Divine service. Divine services by the laity

From the editor: Hegumen Kirill (Sakharov) has experience in celebrating the Liturgy not only according to the old, pre-Nikon rite. Being a resident of the Danilov Monastery, for many years he served the Liturgy there according to the new rite. In the church of St. Nicholas on Bersenevka (ROC), where he serves as rector, divine services are performed only according to the old rite.

At first glance, the difference is small. We have already cited the main differences in the article "", published in the section "". But it turns out that over the 350 years that have passed since the split of the Russian Church, not just a difference in texts and rituals has accumulated. Father Kirill, having the opportunity to compare the two rites, says that the celebration of the Liturgy according to the ancient rite, meticulous and imbued with a repentant spirit, is a great work. Serving in the new way, he says, is much easier.

Attitude to the pre-Nikon rite of the Liturgy

The main service in the Orthodox Church is the Divine Liturgy, mass, as the common people say. "Public service" - this is how the word "Liturgy" is translated. I want to focus on comparing the text of the rite of the Liturgy, officially adopted in the Russian Orthodox Church and now performed everywhere, with the Old Russian, that is, with what was in Rus' from Baptism under Prince Vladimir to the reforms of Patriarch Nikon in the middle of the 17th century. This ancient Russian, pre-Nikon rite of the Liturgy has been practiced in our church of St. Nicholas on Bersenevka from the first day of its opening (end of 1991).

Of course, this topic is somewhat special, because it will be largely about what is not visible to the eye of the worshiper in the temple. I would like to show the full significance and beauty of our ancient liturgical liturgical rite, encourage us to think about what a precious heritage we have, and remove possible confusion. Now in the Russian Orthodox Church, the attitude towards the ancient Russian heritage, the pre-reform liturgical way, officially sounds like “equilibrium and equal honor”. That is, both the current commonly used, and what was before the reform of Patriarch Nikon in the middle of the 17th century, are recognized as equally honorable and equally salvific.

But we know that there was another attitude in history, when all this was defamed and rejected. Gradually there was a process of revising such a critical, radically negative attitude. Today we have the following: at the Council of 1971, oaths to the old rite were lifted; One 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 understanding it, and welcomes the use of certain ancient rites in our liturgical practice.

Preparation for the Liturgy begins in the evening

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 prior celebration on the eve of the evening service sins mortally. It is clear that for the ordinary layman, especially for those who take communion, it is obligatory to attend the evening service on the eve of the Liturgy.

A semi-monastic way of life has developed in our church, not only in the liturgical plan, but also in everyday life, even in the appearance of the parishioners. We are getting ready for communion. At half past ten in the evening we begin to read the rule laid down for those who take communion. These are ordinary canons and communion hours: such is the peculiarity of the ancient rite.

According to the ancient order, in addition to the third and sixth hours, the ninth hour is also read before the Liturgy. The communion hours have the same content as ordinary hours - this is one of the elements of the daily liturgical cycle. In ancient times they were read separately. For example, 3 o'clock in the East corresponded to our 9 o'clock in the morning, 6 o'clock to 12 o'clock, and 9 o'clock to about 15 o'clock.

So, about sacrament hours. We know their usual content. For example, at the third hour, the 50th psalm “God have mercy on me” is read, at the sixth hour, the 90th psalm “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? Why, it would seem, a repetition, because in the morning the same thing is read in the temple? This is because, as I understood for myself, that a priest in the morning, celebrating the Liturgy, at the time when the hours are read, being busy performing the proskomidia in the altar, may not be entirely attentive. The sacrament hours set up both the priest and those praying for a meeting with the Living Christ at the Divine Liturgy. The late Metropolitan Anthony (Blum) has this expression: at the All-Night Vigil we serve God, and at the Liturgy the Lord serves us, teaching His Most Pure Body and Blood as True Drink and True Food, as a pledge of eternal life, a pledge of immortality. The communion hours end with a Mass, the Apostle and the Gospel. This is the preparation from the evening.

In ancient times, they gathered for prayer several times a day

In Georgia, Patriarch Ilia introduced the following rule a few years ago: at certain hours, all believing Georgia, by the sound of the bell, takes out special manuals and reads several prayers, several psalms, and so on 7 times a day. Seven is a number often found in Scripture, it is a symbol of completeness, completeness. The psalmist David says that "seven times a day I praise the Lord."

In ancient times, true believers gathered to pray several times a day. Subsequently, due to obvious difficulties, all these sequences of the daily circle were divided into two parts: morning and evening. You come to any temple and see the schedule: morning worship and evening worship.

In Rus', which was a large monastery, a full 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. Very interesting is the description of a journey to Muscovy in the middle of the 17th century by Archdeacon Paul of Aleppo, son of Patriarch Macarius of Antioch. They marveled at the long standing of Russians, including children, at Divine services. Archdeacon Pavel exclaimed: “Those Russians must have iron legs!” His father, Patriarch Macarius, to whom he addressed with his impressions and emotions, said that they once were like that, before the Turkish conquest. Then, due to straitened circumstances, much was lost.

When, at the end of the 19th century, the Old Believer bishops visited the East, they were received by the Patriarch of Jerusalem and very kindly asked: “And how do you find our Divine Service?” They answered diplomatically: “We got inspired, paid attention…” The patriarch continued: “You must have noticed some omissions, shortcomings?” The Old Believers carefully answered that there was some difference between us. The patriarch said: "Well, whatever you want, we are striving to preserve at least the main thing, being under Turkish rule for a century." 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.

I remember talking to a priest in Karlovy Vary. He was amazed when I briefly told him about what happened among the Orthodox in former times. “What we saw with you,” I said, “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.” They are miraculously transformed by the Holy Spirit, transformed into the True Body and True Blood of Christ. Yes, Catholic masses on holidays, Sundays are more lengthy. Let's say they read the Creed only on Sundays. The usual ordinary mass, everyday, truncated to the limit.

Follow-up to Holy Communion

In the morning, at 5.40, those who take communion gather to read the following for Holy Communion. This may not necessarily be in the temple, in the summer, for example, we gather in the gazebo. There you can sit down on a bench, there is no need to demand: fall, but stand up. No, there should be a sparing approach, taking into account the infirmities of a person. So, in the morning we are going to read the Following to Holy Communion - this is also familiar to us, in any prayer book (New Ritual - approx. ed.) is contained.

What's the difference here? First of all, in more prayers. According to the usual order, these are eleven prayers, in the ancient way - eighteen. All long prayers are excluded, omitted as a result of the reform, removed from the volume of preparation for Communion. When you read these prayers, you are amazed at the depth of their content, permeated with repentance, they reveal the whole depth of the fall of man. In general, this is a property of the old rite - a great permeation with repentant feeling. For some reason, we have such an idea that the celebration should be loud, bright, cheerful. Yes, it is joy, but peaceful, calm, luminous. It is spiritual, first of all: not spiritual, but spiritual.

I noticed that there is constant editing in the prayer books published by the Patriarchate. For example, in the canon to the Guardian Angel in the final prayer, some words are omitted, such as "stinking dog." That is, it jars us, it is unintelligent, it seems to be too narrow... But it is still wrong, the old rite has preserved all these expressions that reflect - let's be realists, let's be objective, let's be critical of ourselves - the state of our inner "I".

Professor of the Moscow Theological Academy A. I. Osipov told us students that you can see a person who looks so representative, full of health, intelligent appearance, but inside he can be completely rotten. This can be a misleading impression. We know from confession what a depth of abomination lurks in human souls, and that shameful sins burn with shame. That's when we bypass these expressions, these phrases, they do not disturb us. They are unpleasant for us, we distance ourselves from them, and the ancient rite is merciless in this regard, it calls a spade a spade, does not stand on ceremony with this scrupulousness that arises in us as a reaction to some uncomfortable, ruffy phrases, phrases in old liturgical texts .

Thoroughness and completeness of the ancient order of the Liturgy

I note that for many years I have been the rector of the church of St. Nicholas on Bersenevka and at the same time a resident of the St. Danilov Monastery. I value the fact that I am among the brethren - this is a spiritual, mystical moment, maintaining a connection with the monastery. There I carry the minimum load. For many years he served the late Divine Liturgy on Saturdays, so that he is fully familiar with the experience of celebrating the Liturgy according to the usual rite and how it was in antiquity.

What are my feelings at the Liturgy according to the usual rite in comparison with how it was celebrated in antiquity? If we compare it with how a plowman works, then we can say the following: when a plowman bites into the thickness of the earth and, drenched in sweat, deeply loosens the earth, thoroughly prepares the soil for sowing - this is the celebration of the Liturgy according to the ancient rite, with all the preparations, with its duration, thoroughness, permeation with a repentant spirit. The celebration of the Liturgy according to the usual rite, according to my personal feelings, comparatively looks like this: do not drive the plow very deep into the ground; to work, but not so much sweating, not so much wasting spiritual and physical energy. Here is a somewhat risky comparison.

In the ancient rank, thoroughness and completeness are striking. The early printed missal, compared with the usual order of the Liturgy, which is published by the Patriarchate, is several times more voluminous. There are a lot of instructions and notes here. All this was omitted after the reform. Somewhere this is convenient when a compact book is in the hands, but on the other hand, important points fall out, attention is not focused on them.

Who can't take communion?

The preface of the service contains instructions to the priest who is about to celebrate the Divine Liturgy. I will quote only a few lines from three pages: “Do not betray the Son of God into the hands of the unworthy ... Do not be ashamed of the glorious Earth, nor the king himself wearing a diadem, do not be afraid at that hour.” Here we are talking about the fact that the priest must be principled when he gives communion. He must carefully approach the one who takes communion. Of course, there is no need to go too far and extremes are inappropriate here. It is clear that it is necessary to take into account the age, infirmities of a person and the conditions of his life - in a word, what we call in pedagogy an individual approach. That is, not everyone is one size fits all: general confession, come, take communion, so to speak, in a crowd. No, an individual approach is necessary, because there is a danger of communion in condemnation for someone who has not repented of some sins.

I know from experience how it happens in confession, what is the difference between those who have a spiritual mentor and those who do not, who are accustomed to general confession, and who to private. It happens that unrepentant, serious sins emerge among those who have been going to the temple for decades, but none of the priests has ever “digged”, did not try to more thoroughly deal with his sins. When all this is revealed, then, on the basis of everything heard, the priest makes a decision whether it is possible now to admit this person to Communion, or he is clearly not ready, you need to wait, give him penance, that is, temporarily remove him from Communion so that he is more consciously, more carefully prepared, more purified approached the acceptance of this Great Shrine.

We know from church history what kind of persecutions there were against those clergymen who showed such adherence to principles, but, on the other hand, we see how it was appreciated by people who, perhaps, flared up at such a moment, having heard the decision of the priest, and then, having burned out , having calmed down, agreed that yes, indeed, they had to wait for some time before proceeding to Communion. After all, we remember the words of Scripture: "... do not give the Holy Things to dogs ...", that is, to those who are clearly not worthy. This kind of insufficiently thorough preparation for Communion, of course, affects the spiritual and physical condition of people.

Preparing a Priest for the Liturgy

The priest does not just silently go to the temple, but reads two prayers and two psalms. “The voice of joy and salvation” - with these words the first prayer begins. In the temple, he lays the foundation - he creates short seven prayers, which should precede both the private prayer of a Christian and the public Divine service. They also end with them, as if a line is being drawn. And then you put a perfect prayer, this solid brick, into the foundation of your spiritual structure. Again, you think about it, comparing what we lost as a result of that reform, which is officially assessed as "a steep and hasty breaking of the old church rituals."

After the beginning, the priest performs entrance prayers about 40 minutes before the announced Divine Service. It should be noted that the ancient tradition provides for the priest to stay awake on the night before the celebration of the Liturgy. Such were the strong foundations, how people felt the need, the thirst for spiritual food! This did not depress them, but cheered them up, gave them strength, inspired them. These were the ascetics of Ancient Rus'. Pre-Petrine Rus' was not sleepy, but dynamic, spiritually dynamic, easy to spiritually uplift, zealous for Divine service, for deeds of piety.

Having performed the initial prayers, the priest puts on himself an epitrachelion (patrachelon, in the old way), handcuffs and begins to read the “entrance prayers” - this is preparation for the service. This is where the difference between what is in common use now and the ancient rite is very much felt - a very significant difference.

Entrance Prayers Old and New

How are these prayers performed in the usual way? “King of Heaven”, the Trisagion of Our Father, troparia familiar to us from the text of evening prayers: “Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy on us ...”, “Mercy of the door ...”. Then the priest kisses the icon of the Savior, the icon of the Mother of God. “Weaken, leave ...” and the main prayer “Lord, send down Your hand ...” Very briefly, quickly. When I served in the Danilov Monastery and the young deacons read everything so quickly - once or twice and already in the altar - I confess, the sediment remained in my soul ... This is far from what has become more familiar to me when I celebrate the Liturgy according to the ancient rite.

A number of very meaningful prayers are read here. In addition to kissing the icons of the Savior and the Mother of God, the priest also kisses the icons of a number of saints with appropriate prayers. There are not always icons in the iconostasis of all those saints that the priest needs to venerate before entering the altar, so there is still such an ancient custom when the priest venerates the images of saints on a small icon, especially for entrance prayers. We don’t have this yet, so I apply to those images that are in the first tier of the iconostasis, namely: the Forerunner (Forerunner, in the old way) and to various ranks of saints, according to one of the archangels, apostles, prophets, saints, saints and martyrs .

After that, the priest enters the altar. The main prayer according to the usual order is read at the Royal Doors, and according to the ancient one - at the altar. Then the priest dresses. He folds all parts of the vestment: the vestment, patrachel, belt, handrails together on his left shoulder, approaches the throne, makes three bows, reads forgiveness. The text of this forgiveness is present several times in the Liturgy. This suggests that the old rite is permeated with a feeling of repentance. And in this case, before putting on the priest reads forgiveness. If there is a deacon, then they, standing on opposite sides of the throne - the priest on the right, the deacon on the left - make these prostrations, read forgiveness, and only then put on.

A corresponding prayer is read for each part of the vestment. According to the usual rank, they are also read, there is nothing special to say here. Having put on all the prescribed clothes, the priest washes his hands. Of course, in addition to the physical meaning, this has a spiritual meaning, reminds us of the need for spiritual purity with which we must approach this great sacrament.

And then again, a distinctive moment, which is not in the usual order of the Liturgy, but the ancient order has preserved it: the priest reads several prayers at the throne, as a preparation for the celebration of the sacrament. Why do we impoverish ourselves spiritually, what are the grounds for omitting all this, making it easier? But relief also brings impoverishment at the same time. Look how much is omitted: here I am flipping through seven pages, one of the prayers is called “farewell”.

Ideally, a priest must also undergo confession before celebrating the Liturgy, but most often he does not have this opportunity. How can it be with a rural, for example, priest who has no one nearby who could receive his confession? Therefore, the “farewell” prayer, in essence, is the priest’s confession before God at the throne before celebrating the Liturgy. Here is a list of various sins, for example, “Forgive me, Lord, if I cursed anyone, scolded, slandered, condemned, spoke badly, envied, lied, remembered evil, got angry, enraged, became proud”, etc. Here is such a thorough approach, all-round cleansing of the priest.

Midnight Office

According to the old rite, the service begins with the Midnight Office. Its main content on a weekday is the seventeenth kathisma. If the day is Sunday, then the canon of the Most Holy Trinity is read. God is revealed to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Illogical from a rational point of view, but this is a revelation from above. If we do not know our faith well, we can be very easily confused. How is it, one and three?! Muslims can say that everything is simpler and more understandable for them.

I remember the words of Father Dimitry Smirnov to the question about the Trinity: “We trust those who are absolute authority for us; such ascetics, saints as John Chrysostom, Gregory the Theologian, Basil the Great, who wrote about this truth, about the One God in the Glorious Trinity. And the canon of the Trinity, which sounds at Midnight Office every Sunday, constantly refreshes in our memory the truth about the One God in the Glorious Trinity. This is not in the usual rank, it is omitted, at best it is preserved in some monasteries. All these omissions impoverish us, lower the level of our spiritual life, our churching.

Proskomidia according to the old and new rites

According to the old rite, it is performed on seven prosphora (in the old way - prosphora, approx. ed.), according to the usual rank - by five. Why is that? Let us recall the Gospel events of the saturation of the people by Christ, in one case with seven loaves, in the other case with five. There were two Gospel episodes, and in the old rite both of these events are reflected liturgically: the feeding with five loaves is remembered at the lithium (during the evening service - approx. ed.), when five loaves, wheat, wine and oil (oils) are consecrated. Saturation with seven loaves - these are the seven prosphora at the Liturgy. Nothing is forgotten. And in the usual rank, leveling: both there are five, and there are five. But there was, after all, the satiation of the seven loaves, and in the old rites it was not forgotten.

When the Liturgy is celebrated according to the old rite, then the seal on the prosphora is with an eight-pointed cross. The first prosphora is the main one, called the Lamb (from the word Lamb). The middle part is cut out of it and consecrated as Communion, and what remains is called antidor (“dora”, in the old way). This is also a shrine, it is cut into small pieces and at the end of the Liturgy they are distributed first to the sexton, and when approaching the cross - to all the parishioners. The second prosphora is the Mother of God, a particle is cut out of it in honor of the Mother of God. The third prosphora is in honor of the saints of various ranks, all of them are listed, including the saints of the day, and the saints to whom the temple is dedicated. From the fourth prosphora, a particle is taken out about the Patriarch, the ruling bishop and about the entire priestly and deacon rank. A particle is removed from the fifth prosphora with the words: “Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, accept this offering of health and salvation” (the royal surname was listed below), and we are now saying this: and about all Orthodox Christians. The sixth prosphora - the priest commemorates the spiritual father and the entire spiritual rank. The seventh prosphora is the funeral.

Here is another significant feature. How is the commemoration according to the usual rite? They bring a basket of prosphora, and the priest quickly takes out particles from each prosphora: one, one, one - “Remember, Lord, remember, Lord ...” According to the ancient order, a separate prosphora is taken, a triangle is cut out, a particle of remembrance “about health”, with these words: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, accept this offering for health and salvation, and for the remission of the sins of Your servants ... ", then the names go," Thou called them to Your Communion, Your mercy, Most Good Lord. Moreover, these words differ in relation to the male or female sex. That is, there is a more differentiated, more thorough approach. A particle from the funeral prosphora is taken out with the following words: “Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, accept this offering of remembrance and forgiveness of the sins of Your departed servants…”, names are called, “and teach their souls in the villages of the righteous, Lover of mankind.” Then it's all covered.

We omit the details, but here is an important point - the proskomidia according to the old rite ends, not invisibly for us at the altar, where it was performed, but the Royal Doors open, the priest performs incense in the altar and then, standing at the Royal Doors, pronounces dismissal: “Christ the True Our God ... "Then the priest asks for forgiveness:" Forgive me, fathers and brothers, I have sinned in all my life and this night ... ", after which he makes a prostration to those who pray. In response, everyone bows down and the reader from the wing (the old name of the kliros) reads forgiveness: “Forgive me, Father, and bless ...” This concludes the first part of the Liturgy: we are not in a hurry non-stop, but drew a line, asked God for forgiveness for some violations committed during this first part.

Liturgy of the catechumens

Then begins the second part of the Liturgy - the Liturgy of the catechumens. The catechumens are those who are being taught, preparing for baptism. They could attend both the proskomedia and the second part of the Liturgy, which the priest, standing at the throne, begins with brief prayers: “To the King of Heaven”, “Glory to God in the highest ...”, “Lord, open my mouth ...” At this time the choir sings "Lord, have mercy" three times, covering these opening prayers. Then the first exclamation is solemnly heard: "Blessed is the Kingdom of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and forever and ever." Great Litany: "Let us pray to the Lord in peace." After the peaceful litany, the choir sings the antiphon: "Bless the Lord, O my soul." It is usually sung in two wings. We are accustomed to this model: there is a right choir, a festive one, in which hired artists often sing, and there is a left choir - grandmothers creak ... In the old everyday life, both choirs were equal and sang antiphonally, that is, alternately.

Entrance with the Gospel. The priest sings: “Come, let us bow down and bow down to Christ ...”, the choir picks up: “Save us, Son of God, risen from the dead ...” (if it is Sunday) or: “on holy marvels” (on a weekday). This is called the small entrance, which symbolically reflects the exit of Christ to public preaching. The whole Liturgy is symbolic, each act signifies some moment in the gospel history. And when, say, at the end of the Cherubic Hymn, the great entrance is made, this symbolizes the procession of Christ to Golgotha.

Interestingly, according to the old service book, the priest utters two exclamations, standing facing the people; this is no longer practiced by modern Old Believers. Before they sing "Holy God ...", the priest proclaims "Thou art holy our God ...", "turning to the west", that is, facing the people. The second exclamation before the Cherubic Hymn, “Yes, we always keep under Your Power…”, is also pronounced facing the people.

Burning is not done when the Apostle is read, but at the singing of "Alleluia" at the end of the reading. Before the Gospel, the priest, after reading two prayers in secret, crosses himself with the words: “By the power and intercession of Your Honorable Cross, Lord, have mercy on me and help me a sinner.”

After the Gospel there is a special litany “Rzem all ...”, it contains such petitions that are not in the usual rank, for example, “We also pray for our spiritual fathers and for all our brothers in Christ, for health, and for salvation. We also pray for those who do alms, for health and salvation.”

We proclaim the litany for the dead only on weekdays - on Sundays and holidays it is omitted. Very often, when the Liturgy is celebrated according to the usual rite, the litany for the dead is proclaimed on Sundays and feast days. They explain this by the fact that people, they say, rarely go to church, they don’t go to church on weekdays, so if they came, then let’s do it in full, and remember the rest, although the charter does not imply this.

Cherubic Hymn and the Great Entrance

There are some differences in the text of the Cherubic Hymn. In the old text, there are such words: “we will now reject every worldly sorrow,” and in the new text it sounds like this: “now let us put aside every worldly care.” Sadness is not just when you are sad, here “sadness” is all worries, cares. Set aside and reject, is there a difference? Reject is a more decisive word.

The great entrance is being made, what is the difference here? We are used to the fact that at the end of the Cherubic Hymn, the deacon or priest says: “Our Great Lord and Father Kirill, His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus', may the Lord God remember in His Kingdom…” and the enumeration goes on. And what is depressing: there is no single text of this pronunciation. After the Patriarch and the ruling bishop have been commemorated, improvisation takes place: donors, trustees, benefactors, singers, upcoming ones, etc. are listed. During the Synodal period, the royal family was commemorated at the grand entrance: both sons and daughters, and grand dukes, and grand duchesses. In the pre-Nikonian service books, everything is very laconic: a priest comes out and says these words on three sides: “May the Lord God remember all of you in His Kingdom, always, now and forever and forever and ever. May the Lord God remember you all in His Kingdom, always, now and forever and forever and ever. And again: “All of you…” The Patriarch is commemorated at the proskomedia, at the great litany, and at the end of the Liturgy: “Remember first, Lord.”

The symbol of faith, as is known, began to be sung publicly after the war. The explanation is simple: the people began to forget the main prayers. The old rank preserves the former practice of recitative singing “I Believe” in wings. It turns out very dynamically, after all, this is not a prayer for singing, but our "creed". Greeks generally read the Creed.

The Eucharistic Canon and Communion of the Believers

As regards the main moment of the Liturgy, the Eucharistic Canon, when the Gifts are consecrated, here I would note the following difference. In the old rite, there is no raising of the diskos and the Chalice in the words “Yours from Yours…” in the Catholic manner. The priest simply points with his hand to the Lamb lying on the paten and to the Cup of wine. After the transfer of the Holy Gifts and the words “Fairly O Most Holy ...”, the priest and all those praying make a prostration, and only after that the censing is performed. When pronouncing the words "Holy to the holies ..." the priest, taking the Lamb, makes a cross-shaped movement with it over the paten. After that, no "concerts", but only a communion verse, sung at length.

There are some peculiarities in the communion of the laity. The Royal Doors are opened, the priest with the words “Come with the fear of God and faith” takes out the cup. Choir: “Blessed be the Coming…” The cup is immediately brought back into the altar, the cover is removed from it, it is covered with a cloth, a liar is placed on top. The communicants are in a prostrate position, one of them reads a prayer of forgiveness. The priest at the throne makes five bows from the waist with the words: “Merciful Lord, save and have mercy on Your servants ...” The cup is again taken out, the priest says: “Children, Christ invisibly forgives you and I am a sinner,” and then reads the well-known prayer “I believe, Lord, and I confess…”, adding at the end “Be terrified of the God-giving Blood, man, in vain…” Priest: “Participants, prostration to the Body and Blood of Christ.”

Communion of the laity, according to the old rite, is performed three times - such is the ancient practice, liturgically reflecting catholicity, which is alien to the Catholic medieval teaching about the Church teaching and the Church learning. It is done in this way. The priest says: “The Honest and Most Honorable Body and the Divine Blood of the Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ is served to the servant of God (the name of the rivers) from the Throne of the Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ in the church of St. ), for the remission of sins (Blood is given) and eternal life (Blood is given again).

On Psalm 33, the priest begins to consume the Holy Gifts by making 3 prostrations in front of the Chalice. A prayer for consumption is read at the throne. The priest overshadows each of those approaching the cross with the words “By the power of the Honorable and Life-Giving Cross, may the Lord preserve you.” When reading thanksgiving prayers (before each of them), the priest proclaims: “Let us pray to the Lord,” the reader in response: “Lord, have mercy.”

We have already said that liturgy- the main, most important service, during which the Sacrament is performed Eucharist, or sacrament of communion. This Sacrament was first performed by our Lord Jesus Christ Himself on the eve of His sufferings, on Maundy Thursday. The Savior, having gathered all the apostles together, gave praise to God the Father, took bread, blessed it and broke it. He gave it to the holy apostles with the words: Take, eat: this is my body. Then He took a cup of wine, blessed it and gave it to the apostles, saying: Drink everything from it: for this is My Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.(Mt 26:28). The Lord also commanded the apostles: Do this in remembrance of me(Luke 22:19). Even after the resurrection of Christ and His ascension into Heaven, the Apostles performed the Sacrament of Communion. During the Eucharist (gr. thanksgiving) each time, what the Lord did at the Last Supper actually happens. We mysteriously, under the guise of bread and wine, partake of the Divine Himself — Body and Blood of the Savior. He abides in us, and we abide in Him, as the Lord said (cf. Jn 15:5).

The Eucharist is also called Bloodless victim because it is an image of the sacrifice that the Lord Jesus Christ offered for us at Calvary. He did it once, having suffered for the sins of the world, resurrected and ascended into Heaven, where he sat at the right hand of God the Father. The sacrifice of Christ was offered once and will not be repeated. With the establishment of the New Testament, the Old Testament sacrifices ceased, and now Christians make the Bloodless Sacrifice in remembrance of Christ's sacrifice and for the communion of His Body and Blood.

The Old Testament sacrifices were only a shadow, a type of the Divine sacrifice. The expectation of the Redeemer, the Liberator from the power of the devil and sin is the main theme of the entire Old Testament, and for us, the people of the New Testament, the sacrifice of Christ, the atonement by the Savior of the sins of the world is the basis of our faith.

The Holy Gifts are a fire that burns every sin and every defilement, if a person strives to partake worthily. We partake of the healing of soul and body. When approaching communion, one must do it with reverence and awe, realizing one's weakness and unworthiness. “Although eat (eat), man, Body of the Lady, approach with fear, but do not be scorched: there is fire,” says the prayers for Holy Communion.

Saint Ignatius (Bryanchaninov) writes about how the Lord enlightened one young man, Dmitry Shepelev, and showed that in Holy Communion the true Body of the Savior is served: “He was brought up in the Corps of Pages. Once during Great Lent, when the pages were fasting and were already approaching the Holy Mysteries, the young man Shepelev expressed to his comrade walking beside him his resolute disbelief that the body and blood of Christ should be in the cup. When the secrets were taught to him, he felt that he had meat in his mouth. Horror seized the young man: he stood beside himself, not feeling the strength to swallow a particle. The priest noticed the change that had taken place in him and ordered him to enter the altar. There, holding a particle in his mouth and confessing his sin, Shepelev came to his senses and used the Holy Mysteries taught to him ”(“ Fatherland ”).

Often, spiritual people, ascetics, during the celebration of the Eucharist, there were manifestations of heavenly fire descending on the Holy Gifts. Yes, the Sacrament of Communion, the Eucharist, is the greatest miracle and mystery, as well as the greatest mercy to us sinners, and visible evidence that the Lord established the New Covenant with people in His Blood (see: Lk 22:20), bringing a sacrifice for us on cross, died and rose again, spiritually resurrecting all mankind by Himself. And we can now partake of His Body and Blood for the healing of soul and body, abiding in Christ, and He will "abide in us" (see: Jn 6:56).

Origin of the liturgy

The sacrament of communion, the Eucharist, from ancient times also received the name liturgy, which translates from Greek as common cause, common service.

The Holy Apostles, disciples of Christ, having received from their Divine Teacher the commandment to celebrate the Sacrament of Communion in remembrance of Him, after His ascension began to celebrate the breaking of bread - the Eucharist. Christians constantly abided in the teaching of the Apostles, in communion and the breaking of bread, and in prayers(Acts 2:42).

The order of the liturgy was formed gradually. At first, the apostles celebrated the Eucharist according to the very order that their Master had taught them. In apostolic times, the Eucharist was combined with the so-called agapamy, or meals of love. Christians ate food and were in prayer and fellowship. After supper, the breaking of bread and communion of the faithful took place. But then the liturgy was separated from the meal and began to be celebrated as an independent sacred rite. The Eucharist began to be celebrated inside sacred temples. In the I-II centuries, the order of the liturgy, apparently, was not written down and was transmitted orally.

What are the liturgies

Gradually, in different localities, their own liturgical rites began to take shape. Served in the Jerusalem community Liturgy of the Apostle James. In Alexandria and Egypt there was Liturgy of the Apostle Mark. In Antioch, the liturgy of Saints Basil the Great and John Chrysostom. All these liturgies are the same in their meaning and significance, but differ in the texts of the prayers that the priest offers at the consecration of the Holy Gifts.

Now in the practice of the Russian Orthodox Church there are usually performed three rites of the liturgy. These are the liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, the liturgy of St. Basil the Great, and the liturgy of St. Gregory the Dialogist.

This liturgy is performed on all days of the year, except for the first five Sundays of Great Lent and weekdays of Great Lent. Saint John Chrysostom composed the order of his liturgy on the basis of the previously composed liturgy Saint Basil the Great but shortened some of the prayers.

Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great

According to St. Amphilochius, Bishop of Iconium, St. Basil the Great asked God “to give him the strength of spirit and mind to celebrate the Liturgy in his own words. After six days of fervent prayer, the Savior appeared to him miraculously and fulfilled his petition. Soon Vasily, imbued with delight and divine awe, began to proclaim: “Let my lips be filled with praise”, “Beware, Lord Jesus Christ our God, from Thy holy habitation” and other prayers of the liturgy.

Liturgy of Saint Basil committed ten times a year:

on the eve of the Nativity of Christ and Epiphany (on the so-called Christmas and Epiphany Eve), on the day of memory of St. Basil the Great on January 1 (January 14, according to the new style), on the first five Sundays of Great Lent, on Great Thursday and Great Saturday.

Liturgy of St. Gregory the Dialogist, or the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts

During the Holy Fortecost of Great Lent on weekdays, the service of the full Liturgy stops. Lent is a time of repentance, weeping for sins, when all festivity and solemnity are excluded from worship. And therefore, according to the rules of the Church, on Wednesday and Friday of Great Lent, Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts. The Holy Gifts, with which believers partake, are consecrated at the liturgy on Sunday.

In some Local Orthodox Churches, on the feast day of the holy Apostle James (October 23, old style), a liturgy is served according to his order.

The sequence and symbolic meaning of the liturgy

The procedure for celebrating the full Liturgy (that is, not the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts) is as follows. First, the substance is prepared for the celebration of the Eucharist. Then the faithful prepare for the Sacrament. And, finally, the Sacrament itself is performed - the consecration of the Holy Gifts and the communion of believers. The Divine Liturgy thus has three parts: proskomedia; liturgy of the catechumens; liturgy of the faithful.

Proskomedia

The word is Greek and means bringing. In ancient times, the members of the early Christian community themselves brought everything necessary for the Sacrament before the Liturgy: bread and wine. The bread used in the celebration of the liturgy is called prosphora, which means offering(in ancient times, Christians themselves brought bread to the liturgy). In the Orthodox Church, the Eucharist is celebrated on prosphora made from leavened (yeast) dough.

Used for proskomidia five prosphora in memory of the miraculous feeding of five thousand people by Christ.

For communion, one prosphora (lamb) is used. For the Lord also gave communion to the apostles, breaking and distributing one bread. The Holy Apostle Paul writes: one bread, and we many are one body; for we all partake of the same bread(1 Cor 10:17). The Lamb is broken up after the transfer of the Holy Gifts, and the clergy and all who are preparing for communion partake of it. Wine during the celebration of the liturgy is used red, grape, as it resembles the color of blood. Wine is mixed with a small amount of water as a sign that blood and water have flowed from the perforated rib of the Savior.

The proskomedia is performed at the very beginning of the liturgy in the altar during the reading of the hours by the reader. exclamation "Blessed is our God", anticipating reading third hour, is also the initial exclamation of the proskomedia. The Liturgy is preceded by a service third and sixth hours.

The proskomedia is a very important part of the Divine Liturgy, and preparation of the Gifts for consecration has a deep symbolic meaning.

Recall: proskomidia is performed on altar.

From Lamb prosphora priest with a special knife called copy, cuts out the middle in the shape of a cube. This part of the prosphora is called Lamb as a sign that the Lord, as the Immaculate Lamb, was slain for our sins. From the lower part, the Lamb is incised crosswise with the words: “The Lamb of God is eaten (that is, sacrificed), take away the sins of the world, for the worldly belly (life) and salvation.” The priest pierces the right side of the Lamb with a spear, saying the words: One of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. And he who saw testified, and his testimony is true(John 19:34-35).

With these words, wine mixed with water is poured into the chalice. The preparation of the Gifts on proskomedia has several meanings. Here we recall the birth of the Savior, His coming into the world and, of course, the Calvary sacrifice on the Cross, as well as burial.

The prepared Lamb and the particles taken out of the other four prosphora symbolize the fullness of the Church, heavenly and earthly. After preparing the Lamb, he relies on the paten.

The priest from the second prosphora takes out a triangular particle in honor of the Most Holy Theotokos and places it on the right side of the Lamb. Particles are removed from the third prosphora in honor of St. John the Baptist, the prophets, apostles, saints, martyrs, reverends, unmercenaries, saints whose memory is celebrated by the Church on this day, the parents of the Mother of God, the holy righteous Joachim and Anna, and the saint whose liturgy is celebrated.

From the next two prosphora, particles are taken out for the living and deceased Orthodox Christians.

At the altar at the proskomidia, believers submit notes about health and repose. For the people whose names are contained in the notes, particles are also taken out.

All particles are placed in a certain order on the diskos.

The priest, after shaking, places an asterisk on the paten over the Lamb and the particles. The diskos marks both the Bethlehem cave and Golgotha, the asterisk - the star above the cave and the cross. The priest incenses special covers and puts them over the paten and chalice as a sign that Christ was laid in the tomb and His body was wrapped in swaddling clothes. These swaddling clothes also symbolize Christmas wrappings.

The meaning of the commemoration at the proskomedia

At the end of the Divine Liturgy, after the communion of the faithful, the priest pours the particles taken out of the prosphora on the proskomedia into the holy Chalice with the words: “Wash away, O Lord, the sins of those who are remembered here by Your honest blood, by the prayers of Your saints”.

Prayer at the proskomedia for health and repose with the removal of particles for them, and then immersing them in a chalice is the highest commemoration in the Church. A Bloodless Sacrifice is offered for them. They also participate in the liturgy.

At the relics of St. Theodosius of Chernigov, Hieromonk Alexy (1840-1917), the future elder of the Goloseevsky Skete of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra (now glorified as a locally revered saint), served his obedience. He got tired and dozed off by the shrine. Saint Theodosius appeared to him in a dream and thanked him for his labors. He asked that his parents, Priest Nikita and Matushka Maria, be commemorated at the liturgy. When Hieromonk Alexy asked the saint how he could ask for the prayers of a priest when he himself stands before the Throne of God, Saint Theodosius said: “The offering at the Liturgy is stronger than my prayers.”

Saint Gregory the Dialogist relates that after the death of a negligent monk who suffered from a love of money, he commanded that thirty funeral liturgies be served for the deceased, and the brethren to perform a common prayer for him. And after the last liturgy, this monk appeared to his own brother and said: “Until now, brother, I suffered cruelly and terribly, but now I feel good and I am in the light.”

Liturgy of the catechumens

The second part of the liturgy is called liturgy of the catechumens. In ancient times, in order to receive holy baptism, people underwent a very long preparation. They studied the foundations of the faith, went to church, but they could only pray at the Liturgy until the transfer of the Gifts from the altar to the throne. The catechumens, as well as the penitents, who were excommunicated for grave sins, had to go out into the porch of the temple.

After the exclamation of the priest: "Blessed is the Kingdom of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, now and forever and forever and ever" the choir sings: "Amen." The peaceful, or great, litany is pronounced. It begins with the words: "Let us pray to the Lord in peace". The word "peace" tells us that we must pray in the world, reconciled with our neighbors, only then the Lord will accept our prayers.

Peaceful litany embraces all aspects of our existence. We pray: for the peace of the whole world, for the holy churches, for the temple where the service is performed, for bishops, presbyters, deacons, for our country, its authorities and its soldiers, for the goodness of the air and the abundance of earthly fruits necessary for subsistence. Here we also ask God to help all those who are traveling, sick and in captivity.

The liturgy is common cause, and prayer on it is performed conciliarly, that is, by all the believing people, "with one mouth and one heart." Where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst of them.(Mt 18:20), the Lord tells us. And according to the charter, a priest cannot celebrate the Liturgy alone; at least one person must pray with him.

After great litany psalms are sung antiphons, since they are supposed to be sung on two kliros alternately. The psalms of the prophet David were part of the Old Testament worship and made up a significant part of the hymns in the early Christian service. After the second antiphon, the hymn is always sung: “Only Begotten Son…” – about the coming into the world of Christ the Savior, His incarnation and redemptive sacrifice. During the singing of the gospel beatitudes from Christ's Sermon on the Mount, the royal doors open and the small entrance is made, or entrance with gospel. The priest or deacon, raising the Gospel, signifying the cross in the royal doors, proclaims: “Wisdom, forgive!” Translated from Greek sorry Means directly. This is said as a reminder to us that we need to be attentive in prayer, to stand straight.

It also speaks of the wisdom that the Divine Gospel and the preaching of the Lord brings us, for the Gospel is taken out of the altar as a sign that Christ has come out to preach and brings the Good News to the world.

After singing the troparions dedicated to the holiday, the given day, the saints of the day and the temple, Trisagion: “Holy God ...” On the Nativity of Christ, the Baptism of the Lord, Easter and Easter week, on the day of the Holy Trinity, as well as on Lazarus and the Great Saturday, instead of the Trisagion, it is sung: put on (put on). Alleluia." In ancient times, catechumens were traditionally baptized on these holidays. On the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord and the week of Great Lent, instead of the Trisagion, it is sung: “We worship Thy Cross, Master, and glorify Thy holy Resurrection.”

For careful reading Apostle And gospels we are prepared by the exclamations of “Let us attend” and “Wisdom, forgive us, let us hear the Holy Gospel.” After the gospel reading, a special (enhanced) litany follows, at which, in addition to various prayers for the hierarchies, authorities, the army and all believers, there is a commemoration by name of those who submitted their notes to the liturgy: their names are proclaimed by the clergy, and all the people together with them pray for health and the salvation of God's servants, "all who are now remembered here."

During the special litany, the priest reveals on the throne holy antimension.

After the spoken special litany often added Litany for the Dead. During it, we pray for all our formerly deceased fathers, brothers and sisters, we ask God to forgive their voluntary and involuntary sins and to place them in heavenly abodes, where all the righteous rest.

Followed by litany of the catechumens. For some, this part of the service is bewildering. Indeed, the practice of catechumens, preparation for baptism, which was in the ancient Church, does not exist now. Today, as a rule, we baptize people after one or two conversations. But still, there are catechumens who are preparing to accept the Orthodox faith even now. There are many people who have not yet received baptism, but are reaching out, going to the Church. We pray for them, that the Lord would strengthen their good intention, reveal to them His "Gospel of Truth" and join them to the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.

In our time, there are many people who were baptized at one time, in childhood, by their parents or grandmothers, but who are completely unenlightened. And that the Lord would “announce them with the word of truth” and bring them into the church fence, and we need to pray at this litany.

After the words "Announcers, come out" those preparing for baptism and the penitents left the church, for the main part of the Divine Liturgy began. With these words, we must especially carefully look into our soul, banish from it all resentment and enmity against our neighbors, as well as all worldly vain thoughts, in order to pray with full attention and reverence at the Liturgy of the faithful.

Liturgy of the Faithful

This part of the service begins after the catechumens are called to leave the temple. Two short litanies follow. The choir starts to sing Cherubic Hymn. If we translate it into Russian, it will read like this: “We, mysteriously portraying the Cherubim and singing the Trisagion Hymn to the Life-Giving Trinity, will now lay aside the care of everything worldly in order to perceive the King of all, Who is surrounded by angelic Forces. Praise God!”

This song mentions that the Lord is surrounded by angelic hosts, constantly glorifying Him. And not only clergy and parishioners pray at the Divine Liturgy. Together with the earthly Church, the heavenly Church celebrates the Liturgy.

Once, the Monk Seraphim of Sarov, being a hierodeacon, served the Divine Liturgy. After a small entrance, Seraphim proclaimed at the royal doors: “Lord, save the pious and hear us!” But as soon as he turned to the people, he pointed at the forthcoming orarion and said: “And forever and ever!” - as a beam lit up him brighter than sunlight. Looking at this radiance, he saw the Lord Jesus Christ in the form of the Son of Man in glory, shining with indescribable light, surrounded by Heavenly Powers - Angels, Archangels, Cherubim and Seraphim.

During the Cherubic Hymn, the Gifts prepared for consecration are transferred from the altar to the throne.

This is called transfer great entrance. The priest and the deacon carry the Gifts, leaving the altar through the northern (left) doors. Stopping on the ambo, in front of the royal doors, facing the faithful, they commemorate His Holiness the Patriarch, metropolitans, archbishops, bishops, the priesthood, all those who work and pray in this church.

After that, the clergy enter the altar through the royal doors, place the Chalice and paten on the throne, and cover the Gifts with a special veil (air). Meanwhile, the choir sings the Cherubic Hymn. The Great Entrance symbolizes the solemn procession of Christ on His free suffering and death.

Litany, following the transfer of the Gifts, is called petitionary and prepares the faithful for the most important part of the liturgy - the consecration of the Holy Gifts.

After this litany, Symbol of faith. Before the singing of the Creed by all the people, the deacon proclaims: “Doors, doors! Let us hear wisdom!” These words in ancient times reminded the gatekeepers that the main and solemn part of the service was beginning, so that they would watch the doors of the temple so that those who enter would not violate the decorum. It reminds us that we need to close the doors of our mind from extraneous thoughts.

As a rule, all worshipers sing the Creed, confessing their faith in the most important dogmas of the Orthodox Church.

Often one has to deal with the fact that the godparents, the recipients at the Sacrament of Baptism, cannot read the Creed. This is due to the fact that people do not read morning prayers (they include the Creed) and rarely go to the liturgy. After all, in the temple, every Divine Liturgy, all the people with one mouth confess their faith and, of course, know this hymn by heart.

The sacrament of the Eucharist, the holy offering must be offered with the fear of God, with reverence and special care. Therefore, the deacon proclaims: “Let us become good, let us stand with fear, let us pay attention, bring the holy exaltation in the world.” Begins eucharistic canon. chants "The grace of the world, the sacrifice of praise" is the answer to this call.

The exclamations of the priest alternate with the singing of the choir. The priest reads during the singing of the so-called secret (that is, sacramental, not read aloud) Eucharistic prayers.

Let us dwell on the main, main prayers of the Eucharistic canon. According to the priest, “We thank the Lord!” preparations begin for consecration, the realization of honest Gifts. The priest reads the thanksgiving Eucharistic prayer. It glorifies the blessings of God, especially the redemption of the human race. We thank the Lord that He accepts from us the Bloodless Sacrifice in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, although angelic ranks await and serve Him, glorifying Him: “Singing the victorious song, crying out, crying out and speaking.” The priest pronounces these words of prayer in a full voice.

Continuing the Eucharistic prayers, the priest recalls how the Lord Jesus Christ on the eve of His voluntary suffering established the Sacrament of Communion of His life-giving Body and Blood. The words of the Savior, sounded at the Last Supper, the priest proclaims loudly: "Take, eat, this is my body, which is broken for you for the remission of sins". At the same time, he points to the diskos with the Lamb. And further: “Drink from her all, this is My Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for you and for many for the remission of sins.”, - pointing to the holy Chalice.

Further, remembering all the blessings given by God to people — the Sacrament of Communion itself, His sacrifice on the Cross, and His second glorious Coming promised to us — the priest utters an exclamation full of deep theological meaning: “Yours from Yours, offering to You about everyone and for everything”. We dare to bring these gifts to God from His creations (bread and wine), bringing a bloodless sacrifice for all the children of the Church and for all the good deeds rendered to us by Him. The chorus ends this phrase with the words: “We sing to you, we bless you, we thank you, we pray to you(You), our God".

While singing these words occurs consecration, transformation prepared bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ. The priest prays, prepares for this great moment, reading aloud the troparion of the third hour three times. He asks that God send His Most Holy Spirit on all those who pray and on the Holy Gifts. Then the holy Lamb signifies with the words: “And make this bread, the precious body of your Christ”. The deacon answers: "Amen". Then he blesses the wine, saying: “And the hedgehog in this Cup is the precious Blood of Thy Christ”. The deacon replies: "Amen". Then he marks the paten with the Lamb and the holy Chalice with the words: "Changing by Your Holy Spirit". The consecration of the Holy Gifts ends three times: "Amen, amen, amen". The clergy bow to the ground before the Body and Blood of Christ. The Holy Gifts are offered as a bloodless sacrifice for everyone and everything without exception: for all the saints and for the Mother of God, as is said in the exclamation of the priest, which is the end of the priestly prayer: "Considerably(especially) of the Most Holy, Most Pure, Most Blessed, Glorious Our Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary". In response to this exclamation, a hymn dedicated to the Mother of God is sung: "Worthy to eat". (On Pascha and on the Twelfth Feasts, before the giving away, another Theotokos hymn is sung - the merit.)

This is followed by a litany which prepares the faithful for communion and also contains the usual petitions of the petitionary litany. After the litany and the exclamation of the priest, the Lord's Prayer is sung (most often by all the people) - "Our Father" .

When the apostles asked Christ to teach them how to pray, He gave them this prayer. In it, we ask for everything necessary for life: for everything to be the will of God, for daily bread (and, of course, for the Lord to vouchsafe us to receive heavenly bread, His Body), for the forgiveness of our sins and for so that the Lord would help us overcome all temptations and deliver us from the wiles of the devil.

Priest's voice: "Holy to the holy!" tells us that one must approach the Holy Mysteries reverently, sanctifying oneself with prayer, fasting, and being cleansed in the Sacrament of Penance.

In the altar, at this time, the clergy crush the holy Lamb, commune themselves and prepare the Gifts for the communion of believers. After that, the royal doors open, and the deacon takes out the holy Chalice with the words: "Come with the fear of God and faith". Opening of the Royal Doors marks the opening of the Holy Sepulcher, and removal of the Holy Gifts The appearance of the Lord after His resurrection.

The priest reads the prayer of St. John Chrysostom before Holy Communion: I believe, Lord, and I confess for you are truly the Christ, the Son of the Living God, who came into the world to save sinners, from them I am the first ... "And people pray, listening to humble prayer, realizing their unworthiness and bowing before the greatness of the taught shrine. The prayer before communion with the Body and Blood of Christ ends with the words: “I will not kiss Thee, like Judas, but like a thief I confess Thee: remember me, Lord, in Thy Kingdom. May the communion of Thy Holy Mysteries, Lord, not be for judgment and condemnation, but for the healing of soul and body. Amen".

One who communes unworthily, without faith, without contrition of heart, having malice and resentment towards his neighbor in his heart, is likened to Judas the traitor, who was one of the twelve disciples, was present at the Last Supper, and then went and betrayed the Teacher.

All those who were preparing for communion and received permission from the priest partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. After that, the priest brings the holy Chalice into the altar.

The priest overshadows those who pray with the holy Chalice with the words: "Always, now and ever, and forever and ever" and carries it to the altar. This marks the last appearance of the Savior to the disciples and His ascension to heaven.

The deacon pronounces a short litany of thanksgiving, ending with the priest's prayer behind the ambo (that is, read before the ambo).

At the end of the liturgy, the priest says vacation. On leave, the Mother of God, the saint whose liturgy was celebrated, the saints of the temple and the day are usually remembered.

All those who pray kiss holy cross held by the priest.

After the liturgy, thanksgiving prayers for Holy Communion are usually read. If they are not read in the temple, all those who take communion read them when they come home.

Worship by the laity (lay) rank- worship performed in the absence of a priest or bishop. The lay rank can perform all the services of the daily liturgical circle contained in. Only one service, the Liturgy, cannot be performed by the worldly rite, it is replaced by a service.

The most important statutory rules for the performance by the laity of divine services of the daily, weekly and annual cycle, as well as prayers, religious processions, memorial services, litias and the funeral of the dead in the absence of a priest:

1. All divine services in the absence of a priest are performed outside the altar (the altar is closed, the veil of the Royal Doors is drawn, the surplice is not worn).
2. All priestly exclamations in all cases are replaced by one: “Through the prayers of our holy fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us. Amen".
3. For the litany, in all cases, only “Lord, have mercy” is pronounced: for the great and petitionary litany - 12 times; for a double - 40 times; for small - 3 times. Instead of an exclamation at the end of the litany, it is pronounced: "Through the prayers of our holy fathers, .." (see above).
4. The laity can proclaim prokimens, alliluaries and "God is the Lord ..." with verses, as it is customary for a canonarch to do at a divine service.
5. The laity can read the Parimias, the Apostolic and Evangelical Conceptions from the lectern in the middle of the temple (not from the ambo, and even more so not from the altar). All preceding and subsequent priestly exclamations (“Let's attend”, “Peace to all”, “Wisdom, forgive”, “And be vouchsafed to us ...”, etc.) are omitted. Only the name of the conception is pronounced, for example: “To Thessalonica the message of the holy Apostle Paul reading”, “From Luke of the Holy Gospel reading”, and then the text of the conception is immediately read. In the absence of the liturgical Apostle and the Gospel, the texts of conception can be identified by the numbers of chapters and verses, and read them according to the usual text of the New Testament. When reading, no imitation of a deacon's or priestly voice intonation is allowed - you need to read simply, clearly, loudly enough, observing semantic pauses and intervals.
6. Incense is performed only with a manual (home) censer. A piece of incense is placed on a hot coal and overshadowed by the sign of the cross with a prayer: “In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen". Censing is performed by a triple cross-shaped movement of the hand with a censer: a) twice vertically - from top to bottom; b) once horizontally - from left to right. During a long incense, the 50th psalm is usually read to oneself. With a small incense, the same prayer is read as at the beginning of incense: “In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen".
7. Instead of a liturgical leave, a short small leave is pronounced: “Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, prayers for the sake of Your Most Pure Mother, * our reverend and God-bearing father and all the saints, have mercy on us. Amen". On a short vacation, after the commemoration of the Mother of God, one can also commemorate the temple saint (to whom the temple is dedicated); daytime saint (to whom the day of the week is dedicated); the saint to whom the service was performed (“we are now performing his memory”); and all the saints who are celebrated on this day (“they are also remembered today”). At the end of the service, the worshipers themselves venerate St. The cross, which for this previously relies on a lectern behind the pulpit, or in the middle of the temple next to the temple icon.
8. It should be remembered that the laity have no right without a priest: to dare to celebrate the Divine Liturgy; the rites of the Church Sacraments (with the exception of the Sacrament of Baptism "for fear of death" - which will be discussed below); wear sacred vestments; to perform any sacred rites; to teach peace and blessing; read secret, purely priestly prayers; pronounce exclamations and litanies.

On the possibility of performing the Sacrament of Baptism by the laity in case of mortal danger

The Sacrament of Holy Baptism, in the absence of a priest and in mortal danger, is possible for any Orthodox Christian to perform. The saints speak of this: Blessed. Jerome, blessed Augustine, Rev. , and other holy fathers and teachers of the Church. This is also evidenced by rule 14 of Nikola the Patriarch, 45 rule of Nicephorus the Confessor, is said in the Acts of the Apostles (), (), (), etc.

“In the event of an extreme case, when a person preparing for baptism is in mortal danger, in the absence of a priest, the laity can also be baptized; it only requires:
a) that the baptizer be Orthodox,
b) to accurately pronounce the form of baptism when immersed three times,
c) if after this the one baptized through a layman is alive, then baptism over him should be supplemented by prayers and rites related to baptism ”(Nomok. c, bol. treb. 204, 205. Books, on obligatory reverend § 84).

In such a case, the Metropolitan's Ribbon contains an indication: “ if there is a priest there, let him baptize, not a deacon; if a deacon, he, and not a subdeacon; if anyone be a cleric, he, and not a simpleton; if a husband, he, not a wife. Is it just for the sake of studying that a wife deserves more than a husband to baptize a baby, or if a wife knows better, she will cut out the form of baptism and pour water over"(Trebn. P. Mog. l. 8).

In addition, it is necessary - “To prevent cases of death of children without baptism, the priest must teach his parishioners, and especially women who serve at birth, how they should act in cases of the near death of infants, i.e. so that they know the perfect form of baptism and could themselves baptize a dangerous baby, and also exhort them, so that in such cases they would immediately let him know ”(On the reverend parish. § 84).

Therefore, everyone should know the brief charter of the commission of St. Sacraments of Baptism. It reads: “O Heavenly King” and “The Trisagion according to Our Father”. After “Come let us worship”, the Creed is read and then the Sacrament of Baptism is performed by a full triple immersion.

The baptizer says: “The servant (a) of God (the name of the rivers) is baptized in the name of the Father (1st immersion). Amen. And the Son (2nd dive). Amen. And the Holy Spirit (3rd dive). Amen".
(Every Christian needs to know these perfect words of Holy Baptism! It is important for women who are preparing for childbirth and for midwives who will take birth to know these words - in order to quickly baptize the baby in case of mortal danger).

During the triple immersion, the person who baptizes holds his hand on the head of the person being baptized. After baptism, the usual leave is pronounced. If full immersion is not possible, baptism by pouring is allowed. It is desirable to use holy water, but if necessary, any water will do. You can first lower St. Cross, with the reading of the troparion: " Save, O Lord, Thy people, and bless Thy inheritance, granting victory to the opposition, and Thy keeping Thy Cross living».

In Orthodox literature, a case is described when, in the complete absence of water, a five-month-old infant dying after premature birth was baptized by his own mother with a cruciform anointing with saliva on his forehead. There is a description of cases when people drowning as a result of a shipwreck, right in the water, baptized each other, calling God to witness, and were, then, miraculously saved by His divine grace. In ancient patericons, a case is also described when a dying man was baptized in the desert with sand, for lack of water. We should not forget about baptism in blood - when a person before martyrdom confesses Christ the Savior and suffers for Him. Self-baptism is allowed only in the most exceptional cases.

Divine Liturgy celebrated by the laity alone cannot replace the main Divine Liturgy, the Divine Liturgy, celebrated only by a bishop or a priest. However, a good habit and habit of participating in divine services also helps the lay readers themselves - it teaches them to competently handle liturgical books, instills an interest in the Church Rule and liturgical texts. When the Octoechos, the Menaion and the Book of Hours become not only a “dark forest”, but sources of knowledge and prayer inspiration, not only our understanding of the service changes, we ourselves change - after all, these texts, these books were compiled by the great ascetics of the faith, and communion with them provides everyone with enormous spiritual benefit. . Prayerful Christian hymns teach us the right way to turn to God through the experience of holy ascetics, introduce us into the world of true prayer, into the spiritual life of Orthodoxy.

Over the course of time, several rites of the liturgy were formed: there were more than sixty rites of the Syrian; in addition, there were Egyptian, Persian, Western ranks. Of greatest importance are the Liturgy of Clement, the Liturgy of the Holy Apostle James (Jerusalem-Antioch Church) and the Liturgy of the Apostle and Evangelist Mark (Egyptian Churches), as the closest to the original type and serving as the basis for the Liturgies of Saints Basil the Great and John Chrysostom.

All the rites of the Divine Liturgy known from ancient times, while converging among themselves in the main in the celebration of the Eucharist, differ in details. Under the graceful influence of the Holy Spirit, the apostles freely revealed the essence of the Divine Liturgy in the rites. The successors of the apostles, the primates of the Churches, enjoyed the same freedom, both in times rich in grace gifts close to the apostolic ones, and later, in the I-II centuries, when the extraordinary gifts of grace in the Church ceased and the rite of celebrating the Divine Liturgy was passed on successively from generation to generation and has not yet been recorded. Thus, diversity arose in the rites of the Divine Liturgy, not only between the Local Churches, but also within the same Church. This diversity did not stop even after the rites of the Divine Liturgy of the holy Apostles James and Mark and St. Clement were written down. Basically, it concerned prayers, which, being identical in content, differed in the way they were opened and in size.

The Liturgy of Clement is found in Book VIII of the Apostolic Canons. It begins with the reading of the Old Testament, interspersed with the singing of psalms, then the Acts of the Holy Apostles, the Epistles of the Apostle Paul and the Gospel are read. This is followed by the teachings of presbyters and bishops, four litanies, and prayers over the catechumens, the penitents, and the possessed. The four prayers are new, in comparison with the liturgy described by St. Justin. Further, the liturgy follows the ancient pattern. After the prayer of the faithful, the preparation for communion begins. Upon the greeting of the bishop and upon the exclamation of the deacon, "Greet one another with a holy kiss," the sacrament kiss is performed. The bishop secretly prays for himself. Further: "The grace of the Almighty God and the love of our Lord Jesus Christ and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit with you all", "Woe mind!" "Imams to the Lord", "Let us thank the Lord!", "Worthy and righteous". The consecration of the Gifts is performed, and a long Eucharistic prayer follows, enlarged by interpolations. Then the litany "On the hedgehog to partake of communion." The deacon says: "Let us be attentive!", "Holy to the holy", "One is Holy." Communion. The deacon calls to give thanks to God, and the bishop reads a prayer similar to our thanksgiving and ambo prayers combined together. The liturgy ends with a prayer over the bowed people and the exclamation of the deacon, "Go in peace."

The liturgy of St. John Chrysostom is very similar to the liturgy of St. Clement: the construction of the litanies and the whole expressions are identical, but there are additional petitions in the litanies and they are arranged differently.

The liturgy of the Holy Apostle James, established in the Jerusalem Church, begins, like all ancient liturgies, with a small entrance and, unlike the Clementine liturgy, contains the Creed, the reading of diptychs, the Lord's Prayer, and three late prayers - after the Creed, with the opening of the antimension . The Old Testament readings disappeared, and in later editions the "Only Begotten Son" appeared.

The Liturgy of the Holy Apostle Mark is the main liturgy of the Egyptian type. Early record of the 12th century - not in its original form. It began with a small entrance ("Only Begotten Son" and the Trisagion), like two ancient liturgies. There are no litanies for catechumens. The last petitions of the litanies are followed by the prayers of the priest. Parts of the liturgy, beginning with the great entrance, were brought in from the Jerusalem and Constantinople liturgies, only the prayer of exaltation, the anaphora, has original, original features.

With the advent of heresies, there also appeared abuses in the celebration of the Divine Liturgy, and consequently, the need arose to bring it into harmony and uniformity. This is how the rites of the Divine Liturgy of Saints Basil the Great and John Chrysostom developed - a written presentation of the most important Christian service in a strict sequence and proportionality of the parts and with a certain formulation of the content of the prayers used on it. According to Saint Proclus, Archbishop of Constantinople († 446-447), Saints Basil the Great and John Chrysostom also set another very important goal in compiling their rites, caused by the circumstances of the time and the cooling of piety in Christian society - to reduce the Divine Liturgy to the rank of the apostle, preserving its main content. The abbreviation has mainly been achieved through the exact presentation of the content of the prayers and the introduction of the practice of reciting some of them secretly. The essential content of the Divine Liturgy remained unchanged.

The composition of the rites of the Divine Liturgy by Saints Basil the Great and John Chrysostom, according to the definition of the 32nd Canon of the Trullo Council (691), filled the entire Universe with their teaching, was extremely important for the Church of those times. By the 6th century they were taking place throughout the Orthodox East.

In some Local Orthodox Churches, on the feast day of the Apostle James, October 23, the Divine Liturgy is served according to his order. The service of the Divine Liturgy of the Apostle James is from the very beginning: it is the creation of all the apostles. It is known from the book of Acts that the holy apostles, gathering at home, began to celebrate the sacrament of the Eucharist immediately after the descent of the Holy Spirit upon them. So it was before they went out to preach in different countries and during their visits to Jerusalem. All of them had constant liturgical communion with the brother of the Lord, the Apostle James, the first bishop of Jerusalem, appointed by Jesus Christ, and could not help but influence the creation of the tradition of celebrating the Divine Liturgy, which was recorded in writing under the name of the ordination of the Apostle James.

Details of what Saint Basil the Great did for the liturgy have been preserved in the "Homily on the Tradition of the Divine Liturgy" by Saint Proclus, Archbishop of Constantinople. he only expounded what existed before him.In the explanation of what exactly Saint Basil the Great did, it is said that he shortened not the Liturgy of Saints Clement and James, but the Liturgy of the Apostles.In the Life of Saint Basil the Great, attributed to his contemporary Saint Amphilochius, Bishop of Iconium (+ 344), and translated into Latin by the deacon Ursus in the 9th century, there is a story about how St. Basil the Great composed his liturgy.As a bishop, he prayed to God for the gift of grace, wisdom and understanding, so that he could make the offering of the Bloodless Sacrifice with his own words, and so he began to serve God, saying prayer every hour of the day and night.On the seventh day, having come into a state of special inspiration by the influx of the Holy Spirit, he saw in a vision of Christ with the apostles. Offering bread and a bowl on the altar, the Lord said: "Let your lips be filled with praise" and allowed the saint to make the offering of the Bloodless Sacrifice in accordance with his desire. After this, Saint Basil the Great, approaching the altar, began to speak and write on parchment: "May my lips of praise be filled, that I may sing of Your glory, O Lord our God, who created us and brought us into this life," as well as the rest of the prayers of the Divine Liturgy. At the end of the prayers, he lifted up the bread, praying earnestly and saying: "Listen, Lord, Jesus Christ our God, from Your holy dwelling place and come to sanctify us, Woe sitting with the Father and here invisibly present with us, and make it worthy of Your strong hand to teach to us and through us to all your people the Divine Mysteries." Then: "Holy to the holy." People: "One Holy, One Lord, Jesus Christ, to the glory of God the Father. Amen." When the saint broke the bread into three parts, he himself accepted one of them with fear and reverence, kept the other to be buried with him, and put the third in a golden ark and hung it over the throne.

The order of the liturgy of St. Basil the Great begins with the prayer of the offering, following the Cherubic Hymn. Then, according to Amphilochius, he wrote the Eucharistic Prayer ("Be Yours, Master, Lord"), the prayer before the "Our Father" ("Our God, God save"), the prayer of head bowing ("Master, Lord, Father bounty") and, finally, the prayer of the offering of the Lamb ("Beware, O Lord"). These five prayers stood with the name of St. Basil the Great in the lists of his liturgy known to the author of his Life.

There is reason to believe that the liturgy of St. John Chrysostom was the everyday liturgy of the Church of Constantinople and developed gradually, receiving the name of St. John Chrysostom from the central liturgical prayers composed by him or from his Eucharistic prayer. Thus, our liturgy rites do not correspond to the ancient liturgy of St. Basil the Great and the liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, traces of which bear. All parts that preceded the small entrance are of later origin. The Trisagion could not have been composed earlier than 438-439. and included in the rank of liturgy under Archbishop Proclus of Constantinople. The entrance prayer, according to the Barberian list, is borrowed from the liturgy of the Apostle James, the offering prayer is from the liturgy of the Apostle Mark at that time. Prayer during the singing of the Cherubim does not belong to the early compilers of our liturgies, since the Cherubim themselves ("Like the Cherubim" and "Thy Suppers") were introduced under Emperor Justin II (565-578), "Now the powers of Heaven" - in 645; prayer - "Let all human flesh be silent" is placed in the first printed Typikon of 1577.

Not only the ancient, but also the current Greek Church does not know before the consecration of the Gifts of reading by the primate "Lord, even Thy Most Holy Spirit" with verses from Psalm 50. The hymn "Only Begotten Son" was introduced in 536 against the Nestorians. The singing "Let our mouth be fulfilled" was introduced in 624. The sacramental prayer is of ancient origin.

It is worth noting that the Roman liturgy currently in use, that is, the Mass, received its final form at the Council of Trent (XVI century). It is distinguished by many changes that removed it from the type of ancient liturgies. The Roman Church changed the nature of the proskomedia, retaining in it only the preparation for the sacrament of the Eucharist of bread and wine, which is done during the so-called Offertorium after the Creed, eliminating the offering of the faithful and thereby depriving them of a living participation in the gifts offered to God. The modern Roman Mass does not have the litanies that it had in antiquity. Only at the beginning of it is Kyrie eleison, Christe eleison sung, and these Greek words remain the only reminder of the ancient and long-standing liturgical connection that existed between the Eastern and Western Churches. The Mass has neither a small nor a great entrance; such sacred objects as a sponge, a spear, an asterisk, a liar are not used during its performance; there is no gospel on the throne; instead of an antimension, there is a simple board on the throne, which is only blessed, but not consecrated. The Orthodox Church, recognizing the full importance of the words of the Savior, with which He established the sacrament of Communion, after them calls the Holy Spirit to the Gifts presented and believes that by the grace of the Holy Spirit, bread turns into the Body of Christ and wine into the Blood of Christ. The Roman Church omitted the former in her liturgies of the 5th century. the invocation of the Holy Spirit, although it instructs the priest, after pronouncing the words of the Savior, with which, according to Catholic belief, the Gifts are consecrated, to repeatedly make the sign of the cross over them. However, back in the ninth century. the consecration of the Gifts was not considered accomplished by the mere utterance of the words of the Savior, and when the invocation of the Holy Spirit was excluded from the Roman liturgy, many Catholic theologians recognized the unsatisfactoriness of the new canon of the consecration of the Gifts.

The basis of the liturgy is the Eucharistic prayer. The Apostolic Eucharistic Prayer was continuous prayer, interrupted only by brief responses from the people. She was not interrupted by the long singing of "It is worthy and righteous to eat" and "We sing to you"; instead of the first, only the first three words were spoken, not sung. Subsequent words until the XIV century. were not used. The hymn "We sing to you" was added to the rank a little earlier than the 9th century. Its content is not connected with the previous exclamation "Yours from Yours" and the prayer for the sending of the Holy Spirit on the Gifts. Under Patriarch Saint Germanus of Constantinople († 740), the hymn was in the liturgy, but it did not contain the words "and we pray." At the exclamation "The victory song is singing" (there were no next three participles), the people uttered the angelic song "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts, fulfill heaven and earth"; subsequent words are later. At the end of the Eucharistic Prayer, before "Fairly", "It is worthy to eat, as truly" or other meritors were not sung, but the primate, remembering in prayer the Annunciation to the Mother of God, read the prayer appeal to Her "Virgin Mother of God" or "Rejoice, full of grace." The reason for the changes lies in the fact that the Eucharistic prayer from a vowel became mystical: an iconostasis was formed from the fence of the ancient altar; only the ends of the prayer (exclamations) began to reach the hearing of those present, often expressed in subordinate clauses (“singing, blatantly”), and sometimes in sentences whose predicate is hidden in the secret part of the prayer (“Fairly”). For the upcoming prayers during the reading, which had become secret, hymns began to be performed, which might not express the content of the prayers being read. The prayer and colloquial form of ancient times was gradually transformed into a song form: the short answers of the people to the primate were lengthened, new hymns of complex chant were inserted, the singing of the people was replaced by a choir and singers.

Before the second and third prayers of the faithful, the deacon says: "Wisdom", which in ancient times meant "Listen" and was a sign of the priest reading the prayer aloud. Now only subordinate clauses are read aloud, ending the prayers. The Fathers of the Council of Laodicea (4th century, rights 19) already prescribe to read secretly the first prayer of the faithful. It is possible that in the Eucharistic Prayer itself there were sayings uttered secretly. St. John Chrysostom writes: “When a priest stands before a meal, raising his hands to heaven, calling on the Holy Spirit to come down and touch what is presented, then there is great silence, great silence” (Creations. Vol. 2, p. 442).

The replacement of vowel prayers by secret ones occurred at the beginning of the 4th century, as evidenced by the concern of the fathers of the Laodicean Council for the secrecy of the first prayer to remove the catechumens. In the 6th century, the secret reading of prayers became so widespread that the emperor Justinian († 565) tried to restore the vowel reading with novella 137, but this attempt was hardly a lasting success. In the 7th century, in the Spiritual Meadow, a story about children playing at mass is preceded by the words: "In some places, priests used to read prayers aloud." According to prof. A.P. Golubtsov, these words represent a veiled apology for the secrecy of prayers.

With the reduction of vowel prayers in the liturgy, the song element intensified, and the entire Eucharistic prayer was, as it were, covered with a canon of songs.

In other parts of the liturgy, as a result of the secrecy of the prayers, litanies were multiplied, introduced both to fill the pauses between the exclamations of the primate and to make it known what the primate is praying about. The litany for the catechumens repeats the prayer of the primate. The petitionary litany for the transfer of the Gifts to the throne invites to pray for the offered Honest Gifts, the petitionary litany for the consecration of the Gifts - for the consecrated Gifts. Then the prayer behind the ambo arose.

In the Orthodox Church, the rite of the Liturgy of St. Gregory the Dialogist († 604), or the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, has been adopted.

The Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is a sacred service at which there is no proskomedia and consecration of the Gifts, but the Holy Gifts, previously consecrated, are offered at the Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great or St. communion.

The origin and gradual formation of the rite of the Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is connected with the ancient conciliar prohibition to celebrate the full Divine Liturgy on the days of Great Lent, except for Saturdays and Sundays, and with the custom of the first Christians to take communion daily. Considering fasting as a time of repentance, the Holy Church, as it were, imposes penance on all penitents, which at other times she subjects only to some, offering the faithful prayers and reading the Word of God, she does not allow them to see the celebration of the sacrament of the Eucharist. However, the Eucharist itself is the most solemn divine service, expressing the fullness of our gracious boldness towards God by virtue of the redemptive sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. Holy Forty Day is a time of contrition for the sins committed by us, despite all the grace-given means given to us, a time of spiritual sorrow and self-abasement before God. Therefore, in order not to confuse sorrow with triumph, self-abasement with boldness, the Holy Church does not dare to celebrate the full Divine Liturgy at this time, but is consoled and strengthened only by the Presanctified Gifts. In addition, the celebration of the full Divine Liturgy on the days of Holy Lent could become the reason for the inconsistency of the ancient church regulations about the time for the celebration of the full Divine Liturgy and the time for breaking the fast. According to the original statutes of the Church, the Divine Liturgy is celebrated only in the first half of the day, and after it the fast ends, and on the days of the Holy Lent, the resolution from fasting is not earlier than the evening time, when it is no longer possible to celebrate the full Divine Liturgy.

There is an opinion that the celebration of the Eucharist in the first centuries of Christianity, accompanied by a common meal, which was arranged from the remnants of plentiful offerings and which was called the “feast of love”, or “agapʹ”, was the reason for the prohibition to celebrate the full Divine Liturgy on the specified days of the Holy Lent. But during the days of the Holy Forty Day, that is, during the days of fasting, which the first Christians kept very strictly, the frequent organization of the agape was impossible. Agapas were inextricably linked with the Eucharist, and for the sake of the impossibility of performing them during the days of fasting, the celebration of the full Divine Liturgy at that time was also postponed.

Taking into account the above circumstances, the ancient Church decided, by Canon 49 of the Laodicean Council, not to celebrate the full Divine Liturgy on the days of the Holy Lent, except for Saturdays and Sundays, with which the Church unites the remembrance of the solemn events of the Old and New Testaments and moderates fasting. Keeping in mind the habit of the first Christians to take communion as often as possible, and in order not to weaken the spirit of believers by prolonged deprivation of the Body and Blood of Christ, the Church offered them the Presanctified Gifts. There is no doubt that it is precisely in this ancient custom that the modern practice of serving the Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts lies. The communion of the Presanctified Gifts could not be allowed without the necessary prayers and rituals. Therefore, instead of the rites of the Divine Liturgy on those days when it was not celebrated, communion of the Holy Mysteries could be combined with evening prayers, with listening to the Word of God, or with some parts of the Divine Liturgy, except for prayers and actions related to the very consecration of the Gifts. Evidence from ancient times indicates that the Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts was handed down by the apostles and that it existed from the beginning for the sake of Lent itself, so as not to rejoice, but to weep during weeping.

The origin of the Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts from the apostles is confirmed by literary and liturgical monuments. Saint Sophronius, Patriarch of Jerusalem (7th century), testifies that in his time, about the Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, some said, "that she is James, called the brother of the Lord, others - Peter, the supreme apostle, others otherwise." To the names of James and Peter must be added the name of the Apostle Mark, the compiler of the Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts for the Church of Alexandria, of which he was the first bishop and for which he composed the rite of the full Divine Liturgy. The existence in the Church of Alexandria of the Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts of apostolic origin, directly assimilated to the holy apostle and evangelist Mark, is considered beyond doubt. It is also known that in the most ancient manuscripts there is also the order of the Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, inscribed with the name of the holy Apostle James, brother of the Lord, the first bishop of the Church of Jerusalem. In the practice of the Jerusalem Church, he appeared very early and was respected, like the full rite of the Divine Liturgy of the Apostle James. From here it spread to the Patriarchate of Antioch and to the Sinai Archdiocese, where it was kept in practice, as well as the full rite of the Divine Liturgy of the Holy Apostle James, until the end of the 12th century. According to St. Proclus, Archbishop of Constantinople, St. Basil the Great shortened for the Church of Caesarea the full rite of the Divine Liturgy of the holy Apostle James, and also, in accordance with the needs, revised and shortened the rite of the Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, freeing it from features that had local significance for Jerusalem . He also added his prayers to it. In this form, the rite of the Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts was introduced into the liturgical practice of the Church of Constantinople, and from there it spread throughout the Christian East, displacing the rite of the Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts of the holy Apostle James. According to Greek and Slavic lists, it bears the name of St. Basil the Great.

As regards the Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts of St. Gregory the Dialogist, Pope of Rome, it must be remembered that he composed its order, borrowing it from the Eastern Church, only for the Western Church. The tradition that ascribes to St. Gregory the Dialogist the composition of the rite of the Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts arose on the basis of the deep veneration by the Orthodox East of the name of this holy man. Returning from the East and becoming the Bishop of Rome, Saint Gregory the Dialogist began to restore in the Roman Church some of the ancient rites she had forgotten, which had been preserved in all their purity in the Orthodox East. He also showed interest in the Apostolic Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts and sought to spread it in the West. Saint Gregory the Dialogist introduced this rite in Latin. The Eastern Church has not forgotten Saint Gregory's concern for the spread of the Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts. Since the 11th century, the Greek synaxarii say that among the Romans he established the celebration of the Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts during the days of fasting. In the Western Church, it is currently celebrated on Great Friday of Holy Week.

After recording from the words of church tradition and bringing into uniformity the rites of its celebration, the Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts by the VI Ecumenical Council (right. 52) was finally accepted for celebration on the days of Holy Fortecost within the entire Christian Church. The rule reads: "During all the days of the fast of the Holy Forty Day, except for Saturday and Week, and the holy day of the Annunciation, let the holy liturgy be none other than the Presanctified Gifts." The rule, however, was not always and everywhere strictly observed. In ancient times, the Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts in some places was celebrated all the days of Great Lent, except for Saturdays and Sundays, according to the prescription of the Trullo Council, in others only on Wednesday and Friday of Holy Forty Days, as in the days of increased fasting. The first kind of practice was kept in those places where the liturgical Rule of the Constantinople Studite monastery was adopted, which owed its main principles to the Monk Theodore the Studite, the other - in areas that adhered to the Rule of the Jerusalem. And when in Greece itself and later in Russia the Studite Rite gave way to the Rite of Jerusalem, the practice of the second kind appeared everywhere and became stronger. Hierodeacon Kirik (+ 1155) asked Saint Nifont, Bishop of Novgorod (+ 1156), what to do with the reserve Lamb, if for some reason it was not necessary to serve the Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts on any day of the week, and the Holy Gifts were prepared for five days. Consequently, in the 12th century in Russia, the Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts was celebrated five times a week, that is, according to the Studian Rule. In the ancient Slavic lists of statutes up to the 15th century. the same practice is prescribed and, in addition, the Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is laid on Wednesday and Friday of Cheese Week. In the XIV-XV centuries, as can be seen from the answers of the Council of Constantinople (1276) to the question of Theognost, Bishop of Sarai (XIII century), the Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts on Wednesday and Friday of Cheese Week is cancelled. At the same time, the celebration of the Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts on Good Friday, as well as on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays of Lenten weeks, was also canceled. Consistency required the abolition of this service in the first days of Holy Week, which was in accordance with the Jerusalem Charter. But this did not happen. Only one of the traditions of the Studite Rite has survived, and the practice that prevails among us at the present time, which admits of exceptions, has begun. According to Leo Allation, even in the 17th century, the Christians of the island of Chios and other islands of the Aegean and Ionian Seas celebrated the Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts in accordance with the requirements of the Studian Rule. The same was the practice of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, where the Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts was celebrated on all the seven days of Great Lent, except for Saturday and Sunday. This practice was a remnant of the original Studite order implanted by the founders of the Lavra, which survived even after the widespread replacement of the Studite Rite by the Jerusalem one, but it was an exception, not a model for parish churches, where generally accepted statutory instructions were followed.