Time of services in the church. About the services performed in the temple
All church services are divided into three circles: daily, weekly and annual.
DAILY CIRCLE OF SERVICES
1. Daily cycle of services are those Divine services that are performed by St. Orthodox Church throughout the day. There should be nine daily services: Vespers, Compline, Midnight Office, Matins, the first hour, the third hour, the sixth hour, the ninth hour and the Divine Liturgy.
Following the example of Moses, who, describing God’s creation of the world, begins the “day” in the evening, so in the Orthodox Church the day begins in the evening - vespers.
Vespers- a service performed at the end of the day, in the evening. With this service we thank God for the passing day.
Compline- a service consisting of reading a series of prayers in which we ask the Lord God for forgiveness of sins and that He would give us, as we go to sleep, peace of body and soul and save us from the wiles of the devil during sleep.
Midnight Office The service is intended to take place at midnight, in remembrance of the Savior’s night prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. This service calls on believers to always be prepared for the Day of Judgment, which will come suddenly, like the “bridegroom at midnight” according to the parable of the ten virgins.
Matins- a service performed in the morning, before sunrise. With this service we thank God for the past night and ask Him for mercy for the coming day.
First hour, corresponding to our seventh hour of the morning, sanctifies the day that has already come with prayer.
On three o'clock, corresponding to our ninth hour in the morning, we remember the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles.
On six o'clock, corresponding to our twelfth hour of the day, the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ is remembered.
On nine o'clock, corresponding to our third in the afternoon, we remember the death on the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Divine Liturgy there is the most important service. On it the entire earthly life of the Savior is remembered and sacrament of St. Communions, established by the Savior Himself at the Last Supper. The Liturgy is served in the morning, before lunch.
All these services in ancient times in monasteries and hermits were performed separately, at the appointed time for each of them. But then, for the convenience of believers, they were combined into three services: evening, morning and afternoon.
The evening service consists of the ninth hour, vespers and compline.
Morning- from Midnight Office, Matins and the first hour.
Daytime- from the third and sixth hours and the Liturgy.
On the eve of major holidays and Sundays, an evening service is performed, which combines: Vespers, Matins and the first hour. This kind of worship is called all-night vigil(all-night vigil), because among the ancient Christians it lasted all night. The word "vigil" means: being awake.
Visual diagram of the daily cycle of worship
Evening.
1. Ninth hour. - (3 p.m)
2. Vespers.
3. Compline.
Morning.
1. Midnight Office. – (12 o’clock at night)
2. Matins.
3. First hour. – (7 a.m.)
Day.
1. Third hour. – (9 a.m.)
2. Sixth hour. – (12 noon)
3. Liturgy.
WEEKLY CIRCLE OF SERVICES
2. Weekly, or seven-day, circle of services This is the order of services for seven days of the week. Each day of the week is dedicated to some important event or a particularly revered saint.
On Sunday– The Church remembers and glorifies Resurrection of Christ;
IN Monday(the first day after Sunday) ethereal forces are glorified - Angels, created before man, the closest servants of God;
In Tuesday- glorified Saint John the Baptist, as the greatest of all prophets and righteous;
IN Wednesday the betrayal of the Lord by Judas is remembered and, in connection with this, a service is performed in memory of Holy Cross(fast day).
IN Thursday glorified St. Apostles and St. Nicholas the Wonderworker;
IN Friday the sufferings on the cross and the death of the Savior are remembered and a service is performed in honor of Holy Cross(fast day).
IN Saturday is a day of rest,- glorify the Mother of God, who is blessed daily, forefathers, prophets, apostles, martyrs, saints, righteous and all saints, having achieved rest in the Lord. All those who have died in true faith and hope for resurrection and eternal life are also remembered.
ANNUAL CIRCLE OF SERVICES
3. Annual circle of services called the order of services throughout the year.
Every day of the year is dedicated to the memory of certain saints, as well as special sacred events - holidays and fasts.
Of all the holidays in the year is the biggest Feast of the Holy Resurrection of Christ (Easter). This is a holiday, a holiday and a triumph of celebrations. Easter occurs no earlier than March 22 (April 4, New Art.) and no later than April 25 (May 8, New Art.), on the first Sunday after the spring full moon.
Then there are twelve great holidays in the year established in honor of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Mother of God, which are called twelfths.
There are holidays in honor great saints and in honor of the ethereal Heavenly Forces - angels.
Therefore, all the holidays of the year, according to their content, are divided into: Lord's, Mother of God and saints.
According to the time of celebration, holidays are divided into: motionless, which occur every year on the same dates of the month, and movable, which, although they occur on the same days of the week, fall on different days of the month in accordance with the time of Easter celebration.
According to the solemnity of the church service, holidays are divided into great, medium and small.
Great holidays always have all-night vigil; Average holidays are not always the case.
The liturgical church year begins on September 1 of the old style, and the entire annual circle of services is built in relation to the Easter holiday.
Archpriest Seraphim Slobodskoy. God's law
” M. Leontyeva
Orthodox worship is unusual! Some of its distinctive features are noticeable as soon as you cross the threshold of the temple, and can be confusing. Its other features become obvious over time. I will provide some background information that may help you feel more confident at an Orthodox service: twelve facts that you need to know when you find yourself in an Orthodox church for the first time.
1. What kind of mess is this?
At the very beginning of the service, you may get the impression that there is confusion in the church: people go to the front of the church, pray in front of the iconostasis (a row of icons standing in front of the altar), kiss various objects, light candles, despite the fact that the service is already in progress. In general, when you entered, the service was already in progress, although it was clearly written on the door: “The Divine Liturgy begins at 9:30.” You were clearly embarrassed that you were late, but these people arrived even later and are now moving around the temple. What's going on here?
On Sundays in the Orthodox Church there is one Eucharistic service * - it is preceded by Matins [in the Greek and Slavic Churches the liturgy is served after Matins - ed.]. There is no break between these services; as soon as one ends, another begins, so the start time of the service is indicated tentatively. In total, during a Sunday service, the clergyman spends more than three hours in the altar, “being in the light,” as one priest put it.
Because everyone is constantly on the move, there is never a moment when everyone is sitting in the pews, meekly waiting for the opening verse to begin and watching the hands of the clock approach 9:30. Orthodox believers can arrive at different times of Matins or the beginning of the Liturgy, that is, somewhere within the hour. Whenever they arrive, the service is probably already underway, but this does not prevent them from performing the personal prayers required upon arrival at the temple.
This is distracting for newcomers and can even be perceived as disrespectful, but you soon begin to understand that this is not just a formality, but a deeply personal expression of faith. Of course, this does not justify those who are late, but, unfortunately, punctuality is often absent from the list of virtues of many Orthodox believers.
2. Stand for Christ!
In the Orthodox tradition, believers stand for almost the entire service. Indeed. Some Orthodox churches don't even have chairs, except for a few around the edges of the room for those who need them.
In any case, if you find it too difficult to stand all the time, you can sit down. No one will object, and hardly anyone will pay attention to it. Over time, you will get used to standing for long periods of time.
3. Sim win
It is no exaggeration to say that we often... We make the sign of the cross at the mention of the Holy Trinity, when we venerate the cross or an icon, and many more times during the Divine Liturgy.
But this does not mean that everyone should behave the same.
Some cross themselves three times in a row, others, having crossed themselves, touch the ground with their right hand. Upon entering the temple, some believers can approach the icon and perform “throwing” - cross themselves, touch the floor with their right hand, and, having done this twice, kiss the icon, and then repeat “throwing” again.
Over time it won't be difficult, but at first it seems like it's only for the initiated and you're afraid of doing something wrong. Rest assured, you don't have to follow their lead immediately.
We cross ourselves with our right hand from right to left, unlike Catholics and Protestants - High Church Anglicans. We fold our fingers in a special way: the thumb and the next two are joined together, and the remaining two fingers are pressed against the palm.
As with all our actions, with this Orthodoxy encourages us to confess our faith. Try to guess what symbol is behind this? (Three fingers folded together symbolize the Trinity, two fingers lowered to the palm - the two natures of Christ, as well as His descent to earth).
This also requires training. But if at first you don’t put your fingers together accurately, no one will accuse you of doing it.
4. Kneeling
As a rule, we do not pray on our knees. Sometimes we fall on our faces. But not in the same way as Catholics fall prostrate on the floor. We kneel, rest our hands on the floor and touch it with our foreheads.
It looks like in photographs from some Central Asian worship service, and to representatives of Western culture it seems unprecedented. At first you feel awkward, falling on your face, but everyone else does it naturally and eventually the awkwardness goes away. Women notice that it is more convenient to bow to earth in wide skirts, and it is more comfortable to stand in shoes without heels.
Sometimes we bow to the ground and immediately rise, as during, which is often pronounced during. It happens that we worship and linger for a while, as they do in some communities in some places of the Eucharistic Prayer.
Not everyone prostrates. Some believers kneel, others stand with their heads bowed, and those seated may lean forward and sit hunched over. Standing timidly is also not forbidden. Nobody will pay attention if you don't fall on your face. For Orthodoxy, various forms of expressing personal religiosity are more characteristic than the feeling that you are being watched and may be offended if you do something wrong.
One of the former priests of the Anglican Church in America admitted that his decision to become Orthodox was most influenced by the sight of believers bowing to the ground. He thought then that this is how he should stand before God.
5. I love you and kiss you.
We kiss the shrines.
When we enter church, we kiss (it is customary for Jesus to kiss the feet, and for saints the right hand). You soon notice that some kiss the Holy Chalice, some kiss the hem of the priest's vestments when he comes by, the clerics kiss his hand when they hand him the censer, at the end of the service we all line up to kiss the cross.
When we say that we “kissed” something, it means that we made the sign of the cross and kissed this object.
Another reason why we protect the Eucharist from public access is that we take it more seriously than many other Christian denominations. We believe that this is truly the Body and Blood of Christ. We do not begin communion without confessing our sins to the priest and making peace with other members of the Church. We abstain from food and drink, even our morning cup of coffee, from midnight before communion.
So, we come to the topic. When newcomers learn about this Orthodox tradition, they usually have a hard time believing it. We abstain from meat, fish, dairy, wine and vegetable oil every Wednesday and Friday, as well as during four periods of the year, the longest during Lent before Easter. In total it takes about six months.
Here, as elsewhere, variations are possible. After consulting with the priest, people decide to what extent they can maintain these fasts, both from a physical and spiritual point of view - excessive strictness can soon lead to frustration and depression. Fasting is a personal matter for each person. As he said, this is a holiday for everyone who fasted and who did not fast: “abstinent and careless, honor this day equally; you who have fasted and those who have not fasted, rejoice now!”
It is important to note that fasting is not a strict rule, breaking which puts you in terrible danger, and it is not a punishment for sins. Fasting is an exercise for our growth and strengthening, a medicine for the soul.
After consulting with a priest, as a spiritual doctor, you can develop a measure of fasting that will keep you in good shape, but will not break you. Perhaps next year you will be able to handle more. Over time, after experiencing fraternal fasting with a loving community, many people find that they begin to enjoy fasting.
7. Why is there no general confession?
We believe that we do not have the same sins, they are all individual. There is no separate prayer of confession during the liturgy. Orthodox Christians must regularly visit the priest in person.
The role of the priest is more reminiscent of the role of a spiritual father than in other faiths. They do not simply address him by name, but pronounce him “father” before the name. His wife also has her own specific role as the mother of the parish, and she is also called by a special name, depending on the culture: in Arabic “Khouria”, in Greek “Presbytera”, both of which mean the priest’s wife, and in Russian “ matushka" which means "mother".
Another feature is the Creed, which is recited or sung, depending on the parish. If you say out of habit or intentionally, “And from the Son who proceedeth,” no one will support you. appeared in the Creed six centuries after its composition, and we adhere to the original version. Visitors from High Church communities note that we do not bow or kneel at the words “and he who became incarnate.”
We also do not stop exclaiming “Hallelujah” during Great Lent, as the nuns of the Anglican Communion do; moreover, Lenten Matins are especially replete with this exclamation.
8. Music.
About seventy-five percent of the service is occupied by parishioners singing. Orthodox Christians do not use musical instruments during services. The singing is usually led by a small a cappella choir, and the degree to which parishioners participate in the singing varies from parish to parish. The musical style also varies, ranging from single-voice singing in the eastern traditions of the Arab Church to the European sound of four-part harmony in the Russian Church, with many variations in between.
This continuous singing is overwhelming at first, it seems as if you are stepping onto a rapidly moving escalator, and you are carried for an hour and a half until you get off it. Someone rightly noted that the liturgy is one continuous song.
Almost the same thing is sung every week, and this prevents fatigue. Each subsequent Sunday the service changes very slightly, the main prayers and chants are in the same order, and soon you will already know them by heart. Then you will begin to feel the presence of God, which is almost impossible to do at the stage when you switch, now to reading the prayer book, now to the text of the liturgy, now to studying the parish leaflet.
9. Editors are powerless
Isn't it possible to say this more briefly? Why these extra epithets? Is it possible to once again condense this text, even if it is quite accurate and apt? But then it will no longer be an Orthodox service. Orthodox Christians will always try to express themselves as broadly as possible. In the Orthodox faith, there is never too much prayer, and this also applies to its other aspects. When a priest or deacon exclaims: “Let us fulfill our ** prayer to the Lord...”, be sure that you will have to stand for another fifteen minutes.
Initially, the liturgy lasted more than five hours, this shows that people in those days were on fire with their hearts for the Lord. in his edition of the liturgy, he reduced its duration to two and a half hours, and later (about 400) St. John Chrysostom further reduced this time to one and a half hours. Usually on Sundays the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, but on some days (Sundays of Great Lent, Epiphany Eve), we serve a longer liturgy of St. Basil the Great.
10. Chosen Voivode
An unchanging feature of Orthodox worship is the “Invincible Voivode” of all Christians. We also call her the Theotokos or Mother of God. She contributed to our salvation by making the incarnation of God into man physically possible. But, despite Her veneration, as it is said in the Gospel: “Behold, from now on all generations will bless Me” (Luke 1:48), this does not mean that we believe in the magical powers of Her or other saints or consider them demigods. When we sing “Most Holy Theotokos, save us,” we do not expect that She will grant us salvation in eternity, but we ask Her prayers for our intercession and growth in faith.
We ask for the prayers of the Virgin Mary and other saints just as we ask for the prayers of each other. They didn’t die, they simply went to another world. We surround ourselves with icons to remind us that all saints participate invisibly in our prayer.
11. Three gates.
In every Orthodox church there is a . Iconostasis means “stand for icons” and it can simply represent a large icon of Christ on the right and an icon of the Virgin and Child on the left. In a more well-equipped church, the altar may be a partition decorated with icons. Some types of iconostases block the altar from view, except for those moments when the central gate is open.
The simplest version of the iconostasis with two large icons has three entrances. The central one, directly in front of the altar, is called the Holy or Royal Doors, because during the Eucharist the King of Glory himself comes out to the worshipers through them. The Holy Gates are used only by a priest or deacon with the Chalice in his hands.
On both sides of the icons, if this is a simplified iconostasis, there are doors with angels depicted on them; they are called the Deacon's Gate. They are used by altar servers and other ministers, but it is not allowed to enter or leave the altar unless absolutely necessary. Altar servers - priests, deacons, altar servers - can only be male. Women can participate in all other areas of church life. Women's contributions have been valued on an equal basis with men's since the time of the first martyrs; looking towards the altar, you can always see the Mother of God and other holy women. In many Orthodox churches, women work equally with men: they direct the choir, paint icons, teach lessons, read the Apostle and participate in the parish council.
12. Where should an American go?
Flipping through the Yellow Pages of any metropolis, you can find a large number of Orthodox churches: Greek, Romanian, Russian, Antiochian, Serbian and many others. Is Orthodoxy really that nationally oriented? Are these divisions evidence of theological divisions and schisms? Not at all. All these Orthodox churches are one Church. Nationality indicates under whose jurisdiction the parish falls and to which bishop it reports.
With 6 million Orthodox Christians in North America and 250 million worldwide, the Orthodox community is the second largest of all Christians.
Despite such national diversity, it is striking that Orthodoxy is united on theological and moral issues. Orthodox Christians throughout the world unanimously adhere to the fundamental Christian principles preached by the apostles, which are passed down from generation to generation by bishops - the apostolic successors. In addition, they are faithful to the apostolic principles of morality: sexual relations outside the family are also considered a sin from an Orthodox point of view.
Some might explain this unity as a historical accident. However, we attribute this to the influence of the Holy Spirit.
Why then such a variety of national churches? This nationality clearly reflects geographical features. North America is also a geographical entity; someday we will also have one national church: the American Orthodox Church. This should have been the case initially, but due to complex historical background this did not happen. Instead, each Orthodox ethnic group that emigrated to the United States produced its own church structure. This diversity of Orthodox jurisdictions is nothing more than a temporary misunderstanding; intense prayers and a lot of work are being done to overcome these unnecessary barriers.
Currently, the largest jurisdictions in America are the Greek Orthodox Metropolis, the Orthodox Church in America (Russian origin) and the Antiochian Metropolis (Arab origin). The liturgies in all of them are basically the same, perhaps with some differences in language and music.
At first, Orthodoxy strikes you with its unusualness, but over time this feeling passes. More and more you begin to feel at home in it, and gradually it will lead you to your true home - to the Kingdom of Heaven.
Translation from English of the article First Visit to an Orthodox Church: Twelve Things I Wish I’d Know especially for the portal “” by M. Leontyeva
* This applies to churches with one altar (Editor's note).
** “We will fulfill” means we will complete (Editor’s note).
Orthodox worship is unusual! Some of its distinctive features are noticeable as soon as you cross the threshold of the temple, and can be confusing. Its other features become obvious over time. I will provide some background information that may help you feel more confident at an Orthodox service: twelve facts that you need to know when you find yourself in an Orthodox church for the first time.
1. What kind of mess is this?
At the very beginning of the service, you may get the impression that there is confusion in the church: people go to the front of the church, pray in front of the iconostasis (a row of icons standing in front of the altar), kiss various objects, light candles, despite the fact that the service is already in progress. In general, when you entered, the service was already in progress, although it was clearly written on the door: “The Divine Liturgy begins at 9:30.” You were clearly embarrassed that you were late, but these people arrived even later and are now moving around the temple. What's going on here?
Because everyone is constantly on the move, there is never a moment when everyone is sitting in the pews, meekly waiting for the opening verse to begin and watching the hands of the clock approach 9:30. Orthodox believers can arrive at different times of Matins or the beginning of the Liturgy, that is, somewhere within the hour. Whenever they arrive, the service is probably already underway, but this does not prevent them from performing the personal prayers required upon arrival at the temple.
This is distracting for newcomers and can even be perceived as disrespectful, but you soon begin to understand that this is not just a formality, but a deeply personal expression of faith. Of course, this does not justify those who are late, but, unfortunately, punctuality is often absent from the list of virtues of many Orthodox believers.
2. Stand for Christ!
In the Orthodox tradition, believers stand for almost the entire service. Indeed. Some Orthodox churches don't even have chairs, except for a few around the edges of the room for those who need them.
In any case, if you find it too difficult to stand all the time, you can sit down. No one will object, and hardly anyone will pay attention to it. Over time, you will get used to standing for long periods of time.
3. Sim win
It is no exaggeration to say that we are often baptized. We make the sign of the cross at the mention of the Holy Trinity, when we venerate the cross or an icon, and many more times during the Divine Liturgy.
 |
Some cross themselves three times in a row, others, having crossed themselves, touch the ground with their right hand. Upon entering the temple, some believers can approach the icon and perform “throwing” - cross themselves, touch the floor with their right hand, and, having done this twice, kiss the icon, and then repeat “throwing” again.
Over time it won't be difficult, but at first it seems like it's only for the initiated and you're afraid of doing something wrong. Rest assured, you don't have to follow their lead immediately.
We cross ourselves with our right hand from right to left, unlike Catholics and Protestants - High Church Anglicans. We fold our fingers in a special way: the thumb and the next two are joined together, and the remaining two fingers are pressed against the palm.
As with all our actions, with this Orthodoxy encourages us to confess our faith. Try to guess what symbol is behind this? (Three fingers folded together symbolize the Trinity, two fingers lowered to the palm - the two natures of Christ, as well as His descent to earth).
This also requires training. But if at first you do not put your fingers together accurately, no one will accuse you of heresy.
4. Kneeling
As a rule, we do not pray on our knees. Sometimes we fall on our faces. But not in the same way as Catholics fall prostrate on the floor. We kneel, rest our hands on the floor and touch it with our foreheads.
 |
Sometimes we bow to the ground and immediately rise, as during the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian, which is often recited during Lent. It happens that we worship and linger for a while, as they do in some communities in some places of the Eucharistic Prayer.
Not everyone prostrates. Some believers kneel, others stand with their heads bowed, and those seated may lean forward and sit hunched over. Standing timidly is also not forbidden. Nobody will pay attention if you don't fall on your face. For Orthodoxy, various forms of expressing personal religiosity are more characteristic than the feeling that you are being watched and may be offended if you do something wrong.
One of the former priests of the Anglican Church in America admitted that his decision to become Orthodox was most influenced by the sight of believers bowing to the ground. He thought then that this is how he should stand before God.
5. I love you and kiss you.
We kiss the shrines.
When we enter a church, we kiss the icons (it is customary for Jesus to kiss the feet, and for saints the right hand). You soon notice that some kiss the Holy Chalice, some kiss the hem of the priest's vestments when he comes by, the clerics kiss his hand when they hand him the censer, at the end of the service we all line up to kiss the cross.
When we say that we “kissed” something, it means that we made the sign of the cross and kissed this object.
Before communion we kiss each other (“Greet one another with the kiss of love (1 Peter 5:14) (today in Russia the kiss of peace is preserved among the clergy - editor’s note). When Catholics and Protestants of the High Church perform the “teaching of peace", they hugging, shaking hands, or lightly touching each other's cheeks - this is a common greeting from representatives of Western culture. The Orthodox have a different culture: Greeks and Arabs kiss on both cheeks, Slavs - three times. Give in to the initiative of those nearby, and try not to bump noses.
To a typical appeal: “Christ is in our midst,” they answer: “He is and will be.” Don't be afraid if you forget what to answer. Here they do not say the usual greeting for Protestants: “May the peace of the Lord be with you,” and it would also be inappropriate to say something like: “What a wonderful church you have.” Kissing peace is a liturgical action, a sign of mystical unity. Leave conversations and communication for later.
6. Blessed and sacrificial bread
Only Orthodox Christians can take communion, but everyone can eat particles of the consecrated bread.
 |
During the Eucharistic Prayer, the Lamb is transformed into the Body of Christ, and the wine in the Chalice is transformed into His Blood. And then something amazing happens: the priest lowers the Lamb into the Chalice of Wine. When we receive communion, we approach the priest one after another, opening our mouths wide, and he gives us a piece of bread soaked in wine from a golden spoon. He also reads a prayer over us, calling our name or the name of the saint that we received at baptism or confirmation (the sacrament of acceptance into the Church through anointing with sacred oil).
Having passed the priest, we approach the altar boy, who is holding a basket of consecrated bread. People take pieces for themselves or their non-Orthodox friends. If someone treats you with a piece of consecrated bread, do not be alarmed - this is not communion. This is a symbol of brotherhood.
Casual visitors are sometimes offended that they are not allowed to take communion. In Orthodoxy, it is believed that Communion is broader than a personal relationship with Christ. It certifies belief in historical Orthodox doctrine, submission to a particular Orthodox bishop, and allegiance to a particular Orthodox community. There are no privileges here; anyone can become faithful to the Orthodox Church. But the Eucharist is the treasure of the Church, and it is reserved for those who have connected themselves with the Church. This is similar to postponing marital relations until marriage.
Another reason why we protect the Eucharist from public access is that we take it more seriously than many other Christian denominations. We believe that this is truly the Body and Blood of Christ. We do not begin communion without confessing our sins to the priest and making peace with other members of the Church. We abstain from food and drink, even our morning cup of coffee, from midnight before communion.
So, we come to the topic of the post. When newcomers learn about this Orthodox tradition, they usually have a hard time believing it. We abstain from meat, fish, dairy, wine and vegetable oil every Wednesday and Friday, as well as during four periods of the year, the longest during Lent before Easter. In total it takes about six months.
Here, as elsewhere, variations are possible. After consulting with the priest, people decide to what extent they can maintain these fasts, both from a physical and spiritual point of view - excessive strictness can soon lead to frustration and depression. Fasting is a personal matter for each person. As St. said John Chrysostom in his Easter sermon, this is a holiday for everyone who fasted and who did not: “temperate and careless, honor this day alike; you who have fasted and those who have not fasted, rejoice now!”
It is important to note that fasting is not a strict rule, breaking which puts you in terrible danger, and it is not a punishment for sins. Fasting is an exercise for our growth and strengthening, a medicine for the soul.
After consulting with a priest, as a spiritual doctor, you can develop a measure of fasting that will keep you in good shape, but will not break you. Perhaps next year you will be able to handle more. Over time, after experiencing fraternal fasting with a loving community, many people find that they begin to enjoy fasting.
7. Why is there no general confession?
We believe that we do not have the same sins, they are all individual. There is no separate prayer of confession during the liturgy. Orthodox Christians must regularly confess to a priest in person.
The role of the priest is more reminiscent of the role of a spiritual father than in other faiths. They do not simply address him by name, but pronounce him “father” before the name. His wife also has her own specific role as the mother of the parish, and she is also called by a special name, depending on the culture: in Arabic “Khouria”, in Greek “Presbytera”, both of which mean the priest’s wife, and in Russian “ matushka" which means "mother".
Another feature is the Creed, which is recited or sung, depending on the parish. If you say out of habit or intentionally, “And from the Son who proceedeth,” no one will support you. The Filioque appeared in the Creed six centuries after its composition, and we adhere to the original version. Visitors from High Church communities note that we do not bow or kneel at the words “and he who became incarnate.”
We also do not stop exclaiming “Hallelujah” during Great Lent, as the nuns of the Anglican Communion do; moreover, Lenten Matins are especially replete with this exclamation.
8. Music.
About seventy-five percent of the service is occupied by parishioners singing. Orthodox Christians do not use musical instruments during services. The singing is usually led by a small a cappella choir, and the degree to which parishioners participate in the singing varies from parish to parish. The musical style also varies, ranging from single-voice singing in the eastern traditions of the Arab Church to the European sound of four-part harmony in the Russian Church, with many variations in between.
This continuous singing is overwhelming at first, it seems as if you are stepping onto a rapidly moving escalator, and you are carried for an hour and a half until you get off it. Someone rightly noted that the liturgy is one continuous song.
Almost the same thing is sung every week, and this prevents fatigue. Each subsequent Sunday the service changes very slightly, the main prayers and chants are in the same order, and soon you will already know them by heart. Then you will begin to feel the presence of God, which is almost impossible to do at the stage when you switch, now to reading the prayer book, now to the text of the liturgy, now to studying the parish leaflet.
9. Editors are powerless
Isn't it possible to say this more briefly? Why these extra epithets? Is it possible to once again condense this text, even if it is quite accurate and apt? But then it will no longer be an Orthodox service. Orthodox Christians will always try to express themselves as broadly as possible. In the Orthodox faith, there is never too much prayer, and this also applies to its other aspects. When a priest or deacon exclaims: “Let us fulfill our ** prayer to the Lord...”, be sure that you will have to stand for another fifteen minutes.
Initially, the liturgy lasted more than five hours, this shows that people in those days were on fire with their hearts for the Lord. St. Basil the Great, in his edition of the liturgy, reduced its duration to two and a half hours, and later (about 400) St. John Chrysostom further reduced this time to one and a half hours. Usually on Sundays the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, but on some days (Sundays of Great Lent, Epiphany Eve), we serve a longer liturgy of St. Basil the Great.
10. Chosen Voivode
An invariable feature of Orthodox worship is the veneration of the Virgin Mary, the “Invincible Leader” of all Christians. We also call her the Theotokos or Mother of God. She contributed to our salvation by making the incarnation of God into man physically possible. But, despite Her veneration, as it is said in the Gospel: “Behold, from now on all generations will bless Me” (Luke 1:48), this does not mean that we believe in the magical powers of Her or other saints or consider them demigods. When we sing “Most Holy Theotokos, save us,” we do not expect that She will grant us salvation in eternity, but we ask Her prayers for our intercession and growth in faith.
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11. Three gates.
In every Orthodox church there is an iconostasis in front of the altar. Iconostasis means “stand for icons” and it can simply represent a large icon of Christ on the right and an icon of the Virgin and Child on the left. In a more well-equipped church, the altar may be a partition decorated with icons. Some types of iconostases block the altar from view, except for those moments when the central gate is open.
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On both sides of the icons, if this is a simplified iconostasis, there are doors with angels depicted on them; they are called the Deacon's Gate. They are used by altar servers and other ministers, but it is not allowed to enter or leave the altar unless absolutely necessary. Altar servers - priests, deacons, altar servers - can only be male. Women can participate in all other areas of church life. Women's contributions have been valued on an equal basis with men's since the time of the first martyrs; looking towards the altar, you can always see the Mother of God and other holy women. In many Orthodox churches, women work equally with men: they direct the choir, paint icons, teach lessons, read the Apostle and participate in the parish council.
12. Where should an American go?
Flipping through the Yellow Pages of any metropolis, you can find a large number of Orthodox churches: Greek, Romanian, Russian, Antiochian, Serbian and many others. Is Orthodoxy really that nationally oriented? Are these divisions evidence of theological divisions and schisms? Not at all. All these Orthodox churches are one Church. Nationality indicates under whose jurisdiction the parish falls and to which bishop it reports.
With 6 million Orthodox Christians in North America and 250 million worldwide, the Orthodox community is the second largest of all Christians.
Despite such national diversity, it is striking that Orthodoxy is united on theological and moral issues. Orthodox Christians throughout the world unanimously adhere to the fundamental Christian principles preached by the apostles, which are passed down from generation to generation by bishops - the apostolic successors. In addition, they are faithful to the apostolic principles of morality: abortion and sexual relations outside the family are also considered sins from the Orthodox point of view.
Some might explain this unity as a historical accident. However, we attribute this to the influence of the Holy Spirit.
Why then such a variety of national churches? This nationality clearly reflects geographical features. North America is also a geographical entity; someday we will also have one national church: the American Orthodox Church. This should have been the case initially, but due to complex historical background this did not happen. Instead, each Orthodox ethnic group that emigrated to the United States produced its own church structure. This diversity of Orthodox jurisdictions is nothing more than a temporary misunderstanding; intense prayers and a lot of work are being done to overcome these unnecessary barriers.
Currently, the largest jurisdictions in America are the Greek Orthodox Metropolis, the Orthodox Church in America (Russian origin) and the Antiochian Metropolis (Arab origin). The liturgies in all of them are basically the same, perhaps with some differences in language and music.
At first, Orthodoxy strikes you with its unusualness, but over time this feeling passes. More and more you begin to feel at home in it, and gradually it will lead you to your true home - to the Kingdom of Heaven.
Translated from English specifically for the portal “Orthodoxy and Peace” by Marina Leontyeva
Public worship, or, as people say, church services, is the main thing for which our churches are intended. Every day the Orthodox Church holds evening, morning and afternoon services in churches. Each of these services consists in turn of three types of services, collectively combined into a daily cycle of services:
vespers - from the 9th hour, vespers and compline;
morning - from midnight office, matins and 1st hour;
daytime - from the 3rd hour, 6th hour and Divine Liturgy.
Thus, the entire daily circle consists of nine services.
In Orthodox worship, much is borrowed from the worship of Old Testament times. For example, the beginning of a new day is considered not midnight, but six o’clock in the evening. That is why the first service of the daily cycle is Vespers.
At Vespers, the Church remembers the main events of the sacred history of the Old Testament: the creation of the world by God, the fall of the first parents, the Mosaic legislation and the ministry of the prophets. Christians give thanks to the Lord for the day they have lived.
After Vespers, according to the Church Rules, Compline is supposed to be served. In a certain sense, these are public prayers for the sleep of the future, in which the descent of Christ into hell and the liberation of the righteous from the power of the devil are remembered.
At midnight, the third service of the daily cycle is supposed to be performed - the Midnight Office. This service was established to remind Christians of the Second Coming of the Savior and the Last Judgment.
Before sunrise, Matins is served - one of the longest services. It is dedicated to the events of the earthly life of the Savior and contains many prayers of both repentance and gratitude.
At about seven o'clock in the morning they perform the 1st hour. This is the name of the short service at which the Orthodox Church remembers the presence of Jesus Christ at the trial of the high priest Caiaphas.
The 3rd hour (nine o’clock in the morning) is served in remembrance of the events that took place in the Upper Room of Zion, where the Holy Spirit descended on the Apostles, and in Pilate’s Praetorium, where the Savior was sentenced to death.
The 6th hour (noon) is the time of the Lord’s crucifixion, and the 9th hour (three o’clock in the afternoon) is the time of His death on the cross. The above-mentioned services are dedicated to these events.
The main divine service of the Orthodox Church, a kind of center of the daily circle, is the Divine Liturgy. Unlike other services, the liturgy provides an opportunity not only to remember God and the entire earthly life of the Savior, but also to actually unite with Him in the sacrament of Communion, established by the Lord Himself during the Last Supper. According to the time, the liturgy should be performed between the 6th and 9th hour, before noon, in the pre-dinner time, which is why it is also called mass.
Modern liturgical practice has brought its own changes to the regulations of the Charter. Thus, in parish churches, Compline is celebrated only during Lent, and the Midnight Office is celebrated once a year, on the eve of Easter. The 9th hour is extremely rarely served. The remaining six services of the daily circle are combined into two groups of three services.
In the evening, Vespers, Matins and the 1st hour are performed in succession. On the eve of Sundays and holidays, these services are combined into one service called the all-night vigil. In ancient times, Christians actually often prayed until dawn, that is, they stayed awake throughout the night. Modern all-night vigils last two to four hours in parishes and three to six hours in monasteries.
In the morning, the 3rd hour, the 6th hour and the Divine Liturgy are served successively. In churches with large congregations, there are two liturgies on Sundays and holidays - early and late. Both are preceded by reading the hours.
On those days when there is no liturgy (for example, on Friday of Holy Week), a short sequence of pictorial ones is performed. This service consists of some chants of the liturgy and, as it were, “depicts” it. But visual arts do not have the status of an independent service.
Divine services also include the performance of all sacraments, rituals, reading of akathists in church, community readings of morning and evening prayers, rules for Holy Communion.
Orthodox worship- this is a set of rites performed primarily in church and under the leadership and primacy of a priest (bishop or priest).
Worship is divided into two main types: general and private.
General services are performed regularly, in accordance with the requirements of the Charter, while private services are intended to satisfy the urgent needs of believers and are performed when necessary.
Some worship services(for example, services, prayers, etc.) can be performed outside the church, as well as (in rare cases) by the laity without a priest. Temple worship is mainly determined by the liturgical circles: daily, weekly (sedemic), eight-week osmoshnaya, annual fixed, annual moving circles. Outside these circles there are services, prayer services, etc.
Initially Divine services were performed freely in open places. There were no holy temples or sacred persons. People prayed with such words (prayers) as their own feelings and mood told them. By the command of God, during the time of the prophet Moses, a tabernacle was built (the first Old Testament temple to the One, True God), sacred persons were elected (high priest, priests and Levites), sacrifices were determined for various occasions and holidays were established (Easter, Pentecost, New Year, Day of Atonement and others.).
The Lord Jesus Christ, who came to earth, taught to worship the heavenly Father in every place, nevertheless often visited the Old Testament temple in Jerusalem, as a place of special, gracious, presence of God, took care of the order in the temple and preached in it. His holy apostles did the same until the open persecution of Christians by the Jews began. In the time of the apostles, as can be seen from the book of the Acts of the Apostles, there were special places for meetings of believers and for the celebration of the Sacrament of Communion, called churches, where worship was performed by bishops, presbyters (priests) and deacons appointed through Ordination (in the sacrament of the priesthood).
The final arrangement of the Christian Divine services was accomplished by the successors of the apostles, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and according to the commandment given to them by the apostles: “everything must be decent and orderly”(1 Cor. 14:40). This established order Divine services strictly preserved in our holy Orthodox Church of Christ. Orthodox Church Divine service is called service or service to God, consisting of reading and singing prayers, reading the Word of God and sacred rites (rites), performed according to a certain order, that is, order, led by a clergyman (bishop or priest).
From home prayer to church Divine service differs in that it is performed by clergy, legally appointed for this purpose through the sacrament of the priesthood by the Holy Orthodox Church, and is performed primarily in the temple. Church Orthodox-public Divine service has the goal, for the edification of believers, in reading and hymns, to set forth the true teaching of Christ and to dispose them to prayer and repentance, and in persons and actions to depict the most important events from sacred history that took place for our salvation, both before the Nativity of Christ and after the Nativity of Christ. In this case, it is meant to arouse in those praying gratitude to God for all the blessings received, to strengthen the prayer for further mercies to us from Him, and to receive peace of mind for our souls. And most importantly, through Divine service Orthodox Christians enter into mysterious communion with God through the celebration of the sacraments Divine service, and especially the sacraments of Holy Communion, and receive from God grace-filled strength for a righteous life.
A church service is the combination, according to a special plan, into one composition of prayers, sections from the Holy Scriptures, chants and sacred actions to clarify a specific idea or thought. Thanks to the fact that in every Orthodox service Divine services a certain thought is consistently developed, each church service represents a harmonious, complete, artistic sacred work, designed to, through verbal, song (vocal) and contemplative impressions, create a pious mood in the souls of those praying, strengthen a living faith in God and prepare an Orthodox Christian to the perception of Divine grace. Finding the guiding thought (idea) of each service and establishing a connection with its component parts is one of the points of study Divine services.
The order in which this or that service is presented is called in liturgical books the “order” or “addition” of the service. Every day is a day of the week and at the same time a day of the year, so for every day there are three kinds of memories:
1) memories of “daytime” or hourly memories, connected to a known hour of the day;
2) “weekly” or weekly memories, connected to individual days of the week;
3) “annual” or numerical memories connected to certain numbers of the year.
Thanks to the threefold kind of sacred memories that occur every day, all church services are divided into three circles: daily, weekly and annual, and the main “circle” is the “everyday circle”, and the other two are additional.
Daily cycle of worship
Daily circle Divine services are called those Divine services which are performed by the Holy Orthodox Church throughout the day. The names of the daily services indicate at what hour of the day each of them should be performed. For example, Vespers indicates the evening hour, Compline - the hour following the “supper” (that is, the evening meal), Midnight Office - at midnight, Matins - at the morning hour, Mass - at lunchtime, that is, midday, the first hour - at ours means the 7th hour of the morning, the third hour is our 9th hour of the morning, the sixth hour is our 12th hour, the ninth is our third hour of the afternoon.
The custom of prayerful consecration of these particular hours in the Christian Church is of very ancient origin and was established under the influence of the Old Testament rule of praying in the temple three times during the day to make sacrifices - morning, afternoon and evening, as well as the words of the Psalmist about glorifying God “in the evening, morning and noon " The discrepancy in the count (the difference is about 6 hours) is explained by the fact that the eastern count is adopted, and in the East, sunrise and sunset differ by 6 hours compared to our countries. Therefore, the 1st o'clock in the morning of the East corresponds to our 7 o'clock and so on.
Vespers, performed at the end of the day in the evening, is therefore placed first among the daily services, because according to the image of the Church, the day begins in the evening, since the first day of the world and the beginning of human existence was preceded by darkness, evening, twilight. With this service we thank God for the passing day.
Compline- a service consisting of reading a series of prayers in which we ask the Lord God for forgiveness of sins and that He would give us, as we go to sleep, peace of body and soul and save us from the wiles of the devil during sleep. Sleep also reminds us of death. Therefore, in the Orthodox service at Compline, those praying are reminded of their awakening from eternal sleep, that is, of the resurrection.
Midnight Office- the service is intended to be performed at midnight, in remembrance of the Savior’s night prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. The “midnight” hour is also memorable because “at the midnight hour” in the parable of the ten virgins the Lord timed His second coming.This service calls on believers to always be prepared for the Day of Judgment.
Matins- a service performed in the morning, before sunrise. The morning hour, bringing with it light, vigor and life, always arouses a feeling of gratitude towards God, the Giver of life. With this service we thank God for the past night and ask Him for mercy for the coming day. In the Orthodox morning service, the coming of the Savior into the world is glorified, bringing with Him new life to people.
First hour, corresponding to our seventh hour of the morning, sanctifies the day that has already come with prayer. At the first hour, we remember the trial of Jesus Christ by the high priests, which actually took place around this time.
At three o'clock e, corresponding to our ninth hour in the morning, we remember the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles, which took place at approximately the same time.
At the sixth hour, corresponding to our twelfth hour of the day, we remember the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ, which happened from the 12th to the 2nd hour of the day.
At the ninth hour, corresponding to our third pm, we remember the death on the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, which occurred around 3 o'clock in the afternoon.
Mass or Divine Liturgy there is the most important worship service. On it, the entire earthly life of the Savior is remembered and the Sacrament of Communion, established by the Savior Himself at the Last Supper, is performed. The Liturgy is served in the morning, before lunch.
All these services in ancient times in monasteries and hermits were performed separately, at the appointed time for each of them. But then, for the convenience of believers, they were combined into three services: evening, morning and afternoon.
Evening 1. Ninth hour (3 pm). 2. Vespers. 3. Compline.
Morning 1. Midnight Office (12 o'clock at night). 2. Matins. 3. First hour (7 a.m.).
Day 1. Third hour (9 a.m.). 2. Sixth hour (12 noon). 3. Liturgy.On the eve of major holidays and Sundays, an evening service is performed, which combines: Vespers, Matins and the first hour. This Divine service called the all-night vigil (all-night vigil), because among the ancient Christians it lasted all night. The word "vigil" means: being awake.
Weekly circle of worship th
Wanting to make my children as pure, pious and focused as possible. The Holy Church gradually attached prayerful remembrance not only to every hour of the day, but also to every day of the week. Thus, from the very beginning of the existence of the Church of Christ, the “first day of the week” was dedicated to the memory of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and became a solemn joyful day, i.e. holiday.
IN Monday(the first day after Sunday) ethereal forces are glorified - Angels, created before man, the closest servants of God;
In Tuesday- Saint John the Baptist is glorified as the greatest of all prophets and righteous people;
IN Wednesday the betrayal of the Lord by Judas is remembered and, in connection with this, a service is performed in memory of the Cross of the Lord (fast day).
IN Thursday glorified St. Apostles and St. Nicholas the Wonderworker.
IN Friday the suffering on the cross and the death of the Savior are remembered and a service is performed in honor of the cross of the Lord (fast day).
IN Saturday- a day of rest, - the Mother of God, who is blessed every day, is glorified, the forefathers, prophets, apostles, martyrs, saints, the righteous and all the saints who have achieved rest in the Lord. All those who have died in true faith and hope for resurrection and eternal life are also remembered.
Annual circle of services
As the faith of Christ spread, the number of Holy Persons increased: martyrs and saints. The greatness of their exploits provided an inexhaustible source for pious Christian songwriters and artists to compose various prayers and hymns, as well as artistic images, in memory of them. The Holy Church included these emerging spiritual works as part of church services, timing the reading and singing of the latter to coincide with the days of remembrance of the saints designated in them. The range of these prayers and chants is extensive and varied; it unfolds for the whole year, and every day there is not one, but several glorified saints.
A manifestation of God's mercy to a well-known people, locality or city, for example, deliverance from a flood, an earthquake, from an attack by enemies, etc. gave an indelible reason to prayerfully commemorate these incidents.
Thus, every day of the year is dedicated to the memory of certain saints, important events, as well as special sacred events - holidays and fasts.
Of all the holidays in the year, the largest is the holiday of the Holy Resurrection of Christ (Easter). This is a holiday, a holiday and a triumph of celebrations. Easter occurs no earlier than March 22 (April 4, New Art.) and no later than April 25 (May 8, New Art.), on the first Sunday after the spring full moon. Then there are twelve great holidays in the year established in honor of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Mother of God, which are called the twelve. There are holidays both in honor of great saints and in honor of the ethereal Heavenly Forces - angels.
Therefore, all the holidays of the year, according to their content, are divided into: the Lord's, the Mother of God and the saints. According to the time of celebration, holidays are divided into fixed ones, which occur every year on the same dates of the month, and moving ones, which, although they occur on the same days of the week, fall on different dates of the month in accordance with the time of Easter celebration.
According to the solemnity of the church service, holidays are divided into great, medium and small. Great holidays always have an all-night vigil; Average holidays are not always the case.
The liturgical church year begins on the 1st, September of the old style, and the entire annual cycle Divine services is being built in relation to the Easter holiday.
Composition of the church service
In order to understand the order and meaning of church services, it is more convenient to first understand the meaning of the prayers. The alternating prayer books of the daily, weekly and annual circles are called “changing” prayer books. The prayers found at each service are called “unchanging.” Each church service consists of a combination of unchanging and changing prayers.
Unchanging Prayers which are read and sung at every service are as follows:
1) Beginners prayers, that is, prayers with which all services begin and which are therefore called in liturgical practice "Regular start";
2) Litany
3) Exclamations
4) Vacations or vacations.
Normal start
Each service begins with the priest's call to glorify and give praise to God.
There are three such inviting invitations or exclamations:
1. “Blessed be our God always, now and ever, and unto ages of ages.”(before the start of most services);
2. “Glory to the Holy, and Consubstantial, and Life-Giving, and Indivisible Trinity always, now and ever, and unto ages of ages”, (before the start of the all-night vigil);
3. “Blessed is the Kingdom of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages.”(before the start of the liturgy).
After the exclamation, the reader, on behalf of all those present, expresses in words "Amen"(truly) consent to this praise and immediately begins to glorify God: “Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee”.
Then, to prepare ourselves for worthy prayer, we, following the reader, turn with prayer to the Holy Spirit ( "King of Heaven"), Who alone can give us the gift of true prayer, so that He may dwell in us, cleanse us from all filth and save us. (Rom. VIII, 26).
With a prayer for cleansing we turn to all three Persons of the Holy Trinity, reading:
A) "Holy God";
B) "Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit";
IN) "Most Holy Trinity, have mercy on us";
G) "Lord have mercy";
D) "Glory... even now".
Finally, we read the Lord’s Prayer, i.e. "Our Father". In conclusion, we read three times: “Come, let us worship and fall before Christ” and move on to reading other prayers that are part of the service.
The normal starting order is:
1. The priest's exclamation.
2. Reading "Glory to Thee, our God".
3. "King of Heaven".
4. "Holy God"(three times).
5. "Glory to the Father and the Son"(small doxology).
6. "Holy Trinity".
7. "Lord have mercy"(Three times)
"Glory even now".
8. "Our Father";
9. "Come, let's worship".
Litany
During Divine services we often hear a series of prayer requests, pronounced protractedly, slowly, proclaimed by a deacon or priest on behalf of all those praying. After each petition the choir sings: "Lord have mercy!" or "Give it, Lord". These are the so-called litanies, from the Greek adverb ektenos - “diligently.”
Litanys are divided into several types:
1) Great Litany
2) Special Litany
3) Petitionary Litany
4 ) Small Litany
5) Litany for the dead or Funeral.
Great Litany
The Great Litany consists of 10 petitions or sections:
1. “Let us pray to the Lord in peace” .
This means: let us call upon our prayer meeting the peace of God, or the blessing of God, and under the shadow of the face of God, addressed to us with peace and love, we will begin to pray for our needs. In the same way, let us pray in peace, having forgiven mutual offenses (Matthew V, 23-24).
2. “Let us pray to the Lord for peace from above and the salvation of our souls”.
“Peace from above” is the peace of earth with heaven, the reconciliation of man with God, or receiving forgiveness of sins from God through our Lord Jesus Christ. The fruit of forgiveness of sins or reconciliation with God is the salvation of our souls, which we also pray for in the second petition of the Great Litany.
3. “For the peace of the whole world, the welfare of God’s holy churches and the unity of all, let us pray to the Lord”.
In the third petition we pray not only for a harmonious and friendly life between people on earth, not only for peace in the entire universe, but also for a wider and deeper peace, this is: peace and harmony (harmony) in the whole world, in the fullness of all God's creations (heaven and earth, seas and “everything in them,” angels and people, living and dead). Second subject of the petition; welfare, i.e. peace and well-being of God's holy churches or individual Orthodox societies. The fruit and consequence of the prosperity and well-being of Orthodox societies on earth will be extensive moral unity: agreement, unanimous proclamation of the glory of God from all the elements of the world, from all animate beings, there will be such a penetration of “everything” with the highest religious content, when God will be “perfectly in everything”
(1 Cor. XV, 28).
4. “For this holy temple, and for those who enter it with faith, reverence and fear of God, let us pray to the Lord.”
Reverence and fear of God are expressed in a prayerful mood, in putting aside worldly cares, in cleansing the heart from enmity and envy. On the outer side, reverence is expressed in bodily cleanliness, in decent clothing and in abstaining from talking and looking around. To pray for the Holy Temple means to ask God so that He never departs from the temple with His grace; but he preserved it from desecration by enemies of the faith, from fires, earthquakes, and robbers, so that the temple did not lack funds to maintain it in a flourishing state. The temple is called holy by the holiness of the sacred actions performed in it and by the gracious presence of God in it, from the time of consecration. But the grace that abides in the temple is not available to everyone, but only to those who enter it with faith, reverence and fear of God.
5. “For this city, (or for this whole) every city, country, and those who live in them by faith, let us pray to the Lord.” .
We pray not only for our city, but for every other city and country, and for their inhabitants (because according to Christian brotherly love, we must pray not only for ourselves, but also for all people).
6. “For the goodness of the air, for the abundance of earthly fruits and times of peace, let us pray to the Lord.”
In this petition, we ask the Lord to give us our daily bread, that is, everything necessary for our earthly life. We ask for favorable weather for the growth of grain, as well as peacetime.
7. “For those who are sailing, traveling, the sick, the suffering, the captives, and for their salvation, let us pray to the Lord.”
In this petition, the Holy Church invites us to pray not only for those present, but also for those absent: those on the road (swimming, traveling), the sick, the ailing (that is, the sick and weak in body in general) and the suffering (that is, chained to the bed of a dangerous illness) and about those in captivity.
8. “Let us pray to the Lord that we may be delivered from all sorrow, anger and need.”
In this petition we ask the Lord to deliver us from all sorrow, anger and need, that is, from grief, disaster and unbearable oppression.
9. “Intercede, save, have mercy, and preserve us, O God, with Your grace.”
In this petition, we pray to the Lord to protect us, preserve us and have mercy through His mercy and grace.
10. “Let us commemorate ourselves, and each other, and our whole life to Christ our God.”.
We constantly call upon the Mother of God in litanies because She serves as our Intercessor and Intercessor before the Lord. After turning to the Mother of God for help, the Holy Church advises us to entrust ourselves, each other and our whole life to the Lord. The Great Litany is otherwise called “peaceful” (because in it peace is often asked for people). In ancient times, litanies were continuous prayers in form and common prayers of all those present in the church, evidence of which is, by the way, the words “Lord have mercy” following the deacon’s exclamations.
The Great Litany
The second litany is called "pure", that is, strengthened, because for every petition pronounced by the deacon, the singers respond with triple "Lord have mercy".
Extraordinary The litany consists of the following petitions:
1. “We rejoice with all our hearts, and with all our thoughts we rejoice. Let us say to the Lord with all our souls and with all our thoughts:..."(further we explain what exactly we will say).
2. “Lord Almighty, God of our father, we pray to You, hear and have mercy. Lord Almighty, God of our fathers, we pray to You, hear and have mercy.”
3. “Have mercy on us, O God, according to Your great mercy, we pray to You, hear and have mercy. Have mercy on us, Lord, according to Your great goodness. We pray to You, hear and have mercy.”
4.“We also pray for all the Christ-loving army. We also pray for all the soldiers, as defenders of the Faith and the Fatherland.”
5. “We also pray for our brothers, priests, priests, and all our brotherhood in Christ. We also pray for our brothers in service and in Christ.”
6. “We also pray for the blessed and ever-memorable saints of the Orthodox Patriarchs, and the pious kings, and the pious queens, and the creators of this holy temple, and for all the Orthodox fathers and brethren who lie before them, who lie here and everywhere. We also pray for St. Orthodox Patriarchs, about the faithful Orthodox kings and queens; - about the always memorable creators of the Holy Temple; about all our deceased parents and brothers buried here and in other places.”
7. " We also pray for mercy, life, peace, health, salvation, visitation, forgiveness and forgiveness of sins of the servants of God to the brethren of this Holy Temple. In this petition, we ask the Lord for bodily and spiritual benefits to the parishioners of the church where the service is being held.”
8. “We also pray for those who bear fruit and do good in this holy and all-honorable temple, those who work, sing and stand before us, expecting great and rich mercy from You. We also pray for people: “fruit-bearing” ( those. bringing material and monetary donations for liturgical needs in the temple: wine, oil, incense, candles ) and “virtuous”(i.e., those who make decorations in the temple or donate to maintain the splendor of the temple, as well as those who do some work in the temple, for example, reading, singing, and about all the people who are in the temple in anticipation of great and rich mercy.
Litany of Petition
Petitionary The litany consists of a series of petitions ending with the words “we ask the Lord”, to which the singers respond with the words: "God grant".
The litany of petition is read as follows:
1.“Let us fulfill our (evening or morning) prayer to the Lord. Let us complete (or supplement) our prayer to the Lord.”
2. “Intercede, save, have mercy and preserve us, O God, by Your grace. Protect, save, have mercy and preserve us, O God, by Your grace.”
3.“Day (or evening) perfection of everything, holy, peaceful and sinless, we ask the Lord. Let us ask the Lord to help us spend this day (or evening) expediently, holy, peacefully and sinlessly.”
4.“We ask the Lord for a peaceful, faithful mentor, guardian of our souls and bodies. Let us ask the Lord for the Holy Angel, who is the faithful mentor and guardian of our soul and body.”
5.“We ask the Lord for forgiveness and forgiveness of our sins and transgressions. Let us ask the Lord for forgiveness and forgiveness of our sins (heavy) and sins (light).
6. “We ask the Lord for kindness and benefit to our souls and for peace. Let us ask the Lord for everything that is useful and good for our souls, for peace for all people and the whole world.”
7. “End the rest of your life in peace and repentance, we ask the Lord. Let us ask the Lord that we may live the remaining time of our lives in peace and a calm conscience.”
8.“The Christian death of our belly, painless, shameless, peaceful, and a good answer at the terrible judgment of Christ, we ask. Let us ask the Lord that our death be Christian, that is, with confession and Communion of the Holy Mysteries, painless, shameless and peaceful, that is, that before our death we make peace with our loved ones. Let us ask for a kind and fearless answer at the Last Judgment.”
9.“Having remembered our Most Holy, Most Pure, Most Blessed, Glorious Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary, with all the saints, let us commend ourselves and each other and our entire life to Christ our God.”
Small Litany
Small The litany is a shortening of the great litany and contains only the following petitions:
1. “Back and back (again and again) let us pray to the Lord in peace.”
2.
3.“Having remembered our Most Holy, Most Pure, Most Blessed, Glorious Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary with all the saints, we will commend ourselves and each other, and our whole life to Christ our God.”
Sometimes these petitions of great, special, small and petitionary litanies are joined by others, compiled for a special occasion, for example, on the occasion of burial or commemoration of the dead, on the occasion of the consecration of water, the beginning of teaching, the onset of the New Year.
These litanies with additional "changing petitions"are contained in a special book for prayer chants.
Funeral Litany
Great:
1.“Let us pray to the Lord in peace.”
2. “Let us pray to the Lord for peace from above and for the salvation of our souls.”
3. “For the remission of sins, in the blessed memory of those who have passed away, let us pray to the Lord.”
4.“For the ever-memorable servants of God (name of the rivers), peace, silence, blessed memory of them, let us pray to the Lord.”
5. “Let us pray to the Lord to forgive them every sin, voluntary or involuntary.”
6.“For those who are not condemned to appear before the terrible throne of the Lord of glory, let us pray to the Lord.”
7. " Let us pray to the Lord for those who cry and are sick, and who long for Christ’s consolation.”
8.“Let us pray to the Lord to free them from all illness and sorrow and sighing, and to let them dwell where the light of the face of God shines.”
9.“Oh, that the Lord our God will restore their souls to a place of light, to a place of greenness, to a place of peace, where all the righteous abide, let us pray to the Lord.”
10.“Let us pray to the Lord for their number in the bosom of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob.”
11.“Let us pray to the Lord that we may be delivered from all sorrow, anger and need.”
12.“Intercede, save, have mercy and preserve us, O God, by Your grace.”
13. “Having asked for the mercy of God, the kingdom of heaven, and the remission of sins for ourselves, we will hand over each other and our whole life to Christ our God.”
Small And Triple the funeral litany consists of three petitions in which thoughts are repeated Great Litany. Exclamations while the deacon on the solea pronounces litanies, the priest in the altar reads prayers to himself (secretly) (there are especially many secret prayers in the liturgy), and pronounces them loudly at the end. These ends of the prayers, spoken by the priest, are called "whoops." They usually express the reason why we, praying to the Lord, can hope for the fulfillment of our prayers, and why we have the boldness to turn to the Lord with petitions and thanksgivings.
According to immediate impression, all exclamations of the priest are divided into initial, liturgical and litany.
In order to clearly distinguish between the two, you need to carefully understand the exclamations of the litanies. The most common exclamations are:
1. After the great litany: “ Yako(i.e. because) All glory, honor and worship is due to You, Father and Son and Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages.».
2. After the special litany: “For God is merciful and a lover of mankind, and to You we send up glory, to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages.”.
3. After the litany of petition: “As God is good and a lover of mankind, we send up glory to You, to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages.”
4. After the small litany: “For Thine is the dominion, and Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, of the Father and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, always, now and ever, and unto ages of ages.”
5. “For You are the God of mercy and generosity and love for mankind, and to You we send up glory, to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and to the ages of ages.”
6. “For blessed be Thy Name, and glorified Thy kingdom, of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages.”
7. “For You are our God, and to You we send up glory, to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages.”
8. “For You are the King of the world and the Savior of our souls, and to You we send up glory, to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and to the ages of ages.”
However, in addition to the above, there are several more exclamations that contain the same thoughts as the eight exclamations noted. For example, during the all-night vigil and prayer service the following exclamations are also uttered:
A) “Hear us, O God our Savior, the hope of all the ends of the earth and those who are in the sea far away: and be merciful, merciful, O Master, for our sins and have mercy on us. For You are merciful and lover of mankind, and we send up glory to You, Father and Son and Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Hear us, God our Savior, You, in Whom they hope in all the ends of the earth and in the distant sea, and being merciful, be merciful to our sins and have mercy on us, because You are a merciful God who loves mankind and we send up Glory to You...”
b) “By the mercy, and bounty, and love for mankind of Thy only begotten Son, with whom art thou blessed, with Thy most holy, and good, and life-giving spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. According to the mercy, generosity and love for mankind of Your Only Begotten Son, with whom You are blessed (God the Father) with Your Most Holy, Good and Life-giving Spirit.”
V) “For you are holy, our God, and you rest among the saints, and we send up glory to you, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Because You are Holy, our God, and you dwell in the saints (by Your grace) and we send up glory to You. Funeral exclamation: For Thou art the resurrection and life and rest of thy servants who have fallen asleep (the name of the rivers), Christ our God, and to Thee we send up glory, with Thy beginningless Father, and Thy most holy and good and life-giving Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages.”
Vacations
Each church service ends with special prayer chants, which together make up vacation or vacation.
Order release next.
The priest says: "Wisdom", i.e. we will be careful. Then, turning to the Mother of God, he says: .
The singers respond with the words: “The most honorable Cherub and the most glorious without comparison Seraphim”... Thanking the Lord further for the perfect service, the priest says out loud: “Glory to Thee, Christ God, Our Hope, Glory to Thee”, after which the singers sing: "Glory even now", “Lord have mercy” (three times), "Bless".
The priest, turning his face to the people, lists all the Saints through whose prayers we turned to God for help, namely:
1. Mother of God
2. Holy week
3. Holy day
4. Holy Temple
5. Holy local region
6. Godfather of Joachim and Anna.
Then the priest says that through the prayers of these saints the Lord will have mercy and save us. Let go believers receive permission to leave the temple.
Changing Prayers
As already mentioned, in the Church selected passages from the Holy Scriptures and prayers written by pious Christian poets are read and sung. Both are included in church services to depict and glorify the sacred event of the three circles of worship: daily, weekly and annual. Readings and chants from holy books are named after the book from which they are taken. For example, psalms from the book of Psalms, prophecies from books written by prophets, the Gospel from the Gospel. The changing prayers that make up sacred Christian poetry are found in church liturgical books and bear different names.
The most important of them are the following:
1)Troparion- a song that briefly depicts the life of a Saint or the history of a holiday, for example, well-known troparia: “Your Nativity, O Christ our God”, “Thou art transfigured on the mountain, O Christ our God...”, “The rule of faith and the image of meekness.”
The origin and meaning of the name “troparion” is explained differently:
a) some derive this word from the Greek “tropos” - disposition, image, because the troparion depicts the lifestyle of a saint or contains a description of a holiday;
b) others from “trepeon” - a trophy or a sign of victory, which indicates that the troparion is a song proclaiming the victory of a saint or the triumph of a holiday;
c) others derive from the word “tropos” - trope, that is, the use of a word not in its own meaning, but in the meaning of another object due to the similarity between them; this kind of word use is indeed often found in troparia; saints, for example, are likened to the sun, moon, stars, etc.;
d) finally, the word troparion is also derived from “tropome” - they changed, since the troparia are sung alternately in one or the other choir, and “trepo” - I turn it, since “they turn to other prayers and relate to them.”
2) Kontakion(from the word “kontos” - short) - a short song depicting some individual feature of the celebrated event or Saint. All kontakia differ from troparia not so much in content as in the time at which they are sung during the service. An example of a kontakion would be - "Virgo today...", “To the elected Voivode...”
Kontakion- derived from the Greek word “kontos” - small, short, which means a short prayer in which the life of a saint is briefly glorified or a memory of some event in brief main features. Others - the name kontakion is derived from the word that names the material on which they were previously written. Indeed, originally “kontakia” was the name given to bundles of parchments written on both sides.
3) Greatness- a song containing the glorification of a Saint or a holiday. The Greatness is sung during the all-night vigil before the holiday icon, first by the clergy in the middle of the temple, and then repeated several times in the choir by the singers.
4) Stichera(from the Greek “stichera” - multi-verse) - a chant consisting of many verses written in the same meter of versification, most of them preceded by verses of the Holy Scriptures. Each stichera contains the main idea, which is revealed in various ways in all stichera. For example, the glorification of the Resurrection of Christ, the Entry into the Temple of the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Apostle. Peter and Paul, John the Evangelist, etc. There are many stichera, but they all have different names, depending on the time of their performance during the service.
If the stichera is sung after the prayer "Lord I cried", then it is called “I cried out in verse to the Lord”; if the stichera is sung after verses that glorify the Lord (for example, “Let every breath praise the Lord”), then the stichera is called stichera "on praise". There are also stichera "on the poem", and the stichera of the Theotokos are stichera in honor of the Mother of God. The number of stichera of each category and the verses preceding them varies - depending on the solemnity of the holiday - then 10, 8, 6 and 4. Therefore, the liturgical books say - “stichera for 10, for 8, for 6”, etc. These numbers indicate the number of verses of the psalm that should be sung with stichera. Moreover, the stichera themselves, if they are missing, can be repeated several times.
5) Dogmatist. Dogmatists are special stichera that contain the teaching (dogma) about the incarnation of Jesus Christ from the Mother of God. And prayers that primarily speak about the Most Holy Theotokos are called by the general name “Theotokos.”
6) Akathist- “nesedalen”, a prayer service, especially singing of praise in honor of the Lord, the Mother of God or the Saint.
7) Antiphons- (alternate singing, countervoice) prayers that are supposed to be sung alternately on two choirs.
8) Prokeimenon- (lying in front) - there is a verse that precedes the reading of the Apostle, Gospel and proverbs. The prokeimenon serves as a preface to the reading and expresses the essence of the person being remembered. There are many prokeimenes: they are daytime, holiday, etc.
9) The verse involved, which is sung during the communion of the clergy.
10) Canon- this is a series of sacred chants in honor of a Saint or a holiday, which are read or sung during the All-Night Vigil at the time when those praying kiss (attach) the Holy Gospel or the icon of the holiday. The word “canon” is Greek, in Russian it means rule. The canon consists of nine and sometimes fewer parts called "cantos". Each song in turn is divided into several sections (or stanzas), of which the first is called “irmos”. The Irmos are sung and serve as a connection for all the following sections, which are read and called the troparia of the canon. Every canon has a specific subject. For example, in one canon the Resurrection of Christ is glorified, and in another - the Cross of the Lord, the Mother of God or some Saint. Therefore, the canons have special names, for example, "resurrection canon", canon "To the Life-Giving Cross", "Canon of the Mother of God", "canon to the Saint". In accordance with the main subject of the canon, special refrains are read before each verse. For example, during the Sunday canon the chorus: “Glory to Thee, Our God, glory to Thee...”, at the canon of the Theotokos, chorus: "Most Holy Mother of God, save us".
Liturgical books
First place in number Liturgical books occupy: Gospel, Apostle, Psalter and prophetic books. These books are taken from Holy Scripture – Bible, that's why they're called sacred and liturgical.
Then follow the books: Service Book, Book of Hours, Breviary, book of prayer chants, Octoechos, Menaion of the month, Menaion of the general, Menaion of the holidays. Lenten Triodion, Colored Triodion, Typicon or Charter, Irmologium and Canon.
These books were compiled on the basis of Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition, by the fathers and teachers of the Church. And they are called church and liturgical.
Gospel- This The Word of God. It consists of the first four books of the New Testament, written by the evangelists Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The Gospel contains a description of the earthly life of our Lord Jesus Christ: His teaching, miracles, suffering on the cross, death, glorious resurrection and His ascension to heaven.
Liturgical Gospel has the peculiarity that, in addition to the usual division into chapters and verses, it is also divided into special sections called “conceptions”. At the end of the book there is an index: when to read this or that.
Apostle is called in church language a book containing the subsequent books of the New Testament: the Acts of the Holy Apostles, the conciliar epistles and the epistles of the Apostle Paul (except for the book of the Apocalypse). The book of the Apostle, like the Gospel, is divided, in addition to chapters and verses, into “conceptions,” with an indication at the end of the book of when and which “conception” to read. Psalter- book of the prophet and king David. It is so called because most of the psalms in it were written by St. prophet David. In these psalms, St. the prophet opens his soul to God, all his joys, sorrows, repents of his sins, glorifies God’s endless perfections, thanks Him for all His mercies and good deeds, asks for help in all his undertakings... That is why the Psalter is used during Divine services more often than all others liturgical books. The book of Psalms for use in Divine services is divided into twenty sections called “kathismas,” and each “kathisma” is divided into three parts, called “glories.”
Book of Prayer Songs contains rites of prayers (prayer chants) for different occasions.
Octoechos or Osmiglasnik contains chants (troparia, kontakion, canons, etc.), divided into eight tunes or “voices.” Each voice, in turn, contains hymns for the entire week, so that the services of the Octoechos are repeated once every eight weeks. The division of church singing into voices was accomplished by the famous hymnist of the Greek Church, St. John of Damascus (VIII century). The Octoechos is attributed to him and compiled, although it should be noted that St. took part in the composition of the Octoechos. Mitrofan, Bishop of Smyrna, St. Joseph the hymnographer and others.
Menaea Menstrual contains prayers in honor of saints for every day of the year and solemn services for the feasts of the Lord and the Mother of God, falling on a specific day of the month. According to the number of 12 months, it is divided into 12 separate books.
Menaea General contains hymns common to a whole group of saints, for example, in honor of prophets, apostles, martyrs, saints, etc. It is used during Divine services in the event that a separate service has not been compiled for any saint in the Menaion of the Month.
Menaea Festive contains the services of the Great Holidays, extracted from the Menaion of the Month.
Triodion Lenten contains prayers for the days of Great Lent and for the preparatory weeks for it, starting from the week of the Publican and the Pharisee and until Easter. The word "triode" is Greek and means three songs. This book and the following Triodion Tsvetnaya received this name because they contain incomplete canons, consisting of only three songs, instead of the usual nine songs of the canon.
Triodion Colored contains hymns from the day of Holy Easter to the week of All Saints (i.e., until the 9th Resurrection, counting from the day of Easter).
Irmology contains chants selected from various canons, called irmos (irmos is the initial chant of each song of the canon).
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