Orthodox prayers for a new baby

The Church blesses a newborn on the day the baby is named. The Bible gives a father’s song of thanks, and a blessing to speak over the baby.

Picture: William-Adolphe Bouguereau, Maternal Admiration, 1869

3 prayers and 1 to the saints

A blessing over the baby

Prayer for a newborn

O Lord our God,we pray to You and we ask You:let the light of Your facebe marked on this Your servant (name),and let the Cross of Your only-begotten Sonbe marked in their heart and in their thoughts,so that they may flee the emptiness of the worldand every evil snare of the enemy,and follow Your commandments.

And grant, O Lord,that Your holy name may stay upon themand that they may never deny it,when in good time they are joined to Your holy Churchand made perfect by the awesome Mysteries of Your Christ;so that, living by Your commandmentsand keeping unbroken the seal given to them,they may receive the blessedness of Your chosen onesin Your kingdom,

by the grace of Your only-begotten Sonand His love for mankind.With Him You are blessed,together with Your all-holy, good and life-giving Spirit,now and always, and for ever and ever.Amen.

Traditional wording, 1894

O Lord our God, to Thee we pray, and on Thee we call,Let the light of Thy countenance be signed on this Thy servant (or, on this Thine handmaid), (name),and be he signed with the cross of Thine only-begotten Son in his heart and understanding,that he may flee the vanity of the world and every evil device of the enemy,and may keep Thy commandments;

and grant, O Lord, that Thy holy name may remain upon him unrenounced,when at the fitting time he shall be conjoined with Thy holy church,and be perfected with the terrible mysteries of Thy Christ,that, living according to Thy commandments and preserving the seal unbroken,he may attain unto the blessedness of Thine elect in Thy kingdom,

through the grace and love to man of Thine only-begotten Son,with Whom Thou art blessed,together with Thy most holy, and good, and life-creating Spirit,now and ever, and to ages of ages. Amen.

A priest says this blessing when a baby is named, on the eighth day after the birth. A parent may pray it over the cradle too. It asks that the light of God’s face be marked on the child, and the Cross of His Son in the child’s heart.

Plain English by Wiser Walk, from the Church Slavonic, with Shann’s 1894 translation beside it. How the wording is made. Traditional wording: G. V. Shann, Book of Needs of the Holy Orthodox Church, 1894.

Shann’s “terrible mysteries” uses “terrible” in its old sense: awe-inspiring.

Where it comes from, and the Church Slavonic

A father’s thanks

Song of Zechariah

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,for He has visited His people and redeemed them.He has raised up a horn of salvation for usin the house of His servant David,as He spoke through the mouth of His holy prophets long ago:

salvation from our enemiesand from the hand of all who hate us,to show mercy to our fathersand to remember His holy covenant,the oath He swore to our father Abraham,to grant that we, rescued from the hand of our enemies,might serve Him without fear,in holiness and righteousness before Himall the days of our life.

And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High,for you will go before the Lord to prepare His ways,to give His people the knowledge of salvationthrough the forgiveness of their sins,because of the tender mercy of our God,by which the Dawn from on high has visited us,to shine on those who sit in darknessand in the shadow of death,and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Traditional wording, 1906

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He hath visited and redeemed His people;and hath raised up a mighty salvation for us, in the house of His servant David;as He spake by the mouth of His holy prophets, which have been since the world began;that we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us.

To perform the mercy promised to our forefathers, and to remember His holy covenant;to perform the oath which He sware to our forefather Abraham that He would give us;that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear;in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.

And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest,for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways!To give knowledge of salvation unto His people, for the remission of their sins,through the tender mercy of our God, whereby the Day-spring from on high hath visited us:to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Zechariah and Elizabeth had grown old without a child. On the day their son John was named, Zechariah praised God for keeping His promise of salvation, and then he spoke to the baby himself.

Plain English by Wiser Walk, from the Greek, with Hapgood’s 1906 translation beside it. How the wording is made. Traditional wording: Isabel F. Hapgood, Service Book of the Holy Orthodox-Catholic Apostolic Church, 1906.

Where Hapgood has “a mighty salvation”, the Greek has “a horn of salvation”.

Where it comes from, and the Greek

For the baby’s safety

Priestly blessing

The LORD bless you and keep you;the LORD make His face shine on youand be gracious to you;the LORD turn His face toward youand give you peace.

Traditional wording, 1611

The LORD bless thee, and keep thee:The LORD make His face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:The LORD lift up His countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.

In the Book of Numbers, God gives the priests this blessing to speak over His people. A mother or father can say it over a new baby: it asks the LORD to keep the child, be gracious and give peace.

Plain English by Wiser Walk, from the Hebrew, with the King James Version beside it. How the wording is made. Traditional wording: The King James translators, The King James Version, 1611.

Where the King James Version has “lift up His countenance upon thee,” the plain wording says “turn His face toward you.”

Where it comes from, and the original

To a saint · To St Stylianos, protector of babies

Kontakion of St Stylianos

Made holy from your mother’s womblike godly Samuel,O God-bearing one,you glorified Christ Godby your life of self-denial.

So you were shown to be a storehouse of healingsand a holy protector of newborns and infants.For Christ, Whom you glorified from the time you were a baby,glorifies you with splendour, O Stylianos.

Traditional wording

Sanctified from the womb like another Samuel,you glorified God by your labors.Having become a healer and protector of Christ's babes and sucklings,He has glorified you, O Stylianos.

Stylianos was a monk in Asia Minor who loved children and healed them when they were sick. The hymn sung on his feast calls him a protector of newborns and infants, and his icons show him with a baby in his arms.

Plain English by Wiser Walk, from the Greek, with the Orthodox Church in America’s English beside it. How the wording is made. Traditional wording: Orthodox Church in America, Troparia and kontakia for 26 November, on its website.

Where the OCA’s English ends “He has glorified you”, the Greek adds that Stylianos glorified Christ from the time he was a baby.

Where it comes from, and the Greek

Scripture for this

⁵⁷When the time came for Elizabeth to have her child, she gave birth to a son. ⁵⁸Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they rejoiced with her.

Luke 1:57-58 Elizabeth’s neighbours and relatives heard how the Lord had shown her great mercy when she bore a son. They rejoiced with her.

²⁷“I prayed for this boy, and since the LORD has granted me what I asked of Him, ²⁸I now dedicate the boy to the LORD. For as long as he lives, he is dedicated to the LORD.” So they worshiped the LORD there.

1 Samuel 1:27-28 Hannah brought young Samuel to the LORD’s house and said, “I prayed for this boy.” She dedicated him to the LORD for life.

When the eight days before His circumcision had passed, He was named Jesus, the name the angel had given Him before He was conceived.

Luke 2:21 Jesus was named on the eighth day, the same day the Church’s Book of Needs keeps for naming a baby.

Your wife will be like a fruitful vine flourishing within your house, your sons like olive shoots sitting around your table.

Psalm 128:3 The psalm pictures a home the LORD has blessed, with sons like young olive shoots around the table.

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, with Whom there is no change or shifting shadow.

James 1:17 Every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father of the heavenly lights. A new baby is one of those gifts.

¹⁵Now people were even bringing their babies to Jesus for Him to place His hands on them. And when the disciples saw this, they rebuked those who brought them. ¹⁶But Jesus called the children to Him and said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them! For the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”

Luke 18:15-16 People brought even their babies to Jesus. He called the children to Him and said, “Let the little children come to Me.”

Bible text: Berean Standard Bible, public domain.

A psalm for this

Children are indeed a heritage from the LORD, and the fruit of the womb is His reward.
Psalm 127:3

The psalm sees a child as the LORD’s gift to a family, a heritage and a reward that come from Him.

Psalm 127 Read the whole psalm, with St Athanasius’s advice on when to pray it.

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