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Unpacking the Prayer “Lord, Have Mercy”

Visit an Eastern Orthodox worship service, and you’ll see how much we love the prayer, “Lord, have mercy.” In this short phrase, we find everything we need in our prayers.

We call God “Lord.” This word may not carry the same weight for us in the modern world, but in biblical times, to call someone “Lord” was to acknowledge their authority over our lives. By addressing God as Lord, we are declaring our obedience and allegiance to Him as the one who is truly in charge.

Next, we ask for His mercy. Understanding the ancient meaning of this word deepens our prayer. In Hebrew, the word for mercy is hesed, which can also be translated as “steadfast love.” For example, in the Psalms, you might see “God’s mercy endures forever,” or in other translations, “God’s steadfast love endures forever.” Both phrases translate the same Hebrew word. To call upon God’s mercy, then, is to trust ourselves to His loving embrace.

In Greek, the word is eleos. There is only a one-letter difference between eleos (mercy) and eleon (olive oil). This connection is significant. In the Old Testament, olive oil was poured over the heads of kings, prophets, and priests during their anointing. This ritual symbolized that, by themselves, human beings are insufficient for these ministries, but through God’s wisdom and strength—His grace—they are able to fulfill their calling. Even today, in the Orthodox Church, we pray that God’s grace will “fill that which is lacking and heal that which is broken” during ordination.

Olive oil, then, becomes a symbol of God’s strength and wisdom. In the story of Noah, the dove returns with an olive branch, signaling that the floodwaters are receding and that God is offering humanity a new beginning—a chance for renewal. Olive oil was also used in the ancient world as a salve to heal wounds, protecting and cleansing them. This, too, reflects God’s mercy as His healing grace.

When we pray, “Lord, have mercy,” we are asking God for the most essential gifts: His strength and wisdom, His forgiveness, and His healing grace. All of these flow from His steadfast love for us, enabling us to embrace and live out the gift of salvation given to us by Jesus Christ, every day of our lives.

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Explaining the Divine Liturgy (Part 2)

Here’s the second half of a discussion on the Eastern Orthodox Divine Liturgy. I structured it around an early second century description of a Christian Eucharistic service, written by St. Justin the Martyr:

  • “On the day called Sunday, all gather together to one place…
  • “And the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read…”
  • “Then the president verbally exhorts to the imitation of these good things…”
  • “Then we all rise together and pray…”
  • “Bread and wine and water are brought forth…
  • “The president offers prayers and thanksgivings… and the people give their ascent, saying: Amen…”
  • “There is a distribution to each of that over which thanks has been given…”
  • “And they who are well to do give what each thinks fit to take care of all who are in need.”

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Help keep my ministry going and growing… Buy me a coffee → https://www.buymeacoffee.com/frajarmus ☕️

Many thanks for your support! Prayers & Blessings 🙏 ☦️

Posted on by frajarmus

Explaining the Divine Liturgy (Part 1)

Here’s the first half of a discussion on the Eastern Orthodox Divine Liturgy. I structured it around an early second century description of a Christian Eucharistic service, written by St. Justin the Martyr:

  • “On the day called Sunday, all gather together to one place…
  • “And the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read…”
  • “Then the president verbally exhorts to the imitation of these good things…”
  • “Then we all rise together and pray…”
  • “Bread and wine and water are brought forth…
  • “The president offers prayers and thanksgivings… and the people give their ascent, saying: Amen…”
  • “There is a distribution to each of that over which thanks has been given…”
  • “And they who are well to do give what each thinks fit to take care of all who are in need.”

__

Help keep my ministry going and growing… Buy me a coffee → https://www.buymeacoffee.com/frajarmus ☕️

Many thanks for your support! Prayers & Blessings 🙏 ☦️

Posted on by frajarmus

The two types of people who’ll be saved

One of my favorite Eastern Orthodox authors is Metropolitan Anthony Bloom. And my favorite book written by Metropolitan Anthony is “Living Prayer.” Unfortunately it’s not so easy to find copies of it anymore as, I believe, it is our of print. If you can’t find it, I’d recommend another of his books on prayer, “Beginning to Pray.”

“Living Prayer” is not a long book, but it just offers some beautiful insights into having a healthy — a living! — prayer life. One of the chapters includes a quote from St Ambrose of Optina concerning the Last Judgment. It’s a reminder about the importance of humility in our spiritual life. I remember when I first read this quote, it just gave me much hope and encouragement in my own spiritual life. Here’s Metropolitan Anthony, quoting from St Ambrose:

“Ambrose of Optina, one of the last Russian Staretz, said once that two categories of men will attain salvation: those who sin and are strong enough to repent, and those who are too weak even to repent truly, but are prepared, patiently, humbly and gratefully, to bear all the weight of the consequences of their sins; in their humility they are acceptable to God.”

What wonderful words to hold onto as we struggle with our own sins, particularly our habitual sins. Ultimately the thing that opens the floodgates of God’s mercy is that we embrace a humble heart.

Before and above all else, may we cultivate a spirit of humility. Anybody who can cultivate that spirit, anybody who can go through their lives with a humble heart, is capable of salvation and eternal joy.

Love in Christ,
+FrAJ

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“Glory to God for All Things!”

An Akathist Prayer is sacred poetry, consisting of thirteen segments. The word “akathist” means “without sitting,” indicating that these prayers are meant to be recited standing up.

The earliest and best known Akathist is to the Mother of God. A contemporary Akathist that has captured the hearts of Orthodox faithful throughout the world is the Akathist of Thanksgiving, also known as “Glory to God for All Things” (St. John Chrysostom’s final words.

The Akathist of Thanksgiving is the 20th-century composition of a Russian Orthodox bishop, Metropolitan Tryphon (Turkestanov) who died in 1934. A copy of the text was found on the body of Father Gregory Petrov after his death in a Soviet prison camp. In the midst of that man-made hell, Fr. Gregory found solace in the words of this hymn.

Here’s a link to the Akathist of Thanksgiving on my church’s website. I pray that these words fill your heart with comfort and encouragement.

Love in Christ,
+FrAJ

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Prayer and “vain repetition”

In his teaching on prayer in Matthew 6, is Jesus really condemning repetition in prayer? If so, why do we see multiple examples of repetitive prayer in the scriptures? Visions of heaven, in fact, show that around God’s heavenly throne all you hear is repetitive prayer: “Holy! Holy! Holy!”

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“Let my pray arise as incense…”

In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the use of incense in worship and personal prayer holds profound symbolism. There are two significant meanings attached to the fragrant smoke that fills our sacred spaces.

First, incense symbolizes is our prayers rising to heaven, as we read in Revelation 8: “And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne…” We also find this petition in Psalm 141: “Let my prayer be counted as incense before you, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice!”

The other symbolic meaning of incense has to do with the Temple in Jerusalem. On the Day of Atonement, when the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies, he would carry a bowl filled with much incense. The smoke served as a filter to protect him from the Divine Glory sitting on the mercy seat. In II Chronicles 5 we read that the priests couldn’t serve in the Temple when the Lord’s Glory descended upon it. And in Isaiah 6, when the prophet is given a vision of the heavenly Temple, he says “the house was filled with smoke.” Incense, then, also indicates our entrance into the Presence of God when we gather for worship.

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Online group for Orthodox seekers

The Fellowship of St Theophan the Recluse is a ministry of the Orthodox Church in America’s Bulgarian Diocese. We currently have over 100 members. Most members are from North America but we also have people from the British Isles, Latin America, Africa, and Australia.

It’s a mixed bag of interest levels. Some are very intentional about becoming Orthodox, but aren’t anywhere near an Orthodox church. Some would like to become more involved in the Orthodox Church, but cannot for a variety of reasons. Others are just checking Eastern Orthodoxy out.

We also have Orthodox Christians who can’t get to church regularly, or the church they attend has services and programs in a language they don’t understand.

All are welcome.

I send out an email every weekday to stay in touch and once a month we have a live meeting on Zoom.

If this sounds like something you might find helpful, send me an email for more info.

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Why pray to the saints?

A question that I hear quite frequently concerns the intercession of the saints. Why do the Orthodox believe in this? Can you find references to it in the scriptures? I want to keep these posts short, so let me share with you a link to an episode of my podcast where I talk about this in a bit more detail.

First let me say this. The popular understanding of heaven and earth is that the dead are “up there” while we are “down here” and that there is largely no practical connection between the “up there” and the “down here.” Classical Christianity (ie, Eastern Orthodoxy), does not see the world in this way. The spiritual realm is a lot closer to us than we think, but our ability to perceive it is impaired.

So with that said, here’s the link.

https://anchor.fm/frajarmus/episodes/The-intercession-of-the-saints-e204h4m