Sometimes the texts of some prayers lead Christians into confusion, because we know that appeals to subjects as to animate people are called idolatry, which in the Church, to put it mildly, is not welcome. So, at first glance, the prayer "Let God Risen" amazes us with a frank appeal to the cross, which in prayer should be called "a pious and life-giving cross." But, it turns out, not everything is so simple, and with conclusions, in this case, there is no need to hurry.
Who are we talking to?
In the prayer "Let God arise," we are not referring to the cross, as many think, namely, to God. The following excerpt leads us to the usual misconception about this prayer:
"Oh, Honest and Life-giving Cross of the Lord, help me ...".
In this case, do not take this expression verbatim, because in the Bible there are many metaphors, when an inanimate object acquires a character. With these words, we turn to God, prompting him to execute judgment on the demons, so that they do not torment the people.
The beginning of this Orthodox prayer "Let God Rise Up" is taken from 67 Psalms. A similar kind of metaphor ("shame the sun," "rejoice heaven") are found in the sacred scripture. Presumably, that's why representatives of other faiths have not yet accused the Orthodox of idolatry because of the text of this prayer.
Why does Orthodoxy allow one to bow before the cross?
For an Orthodox Christian, the most amazing thing about Jesus is his honest cross. It was with the help of the cross that he conquered and abolished death, and people acquired the resurrection. Thanks to the power of his cross, we have the opportunity to despise the present, the future, death , because a gate to Paradise is open before a person.
The interpretation of the prayer "Let God arise"
We, of course, are mostly accustomed to reading prayers without thinking. The priest said to you to read the prayer "May God arise," and you read, waiting for the "effect" to come. However, instead of repeating on the machine the memorized obscure words, you just have to move your brains and figure out "who is who". Then, the basic rule of praying will be met - to turn to the Lord with all your heart.
Let's look at the text of the prayer and try to "translate" its words. Yes, God will rise to a modern, widely available language. The first word unaccustomed to us is "lavished" - this means - "enemies", that is, enemies, will be scattered. "Signed" - the self-denying cross.
"Glagolyuschie" - speaking.
"Pure" - not very honest, but very revered. "Corrupted the power of the devil" - the victorious power of the devil. "Prohyaty" - respectively, crucified, and "foe" - just an enemy. The main phrase of the prayer is "The Life-giving Cross of the Lord" - the life-giving cross of the Lord.
We still have one more interesting part to consider before we read the prayer "Let God Risen": "the hell of the descending and overcoming the power of the diabolism" is grammatically here all the less clear. But the very meaning of the word combination is that Jesus after death was in hell. From there he brought the saints to Paradise and thereby, destroyed the power of the devil ("who corrected the power of the diabolism"). Then there was the Resurrection.
What helps this prayer?
If you honestly understood the translation of the prayer "May God Risen", you probably know what it's all about. The purpose of this prayer is to ask God for protection before the devil. There are many examples of how this prayer works in such critical situations. For example, a story with two women walking home from the temple. A huge bloodthirsty dog flew over them for no reason at all, and when one of them despaired began to read "Let God Rise Up," the dog stepped back, backed away, and squealed disappeared.
Who do you think they deal with?
