All-night vigils were performed in the very first centuries of Christianity. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself often devoted the night hours to prayer (Matt. 14:23; 26-46, etc.). “Watch and pray,” the Savior told the apostles, “lest you fall into temptation” () (Matthew 26:41). And the apostles gathered at night for prayer (see, for example, Acts 20:7; 25). During the era of persecution, Christians also performed services at night.
St. Basil the Great (4th century), in his writings about the all-night services, writes: “Our people are awake in the church in labor, in sorrow and in tearful contrition, confessing to God, and, having risen from prayers, begin psalmody ... already at dawn day, all together, as if with one mouth and one heart, lift up to the Lord a psalm of confession ... "().
St. John Chrysostom (†407) also praised his flock: “You do not know day and night, but you turn both times into day, not changing the air, but enlightening the nights with all-night vigils. You have nights without sleep, and the power of sleep has ceased, since love for Christ has overcome the weakness of nature ... You rejected hatred, removed low passions, planted virtues, had the power to spend the whole night in sacred vigil ... "().
Night services, which St. Basil the Great calls in Greek "agripnia", that is, "sleepless", were, according to him, widespread in the East, were performed on Sundays throughout the year, on Holy Paschal night, on the feast of the Epiphany and in the days of memory of the holy martyrs ().
The Easter service in the ancient Jerusalem Church was dedicated to the memories of the events of the last days of the earthly life of Jesus Christ (). Prayers and the reading of Holy Scripture, which tells about this or that evangelical event, took place in historical places where they took place, and Christians, listening to the word of God, became, as it were, eyewitnesses of these events.
Subsequently, all-night services began to precede other solemn church holidays. But the tradition of celebrating Easter in Jerusalem in the first centuries, when Christians became, as it were, witnesses of recollected sacred events, took root and was consistently developed by the authors of the Order of the All-Night Vigil. Thanks to their liturgical creativity, the all-night vigil also helps us to spiritually experience the events of sacred history. The great prayer books—the holy fathers—the Monk Chariton the Confessor and Savva the Sanctified, Saints John Chrysostom and Sophronius, the Patriarch of Jerusalem, the Monk John of Damascus worked on compiling the rite of the All-Night Vigil.
The All-Night Vigil unites Great Vespers with Litiya and Blessing of the Loaves, Matins and the First Hour. The deep theological content, the moral and edifying nature of the readings and hymns of the service, the richness of artistic and musical content developed over the centuries make the All-Night Vigil a treasury of Orthodox worship. The dramatic experience of the All-Night Service and its prayerful spirit prepare the Christian to put aside all earthly cares and with dignity, with a clear conscience and reverence, begin the Divine Liturgy.
To the all-night service, a blasphemy is laid: first at the big bell, then at all the bells - it is festive. During the ringing, it is customary to read the 50th psalm or the Creed.
The all-night vigil usually begins at 6 pm on Great Vespers. Vespers reflects the history of the Church of God in the Old Testament times and shows that the Old Testament has its logical conclusion in the New Testament.
The general theological idea of Vespers is the salvation of mankind in the Old Testament, through faith in the coming Messiah, the Savior of the world promised by God (Genesis 3:15). The rite of Vespers was composed under the influence of the liturgy, so they have many similar elements. At the liturgy, the Lord, through the hands of a priest, offers Himself as a Bloodless Sacrifice; at Vespers, a spiritual, prayerful, thanksgiving offering to God.
Before the beginning of Vespers, the royal doors are opened and the clergy perform the incense of the altar, which marks the Divine grace that filled Paradise, and the blessed stay of the forefathers in it ().
Then the deacon calls on Christians to rise before the beginning of the service with the exclamation Arise! (in ancient times they sat in churches) and asks for the blessing of the primate at the beginning of the service. The priest, standing before the throne in the altar, utters not the usual exclamation of Vespers being celebrated Blessed be our God always, now and forever and forever and ever, by which the Old Testament knowledge of man about God is confessed, but he theologizes in the grace of the New Testament, glorifying the Holy Trinity: Glory to the Saints, Consubstantial , the Life-Giving and Inseparable Trinity, always, now and forever and forever and ever. Choir sings: Amen.
The word "amen" in Hebrew means "truly", "so be it". It serves as a confirmation of what has been said, and Blessed Jerome calls it "the seal of prayers." Then the clergy in the altar (or choir) sing: Come, let us worship, calling for the worship of the Lord Jesus Christ as the King - Creator and Ruler of the visible and invisible world (John 1, 3; Rev. 1, 5). The entire temple is incensed as a sign of the Holy Spirit, which, as the Bible tells us, “floated over the waters” at the creation of the world (Gen. 1, 2). By incense, honor is given to icons and all shrines, the sanctifying grace of God is invoked on the coming people.
Burning incense is an ancient Christian liturgical custom. It takes place in the likeness of the Heavenly Church and in the manner of the Old Testament Church (Ex. 30:1, 7-9). In Revelation, the holy Apostle John the Theologian saw an angel who stood before the Heavenly Altar, holding a golden censer, and a great deal of incense was given to him (Rev. 8:3-4).
The exclamations of the priest after the litanies gradually reveal to us the attributes of God. They glorify the Kingdom, the power and the glory of God; the goodness and philanthropy of God, who has mercy and saves us.
The priest at the altar reads seven secret prayers, according to the number of days of creation (Gen. 1). They contain petitions to the Merciful and Long-suffering God for our spiritual enlightenment, for granting us love for Him, the fear of God and reverence - the fear of offending His love for us, for granting us the joy of singing praises to God from a pure heart now and in Eternal Life. In the Charter of the Church, these prayers are called luminous prayers, since from the most ancient times Vespers was celebrated with lit lamps, and Vespers itself was often called the luminous service.
To reconcile with God and restore spiritual communion with Him, a person needs to realize his sinfulness and freely choose in life the path of faith in God and fidelity to His will. The singing of Psalm 1 Blessed is the husband depicts the life of the Old Testament righteous, who, in the midst of wickedness and unbelief, did not lose hope in the Promised Christ the Savior. This psalm figuratively also speaks of the Only Begotten Son of God, the Only Blessed Man, who did not commit sin. The content of the psalm is instructive even in our time. The followers of the Lord, believing in His teaching, follow the path of life indicated by Him in the Holy Gospel (John 14:6), striving for the path of righteousness according to the commandments of God. Those who have chosen the path of self-will are forced to go through life without the help of God and deviate into the path of perdition. Therefore, the Lord says: “he who believes in the Son has Eternal Life” (John 3:36), but “he who does not believe is already condemned” (John 3:18). Whoever struggles with evil in himself and around him, believes in the grace-filled help of God, in His merciful forgiveness of sins, the power of God will save him from deviating onto the path of the ungodly, the path of vice and deceit.
To each verse of the 1st Psalm, the refrain of Alleluia (Praise God) is sung - a joyful and mysterious word, the song of eternity (Rev. 19: 1, 3, 4).
After a small litany, stichera () are sung to the Lord, cry out with verses (). Old Testament verses alternate with stichera that tell about the events of the New Testament, which indicates the agreement of the Old and New Testaments. The stichera are sung in one of the eight church tones, antiphonally, that is, alternately by the right and left choirs. Antiphonal singing was revealed in a vision to St. Ignatius the God-bearer, a disciple of John the Theologian: this is how the angels sang praises to God. St. Gregory the Theologian () and St. John of Damascus () call the number "8" a symbol of eternity: the number "7" contains the present time (according to the days of creation), and the eighth day will be after the resurrection of the dead. The tunes of the voices have changed historically. It is impossible, of course, to identify the ancient melody (ancient Greek mode) with vocal singing, but the main one - a prayerful mood, which is conveyed by the content and the corresponding musical reproduction - has survived to this day.
The first voice is simple, important, majestic and most solemn. Ancient writers compared it to the sun, saying that it drives away laziness, lethargy, sleep, sadness and embarrassment. The second voice is full of meekness, reverence, it consoles the sad and drives away gloomy feelings. The third stormy voice, like the sea in bad weather, encourages spiritual warfare. The fourth voice is twofold: it excites joy, it inspires sorrow; with quiet and soft transitions of tones, he conveys a special peace to the soul; inspires a desire for the Heavenly, most expressing the effect of God's grace on us. The fifth voice calms mental disturbances; it is suitable for prayer, weeping for sins. The sixth voice gives rise to pious feelings: devotion, humanity, love. The seventh voice is soft, touching, admonishing. He kindly convinces, calls to ask for propitiation. The eighth voice expresses faith in the future life, contemplates the heavenly mysteries, prays for the bliss of the soul.
By singing Lord, crying out and burning incense at this time, the times are depicted when the Law was given by God through the prophet Moses (Ex. 20; 30, 7, 8) and the Old Testament worship was established. Lord, I cry to You, hear me - this is the voice of a soul that has strayed from God and needs His help. People could not fulfill in all the severity of the Old Testament Law, which was supposed to lead people to a full and living awareness of the impossibility of salvation on their own and through this arouse in every person the desire for the coming to earth of the Promised Savior of the world, who will fulfill the Law and restore the communion of man with God.
The last stichera is Theotokos, or dogmatist, a song to the glory of the Mother of God. It reveals the dogma (church teaching) about the Incarnation of the Lord from the Blessed Virgin Mary (John 1, 1-14). The author of the dogmatists is St. John of Damascus.
During the singing of the dogmatist, an important sacred rite of vespers is performed - the entrance with a censer. Just as at Liturgy a priest enters the altar with the Holy Gifts to offer the Bloodless Sacrifice, so at Vespers, to offer a verbal sacrifice, prayers of praise and thanksgiving.
The evening entrance symbolizes the descent of the Son of God to earth to save people. The mystery of the Incarnation is difficult to convey in words, so the Church silently performs sacred actions that signify this mystery. The royal gates point to those impenetrable gates that the prophet Ezekiel contemplated in a vision (Ezek. 44, 1-2; therefore, the Annunciation is depicted on them), and the entrance itself means the Incarnation. The candle-bearers go with candles, which signify the light of the teachings of Christ (John 1, 1-5, 9). Deacon - the image of the Forerunner of the Lord John (John 1, 15-27). The priest goes "simple", as the book of the Missal indicates, that is, with lowered hands, as if humiliated, like the Son of God at the Incarnation. During the entrance, the priest lifts up a secret prayer for all those present, in which he asks the Lord to save the hearts of the faithful from deviating into evil words and thoughts, asks for deliverance from those who catch our souls - the spirits of evil.
The Song of the Quiet Light tells about the coming to earth at the end of the Old Testament time of Christ, about the beginning of a new, blessed day, the light of which was brought by the Savior, the day of eternity, given to the world by the One Immortal, the One Blessed God, for the sake of the redemptive feat of His Son. This hymn found expression in the Christian teaching about the spiritual light that enlightens man, about Christ, the Source of grace-filled light (John 1:9). This song is very old. Saint Basil the Great writes about her: “Our fathers did not want to accept the grace of the evening light in silence, but as soon as it came, they brought praise” ().
The priest, entering the altar, kisses the throne, which means the Resurrection of the Lord and His appearance after the Resurrection to people, and, depicting that “The Only Begotten Son of God, who descended to us from Heaven, ascended again and brought us to Heaven” (), departs to the heavenly the place of the altar and stands there during the singing of the prokimen (from Greek - “preceding”). Prokimny - “the forefront of the holidays and the coming days” (). They precede parimias - readings from the Holy Scriptures.
On Saturday evening, the prokeimenon, the Lord reign, is sung - about the victory of the Risen Lord over death, the approval by Him of all believers in the universe.
Reading the Old Testament Scriptures (parimia) indicates a type or prophecy in the Old Testament about the sacred event now celebrated by the Church. Parimia (Greek) means a parable, a wise, figurative, edifying allegory. These readings come from various books of the Old Testament and contain a sermon about the expected salvation that Divine Wisdom arranged for us, therefore those praying in the temple are called to reverent attention by the exclamation: Wisdom! Let's go! (We will listen.) During the reading of parimias, the royal doors are closed ().
The prayer of the Church intensifies in a special litany, asking people for great and rich mercies from the Lover of God. The choir supports the zeal of prayer with triple singing, Lord, have mercy.
Vouchsafe, Lord - a prayer for the sending down of a sinless evening and an evening doxology to the Triune God.
In the petitionary litany, as its name suggests, the Church asks the Lord for the various spiritual needs of a Christian.
The priest proclaims: Peace to all, and the deacon calls on those praying to bow their heads in the image of humility and contrition of spirit. In prayer over those who bowed their heads, the priest humbly implores God, who descended from Heaven for the salvation of mankind, to have mercy on those who bowed their heads to Him, for only from Him they expect mercy and salvation, and asks to keep us from the devil at all times.
Litiya - fervent prayer, outside the temple or in its vestibule (). Standing at the entrance to the temple, the clergy signify our humility before God. As if depicting Adam, expelled from Paradise, or the prodigal son, who left his father for a foreign land, they leave the altar and stand for prayer in the porch, in the image of publican humility, according to the parable of the Gospel (Lk. 18, 13).
Lithium prayers are the petitions of the Church for the whole world, for the needs of all mankind. The Church asks for intercession before God from all the saints. She addresses the Most Holy Theotokos, the Forerunner John, St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril and Methodius - enlighteners, teachers of the Orthodox Slavic peoples, Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Duke Vladimir and Grand Duchess Olga and other powerful intercessors, asks for prayerful intercession from the faces of the saints - the apostles, saints , martyrs, reverend and righteous, from the patron saints of this temple. The Church prays for all people, and especially for those in need of help: for those who work (engaged in hard work) and employees, for those who are left behind and in the past, that is, for those who, due to work or other needs, remain outside the church, are not present at the service, oh sick, dead and about their weakness (that is, rest from earthly labors and sorrows) and the remission of sins.
The Church also asks for the deliverance of her children and the whole world from natural disasters, wars and civil strife. He asks for the mercy of God from the coming punishment, that is, the coming just punishment of sinners, asks the Lord to change his just anger to mercy.
Lithia's prayers are intensified by the repeated singing of Lord, have mercy.
The priest proclaims: Peace to all, and all the people, bowing their heads, offer up a humble prayer to the Most Merciful Lord for the acceptance of our petitions not for our sake, but for the sake of our holy representatives, for the forgiveness of sins, protection, driving away enemies, pardon for us and the whole world.
After the lithium, the clergy go to the royal doors, as if ascending to Heaven. The choir sings "stichera on the poem" (that is, with verses from psalms), which tells about the celebrated sacred event. The Monk John of Damascus is considered the author of the Sunday stichera on the verse. The Theotokos of these stichera glorify the Incarnation of Christ and contain a prayer to the Most Holy Theotokos for deliverance from adversity.
The chant Now let go announces the fulfillment of God's promise to send the Savior into the world. This prayer was sung by Simeon the God-Receiver, the last Old Testament righteous man, who at the end of his life was honored to see the Savior of Israel (that is, the faithful children of the Church) - the Lord Jesus Christ, who came into the world (Lk. 2, 22-32).
Trisagion: Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us... Most Holy Trinity, have mercy on us... and the Lord's Prayer Our Father... is the "Divine Seal" (), with which divine services begin and end.
After the exclamation of the priest For Yours is the Kingdom ... the choir sings the troparion (on Sunday) Virgin Mary, rejoice ... - the joyful greeting of the Archangel Gabriel and the righteous Elizabeth to the Blessed Virgin Mary on the day of the Annunciation to Her of the mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God (Lk. 1, 26- 38, 39-45).
Troparion is a short chant that expresses the essence of the holiday.
If a lithium was performed, then five loaves (symbolizing the five gospel loaves with which the Lord fed 5,000 people; Matt. 14:15-21), wheat, wine and oil are placed on the prepared table in a special vessel. The priest prays for the multiplication of these God's gifts and blesses them ().
The choir sings: May the Name of the Lord be blessed from now until forever. This chant and the 33rd psalm following it, from which its most solemn part is sung, serve as a transition to the Matins service. The Church, fulfilling the covenant of the Apostle Paul: “Pray without ceasing, give thanks in everything” (1 Thess. 5:17, 18), with the words of the 33rd psalm, thanks the Lord for the past day and teaches its faithful children the edification that all who seek (seek) God receive saving help (every good) both in earthly life and for the acquisition of blessed eternity. Vespers ends with the invocation of the blessing of the Lord, but the glorification of the wondrous deeds of God continues forever.
Matins is the second part of the All-Night Vigil. It depicts the events of the New Testament.
The first part of Matins elevates the one praying from a repentant mood to joy in God.
By His coming into the world, the Lord Jesus Christ laid the foundation for a new blessed day in the life of the universe. The morning service begins with a song sung by the angels at the birth of the Savior: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men (Luke 2:14), sung three times in honor of the Most Holy Trinity. This doxology is joined by a petition: Lord, open my mouth and my mouth will proclaim your praise () (Ps. 50, 17).
After the chant Glory to God in the highest ... the reading of the Six Psalms begins (Ps. 3, 37, 62, 87, 102, 142). The psalms depict both the joyful state of the soul of a person with whom the mercy of the Lord, and the sorrow of the soul, which is under the weight of sins, realizing the need for redemption.
Day and night, the righteous man cries out to God, realizing his own weakness, as it were, of an infant, fearing many temptations that are destructive to the soul. The merciful and generous Lord cleanses a person from sin, heals ailments, consoles in insults, strengthens on the path of fulfilling the commandments. Putting herself before God as at the Last Judgment, the soul prays for mercy and asks the Holy Spirit to transform her deadly earthiness.
Faith in salvation resounds in all six psalms. Thus, the Six Psalms attune the soul of a Christian to deep spiritual experiences, preparing it for the morning service.
The first three psalms are separated from the next by a triple Alleluia and a small doxology. The final verses of the psalms are repeated in order to draw our attention to them. In ancient times, these verses were sung by choirs and by all the people.
The Six Psalms, as it were, replaces the entire Psalter, which was read in ancient times at the vigil ().
Listen to the reading of the Six Psalms reverently, praying for the forgiveness of your sins. The Holy Fathers advise at this time to reflect on the vanity of human life, on death, and on the Last Judgment of God.
After the reader has read the three psalms, the priest comes out of the altar, portraying the Heavenly Intercessor for us before God - the Lord Jesus Christ (1 John 2, 1, 2). Standing in front of the closed royal doors, he silently reads 12 morning prayers, sanctifying the hours of the all-night vigil.
After the great litany, the deacon solemnly proclaims: Lord God, appear to us! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! God the Lord has appeared to us! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! - the gospel of the Old Testament prophet about the expected Savior of the world (Ps. 117, 19-29). This prophetic voice glorifies the first and second comings of Christ.
Psalm verses (Confess to the Lord...), uttered while singing God the Lord, depict the full suffering of the earthly life of the Savior, who told the apostles about His death and Resurrection, the consequence of which would be the foundation of the Church (Acts 4, 11).
The choir sings God the Lord to the voice with which the troparion of the holiday will be sung.
This is followed by the reading of kathismas according to the Psalter. The Psalter is divided into 20 sections, which are called kathisma. The kathisma is divided into three parts (Glory), after reading each of which a small doxology is sung: “Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and forever and ever. Amen" (hence the name - Glory). Kathisma in Greek means "sitting" - while reading the Psalter, you can sit, but during a short doxology, you must stand up. At the all-night vigil, two ordinary (that is, indicated by the schedule - next to the Charter) kathismas are read, and after each there is a small litany and a sedal () - short prayers timed to coincide with the reading of kathismas.
“Like sinews and bones in the body, so the psalms pass through the entire divine service,” writes the holy righteous John of Kronstadt, “they form its basis, connect the Old Testament with the New, Old Testament singing with the New Testament, prophetic with apostolic and patristic” ().
After reading the kathisma, the most solemn part of Matins begins - polyeles. Polyeleos from the Greek means literally "an abundance of oil, unction." Oil in Holy Scripture is a symbol of God's mercy, blessing, grace-filled gifts, cheerfulness.
At this time, all the lamps are lit in the temple.
The following of Matins is connected with the idea of the uncreated Light of Christ, manifested in His Incarnation and Resurrection from the dead. “In all the churches of the East,” writes Blessed Jerome (4th century), “when the Gospel should be read, lamps are kindled, even in the light of the sun—of course, not to drive away darkness, but as a sign of joy... so that under the image of material light that Light was presented, about which we read in the Psalter: “The lamp of my feet is Your law and the light of my paths” (Ps. 118, 105) ”().
The polyeleos begins with the singing of the laudatory verses from the 134th and 135th psalms - Praise the Name of the Lord... and ends with the reading of the Gospel.
Simeon, Archbishop of Thessalonica, says that the polyeleos psalms are “a song of victory and announcing the marvelous deeds of God, especially the passage of our souls from the Egypt of sin and error to faith in Christ... after temptation and labors, settlement in the promised land and heavenly heritage through Jesus" (). At this time, the Resurrection of the Savior from the dead is remembered, His victory over death, and the Holy Church praises the Lord for His ineffable mercy to the human race.
The royal doors open. The clergy incense the entire church, portraying the myrrh-bearing women and the apostles, who came early in the morning to the Sepulcher of the Savior and, having learned from the angels about the Resurrection of Christ, proclaimed this joy to all believers (Luke 24: 1-10). This event is narrated by the troparia of the Angelic Cathedral (that is, the assembly, the face of angels). If a great feast coincides with Sunday, then before these troparia the magnificence of the feast is sung.
The degrees, also called antiphons by the way they are performed by the choirs alternately, contain prayers for the correction and purification of the soul by the grace of the Holy Spirit. The nine verses of the antiphons correspond to the singing of the nine ranks of angels singing the Holy Trinity. The Monk Theodore the Studite (IX century) is considered to be the author of the antiphons.
Degrees elevate the soul with their tenderly repentant content and prepare those who pray for listening to the Gospel. Their content is borrowed from the psalms, called power. They, as it were, by degrees, steps, along the spiritual ladder, raise the soul of a Christian from earth to Heaven, from sorrow to joy, from disasters to blissful peace. The ringing at this time reminds of the apostolic preaching of the Gospel. The gospel, symbolizing the Risen Lord, is worn from the altar on the salt, and the morning prokeimenon is proclaimed.
The Church prepares her children to read the Gospel, prays for their sanctification and calls all living things to glorify the Lord: Let every breath praise the Lord. In order to be worthy (Slavonic - to be vouchsafed) to hear the gospel words, you need to listen to them, like Wisdom itself, to be simple (Slavonic) - humble, realizing yourself as a poor spirit (Matt. 5, 3). The gospel at matins is read by the priest himself (during the hierarchical service - by the bishop), depicting the Lord Who fed His disciples with the Divine word.
Sunday morning gospel readings 11 (according to the number of apostles who remained faithful to Christ): Matt. 28, 16-20; Mk. 16, 1-8; Mk. 16, 9-20; OK. 24:1-12; OK. 24, 12-35; OK. 24, 36-53; In. 20, 1-10; In. 20, 11-18; In. 20, 19-31; In. 21:1-14: Jn. 21:15-25. They tell about the appearances of the Lord to His disciples after the Resurrection.
Reading the gospel makes us spiritual eyewitnesses of the recollected gospel events, introduces us into a living, altar personal communion with Christ. We become participants in His saving works, true witnesses of His Divine glory. Adoration before the Gospel and the icon of the holiday, reverently kissing them - this is our worship of Christ Himself. This conviction is expressed by the Church when, after reading the Gospel, she sings: Having seen the Resurrection of Christ, let us worship the Holy Lord Jesus...
The more solemn the event, the more repentant the 50th psalm sounds at this time. This is the prayer of a sinful person who, contemplating the joy of the spiritual feast of the Church, remembers the impurity of his heart and fears that in Eternal Life he will not see God, will be rejected by Him, will hear the just words of the Lord: “Depart from me, you who do iniquity” (Matt. 7 , 23).
The hymns accompanying the psalm to Glory, and now, turn our prayer to the main culprits of the holiday and the Most Holy Theotokos.
The reading of the canon is the most important part of Matins. "Canon" was originally called a church service, following or rule indicating the order of the number of prayers and psalms that are supposed to be sung or read during the day. In the monastery of St. Theodore the Studite, the name "canon" was given to a large church hymn, with a strictly sustained literary form, performed at matins, after the polyeleos.
A canon is a sacred poetic work that unites nine songs, in which the life and deeds of a saint or the face of saints are glorified, a festive event is glorified. The first stanza of each of the nine songs of the canon - irmos (translated from Greek - "connection") - connects the subsequent stanzas (troparia) into a single whole and sets them a certain musical rhythm and prayerful mood. Troparions of the canon begin with refrains: for the feasts of the Lord - Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee; Mother of God - Holy Mother of God, save us; on Sundays - Glory, Lord, to Your Holy Resurrection; Glory, Lord, to Your Holy Cross and Resurrection. The last troparion is always dedicated to the Theotokos. At the end of each song, a small doxology is sung or read - Glory, and now. Each song of the canon ends with a chant called katavasia, from the Greek katavasia - “I go down”: to sing katavasia, both choirs descended from the salt down to the middle of the temple, where they sang this chant, as is still done in some monasteries.
The first song of the canon is modeled on the thanksgiving song of the prophet Moses and his sister Mariam, sung by them after the miraculous crossing of the Red (Slavonic: Red) Sea: Let us sing to the Lord, gloriously glorified (Ex. 15, 1). The second one is modeled on the accusatory song of Moses, composed by him to denounce the Israelites for violating the Law of God (Deut. 32), and it is sung only during Great Lent. The third hymn is composed on the model of the thanksgiving song of St. Anna, the mother of the prophet Samuel, for the resolution of her infertility: Be firm in my heart in the Lord... (1 Samuel 2:1-10). The fourth is modeled on the song of the prophet Habakkuk, which contains a prediction about the Incarnation of the Son of God and the Divine power of the Incarnate: Lord, I hear thy hearing and fear... (Hab. 3:1-19). The fifth is modeled on the song of the prophet Isaiah, which also contains a prophecy about the Savior of the world and the fruits of His redemptive feat: From the night my spirit wakes up ... (Is. 26, 9-19). The sixth is modeled on the thanksgiving prayer of the prophet Jonah for deliverance from death in the belly of a whale: Cry out in my affliction to the Lord God... (Jonah 2:3-10). The seventh and eighth odes are modeled on the song of thanksgiving of the three youths who miraculously escaped in the cave of Babylon: Blessed art thou, O Lord God of our fathers, and praised and glorified is thy name forever... (Dan. 3:26-45).
On the eighth song, instead of Glory, it reads: Let us bless the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit of the Lord ... and before the catavasia it is sung: We praise, bless ... for the three youths in the cave represented the Holy Trinity, as well as the Incarnation of Christ (). The ninth ode contains the glorification of the Mother of God. It is applied to the song of St. Zechariah, the father of John the Forerunner of the Lord (Luke 1:68-79).
Before the ninth ode of the canon, the deacon with a censer proclaims before the icon of the Mother of God: Let us exalt the Mother of God and Mother of Light with songs (usually: in songs), calling for special attention and solemnity. The Most Holy Theotokos is called the Mother of Light, because from Her the Light of men was incarnated (John 1:4-9) – the Lord Jesus Christ. Then the song of the Theotokos is sung - the Mother of God's own doxology, uttered during a meeting with the righteous Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist: My soul magnifies the Lord ... (Luke 1, 46-55). The Lord bestowed on the humble Mother of God the most peaceful majesty and the worship of all earthly families. The Lord always has mercy on those who fear Him, deposes the arrogant and exalts (glorifies) the humble, enriches with grace those who are aware of their spiritual poverty, who seek His righteousness, and deprives those who are “rich”, proud in spirit, wise before themselves and puffed up with their mind (Isaiah 5:21) .
The refrain to all six verses of this song of the Mother of God is the song of the Most Honorable Cherubim .., in which “with special expressiveness the Blessed Virgin confesses to the real, real Mother of God and with great boldness of faith is placed above the highest angelic ranks” (). The Song of the Most Honorable Cherubim was written by St. Cosmas, Bishop of Maium (VIII century). Those capable of contemplating the spiritual world have repeatedly seen the Most Pure Mother of God blessing those who sing this song ().
The identical structure of the canons and their similarity in their inner content make it possible to connect them with each other. First, the first hymn of all the canons is read, then the next, and so on, while the irmos is sung alone. Thus, all the canons, no matter how many there are at Matins, constitute, as it were, one canon. At Sunday Matins, for example, three canons from the Oktoechos are sung: Sunday, Resurrection, and Theotokion, followed by the canon to the saint from the Menaion.
“In the triple image of the Divine Trinity” () the canon is divided into three parts - after the third, sixth and ninth odes, small litanies are pronounced. After the third song, a sedal is read, which tells about the circumstances of the holiday. After the sixth ode there is a kontakion and ikos containing a summary and praise of the event of the feast or the life of the saint.
The Sunday kontakia theologize about the spiritual content of the Resurrection of Christ, and the ikos depict the external outline of events. Kontakion and ikos complement the troparion of the feast with their content.
At the end of the canon, the Sunday solemn luminary is preceded by the deacon's three-time exclamation: Holy is the Lord our God, in imitation of the praise of the Seraphim (Is. 6, 2, 3). Svetilen sings of God as Light and the Giver of Light. Luminaires are also called "exapostilaria" (from the Greek - "exapostello" - "I send", "I send"), because Sunday exapostilaria tell about the Lord sending the apostles to preach.
The last part of Matins is full of prayerful inspiration. Psalms Praise the Lord from heaven (Ps. 148), Sing a new song to the Lord (Ps. 149) and Praise God in His saints (Ps. 150), together with the so-called "praise stichera" have such a joyful tone that they are also contained in the Easter service . The Theotokos of Sunday laudatory stichera is always the same - Blessed be Thou, Virgin Mother of God ... It is sung to a solemn second voice.
The first glimpse of the morning dawn, destroying the darkness of the night, gives birth to the prototype of God as the Uncreated Light and induces the Church to great praise.
Glory to Thee, Who has shown us the Light, the priest proclaims. The great doxology begins with an angelic song sung at the birth of the Savior (“Glory to God in the highest...”), contains a prayer for mercy addressed to each Person of the Holy Trinity, full of faith in the salvation of man, and ends with the confession of Christ.
The thanksgiving of the Lamb of God - Christ the Savior, who took upon Himself the sins of the world, sets us up to expect a close liturgy (). The chant, quiet and slow, speaks of peace, contentment, and comfort in God. “Every believer,” writes Simeon, Archbishop of Thessalonica, “should delve into it and understand it, and every day, morning and evening, offer it to God, because it is the confession and glorification of the One God in the Holy Trinity, and praise and Incarnation, and redemption, crucifixion and the Ascension of the Word of God ... a grateful prayer that we may keep ourselves sinless every day and night, so that, as we hope, God's mercy would be upon us, and the Lord, who became our Refuge through the Incarnation, had mercy on us ... " ().
The great doxology ends with the angelic hymn Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us. On the coming festive Sunday, we sing the praises of God together with the angels, anticipating the time “when, having risen, we will see Him face to face, when all the members in abundance of joy will lift up a song, glorifying Him Who raised them from the dead and bestowed Eternal Life” ().
In conclusion, Matins, as it were, returns to its beginning. The festive troparion is sung again. The august and petitionary litany at Matins are not separated by anything and, merging, make up one large, majestic prayer. The exclamation of this prayer is an intensified petition of God's mercy: Yours is a hedgehog to have mercy and save us (us). Our God...
The exclamation of Wisdom begins the rite of dismissal (). The choir, on behalf of the worshipers, asks: Bless. The priest proclaims: Blessed be Christ our God...
Further, the Church asks the Lord to confirm the holy Orthodox faith of Orthodox Christians for all eternity and prays to the Mother of God to intercede for us before Her Divine Son: Most Holy Theotokos, save us. The choir sings to Her the song of the Most Honorable Cherub...
Glorifying the Most Holy Trinity and lifting up glorification into eternity: Glory, and now, the choir, on behalf of all those who pray, asks for blessings. The priest confesses Christ as the True God, recalls the briefly celebrated event (He is Risen from the dead, Christ our True God ... - on Sunday) and affirms our hope for pardon and salvation through the prayers of the Most Pure Mother of God, the saints who are celebrated on this day, and all the saints . Longevity is sung to His Holiness the Patriarch, the diocesan bishop serving in the church, to the parishioners and to all Orthodox Christians.
Matins ends. The reading of the 1st hour begins.
Hours - prayers that sanctify a certain time of day; consist of three psalms, several verses and prayers, selected accordingly for each quarter of the day and for the special circumstances of the Savior's suffering.
The service of the first hour was established in remembrance of the fact that at that hour the Lord was brought from Caiaphas to Pilate (Matthew 27:2).
At the service of the third hour, the judgment of Pilate and the torment of the Savior (Matt. 27:11-30) are remembered, as well as the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles after the Ascension of the Lord (Acts 2:1-4).
At the sixth hour, they remember: the procession of the Savior to the execution, His crucifixion and suffering on the Cross (Luke 23:26-38).
At the ninth hour - great dying suffering and death of the God-man Christ (Matt. 27, 33-54).
The services of the hours are performed daily, and therefore are called everyday or ordinary services. For the sake of convenience, the services of the hours are combined with other services: the 9th hour - with Vespers, the 1st - with Matins, the 3rd and 6th - with the Divine Liturgy.
Notes:
1) Temptation (test) - here in the sense of the devil's temptation.
2) Saint Basil the Great. Letter 199 [= epist.207, 3] // Creations. T. 3. St. Petersburg, 1911. S. 238, 239.
3) 11) Word 41.2// Creations. T. 1. St. Petersburg, b. [reprint: STSL, 1994]. S. 576; Word 44, 5 // Ibid. S. 657.
12) An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, 23 // Rev. John of Damascus. Source of knowledge. M., 2002 (PSTBI. Patristic heritage. Vol. 5). S. 328.
13) Saint Basil the Great. To Amphilochius on the Holy Spirit. Ch. 29, § 73 // Creations. T. 1. St. Petersburg, 1911. S. 638-639.
14) Archbishop Benjamin. New tablet. Part 2, § 20. St. Petersburg, 1899 [reprint M., 1992]. S. 87.
15) Simeon, Archbishop of Thessalonica. Cit. op. Ch. 301. p. 459.
16) On the days of commemoration of the holy apostles, parimias are read from the New Testament - from the Epistles of the Apostles. Therefore, when reading them, the royal doors are not closed, as in the Old Testament parimias.
17) The vestibule is the first entrance part of the temple, in ancient times it was the place of the penitents and catechumens.
18) Simeon, Archbishop of Thessalonica. Cit. op. Ch. 305. S. 466.
19) In ancient times, when the all-night vigil lasted all night, Christians went to the refectory and strengthened their strength with these blessed breads. The Service Book says: “It will be known (known) that the blessed bread is a helper from all evils (diseases), if it is accepted with faith.”
20) 28) Explanation of church services. M., 2010)
All-night vigil
On Sundays and holidays, a special service to God is performed in the evening (and in other places in the morning), usually called the all-night vigil, or the all-night vigil.
This service is called so because in ancient times it began in the evening and ended in the morning, therefore, the whole pre-holiday night was spent by believers in the church for prayer. And now there are St. monastery, where the all-night vigil lasts about six hours from the beginning of it.
The custom of Christians to spend the night in prayer is very ancient. The apostles, partly following the example of the Savior, Who more than once in His earthly life used the night time for prayer, partly out of fear of his enemies, had prayer meetings at night. The first Christians, fearing the persecution of idolaters and Jews, prayed at night on holidays and days of remembrance of the martyrs in suburban caves, or the so-called catacombs.
The Vigil depicts the history of the salvation of the human race through the coming to earth of the Son of God and consists of three parts, or sections: Vespers, Matins and the first hour.
The beginning of the all-night service is performed as follows: the royal doors are opened, the priest with a censer and the deacon with a candle burn St. altar; then the deacon says on the pulpit: Arise, Lord bless! The priest says: Glory to the holy, consubstantial, life-giving and indivisible Trinity, always, now and forever, and forever and ever. Then the priest calls on the faithful to worship Christ the King and our God; the singers sing selected passages from Psalm 103: Bless the Lord, O my soul… Lord my God, thou hast exalted greatly (i.e., very much)… Waters will rise on the mountains… Wonderful are Your works, Lord! Thou hast created all wisdom! Meanwhile, the priest with the deacon, having censed the altar, go around the whole church with the censer and censing St. icons and worshipers; after this, towards the end of the singing of psalm 103, they enter the altar, and the royal gates are closed.
This singing and the actions of the priest with the deacon before they enter the altar remind us of the creation of the world and the happy life of the first people in paradise. The closing of the royal doors depicts the expulsion of the first people from paradise for the sin of disobedience to God; the litany that the deacon says after the closing of the royal doors recalls the joyless life of our forefathers outside paradise and our constant need for God's help.
After the litany, we hear the singing of the first psalm of King David: Blessed is the man, who (who) does not go to the advice of the wicked, and the path of the wicked will perish, work (serve) the Lord with fear, and rejoice in Him with trembling; blessed are all who hope nan (on Him). Resurrect Lord, save me, my God; of the Lord is salvation, and on Thy people Thy blessing. Selected places from this psalm are sung in order to portray both the sorrowful thoughts of our forefather Adam on the occasion of his fall, and the advice and exhortations with which our forefather Adam addresses his offspring in the words of King David. Each verse from this psalm is separated by an angelic doxology of alleluia, which means from the Hebrew language praise God.
After a small litany, two touching prayers are sung to the Lord God: Lord, I have cried to Thee, hear me. Hear me, Lord, Lord, cry to Thee, hear me; heed the voice of my supplication, call me to Thee, hear me, O Lord! (Psalm 140)
May my prayer be corrected, like a censer before Thee, the uplifting of my hand is an evening sacrifice. Hear me, Lord!
May my prayer come like incense before Thee; the lifting up of my hands shall be an evening sacrifice. Hear me, Lord!
This singing reminds us that without the help of God it is difficult for a person to live on earth; he constantly needs God's help, which we remove from ourselves by our sins.
When those who follow the singing, Lord, cry out prayers called stichera, the evening entrance is made.
It is performed as follows: during the last stichera in honor of the Mother of God, the royal gates are opened, first the priest with a burning candle comes out of the altar with a burning candle, then the deacon with a censer and the priest. The deacon censes St. icons of the iconostasis, and the priest stands on the pulpit. After singing the Hymn of the Theotokos, the deacon stands at the royal gates and, depicting the cross as a censer, proclaims: Wisdom, forgive me! The chanters answer with the following touching song of the Hieromartyr Athenogenes, who lived in the 2nd century AD:
Quiet light of the holy glory, Immortal Heavenly Father, Holy, Blessed, Jesus Christ! Having come to the setting of the sun, having seen the evening light, let us sing to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit of God. Thou art worthy at all times to sing to be the voices of the reverend, Son of God, give life: the world glorifies Thee with the same.
Quiet light of holy glory, Immortal Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ! Having reached sunset, having seen the evening light, we sing of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit of God. You, the Son of God, the giver of life, are worthy to be sung at all times by the voices of the saints. Therefore the world glorifies You.
What does the evening entrance signify? The removal of a candle means the appearance before the coming of Christ, St. John the Baptist, whom the Lord Himself called a lamp. The priest, during the evening entrance, depicts the Savior, who came into the world to make amends for the guilt of man before the Lord. The words of the deacon: Forgive wisdom! They inspire us that we should observe the sacred actions with special attention, while standing, praying to the Lord, may He forgive us all sins.
During the singing of Light, a quiet priest enters the altar, kisses St. throne and stands on a high place, turning his face to the people. By this action, he depicts the ascension of Jesus Christ to heaven and His reign in all glory over the world, therefore, after the singing of the Quiet Light, the chanters sing: The Lord reigned in beauty, clothed, i.e. That Jesus Christ, after His ascension, reigned over the world and clothed himself in beauty. This verse is taken from the psalms of King David and is called a prokimen; it is always sung on Sunday. On other days of the week, other prokeimenes are sung, also taken from the psalms of David.
After the prokeimenon, on the feasts of the Twelve and the Mother of God, and on the feasts in honor of the saints of God, especially those revered by us, paroemias are read, or three small readings appropriate for the feasts from the books of the Old and New Testaments. Before each proverb, the deacon's exclamation of wisdom indicates the important content of what is being read, and by the exclamation of the deacon, let us hear! It is suggested that we be attentive while reading and not mentally entertain ourselves with foreign objects.
Litiya and blessing of loaves.
Litiya and the blessing of loaves are sometimes performed on more solemn feasts after the special and petitionary litanies.
This part of the all-night service is performed as follows: the priest and deacon leave the altar to the western part of the temple; the stichera of the feast are sung on the kliros, and after them the deacon prays for the Sovereign Emperor, the Sovereign Empress and for the entire Reigning House, for the diocesan bishop and all Orthodox Christians, that the Lord save us all from troubles and misfortunes. Litiya is performed in the western side of the temple in order to announce the feast to the penitents and the catechumens, who usually stand in the porch, and pray for them together with them. Here is the basis for praying for a letter for every Christian soul, which is in sorrow and grief, in need of God's mercy and help. Litiya also reminds us of the ancient processions that the leading Christians performed during public disasters at night for fear of being persecuted by the pagans.
After the litia, after the stichera sung on the verse, after the dying song of Simeon the God-Receiver, and when the troparion of the holiday is sung three times, the blessing of the loaves is performed. In the early days of Christianity, when the all-night vigil continued until dawn, to strengthen the strength of those praying, the priest blessed bread, wine and oil and distributed them to those present. As a reminder of this time and for the sanctification of the faithful, and at the present time, the priest prays over 5 loaves, wheat, wine and oil and asks God to multiply them and that the Lord sanctify the faithful who eat from these breads and wine. Oil (oil), consecrated at this time, is used to anoint those praying at the All-Night Vigil, and wheat is eaten. The five loaves consecrated in this case are reminiscent of the miracle that the Lord performed during His life on earth, when He fed 5,000 people with 5 loaves.
The first part of the all-night vigil ends with the words of the priest: the blessing of the Lord is on you, that grace and love of mankind always, now and forever and forever and ever, amen.
At this, there is a ringing, reminiscent of the end of Vespers and the beginning of the second part of the All-Night Vigil.
The second part of the All-Night Vigil
The second part of the All-Night Vigil is Matins following Vespers. It begins with the joyful song of the angels on the occasion of the birth of Christ: glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will towards men.
After it, the Six Psalms is read, which contains the six psalms of King David, in which this pious king prays to God to cleanse people from sins, with which we offend God every minute, despite His constant providence for us. During the reading of the Six Psalms, the priest, first in the altar, and then on the pulpit, prays to God to send God's mercy to people. The humble exit of the priest from the altar to the pulpit points to the quiet, solitary life of the Lord Jesus in Nazareth, from which He only occasionally came to Jerusalem to pray during the feasts. The Six Psalms ends with a proclamation in honor of the Triune God: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, glory to Thee, O God!
After the great litany, recited after the Six Psalms, a verse from the psalms of King David is sung four times: God the Lord and appear to us, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, pointing to the appearance of the Savior to people as a Teacher and Wonderworker.
Then the troparion of the feast is sung, and two kathismas are read.
Kathisms are sections of the psalms of the king and the prophet David, of which there are 20 sections in the psalter. These sections of the psalms are called kathismas, because during their reading, worshipers are allowed to sit in the church. The Greek word kathisma means seat. Every day different kathismas are read, so that during the week the whole psalter is read.
Polyeleos
After each kathisma, the clergyman pronounces a small litany. Then the most solemn part of the all-night vigil begins, called polyeleos, which means from the Greek language much mercy, or much oil. The Royal Doors open, large candles before St. the icons extinguished during the reading of the six psalms and kathismos are lit again, and on the kliros a laudatory song is sung to God from Psalms 134 and 135: Praise the name of the Lord, praise the servant of the Lord, alleluia! Blessed be the Lord from Zion (where in ancient times there was a tabernacle and a temple) living in Jerusalem, hallelujah! Confess to the Lord (confess your sins), as good (because He is good), as if His mercy is forever, alleluia! Confess to the God of heaven, for it is good, for His mercy is forever, hallelujah! The priest and deacon are burning incense throughout the church. The opened royal doors signify to us that the angel has rolled away the stone from the tomb of the Lord, from where a new eternal life has dawned on us, full of spiritual joy and fun. The walking of the clergy around the church with a censer reminds us of St. myrrh-bearing women who went to the tomb of the Lord on the night of the resurrection of Christ to anoint the body of the Lord, but received joyful news from an angel about the resurrection of Christ.
On Sundays, after the singing of the laudatory verses 134 and 135 of Psalms, in order to better imprint the thought of the resurrection of Christ in those who pray, troparia are sung, in which the reason for our joy in the resurrection of Christ is expressed. Each troparion begins with words glorifying the Lord: Blessed be Thou, O Lord, teach me Thy justification (i.e., Thy commandments). The Sunday Polyeleos ends with the reading of St. gospel about one of the appearances of the resurrected Savior. The Holy Gospel will be worn out in the middle of the temple, and the faithful will kiss St. The gospel, having (at the same time) in thought all the benefits of the risen Lord. The choir at this time sings an invocative song to bow to the resurrection of Christ:
Having seen the Resurrection of Christ, let us worship the Holy Lord Jesus, the only sinless one. We worship Thy Cross, O Christ, and we sing and glorify Thy holy Resurrection: Thou art our God; unless (except) you know no other, we call your name. Come, all faithful, let us worship the Holy Resurrection of Christ. Behold (here) for the joy of the whole world has come by the cross, always blessing the Lord, we sing of His resurrection: having endured the crucifixion, destroy death with death
The polyeleos for the twelfth feasts and feast days of the holy saints of God differs from the Sunday polyeleos in that after the laudatory verses 134 and 135 of the psalms, the clergy go out to the middle of the temple, where the icon of the feast relies on the lectern, and magnification is sung, while verses in honor of St. Myrrh-bearing women are not sung. The gospel is read, having application to the day of the feast; worshipers in the temple kiss St. icon on the lectern and anointed with oil consecrated during the lithium, but not St. peace, as some ignorantly call this oil.
After reading the gospel and praying to the Lord God for mercy on us sinners, usually read by the deacon before the icon of the Savior, the canon, or rule, is sung to glorify God and the saints and to ask for the mercy of God through the prayers of the saints of God. The canon consists of 9 sacred songs, modeled on those Old Testament songs that were sung by righteous people, starting with the prophet Moses and ending with the father of the Forerunner John, the priest Zechariah. At the beginning of each song, irmos (in Russian - communication) is sung, and at the end of katavasia (in Russian - convergence). The name of the song is katavasia, because for its singing it is necessary, according to the charter, for both choirs to come together. The content of the irmos and katavasia is taken from those songs, on the model of which the entire canon is composed.
1. The song is modeled on the song that the prophet Moses sang about the miraculous passage of the Jewish people through the Red Sea.
2. The song is modeled on the song that the prophet Moses sang before his death. With this song the prophet wanted to dispose the Jewish people to repentance; as a song of repentance, according to the charter of the Orthodox Church, it is sung only during Great Lent. At other times, after the first ode in the canon, the third ode immediately follows.
3. The song is modeled on the song sung by the righteous Anna after the birth of her son Samuel, the prophet and wise judge of the Jewish people.
4. The song is modeled on the song of the prophet Habakkuk.
5. The song of the canon has for its content thoughts taken from the song of the prophet Isaiah.
6. The song resembles the song of the prophet Jonah, which he sang when he was miraculously delivered from the whale's belly.
Songs 7 and 8 are modeled on the song sung by three Jewish youths about the miraculous deliverance from the kindled Babylonian furnace.
After the 8th song of the canon, the song of the Mother of God is sung, divided into several verses, after which the song is sung: The most honorable cherubim and the most glorious seraphim without comparison, without corruption (illness) of God the Word, the begotten, existing Mother of God, we magnify Thee.
9. The song contains thoughts taken from the song of the priest Zechariah, which he sang after the birth of his son, the Forerunner of the Lord John.
In ancient times, Matins ended with the onset of the day, and now, after singing the canon and reading Psalms 148, 149 and 150, in which St. King David enthusiastically invites all nature to glorify the Lord, the priest thanks God for the light that has appeared. Glory to Thee, Who showed us the light, says the priest, turning to the throne of God. The chorus is a great doxology to the Lord, beginning and ending with the song of St. angels.
Matins, the second part of the All-Night Vigil, ends with a special and petitionary litany and dismissal, usually pronounced by a priest from the open royal doors.
Then the first hour is read - the third part of the all-night vigil; it ends with a hymn of thanksgiving in honor of the Mother of God, composed by the inhabitants of Constantinople for delivering them through the intercession of the Mother of God from the Persians and Avars who attacked Greece in the seventh century.
Victorious to the Chosen Voivode, as if having got rid of the evil ones, we thankfully describe Thy servants, Mother of God. But as if you have an invincible power, free us from all troubles, let us call you: Rejoice, Unbridened Bride
To you, who has the upper hand in battle (or war), we, Your servants, the Theotokos, bring victorious (solemn) songs, and, as delivered by You from evil, songs of thanksgiving. And you, as one who has invincible power, deliver us from all troubles so that we cry out to You: Rejoice, Bride who does not have a bridegroom from people.
As Anton Pavlovich Chekhov said through the mouth of Masha in the play "Three Sisters", a person must be a believer or seek faith, otherwise everything is empty, it makes no sense. If thirty years ago for many the word “faith” was associated with “opium for the people”, now there are practically no people who in one way or another did not come across Christianity, would not go to church and would not hear such words as liturgy, vigil vigil, communion, confession, and so on.
This article will consider such a thing as an all-night vigil, or an all-night vigil. This is a combination of three services: Vespers, Matins and the first hour. Such a service lasts on the eve of Sunday or before a church holiday.
ancient christians
The tradition of performing all-night vigils was introduced by the Lord Jesus Christ himself, who loved to dedicate hours. The apostles followed, and then the Christian communities. It became especially important to gather at night and pray in the catacombs during the years of persecution of Christians. St. Basil the Great called the all-night services "agripnia", that is, sleepless, and they spread throughout the East. These agripnias were then performed all year round before Sunday afternoon, on the eve of Easter, on the feast of Theophany (Baptism) and on the days of honoring the holy martyrs.
Then the all-night service was a special service, on the creation of which great prayer books worked, such as St. John Chrysostom, St. John of Damascus, Savva the Sanctified. To this day, the sequence of Vespers, Matins and the first hour has been almost completely preserved.
The concept of the All-night Service
The clergy are often asked the question: "Is it obligatory to go to all-night vigils?" Believers feel that this service is more difficult to stand than the liturgy. And this happens because the all-night service is a gift of man to God. On it, everyone present sacrifices something: their time, some life circumstances, and the liturgy is God's sacrifice to us, so it is easier to endure it, but often the degree of acceptance of the Divine sacrifice depends on how much a person is ready to give, sacrifice something God.
The Russian Orthodox Church has preserved in its entirety a very complex, beautiful, spiritual all-night vigil. The liturgy celebrated on Sunday morning completes the weekly cycle. In Russian churches, the evening service is combined with the morning one, and all this takes place in the evening. This was introduced by the Fathers of the Church, and this rule allows us to remain faithful to the apostolic tradition.
How they serve outside Russia
For example, in Greece there is no all-night vigil, there is no Vespers, Matins begins in the morning and, together with the Liturgy, takes only two hours. This happens because modern people are less ready physically and spiritually for service. Many do not understand what is read and sung in the kliros; unlike their ancestors, contemporaries know little about the Lord Jesus Christ and the Mother of God.
In a word, everyone decides for himself whether he will go to the all-night service or not. There are no strict rules, the clergy do not impose “unbearable burdens” on people, that is, that which is beyond strength.
Sometimes events in the life of a believer do not allow him to attend the all-night vigil (urgent work, a jealous husband (wife), illness, children, and so on), but if the reason for the absence is disrespectful, then it is better for such a person to think carefully before proceeding to accept Christ's Mystery.
Follow-up of the All-Night Vigil
The temple is a place of prayer for Christians. In it, the ministers say various kinds of prayers: both pleading and repentant, but the number of thanksgiving exceeds the rest. In Greek, the word "thanksgiving" sounds like "eucharist". So Orthodox Christians call the most important sacrament that is present in their lives - this is the sacrament of communion, which is performed at the liturgy, and before that everyone should prepare for communion. You need to fast (fast) for at least three days, think about your own life, correct it by confessing to a priest, subtract the prescribed prayers, eat and drink nothing, from midnight until the very communion. And all this is only the minimum of what a believer should do. In addition, it is advisable to go to the service of the All-Night Vigil, which begins with the sound of bells.
In an Orthodox church, the central place is occupied by the iconostasis - a wall decorated with icons. In the center of it there are double doors, also with icons, otherwise they are called the Royal or Great Doors. During the evening service (first), they are opened, and an altar with a seven-candlestick on the throne (a table on which the most sacred and mysterious actions are performed) appears before the faithful.
Beginning of evening service
The all-night service begins with the 103rd psalm, which recalls the six days created by God. While the chanters sing, the priest censes the entire temple, and the solemn hymn, the calm, majestic movements of the clergy - all this reminds of the comfortable life of Adam and Eve in paradise before their fall into sin. Then the priest enters the altar, closes the doors, the choir falls silent, the lamps go out, the chandelier (the chandelier in the center of the temple) — and here one cannot but recall the fall of the first people and the fall of each of us.
Since ancient times, people have longed to pray at night, especially in the East. The summer heat, the exhausting heat of the day, did not set one up for prayer. Another thing is the night, during which it is pleasant to turn to the Almighty: no one interferes, and there is no blinding eye of the sun.
Only with the advent of Christians did the all-night service become a form of public service. The Romans divided night time into four guards, that is, into four shifts of the military guard. The third watch began at midnight, and the fourth at the cockcrow. Christians prayed all four watches only on special occasions, for example, before Easter, but usually they prayed until midnight.
All-night hymn
An all-night vigil without psalms is unthinkable; they permeate the entire service. The chanters read or sing the psalms in full or in fragments. In a word, the psalms are the skeleton of the Vespers, without them it would not exist.
The chants are interrupted by litanies, that is, petitions, when the deacon, standing before the altar, asks God for forgiveness of our sins, for world peace, for the union of all Christians, for all Orthodox Christians, for travelers, the sick, for deliverance from sorrow, troubles and etc. In conclusion, the Mother of God and all the saints are remembered, and the deacon asks that we all “our whole belly,” our life, be dedicated to Christ God.
During Vespers, many prayers and psalms are sung, but at the end of each stichera, a dogmatist is necessarily sung, which tells that the Mother of God was a Virgin before the birth of Christ, and then. And Her birth is the joy and salvation of the whole world.
Is Vespers Necessary for God?
Vespers is the service during which blessings to God are often pronounced. Why do we pronounce these words, because God does not need our kind words or our hymns? Indeed, the Lord has everything, all the fullness of life, but we need these kind words.
There is one comparison made by a Christian writer. A beautiful picture does not need praise, it is already beautiful. And if a person does not notice it, does not pay tribute to the skill of the artist, then by doing so he robs himself. The same thing happens when we do not notice God, do not give thanks for our life, for the created world around us. This is how we cheat ourselves.
Remembering the Creator, a person becomes kinder, more humane, and forgetting about Him, one becomes more like a humanoid animal living by instincts and the struggle for survival.
During the evening service, one prayer is always read, personifying the Gospel event. These are “Now you let go ...” - the words that Simeon the God-bearer uttered, who met the baby Jesus in the temple and told the Mother of God about the meaning and mission of her Son. Thus, the all-night service (“presentation”, meeting) glorifies the meeting of the Old Testament and New Testament worlds.
Six Psalms
After that, the candles (lamps) in the temple are extinguished, and the reading of the Six Psalms begins. The temple is plunged into twilight, and this is also symbolic, as it reminds of the twilight in which the Old Testament people lived, who did not know the Savior. And in this night the Lord came, as once on Christmas night, and the angels began to praise Him with the singing of “Glory to God in the highest.”
This period during the service is so important that, according to the Church Charter, during the Six Psalms they do not even bow and do not make the sign of the cross.
Then the Great Litany (petition) is again pronounced, and then the choir sings "God is the Lord and appear to us ...". These words recall how the Lord, at the age of thirty, entered His Service, for the sake of which He came into this world.
Hallelujah
After a while, the candles are lit, and the polyeleos begins, the choir sings "Hallelujah". The priest goes to the middle of the temple and, together with the deacon, burns the temple with fragrant incense. Then excerpts from the psalms are sung, but the culmination of the all-night vigil is the reading of the Gospel by the priest.
The gospel is taken out of the altar, as from the Holy Sepulcher, and placed in the middle of the temple. The words uttered by the priest are the words of the Lord himself, therefore, after reading, the deacon holds the Holy Book, like an angel proclaiming the news of Christ, the Savior of the world. The parishioners bow to the Gospel, like disciples, and kiss it like myrrh-bearing women, and the choir (ideally, the whole people) sings "Seeing the Resurrection of Christ ...".
After that, the 50th penitential psalm is read, and the clergy anoint the forehead of each person with consecrated oil (oil) crosswise. Then follows the reading and singing of the canon.
The attitude of contemporaries to the church
Modern people have begun to treat the church as something good, useful, but already having its say. They see nothing new in it, they often ask idle questions. Why go to church so often? How long is the all-night vigil? Church life is incomprehensible to those who rarely go to church. And it's not about where the service is being conducted. The very position of the church is unacceptable to many people.
The ROC reminds the world about the meaning of existence, about family, marriage, morality, chastity, about everything that people forget about when they sit comfortably in front of the TV. The church is not clergymen and beautiful walls. The Church is a people bearing the name of Christ, who gather together to glorify God. This is an important message to a world that lies in lies.
All-night vigil, liturgy, acceptance of the Holy Mysteries, confession - these are the services that people need, and those who understand this aspire to the "ark of the Lord."
Conclusion
After the canon, at the Vespers, stichera are read for the Praiseful, and then the Great Doxology. This is the majestic singing of a Christian hymn. It begins with the words “Glory to God in the Highest and on earth Peace ...”, and ends with the three saints: “Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us”, pronounced three times.
This is followed by litanies, many years, and at the end the "First Hour" is read. Many people leave the temple at this time, but in vain. In the prayers of the first hour, we ask God to hear our voice and help in the continuation of the day.
It is desirable that the temple becomes for everyone the place where you want to return. To live the rest of the week in anticipation of a meeting, a meeting with the Lord.
On the eve of great holidays and Sundays, it is served all-night vigil, or, as it is also called, all-night. The church day begins in the evening, and this service is directly related to the event being celebrated.
The All-Night Vigil is an ancient divine service, it was performed in the first centuries of Christianity. The Lord Jesus Christ himself often prayed at night, and the apostles and the first Christians gathered for night prayers. Previously, all-night vigils were very long and, starting in the evening, continued all night.
Vespers begin with Great Vespers
In parish churches, Vespers usually begins at seventeen or eighteen o'clock. Prayers and hymns of vespers are related to the Old Testament they prepare us for matins, which is mainly remembered new testament events. The Old Testament is a prototype, a forerunner of the New. The people of the Old Testament lived by faith - by the expectation of the Coming Messiah.
The beginning of Vespers brings our mind to the creation of the world. The priests burn the altar. It signifies the Divine grace of the Holy Spirit, Who hovered during the creation of the world over the still unorganized earth (cf. Gen 1:2).
Then the deacon calls on the worshipers to rise before the start of the service with an exclamation "Get up!" and asks for the blessing of the priest at the beginning of the service. The priest, standing before the throne in the altar, utters an exclamation: "Glory to the Holy, Consubstantial, Life-Giving and Indivisible Trinity, always, now and forever and forever and ever". The choir sings: "Amen."
While singing in chorus 103rd psalm, which describes the majestic picture of God's creation of the world, the clergy incense the entire temple and those praying. Incense marks the grace of God, which our forefathers Adam and Eve had before the fall, enjoying bliss and communion with God in paradise. After the creation of people, the doors of paradise were opened for them, and as a sign of this, the royal doors are open during incense. After the fall, people lost their original righteousness, distorted their nature and closed the gates of paradise for themselves. They were expelled from paradise and wept bitterly. After incense, the royal doors are closed, the deacon goes to the pulpit and stands in front of the closed gates, just as Adam stood before the gates of paradise after the exile. When a man lived in paradise, he did not need anything; with the loss of heavenly bliss, people have needs and sorrows, for which we pray to God. The main thing we ask God for is the forgiveness of sins. On behalf of all those who pray, the deacon pronounces peaceful or great litany.
After the peaceful litany, the singing and reading of the first kathisma follows: Blessed is the husband,(which the) do not go to the council of the wicked. The path of returning to paradise is the path of striving for God and avoiding evil, ungodliness and sins. The Old Testament righteous, who waited in faith for the Savior, kept the true faith and shied away from communication with godless and ungodly people. Even after the fall, Adam and Eve were given the promise of the Coming Messiah, that the seed of the woman will wipe out the head of the serpent. And a psalm Blessed is the husband also figuratively tells of the Son of God, the Blessed Man, who did not commit sin.
Further sing verses on "Lord, cry". They alternate with verses from the Psalter. These verses also have a repentant, prayerful character. During the reading of the stichera, the entire temple is incensed. “May my prayer be corrected, like a censer before Thee,” the choir sings, and we, listening to this hymn, repent of our sins like the sinful forefathers.
The last stichera is called the Theotokos or dogmatic, it is dedicated to the Mother of God. It reveals the church teaching about the incarnation of the Savior from the Virgin Mary.
Although people sinned and fell away from God, the Lord did not leave them without His help and protection during the entire history of the Old Testament. The first people repented, which means that the first hope for salvation appeared. This hope is symbolized opening of the royal doors and entrance at the evening The priest and the deacon with the censer come out of the northern, side doors and, accompanied by the priests, go to the royal doors. The priest blesses the entrance, and the deacon, drawing a cross with a censer, says: "Wisdom, forgive me!"— which means “stand up straight” and contains a call for attention. The choir sings a hymn "Light Quiet", which speaks of the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ descended to earth not in majesty and glory, but in a quiet, Divine light. This hymn also speaks of the fact that the time of the birth of the Savior is near.
After the deacon proclaimed verses from the psalms called prokimnom, two litanies are pronounced: pure and pleading.
If the All-Night Vigil is celebrated on the occasion of a major feast, after these litanies lithium- a service containing special prayer petitions, at which the blessing of five wheat loaves, wine and oil (oil) takes place in memory of Christ's miraculous feeding of five thousand people with five loaves. In ancient times, when the All-night service was served all night, the brethren needed to refresh themselves with food in order to continue serving Matins.
After the lithium are sung "poetry on verse", that is, stichera with special verses. After them the choir sings a prayer "Now let go". These are the words spoken by the holy righteous Simeon, who with faith and hope for many years awaited the Savior and was honored to receive the Christ Child in his arms. This prayer is pronounced as if on behalf of all the people of the Old Testament, who with faith awaited the coming of Christ the Savior.
Vespers ends with a hymn dedicated to the Virgin Mary: "Virgin Mary, rejoice". It was the Fruit that the Old Testament mankind cultivated in its depths for thousands of years. This most humble, most righteous and purest Maiden, the only one of all the wives, was honored to become the Mother of God. The priest ends Vespers with the exclamation: "God bless you" and bless those who pray.
The second part of the vigil is called Matins. It is dedicated to the remembrance of the events of the New Testament.
At the beginning of Matins, six special psalms are read, which are called the Six Psalms. It begins with the words: “Glory to God in the Highest, and on earth peace, good will towards men” - this is a hymn sung by the Angels at the birth of the Savior. The Six Psalms is dedicated to the expectation of Christ's coming into the world. It is an image of the Bethlehem night, when Christ came into the world, and an image of the night and darkness in which all mankind was before the coming of the Savior. Not without reason, according to custom, all lamps and candles are extinguished during the reading of the Six Psalms. The priest in the middle of the Six Psalms in front of the closed Royal Doors reads special morning prayers.
Then a peaceful litany is celebrated, and after it the deacon loudly proclaims: “God is the Lord, and appear to us. Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord". Which means: “God and the Lord appeared to us”, that is, he came into the world, the Old Testament prophecies about the coming of the Messiah were fulfilled. Then comes the reading kathisma from the Psalter.
After reading the kathisma, the most solemn part of Matins begins - polyeles. Polyeleos translated from Greek as mercifully, because during the polyeleos, laudatory verses from the 134th and 135th psalms are sung, where the multitude of God's mercy is sung in a constant refrain: as His mercy is forever! According to the consonance of words polyeles sometimes translated as abundance of oil. Oil has always been a symbol of God's mercy. During Great Lent, the 136th psalm (“On the rivers of Babylon”) is added to the polyeleos psalms. During the polyeleos, the royal doors are opened, the lamps in the temple are lit, and the clergy, leaving the altar, perform a complete incense of the entire temple. During censing, Sunday troparia are sung "Angelic Cathedral" telling about the resurrection of Christ. At the vigils before the feasts, instead of the Sunday troparion, they sing the glorification of the feast.
Then read the Gospel. If they serve vigil on Sunday, they read one of the eleven Sunday Gospels dedicated to the resurrection of Christ and His appearances to the disciples. If the service is dedicated not to the resurrection, but to a holiday, they read the festive Gospel.
After the reading of the Gospel, a hymn is heard at the Sunday All-Night Vigils "Seeing the Resurrection of Christ".
The worshipers venerate the Gospel (on the feast - to the icon), and the priest crosswise anoints their foreheads with consecrated oil.
This is not a Sacrament, but a sacred rite of the Church, serving as a sign of God's mercy to us. From the most ancient, biblical times, the fir tree has been a symbol of joy and a sign of God's blessing, and with the olive tree, from the fruits of which oil was obtained, the righteous is compared, on whom the favor of the Lord rests: And I, like a green olive tree, in the house of God, and I trust in the mercy of God forever and ever(Ps 51:10). The dove released from the ark by the patriarch Noah returned in the evening and brought a fresh olive leaf in his mouth, and Noah knew that the water had descended from the earth (see: Gen. 8, 11). It was a sign of reconciliation with God.
After the exclamation of the priest: "By grace, generosity and philanthropy ..." - the reading begins canon.
Canon- a prayer work that tells about the life and exploits of the saint and glorifies the celebrated event. The canon consists of nine cantos, each beginning irmosome- a chant sung by the choir.
Before the ninth ode of the canon, the deacon, having shaken the altar, proclaims before the image of the Mother of God (to the left of the royal doors): “We will exalt the Mother of God and Mother of Light in songs”. The choir begins to sing a chant "My soul magnifies the Lord...". This is a touching prayer-song composed by the Holy Virgin Mary (see: Luke 1, 46-55). A refrain is added to each verse: “The most honest Cherubim and the most glorious Seraphim without comparison, without the corruption of God the Word, who gave birth to the real Mother of God, we magnify You.”
After the canon, the choir sings psalms "Praise the Lord from Heaven", "Sing a new song to the Lord"(Ps 149) and "Praise God in His Saints"(Ps 150) along with "praise stichera". At the Sunday All-Night Vigil, these stichera end with a chant dedicated to the Theotokos: "Blessed be Thou, Virgin Mother of God..." After that, the priest proclaims: "Glory to Thee, who showed us the Light," and the great doxology. Vespers in ancient times, lasting all night, captured the early morning, and during matins the first morning rays of the sun really showed up, reminding us of the Sun of Truth - Christ the Savior. The praise begins with the words: "Gloria..." Matins began with these words and ends with these same words. At the end, the whole Holy Trinity is already glorified: “Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us.”
Matins ends purely and pleading litanies, after which the priest pronounces the final vacation.
After the all-night vigil, a short service is served, which is called the first hour.
Clock- this is a service that sanctifies a certain time of the day, but according to the established tradition, they are usually attached to long services - to matins and liturgy. The first hour corresponds to our seven o'clock in the morning. This service sanctifies the coming day with prayer.
IS 13-305-0398
Vespers
In the Holy Scripture, which is for us, who believe in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God and confess the Holy Trinity, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, the Revelation and the word of God, the holy commandments are given about love for God and man as the image of God. One of the commandments says: Remember the sabbath day(seventh), to sanctify him; six days you shall work and do all your works, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God(Ex. 20:8-10). In the New Testament, the seventh day is resurrection for us. For Orthodox Christians, Sunday is a holiday, because on this day our Lord Jesus Christ rose from the dead. The Resurrection gave the content of the Sabbath rest: peace with God, the restoration in man of the image and likeness of God, communion with God and rest in the Holy Spirit. The Sabbath was a prophecy of rest, a prophecy of the Resurrection, in this sense, an image of eternity. Resurrection is the beginning of eternal life on earth. The Old Testament Passover was embodied in the New Testament Passover, and Saturday became Sunday.
Honoring and sanctifying this seventh day, we fulfill the commandment of God, given in the Old Testament, and receive God's blessing and help from above for the coming week. The time that we spend in worship on Sundays and feast days is for us the tithe that we bring to God for the entire yearly circle of time (see: Mal., ch. 3).
Sunday begins for us on Saturday evening with the service of great vespers and the singing of the 103rd psalm, which symbolizes the creation of the world.
The royal doors open, the priest and deacon burn the altar incense. This means the action of the Holy Spirit, who gave life to primordial matter. The Creator of the world created the whole Universe from it.
Then the deacon goes to the pulpit and invites everyone present in the church to prayer. "Arise," he says, and the choir sings on behalf of the faithful: "Lord, bless." The priest, glorifying the Holy Trinity, proclaims: "Glory to the Holy, Consubstantial, Life-Giving and Inseparable Trinity, always, now and forever and forever and ever." The choir answers: “Amen” and sings Psalm 103: “Bless, my soul, the Lord… Alleluia” 1 .
The priest with the deacon censes the entire church and all the faithful. A prayer is read for the consecration of the censer: “We bring the censer to Thee, Christ our God, for a spiritual fragrance, which You accept on Your heavenly altar and send down to us the grace of Your All-Holy Spirit.” The symbolism of the incense of the temple and the people means the following: just as at the creation of the world the Spirit of God imparted life to the primordial world, so now believers are renewed by the grace of the Holy Spirit.
The clergy enter the altar, the royal doors are closed, as the gates of paradise were closed for a person who has sinned before God.
The deacon, proclaiming a peaceful litany on the pulpit, symbolizes the fallen Adam, expelled from Eden and standing before the closed gates of paradise with repentant prayer. This is how the fall of the first people is remembered, and the 1st kathisma of the Psalter is sung: “Blessed is the man who does not go to the advice of the wicked”, where the reasons for the fall are revealed (after all, the tragedy of the fall occurred on the “advice” of the wicked serpent) and the paths of life and piety are preached.
The hymn "Lord, I cry to Thee, hear me" is reminiscent of the Old Testament sacrifices, depicting the future Redemptive Sacrifice - Christ the Savior. At this time, believers read to themselves the 50th psalm, which tells about humility, and, in particular: Sacrifice to God the spirit is contrite: the heart is contrite and humble God will not despise(Ps. 50, 19). The entire temple is again being incensed, which marks the gospel of Christ Jesus, the True God and the True Man. The choir sings stichera, which reveal the significance of the event now being celebrated. To the song: “Now and ever and forever and ever. Amen" the stichera of the feast is sung and an entrance is made with a censer from the northern doors of the altar. The candle-bearer represents the light of the Old Testament prophets, the deacon - John the Baptist, the priest - Christ the Savior. The deacon makes the sign of the cross with a censer in the royal gates, which means that through the sufferings of the Cross of the Savior, the entrance to the Kingdom of Heaven, closed by the fall of the first people, was again opened to believers. This is followed by the hymn “Quiet Light”, which tells about the appearance on the Jordan of Christ the Savior, who was baptized by John, and at that time the voice of God the Father was heard and the Holy Spirit was seen in the form of a dove descending on the Son of God.
Further, hymns, which are called prokeemnes, are proclaimed and sung, paremias are read in the middle of the temple, two litanies are proclaimed - a special one and a supplicatory one, where earthly and heavenly mercy are asked from God. The stichera of a temple or a feast are sung, the clergy go out into the porch, where a litiya is performed - a prayer of a repentant nature, four petitions are pronounced by the deacon and the fifth, final, is the primate. Prayers can offer God petitions for the health of the living and the repose of the departed Orthodox Christians 2 . The clergy return to the center of the temple, the hymns of the feast are sung, and the prayer of the righteous Simeon the God-Receiver is performed on behalf of the abbot, “Now, release Thy servant, Master, according to Thy word in peace…”. This prayer reminds us of the end of the earthly life of each person and sets us up for pious reflections on the responsibility of people before God for their deeds, words and thoughts. The Trisagion is read according to "Our Father", the troparion is sung three times. During this holiday, a three-time incense is performed around a table with five loaves, which are blessed by the priest in remembrance of the miraculous multiplication by the Lord Jesus Christ of five loaves for five thousand people in the wilderness. The 33rd psalm “I will bless the Lord at all times” is sung, which speaks of how David, filled with grateful feelings for the Lord God, expresses his intention to glorify the Lord throughout his life. He invites other believers to the same place, teaching them the fear of God with fatherly love and trying to convince them that pious people always enjoy the special favor of God, while God’s severe punishment awaits the wicked. The evening service ends with the exclamation of the primate: "The blessing of the Lord upon you," which passes into the morning service.
Matins
Matins begins with the reading of six psalms, a small doxology is sung or read, which symbolizes the night of the Nativity of Christ, so the lights and candles are extinguished. The psalms are of a repentant nature: "To Christ God himself is coming, invisibly and praying for his sins." The believers listen attentively: in the middle of the reading, at the glorification of the name of God, it is necessary to cross yourself three times, without bowing 3. In the middle of the Six Psalms, the priest goes to the pulpit and reads special prayers. It symbolizes Moses who prayed in the wilderness
God for a sinning people. The last 142nd psalm recalls the last days of this world. The Coming of the Lord and the Last Judgment are the last words of the Six Psalms: Do not enter into judgment with Your servant ... and Your Good Spirit will guide me to the land of right(Ps. 142:2, 10). The Spirit of God elevates those who believe in Christ into the Heavenly Kingdom of the Father: If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, then He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who lives in you. If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.(Rom. 8, 9, 11). At the end of the Six Psalms, the faithful must cross themselves three times with a bow from the waist. The deacon replaces the priest on the solea and proclaims a peaceful litany - a prayer request - and then says: "God is the Lord ..." with verses, and the choir sings the troparia of the holiday. This means the appearance of God the Word, the Son of God, in the flesh on earth. The reader reads kathismas.
The next part of Matins is polyeleos. The priesthood goes to the middle of the temple through the royal doors to glorify the holiday. Greatness is sung, on the resurrection - the glorification of the Risen Christ. The entire temple is incensed. This means that the joy of the holiday is communicated to all those who pray. The gospel is read according to the day. On Sunday, the Gospel ascends to the pulpit and the song "Seeing the Resurrection of Christ ..." is sung.
Then the worshipers venerate the Gospel or the icon of the feast and approach the primate, who anoints them with consecrated oil. The canon of the holiday is sung and read, consisting of nine songs. The canon is based on the sacred events of the Old Testament and New Testament history. The first song is a laudatory and thanksgiving song of the prophet Moses, reminiscent of the passage of the people of God through the Red Sea. The second song was also composed in honor of the prophet Moses, it has a repentant and accusatory character and is sung only during Great Lent. The third song is in honor of the prophetess Anna, the mother of the prophet Samuel. Her fiery-hearted prayer was heard and fulfilled by the Lord. The fourth song is the song of the prophet Habakkuk, who heard the voice of God about the coming of the Savior into the world. The fifth song is the song of the prophet Isaiah, who saw the non-evening light, which marks the appearance of Christ into the world. The sixth song is the song of the prophet Jonah, who foreshadowed the three-day burial and Resurrection of Christ the Savior. The seventh song is the song of the three youths in the Babylonian furnace, who, like the burning bush under Moses, foreshadowed the incorruptible Nativity of Christ. The eighth song is the song of the righteous Nehemiah, to whom, during the restoration of the second temple in Jerusalem, there was a sign - the kindling of the sacred fire on the altar. The ninth song glorifies the Most Holy Theotokos, it is sung: "The most honest Cherubim and the most glorious Seraphim without comparison." According to the ninth song, a luminary is read - a short chant that reflects the meaning of the holiday, and stichera are sung in "praise". The priest proclaims: "Glory
You who showed us the light." The choir sings a great doxology, after which the troparion of the feast is sung. Two litanies are proclaimed by the deacon: the august and the petitionary. Matins ends with the dismissal of the priest. The reader reads the first hour, which is dedicated to the last hours of the Savior's life, when He was brought into the praetorium from the high priest Caiaphas to Pilate and was unjustly condemned there.
Divine Liturgy
The Divine Liturgy, or Eucharist, occupies a central place in the life of a Christian, because it unites a person with God, the Source of Eternal Life. The purpose of our life is spiritual transformation and renewal. It happens not only through our efforts, but especially through our mysterious union with the God-man, Jesus Christ. The sacrament in which this union takes place is called Communion, and it takes place during the Divine Liturgy, where bread and wine become the true Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, those approaching the Eucharist must adequately prepare themselves. It is necessary to attend the evening service, confess to the priest, read the Rule for Holy Communion. It is necessary to fast before Communion and on the eve, after midnight, do not eat or drink anything.
The Divine Liturgy begins with the reading of the third and sixth hours, during which the priest performs the proskomidia - the preparation of the Holy Gifts for the Eucharist. At the same time, notes about the health of the living and the repose of the dead are read.
During the third hour, we reverently, in tenderness of heart, diligently reflect on how our Savior, judged by Pilate and bound at a marble pillar, accepted countless reproaches, beatings, and was crowned with a crown of thorns in order to free us from the torment of the devil. The events recalled during the reading of the third hour also include the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles in the form of fiery tongues, with which the Lord enlightened His disciples to preach the Gospel.
During the sixth hour, we diligently meditate reverently in tenderness of the heart, how the Lord carried His Cross to Golgotha and was crucified on it among two thieves, how the soldiers divided His garments and there was darkness over all the earth.
The liturgy begins with the exclamation of the priest "Blessed is the Kingdom...". The primate proclaims the presence of God, glorified in the Trinity in His Kingdom in the earthly Church. We come to church to fully participate in the Holy Mysteries, as well as to offer God our gifts, spiritual and physical. In other words, we enter the Kingdom of God not only to receive something, but also to give something - to give ourselves and our prayer offering, praise and thanksgiving.
When pronouncing the words “Blessed is the Kingdom,” we reverently make the sign of the cross in the name of the Holy and Life-Giving and Indivisible Trinity and, in doing so, we commit our bodies, hearts and souls to God in order to allow Him to reign over us.
The deacon proclaims a peaceful litany, calling on believers in peace with a conscience, with God and with their neighbors, to pray. The great litany, i.e. petition, or supplication, reveals to us God's creation. Saint John Chrysostom, who wrote down the order of the Divine Liturgy, wished that we should not be indifferent to what God had created, and at the same time apply prayers, talents and personal sacrifices in order to preserve and rejoice in everything that God has created for us in His kingdom.
According to the petitions of the litanies, we are called, on the one hand, to be together with the sick, with the traveler, with a friend, and so on. and, on the other hand, say from the heart the prayer "Lord, have mercy!", as did the woman convicted of adultery, and blind and paralyzed.
We need the mercy of the Lord, we must be ready to meet Him, so the most frequently repeated words in the liturgy are "Lord, have mercy."
At everyday and great festive services, three antiphons are sung with special refrains. In the first antiphon, the Mother of God is glorified, in the second - the saints, prophets, apostles, martyrs, in the third - the Son of God Himself, wondrous in His Providence and in His saints. By singing the first antiphon, “Prayers of the Theotokos, Savior, save us,” we are reminded that salvation comes into the world through the Mother of God. The closest person who can stand up for us is the Mother of God. All generations call Her the Blessed One.
Remembering our Heavenly Mother, we constantly learn from Her humility, obedience, holiness of life. In the singing of the second antiphon we hear the voices of the prophets and saints who foreshadowed and preached the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. We prepare to receive Him with great joy as He enters the royal doors. The introduction of the Gospel during the small entrance to the singing of the third antiphon symbolizes His coming. By singing the third antiphon, we glorify the Lord, who came into the world and took upon Himself people's sins. On holidays, for the most part, pictorial antiphons with the beatitudes are sung:
1) “Bless, O my soul, the Lord, and all my inner name is His holy name.”
2) “Praise, my soul, the Lord; I will praise the Lord in my life.”
3) "In Thy Kingdom, remember us, Lord."
The first antiphon - the 102nd psalm - calls on believers to heartfelt, internal glorification of God, according to the word of the Apostle Paul, that with our hearts we believe in the truth, and with our lips we confess God for salvation. This is also sung in the second antiphon, which calls on believers to confess God with their lips for the salvation of their souls. The hymn “Only Begotten Son and the Word of God! You, being immortal, desired to be incarnated from the Holy Mother of God and Ever-Virgin Mary for our salvation…”, performed after the second antiphon, reminds us of the Lord's incarnation. The Word becomes flesh and dwells with us in the Kingdom of God - in the Holy Church.
The small litany “Let us pray to the Lord again and again in peace” calls for attention to what happens during the liturgy. Jesus Christ promised: Where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst of them.(Matthew 18:20). And further: And if you ask the Father for anything in my name, I will do it, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in my name, I will do it(John 14:13-14).
The litany ends with an expression of God's love for the entire human race: For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life(John 3:16). We glorify the Holy Trinity: “For God is good and philanthropic, and to You we send glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” (from the sanctuary prayers, the third prayer).
During the singing of the third antiphon - the Beatitudes - a small entrance is made with the Gospel, which symbolizes the entrance of Christ the Savior to preach His Divine teaching, proclaimed in the Sermon on the Mount, in the parables of the Kingdom
God, in the manifestation of the power of God - signs and wonders, the healing of the sick and the casting out of demons. Two thousand years ago the world heard the Good News, and now we hear it once again. Just as Christ entered the world, proclaiming salvation, the primate leaves the sanctuary and goes out in procession to the middle of the temple, saying: “Wisdom! Sorry!" These words mean: "Let's stand straight!" To hear Christ and touch Him, people came from all over the earth. Now at the liturgy we are asked to come and do the same - to come to hear Jesus Christ, touch Him and be healed. Christ entered the world, and during the liturgy we are in His presence, we hear Him through the voice of the prophets.
A candle-bearer with a candle signifies the light of New Testament grace. The gospel carried by the deacon means Christ the Savior, the priests mean the holy apostles. The deacon makes the sign of the Cross with the Gospel and enters the altar, which implies that through the sufferings of the Savior on the Cross, the entrance to the Kingdom of Heaven is opened for believers. All clergy enter the altar. During the hierarchal service, the altar, the iconostasis and the people are incense. The troparia of the feast and the Trisagion are sung, during which the clergy move to a high place, which means the completion of the salvation of the entire human race by Christ the Savior, His Resurrection and Ascension to the Heavenly Kingdom to the Heavenly Father.
Through the Trisagion, we offer our sacrifices of praise, as it is said: Through Him let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of a mouth that glorifies His name.(Heb. 13:15). In the priestly prayer of the Trisagion, there is a call to join the angelic forces, the Cherubim and Seraphim in the Trisagion Song, to all the incorporeal powers of Heaven to glorify God, so that through touching and approaching Him, His holiness becomes our holiness.
The deacon leaves the altar to read the Apostolic Epistles - this symbolizes the preaching of the disciples of the Savior, the holy apostles. At the end, "Alleluia" is sung - Angelic song. At this time, everything earthly becomes silent and the heavenly angelic song “Alleluia” is sung, which in translation means: “praise Jehovah - Yahweh.” Here we unite with the heavenly liturgy, when there is a direct manifestation of God and His power, and we praise Him at especially solemn moments: at a small entrance with the Gospel, before reading the Gospel, at a great entrance with the Holy Gifts, when they are placed on the throne, at the exclamation “Holy to the saints”, after Communion of the Holy Gifts of the Body and Blood of the Lord and transferring them to the altar.
Reading the Gospel is a symbol of the fact that the Lord Himself reveals His Divine teaching to us. We need to listen to the Good News and be careful not to act like Judas, who betrayed Christ. Do not let doubt into your heart, like Thomas, and do not deny Christ, like Peter. Each of us must take the Good News into our hearts and repent. And surely Christ will not leave us.
Then two litanies are celebrated - about health and about the catechumens, who are preparing for Baptism. The first prayer is a prayer of intensified supplication. This prayer reminds us of those people who heard Christ during His public ministry and received Him in Jerusalem, in Jericho, or on the road to Emmaus. They followed Christ with special zeal and freely accepted death in His name because He became their Lord and Savior. During the last two thousand years, millions of souls have been converted, received Baptism into Christ and put on Him (see: Gal. 3:27). The rebirth of the soul takes place in the house of God, in the Kingdom of God during the liturgy. Here, once again, we have the opportunity to hear Christ and pray more fervently, remembering our own repentance and baptism.
The prayer for the catechumens is an instruction for us. This is the time to think about your own Baptism and newness of life in Christ Jesus. This is the time to put off the garment of corruption and put on the garment of incorruption, as the apostle Paul writes.
It is a serious mistake to think that we do not need any learning. As Orthodox Christians, we believe that this is why we already have faith and knowledge. It's a delusion. We are like little children and constantly need to be taught, exhorted, and nurtured in the faith through the Church. As soon as we begin to think that we know everything, we move away from the power and grace of God, and this, in fact, leads us to the path of darkness and personal destruction. Each of us belonging to the Kingdom of God needs to open his heart, mind and soul towards the word of God and, like those announced in the early Church, ask the Almighty God to look favorably on each of us, forgive us and unite us with His Holy Church .
The next prayer is called the prayer of the faithful. Knowing human weakness - the ability to fall easily - God offered us another opportunity to pray. We often fall, seeking well-being and stability in life, because, indeed, the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. Jesus Christ took with Him His beloved disciples Peter, James and John to the Mount of Olives, to a place called Gethsemane, and told them to wait while He prayed. These people, so faithful and so close to Christ, fell asleep. Three times Jesus found them sleeping. When we are in the Kingdom of God, we are close to God, we love God, we are faithful to Him in our prayer promises, but sometimes in our labors we find ourselves asleep, just like His disciples.
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