Eucharistic Prayer
(Adapted from the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom)
Offertory Sentence:
Let us stand well. Let us stand in awe. Let us be attentive,
that we may present the holy offering in peace.
While the table is being set, the Priest
blesses the water, saying in a low voice:
Blessed is the
fervor of Your saints, now and forever and to the ages
of ages.
Priest:
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God the
Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with
all of you.
People:
And with your spirit.
Priest:
Let us lift up our hearts.
People:
We lift them up to the Lord.
Priest:
Let us give thanks to the Lord.
People:
It is proper and right.
Priest:
It is proper and right to sing to You, bless You,
praise You, thank You and worship You in all places of Your dominion; for You
are God ineffable, beyond comprehension, invisible, beyond understanding,
existing forever and always the same; You and Your only begotten Son and Your
Holy Spirit. You brought us into being out of nothing, and when we fell, You raised us up again. You did not cease doing everything
until You led us to heaven and granted us Your kingdom
to come. For all these things we thank You and Your
only begotten Son and Your Holy Spirit; for all things that we know and do not
know, for blessings seen and unseen that have been bestowed upon us. We also
thank You for this liturgy which You are pleased to accept from our hands, even
though You are surrounded by thousands of Archangels and tens of thousands of Angels,
by the Cherubim and Seraphim, six-winged, many-eyed, soaring with their wings,
Singing the victory hymn, proclaiming, crying out, and saying:
People:
Holy, Holy, Holy Lord.
God of Power and Might,
Heaven and Earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the Highest
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the Highest
Priest:
Together with these blessed powers, merciful Master,
we also proclaim and say: You are holy and most holy, You
and Your only begotten Son and Your Holy Spirit. You are holy and most holy,
and sublime is Your glory. You so loved Your world that You gave Your only begotten Son so that
whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. He came and
fulfilled the divine plan for us. On the night when He was delivered up, or
rather when He gave Himself up for the life of the world, He took bread in His
holy, pure, and blameless hands, gave thanks, blessed, sanctified, broke and
gave it to His holy disciples and apostles, saying: Take, eat, this is my Body which
is broken for you for the forgiveness of sins.
People:
Amen.
Priest:
Likewise, after supper, He took the cup, saying: Drink
of it all of you; this is my Blood of the new Covenant which is shed for you
and for many for the forgiveness of sins.
People:
Amen.
Priest:
Remembering, therefore, this command of the Savior,
and all that came to pass for our sake, the cross, the tomb, the resurrection
on the third day, the ascension into heaven, the enthronement at the right hand
of the Father, and the second, glorious coming, We offer to You these gifts
from Your own gifts in all and for all.
People:
We praise You, we bless You, we
give thanks to You, and we pray to You, Lord our God.
Priest:
Once again we offer to You
this spiritual worship without the shedding of blood, and we ask, pray, and
entreat You: send down Your Holy Spirit upon us and upon these gifts here
presented.
And make this bread the precious Body of Your
Christ.
(He blesses the holy Bread.)
Deacon (in a low voice):
Amen.
Priest:
And that which is in this cup the precious Blood of
Your Christ.
(He blesses the holy Cup.)
Deacon (in a low voice):
Amen.
Priest:
Changing them by Your Holy
Spirit.
(He blesses them both.)
Deacon (in a low voice):
Amen. Amen. Amen.
Priest:
So that they may be to those who partake of them for
vigilance of soul, forgiveness of sins, communion of Your Holy Spirit,
fulfillment of the kingdom of heaven, confidence before You, and not in
judgment or condemnation. Again, we offer this spiritual worship for those who
repose in the faith, forefathers, fathers, patriarchs, prophets, apostles,
preachers, evangelists, martyrs, confessors, ascetics, and for every righteous
spirit made perfect in faith. Especially
for our most holy, pure, blessed, and glorious Lady, the Theotokos
and ever virgin Mary.
People:
It is truly right to bless you, Theotokos,
ever blessed, most pure, and mother of our God. More honorable than the Cherubim, and beyond compare more glorious than the
Seraphim, without corruption you gave birth to God the Word. We magnify you,
the true Theotokos.
Priest:
For Saint John
the prophet, forerunner, and baptist; for the holy
glorious and most honorable Apostles; for Saint(s) (Name-s), whose
memory we commemorate today; and for all Your saints,
through whose supplications, O God, bless us. Remember also all who have fallen
asleep in the hope of resurrection unto eternal life. (Here the priest
commemorates the names of the deceased.) And grant them rest, our God,
where the light of Your countenance shines.
We entrust to You, loving Master, our whole life and
hope, and we ask, pray, and entreat: make us worthy to partake of your heavenly
and awesome Mysteries from this holy and spiritual Table with a clear
conscience; for the remission of sins, forgiveness of transgressions, communion
of the Holy Spirit, inheritance of the kingdom of heaven, confidence before
You, and not in judgment or condemnation.
And make us worthy, Master, with confidence and without fear
of condemnation, to dare call You, the heavenly God,
Father, and to say:
The Lord's Prayer
People:
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be Thy name.
Thy kingdom come;
Thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us,
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom and the power
and the glory forever and ever.
Amen.
Deacon:
Let us be attentive.
(The Priest breaks the consecrated bread)
Priest:
The Lamb of God is
broken and distributed; broken but not divided.
He is forever eaten yet is never consumed, but He sanctifies those who
partake of Him.
(The Priest faces the people)
Priest:
The holy Gifts for the holy people of God.
People:
One is Holy, one is Lord, Jesus
Christ, to the glory of God the Father. Amen.
Holy Communion
(The Communion Prayers are recited silently by those
prepared to receive the holy Mysteries.)
People:
I believe and confess, Lord,
that You are truly the Christ, the Son of the living
God, who came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the first. I also
believe that this is truly Your pure Body and that
this is truly Your precious Blood. Therefore, I pray to You,
have mercy upon me, and forgive my transgressions, voluntary and involuntary,
in word and deed, known and unknown. And make me worthy without condemnation to
partake of Your pure Mysteries for the forgiveness of
sins and for life eternal. Amen.
How shall
I, who am unworthy, enter into the splendor of Your
saints? If I dare to enter into the bridal chamber, my clothing will accuse me,
since it is not a wedding garment; and being bound up, I shall be cast out by
the angels. In Your love, Lord, cleanse my soul and save me.
Loving
Master, Lord Jesus Christ, my God, let not these holy Gifts be to my
condemnation because of my unworthiness, but for the cleansing and
sanctification of soul and body and the pledge of the future life and kingdom.
It is good for me to cling to God and to place in Him the hope of my salvation.
Receive
me today, Son of God, as a partaker of Your mystical
Supper. I will not reveal Your mystery to Your
adversaries. Nor will I give You a kiss as did Judas.
But as the thief I confess to You: Lord, remember me
in Your kingdom.
(The priest proceeds to receive holy
Communion.)
Priest (in a low voice):
Behold, I approach Christ, our immortal King and
God.
The precious and most holy Body of our Lord,
God, and Savior Jesus Christ is given to me (Name) the priest, for the
forgiveness of my sins and eternal life.
(He then partakes of the sacred Bread.)
The precious and most holy Blood of our Lord, God,
and Savior Jesus Christ is given to me (Name) the priest, for the
forgiveness of my sins and eternal life.
(He then drinks from the holy Cup. Afterwards, he wipes
the holy Cup, kisses it, and says:)
This has touched my lips, taking away my
transgressions and cleansing my sins.
Deacon:
Approach with the fear of God, faith, and
love.
(Those prepared come forth with reverence to receive Holy
Communion.)
(The Bread and the Cup are given
to the communicants with these words:)
The servant of God receives the Body (Blood) of
Christ for forgiveness of sins and eternal life.
(Or with
these words:)
The Body of Christ, the bread of heaven. [Amen.]
The Blood of Christ, the cup of salvation. [Amen.]
(After Communion the Priest says:)
Let us pray
Priest and People:
We thank You, loving Master,
benefactor of our souls, that on this day You have made us worthy once again of
Your heavenly and immortal Mysteries.
Direct our ways in the right path, establish us firmly in Your fear,
guard our lives, and make our endeavors safe, through the prayers and
supplications of the glorious Theotokos and ever
virgin Mary and of all Your saints. For You are our sanctification and to You we give glory, to the
Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and to the ages of
ages. Amen.
(The priest blesses the people, saying:)
Priest:
Save, O God, Your people and bless Your
inheritance.
People:
We have seen the true light; we have received the
heavenly Spirit; we have found the true faith, worshiping the undivided
Trinity, for the Trinity has saved us.
Priest:
Blessed is our God; Always, now and forever and to
the ages of ages.
People:
Amen.
(The people are dismissed with these words:)
Deacon:
Let us depart in peace.
People:
Thanks be to God.