Paraklesis

Semi-Autonomous: A Paraklesis (Greek: Παράκλησις, Slavonic: молебенъ) or Supplicatory Canon in the Byzantine Rite, is a service of supplication for the welfare of the living.

It is addressed to a specific Saint or to the Most Holy Theotokos whose intercessions are sought through the chanting of the supplicatory canon together with psalms, hymns, and litanies.

However, during the Dormition Fast (August 1—14, inclusive), the Typikon[citation needed] prescribes that the Small and Great Paraklesis be chanted on alternate evenings, according to the following regulations: In the Russian Orthodox Church, the equivalent of a Paraklesis is the moleben, molében (Slavonic: молебенъ), molieben, service of intercession or service of supplication, which is similar in structure, except that the canon is omitted, retaining only the refrains and Irmoi of the third, sixth and ninth odes.

The general outline of a Moleben is based on the service of Matins, as served on a feast day, complete with a Gospel reading.

The Enchiridion Indulgentiarum of 2004 confirmed the plenary indulgence on condition that it is recited piously in a church or oratory (even alone), in a family, religious community, an association of Christ's faithful or, more generally, in a meeting of a plurality of people who come together honestly for this purpose.