BOOK OF PRAYER

Tenets of Prayer Prayer 1 Prayer 2 Prayer 3 Prayer 4 Prayer 5 Prayer 6
Prayer 7 Prayer 8 Prayer 9 Prayer 10 Prayer 11 Prayer 12 Prayer 13 Prayer 14
Prayer 15 Prayer 16 Prayer 17 Prayer 18 Prayer 19 Prayer 20 Prayer 21 Prayer 22
Prayer 23 Prayer 24 Prayer 25 Prayer 26 Prayer 27 Prayer 28 Prayer 29 Prayer 30
Prayer 31 Prayer 32 Prayer 33 Prayer 34 Prayer 35 Prayer 36 Prayer 37 Prayer 38
Prayer 39 Prayer 40 Prayer 41 Prayer 42 Prayer 43 Prayer 44 Prayer 45 Prayer 46
Prayer 47 Prayer 48 Prayer 49 Prayer 50 Prayer 51 Prayer 52 Prayer 53 Prayer 54
Prayer 55 Prayer 56 Prayer 57 Prayer 58 Prayer 59 Prayer 60 Prayer 61 Prayer 62
Prayer 63 Prayer 64 Prayer 65 Prayer 66 Prayer 67 Prayer 68 Prayer 69 Prayer 70
Prayer 71 Prayer 72 Prayer 73 Prayer 74 Prayer 75 Prayer 76 Prayer 77 Prayer 78
Prayer 79 Prayer 80 Prayer 81 Prayer 82 Prayer 83 Prayer 84 Prayer 85 Prayer 86
Prayer 87 Prayer 88 Prayer 89 Prayer 90 Prayer 91 Prayer 92 Prayer 93 Prayer 94
Prayer 95 Colophon

Prayer 77

Speaking with God from the Depths of the Heart

Since today is a blessed day,
when morning came twice dividing day into
equal parts,¹
when the passing creatures of the earth
were transformed into a different and heavenly immutable beings,²
when the high were laid low and the
humble raised up,³
making this the most awesome day of Lent, Holy Friday,
when it is fitting for me to write
this prayer voicing joy mixed with terror, therefore
I think it appropriate to speak now of
the suffering you endured for me, God of all.

You stood, with my nature, before a tribunal of
your creatures,⁴ and did not speak, giver of speech.
You did not utter a word, creator of tongues.
You did not release your voice, shaker of the world.
You did not make a sound, trumpet of majesty.
You did not answer back with accounts of
your good deeds.
You did not silence them with their wrongs.
You did not deliver your betrayer to death.
You did not struggle when bound.
You did not squirm when whipped.
You did not fight back when spat upon.
You did not resist when beaten.
You did not take affront when mocked.
You did not frown when ridiculed.

They stripped you of your cloak, as from a weakling,
and dressed you like a condemned prisoner.⁵
If my Lord had not been forced twice to drink vinegar and gall,⁶ he would not have been able to cleanse me of the accumulated bile of our forefathers.⁷
He tasted heartbreak and did not waver.
They dragged him violently and brought him
back disrespectfully.
They condemned him, humiliated him by flogging
before a motley crowd.
They knelt before him in ridicule
and put a crown of disdain upon his head.

They gave you no rest, Life-giver,
even forcing you to bear the instrument of your death.
You accepted with forbearance.
You received it with sweetness.
You bore it with patience.
You submitted to the wooden cross of grief,
like one condemned.
Like a lily of the field, you shouldered the
weapon of life,⁸
so that your throne in my body might be protected
against the terrors of the night⁹
turning the last judgment into a joyful banquet.
They led him out like a sacrificial lamb.
They hung him like Isaac’s ram whose horns were caught in the thicket.¹⁰
They spread him on the table of the cross like a sacrifice.
They nailed him like a common criminal.

They persecuted you, like an outlaw, treating
you in your serenity, like a bandit,¹¹
you in your majesty, like a miserable wretch,
you who are adored by cherubim,
like a despised man,¹²
you who are the definition of life, like one
deserving of a slaughter,
you, the author of the Gospels, like one
who blasphemed the Law,¹³
you, the Lord and the fulfillment of the prophets,
like one who cut the Scriptures,¹⁴
you, the radiance of glory and the image of
the mystery of the Father, beyond mortal
understanding, as if you are the adversary
of the will of him who bore you,¹⁵
you who are blessed, like someone banished,
you who came to release the bonds of the Law,
like a heretic,¹⁶
you, the consuming fire, like a
condemned prisoner,¹⁷
you who inspire awe in heaven and earth,
like one deserving punishment,¹⁸
you, covered in unapproachable light, like
some earthly quarry.¹⁹

O, sweet Lord,
forbearing doer of good, merciful and compassionate,
Lord of all, who for the sake of infirm and unruly
servants like me submitted to everything willingly
according to your plan
together with your perfectly human body,
submitted even to the sleepy tomb of the sepulchre,
who lack nothing of divine perfection, being identical with
God who is beyond human understanding,
yet bore human indignity with patience beyond words,
you rose with your body, alive and of your own power,
in exalted light, with undiminished humanity
and flawless divinity.
You are blessed for your glory
praised for your compassion,
and always exalted for your mercy,
forever and ever.
Amen.

___________________
1. Zech. 14:7, Mk. 15:33.
2. Mt. 27:51-52.
3. Rev. 21:1.
4. Mt. 26:57-66, 27:11-26, Lk. 23:8-12.
5. Mt. 27:28-31, Mk. 15:20.
6. Mt. 27:34, Mk. 15:23, Mt. 27:48, Jn. 19:29; St. Gregory changes to the third person singular here, after addressing the first part of his prayer in the second person to Christ.
7. Cf. Adam’s original sin.
8. S. of S. 2:1, Mt. 6:28.
9. Sleep is the analog of death upon which there is judgment.
10. Gen. 22:13.
11. Mt. 26:55.
12. Is. 53:3.
13. Mt. 26:65-66.
14. Mt. 5:17.
15. Heb. 1:3.
16. Gal. 3:13.
17. Dt. 4:24.
18. Is. 53:4.
19. 1 Tim. 6:16.

Acknowledgements:

Source: St. Gregory of Narek
Provided by: Thomas J. Samuelian