Prayers

O holy martyr Marina, thou wast a living fire of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and for that faith thou didst joyfully and fearlessly suffer, and wast made worthy to receive the crown of martyrdom from the Lord Himself. By thy holy struggle thou hast shown for all time that our greatest enemies of salvation — the flesh and the devil — can be conquered. Therefore the Lord has granted thee great grace-filled power to help us in many misfortunes, and especially in the battle against the evil demonic powers. Therefore we, all-sinful and powerless, come to thee, holy Marina, and beg thy grace-filled help. Help us also to conquer our flesh, which deceives us in countless ways and to whose every demand we yield, sinning without ceasing. By thy prayers to the Lord, grant that we may rise from the mire in which we wallow and be cleansed of all bodily impurity through deep and sincere repentance, that we may make a good beginning on the path of salvation. But we beg thee still more to help us in this hard and bloody invisible battle which we wage with the spirits of malice, who have deceived us and drawn us into many sins, of which we are often not even aware. Therefore, by thy holy prayers from the heavenly heights, drive away all the demons who weave snares around us and lead us from the path of salvation. By their malice and cunning they have sown in us pride, selfishness, hatred, envy, malice, love of power, love of pleasure, love of money, and all the other passions which have become rooted in us and become, as it were, our second nature. Therefore, by thy fiery prayer, martyr Marina, drive away all these demons who have set themselves against us, and help us also to rise up against them through a new life in the Church of Christ, through repentance, through a virtuous and blameless life. Help the unquenchable fire of the love of God, with which thou didst so mightily burn, to be kindled in us, that we may watch with trembling over every deed and thought of ours, and guard our soul with unceasing prayer and remembrance of God. Then the demons will flee from us in fear and will not be able to do us much harm. May we, by thy holy prayers, thus live to the end of our earthly life, striving toward the world on high. And when once with our souls we pass into the kingdom of the spirits, help us to pass freely by the evil hosts of Satan, and be made worthy to enter with joy into the light of the Kingdom of Heaven, where all the hosts of Angels and of all the Saints, among whom thou, holy Marina, dost radiantly shine, unceasingly glorify the Most Holy and Life-giving Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.