Byzantine Private Prayers

[Paragon468]

I just picked up a copy of the Publican’s Prayer Book. Just wondering, do most Eastern Catholics chant/sing their private prayers as you would in a liturgical setting? Or do you simply recite them?

Obviously Akathists should be sung, but what about all the other daily prayers?

 

[Mary888]

Since many of us do not know the music, just reading them is valid praying.
I don’t sing. I recite.

 

[ziapueblo]

I chant standing in front of my icon corner.

ZP

 

[Phillip_Rolfes]

In my experience, it’s a matter of personal preference. Some people like to chant their private prayers, others prefer to simply recite them.

If you’re praying the Troparia and Kontakia of the day, I recommend chanting those (if you know the tones/melodies) and reciting everything else.

 

[George720]

Obviously Akathists should be sung, but what about all the other daily prayers?

The value of chanting comes much with distracted prayer, because the effort of singing and reading together leaves little room for distraction… Some can pray quietly from the prayer-book without distraction… The rest of us not so much… And especially when the prayers are prayed so often that they become pretty much memorized, leaving the mind free to wander while reading what one already knows…

The Jesus Prayer seems built for distraction, yet is the pathway for total concentration of the nous, because it enters us into interior silence and stillness… This is why the neptic fathers go to remote places to pray, lest this interior silence and stillness be interrupted… It gives a whole 'nother dimension to “taking every thought captive”, because ANY thought that arises needs to be set aside - Both good and bad…

I know a nun who sings like a frog, yet in that croaking she prays like an angel - So don’t let a lousy voice deter you from chanting your prayers…

geo

 

[HesyCath]

I would recommend A Prayer Book for Orthodox Christians by Holy Transfiguration Monastery. While the Publican’s Prayer Book is good, this prayer book has a more elegant translation and also has all the troparia and kontakia in the original Byzantine meter.

The Jesus Prayer is great to start with. Don’t try all of the hesychastic techniques WITHOUT the permission of your spiritual father. Just praying the prayer vocally is how St. Gregory Palamas recommends starting.