Speaking with God from the Depths of the Heart
	Prayer 84

	By St. Gregory of Narek
	(translated by Thomas J. Samuelian)

	Heavenly monarch, exalted king,
	Lord of all, hope of all,
	creator of the visible, establisher of the
	invisible,
	cause of being, shaper of the future,
	giver of light, impulse of dawn that prepares the
	morrow,
	who makes the evening appear and conjures the night,
	ingenious artisan, applied wisdom,
	blessed pardoner who liquidates sin, banishes pain,
	and neutralizes bitterness,
	preserver of tranquility, who induces slumber,
	arranges sleep, grants rest,
	who sustains our breathing, maintains our senses,
	dissipates our phantoms, moderates our imaginings,
	displaces our terrors,
	transformation of sadness, suppression of anxiety,
	dispeller of doubts, calmer of turmoil,
	who strikes fear in the heart of the wicked,
	and cuts down demons,
	wards off disease and drowns scandal,
	protect me with your hand that shaped the heavens.
	Strengthen me with your exalted right hand.
	Take me under your almighty wings.
	Blanket me with your divine care.
	Bolster me with the vigilance of your heavenly host.
	Encircle me with your army of immortals.
	Surround me with the attachments of angels.
	Fend off the enemy with the forces of the vigilant.
	Support me through prayers to your divine Mother,
	for I am shaken.
	Assign your best troops to guard me.
	Open the eyes of my soul along with the eyes in my
	face.
	Sober the passions that weigh me down along with my
	troubled soul.
	Lift away, Lord, from my senses the stupor that
	covers them.
	Remove, Lord who only does good, the heavy veil of
	darkness.
	Make your mercy dawn with the breaking of day.
	Make your righteous sun shine on the gloom of my
	heart with morning
	light.
	May the ray of your glory illumine the chamber of my
	mind.
	May the sign of your cross cast its shadow over
	      my whole spirit and body.
	I commit to you today
	this tabernacle of mine,
	which you have given to shelter my soul.
	For you are God beyond understanding,
	generous in all things,
	perfect in all ways,
	blessed forever.
	Amen.




Prayer 84 is an excerpt of the recently published "The Armenian
Prayerbook of St. Gregory of Narek: Speaking with God from the Depths
of the Heart."
The translator, Thomas J. Samuelian, holds a Ph.D. in Linguistics from
the University of Pennsylvania and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.
He has taught Modern and Classical Armenian at the University of
Pennsylvania, Columbia University and the St. Nersess Seminary.
In 1998 he moved to Armenia, where he heads a public interest law
firm, continues scholarly pursuits, and remains active in church life.