The Living Tradition An Orthodox Archive of the Church Fathers and Early Church

Orthodox worship and spiritual life — lesson 3

The Psalms and a rule of prayer

The book the Church prays most, and how a personal rule is actually arrived at.

  • Pastoral applicationHow a teaching is ordinarily applied in practice, under the guidance of a priest and bishop. Never a substitute for that guidance.
  • Liturgical witnessAttested in the Church's worship — in a hymn, a prayer, a rite or a commemoration. Liturgical language is theological rather than casual, but a hymn is not a canon.

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What this lesson covers

  • Describe the place of the Psalter in Orthodox worship.
  • Explain what a prayer rule is.
  • Say why this lesson does not give you one.

About 6 minutes to read.

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More of Orthodox worship is Psalms than anything else. The Psalter is divided into twenty kathismata and appointed to be read through in a week, and twice weekly in Great Lent. Individual psalms recur constantly: Psalm 103 at the start of Vespers, Psalm 50 at Matins and in almost every private prayer rule.

The Church prays the Psalms as Christ's own prayer and as the Church's, which is why psalms of complaint, anger and desolation are prayed rather than edited out. A tradition that only prayed the cheerful psalms would be praying something other than the Psalter.

A prayer rule

A rule is a fixed, modest, daily pattern — usually morning and evening prayers from a prayer book, before an icon corner, with intercessions for the living and the departed.

The same applies to the jesus-prayer. It is a genuine part of the tradition, and the tradition that carries it insists that its fuller practice requires the guidance of an experienced spiritual father. This site describes it; it does not teach a method.

Key Scripture

  • Psalm 50 — The psalm of repentance, prayed daily in Orthodox practice.
  • Luke 24:44 — Everything written about me in the psalms.
  • 1 Thessalonians 5:17 — Pray without ceasing.

On Scripture references. References are given so you can read the passage in the translation your parish uses. This site does not reproduce a modern copyrighted Bible text.

Why this matters in lived Orthodoxy

Most Orthodox homes have an icon corner and a prayer book. The rule is usually shorter than outsiders expect and is kept at times that fit a working life.

Review

How is the Psalter used in Orthodox worship?
It is divided into twenty kathismata and read through weekly, twice weekly in Great Lent, with individual psalms recurring in every service.
Why does this lesson not prescribe a prayer rule?
Because a rule is set with a priest in proportion to a particular life, and a rule adopted privately at an impressive length is a known way to do harm.

Your notes

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Going deeper

Sources for this page

  1. Tier C Sulpitius Severus, Vincent of Lérins, John Cassian Philip Schaff and Henry Wace (eds.) John Cassian, Conference 1 translated edition of primary texts Source record
  2. Tier C The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson (eds.); A. Cleveland Coxe (American ed.) The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, Chapter VIII translated edition of primary texts Source record

Tiers are explained in the methodology. No page on this site has been reviewed or approved by any bishop, priest, synod or seminary.