Prayer Our Father - text, interpretation. The literal translation of the prayer of our father from Aramaic is an enchanted soul

For a person of the Orthodox faith, the prayer "Our Father" is one of the paramount.

It is easy to find it in all canons and prayer books. Saying this prayer, the believer directly addresses God without the participation of the angels of heaven and saints.

As if God told him how to talk to him.

The full text in Russian looks like this:

Our Father who art in heaven!

May your name be hallowed.

May your kingdom come.

May Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us our daily bread for this day.

And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors.

For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.

The text is unique, because it combines repentance, petition, thanksgiving to God and intercession before the Almighty.

Important Rules

In order to correctly ask or thank the Father for something, you must adhere to several rules for reading a prayer:

• there is no need to treat the reading of a prayer as an obligatory and routine matter, performed mechanically. In this petition, everything must be sincere and from a pure heart;
• it has a strengthening effect on the spirit, protects from the manifestation of satanic forces, and also delivers from sinful impulses;
• if a reservation occurs during prayer, you need to say: “Lord, have mercy”, cross yourself and only then continue your reading;
• this prayer refers to the obligatory reading in the morning and evening, as well as before eating and before starting any business.

Prayer Our Father with accents

Our Father, Thou art in heaven!

Hallowed be thy name,

May your kingdom come,

May Your will be done

like in heaven and on earth.

Give us our daily bread today;

And leave us our debts,

as we also leave our debtors;

And lead us not into temptation,

But deliver us from the evil one.

What do the words of the prayer Our Father mean

Jesus Christ gave his disciples a direct prayer-appeal to the Almighty when they began to ask him to teach him how to pray correctly and be heard.

Then the Savior made it possible to speak with God, to repent of our sins, to ask for protection from everything, bread, and, moreover, to have the opportunity to praise the Creator.

If you disassemble the words and translate them into the Russian language familiar to everyone, then everything will look like this:

• Father - Father;
• Izhe - which;
• Who art in heaven - heavenly or who lives in heaven;
• yes - let;
• sanctified - glorified;
• like - how;
• in heaven - in heaven;
• essential - necessary for life;
• give - give;
• today - today, today;
• leave - forgive;
• debts are sins;
• our debtors - those people in whom there is sin before us;
• temptation - the danger of falling into sin, temptation;
• crafty - everything cunning and evil, that is, the devil. The devil is called a crafty, evil spirit.

Saying: “Hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come,” we ask for strength and wisdom to live right.

To glorify the name of the Almighty with our deeds: "Glory forever." We urge you to honor an earthly kingdom here on earth and thereby feel the grace of the heavenly Kingdom, where there is the kingdom and the power and glory of the Lord Himself. "Hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come."

We ask “Thy will be done on earth as in heaven, give us our daily bread for this day”, meaning everything that a person needs for life, however, first of all, we ask for the Holy Blood and the Most Pure Body in the sacrament of Holy Communion without which it is not possible to receive forgiveness in eternal life.

There is also a request for the forgiveness of debts (sins), as each of the believers forgives those who have sinned against them, offended or offended. A request to take away from any temptations and the influence of evil forces.

This last petition also includes protection from all evil that can await a person not only on the path to eternal life, but also what exists in the real world and occurs every day. "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."

Prayer "Our Father" in the Memoirs of the Prophets

The apostle Paul writes: “Pray without ceasing. Be constant in prayer, being vigilant, on it with thanksgiving. Pray at all times in the spirit." This emphasizes the importance of the prayer "Our Father" for each person.

All the followers of the Lord Jesus Christ talk about it in their books.

Prayer "Our Father" from Matthew:

Our Father who art in heaven!

May your name be hallowed;

Let your kingdom come;

Give us our daily bread for this day;

And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors;

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Prayer "Our Father" from Luke

Our Father who art in heaven!

May your name be hallowed;

Let your kingdom come;

May Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven;

Give us our daily bread for every day;

And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive every debtor of ours;

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

Following the instructions of John the Theologian, a person must constantly be in dialogue with God and perceive the world around him and the living beings living in it also through him.

Such behavior is the life of an immortal soul and the knowledge of this nobility every moment. This glorifies the great benevolence of the Father now and always.

He speaks more than once about the grace-filled power that the petition of the Lord's Prayer gives:

“Pray to God when you are in a position to pray; pray when you are not in the mood for prayer; pray to God until you feel the disposition to pray.”

Like John, so Christ himself called on the believers to "obey all," referring to God. Only he knows what will be right for everyone living on Earth.

Everything is hidden in the Word of God to make a person happy and lead him to eternal life, because the Heavenly Father loves all people and longs to hear their prayers.

We pray every day

You should not think that this is the only way to pray. This idea is not entirely correct. Followers of Christ encouraged people to "walk in God."

Christ said that a person's conversion must be sincere and pure, then the Father will hear everything. Our hearts speak of both great needs and small ones, however, “a good son who does not attach himself to earthly things will find it easier to find spiritual things.”

It is not so important whether a person turns to the Father in the temple or at home. The important thing is that the human soul is immortal and it glorifies the Father and the Son.

Daily communion with God will not be complete without words to His Son: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner,” because all good is available thanks to the sacrifice of Jesus.

This can be an example of the Lord's Prayer short version. Even just listening to the prayer “Our Father” in Russian will benefit the believing person.

It makes no difference whether the text of the prayer is in Russian or in Church Slavonic. The main thing is that a person never forgets the Lord's Prayer "Our Father", because neither before the glory, nor later will there be more than the Almighty has.

The text of the prayer "Our Father" in Russian:

Our Father who art in heaven!
May your name be hallowed;
Let your kingdom come;
may Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven;
Give us our daily bread for this day;
And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors;
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

The text of the prayer "Our Father" in Church Slavonic (with accents):

Our Father, who art in heaven!
Hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come,
May Thy will be done, as in heaven and on earth.
Give us our daily bread today;
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors;
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

Interpretation of the prayer "Our Father":

Our Father, Who art in Heaven! See how He immediately encouraged the listener and at the very beginning remembered all the blessings of God! Indeed, he who calls God father, and by this name alone confesses both the forgiveness of sins, and the release from punishment, and justification, and sanctification, and redemption, and sonification, and inheritance, and brotherhood with the Only Begotten, and the gift of the spirit, since he who has not received all these blessings cannot name God Father. Thus, Christ inspires His listeners in two ways: both by the dignity of those who are called, and by the greatness of the benefits they received.

When he speaks Heaven, then with this word it does not contain God in heaven, but distracts the one who prays from the earth and sets him up in lofty countries and in high dwellings.

Further, with these words He teaches us to pray for all brothers. He does not say: "My Father, who art in Heaven", but - Our Father, and thus commands to offer up prayers for the whole human race and never have in mind your own benefits, but always strive for the benefits of your neighbor. And in this way it destroys enmity, and overthrows pride, and destroys envy, and introduces love - the mother of all good things; destroys the inequality of human affairs and shows complete equality between the king and the poor, since we all have an equal share in the highest and most necessary affairs. Indeed, what is the harm from low kinship, when we are all united by heavenly kinship and no one has anything more than another: neither the rich is more than the poor, nor the master is more than a slave, nor the leader of the subordinate, nor the king is more than a warrior, nor the philosopher is more than a barbarian, nor the wise more ignorant? God, who deigned to call Himself Father equally to all, through this granted to all one nobility.

So, having mentioned this nobility, the highest gift, the unity of honor and love between the brethren, distracting the listeners from the earth and placing them in heaven - let's see what, finally, Jesus commands to pray. Of course, the title of God the Father also contains a sufficient teaching about every virtue: whoever called God the Father, and the Father in common, must necessarily live in such a way as not to be unworthy of this nobility and show zeal equal to the gift. However, the Savior was not satisfied with this name, but added other sayings.

May your name be hallowed He says. Do not ask for anything before the glory of the Heavenly Father, but consider everything below His praise, this is a prayer worthy of one who calls God the Father! Yes, shine means to be famous. God has his own glory, full of all majesty and never changing. But the Savior commands the one who prays to ask that God be glorified by our life. He said this before: So let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in Heaven. (Matthew 5:16). And the Seraphim, praising God, cry out like this: Holy, Holy, Holy! (Isaiah 6:3). So, yes shine means to be famous. Vouchsafe us, - as if the Savior teaches us to pray like this, - to live so pure that through us all glorify You. To show unreproachable life before everyone, so that each of those who see it praises the Lord - this is a sign of perfect wisdom.

Let Your Kingdom Come. And these words are appropriate for a good son, who does not attach himself to visible things and does not regard present blessings as something great, but strives for the Father and desires future blessings. Such prayer comes from a good conscience and a soul free from everything earthly.

This is what the apostle Paul wished every day, which is why he said: and we ourselves, having the firstfruits of the Spirit, and we groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption of the redemption of our body (Rom. 8:23). Whoever has such love can neither become proud in the midst of the blessings of this life, nor despair in the midst of sorrows, but, as one who lives in heaven, is free from both extremes.

May Thy will be done, as in heaven and on earth. Do you see a great connection? He first commanded to wish for the future and strive for his fatherland, but until this happens, those living here should try to lead such a life as is characteristic of the celestials. One must desire, He says, heaven and heavenly things. However, even before reaching heaven, He commanded us to make the earth heaven and, living on it, behave in everything as if we were in heaven, and pray to the Lord about this. Indeed, the fact that we live on earth does not hinder us in the least from achieving the perfection of the higher Forces. But you can, even living here, do everything as if we were living in heaven.

So, the meaning of the words of the Savior is this: as in heaven everything happens without hindrance and it does not happen that the angels obey in one, and do not obey in another, but obey and submit in everything (because it is said: mighty in strength, who do His word - Ps. 102, 20) - so do us, people, not do Your will in half, but do everything as You please.

You see? – Christ taught us to humble ourselves when He showed that virtue depends not only on our jealousy, but also on the grace of heaven, and at the same time commanded each of us during prayer to take care of the universe. He did not say, “Thy will be done in me” or “in us,” but throughout the whole earth—that is, that all error should be destroyed and truth planted, that all malice be driven out and virtue return, and so that nothing heaven did not differ from earth. If this is the case, He says, then the lower will not differ in any way from the higher, although they are different in nature; then the earth will show us other angels.

Give us our daily bread today. What is daily bread? Everyday. Since Christ said: Thy will be done, as in heaven and on earth, and He talked with people clothed with flesh, who are subject to the necessary laws of nature and cannot have angelic dispassion, although He commands us to fulfill the commandments in the same way as Angels fulfill them, however, he condescends to the weakness of nature and, as it were, says: “I I demand from you an equal angelic severity of life, however, without demanding dispassion, since your nature does not allow this, which has the necessary need for food.

Look, however, as in the bodily there is a lot of spirituality! The Savior commanded us to pray not for wealth, not for pleasures, not for valuable clothes, not for anything else like that - but only for bread, and, moreover, for everyday bread, so that we do not worry about tomorrow, which is why he added: daily bread i.e. everyday. Even with this word he was not satisfied, but he added another after that: give us today so that we do not overwhelm ourselves with concern for the coming day. Indeed, if you don't know if you will see tomorrow, then why bother worrying about it? This the Savior commanded, and then later in his sermon: Don't care , - He speaks, - about tomorrow (Matthew 6:34). He wants us to always be girded and inspired by faith and not yield more to nature than the necessary need requires of us.

Further, since it happens to sin even after the font of rebirth (that is, the Sacrament of Baptism. - Comp.), then the Savior, wanting in this case to show His great philanthropy, commands us to approach the philanthropic God with a prayer for the remission of our sins and say this: And leave us our debts, as we leave our debtors.

Do you see the abyss of God's mercy? After taking away so many evils and after the inexpressibly great gift of justification, He again vouchsafes forgiveness to those who sin.<…>

With a reminder of sins, He inspires us with humility; by the command to let others go, he destroys rancor in us, and by the promise of forgiveness to us for this, he affirms good hopes in us and teaches us to reflect on the indescribable love of God.

It is especially noteworthy that in each of the above petitions He mentioned all the virtues, and this last petition also includes rancor. And the fact that the name of God is sanctified through us is an undeniable proof of a perfect life; and that His will be done shows the same thing; and that we call God the Father is the sign of a blameless life. In all this already lies what should leave wrath on those who offend us; However, the Savior was not satisfied with this, but, wanting to show what care He has for the eradication of rancor among us, he specifically speaks about this and after prayer he recalls not some other commandment, but the commandment of forgiveness, saying: For if you forgive people their trespasses, your heavenly Father will forgive you (Matthew 6:14).

Thus, this absolution initially depends on us, and the judgment that is pronounced against us lies in our power. So that none of the foolish, being condemned for a great or small crime, has the right to complain about the court, the Savior makes you, the most guilty, a judge over himself and, as it were, says: what kind of judgment will you pronounce about yourself, the same judgment and I I will speak about you; if you forgive your brother, then you will receive the same benefit from me - although this last is actually much more important than the first. You forgive another because you yourself have a need for forgiveness, and God forgives, having no need for anything himself; you forgive a colleague, and God forgives a servant; you are guilty of countless sins, and God is sinless

On the other hand, the Lord shows His philanthropy by the fact that even if He could forgive You all Sins without your work, He wants to do good to You in this, in everything to provide you with occasions and incentives for meekness and philanthropy - he drives out atrocities from you, extinguishes the anger in you and in every possible way wants to unite you with your members. What will you say about that? Is it that you unjustly endured some evil from your neighbor? If so, then surely your neighbor has sinned against you; but if you have suffered in justice, this does not constitute sin in him. But you, too, approach God with the intention of receiving forgiveness for similar and even much greater sins. Moreover, even before forgiveness, how little did you receive, when you had already learned to keep the human soul in yourself and were instructed in meekness? Moreover, a great reward awaits you in the age to come, because then you will not be required to account for any of your sins. What punishment, then, shall we be worthy of, if, even after receiving such rights, we leave our salvation unnoticed? Will the Lord listen to our petitions when we do not feel sorry for ourselves where everything is in our power?

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. Here the Savior clearly shows our insignificance and casts down pride, teaching us not to give up heroic deeds and arbitrarily rush to them; thus for us the victory will be more brilliant, and for the devil the defeat is more sensitive. As soon as we are involved in the struggle, we must stand courageously; and if there is no challenge to her, then they should calmly wait for the time of exploits in order to show themselves both unconceited and courageous. Here, Christ calls the devil the evil one, commanding us to wage irreconcilable warfare against him and showing that he is not such by nature. Evil does not depend on nature, but on freedom. And that the devil is predominantly called evil, this is because of the extraordinary amount of evil that is in him, and because he, not being offended by anything from us, wages an irreconcilable battle against us. Therefore, the Savior did not say: "deliver us from the evil ones," but - from the evil one- and thus teaches us never to be angry with our neighbors for the insults that we sometimes endure from them, but to turn all our enmity against the devil as the originator of all evils. By reminding us of the enemy, having made us more cautious and stopped all our carelessness, He inspires us further, presenting to us that King under whose authority we are fighting, and showing that He is more powerful than all: Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen , says the Savior. So, if it is His Kingdom, then no one should be afraid, since no one resists Him and no one shares power with Him.

When the Savior says: Yours is the Kingdom, then it shows that even that enemy of ours is subordinate to God, although, apparently, he also resists by the permission of God. And he is from among the slaves, although condemned and outcast, and therefore does not dare to attack any of the slaves, without first having received power from above. And what am I saying: not one of the slaves? He did not even dare to attack the pigs until the Savior himself commanded; nor on flocks of sheep and oxen, until he received power from above.

And strength, Christ says. Therefore, although you were very weak, you must still be bold, having such a King, who can easily do all glorious works through you, And glory forever, Amen,

Saint John Chrysostom

Interpretation of the prayer Our Father
Complete interpretation of the prayer. Parsing each phrase

Prayer Our Father in Russian
Modern translation of the prayer into Russian

Church Pater Noster
This church contains prayers in all languages ​​of the world.

In the synodal translation of the Bible, Our Father, the text of the prayer is as follows:

Our Father who art in heaven! hallowed be thy name;
Let your kingdom come; may Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven;
Give us our daily bread for this day;
and forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors;
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Matt 6:9-13

Our Father who art in heaven! hallowed be thy name;
let your kingdom come; may Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven;
give us our daily bread for every day;
and forgive us our sins, for we also forgive every debtor of ours;
and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

Luke 11:2-4

Fragment of the Catholic Church Pater Noster (Our Father) in Jerusalem. The temple stands on the Mount of Olives, according to legend, Jesus taught the apostles the prayer "Our Father" right here. The walls of the temple are decorated with panels with the text of the Our Father prayer in more than 140 languages ​​of the world, including Ukrainian, Belarusian, Russian and Church Slavonic.

The first basilica was built in the 4th century. Shortly after the conquest of Jerusalem in 1187 by Sultan Saladin, the building was destroyed. In 1342, a fragment of a wall with an engraved prayer "Our Father" was found here. In the second half of the 19th century, the architect Andre Lecomte built a church, which was transferred to the Catholic female monastic order of barefoot Carmelites. Since then, the walls of the temple have been annually decorated with new panels with the text of the Lord's Prayer.

Fragment of the text of the prayer Our Father Church Slavonic in the temple Pater Noster in Jerusalem.

Our Father is the Lord's Prayer. Listen:

Interpretation of Our Father Prayer

Lord's Prayer:

“It happened that when Jesus was praying in one place, and stopped, one of His disciples said to Him: Lord! teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples” (Luke 11:1). In response to this request, the Lord entrusts His disciples and His Church with basic Christian prayer. The Evangelist Luke gives it in the form of a short text (of five petitions)1, while the Evangelist Matthew presents a more detailed version (of seven petitions)2. The liturgical tradition of the Church preserves the text of the Evangelist Matthew: (Matthew 6:9-13).

Our Father who art in heaven!
May your name be hallowed,
let your kingdom come,
let your will be done
and on earth as in heaven;
give us our daily bread this day;
and forgive us our debts,
just as we forgive our debtors;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.I

Very early, the liturgical use of the Lord's Prayer was supplemented by a concluding doxology. In the Didache (8:2): "For unto Thee is due power and glory forever." The Apostolic decrees (7, 24, 1) add the word "kingdom" at the beginning, and this formula has been preserved to this day in world prayer practice. Byzantine tradition adds after the word "glory" - "To the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit." The Roman Missal expands on the last petition3 in the clear perspective of "the expectation of the blessed promise" (Titus 2:13) and the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ; this is followed by the proclamation of the assembly, repeating the doxology of the Apostolic Ordinances.

Article One Interpretation prayers of our father (text)

I. At the Center of the Scriptures
Having shown that the Psalms constitute the main food of Christian prayer and merge in the petitions of the Lord's Prayer, St. Augustine concludes:
Look through all the prayers that are in the Scriptures, and I don't think you will find anything there that is not part of the Lord's Prayer.

All the Scriptures (the Law, the Prophets and the Psalms) were fulfilled in Christ7. The Gospel is this "Good News". Its first proclamation was set forth by the holy Evangelist Matthew in the Sermon on the Mount. And the prayer "Our Father" is at the center of this proclamation. It is in this context that each petition of the prayer bequeathed by the Lord is clarified:
The Lord's Prayer is the most perfect of prayers (...). In it we not only ask for everything that we can justly desire, but also ask in the order in which it is proper to desire it. Thus, this prayer not only teaches us to ask, but also shapes our whole state of mind9.

The Nagornaya is a teaching for life, and "Our Father" is a prayer; but in both, the Spirit of the Lord gives a new form to our desires - those inner movements that animate our life. Jesus teaches us this new life in His words, and He teaches us to ask for it in prayer. The authenticity of our prayer will determine the authenticity of our life in Him.

II. "The Lord's Prayer"
The traditional name "The Lord's Prayer" means that the prayer "Our Father" was given to us by the Lord Jesus, Who taught us it. This prayer, which we received from Jesus, is truly unique: it is "the Lord's." Indeed, on the one hand, with the words of this prayer, the Only Begotten Son gives us the words given to Him by the Father10: He is the Teacher of our prayer. On the other hand, as the Word incarnate, He knows in His human heart the needs of His brothers and sisters in humanity and reveals them to us: He is the Model of our prayer.

But Jesus does not leave us a formula that we must repeat mechanically. Here, as in all oral prayer, the Holy Spirit teaches the children of God to pray to their Father by the word of God. Jesus gives us not only the words of our filial prayer; at the same time He gives us the Spirit, by which these words become "spirit and life" in us (Jn 6:63). Moreover, the proof and possibility of our filial prayer is that the Father “sent into our hearts the Spirit of His Son, crying: “Abba, Father!” (Gal 4:6). Because our prayer interprets our desires before God, again, the “heart-searching” Father “knows the desires of the Spirit and that His intercession for the saints is in accordance with the will of God” (Rom 8:27). The prayer "Our Father" enters into the mystery of the mission of the Son and the Spirit.

III. Prayer of the Church
The indivisible gift of the words of the Lord and the Holy Spirit, which gives life to them in the hearts of believers, was received by the Church and lived in it from its foundation. The first congregations pray the Lord's Prayer "three times a day"12 instead of the "Eighteen Blessings" used in Jewish piety.

According to Apostolic Tradition, the Lord's Prayer is essentially rooted in liturgical prayer.

The Lord teaches us to pray together for all our brothers. For He does not say "My Father who art in heaven," but "Our Father," so that our prayer may be with one accord, for the whole body of the Church.

In all liturgical traditions, the Lord's Prayer is an integral part of the main moments of worship. But its ecclesiastical character is most clearly manifested in the three sacraments of Christian initiation:

In baptism and chrismation, the transmission (traditio) of the Lord's Prayer marks the new birth into divine life. Since Christian prayer is a conversation with God through the word of God Himself, "those reborn from the living word of God" (1 Peter 1:23) learn to cry out to their Father with the one Word that He always listens to. And from now on, they are able to do this, for the seal of the anointing of the Holy Spirit is indelibly placed on their hearts, on their ears, on their lips, on their entire filial being. That is why most of the patristic interpretations of the Our Father are addressed to the catechumens and the newly baptized. When the Church pronounces the Lord's Prayer, it is the people of the “regenerate” who are praying, gaining God's mercy14.

In the Eucharistic Liturgy, the Lord's Prayer is the prayer of the entire Church. Here its full meaning and its effectiveness are revealed. Occupying a place between the Anaphora (Eucharistic Prayer) and the Liturgy of Communion, on the one hand, it reunites in itself all the petitions and intercessions expressed in the epiclesis, and, on the other hand, it knocks on the doors of the Feast of the Kingdom, which is anticipated by the communion of the Holy Mysteries.

In the Eucharist, the Lord's Prayer also expresses the eschatological character of the petitions it contains. It is a prayer that belongs to the “end times,” the times of salvation that began with the descent of the Holy Spirit and will end with the return of the Lord. The petitions of the Lord's Prayer, unlike the prayers of the Old Testament, rely on the mystery of salvation, which has already been realized once and for all in Christ, crucified and risen.

This unwavering faith is the source of hope that lifts up each of the seven petitions of the Lord's Prayer. They express the groan of the present time, the time of patience and waiting, when “it has not yet been revealed to us what we will be” (1 Jn 3, 2)15. The Eucharist and the "Our Father" are directed towards the coming of the Lord, "until He comes" (1 Cor 11:26).

Short

In response to the request of His disciples (“Lord, teach us to pray”: Lk 11:1), Jesus entrusts them with the basic Christian prayer “Our Father”.

"The Lord's Prayer is truly the summary of the entire Gospel"16, "the most perfect of prayers"17. She is at the center of the Scriptures.

It is called the "Lord's Prayer" because it is received by us from the Lord Jesus, the Teacher and Pattern of our prayer.

The Lord's Prayer is in the fullest sense the prayer of the Church. It is an integral part of the main moments of worship and the sacraments of the introduction to Christianity: baptism, chrismation and the Eucharist. Being an integral part of the Eucharist, it expresses the "eschatological" nature of the petitions contained in it, waiting for the Lord "until He comes" (1 Cor 11, 26).

Article Two Our Father Prayer

"Our Father who art in heaven"

I. "We dare to proceed with full confidence"

In the Roman liturgy, the Eucharistic assembly is invited to begin the Lord's Prayer with filial boldness; in the Eastern liturgies, similar expressions are used and developed: “With boldness, without condemnation,” “Vouche us.” Moses, standing in front of the Burning Bush, heard these words: “Do not come here; take off your shoes” (Ex 3:5). This threshold of divine holiness could only be crossed by Jesus, Who, “having made atonement for our sins” (Heb 1:3), brings us before the Father’s face: “Behold, I and the children whom God has given me” (Heb 2:13):

The realization of our slave state would make us sink through the earth, our earthly state would crumble to dust, if the power of our very God Himself and the Spirit of His Son did not prompt us to this cry. “God,” says [the Apostle Paul], “sent into our hearts the Spirit of His Son, crying, ‘Abba, Father!’” (Gal 4:6). (...) How would mortality dare to call God its Father, unless the soul of man was spiritualized by a power from above?18

This power of the Holy Spirit, which leads us into the Lord's Prayer, is expressed in the liturgies of the East and West in a beautiful word, typically Christian: ???????? - frank simplicity, filial trust, joyful confidence, humble boldness, confidence that you are loved19.

II. Interpretation of a fragment of the text "Father!" Our Father prayers

Before making this first impulse of the Lord's Prayer "ours", it is not superfluous to cleanse our heart with humility from some false images of "this world". Humility helps us recognize that “no one knows the Father but the Son, and to whom the Son wants to reveal it,” that is, “infants” (Mt 11:25-27). Cleansing of the heart concerns the images of a father or mother, generated by personal and cultural history and influencing our relationship with God. God, our Father, transcends the categories of the created world. To transfer to Him (or to apply against Him) our ideas in this area is to create idols to worship them or to cast them down. To pray to the Father means to enter into His mystery - what He is and how His Son has revealed to us:
The expression "God the Father" has never been revealed to anyone. When Moses himself asked God who He was, he heard another name. This name was revealed to us in the Son, for it signifies a new name: 0Tetz20.

We can call on God as "Father" because He is revealed to us by His incarnate Son and His Spirit enables us to know Him. The Spirit of the Son enables us - who believe that Jesus is the Christ and that we are born of God21 - to partake of what is incomprehensible to man and invisible to angels: this is the personal connection of the Son with the Father22.

When we pray to the Father, we are in fellowship with Him and His Son, Jesus Christ. Then we come to know Him and recognize Him, each time with a new admiration. The first word of the Lord's Prayer is a blessing and an expression of worship before petitions begin. For it is the glory of God that we acknowledge in Him the "Father," the true God. We thank Him that He revealed His name to us, that He gave us faith in Him, and that His presence dwelled in us.

We can worship the Father because He regenerates us into His life, adopting us as children in His Only Begotten Son: by baptism He makes us members of the Body of His Christ, and by the anointing of His Spirit, which is poured out from the Head onto the members of the Body, He makes us "christs" (anointed):
Indeed, God, who ordained us into adoption, has made us conformed to the glorious Body of Christ. As partakers of Christ, you are rightfully called “Christs.”24
The new man, regenerated and returned to God by grace, says “Father!” from the very beginning, because he has become a son.

Thus, by the Lord's Prayer we open ourselves to ourselves at the same time as the Father is revealed to us26:

O man, you did not dare to raise your face to heaven, you lowered your eyes to the earth and suddenly you found the grace of Christ: all your sins are forgiven you. From a bad slave you have become a good son. (...) So, lift up your eyes to the Father, who has redeemed you with His Son, and say: Our Father (...). But do not invoke any of your pre-emptive rights. He is in a special way the Father of Christ alone, while He created us. So, say also you, by His mercy: Our Father, - so that you deserve to be His son27.

This gratuitous gift of adoption requires on our part a continual conversion and a new life. The prayer "Our Father" should develop in us two main dispositions:
Desire and will to be like Him. We, who are made in His image, are restored to His likeness by grace, and it is up to us to respond.

We should remember when we call God "our Father" that we must act as sons of God.
You cannot call the all-good God your Father if you keep a cruel and inhuman heart; for in that case there is no longer any sign of the goodness of the Heavenly Father in you.
We must constantly contemplate the splendor of the Father and fill our souls with it.

A humble and trusting heart that allows us to “turn and be like children” (Mt 18:3); for it is to “infants” that the Father is revealed (Mt 11:25): It is a look at God alone, the great flame of love. The soul in it is melted down and immersed in holy love and converses with God as with its own Father, very kindly, with a very special pious tenderness.
Our Father: this appeal evokes in us both love, commitment in prayer, (...) as well as the hope of receiving what we are about to ask for (...). Indeed, what can He refuse the prayer of His children when He has already given permission for them to be His children?

III. Fragment interpretationOur Father prayerstext
The "Our Father" refers to God. For our part, this definition does not mean possession. It expresses a completely new relationship with God.

When we say “Our Father”, we first of all recognize that all His promises of love, proclaimed through the prophets, have been fulfilled in the new and eternal covenant of His Christ: we have become “His” People and henceforth He is “our” God. This new relationship is a mutual belonging given free of charge: with love and faithfulness33 we must respond to the "grace and truth" given to us in Jesus Christ (Jn 1:17).

Because the Lord's Prayer is the prayer of the People of God in "the end times," the word "our" also expresses the certainty of our hope in the last promise of God; in New Jerusalem He will say: “I will be his God, and he will be my son” (Rev 21:7).

When we say “Our Father”, we are speaking personally to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. We do not separate the Godhead, as long as the Father in Him is "the source and the beginning," but by the very fact that the Son is eternally begotten from the Father and that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father. We also do not confuse the Divine Persons, since we confess communion with the Father and His Son Jesus Christ in their one Holy Spirit. The Holy Trinity is consubstantial and indivisible. When we pray to the Father, we worship and glorify Him with the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Grammatically, the word "our" defines a reality common to many. There is one God, and He is recognized as the Father by those who, by faith in His Only Begotten Son, were reborn from Him by water and the Spirit. The Church is this new communion of God and man: in unity with the Only Begotten Son, who became “the firstborn among many brothers” (Rom 8:29), she is in communion with the one Father Himself in the one Holy Spirit Himself. Saying the “Our Father”, each baptized person prays in this communion: “The multitude of those who believed had one heart and one soul” (Acts 4:32).

That is why, despite the divisions of Christians, prayer to "Our Father" remains a common property and an urgent call for all the baptized. Being in fellowship through faith in Christ and baptism, they should become participants in Jesus' prayer for the unity of His disciples.

Finally, if we truly pray the Lord's Prayer, we give up our individualism, for the love we receive delivers us from it. The word "our" at the beginning of the Lord's Prayer - like the words "we", "us", "us", "our" in the last four petitions - does not exclude anyone. To make this prayer in truth,37 we must overcome our divisions and our oppositions.

A baptized person cannot say the prayer “Our Father” without representing before the Father all for whom He gave His Beloved Son. The love of God has no limits; so should our prayer be. When we pray the Our Father prayer, it introduces us to the dimension of His love revealed to us in Christ: to pray with all those people and for all those people who do not yet know Him, in order to “gather them together” (Jn 11:52 ). This Divine concern for all people and for all creation inspired all the great prayer books: it should expand our prayer in love when we dare to say "Our Father".

IV. Interpretation of a fragment of the text Prayer Our Father "Who art in heaven"

This biblical expression does not mean a place ("space"), but a way of being; not the remoteness of God, but His greatness. Our Father is not somewhere "elsewhere"; He is "beyond all" that we can conceive of His holiness. Precisely because He is the Trisagion, He is wholly close to a humble and contrite heart:

It is true that the words "Our Father who art in heaven" come from the hearts of the righteous, where God dwells as in His temple. That is why the one who prays will wish that the One to whom he calls 39 dwells in him.
“Heavens”, however, can be those that bear the image of the heavenly and in which God dwells and walks.

The symbol of heaven refers us to the mystery of the covenant in which we live when we pray to our Father. The Father is in heaven, this is His abode; the Father's house is thus also our "fatherland." From the land of the covenant sin cast us out41 and the turning of the heart will again lead us to the Father and to heaven42. And heaven and earth are reunited in Christ43, for the Son alone “came down from heaven” and allows us to ascend there again with Him, through His Crucifixion, Resurrection and Ascension44.

When the Church prays "Our Father who art in heaven", she confesses that we are the People of God, whom God has already "planted in heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Eph 2:6), a people "hidden with Christ in God" (Col. 3:3) and, at the same time, “sighing, desiring to put on our heavenly habitation” (2 Corinthians 5:2)45: Christians are in the flesh, but they do not live according to the flesh. They live on earth, but they are citizens of heaven46.

Short

Trust in simplicity and devotion, humble and joyful confidence - these are the appropriate states of the soul of one who makes the prayer "Our Father".

We can call on God by addressing Him with the word “Father,” because He was revealed to us by the incarnate Son of God, whose Body we became members through baptism and in Whom we are adopted by God.

The Lord's Prayer brings us into fellowship with the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. At the same time, it opens us to ourselves.

When we say the Lord's Prayer, it should develop in us the desire to be like Him and make our heart humble and trusting.

By saying “ours” to the Father, we invoke the New Testament in Jesus Christ, communion with the Holy Trinity and Divine love, which through the Church acquires a worldwide dimension.

“Who is in heaven” does not mean a given place, but the greatness of God and His presence in the hearts of the righteous. Heaven, the House of God, is the true homeland to which we aspire and to which we already belong.

Article three interpretation of the prayer Our Father (text)

Seven petitions

Having brought us into the presence of God our Father to worship Him, love Him, and bless Him, the Spirit of adoption brings forth from our hearts seven petitions, seven blessings. The first three, more theological in nature, direct us to the glory of the Father; the other four - as paths to Him - offer our nothingness to His grace. “Deep calls to deep” (Ps 42:8).

The first wave carries us to Him, for His sake: Your name, Your Kingdom, Your will! The property of love is, first of all, to think about the One whom we love. In each of these three petitions, we do not mention “ourselves”, but the “fiery desire”, the very “longing” of the Beloved Son for the glory of His Father seizes us48: “Hallowed be (...), let him come (...), let it be...” - God has already heeded these three prayers in the sacrifice of Christ the Savior, but from now on they are hopefully turned to their final fulfillment, until the time when God will be all in all49.

The second wave of petition unfolds along the lines of some Eucharistic epicleses: it is an offering of our expectations and attracts the gaze of the Father of Mercy. It rises from us and touches us now and in this world: “give us (...); forgive us (...); do not enter us (...); deliver us." The fourth and fifth petitions concern our life as such, our daily bread and the cure for sin; the last two petitions refer to our battle for the victory of Life, the main battle of prayer.

With the first three petitions, we are strengthened in faith, filled with hope and inflamed with love. Creatures of God and still sinners, we must ask for ourselves - for "us", and this "we" carries the dimension of the world and history that we betray as an offering of the immense love of our God. For in the name of His Christ and in the Kingdom of His Holy Spirit, our Father is fulfilling His plan of salvation for us and for the whole world.

I. Fragment interpretation "Hallowed be thy name" Our Fathertext prayers

The word “sanctified” must be understood here, first of all, not in its causal sense (God alone sanctifies, makes holy), but mainly in an evaluative sense: to recognize as holy, to treat as a saint. This is how in worship this appeal is often understood as praise and thanksgiving. But this petition is given to us by Jesus as an expression of desire: it is a petition, a desire and an expectation, in which both God and man participate. Beginning with the first petition addressed to our Father, we plunge into the depths of the mystery of His Divinity and the drama of the salvation of our humanity. Asking Him that His name be hallowed brings us into "the good pleasure which He has appointed" "that we may be holy and blameless before Him in love"51.

At the decisive moments of His dispensation, God reveals His name; but opens it by doing His work. And this work is carried out for us and in us only if His name is hallowed by us and in us.

The holiness of God is the inaccessible hearth of His eternal mystery. That in which it manifests itself in creation and in history, Scripture calls Glory, the radiance of His majesty. Having created man in His “image and likeness” (Gen 1:26), God “crowned him with glory” (Ps 8:6), but by sinning, man “fell the glory of God” (Rom 3:23). From that time on, God manifests His holiness by revealing and bestowing His name to restore man "in the image of Him who created him" (Col 3:10).

In the promise made to Abraham, and in the oath that accompanies it,53 God Himself accepts the obligation, but does not reveal His name. It is to Moses that He begins to open it54 and reveals it before the eyes of all the people when He saves it from the Egyptians: “He is covered with glory” (Exodus 15:1*). From the time of the establishment of the Sinaitic covenant, this people is "His" people; it must be a "holy people" (i.e. consecrated - in Hebrew it is the same word55), because the name of God dwells in it.

Despite the holy Law, which the Holy God again and again grants them,56 and also the fact that the Lord “for the sake of His name” shows longsuffering, this people turns away from the Holy One of Israel and acts in such a way that His name “is blasphemed before the nations”57. That is why the righteous of the Old Testament, the poor, those who returned from captivity and the prophets burned with passionate love for the Name.

Finally, it is in Jesus that the name of the Holy God is revealed and given to us in the flesh as Savior58: it is revealed by His being, His word and His sacrifice59. This is the core of Christ's High Priestly Prayer: "Holy Father, (...) I consecrate myself for them, that they may be sanctified through the truth" (Jn 17:19). When He reaches His limit, then the Father gives Him a name that is above every name: Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father60.

In the waters of baptism, we are “washed, sanctified, justified, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of our God” (1 Cor 6:11). Throughout our lives, “the Father calls us to sanctification” (1 Thessalonians 4:7), and since “we are of him in Christ Jesus, who became sanctification for us” (1 Cor 1:30), then his glory and ours lives depend on His name being hallowed in us and by us. Such is the urgency of our first petition.

Who can sanctify God, since He Himself sanctifies? But, inspired by these words - "Be holy, for I am holy" (Lev. 20:26) - we ask that, sanctified by baptism, we remain steadfast in what we have begun to be. And this is what we ask all the days, for every day we sin and must be cleansed from our sins by an unceasingly repeated sanctification (...). So we turn again to prayer so that this holiness may dwell in us.

Whether His name will be hallowed among the nations depends entirely on our life and our prayer:

We ask God that His Name be hallowed, for by His holiness He saves and sanctifies all creation (...). We are talking about the Name that will give salvation to a lost world, but we ask that this Name of God be hallowed in us with our life. For if we live righteously, the Divine Name is blessed; but if we live badly, it is blasphemed, according to the words of the apostle: “The name of God is a reproach among the Gentiles because of you” (Rom 2:24; Ezek 36:20-22). So we pray that we may be worthy to have in our souls as much holiness as the name of our God is holy.
When we say: “Hallowed be Thy Name,” we ask that it be hallowed in us who are in it, but also in others whom Divine grace is still waiting for, so that we conform to the precept that obliges us to pray for everyone, even about our enemies. That is why we do not say definitely: “Hallowed be Thy Name “in us,” for we ask that it be hallowed in all people63.

This petition, which contains all petitions, is fulfilled by the prayer of Christ, like the next six petitions. The Lord's Prayer is our prayer if it is done "in the name" of Jesus64. Jesus asks in His High Priestly Prayer: “Holy Father! keep them in your name, those whom you have given me” (Jn 17:11).

II. Interpretation of a fragment of the text Our Father prayers"Thy Kingdom Come"

In the New Testament, the word itself???????? can be translated as "royalty" (abstract noun), "kingdom" (concrete noun), and "kingdom" (action noun). The kingdom of God is before us: it has come near in the incarnate Word, it is proclaimed by the whole Gospel, it has come in the death and resurrection of Christ. The Kingdom of God comes with the Last Supper and in the Eucharist, it is among us. The Kingdom will come in glory when Christ hands it over to His Father:

It is even possible that the kingdom of God means personally Christ, whom we daily call upon with all our hearts, and whose coming we wish to hasten by our expectation. As He is our resurrection - for in Him we are resurrected - so He can also be the Kingdom of God, for in Him we shall reign.

These are petitions - “Marana fa”, the cry of the Spirit and the Bride: “Come, Lord Jesus”:

Even if this prayer did not oblige us to ask for the coming of the Kingdom, we ourselves would emit this cry, hastening to embrace our hopes. The souls of the martyrs under the throne of the altar cry out to the Lord with great cries: “How long, Master, will you delay in exacting the reward for our blood from those who live on earth?” (Rev 6, 10*). They must indeed find justice at the end of time. Lord, hasten the coming of Your Kingdom!66

The Lord's Prayer speaks mainly of the final coming of the Kingdom of God with the second coming of Christ. But this desire does not distract the Church from her mission in this world - rather, it obliges her to fulfill it even more. For from the day of Pentecost, the advent of the Kingdom is the work of the Spirit of the Lord, who, “performing the work of Christ in the world, completes all sanctification”68.

“The kingdom of God is righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Rom 14:17). The last times in which we live are the times of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, when there is a decisive battle between the "flesh" and the Spirit69:

Only a pure heart can say with certainty, "Thy kingdom come." One has to go through the school of Paul to say, "Therefore, let not sin reign in our mortal body" (Rom 6:12). Whoever keeps himself pure in his deeds, his thoughts and his words, can say to God, “Thy kingdom come.”70

Reasoning by the Spirit, Christians must distinguish between the growth of the Kingdom of God and the social and cultural progress in which they are participating. This difference is not division.

The call of man to eternal life does not reject, but strengthens his duty to use the forces and means received from the Creator in order to serve justice and peace on earth71.

This petition is raised and fulfilled in the prayer of Jesus,72 which is present and active in the Eucharist; it bears fruit in the new life according to the Beatitudes73.

III. Interpretation of a fragment of the text Our Father prayers"Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven"

Our Father's will is that "all men should be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth" (1 Tim 2:3-4). He is “long-suffering, not willing that any should perish” (2 Peter 3:9). His commandment, which includes all other commandments and tells us all of His will, is that “we love one another as He has loved us” (Jn 13:34)75.

“Having told us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure, which He foreordained in Him for the fulfillment of the fullness of time, in order to unite everything heavenly and earthly under the head of Christ, in Him, in whom we also were taken as inheritance, being predestinated according to the predestination of Him who does all according to decision of His will" (Eph 1:9-11*). We persistently ask that this plan of benevolence be fully realized - on earth, as it has already been accomplished in heaven.

In Christ - His Human will - the Father's will was perfectly done once and for all. Jesus said, entering the world: "Behold, I go to do thy will, O God" (Heb 10:7; Ps 40:8-9). Only Jesus can say, "I always do what pleases Him" ​​(Jn 8:29). In prayer during His struggle in Gethsemane, He fully agrees with the will of the Father: “Not My will, but Yours, be done” (Lk 22:42)76. That is why Jesus "gave himself for our sins, according to the will of God" (Gal 1:4). “By this will we are sanctified by the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once” (Heb 10:10).

Jesus, "though a Son, learned obedience through suffering" (Heb 5:8*). How much more must we do this, creatures and sinners, who have become sons of adoption in Him. We ask our Father that our will be united with the will of the Son, for the sake of fulfilling the will of the Father, His plan of salvation for the life of the world. We are completely powerless in this, but in union with Jesus and the power of His Holy Spirit, we can surrender our will to the Father and decide to choose what His Son has always chosen - to do what is pleasing to the Father77:

By joining Christ, we can become one spirit with Him and thereby do His will; thus it will be perfect on earth as it is in heaven.
See how Jesus Christ teaches us to be humble, letting us see that our virtue depends not only on our efforts, but on the grace of God, He commands here every praying faithful to pray everywhere for everyone and for everything, so that this is done everywhere for the sake of the whole earth . For He does not say, "Thy will be done" in Me or in you; but "in all the earth." So that error would be abolished on earth, truth would reign, vice would be destroyed, virtue would flourish, and the earth would no longer differ from heaven.

Through prayer we can "know what the will of God is" (Rom 12:2; Eph 5:17) and acquire "the patience to do it" (Heb 10:36). Jesus teaches us that the kingdom is not entered by words, but "by doing the will of my Father in heaven" (Mt 7:27).

“Whoever does the will of God, God listens to him” (Jn 9:31*)80. Such is the power of the prayer of the Church in the name of her Lord, especially in the Eucharist; it is an intercessory communion with the Most Holy Mother of God81 and all the saints who “pleased” the Lord in that they did not seek their own will, but only His will:

We can also without prejudice interpret the words “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” as follows: in the Church, as in our Lord Jesus Christ; in the Bride betrothed to Him, as in the Bridegroom who did the will of the Father.

IV. Fragment interpretation Our Fatherprayers text "Give us our daily bread for this day"

“Give us”: wonderful is the trust of children, who are all waiting on the Father. “He makes his sun rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Mt 5:45); He gives to all living "their food in its season" (Ps 104:27). Jesus teaches us this petition: it truly glorifies the Father, for we recognize how good He is, beyond all kindness.

"Give us" is also an expression of union: we belong to Him, and He belongs to us, He is for us. But when we say “we”, we recognize Him as the Father of all people and pray to Him for all people, participating in their needs and sufferings.

"Our bread". The Father who gives life cannot fail to give us the food necessary for life, all the “appropriate” goods, material and spiritual. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus insists on this filial trust, which furthers the Providence of our Father. He does not in any way call us to passivity,84 but wants to deliver us from all anxiety and from all anxiety. Such is the filial trust of the children of God:

To those who seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, God promises to add everything. In fact, everything belongs to God: he who possesses God lacks nothing if he himself does not distance himself from God.

But the existence of those who are hungry for lack of bread reveals a different depth of this petition. The tragedy of famine on earth calls true prayerful Christians to an effective responsibility towards their brethren, both in their personal behavior and in their solidarity with the whole family of mankind. This petition of the Lord's Prayer is inseparable from the parable of the poor Lazarus and from what the Lord says about the Last Judgment.

As leaven raises dough, the newness of the kingdom must raise the earth by the Spirit of Christ. This novelty must manifest itself in the establishment of justice in personal and social, economic and international relations, and it must never be forgotten that there can be no just structures without people who want to be just.

It is about "our" bread, "one" for "many". The poverty of the Beatitudes is the virtue of the ability to share: the call to this poverty is the call to transfer material and spiritual goods to others and share them, not under compulsion, but out of love, so that the abundance of some helps others who are in need88.

"Pray and work" 89. “Pray as if everything depended on God, and work as if everything depended on you.”90 When we have done our work, sustenance remains the gift of our Father; it is right to ask Him, giving thanks to Him. This is the meaning of the blessing of food in the Christian family.

This petition and the responsibility it imposes also apply to another famine from which people suffer: “Man does not live by bread alone, but by everything that comes from the mouth of God” (Deut 8:3; Mt 4:4), then is His word and His breath. Christians must mobilize all their efforts to "proclaim the gospel to the poor." There is a famine on earth - “not a hunger for bread, not a thirst for water, but a thirst for hearing the words of the Lord” (Amos 8:11). This is why the specifically Christian meaning of this fourth petition refers to the Bread of Life: the word of God, which is to be received in faith, and the Body of Christ, received in the Eucharist.

The words "today" or "for this day" are also an expression of trust. The Lord teaches us this92: we ourselves could not have invented it. For in their presumption, especially about the word of God and the Body of His Son, the words "on this day" refer not only to our mortal time: "this day" means the present day of God:

If you get bread every day, every day is today for you. If Christ is in you today, He will rise for you all the days. Why is that? “You are my Son; Today I have begotten you” (Ps 2:7). “Today” means when Christ is resurrected93.

"Durable". This word - ????????? in Greek - has no other use in the New Testament. In its temporal sense, it is a pedagogical repetition of the words "to this day"94 in order to "unreservedly" affirm us in our trust. But in its qualitative sense, it means everything necessary for life and, more broadly, every good thing necessary in order to maintain existence95. In the literal sense (?????????: "daily", over essence), it means directly the Bread of Life, the Body of Christ, "the medicine of immortality"96, without which we have no life in ourselves97. Finally, in connection with the above-considered meaning of “everyday” bread, bread “for this day,” the heavenly meaning is also obvious: “this day” is the Day of the Lord, the Day of the Feast of the Kingdom, anticipated in the Eucharist, which is already a foretaste of the coming Kingdom. This is why the Eucharistic liturgy is fitting to be celebrated "every day".

The Eucharist is our daily bread. The dignity that belongs to this divine food is in the power of union: it unites us with the Body of the Savior and makes us its members, so that we become what we have received (...). This daily bread is also in the readings that you hear every day in church, in the hymns that are sung and that you sing. All this is necessary in our pilgrimage98.
The Heavenly Father admonishes us as children of heaven to ask for Heavenly Bread99. Christ Himself is the Bread Who, sown in the Virgin, ascended in the flesh, prepared in the passions, baked in the ashes of the tomb, laid in the storehouse of the Church, offered on the altars, daily supplies the faithful with heavenly food.

v. Interpretation of a fragment of the text Our Father prayers"Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors"

This request is amazing. If it contained only the first part of the phrase - "forgive us our debts", - it could be silently included in the three previous petitions of the Lord's Prayer, since Christ's sacrifice is "for the remission of sins." But, according to the second part of the proposal, our request will be fulfilled only if we first satisfy this requirement. Our request is directed to the future, and our answer must precede it. They have one word in common: how.

Forgive us our debts...

With bold confidence we began to pray: Our Father. When we ask Him that His name be sanctified, we ask Him that we become more and more sanctified. But we, although we have put on baptismal garments, do not cease to sin, to turn away from God. Now, in this new petition, we again come to Him like the prodigal son101 and acknowledge ourselves as sinners before Him like a publican102. Our petition begins with "confession," when we acknowledge our nothingness and His mercy at the same time. Our hope is firm, for in His Son "we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins" (Col 1:14; Eph 1:7). We find a valid and undeniable sign of His forgiveness in the sacraments of His Church.

Meanwhile (and this is terrible), the flow of mercy cannot penetrate our hearts until we have forgiven those who offended us. Love, like the Body of Christ, is indivisible: we cannot love a God whom we do not see unless we love the brother or sister whom we see. When we refuse to forgive brothers and sisters, our heart closes, hardness makes it impenetrable to the merciful love of the Father; when we repent of our sins, our heart is open to His grace.

This petition is so important that it is the only one to which the Lord returns and expands upon it in the Sermon on the Mount. Man is unable to satisfy this necessary requirement, which belongs to the mystery of the covenant. But "everything is possible with God."

... "just as we forgive our debtors"

This word "as" is no exception in the preaching of Jesus. “Be perfect, even as your Heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt 5:48); “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36). “I give you a new commandment: Love one another as I have loved you” (Jn 13:34). Keeping the commandment of the Lord is impossible when it comes to external imitation of the Divine model. We are talking about our vital and coming “from the depths of the heart” participation in the holiness, mercy and love of our God. Only the Spirit by whom “we live” (Gal 5:25) is capable of making “ours” the same thoughts that were in Christ Jesus. Thus, unity of forgiveness becomes possible when “we forgive one another, just as God in Christ forgave us” (Eph 4:32).

This is how the words of the Lord about forgiveness, about that love that loves to the end, come to life. The parable of the merciless lender, which crowns the Lord's teaching about the church community,108 ends with the words: "So my Heavenly Father will do to you if each of you does not forgive his brother from his heart." Indeed, it is there, “in the depths of the heart,” that everything is tied and untied. It is not in our power to stop feeling grievances and forget them; but the heart that opens itself to the Holy Spirit turns resentment into compassion and purifies the memory, transforming resentment into intercessory prayer.

Christian prayer extends to the forgiveness of enemies. She transforms the student in the image of his Master. Forgiveness is the pinnacle of Christian prayer; the gift of prayer can only be accepted by a heart conforming to divine compassion. Forgiveness also shows that in our world love is stronger than sin. Martyrs past and present bear this witness of Jesus. Forgiveness is the basic condition for reconciliation110 of the children of God with their Heavenly Father and of people among themselves111.

There is no limit or measure to this forgiveness, which is divine in its essence. If we are talking about offenses (of “sins” according to Luke 11:4 or about “debts” according to Mt 6:12), then in fact we are always debtors: “Do not owe anything to anyone except mutual love” (Rom 13, eight). The communion of the Most Holy Trinity is the source and criterion of the truth of all relationships. It enters our lives in prayer, especially in the Eucharist114:

God does not accept the sacrifice of the perpetrators of discord, He removes them from the altar, because they did not first reconcile with their brothers: God wants to be comforted by peaceful prayers. Our best commitment to God is our peace, our concord, unity in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of all believing people.

VI. Interpretation of a fragment of the text Our Father prayers"Lead us not into temptation"

This petition goes to the root of the previous one, for our sins are the fruit of yielding to temptation. We ask our Father not to "bring" us into it. It is difficult to translate the Greek concept in one word: it means “do not let us enter”,116 “do not allow us to succumb to temptation”. “God is not subject to evil temptation, and He Himself does not tempt anyone” (James 1:13*); on the contrary, He wants to deliver us from temptations. We ask Him not to let us take the path that leads to sin. We are engaged in a battle "between the flesh and the Spirit." With this petition we pray for the Spirit of understanding and power.

The Holy Spirit allows us to recognize what is a test necessary for a person's spiritual growth117, his "experience" (Rom 5:3-5), and what is a temptation leading to sin and death118. We must also distinguish between the temptation we are subjected to and the succumbing to the temptation. Finally, recognition exposes the falsity of temptation: at first glance, the subject of temptation is “good, pleasing to the eye and desirable” (Genesis 3:6), while in reality its fruit is death.

God does not want virtue under compulsion; He wants it to be voluntary (...). There is some benefit to temptation. No one but God knows what our soul has received from God - not even ourselves. But temptations show us this, so that we learn to know ourselves and thereby discover our own poverty and obligate ourselves to give thanks for all the good that temptations have shown us.

“Enter not into temptation” suggests a determination of the heart: “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (...) No one can serve two masters” (Mt 6:21:24). “If we live by the Spirit, then we must also walk in the Spirit” (Gal 5:25). In this agreement with the Holy Spirit, the Father gives us strength. “You have not experienced any temptation that would exceed human measure. God is faithful; He will not allow you to be tempted beyond your strength. Along with temptation, He will give you the means to get out of it and the strength to endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Meanwhile, such a battle and such a victory are possible only through prayer. It is through prayer that Jesus overcomes the adversary, from the very beginning120 to the last struggle. In this request to the Father, Christ joins us in His battle and in His struggle before the Passion. Here the call to the vigilance of the heart122 is persistently heard, in unity with the vigilance of Christ. The whole dramatic meaning of this petition becomes clear in connection with the final temptation of our battle on earth; it is a petition for ultimate endurance. Watchfulness is “keeping the heart,” and Jesus asks the Father for us: “Keep them in your name” (Jn 17:11). The Holy Spirit works unceasingly to awaken in us this vigilance of the heart. “Behold, I am walking like a thief; blessed is he who watches” (Rev 16:15).

VII. Interpretation of a fragment of the text Our Father prayers"But deliver us from the evil one"

The last petition addressed to our Father is also present in the prayer of Jesus: “I do not pray that You take them out of the world, but that You keep them from the evil one” (Jn 17:15*). This petition applies to each of us personally, but it is always “we” who pray in communion with the entire Church and for the deliverance of the entire family of mankind. The Lord's Prayer continually brings us to the dimension of the economy of salvation. Our interdependence in the drama of sin and death becomes solidarity in the Body of Christ, in the "communion of saints"124.

In this request, the evil one - evil - is not an abstraction, but means a person - Satan, an angel who rebels against God. "Devil", diabolos, one who "goes against" God's plan and His "work of salvation" accomplished in Christ.

“Manslayer” from the beginning, a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44), “Satan who deceives the whole universe” (Rev. 12:9): it was through him that sin and death entered the world and through his final defeat all creation will be “ freed from the corruption of sin and from death." “We know that everyone who is born of God does not sin; but he who is born of God keeps himself, and the evil one does not touch him. We know that we are from God and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one” (1 Jn 5:18-19):

The Lord, who took your sin upon Himself and forgave your sins, is able to protect you and save you from the wiles of the devil fighting against you, so that the enemy, accustomed to giving birth to vice, does not overtake you. He who trusts God is not afraid of a demon. “If God is for us, “is he against us?” (Rom 8:31).

Victory over “the prince of this world” (John 14:30) is won once and for all in the hour when Jesus voluntarily gave Himself up to death in order to give us His life. This is the judgment of this world, and the prince of this world is "cast out" (Jn 12:31; Rev 12:11). “He rushes to pursue the Wife”126, but has no power over Her: the new Eve, “full of grace” of the Holy Spirit, is free from sin and from the corruption of death (the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption of the Most Holy Theotokos of the Ever-Virgin Mary). “So, having become angry with the Woman, he goes to fight against the rest of Her children” (Rev. 12:17*). That's why the Spirit and the Church pray, "Come, Lord Jesus!" (Revelation 22:17:20) - after all, His coming will deliver us from the evil one.

Asking for deliverance from the evil one, we equally pray for deliverance from all evil, the initiator or instigator of which he is, the evil of the present, past and future. In this last petition, the Church presents to the Father all the suffering of the world. Along with deliverance from the troubles that oppress humanity, she asks for the precious gift of peace and the grace of the constant expectation of the second coming of Christ. Praying in this way, she in the humility of faith anticipates the union of everyone and everything under the head of Christ, who “has the keys of death and hell” (Rev. 1, 18), “the Lord Almighty, who is and was and is to come” (Rev. 1, 8) 127 .

Deliver us. Lord, from all evil, graciously grant peace in our days, so that by the power of Your mercy we may always be delivered from sin and protected from all confusion, with joyful hope awaiting the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ.

Final doxology of the text of the Lord's Prayer

The final doxology - “For Yours is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever” - continues, including them in itself, the first three petitions of the prayer to the Father: this is a prayer for the glorification of His Name, for the coming of His Kingdom and for the power of His saving Will. But this continuation of prayer here takes the form of worship and thanksgiving, as in the heavenly liturgy. The prince of this world falsely appropriated to himself these three titles of kingdom, power and glory130; Christ, the Lord, returns them to His Father and our Father until the handover of the Kingdom to Him, when the mystery of salvation is finally completed and God will be all in all.

“After the fulfillment of the prayer, you say “Amen”, imprinting through this “Amen”, which means “So be it”132, everything that is contained in this prayer given to us by God”133.

Short

In the Lord's Prayer, the subject of the first three petitions is the glory of the Father: the sanctification of the name, the coming of the Kingdom, and the fulfillment of the Divine will. The other four petitions present to Him our desires: these petitions refer to our life, sustenance, and preservation from sin; they are connected with our battle for the victory of Good over evil.

When we ask: "Hallowed be Thy name," we enter into the plan of God, about the sanctification of His name - revealed to Moses, and then in Jesus - by us and in us, as well as in every nation and in every person.

In the second petition, the Church mainly has in mind the second coming of Christ and the final coming of the Kingdom of God. She also prays for the growth of the Kingdom of God in "this day" of our lives.

In the third petition, we implore our Father to unite our will with the will of His Son in order to fulfill His plan of salvation in the life of the world.

In the fourth petition, by saying "give us", we - in fellowship with our brothers - express our filial trust in our Heavenly Father, "Our Bread" means earthly food necessary for existence, as well as the Bread of Life - the Word of God and the Body of Christ. We receive it in God's "present day" as the necessary, daily food of the Feast of the Kingdom, which anticipates the Eucharist.

With the fifth petition, we pray for God's mercy on our sins; this mercy can penetrate our hearts only if we have been able to forgive our enemies, following the example of Christ and with His help.

When we say, "Lead us not into temptation," we ask God not to let us enter the path that leads to sin. With this petition we pray for the Spirit of understanding and strength; we ask for the grace of vigilance and constancy to the end.

With the last petition - "But deliver us from the evil one" - the Christian, together with the Church, prays to God to reveal the victory already won by Christ over the "prince of this world" - over Satan, an angel who personally opposes God and His plan of salvation.

With the concluding word "Amen" we proclaim our "Let it be" ("Fiat") for all seven petitions: "So be it."

1 Wed. Lk 11:2-4.
2 Wed. Matthew 6:9-13.
3 Wed. Embolism.
4 Tertullian, On Prayer 1.
5 Tertullian, On Prayer 10.
6 St. Augustine, Epistles 130, 12, 22.
7 Wed. Lk 24:44.
8 Wed. Matthew 5:7.
9 STh 2-2, 83, 9.
10 Wed. Jn 17:7.
11 Wed. Mt 6, 7; 1 Kings 18:26-29.
12 Didache 8, 3.
13 St. John Chrysostom, Discourses on the Gospel of Matthew 19, 4.
14 Wed. 1 Peter 2:1-10.
15 Wed. Col 3, 4.
16 Tertullian, On Prayer 1.
17 STh 2-2, 83, 9.
18 St. Peter the Chrysologist, Sermons 71.
19 Wed. Eph 3:12; Heb 3, 6. 4; 10, 19; 1 Jn 2:28; 3, 21; 5, 17.
20 Tertullian, On Prayer 3.
21 Wed. 1 John 5, 1.
22 Wed. Jn 1. 1.
23 Wed. 1 John 1, 3.
24 St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Mystery Teachings 3, 1.
25 St. Cyprian of Carthage, On the Lord's Prayer 9.
26 GS 22, § 1.
27 St. Ambrose of Milan, On Sacraments 5, 10.
28 St. Cyprian of Carthage, On the Lord's Prayer 11.
29 St. John Chrysostom, Conversation on the words "Narrow gates" and on the Lord's Prayer.
30 St. Gregory of Nyssa, Discourses on the Lord's Prayer 2.
31 St. John Cassian, Collations 9, 18.
32 St. Augustine, On the Lord's Sermon on the Mount 2, 4, 16.
33 Wed. Os 2, 19-20; 6, 1-6.
34 Wed. 1 John 5, 1; John 3, 5.
35 Wed. Eph 4:4-6.
36 Wed. UR8; 22.
37 Wed. Mt 5:23-24; 6:14-16.
38 Wed. NA 5.
39NA 5.
40 St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Mystery Teachings 5, 11.
41 Wed. Life 3.
42 Wed. Jer 3, 19-4, 1a; Lk 15, 18. 21.
43 Wed. Isaiah 45:8; Ps 85:12.
44 Wed. Jn 12:32; 14, 2-3; 16, 28; 20, 17; Eph 4:9-10; Heb 1, 3; 2, 13.
45 Wed. F 3, 20; Heb 13:14.
46 Epistle to Diognet 5, 8-9.
47 Wed. GS 22, §1.
48 Wed. Luke 22:15; 12.50.
49 Wed. 1 Corinthians 15:28.
50 Wed. Ps 11:9; Lk 1:49.
51 Wed. Eph 1:9.4.
52 See Ps 8; Isaiah 6:3.
53 See Heb 6:13.
54 See Ex 3:14.
55 See Ex 19:5-6.
56 Wed. Lev 19:2: "Be holy, for holy am I, the Lord your God."
57 Wed. Ezekiel 20:36.
58 Wed. Matthew 1:21; Lk 1:31.
59 Wed. Jn 8:28; 17, 8; 17, 17-19.
60 Wed. Phil 2, 9-11.
61 St. Cyprian of Carthage, On the Lord's Prayer 12.
62 St. Peter Chrysologist, Sermons 71.
63 Tertullian, On Prayer 3.
64 Wed. Jn 14:13; 15, 16; 16, 23-24, 26.
65 St. Cyprian of Carthage, On the Lord's Prayer 13.
66 Tertullian, On Prayer 5.
67 Wed. Tit 2:13.
68 MR, IV Eucharistic Prayer.
69 Wed. Gal 5:16-25.
70 St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Mystery Teachings 5, 13.
71 Wed. GS 22; 32; 39; 45; EN 31.
72 Wed. John 17:17-20.
73 Wed. Mt 5:13-16; 6, 24; 7, 12-13.
74 Wed. Mt 18:14.
75 Wed. 1 John 3, 4; Lk 10:25-37
76 Wed. Jn 4:34; 5, 30; 6, 38.
77 Wed. Jn 8:29.
78 Origen, On Prayer 26.
79 St. John Chrysostom, Discourses on the Gospel of Matthew 19:5.
80 Wed. 1 Jn 5:14.
81 Wed. Luke 1, 38. 49.
82 St. Augustine, On the Lord's Sermon on the Mount 2, 6, 24.
83 Wed. Matthew 5:25-34.
84 Wed. 2 Thess 3:6-13.
85 St. Cyprian of Carthage, On the Lord's Prayer 21.
86 Wed. Mt 25:31-46.
87 Wed. AA 5.
88 Wed. 2 Corinthians 8:1-15.
89 A saying attributed to St. Ignatius Loyola; cf. J. de Guibert, S.J., La spiritualite de la Compagnie de Jesus. Esquisse historique, Rome 1953, p. 137.
90 Wed. St. Benedict, Rules 20, 48.
91 Wed. Jn 6:26-58.
92 Wed. Mt 6:34; Exodus 16:19.
93 St. Ambrose of Milan, On the sacraments 5, 26.
94 Wed. Exodus 16:19-21.
95 Wed. 1 Tim 6:8.
96 St. Ignatius of Antioch, Ephesians 20, 2.
97 Wed. Jn 6:53-56.
98 St. Augustine, Sermons 57, 7, 7.
99 Wed. Jn 6:51.
100 St. Peter Chrysologist, Sermons 71.
101 See Luke 15:11-32.
102 See Luke 18:13.
103 Wed. Mt 26:28; Jn 20:13.
104 Wed. 1 Jn 4:20.
105 Wed. Mt 6:14-15; 5, 23-24; Mk 11, 25.
106 Wed. Flp 2, 1. 5.
107 Wed. John 13:1.
108 Wed. Matthew 18:23-35.
109 Wed. Matthew 5:43-44.
110 Wed. 2 Corinthians 5:18-21.
111 Wed. John Paul II, Encyclical "Dives in misericordia" 14.
112 Wed. Mt 18:21-22; Lk 17:1-3.
113 Wed. 1 Jn 3:19-24.
114 Wed. Matthew 5:23-24.
115 Wed. St. Cyprian of Carthage, On the Lord's Prayer 23.
116 Wed. Mt 26:41.
117 Wed. Luke 8:13-15; Acts 14:22; 2 Tim 3:12.
118 Wed. Jas 1:14-15.
119 Origen, On Prayer 29.
120 Wed. Matthew 4:1-11.
121 Wed. Mt 26:36-44.
122 Wed. Mk 13, 9. 23; 33-37; 14, 38; Lk 12:35-40.
123 RP 16.
124 MR, IV Eucharistic Prayer.
125 St. Ambrose of Milan, On the sacraments 5, 30.
126 Wed. Revelation 12:13-16.
127 Wed. Rev 1, 4.
128 MR, Embolism.
129 Wed. Rev 1, 6; 4, 11; 5, 13.
130 Wed. Lk 4:5-6.
131 1 Corinthians 15:24-28.
132 Wed. Lk 1:38.
133 St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Mystery Teachings 5, 18.

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

So Orthodox Christians begin morning and evening prayers. In this prayer we call for help Holy Trinity, one in three Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we ask God to bless all our labors and undertakings, both prayerful and everyday. This prayer can be read before starting any business.

Word "Amen"(Heb. amen - right) at the end of a prayer means: truly so. Many prayers end with this word, it confirms the truth of what was said.

God bless.

This prayer is also pronounced before every deed. All our actions, deeds, and labors will then be successful when we call on God for help, ask Him for help and blessings.

Lord have mercy.

We often hear these words during worship. "Lord have mercy!" (Greek "Kyrie eleyson") - the oldest prayer. To strengthen our repentant attitude, we repeat it three, twelve, and forty times. All these three numbers in the holy Bible symbolize fullness.

A deacon or priest, on behalf of all those praying in the church, pronounces a litany, asking the Lord to forgive us our sins and bestow His heavenly and earthly blessings. The chorus replies: "Lord, have mercy!" - as if on behalf of all those who pray. We also say this prayer to ourselves. This is the shortest confession, even shorter than the repentance of the publican, who said five words from the depths of a contrite heart. In it, we humbly ask God for forgiveness for all our sins and pray for help.

Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us.

(Pronounced three times)

This prayer is called Trisagion- it repeats the word "Holy" three times. It is addressed to the Holy Trinity. We call God Holy because He is without sin; Strong because He is omnipotent, and Immortal because He is eternal.

In Constantinople in 439 there was a strong earthquake. The people were in fear. People, bypassing the city in procession, prayed to God for an end to the disaster. They repentantly, with tears, exclaimed: “Lord, have mercy!” During the prayer, one boy was lifted into the air by an invisible force. When he sank to the ground, he said that he saw a choir of Angels singing: “Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us!” As soon as this chant was repeated by the believers, the earthquake stopped. This sacred angelic song has become an integral part of worship and prayer rule among Orthodox Christians.

Glory to Thee, Lord, glory to Thee.

We should not only ask God for something, but also thank Him for everything He sends us. If something good has happened to us, we should give thanks to God, at least briefly, by saying this prayer. Let us during the day notice everything that the Lord gives us, and go to sleep to thank Him.

Lord's Prayer

This prayer is special. It was given to His disciples-apostles by Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, when they asked Him: "Lord, teach us to pray." That is why this prayer is called the Lord's Prayer. It is also called the prayer "Our Father" - in the first words. All Orthodox Christians, even small ones, should know it by heart. There is even a saying: “To know as “Our Father””, that is, to remember something very well.

This small prayer contains a request to God for everything that a person needs. We turn to God with the words: “Our Father!”, because He created all people, gave us life, takes care of us and Himself calls us His children: gave the power to be children of God(John 1:12). We are His children, and He is our Father. God is everywhere, but His Throne, the place of special presence, is in the inaccessible, high realms in the sky where the Angels dwell.

May your name be hallowed. First of all, the name of God, His glory must be sanctified in His children - people. This light of God should be visible in us, which is manifested in good deeds, words, in purity of heart, in the fact that we have peace and love among ourselves. The Lord Himself said this: So let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in Heaven.(Mt 5:16).

May your kingdom come. It also says that the Kingdom of God must first come in the heart and soul of every Christian. We Orthodox must set an example for other people, how the Kingdom of God begins in our family, in our parish, how we love each other and treat people well and kindly. The future Kingdom of God, which has come in power, will begin on earth after the Lord Jesus Christ comes to it for the second time to judge all people with His last Judgment and establish the kingdom of peace, goodness and truth on earth.

May Thy will be done, as in heaven and on earth. The Lord wants only good and salvation for us. People, unfortunately, do not always live the way God wants. Angels in heaven are always in obedience to God, they know and do His will. We pray that people will understand that God wants them all to be saved and happy, and that they will obey God. But how do you know the will of God for yourself? After all, we are all different, and everyone has their own path. To live according to the will of God, you need to build your life the way God commands, that is, in your life be guided by His commandments, by what the word of God, Holy Scripture tells us. It is necessary to read it more often, to look for answers to questions in it. We need to listen to our conscience, it is the voice of God in us. It is necessary with humility and gratitude to accept everything that happens to us in life as sent from God. And in all difficult, difficult circumstances, when we do not know what to do, it is necessary to ask God to enlighten us and consult with spiritually experienced people. If possible, it is desirable for everyone to have their own spiritual father and, when necessary, ask him for advice.

Give us our daily bread today. We ask God to give us everything that is necessary for the soul and for the body for every day of our life. Bread here is primarily understood as Heavenly Bread, that is, the Holy Gifts that the Lord gives us in the Sacrament of Communion.

But we also ask for earthly food, clothing, shelter, and everything necessary for life. Therefore, Orthodox Christians read the prayer "Our Father" before meals.

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. We all have something to repent of before the Heavenly Father, we have something to ask for His forgiveness. And God, in His great love, always forgives us if we repent. So we must forgive our "debtors" - people who cause us grief and resentment. If we do not forgive our offenders, then God will not forgive us our sins.

And lead us not into temptation. What are temptations? These are life trials and circumstances in which we can easily commit sins. They happen to everyone: it can be difficult to resist irritation, harsh words, ill will. We need to pray that God will help us cope with temptation and not sin.

But deliver us from the evil one. From whom do temptations, bad, sinful thoughts, desires most often come? From our enemy, the devil. He and his ministers begin to inspire us with evil thoughts, induce us to sin. They deceive us, they never tell the truth, therefore the devil and his servants are called wicked - deceitful. But there is no need to be afraid of them, God has assigned a Guardian Angel to us, who helps us in the fight against demonic temptations. God protects from the evil devil all those who turn to Him.

For yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen. The prayer "Our Father" ends with a glorification of God, glorification of Him as the King and Ruler of the world. We believe that God is the All-Perfect Power that can help us, protect us from all evil. In confirmation of our faith, we say: "Amen" - "truly so."

When explaining the Lord's Prayer to children, one can recall the famous fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen "The Snow Queen" in its full version. The heroine of the fairy tale, the girl Gerda, read "Our Father", and the prayer helped her a lot. When Gerda approached the Snow Queen's palace to rescue Kai, terrible servants blocked her way. “Gerda began to read “Our Father”; it was so cold that the girl's breath immediately turned into a thick fog. This fog thickened and thickened, but then small bright angels began to stand out from it, which, having stepped on the ground, grew into large formidable angels with helmets on their heads and spears and shields in their hands. Their number kept increasing, and when Gerda finished her prayer, a whole legion had already formed around her. The angels took the snow monsters into spears, and they crumbled into a thousand pieces. Gerda could now boldly go forward: the angels stroked her hands and feet, and she was no longer so cold. Finally, the girl reached the halls of the Snow Queen.

Prayer to the Holy Spirit

This prayer is addressed to the third Person of the Holy Trinity - the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is everywhere, for God is a Spirit. He is the giver of life and grace-filled help to all living. It is especially important to read this prayer before the start of any good deed, so that the grace of the Holy Spirit instills in us, strengthens our strength and gives us help. It is customary to read the prayer “To the King of Heaven” before training sessions.

Prayer to the Most Holy Theotokos

("Our Lady of the Virgin")

This prayer is based on greeting of the Archangel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary at the moment of the Annunciation when the holy Archangel brought the news of the birth from Her to the Mother of God Savior of the world(See: Lk 1:28).

The Church honors and glorifies the Theotokos above all saints, above all angels. The prayer “Virgin Mary, rejoice” is ancient, it appeared in the first centuries of Christianity.

The words blessed is the fruit of thy womb, glorifying Christ, born of the Virgin Mary, are taken from the greeting of the righteous Elizabeth, when the Most Holy Theotokos, after the annunciation, wished to visit her (Lk 1, 42).

This prayer is glorious. We magnify, glorify in it the Mother of God as the Most worthy and righteous of all people, the Virgin, Who was honored with the great honor to give birth to God Himself.

We also turn to the Mother of God in a short prayer of supplication:

Holy Mother of God, save us.

We ask God for salvation through the prayers of the person closest to Him - His Mother. The Mother of God is our first Intercessor and Intercessor before God.

Praise to the Mother of God

("It is worthy to eat")

The Most Holy Theotokos is truly worthy of veneration, indulgence as the immaculate Mother of Christ the Savior.

We glorify Her more than all the Heavenly Forces, Cherubim and Seraphim, and magnify the Mother of God, who gave birth to God the Word, the Lord Jesus Christ, without birth pains and illnesses.

Prayer "It is worthy to eat" - glorifying, laudatory . “It is worthy to eat” and “Virgin Virgin” are the most famous and important prayers to the Virgin. Most often they are sung in the temple by all the worshipers.

This prayer usually concludes some parts of the church service. At home prayer, “It is worthy to eat” is usually read at the very end. This prayer is read after study and work.

Arkhangelsk song

The prayer “It is worthy to eat” is called the Arkhangelsk song. According to the legend of Mount Athos, during the reign of Basil and Constantine the Porphyrogenic, Elder Gabriel and his novice, also called Gabriel, labored in a cell near the monastery of Karei. On Saturday evening, June 11, 980, the elder went to the monastery for an all-night vigil, and left the novice to serve in private. At night, an unknown monk knocked on the cell. The novice gave him hospitality. They began to serve together. While singing the words “Most Honorable Cherubim,” the guest said that they glorify the Mother of God in a different way. He sang “It is worthy to eat, as if truly Blessed are You, the Mother of God, the Blessed and Immaculate and Mother of our God ...”, and then added: “The most honest Cherubim ...” The icon of the Mother of God “Merciful”, in front of which they prayed, shone with heavenly light. The novice asked to write down this song, but there was no paper in the cell. The guest took a stone, which became soft in his hands, and inscribed this prayer with his finger. The guest called himself Gabriel and disappeared. When Elder Gabriel came, he realized that the Archangel Gabriel had come. The stone with the song inscribed by the Archangel was delivered to Constantinople.

Prayer to the Guardian Angel

Angel of God, my holy guardian, given to me from God from heaven, I diligently pray to you: enlighten me today, and save me from all evil, guide me to a good deed and direct me to the path of salvation. Amen.

Each person is given a Guardian Angel at baptism. He protects us, saves us from all evil, and especially from the wiles of the forces of demons.

In this prayer, we turn to him and ask him to enlighten our mind to the knowledge of God, save us from all evil, direct us to salvation and help in all good deeds.

Prayer for the Living

Save, O Lord, and have mercy on my spiritual father(his name) , my parents(their names) , relatives, mentors, benefactors and all Orthodox Christians.

Our duty is to pray not only for ourselves, but also for the people closest to us: parents, the priest with whom we confess, brothers, sisters, teachers, all those who do good to us, and for all brothers in faith - Orthodox Christians.

Prayer for the dead

Give rest, O Lord, to the souls of your departed servants: my parents(their names) , relatives, benefactors(names) , and all Orthodox Christians, and forgive them all sins, voluntary and involuntary, and grant them the Kingdom of Heaven.

God has no dead, He has all alive. Not only those who live on earth, people close to us need our prayerful help, but also those who have left us, all our deceased relatives and friends.

Prayer before study

Good Lord, send down to us the grace of Your Holy Spirit, bestowing and strengthening our spiritual strength, so that, attentively taught to us, we may grow up to You, our Creator, to the glory, our parent for consolation, the Church and the Fatherland for the benefit.

For schoolchildren, their studies and studies are the same work as for adults their daily work. Therefore, it is necessary to start such an important and responsible business as teaching with prayer, so that the Lord would give us strength, help us assimilate the teaching taught, so that later we can use the knowledge received for the glory of God, for the benefit of the Church and our country. In order for work to bring joy to us and benefit people, we need to learn a lot, work hard.

Prayer after eating

We have already said that before eating food, the prayer "Our Father" is read. After eating, we also read a prayer, giving thanks to God for the sent meal.

God sends us food, but people prepare it, so we also do not forget to thank those who fed us.

Jesus Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.

The Jesus Prayer is addressed to our Lord Jesus Christ. In it, we ask for the most important thing: that the Savior forgive our sins and save us, have mercy on us.

This prayer is usually read in monasteries; it is included in the daily prayer rule. Monks - people who have dedicated their lives to the service of God - read it many times, sometimes almost without a break all day. Prayer is read on the rosary so as not to get lost in the count, for it is read a certain number of times. A rosary is usually a string tied with knots or beads. People living outside the monastery, in the world, can also read the Jesus Prayer and pray with the rosary, but for this you need to take a blessing from the priest. It is very good to do the Jesus prayer during work, calling on God for help, on the road and in general at any convenient time.

Prayer has great power. In the Lives of the Saints, Patericons, Fathers and other spiritual books there are many examples of the miraculous effect of prayer.

The Power of Prayer

Abba Dula, a disciple of the elder Vissarion, says: “Abba Vissarion had to cross the Chrysoro River. Having made a prayer, he went along the river, as if on dry land, and came to the other side. In amazement, I bowed to him and asked: what did your feet feel when you walked on the water? The elder answered: my heels felt water, but the rest was dry. Thus, more than once he crossed the great river Nile ”(Otechnik).

Complete collection and description: Our Father who art in heaven is a prayer for the spiritual life of a believer.

Our Father, Who art in heaven! Hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, as in heaven and on earth. Give us our daily bread today; and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

"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 our daily bread this day; and forgive us our debts, as we also forgive debtors ours, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen" (Matthew 6:9-13).

Greek:

In Latin:

Pater noster, qui es in caelis, sanctificetur nomen tuum. Adveniat regnum tuum. Fiat voluntas tua, sicut in caelo et in terra. Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie. Et dimitte nobis debita nostra, sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris. Et ne nos inducas in tentationem, sed libera nos a malo.

In English (Catholic liturgical version)

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be your 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.

Why did God Himself give a special prayer?

"Only God Himself can allow people to call God the Father. He granted this right to people, making them sons of God. And despite the fact that they moved away from Him and were in extreme anger against Him, He granted oblivion of insults and communion of grace" ( St. Cyril of Jerusalem).

How Christ taught the apostles to pray

The Lord's Prayer is given in the Gospels in two versions, a longer one in the Gospel of Matthew and a shorter one in the Gospel of Luke. The circumstances under which Christ pronounces the text of the prayer are also different. In the Gospel of Matthew, "Our Father" is part of the Sermon on the Mount. Evangelist Luke writes that the apostles turned to the Savior: "Lord! Teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples" (Luke 11:1).

"Our Father" in the home prayer rule

The Lord's Prayer is part of the daily prayer rule and is read both during the Morning Prayers and the Prayers for the Future. The full text of the prayers is given in the Prayer Books, Canons and other collections of prayers.

For those who are especially busy and cannot devote much time to prayer, St. Seraphim of Sarov gave a special rule. "Our Father" is also included in it. In the morning, afternoon and evening, you need to read "Our Father" three times, "Virgin Mother of God" three times and "I believe" once. For those who, for various reasons, cannot fulfill even this small rule, St. Seraphim advised to read it in every position: both during classes, and walking, and even in bed, presenting the basis for that the words of Scripture: "whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."

There is a custom to read "Our Father" before meals, along with other prayers (for example, "The eyes of all on You, Lord, trust, and You give them food in good time, You open Your generous hand and fulfill every animal goodwill").

• Explanatory Orthodox prayer book(How to learn to understand prayers? Translation of the words of prayers from a prayer book for the laity from Church Slavonic, an explanation of the meaning of prayers and petitions. Interpretations and quotes of the Holy Fathers) - ABC of Faith
• morning prayers
• Prayers for the dream to come(evening prayers)
• Complete psalter with all kathismas and prayers- one text
• What psalms to read in various circumstances, temptations and needs- reading psalms for every need
• Prayers for the well-being and happiness of the family- a selection of famous Orthodox prayers for the family
• Prayer and Its Necessity for Our Salvation- a collection of instructive publications
• Orthodox akathists and canons. A constantly updated collection of canonical Orthodox akathists and canons with ancient and miraculous icons: to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Mother of God, the saints ..

Read other prayers of the section "Orthodox prayer book"

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Our Father, Who art in heaven!

1. Hallowed be thy name.

2. Thy kingdom come.

3. Thy will be done, as in heaven and on earth.

4. Give us our daily bread today.

5. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

6. And lead us not into temptation.

7. But deliver us from the evil one.

For Yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and forever and ever. Amen.

Our Heavenly Father!

1. Hallowed be thy name.

2. Thy kingdom come.

3. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

4. Give us our daily bread for this day.

5. And forgive us our sins, as we also forgive those who have sinned against us.

6. And do not allow us to temptation.

7. But deliver us from the evil one.

Because to You belongs the kingdom, the power and the glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.

Father - Father; Izhe- Which the; Thou art in heaven- Which is in heaven, or heavenly; Yes- let; sanctified- glorified: like- how; in heaven- in the sky; urgent- necessary for existence; give me- give; today- today, today; leave- sorry; debts- sins; our debtor– those people who have sinned against us; temptation- temptation, danger of falling into sin; crafty- all cunning and evil, that is, the devil. The devil is an evil spirit.

This prayer is called Lord's because the Lord Jesus Christ Himself gave it to His disciples when they asked Him to teach them how to pray. Therefore, this prayer is the most important prayer of all.

In this prayer we turn to God the Father, the first Person of the Holy Trinity.

It is divided into: invocation, seven petitions, or 7 requests, and doxology.

Summoning: Our Father, Who art in heaven! With these words, we turn to God and, calling Him the Heavenly Father, we call to listen to our requests, or petitions.

When we say that He is in heaven, we must understand spiritual, invisible sky, and not that visible blue vault that is spread over us, and which we call “sky”.

Request 1st: May your name be hallowed, that is, help us to live righteously, holyly and glorify Your name with our holy deeds.

2nd: Let Your Kingdom Come that is, make us worthy even here on earth of your kingdom of heaven, which is truth, love and peace; reign in us and rule over us.

3rd: May Thy will be done, as in heaven and on earth, that is, let everything not be as we want, but as You please, and help us to obey this Your will and fulfill it on earth as unquestioningly, without grumbling, as it is fulfilled, with love and joy, by the holy angels in heaven . Because only You know what is useful and necessary for us, and You wish us well more than we ourselves.

4th: Give us our daily bread today, that is, give us for this day, for today, our daily bread. Bread here means everything necessary for our life on earth: food, clothing, shelter, but most importantly, the most pure Body and precious Blood in the sacrament of Holy Communion, without which there is no salvation, no eternal life.

The Lord commanded us to ask ourselves not for wealth, not for luxury, but only for the most necessary things, and to rely on God in everything, remembering that He, as a Father, always takes care of us.

5th: And leave us our debts, as we also leave our debtors that is, forgive us our sins just as we ourselves forgive those who offended or offended us.

In this petition, our sins are called “our debts”, because the Lord gave us strength, abilities and everything else in order to do good deeds, and we often turn all this into sin and evil and become “debtors” before God. And so, if we ourselves do not sincerely forgive our “debtors,” that is, people who have sins against us, then God will not forgive us. Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself told us about this.

6th: And lead us not into temptation. Temptation is such a state when something or someone draws us to sin, tempts us to do something lawless and bad. So, we ask - do not allow us to temptation, which we cannot endure; help us overcome temptations when they come.

7th: But deliver us from the evil one, that is, deliver us from all evil in this world and from the culprit (chief) of evil - from the devil (evil spirit), who is always ready to destroy us. Deliver us from this cunning, crafty power and its deceptions, which is nothing before You.

Doxology: For Yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and forever and ever. Amen.

For to you, our God, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, belongs the kingdom, and the power, and eternal glory. All this is true, truly so.

QUESTIONS: Why is this prayer called the Lord's Prayer? To whom are we addressing this prayer? How does she share? How to translate in Russian: Who art thou in heaven? How to convey in your own words the 1st petition: Hallowed be Thy Name? 2nd: May your kingdom come? 3rd: Thy will be done, as in heaven and on earth? 4th: Give us our daily bread today? 5th: And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors? 6th: And lead us not into temptation? 7th: But deliver us from the evil one? What does the word amen mean?

Lord's Prayer. Our Father

Our Father, who art in heaven!

Hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come,

Thy will be done, as in heaven and on earth.

Give us our daily bread today;

and forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors;

and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

Our Father who art in heaven!

May your name be hallowed;

Let your kingdom come;

may Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven;

Give us our daily bread for this day;

And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors;

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Our Father, who art thou in heaven, prayer

Our Father, Thou art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy Kingdom come; Thy will be done, as in heaven and on earth. Give us our daily bread today; and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

Father - Father (address - a form of the vocative case). Thou art in heaven - existing (living) in Heaven, that is, Heavenly ( ilk- which the). Yesi- the form of the verb being in the 2nd person of unity. Numbers of the present tense: in modern language we speak you are, and in Church Slavonic - you are. The literal translation of the beginning of the prayer: O our Father, He Who is in Heaven! Any literal translation is not entirely accurate; the words: Father, Dry in Heaven, Heavenly Father - more closely convey the meaning of the first words of the Lord's Prayer. Let it shine - let it be holy and glorified. Like in heaven and on earth - both in heaven and on earth (like - how). urgent necessary for existence, for life. Give - give. Today- today. Like- how. From the evil one- from evil (words crafty, deceit- derived from the words "bow": something indirect, curved, crooked, like a bow. There is also the Russian word "falsehood").

This prayer is called the Lord's Prayer, because our Lord Jesus Christ Himself gave it to His disciples and all people:

It happened that when He was praying in one place, and stopped, one of His disciples said to Him: Lord! Teach us to pray!

When you pray, say: Our Father who art in heaven! May your name be hallowed; let your kingdom come; may Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us our daily bread for every day; and forgive us our sins, for we also forgive every debtor of ours; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil (Luke 11:1-4).

Our Father who art in heaven! May your name be hallowed; let your kingdom come; May Thy will be done both on earth and in heaven; give us our daily bread this day; and forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen (Matthew 6:9-13).

By reading the Lord's Prayer daily, let us learn what the Lord requires of us: it indicates both our needs and our main duties.

Our Father… In these words, we still do not ask for anything, we only cry out, turn to God and call him father.

“Saying this, we confess God, the Lord of the universe, as our Father - and by him we confess that they are removed from the state of slavery and appropriated to God as His adopted children”

(Philokalia, vol. 2)

...Who art thou in Heaven... With these words, we express our readiness to turn away in every possible way from attachment to earthly life as a wanderer and far separating us from our Father and, on the contrary, with the greatest desire to strive for the region in which our Father dwells ...

“Having reached such a high degree of the sons of God, we must burn with such filial love for God, so that we no longer seek our own benefits, but with all our desire to desire the glory of Him, our Father, saying to Him: hallowed be thy name,- by which we testify that all our desire and all joy is the glory of our Father, - may the glorious name of our Father be glorified, reverently honored and bowed down.

Rev. John Cassian the Roman

Let Your Kingdom Come- that Kingdom, "by which Christ reigns in the saints, when, after taking power over us from the Devil and banishing our passions from the hearts, God begins to reign in us through the fragrance of virtues - or that which at a predetermined time is promised to all perfect, all children of God, when Christ says to them: Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world (Matthew 25:34)."

Rev. John Cassian the Roman

The words "Thy will be done" turn us to the prayer of the Lord in the Garden of Gethsemane: Father! Oh, that You would deign to carry this cup past Me! however, not my will, but yours be done (Luke 22:42).

Give us our daily bread today. We ask for the gift of bread, necessary for food, and, moreover, not in large quantities, but only for this day ... So, let's learn to ask for the most necessary things for our life, but we won't ask for everything leading to abundance and luxury, because we don't know, log whether it to us. Let us learn to ask for bread and everything necessary only for this day, so that we do not become lazy in prayer and obedience to God. We will be alive the next day - again we will ask for the same, and so on all the days of our earthly life.

However, we must not forget the words of Christ that Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4). It is even more important to remember other words of the Savior : I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; but the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world (John 6:51). Thus, Christ has in mind not only something material, necessary for a person for earthly life, but also something eternal, necessary for life in the Kingdom of God: Himself, offered in Communion.

Some holy fathers interpreted the Greek expression as "supernatural bread" and referred it only (or mainly) to the spiritual side of life; however, the Lord's Prayer encompasses both earthly and heavenly meanings.

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. The Lord Himself concluded this prayer with an explanation: For if you forgive people their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive people their trespasses, then your Father will not forgive you your trespasses. (Matthew 6:14-15).

“The merciful Lord promises us the forgiveness of our sins, if we ourselves show an example of forgiveness to our brethren: leave to us, as we leave. It is obvious that in this prayer with boldness only he who has forgiven his debtors can boldly ask for forgiveness. Whoever, from the bottom of his heart, does not forgive his brother who sins against him, with this prayer will ask for himself not pardon, but condemnation: for if this prayer is heard, then, in accordance with his example, something else should follow, but inexorable anger and indispensable punishment. ? Judgment without mercy to the unmerciful (James 2:13)."

Rev. John Cassian the Roman

Here sins are called debts, because, by faith and obedience to God, we must fulfill His commandments, do good, move away from evil; is that how we do it? By not doing the good that we should do, we become debtors to God.

This expression of the Lord's Prayer is best explained by Christ's parable of the man who owed the king ten thousand talents (Matthew 18:23-35).

And lead us not into temptation. Remembering the words of the apostle: Blessed is the man who endures temptation, for when he is tested he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love him. (James 1, 12), we must understand these words of prayer not as follows: “do not allow us to ever be tempted,” but as follows: “do not allow us to be overcome in temptation.”

In temptation no one say: God is tempting me; because God is not tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone, but everyone is tempted, carried away and deceived by his own lust; lust, having conceived, gives birth to sin, and the sin committed gives birth to death (James 1:13-15).

But deliver us from the evil one - that is, do not let us be tempted by the devil beyond our strength, but with give temptation and relief so that we can endure (1 Cor. 10:13).

Rev. John Cassian the Roman

The Greek text of the prayer, like Church Slavonic and Russian, allows us to understand the expression from the evil one and personally ( sly- the father of lies - the devil), and impersonally ( crafty- all unrighteous, evil; evil). Patristic interpretations offer both understandings. Since evil comes from the devil, then, of course, in the petition for deliverance from evil lies the petition for deliverance from its culprit.

Prayer "Our Father, Who art in heaven": text in Russian

There is no person who would not have heard or did not know about the existence of the prayer “Our Father, Who art in heaven!”. This is the most important prayer that believing Christians around the world turn to. The Lord's Prayer, as it is commonly called "Our Father", is considered the key asset of Christianity, the oldest prayer. It is given in two Gospels: from Matthew - in chapter six, from Luke - in chapter eleven. The variant given by Matthew became very popular.

In Russian, the text of the prayer “Our Father” exists in two versions - in modern Russian and in Church Slavonic. Because of this, many people mistakenly believe that there are 2 different Lord's Prayers in Russian. In fact, this opinion is fundamentally wrong - both options are equivalent, and such a discrepancy occurred due to the fact that during the translation of ancient writings "Our Father" was translated from two sources (the above-mentioned Gospels) in different ways.

From the story “Our Father, Who art in heaven!”

Biblical tradition says that the prayer “Our Father, who art in heaven!” The apostles were taught by Jesus Christ himself, the Son of God. This event took place in Jerusalem, on the Mount of Olives, on the territory of the Pater Noster temple. The text of the Lord's Prayer was imprinted on the walls of this particular temple in more than 140 languages ​​of the world.

However, the fate of the Pater Noster temple turned out to be tragic. In 1187, after the capture of Jerusalem by the troops of Sultan Saladin, the temple was completely destroyed. Already in the XIV century, in 1342, they found a piece of the wall with an engraving of the prayer “Our Father”.

Later, in the 19th century, in its second half, thanks to the architect Andre Lecomte, a church appeared on the site of the former Pater Noster, which later passed into the hands of the female Catholic monastic order of barefoot Carmelites. Since then, the walls of this church have been decorated every year with a new panel with the text of the main Christian heritage.

When and how is the prayer "Our Father" pronounced?

"Our Father" is an obligatory part of the daily prayer rule. Traditionally, it is customary to read it 3 times a day - in the morning, afternoon, evening. Each time the prayer is said three times. After it, “Theotokos Virgin” (3 times) and “I Believe” (1 time) are read.

As Luke conveys in his Gospel, Jesus Christ, before giving the prayer “Our Father” to believers, said: “Ask, and you will be rewarded.” This means that the “Our Father” must be read before any prayer, and after that you can pray in your own words. When Jesus bequeathed it, he gave permission to call the Lord a father, therefore, addressing the Almighty with the words “Our Father” (“Our Father”) is the full right of all those who pray.

The Lord's Prayer, being the strongest and most important, unites believers, so you can read it not only within the walls of a liturgical institution, but also outside it. For those who, due to their busyness, are not able to devote proper time to the pronunciation of the “Our Father”, the Monk Seraphim of Sarov recommended reading it in every position and at every opportunity: before eating, in bed, during work or classes, when walking and etc. In favor of his point of view, Seraphim cited the words from Scripture: “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Turning to the Lord with the help of “Our Father”, believers should ask for all people, and not just for themselves. The more often a person prays, the closer he becomes to the Creator. “Our Father” is a prayer that contains a direct appeal to the Almighty. This is a prayer, in which a departure from the vanity of the world, penetration into the very depths of the soul, detachment from sinful earthly life can be traced. An indispensable condition for pronouncing the Lord's Prayer is the aspiration to God with thoughts and heart.

The structure and Russian text of the prayer “Our Father”

“Our Father” has its own characteristic structure: at the very beginning there is an appeal to God, an appeal to him, then seven petitions are voiced, which are closely intertwined with each other, everything ends with a doxology.

The text of the prayer “Our Father” in Russian is used, as mentioned above, in two equivalent versions - Church Slavonic and modern Russian.

Church Slavonic variant

With the Old Slavonic version of the sound of “Our Father” as follows:

Modern Russian version

In modern Russian, "Our Father" is available in two versions - in the presentation of Matthew and in the presentation of Luke. The text from Matthew is the most popular. It sounds like this:

The version of the Lord's Prayer from Luke is more abbreviated, does not contain doxology and sounds like this:

A praying person for himself can choose any of the available options. Each of the texts of the "Our Father" is a kind of personal conversation of the one praying with the Lord God. The Lord's Prayer is so strong, sublime and pure that after pronouncing it, each person feels relief and peace.

The only prayer that I know by heart and read in any difficult situation in life. After it, it really becomes easier, I become calm and feel a surge of strength, I quickly find a solution to the problem.

This is the most powerful and main prayer that every person must know! My grandmother taught it to me when I was a child, and now I teach it to my own children. If a person knows “Our Father”, the Lord will always be with him and will never leave him!

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