"The Prayer of Saint Ephrem" (Greek: , Efchí toú Osíou Efrem), is a prayer attributed to Saint Ephrem the Syrian and used during the Great Lent by the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic Churches. In the Byzantine tradition, this prayer is considered to be the most succinct summation of the spirit of Great Lent and is hence the Lenten prayer par excellence, prayed during all Lenten weekday services. There are two versions of the prayer currently in use, reflecting liturgical Greek and Slavonic uses. Modern translations have been produced from both Greek and Slavonic, but some attempt to combine the two.
Greek version
In English, this may be translated:
O Lord and Master of my life, a spirit of idleness, curiosity, ambition, and idle talking; give me not.
But a spirit of chastity, humility, patience, and love, bestow upon me, Thy servant.
Yea, O Lord King: grant me to see mine own failings, and not to condemn others; for blessed art Thou unto the ages of ages. Amen.
This Greek version is the form of the prayer found in the current liturgical books of the Greek Orthodox Church and all those churches that utilise Greek or Arabic in their services. Early Greek manuscripts preserve several variant texts, however, including the reading φιλαργυρίας (philargyrias, "love of money") in place of φιλαρχίας (philarchias, "love of power"), which was taken up in the first Slavonic translations. It is difficult to know which form is more ancient, since both vices are serious afflictions for both monastic and lay Christians.
The Greek word σωφροσύνης (sōphrosynēs) in the second line is often translated in English as 'chastity.' However, this is a highly problematic archaism, since, in modern English, 'chastity' refers almost exclusively to sexual continence. The Greek word is much broader in meaning and carries the sense of soundness of mind, discretion, and prudence. Therefore, the prayer asks in the second line for a restoration to Christian wholeness and integrity, foreshadowing the petition of the third line that the supplicant might have the temptation to judge others removed from them (cf. Matt. 7:1–5).See Alexander Schmemann's article The Lenten Prayer of St Ephrem the Syrian and his book Great Lent (Crestwood, New York: St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1969)See also, Olivier Clément, Three Prayers: The Lord's Prayer, O Heavenly King, Prayer of St. Ephrem, translated by Michael Breck (Crestwood, New York: St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 2000. It is possible that the choice to translate σωφροσύνης as 'chastity' reflects both the affection for the Cranmerian prose of the Anglican Book of Common Prayer present in some anglophone Orthodox (which frequently leads to an ambiguity of meaning in liturgical and scriptural texts, as exemplified here) and also the presupposition that a concern for sexual purity is predominant in the Orthodox tradition.
Sometimes the phrase "idle talk" is substituted by the Latinate word , which carries about the same meaning.
Church Slavonic versions
Pre-Nikonian In the earliest Church Slavonic translations, the prayer was rendered: Господи и владико животѹ моемѹ, духъ оунынїѧ, небрежεнїѧ, срεбролюбїѧ и празднословїѧ ѿжεни ѿ мεнε.
Духъ же цѣломѹдрїѧ, смиренїѧ, терпѣнїѧ и любве дарѹй ми рабѹ твоемѹ.
Ей Господи Царю, даждь ми зрѣти моѧ согрѣшенїѧ, и еже не ωсуждати брата моегω, якω благословенъ еси во вѣки. Аминь.
In English, this is: O Lord and Master of my life, take from me a spirit of despondency, sloth, love of money, and idle talk.
But give to me, your servant, a spirit of sober-mindedness, humility, patience, and love.
Yes, O Lord and King, grant me to see my own sins and not to judge my brother, since you are blessed to the ages. Amen.
There are two main differences in the first line between the Greek text given above and the Slavonic text given here. First, the Greek reads "μή μοι δῷς," meaning "grant me not," whereas the Slavonic has "ωтжεни ѿ мεнε," meaning "take from me." The Greek text unambiguously implies that God is the one who grants every character of spirit or breath (πνεῦμα), and the supplicant therefore requests that God give a spirit characterized not by vice (line 1) but by virtue (line 2). The supplicant effectively asks God to lighten their burden (cf. Matt. 11:28–30). The Slavonic text, however, could be read as asking God to replace one kind of spirit or breath with another, with the implication that the first kind of spirit (line 1) does not come from God to begin with. This could lead to a dualist reading of the prayer, opposing the unvirtuous 'spirit of man' to the virtuous 'spirit of God.' The Greek text seems better to reflect the monastic tradition, as expressed by writers such as the fifth-century Abba Isaiah of Scetis in his Ascetic Discourses, that all passions are ultimately divine gifts with a sacred purpose. The second main difference is that, where the Greek has περιεργίας (periergia meaning 'idle curiosity' or 'meddling'), the Slavonic has небрежεнїѧ (nebrezheniya) meaning 'negligence,' 'indifference,' or 'despondency,' which would be ἀκηδία (akêdia) in Greek—the classic monastic sin. A third minor difference is the transposition of terms in the first line. Whereas the Greek consistently reads "ἀργίας, περιεργίας" ('sloth, meddling'), the Slavonic reads "оунынїѧ, небрежεнїѧ" ('despondency [in place of meddling], sloth'). Despondency (оунынїѧ) remained at the head of the list of vices until the order was conformed to the Greek text during Nikon's reforms. It seems likely that the differences between the Greek and Slavonic texts reflect the fact that the Slavonic text was prepared from a different Greek text than the one currently used, but this has yet to be demonstrated definitively.
This Slavonic version was superseded in the Russia Orthodox Church in 1656, following the liturgical reforms of Patriarch Nikon, but remains in use among the Old Believers today.
Kievan version of 1639 Господи и владыко живота моегω, духъ оунынїѧ, небрежεнїѧ, любоначалїѧ и празднословїѧ ѿжεни ѿ мεнε.
Духъ же цѣломѹдрїѧ, смиреномѹдрїѧ, терпѣнїѧ и любве, дарѹй ми рабѹ твоемѹ.
Ей Господи Царю, даждь ми зрѣти моѧ согрѣшенїѧ, и не ωсуждати брата моегω, якω благословенъ еси во вѣки вѣковъ. Аминь.
O Lord and Master of my life, take from me a spirit of despondency, sloth, love of power, and idle talk.
But give to me, your servant, a spirit of sober-mindedness, humility, patience, and love.
Yes, O Lord and King, grant me to see my own sins and not to judge my brother, since you are blessed to the ages of ages. Amen.
This version is to be found in the Liturgicon (Sluzhebnik) or Priest's Service Book published in Kiev in 1639 by Peter Mohyla. Substantially it is similar to the earlier version, but with some of the case-endings updated, as by that time, use of the dative case (животѹ моемѹ) to mark possession was considered distinctively archaic, and use of the genitive case (живота моегω) felt to be more correct. It retains most of the distinctive differences that the earlier version has from the Greek, with none of the more drastic changes that may be found in the next version.
This version was once used throughout the Kievan metropolia, as well as in the Orthodox Churches of Central Europe (Ukraine, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Austria and so on), but later dropped out of use, and the next version adopted. It is currently only used (either in the original Slavonic or in vernacular translations) by those churches that use the Ruthenian recension—the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church, the Belarusian Greek Catholic Church, the Hungarian Greek Catholic Church, and the Slovak Greek Catholic Church.
Nikonian version of 1656 Господи и владыко живота моегω, духъ праздности, оунынїѧ, любоначалїѧ и празднословїѧ не даждь ми.
Духъ же цѣломѹдрїѧ, смиренномѹдрїѧ, терпѣнїѧ и любве, дарѹй ми рабѹ твоемѹ.
Ей Господи Царю, даруй ми зрѣти моѧ прегрѣшенїѧ, и не ωсуждати брата моегω, якω благословенъ еси во вѣки вѣковъ. Аминь.
O Lord and Master of my life, grant me not a spirit of sloth, despondency, love of power, and idle talk.
But give to me, your servant, a spirit of sober-mindedness, humility, patience, and love.
Yes, O Lord and King, grant me to see my own faults and not to judge my brother, since you are blessed to the ages of ages. Amen.
This is the version found in the editions of the liturgical books published in 1656 by Patriarch Nikon of Moscow. It is the form currently in use by the Russian Orthodox Church (both the Moscow Patriarchate and the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia), the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the Belarusian Orthodox Church, the Serbian Orthodox Church, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, and all other Slavic Orthodox Churches. It differs substantially from the current Greek form of the prayer only in the retention of оунынїѧ ('despondency') in place of περιεργίας ('meddling'). Considering the principles on which Patriarch Nikon's reforms were undertaken, it seems likely that the 1656 text of the prayer was prepared from a Greek text containing the word ἀκηδίας ('despondency') rather than περιεργίας.
An English version of the Prayer of St Ephrem commonly in use in the Orthodox Church in America (which inherited its liturgical practices from the Slavic tradition) maintains the distinction between take from me (line 1) and give to me (line 2) that was eliminated in the 1656 Slavonic translation. This does not appear to reflect a conscious choice of the OCA to return to the Pre-Nikonian text or to imitate the Old Believers, but probably derives from the fact that many OCA parishes were founded by Orthodox (and Byzantine Rite Catholics) from Central Europe who used the Ruthenian Slavonic text of 1639, but with the оунынїѧ and небрежεнїѧ (line 1) inverted to conform to the Nikonian/Greek order.
Liturgical usage At weekday services during Great Lent, the prayer is prescribed for each of the canonical hours and (in some traditions) at the Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts.
During the period of the Triodion, the prayer is first recited on Wednesday and Friday only on Cheesefare week and thereafter at every weekday service from vespers on the evening of the Sunday of Forgiveness, the service which begins Great Lent, through Wednesday of Holy Week. The prayer is not said on Saturdays and Sundays (vespers on Sunday evening is of Monday, since the Byzantine liturgical day begins at sunset), because these days are not strict fasting days (oil and wine are always permitted). This means that the weekends retain a festal character, even during the Great Fast, and the Divine Liturgy may be celebrated as usual.
During the Nativity Fast, Dormition Fast and the Apostles' Fast, the lenten order of services may be used when the divine liturgy is not celebrated. In such an instance, the Prayer of St Ephrem is recited then, too.
Bows and prostrations The prayer is accompanied by bows and prostrations.
Depending upon the rubrics, the prayer is said either once or twice:
When it is said once, it is divided into three parts, with a prostration after each part. When it is said twice (though local practices may vary) it is said the first time with a prostration after each part; then follow a number of either bows or prostrations (either in silence or accompanied by short ejaculatory prayers); and then the prayer is said the second time in its entirety (i.e., not broken up by prostrations) followed by a final prostration.