The Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the
Great
Priest's Prayers
Page 41 of the Divine Liturgy Book
Instead of “We thank You O Lord”
First Prayer of the Faithful
You, O Lord, have shown us this great mystery of salvation. You have granted us, Your humble and unworthy servants, to be ministers of Your holy altar. Through the power of Your Holy Spirit, make us capable in this ministry so that, standing without condemnation before Your holy glory, we may offer You a sacrifice of praise, for it is You alone who work all things in all. Grant, O Lord, that our sacrifice offered for our sins and the thoughtless transgressions of Your people may be acceptable to You.
Instead of “Once again and many times”
Second Prayer of the Faithful
O God, in Your kindness and mercy You have visited our lowliness; You have appointed us, Your humble, sinful and unworthy servants, to minister at your holy altar in the presence of Your holy glory. Strengthen us in this ministry through the power of Your Holy Spirit, and give us the eloquence to invoke the grace of Your Holy Spirit upon the gifts which are about to be brought forth.
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Instead of “Lord God Almighty”
Prayer of Offering
O Lord our God, You created us and brought us into this life. You have shown us the way to salvation and have given us the revelation of the heavenly mysteries. You Yourself have appointed us to this service by the power of Your Holy Spirit. Therefore, O Lord, be pleased to make us ministers of Your Covenant and servants of Your holy mysteries. According to Your abundant mercy, receive us, who have approached Your holy altar, so that we may be worthy to offer You this spiritual and bloodless sacrifice for our sins and for the thoughtless transgressions of Your people. Having received this sacrifice as an aroma of agreeable fragrance upon Your holy, heavenly and mystical altar, send down upon us, in return the grace of Your Holy Spirit. Look upon us, O God, and consider this our ministry and accept it as You once accepted the gifts of Abel, the sacrifices of Noah, the first fruit-offering of Abraham, the priesthood of Moses and Aaron, and the peace-offerings of Samuel. Just as You accepted this true ministry from the hands of Your apostles, now, O Lord, in Your goodness accept these gifts from the hands of us sinners. Having thus been deemed worthy to minister at Your holy altar without blame, we may obtain the reward of faithful and wise stewards on the awesome day of Your just retribution.
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Instead of “We thank You O Lord”
O Master, You are Lord, God the Father, almighty and adorable! It is truly
proper and just, befitting the magnificence of Your holiness, to praise You,
to sing to You, to bless You, to worship You, to thank You, to glorify You,
the only true God, and, with a repentant heart and humble spirit, to offer
You this our spiritual sacrifice, for You have granted us the revelation of
Your truth.
Who is able to proclaim Your might or make known all Your praises, or to speak
of all Your wonders done in every age? O Master of all, Lord of heaven and
earth and of all creation both visible and invisible, You are enthroned in
glory and yet behold the depths. You are eternal, invisible, beyond our understanding,
boundless and immutable.
O Father of our great God, Savior and Lord Jesus Christ, who is our hope,
the image of Your goodness, the seal bearing Your likeness: You are revealed,
O Father, through Him. He is the living Word, true God, eternal Wisdom, Life,
Sanctification, Power, and the true light, through whom the Holy Spirit manifested
Himself.
He is the Spirit of Truth, the Gift of filial adoption, the Pledge of our
future inheritance, the Beginning of eternal goodness, the life-giving Power,
the Fountain of sanctification, through whom every rational and intelligent
creature is empowered to serve You and to render to You an unending hymn of
praise because all things are subject to You.
You are praised by the Angels, Archangels, Thrones, Dominations, Principalities,
Powers and the many-eyed Cherubim. You are attended by the Seraphim, each
with six wings: two wings cover their face, two their feet, and with two they
fly, and they call one to the other with unceasing and incessant hymns of
praise.
Exclamation:
Singing, crying, exclaiming and saying the triumphal hymn.
Faithful: Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord of Sabaoth….
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Instead of “With these blessed powers”
Eucharistic Prayer (Anafora)
With these blessed powers, O Master and Lover of Mankind, we sinners also
cry out and say: holy are You, truly, most holy! Immeasurable is the majesty
of Your holiness. You are revered in all Your deeds; for, with truth and just
judgment, You have brought all things to pass for us. Taking dust from the
earth, O God, You formed man and honored him with Your own image. You placed
him in a garden of delight and promised him the never-ending enjoyment of
blessings, and also immortality for the observance of Your commandments. But
man disobeyed You, the true God who created him; he was lead astray by the
cunning of the serpent, and by his own transgressions was subjected to death.
By Your just judgment, O God, You expelled him from paradise into this world
and returned him to the earth from which he had been taken, and devised for
him the salvation of regeneration which is in Your Christ. And yet, O gracious
Lord, You did not turn away from Your creation, nor did You forget the work
of Your hands: You visited man in various ways because of Your merciful loving
kindness; You sent prophets and wrought mighty works through the saints, who
in every generation have been pleasing to You; You spoke to us through Your
servants the prophets, who foretold the salvation which was to come; You gave
the law as an aid, and appointed angels as our guardians. When the fullness
of time had come, You spoke to us through Your Son Himself through whom You
created the temporal world.
He, being the reflection of Your glory and the express image of your person,
and sustaining all things by His powerful word, did not deem equality with
You, God and Father, something to be tenaciously held, and, although remaining
everlasting God, He appeared on earth and lived among men.
He became incarnate from the holy Virgin, and emptied Himself taking the form
of a slave and becoming conformed to the state of our lowliness so He might
raise us to the image of His glory. For since by a man sin entered into the
world, and death through sin, so Your only-begotten Son, though being in Your
bosom, God and Father, graciously willed to be born of a woman, the holy Mother
of God and Ever-Virgin Mary. He was subject to the law in order to condemn
sin in His flesh, so that those who died in Adam might in Him, Your Christ,
be made to live again. Living in this world He gave us precepts for salvation;
and, turning us away from the deceit of idolatry, He brought us to the knowledge
of You, true God and Father.
He took us to Himself as a chosen people, a royal priesthood, and a holy nation.
Having cleansed us with water and having sanctified us with the Holy Spirit,
He surrendered Himself as a ransom to death by which we were held captive,
having been sold into bondage under sin. Descending by the cross into the
realm of death that He might fulfill all things through Himself, He loosed
the bonds of death. Because it was impossible that the Author of life should
be the victim of corruption, He arose on the third day, preparing the way
for the resurrection of all flesh from the dead.
He thus became the first fruits of the harvest of the departed, the first-born
of the dead, that in all things He might have preeminence over all. He ascended
into heaven and sits at the right hand of Your majesty on high and shall come
to reward each man according to His deeds.
He left us these memorials of His salutary passion, these which we have set
forth according to His command. For when He was about to go to His voluntary
and ever-memorable and life-giving death, on the night on when He surrendered
Himself for the life of the world, He took bread into His holy and most pure
hands, and having offered it to You, God and Father, He gave thanks, blessed
+ it, sanctified it, and broke it.
Exclamation
He gave it to His holy disciples and apostles, saying: Take, eat: this is
My Body, which is broken for you for the forgiveness of sins.
Faithful: Amen.
Likewise, He took the cup of the fruit of the vine, and when He had mixed
it, and had given thanks, He blessed + it and sanctified it.
Exclamation
He gave it to his holy disciples and apostles saying: Drink of it, all of
you. This is My Blood of the New Covenant, which is poured out for you and
for many for the forgiveness of sins.
Faithful: Amen.
Do this in remembrance of me; for, as often as you eat this bread and drink
this chalice, you proclaim my death and profess my resurrection.
Therefore, O Master, remembering His saving passion, His life-giving cross,
the three days He spent in the tomb, together with His resurrection from the
dead and His ascension into heaven, as well as His being enthroned at Your
right hand, God and Father, and finally His second and glorious and awesome
visit He has yet to make.
Exclamation
We offer to You, Yours of Your own, in behalf of all and for all.
Faithful: We sing of You, we bless You, we thank You, O Lord and
we pray to You, our God.
Epiclesis
For this reason, all Holy Master, since You have enabled us sinners and unworthy servants to minister at Your holy altar - not because of our righteousness, for we have done nothing good upon this earth, but because of Your mercies and compassion which You have so richly poured out upon us - we have the courage to approach Your holy altar and while offering to You the Holy Body and Blood of Your Christ, we call upon You and beseech You, O Holy of Holies, that, according to the good pleasure of Your kindness, Your Holy Spirit may come upon us and upon the gifts offered to You, and bless and sanctify them, and show:
Deacon: Master, bless the holy Bread.
Priest: This bread + to be the precious Body of our Lord and God
and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Deacon: Amen. Master, bless this holy chalice
Priest: And this chalice + to be the precious Blood of our Lord and
God and Savior Jesus Christ.
Deacon: Amen. Master, bless them both.
Priest: Poured forth + for the life of the world.
Deacon: Amen. Amen. Amen.
So that all of us who become partakers of this one bread and chalice may be
united with one another in the communion of the one Holy Spirit, and that
none of us partake of the Holy Body and Blood of Your Christ for judgment
or condemnation. Rather, may we obtain mercy and grace together with all the
Saints, who, through the ages have been well-pleasing to You: with the forefathers,
fathers, patriarchs, prophets, apostles, preachers, evangelists, martyrs,
confessors, ascetics and with every just spirit made perfect in the faith.
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Instead of “Especially for our most holy”
Exclamation
May we obtain mercy and grace, especially with our most holy, most pure and
most blessed and glorious Lady, the Mother of God and Ever-Virgin Mary.
Faithful: In you, O Woman full of grace, the angelic choirs and the
human race - all creation rejoices. O Sanctified Temple, Mystical Paradise
and Glory of Virgins, He, who is our God from before all ages, took flesh
from you and became a child. He made your womb a throne, and greater than
the heavens. In you, O Woman full of grace, all creation rejoices. All praise
be to you!
Prayer of Commemoration
May we obtain mercy and grace with the holy prophet, forerunner and baptist
John; with the holy, glorious, and illustrious apostles; with Saint N., whose
memory we celebrate; with all your Saints, through whose prayers, O God, visit
us.
Remember also those who have departed in the hope of rising to eternal life.
We pray for the forgiveness and repose of Your servant(s) N., in a place of
light from which grief and mourning have been driven away. Grant them rest,
O God, and let them repose where the light of Your countenance shines forth.
We also pray to You: remember, O Lord, Your Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church
which extends from one end of the earth to the other; give peace to her whom
You have redeemed with the precious Blood of Your Christ; make firm this holy
church until the end of time. Remember, O Lord, those who have offered these
gifts to You, and those for whom, and through whom, and the purpose for which,
they were offered.
Remember, O Lord, the donors and benefactors of Your holy churches and those
who remember the poor. Reward them with Your rich and heavenly blessings;
bestow upon them Your heavenly gifts instead of earthly gifts, eternal instead
of temporal gifts, incorruptible instead of perishable gifts.
Remember, O Lord, those who are in deserts and mountains, and in the dens
and caves of the earth. Remember, O Lord, those who live in virginity and
piety, and those who practice asceticism and live saintly lives.
Remember, O Lord, our civil authorities and give them profound and enduring
peace; instill into their hearts good things for Your Church and for all Your
people, that, in their tranquillity, we may lead a calm and quiet life in
all piety and integrity. Remember, O Lord, every principality and authority,
and all our brethren in the service of our country. Preserve the virtuous
in goodness, and by Your kindness, make those who are evil, good.
Remember, O Lord, the people here present and those who are absent for honorable
reasons, and have mercy on them and on us according to the greatness of Your
mercy. Fill their homes with every good thing, preserve their marriages in
peace and harmony, instruct the children, guide the young, support the aged,
encourage the faint-hearted, collect the scattered, lead back those who have
strayed, and unite them to Your Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. Free
those who are bothered by unclean spirits, sail with those at sea, journey
with travelers, defend widows, protect orphans, free those in captivity, and
heal the sick.
Remember, O God, those who are on trial, in prisons, and at hard labor, as
well as those in any affliction, need, or distress. Remember, O Lord, those
who love us, and those who hate us, and those who have asked us, unworthy
though we be, to pray for them.
Remember, O Lord our God, all Your people, and upon them pour forth Your rich
mercy, granting those petitions which are for their salvation. You Yourself
remember those we have not remembered through ignorance of forgetfulness or
multitude of names, because, O God, You know the name and age of all; You
know each one even from his mother’s womb. For You, O Lord, are a help
to the helpless, the hope to the hopeless, the savior of those in peril from
storms at sea, the harbor for voyagers, the physician for the sick. Be all
things to all men for You know each one and his requests, each home and its
needs. Deliver, O Lord, this city (town) and every city and countryside from
plaque, flood, fire, sword, foreign invasion, and from civil war and riot.
Remember, O Lord, the servant(s) of God, N.N., and grant salvation, visitation
and the forgiveness of his (her, their) sins.
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Instead of “Remember, O Lord, this city”
Remember, O Lord, all right-believing bishops who faithfully dispense the
word of Your truth. Remember also my unworthiness, O Lord, according to the
multitude of Your mercies. Forgive my every transgression, committed deliberately
or through human frailty; and because of my sins, do not withhold any grace
of Your Holy Spirit from these gifts here present.
Remember, O Lord, the priesthood, the diaconate in Christ, and every clerical
order, and let none of us who surround Your holy altar be put to shame. Visit
us with Your grace, O Lord. Reveal Yourself to us through Your rich compassion.
Grant us a healthful and agreeable climate and gentle showers upon the earth,
that it may be fruitful; and in Your goodness, bless the due cycle of the
seasons.
By the power of Your Holy Spirit, prevent schism in the Church, restrain the
raging of nations, and quickly destroy the upsurges of heresy. Receive us
all into Your kingdom, making us children of light and children of the day.
Grant us Your peace and love, O Lord our God, for You have given all things
to us.
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Instead of “We place before You”
Prayer Of The Litany
O God, our God, of salvation, teach us to thank You worthily for Your benefits
which You have bestowed on us in the past and still bestow on us in the present.
In accepting these gifts, O our God, purify us from every stain of body and
soul. Teach us how to perfect our holiness through reverence for You, so that,
receiving a portion of Your hallowed Gifts without any reproach from our conscience,
we may be united to the Holy Body and Blood of Your Christ. Having received
them worthily, may we have Christ living in our hearts and may we become the
temple of Your Holy Spirit.
Especially, O God, let none of us become guilty regarding these awesome and
heavenly mysteries of Yours, nor let us become weakened in spirit or body
by partaking of them unworthily. O Lord, grant that we, even until our last
breath, may worthily receive a portion of Your Holy Gifts as a provision for
the journey to eternal life and for an acceptable defense before the dread
tribunal of Your Christ. Then, together with the Saints who have been pleasing
to You at all times, may we become partakers of Your eternal blessings which
You have prepared for those who love You.
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Instead of “We give You thanks”
O Master, Lord, Father of mercies and God of all consolation: bless, sanctify, guard, confirm, and strengthen those who have bowed their head to You. Deliver them from every evil deed and incline them to every good work, and make them worthy to partake of these your most pure and life-giving mysteries for the remission of their sins and for communion in the Holy Spirit.
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Instead of “We thank You, O Master”
Prayer of Thanksgiving
We thank You, O Lord our God, for having partaken of Your holy, most pure, immortal, and heavenly mysteries which You have given us for the benefit, sanctification, and healing of our souls and bodies. O Master of all, grant that the communion of the holy Body and Blood of Your Christ may be for a faith that cannot be confounded, for a love that does not pretend, for a wisdom that is complete, for a healing of our souls and bodies, for the defeat of every enemy, for the full observance of Your commandments, and for an acceptable defense before the dread tribunal of Your Christ.
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Instead of “Being the fulfillment of the law"
Prayer Before Consuming the Holy Gifts
The mystery of your plan, O Christ our God, has been completed and perfected as far as it was in our power. We have commemorated Your death; We have seen the figure of Your resurrection; we have been filled with Your unending life; we have enjoyed Your inexhaustible delights. Grant that we be made worthy of all this in the world to come through the grace of Your eternal Father and of Your holy and gracious and life-giving Spirit, now and for ever and ever. Amen.
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At the dismissal
Instead of “our Father among the Saints John Chrysostom…”
… of our father among the Saints Basil, Archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia…
