Prayers and invocations addressed to the Blessed Virgin Mary, excerpted from the Coptic Agpeya (“Prayer Book of the Hours”).1
Prime
Hail to Saint Mary
Hail to you. We ask you, O saint, full of glory, the ever virgin, the Mother of God (Theotokos), the Mother of Christ, lift up our prayers unto your beloved Son, that He may forgive us our sins.
Hail to the Holy Virgin, who bore for us the true Light, Christ our God. Ask the Lord on our behalf, that He may have mercy on our souls, and forgive us our sins.
O Virgin Mary, the holy Mother of God (Theotokos), the trusted advocate of the human race, intercede on our behalf before Christ, Whom you bore, that He may grant us the forgiveness of our sins.
Hail to you, O Virgin, the right and true queen. Hail to the pride of our race, you bore for us Emmanuel.
We ask you, remember us, our trusted advocate, before our Lord Jesus Christ, that He may forgive us our sins.
Introduction to the Creed
We exalt you, the Mother of the true Light. We glorify you, O Saint, the Theotokos, for you brought forth unto us the Savior of the whole world; He came and saved our souls.
Glory to You, our Master, our King, Christ, the pride of the apostles, the crown of the martyrs, the joy of the righteous, the firmness of the churches, the forgiveness of sins.
We proclaim the Holy Trinity in One Godhead. We worship Him. We glorify Him.
Lord have mercy. Lord have mercy. Lord bless. Amen.
You are the honored Mother of the Light; from the risings of the sun to its settings praises are offered to you, O Theotokos, the second heaven, as you are the bright and unchanging flower, and the ever virgin mother; for the Father chose you, and the Holy Spirit overshadowed you, and the Son condescended and took flesh from you. Wherefore, ask Him to give salvation to the world which He created, and to deliver it from all tribulations. Let us praise Him a new praise, and bless Him, now and forever and unto the ages of all ages. Amen.
Terce
Whenever we stand in Your holy sanctuary, we are considered standing in heaven. O Theotokos, you are the gate of heaven, open for us the gate of mercy.
O Theotokos, you are the true vine who bore the Cluster of Life, we ask you, O full of grace, with the apostles, for the salvation of our souls. Blessed is the Lord our God. Blessed is the Lord day by day. He prepares our way, for He is God of our salvation.
Sexte
You are she who is full of grace. O Theotokos, the Virgin, we praise you, for, through the cross of your Son, Hades fell down and death was abolished. We were dead but we are raised and became worthy of eternal life, and gained the delight of the first Paradise. Therefore, we thankfully glorify the immortal Christ our God.
Since we have no favor, nor excuse, nor justification because of our many sins, we, through you, implore to Him who was born of you, O Theotokos, the Virgin, for abundant and acceptable is your intercession with our Savior. O pure mother, do not exclude sinners from your intercession with Him whom you bore, for He is merciful and able to save us, because He suffered for us to deliver us. Let your compassion speedily reach us, for we are exceedingly humbled. Help us, O God, our Savior, for the glory of Your name. O Lord, deliver us and forgive us our sins for the sake of Your holy name.
Vespers
Every iniquity I did with prudence and activity, and every sin I committed with eagerness and diligence, and of all torment and judgement I am worthy. Therefore, prepare for me the ways of repentance, O Lady the Virgin; for to you I appeal, and through you I seek intercession, and upon you I call to help me, lest I might be put to shame. And when my soul departs my body attend to me, and defeat the conspiracy of the enemies, and shut the gates of Hades, lest they might swallow my soul, O you, blameless bride of the true Bridegroom.
Compline
O pure Virgin, overshadow your servant with your instant help, and keep the waves of evil thoughts away from me, and raise up my ailing soul for prayer and vigil, for it has gone into a deep sleep. For you are a capable, compassionate and helpful mother, the bearer of the Fountain of Life, my King and my God, Jesus Christ, my hope.
Introduction to the Creed
We exalt you, the Mother of the true Light.
We glorify you, O Saint, the Theotokos, for you brought forth unto us the Savior of the whole world; He came and saved our souls.
Glory to You, our Master, our King, Christ, the pride of the apostles, the crown of the martyrs, the joy of the righteous, the firmness of the churches, the forgiveness of sins.
We proclaim the Holy Trinity in One Godhead. We worship Him. We glorify Him.
Lord have mercy. Lord have mercy. Lord bless. Amen.
Veil
O Theotokos, because we have put our trust in you, we shall not be put to shame, but shall be saved. And because we have attained your help and intercession, O pure and perfect one, we shall not fear, but shall drive out our enemies and shall disperse them. And, in all, we take your great help to protect us as if with a shield. We ask and entreat you, crying, O Theotokos, to save us by your intercessions, and raise us up from the dark sleep, in order to powerfully glorify God Who took flesh from you.
Midnight
You are the rampart of our salvation, O Theotokos the Virgin, the mighty and impregnable fortress. Abolish the counsel of the adversaries, and transform the sorrow of your servants into joy. Fortify our city, defend our governors, and intercede for the peace of the world; for you are our hope, O Theotokos.
Whenever we stand in Your holy sanctuary, we are considered standing in heaven. O Theotokos, you are the gate of heaven, open for us the gate of mercy.
The Heavens bless you, O full of grace, the Bride who was never married. And we, too, glorify your incomprehensible giving birth. O Theotokos, the mother of mercy and salvation, intercede for the salvation of our souls.
- Not all hours from the Agpeya are represented here, but specific prayers and invocations to the Virgin Mary are excerpted here in accordance to where they appear in the Agpeya. ↩︎
Giorgina S. Paiella, Ph.D. 