Trisagion Prayer

David prayed, “Have mercy on me, O Lord” (Ps. 51.1). Jesus commended the tax collector who prayed, “Lord, have mercy on me, sinner” (Luke 18.3). Mercy is what we need from God. If we prayed for justice, we wouldn’t stand a chance! Mike Howerton described in Glorious Mess about a time when he received mercy rather than justice. He was ticketed for having expired tags on his car. Since it was the second such infraction in two years, he was summoned to appear in court. Mike hoped the judge would notice that he was nicely dressed and polite, but she only stared intently at her computer screen and said, “I see this isn’t the first time you were driving with expired tags.” “No, your honor,” Mike sheepishly replied. “It looks like you have been busy, Mr. Howerton,” the judge continued. “Yes, I have,” was all Mike could think of saying. In the awkward silence that followed, Mike blurted out, “I throw myself on the mercy of the court.” At this, the judge looked up from her computer screen, smiled, and ended up waving the fine. Mike deserved justice; he received mercy. Like this judge, God waves the penalty for all those who cast themselves on God’s mercy. The Psalmist prays, “May your mercy come quickly to meet us, for we are in desperate need” (Ps. 79.8). Today’s ancient prayer implores God’s mercy. The prayer is most often identified by the Greek word “trisagion” meaning “thrice holy.” Holy, in the biblical sense, equates to separate or distinct and means God is in a class all by himself. The prophet Isaiah prays, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty” (Is. 6.3; cf. Rev. 4.8). The first written attestation to this Trisagion Prayer appears in the Council of Chalcedon minutes in AD 451. Since the prayer was already in common use, it’s likely to have originated much earlier. Holy is appended to three words in the prayer: “Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal.” In the span of a single sentence, the prayer references God’s divinity, strength, and immortality. We begin the prayer by acknowledging God’s supremacy over creation, God’s strength for our weakness, and God’s everlasting mercy for those who believe. This prayer features prominently in Eastern Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant liturgies and is also sung as a chant or hymn. This prayer is simple enough to commit to memory and carry into our day. We join with our “great cloud of witnesses” to pray: