Prayer of St. Ephraim

The Orthodox pray the Prayer of St. Ephraim during Great Lent is normally added to either morning or evening prayers. The prayer is punctuated with prostrations.

Lenten Prayer of St. Ephraim

O Lord and Master of my life, take from me the spirit of sloth, despair, lust of power, and idle talk.

prostrate

But give rather the spirit of soberness, humility, patience, and love to Your servant.

prostrate

Yea, O Lord and King, grant me to see my own transgressions, and not to judge my brother, for You are blessed, unto ages of ages.

prostrate

Glory to You, O Christ our God and our Hope, glory to You.

sign the cross and bow

More Orthodox Prayers

Blog

The Tree of Life: Why We Glory in the Cross

Fr. Nicholas Frazer

September 13, 2026 10:00 AM

Ahead of the feast of the Exaltation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross, Fr. Nicholas Frazer preaches on why the cross stands at the very centre of the Orthodox faith. Drawing on Christ's words to Nicodemus and on Ss. John Chrysostom, Athanasius and Cyril of Alexandria, he traces the pattern of salvation history: death came through a tree in paradise, and life comes through the tree of the cross. The cross is shown as the revelation of God's love, the throne of the King and the defeat of death — and each of us is called to take it up daily in forgiveness, humility and repentance.

The Wedding Garment: Making the Most of What Christ Offers

Sdn Tim Grace

September 6, 2026 10:00 AM

Preaching on Father's Day, Sub Dn. Timothy Grace takes up the parable of the wedding feast and the guest without a garment. In the ancient world the host supplied the garments, so to arrive without one was not poverty but insult — and Christ, the great host, has supplied us with everything we need. Drawing on St. Symeon the New Theologian's call to run to the light while it still shines, he asks what excuse any of us will offer for not becoming holy. He closes with a word to fathers on steering between indifference and control, and on St. Paul as a model of invested, un-domineering fatherhood.

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