Posts on Orthodox subjects such as spirituality, practices, saints, services, and history
The Prayer of St Ephrem Explained
By Fr. Seraphim Holland of St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church in McKinney, TX
The “Prayer of St Ephrem” is ubiquitous during Great Lent, and is used in all weekday services, and in prayers at home.
This prayer is much like the “Our Father,” in the following way. When the disciples asked the Lord to teach them to pray, He told them to “pray in this way”, and then recited the “Our Father”, thus giving us a model for how to pray and a prayer which perfectly fulfilled these principles. So should we treat the prayer of St Ephrem. Its content is truly sublime, and teaches us the (more…)