Contents · 11 parts
The “Prayer of the Hieromartyr Cyprian” has long been in circulation in print publications and on the Internet. It is recommended to read it as a very powerful prayer against witchcraft and sorcery. Recommended by many people, including clergy. However, even upon superficial examination, many absurdities in the text are striking. Therefore, it is worth considering in more detail the text of the “prayer” in order to understand why it has gained such incredible popularity. In the text below, the style and punctuation are preserved, nothing has been changed. It is in this form that it is present in the vast majority of sources. So, the text itself:
“We begin to say the prayer of the Holy Martyr Cyprian: in the days or in the nights, or at whatever hour you exercise, all the forces of resistance will fall away from the glory of the Living God.
This Hieromartyr, praying to God with all his soul, said: “Lord God, Mighty and Holy, King of kings, now hear the prayer of Thy servant Cyprian.”
Thousands upon thousands and darkness upon darkness stand before You, Angel and Archangel. You weigh the secret of the hearts of Your servant (name), appear to him, Lord, as Paul in chains and Thecla in fire. So, let me know You, for I am the first to create all my iniquities.
You, holding the cloud and the sky, have not rained on the garden tree, and that is the fruit of the uncreated. Idle wives wait out, and others do not conceive. They only looked at the fence of the city, and did not create anything. The rose will not bloom and the class will not vegetate; The grapes do not bear fruit, and the beasts do not bear fruit. The fish of the sea are not allowed to swim and the birds of the sky are forbidden to fly. So, You showed Your power with the prophet Elijah.
I pray to Thee, O Lord my God; All sorcery, and all evil demons who tend to the sin of man and commit sin on him, You, by Your power, forbid! Now, O Lord my God, the Strong and Great One, who has favored the unworthy, worthy of me to be, and partaker of Thy Holy flock, I pray to Thee, O Lord my God, whoever has this prayer in the house or with himself, do for him what he asks for with it.
Your Most Holy Majesty, who was merciful to me and did not want to destroy me with my iniquities; Thus, do not destroy anyone who prays to You with this prayer.
Strengthen the weak in faith! Strengthen the weak in spirit! Give reason to the desperate one and do not turn away everyone who resorts to Your Holy Name.
Now, falling before You, Lord, I pray and ask Your holy name: in every house and in every place, especially on the Orthodox Christian, if there is some sorcery from evil people or from demons, may this prayer be read over the head of a person or in the house and may he be freed from being bound by evil spirits in envy, flattery, jealousy, hatred, malice, intimidation, effective poisoning, from pagan eating and from every spell and oath.
Therefore, whoever has acquired this prayer in his home, let him be kept from every trick of the devil, indulgence, poison by evil and crafty people, from spells and all witchcraft and sorcery, and may demons flee from him and may evil spirits recede. Lord my God, having power in heaven and on earth, for the sake of Your Holy Name and for the sake of the unspeakable goodness of Your Son, our God Jesus Christ, hear at this hour Your unworthy servant (name), who honors this prayer and through it may all the devil’s machinations be resolved.
As wax melts in the presence of fire, so let all sorcery and evil spells perish from the face of a person who honors this prayer. For the name of the Life-Giving Trinity is enlightenment for us, and do we know no other god than You? We believe in You, we worship You and we pray to You; protect, intercede and save us, O God, from every evil action and sorcery of evil people.
Just as You brought out sweet water from the stone to the sons of Moses, so, Lord God of Hosts, lay Your hand on Your servant (name), full of Your goodness and protect from all deeds.
Bless the house in it, may this prayer abide and everyone who honors my memory, send your mercy to him, Lord, and protect him from all sorcery. Be his helper and protector, O Lord.
Four rivers: Pison, Geon, Euphrates and Tigris: the Edenic man cannot hold back, so no sorcerer can manifest the affairs or dreams of demons before reading this prayer, I conjure by the Living God! May the demon be crushed and all the nasty and evil force unleashed by evil people on the servant of God (name) be driven away.
As He multiplied the years of Hezekiah the king, so multiply the years of him who has this prayer: by the service of the Angel, by the singing of the Seraphim, by the annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary from the Archangel Gabriel and the incorporeal for the sake of Her conception, our Lord Jesus Christ, by His glorious Nativity in Bethlehem, by the slaughter of four out of ten thousand infants by Herod the king, and by his Holy Baptism perceived in the Jordan River, fasting and temptation from the devil, His terrible victory and His most terrible judgment, His most terrible miracles in the world that were: granting healing and cleansing. Revive the dead, cast out demons, and fulfill His entry into Jerusalem as a King: “Ossain to the Son of David, from the child crying to Thee, hear” the Holy Passion, the Crucifixion and Burial, enduring, and on the third day the Resurrection came as it was written, and the ascension to heaven. There are numerous Angels and Archangels singing, glorifying His rising, who sits at the right hand of the Father until His second coming to judge the living and the dead.
You have given authority to Your holy disciples and Apostles, saying to them: “Hold and hold on - decide and they will be resolved,” so through this prayer, allow every devilish sorcery over Your servant (name).
For the sake of Your Holy Great Name, I conjure and drive away all wicked and evil souls and the combing of evil people and their sorceries, slander, witchcraft, eye damage, sorcery and every trick of the devil. I pray to You, O most merciful Lord, take me away from Your servant (name), and from his house, and from all his acquisitions.
Just as you increased the wealth of righteous Job, so, Lord, increase the household life of the one who has this prayer: the creation of Adam, the sacrifice of Abel, the annunciation of Joseph, the holiness of Enoch, the righteousness of Noah, the conversion of Melchisidek, the faith of Abraham, the holiness of Jacob, the prophecy of the Prophets, the shrine of the Patriarchs, the blood of the Holy Martyrs, the slaughter of Peter and Paul, the childhood of Moses, the virginity of John the Evangelist, the priesthood of Aaron, the action of Joshua, the holiness of Samuel, the twelve tribes of Israel, the prayer of the Prophet Elisha, the fasting and knowledge of the Prophet Daniel, the sale of the beautiful Joseph, the Wisdom of the Prophet Solomon, the power of one hundred and sixty Angels, the prayer of the Honest Glorious Prophet and Baptist John and one hundred and ten Saints of the second council, holy confessors and swearers of the terrible, unspeakable name of Your Holy, All-Glorious All-Seer God, and before Him stand thousands and thousands of Angels and Archangels. For the sake of their prayers, I pray and ask You, Lord, drive away and overcome all malice and wickedness from Your servant (name), and let it flee to Tartarus.
I offer this prayer to the One and Invincible God, for may salvation befit all Orthodox people in that house, in which there is this prayer, written in seventy-two languages, and may all wickedness be resolved through it; either in the sea, or along the way, or in the source, or in the vault; either in the upper pose or in the lower one; either behind or in front; either in the wall, or in the roof, let it be resolved everywhere!
May every devilish obsession be resolved in the course or in the camp; or in the mountains, or in dens, or in the precincts of houses, or in the abysses of the earth; or in the root of a tree, or in the leaves of plants; either in fields or in gardens; or in the grass, or in a bush, or in a cave, or in a bathhouse, may it be resolved!
Let every evil deed be resolved; either in fish skin or in flesh; or in the skin of a snake, or in the skin of a man; or in elegant jewelry, or in headdresses; or in the eyes, or in the ears, or in the hair of the head, or in the eyebrows; either in bed or in clothes; or in cutting foot nails, or cutting hand nails; either in hot blood or in icy water: let it be resolved!
Let every crime and sorcery be resolved; or in the brain, or under the brain, or in the shoulder, or between the shoulders; either in the muscles or in the legs; either in the leg or in the arm; or in the belly, or under the belly, or in the bones, or in the veins; either in the stomach or within natural limits, let it be resolved!
May every devilish act and obsession committed be resolved; either on gold or on silver; or in copper, or in iron, or in tin, or in lead, or in honey, or in wax; or in wine, or in beer, or in bread, or in food; May everything be resolved!
May every evil devil's intention against man be resolved; or in sea reptiles, or in flying insects; either in animals or in birds; or in the stars, or in the moon; either in beasts or in reptiles; or in charters, or in ink; May everything be resolved!
Even two wicked tongues: salamaru and remihara, pursuit; elizda and the devil from the servant of God (name), by the power of the Honest and Life-giving Cross of the Lord with all the heavenly powers before the High and Terrible Throne of God, create Your servants scorching fire. Cherubim and Seraphim; Authorities and Pristoli; Dominance and Power.
In one hour the thief entered heaven through prayer. Joshua, the sun and the moon, prayed a prayer. The prophet Daniel prayed and stopped the mouths of the lions. Three youths: Ananias, Azariah and Misail extinguish the flame of the cave with fiery prayer. I also pray to You, Lord, grant this prayer to everyone who prays to it.
I pray and ask the holy council of the prophets: Zechariah, Hosea, Jesse, Joel, Micah, Isaiah, Daniel, Jeremiah, Amos, Samuel, Elijah, Elisha, Nahum and the Prophet John the Baptist and Baptist of the Lord; I pray and ask the four Evangelists, Matthias, Mark, Luke and John the Theologian, and the holy Chief Apostles Peter and Paul, and the holy and righteous Godfather Joachim and Anna, and Joseph the betrothed, and James the brother of the Lord according to the flesh, Simeon the God-Receiver, and Simeon the relative of the Lord, and Andrew Christ for the sake of the fool, and John the Merciful, and Ignatius the God-Bearer, and the Hieromartyr Ananias, and Roman the singer of the kontakion, and Mark the Greek, and Cyril the Patriarch of Jerusalem and the Venerable Ephraim the Syrian, and Mark the Grave Digger, and three Great Saints, Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, and John Chrysostom, and others like them. the father of our saints Nicholas Archbishop Myra of the Lycian wonderworker, and the holy metropolitans: Peter, Alexy, Jonah, Philip, Hermogenes, Innocent and Cyril, the Moscow wonderworkers: St. Anthony, Theodosius and Athanasius, the Kiev-Pechersk wonderworkers: St. Sergius and Nikon, the Radonezh wonderworkers; Reverends Zosima and Savatius, Solovetsky miracle workers; Saints Guria and Barsanuphius, Kazan miracle workers; Like our holy fathers: Pachomius, Anthony, Theotosiya, Pimen the Great, and like our holy father Seraphim of Sarov; Samson and Daniel the Stylites; Maximus the Greek, monk Miletius of Mount Athos; Nikon, Patriarch of Antioch, Great Martyr Kyriakos and his mother Iulita; Alexy, the man of God, and the holy venerable myrrh-bearing women: Mary, Magdalene, Euphrosyne, Xenia, Evdokia, Anastasia; The Holy Great Martyrs Paraskeva, Catherine, Fevronia, Marina, Justina, who shed their blood for You, Christ our God, Saint Gregory, Archbishop of Alexandria, Martyr Konon of Isauria, the Wonderworker, Saint Spyridon, Bishop of Trimifuntsky, the Wonderworker and all the saints from the ages who have pleased You, Lord, have mercy and save Your servant (name), let no evil or wickedness touch him or his house, neither in the evening, nor in the morning, nor in the days, nor in the night.
Save him, Lord, from air, tartar, water, forest, yard and all kinds of other demons and spirits of evil.
I pray to You, Lord, even as this holy prayer of the Hieromartyr Cyprian was written, it is confirmed and marked by the Holy Trinity for the destruction and driving away of all evil, the enemy and adversary of demonic nets, catching people everywhere with the witchcraft and sorcery of Zadok and Naphael, called Ephil, and the daughters of Samuel, skilled in sorcery.
By the Word of the Lord, heaven and earth and everything under heaven were established; by the power of this prayer, all enemy obsession and indulgence were driven out. I call upon all the powers of heaven and Your ranks for help; Archangels: Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel, Salafail, Yehudil, Barahail and my Guardian Angel: The power of Your Honest and Life-giving Cross and all the powers and spirits of heaven, and may Your servant, Lord (name), be observed, and may the wickedness of the devil be put to shame by all Heavenly Power to the glory of You, Lord, my Creator and to the glory of Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, always now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
God! You are the only All-Powerful and Almighty, save Your servant (name) through the prayer of the Holy Martyr Cyprian.
Say this three times and bow three times.
Lord Jesus Christ the Word and Son of God, through the prayer of Your Most Holy Mother and my Guardian Angel, have mercy on me, Your sinful servant (name).
Say this three times and bow three times.
All saints and righteous ones, pray to the Merciful God for the servant (name), that he will preserve and have mercy on me from every enemy and adversary.
Say this three times and bow three times.”
Let's start the analysis.
##I
The first thing that immediately catches your eye when reading this “prayer” is the incredible number of errors (grammatical, stylistic, punctuation and others). A person who does not speak Church Slavonic may not understand that this text is not written in this language. The author or translator of this “prayer” tried to disguise as Church Slavonic that illiterate nonsense that is presented as the text of the prayer book. But a person more or less familiar with this language will immediately detect a fake. In “prayer,” Russian phrases are used along with Church Slavonic phrases; they can be combined in one sentence. The sentences are constructed in violation of the norms of both languages, and in some places they simply look like nonsense, having neither beginning nor end. One gets the feeling that the author of this “work” simply pulled out sentences from various canonical prayers, reinterpreted them, but, not having the necessary knowledge, was unable to bring the matter to fruition. The language in which the “prayer” is written is not Russian or Church Slavonic. This is an illiterately composed surrogate, which gives grounds to say that this “prayer” did not receive the blessing of the clergy, without which its general church use is unacceptable. A literate person will not read this, so as not to anger God with an incoherent set of words, names and expressions.
The “prayer” begins with some kind of introduction. Why this indication of reading is included in the text of the “prayer” is unclear. The introduction then continues with the narration: “This Hieromartyr, praying with all his soul to God with the words: “Lord God, Mighty...”.” Why it is in the text of the “prayer” is also unclear. All this should not be in a canonical prayer compiled according to the rules of church hymnography.
##III
The authorship of this “prayer” is attributed to the Hieromartyr Cyprian, as eloquently indicated by the phrase “even as this holy prayer of the Hieromartyr Cyprian was written, it was approved and commemorated by the Holy Trinity.” The author claims nothing less than direct approval of his creation by the Holy Trinity. Unheard of boldness that could not have come from Saint Cyprian. And he could not call himself a holy martyr in prayer. Also, a clear indication that the Hieromartyr Cyprian has nothing to do with this “prayer” is the list of a large number of saints who lived after him. The hieromartyr suffered in 304 in Nicomedia and could not possibly have known about most of the saints listed in the “prayer.” Moreover, he could not have known about the text of the petition “God save...” from the litany at the all-night vigil, following the example of which the part of the “prayer” where the names of the saints are listed was written.
The author’s complete illiteracy makes itself felt in this passage - there is complete confusion in the listing of the names of saints. So, an obvious mistake catches the eye: “the holy venerable myrrh-bearing women: Mary, Magdalene, Euphrosyne, Xenia, Eudokia, Anastasia.” The holy myrrh-bearing women are not included in the ranks of venerable women. There was never a myrrh-bearer named Magdalene; there was Mary Magdalene. Euphrosyne, Xenia, Evdokia, and Anastasia were never among the myrrh-bearers. The Venerables Anthony, Pachomius, Theodosius, Pimen the Great and Seraphim of Sarov are for some reason considered saints, as indicated by the prefix “like our holy fathers.” Along with Daniel the Stylite, a certain Sampson the Stylite is mentioned, but the Church does not know such a saint. Probably Simeon the Stylite should have taken his place. The martyrs Fevronia and Justina are counted among the holy great martyrs, which is also incorrect. Moreover, the latter is directly related to the holy martyr Cyprian, whom she converted from witchcraft and sorcery to Christ. Justina suffered along with Cyprian, and accordingly, she could not have been called a martyr by him in prayer. When listing the saints, Metropolitan Kirill is included in the list of saints and metropolitans of Moscow. Metropolitan Kirill, although he was in the Moscow metropolitan see from 1568 to 1572, was not canonized.
One of the most important features of this “prayer” is the belief in its exceptional power; Moreover, for it to work, it is often enough just to have it at home or with you.
“...whoever has this prayer in his home or with him, do for him what he asks with it...”
“...may this prayer be read over the head of a person or in the house and may he be freed from being bound by evil spirits...”
“If anyone has acquired this prayer in his own home, let him be kept from every trick of the devil...”
“...so let all sorcery and evil spells perish on behalf of the person who honors this prayer...”
“Bless the house, Lord, that this prayer may abide in it...”
“...no sorcerer can manifest demonic plans or dreams before reading this prayer...”
“As He multiplied the years of Hezekiah the king, so multiply the years of him that has this prayer...”
“...increase the household life of the one who has this prayer...”
“...and so, through this prayer, allow every devil’s sorcery over Thy servant (name)”
“...as salvation befits all Orthodox people in that house, in it there is this prayer, written in seventy-two languages, and may all wickedness be resolved through it...”
“I also pray to You, Lord, grant this prayer to everyone who prays to it.”
“...by the power of this prayer all enemy obsession and indulgence will be driven out...”
This attitude makes the “prayer of Cyprian” similar to spells and magical texts. Conviction in the effectiveness of witchcraft gives rise to a belief in the need to counter it with the help of magical actions. One of these is reading conspiracies, which, according to magical beliefs, have power when read. That is, it doesn’t matter what is written in the text of the conspiracy, the main thing is to pronounce it at the right time and in the right place. The “Prayer of Cyprian,” with its errors and absurdities, fits this bill quite well.
Unlike conspiracies, the prayer of an Orthodox Christian is an appeal to God and trust in His help, which does not involve any magic. It is not prayer that helps, but God, and there are no magic formulas or spells that can oblige Him to fulfill what is asked. The Lord sends His gracious help only when He considers it necessary and useful for a person. Moreover, he does this in ways known only to Him, and not at all in the way the petitioner wants.
What seems very strange in the “prayer” is the author’s appeal to sacred events, the listing of which he gives the appearance of a petition. This sounds not only strange, but incoherent and illogical: “As He multiplied the years of Hezekiah the king, so multiply the years of him who has this prayer: with the service of the Angel, the singing of the Seraphim, the annunciation of the Most Holy Virgin Mary from the Archangel Gabriel and the incorporeal for the sake of Her conception, our Lord Jesus Christ, His glorious Nativity in Bethlehem...” It is completely incomprehensible how one can multiply the years of a person’s life with the help of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary or the Nativity of Christ, and only because he has the “prayer of Cyprian.” There is no cause-and-effect relationship observed here, as in other parts of the text.
The same strange petition seems to be the request to “increase household life” for those who have this “prayer” for the sake of “the creation of Adam, the sacrifice of Abel, the annunciation of Joseph, the holiness of Enoch, the righteousness of Noah, the conversion of Melchizedek, the faith of Abraham, the holiness of Jacob, the prophecies of the Prophets, the shrine of the Patriarchs, the blood of the Holy Martyrs, the slaughter of Peter and Paul,” etc. One gets the feeling that the author of the text simply wanted to fill his work with the names of saints, sacred events, references to biblical texts, etc., but did not know at all how to do it correctly. The result was this incoherent surrogate.
It should also be noted that the author of the “Prayer of Cyprian” is quite familiar with witchcraft and describes in sufficient detail the places and objects associated with it. The list takes up six paragraphs, and, among other things, it lists things that are quite strange for an uninitiated person: cut nails, snake and human skins, hair, blood, brain or “under the brain,” etc. All this indicates that the person who wrote the lines of the “prayer” knows firsthand how magical rituals are performed. These six paragraphs are probably a deliberate insertion so that the person reading the “prayer” actually thinks that the author is a former sorcerer, who was the holy martyr Cyprian. But since Saint Cyprian had nothing to do with the writing of this text, this cunning forgery further exposes the author of the “prayer” of wicked writing.
##VII
An attentive reader cannot help but notice another oddity - the presence of unknown names in the text: “Also two tongues of the wicked: salamaru and remihara, pursuit; slander and the devil from the servant of God...” Who Salamara and Remihara are, and why they are called evil tongues is not clear from the text. If translated from Church Slavonic, then “languages” are peoples. However, there are no peoples with such names, and it is even more unclear why they should be persecuted, and what relation they have to witchcraft. If we leave the word “languages” in the Russian version, then there is no logic or meaning here either. Regarding “elizda,” it is simpler; a search on the Internet brings up books on demonology and identifies her as Elizazdra, a demoness of one of the highest orders. Probably salamara and remihara are also names of demons. This opinion is strengthened by the fact that they are mentioned in the same list with the devil. And again the question arises: where did the author of the “prayer” get such knowledge of demonology? Moreover, he is clearly not “friendly” with the names of saints.
Having examined the text of the “prayer of the holy martyr Cyprian” we come to the following conclusions:
The “prayer” is not canonical, that is, compiled in accordance with church canons and rules. A large number of errors and outright absurdities confirm the opinion that the text of the “prayer” was never in the hands of church editors who speak Church Slavonic. It is also safe to say that such a text could not receive the blessing of the clergy, which makes its official church-wide use impossible. In a word, the reading of this “prayer” was not blessed by the Church. The private opinions of individual clergy regarding the “prayer”, its effectiveness, strength, etc., do not represent the opinion of the Orthodox Church, and these clergy bear full responsibility for the blessings of reciting the “prayer.”
It is not known whether the “prayer” had one author, or whether separate parts were added to it over time, but we can say with confidence that this text has nothing to do with the Hieromartyr Cyprian.
Confidence in the exceptional power of the “prayer”, the presence in its text of the names of demons and the enumeration of methods of witchcraft manipulations makes the “prayer of the holy martyr Cyprian” similar to conspiracies and magic spells, which, on the one hand, is completely unacceptable for Orthodox prayer, and on the other hand, indicates the non-ecclesiastical origin of the text in question.
The most faithful action of an Orthodox Christian in relation to the so-called “prayer of the Holy Martyr Cyprian” would be to completely ignore it. For prayer, you can use the canonical prayer to the Hieromartyr Cyprian, the text of which is given below:
“Holy servant of God, Hieromartyr Cyprian, quick helper and prayer for all those who come running to you! Accept this praise from us, the unworthy; ask the Lord God for strength in weaknesses, consolation in sorrows, and everything useful to everyone in our life; Offer your merciful prayer to the Lord, may he protect us from the falls of sin, may he teach us true repentance, may he deliver us from the captivity of the devil and all the activities of unclean spirits and will tame those who offend us. Be a strong champion for us against all enemies, visible and invisible; give us patience in temptation and at the hour of our death show us intercession from the torturers at the aerial ordeals; May we, led by you, reach Mount Jerusalem and be honored in the Kingdom of Heaven with all the saints to glorify and sing the holy name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit forever centuries. Amen."
Author: Archpriest Dionisy Svechnikov