Prayer, which is the dialogue of man with God, the Virgin or saints, is called for the sanctification of man. Through prayer, the believer can receive peace of mind and help in everyday needs. Sometimes a person worries not only about his neighbors, but also about animals, so the question arises of the advisability of prayers for "our smaller brethren."
Animals are an integral part of the nature of the world. According to the Orthodox doctrine, the whole created world was created by the Lord, therefore, animals are God's creation. Man is called not only to personal sanctification and holiness, through personal grace, a Christian should ennoble and equip the world around him and everything that is in it. Therefore, the Orthodox Church does not prohibit prayers for animals. In addition, the personal well-being of a person depends on the state of health of, for example, livestock. This is especially true for people involved in animal husbandry.
It is worth sharing the prayer for living and dead animals. It is not customary to commemorate dead animals in the Orthodox tradition. There is an opinion of the holy fathers that all dead animals inherit the kingdom of heaven, because their nature was not distorted by sin (as it happened to man).
There is evidence in the Bible that the righteous cares for the life of his cattle, and the heart of the wicked is cruel to him (Prov. 12:10). Animal care can be expressed in prayer. Many Orthodox prayer books contain special prayers recited during illness and death of cattle. In addition, in Orthodox churches, there is the practice of ordering special prayers during the morale of cattle. To all this, a person can safely proceed with necessity and justification.
In the Orthodox tradition, praying for animals is accepted by the holy martyrs Flora and Laurus, St. Blasius, as well as the Russian holy martyr Athenogen. From the life of these saints it is known that they had a special grace to help cattle, healing it from various diseases.
It is especially worth mentioning the commemoration of animals at the liturgy. Such a practice should not take place in the Orthodox Church, because after the liturgy they pray for people. Therefore, it is wrong to submit notes with the nicknames of animals for the liturgy prayer commemoration. At the liturgy, you can pray for cattle to God in your own words, and, ordering a special prayer service, enter your name.
