Moleben

A molében (Slavonic: молебен), also called a molieben, service of intercession, or service of supplication, is a supplicatory prayer service used within the Orthodox Christian Church and various Eastern Catholic Churches in honor of Jesus Christ, the Mother of God, a Feast, or a particular saint or martyr.

The present form of the Moleben originated in Slavic culture, but its use is now widespread both in Europe and in the Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic churches that follow the Slavic tradition. Churches of the Greek and Syriac traditions, as well as the Russian Old Rite (Edinoverie) tradition, celebrate a larger service called a Supplicatory Canon in English, a Paraklesis in Greek, and a Moleben Canon (Molebnyj Kanon) in Slavonic; but whereas the Paraklesis includes as its principal focus the canon to the subject being honored, the Moleben omits the odes of the canon and includes only the simple refrains that occur between the odes.

Molebens are traditionally served by a priest, but may also be done as a reader's service (i.e., the format used when served by a layperson or deacon; omitting or replacing those portions normally chanted by the priest). It is the custom to celebrate a moleben service only in honor of a glorified saint, and when possible the service is done in front of an icon of the person or feast to whom the Moleben is celebrated. Sometimes an Akathist will be chanted during the celebration of a Moleben.