The Death Prayer
By Venerable Parthenius of Kiev
By Venerable Parthenius of Kiev
1. When I, dejected by illness, feel the approach of the end of my earthly existence: Lord, have mercy on me.
2. When my poor heart, in its last beats, will languish and pine in deathly torments: Lord, have mercy on me.
3. When my eyes are watered for the last time with tears at the thought that during my life I offended You, O God, with my sins: Lord, have mercy on me.
4. When the frequent beating of the heart begins to hasten the exodus of my soul: Lord, have mercy on me.
5. When the mortal pallor of my face and my chilling body strike fear into my loved ones: Lord, have mercy on me.
6. When my vision is darkened and my voice is cut off, my tongue is petrified: Lord, have mercy on me.
7. When terrible spirits and visions begin to drive me to despair in Your mercy: Lord, have mercy on me.
8. When my soul, struck by the memories of my crimes and the fear of Your judgment, is exhausted in the struggle with the enemies of my salvation, who are trying to drag me into the region of the darkness of torment: Lord, have mercy on me.
9. When the sweat of death drenches me, and the soul with painful suffering will move away from the body: Lord, have mercy on me.
10. When the darkness of death closes all the objects of this world from my cloudy gaze: Lord, have mercy on me.
11. When all sensation ceases in my body, my veins become numb and my muscles turn to stone: Lord, have mercy on me.
12. When human voices and earthly sounds no longer reach my ears: Lord, have mercy on me.
13. When the soul comes before Your face, O God, in anticipation of Your appointment: Lord, have mercy on me.
14. When I begin to heed the just sentence of Your judgment, which determines my eternal fate: Lord, have mercy on me.
15. When the body, abandoned by the soul, becomes the prey of worms and corruption, and, finally, all my composition turns into a handful of dust: Lord, have mercy on me.
16. When the trumpet will quicken everyone at Your second coming and the book of my deeds will open: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, Your sinful servant (name). Into Your hands, O Lord, I commit my spirit. Amen.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
2. When my poor heart, in its last beats, will languish and pine in deathly torments: Lord, have mercy on me.
3. When my eyes are watered for the last time with tears at the thought that during my life I offended You, O God, with my sins: Lord, have mercy on me.
4. When the frequent beating of the heart begins to hasten the exodus of my soul: Lord, have mercy on me.
5. When the mortal pallor of my face and my chilling body strike fear into my loved ones: Lord, have mercy on me.
6. When my vision is darkened and my voice is cut off, my tongue is petrified: Lord, have mercy on me.
7. When terrible spirits and visions begin to drive me to despair in Your mercy: Lord, have mercy on me.
8. When my soul, struck by the memories of my crimes and the fear of Your judgment, is exhausted in the struggle with the enemies of my salvation, who are trying to drag me into the region of the darkness of torment: Lord, have mercy on me.
9. When the sweat of death drenches me, and the soul with painful suffering will move away from the body: Lord, have mercy on me.
10. When the darkness of death closes all the objects of this world from my cloudy gaze: Lord, have mercy on me.
11. When all sensation ceases in my body, my veins become numb and my muscles turn to stone: Lord, have mercy on me.
12. When human voices and earthly sounds no longer reach my ears: Lord, have mercy on me.
13. When the soul comes before Your face, O God, in anticipation of Your appointment: Lord, have mercy on me.
14. When I begin to heed the just sentence of Your judgment, which determines my eternal fate: Lord, have mercy on me.
15. When the body, abandoned by the soul, becomes the prey of worms and corruption, and, finally, all my composition turns into a handful of dust: Lord, have mercy on me.
16. When the trumpet will quicken everyone at Your second coming and the book of my deeds will open: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, Your sinful servant (name). Into Your hands, O Lord, I commit my spirit. Amen.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.