your compassions blot out my iniquity. Was me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I am conscious of my iniquity; and my sin is at all times before me.

Against You only I have sinned, and done evil before You, that You might be just in Your sayings, and might overcome when You are judged. For, behold, I was conceived in iniquities, and in sins my mother conceived me.

For, behold, You have loved the truth; You have manifested to me the hidden and unrevealed things of Your wisdom. You shall sprinkle me with Your hyssop, and I shall be purified. You shall wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow. You shall make me to hear gladness and joy; the humbled bones shall rejoice.

Turn away Your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit in my inward parts. Do not cast me away from Your face; and do not remove Your Hold Spirit from me. Give me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me with a directing spirit. Then I shall teach the transgressors Your ways; and the ungodly men shall turn to You.

Deliver me from blood, O God, the God of my salvation, and my tongue shall rejoice in Your righteousness. O Lord, You shall open my lips, and my mouth shall declare Your praise. For if you desired sacrifice, I would have given it; You do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifice of God is a broken spirit; a broken and humbled heart God shall not despise.

Do good, O Lord, in Your good pleasure to Zion; and let the walls of Jerusalem be built. Then You shall be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, offering, and burnt sacrifices; then they shall offer calves upon Your Altar. Alleluia.

 

PRIME HOUR PRAYERS

Come let us kneel down, let us ask Christ our God.

Come let us kneel down, let us beseech Christ our King.

Come let us kneel down, let us entreat Christ our Saviour.

O Lord Jesus Christ, the Word of God, our God, through the intercession of the Saint Mary and all Your saints, preserve us, and bring us to a good start. Have mercy on us according to Your will forever.

The night has passed; we thank You, O Lord, and we ask You to keep us this day away from sin and deliver us.

 

PAULINE EPISTLE

A passage from the Epistle of our teacher St. Paul, the Apostle, to the Ephesians.

“I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that you walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism.”

One is God the Father of everyone. One is His Son Jesus Christ the Word, who took flesh and died and rose from the dead on the third day, and raised us with Him. One is the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, one in His hypostasis, proceeding from the Father, purifying the whole creation, and teaching us to worship the Holy Trinity, one in Divinity and one in essence. We praise Him and bless Him forever. Amen.

 

The Morning prayer of this blessed day, we offer to Christ our king and our God, beseeching Him to forgive us our sins.

From the Psalms of our father David, the prophet and the king, may his blessings be with upon us all. Amen.            

 

PSALM 1

Blessed is the man who has not walked in the counsel of the ungodly, and has not stood in the way of the sinners, and has not sat in the seat of the evil men. But his will is in the law of the Lord; and in His law he shall meditate day and night. He shall be like the tree which is planted by the streams of water, which shall yield its fruit in its due season, and its leaf shall not scatter, and in everything he does he prospers.

Not so are the ungodly, not so; but rather they are like the chaff which the wind scatters upon the face of the earth. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in judgement, nor the sinners in the council of the righteous. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish. Alleluia

 

GOSPEL

Holy, Holy, Holy. A passage from the Gospel according to Saint John, may his blessings be with us all. Amen.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men trough him might believe. He was not the Light, but was sent to bear witness to the Light. That was the true Light that gives light to every man coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world did not know Him. He came unto His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in His name; who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word became flesh, and dwelt in us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only-begotten of His Father, full of grace and truth. John bore witness of Him, and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me: for He was before me.’” And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. Glory be to God forever. Amen.

 

LITANIES

We worship You O Christ, with your Good Father and the Holy Spirit for you have come and saved us. Have mercy on us.

O the true Light that gives light to every man coming into the world, You came into the world through Your love for mankind, and all creation rejoiced in Your coming. You saved our father, Adam, from the seduction, and delivered our mother, Eve, from the pangs of death, and gave us the spirit of sonship. Let us, therefore, praise You and bless You saying:

 “Zoksapatri ke Eiyou-ke agi-you epnevmaty” (Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.)

As the daylight shines upon us, O Christ our God, the true Light, let the luminous senses and the bright thoughts shine within us, and do not let the darkness of passions hover over us, that mindfully we may praise You with David saying, “My eyes hastened to awake before the dawn, that I might meditate on Your sayings.” Hear our voices according to your great mercy, and deliver us, O Lord our God, through Your compassion.

 “Kenin ea a-ee ke-ic-touce e-on-ace ton e-onon Amen.”(Both now and forever and unto the age of all ages, Amen.)

You are the honored Mother of the Light; from the risings of the sun to its settings praises are offered to you, O Mother of God (Theotokos), the second heaven, for you are the bright and unchanging flower, and the ever virgin Mother; for the Father chose you, and the Holy Spirit overshadowed you, and the Son condescended and took flesh from you. Therefore, ask Him to give salvation to the world which He created, and to deliver it from all tribulations. Let us praise Him a new praise, and bless Him, now and forever and unto the ages of all ages. Amen.

 

FIRST ABSOLUTION

O Lord, God of hosts, Who exists before all ages and abides forever, who created the sun for daylight, and the night as rest for all men; we thank You, O King of ages, because You have let us pass through the night in peace, and brought us to the daybreak. Therefore, we ask You, O our Master, the King of all ages, let Your face shine upon us, and the light of Your divine knowledge enlighten us.

Grant us, O Our Master, to be sons of light and sons of day, to pass this day in righteousness, chastity and good conduct, and that we may complete the rest of the days of our life without offence; through the grace, the compassion, and the love of mankind of Your only-begotten Son Jesus Christ, and the gift of the Holy Spirit, now and at all times and forever. Amen.

 

SECOND ABSOLUTION

O God who causes the light to burst forth, who lets His sun shine upon the righteous and the wicked, who created the light which illuminates the whole world, enlighten our minds, our hearts and our understandings, O Master of all, and grant us to please You this present day. Guard us from every bad thing, from every sin and from every adversative power; through Christ Jesus our Lord, with Whom You are blessed, with the Holy Spirit, the Life-Giver and one essence with You, now and at all times and unto the ages of all ages. Amen.

 

THE CONCLUSION OF EVERY HOUR

Have mercy on us, O God, and have mercy on us, who at all times and in every hour, in heaven and on earth, is worshipped and glorified; Christ our God, the good, the long suffering, the abundant in mercy, and the great in compassion, who loves the righteous and has mercy on the sinners of whom I am chief, who does not wish the death of the sinner but rather that he returns and lives, who calls all to salvation for the promise of the good things to come.

Lord receive from us our prayers in this hour and every hour. Ease our life and guide us to fulfill Your commandments. Sanctify our spirits. Cleanse our bodies. Conduct our thoughts. Purify our intentions. Heal our diseases. Forgive our sins. Deliver us from every evil grief and distress of heart. Surround us by Your hold angels, that, by their camp, we may be guarded and guided, and attain the unity of faith, and the knowledge of Your imperceptible and infinite glory. For You are blessed forever. Amen.