Read the Psalter in Slavic with Russian letters. Psalter in Church Slavonic

The need for such a section is due to the fact that in our churches the Psalter is read in Church Slavonic, and of course it is best to read the Psalter in the original version. When reading the Psalter in private (at home), some words and expressions may not be clear. Of course, you can find answers to many questions on the Internet, but not all the information posted on the Internet is correct.

Each Psalm is posted on a separate page and includes:

• a brief history or reasons for the appearance of the Psalm,
• the text of the Psalm in Church Slavonic, written in the modern alphabet,
• text of the psalm in modern Russian,
• interpretation of the Psalm by A.P. Lopukhin,
• the text of the Psalm written in Church Slavonic.

Alexander Pavlovich Lopukhin(October 10, 1852 - August 22, 1904) - Russian Orthodox

church writer, translator, biblical scholar, theologian, researcher and interpreter of the Holy Scriptures.

As a teacher at the Theological Academy, he translated and published a number of works by Farrar, the works of Thomas a à Kempis, G. Uhlhorn (German: Gerhard Uhlhorn), a translation of the complete works of St. John Chrysostom

From 1886 to 1892, he led the department of foreign chronicles in the academic journal “Church Bulletin”. In 1892, he was elected editor of both “Christian Reading” and “Tserkovnago Vestnik” (he served as editor of the magazines for the next ten years). In 1893 he became the editor and publisher of the magazine “Strannik”.

During his work as editor, the number of publications on the Holy Scriptures, general church history, liturgics, church archeology, and theology increased. He began publishing free supplements to magazines that in themselves were of literary and scientific value; in particular, the “Explanatory Bible, or Commentary on all the books of the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments” began to be published as a similar free supplement. The “Orthodox Theological Encyclopedia or Theological Encyclopedic Dictionary” was published in five volumes as a supplement to the magazine “Strannik” (the publication was not completed due to the death of the author).

General information and history of the Psalter

Without exaggeration, we can say that for a Christian the Psalter is the most precious book of the Old Testament. The Psalter is a book of prayers for all occasions: in sorrow, in a feeling of hopelessness, in fear, in disasters, in tears of repentance and in joy after receiving consolation, in the need of thanksgiving and for offering pure praise to the Creator.

St. Ambrose of Milan writes: “In all Scripture the grace of God breathes, but in the sweet song of the psalms it breathes chiefly.”

The Psalter got its name from the Greek word “psalo,” which means to rattle on the strings, to play. King David was the first to accompany the singing of the divinely inspired prayers he composed by playing a musical instrument called the “psaltyrion,” similar to a harp.

(Read about King David at the end of the page)

The Psalter was composed over 8 centuries - from Moses (1500 BC). before Ezra-Nehemiah (400 BC) contains 150 psalms. The largest number of psalms belongs to King David (more than 80). In addition, the Psalter includes psalms: Moses (89th Ps.), Solomon (71st, 126th, 131st), Asaph the seer and his Asaphite descendants - twelve; Heman (87th), Etham (88th), the sons of Korah - eleven. The remaining psalms belong to unknown writers.

Often at the beginning of the psalms there are inscriptions that indicate:Content “prayer” (petitionary psalm), “praise” (praise psalm), “teaching” (edifying psalm), “repentance”On the way of writing: “pillar writing,” i.e. epigrammatic.On the method of execution , “psalm” - i.e. with accompaniment on a musical instrument-psalter; “song” - i.e. voice performance, vocal; “on string instruments;” “on the eight-string;” on a Gathian weapon” - i.e. on a zither; “about changeable” - i.e. with a change of instruments.

The Prophetic Side of the Psalms

Being a king and a prophet, and also to a certain extent a priest, King David prefigured the greatest King, Prophet and High Priest - Christ the Savior, a descendant of David in the flesh. The personal experience of King David, as well as the poetic gift that he possessed, gave him the opportunity, in a whole series of psalms, with hitherto unprecedented brightness and vividness to prophetically outline the personality and feat of the coming Messiah.

Here is a list of the most important prophetic psalms: about the coming of the Messiah: 17, 49, 67, 95-97. About the Kingdom of the Messiah: 2, 17, 19, 20, 44, 65, 71, 109, 131. About the priesthood of the Messiah: 109. About the suffering, death and resurrection of the Messiah: 15, 21, 30, 39, 40, 65, 68, 98:5 (40, 54 and 108 - about Judas the traitor). About the ascension of Christ into heaven: 23, 67. Christ - the foundation of the Church: 117. About the glory of the Messiah: 8. About the Last Judgment: 96. About the inheritance of eternal rest by the righteous: 94.

About reading the Psalter

The method of praying according to the Psalter is much more ancient than the Jesus Prayer or reading akathists. Before the advent of the Jesus Prayer, in ancient monasticism it was customary to read the Psalter in one’s mind (to oneself) by heart, and some monasteries accepted only those who knew the entire Psalter by heart. In Tsarist Russia, the Psalter was the most widespread book among the population.

Psalm is a refuge from demons, entry under the protection of Angels, a weapon in night insurance, peace from daytime labors, safety for babies, decoration in blooming age, comfort for the elderly, the most decent decoration for wives. The psalm inhabits the deserts, makes the marketplaces healthy. For newcomers this is the beginnings of learning, for those who succeed it is an increase in e denia, for the perfect – affirmation; this is the voice of the Church" ( Discourse on the first part of the first psalm).

About reading the Psalter for the departed

Reading the Psalter in memory of the departed brings them greater consolation, because... this reading is accepted by the Lord himself as a pleasant propitiatory sacrifice to cleanse the sins of those remembered. “The Psalter... prays to God for the whole world,” writes St. Basil the Great.

There is a custom to ask to read the Psalter in memory of the departed. But it will be more comforting for those commemorated if we ourselves read the Psalter, thereby, as it were, showing that we ourselves personally want to carry out the work in memory of the departed, and not replacing ourselves in this hard work with others. Such a feat of reading the Psalter will be not only a sacrifice to the Lord himself for those remembered, but also a sacrifice for the readers themselves. And, of course, the reader themselves receives from the word of God both greater consolation and greater edification, which can be lost if you entrust this good and godly work to others.

In the books for worship there are no precise instructions about the order of the private reading of the Psalter for the dead. If the Psalter is read only for remembrance, it is necessary after each “Glory...” and after each kathisma to offer a memorial prayer to the Lord. Various prayers, sometimes arbitrarily composed, are suitable for this. The practice of Ancient Rus' sanctified the use of the funeral troparion in this case

“Remember, O Lord, the soul of Your departed servant” or “Remember, O Lord, the soul of Your departed servant (Thy departed servant)”,

Moreover, during the reading of the troparion they bow, and the troparion itself is read three times. And also the reading of the Psalter for the repose begins with the reading of the canon for the many who have died or for the one who died, after reading which the reading of the Psalter begins. After reading all the psalms, the funeral canon is read again, then the reading of the first kathisma begins. This order continues throughout the reading of the Psalter for the repose.

Sections of the Psalter

The Psalter consists of 150 songs of psalms and glories, divided into 20 kathismas (kathismas). The division into kathismas is made in such a way that all kathismas are approximately the same length. Therefore, different kathismas contain different numbers of psalms. The 18th kathisma contains the most psalms; it includes 15 psalms (psalms 119-133), called “songs of degrees.” Kathisma 17, on the contrary, contains only one psalm, divided into 3 parts. This is Psalm 119. Each kathisma, in turn, is divided into three parts, called “articles” or “glories”. This second name comes from the doxology, which is usually read between glories. The word kathisma The name comes from the Greek word meaning "sitting", which refers to the practice of sitting in worship while reading kathisma

1. To read the Psalter, you must have a burning lamp (or candle) at home. It is customary to pray “without a light” only on the road, outside the home.

2. Psalter, on the advice of Rev. Seraphim of Sarov, it is necessary to read aloud - in an undertone or more quietly, so that not only the mind, but also the ear, listens to the words of the prayer (“Give joy and gladness to my hearing”).

3. Particular attention should be paid to the correct placement of stress in words, because a mistake can change the meaning of words and even entire phrases, and this is a sin.

4. You can read the psalms while sitting (the word “kathisma” translated into Russian means “that which is read while sitting”, in contrast to the word “akathist” - “not sitting”). You need to get up when reading the opening and closing prayers, as well as during the “Glories”.

5. The psalms are read monotonously, without expression, in a slightly chanting manner - dispassionately, because Our sinful feelings are unpleasant to God. Reading psalms and prayers with theatrical expression leads a person to a demonic state of delusion.

6. One should not be discouraged or embarrassed if the meaning of the psalms is not clear. The machine gunner does not always understand how the machine gun fires, but his task is to hit enemies. Regarding the Psalter, there is a statement: “You don’t understand—the demons understand.” As we mature spiritually, the meaning of the psalms will also be revealed.

King David - chief author of the Psalter

David, born a thousand years before the Nativity of Christ in Bethlehem, was the youngest son of the poor and large shepherd Jesse. Even in his early youth, as a shepherd, David began to compose inspired prayers to the Creator. When the prophet Samuel, sent by God, entered the house of Jesse to anoint a king for Israel, the prophet thought about anointing one of the eldest sons. But the Lord revealed to the prophet that the youngest son, still a very young man, David, was chosen by Him for this high service. Then, obeying God, Samuel pours sacred oil on the head of his youngest son, thus anointing him for the kingdom. From that time on, David became God’s anointed one - the messiah (the Hebrew word “messiah,” in Greek “Christ,” means anointed one).

But David does not immediately begin his actual reign. He still faces a long path of trials and unjust persecution from the then reigning king Saul, who hated David. The reason for this hatred was envy, since the youth David defeated the previously invincible Philistine giant Goliath with a small stone and thereby gave victory to the Jewish army. After this incident, the people said: “Saul defeated thousands, and David - tens of thousands.” Only strong faith in God the intercessor helped David endure all the numerous persecutions and dangers to which he was exposed from Saul and his servants for almost fifteen years. Wandering for months in the wild and impenetrable desert, King David poured out his grief to God in inspired psalms (see Psalms 7, 12, 13, 16, 17, 21, 39, 51, 53, 56, 58). The victory over Goliath is depicted by David in Psalm 43.

Having reigned in Jerusalem after the death of Saul, King David became the most prominent king to ever rule Israel. He combined many valuable qualities of a good king: love for the people, justice, wisdom, courage and, most importantly, strong faith in God. Before deciding any state issue, King David cried out to God with all his heart, asking for admonition. The Lord helped David in everything and blessed his 40-year reign with many successes. While ruling the kingdom, David made sure that the worship in the tabernacle was splendid, and for him he composed psalms, which were often sung by the choir, accompanied by musical instruments. Often David himself led religious holidays, offering sacrifices to God for the Jewish people and singing psalms (See his psalms about the transfer of the Ark: 14 and 23).

But David did not escape difficult trials. One day he was seduced by the beauty of a married woman, Bathsheba. King David mourned his sin in the famous 50th psalm of repentance. The most difficult sorrow for David was the military uprising led against him by his own son Absalom, who dreamed of becoming king prematurely. In this case, David experienced all the bitterness of the black ingratitude and betrayal of many of his subjects. But, as before under Saul, faith and trust in God helped David. Absalom died ingloriously, although David tried his best to save him. He pardoned the other rebels. David captured his emotional experiences in connection with the uprising of Absalom in the psalms: 4, 5, 6, 10, 24, 40-42, 54, 57, 60-63, 83, 140, 142.

With their poetic beauty and depth of religious feeling, David's psalms inspired the imitation of many subsequent psalmists. Therefore, although not all psalms were written by David, the name that is often given to the book of psalms is still correct: “The Psalter of King David.”

Name: Psalter in Church Slavonic
Pages: 152
Formats: pdf
Year of publication: 2007

Psaltirion, in Greek, is a stringed musical instrument, accompanied by which in ancient times prayer chants addressed to God were sung. The chants themselves therefore received the name psalms, and their collection began to be called the Psalter. The psalms were combined into one book in the 5th century BC. The Psalter was translated into the Slavic language from Greek by the holy brothers Equal-to-the-Apostles Methodius and Cyril, teachers of the Slavs, in the middle of the 9th century, as the Monk Nestor the Chronicler (died ca. 1114) mentions. The Psalter was first published in Slavic by typographical embossing from ancient manuscripts in Krakow in 1491.
In the Church of Christ, the Psalter has received especially wide use in worship. Among Christians, the liturgical use of the Psalter began already in apostolic times (1 Cor. 14:26; Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16). The Psalter served as the source for most of the evening and morning prayers. Psalms are included in almost every rite of Orthodox worship.
In Rus' the Psalter was widely distributed. It was of no small importance in the life of a Russian person: it was used both as a liturgical book and as an edifying book for home reading, and was also the main educational book.
In the Psalter of 150 psalms, part refers to the Savior - the Lord Jesus Christ; they are important in soteriological terms (soteriology is the doctrine of saving a person from sin). These psalms are called messianic (Messiah, from Hebrew, means Savior). There are messianic psalms in the literal and in the transformative sense. The first speak only about the coming Messiah - the Lord Jesus Christ (Ps. 2, 15, 21, 44, 68, 71, 109). The latter tell about the persons and events of the Old Testament (King and Prophet David, King Solomon, etc.), prefiguring the New Testament of the Lord Jesus Christ and His Church (Ps. 8, 18, 34, 39, 40, 67, 77, 96, 101 , 108, 116, 117). Psalm 151 is dedicated to the psalmist David. This psalm is found in the Greek and Slavic Bibles.
The Psalter was initially divided into five parts in relation to the ancient liturgical order. In the modern liturgical Charter of the Orthodox Church, it is customary to divide the Psalter, for convenience when using it during worship and in the home (cell) rule, into 20 sections - kathisma (kathisma), each of which is divided into three “Glories”, or articles. After each “Glory,” “Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, glory to Thee, O God!” is read three times.
Psalms are read in church every day during every morning and evening service. The entire Psalter is read during each week (that is, the week, and during Great Lent - twice during the week).
The home prayer rule is in deep prayer connection with church services: morning cell prayer, starting a new day, precedes the service and internally prepares the believer for it, evening prayer, ending the day, as it were, ends the church service. If a believer has not been to church for worship, he can include psalms in his home rule. The number of psalms may vary depending on the intentions and capabilities of the believer. In any case, the fathers and devotees of the Church invite the believer to read the psalms daily, considering it an indispensable condition
The spiritual benefits of reading and studying psalms are piety and purity of heart.

Those beginning their spiritual path in Orthodoxy naturally have a lot of questions about the terminology used in the ritual and prayerful practice of worship. “Kathisma” is also an important concept. By answering the question “What is this?”, one can take one more step in comprehending such a comprehensive truth as Faith in God.

Currently, there is a favorable background of increasing the population's adherence to Orthodoxy. This is objectively due to the overcoming of the “vacuum of faith” that was observed during several generations of the previous era of building a “bright future” (1917-1991) and the subsequent stage of redistribution of property in the “wild nineties”. The search for God among modern people is inevitable, because the dynamics of life imply undoubted dead ends and unexpected turns in overcoming a variety of obstacles and adversities.

And in this case, it is prayer that helps to maintain that spiritual comfort and peace, which, like a light in the darkness, helps to maintain the main guidelines in life. But for effective prayer one must follow the rules established from time immemorial. In this matter, it is important to begin reading such a liturgical book as the Psalter and understand the order of its reading (kathismas). Consequently, it turns out that the concept of “kathisma” is key in the order of prayer reading. That is why it is necessary to understand this issue at the very beginning of a long path of spiritual ascent.

What is kathisma?

So, kathisma is the liturgical section of the Psalter. Translation from the Greek language, where all Orthodox terminology originates, the word “kathisma” means “to sit.” This should be taken literally. That is, while reading kathisma at the service, you can take advantage of the relaxation and not stand on your feet. It should be said right away that there are twenty sections in the Psalter, which determine the order of reading kathismas. So, for example, the 17th kathisma consists of only one psalm 118 “Immaculate”, and the 18th consists of fifteen psalms (119-133).

Thus, the reading of the Psalter is carried out according to kathismas. And each part of the kathisma consists of “articles” or “gloves,” which are translated as “subsections” or “chapters.” Accordingly, each article or glory may include one or more psalms.

Order of reading kathismas

To connect the text of the kathisma with the invocation of prayer in the service reading, the first part of the doxology, pronounced by the reader, consists of the words: “Glory, even now. Amen". And the second part is pronounced by the singers on the choir. And the third part again ends with the reader: “Glory, even now. Amen". The alternating praise of God during the service creates that necessary atmosphere of connection between the natural and supernatural worlds, which symbolizes man and angels in their single impulse of unity with the Lord.

Taking “K – kathisma” and “P – psalms” as a short designation, we can imagine their structural structure using the example of the first and last (twentieth) kathisma: “K. I: P. 1-3 (first glory), P. 4-6 (second glory), P. 7-8 (third glory)” and “K. XX: P. 143-144 (first glory), P. 145-147 (second glory), P. 148-150 (third glory).”

In this context, one nuance should be noted. The fact is that the official (canonical) Psalter contains 150 psalms, but in the Greek and Slavic Bible there is the 151st psalm, written by a certain Levite living in the Qumran caves in epic times. It was the so-called Dead Sea Scrolls that resurrected it for the current generations of believers. This 151st psalm, if necessary, can be considered the final one to the twentieth kathisma.

It is important to know that the Charter of the Orthodox Church defines a very clear order for reading kathismas, which implies a weekly course of reading the Psalter. That is, on ordinary days of one week, all one hundred and fifty psalms of the Psalter (twenty kathismas) are recited in full. And during the period of Lent, this volume of reading doubles. Thus, during Lent, the Psalter is read twice in one week. There are special tables that indicate the day of the week and a list of kathismas intended for reading in Vespers and Matins. Moreover, the concept of “ordinary kathisma” refers to those kathismas that must be read on a given day according to the Charter.

When reading kathismas during the week, it should be taken into account that the week begins on Sunday. Moreover, at the evening service one kathisma is read, and at the morning service - two. According to the Charter, the Sunday evening kathisma (first) is read on Saturday evening, and if the All-Night Vigil falls on the eve of that day, this order is canceled. Since, according to the Charter, vigils are allowed on the eve of every Sunday, kathisma is not read on Monday supper.

Important points when reading kathismas

A special place is occupied by the seventeenth kathisma, which, together with the sixteenth, is read not on Friday, but on Saturday. This is due to the fact that it is recited at the Midnight Office. You should also know that, subject to the presence of polyeleos for the holiday (reading psalms 135-136), the reading of ordinary kathisma at vespers is already canceled to account for the glory of the first of them. Moreover, it is also said at Sunday Vespers.

During Great Holidays, the reading of kathismas at Vespers is canceled, except on Saturday evenings. In this case, the first kathisma is recited. This exception also applies to Sunday evening, when the first article of the kathisma is read. However, at Matins they are read even on the days of the Great Feasts of the Lord. But this rule does not apply to Easter week (the first week of Easter), since there is a special order of worship in this regard.

The special order of reciting kathismas during Lent involves reading the Psalter twice during the week. This volume of kathisma recitation implies reading at Vespers, Matins and at certain hours after special psalmody. In addition, it should be taken into account that, except for the fifth week, this order is carried out according to a clear schedule. But on Thursdays in the fifth week the canon of St. Andrew of Crete is served, and at Matins only one kathisma is read. In addition, during Holy Week the Psalter is read only from Monday to Wednesday and only once. Further, the kathismas are not recited, and only at Matins on Holy Saturday is the psalm “Immaculate” read with doxologies.

A special order of psalmody is provided for Bright Week. It is called “six psalms”, since instead of kathismas the following psalms are recited: 3, 37, 62, 87, 102, 142 (six in total). On this Great holiday, Christians have a solemn conversation with God himself, during which it is forbidden to sit and move.

Conclusion

To summarize all of the above, it should be understood that kathismas are a separate type of solemn chants, which differs from other types of prayer, which are recited in a calmer form. At home, kathisma is read with a burning lamp, and the words of the psalms must be pronounced better in a low voice, placing emphasis in a clear order. This must be done so that not only thoughts, but also the ears themselves can be immersed in miraculous prayer syllables.

It is also important to remember that reading kathismas can be done while sitting. However, during glories, as well as opening and closing prayers, it is imperative to stand on your feet. The words of the psalms are read without pathos or theatricality, in an even voice and somewhat intoned. And even when some words and phrases are not entirely clear, you should not get into a confused state, since the Tradition on this matter very definitely says: “You yourself may not understand, but the demons understand everything.” In addition, with constant reading and according to the degree of spiritual enlightenment, the entire meaning of the texts read will be revealed.

By the way, regarding the fifteenth kathisma, believers often wonder about the time of reading it. After all, among superstitious people there is an opinion that this particular kathisma is recited only if there is a deceased person in the house, and under other circumstances it can cause a lot of trouble. According to Orthodox priests, these speculations are clearly erroneous. And all kathismas can and should be read without any restrictions.