A Prayer to St. Philaret the New Confessor

 

 

O holy Hierarch, our Father Philaret, chosen by God, Confessor of the latter times, First Hierarch of true Orthodoxy, leader and champion, and sure intercessor before God for all Orthodox Christians, thou who standest before the throne of God and prayest for us: beseech the all-bountiful God to grant us forgiveness of our sins, cleansing us from them through repentance. Save us by thy prayers from the snares of the godless; grant us the fear of God, and vouchsafe us to remain faithful children of the Church of Christ unto the end. Strengthen us in the confession of the Faith, that we may not fear persecutions and sufferings, but grant us to stand unshaken for the Orthodox Faith even unto death, as is meet.

We conceal not the many labors and much toil which thou hast endured for the sake of Orthodoxy, but we praise and proclaim thy good deeds: the glorification of the Royal Martyrs and the New Confessors of Russia; the imparting of apostolic succession to true Orthodox Christians throughout the whole world; the anathematizing of the pan-heresy of Ecumenism; and thy unwaveringly rightly dividing the word of Christ’s truth.

Ever seeking thy help, grace, and intercession, we beseech thy prayers and mediation for us, laying this supplication at thy feet.

Cease not to offer prayer unto God, the Lover of mankind, for the little flock of the Orthodox, that He may grant peace unto His Church, delivering her from heresy and schism; that He may deliver us from the darkness of sin and the passions, and from the hidden snares of the evil one; that we may remain unshaken unto death in the confession of holy Orthodoxy, and that we may partake of the holy Body and Blood of the Lord unto the end without condemnation. And after our departure, may we find the Lord gracious and merciful, by Whom we were created, and live, and have our being; unto Whom are due all glory, praise, honor, and worship, together with His unoriginate Father and His all-holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

 

- Closing prayer from the “Akathist to St. Philaret (Voznesensky),” composed by Nun Kassia (Senina), translated from the original Russian.