Penitence prayers

Christian prayers of repentance run from the Hebrew Bible to the modern missal, and the range here is deliberately wide. The oldest is Psalm 51, the great penitential psalm, whose superscription ties it to David's repentance after the prophet Nathan confronted him. The Prayer of Manasseh, composed around the 2nd century BC, puts a confession in the mouth of one of Judah's most notorious kings. From the liturgy come the Kyrie, whose Christian form dates to the 4th century AD, the Agnus Dei from around 700 AD, and the Confiteor as codified in the 16th century. The Anglican General Confession entered the Book of Common Prayer in 1552. The Prayer of Ephrem the Syrian, said with prostrations throughout Orthodox Lent, is 4th century. These prayers name wrongdoing plainly and ask for mercy. None of them minimize it.

Catholic

Eternal Rest Medieval (Latin form); Lasance 1913 (English form) Prayer Before a Crucifix 16th century AD; Lasance 1913 Prayer Before Communion 16th-17th century AD; Lasance 1913 Stabat Mater 13th century AD The Act of Contrition 17th-18th century AD; Lasance 1913 The Confiteor 16th century AD The Fatima Prayer 1917 AD The Stations of the Cross: Opening Prayer 17th century AD (formalized); Lasance 1913

Orthodox

Prayer at the End of the Day Traditional; OCA Prayer Book 1979 Prayer Before Holy Communion 9th-10th century AD; Hapgood 1906 Prayer of St. Symeon the New Theologian c. 1000 AD The Jesus Prayer 5th century AD The Prayer of Ephrem the Syrian 4th century AD; Hapgood 1906 The Trisagion Prayers Ancient; Hapgood 1906

Anglican

Compline: The Order for Evening Prayer Ending 1st century AD (Nunc Dimittis); 1662 (BCP service) The Collect for Purity 11th century AD (Latin origin); 1549 (Cranmer translation); 1662 (current form) The General Confession 1552 (original); 1662 (current form) The Prayer of Humble Access 1548 (original); 1662 (current form)

Protestant

A Puritan Prayer 17th century The Sinner's Prayer 20th century AD

Ecumenical

A Prayer at a Funeral Traditional; BCP 1662 language A Prayer for the Forty Days of Lent 1662 Psalm 51 pre-6th century BC The Agnus Dei c. 700 AD (liturgical form) The Kyrie 4th century AD The Prayer of Azariah c. 2nd century BC The Prayer of Manasseh c. 2nd century BC The Trisagion pre-500 AD

Other

Calvin's Prayer for the Lord's Day 1542 Luther's Evening Prayer 1529 Spurgeon's Prayer for Trust 19th century