The concept of worship. Purpose of worship. Sacrifice and prayer as the main elements of worship. The concept of the Church. About worship and the church calendar. Why in the center of the temple on a lectern, instead of an icon, sometimes there is a cross decorated with flowers

Public worship or, as the people say, church services - this is the main thing for which our churches are intended. Every day, the Orthodox Church celebrates evening, morning and afternoon services in churches. Each of these divine services consists, in turn, of three types of divine services, collectively united in a daily circle of divine services:

evening - from the 9th hour, Vespers and Compline;

morning - from Midnight Office, Matins and the 1st hour;

daytime - from the 3rd hour, the 6th hour and Divine Liturgy.

Thus, the entire daily circle consists of nine services.

In Orthodox worship, much is borrowed from the worship of the Old Testament times. For example, the beginning of a new day is considered not midnight, but six o'clock in the evening. That is why the first service of the daily cycle is Vespers.

At Vespers, the Church recalls the main events of the Sacred History of the Old Testament: the creation of the world by God, the fall of the forefathers, the Mosaic legislation and the ministry of the prophets. Christians give thanks to the Lord for the day they have lived.

After Vespers, according to the Church Rule, it is necessary to serve Compline. In a certain sense, these are public prayers for the future, at which the descent of Christ into hell and the liberation of the righteous from the power of the devil are remembered.

At midnight, it is supposed to perform the third service of the daily circle - the Midnight Office. This service was established to remind Christians of the Second Coming of the Savior and the Last Judgment.

Before sunrise, Matins is served - one of the longest services. It is dedicated to the events of the Savior's earthly life and contains many prayers of repentance and thanksgiving.

About seven o'clock in the morning they make the 1st hour. This is the name of a short service at which the Orthodox Church recalls the stay of Jesus Christ at the trial of the high priest Caiaphas.

The 3rd hour (nine o'clock in the morning) is served in remembrance of the events that took place in the Zion room, where the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles, and in Pilate's praetorium, where the Savior was sentenced to death.

The 6th hour (noon) is the time of the crucifixion of the Lord, and the 9th hour (three o'clock in the afternoon) is the time of His death on the cross. These events are dedicated to the above services.

The main worship Orthodox Church, a kind of center of the daily circle, is the Divine Liturgy. Unlike other services, the liturgy provides an opportunity not only to remember God, the entire earthly life of the Savior, but also to really unite with Him in the sacrament of Communion, established by the Lord Himself during the Last Supper. In terms of time, the liturgy should be performed between the 6th and 9th hours, before noon, in the pre-dinner time, which is why it is also called Mass.

Modern liturgical practice has brought its own changes to the prescriptions of the Charter. So in parish churches, Compline is celebrated only during Great Lent, and Midnight Office - once a year, on the eve of Easter. The 9th hour is also served extremely rarely. The remaining six services of the daily cycle are combined into two groups of three services.

In the evening, Vespers, Matins, and the 1st hour are performed one after another. Sunday eve and public holidays these services are combined into one divine service, called the all-night vigil. In ancient times, Christians did often pray until dawn, that is, they stayed awake throughout the night. Modern all-night vigils last two to four hours in parishes and three to six hours in monasteries.

In the morning, the 3rd hour, the 6th hour and the Divine Liturgy are served in succession. In churches with a large parish on Sundays and holidays, there are two liturgies - early and late. Both are preceded by reading hours.

On those days when the liturgy is not supposed (for example, on Friday of Holy Week), a short sequence of pictorial ones is performed. This divine service consists of some chants of the liturgy and, as it were, “depicts” it. But the fine arts do not have the status of an independent service.

Divine services also include the performance of all the sacraments, rites, the reading of akathists in the church, communal readings of morning and evening prayers, rules for Holy Communion.

worship

combination of prayers, chants, readings Holy Scripture and sacred rites performed according to the order established by the Church. The purpose of worship is to give Christians the best way to express petitions addressed to the Lord, thanksgiving and praises; to educate believers in the truths of the Orthodox faith and the rules of Christian piety; to bring believers into mysterious communion with God and communicate to them the grace-filled gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Depending on the time of the services, there are several circles of worship:

1) daytime, or daily, the services of which are adapted to a certain time of day in accordance with the sacred events remembered at that time. For each day, these services are unchanged and are repeated in the same order as on the previous day;

2) weekly, prayers and chants of which correspond to certain days of the week (week). The services of this circle, changing every day of the week, after it has passed, begin again and follow in the same order as in the previous week;

3) annual, whose prayers and chants are adapted to the days of the year in accordance with the events remembered on each day of the year (for example, October 1 - Intercession Holy Mother of God, December 25 (January 7) - Christmas, April 23 (May 6) - St. Great Martyr and Victorious George, etc.).

These three types of worship are combined in every church service, since every day there are services of both the daily cycle, and the weekly, and the annual. At the same time, the services of the daily circle are the main ones, and they are joined by prayers and chants of the weekly and annual circles of worship.

Following the example of the Old Testament Church, daily church services begin in the evening (the first service church day- Vespers), so that each night belongs to the next day. Since ancient times, the Church has allocated special hours for worship during the day: morning, 3, 6, 9 hours (i.e. 9, 12 and 15 hours), evening, night or midnight. Accordingly, the following nine church services were formed: Vespers, Compline, Midnight Office, Matins, 1st hour, 3rd hour, 6th hour, 9th hour. The place of the liturgy among the services of the daily cycle is special. The liturgy is the most important of the church services, and the rest of the services serve as preparation for it. Since it is inconvenient for believers, due to various everyday activities, to gather for all these services separately, from the earliest times of Christianity, the Church decided to celebrate divine services three times a day: in the evening - Vespers, in the morning - Matins and in the afternoon (around noon) - Liturgy. These three main services are joined by the remaining 6 short services, for which in ancient times they originally gathered separately. Vespers is joined by the 9th hour (before Vespers) and Compline (after Vespers); for matins - midnight office (before matins) and the 1st hour (after matins); for the Liturgy - the 3rd and 6th hours (before the Liturgy). Evening, morning, and noon are chosen as the most convenient times for consecration through all-day prayer.

Each service of the daily cycle has its own liturgical theme. Vespers is the theme of waiting for the Savior. St. Cyprian of Carthage (3rd century) says that in the evening we should remember that Christ replaces the sun for us. The sun has set and now darkness will come, but for Christians there is no darkness, Christ is our Sun. Such a poetic interpretation of the theme of Vespers was reflected in the hymn "Quiet Light", in which the Lord is called "The Light of the Glory of the Heavenly Father".

compline("after supper, after supper") contains mostly penitential and pleading texts.

Midnight Office associated with the memory of the second coming of the Savior, which, according to church tradition, will occur at midnight. The central hymn of the midnight office is “Behold the Bridegroom is coming at midnight, and blessed is the servant, whom the vigilant will find ...”. The general theme and character of Matins can be defined as the fulfillment of Israel's aspirations.

Matins- Experiencing the coming of the Savior. At the beginning of Matins, the chant "God is the Lord, and appear to us, blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord."

Third, sixth, ninth hours from ancient times correlated with events from the Life of Christ and the apostles: the third hour is the hour of sending the Holy Spirit to the apostles, at the sixth hour the Lord was nailed to the Cross, the ninth hour is the time of the Savior's death on the cross.

First hour arose later than others and is a continuation of Matins, its theme is the beginning of the day.

Special prayers and hymns are added to the unchanging circle of daily worship every day of the week, relating to sacred memories, connected with each day of the week. These memories are the following. The first day of the week - Sunday - is dedicated to the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. In liturgical books, this day is called the Week, since it replaced the Old Testament Sabbath, the day of rest, of not doing ordinary everyday things.

On the first day of the Week - Monday - the Disembodied Forces are glorified, i.e. Angels; on Tuesday - the Old Testament prophets and among them the highest of the prophets - St. John the Baptist; on Wednesday and Friday, the betrayal of the Lord by Judas, the suffering on the cross and the death of the Savior are remembered; Thursday is dedicated to the glorification of the Holy Apostles and St. Nicholas the Wonderworker; on Saturday, as a day of rest, all the saints who have reached eternal rest, and especially the martyrs, are glorified, and all those who have fallen asleep in faith and hope for the resurrection and eternal life are also commemorated. Prayers and hymns in honor of the Mother of God are set for every day of the week, along with other sacred remembrances.

On every day of the year there is a commemoration of some holy or sacred event. In honor of these events and persons, special prayers and hymns have been composed, which join the prayers and hymns of the days of the week. Thus, the unchanging services of the daily worship include new features that change with each day of the year and form the circle of the annual worship.

Orthodoxy. Dictionary-reference. 2014 .

See what "worship" is in other dictionaries:

worship- Worship... Spelling Dictionary

worship- Service, pilgrimage, mass, prayer, sacred rite, treba; Liturgy, Vespers (Vigil), Vespers, Matins, Hours. Wed . Cm … Synonym dictionary

worship- SERVICE, service, high. priesthood, obsolete. ministry... Dictionary-thesaurus of synonyms of Russian speech

SERVICE- WORSHIP, services, cf. (church.). The performance of religious rites in the church by clergymen. Explanatory Dictionary of Ushakov. D.N. Ushakov. 1935 1940 ... Explanatory Dictionary of Ushakov

SERVICE- SERVICE, I, cf. The performance of religious ceremonies and ritual actions by the clergy, the administration of services (in 6 values). Do b. | adj. liturgical, oh, oh. Explanatory dictionary of Ozhegov. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu. Shvedova. 1949 1992 ... Explanatory dictionary of Ozhegov

worship- is performed by a combination of prayers, hymns, readings and sacred rites performed by clergy according to the order established by the Church. It is a means of Christian expression of religious faith and mysterious communication with God ... Source: ... ... Official terminology

worship- is performed by a combination of prayers, chants, readings and sacred rites performed by clergy according to the order established by the church. It is a means for Christians to express their religious faith and to communicate mysteriously with God. Source … Dictionary-reference book of terms of normative and technical documentation

SERVICE- one of the most fundamental manifestations of human religiosity, consisting in the performance of special actions, the purpose of which is to establish or demonstrate a connection (lat. religio) with the Divine. In all religions, the main expression of B. is public ... ... Orthodox Encyclopedia

worship- Is it desirable to improve this article?: Find and arrange in the form of footnotes links to authoritative sources confirming what has been written. Worship ... Wikipedia

worship- the external expression of religious faith in prayers, sacrifices and rituals of various kinds, is a necessary attribute of all religions and an essential part of religion in general. It in the external reflects the internal content of the faith itself and the religious ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary F. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron

worship- I. THE ESSENCE OF THE SERVICE God's will was done on earth through the mediation of people (Mt 6:9,10), to praise ... ... Brockhaus Bible Encyclopedia

Books

• Divine Liturgy of Passion and Paschal Weeks at St. Jerusalem IX-X centuries. A. Dmitrievsky, Dmitrievsky. Divine Liturgy of Passion and Paschal Weeks at St. Jerusalem IX-X centuries. A. Dmitrievsky: Text provided, in addition to the preface. and afterword, archeol. and liturgical note, ed. according to the manuscript of 1804 ...

Worship is a service, or service to God, consisting of reading and singing prayers, reading the Holy Scriptures, rituals performed according to a certain order (order), led by a clergyman.

What are worship services for?

Worship as the outer side of religion serves as a means for Christians to express their inner religious faith and reverent feelings for God, a means of mysterious communion with God.

What is the purpose of worship?

The purpose of the worship service established by the Orthodox Church is to give Christians the best way to express petitions, thanksgiving and praises addressed to the Lord; to teach and educate believers in the truths of the Orthodox faith and the rules of Christian piety; to bring believers into mysterious communion with the Lord and communicate to them the grace-filled gifts of the Holy Spirit.

What do the names of Orthodox services mean?

Liturgy (common cause, public service) is the main divine service during which Communion (Communion) of the faithful takes place. The remaining eight services are preparatory prayers for the Liturgy.

Vespers - a service performed at the end of the day, in the evening.

compline - service after supper (dinner).

Midnight Office A service meant to be performed at midnight.

Matins - a service performed in the morning, before sunrise.

Clock Services - commemoration of the events (by the hour) of Good Friday (judgment, suffering and death of the Savior) and the Descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles.

On the eve of major holidays and Sundays, evening service, which is called the all-night vigil, because among the ancient Christians it lasted all their lives. The word "vigil" means "awake." The All-Night Vigil consists of Vespers, Matins and the First Hour. IN modern conditions all-night vigil most often performed in the evening on the eve of Sundays and holidays.

What worship services are performed in the Church daily?

Every day evening, morning and afternoon services are performed in the temple in the name of the Most Holy Trinity. In turn, each of these three divine services is composed of three parts:

Evening Divine Liturgy - from the ninth hour, Vespers, Compline.

Morning - from Midnight Office, Matins, the first hour.

Daytime - from the third hour, the sixth hour, the Divine Liturgy.

Thus, nine services are formed from the evening, morning and afternoon church services.

Due to the infirmity of modern Christians, full statutory services are performed only in some monasteries. In most parish churches, divine services are performed only in the morning and evening, with some reductions.

Where can I find out about the schedule of services in the temple?

The schedule of services is usually posted on the doors of the temple.

What is depicted in the Liturgy?

In the Liturgy, under the external rites, the whole earthly life of the Lord Jesus Christ is depicted: His birth, teaching, deeds, sufferings, death, burial, Resurrection and Ascension to heaven.

What days is the Liturgy of Basil the Great?

The Liturgy of Basil the Great is served only 10 times a year: on the eve of the feasts of the Nativity of Christ and the Baptism of the Lord (or on the days of these holidays, if they fall on Sunday or Monday), January 1/14 - on the day of memory of St. Basil the Great, on five Sundays of the Great Lent (Palm Sunday is excluded), on Maundy Thursday and on Great Saturday of Holy Week. The Liturgy of Basil the Great differs from the Liturgy of John Chrysostom in some prayers, their longer duration and more drawn-out singing of the choir, which is why it is served a little longer.

What is called lunch?

In the people the Liturgy is called Mass. The name "mass" comes from the custom of ancient Christians after the end of the Liturgy to use the leftovers of the brought bread and wine at a common meal (or public dinner), which took place in one of the parts of the temple.

What is called lunch?

The service of the pictorial (Lunch) is the name of a short service that is performed instead of the Liturgy when it is not supposed to serve the Liturgy (for example, during Great Lent) or when it is impossible to serve it (there is no priest, antimension, prosphora). The liturgy serves as some image or likeness of the Liturgy, is similar in composition to the Liturgy of the catechumens, and its main parts correspond to the parts of the Liturgy, with the exception of the celebration of the Sacraments. There is no communion during lunch.

What is a "polyle"?

Verbatim from Greek word“polyeleos” can be translated as “much oil”, “much mercy.” Polyeleos is the most solemn part of Matins, which symbolizes the outpouring of many mercy from God. Polyeleos are performed only on Sunday and festive Urthenia.

When the polyeleos begins and the first words of the 134th psalm “Praise the name of the Lord” sound, numerous lamps are lit in the temple - oil lamps. That is why this part of the All-Night Vigil is called the "multi-elein" part. The Royal Doors are opened, the priest, preceded by a deacon holding a burning candle, censes the throne and the entire altar, the iconostasis, the clergy, the choir, those praying, and the entire temple. The open Royal Doors symbolize the open tomb of the Lord, from where the kingdom shone eternal life. After reading the Gospel, all those present at the service approach the icon of the feast, venerate it, then approach the priest, who crosswise anoints the forehead (forehead area) with consecrated oil. The anointing with oil serves as a sign of participation in the spiritual joy of the holiday, through which the blessing and healing power consecrated oil. Anointing with consecrated oil on the polyeleos is not church Sacrament, is a sacred rite of the Church.

What is "lithium"?

Litiya (translated from Greek as "zealous prayer") - in Orthodox worship, part of the all-night vigil on the eve of the holidays, following the litia, beginning with the words: "Let us fulfill our evening prayer to the Lord."

A special kind of lithium is established for praying for the deceased, performed when he is taken out of the house, and also, at the request of his relatives, during church commemoration of him at any other time.

The current charter recognizes four types of litia, which, according to the degree of solemnity, can be arranged in this order: a) “litia outside the monastery”, laid on some of the twelfth holidays and on Bright Week before the liturgy; b) lithium at the great vespers, connected with the vigil; c) lithium at the end of the festive and Sunday matins; d) Litany for the dead after everyday Vespers and Matins.

What psalms are included in the Six Psalms and why these particular ones?

The Six Psalms is one of the most important parts of the morning service of the Orthodox Church, consisting of the following six selected psalms: 3, 37, 62, 87, 102 and 142. The importance of this part of the morning service is evidenced by the fact that the Six Psalms is read at every morning service almost all the time of the year (with the exception of Bright Paschal Week).

The composition of the Six Psalms includes: Psalm 3 “Lord, that thou hast multiplied”, Psalm 37 “Lord, let not fury”, Psalm 62 “God, my God, I will morning at Thee”, Psalm 87 “Lord God of my salvation”, Psalm 102 “Bless my soul is the Lord”, Psalm 142 “Lord, hear my prayer”. Psalms are chosen from different places of the Psalter evenly; in this way they represent it all. The psalms are chosen to have a uniform content and tone, which dominates the Psalter; namely, they all depict the persecution of the righteous by enemies and his firm hope in God, only growing from the increase in persecution and in the end reaching exultant calm in God (psalm 102). When reading the Six Psalms, penitential psalms alternate with thanksgiving ones.

Why is the liturgy not translated into Russian to make it more understandable?

The Slavic language is a grace-filled spiritualized language that the holy church people Cyril and Methodius created specifically for worship. The Church Slavonic language seems incomprehensible only at a superficial glance. If you go to Church regularly, then the grace of God will touch your heart, and all the words of this pure spiritual language will become clear. The Church Slavonic language, due to its figurativeness, accuracy in the expression of thought, artistic brightness and beauty, is much more suitable for communication with God than the modern crippled spoken Russian language.

But main reason However, the incomprehensibility lies not in the Church Slavonic language, it is very close to Russian - in order to fully perceive it, you need to learn only a few dozen words. The fact is that even if the entire service were translated into Russian, much would remain incomprehensible. The fact that people do not perceive worship is a language problem in the very lesser degree; in the first place - ignorance of the Bible and the inability to be attentive to what is pronounced. Most of the chants are highly poetic retellings of biblical stories; without knowing the source, it is very difficult to understand them, no matter what language they are sung in. Therefore, anyone who wants to understand Orthodox worship should first of all start by reading and studying Holy Scripture (and it is quite accessible in Russian) and learn to listen attentively to what is read or sung in church.

Why do priests serve in vestments of different colors?

A certain color of the vestments of the clergy was assigned to groups of church holidays. Each of the seven colors of liturgical vestments correspond to the spiritual meaning of the event in honor of which the service is performed. There are no developed dogmatic institutions in this area, but there is a tradition in the Church that assimilates a certain symbolism to various colors used in worship.

What do the different colors of priestly vestments mean?

On holidays dedicated to the Lord Jesus Christ, as well as on the days of memory of His special anointed ones (prophets, apostles and saints), the color of the vestment is silver-white. In golden robes they serve on Sundays - the days of the Lord, the King of Glory.

On the feast in honor of the Most Holy Theotokos and the angelic forces, as well as on the days of remembrance of the holy virgins and virgins, the color of the vestments is blue or white, symbolizing purity and purity.

Violet is adopted on the feasts of the Holy Cross. It combines red (symbolizing the color of the blood of Christ and the Resurrection) and blue, reminiscent of the fact that the Cross opened the way to heaven.

Dark red is the color of blood. In red vestments, services are held in honor of the holy martyrs who shed their blood for the faith of Christ.

In green vestments, the day of the Holy Trinity, the day of the Holy Spirit and the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem are celebrated ( Palm Sunday), as green is a symbol of life. Divine services are also performed in green vestments in honor of the saints: the monastic feat revives a person by union with Christ, renews his whole nature and leads to eternal life.

In black vestments they serve on weekdays of Great Lent. Black color is a symbol of renunciation of worldly fuss, a symbol of crying and repentance.

White color as a symbol of Divine uncreated light is accepted on the feast of the Nativity of Christ, Theophany (Baptism), Ascension and Transfiguration of the Lord. In white vestments, Paschal Matins also begins - as a sign of the Divine light that shone from the Tomb of the Resurrected Savior. White robes are also relied upon for Baptisms and burials.

From Easter to the Feast of the Ascension, all divine services are performed in red vestments, symbolizing the inexpressible fiery love of God for the human race, the victory of the Risen Lord Jesus Christ.

Why is there censing in the temple?

Incense is performed in front of the images as a recompense of honor to the image - the Lord, the Mother of God and the saints. People standing in the temple are also incensed, honoring the person as the image of God.

Incense lifts the mind to the throne of God, where it goes with the prayers of the faithful. In all ages and among all peoples, the burning of incense was considered the best, purest material sacrifice to God, and of all the types of material sacrifice accepted in natural religions, the Christian Church retained only this and a few others (oil, wine, bread). And outwardly, nothing resembles the grace-filled breath of the Holy Spirit, like the smoke of incense. Filled with such lofty symbolism, censing greatly contributes to the prayerful mood of believers and its purely bodily effect on a person. To this end, the Rule, for example, before the Paschal Vigil prescribes not just burning incense, but “extraordinary filling of the temple with a smell from the placed vessels with incense.”

Why isn't there a censing of the temple at every service?

Incense of the temple and those praying happens at every divine service. Liturgical censing is complete when it covers the entire church, and small when the altar, the iconostasis and the people from the pulpit are censed.

Who are the catechumens who are called from the temple during the service?

The catechumens in the Church are people who are preparing to receive the sacrament of holy Baptism. Announcement is a period of teaching and instructing people in the faith and church life. Being unbaptized, they cannot yet fully participate in the Divine Liturgy, its sacred part, when the blessing of the Gifts and the Communion of the faithful - baptized people - take place. Therefore, according to the Charter of the Church, before the beginning of the third part of the Liturgy (called the Liturgy of the Faithful), after the words of the deacon “announcement, depart,” they are called to leave the church.

Why deacon stands with his back to the worshipers in the temple?

He stands facing the altar, in which the Throne of God is located and the Lord Himself is invisibly present. The deacon, as it were, leads the worshipers and on their behalf pronounces prayer requests to God.

Why are the lights and candles sometimes extinguished during worship in the temple?

At Matins, during the reading of the Six Psalms, candles are extinguished in churches, except for a few. The Six Psalms is the cry of a penitent sinner before Christ the Savior who came to earth. The absence of sanctification disposes believers to self-deepening, helps to reflect on what they read, reminds of the gloom of the sinful state depicted by the psalms. The reading of the first half of the Six Psalms expresses the grief of the soul (darkness), which has moved away from God and is seeking Him. Reading the second half of the Six Psalms reveals the state of a repentant soul (light), reconciled with God.

What do candlesticks with two or three candles mean, which are sometimes used during divine services by a bishop?

These are dikirium and trikirium. Dikyriy - a candlestick with two candles, signifying two natures in Jesus Christ: Divine and human. Trikirion - a candlestick with three candles, signifying faith in the Holy Trinity. Dikiriy and trikiriy are used during hierarchal worship to bless the people.

What is a carnival?

The last week before Lent is called "Cheese Week", popularly called Shrovetide. The name of Shrovetide was fixed no earlier than the 16th century. During this week, the charter prescribes to refrain from eating meat, but it allows you to eat milk, cheese, butter and eggs even on Wednesday and Friday.

Maslenitsa is not a holiday. The celebration of Shrove Tuesday is more of a secular, or even pagan, invention than a Christian one. It is hard to imagine that, having recalled the Last Judgment, the Church would immediately bless it for overeating, drunkenness and unrestrained fun. There is no such blessing in any charter. On the contrary, by banning the use of meat products, the Church brings the faithful close to the beginning of Lent. For a person who loves the temple of God, cheese week is filled with reflections on the Last Judgment of Christ. In the churches on the "cheese" week on Wednesday they begin to read the Lenten prayer of the great ascetic of the 4th century, the Monk Ephraim the Syrian with prostrations. Therefore, fun these days among Orthodox Christians is moderated by church services, and Shrovetide itself should not become a time of gluttony.

What date does carnival start?

Maslenitsa is the last week before the start of Lent. It ends with Forgiveness Sunday.

What is Forgiveness Sunday?

This is the name of the last Sunday before Lent. On this day, at the Liturgy, the Gospel is read with a part from the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 6:14-21), which speaks of forgiveness of offenses to others, without which it is impossible to receive forgiveness of sins from the Heavenly Father, about fasting, and about collecting heavenly treasures. In accordance with this Gospel reading, Christians have a pious custom on this day to ask each other for forgiveness of sins, known and unknown offenses and take all measures for reconciliation. This is the first step on the way to Great Lent. Therefore, this Sunday is commonly called "Forgiveness Sunday." In the evening, after Vespers, the priest sets an example, and the first one asks everyone for forgiveness. After that, all the parishioners come up and ask forgiveness from him, as well as from each other. On this day, everyone does their best to reconcile with everyone.

Without a heartfelt reconciliation with everyone, without extinguishing mutual grief and enmity, one cannot approach the Lord, one cannot even begin the very field of fasting and repentance. Without sincere heartfelt reconciliation with everyone, the grace-filled field of fasting will be fruitless, even if they try to conduct fasting according to the rules of the Church Charter. What will be the use of fasting if someone, strictly abstaining from bodily food, with his anger and obstinacy will eat the souls and hearts of his neighbors; when, fearing to defile the lips with some forbidden food, he will not be afraid of what comes out of these same lips: words of condemnation, slander and slander, sarcastic mockery. What is the use of repenting, asking forgiveness of your sins, but with a hardened heart, not forgiving your neighbor and not reconciling with him? In order to ask for forgiveness from the Lord, one must first humble one's pride, trample on pride and vanity, and ask for forgiveness from offended neighbors.

Not only no fasting, but even the most martyrdom can replace true love for one’s neighbor, that love that “suffers long, is merciful, does not envy, is not exalted, is not proud, does not act outrageously, does not seek its own, is not irritated, does not think evil, does not rejoices in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; he covers everything” (1 Cor. 13:4-7).

Whoever wants his repentance to be accepted as a sacrifice acceptable to God, he must not only forgive the sins of his neighbor with all his heart, so as not to remember them, but must also try to dispose his neighbor to the same forgiveness, make him from an enemy to his friend.

Until what time do they read the prayer of Ephraim the Syrian?

The prayer of Ephraim the Syrian is read until Wednesday of Passion Week.

Why in the center of the temple on the lectern, instead of the icon, sometimes there is a cross decorated with flowers?

This is what happens during the Holy Week of Great Lent. The cross is taken out and placed on the lectern in the center of the temple, in order to inspire and strengthen those who are fasting to continue the feat of fasting as a reminder of the suffering and death of the Lord.

The cross is also taken out to the center of the temple on the feast of the Exaltation of the Lord and the Origin (Deposition) of the Honest Trees of the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord.

When can one venerate the Shroud?

You can venerate the Shroud from the middle of Good Friday until the beginning of the Easter service.

When is the Shroud taken away?

The shroud is taken to the altar before the start of the Easter service on Saturday evening.

Is there Communion on Good Friday?

No. So the Liturgy is not served on Good Friday, because on this day the Lord Himself sacrificed Himself.

Does Communion take place on Great Saturday, at Easter?

The Liturgy is served on Great Saturday and Easter, and therefore there is also the Communion of the faithful.

How long does the Easter service last?

In different churches, the end time of the Easter service is different, but most often it happens from 3 to 6 in the morning.

Why are the Royal Doors open throughout the Liturgy not only on Paschal Week?

Some priests are awarded the right to serve the Liturgy with the Royal Doors open until the Cherubic Hymn or the Lord's Prayer. The same Liturgy is served with the Royal Doors open during the hierarchal service.

What is a procession and when does it happen?

A religious procession is a solemn procession of clergy and lay believers with icons, banners and other shrines. Religious processions are made annually, on the dates established for them. special days: on the Bright Resurrection of Christ - the Easter Procession; on the feast of the Epiphany for the great consecration of water in memory of the Baptism of the Lord Jesus Christ in the waters of the Jordan, a procession with the Shroud of the Savior in Good Friday, procession with the Shroud of the Mother of God on the Feast of the Assumption of the Most Holy Theotokos, processions on the days of patronal feasts of churches or monasteries, as well as in honor of shrines at great church or state events. There are also emergency religious processions established by the Church on especially important occasions.

Where did the processions come from?

Just like holy icons, processions of the cross got their start from the Old Testament times. The ancient righteous often made solemn and popular processions with singing, trumpeting and jubilation. Narratives about this are set out in the sacred books of the Old Testament: Exodus, Numbers, Kings, Psalter and others.

The first prototypes of the processions were: the journey of the sons of Israel from Egypt to the promised land; the procession of all Israel after the ark of God, from which came the miraculous division of the Jordan River (Josh. 3:14-17); a solemn sevenfold circumambulation with the ark around the walls of Jericho, during which the miraculous fall of the impregnable walls of Jericho took place at the sound of sacred trumpets and the cries of all the people (Josh. 6:5-19); as well as the solemn nationwide transfer of the ark of the Lord by the kings David and Solomon (2 Kings 6:1-18; Kings 8:1-21).

In the New Testament history, the founder of the processions was our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. The Lord's Entry into Jerusalem is an image of the procession given by the Lord himself, Who solemnly entered the city for the suffering on the Cross, accompanied by the people and with universal exclamations: "Hosanna to the Son of David."

Solemn processions with a cross at the head entered the composition of Christian services in ancient times. Constantine the Great (III-IV centuries) went to war accompanied by priests with the presentation of the cross and before the battle he used to make a procession of the cross. Emperor Justinian (5th-6th centuries) legislated the time and order of religious processions: before the construction of a monastery, temple or chapel, he forbade religious processions without bishops and clerics. Every outstanding event in the life of the Church evoked common prayers with processions of the cross. The days of the founding and consecration of churches, the transfer of relics and other sacred objects, the meetings of the great archpastors, the days of preparation for spiritual warfare with heretics, the days of special church and civil celebrations were always accompanied by processions. The so-called propitiatory processions of the cross were especially developed in the East during the days of great national disasters: during wars, earthquakes, pestilence, floods, droughts, famines and other terrible natural phenomena. Such processions were performed with special preparations and special solemnity. So, during the three-month earthquake that befell Constantinople and most of Greece, in the procession both Patriarch Proclus and Emperor Theodosius the Younger humbly walked without shoes. St. Simeon of Thessalonica (XI century) says about the content of the processions: “On the paths and crossroads we pray in order to cleanse all the paths and crossroads defiled by our sins. We will raise sacred icons from churches, wear out honest crosses, and sometimes, where we have, the sacred relics of saints in order to sanctify both people and everything that they need for life - that is, houses, ways, water, air and the earth itself as trampled down and defiled by the feet of sinners. All this so that the inhabited city and the whole country become partakers of Divine grace ... "

In Russia, the practice of religious processions was adopted from the Greek church tradition and exists throughout the history of the Russian Orthodox Church.

What does the Easter procession mean?

The Paschal Procession commemorates the procession of the myrrh-bearing women to the tomb of the Savior, where they go to mourn His death for the last time and anoint His body with incense. The worshipers, led by the clergy, leave the temple to make a solemn procession around the temple. The Easter procession comes with candles, banners (church banners - a symbol of victory over death and the devil), censers and the icon of the Resurrection of Christ to the continuous ringing of the bells with the singing of the Pascha stichera: "Thy Resurrection, Christ the Savior ...". Like the myrrh-bearing women who met the resurrected Christ the Savior outside Jerusalem, Christians meet the news of the coming of the Light Christ's Resurrection outside the walls of the temple - they seem to be marching towards the resurrected Savior.

Before entering the temple, the solemn Paschal procession stops at the door and enters the temple only after the jubilant message has sounded three times: “Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death and bestowing life on those in the tombs!” The procession enters the temple, just as the myrrh-bearing women came to Jerusalem with joyful news to the disciples of Christ about the risen Lord.

How many times does the Easter procession take place?

The first Easter procession takes place on Easter night. Then, during the week (Bright Week), every day after the end of the Liturgy, the Easter procession is performed, and before the feast of the Ascension of the Lord, the same processions can be performed every Sunday.

What does the procession with the Shroud on Holy Week mean?

This mournful and lamentable procession takes place in remembrance of the burial of Jesus Christ, when His secret disciples Joseph and Nicodemus, accompanied by the Mother of God and the myrrh-bearing wives, carried Jesus Christ who died on the cross. They went from Mount Golgotha ​​to the vineyard of Joseph, where there was a burial cave, in which, according to the custom of the Jews, they laid the body of Christ. In remembrance of this sacred event - the burial of Jesus Christ - the procession is performed with the Shroud, which represents the body of the deceased Jesus Christ, as it was taken down from the cross and placed in the tomb.

The apostle tells the believers, "Remember my bands" (Col. 4:18). If the apostle commands Christians to remember his sufferings in chains, how much more strongly should they remember the sufferings of Christ. During the suffering and death of the Lord Jesus Christ, modern Christians did not live and did not then share the sorrows with the apostles, therefore, during the days of Passion Week, they remember their sorrow. Anyone who is called a Christian, who celebrates the mournful moments of the suffering and death of the Savior, cannot but be a participant in the heavenly joy of His Resurrection, for according to the words of the apostle: “But joint heirs with Christ, if only we suffer with Him, so that we may be glorified with Him” (Rom. 8 :17).

What do the banners with which the religious processions are performed mean?

Banners are the sacred banners of the Church, with the image of the Savior, the Mother of God, especially revered and holidays, symbolizing the victory of the Lord Jesus Christ over death and the devil. Carrying banners during the procession, believers raise their bodily eyes to the images of the Savior, the Mother of God and the saints, while with spiritual eyes they ascend to their Archetypes that exist in heaven and receive spiritual and bodily healing.

The first image of the banner was revealed to Noah after global flood. God, appearing to Noah at the time of his sacrifice, revealed a rainbow in the clouds and called it "a sign of an everlasting covenant" between God and people (see Gen. 9:13-16). Just as a rainbow in the sky reminds people of the covenant of God, so the image of the Savior on banners serves as a constant reminder of the deliverance of the human race at the Last Judgment from the spiritual fiery flood.

The second prototype of the banner was revealed when Israel left Egypt during the passage through the Black Sea. Then the Lord appeared in a pillar of cloud and covered all the army of Pharaoh with darkness from this cloud, and destroyed it in the sea, but saved Israel. So on the banners, the image of the Savior is visible as a cloud that appeared from heaven to defeat the enemy - the spiritual pharaoh - the devil with all his army. The Lord always wins and drives away the power of the enemy.

The third type of banners is the same cloud that covered the tabernacle and overshadowed Israel during the journey to the promised land. All Israel gazed at the sacred cloud cover and with spiritual eyes perceived the presence of God Himself in it.

Another prototype of the banner is the copper serpent, which was erected by Moses at the command of God in the wilderness. When looking at him, the Jews received healing from God, since the bronze serpent represented the Cross of Christ (see John 3:14-15).

Answers to tickets according to the Liturgical Tradition.

The concept of worship. Purpose of worship. Sacrifice and prayer as the main elements of worship. The concept of the Church.

worship- service, or service to God, consisting of reading and singing prayers, reading the Holy Scriptures, rituals performed according to a certain order (order), led by a clergyman. The rites of worship are the outward expression of faith. Through worship, Orthodox Christians enter into a mysterious communion with God, through the performance of the sacraments, and it is the most important of them - the Sacrament of Communion (Eucharist), the sacrament of the union of a person with God and receive from God grace forces for a righteous life. aim worship is also the edification of believers in the teachings of Christ and their disposition to prayer, repentance and thanksgiving to God. Orthodox worship is very symbolic, not a single action takes place “for beauty”, everything has a deep meaning, incomprehensible to casual visitors. As the composition and structure of the service is studied, an understanding of the depth, meaning and greatness contained in the liturgical actions comes. All church services are divided into three circles: daily, weekly and annual. The liturgical church year begins on September 1, according to the old style, and the entire annual cycle of worship built for the Easter holiday. About the Victim I asked the theologians, it would be better not to ask, I forward the answer: “well, you can just say that worship can include prayer and sacrifice (special cases in Christianity: the Eucharist (!), incense; in other religions, think of it yourself; in the OT - burnt offering , bringing fat, libations). What kind of prayers there are - you yourself know. Church of Christ- The body of Christ, the place of meeting and spiritual unity of God and man; The Church is heaven on earth.

Divine service is the religious feeling of a person, like all his other thoughts, feelings and experiences, cannot remain without external detection. The totality of all external forms and actions that express the inner religious mood of the soul, or, in simpler terms - Worshiping God or pleasing God with good thoughts, words and deeds, that is, the fulfillment of God's will, it externally reflects the inner content of faith itself and the religious mood of the soul . Its fulfillment by the first people in Paradise consisted in the free glorification of God (His wisdom, goodness, omnipotence). Worship services are classified into public and private:

1) Public - this is a circle of services performed during the day, week, month and year. All the fullness of the members of the Church participates in it, coming to numerous temples. At the center of these services is the Divine Eucharist. All other services: Vespers, Compline, Midnight Office, Matins, the hours with commemorations of the saints and great feasts celebrated every day, spiritually prepare the members of the Church for a worthy participation in the Eucharist.

Daily circle: The daily circle of divine services are those divine services that are performed by the Holy Orthodox Church throughout the day. The names of the daily services indicate at what hour of the day each of them should be performed. For example, Vespers indicates the evening hour, Compline indicates the hour following the "Supper" (that is, the evening meal), Midnight Office indicates midnight, Matins indicates the morning hour, Mass indicates the lunch hour, that is, noon, the first hour - after ours means the 7th hour in the morning, the third hour is our 9th hour in the morning, the sixth hour is our 12th hour, the ninth is our third hour in the afternoon. The custom of prayerful consecration of these particular hours in the Christian Church is of very ancient origin and was established under the influence the Old Testament rule three times during the day to pray in the temple for offering sacrifices - morning, afternoon and evening, as well as the words of the Psalmist about glorifying God "in the evening, in the morning and at noon." The discrepancy in the account (the difference is about 6 hours) is explained by the fact that the eastern account is accepted, and in the East, sunrise and sunset differ by 6 hours compared to our countries. Therefore, the 1st hour of the morning in the East corresponds to our 7th hour, and so on. Vespers, performed at the end of the day in the evening, therefore it comes first among the daily services, because, according to the image of the Church, the day begins in the evening, since the first day of the world and the beginning of human existence was preceded by darkness, evening, twilight. With this service, we thank God for the passing day. compline- a service consisting of reading a series of prayers in which we ask the Lord God for forgiveness of sins and that He would give us, coming to sleep (going), peace of body and soul and save us from the wiles of the devil during sleep. Sleep also reminds of death. Therefore, in the Orthodox service at Compline, those praying are reminded of awakening from eternal sleep, that is, of the resurrection. Midnight Office- the service is intended to be performed at midnight, in remembrance of the night prayer of the Savior in the Garden of Gethsemane. The “midnight” hour is also memorable because “by the midnight hour” in the parable of the ten virgins, the Lord timed His second coming. This service calls on believers to be always ready for the day Doomsday. Matins- a service performed in the morning, before sunrise. The morning hour, bringing with it light, vigor and life, always arouses a grateful feeling towards God, the Giver of life. With this service, we thank God for the past night and ask Him for mercy for the coming day. In the Orthodox divine service at the morning service, the coming into the world of the Savior is glorified, bringing with Him new life people. First hour, corresponding to our seventh hour in the morning, sanctifies the day that has already come with prayer. At the first hour, the trial of Jesus Christ by the high priests is recalled, which really took place around this time. At the third hour corresponding to our ninth hour in the morning, we remember the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles, which took place at about the same time. At the sixth hour corresponding to our twelfth hour of the day, the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ, which happened from the 12th to the 2nd hour of the day, is remembered. At the ninth hour corresponding to our third in the afternoon, we remember the death of the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, which occurred at about 3 o'clock in the afternoon. Mass or Divine Liturgy is the most important service. It recalls the entire earthly life of the Savior and the Sacrament of Communion, established by the Savior Himself at the Last Supper, is performed. Liturgy is served in the morning, before dinner. All these services in ancient times in monasteries and hermits were performed separately, at the time set for each of them. But then, for the convenience of believers, they were combined into three services: evening, morning and afternoon. Weekly circle of worship: On Monday (the first day after Sunday), incorporeal forces are glorified - Angels, created before man, the closest servants of God; Tuesday - St. John the Baptist is glorified, as the greatest of all prophets and righteous; On Wednesday, the betrayal of the Lord by Judas is remembered and, in connection with this, a service is performed in memory of the Cross of the Lord (fasting day). On Thursday, St. Apostles and St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. On Friday, the sufferings of the Cross and the death of the Savior are remembered, and a service is performed in honor of the Cross of the Lord (Lenten Day). On Saturday - the day of rest - the Mother of God is glorified, Who is blessed every day, the forefathers, prophets, apostles, martyrs, saints, the righteous and all the saints who have reached rest in the Lord. All the dead are also commemorated in the true faith and hope for the resurrection and eternal life. Annual cycle of worship: As the faith of Christ spread, the number of Holy Persons increased: martyrs and saints. The greatness of their deeds provided an inexhaustible source for pious Christian songwriters and artists to compose in memory of their various prayers and hymns, as well as artistic images. The Holy Church included these emerging spiritual works in the composition of church services, timing the reading and singing of the latter to the days of memory of the saints designated in them. The range of these prayers and hymns is wide and varied; it unfolds for a whole year, and every day there are not one, but several saints being glorified. The manifestation of God's mercy to a certain people, locality or city, for example, deliverance from floods, earthquakes, from attacks by enemies, etc. gave an indelible occasion to prayerfully commemorate these incidents. Thus, every day of the year is dedicated to the memory of certain saints, important events, as well as special sacred events - holidays and fasts. Of all the holidays of the year, the largest is the feast of the Holy Resurrection of Christ (Easter). This is the feast of the Feast and the Celebration of the festivities. Easter occurs not earlier than March 22 (April 4, NS) and not later than April 25 (May 8, NS), on the first Sunday after the spring full moon. Then there are twelve great holidays in the year, established in honor of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Mother of God, which are called the Twelve. There are holidays in honor of the great saints and in honor of the incorporeal Forces of heaven - angels. Therefore, all the holidays in the year, according to their content, are divided: into the Lord's, the Theotokos and saints. According to the time of celebration, the holidays are divided: into fixed ones, which happen every year on the same dates of the month, and mobile ones, which, although they happen on the same days of the week, but fall on different days of the month in accordance with the time of the celebration of Easter. According to the solemnity of the church service, the holidays are divided into great, medium and small. Great feasts always have an all-night vigil; average same holidays - not always. Divine services are built in relation to the Easter holiday.

2) Private - this is a circle of worship that takes into account the personal needs of each Christian and adapts to the environment and the possibilities of each person's life. This type of worship encompasses the Sacraments and rites of the Church, during which the pastor has to individually influence the life of each believer, bringing God's blessing to him and spiritually renewing him.

The purpose of worship is to receive eternal life, i.e. establishing a connection with God that was lost due to the fall of man. In the same way, worship teaches believers, edifies, and spiritually educates, giving them the richest spiritual food, both for the mind and for the heart. The sacrifice was to constantly remind people of their guilt before God, of the original sin , and that God can hear and accept their prayers only in the name of that sacrifice, which will later be brought in the atonement of sins by their seed of a woman, promised by God in paradise, that is, having to come into the world and redeem mankind, the Savior of the world Messiah-Christ. With the advent of the Savior into the world, who offered Himself as a sacrifice for the sins of the whole world, the ritual Old Testament worship lost all meaning and it is replaced by the New Testament, which was based on the greatest Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ, which is called the Sacrament of the Eucharist (Sacrament of Thanksgiving). This is the Bloodless Sacrifice, which replaced the Old Testament bloody sacrifices of bulls and lambs, which only represented the One Great Sacrifice of the Lamb of God, who takes upon Himself the sins of the world. From this celebration of the sacraments, prayers and preaching of the Gospel, the New Testament Christian worship was formed. Its composition and character were more fully defined by St. Apostles. Prayers are usually read or recited by a bishop or priest and are the center or pinnacle of every liturgical act. They express the meaning of the entire service (prayers at Vespers and Matins) or, when it comes to the sacraments, perform and perform secret actions (the great Eucharistic prayer of the Divine Liturgy, the permissive prayer of the sacrament of repentance, etc.). "The Church is a society of people established by God united by the Orthodox faith, the law of God, the hierarchy and the sacraments. This catechetical formulation cannot be considered an exhaustive definition of the Church, since it gives only an external description of what the Church is. The Church, even in its earthly aspect, cannot be reduced to a community of believers, because with such a definition it is impossible to understand how the Church differs from other religious organizations, for example, from the Church of the Old Testament. The founder of the Christian Church is the God-Man, and He has a completely different relationship to His Church than all other founders of religious societies have to the organizations they have created. The Church of Christ is created not by the teaching, not by the command of the Lord, and not even by the external action of Divine omnipotence, but is built from the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Christ is not only the Founder of the Church, but also its "cornerstone" (Eph. 2:19-20), not just the Head of the Church, but the Church Itself, which is built on the Body of the Lord Jesus Christ and from His very Body. Having founded the Church, the Lord really, though invisibly, abides and will remain in it "always to the end of the age" (Matt. 28:20). Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of a church building, but every foundation only makes sense if the building is built on top of it. The Church is the Body of Christ, but every living organism must grow and develop. Christ is the Founder and Architect of a church building, determining the laws of its life, its internal structure, but there must also be a builder. Such a builder of the Church is the Holy Spirit, Who directly carries out its growth, joining believers to the Body of Christ, and He also animates the Body, ensuring the coordinated functioning of all its organs. Thus, the Church in her earthly aspect is an established society of believers from God, united Orthodox faith, hierarchies and sacraments. This society is headed and governed by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself according to the will of God the Father and animated, alive and sanctified by the Holy Spirit. All members of this society are united with the Lord as their Head and in Him with each other, as well as with the celestials. Thus, the Church has two inseparable sides. WITH inside The Church is the treasury of grace and truth, from the outside it is a human society that exists in earthly conditions. Nevertheless, from the outside, in addition to the random features inherent in any human society, the Church has a positive foundation, rooted in the invisible and not dependent on any subjective principles. And in its earthly aspect, the Church has its own structure, established by God, since the invisible presence in the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit is revealed through visible and tangible forms. In other words, even in its outer, earthly side, the Church is a Divine institution.

Through worship, Orthodox Christians enter into a mysterious communion with God, through the performance of the sacraments, and it is the most important of them - the sacrament of the union of a person with God, and receive from God grace-filled forces for a righteous life.

The purpose of worship is also the edification of believers in the teachings of Christ and their disposition to prayer, repentance and thanksgiving to God.

Orthodox worship is very symbolic, not a single action takes place “for beauty”, there is a deep meaning in everything, incomprehensible to casual visitors. As the composition and structure of the service are studied, an understanding of the depth, meaning and grandeur of the liturgical actions comes.

All church services are divided into: daily, weekly and annual.

The liturgical church year begins on September 1, according to the old style, and the entire annual cycle of worship is built in relation to the holiday.

About Orthodox worship

Worship is the external side of religion, or, in other words, worship is an external activity in which the relationship of God to man and man to God is revealed and realized. Consequently, worship has two aspects: mystical, supernatural, expressing the relation of the Divine to man, and moral and aesthetic, expressing the relation of man to the Divine. Christian worship is a set of sacred actions and rites or, in general, external activity, in which and through which, for the salvation of man, God achieves and carries out the sanctification of man and the assimilation of the feat of Redemption and its blessed fruits accomplished by the Son of God, and on the part of man, already redeemed blessed, faith in the Atonement and the true worship of God based on it.

So, in the liturgical actions of any religion and rites, all its content is expressed and visually represented. But is it possible to talk about some kind of “service” in relation to that transcendent Beginning, which embraces the entire universe with mysterious power? Wouldn't it be an illusion of self-delusion human mind, so often inclined to exaggerate his place in the universe? Why is worship necessary, what are its religious and psychological roots?

Due to the close, almost inseparable connection between the spirit and the body, a person cannot help but express his thoughts and feelings by various external actions. How the body acts on the soul, communicating to it through the senses impressions of outside world so the soul influences the state of the body and its organs. The religious area of ​​the soul, or the human spirit, also requires an external manifestation of the phenomena occurring in this area. The inevitability of external manifestation of religious feeling is caused by its intensity and tension, which surpasses all other feelings. A no less guarantee of the outward manifestation of religious feeling lies also in its constancy, which strongly presupposes permanent, regular forms of its manifestation. Therefore, worship is an indispensable component of religion: in it it is manifested and expressed in the same way as the soul reveals its life through the body. Worship determines the existence of religion, its existence. Without it, religion would freeze in man, could never develop into a complex and living process. Without being expressed in the language of the cult, it could not be realized by a person as the highest manifestation of his soul, would not exist for him as a real communion with God. And since religion has always and everywhere been perceived as a person's desire for reconciliation and unity with God, then worship, its external side, is a manifestation of the same need. This feature is characteristic of the worship of all times and peoples.

In the religion of the most ancient stage, worship, as a rule, was understood in the image and likeness of human relationships. There were also self-interest, and claims, and references to one's own merits, and flattery. But one should not think that the entire ancient liturgical cult was reduced to this. Even in the religion of primitive people there was a certain spiritual core. Man vaguely instinctively realized that he was cut off from Divine life, that he had violated the commandments of God. The meaning of ancient sacrifices was that a person confessed his devotion, repentance, love for God and readiness to follow His path. Nevertheless, an ugly bark of magic has grown around this pure base. They began to look at the victim as a mechanical way to earn the favor of the mysterious forces, to force them to serve themselves; it was believed that certain rituals with natural necessity entail the fulfillment of the desired. "I gave to You, You give to me" - this is the general formula of the pagan cult. Homer argued that the sacrifices and the aroma of incense are pleasing to the gods and they are favorable to zealous donors. It was a universal conviction common to all peoples.

The first major shift in this area occurred many centuries before the birth of Christ. In this era, in all countries of the then civilized world, prophets, philosophers and sages appeared who proclaimed the futility of the magical approach to worship. They taught that service to God should not consist primarily in sacrifice on the altar, but in cleansing the heart and following the Will of God. Visible worship in churches should be an expression of spiritual worship. The best expression of this particular meaning of pre-Christian sacrifice is the words from the book of Leviticus: “The soul of the body is in the blood; and I have appointed it (blood) for you on the altar, to cleanse your souls, because this blood cleanses the soul ”(17, 11). So already in the patriarchal period, in accordance with the promise, which was later expressed in the Law of Moses, God Himself established a conciliatory sacrifice. As a result, God's chosen people formed a religious community, the Old Testament, to which worship was given, and at the center of it was the victim. The peculiarity of the Old Testament sacrifice, in its difference from the primitive sacrifice, lies in the fact that in the first place the sinful and destroyed by sin human life occupies the life of an innocent being, who, however, must suffer the punishment for human sins. This life of an innocent being (animal), foreshadowed from above to cover the guilt of man, was supposed to serve as an external means of communication between God and man and showed that this communication is an act of God's inexpressible mercy. The offering of such a sacrifice reminded the person of his own sinfulness, supporting the consciousness that the death of the victim was in fact the punishment he deserved. But based only on the promise of redemption and precisely defined in the Law, which only prepared for the coming of the Redeemer, and not on the Redemption itself, the Old Testament sacrifice could not and did not have a redemptive value.

By the time of the coming of the Savior in the Old Testament Church, a double worship service had formed: temple and synagogue. The first took place in the Jerusalem temple and consisted of the reading of the Decalogue and some other selected verses of Scripture, a few specific prayers, the blessing of the people by the priests, offerings and sacrifices, and, finally, hymns. Since the time of Ezra, in addition to the temple, synagogues have appeared that arose during the Babylonian captivity, where the Jews, who did not have the opportunity to participate in temple worship, received religious edification, listened to the Word of God and its interpretation in a language accessible to those born already in captivity and who did not know the sacred language. Initially, synagogues spread among the Jews of the Diaspora, and in the time of the Savior they also appeared in Palestine. This was due to the decline in religious culture, which came as a result of the cessation of prophecy, which followed the formation of the canon of Holy Scripture, the emergence along with the priesthood of a strong corporation of scribes and, finally, the replacement of the Hebrew language among the people by Aramaic and, as a result, the need to translate and interpret the Scriptures to the people. In synagogues, sacrifices could not be made, and therefore there was no need for priesthood, and all worship was performed by special people - rabbis.

According to the definition of priest Pavel Florensky, worship, a cult is “a set of shrines, Sacra, that is, sacred things, such actions and words, including here relics, rites, sacraments, and so on – in general, everything that serves to establish a connection between our other worlds - with the spiritual worlds.

The syncretism of the spiritual and the natural, the historical and the typological, the biblically frank and the universally human religious appears in the cult, and, in particular, in the liturgical annual circle: every moment of this circle is not only in itself and for the sake of man, but also extends into the cosmic region, perceiving it in himself, and having perceived, he sanctifies. Already in the basic division of the church year into four great fasts, pauses in life associated with the same four typical great feasts, or, more precisely, groups of feasts, the cosmic significance of the annual circle is clearly evident: both the fasts and the holidays corresponding to them are in clear correspondence with the four astronomical times. year and the four corresponding to these last elements of cosmology. “Because of laziness it’s time to fast and we don’t want to be abolished from the evil ones, as the apostles and divine fathers have given this harvest to souls ... and we should keep it more dangerously south. But there are also three others: the holy apostles, the Theotokos and the Nativity of Christ; by four years of time, the Divine Fortecost the Apostles will publish ”- in these words, the synaxar of the Cheese Week notes the connection between the four main fasts and the four seasons of the year.

Thus, the Gospel teaching finally confirmed that external worship in churches should only be a symbol of spiritual worship. Christ proclaims that the only worthy service to God is service “in spirit and in truth.” He repeats the words of the prophet: "I want mercy, not sacrifice." He denounces the Jewish clergy and lawyers for elevating rituals and ceremonies to the level of the highest religious duty. Rebuking the superstitious legalistic attitude to the Sabbath day, Christ says: "The Sabbath is for man, and not man for the Sabbath." His harshest words were directed against the Pharisees' adherence to traditional ritual forms.

Although the first Christians for some time observed the prescriptions of the Old Testament Law, the apostle Paul already turned his preaching against the useless burden of old rituals that had lost their inner meaning. His victory in the struggle against the defenders of the Law marked the victory of the Church over the spirit of magical, ritual religiosity. However, Christianity did not completely reject the rite. It only opposed its undivided dominance in religious life and its misunderstanding: after all, the prophets did not reject temple worship, but only protested against the ugly exaggeration of the rite, which supposedly has self-sufficient value.

It may be objected that Christianity is the religion of the “spirit of truth.” Does he need external forms? And in general, with the Christian understanding of God, is any kind of “service” to Him possible? Can God "need" him? And yet the Christian cult exists. First of all, we must agree that the All-Perfect and Almighty cannot "need" anything. But is the appearance of created being in general connected with “need”, with necessity? Did need, and not Love, create the Universe? - From the darkness of non-existence, the highest eternal Love and the highest eternal Reason brought to being a diverse created world. But he was created on the basis of freedom, in the image and likeness of the eternal Divine Freedom: he was not created complete; and only from the highest transcendental dimension can it be seen as “good in a big way”, as it is said in the 1st chapter of the book of Genesis. The realization and real completion of this world is only the finale: the Universe is in continuous development. A world driven by free spiritual beings must develop and perfect itself freely. And freedom implies the possibility of choosing between good and evil. Thus, imperfection, deviations and falls appear in the world process.

Therefore, for the implementation of the Divine Dispensation, efforts are required sentient beings, in particular man, as a complex being, standing at the boundary of the spiritual and psychophysical world. “The kingdom of heaven,” says Jesus Christ, “is taken by force, and those who use force take it away” (). From this it is obvious that each of our deviations from the divine destiny hinders the development of the world and, on the contrary, our efforts to follow the Heavenly Will are “needed” for history leading to the Kingdom of God. Serving this Kingdom, building it, we serve God, for we carry out His Eternal Plan. Any struggle against evil, any service to goodness and the cause of the enlightenment of mankind is worship. In it we fulfill our love for Divine Eternity, our longing for heavenly perfection.

Why do Christians need external forms of worship, why do they need a cult? Isn't it enough to carry God in your heart and strive for Him with all your deeds and all your life? - This would really be enough if modern man were at a higher stage of development. We know that the great ascetics of Christianity, who lived in the deserts, often did not attend church services for decades. But who has the courage to compare modern man with them in terms of spiritual perfection? Those who oppose external forms of worship of God forget that a person is not only a spiritual being, that it is natural for him to clothe all his feelings, experiences and thoughts in certain external forms. All our life in its most diverse manifestations is clothed in rituals. The word "rite" comes from "dress", "clothe". Joy and sorrow, everyday greetings, and approval, and admiration, and indignation - all this takes external forms in human life. And even though in those moments when human feelings become especially acute, this form becomes, as it were, superfluous in ordinary life, it nevertheless invariably accompanies a person. Moreover, we cannot deprive this form of our feelings towards God. Words of prayers, hymns of thanksgiving and repentance, which poured out from the depths of the hearts of great God-seers, great spiritual poets and hymn-singers, elevate our soul, direct it to the Heavenly Father. Deepening into them, co-dissolving in their spiritual impulse is the school of the soul Orthodox Christian educating him for true service to the Lord. B. leads to enlightenment, the elevation of man, it enlightens and ennobles his soul. Therefore, the Orthodox, serving God in spirit and truth, carefully preserves rituals and worship.

In Christian worship, of course, it is necessary to distinguish form from content. Its essence lies in the self-disclosure of a person before the Heavenly Father, Who, although he knows the need of every soul, yet awaits filial trust, love and readiness to serve. The thirst for God, which has tormented humanity since ancient times, has never been in vain. But she reached true satisfaction only when the Incomprehensible One was revealed in the person of the God-Man Jesus Christ. Incarnated, Crucified and Resurrected, He was not only the Light of the world during His earthly life. He continues to shine on all who seek His light. He accepts a person through Baptism, sanctifies his soul and body, his whole life in the Sacrament of Chrismation, blesses conjugal love and the continuation of the human race in the Sacrament of Marriage, leads His Church through His chosen ones, through the Sacrament of the Priesthood, cleanses and heals the soul of His faithful children in the Sacraments Penitence and Unction of the Sick and, finally, leads to the inexpressible Divine communion through the Eucharist. In prayers and the Sacraments - the essence of B. Its form was constantly changing: one disappeared, and in accordance with the needs of a particular time, another appeared, but the main remained always unchanged.

Christian worship in a broad sense is called the Liturgy, that is, "common work", common, conciliar prayer. Christ taught about the superiority of turning to God in silence, but at the same time He said: “Where two or three are gathered in My Name, there I am in the midst of them” (). The spirit of unity, the spirit of empathy is the spirit of true churchness. The evil of the world is in division and enmity. The stone of the Church is faith, which cannot exist without love. When many people are inspired by common prayer, a mysterious spiritual atmosphere is created around them, which captures and softens the most callous hearts.

Human life is poisoned by vanity and constant worries. It is no coincidence that Christ pointed to this as the main obstacle to the attainment of the Kingdom of God. That is why the temple, in which a person can at least briefly renounce everyday life, from the hustle and bustle of life, is the place where our spiritual growth takes place, our meeting with the Father. We are talking specifically about the temple, because, for example, a Baptist prayer house is not a temple, but only a building for a community meeting. Here almost everything is turned to the human mind; here, mainly, the service of the “word”, the sermon, is performed. And it is not surprising that the most serious and profound people among the Protestant sectarians, after a hard struggle, brought music and other elements of external ritual into their collections.

The priest called worship "the synthesis of the arts." And, indeed, not any one side human personality should be ennobled and sanctified in the temple, and his whole being, all his five senses should be included in communion with God. Therefore, everything is important and significant in the temple: the grandeur of architecture, and the aroma of incense, embracing the sense of smell of all those who pray and ascending to the Throne of God, and the beauty of icons, and the singing of the choir, and the sermon, and sacred rites, which make up the temple mystery, in which the entire created cosmos is involved. . Everything here serves to reveal the proclaimed Truth, everything testifies to It, everything induces a person to rise above the everyday world of vanity and vexation of the spirit.

The service of the Orthodox Church is performed according to the Rule (Typicon). This means according to certain rules, according to some once and for all established order or rank. Our Church does not know non-statutory services; moreover, the concept of the Rule applies equally to the liturgical life as a whole, and to each of its individual cycles, and, finally, to any service. Even with a superficial acquaintance with the Charter, it is not difficult to be convinced that it is based on a combination of two main elements: the Eucharist (with which all other Sacraments are connected in one way or another) and that divine service, which is associated primarily with three circles of time: daily, weekly, annual, which in turn breaks up into Easter and motionless; these liturgical cycles are otherwise called the worship of time.

Both of these elements form two integral and indispensable parts of the modern Charter. The centrality of the Eucharist in the liturgical life of the Church is self-evident. The weekly and annual cycles are also beyond doubt. And finally, with regard to the daily cycle, which has practically fallen into disuse in parish life, neglect of it obviously does not correspond to the letter and spirit of the Rule, according to which it is an irrevocable and obligatory frame for the entire liturgical life of the Church. According to the Rule, there are days when the celebration of the Liturgy is not supposed, or when one "commemoration" or "feast" crowds out others, but there is no day when Vespers and Matins are not supposed to be served. And all holidays and remembrances are always combined with constant, unchanging liturgical texts of the daily cycle. But it is just as obvious that the Eucharist and the Divine Liturgy of the time are different from each other, being two elements of the liturgical tradition.

The divine service of time is distributed by hours, days, weeks and months. It is based on a daily circle, consisting of the following services: Vespers, Compline, Midnight Office, Matins, 1st hour, 3rd hour, 6th hour, 9th hour (with the so-called interhours). The charter of these services is set forth in the Typicon: ch. 1 (rite of small vespers); ch. 2 (great vespers in conjunction with matins, that is, the so-called all-night vigil); ch. 7 (Great Vespers, Midnight Office and Sunday Matins); ch. 9 (everyday Vespers and Matins) and in the Book of Hours. The constant, that is, prayers of these services repeated every day, are found in the Followed Psalter or in its abbreviation, the Book of Hours. These texts are taken almost exclusively from the Holy Scriptures; these are psalms, biblical songs and individual verses from the Old Testament and New Testament books (for example, prokimens, etc.). It should also be noted that, according to the Rule, the church day begins in the evening, and the first service of the daily cycle is vespers.

After the circle of the day, replenishing it, the circle of the week follows. It does not have its own separate services, but its liturgical texts are inserted at certain places in daily services depending on the day of the week. These are the troparia, kontakions, stichera, and canons of the day of the week, which are read (or sung) at Vespers of that day, that is, according to the civil calculation of the day, the night before. These troparia and kontakia are read at the end of evening prayers only on weekdays, that is, not on Sunday, when it is supposed to sing Sunday troparia of the corresponding tone, and not on holidays that have their own special troparia and kontakia. Monday is dedicated Heavenly Forces Incorporeal, Tuesday - to the Baptist and Forerunner John, Wednesday and Friday - to the Holy Life-Giving Cross of the Lord, Thursday - to the holy apostles and St. Nicholas of Myra, Saturday - to all the saints and the memory of the dead members of the Church. All these chants are divided into eight main melodies or voices and are printed in the book of Oktoeh. Each week has its own voice, and thus the entire Oktoech is divided into eight parts - according to voices, and each voice is divided into seven days. The weekly worship is a cycle of eight weeks, repeated throughout the year, starting from the first Sunday after Pentecost.

Finally, the third circle of worship is the annual circle, the most complex in its structure. It includes:

• B. Mesyatseslov, that is, motionless, holidays, fasts, commemorations of saints associated with a certain date. The corresponding liturgical texts are found in the twelve books of the Monthly Menaion and are arranged by dates, starting from September 1st.
• B. of the Great Lent cycle embraces three preparatory weeks for fasting, six weeks of fasting and Holy Week. Its liturgical materials are found in the Lenten Triodion book.
• B. the Easter cycle, consisting of Easter services, Easter week and the entire period between Easter and Pentecost. The liturgical book of this cycle is the Color Triode (or Pentikostarion).

The divine service of the annual circle includes both biblical and hymnographic material, and this material also does not have independent services, but is included in the structure of the daily circle. Divine services are also divided into public and private, which, generally speaking, contradicts the understanding of any divine service in the Ancient Church as a conciliar act in which the entire community of the faithful participates. In modern times, only the Liturgy and the divine services of the time have acquired such a meaning. Sacraments (with the exception of the Eucharist), molebens, funeral services are classified as private, or services of the Trebnik.

The Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir heard the following description of Orthodox worship from the lips of his ambassadors: “When we stood in the church, we forgot where we were, for nowhere else on earth is there such a place – truly there God lives among people; and we will never forget the beauty we saw there. No one who has tasted sweetness wants to taste bitterness any more; and we can no longer remain in paganism.”