Prayers to the Mother of God

Rejoice Mary, Mother of God, Virgin, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women and blessed is the Fruit of thy womb, for thou hast borne the Savior of our souls. Meet it is in truth, to glorify thee, O Birth-giver of God, ever blessed, and all undefiled, the Mother of our God. More honorable than the Cherubim, and beyond compare more glorious than the Seraphim, thou who without stain didst bear God the word, true Birth-giver of God, we magnify thee.

O gracious Mother of the gracious God, O most pure and blessed Mary, the Mother of God, pour the mercy of thy Son and our God upon my impassionate soul, and with thine intercessions set me unto good deeds, that I may pass the rest of my life without blemish and, with thine aid, attain heaven. O Virgin mother of God, the only one who art pure and blessed. O Queen of the Heavenly Host, Defender of our souls: being delivered from evil, as thy servants, O Mother of God, we offer unto thee the hymns of thanks and victory; but as thou hast power invincible, deliver us from all calamity, that we may cry unto thee: Rejoice, O ever-Virgin Bride!

O virgin, spotless, undefiled, unstained, all-chaste and Pure Lady, Bride of God, who by the glorious birth-giving hast united God the Word with Man and linked our fallen nature with Heavenly Things; who art the hope of the hopeless, the helper of the oppressed, the ready protection of those who haste unto thee, and the refuge of Christians; despise me not, who am defiled and sinful, who by my wicked thoughts, words and deeds, have become an unworthy servant, and by my slothfulness have turned into a slave to evil affections. O Mother of the God of Love, have mercy and compassion upon me, a sinner and a prodigal. Accept this prayer which is offered to thee from my impure lips; and putting forward thy maternal influence with thy Son, my Lord and Master, beseech Him to open unto me the lovingkindness of His grace; beseech Him to overlook my countless transgressions, to give me true repentance and to make me to be a zealous doer of His commandments. And thou, being gracious and compassionate and tender-hearted, be thou ever present with me in this life as my defender and helper, so that I may turn aside the assault of my enemies, and guide me into salvation; help my poor soul at the hour of my death, and drive far from it all the dark forms of the evil ones. And in the dreadful Judgement Day, deliver me from everlasting punishment, and present me as an inheritor of the ineffable glory of the son, our God.

O may I obtain this, most-holy Lady and Birth-giver of God, through thine intercessions and mediations, by the grace and exceeding great love of thine Only-Begotten son, my Lord and God and Savior, Jesus Christ, to Whom is due, with the eternal Father and the All-Holy, Good and Life-Giving Spirit, all honor and glory and worship, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

O most glorious Ever-Virgin Mary, Mother of Christ our God, accept our prayers and present them to thy son and our God, that He may, for thy sake, enlighten and save our souls.

SHALOM JERUSALEM by Misha Marmar (Миша Мармар). Music - Ilya Slovesnik

SHALOM JERUSALEM by Misha Marmar (Миша Мармар). Music - Ilya Slovesnik

Israel-beautiful Israel!!!

Prayer of Parents for their Children

O God, our heavenly Father, Who lovest mankind, and art most merciful and compassionate, have mercy upon our children, Thy servants, (their names), for whom I humbly pray Thee, and commend them to Thy gracious protection. Be Thou, O God, their guide and guardian in all their endeavors; lead them in the path of Thy truth, and draw them near to Thee, that they may lead a godly and righteous life in Thy love and fear; doing Thy will in all matters. Give them grace that they may be temperate, industrious, diligent, devout and charitable. Defend them against the assaults of the enemy, and grant them wisdom and strength to resist all temptation and corruption of this life; and direct them in the way of salvation, for the merits of Thy Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, and the intercessions of His Holy Mother, and Thy blessed saints. Amen.

Prayers to the Guardian Angel

O angel of God, my holy guardian, given to me from heaven, enlighten me this day, and save me from all evil. Instruct me in doing good deeds, and set me on the path of salvation. Amen.

O angel of Christ, holy guardian and protector of my soul and body, forgive me everything wherein I have offended you every day of my life, and protect me from all influence and temptation of the Evil One. May I never again anger God by my sins. Pray for me to the Lord, that He may make me worthy of the grace of the All-Holy Trinity, and of the blessed Mother of God, and of all the saints. Amen.

The Lord's Prayer

Our Father, Who art in heaven,
hallowed be Thy Name;
Thy Kingdom come;
Thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread
and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us,
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.

The Holy Monastery of Saint Euthymios.

East of Jerusalem in the desert are ruins of the Monastery of Great Euthymios some 17 kilometers south of the road, Jerusalem to Jericho.

Saint Euthymios came from Melitene of Armenia Minor, was born in 377AD and in 406 at the age of 29 came to the Holy Lands where he remained at the cave of the town of Faran for five years. In 411 seeking greater quietness he departed with his ascetic companion Theoktiston to another desert location at the cave of the torrent Wadi Mukellik. The fame of Saint Euthymios spread, and many monks, inhabitants of the surrounding areas and nomadic Arabs were coming to meet him. The Saint would take care and heal their sick. Among the healed ones was the son of Saracen chieftain Aspeveto, who suffered from paralysis. After this event, Aspeveto and all his tribe were baptized and became Christians. Aspeveto through the instigation of the Saint, was anointed bishop by the Patriarch of Jerusalem, with the name Peter, bishop of Interventions and was the first Arab bishop who represented the Arab nomads of the area at the Ecumenical Synod of Ephesus in 431AD. Moved by gratitude Aspeveto-Peter, built in the area Khan-el-Ahmar the most basic buildings of the Lavra of Saint Euthymios which reached its pinnacle with the synod of Chalcedon in 451AD when with the illumined presence of Saint Euthymios it became the fortress of Orthodoxy in Palestine.

Saint Euthymios reposed in 473AD at an age of 97, having ordered that the Lavra be transformed to a Coenobium. After a period of 7 years from his death, the area of the Lavra became a contemporary coenobium, enclosed within walls and included a spacious Church, cemetery, common trapeza, kitchen, many cells, stables, a tower, large reservoirs of water and other auxiliary places. These works were performed under the direction of the Patriarch of Jerusalem and under the supervision of the deacon of Jerusalem, Phidios. The Monastery in its long life of some eight centuries, was destroyed many times from the invasions of the barbarians and by earthquakes. In 616 by the Persians, in 637 by the Arabs, in 659 and 747 by earthquakes, in 1009 by the Caliph Hakim and finally in 1260-1270 by Circasian Mameluk Sultan Baibars-al-Malek-az-Zahir. During the centuries that followed the monastery was inhabited at times by monks and other times by Arabic tribes which during various periods ruled the region.

The identity of the place Khan-el-Ahmar with the monastery, coincides with the description that the biographer Saint Kyrill the Scythian provided and the archeological excavations that were done in the region. Excavations at the ruins of the monastery were done in 1928-1930 under the direction of Derwas J. Chitty for the British Archeological School of Jerusalem. Then the main Church and cemetery was cleaned. During 1976-79 new excavations were performed under the direction of Dr. John Meimari for the Department of Antiquities of Israel when further to previous mentioned areas of the Central Church and Cemetery, six more tombs within the central chamber were excavated and studied as well as another funeral chamber, west of the central one, a smaller subdivided Chamber north of the addition of the central Church, a later period Trapeza of the monastery and the areas within the north wall close to the present central entrance to the monastery.

A small tower of the central Church were superficially cleaned, as well as above the line of the west wall, the courtyards north and south of the cemetery and an area at the southeast side outside of the central Church. Furthermore, quite a few walls of the basic buildings were reinforced and preserved, having first uncovered the mosaic floors and the marble tiled floors of the central Church which at the end were again covered with sand to protect them. Quite a few architectural pieces were found such as pieces of frescoes from different eras, plaster frames of glass panes, a complete glass pane and numerous glass shards. Also conches from cooking utensils, oil lamps etc were found.

From the 1928-1930 and 1976-1979 excavations we believe the following were located from the building of Lavra: the place where the cell of the Saint was, the bethel building, a font and a storage of wheat east of the place of the excavations and perhaps even the original tomb of the Saint. From the buildings of the Coenobium which was built over the areas of the Lavra, the following were located: the cemetery, the basic walls of the Church, two beautiful tombs, and under the addition and to the north of the addition, the tower of the Monastery, the guardhouse, a number of rooms and the bottom part of the external wall at almost all its sides. From later periods the following were found: relics of the chapel above the cemetery, sections of the central Church, large reservoirs of water within and outside of the Monastery complex, a trapeza, a great part of the northwest wall with the exterior gate, many dividing and structural walls, stairs, corridors and room of a labyrinthic complex, which however if it was not cleaned completely, it could not be architecturally read or make a determination of the chronological phases of its operation.
Yiannis E. Meimaris

From: The Monastery of Saint Euthymios at the Great at Khan-Ahmer in the wilderness of Judea. Rescue excavations and basic protection Measures 1976-1979 Athens 1989

The Holy Monastery of Martha and Maria in Bethany.

The country town of Bethany is well known to all the Christians from the resurrection of Lazarus, and lies east of the Mount of Olives. It is inhabited by Fellahin Muslims who call it Azarie. Here lies the tomb of Lazarus. Approximately forty meters south of the tomb of Lazarus there are other ruins which are said to be the house of Martha and Mary over which earlier there was a church. At the southeast areas (approx. 200 meters) of Bethany by the road that leadas to the Jordan River, there is a rock that has the shape of the back (spine) of a donkey. On this rock it is said that our Saviour sat before entering the town and there having been met by the sister of Lazarus Martha who then fell to His feet saying: “If You were here, my brother would not have died”. This rock the Arabs call “Hmer-Azar” (donkey of Lazarus).