Liturgy of the Catechumens
Liturgy of the Catechumens. At the lamp-lighting, after the readings and the 'Let your direction be' and the 'Lord have mercy,' the prayer of the catechumens for those preceding is made. O God, our God, the Creator and Maker of all things, who desires all to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth, look upon your servants, the catechumens, and deliver them from ancient error and the schemes of the adversary, and call them into eternal life, illuminating their souls and their bodies and counting them among your logical flock, upon which your holy name is invoked. Let it be so, that they too, along with us, may glorify you, being prepared for the approach to the holy light. Appear, O Lord, your face upon those who are preparing for the holy light and who long to cast off the stain of sin. Calm their minds; confirm them in faith; strengthen them in hope; perfect them in love; reveal to them the precious members of your Christ, who gives himself as a ransom for our souls. Let them proclaim: For you are our light, and to you we return the glory.
Liturgy of the Faithful. Prayer of the Faithful I. O God, the great and praiseworthy, who through the life-giving death of your Christ has transferred us from corruption into incorruption: free all our senses from the death of passion, having known the good inward thought. Let the eye be a stranger to every evil gaze, let the hearing be unapproachable by idle words, and let the tongue be purified from improper speech. And sanctify our lips that praise you, Lord, and make our hands to abstain from evil deeds and to work only what is pleasing to you, securing all our members and our mind by your grace. Let them proclaim: For all glory, honor, and worship is due to you.
Prayer of the Faithful II. Holy Lord, supremely good, we implore you, the one rich in mercy, to be gracious to us sinners and to make us worthy of receiving your only-begotten Son and God, our King of Glory. For behold, his immaculate body and life-giving blood are entering at this very hour, and are about to be set forth at this mystical table, guarded by a multitude of an invisible heavenly host; of whom grant us an unblemished participation, so that, being dazzled by them, the eye of our mind may become children of light and of day. Let them proclaim: According to the gift of your Christ, with whom you are blessed, together with the All-Holy.
Entrance. And after the fulfillment of the powers of heaven, the priest prays: God of the unutterable and invisible mysteries, with whom the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden; who has revealed to us the service of this liturgy and has established us, sinners, through your great philanthropy, to offer to you both gifts and sacrifices for our sins and for the ignorances of the people; He, the invisible King, who does...
Greek
Liturgia praesanctificatorum Λειτουργία κατηχουμένων Ἐν δὲ τῷ λυχνικῷ μετὰ τὰ ἀναγνώσματα καὶ τὸ Κατευθυνθήτω καὶ τὸ Κύριε ἐλέησον γίνεται εὐχὴ κατηχουμένων ἐπὶ τῶν προηγιασμένων. ὁ Θεός, ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν, ὁ κτίστης καὶ δημιουργὸς τῶν ἁπάντων, ὁ πάντας θέλων σωθῆναι καὶ εἰς ἐπίγνωσιν ἀληθείας ἐλθεῖν, ἐπίβλεψον ἐπὶ τοὺς δούλους σου τοὺς κατηχουμένους καὶ λύτρωσαι αὐτοὺς τῆς παλαιᾶς πλάνης καὶ τῆς μεθοδείας τοῦ ἀντικειμένου καὶ προσκάλεσαι αὐτοὺς εἰς τὴν ζωὴν τὴν αἰώνιον, φωτίζων αὐτῶν τὰς ψυχὰς καὶ τὰ σώματα καὶ συγκαταριθμῶν αὐτοὺς τῇ λογικῇ σου ποίμνῃ, ἐφ' ἣν τὸ ὄνομά σου τὸ ἅγιον ἐπικέκληται Ἐκφώνως· Ἵνα καὶ αὐτοὶ σὺν ἡμῖν δοξάζωσιν τὸ Εὐχὴ εἰς τοὺς πρὸς τὸ ἅγιον φώτισμα εὐτρεπιζομένους. Ἐπίφανον, δέσποτα, τὸ πρόσωπόν σου ἐπὶ τοὺς πρὸς τὸ ἅγιον φώτισμα εὐτρεπιζομένους καὶ ἐπιποθοῦντας τὸν τῆς ἁμαρτίας μολυσμὸν ἀποτινάξασθαι. Καταύγασον αὐτῶν τὴν διάνοιαν· βεβαίωσον αὐτοὺς ἐν τῇ πίστει· στήριξον ἐν ἐλπίδι· τελείωσον ἐν ἀγάπῃ· μέλη τίμια τοῦ Χριστοῦ σου ἀνάδειξον, τοῦ δόντος ἑαυτὸν ἀντίλυτρον ὑπὲρ τῶν ψυχῶν ἡμῶν. Ἐκφώ· Ὅτι σὺ εἶ ὁ φωτισμὸς ἡμῶν καὶ σοὶ τὴν δόξαν ἀναπέμπομεν. Λειτουργία πιστῶν Εὐχὴ πιστῶν αʹ Ὁ Θεὸς ὁ μέγας καὶ αἰνετός, ὁ τῷ ζωοποιῷ τοῦ Χριστοῦ σου θανάτῳ εἰς ἀφθαρσίαν ἡμᾶς ἐκ φθορᾶς μεταστήσας· σὺ πάσας ἡμῶν τὰς αἰσθήσεις τῆς ἐμπαθοῦς νεκρώσεως ἐλευθέρωσον, ἀγαθὸν ταύταις ἡγεμόνα τὸν ἔνδοθεν λογισμὸν ἐπιστήσας. Καὶ ὀφθαλμὸς μὲν ἀμέτοχος ἔστω παντὸς πονηροῦ βλέμματος, ἀκοὴ δὲ λόγοις ἀργοῖς ἀνεπίβατος, ἡ δὲ γλῶσσα καθαρευέτω ῥημάτων ἀπρεπῶν. Ἅγνισον δὲ ἡμῶν καὶ τὰ χείλη τὰ αἰνοῦντά σε, Κύριε, τὰς δὲ χεῖρας ἡμῶν ποίησον τῶν μὲν φαύλων ἀπέχεσθαι πράξεων, ἐνεργεῖν δὲ μόνα τὰ σοὶ εὐάρεστα, πάντα ἡμῶν τὰ μέλη καὶ τὴν διάνοιαν τῇ σῇ κατασφαλιζόμενος χάριτι. Ἐκφώ· Ὅτι πρέπει σοι πᾶσα δόξα, τιμὴ καὶ προσκύνησις. Εὐχὴ πιστῶν βʹ ∆έσποτα ἅγιε, ὑπεράγαθε, δυσωποῦμέν σε τὸν ἐν ἐλέει πλούσιον, ἵλεων γενέσθαι ἡμῖν τοῖς ἁμαρτωλοῖς καὶ ἀξίους ἡμᾶς ποίησον τῆς ὑποδοχῆς τοῦ μονογενοῦς σου Υἱοῦ καὶ Θεοῦ ἡμῶν, τοῦ βασιλέως τῆς δόξης. Ἰδοὺ γὰρ τὸ ἄχραντον αὐτοῦ σῶμα καὶ τὸ ζωοποιὸν αἷμα κατὰ τὴν παροῦσαν ὥραν εἰσπορευόμενα, τῇ μυστικῇ ταύτῃ προτίθεσθαι μέλλει τραπέζῃ, ὑπὸ πλήθους στρατιᾶς οὐρανίου ἀοράτως δορυφορούμενα· ὧν τὴν μετάληψιν ἀκατάκριτον ἡμῖν δώρησαι· ἵνα δι' αὐτῶν τὸ τῆς διανοίας ὄμμα καταυγαζόμενοι υἱοὶ φωτὸς καὶ ἡμέρας γενώμεθα. Ἐκφώ· Κατὰ τὴν δωρεὰν τοῦ Χριστοῦ σου, μεθ' οὗ εὐλογητὸς εἶ σὺν τῷ παναγίῳ Εἴσοδος Καὶ μετὰ τὸ πληρωθῆναι Αἱ δυνάμεις τῶν οὐρανῶν, ὁ ἱερεὺς ἐπεύχεται· Ὁ τῶν ἀρρήτων καὶ ἀθεάτων μυστηρίων Θεός, παρ' ᾧ οἱ θησαυροὶ τῆς σοφίας καὶ τῆς γνώσεως ἀπόκρυφοι· ὁ τὴν διακονίαν τῆς λειτουργίας ταύτης ἀποκαλύψας ἡμῖν καὶ θέμενος ἡμᾶς τοὺς ἁμαρτωλοὺς διὰ πολλήν σου φιλανθρωπίαν εἰς τὸ προσφέρειν σοι δῶρά τε καὶ θυσίας ὑπὲρ τῶν ἡμετέρων ἁμαρτημάτων καὶ τῶν τοῦ λαοῦ ἀγνοημάτων· αὐτός, ἀόρατε βασιλεῦ, ὁ ποιῶν
About this text
A detailed ancient Christian liturgy offering insight into early church rituals and prayers for catechumens.
Original English Translation of Epiphanius of Salamis’s Liturgia praesanctificatorum — new OET from PG 41–43 Greek.
Catalogue & scope
Khazarzar scan
Witnesses
- Copy-text PG 41–43 (Khazarzar) (Greek)
This is an AI-assisted study translation. Source fidelity and completeness have not been independently certified. Open Greek on each section for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.