Brief information about Orthodox worship
Contents

Prayer alone and with the Church

In the temple

On the choir

Liturgical Song Terminology

What are we praying for? Core of Church Services

Gospels in worship

Psalter in worship

Creators of church hymns

Language of Worship

Participation of the people in worship

“Let’s become kinder!”

“From the morning watch until night” – the time of worship

Vespers. “Coming to the West of the Sun”

Compline. “And grant us, O Master, our future sleep…”

Midnight Office. “At midnight I rose to confess to You”

Matins. “To you in the morning”

All-night vigil. “And at night his song is from me”

Clock. “With the sevenfold day we praise Thee about the destinies of Thy righteousness”

Divine Liturgy. “Holy of Holies”

Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts

Great Lent. “Покаяния отверзи ми двери”

Holy Week. “Слава страстем Твоим, Господи”

Easter of Christ. “Christ is Risen!”

Prayer alone and with the Church

God is with us everywhere. His dominion is in every place. By it we live, move and have our being. “Thou art near, O Lord” (Ps. 119:151). If we were not distracted by attention, the consciousness of the omnipresence of God would be in us constantly, no matter where we are.

Always with God means always in prayer. This is what we are commanded to do. “He spoke a parable to them, as was fitting
“Pray always and do not lose heart,” the evangelist narrates about the Lord’s instructions to His disciples (Luke 18:1). “Pray without ceasing,” commands the Apostle Paul (1 Thess. 5:17). The holy ascetics lived in such almost unceasing prayer and offering up to God (interrupted sometimes only by necessity), and perhaps very few of God’s people still live today. In ancient times, there were so-called monasteries of the never-sleeping, in which the divine service, performed by shifts of monks or nuns, did not stop for an hour.

We are distracted by the worries of the day. The wide world lives its own life, restless, full of earthly interests, fussy, capturing us too. Worldly attachments and necessary labor absorb the attention of the majority. You need to renounce the world and the bustle of the day, at least for a short time, in order to concentrate your thoughts on God and ascend to Him with your mind and heart in prayer. In the language of the Church, this is called “entering your cell,” into the cell of your soul, according to the words of the Savior: “But when you pray, enter
to your cage
and having shut the doors behind you, pray to your Father who is in the secret” (Matthew 6:6).

Each of us needs our own personal prayer, private, at home. This can be, and usually is, morning prayer and evening prayer: morning prayer – thanksgiving, laudatory, petitionary; evening: – repentance and parting words for sleep. But in addition to personal prayer, a person yearns for common prayer with other people, participation in public worship. “Where two or three are gathered in My name, there am I in the midst of them,” said the Lord (Matthew 18:20). He prayed to His Father: “That they may be one… just as We are one” (John 17:21). Our unity is achieved by glorifying God with one mouth and one heart. “I will glorify You in a great congregation, among a multitude of people I will praise You,” prayed the Old Testament psalmist (Ps. 34:18, 21:26); His words are also reproduced by the Christian Church.

We Christians constitute one body of the Church, one house of God. “Christ is like the Son in the house
Yours;
and we are His house” (Heb. 3:6). Behold, there is a different world, different from the world of vanity, temptations and earthly worries. This is the holy world, the property of God. He is the Church of Christ.

We find this other world, the house of God on earth, the world of prayer, unity in God, in the temple. The Christian Orthodox church is the threshold on earth of the heavenly temple described in the Revelation of St. ap. John the Theologian. “In the temple worth Your glory, stand in heaven,” we hear in the Lenten prayer. When a bloodless Sacrifice is offered in the temple, then “the powers of heaven serve with us invisibly,” and then merge into one heavenly temple with the earthly one. And each of us remains to unite with the heavenly and earthly Church in worship in church with all our soul, mind and heart.

But in order to achieve this, it is very important and necessary to delve into the content of the service, to go deeper into it. Worship has an uplifting, mysterious great power. Perceived consciously and with love, it purifies the heart, strengthens the will in goodness, perfects, fills the soul with faith and love for God and unites it with heaven in the united praise of God.

In the temple

Each Christian denomination has its own temples or places of prayer meeting, the very structure of which expresses their understanding of the idea of ​​the Church. Orthodox churches express the Orthodox-Catholic understanding of this idea. We clearly find this in the words of St. Paul: “You have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, to the heavenly Jerusalem and to thousands of angels, to the triumphant assembly and church of the firstborn who are written in heaven” (Heb. 12:22-23). Here is our close, living and constant communication with the heavenly Church.

Let us pay attention to the internal division of the temple. The altar is separated by an iconostasis from the middle part of the temple. The altar is intended for the celebration of the Divine Liturgy, like the upper room of the Last Supper. God is glorified in every place of the temple, but the altar is especially a place of glorification of the Holy Trinity. Celebrations and glorification of the “saints” take place in the middle part of the temple. From here the distinction between glory becomes clear: the glory of God and our glorification of the saints. “Glory, honor and power belong to You alone” – this is how it is constantly proclaimed in the church in different forms of expression. Almost every prayer, doxology and litany ends with similar words.

Glorifying God, we also glorify the Most Holy Theotokos, we praise the memory of the saints of God. Here is the glory reflected. We see in their holiness a manifestation of God’s power and a reflection of God’s holiness. Thus, the Word of God commanded us to glorify the saints: “Praise God in His saints” (Ps. 150:1), the psalmist calls, “This glory will be to all His saints.” And again: “the saints will be praised in glory” (Ps. 149:5). The Savior testifies to this in His prayer to God the Father: “And the words that You gave Me, I gave them” (John 17:8). “They are now before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple” (Rev. 7:15). By glorifying the saints, the Church thereby glorifies God, who rests in the saints. “For you are holy and rest among the saints, and we send up glory to you, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,” proclaims the Church. “Through the prayers of all Thy saints and the Mother of God, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us.”

The fullness of the glorification of God in Orthodox worship can be expressed in the words of the psalm: “Bless my soul the Lord, and all that is within me, His holy name” (Ps. 102:1). My entire inner being is the abilities of the soul. All the best and noble forces of the soul are called to participate in the praise of the Lord. Hence the glorification of the Lord in the temple with reading, singing, artistic depictions and everything that adds splendor to the worship service and the very appearance of the temple. The existence of holy icons and images in churches is based on the psychological need for various forms of glorifying God. This form of glorification is completely legitimate, as evidenced by its antiquity and miraculous phenomena.

They will ask: if this is so, why don’t we have music and statues in our temples? There are reasons for this, for which the Eastern Church has never allowed them. Instrumental music can, when performed well, overwhelm the will and enchant. General singing makes a person an active participant in the service; music, on the contrary, makes him passive. As for statues, due to their materiality and physicality, they are little suitable for expressing the life of the spirit. This can already be seen from the fact that the sculpture does not give expression to the eyes, but the soul and spirit are most reflected in the eyes.

On the choir

On the choir lectern there are books prepared for the next service. In first place is the Book of Hours (Collection), a necessary book that contains the constant material of each service, that is, what is read and sung daily. Psalms occupy especially a lot of space in it. In the Book of Hours we will find the general order of Vespers, Compline, Midnight Office, Matins, Hours, as well as various additional chants that are important for the reader to have on hand.

For most of the year, one of the two voluminous volumes of the Octoechos (or the volume of the “Great Collection” that replaces it) lies on the choir. The Greek word Octoechos means “Osmoglasik.” It contains those parts of each church public service that relate to certain days of the week and Sunday. Each day of the week has its own sacred memories: Monday is the day of the Ethereal Heavenly Powers, Tuesday is the Forerunner of the Lord John, Wednesday and Friday are the days of the betrayal of the Savior and His death on the cross, Thursday is the day of the Apostles and St. Nicholas, Saturday is All Saints and the remembrance of the dead. On Sunday the day of Christ’s resurrection is celebrated. The entire material of Octoechos is divided into eight parts, corresponding to eight church tunes, or voices. Therefore, the weekly chants of the Octoechos are repeated again every eight weeks on the ninth.

What are voices? These are certain tunes coming from the church past. Octoconciliation came to us from Christian Byzantium. But in practice there are much more tunes than eight. This happens because in the same voice we usually sing troparia in one tune, and stichera in another. Antiquity has given us the melodies of Greek, Bulgarian, Serbian, Novgorod, Moscow and Kyiv voices. Muscovite Rus’ created its own tunes or shades, and Kievan Russia created its own. As a result, a variety of melodies was created, which our Church still uses today. Let’s add to this a large number of chants that have their own melodies that belong only to them (self-harmony). Finally, there are tunes accepted by the Church that belong to strictly defined groups of chants (“similar”). Here we do not touch upon the musical compositions of church composers of modern times.

Octoechos himself in his main song content belongs to St. John of Damascus.

The third of the choir table books is the Menaion (“min” in Greek – month), namely the Monthly Menaion for the current month (or abbreviated – the Festive Menaion). It contains chants related to each day of the calendar year, i.e. to the gospel or church event remembered on a given day or to the memory of the saints of the day.

During the days of Great Lent, the Octoechos gives way to the Lenten Triodion (Triodion means “three-song,” according to some of the hymns in it under this name). In the days from Easter to the resurrection after the day of the Holy Trinity, inclusive, the Octoechos is replaced by the Colored Triodion.

From this we get three liturgical circles: a) fixed, or daily, drawn mainly from the Book of Hours; b) weekday, – the readings and chants of which are contained in the Octoechos and in the Lenten or Colored Triodions; c) annual, replenishing and diversifying the daily-weekly services: its material is found in 12 volumes of the Menaion.

Divine services are still being coordinated with the celebration of Easter. These are wide periodic circles of 28 and 532 years, according to which the day of Easter is set for each year. This “Easter” coordinates the yearly cycle with the Easter cycle and the timing of the spring movement of worship, which takes about 4 months of the year.

On the choir there are also the Apostle, the Psalter and other books. For private services there is a Trebnik. It includes the rites of the sacraments of baptism, confirmation, confession, consecration of oil, marriage, burial, consecration of the temple and various liturgical and other items and other sequences.

The complex charter for combining the three circles of worship into one whole, taking into account Easter, is found in a special book called the Typikon. The Typikon, or otherwise the Church Charter (sample), harmonizes the material of the three circles according to the importance of the events of a given day or the memory of a Saint.

The primary book for worship is the Gospel. She is not on the choir. As a particularly sacred book, it is located on a throne in the altar. To read it, the clergyman himself removes it from the throne.

The liturgical book used by the priest for prayers and sacred rites is called the Missal.

Liturgical Song Terminology

In alphabetical order, we will explain the most common names of chants and moments of worship.

1. Akathist, in Slavic “unsaddled,” when reading or singing it, it is forbidden to sit. Akathist is a hymn of praise consisting of 24 songs, according to the number of letters of the Greek alphabet. The akathist alternates shorter songs – kontakia – with longer ones – ikos. Each ikos includes from 6 to 12 lines of praise, usually beginning when addressing the Mother of God or the Saint, with the word “Rejoice.”

2. Antiphons – verses intended for alternate singing by two faces (choirs). We hear antiphons at Sunday and holiday matins (for example, “From my youth,” here they are called “sedate”), and also sometimes at the Liturgy.

3. Theotokos – songs in honor of the Mother of God. The songs that depict the crying of the Mother of God at the cross of Her Son are called the Theotokos of the Cross: they are found in the services of Wednesday and Friday. The groups of troparions, stichera, and sedals end with the Theotokos. The glorification of the Mother of God and an appeal to Her intercession permeates the entire divine service. An expression of hope for her prayerful help ends both the internal sections of the services, including the litanies, and each service separately. The Theotokos is often preceded by a doxology of the Holy Trinity: “Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages, Amen.”

4. Dogmatists – octoechos of the Theotokos, placed at the end of the stichera on “I cried to the Lord” in the Sunday service of Little or Great Vespers and sometimes on other holidays. They are called dogmatists because they, along with praise to the Most Holy Theotokos, contain dogmatic teaching about the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.

5. Litany – translated from Greek, “diligence, diligence.” This is a prayer said by a priest or deacon, consisting of a series of petitions. The people or the crowd responds to every request by singing “Lord, have mercy” or “Give, Lord.”

Litany are of the following types:

a) great: “Let us pray to the Lord in peace,”

b) aggravated, with three or multiple “Lord, have mercy”,

c) small, short, beginning with the words “Let us pray again and again in peace to the Lord,”

d) pleading, with the singing “Give, Lord.”

6. Zadostoynik – a chant that is sung at the Liturgy instead of “It is worthy to eat as truly,” after the moment of the transubstantiation of the Holy Gifts. The irmos of the ninth song of the canon of Matins of this holiday with its chorus serves as the Zadostoynik.

7. Figurative – a short sequence beginning with psalms: 102, “Bless the Lord, my soul” (Ps. 102:1), and 145, “Praise the Lord, my soul” (Ps. 146:1). It is performed when the Liturgy is not supposed to be celebrated before Vespers. From this name the most indicated two psalms, sung at the beginning of the Liturgy, are called “pictorial” psalms. Sometimes, for some reason, a sequence of pictorial ones is substituted for the Divine Liturgy: in these cases it is usually called the “lunch service.”

8. The canon (from Greek – rule, sample) represents a song creation consisting of 9 parts, or songs. Some canons consist of an incomplete number of songs: 8, four, three, two. Each hymn is composed of an irmos, performed by singing, and a number of troparions read. Each canon is dedicated to one subject of glorification or prayer: the glory of the Most Holy Trinity, an evangelical event, prayer to the Most Holy Theotokos, the blessing of a saint. The canons are compiled according to a certain scheme: the model for each song is a song of the Old Testament Holy Scripture, which has an educational meaning for the New Testament.

Irmos of the first song recalls the miraculous crossing of the Red Sea (Exodus 15:1–19). Irmos II is sung only during Great Lent. It is based on the material of the accusatory song of Moses in the wilderness (Deut. 32: 1–44). The third Irmos is on the song of thanksgiving to Anna, the mother of the prophet Samuel, for giving her a son (1 Samuel 2:1-10). Irmos of the fourth Christian interprets the visions of the prophet. Habakkuk of the Lord God in the brilliance of sunlight (Habakkuk 3:2–19). The fifth Irmos is on Isaiah’s vision of the bright coming of the Savior, raising the dead (Is. 26:9–21). Irmos sixth on the story of the prophet Jonah, reminiscent of our immersion in the abyss of sins. The Irmos of the seventh and eighth songs is based on the song of the three youths thrown into the Babylonian cave, a pre-depiction of Christian martyrdom. The ninth Irmos adjoins the song of the Mother of God “My soul magnifies the Lord” and contains the magnification of Her and the glorification of the seedless birth of the Son of God from Her.

In the early days of the Church, Old Testament songs were sung in their entirety. The canons were compiled later and were placed between the songs of the Old Testament, as they are now at Matins of the first week of Great Lent. Gradually, the canons replaced the Old Testament songs, preserving only their content in the irmos.

9. Katavasia – this is the name of the irmos of the canon, which are sung at the end of each song of the canon. The charter requires that the singers of both choirs converge in the middle of the church to sing katavasia. Katavasia, in Greek, “convergence.”

10. Kathismas – divisions of the Psalter. All 150 psalms of the Psalter make up 20 kathismas. This word means “sitting,” since during their reading at Matins one is allowed to sit.

11. Kontakion and Ikos.

Kontakion is a short praise of a saint or holiday. The place of the kontakion is at Matins after the 6th song of the canon. Since the kontakion expresses the essence of a given remembrance of the day, it is performed at almost all services: at Matins, hours, at the Liturgy, at visual services, at Compline. The festive kontakion in the canon usually has an ikos after it.

Ikos is a chant slightly larger than kontakion. It also contains praise, but at the same time, reasons for honoring are often added to them: either historical, or everyday, or others. Ikos is an addition to the kontakion and is never read separately during worship.

12. Litiya (prayer) – a prayer sequence included in the All-Night Vigil on major holidays at the end of Vespers. It consists of singing stichera, litanies with repeated “Lord, have mercy” and a special prayer. The clergy perform it in the vestibule of the temple. Litiya is also performed outside the temple during religious processions. There is also a Litiya about the dead; it is a short funeral service for the dead.

13. Blameless – 17th kathisma of the Psalter, so called from the initial words: “Blessed are the blameless on their way” (Ps. 119:1).

14. Paraklisis – a canon to the Mother of God, sung in all spiritual sorrow, otherwise “comforting” (the more commonly used one begins with the irmos “Water has passed through” and the troparion “We contain many adversities”).

15. Parastas (standing) – a service for the dead, built on the type of Matins.

16. Parables (parables, allegories) – readings from the Holy Scriptures, mainly from the Old Testament, figurative or prophetic, sometimes simply edifying.

17. Similar: such an inscription is constantly found above individual hymns in menaions, triodions and other books. It means that this chant is composed, in terms of poetic size, number of verses and the content itself, according to the model of another, main one, which is immediately indicated. The melody of the performance follows his pattern. Chants that have their own independent structure and their own special melody are sometimes called “self-concordant.” Self-similar in Slavic liturgical books are two or three chants that are almost similar to each other, often having the same beginning and end.

18. Polyeleos – in Slavic “much merciful” (How merciful is the Lord!) is the solemn part of Matins, performed with the royal doors open and in the light of the chandelier, ps. 134, “Praise the name of the Lord” (Ps. 134:1), and ps. 135, “Confess the Lord” (Ps. 135:1), or individual verses from these psalms.

19. Communion – the verse that is sung at the Liturgy after “One is holy, One is the Lord,” when the communion of the clergy is celebrated in the altar.

20. Prokeimenon (placed in front) – one or another saying from Holy Scripture (usually from the Psalter) accompanied by one or more verses. It is pronounced by the reader and then repeated in chorus before the reading of the Apostle, Gospel, and proverb. The meaning of the prokeimenon corresponds to the reading that follows it. The Church calls for attention with the cry “Wisdom, let us attend!”

21. Stichera – chants, usually several of them, in honor of the celebrated event or saint. They are called stichera because in most cases they are distributed between the final verses of psalms or have verses of Holy Scripture in front of them. So, with the group of evening psalms, “Lord, I have cried to You” (Ps. 29:3), they are called “stichera on the Lord I have cried.” With a group of morning psalms, “Praise the Lord from heaven” (Ps. 149:1), are called “stichera on praises.”

22. Troparion – “conversion” can be a “wreath”. This is the name of the main hymn that expresses the essence of the holiday. It contains the glorification of an event or saint, crowning him with praises. This troparion is more precisely called the “dismissal” troparion. In other cases there are entire groups тропарей-похвал. Песни канонов состоят из ирмоса и идущих за ним тропарей. В пасхальном каноне эти тропари поются, а в остальных канонах читаются.

О чем молимся?

Богослужебный материал Православной Церкви очень богат. Имеются в употреблении тысячи священных гимнов, не считая многих, отошедших уже в прошлое. Каково же содержание этого богатого материала?

Молитва есть беседа с God and His saints, essentially similar to a conversation with people. We express our thoughts and feelings, we ask for forgiveness, we thank, we praise, we ask for help. The main elements of its content are:

a) praise, glorification of God, glorification of the Mother of God, pleasing the saints

b) thanksgiving to the Lord;

c) repentance, contrition in falls, in sins;

d) in the narrow sense of the word prayer: a request for help, for deliverance from mental and physical infirmities, from dangers, prayer for salvation, prayer for each other, for the Church, for the people, for the whole world. As a special department of prayers for our neighbors – a prayer for our deceased fathers, brothers and sisters, for their forgiveness and repose;

e) the most important element of worship: reverent acceptance of the grace-filled sacraments, sacred words and prayers, during which the life-giving powers of heavenly grace are taught;

f) appeal to one’s own soul, edification of oneself and others, exhortation to vigilance, to firmness, to patience, to hope, to contrition for sins;

g) sacred memories of the events of the Old Testament and New Testament, the exploits of the apostles, martyrs and all saints;

In almost all prayer requests we see a combination of different elements of prayer, i.e. our petitions to God, combined with repentance, or thanksgiving, or glorification, etc.

The main core of church services

Just as every structure has its own center, just as a plant has a root, a trunk has a core, and a fruit has a grain, so worship has its own core, core. The grain does not lose its strength, although due to its small size it may become invisible in an overgrown plant. Likewise, in worship we do not always notice the main core of a given prayer due to the diversity of its content. The core of church rites is the prayer of glorification of the Most Holy Trinity. In the rites, the penultimate part is central in its significance. This prayer center consists of a series of short prayerful aspirations to the Holy Trinity: the thrice repeated “Holy God”, or the trisagion, or twice repeated doxology “Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” and the prayer “The Most Holy Trinity”; followed by the triple “Lord, have mercy,” the Lord’s Prayer “Our Father,” which also closes with the glorification of the Holy Trinity: “For Thine is the kingdom.” This entire prayer group is called briefly: “The Trisagion – according to Our Father.” Here there is the highest doxology, expressed by the words of the angels “Holy, Holy, Holy,” once heard by the prophet. Isaiah. In these condensed prayers there is also an intense request for God’s mercy – sevenfold “have mercy”, “cleanse”, “visit”, “heal”. And the prayer “Our Father” itself, with its brevity, conveys, one might say, the content of all our church prayers, it contains a petition both for the whole world and for ourselves.

In everyday, simpler services it is easier to trace the presence of this prayer core. It is not so clear in the festive Matins and Liturgy. In the festive matins, its place is taken by the “great doxology,” which is also the glorification of the Most Holy Trinity, with the addition of the Trisagion and “Glory to the Father…” In the Divine Liturgy, we hear the singing of the Trisagion after the beginning, and the Our Father is closer to the end, and the entire service is an almost continuous glorification of the Holy Trinity.

The indicated chain of prayers: “Holy God” – “Our Father” – is also called the initial prayers. We begin our morning and evening prayers at home with them. They begin each group of services in the temple. The glorification of the Most Holy Trinity is also expressed in the frequent trinity of prayer combinations. In any service, at the beginning of it, we hear three times “Come, let us worship,” three psalms, three times triple “Alleluia,” three times “Lord, have mercy.” The same trinity of combinations is found in the middle and end of the services.

What is the basic plan for building church services? Let’s take the simplest of them: the hours, or Compline, or the Midnight Office. In each of them, the beginning consists of psalms, followed by troparia or stichera with the Theotokos, after them or before them – the core of the services “The Trisagion according to Our Father,” and in conclusion one or two prayers. This pattern can also be seen in more complex sequences. It is important to keep in mind the central significance of the short glorifications of the Holy Trinity in order to understand the most sublime structure of our worship and to see the presence of lower and higher levels in it.

Gospels in Worship

The main source of worship is the Holy Scripture, and in it from the New Testament – the Gospel; from the Old Testament – Psalms. In addition to special readings of the Gospel from the pulpit, it is presented in the very content of the service so richly that, one might say, not a single line from it was left out. You hear in daily worship many gospel lines and groups of verses included in it almost unchanged.

“Rejoice, full of grace, the Lord is with you, blessed are you among women”: from the greeting of Arch. Gabriel to the Virgin Mary (Luke 1:28). These words are included in the prayer “Rejoice, Virgin Mary.”

“Now you are releasing Your servant, O Master, according to Your word in peace…” – the whole song of Simeon the God-Receiver (Luke 2:29).

“My soul magnifies the Lord…” (Luke 1:46) – the entire song of the Mother of God at Her meeting with the righteous Elizabeth. It is sung at Matins.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit” (Matthew 5:3) – the Beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount. They are sung at the liturgy or read at some other services.

“Our Father”, the Lord’s Prayer, is included in every service; in some services it is read twice or more; in Great Compline, it is repeated five times.

“God, be merciful to me a sinner” (Luke 18:10) – the prayer of the publican.

“Remember me, O Lord, in Your kingdom” (Luke 23:42) – the words of the prudent thief on the cross.

“Lord, save me” (Matthew 14:30) – the words of drowning Peter.

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord” (Matthew 21:9), and

“Hosanna in the highest” (Matthew 21:9) is a popular greeting at the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem.

“Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace…” (Luke 2:14) the song of the angels at the birth of the Savior.

“Take, eat, this is My Body… Drink of it, all of you, this is My Blood…” (Matthew 26:26-28) – the words of the Lord at the establishment of the sacrament of communion at the Last Supper.

“In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” – words from the commandment of baptism given by the Lord: “baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19).

And finally, we so often hear in the temple the words of the Canaanite woman, the blind man, lepers and other persons to the Lord Jesus Christ: “Lord, have mercy… Jesus, have mercy.” Just as they persistently asked the Lord for mercy and were heard for this faith, so we repeatedly ask the Lord with these simple words of theirs. Such prayer, with the priest indicating what to pray for, is called litany, that is, intensified, diligent prayer. When we hear these calls, “Let us pray again and again in peace to the Lord,” or “With all our hearts, with all our thoughts,” then we need to intensify our attention and prayerful mood, and pray while standing.

In addition, we are constantly given images from the Gospel, especially of a repentant nature: the publican, the prodigal son, the prudent thief, the wise virgins, the tax collector Zacchaeus… All the most important gospel events and many parables form the themes of hymns throughout the day and even weeks dedicated to the Lord’s and the Theotokos’ feasts, as well as the week about the Last Judgment, Thomas, the Paralytic, To the Samaritan Woman, about the Blind Man. The service is also full of thoughts, images, and expressions from the apostolic writings. It also includes entire verses, for example, the blessing of St. Paul: “The grace of the Lord…” (Rom. 16:24), or St. Peter: “To Him be the glory and the dominion” (1 Peter 5:11). From the Revelation of St. John the Theologian: “Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God Almighty (Sabaoth).” “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power” (Rev. 4:8, 11).

Psalter in worship

Of the Old Testament Scriptures, the Psalter comes first. She is the constant companion of a Christian and church-wide prayer. St. Athanasius of Alexandria writes that “The Book of Psalms, like a garden, contains in itself what has already been planted in all other books, and has objects that only belong to it. What, for example, is described in the 1st chapter of Genesis, it sings in the 18th psalm and others. In addition, it has the amazing feature that it describes and depicts the movements of each soul, their changes and methods of correction, so that everyone who wishes can understand and learn from it, as from an image. Whoever reads other books pronounces what is written not as his own words, but as the words of holy men or those about whom they speak. But whoever reads the psalter pronounces all the psalms (except for the prophecies about the Savior and the pagans) as if he were his own words, sings them as if they were written about him, by him and on his behalf. Considering his mental movements and dispositions, anyone who wishes finds in the psalms healing and correction for each of his movements.”

St. Basil the Great says: “The book of psalms contains in itself what is useful from all books. She prophesies about the future, brings to mind events of the past, gives laws of life, offers rules for activity… Verses from psalms are sung in homes and proclaimed in marketplaces. The psalm is the silence of souls, the ruler of the world, it quenches rebellious and worried thoughts… The psalm is a weapon in night insurance, peace from daytime labors. The psalm populates the deserts and makes the marketplaces healthy. He is the voice of the Church. He makes the celebrations bright… There is perfect theology here.”

Let us cite another argument belonging to St. Gregory of Nyssa. “What a pleasant companion for people is the prophet David, who meets us on all the paths of life! How well he adapts to every spiritual age and shares all kinds of activities! He has fun with the children of God, labors with men, instructs young men, strengthens elders, everything happens to everyone: for warriors with weapons, for ascetics with instruction, for victors with a crown, at feasts with joy, at funerals with consolation. There is not a moment in our life that would be deprived such pleasant benefits of his. Is there any true prayer that David would not support? Is there any celebration that this prophet would not make bright?

Wouldn’t a modern Christian say the same about the psalter? In it he finds an echo not only of all the movements of his soul, his sorrows seeking consolation, hopes awaiting strengthening, and joys calling for thanksgiving and praise – but also a guide in the vicissitudes of social and state life and in world upheavals. The Psalter incessantly calls for repentance, for the fear of God, for fulfilling the commandments, for mercy and truth in relation to others.

In the Christian Church, many concepts and Old Testament terms are understood in a new, more perfect sense. That is why the holy fathers love to express their thoughts about the fight against the enemies of our salvation, against passions, against sinful falls, against evil spirits, in the words of the psalms, which speak of protection from enemies. It is not surprising, therefore, that the psalms occupy a large place in worship. Each service begins with psalms. In addition, the entire psalter is read at kathisma within one week, and during Great Lent twice within one week. A huge number of individual verses from the psalter are scattered throughout all circles of worship.

Readings are selected from other books of the Old Testament, mainly for parimations. During Great Lent, certain parts of Genesis, Proverbs and passages from the prophet Isaiah are read. During Holy Week, parts from the book of Exodus, Job, as well as the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel are read. Throughout the year we hear holiday readings from the prophets, book. Kings, Proverbs, Wisdom. Solomonova and others. In addition, from the Old Testament books, memories of various events, images of persons and phenomena of an edifying nature are drawn in brief transmission. For example, the canon of Rev. Andrew of Crete is filled with images from the Old Testament. It is read during the first and fifth weeks of Great Lent.

Creators of church hymns

Christian worship developed gradually, it has ancient and later parts. In addition to biblical material and the Gospel, it preserves the prayers and praises of the holy men of the Church, dating back to the first centuries of Christianity. At Vespers, for example, “Quiet Light,” which is mentioned by St. Martyr Athenogenes, 2nd century, at St. Basil the Great, its current form is attributed to Zephanius, Patr. Jerusalem 7th century. In the morning service of St. Athanasius the Great and the Apostolic Constitutions (2nd–5th centuries) point to the most ancient “Glory to God in the highest.” “Glory, even now” as a confession of the equality of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit comes from ancient times in contrast to Arianism. The main Eucharistic part of the Liturgy has been part of the Liturgy since ancient times: “Let us become kind… We have sorrow in our hearts… We thank the Lord… It is worthy and righteous to eat… Holy, holy, holy “, accompanying the Eucharistic prayer of the priest during the consecration of the Holy Gifts. The Eucharistic prayer has varied in expressions, remaining the same in essence. Further prayers up to the communion of the Holy Gifts are also ancient. The rite of the Liturgy, in its main features, is transmitted from St. Justin the Martyr, in the Apostolic Constitutions and most fully visible from the Liturgy of the first bishop of Jerusalem, James, brother of the Lord.

During the first millennium, many chants and prayers were composed, and they are still preserved in worship today. The heyday of this creativity dates back to the 7th–9th centuries, when St. John of Damascus, Cosmas of Maium, Roman the Sweet Singer. From the beginning of the life of the Church, verses of praise were composed in praise of the Savior, in praise of the martyrs, and others. Later ones wrote based on their samples. A new form of songwriting also appeared. And in many church books today, the names of their creators still remain above the chants. Let us name a number of these church writers. Anatoly, Patr. Constantinople (5th century), Ephraim the Syrian (4th century), Andrew of Crete (7th century), Cosmas of Maium, John of Damascus, Stefan Savvait, Simeon Metaphrastus, Theodore the Studite, Theophanes the Inscribed and many, many others…

Of the creators of many prayers, the name of St. should be put in first place. Basil the Great. His prayers were included in Compline and the Midnight Office, as well as the prayers of St. Joannikia, St. Macarius, Gregory of Sinai and others. The Russian Church also made its contribution to liturgical creativity. Carefully preserving the valuable heritage, many new services have been compiled here. These are the holiday services: Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, St. Nicholas on May 9; then services in honor of newly-minted Russian saints, in honor of the glorification of the miraculous icons of the Mother of God, on the occasion of the renovation of churches. Separate canons, akathists, and prayers were also compiled here. In the 15th century, a famous compiler was Pachomius the Serb. In the 16th century, on the occasion of the glorification of a large number of Russian saints, up to 40 services were compiled. The creativity of composing services continues to this day.

Language of Worship

The Church is a special world. Living among worldly society and earthly interests and being at the same time members of the Church of Christ, we live, as it were, in two spheres. The sphere of the Church provides such spiritual experiences, concepts, images that do not exist in the sphere of the world. Her speeches contain concepts that are little accessible to a person alien to the Church: pardon, salvation, redemption, the Kingdom of God, sins, transgressions, justification, repentance, contrition, grace, peace, humility, etc. One must enter with one’s soul into this spiritual realm, learn the spiritual language of the Church and at the same time the simple, dictionary meaning, that is, penetrate into the content of the concepts given. The Kingdom of the Church has the right to use its own language, just as each state has its own state language.

The Church Slavonic language may seem like a mediastinum for people who have not internalized a heart-religious state. Yes, in the Church Slavonic language there are words and expressions that have departed from our living speech. He has his own special grammar, unusual figures of speech for us. In chants, incomprehensible words and special arrangement of words are difficult. It would be possible to somewhat simplify such passages without violating the laws of the Slavic language. However, the Church Slavonic language is an ancient, precious, sacred and highly artistic language and cannot be replaced by the prosaic language of the world. To understand, we must not give up the effort to study it. We study foreign languages: how can we not study the language of our native Church? But in addition, in the very statement of incomprehensibility there are a number of misunderstandings.

First of all, there are some passages in Holy Scripture itself that by their nature require effort to understand. There are some psalms that are difficult to interpret or many unclear verses in them in their original Hebrew and Greek. The apostolic epistles require great concentration in some chapters. It should be borne in mind that translation into modern languages ​​often simplifies the text of messages, breaking complex syntactic structures into shorter ones; The Church Slavonic text adheres literally to the Greek text. Much may seem incomprehensible to those listening due to their ignorance of the Holy Scriptures. Scripture and poor knowledge of dogma. Similar things happen in works of secular thought. High works of artistic expression seem boring to laymen. There are different stages of spiritual culture in the church area. Ap. Paul wrote to the Corinthians: “I fed you with milk and not with solid food, for you were not yet able, and even now you are not able” (1 Cor. 3:2). But in the Epistle to the Hebrews he suggests something else: “leaving the beginnings of the teaching of Christ, let us hasten to perfection” (Heb. 6:1). Likewise, in our church services there is something accessible to everyone, but there is also something in-depth that is difficult to understand. It is revealed to persons standing closer to the temple.

The blessed fathers drew songwriting from their blessed souls, but their thoughts and feelings, due to our poverty, do not fully reach us. If we hear singing for the first time, even in our native language, then its content eludes us significantly. With repetition it becomes clearer. The temple is our school, the school of piety and the school of the language of the Church. By visiting it, being attentive, and making our own efforts, we have the opportunity to ascend from strength to strength not only in the moral sense, but also in the sense of general church education. Complaints about incomprehensibility were also heard in the ancient Church. What can be done to make the language of worship more accessible to everyone?

To do this you need:

On the part of the performers, the singing and reading in the church is as clear, correct, unhurried, and expressive as possible.

On the part of ordinary members of the Church, visit church as often as possible, and if possible, take part in reading and singing. Let us highly value the language of the Church and let us learn it. This is the path to churching, similar to how learning the language of the state is a necessary path to the nationalization of its citizens.

A liturgical book provides an excellent means of achieving this; it makes it possible to directly become familiar with the divine service. It will be a school and teacher of the Church Slavonic language, and if you read into it, then the incomprehensible will become understandable. And most importantly, it directs our thoughts to the greatest thing – to God, to eternal life, to our salvation. Let our home library not be deprived of a Church Slavonic section.

Participation of the people in worship

The regulations and complex composition of the divine service, its strict order, the requirements of splendor, the need to master Church Slavonic reading, knowledge of chants – all this requires special readers and singers in the church, the need for a choir and choirs. However, the presence of a choir does not exclude the participation of the people in worship. Since the times of the Apostles, the Orthodox Church has all participated in the performance of divine services under the leadership of clergy and under their primacy. The Apostolic Constitutions say: to every petition of the deacon, the people answer: “Lord, have mercy.” St. Justin (2nd century) writes: “When the primate has completed thanksgiving and prayers, all the people cry out: Amen.” St. Chrysostom claims that the people contribute a lot in prayers. When performing the sacraments, the priest prays for the people, and the people for the priest, as can be seen from the words: “with your spirit.” And the prayers of the Eucharist are general, for it is not just the priest who brings thanksgiving, but the whole people. And then St. Chrysostom says that we are all one body, and not to entrust everything to the priests alone, but we ourselves cared for the whole Church, as a body common to all of us.

St. Basil the Great speaks of the custom of antiphonal singing at the all-night vigil, when, divided into two parts, they sing alternately. Antiphonal singing was still in the Old Testament Church, and in the Christian Church it was introduced by St. Ignatius the God-Bearer. Another type of singing is when one singer begins, and the people continue or finish. Finally, the most common singing is when everyone sings. The main requirement is that reading and singing be consistent, correct, reverent, with the fear of God. The Sixth Ecumenical Council decreed: that those who come to church to sing should not use disorderly cries, unnatural shouting, and should not introduce anything unusual for the Church, but with great attention and tenderness should offer psalmody to God, who watches over the unseen (75 rights).

According to the covenant of the Fathers of the Church, it is not the voice of the one who sings that is pleasant, but the words spoken. Nowhere do they have a word about instrumental music, while church singing is mentioned more than once both in the fathers and in council decrees. The participation of the people in singing, and, if possible, in reading, serves as a powerful means for raising the pulse of church life, for raising the entire religious and moral level of the Orthodox flock. Here is one of the manifestations of the conciliarity of the Church.

“Let’s become kinder!”

Orthodox Christians do not sit during worship, but stand. The inspired prophets Isaiah, Micah, Daniel and John the Theologian saw saints in the Heavenly Church standing around the Throne of God. Standing during prayer was also a rule in the Old Testament church. The Lord said: “When you stand in prayer” (Mark 11:25). Tertulian wrote at the end of the 2nd century: “it is especially indecent to pray sitting down, while tens of angels stand before God, with fear and trembling: this shows as if we are praying unwillingly, in a tired position.” And here is the instruction of Bl. Augustine: “Moved by fatherly love, I advise those who are sick and have leg problems, who do not have the strength to stand, to listen to what is read with attention, sitting silently. However, some healthy people think that this is always possible, but let them not engage in vain conversations. But they themselves do not listen and interfere with others. So, I ask you, venerable daughters, and convince with fatherly solicitude that none of you sit down while reading or teaching, unless severe bodily weakness forces someone to do so.”

“Arise, Lord, bless!” proclaims the Church through the mouth of the deacon before the beginning of the All-Night Vigil. Let us fulfill the call of the Church. Bodily standing is an expression of spiritual wakefulness, standing on guard and in faith, according to the word of the Apostle: “Watch, stand in faith” (1 Cor. 16:13). It is also a sign of humility before God. If standing requires some bodily effort, then it is justified by the words of the apostle: “present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God” (Rom. 12:1). However, even in the ancient Church the old and weak were allowed to sit. For example, when reading lengthy teachings and kathismas (seats) at Matins, which is why the verses between them are called “sedal”. If incense is performed during kathismas, then the charter does not allow sitting.

From what has been said, it is clear how the spirit of Orthodox worship is violated when sitting together, especially during the Divine Liturgy. The custom of other confessions is not an example for us. Their prayer meetings have the character of hearing the word of God, as they are called by Catholics, while Orthodox worship is almost entirely a common prayer. It is alien to an Orthodox church to place chairs in the middle of the church; visitors sitting on them look more like spectators than worshippers. We should not introduce such an anti-church custom in our churches.

“From the morning watch until night” is the time of worship.

“Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) is commanded to Christians, and every moment of our existence can be enlightened by prayer. According to church custom, the order of prayers begins in the evening:

Vespers. Compline. Midnight Office. Matins. First hour, third, sixth. Liturgy. Ninth hour. In monasteries, after each of the four successions, there are “intercessions.”

In church practice, the listed services are combined according to vital necessity into three groups: evening, morning and daytime. “Evening, morning, and noon I will speak, and I will proclaim, and he will hear my voice,” says the psalmist. The most common scheme for connecting services is as follows: 1) the ninth hour, Vespers, Compline; 2) Midnight Office, Matins, first hour; 3) third and sixth hours, Liturgy. On major holidays and Sundays, Vespers and Matins are combined into the All-Night Vigil. During Lent the distribution is partly different. Sometimes local conditions force changes in the order of services.

In the conditions of parish life, it is necessary to omit or shorten some of the services prescribed by the typicon. In monasteries, there is a more complete adherence to the church charter; deviations relate to the time of services due to the need for labor obedience. To prayerfully carry out a full circle of daily services, it is best to visit the monastery and get enough spiritual food there.

“Coming to the west of the sun.” Vespers

Vespers begins with the reading of the ninth hour. According to the ancient charter, it is supposed to be performed in the vestibule. Thus, the first prayer sequence in the daily circle was the consecration of the porch and the very entrance to the temple. The vestibules in our churches do not have the same purpose and are sometimes missing, so the Ninth Hour is read on the choir. The reverent desire to stay in the temple is expressed in the opening verses of the first psalm of this hour: “If the village is beloved…” (Ps. 83:2) The ninth hour connects two daily circles, it ends the services and memories of the past day, and Vespers itself begins with the memories of the events and holy persons of the coming day.

The order of daily Vespers is as follows: Regular Beginning; Psalm 103, peaceful litany, kathisma, small litany, psalms “Lord, I have cried”, etc. with stichera and theotokos, “Quiet Light”, prokeimenon, “Vouchsafe, O Lord”, petitionary litany, stichera on verse, “Now you forgive”, “Holy God – Our Father”, troparion with the Theotokos, special litany, dismissal.

The changes in the festive Vespers are as follows: instead of a full kathisma, often the verses of the first kathisma “Blessed is the man”, during “Quiet Light” the entrance with a censer into the altar through the royal doors, after the prokeimenon there is often a reading of proverbs, a special litany. Further, “Vouchsafe, O Lord,” a petitionary litany, stichera in verse, “Now you forgive,” “Holy God – Our Father,” troparion, dismissal, or if the All-Night Vigil is being celebrated, the transition to Matins. On major holidays, between the petitionary litany and the stichera, the Litia is served at the stichera followed by the blessing of the loaves.

This is the order of Vespers. What content, thoughts, moods, prayers are put into this order? The day is over. In the light of the sun, all the splendor of God’s creation is revealed before our eyes; night comes and the starry worlds attract our gaze. Time to glorify the works of the Creator. It finds expression in Psalm 103: “Bless my soul the Lord…” The soul moves on to diligent prayer of a peaceful or great litany. This is the first fervent prayer in the daily cycle. As a prayer, it is not verbose: Lord, have mercy. The Savior commanded “praying not to say unnecessary things” (Matthew 6:7). The priest only reminds us of what we will pray for: for the peace of the world, for the Church, for the general well-being, for those in need of help, for ourselves. We answer the humble, repentant, as the Canaanite woman once did: “Lord, have mercy.” The deacon sets an example for prayer by going out to proclaim before the royal doors. He holds the end of the orarion high in his hand and makes the sign of the cross.

While singing “Lord, I have cried,” the temple is censed. What does it mean? The answer to this is in the words: “May my prayer be corrected, like incense before You.” When censing in our direction, we bow our heads as a wish that our praise to the Lord will go upward, like incense, and as a sign that the Church honors our Christian dignity in us. “The Lord cried,” this is like the psalm foundation of this sequence. There are supposed to be four of them, but the middle part is sometimes omitted and we hear only the verses of the two final psalms. In the stichera on “I cried to the Lord” there is a memory of a given day or the saints of that day. Therefore, the composition of the stichera changes daily. They are a moving element in worship. From the stichera one can determine what event is being remembered on a given day.

When the stichera is chanted, the temple is filled with incense. On the holiday, the royal gates are opened and an entrance with a censer into the altar is made. “Wisdom, forgive me!” – a call to reverence and attention. The incense of the censer is brought to the throne, on which tomorrow the bloodless Sacrifice will be offered and where the spare gifts rest. At the same time, the priest prays: “Evening and morning and noon we praise…”, the choir sings “Quiet Light…” This chant comes from Christian antiquity, as a reflection of the heavenly temple described by the seer John the Theologian: “And 24 elders” (Rev. 5: 8, 11-12). With the cry of “Wisdom, let us sing!” the people are called to listen to the prokeimenon of the day, which complements “The Lord reigned, clothed with beauty” (the prokeimenon for the resurrection). On Monday, the prokeimenon “Behold, now bless the Lord, all servants of the Lord,” on Tuesday, “The Lord will hear me, when I cry to Him,” etc. for every day of the week…

The word prokeimenon means “preceding”, i.e. before reading from St. Scriptures of the Old or New Testament. They are placed at vespers on major holidays. Most of the selected readings have the sense of prototypes. The singing and readings of Vespers call us to doxology, and litanies are prayers in the precise sense of the word. If Vespers is festive, the Church calls for prayer with a special litany, in which we pray not only for the living, but also for the departed: “for all our departed fathers and brothers, who lie here and are Orthodox everywhere.” We respond to every cry with a triple “Lord have mercy.” At Compline and Matins we hear a short prayer: “Grant, O Lord, that this evening we may be preserved without sin,” this is one of our favorite prayers.

This is followed by a litany of petition. In it, every exclamation (except the first two) of the clergyman is followed by the petition: “Grant, Lord!” Why, instead of the repentant “have mercy,” is there a more daring “give”? We will find the answer by delving into the subject of the petitions. Previously, we prayed for prosperity, peace, external health. Now we pray for our success in the Christian life: for a sinless end to the day, for a guardian angel, for the forgiveness of sins, for the granting of what is useful to our souls, for further life in peace and repentance, for a Christian death and for a good answer at the Last Judgment of Christ. These petitions are even higher in content than the first ones, holy petitions, and they receive the dignity of a direct request to the Lord.

After the final exclamation of this litany, the Church calls us to bow our heads: “Bow your heads to the Lord.” The priest at this moment prays for those who have bowed their heads before the Lord, expecting help not from people, but from God’s mercy, and asks to protect them from every enemy, from devilish temptations and from unpleasant thoughts, and if they have sinned in any way, to forgive them. Let us bow our heads so that this prayer may be for us too.

“Now you are releasing Your servant, O Master…” The end of Vespers is near. It is consecrated by the glorification of Simeon the God-Receiver, pronounced when he accepted the Infant of God into his arms. Vespers began with the remembrance of the creation of the world, the first page of Old Testament history; ends with a memory of her end. “Now you let go,” the soul of every believer pronounces, the end of the day of prayer and work is near, and perhaps the end of the life of one of us is near, i.e. going to sleep itself is a reminder of eternal rest. For a Christian, this reminder is not embarrassing, but calming, for we know about the salvation prepared by the coming to earth of the Son of God.

Next is the glorification of the Most Holy Trinity (Holy God), Our Father, troparion of dismissal. If an all-night vigil is celebrated, there is a direct transition to Matins.

Compline. “And grant us, O Master, our future sleep…”

a) Small Compline.

This is a quiet penitential service, performed privately by pious people, combining it with evening prayers, as often happens in monasteries. The composition of Small Compline is not complicated. Three Psalms, Glory to God in the highest, Vouchsafe, O Lord, this night, the Symbol of Faith, It is worthy to eat, the Trisagion – Our Father, troparia, concluding prayers. After the Creed, one of the canons is included, most often the Mother of God. The entire service, except for the irmos of the canon, is read. And it is read with the curtain of the royal doors closed. Despite the small size of the service of Small Compline, it has prayerful fullness. In first place is the repentant psalm (Ps. 50). He deeply expresses repentance and at the same time the consciousness that only the grace of God and all hope is in it to cleanse us. The next two psalms are a petition for the acceptance of our prayers. There is also a doxology to the Most Holy Trinity in the reading: “Glory to God in the highest.” Next we hear the creed, our confession of Orthodoxy. Then a fervent prayer to the Mother of God for her intercession (in the canon).

The Octoechos contains canons to the Mother of God for each day of the week, in each of the eight voices, 50 in total. Their content is mainly penitential with a request for intercession and help. In some of them we find a prayer for protection from the Hagarians, from the iconoclasts, from the Muslims… This nature of the canons is close to our time, especially where faith and Christianity are persecuted. In the troparions of Compline, the entire heavenly Church is briefly remembered: the saints of the temple and day, the apostles, martyrs, the Mother of God with all the saints, and also a prayer is offered for the departed. After the final prayer “And at all times…” two more prayers were added. One to the Mother of God about Her intercession before Her Son: “Undefiled, unblasphemous…” The second is about deliverance from various temptations at night. The leader of Compline asks the brethren for forgiveness, and they ask him and each other for forgiveness. It ends with a call in the form of a litany to pray for everyone. The brother responds with repeated “Lord, have mercy…”

b) Great Compline.

It is celebrated during Great Lent, except Saturdays and Sundays, as well as on the eve of the holidays of the Nativity of Christ and Epiphany. Its composition may seem complicated, but in reality it is simple. These are, as it were, three successions, similar to Little Compline and united into one whole. The canon of Compline is included either in the first or third of these parts. In each part we hear three psalms, troparia, the Trisagion – Our Father, and the final prayer. But at the same time, each of the three parts has its own additional prayers.

In the first part: 1) the number of psalms has been doubled, instead of three there are six, 2) verses from the prophet Isaiah are sung or read: “God is with us,” 3) a symbol of faith, 4) short prayer invocations, with bows to the Most Holy Theotokos and the saints: “Most Holy Lady Theotokos, pray for us sinners,” etc.

In the second part, instead of the third psalm, the repentant prayer of the Jewish king Manasseh is read.

In the third part, only two psalms are read, after them “Glory to God in the highest.”

After “Grant, O Lord,” the canon is sung. But in the first week of Great Lent, the canon is moved to the beginning of the first part of Compline: this is the canon of St. Andrew of Crete with the irmos “Helper and Patron.” Then the canon is preceded by the psalm “God, come to my help,” also transferred from the third part.

Compline ends with the prayer “And for all time…” After the dismissal, the same two prayers for the end of Lesser Compline are read, and then, as in Lesser Compline.

Let us focus on the canon of St. Andrey Kritsky. Almost this entire canon is a conversation with one’s own soul, a call to rise from moral impurity, awaken spiritually and begin a renewed, pure life. “My soul, my soul, arise from what you have written down!” The entire Old Testament passes before us, showing falls and examples of deep repentance. These images are replaced by examples and instructions from the New Testament.

The psalms of the first part of Great Compline express firm hope for God’s help. After them comes the solemnly laudatory “God is with us…” repeated in verses from the prophet. Isaiah. These verses contain prophecies about Christ. During Lent, all prayer appeals to the Most Holy Theotokos and calls to the Angels and saints are accompanied by prostrations to the ground.

The second part is mournfully repentant. It includes the 50th Psalm, Manasseh’s deeply repentant prayer, and the troparia “Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us.”

The third part is petitionary. It is close to Little Compline. Its peculiarity is the troparion: “Lord of hosts, be with us,” which is repeated many times with the verses of the 150th psalm of praise. Troparions to the saints and the intercession of the Mother of God.

The general spirit of Great Compline is repentant. In Lent, it is combined with a large number of bows from the waist and to the ground; it then includes the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian “Lord and Master of my life…” But before the Nativity of Christ and the Epiphany, Great Compline becomes solemn and is included in the All-Night Vigil in place of Vespers, which on Christmas Eve is combined with the Liturgy. Compline begins with censing of the entire church. In addition to singing “God is with us,” the troparion and kontakion of the holiday are sung, usually with the royal doors open. Instead of the canon of the third part, a lithium is celebrated with the blessing of the loaves.

Midnight Office. “At midnight I rose to confess to You”

The small bell, even before dawn (on Athos at midnight), calls the worshipers to the Midnight Office. It is read with the curtain of the royal doors closed and with the faint flickering of several lamps. The silent night service is the prayer of reverent people who have overcome fatigue and sleep, and this is expressed in its psalter part. After the 50th psalm, the 17th kathisma is read, “Blessed are… those who walk in the law of the Lord…” (Ps. 119:1). This is followed by the creed and the usual centerpiece, “The Trisagion – Our Father.” Troparion: “Soul, the Gospel Bridegroom comes at midnight…”, concludes with God. After 40 times “Lord have mercy” follows “For all time” and the final prayer.

The main part has been read. The additional part is reminiscent of “between hours” in composition. Two psalms speaking about the never-slumbering Eye of God: “I have lifted up my eyes to the mountains…” (Ps. 120:1) and “Behold, now bless the Lord, all the servants of the Lord” (Ps. 102:20), once again the central Trisagion – Our Father, then the troparia for the departed with the Mother of God and the final prayer also for the departed.

In Saturday Midnight Office 17, the kathisma is replaced by the ninth.

Sunday is short. Instead of kathisma, the canon to the Most Holy Trinity is sung. There are eight of them, corresponding to the eight voices of the Octoechos.

After the Midnight Office on weekdays and Sundays, mutual forgiveness is asked and a litany is pronounced for all those near and far.

Matins. “To you in the morning”

According to the Rules, Matins is supposed to be performed at dawn. And the beginning of the day is a special “first hour”. In practice, Matins moves later in the morning or back to the eve of the given day. At the beginning of Matins, the curtain of the royal doors opens: a sign of its doxological content. At festive matins, at some moments the royal doors also open. If Matins is served outside the all-night vigil, it is preceded by a small, as if separate, “prayer for the king” with two psalms, which is applicable to every Christian, for Christ has made those who believe in Him “kings and priests to His God” (Rev. 1:6). But it can be accepted directly as a prayer for the restoration of Orthodox Christian power, according to the covenant of the Apostle (1 Tim. 2: 1-2).

Let us trace the course of everyday matins, as it is simpler in composition.

Matins begins with the exclamation of the priest, with the cross-shaped offering of the censer before the throne: “Glory to the Holy, consubstantial, life-giving and indivisible Trinity…”

“Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace…” (Luke 2:14), we hear a threefold doxology from the lips of the reader, sung by the angels at the birth of the Son of God before the dawn of the day.

Six Psalms. This is a double psalm part: instead of three there are six psalms. The psalms reflect the struggle of light with darkness in the soul and end with a doxology: “Bless the Lord, my soul…” After the great litany, there is again a doxology in singing “God is the Lord and has appeared to us, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord” (Ps. 118:26-27) with verses and the troparion of the day. These words served as a popular greeting to the Lord at His triumphal entry into Jerusalem. They are taken together with verses from Psalm 117. Next are kathismas, so that those praying delve into their lives and actions, recognize their sins and deepen their repentance before God. In everyday matins, the kathismas are followed by the penitential 50 psalm, singing and reading of the canons.

At Matins there are 2 or 3 canons, connected into one whole. One in honor of the Heavenly Father or in honor of the Mother of God, the other in memory of the saints of the day. The irmos of the canon are sung with them. Irmos express wonderful combinations of thoughts: the theme of the first Irmos is the crossing of the Red Sea; in the third song, “affirmation” is Anna’s mother of the prophet Samuel: “My heart is established in the Lord…” (1 Samuel 2:1). The words of the prophet Habakkuk are the theme of the fourth song, “Glory to Your power, O Lord” (Hab.3:4) and other combinations. “We have morning, the night has passed, the light has appeared…” (Is. 26:9) according to the vision of Isaiah, is the theme of the fifth song. “The Abyss”, images of a raging sea, the abyss of sin and passions, a drowning man and his salvation – the content of the sixth song, according to the story of the prophet Jonah (Jon. 2:6). The “furnace of fire” and the youths in it, unharmed by the fire (Dan. 3:6–50), is the subject of the seventh and eighth irmos, a favorite song of ancient Christians during persecution. Being preserved unharmed from the fire brings the thought to the miraculous conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary and moves on to the call: “Let us exalt the Mother of God and the Mother of Light in song.” In response, Her song “My soul magnifies the Lord” (Luke 1:46) is proclaimed, and to each verse the Church sings: “The most honorable cherub… We magnify You.” The ninth irmos represents the glorification of the Mother of God. Again, praise to the Lord, expressed in psalms of praise: “Praise God in His saints… let every breath praise the Lord” (Ps. 151:1, 6).

The sun has already risen, and the priest exclaims, transporting his thoughts to the spiritual Light: “Glory to Thee, who showed us the light.” The reader reads the prayer: “Glory to God in the highest…” and then “Lord grant this day…” Litany of petition. Stichera. A touching conclusion to the prayers of the night and morning: “It is good to confess to the Lord…” In Lent, these words are repeated twice. The Trisagion – Our Father, a special litany and the final exclamation of the priest ends Matins.

Immediately after Matins, the first hour is usually read.

Festive Matins differs from everyday Matins in its solemn completions. These include: a) polyeleos, i.e. singing “Praise the name of the Lord” (Ps. 112:1, 134:1) and magnification; b) singing antiphons – sedate (short songs from Psalms 119–133); of these, “From my youth…” is most often sung c) reading the Gospel; d) adding confusion to the canons, i.e. additional irmos that conclude each song; e) singing, rather than reading the great doxology, and, finally, f) a slightly different arrangement of the final stichera and litanies.

Sunday Matins is completely imbued with the joy of the resurrection of Christ. Already the troparion after “God is the Lord” announces that the subject of praise will be the resurrection of Christ. The first news of the resurrection is heard after the kathismas in the troparia about the myrrh-bearing women going to the tomb of the Savior and receiving this news from the Angel: “The council of angels was amazed” and those following him. After the small litany we hear “ipakoi” (hearing): it tells of the transmission of the message of the resurrection of the Lord to the apostles, for whom it is the first joyful hearing. The Prokeimenon also speaks of the resurrection in the words of the psalm. Behind it is one of the eleven readings of the Gospel about the Resurrection of Christ. Now, in the fullness of rejoicing, the Church sings: “Having seen the Resurrection of Christ…” The canon and stichera about the resurrection.

An even greater triumph is the Easter Matins, where in everything except the litanies, one can hear the rejoicing of victory over death.

Some other rites are also built on the image of everyday Matins. This includes “parastas” (standing), which is a funeral matins, a short memorial service for the dead. Close to Matins, the chants of the “prayer service” are often limited to: “Most Holy Theotokos, save us” or to the saint: “pray to God for us.” These abbreviations are allowed for the sake of live participation in the prayer service by as many worshipers as possible.

All-night vigil. “And at night his song is from me”

The All-Night Vigil is the combination of Vespers and Matins into one long service. It is performed on major holidays and usually on Sundays. In its full form, it can take the whole night, as it happens in the monasteries on Athos.

It begins with the censing of the altar with the royal doors open, the solemn exclamation: “Glory to the Saints…” and the censing of the entire temple. The first part does not differ from the festive one, only in the second half on major holidays there is a litany and blessing of the loaves. Litiya is performed in the vestibule, which in ancient times was intended for persons who did not yet have the right to enter the middle part of the temple. Litiya consists of stichera, litany with repeated “Lord, have mercy” and prayer. The blessing of the loaves takes place in the middle part of the temple and reminds us of the Lord’s miraculous feeding of five thousand people with five loaves. It remained in the rite of the all-night vigil from those times when the Church considered it necessary to somewhat strengthen the worshipers for further participation in the divine service. At the same time, this eating is an expression of the unity of believers.

Matins follows, which has polyeleos and other features of festive and Sunday matins. According to church rules, before the all-night vigil, small vespers is celebrated separately from it (as in monasteries), preceded by the ninth hour and ending with small compline.

Watch. “In the day of the seven days we praise Thee about the destinies of Thy righteousness”

The beginning of the day is sanctified by Matins; ends with Vespers and Compline. And the 12-hour course of the day is accompanied by “clocks”: the first, third, sixth and ninth, which according to our time are completed at the sixth and ninth o’clock in the morning, at the twelfth and third o’clock in the afternoon. Thus, we have a sevenfold number of services, grouped around the Divine Liturgy, which is not included in this number, but rises above all of them.

In church practice, reading the hours is not strictly applied to specified periods of the day. The first hour is added to Matins, the third and sixth hours are performed immediately before the Liturgy, and the ninth is performed before the start of Vespers.

The structure of all hours is uniform: after the initial part – three psalms, a troparion with the Mother of God and verses, the trisagion – Our Father, kontakion, the general final prayer “And for all time…” and the final prayer of the given hour. But according to the content of the psalms and other parts, each hour has its own specific character.

The first hour is morning. This is also heard in the psalms. “In the morning hear my voice, in the morning I will appear and see me…” (Ps. 5:4), etc. The main thoughts of this hour are asking for blessings before the start of the day. “Train me in Thy righteousness… guide my steps… straighten my steps to do Thy commandments…”

The third hour is the hour of the Savior’s betrayal to countless reproaches, the laying of the crown of thorns. This is reflected in the psalms: “For the words of Your lips I have kept the cruel ways… See My enemies as they have multiplied…” (Ps. 16:4, 3:2). The third hour is associated with the memory of the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles, which is reflected in the troparia: “Lord, like Thy Most Holy Spirit at the third hour…” The psalms of this hour contain prayers for help, for protection in the external and internal struggle against evil, as well as deep repentance of the 50th psalm.

The sixth hour corresponds to the hour (our 12th) when the Savior was led to crucifixion and nailed to the cross, and there was darkness from the 6th to the 9th hour. In the psalms we hear: “Strangers rise up against Me…” (Ps. 53:5), “But you, an indifferent man… known to Me…” (Ps. 54:14) are words reminiscent of the betrayal of Judas. The sixth hour expresses our bitterness at the sight of the militant evil surrounding us, but also our strong hope in God, 90 ps. “He lives in the help of the Most High…” (Ps.90:1).

The ninth hour is the hour when the Savior on the cross gave the thief paradise, cried out: “I thirst,” and gave up His soul to the Father with the words “It is finished” (Luke 19:28, 30), descended with His soul into hell, destroyed its bonds and with His death trampled the power of death. (This is our 3rd hour of the day). In the psalms of this hour one can already hear thanksgiving to the Savior for the salvation of the world. “Thou hast forsaken the iniquities of Thy people… righteousness from heaven… Thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell” (Ps. 84:3, 12, 85:13). The same thoughts in the troparion and in the final prayer. The first psalm expresses ardent affection for the temple of God: “If Thy village is beloved…” The second contains a prayer for the salvation of the homeland and the return of its sons scattered in foreign lands: “bring us back, O God…” The third is a petition for mercy to the one praying: “Incline Thy ear…” (Ps. 16:6) Although the 9th hour is adjacent to Vespers, but in relation to this day, it is the final sequence of memories of a given day.

There are days of the year when the hours are combined into one common service, performed separately and ending with “fine”. Then they are called “Royal Hours”. They take place on Great Friday of Holy Week, on Christmas Eve of the Nativity of Christ and Epiphany. In addition to the main composition, the Royal Hours include the prokeimenon, paremia, reading of the Apostle and the Gospel and special troparia. Their content corresponds to the remembered event.

In addition to the “hours,” church books also contain “interhours,” for reading during Lent. There are four of them. They have the structure of hours, only they are more compressed and the psalms in them are shorter.

Divine Liturgy. “Holy of Holies”

The Divine Liturgy is the greatest sacrament of the Church, the offering of a bloodless Sacrifice and the communion of the Body and Blood of Christ by believers. It is the center of prayer, the conclusion of all prayers and an invitation to the Table of the Lord.

The rite of the Liturgy, during most of the year, belongs to St. John Chrysostom. Liturgy of St. Basil the Great is celebrated 10 times a year: five Sundays of Great Lent, Maundy Thursday and Great Saturday of Holy Week and the day of remembrance of St. Basil the Great – January 1st. During Great Lent, on Wednesdays and Fridays, on Thursday of the 5th week of Great Lent and on the first three days of Holy Week, the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is celebrated. The first two orders are identical in their general structure, but St. Basil the Great, a great fullness of secret Eucharistic prayers. Those who wish to understand in detail and more deeply all the moments of the Liturgy, let them turn to N.V. Gogol’s “Reflections on the Divine Liturgy,” and in this general review we will only briefly present its course and the significance of the most important parts.

The word “Liturgy” means public service. It is a mysterious act of the closest union of believers in Christ, an expression of the unity of the body of the Church with its Head. Other services may be performed privately, even without a priest, subject to the order of the Rule. The Liturgy can only be celebrated by a properly ordained bishop or presbyter on the consecrated altar of the church or, at least, on a specially consecrated antimension, i.e. liturgical fee. Liturgy requires special prayer preparation. It includes three parts: proskomedia, liturgy of the catechumens and liturgy of the faithful.

Proskomedia is a service of “preparation.” The participation of the faithful in it is expressed only by bringing prosphora (bread for proskomedia). The Holy Lamb is prepared on the paten and the wine in the cup for their future transubstantiation. Around the bread – the Holy Lamb – other small particles are placed, namely: in honor of the Mother of God, in memory of all saints and in the propitiatory memory of Orthodox Christians living and deceased. These particles are dropped into the chalice after the communion of the faithful, at the end of the Liturgy.

The second part of the Liturgy is public, for believing Orthodox Christians. The priest proclaims: “Blessed is the Kingdom of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” This exclamation lifts our minds and hearts to the Kingdom of the Holy Trinity, indicating that the Liturgy is the sacrament of unity with God, the propitiation of the Heavenly Father by His Son for the sins of people; evidence of the Heavenly Father’s love for the human race; the sacrament of the Holy Spirit, transmuting gifts into the Body and Blood of Christ.

Following this, the Church prays the diligent prayer of the great or peaceful litany for the whole world, for the Church and for all believers. The psalms “Bless the Lord, my soul” and “Praise the Lord, my soul” (Ps. 103:1, 145:1) are, as it were, a gathering into one for the sacred rites of the earthly and heavenly Church. “The Only Begotten Son” contains a brief but complete confession of faith and dogma on behalf of the earthly members of the Church. The main dogmas about the Face of Jesus Christ:

He is the only begotten Son of God,

Word of God,

He is Eternal – immortal,

that He deigned for our salvation to become human,

that His Mother Mary is the Mother of God and Ever-Virgin,

that He united with man immutably, forever,

that He allowed to be crucified, being God,

that He trampled death underfoot,

that He is the One of the Holy Trinity,

that He is glorified along with the Father and the Holy Spirit.

Next, gospel praises are sung: “Blessed are the poor in spirit…” (Matthew 5:3) According to the charter, between the lines of the Beatitudes there is singing to the saints or the feast of the day, troparia and kontakia of a given day. Thus, here the saints are called to doxology with us, and the priest, during the “small entrance,” calls on the angels to doxology in secret prayer: “Sovereign Lord our God… make holy angels to be at our entrance…” Thus, the earthly saints and angels prepare to meet the Lord going to His earthly ministry, which is marked by the entrance with the Gospel. Believers joyfully exclaim: “Come, let us worship and fall before Christ.” The further service is the glorification of the Holy Trinity, beginning with the singing of the Trisagion. The priest prays: “Holy God, who rest in the saints, who was sung with the thrice-holy voice from the seraphim… Master himself, accept from our lips the thrice-holy hymn.”

Next is a call for increased attention: “Wisdom, let us listen!” The reader recites the prokeimenon corresponding to the day: a verse from the Old Testament writings. Reading of the Apostle in the middle of the temple. After the threefold “hallelujah” there is a call to listen to the Gospel. We hear the words of the Lord Himself. There follows a special litany with a threefold “Lord, have mercy” for each petition and a litany for the catechumens (preparing for baptism). Transition to the most important part, the Liturgy of the Faithful.

Only genuine members of the Church may attend the Liturgy of the Faithful. Therefore, the catechumens, not yet baptized, leave the temple. Again and again the litanies and “Lord, have mercy.” They give the priest time to prepare with three special prayers.

When singing “Izhe cherubim” the “great entrance” is made with the prepared Gifts. It consists of transferring the Gifts from the altar to the throne through the royal doors. This transfer raises our thoughts to the procession of the Lord of hosts Himself and those praying in the temple are called to perform the ministry of angels, which is expressed in the cherubic song: “we secretly represent the cherubs… to raise the King of all, invisibly carried with a spear (dori – Greek: spear). The transfer of the Gifts prepared for consecration marks the position of the Savior in the tomb. Bringing and placing the paten and cup on the throne, the priest prays with the hymns of Holy Week: “Blessed Joseph…”

The Royal Doors and the curtain are closed so that nothing will dissipate the concentrated prayer, preparing us for the main moment of the Eucharist. The Church prepares us all with a prayer-litany for the offered honest Gifts and for ourselves, calls for peace, mutual love and unanimity: “peace to all, let us love one another…” At the same time, the priests kiss the covered Holy Gifts, the throne and each other with the words: “Christ is in the midst of us!”, “And there is and will be.” The Church prepares us for the sacrament by confessing faith in the singing of the creed. Before the symbol of faith the following is proclaimed: “Doors, doors, let us sing of wisdom.” Let us protect the entrance to the temple from all indecency, and our souls from thoughts alien to the sacred moment. Since ancient times, the Church has decreed that all believers should know the Creed by heart. Another call to attention: “Let us become kind…” Believers receive a blessing with the words of St. Paul: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God and the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.” “Woe are our hearts.” The church announces the completion of the sacred rite with the sounds of a bell, so that the believers outside the church at this moment thank the Lord; this gospel is called “on Worthy”.

The priest prays a long Eucharistic prayer while singing “It is worthy and righteous that… holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts… We sing to You…” While singing “We sing to You,” the Holy Gifts are transubstantiated into the Body and Blood of Christ. The Eucharist is an offering to God the Father, and therefore the prayers in this part of the Liturgy are addressed to God the Father until the end. Thanks are offered (the Eucharist means thanksgiving), praise, the creation of the world, the coming of the Son of God, His earthly life, the Last Supper, death on the cross and Resurrection are mentally remembered, and a prayer is offered for the sending of the Holy Spirit on the offered Gifts. A grateful remembrance of the entire heavenly and earthly Church immediately occurs: Fairly (beyond any comparison) to the Most Pure Mother of God, to all the hosts of saints, remembrance of the health and salvation of our living neighbors and the repose of the departed.

The sacrifice is made. The Church again brings praise to the Most Holy Trinity: “And grant to us with one mouth and one heart…” The litany of petition with the singing “Grant, Lord.” In the consciousness of our gracious sonship with the Heavenly Father: “And grant us, O Master,” we sing “Father.” ours.” The priest’s secret prayer of thanksgiving follows, followed by the exclamation: “Let us take in, the Holy of Holies.” The people respond through the mouth of the choir: “One is holy…” With the curtain closed, the clergy receive communion in the altar and the Chalice is prepared for the laity to receive communion.

Just as at the resurrection of Christ the stone was rolled away from the door of the tomb and the Lord appeared to the myrrh-bearers and disciples, so the curtain and the royal gates are opened, and the risen Christ, our Easter, appears to the people. “Draw near with the fear of God and faith.” Those present exclaim: “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord…” After communion, the Easter chant is said in the altar: “Having seen the Resurrection of Christ…” “Shine, shine!…” “O great Easter…”

The laity receives communion. The Church invites all believers to partake of the Holy Mysteries. We need to take care that our communion is as worthy as possible, we need to prepare spiritually: by repentance, peace with everyone, reading the canons before communion to the Savior, the Mother of God and the Guardian Angel and the “Canon before communion” with the prayers given with it.

After His resurrection on the 40th day, the Lord appeared to the disciples for the last time, blessed them and they worshiped Him. And now the Church calls upon the blessing of God on the flock of Christ with the words: “Save, O God, Thy people and bless Thy inheritance,” and the believers respond gratefully: “We have seen the true light…” The holy gifts are carried from the throne to the altar with the words of the priest: “Ascend into heaven, O God, and Thy glory throughout all the earth.” The Church sings thanksgiving for the communion of the Holy Mysteries: “Let our lips be filled with Thy praise, O Lord.” The litany of thanksgiving and the Church blesses us to leave the church with the words: “We will go out in peace” and the prayer behind the pulpit. After the threefold “Be the name of the Lord…” at the festive Liturgy, a sermon is usually pronounced. On weekdays, for the edification of those praying, Psalm 33 is read, “I will bless the Lord at all times” (Ps. 33:2). The priest says: “The blessing of the Lord is upon you” and dismissal of the Liturgy. Prayers of thanksgiving are read and listened to with attention by all those receiving communion.

Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts

The Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is celebrated only during Lent, on Wednesdays and Fridays, then on the day of remembrance of the 40 Martyrs of Sebaste, if it falls during Lent and not on Saturday or Sunday, then on Thursday of the fifth week and, finally, on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of Holy Week.

What explains this determination? The weekdays of Lent are days of repentance for sins. Therefore, on these days there is no Liturgy in its full form, which is a sacred act of thanksgiving and does not contain any penitential elements. The name of the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts shows that it lacks the main point – the consecration of the Holy Gifts. At this Liturgy, believers receive communion with the Gifts consecrated at the Liturgy of St. Vasily Vel. or St. John Chrysostom. Here, only the presentation of the Holy Gifts to the throne, their preparation for teaching to the believers, and the communion itself take place.

The Liturgy of the Presanctified consists of two parts. Its first part is actually vespers for the next day, although not all the way to the end: it closes with the singing of “Quiet Light” and the reading of parimia. The second part corresponds to the middle and last parts of the full Liturgy, with the removal of the section after the Cherubim and continues until the litany of petition before the “Our Father,” which is already part of the Presanctified. Further, it represents a parallel to the full Liturgy, with some of its own characteristics, in particular, it is a reverently touching sacrament. Its order is as follows:

It begins with an exclamation, like the full Liturgy, “Blessed is the Kingdom…” Then, according to the rite of Vespers, the 103rd psalm is read, the great litany is read, and the 18th kathisma (sometimes different) is read, dividing it into three “articles” with small litanies after each. The royal doors are closed and in the altar preparations are being made for the placing of the Holy Gifts on the altar, on which the proskomedia is usually celebrated. To do this, the priest opens the reliquary standing on the throne, where the Holy Lamb prepared at the previous Liturgy is preserved, places it on the paten and, after incense and worship, transfers it to the altar, prepares the Chalice and covers it and the paten with coverings. During the transfer of the Holy Lamb, the veil is closed and the faithful worship to the ground. Next, as at ordinary Vespers, “I have cried to the Lord” is sung with stichera and the Theotokos, and the censing of the temple occurs. Then one enters the altar with a censer while singing “Quiet Light.” Two parimia are read, preceded by a prokeimenon (one from the book of Genesis, the other from Proverbs; and on Passion – Exodus and from the book of Job; if a holiday occurs, then the kathismas of the Presanctified One are joined by the kathismas of the holiday).

Here we come to the characteristic part of the Presanctified: between the two named paremias, the royal doors open and the priest’s voice: “Wisdom, forgive,” the priest stands in the royal doors facing the people with a censer and candles and proclaims: “The Light of Christ enlightens everyone”; at the same time, the worshipers bow down to the ground. This reminds us that we are not present at a simple Vespers, but as if at the Lord’s Last Supper itself. Before us lies the Light of the world – Christ in the mysteries of His Body and Blood. The Book of Proverbs speaks a lot about the Wisdom of God, some of its passages are so sublime that the Church applies them to the second Hypostasis of the Holy Trinity – the Son of God. Here it is said about Wisdom: “The Lord made me the beginning of His ways before all His creatures; from time immemorial, from time immemorial, I have been anointed, from the beginning, before the existence of the earth” (Prov. 8:22–30); “Wisdom has made herself a house” (Prov. 9:1-5).

After the proverbs, the reader sings in the middle of the temple 4 verses from Psalm 140: “Let my prayer be corrected… Lord, I have cried to You… Set, O Lord, a guardianship for my lips” (Ps. 140:2–3, 141:6) and again “Let it be corrected…” These verses have similarities with the “great prokeimenon,” which is sung at vespers on great holidays. When singing verses, we bow our knees and heads to the ground, and the priest prays while standing in front of the throne and censing. With all this, the Church disposes us to fervent prayer with reverence before the entrance of the King of glory in His Holy Mysteries.

Further, after the prayer “Lord and Master of my life,” with bows, there is a series of litanies: the greater one, about the catechumens, and two small ones. From Wednesday of the Middle Ages, a litany is included here about those preparing for enlightenment – to be baptized on the Saturday before the week of Vay or on Holy Saturday.

The central part of the Liturgy of the Presanctified is the transfer of the Holy Gifts of Christ from the altar to the throne. The priest proceeds with the Holy Gifts through the northern gate to the sole and enters through the royal gates; the worshipers bow to the ground. The transfer takes place during a break in singing: “Now the powers of heaven serve with us invisibly: behold, the King of glory enters…”

The prayer of Ephraim the Syrian is said again with prostrations to the ground. The curtain closes halfway to indicate to those praying that the Holy Gifts are on the throne. Litany of Petition and “Our Father.” After the exclamation: “The Holy One, presanctified to the saints,” and the singers’ response: “One is Holy…” the clergy receive communion at the altar, and then the laity receive communion. To the cry: “Draw near with the fear of God and faith,” the face answers: “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise is in my mouth.” And after the exclamation: “Save, O God, Thy people…” continues: “Taste the bread of heaven and the cup of life, and see that the Lord is good. Hallelujah.”

The prayer behind the pulpit contains a request that the Lord grant us to undergo the course of Lent through a good deed, strengthen ourselves in virtue, preserve faith and purify our souls, and achieve holy resurrection without condemnation. Thus, Christ’s resurrection is the center of Orthodox liturgical life.

Great Lent. “Open the doors of repentance”

Worship takes on a special look during Lent. His character is strictly repentant. Even on Sundays prayers of repentance are added. On weekdays, all prayer in church is tender contrition for sins. Soon after the celebration of the Feast of the Epiphany, the preparatory weeks for Lent begin. The Church uses convincing examples and explanations of what true fasting consists of and how important it is to us.

The first thing the Church instills in us is to avoid the Pharisees’ image of fasting, and the first preparatory week is “the week of the publican and the Pharisee.” This Gospel parable is read on Sunday. The Church in it edifies a person to see himself without embellishment, to recognize his deep unworthiness before God and, following the example of the publican, only to pray: “God, be merciful to me a sinner” (Luke 18:13). “Let us flee the lofty speech of the Pharisees, and let us learn from the publicans the lofty verb of the humble, crying out in repentance: Savior of the world, cleanse Thy servants.”

On this Sunday, for the first time, the troparia are sung at Matins after the Gospel: “Open the doors of repentance, O Giver of Life,” “Teach me the paths of salvation, O Mother of God,” “The many cruel things I have done.” thinking, I tremble.” The singing of these troparions continues on all Sundays, ending with the fifth week of fasting. The week after the week of the “tax collector and the Pharisee” does not have fasting and is called continuous. The Church exempts us from fasting in order to remove from us the opportunity to repeat after the Pharisee: “I fast twice a week” (Luke 18:12).

The next Sunday is “the week of the prodigal son,” with the reading of this parable. The hymns of the day also correspond to the Gospel. They are instilled with the consciousness of how merciful Heavenly Father is. Like the father of the prodigal son, He extends the arms of the Father to every sinner, regardless of the depth of his sin, if only he comes with deep heartfelt repentance. Sedalen of this week (the chant after the third hymn of the canon): “Open the arms of the Father to me, having fornicated my life.” (let’s say, by the way, is the main chant in the rite of monastic tonsure). The theme of the prodigal son is repeated in chants throughout Lent. At the matins of this resurrection and in the next two matins before fasting, the psalm after the kathisma is sung: “On the rivers of Babylon” (Ps. 137:1). For Christians, this song speaks of humanity’s loss of its spiritual homeland – paradise: the path to return was opened to us by Christ, but it lies through repentance.

Next comes the “meat week,” after the resurrection the consumption of meat food is prohibited. It is also called “the week of the Last Judgment,” according to the Gospel readings and hymns. The Saturday before Meat Week is a memorial day and is dedicated to the remembrance of the dead. After all, the thought of judgment concerns not only us, but we think about the fate of our relatives and pray for their forgiveness and repose. Especially on this day, the Church prays for those who, for various reasons, did not receive a Christian burial. During the meat-eating week and the following weekdays, the Church draws our attention to the deeds of love for mankind: “Having understood the Lord’s commandments, let us live like this: we will feed the hungry, we will give drink to the thirsty, we will clothe the naked…” This last week before Lent is called cheese or, in common parlance, Maslenitsa. This week dairy foods are allowed on Wednesday and Friday. Freeing us from fasting, the church charter prescribes prostrations to the ground during these two days with the reading of the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian: “Lord and Master of my life…” The Church shows that the purpose of fasting is not in it itself, but in our spiritual cleansing. On Wednesday and Friday of Cheese Week (Maslenitsa) no Liturgy is supposed to be celebrated.

On the last day before Lent, Cheese Saturday, the Church ends our preparation for Lent by remembering the many faces of the saints who shone during Lent. About 190 holy ascetics of the first millennium are named in the services of this day. On Raw Sunday – the spell for Great Lent. The chants recall the expulsion of Adam and Eve from paradise. The Church, according to the commandment of the Savior, demands from us peace with all our neighbors: “If you do not forgive people their sins, then your Heavenly Father will not forgive you your sins” (Matthew 6:15). Therefore, we ask each other for forgiveness and this resurrection itself is called “Forgiven.”

The feat of Great Lent begins on Monday. On the evening of Sunday, the stichera calls us to it with these words: “We will begin the Lenten time brightly, having prepared ourselves for spiritual deeds…” “Clean Monday” begins the course of the Holy Pentecost, that is, a forty-day fast following the example of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, who retired into the desert immediately after the baptism of John. The entire course of the services and the appearance of the temple inspire worshipers that this is a period of deep humility and lamentation for sins. On weekdays, all festivity and solemnity are eliminated. Liturgies are celebrated only on Saturdays and Sundays. Presanctified Liturgies are established on Wednesdays and Fridays and on Thursday of the fifth week. Reading predominates in worship services. The Gospel and the Apostle are read only on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. The main content of the services is the Psalter, which is read twice a week. Readings from the Old Testament are offered: the book of Genesis, the prophet Isaiah. The words of the repentant David are often repeated: “Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me” (Ps. 50:3), the appeal of the prudent thief: “Remember me, O Lord, when You come into Your kingdom” (Luke 23:42). Every service and hour contains the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian. All services are performed quietly, slowly, all the vestments are dark, the lamps are limited, the royal doors are rarely opened, the ringing in the bell tower is allowed to be small and slow. Those standing in the temple are often called to prostration.

The services end relatively late so that food can be eaten later in the evening. The food prescribed is simple and in modest quantities. Fish is allowed only on the Feast of the Annunciation and Palm Sunday. The spiritual meaning of fasting is revealed in the chants:

“Fast has come, mother of chastity, accuser of sins” (Monday 1st week).

“Let us fast with a pleasant fast” (Mon. 1st week).

“As we fast, brethren, physically, we also fast spiritually” (Wednesday 1st week).

“Come, let us cleanse ourselves with the alms and generosity of the poor” (2 sed.).

During the first week of Great Lent, during the first four days of Great Compline, the canon of St. Andrei Kritsky, divided into 4 parts. “Where shall I begin to weep for my accursed life of deeds?..” This canon is called great because of its content and form: it contains 250 troparia, while ordinary canons have about 30. The Great Canon is also read at Matins on Thursday of the fifth week of Lent (Wednesday evening), in conjunction with the canon of St. Mary of Egypt, this reading is called the “great station.” The Church accompanies Sundays of fasting with special memories.

The first Sunday is the Week of Orthodoxy, established in memory of the defeat of the iconoclastic heresy of the 9th century. Icon veneration is a visual expression of our Orthodox faith. The entire path of the Church passes by the anti-Christian and heretical teachings rising against it, but the pure Christian truth will remain unshakable until the end of time.

The second Sunday is dedicated to the memory of St. Gregory Palamas. He and his Athonite companions taught and proved with their ascetic life that a person can achieve illumination from above by constant purification of the soul, silence of thoughts, prayer and contemplation of God. St. Gregory was a denouncer of a certain Varlam, who taught that the truth about God is revealed only from the principles of reason and philosophical reasoning.

In the third week, the Church offers the Holy Cross for the spiritual strengthening of believers. The cross is solemnly brought into the middle of the church at Matins and remains for veneration throughout the week, as an image of the love and heroism of our Savior Himself.

On the fourth Sunday – the memory of St. John Climacus, the great Sinai ascetic of the 6th century, compiler of the Ladder. St. John shows in the 30 steps of the “Ladder” the practical path of spiritual ascent. The next week, on Wednesday, the Great Canon is read, and at Matins on Saturday (Friday) the Praise of the Mother of God is performed with the reading of the akathist.

On the fifth Sunday, part of the hymns is dedicated to the feat of St. Mary of Egypt, who showed the possibility of a person rising from the depths of fall to the heights of spiritual purity. The Gospel reading about the rich man and Lazarus instructs us to flee the rich man’s mercy and be jealous of the patience and generosity of Lazarus.

The heel of the sixth week ends the days of St. Pentecostals. “Having completed the soul-fulfilling Pentecost… and the Holy Week of Your Passion, we ask you to see…” On Saturday, the remembrance of the Gospel events before the tradition of the Savior begins. Saturday is the commemoration of the resurrection of Lazarus, and Sunday is the feast of the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem, or the week of Vai (palm or willow branches).

Holy Week. “Glory to Your Passion, O Lord”

The forty-day cleansing fast has ended. Crying over one’s sins gives way to another sorrow—crying over the atoning sufferings of the God-Man for our sins. Now the Church calls us with a purified mind and heart to reverently contemplate and spiritually experience His suffering and death on the cross, offering compassion to His Most Pure Mother. The Church leads us in the footsteps of the Lord from Bethany (the place of the resurrection of Lazarus), to Jerusalem, to the Mount of Olives, to the Upper Room of Zion, to Gethsemane, to the courtyard of the high priest, to the Praetorium of Pilate, to the Place of the Execution of Golgotha ​​and, finally, to the heirloom of Joseph of Arimathea.

In the first three days, the actions of the Savior take place, His conversations, parables, denunciations of the Jews, instructions to the disciples that took place between the Lord’s entry into Jerusalem and the Last Supper. All four Gospels are read on the clock, revealing the Incarnation and the Savior’s ministry to the human race. From the Old Testament readings, readings are offered that contain types and prophecies of the passion of the Lord. The Church wants to soften our hearts so that we feel the greatness of the sacrament of our redemption through the sufferings of Christ and their saving power for us. The chants of these days reproduce the last parables of the Savior. The parable of the ten virgins forms the basis of the troparion: “Behold, the Bridegroom comes at midnight…” (Matthew 25:1). The content of the luminary at Matins is based on the parable of the wedding feast: “I see Your chamber, O my Savior, adorned, and the imam has no clothes…”

On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is celebrated.

On Maundy Monday, we remember how the Lord Jesus Christ dried up the barren fig tree, which is a warning to every soul that does not bear the fruits of repentance. The parable of the unrighteous winegrowers is also read. Predicting His tradition of death, the Savior gives the image of the evil workers of the vineyard, who killed first the owner’s servants, and then his son. At the Liturgy we hear the Savior’s prediction about the approaching disasters of Jerusalem and the signs of the end of the world and the second coming of Christ. These reminders are intended to motivate us to patience, spiritual vigilance, and prayer. In the words of Christ, consolation is also given: “For the sake of the elect, those days will be shortened” (Matthew 24:22).

On Holy Tuesday – the parable of the ten virgins and the talents, the image of the Last Judgment is read. All these reminders call us to be vigilant and diligent in doing good.

On Great Wednesday – the content of the chants is three events: the council of the high priests, the crazy decision of Judas and the libation of peace by a sinner. “Whenever a sinner brings ointment, then the disciple agrees with the wicked,” “Behold, the evil council has truly gathered together frantically…”

Maundy Thursday is the day of the Last Supper of the Savior with the Disciples and the last hours before His taking into custody. “The rest of the congregation of Jews flocks together, so that they will betray the Creator and Creator of all things to Pilate. Oh, the lawless! Oh, the infidels!…”

Hymns for Maundy Thursday: – admiration for the humility of the Savior in washing the feet of the disciples, reverence for the sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ, glorification of the endless selflessness of Christ, sorrow for His suffering, tenderness for His long-suffering, indignation against the Jews and the treachery of Judas. On this day the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great, preceded by Vespers.

On this day the sacrament of communion itself was established, when the Savior gave communion to His disciples from His hands. “Today Thy secret supper, O Son of God, receive me as a partaker…” – this song is sung at the Liturgy instead of the Cherubim, instead of the sacrament verse, during the communion of believers and instead of “Let our lips be filled.”

When the Last Supper took place, the high priests had already agreed with Judas. “When the glory of the disciple was enlightened by the thought of the supper, then the evil Judas, sick with the love of money” (troparion of Great Thursday). Immediately after the Last Supper, Christ’s farewell conversation with his disciples takes place, His high priestly prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, and then the kiss of Judas, the capture of the Lord by soldiers, interrogations, spitting, beatings, strangulations, the cross and death. In accordance with these memories, the Church celebrates the service of the Passion of Christ.

The Great Heel Passion Service is celebrated at Matins on Thursday evening. At this service, the main place is occupied by the reading of the twelve Gospels in the middle of the temple. Between the first six readings, antiphons are sung, the content of which is filled with bitter indignation at the betrayal of Judas and the lawlessness of the Jews, and lamentation about the ingratitude and blindness of people. “What reason made you, Judas, a traitor?” “The Lord says: “My people, what have I done to you?” After the sixth Gospel, we hear the reading of the “blessed” with troparia, and then the canon of the three hymns about the Savior’s stay with the apostles, the denial of Peter and the torment of the Lord, and the thrice luminary is sung: “The prudent thief…” In the stichera – on Praise and on the stichera – the Savior’s stay on the cross, the signs that accompanied the death of the Savior and the spiritual torment of the Mother of God at the cross of Her Son. The Gospel readings themselves cover all the narratives of the four evangelists: from the farewell conversation to the position in the grave, the appointment of guards and the application of a seal to the stone. “having confirmed the coffin, marking the stone with the custodian.” During the reading of the Gospels, all worshipers stand with candles in their hands, and after the last, according to ancient custom, they do not put out the candles but try to bring the fire to their homes.

On Great Friday, as a sign of our grief, there is no Liturgy. In the morning the Royal Hours are celebrated. Each of them contains one ordinary psalm and two prophetic ones about the suffering of Christ the Messiah. Troparion of the same content, apostle and gospel. They end with the singing of the Fine. During the day Vespers is celebrated according to a special rite, which conveys to us the death on the cross and burial of the Savior.

“The whole creation was changed by fear, seeing You hanging on the cross, Christ: the sun was darkened…” Proverbs readings from the Old Testament, the Apostle and the Gospel. “Brotherhood, the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to those who are being saved the power of God is…” the Apostle teaches us (1 Cor. 1:18). The Gospel combined from Matthew, Luke and John tells about the trial of Pilate and Golgotha ​​and ends with how Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus asked Pilate for the Body of Jesus and buried it in Joseph’s new tomb. “And Mary Magdalene and the other Mary sat upright on the tomb” (Matt. 27:61). At the end of Vespers, the shroud is carried out to the middle of the temple while the troparion of the Great Heel is sung: “Good-looking Joseph…” Another troparion is also sung, leading us to the thought of the coming resurrection: “An angel appeared crying to the myrrh-bearing women at the tomb…” At Compline, the canon “Lamentation of the Most Holy Theotokos” is read. The ringing of the bells stops in order to maintain reverent silence while the Body of the Savior rests in the tomb. The Church prescribes complete abstinence from food on this day or, in extreme cases, until the removal of the shroud.

Matins of Great Saturday is entirely dedicated to the memories of the burial of Jesus Christ, the stay of His Body in the tomb and the descent of His soul into hell, the bringing out of hell of the Old Testament righteous and being on the throne with the Father and the Holy Spirit. At Matins we already hear the approaching joy of Christ’s resurrection, the beginning of it already has a more festive character, after the great litany “God and the Lord and appeared to us” is sung, whereas in the previous passionate days, “Alleluia” was sung. And then the funeral chant of the 17th kathisma (118 ps., from 176 v.) is performed; each verse is followed by “praise” to the buried Lord. And then again the Sunday element: the troparia “Astonishment at the Council of Angels” and others usual for Sunday Matins. Canon of Great Saturday: “By the Wave of the Sea” is one of the most perfect creations of church-Christian poetry. “Do not weep for Me, Mother, see in the grave…” – ends the funeral hymn of the ninth irmos of the canon. After the great doxology, the shroud is carried around the temple. Then in the middle of the temple, next to the shroud, the proverb, apostle and gospel are read. The short gospel speaks only about the placing of seals on the Savior’s tomb and the posting of guards. The proverb already prophesies the resurrection: it contains visions by the prophet Ezekiel of dry bones coming to life in the middle of a field.

The Liturgy of Basil the Great is preceded by Vespers. This connection shows that this service refers to the next day. And the next day is Easter. And the Liturgy of Holy Saturday connects two most holy, but so different in mood, events. On the one hand, one is the completion of passionate services, and on the other, the beginning of the bright celebration of Easter. These features are expressed during the worship service. Among the reading of the 15 proverbs of Vespers, a victorious chant is heard, first: “Gloriously be glorified!” then: “Sing praises to the Lord and exalt them forever.” In ancient times, on Holy Saturday, the baptism of catechumens was performed, so instead of the Trisagion, they sing, “Those who were baptized into Christ…” After the reading of the apostle, a turning point comes. The altar closes and all dark vestments change to white. “Rise up, O God, judge the earth, for You are the inheritor of all nations” – the choir is sung many times at this time. And after this the gospel is preached for the first time about the resurrection of the Savior from the tomb. However, the rest of the Sabbath must still continue, the night of resurrection has not yet come: “Let all human flesh be silent…” – instead of the cherubic. Thus ends the days and hours of Holy Week.

Easter of Christ. “Christ is Risen!”

Easter is a holiday of holidays. Just as the sun outshines the radiance of the stars, so Easter shines among other holidays.

The stay of the Body of the Lord in the tomb is called a three-day stay, it goes like this: Thursday evening and Friday (as Jews measure the day) – one day, then the night and all of Saturday – the second day, the night from Saturday to Sunday (the part is taken as the whole) – another day, the third day.

Evening of Holy Saturday: candles flicker dimly in the church, “The Acts of the Apostles” are read at the shroud. People gather and confession takes place. Half an hour before midnight, the singing of the Midnight Office begins with the canon “Wave of the Sea”, at the end of which the shroud is taken to the altar. The good news for Matins begins. From the altar one can hear at first a quiet and then more distinct singing: “Thy Resurrection, O Christ the Savior,” the royal gates open and as the bells ring, a procession of the cross takes place around the temple. Believers sing: “Thy Resurrection, O Christ the Savior, the angels sing in heaven, and grant us on earth to glorify You with a pure heart.” There is a procession in order to stand, like the myrrh-bearers, at the stone rolled away from the tomb and exclaim with a trembling heart: “Christ is risen!” After going around the temple, the procession stops at the main entrance to the temple. The intervening clergyman performs incense, holding a cross and an Easter tricandlestick in his other hand, and loudly exclaims the beginning of the Easter service: “Glory to the Saints…” After the amen – “Christ is risen from the dead,” troparion with verses. The doors of the temple are opened and it resounds with the jubilant “Christ is risen from the dead” and the greeting to the people: “Christ is risen!” with the response: “Truly he is risen!” Matins has begun. The temple is full of light and joy.

Easter Matins is simple. Readings have been removed from it. Following the litany, the Easter canon begins, which is sung in its entirety. Each of his hymns is accompanied by the censing of the entire church with Easter greetings to those praying and closes with the small litany and the threefold singing of “Christ is Risen.” The canon of “Resurrection Day” is the most perfect creation of the theologian and hymn writer Rev. John of Damascus. The inspired gaze of the hymnographer joyfully contemplates the majestic picture of universal rejoicing in heaven and on earth. “Let the heavens worthily rejoice, and let the earth rejoice!…” Following the canon, after a short luminary: “Having fallen asleep in the flesh,” the singing of the Easter stichera: “May God rise again… The sacred Easter has appeared to us today,” a special litany followed by a special Paschal vacation, at which since ancient times it has been customary to read the word of St. John Chrysostom: “If anyone is pious…” This famous teaching has been accepted into the liturgy for the power and height of its thought and for the artistry of its form; after reading it, the troparion to Chrysostom is sung.

The Easter hours have a special character, they all have the same composition. The order is as follows: three-fold troparion: “Christ is Risen,” three-fold stichera “Having seen the Resurrection of Christ,” hypakoi “Preceding the morning,” kontakion “Even in the grave,” troparia: “In the carnal grave,” “Like a life-bearer,” and the Mother of God “The Most Illuminated Divine Village,” 40 times “Lord, have mercy,” and dismissal.

Easter Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom begins with the solemn singing of “Christ is Risen” with verses, during which the entire temple is censed. Next is the singing – “Elites were baptized into Christ” (instead of the Holy One), “Angel cried out”, “Shine, shine” (instead of Worthy to eat, after the transubstantiation of the Holy Gifts), during communion the singing of “Christ is risen” and other chants and finally a special Easter holiday.

The royal doors of the temple remain open throughout Easter week, both during divine services and outside of divine services, as a sign that the resurrection of Christ has opened the gates of heaven for believers.

In front of the icon of the Savior at the royal doors, artos, or consecrated bread, is placed, reminding us that Christ has become for us the Bread of Life. Historically, artos is explained as follows. The apostles, “who ate and drank with Him after His resurrection from the dead” (Acts 10:41), after His Ascension left the first place unoccupied, and laid out, as it were, part of the bread for Him, which they then lifted and said: “Christ is risen.” The successors of the apostles followed this example, and subsequently a special rite of offering artos was established. (In a similar way, the rite of offering the Mother of God proskomedia prosphora at meals in monasteries on the feasts of the Mother of God was established).

After the Easter Liturgy, food for breaking the fast after fasting is consecrated. In the evening of the first day of Easter, a solemn vespers is celebrated. On it, after the great prokeimenon: “Who is God as great as our God,” the Gospel about the Lord’s appearance to the apostles is read. The beginning of Vespers, the stichera “Let God rise again” and its kontakion. The whole of Bright Week is like one holiday, the order of services is the same as on the first day of Easter. The voices of the stichera change daily one after another until the nearest resurrection – “the week of Thomas” or “anti-Easter”. The Easter period lasts 40 days until the Ascension of the Lord. Easter chants are heard in the church throughout this period, in reduced quantities after mid-swallow. It ends with the “giving of Easter” on Wednesday of the sixth week, on the eve of the Ascension. The singing of “Christ is risen” stopped, but the joy of the Resurrection did not stop, and every Sunday day of the year is the triumph of Christ’s resurrection from the dead, victory over death and promises of eternal life for believers.