Home Heating Read the psalter at home for the deceased. About reading the psalter for the departed. Prayer to the Mother of God

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Read the psalter at home for the deceased. About reading the psalter for the departed. Prayer to the Mother of God

In the Orthodox Church there is a good custom of reading the Psalter in memory of the deceased. The reading of the Psalter for the dead has its origins in the most distant antiquity. Serving as a prayer to the Lord for the dead, it brings them great consolation both in itself, as reading the word of God, and as testifying to the love of their living brothers for them. It also brings them great benefit, for it is accepted by the Lord as a pleasant propitiatory sacrifice for the cleansing of the sins of those remembered - just as every prayer and every good deed is accepted by Him.

The Psalms should be read with tenderness and contrition of heart, slowly, and carefully delving into what is being read. The greatest benefit comes from reading the Psalms by those who commemorate them: it testifies to the great degree of love and zeal for those commemorated by their living brethren, who themselves personally want to work in their memory, and not replace themselves in work with others. The Lord will accept the feat of reading not only as a sacrifice for those commemorated, but as a sacrifice for those who bring it, who work in reading. Any pious believer who has the skills to read accurately can read the Psalter.

In the Apostolic decrees it is commanded to perform psalmody, readings and prayers for the departed on the third, ninth and fortieth day. But mainly the custom has been established of reading psalms for the departed for three days or all forty days. The three-day reading of the Psalter with prayers, which constitute a special burial rite, for the most part coincides with the time during which the body of the deceased remains in the house.

Order a reading of the Unending Psalter in Jerusalem

Psalter consists of 20 sections - kathisma, each of which is divided into three " Glory". Before reading the first kathisma, the pre-initial prayers are said before starting the reading of the Psalter. At the end of the reading of the Psalter, prayers are said after reading several kathismas or the entire Psalter. The reading of each kathisma begins with a prayer:

Come, let us worship our King God.

Come, let us worship and fall down before Christ, our King God.

Come, let us bow and fall down to Christ Himself, the King and our God.

(When reading the kathisma for each “Glory” (which reads as “Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, And now and ever and unto ages of ages Amen”) it is said:

Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, And now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, glory to Thee, O God! (three times)

Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

(Then the prayer petition for the deceased is read “Remember, O Lord our God...”, located at the end of the “Following the Exodus of the Soul”, and the name of the deceased is remembered on it with the addition (until the fortieth day from the day of death) of the words “newly deceased”:

Remember, O Lord our God, in the faith and hope of the life of Thy eternally departed servant, our brother [name], and as the Good One and the Lover of Mankind, forgiving sins and consuming untruths, weaken, forsake and forgive all his voluntary and involuntary sins, deliver him from eternal torment and the fire of Gehenna, and grant him the communion and enjoyment of Your eternal good things, prepared for those who love You: even if you sin, do not depart from You, and undoubtedly in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, God glorified by You in the Trinity, faith, and Unity in Trinity and Trinity in Unity, Orthodox even to his last breath of confession. Be merciful to him, and faith, even in You instead of deeds, and with Your saints, as You give generous rest: for there is no man who will live and not sin. But You are the One besides all sin, and Your righteousness is righteousness forever, and You are the One God of mercies and generosity, and love for mankind, and to You we send glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen.

Then the reading of the psalms of kathisma continues.) At the end of the kathisma it reads:

Trisagion

Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us.(Read three times, with the sign of the cross and bow from the waist.)

Prayer to the Most Holy Trinity

Most Holy Trinity, have mercy on us; Lord, cleanse our sins; Master, forgive our iniquities; Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities, for Thy name's sake.

Lord have mercy.(three times);

Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen

Lord's Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven! Hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, as it is in heaven and on earth. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, just as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one

Tropari

(found at the beginning of “Sequence on the Exodus of the Soul”)

From the spirits of the righteous who have passed away, give rest to the soul of Your servant, O Savior, preserving it in the blessed life that belongs to You, O Lover of Mankind.

In Thy chamber, O Lord: where all Thy saints rest, give rest also to the soul of Thy servant, for Thou art the only Lover of mankind.

Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit:

You are God, Who descended into hell and loosed the bonds of the bound, May You Himself and the soul of Your servant give rest

And now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

One Pure and Immaculate Virgin, who gave birth to God without a seed, pray for the salvation of his soul.

Lord have mercy (40 times)

(Then the prayer prescribed at the end of kathisma is read.)

Why are psalms read?

Most often, Christians read the Psalter when a person has died. To make it more clear, let's look at an example of how to read the Psalter for the dead.

This custom of reading psalms about the dead, like the entire religious rite of human burial, dates back to ancient times. Sometimes there are even special people who read these psalms; they are invited to the house where the person died and continuously, for 40 days, read the psalms at the request of the relatives of the deceased.

When reading the Psalter about the departed, in addition to all the prayers and reading of kathismas, a special prayer is also used - “Glory”, which mentions the names of all the deceased associated with the person who died.

Reading the Psalter for the departed gives memory and consolation to relatives. These special psalms testify to the love and respect of relatives for the deceased and for God, because only by reading these songs do you get closer to our creator.

How to read the Psalter about health? We will answer that this reading is similar to the psalms for the departed, that is, the psalms about health are also read. Most often these psalms go together. That is, we have already mentioned that when the kathisma is read, there is a prayer for “Glory”, then the names of the deceased and the names of living people are listed, basically this goes in turn: one name is a deceased person, the second is a living one.

I would also like to highlight some rules or tips for those who want to read the psalms.

In order to know how to read the Psalter correctly, you must always have a candle or lamp with you (this is for prayer at home).
Read the psalms only out loud or in a low voice.
Do not forget about the correct emphasis in words, because incorrectly pronouncing a sacred sentence is equivalent to a sin, be careful.
Psalms can be read both sitting and standing. Basically, they are read while sitting, and the names of the dead and living are pronounced while standing, after prayers and at “Glory”.
Please note that the psalms are read not only aloud, but also monotonously, without any expressions of one’s emotions - this is not a literary work, but a serious religious text.
If you do not understand the meaning of the psalms, do not be too discouraged, because this is the point - you develop in spiritual understanding in stages. As you grow spiritually, the meaning of the psalms will also be revealed.

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In the Orthodox Church there is a good custom of continuous reading of the Psalter over the body of the deceased (except for the time when memorial services or funeral lithiums are performed at the grave) before his burial and in memory after his burial.
The reading of the Psalter for the dead has its origins in the most distant antiquity. Serving as a prayer to the Lord for the dead, it brings them great consolation both in itself, as reading the word of God, and as testifying to the love of their living brothers for them. It also brings them great benefit, for it is accepted by the Lord as a pleasant propitiatory sacrifice for the cleansing of the sins of those remembered - just as every prayer and every good deed is accepted by Him.
The reading of the Psalter begins at the end of the “Following the Exodus of the Soul.” The Psalms should be read with tenderness and contrition of heart, slowly, and carefully delving into what is being read. The greatest benefit comes from reading the Psalter yourself...

The Psalter is a book included in the corpus of Holy Scripture of the Old Testament. It contains 150 psalms (hence the corresponding name), which are prayers to the Lord. King David is considered the author of the psalter, but some prayer books were also compiled by other rulers of ancient Israel.

The Psalter was widely used for use back in apostolic times. Since ancient times in Rus', this Old Testament book has been used as a prayer book both at divine services and in home prayer. Currently, the Church's services also include prayers from the psalter.

In Orthodox culture, there is a pious tradition of reading the psalter for the deceased, in memory of them. The entire Old Testament book is divided into twenty kathismas, its complete reading can take up to five hours, so prayer for the deceased with the help of this book is a special work of living people in memory of the deceased. The reading of the psalter is performed both for the laity and for...

Why read the Psalter for the dead? Where did this tradition come from? What are the stories behind the writing of Psalms 50 and 90? Is it true that previously in Rus' they learned to read not from the ABC book, but from the Psalter? You will find answers to these questions in this article. You will also learn how to create psalms of repose and understand what you read.

What is the Psalter and what is the secret of its popularity?

One of the most beloved and popular books of all Christians can be called the Psalter - the book of psalms. Among the Jews, psalms were prayer hymns dedicated to the Lord and sung to the accompaniment.

The ability to compose psalms was considered a great gift, and King David, who is credited with the authorship of the Psalter - 151 psalms (in some translations 150), possessed it in full. Most of these hymns were actually written by David. The king put all shades of emotion into them: he thanked the Lord, tearfully prayed for help, repented of his sins, and prophesied about the fate of the Israeli people.

How was...

How to read the Psalter

Among the books of Holy Scripture, the book of Psalms occupies a special place. Written long before the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ, it is the only book of the Old Testament that was entirely included in the liturgical charter of the Christian Church and occupies a prominent place in it.

The special value of the Psalter is that it depicts the movements of the human soul striving for God, giving a high example of prayerful resistance to sorrows and temptations and praising God. “In the words of this book, all human life, all states of the soul, all movements of thought are measured and embraced, so that beyond what is depicted in it nothing more can be found in a person,” says St. Athanasius the Great. The grace of the Holy Spirit, penetrating every word of the Psalter, sanctifies, cleanses, supports the one praying with these sacred words, drives away demons and attracts Angels.

The first Christians deeply revered and loved the Psalter. They learned all the psalms by heart. Already in apostolic times...

Question from Valentina:

Hello!
This is a VERY important question concerning ALL Orthodox believers, requiring an urgent answer. But let the excerpt below preface it:
“Elder Samuel has the words in his book: “We must know all the names of our ancestors, as many generations ago as possible, from whom we were born, how to help them, and this is our duty, this is not just some kind of historical interest, no, this is ours.” a debt to God, for if they remain in hell, it is difficult for their generation to be saved, for this reason God gave us life, so that in addition to our salvation, we would lead our grandfathers and great-grandfathers from hell to heaven. Someone will tell us, yes, it’s not our fault that they sinned, they went to hell, yes, it’s true that we are not to blame for them, but they suffer fiercely in hell. It is also true that on the cross there is fierce torment, sinners who hang in hell, hangs the One who is the Holy One, who IS AND WILL BE, the Lord Almighty, therefore, man, do not be angry with those who have gone to hell and do not be curious about how they suffer there in hell and for what...

Pray for one another (James 5:16).

The Psalter is a sacred book of psalms, or Divine hymns, written down by King David at the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Reading the Psalter attracts the help of Angels, blots out sins, and saturates the soul with the breath of the Holy Spirit.

The method of praying according to the Psalter is much more ancient than the Jesus Prayer or reading akathists. Before the advent of the Jesus Prayer, in ancient monasticism it was customary to read the Psalter in one’s mind (to oneself) by heart, and some monasteries accepted only those who knew the entire Psalter by heart. In Tsarist Russia, the Psalter was the most widespread book among the population.

In Orthodox ascetic practice, there is still a pious custom of reading the Psalter by agreement, when a group of believers separately from each other reads the entire Psalter in one day. At the same time, everyone reads one kathisma assigned to him at home, privately...

— The Psalter is the sacred book of psalms, or Divine hymns. The author of the Psalter is King David. At least most of the psalms are his. These are his experiences, experience of communication with God, repentance, joy, gratitude, reflections, prophecies about the coming Messiah. Since Old Testament times, the Psalter has been sung during worship. Psalms were sung.

And today the Psalter is often used during worship; we hear some psalms sung in chorus, some read. The reading of the Psalter in church is regulated by the liturgical regulations. The entire liturgical circle of services is connected with this book of Holy Scripture. Certain kathismas are read at services. It takes a week to read it completely. And during Great Lent - even twice. When reading at home, there are strict instructions on how to read, it is much more important to tune in to prayer. This, I think, is the therapeutic effect...

Having consigned the body of the deceased to the earth, the Church does not leave his soul without care. The highest and most useful form of intercession for the deceased is considered to be the Holy Liturgy:

There is much help for faithful souls, who give for these to the weak and for their souls, priests and deacons pray and perform services often, i.e. divine liturgy. St. John Chrysostom, lyrics. 76

Pious Christians usually ask to do for the deceased St. Liturgy within 40 days from the date of death (Sorokoust). The basis for this forty-day commemoration is the figurative depiction of the fate of the human soul after death in the church legend about the ordeal. According to this legend, the soul “ascends” to the throne of God within forty days, going through the so-called “ordeals”, where it is tested in its sins, and on the 40th day it appears at the judgment of God.

Undoubtedly, reading the Psalter is a great task for every Christian.

No other book glorifies God as much as the Psalter is beneficial to the soul: it glorifies God together with the angels, and...

Home —> Psalter —> About reading the Psalter for the dead

About reading the Psalter for the departed.

Since ancient times, in the Orthodox Church there has been a pious custom of reading the Psalter over the body of a deceased deacon, monk and layman. (The Gospel is read over the deceased priest and bishop.) The psalms are read continuously (except for the time when a requiem service or litany is performed at the grave) before the burial of the deceased and in his memory after the burial. This reading serves as a prayer to the Lord for the deceased, consoles those grieving for the deceased and turns their prayers for him to God.
Every pious layman can read the Psalter for the departed.
The Psalter is read while standing and only in special cases is sitting allowed out of condescension for the weakness of the reader.

The Psalter consists of 20 sections - kathismas, each of which is divided into three “Glories”. Before reading the first kathisma, the pre-initial prayers are said before starting the reading of the Psalter. At the end of the reading of the Psalter, the prayers prescribed after reading are said...

The order of reading the Psalter for the dead The reading of each kathisma begins with a prayer:

Come, let us worship our King God. Come, let us worship and fall down before Christ, our King God. Come, let us bow and fall down to Christ Himself, the King and our God.

(When reading the kathisma for each “Glory” (which reads as “Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, And now and ever and unto ages of ages Amen”) it is said:

Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, And now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, glory to Thee, O God! (three times), Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Remember, O Lord our God, in the faith and hope of the eternal life of Your departed servant, our brother [name], and as Good and Lover of mankind,...

The custom of reading the Psalter for the dead dates back to ancient times. In our country, the Psalter is read at the tomb of deceased laymen. In some places there are special readers who are either invited to the house of the deceased for continuous reading of the Psalter, for example, for 40 days or even a whole year, or in their own home they read the Psalter at the request of the relatives of the deceased. In many Orthodox monasteries, the so-called vigilant day-night reading about the living and the dead is performed. With this reading of the Psalter, in addition to the usual troparions and prayers for each kathisma, a special prayer is added at each “Glory”, after which the names of the deceased are remembered. (When reading the Psalter simultaneously for the living and the departed, the commemoration of both is performed on the “Glories” in turn: one for the living, one for the deceased.)

The reading of the divinely inspired psalms of David should generally be a private activity for Orthodox Christians. “No other book glorifies God like the Psalter... [it] prays to God for the whole world.” (Basily the Great - look...

The Psalms should be read with tenderness and contrition of heart, slowly, and carefully delving into what is being read. The greatest benefit comes from reading the Psalms by those who commemorate them: it testifies to the great degree of love and zeal for those commemorated by their living brethren, who themselves personally want to work in their memory, and not replace themselves in work with others. The Lord will accept the feat of reading not only as a sacrifice for those remembered, but as a sacrifice for those who offer it, the workers themselves...

Prayers before reading the Psalter

Pray to your saints and our fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us. Amen.

Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

Heavenly King, Comforter, Soul and Truth, Who is everywhere and fills everything, Treasure of good things and life, Giver, come and dwell in us, and cleanse us from all filth, and save , Blessed, soul shi na sha.

Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us. (Three times)

Most Holy Trinity, have mercy on us; Lord, cleanse our sins; Vladko, forgive our iniquities; Saints, visit and heal not the relics of ours, and for my sake.

Lord have mercy. (Thrice)

Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, both now and ever and ever and ever. Amen.

O our father, And thou art in heaven x! Hallowed be Thine and me, Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done...

What is the Psalter and what is the secret of its popularity?

How was Psalm 50 written?

This psalm is a song of repentance. What did the king repent of? One day he was seduced by the beauty of Bathsheba, the wife of his warrior Uriah. In order to “remove” his legitimate husband, he gave the order to place a warrior in the battle with the Ammonites in the place where he would definitely be killed. When Bathsheba became a widow, David took her to his palace and married her. But the king sincerely repented of his wicked act, and the prophet Nathan convicted him of sin. The Lord also punished David: the first son from Bathsheba was born dead. After the endowment, the king prayed and fasted for a long time. The result of this secret prayer was Psalm 50.

Which psalm protects against unclean spirits?

No less famous is Psalm 90, with which the holy fathers advise protecting oneself from unclean spirits. The main meaning of the hymn is that the Lord will definitely protect those who trust in God. This is what happened in the story of King David. Through prayers, the Lord delivered from a three-day pestilence, the epidemic of which killed tens of thousands of people.

These are just two examples of famous hymns. In fact, there are many more of them. Believers use them in church and personal prayer, reading the Psalter for the dead and for the living. How did this tradition develop?

Instead of the first prayer book and... primer

We often hear hymns during the Liturgy, at evening services, at memorial services and do not even know that they are actually taken from the Psalter.

In both the Jewish and Christian traditions, love for the psalms was passed down from generation to generation.

According to legend, the apostles sang the hymns of King David over the tomb of the Virgin Mary. Children and adults in Rus' learned to read not from the ABC book, but from the Psalter. The famous saint, Sergius of Radonezh, was very worried as a child because he could not read the psalms evenly, clearly, without errors and hesitations.

Today, children no longer learn to read and write from the Book of the Psalmist David. But over time, as adults, they often come to faith and realize the importance of hymns of praise. By reading and delving deeply into the texts of King David, we accumulate the prayer experience of many generations of Christians.

Such prayer, if it is done with faith, sincerely, with a desire to delve into and understand, is pleasing to God. That is why it is customary to pray according to the Psalter both for the dead and for the living.

Why read the Psalter for the dead?

Such prayer is useful not only for the deceased, but also for those who turn to hymns. If this is a relative grieving from a loss, then during reading he calms down, is distracted from the bustle of life and thinks about salvation.

In the days of the first Christians there were no such solemn services as we have, there were no many prayers, canons, or akathists. There were no prayer books. The only thing they had was the Psalter and fervent prayer from the bottom of their hearts.

Over time, different prayer orders appeared, but the hymns of King David did not lose their importance. In cell (home) prayer, Orthodox Christians usually read the Psalter, pray for the living and the dead, and add various petitions (what they ask God for).

How to read the Psalter for the dead?

For ease of reading, the Psalter is divided into 20 parts - kathisma. In each kathisma, in addition to the psalms, there are also three “Glories”. At slavas it is customary to remember the names of the living and the dead. You will learn more about why and how to pray for the dead in the words of David’s psalms in the article “Psalms for the dead - read correctly.”

When to start and how long to read kathismas for the deceased? There is no definite answer here, but we can give a general recommendation: start as early as possible and pray intensely for the first 40 days (in Orthodoxy it is believed that during this time it will be determined whether the soul will remain in heaven or hell until the Second Coming, so the prayer of relatives can help the deceased) .

How many psalms or kathismas should I read? Usually believers read one kathisma per day. It is customary to read kathisma 17 about repose first. This is what is used in funeral services. But if there are many people who want to pray for the deceased, then the kathismas can be divided so that the entire Psalter can be read for the deceased within 24 hours. Whether this will work out depends on the wishes of the believers.

After 40 days you should not stop praying. The dead need our spiritual support, of which the psalms are part. If you continue to read kathisma a day, then remember the names of health on the first two “Glories”, and the names of repose on the third.

How to learn to understand the psalms?

A popular question that concerns many believers: how to understand the Psalter, especially if you read it in Church Slavonic?
Usually the answers of priests and theologians are somewhat different.

Someone advises to still read the Psalter for the dead and about health, even if you don’t understand. The main argument: you don’t understand, but the evil spirits understand everything and run away. Over time, the one who prays earnestly will also begin to understand. God reveals.
Others recommend using translations into Russian, writing out individual words, and using a dictionary from Church Slavonic to translate them into Russian. It is best to read historical information about the writing of each hymn and use the interpretations of the holy fathers and theologians.

You can find such explanations both in the church store and on useful Christian sites. Also, in order to understand the meaning of the hymns, one must study the Holy Scriptures. What David experienced before he wrote Psalm 50 is described in the Second Book of Samuel.

Take it for yourself and tell your friends!