Sunday evening service in church. Orthodox worship

In the life of every Orthodox person, sometimes there is a need to come to church. The reasons for this can be completely different: sometimes a person goes to a large, famous temple out of curiosity, or he, although rarely, comes to church on major holidays such as Christmas or Easter, but some people have a sincere desire to regularly attend services, that is become a churched, full-fledged and equal member of the Orthodox Church. The churching of every person begins not only with attending services, but also with knowledge and observance of certain church rules that must be followed in order to consciously fulfill the requirements of the church charter, ongoing services and prayer services, and most importantly, so as not to offend the feelings of deeply believers and praying people by one’s behavior parishioners When newcomers first appear in the church, they can be identified by their confused look, frequently asked questions, and sometimes deviations from established church rules. Or women will come without a scarf, in trousers, light a candle at the wrong time, and even forget their pectoral cross at home. And then the all-knowing grandmothers, who undoubtedly exist in any temple, attack them with condemnation. Sincerely wanting to follow church canons and rules, they mercilessly, albeit in a whisper, scold such newcomers. It can be very sad to watch how poor newcomers, quite embarrassed, leave the church, and perhaps forever, leaving a negative attitude not only towards this church, but also towards Orthodoxy in general. It becomes sad to look at such a picture. After all, the completely normal impulse of the human soul to join the religion of its ancestors - Orthodoxy, the need to communicate with God were severely interrupted due to some elementary violations of the rules of behavior in the temple.

Before the service starts

Approaching the temple, pious Christians, looking at the holy crosses and domes of the church, make the sign of the cross three times and bow from the waist. On the way to the temple, you do not need to be distracted by worldly conversations with your companions, but read the prayer: “I am going to Your house, I will worship Your holy temple, with reverence for You.” If you don’t know it, you should repeat the publican’s prayer: “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.”

Rising to the porch, before entering the doors, they again make the sign of the cross three times with a bow. You should stop at the door of the temple and make three bows from the waist with prayers:

“God, be merciful to me, a sinner.”
“He who created me, O Lord, have mercy on me.”
“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, for prayers
Your Most Pure Mother and all the saints, have mercy on us. Amen."

But you can read “Our Father.” If you don’t know this prayer, you can simply cross yourself and say: “Lord, have mercy.”

When entering the porch, you must cross yourself again. This is where you leave all thoughts about extraneous topics and focus on spiritual things.

But at the same time, you should not pray for a long time and for show while standing on the street.

Before entering the temple, turn off your mobile phone so as not to disturb the spiritual atmosphere of the temple with ringing sounds. Moreover, it is unacceptable to talk on the phone in church.

When you go to the temple of God, prepare money at home for candles, prosphora and church fees. It is inconvenient to change them when buying candles, because this interferes with both the Divine service and those praying.

On our sinful land, the Holy Temple is the only place where we can take refuge from the storms and bad weather of life, from everyday moral dirt. The temple is like heaven on earth. In the temple, “invisibly the powers of heaven serve with us.” Remember and know the Holy Temple is the house of God, in which God Himself invisibly dwells, and therefore our behavior in the temple must correspond to its holiness and greatness. It is necessary to enter the Holy Temple with humility and meekness in order to leave the Temple justified, like the humble Evangelical tax collector.

When you enter the Temple and see the Holy Icons, think that the Lord Himself and all the Saints are looking at you, so be especially reverent at this time and have the fear of God. What is meant here is not fear itself, but the deepest respect and love for the Lord.

Parishioners are summoned to the service by the ringing of bells 15 minutes before it starts. Therefore, by arriving early, you will have time to purchase church books, icons, candles, crosses, talk with the clergyman, submit notes, buy and put candles and venerate the icons. All this can be done only before the start of the service or after it. Only candles can be purchased during the service. By the way, do not try to light candles to all the icons at once in one visit, so that your walking around the temple does not distract other parishioners from their prayers. Better visit the church again. For the same reason, it is undesirable to ask those in front to pass a candle to place in front of the icon. Wait until the end of the service and place the candle yourself where you want.

Arriving at the temple, you need to venerate the main holiday icon, which is located opposite the Royal Doors in front of the salt. To do this, you need to cross yourself three times, and then kiss the corner of the icon or the edge of the clothing of the depicted image, cross yourself again and quietly move away without disturbing the others. Waist bows are also performed in front of the icons of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Most Holy Theotokos and the saints (if the service has not begun at this time). All this must be done in advance so as not to interfere with prayer during the service.

Women are not allowed to kiss icons with painted lips. During the service, many people will venerate the icon, so what will it look like at the end of the service if women smack it with their painted lips? It should also be remembered that when kissing an icon, we are not kissing the board with paint on it, but through a kiss we are addressing our love and respect to the image depicted on it.

Before the start of the service, you can also light several candles for health or repose. It doesn’t matter with which hand you do it, you just need to do it with sincere prayer for the one for whom you light this candle. A candle is a sacrifice to God, and it burns without a trace only for His sake.

You are not supposed to pass between the Royal Doors and the lectern, but if you pass in front of the lectern, make a small bow, making the sign of the cross. When we visit the temple of God, let us remember that we are in the presence of the Lord God, the Mother of God, Angels and saints. Be afraid, wittingly or unwittingly, to offend with your behavior those praying and those shrines that surround us in the temple of God. When choosing a place for prayer in a church, you need to take into account that some elderly parishioners who constantly visit this church and usually stand in the same place begin to consider this place “theirs.” If you accidentally stand in “someone’s” place and are asked to vacate him, do not argue and quietly move to another place—do not disturb your prayerful mood with an argument.

Anyone who is late for the start of the service should enter quietly, without disturbing other parishioners, and take the empty seat closest to the exit, while trying not to block the passage.

When you see acquaintances in the temple, a silent bow as a sign of greeting or a quiet greeting is enough. Kissing, hugging, shaking hands, talking loudly is not worth it. Do not shake hands in the Temple and do not ask about anything; be truly modest in the Holy Temple.

You are not supposed to hold hands in church. It is strictly forbidden to laugh, chew, keep your hands in your pockets and talk loudly. You are not allowed to take photographs or use mobile phones. It is better to turn them off before entering the temple.

It is forbidden to sit in an Orthodox church, the only exception being the parishioner’s ill health or severe fatigue.

When coming to church with children, you need to make sure that they behave quietly. If a small child bursts into tears in the temple, the mother should immediately take him out. Children should never be allowed to eat anything in church other than blessed bread and prosphora (and care must be taken that the child does not lose crumbs of these holy items).

In a temple, it is indecent to show curiosity and look at others. It is unacceptable to condemn and ridicule the involuntary mistakes of employees or those present in the temple. It is forbidden to talk during the service.

It is customary to perform divine services in the temple 3 times. If you get to church at a time when there is no service, then you can stand quietly and pray, light candles. If you decide to attend the liturgy (daytime service), then remember that you need to arrive in advance, about 10-15 minutes before the start. Different churches begin services at different times, so check in advance. During worship there are many people praying in the church, and there is no need to disturb them. Try to find a place that is convenient for you, where you can clearly see and hear everything. And this is not without common sense: a simple unchurched person will not immediately understand what is happening, he will not even understand what is being said and sung (because the service takes place in Church Slavonic), so it makes sense to at least see what is happening.

During the service

When coming to church to pray, it is better to leave everyday matters at home. On average, the service lasts 2-3 hours; if you are not used to it, it is difficult to spend so much time on your feet, so if you are tired, you can sit on the benches that stand in the vestibule or inside the temple. You can’t sit with the Royal Doors open; even if weak, sick old women get up, let alone the young and strong. You also cannot turn your back to the altar; of course, this does not oblige you to back away like a lob when leaving, but you should not demonstratively turn your back to the altar during the service. If for some reason you cannot stay in the church until the end of the service, then you need to quietly leave, crossing yourself at the exit and in front of the church itself.

In church, pray as one participating in the Divine service, and not just present, so that the prayers and chants that are read and sung come from your heart. Follow the service carefully so that you can pray for exactly what the whole Church is praying for. Make the sign of the cross and bow at the same time as everyone else. For example, during the Divine service it is customary to be baptized during the praises of the Holy Trinity and Jesus, during the litanies - to any exclamation “Lord, have mercy” and “Give, Lord,” as well as at the beginning and at the end of any prayer. You need to cross yourself and bow before approaching the icon or lighting a candle, and when leaving the temple. You cannot hastily and inattentively sign yourself with the sign of the cross, because at the same time we appeal to the Lord’s love and grace.

They prepare for Communion by prayer and fasting, abstaining from various entertainments and pleasures (the duration of preparation is determined by the blessing of the priest). Those preparing for Communion read the canons and rules for Holy Communion according to the prayer book, which for beginners is better not to do on the last day, but to distribute the reading of these prayers over all days of preparation for Communion. Before Communion, you cannot eat or drink anything, starting from twelve o’clock at night. An exception is made for those who need to eat or drink something as prescribed by a doctor.

Before Holy Communion, it is necessary to make peace with your neighbors, to be the first to ask forgiveness for sins, voluntary and involuntary.

One approaches Holy Communion after repentance of sins in confession and the priest’s prayer of permission. Only children under seven years of age are allowed to receive communion without confession. Approach Holy Communion humbly and reverently, one at a time, without jostling, with your arms crossed over your chest (right to left). With the fear of God, partake of the Holy Mysteries. Without crossing yourself, so as not to accidentally push, kiss the cup, and silently move away to the table with a drink. Participants listen to prayers of thanksgiving for Holy Communion in church or read them at home according to the prayer book. At the end of the Liturgy, come and venerate the Cross, which the priest gives to the believers to kiss. When leaving the Temple, cross yourself reverently.

Don't miss Sunday and holiday services in the church. Teach your children to go to the Temple, teach them to pray and behave reverently in the Temple.

After all, the Monk Barsanuphius of Optina said: “A sure sign of the death of the soul is evasion from church services. A person who grows cold towards God, first of all, begins to avoid going to church, first tries to come to the service later, and then completely stops visiting the Temple of God.”

Church notes

During the Divine Liturgy, the main Christian service, Orthodox Christians submit notes about the health of their living relatives and, separately, about the repose of the dead. Notes are given before the start of the service, usually in the same place where candles are bought.

If you want the memorial note you submitted to the altar to be read carefully and slowly, remember the rules:

1. Write in clear, understandable handwriting, preferably in block letters, trying to mention no more than 10 names in one note.
2. Title it “about health” or “about repose.”
3. Write names in the genitive case (the question “who”?).
4. Use the full form of the name, even if you are remembering children (for example, not Seryozha, but Sergius).
5. Find out the church spelling of secular names (for example, not Polina, but Pelageya; not Artyom, but Artemy; not Yuri, but Georgiy; not Svetlana, but Fotigna).
6. Both men and women can be named by names such as Evgeny, Alexander, so you need to indicate the gender of the person being remembered next to the name.
7. Before the names of the clergy, indicate their rank, in full or in an understandable abbreviation (for example, Priest Peter, Archbishop Nikon).
8. A child under 7 years of age is called a baby, from 7 to 15 years of age is called an adolescent.
9. There is no need to indicate the last names, patronymics, titles, professions of those mentioned and their degree of relationship in relation to you.
10. It is allowed to include in the note the words “warrior”, “monk”, “nun”, “sick”, “travelling”, “prisoner”.
11. On the contrary, there is no need to write “lost”, “suffering”, “embarrassed”, “student”, “grieving”, “maiden”, “widow”, “pregnant”.
12. In the funeral notes, mark the “newly deceased” (deceased within 40 days of death), “ever memorable” (deceased who have memorable dates on this day), “killed.”

There is no longer a need to pray for those whom the Church has glorified as saints (for example, Blessed Xenia, Saint and Righteous John of Kronstadt). By canonizing them as saints, the Church implies that they are already in the Kingdom of Heaven.

They remember health for those who have Christian names, even those who have not been baptized, and for repose only those who have been baptized in the Orthodox Church.

Notes can be submitted at the liturgy:

For proskomedia - the first part of the liturgy, when for each name indicated in the note, particles are taken out of special prosphoras, which are subsequently dipped into the Blood of Christ with a prayer for the forgiveness of the sins of those commemorated;

At mass - this is what people call the liturgy in general, and the commemoration of it in particular. Usually such notes are read by clergy and clergy before the Holy See;

At the litany there is a commemoration for all to hear. It is usually performed by a deacon. At the end of the liturgy, these notes are commemorated a second time in many churches, at services. You can also submit a note for a prayer service or memorial service.

Sign of the Cross

It is necessary to be baptized slowly, joining together the first three fingers of the right hand, and the remaining two (a symbol of the two natures, the Divine and human of Jesus Christ) - folded and pressed to the palm. With the right hand folded in this way, one should successively touch the forehead (to sanctify the mind), then the womb of the belly (to sanctify the feelings), the right and left shoulders (to sanctify the bodily forces) and bow. Why? We depicted a cross on ourselves, now we worship it.

When in church people are blessed with a cross or the Gospel, an image or a Chalice, then everyone puts the sign of the cross on themselves, bowing their heads.

You only need to bow your head without crossing yourself when the bishop overshadows those praying with candles (dikirium or trikirium), or when the priest blesses with his hand, consecrating us with the power of God’s grace, and also when they burn incense to those who are coming.

Only on Holy Week of Easter, when a priest censes with a cross in his hand, exclaiming: “Christ is risen!” - everyone makes the sign of the cross and exclaims: “Truly he is risen!”

We must make the sign of the cross and worship before a shrine (cross, Gospel, icon, Chalice with the Holy Mysteries) or when pronouncing the Easter greeting.

During the Divine service, it is customary to be baptized during the praises of the Holy Trinity and Jesus Christ, during the litanies - to any exclamation “Lord, have mercy” and “Give, Lord,” as well as at the beginning and end of any prayer. You need to cross yourself and bow before approaching the icon or lighting a candle, and when leaving the Temple.

The sign of the cross gives us great power to drive away and defeat evil and do good, but we must remember that the cross must be laid correctly and slowly, because at the same time we appeal to the Lord's Love and grace, otherwise there will not be an image of the cross, but a simple waving of the hand, what only demons rejoice at. By carelessly performing the sign of the cross, we show our disrespect for God - we sin, this sin is called blasphemy.

When we are baptized not during prayer, then mentally, to ourselves, we say: “In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen,” thereby expressing our faith in the Most Holy Trinity and our desire to live and work for the glory of God. The word “amen” means: truly, truly, so be it.

Blessing

Every believer considers it obligatory to ask for a blessing when meeting with a priest or bishop, but many do this incorrectly. Of course, there are no strict canons on this issue, but the traditions of the Church and simple common sense tell us how to behave.

Blessing has many meanings. The first of these is greeting. When meeting and saying goodbye to a priest, it is not customary to say hello or goodbye, but they say: “Bless.” The blessing is received from a priest or bishop (bishop), but not from a deacon (they can be easily distinguished by their attire).

Only someone equal in rank has the right to shake hands with a priest; everyone else, even deacons, receive a blessing from him when they meet the priest. To do this, you need to put your palms together, the right one on top of the left, in order to receive the blessing hand in them and kiss the right hand (right hand) of the blessing as a sign of respect for the sacred office. And for nothing more! The folding of the palms has no mysterious meaning. There is no need to be baptized. Greeting is only one meaning of blessing, the second is permission, permission, parting words.

• ♦ Father, bless me to go on vacation.
• ♦ Father, bless me to pass the exams.
• ♦ Father, bless me to begin the fast.

You can be blessed by a priest not only when he is in church clothes, but also in civilian clothes; not only in the temple, but also on the street, in a public place. However, you should not approach an unveiled priest who does not know you for a blessing outside the church.

In the same way, every layman says goodbye to a priest. If several priests are standing nearby, and you want to be blessed by everyone, then first you need to approach the senior one.

The second meaning of a priestly blessing is permission, permission, parting words. Before starting any responsible business, before traveling, as well as in any difficult circumstances, we can ask the priest for advice and blessings and kiss his hand.

Finally, there are blessings during the church service. The priest, saying: “Peace to all,” “The blessing of the Lord is upon you...”, “The grace of our Lord...”, makes the sign of the cross over the worshipers. In response, we humbly bow our heads without folding our hands - after all, it is impossible to kiss the blessing right hand.

If the priest overshadows us with sacred objects: the Cross, the Gospel, the Chalice, the icon, we first cross ourselves and then bow.

You should not approach the blessing at an inopportune moment: when the priest is giving communion, censing the temple, anointing with oil. But you can do this at the end of confession and at the end of the liturgy, while kissing the Cross. You should not abuse the blessing by approaching the same priest several times a day. The words “bless, father” should always sound joyful and solemn to a layman, and they should not be turned into a saying.

Candle

A person who crosses the threshold of the temple, as a rule, approaches the candle box. Our practical Christianity and initiation into the ritual begins with a small wax candle. After all, it is impossible to imagine an Orthodox church without lit candles.

The candles are lit one from the other and placed in the socket of the candlestick. The candle must stand strictly straight. If on the day of a great holiday a minister extinguishes your candle in order to light the candle of another, do not be disturbed in spirit: your sacrifice has already been accepted by the All-Seeing and All-Knowing Lord. You can light a candle with either hand. But only the right one needs to be baptized.

The interpreter of the liturgy, Blessed Simeon of Thessaloniki (XV century), says that pure wax means the purity and innocence of the people bringing it. It is offered as a sign of our repentance for perseverance and self-will. The softness and pliability of wax speaks of our willingness to obey God. The burning of a candle means the deification of a person, his transformation into a new creature through the action of the fire of Divine love.

In addition, a candle is a testimony of faith, a person’s involvement in the Divine light. It expresses the flame of our love for the Lord, the Mother of God, angels or saints. You cannot light a candle formally, with a cold heart. External action must be complemented by prayer, at least the simplest one, in your own words.

A lit candle is present at many church services. It is held in the hands of those newly baptized and united in the sacrament of marriage. Among many burning candles, the funeral service is performed. Covering the candle flame from the wind, pilgrims go to the religious procession.

There are no mandatory rules about where and how many candles to place. Their purchase is a small sacrifice to God, voluntary and not burdensome. An expensive large candle is not at all more beneficial than a small one. Candles should only be purchased from the temple where you came to pray.

Those who regularly visit the temple try to light several candles each time: to the festive icon lying on the lectern in the middle of the church; to the image of the Savior or the Mother of God - about the health of your loved ones; to the Crucifixion on a rectangular table-candlestick (eve) - about the repose of the departed. If your heart desires, you can light a candle to any saint or saints.

Sometimes it happens that there is no free space in the candlestick in front of the icon, everyone is occupied by burning candles. Then you should not put out another candle for the sake of your own candle; it is more appropriate to ask the minister to light it at a good time. And don’t be embarrassed that your half-burnt candle was extinguished at the end of the service - the sacrifice has already been accepted by God.

There is no need to listen to talk about how you should light a candle only with your right hand; that if it goes out it means there will be misfortunes; that melting the lower end of the candle for stability in the hole is a mortal sin, etc. There are many superstitions around the church, and they are all meaningless.

God is pleased with a wax candle. But He values ​​the burning of the heart more. Our spiritual life and participation in worship are not limited to a candle. By itself, it will not free you from sins, will not unite you with God, and will not give you strength for invisible warfare. The candle is full of symbolic meaning, but it is not the symbol that saves us, but the true essence - Divine grace.

Cloth

Believers come to the temple in attire appropriate to their gender. What is acceptable to wear on the street or on the beach is completely unacceptable in church. Under no circumstances should you come to worship services in this form. Immodest clothing disrupts the splendor of the temple environment. A temple is not only a house of prayer, but also a place of God’s special presence. When coming to Church, we should remember Who we are coming to and Who is looking at us. A person who carefully monitors the state of his soul will definitely notice that his behavior, thoughts, and wishes also depend on his clothes. Formal clothing obliges you to do a lot.

Women should dress decently and modestly in church. Calm, dark colors are preferred, flashy ones are unacceptable. You cannot wear a miniskirt, shorts, a transparent blouse, clothes with a deep neckline, or too open tops and T-shirts to church.

It is customary for women to be in the temple with a covering (this can be a headscarf, scarf or just an outer headdress), a skirt below the knees and a long-sleeved jacket. Only virgins can come to church with their heads uncovered - keep this in mind. You should not use cosmetics. Lipstick on the lips is especially unacceptable. When receiving Holy Communion, it is unacceptable to venerate shrines, icons or crosses with painted lips.

At communion and confession, a woman must wear a skirt, and if she doesn’t have one, then in many churches you can rent a headscarf and a skirt with strings to wear directly over a miniskirt or jeans.

Perfume should be applied very carefully or not at all, as it can become stuffy during church services. Therefore, deodorant will be quite sufficient, and only provided that it does not have a strong odor.

It is highly undesirable to come to the temple with makeup. At the very least, make sure it is as inconspicuous as possible.

Men are required to remove their hats before entering the temple. You cannot appear in church in T-shirts, shorts, or untidy sportswear. Clothing should cover the body as much as possible. During Holy Week and days of mourning, people wear dark-colored clothes, but on solemn religious holidays they come to church in light-colored clothes.

You cannot come to church wearing clothes decorated with non-Christian symbols.

Other church rules

The main thing is the mutual love of the parishioners and understanding of the content of the service. If we enter the Temple of God with reverence, if, standing in the Church, we think that we are in heaven, then the Lord will fulfill all our requests.

It’s good if there is a place in the Temple where you are used to standing. Walk towards him quietly and modestly, without fuss, and when you get up, make three bows. If there is no such place yet, do not be embarrassed. Without disturbing others, try to stand so that you can hear the singing and reading. If this is not possible, stand in an empty place and pray carefully within yourself.

If you are late, be careful not to disturb the prayers of others. When entering the Temple during the reading of the Six Psalms, the Gospel, or after the Cherubic Liturgy (when the Transubstantiation of the Holy Gifts takes place), stand at the entrance doors until the end of these most important parts of the service.

An ancient church custom states that if there is a service, men stand on the right side, women on the left, clearing the central aisle.

When the clergyman censes the Temple, you need to step aside so as not to disturb him, and while censing the people, bow your head slightly.

In the Temple, pray as a participant in the Divine service, and not just as someone present. It is necessary that the prayers and chants that are read and sung come from your heart. Follow the service carefully so that you can pray for exactly what the whole Church is praying for. Make the sign of the cross and bow at the same time as everyone else.

In addition, to this day in many churches one can observe the pious rule when women let men pass ahead during anointing, communion, application to the holiday icon and to the Cross. And children or parents with children are allowed in at all churches.

If you come with children, make sure that they behave modestly and do not make noise, teach them to pray. If children need to leave, tell them to cross themselves and quietly leave, or take them out yourself.

If a small child bursts into tears in the Temple, immediately take him out or carry him out.

Until the end of the service, never, unless absolutely necessary, leave the Temple, for this is a sin before God.

Never allow a child to eat in the Temple except when the priests are distributing the blessed bread. Parents sometimes give a whole prosphora even to very young children, who crumble it all over the floor. People walk on these crumbs and unwittingly trample the sacred bread. Isn’t it better for parents to give their children a piece of prosphora themselves and make sure they don’t crumble it? Sometimes children come to church with chewing gum in their mouths. This is completely unacceptable.

Only the clergyman and the male person whom he blesses can enter the altar.

Every church has a fundraiser. You can participate in this if you wish. You can donate not only money, but also food, dishes, fabric, candles, etc. This can also be a fee for carrying out rituals - weddings, baptisms, funerals, commemorations.

When you are in the Temple, do not condemn or ridicule the involuntary mistakes of those serving or present in the Temple; It is more useful and better to delve into your own mistakes and shortcomings and earnestly ask the Lord for the forgiveness of your sins.

You need to reprimand a neighbor who has violated the rules of good behavior quietly and delicately. It is better to refrain from making comments altogether, unless, of course, there is an insolent, hooligan action. After participating in a temple service, try to maintain a reverent state at home: be courteous to your parents and kind to your children. Devote your free time to works of mercy or reading spiritual literature. This especially applies to those who have received the Holy Mysteries of Christ. These rules of pious behavior in church are not difficult for those who participate in church services every Sunday and on holidays.

And finally, probably the most important advice: during the service, do what everyone else is doing. If believers are baptized, be baptized with them; if they bow, bow too. Each bow or sign of the cross is made in response to some words or actions of the clergy. And believe me, most of those present in the temple do not know why they cross themselves and bow at this particular moment and not at another. But behind every action there is a deep tradition that has developed over centuries. And you should not violate them, trying to show your liberality or independence from the rules. After all, we enter the church to pray, but this will not bring us truth and benefit if we enter the temple without humility.

One should not condemn or reprimand a newcomer who does not know the church rules. It is better to help him with polite and kind advice. A reprimand can only be made to someone who grossly violates piety by interfering with common prayer.

Your correct behavior in an Orthodox church is not only an indicator of your upbringing, but also a demonstration that you respect Orthodox traditions and rituals. At the same time, maintain silence, behave modestly, and do not disturb believers and other visitors. Therefore, before visiting an Orthodox church, be sure to familiarize yourself with the rules of behavior in it; this will save you from awkwardness and those around you from inconvenience.

At the end of the service

The service is over. Everyone who submitted notes can again go to the candle box and receive prosphora - white wheat bread baked with yeast, with the addition of holy water. Prosphora is a Greek word, it means “offering”... It was the custom of the first Christians to bring bread from home to perform the sacrament of Communion. Now prosphora is baked in bakeries at churches. During the Liturgy, particles are taken out of the prosphora in memory of those whom we commemorate in our notes, and after the particles are taken out, the prosphora is returned to us. This is holy bread and should be eaten on an empty stomach, with holy water and prayer.

Here is the text of such a prayer: “Lord my God, may Your holy gift be: prosphora and Your holy water for the remission of my sins, for the enlightenment of my mind, for the strengthening of my mental and physical strength, for the health of my soul and body, for the subjugation of passions and my infirmities according to Your boundless mercy, through the prayers of Your Most Pure Mother and all Your saints. Amen".

After the morning service, prayer services are held in churches. What is a prayer service? A short prayer for our specific needs. “Keep it short and hot,” St. Ambrose of Optina taught us. Just at the prayer service we’ll pray... Are you sick? Let us pray for the sick. Have something important to do? Let's ask for God's help. Are we heading out? There is a farewell prayer. You can order a prayer service at the same candle box where we bought candles and left notes. You just need to indicate the name of the person for whom the prayer service is being performed. There is such a practice: they order a prayer service and go home. Of course, it is better to stay and pray with the priest.

There are also prayer services and public ones. The church prays during bad weather or during drought, there is a New Year's prayer service, there is a prayer service for unclean spirits, and there is a prayer service for the disease of drunkenness. But we especially need to remember about thanksgiving prayers. The Lord helped, choose a time, come to church, serve a prayer service, and give thanks. It’s not a bad idea to teach children: I passed the exam at school, let’s go and order a prayer service, for example, to St. Sergius of Radonezh, he helps us with our studies...

The day we were in the temple was not a day wasted. We remember our relatives and friends, we participate in divine services, we pray for those who feel bad, and we give thanks for God’s mercy. We learn to humble ourselves and be better, we learn to repent and rejoice, endure and rejoice. And there is no need to look around in confusion, be embarrassed and, even more so, angry if you suddenly did something wrong and got “wrong” beyond measure for it.

How to deal with beggars

Orthodox canons provide for the giving of alms to the beggars sitting at the entrance to the church.

When doing good to one's neighbor, everyone must remember that the Lord will not abandon him. “Do you think that the one who feeds Christ (that is, the poor), wrote St. Augustine, “will not be fed by Christ?” After all, in the eyes of the Lord, because of our sins, perhaps we look more terrible and insignificant than all these unfortunate people who live on alms.

But at the same time, if you see that there are beggars in front of you, spending all their money on drinking, give them not money, but food: an apple, cookies, bread, etc.

You should not tempt yourself with the thought that the poor “earn” no less than us, and sometimes are dressed no worse. Everyone will be asked first of all for their deeds. Your job in this case is to show mercy.

It is in relation to us, who can see Christ Himself in the asking brother, that the words of the Savior spoken by him at His Last Judgment apply: “Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the Kingdom... I was hungry, and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger and you accepted Me; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited me; I was in prison and you came to Me... truly I say to you, just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did it to Me.”

Divine services are an integral part of church life. Orthodox churches are erected for their sake.

The services that take place in the Church are not just a religious act and ritual, but spiritual life itself: especially the Sacrament of the Liturgy. The services are varied, but despite all the diversity they are subject to a fairly clear system.

What services are held in the Church? We tell you the most important things you need to know.

Divine service in the Church of the Three Saints in Paris. Photo: patriarchia.ru

Services in the Church

The liturgical life of the Church consists of three cycles:

• Year circle: where the central holiday is Easter.
• Weekly circle: where the main day is Sunday
• And the daily cycle: in which the central service is the Liturgy.

Actually, the most important thing you need to know about the services is that, with all their diversity, the main thing is the Liturgy. It is for her sake that the entire daily cycle exists, and all the services that take place in the temple are “preparatory” for it. (“Preparatory” does not mean secondary, but means that they prepare a Christian for the main thing that can be in his spiritual life - Communion.)

Externally, the services differ from each other in a more or less solemn appearance. For example, the entire priestly rank that is in the temple or monastery, as well as the choir, takes part in the Liturgy. And in the service of the “hours” (essentially, the reading of prayers and certain psalms) there is only a reader and a priest, who at this moment is hidden in the altar.

What services are held in the Church?

The daily cycle of services in the Orthodox Church consists of nine services. Now they are conventionally divided into evening and morning (they take place in churches in the morning or evening, uniting as if into a single evening or morning service), but initially, once upon a time, they were evenly distributed throughout the whole day and night.

At the same time, according to Church tradition, the beginning of the day is considered to be 6 o’clock in the evening. That is why those who are preparing for Communion need to attend the evening services the day before - so that the entire church day will be illuminated by the upcoming Sacrament.

The sacrament of the Liturgy and communion are the center of the entire liturgical circle in the Church. Photo: patriarchia.ru

Today, the liturgical cycle has acquired the following form. (In its full form, it takes place, as a rule, only in monastery churches.)

Evening services:

• 9th hour
• Vespers
• Compline
• Matins
  • (on the eve of Great Holidays or on Saturday evening, evening services are combined into the All-Night Vigil)
• 1st hour

Morning services:

• Midnight Office
• 3rd and 6th hours
• Liturgy

In “parish” churches the circle is usually reduced to the following services:

In the evening: Vespers, Matins
In the morning: Hours and Divine Liturgy

Ideally, Liturgy in any church should take place every day - since worship is not a ritual, but the Breath of the temple. However, in parishes where there is only one priest or not many parishioners, services are held less frequently. At a minimum: on Sundays and...

What are the requirements in the Church?

Requirements are an integral part of church life. These are services that do not have a clear schedule and are served according to need. In particular:

• Prayer service. Conciliar prayers on a variety of occasions at various times (and not only in church). For example, a prayer before an important event, or for warriors, or for peace, or for rain in case of a ruthless drought. In some churches, prayer services are held regularly on certain days.
• Baptism.
• Funeral service for the deceased.
• Memorial service: prayer for the ever departed.

Read this and other posts in our group at

9.1. What is worship? The divine service of the Orthodox Church is serving God through readings of prayers, chants, sermons and sacred rites performed according to the Charter of the Church. 9.2. Why are services held? Worship, as the external side of religion, serves as a means for Christians to express their internal religious faith and reverent feelings for God, a means of mysterious communication with God. 9.3. What is the purpose of worship? The purpose of the divine service established by the Orthodox Church is to give Christians the best way to express petitions, thanksgivings and praises addressed to the Lord; teach and educate believers in the truths of the Orthodox faith and the rules of Christian piety; to introduce believers into mysterious communion with the Lord and impart to them the grace-filled gifts of the Holy Spirit.

9.4. What do Orthodox services mean by their names?

(common cause, public service) is the main service during which Communion (Communion) of believers takes place. The remaining eight services are preparatory prayers for the Liturgy.

Vespers- a service performed at the end of the day, in the evening.

Compline– service after supper (dinner) .

Midnight Office – a service intended to take place at midnight.

Matins – a service performed in the morning, before sunrise.

Clock services – recollection of the events (by the hour) of Good Friday (suffering and death of the Savior), His Resurrection and the Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles.

On the eve of major holidays and Sundays, an evening service is performed, which is called the all-night vigil, because among the ancient Christians it lasted all night. The word "vigil" means "to be awake." The All-Night Vigil consists of Vespers, Matins and the first hour. In modern churches, the all-night vigil is most often celebrated in the evening before Sundays and holidays.

9.5. What services are performed in the Church daily?

– In the name of the Most Holy Trinity, the Orthodox Church performs evening, morning and afternoon services in churches every day. In turn, each of these three services is composed of three parts:

Evening service - from the ninth hour, Vespers, Compline.

Morning- from Midnight Office, Matins, first hour.

Daytime- from the third hour, sixth hour, Divine Liturgy.

Thus, nine services are formed from the evening, morning and afternoon church services.

Due to the weakness of modern Christians, such statutory services are performed only in some monasteries (for example, in the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Valaam Monastery). In most parish churches, services are held only in the morning and evening, with some reductions.

9.6. What is depicted in the Liturgy?

– In the Liturgy, under external rites, the entire earthly life of the Lord Jesus Christ is depicted: His birth, teaching, deeds, suffering, death, burial, Resurrection and Ascension to heaven.

9.7. What is called mass?

– People call the Liturgy mass. The name “mass” comes from the custom of ancient Christians, after the end of the Liturgy, to consume the remains of the brought bread and wine at a common meal (or public lunch), which took place in one of the parts of the church.

9.8. What is called a lunch lady?

– Sequence of figurative (obednitsa) – this is the name of a short service that is performed instead of the Liturgy, when the Liturgy is not supposed to be served (for example, during Lent) or when it is impossible to serve it (there is no priest, antimension, prosphora). The Obednik serves as some image or likeness of the Liturgy, its composition is similar to the Liturgy of the Catechumens and its main parts correspond to the parts of the Liturgy, with the exception of the celebration of the Sacraments. There is no communion during mass.

9.9. Where can I find out about the schedule of services in the temple?

– The schedule of services is usually posted on the doors of the temple.

9.10. Why is there not censing of the church at every service?

– The presence of the temple and its worshipers occurs at every service. The liturgical censing can be full, when it covers the entire church, and small, when the altar, iconostasis and the people standing in the pulpit are censed.

9.11. Why is there censing in the temple?

– Incense lifts the mind to the throne of God, where it is sent with the prayers of believers. In all centuries and among all peoples, the burning of incense was considered the best, purest material sacrifice to God, and of all the types of material sacrifice accepted in natural religions, the Christian Church retained only this and a few more (oil, wine, bread). And in appearance, nothing resembles the gracious breath of the Holy Spirit more than the smoke of incense. Filled with such high symbolism, incense greatly contributes to the prayerful mood of believers and with its purely bodily effect on a person. Incense has an elevating, stimulating effect on the mood. For this purpose, the charter, for example, before the Easter vigil prescribes not just incense, but an extraordinary filling of the temple with the smell from the vessels with incense.

9.12. Why do priests serve in vestments of different colors?

– The groups are assigned a certain color of clergy vestments. Each of the seven colors of liturgical vestments corresponds to the spiritual significance of the event in honor of which the service is being performed. There are no developed dogmatic institutions in this area, but the Church has an unwritten tradition that assigns a certain symbolism to the various colors used in worship.

9.13. What do the different colors of priestly vestments represent?

On holidays dedicated to the Lord Jesus Christ, as well as on the days of remembrance of His special anointed ones (prophets, apostles and saints) the color of the royal vestment is gold.

In golden robes They serve on Sundays - the days of the Lord, the King of Glory.

On holidays in honor of the Most Holy Theotokos and angelic powers, as well as on the days of remembrance of holy virgins and virgins robe color blue or white, symbolizing special purity and innocence.

Purple adopted on the Feasts of the Holy Cross. It combines red (symbolizing the color of the blood of Christ and the Resurrection) and blue, reminiscent of the fact that the Cross opened the way to heaven.

Dark red color - the color of blood. Services in red vestments are held in honor of the holy martyrs who shed their blood for the faith of Christ.

In green vestments The day of the Holy Trinity, the day of the Holy Spirit and the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem (Palm Sunday) are celebrated, since green is a symbol of life. Divine services in honor of the saints are also performed in green vestments: the monastic feat revives a person by union with Christ, renews his entire nature and leads to eternal life.

In black robes usually served on weekdays. Black color is a symbol of renunciation of worldly vanity, crying and repentance.

White as a symbol of Divine uncreated light, it was adopted on the holidays of the Nativity of Christ, Epiphany (Baptism), Ascension and Transfiguration of the Lord. Easter Matins also begins in white vestments - as a sign of the Divine light shining from the Tomb of the Risen Savior. White vestments are also used for Baptisms and burials.

From Easter to the Feast of the Ascension, all services are performed in red vestments, symbolizing the inexpressible fiery love of God for the human race, the victory of the Risen Lord Jesus Christ.

9.14. What do candlesticks with two or three candles mean?

- These are dikiriy and trikiriy. Dikiriy is a candlestick with two candles, symbolizing the two natures in Jesus Christ: Divine and human. Trikirium - a candlestick with three candles, symbolizing faith in the Holy Trinity.

9.15. Why is there sometimes a cross decorated with flowers on the lectern in the center of the temple instead of an icon?

– This happens during the Week of the Cross during Great Lent. The cross is taken out and placed on a lectern in the center of the temple, so that, with a reminder of the suffering and death of the Lord, to inspire and strengthen those who are fasting to continue the feat of fasting.

On the holidays of the Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord and the Origin (Demolition) of the Honest Trees of the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord, the Cross is also brought to the center of the temple.

9.16. Why does the deacon stand with his back to the worshipers in the church?

– He stands facing the altar, in which is the Throne of God and the Lord Himself is invisibly present. The deacon, as it were, leads the worshipers and on their behalf pronounces prayer requests to God.

9.17. Who are the catechumens who are called to leave the temple during worship?

– These are people who are not baptized, but who are preparing to receive the Sacrament of Holy Baptism. They cannot participate in church Sacraments, therefore, before the start of the most important church Sacrament - Communion - they are called upon to leave the temple.

9.18. What date does Maslenitsa start from?

– Maslenitsa is the last week before the start of Lent. It ends with Forgiveness Sunday.

9.19. Until what time is the prayer of Ephraim the Syrian read?

– The prayer of Ephraim the Syrian is read until Wednesday of Holy Week.

9.20. When is the Shroud taken away?

– The Shroud is taken to the altar before the Easter service on Saturday evening.

9.21. When can you venerate the Shroud?

– You can venerate the Shroud from the middle of Good Friday until the start of the Easter service.

9.22. Does Communion happen on Good Friday?

- No. Since the Liturgy is not served on Good Friday, because on this day the Lord Himself sacrificed Himself.

9.23. Does Communion happen on Holy Saturday or Easter?

– On Holy Saturday and Easter, the Liturgy is served, therefore, there is Communion of the faithful.

9.24. Until what hour does the Easter service last?

– In different churches the end time of the Easter service is different, but most often it happens from 3 to 6 o’clock in the morning.

9.25. Why aren’t the Royal Doors open throughout the entire service on Easter Week during the Liturgy?

– Some priests are awarded the right to serve the Liturgy with the Royal Doors open.

9.26. On what days does the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great take place?

– The Liturgy of Basil the Great is celebrated only 10 times a year: on the eve of the holidays of the Nativity of Christ and the Epiphany of the Lord (or on the days of these holidays if they fall on Sunday or Monday), January 1/14 - on the day of remembrance of St. Basil the Great, on five Sundays Lent (Palm Sunday is excluded), Maundy Thursday and Great Saturday of Holy Week. The Liturgy of Basil the Great differs from the Liturgy of John Chrysostom in some prayers, their longer duration and longer choir singing, which is why it is served a little longer.

9.27. Why don’t they translate the service into Russian to make it more understandable?

– The Slavic language is a blessed, spiritualized language that the holy church people Cyril and Methodius created specifically for worship. People have become unaccustomed to the Church Slavonic language, and some simply do not want to understand it. But if you go to Church regularly, and not just occasionally, then the grace of God will touch the heart, and all the words of this pure, spirit-bearing language will become understandable. The Church Slavonic language, due to its imagery, precision in the expression of thought, artistic brightness and beauty, is much more suitable for communication with God than the modern crippled spoken Russian language.

But the main reason for the incomprehensibility is not the Church Slavonic language, it is very close to Russian - in order to fully perceive it, you need to learn only a few dozen words. The fact is that even if the entire service were translated into Russian, people would still not understand anything about it. The fact that people do not perceive worship is a language problem to the least extent; in the first place is ignorance of the Bible. Most of the chants are highly poetic renditions of biblical stories; Without knowing the source, it is impossible to understand them, no matter what language they are sung in. Therefore, anyone who wants to understand Orthodox worship must, first of all, begin by reading and studying the Holy Scriptures, and it is quite accessible in Russian.

9.28. Why do the lights and candles sometimes go out in the church during services?

– At Matins, during the reading of the Six Psalms, candles in churches are extinguished, except for a few. The Six Psalms is the cry of a repentant sinner before Christ the Savior who came to earth. The lack of illumination, on the one hand, helps to think about what is being read, on the other hand, it reminds us of the gloom of the sinful state depicted by the psalms, and of the fact that external light does not suit a sinner. By arranging this reading in this way, the Church wants to incite believers to deepen themselves so that, having entered into themselves, they enter into a conversation with the merciful Lord, who does not want the death of a sinner (Ezek. 33:11), about the most necessary matter - the salvation of the soul through bringing it into line with Him. , Savior, relationships broken by sin. The reading of the first half of the Six Psalms expresses the sorrow of a soul that has moved away from God and is seeking Him. Reading the second half of the Six Psalms reveals the state of a repentant soul reconciled with God.

9.29. What psalms are included in the Six Psalms and why these particular ones?

– The first part of Matins opens with a system of psalms known as six psalms. The sixth psalm includes: Psalm 3 “Lord, who has multiplied all this,” Psalm 37 “Lord, let me not be angry,” Psalm 62 “O God, my God, I come to You in the morning,” Psalm 87 “O Lord God of my salvation,” Psalm 102 “Bless my soul the Lord,” Psalm 142 “Lord, hear my prayer.” The psalms were chosen, probably not without intention, from different places in the Psalter evenly; this is how they represent it all. The psalms were chosen to be of the same content and tone that prevails in the Psalter; namely, they all depict the persecution of the righteous by enemies and his firm hope in God, only growing from the increase of persecution and in the end reaching jubilant peace in God (Psalm 103). All these psalms are inscribed with the name of David, excluding 87, which is the “sons of Korah,” and were sung by him, of course, during persecution by Saul (maybe Psalm 62) or Absalom (Psalms 3; 142), reflecting the spiritual growth of the singer in these disasters. Of the many psalms of similar content, these are chosen here because in some places they refer to night and morning (Ps. 3:6: “I fell asleep and arose, I arose”; Ps. 37:7: “I walked lamenting all day long”) ", v. 14: "I have taught the flattering all day long"; ps. 62:1: "I will teach You in the morning", v. 7: "I have commemorated Thee on my bed; in the morning I have learned from Thee"; I cried out to You in the days and in the night,” v. 10: “All day long I lifted up my hands to You,” v. 13, 14: “Thy wonders will be known in the dark... and I have cried out to You, O Lord, and morning prayer mine will precede Thee"; Ps. 102:15: "His days are like the flower of the field"; Ps. 142:8: "I hear Thy mercy upon me in the morning"). Psalms of repentance alternate with thanksgiving.

Six Psalms listen in mp3 format

9.30. What is "polyeleos"?

- Polyeleos is the name given to the most solemn part of Matins - a divine service that takes place in the morning or evening; Polyeleos is served only at festive matins. This is determined by the liturgical regulations. On the eve of Sunday or a holiday, Matins is part of the all-night vigil and is served in the evening.

Polyeleos begins after reading the kathisma (Psalter) with the singing of verses of praise from the psalms: 134 - “Praise the name of the Lord” and 135 - “Confess the Lord” and ends with the reading of the Gospel. In ancient times, when the first words of this hymn “Praise the name of the Lord” were heard after the kathismas, numerous lamps (unction lamps) were lit in the temple. Therefore, this part of the all-night vigil is called “many oils” or, in Greek, polyeleos (“poly” - many, “oil” - oil). The Royal Doors open, and the priest, preceded by a deacon holding a lighted candle, burns incense to the altar and the entire altar, iconostasis, choir, worshipers and the entire temple. The open Royal Doors symbolize the open Holy Sepulcher, from where the kingdom of eternal life shines. After reading the Gospel, everyone present at the service approaches the icon of the holiday and venerates it. In memory of the fraternal meal of ancient Christians, which was accompanied by anointing with fragrant oil, the priest draws the sign of the cross on the forehead of everyone approaching the icon. This custom is called anointing. Anointing with oil serves as an external sign of participation in the grace and spiritual joy of the holiday, participation in the Church. Anointing with consecrated oil on polyeleos is not a sacrament; it is a rite that only symbolizes the invocation of God's mercy and blessing.

9.31. What is "lithium"?

– Litiya translated from Greek means fervent prayer. The current charter recognizes four types of litia, which, according to the degree of solemnity, can be arranged in the following order: a) “lithia outside the monastery,” scheduled for some twelfth holidays and on Bright Week before the Liturgy; b) lithium at Great Vespers, connected with the vigil; c) litia at the end of the festive and Sunday matins; d) lithium for the repose after weekday Vespers and Matins. In terms of the content of the prayers and the rite, these types of litia are very different from each other, but what they have in common is the departure from the temple. In the first type (of those listed), this outflow is complete, and in the others it is incomplete. But here and here it is performed in order to express the prayer not only in words, but also in movement, to change its place to revive prayerful attention; The further purpose of the lithium is to express - by removing from the temple - our unworthiness to pray in it: we pray, standing before the gates of the holy temple, as if before the gates of heaven, like Adam, the publican, the prodigal son. Hence the somewhat repentant and mournful nature of lithium prayers. Finally, in litia, the Church emerges from its blessed environment into the outside world or into the vestibule, as a part of the temple in contact with this world, open to everyone not accepted into the Church or excluded from it, for the purpose of a prayer mission in this world. Hence the national and universal character (for the whole world) of lithium prayers.

9.32. What is the Procession of the Cross and when does it happen?

– A procession of the cross is a solemn procession of clergy and lay believers with icons, banners and other shrines. Processions of the Cross are held on annual special days established for them: on the Holy Resurrection of Christ - the Easter Procession of the Cross; on the feast of Epiphany for the great consecration of water in memory of the Baptism of the Lord Jesus Christ in the waters of the Jordan, as well as in honor of shrines and great church or state events. There are also extraordinary religious processions established by the Church on especially important occasions.

9.33. Where did the Processions of the Cross come from?

– Just like holy icons, religious processions got their origins from the Old Testament. The ancient righteous often performed solemn and popular processions with singing, trumpeting and rejoicing. Stories about this are set out in the sacred books of the Old Testament: Exodus, Numbers, the books of Kings, Psalms and others.

The first prototypes of the religious processions were: the journey of the sons of Israel from Egypt to the promised land; the procession of all Israel following the ark of God, from which the miraculous division of the Jordan River occurred (Joshua 3:14-17); the solemn seven-fold circumambulation of the ark around the walls of Jericho, during which the miraculous fall of the impregnable walls of Jericho took place from the voice of the sacred trumpets and the proclamations of the entire people (Joshua 6:5-19); as well as the solemn nationwide transfer of the ark of the Lord by kings David and Solomon (2 Kings 6:1-18; 3 Kings 8:1-21).

9.34. What does the Easter Procession mean?

– The Holy Resurrection of Christ is celebrated with special solemnity. The Easter service begins on Holy Saturday, late in the evening. At Matins, after the Midnight Office, the Easter Procession of the Cross takes place - worshipers, led by the clergy, leave the temple to make a solemn procession around the temple. Like the myrrh-bearing women who met the risen Christ the Savior outside Jerusalem, Christians meet the news of the coming of the Holy Resurrection of Christ outside the walls of the temple - they seem to be marching towards the risen Savior.

The Easter procession takes place with candles, banners, censers and the icon of the Resurrection of Christ under the continuous ringing of bells. Before entering the temple, the solemn Easter procession stops at the door and enters the temple only after the jubilant message has been sounded three times: “Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death and giving life to those in the tombs!” The procession of the cross enters the temple, just as the myrrh-bearing women came to Jerusalem with joyful news to the disciples of Christ about the risen Lord.

9.35. How many times does the Easter Procession happen?

– The first Easter religious procession takes place on Easter night. Then, during the week (Bright Week), every day after the end of the Liturgy, the Easter Procession of the Cross is held, and before the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord, the same Processions of the Cross are held every Sunday.

9.36. What does the Procession with the Shroud on Holy Week mean?

– This mournful and deplorable procession of the Cross takes place in remembrance of the burial of Jesus Christ, when His secret disciples Joseph and Nicodemus, accompanied by the Mother of God and the myrrh-bearing women, carried in their arms the deceased Jesus Christ on the cross. They walked from Mount Golgotha ​​to Joseph's vineyard, where there was a burial cave in which, according to Jewish custom, they laid the body of Christ. In remembrance of this sacred event - the burial of Jesus Christ - a procession of the Cross is held with the Shroud, which represents the body of the deceased Jesus Christ, as it was taken down from the cross and laid in the tomb.

The Apostle says to the believers: "Remember my bonds"(Col. 4:18). If the Apostle commands Christians to remember his sufferings in chains, then how much more strongly should they remember the sufferings of Christ. During the suffering and death on the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, modern Christians did not live and did not share sorrow with the apostles, therefore in the days of Holy Week they remember their sorrows and lamentations about the Redeemer.

Anyone called a Christian who celebrates the sorrowful moments of the Savior’s suffering and death cannot help but be a participant in the heavenly joy of His Resurrection, for in the words of the Apostle: “We are joint heirs with Christ, if only we suffer with Him, so that we may also be glorified with Him.”(Rom.8:17).

9.37. On what emergency occasions are religious processions held?

– Extraordinary religious processions are carried out with the permission of the diocesan church authorities on occasions that are especially vital for the parish, the diocese or the entire Orthodox people - during an invasion of foreigners, during the attack of a destructive disease, during famine, drought or other disasters.

9.38. What do the banners with which religious processions take place mean?

– The first prototype of banners was after the Flood. God, appearing to Noah during his sacrifice, showed a rainbow in the clouds and called it "a sign of an everlasting covenant" between God and people (Gen.9:13-16). Just as a rainbow in the sky reminds people of God’s covenant, so on banners the image of the Savior serves as a constant reminder of the deliverance of the human race at the Last Judgment from the spiritual fiery flood.

The second prototype of the banners was during Israel's exit from Egypt during the passage through the Red Sea. Then the Lord appeared in a pillar of cloud and covered all the army of Pharaoh with darkness from this cloud, and destroyed it in the sea, but saved Israel. So on the banners the image of the Savior is visible as a cloud that appeared from heaven to defeat the enemy - the spiritual Pharaoh - the devil with all his army. The Lord always wins and drives away the power of the enemy.

The third type of banners was the same cloud that covered the tabernacle and overshadowed Israel during the journey to the Promised Land. All Israel looked at the sacred cloud cover and with spiritual eyes understood in it the presence of God Himself.

Another prototype of the banner is the copper serpent, which was erected by Moses at the command of God in the desert. When looking at it, the Jews received healing from God, since the copper serpent represented the Cross of Christ (John 3:14,15). So, while carrying banners during the procession of the Cross, believers raise their bodily eyes to the images of the Savior, the Mother of God and the saints; with spiritual eyes they ascend to their prototypes existing in heaven and receive spiritual and physical healing from the sinful remorse of spiritual serpents - demons who tempt all people.

A practical guide to parish counseling. St. Petersburg 2009.

When there is prayer, the believer bows his head as a sign of humility and reverence, bows from the waist and bows to the ground, and can lie prostrate with his head bowed to the ground. The believer, knowing the rules of the church, does all these bows for a reason and not when he pleases. Everything in worship is endowed with meaning and has both external and internal sides. For example, bowing to the ground with the head touching the ground and immediately following this rise has a deep symbolic meaning: because of sin we fell to the earth and thanks to the redemption of Christ we again have the opportunity to be taken to heaven. Among all the prayers and services, Sundays are special

The meaning of Sunday prayer service

It is important to know, for example, that in the church there are days when bowing to the ground is not done; moreover, they are prohibited by the charter. This is caused by the meaning of the event being celebrated. First of all, these are Sunday prayers, polyeleos days, from the feast of Christmas until Epiphany itself, the entire Pentecost from Easter to the day of the Holy Spirit and the days before which the polyeleos solemn all-night vigils take place. The prohibition of bowing on these days was already stipulated at the first Ecumenical Council, where it was clearly stated that this rule applies to the entire church, and prayers on these days should be performed while standing on your feet.

Resolutions of the councils

The Church places great importance on perfection in services and at home. This is evident from the fact that the decree on how to perform Sunday prayers, spend polyeleos days and Pentecost is repeated in a number of rules. VI also explains in Rule 90 about abstaining from prostrations from the Saturday evening entrance to the Sunday evening entrance. This symbolizes joy and reverence for the resurrection of Christ.

Basil the Great in his writings “On the Holy Spirit” (91 rules) says that at the beginning (1st day) of the week, Sunday prayers must be performed standing and upright, because of the risen Christ and our future resurrection with him, our duty to seek the highest. Therefore, on Sunday, standing directly before God during prayer is a reminder to us of the grace given. This day is called the single eighth day, symbolizing the time following the present - eternity, an endless century. The Church teaches its parishioners to perform Sunday prayers while standing, in order to often remind them of endless life, and not to be remiss in their repose into it.

Purpose of Church Prayer

Celebrating the victory of life over death, Christ over the devil, the church builds a service accordingly on Sunday. Therefore, praying on your knees at Sunday services on these days is unacceptable; it will contradict the whole meaning of the holiday.

It has an edifying purpose for believers when reading the psalms and singing songs. It is important to know about the true teaching of Christ, to become disposed to prayer and repentance. At the same time, it is important to evoke in those praying a feeling of gratitude to God for everything. It is important for the person praying to feel the need for intense prayer for further mercies to us and to receive peace of mind.

Sunday morning prayers in church differ from home prayer in that they are performed by clergy who are legally present in the church and ordained through the sacrament of the priesthood. Through prayer, a Christian enters into mysterious communion with God, and through the sacraments he receives from God grace-filled strength for a righteous life.

Church prayers are connected in a special way. They also include reading psalms and the Holy Gospel. Throughout the service, a certain thought consistently develops.

The essence of Sunday prayer

The article can describe only a few points that reveal the meaning of Sunday prayer. The text of the full liturgy should be looked for in special sources.

About Sunday stichera and troparion

The stichera of the resurrection speak of God bringing the soul out of prison. Turning to Christ, the prayer speaks of His great victory over hell, death on the cross, and the liberation of the dead. The soul of a repentant sinner prays to Christ, the source of life, to have mercy on it and grant the one praying to be with the righteous. From the depths of his heart he calls out to the Lord and asks to hear his voice, a sinner. The soul cries out to God and rejoices at the Resurrection of Christ!

Sunday's troparion speaks of angelic powers and Mary seeking Christ in the tomb. But He is not there - He has risen!

The study of Sunday worship forms the center and meaning of the year-long course in liturgics. Why? On the one hand, this is connected with the place of Sunday service in worship in general, and on the other hand, with the place of Sunday service in the life of each of us. If we ask ourselves which service we attend most often (of course, if we are not regents or choristers), then we will have to answer that on Sunday. And if a person understands what he hears at the Sunday service, then this is already something, but knowing the Sunday service well is a lot.

Sunday worship, according to the Charter, occupies an extremely important place in church life.

What is the “thought of the Charter”? This idea is not directly expressed anywhere in the Typikon. The thought of the Charter is cast into a certain form, into a certain structure, into certain rules. These rules do not exist for themselves, not like the rules of the road: you need to agree on right-hand or left-hand traffic so as not to collide. You can introduce right-hand drive in one country, left-hand drive in another, it doesn’t matter. But liturgical rules are not an end in themselves; they are a repository of meaning. Every chapter of the Typikon is not just some confusing text or a long-overdue sequence of prayers and chants, it is our teaching in faith and church life. The Typikon creates a certain hierarchy of worship, and this hierarchy is present in everything. There is a hierarchy within one service, there is a hierarchy within a church day, within a week, within a church year. This hierarchy is expressed not in a primitive division into first, second and third places, but in the variety of shades of church services and in their most harmonious, most colorful combination. Having assimilated the structure of the Rule in its entirety, a person begins to live in the same rhythm with it, in the same rhythm with the Church, and gradually all church life and all church teaching enters into himself, into his heart. Gradually, he begins to feel the whole gamut of colors of Orthodox worship, and then he already perfectly understands the place of Easter in the church year, and how to celebrate the Annunciation, and what is the place of the polyeleos saints, and what is assigned to the vigils, how to combine Sunday with different feasts of saints, and how with the Theotokos holidays.

Sunday worship gives us a very clear example of such an opportunity to penetrate into the prescriptions of the Charter, assimilating their meaning. Thus, the first seven chapters of the Typikon are devoted to a description of the Sunday service - it all begins with the Sunday service. This was not always the case and not in all Typikons, but, in the end, the church charter nevertheless came to this, and one cannot help but see great meaning in this. The Sunday vigil and another version of the Sunday service, without the vigil, give us a sample of holiday services throughout the year. The monthly vigil is not described in such detail as the Sunday one. According to the month's word, Polyeleos is not described at all, but the Sunday service without a vigil, i.e. as close as possible to polyeleus in terms of the month word, is described. It is the Sunday service that provides the model for all the holiday services of the year, and in the Typikon it comes first.

The place of Sunday service in the Charter can be compared with the place of the Resurrection of Christ in the life of every Christian. According to Holy Scripture, without faith in the Resurrection our faith is vain (1 Cor. 15:14). And the Sunday service, of course, has a completely exceptional position in worship. Easter is the pinnacle of the whole year, the center of the year, an incomparable holiday, not even the twelfth, since it is immeasurably larger than any twelfth holiday; it has a huge preparatory period - more than 40 days - and the same after-feast. And the Sunday service is the beginning and culmination of the weekly service; week is the first day of the week. The week begins from its peak, from such a height that not a single day of the week rises to. Let us remember the names of Sunday: “Sunday” does not require explanation, but “week” says that on this day there is no need to do worldly affairs; it is a day dedicated to God. Let us remember the commandment about a day dedicated to God - this is one of the ten commandments. In the Old Testament this is the Sabbath day, for the New Testament people it is Sunday.

The early Christian names of this day are remarkable: “day of the sun,” “eighth day.” The second name is especially surprising, because there are only seven days in a week; but this day does not belong to the week of the created, temporary world. This is a day that belongs not to time, but to eternity, just like the Eucharist. We rush to the service at 7 or 10 o'clock in the morning, knowing that it will last about 2.5 or 3.5 hours, but this is like external knowledge. The Eucharist itself does not belong to time, it belongs to eternity, and into this eternity it transports us from the power of time. The same teaching was probably about Sunday. This is the eighth day - the day of the next century. In ancient times, this particular day was the day of the community meeting, the predominant day for the celebration of the Eucharist. In our Typikon and in the edition that we are now trying to use, this teaching is fully reflected, but it is not presented in some beautiful words or complete formulations, but is contained in a whole collection of rules, which in appearance are formal instructions, and in its essence - precisely that repository, that vessel in which we draw the teaching about the Resurrection. This teaching does not exist on its own, it exists only for us, only to enter our mind, into our heart, into the routine of our life and become a part of our existence, a very important part.

So, in the first chapter of the Typikon, Little Vespers is described, in the second chapter - the course of the Sunday all-night vigil (in conjunction with the service to the saint without a sign). The third chapter is the Sunday vigil in conjunction with the service to the vigil saint; the fourth chapter is the Sunday service in conjunction with the service to the polyelean saint, the fifth - in conjunction with the service to the sixfold saint and the saint with doxology, the sixth speaks about the number of vigils (not only Sundays) “that occur throughout the summer.” After the Sunday vigils are described, the vigils that occur during the rest of the year are mentioned; it is very clearly shown that the Sunday service is their model. The seventh chapter describes a Sunday service without a vigil, a version of the service when Great Vespers is celebrated, preceded by the ninth hour, then Compline, Sunday Midnight Office and separately Sunday Matins. Let us remember that during the vigil, Great Vespers and Festive Matins are performed together as one service, and Compline and the Midnight Office are absent.

Sunday vigil is never served on its own, only as a Sunday service. This is not only the day of the week, it is also the day of the year, the day of a month. And a holiday falls on Sunday; it could be the Twelfth Feast of the Lord, the Feast of the Theotokos, or the memory of a saint, so it is impossible to consider just one Sunday service; it must be combined with something. The Sunday service will not be combined only with the services of the twelve feasts of the Lord (with the exception of the Presentation), since according to the Rule, on the Lord's feast all Sunday services are canceled. And this testifies to the exceptional importance of the Sunday service, which is always served without fail, except for only one single case, when the Twelfth Feast of the Lord falls on a Sunday. It is the twelve, for example, the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem: it is always on Sunday, and there is no Sunday service. Christmas, Epiphany, Transfiguration, Exaltation of the Cross - if they fall on a Sunday, then the Sunday service is cancelled. But the Image Not Made by Hands or the Position of the Savior’s Robe does not cancel the Sunday service; after all, these are not the Twelfth holidays. This is the high level at which an ordinary Sunday day stands in the Typikon system. Only the Lord's Twelfth Feast is higher than it. Everything else is either comparable in importance or much inferior.

Sunday is a small Easter, which we have the happiness of celebrating once a week. But this frequency also has the opposite effect for us: it would seem that we should enjoy Sunday more, appreciate more, wait more, worry more, but for us this day, on the contrary, becomes ordinary. Let us remember, for example, that in the Sunday service of the 6th tone, the first stichera is sung the same stichera that sounds on the first day of Easter during the procession before Easter Matins: “Thy Resurrection, O Christ the Savior, the angels sing in heaven...” When this stichera is sung on Sunday, it immediately smells like Easter. “Having seen the Resurrection of Christ...” - a bright Easter text - stands in the center of Sunday Matins. This is truly a small Easter that does not leave us all year. One wonderful charter member said this: “I would not have the strength to part with Great Easter if there were no Sundays.” They leave the light of Easter for us for the whole year.

The second table shows the distribution of variable parts of the service when combining the Sunday service with the Menaion service for various holiday signs of the Month.

In the Typikon, the sequence of Little Vespers is described in the first chapter; This chapter is very clear and simple, which sets it apart from many other places in the Typikon. This chapter begins with words about how to start the Sunday service: “Before the sun sets on the Sabbath day, the paraecclesiarch, that is, the candilov-burner, comes (paraecclesiarch means “the elder’s assistant at the temple” - the one who fulfills various needs for the church service; the candilov-burner is the one who who lights the lamps), to the primate (or abbot of the monastery), and worships him, signaling with his coming the time of riveting." Riveting is ringing a bell. Signifying - showing by his very arrival that the time has come to call for service. “And we will take the blessing, coming out, slandering into the small campan.” Already at the very ringing, the blessing of the elder in the monastery is taken. Then the brethren gather, and Little Vespers begins, which we have already discussed, so we will not dwell on it now.

Our Charter many times demonstrates its love for humanity and constant remembrance of the weak human; this chapter is no exception. It ends with the instruction that after Little Vespers one must go to the refectory, where there should be an evening monastic meal. But at the same time, it is necessary to remember that there is service ahead; hence this remark: “and let us eat lightly what is presented to us, so that we do not become burdened with the vigil.” We eat, but we eat little, so that it is not too difficult for us to endure the whole night service. This is not the all-night vigil that we are all so familiar with; it is truly a service from sunset to sunrise (although in the east this time is much shorter than ours). And the Typikon seems to warn: if you eat too much, it will be difficult to endure this service.

The Typikon contains many such remarks that are reminiscent of the instructions of parents to their children, who care about everything at once: both the most important and the more minor; and that the child can withstand the load, and at the same time, that there is a certain hierarchy in his life: what is important and what is less important.

The second chapter of the Typikon is devoted to a description of the Sunday all-night vigil itself. The initial part of this chapter is an amazingly detailed, rare beauty, description of the service. Even more surprising is how inconsistent this description is with how we now, in our parish practice, conduct the beginning of Sunday services. Historical research shows that, apparently, this charter was never observed in the Russian Church at all, and was recorded in our Typikon as a result of book edits based on Greek models, which, naturally, could not mechanically lead to the exact execution of the instructions of the Greek Typikon.

Let us remember how the vigil begins in our churches. Deacon: “Rise up,” the choir (or in some parishes the deacon again): “Lord, bless,” the priest gives an exclamation Glory to the Saints... clergy sing in the altar Come, let's worship and after this the opening psalm begins. During the opening psalm, the priest, accompanied by a deacon, censes the entire church. The Typicon describes a completely different course of service. I would like everyone to read this and figure it out for themselves, but let’s say two words anyway. The Typikon describes the beginning of the service roughly like this: the brethren gather in church and sit on benches (at services, benches were very necessary; often you had to sit down, and they were there for everyone to sit. True, the brethren in those monasteries for which the Rules were written were very small, 20-30 people in the church, and everything was completely different from ours. In the East, there are still so-called stasidia in monastery churches, i.e. special places for the brethren with folding benches. where you can stand, leaning on the armrests, or you can sit. In parish churches, there are benches for parishioners everywhere.). The primate (hegumen, abbot) is in his place, in the altar - the leading priest, i.e. that priest whose turn it is to serve on this Sunday. And so the kandilov-burner comes out into the middle of the temple and says: “Rise up.” Various symbolic interpretations of this exclamation have appeared; they say that he calls us to forget about everything, think only about service, perk up; but in reality in Typikon it simply means “stand up” - here you were sitting on the benches, and now stand up, the service begins. After this, the complete censing of the temple begins in complete silence, when everyone is already standing, everyone is gathered, everything is ready for the service, the lamps are burning, incense is burned from the censer, the ringing of this censer is heard - the silent beginning of the service. According to the testimony of those who tried to fully implement this charter, such a beginning has an absolutely amazing effect on a person; This is not like you and I - we ran in and the service immediately began: how can we hear the service or understand it? The typicon speaks of something completely different. Everyone came in advance, and everything is aimed at concentrating, gathering, there is complete silence, and everyone is preparing for common prayer together. This preparation for worship is obviously aimed at maximizing concentration and calming the human spirit before the service.

Sunday all-night vigil during the period of Octoechos.

(in conjunction with the service of the saint without sign, sixfold and with doxology, without pre- and post-celebration)

Legend: Who sings/reads:WITH– priest, D – deacon, H- reader, L- face. Liturgical books: WITH - Missal, E– Gospel, A- Apostle, P–

Psalter, H- Book of Hours, ABOUT– Octoechos, M-Minea, AND– Irmologius, T– Explanatory Gospel or Apostle, F- according to the teachings of St. Theodora Studite, AND- Lives, P– Prologue.

Notes:Sun- are Sunday, East– eastern, Krestovsk- Cross Sundays, B- Mother of God, Ev- Gospel [stichera].

Only then, when the priest returns to the altar, does the exclamation sound: Glory to the Saints. With this arrangement of the service, then, while singing the 103rd Psalm, he calmly reads the prayers of light. For us, this is difficult, since it is difficult to simultaneously burn incense in the temple while singing the 103rd Psalm in a very abbreviated manner and somehow still read the prayers of the lamp. In our practice, they are read not on the sole, but in the altar, and you and I do not see how the prayers of the lamp are read on Sunday.

Singing Come, let's worship also amazingly described in the Typikon. Firstly, this is fourfold singing - three lines familiar to us, and then, as it is said in the Typikon, especially: “Come, let us worship and fall down before Him.” The typikon in this place talks about how loud (there is even a hint of a musical chant) and how it should be sung Come, let's worship. At first very quietly and quietly, then “a little higher,” then “let’s cut out with a voice,” and also separately - “Come, let us worship and fall down before Him.” According to Typikon, this should be an ascending, expanding singing, which begins very quietly and only then reaches its peak. Something similar happens here at Easter Matins, when everyone is standing in the church, and the clergy in the altar very quietly begin to sing “Thy Resurrection, O Christ the Savior, the angels are singing in heaven...” then they sing louder, the Royal Doors open, and the song spills out. around the temple. You feel how the chant can grow, spread in an ever wider stream; This is precisely the dynamics of this small and not the most important chant of the service that the Typikon prescribes.

Psalm 103, another name for it is the opening psalm, is sung with three choruses in the eighth tone. The eighth voice, apparently, was thought of as a very festive and solemn tune. The entire opening psalm must be sung in its entirety (this is a very large text) with a chorus for each verse. First, the chorus is sung: “Blessed are you, O Lord,” then “Wonderful are Thy works, O Lord,” and then “Glory to Thee, O Lord, who created all things.” According to eyewitnesses of the statutory service, the singing of this psalm - full, statutory - is unusually difficult and lengthy, it lasts at least 30 minutes (and on Mount Athos the opening psalm is sung for almost an hour and a half) and gives the impression of something majestic, monumental. This, of course, is an amazing psalm, and it would be good for us to get acquainted with its content, and not judge it by those scanty 5 and a half verses that we are privileged to hear in our parish services. It is not yet possible to correct this in our situation, but we can at least know what it really is, fragments of which we hear. The lamp prayers are written down in the same paragraph of the diagram; they must be read during the opening psalm.

The Great Litany is always the first in the service, and the Sunday service is no exception. Number 8 denotes the 1st kathisma, which is very often simply called Blessed is the husband. We know that during one week outside of Lent, the Psalter should be read in its entirety once. Kathismas are distributed by service and by day of the week. The week begins in a week, the week begins on Saturday evening, so on Saturday, Great Vespers, naturally, falls on the 1st Kathisma. According to the Charter, it must be sung in three antiphons, in its entirety. The first antiphon is on the eighth tone (again this festive, beautiful chant), the second and third antiphons are on the bottom tone, i.e. to the voice that begins on this Sunday according to Octoechos. Singing tradition dictates performance Blessed is the husband With Alleluia to each verse (sometimes three times, sometimes once). Litany small (item 9) – for each antiphon. According to the Charter it should be like this: antiphon - litany, antiphon - litany, antiphon - litany. What do we have? 6 verses instead of the entire kathisma and one litany instead of three.

There is no need to think that kathisma Blessed is the husband first at Sunday service only because it has the number 1; it would be wrong to assume only a formal connection with the Sunday service. This kathisma contains a significant number of messianic psalms, i.e. those psalms that can be attributed to prophecies or are somehow connected with our Lord Jesus Christ and the work of saving the human race that He accomplished on earth. Here is the first psalm: “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked.” This psalm is amazingly beautiful. It speaks of a righteous man who has nothing in common with sinners, with the unclean, and then follows a striking image: this righteous man is likened to a tree planted “at the issue of the waters.” What is it? This is a tree that grows near a source - a river or some kind of stream, i.e. where there is a lot of water. It is said that “its leaf will not fall away” - its leaves will not fall off and its fruit will not wither, and it will prosper, like the soul of the righteous, which belongs to the Lord. And then there is a contrast: “Not like wickedness, not like that, but like dust that the wind sweeps up from the face of the earth” - but that’s not how the wicked live, they are like dust that a strong wind raises from the earth. The first psalm is truly beautiful, and one can only regret that we hardly hear it. To whom can the words about the blessed man, the righteous man, be fully applied? Of course, they can be fully attributed only to our Lord Jesus Christ - the One who fully fulfilled the law of the Father and did not deviate from it in any way and had nothing to do with sin. In an expanded sense, every righteous person is likened to Him, but in an absolute sense, of course, this is only the Lord Jesus Christ. Many verses of the 2nd and 3rd psalms are also messianic, so let’s not think that this is a formality - the purpose of the 1st kathisma for Sunday.

Lord, I cried - ordinary psalms from the Book of Hours. All of them must be sung at every service, including Sunday. Next follow the stichera on Lord, I cried. On Sunday, the Charter prescribes singing 10 stichera - this is a lot, this, one might say, is the maximum of the normative options for the number of stichera per Lord, I cried, more than this amount occurs in exceptional cases; only twice a year, there are more than 10. This once again testifies to the greatness of Sunday.

The Octoechos consists of eight symmetrical parts: 1st, 2nd, 3rd voice and so on, until the 8th voice. Each voice begins on Sunday and lasts for one week. The week begins on a week, the week begins on Saturday evening. On Saturday evening there is a change of voice. The Sunday service of the voice is a service from that section of the Octoechos, which begins this week. When does the alternation of the Octoechos voices begin? After Pentecost, the first week is the Sunday of All Saints. The eighth voice always falls into it. And the next week is the Sunday of All Saints, who shone in the Russian lands; in this week there is always the 1st voice. And so on throughout the year, without any omissions or abbreviations, the vocal pillar goes on, i.e. alternating voices from 1st to 8th. How do you know what voice is going on today? If a person regents, sings or reads, then he remembers it, but what if he doesn’t remember? There is a desk calendar for this. In Octoechos you need to open the corresponding voice; Saturday evening is the beginning of the Sunday service.

On And now the dogmatic voice is sung. The dogmatist of the voice is the Theotokos, who is in Octoechos, on Saturday evening at Great Vespers at the conclusion of the cycle of stichera on Lord, I cried. These Theotokos have an exceptional, very important meaning in the service, although they are the Theotokos, they have a special name - “dogmatic,” because in most of them, various aspects of the dogma about the birth of the Son of God from the Most Pure Virgin Mary and the Holy Spirit are set out. These dogmatists are an indispensable and very significant part of the Sunday service and are almost never canceled. There are perhaps one or two occasions in a church year when the dogmatic voice is not sung per week, but these are rare exceptions.

During the singing of the dogmatist, an entrance is made with a censer. Choir sings The world is quiet, and this is so according to the Charter: at Sunday and holiday services The light is quiet it is sung, the Charter says so: “and we sing”; then the prokeimenon of Saturday is proclaimed, which is in the Service Book or Book of Hours and is heard 5 times during the service, unlike other prokeimenons. Let us remember the prokeimenon at the liturgy: the reader or deacon announced the prokeimenon, the choir sang; reader - verse, choir - prokeimenon, then reader or deacon - half of the prokeimenon, choir finishes singing. Thus, the prokeimenon sounds three times. And the prokeimenon of Saturday has three verses, not one, so it sounds 5 times.

The extreme complete litany begins with the words “Rtsem all.” Vouchsafe, Lord in our tradition the face sings, but according to the Charter Vouchsafe, Lord always read. Then the litany of petition. After it, the litiya begins - the festive litiya. Its full sequence is described in the Service Book, and it begins with the singing of stichera at the lithium. As a rule, the stichera of the temple is sung first: as we move through the temple from the main space to the vestibule, we remember the dedication of the temple. Then follow the petitions of the lithium. According to the Charter, lithium is an indispensable part of the Sunday vigil service, no matter what holiday falls on Sunday: from Saint Without a Sign to the Twelfth Feast of the Theotokos. What do we have? We don’t have this Sunday litia almost anywhere. It will be served if St. Nicholas is on a Sunday, if the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos falls on a Sunday, i.e. as if not for the sake of Sunday, but for the sake of the holiday. But know for sure that there must be a lithium at a vigil, and Sunday vigil is no exception.

Stichera on verse. They always sound. Whether the lithium will be performed or not, the stichera will not be missed. The diagram says O., which means Octoechos. How many are from Octoechos? If it is not indicated how many, it means all that are there. And there are four of them in Octoechos on Saturday at Great Vespers, this is also the maximum number, as many as rarely happens. The usual number of verse stichera is 3, and on Sunday - 4. On Glory the stichera from the Menaion (if any) is sung, and on And now- Theotokos. The main part from Octoechos, the hymn to the saint who on this day, and on And now - Theotokos, as in any church text; be it troparia, stichera, sedalny, canon, luminaries, the last text on And now - always the Mother of God. In some cases - the Master's text, but the conclusion of the cycle is always significant and weighty, like a full stop at the end.

Now you let go - in our tradition the choir sings, but according to the Rules the primate reads it. The fulfillment of the Rule here is difficult to restore, although it contains an absolutely amazing and very important emphasis on this text, which in many ways is the peak of the unchangeable parts of Vespers. This is a key moment in the history of the world - the meeting of the Old and New Testaments. Vespers primarily has the liturgical theme of the aspirations of Israel, the expectation of the Savior, and at the end of Vespers the text that was pronounced when the Old Testament righteous man saw the forty-day-old Child, the Savior of the world, is read. Of course, this is the peak of Vespers. And when this text is read by an elder in a monastery or in a temple, in a community, one who has undoubted moral and spiritual authority, this text certainly sounds very significant and sublime. In addition, the primate is always probably the oldest in age, and so the eldest of all reads the text that the elder then spoke. This would certainly be very wise.

Trisagion Our Father. This frequent sequence of prayers, which occurs at the beginning of many services, is a very concentrated prayer, an intensified prayer, and occurs at the peak of Vespers. Then Virgin Mary three times. This place at Vespers is the place of the troparion. And it is worthy of attention that in the Sunday service at Great Vespers, in place of the troparion there is the hymn of the Theotokos. Of course, those days in Octoechos that are the Lord's - week, Wednesday and Friday - are also the days of the greatest glorification of the Mother of God among the days of the week. It is on weekdays, Wednesdays and Fridays at Matins that there is a canon to the Theotokos. On Wednesday at the liturgy, as is known, there is a prokeimenon to the Mother of God: “My soul magnifies the Lord...” but at the Sunday all-night vigil at vespers, in the place of the troparion there is a hymn to the Mother of God. We would venture to say that this is not accidental, because during the week, more than on other days, the Most Holy Theotokos is glorified in the Octoechos service.

The blessing of the loaves occurs only if there is a litiya; if there was no litia, then the blessing of the loaves is omitted.

Be the name of the Lord threefold, the blessing of the priest, Psalm 33 to the words “they will not be deprived of every good,” i.e. not entirely, but until the middle of the psalm.

“The blessing of the Lord is upon you...” is the final blessing of the serving priest. What happens next according to Typikon? “The cellarer, having taken some of the blessed bread and crushed it on a platter, distributes it to the brethren and draws a single cup of wine to everyone equally - from the abbot to the last who are in the monastery.” According to the Charter, at this moment of the service everyone should sit on the benches and receive a piece of blessed bread and a cup of wine. Why? Because it is difficult to serve the whole night, reinforcement of strength is required. The bread and wine that are blessed are not for altar servers, and the oil is not for anointing, but to strengthen the strength of the church people. All this is lost, all this is irreplaceable; and this was the wisdom, logic and amazing philanthropy of the Charter.

At this time there should be the first edifying reading. There are a total of 7 edifying readings at the Sunday all-night vigil, and the first of them is at the junction of Vespers and Matins. At this time, the Apostle or Apocalypse should be read. One hears that the Apocalypse is not read during worship. Yes, the Apocalypse is not divided into conceptions, it is not heard in the liturgy, it is almost never included in the book of the Apostle, but it must be read at the service, and this is reflected in the Typikon. Why so little, why so rarely? There are only two patristic interpretations of the Apocalypse; This is an amazing, mysterious book with seven seals. According to the Charter, it should not be read on a par with the Apostle, but this does not mean that it should not be read at all. And so everyone sits, eats and listens to the first edifying reading. However, the Typikon says that in the spring and summer months one should not eat bread and wine at this time “for the shortness of the night,” because the summer night is shorter and closer to the time of the Eucharist, and if there is an all-night vigil at this time, then the Eucharistic fast before Communion will be too short. Therefore, only in the autumn and winter months does our Typicon prescribe the eating of the loaves blessed at Great Vespers. Let us move on to the continuation of Matins.

So, six psalms. There is no double psalm. Indeed, only at vigils is the double psalmia skipped; in all other cases, it must be obligatory at matins. Another interesting point: Matins begins without an exclamation. Doesn't sound either Blessed be God... neither Glory to the Saints... Blessed be God does not sound, because there is no double psalm, but Glory of the Saints does not sound because Matins “gave” its exclamation to the beginning of Vespers, and this once again emphasizes that at the vigil, Vespers and Matins constitute a single service, they are merged together: the exclamation of Matins, and then Vespers is served, followed by Matins, which means something has begun whole, something in common.

Matins

The Great Litany, again the first litany in the service.

God Lord with poetry. Not all of us have the happiness of hearing poetry God Lord on duty. There is a tradition of very indistinct, hasty and careless pronunciation of this text, when verses are read out in a row, and the choir, not paying attention, sings what it is supposed to. But these verses are messianic: “God is the Lord and appeared to us” - this is not an imperative mood, not “appeared to us,” but “appeared to us,” this is the past tense. The liturgical theme of Matins is the appearance of the Messiah, the coming of the Son of God to earth, and the initial words of the Six Psalms “Glory to God in the highest...” are the hymns of the Angels for the Nativity of Christ. Then God Lord with verses - these are the verses of the Messianic 119th Psalm. God the Lord came to earth, we meet Him, we bless Him: “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” These verses should sound like a song of victory, like a joyful hymn, but we don’t know them and don’t hear them.

Then troparia on God the Lord, and kathismas. At Sunday Matins the 2nd and 3rd kathismas should always be read (in order: at Vespers the first, at Matins the second and third). Small litanies for each kathisma, the sedal reader reads from the Octoechos.

Then Psalms 134 and 135 are indicated. According to the Typicon, the 134th and 135th psalms should not be sung on all Sundays, although we are accustomed to their constant hearing at the Sunday all-night vigil in our parishes.

Troparion for the immaculate. This is a very familiar text to us, which begins with the words: “Blessed art thou, O Lord, teach me by thy justification. Wonder at the council of angels...” These are troparia with verses. “After the blameless” means after the blameless. What is blameless? Immaculate - this is the 17th kathisma, which begins with the words “Blessed are the immaculate on your journey...” This kathisma is the first application in the modern edition of the Book of Hours and should be used in worship every day: at Sunday Matins, at the daily Midnight Office and at Saturday Matins. Now we are familiar with this text only from the funeral service, and the understanding of its place in the service is completely lost. Without having the slightest opportunity or time to translate and interpret this text, it must be noted that the general content of the 17th kathisma can be defined as a confession of ardent and all-encompassing love for the law of God. These are the words of a righteous man who says that the law of God is sweeter to him than honey and more precious than gold and topaz, that only the words of God lead him along the path of life, save him from everything terrible, that his heart belongs only to the Lord. This text, of course, can only be fully put into the mouth of the Lord Jesus Christ, and only in an expanded sense applied to the saints, to members of the Church, or to each of us, who can only sometimes be excited by such feelings. This kathisma is familiar to us from Holy Saturday, where it is not abbreviated, it is read at Matins (at the conclusion of which a procession with the Shroud takes place).

According to the Typikon, this text is a Sunday text, and according to the Jerusalem Rule, the Immaculate Ones should be heard almost every Sunday service. This text is traditionally Sunday, its home place is the week. We never hear blameless at Sunday services; instead of them, the 134th and 135th psalms (more precisely, four verses of them) are sung - polyeleos. We have come to the opposite situation: we must almost always be chaste, but we always have polyeleos. According to the Typikon, which we are guided by, in some periods of the year it is necessary to sing polyeleos, and in others - immaculate, but still more often - immaculate. Polyeleos is sung from the celebration of the Exaltation of the Cross to the pre-celebration of the Nativity of Christ, i.e. from the end of September to the end of December, and from the celebration of Epiphany to the Week of Cheese. Thus, polyeleos are sung in the autumn months and a little in the winter; during the rest of the year, the immaculates should be sung, and only if, according to the Menaion, a polyeleos holiday falls on a Sunday, the immaculates are replaced by the polyeleos. For us, the immaculate ones have disappeared altogether, and we hear them only at funeral services and no longer remember that this psalm from the Sunday service ended up in the funeral service and that it is sung there because farewell to a member of the Church is necessarily a confession of faith in the Resurrection of Christ, the general resurrection and hopes of meeting each other in the future life. For us, this text has long been a funeral text, and we can no longer imagine that its native place is in a completely different order. This is extremely bitter and impoverishes our understanding of the Sunday service.

According to the "Ecclesiastical Eye," i.e. to the pre-Nikon Typikon, preserved by the Old Believers, the immaculate ones should be sung throughout the year (with rare exceptions). During the same periods when the modern Rule prescribes polyeleos, the immaculates are sung, then the troparia for the immaculates, and only then the polyeleos.

Interestingly, the exact opposite happened in the East. According to both the Greek cathedral-parish Typikon and the Athonite Typikon, polyeleos on Sunday are sung only on polyeleos holidays, and except for this case, on all weeks there are chastity (however, in parishes both are usually omitted).

The reality is that it is rare to hear those who are blameless, and the troparions for the virgins have been preserved. They are found not only in the Book of Hours, but also in the Octoechos and in the following Psalter. While singing them, the full incense of the temple is performed, then the small litany. Ipakoi glosa is a very short stanza, almost unknown to us, it is often skipped. Then the voice antiphons are sedate. What is it?

In each voice there are three, and in the 8th voice there are four stanzas, which are called power antiphons. Why sedate? Because they are likened to the psalms of the 18th kathisma, which were sung on the steps of the Jerusalem Temple (degree - level). Why antiphons? Because they must be sung alternately by the right and left faces and, by the way, twice each troparion. The first antiphon of the 4th voice is known more than others: “From my youth many passions have fought me...” but this is only the 4th voice, and only the first antiphon, and in general in the Octoechos there are power antiphons in each voice. You can understand this only by looking into the Octoechos.

The prokeimenon has its own voice in each of the eight Sunday services of the Octoechos. In our parish practice, it is proclaimed by a deacon (according to the Charter, a canonarch). Adjacent to the prokinna Every breath This is a text similar to the prokeme, only common to all voices. Reading the Gospel is connected to the gospel pillar.

In Octoechos, in addition to the vocal pillar, there is also a gospel pillar, i.e. alternating eleven Gospel readings at Sunday Matins. How to determine which Gospel to read at Sunday Matins today? There is a table in the Octoechos by which this can be determined; whoever cannot do this looks at the desk calendar, there you can always read about Sunday: at Matins the Gospel is such and such. So what do you need to remember? There is a voice pillar, there is a gospel pillar; they are related but not the same; voices - 8, Gospel readings - 11. Three texts in the further course of Matins will depend on the Gospel, which ones - let's say specifically. Resurrection of Christ - natural chant after reading the Sunday Gospel. Psalm 50. Often we do not hear it; our church consciousness cannot comprehend and accommodate this instruction of the Typikon. After such festive singing, how can we read the usual penitential 50th Psalm? We don’t understand this and miss it – this happens in most parishes. Regular singing Glory: Through the prayers of the apostles... And now: Through the prayers of the Mother of God... Then Have mercy on me, God - the first verse from Psalm 50, and then Jesus rose from the grave. Jesus rose from the grave - stichera unchangeable. What does it mean? Looking at the polyeleos, we noted: stichera according to Psalm 50. It is also present at Sunday Matins, but it is common to all voices. Whatever the voice, the Sunday stichera for Psalm 50 is always the same: Jesus rose from the grave...

Save, God... - the deacon's prayer is the same one that was at the litia, if there was a litia. Lord have mercy 12 times.

Canons. Specific rules for connecting canons are indicated in the table. Catavasia for every song.

According to the 8th song it is sung The most honest one. These are verses from the Gospel of Luke - the song of the Most Holy Theotokos “My soul magnifies the Lord...” with a refrain for each of the verses The most honest one. There is an unjustified singing tradition of singing this chant very quietly and tenderly, as if in secret. Meanwhile, the Typikon says: “singing with great voice.” Veleglasno means loudly, joyfully, because the song of the Most Holy Theotokos is one of the biblical songs. As we remember, each song of the canon has its own biblical song: the first - Israel came out of the Red Sea, the second usually does not happen, the third - the prophetess Anna, the fourth - the prophecy of Habakkuk, the fifth - Isaiah, the sixth - Jonah. All Old Testament biblical songs are transformations about the coming of the Savior, about His birth from the Virgin, about the Resurrection (Jonah is an image of the three-day Resurrection of the Lord). There are Old Testament songs - the seventh and eighth (the youths in the cave) and, finally, the ninth - the New Testament. In the canon we relive the expectation and appearance of the Messiah, and therefore the first New Testament song should sound loud, joyful, solemn. We were waiting for Christ, and now He came, we joyfully, with great voice, sing these amazing words of the Most Holy Theotokos. This series is lost for us, and we no longer perceive individual chants in the same way.

Small litanys are pronounced according to the 3rd, 6th and 9th songs of the canon. It’s very easy to remember: the nine songs are divided into three parts, each with a small litany.

What is the chaos for each song? The word "katavasia" comes from the Greek verb katabainw, which means "I go down." Catavasia is a gathering, a coming together, in this case a coming together of faces. Two faces sing something antiphonally, for example, Blessed is the husband the antiphons are sedate, and then go down from the choir, join together and sing catavasia. This is a set of eight irmos of the canon, assigned for a certain period of the year. In the Typikon, the 19th chapter is devoted to chaos: the year is divided into periods, and about each period it is said what kind of chaos operates in it. To make it easier to imagine this, let us remember: the chaos begins at the Introduction Christ is born; these are the irmos of the Christmas canon, and from the Introduction to the giving of Christmas there is a chaos Christ is born.

Holy is the Lord God... - a text read only on Sundays, as well as on Holy Saturday and Lazarus Saturday, which largely repeat the Sunday service.

Exapostilary Sunday and Theotokos Sunday are determined by the gospel pillar, i.e. they are taken not from the service of the voice, from which we sang the stichera, the canon, but from the appendix in which the exapostilary is located, associated with the Sunday Gospel readings.

Every breath this is the festive beginning of psalms of praise. Stichera on praises are added to the psalms of praise.

On Glory the Gospel stichera is taken, which also depends on the Gospel pillar. The Gospel stichera, the Sunday exapostilary and the Resurrection of the Theotokos depend not on the voice, but on the Gospel reading. There are 11 Gospel readings, and there are 11 exapostilarii, Theotokos and Gospel stichera, and all of them are in the Octoechos appendix. You can understand this only by seeing these texts. On And now always “Most Blessed...” – Theotokos, assigned to the Sunday service.

The exclamation before the great doxology and the doxology itself. After him, at the Sunday vigil, the Sunday troparion is always sung, and only this one. But the troparion that is sung is not the one that was sung on God the Lord - it was a Sunday troparion voices each voice has its own. In the first voice it is “The stone is sealed from the Jews...” in the second - “When thou didst descend to death...” in the third - “Let them rejoice in heaven...”, etc. Eight voices - eight Sunday troparions. And in this place another Sunday troparion is sung. How many are there? Two. One for even voices, one for odd voices. And it’s very easy to remember: for odd voices, the troparion begins with a one-syllable word - “Today salvation has come to the world...” for even voices, a troparion is used, beginning with a two-syllable word - “You have risen from the grave and you have torn the bonds of hell to pieces...”

The litany is intense, followed by the litany of supplication, after which the usual end of the service. The Great Dismissal and then the First Hour.

In M. Skaballanovich's book "Explanatory Typikon" there is an interesting chapter about the ideal all-night vigil. At the beginning of the century in Kyiv, the professors of the Academy arose the question of the possibility of a full vigil service with such a huge number of texts, singing the entire canon, the entire 103rd psalm, the entire 1st kathisma and all the polyeleos psalms. They reported their doubts to the students of the Kyiv Theological Academy, and so it was decided to implement it. Volunteers were gathered who would decide to sing from evening until morning and try to serve such an all-night vigil.

The costs for such a service were established: for choir rehearsals it takes 2 months, to compensate for their labor - 300 rubles, to which skeptics objected to the professors that for rehearsals it takes 2 years, and for payment of labor - 3,000 rubles, i.e. there was disapproval and doubt from the very beginning. But there were very energetic students who, as M. Skaballanovich writes, made something votive out of this all-night vigil, i.e. They promised to do their best to make this happen.

Such an all-night vigil was prepared and served. It started at 6 pm and ended around 2 am. All instructions of the Charter were followed. Prof. Skaballanovich, who studied all this, but had never been present at such an all-night vigil, suddenly saw how wonderful it all was. He remembers how he listened to the 103rd Psalm in its entirety, which speaks of the entire creation of God, glorifying the wisdom of the Creator and His providence for the world. Let us remember the choruses of Psalm 103: they have a certain ascending structure. The first chorus is simply a statement: “Blessed art thou, O Lord,” the second chorus is a kind of exclamation: “Wonderful are thy works, O Lord”; the third chorus is an even more enthusiastic glorification: “Glory to Thee, O Lord, who created all things.”

Then the entire first kathisma sounded and everything was done as it should be according to the Charter. The climax of the all-night vigil was the singing of the polyelean psalms in their entirety, and they were sung antiphonally in two faces. Antiphonal singing greatly embellishes the service; the choir's strength does not dry out, the choirs pick up each other's singing, and it sounds powerful and cheerful. And then everything was according to the Charter: the entire canon was sung in its entirety. You can imagine: in each song there are 14 troparia (this needs to be multiplied by 8 and added to the chaos and biblical songs). During the singing of the canon, the skeptics who nevertheless came to the all-night vigil approached the head of the service and demanded to stop this dangerous experiment, because the singers would not stand it, but the all-night vigil was served to the end.

Then Skaballanovich writes about how this all-night vigil was received by the parishioners. There was one very lazy student who nevertheless decided to go to this service. He stood for a while and went to his building. He went to bed, but realized that something extraordinary was happening next to him, and returned to the temple. He stood there for a while and got tired again, and went back to his room. And so he left and returned three times, not having the strength to stand, but also not having the determination to leave.

When Professor Skaballanovich went around the worshipers to find out how many people were at the service until the end, he was amazed at the large number of women present at the service. One student told him that she specially prepared for this day and memorized many texts. This chapter concludes with these words: all my acquaintances, who were not warned about the all-night vigil and did not have the opportunity to come, were mortally offended by these professors and forgave them on the condition that if something similar happened again, they would definitely be notified. Professor Skaballanovich writes that a repetition is possible, and suggests next time singing the all-night vigil with a large Znamenny chant, which will lengthen it by 4 hours. The chapter ends with anticipation of this repetition. Whether it was, we do not know.

Temples and monasteries where services are held