The service in honor of the 100th anniversary of the congress of fellow believers - Old Believers who are part of the Russian Orthodox Church - was held in the main church of the country with great spiritual uplift and solemnity. How was it performed and what are the differences between the old rite of the bishop's Liturgy and the new one?
The service was led by Metropolitan Juvenaly of Krutitsky and Kolomna, who has been serving according to the Old Russian rite in Edinoverie parishes for many years. Concelebrating with him was Bishop Stefan of Gomel and Zhlobin and fellow religious priests of the Moscow, St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod and Yekaterinburg dioceses.
For those who are interested in the ancient Russian liturgical tradition, and simply love the beauty of the service, the Liturgy according to the bishop’s pre-Nikon rite, and even in the Assumption Cathedral, and even on the day of remembrance of St. Macarius, during which Russian worship was systematized, is a real holiday celebration.
In the message His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, read after the service, it is emphasized that differences in rituals do not interfere with unity. “The current service in this cathedral is deeply symbolic,” the message says. “It was Saint Macarius who once served the cause of collecting information about Russian saints, leaving us a high example of life in Christ, in the image of the ascetics of ancient Russia. May our church unity continue to strengthen ", being in that diversity that is capable of strengthening the Orthodox faith and the Church, and with them the common national-historical heritage."
You don’t feel distracted at work. On the contrary, you notice the nuances.
It turns out that “Look down from heaven, O God” is pronounced not at the Trisagion, but much later, during the Eucharistic canon. Then you notice that the dikirium and trikirium are bent so that their ends touch. You remember that ordinary Orthodox churches in Moscow served this way, until the Greek fashion for candles tied in the middle spread in the early 2000s.
You see that the priests are belted with belts with metal plaques.
They remembered at the funeral litany Metropolitan Platon (Levshin), who came up with the idea of common faith, Metropolitan Anthony (Khrapovitsky), who headed the historical congress (at that time he was still Archbishop of Volyn), Metropolitan Nikodim (Rotov), who advocated the removal of “oaths” (curses) from the old rituals, which happened at the Local Council in 1971.
Before the Chalice, Metropolitan Yuvenaly pronounces not only “Thy Mysterious Supper,” but all the prayers at the end of the Follow-up to Holy Communion...
The secretary of the Commission for the Affairs of Old Believer Parishes and for Interaction with the Old Believers at the DECR MP spoke about the choir that sang during the service. Priest John Mirolyubov, participating in the service of the Liturgy. “In the Assumption Cathedral, the choir of the Church of the Archangel Michael in the village of Mikhailovskaya Sloboda sings,” explains the priest. “It is reinforced by singers from other temples.” We practice two ways of singing, naon and adverb. At first we thought that the two choirs would sing differently, but then we decided that we would read in the style in which the St. Michael’s community was accustomed to singing and reading. In other churches there may be faster reading and a different style of singing, but the Assumption Cathedral is not a place for experimentation."
In naon singing, semivowel, reduced sounds (eras) of the Church Slavonic language, denoted by the letters ъ and ь, are sung as the sounds o and e. Adverbial singing is more understandable, similar to ordinary speech, without pronunciation of the reduced ones.
There are a lot of people at the service - the cathedral is filled, not only with fellow believers, but also with Old Believers. Many are dressed in kosovorotki, some in ozyams (special robes worn by community members during worship).
Academician Alexander Panchenko once wrote about “emigration to Ancient Rus'” - interest in ancient Russian art, antiquity as a reaction to the rejection of Soviet reality in particular and modern unified society in general. Indeed, Edinoverie today attracts both part of the conservative intelligentsia and bohemians.
It would be incorrect to talk about co-religionists as some kind of internal emigrants or aesthetes who have shut themselves up, if not in an ivory tower, then in a mansion with patterned carvings. Edinoverstvo is a strict adherence to traditions, and therefore attention to oneself and asceticism, and the internal logic of rituals, and deep symbolism.
During the service, you understand that they are quite modern, natural, they are simply following tradition. You can feel it when you exchange a few words with those standing next to you. And the fact that a common occurrence is that the ladder is put on a hand that is clutching a smartphone...
Quite a few people passed by with smartphones and cameras because, of course, they wanted to immortalize this special event. The atmosphere is festive, there is no trace of any kind of severity and detachment that is suspected of Old Believers. People prayed with great concentration, with one mouth and one heart. At the same time, there was no hint of ill will towards those nearby who crossed themselves with three fingers.
The previous time a service according to the old rite in the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin took place twelve years ago, in the fall of 2000. But there is an important difference: it was not the Divine Liturgy, but a prayer service. It was celebrated in memory of the 200th anniversary of the decree of Emperor Paul I on the establishment of common faith. The late Patriarch Alexy II advocated that ancient church rites be preserved and studied, calling them “part of the common spiritual and historical heritage, which should be preserved as an absolute treasure in the liturgical treasury of the Church.” Several hierarchs of the Russian Church prayed at that memorable service in the Kremlin, among them Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, now His Holiness the Patriarch.
Recently, Edinoverie services in cathedrals have become regular. About once a year, prayer services are held in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. In November 2012, with the blessing of Metropolitan Panteleimon of Yaroslavl and Rostov, divine services were performed in the ancient rite in the Assumption Cathedral of Yaroslavl and in the Resurrection Cathedral of Tutaev. In Yaroslavl, almost all students of the local theological seminary received communion at the Liturgy of the Holy Mysteries of Christ, and in Tutaev the service was led by Bishop Veniamin of Rybinsk and Uglich.
The first All-Russian Congress of Orthodox Old Believers (co-religionists) was held in St. Petersburg from January 22 to 30, 1912. It was presided over by Archbishop Anthony (Khrapovitsky) of Volyn. The congress revised the rules of Edinoverie, discussed issues of worship in Edinoverie churches, and touched upon topics related to the organization of Edinoverie communities and the general management of Edinoverie in Russia. We also talked about the oaths of the Moscow Councils of the 17th century. on the Old Believers. The problem of attracting Old Believers-Beglopopovites and representatives of other agreements into the fold of the Orthodox Church on the basis of common faith was discussed. On January 31, 1912, a delegation of congress deputies was received by Emperor Nicholas II. At this meeting, Metropolitan Anthony raised the question of officially naming fellow believers “Orthodox Old Believers.” By the beginning of the twentieth century. There were about 600 Edinoverie parishes and several monasteries on the territory of Russia.
At the congress of fellow believers, Archbishop Anthony (Khrapovitsky) said: “Let in the one Church of Christ lovers of the old rites and old books form a single Brotherhood of Orthodox Old Believers... Then everything would merge in one common glorification of the Lord according to the old Book of Joseph, and Russians gathered from the ends of the earth The Old Believers would have erected a new Assumption Cathedral in the heart of Russia, similar in everything to the ancient one, but twice as tall and more extensive.” The service in honor of the centenary of the congress was held in the old Assumption - with great enthusiasm and solemnity.
The modern church Old Believer Charter (Christian Old Believers who recognize the priesthood, which does not apply to non-priests) is built mainly on the regulations of the pre-schism Russian Church, which in turn go back to the Charter of the Jerusalem Monastery, known in Rus' in the form of the collection “Church Eye”, compiled by the Rev. Afanasy Vysotsky . In fact, the entire Russian liturgical charter is based on different variations of this monastic charter.
The monastic charter prevails in both church and home prayer. This primarily concerns the daily liturgical circle. All the rites of the day's worship are seven: Vespers, Vespers, Midnight Office, Matins and the first hour, third, sixth and ninth hours. The Liturgy, this divine and holiest of services, is not one of the seven services of the day, but it is a special service. In ancient times, all these seven services of the day were served at a specific time for each. However, over time, for the sake of the convenience of worshipers, they were combined into sequences, performed, as a rule, in the morning and evening.
Of course, it is possible to fully perform the daily cycle of Divine services only in a monastery. In parish churches, the daily cycle of Divine services is performed only on certain days: Sundays, days of holidays and memorable dates, and certain days of fasting. The same applies to home prayer. Rarely does anyone have the opportunity to perform daily Divine services, fully following the monastic rules. In this case, it is preferable to perform as complete a church service as possible, as close to church services as possible, on the days when such services are performed in parish churches. On other days, a shorter prayer rule is acceptable.
Features of the abbreviated prayer rule
If it is impossible to store all the specialized liturgical books at home, it is possible to perform the liturgical circle in a different way.
In this case, the Divine service is performed by reading the Psalter or one Jesus prayer with bows. Modern editions of Old Believer prayer books indicate that one or two kathismas are read for Vespers (kathisma is a chapter of the Psalter, consisting of several psalms), for Lenten Pavechernitsa (Nephimon) - one or two kathismas, for Midnight Office - one or two kathismas, for Matins - from three to five kathismas, for the first hour - one kathisma, for the Hours - two or three kathismas.
It is also proposed to perform the Divine Service with the Jesus Prayer (as well as other short prayers to the Mother of God and the saints) with bows to the ground and waist, depending on zeal:
for Vespers - 100-200 bows,
for Paverenitsa - 50-100 bows,
for Matins - 200-400 bows,
for the first hour - 50-100 bows,
for the Watch - 200-300 bows.
In the collection of Rev. Kirill Belozersky, to replace the daily Liturgical circle, it is proposed to read half of the Psalter per day (10 kathismas). If there is no Psalter or the person is illiterate, the monk recommends praying 3,000 prayers for half of the Psalter or 6,000 prayers for the entire Psalter. Kathisma is equivalent to 300 Jesus prayers.
However, we should not forget that all these instructions relate to monastic life. In order not to overdo it or, conversely, to abandon prayer, but to adequately adapt the home prayer rule to your work and family schedule, you need the advice of your spiritual father.
Advance instructions for the rector of the temple
1. Find out in advance from the Diocesan Administration:
– a program for the Bishop’s visit to the parish (it is either determined by the Bishop himself, or, with the blessing of the Bishop, it is previously drawn up by the dean together with the rector and proposed for consideration by the Bishop);
– composition and number of persons arriving with the Bishop (protodeacon, subdeacons, etc.);
– the color of the vestments (it is necessary to prepare the appropriate priestly and deaconal vestments of the required color, as well as air and coverings (for the Liturgy), bookmarks in the altar Gospel and the Apostle, covers for lecterns, etc.);
- time of arrival of the Bishop. The rector, having learned this time, must inform the invited clergy, clergy of his temple, parishioners and representatives of the administration (if they intend to attend the service) the time of their arrival at the temple (the clergy no later than 1 hour before the appointed time of meeting the archpastor);
– will litia be celebrated (if the Bishop is supposed to serve the all-night vigil);
- order of the meal.
2. Preparations regarding the choir.
It is necessary to think in advance which choir will sing at the bishop's service. If the church has its own good choir, then you must personally ensure that the regent is familiar with the rules of the bishop's service and conducts a sufficient number of rehearsals for clear, smooth singing at the service. Otherwise, it is advisable to invite some other church choir that has experience in conducting bishops' services. The local choir may sing in the left choir. The rector organizes transport for the invited choir, informs the regent in advance of the time of the choir's arrival at the temple and provides a meal for the choir.
The rules of the bishop's all-night vigil are almost no different from the usual rite. Therefore, if the church choir is good, then even if it has no experience in conducting bishop services, it can sing.
3. The Sacrament of Confession for those wishing to receive communion during the Liturgy performed by the Bishop.
Consideration should be given to the organization of the Sacrament of Confession, which, if possible, should be performed outside of the service. If there are many people who want to receive communion and it is difficult to complete confession before the start of the Liturgy, then you need to either appoint a clergyman from your church in advance, or invite a priest from another church to conduct the Sacrament of Confession in a specially designated place (either in the church itself or in another room).
It is extremely undesirable to combine the bishop's service with the performance (even in the chapel) of other rites, such as the funeral service for the dead, prayer service, communion of infants after Baptism, the Sacrament of Marriage, etc. Due to the large number of people, plate collection during the service is undesirable, it should be refrain so as not to disturb the peace of prayer in the temple.
4. Preparing the altar and church premises for the bishop's service.
All objects in the altar and in the temple must be cleaned and washed.
a) Holy See:
- the best altar Gospel is placed and the intended conception is laid. It is necessary to check the appearance of the bookmark in the Altar Gospel (as well as in the Apostle);
– if the altar crosses (there should be two of them) differ in external decoration, then the best of them is placed on the left hand of the primate (the instruction concerns the Liturgy; at the all-night vigil, the best cross is placed to the right of the primate). If there are still altar crosses in the church, then for the Liturgy they should also be prepared (preferably on the altar) for the priests to carry them out at the great entrance.
b) Altar:
– taking into account the number of clergy and laity serving with the Bishop at the Divine Liturgy, it is necessary to prepare a prosphora of the proper size for the lamb. In addition to the usual number of prosphoras, two more large prosphoras are prepared so that the Bishop can perform the commemoration (if several bishops are serving, then two prosphoras are prepared for each of them);
– it is necessary to have a sufficient amount of church wine;
– you should prepare (if the church does not have one, then borrow from another parish) sacred vessels of the proper size. If a large number of communicants are expected, then it is necessary to have additional chalices, boards and spoons.
c) Altar room:
– there is a tradition of placing a pulpit with a seat for the Bishop on the High Place. It represents a certain elevation on which a person can freely stand. It is also recommended to take into account the following circumstance: if the altar room is spacious and the distance between the eastern side of the throne (or the seven-branched candlestick standing behind it) and the proposed pulpit is at least 1-1.5 m, then a pulpit can be arranged. There should not be a pulpit in a small altar (the instruction about the pulpit concerns only the Liturgy);
– if lithium is expected at the all-night vigil, then the best lithium device is prepared. It is necessary to take care in advance of bread, wine, wheat, and oil for lithium. Before service, the lithium device with all the substances must already be ready! It is necessary that there be enough bread to distribute to the people. At the polyeleos, new candles are distributed to the clergy. A new candle for the Bishop is inserted into the best hand-made candlestick. A vessel with oil and a brush are prepared for anointing the believers. It is advisable to think about in what places and which of the priests, along with the Bishop, will perform the anointing after the polyeleos. The bishop anoints at the main icon of the holiday on the pulpit. If there is a large crowd of people, it will be necessary to place another lectern with an icon of the holiday in the temple and prepare additional vessels with oil and tassels;
– in the altar, to the right of the primate’s place at the inside of the iconostasis, there is a seat. This could be a good chair with a backrest, or, if one is not available, then a good chair. The seat is placed on a small carpet if the altar is not completely covered with carpets (the instruction concerns primarily the all-night vigil, but it is advisable to organize this for the Liturgy);
– prepare two deacon candles;
– for the Liturgy, prepare the book of the Apostle in the altar, lay the required conception;
– if in addition to the protodeacon there is one or more deacons present at the service, then two censers are prepared. It should be ensured that there is a supply of coal and incense sufficient for the entire service;
– water should be prepared for washing the hands of the Bishop and the clergy (both at the Liturgy and at the all-night vigil), as well as for warmth and drinking. If there is no way to heat water in the altar, then it is good to prepare hot water in thermoses (with a reserve for warmth and for drinking). If you can heat water in the altar, you must have a kettle and a supply of water;
– clean towels must be available;
– you should have ladles, a knife for crushing the antidor and prosphora (at the Liturgy) or consecrated bread (at the all-night vigil), and, if possible, small prosphora (at the Liturgy for drinking the clergy);
– if possible, an iron and ironing table (board) should be available before the service (not necessarily in the altar);
– vestments for the clergy: the rector either warns the invited clergy about the need to come with their vestments of the appropriate color, or prepares in advance (after checking whether everything is available) temple vestments according to the number of concelebrating clergy;
– if the service will take place during the first week of Easter or on Easter, then an Easter three-candlestick with new candles should be prepared;
- a tray with a cover under the altar cross should be ready.
d) Temple premises:
- at the Liturgy, at the Royal Doors, two analogues are placed next to their pillars, on the right - with the icon of the Savior, on the left - with the icon of the Mother of God (see diagram 1). There is no need to do this at an all-night vigil.
- in the center of the temple there is a vestibule for the Bishop, in modern practice called the pulpit). Its dimensions may vary, but when designing its steps, it must be calculated so that one can easily ascend and descend from the pulpit and that the Bishop can freely stand on it, as well as accommodate the seat standing behind him. The pulpit is covered with a carpet.
- for use at the Liturgy, a seat is prepared for the Bishop - a medium-height chair without a back. The seat is sheathed with a cover or a cover is placed on it. The seat is placed to the left of the pulpit (Diagram 1). At the all-night vigil, there is no need to place the seat on the pulpit.
– carpets are laid as follows: in the altar, it is advisable to cover the entire space with carpets, or at least the space in front of the altar. The carpet goes from the Royal Doors (if there is another carpet on the pulpit, then from the pulpit) to the pulpit. The pulpit, if not upholstered in cloth, is also covered with a carpet. Next, the carpet spreads from the pulpit to the porch inclusive. A carpet is laid at the entrance to the main part of the temple (see diagram 1).
5. About the ringing of bells.
15 minutes before the expected time of arrival of the Bishop, the gospel begins. When the car with the Bishop appears, a peal rings, which continues until the service begins. During the service, the ringing is carried out according to the Charter. During the religious procession the ringing rings; at the bus stops the ringing stops.
6. Proskomedia.
It is performed before the arrival of the Bishop by a pre-appointed priest and deacon from among the serving clergy. They say entrance prayers, put on all sacred clothes and perform the full rite of proskomedia, including the protection of the Holy Gifts and full incense of the temple. The dean and the rector must personally ensure that the lamb is prepared to the proper size and that a sufficient amount of the holy compound is poured into the Chalice.
It is safer to appoint an experienced priest to perform the proskomedia.
According to the Charter, the 3rd and 6th hours are supposed to be read after the Bishop vests himself, but, according to universally established practice, the hours are read before the Bishop arrives at the temple. The rector appoints in advance a reader who will read the hours during the proskomedia, and warns him that the petition: “Bless in the name of the Lord, father” is replaced by: “In the name of the Lord (Highly) Most Reverend Vladyka, bless.” Accordingly, the priest’s exclamation: “Through the prayers of our Holy Fathers...” is replaced with: “Through the prayers of our Holy Master...”.
7. Regardless of the ordinal place occupied by the rector in the priestly rank at the divine service, the rector:
- together with the dean, he meets the saint at the entrance to the temple (more precisely, at the place where the car stopped). The bishop gets out of the car and blesses the two subdeacons who meet him. Then the dean and the rector take the blessing from the Bishop. It is possible to present flowers, meet with bread and salt. Usually they are presented by the elder of the temple or one of the respected parishioners, or children;
– maintains order in the church and on the choir during services;
- is responsible at the Liturgy for organizing the communion of the laity, appoints priests to crush the particles of the Holy Body of Christ. The priests appointed to divide the Holy Mysteries begin to do this immediately after their communion;
- at the Liturgy he brings the Bishop a drink after communion, and at the all-night vigil at the beginning of the sixth psalm - consecrated bread and wine (prepared by the subdeacons).
– during the Liturgy, he agrees with the Bishop (at the moment when he serves the drink or when he takes the blessing during communion) on the order of completion of the Liturgy. If a religious procession, prayer service, memorial service or blessing of fruits is expected, then he is responsible for organizing these rites.
– at the all-night vigil, he is responsible for organizing the anointing of the believers after the polyeleos.
Usually, when the Bishop visits churches, the dean of the given district is present. The rector is obliged both before and during the service to act in coordination with the dean, consulting with him and obeying his advice and orders.
Instructions for clergy
1. All clergy must be in the church one hour before the arrival of the Bishop.
2. Each priest checks that he has his full priestly vestments.
3. To meet the Bishop, priests put on robes, crosses and headdresses (hoods or kamilavkas).
4. The curtain of the Royal Doors must be pulled back, but the gates themselves are closed.
5. The priest who performed the proskomedia, in full priestly vestments, takes the tray with the cover and places the best altar cross on it, turning its handle towards his left hand. At the all-night vigil, the cross is carried out by the priest, who will begin the all-night vigil. In this case, he is dressed in a phelonion, epitrachelion, brace and headdress.
6. 20 minutes before the expected arrival of the Bishop, all priests stand to the right and left of the throne in two rows according to seniority of position, awards and consecration. A priest with a cross on a tray takes the primate’s place. The protodeacon and 1st deacon take 2 censers and a supply of incense, the 2nd and 3rd deacons take the trikirium and dikirium. All the clergy are baptized, venerate the throne and exit to the Solea by the southern and northern doors, respectively. A priest with a cross stands in front of the Royal Doors, the rest of the priests and deacons stand in a row on the right and left, facing the Royal Doors. All clergy cross themselves three times, bow (one row to another) and walk in two rows along the edges of the carpet to the entrance to the temple. The priest with the cross walks along the middle of the carpet and faces the entrance to the temple at the level of the last pair of priests (if there are a lot of priests, then at the level of 5-6 pairs). The remaining priests stand facing each other (see diagram 3). The deacons stand after the last pair of priests, in one row, facing the entrance to the temple. All the clergy cross themselves and bow one row to another. The dean and the rector go to the porch, where, together with two subdeacons, they await the arrival of the Bishop.
7. Regarding priestly presiding during worship, the practice is as follows:
The first priest can be the dean, the rector, and, if the dean considers it possible, the oldest priest in terms of awards (ordination). The dean must be sure that this priest is ready to conduct the bishop's service first in the priestly rank.
8. There is a practice of meeting the Bishop at the Liturgy with priests dressed in full vestments. It is justified only in three situations: a) Patriarchal worship, b) when the altar is small in size, but there are many clergy, and it may be very inconvenient for all the priests to dress at the same time, c) at the consecration of the temple, since the altar is occupied by objects prepared for consecration .
Meeting of the bishop
The bishop enters the temple. The protodeacon proclaims: “Wisdom” and then reads: “It is worthy” (or worthy), “Glory, And now,” “Lord, have mercy” three times, “(Highly) Most Reverend Master, bless.” At this time, the protodeacon and 1st deacon constantly burn incense to the Bishop. The dean and the rector take their place among the priests. The bishop stands on the eagle and gives the staff to the subdeacon. The bishop and all priests are baptized three times. The priests bow to the Bishop, who blesses them with the general overshadowing. The bishop puts on a robe.
A priest with a cross on a tray approaches the Bishop. The Bishop takes the cross, and the priest kisses the Bishop’s hand and retreats to his previous place. All the priests take turns, in order of seniority, approach the Bishop, cross themselves, kiss the cross and the Bishop’s hand, then retreat to their places. The priest comes up last with a tray, kisses the cross and the hand of the Bishop. The bishop kisses the cross and places it on a tray. The priest kisses the hand of the Bishop, immediately goes into the Altar through the northern doors and places the cross on the throne. At the Liturgy, this priest does not come out for entrance prayers, since he has already performed them before the proskomedia.
The Bishop and all the priests are baptized again, and the priests bow to the Bishop, who overshadows them with a general blessing.
Follow-up of the All-Night Vigil
After kissing the cross at the meeting, the Bishop goes to the pulpit, then leaves it and kisses the icon of the holiday. He rises to the pulpit, turns and blesses the people on three sides. The priests, in two rows, follow the Bishop to the pulpit; they do not venerate the icon; standing in front of the pulpit, they bow in response to the Bishop’s blessing. The bishop turns and enters the altar through the Royal Doors, which are opened by the subdeacons. The priests, at the same time as the Bishop, enter the altar through the side doors. The bishop and priests venerate the throne and take their places.
At the all-night vigil, the priest who went out to meet the cross enters the altar, places the cross on the altar, goes to the High Place and accepts the censer from the subdeacon or protodeacon. The protodeacon enters the altar, gives the censer to the subdeacon or priest, accepts the deacon's candle from the subdeacon and stands next to the priest, to his right. The bishop enters the altar and venerates the throne. The priest, standing a little to the right of the center of the High Place, asks the Bishop for a blessing on the censer: “Bless, (Highly) Most Reverend Bishop, the censer.” Next, the priest, preceded by the protodeacon, performs the usual censing of the altar. The bishop censes three times three times. The protodeacon goes to the pulpit and proclaims: “Rise up.” At this time, all the clergy gathers at the High Place. The protodeacon returns to the altar. At the exclamation: “Glory to the Saints...” all the clergy in the High Place, at the sign of the protodeacon, cross themselves, bow to the Bishop and sing: “Come, let us worship...”. At the end of the singing, everyone crosses themselves again, bows to the Bishop and goes to their places. The protodeacon gives the candle to the 1st deacon, who walks in front of the priest, who performs the full censing of the temple.
There is a widespread tradition when the priest performing incense is accompanied by two deacons. In this matter, one must follow the instructions of the archdeacon.
Upon returning to the altar, the priest censes the altar, moves to the right and stands with the deacon opposite the Bishop. The priest censes the Bishop three times, the deacon three times and gives the censer to the deacon. The deacon censes the priest three times, and the priest and deacon cross themselves, bow to the Bishop and retreat to their places.
The royal doors are closed by subdeacons. The protodeacon pronounces the peaceful litany. The priest makes an exclamation after the litany and after the end of the exclamation he bows to the Bishop.
This instruction also applies to all exclamations made by the priest during the service.
After the exclamation of the peaceful litany, the priest, protodeacon and all the rest of the clergy located in the altar approach the Bishop for blessing.
Before going out to pronounce any litany, the deacon is baptized in the High Place and bows not to the priest, but to the Bishop.
The clapping on “Lord, I have cried...” is performed by a pair of junior deacons. They take the censer, cross themselves on the High Place, turn to face the Bishop, raise the censer, and the eldest of the two deacons says: “Bless, (Highly) Most Reverend Bishop, the censer.” The bishop blesses the censer. The deacons perform incense according to the usual pattern, the bishop is censed three times at the beginning, and three times at the end of the incense.
During the singing of the stichera on: “Lord, I have cried...” all the priests, and if there are many priests, then those whom the dean directs wear stoles, bracelets, phelonions and headdresses. At the end of the censing, all vested priests stand near the throne in two rows according to seniority. The senior priest (usually a dean or rector) takes the primacy.
Evening entrance
After the canonarch exclaims: “And now,” the junior deacons open the Royal Doors. All the priests and the protodeacon venerate the throne and go to the High Place. The protodeacon at the High Place receives the censer from the subdeacon. All priests and the protodeacon cross themselves to the east, turn and bow to the Bishop. The Protodeacon takes the blessing for the censer from the Bishop. All the clergy go to soleya. The protodeacon censes local icons, enters the altar, goes to the right, censes the Bishop three times three times, goes to the Royal Doors and asks the Bishop for a blessing to enter. The Bishop blesses the entrance, the protodeacon censes the Bishop three times with the words: “Is pollla,” stands in the Royal Doors and proclaims: “Forgive Wisdom.” Next, the protodeacon enters the altar, censes the altar from four sides and gives the censer to the subdeacon. All priests cross themselves, bow to the primate and enter the altar through the Royal Doors, each kissing the icon on the Royal Doors that is on his side. The Primate, as usual, venerates the icons at the Royal Doors, but the people do not bless with their hand, but only bow slightly to him.
This instruction also applies to all those moments of the service when the priest is supposed to overshadow the people with his hand.
All the priests and the protodeacon cross themselves, venerate the throne and go to the High Place. At the High Place, all the clergy are baptized and bow to the Bishop. The choir finishes singing: “Quiet Light.” The 1st priest and protodeacon bow to the Bishop. Protodeacon: “Let us attend.” Priest: “Peace to all” (without overshadowing the people with his hand). The protodeacon proclaims, according to custom, the prokeimenon. After him, all the priests and the protodeacon cross themselves, bow to the Bishop and go to their places. Subdeacons close the Royal Doors. If there are proverbs, then the protodeacon, standing at the throne, gives the exclamations required for them. The priest who began the service takes the primate's place. The rest of the priests put aside their phelonies and move away from the throne to their places. Then the service proceeds as usual.
If a litany is expected, then at the petitionary litany all the priests, dressed in stoles, bracelets and headdresses, stand in two rows on either side of the throne. The priest standing at the Throne also puts aside the phelonion and takes his place among the priests. Two deacons, appointed by the protodeacon, receive the censer at the High Place from the subdeacons. The bishop takes the primate's place. After the exclamation: “Be a power...” the deacons open the Royal Doors. The Bishop and all the clergy are baptized twice, venerate the throne, everyone is baptized once more, and the Bishop blesses the clergy with a general overshadowing. At this moment, the deacons take a blessing on the censer. The bishop enters the litany through the Royal Doors, all priests and deacons through the side doors. After the Bishop has left the altar, the Royal Doors are immediately closed by the deacons. Deacons with censers perform incense.
Regarding the censing scheme for lithium, practice is very heterogeneous. Considering that our goal is to show the practice of the Moscow diocese, we will describe in detail the scheme adopted in the Assumption Cathedral Church of the Novodevichy Convent. The deacons perform full censing of the altar, iconostasis, holiday icon (three times three times), the Bishop (three times three times) and the clergy (from the middle of the temple), the choir and people (from the pulpit), the Royal Doors, the icons of the Savior and the Mother of God, the holiday icon (three times ) and Bishop (three times). Next, the deacons cross themselves, bow to the Bishop and give the censer to the subdeacon, and they themselves stand in a row with the other deacons.
Next, the lithium proceeds in the usual manner. At the exclamation of “Our Father”: “For Thine is the Kingdom...” the subdeacons open the Royal Doors. At the same exclamation, the protodeacon accepts the censer from the subdeacon and asks the Bishop for the blessing for censing. During the singing of the troparion, the protodeacon censes the lithium device around three times, then censes the icon of the holiday, the Bishop three times three times, the clergy, then crosses himself, bows to the Bishop and gives the censer to the subdeacon. At the end of the prayer for the consecration of bread, wheat, wine and oil, all the clergy (they listened to the prayer, removing their headdresses) cross themselves, bow to the Bishop, go into the altar through the side doors (the younger ones go in front) and stand in two rows near the throne. One verse before the end of the chorus singing the 33rd Psalm, all the clergy turn to face the Royal Doors (the 1st pair of priests comes out closer to the Royal Doors), and everyone bows in response to the Bishop’s blessing. The bishop overshadows the people with the words: “The blessing of the Lord...” and enters the altar. The bishop and all the clergy cross themselves and venerate the throne. All clergy bow to the Bishop in response to his blessing. Deacons close the Royal Doors. The bishop retreats to his place and unmasks himself. The rector presents the Bishop with consecrated bread and wine (prepared on a tray by the subdeacons). The priest who began the service takes the primate's place, and the same priest, during the reading of the second part of the Six Psalms, goes out to the solea to the Royal Doors to read the prescribed secret prayers.
Then the all-night vigil continues as usual. The polyeleos performed by the bishop's service does not have any special differences from that performed by the conciliar priestly service. The anointing of all clergy is performed by the Bishop, standing at the pulpit. After the anointing of the clergy, all clergy are baptized, bow to the Bishop and go to the altar. At the altar, all the clergy cross themselves, venerate the throne, bow to the Bishop from the Royal Doors and go to their places. If the anointing of believers is expected from more than one icon, then the appointed priests go to their places and perform the anointing.
The deacon, pronouncing the small litany during the reading of the canon, goes out to the solea from the northern door, stands in the center of the Royal Doors, crosses himself, bows to the Bishop and says the litany. The priest who began the service, standing in the altar, makes an exclamation and at the end of it bows from the Royal Doors to the Bishop. During the exclamation, the deacon moves to the right to the icon of the Savior, and at the end of the exclamation he also crosses himself and, together with the priest, bows to the Bishop. If during the small litany according to the 6th song of the canon the Bishop continues to anoint the believers, then the protodeacon with a censer in his hands comes out of the northern door onto the solea and stands opposite the icon of the Mother of God. At the exclamation of the litany, the protodeacon is baptized, bows to the Bishop together with the priest and deacon who spoke the litany, and asks the Bishop for a blessing on the censer.
After the Bishop returns to the altar after anointing the people, the deacons close the Royal Doors.
While singing the stichera on “Praise...” all the priests, dressed in phelonions, stand in two rows on either side of the Throne. The Bishop takes the primate place. On “And Now” the deacons open the Royal Doors. The subdeacons present the Trikiri and Dikiri to the Bishop. The bishop proclaims: “Glory to You...”, goes to the pulpit and overshadows the people on three sides. All priests turn to face the Royal Doors. The 1st pair of priests goes to the middle of the space between the throne and the Royal Doors and faces the Royal Doors. The bishop turns and, standing on the pulpit, overshadows the clergy with dikiriy and trikiriy. All clergy bow to the Bishop and retreat to their places. The bishop enters the altar and gives the candles to the subdeacons. At the end of the singing of the Trisagion, after the doxology, the protodeacon, 1st deacon and subdeacons with the dikiri and trikiri are baptized on the High Place and bow to the Bishop. The deacons go to the solea to recite the litanies. At the special litany, when remembering the name of the serving Bishop, all priests cross themselves and bow to the Bishop. Before the exclamation: “Peace to all” and before the Bishop leaves the altar to pronounce the dismissal, the Bishop blesses the clergy, and they bow to him in response.
After the dismissal of Matins, the Bishop and all the priests are baptized, venerate the throne, the Bishop bestows a general blessing on the clergy, and the clergy bow to the Bishop. Deacons close the Royal Doors. The bishop and all the clergy are exposed. The priest, who began the service, in the epitrachelion, bands and headdress, takes the primate's place and ends, according to custom, the 1st hour.
During the reading of the prayer of the hour, the Bishop and all the clergy cross themselves and venerate the throne. Subdeacons open the Royal Doors. The bishop leaves the altar through the Royal Doors, and the priests and deacons through the side doors. All clergy stand in two rows in front of the pulpit facing the altar. The priest, standing at the icon of the Mother of God facing the people, takes leave of the hour, goes to the altar, undresses, leaves the altar and takes his place in the ranks of the clergy. After the dismissal of the 1st hour, the choir sings: “Lord, have mercy” (three times). The bishop, standing on the pulpit in a robe, speaks a word to the believers. After this, everyone sings the troparion or magnification of the holiday, and the Bishop, preceded by the clergy, goes to the end of the church. At the end of the temple, the clergy stand in two rows facing each other. The bishop stands on the eagle, and the subdeacons take off his robe. The choir sings: “Confirmation of those who trust in You...” (irmos of the 3rd song of the canon for the Presentation of the Lord, tone 3). The Bishop and all the clergy are baptized three times, and the Bishop overshadows the people in three directions. The choir sings: “Is polla.” The bishop, accompanied by the dean and the rector, leaves the church.
Following the Divine Liturgy
The Bishop walks along the carpet to the pulpit, the priests in 2 rows follow the Bishop, the elders in front. The deacons go to the altar (in front of the Bishop) and stand in a row in front of the pulpit facing it. The bishop ascends to the pulpit. The deacons cense the Bishop three times, blessing them, and go into the altar through the side doors. The bishop reaches the pulpit. The Protodeacon, standing on the right hand of the Bishop, crosses himself, bows to the Bishop and begins reading the entrance prayers.
At the Liturgy, during the entrance prayers, only the Bishop venerates the icons of the Savior and the Mother of God, and the priests stand in their places while reading the prayers, removing their hoods and kamilavkas at the appropriate moment.
After the end of the entrance prayers, the Bishop blesses the people on three sides and goes to the pulpit. The priests bow in response to the Bishop’s blessing and follow him to the pulpit, the elders leading the way. At this time, the subdeacons come out of the altar, participating in the vestments of the Bishop. Behind them, the 1st deacon immediately comes out of the northern door with two censers, one of which he gives to the protodeacon. The Protodeacon and 1st Deacon stand on the pulpit facing the Bishop.
The Bishop, all the priests, the protodeacon, the 1st deacon and the subdeacons are baptized on the altar, bow to the Bishop, and all the priests in turn, in order of seniority, approach the Bishop for a blessing, then immediately go to the altar, without waiting for each other. After the Bishop takes off his cassock, the protodeacon and 1st deacon take a blessing on the censer.
During the vesting of the Bishop, the 1st deacon exclaims: “Let us pray to the Lord,” and the protodeacon reads the prescribed verses from the books of Exodus, the prophet Isaiah and the psalmist David. The Protodeacon and the 1st Deacon continuously and synchronously perform the incense of the Bishop.
Upon arrival at the altar, each priest dresses in full vestments with the headdress that is assigned to him (if he was not dressed before the meeting). All clergy are lined up in two rows according to seniority on either side of the throne. As soon as the protodeacon begins the exclamation: “So let it be enlightened...” (Matthew 5:16), all priests and deacons cross themselves, venerate the throne, go out through the side doors onto the solea and stand in line with the protodeacon and the 1st deacon, facing the Bishop. The bishop overshadows the clergy with dikiriy and trikiriy, and the clergy walk to the pulpit in two rows. After the overshadowing of the people, the Bishop gives the dikiri and trikiri to the subdeacons and blesses the protodeacon and the 1st deacon, who incense him at this time three times. All priests, deacons and subdeacons with dikiri, trikiri and staff cross themselves and bow to the Bishop. Then the subdeacons with the dikiri and trikiri go to the altar, along the way taking the censer from the protodeacon and the 1st deacon. The protodeacon and 1st deacon go to the pulpit, and all the deacons line up in two rows, facing each other, between the rows of priests.
The bishop reads the prayers prescribed before the start of the Liturgy. Protodeacon: “It’s time to create the Lord...”. The 1st priest takes the blessing from the Bishop, goes through the southern doors (on Easter week through the Royal Doors) into the altar and stands in front of the throne. Protodeacon: “Pray for us...”, and all the deacons in pairs approach the Bishop for blessing. The protodeacon goes to the solea, and the rest of the deacons stand in one row behind the bishop's see. The subdeacons open the Royal Doors, the first priest crosses himself twice, venerates the Gospel and the altar, crosses himself again, turns around, bows to the Bishop together with the protodeacon and subdeacons, turns again to the altar, and picks up the altar Gospel. Protodeacon: “Bless, Master.” 1st priest: “Blessed is the Kingdom...”, makes a cross over the throne with the Gospel, places the Gospel, crosses himself once, applies himself to the Gospel and the throne, turns, bows together with the protodeacon and subdeacons to the Bishop and stands on the south side of the throne. At the petition: “O Great Lord...” the 1st priest and two subdeacons stand before the throne, cross themselves once and at the commemoration of the serving Bishop they bow to him together with the protodeacon in response to the blessing. The 1st priest retreats to his place. All the priests standing at the pulpit also cross themselves and bow to the Bishop during this peaceful litany.
At the request: “May we be delivered…” The 2nd and 3rd deacons leave the pulpit and walk in the middle between the rows of priests on the sole. The 2nd deacon stands near the icon of the Mother of God, and the 3rd - next to the protodeacon, to his right.
The exclamation after the peaceful litany: “As it befits You...” is made by the 1st priest. In the words: “To the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever...” The first priest is baptized. With the words: “and forever and ever,” he comes out into the space in front of the throne, faces the Bishop and bows to him along with the protodeacon and two deacons. At the same exclamation, the 2nd and 3rd priests also cross themselves, bow to the Bishop and go into the altar through the side doors (on Bright Week through the Royal Doors). Having entered the altar, the 2nd and 3rd priests cross themselves once, kiss the throne (from the sides), go out to the Royal Doors, stand facing the Bishop, bow to him, then to each other and take their places on the side of the throne. The protodeacon goes to the pulpit together with the subdeacons carrying out the ablution. The bishop washes his hands during the 1st antiphon. The archdeacon reads: “I will wash the innocent...” (Ps. 25:6-12) and stands at the pulpit.
The practice regarding the number of priests leaving after the peaceful and first small litanies to the altar is not the same. The bishop can indicate this number personally.
The 2nd deacon pronounces the 1st small litany. The exclamation at the first small litany is made by the 2nd priest and, in the same manner at the end of the exclamation, he bows to the Bishop, standing in the Royal Doors together with the 2nd and 3rd deacons. At this exclamation, the 4th and 5th priests cross themselves, bow to the Bishop and go through the side doors (on Easter week - through the Royal Doors) into the altar, there they cross themselves once, kiss the throne, go out to the Royal Doors, bow to the Bishop, bow to each other and fall into place.
The 3rd deacon speaks the 2nd small litany. During it, all the deacons standing at the pulpit go to the solea and stand in one row facing the altar. The exclamation for the second small litany is made by the 3rd priest, who also at the end of the exclamation bows to the Bishop, standing in the Royal Doors, simultaneously with all the deacons standing on the pulpit and all the priests standing at the pulpit. After the exclamation, all these priests and all the deacons go to the altar through the side doors (on Easter week - through the Royal Doors). At the altar, all the priests and deacons who came cross themselves, venerate the throne, bow from the Royal Doors to the Bishop and take their places. The 1st and 2nd deacons go to the High Place and take the censer from the subdeacon.
Small entrance
During the singing of the third antiphon, the 1st priest and protodeacon stand in front of the throne, cross themselves twice, kiss the throne, cross themselves and bow to the Bishop. The first priest takes the Gospel from the throne and gives it to the protodeacon, who goes with the Gospel to the High Place. All priests, protodeacon, 1st and 2nd deacons and subdeacons are baptized, priests venerate the throne, everyone bows to the Bishop (priests - from the Royal Doors). The 1st and 2nd deacons ask for a blessing on the censer, and all the clergy proceed to the small entrance. The order is as follows: priest, co-worker, 1st and 2nd deacon with censers, subdeacons with dikiri and ripida, protodeacon with the Gospel, subdeacons with ripida and trikiri, priests in order of seniority, the elders in front. The protodeacon, descending from the pulpit, quietly says: “Let us pray to the Lord,” and the Bishop reads the prayer of entry. When the priests begin to descend from the pulpit, each goes to his own side (right or left) to the pulpit. The 1st and 2nd deacons, together with the subdeacons, go around the pulpit, disperse to the sides and stand at the level of the last pair of priests (or approximately the 4th pair, if there are many priests) facing each other. At the sign of the protodeacon, all the clergy are baptized on the altar and bow to the Bishop. The Protodeacon asks the Bishop for a blessing to enter and brings him the Gospel for him to kiss. The Bishop venerates the Gospel, the protodeacon kisses the Bishop’s hand, then, turning to the east, exclaims: “Wisdom, forgive me” and turns to the west. After the protodeacon’s exclamation, all the clergy sing: “Come, let us worship...”. The 1st and 2nd deacons go to the pulpit and incense the Gospel. When the Bishop begins to worship the Gospel and bless with candles to the east, the deacons burn incense to the Bishop. When the Bishop begins to overshadow the people, the deacons again incense the Gospel. At the moment when the Bishop begins to leave the pulpit, the 1st and 2nd priests support him by the arms. The protodeacon, 1st and 2nd deacons go to the altar ahead of all the clergy. The bishop goes to the pulpit, followed by priests in two rows, the elders in front. When the Bishop rises to the pulpit, the 1st and 2nd priests support him by the arms and step back. The bishop blesses the people with dikiriy and trikiriy. The priests, standing in two rows in front of the sole, facing the Bishop, bow to him. The protodeacon accepts the trikirium from the Bishop and goes to the High Place. The bishop venerates the icons at the Royal Doors and enters the altar. Behind him, priests enter the altar in two rows, each kissing the icon at the Royal Doors that is on his side. The deacon gives the Bishop a censer.
The bishop with the dikiri in his hand censes the altar, preceded by the protodeacon carrying the trikiri. While the Bishop censes the Royal Doors and comes out of the altar to cense the iconostasis, all the priests and deacons cross themselves, venerate the throne, bow to the Bishop from the Royal Doors and retreat to their places. All deacons and subdeacons gather at the High Place. The bishop censes the iconostasis, the choir and the people, then enters the altar and censes the clergy. All the priests respond with a bow. Next, the Bishop censes the protodeacon and gives him the censer. The Protodeacon censes the Bishop three times, crosses himself along with all the clergy standing on the High Place, and bows to the Bishop. After the choir has sung the big “Is pollla these, despota” (hereinafter abbreviated as “Is polla”), everyone in the altar sings the same for many years. When the Bishop begins to read the Trisagion prayer from the Official, then the priests also begin to read it from the Service Book.
About reading secret prayers from the Missal: according to established tradition, at the Liturgy, priests begin to use the Missal to read secret prayers only after entering the altar.
The last kontakion on “And Now” is traditionally sung by the clergy in the altar. At the end of the singing of the last kontakion, the protodeacon venerates the throne, asks the Bishop for a blessing: “Bless, Master, the time of the Trisagion,” and goes to the sole. The further exclamations of the protodeacon are the same as at the priestly service.
The Trisagion is sung by the choir once. At this time, the protodeacon receives the dikiri from the subdeacon and gives it to the Bishop. The clergy sings for the second time. At this time, the 2nd priest takes the altar cross from the throne and presents it to the Bishop with the front side of the cross facing the Bishop. The choir sings the Trisagion for the third time. At this time, the Bishop comes out with a cross and dikiriy to the sole. All priests turn to face the Royal Doors, with the 1st and 2nd priests going to the middle of the space in front of the throne. All deacons and subdeacons disperse from the High Place to their places. The 1st subdeacon lights the trikirium and gives it to the protodeacon standing on the High Place.
The bishop exclaims: “Look...” (Ps. 79:15-16), and the trio sings the Trisagion for the fourth time. The bishop overshadows the people, then turns and overshadows the clergy in the altar. The priests bow to the Bishop and retreat to their places. The 2nd priest at the Royal Doors takes the cross from the Bishop and places it on the throne. The bishop venerates the throne, goes to the High Place, overshadowing it with the dikiriy, gives the dikiriy to the subdeacon and ascends to the High Place. The protodeacon says: “Command, (Highly) Most Reverend Master,” “Bless, (Highly) Most Reverend Master, the High Throne,” “The Trinity appeared in the Jordan, for the very Divine Nature of the Father cried out, This baptized Son is my beloved, the Spirit having come to something like this, people will bless Him and praise Him forever” (3rd Troparion of the 8th Canto of the 1st Canon for the Epiphany) and gives the Bishop the trikiri. After the Bishop venerates the throne, all priests venerate the throne and move closer to the High Place in order of seniority. The choir sings the Trisagion for the fifth time. Sixth time - the clergy sings. The Bishop, standing on the High Place, overshadows the clergy, who bow to the Bishop. The trikyrius is received by the subdeacon from the Bishop. The 1st deacon crosses himself, venerates the throne, approaches the Bishop with the Apostle, placing his orarion on top, receives a blessing, kisses the hand of the Bishop and walks along the left side of the throne through the Royal Doors to the pulpit for reading the Apostle. The choir sings: “Glory, And now, Holy Immortal...”, and one more time: “Holy God.”
Protodeacon: “Let us attend.” Bishop: “Peace to all.” 1st Deacon: “And the spirits...”, and then reads, as usual, the prokeimenon and the Apostle. The subdeacons remove the large omophorion from the Bishop. The 3rd deacon stands in front of the Bishop. The subdeacons place the omophorion on the hands of the deacon. The Bishop blesses the deacon, he kisses the Bishop's hand, moves with the omophorion to the south side of the throne and stands facing the throne, holding the omophorion with two palms at the level
your shoulders.
According to the regulations, incense is supposed to be performed on an alleluaria, but, according to universally established practice, immediately after the omophorion is removed from the Bishop, a protodeacon with a censer and a subdeacon with an incense holder and a spoon (the incense holder should contain incense) approach him. The archdeacon says: “Bless the censer, Master!” and presents the censer to the Bishop, holding the cup with his right hand. The subdeacon presents the Bishop with incense. The bishop places incense on the coals with a spoon and blesses the censer. The subdeacon kisses the hand of the Bishop. The protodeacon begins censing.
After reading the Apostle, the 1st priest bows to the Bishop and, together with the protodeacon, goes to the throne. At the throne, the 1st priest and the protodeacon are baptized together (they do not bow to the bishop or each other), the priest kisses the Gospel and the throne and gives the Gospel to the protodeacon. The 1st priest takes his place and bows to the Bishop. The Protodeacon brings the Gospel to the Bishop, who kisses the Gospel, and the Protodeacon kisses the Bishop's hand. The protodeacon carries the Gospel through the Royal Doors to the pulpit. The 3rd deacon with the omophorion walks in front of the protodeacon carrying the Gospel in the following way: he goes around the throne from south to north through the High Place, leaves the altar through the Royal Doors, walks in the middle of the temple to the pulpit, walks around the pulpit from his right to his left, returns to the altar through the Royal Doors together with the deacon who read the Apostle, and stands in the place from which he began to move with the omophorion (the south side of the throne). The deacon and the Apostle stand at the north side of the throne, opposite the deacon holding the omophorion. The exclamation: “Forgive wisdom, let us hear the Holy Gospel” is made by the deacon holding the Apostle, and “Let us hear” by the deacon holding the omophorion. After this exclamation, both deacons kiss the throne, approach the Bishop for blessing, kiss his hand and retreat to their places, putting aside the omophorion and the Apostle.
Priests and deacons listen to the reading of the Gospel with their heads uncovered, and the Bishop wears a miter.
After reading the Gospel, the Bishop crosses himself to the east, goes out onto the solea, venerates the Gospel, which the protodeacon offers him, and blesses the people with the dikiri and trikiri. All priests are also baptized and return to their places at the throne. The protodeacon places the Gospel on the far right corner of the throne or, if the throne is small, on the seat in the High Place. At the end of the reading of the Gospel, the 1st deacon crosses himself at the northern side of the throne, bows to the Bishop and goes to the pulpit to recite the special litany.
At the special litany, all the subdeacons and deacons gather in the High Place and at the petition for the serving Bishop they sing: “Lord, have mercy” three times.
At the special litany, the Bishop opens the antimension. He is assisted by the 1st and 2nd priests. After this, the Bishop, the 1st and 2nd priests cross themselves, venerate the throne, cross themselves, the 1st and 2nd priests bow to the Bishop, who blesses them.
Usually, starting with the exclamation of the special litany, the Bishop distributes the exclamations among the clergy. The priest whose turn is approaching must be prepared to utter an exclamation. The bishop gives a sign with his blessing. The priest bows to the Bishop, pronounces the prescribed exclamation and at the end of the exclamation crosses himself and bows to the Bishop.
At the Liturgy celebrated by the Bishop, the Royal Doors open to: “Blessed is the Kingdom” and remain open until the exclamation: “Holy to the Saints.”
The litany of the catechumens is pronounced by the 3rd deacon or appointee to the priesthood. In the words: “The Gospel of Truth will be revealed to them,” the 3rd and 4th priests open the upper part of the antimension and, together with the protodeacon and 1st deacon, cross themselves, venerate the Throne, cross themselves and bow to the Bishop. At the exclamation: “Yes and this...” the protodeacon and the 1st deacon leave the altar and, together with the 3rd deacon, proclaim: “Depart from the catechumens...”. The 2nd deacon, standing on the High Place, takes the Bishop’s blessing on the censer and performs the full censing of the altar (the Bishop first censes three times, and at the end of the censing three times).
After the exclamation: “Yes, and they are glorified with us...” (or, according to another practice, after the exclamation: “For under Thy power...”), the Bishop washes his hands in the Royal Doors. Upon the Bishop’s return to the altar, the protodeacon and 1st deacon place a small omophorion on him.
The 2nd or most experienced priest, appointed by the dean, goes to the altar and performs the following actions:
– removes the air from the holy vessels and places it on the left corner of the altar;
– removes the coverings from the paten and the Chalice and places them one on top of the other on the right corner of the altar;
– removes the star from the paten and places it behind the paten and the Chalice;
– checks the presence on the altar of two untaken prosphoras on plates standing in front of the paten and the Chalice and another plate with a copy lying between them.
Large air can also be placed on top of the shrouds on the right corner of the altar.
Great Entrance
When the Bishop reads the Cherubic Song, the protodeacon removes his miter, places it on a tray and gives the tray to the 3rd deacon. The bishop goes to the altar, the 1st deacon approaches him. The bishop places air on his shoulder, and the deacon takes the blessing on the censer and censes the iconostasis, choirs and people. The priests, in pairs, take turns, approach the throne, cross themselves, venerate the throne, bow to each other with the words: “May your priesthood (archpriesthood, abbess, hieromonasticity) be remembered...” and take the altar crosses. If an odd number of priests is serving, then the last three approach the throne at the same time. The last three priests usually do not carry crosses, but a plate, a spoon and a spear. When the Bishop says: “Concelebrating brethren,” the clergy, in order of seniority, approach the Bishop, kiss him on the right shoulder and quietly say: “Remember me, (Highly) Most Reverend Bishop, Priest N” (if there is a large number of clergy, the dean can give a sign that There is no need to approach so as not to cause a fuss). At the end of the commemoration, the omophorion is removed from the Bishop. The 1st deacon approaches the altar with a censer. The 1st priest gives the Bishop a star and coverings, which the Bishop, scented with incense, places on the sacred vessels. The 1st deacon pronounces the usual exclamations required at the end of the proskomedia, and at the appointed moment gives and receives the censer from the Bishop. The Protodeacon accepts the paten from the Bishop, and the 1st priest takes the Cup with the words: “May the Lord God remember your bishopric in His Kingdom...” and kisses the Bishop’s hand. The 2nd priest and the rest of the priests carrying the altar Crosses take turns approaching the Bishop, holding the Cross facing the Bishop in an inclined position (the upper end of the Cross to the right). The bishop venerates the cross. The priest kisses the hand of the Bishop and says: “Let your Bishop remember...”. The junior priests accept a copy, a spoon and a plate from the hands of the Bishop. During the proskomedia, the 2nd deacon also prepares a censer for himself.
At the Great Entrance, the order of the procession is as follows: the protege to the priesthood (if there is one), the 3rd deacon with a tray on which the subdeacons place the omophorion and miter, the candle-bearer, the poshnik, the 2nd and 1st deacons with censers, the subdeacons with a dikiri, trikiri and ripida, protodeacon with paten, 1st priest with the Chalice, subdeacon with ripida and the rest of the priests (the eldest in front).
The 3rd deacon with a tray enters the altar through the Royal Doors and stands between the throne and the Royal Doors, facing north. The 1st and 2nd deacons enter the altar and perform incense on the altar. The Bishop approaches the 3rd deacon, kisses the miter, and the deacon kisses the Bishop’s hand. The 1st deacon gives the Bishop a censer at the Royal Doors. The bishop censes the paten three times and gives the censer to the deacon. The Protodeacon quietly remembers the Bishop: “Let your Bishop remember...”. The bishop also commemorates the protodeacon. The archdeacon quietly answers: “Is polla.” The bishop accepts the paten from the protodeacon and performs the first commemoration, after which he enters the altar and places the paten on the throne. The 1st and 2nd deacons perform the incense of the Bishop. At this time, the first priest stands in front of the Royal Doors, facing them. The 1st deacon presents the censer to the Bishop at the Royal Doors. The bishop censes the Chalice, and the 1st priest quietly says: “Let your bishop remember...”. The bishop answers: “Let the priesthood (abbess, etc.) remember yours...”. The 1st priest answers: “Is polla,” gives the Cup to the Bishop, kissing his hand, and retreats to his previous place in the row of priests. After the Bishop has performed the required commemoration, all the priests, saying: “Let your Bishop remember...”, follow the Bishop into the altar, place crosses and other sacred objects on the throne in their proper places. The 1st and 2nd deacons perform the incense of the Bishop when he brings the Holy Chalice into the altar.
In response to the Bishop’s request: “Pray for me, brothers and fellow ministers,” all the priests and deacons answer: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.” The Protodeacon gives the Bishop a miter. At the appointed moment, the 1st deacon hands the Bishop a censer for censing and accepts it. All deacons receive the blessing from the Bishop, and the 1st and 2nd deacons from the High Place perform the incense of the Bishop three times. Litany: “Let us fulfill our prayer...” is pronounced by the protodeacon.
If there are a lot of priests, then it is possible that, according to the dean’s instructions, not all the priests go to the great entrance, but only the first few couples.
At the cry of the protodeacon: “Let us love one another...” all the priests, together with the Bishop, cross themselves three times with the words: “Lord, my fortress, I will love thee...” and the priests move to the left side of the altar. The bishop puts aside the miter (it is accepted by the 2nd deacon and placed on the throne), venerates the sacred vessels, the throne and moves to the right. All the priests take turns kissing the holy paten (with the words “Holy God”), the Holy Chalice (“Holy Mighty One”), the throne (“Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us”) and approach the Bishop. The Bishop says: “Christ is in the midst of us,” to which each priest replies: “And there is, and there will be,” and kisses the Bishop on his right (from himself left) and left shoulders, and then kisses the Bishop’s hand and moves away to the left. Also, all priests share Christ with each other.
When there are a large number of priests, it is better to kiss only the hands of each other during mutual christenings, so as not to delay the rite (the initiative for such a reduction should come from the eldest). The Bishop is always greeted with Christ in full rite.
At the cry: “Doors, doors...” and when the rite of mutual kissing ends, the Bishop stands before the throne, bowing his head, and all the priests take air and blow it over the sacred vessels. Those standing on the right hand of the Bishop hold the air with their right hand, and those standing on the left hand - with their left. The bishop or the priest designated by him reads the Creed. After reading, the Bishop kisses the cross in the air and the 2nd priest or another priest from the left row takes the air and places it on the altar. The 2nd deacon gives the bishop a miter.
At the Eucharistic canon, when the Bishop comes out with the dikiri and trikiri to bless the people, all the priests turn to face the Royal Doors, and the 1st and 2nd priests go out into the space in front of the throne and also face the Royal Doors. After the exclamation: “We thank the Lord,” the Bishop showers candles on the clergy. All priests bow to the Bishop and retreat to their places.
At the exclamation: “Victory song,” all the usual actions with the star are performed by the 1st deacon. At a sign from the Bishop during the singing: “Holy...” the protodeacon removes the miter from the Bishop and hands it over after all the deacons have received the blessing from the Bishop during the singing: “We sing to you.”
After the exclamation: “Exactly about the Most Holy One,” the 3rd deacon takes the censer from the Bishop and censes the altar. The bishop censes three times three times, and at the end of the incense only three times.
While singing: “It is worthy to eat,” the protodeacon venerates the throne, asks for a blessing from the Bishop and proceeds to the pulpit through the Royal Doors. At the end of singing: “Worthy,” the protodeacon exclaims: “And everyone and everything.” The choir sings: “And everyone, and everything.” The bishop proclaims: “Remember first...”.
At the exclamation of the Bishop, the 1st priest immediately makes an exclamation: “First remember, Lord, our Lord (Highly) Most Reverend (remembering the Bishop leading the Liturgy), who grant to Your holy Churches in the world safe, healthy, long-lived, the right to rule the word of Your Truth ” and, putting aside the Missal, approaches the Bishop, receives his blessing, kisses his hand, the icon on the miter, once again bows to the Bishop with the words: “Is polla” and retreats to his place.
If several Bishops are serving, then after the exclamation of the 1st priest, his actions are repeated by the 2nd priest in relation to the 2nd bishop, the 3rd priest in relation to the 3rd bishop, etc.
The protodeacon, standing on the salt, proclaims: “Our Lord (remembers the serving Bishop), who brings these Holy Gifts (enters the altar and points to the Holy Mysteries) to our Lord God” (goes to the High Place, is baptized, bows to the Bishop, proceeds from Altar with the Royal Doors and stands on the pulpit facing the people). About our Great Lord and Father Alexy, His Holiness the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, about His Eminence metropolitans, archbishops and bishops and about all the priestly and monastic ranks, about our God-protected country of Russia, about the authorities, the army and its people, about the peace of the whole world, about the welfare of the Holy Churches of God, about the salvation and help with care and fear of God of those who work and serve, about the healing of those lying in weakness, about the dormition, weakness, blessed memory and forgiveness of sins of all the Orthodox who have fallen asleep, about the salvation of the people who are coming and about them in everyone’s thoughts, and about everyone, and for everything.” The choir sings: “And about everyone, and for everything.” The Protodeacon enters the altar through the Royal Doors, is baptized in the High Place, bows to the Bishop and takes his blessing with the words: “Let your Bishop be remembered...”, “Is polla.”
At the exclamation: “And grant us...” the 2nd deacon on the High Place is baptized, bows to the Bishop and goes to the pulpit to say the litany: “Having remembered all the saints...”. After singing “Our Father...” the Bishop proclaims: “Peace to all” and blesses the people. Before this, the 2nd deacon moves to the right, bows to the Bishop and, after the Bishop has entered the altar, returns to his place.
If a sermon is expected before the communion of the people, then at the litany: “Having remembered all the saints...”, after the Bishop reads a secret prayer, the first priest gives the Bishop an altar cross. The Preacher venerates the Throne and approaches the Bishop, who signs the cross over him, and the preacher at this time crosses himself, kisses the cross and the hand of the Bishop, goes back to his place, crosses himself again and bows to the Bishop. The 1st priest takes the cross from the Bishop and places it on the throne.
After the exclamation: “Peace to all,” the protodeacon removes the miter from the Bishop and places it on the throne.
Communion of clergy
First, the Bishop receives communion.
At the cry of the protodeacon: “Archimandriti, and, archpriests, priests... come,” all the priests from the right side of the altar move to the left and, in order of seniority, approach the throne (without making a prostration, since the prostration was made earlier) with the words : “Behold, I come to the Immortal King and my God. Teach me, (Highly) Most Reverend Master, to the unworthy priest N (pronounce his name clearly and distinctly) the Honest and Holy Body of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ.” The priest crosses himself, kisses the Holy Altar, receives the Holy Body, kissing the hand and left (from himself right) shoulder of the Bishop, with the words “both is and will be,” he moves to the left to the altar and immediately takes communion. After receiving Holy Communion, each priest moves to the right side of the throne. The deacons share Christ with each other and receive communion in the same way as the priests, after them. After the Bishop communes all the priests and deacons with the Holy Body, he communes them with the Holy Blood. The priest receives Holy Communion in the same way as the deacon at the priestly service.
The bishop reads the prayer: “We thank You, Master...” and moves to the right. The rector brings the Bishop a drink, which is prepared by the subdeacons. Other priests divide the Holy Body according to the number of communicants.
The rector should ensure that the required number of Cups, spoons and communion plates are ready.
Communion of the laity
If it is intended to administer communion from several Chalice, then the rector appoints priests to administer communion to the laity.
After the exclamation of the Bishop: “God save your people...”, he censes the Holy Gifts, gives the paten to the protodeacon, then takes the Chalice and says quietly: “Blessed is our God,” then gives the Chalice to the 1st priest. He, having accepted the Chalice and kissed the hand of the Bishop, stands in the Royal Doors and proclaims: “Always, now and ever, and unto ages of ages,” then goes with the Holy Chalice to the altar with the words: “Ascend into heaven...” and places it on the altar. . A candle is placed in front of the Holy Chalice. The 1st priest censes the altar three times, the protodeacon three times and gives the censer to the protodeacon. The protodeacon censes the 1st priest three times. The 1st priest and protodeacon cross themselves, bow to each other, to the Bishop and retreat to their places. At this time, the Bishop, together with the 2nd and 3rd priests, puts together the antimension. The first priest gives the Bishop the Gospel, which he places on the throne. The protodeacon (or newly ordained deacon) pronounces the litany: “Forgive me, accept...”.
At the exclamation: “For You are the sanctification...” the junior priest in a headdress (or newly ordained priest), together with the Bishop, crosses himself once, kisses the throne, at the exclamation of the Bishop: “Let us depart in peace,” bows in response to the Bishop’s blessing and goes off to read prayer behind the pulpit. After the prayer behind the pulpit, the junior priest returns to the altar, kisses the altar and bows to the Bishop.
About the time of wearing headdresses: headdresses are put on for a meeting, taken off for the reading of the Gospel and put on after the reading, taken off during the litany of the catechumens and put on during the prayer behind the pulpit.
After the dismissal of the Liturgy, various rites are possible. All clergy are guided by the instructions either directly of the Bishop, or the dean, or the rector.
Procession.
If a religious procession is planned after the Liturgy, the rector should check its route in advance.
The rector determines the circle of laity who will carry banners, icons and other shrines. They should be given detailed instructions in advance regarding the order of the procession. The movement of the religious procession is led by a person in charge. He carries nothing, walks to the side of the banners and makes sure that the pace of movement does not change. If there are few people, then the person in charge carries the lantern ahead of the procession.
The order of the procession is: a lantern, followed by an altar cross and an icon, followed by banners, followed by artos (if the service is performed on Bright Week), or an icon of a temple or holiday (if it is supposed to be carried to the laity), the clergy, subdeacons, the Bishop, then the choir.
It is advisable for the choir, during the communion of the laity, to move to the center of the church and from there sing the end of the Liturgy. When leaving for the religious procession, the choir lets the clergy and the Bishop pass and follows them.
During the religious procession, four stops are usually made along the sides of the temple (south - east - north - west). At the second stop, according to tradition, the Gospel is read. Consequently, in the altar Gospel that will be brought to the religious procession, it is necessary to lay either the concept that the Bishop indicates, or the concept that was read at Matins.
Usually the Bishop goes with a three-candlestick (if we are talking about Holy Week), the 1st priest with the altar cross, the 2nd priest with the altar Gospel (if the book is heavy, then it can be carried by two priests, who in this case are not in the ranks of the clergy, and move to the center, between the rows of clergy). The 3rd priest and other priests (not necessarily all) can carry icons of a temple, a holiday, or a locally revered image. The protodeacon and 1st deacon go with censers, and the 3rd and 4th deacon with deacon's candles.
It is necessary to prepare a bowl of holy water and sprinkler in advance, and also have a sufficient supply of holy water.
Application:
Instructions for the Regent
Rules for the all-night vigil for the choir
At the meeting, at the cry of the protodeacon: “Wisdom,” the choir sings:
1. “From the east of the sun to the west...” (Ps. 113:3-2);
2. Immediately after this, the choir sings the troparion of the holiday (or the temple, if there is no big holiday). The speed of the singing is such that the Bishop has time to give all the priests the Cross to kiss, venerate the festive image and ascend to the pulpit. If there is any revered shrine in the church and it is expected that the bishop will venerate it, at that moment a troparion is sung to this saint, whose holy relics (or revered image, etc.) are in the church.
You can repeat the troparion twice.
3. When the Bishop ascends to the pulpit, turns around and begins to bless the people, the choir sings: “Tone Despotin.”
4. At the cry of the protodeacon: “Arise,” the choir sings: “Most Reverend (or Most Reverend) Master, bless.”
The choir sings the same answer at the end of Matins and the 1st hour.
After the dismissal of Matins, the following is sung: “Is polla” (short), then many years are sung: “Of the Great Master...” and again: “Is polla” (short).
If the end of Matins was performed not by the Bishop, but by the priest, then the choir sings: “Great Master...” and “Is polla...” (short).
Upon the dismissal of 1 hour and the possible word of the Bishop and other persons, the choir sings:
– troparion or magnification of the holiday (slowly);
– “Confirmation of those who hope in you...”;
– “Is pollla” is big (like after the trio at the Liturgy).
Charter of the Divine Liturgy for the choir
Protodeacon: “Wisdom.” Choir: “From the east of the sun to the west...” (Ps. 112:3-2) (from Easter to the Giving-Off - “Christ is Risen”) and then immediately begins singing without interruption: “It is worthy to eat” (or on the twelve feasts, their after the feast day and at Midsummer - worthy). “Worthy” must be sung slowly, so that the Bishop has time to complete the entrance prayers.
Guideline for the regent: at the end of the entrance prayers, the Bishop venerates the icons of the Savior and the Mother of God, reads a prayer in front of the Royal Doors and puts on a hood. At this point, the singing of “Worthy” must be completed.
The bishop turns around, asks everyone for forgiveness and blesses the people on three sides. The choir sings: “Ton despotin ke archirea imon Kyrie filatte. Is all these despots. Is all these despots. Is polla these despots” (Our Lord and Bishop, Lord, preserve for many years). After this chant, the irmos of the 5th song of the canon of the Vai week is immediately sung: “To Mount Zion...”. According to the Charter, it must be sung only at the Patriarchal service, but according to modern practice, it is also sung at any bishop’s service.
The bishop takes off his hood, mantle, panagia, rosary and cassock. The first pair of deacons takes the blessing on the censer, and the protodeacon exclaims: “Let him rejoice...”. The choir begins to sing: “Let him rejoice...”, voice 7. The singing should end by the time the Bishop begins to put on the miter.
A reference point for the regent. The order of the Bishop's vestments is as follows: saccos, epitrachelion, belt, club, arms, sakkos, omophorion, cross, panagia, (a hair comb is also provided), miter.
Protodeacon: “Let it be enlightened... And forever and ever. Amen". The trio sings: “Tone Despotin.” The whole choir sings: “Is this despot” three times. Further, up to the small entrance, the Liturgy proceeds in the usual manner.
Small entrance: at the cry of the protodeacon: “Wisdom, forgive,” the clergy sings “Come, let us worship.” According to the practice of the ministry of Metropolitan Juvenaly, the clergy finishes singing this chant to the end. The choir immediately after the clergy sings: “Save us, Son of God...” in the same tune (Greek). After the choir, the clergy repeats: “Save us...”. After the clergy, a trio of choir singers or subdeacons (who should sing must be agreed upon before the start of the service) begins to sing: “Is polla these despotas.” The singing must end at the moment when the Bishop begins to burn incense in the choir and people. The entire choir responds to the Bishop’s censing by singing the so-called large “Is poll.” If two choirs sing at the Liturgy, then the right choir responds first, and then the left. After the choir, the clergy sings the big “Is pollla”. Next, the choir sings troparia and kontakia according to the Rules (the regent, before the service, must agree with the rector and the bishop's protodeacon on the number and order of singing troparions and kontakia). The last kontakion on “And Now,” according to tradition, is sung by the clergy in the altar.
The order of singing the Trisagion: the melody of the Trisagion can be either the “Bulgarian chant”, or the “Agios...” chant of the Gethsemane monastery of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra according to the presentation of Archimandrite Matthew (Mormyl), or the “Bishopish”. Any other music must be approved by the precentor who directs the singing of the clergy in the altar.
The choir sings 1 time, the clergy sings 2 times, the choir sings 3 times. In some manuals for regents you can find instructions that the Trisagion must be sung on the same note 3 times. This is inappropriate for the reason that during the third chanting the Bishop must have time to accept the cross from the priest, bow to the clergy, turn around and leave the altar to the pulpit. Therefore, it is better to sing in the same tune as the first two times.
Bishop: “Look from heaven...” and overshadows everyone in four directions with the reading of the Trisagion. The Trisagion is sung by the trio for the 4th time. It is necessary to sing in such a way that for each of the three overshadowings one “Holy...” is sung, and at the overshadowing of the Altar the words: “have mercy on us” are sung. The trio's singing music may be different from the main melody. The choir sings for the 5th time, as for the third time, in the usual chant. The clergy sings for the 6th time. “Glory, And Now” and “Holy Immortal” are sung by the choir. The choir sings for the 7th time.
After reading the Gospel, “Glory to Thee...” must be sung somewhat slower so that the protodeacon has time to bring the Gospel from the pulpit to the Bishop standing on the pulpit. After “Glory to You...” in response to the Bishop’s blessing of the people, the choir sings a short “Is polla.”
At the Greater Litany, after the deacon commemorates the serving Bishop, the clergy in the altar sings three times: “Lord, have mercy.” Immediately after them, “Lord, have mercy,” the choir sings three times (if possible, then in the same Kyiv chant).
Great entrance. There is an opinion that the Great Entrance at a bishop's service takes much longer than at a priest's service. This is only partly true. Some Bishops perform commemoration at the proskomedia for a long time, some do not. It is better for the regent to clarify this issue with the members of the bishop’s retinue before the start of the service.
There are two special features for the choir at the great entrance. The first is that “Amen” after the Cherubic Song is sung twice: the first time after the Bishop commemorates the Patriarch and concelebrating bishops (must be sung on the same note), and the second time after “you and all...” - according to the notes. After finishing the singing: “Yako da Tsar”, immediately in response to the Bishop’s overshadowing of the people, the choir responds with a short “Is polla”.
If a priestly consecration is intended, then the above short “Is polla” is canceled and transferred to the end of the consecration (after the laying of sacred vestments on the protege with the singing: “Axios”).
Singing during the rites of priestly and deaconal ordination:
For the choir, the ranks of these ordinations are the same in structure. The only difference is in the time of the Sacrament. The priestly ordination takes place after the Great Entrance, and the diaconal ordination after the Eucharistic Canon, after the exclamation: “And let there be mercies...”.
After the exclamation: “Command, Most Reverend Master,” the clergy sings the troparia: “Holy Martyrs,” “Glory to Thee, O Christ God,” “Rejoice Isaiah.” Each troparion, after being sung by the clergy, is sung by the choir (in the same key). After the clergy sing “Lord, have mercy” three times, the choir sings “Kyrie eleison” three times. For each exclamation of the Bishop: “Axios,” the clergy sings the same word three times, and then, in the same key, the choir. After the end of the Sacrament of Ordination, the Bishop overshadows the people with trikiriy and dikiriy. The choir sings: “Is polla...” (short).
After singing at the Eucharistic canon: “It is worthy to eat,” the protodeacon proclaims: “And everyone, and everything.” The choir sings: “And everyone, and everything”
Bishop: “Remember first, Lord...”. 1st priest (immediately, without a break for singing): “First remember, Lord...”. The protodeacon (also immediately) reads a long petition: “The Lord... who offers... both for everyone and for everything.” The choir sings: “And about everyone, and for everything.”
If diaconal ordination is expected, then after the last “Axios” the choir responds to the Bishop’s blessing with a short: “Is polla.”
The time of communion for the clergy is filled either with a sermon by the priest, or with the singing of the choir, perhaps with the people.
After the communion of the laity, the Bishop: “God save...”. Chorus: “Is polla” (short) and further: “I see the light...”.
After the dismissal performed by the Bishop, the choir sings the short “Is polla”, then: “The Great Master... (with the commemoration of the Patriarch, the ruling and serving Bishops)” and further: “Is polla” (short).
If a procession of the cross is expected after the Liturgy, then it is better for the choir to move to the middle of the church during the communion of the laity, so that the situation does not arise that the clergy goes to the procession, and the choir, pushed aside by the people, remains in the church. If there are few people in the temple, then this instruction may not be followed.
As usual, we start with the verb:
Z
The psalmist speaks in a meek and equal voice, with quietness, and with all attention and with the fear of God, in the hearing of all: A min.
C O heavenly ar, Comforter, True Soul, Who is everywhere and fulfills everything, the treasure of good things, and the Giver of life, come and dwell in us, and cleanse us from all filth, and save us, O Blessed One, our soul.
WITH Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy and Immortal, have mercy on us (three times, and three bows).
WITH Lava to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages, amen.
P Most Holy Trinity, have mercy on us. Lord, cleanse our sins. Master, forgive our iniquities. Saints, visit and heal our infirmities, for Thy name's sake.
G Lord have mercy (three times).
WITH Lava to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages, amen.
ABOUT Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, as in heaven and on earth, give us our daily bread this day, and forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors, and do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
G Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us. A min.
G Lord have mercy, 12. Glory, even now.
P come, let us worship our God the King (bow).
P Come, let us worship Christ, the King and our God (bow).
P Come, let us bow and fall before the Lord Jesus Christ himself, the King and our God (bow).
Also, Psalm 103.
B bless the Lord my soul. Lord my God, you are greatly exalted. In confession and in the commanded party, clothe yourself. Dress yourself in light like a robe, piercing the sky like skin. Covering and exceeding His waters, placing the clouds for His ascent. Walking on the wing of the wind. The angels create their spirits, and the servants scorch their fire. Having founded the earth on His firmament, He will not bow forever. The abyss is like its robe. There will be water on the mountains. They will flee from Your rebuke, and they will be afraid of the voice of Your thunder. The mountains rise and the fields descend, into a place you have founded for them. Set a limit, they will not pass it, they will turn lower to cover the earth. Sending springs into the wilds, waters will flow through the mountains. All the animals in the village are soldered. The onagers are waiting for their thirst. The birds of the sky will take root in you, and from the midst of the stones they will give a voice. Having watered the mountains from Your highest ones, the earth will be satisfied with the fruit of Your works. Vegetating pasture for cattle, and grass for the service of man. Lime bread from the ground, and wine gladdens a man's heart; anoint his face with oil. And bread will strengthen a person’s heart. The trees of Poland will be satisfied; you have planted the cedars of Lebanon. That's where the birds will nest; Erodian's dwelling possesses them. The mountains are high with trees, the stone is a refuge for the hare. You created the moon in time, the sun knew its west. Put down the darkness and there will be night, and all the animals of the oak forest will pass through it. Skimney roaringly delight, and ask God for food for yourself. The sun rises, and they gather together and lie down in their beds. A man will go out to his work, and to his work until the evening. Because Your works, Lord, have been magnified, You have done all things with wisdom. The earth is filled with Your creation. This sea is great and spacious, there are reptiles, they are innumerable, the small animals are with the great. The ships sail there, this serpent, who created it, swears at him. Everyone is looking to You, to give them food at a good time. If I give it to you, they will collect it. I will open Your hand, and all things will be filled with goodness. I will turn Your face away; they will rebel. Take away their spirits, and they will disappear and return to their dust. Send forth Your spirit and they will be created, and you will renew the face of the earth. Be the glory of the Lord forever; the Lord will rejoice in His deeds. Looking at the earth and making it shake. Touching the mountains and they will rise. I will sing to the Lord in my belly, I will sing to my God until I am. May he enjoy my conversation, and I rejoice in the Lord. Sinners will die from the earth, and wicked women, as if they would not exist. Bless the Lord my soul.
At the end of the psalm the chanting died down: I Because Your works have been magnified, O Lord, You have done all things with wisdom.
The same, Slava, and now. A (three and bows three).
G Lord have mercy (12), Glory, even now. Kathisma ordinary.
Whenever there is little vespers, and according to the psalm we say: Glory, even now. A Lleluia, Alleluia, glory to You, O God (three times). G Lord have mercy (three times). Glory, even now.
Also Psalm 140.
G Lord, I cry to You, hear me. Hear the voice of my prayer when I cry to You. Let my prayer be corrected, like incense before You, the lifting of my hand: the evening sacrifice. Lord, place a guard over my mouth, and a guard over my mouth. Do not turn my heart into words of wickedness, and do not bear the guilt of sins. With men who commit iniquity, I have no regard for their chosen ones. The righteous will show me with mercy and reprove me. Let not the oil of the sinner anoint my head. For my prayer is also in their favor. The victims were at the stone of their judge. My words will be heard, as if it were possible, as if the thickness of the earth had sagged on the earth, their bones crumbled in hell. For my eyes are in You, Lord, Lord, I trust in You, do not take away my soul. Save me from the snares that they have made, and from the temptation of those who practice iniquity. Sinners will fall into their darkness; I am the only one who will go beyond.
Psalm 141. G I cried out to the Lord with my voice, I prayed with my voice to the Lord. I will pour out my prayer before Him, and I will declare my sorrow before Him. My spirit always disappears, and You know my paths. On this path, I walked along it, hiding the net for me. Looking at the right hand and glances, and the sky knowing me. Fleeing from me perished, and no one sought my soul. I cry to You, Lord, saying: You are my hope, You are my part in the land of the living. Hear my prayer, as if I have greatly humbled myself. Deliver me from those who persecute me, for you have become stronger than me. Bring my soul out of prison, to confess to Your name. The righteous are waiting for me, until now reward me.
Psalm 129. AND From the depths I cry to You, Lord, Lord, hear my voice. You will be Your ears, listening to the voice of my prayer. If you see iniquity, Lord, Lord, whoever will stand, for from You there is cleansing. For Your name, Lord, I have endured You; my soul has endured in Your word; my soul has trusted in the Lord. From the watch of the morning until the night, from the watch of the morning, let Israel trust in the Lord. For there is mercy from the Lord, and great deliverance from Him: and He will deliver Israel from all their iniquities.
Psalm 116. X Blame the Lord, all nations, praise Him, all people. For His mercy is established upon us, and the truth of the Lord endures forever.
Also, stichera of the present day according to the charter. Therefore, this verse is the creation of the holy martyr Anfinogenes.
WITH the quiet breath, the holy glory, the immortal Father in heaven, the blessed one, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who came to the west of the sun, having seen the evening light, we sing to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, God. Thou art worthy at all times, never to be the voice of the reverend, the Son of God, giving life to the whole world: for his sake the whole world glorifies Thee.
Also, daytime prokinnas. On Saturday evening the prokeimenon: G The Lord reigns, clothed in grace.
Verse one. ABOUT The Lord was full of strength, and girded himself.
Verse in the mountains. AND for establish the universe, even if it does not move.
Verse three. D It is Thy due, holy things, O Lord, unto the length of the days.
Weekly evening : WITH Now bless the Lord, all servants of the Lord.
Poem. WITH standing in the temple of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God.
Monday evening: G The Lord will hear me when I call on Him.
Poem. IN I cried out somewhere, and the God of my righteousness heard me.
Tuesday evening: M Thy mercy, O Lord, will marry me all the days of my life.
Poem. G The Lord feeds me, and nothing will deprive me.
Wednesday evening: B O O God, in Thy name save me, and in Thy power judge me.
Poem . B O God, hear my prayer, inspire the words of my mouth.
On Thursday evening:P My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
Poem. IN My eyes have looked to the mountains, but from here my help will come.
On Friday evening: B God, You are my protector, and Your mercy will precede me.
Poem. AND Take me away from my enemies, O God, and deliver me from those who rise up against me.
Whenever there is no troparion for the saint, then we sing Alleluia in tone 6. And these verses are spoken:
Monday evening: G Lord, do not rebuke me with Your wrath, nor show me with Your anger.
Tuesday and Thursday evening: IN exalt the Lord our God, and bow down at His foot, for He is holy.
Wednesday evening: IN Their messages went out to the whole earth, and their words to the ends of the world.
If Saturday is for the repose, we sing: A lleluia, alleluia, alleluia, on voice 8.
Poem. B I am chosen and accepted by the Lord.
Poem. P their memory from generation to generation.
Poem . D their ears will be in good places.
And another verse. A Hallelujah, Alleluia, Alleluia.
According to the prokeme, or the litany, or the alleluia, the psalm says: WITH Like Lord, this evening we will be preserved without sin (bow). Blessed are you, Lord God, our father (bow), and praised and glorified is Your name forever, Amen (bow). Lord, Thy mercy be upon us, as we trust in Thee. Blessed art thou, Lord, teach us by thy justification; Blessed art thou, O Lord, enlighten us with Thy justification; Blessed are you, Saints, enlighten us with Your justification. Lord, Your mercy endures forever, and do not despise the work of Your hand. Praise is due to you, singing is due to you. Glory befits you, Father and Son and Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages, amen.
Also litany. And on the poem there are stichera, according to the regulations.
Also, the prayer of Saint Simeon the God-Receiver: N Now do You let Your servant go, Master, according to Your word in peace, for my eyes have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared before the face of all people, a light revealed by the tongue, and the glory of Your people Israel.
Is the same. Trisagion, and ABOUT Our dear. Jesus' prayer.A min.
Troparion according to the charter. Let us say the litany. And let go.
Whenever there is fasting, or whenever we sing Alleluia, we say this troparion, tone 4.
B O little Virgin Mary, rejoice, joyful Mary, the Lord is with you, blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, for you gave birth to Christ the Savior, the Redeemer of our souls ( bow to earth ).
Glory. TO Lord of Christ, we pray to you: remember us all, that we may get rid of our iniquities. Grace has been given to you, pray for us (bow to the ground).
And now. M Pray for us, holy apostles, prophets, and martyrs, and all the saints, that we may be delivered from troubles and sorrows, for you are warm representatives of all the riches to the Savior (bow to the ground).
Also, 6 gardened.P We take refuge in Your mercy, Virgin Mary, do not despise our prayers in sorrow. But deliver us from troubles, one Pure and Blessed One (no bow).
G Lord have mercy (40), in a meek and quiet voice. G God bless.
Jesus' prayer. A min.
N Heavenly King, strengthen our power, establish our faith, tame the tongues, pacify the world, and preserve this holy temple well, and make our fathers and brothers who have gone before, in shelters with the righteous. And in the Orthodox faith and in repentance, Lord, accept and have mercy on us, for we are Good and Lover of Mankind.
Is the same, G Lord have mercy ,three times.Glory, even now.
H the most natural cherub, and the most glorious truly seraphim, who without corruption gave birth to God the Word, the real Mother of God we magnify Thee (bow to the ground).
AND God bless me, father.
Z and the prayers of our holy fathers, Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us. A min.
And we say the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian, making prostrations to the ground.
G Lord and Master of my belly, the spirit of despondency, neglect, love of money and idle talk, drive away from me (great bow).
D wow, chastity, humility, patience and love, grant me to Your servant (great bow).
E oh, Lord the King, grant me to see my sins, and not to condemn my brother, for blessed art thou forever, amen (great bow).
And other bows (12), saying in thisbe: G Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner (bow twice); B O God, be merciful to me, a sinner (bow). B O God, cleanse my sins and have mercy on me (bow). WITH Bless me, Lord, have mercy (bow). B Beyond the number of sinners, Lord, forgive me (bow). And again, having finished bowing, we say the entire prayer written above: G Lord and Master of my belly (one great bow).
And according to this, Trisagion, and ABOUT Our dear. G Lord have mercy (12). Glory, even now. G Lord have mercy (twice) G God bless. And a seven-day vacation.
G Lord have mercy (three times).And the originalbows.
ABOUT THE ANCIENT SERVICE I
Let us imagine the Patriarchal service, the Bishop's service, as it is performed now, and as it was performed in ancient times.
In the modern rite, one immediately notices the great pomp and protrusion of the figure of the Bishop, which even led to the fact that some shunned the Orthodox service as some kind of theatricality, like a service where the personality of the Bishop, attention to him, seemed to obscure the purpose of the service - prayer. Father Georgy Florovsky wrote in “Paths of Russian Theology” that it seems that one of the main motives for the reform of Patriarch Nikon was that there should be greater pomp and festivity in the service, in contrast to greater simplicity and asceticism, as was the case in ancient times. But pomp is a manifestation of sincerity, and asceticism and simplicity are a manifestation of spirituality.
Here is the bishop's service. Now how is it done?
Before the Bishop arrives, the hours are calculated in advance so as not to burden the Bishop with the workload. This usually happens at 9 or 10 o’clock, because there is a practice of celebrating early and late Liturgies, which also did not exist in ancient times. The Liturgy was one, it began very early, and perhaps now the celebration of two Liturgies is explained by the fact that there are a lot of people, but not so many churches, and therefore it is very difficult for everyone to attend one Liturgy. Although there is another explanation: even before the revolution, a commoner came to the early one, and a gentleman to the late one, who got up later. Accordingly, the earlier one was more modest, and the later one was more pompous.
According to the old order, this is the picture.
Let’s say the Metropolitan is performing a service. Procession from the house next to the church: Cross, priests in surplices walk to the church to the sound of bells at half past six in the morning. At half past seven the Bishop entered the church and began reading the entrance prayers. Now at 9-10 o'clock they meet the Bishop at the church. Immediately they vest and the Liturgy begins immediately. Hours are deducted in advance.
Here, the Bishop entered the church, read the entrance prayers, entered the altar and the Midnight Office began, which has already been completely forgotten in our parish churches - only in monasteries, and then except on Sundays and holidays, is the Midnight Office preserved. Naturally, there can be no talk of any midnight office at the Bishop’s service now. She has long been forgotten. By the way, the reading style was slower, it was not so much a drawl, but simply so loud and drawn-out, sing-song. It is interesting that the acoustics in the old churches were so excellent that every word in the huge cathedral could be heard at every point. In churches of the 19th century, their enormity led to the fact that, due to ill-conceived acoustics, you could only hear what was being read in a certain area. And, if it still hides on the wing, in the corner and mutters patter, then it is natural that it is all in vain.
The Midnight Office was read, at the end there is the rite of forgiveness, as you know, and after the Midnight Office the Bishop came out of the altar to the pulpit and his vestments began.
Regarding the vestments. This is how it happens now. Two deacons stand on the pulpit, one says: “Let us pray to the Lord, Lord, have mercy,” the other reads a special prayer for each element of the vestment. The choir sings only one song: “Let your soul rejoice in the Lord, for I have put on the robe of salvation...” etc.
According to the ancient rite, this is not so. What the deacon is singing now is covered by the singing and is therefore hard to hear by the people. The choir sang these prayers according to the old rite. The texts of these prayers for the vestments of the Bishop are deeply meaningful; they were heard by all those praying in the church. And here the deacon is reading, and no matter how loudly he reads, the choir still fills with their singing. There is, in my opinion, a loss. Then, the current service - it is like that - mosaic. When the priests, each as he can and wants, make exclamations, when the choir sings one chant with the Znamenny chant, another with the Kiev chant, a third with the chant of Optina Pustyn, etc. As a result, the integrity is broken, and the service becomes mosaic. Some chants are quiet, others are thunderous - these are the changes that relax the spirit. But in the old rank, everything was intact, everything was clear and loud. This made it possible to keep those praying in the temple in the same tone.
And more features that I noted recently at the ancient service. The vested bishop stands at the pulpit and the hours are read: 3, 6 and 9 o'clock. We finished hours, then fine arts. The fine arts are over, the dismissal is done and then the senior deacon proclaims, all this, of course, in a chant. Each reading has its own style: the Six Psalms are read in one style, the parimies in another, the teachings in a third, the Apostle also, i.e. everything was not leveled, but all these facets were preserved, and when you hear the reading of the Apostles in this style, then somehow the problem of translation immediately disappears with such a high-quality performance.
So, we have finished the visual arts and need to start the Liturgy. The senior deacon proclaims: “Bishops, priests and deacons, come out.” This is done three times, at the second invitation - the royal doors are opened, at the third - this entire mass of concelebrating clergy comes out of the Altar and stands near the senior bishop in the pulpit. It is interesting that the small entrance at the Liturgy, when “Blessedness” is sung, reminding us of Christ’s appearance in public preaching, is performed through the entire church.
A very beautiful chant “Holy God” in Greek and the Bishop, as you know, comes out with the trikyrius and dikiriy to the pulpit and says: “Look from Heaven, O God, and see and visit these grapes...”, and overshadows with the trikyriy and dikiriy people.
According to the old order, this happens three times: in the center, on the right and on the left with the same words.
So I noticed that the apostle was read not by a deacon, but by a visiting priest, i.e. The old rank, despite its apparent regimentation and organization, still has a number of such nuances. Let’s say, it would be unusual for us to see that suddenly one of the 20 priests serving the bishop would suddenly begin to read the Apostle when there are five deacons at the service. But then a priest came out, apparently that he reads very well, a newcomer, they gave him the opportunity to read the Apostle. Or, let’s say, many years for a priest to shout to the Bishop, when there are five deacons standing here, we are used to only deacons shouting. Many years were proclaimed by one of the serving priests. Moreover, they sing “many years” three times. The rhythm in the old rite is so harmonious, i.e. there is not a single such arbitrary, subjective, sloppy, imprecise movement. Let’s say they sing “many years” when they make the sign of the Cross. They sang “many years” once, twice, and on the third the priest made the sign of the Cross. Not arbitrarily, when I wanted to, but for the third time, and in the end such harmony is built, such a rhythm, a kind of complete picture. Just as there is no extra stroke in the picture, so here too, there is such rhythm and harmony in everything.
Each day. Two swings, the third crosswise with a bow. There is no confusion, when one bows deeply, the other only bows his head - the result is disharmony. This weakens attention and distracts the person praying, while the rhythm, on the contrary, mobilizes attention.
After the great entrance, the royal doors remain open, only the curtain is drawn. When the Bishop says “Peace to all,” or at the Eucharistic canon “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,” the curtain is drawn, right up to the removal of the Chalice for Communion. It is interesting that according to the usual rite, all serving priests receive communion. Deacons are freer. If a deacon has prepared, then he receives communion, alone for sure; the rest can participate in the service without receiving communion.
According to the ancient rite, it was allowed that priests who had not specially prepared, who had not read a special rule, could participate in the Liturgy without receiving communion, but the first deacon, the serving priest who performed the proskomedia, and the bishop received communion. These are the features.
After the Liturgy there was a prayer service to the All-Merciful Savior. Again, usually the prayer service is crumpled, they think that the Liturgy was so extensive. According to the ancient rite, a complete prayer service is performed just as slowly and rhythmically. The chants at the prayer service “Deliver Thy servants from troubles...” were sung by the clergy in the altar, after each song of the canon. The canon itself is read by the reader in the middle. The clergy goes to the middle of the temple after the sixth song, when the blessing of water takes place.
At the blessing of water, when the troparion “Save, O Lord, Thy people” is sung, when the Cross is immersed, the banners bend down, then rise when the choir is already singing, and so on three times
Here are just some of the features.
I repeat once again: there is a rhythm to the church service, there should be no random moments that violate the integrity, everything should be integral, starting from the architecture, the painting of the temple, icons, singing, the clothes of those present, the clothes of the clergy. The ancient service did not know bright vestments; everything was somehow subdued.
Reading should be without your emotions, subjective creativity, and precisely in this canonical direction and style. The worshipers cross themselves at the same time. All these nuances ultimately add up to such a unique picture, which allows one to attend the divine service with a greater degree of attention and, accordingly, the fruit of prayer is more abundant.
At the end of the service, it usually happens with us: the Bishop served, delivered a sermon and then leaves, and the clergy gives the Cross to the people. At the ancient service, everyone remains until the end, no one leaves until everyone venerates the Cross. After this, the initial bows are performed, and this is where the service ends.
* This is the text of my story to parishioners after attending the Bishop’s service at the Intercession Cathedral at the Rogozhskoye cemetery
APPENDIX 5
From the series Ancient Liturgical Traditions.
Conversation with Abbot Kirill in the Orthodox cafe "Yamskoye Pole"
about the celebration of the Liturgy according to the old rite.
Today we have a very important and responsible conversation about the main Divine service in the Orthodox Church - about the Divine Liturgy, mass, as the common people say.
Public service - this is how the word “Liturgy” is translated. My task is not easy, I don’t know what kind of audience is present here, whether everyone came specifically to the meeting on this topic. I would like to focus on comparing the text of the rite of the Liturgy, officially accepted and celebrated everywhere, with the ancient Russian, as we say, rite of the Liturgy, i.e. with what happened in Rus' from Baptism under Prince Vladimir to the reforms of Patriarch Nikon in the middle of the seventeenth century. This is the Old Russian, pre-Nikon rite of the Liturgy, which has been practiced in our Church of St. Nicholas on Bersenevka since the first day of the opening of the temple at the end of 1991.
Of course, this topic is to some extent special, to be sure, because we will talk largely about what is not visible to the eye of the person praying in the temple. I would like to show you all the significance and beauty of our ancient liturgical liturgical heritage, to encourage you to think about what a precious heritage we have and to remove any confusion about this. The general attitude towards our ancient Russian heritage, the pre-reform liturgical structure, officially sounds like “equally salutary and equal.” Both the current common usage and what we had before the reform of Patriarch Nikon in the middle of the seventeenth century are recognized as equally honest and equally salutary. But we know that in history there was a different attitude; at one time all this was defamed and rejected. Gradually, there was a process of revising this critical, radically negative attitude. Today we have what we have, namely: the oaths at the Council of 1971 were lifted. We can also mention the decision of the Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church in 1999, which stated that the Church values our ancient heritage, calls for us to treat it with understanding, welcomes the use of individual ancient rites in our liturgical practice. Of course, the force of inertia is very great and for many who encounter this for the first time, some kind of barrier arises, misunderstanding, bewilderment. As a rule, people who have crossed the threshold of our church, not all of them, of course, having encountered something unusual, think that this is an “Old Believer” church; people immediately associate it with a schism. According to its legal status, our church belongs to the Moscow Patriarchate, but the liturgical structure is ancient. Let me remind you that the Council is the highest body of the Orthodox Church. You can refer as much as you like to some authoritative statements, even canonized saints, but the Council is the highest body that draws the line. And so the Council decided: to remove the oaths, to recognize both as equally salutary and equally honorable, and to impute, “as if they had not happened,” all derogatory expressions in relation to our church antiquity. These are the notes that need to be made before we move on to the main topic.
As last time, when we talked about the rite of the all-night vigil, and even earlier about the church community, I think it would be interesting and advisable to involve members of our community, who are present here today in the number of about ten people, so that they complement my story their observations, shared their experience of participating in Divine services according to the ancient rite, primarily at the Divine Liturgy.
The celebration of the Liturgy is preceded by a long all-night vigil. The church rules say that a priest who celebrates the Liturgy without first celebrating the evening service on the eve of the evening service sins mortally. It is clear that for an ordinary layman, for one who receives communion, it is obligatory to attend the evening service on the eve of the Liturgy. So, the long all-night vigil that we talked about last time is over. What next? And then comes the preparation. I will talk about how everything is done in our temple.
In our church, such a semi-monastic way of life has developed, not only in the liturgical plan, but in general in our everyday life, even in the appearance of the parishioners. We have eighteen novices who would subsequently like to take monastic vows and serve God in the monastic rank. Some of them live in the parish. In total, about twenty people live with us, incl. several students from Ukraine who study at St. Tikhon's Theological University. We are making general preparations for communion for those who live in the church and parishioners who have the opportunity to spend the night here. So, at 22-30 we gather in order to read the rule laid down for those receiving communion. These are the usual canons that you know about, this is also the Akathist to the Mother of God. There is such a feature of the ancient rite - the so-called sacramental hours. The sacrament hours are the ordinary hours that are read before the Liturgy. The 3rd and 6th hours are as usual, and according to the ancient rite the 9th hour is also read in the morning.
The sacramental clock has the same content as the ordinary clock; it is one of the elements of the daily liturgical circle. In ancient times they were read separately. For example, the 3rd hour in the east corresponded to our 9th hour in the morning, the 6th hour - 12 o'clock, and the 9th hour - approximately 15 o'clock. In Georgia, Patriarch Ilia introduced such an institution several years ago - all believers in Georgia at certain hours, at the sound of a bell, take out special manuals and read several prayers, several psalms, and so on 7 times a day. Seven is a number often found in Scripture; it is a symbol of fullness, completeness. The psalmist David says that seven times a day I praise the Lord, seven times a day. So, in ancient times, the first Christians actually gathered for prayer several times a day. Then, over time, due to obvious difficulties, all these sequences of the daily circle were divided into two parts: morning and evening. You come to any church and see the schedule: morning service and evening service. In Rus', which was a large monastery, the daily cycle of divine services was performed not only in monasteries, but also in ordinary parish churches. Foreigners coming to Rus' were amazed at the piety of the Russian people. So, for example, Archdeacon Pavel of Alepsky, son of Patriarch Macarius of Antioch, exclaimed: “These Russians must have cast iron legs!” They were surprised at the prolonged standing of Russians, including children, at the Divine service. Very interesting about Fr. Paul's description of a trip to Muscovy in the middle of the 17th century. His father, Patriarch Macarius, to whom he turned with his impressions and emotions, told him that they too had once been like this, before the Turkish conquest. Then, due to difficult circumstances, all this was lost. When, at the end of the 19th century, Old Believer bishops visited the east, they were received by the Patriarch of Jerusalem and asked very kindly: “How do you find our Divine Services?” They answered diplomatically: “We were impressed, we paid attention...” The Patriarch continued: “You probably noticed some omissions, shortcomings?” The Old Believers carefully responded to this by saying that there is some difference between us. The Patriarch said: “Well, whatever you want, we are striving to at least preserve the main thing, having been under Turkish domination for a century now.” Much can be said about what Christians experienced while under the Turkish yoke: it was forbidden to ring bells, build temples higher than mosques, etc. By the way, there is a prediction that the Church of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople will again be owned by the Orthodox. Recently, a priest I know said that they were going to take measures to ensure that Hagia Sophia again became an Orthodox functioning church. I remember talking with the priest in Karlovy Vary. I amazed him when I briefly told him about what happened among the Orthodox in former times. “What we saw with you,” I said, “This is, approximately, what we call the Eucharistic canon - the core of the Liturgy, when the consecration of the Gifts - bread and wine - is actually performed.” Miraculously, by the Holy Spirit they are transformed, transformed into the True Body and True Blood of Christ. Yes, Catholic masses on holidays are more extensive on Sundays. For example, the Creed “I Believe” is read only on Sundays. The usual ordinary Mass, everyday, is truncated to the limit. So, about the sacramental hours. We know their usual contents. Let's say, at the third hour, Psalm 50, “God have mercy on me,” is read, at the sixth hour, Psalm 90, “Alive in Help,” is read... But the troparia and kontakia have a different content, namely, they are devoted to the theme of communion. What is their meaning? The fathers may correct me, I feel somewhat constrained in their presence, since they have extensive experience in celebrating the Liturgy, they are Old Believer priests. Somewhere my story may not be complete or accurate, and I will ask them to correct and supplement me later. So, the sacrament clock. Why, it would seem, a repetition, because in the morning the same thing is read? This is because, as I realized for myself, the priest in the morning, performing the Liturgy, at the time when the hours are being read, being busy performing sacred acts in the altar, which we will talk about a little later, may not be entirely attentive.
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