As you might be aware, dear reader, today is the Feast of Saint Cyprian of Antioch. As you also might be aware, I’m having a party later tonight in his honor, and besides getting a bunch of my friends and colleagues together to drink and have a good time, I also plan on honoring the good saint by having people who may not work with him a starting point for asking for his blessings by having a large public altar set up to him where people can write petitions out and the like. Towards the end of the party (or, simply put, around midnight, depending on how late people want to stay and drink), I’ll lead a communal prayer for all of us to ask for the good saint’s blessings in our lives and formally give him all our petitions by burning them with a bit of his oil and some rum. (Gotta have at least some flair for the dramatic in my parties, after all.)
Thinking about what I might do for the communal prayer, however, led me to inspect some of the prayers and rituals to Saint Cyprian that I’ve been collecting. My Chaplet of Saint Cyprian of Antioch is nice, though the repetitions of the Glory Be and the like might not be to everyone’s taste. However, I realize that the structure and wording of my chaplet is very similar to other Catholic prayers, notably the litany. A litany is a series of successive supplications made to a saint or holy figure, and I’ve used several for the angels and archangels before in my work (especially the Litany of the Holy Archangels by Rev. Dn. Michael Strojan). In that light, I rethought the use of my chaplet and decided to rewrite it and format it as a Catholic-style litany, complete with the usual prayers at the beginning and an oremus (“let us pray”) at the end. However, I also decided to add on a bit to the prayer, since today is also technically the feast day of two other saints who are closely associated with Saint Cyprian of Antioch:
- Saint Justina, the Christian girl whom Cyprian tried to get to fall in love with Aglaias. She stood steadfast in the face of all of Cyprian’s magic, however, and warded off every attack from him, all his demons, and the Devil himself by making the sign of the Cross and through constant prayer and fasting. Once she got word of Cyprian’s conversion, she rejoiced and made many charitable gifts across Antioch (which really needed it after Cyprian kinda blew it up), and eventually became a friend to Cyprian in Christ. Once Cyprian became priest, he made her a deaconess; once he became bishop, he elevated her to an abbess in charge of a convent. They were both tortured together, however, and eventually executed together by beheading. Many Orthodox icons of Saint Cyprian also feature Saint Justina.
- Saint Theocistus was a Roman, sometimes known as a soldier, who was present at the execution of Saint Cyprian and Saint Justina. He saw how these two saints were being tortured even though they were innocent, and despite all the measures the Romans used against them, nothing actually hurt them save the beheading themselves by the grace of God. At the beheading of the saints, Theocistus had a change of heart and proclaimed his faith in Christ, kissing the feet of the body of Cyprian. However, he did this in the presence of the officials who had just executed Cyprian and Justina, and so also was condemned and executed on the spot for his conversion.
Saint Theocistus, of course, is a relatively minor figure compared to Saint Justina, and she’s a relatively minor figure compared to Saint Cyprian, and since Saint Cyprian isn’t really considered by the Catholic Church to be a saint anymore, none of these three make their rosters. However, the Orthodox Church still venerates them all, and gives them all the same feast day (though they use October 2 instead of September 26). I figured it was fitting to write a litany for Saint Cyprian that also included sections for Saint Justina and Saint Theocistus, so following the usual format of the litany, here’s what I wrote. Yes, it’s basically a standard Christian prayer, so if you’re not on good terms with Christianity, you may not find it worthwhile, but then again, you probably wouldn’t be working with a Christian saint anyway.
First, before the litany proper, it’s usual to make a common supplication to God. The litany is usually led by a priest; his parts are said in upright typeface, while the parts of the congregation are in italics. When doing the litany alone, however, one prays all parts. The beginning supplication:
God, come to my assistance. Lord, make speed to save us.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end.
Amen.
The litany proper:
Lord, have mercy on us. Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us. Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us. Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us. Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us. Christ, graciously hear us.God the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God, have mercy on us.Holy Mary, pray for us.
Holy Mother of God, pray for us.
Holy Virgin of virgins, pray for us.Saint Cyprian, born to pagan parents, pray for us.
Saint Cyprian, dedicated to the god Apollo as a child, pray for us.
Saint Cyprian, taught sorcery in Olympos, pray for us.
Saint Cyprian, taught illusion in Argos, pray for us.
Saint Cyprian, taught witchcraft in Tauropolis, pray for us.
Saint Cyprian, taught necromancy in Sparta, pray for us.
Saint Cyprian, taught enchantment in Memphis, pray for us.
Saint Cyprian, taught astrology in Chaldaea, pray for us.
Saint Cyprian, master of all the occult arts, pray for us.
Saint Cyprian, magus residing in Antioch, pray for us.
Saint Cyprian, approached by Aglaias to seduce Justina, pray for us.
Saint Cyprian, unleashing demons of lust upon Justina, pray for us.
Saint Cyprian, unleashing demons of deception upon Justina, pray for us.
Saint Cyprian, unleashing the Devil himself upon Justina, pray for us.
Saint Cyprian, wringing disaster on Antioch against Justina, pray for us.
Saint Cyprian, casting deadly illness upon Justina, pray for us.
Saint Cyprian, all magic defeated by the prayers of Justina, pray for us.
Saint Cyprian, seeing Truth and rebuking the Devil and his snares, pray for us.
Saint Cyprian, burning his books in sacrifice to God, pray for us.
Saint Cyprian, confessing repentantly for his sins before all Antioch, pray for us.
Saint Cyprian, baptized in the name of the Blessed Trinity, pray for us.
Saint Cyprian, made priest within a year by his zeal for holiness, pray for us.
Saint Cyprian, made bishop to lead all to divine virtue, pray for us.
Saint Cyprian, condemned to death by the Romans, pray for us.
Saint Cyprian, beheaded and departed into Heaven, pray for us.
Saint Cyprian, entering into the communion of the holy saints, pray for us.
Saint Cyprian, preserving us from all evil arts and acts, pray for us.Saint Justina, virtuous maiden, pray for us.
Saint Justina, chased after by the world, pray for us.
Saint Justina, pursued by demons, pray for us.
Saint Justina, defending herself by the sign of the Holy Cross, pray for us.
Saint Justina, celebrating at the conversion of Cyprian, pray for us.
Saint Justina, gracious friend to Cyprian, pray for us.
Saint Justina, made abbess by Cyprian, pray for us.
Saint Justina, slandered by the Romans with Cyprian, pray for us.
Saint Justina, becoming a martyr in Christ with Cyprian, pray for us.Saint Theocistus, soldier of the Romans, pray for us.
Saint Theocistus, turning his heart to Christ, pray for us.
Saint Theocistus, witnessing the execution of Cyprian and Justina, pray for us.
Saint Theocistus, kissing the corpse of the martyrs Cyprian and Justina, pray for us.
Saint Theocistus, declaring his faith in Jesus Christ because of Cyprian and Justina, pray for us.
Saint Theocistus, executed for his forsaking of the world, pray for us.
Saint Theocistus, ennobled for his conversion to God, pray for us.Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us. Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us. Christ, graciously hear us.Pray for us, Saint Cyprian, Saint Justina, and Saint Theocistus, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let us pray:
O God, who sent the Holy Spirit to preserve Saint Cyprian from darkness even while he dwelt within its midst, grant in your mercy that you enlighten us and inspire us. May that the life and martyrdom of Saint Cyprian teach us to abandon wickedness, heal us to be free of sin, and bless us through Jesus Christ + to walk in the light of truth. By the intercession of Saint Cyprian, Saint Justina, and Saint Theocistus, lead us to a true conversion of heart that we may use both our hands and all our power in service and sacrifice to Your Presence, through Jesus Christ our Lord.Amen.
May you all have a blessed Feast of Saint Cyprian, and may he with his saintly companions smile upon you and intercede for you in all your prayers! Hail, holy Saint Cyprian of Antioch: mage, mystic, and martyr ; sorcerer, sage, and saint; theurge, thaumaturge, and theophoros! Together with Saint Justina and Saint Theocistus, pray for us, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
