The Orthodox Church calls all Christian believers to constant prayer. Of course, most often we pray for people close to us, relatives, friends. But there are situations when a person in need of prayer help has not been baptized in Orthodox Church. What then should be the prayer for the unbaptized living and deceased?

The importance of the Sacrament of Baptism for a person

The priest at the altar offers a bloodless sacrifice, symbolically representing the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. At this time, pieces are taken from the prosphoras for each name submitted for commemoration. These particles are then sent to the Chalice and become a great shrine - the Body of Christ.

Read about church rules:

If a person deliberately avoids baptism, then Christ’s sacrifice for him becomes meaningless. That is why, in order to participate in the Sacrament of Communion, and indeed in the fullness of the Liturgy, it is necessary to be baptized in church.

But what should we do if a person close to us, whose fate we care about, turns out to be unbaptized? He cannot be commemorated in church, but there are no obstacles to purely personal prayer. At home, in front of the home iconostasis, we can pray for all the people close to us, even if they have not been baptized.

Prayer for unbaptized babies

Prayer for children who have just recently been born and have not yet had time to be baptized also has its own characteristics. There is a tradition of baptizing children after the 40th day of birth, but in fact, the baby can be baptized as soon as it is born. So, if the mother had a difficult birth and the child is in danger, it is very advisable to baptize the baby as soon as possible. In many maternity hospitals and children's hospitals you can freely invite a priest, and in some places there is even operating temples on the territory of the medical institution.

Child Baptism

If the family decides to baptize the baby later, then all the time before the Sacrament is performed, they pray for the child in close connection with the mother. It is believed that at this time the mother and baby have one Guardian Angel for two, and only after Baptism does the child have his own.

You can pray for such children in church, but only the note indicates not the individual name of the baby, but the name of the mother with the note “with the child.” For example, if the mother’s name is Maria, then the note should be submitted as follows: “About the health of the slave Mary of God with the child." After Baptism, you can write in a note the name of the child himself with the postscript “baby”.

First prayer to Mother of God about children

O Most Holy Lady Virgin Theotokos, save and preserve under Your shelter my children (names), all youths, young women and infants, baptized and nameless and carried in their mother’s womb. Cover them with the robe of Your motherhood, keep them in the fear of God and in obedience to their parents, pray to my Lord and Your Son to grant them what is useful for their salvation. I entrust them to Your maternal supervision, for You are the Divine Protection of Your servants.

Mother of God, introduce me to the image of Your heavenly motherhood. Heal the mental and physical wounds of my children (names) caused by my sins. I entrust my child entirely to my Lord Jesus Christ and Your, Most Pure, heavenly protection. Amen.

Prayer for the unbaptized dead

Anyone Orthodox Christian It’s hard to realize that someone close to you died without becoming a full member of the Church of Christ. There is no point in becoming despondent; God’s Providence exists for such people as well. But sincere heartfelt prayer will help the soul of a deceased person, even if he did not have time to deeply know God.

Other articles about prayer for the repose:

Have mercy, O Lord, on the soul of Your servant (name), who passed into eternal life without Holy Baptism. Your destinies are unsearchable. Do not make this my prayer a sin for me. But Thy holy will be done.

Important! As is the case with people still living, notes with the names of unbaptized people cannot be submitted in church for commemoration.

The reason is the same - a person during his life, for one reason or another, did not have time to enter the Church of God. It is all the more important for such a soul that there is a person who remembers the deceased in his personal prayer at home. After all, the whole Church prays for baptized people at every liturgy, but only those who take on this burden in personal work pray for the unbaptized.

What kind of prayers to read for the unbaptized dead

IN Orthodox worship There is a special service - a requiem - during which all Orthodox Christians who have died since centuries are remembered. You can only submit notes about those who have managed to come to God and His Holy Church in their lives. However, this does not mean that everyone else should be left without prayerful remembrance.

Icon of the Holy Martyr Huar

Most often, they pray to the martyr Uar for the repose of the souls of unbaptized people. There is a specially compiled canon for this saint, who lived in the 3rd century and spent his entire life begging for those unfortunates who remained outside the protection of the Church of Christ. To this day, a sincere appeal to this ascetic brings great relief to souls after death.

Troparion, tone 4

Through the army of the saints, the passion-bearer who suffered legally, in vain, you showed your strength courageously. And having rushed to the passion of your will, and to die lustfully for Christ, who have accepted the honor of the victory of your suffering, Ouare, pray for our souls to be saved.

Kontakion, tone 4

Having followed Christ, the martyr Uare, having drunk His cup, and having been bound with the crown of torment, and rejoicing with the Angels, pray unceasingly for our souls

Prayer

Oh, venerable holy martyr Uare, kindled with zeal for the Lord Christ, you confessed the Heavenly King before the tormentor, and you suffered earnestly for Him, and now you stand before Him with the angels, and rejoice in the highest, and see clearly the Holy Trinity, and enjoy the light of the Beginning Radiance , remember also our relatives in languor, who died in wickedness, accept our petition, and like Cleopatrine, the unfaithful generation through your prayers from eternal torment You have freed us, so remember those who were buried against God, who died unbaptized, trying to ask for deliverance from eternal darkness, so that with one mouth and one heart we may all praise the Most Merciful Creator forever and ever. Amen.

Separately, for stillborn or unbaptized babies, you can pray with the prayer of Metropolitan Grigoir of Novgorod or Hieromonk Arseny of Athos. If such a misfortune occurs in a family, and a child dies before receiving the Sacrament of Baptism, then special prayer support is needed both for his soul and for his parents and family. In prayer and trust in God's Providence for each person, it will be easier to survive loss and grief.

Prayer of Metropolitan Gregory of Novgorod and St. Petersburg

Remember, O Lord who loves mankind, the souls of the departed servants of Your babies, who in the womb of Orthodox mothers died accidentally from unknown actions or from a difficult birth, or from some carelessness, and therefore did not receive the holy sacrament of Baptism! Baptize them, O Lord, in the sea of ​​Your bounties and save them with Your ineffable goodness.

It should be remembered that prayer is always work. And personal prayer without the support of the church is special work. Therefore, if we undertake to beg unbaptized people close to us, we must be prepared for various temptations and obstacles along this path. And only with God’s help and humility can this path be overcome.

Is it possible to pray for the unbaptized living?

The tradition of the Church brings to us a lot of evidence about the effectiveness of prayer for unbaptized people who do not belong to the Church.

One day Rev. Macarius of Egypt walked through the desert and saw a human skull lying on the ground. When the monk touched him with a palm stick, the skull spoke. The elder asked: “Who are you?” The skull replied: “I was a pagan priest of the idolaters who lived in this place.” He also said that when St. Macarius, having mercy on those who are in eternal torment, prays for them, then they receive some consolation. “As far as the sky is from the earth, there is as much fire under our feet and above our heads,” the skull said again, “We stand in the middle of the fire, and none of us is positioned so as to see our neighbor. But when you pray for us, each one sees the other’s face somewhat. This is our joy." After the conversation, the elder buried the skull in the ground.

For people who died without holy baptism or belonged to another denomination or faith, we cannot pray on Divine Liturgy and perform funeral services for them in the Church, but no one forbids us to pray for them in our personal home prayers. Those. During the Liturgy, you cannot pray at all for the unbaptized, neither out loud, nor even silently, because at this time the bloodless Eucharistic Sacrifice is offered, and it is offered only for members of the Church. Such remembrance is allowed only during a memorial service, silently, and never at the Liturgy.

The Venerable Leo of Optina, consoling his spiritual son Pavel Tambovtsev, whose father tragically died outside the Church, said: “ You shouldn't be overly sad. God, without comparison, loved and loves him more than you. This means that you can only leave the eternal fate of your parent to the goodness and mercy of God, Who, if He deigns to have mercy, then who can resist Him?». Great Elder gave Pavel Tambovtsev a prayer, which, having changed slightly, can be said for the unbaptized:

“Have mercy, O Lord, on the soul of Your servant (name), who passed into eternal life without Holy Baptism. Your destinies are unsearchable. Do not make this my prayer a sin for me. But Thy holy will be done."

This prayer can be used when reading the Psalter for the departed, reading it at every “Glory”.

Sedlec Ossuary in Kutna Hora (Czech Republic)

Another holy Optina elder, St. Joseph, later said that there is evidence of the fruits of this prayer. It can be read at any time (repeatedly throughout the day). You can also do it mentally in the temple. Alms given to those in need for the deceased help. It is good to pray to the Mother of God, reading the rosary “Virgin Mother of God, rejoice...” (as much as your strength allows: from 30 to 150 times a day). At the beginning and at the end of this rule, one must ask the Mother of God to help the soul of the deceased.

The Orthodox Church testifies that there is a Christian saint who has the special grace to pray for those who have died unbaptized. This is a victim in the 3rd century. St. Martyr Uar. There is a canon for this saint, in which the main content is a request to St. martyr to pray for the unbaptized. This canon and the prayer of St. Martyr Uar is read instead of those funeral prayers that the Church offers for the baptized.

Those close to the deceased (especially children and grandchildren - direct descendants) have a great opportunity to influence the afterlife fate of the deceased. Namely: to reveal the fruits of spiritual life (to live in the prayer experience of the Church, to participate in the Holy Sacraments, to live according to the commandments of Christ). Although the one who departed unbaptized did not himself show these fruits, but his children and grandchildren, he, too, is involved in them as a root or trunk.

And I would also like to say: loved ones should not lose heart, but do everything possible to help, remembering the mercy of the Lord and knowing that everything will be finally determined at the Judgment of God.

Priest Pavel Gumerov

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How to pray for the unbaptized?

The tradition of the Church brings to us a lot of evidence about the effectiveness of prayer for unbaptized people who do not belong to the Church.

One day Rev. Macarius of Egypt walked through the desert and saw a human skull lying on the ground. When the monk touched him with a palm stick, the skull spoke. The elder asked: “Who are you?” The skull replied: “I was a pagan priest of the idolaters who lived in this place.” He also said that when St. Macarius, having mercy on those who are in eternal torment, prays for them, then they receive some consolation. “As far as the sky is from the earth, so much fire is under our feet and above our heads,” the skull said again, “We stand in the middle of the fire, and none of us is positioned so as to see our neighbor. But when you pray for us, each one sees the other’s face somewhat. This is our joy." After the conversation, the elder buried the skull in the ground.

For people who died without holy baptism or belonged to another denomination or faith, we cannot pray at the Divine Liturgy and perform funeral services for them in the Church, but no one forbids us to pray for them in our personal home prayers.

The Venerable Leo of Optina, consoling his spiritual son Pavel Tambovtsev, whose father tragically died outside the Church, said: “You should not be overly sad. God, without comparison, loved and loves him more than you. This means that you can only leave the eternal fate of your parent to the goodness and mercy of God, who, if He deigns to have mercy, who can resist Him.” The great elder gave Pavel Tambovtsev a prayer, which, having been slightly modified, can be said for the unbaptized: “Have mercy, O Lord, on the soul of Thy servant (name), who passed into eternal life without Holy Baptism. Your destinies are unsearchable. Do not make this my prayer a sin for me. But Thy holy will be done.”

This prayer can be used when reading the Psalter for the departed, reading it at every “Glory”.

Another holy Optina elder, St. Joseph, later said that there is evidence of the fruits of this prayer. It can be read at any time (repeatedly throughout the day). You can also do it mentally in the temple. Alms given to those in need for the deceased help. It is good to pray to the Mother of God, reading the rosary “Virgin Mother of God, rejoice...” (as much as strength allows: from 30 to 150 times a day). At the beginning and at the end of this rule, one must ask the Mother of God to help the soul of the deceased.

Those close to the deceased (especially children and grandchildren - direct descendants) have a great opportunity to influence the afterlife fate of the deceased. Namely: to reveal the fruits of spiritual life (to live in the prayer experience of the Church, to participate in the Holy Sacraments, to live according to the commandments of Christ). Although the one who departed unbaptized did not himself show these fruits, but his children and grandchildren, he, too, is involved in them as a root or trunk.

And I would also like to say: loved ones should not lose heart, but do everything possible to help, remembering the mercy of the Lord and knowing that everything will be finally determined at the Judgment of God.

1) Questions are answered by clergy and teachers of the Kazan Theological Seminary.

About prayer for the unbaptized.

Remembrance unbaptized people not performed at Proskomedia and public worship.

Unfortunately, very often people come to church and, with tears in their eyes, ask if it is possible to remember deceased unbaptized relatives. The Church does not pray for the unbaptized, since these people did not enter the saving fence of the Church during their lives. Unbaptized people are dead members, cut off from the whole body of the Church. One can only regret them, but it is no longer possible to cure them.

We often hear reproaches that the Church acts cruelly towards the unbaptized dead, but among them there are very good and kind people. So what was stopping you? good people become members of the Church? Probably everyone had their reasons, but at the heart of it all lies a lack of faith in God. And this disbelief, the soul took with it to afterlife, where it no longer acquires new qualities.

At the same time, the Church does not forbid personal, home prayer for loved ones who died unbaptized, but only for the family! Naturally, the person praying needs to be a baptized Orthodox himself and to pray for an unbaptized relative, take a blessing from the priest.

The prayer for the unbaptized is based on an incident that occurred in Optina Hermitage. One day a student approached the Opinsky elder Leonid (+1841) with the question of whether it was possible to pray for his deceased father who committed suicide, and how. To which the elder replied: “Commit both yourself and the fate of your parent to the will of the Lord, all-wise and all-powerful. Pray to the Most Good Creator, thereby fulfilling the duty of love and the duties of a filial, virtuous and wise in spirit like this: “Seek, Lord, the lost soul of my father: If possible, have mercy! Your destinies are unsearchable. Do not make this my prayer a sin for me. But Thy holy will be done." Following the example of this prayer, you can pray for the unbaptized, as well as for the non-Orthodox or baptized, but apostatized from the faith.

The fact that the unbaptized can receive some relief through prayer is known from the life of St. Macarius of Egypt. One day, Saint Macarius, having encountered the skull of a dead pagan priest in the desert, entered into a conversation with him. The monk prayed a lot for the dead and therefore wanted to know the effect of prayers. “When you pray for the dead,” the skull answered, “we feel some kind of consolation.” This incident gives us hope that our prayers for the unfortunate who died unbaptized will bring them some consolation.

We should not forget about such an effective means of alleviating the fate of the dead as alms, which in these cases acquires special significance.

The merciful Lord allowed one of His saints to intercede before Him for the souls of the departed non-Orthodox. This saint is the martyr Uar, who accepted death for Christ in 307. Once, in a vision of blessed Cleopatra, the saint told her that for her good deeds he begged God to forgive the sins of all her deceased pagan relatives. Since then, Orthodox Christians have turned to the martyr Uar in prayer to intercede with the Lord for their relatives and friends who died unbaptized into the Orthodox faith.

Prayer to the holy martyr Huar

O holy martyr Uare, venerable, we kindle with zeal for the Lord Christ, you confessed the Heavenly King before the tormentor, and for Him you suffered zealously, and now the Church honors you, as glorified by the Lord Christ with the glory of Heaven, Who has given you the grace of great boldness towards Him, and now you stand before Him with the Angels, and rejoice in the Highest, and see clearly the Holy Trinity, and enjoy the light of the Beginning Radiance, remember also our relatives' yearning, who died in wickedness, accept our petition, and like Cleopatrine, you freed the unfaithful race from eternal torment by Your prayers , so remember those who were buried in opposition to God, who died unbaptized, striving to ask for deliverance from eternal darkness, so that with one mouth and one heart we may all praise the Most Merciful Creator forever and ever. Amen.

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2) Priest Valentin Ulyakhin, Doctor of Economics, has been serving in the Church of the Holy Trinity on Pyatnitskaya for many years. This temple is also notable for the fact that every week a prayer service to St. martyr Uaru - prayers are offered to the Lord for those dearest who died unbaptized. It is difficult to imagine how heavy the burden of human grief falls on the priest’s shoulders. But Father Valentin has a kind, encouraging word for everyone.

In the Holy Trinity Church on Pyatnitskaya Street in Moscow there is an icon of the martyr Uar, where every Saturday they pray for relief of the fate of the unbaptized dead, people come from afar, from the outskirts of vast Russia, because this is the only temple in Moscow where it is performed with the blessing His Holiness Patriarch Prayer service to the martyr Uar. There is a canon to the martyr Uar, there are prayers that have their own history. There are people who doubt the possibility of praying for the unbaptized. Moreover, sometimes you can find in the press the opinion that you should under no circumstances pray for the unbaptized. From a formal point of view, we cannot and should not pray for the unbaptized; we cannot perform a funeral service, or commemorate them at memorial services, and under no circumstances commemorate them at a proskomedia. But surprisingly, in the Holy Tradition the life of the martyr Uar gives, nevertheless, such an opportunity to pray to Uar for the unbaptized.

The relics of Huar were found by a certain lady Cleopatra, who built a temple over his relics and prayed for her unbaptized deceased son and the Lord Himself came to her along with Uar, thus, on a mystical level, it was confirmed that her prayer reached the Lord, and the Lord eased the fate of her unbaptized son.

They often come to Trinity Church to pray for the unbaptized, and they pray with tears. Sometimes you ask, “You pray with such zeal, do you have any consolation after this prayer?” And many people tell me that in a thin light sleep the souls of the unbaptized come, communicate with their relatives, ask them to pray and say that the prayer is heard by God, that they feel better. And this is precisely what the canon to the martyr Uar is about, that it is possible to alleviate the lot of the unbaptized and this is confirmed by practice. There were cases when they didn’t know whether a person was baptized or not, and then the soul came and reported that baptism had taken place and it was possible to perform the funeral service according to the rules. This applied in particular to many soldiers who died and were thought to be unbaptized. But they were baptized before the war by monks who lived secretly in Soviet Russia during those years. And when they questioned distant relatives, it actually turned out that the person had been baptized. Such cases also happen repeatedly.

When people of different classes, different ranks gather, they are all equal in one thing - in their love for those who gave them life. And turning to Christ, accepting the sacrament of the Church, preparing for this sacrament, and some for the first time cross the threshold of the temple to pray for their unbaptized relatives, they may never have come if the Lord, through his martyr Uar, had not called them. And so they go to the temple and in prayer to Uaru they open their souls, they come to know the love of God, they feel better. And they continue on their arduous path to God, they become churchgoers. And now the parish of the Trinity Church on Pyatnitskaya Street consists of ¾ of those people who began their churching with a prayer to the martyr Uar for the unbaptized. This confirms that the Lord Himself blesses. Indeed, canonically we cannot pray, but Holy Tradition allowed this. A Sacred Tradition has no less, and even greater, significance than the Holy Scriptures. Orthodox Christians accept Holy Tradition as their source Holy Scripture. And the practice of prayers to the martyr Uar confirms that this prayer is saving, saving, first of all, for the living and those who cross the threshold of the temple. And what leads them is love, love for their relatives. But God is love, which means God leads them, which means the Lord himself blesses them.
(abbreviated from

Despite the church's ambiguous attitude towards lost souls, prayer for the unbaptized dead also works. Many clergy note that any person is worthy of the Lord’s protection.

However, it is known that the church rejects unbaptized souls as such, prohibiting the ordering of liturgies for a deceased person who refused to enter the fold of Orthodoxy. You can only take advantage of the opportunity to read a private prayer for the deceased, being outside the influence of the church.

Prayers for the unbaptized deceased can be offered to anyone who wants to give them well-deserved peace in another world.

Praying for departed soul You provide support not only for the deceased, but also for yourself. The power of prayer allows you to reduce the degree of grief for a worthy person who occupied a significant place in your life.

Scientists also note the need to offer prayers. According to one of existing theories, prayer has a special effect on the consciousness of everyone who reads it, due to the presence of a special combination of sounds. Neurolinguistic programming reveals the amazing properties of prayers for an unbaptized soul, used by thousands of people for centuries.

You can read a huge amount on the Internet. real cases, when thanks to prayers the lot of unbaptized people actually improved, who then appeared with gratitude in dreams to to a loved one who lifted her up. It happens that the deceased appear in a dream and ask loved ones to pray for them in order to find peace. Don't be afraid of this. If you also have such dreams, do not refuse the deceased: this is the least you can do for him.

Pray to our God for the lost

But who should pray for the souls of the departed who have not received Orthodox baptism? Church workers note that it is possible not only for saints, but even for the Lord our God to pray for the unbaptized. The prayers offered will certainly reach the addressee, because everyone who has lived righteously earthly life, has the right to God's forgiveness and protection.

You can even pray for people who have apostatized from the faith, converted to another religion, or originally represented it. By the way, in the Orthodox Church there is still no consensus on whether Catholics should be considered baptized Christians or not.

There are many legends about the holy martyr Huar, the patron saint of the lost. According to church sources, he once appeared to a believer named Cleopatra, claiming to have asked for forgiveness of the sins of all her deceased ancestors. Hence, Christians began to ask Uar for forgiveness of sins for the unbaptized dead.

During his lifetime, Uar was famous for many good deeds. Having the ability to help unfortunate Christians imprisoned for their faith, he tried in every possible way to alleviate their lot.

Heaven help everyone

It is possible and necessary to offer prayers for the unbaptized dead, because it is easier for the soul of the deceased when it is remembered at the icon. And even if it is an icon at the home altar, it does not matter to the deceased.

There are prayers:

For the unbaptized to God:

Prayer of Leo Optinsky

“Seek, O Lord, the lost soul of my father: if it is possible, have mercy! Your destinies are unsearchable. Do not make this my prayer a sin for me. But Thy holy will be done."

For unbaptized souls to the holy martyr Huar:

Prayer to the holy martyr Huar

“Oh, the venerable holy martyr Uare, we kindle with zeal for the Lord Christ, you confessed the Heavenly King before the tormentor, and now the Church honors you, as glorified by the Lord Christ with the glory of Heaven, Who has given you the grace of great boldness towards Him, and now you stand before Him with the Angels , and in the highest you rejoice, and clearly see the Holy Trinity, and enjoy the light of the Beginning Radiance: remember also our relatives in languor, who died in wickedness, accept our petition, and like Cleopatrine, you freed the unfaithful generation with your prayers from eternal torment, so remember the people buried against God, those who died unbaptized (names), trying to ask for deliverance from eternal darkness, so that we may all praise the Most Merciful Creator with one mouth and one heart forever and ever. Amen."

The power of faith - works under any circumstances

The Church prohibits ordering liturgies for the unbaptized, however, those who wish can take advantage of the power of private prayer said outside the church. But be careful: there is an opinion that the unbaptized have made their choice, and by praying for their souls addressed to the great martyrs, you can harm yourself.

Conduct prayer services whenever you want.

Words must fully correspond to your desires, only then will they come true. In addition, one more condition must be strictly observed - Faith. Availability sincere faith is capable of performing real miracles, giving peace to the unbaptized deceased and the living on Earth.

Video: Prayer for the unbaptized dead