Prayer to Mary, the Mother of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ, is an ancient Christian practice. The earliest written record of a prayer to the Virgin Mary is dated around 250 AD. This prayer, “Beneath thy compassion,” is in use to this day in the Orthodox Church. Prayer to and veneration of the Virgin Mary has been an essential part of Christianity from the earliest times. Prayer to the Mother of God is fundamentally Christian, the totality of Church history witnesses to this.

In an earlier post, The Purity of the Mother of God and the Theotokos Prayer Rule, which is in part a series of sermons by the New Hieromartyr Seraphim (Zvezdensky) that I have translated, the specific practice of what in Orthodoxy is called “The Theotokos Prayer Rule” is mentioned and elaborated. This prayer rule was greatly promoted in relatively recent times by both Ss. Seraphim (Zvezdensky) and Seraphim of Sarov. There are also a number of other righteous ones, mostly from Russia (pre-revolutionary), who deeply encourage the practice of this rule in some form (there are a few forms).

One such witness that I have found is the holy elder Zachariah (before his tonsure into the great-schema he was named Zosima). There is a small and beautiful book, currently out of print, entitled “An Early Soviet Saint, the Life of Father Zachariah,” which outlines the life of this incredible man. In this book there is a small chapter dedicated to the topic of the Theotokos Prayer Rule. Unfortunately, this book is very difficult to obtain but many years ago I happened to buy a used copy in a bookstore. Elder Zachariah was also a fervent promoter of the Theotokos Rule. At the end of this article, I will provide an excerpt from the relevant chapter.

In this chapter, as will be seen, a Fr. Alexander Gumanovsky is also mentioned. Portions of his quoted letter are fairly accessible on the internet when investigating the Theotokos Rule. He is also mentioned in the vast collection of the lives of the New Martyrs of Russia, which was collected by Vladimir Moss. In “The Life of Hieromartyr Joseph, Metropolitan of Petrograd and those with him,” the reader finds this brief paragraph, “One old priest monk, Fr. Alexander Gumanovsky, selflessly travelled everywhere that he was called, and the Lord even managed that he should give communion to the sick in hospitals. Sitting by them like a visitor, he confessed them and then, as if giving them some medicine or food, gave them Holy Communion.”

The meat of the Theotokos Rule is comprised of repeating the prayer, “O Theotokos and virgin, rejoice, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the Fruit of thy womb, for thou hast borne the Savior of our souls.” This prayer is found in almost every Orthodox Prayer book. Here is a beneficial article by Archpriest Oleg Kruchinin on the formulation of this prayer and the Theotokos Rule. This prayer is also an ancient prayer, one which, as the above article notes, is based primarily on words from the Scriptures.

Fr. Alexander Gumanovsky states that the Theotokos Rule was given by the Mother of God in the 8^th century but at some point later in time was somewhat forgotten. Based on that, we may assume that the compiled prayer “O Theotokos and virgin, rejoice, Mary …” dates to at least before the 8^th century. I am still attempting to find greater research on the history of this prayer. Yet, in the West it is clear that Pope St. Gregory the Great introduced a rudimentary form of this prayer at the end of the 6^th century.

There is also a story from Greece of a fellow named Agathonian who had the practice of repeating the prayer, “O Theotokos and virgin, rejoice, Mary …” The full story may be found here, unfortunately no source is provided for the story on this website and I don’t know from what time period the story originates (if anyone has more information on this story, please share it in the comments).

I have also discovered that the renowned saint, Dimitry of Rostov, called the “Chrysostom of Rus,’” taught a prayer rule that is very similar to the Theotokos Rule. He lived in the 17^th century. This prayer rule is known as the “Five Prayers,” a portion of which is the repetition of the prayer “O Theotokos and virgin, rejoice.” It is also interesting to note that some of the prayers of contemplation in this prayer rule resemble those from the prayer rule of St. Seraphim (Zvesdenski), his prayer rule is provided towards the end of this article. Here is the link to the prayer rule of the “Five Prayers” as given by St. Dimitry. It very well could be possible that St. Seraphim drew inspiration from the prayer rule of St. Dimitry. Nonetheless, this clearly indicates that, what may easily be called, a variation of the Theotokos Rule was taught in the Russian Empire during the 17^th century. It is also well worth noting that St. Dimitry encouraged people to say the prayer “O Theotokos and virgin, rejoice” at the start of every hour. This salvific practice was also taught by the holy Elder Zachariah. (The details in this paragraph were added 9/2023.)

Some also claim that the tradition of the prayer may be traced back to the early monks dwelling in the Thebaid in the early centuries of Christianity.

Of course, the Orthodox Theotokos Rule bears resemblance to the practice of what is known as the Rosary in Roman Catholicism. This should not surprise us. There is a notion that St Seraphim of Sarov and others were simply influenced by the Latin practice of the Rosary. These claims seem to be most prominent from Uniat sources. I don’t think the claim is correct. The brief information above indicates that the basic prayer and practice predates the later Latin formulation of the Rosary. The Rosary uses the “Hail Mary,” a prayer which is very similar to the prayer of the Theotokos Rule, “O Theotokos and virgin, rejoice, Mary.” The use of prayer ropes/beads is an ancient practice in Christianity, one which well predates the Rosary. In the Orthodox Church, the most common and ancient is the use of a prayer rope for the “Jesus Prayer.” Yet, it has a tradition of being used for other prayers also. (The word “Rosary” actually has a nice history, it comes from a Latin word for “rose garden.” It contains the idea of bringing a garden or bouquet of prayer to the Virgin Mary, an imagery that is quite beautiful.)

The Rosary as commonly used in Roman Catholicism was introduced, according to some Roman sources, by a monk Dominic, founder of the Latin order of Dominicans, in the 13^th century. One Latin writer states that the “Origins of the rosary are ‘sketchy’ at best.” This writer also notes, “Some scholars take exception to St. Dominic’s role in forming the rosary. The earliest accounts of his life do not mention it, the Dominican constitutions do not link him with it and contemporaneous portraits do not include it as a symbol to identify the saint.

In 1922, Dom Louis Cougaud stated, ‘The various elements which enter into the composition of that Catholic devotion commonly called the rosary are the product of a long and gradual development which began before St. Dominic’s time, which continued without his having any share in it, and which only attained its final shape several centuries after his death.’ However, other scholars would rebut that St. Dominic not so much ‘invented’ the rosary as he preached its use to convert sinners and those who had strayed from the faith.” This is of interest because it indicates that the Rosary is simply a post-schism Latin development of already existing ancient prayers and devotions. And thus, it may be said that what is known as the Rosary is a slightly modified Latin form of an ancient Orthodox Christian practice. Even other Roman Catholic sources state that the Rosary reflects an earlier universal practice. Therefore, the Rosary in its general form is not a unique product of the Latin West. Although Rome, according to the teaching of the Orthodox Church, entered into doctrinal error and heresy, it is not surprising that it retained prayers of the ancient Church it was once part of. Sadly, post Vatican II Roman Catholicism is a pale reflection of even its post-schism (1054) self.

Even more terrible is the fact that most modern Protestants totally reject any prayer to the Virgin Mary, which is a very unchristian practice. But of course, Protestantism is the continual development of novelties.

Why have I taken the time to elaborated these details in brief? Because I believe it is clear that the Theotokos Prayer Rule is a very Orthodox practice, based on the ancient prayers and practices of the One Holy Church and attested to by a witness of Saints and righteous ones. It is not an adoption by 18th -19th century Orthodox persons of a Latin practice, as some try to claim. This claim rests, in my opinion, simply and primarily on outward similarities that inevitably exist.

Now, as I said I would, here are some excerpts from the chapter in the book on the life of elder Zachariah that touch on the Theotokos Prayer Rule. This chapter provides the full rule as given by St. Seraphim (Zvezdensky), I have already provided this in my earlier post, “On the Purity of the Mother of God,” and will not repeat it below. Elder Zachariah was contemporary with St. Seraphim. I made slight modifications to some original wording, since the original translator seemed not to be Orthodox. Any comments or additions I have will be noted in brackets [ ].

Chapter 5, Teaching on Prayer, from “An Early Soviet Saint, the Life of Father Zachariah, by One of His Spiritual Daughters.” Translated by Jane Ellis. (Currently out of print.)

Father Zosima¹ had a special love for the Heavenly Queen. He seemed always to be standing before her.

The Elder commanded his [spiritual] children to address themselves to her constantly, as to their Mother Superior, and to ask her for her blessings in all their actions. “Do not begin anything, my children, without the blessing of the Heavenly Queen. When you have finished the matter, thank her again, Our Lady Quick to Hear and to help us in all good matters.”

The elder considered it essential to light the lamps before the icons of the Heavenly Queen. If someone fell ill, he must be anointed with oil which had burned before the miracle-working icon of the Mother of God, and this would bring healing for the soul and body of the sick person. The elder had two miracle-working icons of the Heavenly Queen in his cell: Our Lady of Vladimir and Our Lady of Kazan. Many miracles were performed thanks to these icons, many sick people received healing. Today one of them, Our Lady of Vladimir, is in the possession of a spiritual daughter of the elder.

When the elder turned to the Heavenly Queen in prayer, he spoke to her as though she were alive and he could see her right there in his cell. And in fact, the Heavenly Queen was always with him, and the entire inner and outward life of the elder passed under her protection. And he exhorted all his spiritual children to say daily, every hour of the twenty-four, ‘O Theotokos and Virgin, Rejoice,’ (the whole prayer to the end) and to beg for the blessing of the Ever Virgin Mary on every hour of their lives and on the lives of those near them.

The elder rejoiced if any of his spiritual children fulfilled the Theotokos Prayer Rule, saying “O Theotokos and Virgin, Rejoice …” one hundred and fifty times a day.

The Heavenly Queen herself had givne this Rule, but everyone had forgotten it, they had forgotten about obedience to Our Lady Who Shows the Way [Directress], the Joy Above All Joys.

St. Seraphim [of Sarov] had reminded people of this Rule, making them walk along the ditch that encircled the Convent of Diveevo saying the prayer “O Theotokos and Virgin, Rejoice” one hundred and fifty times. He instructed his spiritual children to fulfill this rule.

In St. Seraphim’s cell was found a strange little book with descriptions of miracles which had taken place with people who performed this miracle-working Rule, repeating one hundred and fifty times the joyful news of the Archangel to the Heavenly Queen.

There were priests close to the elder who always fulfilled the Theotokos Prayer Rule. One of them was O. D. Kryuchkov who had a burning love for the Kingdom of Heaven and was striving to enter it. He was inspired with his love for God and for his spiritual children, and taught them not to be tied to earth but to prepare boldly for eternal life, abiding always with the Heavenly Queen.

Another priest, Father Alexander Gumanovsky (whose monastic name was Daniel), was gentle and quiet, completely buried in his love for the Heavenly Queen. His whole life was constant servitude to the Ever Virgin Mary; all his spiritual children repeated one hundred and fifty prayers daily to the Mother of God, and some of them had been favored with a passage into eternal life, offering up the good news of the Archangel to her who is more honorable than the cherubim and more glorious beyond compare than the seraphim.

Both elders died in exile.

Here is an extract from a letter of that most gentle man, Father Alexander Gumanovsky, who because of his live for the Heavenly Queen was nicknamed “the Mother of God’s” elder by one of his spiritual children.

“… I forgot to give you a piece of advice vital for salvation. Say the ‘O Theotokos and Virgin, Rejoice’ one hundred and fifty times, and this prayer will save you. This Rule was given by the Mother of God herself in about the eighth century, and at one time all Christians fulfilled it. We Orthodox have forgotten about it, and St. Seraphim has reminded us of this Rule. In my own hands I have a handwritten book from the cell of St. Seraphim, containing a description of the many miracles which took place through saying one hundred and fifty repetitions daily, ‘O Theotokos and Virgin, Rejoice.’ If being unaccustomed to it, it is difficult to master one hundred and fifty repetitions daily, say it fifty times at first. After every ten repetitions say the ‘Our Father’ once and ‘The doors of compassion open unto us.’ Whoever he spoke to about this miracle-working Rule remained grateful to him …”

The elder Zosima greatly valued and loved Bishop Seraphim Zvezdinsky and always spoke of him as “that saintly Bishop.” Bishop Seraphim Zvezdinsky performed the Theotokos Prayer Rule every day, and when he performed it he prayer for the whole world, embracing in this rule the whole life of the Heavenly Queen.

[Here is provided in the chapter the Theotokos Prayer Rule according to St. Seraphim (Zvezdensky) which I have already posted on my blog under the Sermon by him, “The Purity of the Mother of God.” Please see that post for the full prayer rule according to St. Seraphim.]

… After every decade Bishop Seraphim prayed his own prayers, which he reveled to no-one, so that the Lord and the Heavenly Queen knew these prayers … by no means everyone is able to perform the Theotokos Prayer Rule according to the plan given by Bishop Seraphim Zvezdensky, and almost everyone performs it as written down by Father Alexander Gumanovsky for his spiritual son in the letter I have quoted.

– End Excerpt –

In conclusion, it may be reasoned that the general form of the Theotokos Prayer Rule is an ancient Christian practice. The extended prayers as given by St. Seraphim (Zvezdensky) seem to his own unique additions to the Prayer Rule. As stated above in the excerpt from the book on Elder Zachariah, the extended Prayer Rule as given by St. Seraphim is difficult for many folks to fulfill. Those who desire to begin to practice the Prayer Rule should follow the method as given by the other holy ones mentioned above. Even then, it may be needed to ease into it by starting with a rule of fifty times a day. As with any addition to a person’s existing general prayer rule, one should check with his father confessor before taking any extra prayer rules on.

1Zachariah in the great-schema