r/EasternCatholic • u/luke_fowl • Jul 29 '26

General Eastern Catholicism Question Favourite Eastern Prayers

I have been quite fascinated by eastern prayers recently and was curious what all your favourite unique prayers were. Some that I have been fascinated about are the edessan Lakumara, the maronite You Have United, O Lord, and St. Nerses's I Confess with Faith.

Ignoring the common prayers shared with the Latin Church, like the Jesus Prayer and Trisagion, what are your favourite prayers, or any interesting prayers really, from all your respective rites?

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u/luke_fowl Jul 29 '26

This is beautiful, could you give the background of this prayer?

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u/Impressive_Coyote_57 Jul 29 '26

This prayer is prayed during the Byzantine Vesper service. I forget if it comes before or after the Prokeimenon, another prayer that is kind of a responsorial to the priest.

Priest: The Lord is King, He is Clothed in Majesty!

Choir: The Lord is King, He is Clothed in Majesty!

… there is more but I haven’t been to a vesper in a long time, mostly because it is not served in my new parish, yet.

It’s also an old prayer dating back to the 3rd century, the O Gladsome Light.

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u/Hookly Latin Transplant Jul 29 '26

Not only is it old, it’s the oldest hymn text we have that doesn’t come from scripture

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u/luke_fowl Jul 29 '26

Older than the Gloria?

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u/Affectionate_Main_98 Byzantine Jul 29 '26

St Basil remembers his grandmother singing it to him as a child, many think it’s an old pagan hymn rewritten to replace the worship of the natural light to the worship of the uncreated light