Prayer to the Holy Spirit, the heavenly comforter. Trisagion Prayer to the King of Heaven

Prayer to the Holy Spirit, Heavenly King, Comforter, Soul of truth, Who is everywhere and fulfills everything, Treasure of good things and Giver of life, come and dwell in us, and cleanse us from all filth, and save, O Blessed One, souls

Prayer to God, the Holy Spirit, the Heavenly King, the All-Good Comforter, the Soul of Truth, who proceeds from the Father eternally and rests in the Son, the unenviable Source of Divine gifts, dividing them to each one as he pleases. By whom we too, who are unworthy, were sanctified and the sign of Esma on the day

Prayer to the Holy Spirit, Heavenly King, Comforter, Soul of Truth, Who is everywhere and fulfills everything, Treasure of blessings and Giver of life, come and dwell in us, and cleanse us from all filth, and save, O Blessed One, souls

Prayer to God, the Holy Spirit, Heavenly King, Comforter, Soul of truth, Who is everywhere and fulfills everything, Treasure of good things and Giver of life, come and dwell in us, and cleanse us from all filth, and save, O Blessed One, our souls. Troparion, voice 2Creative and to the Creator of all things, O God, the works of our hands, to

The prayer “To the Heavenly King” is also the stichera of the Pentecost service. We call on the Holy Spirit to come and dwell “in us” and this can be understood in two ways: either we want each of us to become an abode of the Spirit, or for the Holy Spirit to dwell among us, uniting us into the Body of Christ. But one does not exclude the other. Priest Theodore LYUDOGOVSKY comments.

Descent of the Holy Spirit. Handwritten Gospel of the Syrian monk Rabula. 586 Laurentian Library, Florence

Stichera, tone 6:
Heavenly King,
Comforter,
Soul of truth,
Same everywhere
and do everything,
Treasure of the Good
and life to the Giver,
come
and move into us,
and cleanse us from all filth,
and save, O Lord, our souls.

Greek original:
Βασιλεῦ οὐράνιε,
Παράκλητε,
τὸ Πνεῦμα τῆς ἀληθείας,
ὁ πανταχοῦ παρών,
καὶ τὰ πάντα πληρῶν,
ὁ θησαυρὸς τῶν ἀγαθῶν,
καὶ ζωῆς χορηγός,
ἐλθέ,
καὶ σκήνωσον ἐν ἡμῖν,
καὶ καθάρισον ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ πάσης κηλῖδος,
καὶ σῶσον ἀγαθὲ τὰς ψυχὰς ἡμῶν.

Translation by Hierom. Ambrose (Timroth):
King of Heaven,
Comforter,
Spirit of Truth,
everywhere abiding
and filling everything,
Treasury of benefits
and the Giver of life,
come
and inhabit us,
and cleanse us from all filthiness,
and save, O Good One, our souls.

The prayer “Heavenly King” is addressed to the Third Person of the Holy Trinity - the Holy Spirit, the Life-Giving Lord, emanating from the Father (see Creed). The origin and authorship of this prayer are unknown, but there is reason to believe that it originated towards the end of the first millennium of the Christian era.

“To the King of Heaven” is perhaps one of the most famous prayers, along with the “Our Father” (the Lord’s Prayer) and the 90th Psalm of King David. It is part of the so-called “usual beginning,” that is, that sequence of prayers that sounds at the beginning of many services and sequences, including at the beginning of our usual morning and evening prayers: “Heavenly King”, Trisagion, “Holy Trinity”, “Our Father”.

In addition, there is a custom to read “To the King of Heaven” in order to invoke the Holy Spirit before starting any work. Undoubtedly, one of these things is prayer, church services. And this, presumably, explains the inclusion of the prayer “Heavenly King” in the composition of the usual beginning.
Finally, this prayer is one of the stichera of the Pentecost service - and it was this circumstance that became the reason for our note today. However, let us first consider the text of the prayer itself.

We turn to the Holy Spirit as the Heavenly King (cf. the beginning of the Lord's Prayer: “Our Father who art in Heaven...”). This appeal, strictly speaking, is not specific to the Third Hypostasis. So, for example, at Lenten Vespers the prayer “Heavenly King, establish your faith...” is read, which most likely refers to Christ - however, this is not entirely clear; one might also think that it is addressed to the Holy Trinity.

This is followed by the address “Comforter” (Greek Παράκλητος). This is how the Savior called the Holy Spirit in a conversation with his disciples: “And I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever, the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He abides with you and will be in you” (John 14:16-17). In addition to the obvious meaning of “one who comforts,” this word can also be understood in the meaning of “mediator,” “intercessor,” “intercessor.”

We speak of the Holy Spirit, like God “in general,” as omnipresent: “Who is everywhere.” The Church Slavonic expression that follows - “do everything” - probably confuses many. As can be seen from the Russian translation above, in this case we're talking about not about the fulfillment of our prayers and desires, but all about the same thing - about the omnipresence of the Divine: “fulfill everything” means “filling everything with Himself.” However, here we can see something more: the Holy Spirit does not just “mechanically” fill the universe with Himself, but He animates it, every second supports its existence - otherwise everything would fall apart and fall apart, since the world we see has no other reason for its own emergence and continued existence besides God.

There is another expression in the Church Slavonic translation of the prayer, which, as one might assume, is misunderstood by many: “Treasure of good things” does not mean at all that the Holy Spirit is some kind of treasure for good people. No, the Life-Giving Spirit is a treasury of goods, a container and source of all that is good and good.

Next, we call the Spirit the giver of life - here it is appropriate to recall another chant, quite often heard at the all-night vigil: “By the Holy Spirit every soul is alive and exalted in purity...”
All those words and expressions that were discussed now were all an appeal, which takes up about two-thirds of the prayer. And then comes the pleading part.
What do we ask of God the Holy Spirit? We ask Him to come and dwell “in us.” The latter can be understood in two ways (and one understanding does not exclude the other): either we want each of us to become an abode of the Spirit, a temple of God; or (cf. John 1:14) - so that the Holy Spirit dwells among us, among us, uniting us into the one Body of Christ.

Then we ask that the Spirit, having settled in us, cleanse us from all filth - that is, from passions, from sin - and that He, the Good (i.e., good) will save our souls, that is, deliver us from the power of the world, the devil and, again, our own passions, and so that He would grant us the Kingdom of Heaven - that is, His own Kingdom (see the beginning of the prayer).

As mentioned above, the prayer “To the Heavenly King” is part of the service of the Feast of Pentecost (otherwise, Trinity Day). Let us remember that this prayer is not read during the period from Easter to Pentecost: during the Easter period it is replaced by three times reading (or singing) the troparion of Easter, and from Ascension to Easter it is not replaced by anything at all - and this significant absence emphasizes the tension with which the Church Every year he waits for the day of the sending of the Holy Spirit. And so on the day of Pentecost, after seven weeks of a kind of abstinence, the prayer “Heavenly King” is heard again (it is often sung publicly) - first at Great Vespers, as the penultimate stichera on the stichera, and then twice at Matins - after the 50th psalm and before the great doxology (instead of the usual “Blessed are you, O Virgin Mother of God...”). From this day on, “To the Heavenly King” is read daily until the first day of Easter.

Prayer to the Heavenly King is an appeal to the Holy Spirit, which is part of church worship. The Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Holy Trinity, the Life-Giving Lord. The name of the prayer comes from the first two words of its text. From Easter to Ascension this prayer is not read; its place is taken by the Easter troparion “Christ is Risen...”. From Ascension to the Day of the Holy Trinity, prayer is not said.

Prayer to the Heavenly King - stichera of the sixth tone on the stichera on Great Vespers Pentecost. It dates back to the 8th-9th centuries. The authorship of the prayer remains unknown. The exact date it is impossible to indicate, but it is known that it did not exist under the Constantinople Charter of the 9th century. You can also read the prayer to the Heavenly King privately, in home prayer.

We often hear that the King of Heaven is very strong prayer. It can be pronounced when a person:

• Asks for help in any matter.
• Cannot free himself from the power of sin.
• Experiencing a crisis of faith.

But the power of prayer depends not on what text is pronounced, but on the person’s faith. Ritual pronunciation of the text of a prayer without a true conversation with God has no “special” power.

To the King of Heaven text of prayer

Heavenly King, Comforter, Soul of truth, Who is everywhere and fulfills everything, Treasure of good things and Giver of life, come and dwell in us, and cleanse us from all filth, and save, O Good One, our souls.

Explanation:

Soul - spirit. Izhe - which. Sy - existing, abiding. Fulfill everything - fill everything. Treasure is a repository, a source. Good - good. Dwell in us - dwell in us. Defilement is a sin.

In Russian:

Heavenly King, Comforter (Adviser, Mentor), Spirit of Truth, present everywhere (located) and filling everything (with His presence), Treasure of goods and Giver of Life, come and dwell in us, cleanse us from all sin and save, O Most Good One, our souls .

Interpretation of the prayer “Heavenly King”

The Holy Spirit is mentioned in Old Testament three times: twice in the book of the prophet Isaiah and once in the 50 Psalms. But in the New Testament the Holy Spirit appears much more often. In the form of a dove, he descended during the Baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ. Gospel characters spoke about him more than once. He came to the Apostles when they went to preach. Therefore, when pronouncing the prayer to the Heavenly King, there is no usual refrain of “rejoice” or “rejoice,” but there is the word “come,” which calls upon the third person of the Holy Trinity.

About the Holy Spirit in Scripture

Your imperishable spirit abides in everything. Prem.12.1

When He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth, for He will not speak from Himself, but He will speak what He hears, and He will tell you the future. He will glorify Me, because He will take from Mine and proclaim it to you. John 16:13–14

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the ends of the earth. Acts 1:8

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in faith, so that you, through the power of the Holy Spirit, may abound in hope. Rom.15:32

But the time will come and has already come when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is looking for such worshipers for Himself. John 4:23

When they lead you to betray you, do not worry in advance what to say to you, and do not think about it; but whatever is given to you in that hour, then speak, for it is not you who will speak, but the Holy Spirit. Mk. 13:11

For God does not give the Spirit by measure. John 3.34

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. Because you did not receive the spirit of slavery to live in fear again, but you received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba, Father!” This very Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. Rom.8:14–16

And do not offend the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Eph. 4.30

Heavenly King, Comforter, Soul of truth, Who is everywhere and fulfills everything, Treasure of good things and Giver of life, come and dwell in us, and cleanse us from all filth, and save, O Blessed One, our souls.

This prayer is read and sung many times festive service Pentecost and is included in the initial prayers of almost all church services and home rule (in particular, morning prayers and prayers for those to come). Why is it one of the first to be read? - So that during our prayer The Spirit Himself petitioned for us with unspeakable sighs(Rom. 8:26).

Before we begin to explain this prayer, which is familiar to all of us, let us remember who the Holy Spirit is and what His action is in man.

The Holy Spirit is the Divine Person, the Third Person of the Holy Trinity, the Heavenly King, the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, penetrating and filling everything, the Source of blessings and the Giver of life (Life-Giving). He is the true God, eternally (out of time) coming from the Father. The Holy Spirit has omniscience, omnipresence, omnipotence, the ability to work miracles, cleanse people from sin, revive and sanctify their souls, and help them do good deeds. Through His inspiration, inspired books were written, He put the words of God into the mouths of the prophets and apostles. He descended on the apostles in the form of tongues of fire on the day of Pentecost.

The Holy Spirit is constantly active in the Church of Christ. By his action during the Liturgy, a great Sacrament is performed: the transformation of the Holy Gifts - bread and wine - into the Body and Blood of Christ. During the Sacrament of Confirmation, which takes place immediately after Baptism, the Holy Spirit descends on a person and puts the seed of a new soul into his soul. life of grace in Christ. Then it depends on the person himself (and his loved ones, if Baptism occurred in infancy) whether this good seed will sprout and bear fruit or be drowned out by weeds.

St. Seraphim of Sarov taught that the goal of a Christian’s life is the acquisition of the Holy Spirit, that is, such a state of a person when the Holy Spirit incomprehensibly dwells in him and remains in him, introducing him to fullness Divine life. Explaining this to his student N. Motovilov, Father Seraphim was transformed: his face shone like the sun. And then, through his prayer, the Lord gave Motovilov to experience the power of the Holy Spirit: peace, silence, joy, warmth, sweetness, fragrance and light that surpassed any earthly concept.

We call a person holy if he has acquired (that is, acquired) the Holy Spirit. The fruits of the Spirit in such a person are righteousness and truth (see Eph. 5:9), love, joy, peace, long-suffering, goodness, goodness, faith, meekness, self-control(Gal. 5:22-23).

What does it take to acquire these wonderful qualities? - Trust every word of Christ and try to live according to His will, seek more heavenly than earthly things, try to love everyone and not offend anyone, repent of sins and beg the Lord to save us. Let's not forget that spiritual work- this is not so much an external feat (prayers, frequent participation in divine services, etc.), but a painstaking, constant forcing of oneself to fulfill the commandments of God in thoughts, desires, words and deeds. (We know all this, but we are lazy - we think that just like that, lying on a warm stove, we will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. However, thank God, we are at least doing something - maybe the long-suffering Lord, who accepted two mites, will look at us, careless.) In all these little labors of ours, the Lord Holy Spirit helps us. He gives grace in church Sacraments, in home prayers; Our churches are filled with It, help is given through our prayer from holy icons and relics.

Let us also pray together with the Apostle Paul, so that God... gives us the Spirit of wisdom and revelation to the knowledge of Him, and enlightened the eyes of the heart ours so that we we knew what was the hope of His calling, and what the riches of His glorious inheritance are for the saints, and how immeasurable is the greatness of His power in us(Eph. 1:17-19). And let us not forget the words of the Savior: Heavenly Father will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him(Luke 11:13).

Now let's move on to the explanation of the prayer itself.

1. King, Comforter, Soul, Giver, Better- these are forms vocative case(now lost). Translated into modern language these words sound like this: King, Comforter, Spirit, Giver, Good.

2. Heavenly King. We call the Holy Spirit the King, the Ruler of the Heavenly Kingdom as God and the Third Person of the Holy Trinity.

"Heavenly" means spiritual, not earthly. The Kingdom of Heaven is also called paradise, “the life of the next century,” “new heaven,” “Heavenly Jerusalem” (the latter names refer to the time of the Second Coming of the Savior). In it they are blissful (abide in eternal joy and mutual love) angelic powers and souls of the righteous, for whom God is the Source of love and light that surpasses all understanding. IN Heavenly Kingdom there is no evil, including death.

The Lord commanded us to seek first of all earthly things the Kingdom of God, which is hidden in our hearts. “The ladder (ladder) leading to the Kingdom is inside you, hidden in your soul,” says the great seventh-century ascetic St. Isaac the Syrian. “Flee from sin, plunge into yourself and you will find there steps leading to heaven.”

3. Comforter means "Called for help, Patron, Intercessor." The Greek verb “to comfort” also means “to calm, pacify, console in sorrow, convince, instruct to a virtuous life.”

4. Soul of truth- The Spirit of truth, revealing to a person the truth about himself and the visible and invisible world around him (that is, about the meaning of his life, the spiritual laws of existence, heaven and hell, etc.), admonishing and instructing people on the true path of God, putting words in the mouth of prophets and confessors: The Spirit of your Father will speak in you(Matt. 10:20).

Before His Death on the cross The Lord said to the disciples: But when the Comforter comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me and guide you into all truth.(John 15, 26; 16, 13); But the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you everything and remind you of everything that I have told you.(John 14:26). After the Ascension of Christ, the Holy Spirit directly instructed and admonished the disciples preaching the gospel of Christ and His Kingdom.

5. Sit everywhere and do everything- Who abides everywhere and fills everything (the whole world, all existence).

6. Treasure of the Good- Source, Treasury of all good things.

7. Life Giver. The Holy Spirit gives life to the whole world, to all living things, that is, it animates, and also gives people Divine, eternal life, that is, it spiritualizes, provided that they seek, hunger and thirst for this life.

8. In us - in us.

9. Cleanse us from all filth. The Holy Spirit cleanses the faithful and humble of heart from sinful filth. This is necessary, since nothing bad can enter the “paradise of sweetness” of the Kingdom of Heaven. IN earthly world Christ abides only in those souls who are cleansed by sincere repentance.

10. Better. The Holy Spirit is called good as one of the persons Holy Trinity, because no one is good but God alone(Mark 10:18).

11. Save... our souls. The most important thing for a person is the salvation of his soul. This is precisely why the Lord came to earth. This is what we ask the Holy Spirit to do. If it is important to save earthly life man, then it is incomparably more important to save his eternal soul.

About prayer. Errors and temptations during prayer
Author: Archpriest Arkady Steinberg
The first and most serious mistake in prayer is the lack of prayer. This happens either because a person has never prayed and does not know how to begin this (and often - and why?..), or because the “cares of this age” have weakened a person so much that there is no longer room for God in his life. his life.

To a lonely woman about prayer
Author: Saint Nicholas of Serbia
You are upset that God does not hear your prayers... Do not complain about Him from Whom we have being, and life, and breath, and intelligence, and everything. I ask you, do not complain about the One who has a thousand times more right to complain about us before His Angels and Saints.
Even if the Lord does not literally fulfill our prayers, they still bear fruit for our souls, making our souls more mature and rich. This is the secret that those who walk the path of spiritual experience have learned

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“The greatest gift for a person is precisely the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

(From the program “UNITY ”)

“Heavenly King, Comforter, Soul of Truth,
Who is everywhere and fulfills everything,
Treasure of good things and life to the Giver,
come and dwell in us,
and cleanse us from all filth,
and save, O Blessed One, our souls.”

I first became acquainted with prayer to the Holy Spirit while reading the book “Ezoosmos” by Anastasia Novykh. Perhaps I did not understand so much about it intellectually, but inside it penetrated to the very depths. I felt extraordinary spiritual trepidation, enormous gratitude for everything, everything that God has given us, for all His Love for us, His children. Then I returned to this place in the book more than once, each time experiencing this episode as if live. Deep underground, in a cave, against the backdrop of fatigue after a long, the hard way through the labyrinths of underground passages- and suddenly such a solemn, such a heartfelt moment, filled with some life-giving force emanating from the very depths, from the depths, from the very source. So is prayer.

“Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. A-mi-i-yin...

His voice spread throughout the hall, filling the space with its solemn sound. Father paused, obviously listening to the echo, and, clearly being quite pleased with it, began to read a prayer to the Holy Spirit:

Heavenly King, Comforter, Soul of truth, Who is everywhere and fulfills everything, Treasure of good things and Giver of life, come and dwell in us, and cleanse us from all filth, and save, O Good One, our souls.

The sound spreading throughout the hall truly produced an amazing effect. Even goosebumps ran from such powerful vibrations of the voice of Father John, heard from the darkness. This sound generated some kind of inner inspiration, penetrated to the depths of the soul, as if it made every cell of the body vibrate in unison. When Father John finished reading the prayer, there was absolute silence, thanks to which last words, like an echo, were repeated in their own minds, accurately reproducing the timbre of the priest’s voice down to the smallest detail. As if spellbound, we sat motionless, enjoying this amazing sound effect. Father got so excited that he began to spend a whole church service. He changed his intonation and gradually switched to a quiet, monotonous singing of prayers. His voice became velvety, soft, soothing. I closed my eyes. A slight drowsiness took over my consciousness.”

(Anastasia Novykh, “Ezoosmos”)

The sermons of Archbishop Luke were recorded first-hand by the people themselves, reprinted, and passed from hand to hand. IN Soviet times, of course, all this was done secretly, at great risk to life. But such was the faith of the parishioners in living word filled with the power of God. I would like to carry this word further...