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Prayer Evolutions
~ Prayer in the Nazorean, Manichaean and ONE phases ~

THE ORIGINAL DAILY PRAYER of the Nazoreans is found in the ninth section of the ancient Nazorean Hymbook (Qulasta). It contains an intro followed by ten section where one would bow or prostrate themselves:
 
 
 

Prayer of the Ancient Nazoreans
Qulasta 9

INTRO

Raising my eyes and lifting up my countenance toward the Place which is all portals of radiance, light, glory, beauty, repute and honor and to the Abode which is all beams of light; I adore, laud and praise the Mighty, Strange (other-worldly) life, and the Second Life and the Third Life; and Yufin-Yufafin, Sam-Mana-Smira, and the Vine which is all Life and the great Tree which is all healings.

1ST PROSTRATION

I adore, laud and worship the precious and guarded Place, the secret and guarded manas and the Lord of Greatness from the Secret Place and, from the Hidden Place, the pihta, need, truth and faith.

2nd PROSTRATION

I worship, laud and praise Sam-Smira, the great radiancy of the First Life, son of the Great Primal Life who thought and was manifest, seeking His own: His shecinah resteth on waves of water. The assembly of souls which proceeded from Him, on the Last Day, when they leave their bodies, will rejoice in Him, will embrace Him and will rise up and behold the outer Ether and the everlasting Abode.

3rd PROSTRATION

I worship, laud and praise the multitudinous Radiancies and great mighty Lights:

4th PROSTRATION

I worship, laud and praise Piriawis, the great Jordan of the First Life which is all healings.

5th PROSTRATION

I worship, laud and praise the pure Yushamin who abideth on treasures of the waters and upon mighty celestial wellsprings of light.

6th PROSTRATION

I adore, laud and praise the life which proceeded from Life and the Truth which existed before, in the Beginning.

7th PROSTRATION

I worship, laud and praise Yukabar-Ziwa, envoy of the Life and the Word of the first Elect Righteous ones.

8h PROSTRATION

I worship, laud and praise the Ancient, Supernal, Occult and Guarded Abathur, who is high, hidden and guarded, whose throne is placed at the gate of the House of Life. He sitteth with the scales set before him, weighing deeds and (their) recompense. He seeth and discerneth that which the worlds and generations do.

9th PROSTRATION

I worship, laud and praise Manda-d-Hiia lord of healings, the being whom the Life summoned and bade him heal the congregation of souls, divesting the congregation of souls of (their) darkness and clothing them with light; raising (them) and showing them that a great restoration of life exists, a place where the spirits and souls of our forefathers sit clothed in radiance and covered with light; showing the great restoration of life which is before them.

10th PROSTRATION

I worship, laud and praise Shilmai and Nidbai, the two delegates of Manda-d-Hiia, who rule over the great jordan of Life, for they baptise with the great baptism of Light.
And Life is victorious.
end

 This ten main sections of the original Nazorean prayer evolved to the following in the early Manichaean Phase. This rewording and expansion is probably due to Mani himself, the founder of the Manichaean movement:
 
 
 

Prayer of the Emanations
4th century Greek text found in Kellis, Egypt

This 4th century Greek text was found in Kellis, Egypt. It was Edited and translated by Jenkins in 1995, and later adapted by Gardner and Lieu
 

I worship and glorify the great father of lights from pure thought. With a guileless word you have been glorified and honoured: You and your majesty and your wholly blessed aeons. For you in glory have perfected their foundation. Your power and glory and your light and word and your majesty and the aeons.of affirmation and all your counsel have been glorified. For you are god, the foundation of every grace and life and truth.

I worship and glorify all gods, all angels, all splendors, all luminaries, all powers: Those which are from the great and glorious father, those which subsist in his holiness, and in his light are nourished, purifies from all darkness and malignance.

I worship and glorify the great powers, the enlightened angels: Those having advanced by their own wisdom and having subjected the darkness and its remorseless powers which were prepared to fight with the ruler of all; these are those who created heaven and earth and bound in them all the substance of contempt.

I worship and glorify the offspring of the greatness, the enlightening mind, King and Christ: the one who came forth from the outer aeons into the upper creation, and from that to this lower creation; and having incomparably announced his wisdom and the ineffable mysteries to the people on earth, and having displayed to the entire universe the way of truth, and having preached with all voices, and having distinguished truth from the lie and light from darkness and good from evil and the just from the wicked. From you every grace has become known to the universe, and life together with truth to every tribe has been interpreted with all voices. He himself had become for living souls the redeemer from the obligation of the inimical bonds.

I worship and glorify the living god, virtuous and true: the one who by his own power, raised up all things, this arrangement above and below.

I worship and glorify the great luminaries, both the sun and the moon and the virtuous powers in them: Which by wisdom conquer the opponents and enlighten the entire arrangement, and of all observe and judge the worlds and of all conduct the virtuous souls into the great aeon of light.

I worship and glorify the five great lights: through which the entire universe came into existence, and through which heaven and earth and through which by participation power and beauty and soul and life are present in all. And without these the universe could not exist.

I worship and glorify all gods, all angles, the living and pure: Who support this whole creation with the permission of the great and virtuous light, who rules over all those now singing these hymns.

I worship and glorify all the enlightened angels: Who dominate the totality of the universe, and subject all demons and all and all evil, shielding righteousness and guarding it from the wicked demons and growing the good in it

I worship and glorify all the righteous: those who escape from all evil, those who both have existed before, exist now, are coming into existence and are ready to come into existence because they have recognized truth and all preeminence; the chaste and firm, in order that all those whom I have worshiped and glorified and invoked may assist me and bless me with favour and may deliver me from every bond and constraint and oppression and every reincarnation, and provide me with access to the great aeon of light which all the wise and upright in knowledge hope to attain, where peace and the purest of the good rule, where there is no perception of evil but ambrosia and eternal life are present, where all the inhabitants are without any need and experience neither death nor corruption.

Blessed be he who prays this prayer frequently, or at least on the third day, with a pure heart and forthright speech, asking for forgiveness of sins committed.
The prayer of the Emanations is ended."

4th century Greek text Ed. and trans. Jenkins, adapted by Gardner and Lieu

Manichaean Prayer Comparrison
Reconstructing the Manichaean Ordinance of Prayer

The Manichaean Prayers According to an-Nadim in his Fihrist,  records the first six of the twelve prayers said in ancient prayer times of the Manichaeans. Although an-Nadim failed to record the complete prayer service of the ancient Manichaeans of his day, we are blessed with another version of the last ten of these prayers from a find in Egypt. In is found the Prayer of the Emanations - a 4th century Greek Manichaean Prayer found in Kellis, Egypt.  An-Nadim's cycle of 10 prayers in his account,  is a variant translation of the ten prayers preserved on the Prayer of the Emanations find from Kellis. These are both related to the more ancient Mandaic Qulasta text. This ancient Nazorean text, preserved so faithfully by oppressed Mandaean gnostics over the centuries, contains a beautiful prayer so very similar to the Manichaean prayers given us by an-Nadim and found in Egypt that one must conclude that they are related. We know from other examples, such as the Manichaean Psalm of Thomas' dependence on older Mandaean texts, that the Manichaeans did get much of their liturgy from the older Mandaic texts. In light of this it does not seem unreasonable to search Mandaic texts for overlaps that may allow us to reconstruct the missing prayers.

In chapters 9, 77, and thrice in 171 of the Qulasta we find  prayers which are remarkably reminiscent of the first six Manichaean prayers, even though they probably predate them by a thousand years or more. Considering the difference in date, the Manichaean propensity to delete foreign names of Gods from their liturgies when abroad, and the fact that our versions have suffered via poor translations from one language to another (the Qulasta prayer from Mandaic to German to English and An-Nadim's account from at least Aramaic to Arabic to English), it is still possible to see some similarity between them. Here is table that compares the first six Manichaean prostration prayers and the Mandaic prayer found in Qulasta chapter 9. This Prayer in Qulasta 9 has exactly the right amount of Praises to fit into the Manichaean pattern. (We will capitalize certain key words for emphasis):
 
 
# of Prostration
  an-Nadim Prayers 
Qulasta 9 Prayer
1st Prostration Blessed be our guide the Parclete, the Apostle of Light, blessed be his guardian angels and PRAISED be his shining hosts. Raising my eyes and lifting up my countenance toward the Place which is all portals of radiance, light, glory, beauty, repute and honour and to the Abode which is all beams of light; I adore, laud and PRAISE the Mighty, Strange (other-worldly) life, and the Second Life
2nd Prostration Praise be to thee, oh, thou shining one, Mani our guide, source of light and BRANCH (vine?) of the LIVING (Life), the GREAT TREE all of WHICH gives HEALING.  And the Third Life; and Yufin-Yufafin, Sam-Mana-Smira, and the VINE which is all LIFE and the GREAT TREE which is all HEALING. 
3rd Prostration I BOW DOWN and RENDER PRAISE with a pure heart and a truthful tongue to the GREAT DEITY, father of the lights and their substance; praised and blessed art thou, and thy greatness in its entirety, as well as to those blessed ones who know thee and whom thou hast called upon. Let the praised among thy hosts glorify thee, thy JUSTICE, thy WORD, thy GREATNESS, and thy FAVOR, for verily thou art a deity who is altogether Truth, Life, and Righteousness. I ADORE, LAUD and worship the precious and guarded Place, the secret and guarded manas and the LORD OF GREATNESS from the Secret Place and, from the Hidden Place, the PIHTA, NEED, TRUTH and FAITH.
4th Prostration I RENDER PRAISE and BOW DOWN to all of the DEITIES (Sam-Smira?) and to all of the light shining angels and to all of the lights and all of THE HOSTS WHICH HAVE SPRUNG FROM THE GREAT DEITY. I worship, LAUD and PRAISE SAM-SMIRA (Deities), the great RADIANCY (Light Shining) of the First Life, son of the Great Primal Life who thought and was manifest, seeking His own: His shecinah resteth on waves of water. The ASSEMBLY OF SOULS WHICH PROCEEDED (sprung?) FROM HIM (Great Deity?), on the Last Day, when they leave their bodies, will rejoice in Him, will embrace Him and will rise up and behold the outer Ether and the everlasting Abode.
5th Prostration I BOW DOWN and give PRAISE to the GREAT HOSTS (multitudious Radiancies) and to the shining DEITIES (Lights?), who by their wisdom have pierced and driven out the darkness, subduing it. I worship, LAUD and PRAISE the MULTITUDIOUS RADIANCIES and great mighty LIGHTS: 
6th Prostration I BOW DOWN and offer PRAISE to the FATHER OF GREATNESS (Piriawis?), the mighty and shining, who has come from those who have knowledge. I worship, LAUD and PRAISE PIRIAWIS, the great Jordan of the First Life which is all healings. 
7th Prostration
[not recorded by an-Nadim]
I worship, laud and praise the pure Yushamin who abideth on treasures of the waters and upon mighty celestial wellsprings of light. 
8th Prostration
[not recorded by an-Nadim]
I adore, laud and praise the life which proceeded from Life and the Truth which existed before, in the Beginning. 
9th Prostration
[not recorded by an-Nadim]
I worship, laud and praise Yukabar-Ziwa, envoy of the Life and the Word of the first Elect Righteous ones. 
10th Prostration
[not recorded by an-Nadim]
I worship, laud and praise the Ancient, Supernal, Occult and Guarded Abathur, who is high, hidden and guarded, whose throne is placed at the gate of the House of Life. He sitteth with the scales set before him, weighing deeds and (their) recompense. He seeth and discerneth that which the worlds and generations do. 
11th Prostration
[not recorded by an-Nadim]
I worship, laud and praise Manda-d-Hiia lord of healings, the being whom the Life summoned and bade him heal the congregation of souls, divesting the congregation of souls of (their) darkness and clothing them with light; raising (them) and showing them that a great restoration of life exists, a place where the spirits and souls of our forefathers sit clothed in radiance and covered with light; showing the great restoration of life which is before them.
12th Prostration
[not recorded by an-Nadim]
I worship, laud and praise Shilmai and Nidbai, the two delegates of Manda-d-Hiia, who rule over the great jordan of Life, for they baptise with the great baptism of Light.

 

Manichaean Prayer with Preface
Partial Reconstruction of the Manichaean Ordinance of Prayer Reported by Nadim

INTRO PROSTRATION

Blessed be our guide the Parclete, the Apostle of Light, blessed be his guardian angels and praised be his shing hosts.  - An-Nadim, page 790
INTRO PROSTRATION
Praise be to thee, oh, thou shining one, Mani our guide, source of light and branch of the living, the great tree all of which gives healing.

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PROSTRATION

I worship and glorify the great father of lights from pure thought. With a guileless word you have been glorified and honoured: You and your majesty and your wholly blessed aeons. For you in glory have perfected their foundation. Your power and glory and your light and word and your majesty and the aeons.of affirmation and all your counsel have been glorified. For you are god, the foundation of every grace and life and truth.
PROSTRATION
I worship and glorify all gods, all angels, all splendors, all luminaries, all powers: Those which are from the great and glorious father, those which subsist in his holiness, and in his light are nourished, purifies from all darkness and malignance.
PROSTRATION
I worship and glorify the great powers, the enlightened angels: Those having advanced by their own wisdom and having subjected the darkness and its remorseless powers which were prepared to fight with the ruler of all; these are those who created heaven and earth and bound in them all the substance of contempt.
PROSTRATION
I worship and glorify the offspring of the greatness, the enlightening mind, King and Christ: the one who came forth from the outer aeons into the upper creation, and from that to this lower creation; and having incomparably announced his wisdom and the ineffable mysteries to the people on earth, and having displayed to the entire universe the way of truth, and having preached with all voices, and having distinguished truth from the lie and light from darkness and good from evil and the just from the wicked. From you every grace has become known to the universe, and life together with truth to every tribe has been interpreted with all voices. He himself had become for living souls the redeemer from the obligation of the inimical bonds.
PROSTRATION
I worship and glorify the living god, virtuous and true: the one who by his own power, raised up all things, this arrangement above and below.
PROSTRATION
I worship and glorify the great luminaries, both the sun and the moon and the virtuous powers in them: Which by wisdom conquer the opponents and enlighten the entire arrangement, and of all observe and judge the worlds and of all conduct the virtuous souls into the great aeon of light.
PROSTRATION
I worship and glorify the five great lights: through which the entire universe came into existence, and through which heaven and earth and through which by participation power and beauty and soul and life are present in all. And without these the universe could not exist.
PROSTRATION
I worship and glorify all gods, all angles, the living and pure: Who support this whole creation with the permission of the great and virtuous light, who rules over all those now singing these hymns.
PROSTRATION
I worship and glorify all the enlightened angels: Who dominate the totality of the universe, and subject all demons and all and all evil, shielding righteousness and guarding it from the wicked demons and growing the good in it
PROSTRATION
I worship and glorify all the righteous: those who escape from all evil, those who both have existed before, exist now, are coming into existence and are ready to come into existence because they have recognized truth and all preeminence; the chaste and firm, in order that all those whom I have worshiped and glorified and invoked may assist me and bless me with favour and may deliver me from every bond and constraint and oppression and every reincarnation, and provide me with access to the great aeon of light which all the wise and upright in knowledge hope to attain, where peace and the purest of the good rule, where there is no perception of evil but ambrosia and eternal life are present, where all the inhabitants are without any need and experience neither death nor corruption.

This Manichaean Prayer is closely related to the Prayer of the Aeons found in the modern Order's Gnostic Prayer Book:

Prayer of the Aeons
From the Gnostic Prayer Book

Fold hands over heart and focus attention, resolving that you are going to worship the 4-fold Deity
sincerely and earnestly. Raise hands up & say each praise standing upright with with thumbs toward each ear, then touch palms & bow after each)

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WITH A PURE HEART & A TRUTHFUL TONGUE I bow down and render praise to Sindirka, the Datepalm,  the Father of Light, and all Sovereign Gods of Compassion; blessed be Their guardian angels and praised be Their shining hosts. Let the blessed among thy Buddhas glorify thee O Amin, thy Holiness, Word, Power, and Compassion, for you are  the Truth, the Way, and the Life.
I bow down and render praise to Aina, the Great Wellspring, the Mother of Life, The Womb and Door of Mysteries though which all Priests & Priestesses have passed, and all Goddesses of wisdom, and all who birth, nurture, and nourish the Seed of Life.
I bow down and render praise to Shislam Rba, the Great Completion, Primal Man, and all who serve & sacrifice. Blessed be all the Living Ones and Their light and Their substance; Praised and blessed art thou, and thy all encompassing grandeur, and those blessed ones who know thee and have been called by thee.

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I bow down and render praise to Ezlat, the Weaver, the  Living Soul, and all who leaven darkness, all of the Alive Ones, all  Ziwa filled Uthras and  Noorah filled Shkintas, and to all beings which have sprung from the Great Life.
I bow down and render praise to Simat Hiya, the Treasury of Life, the Beloved Friend of Lights, and all who establish purity, all the great Gods, and all glorious Goddesses who by their wisdom have pierced and driven out the darkness, subduing it.
I bow down and render praise to Yawar Ziwa, the Dazling Radiance, the Great Builder,  all who house the needy, and to the Father of Greatness, the mighty and shining, who has come from those who have Gnosis. Blessed be all the Lights of Life.

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I bow down and render praise to the Mana aDmuta, the Spiritual Image, the Living Spirit,  all who restore & organize, and to the pure Ones who abide on treasuries of the waters and upon mighty celestial wellsprings of light.
I bow down and render praise to the Yukabar-Ziwa, the Shining Sun, the Third Envoy,  all  shining saviors,  to the Life which proceeded from Life and the Truth which existed before, in the Beginning.
I bow down and render praise to Shaq-Ziwa, the Radiant Cloud, the Perfect One, the Column of Glory, and all the upright &  righteous,  to all envoys of the Living Ones and the Word of the first Elect Righteous ones. Blessed be all the Powers of Life.

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I bow down and render praise to Malala, the Word,  Yeshu the Radiant, and all all  Buddhas. teachers & initiators, and all Judges of the Light who weigh the hearts of the faithful.
I bow down and render praise to Manda Dhiya, the Gnosis of Life, Miryai-Noorah the Maiden of Light - the Gnosis of Life who healeth the elect and calleth the pure home, and to all who bring harmony & love.
I bow down and render praise to Sam-Ziwa-Dakia, the Pure Shining Preserver , the Light Mind,  and all enlightened Buddhas and Apostles, and to the shining One, Mani our guide, source of light and branch of the living, the great tree all of which gives healing. Blessed be all the Wisdoms of Light.

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(Say private personal prayers silently)

(Say silently:)
In the name of the Great Life! I conclude my worship of Amin-Hiya, And praise of Yeshu-Miryai - the Gnosis of Life, And all the Living Ones!
Health & Purity are Thine!


 
Daily Prayer
Daily Lay Prayer of the Order of Nazorean Essenes

BLESSED ART THOU O Miryai, Our Guide and our Paraclete, Apostle of Apostles,  O Life Giving Living Vine, And Thy Guardian Shkintas.

INTRO BOW

BLESSED ART THOU O Mani, Our Guide and our pure Buddha, Light Source and Great Healing Tree, And all Thy Shining Uthrai.  

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[Quietly] With a pure heart & truthful tongue -
BOW

I BOW AND PRAISE Thee Great Life, Mother and Father of Light, And all Thy Divine Substance; Praised and Blessed art Thou, In Thy Vastness and fullness, Thy Blessed  Ones do known Thee, Those That Thou hast called upon; Lauded hosts glorify Thee, Thy righteousness and thy word, Thy greatness and thy mercy, Thou art a God and Goddess, Who are altogether Truth, Who are Life and Righteousness.

BOW

I BOW AND PRAISE all the Gods, All the great radiant Uthrai, All luminous Shkinata, All powers who have sprung forth, From Great and Glorious Parents, Who abide in Holiness, And are nourished in Their Light, Of dark ill will purified.

BOW

I BOW AND I OFFER PRAISE, To all the Radiant Buddhas, All Luminous Dakinis, Who made heaven and the earth, Which bound all evil substance. Who by Their Wisdom have peirc’d, And driven out the darkness, Subduing its cruel archons, Who fought the Rulers of All.

BOW

I BOW AND I OFFER PRAISE, To Thee offspring of Greatness, Enlight'ning Mind, King, and Christ, Who from far off worlds did come, Thru upper to lower worlds, Who declares without equal, Wisdom and Secret Myst'ries, To earthly inhabitants, Declaring to everyone, Truths Way in ev'ry language, Distinguishing True from false,  Light from Dark, Good from evil,  righteousness from the wicked; From You doth come ev'ry grace, Life and Truth has been declared, To all nations and tongues, Thou art Savior from Karma, For all the children of Life.

BOW

I BOW AND PRAISE Living Gods, The virtuous and true Ones, Whose power raised Creation that above and that below.

BOW

I BOW AND PRAISE the Great Orbs, The luminous sun and moon, And the pure power in Them, Which conquer adversaries, Which illuminate all worlds, Who observe all and judge all, Lifting up all the virtuous, Into the great Light Aeon.

BOW

I BOW AND PRAISE the Five Lights, By which the heavens and earth, And all things came into being, Who give power and beauty, Soul and Life to everything, Which would vanish without Them.

BOW

I BOW AND PRAISE all the Gods, Goddesses, Living Pure Ones, Who Rule Over creation, Under the Great Goodly Light, Who watch over all of us, Who do now utter this prayer.

BOW

I BOW AND PRAISE all Angels, Ruling and Enlight'ning All, Over demons and evil, Shielding and guarding Elect, From all the wicked demons, And creating in them good.

BOW

I BOW AND PRAISE all Elect, Who have fled from all evil, Those which  existed before, Those who are now existing, Are coming into being, Or are about to exist, Because they recognize Truth, Chaste, Firm and transcending all.

[Quietly] May all those I have worshiped and glorified and invoked assist me and bless me with favour and deliver me from every bond and constraint and oppression and endless reincarnation, and provide me with access to the great aeon of light which all the wise and upright in Gnosis hope to attain, where peace and the purest of the good rule, where there is no appearance of evil but only ambrosia and eternal life, where all are without  need and experience neither death nor corruption. Amin


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