St. Partheny of Kiev St. Partheny (Krasnopevtsev), born in 1792, came from a poor family in the Tula Province. After graduating from seminary, he entered the Kiev Caves Lavra in 1819, where he lived a life of humility and prayer despite suffering severe headaches for over thirty years.
Tonsured as a monk in 1824 and ordained a hieromonk in 1829, he served as spiritual father to the brotherhood and ministered in various Lavra churches. Known for his deep spiritual wisdom, he helped many repentant souls. In 1838, he accepted the Great Schema and intensified his prayer life, often retreating to the forest for solitude.
St. Partheny reposed on March 25, 1855, while preparing the church for services. He was buried in the Church of the Icon of the Life-Giving Spring, which was destroyed in the 1930s. His holy relics remain buried there.
His Daily Prayer already exists in English. Below we offer a translation of his Instructions, Sayings, and Prayer at the Hour of Death (along with the Daily Prayer, for completeness).—Trans.
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Instructions
It’s extremely dangerous to follow our own thoughts and reasoning in the matter of salvation. Our mind is the limited eye of the flesh, which can only see and manage external and material affairs; but we must entrust the higher paths to God Himself through our Father and Teacher, and following His reasoning in all things.
Our human will is only to wish for good and to seek the means to do it. The doer and perfector of all God is good, but evil comes from us.
Beware of judging others, and so as not to fall into this temptation of the tongue, refrain from scrutinizing the deeds of others.
Even for all his efforts, without God’s help, man can control neither his external life nor the state of his soul. Without God, he can’t do anything at all.
Embracing poverty and non-acquisitiveness prepares great treasures for the soul.
Unspeakable benefits come from solitude, only it must be united with prayer.
Anger, vanity, or arrogance and condemnation of our neighbor must be driven out by the grace of the Holy Spirit.
Purity of body and mind can only be acquired through prayer and the mind’s striving for God; the coming of the Holy Spirit burns away and destroys all passions.
Guarding purity of body must be accompanied by guarding purity of thought.
Sayings
The loss of grace is more terrible than all other losses.
The closer you draw to God, the more strongly the enemy will grasp at you.
We must never follow our own thought, even if it’s good, but rather test it with time.
Our desires and intentions are scattered like dust. Thus, we must forever surrender to the will of our Guide.
Whoever has acquired the fear of God has neither sorrow nor joy on earth.
To avoid disturbance and preserve the spirit of prayer, avoid all kinds of conversations and visitations, preferring solitude above all else, and contemplate death more often.
The soul that seeks salvation and knows its own weakness must hate the honor received from men.
To achieve perfect purity, have no attachments, even spiritual, neither to men nor to things. Love everyone with a perfect love, as your very self, but without partiality; that is, don’t desire the presence or sight of loved ones and don’t take pleasure in the thought of them.
Anyone who hasn’t reached the measure of perfection but starts teaching others will destroy even what he had.
Only what the Lord has determined will come to pass.
Do everything contrary to the will of the flesh: When you want to lie down more comfortably, force yourself to do the opposite; when you want to recline—don’t; and do this with everything.
You have to force yourself to prayer and all good things, even when you don’t want to.
To receive the Holy Spirit, you have to exhaust the flesh; give the flesh and receive the Spirit
Every blessed soul is simple, just, merciful, kind—not proud, not spiteful, not haughty, not prying, but temperate and God-fearing.
Evil sticks to us like a contagious disease. If you frequently associate with a gossip, a slanderer, a lover of the world—you will imperceptibly fall into the same vices. And conversely, if you more often associate with a spiritual man of prayer, those same virtues will flow into you.
Even the possessions of an impure and passionate man are infected with passions; don’t touch them, don’t use them.
Don’t tell others about your asceticism and prayer rule. Even if it’s not out of vainglory, it will deprive you of the gift you’d acquired.
A monk should live alone—just him and the Lord. A monk loves all people, but finds it wearisome to be with them, because they draw him away from God.
It’s impossible to endure solitude without prayer, and it’s impossible to acquire prayer without solitude. True prayer takes root in the soul and is performed by the spirit.
No one returns to his cell the same as he left it.
The holy are perfected through afflictions.
It’s good to be with God anywhere, but without Him even Heaven and Hell are boring.
Reading the Psalter tames the passions, and reading the Gospel burns the thorns of our sins, for the word of God is a consuming fire. Once, for forty days, I read the Gospel for the salvation of the soul of a man who had done good to me, and I saw in a dream a field covered with thorns. Suddenly fire fell from Heaven, burned up the thorns covering the field, and the field remained clean. As I puzzled over this vision, I heard a voice: “The thorns covering the field are the sins of the soul that did good to you; the fire that burned them is the word of God, which you’ve read for him.”
Read the Passion Gospels when the occasion arises, especially in times of sorrow.
Silence gathers but talk scatters.
May God’s blessing, the protection of our undoubted hope the Theotokos, and the help of the wonderworkers of the Kiev Caves be upon you, my spiritual child.
Daily Prayer of St. Partheny of Kiev
(from orthodox.net)
St. Partheny of Kiev Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, do not permit vanity, self-love, sensuality, carelessness, or anger to rule over me and steal me from Thy love, O my Lord and Creator, all my hope!
Do not leave me without a portion of the blessed eternity.
Grant also that I may follow Thy Holy example, that I may submit to the authorities placed over me.
Grant me a clean soul and simplicity of heart, which makes us worthy of Thy love.
To Thee, my God, I lift up my soul and heart; do not allow Thy creation to perish, but free me from the single and greatest enemy, sin.
Grant, Lord, that I may endure anxiety and sorrows of the soul with the same patience as the joy with which I receive satisfaction of heart.
If Thou desirest, Lord, Thou canst cleanse me and sanctify me.
Here I commit myself to Thy mercy, begging Thee to destroy within me all that is offensive to Thee, and to unite me to the assembly of Thy chosen.
Lord, take from me: idleness of spirit, which destroys time; vanity of thoughts, which hinders Thy presence and distracts my attention to prayer.
If, while in prayer, I turn away from Thee in my thoughts, help me; so that this distraction may not be willful, and that—averting my mind—I may not avert my heart from Thee.
I confess to Thee, my Lord God, all the sins of my wickedness committed before Thee, now and in the past. Forgive me for them, for the sake of Thy Holy Name, and save my soul, which thou hast redeemed with Thy precious Blood.
I entrust myself to Thy mercy. I submit to Thy will. Do with me according to Thy mercy and not according to my evil and wickedness.
Teach me Lord, to dispose my deeds such that they will serve in glorifying Thy Holy Name.
Take pity, O Lord, on all Christians. Hear the desires of all who cry out to Thee, and deliver them from evil.
Save Thy servants [insert names]. Send them comfort, consolation in sorrows, and Thy holy mercy.
Lord, I especially pray for those who have in anyway insulted, abused and grieved me. Do not punish them for the sake of me, a sinner; but pour Thy mercy upon them.
Lord, I pray to thee especially for all those whom I, a sinner, insulted or tempted in word, deed, thought, knowingly and unknowingly.
Lord God, forgive us our sins and mutual offenses.
Dispel from our hearts, O Lord, all indignation, suspicion, anger, remembrance of evil, quarrels, and all that might hinder and lessen brotherly love.
Be merciful Lord, to those who have entrusted me, an unworthy sinner, to pray for them.
Be merciful Lord, to all who ask Thy help. Lord, make this day a day of Thy mercy; give to each according to their petition.
Be the Shepherd of the lost, the Guide of Light of unbelievers, the Teacher of the unwise, the Father of orphans, the Helper of the oppressed, the Healer of the sick, the Comforter of the dying, and lead us all to the desired end, to Thee, our refuge and blessed repose. Amen.
A Prayer at the Hour of Death
1. When I, oppressed by illness, sense the approach of the end of my earthly existence: Lord, have mercy on me.
2. When my poor heart, in its final beats, languishes and suffers the agonies of death: Lord, have mercy on me.
3. When my eyes stream tears for the last time at the thought that throughout my life I have offended Thee, O God, with my sins: Lord, have mercy on me.
4. When the rapid beating of my heart hastens the departure of my soul: Lord, have mercy on me.
5. When the deathly pallor of my face and my body growing cold strike fear in those dear to me: Lord, have mercy on me.
6. When my sight grows dim and my voice is cut off, when my tongue turns to stone: Lord, have mercy on me.
7. When terrible phantoms and visions drive me to despair of Thy mercy: Lord, have mercy on me.
8. When my soul, struck by the memory of my transgressions and fear of Thy judgment, grows faint in the struggle with the enemies of my salvation who strive to drag me into the realm of darkness and torment: Lord, have mercy on me.
9. When the sweat of death covers me, and my soul separates from my body with painful suffering: Lord, have mercy on me.
10. When the darkness of death veils all the things of this world from my clouded eyes: Lord, have mercy on me.
11. When all sensation ceases in my body, my veins grow numb, and my muscles turn to stone: Lord, have mercy on me.
12. When human voices and earthly sounds no longer reach my ears: Lord, have mercy on me.
13. When my soul stands before Thy face, O God, awaiting Thy judgment: Lord, have mercy on me.
14. When I stand to hear the righteous verdict of Thy judgment, which determines my eternal fate: Lord, have mercy on me.
15. When my body, abandoned by my soul, becomes prey to worms and decay, and finally all my substance turns to a handful of dust: Lord, have mercy on me.
16. When the trumpet’s voice awakens all at Thy Second Coming and the book of my deeds is opened: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, Thy sinful servant (name). Into Thy hands, O Lord, do I commit my spirit. Amen.
