What happens in the altar during the liturgy. Explanation of the Divine Liturgy. Preparing for Communion
Divine Liturgy
The most important worship is Divine Liturgy. On it the great Sacrament is performed - the change of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of the Lord and the Communion of the faithful. Liturgy in Greek means joint work. Believers gather in the temple in order to glorify God together with “one mouth and one heart” and partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. Thus, they follow the example of the holy apostles and the Lord Himself, who, having gathered at the Last Supper on the eve of the Savior’s betrayal and suffering on the Cross, drank from the Chalice and ate the Bread that He gave them, reverently listening to His words: “This is My Body…” and “This is my blood…”
Christ commanded His apostles to perform this Sacrament, and the apostles taught this to their successors - bishops and presbyters, priests. The original name of this Sacrament of Thanksgiving is the Eucharist (Greek). The public service at which the Eucharist is celebrated is called the liturgy (from the Greek litos - public and ergon - service, business). Liturgy is sometimes called mass, since it is usually supposed to be performed from dawn to noon, that is, in the pre-dinner time.
The order of the liturgy is as follows: first, the objects for the Sacrament (Offered Gifts) are prepared, then the faithful prepare for the Sacrament, and finally, the Sacrament itself and the Communion of the faithful are performed. Thus, the liturgy is divided into three parts, which are called:
Proskomedia
Liturgy of the catechumens
Liturgy of the faithful.
Proskomedia. The Greek word proskomidia means offering. This is the name of the first part of the liturgy in memory of the custom of the first Christians to bring bread, wine and everything necessary for the service. Therefore, the bread itself, used to celebrate the liturgy, is called prosphora, that is, an offering.
Divine Liturgy
The prosphora should be round, and it consists of two parts, as an image of two natures in Christ - Divine and human. Prosphora is baked from leavened wheat bread without any additions except salt.
A cross is imprinted on the upper part of the prosphora, and at its corners the initial letters of the name of the Savior: "IC XC" and the Greek word "NI KA", which together means: Jesus Christ wins. To perform the Sacrament, red grape wine is used, pure, without any additives. Wine is mixed with water in remembrance of the fact that blood and water poured out from the wound of the Savior on the Cross. For proskomidia, five prosphora are used in remembrance that Christ fed five thousand people with five loaves, but the prosphora that is prepared for Communion is one of these five, because there is one Christ, Savior and God. After the priest and deacon perform the entrance prayers in front of the closed Royal Doors and put on sacred clothes in the altar, they approach the altar. The priest takes the first (lamb) prosphora and makes a copy of the cross on it three times, saying: “In remembrance of the Lord and God and our Savior Jesus Christ.” From this prosphora, the priest cuts out the middle in the shape of a cube. This cubic part of the prosphora is called the Lamb. She is placed on the diskos. Then the priest cross-cuts the Lamb from the underside and pierces its right side with a spear.
After that, wine mixed with water is poured into the bowl.
The second prosphora is called the Mother of God, a particle is taken out of it in honor of the Mother of God. The third is called the nine-fold, because nine particles are taken out of it in honor of John the Baptist, prophets, apostles, saints, martyrs, reverends, unmercenaries, Joachim and Anna - the parents of the Virgin and the saints of the temple, daytime saints, and also in honor of the saint whose name the liturgy is performed.
From the fourth and fifth prosphora, particles are taken out for the living and the dead.
At the proskomedia, particles are also removed from the prosphora, which are served by believers for the repose and health of relatives and friends.
All these particles are laid out in a special order on the diskos next to the Lamb. Having finished all the preparations for the celebration of the Liturgy, the priest puts an asterisk on the diskos, covering it and the chalice with two small covers, and then covers everything together with a large cover, which is called air, and censes the Offered Gifts, asking the Lord to bless them, remember those who brought these Gifts and those for whom they were offered. During the proskomidia in the temple, the 3rd and 6th hours are read.
Liturgy of the catechumens. The second part of the liturgy is called the liturgy of the “catechumens”, because during its celebration not only the baptized, but also those preparing to receive this sacrament, that is, the “catechumens” can be present.
The deacon, having received a blessing from the priest, comes out of the altar to the pulpit and loudly proclaims: “Bless, Master,” that is, bless the assembled believers to begin the service and participate in the liturgy.
The priest in his first exclamation glorifies the Holy Trinity: "Blessed is the Kingdom of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, now and forever, and forever and ever." The chanters sing "Amen" and the deacon pronounces the Great Litany.
The choir sings antiphons, that is, psalms that are supposed to be sung alternately by the right and left choirs.
Blessed are you, Lord
Bless, O my soul, the Lord and all my inner being, His holy name. Bless, my soul, the Lord
And do not forget all His rewards: He who cleanses all your iniquities, He who heals all your diseases,
delivering your life from corruption, crowning you with mercy and bounty, fulfilling your desire in good things: your youth will be renewed like an eagle. Merciful and merciful, Lord. Long-suffering and merciful. Bless, O my soul, the Lord and all my inner name, His holy name. Blessed be the Lord
and “Praise, my soul, the Lord…”.
Praise, my soul, the Lord. I will praise the Lord in my stomach; I will sing to my God while I am.
Do not rely on princes, on the sons of men, in them there is no salvation. His spirit will go out and return to his own land, and in that day all his thoughts will perish. Blessed is the God of Jacob his helper, his hope is in the Lord his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them; who keeps the truth forever, who executes judgment on the offended, who gives food to the hungry. The Lord will decide the fettered; The Lord makes the blind wise; The Lord raises up the downtrodden; The Lord loves the righteous;
The Lord guards the aliens, he will accept the orphan and the widow, and the path of sinners will be destroyed.
At the end of the second antiphon, the song "Only Begotten Son ..." is sung. This song contains the entire teaching of the Church about Jesus Christ.
The only-begotten Son and the Word of God, He is immortal, and deigning our salvation for the sake of becoming incarnate
from the Holy Mother of God and Ever-Virgin Mary, immutably incarnated, crucified for us, Christ God, trampling death by death, the One of the Holy Trinity, glorified by the Father and the Holy Spirit,
save us.
In Russian, it sounds like this: “Save us, the Only-begotten Son and the Word of God, the Immortal, who deigned for our salvation to incarnate from the Holy Mother of God and Ever-Virgin Mary, who became a man and did not change, crucified and corrected death by death, Christ God, one of the Holy Persons Trinity, glorified together with the Father and the Holy Spirit.” After the small litany, the choir sings the third antiphon, the Gospel beatitudes. The Royal Doors open for the Small Entrance.
Remember us in Your Kingdom, O Lord, when You come into Your Kingdom.
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for those are the Kingdom of Heaven.
Blessed are those who weep, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who are hungry and thirsty for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Blessed are the mercies, for they will have mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
Blessed exile for the sake of righteousness, for those are the Kingdom of Heaven.
Blessed are you, when they reproach you, and spit you out, and speak every evil word against you, lying for My sake.
Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is many in heaven.
At the end of the singing, the priest with the deacon, who carries the gospel on the altar, goes to the pulpit. Having received a blessing from the priest, the deacon stops at the Royal Doors and, lifting up the Gospel, proclaims: “Wisdom, forgive,” that is, reminds the believers that they will soon hear the Gospel reading, therefore they must stand straight and with attention (forgive - means directly).
The entrance to the altar of the clergy with the Gospel is called the Small Entrance, in contrast to the Great Entrance, which takes place later at the liturgy of the faithful. The small entrance reminds believers of the first appearance at the preaching of Jesus Christ. The choir sings “Come, let us worship and fall down to Christ. Save us, Son of God, risen from the dead, singing to Ty: Alleluia. After that, the troparion (Sunday, holiday or saint) and other hymns are sung. Then the Trisagion is sung: Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us (thrice). (Listen 2.55 mb)
The Apostle and the Gospel are read. When reading the Gospel, believers stand with their heads bowed, listening with reverence to the holy gospel.
After the reading of the Gospel, the relatives and friends of those praying in the church of the faithful are commemorated of the dead by notes.
They are followed by the litany of the catechumens. The liturgy of the catechumens ends with the words “Announcement, come out.”
Liturgy of the Faithful. This is the name of the third part of the liturgy. It can be attended only by the faithful, that is, those who are baptized and who do not have prohibitions from a priest or bishop. At the Liturgy of the Faithful:
1) the Gifts are transferred from the altar to the throne;
2) believers prepare for the consecration of the Gifts;
3) the Gifts are consecrated;
4) believers prepare for Communion and take communion;
5) then thanksgiving is done for Communion and dismissal.
After the pronunciation of two short litanies, the Cherubim Hymn is sung: “Even the Cherubim secretly form and sing the Trisagion Hymn to the Life-Giving Trinity, now let us lay aside all worldly care. As if we would raise the King of all, angelic invisibly gifted chinmi. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia." In Russian, it reads as follows: “We, mysteriously portraying the Cherubim and singing the thrice-sacred song to the Trinity, which gives life, will now leave the care of everything worldly in order to glorify the King of all, Whom the invisibly angelic ranks solemnly glorify. Alleluia."
Before the Cherubic Hymn, the Royal Doors open and the deacon performs incense. The priest at this time secretly prays that the Lord would cleanse his soul and heart and deign to perform the Sacrament. Then the priest, raising his hands, in an undertone utters the first part of the Cherubic Hymn three times, and the deacon also finishes it in an undertone. Both of them go to the altar to transfer the prepared Gifts to the throne. The deacon has air on his left shoulder, he carries the paten with both hands, placing it on his head. The priest carries the Holy Chalice in front of him. They leave the altar through the northern side doors, stop at the pulpit, and, facing the faithful, say a prayer for the Patriarch, the bishops, and for all Orthodox Christians.
Deacon: Our Great Lord and Father Alexy, His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, and Our Lord Most Reverend (the name of the rivers of the diocesan bishop) metropolitan (or: archbishop, or: bishop) (title of the diocesan bishop), may the Lord God always remember in His Kingdom , now and forever, and forever and ever.
Priest: May the Lord God remember all of you Orthodox Christians in His Kingdom always, now and forever, and forever and ever.
Then the priest and deacon enter the altar through the Royal Doors. This is how the Great Entrance is made.
The Gifts brought are placed on the throne and covered with air (a large cover), the Royal Doors are closed and the veil is drawn. The chanters complete the Cherubic Hymn. During the transfer of the Gifts from the altar to the throne, believers remember how the Lord voluntarily went to suffering and death on the cross. They stand with their heads bowed and pray to the Savior for themselves and their loved ones.
After the Great Entrance, the deacon pronounces the Litany of Petition, the priest blesses those present with the words: "Peace to all." Then it is exclaimed: “Let us love one another, that we confess with one mind” and the choir continues: “Father, and Son, and Holy Spirit, the Trinity Consubstantial and Inseparable.”
Following this, usually the whole temple, the Creed is sung. On behalf of the Church, it briefly expresses the whole essence of our faith, and therefore must be pronounced in joint love and unanimity.
Symbol of faith
I believe in the One God, the Almighty Father, the Creator of heaven and earth, visible to all and invisible. And in the One Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Only Begotten, Who was born from the Father before all ages. Light from light, true God from true God, born uncreated, consubstantial with the Father, Whom all was. For us, man, and for our salvation, he descended from heaven, and became incarnate from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and became human. Crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, And suffering, and buried. And resurrected on the third day according to the scriptures. And ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father. And the packs of the future with glory to judge the living and the dead, His Kingdom will have no end. And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord of Life, Who proceeds from the Father, Who with the Father and the Son is worshiped with the glorious, who spoke the prophets. Into one Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. I confess one baptism for the remission of sins. I look forward to the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the age to come. Amen.
After singing the Creed, the time comes to bring the “Holy Exaltation” with the fear of God and without fail “in peace”, without having malice or enmity against anyone.
"Let's become good, let's stand with fear, let's pay attention, bring the holy exaltation in the world." In response to this, the choir sings: "The grace of the world, the sacrifice of praise."
The gifts of the world will be a thankful and laudatory sacrifice to God for all His good deeds. The priest blesses the believers with the words: "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love (love) of God and the Father, and the communion (communion) of the Holy Spirit be with you all." And then he calls: “Woe to our hearts,” that is, we will have hearts aspiring upward, to God. To this, the singers on behalf of the believers answer: “Imams to the Lord”, that is, we already have hearts aspiring to the Lord.
The main part of the liturgy begins with the words of the priest “We thank the Lord”. We thank the Lord for all His mercies and make a prostration, and the singers sing: “It is worthy and righteous to worship the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the Trinity of the Consubstantial Inseparable.”
At this time, the priest in the prayer, which is called the Eucharistic (that is, thanksgiving), glorifies the Lord and His perfection, thanks Him for the creation and redemption of man, and for all His graces known to us and even unknown. He thanks the Lord for accepting this bloodless Sacrifice, although He is surrounded by higher spiritual beings — archangels, angels, cherubim, seraphim, “singing, crying, crying and speaking the song of victory.” The priest speaks these last words of the secret prayer aloud. The singers add to them the angelic song: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord of Hosts, fulfill (that is, filled) heaven and earth with Thy glory.” This song, which is called “Seraphim,” is supplemented by the words with which the people greeted the Lord’s entry into Jerusalem: “Hosanna in the highest (that is, he who lives in heaven) Blessed is he who comes (that is, he who goes) in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest!"
The priest pronounces the exclamation: "Singing the victorious song, crying out, calling out and speaking." These words are taken from the visions of the prophet Ezekiel and the Apostle John the Theologian, who saw in revelation the Throne of God, surrounded by angels having various images: one was in the form of an eagle (the word “singing” refers to it), the other in the form of a calf (“cryingly”) , the third in the form of a lion (“calling”) and, finally, the fourth in the form of a man (“verbal”). These four angels continually exclaimed: "Holy, holy, holy, Lord of Hosts." While singing these words, the priest secretly continues the prayer of thanksgiving, he glorifies the good that God sends to people, His infinite love for His creation, which was manifested in the coming to earth of the Son of God.
Remembering the Last Supper, at which the Lord instituted the Sacrament of Holy Communion, the priest loudly pronounces the words spoken by the Savior at it: “Take, eat, this is My Body, which is broken for you for the remission of sins.” And also: “Drink all of her, this is My Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for you and for many for the remission of sins.” Finally, the priest, remembering in secret prayer the commandment of the Savior to take Communion, glorifies His life, suffering and death, resurrection, ascension to heaven and the second coming in glory, loudly pronounces: These words mean: "Your gifts from Your servants we bring to You, Lord, because of everything we have said."
The singers sing: “We sing to You, we bless You, we thank You, Lord. And we pray, our God."
The priest in secret prayer asks the Lord to send His Holy Spirit on the people standing in the church and on the Offered Gifts, so that He sanctifies them. Then the priest reads the troparion three times in an undertone: “Lord, even Thy Most Holy Spirit at the third hour sent down by Thy apostles, Him, good, do not take away from us, but renew us, praying.” The deacon pronounces the twelfth and thirteenth verse of the 50th psalm: “Create a pure heart in me, O God…” and “Do not cast me away from Your presence….”. Then the priest blesses the Holy Lamb lying on the paten and says: “And make this bread, the precious Body of Thy Christ.”
Then he blesses the cup, saying: "And the hedgehog in this cup is the precious Blood of Thy Christ." And, finally, he blesses the gifts along with the words: "Changing by Your Holy Spirit." In these great and holy moments, the Gifts become the true Body and Blood of the Savior, although they remain in appearance the same as before.
The priest with the deacon and the faithful make prostration before the Holy Gifts, as to the King and God himself. After the consecration of the Gifts, the priest in a secret prayer asks the Lord that those who partake will be strengthened in every good thing, that their sins will be forgiven, that they will partake of the Holy Spirit and reach the Kingdom of Heaven, that the Lord will allow them to turn to Himself with their needs and not condemn them for unworthy communion. The priest remembers the saints and especially the Blessed Virgin Mary and loudly proclaims: “Fairly (that is, especially) about the Most Holy, Most Pure, Most Blessed, Glorious Our Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary”, and the choir responds with a song of praise:
It is worthy to eat, as truly bless Thee, the Mother of God, the Blessed and Immaculate and Mother of our God. The most honest Cherubim and the most glorious without comparison Seraphim, without the corruption of God the Word, who gave birth to the real Mother of God, we magnify Thee.
The priest continues to secretly pray for the dead and, moving on to praying for the living, loudly commemorates His Holiness the Patriarch, the ruling diocesan bishop, “in the first place”, the choir answers: “And everyone and everything”, that is, asks the Lord to remember all believers. The prayer for the living ends with the exclamation of the priest: “And give us with one mouth and one heart (that is, with one accord) to glorify and sing of Your most honorable and magnificent name, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and forever and ever.”
Finally, the priest blesses all those present: "And may the mercies of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ be with you all."
A petitionary litany begins: “All the saints who have remembered, again and again, let us pray to the Lord in peace.” That is, having remembered all the saints, let us again pray to the Lord. After the litany, the priest proclaims: “And vouchsafe us, Vladyka, with boldness (boldly, as children ask their father) to dare (to dare) to call upon you the Heavenly God the Father and speak.”
The prayer “Our Father…” is usually sung after this by the whole temple.
With the words “Peace to all,” the priest once again blesses the faithful.
The deacon, standing at this time on the pulpit, girds himself crosswise with an orarion, so that, firstly, it would be more convenient for him to serve the priest during Communion, and secondly, in order to express his reverence for the Holy Gifts, in imitation of the seraphim.
At the exclamation of the deacon: “Let us attend,” the veil of the Royal Doors twitch in remembrance of the stone that was nailed to the Holy Sepulcher. The priest, raising the Holy Lamb over the paten, loudly proclaims: "Holy to the holy." In other words, the Holy Gifts can only be given to saints, that is, to believers who have sanctified themselves through prayer, fasting, the Sacrament of Repentance. And, realizing their unworthiness, believers answer: "There is one holy, one Lord, Jesus Christ, to the glory of God the Father."
First, the clergy take communion in the altar. The priest breaks the Lamb into four parts as it was incised on the proskomedia. The part with the inscription “IC” is lowered into the cup, and warmth, that is, hot water, is also poured into it, as a reminder that believers, under the guise of wine, accept the true Blood of Christ.
The other part of the Lamb with the inscription “XC” is intended for the communion of the clergy, and the parts with the inscriptions “NI” and “KA” are for the communion of the laity. These two parts are cut with a copy according to the number of those who take communion into small parts, which are lowered into the Chalice.
While the clergy take communion, the choir sings a special verse, which is called "communion", as well as some chant suitable for the occasion. Russian church composers wrote many spiritual works that are not included in the canon of worship, but are performed by the choir at this particular time. Usually a sermon is delivered at the same time.
Finally, the Royal Doors are opened for the communion of the laity, and the deacon, with the Holy Cup in his hands, says: “Come with the fear of God and faith.”
The priest reads a prayer before Holy Communion, and the faithful repeat it to themselves: “I believe, Lord, and I confess that You are truly the Christ, the Son of the Living God, who came into the world to save sinners, from whom I am the first. I also believe that This is Your Most Pure Body and This is Your Most Honorable Blood. I pray to Thee: have mercy on me and forgive my transgressions, voluntary and involuntary, even in word, even in deed, even in knowledge and ignorance, and make me worthy to partake without condemnation of Your Most Pure Mysteries, for the remission of sins and eternal life. Amen. Thy secret supper today, Son of God, accept me as a partaker, not for Thy enemy we will sing a secret, nor will I kiss Thee, like Judas, but, like a thief, I confess Thee: remember me, Lord, in Thy Kingdom. May the communion of Your Holy Mysteries, O Lord, not be for judgment or condemnation, but for the healing of soul and body.
The communicants make a prostration and, folding their hands crosswise on their chests (the right hand over the left), reverently approach the cup, calling the priest their Christian name given at baptism. There is no need to be baptized in front of the cup, because you can push it with a careless movement. The choir sings “Take the body of Christ, taste the source of the immortal”.
After communion, they kiss the lower edge of the Holy Chalice and go to the table, where they drink warmth (church wine mixed with hot water) and receive a particle of prosphora. This is done so that not a single smallest particle of the Holy Gifts remains in the mouth and so as not to immediately proceed to the usual everyday food. After everyone takes communion, the priest brings the cup into the altar and lowers into it the particles taken out of the service and brought prosphora with a prayer that the Lord would wash away the sins of all those who were commemorated at the liturgy with His Blood.
Then he blesses the believers, who sing: “We have seen the true light, received the Spirit of heaven, we have found the true faith, we worship the indivisible Trinity: She saved us.”
The deacon transfers the diskos to the altar, and the priest, taking the Holy Chalice in his hands, blesses the worshipers with it. This last appearance of the Holy Gifts before being transferred to the altar reminds us of the Ascension of the Lord into heaven after His Resurrection. Bowing for the last time to the Holy Gifts, as to the Lord Himself, the faithful thank Him for Communion, and the choir sings a song of thanksgiving: “May our lips be filled with Your praise, Lord, as if we sing Your glory, as if You made us worthy to partake of Your Holy Divine, immortal and life-giving Mysteries; keep us about Your holiness, all day long learn from Your righteousness. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia."
The deacon pronounces a short litany in which he thanks the Lord for Communion. The priest, having risen to the Holy See, folds the antimension on which stood the chalice and diskos, and places the altar Gospel on it.
By proclaiming loudly “Let us go in peace,” he shows that the liturgy is ending, and soon the faithful can go home quietly and in peace.
Then the priest reads the prayer behind the ambo (because it is read behind the pulpit) “Bless those who bless Thee, O Lord, and sanctify those who trust in Thee, save Thy people and bless Thy inheritance, preserve the fulfillment of Thy Church, sanctify those who love the splendor of Thy house, You glorify those who are Divine Thy strength and do not leave us who trust in You. Grant peace to Thy world, to Thy Churches, to the priest and to all Thy people. As every gift is good and every gift is perfect from above, descend from Thee, the Father of lights. And we send glory to you, and thanksgiving, and worship, to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and forever, and forever and ever.
The choir sings: "Be the name of the Lord blessed from now on and forever."
The priest blesses the worshipers for the last time and pronounces dismissal with a cross in his hand facing the temple. Then everyone approaches the cross in order to kiss it to confirm their fidelity to Christ, in whose remembrance the Divine Liturgy was performed.
Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts
This is a divine service, which is predominantly performed on the days of special abstinence and extreme fasting: Wednesday and Friday during all the days of the Holy Forty Day.
Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts by its nature, first of all, the evening service, to be more precise, it is communion after vespers.
During Great Lent, following the church charter, on Wednesdays and Fridays, complete abstinence from food is required until sunset. These days of especially intense physical and spiritual feat are consecrated with the expectation of communion of the Body and Blood of Christ, and this expectation supports us in our feat, both spiritual and physical; the goal of this feat is the joy of waiting for evening communion.
Unfortunately, this understanding of the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts as an evening communion has practically been lost today, and therefore this service is celebrated everywhere, predominantly in the morning, as it is now.
The service begins with Great Vespers, but the first exclamation of the priest: “Blessed is the Kingdom of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and forever and ever!”, the same as at the Liturgy of John Chrysostom or Basil the Great; thus, the entire liturgy is directed towards the hope of the Kingdom, it is that spiritual expectation that determines the entire Great Lent.
Then, as usual, follows the reading of Psalm 103 "Bless, my soul, the Lord!" The priest reads the prayers of the lamp, in which he asks the Lord to "fill our lips with praise ... in order to magnify the holy name" of the Lord, "for the rest of this day, avoid various wiles of the evil one", "spend the rest of the day immaculately before the holy Glory" Lord.
At the end of the reading of Psalm 103, the deacon pronounces the Great Litany, with which the full Liturgy begins.
“Let us pray to the Lord in peace” are the first words of the litany, which mean that we, in the peace of our souls, must begin our prayers. First, to reconcile with everyone against whom we hold our grievances, whom we ourselves have offended, is an indispensable condition for our participation in worship. The deacon himself does not say any prayers, he only helps in the performance of divine services, calls the people to prayer. And all of us, answering “Lord, have mercy!”, should take part in common prayer, because the very word “Liturgy” means a common service.
Everyone praying in the temple is not a passive spectator, but a participant in the Divine Service. The deacon calls us to prayer, the priest, on behalf of all those gathered in the church, makes a prayer, and all of us together are participants in the service.
During the litany, the priest reads a prayer, where he asks the Lord "to hear our prayer and heed the voice of our prayer."
At the end of the litany and the exclamation of the priest, the reader begins to read Kathisma 18, which consists of psalms (119-133), called "songs of ascent." They were sung on the steps of the Jerusalem temple, climbing them; it was the song of people gathering to pray, preparing to meet God.
During the reading of the first part of the kathisma, the priest puts aside the Gospel, unfolds the holy antimension, after which the Lamb, consecrated at the Liturgy on Sunday, with the help of a spear and a spoon, shifts it onto a paten and places a lighted candle in front of it.
After that, the deacon pronounces the so-called. "small" litany. “Let us pray again and again to the Lord in peace,” i.e. “again and again in the world let us pray to the Lord.” “Lord, have mercy,” the choir answers, and with it all those gathered. At this time, the priest's prayer follows:
“Lord, do not rebuke us in Your wrath and punish us not in Your wrath… Enlighten the eyes of our hearts to know Your Truth… for Your dominion, and Yours is the Kingdom and the power and the glory.”
Then the second part of the reading of kathisma 18, during which the priest performs a triple incense of the throne with the Holy Gifts and prostration before the throne. The "small" litany is again pronounced, during which the priest reads a prayer:
“Lord our God, remember us, Thy sinful and indecent servants… grant us, Lord, everything we ask for salvation and help us to love and fear You with all our heart… for You are a good and philanthropic God…”
The last, third part of the kathisma is read, during which the Holy Gifts are transferred from the throne to the altar. This will be marked by ringing a bell, after which all those gathered, noting the importance and holiness of this moment, should kneel down. After the transfer of the Holy Gifts to the altar, the bell rings again, which means you can already rise from your knees.
The priest pours wine into a cup, covers the holy vessels, but does not say anything. The reading of the third part of the kathisma is completed, the “small” litany is pronounced again and the exclamation of the priest.
The choir begins singing verses from Psalms 140 and 141: “Lord, I cry to Thee, hear me!” and the stichera laid down for that day.
Stichera- These are liturgical poetic texts that reflect the essence of the celebrated day. During this singing, the deacon burns the altar and the entire church incense. Burning is a symbol of our prayers to God. During the singing of the stichera for "And now," the clergy make a solemn entrance. The primate reads a prayer:
“In the evening, as in the morning and at noon, we praise, bless you and pray to you ... do not let our hearts deviate to words or evil thoughts ... deliver us from all those who trap our souls ... all glory, honor and worship befits you, the Father and the Son and Holy Spirit."
The clergy go out to the salt (elevation in front of the entrance to the altar), and the Primate blesses the Holy Entrance with the words: “Blessed is the entrance of Your saints, always now and ever and forever and ever!” The deacon, drawing the holy cross with a censer, says “Wisdom, forgive!” "Forgive" means "let's stand straight, reverently."
In the Ancient Church, when the service was much longer than today, those gathered in the temple sat, getting up at especially important moments. The diaconal exclamation, calling to stand erect and reverent, reminds us of the importance and holiness of the Entrance being made. The choir sings the ancient liturgical hymn "Quiet Light".
The clergy enter the holy altar and ascend to the high place. At this point, we will make a special stop in order to explain the next steps. I wish all of us to meaningfully take part in the ongoing worship.
After "Light Quiet"
Beloved in the Lord, brothers and sisters! The entrance was made, the clergy ascended to the high place. On those days when Vespers is celebrated separately, the entrance and ascent to the high place is the climax of the service.
Now the time has come for the singing of a special prokeimenon. A prokimen is a verse from Holy Scripture, most often from the Psalter. For the prokimen, the verse is chosen especially strong, expressive and suitable for the occasion. The prokeimenon consists of a verse, properly called a prokeimenon, and one or three "verses" that precede the repetition of the prokeimenon. The prokeimenon got its name from the fact that it precedes the reading from the Holy Scriptures.
Today we will hear two passages from the Holy Scriptures of the Old Testament, taken from the books of Genesis and Proverbs of Solomon. For a better understanding, these passages will be read in Russian translation. Between these readings, which are called proverbs, a rite is performed, which mainly reminds us of those times when Great Lent was mainly the preparation of catechumens for Holy Baptism.
During the reading of the first proverb, the priest takes a lighted candle and a censer. At the end of the reading, the priest, drawing the holy cross with a censer, says: “Wisdom, forgive!”, thereby calling for special attention and reverence, pointing to the special wisdom contained in the present moment.
Then the priest turns to the audience and, blessing them, says: “The Light of Christ enlightens everyone!” The candle is a symbol of Christ, the Light of the world. Lighting a candle while reading the Old Testament means that all the prophecies were fulfilled in Christ. The Old Testament leads to Christ just as Great Lent leads to the enlightenment of the catechumens. The light of baptism, which unites the catechumens with Christ, opens their minds to understand the teachings of Christ.
According to the established tradition, at this moment all those gathered kneel down, about which they are warned by the ringing of a bell. After the words are spoken by the priest, the ringing of the bell reminds you that you can get up from your knees.
The second passage from the Holy Scriptures from the book of Proverbs of Solomon follows, which will also be read in Russian translation. After the second reading from the Old Testament, according to the instructions of the charter, the singing of five verses from the evening 140 psalm is supposed, beginning with the verse: “May my prayer be corrected, like a censer before you”
In those days, when the Liturgy had not yet acquired today's solemnity and simply consisted of communion after vespers, these verses were sung during communion. Now they form an excellent penitential introduction to the second part of the service, i.e. to the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts itself. During the singing of “May it be corrected…”, all those gathered lie on their faces, and the priest, standing at the throne, censes it, and then the altar, on which the Holy Gifts are located.
At the end of the singing, the priest says a prayer that accompanies all Lenten services, the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian. This prayer, which is accompanied by bows to the ground, sets us up for a correct understanding of our fasting, which consists not only in limiting ourselves in food, but in the ability to see and fight with our own sins.
On those days when the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts coincides with a patronal feast, or on other occasions indicated by the charter, readings of the apostolic epistle and a passage from the Gospel are required. Today, such a reading is not required by the charter, which means that it will not happen. Before the special litany, we will make one more stop in order to better understand the further course of the service. Help everyone Lord!
After "Let it be fixed..."
Beloved brothers and sisters in the Lord! Vespers has ended, and now the entire next course of the service is the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts itself. Now a special litany will be proclaimed by the deacon, when you and I must intensify our prayers. During the pronunciation of this litany, the priest prays that the Lord accepted our fervent prayers and sent down on His people, i.e. on us, all gathered in the temple, expecting from him inexhaustible mercy, His rich bounties.
There is no commemoration by name for the living and the dead at the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts. Then follows the litany for the catechumens. In the Ancient Church, the sacrament of Baptism was preceded by a long period of announcement of those wishing to become Christians.
Great Lent- this is just the time of intensive preparation for Baptism, which was usually performed on Great Saturday or Easter. Those who were preparing to receive the Sacrament of Baptism attended special categorical classes, at which they were explained the basics of the Orthodox faith, so that their future life in the Church would be meaningful. The catechumens also attended divine services, in particular the Liturgy, at which they could attend until the litany for the catechumens. During its pronunciation, the deacon calls on all the faithful, i.e. permanent members of the Orthodox community, to pray for the catechumens, so that the Lord would have mercy on them, pronounce them with the Word of Truth, and reveal to them the Gospel of truth. And the priest at this time prays to the Lord and asks Him to deliver them (i.e., the catechumens) from the ancient seduction and intrigues of the enemy ... and join them to the spiritual flock of Christ.
From the middle of Lent, another litany about the “enlightened” is added, i.e. already "ready for enlightenment". The period of a long catechumen is coming to an end, which in the Ancient Church could have lasted for several years, and the catechumens are moving into the category of “enlightened” and soon the Sacrament of Holy Baptism will be performed on them. The priest at this time prays that the Lord would strengthen them in faith, confirm them in hope, perfect them in love ... and show them as worthy members of the Body of Christ.
Then the deacon says that all the catechumens, all who are preparing for enlightenment, should leave the church. Now only the faithful can pray in the temple; only baptized Orthodox Christians. After the removal of the catechumens, the reading of two prayers of the faithful follows.
In the first we ask for the purification of the soul, body and our senses, the second prayer prepares us for the transfer of the Presanctified Gifts. Then comes the solemn moment of the transfer of the Holy Gifts to the throne. Outwardly, this entrance is similar to the Great Entrance at the Liturgy, but in essence and spiritual significance, of course, it is completely different.
The choir begins to sing a special song: “Now the powers of heaven serve with us invisibly, for behold, the King of Glory enters, behold the Sacrifice, mysteriously sanctified, is transferred.”
The priest in the altar, with his hands raised up, pronounces these words three times, to which the deacon answers: “Let us approach with faith and love and we will be partakers of Eternal Life. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia."
During the transfer of the Holy Gifts, everyone should reverently kneel down.
The priest in the Royal Doors, according to the established tradition, says in a low voice: “Let us proceed with faith and love” and puts the Holy Gifts on the throne, covers them, but does not say anything at the same time.
After that, the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian is pronounced with three bows. The transfer of the Holy Gifts has been completed, and very soon the moment of Holy Communion of the clergy and all those who prepared for this will come. To do this, we will make one more stop to explain the last part of the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts. Help everyone Lord!
After the Great Entrance
Beloved in the Lord, brothers and sisters! The solemn transfer of the Holy Gifts to the throne has taken place, and now we have come very close to the very moment of Holy Communion. Now the deacon will pronounce a pleading litany, and the priest at this time prays that the Lord will deliver us and His faithful people from all impurity, sanctify the souls and bodies of all of us, so that with a clear conscience, an unshamed face, an enlightened heart ... we will be united with Your Christ Himself our true God.
This is followed by the Lord's Prayer "Our Father", which always completes our preparation for Communion. Saying it, the prayer of Christ Himself, we thereby accept the spirit of Christ as our own, His prayer to the Father as ours, His will, His desire, His life as our own.
The prayer ends, the priest teaches us the world, the deacon calls on all of us to bow our heads before the Lord, and at this time the prayer of head bowing is read, where the priest, on behalf of all those gathered, asks the Lord to save His people and deign us all to partake of His life-giving Sacraments.
Then follows the exclamation of the deacon - "Let's go," i.e. let us be attentive, and the priest, touching the Holy Gifts with his hand, exclaims: “The Pre-Consecrated Saint - to the Saints!”. This means that the Presanctified Holy Gifts are offered to the saints, i.e. to all the faithful children of God, to all who have gathered at this moment in the temple. The choir sings: “One is Holy, One is Lord, Jesus Christ, to the glory of God the Father. Amen". The Royal Doors are closed, and the moment comes for the communion of the clergy.
After they take communion, the Holy Gifts will be prepared for all today's communicants and immersed in the Chalice. Everyone who is going to receive communion today needs to be especially attentive and focused. The moment of our union with Christ will soon come. Help everyone Lord!
Before communion parishioners
Beloved brothers and sisters in the Lord! The ancient Church did not know any other reason for participating in the Liturgy, except for the communion of the Holy Gifts on it. Today, this Eucharistic feeling, unfortunately, has weakened. And sometimes we don’t even suspect why we come to the temple of God. Usually everyone just wants to pray “about something of their own”, but now we know that Orthodox worship, and especially the Liturgy, is not just a prayer “about something”, it is our participation in the sacrifice of Christ, this is our joint prayer, common standing before God, common service to Christ. All the priest's prayers are not just his personal appeal to God, but a prayer on behalf of all those gathered, on behalf of everyone in the temple. We often do not even suspect that this is our prayer, this is also our participation in the Sacrament.
Participation in worship should, of course, be conscious. It is always necessary to strive to partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ during the service. After all, every baptized person is a part of the Body of Christ, and through the universality of our communion, the Church of Christ appears to this world, which “lies in evil.”
The Church is the Body of Christ, and we are part of that Body, part of the Church. And in order not to get lost in our spiritual life, we must constantly strive for union with Christ, which is given to us in the sacrament of Holy Communion.
We very often, embarking on the path of spiritual development, do not know what we need to do, how to act correctly. The Church gives us everything we need for our revival. All this is given to us in the Sacraments of the Church. And the Sacrament of the Sacraments, or, more precisely, the Sacrament of the Church, - the Sacrament that reveals the very nature of the Church - is the Sacrament of Holy Communion. Therefore, if we try to know Christ without taking communion, then nothing will ever work out for us.
It is possible to know Christ only by being with Him, and the sacrament of Communion is our door to Christ, which we must open and receive Him into our hearts.
Now the very moment has come when all who wish to receive communion will unite with Christ. The priest with the Holy Chalice will say prayers before Holy Communion, and everyone preparing for Communion should listen carefully to them. Approaching the Chalice, you need to fold your arms crosswise on your chest and clearly pronounce your Christian name, and, after taking communion, kiss the edge of the Chalice and go to drink.
According to the established tradition, only those children who are already able to take a particle of the Holy Bread can receive communion. At this time, the choir sings a special communion verse: "Eat the bread of heaven and the Cup of life - and you will see how good the Lord is."
When Communion is over, the priest enters the altar and blesses the people at the conclusion of the service. The last litany follows, in which we thank God for the communion of the immortal, heavenly and life-giving terrible Christ's Mysteries, and the last prayer, the so-called. “beyond the ambo” is a prayer that sums up the meaning of this divine service. After it, the priest pronounces dismissal with a mention of the saints celebrated today, and these are, first of all, the Reverend Mother Mary of Egypt and St. Gregory the Dialogist, Pope of Rome, a saint of the still undivided Ancient Church, to whom the tradition of celebrating the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts goes back.
This will complete the service. I wish all those present God's help and hope that today's service, which has been constantly commented on, will help all of us to better understand the meaning and purpose of Orthodox worship, so that we will have a desire to further comprehend our Orthodox heritage more and more, through meaningful participation in worship, through participation in the Sacraments of the Holy Church. Amen.
All-night Vigil
All-night vigil, or all-night service, is called such a service that is performed in the evening on the eve of especially revered holidays. It consists of a combination of Vespers with Matins and the first hour, and both Vespers and Matins are celebrated more solemnly and with greater illumination of the temple than on other days.
This service is called all-night service because in ancient times it began late in the evening and lasted all night until dawn.
Then, out of indulgence for the infirmities of the believers, they began to start this service a little earlier and make shortenings in reading and singing, and therefore it does not end so late now. The former name of its all-night vigil has been preserved.
Vespers
Vespers in its composition recalls and depicts the times of the Old Testament: the creation of the world, the fall of the first people, their expulsion from paradise, their repentance and prayer for salvation, then, the hope of people, according to the promise of God, in the Savior and, finally, the fulfillment of this promise.
Vespers, during the all-night vigil, begins with the opening of the royal doors. The priest and the deacon silently cense the altar and the whole altar, and clouds of censer smoke fill the depth of the altar. This silent incense marks the beginning of the creation of the world. "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth". The earth was formless and empty. And the Spirit of God hovered over the primeval matter of the earth, breathing life-giving power into it. But the creative word of God has not yet been heard.
But now, the priest, standing before the throne, with the first exclamation glorifies the Creator and Creator of the world - the Most Holy Trinity: “Glory to the Holy and Consubstantial, and Life-Giving, and Indivisible Trinity, always, now and ever and forever and ever.” Then he calls the believers three times: “Come, let us worship our King God. Come, let us bow down and bow down to Christ, our King God. Come, let us worship and bow down to Christ Himself, the King and our God. Come, let us worship and fall down before Him.” For “everything came into being through Him (that is, to exist, to live), and without Him nothing came into being that came into being” (John 1:3).
In response to this invocation, the choir solemnly sings the 103rd psalm about the creation of the world, glorifying the wisdom of God: “Bless my soul, the Lord! Blessed are you, Lord! Lord, my God, thou hast exalted zealously (i.e., very much) ... thou hast created all wisdom. Wonderful are thy works, Lord! Glory to Thee, Lord, who created everything!
During this singing, the priest leaves the altar, passes among the people and burns the whole temple and the worshipers, and the deacon precedes him with a candle in his hand.
Explanation of the All-Night Vigil
Incense
This sacred rite reminds those who pray not only of the creation of the world, but also of the original, blissful, paradise life of the first people, when God Himself walked among people in paradise. The open royal doors signify that at that time the doors of paradise were open to all people.
But people, tempted by the devil, violated the will of God and sinned. By their fall, people lost their blissful paradise life. They were expelled from paradise - and the doors of paradise were closed for them. As a sign of this, after the censing in the temple and after the singing of the psalm is over, the royal doors are closed.
The deacon leaves the altar and stands in front of the closed royal doors, as Adam once did in front of the closed gates of paradise, and proclaims the great litany:
Let's pray to the Lord in peace
Let us pray to the Lord for heavenly peace and the salvation of our souls... Let us pray to the Lord, reconciled with all our neighbors, having no anger or enmity against anyone.
Let us pray that the Lord sends down to us “above” - heavenly peace and saves our souls…
After the great litany and the exclamation of the priest, selected verses from the first three psalms are sung:
Blessed is the man who does not go to the counsel of the wicked.
For the Lord knows the way of the righteous and the way of the wicked will perish... Blessed is the man who does not go to counsel with the wicked.
For the Lord knows the life of the righteous, and the life of the wicked will perish...
Then the deacon proclaims a small litany: “Pack and pack (again and again) let us pray to the Lord in peace…
After a small litany, the choir calls out in verses from the psalms:
Lord, I call to You, hear me...
May my prayer be corrected, like a censer before You ...
Hear me Lord... Lord! I call to you: hear me ...
Let my prayer be directed like incense incense to Thee...
Hear me, Lord!
During the singing of these verses, the deacon burns the temple incense.
This moment of worship, starting from the closing of the royal doors, in the petitions of the great litany and in the singing of the psalms, depicts the plight that the human race underwent after the fall of the forefathers, when, along with sinfulness, all sorts of needs, illnesses and sufferings appeared. We cry out to God: “Lord, have mercy!” We ask for peace and the salvation of our souls. We lament that we have obeyed the ungodly counsel of the devil. We ask God for forgiveness of sins and deliverance from troubles, and we place all our hope on the mercy of God. Deacon burning at this time means those sacrifices that were offered in the Old Testament, as well as our prayers offered to God.
To the singing of the Old Testament verses: “Lord, I have cried:” are joined by stichera, that is, New Testament hymns, in honor of the holiday.
The last stichera is called the theotokion or dogmatic, since this stichera is sung in honor of the Mother of God and it sets out the dogma (the main teaching of the faith) about the incarnation of the Son of God from the Virgin Mary. On the Twelfth Feasts, instead of the theotokos-dogmatics, a special stichera is sung in honor of the feast.
During the singing of the Theotokos (dogmatics), the royal doors open and an evening entrance is made: a priest-bearer comes out of the altar through the northern doors, followed by a deacon with a censer, and then a priest. The priest stands on the pulpit facing the royal doors, blesses the entrance crosswise, and, after the deacon utters the words: “forgive wisdom!” (meaning: listen to the wisdom of the Lord, stand upright, stay awake), enters, together with the deacon, through the royal doors into the altar and stands on a high place.
Evening entrance
The choir at this time sings a song to the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ: “Quiet light, holy glory of the Immortal Father, Heavenly, Holy, Blessed, Jesus Christ! Having come to the setting of the sun, having seen the evening light, let us sing of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, God. Thou art worthy at all times not to be the voices of the reverend. Son of God, give life, the same world praises You. (Quiet light of holy glory, the Immortal Father in heaven, Jesus Christ! Having reached sunset, seeing the evening light, we sing of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit of God. You, the Son of God, who gives life, are worthy to be sung at all times by the voices of the reverends. Therefore, the world glorifies You).
In this hymn-hymn, the Son of God is called a quiet light from the Heavenly Father, for He did not come to earth in full Divine glory, but the quiet light of this glory. This hymn says that only by the voices of the saints (and not by our sinful lips) can His worthy song be lifted up to Him and due glorification be performed.
The evening entrance reminds believers of how the Old Testament righteous, according to the promise of God, the types and prophecies, expected the coming of the Savior of the world and how He appeared in the world for the salvation of the human race.
A censer with incense, at the evening entrance, means that our prayers, at the intercession of the Lord Savior, like incense, ascend to God, and also means the presence of the Holy Spirit in the temple.
The cruciform blessing of the entrance means that through the cross of the Lord the doors of paradise are again opened to us.
After the song: “Quiet light…” a prokeimenon is sung, i.e. a short verse from the Holy Scriptures. At Sunday Vespers it is sung: “The Lord has reigned, clothed in splendor (i.e., beauty),” and on other days other verses are sung.
At the end of the singing of the prokimen, proverbs are read on major holidays. Paroemias are the chosen places of Holy Scripture, which contain prophecies or indicate prototypes related to the events being celebrated, or instructions are given that come as if from the face of those saints whose memory we commemorate.
After the prokeimon and paroemia, the deacon pronounces a special (i.e., intensified) litany:
Then a prayer is read: “Vouchee, Lord, in this evening, without sin, be preserved for us ...”
After this prayer, the deacon pronounces a petitionary litany: “Let us fulfill (bring to fullness, bring in fullness) our evening prayer to the Lord (to the Lord) ...”
On major feasts, after the special and petitionary litany, the litia and the blessing of the loaves are performed.
Lithia, a Greek word, means common prayer. Litiya is performed in the western part of the temple, near the entrance western doors. This prayer in the ancient church was performed in the vestibule, with the aim of giving the catechumens and penitents who stood here the opportunity to take part in the common prayer on the occasion of the great feast.
lithium
Litiya is followed by the blessing and consecration of five loaves of bread, wheat, wine and oil, also in memory of the ancient custom of distributing food to those praying, who sometimes came from afar, so that they could refresh themselves during a long service. The five loaves are blessed in remembrance of the Savior feeding the five thousand with five loaves. With consecrated oil (olive oil), the priest then, during Matins, after kissing the festive icon, anoints the worshipers.
After the litia, and if it is not performed, then after the petitionary litany, “stichera on the verse” are sung. This is the name of special, poems written in memory of a remembered event.
Vespers ends with the reading of the prayer of St. Simeon the God-bearer: “Now release Thy servant, Master, according to Thy word in peace: as my eyes have seen Thy salvation, if Thou hast prepared before the face of all people, light for the revelation of tongues, and the glory of Thy people Israel”, then by reading the Trisagion and the Lord’s Prayer : “Our Father ...”, singing the Angelic greeting to the Theotokos: “Our Virgin Mary, rejoice ...” or the troparion of the holiday and, finally, by singing the prayer of the righteous Job three times: “Be the name of the Lord blessed from now on and forever”, the final blessing of the priest: “Blessing The Lord's grace and love of mankind is upon you - always, now and forever, and forever and ever.
End of Vespers - Prayer of St. Simeon the God-Receiver and the Angelic greeting to the Theotokos (Our Lady, Virgin, rejoice) - point to the fulfillment of God's promise about the Savior.
Immediately after the end of Vespers, during the All-Night Vigil, Matins begins with the reading of the Six Psalms.
Matins
The second part of the all-night vigil - matins reminds us of the times of the New Testament: the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ into the world, for our salvation, and His glorious Resurrection.
The beginning of Matins directly points us to the Nativity of Christ. It begins with the doxology of the angels who appeared to the Bethlehem shepherds: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men."
Then the Six Psalms are read, i.e. the six selected psalms of King David (3, 37, 62, 87, 102 and 142), in which the sinful state of people, full of troubles and misfortunes, is depicted, and the only hope expected by people in God's mercy is fervently expressed. The worshipers listen to the Six Psalms with special concentrated reverence.
After the Six Psalms, the deacon pronounces the great litany.
Then a short song, with verses, is sung loudly and joyfully about the appearance of Jesus Christ into the world to people: “God is the Lord and appear to us, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” i.e. God is the Lord, and he appeared to us, and he who goes to the glory of the Lord is worthy of glorification.
After that, a troparion is sung, that is, a song in honor of a holiday or a saint being celebrated, and kathismas are read, that is, separate parts of the Psalter, consisting of several successive psalms. Reading kathisma, just like reading the Six Psalms, calls us to think about our disastrous sinful state and put all our hope in God's mercy and help. Kathisma means sitting, since one can sit while reading kathisma.
At the end of the kathisma, the deacon pronounces a small litany, and then a polyeleos is performed. Polyeleos is a Greek word and means: "many mercy" or "much illumination."
The Polyeleos is the most solemn part of the Vespers and expresses the glorification of the mercy of God revealed to us in the coming of the Son of God to earth and His accomplishment of the work of our salvation from the power of the devil and death.
The Polyeleos begins with the solemn singing of laudatory verses:
Praise the name of the Lord, praise the servant of the Lord. Alleluia!
Blessed be the Lord from Zion, who lives in Jerusalem. Alleluia!
Confess to the Lord, for it is good, for His mercy is forever. Alleluia!
i.e. glorify the Lord, because He is good, because His mercy (to people) is forever.
When these verses are sung in the temple, all the lamps are lit, the royal doors open, and the priest, preceded by a deacon with a candle, leaves the altar and performs incense throughout the temple, as a sign of reverence for God and His saints.
Polyeleos
After singing these verses, special Sunday troparia are sung on Sundays; i.e. joyful songs in honor of the Resurrection of Christ, which say how angels appeared to the myrrh-bearing women who came to the tomb of the Savior and announced to them about the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
On other great holidays, instead of Sunday troparions, a magnification is sung before the icon of the holiday, that is, a short laudatory verse in honor of the holiday or saint. (We magnify you, Saint Father Nicholas, and honor your holy memory, for you pray for us Christ our God)
magnificence
After Sunday troparia, or after magnification, the deacon pronounces a small litany, then the prokeimenon, and the priest reads the Gospel.
At the Sunday service, the Gospel is read about the Resurrection of Christ and about the appearances of the risen Christ to His disciples, and on other holidays the Gospel is read, relating to the event being celebrated or to the glorification of the saint.
Gospel Reading
After reading the Gospel, in the Sunday service a solemn song is sung in honor of the risen Lord: “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: for having endured the crucifixion, destroy death with death.
The gospel is brought to the middle of the temple, and the faithful venerate it. On other holidays, believers venerate a festive icon. The priest anoints them with blessed oil and distributes consecrated bread.
After singing: “The Resurrection of Christ: a few more short prayers are sung. Then the deacon reads the prayer: “Save, O God, Thy people”… and after the exclamation of the priest: “By mercy and bounty”… the singing of the canon begins.
The canon at Matins is a collection of songs compiled according to a certain rule. “Canon” is a Greek word and means “rule”.
Canon Reading
The canon is divided into nine parts (song). The first verse of each song that is sung is called irmos, which means connection. These irmos, as it were, bind the entire composition of the canon into one whole. The remaining verses of each part (song) are mostly read and called troparia. The second ode of the canon, as penitential, is performed only in Great Lent.
In compiling these songs, especially worked: St. John of Damascus, Cosmas of Mayum, Andrew of Crete (great canon of repentance) and many others. At the same time, they were invariably guided by certain chants and prayers of sacred persons, namely: the prophet Moses (for 1st and 2nd irmos), the prophetess Anna, the mother of Samuel (for the 3rd irmos), the prophet Habakkuk (for the 4th irmos), the prophet Isaiah (for 5 irmos), the prophet Jonah (for the 6 irmos), three youths (for the 7th and 8th irmos) and the priest Zechariah, Father John the Baptist (for the 9th irmos).
Before the ninth irmos, the deacon proclaims: “Let us exalt the Theotokos and Mother of Light in songs!” and burns the temple incense.
At this time, the choir sings the song of the Theotokos: “My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior ... Each verse is joined by a refrain: “The most honest cherub 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 Thee.”
At the end of the song of the Virgin, the choir continues singing the canon (9th song).
The following can be said about the general content of the canon. Irmos remind believers of the Old Testament times and events from the history of our salvation and gradually bring our thoughts closer to the event of the Nativity of Christ. The troparions of the canon are dedicated to New Testament events and represent a series of verses or hymns to the glory of the Lord and the Mother of God, as well as in honor of the celebrated event, or the saint glorified on this day.
After the canon, psalms of praise are sung - stichera on praises - in which all God's creations are called to glorify the Lord: “Let every breath praise the Lord ...”
After the singing of laudatory psalms, a great doxology follows. The Royal Doors open with the singing of the last stichera (the Mother of God on Sunday) and the priest proclaims: “Glory to Thee, who showed us the light!” (In ancient times, this exclamation preceded the appearance of the solar dawn).
The choir sings a great doxology, which begins with the words: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will towards men. We praise Thee, we bless Thee, we bow down, we praise Thee, we give thanks to Thee, great for the sake of Thy glory…”
In the “great doxology” we thank God for daylight and for the gift of spiritual Light, that is, Christ the Savior, who enlightened people with His teaching - the light of truth.
The “Great Doxology” ends with the singing of the Trisagion: “Holy God…” and the troparion of the feast.
After this, the deacon pronounces two litanies in a row: the august and the petitionary.
Matins at the All-Night Vigil ends with a dismissal - the priest, turning to those who pray, says: “Christ our true God (and on Sunday service: Risen from the dead, Christ our true God ...), with the prayers of His most pure Mother, the holy glorious apostles ... and all the saints, He will have mercy and save us, for he is good and philanthropist.”
In conclusion, the choir sings a prayer that the Lord will preserve the Orthodox Bishopric, the ruling bishop and all Orthodox Christians for many years.
Immediately, after this, the last part of the all-night vigil begins - the first hour.
The service of the first hour consists of the reading of psalms and prayers in which we ask God to “hear our voice in the morning” and correct the work of our hands in the course of the day. The service of the 1st hour ends with a victorious song in honor of the Mother of God: But as if having an invincible power, free us from all troubles, let us call Thee: rejoice, Unbridened Bride.” In this song, we call the Mother of God “the victorious leader against evil.” Then the priest pronounces the dismissal of the 1st hour. This concludes the all-night vigil.
Commentaries on the Divine Liturgy of Saint John,Archbishop of Constantinople, Chrysostom
From the Editor: The clergy of the Belgorod diocese have been performing missionary services for several years. At such a service, the priest several times goes out to the people during the service, explaining what is happening in the church at the moment. We published the text of the commentary on the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts.
We hope that the commentary on the Divine Liturgy will be useful both to the laity, who will be able to better understand the service, and to the priests in conducting missionary services.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit!
Beloved brothers and sisters in the Lord, all of us have gathered in this holy temple in order to make our common prayer, because the word “liturgy” in Greek means “common cause”, i.e. the work is not only of the clergy, but of all the faithful who gather in the temple for worship. And this means that every action, every prayer is related to each of us. All prayers that are read by the clergy in the altar have the character of a common, joint prayer of the entire community, and the primate of the service (bishop or priest) performs them on behalf of everyone. And the meaning of our presence with you at divine services is not only to pray for our own joys and sorrows, but that, through the prayer of the entire community, the great sacrament of the Eucharist be accomplished, i.e. Thanksgiving, when the offered bread and wine are transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ, and everyone who approaches the sacrament of Holy Communion is united with Christ Himself.
But the main problem is that our worship is largely incomprehensible. In order to partly resolve this problem today, the Divine Liturgy in the course of its celebration will be accompanied by commentaries explaining the meaning of the sacred rites and prayers being performed. The hours, which are part of the daily circle of worship, have just been read, the priest performed a proskomidia in the altar offering), during which a piece of bread (symbolizing the Lamb of God, i.e. Christ), particles in honor and memory of the Most Holy Theotokos, saints, as well as living and dead Orthodox Christians, for whom commemorations were given, were removed from the offered prosphora. All this relies on the paten and symbolizes the Church of Christ - heavenly and earthly. Wine, combined with water, is poured into the Chalice, in memory of the fact that blood and water flowed from the rib of the Lord, after it was pierced by a spear on the Cross. After that, the offered gifts are covered by special fees (protectors and at hom) and the priest reads the prayer of the offer, in which he asks to bless and accept the offer to the Most Heavenly Altar, to remember " who brought and for their own sake brought”(i.e., those who filed a commemoration and for whom) and remain uncondemned for us during the sacrament.
Thus, the proskomedia ends and the time comes for the liturgy of the catechumens, which will begin literally now. In the preparatory prayers before the liturgy, the priest reads a prayer for the calling of the Holy Spirit " King of Heaven”, and when the service is performed with the deacon, then he, asking for blessings from the primate, says:“ Time to create the Lord, Master, bless". Those. the time of the liturgy is coming, the time when the Lord Himself will act, and we will be only His co-workers.
The Divine Liturgy begins with the solemn exclamation " Blessed is the Kingdom of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit now and forever and forever and ever", to which the chorus replies " Amen", What means May it be so. Any response of the kliros expressed in the pronunciation of the word " Amen» are expressions of consent and acceptance by the people of God, i.e. by all faithful Christians, everything that happens in the Church.
This is followed by a great or "peaceful" litany, which begins with the words " Let's pray to the Lord in peace”, “world”, means “in the world”, i.e. peaceful state of mind and reconciliation with others. It is impossible to offer a sacrifice to God, being in an embittered state. Petitions are made, and together with the kliros we answer them. Lord have mercy". After the great litany, a prayer is read in which the priest asks the Lord to " looked at this holy temple and gave us and those who pray with us inexhaustible mercy". This is followed by the singing of antiphons. Antiphons are whole psalms or verses from them, which are sung alternately by the right and left choirs. Not everywhere, of course, it is possible to follow this tradition. The main content of the antiphons is the glorification of God and His eternal Kingdom. Initially, they were not part of the liturgy, but were sung by the people on their way to the temple. During the singing of antiphons, the priest reads a prayer in which he asks God " save your people and bless your inheritance, preserve your church in fullness ... and do not leave us who trust in you».
Pronounced so-called. "small" litany " packs and packs, let's pray to the Lord in peace”, i.e. " again and again in the world let us pray to the Lord». « Lord have mercy' replies the choir, and with it all of us.
This is followed by the singing of the second antiphon " Praise the Lord my soul"and song" Only Begotten Son”, which expresses the Orthodox teaching about Christ: two natures are combined in Him - divine and human, and both of them are present in Him in their entirety: God, having become incarnate, did not cease to be God, and man, having united with God, remained a man. At this time, a prayer is read by the priest, where he prays “... Himself and now fulfill the petition of Your children for the benefit: give us in the present age the knowledge of Your Truth, and in the future - grant Eternal Life».
And again follows the "small" litany, after which the singing of the third antiphon, the so-called. "blessed", i.e. the beatitudes given by the Lord, during which a small entrance is made. The clergy wear the Holy Gospel from the altar with the reading of a prayer “... make with our entrance the entrance of the holy angels, serving with us and glorifying Your goodness". The priest blesses the holy entrance with the words " Blessed is the entrance of thy saints", followed by the exclamation " Wisdom, sorry!». "Sorry"- so, we will stand straight, reverently. The small entrance symbolizes the appearance of the Church, which, together with the angelic forces, gives unceasing praise to God. But earlier the bringing of the Gospel had a purely practical character, because it was not kept on the throne, but in a separate place, and at that moment it was brought to the temple in order to be read.
The choir sings Come, let us worship and fall down to Christ!”, followed by the singing of troparia and kontakions relying on this day. During the singing, the priest reads the prayer of the Trisagion, which is in direct logical connection with the idea of entrance and the entrance prayer, and it speaks of co-service with the priest and the Heavenly Forces themselves " Holy God, resting in the saints, Whom the seraphim sing and the cherubim glorify with the Trisagion... Himself, Vladyka, accept from the lips of us sinners the Trisagion hymn and visit us according to Thy goodness, forgive us all voluntary and involuntary sins...».
This is followed by the exclamation Lord, save the pious...”, which has been preserved from the ceremonial of the Byzantine service, which was attended by the kings. And immediately follows the singing of the Trisagion " Holy God, holy Mighty, holy Immortal, have mercy on us". During the singing of the Trisagion, the clergy ascend to a high place in the altar, a place where only a bishop can sit, symbolizing Christ. Climbing to a high place takes place to listen to the Holy Scriptures, therefore it is from there that the primate teaches peace to all those gathered, for our hearing the word of God. The reading of the Holy Scriptures is preceded by the singing of the prokimen (translated from Greek. presenting). A prokeimenon is a verse from the Holy Scriptures, most often from the Psalter. For the prokimen, the verse is chosen especially strong, expressive and suitable for the occasion. The prokeimenon consists of a verse, properly called a prokeimenon, and one or three "verses" that precede the repetition of the prokeimenon.
After that, the reader proclaims the appropriate passage from their apostolic epistles. Today there will be two such passages from the letter of the apostle Paul to the Colossians and the first letter to the Corinthians. During the reading of the apostolic epistle, the altar, the iconostasis, the reader of the apostle, the kliros, and all those gathered in the church are incense. Previously, censing was supposed to be done while singing. alliluary with psalm verses, i.e. after the reading of the Apostle, but since this singing is usually performed very hastily, the incense was transferred to the reading of the passage of the apostolic epistle itself. Hallelujah is a Hebrew word and literally means “praise Yahweh” (Yahweh or Jehovah is the name of God revealed in the Old Testament).
Then follows the reading of the Gospel. Before reading it, the priest reads a prayer " Shine into our hearts, philanthropic Lord... Put in us the fear of Your good commandments, so that we, having conquered all the lusts of the flesh, lead a spiritual life...". There will also be two gospel readings today, and we will stop separately to talk about the meaning of the passages we read.
And now the Divine Liturgy will begin, so I call on all those gathered in the church to a responsible and prayerful presence at the service, because our common prayer is the prayer of the entire Church. God help everyone!
Next stop after reading the Scriptures
Beloved brothers and sisters in the Lord, immediately after reading the Gospel, the so-called. a “deep” litany, during which we pray for the Primate of our Church, His Holiness the Patriarch, the Ruling Bishop, a God-protected country, people and army, for all those who are present and praying, doing good for this holy temple, singing and forthcoming people expecting great mercy from the Lord. For each request, the choir answers three times " Lord have mercy and each of us must repeat this prayer in our hearts. During the litany, the priest prays that the Lord " accepted this fervent prayer ... and had mercy on us according to the multitude of mercy" His. Also, the serving clergy uncover the holy antimension (literally - instead of the throne), a board with a sewn-in particle of holy relics, on which the Bloodless Sacrifice will be brought.
On weekdays, after the “extra” litany, a litany for the dead is prescribed, but on Sundays and other holidays it is not laid, which means that it will not be today either. But let's not forget that the commemoration of the dead is always performed at the proskomidia, and after the consecration of the Holy Gifts, in the place about which more will be said.
After this, the litany of the catechumens is pronounced, which reminds us that in the Ancient Church Baptism was performed only after a long teaching (catechumen) and those preparing for this great sacrament were called catechumens. They were allowed to attend the worship service up to a certain point. After the pronunciation of this litany, all those preparing for Baptism were to leave the service. Today there are practically no catechumens, but the litany has been preserved, it is possible that it will become a guarantee that the ancient practice of catechumens in our Church will be revived. During this litany, the priest prays that the Lord " honored them those. catechumens ) during the auspicious bath of resurrection ( those. christening ) ... united them with His holy, catholic and apostolic Church and joined them to His chosen flock ...».
At the end of the litany, one proclaims: Yelitsy(i.e. all those who) announcement, get out...", which means that the end liturgy of the catechumens and starts liturgy of the faithful, which can only be attended by members of the Church, i.e. Orthodox Christians.
During the pronunciation of the litanies, two prayers of the faithful are read in the altar, in which the priest, on behalf of all those gathered, asks the Lord to accept " ... our prayer, to make us worthy to offer Him prayers, and prayers, and bloodless sacrifices for all His people ...", grant " to all who pray with us, prosperity in life and faith and spiritual understanding" and " innocently and uncondemned to partake of His holy Mysteries and His heavenly Kingdom will be rewarded". At the end of the reading of the second prayer follows the exclamation " Like yes, according to Your power(so that we are under Your dominion) always kept, they sent glory to you, to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and forever and forever and ever". After a double Amen The choir begins to sing the Cherubic Hymn. At the start of the chant cherubic the priest silently reads a prayer in which he asks God " ... deign me that through me, a sinful and unworthy servant of Yours, these gifts were brought to You. Thou Thyself is the bringer and the one who is offered, the receiver and the one who is given away, Christ our God…". This prayer is a preparation for the moment of the great entrance, i.e. transfer of the Gifts from the altar to the throne. After reading the prayer, the priest (if there is no deacon) performs incense, during which the penitent 50 psalm reads to himself.
After incense, the primate raises his hands with the words " We, depicting the cherubim in the sacrament and singing the Trisagion Hymn to the life-giving Trinity, will now set aside all worldly cares in order to receive the King of the world, accompanied invisibly by the orders of angels. Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah».
The transfer of the Gifts and their setting on the throne is expressed in terms of sacrifice, but again, our sacrifices, sacrifices of praise that we ask you to accept" from the hands of us sinners…”. In the event that the liturgy is celebrated without a deacon, the primate takes the paten and the Chalice and, on the solea, commemorates the First Hierarch of our Church, the Ruling Bishop, His Grace metropolitans, archbishops and bishops, as well as all those present in the church with the words “ May the Lord God remember in His Kingdom, always now and forever and forever and ever". Putting the holy vessels on the altar, the priest covers them with air while reciting the troparia of Great Friday. After the transfer of the Gifts from the altar to the throne, we will make one more stop with you to explain the further course of the service. God help everyone!
Next stop after the Great Entrance
Beloved brothers and sisters in the Lord, the Great Entrance has taken place, and you and I have almost come close to the climax of the service - the Eucharistic canon. Immediately after the transfer of the Gifts from the altar to the throne, the petitionary litany begins. Sounds like a petition Execute(i.e. replenish) our prayer to the Lord”, and together with the choir we answer “Lord, have mercy.” After asking " spend the whole day holy, peacefully and sinlessly from the Lord, we ask", we answer with the words" Give me Lord”, and that is why the litany is called petitionary. This litany develops petitions for what people need: a Guardian Angel, the forgiveness of sins, a peaceful death, and so on. During its pronunciation, the prayer of the offering is read. This last prayer before the Anaphora itself (i.e., the Eucharistic canon) draws attention to itself by invoking the Holy Spirit on the Gifts and on the people: “... make us worthy to find favor in Your sight, so that our sacrifice may be acceptable to You and that the good Spirit of Your grace may rest on us, and on these gifts set before us, and on all Your people ...».
After the exclamation By the bounties of Thy Only Begotten Son, blessed be Thou with Him...» the priest teaches « peace to all". Then comes the exclamation " Let us love one another, so that in one mind we may confess and the chorus continues Father and Son and Holy Spirit - Trinity consubstantial and inseparable". In ancient times, at this moment, the so-called. kissing the world when the faithful taught one another the kiss of peace in Christ: men to men, women to women. It can be assumed that the disappearance of this action was associated with the growth of the Church, with the appearance of large gatherings in temples, where no one knows each other and where these actions would be a mere formality. Today, this custom has been preserved only among the clergy, when one greets the other with the words " Christ in our midst» to which the answer follows « and is and will be».
This action symbolically signifies a complete internal reconciliation between Christians who intend to participate in the sacrament of the Eucharist. The commandment of the Savior (Matt. 5:23-24) directly prescribes to be reconciled first with a brother, and then to bring a sacrifice to the altar. But this reconciliation should also mean complete unanimity, complete spiritual unity. Therefore, immediately after the kissing of the world, the Creed is proclaimed (adopted at the First Ecumenical Council in Nicea and supplemented at the Second Ecumenical Council in Constantinople), as a measure of the dogmatic truth of Christians. The Eucharistic offering can only be with one mouth and one heart, in a single faith, in the agreement of dogmas, in the same view on the basic questions of faith and salvation.
After the exclamation Doors, doors, let us listen to wisdom(i.e. let us listen)” the Creed is sung by all the people of God as an expression of the dogmatic unity of the Church. Exclamation " doors, doors” in ancient times was a sign for the deacons who stood at the door so that during the celebration of the Eucharistic prayers no one would go out and enter the assembly of the faithful.
At the end of the singing of the Creed, the Eucharistic canon or prayers of the anaphora (from the Greek. exaltation), which are the culminating part of the liturgy. We hear the exclamation Let's become kind(i.e. slim), let's stand with fear(i.e. we will be with attention) to bring holy exaltation in the world - and the chorus continues mercy, peace and sacrifice of praise". The priest, facing the people, proclaims: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God and the Father, and communion(communication) Holy Spirit be with you all!". The chorus, and with it all of us, answer: And with your spirit". Primate: " Gore e we have(i.e. lift up) hearts', the chorus replies: ' Imams(i.e. we lift up) to the Lord", Priest: " Thank the Lord!". And the choir starts to sing It is worthy and righteous to worship the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, the Trinity Consubstantial and Indivisible". At this time, the primate performs a prayer of thanksgiving, in which he praises God for all His blessings revealed and unmanifested to us, for the fact that He brought us from non-existence into existence and restored us again after the fall, for the service that is performed, despite the fact that He thousands of archangels and multitudes of angels are coming, six-winged cherubim and seraphim, many-eyed, soaring on wings, which (proclaims the priest) " singing a song of victory, shouting, shouting and speaking"(continues chorus)" Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord of hosts; Heaven and earth are full of Your glory! Hosanna(i.e. salvation) in the highest! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!". And the priest continues with these blissful Powers, we, the philanthropic Lord, exclaim..."after which the primate in prayer recalls the event when our Lord Jesus Christ established the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist" taking bread in His holy and blameless and sinless hands, giving thanks and blessing, sanctifying and saying to his disciples and apostles, Take, eat, this is My Body, broken for you in the forgiveness of sins", the choir and we are with him" Amen!". The priest prays Likewise the cup after supper, saying: (out loud) Drink all of it, this is My Blood of the New Testament, shed for you and for many for the remission of sins.". The choir keeps answering " Amen!", Priest " So, remembering this His saving commandment and everything He did for us: the cross, the tomb, the three-day resurrection, the ascent to Heaven, on the right hand(from Father) sitting, and also His second and glorious coming,(offering the gifts) “Yours from Yours, bringing to You about everyone and for everything". And further " We sing to You, we bless You, we thank You, O Lord, and we pray to You, our God!(the chorus echoes this). And the priest begins to read the prayer for the calling of the Holy Spirit to the Gifts " and we ask, and we pray, and let us deem(i.e. seizure a eat): send Your Holy Spirit upon us and upon these gifts set before us,».
According to Russian tradition, at this time, the reading of the troparion of the third hour “Lord, even Thy Most Holy Spirit” is supposed to be read, many mistakenly believe that this troparion is just the prayer of invoking the Holy Spirit on the Gifts. In order not to break the integrity of this prayer, it will be read immediately after the words " and we pray to you, our God!».
The epiclesis prayer (i.e. the prayer for the invocation of the Holy Spirit) continues inextricably with the words " And make this bread - the honest body of your Christ"(the priest blesses the paten with his hand)," and the hedgehog in this Cup is the precious Blood of Thy Christ"(the priest blesses the Chalice)," changing by Your Holy Spirit(The priest blesses the diskos and the cup together). After that, a prostration is made before the consecrated Holy Gifts.
Having risen, the primate makes intercessory prayers that we all take communion for the soberness of the soul and the forgiveness of sins. He then prayerfully brings the verbal service " about every righteous soul in the faith who has died". And he proclaims, incense of the throne, Considerably(i.e. especially) about the Most Holy, Most Pure, Most Blessed Lady of Our Mother of God and Ever-Virgin Mary". The choir sings a hymn glorifying the Mother of God, who is the most honest cherubim and the most glorious without comparison seraphim, and the priest continues to commemorate the saints of God, John the Baptist, the holy glorious apostles and saints, whose memory is being celebrated today. Then, please pay attention, the primate commemorates the departed Orthodox Christians, therefore, each of us at this time can and should prayerfully remember all those whom we usually commemorate for their repose. Then the priest prays for every Orthodox bishopric, priesthood, diaconate and every priestly rank, for the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.
After that, the primate exclaims commemorates the First Hierarch of the Russian Church and the Ruling Bishop, after which he reads a prayer for our city, for our country and the salvation of all those Orthodox Christians who are not currently present at the service. Then, again, I ask you to pay attention, it is possible to commemorate the health of Orthodox Christians, but there is very little time for this, so you can have time to prayerfully remember only the people closest to us. This is followed by the exclamation: And give(i.e. give) us with one mouth and one heart to glorify and sing of Your all-honorable and magnificent name, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever and ever”, the choir, together with the people, answers“ Amen!” and the priest, turning his face to all the faithful, proclaims “ And may the mercies of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ be with you all', the chorus replies ' and with your spirit". With this, the Eucharistic canon ends and remains with everything for a little time until the moment of communion of the clergy and laity. At this point, we will stop again to continue explaining the subsequent course of the service. I wish all of us meaningful standing before the Lord!
Next stop after the Eucharistic Canon
Beloved brothers and sisters in the Lord, the change of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ took place, in order to later be offered to the faithful for communion and union with God. Now the litany of supplication will be pronounced after the consecration of the Gifts. Having remembered all the saints, let us pray to the Lord again and again in the world". By saints here is meant not only the holy saints of God, glorified by the Church, but also all faithful Orthodox Christians, deceased and living, commemorated during divine services. In the early Church, saints meant all Christians in general, and the apostolic writings refer to Christians in this way. Further the petition Let us pray to the Lord for the precious gifts brought and consecrated”, this is a petition for sanctification of us by the communion of these Gifts, which follows from the following petition “ So that our philanthropic God, having accepted them on His holy and Most Heavenly and mental altar, as a spiritual fragrance, send down to us divine grace and the gift of the Holy Spirit as a reward - let us pray!”, then the usual petitions for a pleading litany follow, and the priest prays that each of us will commune without condemnation and be cleansed of the filth of the flesh and spirit. On the meaning of this prayer and litany, St. Nicholas Cabasilas, one of the best interpreters of the Liturgy: “Grace acts in the honorable Gifts in two ways: firstly, by the fact that the Gifts are sanctified; secondly, by the fact that grace sanctifies us through them. Therefore, no human evil can prevent the action of grace in the Holy Gifts, since. their sanctification is not an act of human virtue. The second action is the work of our efforts, and therefore our negligence can interfere with it. Grace sanctifies us through the Gifts if it finds us worthy of sanctification; if it finds them unprepared, then it does not bring us any benefit, but causes even greater harm. The litany ends with the petition Having asked for the unity of faith and the communion of the Holy Spirit, let us commit ourselves and each other, and let us commit our whole life to Christ our God." followed by the exclamation " And vouchsafe us, O Lord, with boldness to uncondemned dare to call You, Heavenly God, Father and speak»:
And all the people, together with the choir, sing the Lord's Prayer: Our Father…". The petition in the Lord's Prayer for daily bread acquires a special Eucharistic character during the Liturgy. The prayer ends with the exclamation For yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory ...”, after which the priest teaches peace to everyone, and after the exclamation of head bowing, he reads the appropriate prayer in which he thanks God and asks for our immediate needs“ floating floating, traveling travel, heal the sick Physician of our souls and bodies". After the chorus replies " Amen”, the priest reads a prayer before the crushing of the Holy Lamb, in which he asks God“ to give us His clean Body and His precious Blood, and through us to all His people».
Followed by the exclamation " Let's go!(i.e., let's be careful) "and the primate, lifting up the Holy Lamb, proclaims" Holy to the holy!". Here, as we have already said, the saints are understood to mean all Orthodox Christians, in this case, gathered in this holy temple, i.e. understood by each of us. The choir sings: There is one Holy, one Lord, Jesus Christ, to the glory of God the Father. Amen". The Primate performs the fragmentation of the Holy Lamb, with the words " Fulfillment of the Holy Spirit”puts a particle with the inscription “Jesus” into the Chalice, the particle with the inscription “Christ” will receive communion from the clergy, and the remaining two with the inscriptions “NI” and “KA” (i.e. victory) will be crushed for teaching to everyone who gathers today take communion. A ladle with hot water is poured into the Holy Chalice, the so-called. "warmth", which, by its theological interpretation, goes back to the death of the Savior on the cross, since The blood that flowed from the Lord was hot. After the clergy take communion, we will again make a short stop and explain the rest of the service, after which the Body and Blood of Christ will be given to all who prepared for this today.
Next stop after communion of the clergy
Beloved brothers and sisters in the Lord, the very moment has come when the Chalice with the Body and Blood of Christ will be taken from the altar for the communion of the faithful. As we said at the beginning, the Divine Liturgy has its meaning in the transformation of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ, for the communion of all those gathered at the liturgy. That is why the last part of the liturgy is called the liturgy of the faithful, because all those present at it were not outside spectators, but active participants in the service, aware of their responsible standing before God in common Eucharistic prayer. Communion at every liturgy was the norm for the Christians of the ancient Church, but over time this norm began to be forgotten, and today we can see how in the temple, in which there are a sufficient number of people, only a few communicants. Often we talk about our unworthiness, and this is absolutely true, each of us is not worthy to be able to unite with Christ Himself, and woe to those who suddenly realize their dignity in front of the Holy Chalice. Precisely because we are weak and unworthy, we are called to heal our ailments in the Sacraments of the Holy Church - repentance and communion above all. The universality of communion of all the faithful at the liturgy reveals the nature of the Church, which itself is the Body of Christ, which means that each member of Her is His particle.
Striving for constant unity with God in joint prayer and communion in the sacraments, we will step by step make our spiritual ascent, to which every Christian is called. The liturgy is celebrated not so that we can light candles and order Mass, or rather, we also have every right to do all this, but the main meaning of its celebration is our union with God Himself. The goal of the life of an Orthodox Christian is to achieve about because, according to the words of St. Athanasius the Great, "God became man so that man might become God." And our deification is unthinkable without participation in the sacraments of the Church, to which we must resort not occasionally, from time to time, but constantly, remembering that this is precisely what our church life consists of. Naturally, all this is unthinkable without painstaking and careful work on oneself, without fighting one's sins, because as it is said in the Holy Scripture: The kingdom of heaven is taken by force, and those who use force take it by force» (Matthew 11:12). God saves us, but not without us, if each of us does not yearn for salvation, then it will be impossible to achieve it.
And in addition to our constant mysterious life, we must make efforts to better know our faith, because everyone who looks at us already forms an idea about the Church of Christ, and what will this idea be if we cannot give answers to elementary questions. One must constantly force oneself to study, to read the Holy Scriptures, the Fathers of the Church, the works of Orthodox theologians, and, undoubtedly, to improve in prayer work. Each of us has a huge responsibility before God, the Church and people, because by becoming Christians we became, according to the words of the Apostle Peter, “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy people, people taken as inheritance in order to proclaim the perfections of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Pet. 2:9). With this responsibility in mind, we should carry out our church ministry.
Now the Holy Chalice will be taken out and everyone who was going to take communion today will be united with Christ Himself. After communion, the Chalice is brought into the altar and the holy particles that were taken out for the saints, the living and the dead, are immersed in the Chalice with the words “ wash away, Lord, the sins of all those who are remembered here by the prayers of your saints". Thus, everyone for whom the offering was made is also made the Body of Christ, and this is the highest meaning of the Eucharist - the unity of the heavenly and earthly Churches.
Let's make the particles immerse the priest proclaims " Save, O God, your people and bless your inheritance!". Then the Holy Chalice is transferred to the altar, with the words " Blessed is our God" (quiet) " Always now and forever and forever and ever!"(exclamation). Priest saying " Ascend to heaven, O God, and throughout the earth Your glory”delivers the Chalice to the altar. The choir, on behalf of all those who have communed the Holy Mysteries, sings “ May our lips be filled with Your praise, O Lord, that we may sing of Your glory, for You have honored us with communion with Your holy, divine, immortal and life-giving Sacraments.". This is followed by a litany Let's be reverent! Having communed the divine, holy, immaculate, immortal, heavenly and life-giving, terrible Mysteries of Christ, we worthily thank the Lord!”, followed by the proclaiming “ Let's leave in peace!”and the junior clergyman reads the so-called. "beyond the ambo" prayer, in which he asks " Lord… save Your people and bless Your inheritance… Grant Peace to Your world, Your churches, priesthood, our rulers and all Your people…". The choir with the people answers " Amen!”, after which the blessing is taught with all the right words“ God bless you...". After that, the primate makes a vacation, i.e. the final prayer of the liturgy, in which the Mother of God, the holy apostles, the saints of the temple and the day are remembered (today it is, first of all, Equal-to-the-Apostles Nina, Enlightener of Georgia) and St. John Chrysostom, whose liturgy is celebrated today. After that, the choir sings for many years to the Primate of the Russian Church, His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexy II and our Ruling Bishop, His Eminence John, Archbishop of Belgorod and Starooskolsky. Thus, the service ends.
We hope that today's service, which was constantly commented on during its celebration, has given us the opportunity to get to know our liturgical heritage better, and we will continue to make efforts so that we have a desire to more and more comprehend our Orthodox heritage, through meaningful participation in worship, through participation in the Sacraments of the Holy Church. Amen.
The end and glory to our God!
