Vigil on Easter is the most significant service of the year. Usually there are a lot of people in the churches that night, almost always cramped and stuffy. These are purely external circumstances, of course, the inner meaning of this holiday is so deep that it covers all these "inconveniences".
According to the priests, Vigil for Easter is our voluntary sacrifice to God. It can be joyful, but it cannot be easy. Hence the question: is it worth taking children with you to the All-night Vigil, how to behave in church and some other questions.
Whether to take the child with you to the Vespers for Easter. Whether to go to church with a baby or a baby is a personal decision of the mother. Church rules about this no. If you are sure that you can stand with the baby in your arms all night - your will. Just remember that vanity during the All-Night Service is unacceptable. The crying of a child, his desire to go to the toilet, fatigue - all this will be not only your "property", but also the people around you. Think about it.
It is a different matter if your child is “churched”, that is, he often happens to be with you in church and therefore you can count on his steadfastness. Take it with you, of course - these night hours are expensive.
When can the Easter basket be consecrated? Almost all people go to church with their Easter baskets on Saturday night. And few people know that it is possible to consecrate the Easter basket on Saturday, when there are not so many people in the churches. At the same time, the fullness of the sacrament is not lost, but the purely everyday worries and fuss are less.
If you still prefer early Sunday morning to consecrate your Easter basket - well, then read the basic rules of conduct in the church. They are quite strict and breaking them means showing disrespect for the church and the most important thing. Orthodox holiday- To the Resurrection of Christ.
It all starts with prayer. To come to church at dawn with a basket full of food and drink and, pushing your own kind, try to take a better place in the crowd and quickly go home to watch your dreams - what is there from the bright holiday of the Resurrection of Christ? Why is this? The all-night service in the church on Sunday night is striking in its depth, beauty and impact on a person. Such joy, which seizes the heart in the moments when for the first time this year “Christ is Risen” sounds, perhaps nothing else can give. That's absolutely - nothing ...
However, everyone is free to decide on the all-night vigil independently. We will give the rules for those who want to be in church that night with all the believers.
You need to come to the all-night service at about 11 o'clock in the evening. At 22.30 - removal of the shroud, singing of stichera in the altar, procession of the cross around the temple. After the return of people to the church, the priests conduct services in accordance with the canons of the church.
What to wear. Long skirt, scarf, no makeup. Mobile phone you need to either turn it off, or even leave it at home.
What to do in the church. Entering the church, you need to pause on its doorstep (better - to the door and directly in the church) and cross yourself three times with a bow. Before the beginning of the service, it is worth lighting a few candles for the health and peace of your loved ones.
Church is not a place for acquaintances to meet. Even if, upon entering the church, you meet a person whom you have not seen in a hundred years, shout “Hello! Well how are you?" not worth it. We do not allow ourselves to do this in the theater during a performance, at official meetings, etc. The church on this night (and always actually) is much more. Talk to me later. And in church - a minimum of words and listening to your heart. Needless to say, pushing for a place, and even more so - arguing and even almost swearing - well ... No need.
What prayers you need to know by heart. Strictly speaking, all Orthodox people need to know at least two prayers by heart: Our Father and the Symbol of Faith. These prayers are usually sung by everyone present in the temple at every service. People who do not know these words feel uncomfortable. On the night of resurrection during the service, it will also be sung more than once "Christ is risen from the dead, trampling death on death, and giving life to those in the grave." Just a few words - remember them.
When to be baptized. Together with everyone, and also - when you want. There are no restrictions here.
When to leave. You can’t be late for service and you can’t leave earlier. Well, you can’t ... God will not be offended, will not punish (God does not punish anyone at all), but in the observance of this rule there is something of an inner decency, good breeding, if you like, a spiritual level.
How long does the service last. Five o'clock, from 22.30 to 4 in the morning approximately.
How to leave service... Again: making the sign of the cross three times at the door of the church.
Should I go to bed after the service? All parishioners after returning from church (and they go there with the whole family) usually immediately sit down at the table - to have breakfast. And nothing, that only 5 in the morning, no one slept all night. Was your whole family asleep? Then do as you see fit - after all, we all carry God in our hearts. And it is important not to take His place simply by a rite, custom, habit, behind which there is nothing.
Light to you Christ's Resurrection!
Easter service, what time it starts and ends, as well as others important aspects services on this holiday, we will consider in this material. Easter is the most important holiday of the Orthodox Church, and preparation for it begins in advance, even during Great Lent.
Rituals before Easter
If we talk about the correct rituals and traditions, then it should be noted that in churches festive services come a week before the holiday itself. During these days Holy week people actively go to church, and priests increasingly appear in festive clothes. A few days before Easter, the doors of the church stop closing so that everyone can come to church at any time.
Of course, the most important day of Holy Week is Holy Saturday. It is on the night from Saturday to Sunday Great post ends, which means Easter is coming. It is on Saturday in churches, not only at night, but even in the morning, that the rite of consecration of food is held. Believers come to the temple with Easter cakes and painted eggs to sprinkle holy water on their food. At this time, candles can be lit in churches for the repose.
About the beginning Easter service
So, the Easter service, at what time it begins and ends, we consider further. It should be noted here that Orthodox Easter in this year falls on the first day of May. So, the Easter service begins exactly at midnight from Holy Saturday April 30 to Easter May 1.
The largest and most numerous in terms of the number of parishioners, the Easter service takes place, of course, in Moscow in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. The patriarch goes out to the parishioners, putting on his best clothes, and he conducts the entire service: from the beginning to the very end. Great ways,.
There are a lot of people in churches that night, and especially in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. There are also TV broadcasts of the service so that everyone who wants to can somehow take part in the service. The Easter service is held, according to Orthodox traditions, before the dawn of the very day of the Resurrection of Christ.
Important stages of the Easter service:
From 23.00 to midnight on Holy Saturday, the shroud is taken out.
Then comes the chanting of the stichera in the altar.
Then a procession of the cross takes place around the temple.
Then the light matins begins, when the censer and a special cross are used.
After that, matins are held, specially prepared holiday bread is brought out.
Bell ringing, traditionally, completes the Easter service. People can already exchange holiday greetings: "Christ is Risen", "Truly Risen".
It should be understood that each stage of the festive service is extremely important and is not ignored. Because, all the singing and the procession itself are directly related to the story of the resurrection of Christ, which every believer remembers on the day Happy Easter... This history and the traditions of how to honor it have been formed over the years.
In all Orthodox churches and even small churches have an Easter service. Even despite the fact that the date of Passover is different every year and is specially calculated according to the lunar and solar calendar, and the Jewish Passover is also taken into account (Orthodox Passover should not be earlier than Jewish Passover during a particular year).
Important! Easter service, what time it starts and ends. Easter service usually begins at midnight. But it is recommended to come to the temple about an hour in advance in order to take a place there and get to the service for sure.
As for the consecration of the festive food, it is, of course, carried out after the Easter service. But it is better to take care of this in advance, in churches they begin to consecrate food in the morning on Holy Saturday. Because it is difficult to defend a long Easter service with a basket in hand, plus, because of the large number of people, it is not always possible to quickly consecrate food and return home immediately after the service.
The first stages of the Easter service
Of course, every person who has carefully read this material until now has already realized how important the Easter service is. It is also an important event for every clergyman: they even wear special smart clothes to emphasize the peculiarity of the holiday.
Half an hour before midnight, that is, before the onset of the Resurrection of Christ, the shroud is taken out of the royal gates. After this event, the solemn Easter service is officially open: believers who come to the temple can light candles, a magical and enchanting atmosphere is created in the temple at this moment.
During the service, you can hear the ringing of bells announcing that Easter has come. The stichera are also chanted three times, each time the priest must raise his voice by one tone. During the singing of the third stichera, the priest moves to the center of the temple, moving away from the altar. Parishioners can sing along with the priest. Next comes the procession of the cross, when, accompanied by the sonorous singing of the clergy, everyone moves around the church behind the festive column. Is it possible at Easter.
In our material on the topic, the Easter service, what time it begins and ends, it remains to highlight only the last point. When the service in the temple ends. As a rule, this happens in the morning at 2-3 o'clock in the morning. After that, the fast is already considered over and at home you can break the fast with consecrated food immediately after coming from the church. You can already eat meat, dairy products, eggs. But the Easter day itself begins, of course, in the morning, when the sun rises.
Easter is the most important holiday for the Christian church, and preparations for it begin in a few weeks. After the end of Lent, everyone Orthodox people preparing for Easter service - a large-scale church celebration that lasts all night. About what time the Easter service begins and how it takes place is described below.
Rites before Easter
In many churches, festive services begin a week before Easter. Usually during this period people very actively attend church, clergymen increasingly appear in festive attire. There is also a tradition according to which, a few days before the start of Easter, the doors of the church are no longer closed. Even during the communion of the priests, the doors remain open, and everyone can visit the temple at any convenient time. 
Saturday becomes especially festive when Great Lent ends. It is on this day that people begin to follow en masse to church to consecrate festive food. The servants of the temple sprinkle cakes and eggs with holy water, saying traditional prayers. At the same time, you can put several candles in the church for the repose.
V catholic church the tradition of christening adults and children on Easter has been preserved. V Orthodox tradition the custom of baptizing adults during Easter is also being revived, but it is quite rare. The ministers of the church prefer to conduct this ceremony either on Saturday, or in the afternoon before the start of the solemn service.
Usually the representatives of the church themselves are very actively preparing for the upcoming holiday, memorizing lines from the gospel, taking communion and choosing the most festive clothes. Despite all the changes in the lives of modern citizens, Easter continues to enjoy enormous popularity throughout Russia.
Start time of Easter service
In 2017, Easter falls on May 1st. According to a tradition that has developed several centuries ago, the Easter service is held exactly at midnight. It will start on the night of April 30 to May 1.
The largest service takes place at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow. Traditionally, the patriarch (now Kirill) goes out to the parishioners in his best attire, conducting the entire service from beginning to end. It is broadcast on many TV channels, so you can enjoy the service without leaving your home.
For some peoples, such services take place in the early morning, but almost all Christian churches hold such an important and solemn service before dawn.
What stages does the Easter service include:
- Removal of the Shroud, which takes place half an hour before midnight.
- Religious procession around the temple.
- The beginning of the light Matins is marked by the use of a censer and a special cross with a tricolor.
- Carrying out Easter Matins and taking out specially prepared bread.
- The service ends with Easter ringing and the exchange of festive greetings ("Christ is Risen" - "Truly Risen").
Each step of the procedure is very important and is never ignored. The fact is that all the chants and processions of the cross are directly related to the history of the resurrection of Christ, and the traditions themselves have been formed over the centuries, therefore the priests honor them with special reverence.
The Easter service is held in almost all Orthodox churches. It is interesting that the date of the holiday is always determined by the lunisolar calendar and falls on different days. Moreover, the date of Easter for Catholics and Orthodox may differ. So, in 2017, this bright day fell on May 1.
The beginning of the Easter service traditionally takes place at midnight, but it costs at least an hour to come to church. The fact is that the holiday causes great excitement among believers, and therefore, by 23:00, queues of people wishing to get to the service are gathering around the temples. In small churches there are few parishioners, but getting to the service in the main shrines of the country (for example, in the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood) is extremely difficult. Despite this, all believers try to behave calmly, do not push each other away.
Consecrate Easter cakes, colored eggs, etc. holiday food it is worth in advance, on Saturday morning, because there will be too many people at the Easter service, and such an opportunity will most likely not be presented.
The first stages of the Easter service
Church services on Easter are a very important event for clergymen, therefore every priest is dressed in solemn robes on this day. Half an hour before midnight, the shroud is brought into the church through the royal doors, and the service is considered officially open. The people present at the service light candles, which creates a truly magical atmosphere in the temple.
Initial stages church worship have the following features:
- throughout the service, the bells are ringing announcing the beginning of the holiday;
- the stichera are chanted three times, and each time the clergy raise their voices to one tone;
- during the singing of the third stichera, the clergy move from the altar to the middle of the temple;
- parishioners also sing along with the ministers of the church, after which the ringing begins, and people go out into the street to perform a procession around the church.
With the beginning of the procession, all parishioners move around the church accompanied by the sonorous singing of the clergy. Usually the church is bypassed three times, after which they stop at the western gate, consecrating them with a cross. At this stage, the chanting subsides, after which the priest begins to consecrate the parishioners with a censer and the church itself, marking the image of a cross on the western gate of the temple.
Easter Matins
The beginning of the Easter service is more like a sacrament and has a certain mystery, while Matins consists of joyful chants and the reading of the canon. With the beginning of Matins, all parishioners return to the church, the doors remain open.
- singing of the canon and stichera;
- solemn reading of the gospel;
- reading prayer outside the ambo.
The service on Easter night does not end with the reading of the prayer behind the ambo, because after that, the sacred bread, which in Greek is called artos, is brought to a special altar in front of the icon depicting the risen Christ. It is prepared according to a special recipe and sanctified by the ministers of the church. Artos remains on the altar for several days.
Actually, this is where the Paschal Liturgy ends, and the festive bell ringing... Now believers have the opportunity to approach the cross, pray and congratulate each other on the coming of Easter.
Duration of the celebration and proper preparation for it
How long the Easter service lasts is very often of interest to people who have never been to this festive service. The standard duration of such a service is 5 hours. 
The long duration is due to the importance of the festive event and the abundance of various traditions. As mentioned above, the service begins at 00:00, but usually all believers try to arrive at the church by 23:00, taking places in the temple and praying before the sacred service.
The order of the Easter service is quite strict, so when heading to church, you should choose comfortable and closed clothes. Women should cover their heads with a scarf, hiding their hair.
This festive event ends at about four o'clock in the morning, after which the believers can disperse to their homes. In the Orthodox Church, it is very important to defend the entire service from beginning to end, since in this way a person confirms his faith.
It is also interesting that before the start of the service, each believer must properly prepare for the upcoming celebration. Usually, such preparation begins 7 weeks before the holiday, because it is then that Great Lent begins. During all this time, the believer limits himself to the use of food.
V Maundy Thursday(it falls on last week fasting) a person needs to spend general cleaning in my house. Fasting ends on Saturday, just before Easter. On this day, you need to prepare holiday treats such as Easter cakes and eggs. All these dishes should be put in a basket and taken to the church in order to consecrate them.
Before entering the church, you must cross yourself three times. The tracing of the cross is made every time some church phrases are used (for example, "In the name of the father and son, and the Holy Spirit").
A few more important points of church worship
Everyone who has attended it at least once in their life knows the course of the Easter service. It is important not only to fully defend the service, but also to behave correctly in the process. What rules of conduct in the temple should be remembered:
Easter does not end with the end of the holiday prayers. Before leaving the church, a person must cross himself three times in obeisance, going home.
Traditionally, on Easter, the festive breakfast starts early (at about 5 am), so you shouldn't go to bed right away. The believer needs to collect a rich table of festive treats and have breakfast with his family and friends.
Church traditions are easy to remember, especially if you understand them in advance, even before the service begins. Modern Easter traditions are observed by many believers, and the holiday itself is of great importance for Russian culture. There are no rich and poor in the church, and absolutely everyone can attend the festive service. Usually this celebration makes a lasting impression, leaving light and warmth in the soul of every parishioner.
On the eve of great holidays and Sundays, it is served all-night vigil , or, as it is also called, all-night vigil. The church day begins in the evening, and this service is directly related to the celebrated event.
All-night vigil is an ancient divine service, it was celebrated in the first centuries of Christianity. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself often prayed at night, and the apostles and early Christians gathered for night prayer. Previously, the all-night vigils were very long and, starting in the evening, continued throughout the night.
Vigil begins with Great Vespers
In parish churches, Vespers usually begins at seventeen or eighteen o'clock. Vespers prayers and chants are related to the Old Testament they prepare us for matins which mainly recalls New Testament events. Old Testament- the prototype, the herald of the New. The Old Testament people lived by faith - the expectation of the Coming Messiah.
The beginning of Vespers refers our mind to the creation of the world. The priests perform the censing of the altar. It signifies the Divine grace of the Holy Spirit, who was hovering during the creation of the world over the still unconstructed earth (see: Genesis 1, 2).
Then the deacon calls on the worshipers to stand up before the start of the service by exclaiming "Get up!" and asks for the blessing of the priest at the beginning of the service. The priest, standing before the throne in the altar, utters an exclamation: "Glory to the Saints, Consubstantial, Life-giving and Indivisible Trinity, always, now and ever and forever and ever."... The choir sings: "Amen."
While singing in chorus Psalm 103, which describes the majestic picture of God's creation of the world, the clergy perform the censing of the entire church and the worshipers. Censing is a sign of the grace of God, which our first parents Adam and Eve had before the Fall, enjoying bliss and communion with God in paradise. After the creation of people, the doors of paradise were opened for them, and as a sign of this, the royal doors were opened during the censing. After the Fall, people lost their primordial righteousness, distorted their nature and closed the doors of heaven for themselves. They were expelled from paradise and wept bitterly. After censing the royal gates are closed, the deacon goes out to the pulpit and stands in front of the closed gates, as Adam stood before the gates of paradise after his exile. When a person lived in paradise, he did not need anything; with the loss of paradise bliss, people have needs and sorrows for which we pray to God. The main thing we ask God for is the forgiveness of sins. On behalf of all those praying, the deacon pronounces peaceful, or great, litany.
After the peaceful litany, the chanting and reading of the first kathisma follows: Blessed is the husband, like(which the) do not go to the advice of the wicked... The path of returning to paradise is the path of striving for God and avoiding evil, wickedness and sins. The Old Testament righteous, who waited for the Savior with faith, preserved their true faith and shied away from communion with godless and wicked people. Even after the Fall, Adam and Eve were given the promise of the Coming Messiah, that the seed of the woman will erase the head of the serpent... And a psalm Blessed is the husband also figuratively tells about the Son of God, the Blessed Man, who did not commit sin.
Next are sung stichera on "Lord, I have cried out"... They alternate with verses from the Psalter. These verses also have a penitential, prayerful character. During the reading of the stichera, the censing of the entire temple is performed. “May my prayer be corrected, like a censer before You,” the choir sings, and we, listening to this chant, like our ancestors who sinned, repent of our sins.
The last stichera is called the Theotokos or dogmatist, it is dedicated Mother of God... It reveals the church teaching about the incarnation of the Savior from the Virgin Mary.
Although people sinned and fell away from God, the Lord did not leave them without His help and protection throughout the entire Old Testament history. The first people repented, which means that the first hope for salvation appeared. This hope is symbolized by opening of the royal gates and entrance at Vespers. The priest and deacon with a censer leave the northern, side doors and, accompanied by the candle-bearers, walk to the royal gates. The priest blesses the entrance, and the deacon, tracing a cross with a censer, says: "Wisdom, forgive me!"- it means "stand up straight" and contains a call to attention. The choir sings the chant "Quiet Light", saying that the Lord Jesus Christ came to earth not in greatness and glory, but in a quiet, Divine light. This hymn also speaks of the fact that the time of the birth of the Savior is approaching.
After the deacon proclaimed verses from the psalms called prokimnom, two litanies are pronounced: especially and pleading.
If the all-night vigil is performed on a great feast day, after these litanies, lithium- a succession containing special prayer requests, at which the blessing of five wheat bread, wine and oil (oil) in memory of Christ's miraculous feeding of five thousand people with five loaves. In ancient times, when the all-night vigil was served all night, the brethren needed to have food in order to continue to celebrate Matins.
After the litiya they are sung "Stichera on verse", that is, stichera with special verses. After them the choir sings a prayer "Now let go"... These are the words uttered by the holy righteous Simeon who, with faith and hope, had been waiting for the Savior for many years and was vouchsafed to take the Infant Christ into his own arms. This prayer is pronounced as if on behalf of all the Old Testament people who with faith awaited the coming of Christ the Savior.
Vespers ends with a chant dedicated to the Virgin Mary: "Virgin Mary, rejoice"... She was the Fruit that the Old Testament mankind cultivated for thousands of years in its depths. This most humble, most righteous and purest Young Woman was the only one of all wives who was honored to become the Mother of God. The priest ends Vespers with an exclamation: "The blessing of the Lord is on you"- and blesses those who are praying.
The second part of the vigil is called matins. It is dedicated to the remembrance of New Testament events
At the beginning of Matins, six special psalms are read, which are called the six psalms. It begins with the words: "Glory to God in the Highest, and on earth peace, goodwill in men" - this is a chant sung by the Angels at the birth of the Savior. The Six Psalms is dedicated to the expectation of the coming into the world of Christ. It is an image of the night of Bethlehem, when Christ came into the world, and an image of night and darkness, in which all humanity was before the coming of the Savior. No wonder, according to custom, all the lamps and candles are extinguished during the reading of the Six Psalms. The priest in the middle of the Six Psalms reads special morning prayers .
Then a peaceful litany is performed, and after it the deacon loudly proclaims: “God is the Lord, and appear to us. Blessed is the One Coming in the name of the Lord "... Which means: "God and the Lord appeared to us," that is, he came into the world, the Old Testament prophecies about the coming of the Messiah were fulfilled. This is followed by reading kathisma from the Psalter.
After reading Kathisma, the most solemn part of Matins begins - polyeleos. Polyeleos with Greek translates as much mercifully, because during the polyeleos, praise verses from the 134th and 135th psalms are sung, where a lot of God's mercy is sung with a constant refrain: as in the age of His mercy! By the consonance of words polyeleos sometimes translated as an abundance of oil, oil... Oil has always been a symbol of God's mercy. During Great Lent, psalm 136 is added to the polyeleos psalms ("On the rivers of Babylon"). During polyeleos, the royal gates are opened, the lamps in the temple are lit, and the clergy, leaving the altar, perform a complete censing of the entire temple. Sunday troparia are sung during the incense "Angelic Cathedral" telling about the resurrection of Christ. At all-night vigils before the holidays, instead of the Sunday troparia, they sing the glorification of the holiday.
Then the Gospel is read. If they serve Vigil on Sunday, one of the eleven Sunday Gospels is read, dedicated to the resurrection of Christ and His appearances to the disciples. If the service is dedicated not to Sunday, but to a holiday, the festive Gospel is read.
After the reading of the Gospel at Sunday all-night vigils, a hymn is heard "Having seen the Resurrection of Christ".
Those praying are applied to the Gospel (on the holiday - to the icon), and the priest will anoint their foreheads in a cruciform manner with consecrated oil.
This is not a Sacrament, but sacred rite Church, serving as a sign of God's mercy to us. Since the most ancient, biblical times, oil has been a symbol of joy and a sign of God's blessing, and the righteous man is compared with the olive tree, on which the Lord's grace abides: And I, like a green olive tree, are in the house of God, and I hope in the mercy of God forever and ever(Ps 51: 10). The dove released from the ark by the patriarch Noah returned in the evening and brought a fresh olive leaf in his mouth, and Noah learned that the water had left the earth (see: Genesis 8, 11). It was a sign of reconciliation with God.
After the exclamation of the priest: "By mercy, generosity and philanthropy ..." - the reading begins canon.
Canon- a prayer work that tells about the life and exploits of the saint and glorifies the celebrated event. Canon consists of nine songs, each beginning Irmos- a chant sung by the choir.
Before the ninth canon of the canon, the deacon, having left the altar, proclaims before the image of the Mother of God (to the left of the royal gates): "We will magnify the Mother of God and Mother of Light in song"... The choir begins to sing the chant "My soul magnifies the Lord ..."... This is a touching prayer-song composed by the Holy Virgin Mary (see: Luke 1, 46-55). A chorus is added to each verse: "The most honest Cherubim and the most glorious without comparison Seraphim, who gave birth to the Word of God without corruption, we magnify the Mother of God."
After the canon, the choir sings psalms "Praise the Lord from Heaven", "Sing the Lord a new song"(Ps 149) and "Praise God in His Saints"(Ps 150) along with the "praiseworthy stichera". At the Sunday all-night vigil, these stichera end with a chant dedicated to the Mother of God: "Blessed art thou, the Virgin Mary ..." After that, the priest proclaims: "Glory to Thee, who showed us the Light," and begins great praise... All-night vigil in ancient times, lasting all night, captured the early morning, and during Matins the first morning rays of the sun were really shown, reminding us of the Sun of Truth - Christ the Savior. The praise begins with the words: "Gloria..." Matins began with these words and it ends with these words. At the end, the entire Holy Trinity is glorified: "Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us."
Matins ends especially and supplicatory litanies, after which the priest pronounces the final release.
After the all-night vigil, a short service is served, which is called the first hour.
Watch- This is a service that sanctifies a certain time of the day, but according to the established tradition, they are usually added to long-term services - to Matins and Liturgy. The first hour corresponds to our seven o'clock in the morning. This service blesses the coming day with prayer.
Easter service
The festive Easter service in the church has its roots in deep Christian antiquity. Over the centuries, new rituals and chants have poured into it.
Easter night service is held from Saturday to Sunday. The service begins at about 23:00 and continues until the morning. Believers begin to gather in the church long before the service, for them this is a solemn and exciting event. The service in all churches begins with the Easter Midnight Office, during which the deacon and priest take away the shroud.
The Shroud is a fabric (plaque) of velvet or drape with gold embroidery or applique depicting the procedure for placing the Savior in the tomb: the Mother of God, John the Theologian, the disciples of Christ and the myrrh-bearing wife bowed over the coffin of the wrapped body of Christ. The golden words of the troparion of Great Saturday are embroidered or printed on the edges of the shroud: your body Having wrapped it in a clean shroud and covered it in a new tomb with fragrances, lay it down.
The Shroud is a kind of symbol of the shroud in which the body of Christ was wrapped after being taken down from the Cross. Each temple has its own shroud. Before the Easter service, the shroud is carried out in Holy Saturday from the altar and until Sunday service is in the temple on the symbolic Sepulcher of the Lord. To draw a parallel with the procedure for anointing the body of the dead Jesus with incense, the shroud is smeared with aromatic oils. Believers can pray in front of the shroud, it is allowed to kiss the wounds on the body of the depicted Savior.
During Easter Midnight Office, the priest and the deacon, after censing the shroud, take it to the altar, at which time the irmos "Do not weep for Me, Mati" is sung. The Shroud is placed on the throne, where it is kept for forty days, until the Ascension of the Lord (symbolizing the period after which the Savior ascended to heaven).
Easter Matins begins. The priests wear light robes. The temple is festively decorated, hundreds of candles are burning, the temple seems to be flooded with light. Believers are joyful, hearts are filled with hope and faith.
Here is how Hierodeacon Euthymius described the atmosphere of the holiday in the church:
Sacred easter
Here they are - holy days
Bright Weeks!
All people have
Joyful faces.
Everyone is looking so merrily
Everything is like brothers
They hurry with kisses
To embrace you.
And the words: Christ is risen!
They never leave our lips
And everywhere there are bells
This message is being carried.
God's temple of the people is full,
Songs are heard
Like a tide on a sea of waves
For the glory of Sunday.
You look at the sky - and there
The sun is playing
And in the blue air
The bird sings.
All nature these days
Taking off the shackles of winters,
Again the colored dress of spring
Ready to dress ...
Everywhere now is joy, peace,
Everything is so full of affection
A bright feast for people everywhere
On the days of Holy Easter.
In all places of the temple, and especially in front of the Royal Doors, incense is smoked, that is, fragrant substances are burned. This symbolizes the grace that spreads from the Tomb of Christ to all believers.
O imminent offensive midnight bells ringing warns. This gospel tells believers about the solemn moment when the Resurrection of Christ will come.
Exactly at midnight, singing is heard, at first quiet, then loud, stichera: "Thy Resurrection, Christ our Savior, the Angels sing in heaven, and on earth make us praise with a pure heart."
The Royal Doors are solemnly opened. The priests leave from there, the procession begins around the church with shrines, the believers join it. The bells continue to ring, the chanting of the stichera continues. The procession of the cross early in the morning around the church symbolizes how the holy myrrh-bearing women and the apostles went to the Joseph's vineyard (vineyard), where the burial cave was located. In addition, the procession outside the temple symbolizes that Christ was buried outside Jerusalem.
In the vestibule, the procession participants stop. The doors to the temple are closed. This means that the Holy Sepulcher was closed with a stone.
The bell stops ringing. After censing by the rector of the temple, the clergy and choir sing solemn Easter troparion:
Christ is risen from the dead, trampling death on death and giving life to those in the tombs!
The words are heard after prayers:
May God rise again, and scatter Him, and let those who hate Him flee from His presence. Yako smoke disappears, yes disappear; as if wax melts from the face of fire, so let the demons perish from the face of those who love God and who are marked by the sign of the cross, and in joy they say: Rejoice, Most Honorable and Life-giving Cross Lord, drive away demons by the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, who was soaked on you, to hell the devil came down and trampled on the power, and who gave you his Honorable Cross to drive out every foe. Oh, Most Honorable and Life-giving Cross of the Lord! Help me with the Holy Lady the Virgin Mary and with all the saints forever. Amen.
The choir sings:
Christ is risen from the dead, trampling death on death and giving life to those in the tombs.
To enter the church, the priest creates sign of the cross with a cross and a three-candlestick. The doors open. The procession participants solemnly, joyfully enter the light temple.
Then it is sung Canon of St. John of Damascus, conveying the meaning and significance of the holiday. While singing canon songs, the priests walk around the church with a cross and censer, congratulating all those present on the holiday: "Christ is Risen!" The parishioners traditionally answer: "Indeed he is risen!"
Matins ends. Now all parishioners should greet each other with the words: "Christ is Risen!" and "Truly He is Risen!" The priests in the altar also Christ among themselves. One of the priests comes out with a cross to the parishioners and pronounces a touching greeting. He overshadows those present with a cross and then goes to the altar.
After kissing it is sung Announcement of St. John Chrysostom on Easter. It is this work Orthodox Church considers it the most accurate, conveying the meaning of the holiday. Although small in volume, it is of great importance for strengthening the fortitude and faith of the parishioners. The word calls on everyone to celebrate the holiday, even those who did not observe the fast. Its full text was given above.
At the end of Matins, Easter hours are sung. This is a short service that is read during Easter week in the morning and evening instead of prayers. During this time, the Royal Doors remain open. They will not be closed all week. This means that Jesus, with his atoning sacrifice, opened the doors to the Kingdom of Heaven for people. When the clock is chanted, the deacon censors first the altar, and then the entire church.
After sounds liturgy, glorifying Holy Trinity and remembering the death and resurrection of the Savior. Read Gospel of John. As a rule, if several priests perform the service, they read fragments of the Gospel on different languages: in Yiddish, Latin, Greek, Russian, Church Slavonic, English, German, etc. The set of languages is not important in this case. It is simply the fact of multilingualism that is important. This is done in order to show how important the Resurrection of Christ is for all people in the world and that His teaching is open to everyone. The reading of the Gospel is accompanied by a chime-busting bell (they strike all bells, from small to large).
When the liturgy comes to an end, there is a consecration of the Easter bread - artos, parts of which are then distributed to the parishioners. After the liturgy, Easter cakes, Easter cakes and eggs can be consecrated.