How do Orthodox Christians open and close their prayers?

How do Orthodox Christian open and close their prayers?

Coming from the Methodist tradition, I was taught to open with "Heavenly Father" and close with "in the Name of Jesus" or "Through Jesus' Name." But how do Orthodox Christians pray?

Thank you.

Most services (minus the Divine Liturgy and some festive services) start with: " In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen"

All of them end with: "Through the prayers of our holy fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us. Amen."

Except during Pentecost when they end with: " Christ has risen from the dead; He trampled down death by death, and to those in the tombs He granted life. Truly the Lord is Risen!"[FONT=&quot][/FONT]

All of them end with: "Through the prayers of our holy fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us. Amen."

Except during Pentecost when they end with: " Christ has risen from the dead; He trampled down death by death, and to those in the tombs He granted life. Truly the Lord is Risen!"[FONT=&quot][/FONT]

Click to expand...

If you know the saint commemorated on a certain day you can say "through the prayers of saint x who we commemorate today."

Monica said:

If you know the saint commemorated on a certain day you can say "through the prayers of saint x who we commemorate today."

Click to expand...

Yes, in our private prayers we can say that too.

Formally, that is included in the Dismissal that precedes the "through the prayers of our holy fathers..."

Quote:

(A little off topic, but after 6 years here I've finally reached my 1000th post)

Starting out, I just kept it simple - cross myself and say "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit". Nice and easy.

Not the Doxology?! and dont they end a lot of times with a blessing!?

Private prayers. And no, the Doxology is not used every time.

I usually start "In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit." Then the Trisagion Prayers.

I have no idea what other people do. I just...start praying and then...stop praying. Every prayer is a little different, most end with the sign of the cross. I think it's more to do with the intent of your heart than fancy salad dressing. Kinda like you can go to Mt. Athos and totally go crazy on Orthodox apparel, Space Balls the T-Shirt, Space Balls the coffee mug, Space Balls the CD, Space Balls the movie, Mr. Radar & Mr. Coffee ...etc., but that doesn't make you Orthodox. Orthodoxy is a daily conversion and we must convert to it everyday. Sorry, went a little off topic there. :/

Nicea,

You are just starting out, so I would like to extend a little advice to you: Don't rely on what you read or see on message boards to represent Orthodox Christianity. There have been somethings said and represented on these boards lately that just baffle me.

If you want to learn to pray in the Orthodox tradition, ask a priest or monastic. If none is available, get a prayer book written in keeping with historical Orthodoxy such as the Jordanville or the Manual of Eastern Orthodox prayer put out by the OCA. I am sure the Greeks and Antiochians have an equivalent as well. Met. Anthony Bloom's Beginning to Pray is a good book too. We progress from prayers passed to us from the Fathers and Mothers. That is the beginning.

God bless,
M.

Monica said:

Nicea,

You are just starting out, so I would like to extend a little advice to you: Don't rely on what you read or see on message boards to represent Orthodox Christianity. There have been somethings said and represented on these boards lately that just baffle me.

God bless,
M.

Click to expand...

I agree, don't let the internet represent Orthodoxy to you. The internet is the last place you should be seeking Orthodoxy because on message boards you will find all sorts of heresy and blasphemy; I'm not saying that everything is bad though. A church is the best place to be and when you have theological questions, it's best to ask your priest instead of people on a forum because a priest knows better than any of us here.

Thank you for the help and advice. And thank you too to those who have advised me against relying on the Internet. It is appreciated.

Here are some great books on prayer:

Beginning to Pray
by Anthony Bloom

A Beginner's Guide to Prayer: The Orthodox Way to Draw Closer to God
by Fr. Michael Keiser

Also, there are daily Morning and Evening prayers printed in the back of the Orthodox Study Bible. (Link provided in the thread on Recommended Orthodox Reading.)

Here are the Orthodox Daily Prayers.

Thank you! Should one recite all the prayers daily, or are there certain ones that have to be said (the most important ones?)

Each person's personal rule of prayer will be different. Usually your priest/spiritual father will advise you on this. Trying to make it regular and consistent is more important than length. Can you give the priest at the church you visited a ring and see if he can help?