“Praise God in His saints, praise Him in strengthening His power.

Praise Him according to His strength, praise Him according to the abundance of His majesty.

Praise Him with the trumpet, praise Him with the psaltery and the harp.

Praise Him in the tympanum and face, praise Him in the strings and organs.

Praise Him with the cymbals of good will, praise Him with the cymbals of shouting.

Let every breath praise the Lord.”

Psalm 150

If once, at a difficult, difficult moment in life, you began to read the Psalter, felt how it became a healing plaster, a healing balm for your ailing soul, you will never be able to leave such, blessed by the name of King David, offering prayers to the Lord . For a Christian, the Psalter is the most precious book of the Old Testament and one of the most beloved collections of prayers.

St. Ambrose of Milan writes: “In all Scripture the grace of God breathes, but in the sweet song of the psalms it breathes primarily.” In sorrow, in a feeling of hopelessness, in fear, in disasters, in tears of repentance and in joy after the consolation received, in the need of thanksgiving and to offer pure praise to the Creator, we resort to this inspired book.

According to St. Athanasius of Alexandria, the book of psalms is a mirror in which the sinful human soul with all its passions, sins, iniquities, and ailments is not only reflected in its present form, but also finds healing in the psalms. “In my opinion, in the book of psalms the whole of human life and mental dispositions and movements of thoughts are measured and described in words, and beyond what is depicted in it nothing more can be found in a person. Is repentance and confession necessary, has anyone experienced sorrow and temptation, is someone persecuted or has gotten rid of evil intentions, has he become saddened and confused and is enduring something similar to what was said above, or does he see himself prospering while the enemy is brought into inaction, or does he intend to praise, to give thanks and bless the Lord - for all this there is instruction in the Divine Psalms... Therefore, even now, everyone, pronouncing the psalms, let him be sure that God will hear those who ask with the psalm word.”

Saint Basil the Great: “The Book of Psalms explains everything useful from all the books (Holy Scripture). She prophesies about the future, brings events to memory, gives laws for life, offers rules for activity. In short, she is the general treasury of good teachings and carefully seeks out what is beneficial to everyone. What can't you learn from the psalms? Don’t you learn from here the greatness of courage, the severity of justice, the honesty of chastity, the perfection of prudence, the form of repentance, the measure of patience and every good thing you name. Here there is perfect Theology, the prediction of the Coming of Christ in the flesh, the hope of the Resurrection, the promises of glory, the revelation of the Sacraments. Everything, as if in a great and common treasury, is collected in the book of psalms.”

The Psalter, like other books of the Old Testament, was written in Hebrew. In the 3rd century BC, the Old Testament books were translated from Hebrew into Greek. This translation was called the translation of 70 interpreters (Simeon the God-Receiver is one of them) and served as the main source for the dissemination of the Old Testament Scripture in apostolic times. Over the centuries, due to transcription errors, some variations have crept into both translations, Greek and Hebrew. Comparing the differences in the psalms of the Hebrew text with the Greek of 70 commentators, many biblical scholars, including Orthodox ones, give preference to the latter. The difference is often insignificant, but in some places it is quite noticeable. Thanks to the apostles, who preached primarily among pagans who understood Greek, and the Church Fathers of the first centuries of Christianity, the Bible of the Greek translation of 70 interpreters became the book of the Church.

According to the legend of Nestor the Chronicler, the Psalter was translated from the Greek translation of 70 interpreters into the Slavic language by St. brothers Cyril and Methodius (in the 9th century). It is this that is now used during Divine services and cell readings in all Orthodox churches of the Slavic language cradle. Think, while reading the Psalter in Church Slavonic, we are very close to the text that our Lord, Jesus Christ, knew!

We often hear the reading of the Psalter in church, but how can we read this book privately, at home?

The Psalter consists of 20 kathismas, each kathisma consisting of three so-called “Glories”. In “Glory” there are most often three psalms, but there are also other numbers (And there is one psalm for the entire kathisma! This is the same psalm (118) that, according to legend, was given to the youth Bartholomew to read by a mysterious wanderer. However, this psalm is also divided for three “Glory”).

We begin reading the Psalter with the opening prayers, then we read the first “Glory.” That is, when the text says “Glory:” we say “Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit!” Next, a prayer is most often read with a list of names. It can be like this: “Save, Lord and have mercy... (names of health are listed from the memorial or at will, starting with the clergy) and all Orthodox Christians, and in every place of Thy dominion living Orthodox. Grant them, O Lord, spiritual peace and physical health, and forgive them every sin, voluntary or involuntary, and with their holy prayers have mercy on me, the damned one...” “And now and ever and unto ages of ages! Amen."

Then they read the next “Glory” and again a prayer with names for health.

After the third "Glory" one often reads about the repose:

“Give rest, O Lord, to the souls of your departed servants... (names from the memorial are listed, starting with the clergy, for repose), forefather, father and our brothers, who lie here and have passed away Christians everywhere, grant them, O Lord, the Kingdom and Communion of Your endless life, and forgive them, Lord, every sin, voluntary or involuntary.”

Prepared by S. Tsaran

SOROKOST AND THE UNFORTUNATE PSALTERY. WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE?
Let's look at these two types of church commemoration of the living and the dead and give a definition to each of them.

SOROKUST

Sorokoust is a custom-made commemoration of health or repose. Within forty days, if the liturgy is served, at the proskomedia a piece is taken from the prosphora for the person whose name is indicated in the note. Then this particle, together with others, is immersed at the end of the liturgy in the Blood of Christ, while the priest prays: “Wash away, O Lord, the sins of those who were remembered here by Thy honest Blood, by the prayers of Thy saints.”

Thus, all commemorated people, both living and deceased, participate in the liturgy, that is, a thanksgiving sacrifice is offered to God for them. This is possible for a person (both living and dead) to participate fully in the Divine life. Only people baptized in the Orthodox Church can take part in the Sacrament of the Eucharist (liturgy), and accordingly, only baptized people can be written in notes submitted for proskomedia.

Sorokoustas can be ordered at any time, there are no restrictions on this. Only during Lent, when the full liturgy is celebrated much less frequently (only on Saturday and Sunday), is it better to order not magpies, but simply submit notes of health or repose each time. In some churches there is such a practice as commemoration during Lent, when throughout Lent, notes are read during services at the altar, and when the liturgy is served, particles are taken out. You can find out how to order magpie in any church in the church shop, where orders for magpie and other requirements are usually placed.

Sorokoust “On Health” is ordered not only for the health of our loved ones, especially the seriously ill, but also for their success, material well-being, and peace of mind.

The concept of “health” includes not only the health and physical condition of a person, but also his spiritual condition and material well-being. And if we pray for the health of a person who has done a lot of evil, this does not mean that we are praying that he will continue to be in the same state - no, we pray to God that He will change his intentions and internal disorder, made sure that our ill-wisher or even enemy began to be in harmony with God, with the Church, with others.
Write down everyone to whom you wish health, salvation and prosperity.

Sorokoust is a daily prayer remembrance for forty days.

The number forty is significant, often found in the Holy Scriptures. The Jewish people wandered in the desert for forty years, the prophet Moses fasted for forty days, the Savior after His Baptism spent forty days in the desert, and after His Resurrection for forty days he taught the Apostles the mysteries of the Kingdom of God. The first Apostles legitimized in the Church of Christ the Old Testament custom of mourning the dead for forty days. On the basis of this, the Holy Church, from ancient times, established the rule of commemorating the dead for forty days (Sorokoust) and especially on the fortieth day. Just as Christ defeated the temptations of the devil, spending forty days in fasting and prayer, so the Holy Church, offering prayers, alms and bloodless sacrifices for the departed for forty days, helps them by the power of God to defeat the airy prince of darkness and receive the Kingdom of Heaven.

According to tradition, for 40 days the Church prays not only for the dead, but also for the living. Sorokousts “for health” are ordered to perform forty days of church prayer for the living at the Liturgy, at prayer services and when reading the psalter.

THE NON-SLEEPING PSALMTER

In many places there is a custom of asking monasteries to read the Psalter for the departed and for health, which is combined with giving alms. They read the Psalter (the never-ending psalter) continuously with the remembrance of names (about health and repose). Great is the power of this unceasing prayer. Reading the Psalter drives away demons from a person and attracts God's grace. This is a special kind of prayer. The indestructible psalter is so called because its reading occurs around the clock, without interruptions. This prayer is prayed only in monasteries. You can give for both the living and the deceased. Prayer for the living and the dead while reading the indefatigable Psalter has unprecedented power, which crushes demons, softens hearts, and appeases the Lord so that he raises sinners from hell.

The Indestructible Psalter... Why is this so important?

For many reasons:

1. Monks have the special grace to beg the laity. The monks live by prayer; they have taken on the image of an angel. And real monks have the prayer of earthly angels. But if the monks are weaker, the prayer still has great power and the prayer gets through.

2. The Psalter is a prayer of the strongest power. Rev. Ambrose of Optina: “You will see from experience how great the power of God-inspired psalm words is, which scorch and drive away mental enemies like a flame. And prayer is always stronger with psalm words than with our own.” Elder Jerome of Sanaksar said that where the Undying Psalter is read, it is like a pillar of fire reaching to the sky.

3. The peculiarity of the Psalter prayer is that when one prays for a person during this prayer, it greatly protects him from evil demons and helps in the fight against passions. As St. says Parthenius of Kiev, The Psalter tames passions.

4. Also, the most important feature of the rite of the Indestructible Psalter is that you will be commemorated every day and usually several times a day. Those. some monasteries commemorate not only once a day, but at every kathisma (The Psalter has 20 kathismas, 20 parts).

5. The indefatigable Psalter is read not only during the day, but also at night. That is why this rank is called indestructible, because does not stop day or night. The monks replace each other after a certain amount of time.

6. The indefatigable Psalter is read not only about health, but also about peace. Since ancient times, ordering commemoration on the Everlasting Psalter has been considered a great alms for a departed soul.

7. As St. Augustine said, the love of psalmody gave birth to monasteries. It is highly desirable for a monastery to have this rank. This is a stronghold of monasteries.

When you order this rank, you support this monastery. This is a very generous alms. After all, the benefit is not only to the person for whom you ordered, but:
1) and to you, since this is a matter of mercy.
2) to the monastery, since this is support for the monastery as a whole.
3) monks, because they participate in this ceremony; they feel that they are benefiting and feel that their prayer is being conveyed.
4) by your example you can also inspire someone nearby, if they suddenly find themselves or in a spiritual conversation with someone (without revealing your alms and its size)
5) when you see the result (and there will definitely be one), you will strengthen your faith

It is also good to order the Indestructible Psalter for yourself; you will feel the support. And one more important point, but far from the least important,
There is eternal remembrance on the Indestructible Psalter. It seems expensive, but the result is more than millions of times more than the money spent. If this is still not possible, then you can order for a shorter period. It's also good to read for yourself.
Separate commemorations (synodics) are held for prayer for the health and salvation of the living, and for the repose of the souls of departed Orthodox Christians. Health and funeral synodics are read alternately.

In the monasteries of Jerusalem they pray for the health of the clergy, for the inhabitants of neighboring monasteries and all the clergy of the church, for benefactors and their relatives, donors and for all those who work in the monasteries. All names ordered for the memorial are also listed in order.

In practice, every day, all memorials are read several times. So, depending on the number of current names, each person is commemorated about five times a day.

At the same time, after reading each part of the kathisma, called “Glory” (each kathisma has three “Glories”), established prayers are said, depending on the memorial being read - for health or for repose.

Every person has his own calling. Some people are closer to the material world and work for the good of society. Others, feeling their closeness to God, go to serve in the monastery and help their brothers outside its walls with the help of prayers.

However, both of these worlds constantly intersect with each other. A secular person, feeling the need for God's grace, comes to the gates of the monastery and asks its servants to offer prayers for health or for the dead. He himself, in turn, brings donations, helping the temple develop and bring the light of Salvation.

From time immemorial, one of the options for such an “exchange” was an order for monks to read the Psalter around the clock (the Inexhaustible Psalter). For modest alms, brothers and sisters in the monastery constantly offer prayers with the remembrance of the indicated names for health or repose.

The Indestructible Psalter is a special type of prayer that is offered exclusively in monasteries, since it must be read without interruption around the clock, driving away demons from a person and invoking God’s grace. Thanks to this form, the Indestructible Psalter has incredible power to appease the Lord and crush dark forces.

What is the reason for the power of the Undying Psalter?

• Only monks who live by prayer and have taken on the angelic form on earth have a special right to beg the laity. The prayer of even the weakest monk has great power and always reaches the Lord.
• The Psalter itself has enormous power, since, in the words of St. Ambrose of Optina, “prayer is always stronger in the words of the psalm than in our own.”
• The indefatigable Psalter is read not only during the day, but also at night; the monks take turns replacing each other, ensuring maximum efficiency of prayer.
• Since ancient times, this prayer was considered one of the most powerful graces for departed souls.

We understand that few people today can go to the monastery themselves to make a donation and order the Indestructible Psalter personally from the monks. But we are trying to provide access to this grace for everyone.

On our website you can order the Indestructible Psalter online. All you need to do is fill out the form provided, indicating the names of those commemorated in the genitive case, as well as the time and place of reading the prayer. We are committed to delivering your order as quickly as possible and will notify you of progress via email.

Rules for submitting an application for the Undying Psalter

• The person you indicate in the application must be baptized;
• It is necessary to indicate the name with which he was baptized in the church;
• When submitting an application, you must indicate only 1 name. In the event that more than one name is listed, the service will be held for the first name listed;
• In the comment you must describe the reason why you are ordering the Indestructible Psalter.

These are the requirements of monasteries.

Reading the Bible occupies a special place in the life of the Church. Almost every Christian knows what the Psalter is. This is the only book of the Old Testament, written long before the coming of Jesus Christ, which was fully included in the liturgical charter of the Orthodox Church. It is read continuously in all churches, monasteries and houses of lay believers.

Athanasius the Great, one of the most revered Greek Fathers of the Orthodox Church, Archbishop of Alexandria, who lived in the 4th century, said that all books of Holy Scripture are replete with instructions and teachings, but in any of them a certain distance is felt between the narrator and the reader. The book of Psalms is written completely differently. First, the psalmist composed the texts in the first person, thanks to which the reader can use them as prayers, turning to the Lord and talking about all his experiences. Secondly, this book contains various cases of turning to God, applicable in all cases of life.

Psalms for reading on various occasions (breviary)

All books of Holy Scripture are divided into teaching, historical and prophetic. The collection of psalms is the only section that covers texts of different types: laudatory, repentant, consolatory, grateful, petitionary, etc. This is a kind of biblical prayer book.

The teacher of the Athonite elder Paisius the Holy Mountain, the Monk Arsenios of Cappadocia, used psalms for blessings. He sets out a list of texts with explanations on what occasions it is advisable to reread them.

Monastic reading of the Undying Psalter

In Orthodoxy there is such a form of prayer as the “Unfailing Psalter” (in monasteries). Every parishioner can order it. This tradition was formed at the turn of the 4th-5th centuries. under the influence of the Monk Alexander in a monastery near the Euphrates River. It received this name due to the continuity of round-the-clock reading. Like the constant praise of the angels in heaven, almost all the monks of the monastery take part in it, taking turns replacing each other. Some monastic ascetics tried to read the entire book in a day.

But do not forget to turn to the Lord yourself and listen to His voice, which also sounds through the lines of the Holy Scriptures. One of the important conditions, without which forgiveness of sins and salvation is impossible, is faith.

Cell reading

This part of the Bible is one of the most important. Therefore, it is advisable to devote at least a small passage to reading at home every day. Some monks read this part of the Holy Scripture in its entirety every day. But you can also memorize individual passages of the book of Psalms, read by kathisma or by chapter.

Kathisma (kathisma)- poetry, a certain part of the Psalter, covering one or several chapters.

Reading order

The entire book is divided into 20 kathismas, each of which includes several psalms. The exception is kathisma 117, which includes the longest song - Psalm 118. There are 150 or 151 psalms in total. The whole book is divided into three parts, between which the words are spoken: “Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”

Inscriptions before each Psalm

Psalm captions are not always clear when attempting to establish historical background, authorship, origins, significance, and explanations for the performers. Significant difficulties arise during interpretation, since the Hebrew language, from which the collection of Psalms was translated, is replete with polysemantics, that is, polysemantic words.

In some cases, it was not possible to establish the exact translation of individual words at all. As a result, there are different options. For example, there are significant differences between the Septuagint and the Masoretic text. When compared with Church Slavonic texts, some features can also be noticed. It was in this translation that the indication “Psalm of David” appeared, which was reflected in numerous Russian interpretations, including the Synodal translation.

Genre and guidelines for musicians

Before each song, special instructions have been added to explain the nature of the performance, genre and musical instrument to accompany.

Authorship of the Psalter

There is an opinion that the authorship of the book belongs to one person and this book can safely be called the Psalter of David. However, the names preceding most psalms can have several meanings: to show authorship, to indicate to whom the text is dedicated or who will be discussed. It is quite difficult to differentiate meanings. In Masoretic manuscripts such inscriptions are not attached to all songs, but are present in the ancient Greek version, that is, in the Septuagint.

Use in worship

The Psalter is used not only as home reading, an addition to the prayer rule, but is also widely used during services in churches. Over many centuries of the existence and development of the Orthodox Church, certain traditions have developed. For example, each evening service begins with Psalm 103. After the end of the service, 33 psalms must be heard. And the morning service opens with the sixth psalm, including 3, 37, 62, 87, 102 and 142. Before the canons, you must listen to the 50th psalm of repentance. By the way, it is also included in the mandatory morning prayer rule.

In the modern world, it can be difficult for people to find free time to read the Bible and follow the prayer rules prescribed by the Church. But don't be sad. What is most important to the Lord is living prayer, a pure open heart, sincere repentance and the desire to change for the better. Seeing a person's good intentions, God shows mercy and helps. The main thing is to believe and rely on God!

In many places there is a custom of asking monasteries to read the Psalter for the departed and for health, which is combined with giving alms. In the monastery, the sisters constantly read the Psalter (the indefatigable psalter) with the remembrance of names (about health and repose). Great is the power of this unceasing prayer. Reading the Psalter drives away demons from a person and attracts God's grace. The Indestructible Psalter is a special kind of prayer. The never-ending psalter is so called because its reading takes place around the clock, without interruption. This kind of prayer is prayed only in monasteries. You can give for both the living and the deceased. Prayer for the living and the dead while reading the indefatigable Psalter has unprecedented power, which crushes demons, softens hearts, and appeases the Lord so that he raises sinners from hell.

The indefatigable Psalter... Why is this so important? For many reasons: 1. Monks have a special grace to beg the laity. The monks live by prayer; they have taken on the image of an angel. And real monks have the prayer of earthly angels. But if the monks are weaker, the prayer still has great power and the prayer gets through. 2. The Psalter is a prayer of the strongest power. Rev. Ambrose of Optina: “You will see from experience how great the power of God-inspired psalm words is, which scorch and drive away mental enemies like a flame. And prayer is always stronger with psalm words than with our own.” Elder Jerome of Sanaksar said that where the Undying Psalter is read, it is like a pillar of fire reaching to the sky. 3. The peculiarity of the Psalter prayer is that when one prays for a person during this prayer, it greatly protects him from evil demons and helps in the fight against passions. As St. says Parthenius of Kiev, The Psalter tames passions. 4. Also, the most important feature of the rite of the Indestructible Psalter is that you will be commemorated every day and usually several times a day. That is, some monasteries are commemorated not only once a day, but at every kathisma (The Psalter has 20 kathismas, 20 parts). 5. The indefatigable Psalter is read not only during the day, but also at night. Therefore, this rite is called indestructible, because it does not stop day or night. The monks replace each other after a certain amount of time. 6. The indefatigable Psalter is read not only about health, but also about peace. Since ancient times, ordering commemoration on the Everlasting Psalter has been considered a great alms for a departed soul. 7. As St. Augustine said, the love of psalmody gave birth to monasteries. It is highly desirable for a monastery to have this rank. This is a stronghold of monasteries. When you order this rank, you support this monastery. This is a very generous alms. After all, the benefit is not only to the person for whom the order was made, but: 1) to you, since this is a matter of mercy; 2) to the monastery, since this is support for the monastery as a whole; 3) to the monks, since they participate in this rite; they feel that they are benefiting from this and feel that their prayer is reaching 4) with your example you can also inspire someone nearby, if they suddenly find themselves or in a spiritual conversation with someone (without revealing your alms and its size) 5) when you see the result (and it will definitely happen), you will strengthen your faith. It is also good to order the Indestructible Psalter for yourself, you will clearly feel the support. And one more important point, but far from the least important, there is eternal remembrance on the Undying Psalter. It seems expensive, but the result is more than millions of times more than the money spent. If this is still not possible, then you can order for a shorter period. It's also good to read for yourself.

Among the prayers included in the Charter of the Indestructible Psalter when reading about health, special prayers are included for Russia and for all Christians: Our Heavenly Father! In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and His Mother, the Most Holy Virgin Mary, and all Your saints, we pray to You, hear us sinners praying to You. Forgive the sins of our fathers, save the Russian land - the inheritance of the Mother of God and the Russian people from all enemies, and strengthen Your power and the Orthodox faith. Lord Jesus Christ, our God! Accept from us, Thy unworthy servants, this earnest prayer, and having forgiven us all our sins, remember all our enemies who hate and offend us, and do not repay them according to their deeds, but according to Thy great mercy, convert their infidels to orthodoxy and piety, The faithful must avoid evil and do good. Deliver us all and Your Holy Church by Your omnipotent strength from the evil of the situation. Our Fatherland from the fierce atheists and the power of their freedom, but Your faithful servants, in grief and sorrow, crying out to You day and night, hear the much-painful cry, Our Most Merciful God, and bring their belly out of decay; Grant peace and silence, love and affirmation and speedy reconciliation to Your people, whom You redeemed with Your Honest Blood. But even to those who have departed from You and to those who do not seek You, be revealed, so that not a single one of them will perish, but all of them will be saved and come into the mind of truth, so that everyone, in unanimous unanimity and in unceasing love, glorify Your Most Honorable Name, Patient-hearted, Gentle Lord, in forever and ever. Amen. Save, O Lord, and have mercy on Your servants, who are now remembered here, in the words of Your Divine Psalter, which is about the salvation of Your servants. The thorns of all their sins have fallen, Lord, so that Your holy grace, scorching and cleansing the whole person, may dwell in them. For it is Yours to have mercy and to save us, our God, and to You we send glory, to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.