When it is said
It is one of the short pleas of a litany near the end of the service before an operation. After each plea the choir sings “Lord, have mercy” three times.
Anyone waiting might pray it for the surgeon while the operation goes on.
Where it comes from
No author known
A service written for surgery
The Russian Orthodox Church approved a short service of prayer before an operation on 24 March 2022, for use in all its churches. A priest leads it, and in this plea he names the surgeon.
The service before a surgical operation, Church Slavonic, Azbyka
The surgeon is prayed for three times
An early plea of the service asks God to guide the doctor’s mind wisely and strengthen the doctor’s hand. This plea asks it of Christ directly. The priest’s long prayer near the end asks it once more, naming St Luke of Crimea, a surgeon who became an archbishop.
The service before a surgical operation, Church Slavonic, Azbyka; St Luke, Archbishop of Simferopol, Orthodox Church in America
In Church Slavonic
Господи, Иисусе Христе, Боже наш, яко Милосерд всесильною Твоею десницею
укрепи руку врача (имярек), да хирургическое действие и благое врачевание совершит
во славу Имене Твоего Святаго, молим Ти ся, услыши и помилуй.