What is the liturgy in the church? On the Divine Liturgy

Commentaries on the Divine Liturgy of St. John,Archbishop of Constantinople, Chrysostom

From the Editor: Clerics of the Belgorod Diocese have been performing missionary services for several years. At such a service, the priest goes out to the people several times during the service, explaining what is happening in the church at the moment. We have published the text of the commentary on the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts.

We hope that the commentary on the Divine Liturgy will be useful both for the laity, who will be able to better understand the service, and for the priests in conducting missionary services.

In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit!

Beloved brothers and sisters in the Lord, all of you and I have gathered in this holy church in order to perform our common prayer, because the word "liturgy" in translation from Greek means "common cause", i.e. it is not only a matter of the clergy, but of all the faithful who gather in the church for divine services. This means that every action, every prayer has a bearing on each of us. All prayers that are recited by the clergy in the altar have the character of a common, joint prayer of the entire community, and the primate of the service (bishop or priest) performs them on behalf of everyone. And the meaning of our presence at the divine service is not only to pray for our own joys and sorrows, but that through the prayer of the entire community the great sacrament of the Eucharist should be fulfilled, i.e. thanksgiving, when the offered bread and wine are transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ and everyone who approaches the sacrament of Holy Communion is united with Christ Himself.

But the main problem is that our worship is largely incomprehensible. In order to partially resolve this problem today, the Divine Liturgy will be accompanied by comments explaining the meaning of the sacred rites and prayers being performed. The hours, which are part of the daily cycle of worship, have just been read, a proskomedia was performed in the altar by the priest (in the translation from the Greek. offering), during which part of the bread (symbolizing the Lamb of God, i.e. Christ), particles in honor and memory of the Most Holy Theotokos, saints, as well as living and dead Orthodox Christians, for which commemorations were filed, were withdrawn from the proposed prosphora. All this relies on the diskos and symbolizes the Church of Christ - heavenly and earthly. Wine is poured into the Chalice, combined with water, in memory of the fact that blood and water flowed from the rib of the Lord, after it was pierced with a spear on the Cross. After that, the offered gifts are covered with special fees (patrons and air at khom) and the priest reads the prayer of the offer, in which he asks to bless and accept the offer to the Celestial Altar, to remember “ those who brought them and theirs for the sake of bringing”(That is, those who submitted the commemoration and for whom) and we will remain uncondemned during the sacrament.

Thus, the proskomedia ends and the time for the catechumens' liturgy begins, which will begin literally now. In the opening prayers before the Liturgy, the priest reads the prayer for the calling of the Holy Spirit " Heavenly King", And when the service is performed with the deacon, he, asking the primate's blessing, says:" Time to create the Lord, Lord, bless". Those. the time of the liturgy is coming, the time when the Lord Himself will act, and we will only be His co-workers.

The Divine Liturgy begins with the solemn exclamation “ Blessed is the Kingdom of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and forever and ever.", To which the choir replies" Amen", What means May it be so... Any response of the kliros expressed in pronouncing the words “ Amen»Are expressions of consent and acceptance by the people of God, that is, by all faithful Christians, everything that happens in the Church.

This is followed by the great or "peaceful" litany, which begins with the words " Peace be with the Lord"," Peace "means" in the world ", ie a peaceful state of mind and reconciliation with others. You cannot sacrifice to God while in an embittered state. Petitions are pronounced, and we, together with the choir, answer them " Lord have mercy". After the great litany, a prayer is read, in which the priest asks the Lord to “ looked at this holy temple and gave us and those who pray with us inexhaustible mercies". This is followed by the chanting of antiphons. Whole psalms or verses from them are called antiphons, which are sung alternately by the right and left chorus. Of course, it is not always possible to follow this tradition everywhere. The main content of antiphons is the glorification of God and His eternal kingdom. Initially, they were not part of the liturgy, but were sung by the people on the way to the church. While singing antiphons, the priest reads a prayer in which he asks God “ save Thy people and bless Thy inheritance, preserve Thy Church in fullness ... and do not leave us who hope in You».

Pronounced so-called. "Small" litany " packs and packs, in peace let us pray to the Lord", I.e. " over and over again in the world let us pray to the Lord». « Lord have mercy The chorus replies, and with it all of us.

This is followed by the chanting of the second antiphon “ Praise my soul to the Lord"And the song" Only begotten son", Which expresses the Orthodox teaching about Christ: in Him two natures are united - divine and human, and both of them are present in Him in their entirety: God, having incarnated, did not cease to be God, and man, having united with God, remained a man. At this time, the priest reads a prayer, where he prays “… Himself and now fulfill the petition of Your children for the benefit: grant us in the present age the knowledge of Your Truth, and in the future - grant Eternal Life».

And again follows the "small" litany, after which the singing of the third antiphon, the so-called. "Blessed", that is the Beatitudes given by the Lord, during which the Little Entrance is made. Priests will wear out the Holy Gospel from the altar with the reading of a prayer “... make with our entrance the entrance of holy angels, serving with us and glorifying Your goodness". The priest blesses the holy entrance with the words “ Blessed is the entrance of your saints", Followed by the exclamation" Wisdom, forgive me!». "Sorry"- so, let us stand upright, reverently. The Little Entrance symbolizes the appearance of the Church, which, together with the angelic powers, gives God incessant praise. But earlier the bringing of the Gospel also had a purely practical character, because it was kept not on the throne, but in a separate place, and at that moment it was brought to the temple in order to be read.

The choir sings " Come, let us worship and fall down to Christ!"Followed by the chanting of the troparia and kontakion who rely on this day. During the chanting, the priest reads the prayer of the Trisagion Singing, which is in direct logical connection with the idea of ​​entrance and the prayer of entrance, and it speaks of concelebration with the priest and the Heavenly Forces themselves " Holy God, who rests in the saints, Whom the seraphim sing with the Trisagion Song and the cherubim glorify ... Yourself, Vladyka, accept the Trisagion Song from the lips of us, sinners, and visit us according to Your goodness, forgive us all our voluntary and involuntary sins ...».

This is followed by the exclamation “ Lord, save the godly ...", Which has been preserved from the ceremony of the Byzantine service, which was attended by the kings. And immediately follows the singing of the Trisagion " Holy God, holy Mighty, holy Immortal, have mercy on us". During the singing of the Trisagion, the ascent of the clergy takes place to a high place in the altar, a place where only the bishop can sit, symbolizing Christ. The ascent to a mountainous place takes place to listen to the Holy Scriptures, therefore, it is from there that the primate teaches the world to all those gathered, for our hearing the word of God. The reading of the Holy Scriptures is preceded by the singing of the prokimna (in the translation from the Greek. present). Prokeimenon is a verse from Holy Scripture, most often from the Psalter. For the prokimn, the verse is chosen especially strong, expressive and suitable for the occasion. The prokeimn consists of a verse in the proper sense called the prokimn, and one or three "verses" that precede the repetition of the prokimn.

After that, the reader proclaims the corresponding passage of their apostolic epistles. Today there will be two such passages from the epistle of the apostle Paul to the Colossians and the first epistle to the Corinthians. During the reading of the Apostolic Epistle, the censing of the altar, the iconostasis, the reader of the apostle, the kliros and all those gathered in the church is performed. Previously, incense was supposed to be done while singing. halleluaria with verses of psalms, i.e. after the reading of the Apostle, but since this singing is usually performed very hastily, the censing was transferred to the very reading of the passage of the Apostolic Epistle. Hallelujah is a Hebrew word and literally means "praise Yahweh" (Yahweh, or Jehovah is the name of God revealed in the Old Testament).

This is followed by the reading of the Gospel. Before reading it, the priest reads a prayer “ Shine into our hearts, humane Master ... Put in us the fear of Thy good commandments, so that we, having conquered all the lusts of the flesh, lead a spiritual life ...". Today there will also be two Gospel readings, and we will stop separately to tell about the meaning of the passages read.

And now the Divine Liturgy will begin, therefore I call on all those gathered in the church to a responsible and prayerful coming for the service, because our common prayer is the prayer of the whole Church. God help everyone!

Next stop after reading Scripture

Beloved in the Lord, brothers and sisters, immediately after the reading of the Gospel, the so-called. "Augmented" litany, during which we pray for the Primate of our Church, His Holiness the Patriarch, the Ruling Bishop, the God-protected country, the people and the army, for all those who are coming and praying, doing good for this holy temple, singing and people who are coming awaiting great mercy from the Lord. The choir responds to each petition three times “ Lord have mercy”, And each of us in his heart must repeat this prayer. During the litany, the priest prays that the Lord “ accepted this prayer earnestly ... and pardoned us by many mercies" His. Also, the serving clergy reveals the holy antimension (literally - instead of the altar), a board with a sewn-in piece of holy relics, on which the Bloodless Sacrifice will be brought.

On weekdays, after the "augmented" litany, the funeral litany is supposed, but on Sundays and other holidays it is not supposed to be, which means it will not be there today. But let's not forget that the commemoration of the departed is always performed after the proskomedia, and after the consecration of the Holy Gifts, in the place that will be discussed later.

After this, a litany is pronounced about the catechumens, which reminds us that in the Ancient Church, Baptism was performed only after a long teaching (catechumens) and those preparing for this great sacrament were called catechumens. They were allowed to attend the service up to a certain point. After the recitation of this litany, all those preparing for Baptism were to leave the service. Today, the catechumens are practically absent, but the litany has survived, it is possible that it will become a guarantee that the ancient catechurative practice in our Church will be revived. During this litany, the priest prays that the Lord “ honored them ( those. announced ) during the auspicious baths of pakibity ( those. Baptisms ) ... united them with His holy, catholic and apostolic Church and brought them together to His chosen flock ...».

At the end of the litany, the proclamation is made: Elitsy(i.e. all those who) announcements, go out ...", Which means that liturgy of the catechumens and begins liturgy of the faithful, which can only be attended by members of the Church, i.e. Orthodox Christians.

During the recitation of litanies, two prayers of the faithful are read in the altar, in which the priest, on behalf of all those present, asks the Lord to accept “ ... our prayer, to make us worthy to offer Him prayers, and supplications, and bloodless sacrifices for all His people ...", grant " to all who pray with us prosperity in life and faith and spiritual understanding" and " innocently and without condemnation to partake of His holy Sacraments and His heavenly Kingdom will be rewarded". At the end of the reading of the second prayer, an exclamation follows: “ Yako yes according to your power(so that we are under your rule) always kept, they glorified Thee, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever and ever". After two times “ Amen The choir begins singing the Cherubic song. At the beginning of the chant cherubic the priest silently reads a prayer in which he asks God " … Deserve that through me, a sinful and unworthy servant of Thy, these gifts may be brought to Thee. You yourself are the one who brings and who is offered, who receives and who is given away, Christ our God ...". This prayer is a preparation for the moment of the great entrance, i.e. transferring the Gifts from the altar to the throne. After reading the prayer, the priest (if the deacon is absent) performs incense, during which he reads the penitential Psalm 50 to himself.

Having made the incense, the primate raises his hands up with the words “ We, the cherubim in the sacrament, depicting the life-giving Trinity Song of the Trisagion, we will postpone all everyday care in order to receive the King of the world, accompanied by invisibly angelic ranks. Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah».

Transferring the Gifts and placing them on the throne is expressed in terms of sacrifice, but again, our sacrifice, sacrifice of praise that we ask you to accept " from the hands of us sinners… ”. In the event that the liturgy is celebrated without a deacon, the primate takes the diskos and the Chalice and commemorates the First Hierarch of our Church, the Ruling Bishop, the most reverend metropolitans, archbishops and bishops, as well as all those present in the church with the words “ may the Lord God remember in His Kingdom, always now and ever and forever and ever". Putting the holy vessels on the throne, the priest covers them with air with the recitation of the troparia of Great Friday. After the transfer of the Gifts from the altar to the throne, we will make one more stop with you to explain the further course of the service. God help everyone!

Next stop after the Great Entrance

Beloved brothers and sisters in the Lord, the Great Entrance has been made, and you and I have almost come close to the culmination of the divine service - the Eucharistic canon. Immediately after the transfer of the Gifts from the altar to the throne, the supplicatory litany begins. The petition sounds " Let's execute(i.e. we will make up) our prayer to the Lord", And we, together with the chorus, answer" Lord, have mercy. " After the petition " spend the whole day holy, peacefully and sinlessly, we ask the Lord", We reply with the words" Give, Lord”, And that is why the litany is called supplicatory. This litany develops petitions for what people need: Guardian Angel, forgiveness of sins, peaceful death, etc. During its recitation, the prayer of offering is read. This last prayer before the Anaphora itself (ie the Eucharistic canon) draws attention to itself by invoking the Holy Spirit on the Gifts and on the people: “... honor us to find favor in Thy sight, so that our sacrifice may be favorable to Thee, and so that the good Spirit of Thy grace may rest on us, and on these gifts that are presented, and on all Thy people ...».

After the exclamation “ Thou art blessed with the bounty of Thy Only Begotten Son, with Nimzha ..."The priest teaches" peace to all". This is followed by the exclamation “ Let us love each other in order to profess in unanimity"And the chorus continues" Father and Son and Holy Spirit - Consubstantial and Inseparable Trinity". In ancient times, at this moment, the so-called. kissing the world when the faithful taught each other the kiss of peace in Christ: men to men, women to women. It can be assumed that the disappearance of this action was associated with the growth of the Church, with the emergence of large gatherings in churches where no one knows each other and where these actions would be a mere formality. Today this custom has survived only among the clergy, when one greets the other with the words “ Christ in our midst"To which the answer follows" and is and will be».

This action symbolizes the complete inner reconciliation between Christians who intend to participate in the sacrament of the Eucharist. The Savior's commandment (Matthew 5: 23-24) directly prescribes to be reconciled first with a brother, and then bring a sacrifice to the altar. But this reconciliation must also mean complete like-mindedness, complete spiritual unity. Therefore, immediately after kissing the world, the Symbol of Faith is proclaimed (adopted at the I Ecumenical Council in Nicaea and supplemented at the II Ecumenical Council in Constantinople) as a measure of the dogmatic truth of Christians. The Eucharistic offering can only be with one mouth and one heart, in one faith, in the agreement of dogmas, in the same view on the basic questions of faith and salvation.

After the exclamation “ Doors, doors, let us grasp wisdom(ie, let us heed) ”the Creed is sung by all the people of God as an expression of the dogmatic unity of the Church. Exclamation " doors, doors”In ancient times it was a sign for deacons who stood at the door so that during the celebration of the Eucharistic prayers no one would go out and enter the assembly of the faithful.

At the end of the chanting of the Creed, the Eucharistic Canon or the Anaphora prayers (from the Greek. ascension), which are the culminating part of the liturgy. We hear the exclamation “ Let's become good(i.e. slender), let us stand with fear, let us behold(i.e. we will pay attention) to bring a holy offering in the world -"And the chorus continues" mercy, peace and sacrifice of praise". The priest, turning his face to the people, proclaims: “ The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God and the Father, and the sacrament(communication) May the Holy Spirit be with you all!". Chorus, and together with it, we all answer: “ And with your spirit". Primate: " Mountains e we have(i.e. lift up) hearts", The chorus replies:" Imams(i.e. we exalt) to the Lord", a priest: " Thank the Lord!". And the choir begins to sing " Worthy and righteous to worship the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, the Trinity Consubstantial and Inseparable". At this time, the Primate performs a prayer of thanksgiving, in which he praises God for all His good deeds revealed and not revealed to us, for the fact that He brought us from nothingness into existence and after the fall restored us again, for the service that is being performed, despite the fact that thousands of archangels and many angels are coming, cherubim and seraphim six-winged, many-eyed, soaring on wings, which (the priest proclaims) “ singing victory song, exclaiming, exclaiming and speaking"(Continues the chorus)" Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord of hosts; the heavens and the earth are full of Thy Glory! Hosanna(i.e. salvation) in the highest! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!". And the priest continues “ with these blessed Powers, we too, the benevolent Vladyka, exclaim ..."After which the primate recollects in prayer the event when our Lord Jesus Christ established the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist" taking bread into His holy and blameless and sinless hands, giving thanks and blessing, sanctifying"And saying to his disciples and apostles" Accept, eat, this is My Body, broken for you in the remission of sins", The chorus and we together with him" Amen!". The priest prays " Likewise, the cup after supper, saying: (out loud) Drink from it all, this is My Blood of the New Testament, shed for you and for many for the remission of sins". The chorus continues to answer " Amen!", a priest " So, remembering this His saving commandment and everything He has done for us: the cross, the tomb, the three-day resurrection, ascent to Heaven, on the right hand(from the Father) sitting, and yet his second and glorious coming,(offering up the Gifts) “Yours is from yours, which brings you for everyone and for everything". And further “ We sing to you, we bless you, we thank you, Lord, and we pray to you, our God!”(The chorus echoes this). And the priest begins to read the prayer for the calling of the Holy Spirit to the Gifts " and we ask, and we pray, and we give miles(i.e. seizure a eat): send down your Holy Spirit on us and on these gifts that are presented,».

According to the Russian tradition, the troparion of the third hour is supposed to be read at this time, "Lord, like Thy Most Holy Spirit," many mistakenly believe that this troparion is precisely the prayer of invoking the Holy Spirit on the Gifts. In order not to break the integrity of this prayer, it will be read immediately after the words “ and we pray to you, our God!».

The epiclesis prayer (that is, the prayer for invoking the Holy Spirit) continues inseparably with the words “ And create this bread - with the honest Body of Thy Christ"(The priest blesses the diskos with his hand)," and in this Chalice the honest Blood of Thy Christ"(The priest blesses the Chalice)," having given by Thy Holy Spirit”(The priest blesses the discos and the chalice together). After this, an earthly bow is made before the consecrated Holy Gifts.

Having risen, the primate makes intercessory prayers that we all take communion for sobriety of the soul and forgiveness of sins. Then he prayerfully brings the verbal service “ about every righteous spirit that has passed away in faith". And he proclaims, making incense of the throne, “ Considerably(i.e. especially) about the Most Holy, Most Pure, Most Blessed Lady of our Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary". The choir sings a hymn glorifying the Mother of God, who is the most honest cherub and the most glorious seraphim without comparison, and the priest continues to commemorate the holy saints of God, John the Baptist, the holy glorious apostles and saints, whose memory is celebrated today. Then, please pay attention, the Primate commemorates the departed Orthodox Christians, therefore each of us at this time can and should prayerfully remember all those whom we usually remember for the repose. Then the priest prays for every Orthodox bishopric, priesthood, deaconism and every priestly order, for the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.

After that, the Primate loudly commemorates the First Hierarch of the Russian Church and the Ruling Bishop, after which he reads a prayer about our city, about our country and the salvation of all those Orthodox Christians who are not present at the service at the moment. Then, again, I ask you to pay attention, perhaps a commemoration of the health of Orthodox Christians, but there is very little time for this, so you can have time to prayerfully commemorate only the people closest to us. This is followed by an exclamation: “ And give(i.e. give) for us, with one mouth and one heart, to glorify and chant Thy pious and glorious name, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever and ever", The choir, together with the people, answers" Amen!"And the priest, turning his face to all the faithful, proclaims" And may the mercies of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ be with you all", The chorus replies" and with your spirit". This is where the Eucharistic canon ends and there is already a little time left until the communion of the clergy and laity. At this point, you and I will again make a stop to continue explaining the subsequent course of the service. I wish all of us a meaningful standing before the Lord!

Next stop after the eucharistic canon

Beloved brothers and sisters in the Lord, the laying of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ took place, so that later it could be offered to the faithful for communion and union with God. Now the supplicatory litany will be recited after the consecration of the Gifts " Remembering all the saints, again and again in the world let us pray to the Lord". Saints here mean not only the saints of God, glorified by the Church, but also all faithful Orthodox Christians, dead and alive, remembered during the service. In the early Church, saints meant all Christians in general, and the apostolic writings refer to Christians in this way. Further, the petition “ Let us pray for the honest Gifts brought and sanctified to the Lord", This is a petition for the consecration of us by the communion of these Gifts, which follows from the following petition" So that our humane God, having accepted them on His holy and heavenly and mental altar, as a spiritual fragrance, may send us divine grace and the gift of the Holy Spirit as a reward - let us pray!”, Then the petitions, usual for the supplicatory litany, follow, and the priest prays that each of us uncondemned communion and cleansed from the defilements of the flesh and spirit. The meaning of this prayer and litany is written by St. Nicholas Cabasila, one of the best interpreters of the Liturgy: “Grace works in honest Gifts in two ways: first, by the fact that the Gifts are sanctified; secondly, by the fact that grace through them sanctifies us. Therefore, no human evil can prevent the action of grace in the Holy Gifts, because their sanctification is not an act of human virtue. The second action is a matter of our efforts, and therefore it can be hindered by our negligence. Grace sanctifies us through the Gifts if it finds us worthy of sanctification; if she finds it unprepared, then she does not bring us any benefit, but causes even more harm. " The litany ends with the petition “ Having asked ourselves and each other for the unity of faith and communion of the Holy Spirit, we will give our whole life to Christ God", Followed by the exclamation" And grant us, Vladyka, with boldness and uncondemnation to dare to call You, Heavenly God, Father and speak»:

And all the people together with the choir sings the Lord's Prayer: “ Our Father…". Petitions in the Lord's prayer for their daily bread acquire a special Eucharistic character during the liturgy. The prayer ends with the exclamation “ As Yours is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory ...", After which the priest teaches the world to everyone, and after the proclamation of obeisance reads the appropriate prayer, in which he thanks God and asks for our immediate needs" floating floating, traveling traveling, heal the sick Physician of our souls and bodies". After the choir replies “ Amen", The priest reads a prayer before breaking up the Holy Lamb, in which he asks God" to give us His clean body, and the honest Blood, and through us - to all His people».

An exclamation follows " Let’s listen!(ie we will be attentive) "and the Primate lifting up the Holy Lamb proclaims" Holy to saints!". Here, as we have already said, by saints we mean all Orthodox Christians, in this case, gathered in this holy church, i.e. is understood by each of us. The choir sings: “ One Holy, one Lord, Jesus Christ, to the glory of God the Father. Amen". The Primate shatters the Holy Lamb, with the words “ The Filling of the Holy Spirit"Puts a particle with the inscription" Jesus "into the Chalice, the clergy will receive communion with a particle with the inscription" Christ ", and the two remaining ones with the inscriptions" NO "and" KA "(ie victory) will be shattered for teaching to everyone who is going to take communion. A ladle of hot water is poured into the Holy Chalice, the so-called. "Warmth", which by its theological interpretation goes back to the death of the Savior on the cross, t. The blood that flowed from the Lord was hot. After the clergy have received communion, we will again make a short stop and explain the rest of the service, after which the Body and Blood of Christ will be given to all who were preparing for this today.

Next stop after communion of the clergy

Beloved brothers and sisters in the Lord, the very moment has come when the Chalice with the Body and Blood of Christ will be carried out of the altar for the communion of the faithful. As we said at the beginning, the Divine Liturgy has its meaning in the laying of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ, for the communion of all those gathered at the Liturgy. The last part of the Liturgy is therefore called the Liturgy of the Faithful, because all those present at it were not outside spectators, but active participants in the service, realizing their responsible standing before God in the common Eucharistic prayer. Communion at each liturgy was the norm for Christians of the ancient Church, but over time this norm began to be forgotten, and today we can see, as in a church in which there is a sufficient number of people, there are only a few partakers. We often talk about our unworthiness, and this is absolutely true, each of us is not worthy to be able to unite with Christ Himself and woe to those who suddenly realize their own dignity in front of the Holy Chalice. Precisely because we are weak and unworthy, we are called to heal our ailments in the Sacraments of the Holy Church - first of all repentance and communion. The universality of communion of all the faithful during the Liturgy reveals the nature of the Church, which is the Body of Christ itself, which means that each member of Her is His part.

Striving for constant unity with God in joint prayer and communion in the sacraments, we will step by step make our spiritual ascent, to which every Christian is called. The Liturgy is not celebrated so that we can light candles and order mass, or rather, we also have every right to do all this, but the main meaning of its celebration is our union with God Himself. The purpose of the life of an Orthodox Christian is to achieve O zhenia, because, according to the words of St. Athanasius the Great, "God became a man so that man could become God." And our deification is unthinkable without participation in church sacraments, to which we must resort not from time to time, from time to time, but constantly, remembering that this is precisely what our church life consists of. Naturally, all this is inconceivable without painstaking and careful work on yourself, without fighting your sins, because the Holy Scriptures say: “ The Kingdom of Heaven is taken by force, and those who use force delight it”(Matthew 11:12). God saves us, but not without us, if each of us does not yearn for salvation, then it will be impossible to achieve it.

And in addition to our constant mysterious life, we must use efforts in order to better know our faith, because everyone who looks at us already has an idea of ​​the Church of Christ, and what this idea will be if we cannot give answers to elementary questions. You need to constantly force yourself to learn, read Holy Scripture, the Church Fathers, the works of Orthodox theologians, and, undoubtedly, improve in prayer. Each of us has a huge responsibility before God, the Church and people, because having become Christians, we became, according to the words of the Apostle Peter, “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy people, people taken as an inheritance in order to proclaim the perfection of the One who called US out of darkness into His wonderful light ”(1 Pet. 2: 9). Keeping this responsibility in mind, it is incumbent upon us to carry out our church ministry.

Now the Holy Chalice will be brought out and everyone who was going to commune today will unite with Christ Himself. After communion, the Chalice is brought into the altar and the holy particles, which were taken out for the saints, the living and the dead, are immersed in the Chalice with the words “ Lord, wash away the sins of all Thy saints remembered here by the prayers". Thus, everyone for whom the offering was made is also made the Body of Christ, and this is the highest meaning of the Eucharist - the unity of the heavenly and earthly Church.

Let's immerse the particles the priest proclaims “ Save, O God, Thy people and bless Thy inheritance!". Then the Holy Chalice is transferred to the altar, with the words “ Blessed be our God" (quiet) " Always now and forever and forever!"(Exclamatory). The priest pronouncing " Ascend to heaven, God, and throughout all the earth Thy glory»Delivers the Cup to the altar. The choir, on behalf of all those who received the Holy Mysteries, sings “ May our lips be filled with praise to Thee, O Lord, so that we may sing of Thy Glory, for you have honored us with the communion of Thy holy, divine, immortal and life-giving Sacraments". This is followed by the litany “ Let's become reverent! Having communed with the divine, holy, immaculate, immortal, heavenly and life-giving, terrible Mysteries of Christ, we worthily thank the Lord!", After the proclamation" Let us depart in peace!"And the junior clergyman reads the so-called. The "beyond the ambon" prayer, in which he asks " Lord ... save Thy people and bless Thy inheritance ... Grant Peace to Thy world, Thy churches, priesthood, our rulers and all Thy people ...". The choir answers with the people “ Amen!", After which a blessing is given to all the correct words" The blessing of the Lord is upon you ...". After which the primate makes a release, i.e. the final prayer of the liturgy, in which the Mother of God, the holy apostles, the saints of the temple and of the day (today, first of all, Equal-to-the-Apostles Nina, the enlightener of Georgia) and St. John Chrysostom, whose liturgy is celebrated today, are remembered. After that, the choir sings many years to the Primate of the Russian Church, His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia, and to our Ruling Bishop, His Eminence John, Archbishop of Belgorod and Staraya Oskol. Thus, the service ends.

We hope that today's divine service, which was constantly commented on in the course of its celebration, made it possible for us to better know our liturgical heritage, and we will continue to make efforts so that we have a desire to more and more comprehend our Orthodox heritage through meaningful participation in worship through participation in the Sacraments of the Holy Church. Amen.

The end and glory to our God!

There are many divine services. Each of them is not only solemn and beautiful. Behind the external rituals there is a deep meaning that must be understood by a believer. In this article we will tell you in simple words about the liturgy. What is it and why exactly is the liturgy considered the most important worship among Christians?

Daily circle

Worship is the outer side of religion. Through prayers, chants, sermons and sacred acts, people express their reverent feelings for God, thank him and enter into mysterious communion with him. In Old Testament times, it was customary to perform services continuously throughout the day, starting at 6 pm.

What services are included in the daily cycle? Let's list them:

1. Vespers. It is performed in the evening, thanking God for the past day and asking to sanctify the approaching night.
2. Compline. This is an after-dinner service, where parting words are given to all those preparing for bed and prayers are read, asking the Lord to protect us during the night's rest.
3. The midnight office was previously read at midnight, but is now performed before matins. It is dedicated to the expectation of the second coming of Jesus Christ and the need to always be ready for this event.
4. Matins are served before sunrise. On it, they thank the creator for the last night and ask to consecrate the new day.
5. Clock service. At a certain time (hours) in the church, it is customary to remember the events of the death and resurrection of the Savior, the descent of the holy spirit on the apostles.
6. All-night vigil. "Vigilance" means "vigilance." This solemn service takes place before Sundays and holidays. For the ancient Christians, it began with Vespers and lasted all night, covering Matins and the first hour. The story of the salvation of sinful mankind through the descent of Christ to earth is recalled by believers during the all-night vigil.
7. Liturgy. This is the culmination of all worship. During it, the sacrament of communion is performed.

The Last Supper, for which the Savior gathered his disciples for the last time, became a prototype for her. He gave them a cup of wine, symbolizing the blood that Jesus shed for mankind. And then he divided the Easter bread among all as a type of his body, which was sacrificed. Through this meal, the Savior presented himself to people and ordered them to perform a ceremony in memory of him until the end of the world.

What is the liturgy now? This is a memory of the life of Jesus Christ, his miraculous birth, painful death on the cross and ascension to heaven. The central event is the sacrament of communion, where the parishioners partake of the sacrificial food. Thus, believers unite with the Savior, and divine grace descends on them. By the way, from Greek "liturgy" is translated as "joint work". During this service, one's own involvement in the church, the unity of the living and the dead, sinners and saints, through the central figure of Jesus Christ is acutely felt.

Liturgical canons

The first to serve the liturgy were the apostles. They did this following the example of Jesus Christ, adding prayer and Bible reading to the sacrament of communion. It is believed that the original order of the service was made by the apostle James, the brother of the Savior, the son of the carpenter Joseph from his first wife. The canon was transmitted orally from priest to priest.

For the first time the text of the Liturgy was written down in the 4th century by Saint and Archbishop Basil the Great. He canonized the version adopted in his homeland (Cappadocia, Asia Minor). However, the rank offered by him was long in time, and not all parishioners could withstand it. St. John Chrysostom shortened the service, taking as a basis the original Liturgy of the Apostle James. At present, the canon of Basil the Great is served ten times a year, on special days. The rest of the time, preference is given to the liturgy of Chrysostom.

Divine Liturgy with explanations

In Russia it was called "mass", as it was performed before dinner. The Liturgy is an unusually beautiful and rich service. But only one who realizes the deep meaning of what is happening can truly feel it. After all, the main character during the liturgy is not the priest, but the Lord himself. The Holy Spirit invisibly descends on the bread and wine, prepared for the sacrament of communion. And they become the flesh and blood of the Savior, through which any person is freed from the sinful principle.

During the liturgy, the unity of the material and the divine, people and God, once broken by Adam and Eve, is restored. The kingdom of heaven begins in the temple, over which time has no power. Each present is transferred to the Last Supper, where the Savior personally gives him wine and bread, calling on everyone to be merciful and loving. Now let’s take a closer look at each stage of the liturgy.

Submitting notes

What is the Liturgy? This is a service during which the boundaries between the kingdom of heaven and earth are erased. We can directly appeal to God with a petition for loved ones. But collective prayer is even more powerful. In order for the whole church to pray for people dear to you, living or dead, you must submit a note in advance to the candle shop.

To do this, use a special form or a regular sheet of paper on which a cross is drawn. Next, sign: "For health" or "For peace." Prayer during the liturgy is especially necessary for people who are sick, suffering, and stumbled. Notes about the deceased are served on the birthdays and deaths of a person who has left this world, on his name day. It is allowed to indicate on one sheet of paper from 5 to 10 names. They must be received at baptism. Surnames and patronymics are not needed. The names of unbaptized people cannot be included in the note.

Proskomidia

This word translates as "bringing". The ancient Christians themselves brought bread, wine, oil and other products necessary for communion to the church. Now this tradition has been lost.

The liturgy in the church begins in secret, with the altar closed. The hours are read at this time. The priest prepares gifts on the altar. To do this, he uses 5 service prosphora in memory of the five loaves with which Jesus fed the crowd. The first of these is called the "Lamb" (lamb). This is a symbol of an innocent sacrifice, a type of Jesus Christ. A quadrangular part is cut out of it. Then pieces are taken out of other loaves in memory of the Mother of God, all saints, living clergy and living laity, deceased Christians.

Then comes the turn of small prosphora. The priest reads the names from the notes submitted by the parishioners and removes the appropriate number of particles. All pieces are placed on the discos. He becomes a type of the church, where the saints and the lost, the sick and the healthy, the living and the departed, gather together. The bread is immersed in a bowl of wine, which means cleansing through the blood of Jesus Christ. At the end of the proskomedia, the priest covers the diskos with covers and asks God to bless the gifts.

Liturgy of the catechumens

In ancient times, those who were just preparing for baptism were called proclaimed. Anyone can attend this part of the liturgy. It begins with the deacon leaving the altar and exclaiming: "Bless, Master!" This is followed by the singing of psalms and prayers. At the liturgy of the catechumens, the life of the Savior is recalled from birth to death.

The culmination is the reading of the New Testament. The gospel is solemnly carried out of the north gate of the altar. A clergyman is walking ahead with a burning candle. This is the light of the teaching of Christ and at the same time a type of John the Baptist. The deacon carries the Gospel raised up - the symbol of Christ. The priest follows him, bowing his head as a sign of obedience to God's will. The procession ends at the pulpit in front of the royal gates. During the reading of the Holy Scriptures, those present should stand with their heads respectfully bowed.

Then the priest voices the notes submitted by the parishioners, the whole church prays for the health and peace of the people indicated in them. The liturgy of the catechumens ends with the exclamation: "Proclaimed ones, go out!" After that, only the baptized remain in the church.

Liturgy of the faithful

People who have been admitted to the sacrament can fully understand what the liturgy is. The last part of the service is dedicated to the Last Supper, the death of the Savior, his miraculous resurrection, ascension to heaven and the coming second coming. Gifts are brought to the throne, prayers are read, including the most important ones. In chorus, parishioners sing "The Creed", which sets out the foundations of Christian teaching, and "Our Father", a gift from Jesus Christ himself.

The culmination of the service is the sacrament of communion. After him, the congregation thank God and pray for all the members of the church. At the very end it is sung: "May the name of the Lord be blessed from now on and forever." The priest at this time blesses the parishioners with a cross, everyone in turn comes up to him, kiss the cross and go home in peace.

How to receive communion correctly

Without taking part in this sacrament, you will not feel for yourself what the liturgy is. Before communion, the believer must repent of his sins, confess to the priest. A fast is also prescribed for at least 3 days, during which you should not eat meat, dairy products, eggs and fish. You need to take communion on an empty stomach. It is also recommended to refrain from smoking and taking medications.

Before communion, cross your arms over your chest, placing your right over your left. Get in line, don't push. When you approach the priest, say the name and open your mouth. A piece of bread dipped in wine will be put in it. Kiss the priest's bowl and step back. Take the prosphora and "warmth" (a drink of wine diluted with water) on the table. Only then can you talk.

What is the Liturgy? This is an opportunity to remember the entire path of the Savior and to unite with him in the sacrament of communion. After serving in the temple, a person is strengthened in faith, his soul is filled with light, harmony and peace.