What to read at the liturgy. Divine Liturgy - what it is, when it is performed and how long it lasts. Entrance with the gospel
Deacon: Bless, lord.
Priest: Blessed is the Kingdom of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and forever and ever.
Choir: Amen.
Deacon: Let us pray to the Lord in peace.
Choir:Lord have mercy.
Great Litany
Deacon: Let us pray to the Lord in peace.
choir : Lord have mercy. (For each request.)
For Heavenly peace and the salvation of our souls, let us pray to the Lord.
For the peace of the whole world, the well-being of the Holy Churches of God and the unity of all, let us pray to the Lord.
About our great Lord and Father, His Holiness the Patriarch (name), and about our Lord, His Grace Metropolitan (or: archbishop, or: bishop) (name), honorable presbytery, in Christ the diaconate, for all the clergy and people, let us pray to the Lord.
For our God-protected country, its authorities and army, let us pray to the Lord.
About this city [or: about this weight; if in a monacmype, then: for this holy monastery], every city, country, and by faith living in them, let us pray to the Lord.
For the well-being of the air, for the abundance of the fruits of the earth and for peaceful times, let us pray to the Lord.
About floating, traveling, sick, suffering, captives and about their salvation. Let's pray to the Lord.
Our Most Holy, Most Pure, Most Blessed, Glorious Lady Our Lady and Ever-Virgin Mary, with all the saints remembering ourselves and each other, and our whole life to Christ our God.
Choir:You, Lord.
Priest: All glory, honor and worship, to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, is due to You, now and forever and forever and ever.
Choir:Amen.
Choir:Amen.
figurative antiphons
First antiphon
Everyday antiphons (they are printed after the pictorial ones) are supposed to be sung on weekdays, with the exception of special instructions.
Bless, my soul, the Lord. / Blessed are you, Lord. / Bless, my soul, the Lord, / and all my inner Name is His holy.
Bless, my soul, the Lord, / and do not forget all His rewards. Who cleanses all your iniquity, / heals all your ailments. Who delivers your stomach from decay, / who crowns you with mercy and bounties. Fulfilling your desire in good: / your youth will be renewed, like an eagle .. Do alms, Lord, / and the fate of all the offended. The tale of His way to Moses, / His desires to the sons of Israel .. The Lord is generous and merciful, / long-suffering and much merciful. Not completely angry, / below the age of enmity. He did not give us food according to our iniquity, / He gave us food according to our sin. Like the height of heaven from the earth, / the Lord affirmed His mercy on those who fear Him. Eliko separated the east from the west, / removed our iniquity from us. As the father is generous to the sons, / Lord have mercy on those who fear Him. As He knows our creation, / I will remember, as the dust of Esma. A man, like the grass of his days, / like a green flower, tacos will bloom. It is like a spirit passing through it, / and it will not, / and no one will know his place.
The mercy of the Lord is from age to age / on those who fear Him. And His truth is on the sons of sons, / keeping His covenant, / and remembering His commandments / I do. The Lord in heaven has prepared His Throne, / and His Kingdom possesses all. Bless the Lord, His angels, / strong in strength, who do His word, / hear the voice of His words. Bless the Lord, all His might, / His servants, who do His will. Bless the Lord, all His works, / in every place of His dominion. Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
And now and forever and forever and ever. Amen.
Bless, O my soul, the Lord, / and all my inner being, His holy name. / Blessed are you, Lord.
Litany small
Deacon:
choir : Lord have mercy.
Intercede, save, have mercy and save us, O God, by Your grace.
Choir:Lord have mercy.
Choir:You, Lord.
Priest:
X op:Amen
Exclamation: For Your dominion and Yours is the Kingdom, and the power and the glory, of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and forever and ever.
Choir:Amen. Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Second antiphon
Praise, my soul, the Lord. / I will praise the Lord in my stomach, / I will sing to my God as long as I am. Do not rely on princes, on the sons of men, / in them there is no salvation. His spirit will go out, / and return to his own land: / in that day they will perish. all his thoughts. Blessed is the God of Jacob his helper, / his hope is in the Lord his God. Who created heaven and earth, / the sea and all that is in them.
Who keeps the truth for ever, / who executes judgment on the offended, / who gives food to the hungry the Lord will decide the fettered, / the Lord makes the blind wise. The Lord raises up the downcast, / The Lord loves the righteous. The Lord guards the aliens, / he will accept a sire and a widow, / and destroy the path of sinners. The Lord will reign forever, / your God, Zion, forever and ever. And now and forever and forever and ever. Amen.
Song of the Lord Jesus Christ
Litany small
Deacon: Again and again let us pray to the Lord in peace.
choir : Lord have mercy.
Intercede, save, have mercy and save us, O God, by Your grace.
Choir:Lord have mercy.
Our Most Holy, Most Pure, Most Blessed, Glorious Lady Our Lady and Ever-Virgin Mary, with all the saints, remembering ourselves, and each other, and our whole life to Christ our God.
Choir:You, Lord.
Priest: For Your dominion, and Yours is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory, of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and forever and ever,
X op:Amen
For God is good and humane, and we send glory to You, Father and Son and Holy Spirit, now and forever and forever and ever.
Choir:Amen.
Third antiphon. Blessed are
Remember us in Your Kingdom, O Lord, / when You come into Your Kingdom.
Blessed are the poor in spirit, / for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, / as if they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, / for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who are hungry and thirsty for righteousness, / for they shall be satisfied.
Blessed are the mercies, / as if there will be mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, / for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, / for they shall be called sons of God.
Blessed are the exiles for the sake of righteousness, / for those are the Kingdom of Heaven.
Blessed are you, when they reproach you, / and they will marry you, and they will say every evil word against you, lying for My sake.
Rejoice and be glad, / as your reward is many in heaven Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. And now and forever and forever and ever. Amen.
Antiphons everyday (everyday)
Antiphon 1st
It is good to confess to the Lord. .
It is good to confess to the Lord, / and sing to Your name, O Most High. Through the prayers of the Mother of God, Savior, save us
1Proclaim thy mercy in the morning,/and thy truth every night. Through the prayers of the Mother of God, Savior, save us
For the Lord our God is right, and there is no unrighteousness in Him. Through the prayers of the Mother of God, Savior, save us
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit: Through the prayers of the Mother of God, Savior, save us
And now and forever and forever and ever. Amine. Through the prayers of the Mother of God, Savior, save us
Antiphon 2nd
The Lord reigns, clothed in splendor. Through the prayers of your saints, O Savior, save us.
The Lord reigned, clothed in beauty, / the Lord was clothed with strength, and girded. Through the prayers of your saints, Savior, save us
For establish the universe, / even it will not move. Through the prayers of your saints, Savior, save us
Thy testimonies are vehemently assured: / holiness befits Thy house, Lord, in the longitude of days. Through the prayers of your saints, Savior, save us
Glory, and now:
Song of the Lord Jesus Christ
The only-begotten Son and Word of God, Who is immortal, / and deigning our salvation for the sake of / be incarnated from the Holy Mother of God and Ever-Virgin Mary, / immutably incarnated; / crucified, O Christ God, righting death by death, / who alone is the Holy Trinity, / glorified by the Father and the Holy Spirit, save us.
Antiphon 3rd
Come, let us rejoice in the Lord, / let us exclaim to God our Savior. Save us, Son of God, / in the saints wondrous, singing Ty: alleluia.
Let us go before His face in confession, / and in a psalm let us exclaim to Him: Save us, Son of God, / in the saints marvelous, singing to Ty: Alleluia.
Like God is the Great Lord, / and the King is Great over all the earth. Save us, Son of God, / in the saints wondrous, singing Ty: alleluia.
For in His hand are all the ends of the earth, / and the heights of the mountains of That are. Save us, Son of God, / in the saints wondrous, singing Ty: alleluia.
For that is the sea, and that you create, and you create dry land with his hand. Save us, Son of God, / in the saints wondrous, singing Ty: alleluia.
Entrance with the gospel
Deacon: Let's pray to the Lord.
Lord have mercy.
Deacon (proclaims): Wisdom, I'm sorry.
Choir:Come, let us bow down and fall down to Christ. Save the Son of God, risen from the dead, singing to Ty: alleluia.
Troparia and kontakia
[During the hierarchal service: when the hierarch censors,
choir sings:Is pollla these, despota. (For many years, sir).
Before the Trisagion : Ton despotin ke archierea imon, Kyrie filatte. (Lord and our bishop, Lord, save).
Is pollla these, despota. (Thrice).
For consecration:
Holy martyr, who suffered well and got married, / pray to the Lord / save our souls.
Glory to Thee, O Christ God, / praise of the apostles and joy of the martyrs, / even the preaching of the Trinity Consubstantial.
Isaiah, rejoice, / Virgin in the womb, / and give birth to the Son Immanuel, / God and man. The East is His name; / His majestic, / We bless the Virgin.
Axios, axios, axios, (Worthy).
Kyrie, Eleison (or: Lord have mercy). (Three times))
Priest: For Thou art holy, our God, and we send glory to Thee, Father and Son and Holy Spirit, now and forever.
Deacon: And forever and ever.
choir : Amen.
Trisagion
(On the feasts of the Nativity of Christ, Theophany, on Lazarus and Great Saturday, on all days of Paschal Week and during the period of Pentecost, instead of the Trisagion, instead of the Trisagion, it is sung: : “We bow to Thy Cross, Master, and glorify Thy Holy Resurrection)
Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us. (Three times)
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and forever and ever. Amen. Holy Immortal, have mercy on us.
Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us.
Deacon: Let's go.
Priest: Peace to all.
Reader of the Apostle: And your spirit. Prokimen. Psalm of David, ch..
(On the feasts of the Theotokos: “Prokeimenon, the song of the Theotokos: My soul magnifies the Lord / and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” Prokeimenon are printed in the Apostle, Missal, Irmologion, Typikon, Oktoikh, Menaia and Triodion. Sunday and daytime Prokeimenon are given here. The prokeimenon pronounces the reader, naming his voice, the choir sings
prokeimenon, the reader pronounces the verse, the choir repeats the prokimen, the reader pronounces the first half of the prokeimenon, the choir sings the second half of it. When there are two prokimens, the first one is sung twice, i.e. reciter: prokimen, chorus: prokimen, reciter: verse, chorus: prokimen, then the reader says the second prokimen, and the choir sings it once.)
Sunday Prokeimnas and Alleluia at the Liturgy
Voice 1: Be, O Lord, Thy mercy upon us, / as if we put our trust in Thee.
Poem:
Alleluia: God give vengeance to me and subdue the people under me.
Poem: Magnify the salvation of the king and show mercy to your Christ David and his seed forever.
Voice 2: My strength and my singing is the Lord. / And be my salvation.
Poem: Punishing the punishment of the Lord, do not betray me to death.
Alleluia: The Lord will hear you on the day of sorrow, the name of the God of Jacob will protect you.
Poem: Lord, save the king and hear us, in for another day let us call upon Thee.
Voice 3: Sing to our God, sing / sing to our King, sing.
Poem: All tongues, clap your hands, shout to God with a voice of joy.
Alleluia: In Thee, O Lord, I put my trust, that I may not be put to shame forever.
Poem: Be me in God the Defender and in the house of refuge, hedgehog to save me.
Voice 4: For Thy works are exalted, O Lord, / Thou hast done all wisdom.
Poem: Bless, my soul, the Lord, O Lord my God, thou hast exalted greatly.
Alleluia: Nalyatsy and have time and reign, for the sake of truth and meekness, and truth.
Poem: Thou hast loved righteousness and thou hast hated iniquity.
Tone 5: You, O Lord, keep us / and keep us from this generation and forever.
Poem: Save me, Lord, as if you were a reverend.
Alleluia: Thy mercies, O Lord, I will sing for ever, to generation and generation I will proclaim Thy truth with my mouth.
Poem: Thou hast proclaimed beforehand: mercy will be built up in the age, Thy truth will be prepared in heaven.
Tone 6-p: Save, O Lord, Thy people / and bless Thy inheritance.
Poem: To Thee, O Lord, I will call, my God, do not be silent from me.
Alleluia: Alive in the help of the Most High, in the blood of the God of Heaven will settle.
Poem: The Lord says: Thou art my intercessor and my refuge, my God, and I trust in Him.
Tone 7: The Lord will give strength to His people / The Lord will bless His people with peace.
Poem: Bring to the Lord, sons of God, bring to the Lord, sons of the sheep,
Alleluia: It is good to confess to the Lord and sing to Your Name, O Most High.
Poem: Proclaim thy mercy in the morning, and thy truth every night.
Tone 8: Pray and repay / the Lord our God.
Poem: God is known in Judea, His Name is great in Israel.
Alleluia: Come, let us rejoice in the Lord, let us exclaim to God our Savior.
Poem: Let us go before His face in confession, and in a psalm let us exclaim to Him.
Prokeimna and alleluia diurnal
(everyday)
On Monday, ch. 4th: Create Thy angels spirits, / and Thy servants fiery flame.
Poem: Bless, my soul. Lord, O Lord my God, thou hast exalted greatly.
Alleluia, ch. 5th: Praise the Lord, all His angels, praise Him, all His might.
Poem: Like that speech, and bysha; He commanded, and created.
On Tuesday, ch. 7th: The righteous shall rejoice in the Lord / and trust in Him.
Poem: Hear, O God, my voice, always pray to Thee.
Alleluia, ch. 4th: The righteous will flourish like a phoenix, like a cedar, like in Lebanon, will multiply.
Poem: Plant in the house of the Lord, in the courts of our God they will flourish.
On Wednesday, ch. 3rd: My soul magnifies the Lord, / and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
Poem: As if looking at the humility of His servant, from now on, all will please Me.
Alleluia, ch. 8th: Hear, Dshi, and see, and incline Your ear.
Poem: The riches of the people will pray to Your face.
On Thursday, ch. 8th:
Poem: The heavens will proclaim the glory of God, but the firmament proclaims the creation by His hand.
Alliahua, ch. 1st: The heavens will confess wonders, O Lord, for Thy truth is in the Church of the saints.
Poem: We glorify God in the council of saints.
On Friday, ch. 7th: Lift up the Lord our God, / and worship at the footstool of His, as if it is holy.
Poem: The Lord reigns, let the people be angry.
Alleluia, ch. 1st: Remember your host, which you acquired from the beginning.
Poem: But God our King before the ages has wrought salvation in the midst of the earth.
On Saturday, ch. 8th: Rejoice in the Lord, / and rejoice, righteous ones.
Poem: Blessed are they who have left iniquity and who have covered themselves with sin.
mortuary, ch. 6th: Their souls / will dwell in the good.
Alleluia, ch. 4th: Calling on the righteous, and the Lord heard them, and deliver them from all their sorrows.
Poem: Many are the afflictions of the righteous, and the Lord will deliver them from them all.
Poem:
Deacon: Wisdom.
Reader:Acts of the Saints Apostle reading. (Or: Cathedral Epistle of Petrov [or: Ioannova, and it is not customary to say what kind of message it is- first, or second, or third] reading. Or: To the Romans [To the Corinthians; To Galatians; To Timothy and so on.] Epistle of the Holy Apostle Paul reading.)
Deacon: Let's go.
Reading of the Apostle. When the reading is over, the priest says to the reader: Peace you.
Reader: And your spirit.
Deacon: Wisdom.
Reader: Alleluia, voice...
The choir sings “Alleluia” - three times to the indicated voice, the reader pronounces the alleluia (special verses printed in the same place as the prokimens (at the end of the Apostle, for example).) choir: “Alleluia”, the reader - the second verse of the alleluia, the choir post in the third times Alleluia.
Deacon: Bless, master, the evangelizer of the holy apostle and evangelist (name of the evangelist).
The priest, blessing him, says: God, through the prayers of the holy, glorious, all-glorious apostle and evangelist (name), may he give you a word to him who proclaims the gospel with great power, in fulfillment of the gospel of his beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
Deacon: Amen.
Priest: Wisdom, forgive us, let us hear the holy Gospel. Peace to all.
Choir: And your spirit.
Deacon: From (Name) holy gospel reading.
Choir:
Priest: Let's go.
And read the Gospel. After finishing reading
chorus:Glory to Thee, Lord, glory to Thee.
Litany abyssal
Deacon: Rtsem all with all my heart, and from all our thoughts, Rtsem.
Choir:Lord have mercy.
Lord Almighty, God of our fathers, we pray to you, hear and have mercy.
Choir:Lord have mercy. (Three times, for each request)
We also pray for our Great Lord and Father, His Holiness the Patriarch (name), and about our Lord, His Grace Metropolitan (or: archbishop, or: bishop) (name), and all our brethren in Christ.
We also pray for our God-protected country, its authorities and army, so that we live a quiet and silent life in all piety and purity.
We also pray for the blessed and ever-memorable creators of this holy temple (if in a monastery: this holy monastery), and about all the older fathers and brothers. lying here and everywhere, Orthodox.
We also pray for mercy, life, peace, health, salvation, visitation, forgiveness and forgiveness of the sins of God's servants. brethren of this holy temple (if in a monastery: holy abode).
We also pray for those who are fruitful and virtuous in this holy and all-honourable temple, for those who labor, sing and come forward, expecting great and rich mercy from You.
Priest: For God is merciful and humane, and we send glory to you, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and forever and ever.
Choir:Amen.
In some lengths church year(except for the twelfth and temple holidays), after the special litany, the following litany is read about the departed, with open royal arats and with a censer:
Deacon: Have mercy on us, O God, according to Your great mercy, we pray to You, hear and have mercy.
Choir:Lord have mercy. (for each request).
We also pray for the repose of the souls of the departed servants of God (names) and about the hedgehog to be forgiven by them for every sin, voluntary and involuntary. As if the Lord God would make their souls, where the righteous rest. Mercy of God, the Kingdom of Heaven and the remission of their sins from Christ, the King of Death and our God, we ask.
Choir:Give me Lord.
Deacon: Let's pray to the Lord.
Choir:Lord have mercy.
Priest: Like you are the resurrection, and the belly, and the rest of your dead servants (name), Christ our God, and we send glory to You, with Your Father without beginning and Your Most Holy and Good and Life-giving Spirit, now and forever and forever and ever.
Choir:Amen.
The royal gates are closing
Litany for the catechumens
Deacon: Pray, Announcement, Lord.
Choir:Lord have mercy, (For each petition,).
Faithful, let us pray for the catechumens, that the Lord have mercy on them.
He will pronounce them with the word of truth.
Reveal the gospel of truth to them.
He will unite them with His Holy Ones, Councilors and Apostles of the Church.
Save, have mercy, intercede and save them, O God, by Your grace.
Announcement, bow your heads to the Lord.
Choir:You, Lord.
Yes, and these with us glorify Thy most honorable and magnificent Name, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever and ever.
Choir:Amen.
Deacon: Elitsy announcement, exit, announcement, exit; Announcements, come out. Yes, no one from the catechumens, faithful figurines, again and again, let us pray to the Lord in peace.
Choir:Lord have mercy.
Deacon: Intercede, save, have mercy and save us, O God, by Your grace.
choir : Lord have mercy.
Deacon: Wisdom.
Priest: As befits You all glory, honor and worship, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and forever and ever.
Choir:Amen.
Small Litany
Deacon: Again and again let us pray to the Lord in peace.
Choir:Lord have mercy. (For each request).
About the peace from above and the salvation of our souls. Let's pray to the Lord.
For the peace of the whole world, the well-being of God's holy Churches and the unity of all, let us pray to the Lord.
For this holy temple and for those who enter it with faith, reverence and fear of God, let us pray to the Lord.
For deliverance to us from all sorrow, anger and need, let us pray to the Lord.
Intercede, save, have mercy and save us, O God, by Your grace.
Deacon: Wisdom.
Priest: As if we always keep under Your power, we send glory to You, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and forever and ever.
The royal gates open
Choir:Amen, And sings the Cherubic Hymn Instead of the Cherubic liturgy on Maundy Thursday, “Thy Secret Supper ...” is sung, and on Great Saturday - “Let all flesh be silent ...”. )
Even the Cherubim secretly forming and the Life-Giving Trinity the Trisagion hymn humming, now let us lay aside all worldly care ...
Great Entrance
Deacon: (name), (name of the diocesan bishop), May the Lord God remember in His Kingdom, always, now and forever, and forever and ever.
Priest: May the Lord God remember you and all Orthodox Christians in His Kingdom, always, now and naturally, and forever and ever.
Choir:Amen.
As if we would raise the King of all with angelic invisibly dorinosima chinmi. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
Pleading Litany
Deacon: Let's fulfill our prayer to the Lord.
Choir:Lord have mercy. (For each request).
Let us pray to the Lord for the offered honest gifts.
For this holy temple and for those who enter it with faith, reverence and fear of God, let us pray to the Lord.
For deliverance to us from all sorrow, anger and need, let us pray to the Lord.
Intercede, save, have mercy and save us, O God, by Your grace.
The day of everything is perfect, holy, peaceful and sinless, we ask the Lord.
choir : Give it, Lord. (For each request).
Forgiveness and forgiveness of our sins and transgressions, we ask the Lord.
The rest of the time of our belly in peace and repentance, end, we ask the Lord.
The Christian death of our belly, painless, shameless, peaceful, and a good answer at the Terrible Judgment of Christ, we ask.
Our Most Holy, Most Pure, Most Blessed, Glorious Lady Our Lady and Ever-Virgin Mary, with all the saints, remembering ourselves, and each other, and our whole life to Christ our God.
Choir:You, Lord.
Priest: By the bounties of Thy Only Begotten Son, blessed be Thou with Him, with Thy Most Holy and Good and Life-Giving Spirit, now and forever and throughout the rivers of ages.
Choir:Amen.
Priest: Peace to all.
Choir:And spirit to your.
Deacon: Let us love one another, but confess with unanimity.
Choir:Father and Son and Holy Spirit, Trinity, one in essence and indivisible.
Deacon: Doors, doors, let us pay attention to wisdom.
The curtain of the royal doors opens
Symbol of faith
I believe in the One God, the Almighty Father, the Creator of heaven and earth, visible to all and invisible. And in the One Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Only Begotten, Who was born from the Father before all ages. Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, uncreated, consubstantial with the Father, Whom all was. For us, man, and for our salvation, who descended from Heaven, and became incarnate from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and became human. Crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffering, and buried. resurrected on the third day according to the Scriptures. And ascended into Heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father. And the packs of the future with glory to be judged by the living and the dead, His Kingdom will have no end. And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord of Life, Who proceeds from the Father, Who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, who spoke the prophets. Into one Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. I confess one Baptism for the remission of sins. I look forward to the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the age to come. Amen.
Deacon: Let's become good, let's stand with fear, let's pay attention, Bring the Holy Exaltation in the world.
Choir:Grace of the world, sacrifice of praise.
Priest: 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.
Choir:And with your spirit.
Priest: Woe is our hearts.
Choir:Imams to the Lord.
Priest: Thank the Lord.
Choir:It is worthy and righteous to worship the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, the Trinity Consubstantial and Indivisible.
Priest: Singing a victorious song, crying out, calling out and saying:
Choir: Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of Hosts, heaven and earth are full of Thy glory; hosanna in the highest, blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord, hosanna in the highest.
Priest: Take, eat, this is my body, which is broken for you for the remission of sins. (At the liturgy of St. Basil the Great, these exclamations begin with the words: “Give to His holy disciple and apostle, rivers ...”).
Choir:Amen.
Priest: Drink from her all, this is My Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for you and for many for the remission of sins.
Choir:Amen.
Priest: Yours from Yours brings you about everyone and for everything.
Choir:I'll eat you. We bless you, we thank you, Lord, and we pray to you. our God.
Priest: Quite about the Most Holy, Most Pure, Most Blessed, Glorious Our Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary.
Choir: It is worthy to eat, as truly bless Thee, the Mother of God, the Blessed and Immaculate and Mother of our God. The most honest Cherubim and the most glorious without comparison Seraphim, without the corruption of God the Word, who gave birth to the real Mother of God, we magnify Thee.
(On the Twelfth Feasts and their after-feasts, instead of “Worthy…”, the refrain and irmos of the 9th ode of the canon (the so-called “stagnant”) are sung, they are indicated in the services of the holidays. On Great Thursday, the irmos of the 9th ode “Wanderings of the Lady… ”, on Great Saturday - “Do not cry for Me, Mati ...”, on the Week of Vay - “God is the Lord ...”.
If the liturgy of St. Basil the Great, instead of “Worthy ... we sing: “He rejoices in You. Graceful, every creature, an angelic cathedral and the human race, consecrated to the temple and paradise, verbal, virginal praise, God was incarnated from Nezha and the Child was, our God before eternity; for Thy bed made Thy throne, and Thy womb made larger than the heavens. Every creature rejoices in Thee, O Gracious One, glory to Thee.”
Priest: Remember first, Lord, our Great Lord and Father (name), His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus', and Our Lord Most Reverend (name of diocesan bishop), also grant to Your holy Churches in the world, whole, honest, healthy, long-lived, the right to rule the word of Your truth.
Choir:And everyone and everything.
Priest: And give us one mouth and one heart to glorify and sing of the Most Honorable and Your Glorious Name, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever and ever.
Choir:Amen.
Priest: And may the mercies of the Great God and our Savior Jesus Christ be with you all.
Choir:And with your spirit.
Litany of supplication
Deacon: All the saints have remembered, again and again, let us pray to the Lord in peace.
Choir:Lord have mercy. (For each request).
For the brought and consecrated Honest Gifts, let us pray to the Lord.
As if our God, who loves mankind, accept me into the holy, and heavenly, and mental Altar, into the stench of spiritual fragrance, will send us Divine grace and the gift of the Holy Spirit, let us pray.
O deliver us from all sorrow, anger and need, let us pray to the Lord.
Intercede, save, have mercy and save us, Your grace
The day of everything is perfect, holy, peaceful and sinless, we ask the Lord.
Choir:Give me Lord. (For each request).
Deacon: The angel is peaceful, faithful mentor, guardian of our souls and bodies, we ask the Lord.
Forgiveness and forgiveness of our sins and transgressions, we ask the Lord.
Kind and useful to our souls and peace of the world, we ask the Lord.
The rest of the time of our belly in peace and repentance, we ask the Lord to die.
The Christian death of our belly, painless, shameless, peaceful, and a good answer at the Terrible Judgment of Christ, we ask.
Having asked for the union of faith and the communion of the Holy Spirit, let us commit ourselves, and each other, and our whole life to Christ God.
Choir:You, Lord.
And vouchsafe us, Master, with boldness, uncondemned dare to call on You, Heavenly God the Father, and say:
Chorus (or all those praying): Our Father, Who art in Heaven! Hallowed be Thy Name, Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, as in heaven and on earth. Give us our daily bread today, and forgive us our debts, just as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
Priest: For yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory. Father and Son and Holy Spirit, now and forever and forever and ever.
Choir:Amen.
Priest: Peace to all.
Choir:And your spirit.
Deacon: Bow your heads to the Lord,
Choir:You, Lord.
Priest: Grace, and generosity, and the love of mankind of Your Only Begotten Son, blessed be Thou with Him, with Your Most Holy and Good and Life-giving Spirit, now and ever and forever and ever.
Choir: Amen.
The royal doors and the veil are closed.
Deacon: Let's go.
Priest: Holy to the holy.
Choir:One is Holy, one is Lord Jesus Christ, to the glory of God the Father. Amen.
involved
(Any communion ends with a triple “alleluia.” The charter on singing the sacramental verses is found in liturgical books, along with the charter on prokiemns and alliluaries, and with rare exceptions is similar to the latter, that is, when two Apostles are read, two sacraments are sung, however, “alleluia” is sung only after the second.
On Sunday: Praise the Lord from heaven, praise Him in the highest. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
On Monday: Create Thy angels spirits, and Thy servants fiery flame.
In Tuesday:
On Wednesday:
On Thursday: Their pronouncements have gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.
On Friday: Thou hast made salvation in the midst of the earth, O God.
On Saturday: Rejoice, righteous ones, in the Lord, praise is due to the upright.
Mortuary: Blessed, I have chosen and received Thou, O Lord, and their memory to generation and generation.
On the feasts of the Mother of God: I will take the cup of salvation and call on the Name of the Lord.
On the feasts of the apostles: Their pronouncements have gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.
In the days of memory of the saints: In eternal memory there will be a righteous man, from the hearing of evil he will not be afraid.
The royal doors open.
The deacon, taking out the Holy Chalice, proclaims: With the fear of God and faith, proceed!
Passes the Chalice to the priest.
choir : Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord, God the Lord and appear to us. On Easter week, “Christ is Risen…” is sung. )
Priest (and with him all who wish to receive communion): I believe, Lord, and I confess that You are truly the Christ, the Son of the living God, who came into the world to save sinners, but from them I am the first. I also believe that this is Your most pure Body, and this is Your most precious Blood. I pray to Thee: have mercy on me, and forgive my sins, voluntary and involuntary, even in word, even in deed, even in knowledge and ignorance, and make me unjudgmentally partake of Your most pure sacraments, for the remission of sins, and into eternal life. Amen.
Communion of the laity, the priest says: Servant of God Communion (Name) The Honest and Holy Body and Blood of the Lord and God and our Savior Jesus Christ, for the remission of your sins and for Eternal Life.
Chorus (during communion):Accept the Body of Christ, Taste the Source of the Immortal.(On Maundy Thursday, “Your Secret Supper ...” is sung; and on Easter week - “Christ is risen ...”.)
Priest: Save, O God, Thy people and bless Thy inheritance,
Choir; We have seen the true Light, / received the Heavenly Spirit, / we have gained the true faith, / We bow to the Indivisible Trinity: / She saved us there. giving - the troparion of the Ascension; and the Trinity Parental Saturday - “The depth of wisdom ...”)
Priest: Always, now and ever, and forever and ever.
Choir: Amen. May our mouths be filled / Your praise, O Lord, / as if we sing Your glory, / as if You made us worthy to partake / of Your Holy, Divine, Immortal and Life-Giving Mysteries; / keep us in Your sanctuary, / learn Your truth all day long. / Hallelujah , alleluia, alleluia. (On Maundy Thursday, instead of “Let them be fulfilled ...”, “Thy secret suppers ...” are sung; on Easter week, “Christ is risen ...”.)
Deacon: Forgive me for the reception of the Divine, Holy, Most Pure, Immortal, Heavenly and Life-Giving, Terrible Christ Mysteries, we worthily thank the Lord.
Choir:Lord have mercy.
Intercede, save, have mercy and save us, O God, by Your grace.
The whole day is perfect, holy, peaceful and sinless asking, to ourselves, and to each other, and our whole life to Christ our God.
Choir:You, Lord.
Priest: For Thou art our Sanctification, and We send glory to you, Father and Son and Holy Spirit, now and forever and forever and ever,
Choir:Amen.
Hierey: S let's go out in peace,
Choir:About the name of the Lord.
Deacon: Let's pray to the Lord.
Choir:Lord have mercy.
Prayer for ammon
Priest (standing in front of the pulpit): Bless those who bless Thee, O Lord, and sanctify those who trust in Thee, save Thy people and bless Thy inheritance, preserve the fulfillment of Thy Church, sanctify those who love the splendor of Thy house; You glorify those with Your Divine power, and do not leave us who trust in You. Grant peace to Thy world, to Thy Churches, to priests, to the army, and to all Thy people. As every gift is good, and every gift is perfect from above, descend from Thee, the Father of Lights; and we send glory to you, and thanksgiving, and worship, to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and forever and ever.
Choir:Amen. May the Name of the Lord be blessed from now on and forever (thrice)(On Easter week, “Christ is risen ...”)
Psalm 33
( During the Easter week, “Christ is Risen” is sung many times. )
Choir: I will bless the Lord at all times, / keep His praise in my mouth. My soul will boast in the Lord./Let the meek hear and rejoice. Praise the Lord with me, / and let us exalt His Name together. Seek the Lord, and hear me, / and deliver me from all my sorrows. Come to Him and be enlightened, / and your faces will not be ashamed. This poor man called, and the Lord heard, and / and saved him from all sorrows. The angel of the Lord will encamp around those who fear Him, and deliver them. Taste and see that the Lord is good; / blessed is the man who trusts Nan. Fear the Lord, all His saints, / as there is no deprivation for those who fear Him. Riches impoverished and drunkard: / those who seek the Lord will not be deprived of any good. Come, children, listen to me, / I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Who is a man who wants his belly, / loves to see good days? Keep your tongue from evil, / and your lips, hedgehog not to speak flattering. Turn away from evil, and do good, / Seek peace, and marry and. The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous / and His ears are on their prayer. The face of the Lord is on those who do evil, / hedgehog consume their memory from the earth. Calling on the righteous, and the Lord heard them, / and deliver them from all their sorrows. The Lord is near the brokenhearted, and saves the humble in spirit. There are many sorrows for the righteous, / and the Lord will deliver them from all of them. The Lord preserves all their bones, not a single one of them will be broken. The death of sinners is cruel, / and those who hate the righteous will sin. The Lord will redeem the souls of His servants, and all who trust in Him will not sin.
Priest: The blessing of the Lord is upon you. That grace and philanthropy, always, now and ever and forever and ever.
Choir:Amen.
Priest: Glory to Thee, Christ God, our Hope, glory to Thee. (On Pascha, on Paschal week and in the celebration of Pascha, instead of “Glory to Thee, Christ God ...” the clergy sing “Christ is risen from the dead, trampling death by death,” and the choir ends: “ And to those in the tombs he gave life.” From the Sunday of Thomas until the celebration of Pascha, the priest says: “Glory to Thee, Christ God, our Hope, Glory to Thee”, I sing the chorus “Christ is Risen…” (Three times)
Choir: Glory, and now. Lord have mercy (Thrice).bless.
Priest pronounces dismissal (on Sunday)
Risen from the dead, Christ, our true God, through the prayers of His Most Pure Mother, the holy glorious and all-praise Apostle, even in the saints of our father John, Archbishop Constantine of the city, Chrysostom (or: St. Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia), and St. (temple and saint, whose memory is on this day), the holy and righteous Godfather Joachim and Anna and all the saints, have mercy and save us, as Good and Humanitarian
perennial
Choir:Our Great Lord and Father ( name ) , His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus', and Our Most Holy Lord ( Name ) metropolitan(or : archbishopor : bishop)(diocesan title ), brethren of this holy temple and all Orthodox Christians, Lord, save them for many years.
Commentaries on the Divine Liturgy of Saint John,Archbishop of Constantinople, Chrysostom
From the Editor: The clergy of the Belgorod diocese have been performing missionary services for several years. At such a service, the priest several times goes out to the people during the service, explaining what is happening in the church at the moment. We published the text of the commentary on the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts.
We hope that the commentary on the Divine Liturgy will be useful both to the laity, who will be able to better understand the service, and to the priests in conducting missionary services.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit!
Beloved brothers and sisters in the Lord, all of us have gathered in this holy temple in order to make our common prayer, because the word “liturgy” in Greek means “common cause”, i.e. the work is not only of the clergy, but of all the faithful who gather in the temple for worship. And this means that every action, every prayer is related to each of us. All prayers that are read by the clergy in the altar have the character of a common, joint prayer of the entire community, and the primate of the service (bishop or priest) performs them on behalf of everyone. And the meaning of our presence with you at divine services is not only to pray for our own joys and sorrows, but that, through the prayer of the entire community, the great sacrament of the Eucharist be accomplished, i.e. Thanksgiving, when the offered bread and wine are transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ, and everyone who approaches the sacrament of Holy Communion is united with Christ Himself.
But the main problem is that our worship is largely incomprehensible. In order to partly resolve this problem today, the Divine Liturgy in the course of its celebration will be accompanied by commentaries explaining the meaning of the sacred rites and prayers being performed. The hours, which are part of the daily circle of worship, have just been read, the priest performed a proskomidia in the altar offering), during which a part of the bread (symbolizing the Lamb of God, i.e. Christ) was removed from the offered prosphora, particles in honor and memory Holy Mother of God, saints, as well as living and dead Orthodox Christians, for whom commemorations were filed. All this relies on the paten and symbolizes the Church of Christ - heavenly and earthly. Wine, combined with water, is poured into the Chalice, in memory of the fact that blood and water flowed from the rib of the Lord, after it was pierced by a spear on the Cross. After that, the offered gifts are covered with special fees (protectors and at hom) and the priest reads the prayer of the offer, in which he asks to bless and accept the offer to the Most Heavenly Altar, to remember " who brought and for their own sake brought”(i.e., those who filed a commemoration and for whom) and remain uncondemned for us during the sacrament.
Thus, the proskomedia ends and the time comes for the liturgy of the catechumens, which will begin literally now. In the preparatory prayers before the liturgy, the priest reads a prayer for the calling of the Holy Spirit " King of Heaven”, and when the service is performed with the deacon, then he, asking for blessings from the primate, says:“ Time to create the Lord, Master, bless". Those. the time of the liturgy is coming, the time when the Lord Himself will act, and we will be only His co-workers.
The Divine Liturgy begins with the solemn exclamation " Blessed is the Kingdom of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit now and forever and forever and ever", to which the chorus replies " Amen", What means May it be so. Any response of the kliros expressed in the pronunciation of the word " Amen» are expressions of consent and acceptance by the people of God, i.e. by all faithful Christians, everything that happens in the Church.
This is followed by a great or "peaceful" litany, which begins with the words " Let's pray to the Lord in peace”, “world”, means “in the world”, i.e. peaceful state of mind and reconciliation with others. It is impossible to offer a sacrifice to God, being in an embittered state. Petitions are made, and together with the kliros we answer them. Lord have mercy". After the great litany, a prayer is read in which the priest asks the Lord to " looked at this holy temple and gave us and those who pray with us inexhaustible mercy". This is followed by the singing of antiphons. Antiphons are whole psalms or verses from them, which are sung alternately by the right and left choirs. Not everywhere, of course, it is possible to follow this tradition. The main content of the antiphons is the glorification of God and His eternal Kingdom. Initially, they were not part of the liturgy, but were sung by the people on their way to the temple. During the singing of antiphons, the priest reads a prayer in which he asks God " save your people and bless your inheritance, preserve your church in fullness ... and do not leave us who trust in you».
Pronounced so-called. "small" litany " packs and packs, let's pray to the Lord in peace”, i.e. " again and again in the world let us pray to the Lord». « Lord have mercy' replies the choir, and with it all of us.
This is followed by the singing of the second antiphon " Praise the Lord my soul"and song" Only Begotten Son”, which expresses the Orthodox teaching about Christ: two natures are combined in Him - divine and human, and both of them are present in Him in their entirety: God, having become incarnate, did not cease to be God, and man, having united with God, remained a man. At this time, a prayer is read by the priest, where he prays “... Himself and now fulfill the petition of Your children for the benefit: give us in the present age the knowledge of Your Truth, and in the future - grant Eternal Life».
And again follows the "small" litany, after which the singing of the third antiphon, the so-called. "blessed", i.e. the beatitudes given by the Lord, during which a small entrance is made. The clergy wear the Holy Gospel from the altar with the reading of a prayer “... make with our entrance the entrance of the holy angels, serving with us and glorifying Your goodness". The priest blesses the holy entrance with the words " Blessed is the entrance of thy saints", followed by the exclamation " Wisdom, sorry!». "Sorry"- so, we will stand straight, reverently. The small entrance symbolizes the appearance of the Church, which, together with the angelic forces, gives unceasing praise to God. But earlier the bringing of the Gospel had a purely practical character, because it was not kept on the throne, but in a separate place, and at that moment it was brought to the temple in order to be read.
The choir sings Come, let us worship and fall down to Christ!”, followed by the singing of troparia and kontakions relying on this day. During the singing, the priest reads the prayer of the Trisagion, which is in direct logical connection with the idea of entrance and the entrance prayer, and it speaks of co-service with the priest and the Heavenly Forces themselves " Holy God, resting in the saints, Whom the seraphim sing and the cherubim glorify with the Trisagion... Himself, Vladyka, accept from the lips of us sinners the Trisagion hymn and visit us according to Thy goodness, forgive us all voluntary and involuntary sins...».
This is followed by the exclamation Lord, save the pious...”, which has been preserved from the ceremonial of the Byzantine service, which was attended by the kings. And immediately follows the singing of the Trisagion " Holy God, holy Mighty, holy Immortal, have mercy on us". During the singing of the Trisagion, the clergy ascend to a high place in the altar, a place where only a bishop can sit, symbolizing Christ. Climbing to a high place takes place to listen to the Holy Scriptures, therefore it is from there that the primate teaches peace to all those gathered, for our hearing the word of God. The reading of the Holy Scriptures is preceded by the singing of the prokimen (translated from Greek. presenting). A prokeimenon is a verse from the Holy Scriptures, most often from the Psalter. For the prokimen, the verse is chosen especially strong, expressive and suitable for the occasion. The prokeimenon consists of a verse, properly called a prokeimenon, and one or three "verses" that precede the repetition of the prokeimenon.
After that, the reader proclaims the appropriate passage from their apostolic epistles. Today there will be two such passages from the letter of the apostle Paul to the Colossians and the first letter to the Corinthians. During the reading of the apostolic epistle, the altar, the iconostasis, the reader of the apostle, the kliros, and all those gathered in the church are incense. Previously, censing was supposed to be done while singing. alliluary with psalm verses, i.e. after the reading of the Apostle, but since this singing is usually performed very hastily, the incense was transferred to the reading of the passage of the apostolic epistle itself. Hallelujah is a Hebrew word and literally means “praise Yahweh” (Yahweh or Jehovah is the name of God revealed in the Old Testament).
Then follows the reading of the Gospel. Before reading it, the priest reads a prayer " Shine into our hearts, philanthropic Lord... Put in us the fear of Your good commandments, so that we, having conquered all the lusts of the flesh, lead a spiritual life...". Today also gospel readings there will be two, and we will stop separately to talk about the meaning of the passages we read.
And now the Divine Liturgy will begin, so I call on all those gathered in the church to a responsible and prayerful presence at the service, because our common prayer is the prayer of the entire Church. God help everyone!
Next stop after reading the Scriptures
Beloved brothers and sisters in the Lord, immediately after reading the Gospel, the so-called. a “deep” litany, during which we pray for the Primate of our Church, His Holiness the Patriarch, the Ruling Bishop, a God-protected country, people and army, for all those who are present and praying, doing good for this holy temple, singing and forthcoming people expecting great mercy from the Lord. For each request, the choir answers three times " Lord have mercy and each of us must repeat this prayer in our hearts. During the litany, the priest prays that the Lord " accepted this fervent prayer ... and had mercy on us according to the multitude of mercy" His. Also, the serving clergy uncover the holy antimension (literally - instead of the throne), a board with a sewn-in particle of holy relics, on which the Bloodless Sacrifice will be brought.
On weekdays, after the “extra” litany, a litany for the dead is prescribed, but on Sundays and other holidays it is not laid, which means that it will not be today either. But let's not forget that the commemoration of the dead is always performed at the proskomidia, and after the consecration of the Holy Gifts, in the place about which more will be said.
After this, the litany of the catechumens is pronounced, which reminds us that in the Ancient Church Baptism was performed only after a long teaching (catechumen) and those preparing for this great sacrament were called catechumens. They were allowed to attend the worship service up to a certain point. After the pronunciation of this litany, all those preparing for Baptism were to leave the service. Today there are practically no catechumens, but the litany has been preserved, it is possible that it will become a guarantee that the ancient practice of catechumens in our Church will be revived. During this litany, the priest prays that the Lord " honored them those. catechumens ) during the auspicious bath of resurrection ( those. christening ) ... united them with His holy, catholic and apostolic Church and joined them to His chosen flock ...».
At the end of the litany, one proclaims: Yelitsy(i.e. all those who) announcement, get out...", which means that the end liturgy of the catechumens and starts liturgy of the faithful, which can only be attended by members of the Church, i.e. Orthodox Christians.
During the pronunciation of the litanies, two prayers of the faithful are read in the altar, in which the priest, on behalf of all those gathered, asks the Lord to accept " ... our prayer, to make us worthy to offer Him prayers, and prayers, and bloodless sacrifices for all His people ...", grant " to all who pray with us, prosperity in life and faith and spiritual understanding" And " innocently and uncondemned to partake of His holy Mysteries and His heavenly Kingdom will be rewarded". At the end of the reading of the second prayer follows the exclamation " Like yes, according to Your power(so that we are under Your dominion) always kept, they sent glory to you, to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and forever and forever and ever". After a double Amen The choir begins to sing the Cherubic Hymn. At the start of the chant cherubic the priest silently reads a prayer in which he asks God " ... deign me that through me, a sinful and unworthy servant of Yours, these gifts were brought to You. Thou Thyself is the bringer and the one who is offered, the receiver and the one who is given away, Christ our God…". This prayer is a preparation for the moment of the great entrance, i.e. transfer of the Gifts from the altar to the throne. After reading the prayer, the priest (if there is no deacon) performs incense, during which the penitent 50 psalm reads to himself.
After incense, the primate raises his hands with the words " We, depicting the cherubim in the sacrament and singing the Trisagion Hymn to the life-giving Trinity, will now set aside all worldly cares in order to receive the King of the world, accompanied invisibly by the orders of angels. Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah».
The transfer of the Gifts and their setting on the throne is expressed in terms of sacrifice, but again, our sacrifices, sacrifices of praise that we ask you to accept" from the hands of us sinners…”. In the event that the liturgy is celebrated without a deacon, the primate takes the paten and the Chalice and, on the solea, commemorates the First Hierarch of our Church, the Ruling Bishop, His Grace metropolitans, archbishops and bishops, as well as all those present in the church with the words “ May the Lord God remember in His Kingdom, always now and forever and forever and ever". Putting the holy vessels on the altar, the priest covers them with air while reciting the troparia of Great Friday. After the transfer of the Gifts from the altar to the throne, we will make one more stop with you to explain the further course of the service. God help everyone!
Next stop after the Great Entrance
Beloved brothers and sisters in the Lord, the Great Entrance has taken place, and you and I have almost come close to the climax of the service - the Eucharistic canon. Immediately after the transfer of the Gifts from the altar to the throne, the petitionary litany begins. Sounds like a petition Execute(i.e. replenish) our prayer to the Lord”, and together with the choir we answer “Lord, have mercy.” After asking " spend the whole day holy, peacefully and sinlessly from the Lord, we ask", we answer with the words" Give me Lord”, and that is why the litany is called petitionary. This litany develops petitions for what people need: a Guardian Angel, the forgiveness of sins, a peaceful death, and so on. During its pronunciation, the prayer of the offering is read. This last prayer before the Anaphora itself (i.e., the Eucharistic canon) draws attention to itself by invoking the Holy Spirit on the Gifts and on the people: “... make us worthy to find favor in Your sight, so that our sacrifice may be acceptable to You and that the good Spirit of Your grace may rest on us, and on these gifts set before us, and on all Your people ...».
After the exclamation By the bounties of Thy Only Begotten Son, blessed be Thou with Him...» the priest teaches « peace to all". Then comes the exclamation " Let us love one another, so that in one mind we may confess and the chorus continues Father and Son and Holy Spirit - Trinity consubstantial and inseparable". In ancient times, at this moment, the so-called. kissing the world when the faithful taught one another the kiss of peace in Christ: men to men, women to women. It can be assumed that the disappearance of this action was associated with the growth of the Church, with the appearance of large gatherings in temples, where no one knows each other and where these actions would be a mere formality. Today, this custom has been preserved only among the clergy, when one greets the other with the words " Christ in our midst» to which the answer follows « and is and will be».
This action symbolically signifies a complete internal reconciliation between Christians who intend to participate in the sacrament of the Eucharist. The commandment of the Savior (Matt. 5:23-24) directly prescribes to be reconciled first with a brother, and then to bring a sacrifice to the altar. But this reconciliation should also mean complete unanimity, complete spiritual unity. Therefore, immediately after the kissing of the world, the Creed is proclaimed (adopted at the First Ecumenical Council in Nicea and supplemented at the Second Ecumenical Council in Constantinople), as a measure of the dogmatic truth of Christians. The Eucharistic offering can only be with one mouth and one heart, in a single faith, in the agreement of dogmas, in the same view on the basic questions of faith and salvation.
After the exclamation Doors, doors, let us listen to wisdom(i.e. let us listen)” the Creed is sung by all the people of God as an expression of the dogmatic unity of the Church. Exclamation " doors, doors” in ancient times was a sign for the deacons who stood at the door so that during the celebration of the Eucharistic prayers no one would go out and enter the assembly of the faithful.
At the end of the singing of the Creed, the Eucharistic canon or prayers of the anaphora (from the Greek. exaltation), which are the culminating part of the liturgy. We hear the exclamation Let's become kind(i.e. slim), let's stand with fear(i.e. we will be with attention) to bring holy exaltation in the world - and the chorus continues mercy, peace and sacrifice of praise". The priest, facing the people, proclaims: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God and the Father, and communion(communication) Holy Spirit be with you all!". The chorus, and with it all of us, answer: And with your spirit". Primate: " Gore e we have(i.e. lift up) hearts', the chorus replies: ' Imams(i.e. we lift up) to the Lord", priest: " Thank the Lord!". And the choir starts to sing It is worthy and righteous to worship the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, the Trinity Consubstantial and Indivisible". At this time, the primate performs a prayer of thanksgiving, in which he praises God for all His blessings revealed and unmanifested to us, for the fact that He brought us from non-existence into existence and restored us again after the fall, for the service that is performed, despite the fact that He thousands of archangels and multitudes of angels are coming, six-winged cherubim and seraphim, many-eyed, soaring on wings, which (proclaims the priest) " singing a song of victory, shouting, shouting and speaking"(continues chorus)" Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord of Hosts; Heaven and earth are full of Your glory! Hosanna(i.e. salvation) in the highest! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!". And the priest continues with these blissful Powers, we, the philanthropic Lord, exclaim..."after which the primate in prayer recalls the event when our Lord Jesus Christ established the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist" taking bread in His holy and blameless and sinless hands, giving thanks and blessing, sanctifying and saying to his disciples and apostles, Take, eat, this is My Body, broken for you in the forgiveness of sins", the choir and we are with him" Amen!". The priest prays Likewise the cup after supper, saying: (out loud) Drink all of it, this is My Blood of the New Testament, shed for you and for many for the remission of sins.". The choir keeps answering " Amen!", priest " So, remembering this His saving commandment and everything He did for us: the cross, the tomb, the three-day resurrection, the ascent to Heaven, on the right hand(from Father) sitting, and also His second and glorious coming,(offering the gifts) “Yours from Yours, bringing to You about everyone and for everything". And further " We sing to You, we bless You, we thank You, O Lord, and we pray to You, our God!(the chorus echoes this). And the priest begins to read the prayer for the calling of the Holy Spirit to the Gifts " and we ask, and we pray, and let us deem(i.e. seizure A eat): send Your Holy Spirit upon us and upon these gifts set before us,».
According to Russian tradition, at this time, the reading of the troparion of the third hour “Lord, even Thy Most Holy Spirit” is supposed to be read, many mistakenly believe that this troparion is just the prayer of invoking the Holy Spirit on the Gifts. In order not to break the integrity of this prayer, it will be read immediately after the words " and we pray to you, our God!».
The epiclesis prayer (i.e. the prayer for the invocation of the Holy Spirit) continues inextricably with the words " And make this bread - the honest body of your Christ"(the priest blesses the paten with his hand)," and the hedgehog in this Cup is the precious Blood of Thy Christ"(the priest blesses the Chalice)," changing by Your Holy Spirit(The priest blesses the diskos and the cup together). After that, a prostration is made before the consecrated Holy Gifts.
Having risen, the primate makes intercessory prayers that we all take communion for the soberness of the soul and the forgiveness of sins. He then prayerfully brings the verbal service " about every righteous soul in the faith who has died". And he proclaims, incense of the throne, Considerably(i.e. especially) about the Most Holy, Most Pure, Most Blessed Lady of Our Mother of God and Ever-Virgin Mary". The choir sings a hymn glorifying the Mother of God, who is the most honest cherubim and the most glorious without comparison seraphim, and the priest continues to commemorate the saints of God, John the Baptist, the holy glorious apostles and saints, whose memory is being celebrated today. Then, please pay attention, the primate commemorates the departed Orthodox Christians, therefore, each of us at this time can and should prayerfully remember all those whom we usually commemorate for their repose. Then the priest prays for every Orthodox bishopric, priesthood, diaconate and every priestly rank, for the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.
After that, the primate exclaims commemorates the First Hierarch of the Russian Church and the Ruling Bishop, after which he reads a prayer for our city, for our country and the salvation of all those Orthodox Christians who are not currently present at the service. Then, again, I ask you to pay attention, it is possible to commemorate the health of Orthodox Christians, but there is very little time for this, so you can have time to prayerfully remember only the people closest to us. This is followed by the exclamation: And give(i.e. give) us with one mouth and one heart to glorify and sing of Your all-honorable and magnificent name, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever and ever”, the choir, together with the people, answers“ Amen!” and the priest, turning his face to all the faithful, proclaims “ And may the mercies of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ be with you all', the chorus replies ' and with your spirit". With this, the Eucharistic canon ends and remains with everything for a little time until the moment of communion of the clergy and laity. At this point, we will stop again to continue explaining the subsequent course of the service. I wish all of us meaningful standing before the Lord!
Next stop after the Eucharistic Canon
Beloved brothers and sisters in the Lord, the change of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ took place, in order to later be offered to the faithful for communion and union with God. Now the litany of supplication will be pronounced after the consecration of the Gifts. Having remembered all the saints, let us pray to the Lord again and again in the world". By saints here is meant not only the holy saints of God, glorified by the Church, but also all faithful Orthodox Christians, deceased and living, commemorated during divine services. In the early Church, saints meant all Christians in general, and the apostolic writings refer to Christians in this way. Further the petition Let us pray to the Lord for the precious gifts brought and consecrated”, this is a petition for sanctification of us by the communion of these Gifts, which follows from the following petition “ So that our philanthropic God, having accepted them on His holy and Most Heavenly and mental altar, as a spiritual fragrance, send down to us divine grace and the gift of the Holy Spirit as a reward - let us pray!”, then the usual petitions for a pleading litany follow, and the priest prays that each of us will commune without condemnation and be cleansed of the filth of the flesh and spirit. On the meaning of this prayer and litany, St. Nicholas Cabasilas, one of the best interpreters of the Liturgy: “Grace acts in the honorable Gifts in two ways: firstly, by the fact that the Gifts are sanctified; secondly, by the fact that grace sanctifies us through them. Therefore, no human evil can prevent the action of grace in the Holy Gifts, since. their sanctification is not an act of human virtue. The second action is the work of our efforts, and therefore our negligence can interfere with it. Grace sanctifies us through the Gifts if it finds us worthy of sanctification; if it finds them unprepared, then it does not bring us any benefit, but causes even greater harm. The litany ends with the petition Having asked for the unity of faith and the communion of the Holy Spirit, let us commit ourselves and each other, and let us commit our whole life to Christ our God." followed by the exclamation " And vouchsafe us, O Lord, with boldness to uncondemned dare to call You, Heavenly God, Father and speak»:
And all the people, together with the choir, sing the Lord's Prayer: Our Father…". The petition in the Lord's Prayer for daily bread acquires a special Eucharistic character during the Liturgy. The prayer ends with the exclamation For yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory ...”, after which the priest teaches peace to everyone, and after the exclamation of head bowing, he reads the appropriate prayer in which he thanks God and asks for our immediate needs“ floating floating, traveling travel, heal the sick Physician of our souls and bodies". After the chorus replies " Amen”, the priest reads a prayer before the crushing of the Holy Lamb, in which he asks God“ to give us His clean Body and His precious Blood, and through us to all His people».
Followed by the exclamation " Let's go!(i.e., let's be careful) "and the primate, lifting up the Holy Lamb, proclaims" Holy to the holy!". Here, as we have already said, the saints are understood to mean all Orthodox Christians, in this case, gathered in this holy temple, i.e. understood by each of us. The choir sings: There is one Holy, one Lord, Jesus Christ, to the glory of God the Father. Amen". The Primate performs the fragmentation of the Holy Lamb, with the words " Fulfillment of the Holy Spirit”puts a particle with the inscription “Jesus” into the Chalice, the particle with the inscription “Christ” will receive communion from the clergy, and the remaining two with the inscriptions “NI” and “KA” (i.e. victory) will be crushed for teaching to everyone who gathers today take communion. A ladle with hot water is poured into the Holy Chalice, the so-called. "warmth", which, by its theological interpretation, goes back to the death of the Savior on the cross, since The blood that flowed from the Lord was hot. After the clergy take communion, we will again make a short stop and explain the rest of the service, after which the Body and Blood of Christ will be given to all who prepared for this today.
Next stop after communion of the clergy
Beloved brothers and sisters in the Lord, the very moment has come when the Chalice with the Body and Blood of Christ will be taken from the altar for the communion of the faithful. As we said at the beginning, the Divine Liturgy has its meaning in the transformation of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ, for the communion of all those gathered at the liturgy. That is why the last part of the liturgy is called the liturgy of the faithful, because all those present at it were not outside spectators, but active participants in the service, aware of their responsible standing before God in common Eucharistic prayer. Communion at every liturgy was the norm for the Christians of the ancient Church, but over time this norm began to be forgotten, and today we can see how in the temple, in which there are a sufficient number of people, only a few communicants. Often we talk about our unworthiness, and this is absolutely true, each of us is not worthy to be able to unite with Christ Himself, and woe to those who suddenly realize their dignity in front of the Holy Chalice. Precisely because we are weak and unworthy, we are called to heal our ailments in the Sacraments of the Holy Church - repentance and communion above all. The universality of communion of all the faithful at the liturgy reveals the nature of the Church, which itself is the Body of Christ, which means that each member of Her is His particle.
Striving for constant unity with God in joint prayer and communion in the sacraments, we will step by step make our spiritual ascent, to which every Christian is called. The liturgy is celebrated not so that we can light candles and order Mass, or rather, we also have every right to do all this, but the main meaning of its celebration is our union with God Himself. The goal of the life of an Orthodox Christian is to achieve O because, according to the words of St. Athanasius the Great, "God became man so that man might become God." And our deification is unthinkable without participation in the sacraments of the Church, to which we must resort not occasionally, from time to time, but constantly, remembering that this is precisely what our church life consists of. Naturally, all this is unthinkable without painstaking and careful work on oneself, without fighting one's sins, because as it is said in the Holy Scripture: The kingdom of heaven is taken by force, and those who use force take it by force» (Matthew 11:12). God saves us, but not without us, if each of us does not yearn for salvation, then it will be impossible to achieve it.
And in addition to our constant mysterious life, we must make efforts to better know our faith, because everyone who looks at us already forms an idea about the Church of Christ, and what will this idea be if we cannot give answers to elementary questions. One must constantly force oneself to study, to read the Holy Scriptures, the Fathers of the Church, the works of Orthodox theologians, and, undoubtedly, to improve in prayer work. Each of us has a huge responsibility before God, the Church and people, because by becoming Christians we became, according to the words of the Apostle Peter, “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy people, people taken as inheritance in order to proclaim the perfections of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Pet. 2:9). With this responsibility in mind, we should carry out our church ministry.
Now the Holy Chalice will be taken out and everyone who was going to take communion today will be united with Christ Himself. After communion, the Chalice is brought into the altar and the holy particles that were taken out for the saints, the living and the dead, are immersed in the Chalice with the words “ wash away, Lord, the sins of all those who are remembered here by the prayers of your saints". Thus, everyone for whom the offering was made is also made the Body of Christ, and this is the highest meaning of the Eucharist - the unity of the heavenly and earthly Churches.
Let's make the particles immerse the priest proclaims " Save, O God, your people and bless your inheritance!". Then the Holy Chalice is transferred to the altar, with the words " Blessed is our God" (quiet) " Always now and forever and forever and ever!"(exclamation). Priest saying " Ascend to heaven, O God, and throughout the earth Your glory”delivers the Chalice to the altar. The choir, on behalf of all those who have communed the Holy Mysteries, sings “ May our lips be filled with Your praise, O Lord, that we may sing of Your glory, for You have honored us with communion with Your holy, divine, immortal and life-giving Sacraments.". This is followed by a litany Let's be reverent! Having communed the divine, holy, immaculate, immortal, heavenly and life-giving, terrible Mysteries of Christ, we worthily thank the Lord!”, followed by the proclaiming “ Let's leave in peace!”and the junior clergyman reads the so-called. "beyond the ambo" prayer, in which he asks " Lord… save Your people and bless Your inheritance… Grant Peace to Your world, Your churches, priesthood, our rulers and all Your people…". The choir with the people answers " Amen!”, after which the blessing is taught with all the right words“ God bless you...". After that, the primate makes a vacation, i.e. the final prayer of the liturgy, in which the Mother of God, the holy apostles, the saints of the temple and the day are remembered (today it is, first of all, Equal-to-the-Apostles Nina, Enlightener of Georgia) and St. John Chrysostom, whose liturgy is celebrated today. After that, the choir sings for many years to the Primate of the Russian Church, His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy II and our Ruling Bishop, His Eminence John, Archbishop of Belgorod and Starooskolsky. Thus, the service ends.
We hope that today's service, which was constantly commented on during its celebration, has given us the opportunity to get to know our liturgical heritage better, and we will continue to make efforts so that we have a desire to more and more comprehend our Orthodox heritage, through meaningful participation in worship, through participation in the Sacraments of the Holy Church. Amen.
The end and glory to our God!
There are many worship services. Each of them is not only solemn and beautiful. Behind the external rites lies a deep meaning that a believing person needs to understand. In this article, we will tell in simple terms about the liturgy. What is it and why is the liturgy considered the most important divine service among Christians?
daily circle
Worship is the outer side of religion. Through prayers, hymns, sermons and sacred rites, people express their reverent feelings for God, thank him and enter into mysterious communion with him. In Old Testament times, it was customary to perform services continuously throughout the day, starting at 6 pm.
What services are included in the daily cycle? Let's list them:
- Vespers. It is performed in the evening, thanking God for the past day and asking to bless the approaching night.
- Compline. This is a service after dinner, at which parting words are given to everyone getting ready for bed and prayers are read asking the Lord to protect us during the night's rest.
- The Midnight Office used to be read at midnight, but is now celebrated before Matins. It is dedicated to the expectation of the second coming of Jesus Christ and the need to always be ready for this event.
- Matins are served before sunrise. On it, the creator is thanked for the past night and asked to bless the new day.
- Clock services. At a certain time (hours) in the church, it is customary to recall the events of the death and resurrection of the Savior, the descent of the holy spirit on the apostles.
- All-night vigil. "Vigil" means "awake." This solemn service is performed before Sundays and holidays. Among the ancient Christians, it began with Vespers and lasted all night, including Matins and the first hour. The story of the salvation of sinful mankind through the descent to earth of Christ is remembered by believers during the all-night vigil.
- Liturgy. This is the culmination of all worship. During it, the sacrament of communion is performed.
The prototype for her was the Last Supper, for which the Savior gathered his disciples for the last time. He gave them a cup of wine, symbolizing the blood that Jesus shed for humanity. And then he divided the Easter bread among all as a prototype of his body, sacrificed. Through this meal, the Savior gave people himself and ordered to perform a ceremony in memory of him until the end of the world.
What is the liturgy now? This is a memory of the life of Jesus Christ, his miraculous birth, painful death on the cross and ascension to heaven. The central event is the sacrament of communion, at which parishioners partake of sacrificial food. Thus, believers are united with the Savior, and divine grace descends on them. By the way, from the Greek "liturgy" is translated as "joint work". During this service, one's own involvement in the church is acutely felt, the unity of the living and the dead, sinners and saints through the central figure of Jesus Christ.
Liturgical canons
The apostles were the first to serve the liturgy. They did this following the example of Jesus Christ, adding to the sacrament of communion prayer and the reading of the Bible. It is believed that the original order of the service was the apostle James, the brother of the Savior, the son of the carpenter Joseph from his first wife. The canon was transmitted orally from priest to priest.
The text of the liturgy was first written down in the 4th century by Saint and Archbishop Basil the Great. He canonized the version adopted in his homeland (Cappadocia, Asia Minor). However, the rite he proposed was long in time, and not all parishioners endured it. Saint John Chrysostom shortened the service, taking as a basis the original Liturgy of the Apostle James. At present, the canon of Basil the Great is served ten times a year, on special days. The rest of the time, preference is given to the liturgy of Chrysostom.
Divine Liturgy with explanations
In Rus', it was called "mass", as it was done before lunch. The Liturgy is an unusually beautiful, rich service. But only those who realize the deep meaning of what is happening can truly feel it. After all, the main character during the liturgy is not the priest, but the Lord himself. The Holy Spirit invisibly descends on the bread and wine prepared for the sacrament of communion. And they become the flesh and blood of the Savior, through which any person is freed from the sinful beginning.
During the liturgy, the unity of the material and the divine, people and God, which was once broken by Adam and Eve, is restored. In the temple comes the kingdom of heaven, over which time has no power. Everyone present is transferred to the Last Supper, where the Savior personally gives him wine and bread, calling on everyone to be merciful and loving. Now let's take a closer look at each stage of the liturgy.
Submission of notes
What is a liturgy? This is a service during which the boundaries between the kingdom of heaven and earth are erased. We can directly turn to God with a petition for loved ones. But collective prayer is even more powerful. In order for the whole church to pray for people dear to you, living or deceased, you must first submit a note to the candle shop.
To do this, use a special form or a regular sheet of paper on which a cross is drawn. Next, sign: "For health" or "For peace." Prayer during the liturgy is especially needed by people who are sick, suffering, and stumbled. Notes of the dead are served on the birthdays and deaths of a person who has left this world, on his name day. It is allowed to indicate on one sheet of paper from 5 to 10 names. They must be received at baptism. Surnames and patronymics are not required. The note cannot include the names of unbaptized people.
Proskomedia
This word is translated as "bringing". Ancient Christians themselves brought bread, wine, butter and other products necessary for communion to church. This tradition is now lost.
Liturgy in the temple begins secretly, with the altar closed. At this time, the clock is being read. The priest prepares gifts on the altar. To do this, he uses 5 service prosphora in memory of the five loaves with which Jesus fed the crowd. The first of them is called "Lamb" (lamb). This is a symbol of an innocent victim, a type of Jesus Christ. A quadrangular part is cut out of it. Then pieces are taken out of other breads in memory of the Mother of God, all the saints, living clergymen and living laity, deceased Christians.
Then comes the turn of small prosphora. The priest reads the names from the notes submitted by the parishioners and takes out the appropriate number of particles. All pieces are placed on diskos. He becomes a prototype of the church, where the saints and the lost, the sick and the healthy, the living and the departed gather together. Bread is dipped into a cup of wine, which means purification through the blood of Jesus Christ. At the end of the proskomedia, the priest covers the diskos with veils and asks God to bless the gifts.
Liturgy of the catechumens
In ancient times, those who were just preparing for baptism were called catechumens. Anyone can attend this part of the liturgy. It begins with the exit of the deacon from the altar and the exclamation: "Bless, Master!" This is followed by the singing of psalms and prayers. At the liturgy of the catechumens, the life path of the Savior is remembered from birth to mortal suffering.
The climax is the reading of the New Testament. The gospel is solemnly carried out of the northern gates of the altar. A priest walks ahead with a burning candle. This is the light of the teachings of Christ and at the same time a prototype of John the Baptist. The deacon carries the gospel raised up - a symbol of Christ. The priest follows him, bowing his head in obedience to God's will. The procession ends at the pulpit in front of the royal gates. During the reading of the Holy Scriptures, those present should stand with their heads bowed respectfully.
Then the priest voices the notes submitted by the parishioners, the whole church prays for the health and repose of the people indicated in them. The liturgy of the catechumens ends with the exclamation: "Catechumens, depart!" After that, only the baptized remain in the church.
Liturgy of the Faithful
To fully understand what the liturgy is, people who are admitted to communion can. The last part of the service is devoted to the Last Supper, the death of the Savior, his miraculous resurrection, ascension to heaven and the coming second coming. Gifts are brought to the throne, prayers are read, including the most important ones. In chorus the parishioners sing "The Symbol of Faith", which outlines the foundations of Christian teaching, and "Our Father", a gift from Jesus Christ himself.
The culmination of the service is the sacrament of communion. After him, those gathered thank God and pray for all members of the church. At the very end it is sung: "Blessed be the name of the Lord from now on and forever." The priest at this time blesses the parishioners with a cross, everyone in turn approaches him, kisses the cross and goes home in peace.
How to partake properly
Without taking part in this sacrament, you will not feel for yourself what the liturgy is. Before communion, the believer must repent of his sins, confess to the priest. A fast of at least 3 days is also prescribed, during which one should not eat meat, dairy products, eggs and fish. Communion must be taken on an empty stomach. It is also recommended to refrain from smoking and taking medications.
Before communion, cross your arms over your chest, placing your right over your left. Get in line, don't push. When you come to the priest, say the name and open your mouth. A piece of bread dipped in wine will be placed in it. Kiss the priest's cup and step back. Take the prosphora and "warmth" (a drink of wine diluted with water) on the table. Only after that you can talk.
What is a liturgy? This is an opportunity to remember the whole path of the Savior and unite with him in the sacrament of communion. After the service in the temple, a person is strengthened in faith, his soul is filled with light, harmony and peace.
9.1. What is worship? worship Orthodox Church- this is service to God by reading prayers, hymns, sermons and sacred rites performed according to the Charter of the Church. 9.2. What are worship services for? Worship as the outer side of religion serves as a means for Christians to express their inner religious faith and reverent feelings for God, a means of mysterious communion with God. 9.3. What is the purpose of worship? The purpose of the worship service established by the Orthodox Church is to give Christians the best way to express petitions, thanksgiving and praises addressed to the Lord; to teach and educate believers in the truths of the Orthodox faith and the rules of Christian piety; to bring believers into mysterious communion with the Lord and communicate to them the grace-filled gifts of the Holy Spirit.
9.4. What do the names of Orthodox services mean?
(common cause, public service) is the main divine service during which Communion (Communion) of the faithful takes place. The remaining eight services are preparatory prayers for the Liturgy.
Vespers- a service performed at the end of the day, in the evening.
compline- service after supper (dinner) .
Midnight Office – a service meant to be performed at midnight.
Matins – service performed in the morning, before sunrise.
Clock Services – commemoration of the events (by the hour) of Good Friday (the suffering and death of the Savior), His Resurrection and the Descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles.
On the eve of major holidays and Sundays, an evening service is performed, which is called the all-night vigil, because among the ancient Christians it lasted all night. The word "vigil" means "awake." The All-Night Vigil consists of Vespers, Matins and the First Hour. In modern churches, the all-night vigil is most often performed in the evening on the eve of Sundays and holidays.
9.5. What worship services are performed in the Church daily?
– In the name of the Most Holy Trinity, the Orthodox Church celebrates evening, morning and afternoon services in churches every day. In turn, each of these three divine services is composed of three parts:
Evening worship - from the ninth hour, Vespers, Compline.
morning- from Midnight Office, Matins, the first hour.
Daytime- from the third hour, the sixth hour, Divine Liturgy.
Thus, nine services are formed from the evening, morning and afternoon church services.
Due to the weakness of modern Christians, such statutory services are performed only in some monasteries (for example, in the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Valaam Monastery). In most parish churches, divine services are performed only in the morning and evening, with some reductions.
9.6. What is depicted in the Liturgy?
- In the Liturgy, under the external rites, the whole earthly life of the Lord Jesus Christ is depicted: His birth, teaching, works, suffering, death, burial, Resurrection and Ascension to heaven.
9.7. What is called lunch?
– In the people, the Liturgy is called Mass. The name "mass" comes from the custom of ancient Christians after the end of the Liturgy to use the leftovers of the brought bread and wine at a common meal (or public dinner), which took place in one of the parts of the temple.
9.8. What is called lunch?
- Following the pictorial (Lunch) - this is the name of a short service that is performed instead of the Liturgy when it is not supposed to serve the Liturgy (for example, in great post) or when it is impossible to serve it (there is no priest, antimension, prosphora). The liturgy serves as some image or likeness of the Liturgy, is similar in composition to the Liturgy of the catechumens, and its main parts correspond to the parts of the Liturgy, with the exception of the celebration of the Sacraments. There is no communion during lunch.
9.9. Where can I find out about the schedule of services in the temple?
- The schedule of services is usually posted on the doors of the temple.
9.10. Why isn't there a censing of the temple at every service?
– Burning of the temple and worshipers happens at every divine service. Liturgical censing is complete when it covers the entire church, and small when the altar, the iconostasis and the people from the pulpit are censed.
9.11. Why is there censing in the temple?
- Incense raises the mind to the throne of God, where it goes with the prayers of the faithful. In all ages and among all peoples, the burning of incense was considered the best, purest material sacrifice to God, and of all the types of material sacrifice accepted in natural religions, the Christian Church withheld only this and a few others (oil, wine, bread). AND appearance Nothing is more reminiscent of the grace-filled breath of the Holy Spirit than the smoke of incense. Filled with such lofty symbolism, censing greatly contributes to the prayerful mood of believers and its purely bodily effect on a person. Incense has an uplifting, excitatory effect on the mood. To this end, the charter, for example, before the Paschal vigil prescribes not just incense, but an extraordinary filling of the temple with a smell from the placed vessels with incense.
9.12. Why do priests serve in vestments of different colors?
– The groups have adopted a certain color of the vestments of the clergy. Each of the seven colors of liturgical vestments correspond to the spiritual meaning of the event in honor of which the service is performed. There are no developed dogmatic institutions in this area, but in the Church there is an unwritten tradition that assimilates a certain symbolism to various colors used in worship.
9.13. What do the different colors of priestly vestments mean?
On holidays dedicated to the Lord Jesus Christ, as well as on the days of memory of His special anointed ones (prophets, apostles and saints) the color of the royal vestment is gold.
In golden robes serve on Sundays - the days of the Lord, the King of Glory.
On holidays in honor of the Most Holy Theotokos and angelic forces, as well as on the days of memory of holy virgins and virgins dress color blue or white, symbolizing special purity and purity.
Purple adopted on the feasts of the Cross of the Lord. It combines red (symbolizing the color of the blood of Christ and the Resurrection) and blue, reminiscent of the fact that the Cross opened the way to heaven.
Dark red color - the color of blood. In red vestments, services are held in honor of the holy martyrs who shed their blood for the faith of Christ.
In green clothes the day of the Holy Trinity, the day of the Holy Spirit and the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem (Palm Sunday) are celebrated, since the green color is a symbol of life. Divine services are also performed in green vestments in honor of the saints: the monastic feat revives a person by union with Christ, renews his whole nature and leads to eternal life.
In black robes usually serve on weekdays. Black color is a symbol of renunciation of worldly fuss, crying and repentance.
White color as a symbol of the Divine uncreated light, it was adopted on the holidays of the Nativity of Christ, Theophany (Baptism), Ascension and Transfiguration of the Lord. In white vestments, Paschal Matins also begins - as a sign of the Divine light that shone from the Tomb of the Resurrected Savior. White robes are also relied upon for Baptisms and burials.
From Easter to the Feast of the Ascension, all divine services are performed in red vestments, symbolizing the inexpressible fiery love of God for the human race, the victory of the Risen Lord Jesus Christ.
9.14. What do candlesticks with two or three candles mean?
“These are the dikirium and the trikirium. Dikyriy - a candlestick with two candles, signifying two natures in Jesus Christ: Divine and human. Trikirion - a candlestick with three candles, signifying faith in the Holy Trinity.
9.15. Why in the center of the temple on the lectern, instead of the icon, sometimes there is a cross decorated with flowers?
- It happens on Holy Week Great post. The cross is taken out and placed on the lectern in the center of the temple, in order to inspire and strengthen those who are fasting to continue the feat of fasting as a reminder of the suffering and death of the Lord.
On the feasts of the Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord and the Origin (Deposition) of the Honest Trees of the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord, the Cross is also brought to the center of the temple.
9.16. Why does the deacon stand with his back to those praying in the temple?
- He stands facing the altar, in which the Throne of God is located and the Lord Himself is invisibly present. The deacon, as it were, leads the worshipers and on their behalf pronounces prayer petitions to God.
9.17. Who are the catechumens who are called to leave the temple during the service?
- These are people who are not baptized, but who are preparing to receive the Sacrament of Holy Baptism. They cannot participate in the Church Sacraments, therefore, before the start of the most important Church Sacrament - Communion - they are called to leave the temple.
9.18. What date does carnival start?
- Maslenitsa is the last week before the start of Lent. It ends with Forgiveness Sunday.
9.19. Until what time do they read the prayer of Ephraim the Syrian?
- The prayer of Ephraim the Syrian is read until Wednesday of Passion Week.
9.20. When is the Shroud taken away?
– The shroud is taken to the altar before the start of the Easter service on Saturday evening.
9.21. When can one venerate the Shroud?
– You can venerate the Shroud from the middle of Good Friday until the beginning of the Easter service.
9.22. Is there Communion on Good Friday?
- No. Since the Liturgy is not served on Good Friday, because on this day the Lord Himself sacrificed Himself.
9.23. Does Communion take place on Great Saturday, at Easter?
– Liturgy is served on Great Saturday and Pascha, therefore, there is also the Communion of the faithful.
9.24. How long does the Easter service last?
- In different churches, the end time of the Easter service is different, but most often it happens from 3 to 6 in the morning.
9.25. Why are the Royal Doors open during the entire Liturgy during Paschal Week?
– Some priests are awarded the right to serve the Liturgy with the Royal Doors open.
9.26. What days is the Liturgy of Basil the Great?
- The Liturgy of Basil the Great is celebrated only 10 times a year: on the eve of the feasts of the Nativity of Christ and the Baptism of the Lord (or on the days of these holidays, if they fall on a Sunday or Monday), January 1/14 - on the day of memory of St. Basil the Great, on five Sundays Great Lent ( Palm Sunday excluded), on Maundy Thursday and Holy Saturday Holy Week. The Liturgy of Basil the Great differs from the Liturgy of John Chrysostom in some prayers, their longer duration and more drawn-out singing of the choir, which is why it is served a little longer.
9.27. Why is the liturgy not translated into Russian to make it more understandable?
– The Slavic language is a grace-filled spiritualized language that the holy church people Cyril and Methodius created specifically for worship. People have lost the habit of the Church Slavonic language, and some simply do not want to understand it. But if you go to the Church regularly, and not go occasionally, then the grace of God will touch your heart, and all the words of this pure spirit-bearing language will become clear. The Church Slavonic language, due to its figurativeness, accuracy in the expression of thought, artistic brightness and beauty, is much more suitable for communication with God than the modern crippled spoken Russian language.
But the main reason for the incomprehensibility lies not in Church Slavonic, it is very close to Russian - in order to fully perceive it, you need to learn only a few dozen words. The fact is that even if the entire service were translated into Russian, people would still not understand anything in it. The fact that people do not perceive worship is a language problem in the least; in the first place - ignorance of the Bible. Most of the chants are highly poetic retellings of biblical stories; without knowing the source, it is impossible to understand them, in whatever language they are sung. Therefore, whoever wants to understand Orthodox worship must first of all begin by reading and studying Holy Scripture, and it is quite accessible in Russian.
9.28. Why are the lights and candles sometimes extinguished during worship in the temple?
- At Matins, during the reading of the Six Psalms, candles are extinguished in churches, except for a few. The Six Psalms is the cry of a penitent sinner before Christ the Savior who came to earth. The absence of illumination, on the one hand, helps to reflect on what is being read, on the other hand, it reminds of the gloom of the sinful state depicted by the psalms, and that external lightness does not suit the sinner. By arranging this reading in this way, the Church wants to incline believers to self-deepening, so that, having entered into themselves, they enter into a conversation with the merciful Lord, who does not want the death of a sinner (Ezek. , Savior, relationships broken by sin. The reading of the first half of the Six Psalms expresses the grief of the soul that has moved away from God and is seeking Him. Reading the second half of the Six Psalms reveals the state of a repentant soul reconciled with God.
9.29. What psalms are included in the Six Psalms and why these particular ones?
—The first part of Matins opens with a system of psalms known as the Six Psalms. The composition of the Six Psalms includes: Psalm 3 “Lord, that thou hast multiplied”, Psalm 37 “Lord, let not fury”, Psalm 62 “God, my God, I will morning at Thee”, Psalm 87 “Lord God of my salvation”, Psalm 102 “Bless my soul is the Lord”, Psalm 142 “Lord, hear my prayer”. The Psalms are chosen, probably not without intention, from different places of the Psalter evenly; in this way they represent it all. The psalms are chosen to have a uniform content and tone, which dominates the Psalter; namely, they all depict the persecution of the righteous by enemies and his firm hope in God, only growing from the increase in persecution and in the end reaching exultant calm in God (psalm 102). All these psalms are inscribed with the name of David, except for 87, who is the “sons of Korah”, and they were sung by him, of course, during the persecution by Saul (maybe psalm 62) or Absalom (psalms 3; 142), reflecting the spiritual growth of the singer in these disasters. Of the many psalms of similar content, it is these ones that have been chosen here because in some places they mean night and morning (ps. ”, v. 14: “I will learn from the flattering all day long”; ps. in the days I called out and in the nights before you”, v.10: “all day long my hands have lifted up to you”, vv.13, 14: “the food will be known in the darkness of your wonders ... and I call to you, Lord, and pray in the morning mine will precede Thee"; ps.102:15: "his days are like a green flower"; ps.142:8: "I hear you do me Thy mercy in the morning"). Psalms of repentance alternate with thanksgiving ones.
Six Psalms listen in mp3 format
9.30. What is a "polyle"?
- Polyeleos is the most solemn part of matins - the divine service, which is performed in the morning or in the evening; polyeleos are served only at festive matins. This is determined by the liturgical charter. On the eve of Sunday or the Feast of Matins, it is part of the All-Night Vigil and is served in the evening.
Polyeleos begins after reading the kathismas (Psalms) with the singing of laudatory verses from the psalms: 134 - “Praise the name of the Lord” and 135 - “Confess to the Lord” and ends with the reading of the Gospel. In ancient times, when the first words of this hymn “Praise the name of the Lord” sounded after the kathismas, numerous lamps (oil lamps) were lit in the temple. Therefore, this part of the All-Night Vigil is called the "multi-eleon" or, in Greek, polyeleos ("poly" - a lot, "oils" - oil). The Royal Doors are opened, and the priest, preceded by a deacon holding a burning candle, censes the throne and the entire altar, the iconostasis, the choir, those praying, and the entire church. The open Royal Doors symbolize the open Tomb of the Lord, from where the kingdom of eternal life shone. After reading the Gospel, all those present at the service approach the icon of the feast and venerate it. In memory of the fraternal meal of the ancient Christians, which was accompanied by anointing with fragrant oil, the priest traces the sign of the cross on the forehead of everyone who approaches the icon. This practice is called the anointing. The anointing with oil serves as an outward sign of participation in the grace and spiritual joy of the feast, communion with the Church. anointing consecrated oil on the polyeleos it is not a sacrament, it is a rite that only symbolizes the invocation of God's mercy and blessing.
9.31. What is "lithium"?
- Lithia in Greek means fervent prayer. The current charter recognizes four types of litia, which, according to the degree of solemnity, can be arranged in this order: a) “litia outside the monastery”, laid on some of the twelfth feasts and on Bright Week before the Liturgy; b) lithium at the great vespers, connected with the vigil; c) lithium at the end of the festive and Sunday matins; d) Litany for the dead after everyday Vespers and Matins. In terms of the content of the prayers and the order, these types of lithium are very different from each other, but they have in common the procession from the temple. This exodus in the first form (of those listed) of lithium is complete, and in the rest it is incomplete. But here and there it is performed in order to express prayer not only in words, but also in movement, to change its place in order to enliven prayerful attention; the further purpose of the lithium is the expression - removal from the temple - of our unworthiness to pray in it: we pray, standing before the gates of the holy temple, as if before the gates of heaven, like Adam, the publican, the prodigal son. Hence the somewhat repentant and mournful character of the lithic prayers. Finally, in the lithium, the Church proceeds from her grace-filled environment into the outer world or into the porch, as a part of the temple that comes into contact with this world, open to all who are not accepted into the Church or excluded from it, with the goal of a prayer mission in this world. Hence the nationwide and ecumenical character (about the whole world) of lithic prayers.
9.32. What is the procession and when does it happen?
- A procession of the cross is a solemn procession of clergy and believing laity with icons, banners and other shrines. Religious processions are made on annual, special days established for them: on the Bright Resurrection of Christ - the Easter Procession; on the feast of the Epiphany for the great consecration of water in memory of the Baptism of the Lord Jesus Christ in the waters of the Jordan, as well as in honor of shrines and great church or state events. There are also emergency religious processions established by the Church on especially important occasions.
9.33. Where did the processions come from?
- Just like the holy icons, the processions of the cross got their origin from the Old Testament. The ancient righteous often made solemn and popular processions with singing, trumpeting and jubilation. Narratives about this are set out in the sacred books of the Old Testament: Exodus, Numbers, Kings, Psalter and others.
The first prototypes of the processions were: the journey of the sons of Israel from Egypt to the promised land; the procession of all Israel after the ark of God, from which came the miraculous division of the Jordan River (Josh. 3:14-17); a solemn sevenfold circumambulation with the ark around the walls of Jericho, during which the miraculous fall of the impregnable walls of Jericho took place at the sound of sacred trumpets and the cries of all the people (Josh. 6:5-19); as well as the solemn nationwide transfer of the ark of the Lord by the kings David and Solomon (2 Kings 6:1-18; 3 Kings 8:1-21).
9.34. What does the Easter procession mean?
- The Holy Resurrection of Christ is celebrated with special solemnity. The Easter service begins on Holy Saturday, late in the evening. At Matins, after Midnight Office, the Paschal procession is performed - the worshipers, led by the clergy, leave the church to make a solemn procession around the church. Like the myrrh-bearing women who met the resurrected Christ the Savior outside Jerusalem, Christians meet the news of the coming of the Light Christ's Resurrection outside the walls of the temple - they seem to be marching towards the resurrected Savior.
The Paschal procession is accompanied by candles, banners, censers and the icon of the Resurrection of Christ accompanied by a continuous ringing of bells. Before entering the temple, the solemn Paschal procession stops at the door and enters the temple only after the jubilant message has sounded three times: “Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death and bestowing life on those in the tombs!” The procession enters the temple, just as the myrrh-bearing women came to Jerusalem with joyful news to the disciples of Christ about the risen Lord.
9.35. How many times does the Easter procession take place?
- The first Paschal procession takes place on Easter night. Then, during the week (Bright Week), every day after the end of the Liturgy, the Easter procession is performed, and until the feast of the Ascension of the Lord, the same processions are performed every Sunday.
9.36. What does the Procession with the Shroud on Holy Week mean?
- This mournful and deplorable procession takes place in memory of the burial of Jesus Christ, when His secret disciples Joseph and Nicodemus, accompanied by the Mother of God and the myrrh-bearing wives, carried Jesus Christ who died on the cross. They went from Mount Golgotha to the vineyard of Joseph, where there was a burial cave, in which, according to the custom of the Jews, they laid the body of Christ. In remembrance of this sacred event - the burial of Jesus Christ - the procession is performed with the Shroud, which represents the body of the deceased Jesus Christ, as it was taken down from the cross and placed in the tomb.
The apostle says to believers: "Remember My Ties"(Col. 4:18). If the apostle commands Christians to remember his sufferings in chains, how much more strongly should they remember the sufferings of Christ. During the suffering and death of the Lord Jesus Christ, modern Christians did not live and did not then share the sorrows with the apostles, therefore, during the days of Passion Week, they remember their sorrows and lamentations about the Redeemer.
Anyone who is called a Christian, who celebrates the mournful moments of the suffering and death of the Savior, cannot but be a participant in the heavenly joy of His Resurrection, for, according to the words of the apostle: "But joint heirs with Christ, if only we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified with Him"(Rom. 8:17).
9.37. On what emergencies are religious processions performed?
- Extraordinary religious processions are performed with the permission of the diocesan church authorities on cases of particular vital importance for the parish, the diocese or the entire Orthodox people - during the invasion of foreigners, during the attack of a devastating disease, during famine, drought or other disasters.
9.38. What do the banners with which the processions are performed mean?
- The first prototype of the banners was after the Flood. God, appearing to Noah during his sacrifice, revealed a rainbow in the clouds and called it "a sign of an everlasting covenant" between God and people (Gen. 9:13-16). Just as a rainbow in the sky reminds people of the covenant of God, so the image of the Savior on banners serves as a constant reminder of the deliverance of the human race at the Last Judgment from the spiritual fiery flood.
The second prototype of the banner was at the exit of Israel from Egypt during the passage through the Red Sea. Then the Lord appeared in a pillar of cloud and covered all the army of Pharaoh with darkness from this cloud, and destroyed it in the sea, but saved Israel. So on the banners, the image of the Savior is visible as a cloud that appeared from heaven to defeat the enemy - the spiritual pharaoh - the devil with all his army. The Lord always wins and drives away the power of the enemy.
The third type of banners was the same cloud that covered the tabernacle and overshadowed Israel during the journey to the promised land. All Israel gazed at the sacred cloud cover and with spiritual eyes perceived the presence of God Himself in it.
Another prototype of the banner is the copper serpent, which was erected by Moses at the command of God in the wilderness. When looking at him, the Jews received healing from God, since the bronze serpent represented the Cross of Christ (John 3:14,15). So while carrying banners during the procession, believers raise their bodily eyes to the images of the Savior, the Mother of God and the saints; with spiritual eyes, they ascend to their Archetypes that exist in heaven and receive spiritual and bodily healing from the sinful remorse of spiritual serpents - demons that tempt all people.
A practical guide to parish counseling. St. Petersburg 2009.
It is noteworthy that many of those who attend divine services may not at all understand the meaning and deep meaning of the Divine Liturgy. The words spoken in the chant also remain misunderstood. A gap in this kind of knowledge deprives prayer of meaningfulness, therefore, when talking with God - our Heavenly Father - we must consciously approach this issue. Christians must understand the meaning of the words they hear and speak.
For many, going to church becomes almost a feat in spiritual sense, after all, you have to wait a long time for your turn for confession, and then listen to the incomprehensible speeches of the churchman. In fact, when we come to the Church, we, in fact, find ourselves in the Upper Room of Zion, where we are waiting for our hour of spiritual purification.
You need to be ready for Orthodox worship, so that together with everyone, with one heart and mouth, we can sing the glory of the Lord. This article will reveal the meaning and give an explanation of this church service, tell about its origin, about what varieties there are, how they are performed, what is the order.
Divine Liturgy with explanations - download, listen online
There is also a wonderful lecture by Protodeacon Andrei Kuraev on the Divine Liturgy, in which a detailed explanation of the Orthodox rite is given in intelligible language and easy style (understandable even for dummies in this matter).
Lectures by Protodeacon Andrei Kuraev, replete with explanations, can be found in video and audio format, watched and listened to online, and also downloaded. Such materials are recommended for familiarization both to people starting their Orthodox path and to churchgoers.
The divine liturgy should not be confused with the funeral service, which is called requiem. This service differs in that it commemorates the dead, is served on the day of the death of the deceased, also on the 3rd, 9th, 40th day, and on every anniversary after death, on birthdays, name days.
A memorial service can be served both in church by a priest and at home by a layman. During this service, trusting in the mercy of God, the Lord asks for forgiveness of sins for the deceased and eternal life.
What is the liturgy in the church
This is the main Christian service, it is also called mass - the basis and center of the entire church world.
The purpose of this sacred tradition is to prepare for the sacrament of the Eucharist or Communion, which takes place at the close of the service.
The first Eucharist was celebrated by Jesus Christ on Maundy Thursday.
This is interesting: Maundy Thursday (otherwise Maundy Thursday, Holy Thursday) is the fourth day of Great Week. On this day, followers of the Christian faith remember the Last Supper. It was then that Jesus Christ performed the washing of the feet of the apostles and established the sacrament of Communion. Surrounded by his disciples, Christ blessed the bread, which is His Body, and the wine, which is His Blood, and said: “Take, eat: this is My Body” (Matthew 26:26; Mark 14:22; Luke 22:19 ).
It is during this main church service that the dead are commemorated according to the notes “For the Repose” and about health according to the notes “On Health”, which are served by Christians. It is recommended to submit notes before the start of the service, and preferably in the evening - at the evening service.
Origin of the Orthodox Liturgy
As mentioned earlier, the Eucharist forms the basis of liturgical worship. IN Ancient Greece there was such a thing as the Eucharist.
Translated from Greek into Russian, this word means "common cause." As history testifies, after the ascension of the Savior to heaven, the apostles, in remembrance of Him, broke bread.
In the future, the tradition was passed on to all followers of this religion. Christians, having accepted the teaching of the apostles, also began to perform this sacrament, and do so to this day.
The service itself has changed over time. If at first the liturgy was performed in the order that was established in the time of the Apostles (when communion was combined with meals, prayers and fellowship), then in modern realities the liturgy was separated from the meal and turned into an independent ritual. Sacred rites began to be held in churches and temples.
What are the liturgies
Liturgical rites vary depending on the venue. For example, in Israel, the rite of the Liturgy of the Apostle James was formed.
The essence and meaning of the various options sacred rite are absolutely united, and the difference lies in the prayer texts pronounced by the priests and priests.
I would like to note that in various churches two services are served at once - early and late. The first, as a rule, begins at about 7 o'clock in the morning, and the second - at 10 o'clock. Services are held in different aisles, different priests serve, confession takes place both at early and at late Mass.
This was done for the parishioners themselves - those who work can attend early services, as well as mothers and fathers of families can attend such services without children, and bring their household members to a late service. Thus, every believing Christian can enjoy prayerful communion with God.
Liturgy of the Apostle James
This rank refers to the Jerusalem type, compiled by the Apostle James. In the 1930s, the rank was also introduced in the Russian Orthodox Church, however, not in Russia, but abroad. After 40 years, this variety church service received distribution in the Moscow Patriarchate.
Today, divine services are performed in the Orthodox churches of our country several times a year.
The difference between this rite and others like it is the way the service is conducted for the laity. Communion of the Body and Blood of Christ takes place separately: first they partake of bread from the hands of a priest, and then from another minister they receive the Chalice of the Blood of Christ.
Such a service is performed on the day of remembrance of St. James - October 23, and is also served in the East and in some Russian churches.
Liturgy of the Apostle Mark
This rank belongs to the classical Alexandrian type. The features of worship in this case include conciseness, expressiveness, clarity.
Thanks to these qualities, the ceremony began to enjoy great popularity in several countries at once - at first it was performed in Alexandria, then in Egypt, and then in Italy, Armenia and Syria.
The conduct of the liturgy consists in the fact that first a procession of clergy is carried out (small entrance), then there are exclamatory prayers.
Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom
This is one of three services performed in the Russian Orthodox Church, which include the liturgy of St. Basil the Great, on the basis of which the rite of John Chrysostom was compiled, and the liturgy of St. Gregory Dvoeslav.
Divine services are held almost all year round, with the exception of some special days.
Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great
Divine services are held 10 times a year, including Christmas and Epiphany.
The order of the service and the content of the service, with some exceptions, coincide with the previous rank.
Liturgy of Saint Gregory the Dialogist
This service is also called the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts. This is explained by the fact that the Body and Blood are consecrated during this service, and then the parishioners and clergy take communion with them.
The Orthodox rite is performed on Wednesday and Friday of Great Lent.
The order of celebration of the full liturgy and its explanation
Before performing the main church service, the clergy must prepare themselves. Still not putting on any vestments, standing in the temple in front of the royal urats, the priests pray, reading the so-called "Entrance Prayers".
Then the ministers bow and kiss the icons of the Savior and the Mother of God and recite the troparia.
After that, the priests secretly pray in front of the gates so that the Lord would strengthen them for the upcoming service. Then they bow to each other, to the holy icons and to the people, and enter the altar.
The service lasts about two hours and takes place mainly in the morning. The duration, however, can be completely different, and in addition, services can be held even at night or in the evening.
As a rule, the ceremony is held in Sundays, as well as on the days of holidays, on the days of the memory of the Saints and the celebration of icons. The whole ceremony of worship is a sequential series of actions, divided into several stages, having their own names and performed in accordance with certain rules.
The church service consists of three parts:
- proskomedia;
- the liturgy of the catechumens;
- liturgy of the faithful.
The Liturgy of St. Gregory the Dialogist does not belong to the full rites. The procedure and scheme for performing a full church service is as follows.
First, the clergy prepare the substance for the celebration of the sacrament of the Eucharist from bread and wine. Secondly, there is preparation for the Sacrament. And thirdly, the Eucharist is celebrated, during which the Holy Gifts are consecrated, and the Holy Communion worship participants.
Proskomedia
This is the first stage. The process consists in preparing and bringing the necessary attributes of worship - bread and wine. Proskomidia is performed on the altar during the reading of the hours (prayer blessings that sanctify a certain time of the day).
At the very beginning of the proskomedia, the ministers of the church put on a sacred robe and read the entrance prayers. Further, on the first prosphora, an image of a cross is made three times, a prayer is said. The middle is cut out of the prosphora in the form of a cube - the Lamb. It is placed on one of the liturgical vessels - paten.
Next, the priest pours wine into the chalice. Particles of five prosphora are placed on three sides. At the end, the clergyman covers the vessels with the Gifts with covers and "air" and asks God to bless the Gifts.
Liturgy of the catechumens
In ancient times, participation in church rites required serious long-term preparation. People had to study religious dogmas, attend church, but they had the right to read prayers during the church service only before bringing the Gifts from the altar to the throne.
First, prayer petitions are pronounced, psalms and troparia are sung. Further, the catechumens must leave the place of the Orthodox rite, since the main stage of the Divine Liturgy begins.
Liturgy of the Faithful
As soon as the call to the catechumens to leave the temple sounds, the third part of the service begins. Prayers are spoken, chants are sung. At the same time, the transfer of the Gifts to the throne takes place. This process was called the great move, which symbolizes the procession of the Savior to suffering and death.
Before the consecration of the Holy Gifts, a petitionary litany is pronounced. A litany is also pronounced, which prepares those present for communion, then the prayer "Our Father" is sung. Then comes the communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ to all those who prepared for this and received the blessing of the clergyman.
It is important to know: in order to become a participant in the great sacrament of Communion, believers must go through a liturgical fast and clear their conscience - do not eat or drink after 00 hours the day before and come to confession.
After the Chalice is brought to the altar, a short litany is said. At the end of the church service, the priest calls for a blessing on the worshipers, the parishioners kiss the cross, and prayers of thanksgiving are read.
Conclusion
Such is the essence and order of the Divine service. Everyone who considers himself a member of the Christian faith must know everything about the liturgy and understand the meaning of all actions in order to conduct a dialogue with God and make his faith truly meaningful.