The priest named the main prayer of the feast of the Ascension of the Lord

The deepest prayers on the day of the Ascension of the Lord are not related to earthly requests — they are aimed at the ascension of one's own mind and heart. This was reported to Izvestia by the rector of the church of the Apostle and Evangelist Luke in Tver, Anthony Rusakevich.

"On this day, they ask God for the gift of realizing the greatness that our human nature, perceived by Christ, has already been glorified above the angelic ranks. The main prayer is that, having passed the path of repentance and living according to the Gospel, at the end of time we will be worthy not to remain on earth, but to be "caught up in the clouds" to meet the Lord, Who will come in the same way as he ascended," the priest emphasized.

According to him, this is a prayer for courage and for the firm belief that Christ has not left the world, but remains in the Church, and that our daily lives, even on an ordinary working Thursday, become an incessant anticipation of His victory.

The Ascension of the Lord is celebrated this year on May 21. If a believer does not have the opportunity to visit a temple on this day, he can independently read the holiday texts at home.

"At the center of the household prayer rule on this day are the main hymns: the troparion "Thou art ascended in glory, O Christ our God..." and the kontakion "Having fulfilled the vision for us...", which in a concentrated form express the essence of the holiday — the joy of the disciples and the promise of the inseparable presence of the Savior. One can add to them the reading of the gospel description of the event — in the Gospel of Luke (24:50-51) or in Acts (1:9-11), turning the house into a place of jubilant prayer, similar to the Upper Room of Zion," Father Anthony noted.

Read more in the Izvestia article:

Powerful prayers for the Ascension of the Lord: words that are sure to reach heaven