☦ Eastern Orthodoxy: Prayers for Healing and Protection from the Virus

[sprinkleeninow]

Greek Orthodox Archdiocese~

Prayer To Be Offered in the Evening:

Lord Jesus Christ our God, You traveled through towns and villages “curing every disease and illness.” At Your command, the sick were made well.

Come to our aid now, in the midst of the global spread of this virus, that we may experience Your healing love. Heal those O Lord who are suffering with this pandemic's illness. May they regain their strength and health through medical care.

Heal us from our fears, which prevent nations from working together and neighbors from helping one another. Heal us from our pride, which can make us claim invulnerability to a disease that knows no borders. Lord Jesus Christ, healer of all and physician of our souls and bodies, stay by our side in this time of uncertainty and sorrow.

Be with those who have died from the virus. May they be at rest with You in Your eternal peace. Be with the families of those who are sick or have died. As they worry and grieve, defend them from illness and despair. May they know Your peace.

Be with the doctors, nurses, researchers and all medical professionals who seek to heal and help those affected and who put themselves at risk in the process. May they know Your protection and peace.

Be with the leaders of all nations. Give them the foresight to act with charity and true concern for the well-being of the people they are meant to serve. Give them the wisdom to choose long-term solutions that will help prepare for or prevent future outbreaks. May they know Your peace, as they work together to achieve it on earth.

Whether we are home or abroad, surrounded by many people suffering from this illness or only a few, Lord Jesus Christ, stay with us as we endure and mourn, persist and prepare. In place of our anxiety, give us your peace.

For You are the Physician of our souls and bodies Christ our God and to You do we offer glory, thanksgiving and worship together with Your eternal Father and Your all-holy, good and life-giving Spirit, now and forever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Another Prayer, To Be Offered At Any Time

O Holy Father, God of unknown, uncreated depth, You are beyond all description and expectation. You are the Creator of all worlds, physical and metaphysical. As You are only love, in love You created everything that truly is. Through Your Son, everything has form and purpose, and through Your Spirit, everything lives and moves back toward You.

O Father, we are troubled by this scourge that is infecting Your people around the world. From the ancient Fall away from You, there are many consequences that we cannot begin to understand. As traces of this pestilence are being studied in labs, we shiver at its demonic malevolence for destruction, especially of the frail and the elderly.

Our hearts are open to You, loving Father; we come to You as children, meek and lowly. We beg You to help the doctors who work to find a cure. We beg You to help our leaders to put away childish things, to forget political advantage, and to be good stewards of their people. We beg You to help us to be wise ourselves and to care for human life in the least of those around us.

We cry out to You as One Who did not send this plague. We cry out to You as One Who only heals and redeems. You did not send this, but we know You can destroy it.

So Father, cease this plague, and turn it back to the abyss from which it came.

Heal Your people, the humanity of this earth, cleanse us and strengthen us toward You.

We are weak, but You are strong, and in our weakness Your strength is revealed. Help us, we beg You, in the Name of Your Son, the Great Physician, Who, together with You and our Comforter, the Holy Spirit, Are due all glory and honor, to the ages of ages. Amen.

PRAYER OF PROTECTION
FROM THE CORONAVIRUS~

by Grace Bishop Alexis (Trader) of Bethesda:

O God Almighty, Lord of heaven and earth, and of all creation visible and invisible, in Your ineffable goodness, look down upon Your people gathered in Your name. Be our helper and defender in this day of affliction. You know our weakness. You hear our cry in repentance and contrition of heart. O Lord who loves mankind deliver us from the impending threat of the corona virus. Send Your Angel to watch over us and protect us. Grant health and recovery to those suffering from this virus. Guide the hands of physicians, and preserve those who are healthy that we may continue to serve You in peace and glorify Your most honorable and majestic Name, of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, now and forever and to the ages of ages.

PEOPLE: Amen.

DISMISSAL

PRIEST: Glory to You, O God, our Hope. Glory to You.

PEOPLE: Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever and to the ages of ages. Amen. Lord, have mercy. (3) Holy Father, give the blessing.

PRIEST:

May Christ our true God, through the
intercessions of His all-pure and all-immaculate Holy Mother; the power of the precious and life- giving Cross; the protection of the honorable, bodiless powers of Heaven; the supplications of the honorable, glorious Prophet and Forerunner John the Baptist; of the holy, glorious and praise-worthy Apostles; of the holy, glorious and triumphant Martyrs; of our righteous and God-bearing Fathers; of the holy and righteous ancestors of God Joachim and Anna; of (saint of the day), whose memory we celebrate today; and of all the saints; have mercy on us and save us, for He is good and loves mankind.

PRIEST: Through the prayers of our holy fathers, Lord Jesus Christ, our God, have mercy on us and save us.

PEOPLE: Amen.

SYNAXARION

During the reign of the Emperor Theodosius, the city of Constantinople was shaken by earth- quakes for almost four months. The Emperor, the Patriarch Saint, and the people joined in a barefoot procession to make prayer to God for their safety. While they were gathered, the tremors increased dramatically, and a young boy was lifted up into the sky in the sight of the people, who fearfully cried out, “Lord, have mercy!” When the boy came down from the heavens, he said that he had been among choirs of Angels who sang the hymn: “Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us!”, and that a voice had commanded him to tell the Patriarch that the people should make supplication to God in this way. The Patriarch instructed the people to chant this hymn, whereupon the ground stopped shaking. The Empress Pulcheria asked the Patriarch to order that this hymn be chanted henceforth in the Divine Liturgy, as it still is today.

____

* Unbeknownst to many, the Trisagion Hymn has often been chanted during times of catastrophe not unlike that which threatens our world today. In fact, there is even a miracle which took place in the Byzantine Empire during a time of dire need and danger – namely, the threat of earthquake – and which is commemorated every year on the 25th of September. For the edification of the faithful, and to encourage them to chant this hymn especially now at this time of crisis, we include here the account of the Miracle of the Trisagion Hymn.


The Fruits of True Prayer

Prayer is doxology, praise, thanksgiving, confession, supplication and intercession to God. "When I prayed I was new," wrote a great theologian of Christian antiquity, "but when I stopped praying I became old." Prayer is the way to renewal and spiritual life. Prayer is aliveness to God.

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Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
8 East 79th Street • New York, NY 10075
Phone: [phone]

2017 Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America

[No Vested Interest]

1. The first prayer was written by Kerry Weber, an executive editor of America Magazine.

He titled it A Prayer Amid an Epidemic. I thought the prayer was beautiful and pertinent to our present everyday lives.

America is a publication of the Jesuits, published online daily with meaningful articles regarding religious and moral life in the United States.

I was privileged to be introduced to "America" about 67 years, in the later years of high school, where a subscription to that magazine was required as part of the religious curriculum. Today the magazine is still current and forward-looking in its content.
I congratulate the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese for sharing these meaningful words with their congregants and the larger audience of Christian believers.

(I note the address of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America on E. 79th St., NYC. Wouldn't be surprised if they are nearby the headquarters of America magazine.... Good neighbors.)

[sprinkleeninow]

2. I did see that prayer on the site you mentioned. The GOARCH

surely had obtained use rights for reposting? I deleted some info. at the bottom of the page possible attribution.