The Theotokos Psalter (The Psalter of the Blessed Virgin Mary) is one of the most sublime, poetic, and spiritually comforting treasures of Christian contemplative hymnography. Patterned after the biblical Psalter of King David, it consists of 150 psalms distributed into 20 kathismas (with three «Glories» / stases in each). In every psalm, the sacred imagery of the Old Testament prophet is prayerfully transformed into an ecstatic doxology praising the Incarnation, maternal intercession, and heavenly patronage of the Most Holy Mother of God [1].
In Eastern Christianity, this spiritual masterpiece is intimately linked with the name of the renowned Ukrainian hierarch and ascetic writer Saint Demetrius of Rostov (Danylo Tuptalo, 1651–1709), an alumnus of the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Theotokos Psalter was repeatedly printed by the historic printing houses of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra and the Chernihiv Holy Trinity-Elias Monastery. Simultaneously in Western Christendom, Saint Bonaventure composed a parallel Marian Psalter (Psalterium Maius Beatae Mariae Virginis) in the 13th century, demonstrating the profound underlying unity of Christian prayer [2].
This comprehensive canonical guide details the monastic cell typikon for reciting the Theotokos Psalter, the authentic opening prayers, the full text of the First Kathisma (Psalms 1–8), the most famous Marian paraphrases of Psalms 1, 50, 90, and 150, and the concluding prayers.
1. Typikon and Structure of Reading
- The Theotokos Psalter is read in monastic cells and by devout laypeople. It can be read one or more kathismas daily (completing the full Psalter in 20 days), or recited during Marian fasts, feasts, and times of severe spiritual warfare.
- Each kathisma is divided into three stases («Glories»). At each Glory, the reciter says:
«Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, glory to Thee, O God! (Three metanias). Lord, have mercy (three times). O Most Holy Theotokos, save us!». - At the end of each kathisma, the Trisagion Prayers through the Our Father, penitential troparia, and a deeply moving prayer to the Mother of God are recited.
2. Authentic Opening Prayers
Light a lampada before the icon of the Mother of God, make the Sign of the Cross, and say:
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. (Three metanias).
«O Heavenly King…» The Trisagion Prayers through the «Our Father».
Troparion: Open Unto Us the Door
Open unto us the door of thy compassion, O blessed Theotokos, that hoping in thee, we may not perish, but by thee may be delivered from all adversity; for thou art the salvation of the Christian race.
Prayer Before Reading the Theotokos Psalter
O Most Holy Lady, Virgin Theotokos, Queen of Heaven, Most Merciful Mother of all Christians! Receive this prayerful sighing of Thy unworthy servants who run with faith and trembling beneath Thy all-powerful protection. Enlighten my mind, purify my heart, cast away from me sluggishness, coldness, and distraction, that not unto judgment, but unto the salvation of my soul, I may recite the holy words of this Theotokos Psalter. Reject me not, sinful and infirm, but be my Advocate before the throne of Thy Son and our God, to Whom is due all glory, honor, and worship, together with His unoriginate Father and His All-Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.
3. The First Kathisma of the Theotokos Psalter (Psalms 1–8)
Psalm 1: On the Blessedness of Those Who Love the Mother of God
1. Blessed is the man who loveth Thy name, O Virgin Theotokos: Thy grace shall strengthen his spirit.
2. Like a tree planted by the streams of water, he shall bring forth the fruits of righteousness in due season.
3. Blessed art thou among women, and most blessed is the fruit of thy womb, through Whom we are saved.
4. Establish our hearts in Thy love, O Pure One, and turn away our feet from the path of the ungodly.
5. Nourish our souls with the sweetness of Thy grace, that we may continually glorify Thy pure conception and the birth of the Savior of the world.
6. For the Lord knoweth those who love His Mother, but the way of the ungodly shall perish forever.
Psalm 2: Against Those Who Rise Up Against Christ and His Mother
1. Why do the nations rage, and the people imagine vain things against the Lord and against His Most Pure Mother?
2. Let us break their bonds through Thy prayers, O Sovereign Lady, and cast away the enemy’s yoke by Thy power.
3. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh them to scorn, and the Lord shall defend the heritage of His Pure Mother.
4. Serve the Lord with fear, and fall down with trembling before the holy feet of the Queen of Heaven.
5. Receive Her maternal instruction, lest the Lord be angry and ye perish from the way of righteousness.
6. Blessed are all they that put their trust in Thy mercy, O Most Holy Theotokos!
Psalm 3: A Cry for Help Amidst Afflictions
1. Lord, how are they increased that trouble me! Many are they that rise up against me and say of my soul: There is no salvation for him in his God.
2. But Thou, O Virgin Theotokos, art my Shield, my glory, and the lifter up of my head.
3. I cried unto the Queen of Heaven with my voice, and She heard me out of Her holy mountain.
4. I laid me down and slept; I awaked, for the Most Holy Theotokos sustained me beneath the shadow of Her protection.
5. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people that have set themselves against me round about: arise, O Sovereign Lady; save me, O Mother of my God!
6. Salvation belongeth unto the Lord: Thy blessing is upon Thy people, O Pure Virgin.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit… Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, glory to Thee, O God! (Three metanias). O Most Holy Theotokos, save us!
4. Famous Masterpieces: Psalms 50, 90, and 150
The Marian 50th Psalm: «Have Mercy on Me, O Sovereign Lady»
1. Have mercy on me, O Sovereign Lady, for Thou art the Mother of Mercy; and according to the multitude of Thy compassions, blot out my transgressions.
2. Stretch forth Thy pure right hand, and wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
3. For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.
4. Against Thee alone have I sinned, and done this evil in Thy sight; yet unto Thy maternal mercy do I flee.
5. Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me; but Thou hast borne the Savior Who cleanseth the sins of the world.
6. Sprinkle me with the dew of Thy grace, and I shall be clean: wash me with the tears of Thy prayer, and I shall be whiter than snow.
7. Make me to hear joy and gladness, that the bones which are broken may rejoice.
8. Hide Thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.
9. Create in me a clean heart, O Theotokos, and renew a right spirit within me.
10. Cast me not away from Thy presence, and take not Thy maternal intercession from me!
11. Restore unto me the joy of Thy Son’s salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.
12. Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O Mother of my God, and my tongue shall sing aloud of Thy mercy!
The Marian 90th Psalm: «He That Dwelleth Under the Protection of the Theotokos»
1. He that dwelleth under the protection of the Most Holy Mother of God shall abide under the shadow of the Queen of Heaven.
2. I will say of the Theotokos: Thou art my Refuge and my Fortress: my Mother, in Her will I trust!
3. Surely She shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
4. She shall cover thee with Her mantle, and under Her holy veil shalt thou trust: Her intercession shall be thy shield and buckler.
5. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
6. Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
7. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.
8. Because thou hast said: «The Most Holy Theotokos is my hope!», no evil shall befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
9. For the Lord shall give His Angels charge over thee at the pleading of His Mother, to keep thee in all thy ways.
10. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet, because thou hast called upon the name of the Mother of God with faith!
The Marian 150th Psalm: Final Doxology
1. Praise the Theotokos in Her saints; praise Her in the firmament of Her power!
2. Praise Her for Her mighty acts; praise Her according to Her excellent greatness and mercy!
3. Praise Her with the sound of the trumpet; praise Her with the psaltery and harp!
4. Praise Her with the timbrel and dance; praise Her with stringed instruments and organs!
5. Praise Her upon the loud cymbals; praise Her upon the high sounding cymbals of joy!
6. Let every thing that hath breath praise and magnify the Most Pure Virgin Mary, the Mother of our God! Alleluia!
Sources and References
- Saint Demetrius of Rostov. The Psalter of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, 1707.
- Saint Bonaventure. Psalterium Maius Beatae Mariae Virginis. Rome: Typis Vaticanis, 1596.
- Metropolitan Veniamin (Fedchenkov). On Prayer and the Reading of the Psalter. Moscow: Palomnik, 1999.