(from the Greek word "offering": in ancient times Christians brought bread and wine with them to the temple to perform the Sacrament) - preparation for the Sacrament.

Proskomedia is performed in the altar on a special table - the altar. Take five prosphora - five loaves (according to the number of the Gospel; Mark 6, 38-44), baked from sour, risen dough. In the Holy Gospel and the Epistles, bread is called in Greek "artos", which means "raised, sour", and unleavened bread - "azimon". The apostles used leavened bread at the Eucharist (Acts 2:42, 46; 20:11; 1 Cor. 11, 23-28; 10:16, 17). Wine is taken - always grape, red - and combined with water. Prosphora - two-part, as a sign that there are two natures in Jesus Christ, two natures - Divine and human; on top of the Lamb prosphora there is a cross with the letters "IS XC" "NO KA", that is, "Jesus Christ conquers" (He is the conqueror of sin, death and the devil).

"Three things are contained in bread, in accordance with the threefoldness of the soul and in honor of the Trinity: flour with leaven, which serves as the image of the soul; water, which means Baptism, and salt, which signifies the mind and teaching of the Word ..."Archbishop Simeon of Thessaloniki.

Sacred vestments-the grace of God. D and s to s - a round consecrated dish - means Heaven, the Lamb, the Lord of Heaven is placed on it.

K about p and e - a sharp knife with which the Lamb is carved and particles are removed from the prosphora. The Savior was pierced by the spear of the Roman soldier on the Cross (John 19:34).

L z and ts and (from the Greek, - ticks) - a spoon for communion of the laity. It marks the tongs with which Seraphim took a hot coal and touched the lips of the prophet Isaiah, which meant his cleansing (Is. 6, 6); and also - a cane with a sponge, which, having saturated with vinegar, the soldiers brought to the mouth of the Savior, who was hanging on the Cross (Matt. 27, 48).

The star means the star of Bethlehem, which was at the birth of Christ, as well as the shroud. The altar itself on the proskomidia depicts the cave (nativity scene) where Christ was born, and the manger (Luke 2,7).

The priest of five prosphora takes one and says three times: In remembrance of the Lord, and God, and our Savior Jesus Christ. Then, with a copy, he cuts out the quadrangular part from the prosphora (this part of the prosphora is being prepared for being transformed into the Body of Christ).

Yako (as) a sheep to be slaughtered (led to slaughter); and as the Lamb is blameless directly (against) the one who shears him is silent, so he does not open his mouth; In His humility, His judgment will be taken (judgment on Him); Who is His kind who confesses (will explain); Yako will take off from the ground the belly (life) of Him , - says the priest the prophetic words of Isaiah (53, 7-9).

The birth of Christ is mysteriously united at proskomedia with His crucifixion on Calvary, and the priest, making a cross-cut incision of the Lamb, says: Eats (sacrificed) Lamb of God, take (took) sin of the world, for the worldly belly (for the life of the world) and salvation ... Then an episode from the gospel story is recalled, how the body of the Savior, who was hanging on the Cross, was pierced by a warrior's spear. At this time, wine is poured into the Cup, combined with water (John 19:34).

From the second prosphora a particle in honor and memory of the Mother of God is taken out and rests on the diskos, on the right side of the Sacred Bread: the Queen appears "at the right hand" of His Son and the King of Christ. From the third prosphora particles are removed in honor of the nine faces of the saints: in honor and memory of the Forerunner and all the holy prophets and righteous men who foreshadowed the incarnation of the Lord; then in honor of the apostles - the servants of Christ, and with them all those who were jealous of piety - holy hierarchs, martyrs, reverends and all saints, in memory of the saints celebrated on this day and the creator of the rite of the liturgy being performed - Saint John Chrysostom or Saint Basil the Great.

From the fourth prosphora particles are taken out for the living members of the Church: for the Holy Patriarch, the bishop, then for the entire priestly and monastic rank, for those who work in churches (2 Tim. 2, 6), for our country and for all Christ-loving people.

"Orthodox! You," says the holy righteous John of Kronstadt, "letting the particles be removed for health and salvation and for repose," communicate at the proskomedia and during the liturgy with the Lord, Mother of God, Forerunner, prophets, apostles, martyrs, reverends and all saints. "

The priest brings a particle only for Orthodox Christians.

Finally, from the fifth prosphora- particles for those who have fallen asleep in Christ: for the entire priestly and monastic order, for the creators of this church, and further - for all Orthodox Christians, in the hope of resurrection and Eternal Life of those who have passed away. The priest also brings particles for those whom we want to remember and submitted to the liturgy of remembrance and notes with their names.

Completing the proskomedia, the priest asks for God's blessing for the performed sacred rite. Blessing the censer in a cruciform manner, he prays: We bring the censer to Thee, Christ our God, into the stench (like an incense) of the spiritual fragrance, hedgehog (which he accepted) into Thy Heavenly Altar, send us the grace of Thy Most Holy Spirit. And at the end of the proskomedia, the priest confesses Christ with Heavenly Bread, given to the whole world for food, and intercedes before God for all who are to attend the Divine Liturgy and for whom they pray in this offering: ... Himself bless this Offer (this), and accept it (it) into Thy Heavenly Altar. Remember that it is Good and the Lover of Man, who brought them also for the sake of bringing, and we are not condemned to preserve in the sacred rite of Thy Divine Secrets

The curtain of the royal gates is opened, and with the words of the confession of the mystery of the Resurrection of the Son of God - In the coffin fleshly , - the deacon censes the western side of the holy throne, with the words: In hell with a soul like God - southern, with the words: In Paradise with the robber - eastern, and with the words: And on the Throne was you, Christ, with the Father and the Spirit - censes the north side of the throne; All Execute Undescribed - an altar.

Censing begins from the throne and returns to it, after censing the altar and the entire temple, to a sign that the beginning and end of all blessings is God who dwells on the throne.

The censing is accompanied by a quiet reading of Psalm 50 and the troparion of the temple. The deacon "censes everything in order, not just burning incense,- explains Blessed Simeon, Archbishop of Thessaloniki, - but by sealing and sanctifying it and through prayer bringing and uplifting it to Christ with a prayer that the censer will be accepted and may the grace of the All-Holy Spirit be sent down to us. " In this liturgical act, the prayers of those who stand are offered up, appearing before God of Christ with a fragrance (2 Cor. 2:15).

The priest, making three obeisances with prayer: God cleanse me, a sinner , - raising his hands, prays, invoking the Holy Spirit: Heavenly King, Comforter, Soul of truth, Who is everywhere (Ubiquitous)and all (all)obey (filling),Treasure of the good and life to the Giver, come and dwell in us (in us),and cleanse us from all filthiness (impurities), and save, Blazhe, our souls . Pronounces angelic praise: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill in men(Luke 2:14), expressing his good will to accept the peace of God, given through the Incarnation and the sufferings of the Savior on the Cross. Prays for the sending of a grace-filled prayer: O Lord, open my mouth, and my mouth shall declare Thy praise.(Ps. 50, 17).

Then the priest utters the initial exclamation: Blessed Kingdom ...

The very first words of the Divine Liturgy tell us that the place where we enter in order to bring verbal service is the blessed Kingdom of the Holy Trinity. This is also evidenced by the trinity of many parts of the liturgy: exclamations, litany, initial antiphons, the Trisagion, Alleluia, the singing of Prokimn, etc. - testify to our presence in the Kingdom of the Holy Trinity.

Peace be with the Lord- with these words the great, or peaceful, litany begins. Those praying are encouraged to pray in peace, silence and serenity of spirit, with a clear conscience, in like-mindedness and mutual love. We ask for such peace from the Lord, which the Apostle Paul calls "the highest of all minds" (Phil. 4: 7), we ask for help in our daily needs, we ask for spiritual perfection in order to follow the Lord Christ, who said: "Be perfect as perfect Your Heavenly Father "(Matthew 5:48).

The priest in secret prayer asks the Lord for the bestowal of mercies on those praying in the temple: ... Yourself, Master, according to Your mercy, look mercifully at us and at this temple, and give to us, and to those who pray with us, Your rich mercies and Your mercies. - and ends the prayer with a doxology to the Most Holy Trinity, proclaiming: For all glory, honor and worship befits Thee, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit ...

Secret prayers recited by a priest have a deep dogmatic content; in the ancient Christian Church they were read aloud, they were heard by all the people praying in the temple.

After the exclamation, the chanting of the liturgical antiphons begins, divided by small litanies into three parts - in honor of the Most Holy Trinity.

During the Lesser Litany, after the singing of the first antiphon, the priest reads a secret prayer for the preservation of the Holy Church and her children, for the consecration of those who love the beauty of the house of God - the temple. During the second minor litany, he reads: That same common and agreeable giving us prayers .. remembering the Savior's promise to stay where even only two or three Christians will gather together for prayer (Matthew 18, 19, 20). Only in the Name of Christ, gathering in love and unanimity in the temple, Christians can worthily glorify God, offering Him the Sacrifice of the Holy Gifts

On holidays, pictorial antiphons are sung - verses from the 102nd and 145th psalms and the Gospel Blessed (Matthew 5, 3-12), with the troparions of the canons. The Church fulfills the covenant of the Apostle Paul (Col. 3:16): it glorifies, thanks the Lord for the providential care of the world and man. With these psalms, worshipers prepare for hearing the exalted church teaching about the Incarnation of God the Word, which is set forth in the troparion. " The only begotten Son and the Word of God"This church hymn expresses the fullness of God's care for the salvation of the human race through the coming into the world of the Son of God, foretold by the Old Testament prophets, about His Incarnation from the Most Holy Theotokos, and reveals the mystery of God's economy of human salvation: the preaching of Divine doctrine, free suffering and the death of the Savior on the Cross, which He conquered sin and death ... "Do you hear? - asks, citing this hymn, the holy righteous John of Kronstadt .- God for you became incarnate, became a man ... Do you appreciate it, do you feel it? "Does it lift you up? .. Does it lift you off the ground?" The hymn "The Only Begotten Son and the Word of God" is considered the troparion of the Constantinople Church of St. Sophia, the Wisdom of God, built by the Byzantine emperor St. Justinian (+ 565). He is also the author of this troparion.

The third antiphon - Blessed - begins with the words of the prudent robber: In Thy Kingdom, remember us, Lord, when (when) you come in Thy Kingdom ... Let us remember that the Lord answered him: "Truly I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise" (Luke 23, 42, 43). And we, by singing this prudent confession, hope to be with the Lord. The nine main Gospel commandments, taught by the Savior in His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5, 2-12), lead to this bliss, the fulfillment of which leads a person to the perfection of spiritual life in Christ. A true disciple of the Lord, asking Him for mercy for himself, must be humble in spirit, meek, righteous, merciful, patient in trials, faithful to the Lord to self-sacrifice.

During the singing of the third antiphon, a small entrance is made.

The symbolism of the small entrance, when a candle bearer with a candle, a deacon with the Gospel and a priest emerge from the northern gates of the altar, is revealed in a secret prayer that the priest utters at this time: Sovereign Lord, our God, who established in Heaven the ranks and armies of Angels and Archangels ... make our entrance the entrance of holy Angels who would serve with us and glorify Your goodness. St. John Chrysostom, the creator of the liturgy, writes: " Now the angels are rejoicing, now the archangels are rejoicing, now the cherubs and seraphim are celebrating with us a real holiday ... Although this grace has been received from the Lord by us, they have common pleasure with us."The Holy Eucharist is the work of the entire Church, militant on earth and triumphant in Heaven. We, sinful people, need heavenly representatives — angels and saints — to offer the" Sacrifice of praise. "

Blessed is the entrance of your saints .. .- says the priest, overshadowing the entrance to the royal gates with the sign of the cross. The carrying out of the Gospel is Christ's entrance to the sermon, the candle is John the Baptist who preceded Him (John 1:27). The deacon proclaims: Wisdom, forgive (from Greek - wisdom, stand straight!). This is a call to believers in simplicity of heart, standing reverently, to listen to the wisdom of God, revealed to the world by the preaching of the Savior. Come, let us worship and fall to Christ , - the people are singing.

The entrance is followed by the chanting of the troparia and kontakion, reflecting the sacred events of the holiday. "This group of songs tries to embrace all the memories connected with the day of the celebration of the Liturgy, in showing that the Bloodless Sacrifice is offered for everyone and for everything."

The priest at the throne in secret prayer asks the Heavenly Father, praised by the Cherubim and the Seraphim, to graciously accept the Trisagion Song, to forgive our voluntary and involuntary sins, to sanctify us and give strength to serve Him until the end of his life, and proclaims: As Holy ecu our God, and we glorify Thee, Father and Son and Holy Spirit, now and ever ... And the deacon with an orarion, like an angel's wing, guides from the icon of the Savior to the coming believers, saying: And forever and ever ... The Holy Church prays for all piously living, for the granting of salvation to them - everyone, not only standing in the church at this moment, but also for future generations of people.

The choir sings the Trisagion : Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us ... At the beginning of the 5th century in Constantinople, during a terrible earthquake, a divine service and a procession were performed. In a vision, angels appeared to a young man singing this song. Christians, hearing about this, added to the angelic singing the words: "Have mercy on us!", And the earthquake stopped.

The holy prophet Isaiah saw the Throne of God, surrounded by armies of holy angels, chanting: "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts", and exclaimed: "My lips are unclean, and I live among people with unclean lips!"(Isa. 6: 1-5). Then the Angel touched his mouth with a burning coal and removed his iniquity and cleansed his sins (Isa. 6, 6, 7). Singing the Trisagion Song together with the Ethereal Forces, we bring repentance to the Lord for our sins and ask for God's help and mercy.

The priest ascends to the high place - the elevation behind the throne. The mountainous place marks the Heavenly Throne of God and "signifies the exalted sojourn of Jesus," says Blessed Simeon, Archbishop of Thessaloniki. Ascending to a high place, like Christ to Heaven, into the bosom of the Father, the priest reads a prayer: Blessed art thou on the throne of the glory of thy kingdom, sit upon the cherubimech ...

The reader at the high place takes the priest's blessing to read the Apostle and goes among the people, as if to the nations of the whole world, to sow the Word of Christ in the hearts of people.

Peace to all ! - exclaims the priest. So the Lord after His glorious Resurrection greeted His disciples (Luke 24, 36). With this Divine greeting, He sent them to the worldwide preaching of the Gospel. In the word "peace" the Lord taught His disciples, and through them all the pastors of Christ's Church, the power of spiritual peace (John 14:27). Before the coming of the Lord, the peace between man and God was broken by sin. Sin, having taken possession of a person, has broken relationships between people. The Savior, after His Resurrection, grants Divine peace to humanity through the Holy Church, reuniting people with God, with each other and with all creation (John 16:33).

To the priest's greeting Peace to all! - the reader, on behalf of all the worshipers, says: And perfume yours- a reciprocal wish to the clergyman who teaches the blessed world, the same peace from the Lord.

During the reading of the Apostle, censing is performed. It was installed as a sign of reverence for the upcoming reading of the Gospel and indicates that through the preaching of the gospel grace of the Holy Spirit, spreading to all ends of the world, fragrant the hearts of people and turned them to Eternal Life (2 Cor. 2.14). The priest, while reading the Apostle, sits on the southern side of the high place, as an equal to the Apostles by the grace of teaching.

At the end of the reading of the Apostle, the singers sing Alleluia, and the reader recites verses from the psalms - alleluiaries- hymns of praise, announcing the manifestation of the saving grace of God to all people. This singing is preparatory to the reading of the Gospel and emphasizes its solemnity.

While singing Alleluiaria, the priest reads a secret prayer in which he asks God to grant him and those who are praying the understanding of the Gospel reading and the fear of the blessed commandments in order to trample on carnal lusts and acquire spiritual life.

In front of the analogue, on which the deacon places the Gospel, a lighted candle is placed on the pulpit as a sign of reverence for the word of God and in commemoration of the light of God-mind given by the Gospel, which enlightens the listeners with the knowledge of saving mysteries.

The Gospel is followed by augmented litany, sometimes a funeral one and about the catechumens. The Holy Church, having introduced the worshipers to Divine wisdom through the reading of the word of God, encourages them to a special prayer request, which in the language of the service is called diligent prayer.

The litany begins with a petition: All the ... The Church calls on both clergy and those who pray with all the strength and abilities of the soul to turn with reciprocal love, deepest gratitude and devotion to God and in Him alone to seek help and intercession.

At this time, the priest secretly reads a prayer of diligent prayer, in which he asks the Lord God to graciously accept the intensified heartfelt prayer of His servants for the forgiveness of sins and send down His generous benefits to all His people.

In the funeral litany, we pray for our deceased relatives, neighbors and all those who have died in the faith.

"It was not in vain that the apostles established," says St. John Chrysostom, "to remember the departed when performing the terrible Mysteries. They knew that this was a lot of benefit and much benefit to them, when all the people and the holy face stood with the raising of their hands and when a terrible Sacrifice was presented. how not to plead with God by asking for them. "

During the next litany, the priest prays for the catechumens who "bowed their necks (necks)," that is, in humility and meekness, awaiting the gifts of God's grace, rejecting the hard-mindedness - the heartlessness and pride of the pagan world. " God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble ",- says the apostle (1 Pet. 5, 5). And the prophet proclaims the words of the Lord : "On whom I will look: on the humble and contrite in spirit and on the one trembling before My word"(Isa 66: 2).

...Look at your slaves, the catechumens ... and grant me (them) during the safe bath of life, - the priest prays. Bathhouse of pakibity - rebirth, new life with Christ through Baptism (Tit. 3, 5 ~ 7). But the holy fathers also called repentance "the bathhouse of pakibity" - a tearful bath, washing away an unclean conscience.

Announced, go out (go out), the deacon proclaims. Humility, meekness and the publican's prayer can give boldness to be with the faithful at the Lord's Last Supper - the Eucharist. He who is unrepentant of sins will not penetrate into the essence of this Mystery, his heart will be excommunicated from the assembly of faithful Christians.

The third part of the Liturgy is called the Liturgy of the Faithful, because in ancient times only the faithful, that is, persons who had converted to Christ and were baptized, could be present during its celebration.

At the Liturgy of the faithful, the most important sacred actions are performed, the preparation for which is served not only by the first two parts of the Liturgy, but also by all other church services. Firstly, the mysteriously grace-filled, by the power of the Holy Spirit, the Transubstantiation or Transubstantiation of bread and wine into the true Body and Blood of the Savior, and secondly, the communion of believers in the Body and Blood of the Lord, which led into union with the Savior, according to His words: flesh and drink My Blood abides in Me and I am in him. ” (John VI, 56).

Gradually and consistently, in a series of significant actions and deeply meaningful prayers, the meaning and significance of these two liturgical moments is revealed.

The deacon says abridged great litany... The priest secretly reads a prayer, with a petition to the Lord to cleanse those praying from spiritual impurity, so that, having received the prosperity of a good life and spiritual understanding, he will worthily stand before the Throne without guilt and condemnation, and to uncondemnedly partake of the Holy Mysteries in order to receive the Kingdom of Heaven. Finishing his prayer, the priest says loudly.

As if we always keep under Thy power, we give glory to Thee, to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever and ever.,

So that, always preserved by Thy, Lord, guidance (power), we send You glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit at all times - now and forever, and forever and ever.

With this exclamation, the priest expresses that only under the guidance, under the guidance of the Sovereign Lord, can we save our spiritual being from evil and sin.

"No one is worthy of those bound by fleshly lusts and pleasures to approach or draw near, or serve You, the King of Glory, for serving You is great and terrible and the Heavenly Powers themselves.", - the priest prays. And we, like the Angelic Powers, showing the triumphant faces of the Cherubims, sing the song of the Life-giving Trinity, putting aside vain worries, strengthening our hearts and thoughts in contemplating the Divine mystery that is now revealed to us. The Son of God, the King of the ages, the Lord and Sovereign of the entire universe, "endured" in Heaven by the Angelic rulers, came to earth to fulfill the mystery of the salvation of mankind. The Son of God - the Holy Lamb, "who took away the sins of the whole world" (John 1:29) through offering Himself as a Sacrifice to God the Father and thereby restored the connection between God and man lost by the ancestors, offers His Most Pure Body and His Blood into Divine Food to Christians, sanctifying them and giving them Eternal Life and the sonship lost by mankind to the Holy Father God. Jesus Christ is at the same time the being offered up, like the Holy Lamb, and the Perfecter of sacrifice, like the Heavenly High Priest.

Having then read three times with outstretched hands in a cross-like manner (as a sign of intensified prayer), the prayer “Izhe cherubim”, the priest, together with the deacon, goes to the altar. Here, having left the Holy Gifts, the priest places “air” on the deacon's left shoulder, covering the diskos and chalice, and on the head - the diskos; he himself takes the Holy Chalice, and both go out together through the northern doors, in the presentation of a candlestick.

Making the great entrance, the priests carry the Holy Gifts - a cup of wine and a diskos with the Lamb and particles taken out in memory of the saints and all the living and departed members of the Church who were remembered.

In contrast to the small entrance with the Gospel, the entrance with the Holy Gifts is called great in terms of the greatness of the event remembered here and the importance of the purpose for which it is performed: the Holy Gifts are transferred to the throne to perform the holy sacrament of Communion and offer them as a Sacrifice to God and depict the Lord Jesus Christ Himself marching to free suffering and death for the sins of people; therefore, during the conciliar service, a cross, a spear and a liar are also carried out, reminiscent of the instruments of the Savior's suffering and death.

The ambon marks at this time Calvary, the temple - the whole world, for which the Savior brought Himself as a Sacrifice. At this great time, the priest commemorates the Most Holy Patriarch - "the Great Lord and Father", as well as all Orthodox Christians. The prayer commemoration of the members of the Holy Church, which takes place at the Great Entrance, means that the Holy Gifts will be offered as a Sacrifice to God for the salvation of all those who are remembered.

The chalice and the diskos are brought into the altar and placed on an unfolded antimension, representing the removal of the Savior's body from the Cross and His position in the Sepulcher (John 19: 38-42). The troparion of Good Friday is read: Good-looking Joseph, from the tree we will take off Thy pure body, wrapping it with a clean shroud and with fragrances, in a new tomb, closing it, put it. The Royal Doors are closing. The veil is pulled back as the entrance to the Holy Sepulcher was closed.

The bowl and the diskos are covered with a large veil, like a pure shroud. Small veils mean the sir (plat), who covered the head of the Savior at burial (John 20: 7), and burial shroud.

The Great Entrance is also a prophecy about the Second Coming: Bless, O Lord, with Thy good pleasure Zion, and may the walls of Jerusalem be built up - the priest prays for the Heavenly Jerusalem (Rev. 21, 2) and for the cleansing of us by the "Sacrifice of Truth", which will now take place.

During the Great Entry, Christians stand with bowed heads, expressing respect for the Gifts being transferred and a request that the Lord also remembered them in His Kingdom.

In a supplicatory litany, the Church prays for the Holy Gifts transferred to the throne: Let's execute(replenish, multiply) our Lord's prayer... about the gift of saving benefits, for the Lord Jesus Christ said that the Heavenly Father will also give good things to those who ask Him (Matt. 7, 11). Peace to all, - the priest proclaims. Christ left us His peace and the commandment to love one another, as He loved us (John 14:27; 15:12),

Let us love each other, but with like-mindedness we confess...- calls the deacon, and we sing; Father and Son and Holy Spirit, Consubstantial and Inseparable Trinity... The priests in the altar kiss each other on the shoulders with Christ's love, greeting: Christ is in the midst (among) us - and is, and will be... In ancient times, everyone in the temple kissed each other, men - men, women - women. This rite is called "kissing the world." According to the holy fathers, it means the union of souls and the removal of all memory malice. "By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:35), says the Lord. The Eucharistic offering can be made only with mutual love, like-mindedness, one faith and one doctrine.

Exclamation: Doors! Doors! - says that as in the early days of Christianity the gatekeepers vigilantly guarded the doors of the church from the invasion of the infidels, so now, having barred our hearts from evil thoughts, we confess the dogmas of our faith in unanimity.

The symbol of faith, sung in the Orthodox Church at the Divine Liturgy by all who prays, has been included in the rite of the liturgy since ancient times. It was compiled by the will of the Holy Spirit by the holy fathers of the First (325) and Second (381) Ecumenical Councils, when various heretical teachings tried to overthrow the true faith in the Consubstantial and Inseparable Trinity. The Holy Church has resolutely defended the purity of the Orthodox faith, setting out its basic salvific truths in the Creed, which serves as an invariable guide for all Orthodox Christians in their spiritual life.

By singing the Creed, those praying in the church testify before God and the Holy Church that they are faithful, who are allowed to be present at the celebration of the great Sacrament.

During the singing of the Symbol, the priest in the altar raises and lowers a large veil (called air) over the Holy Gifts - as a sign of the breath of the Holy Spirit (1 Kings 19, 11-13). Then the deacon proclaims: Let us become good, let us stand with fear, let us behold, bring the holy offering in the world. The words "let us become good" are a call to inner, spiritual concentration, to attention and reverence in view of the upcoming performance of the Sacrament, in order to bring the Sacrifice (Holy Gifts) to God in the spiritual world, remembering that this Sacrifice is offered to God not only for us, but also from us ... We are present at this as partners in the Divine service. Nicholas Cabasilas (XIV century) in his explanation of the Divine Liturgy refers these words to the Creed, for they call to stand firm in the confession of faith.

The choir replies to the deacon's exclamation: Grace of the world, Sacrifice of praise... These words mean that "the Eucharistic Sacrifice on the part of God is the greatest mercy to us and the fruit of reconciliation with God through Christ the Savior, while on our part it is a glorification of the greatness of God revealed in the economy of our salvation (Heb. 13:15; Ps. 49, 14) "

The priest, according to the ancient custom, addresses the people with the words of the Apostle Paul: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and love (love) of God and the Father and the communion (here - communion) of the Holy Spirit, wake you with all of you (2 Cor. 13, 13). With this blessing, the priest wishes those who are praying to send down the highest spiritual gifts from the Throne of the Most Holy Trinity.

The choir replies on behalf of the worshipers: And with your spirit... This mutual prayer of the pastor and flock before the offering of the Holy Sacrifice further strengthens the fraternal unity of the members of the Church. From the depths of our hearts we must offer prayer to the Throne of God, and the priest exclaims: Grief(higher, up) we have hearts, that is, according to the word of the Apostle, let us think about the things above, and not about the things of the earth (Col. 3: 2).

The human heart is that spiritual organ with which we perceive the spiritual, the Heavenly world, and enter into communion with God. "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God," says the Lord (Matthew 5: 8). Imams(we have a mind and a heart) to the Lord, - we answer. Saint Cyril of Jerusalem teaches: “Indeed, in that terrible hour, sorrow must have a heart, to God, and not down, to the earth, to earthly things. Therefore ... would a heart in Heaven, to the Humanitarian God "

The priest, following the example of Christ the Savior, who gave thanks to God the Father at the Last Supper (Luke 22, 17-19), proclaims: We thank the Lord. And the chorus sings: It is worthy and righteous to worship the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, the Trinity Consubstantial and Inseparable. There is a custom in our Church to ring the bell at this time. This is the so-called ringing to "Worthy".

Along with the words Thank the Lord, the priest begins to read the first secret prayer of the Eucharistic Canon - the main part of the liturgy: Worthy and righteous Thy petit, Thou give thanks, We bow to Thee at every place of Thy dominion ... In this great prayer, on behalf of his flock, he addresses the Holy Trinity with thanksgiving for the creation of the world, for the paternal care of man, for all the blessings of God to man and for this service, and also glorifies the atoning feat of the Lord.

Only in an inseparable context becomes clear the relationship that exists between the Eucharistic prayers, the exclamations of the priest and the chants of the choir. So, at the end of the first Eucharistic prayer, the priest reads about the Angelic world, prayerfully coming to the Creator and offering praise: ... Even if Thousands of Archangels and darkness of Angels, Cherubim and Seraphim, Hexokrylatiy, Revelation, Exalted, Feathers stand before You.

The proclamation of the Victory Song that follows this prayer is singing ... is a continuation of the Eucharistic prayer, and the singing of the song Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord of hosts ... is the revelation of this proclamation. Therefore, the exclamation and the words of the chant cannot be considered separately from the previous prayer. This relationship can be traced throughout the entire Eucharistic Canon.

The prophets Isaiah (Isaiah 6: 3), Ezekiel (Ezekiel 1: 10) and the Apostle John the Theologian (Rev. 4: 6-8) saw in visions four mysterious creatures - an eagle, a calf, a lion and a man who praise God. ... Singing in prayer means an eagle, crying - a calf, crying - a lion, and speaking - a man. The Lord is called the Hosts, that is, the Master of the Forces, or the Heavenly armies. Recalling the doxology of the Seraphim and Cherubim, the Church adds to their singing the words: Hosanna in the highest, blessed is the Coming in the name of the Lord. With these words the people greeted the Lord at His entry into Jerusalem (Matt. 21: 9).

At the service of thanksgiving, with the remembrance of the Lord's march to free death, our compassion for His Feat of the Cross is combined with a reverent contemplation of His Divine Glory, which we sing along with the Cherubim and Seraphim - these blessed Powers, says the second secret prayer. Its priest reads, being among the Angelic Forces present in the church at the celebration of the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist and praising the Lord for the economy of our salvation.

"At this highest moment of the Liturgy, the past, present and future unite and co-present together: the Father's advice on the bringing of the Son ... (Rom. 14:24); the work of the Son, already completed (Cross, Tomb, Resurrection, Ascension), performed graying) and having to be accomplished (the Second and Glorious Coming); the descent of the Life-giving Holy Spirit, Who sanctifies us and the presented Gifts of this "

Take, eat, this is My Body, broken for you for the remission of sins. Remembering these words of the Lord at the Last Supper, we confess with the word Amen His terrible death on the Cross and free self-sacrifice to atone for the sins of the human race. Drink from her, everything, this is My Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for you and for many for the remission of sins. Amen, - the Church sings, for we believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, as then, at the Last Supper, to His disciples, so now gives us the Divine Body and the Sacred Blood, partaking of which we unite with God and become heirs of the blessed Eternal Life, according to His word: "My flesh is truly food, and my blood is truly drink ... He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has Eternal Life, and I will raise him up at the last day" (John 6, 55, 54). "Who will comprehend the greatness of the good deed given to us by the Lord Jesus Christ in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, or communion? Completely - no one, not even an angelic mind, for this good deed is boundless and immense, like God Himself! .. What a closeness of God to us! Here He is - here , on the throne ... essentially, by all Deity and humanity is offered and eaten by the faithful ... What a wonderful fellowship ... "

Yours from Yours, offering You for all and for everything,- exclaims the priest, raising his hands to grief. And the deacon, anticipating this exclamation, makes the sign of the cross, kisses the holy throne, bows to the priest, then takes the diskos with his right hand, and with his left hand the chalice and raises them above the throne, with the right hand lying crosswise on the left.

This is an ancient rite of the ascension, it marks the ascension of Jesus Christ to the Cross. We sing to You in this sacred rite and the prayers recited here ... The Church puts the following meaning: “Your gifts, Heavenly Father, and from Your creations, according to the testament of Your Only Begotten Son, are accepted by us. for all and for all your good deeds, through him rendered to us, we sing you, we bless you, we thank you, Lord, and we pray to you, our God! "

While singing We sing to you the priest asks God the Father to send down the Holy Spirit on all those praying and on the Gifts. On those who pray to cleanse them from all sinful filth. On the Gifts that are presented, - to sanctify them, to put them into the Body and Blood of the Lord.

At this time, not a single soul should remain cold, but every soul should be kindled with love for God ... Especially at this time, let our souls be like burning lamps, like a censer, kindled and fragrant, like the smoke of incense, rising mountain, for at this moment, a terrible, life-giving sacrament is performed - the transformation by the Spirit of God of bread and wine into the most pure Body and Blood of Christ, and God appears on the throne in flesh "

Lord, like Thy Most Holy Spirit in the third hour, Thy apostle, Thy Apostle, the Good One, take not away from us, but renew us who pray to Thee, - the priest reads the troparion of the third hour three times with raised hands, at which the Holy Spirit descended on all those gathered in the upper room of Zion (Acts 2: 1-4), and then blesses the Gifts with the greatest reverence. This blessing of the Holy Gifts is a visible sign of their sanctification and their being transformed by the Holy Spirit into the Body and Blood of the Lord, although the Holy Spirit acts in the church throughout the entire service.

After three times, in honor of the Holy Trinity, the deacon utters the Amen, the clergy bows down to the Holy Body and Blood of Christ.

The prayer of invoking the Holy Spirit confesses the faith of the Church in His power to sanctify and perform the Sacraments. St. John Chrysostom says: "There is a priest, bringing down not fire, but the Holy Spirit; he makes a prolonged prayer ... so that Grace, descending upon the Sacrifice, will kindle the souls of all through it ..."

After the consecration of the Gifts, the priest reads secret prayers, in which the numerous and varied grace-filled actions of the Holy Gifts are revealed. The sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ is an inexhaustible source of grace for all who wish to partake of it. In these same prayers, the priest makes a grateful remembrance of the saints who have pleased God from time immemorial: the Old Testament and New Testament ascetics, the saints of God. They are remembered because they have acquired righteousness before God by living and active faith in Christ the Redeemer: the first in the one who is coming, the second - in the one who has come. The priest thanks the Lord for giving us so many intercessors and especially (pretty much) for the Blessed Virgin Mary, exclaiming: Fairly about the Most Holy ... The choir sings: It is worthy to eat, as truly blessed Thee, the Mother of God ...

With this chant we glorify the Mother of God. The Holy Church venerates the Most Pure Theotokos above the saints and ranks of the Angelic, as the Most Honorable Cherubim and the Most Glorious Seraphim. Her Mother's intercession before God for the human race is so powerful that She is revered not just as an Assistant in our salvation, like the Angels and saints, to whom we turn with the petition "Pray God for us," but we call on Her, as our Intercessor before the Son, by prayer "Save us". Veneration of the Mother of God and reverence for Her Holy Name is dear to every Orthodox Christian. He who does not honor the Mother of God does not honor Her Divine Son either.

Further, in a secret prayer, the priest recalls our Heavenly intercessors before God: Saint John, the Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord, the glorious and all-praised apostles, the saint whose memory we celebrate, and all the holy saints of God, and asks the Lord to visit us with their prayers.

In subsequent prayers, the unity of the Heavenly and earthly Church is expressed. Before the holy throne, on which the Body and Blood of the Lord, the priest commemorates the names of the living and departed members of His Church. The priest asks for the forgiveness of the sins of all who have fallen asleep in faith and the hope of resurrection from time to time. He prays to the Heavenly Father to rest them in the Abodes of eternal bliss, where His uncreated Glory constantly dwells and the grace of His face, the joy of heavenly blessings, to all righteous souls is poured out. And remember all the departed about the hope of the resurrection of eternal life, - (the priest remembers the names of people) .- And rest them, where (where) the light of Thy Face is present (shines) (Ps. 4: 7). “May everyone who is faithful remember that if he loves his neighbor who has departed from here, he will bring him great blessings by offering him a sacrifice and will be the originator of great joy for him, giving alms to the poor ... and doing other deeds by which God is propitiated, especially while diligently performing Bloodless Sacrifices for him. The particle taken out during the terrible Sacrifice and the commemoration of the one who departed over it unites him with God and makes it possible to invisibly be part of Him and have communion with Him. "

Remembering the dead, the priest prays for the living. And he is the first to commemorate the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church: In the first, remember, Lord, the Great Lord and Father of our Holy Patriarch ...

And at this moment of the Liturgy we recall the names of people who have lived and died, and embracing the whole world with Christian love, we say: "Remember, Lord, and everyone, and everything," for our Lord Jesus Christ atonements the Heavenly Father for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2, 1, 2).

At the liturgy of St. Basil the Great, the priest at this time prays for those who are in the church, who remained at home, asks the Lord to have mercy on them according to the multitude of His mercy, asks families to keep them in peace and unanimity, to educate the babies, to instruct the young, to reinforce the old, to comfort the faint-hearted, to gather the wasteful. to convert those who are mistaken, to release those who are confused by unclean spirits, to float, to travel to travel, to protect widows and orphans, to deliver captives, to heal the sick; and in general, to all who are in all sorrow, need and distress, he asks the Lord to give help and mercy. Then the priest proclaims: And give us one mouth and one heart ... - this is a prayer for the unity of lips and hearts, that is, for the unanimity of the faithful children of the Church. Only with true unanimity and mutual love does Divine grace visit us - the mercies of the Great God and our Savior Jesus Christ, which the priest calls upon those who pray

Then the litany begins Remembering all the holy... "Saints" in the first centuries of Christianity were generally called all Christians, according to the holiness of the Church, of which they are members, according to the holiness of the Christian faith, according to the desire of the followers of Christ to please God, according to their difference (their election) from the world, which "lies in evil "(1 John 5:19). The Apostle Paul calls Christians "beloved of God, called saints" (Rom. 1: 7).

Having remembered all the holy Christians - the dead and living, - we offer a prayer to God in litany For the Honest Darekh brought and consecrated ... The gifts have already been consecrated, and now the Church is praying for us to be consecrated for the sake of the Holy Gifts brought (Bloodless Sacrifice): ... yes Our God, accept I (them) into His holy, heavenly and mental Altar in the stench of spiritual fragrance, will give us Divine grace and the gift of the Holy Spirit ...

The altar is heavenly and mental. The Apostle Paul says about him: “Christ entered not into a sanctuary made with hands, in the image of the true (made), but into Heaven itself, in order to appear now for us before the face of God” (Heb. 9:24). There our prayers ascend (Rev. 8: 3, 4), and from there God sends grace and the gift of the Holy Spirit, for which we pray in the next petition. "Grace sanctifies us through the Gifts, if it finds us capable of sanctification"

At the end of the litany, the priest asks the Lord: Grant (honor) us to call on You, the Heavenly God the Father, with the words of the Lord's prayer.

In response to the priest's appeal, all the people standing in the church sings with faith, hope and filial love: Our Father ...

The prayer "Our Father" is called the Lord's Prayer because it was given to us by the Savior of the world, the Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 6: 9-13; Luke 11, 2-4). In the words of our Father, Izhe ecu in Heaven ... testifies to the truth that God is the Father of all that exists. He not only created the universe, the whole world - material and spiritual, visible and invisible, but, like a Father, he loves His creation, provides for it, takes care of it and leads to the goal set by Him, to goodness and perfection.

There are only seven petitions in the Lord's Prayer - what we must always ask our Father in Heaven for.

At the end of the singing of the Lord's Prayer, the priest in an exclamation glorifies God, worshiped in the Trinity. The meaning of this praise is that we, asking the Heavenly Father for His rich and ineffable mercies, render worthy worship to God the Father, His Only Begotten Son and Consubstantial Spirit and be confirmed in the hope that He will grant us what we ask, because all this is in His power and refers to His glory.

At the Eucharist - before the appearance of the Savior to the people in the Holy Mysteries, before the communion of His Body and Blood - prayer to the Heavenly Father has a special meaning. In the Gospel parable, the prodigal son returned to his father with the words: "Father, I have sinned against Heaven and before you, and am no longer worthy to be called your son." And the father, rejoicing at his repentance and return, made a feast (Luke 15, 21-24). So now our Heavenly Father - God calls us to the Eucharist-Supper, during which we are freed from sin and find the love of the Father. Singing at this moment of the Liturgy with special triumph a prayer to our Heavenly Father, we ask Him to honor us with the sacrament of our Daily Bread.

Then, in a secret prayer, the priest thanks God for the fact that He created the world and brought us from non-existence into existence, asks the Lord to give according to the need of each of us, confessing that God is the Doctor of our souls and bodies and that we have found the boldness to pray to God the Father for the sake of the Savior of the world - the Only Begotten Son of God.

After the exclamation of Grace and bounties ... the priest begins to read a prayer before the fragmentation of the Lamb, calling on the name of our Savior: Behold, Lord Jesus Christ our God ... and come in a hedgehog to sanctify (to sanctify) us ...

The deacon is girded crosswise with an orarion, like the Seraphim, who stand before the Throne of the Glory of the Lord, covering their faces with wings, in awe of the radiance of the Divine, and exclaims: Behold! The priest lifts up the Holy Lamb, exclaiming: Holy to holy!

“The priest proclaims the Holy to the saints. And nothing prevents from being sanctified through the communion of the Holy Mysteries and from being holy in this respect "

The Church responds with humility: One is Holy, one is Lord Jesus Christ ... "No one, from himself, has sanctification, and it is not a matter of human virtue, but everything is from Him (Christ) and through Him ... One Holy One. .. although it appears in many souls and shows many saints, nevertheless, Only One is holy ... "

The priest breaks the Holy Bread, uttering the words: The Lamb of God is broken and divided ... According to this sacred action, the Liturgy in ancient times was called "the breaking of the Bread" (Acts 2:46).

In the prayer of the priest, during the fragmentation of the Lamb, the secret, incomprehensible to the mind, is confessed that the Body of Christ remains whole (fragmented and indivisible) and that every part of it contains all the fullness of the Sacrament.

In the altar with the royal gates closed and the curtain closed, as a sign of the mysterious presence of the Divine, the clergy receive communion, like the apostles of Christ at the Last Supper (Matt. 26, 20-29).

The choir at this time sings the sacrament verse, connected in meaning with the Apostle and the Gospel read during the service. The verse speaks briefly about the event being celebrated. On Sunday, the Church glorifies the Risen Savior of the world: Praise the Lord from Heaven, praise Him in the highest (Psalm 148: 1).

Then, according to the established tradition, the choir sings some hymn corresponding to the holiday, prayers for Holy Communion are read.

Communion is the purpose of the Sacrament of the Eucharist itself. The transfer of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of the Savior is accomplished for the sake of communion of clergy and laity. In this the Eucharistic nature of the Church is realized and fulfilled. Communion is a union with the Body of the Church.

The Church is the Body of Christ (Col. 1:24), and one cannot consider oneself a Christian, that is, belonging to Christ, His Church, and not partake of Christ's Mysteries. Believers are united in the Eucharist with their Head Christ into one Body - the Holy Church. And as He, the Head of the Church, is Holy, so is His Body - the Church, and it sanctifies all the members of the Body. In the ancient Christian Church, it was believed that whoever did not attend the Eucharist without a good reason and did not receive communion for three Sundays in a row, he excommunicated himself from the Body of the Church. At present, the timing of communion is set for each Christian individually, on the advice of a confessor. Participation in the Eucharistic life of the Church is a vital confession of one's connection and unity with the Church,

The Holy Church from each of her members requires not only faith, but also real spiritual life in Christ, the main sign of which is participation in the Divine Eucharist, for the Blood of Jesus Christ "cleanses us from all sin" (1 John 1: 7), which " reigned in our mortal body "(Rom. 6, 12).

The Monk Simeon the New Theologian says that the Sacrament, being the Light, cannot remain unnoticed. If the feeling of meeting with God has not yet arrived, then you need to take care of repentance, cleansing the sinful heart, hardened from vices, according to the word of Christ: "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God" (Matthew 5, 8). A Christian receives sanctification, enlightenment and deification when he starts Holy Communion with the proper spiritual disposition - with the awareness of the holiness and greatness of the Sacrament, with the desire to participate in it, with the awareness of his own unworthiness, with reverence, gratitude to God for the salvation accomplished by Him in Christ Jesus. , and for the introduction to the taught Shrine.

If someone approaches Communion as soon as an external action, a rite, doing it only according to custom or according to some other considerations that have nothing to do with the essence of the Sacrament, then the words of the Apostle Paul fully apply to this: “Who will eat this Bread or drink He is unworthy of the Lord's Cup, he will be guilty against the Body and Blood of the Lord. May a man test himself, and thus let him eat of this Bread and drink from this Cup, for whoever eats and drinks unworthily, he eats and drinks condemnation to himself, not discussing the Body Lord "(1 Cor. 11, 27-29).

A person who cleanses himself by repentance and abstinence and partakes of the Holy Mysteries of Christ becomes a truly Christian

After the communion of the clergy, the royal gates are opened. The deacon proclaims: Come with the fear of God and faith. God is the Lord, and appear to us ... - the choir sings, announcing the appearance of the Lord in the Holy Mysteries: the priests take out the Holy Chalice from the altar.

With fear, that is, with the greatest reverence and deep faith, with heartfelt contrition and tenderness, we approach Communion. We fold our hands on our chest - as a sign of the confession of the Crucified One. A penitent feeling speaks of the beginning of a spiritual life.

Before the Holy Chalice, we confess our faith in the Sacrament, in the Divine power of the Holy Gifts, repeating the words of the prayer after the priest: I believe, Lord, and I confess that You are truly Christ the Son of the Living God ... and we believe that His Secret is now being accomplished for us The supper (Thy Mysterious Supper is today ...), and we ask the Son of God to accept us among its participants (take me a partaker).

Accept the Body of Christ, taste the Immortal Source, - the whole people sings in the church during communion. Christians who have purified their conscience in confession come to the Holy Chalice to unite with Christ. At the very Chalice, they no longer cross themselves, they clearly call their name and, opening their mouths, accept the Holy Mysteries. After accepting the Shrine, you need to kiss the lower edge of the Chalice, like the perforated rib of Christ (John 19:34).

Save, God, Thy people and bless Thy property (inheritance), - the priest proclaims after communion, asking the Lord for blessing to the faithful children of the Church - His inheritance received from God the Father (John 17: 9-12), and overshadows those praying with the sign of the cross ... Then the priest censes the Holy Gifts, saying quietly: Ascend to Heaven, O God, and Thy glory throughout all the earth. From these words and the subsequent transfer of the Holy Gifts to the altar, symbolizing the glorious Ascension of the Lord, it is evident that we partake of the glorified, ascended Body of the Lord as a pledge of our deification and glorification in the non-evening day - the Kingdom of Heaven.

The choir sings a stichera (from the service of Holy Pentecost): Videhom (saw) the True Light, receiving (received) the Heavenly Spirit ... - this is the confession of our mysterious, spiritual approach through the bounds of time to the moment of the condescension of the Holy Spirit on the apostles (Acts 2, 1 -41), for by partaking of the Body and Blood of the Savior, we are filled with the grace of the Holy Spirit and become the secret viewers of the whole work of salvation accomplished by Jesus Christ.

At this time, the priest plunges from the diskos into the Chalice all the particles that were taken out of the proskomedia from the prosphora, saying the prayer: Wash, Lord, the sins of those who were remembered here (here), with Your Honest Blood, with the prayers of Your saints. These words are the end of the liturgical commemoration of the living and the dead that began at the proskomedia. During the immersion of the particles removed from the prosphora into the Blood of Christ, the Church confesses that the Eucharistic life is the guarantee of Eternal Life. Even St. Ignatius the God-bearer at the beginning of the second century wrote to the Ephesian Church: the Eucharist is "the medicine of immortality, not only protecting from death, but also granting eternal life in Jesus Christ."

Taking communion here, in earthly life, of the Divine Body and Blood of the Lord, the Christian thereby accomplishes his deification. We believe that communion with God will not end in the life of the century to come, in the non-evening day of the Kingdom of Christ. In addition, the sacrament is a mysterious union with Christ and with each other not only of those who came to the Holy Chalice at this Liturgy, but also of all the living and deceased in general. This is the combination of particles with the Honest Blood of the Divine Lamb, over which they were read at the proskomedia and after the consecration of the Holy Gifts the names of those who brought and brought them about them (for whom they brought their sacrifice in the form of a prosphora, with the names of their relatives and known, living and deceased, asking to perform their remembrance), is the true cleansing of the sins of all remembered.

With the Chalice, the priest makes the sign of the cross over the antimension and quietly says: Blessed is our God - and, turning to face the people, he overshadows the worshipers (who bow their heads at this time) with the Holy Chalice, loudly proclaiming: Always, now and forever, and forever and ever.

The Blessing of the Chalice symbolizes the moment when the Savior blessed the disciples and began to move away from them and ascend to Heaven (Luke 25, 51). This sacred rite reminds of the Savior's promise to remain in the Church until the end of the age, and also encourages believers to always glorify the Lord Jesus Christ.

Chant May our lips be filled with Thy praise, O Lord ... expresses our gratitude to God for the gift of Holy Communion and contains a prayer for the preservation of us as long as possible in the Holy Place: in spiritual purity, grace-filled union with Christ, for the teaching of deeds of righteousness, that is, the righteousness and holiness of God.

Litany I'm sorry, accept is an integral part of the prayers of thanks offered by the partakers to give worthy "thanksgiving to God for His unspeakable gift" (2 Cor. 9, 15). A series of thanksgiving prayers, begun by the priest with a prayer of thanksgiving, secretly recited by him immediately upon communion of the Holy Mysteries (We thank Thee, Master of Humanity), develops into solemn songs: Videhom True Light ... and May our lips be filled ... and concludes with litany Forgive, accept.

"Forgive me," explains Nicholas Cabasilas, Archbishop of Thessaloniki, "that is ... having directed both soul and body to God."

The meaning of the first petition is as follows: "Let us rise (spiritually), having accepted the Divine, Saints, Most Pure, Immortal, Heavenly and Life-giving, Terrible Christ Mysteries, and we will worthily (as it should, as it should) thank (for this) the Lord."

The Lord Himself tells us in the Gospel: "I am the Living Bread, which came down from Heaven; whoever eats this Bread will live forever" (John 6, 51). Therefore, the Holy Gifts are called in the litany as Immortal and Life-giving, but at the same time also Terrible, shaking the mind of angels and people.

The third petition is somewhat special: The whole day is complete ...

The meaning of this petition for the holy and immaculate arrangement of the day's journey, as well as for the good arrangement of our entire subsequent life, is present in the prayers of the entire daily cycle of worship, always being part of the petitions of the supplicatory litany, whether at Vespers, at Matins or at Liturgy. But this petition receives its final permission only after the communion of the Holy Mysteries. Having received them as a guarantee of this perfect, holy, peaceful and sinless day, having united with God in the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of the Lord, we gain the opportunity to fully and correctly do the will of God. The Church asks us to steadfastly walk in the ways of the Lord with the relentless assistance of grace perceived in the Sacrament of Unity - the Holy Eucharist: Observe us in Thy Holiness, study Thy Truth all day long.

Thus, in the communion of the Mysteries of Christ, the believer receives gracious support not only for the good fulfillment of the work of his life, but above all for the successful work of the spiritual. “When we, unworthy ones,” said the Monk Hesychius, “will be vouchsafed with fear and trembling to partake of the Divine and Most Pure Mysteries of Christ, our God and our King, then we will show the most sobriety, keeping the mind and strict attention, but this Divine fire, that is, the Body of our Lord Jesus Christ will consume our sins ... If after this, standing at the door of our hearts, we carefully preserve our mind, then when we again become worthy of the Holy Mysteries, the Divine Body will more and more enlighten our mind and make it shining like a star " ...

Not only prayerful reverent preparation for the reception of the Holy Mysteries, but also a worthy (in unceasing prayer and keeping the mind) life after communion of the Holy Mysteries of the Body and Blood are the necessary conditions for worthy communion. It is about such a worthy passage of the day, in which we became participants in the Mysteries of Christ, that the Holy Church lifts up her prayers in the final litany of the Divine Liturgy. The Lord "gives us every holy thing for free ... however, He urgently requires us to be able to both accept the holy thing and preserve it; to people who were not prepared for this, He would not give consecration ...".

After the litanies, the priest proclaims:

As Thou art our Sanctification, and we glorify Thee, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and forever and ever.

The exclamation of Let us go in peace served in ancient times as a sign of the end of the Liturgy. The people, answering: About the Name of the Lord (that is, with the Name of God in the soul, with the peace of Christ in the mind and heart), proceeded from the temple. Later, in the Churches of the Orthodox East, the prayer for the ambo was added to the rite of the liturgy, as if summing up the content of the prayers of the liturgy, and the prayer of dismissal.

The priest, going out to the pulpit by the royal doors, reads the prayer behind the ambo, asking the Lord for the blessing of the people and their consecration, the preservation of the Church, the granting of peace to the world, confessing that every good gift is given only from God.

The choir, after the prayer outside the ambo, sings: May the Name of the Lord be blessed from now on until forever, and the Church admonishes her children with the words of the 33rd Psalm.

The servant instructs the priest to distribute the antidor to those who are praying during the singing of the 33rd psalm. In some temples and monasteries, this custom is preserved to this day. Antidor is the name given to parts of the liturgical prosphora from which the liturgical Lamb was removed. Antidor is not just bread, but sanctified on proskomedia by sacred rites associated with the remembrance of the Nativity and sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ, the sign of the cross and the sayings of Holy Scripture about Christ - the Lamb of God. Therefore, the church canon prescribes to treat the antidor with reverence, to take it on an empty stomach and forbids teaching it to the unbaptized. The distribution of the antidor to the people serves as a reminder of the ancient meals of brotherly love, or suppers of love - agap, known since the times of the apostles (1 Cor. 11, 20; Jude 1, 12).

The Greek word "antidor" in Russian means "instead of the gift," therefore the antidor, like the holy water of the Epiphany, cannot replace the Communion.

At the dismissal of the liturgy, the priest commemorates the names of the saints whose memory the Church celebrated on that day, and the creator of the liturgy. The choir sings many years to His Holiness the Patriarch, the diocesan bishop, the brethren of the church and all Christians. All those who prayed during the Liturgy approach the priest and kiss the cross - a sign of Christ's victory over death.

Those who have received the Holy Mysteries of Christ should listen attentively to the prayers of thanks for Holy Communion.

From the editor: Hegumen Kirill (Sakharov) has experience in celebrating the Liturgy not only according to the old, pre-Nikon rite. As a resident of the Danilov Monastery, for many years he served the Liturgy there according to the new rite. In the church of St. Nicholas on Bersenevka (ROC), where he serves as the rector, divine services are performed only according to the old order.

At first glance, the difference is small. We have already mentioned the main differences in the article "", published in the section "". But it turns out that over the 350 years that have passed since the split of the Russian Church, not only a difference in the texts and rituals has accumulated. Father Kirill, having the opportunity to compare the two ranks, says that celebrating the Liturgy according to the ancient order, thorough and permeated with a penitent spirit, is a great work. Serving in a new way, he said, is much easier.

Attitude towards the pre-Nikon rite of the Liturgy

The main service in the Orthodox Church is the Divine Liturgy, Mass, as the common people say. “Public service” is the translation of the word “Liturgy”. I want to focus on comparing the text of the Liturgy rite officially adopted in the ROC and now being performed everywhere with the Old Russian text, that is, with what was in Russia from Baptism under Prince Vladimir to the reforms of Patriarch Nikon in the middle of the 17th century. This ancient Russian, pre-Nikon rite of the Liturgy has been practiced in our church of St. Nicholas on Bersenevka from the first day of its opening (late 1991).

Of course, this topic is to some extent a special one, because we will talk in many respects about what is not visible to the eye of the one praying in the temple. I would like to show all the significance and beauty of our ancient liturgical liturgical rite, to induce to think about what a precious heritage we have, and to remove possible bewilderment. Now in the Russian Orthodox Church, the attitude towards the ancient Russian heritage, the pre-reform liturgical structure, officially sounds like "equal salvation and equitable." That is, both the current common use and what was before the reform of Patriarch Nikon in the middle of the 17th century were recognized as equitable and equally salvage.

But we know that there was another attitude in history, when all this was defamed, rejected. Gradually, there was a process of revising such a critical, radically negative attitude. Today we have the following: at the Council in 1971, the oaths for the old rite were removed; we can also mention the decision of the Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church in 1999, which said that the Church values ​​our ancient heritage, calls on us to treat it with understanding, and welcomes the use of certain ancient ranks in our liturgical practice.

Preparation for the Liturgy begins in the evening

The celebration of the Liturgy is preceded by a long all-night vigil. The church rules say that a priest who celebrates the Liturgy without first performing it on the eve of the evening service, sins mortally. It is clear that for the ordinary layman, especially for the one who takes communion, it is compulsory to attend the evening service on the eve of the Liturgy.

In our church, a semi-monastic way of life has developed, not only in the liturgical plan, but also in everyday life, even in the outward appearance of parishioners. We are undergoing general preparation for communion. At half past ten in the evening we begin to read the rule for communion. These are the usual canons and sacrament hours: such is the peculiarity of the ancient order.

According to the ancient rite, in addition to the third and sixth hour before the Liturgy, the ninth hour is also read. The sacrament clock has the same content as the ordinary clock - it is one of the elements of the daily liturgical circle. In ancient times, they were read separately. For example, the 3rd hour in the East corresponded to our 9th in the morning, 6th hour - 12:00, and 9th hour - about 15:00.

So, about the sacrament hours. We know their usual content. For example, at the third hour the 50th Psalm "Have mercy on me, God" is read, at the sixth hour - the 90th Psalm "Live in Help" ... But the troparia and kontakion have a different content, namely, they are devoted to the theme of communion. What is their meaning? Why, it would seem, a repetition, because in the morning the same thing is read in the church? This is because, as I understood for myself, the priest in the morning, celebrating the Liturgy, at the time when the hours are being read, being busy performing proskomedia in the altar, may not be entirely attentive. The sacrament hours set up both the priest and those praying for the meeting with the Living Christ at the Divine Liturgy. The late Metropolitan Anthony (Blum) has the following expression: during the all-night vigil we serve God, and during the Liturgy the Lord serves us, teaching His Most Pure Body and Blood as True Drink and True Food, as a guarantee of eternal life, a guarantee of immortality. The sacrament hours conclude with the monastery, the Apostle and the Gospel. This is the kind of preparation that takes place in the evening.

In ancient times, they gathered for prayer several times a day.

In Georgia, Patriarch Elijah introduced the following regulation several years ago: all believers in Georgia at certain hours, by the sound of the bell, get special manuals and read several prayers, several psalms, and so on 7 times a day. Seven is a number often found in Scripture, it is a symbol of completeness, completeness. The psalmist David says that "I praise the Lord seven times a day."

In ancient times, the true believers gathered for prayer several times a day. Subsequently, due to obvious difficulties, all these sequences of the diurnal circle were divided into two parts: morning and evening. You come to any church and see the schedule: morning service and evening service.

In Russia, which was a large monastery, a full daily circle of services was performed not only in monasteries, but also in ordinary parish churches. Foreigners arriving in Russia were amazed at the piety of the Russian people. The description of the journey to Muscovy in the middle of the 17th century by Archdeacon Paul Alepsky, the son of Patriarch Macarius of Antioch, is very interesting. They were amazed at the long standing of the Russians, including children, at the service. Archdeacon Paul exclaimed: "These Russians must have iron feet!" His father, Patriarch Macarius, to whom he addressed with his impressions and emotions, said that they had once been like that, before the Turkish conquest. Then, due to constrained circumstances, much was lost.

When at the end of the 19th century the Old Believer bishops visited the East, they were received by the Patriarch of Jerosalim and very kindly asked: "How do you find our worship?" They answered diplomatically: "We were imbued, paid attention ..." The Patriarch continued: "You probably noticed some omissions, shortcomings?" Old Believers answered this neatly that there is some difference between us. The patriarch said: "Well, what do you want, we strive to preserve at least the main thing, being for some century under Turkish rule." Much can be said about what Christians experienced while under the Turkish yoke: it was forbidden to ring bells, build temples higher than mosques, etc.

I remember talking with the priest in Karlovy Vary. He was amazed when I briefly told him what the Orthodox had done in former times. “What we saw with you,” I said, “is roughly what we call the Eucharistic Canon - the heart of the Liturgy, when the blessing of the Gifts - bread and wine is actually performed”. They are miraculously transformed by the Holy Spirit, transformed into the True Body and the True Blood of Christ. Yes, Catholic masses on holidays are more extensive on Sundays. For example, the Creed is read only on Sundays. The usual ordinary mass, everyday, truncated to the limit.

Follow-up to Holy Communion

In the morning, at 5.40, those who receive Communion gather to read the follow-up to Holy Communion. It may not be necessary in the temple, in the summer, for example, we gather in the gazebo. There you can sit on a bench, no need to demand: fall, but stand. No, there must be a gentle approach, taking into account the weaknesses of a person. So, in the morning we are going to read the Succession to Holy Communion - we are also familiar with this, in any prayer book (new believers - approx. ed.) it contains.

What's the difference here? First of all, in more prayers. According to the usual order, these are eleven prayers, according to the ancient - eighteen. All long prayers are excluded, omitted as a result of the reform, excluded from the scope of preparation for Communion. When you read these prayers, you are amazed at the depth of their content, permeated with repentance, the whole depth of a person's fall is revealed in them. In general, this is a property of the old rite - a great penetration of the penitential feeling. For some reason, we have such an idea that the celebration should be loud, bright, cheerful. Yes, it is joy, but peaceful, calm, luminous. It is spiritual, first of all: not spiritual, but spiritual.

I noticed that there is constant editing in the prayer books published by the Patriarchate. For example, in the canon to the Guardian Angel in the final prayer, some words are omitted, such as “stinking dog”. That is, we are jarred, it’s unintelligent, it’s kind of too much ... But it’s still wrong, the old rite has retained all these expressions that reflect - let us be realists, be objective, be critical of ourselves - the state of our inner “I”.

Professor of the Moscow Theological Academy A.I. Osipov told us, students, that you can see a person outwardly so representative, full of health, intelligent appearance, but inside he can be completely rotten. This can be a misleading impression. We know from confession what depth of abomination lurks in the souls of men, and that shameful sins are consumed with shame. When we go around these expressions, these phrases, they do not bother us. They are unpleasant to us, we distance ourselves from them, and the ancient rite is merciless in this regard, he calls things by their proper names, does not stand on ceremony with this scrupulousness that arises in us as a reaction to some uncomfortable, ruffled phrases, phrases in old liturgical texts ...

The thoroughness and completeness of the ancient rite of the Liturgy

I will note that for many years I have been the rector of the Church of St. Nicholas on Bersenevka and at the same time a resident of the St. Danilov Monastery. I treasure the fact that I am among the brethren - this is a spiritual, mystical moment, maintaining a connection with the monastery. There I carry the minimum load. For many years he served the late Divine Liturgy on Saturdays, so he is fully familiar with the experience of celebrating the Liturgy according to the usual rite and how it was in antiquity.

What are my feelings at the Liturgy according to the usual rite in comparison with how it was performed in antiquity? If we compare it with how a plowman works, then we can say the following: when a plowman bites into the thickness of the earth and, pouring out sweat, deeply looses the ground, thoroughly prepares the soil for sowing - this is the celebration of the Liturgy according to the ancient order, with all the preparations, with its duration, thoroughness, imbued with a repentant spirit. The celebration of the Liturgy according to the usual rite, according to my personal feelings, comparatively looks like this: it is not very deep to drive the plow into the ground; to work, but not so much sweating, not so much wasting spiritual and physical energy. Here is such a somewhat risky comparison.

In the ancient order, the thoroughness and completeness are striking. The old printed missal, in comparison with the usual rite of the Liturgy, which is published by the Patriarchate, is several times more voluminous. There are a lot of instructions and notes here. All this was omitted after the reform. Somewhere it is convenient when you have a compact book in your hands, but on the other hand - important points fall out, attention is not focused on them.

Who is not allowed to receive communion?

The preface of the service book contains instructions for the priest who is going to celebrate the Divine Liturgy. I will quote only a few lines from three pages: "Do not betray the Son of God into the hands of the unworthy ... Do not be ashamed of the glorious Earth, nor the tsar himself wearing the diadem, do not be afraid at this hour." Here we are talking about the fact that the priest should be principled when he gives communion. He must carefully approach the one who takes communion. Of course, there is no need to go too far and extremes are inappropriate here. It is clear that it is necessary to take into account the age, weaknesses of a person and the conditions of his life - in a word, what we call in pedagogy an individual approach. That is, not all one size fits all: common confession, come, partake, so to speak, in a crowd. No, an individual approach is necessary, because there is a danger of taking communion in condemnation for someone who has not repented of some sins.

From experience I know how it happens in confession, what is the difference between those who have a spiritual mentor and those who do not have one, who are used to a general confession, and who to a private one. It happens that unrepentant, serious sins surface for those who have been attending church for decades, but none of the priests has ever "dug" or tried to more thoroughly deal with his sins. When all this is revealed, then on the basis of all that he has heard, the priest decides whether it is now possible to admit this person to Communion, or he is clearly not ready; consciously, more carefully prepared, more purified approached the acceptance of this Great Shrine.

From church history, we know what persecutions took place against those priests who showed such adherence to principles, but, on the other hand, we see how appreciated it was by people who, perhaps, flared up at such a moment, having heard the decision of the priest, and then, burned out. calmed down, they agreed that yes, indeed, they had to wait a while before proceeding to Communion. After all, we remember the words of Scripture: "... do not give the Holy Things to the dogs ...", that is, to those who are clearly not worthy. Such an insufficiently thorough preparation for Communion, of course, affects the spiritual and physical condition of people.

Preparing a priest for the Liturgy

The priest not only silently goes to church, but reads two prayers and two psalms. “The voice of joy and salvation” - these words begin the first prayer. In the church, he lays down the beginnings - he creates short seven prayers, which should precede both a private prayer of a Christian and a public service. They also end with them, as if drawing a line. And then you put a perfect prayer, this solid brick, into the foundation of your spiritual structure. Again, one ponders, comparing what we have lost as a result of the reform, which is officially assessed as "a sharp and hasty breakdown of the old church rituals."

After the beginning, the priest performs the entrance prayers about 40 minutes before the announced Divine Service. It should be noted that the ancient tradition foresees vigilance for the priest on the night before the celebration of the Liturgy. These were such strong foundations, how people felt the need, the thirst for spiritual food! It did not depress them, but cheered them up, gave them strength, inspired them. These were the ascetics of Ancient Rus. The pre-Petrine Russia was not sleepy, but was dynamic, spiritually dynamic, light on spiritual uplift, zealous for divine services, for works of piety.

After completing the initial prayers, the priest puts on an epitrachil (patrahil, in the old way), instructs and begins to read the "entrance prayers" - this is a preparation for the service. Here you can feel the difference between what is in common use now and the ancient order - a very significant difference.

Entrance Prayers Old and New

How are these prayers performed in the usual order? "To the Heavenly King", the Trisagion according to our Father, the troparia, familiar to us from the text of the evening prayers: "Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy on us ...", "Mercy doors ...". Then the priest applies to the icon of the Savior, to the icon of the Mother of God. "Loosen up, leave ..." and the main prayer "Lord, send down your hand ..." Very briefly, quickly. When I served in the Danilov Monastery and the young deacons read everything so quickly - once or twice and already in the altar - I confess that a sediment remained in my soul ... This is far from what became more familiar to me when I celebrate the Liturgy according to the ancient order.

A number of very meaningful prayers are read here. In addition to applying to the icons of the Savior and the Mother of God, the priest also applies to the icons of a number of saints with appropriate prayers. The icons of all those saints do not always appear in the iconostasis, to which the priest must venerate before entering the altar, therefore there is also such an ancient custom, when the priest applies to the images of saints on a small icon, especially for entrance prayers. We do not yet have this, so I attach myself to those images that are in the first tier of the iconostasis, namely: the Forerunner (Forerunner, in the old way) and to various ranks of saints, one of the archangels, apostles, prophets, saints, monks and martyrs ...

After this, the priest enters the altar. According to the usual order, the main prayer is read at the Royal Doors, and according to the ancient - at the altar. Then the priest dresses up. He puts all the parts of the vestment: the priznik, the patrachil, the belt, he folds the handles together on his left shoulder, approaches the throne, makes three bows, reads forgiveness. The text of this forgiveness is present several times at the Liturgy. This suggests that the old rite is permeated with a feeling of repentance. And in this case, before putting on the priest, he reads forgiveness. If there is a deacon, then they, standing on opposite sides of the throne - the priest on the right, the deacon on the left - make these obeisances, read forgiveness, and only then put on vestments.

A corresponding prayer is read for each part of the vestment. They are also read according to the usual rank, there is nothing special to say here. Having put on all the required clothes, the priest washes his hands. Of course, in addition to the physical meaning, this has a spiritual meaning, reminds of the need for spiritual purity, with which we must approach this great sacrament.

And then, again, a distinctive moment, which is not in the usual rite of the Liturgy, but the ancient rite has preserved it: the priest reads several prayers at the altar, as a preparation for the sacrament. Why do we impoverish ourselves spiritually, what are the grounds for omitting all this, alleviating it? But relief also brings impoverishment at the same time. Look how many are omitted: here I am leafing through seven pages, one of the prayers is called "farewell".

Ideally, the priest should also go through confession before celebrating the Liturgy, but most often he does not have this opportunity. How can it be with a rural, for example, a priest, who has no one nearby who could accept his confession? Therefore, the “farewell” prayer is, in fact, a confession of a priest before God at the throne before celebrating the Liturgy. Here is a listing of various sins, for example, "Forgive me, Lord, if I cursed anyone, reviled, slandered, condemned, spoke badly, envied, lied, remembered evil, got angry, got angry, got angry", etc. Here is such a careful approach, comprehensive cleansing of the priest.

Midnight Office

According to the old rite, the service begins at midnight office. Its main content on a weekday is the seventeenth kathisma. If the day is Sunday, then the canon of the Most Holy Trinity is read. One God has revealed himself to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It is illogical from a rational point of view, but this is a revelation from above. If we do not know our faith well, then very easily we can be confused. How is it, one and three ?! Muslims can say that everything is simpler and more understandable for them.

I remember the words of Father Dimitri Smirnov to the question about the Trinity: “We trust those who are unconditional authority for us; such ascetics, saints such as John Chrysostom, Gregory the Theologian, Basil the Great, who wrote about this truth, about the One God in the Trinity, Glorified. " And the canon of the Trinity, which sounds at the midnight office every Sunday, constantly refreshes in our memory the truth about the One God in the Trinity Glorified. This is absent in the usual order, omitted, at best preserved in some monasteries. All these omissions impoverish us, lower the level of our spiritual life, our churching.

Proskomedia according to the old and new rite

According to the old rite, it is performed on seven prosphoras (in the old way - prosphoras, approx. ed.), according to the usual rank - by five. Why is that? Let us recall the Gospel events of the saturation of the people by Christ, in one case with seven loaves, in the other case with five. There were two Gospel episodes, and in the old rite both of these events are reflected liturgically: the feeding of five loaves of bread is remembered in the litia (during the evening service - approx. ed.), when the five loaves, wheat, wine and oil (oil) are consecrated. Feeding with seven loaves - these are the seven prosphora at the Liturgy. Nothing is forgotten. And in the usual rank leveling: there are five, and there are five. But after all, there was saturation with seven loaves, and in the old rite it was not forgotten.

When the Liturgy is celebrated according to the old rite, the seal on the prosphora is with an eight-pointed cross. The first prosphora is the main one, called the Lamb (from the word Lamb). The middle part is cut out of it and consecrated as the Sacrament, and what remains is called the antidor ("dora", in the old way). This is also a shrine, it is cut into small pieces and at the end of the Liturgy it is distributed first to the sexton, and when approaching the cross, to all parishioners. The second prosphora is the Mother of God, a particle in honor of the Mother of God is cut out of it. The third prosphora is in honor of saints of various ranks, all of them are listed, including the saints of the day, and the saints to whom the temple is dedicated. From the fourth prosphora, a particle is taken out about the Patriarch, the ruling bishop and all the priestly and deacon ranks. From the fifth prosphora, a particle is taken out with the words: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, accept this offering of health and salvation" (the royal surname was listed below), and now we say this: , and about all Orthodox Christians. " The sixth prosphora - the priest commemorates the spiritual father and the entire spiritual rite. The seventh prosphora is the funeral one.

Here's another significant feature. How is the commemoration carried out according to the usual order? They bring a basket of prosphora, and the priest quickly removes particles from each prosphora: once, once, once - "Remember Lord, remember Lord ..." Jesus Christ, the Son of God, accept this offering for health and salvation, and for the forgiveness of the sins of your servants ... " Moreover, these words differ in relation to the male or female sex. That is, there is a more differentiated, more thorough approach here. A particle from the funeral prosphora is taken out with the following words: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, accept this offering about the memory and forsaking of the sins of your departed servants ..." Then the whole thing is covered.

We omit the details, but here's an important point - the proskomedia, according to the old rite, ends, it is not invisible to us at the altar, where it was performed, but the Royal Doors open, the priest burns incense in the altar and then, standing at the Royal Doors, pronounces the dismissal: “Christ of the True Our God ... "Then the priest asks for forgiveness:" Forgive me, fathers and brothers, who have sinned greatly in my whole life and this night ... ", after which he bows down to the earth to those who are praying. In response, everyone bows down and the reader from the winged (the old name of the kliros) reads forgiveness: "Forgive me, father, and bless ..." committed during this first part.

Liturgy of the catechumens

Then the second part of the Liturgy begins - the Liturgy of the Catechumens. The catechumens are taught, preparing for baptism. They could attend both the proskomedia and the second part of the Liturgy, which the priest, standing at the throne, begins with short prayers: "To the King of Heaven", "Glory to God in the highest ...", "Lord, open my mouth ..." At this time the choir sings three times “Lord, have mercy”, covering these initial prayers. Then the first exclamation is solemnly distributed: "Blessed is the kingdom of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever and ever." Great litany: "In peace let us pray to the Lord." After the peaceful litany, the choir sings the antiphon: "Bless the Lord, my soul." It is usually sung on two wings. We are accustomed to this model: there is a festive right choir, in which hired artists often sing, and there is a left choir - grandmothers creak ... In the old practice, both choirs were equal and sang antiphonically, that is, alternately.

Entrance with the Gospel. The priest sings: "Come, let us worship and fall down to Christ ...", the chorus picks up: "Save us, Son of God, raised from the dead ..." (if it is Sunday) or: "in the divine saints" (on a weekday). This is called the small entrance, which symbolizes Christ's exit to public preaching. The entire Liturgy is symbolic, each action denotes a moment in the Gospel story. And when, say, at the end of the Cherubic song the Great Entrance is made, this symbolizes the procession of Christ to Calvary.

It is interesting that, according to the old service book, the priest utters two exclamations, facing the people; this is no longer practiced by modern Old Believers. Before singing "Holy God ...", the priest proclaims "As holy thou art our God ...", "Turn to the west," that is, facing the people. The second exclamation before the Cherubic song, "Yako ye shall always keep under Thy Power ...", is also pronounced facing the people.

The censing is not performed when the Apostle is being read, but during the singing of "Alleluia" at the end of the reading. Before the Gospel, the priest, having read two prayers in secret, crosses himself with the words: "By the power and conciliation of Thy Honest Cross, Lord, have mercy on me and help me to the sinner."

After the Gospel there is an augmented litany "Rtz all ...", it contains such petitions that are not in the usual order, for example, "We also pray for our spiritual fathers and for all our brethren for Christ, for health, and for salvation. We also pray for those who do charity, for health and salvation. "

We proclaim the Litany for the dead only on weekdays - on Sundays and holidays it is omitted. Very often, when the Liturgy is celebrated according to the usual rite, the liturgy is proclaimed on Sundays and holidays. This is explained by the fact that people, they say, rarely go to church, on weekdays they do not, so if you have come, then let’s do it in full, and remember the repose, although the charter does not imply this.

Cherubic song and the great entrance

There are some differences in the text of the Cherubic song. In the old text there are the following words: “we will reject all the sorrow of everyday life”, and in the new text it sounds like this: “we will put aside all everyday care”. Sadness is not just when one is sad, here “sadness” is all worries and concerns. Set aside and reject, is there a difference? Reject is a more decisive word.

The great entrance is being made, what is the difference here? We are accustomed to the fact that at the end of the Cherubic song the deacon or priest says: "May the Great Lord and Father Kirill, the Most Holy Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, remember the Lord God in His Kingdom ..." and then the enumeration goes on. And what is depressing: there is no single text for this proclamation. After the Patriarch and the ruling bishop have been remembered, there is an improvisation: they list donors, trustees, benefactors, singers, those who are to come, etc. Clarity always mobilizes, and blurry, chaoticity relaxes. In the Synodal period, the royal family was commemorated at the Great Entrance: both sons and daughters, and grand dukes and grand duchesses. In the pre-Nikon service books, everything is very laconic: a priest comes out and says the following words on three sides: “May the Lord God remember you all in His Kingdom, always, now and forever, and forever and ever. May the Lord God remember all of you in his Kingdom, always, now and ever, and forever and ever. " And again: "All of you ..." The Patriarch is commemorated at the proskomedia, at the Great Litany and at the end of the Liturgy: "In the first, remember, Lord."

The symbol of faith, as you know, began to be sung publicly after the war. The explanation is simple: the people began to forget the main prayers. The old rank preserves the old practice of recitative singing "I Believe" on the wings. It turns out very dynamically, after all, this is not a prayer for chanting, but our "credo". The Greeks generally read the Creed.

The Eucharistic Canon and the Communion of the Believers

As for the main moment of the Liturgy, the Eucharistic Canon, when the Gifts are consecrated, here I would note the following difference. In the old order, there is no raising of the diskos and the Chalice in the words "Yours from Yours ..." in the Catholic manner. The priest simply points his hand at the Lamb lying on the diskos and at the Cup of wine. After the offering of the Holy Gifts and the words "Fairly about the Most Holy. ..." When pronouncing the words "Holy to the saints ..." the priest, taking the Lamb, makes a cross-like movement with it over the diskos. After that, no "concerts", but only the sacramental verse, performed in a drawn-out manner.

There are some peculiarities in the communion of the laity. The Royal Doors are opened, the priest, with the words "With the fear of God and by faith, draw near" brings out the cup. Chorus: "Blessed is the Ridge ..." The cup is immediately brought back to the altar, the cover is removed from it, it is covered with a cloth, a liar is placed on top. The sacraments are prostrated, one of them is reciting a prayer of forgiveness. The priest at the throne makes five bows in the bow with the words: "Merciful Lord, save and have mercy on your servant ..." and I confess ... ", adding at the end" Terrify the God-giving Blood, man, in vain ... "Priest:" Participants, an earthly bow to the Body and Blood of Christ. "

The communion of the laity, according to the old rite, is performed three times - such is the ancient practice, liturgically reflecting collegiality, which is alien to the Catholic medieval teaching about the Church that teaches and the Church that teaches. It is done in this way. The priest says: “The Honest and Most Honorable Body and the Divine Blood of the Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ is served to the servant of God (the name of the rivers) from the Throne of the Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ in the Church of St. ), for the remission of sins (the Blood is given) and eternal life (the Blood is given again). "

In Psalm 33, the priest begins to consume the Holy Gifts by making 3 bows before the Chalice. The prayer for consumption is read at the throne. The priest overshadows each of those approaching the cross with the words "May the Lord save thee by the power of the Honest and Life-giving Cross." When reading thanksgiving prayers (before each of them) the priest exclaims: "Let us pray to the Lord," the reader replies: "Lord, have mercy."

Library "Chalcedon"

___________________

Nikolay Nakhimov

Brief information from the history of the Orthodox liturgical rite

The founders of the liturgical order (composition and order) of the Orthodox Church, in its main features, were Sts. Apostles. Already Ap. Paul ordained concerning worship that everything should be done decently and decorously(1 Cor. 14:40). St. Epiphanius calls the Apostles “the organizers of the mysteries” - together with James the brother of the Lord, the first bishop of Jerusalem. But Ap. Jacob composed only the first rite of the liturgy, and therefore the establishment of the sacraments should be understood to mean the establishment of their order, especially since the very sacraments were established by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.

Although Sts. The apostles at first, after the Ascension of the Lord, still continued to visit the temple of Jerusalem, but the services performed in it lost their significance for them and for Christians in general: they knew that the promises, types and prophecies of Holy Scripture about the coming Messiah had already been fulfilled; that the Old Testament sacrifices after the Sacrifice at Calvary lost their meaning. Therefore, Christians, led by the Apostles and disciples of Christ, gathered in the homes of believers to pray and celebrate the sacrament of the Eucharist.

Prayer hours - the third, sixth and ninth (in our opinion, the ninth, twelfth and third days) were dedicated to prayer among the Jews. Among Christians, the same hours were sanctified by new precious memories connected with them about the trial of Christ by Pilate and the Descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles (third hour), about His crucifixion (sixth) and death (ninth). At their prayer meetings, the Apostles with the believers and, of course, with the Most Holy. The Mother of God, who lives with Ap. John, sang psalms and sacred songs borrowed from Holy Scripture, read and expounded Holy Scripture itself, comparing the promises, prophecies and types with those events from the earthly life of Jesus Christ, the closest witnesses of which were “samovids” most of the participants in the meetings (see. such comparisons in the Gospel. Matthew); here prayers were offered, the sacrament of the Eucharist was celebrated.

The songs of the New Testament of the times of the Apostles include: 1) small doxology: Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit; 2) angelic song: Gloria; 3) prayer chanting: Lord have mercy; 4) the song of the Virgin: My soul magnifies the Lord and 5) the song of Simeon the God-Receiver: Now release Thy servant... Angelic song: Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts and Cherubic: Alleluia were kept in constant use by the first Christians. Among the prayers of the New Testament, the first place was occupied by Lord's Prayer

.

Already from the first apostolic times we have two orders of the liturgy - Apostle. James, performed in Jerusalem on the day of his remembrance, and St. Mark the Evangelist, Bishop of Alexandria. The rite of the apostolic liturgy, in general terms, was as follows: 1) Singing sacred songs. 2) Reading Holy Scripture, including mainly the Gospel and the works of the Holy Apostles (their Acts and Epistles). St. Evangelist Luke (1, 1-4) says that already in his time they used written narratives (the Gospel) about Christ, compiled by samovids and servants of the Word. Epistles of Ap. Paul was read by Christians aloud to all members of the Church (Col. 4:16; 1 Thess. 5:27). 3) Lecture. 4) Prayers for yourself and the whole world. 5) Thanksgiving and praises to God the Father, great in His perfections and gifts of grace. St. Irenaeus later says that this was done in his time (2nd century) according to the institution of Christ (when the Sacrament was established) and according to the apostolic tradition. 6) Consecration of gifts, with the utterance of the words of the Savior during the establishment of the Sacrament and with a prayer for the sending of the Holy Spirit. The same St. Irenaeus says that "according to the apostolic tradition, the offering," that is, the sacrament of the Eucharist, is accomplished by invoking the Holy Spirit, "may He manifest the bread in the Body of Christ, and the cup by His blood." 7) Remembrance before the sanctified Sacrifice of the living and the dead, after which it read: Our Father... 8) The fragmentation of gifts and their teaching to believers under both types (1 Cor. 10, 16; 11, 26), which consisted of thanksgiving (Acts 2, 42, 46; 20, 7).

The Apostles themselves attached great importance to singing, as can be seen, among other things, from the Epistle of Ap. Paul to Ephesians (5:19) and Colossians (3:16), so that they admonish one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.

From what has been said, it is clear that even at the beginning of Christianity, evening services were established (the church day begins in the evening. See Genesis 1, 5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31), night and morning.

In the 2nd century St. Ignatius the God-bearer introduced antiphonic singing in the Antiochian church, which soon spread throughout the East. In the first half of the 3rd century, many sacred hymns of St. Clement of Alexandria, setting forth Christian dogmas in them, and Nepos, Bishop of Pentapolis.

As for the choice of reading and most of the chants, in the first three centuries of Christianity it was left to the abbots. In some churches the whole people sang, in others - only the clergy. Sometimes during the service, some of its participants sang new songs of their own inspiration. Heretics began to use this, trying to spread their false teachings through spiritual songs, as they do, for example. so-called evangelical and new Christians, Khlysty and various other sectarians - and in our days. In order to avoid such temptations in the Church, the Laodicean Council (368) determined that only the clergy would sing during the divine service, and the laity would be given only reciprocal singing at litanies, the Creed and the Lord's Prayer.

The apostolic liturgy was very long, and the zeal of Christians began to weaken. In view of this, St. Basil the Great, Archbishop. Caesarea (+ 379), reduced her rank. But even in this abbreviated order, the reading from the Holy Scriptures of the Old Testament, which followed the first litany, seemed too long. And here is St. John

Chrysostom (347-407), archbishop. Constantinople, reduced the rite of the liturgy of Basil the Great: this reading was excluded; several particularly lengthy prayers of the priest were replaced by shorter ones in the liturgy of John Chrysostom.

The Liturgy of Basil the Great is celebrated here ten times a year: on January 1 (the day of his memory), on five Sundays of Great Lent, on Great Thursday and Great Saturday, on Christmas Eve before Christmas and Epiphany, or on these very holidays, if Christmas Eve falls on Saturdays or Sundays. The rest of the time, except for the well-known days of Great Lent, the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom.

On the appointed days of Great Lent (on Wednesdays and Fridays of the first six weeks, on the first three days of Passion and on Thursday the fifth), the Liturgy is celebrated. , since ancient times accepted in the Church of Alexandria. Its rank goes back to St. Athanasius the Great, Archbishop of Alexandria and father of the 1st Ecumenical Council (+ 373). Since this rite has come down to us in the written presentation of St. Gregory (the Great) Dvoeslov, Pope of Rome (+ 604), then the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts itself began to be called the Liturgy of St. Grigory Dvoeslov.

With the passage of time, in view of various important circumstances that the Church was experiencing, mainly in order to establish the Orthodox in the true teaching against the false teachings of heretics, additions were made to the rite of the liturgy. So, shortly after St. Chrysostom, under St. To Patriarch Prokle, during a public prayer in Constantinople to end the terrible earthquake, one youth was lifted by an invisible force high into the air, and then, unharmed to the ground, he said that he had heard the singing of Angels: and that the angels commanded this to be sung on earth. The people repeated the song, with the addition: have mercy on us and the earthquake stopped. Since then, they began to sing it during the service.

The symbol of faith, which has come into general use since the 1st Ecumenical Council (325), under St. John Chrysostom was pronounced in church not at every liturgy, but mainly during the days of the baptism of the catechumens. But in view of the excitement caused by heretical teachings about the nature of the Son of God, it was established, between 510-517, to proclaim the Creed at each liturgy.

The sixth century for the development of heresies was especially painful for Orthodoxy. Some of the heretics called the Son of God simply the Son of Mary, while others, on the contrary, denied everything human in Him. Therefore, the pious Byzantine emperor Justinian (+ 565) composed a song about the Son of God as the God-man, which contains

the true teaching of the Church about Him and His Mother, as the Mother of God and Ever-Virgin: The only begotten Son and the Word of God, He is immortal... This song at the same time (536) became part of the liturgy.

In ancient times of Christianity, the bread and wine necessary for the sacrament were brought by the believers (hence the name of those who brought them - "fruitful"). The priests received them after the litany of the faithful, performed proskomedia and then transferred the substance for the sacrament to the throne. At the same time, the service was interrupted, and the people were having fun. And the moment was important: the meeting of the Lord was coming, going to the slaughter (cf. “ comes to pay and eat the faithful”). Therefore, under Patriarch John Scholasticus of Constantinople in 573, a song composed by him was accepted into the rite of the liturgy: Like the Cherubim, which causes believers to focus on the upcoming solemn moment. Under the same patriarch, it was established to sing on Maundy Thursday: Your Mystery Supper... On Holy Saturday, a song was sung, as it is now: May all human flesh be silent

.

At the beginning of the 7th century, under Patriarch Sergius of Constantinople, it was established to sing after the communion of the believers with St. Tain: May our lips be fulfilled... Under him, during the transfer of the Presanctified Gifts, they began to sing: Now the powers of heaven

.

In our Russian Church, in the concluding part of the liturgy, after the words of the priest: Save, God, Thy people and bless Thy heritage, since the time of Patriarch Nikon, it is customary to sing one of the stichera of Pentecost: Videhom the true light, the reception of the Heavenly Spirit.

St. Kozma, Bishop Mayumsky (+ in the last quarter of the 8th century), co-foster, friend and associate of St. John of Damascus, one of the greatest church poets and prolific songwriters, composed a song in honor of the Mother of God: Honest Cherub... Tradition says that this song was composed by him on Good Friday, a mournful day especially for the Mother of God, who vouchsafed St. To the goat of His appearance. IN

X On Mount Athos, the text of this song was added at the beginning of the song: It is worthy to eat as truly... Tradition ascribes to this addition a miraculous origin, that it was made by an angel who appeared to one ascetic in St. grief, and he also inscribed on the stone. Since 980, this song in honor of the Mother of God, according to the Cathedral definition, has been sung in a new (full) edition.

Other church services also date back to the times of the apostles; but their rank was gradually formed. Even in the “Apostolic Decrees” it is said: “When evening comes, call the Bishop, the Church and, after pronouncing the evening, or luminous, psalm, the deacon proclaims the litany of the catechumens, possessed, enlightened, repentant”. It is also mentioned there that ps was pronounced at Vespers. 140: Lord, cry, prayer: Grant me, Lord and the song of Simeon the God-Receiver. In the year 311, the Hieromartyr Athenogenes, preparing for death, composed a song: Quiet light, which became part of the evening service.

St. Hippolytus, disciple of St. Irenaeus, the apostolic husband (+ 250), says that it is necessary to perform prayers in the morning, at the third, sixth, ninth hour, in the evening and at the looping (that is, at midnight, when the rooster sings). If it is impossible for a congregation to be in any house or in a church, let everyone sing, read, and pray at home. The Apostles themselves “around midnight, praying, sang praises to God” (Acts 16:25).

St. Gregory the Theologian, ecumenical teacher and patriarch of Constantinople, who lived in the 4th century.

About the morning service in the "Apostolic Decrees" it is said: "Do your prayers in the morning, thanking the Lord that He has illuminated us, removing the night and bringing the day." All-night and morning services consisted mainly of the singing of psalms and the reading of selected passages of Holy Scripture. St. Basil the Great describes the morning service in the following way: “Since the night the people have matins in our house of prayer, making confession in tears, labor and contrition; finally gets up from

prayers and becomes a psalmist. Splitting into two sides, he sings alternately. Then one starts to sing, and the others sing along. Thus, having spent the night in a variety of psalmics and alternating it with prayers, at dawn all together, as if with one mouth and one heart, sing a psalm of confession ”.

Under St. John Chrysostom, the heretical Arians, who rejected the divinity of Jesus Christ, began to gather at night and, dividing into two choruses, sang their heretical songs. At dawn, they solemnly walked with singing to their suburban churches (they were not allowed to have churches in the city limits at that time). Their harmonious and harmonious singing also attracted the Orthodox. Therefore, St. Chrysostom drew special attention to the rite of the night worship, he himself performed it and gave it more solemnity and splendor. He also showed great concern for singing in Orthodox churches: he introduced general proclamations with the confession of the Holy Trinity; the doxology began to be repeated more often: Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit... Skilled singers sang in the kliros, and the people sang along with “a strong verse containing high teaching” (according to some - ipakoi). Night prayer of St. John Chrysostom generally attached great importance: “The night was not given for that,” he said, “so that we could sleep all over… The Church of God rises at midnight, get up and you.

Then the soul is purer ... Get on your knees, sigh, pray to God that He will be merciful to you ”. In contrast to the Arian walks with singing through the city, the saint established processions of the cross with lighted candles and the presentation of crosses.

The night service was especially long in the laurels, sometimes ending only in the morning. Here it became a custom to perform the blessing of bread, wine and oil during the service and to distribute them to those who are praying for strengthening their strength.

In the 5th century, the heretic Nestorius rejected the designation of the Most Holy Virgin Mary, as He was called by the most ancient preachers of the faith. Against this heresy, St. Cyril, Archbishop of Alexandria. From his time, the Church began to call the Mother of the Lord Jesus the Mother of God more often and more solemnly and accepted the song composed by the same saint: Virgin Mary, Rejoice!

In the 8th century, the Great Canon of St. Andrew, Archbishop of Crete. In this canon, however, St. Andrew owns only the troparia (250), except for the troparia in honor of St. Mary of Egypt, who, together with the Irmos, are of later origin. It can be assumed that the Irmos of the canon belong to St. John Damascene.

The same VIII century is remembered by the Church for iconoclasm: heretics erected a persecution against the worship of the Most Holy Theotokos, the holy saints of God and holy icons. One of the outstanding fighters for Orthodoxy was at this time St. John Damascene, who had a wonderful gift of chanting. Among other things, he composed songs of praise to the Mother of God: Rejoices in You, Graceful, every creature

; Many a multitude of my, Mother of God, sins , as well as the Theotokos. The troparion belongs to him, as the defender of the veneration of icons: We worship Thy Most Pure Image, Good One.

The rite of Orthodoxy, or the triumph of Orthodoxy (over the iconoclastic heresy), performed in the first week of Great Lent, was compiled in the 1st half

IX th century by Methodius the Confessor, Patriarch of Constantinople.

From the above information it is clear that our liturgical rite, on the basis of the apostolic, - which should be especially noted in relation to the liturgy, - was formed gradually during the first 9 centuries of Christianity.

The main idea of ​​Orthodox worship is to depict the entire course of sacred history in its main events: the creation of the world and man, the fall of man and his redemption through the exploit of the Son of God incarnate. These events are indicated by readings and chants and symbolic actions in three sacred services: evening, morning and liturgy. Each of these three services consists of three separate services: with Vespers, the following of the ninth hour and Compline is performed; with the morning - midnight office and the first hour; with the liturgy - the third and sixth hours.

The circle of daily worship begins with the following of the ninth hour, the terrible and saving hour of Christ's death. Vespers is dedicated to the memory of the first events of the world: about its creation ( Wonderful are Thy works, O Lord ... Thou hast created all wisdom ...), about the bliss of the first people in paradise, about their fall, repentance and hope for salvation ( Blessed is the husband, followed by verses, Lord, cry out to you

… May my prayer be corrected ). The prayer of Simeon the God-Receiver indicates the fulfillment of the promise of God about the coming of the Redeemer.

The morning service recalls the times when Israel languished in heavy slavery in Egypt, sighing for the promised land. This is the image of all mankind, languishing in the bondage of sin and waiting for salvation. In the Six Psalms grief is poured out, the repentance of the fallen man and his hope in the mercy of God. Already at the end of Vespers, the words of Simeon the God-Receiver indicated the New Testament times - that the light is near, which should illuminate people sitting in darkness. A solemn is distributed: God is Lord and appear to us... The dawn of the day, which so often found the first Christians in prayer, is greeted joyful: Glory to Thee who showed us the light, the light of the day and the Light of Christ, who illuminated the whole world like the Sun of righteousness with His appearance. Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth, goodwill in men- greets the Church with the angelic words of the appeared Savior.

All other services are preparation for the most important and solemn service of the New Testament, dedicated to the remembrance of Christ and the great work of redemption of man - the liturgy, which is called divine. At the liturgy, in the sacrament of the Eucharist, the universal Calvary sacrifice is remembered and, as it were, continues, and the Body and Blood of Christ are taught to believers under the guise of bread and wine - the Body that is broken for them, the Blood shed for them for the remission of sins.

Thus, in our worship, the memories of the mercies of God shown to Israel are combined with the memories of the most sacred events of the New Testament. This indicates an inseparable living connection between the Church of the Old Testament and the Church of the New Testament. But that is not all. In our prayers for the dead, in bringing the bloodless Sacrifice and for them, in the remembrance of the Most Holy Theotokos, the holy incorporeal Forces of heaven and St. the saints of God, the earthly Church is united with the heavenly Church,

ό It is expressed mysteriously and at the same time clearly in the arrangement on the diskos of the particles taken out on the proskomedia by the priest around the Lamb, which signifies the Head of the earthly and heavenly Church, our Lord Jesus Christ.

At the same time, in the divine services of the Orthodox Church, her entire history of persecutions was clearly reflected and imprinted (for example, the exclamation: Doors, doors! remaining from the times when it was necessary to protect the church doors from the invasion of pagans and heretics), martyrdom, asceticism, the emergence of heresies (song Only begotten son and others) and triumph over them (chants in the week of Orthodoxy), with the mercies of God revealed to Christians at various difficult moments of their people's life, for example. in the fight against the infidels (Akathist of the Mother of God), deliverance from natural disasters (song: Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal) and so on. and so on.

Therefore, the service of the Orthodox Church is distinguished not only by its height and fullness in the spiritual sense, not only by its lofty poetry, wondrous harmony and beauty, but also by the most valuable historical data.

In remembrance of the most sacred events for Christians from the earthly life of the Lord Jesus Christ and His Most Pure Mother, corresponding holidays were established in ancient times. The features of worship on such holidays were formed and established gradually.

St. Irenaeus (

II century) and Tertullian (beginning III centuries) report that Christians spent the whole night on Holy Easter in celebration and spiritually rejoiced in the days of Pentecost. Under Constantine the Great, on Easter night, Constantinople (Constantinople) was illuminated with wax pillars. Easter was preceded by fasting, at first not everywhere of the same duration, and the very time of its celebration was finally established only at the First Ecumenical Council (325). Our Easter service, rightly called the triumph of heaven and earth, belongs to St. John Damascene. The tradition of exchanging red eggs for Easter dates back to St. Mary Magdalene, who presented an egg to the Roman emperor Tiberius and announced to him about the risen Christ: in the egg, which contains the embryo of life, Christians saw a symbol of the resurrection, life in general.

Sunday (first week) was celebrated by St. The apostles when they gathered for the celebration of the sacrament of the Eucharist (Acts 20, 7.1 Cor. 16, 1, 2). St. Justin the Philosopher (+ 166) says: “On the so-called day of the sun (cf. German:

Sonntag ), that is, on Sunday, all of us who live in cities and villages gather in one place. " Then St. Justin talks about the celebration of the Liturgy and the communion of the faithful.

The feasts of the Nativity of Christ and His Baptism were first united together, and began to be celebrated separately from

IV th century. The rite of the great hours for the Nativity of Christ was compiled by Sophronius, Patriarch of Jerusalem (+ 644); he also belongs to the final establishment of the most ancient rite of the great consecration of water, performed on the eve of the Epiphany. The custom of making a procession to the water on this holiday after the Liturgy began in IX century under Patriarch Photius of Constantinople.

The celebration of the Presentation of the Lord belongs to the most ancient times of Christianity; but it was not performed everywhere, and in some Churches on the 16th of February. During the time of the Byzantine emperor Justinian, the empire was subjected to a terrible earthquake and a pestilence plague, and one pious man received a revelation that disasters would end if a solemn celebration of the Meeting was established. From that time on, it is celebrated by the whole Church, and on February 2.

About the celebration of the Transfiguration of the Lord, we have information related to

IV century. St. Proclus, Patriarch of Constantinople (+ 447), composed a word for the Transfiguration, as for a well-known holiday.

The Ascension of the Lord has been celebrated in the Church since the days of the Apostles. St. Ephraim the Syrian (+ 373-379) among church hymns taught the “vowed” young women who gathered to him on holidays to sing hymns for the Ascension.

The celebration of Pentecost dates back to the same time. The rite of Vespers at Pentecost was compiled by St. Basil the Great. Here is what Vlastar, the Byzantine canonist who lived in

XIV century: “... The Great Basil ... composing prayers for the descent of the Holy Spirit, he established that the people should kneel with a feeling of reverence, testifying thereby to the divine power of the Spirit; but he did not want his prayers to be read at the third (according to our - the ninth) hour of Sunday, the fiftieth after Easter, when the Holy Spirit descended on the Apostles. He postponed the reading of prayers until Vespers ”.

We have information about the feast of the Lord's Entry into Jerusalem from Athanasius the Great; among the words of St. John Chrysostom we have the word for Week Vai

.

The Feast of the Exaltation of Crete was first celebrated on the second day of Easter, when the Holy Queen Helen acquired the Life-giving Cross. On September 14th, the celebration was postponed to

Vii century, when the emperor Heraclius returned the Holy Cross from Persia: both events merged in one celebration.

Holidays in honor of the Most Holy Theotokos are also of the most ancient origin. Thus, the celebration of the Annunciation dates back to the times of the Apostles; on the holidays of the Nativity and the Dormition of the Mother of God, we have the conversations of St. Ephraim the Syrian, therefore, these very holidays were established before his time. Already in the first half

IV In the 18th century, the Holy Queen Helen founded churches in Palestine in honor of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin and Her Entry into the Temple. IX century Constantinople was threatened by the Saracens. On October 1, an all-night vigil was served in the Blakherna Church of the Mother of God; prayed hard to the Mother of God for deliverance from danger. And suddenly the holy fool Andrew, who was among the worshipers, and his disciple Epiphanius, saw in the air the Most Holy Virgin, surrounded by Angels and Saints, praying and overshadowing Christians with Her Protection. From that time on, the feast of the Protection of the Mother of God was established.

Divine services in the Russian Orthodox Church are held under the Jerusalem Charter adopted fifteen hundred years ago... The charter specifies the order or succession liturgy, Vespers, Matins and small services of the daily circle. In general, this is a complex system, in-depth knowledge of which is available only to professionals. But the Church recommends that every Christian study the main stages of worship in order to discover the spiritual wealth accumulated over the centuries.

Word "Liturgy" means general service, a gathering of believers for the sake of meeting God. This is the most important Christian divine service, when the transformation of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ takes place. “We are engaging in the supernatural“- this is how St. John of Damascus says about it.

For the first time, the Liturgy was celebrated by Christ Himself on the eve of suffering. Gathering in the upper room for a festive meal, His disciples prepared everything for the Passover rituals then accepted among the Jews. These ceremonies were symbolic in nature, reminding the participants of the meal about the liberation from Egyptian slavery. But when the rite of the Easter meal was fulfilled by Christ, symbols and prophecies turned Divine promises fulfilled: man became free from sin and regained heavenly bliss.

Thus, originating from the ancient Jewish rite, the Christian liturgy, in general terms, resembles its following, and the entire daily cycle of services, starting with Vespers, is a preparation for its celebration.

In modern church practice, the Liturgy is a morning (time of day) service. In the ancient church, it was performed at night, which still happens today on the days of the great holidays of Christmas and Easter.

Development of the liturgical order

The order of the first Christian liturgies was simple and resembled a friendly meal, accompanied by prayer and memories of Christ. But soon it became necessary to distinguish the liturgy from ordinary dinner parties in order to instill in believers awe of the sacrament being performed. Gradually, in addition to the psalms of David, it included hymns already composed by Christian authors.

With the spread of Christianity to the east and west, divine services began to acquire the national characteristics of the people who accepted the new faith. The liturgies began to differ from each other so much that decisions of the councils of bishops were required to establish a single sequence.

Currently, there are 4 main liturgical rites, compiled by the Holy Fathers and performed in the Orthodox Church:

• - is performed daily, excluding the statutory days of the liturgy of Basil the Great, and during the Lenten Triodion - on Saturdays and Palm Sunday.
• Basil the Great- 10 times a year: on the day of commemoration of the author, both Christmas Eve, 5 times during the Fourties and 2 times on Holy Week.
• Gregory Dvoeslov or Presanctified Gifts- is served during Lent on weekdays.
• Apostle James of Greece- is performed in some Russian parishes on the day of the memory of the Apostle.

In addition to the listed liturgies, there are special rites in the Ethiopian, Coptic (Egyptian), Armenian and Syrian churches. The Liturgies have their own rites in the Catholic West, as well as among the Catholics of the Eastern rite. In general terms, all liturgies are similar to each other.

Chin, compiled by St. John Chrysostom, has been used in the practice of the Church since the 5th century. In time it is younger than the creation of Basil the Great. For the parishioner, the liturgies of both authors are similar and differ only in time. The Liturgy of St. Basil is longer due to the length of the secret priestly prayers. John Chrysostom's contemporaries argued that the shorter order was compiled by him out of love for the common people, burdened by lengthy services.

The abbreviated succession of John Chrysostom quickly spread throughout Byzantium and eventually developed into the rite of the most famous Divine Liturgy. The explanatory text below will help lay people understand the main points of the service, and help choir singers and readers avoid common mistakes.

Liturgy usually starts at 8-9 am, the third and sixth hours are read in front of it, remembering the judgment at Pilate and the crucifixion of Christ. When the hours are read on the kliros, a proskomedia is performed in the altar. The ministering priest prepared himself in the evening, reading a long rule to come to the throne the next day.

The service begins with the priest's exclamation "Blessed be the Kingdom ...", and after the choir's response, the Great Litany immediately follows. Then begin the pictorial antiphons, festive or everyday.

Antiphons Pictorial

Bless, my soul, the Lord.

Small litany:

Praise, my soul, the Lord.

The first two chants symbolize the prayer and hope of the Old Testament man, the third - the preaching of the Christ who appeared. Before the Blessed, the song "The Only Begotten Son" sounds, the authorship of which is attributed to the Emperor Justinian (VI century). This moment of the service reminds of the Nativity of the Savior.

Antiphones the third, 12 Beatitudes:

In Thy Kingdom, remember us, Lord ...

The Rite presupposes interspersing the verses of the Beatitudes with the troparions of the canons read at matins. For each grade of service, there is a number of troparia:

• six-fold - from "Blessed are the peacemakers" to 6;
• polyeleos or vigil to the saint - at 8, with "Blessed are the merciful";
• Sunday - at 10, with "Blessed are the Crotzia".

In churches with daily liturgy on weekdays, you can hear Everyday antiphons. The texts of these chants represent verses from the psalms, interspersed with a refrain dedicated to the Lord and the Mother of God. There are also three everyday antiphons, they are of more ancient origin. Over time, they are increasingly being replaced by the Pictorial ones.

On the days of the Lord's feasts, Festive antiphons sound, similar in structure to everyday ones. These texts can be found in the Menaia and Triodes, at the end of the service of the feast.

Small entrance

From this moment the Liturgy itself begins. Clergymen to the Singing of the Entrance Verse "Come, let us bow ..." enter the altar with the Gospel, that is, with Christ Himself. Saints march behind them invisibly, therefore, immediately after the opening verse, the choir sings troparia and kontakion to the saints, laid down by the Rite.

Trisagion

The chanting of the Trisagion was introduced in the 6th century. According to legend, this song was first heard by a young resident of Constantinople, performed by an angelic choir. During this time, the city suffered from a strong earthquake. The assembled people began to repeat the words the youth had heard, and the element subsided. If the previous entry verse “Come and worship” referred only to Christ, then the Trisagion is sung to the Holy Trinity.

Prokeimenon and the reading of the Apostle

The order of the reading of the Apostle at the Liturgy is regulated by the Charter and depends on the rank, combination of services and festive periods. When preparing readings, it is more convenient to use the church calendar or "Liturgical Instructions" for the current year. And also prokimnas with alleluaries are given in Appendix to the Apostle in several sections:

With a careful study of the composition of the book of the Apostle, the preparation of the readings will take a little time. There can be no more than two prokeims, and no more than three readings.

The sequence of exclamations during the reading of the Apostle:

• Deacon: Let us hear it.
• Priest: Peace to all.
• Reader of the Apostle: And perfume yours. Prokimen voice ... (voice and text of the prokimna)
• Chorus: prokimen.
• Reader: verse.
• Chorus: prokimen.
• Reader: the first half of the prokimna.
• Chorus: sings the prokeimen.
• Deacon: Wisdom.

The reader proclaims the title of the apostolic reading... It is important to pronounce the inscriptions correctly:

• Acts of the Saints Apostle reading.
• Reading of the Cathedral Epistle of Petrov (Jacob).
• Reading to the Corinthians (Hebrews, Timothy, Titus) of the Epistle of the Holy Apostle Paul.

Deacon: let's listen (listen!)

It is recommended to read the text in a chant, gradually increasing intonation in order to end the reading on a high note. If the charter prescribes two readings, then at the end of the first, the reader returns the last syllable to a low note. The text from Acts begins with the words "In the days of ona", the Epistles to the Council - "Brethren", the epistle to one person - "the child of Titus" or "the child of Timothy".

Priest: Peace to you, who reveres!

Reader: and perfume yours.

Hallelujah and Gospel Reading

Despite the fact that after the Apostle the reader immediately pronounces Hallelujah, this exclamation does not end the reading of the Apostle, but is a prokimn to the Gospel. Therefore, in the ancient liturgies, Hallelujah was recited by the priest. Order:

• Deacon: Wisdom.
• Reader: Hallelujah (3x).
• Chorus: repeats hallelujah.
• Reader: Alleluaria verse.
• Chorus: Hallelujah (3 p.)

After the second verse of the alleluaria and goes to the altar, holding the closed book of the Apostle above his head. At this time, the deacon, setting up a lectern opposite the Royal Doors, sets the liturgical Gospel vertically on it.

Statutory exclamations follow priest and deacon before reading the Gospel.

Deacon: Bless, Vladyka, the evangelist of the holy apostle and evangelist Matthew (John, Luke, Mark).

The name of the Evangelist is pronounced in the genitive case, since the blessing is requested not for the author of the Gospel, but for the deacon.

The Gospel is read like the Apostle, beginning with the words "During it" or "Speech the Lord by His disciple", depending on the plot. At the end of the reading, the priest blesses the deacon with the words “ Peace be with you, preaching the gospel!"In contrast to the words addressed to the reader of the Apostle -" honoring". After the final singing “ Glory to You, Lord, glory to You”A priest's sermon may follow, explaining what he has heard.

The word "double" means "double". This name comes about the double appeal to the mercy of God at the beginning of the litany, as well as the intensified prayer of the faithful. Usually, two augmented litanies are pronounced - healthy and funeral. At this moment, in modern practice, there is a reading of notes with names submitted "for mass". Special requests for travelers, sick people, etc. may be inserted.

With the exception of the first two petitions of the healthy litany, the choir responds to each petition with three times “Lord have mercy”.

Litany on the catechumens and the faithful

A series of short petitions - a prayer for those preparing for baptism. According to ancient tradition, they could not be present at the main part of the liturgy - the transubstantiation of the Holy Gifts. After hearing the introductory part - the Liturgy of the catechumens - all the unbaptized ones left the church.

Nowadays n the announcement period does not last long or absent altogether. Therefore, the litany should be understood as a reminder of ancient piety and a serious attitude towards the sacraments of the Church.

After the litany of the catechumens and their procession, two more litanies follow, the first of which, in the text, resembles the Great Litany. She begins the Liturgy of the Faithful. In the follow-up to Ap. Jacob in this place pronounces the solemn prokemen "The Lord reign in petty clothed himself", in Chrysostom it is transferred to the proskomedia.

Cherubic Song, Great Entrance

The text of the Cherubic Song, which begins the Liturgy of the Faithful, is usually written by sheet music. After singing it, it is performed because the priest and deacon should have enough time to burn incense, special prayer and transfer the prepared Holy Gifts (not yet united Bread and Wine) from the altar to the throne. The path of the clergy runs through the pulpit, where they stop for the commemoration.

Deacon: Let us love one another, but we confess with like-mindedness.

Chorus: Father and Son and Holy Spirit, Consubstantial and Inseparable Trinity.

In ancient times, with the exclamation "Let us love ...", the parishioners were kissing each other as a symbol of the unity of Christians in the image of the Holy Trinity. Men and women greeted each other separately, since they were in different parts of the temple to maintain decency. In the modern tradition, kissing occurs only between the clergy in the altar.

Symbol of faith

The twelve verses of the Creed are performed by the entire Christian congregation under the direction of a deacon. Thus, the faithful confirm their confession and agreement with the dogmas of the Church. At this time, the priest fancies the Holy Gifts with a patron, which reminds of the imminent descent of the Holy Spirit and the impending miracle of their transformation into the Body and Blood of Christ.

Eucharistic Canon

Deacon: Let us become good, let us become with fear ...

Chorus: Grace of the world, Sacrifice of praise.

The texts of the Eucharistic Canon for the choir are signed with notes for a drawn-out and touching singing. At this time, the main action of the liturgy takes place - the Transubstantiation of the Holy Gifts. Parishioners pray while standing motionless or kneeling. No walking or talking is allowed.

Remembrance is also worthy

The Eucharistic Canon is followed by a song dedicated to the Mother of God. In the rite of John Chrysostom this is "It is worthy to eat", which is replaced on the days of the twelve beggars. The texts of the supporters are given in the menaea on the day of the holiday and represent the irmos of the ninth canon of the canon with a refrain.

During the performance "It is worthy to eat" the priest commemorates the saints of the day and departed Christians.

Priest: In the first, remember the Lord ...

Chorus: And everyone and everything.

Preparing for the Sacrament

After the Eucharistic Canon, a supplicatory litany is heard again, to which the nationwide singing of Our Father is added. Christians pray with the words commanded by the Lord Himself, so that they will soon begin to Communion. The first to receive the Holy Gifts will be the clergy in the altar.

An exclamation “Holy of Holies” follows, meaning that the Shrine is ready and offered for the “saints”, in this case, for the parishioners preparing for the sacrament. The choir replies on behalf of the people, "The Lord Jesus Christ is One Holy ...", recognizing the unworthiness of even the most righteous person before God. Following this, the sacrament verse is sung for the priest receiving the gifts.

The texts of the sacrament verses are given in the Menaion for each service, as well as in the Appendix of the Apostle, after the Prokimens. There are only seven verses for each day of the week and special ones for the Twelve Great Feasts.

In modern tradition the pause during the communion of the priests is filled with a "concert" - the author's musical piece on the theme of the day, which is performed by the choir. It is also appropriate to recite the communion prayers to prepare the laity to receive the Body and Blood of Christ. Reading continues until the opening of the royal doors.

The Deacon is the first to leave the holy gates, holding the Chalice with the Gifts in front of him. Laymen preparing for communion are passed closer to the sole. They stand with their arms crossed over their chest, palms to their shoulders. After the exclamation of the deacon, "Come with the fear of God and faith!" the priest, who went out after the deacon, reads one of the prayers for communion "I believe, Lord, and I confess ...", approaching the Chalice, the laity mentally read the troparion of the Great Four "Thy Mystery Supper ...".

Babies are brought in first, children are brought in. Then men pass, women last. Immediately after the reception of the Holy Mysteries, the parishioners go to the table, on which a teapot is prepared. Drinking - sweetish water, tinted with wine or juice, is used in order to swallow all the smallest particles of the Body and Blood of Christ.

At this moment, one should especially watch over small children so that they do not spit out the Holy Mystery. Dropping a Particle is a terrible sin of carelessness. If this happened, you must inform the priest, who will take the measures prescribed in such cases by church rules.

Passover sacrament verse is sung during communion "Receive the body of Christ, taste the source of the immortal." When the Chalice is carried away to the altar, the choir repeats Hallelujah

Here the priest leaves the altar and stands in front of the pulpit, from where he reads the “prayer beyond the ambo”, praying on behalf of the people. This prayer was introduced into the liturgy after the time of St. John Chrysostom, when the custom of secret priestly prayers appeared.

It can be seen that all prayers related to the Eucharistic canon are recited in the altar in secret, the parishioners hear only the singing of the choir. This is often a temptation for the curious who want to hear and see everything that happens behind the iconostasis. The prayer behind the ambo is composed of fragments of secret prayers so that the laity have an idea of ​​what words are pronounced by the priests.

The concealment of the most important part of the Liturgy - the Transubstantiation of the Holy Gifts - is symbolic. Neither the content of the prayers, nor the actions of the clergy are in the Church "a secret for the uninitiated", but are performed behind the fence to emphasize the importance and incomprehensibility of the Eucharist.

Any Christian aspiring to the study of the faith has the opportunity to attend special liturgies, where pauses are made in the service to explain what is happening.

• Bp. Vissarion Nechaev "Explanation of the Divine Liturgy".
• John Chrysostom "Commentaries on the Divine Liturgy".
• A. I. Georgievsky. Order of the Divine Liturgy.

Psalm 33 and Discharge

To the song of the righteous Job, "May the Name of the Lord be blessed from now and to everlasting", the priest again goes to the altar. In many churches, after this, they begin to sing Psalm 33, which teaches believers instruction for the coming day. In this, the parishioners disassemble the antidor taken from the altar - parts of the service prosphora used to make the Lamb. All these actions remind believers of the ancient custom of the “meal of love” that Christians held after the Eucharist.

At the end of the 33rd psalm, the priest pronounces a dismissal - a short prayer, where through the prayers of the Mother of God and the saints of the day, divine mercy is requested for all the faithful. The choir responds with many years of "Our Great Lord and Father Kirill ...".

After the liturgy, it is customary to serve a prayer service in many churches.

Texts for the choir

Literature on the sequencing and interpretation of the Liturgy, as well as scores of chants, can be purchased in specialized stores. It is convenient for the choir director and readers to use the printed text containing the unchanging chants of the evening and morning services, liturgy and all-night vigil. The texts for the choir can be downloaded from the Azbuka.Ru portal.

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Lay worship

Lunch (pictorial)

Liturgy in lay worship is performed instead of the Divine Liturgy

For example, the service of the 6th voice is given - the most widespread melody in church services throughout the year.
6 voice service words are highlighted handwriting and can be replaced with the corresponding text of a different voice (1 - 5, 7, 8).

The elder is the leader of the service; utters the most important exclamations, burns incense, reads the Gospel.
The reader is any of the lay people.
The brethren are all laymen present at the service.

Senior:
By the prayers of the Saints, Father, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us.
Brethren:
A min.

Brethren:
Lord have mercy. (12 times)- read instead of the Great Litany

Senior:

Brethren:
A min.

Senior:
B lagoslov and , shower e my, G O spoda: bless e n es and , G O wait.

The reader reads Psalm 102:
Bless my soul to the Lord, and all my inner name is His holy.
Bless my soul to the Lord, and do not forget all His rewards;
Cleansing all your iniquity, healing all week at gi yours;
Thy belly that delivers from decay, crowning thee with mercy and bounty;
Acting for good and x your wish: renew and tsya like O for your youth.
Tvor I nd alms the Lord, and the fate of all offended.
The tale but his way Moses e ovi, sons O m Israilev wants His own;
The Lord is generous and merciful, long-suffering and merciful.
Not completely angry, down e in the age of hostility;
It was not by our iniquity that he created us to eat, lower e according to our sin he gave us food.
As for the height of heaven from earth, the Lord has established His mercy on those who feared Him.
Eliko will be east O from z but pad, oud but lil is our iniquity from us.
Like u e drits father with NS us, uzh e dree the Lord of those who fear Him.
Yako Toy Pozn but our creation, I remember, is like the dust of Esma.
Man like grass dn and e it, like the color with e linen, taco color e T;
Yako spirit pr O where in it, it will not be, and it will not know who at their place.
But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting against those who fear Him.
And His truth is on the son e x son O in those who keep His covenant, and remember His commandments to do I.
Lord in heaven and ugot O for His Throne, and His Kingdom has all but no.
Bless the Lord, all His angels, mighty in strength, creating His word, conv NS shati voice of words e with Him.
Bless the Lord all with and lyth him, his servants, doing his will.
Bless the Lord all deeds but Him, in every place of His dominion.

Senior:
And now and forever and forever and ever.
Brethren:
A min.

Brethren:
Speak to me, shower e mine, Lord, and all my inner name is His holy. Blessed art thou, Lord.

Senior:
Lava to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

The reader reads Psalm 145:
X shaft and , shower e mine, Lord. Praise the Lord in the belly e my, I sing to my God, d O now I am.
Do not rely on book I zi, with NS we are human, there is no salvation in them.
From NS if his spirit is born and will return to his land: on that day all his thoughts will perish.
Blessed is God And but the cowl is his helper, his trust in the Lord his God;
Sotv O there is heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them;
Keeping the truth in the age, doing judgment to the offended, giving food to the hungry.
Lord will solve the shackles but Nnya, the Lord makes the blind man wise NS .
The Lord erects the bottom e fervent, the Lord loves the righteous.
Lord keeps come e lice, s and ra and widow at and meth and the path of sinful ruins and T.
The Lord will reign for ever, your God, for Zion, for generations and generations.

Senior:

Brethren:
A min.

Senior:
E heterogeneous C NS not, and to the Word of God, He is immortal. And iz O shower of our salvation for the sake of incarnation and yip from the Holy Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary, immature O It is Incarnated. Crucified, Christ God, death trampled death but out. One of the same Holy Trinity, glorified by the Father and the Holy Spirit, save us.

Senior:
In Thy Kingdom, remember us, Lord, when you come in Thy Kingdom.

Brethren:
Thank the poor in spirit, for those are the Kingdom of Heaven.
The blessings of crying, yako tii ut e shit.
The blessings of the little ones, for e are eating the earth.
The blessings of hunger and thirst for righteousness, as they will be satisfied.
The blessings of mercy, as there will be pardons.

Reader - reads a verse sixth voice:
Pray for me, my God my Savior, when and deshi in Thy Kingdom, and save me, as there is only one Humanitarian.

Brethren:
Bless a pure heart, like God at see.

Reader - reads a verse sixth voice:
By the roar of the deceived Adam, By the tree godfather, you saved the thief and the robber, cry Yu schA: remembered and me, Lord, in Thy Kingdom.

Brethren:
Thank you peacemakers, as with NS they will be called the new of God.

Reader - reads a verse sixth voice:
A dova gate but and faith and crush and Thou Life-Giver, Thou hast resurrected all the Savior cry Yu shia: glory to Thy uprising.

Brethren:
Bless exile but not for the sake of truth, since those are the Kingdom of Heaven.

Reader - reads a verse sixth voice:
Remember me AND same death captive and by Thy burial, and by Thy Resurrection all joy is used O lazy, like Blagutr O Ben.

Brethren:
Eats good e , always mon O are fed to you, and worn out at t, and rivers at t every evil verb at you, lzh at shche men e for the sake of.

Reader - reads a verse sixth voice:
M iron bearers to gr O boo come e dsha, angel's call at schA sl NS shahu: Christ is risen, skylight and out sun I cheskaya.

Brethren:
Rejoice and be merry, as your wages are mine O ha in heaven e NS.

Reader - reads a verse sixth voice:
N a dr e ve cr e stnem nail and stepped in, and the world from the delusion of the one who has redeemed, according to all Christ and m.

Senior:
Lava to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Reader - reads threefold sixth voice:
Oh, we glorify the Son, and the Holy Spirit, saying: Holy Trinity, save d at shy is ours.

Senior:
And now and forever and forever and ever.

Reader - reads the Theotokos sixth voice:
Unspoken e but in the last place e nshi, and having given birth to Thy Creator, Virgo, save Thy magnifying one.

Brethren:

Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us.
Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us.

Reader - reads prokeimen sixth voice:
P roquemen, Psalm of David, voice sixth.
With feed the Lord, Thy people, and bless Thy inheritance.
To You, Lord, I will call, my God, but do not keep silent from me.

Reader:
Reading of the Acts of the Saints.

(Or: the Epistle of John [Petrov] reading. And it is not customary to say which epistle is the first, the second, or the third. Or: To the Romans [To the Corinthians; To Galat; To Timothy, etc.] the Epistle of the Holy Apostle Paul reading )

The elder reads the Apostle.

Reader:
And lleluia, voice sixth.
Brethren:

The Reader - Reads the Alleluiarium sixth voice:
Zh iv NS th in p O power in NS shnyago, in the cr O ve God of Heavenly abode and tsya.
Brethren:
And lleluia, halleluia, halleluia

The Reader - continues to read the halleluiarium sixth voice:
The Lord speaks: Thou art my protector and my refuge, my God, and hope but yu on Him.
Brethren:
And lleluia, halleluia, halleluia

Brethren:
Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy.

Senior:
O t [Matthew; Brand; Luke; John] Holy Gospel reading.
Brethren:
-bow-

The elder reads the Sunday Gospel:
"At about time it ..."

Brethren:
Glory to Thee, Lord, glory to Thee. -bow-

Brethren:
Lord have mercy. (40 times)- read instead of the augmented litany

Senior:
Lava to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. And now and forever and forever and ever.
Brethren:
A min.

Reader:
H forgive those who hate and offend us, Lord Human-loving.
Benevolent welfare.
To our brethren and our relatives, grant as well for salvation the request and eternal life.
In the wickedness of existence (names) visit and grant healing.
Even in the sea yppavi.
Traveling (names) travel.
Grant forgiveness to those who serve and have mercy on us sins.
Who have commanded us unworthy to pray for them (names) have mercy according to your great mercy.
Remember, Lord, the brethren of our captives, and I save them from every situation.
Remember, O Lord, those who bear fruit and do good in Your holy churches, and give them even petition for salvation and eternal life.
Remember, O Lord, and us, humble and sinful and unworthy of Thy servants, and illumine our ym with the light of Thy mind, and guide us on the path of Thy commandments, with the prayers of our Most Pure Lady, the God-Mother and Virgin Mary: I am the Blessed Saints of all Thy ages. ...
Brethren:
A min.

Brethren:
Pray for us, Lord, when you come in Thy Kingdom. -bow-
Pray for us, Master, when you come to Thy Kingdom. -bow-
Pray for us, Holy One, when you come to Thy Kingdom. -bow-

Reader:
The heavenly Lik sings Thee and says: Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts, isp O Lying heaven and earth of Thy glory. Come to Him and be enlightened, and your faces will not be ashamed. The face of heaven sings Thee and says: Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts, fill heaven and earth with Thy glory.

Senior:
Lava to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Reader:
Lik of the saints The Angel and Archangel with all the heavenly powers sings Thee and says: Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts, fill heaven and earth with Thy glory.

Senior:
And now and forever and forever and ever.
Brethren:
A min.

Brethren:
In erau in the One God the Father, Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, visible to all and invisible. And in the One Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Only Begotten, Who was born of the Father e nago before all ages; Light from Light, God True from God True, born e nna, uncreated e nna, Consubstantial with the Father, Imzhe all b NS sha. For us, for the sake of man and for our salvation, he descended from heaven and incarnated from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became human. Rasp I the same for us at Pontus and Istem Pilate, and suffered and was buried. And he rose again on the third day according to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven and gray I conductive odesn at yu Father. And n but ki ridge at with glory judgment and you're alive NS m and m e mouthful, His Kingdom will have no end. And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Life-giving, who is from the Father who proceeds, who are spoklan with the Father and the Son I ema and ssl but Vima, Who spoke the prophets. In one Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. I confess one baptism for the remission of sins. I tea the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the century to come. Amen.

Senior:
O weak, forgive, God forgive us, our sins, voluntary and involuntary, even in word and in deed, even in knowledge and not in knowledge, even in days and nights, even in mind and thought, forgive us all, as it is Good and Humanitarian.

Brethren:
Oh, ours, Thou art in heaven! Hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, as in heaven and on earth. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, as we also leave our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

Senior:
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us.
Brethren:
A min.

Reader - reads Sunday kontakion sixth voice:
The life-giver, having resurrected all Christ God, resurrection is a gift to the human race: there is a Savior for all, resurrection and a life, and God of all.

Brethren:
Lord have mercy. (12 times)- read instead of a supplicatory litany

Senior:
Lava to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. And now and forever and forever and ever.
Brethren:
A min.

Senior:
In the Holy Trinity, Consubstantial Power, Indivisible Kingdom, all good Wines, please also be a sinner about me, confirm, understand my heart, and take all my defilement, enlighten my thought, so I will take it out, I sing, I bow down and say: One is Holy, One Lord, Jesus Christ, to the glory of God the Father.
Brethren:
A min.

Senior:
In erau, Lord, and ispov e I blow, as if you are truly Christ, the Son of God Lives but ho, come e entering the world to save sinners, from them I am the first. I still believe that This is Your Most Pure Body, and This is C but May Honest but I am Your Blood. I pray for You: have mercy on me, and forgive me my sins, voluntary and involuntary, even in word, even in deed, even in e denier and nev e denier; and spod O bi me uncondemnedly to partake of Thy Most Pure Sacraments, for the remission of sins and into eternal life.
Brethren:
A min.

Senior:
IN e cheer yours I T but This day, Son of God, we will receive my partaker and ; not b O your enemy is the secret of the e m, I will give no kiss to Ty, like Judas, but like a robber Ispov e I give Cha: remember and me, Lord, in Thy Kingdom.
Brethren:
A min.

The elder receives communion himself and after that he gives communion to the laity with spare Holy Gifts.
Communion, senior says:
The servant of God (name) of the Honest and Holy Body and Blood of the Lord and God and our Savior Jesus Christ is given, for the remission of his sins and for Eternal Life. Amen.

Brethren (during communion):
Receive the body of Christ and those of the source of immortal taste and those.

After communion, the elder says:
-bow-
Bless the Name of the Lord is blessed from now and to everlasting -bow-
Bless the Name of the Lord is blessed from now and to everlasting -bow-

Senior:
Lava to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. And now and forever and forever and ever.
Brethren:
A min.

The reader reads Psalm 33:
I will bless the Lord at all times, in NS well praise him e x mine.
About the Lord of praise but my soul is pouring, let them hear the cr O ttsyi and rejoice.
Exalt the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name vk at ne.
Seeking the Lord and hearing me, and deliver me from all my troubles.
Attack and those to Him and enlighten yourself, and your faces will not be ashamed.
This beggar cried out, and the Lord heard and, and saved him from all sorrows e and.
Militia and The angel of the Lord is around them that fear him, and he will deliver them.
Taste and see how good the Lord is; blessed is the husband, whoever trusts nan.
Fear the Lord, of all His sanctity, for there is no deprivation for those who fear Him.
God but tii impoverished and hungry, those who seek the Lord will not be deprived of all bl but ha.

Brethren:
D ostnoy is like truly blessed Thee, Mother of God, Ever-Blessed and Most Immaculate and Mother of our God. The most honest Cherubim and the most glorious without comparison Seraphim, who gave birth to God the Word without corruption, we magnify the Mother of God.

Brethren:
Lava to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. And now and forever and forever and ever. Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy. Bless.

Senior:
In Oskres NS th from the dead, Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, praying His Most Pure I M but tere, holy Apostle of love John the Theologian and other saints and all-praised Apostle, holy (name of the saint of the given day), saints and righteous Godfather Joachim and Anna and all saints, have mercy and save us, as good and philanthropist.
Brethren:
A min.