The Great Penitential Canon of Andrei of Crete. When is the canon of St. Andrew of Crete read? Why attend the canon of St. Andrew of Crete and bow to the ground

Nika Kravchuk

Canon of Andrei Kritsky - the first note of Lent

Lent began on February 27, 2017 and will last until April 15. For almost 50 days, believers will prepare for Easter - Bright Christ's Resurrection, limit yourself in food and entertainment, focus on prayer, mercy and repentance. Helps to tune in to fasting The Great Penitential Canon of Andrei Kritsky, which is read in churches at the beginning of Lent (the first four days) and in the fifth week (on Thursday mornings, and more often on Wednesday evenings).

The Canon of Andrew of Crete is a unique song of repentance, 250 troparions intertwined with cries for mercy. This creation, written in the 8th century as an individual hymn of repentance, but thanks to deep meaning turned into a church-wide song of pardon.

The Great Canon of Repentance - the price of 30 years of repentance

What inner turmoil did the author go through to write a song of repentance? According to some historians, Andrei of Crete was a participant in the false council of 712, at which they opposed the decisions of the VI Ecumenical Council. The false council was held on the initiative of Emperor Philippicus, who supported the heresy of monothelitism (the monothelites denied the presence in Christ of not only divine, but also human will).

But after a couple of years, the government changed, the decisions of the false council were declared invalid, and all participants repented and separately signed the decisions of the VI Ecumenical Council.

But Andrei Kritsky could not forgive himself. For 30 years, almost until his death, he prayed to God for repentance, and then wrote his masterpiece hymn.

The Canon of Andrei Kritsky - personal history and biblical stories

Andrei Kritsky compares himself with Adam, expelled from paradise, Cain, the first murderer, Ham, who mocked his father, and many other violators of the commandments.

In the canon of Andrei Kritsky, New Testament characters are also remembered. One of the most striking is the Apostle Peter, who, having doubts, began to drown. But Christ saved him. Likewise, God is ready to give a helping hand to each of us drowning in sins. You just have to ask for it.

The canon of Andrei Kritsky is compared to the correct tonality of a chant. If you set the wrong tone, the whole song will sound haphazard. It’s the same with Lent: if you start it without an appropriate repentant attitude, then the likelihood of wasting time to no avail increases. How can we make sure that the first days of the Holy Pentecost are useful for us? We offer you five tips:

If possible, come to church for the reading of the Great Penitential Canon of Andrew of Crete - this will help you get in the mood for fasting. How? First, the appearance of the temple and the black vestments of the priests will become a visual signal. Secondly, the repentant songs, bows and “fasting” mood of those present in the church will not leave you indifferent.
Buy a book with the canon or download it to your phone - the text in front of your eyes will make it easier to perceive. Moreover, you may not hear what the priest is reading. Or, even worse, the reader may twist certain words. Or the unexpected noise of parishioners may distract you. But the text before your eyes will help you focus on prayer.
Read the Holy Scriptures - Andrew of Crete often refers to the biblical context. If you don’t know any names, and you don’t know the Old Testament well or haven’t read it at all, don’t be too lazy to at least Google it. Then the text of the canon will not seem like some kind of encrypted message.
If you can’t go to church, read or listen to the canon of Andrei Kritsky yourself.
If you did not understand the meaning of the penitential hymn through Church Slavonic language, find a translation into Russian on the Internet.

We also invite you to watch a video of the reading of the Great Penitential Canon accompanied by the song "My soul..." :

Take it for yourself and tell your friends!

Another canon of our venerable mother Mary of Egypt, tone 6:

Grant me luminous grace from the Divine providence from above to avoid the passions of darkness and to sing diligently, Mary, the red correction of your life.

Reverend Mother Mary, pray to God for us.

Having bowed to the Divine Law of Christ, you began to do this, abandoning uncontrollable desires for sweets, and you reverently, as if alone, corrected every virtue.

Through your prayers, Andrei, deliver us from dishonest passions and now share the Kingdom of Christ with faith and love, praising you, more glorious, show us, we pray.

Glory: Transubstantial Trinity, worshiped in Unity, take away from me the heavy sinful burden and, as you are gracious, give me tears of tenderness.

And now: Theotokos, Hope and Intercession of You who sing, take away from me the heavy sinful burden and, like the Pure Lady, repentant, accept me.

Song 2

Irmos: Look, O Heaven, and I will speak and sing of Christ, who came in the flesh from the Virgin.

Listen, O Heaven, and I will say, O earth, instill a voice repenting to God and praising Him.

Look at me, O God, my Savior, with Your merciful eye and accept my warm confession.

Man has sinned more than all others, and only one has sinned against You; but be generous, as God, the Savior, is Thy creation.

The storm of the wicked will contain me, O gracious Lord; But stretch out your hand to Peter and to me.

Tears of a harlot, O Generous One, and I offer, cleanse me, O Savior, by Thy compassion.

Having darkened the spiritual beauty of passions with sweets and in every possible way, I created dust in my entire mind.

Now the Creator has torn my first garment to the south from the beginning, and from there I lie naked.

I have put on a torn robe, emanating from the serpent’s advice, and I am ashamed.

I looked at the beauty of the garden and was seduced by my mind: and from there I lie naked and am ashamed.

All the rulers of passions are on my back, continuing their iniquity on me.

I have destroyed my pristine goodness and splendor and now I lie naked and ashamed.

Sewing the garments of skin is a sin to me, exposing me to the first richly woven garments.

I am surrounded by a garment of cold, like fig leaves, to expose my autocratic passions.

Dressed in a shameful robe and bloodied by the cold flow of a passionate and lustful belly.

We have defiled my flesh's robe and stained it in the image, the Savior, and in the likeness.

I fell into passionate destruction and into material aphids, and from then until now the enemy annoys me.

The Savior now prefers a loving and beloved life, intemperance, which I am burdened with a heavy burden.

I decorate the carnal image of bad thoughts with various taxes and I am condemned.

We diligently took care of the outer decorations alone, despising the inner God-like tabernacle.

Having imagined the ugliness of my passions, I have destroyed the beauty with the lustful aspirations of my mind.

The cellar of the first image of kindness, Savior, passions, like sometimes a drachma, having sought and found.

Having sinned like a harlot, I cry to You: I alone have sinned against You; Like myrrh, accept, O Savior, my tears.

Like David, I crawled about fornication and became defiled, but I was also washed, O Savior, with tears.

Cleanse me, like the publican, I cry to You, O Savior, cleanse me: none of those who are from Adam, like I, have sinned with You.

No tears, below repentance imam, below tenderness. This is my self, Savior, as God, grant.

Do not close Your door to me then, O Lord, Lord, but open this door to me who repents to You.

Lover of humanity, if you want everyone to be saved, call me and accept me as a good one who repents.

Inspire the sighing of my soul and receive the drops before my eyes, O Savior, and save me.

Most Pure Virgin Mary, One All-Singing One, pray diligently that we may be saved.

Other. Irmos: You see, you see, for I am God, who rained down manna and poured out water from stones of old in the desert by My people, by My only right hand and My strength.

You see, you see, for I am God, inspire my soul to cry out to the Lord, and flee from former sin, and fear as the unwashed and as the Judge and God.

Who are you like, O sinful soul? only to the first Cain and Lamech, who petrified the body of villainy and killed the mind with wordless aspirations.

Having transgressed everything before the law, about the soul, you did not resemble Seth, nor did you imitate Enos, nor did you imitate Enoch, nor Noah, but you appeared in the wretchedness of the righteous life.

You alone opened the abyss of the wrath of Thy God, my soul, and you drowned all, like the earth, flesh, deeds, and life, and you remained outside the ark of salvation.

He killed a husband, he says, as a wound to me, and a young man as a scab, Lamech cried out and wept; You do not tremble, O my soul, having calcified your flesh and desecrated your mind.

About how jealous Lamech, the first murderer, was jealous of his soul, like a husband, his mind, like a youth, like my brother, killing his body, like Cain the murderer, with lustful aspirations.

Thou hast wisely created a pillar, O soul, and set up a foundation by thy lusts, had not the Creator withheld thy counsels and cast down thy devices to the earth.

Vulnered, wounded, behold the arrows of the enemy, which wounded my soul and body; behold, these scabs, festerings, darknesses cry out, the wounds of my self-willed passions.

The Lord sometimes rains fire from the Lord against iniquity, burning the Sodomites; You have kindled the fire of Gehenna, in it imash, about the soul, burning.

Understand and see that I am God, test hearts and torment thoughts, expose deeds, and burn out sins, and judge the orphan, and the humble, and the poor.

Reverend Mother Mary, pray to God for us.

You stretched out your hands to the generous God, Mary, plunging into the abyss of evil, and like Peter, the humane hand of the Divine extended your appeal in every possible way.

Reverend Mother Mary, pray to God for us.

With all your zeal and love you flowed to Christ, turning away the first path of sin, feeding in impenetrable deserts, and fulfilling His Divine commandments purely.

Reverend Father Andrew, pray to God for us.

We see, we see love for mankind, about the soul, of God and the Master; For this sake, before the end, let us fall down crying with tears: Andrey’s prayers, Savior, have mercy on us.

Glory: Beginningless, Uncreated Trinity, Indivisible Unity, receive me repentant, save me when I have sinned, I am your creation, do not despise, but have mercy and deliver me from fiery condemnation.

And now: Most Pure Lady, Mother of God, the Hope of those who flow to You and the refuge of those in the storm, the Merciful and Creator and Your Son, propitiate me also with Your prayers.

Song 2

Irmos: On the immovable, Christ, the stones of Your commandments, establish my thoughts.

Sometimes the Lord rained fire from the Lord and first fell into the land of Sodom.

Save yourself on the mountain, O soul, like Lot, and take him to Zoar.

Flee the burning, O soul, flee the burning of Sodom, flee the decay of the Divine flame.

I confess to You, Savior, those who have sinned, those who have sinned, but weaken, leave me alone, as if I were compassionate.

There is only one who has sinned against You, one who has sinned more than all, O Christ the Savior, do not despise me.

You are the Good Shepherd, seek me, the lamb, and do not despise the lost one.

You are sweet Jesus, You are my Creator, in You, the Savior, I will be justified.

O Trinity Unity God, save us from delusion, temptations, and circumstances.

Most Holy Theotokos, save us.

Rejoice, God-pleasing womb, Rejoice, throne of the Lord, Rejoice, Mother of our Life.

Other. Irmos

The source of life is the acquisition of You, the Destroyer of death, and I cry to You from my heart before the end: cleanse those who have sinned, save me.

Under Noah, the Savior, imitating fornication, they inherited condemnation in the flood of immersion.

Those who have sinned, O Lord, those who have sinned against You, cleanse me: for there is no one who has sinned among men, whom he has not exceeded in sins.

Hama, my soul, imitating the parricide, did not cover the shame of the sincere one, returning back in vain.

You did not inherit the blessing of Simova, you damned soul, nor did you have a vast possession, like Japheth, you had abandonment on earth.

From the land of Harran, come from sin, my soul, come to the land that wears out the ever-animal incorruptibility that Abraham inherited.

You heard Abraham, my soul, having long ago left the land of your fatherland and being a stranger, imitate this will.

At the oak of Mamre, the angels established the patriarch, inheriting the promises of catching in old age.

Isaac, my damned soul, having understood new victim, secretly burnt offering to the Lord, imitate his will.

You heard Ismaila, sober up, my soul, expelled, like the birth of a slave, see, but it’s not like you suffered, you are kind-hearted.

Hagar of old, the soul of the Egyptians, you became like, enslaved by will and giving birth to a new Ismail, contempt.

Thou didst understand Jacob's ladder, my soul, which is revealed from earth to Heaven: why didst thou not have the rise of firmness and piety.

The priest of God and the king is alone, imitate the likeness of Christ in the world of life.

Do not wake up the glorious pillar, when your soul returns, let the image of Sodom frighten you, save yourself from grief in Zoar.

Burning, like Lot, run, my soul, from sin, run from Sodom and Gomorrah, run from the flame of every wordless desire.

Have mercy, O Lord, have mercy on me, I cry to You, when You come with Your angels to reward everyone according to the merits of their deeds.

Prayers, Master, do not reject those who sing to You, but be generous, O Lover of mankind, and grant by faith to those who ask for forgiveness.

Reverend Mother Mary, pray to God for us.

I am contained by the storm and anxiety of sins, but now save me, mother, and lead me to the haven of Divine repentance.

Reverend Mother Mary, pray to God for us.

Slave prayer and now, venerable one, having brought the Mother of God with your prayers to the Mother of God, open for me the Divine entrances.

Reverend Father Andrew, pray to God for us.

Through your prayers, grant me forgiveness of debts, O Andrey, Chairman of Crete, for you are a treasure trove of repentance.

Glory: To the Trinity, Simple, Uncreated, Originless Nature, in the Trinity sung by the Hypostases, save us, who by faith worship Thy power.

And now: From the Flightless Father, the Son in summer, the Mother of God, unartfully gave birth to you, a strange miracle, the Virgin remained milking.

Irmos: Establish, O Lord, on the rock of Your commandments my heart has moved, for You alone are Holy and Lord.

Sedalen, voice 8:

God-seeing luminaries, Savior's apostles, enlighten us in the darkness of life, as if we now walk gracefully in the days, escaping the nightly passions with the light of abstinence, and we will see the bright passions of Christ, rejoicing.

Slava, another sedal, the same voice:

Apostolic Twelve, chosen by God, now bring a prayer to Christ, let all pass through the Lenten field, those who perform prayers in tenderness, who diligently practice virtues, so that we may now see the glorious Resurrection of Christ God, bringing glory and praise.

And now, Mother of God:

The incomprehensible God, the Son and the Word, who was indescribably born from You, pray, Mother of God, with the apostles, to grant us the pure peace of the universe, and grant us forgiveness of sins before the end, and grant Thy servants the uttermost Kingdom of Heaven for the sake of goodness.

Also three-song, voice 8:

Song 4

Irmos: I have heard, O Lord, the sight of Your mystery, I have understood Your works and glorified Your Divinity.

With abstinence, enlightenment, Christ's apostles, abstinence, the time of Divine intercessions for us is calmed.

Holy apostles, pray to God for us.

The two-stringed organ sings the song of salvation, the face of the Divine disciples, the evil one disturbing the voices.

Holy apostles, pray to God for us.

With spiritual blessing, drink all the sunflowers, drive away polytheism, and bring all-blessedness.

Most Holy Theotokos, save us.

Having humbled yourself, save me, who lived a wise life, who gave birth to the Ascension of a humble nature, the All-Pure Virgin.

Other. Irmos, the same voice: I heard, O Lord, Thy sacrament, I understood Thy works and glorified Thy Divinity.

Holy apostles, pray to God for us.

Apostolic all-honorable dignity, imploring the Creator of all, ask for mercy on us who praise you.

Holy apostles, pray to God for us.

As true workers, Christ's apostles, who have cultivated the whole world with the Divine word, always bear fruit to Him.

Holy apostles, pray to God for us.

The grapes of Christ are truly beloved, the spiritual wine flows pure to the world, apostles.

Most Holy Trinity, our God, glory to Thee.

Pre-primordial, conformable, all-powerful to the Holy Trinity, Holy Father, Word and Soul, God, Light and Life, preserve Your flock.

Most Holy Theotokos, save us.

Rejoice, fiery throne, Rejoice, luminous lamp, Rejoice, mountain of consecration, ark of Life, holy hay of saints.

Great Canon Irmos: The prophet heard Thy coming, O Lord, and feared, for Thou wouldst be born of a virgin and appear as a man, and said: I heard Thy hearing and feared, glory to Thy power, O Lord.

Do not despise Your works, do not abandon Your creations to Justice. Even though there is only one sinner, like a man, more than any other man, more loving than mankind; but imashi, as the Lord of all, has the power to forgive sins.

The end of the soul is approaching, approaching, and without care or preparation, time is shortening: arise, the Judge is near at the door. Like sleepiness, like color, the time of life flows: why are we worrying in vain?

Arise, O my soul, think about your deeds that you have done, and these are before you. your face bring it, and let out drops of your tears; express boldness in your actions and thoughts to Christ and be justified.

There was no sin in life, no deed, no malice, and I, the Savior, did not sin in mind, and in word, and in will, and in sentence, and in thought, and in deed, having sinned, as no one else has ever done.

From here I was condemned, from here I was despised, accursed, from my conscience, even though there is nothing more necessary in the world: Judge, my Deliverer and Leader, spare, and deliver, and save me, Thy servant.

The ladder, from ancient times great among the patriarchs, is an indication, my soul, of an active ascent, a rational ascension: if you want to live by slaughter, and by reason, and by sight, be renewed.

He endured the heat of the day for the sake of the patriarch and the filth of the night, creating provisions for every day, shepherding, toiling, working, and marrying two wives.

Think of my two wives as action and understanding in sight, Leah's action as having many children, and Rachel's understanding as being laborious; for apart from labor, neither the action nor the sight of the soul will be corrected.

Be vigilant, O my soul, do good, as the great patriarch of old did, so that you may achieve deeds with your mind, so that your mind will see God, and you will reach the never-ending darkness in your vision, and you will become a great merchant.

Having created twelve great patriarchs among all the patriarchs, secretly establish for you the ladder of active ascension, my soul: children, like foundations, degrees, like ascents, wisely laying them out.

You imitated the hated Esau, your soul, you gave the first kindnesses first priority to your charmer, and you fell away from your fatherly prayers, and you crawled twice, cursed, in deed and in mind: repent therefore now.

Esau was called Edom, extreme for the sake of misogynistic confusion: with intemperance we constantly kindle and defile with sweets, He was called Edom, which is said to kindle the soul of the sinful.

Having heard Job in the pit of rot, about my soul being justified, you were not jealous of that courage, you did not have a firm proposal in all things, and you were tempted by the image, but you appeared impatient.

Those who were first on the throne, now naked and festering in a dungeon, many children and glorious, childless and homeless in vain;

Royal dignity, a crown and scarlet garments, a man of many names and a righteous man, boiling with wealth and flocks, suddenly deprived of wealth, the glory of the kingdom, impoverished.

If he were righteous and blameless above all others, and would not escape the snare of the flatterer and the snare; You are a sin-loving being, a damned soul, what will you do if something happens to you from the unknown?

The body has become defiled, the spirit has become scalded, it has become all raw, but like a doctor, Christ, heal both of them with my repentance, wash them, cleanse them, show them, my Savior, purer than snow.

Thou hast laid Thy body and blood, crucified for all, unto the Word: O body, that thou mayest renew me; blood, that thou mayest wash me. Thou hast given up the spirit, that thou mayest bring me, O Christ, Thy Parent.

Thou hast made salvation in the midst of the earth, O Generous One, that we may be saved. By your will you were crucified on the tree, we are coming, closed and opened, the creature above and below, the pagans of all salvation worship you.

Let the blood from Your side be a font for me, together with the drink that has flowed from the water of abandonment, so that I may be cleansed by both, anointing and drinking, like anointing and drinking, the Word, life-giving of Your words.

Naked am I of the palace, naked am I of the marriage, naked of the feast and the supper, the lamp is extinguished, like an oilless one, the palace is enclosed in my sleep, the supper is eaten, I am bound hand and foot, I am cast out.

The cup of the Church of the acquisitive, Thy life-giving ribs, from which flow for us the currents of abandonment and reason, in the image of the ancient and the new, two covenants together, our Savior.

The time of my life is short and full of illnesses and wickedness, but in repentance, accept me and call me to reason, so that I will not be a covetous person, nor be a stranger, O Savior, be generous to me.

Now I am lofty in words, but cruel in heart, in vain and in vain, so that you do not condemn me with the Pharisee. Above all, grant me the publican’s humility, the One Generous Justice, and count me with this.

Those who have sinned, having annoyed the vessel of my flesh, be generous, but accept me in repentance and call me to reason, so that I will not acquire covetousness to a stranger, O Savior, be generous to me.

I would have been self-immolated by passions, harming my soul, Generously, but in repentance accept me and call me to reason, so that I will not acquire covetousness to a stranger, O Savior, be generous to me.

I did not listen to Thy voice, I disobeyed Thy Scripture, the Lawgiver, but in repentance accept me and call me to reason, so that I will not be greedy for someone else, O Savior, be generous to me.

Most Holy Trinity, our God, glory to Thee.

Reverend Mother Mary, pray to God for us.

The disembodied dwelling in the flesh is transitory, O reverend grace, you have truly accepted the great God, faithfully intercede for those who honor you. We also pray to you, deliver us from all misfortunes with your prayers.

Reverend Mother Mary, pray to God for us.

Having descended into the depths of great misery, you were unobsessed, but you rose with the best thoughts to the extreme manifestation of virtue, gloriously, angelic nature, surprising Mary.

Reverend Father Andrew, pray to God for us.

Andrea, fatherly praise, do not cease with your prayers, praying before the Most Divine Trinity, that we may be freed from torment, through the love of your Divine representative, the all-blessed, who call for fertilizer to Crete.

Glory: Inseparable Being, Unfused Persons to the theologian Thee, the Trinity One Divinity, as the One-King and Co-Throne, I cry out to Thee a great song, in the highest hymns of hymn.

And now: And you give birth, and you are virgin, and you remain in both the nature of the Virgin, When you are born, you renew the laws of nature, but the womb that does not give birth gives birth. Where God wants, the order of nature is overcome: He does whatever He wants.

Song 5

Irmos: From the morning night, O Lover of mankind, enlighten me, I pray, and instruct me in Thy commandments, and teach me, O Savior, to do Thy will.

In the night my life passed away forever, the darkness came, and the darkness was deep for me, the night of sin, but like the day of the son, Savior, show me.

Imitating Reuben, the accursed one committed lawless and criminal counsel against the Most High God, desecrating my bed, like his father’s.

I confess to You, Christ the King: we have sinned, we have sinned, like the brethren who sold the fruit of purity and chastity before Joseph.

The righteous soul became connected with its relatives, selling itself into sweet work in the image of the Lord; You, your whole soul, have sold yourself to your evil ones.

Imitate Joseph’s righteous and chaste mind, you damned and unskillful soul, and do not be defiled by wordless aspirations, ever lawless.

Even if Joseph sometimes lived in the ditch, Lord Lord, but in the image of Your burial and resurrection: what will I bring to You when I bring calico?

You heard Moses hear the ark, in the soul, in the waters, in the waves of the river, as if in ancient times the affairs of the bitter council of the Pharaohs were running in the devil.

If you have heard of women who sometimes kill an ageless man, a damned soul, an act of chastity, now, like the great Moses, bring wisdom.

Like Moses the great Egyptian, having wounded the mind, the accursed one, thou didst not kill, O soul; and how did you dwell, they say, in the desert of passions through repentance?

The great Moses moved into the desert; Come then, imitate that life, and you will be in the bush of the Epiphany, in your soul, in a vision.

Imagine the rod of Moses, O soul, striking the sea and thickening the depths into the image of the Divine Cross: with which you too can accomplish great things.

Aaron brought immaculate, unflattering fire to God; but Hophni and Phinehas, like you, brought to the soul a life alien to God, a defiled life.

Like a heavy disposition, the bitter Pharaoh was, Master, Ianni and Jambri, soul and body, and immersed in mind, but help me.

Feces mixed with the cursed one, wash me with your mind, Master, in the bath of my tears, I pray to Thee, making my clothes white as snow.

If I test my deeds, O Savior, I see every person who has exceeded his own sins, as if he is wise with reason, who have sinned not through ignorance.

Have mercy, have mercy, O Lord, Thy creation, weaken those who have sinned, for by His pure nature He Himself is One, and is there no one else for You but defilement.

For my sake, this God, you imagined yourself in me, you showed miracles, healing lepers and tightening the weak, stopping the bleeding current, O Savior, with the touch of your vestments.

Imitate the bleeding one, O cursed soul, priests, hold back the sweep of Christ, so that you may be freed from your wounds and hear from Him: your faith will save you.

Imitate the lower one, O soul, come, fall at the feet of Jesus, that He may correct you, and may you walk in the right paths of the Lord.

Even if you are a deep well, Master, let me pour out water from your most pure veins, so that, like the Samaritan woman, no one drinks, I thirst: for you flow out streams of life.

Siloam may my tears be mine, Lord Lord, may I wash the apple of my heart and see You intelligently, Eternal Light.

Reverend Mother Mary, pray to God for us.

With an incomparable desire, O all-rich one, having desired to worship the animal tree, you have been granted the desire to grant me the highest glory.

Reverend Mother Mary, pray to God for us.

Having passed through the streams of the Jordan, you found painless peace, having escaped the pleasures of the flesh, even if you healed us with your prayers, venerable one.

Like the fairest of shepherds, Andrew the Wise, chosen being, I pray with great love and fear that through your prayers you will gain salvation and eternal life.

Glory: We glorify Thee, the Trinity, the One God: Holy, Holy, Holy art thou, Father, Son and Soul, Simple Being, ever worshiped Unity.

And now: From You, clothe yourself in my mixture, imperishable, husbandless Mother Virgin, God, who created the eyelids, and unite to Yourself human nature.

Song 6

Irmos

I bring tears, O Savior, to my eyes and from the depths of pure sighing, crying out to my heart: God, I have sinned, cleanse me.

You, my soul, have turned away from your Lord, like Dathan and Aviron, but have mercy, call from the underworld, so that the earthly abyss will not cover you.

Like a youth, your soul, enraged, you became like Ephraim, like a chamois, preserve your life from the snares, focusing your mind and sight on your deeds.

May the hand of Moses assure us, soul, how God can whiten and cleanse the life of a leper, and do not despair of yourself, even if you are a leper.

The waves, O Savior, of my sins, as if returning to the Black Sea, suddenly covered me, as the Egyptians sometimes did.

You had an unreasonable will in your soul, like Israel before you: You predetermined the Divine manna in a wordless, lusty gluttony of passions.

Kladentsy, my soul, you preferred Canaanite thoughts to veins of stone, from which the river, like a cup, pours out currents of theology from worthless wisdom.

Thou hast ordained pork meat and cauldrons and Egyptian food more than Heaven, my soul, like the foolish people of old in the desert.

As Moses, Thy servant, struck a stone with a rod, figuratively representing Thy life-giving ribs, from which we draw all the drink of life, O Savior.

Test, soul, and see, like Joshua, the land of promise as it is, and inhabit it with goodness.

Arise and overcome, like Jesus Amalek, carnal passions, and the Gibeonites, flattering thoughts, ever victorious.

Pass over the current nature of time, as before the ark, and awaken the earth in the possession of the promise, the soul, God commands.

For Thou didst save Peter by crying out, save, having preceded me, Savior, deliver from the beast, stretch out Thy hand, and bring him up from the depths of sin.

We are your comforting refuge, Master, Master Christ, but first deliver me from the unquenchable depths of sin and despair.

I am, O Savior, who destroyed the royal drachma of old; but I lit a lamp, Your Forerunner, the Word, seek and find Your image.

Reverend Mother Mary, pray to God for us.

May you extinguish the flame of passions, may you ever shed drops of tears, Mary, whose soul is inflamed, grant their grace to me, your servant.

Reverend Mother Mary, pray to God for us.

You acquired Heavenly dispassion through your extreme life on earth, mother. In the same way, those who sing to you, pray to get rid of passions with your prayers.

Reverend Father Andrew, pray to God for us.

Knowing the Cretan shepherd and chairman and the prayer book of the universe, I flow to you, Andrew, and cry out to you: take me away, Father, from the depths of sin.

Glory: The Trinity is Simple, Inseparable, separate and Personal, and the Unit is united by nature, the Father speaks, and the Son, and the Divine Spirit.

And now: Thy womb of God give birth to us, imagined for us: Him, as the Creator of all, pray to the Mother of God, that through Thy prayers we may be justified.

Irmos: I cried out with all my heart to the generous God, and heard me from the underworld, and raised my belly from aphids.

Kontakion, tone 6:

My soul, my soul, arise, what are you writing off? the end is approaching, and you will be embarrassed: rise up, so that Christ God, who is everywhere and fulfills everything, will have mercy on you.

Ikos:

Seeing Christ's healing open and from this Adam's health flowing out, he suffered, the devil was wounded and, as if in distress, wept and cried out to his friend: what will I do to the Son of Mary, the Bethlehemite is killing me, who is everywhere and does everything.

Also blessed, tone 6:

In Your Kingdom, remember us, Lord.

You have created a thief, O Christ, an inhabitant of paradise, having cried out to You on the cross: remember me; Grant that repentance to me, too, who is unworthy.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for to them is the Kingdom of Heaven.

Manoah, having heard of old, my soul, God in the manifestation, and from the barrenness then received the fruit of the promise, imitate that piety.

Blessed are those who cry, for they will be comforted.

Being jealous of Sampson's laziness, you cut off the head of your soul, betraying your chaste and blessed life to a foreigner with lust.

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

Previously, the victorious foreigners fell to the jaws, now I have found myself captivated by passionate tenderness; but avoid, my soul, imitation, deeds and weaknesses.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.

Barak and Jephthah were military leaders, the judges of Israel were preferred, with them Deborah the courageous; those valor, the soul, having become courageous, strengthened.

Blesseds of mercy, for there will be mercy.

Thou hast known the courage of Jaelin, my soul, of Sisera, who pierced of old, and who made salvation a sharp tree; hear, with him a cross is formed for thee.

Blessed are those who are pure in heart, for they will see God.

Devour, O soul, a praiseworthy sacrifice, a deed, like a daughter, bring from Jephthah the purest and slaughter, like a sacrifice, the passions of the flesh of your Lord.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for these shall be called sons of God.

Think about the fleece of Gideon, my soul, pick up the dew from heaven and lean down like a dog and drink the water that flows from the law, written oppression.

Blessed is the expulsion of truth for the sake of them, for those are the Kingdom of Heaven.

Elijah the priest’s condemnation, my soul, you accepted, having acquired passions for yourself through the deprivation of your mind, like he was a child, doing lawless things.

Blessed are you, when they revile you and destroy you and say all sorts of evil things about you lying, for my sake.

In the judges, the Levite, through negligence, stripped his wife with the twelve tribes, my soul, so that he would expose the filthiness of the wicked Benjamin.

Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is abundant in Heaven.

The wise Anna, praying, moved with her lips to praise, but her voice was not heard, but otherwise barren, she gives birth to a son of prayer, worthy.

Remember us, Lord, when you come to Your Kingdom.

Annino's offspring, the great Samuel, was counted among the judges, who was raised by Armafema in the house of the Lord; Be jealous of this, my soul, and judge your deeds first.

Remember us, Master, when you come to Your Kingdom.

David was elected to the kingdom, anointed royally with the horn of the Divine peace; Therefore, my soul, if you want the Kingdom on high, be anointed with myrrh with tears.

Remember us, Holy One, when you come to Your Kingdom.

Have mercy on Thy creation, O Merciful One, spare Thy hand upon Thy creation and spare all those who have sinned, and least of all those who have despised Thy commands.

Glory: Without beginning and birth and origin I worship the Father who begot, I glorify the Son who was begotten, I sing to the Father and the Son of the Holy Spirit.

And now: We worship Your prenatural Nativity, without dividing the glory of Your Infant by nature, to the Mother of God: Who is One in Person, confesses His natural nature.

Song 7

Irmos: We have sinned, we have sinned, we have acted untruthfully before You, we have been less observant, we have done less than what You commanded us; but do not betray us to the end, Fathers God.

Those who have sinned, are lawless and have rejected Your commandment, as if they had committed sins, and have applied scabs to themselves; but have mercy on me, for you are gracious, O God of the fathers.

I confessed the secret of my heart to You, my Judge, see my humility, see my sorrow, and listen to my judgment now, and have mercy on me, as you are gracious, God of the fathers.

Saul sometimes, as if he had destroyed his father, the soul, the donkey, suddenly gained the kingdom for service; but beware, do not forget to yourself, that your bestial lusts are more desirable than the Kingdom of Christ.

David, sometimes the Father of God, even if I had sinned deeply, my soul, was shot with an arrow through adultery, and was captured by a spear of murder through languor; but you yourself are ill with the most serious things, with self-indulgent aspirations.

So David sometimes combined iniquity with iniquity, but dissolved fornication through murder, showing extreme repentance; but you yourself, most wicked of souls, did this without repenting to God.

David sometimes imagines, having copied a song on an icon, with which he denounces the action he has done, calling: have mercy on me, for You alone have sinned with God, cleanse me Yourself.

The ark, as if carried on a chariot, when I touched it, when I turned into a calf, I was tempted by God’s wrath; but having fled that boldness, honor the Divine soul more honestly.

You heard Absalom how he hated the nature, you knew his nasty deeds, such as desecrating the bed of David’s father; but you imitated that passionate and lusty aspiration.

Thou hast subdued thy unworkable dignity to thy body, having found another enemy of Ahithophel, to the soul, thou hast condescended with this advice; but this scattering is Christ Himself, so that you may be saved in every way.

Solomon, wonderful and filled with grace and wisdom, having sometimes done this evil thing before God, depart from Him; To whom you have become like, by your cursed life, soul.

I am drawn by the pleasures of my passions, having become defiled, alas for me, the healer of wisdom, the healer of prodigal women, and strange from God; whom you imitated in your mind, in your soul, and in your vile lusts.

You were jealous of Rehoboam, who did not listen to the advice of his father, and also of his worst enemy Jeroboam, the former apostate, soul, but run in imitation and call to God: those who have sinned, have mercy on me.

You were jealous of Achaab's filth, my soul, alas for me, you were the abode of carnal filth and the vessel of shameful passions, but from your depths sigh and tell God your sins.

Elijah sometimes fell to two fifty Jezebels, when the cold prophets were destroyed in the reproof of Ahaav, but follow the imitation of the two, soul, and be strengthened.

May heaven enclose you, my soul, and the famine of God come upon you, when Elijah the Tishbite, like Achaab, sometimes did not submit to words, but became like Saraffia, nourish the prophetic soul.

Manasseh collected sins by will, setting up passions as abominations, and multiplying indignation in the soul, but zealous for repentance with warmth, gaining tenderness.

I fall down to Thee and bring to You, like tears, my words: those who have sinned, as the harlot has not sinned, and those who are lawless, like no one else on earth. But be gracious, O Lord, Thy creation and call upon me.

I have buried Your image and corrupted Your commandment, all kindness has been darkened, and passions have extinguished, O Savior, shining. But, having shown mercy, reward me, as David sings, with joy.

Turn, repent, reveal your secret, say to God, who knows everything: You weigh my secret, you alone are the Savior. But have mercy on me, as David sings, according to Your mercy.

My days are gone, like the sleep of one who rises; In the same way, like Hezekiah, I will climb down on my bed, and kiss my belly in the summer. But which Isaiah will appear to you, O soul, if He is not the God of all?

Reverend Mother Mary, pray to God for us.

Having cried out to the Most Pure Mother of God, you first rejected the fury of passions that must be chilling, and you put to shame your enemy. But now give me, your servant, help from grief.

Reverend Mother Mary, pray to God for us.

For whose sake you have loved, for whose sake you have desired, for whose sake you have exhausted the flesh, O Reverend One, now pray to Christ for His servants: that He, having been merciful to all of us, may grant a peaceful state to those who worship Him.

Reverend Father Andrew, pray to God for us.

Establish me on the rock of faith with your prayers, Father, protecting me with the fear of the Divine, and repentance, Andrew, grant me, I pray to you, and deliver me from the network of enemies who are looking for me.

Glory: Trinity Simple, Indivisible, Consubstantial and One Nature, Light and Light, and Holy Three, and One Holy is sung to God the Trinity; but sing, glorify the Belly and Belly, the soul, all of God.

And now: We sing to Thee, bless Thee, we bow to Thee, the Mother of God, for Thou didst give birth to the Inseparable Trinity, the One Christ God, and Thou Shest opened the Heavenly One to us who are on earth.

Three Songs, tone 8:

Song 8

Irmos: The beginningless King of glory, Whom the heavenly powers tremble, sing, priests, people, extol forever.

Holy apostles, pray to God for us.

Like coals of an immaterial fire, burn up my material passions, the desire for Divine love is now reviving in me, apostles.

Holy apostles, pray to God for us.

Let us honor the trumpets of the blessed Word, in the image of the fall of the walls of the unestablished enemy and the understanding of God, which has been established.

Holy apostles, pray to God for us.

Destroy the idols of my passionate soul, likewise the temples and pillars of the enemy, apostles of the Lord, temple consecration.

Most Holy Theotokos, save us.

Thou didst contain the Uncontainable by nature, thou didst bear the whole of the Bearer, thou didst milk the Pure, nourishing creature of Christ the Giver of Life.

Another three-song. Irmos: The Beginningless King:

Holy apostles, pray to God for us.

The Spirit began by cunning to create the entire Church, apostles of Christ, in her bless Christ forever.

Holy apostles, pray to God for us.

Having blown the trumpet of teachings, the apostles have cast down all the flattery of idols, exalting Christ to all ages.

Holy apostles, pray to God for us.

Apostles, good emigration, observers of the world and inhabitants of Heaven, who ever praise you, deliver you from troubles.

Most Holy Trinity, our God, glory to Thee.

Trisolar All-Light Godhead, One-Glorious and One-Throne Nature, Father Almighty, Son and Divine Soul, I sing Thee forever.

Most Holy Theotokos, save us.

As we are honorable and above the throne, let us praise the Mother of God unceasingly, people, One Mother and Virgin after the Nativity.

Great Canon Irmos

Having sinned, Savior, have mercy, raise my mind to conversion, accept me repentant, show mercy when I cry: save those who have sinned, you who have sinned, have mercy on me.

The charioteer Elijah entered the chariot of virtues, as if into heaven, sometimes carried higher than earthly things; Therefore, my soul, think about the sunrise.

The stream of the Jordan was first before the mercy of Elijah Elisha, a hundred here and there; But you, O my soul, have not partaken of grace for intemperance.

Elisha sometimes received mercy from Elisha and received deep grace from God; But you, O my soul, have not partaken of grace for intemperance.

Somanitida sometimes established the righteous, about the soul, with a good disposition; You didn’t bring either a stranger or a traveler into your house. They also rushed out of the palace, sobbing.

Gehazi imitated you, accursed soul, always with a bad mind, whose love of money you have put aside for old age; Flee the fire of Gehenna, your evil ones retreating.

You, Ozia's soul, were jealous of this leprosy, and you acquired this leprosy in yourself: you thought without place, but acted lawlessly; leave them alone, and those who pray to repentance.

The Ninevites, my soul, heard you repenting to God in sackcloth and ashes; you did not imitate them, but you appeared more evil than all those who sinned before the law and according to the law.

In the ditch of cronyism, you heard Jeremiah, O soul, of the city of Zion crying out with sobs and seeking tears; imitate this deplorable life and be saved.

Jonah fled to Tarshish, having foreseen the conversion of the Ninevites, for in his mind, as a prophet, God’s kindness: therefore, jealous of prophecy, do not lie.

Daniel in the ditch heard how you shut your mouth, about the soul, of animals; Thou didst lead, like the youths like Azariah, by extinguishing the burning flame of the furnace with faith.

The Old Testament brought everything to the likeness of the soul; imitate righteous, God-loving deeds, and avoid evil sins.

Justice of the Savior, have mercy and deliver me from the fire and rebuke that the Imam righteously endure at the trial; weaken me before the end, through virtue and repentance.

Like a robber, I cry to You: remember me; Like Peter, I cry to the mountaineer: weaken me, Savior; I call like a publican, I cry like a harlot; accept my weeping, as sometimes the Canaanites do.

Festering, Savior, heal my humble soul, O One Physician, apply a plaster to me, and oil, and wine, works of repentance, tenderness with tears.

Imitating the Canaanite, have mercy on me, I cry, Son of David; I touch the edge of the robe, as if it were bleeding, I cry, like Martha and Mary over Lazarus.

I call you, like a harlot seeking mercy, a glass of tears, Savior, like a glass of myrrh, draining a head of myrrh, I ask for your acceptance, like a harlot.

Even if no one, like I, has sinned against You, yet accept me also, O most gracious Savior, repenting with fear and calling with love: those who have sinned against You alone, have mercy on me, O Most Merciful One.

Spare, O Savior, Thy creation and seek, like a Shepherd, the lost, before the erring one, snatch him away from the wolf, make me a sheep to pasture Your sheep.

When, O Judge, you sat down, as if you were gracious, and showed your terrible glory, O Savior, what fear then, of the burning cave, to all those who fear your unbearable judgment.

Reverend Mother Mary, pray to God for us.

Mother, having enlightened you with the never-ending light, freed you from the darkness of passions. Having also entered into spiritual grace, enlighten, Mary, those who faithfully praise you.

Reverend Mother Mary, pray to God for us.

Having seen a new miracle, you were truly horrified by the divine in you, mother, Zosima: for you saw the angel in the flesh and were filled with horror, singing to Christ forever.

Reverend Father Andrew, pray to God for us.

As I have boldness in the Lord, Andreas of Crete, honest praise, I pray, pray for permission from the bonds of lawlessness to now gain me through your prayers, as a teacher of repentance and glory to the saints.

Let us bless the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit of the Lord.

Beginningless Father, Beginning Son, Good Comforter, Righteous Soul, Word of God to the Parent, Father Beginning Word, Living Soul and Creator, Trinity Unity, have mercy on me.

And now and ever and ever.

As from the turning of the scarlet, the most pure, intelligent scarlet of Immanuel, the flesh was consumed within in Thy womb. Moreover, we truly honor Theotokos.

We praise, we bless, we worship the Lord, singing and exalting ourselves to all ages.

Irmos: Whom the armies of Heaven praise, and tremble with cherubs and seraphim, every breath and creature, sing, bless and exalt forever.

Let's sing the Most Honest:

Three Songs, tone 8:

Song 9

Irmos: We truly confess Thee, Theotokos, saved by Thee, Pure Virgin, with disembodied faces magnifying Thee.

Holy apostles, pray to God for us.

The apostles have appeared as springs of saving water, and water my exhausted soul with sinful thirst.

Holy apostles, pray to God for us.

Floating in the abyss of destruction and in the immersion of having already been Your right hand, like Peter, Lord, save me.

Holy apostles, pray to God for us.

Like salt, the delicious teachings, dry up the rottenness of my mind and drive away the darkness of ignorance.

Most Holy Theotokos, save us.

Give me the joy that I gave birth to, crying, so that I can find Divine consolation, O Lady, in the future days.

Other. Irmos: Tya, Heaven and Earth Intercessor:

Holy apostles, pray to God for us.

We magnify you, blessed apostolic assembly, with songs: for a bright light has appeared in the universe, driving away delusion.

Holy apostles, pray to God for us.

Having caught your verbal fish in your blessed waters, always bring this food to Christ, blessed apostles.

Holy apostles, pray to God for us.

By your petition to God, remember us, apostles, to be delivered from every temptation, we pray, praising you with love.

Most Holy Trinity, our God, glory to Thee.

I sing Thee, the Trinitarian Unit, the Father, the Son with the Spirit, the One God Consubstantial, the One-Powered Trinity without Beginning.

Most Holy Theotokos, save us.

We give joy to You, the Childbearer and the Virgin, for all your birth, as through You we have been delivered from the oath: for you have given us joy, the Lord.

Great Canon Irmos: Of the seedless conception there is an unspeakable Christmas, to the mother of the husbandless fruit the imperishable fruit, for God's Birth renews the nature. In the same way, we all give birth to You, like the Blessed Mother of God.

The mind is weakened, the body is sick, the spirit is ill, the word is exhausted, life is dead, the end is at the door. Moreover, my damned soul, what will you do when the Judge comes to test you?

Moses brought to you, my soul, the existence of the world, and from this all the sacred Scriptures, which tell you the righteous and the unrighteous; from them the second, about the soul, imitated you, and not the first, having sinned against God.

The law is weak, the Gospel celebrates, but the Scriptures are all careless in you, the prophets are weak, and all the righteous word; Your scabs, O soul, having multiplied, are not present to the doctor who heals you.

I bring new instructions from the Scriptures, leading you, the soul, to tenderness: be jealous of the righteous, turn away from sinners and propitiate Christ with prayers, and fasting, and purity, and fasting.

Christ became man, calling robbers and harlots to repentance; soul, repent, the door of the Kingdom has already been opened, and the Pharisees, and publicans, and adulterers who repent are anticipating it.

Christ became man, having joined the flesh with me, and all that is of nature is filled with the will of sin except for the likeness of you, about the soul, and the image of His condescension.

Christ saved the Magi, convened the shepherds, the child of many displays of martyrs, glorified the elders and old widows, of whom you were not jealous, in soul, neither in deed, nor in life, but woe to you, you will never be judged.

The Lord fasted for forty days in the desert, and then hung, showing what was human; soul, do not become lazy, if an enemy comes to you, let him be reflected from your feet through prayer and fasting.

Christ, having been tempted, was tempted by the devil, showing the stone so that there would be bread, and brought him up to the mountain to see all the kingdoms of the world in an instant; fear for your soul, be sober, pray to God every hour.

Desert-loving turtledove, cry out the voice of one crying, O lamp of Christ, preach repentance, Lawless Herod with Herodias. Beware, my soul, that you do not get caught in the net of lawlessness, but embrace repentance.

The grace of the Forerunner moved into the desert, and all of Judea and Samaria heard the flow and confessed their sins, being baptized diligently: you did not imitate them, soul.

The marriage is honest and the bed is undefiled, for Christ first blessed both, poisoned by the flesh, and in Cana at the wedding, turning water into wine, and showing the first miracle, so that you may change, about your soul.

Christ lifted up the weakened one, lifted him up from his bed, and raised up the dead young man, the widow's birth, and the centurion's youth, and the Samaritans, who appeared to serve you, the soul, before painting.

Heal the bleeding one with the touch of the edge of the vestment, Lord, cleanse the lepers, enlighten the blind and lame, correct the deaf and dumb and the needy below with the word: may you be saved, damned soul.

Healing ailments, preaching Christ's Word to the poor, healing evildoers, eating with publicans, talking with sinners, returning the soul of Jairus's daughter to her death with the touch of her hand.

The publican was saved, and the harlot was chaste, and the Pharisee, boasting, was condemned. Ovbo: cleanse me; ova: have mercy on me; this majestic cry: God, I thank Thee, and other crazy verbs.

Zacchaeus was a tax collector, but he was saved, and Simon, a Pharisee, was blessed, and the harlot, who took leave, received permission from the One who had the strength to leave sins, even in his soul, trying to imitate.

You were not jealous of the harlot, O my accursed soul, even though you accepted the world of alabaster, with tears you smeared the nose of Savior, and cut off your hair, the handwriting of the ancient sins that tore her apart.

The cities to which Christ gave the gospel, my soul, knew what the curse was. Fear the instructions, lest you become like them, whom the Lord likened to Sodomites, even condemn them to hell.

May my soul not be bitter, having appeared in despair, the Canaanites having heard faith, even though they were healed by the word of God; Son of David, save me too, cry from the depths of your heart, as she did to Christ.

Have mercy, save me, Son of David, have mercy on those who are furious with a word, healing, and a gracious voice, like a thief, say to me: Amen, I say to you, you will be with Me in Paradise when I come in My glory.

The robber declared thee, the robber theologized Thee: both were hanging on the cross. But, O Merciful Mother, as unto Thy faithful thief, who has come to know Thee as God, open the door of Thy glorious Kingdom to me.

The creation trembled, crucified, seeing You, the mountains and stones disintegrated with fear, and the earth shook, and hell was exposed, and the light in the day was darkened, in vain You, Jesus, were nailed to the Cross.

Do not extract fruits worthy of repentance from me, for my strength within me is diminished; Grant me an ever-contrite heart, and spiritual poverty: that I may offer this to You as a pleasant sacrifice, the only Savior.

My Judge and My Master, although you may again come with the angels to judge the world, having seen me with Your merciful eye, have mercy and mercy on me, O Jesus, having sinned more than any other human nature.

Reverend Mother Mary, pray to God for us.

You surprised everyone with your strange life, the ranks of angels and councils of men, having lived immaterially and passed on from nature; And like an immaterial foot you entered, Mary, and you passed over the Jordan.

Reverend Mother Mary, pray to God for us.

Appease the Creator for those who praise you, reverend mother, get rid of bitterness and sorrows around those who attack: so that, having been delivered from misfortunes, we will constantly glorify the Lord who glorified you.

Reverend Father Andrew, pray to God for us.

Honest Andrew and most blessed Father, Shepherd of Crete, do not cease praying for those who sing your praises: may we be delivered from all anger, and sorrow, and corruption, and immeasurable sins, who faithfully honor your memory.

Glory: To the Trinity of the Consubstantial One, the Unity of the Trihypostasis, We glorify Thee, glorifying the Father, magnifying the Son and adoring the Spirit, the One Nature truly God, the Life and living Kingdom of the endless.

And now: Preserve Your city, Most Pure Mother of God, in You this reigns faithfully, in You it is established, and through You it conquers, it conquers every temptation, and captivates warriors, and obedience passes.

Both faces sing together Irmos:

The seedless conception has an unspeakable Christmas, the mother of the husbandless mother has an imperishable fruit, God's Birth renews natures. In the same way, we all give birth to You, like the Blessed Mother of God.

The Great Penitential Canon of Andrew of Crete is read in the first four days of Great Lent, one part at a time. The entire creation is read in the seventh week. The canon teaches people to repent. Accept your sins and learn to fight them. This scripture also instructs us to follow the example of pure and selfless people.

About Andrey Kritsky

The Monk Andrew was born sometime in the 660s AD, in the city of Damascus. Legends say that until the age of seven the child could not speak. Andrei's parents were believers and often attended church. One day, during communion, God’s blessing came upon Kritsky and he spoke. After this miracle, Andrei's parents sent him to study the basics of religion.

When the guy turned 14 years old, he was transferred to serve in Jerusalem, to the Monastery of the Holy Sepulchre. Andrey was a very versatile young man, so he was immediately identified as a notary.

Then Andrei moved to Constantinople, where he served in an orphanage as a deacon for 20 years. In the same city, he began to write his chants, which are still widely used in the Orthodox Church to this day.

After this, the future saint was sent to the island of Crete as a bishop. There he faithfully served the church, guiding heretics to the true path and giving support to believers. Andrei built several orphanages and churches in Crete. For his faithful service he received the rank of archbishop. In 1740, the monk died on his way from Constantinople to the island of Crete.

About the canons

Andrei Kritsky was the first to write canons instead of kontakions. The saint has hymns for all major holidays: Christmas, Easter, Palm Sunday and others. Many of them are also used in modern liturgical menaia. The canons are closely related to the "biblical songs". The structure of this chant is next view. First comes the irmos, which is the connecting chain between the biblical song and the content of the canon. Next come the troparia. They are sung alternately with songs. The most outstanding creation, undoubtedly, is the great canon of St. Andrew of Crete. He teaches us repentance. It is best with the Lord during Lent, when the canon of St. Andrew of Crete is read.

In his canon, Andrew briefly touches on the entire Bible. From the 1st to the 8th song this is the Old Testament, after that it is the New. Andrey evaluates each story of the biblical characters in the canon from the point of view of human morality. If this is a bad deed, then he talks about its sinfulness, and if it is good, then he declares that one should strive for this. The author hints to us that we can save our soul when we renounce our vices and strive for virtue.

Song 1

In the first song, the canon of Andrei Kritsky talks about original sin. Eve gave in to Satan's temptation and gave the apple to Adam. He, in turn, was seduced by power and tried it. In this song, Andrei says that we are all sinners, and if the Lord punished Adam and Eve for breaking one commandment, then how will he punish us, who violate almost all of them. We can only repent and ask God for forgiveness.

Song 2

In the second song, the great canon of Andrei Kritsky talks about how we all succumbed to carnal consolation. First, they pulled on their clothes, ashamed of their naked body, which was created in the likeness of the Lord. Secondly, they put physical pleasure and beauty at the forefront, not mental beauty. Even in this song of the great canon of Andrei Kritsky it is said that we are subject to all earthly passions and, unfortunately, we do not want to fight them. For all these sins we must sincerely ask God to forgive us. The main thing is to understand your bad deeds yourself and strive to get rid of them.

Song 3

In it, the great penitential canon of Andrew of Crete tells how the Lord could not stand the outrage that was happening in Sodom and burned the city. Only one righteous man, Lot, managed to escape. Andrei calls on every person to renounce the pleasures of Sodom and quickly run away. The sins of this city haunt us every day, tempting us to repeat them, I think many succumb. But the main thing is to stop and think about what awaits us in the future. What kind of life will we have after the sodomy entertainments?

Song 4

It states that laziness is a great sin. If a person, like a vegetable, moves forward without realizing himself and the world around him, then his end will be appropriate. The patriarch in the song worked day and night to have two wives. One of them meant hard work, and the other meant intelligence. Through this combination we can improve our contemplation and our activities.

Song 5

The penitential canon of St. Andrew of Crete tells about Saint Joseph, who was betrayed by his brothers and his beloved and sold into slavery. He endured everything calmly and was not angry at his fate. Andrei says that each of us can betray our neighbor. But the trouble is that every day we betray ourselves and our soul. Without enduring any disasters, we violate the Lord’s commandments and don’t even think about it.

Song 6

Andrey in this song calls on humanity to take the true path. Do not turn away from the Lord, like some historical characters. And to believe that just as God, by the hand of Moses, delivered the sick from leprosy, so He can forgive our soul for its sins.

Song 7

In the seventh canon, the canon of St. Andrew of Crete says that no matter what grave sins a person has committed, if he sincerely repents, he will be forgiven. Otherwise, the Lord's punishment will be great. You need to pray to God in his three guises and the Mother of God with repentance and a request for forgiveness.

Song 8

Andrew narrates that our Lord gives to everyone according to his deserts. If a person lived righteously, he will ascend to heaven like Elijah in his chariot. Or in life he will receive the support of God, like Elisha did for the division of the Jordan River. If you live in sin, like Gehazi, then your soul will burn in

Song 9

In this song, the great canon of Andrew of Crete says that people have forgotten the ten commandments of God, engraved on the tablets by Moses. They do not attach themselves to the writings of the Gospel. Once upon a time Jesus came into our world to save us. He blessed babies and old people, because some had not yet had time to repent of their sins, while others could no longer do so. If a person is of sound mind, then he himself must ask the Lord for forgiveness.

Songs read on Tuesday of Lent.

It tells how Cain killed his brother out of jealousy. Andrei asks to live his life righteously, without thinking about who and what the Lord gave. If a person lives according to God’s commandments, then grace will soon come to him. We must strive to be like Abel, who with a pure soul brought his gifts to the Lord.

Song 2

Calls on people to repent of rejecting spiritual wealth and attaching importance only to material things. In the pursuit of clothes and other benefits, they completely forgot to pray to the Lord. We forget that a mentally rich person will be much happier.

This song from the canon of Andrei of Crete calls for living like Noah, to whom alone the Lord gave a chance to be saved. Or like Lot, the only survivor of Sodom. Because if we sin, then the fate of the people in the flood will befall us.

There is power in knowledge. You need to strive to see God in yourself, and a staircase to heaven will be built, like the patriarchs. In everyday life we imitate Esau, who hated everyone. We must live in love and harmony.

Just as the entire Jewish people lived in Egyptian slavery, so our soul lives all the time in sin. We need to have the courage to end slavery. Even if at first we need to suffer, then in the end we will acquire true freedom of spirit. Then life will become much easier and more enjoyable.

Continues to talk about the adventures of Moses, who sought to lead the people out of Egyptian slavery. People do not have much faith to endure a little wandering in the name of a good goal. So we need everything at the same time. We need to believe in the Lord and ask for forgiveness, and then we can free our souls from the slavery of sins.

The song of the great canon of St. Andrew of Crete tells how we repeat the sins and addictions of biblical characters, but do not have the strength and desire to follow the great martyrs. Our body indulges in sinful acts such as adultery without thinking about the consequences for the soul.

The eighth song tells about people who were able to find the strength to repent and accept the Lord into their souls. So Andrei calls us to renounce past life sinner and go towards God. At the end of the eighth song, the Old Testament is summed up - one must not repeat the sins of the biblical characters and strive to live like the righteous of this Holy Scripture.

In the ninth canon, the canon of St. Andrew of Crete gives comparisons from Just as Jesus resisted the temptation of Satan in the desert, so we must fight all temptations. Christ began to work miracles on earth, thereby showing that everything in this world is possible. The main thing is to believe and live according to the covenants of the Lord, and then our soul can be saved on the day of judgment.

Wednesday

On Wednesday, 9 songs are also read. Since the first days of the creation of the world, there have been people who glorified the Lord our God with their deeds. Andrew calls on people to repent of their sins and become like those saints in everyday life. Glorify the name of the Lord by doing deeds worthy of him. The songs also recall great sinners who turned away from God, gave priority to material goods, or succumbed to the temptation to try the forbidden fruit. The Lord punished them as they deserved for their deeds. Likewise, after death, our soul awaits the day of judgment, on which we will not be able to lie, we will not be able to hide our atrocities with some imaginary excuses. Therefore, Andrei calls us to repent during our lifetime, ask the Lord for forgiveness of sins and strive to change our actions for the better. Learn to resist temptations. There's nothing complicated about it. Just by remaining human, you will see that most of the Lord’s covenants indicate to live without envy and gluttony, without betrayal and the desire to receive someone else’s.

Thursday

On this day of Great Lent, the last part of the canon is read. As in previous songs, virtues are sung here and the sins of mankind that have been committed over the centuries are condemned. Also in this part they appeal to the Lord, Jesus, and the Virgin Mary with a request to forgive sins and give them the opportunity to repent.

The canon also teaches to admit one’s mistakes and not to look for blame for bad life in others. Accept your sinfulness as a proven fact. But that doesn't mean you should put up with it. On the contrary, admitting guilt is the first step towards forgiveness. If we stop now, we have a chance of eternal life after death.

It is when the canon of Andrew of Crete is read, during Great Lent, that we have the opportunity to realize our sins and begin new life. A life that will please God. Then humanity will be able to feel grace, peace and await the day of judgment with a calm soul.

The canon of Andrei Kritsky is written in the first person, which gives believers an idea of the events described through the prism of feelings and impressions. It belongs to church hymnography and is considered an amazing work glorifying the events of the Old and New Testaments.

According to the church charter, the entire text of the canon is read in the first week: one part per service (by day of the week), so that you can read it right away complete work extremely difficult. In the fifth week, the canon is read again, but in full for one service, because it is believed that by this time the souls of the parishioners have become sufficiently strong and they are ready for this test and repentance.

Nowadays, it is easy to find the canon in Russian, for example, purchase it in the church shop of any Orthodox church, which will allow you to read it at home, for example, if you cannot visit the church.

It is worth noting: Readings of this text are allowed at any time of the year, and not just during Lent. After all, repentance and asking for mercy are needs that follow every believer all year round.

Saint Andrew of Crete - short life

Born in Christian family in the city of Damascus, Andrew was mute until the age of seven.

One day, his family went to the church for communion and there, after receiving the Holy Sacrament of Christ, Andrei miraculously found his voice and spoke. It was then that the boy chose the church path and began to study theology and Holy Scripture.

Already at the age of fourteen, Andrei was tonsured a monk in the monastery of Sava the Sanctified; he followed a strict routine and led a calm, chaste lifestyle.

Years later, Saint Andrew was called to serve as archdeacon at the Church of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, at which time he was already famous as a theologian and hymn writer. Moreover, he also wrote music for church prayers.

The saint died on the island of Militina, and his relics were taken to Constantinople.

Prayer to Andrei of Crete

IN Orthodox Church There is a Saint named Andrew of Crete, a venerable martyr, whose feast day is celebrated on October 30.

This Holy Martyr should not be confused with the bishop and saint Andrew of Crete, the author of the Great Penitential Canon.

Prayers to Saint Andrew of Crete, as well as the troparion, which is read on the day of remembrance of the Saint - July 17.

Akathist to Andrei Kritsky

Saint Andrew of Crete is the author of the Great Penitential Canon, read during Great Lent, the Easter Canon, read on Svetlaya Easter week, and the Canon of the Holy Martyrs 1400 infants killed during the time and by order of King Herod.

His Eminence Metropolitan of St. Petersburg John (Snychev) compiled a repentant Akathist based on the Repentant Canon of St. Andrew of Crete.

The text is not used for worship and is intended for prayer at home. This akathist helps to put thoughts, prayer requests, and images in order. This is no longer song of praise- the original purpose of the akathist, and repentance through prayer.

Conclusion

Lent is an important time in the life of all Orthodox Christians; it is a period when you need to ask for help and mercy from above, when you should forgive your loved ones and ask for forgiveness yourself.

Saint Andrew created a work that concentrated in itself all the necessary words and feelings experienced by believers at the moment of repentance. This is a great word through which a person touches Divine grace.

At Great Compline on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of the first week, the Great Penitential Canon, or as it is also called, the touching canon, is sung and read in parts, and at Matins on Thursday of the fifth week of the same Lent. It has been read during Lenten services in churches for almost 1200 years and is perceived by believers in the same way as when it was written by the venerable songwriter. “The mystagogue of repentance,” that is, the one who carefully teaches, reveals the secrets of repentance—this is what the Orthodox Church calls Saint Andrew, who compiled this canon.

The Great Canon consists of 250 troparia, and is called great not only by the unusually large number of verses, but also by its inner dignity, by the height of its thoughts and the power of their expression. In it we contemplate the events described by the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments in spiritual light. In the troparia of the canon, the characters of sacred history either present us with high examples of holy life, or, with examples of their deep fall, encourage us to strict sobriety. The mind of a person listening to this canon sees in it the lofty spiritual truths realized in the lives of the Old Testament patriarchs, judges, kings and prophets, is taught by them in the Gospel parables, and the heart, thirsting for salvation, is either struck by deep sorrow for sins, or delighted with persistent hope in God, always ready to accept the sinner.

You can't teach what you can't do yourself. Saint Andrew's repentance is deep and sincere. One thought runs through the entire canon, repeated in all his songs: “Man has sinned more than all others, only one has sinned against You, (Lord), but have mercy and be merciful to me, for You are Compassionate.” “Compassionate” means merciful and merciful, like a Mother, who, as if with her whole womb, with her whole being, takes pity on the child and loves him with all her heart. The closer a person is to God, the more he sees his sins. Saint Andrew of Crete teaches us this in his canon.

The entire Old Testament appears before us in the troparia of the canon, as a school of repentance. Showing the virtues and deeds of the saints, the saint does not forget about evil and cruel deeds, encouraging us to imitate the good and turn away from the evil. But in the Great Canon there are not only examples from the Holy Scriptures, there are also admonitions to the soul, reasoning, and prayers. It’s as if an elder, filled with compassion and love, takes us by the hand and leads us into his cell to talk with us, tell us, share his experience, and, together with us, humbly and fervently pray.

Why does the Holy Church offer us these particular hymns in the first days of Great Lent? Because fasting is a time of repentance and purification, and the entire canon of St. Andrew is aimed at awakening human soul from sinful sleep, to reveal to her the harmfulness of the sinful state, to encourage her to strict self-examination, self-condemnation and repentance, to turn away from sins and to correct her life.

The creator of this Great Canon, so beloved by Orthodox people, the Monk Andrew, Archbishop of Crete, was born in the city of Damascus around 660 into the family of pious Christians George and Gregory. From the evidence of early childhood The saint is known that until the age of seven he was considered dumb, because until that time he had not uttered a single word. When, upon reaching the age of seven, he received communion in the Church of the Divine Mysteries of the Body and Blood of Christ, his dumbness was resolved and he began to speak. After this miracle, the parents gave their child to comprehend the wisdom of divine books. In the fourteenth year of his life, Saint Andrew was brought by his parents to Jerusalem to serve God in the monastery of the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulcher. Upon his tonsure as a monk, Saint Andrew was appointed a notary, that is, secretary, of the Jerusalem Patriarchate, as a very reasonable person. He led a virtuous life, striving in chastity, abstinence and meekness, so that even he himself marveled at him. Patriarch of Jerusalem. After 681, when meetings of the Sixth Ecumenical Council took place in Constantinople, Saint Andrew, who was then in the rank of archdeacon, together with two elder monks, was sent to the Byzantine capital on behalf of his patriarch to present to the emperor documents confirming full agreement with the decisions of the Council the entirety of the Jerusalem Orthodox Church, which was then under the Muslim yoke.

After the end of the Council, the elder monks returned back to Jerusalem, and Andrei, having become famous for his book wisdom and deep knowledge of the dogmas of the Church, to the emperor and the holy fathers, was left in Constantinople, forever receiving the nickname “Jerusalemite”, i.e. “Jerusalemite” .

In the capital of the Empire, he received obedience to head the Home for Orphans at the Great Church of Hagia Sophia with enrollment in the clergy of the main temple of Byzantium.

For 20 years he served as a deacon and worked in the Orphanage, showing due care and concern. Here, in Constantinople, he began to compose his wondrous hymns, with which he richly adorned the liturgical heritage of the Holy Church.

After twenty years of diaconal service, Saint Andrew was ordained to the rank of bishop and appointed to the most distant see of the empire - the island of Crete, where for his diligent labors he was awarded the title of archbishop. Here he was a lamp to the world, enlightening the Church of Christ with inspired teaching and virtuous life. The holy shepherd of Crete built churches of God, as well as homes for orphans and the elderly. For his flock he was loving father, tirelessly preaching and, with his prayers, repelling all misfortunes and adversities, and for heretics he was an adamant accuser and a thunderstorm. Saint Andrew did not abandon his work on composing church hymns.

Several times the saint, leaving Crete, visited Constantinople, where he saw the patriarch and the emperor, as well as people close to him. There he spoke out in defense of the holy icons when iconoclasm began in Byzantium. On his last visit to the capital, Saint Andrew, sensing the approach of his imminent death, said goodbye to his friends. On the way to Crete he became very ill. Serious illness forced him to stop on the island of Mytilene in the town of Eresso, where the saint died on July 4 around 740. On this same day, the Holy Church commemorates him to this day.

Saint Andrew of Crete was the first to write liturgical canons. The canons for all the twelve feasts belong to his pen (except for the Entry into the Temple of the Most Holy Theotokos, since in his time this holiday was not celebrated separately). The Lenten service, in addition to the Great Canon, was also decorated with other creations of the holy hymnographer. The canons of the Week of Vai, the three canticles of all days of Holy Week, including Great Friday, have been preserved in the manuscripts. On Holy Saturday, the Four Songs of St. Andrew was performed, to which later the Four Songs and Canons of St. were added. Cosmas of Mayum, nun Cassia, Bishop Mark of Otranto. In terms of the number of original melodies, St. Andrew surpasses even such a great hymn writer as St. John of Damascus. When composing the Octoechos, Saint John introduced into it the irmos and melodies of Saint Andrew of Crete.

The Great Canon of Andrei Kritsky (video story by Ivan Dyachenko):

Law of God Canon of St. Andrew of Crete

If we come to the church in the evening on one of the first four days of Lent, many will be struck by an unusual picture: it is dark in the church, people stand with burning candles, the stern and solemn voice of the priest sounds... This is the Great Penitential Canon of St. Andrew of Crete being read.

At the very beginning of Great Lent, as the initial tone that defines the entire Lenten melody, the Holy Church offers us the Great Penitential Canon of St. Andrey Kritsky. It is divided into four parts and is read during Great Compline, in the evening, on the first four days of Lent. It can be described as a repentant cry, revealing to us all the immensity, the whole abyss of sin, shaking the soul with despair, repentance and hope.

The reading of the Great Penitential Canon in the first week of Great Lent in our church takes place on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 17:00

In the fifth week of Lent on Thursday (Wednesday at 16:00)

In many parishes, it is customary not only to listen to the text of the canon, but, in order to better understand, to follow the reading on paper.

For those who are going to go to the Canon after work and do not have a printed text with them, we have prepared a Russian-Slavic parallel text, which can be easily print on a printer.

(The most convenient way to do this is in “print mode” by clicking the corresponding link under the publication title).

Penitential canon Andrei of Kritsky, Monday. Read by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus'. 2009:

Penitential Canon Andrei of Crete, Tuesday. Read by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus'. 2009:

Penitential canon Andrei of Kritsky, Wednesday. Read by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus'. 2009:

Penitential canon Andrei of Crete, Thursday. Read by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus'. 2009:

On the evening of Thursday of the first week of Great Lent, the reading of the Great Penitential Canon of St. Andrei of Kritsky... But do not rush to put the book aside: before it sounds again in the 5th week of Lent, now in its entirety, look, read this amazing text again, penetrate the very language of the canon.

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