Litany of Peace

Everyone who comes to the Church to participate in the Divine Liturgy is one who has a soul longing for God knowing that they are sinners. The Church is like a spiritual hospital where we come for our spiritual healing. The service starts with petitions to God seeking His help.

The Litany of Peace is the first set of petitions, or prayers, that we offer together in the Divine Liturgy. They include concerns for everyone.

These prayers are for all to pray. This prayer is led by the Deacon or the Priest if there is no Deacon. The Deacon will come out onto the solea (if they are said by the Priest he will say them standing in the front of the Altar facing towards the east as is customary in prayer).

In the first petition, the Deacon calls the congregation to pray by intoning:

In peace, let us pray to the Lord.

Peace is an absolute pre-requisite for the full and complete appreciation of the Divine Liturgy.  Without peace of mind and heart we are not worthy to stand before the Altar of God, to beg forgiveness and offer our thanks.

As we know, our Lord, after His Resurrection, appeared before His Apostles, saying: "Peace be unto you." (John, Chapter 20, Verse 21)

In Matthew 5:23-24, our Lord commands, that if we come before the Altar to offer our gift and remember that we are not at peace with someone, we should leave the gift at the Altar, return and make our peace with our fellow man, then come to the Altar, present the gift, and only then will it be acceptable and beneficial to us.

It is with a complete serenity of heart and mind that we must attend the Divine Liturgy; only then do our prayers have meaning. With this peace the Deacon recites the first petition which also call for peace.

For the peace from above and for the salvation of our souls...
For the peace of the whole world, the welfare of the holy churches of God, and for the union of all....

Peace is the fundamental thing we need to stand before God. We need to be peaceful in our inner-selves, and among ourselves: our family, our friends and our relatives. If our hearts are not peaceful this means they are filled with difference, malice, hatred and hardness. In such a state we cannot make the holy bread, properly celebrate the Divine Liturgy, or partake of Holy Communion. To have this peace we must live a life of repentance (see 10 Points for an Orthodox Way of Life). If appropriate, this is why it is customary for us to have confession before the Liturgy. Now days it is acceptable to only have confession a couple times a year and make a private confession before coming to the Church.

The Deacon continues with the following petitions.

For this holy temple and for those who enter it with faith, reverence and the fear of God...
For our Bishop, the priesthood and diaconate in Christ, for all the people and clergy...
For the President of our country, all civil authorities and for our armed forces...
For our city, all cities and our country, and for all the faithful dwelling in them...
For seasonable weather and the abundance of the fruits of the earth and for peaceful times...
For deliverance from all affliction, wrath, danger and distress...
Help us and save us...

Each of these petition is answered by everyone saying, "Lord have Mercy" - Kyrie Eleyson" We were instructed to do this by the Apostles as is recorded in the Apostolic Injunctions, because in each of us dwells the Kingdom of Heaven and we know that we are sinful. When we ask for mercy we ask for His Kingdom to rule in us. Jesus told us, "but seek first the Kingdom of God... and all these things shall be given to you" (Matt 6:33) God's mercy is the force of the Divine Kingdom. God listens to our plea for mercy when we are sincere and repentant. It is through God's mercy that we will be saved. This is why you are asked to say this simple pray so frequently during the Divine Liturgy.

The petitions end with the following:

Commemorating our most holy, most pure, most blessed and glorious Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary with all the saints, let us commit ourselves and each other, and our whole life to Christ our God.

When we remember the Most Holy Theotokos we should also make our cross. Mary has an exalted place in the Church because of what she was prepared for and called to do for us. It was through her womb that God took on flesh. She lived a most virtuous life without sin even though she was born like us with the tendency to sin. Saint Gregory Palamas goes so far as to say, "No one can approach God, but only through the intercessions of the Most-Holy Theotokos, through the One who gave birth to the Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ."

As these prayers are read, think of people and situations that could benefit with God's help.

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