Prayer
For those unable to keep the full monastic offices, Seraphim gave a deliberately minimal rule: three Our Fathers, three Angelic Salutations, the Creed once — then the Jesus Prayer through the day’s work. Distinct from the longer Rule of the Theotokos.
Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Rejoice, O Virgin Theotokos, Mary full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, for thou hast borne the Savior of our souls.
I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the only-begotten, begotten of the Father before all ages; Light of Light, true God of true God; begotten, not made; of one essence with the Father; by Whom all things were made; Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and became man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered, and was buried; and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead; Whose kingdom shall have no end. And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life, Who proceedeth from the Father; Who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; Who spake by the prophets. In one Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins. I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.
Having kept the short rule in the morning (or whenever you can), Seraphim taught that one should turn to the Jesus Prayer in the midst of ordinary labor — walking, working, waiting — so that prayer is not confined to a corner of the day.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.
The Church’s appointed hymns for his feast — useful before or after the short rule.
Thou didst love Christ from thy youth, O blessed one, and longing to work for Him alone thou didst struggle in the wilderness in constant prayer and labor. With penitent heart and great love for Christ thou wast favored by the Mother of God. Wherefore we cry to thee: Save us by thy prayers, O venerable Father Seraphim.
Having left the beauty of the world and what is corrupt in it, O Saint, thou didst settle in the monastery of Sarov. And having lived there an angelic life, thou wast for many the way to salvation. Wherefore Christ has glorified thee, O Father Seraphim, and has enriched thee with the gift of healing and miracles. And so we cry to thee: Rejoice, O Seraphim, our heavenly intercessor.