Morning Prayers

The day begun with God, a few words at rising that set the whole day toward Him.

Orthodox morning prayers are the short rule said on rising, before the day's work: the sign of the Cross, the prayer to the Holy Spirit that begins "O Heavenly King", the Trisagion prayers, a psalm, and prayers offering the coming day to God. They are said at home, often before an icon corner, and the measure is set with one's priest.

The Orthodox day begins in prayer. Before the world crowds in, the Church appoints a short rule of prayers at rising: the sign of the Cross, the Trisagion, a psalm, and prayers that offer the coming day to God. These are not many words. They are the turning of the heart toward its Maker before anything else is asked of it.

The morning prayers gather the whole self at the start: gratitude for waking, a plea for the day's protection, and the asking that whatever is done be done for God. Among them is the ancient prayer to the Holy Spirit, and many prayer books add the prayer of the Optina elders for a heart at peace with whatever the day brings. To begin here is to remember, before the first task, whose the day is.

A rule is best received from a priest, fitted to your life; but for anyone beginning, a short and faithful morning rule kept every day is worth more than a long one kept rarely. The Church asks not for length but for constancy, the lamp lit each morning, however small the flame.

How the morning prayers run

Prayer books differ in length. In outline, the longer form in the Jordanville prayer book runs:

The sign of the Cross and the opening prayers
The prayer to the Holy Spirit, O Heavenly King
The Trisagion prayers and the Our Father
Troparia and a prayer to the Holy Trinity
Psalm 50
The Creed, the Symbol of Faith
The prayers of St Macarius the Great and St Basil the Great
Prayers to the Theotokos and to the Lord Jesus Christ
Prayers to one's Guardian Angel and to the saint whose name one bears
The commemoration of the living and the departed
The closing prayers and the dismissal

The OCA's Common Prayers page gives five morning prayers: to the Holy Trinity, to the Father, to the Theotokos, to one's Guardian Angel and to one's patron saint. A priest can help choose the measure to keep.

Sources: ROCOR Diocese of Great Britain and Western Europe: Morning and Evening Prayers; OCA: Morning Prayers

Questions about Morning Prayers

When should Orthodox Christians say their morning prayers?

On rising, before the day's work begins, so that the first words of the day are given to God.

What do the morning prayers include?

The sign of the Cross, the Trisagion prayers, the prayer to the Holy Spirit, a psalm, and prayers of thanksgiving for waking and for the protection of the day. Many prayer books add the Creed and prayers for others.

How do Orthodox Christians make the sign of the Cross?

With the right hand, the thumb, index and middle fingers joined for the Holy Trinity and the other two fingers pressed to the palm for the two natures of Christ, God and man. The hand touches the forehead, the lower chest, the right shoulder, then the left. Latin Catholics, Lutherans and Anglicans move from left to right; Eastern Catholics of the Byzantine tradition make it as the Orthodox do. The Orthodox hold the right-to-left motion to be the more ancient; which came first is disputed.

Do I need a prayer book?

The morning prayers are in every Orthodox prayer book, and Orthros carries the morning prayers with each text's source. A priest can help shape a rule you can keep.

More questions about the Orthodox Church, answered ›

“O heavenly King, the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, who art everywhere present and fillest all things, Treasury of good things and Giver of life: come and abide in us, and cleanse us from every stain, and save our souls, O good One.”

Prayer to the Holy Spirit (Hapgood, Service Book, 1906; public domain)

In Orthros

Orthros keeps the morning prayers with the received rule flow, a rule given by your priest transcribed and held as blessed, or a modest starter rule that always points you to him. Two taps from waking to praying, each text with its source shown.