LITTLE COMPLINE
LITTLE COMPLINE
Through the prayers of our holy fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy upon us and save
us. Amen.
Glory to thee, our God, glory to thee.
O heavenly King, Comforter, the Spirit of truth, who art everywhere present and fillest all things,
the Treasury of good things and Giver of Life: Come, and abide in us, and cleanse us from every
stain, and save our souls, O good One.
Trisagion Prayers
Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us.
(three times)
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and unto ages of
ages. Amen.
All-holy Trinity, have mercy on us. Lord, cleanse us from our sins. Master, pardon our iniquities.
Holy God, visit and heal our infirmities for thy name’s sake.
Lord, have mercy. (three times)
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and unto ages of
ages. Amen.
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.
Through the prayers of our holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy upon us and save
us. Amen.
Lord, have mercy. (twelve times)
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and unto ages of
ages. Amen.
O come, let us worship and fall down before God our King. (metania)
O come, let us worship and fall down before Christ our King and our God. (metania)
O come, let us worship and fall down before the Very Christ our King and our God. (metania)
Psalm 50
Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy great mercy; and according to the multitude of thy
compassions blot out my transgression. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity and cleanse me
from my sin. For I know mine iniquity, and my sin is ever before me. Against thee only have I
sinned and done this evil before thee, that thou mightest be justified in thy words, and prevail when
thou art judged. For behold, I was conceived in iniquities, and in sins did my mother bear me. For
behold, thou hast loved truth; the hidden and secret things of thy wisdom has though made manifest
unto me. Thou shalt sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be made clean; thou shalt wash me, and
I shall be made whiter than snow. Thou shalt make me to hear joy and gladness; the bones that be
humbled, they shall rejoice. Turn thy face away from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy
presence, and take not thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, and with
thy governing Spirit establish me. I shall teach transgressors thy ways, and the ungodly shall turn
back unto thee. Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation; my tongue
shall rejoice in thy righteousness, O Lord, thou shalt open my lips, and my mouth shall declare thy
praise. For if thou hadst desired sacrifice, I had given it; with whole-burnt offerings thou shalt not
be pleased. A sacrifice unto God is a broken spirit; a heart that is broken and humbled God will
not despise. Do good, O Lord, in thy good pleasure unto Sion, and let the walls of Jerusalem be
builded. Then shalt thou be pleased with a sacrifice of righteousness, with oblation and whole-
burnt offerings. Then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.
Psalm 69
O God, be attentive unto helping me; O Lord, make haste to help me. Let them be shamed and
confounded that seek after my soul. Let them be turned back and brought to shame that desire evils
against me. Let them be turned back straightway in shame that say unto me: Well done! Well done!
Let them be glad and rejoice in thee all that seek after thee, O God, and let them that love thy
salvation say continually: The Lord be magnified. But as for me, I am poor and needy; O God,
come unto mine aid. My Helper and my Deliverer art thou, O Lord; make no long tarrying.
Psalm 142
O Lord, hear my prayer, give ear unto my supplication in thy truth; hearken unto me in thy
righteousness. And enter not into judgment with thy servant, for in thy sight shall no man living
be justified. For the enemy hath persecuted my soul; he hath humbled my life down to the earth.
He hath sat me in darkness as those that have been long dead, and my spirit within me is become
despondent; within me my heart is troubled. I remembered days of old, I meditated on all thy
works, I pondered on the creations of thy hands. I stretched forth my hands unto thee; my soul
thirsteth after thee like a waterless land. Quickly hear me, O Lord; my spirit hath fainted away.
Turn not thy face away from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit. Cause me to
hear thy mercy in the morning, for in thee have I put my hope. Cause me to know, O Lord, the
way wherein I should walk; for unto thee have I lifted up my soul. Rescue me from mine enemies,
O Lord; unto thee have I fled for refuge. Teach me to do thy will, for thou art my God. Thy good
Spirit shall lead me in the land of uprightness; for thy name’s sake, O Lord, shalt thou quicken me.
In thy righteousness shalt thou bring my soul out of affliction, and in thy mercy shalt thou utterly
destroy mine enemies. And thou shalt cut off them that afflict my soul, for I am thy servant.
The Little Doxology
+Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will among men.
+We hymn thee, we bless thee, we worship thee, we glorify thee, we give thanks unto thee for thy
great glory.
+O Lord, King, heavenly God, Father Almighty; O Lord, the only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ; and
the Holy Spirit.
+O Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, that takest away the sin of the world, have mercy
on us, thou that takest away the sins of the world.
+Receive our prayer, thou that sittest at the right hand of the Father, and have mercy on us.
+For thou only art holy, thou only art the Lord, O Jesus Christ, to the glory of God the Father.
Amen.
+Every evening will I bless thee, and I will praise thy name forever; yea, forever and ever.
+Lord, thou hast been our refuge from generation to generation. I said: Lord, be merciful unto me;
heal my soul, for I have sinned against thee.
+Lord, I have fled unto thee: teach me to do thy will, for thou art my God
+For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.
+O continue thy mercy unto them that know thee.
+Vouchsafe, O Lord, to keep us this night without sin.
+Blessed art thou, O Lord, the God of our fathers, and praised and glorified is thy name forever.
Amen.
+Let thy mercy be upon us, O Lord, even as we have set our hope on thee.
+Blessed art thou, O Lord: teach me thy statutes.
+Blessed art thou, O Master: make me to understand thy statutes.
+Blessed art thou, O Holy One: enlighten me with thy statutes.
+Thy mercy, O Lord, endureth forever. O despise not the works of thy hands.
+To thee belongeth worship, to thee belongeth praise, to thee belongeth glory to the Father and to
the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.
The Creed
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, Very God of Very 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 was made 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 quick and the dead, Whose Kingdom
shall have no end. And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, and 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. And I believe 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 age
to come. Amen.
(at this point a Canons or Akathists may be inserted – e.g. Akathist to the Theotokos, Canon in
Preparation for Holy Communion, etc.)
Theotokion
It is truly meet to bless thee, O Theotokos, the ever blessed and all-blameless, and the mother of
our God. More honorable than the cherubim, and more glorious beyond compare than the
seraphim, thou who without corruption didst bear God the Word, and art truly Theotokos: We
magnify thee.
Trisagion Prayers
Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us.
(three times)
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and unto ages of
ages. Amen.
All-holy Trinity have mercy on us. Lord, cleanse us from our sins. Master, pardon our iniquities.
Holy God, visit and heal our infirmities for thy name’s sake.
Lord, have mercy. (three times)
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and unto ages of
ages. Amen.
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.
Through the prayers of our holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy upon us and save
us. Amen.
O God of our fathers, who ever dealest with us according to thy goodness, remove not thy mercy
from us; but by their intercessions direct our lives in peace.
In all the world thy Church, arrayed in the blood of thy martyrs as in purple and fine linen, crieth
through them unto thee, O Christ our God: Send down thy compassion upon thy people; give peace
to thy commonwealth and to our souls great mercy.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
With the saints give rest, O Christ, to the souls of thy servants, where there is neither sickness nor
sorrow nor sighing but life everlasting.
Both now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Through the intercessions of all the saints and of the Theotokos, grant us thy peace, O Lord, and
have mercy upon us, for thou alone art compassionate.
Lord, have mercy. (forty times)
Thou who, at all times and at every hour, both in heaven and on earth art worshipped and glorified,
O Christ God, long-suffering, plenteous in mercy and compassion, who lovest the just and showest
mercy to sinners, who callest all men to salvation through the promise of good things to come: Do
thou, the same Lord, receive also our supplications at this present hour, and direct our lives
according to thy commandments. Sanctify our souls; purify our bodies; set aright our minds;
cleanse our thoughts; and deliver us from all calamity, wrath and distress. Compass us round about
with thy holy angels; that, guided and guarded by their host, we may attain unto the unity of the
faith, and the knowledge of thine unapproachable glory. For blessed art thou unto ages of ages.
Amen.
Lord, have mercy. (three times)
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and unto ages of
ages. Amen.
More honorable than the cherubim and more glorious beyond compare than the seraphim, thou
who without corruption didst bear God the Word and art truly Theotokos: We magnify thee.
Through the prayers of our Holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy upon us and save
us. Amen.
Lord, have mercy. (twelve times)
Most holy Theotokos, save us.
A Prayer to the Most Holy Theotokos
O Lady, Bride of God, spotless, blameless, pure and immaculate Virgin, thou who without
corruption, by thy glorious birth-giving, hast united God the Word to man and joined the fallen
nature of our race to heavenly things; who alone art the hope of the hopeless, the help of those who
do battle; the ready help of those who flee unto thee and the refuge of all Christians: Despise me
not, an accursed sinner, though I have rendered myself unworthy by my shameful thoughts, words
and deeds, and through indolence have become a slave to the pleasures of life; but as the Mother
of the God who loveth mankind, mercifully have compassion upon me, a sinner and a prodigal,
and receive my prayer, though it be offered unto thee by unworthy lips; and using thy boldness as
a mother, importune thy Son, our Lord and Master, that he may open to me also the tender
compassions of his goodness so as to overlook my numberless transgressions and turn me to
repentance and show me forth as a zealous doer of his commandments. And because thou art
merciful, compassionate and benevolent, be thou ever near me in this present life as an ardent help
and protection, defending me from the assaults of adversaries and leading me to salvation. And at
the time of my departure (from this life), care for my miserable soul, and drive far from it the dark
visions of evil demons; and in the fearful day of judgment, deliver me from eternal punishment,
and present me as an inheritor of the ineffable glory of thy Son, our God. May this be my lot, O
Lady, most holy Theotokos, through thy mediation and help, through the grace and love toward
mankind of thine only-begotten Son, our Lord and God and Saviour Jesus Christ, to whom are due
all glory, honor and worship, with his unoriginate Father and his all-holy and good and life-giving
Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.
A Prayer to our Lord Jesus
And grant unto us, O Master, when we depart to sleep, repose of body and soul; and protect us
from the murky sleep of sin and from all the dark pleasures of the night. Calm the impulses of
passions, and quench the fiery darts of evil which are craftily thrown against us; check the
turbulence of our flesh, and still all earthly and material thoughts. And grant us, O God, a watchful
mind, a prudent reason, a vigilant heart, a tranquil sleep free from all the fantasies of Satan. Raise
us up again at the time of prayer strengthened in thy commandments, holding steadfastly within
us the remembrance of thy judgments. Grant us grace to glorify thee all through the night, that we
may praise and bless and glorify thine all-honorable and majestic name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.
O most glorious, ever-virgin, blessed Theotokos, present our prayer to thy Son our God, and
intercede with him that through thee he may save our souls.
The Father is my Hope; (metania)
The Son is my Refuge; (metania)
The Holy Spirit is my Protection; (metania)
O Holy Trinity: Glory to thee.
In thee, O Mother of God, I place all my hope; keep me under thy protection.
A Prayer to the Guardian Angel
O holy Angel who accompanieth my wretched soul and lowly life, forsake me not, and depart not from me
because of my extravagance and wickedness. Give not access to the evil demon to rule with his might this
mortal body of mine, but hold me by my wretched, feeble hand; lead me in the path of salvation. Yea, O
holy Angel of God, guardian and protector of my wretched soul and body, forgive me all wherewith I have
heretofore saddened thee all the days of my life. And though this day I have sinned, be thou my shelter this
night. Keep me from all the wiles of the enemy, that I may not anger God with any sin. Intercede with the
Lord for me, that he may confirm me in his fear and show me forth as a worthy servant of his goodness.
Amen.
Glory to thee, O Christ our God and our Hope, glory to thee.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Lord, have mercy. (three times)
Through the prayers of our holy fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy upon us and save
us.
Amen.
