Prayers for the Churching of a Mother and Child After Forty Days
On the
fortieth day the child is brought to the Temple to be churched, that is, to
begin attending church. It is brought by the mother, who has already been
cleansed and washed, accompanied
by the intended sponsor at the Baptism. Standing together with the mother,
child and sponsor before the doors of the nave of the church, the Priest says:
Blessed is our
God always, (see pp. 32-33). The Trisagion. O All-Holy Trinity. . . Our
Father ... For Yours is the Kingdom... Amen.
Then the
Apolytikion of the Day or of the Saint who is commemorated is said.
Glory ... both
now. . .
Through the
prayers, O Lord, of all the Saints and of the Theotokos grant to us Your peace
and mercy, for You alone are merciful.
Over the
bowed heads of mother and child, the Priest makes the sign of the Cross. He
then lays his hand upon the mother's head and says:
Priest:
Let us pray to
the Lord.
Choir:
Lord have
mercy.
Priest:
O Lord God
Almighty, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who by Your word has made every
rational and irrational creature, that brought all things out of nothingness
into being: we pray to You and implore You, cleanse this Your servant (Name),
whom by Your Will You have preserved, and who now comes into Your Holy
Church, from every transgression, so that she may be accounted worthy to
partake of Your holy Mysteries without condemnation.
Be it known
that if the mother has come alone because the child is no longer living, the
Priest ends the Prayer here with the Ekphonesis.
For You are a
good and loving God, and to You we send up all glory: to the Father, and to the
Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen.
But if the
child is alive, he touches its head and says:
Bless also this
child which has been born of her; increase it sanctify it, give it
understanding and a prudent and virtuous' mind; for You alone have brought it
into being, and have shown him (her) the light which bodily sense perceives, so
that he (she) might be accounted worthy also of the ideal light and be numbered
with Your holy Flock; through Your Only‑Begotten Son, with Whom You are
blessed, together with Your All‑Holy, Good and Life‑creating
Spirit, both now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen.
Prayer for the
Mother of the Child
Priest:
Peace be to
all.
Choir:
And to your
spirit.
Priest:
Let us bow our
heads before the Lord.
Choir:
To You, O Lord.
Priest:
Let us pray to
the Lord.
Choir:
Lord have
mercy.
Priest:
O Lord God, Who
ever draws near for the salvation of the human race, come also to this Your
servant (Name), and through the prayers of Your venerable Priesthood
account her worthy to find refuge in Your holy Catholic Church, to obtain
entrance into the Temple of Your Glory, and worthy also to partake of the
Precious Body and Blood of Your Christ. In the fulfillment of the forty days,
wash away from her every transgression, voluntary and involuntary, so that
accounted worthy to enter Your holy Temple, she may glorify with us Your All‑Holy
Name, of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, both now and ever,
and to the ages of ages. Amen.
Another
Prayer for the Child
The Priest
makes again the sign of the Cross upon him (her).
Priest:
Let us pray to
the Lord.
Choir:
Lord have
mercy.
Priest:
O Lord our God,
Who on the fortieth day was brought as a child into the Temple of the Law by
Mary, the Virgin Bride and Your holy Mother, and was carried in the arms of the
righteous Symeon, do You also, Sovereign Master All-Powerful, bless this
presented babe that it may appear before You, the Creator of all things.
And do You increase in him (her) every good work acceptable to You, removing
from him (her) every opposing might by the sign of the likeness of Your Cross;
for You are He Who guards infants, O Lord. So that, accounted worthy of holy
Baptism, he (she) may obtain the portion of Your Elect of the Kingdom, being
protected with us by the Grace of the Holy Consubstantial and Undivided
Trinity. For unto You do we send up Glory, Honor and Worship, with Your Eternal
Father and Your All‑Holy, Good and Life-creating Spirit, both now and
ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen.
Priest:
Peace be to all
(+).
Choir:
And to your
spirit.
Priest:
Let us bow our
heads before the Lord.
Choir:
To You, O Lord.
Priest:
O God, the
Father Almighty, Who by the loud‑voice Prophet Isaiah has foretold to us
the incarnation from a Virgin of Your Only‑Begotten Son and our God; Who
in the latter days, by Your good pleasure and by the cooperation of the Holy
Spirit have willed, through measureless love, to become a child of her for the
salvation of men; and, according to the custom of Your Holy Law, after the
fulfillment of the days of purification, submitted to be brought into the
Sanctuary, being Himself a true lawgiver, and willed to be carried in the arms
of the righteous Symeon, of which mystery we have a prototype declared in the
aforementioned Prophet by the taking of coals with tongs from the Altar, and of
which we Faithful also have an imitation in Grace. Do You, Who are He that
watches over babes, Yourself, O Lord, bless (+) this child, together with its
parents and sponsors, and account it worthy, at the fitting time, to be born
again of water and the Spirit. Number it with Your holy Flock of rational
sheep, who are called by the Name of Your Christ. For You are He that dwells on
high, and gives regard to the things which are lowly, and to You do we send up
glory: to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now and
ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen.
Then, taking
up the child, the Priest lifts it up in the sign of the Cross before the Gates
of the Temple, saying:
The servant of
God (Name) is churched, in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and
of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
And he carries
the child into the Holy Temple, saying:
I will go into
Your House. I will worship toward Your Holy Temple in fear of You.
Coming to
the center of the church, he says:
The servant of
God (Name) is churched, in the Name of the Father, and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. In the midst of the congregation I will sing
praises to You.
Then he
brings the child before the Doors of the Altar, saying:
The servant of
God (Name) is churched, in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of
the Holy Spirit. Amen.
If the child
is male the Priest carries him into the Altar if a female, the child is carried
only as far as the Holy Doors. He then says:
Lord, now let
Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word; for my eyes have seen Your
salvation, which You have prepared before the face of all people, a Light to
enlighten the Gentiles, and the Glory of Your people of
Israel.
Apolysis
Glory to You, O
our God and our hope, glory to You.
He Who
submitted to be carried in the arms of the righteous Symeon, Christ our true
God, through the intercessions of His pure and spotless Mother, through the
power of the precious and life‑giving Cross, through the protection of
the venerable and bodiless heavenly Powers, through the prayers of the venerable
and glorious prophet and Forerunner John the Baptist, of the holy, glorious,
all‑praiseworthy Apostles, of the holy, glorious and victorious Martyrs,
of our venerable Godbearing Fathers, of the holy, righteous ancestors of the
Lord, Joakim and Anna, (of the Saint of the church), and of all the
Saints, have mercy on us and save us as our Good and Loving God.
Through the
prayers of the Holy Fathers Oh Jesus Christ, Our God, have mercy on us and save
us. Amen.
After the Amen, the priest makes the sign of the Cross over the forehead,
mouth, and chest of the child, invoking the name of the Holy Trinity. He then
returns the child to the mother.
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