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 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, even 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.
Just as wax melts in the face 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 conception of Her, our Lord Jesus Christ, by His glorious Nativity in Bethlehem, by the slaughter of four to ten thousand infants from 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. Give life to the dead, cast out demons, and fulfill His entry into Jerusalem as a King: “Ossain to the Son of David, from the child crying unto 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 rise, 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!