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Oratio secunda

SECOND PRAYER OF JOHN CHRYSOSTOM.

63.923 O Lord my God, great and awesome and glorious, creator of all creation, visible and intelligible, who keepest thy covenant and thy mercy for those who love thee and keep thy commandments; both now and always I thank thee for all thy benefactions toward me, manifest and unmanifest. And until now I praise and glorify and magnify thee, because thou hast shown wonderfully upon me thy rich mercies and thy compassions, having taken me up from my mother's womb, and having provided for all things, and having preserved and governed my affairs holily through thy goodness and love for mankind alone. For not on account of my unworthiness and passion didst thou overlook my lowliness, but on account of thy love for mankind and compassion, thou didst not cease to do good and provide; And until old age and grey hairs, O my God, do not abandon me, Jesus Christ, the beautiful name, my sweetness, and my desire, and my hope; who became man for our sake, and endured death on the cross, and in wisdom didst manage and arrange all things for the sake of our salvation. I confess to thee, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, I bend the knee of body and soul, declaring to thee my God all my sins. Incline thine ear also to my supplication, and forgive the impiety of my heart. I have sinned, I have transgressed, I have done wrong, I have provoked, I have embittered my good Master and nurturer and guardian; there is no form of wickedness, spoken or unspoken, which I have not done both in deed and word, and in knowledge and in ignorance, and in thoughts and intentions, having sinned exceedingly beyond measure; and having often promised to repent, just as often I have fallen into the same things.

More easily will the drops of rain be numbered than the multitude of my sins; for they have gone over my head, and like a heavy burden they have been weighted down. For from my youth and until now, having opened a door to unseemly desires, I have used unbridled and disorderly impulses, defiling the tunic woven from above of my holy baptism, staining the temple of my body, polluting my wretched soul with the passions of dishonor 63.924, and having committed every other transgression and injustice; of which if I should wish to recall them in detail, time would fail me in the telling. But since thou thyself knowest all things (for there is no creature that is not manifest in thy sight, but all things are naked and laid open to thine eyes), what need is there to say to one who knows what is not unknown by thee? But my heart is crushed and the bones of my soul, and I am wholly plunged into a depth of despair, remembering that having sinned so greatly and so much, I have not shown even a small work of repentance; and the time of cutting is near, and the appointment of death is at hand, but the time for repentance is nowhere. For this reason my soul is troubled, and is full of pain and dejection; for being unready and unprepared, and considering and examining my own affairs, I find nothing sufficient for a defense, nor any way and means by which I shall be delivered from the eternal fire. For if the righteous man is scarcely saved, where shall I, a sinner, appear? And if through many tribulations the kingdom of heaven is inherited by the worthy, and the way of life is narrow and afflicted, how shall I, who live in luxury and wantonness continually, be deemed worthy of salvation? And if all the righteousness of man is as a filthy rag, this great mire

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Oratio secunda

ΕΥΧΗ ∆ΕΥΤΕΡΑ ΙΩΑΝΝΟΥ ΤΟΥ ΧΡΥΣΟΣΤΟΜΟΥ.

63.923 Κύριε ὁ Θεός μου, ὁ μέγας καὶ φοβερὸς καὶ ἔνδοξος, ὁ πάσης ὁρωμένης καὶ

νοουμένης κτίσεως δημιουργὸς, ὁ φυλάσσων τὴν διαθήκην σου καὶ τὸ ἕλεός σου τοῖς ἀγαπῶσί σε καὶ φυλάσσουσι τὰ προστάγματά σου· καὶ νῦν καὶ πάντοτε εὐχαριστῶ σοι πασῶν ἕνεκα τῶν εἰς ἐμὲ γενομένων εὐεργεσιῶν σου φανερῶν καὶ ἀφανῶν. Καὶ μέχρι τοῦ νῦν αἰνῶ καὶ δοξάζω καὶ μεγαλύνω σε, ἀνθ' ὧν ἐθαυμάστωσας ἐπ' ἐμοὶ τὰ ἐλέη σου τὰ πλούσια καὶ τοὺς οἰκτιρμούς σου, ἀντιλαβόμενός μου ἐκ γαστρὸς μητρός μου, καὶ ἐπὶ πᾶσι προνοησάμενος, συντηρήσας τε καὶ διακυβερνήσας ὁσίως τὰ κατ' ἐμὲ διὰ μόνην χρηστότητα καὶ φιλανθρωπίαν σου. Οὐ γὰρ διὰ τὸ ἀνάξιόν μου καὶ ἐμπαθὲς ὑπερεῖδες τὴν ἐμὴν ταπείνωσιν, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὸ φιλάνθρωπόν σου καὶ συμπαθὲς εὐεργετῶν καὶ προνοούμενος οὐ διέλειπες· Καὶ ἕως γήρως καὶ πρεσβείου ὁ Θεός μου μὴ ἐγκαταλίπῃς με, Ἰησοῦ Χριστὲ, τὸ καλὸν ὄνομα, ὁ γλυκασμός μου, καὶ ἡ ἐπιθυμία μου, καὶ ἡ ἐλπίς μου· ὁ ἐνανθρωπήσας δι' ἡμᾶς, καὶ τὸν διὰ σταυροῦ θάνατον ὑπομείνας, καὶ πάντα ἐν σοφίᾳ οἰκονομήσας καὶ διαθέμενος τῆς ἡμῶν ἕνεκα σωτηρίας. Ἐξομολογοῦμαί σοι, Κύριε ὁ Θεός μου, ἐν ὅλῃ καρδίᾳ μου, κλίνω γόνυ σώματος καὶ ψυχῆς, ἐξαγορεύων σοὶ τῷ Θεῷ μου πάσας τὰς ἁμαρτίας μου. Κλῖνον καὶ αὐτὸς τὸ οὗς σου εἰς τὴν ἐμὴν δέησιν, καὶ ἄφες τὴν ἀσέβειαν τῆς καρδίας μου. Ἥμαρτον, ἠνόμησα, ἐπλημμέλησα, παρώξυνα, παρεπίκρανα τὸν ἐμὸν ἀγαθὸν ∆εσπότην καὶ τροφέα καὶ κηδεμόνα· οὐκ ἔστιν εἶδος κακίας ῥητὸν ἢ ἄῤῥητον, ὃ οὐκ ἐποίησα καὶ ἔργῳ καὶ λόγῳ, καὶ γνώσει καὶ ἀγνοίᾳ, καὶ ἐνθυμήμασι καὶ νοήμασι, καθ' ὑπερβολὴν εἰς ὑπερβολὴν ἁμαρτήσας· καὶ πολλάκις μετανοεῖν ὑποσχόμενος, τοσαυτάκις τοῖς αὐτοῖς περιέπεσα.

Εὐκοπώτερον σταγόνες ὑετοῦ ἀριθμηθήσονται, ἢ τῶν ἐμῶν ἁμαρτημάτων ἡ πληθύς· ὑπερῆραν γὰρ τὴν κεφαλήν μου, καὶ ὡσεὶ φορτίον βαρὺ ἐβαρύνθησαν. Ἀπὸ γὰρ νεότητός μου καὶ μέχρι τοῦ νῦν ταῖς ἀτόποις ἐπιθυμίαις θύραν ἀνοίξας, ἀχαλινώτοις καὶ ἀτάκτοις ἐχρησάμην ὁρμαῖς, μολύνας τὸν χιτῶνα τὸν ἄνωθεν ὑφαντὸν τοῦ ἁγίου μου βαπτίσματος, τὸν ναόν μου τοῦ σώματος κηλιδώσας, τὴν ταλαίπωρόν μου ψυχὴν τοῖς πάθεσι τῆς ἀτιμίας 63.924 καταμιάνας, καὶ πᾶσαν ἄλλην παρανομίαν καὶ ἀδικίαν διαπραξάμενος· ὧν ἐὰν κατὰ μέρος ἐπιμνησθῆναι θελήσω, ἐπιλείψει με διηγούμενον ὁ χρόνος. Ἐπεὶ δὲ πάντα οἶδας αὐτὸς (οὐδὲ γάρ ἐστι κτίσις ἀφανὴς ἐνώπιόν σου, πάντα δὲ γυμνὰ καὶ τετραχηλισμένα τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς σου), τί δεῖ πρὸς εἰδότα λέγειν τὰ μὴ ἀγνοούμενα παρὰ σοῦ; Ἐμοῦ δὲ συντρίβεται ἡ καρδία καὶ τὰ ὀστᾶ τῆς ψυχῆς, καὶ ὅλος εἰς ἀπορίας καταδύομαι βάθος, ἐνθυμούμενος ὅτι τηλικαῦτα καὶ τοσαῦτα ἡμαρτηκὼς, οὐδὲ μικρόν τι μεταμελείας ἔργον ἐνεδειξάμην· καὶ ὁ καιρὸς τῆς τομῆς ἐγγὺς, καὶ ἡ προθεσμία τοῦ θανάτου παρέστηκεν, ὁ δὲ τῆς μετανοίας καιρὸς οὐδαμοῦ. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο τετάρακται ἡ ψυχή μου, καὶ κατώδυνός ἐστι καὶ κατηφείας πλήρης· ἀνέτοιμος γὰρ καὶ ἀπαράσκευος ὢν, διαλογιζόμενός τε καὶ ἀνακρίνων τὰ κατ' ἐμαυτὸν, οὐδὲν ἱκανὸν πρὸς ἀπολογίαν εὑρίσκω, οὐδέ τινα τρόπον καὶ μηχανὴν, δι' ὧν τοῦ αἰωνίου πυρὸς ῥυσθήσομαι. Εἰ γὰρ ὁ δίκαιος μόλις σώζεται, ὁ ἁμαρτωλὸς ἐγὼ ποῦ φανοῦμαι; Καὶ εἰ διὰ πολλῶν θλίψεων ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν τοῖς ἀξίοις κατακληροῦται, καὶ στενὴ καὶ τεθλιμμένη ἡ ὁδὸς τῆς ζωῆς, πῶς ἐγὼ καθηδυπαθῶν καὶ ἀκολασταίνων διαπαντὸς τῆς σωτηρίας ἀξιωθήσομαι; Καὶ εἰ πᾶσα δικαιοσύνη ἀνθρώπου, ὡς ῥάκος ἀποκαθημένης, ὁ τοσοῦτος βόρβορος