Prayers Explained
The Orthodox tradition prays with a definite set of texts — short prayers said many times a day, longer ones for the morning and the evening, and seasonal ones tied to the calendar. These prayers are mostly very old, and they shape Orthodox spiritual life as much as any sermon or book. The articles in this section take well-known prayers one at a time, walk through their text, and explain where the words come from and why they have stayed in use for so long.
The Prayer of Saint Ephraim
The short Lenten prayer with prostrations, attributed to Saint Ephraim the Syrian — the line-by-line meaning and the discipline of its use.
The Akathist to the Theotokos
The great sixth-century hymn to the Mother of God — the form of the akathist, its place in Great Lent, and how it is sung.
The Symbol of Faith
The Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, said by every Orthodox Christian at every liturgy — its history, its words, and what each phrase means.
The Trisagion
The ancient hymn 'Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us' — its scriptural roots, its history, and its place in Orthodox daily prayer.
The Lord's Prayer
The prayer Christ gave to his disciples — its words, its place in the Eucharistic liturgy, and how the Greek fathers have read it.
The Jesus Prayer
The short prayer at the heart of the Orthodox spiritual tradition — its words, its scriptural origins, and its place in the tradition of inward prayer.