In Lent we read the prayer of Sirin, which was composed in the IV century by the Monk Ephrem the Syrian. Read it during the service. It is also customary to read at home throughout the period of fasting. The prayer tells about the spiritual struggle. The battle takes place between the spirit of "love and chastity", to which the monk treats with the words "give to me," and the spirit of "despondency and idleness" a petition to which denial bears.
The Power of Fasting and Prayer
In the prayer of Sirin, not the most obvious sins are mentioned, that is not the most significant and widespread. St. Ephraim mentions the four passions, which represent one spirit, which took all the other spirits. He in this prayer is responsible for idleness, talkativeness, arrogance and self-confidence. This spirit is in the world and every person is regularly poisoned by it.
The prayer of Sirin sounds like this:
"Lord and Master of my belly, the spirit of idleness, despondency, lyubopraschiya and idle talk do not give me. The spirit of chastity, humility, patience and love grant me, your servant. She, O Lord, King, grant me to see my sins and not condemn my brother, for you are blessed forever and ever. Amen".
Read the prayer in the service for Easter, as well as 2 times at the end of each Lenten service, starting from Monday to Friday. At the first reading, after each of the three petitions, one should bow, then pray to himself 12 times: "God, cleanse me, the sinner," while making bows. After that, the prayer of Sirin is repeated again and one earthly bow is performed.
At the beginning of prayer there is an appeal to God, because only he can lead a person to a better life. In words, St. Ephraim asks for help in getting rid of idleness. In the second pronunciation, a request is made to God to help get rid of despondency. In the next pronunciation, Ephraim asks to be rid of the spirit of celibacy, because it manifests itself in all life spheres. In the fourth pronunciation, the saint asks God to help deliver him from the spirit of piousness. The thing is that verbosity devastates the human soul, which leads to dispersion and waste of energy.
The explanation of the prayer Sirin in the post:
- my belly my life;
- the spirit of idleness is a tendency to laziness;
- despondency - hopelessness;
- lust - control over others;
- idle talk is the pronunciation of empty and abusive words;
- do not give me - do not let me;
- chastity is the purity and prudence of the soul;
- humility - when a person does not think that he is better than others;
- love - love of God and other people;
- grant me to see - let me see;
- under the brother - another person;
- for you are blessed with glory.
Many wonder why such a small prayer in the days of fasting became so significant in worship. In a few lines, Saint Ephraim was able to list all the good and negative elements of repentance, as well as present individual feats. Their main purpose is to free oneself from an ailment that does not allow us to find the right way in life and to approach God. Under this ailment is negligence and laziness . All these qualities do not allow a person to develop, and pull "down", which causes the unwillingness to change something in life. Idleness is considered the basis of all problems, since it negatively affects spiritual energy. The fruit of idleness is despondency, which is the main danger to the soul. Spiritual enlighteners assert that the person who is controlled by despondency does not have the opportunity to see something good in life and everything for him has
Typicon or simple words of the statute indicates that to read the prayer of Efim Sirin in his own silence. In this case, you have to raise your hands up and bow low for every third pronunciation. Such manipulations are very similar to the services that the Egyptian monks conducted in the 4th-5th centuries. In the traditions of the Russian Orthodox Church, it is customary to read Sirin's prayer aloud, and the priest does it in the presence of people who pray. This is because parishioners do not have sufficient knowledge. During the reading of the hand, only the priest raises him up. In the churches of Greece, the prayer of Sirin is also read aloud, and silent reading is practiced only in monasteries.