The Pre-Communion prayer rule is a set of prayers you say before receiving the Eucharist, usually the evening before or the morning of Divine Liturgy. It prepares your heart through repentance, confession of faith, and asking God to make you worthy to receive His Body and Blood.
Think of it as spiritual preparation that matches the physical fast. You’re not eating or drinking before Communion (the traditional fast is from midnight). The prayers do the same work for your soul.
What’s Actually in These Prayers?
The full rule is called the Canon of Preparation. It’s a series of troparia (short hymns) and petitions asking for mercy and cleansing. You’ll find phrases like “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” You’ll ask not to be cast away from God’s presence. You’ll petition that Communion be “to the healing of soul and body, and not to judgment or condemnation.”
That last bit matters. We believe the Eucharist is truly Christ’s Body and Blood. It heals us when we receive it with repentance. But St. Paul warns that receiving it unworthily brings judgment. The prayers acknowledge both realities. They’re honest about our unworthiness and desperate for God’s mercy to make us ready anyway.
The Antiochian Archdiocese provides the standard texts on antiochian.org. Most Orthodox prayer books include them too. The OCA website has a shorter version, just a few prayers you can say right before approaching the chalice during Liturgy.
When Do You Pray Them?
Traditionally, you pray the Canon the evening before Communion, often as part of Small Compline. Or you can pray it the morning of Liturgy. Both work. Some people do both.
Then, right before you go up to receive Communion, you say the shorter prayers. These are quick affirmations: “I believe, O Lord, and I confess that You are truly the Christ, the Son of the living God…” It’s your final moment of preparation as you stand in line.
If you work nights at one of the refineries and you’re coming off a 12-hour shift, talk to your priest. The point isn’t legalism. It’s getting your heart ready.
But What If I Can’t Do the Full Rule?
Here’s where pastoral guidance matters. The prayers exist to help you, not burden you. If you’ve got three kids under five and you’re trying to get everyone dressed for Liturgy, you might not manage the full Canon that morning. Pray what you can. Say the shorter prayers. God knows your situation.
That said, don’t use busyness as an excuse to skip preparation entirely. If you’re receiving the Body and Blood of Christ, you should do something to ready yourself. Even ten minutes with the shorter prayers is better than rolling in unprepared.
Your priest might give you specific guidance based on where you are spiritually. New to Orthodoxy? He might start you with just the short prayers. Been Orthodox for years? He might expect the full rule. Someone dealing with depression or illness might get different instructions than someone in good health. This isn’t one-size-fits-all.
What About Confession?
The prayer rule assumes you’re in a state to receive Communion. If you’ve got unconfessed serious sin, you need to go to Confession first. The prayers can’t substitute for that. Many Antiochian parishes expect you to go to Confession regularly if you’re communing regularly, maybe monthly, maybe before each Communion. Ask your priest what he expects.
The prayers themselves include confession of sin. You’re acknowledging your unworthiness throughout. But that’s not the same as the Mystery of Confession with your priest.
Why Do We Do This?
Because receiving Communion isn’t casual. You’re receiving God Himself. The Second Person of the Trinity, fully present under the forms of bread and wine, is about to enter your body. That deserves preparation.
Metropolitan Kallistos Ware writes about this in “The Orthodox Way”, how the Eucharist is the most intimate union we can have with God this side of death. You wouldn’t show up to meet the President in your pajamas without thinking about what you’d say. How much more should you prepare to receive Christ?
The prayers also protect you from the temptation to think you’ve earned Communion or deserve it. You don’t. None of us do. We’re beggars at the King’s table. The prayers keep that reality front and center.
Your priest will guide you on the specifics, which prayers, which nights, how the fasting works in your situation. But the heart of it is simple: you’re preparing to receive Jesus Christ. Do it with reverence, repentance, and joy.
