Orthodox prayers for the living and the departed, with names
Orthodox Christians pray by name for their family, godparents, friends and priest, and remember the departed the same way. Here are the prayers PrayerRule uses for this, from an English translation of 1891, and how the names you type are printed with them.
For the living
In every PrayerRule book, morning and evening, the prayer for the living comes near the end of the rule. The book prints the names you typed under it, one per line, where the prayer says NN.
At NN., name them:
Save, O Lord, and have mercy upon my parents, brothers, and sisters, NN., and my kinsmen in flesh, and all the neighbours of my family, and my friends; and grant thy blessings unto them in this world, and in the world to come.
G. V. Shann, Euchology (1891), p. 473
The names, as printed in the example book:
Anna, John, Father Peter, Maria, Elena, Dimitri
A 20-minute morning rule adds four more prayers from the same pages of Shann's book:
At N., say your spiritual father's name.
Save, O Lord, and have mercy upon my spiritual Father N., and, by his holy prayers, forgive my transgressions.
G. V. Shann, Euchology (1891), p. 473
Save, O Lord, and have mercy upon the aged and the young, upon the poor, upon the orphans and widows, and upon them thy servants that are in sickness, sorrow, misfortune and grief, in privations and captivity, in prison and in exile, and more especially upon them that, for thy sake and their orthodox Faith, are being persecuted by ungodly nations, by apostates, and by heretics; and remember them, visit them, strengthen and comfort them, and quickly, by thy power, grant unto them remission, freedom and deliverance.
G. V. Shann, Euchology (1891), p. 473
Save, O Lord, and have mercy upon those of our fathers and brethren that are sent on service, or are journeying, and upon all orthodox Christians.
G. V. Shann, Euchology (1891), p. 473
Save, O Lord, and have mercy upon them that hate and injure me, and do evil unto me, and let them not perish on account of me, a sinner.
G. V. Shann, Euchology (1891), p. 473-474
For the departed
At NN., name them:
Remember, O Lord, the souls of thy departed servants, my parents, NN., and all my kinsmen in flesh; and forgive them all their sins, voluntary and involuntary, granting unto them the kingdom and communion of thine eternal blessings, and the enjoyment of thine everlasting, infinite, and blissful life.
G. V. Shann, Euchology (1891), p. 474
The names, as printed in the example book:
George, Helen, Basil
The 20-minute morning rule adds the prayer for all the departed and the remembrance:
Remember also, O Lord, all our fathers, brethren and sisters, who have fallen asleep in the hope of resurrection and life eternal, and all orthodox Christians, here or elsewhere lying, and make them dwell with thy Saints where the light of thy countenance shineth, and have mercy upon us; for thou art good and lovest mankind. Amen.
G. V. Shann, Euchology (1891), p. 474-475
Say the last words, Everlasting remembrance, three times.
Grant, O Lord, remission of sins to all our fathers, brethren and sisters, who have before departed in faith and in the hope of resurrection, and render unto them, Everlasting remembrance.
G. V. Shann, Euchology (1891), p. 475
How the names are printed
- One name per line, up to 30 living and 30 departed. First names are enough, as in church: Anna, John, Father Peter.
- Type them in Latin letters. Accented letters such as é, ö and š print; Cyrillic and Greek letters cannot be printed, so write Ioann or Dimitrios.
- If you leave the lists empty, the book tells you to name them yourself at NN., and the names page has blank lines.
- The names also go on a page of their own, with blank lines for people you add later by hand.
Where these prayers come from
All of them are from the “Diptychs, or Remembrancer” in G. V. Shann's Euchology: A Manual of Prayers of the Holy Orthodox Church (Kidderminster, 1891), pages 471 to 475, printed word for word. The book is in the public domain in the United States. Shann's English is older than most modern prayer books, so the wording will differ from your parish's.
PrayerRule prints these prayers with your names in a daily prayer book made for you. Your names are used only to make the book; see how they are kept.
A prayer book with your names in it
Questions
Whose names can I include?
Anyone you pray for: family, godparents and godchildren, friends, your priest, and those who have died. PrayerRule prints up to 30 living and 30 departed names.
Do I need full names?
No. First names are enough, as they are said in church, for example Anna, John or Father Peter.
Are the names kept private?
They are used only to make your book, never for advertising, and our analytics never record what you type. Unpaid previews are deleted after 30 days, paid orders after 400 days, and sooner if you ask.