On the fortieth
day the child is brought to the Temple to be
churched, that is, to begin attending church. It is
brought by the mother, who has already been cleansed
and washed, accompanied by the intended
sponsor at the Baptism. Standing together with the
mother, child and sponsor before the doors of the
nave of the church, the Priest says:
Blessed is our God
always, (see pp. 32-33). The Trisagion. O
All-Holy Trinity. . . Our Father ... For Yours is
the Kingdom... Amen.
Then the
Apolytikion of the Day or of the Saint who is
commemorated is said.
Glory ... both now. .
.
Through the prayers,
O Lord, of all the Saints and of the Theotokos grant
to us Your peace and mercy, for You alone are
merciful.
Over the bowed
heads of mother and child, the Priest makes the sign
of the Cross. He then lays his hand upon the
mother's head and says:
Priest:
Let us pray to the
Lord.
Choir:
Lord have mercy.
Priest:
O Lord God Almighty,
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who by Your word
has made every rational and irrational creature,
that brought all things out of nothingness into
being: we pray to You and implore You, cleanse this
Your servant (Name), whom by Your Will You
have preserved, and who now comes into Your Holy
Church, from every transgression, so that she may be
accounted worthy to partake of Your holy Mysteries
without condemnation.
Be it known that
if the mother has come alone because the child is no
longer living, the Priest ends the Prayer here with
the Ekphonesis.
For You are a good
and loving God, and to You we send up all glory: to
the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
both now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen.
But if the child
is alive, he touches its head and says:
Bless also this child
which has been born of her; increase it sanctify it,
give it understanding and a prudent and virtuous'
mind; for You alone have brought it into being, and
have shown him (her) the light which bodily sense
perceives, so that he (she) might be accounted
worthy also of the ideal light and be numbered with
Your holy Flock; through Your Only‑Begotten Son,
with Whom You are blessed, together with Your
All‑Holy, Good and Life‑creating Spirit, both now
and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen.
Prayer for the
Mother of the Child
Priest:
Peace be to all.
Choir:
And to your spirit.
Priest:
Let us bow our heads
before the Lord.
Choir:
To You, O Lord.
Priest:
Let us pray to the
Lord.
Choir:
Lord have mercy.
Priest:
O Lord God, Who ever
draws near for the salvation of the human race, come
also to this Your servant (Name), and through
the prayers of Your venerable Priesthood account her
worthy to find refuge in Your holy Catholic Church,
to obtain entrance into the Temple of Your Glory,
and worthy also to partake of the Precious Body and
Blood of Your Christ. In the fulfillment of the
forty days, wash away from her every transgression,
voluntary and involuntary, so that accounted worthy
to enter Your holy Temple, she may glorify with us
Your All‑Holy Name, of the Father, and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and to
the ages of ages. Amen.
Another Prayer for
the Child
The Priest makes
again the sign of the Cross upon him (her).
Priest:
Let us pray to the
Lord.
Choir:
Lord have mercy.
Priest:
O Lord our God, Who
on the fortieth day was brought as a child into the
Temple of the Law by Mary, the Virgin Bride and Your
holy Mother, and was carried in the arms of the
righteous Symeon, do You also, Sovereign Master
All-Powerful, bless this presented babe that it may
appear before You, the Creator of all things.
And do You increase in him (her) every good work
acceptable to You, removing from him (her) every
opposing might by the sign of the likeness of Your
Cross; for You are He Who guards infants, O Lord. So
that, accounted worthy of holy Baptism, he (she) may
obtain the portion of Your Elect of the Kingdom,
being protected with us by the Grace of the Holy
Consubstantial and Undivided Trinity. For unto You
do we send up Glory, Honor and Worship, with Your
Eternal Father and Your All‑Holy, Good and
Life-creating Spirit, both now and ever, and to the
ages of ages. Amen.
Priest:
Peace be to all (+).
Choir:
And to your spirit.
Priest:
Let us bow our heads
before the Lord.
Choir:
To You, O Lord.
Priest:
O God, the Father
Almighty, Who by the loud‑voice Prophet Isaiah has
foretold to us the incarnation from a Virgin of Your
Only‑Begotten Son and our God; Who in the latter
days, by Your good pleasure and by the cooperation
of the Holy Spirit have willed, through measureless
love, to become a child of her for the salvation of
men; and, according to the custom of Your Holy Law,
after the fulfillment of the days of purification,
submitted to be brought into the Sanctuary, being
Himself a true lawgiver, and willed to be carried in
the arms of the righteous Symeon, of which mystery
we have a prototype declared in the aforementioned
Prophet by the taking of coals with tongs from the
Altar, and of which we Faithful also have an
imitation in Grace. Do You, Who are He that watches
over babes, Yourself, O Lord, bless (+) this child,
together with its parents and sponsors, and account
it worthy, at the fitting time, to be born again of
water and the Spirit. Number it with Your holy Flock
of rational sheep, who are called by the Name of
Your Christ. For You are He that dwells on high, and
gives regard to the things which are lowly, and to
You do we send up glory: to the Father, and to the
Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and
to the ages of ages. Amen.
Then, taking up
the child, the Priest lifts it up in the sign of the
Cross before the Gates of the Temple, saying:
The servant of God
(Name) is churched, in the Name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
And he carries the
child into the Holy Temple, saying:
I will go into Your
House. I will worship toward Your Holy Temple in
fear of You.
Coming to the
center of the church, he says:
The servant of God
(Name) is churched, in the Name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen. In the midst of the congregation I will sing
praises to You.
Then he brings the
child before the Doors of the Altar, saying:
The servant of God
(Name) is churched, in the Name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
If the child is
male the Priest carries him into the Altar if a
female, the child is carried only as far as the Holy
Doors. He then says:
Lord, now let Your
servant depart in peace, according to Your word; for
my eyes have seen Your salvation, which You have
prepared before the face of all people, a Light to
enlighten the Gentiles, and the Glory of Your people
of Israel.
Apolysis
Glory to You, O our
God and our hope, glory to You.
He Who submitted to
be carried in the arms of the righteous Symeon,
Christ our true God, through the intercessions of
His pure and spotless Mother, through the power of
the precious and life‑giving Cross, through the
protection of the venerable and bodiless heavenly
Powers, through the prayers of the venerable and
glorious prophet and Forerunner John the Baptist, of
the holy, glorious, all‑praiseworthy Apostles, of
the holy, glorious and victorious Martyrs, of our
venerable Godbearing Fathers, of the holy, righteous
ancestors of the Lord, Joakim and Anna, (of the
Saint of the church), and of all the Saints,
have mercy on us and save us as our Good and Loving
God.
Through the prayers
of the Holy Fathers Oh Jesus Christ, Our God, have
mercy on us and save us. Amen.
After the Amen, the priest makes the sign of the
Cross over the forehead, mouth, and chest of the
child, invoking the name of the Holy Trinity. He
then returns the child to the mother.
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