The Trisagion Prayers

“Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us”, the words the Church begins with.

The Trisagion, or Thrice-Holy, is the hymn "Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us," said three times. With the prayers that follow it, the Glory, the prayer to the Holy Trinity, and the Lord's Prayer, it opens nearly every Orthodox service and private rule of prayer, morning and evening alike.

The Trisagion, the Thrice-Holy, is the short sequence of prayers with which nearly every Orthodox service and private rule begins. At its heart is the hymn “Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us,” taken up, the tradition holds, from the very song of the angels who cry “Holy, holy, holy” before the throne of God.

The Trisagion prayers gather several ancient prayers into a threshold: the hymn to the all-holy God, the “Glory to the Father,” the plea “All-holy Trinity, have mercy on us,” the Lord's Prayer, and the calling on God's mercy. To pray them is to place oneself, before asking anything, in the presence of the Holy One, and to begin every prayer where prayer belongs, in worship.

Because they open everything, the Trisagion prayers are among the first a new Orthodox Christian learns by heart. Whatever rule you keep, you will begin here; and to know them is to be able to begin to pray anywhere, at any time, with the Church's own first words.

Questions about the Trisagion

What is the Trisagion prayer?

The hymn "Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us," said three times, praising God as the angels do before His throne.

What are the Trisagion prayers?

The short sequence that opens most prayer: the Trisagion itself, "Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit," the prayer "All-holy Trinity, have mercy on us," and the Lord's Prayer.

Why does Orthodox prayer begin with the Trisagion?

To set oneself, before asking anything, in the presence of the holy God, and to begin every prayer in worship.

What is a Trisagion service?

A Trisagion service is a short service of prayer for the departed, named for the Trisagion hymn sung near its beginning. The Orthodox Church in America calls it an extremely abbreviated memorial service: the closing hymns of the longer memorial service, the Panikhida (also called the Parastas). It is often served on the eve of a funeral, at the grave at burial, and on the anniversaries of a death.

More questions about the Orthodox Church, answered ›

“Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us.”

The Trisagion hymn, traditional text (public domain)

In Orthros

The Trisagion prayers open the rule in Orthros as they open the services of the Church, kept with their catechesis and source details, free to read.