I. FOLLOW-UPVESPERSEVERYDAY
Upon entering the Altar, the priest first of all applied to the Holy See. Makes two earthly bow before kissing him and a third after. Having put on the stole and vestments, the priest, together with the deacon, who is also already vested, remove the veil from the Throne and place a lit lamp in front of the Tabernacle.
Evening worship begins with readings at 9 o'clock. Having made sure of the presence of a reader, the priest, standing in front of the Thrones and kissing him according to the established custom (with the prayer “God, cleanse me a sinner”, having previously made the sign of the cross twice before kissing and a third time after), gives the first exclamation to begin the service: “ Blessed be our God..." The next two exclamations of the 9th hour: “For Thy is the Kingdom...” (according to the Our Father) and “God has been gracious to us...” (before the final prayer of the hour) are also given from the Altar.
At the end of the 9th hour, the priest puts on the phelonion and gives the exclamation for the beginning of Vespers, no longer in the Altar, _a on the pulpit, shouting the same words: "Blessed be our God."
After the exclamation he remains on the pulpit to read seven prayers of light, laid down at Vespers. In this case, the kamilavka (hood) is removed. He keeps the missal with him for this purpose.
With an exclamation at Vespers, the deacon or subdeacon opens the curtain of the Royal Doors (not in a hurry).
7. To the exclamation of the priest, the reader of Vespers says: “Amen” and begins it directly with the words: “Come, let us worship*..” (Three times), then Psalm 103, “Bless my soul the Lord.”
8. At the end of the reading of Psalm 103, the deacon, emerging from the Altar North these doors on the pulpit, steps onto it to pronounce the Great Litany (peaceful). According to custom, before he begins the Great Litany, the priest To Having finished reading the prayers of the lamp, return to the altar, both first make the triad of the sign of the cross with bows to the altar and then end with a bow to each other.
9. At the end of Psalm 103, the deacon pronounces the Great Litany (slowly, waiting for the end of the choir’s singing: “Lord, have mercy.” Orarion pulls at a level not lower than his forehead).
10. The Priest, returning to the Altar through the South Door, takes his place, i.e. before the throne. According to custom, upon his return, he venerates the throne, making the sign of the cross over himself.
11. The deacon, when pronouncing the Great Litany on the 5th petition:
“O great Lord... after obedience to the name of His Holiness the Patriarch.”
12. The last petition of the Great Litany for the deacon is:
"Most Holy, Most Pure..." However, he stands on the pulpit until the priest finishes the final exclamation: “As it befits...”.
13. At “I cried to the Lord,” the deacon performs incense (full) of the Altar and the entire temple*
Having taken the blessing from the priest for censing from the High Place, the deacon performs it, starting with:
a) Holy See (on 4 sides), ideas
b) High place
c) Right and left sides of the Altar
d) Icon - above the Royal Doors
d) High place)
f) Primate (serving priest)
f) Those present in the Altar (on the right and left sides).
If a bishop is present in the Altar, the deacon incenses him (three times) and first the serving priest. If (According to the Typikon, at the end of the Great Litany, an ordinary kathisma is read) two deacons go to censing, they accordingly divide the entire censing into two parts - one on the right side of the Altar and temple, the other - left. Moreover, the primate is censed together, at the same time (also the bishop). Then the censing of the two deacons should be rhythmic, not inconsistent. At the end of the censing of the Altar, the deacon goes out through the Northern doors to the pulpit and continues the censing of the temple. At the beginning he cites:
a) -- Royal Doors
b) - Right side of the iconostasis ‘
2) -- Left
d) - Chorus (right and left)
e) - A reader dressed in a surplice
e) -- People (from right to left)
e) - The icon on the analogue in the middle of the temple
3) - The right side of the temple from the transitions to the left
i) - welcome back to the pulpit again censing produces local icons- Savior and Mother of God, This ends the censing of the temple. Through the southern doors the deacon enters the Altar, where all censing ends with “I cried to the Lord.” Its end is as follows: again the deacon censes the altar from the front, then moves to the High Place, from where he censes the serving priest. He gives the censer to the sexton. The deacon crosses himself with him, both bow first to the primate, and then to each other, and go to their places.
14. At the “Quiet Light” the priest and deacon move from their place to the Mountain. Departure from the throne is usually preceded by the sign of the cross (twice), kissing the holy meal, another sign of the cross (third) and bowing to each other. At the High Place, the clergy again cross themselves and bow to each other.
15. From the High Place, facing the throne, the priest, after the deacon’s exclamation “Let us hear” with the words “Peace to all,” makes the sign of a cross with a blessing hand (name fingers) on those praying in the church. Usually, the serving priest before “peace to all” bows to his fellow ministers, and in front of the bishop he refrains from even making the sign of the hand.
16. After “Quiet Light,” the deacon pronounces the day’s prokeimenon (according to the Service Book), having first bowed to the priest.
17. At the end of the Prokimnon, the clergy are baptized in the High Place, bow to each other and retreat to their previous places. There, standing in front of the throne, they cross themselves again, kiss it and end with a bow to each other.
18. After “Lord grant,” the deacon performs a petitionary litany on the pulpit. According to custom, before leaving, he goes to the High Place, crosses himself, bows to the priest, and always leaves by the Northern doors. When the priest exclaims “Peace to all,” it is customary for the deacon to go to the local icon of the Savior. At the end of the priest’s exclamation: “Be the power,” the deacon enters the Altar through the southern gates and from the High Place, having crossed himself, bows to the servant and again takes his place (on the right side of the priest).
19. During the Litany of Petition, the priest reads (in secret) a prayer and gives with attention exclamations, according to the Missal.
20. After “Now You Let Go” and “The Trisagion”, according to “Our Father,” the priest pronounces the exclamation: “For Thine is the Kingdom.”
21. After singing the troparion, the saint (or saints) with the Mother of God is supposed to A special litany, which is pronounced by the deacon from the pulpit in the same statutory rules for leaving the Altar and coming to it.
The litany ends with the exclamation of the priest: “For the Merciful...”. Following this exclamation, the deacon, standing on the pulpit, pronounces “Wisdom” and then leaves for the Altar, observing all the rules of entry.
22. The priest ends the evening service with the exclamation:
“Sy’ blessed...” The choir sings: “Amen. God confirm...”
PECULIARITIES IN SACRED ACTIONS AT POLYELIAN AND ALL-NIGHT SERVICES.
Beginning of evening worship with polyeleos the same as at daily Vespers (i.e. 9 o’clock, the exclamation for Vespers is given on the pulpit, reading of Psalm 103, during which the priest reads the Lamp Prayers in front of the Royal Doors and then the Peaceful Litany.
2. Beginning IN e Holy Vespers At the all-night vigil the following is performed:
At the end of the 9th hour, the clergy dressed:
the priest in a stole, a robe and a stole, and a deacon in a surplice with an orarion (the hieromonk instead of a stole in a mantle and stole), stand in front of St. The throne opens the church curtain, then the Royal Doors and makes three bows from the waist, kissing St. Gospel (priest only) and Throne.
3. The deacon, taking the censer from the sexton, gives it to the priest with the words: “Bless the censer, Master.”
Blessing the censer with the prayer: “We offer the censer to You...” the priest takes it to complete th incense, those. The altar and the entire temple.
4. The censing begins with the deacon taking a large (deacon’s) candle, standing in the High Place, and, having bowed to the priest, goes everywhere ahead of the censing priest. First, they incense the Altar on 4 sides, then the High Place, the right side of the Altar, the left, the icon above the Royal Doors, the clergy in the Altar standing on the right side of the Throne, and then on the left. Here the full censing is interrupted. The deacon remains in the High Place. The priest, going around the Throne (from the north side), stands in his place, i.e. before the Throne.
5. Great Vespers begins with the deacon’s exclamation: “Arise,” facing the people, which he pronounces on the pulpit, holding his candle in his hands.
6. The priest, after the choir sings: “Most Holy Master, bless,” pronounces the initial exclamation for the All-Night Vigil: “Glory to the Seventh, the One Most Essential Life-Giving and Indivisible Trinity, always now and ever and unto ages of ages,” signifying St. cross at the words: “always now and ever and unto ages of ages.”
7. In the Altar, it is customary to sing with the help of the clergy: “Come, let us bow down and fall down...” (4 times), after which the choir sings Psalm 103, during which the servants perform incense for the entire temple (continuing it from the Altar). First, the Royal Doors (right and left wings) are censed; they go out onto the solea, the deacon takes a place to the right of the priest and censing occurs throughout the entire church: they cense the right side of the iconostasis, then the left; From the pulpit, censing is carried out for all those praying in it: first the right choir, then the left one, the reader, and in a circle (from right to left) all the people ahead. At the end of the censing of the parishioners, the clergy walk around (from the south side) with censing of the entire Temple, i.e. the icons placed on all the walls of the temple are censed, including those placed on the lecterns of the celebrated saints. The censing ends at the Royal Doors, i.e. First they cense local icons - the Savior and the Mother of God, they go into the Altar, they cense St. The throne, the priest censes the deacon, the deacon in turn, the priest and the Royal Doors are closed.
8. The deacon, having taken the blessing from the High Place by bowing his head from the priest, goes out through the Northern doors of the Altar to the pulpit, from where he says Peaceful Litany, that at Vespers.
9. At the evening service with polyeleos and vigil it is sing the psalm “Blessed is the man”(I antiphon of the 1st kafizya), which is performed immediately after the exclamation of the priest: “As it befits...’
10. If there is a second deacon serving at Vespers, he needs to go to the pulpit in advance, i.e. at the end of the Peaceful Litany, so that after “Blessed is the man” to say the first small litany: “Packs and packs...”.
Usually, when the second deacon enters the solea, the first deacon leaves the pulpit to the local icon of the Savior (stands opposite) and there ends his litany, bowing to the emerging deacon, who also bows back.
11. When singing “Lord I have cried,” the deacon, alone, without a priest, performs the ceremony of the Altar and the entire temple (according to the order described above).
12. At the festive services of Vespers, the Evening Entrance (scarlet) is always performed with a censer (in Lent with the Gospel, as well as in the rank of the bishop’s service) on and “and now” the deacon opens the Central Gate. takes the censer from the hands of the sexton into his left hand...Takes the censer into his right hand. Having asked for a blessing from the priest, they go to a high place, cross themselves to him, bow, bow to each other and wait further.
The deacon exclaims, “Let us pray to the Lord.”
13. For the “Glory” that comes after the stichera on “I cried to the Lord,” the chandelier in the Altar and in the temple, as well as the candles on the throne, are lit. With the singing of “And now” the Royal Doors open and the Small Entrance begins. The clergy, having crossed themselves twice and bowed, kiss St. Throne, and are baptized again for the third time, believing those beginning of the Entry.
14. The deacon, having taken the censer from the sexton, takes a blessing on it from the priest and goes with the minister to the Mountain Place, where he exclaims: “Let us pray to the Lord.” The priest, starting from the High Place, reads (in a low voice and by heart) the prayer for Entrance: “Evening, and morning, and noon...”. A candle bearer with a lit ‘candle’ should walk ahead of the clergy.
From the High Place everyone goes from the Altar through the Northern Doors, stopping in front of the Royal Doors - the priest in the middle, the deacon a little to the right, censing local icons, i.e. icons (of the Savior and the Mother of God) and the priest himself. The sacred bearer stands on the salt near the icon of the Savior. Having finished censing, the deacon, holding the orarion with three fingers, shows them to the east - says to the priest: “Bless, lord, the Holy Entrance.” To which the priest responds, blessing the east with his right hand in the form of a cross: “Blessed is the entrance of Thy Saints...”. The deacon quietly replies: “Amen” and briefly censes the priest. At the end of the stichera on “And now,” he stands in front of the priest. in the middle of the Royal Doors, and having inscribed St. cross, proclaims: “Wisdom, forgive.” Entering the Altar, the deacon censes St. the throne (on all sides), waiting for the priest to enter at its northern side, from where he must sing the priest when he enters the Altar. The priest first enters the Altar after kissing the saint. icons of the Savior and the Mother of God on the Royal Doors. Moreover, after worshiping and kissing the icon of the Savior, he must bless the priest.
Entering the Altar, both clergy cross themselves together and kiss St. throne and ascend again to the High Place. There they cross themselves again, bow to each other and turn to face those praying in the temple and Altar. In this case, the deacon stands nearby, to the right of the priest. It is recommended that clergy stand on the High Place (also sit), not in the center, but slightly to the side.
15. From the High Place the priest, having first bowed to the standing clergy, after the deacon's proclamation; “Let’s take a look,” blessing all those praying in the church in the shape of a cross and saying: “Peace to all.” The deacon speaks through the missal Prokeimenon with poetry. At the end of the Prokimna, reading follows proverbs. The Royal Doors are closed.
If the proverbs have New Testament content, it is customary to leave the Royal Doors open. While reading the proverbs, the priest is supposed to sit in the same place on the Upper Place. The deacon usually follows the reading and stands near the altar.
The reader of the proverbs conforms to the exclamations of the deacon, who pronounces before each proverb “Wisdom” and “Let us hear.”
After reading the proverbs, the clergy return from the High Place to the throne; According to the rank, they are baptized first on the High Place, then, approaching the throne, they bow to it again, kissing its edge. Evening Entry is over.
16. Following the reading of the hymns, the deacon pronounces the Extensive Ekte nuyu on the pulpit. To start it without pauses, He needs to go to soleya at the end of the reading of the soaring (i.e. a little before the very end).
The litany speaks petitions slowly, clearly, patiently waiting for the end of the choir’s singing: Lord, have mercy (three times).
17. After the priest’s exclamation: “For I am merciful,” it reads: "Go ahead, Lord".
18. Following the reading, the deacon says Petitionary Litany in at the end of which the priest (secretly) reads the prayer of adoration.
Lithium It is served only on holidays at services with All-Night Vigil.
19. The exit to the Litia occurs from the Altar into the vestibule of the temple:
the priest performs the Litia wearing an epitrachelion and a skufia or kamilavka (if he has it as a reward). The clergy, standing in front of the throne, cross themselves twice, kiss its edge, cross themselves again, bow to each other, thus marking the beginning of their exit.
The deacon takes the blessing on the censer.
20. The priests proceed from the Altar by the northern door. Standing in front of the Royal Doors, crossing themselves, they bow to each other and go into the vestibule preceded by a priest. At this time, the choir sings stichera on Litia. The sexton carries a lithium table with bread into the middle of the temple.
The deacon remains on the sole, from where he begins the small incense, i.e. censes the iconostasis, the festive icon on the lectern, the priest, the choir and the worshipers. The censing ends in this way: after censing the people, the deacon briefly censes the local icons - the Savior and the Mother of God, then again censes the festive icon on the lectern, approaches the priest, censes him (triads), gives the censer to the sexton and stands in front of the priest in front of the lithium candlestick, for recitation of the four litanies.
21. At the end of the litanies, the deacon stands next to the priest (on the right), who pronounces the exclamation “Hear us, God...” and the prayer: “O Father of much mercy...” At the same time, the clergy stand with their heads uncovered.”
22. At the first litany, “Save, O God, Thy people,” and at the lithium prayer of the priest, “Master of Merciful...”, the venerated saints of the temple are remembered, the saints to whom the altars are dedicated in it, and such saints who celebrate the All-Night Vigil.
23-24. On the second litany, the deacon adds a petition for the ruling bishop: “and for our Lord, the Most Reverend...” In this same litany, after the words: “for every Christian soul...
25. At the third petition, the deacon says: “We also pray for the preservation of this city and this holy monastery and every city...”.
26. The Litia ends with the prayer of the priest “Lord, Most Merciful...”.
The clergy, having crossed themselves and bowed to each other before the priest, return from the vestibule to the temple and approach the lithium table with bread; and stand in front of him. The candle bearer's candle is placed on the table. Arriving in the middle of the temple, the servants again cross themselves and bow to each other.
27. At this time the choir is singing stichera on stichera, which end with the reading: “Now you let go...” and the Trisagion.
28. After the exclamation of the priest: “For Thine is the Kingdom,” Troparions are sung, according to the Charter, during which the royal enemies are revealed, censing lithium table.
It is done like this: IN Having taken the blessing of the priest on the censer, the deacon censes all sides of the table three times, then censes the festive icon, the priest (if a cathedral of ministers, then all those serving in it), again censes the bread on the table from the front side, the upcoming minister and, giving the censer to the sexton, stands next to the primate, exclaiming: “Pray to the Lord.”
29. The blessing of the loaves is performed by the clergyman with a special prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ our God...” with his head uncovered.
Before the words: “Bless yourself...” makes a cross over the substance with one of the loaves. When listing substances, he points to them with his hand, drawing a cross sign in the air.
30. After blessing the loaves, the clergy, having crossed themselves and bowed to each other, go to the altar, entering (if a cathedral) the northern and southern doors. At this time the 33rd Psalm is sung. At the end of the singing, the primate makes the sign of the cross over all those praying with the words: “The blessing of the Lord is upon you...” Choir: Amen.
Here ends Great Vespers with an all-night vigil.
31. If the service is with polyeleos, then according to custom there is no litiya. According to “now you forgive” and the “Trisagion”, the troparions of dismissal are sung, according to the Charter, i.e. The troparion of the celebrated saint and “Glory, and now...” The Theotokos from the festive troparions (3 appendix). After singing the troparions, the deacon exclaims: “Wisdom”, choir; “Most Holy Bishop, bless.” Priest: “Blessed be he...” Choir: “Confirm, O God,” and the service of Vespers with polyeleos ends.
“U T P E H I”
(Description of sacred rites concerning the priest and deacon)
Beginning of Matins
1. When Matins, daily or holiday, is performed as part of an all-night vigil, vigil, it has a full beginning. The priest, dressed in a phelonion, and the deacon in a surplice, stand before the Thrones. The deacon accepts the censer from the sexton and opens the curtain of the Royal Doors. Then the priest and deacon cross themselves twice (with bows from the waist), kiss the Throne (priest Throne and Gospel), cross themselves a third time and bow to each other.
2. The deacon hands the censer to the priest, saying: “Bless the lord, censer.” The priest reads a prayer, blesses the censer, and receives it from the deacon. Then, Having depicted the sign of the Cross with a censer (in front of the Thrones), he utters the exclamation: Blessed is our God.”
3. While the reader reads the initial prayers and two psalms, the priest performs a full censing of the altar, the temple and those present: in them. At the same time, the priest and... the reader must ensure that the exclamation “For Thy is the Kingdom” is pronounced “in the middle of the temple (in front of the Royal Doors). At the exclamation, the priest censes, in conclusion, the local dkoyas, enters the altar and stands in front of the throne. Here, at the end of the troparions, with a censer in his hand, he pronounces an abbreviated special litany.
(When handing over the censer, the deacon always kisses the priest’s hand. He does the same when accepting the censer.)
4. After the singers sing “Bless the Father in the name of the Lord,” the priest pronounces the exclamation: “Glory to the Holy One, Consubstantial, Life-Giving and Indivisible Trinity, always, now and ever and unto ages of ages” and at the same time; depicts with a censer the meaning of the Cross (in front of the Throne). Having censed the front of the Throne three times, he also censes the deacon standing next to him and gives him the censer. The deacon, in turn, censes the priest (from the High Place), then both of them cross themselves and bow to each other. The deacon, having given the censer, retreats to his place (to the right of the priest).
Six Psalms
5. During the performance of the first half of the Six Psalms, the priest, standing at the Throne with his head uncovered, reads the morning prayers (from I to 6). After reading the three psalms of the sixth psalm, the priest worships before the Throne, then! bows to the priests who are in the altar (in the presence of the bishop - bows only to him) and . exits through the northern door onto the sole). Standing opposite the Royal Doors, he crosses himself once and finishes reading the morning prayers (from 7 to 12).
6. When the reader has completed half of the last psalm, the deacon goes to the Horn and crosses himself once; bows to the priest or bishop and goes to the sole. When the deacon leaves the altar, the priest goes to the icon of the Savior (to the right of the Royal Doors), and the deacon stops at the icon of the Mother of God (to the left). Here they cross themselves in triages, bow to each other, and the deacon goes to the pulpit to pronounce the litanies, and the priest goes through the southern door to the altar to the Throne. Having taken his place, the priest is baptized once, kisses the Gospel and the Throne and is baptized again (and also bows to the bishop, if he is present in the altar).
(At Matins, as part of the All-Night Vigil, the entire preceding part is absent. At the end of Vespers, the Royal Doors are closed. The priest and deacon worship before the throne, then bow to each other. The priest takes off his headdress and begins to read the morning prayers (in front of the Throne). In this way, bows are made before leaving the altar and in all other cases ).
Great litany ; "God is Lord"
7. While pronouncing the ‘litany’, the deacon raises the folded end of the orarion in front of him, holding it approximately at eye level. After each petition, the deacon (as well as the priest) crosses himself and bows from the waist (he does this at all litanies). “By the conclusion of the priestly exclamation, on the words of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,” the sign of the cross and the bow from the waist are also relied upon.
8. “God is the Lord” subsided, as well as the petitions of the litanies, must be pronounced clearly, distinctly, slowly (but also without prolonging) and always separately from the choir. After the last verse on “God is Lord” is sung, the deacon is baptized and bows in front of the Royal Doors and goes to the altar. Having bowed to the High Throne and the priest (or bishop), he takes his place. (He does the same thing after pronouncing the prokemenas and any other exclamations, for example: “wisdom”, “Let us attend”, “Let us bow our heads to the Lord”, etc. Bows are made in the same way after returning to the altar and on all other occasions).
Kathismas.
9. At kathismas, the priest and deacon stand at the Throne, listen carefully to the psalms and make the sign of the cross in appropriate places, and while singing “Hallelujah” (between the “Glories”), they bow from the waist.
Polyeleos
10. At the beginning. Reading the sedals on kathisma, all the clergy who are to go to the polyeleos gather at the Throne and are arranged according to rank. After the sedals are performed, the deacons open the Royal Doors, then all the priests cross themselves twice, kiss the Throne, cross themselves a third time, bow to the primate (or bishop) and leisurely proceed from the altar through the Royal Doors. The primate walks ahead, followed by priests and deacons in pairs. The primate walks to the middle of the temple (bypassing the lectern on the right side) and stands facing the altar (opposite the festive icon) on the place prepared for him (the carpet). The rest of the clergy stand to his right and left (according to rank).
11. After everyone is in their places, the priests and deacons turn to face the altar, cross themselves once and bow to the primate. The archdeacon takes the censer from the sexton and, approaching the leader, says: “Bless the Lord, censer.” The primate reads a prayer and blesses the censer, then receives it from the protodeacon. At this time, another deacon gives the primate a candle. Candles are also given to the other priests, with one deacon handing out candles on the right side, the other on the left (when presenting candles, the deacon kisses the priest’s hand). Finally, two senior deacons accept large (deacon's) candles from the sextons and stand between the lectern and pulpit face to the primate.
12. After distributing the candles, all the clergy, standing in their places, wait for the end of the polyeleos psalms. Then everyone crosses themselves towards the altar, bows to the primate and sings the magnification of the holiday. While the magnification is being sung, the primate censes from his place towards the festive icon. After the clergy performs the magnification, the primate bows to those serving him and goes to the icon of the holiday to burn incense.
13. Each movement is performed in the following order. First, the primate censes the icon of the holiday on four sides. When he shows the icon on the left side, both deacons (who are at that time to the right of the lectern), ahead of the priest, go to the Royal Doors. The priest follows them. Then they enter the altar and continue censing in the usual order: the altar and those present in it, the iconostasis, the clergy who came out to the polyeleos, the Right and Left choirs, the people, then the entire temple; After censing the temple, local icons and the holiday icon are censed again.”
(On Sundays, immediately after the distribution of candles, when two senior deacons stand with candles behind the lectern, the primate bows to the priests serving him and goes to the lectern with the icon of the holiday for censing).
14. After this, the deacons remain behind the lecterns (facing the serving priests), and the primate goes to his place and from there continues to occasionally cense in the direction of the festive icon. And at this time the clergy, in conclusion, sings the magnification of the holiday. Before the end of the singing of magnification, the primate censes the sacred ministers (the deacons standing with candles behind the lectern come closer to the primate and stand facing him). Then the primate passes the censer to the protodeacon, who approaches him. The protodeacon, in turn, censes the primate and after censing, together with the second deacon, turns to face the altar (the censers and candles are handed over to the sextons at this moment). At this time, the third deacon stands next to them. They all cross themselves towards the altar and bow to the leader. The protodeacon, together with the second deacon, go to their places (to the right and left of the primate), and the third deacon pronounces the small litany (standing in the place where he bowed to the primate).
15. At the last petition, a second deacon stands next to the deacon who pronounced the litany. Both of them cross themselves and bow to the primate, but not immediately after the end of the last petition, but with an exclamation, together with the priest (while pronouncing the words: “Father and Son and Holy Spirit”). After bowing, the third deacon stands to the left of the primate, and the second enters the altar through the northern doors. Having bowed to the High Place, he stands at the Throne.
(On Sundays, when there is no magnification, the primate, having gone to his place (after censing the entire temple), straightaway censing the clergy...
2) On Sundays, the deacon only goes out to the small litany after graduation Troparions for the Immaculates).
Reading the Gospel
16. On the third troparion of the power antiphons, the deacon, who is in the altar, approaches the front of the Throne, crosses himself once, kisses the Gospel and the Altar and bows to the primate. Then he takes the Gospel and goes out with it to the pulpit, holding it approximately at eye level.
17. At the end of the antiphons, the protodeacon says: “Let us hear. Wisdom. Let us hear,” and the deacon standing with the Gospel pronounces the prokeimenon. After the prokemna, the protodeacon says:
“Let us pray to the Lord,” and the deacon says “Every breath” (with a verse)” At the words of the protodeacon, “And may we be counted worthy,” the deacon slowly walks to the primate (passes to the right of the lectern) and stops in front of the niya, lowering the Gospel to his chest (the protodeacon helps open the Gospel to him). The protodeacon says: “Wisdom. Sorry. Let us hear the Holy Gospel,” and the primate, turning his face to the west, proclaims: “Peace to all” and blesses the people. Then he turns to face the ayatar, gives the candle to the third deacon, takes off his headdress, hands it to the protodeacon, and takes the candle again. The archdeacon shows him the desired conception, and the third deacon says: “Let us hear.” At this exclamation, everyone signs themselves with the sign of the cross, and the primate reads the Gospel.
18. After reading the Gospel, the leader is baptized, kisses the opened Gospel, gives the candle, accepts the headdress and puts it on. The candles held by the clergy are extinguished. The deacon, having closed the Gospel, takes it to the Throne. Then he is baptized (once), chants the Gospel and the Altar, bows to the primate and stands near the Altar in the usual deacon's place. Two priests bowing with him as they read the canon. When the deacon places the Gospel on the Throne, they leave the ranks of the serving priests and, having bowed (together with the deacon) to the primate, go to the altar through the Royal Doors, there they kiss T Throne (side), Feloni is being filmed and expect to come out at the end of the prayer “Save, O God, Thy people.”
19. After the deacon places the Gospel on the Altar (or on the lectern - on Sundays!), the protodeacon, at the end of the stichera according to Psalm 50, stands in front of the lectern (a little to the side), crosses himself once towards the altar, bows to the primate and goes on the salt to the icon of the Savior. Here he says the prayer “God save your people.”
20. After reading approximately half of this prayer, the priests in the altar reading the canon, and the deacon (who carried out the Gospel) approach the Throne (from both sides), cross themselves once, kiss the Altar, cross themselves again, going out through the side doors to salt and stand facing the iconostasis, waiting for the end of the deacon's prayer. Then everyone standing on the solea crosses themselves and bows to the primate together with the protodeacon. The protodeacon and deacon take their places (next to the priest), and the priests reading the canon, bowing to each other, remain on the lectern, near the lecterns with books.
(On Sundays, after reading, the Gospel is not taken to the altar. The deacon goes with it to the pulpit, turns his face to the people and, raising the Gospel (as on a prokinna), holds it until they sing “Having seen the Resurrection of Christ.” Then he goes to the lectern, places the Gospel on it, is baptized once, kisses the Gospel, is baptized again, bows to the primate and goes to his place (to the right or left of the primate). Together with the deacon, two priests are baptized and bow: a, reading the canon. Having bowed, they go to altar).
Anointing of St. oil
21. At the exclamation “By mercy and bounty,” the primate bows to the concelebrants and goes to the lectern with the icon of the holiday (or the Gospel). Here he makes two bows from the waist, removing his headdress, kisses the icon (or Gospel), takes a brush from the sexton and anoints himself with St. oil, then puts on a headdress, crosses himself a third time and stands to the left of the lectern (facing south).
22. The remaining priests approach the icon in pairs and, like the primate, worship and anoint themselves with oil. When the priests accept (or hand over) the primate’s hand, they mutually kiss each other’s hand. The rest of the priests do the same in relation to each other. After the anointing, the priests bow to the primate, then to each other and go to the altar through the Royal Enemies. At the Throne they cross themselves once, kiss the Throne (on the side), cross themselves again, bow to each other, etc. take off sacred clothes. The serving priest remains at the Throne in vestments. He stands on the side until the primate enters the altar after the end of the anointing.
23. After the priests, the deacons approach the leader. They make the same bows that I do as priests. After the anointing of the deacons kiss T right hand of the primate, bow to him and enter the altar.
24. After the servants, non-serving clergy approach the primate according to their rank. They act in the same way as employees. They just leave and return to the altar through the side doors. The lower clergy and people follow the clergy. Priests reading the canon usually approach the anointing at the 6th ode (this is the most convenient moment). According to the last troparion, they stand in front of the Royal Doors, cross themselves once and go to the anointing. Upon their return, they also cross themselves once at the Royal Doors, bow to each other and go to the lecterns.
25. When anointing, the primate (as well as every priest performing the anointing) must carefully immerse the brush in the holy. oil and just as carefully depict the sign of the Cross on the forehead of the person who approaches, pronouncing the words "In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit." After anointing, the priest should not remove his hand, but give the opportunity to the person who comes up to him for anointing to kiss it. But if a person does not intend to kiss the priest’s hand (and this happens quite often!), then there is no need to force him to do it.
26. The priest must ensure that the veneration of the icon and the anointing of the saint. the oil was administered reverently and according to order. There is no need to rush people and take your time yourself.
27. At the end of the anointing, the leader passes the brush to the sexton, worships before the icon and . goes to the altar. On Sundays, going to the altar, he takes the Gospel. From the pulpit he turns his face to the west, crosses the Gospel over the people and, entering the altar, places the Gospel in its usual place. The deacons close the Royal Doors, and the primate, having bowed to the Throne and the serving priest, leaves and takes off his sacred robes. The serving priest takes his place before the Throne.
Kneeling for the Most Honest
28. On the seventh or eighth song of the canon (depending on the number of troparions performed), the deacon takes the censer and, having received a blessing (from the High Place) from the serving priest, censes the altar and those present in it. When singing “We praise, we bless,” he comes out from the northern door and burns incense, starting from the Royal Doors, on the right side of the iconostasis. By this time, the readers of the canon must go to the choir.
29. At the end of the chaos, the deacon, standing at the icon of the Mother of God (to the left of the Royal Doors), proclaims: “Let us exalt the Mother of God and the Mother of Light in song,” while he marks it with a censer in the shape of a cross. The headdress is removed before the proclamation. All the clergy and monks do the same and stand like this until the end of “The Most Honest.” The deacon continues to lap before the icon of the Mother of God until....? Then the deacon censes the left side - the Iconostasis, the festive icon on the lectern and the primate. performing the anointing. Returning to the pulpit, he censes the canon readers, the right and left choirs and the people. Then he performs incense for the entire temple. Walking through the church, the deacon censes all the icons and from time to time makes stops to cense the worshipers (in places convenient for him). The end of the censing is usual.
Great Doxology.
30.V holidays when singing the stichera on “And now,” before the Great Doxology, the deacon opens the Royal Doors. At the end of the stichera, the priest pronounces the exclamation: “Glory to You, who showed us the light” and makes a bow before the Throne. During the doxology, the priest, together with everyone, makes three bows from the waist with the words “Blessed art thou, Lord, teach us by thy justification.” He does the same at daily matins, when the doxology is read.
Litany
31. On feast days, to pronounce a special and petitionary litany, two deacons go to the solea during the singing of the troparion of the Great Doxology. (At daily matins, one deacon leaves at the end of the doxology to pronounce the petitionary litany, the other - for the special litany - when singing the troparion of dismissal).
32. At the end of Matins, after the exclamation “Wisdom,” the deacon, having bowed at the Royal Doors, goes to the altar. (On holidays, this exclamation is pronounced by the senior deacon. Having bowed to the altar and to each other, both deacons go to the altar).
End of Matins
33. After the deacon sings the choir “Confirm, O God,” we close the curtain of the Royal Doors. Then the priest and deacon worship before the Throne and each other. The priest takes off the phelonion and again stands before the Throne, and the deacons cover the Altar, take off their vestments and during the 1st hour they pray on the sidelines.
(On holidays, the priest at the end of Matins says a full funeral in the pulpit. Before going to the pulpit, he worships the Throne and the priests standing in the altar. When pronouncing the exclamation, on the words “Christ our true God,” he makes the sign of the cross (without bowing !) And at the end of the dismissal, without crossing himself, he bows to the people and goes to the altar. The deacons close the Royal Doors and the curtain. Then everything is the same as at the daily matins).
DIVINE LITURGY
Entrance prayers
I. Before the start of the Liturgy, in the morning at the appointed time, the clergy who had prepared the day before to perform Divine Liturgy, come to the temple and, standing in front of the royal doors, make the sign of the cross three times, make three bows and bow to the concelebrants, and read the entrance, i.e. preparatory prayers for the celebration of the Liturgy (standing with a covered head, wearing a hood, kamilavka or skufya, if it is a reward, before reading the troparion “To Your Most Pure Image...”).
/According to established practice, the clergyman who has prepared to perform the liturgy enters the altar, makes two bows to the ground or from the waist in front of the throne according to the Rule, kisses it, makes a third bow, puts on the epitrachelion, removes the veil from the throne and leaves the altar through the northern door to the solea to make the entrance prayers. If several clergy are performing the Liturgy, then the eldest puts on an epitrachelion, the rest wear cassocks/.
Deacon: Bless, master. Priest: Blessed be our God... Deacon: Amen. Glory to Thee our God...
King of Heaven... Trisagion according to Our Father. Priest: For Yours is the Kingdom...
Deacon: Amen. Have mercy on us, Lord... ‘ Glory: Lord have mercy on us... And now: Doors of Mercy...
2. The Primate, turning to the icon of the Savior during the reading by the deacon: “To Your Most Pure Image...”, is baptized a third time. Employees do the same. They are also applied to the icon of the Mother of God during the reading by the deacon: “The Source of Mercy...”.
Deacon: Let us pray to the Lord
Priest: Lord have mercy
3. Standing before the royal doors and bowing their heads, the primate and the servant pray:
“Lord, send down Your hand...”
4. After saying this prayer, the clergy bow to each other and, turning their faces to the worshipers, bow to them, make one bow to the northern and southern sides of the solea (choirs of singers), saying: “Forgive and bless, fathers and brothers...”
Deacon: God will forgive you, honest father, forgive us sinners, and pray for us.” And he enters the altar with the prayer: “I will go into Your house...”.
5. Entering the altar through the southern (right) door after the entrance prayers, the clergy, standing in front of the throne, cross themselves twice, kiss the Gospel, the throne, cross themselves a third time and all bow to the primate, who responds with bows to both sides. After this, they begin to put on sacred clothes. /If the entrance to the altar is made for the first time, then bows before the throne are made not from the waist, but from the ground/.
Deacon's vestment
6. Having folded the surplice, placing the orarion and the shoulder straps on it, the deacon approaches the High Place, makes three bows, turning to the altarpiece, saying to himself: “God, cleanse me, a sinner, and have mercy on me.”
7. Approaching the priest and holding the surplice and orarion in his right hand, he says to him, bowing his head: “Bless, Vladyka, the surplice and orarion.”
The priest, blessing, says: “Blessed is our God always, now and ever, and unto ages of ages.”
The deacon answers: “Amen” and kisses the priest’s blessing hand and the cross depicted on the surplice.
8. Having taken off his cassock, the deacon reverently dresses in the surplice, puts on the orarion and armbands, kisses the cross on the item of vestment and says the prescribed prayers.
9. Having dressed and washed his hands, the deacon prepares everything necessary for performing proskomedia: he removes the veil from the altar, lights the lamp, brings sacred vessels and places them on the altar - the paten (on the left), the chalice (on the right), the star (in the middle between them). In front of the vessels (closer to oneself) a special plate for cutting the Lamb and a large spear are placed; On the left are the prosphora for the proskomedia, on the right (from the dish) a small spear, a spoon, a ladle with a plate, wine and water, cover and air.
Priest's vestments
10. After bowing three times to the high place, the priest, holding the sacrament in his left hand, blesses it, saying: “Blessed is our God always, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen."
11. Kissing the cross on the vestment and putting on the vestment, the priest reads the prayer: “My soul will rejoice in the Lord...”. The priest does the same when putting on each sacred robe: he blesses, kisses the cross depicted on it and puts it on.
When vesting before serving the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, prayers are not read, but the priest reverently pronounces when blessing each sacred garment: “Let us pray to the Lord. “Lord have mercy,” and puts on his clothes.
Having dressed and washed his hands, reading the prayer “I will wash my innocent hands...” the priest approaches the altar.
Proskomedia
12. After washing, the priest and deacon approach the altar and, having reverently performed threefold adoration before it, pray: “God, cleanse me, a sinner, and have mercy on me.” They bow to the ground.
The troparion of Great Heel is read, raising the hands.
“Thou hast redeemed us from the legal oath,” kisses the paten.
“Thy Honest Blood” - kisses the cup.
“Nailed on the Cross” - kisses the star.
“Let’s dig in,” he kisses the digger.
“You exuded immortality from man. Our Savior, glory to You” - a liar.
13. Then the deacon quietly says: “Bless, master.” The priest exclaims: “Blessed is our God...” and takes the prosphora for the Lamb with his left hand. With his right hand he takes the copy and blesses the prosphora three times, touching the tip of the copy to its edges and makes the sign of the cross over the seal with three times pronouncing the words: “In remembrance of the Lord, and God, and our Savior Jesus Christ.
14. And with a copy he cuts the prosphora lying on the plate on its right side (from himself - on the left) with the words “Like a sheep being led to the slaughter.”
/For convenience, it is allowed to rotate the prosphora so that its right side faces the right side of the performer/.
Making an incision on the left side (from himself - on the right), the priest says: “I am like a lamb without blemish, even though He who shears Him is speechless, He does not open His mouth.”
The upper side of the prosphora is cut with the words: “His judgment will be taken into humility.”
The bottom side is incised with the words: “Who can confess His generation?”
15. Each time the priest cuts the Lamb, the deacon says: “Let us pray to the Lord,” holding the orarion in his hand, as when reading the litanies. Priest - “Lord, have mercy.”
16. After cutting the prosphora, the deacon says: “Take it, Vladyka.” The priest cuts the prosphora in its lower part and takes out the Lamb from the incised lower and four outer sides of it, uttering the words: “As if His belly is lifted from the ground,” and places it on the paten with the seal down.”
17. Deacon: “Consume, lord” (Sacrifice). At these words of the deacon, the priest makes a deep cross-shaped incision on the underside of the Lamb (before the seal), saying: “The Lamb of God is being eaten, take away the sins of the world, for the worldly belly and salvation.” ‘ .
18. Then the Lamb turns over with the seal facing upward,
Deacon: Break through, Master.
At these words of the deacon, the priest pierces the Lamb with a spear on His right side, saying: “One of the warriors will dig into His ribs…”
19. The deacon pours a small amount of water and wine into the ladle, while saying: “Bless, Master, the holy union.” Having received the blessing, the deacon pours it into the chalice.
20. The priest, taking the second prosphora, says: “In honor and memory of the Most Blessed Lady...” Having taken a particle from the prosphora, the priest places it on the paten on the right side of the Lamb (from himself - on the left), close to its middle, saying: “The Queen is presented at Your right hand..."
21 The priest, taking the third prosphora, says: “The honorable, glorious prophet...” and separates a particle from the prosphora, placing it on the paten on the left side of the Lamb (away from himself - on the right), closer to its upper part, starting the first row with this particle.
Then the priest says:
b) Holy glorious prophets... - and, separating the 2nd particle, puts it below the first one. The priest goes on to say:
c) Holy Glorious and All-Great Apostles... - and puts the particle below the second one.
Then the priest says:
d) Like our saints... - and puts it on the paten, starting the second row with it.
Then the priest says:
e) Holy Apostle... - and places it below the 1st particle of the second row.
Then the priest says:
f) Our venerable and God-bearing fathers... - and places it below the 2nd particle, ending the second row.
g) Holy wonderworkers and the unmercenary Cosmas and Dami-an... - and places it at the top, starting the third row with it.
Continuing, the priest says:
h) The Saints and Righteous Godfather Joaccmus and Anna and Saints (his is also the temple To day), and all the saints, whose prayers have visited us, O God, * and places the particle below the first third row. (Usually other saints are also commemorated here, whose names are not included in the service book).
Then the priest says:
i) Like in the saints of our father John, Archbishop of Constantinople, Chrysostom (or: Like in the saints of our father Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia - if his liturgy is being celebrated), and, separating the ninth particle, puts it on the paten, ending with it the third row.
22. Taking the 4th prosphora and taking out the first large particle, the priest says: “Remember, Master Lover of Mankind...*’
Taking out the 2nd large particle from the 4th prosphora, the priest says: “Remember, Lord, our God-protected country and its Orthodox people” - and then, taking out particles from it for the living members of the Church, saying the words: “Remember, Lord, about health and salvation of the servant of God, or servants of God (name of the rivers).
23. All the particles taken out about health are placed on the lower side of the Lamb, and two of them - for His Holiness the Patriarch and the diocesan bishop - are placed above the rest of the particles taken out about health.
24. The priest, taking the 5th prosphora, takes out the particles, saying: “About leaving memory...”
At this time, the priest also commemorates the bishop who ordained him, if he has died. From this prosphora, the priest takes out particles of repose, saying: “Remember, Lord, the repose and remission of sins of the servant of God, or the servants of God, the name of the rivers.”
Concluding the commemoration, the priest says: “Remember, Lord, and everyone in the hope of resurrection...”
25. He places particles from the repose prosphora on the paten, below the particles taken out for the living.
26. Finishing the commemoration of the dead, the priest again takes the 4th prosphora and takes out a piece from it for himself with the words: “Remember, Lord, my unworthiness and forgive me every sin, voluntary and involuntary.”
27. The deacon takes the censer, saying: “Bless the censer, Master.”
The priest, blessing the censer, reads a prayer:
“We offer the censer to You, O Christ our God...” The deacon, holding the censer at the level of the altar, says:
“Let us pray to the Lord.”
28. The priest, taking the unfolded star, places it over the censer so that it is fumigated with incense smoke, then places it on the paten above the Lamb, while pronouncing the words: “And come, the hundred star above, came the Child.”
Deacon: “Let us pray to the Lord. Lord have mercy".
29. The priest places the first cover over the censer and, covering the paten with it, says: “The Lord reigns...” Deacon: “Let us pray to the Lord. Cover, lord.”
30. The priest places a second cover over the censer and covers the chalice (thicket) with it with the words: “Cover the heavens.”
31. Deacon: “Let us pray to the Lord. Cover, lord.” The priest envelops the censer with air and, covering the paten and chalice with it, says: “Cover us with the shelter of Your wing...”
32. The priest takes the censer and, having touched the altar, says three times: “Blessed is our God, who is well-willed, glory to Thee.”
Each time the deacon ends the priest’s prayer with the words:
“Always” now and ever, and forever and ever. Amen".
Having said this, the priest and deacon worship reverently during each doxology.
33. The deacon, having accepted the censer from the priest, says:
“Let us pray to the Lord for the Honest Gifts offered.” The priest, taking the censer from the deacon, reads the prayer of sentence: “God, our God, Heavenly Bread...”
34. After this prayer, the priest ends the proskomedia with a doxology, saying: “Glory to Thee, Christ God, our Hope, glory to Thee.”
Deacon: “Glory... and now... Lord, have mercy (three times). Bless."
35. At the conclusion of the proskomedia, the priest pronounces a short dismissal: “Rise from the dead (only on Sunday, on weekdays, the dismissal begins directly with the words: “Christ, our true God”) Christ, our true God, through the prayers of His Most Pure Mother, likewise the saints of our father John, Archbishop of Constantinople, Chrysostom, and all the saints, will have mercy and save us, for He is Good and Lover of Mankind.”
At the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great, the following is commemorated: “... like our father Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia.” Upon completion of the dismissal, the priest censes the deacon.
Deacon: "Amen." And having received the censer from the priest, he censes it.
After this, the priest and deacon bow to the Altar three times, and then to each other. And the deacon performs the consecration of the throne, the altar and the temple, before beginning it by pulling back the curtain of the royal gates.
Then the priest takes out particles about the living and the dead from the prosphora served by the laity, and he takes out a particle for each of the living and the dead separately, and should not limit himself to taking out one particle for many.
When the particles are removed, the memorials are read by deacons or clergy.
Everyday
The Church Charter says that in ancient times censing was done in a cross-shaped manner. However, in the Orthodox Church tradition The following custom of incense became more widespread. The priest, holding the censer with the three fingers of his right hand at the top of the chain, under the lid that completes the chain (according to another practice, taking the censer by both rings with his index finger), raises it in front of an icon or other sacred object. With the second swing of the censer, the censer tilts his head, making a bow, and with the third swing, he straightens up. So triads, incense is performed in front of an icon or another shrine. In a similar way, the censing of the choirs and people is performed.
Reverent clergy pay attention to ensuring that the censer does not rise too high. So when censing the throne and the vessels standing on the throne, so that the action of censing is the offering of incense to the shrine. The forearm should be the least mobile. Old clergy, teaching young ones, recommended placing the Missal under the arm in order to thereby bind the too wide movement of the forearm. It is very helpful for the smoothness of censing to make a slight movement of the hand, bending it only at the elbow as if there was some object in the fingers that was making a vertical movement up and down along the plane.
Beginning of the Liturgy
a) It is recommended to complete the proskomedia by the middle of the third hour, so that already at the end of the third or beginning of the sixth hour the deacon begins to perform the prescribed incense. It is recommended that the celebrant stand before the altar until the exclamation “Through the prayers of our most holy Lord...” after which they immediately begin to pray before the start of the Divine Liturgy.
b) Having made three bows from the waist, with the prayer “God, cleanse me, a sinner,” the primate, raising his hands, prays: “To the Heavenly King...” At this time, the deacon holds the orarion, as during the pronouncing of litanies. Having made the sign of the cross and again raising his hands, the priest continues: “Glory to God in the Highest...” (Twice, without lowering his hands).
Having made the sign of the cross, the priest finishes:
“Lord, open my lips...”
IN) Priest kisses Holy Gospel, deacon - throne. Lpakon bows his head before the priest as a sign of concelebration and folds his hands to receive the blessing and says:
“It’s time for the Lord to create...”
D) A statutory dialogue takes place and the deacon leaves with the northern wool, and stands in front of the Tsar’s three times making the sign of the cross with the words:
“O Lord, open my lips...”
1. Deacon standing in front of the Royal Doors: “Bless, Master.”
2. The priest especially solemnly, with an exclamation that is distinctive from all the exclamations of the daily cycle of services, begins the Divine Liturgy: “Blessed be the Kingdom of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and ever.”
Wherein. With the Holy Gospel he marks the image of the cross above the antimension, raising the Gospel to the east, west, north and south. Then he again places the Gospel on the antimension, is baptized, and kisses the Gospel on the Holy Altar. All servants also kiss the throne along with the primate.
3. Deacon: “Let us pray to the Lord in peace,”
4. Having finished pronouncing the litany, the deacon enters the altar through the southern doors and, standing on a high place together with the primate, is baptized into the image at the words of the exclamation “To the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit...”, makes a bow, and at the words “... now and ever and unto ages centuries” turns and bows to the primate.
5. At the moment of pronouncing the petition “Step in, save...” two deacons go to the high place, cross themselves and bow to the image, bow to the primate and to each other, and go to the pulpit. Standing in front of the icons of the Savior and the yateri of God, they are baptized with the words “Let us betray Christ our God” all together (including the protodeacon) and perform mutual worship to each other,
Small entrance
6. After pronouncing the small litanies, the deacons standing on the solea perform mutual worship and go to the altar in a high place, cross themselves, bow to the image, the primate and each other and accept the censer from the sextons.
7. After the priest’s cry of “Amen,” the protodeacon opens the Royal Doors for the small entrance.
8. The priest and deacon perform double adoration and, according to established practice, the priest kisses the Gospel, and the deacon kisses the altar, and perform a third adoration. Then the priest takes the Gospel, gives it to the deacon, who at the same time kisses the priest’s hand and goes to the high place and stands between two deacons holding a censer, facing the primate.
9. All the clergy perform double adoration, kiss the throne, perform a third adoration, and at this moment the senior deacon says: “Bless the censer, Master,”
10. Two deacons with censers, followed by a deacon with the Gospel and junior priests line up in one row, which is completed by the primate. All proceed from the altar by the northern doors. Everyone remains on the side of the salt on which he stood in the altar in front of the throne,
II. The deacon with censers, entering the Royal Doors, censes them. then they incense the throne, each on his side, meeting in a high place. When finished, they stand on the sides of the throne, awaiting the entrance of the clergy.
12. The deacon with the Gospel carries it in both hands. Standing in his usual place on the sole, he and the primate bow his head.
13. Then the daacon quietly says: “Let us pray to the Lord,” and the priest silently reads the prayer of entry. At this moment, the deacon holds the Gospel on his left shoulder, facing north.
14. At the end of the prayer, the deacon, holding the Gospel with his left hand, and the orarion in his right and pointing with his right hand to the east, says to the priest: “Bless, Master, the holy entrance.” The priest, blessing, says: “Blessed is the entrance of the saints...
15. After this, the deacon gives the priest the Holy Gospel to kiss (and kisses the priest’s hand).
16. At the end of the singing, the deacon, standing in front of the priest in front of the Royal Doors, raises the Gospel, depicting a cross with it, and says in a loud voice: “Wisdom, forgive me,”
17. Enters the altar and places the Gospel on the antimension. He is greeted by the censing of the deacons who are in the altar.
18. The clergy, while singing “Come, let us worship...” enter the altar, kissing the icons on the Royal Doors located on their side. Primate:
A) kisses, with the sign of the cross and a bow from the waist, the small icon of the Savior located on the side of the Royal Doors;
b) turns his face to the west and blesses the priests;
c) kisses the small icon of the Mother of God on the royal doors, also with the sign of the cross and bow, enters the altar.
19. Priests entering the altar are greeted by the deacon with censing, already at the corners of the throne.
20. After the abbot enters the altar, all those who have made the small entrance (only now) are baptized (once), again making the sign of the cross with a bow, and kiss the altar.
Trisagion
21.. Upon entering the altar, the priest, while singing troparia and kontakions, reads the prayer of the Trisagion chant.
22. When the singers finish singing the last kontakion with “and now,” the deacon (having kissed the throne), bowing his head and holding the orarion, as usual, with three fingers, turns to the priest with the words: “Bless, master, the time of the Trisagion.” Priest. blessing the deacon, he pronounces aloud the end of the prayer of the Trisagion chant: “For You are Holy, our God, and to You we send glory” (according to the practical MDA), on “Father and Son and Holy Spirit” - the deacon is baptized standing next to the priest, on “now and ever" comes from the Royal Doors to the middle of the ambo and ends with an exclamation, standing facing those praying and turning the orarion (from the icon of the Savior) to the icon of the Mother of God and further to the throne, exclamation says: "And forever and ever", enters the altar, kisses the throne and bows to the primate.
23. During the choir’s singing of the Trisagion, the priests, led by the primate, also read the Trisagion three times (the primate does this out loud), and at the same time a threefold worship of the throne is performed.
24. After this, at the last words “Holy Immortal...”, everyone venerates the Throne (according to the practice of the MDA), bows to each other and the deacon, turning to the priest, says to him: “Command, Vladyka” and, walking around the throne from the south side together with the primate, the orar pointing to the high place, he says: “Bless, Vladyka, the high throne.”
The priest, approaching the High Place, answers: “Blessed are you on the Throne...”
25. All the clergy bow to the High Place, to each other. Then the primate and deacon stand facing west, towards the worshipers, the rest of the priests stand sideways.
Reading the Apostle and Gospels
26. At the end of the singing of the Trisagion on “Glory..,” the deacon reading the Apostle approaches the altar, crosses himself with the orarium and places it on top of the Apostle and approaches the primate for a blessing. Having shaded his hand, the primate places it on top of the Apostle.
27. Having received the blessing and kissed his hand, the deacon leaves through the Royal Doors and stands at the end of the ambo facing the altar
28. According to practice, it is customary to perform censing in the altar during the proclamation of the prokeimna, the initial exclamations before which the deacon and priest give strictly according to the Missal. Each repetition continues during the reading of the Apostle. It is completely accomplished as follows.
Having walked around the throne on the right side, the deacon performs the usual incense: first the throne, then the altar. High place, right side of the altar, left, icon above the Royal Doors, Royal Doors. Last Supper (above the Royal Doors), right side of the iconostasis, left; enters the altar through the Royal Gates, censes the primate, clergy, reading the Apostle, choir, worshipers, local icons; enters the altar, censes the altar (front side), the primate, and thus ends the censing.
29. During the reading of the Apostle, the priest sits on the south side of the High Place. The rest of the priests sit on one side and the other.
30. At the end of the reading of the Apostle during the singing of the Alliluaria, the first deacon and the second priest stand in front of the throne, cross themselves twice, the priest kisses the Gospel, the deacon throne and the priest gives the deacon the Gospel, while the deacon kisses the priest’s hand.
31. The deacon with the Gospel goes to the High Place and, turning to the primate, says: “Bless, Master, the evangelist...” The priest, blessing him, quietly says: “God through the prayers of the holy, glorious...”, kisses the Gospel, and the deacon, answering “Amen,” goes to a designated place for reading the Gospel.
32. The second deacon, who has read the Apostle, stands on the north side of the throne and, placing the orarion on the Apostle, proclaims: “Forgive wisdom, let us hear the Holy Gospel.”
Look: If the priest is serving alone, then after he has read the prayer before the Gospel, he stands in front of the throne, the deacon comes up to him, bows his head and, pointing his oracle at the Gospel (on the throne), says quietly to the priest:
“Bless, Master, the evangelist...” The priest blesses him: “God through his prayers...” and with these words he passes the Gospel to the deacon without blessing and again goes to the high place. The deacon, saying: “Amen,” bows to the Gospel and, accepting the Gospel from the hands of the priest, kisses the priest’s hand. The deacon carries the Gospel around the altar through a high place. On the pulpit, the deacon places the Gospel on his left shoulder, with his right hand he places the end of the oligari on the lectern, places the Gospel on it and opens it. The second deacon says: “Let us hear.”
On Sundays and holidays, the deacon, having received the Gospel from the second priest and, according to custom, making an appearance about it in the pulpit, places the Gospel on the lectern (at the end of the orarion) and, holding it with both hands on the pulpit, proclaims: “Bless the Master, the evangelist..., bowing on the hands of the head and remaining in this position until the end of the primate’s proclamation. The Primate, from the high place of those praying aloud, says: “God through the prayers of the holy, glorious...” and blesses the deacon. The deacon says: “Amen,” places the Gospel on the lectern and opens it for reading.
At the end of the reading of the Gospel, the priest says to the deacon: “Peace be with him who preaches the good news,” and blesses him.
At the end of the reading of the Gospel, the deacon kisses it, closes it, takes the orarion and it from the lectern / three fingers of his right hand, brings the Gospel to the royal doors and hands it to the priest, or places it himself on the high ground of the throne, above the antimension.
Liturgy of the Faithful
The Liturgy of the Faithful is the third, most important part of the Liturgy, in which the Holy Gifts, prepared at the proskomedia, are transubstantiated by the power and action of the Holy Spirit into the Body and Blood of Christ and are offered up as a saving sacrifice for people to God the Father, and then given to the faithful for communion. The most important sacred rites of this part of the Liturgy:
- The transfer of the Holy Gifts from the Holy Altar to His Throne, the preparation of believers for prayerful participation in the performance of a bloodless sacrifice.
- The very celebration of the Holy Sacrament with the prayerful remembrance of members of the heavenly and earthly Church.
- Preparation for Holy Communion of clergy and laity.
- Thanksgiving for Holy Communion and blessing for leaving the temple (dismissal).
Litany: “Elitsa vernia, packs and packs.”
1. During the deacon’s pronouncement of the petition of the special litany, “We also pray for our Great Lord and Father, His Holiness Patriarch Alexy... the priests unfold the iliton and antimension on three sides, only the upper side of the antimension remains unexpanded.
2. The priests who deployed the antimension, performing this action, make a prayerful bow in front of the throne and then bow to the primate.
3. Primate after deployment first three the sides of the antimension kisses it, and after unfolding the fourth side, makes a cross over it with a sponge and, touching it, places it on the upper right side of the antimension.
4. During the exclamation of the priest: “For under your power,” the Royal Doors open. The deacon, having taken the cdilitsa and received a blessing from the primate, reads Psalm 50 to himself, censes St. the throne on four sides, the Holy Altar, the altar, then through the royal doors it proceeds to the salt and burns incense to the iconostasis; enters the altar, censes the priest and those present; again he goes out to the pulpit and burns incense on the faces of those praying. Having finished the incense, according to custom, he stands next to the priest praying in front of the Holy Altar.
5. The hymn of Cherub is pronounced by the clergy three times, and usually the priest pronounces the beginning of the cherub hymn before the words: “Yako da Tsar,” and the deacon begins with these words, and each time at the end of the song, both of them worship once. During the reading of the Khiruvim song, the priest holds his hands raised up, and the deacon holds the orarion in his raised hand, in the same way. As when reading litany to them. Then the priest kisses the antimension and goes to the Holy Altar: (as usual, bowing towards the worshipers) - directly to the left, and the deacon - through the high place.
6. Approaching the Holy Altar, the priest and deacon reverently pray before it, and the priest finishes remembering the names of health and repose by removing particles from the brought prosphora. Then, taking the censer, the priest censes the Holy Gifts, praying secretly: “God cleanse me, a sinner,” 3 times. Then he gives the censer to the deacon.
7. The deacon, having accepted the censer, says: “Take it, master.” The priest, taking the air with which the paten and chalice are covered, places the air on the deacon’s left shoulder, saying: “Take your hands into the holy place and bless the Lord.”
8. The deacon, holding the censer by the ring with one finger of his right hand (raised up so that the censer falls behind his right shoulder), kneels on his right knee.
9. The priest, having taken the paten and kissed the star on it through the cover, passes the paten to the deacon. The deacon takes the paten with both hands, kisses it on the side, lifts it on his head and goes to the solea by the northern doors.
10. The priest, having kissed the chalice, takes it through the cover and follows the deacon; he is preceded by a candle-bearer with a candle and stands behind the pulpit. Coming out onto the solea, the clergy stop opposite the Royal Doors, facing the worshipers, who, giving honor to the Holy Gifts, bow their heads at this time.
11. After the proclamation, the deacon leaves through the Royal Doors to the altar and, standing on the right side of the Holy See, kneels on one knee, holding the diaos on his head.
12. Having entered the altar, the priest places a chalice on the Holy Throne, on the unfolded antimension on its right side. Then, taking the paten from the deacon, he places it on the antimension, on its left side.
13. After handing the paten to the priest, the deacon closes the Royal Doors, draws the curtain and, returning, stands on the right side of the Holy See.
14. After reading the troparions, the priest removes the coverings from the paten and places them on the upper left side of the Holy See. Next, he takes air from the deacon’s shoulder, . censer (held by the deacon). Covers the paten and chalice with air. After this, taking the censer from the deacon, he censes the Holy Spirit three times, saying the Gifts; “Bless Zion, O Lord, with Thy favor.” Having shown the deacon and given him the censer, the priest asks him about himself: “Remember me, brother and co-servant.” A dialogue takes place according to the missal, at the end of which he takes the blessing with a kiss on his hand and goes to the High Place, from where he censes the priest three times, prays to the High Place, gives censer to the sexton and bows with him. After the Great Entrance, the Church begins to prepare those praying for the acceptance of the Bloodless Sacrifice.”
15. The deacon pronounces the litany of petition:
“Let us fulfill our prayer to the Lord.” After the proclamation
"Let us love one another." the deacon standing on the pulpit makes the sign of the cross, bows, kisses the cross on the orar and exclaims: “Doors, doors.” the wisdom of the Royal Doors. While singing in chorus “Father and Son and Holy Spirit...” the priest reads secretly: “I will love Thee, the Lord, My Fortress...”, saying this prayer three times and bowing to the throne, kisses the paten and chalice (above the veil), as well as the edge of the throne before yourself (according to established custom, secretly saying the Trisagion at this time). After kissing, he makes the sign of the cross.
If several priests concelebrate at once, they kiss the paten, the chalice, the Holy See and each other on the shoulder. The eldest says: “Christ is in our midst.” The younger (priest) replies: “And it is, and it will be.” . Likewise with deacons, if their Several serve, each kissing their orarion at the place of the image: on it the cross and each other’s shoulder, saying the same thing as the priests about (In practice, deacons kiss before communion of the Holy Mysteries).
From the day of Holy Pascha until its celebration, the elder (priest or deacon) says: “Christ is risen,” and the younger responds: “Truly he is risen.”
16. The deacon, standing on the pulpit, makes the sign of the cross, bows, kisses the cross on the orar and exclaims:
“Doors, doors, let us sing of wisdom!” At this time, the curtain of the Royal Doors opens (and remains drawn back until the proclamation “Holy of Holies”). The priest, quietly pronouncing the symbol of faith, vibrates the air, vibrates the air over the Holy Gifts. When the choir sings “Mercy of the World,” the priest takes the air, kisses it, folds it and places it on the Altar.
17. When shouting “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, dear. Be God and the Father and the communion of the Holy Spirit with you all,” the priest, turning his face to the worshippers, blesses them. When shouting “Woe are our hearts,” the priest raises his hands to “woe.” .
18. When the priest exclaims “We thank the Lord,” the deacon moves from the southern side of the Holy See to its northern side, kisses it, bows to the priest and stands at the Holy See with him.
19. The priest pronounces the final words of the Eucharistic Prayer aloud: “Singing the song of victory, crying, calling and speaking.” The deacon, while the priest is pronouncing the words “Singing the Victory Song, crying out, calling out and saying,” raises the star from the paten with his right hand (with an orar, which he holds with three fingers) and makes an image of a cross over the paten, touching the paten on each of the four sides of the star: with the words the priest “singing” - on the eastern side and the bevel, “blatantly” - on the western side, “appealingly” - on the northern side and “verbally” on the southern side. At the end of the priest’s words “Victory song...” the daacon, folding a star, . having kissed her, he places her in the upper part of the Holy See. (During the priest’s exclamation, “Take, eat: this is My body, which was broken for you for the remission of sins,” the priest with his right hand, palm facing up and holding his fingers together, points to the Holy Bread , lying on the paten; The deacon does the same, holding the orarion with three fingers of his right hand.)
21 . This is followed by the exclamation of the priest: “Drink of Her, all of you, this is My Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for you and for many for the remission of sins. When pronouncing these words, the priest points to the chalice in the same way as before to the paten.
22” The priest proclaims: “Thine from Thine is offered to Thee for all and for all.” When pronouncing the words: “Thine from Thine is offered to Thee for all and for all,” the deacon, and if he is not there, then the priest himself, having folded hands crosswise, takes the paten with his right hand, and the chalice with his left, raises them above the Holy Throne, and then puts it back in place.
23. The offering of the Holy Gifts during the singing of “We sing to you...” is followed by their transubstantiation. After the secret prayer of the priest, the priest and the deacon bow three times before the Holy See, praying for themselves: “God, cleanse me, a sinner, and have mercy on me.” Then the priest, raising his Hands, prays to the Holy Spirit: Lord, Who sent down Your Most Holy Spirit at the third hour by Your Apostle, do not take Him away from us, O Good One, but renew us who pray to You.” After the deacon’s exclamation, both reverently worship before the Holy See.
The exclamations of both the priest and the deacon are repeated two more times, and the exclamations are also followed by worship.
24. When the priest blesses the Holy Bread with the words: “And make this honorable bread Thy body three hundred,” then it should be said like this: “And make this honorable bread (show with your hand) (when pronouncing this word, begin to make a movement with your hand with a blessing ) Body (bottom) of Christ (left) Thy (right). The same is true for the transubstantiation of wine into Blood (four words, four hand movements for blessing).”
25. The words of the deacon “Bless, Master, the Holy Bread”) and “Bless, Master, the Holy Chalice” are accompanied by the display of the Holy Bread and the Holy Chalice in the orari.
26. When the deacon addresses the priest, “Bless the wallpaper, O Master,” the deacon points to the Holy Gifts. When the priest gives the blessing of the Holy Gifts - “Transferred by Thy Holy Spirit” (four words, four hand instructions). After this, the priest and deacon bow to the ground.
27. Before the priest’s exclamation “Excellently about the Most Holy, Most Pure, Most Blessed, Glorious Our Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary,” the priest censes the Holy Altar three times. The priest gives the censer to the deacon, who, continuing the censing, censes the Holy See from the other three sides. High place, altar icons and lays down the censer.
28. The exclamation: “And may the mercies of the Great God and Our Savior Jesus Christ be with all Baki,” the priest pronounces turning his face to the west and blessing the believers.
29. After “the singing of the Lord’s Prayer and the priest’s exclamation, “By the grace and compassion and love of Thy Only Begotten Son, with whom art Thou blessed, with Thy Most Holy and Good and Life-Giving ear, now and ever, and unto ages of ages,” the deacon, standing in front of the Royal Doors, he girds himself with an orarion in a cross shape.
30. When reading secretly (three times) the prayer “God, cleanse me, a sinner, and have mercy on me,” the priest and deacon do triple adoration. Next, the priest closes the Royal Doors with a curtain. After the deacon’s words “Let us together,” the priest takes the Holy Lamb and, raising it over the paten, proclaims:
"Holy of holies?"
31. After the words of the deacon, “Break, Master, the holy Bread,” the priest reverently breaks the Holy Bread along the cut into four parts, saying quietly: “The Lamb of God is broken and divided, crushed and undivided, always poisoned and never released, but the one who partakes sanctifies.” . Four parts of the Holy Bread are placed crosswise on the paten: a particle with the seal of IS - on the upper side of the paten; particle with seal 1C - on the lower side; particle with the seal Ш - from the north; particle with KA stamp. - from the young side of the paten. The deacon, pointing his oracle at the Holy Chalice, says to the priest: “Fulfill, Master, the Holy Chalice.” The priest, taking the Particle of IS and making it the meaning of the cross above the Chalice, lowers it into the Holy Chalice with the words: “Filling with the Holy Spirit.” The deacon answers “Amen” and knocks down the ladle with warmth, saying: “Bless the warmth, Master.” After the blessing of the priest, the daacon pours in the amount of warmth required for Holy Communion in a cross shape. After this, the priest takes a part of the Holy Lamb with the seal of the Holy Spirit and divides it into particles according to the number of clergy receiving communion. Then follows a prayer, after which the clergy bow to the ground in front of the Holy Throne, bow to each other who are in the altar and in the direction of the believers who are in the temple, with the words: “Forgive me, fathers and brothers,” and again bow to the ground with the words : “Here. I come to the immortal Gift and My God.”
32. Priest: “Deacon, come.” The deacon, approaching from the north side, says: “Teach to me, Master, the honest and Holy Body of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” The priest gives the deacon a particle with the corresponding words. The deacon takes the Holy Bread in the palm of his right hand, lying on the palm of his left; kisses the priest's giving hand and moves to the northern or eastern side of the Holy See, where, bowing his head and raising his hands above the Holy See, he waits (at the same time as the priest) for the reading of the prayer before Holy Communion. Next, the priest takes a particle of Holy Bread with his left hand, places it on the palm of his right, saying: “The Honest and Most Holy Body of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ is given to me (name), the priest, for the remission of my sins and to eternal life.”
Having communed the Body of Christ, the priest takes the antimension sponge, wipes the palm of his right hand over the paten with it, and then, taking the Chalice with both hands, partakes of the Divine Blood from it three times. To ensure that not a single drop falls from the Chalice, those receiving communion use a special cloth, one end of which is placed behind the upper edge of the phelonion, and with the other end the card is taken into the hands of the Chalice. After communion, the priest wipes his lips and the edge of the Chalice with the same cloth and kisses the edge of the Chalice, saying: “Behold, I will touch my lips, and he will take away my iniquities, and cleanse my sins.” Kissing the Chalice, the priest says: “Glory to Thee, O God” (three times) . Then the priest gives communion to the deacon,
33. One of the priests divides the parts of the Holy Lamb with the seal of NI and KA into so many particles so that there is enough for all the communing believers, and lowers these particles into the Chalice, also reading Sunday hymns. Having dropped the particles into the Chalice, the priest covers the Chalice with a shroud or cloth and places a spoon on it.
34. The deacon opens the curtain of the Gift Gate and accepts the Holy Chalice from the priest, kissing it, goes out with the priest to the Soleia through the Gift Gate and, lifting the Chalice up, says: “Come with the fear of God and faith” and hands the Holy Chalice to the priest.
35. After the laity has received communion, the priest and the deacon enter the altar. The priest places the Holy Chalice on the Holy Altar, and the deacon, taking the Holy Paten, reads Sunday hymns.
36. Then the deacon lowers into the Chalice the particles taken from the prosphoras lying on the Paten, with the words: “Wash away, O Lord, the sins of those who attempted here with Thy Honest Blood and the prayers of Thy saints.” He wipes the Paten with an antimins sponge so that not even the smallest particles remain on it. After lowering the particles into the Chalice, the deacon covers the Holy Chalice with a veil, and places a star, a copy, on the Paten. spoon, second cover and board.
37. While singing “We have seen the true light...” the priest censes the Holy Gifts three times, saying secretly: “Ascend into heaven, O God, and Thy glory throughout all the earth”; then he gives the censer and the Paten to the daacon, and the deacon carries the Paten to the Holy Altar.
38. The priest, having bowed to the Holy Gifts, takes the Holy Cup, saying quietly: “Blessed is Our God,” and, turning his face to the people from the Holy Cups, says aloud: “Always, now and ever, and unto ages of ages.” Then the priest carries the Holy Chalice to the Holy Altar, quietly saying: “Ascension into heaven, O God...”
39. The deacon usually meets the priest carrying the Holy Chalice on the Holy Altar with a censer, censing the Holy Gifts, and passes the censer to the priest, who, having placed the Holy Gifts on the Holy Altar, censes, venerating the Holy Gifts.
40. Returning to the Holy See, the priest, having drawn a cross sign with an antimension sponge over the Antimension and placing the sponge in the middle of it, closes the antimension: first its upper part, then the lower, then the left and finally the right.
41. After the small litany, the priest, having folded the Antimension and holding the Holy Gospel vertically, makes the sign of the cross over the Antimension and says: “For You are our sanctification and we send up glory to You, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now. and ever and ever.” And he placed the Holy Gospel on the Antimins. After the deacon’s exclamation “Let us pray to the Lord,” the priest comes out with the missal from the altar through the Royal Doors behind the pulpit and reads the prayer behind the pulpit. At the end of the prayer behind the pulpit, the priest enters the Holy Altar through the Royal Doors and reads a prayer for the consumption of the Holy Gifts. The deacon (at the same time) enters the Holy Altar through the northern gate, approaches the Holy Altar and, bowing his head, listens to this prayer. At the end of this prayer, the priest blesses the deacon, who, having crossed himself, kisses the Holy Altar and goes to the Holy Altar to consume the Holy Gifts.
42. For the consumption of the Holy Gifts, a cloth is taken, one end of which is placed behind the upper edge of the phelonion or surplice; With its other end, the clergyman takes the Holy Chalice with his left hand, and with his right hand, using a spoon, reverently consumes from the Holy Chalice all the contents in it. Then, having rinsed the Holy Chalice with water several times until not the slightest particle of Holy Bread remains on the walls of the Holy Chalice, he drinks this water, wipes the Holy Chalice dry with a sponge, then the spoon (plate) and puts the vessels in the proper place .
43. After consuming the Holy Gifts, the deacon, like the priest, reads prayers for Holy Communion, undresses, and puts away his vestments in the proper place.”
44. Having completed the Divine service and undressed, the clergy wash their hands and, after worshiping the Holy Throne, leave the Holy Temple, thanking God for deigning them to perform the service.”
Advance instructions for the rector of the temple
1. Find out in advance from the Diocesan Administration:
– a program for the Bishop’s visit to the parish (it is either determined by the Bishop himself, or, with the blessing of the Bishop, it is previously drawn up by the dean together with the rector and proposed for consideration by the Bishop);
– composition and number of persons arriving with the Bishop (protodeacon, subdeacons, etc.);
– the color of the vestments (it is necessary to prepare the appropriate priestly and deaconal vestments of the required color, as well as air and coverings (for the Liturgy), bookmarks in the altar Gospel and the Apostle, covers for lecterns, etc.);
- time of arrival of the Bishop. The rector, having learned this time, must inform the invited clergy, clergy of his temple, parishioners and representatives of the administration (if they intend to attend the service) the time of their arrival at the temple (the clergy no later than 1 hour before the appointed time of meeting the archpastor);
– will litia be celebrated (if the Bishop is supposed to serve the all-night vigil);
- order of the meal.
2. Preparations regarding the choir.
It is necessary to think in advance which choir will sing at the bishop's service. If the church has its own good choir, then you must personally ensure that the regent is familiar with the rules of the bishop's service and conducts a sufficient number of rehearsals for clear, smooth singing at the service. Otherwise, it is advisable to invite some other church choir that has experience in conducting bishops' services. The local choir may sing in the left choir. The rector organizes transport for the invited choir, informs the regent in advance of the time of the choir's arrival at the temple and provides a meal for the choir.
The rules of the bishop's all-night vigil are almost no different from the usual rite. Therefore, if the church choir is good, then even if it has no experience in conducting bishop services, it can sing.
3. The Sacrament of Confession for those wishing to receive communion during the Liturgy performed by the Bishop.
Consideration should be given to the organization of the Sacrament of Confession, which, if possible, should be performed outside of the service. If there are many people who want to receive communion and it is difficult to complete confession before the start of the Liturgy, then you need to either appoint a clergyman from your church in advance, or invite a priest from another church to conduct the Sacrament of Confession in a specially designated place (either in the church itself or in another room).
It is extremely undesirable to combine the bishop's service with the performance (even in the chapel) of other rites, such as the funeral service for the dead, prayer service, communion of infants after Baptism, the Sacrament of Marriage, etc. Due to the large number of people, plate collection during the service is undesirable, it should be refrain so as not to disturb the peace of prayer in the temple.
4. Preparing the altar and church premises for the bishop's service.
All objects in the altar and in the temple must be cleaned and washed.
a) Holy See:
- the best altar Gospel is placed and the intended conception is laid. Need to check appearance bookmarks in the Altar Gospel (as well as in the Apostle);
– if the altar crosses (there should be two of them) differ in external decoration, then the best of them is placed on the left hand of the primate (the instruction concerns the Liturgy, at the all-night vigil best cross placed to the right of the primate). If there are still altar crosses in the church, then for the Liturgy they should also be prepared (preferably on the altar) for the priests to carry them out at the great entrance.
b) Altar:
– taking into account the number of clergy and laity serving with the Bishop at the Divine Liturgy, it is necessary to prepare a prosphora of the proper size for the lamb. In addition to the usual number of prosphoras, two more large prosphoras are prepared so that the Bishop can perform the commemoration (if several bishops are serving, then two prosphoras are prepared for each of them);
– it is necessary to have a sufficient amount of church wine;
– you should prepare (if the church does not have one, then borrow from another parish) sacred vessels of the proper size. If a large number of communicants are expected, then it is necessary to have additional chalices, plates and spoons.
c) Altar room:
– there is a tradition of placing a pulpit with a seat for the Bishop on the High Place. It represents a certain elevation on which a person can freely stand. It is also recommended to take into account the following circumstance: if the altar room is spacious and the distance between the eastern side of the throne (or the seven-branched candlestick standing behind it) and the proposed pulpit is at least 1-1.5 m, then a pulpit can be arranged. There should not be a pulpit in a small altar (the instruction about the pulpit concerns only the Liturgy);
– if lithium is expected at the all-night vigil, then the best lithium device is prepared. It is necessary to take care in advance of bread, wine, wheat, and oil for lithium. Before service, the lithium device with all the substances must already be ready! It is necessary that there be enough bread to distribute to the people. At the polyeleos, new candles are distributed to the clergy. A new candle for the Bishop is inserted into the best hand-made candlestick. A vessel with oil and a brush are prepared for anointing the believers. It is advisable to think about in what places and which of the priests, along with the Bishop, will perform the anointing after the polyeleos. The bishop anoints at the main icon of the holiday on the pulpit. If there is a large crowd of people, it will be necessary to place another lectern with an icon of the holiday in the temple and prepare additional vessels with oil and tassels;
– in the altar, to the right of the primate’s place at the inside of the iconostasis, there is a seat. This could be a good chair with a backrest, or, if one is not available, then a good chair. The seat is placed on a small carpet if the altar is not completely covered with carpets (the instruction concerns primarily the all-night vigil, but it is advisable to organize this for the Liturgy);
– prepare two deacon candles;
– for the Liturgy, prepare the book of the Apostle in the altar, lay the required conception;
– if in addition to the protodeacon there is one or more deacons present at the service, then two censers are prepared. It should be ensured that there is a supply of coal and incense sufficient for the entire service;
– water should be prepared for washing the hands of the Bishop and the clergy (both at the Liturgy and at the all-night vigil), as well as for warmth and drinking. If it is not possible to heat water in the altar, then it is good to prepare hot water in thermoses (with reserve for warmth and water). If you can heat water in the altar, you must have a kettle and a supply of water;
– clean towels must be available;
– you should have ladles, a knife for crushing the antidor and prosphora (at the Liturgy) or consecrated bread (at the all-night vigil), and, if possible, small prosphora (at the Liturgy for drinking the clergy);
– if possible, an iron and ironing table (board) should be available before the service (not necessarily in the altar);
– vestments for the clergy: the rector either warns the invited clergy about the need to come with their vestments of the appropriate color, or prepares in advance (after checking whether everything is available) temple vestments according to the number of concelebrating clergy;
– if the service will take place during the first week of Easter or on Easter, then an Easter three-candlestick with new candles should be prepared;
- a tray with a cover under the altar cross should be ready.
d) Temple premises:
- at the Liturgy, at the Royal Doors, two analogues are placed next to their pillars, on the right - with the icon of the Savior, on the left - with the icon of the Mother of God (see diagram 1). There is no need to do this at an all-night vigil.
- in the center of the temple there is a vestibule for the Bishop, in modern practice called the pulpit). Its dimensions may vary, but when designing its steps, it must be calculated so that one can easily ascend and descend from the pulpit and that the Bishop can freely stand on it, as well as accommodate the seat standing behind him. The pulpit is covered with a carpet.
- for use at the Liturgy, a seat is prepared for the Bishop - a medium-height chair without a back. The seat is sheathed with a cover or a cover is placed on it. The seat is placed to the left of the pulpit (Diagram 1). At the all-night vigil, there is no need to place the seat on the pulpit.
– carpets are laid as follows: in the altar, it is advisable to cover the entire space with carpets, or at least the space in front of the altar. The carpet goes from the Royal Doors (if there is another carpet on the pulpit, then from the pulpit) to the pulpit. The pulpit, if not upholstered in cloth, is also covered with a carpet. Next, the carpet spreads from the pulpit to the porch inclusive. A carpet is laid at the entrance to the main part of the temple (see diagram 1).
5. About the ringing of bells.
15 minutes before the expected time of arrival of the Bishop, the gospel begins. When the car with the Bishop appears, a peal rings, which continues until the service begins. During the service, the ringing is carried out according to the Charter. During the religious procession the ringing rings; at the bus stops the ringing stops.
6. Proskomedia.
It is performed before the arrival of the Bishop by a pre-appointed priest and deacon from among the serving clergy. They say entrance prayers, put on all sacred clothes and perform the full rite of proskomedia, including the protection of the Holy Gifts and full incense of the temple. The dean and the rector must personally ensure that the lamb is prepared to the proper size and that a sufficient amount of the holy compound is poured into the Chalice.
It is safer to appoint an experienced priest to perform the proskomedia.
According to the Charter, the 3rd and 6th hours are supposed to be read after the Bishop’s vestments, but, according to universally established practice, the hours are read before the Bishop’s arrival at the temple. The rector appoints in advance a reader who will read the hours during the proskomedia, and warns him that the petition: “Bless in the name of the Lord, father” is replaced by: “In the name of the Lord (Highly) Most Reverend Vladyka, bless.” Accordingly, the priest’s exclamation: “Through the prayers of our Holy Fathers...” is replaced with: “Through the prayers of our Holy Master...”.
7. Regardless of the ordinal place occupied by the rector in the priestly rank at the divine service, the rector:
- together with the dean, he meets the saint at the entrance to the temple (more precisely, at the place where the car stopped). The bishop gets out of the car and blesses the two subdeacons who meet him. Then the dean and the rector take the blessing from the Bishop. It is possible to present flowers, meet with bread and salt. Usually they are presented by the elder of the temple or one of the respected parishioners, or children;
– maintains order in the church and on the choir during services;
- is responsible at the Liturgy for organizing the communion of the laity, appoints priests to crush the particles of the Holy Body of Christ. The priests appointed to divide the Holy Mysteries begin to do this immediately after their communion;
- at the Liturgy he brings the Bishop a drink after communion, and at the all-night vigil at the beginning of the sixth psalm - consecrated bread and wine (prepared by the subdeacons).
– during the Liturgy, he agrees with the Bishop (at the moment when he serves the drink or when he takes the blessing during communion) on the order of completion of the Liturgy. If a religious procession, prayer service, memorial service or blessing of fruits is expected, then he is responsible for organizing these rites.
– at the all-night vigil, he is responsible for organizing the anointing of the believers after the polyeleos.
Usually, when the Bishop visits churches, the dean of the given district is present. The rector is obliged both before and during the service to act in coordination with the dean, consulting with him and obeying his advice and orders.
Instructions for clergy
1. All clergy must be in the church one hour before the arrival of the Bishop.
2. Each priest checks that he has his full priestly vestments.
3. To meet the Bishop, priests put on robes, crosses and headdresses (hoods or kamilavkas).
4. The curtain of the Royal Doors must be pulled back, but the gates themselves are closed.
5. The priest who performed the proskomedia, in full priestly vestments, takes the tray with the cover and places the best altar cross on it, turning its handle towards his left hand. At the all-night vigil, the cross is carried out by the priest, who will begin the all-night vigil. In this case, he is dressed in a phelonion, epitrachelion, brace and headdress.
6. 20 minutes before the expected arrival of the Bishop, all priests stand to the right and left of the throne in two rows according to seniority of position, awards and consecration. A priest with a cross on a tray takes the primate’s place. The protodeacon and 1st deacon take 2 censers and a supply of incense, the 2nd and 3rd deacons take the trikirium and dikirium. All the clergy are baptized, venerate the throne and exit to the Solea by the southern and northern doors, respectively. A priest with a cross stands in front of the Royal Doors, the rest of the priests and deacons stand in a row on the right and left, facing the Royal Doors. All clergy cross themselves three times, bow (one row to another) and walk in two rows along the edges of the carpet to the entrance to the temple. The priest with the cross walks along the middle of the carpet and faces the entrance to the temple at the level of the last pair of priests (if there are a lot of priests, then at the level of 5-6 pairs). The remaining priests stand facing each other (see diagram 3). The deacons stand after the last pair of priests, in one row, facing the entrance to the temple. All the clergy cross themselves and bow one row to another. The dean and the rector go to the porch, where, together with two subdeacons, they await the arrival of the Bishop.
7. Regarding priestly presiding during worship, the practice is as follows:
The first priest can be the dean, the rector, and, if the dean considers it possible, the oldest priest in terms of awards (ordination). The dean must be sure that this priest is ready to conduct the bishop's service first in the priestly rank.
8. There is a practice of meeting the Bishop at the Liturgy with priests dressed in full vestments. It is justified only in three situations: a) Patriarchal worship, b) when the altar is small in size, but there are many clergy, and it may be very inconvenient for all the priests to dress at the same time, c) at the consecration of the temple, since the altar is occupied by objects prepared for consecration .
Meeting of the bishop
The bishop enters the temple. The protodeacon proclaims: “Wisdom” and then reads: “It is worthy” (or worthy), “Glory, And now,” “Lord, have mercy” three times, “(Highly) Most Reverend Master, bless.” At this time, the protodeacon and 1st deacon constantly burn incense to the Bishop. The dean and the rector take their place among the priests. The bishop stands on the eagle and gives the staff to the subdeacon. The bishop and all priests are baptized three times. The priests bow to the Bishop, who blesses them with the general overshadowing. The bishop puts on a robe.
A priest with a cross on a tray approaches the Bishop. The Bishop takes the cross, and the priest kisses the Bishop’s hand and retreats to his previous place. All the priests take turns, in order of seniority, approach the Bishop, cross themselves, kiss the cross and the Bishop’s hand, then retreat to their places. The priest comes up last with a tray, kisses the cross and the hand of the Bishop. The bishop kisses the cross and places it on a tray. The priest kisses the hand of the Bishop, immediately goes into the Altar through the northern doors and places the cross on the throne. At the Liturgy, this priest does not come out for entrance prayers, since he has already performed them before the proskomedia.
The Bishop and all the priests are baptized again, and the priests bow to the Bishop, who overshadows them with a general blessing.
Follow-up of the All-Night Vigil
After kissing the cross at the meeting, the Bishop goes to the pulpit, then leaves it and kisses the icon of the holiday. He rises to the pulpit, turns and blesses the people on three sides. The priests, in two rows, follow the Bishop to the pulpit; they do not venerate the icon; standing in front of the pulpit, they bow in response to the Bishop’s blessing. The bishop turns and enters the altar through the Royal Doors, which are opened by the subdeacons. The priests, at the same time as the Bishop, enter the altar through the side doors. The bishop and priests venerate the throne and take their places.
At the all-night vigil, the priest who went out to meet the cross enters the altar, places the cross on the altar, goes to the High Place and accepts the censer from the subdeacon or protodeacon. The protodeacon enters the altar, gives the censer to the subdeacon or priest, accepts the deacon's candle from the subdeacon and stands next to the priest, to his right. The bishop enters the altar and venerates the throne. The priest, standing a little to the right of the center of the High Place, asks the Bishop for a blessing on the censer: “Bless, (Highly) Most Reverend Bishop, the censer.” Next, the priest, preceded by the protodeacon, performs the usual censing of the altar. The bishop censes three times three times. The archdeacon comes out to the pulpit and proclaims: “Rise up.” At this time, all the clergy gathers at the High Place. The protodeacon returns to the altar. At the exclamation: “Glory to the Saints...” all the clergy in the High Place, at the sign of the protodeacon, cross themselves, bow to the Bishop and sing: “Come, let us worship...”. At the end of the singing, everyone crosses themselves again, bows to the Bishop and goes to their places. The protodeacon gives the candle to the 1st deacon, who walks in front of the priest, who performs the full censing of the temple.
There is a widespread tradition when the priest performing incense is accompanied by two deacons. In this matter, one must follow the instructions of the archdeacon.
Upon returning to the altar, the priest censes the altar, moves to the right and stands with the deacon opposite the Bishop. The priest censes the Bishop three times, the deacon three times and gives the censer to the deacon. The deacon censes the priest three times, and the priest and deacon cross themselves, bow to the Bishop and retreat to their places.
The royal doors are closed by subdeacons. The protodeacon pronounces the peaceful litany. The priest makes an exclamation after the litany and after the end of the exclamation he bows to the Bishop.
This instruction also applies to all exclamations made by the priest during the service.
After the exclamation of the peaceful litany, the priest, protodeacon and all the rest of the clergy located in the altar approach the Bishop for blessing.
Before going out to pronounce any litany, the deacon is baptized in the High Place and bows not to the priest, but to the Bishop.
The clapping on “Lord, I have cried...” is performed by a pair of junior deacons. They take the censer, cross themselves on the High Place, turn to face the Bishop, raise the censer, and the eldest of the two deacons says: “Bless, (Highly) Most Reverend Bishop, the censer.” The bishop blesses the censer. The deacons perform incense according to the usual pattern, the bishop is censed three times at the beginning, and three times at the end of the incense.
During the singing of the stichera on: “Lord, I have cried...” all the priests, and if there are many priests, then those whom the dean directs wear stoles, bracelets, phelonions and headdresses. At the end of the censing, all vested priests stand near the throne in two rows according to seniority. The senior priest (usually a dean or rector) takes the primacy.
Evening entrance
After the canonarch exclaims: “And now,” the junior deacons open the Royal Doors. All the priests and the protodeacon venerate the throne and go to the High Place. The protodeacon at the High Place receives the censer from the subdeacon. All priests and the protodeacon cross themselves to the east, turn and bow to the Bishop. The Protodeacon takes the blessing for the censer from the Bishop. All the clergy go to soleya. The protodeacon censes local icons, enters the altar, goes to the right, censes the Bishop three times three times, goes to the Royal Doors and asks the Bishop for a blessing to enter. The Bishop blesses the entrance, the protodeacon censes the Bishop three times with the words: “Is pollla,” stands in the Royal Doors and proclaims: “Forgive Wisdom.” Next, the protodeacon enters the altar, censes the altar from four sides and gives the censer to the subdeacon. All priests cross themselves, bow to the primate and enter the altar through the Royal Doors, each kissing the icon on the Royal Doors that is on his side. The Primate, as usual, venerates the icons at the Royal Doors, but the people do not bless with their hand, but only bow slightly to him.
This instruction also applies to all those moments of the service when the priest is supposed to overshadow the people with his hand.
All the priests and the protodeacon cross themselves, venerate the throne and go to the High Place. At the High Place, all the clergy are baptized and bow to the Bishop. The choir finishes singing: “Quiet Light.” The 1st priest and protodeacon bow to the Bishop. Protodeacon: “Let us attend.” Priest: “Peace to all” (without overshadowing the people with his hand). The protodeacon proclaims, according to custom, the prokeimenon. After him, all the priests and the protodeacon cross themselves, bow to the Bishop and go to their places. Subdeacons close the Royal Doors. If there are proverbs, then the protodeacon, standing at the throne, gives the exclamations required for them. The priest who began the service takes the primate's place. The rest of the priests put aside their phelonies and move away from the throne to their places. Then the service proceeds as usual.
If a litany is expected, then at the petitionary litany all the priests, dressed in stoles, bracelets and headdresses, stand in two rows on either side of the throne. The priest standing at the Throne also puts aside the phelonion and takes his place among the priests. Two deacons, appointed by the protodeacon, receive the censer at the High Place from the subdeacons. The bishop takes the primate's place. After the exclamation: “Be a power...” the deacons open the Royal Doors. The Bishop and all the clergy are baptized twice, venerate the throne, everyone is baptized once more, and the Bishop blesses the clergy with a general overshadowing. At this moment, the deacons take a blessing on the censer. The bishop enters the litany through the Royal Doors, all priests and deacons through the side doors. After the Bishop has left the altar, the Royal Doors are immediately closed by the deacons. Deacons with censers perform incense.
Regarding the censing scheme for lithium, practice is very heterogeneous. Considering that our goal is to show the practice of the Moscow diocese, we will describe in detail the scheme adopted in the Assumption Cathedral Church of the Novodevichy Convent. The deacons perform full censing of the altar, iconostasis, holiday icon (three times three times), the Bishop (three times three times) and the clergy (from the middle of the temple), the choir and people (from the pulpit), the Royal Doors, the icons of the Savior and the Mother of God, the holiday icon (three times ) and Bishop (three times). Next, the deacons cross themselves, bow to the Bishop and give the censer to the subdeacon, and they themselves stand in a row with the other deacons.
Next, the lithium proceeds in the usual manner. At the exclamation of “Our Father”: “For Thine is the Kingdom...” the subdeacons open the Royal Doors. At the same exclamation, the protodeacon accepts the censer from the subdeacon and asks the Bishop for the blessing for censing. During the singing of the troparion, the protodeacon censes the lithium device around three times, then censes the icon of the holiday, the Bishop three times three times, the clergy, then crosses himself, bows to the Bishop and gives the censer to the subdeacon. At the end of the prayer for the consecration of bread, wheat, wine and oil, all the clergy (they listened to the prayer, removing their headdresses) cross themselves, bow to the Bishop, go into the altar through the side doors (the younger ones go in front) and stand in two rows near the throne. One verse before the end of the chorus singing the 33rd Psalm, all the clergy turn to face the Royal Doors (the 1st pair of priests comes out closer to the Royal Doors), and everyone bows in response to the Bishop’s blessing. The bishop overshadows the people with the words: “The blessing of the Lord...” and enters the altar. The bishop and all the clergy cross themselves and venerate the throne. All clergy bow to the Bishop in response to his blessing. Deacons close the Royal Doors. The bishop retreats to his place and unmasks himself. The rector presents the Bishop with consecrated bread and wine (prepared on a tray by the subdeacons). The priest who began the service takes the primate's place, and the same priest, during the reading of the second part of the Six Psalms, goes out to the solea to the Royal Doors to read the prescribed secret prayers.
Then the all-night vigil continues as usual. The polyeleos performed by the bishop's service does not have any special differences from that performed by the conciliar priestly service. The anointing of all clergy is performed by the Bishop, standing at the pulpit. After the anointing of the clergy, all clergy are baptized, bow to the Bishop and go to the altar. At the altar, all the clergy cross themselves, venerate the throne, bow to the Bishop from the Royal Doors and go to their places. If the anointing of believers is expected from more than one icon, then the appointed priests go to their places and perform the anointing.
The deacon, pronouncing the small litany during the reading of the canon, goes out to the solea from the northern door, stands in the center of the Royal Doors, crosses himself, bows to the Bishop and says the litany. The priest who began the service, standing in the altar, makes an exclamation and at the end of it bows from the Royal Doors to the Bishop. During the exclamation, the deacon moves to the right to the icon of the Savior, and at the end of the exclamation he also crosses himself and, together with the priest, bows to the Bishop. If during the small litany according to the 6th song of the canon the Bishop continues to anoint the believers, then the protodeacon with a censer in his hands comes out of the northern door onto the solea and stands opposite the icon of the Mother of God. At the exclamation of the litany, the protodeacon is baptized, bows to the Bishop together with the priest and deacon who spoke the litany, and asks the Bishop for a blessing on the censer.
After the Bishop returns to the altar after anointing the people, the deacons close the Royal Doors.
While singing the stichera on “Praise...” all the priests, dressed in phelonions, stand in two rows on either side of the Throne. The Bishop takes the primate place. On “And Now” the deacons open the Royal Doors. The subdeacons present the Trikiri and Dikiri to the Bishop. The bishop proclaims: “Glory to You...”, goes to the pulpit and overshadows the people on three sides. All priests turn to face the Royal Doors. The 1st pair of priests goes to the middle of the space between the throne and the Royal Doors and faces the Royal Doors. The bishop turns and, standing on the pulpit, overshadows the clergy with dikiriy and trikiriy. All clergy bow to the Bishop and retreat to their places. The bishop enters the altar and gives the candles to the subdeacons. At the end of the singing of the Trisagion, after the doxology, the protodeacon, 1st deacon and subdeacons with the dikiri and trikiri are baptized on the High Place and bow to the Bishop. The deacons go to the solea to recite the litanies. At the special litany, when remembering the name of the serving Bishop, all priests cross themselves and bow to the Bishop. Before the exclamation: “Peace to all” and before the Bishop leaves the altar to pronounce the dismissal, the Bishop blesses the clergy, and they bow to him in response.
After the dismissal of Matins, the Bishop and all the priests are baptized, venerate the throne, the Bishop bestows a general blessing on the clergy, and the clergy bow to the Bishop. Deacons close the Royal Doors. The bishop and all the clergy are exposed. The priest, who began the service, in the epitrachelion, bands and headdress, takes the primate's place and ends, according to custom, the 1st hour.
During the reading of the prayer of the hour, the Bishop and all the clergy cross themselves and venerate the throne. Subdeacons open the Royal Doors. The bishop leaves the altar through the Royal Doors, and the priests and deacons through the side doors. All clergy stand in two rows in front of the pulpit facing the altar. The priest, standing at the icon of the Mother of God facing the people, takes leave of the hour, goes to the altar, undresses, leaves the altar and takes his place in the ranks of the clergy. After the dismissal of the 1st hour, the choir sings: “Lord, have mercy” (three times). The bishop, standing on the pulpit in a robe, speaks a word to the believers. After this, everyone sings the troparion or magnification of the holiday, and the Bishop, preceded by the clergy, goes to the end of the church. At the end of the temple, the clergy stand in two rows facing each other. The bishop stands on the eagle, and the subdeacons take off his robe. The choir sings: “Confirmation of those who trust in You...” (irmos of the 3rd song of the canon for the Presentation of the Lord, tone 3). The Bishop and all the clergy are baptized three times, and the Bishop overshadows the people in three directions. The choir sings: “Is polla.” The bishop, accompanied by the dean and the rector, leaves the church.
Following the Divine Liturgy
The Bishop walks along the carpet to the pulpit, the priests in 2 rows follow the Bishop, the elders in front. The deacons go to the altar (in front of the Bishop) and stand in a row in front of the pulpit facing it. The bishop ascends to the pulpit. The deacons cense the Bishop three times, blessing them, and go into the altar through the side doors. The bishop reaches the pulpit. The Protodeacon, standing on the right hand of the Bishop, crosses himself, bows to the Bishop and begins reading the entrance prayers.
At the Liturgy, during the entrance prayers, only the Bishop venerates the icons of the Savior and the Mother of God, and the priests stand in their places while reading the prayers, removing their hoods and kamilavkas at the appropriate moment.
After the end of the entrance prayers, the Bishop blesses the people on three sides and goes to the pulpit. The priests bow in response to the Bishop’s blessing and follow him to the pulpit, the elders leading the way. At this time, the subdeacons come out of the altar, participating in the vestments of the Bishop. Behind them, the 1st deacon immediately comes out of the northern door with two censers, one of which he gives to the protodeacon. The Protodeacon and 1st Deacon stand on the pulpit facing the Bishop.
The Bishop, all the priests, the protodeacon, the 1st deacon and the subdeacons are baptized on the altar, bow to the Bishop, and all the priests in turn, in order of seniority, approach the Bishop for a blessing, then immediately go to the altar, without waiting for each other. After the Bishop takes off his cassock, the protodeacon and 1st deacon take a blessing on the censer.
During the vesting of the Bishop, the 1st deacon exclaims: “Let us pray to the Lord,” and the protodeacon reads the prescribed verses from the books of Exodus, the prophet Isaiah and the psalmist David. The Protodeacon and the 1st Deacon continuously and synchronously perform the incense of the Bishop.
Upon arrival at the altar, each priest dresses in full vestments with the headdress that is assigned to him (if he was not dressed before the meeting). All clergy are lined up in two rows according to seniority on either side of the throne. As soon as the protodeacon begins the exclamation: “So let it be enlightened...” (Matthew 5:16), all priests and deacons cross themselves, venerate the throne, go out through the side doors onto the solea and stand in line with the protodeacon and the 1st deacon, facing the Bishop. The bishop overshadows the clergy with dikiriy and trikiriy, and the clergy walk to the pulpit in two rows. After the overshadowing of the people, the Bishop gives the dikiri and trikiri to the subdeacons and blesses the protodeacon and the 1st deacon, who incense him at this time three times. All priests, deacons and subdeacons with dikiri, trikiri and staff cross themselves and bow to the Bishop. Then the subdeacons with the dikiri and trikiri go to the altar, along the way taking the censer from the protodeacon and the 1st deacon. The protodeacon and 1st deacon go to the pulpit, and all the deacons line up in two rows, facing each other, between the rows of priests.
The bishop reads the prayers prescribed before the start of the Liturgy. Protodeacon: “It’s time to create the Lord...”. The 1st priest takes the blessing from the Bishop, goes through the southern doors (on Easter week through the Royal Doors) into the altar and stands in front of the throne. Protodeacon: “Pray for us...”, and all the deacons in pairs approach the Bishop for blessing. The protodeacon goes to the solea, and the rest of the deacons stand in one row behind the bishop's see. The subdeacons open the Royal Doors, the first priest crosses himself twice, venerates the Gospel and the altar, crosses himself again, turns around, bows to the Bishop together with the protodeacon and subdeacons, turns again to the altar, and picks up the altar Gospel. Protodeacon: “Bless, Master.” 1st priest: “Blessed is the Kingdom...”, makes a cross over the throne with the Gospel, places the Gospel, crosses himself once, applies himself to the Gospel and the throne, turns, bows together with the protodeacon and subdeacons to the Bishop and stands on the south side of the throne. At the petition: “O Great Lord...” the 1st priest and two subdeacons stand before the throne, cross themselves once and at the commemoration of the serving Bishop they bow to him together with the protodeacon in response to the blessing. The 1st priest retreats to his place. All the priests standing at the pulpit also cross themselves and bow to the Bishop during this peaceful litany.
At the request: “May we be delivered…” The 2nd and 3rd deacons leave the pulpit and walk in the middle between the rows of priests on the sole. The 2nd deacon stands near the icon of the Mother of God, and the 3rd - next to the protodeacon, to his right.
The exclamation after the peaceful litany: “As it befits You...” is made by the 1st priest. In the words: “To the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever...” The first priest is baptized. With the words: “and forever and ever,” he comes out into the space in front of the throne, faces the Bishop and bows to him along with the protodeacon and two deacons. At the same exclamation, the 2nd and 3rd priests also cross themselves, bow to the Bishop and go into the altar through the side doors (on Bright Week through the Royal Doors). Having entered the altar, the 2nd and 3rd priests cross themselves once, kiss the throne (from the sides), go out to the Royal Doors, stand facing the Bishop, bow to him, then to each other and take their places on the side of the throne. The protodeacon goes to the pulpit together with the subdeacons carrying out the ablution. The bishop washes his hands during the 1st antiphon. The archdeacon reads: “I will wash the innocent...” (Ps. 25:6-12) and stands at the pulpit.
The practice regarding the number of priests leaving after the peaceful and first small litanies to the altar is not the same. The bishop can indicate this number personally.
The 2nd deacon pronounces the 1st small litany. The exclamation at the first small litany is made by the 2nd priest and, in the same manner at the end of the exclamation, he bows to the Bishop, standing in the Royal Doors together with the 2nd and 3rd deacons. At this exclamation, the 4th and 5th priests cross themselves, bow to the Bishop and go through the side doors (on Easter week - through the Royal Doors) into the altar, there they cross themselves once, kiss the throne, go out to the Royal Doors, bow to the Bishop, bow to each other and fall into place.
The 3rd deacon speaks the 2nd small litany. During it, all the deacons standing at the pulpit go to the solea and stand in one row facing the altar. The exclamation for the second small litany is made by the 3rd priest, who also at the end of the exclamation bows to the Bishop, standing in the Royal Doors, simultaneously with all the deacons standing on the pulpit and all the priests standing at the pulpit. After the exclamation, all these priests and all the deacons go to the altar through the side doors (on Easter week - through the Royal Doors). At the altar, all the priests and deacons who came cross themselves, venerate the throne, bow from the Royal Doors to the Bishop and take their places. The 1st and 2nd deacons go to the High Place and take the censer from the subdeacon.
Small entrance
During the singing of the third antiphon, the 1st priest and protodeacon stand in front of the throne, cross themselves twice, kiss the throne, cross themselves and bow to the Bishop. The first priest takes the Gospel from the throne and gives it to the protodeacon, who goes with the Gospel to the High Place. All priests, protodeacon, 1st and 2nd deacons and subdeacons are baptized, priests venerate the throne, everyone bows to the Bishop (priests - from the Royal Doors). The 1st and 2nd deacons ask for a blessing on the censer, and all the clergy proceed to the small entrance. The order is as follows: priest, co-worker, 1st and 2nd deacon with censers, subdeacons with dikiri and ripida, protodeacon with the Gospel, subdeacons with ripida and trikiri, priests in order of seniority, the elders in front. The protodeacon, descending from the pulpit, quietly says: “Let us pray to the Lord,” and the Bishop reads the prayer of entry. When the priests begin to descend from the pulpit, each goes to his own side (right or left) to the pulpit. The 1st and 2nd deacons, together with the subdeacons, go around the pulpit, disperse to the sides and stand at the level of the last pair of priests (or approximately the 4th pair, if there are many priests) facing each other. At the sign of the protodeacon, all the clergy are baptized on the altar and bow to the Bishop. The Protodeacon asks the Bishop for a blessing to enter and brings him the Gospel for him to kiss. The Bishop venerates the Gospel, the protodeacon kisses the Bishop’s hand, then, turning to the east, exclaims: “Wisdom, forgive me” and turns to the west. After the protodeacon’s exclamation, all the clergy sing: “Come, let us worship...”. The 1st and 2nd deacons go to the pulpit and incense the Gospel. When the Bishop begins to worship the Gospel and bless with candles to the east, the deacons burn incense to the Bishop. When the Bishop begins to overshadow the people, the deacons again incense the Gospel. At the moment when the Bishop begins to leave the pulpit, the 1st and 2nd priests support him by the arms. The protodeacon, 1st and 2nd deacons go to the altar ahead of all the clergy. The bishop goes to the pulpit, followed by priests in two rows, the elders in front. When the Bishop rises to the pulpit, the 1st and 2nd priests support him by the arms and step back. The bishop blesses the people with dikiriy and trikiriy. The priests, standing in two rows in front of the sole, facing the Bishop, bow to him. The protodeacon accepts the trikirium from the Bishop and goes to the High Place. The bishop venerates the icons at the Royal Doors and enters the altar. Behind him, priests enter the altar in two rows, each kissing the icon at the Royal Doors that is on his side. The deacon gives the Bishop a censer.
The bishop with the dikiri in his hand censes the altar, preceded by the protodeacon carrying the trikiri. While the Bishop censes the Royal Doors and comes out of the altar to cense the iconostasis, all the priests and deacons cross themselves, venerate the throne, bow to the Bishop from the Royal Doors and retreat to their places. All deacons and subdeacons gather at the High Place. The bishop censes the iconostasis, the choir and the people, then enters the altar and censes the clergy. All the priests respond with a bow. Next, the Bishop censes the protodeacon and gives him the censer. The Protodeacon censes the Bishop three times, crosses himself along with all the clergy standing on the High Place, and bows to the Bishop. After the choir has sung the big “Is pollla these, despota” (hereinafter abbreviated as “Is polla”), everyone in the altar sings the same for many years. When the Bishop begins to read the Trisagion prayer from the Official, then the priests also begin to read it from the Service Book.
About reading secret prayers from the Missal: according to established tradition, at the Liturgy, priests begin to use the Missal to read secret prayers only after entering the altar.
The last kontakion on “And Now” is traditionally sung by the clergy in the altar. At the end of the singing of the last kontakion, the protodeacon venerates the throne, asks the Bishop for a blessing: “Bless, Master, the time of the Trisagion,” and goes to the sole. The further exclamations of the protodeacon are the same as at the priestly service.
The Trisagion is sung by the choir once. At this time, the protodeacon receives the dikiri from the subdeacon and gives it to the Bishop. The clergy sings for the second time. At this time, the 2nd priest takes the altar cross from the throne and presents it to the Bishop with the front side of the cross facing the Bishop. The choir sings the Trisagion for the third time. At this time, the Bishop comes out with a cross and dikiriy to the sole. All priests turn to face the Royal Doors, with the 1st and 2nd priests going to the middle of the space in front of the throne. All deacons and subdeacons disperse from the High Place to their places. The 1st subdeacon lights the trikirium and gives it to the protodeacon standing on the High Place.
The bishop exclaims: “Look...” (Ps. 79:15-16), and the trio sings the Trisagion for the fourth time. The bishop overshadows the people, then turns and overshadows the clergy in the altar. The priests bow to the Bishop and retreat to their places. The 2nd priest at the Royal Doors takes the cross from the Bishop and places it on the throne. The bishop venerates the throne, goes to the High Place, overshadowing it with the dikiriy, gives the dikiriy to the subdeacon and ascends to the High Place. At the same time, the protodeacon says: “Command, (Highly) Most Reverend Master,” “Bless, (Highly) Most Reverend Master, the High Throne,” “The Trinity appeared in the Jordan, for the very Divine Nature of the Father cried out, This baptized Son is my beloved, the Spirit having come to something like this, people will bless Him and praise Him forever” (3rd Troparion of the 8th Canto of the 1st Canon for the Epiphany) and gives the Bishop the trikiri. After the Bishop venerates the throne, all priests venerate the throne and move closer to the High Place in order of seniority. The choir sings the Trisagion for the fifth time. Sixth time - the clergy sings. The Bishop, standing on the High Place, overshadows the clergy, who bow to the Bishop. The trikyrius is received by the subdeacon from the Bishop. The 1st deacon crosses himself, venerates the throne, approaches the Bishop with the Apostle, placing his orarion on top, receives a blessing, kisses the Bishop’s hand and walks along the left side of the throne through the Royal Doors to the pulpit for reading the Apostle. The choir sings: “Glory, And now, Holy Immortal...”, and one more time: “Holy God.”
Protodeacon: “Let us attend.” Bishop: “Peace to all.” 1st Deacon: “And the spirits...”, and then reads, as usual, the prokeimenon and the Apostle. The subdeacons remove the large omophorion from the Bishop. The 3rd deacon stands in front of the Bishop. The subdeacons place the omophorion on the hands of the deacon. The Bishop blesses the deacon, he kisses the Bishop's hand, moves with the omophorion to the south side of the throne and stands facing the throne, holding the omophorion with two palms at the level
your shoulders.
According to the regulations, incense is supposed to be performed on an alleluaria, but, according to universally established practice, immediately after the omophorion is removed from the Bishop, a protodeacon with a censer and a subdeacon with an incense holder and a spoon (the incense holder should contain incense) approach him. The archdeacon says: “Bless the censer, Master!” and presents the censer to the Bishop, holding the cup with his right hand. The subdeacon presents the Bishop with incense. The bishop places incense on the coals with a spoon and blesses the censer. The subdeacon kisses the hand of the Bishop. The protodeacon begins censing.
After reading the Apostle, the 1st priest bows to the Bishop and, together with the protodeacon, goes to the throne. At the throne, the 1st priest and the protodeacon are baptized together (they do not bow to the bishop or each other), the priest kisses the Gospel and the throne and gives the Gospel to the protodeacon. The 1st priest takes his place and bows to the Bishop. The Protodeacon brings the Gospel to the Bishop, who kisses the Gospel, and the Protodeacon kisses the Bishop's hand. The protodeacon carries the Gospel through the Royal Doors to the pulpit. The 3rd deacon with the omophorion walks in front of the protodeacon carrying the Gospel in the following way: he goes around the throne from south to north through the High Place, leaves the altar through the Royal Doors, walks in the middle of the temple to the pulpit, walks around the pulpit from his right to his left, returns to the altar through the Royal Doors together with the deacon who read the Apostle, and stands in the place from which he began to move with the omophorion (the south side of the throne). The deacon and the Apostle stand at the north side of the throne, opposite the deacon holding the omophorion. The exclamation: “Forgive wisdom, let us hear the Holy Gospel” is made by the deacon holding the Apostle, and “Let us hear” by the deacon holding the omophorion. After this exclamation, both deacons kiss the throne, approach the Bishop for blessing, kiss his hand and retreat to their places, putting aside the omophorion and the Apostle.
Priests and deacons listen to the reading of the Gospel with their heads uncovered, and the Bishop wears a miter.
After reading the Gospel, the Bishop crosses himself to the east, goes out onto the solea, venerates the Gospel, which the protodeacon offers him, and blesses the people with the dikiri and trikiri. All priests are also baptized and return to their places at the throne. The protodeacon places the Gospel on the far right corner of the throne or, if the throne is small, on the seat in the High Place. At the end of the reading of the Gospel, the 1st deacon crosses himself at the northern side of the throne, bows to the Bishop and goes to the pulpit to recite the special litany.
At the special litany, all the subdeacons and deacons gather in the High Place and at the petition for the serving Bishop they sing: “Lord, have mercy” three times.
At the special litany, the Bishop opens the antimension. He is assisted by the 1st and 2nd priests. After this, the Bishop, the 1st and 2nd priests cross themselves, venerate the throne, cross themselves, the 1st and 2nd priests bow to the Bishop, who blesses them.
Usually, starting with the exclamation of the special litany, the Bishop distributes the exclamations among the clergy. The priest whose turn is approaching must be prepared to utter an exclamation. The bishop gives a sign with his blessing. The priest bows to the Bishop, pronounces the prescribed exclamation and at the end of the exclamation crosses himself and bows to the Bishop.
At the Liturgy celebrated by the Bishop, the Royal Doors open to: “Blessed is the Kingdom” and remain open until the exclamation: “Holy to the Saints.”
The litany of the catechumens is pronounced by the 3rd deacon or appointee to the priesthood. In the words: “The Gospel of Truth will be revealed to them,” the 3rd and 4th priests open the upper part of the antimension and, together with the protodeacon and 1st deacon, cross themselves, venerate the Throne, cross themselves and bow to the Bishop. At the exclamation: “Yes and this...” the protodeacon and the 1st deacon leave the altar and, together with the 3rd deacon, proclaim: “Depart from the catechumens...”. The 2nd deacon, standing on the High Place, takes the Bishop’s blessing on the censer and performs the full censing of the altar (the Bishop first censes three times, and at the end of the censing three times).
After the exclamation: “Yes, and they are glorified with us...” (or, according to another practice, after the exclamation: “For under Thy power...”), the Bishop washes his hands in the Royal Doors. Upon the Bishop’s return to the altar, the protodeacon and 1st deacon place a small omophorion on him.
The 2nd or most experienced priest, appointed by the dean, goes to the altar and performs the following actions:
– removes the air from the holy vessels and places it on the left corner of the altar;
– removes the coverings from the paten and the Chalice and places them one on top of the other on the right corner of the altar;
– removes the star from the paten and places it behind the paten and the Chalice;
– checks the presence on the altar of two untaken prosphoras on plates standing in front of the paten and the Chalice and another plate with a copy lying between them.
Large air can also be placed on top of the shrouds on the right corner of the altar.
Great Entrance
When the Bishop reads the Cherubic Song, the protodeacon removes his miter, places it on a tray and gives the tray to the 3rd deacon. The bishop goes to the altar, the 1st deacon approaches him. The bishop places air on his shoulder, and the deacon takes the blessing on the censer and censes the iconostasis, choirs and people. The priests, in pairs, take turns, approach the throne, cross themselves, venerate the throne, bow to each other with the words: “May your priesthood (archpriesthood, abbess, hieromonasticity) be remembered...” and take the altar crosses. If an odd number of priests is serving, then the last three approach the throne at the same time. The last three priests usually do not carry crosses, but a plate, a spoon and a spear. When the Bishop says: “Concelebrating brethren,” the clergy, in order of seniority, approach the Bishop, kiss him on the right shoulder and quietly say: “Remember me, (Highly) Most Reverend Bishop, Priest N” (at large quantities The dean can give a sign to the clergy that there is no need to approach so as not to cause a fuss). At the end of the commemoration, the omophorion is removed from the Bishop. The 1st deacon approaches the altar with a censer. The 1st priest gives the Bishop a star and coverings, which the Bishop, scented with incense, places on the sacred vessels. The 1st deacon pronounces the usual exclamations required at the end of the proskomedia, and at the appointed moment gives and receives the censer from the Bishop. The Protodeacon accepts the paten from the Bishop, and the 1st priest takes the Cup with the words: “May the Lord God remember your bishopric in His Kingdom...” and kisses the Bishop’s hand. The 2nd priest and the rest of the priests carrying the altar Crosses take turns approaching the Bishop, holding the Cross facing the Bishop in an inclined position (the upper end of the Cross to the right). The bishop venerates the cross. The priest kisses the hand of the Bishop and says: “Let your Bishop remember...”. The junior priests accept a copy, a spoon and a plate from the hands of the Bishop. During the proskomedia, the 2nd deacon also prepares a censer for himself.
At the Great Entrance, the order of the procession is as follows: the protege to the priesthood (if there is one), the 3rd deacon with a tray on which the subdeacons place the omophorion and miter, the candle-bearer, the poshnik, the 2nd and 1st deacons with censers, the subdeacons with a dikiri, trikiri and ripida, protodeacon with paten, 1st priest with the Chalice, subdeacon with ripida and the rest of the priests (the eldest in front).
The 3rd deacon with a tray enters the altar through the Royal Doors and stands between the throne and the Royal Doors, facing north. The 1st and 2nd deacons enter the altar and perform incense on the altar. The Bishop approaches the 3rd deacon, kisses the miter, and the deacon kisses the Bishop’s hand. The 1st deacon gives the Bishop a censer at the Royal Doors. The bishop censes the paten three times and gives the censer to the deacon. The Protodeacon quietly remembers the Bishop: “Let your Bishop remember...”. The bishop also commemorates the protodeacon. The archdeacon quietly answers: “Is polla.” The bishop accepts the paten from the protodeacon and performs the first commemoration, after which he enters the altar and places the paten on the throne. The 1st and 2nd deacons perform the incense of the Bishop. At this time, the first priest stands in front of the Royal Doors, facing them. The 1st deacon presents the censer to the Bishop at the Royal Doors. The bishop censes the Chalice, and the 1st priest quietly says: “Let your bishop remember...”. The bishop answers: “Let the priesthood (abbess, etc.) remember yours...”. The 1st priest answers: “Is polla,” gives the Cup to the Bishop, kissing his hand, and retreats to his previous place in the row of priests. After the Bishop has performed the required commemoration, all the priests, saying: “Let your Bishop remember...”, follow the Bishop into the altar, place crosses and other sacred objects on the throne in their proper places. The 1st and 2nd deacons perform the incense of the Bishop when he brings the Holy Chalice into the altar.
In response to the Bishop’s request: “Pray for me, brothers and fellow ministers,” all the priests and deacons answer: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.” The Protodeacon gives the Bishop a miter. At the appointed moment, the 1st deacon hands the Bishop a censer for censing and accepts it. All deacons receive the blessing from the Bishop, and the 1st and 2nd deacons from the High Place perform the incense of the Bishop three times. Litany: “Let us fulfill our prayer...” is pronounced by the protodeacon.
If there are a lot of priests, then it is possible that, according to the dean’s instructions, not all the priests go to the great entrance, but only the first few couples.
At the cry of the protodeacon: “Let us love one another...” all the priests, together with the Bishop, cross themselves three times with the words: “Lord, my fortress, I will love thee...” and the priests move to the left side of the altar. The bishop puts aside the miter (it is accepted by the 2nd deacon and placed on the throne), venerates the sacred vessels, the throne and moves to the right. All the priests take turns kissing the holy paten (with the words “Holy God”), the Holy Chalice (“Holy Mighty One”), the throne (“Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us”) and approach the Bishop. The Bishop says: “Christ is in the midst of us,” to which each priest replies: “And there is, and there will be,” and kisses the Bishop on his right (from himself left) and left shoulders, and then kisses the Bishop’s hand and moves away to the left. Also, all priests share Christ with each other.
At large number It is better for priests to kiss only the hands of each other when making mutual christenings, so as not to delay the rite (the initiative for such a reduction should come from the elder). The Bishop is always greeted with Christ in full rite.
At the cry: “Doors, doors...” and when the rite of mutual kissing ends, the Bishop stands before the throne, bowing his head, and all the priests take air and blow it over the sacred vessels. Those standing on the right hand of the Bishop hold the air with their right hand, and those standing on the left hand - with their left. The bishop or the priest designated by him reads the Creed. After reading, the Bishop kisses the cross in the air and the 2nd priest or another priest from the left row takes the air and places it on the altar. The 2nd deacon gives the bishop a miter.
At the Eucharistic canon, when the Bishop comes out with the dikiri and trikiri to bless the people, all the priests turn to face the Royal Doors, and the 1st and 2nd priests go out into the space in front of the throne and also face the Royal Doors. After the exclamation: “We thank the Lord,” the Bishop showers candles on the clergy. All priests bow to the Bishop and retreat to their places.
At the exclamation: “Victory song,” all the usual actions with the star are performed by the 1st deacon. At a sign from the Bishop during the singing: “Holy...” the protodeacon removes the miter from the Bishop and hands it over after all the deacons have received the blessing from the Bishop during the singing: “We sing to you.”
After the exclamation: “Exactly about the Most Holy One,” the 3rd deacon takes the censer from the Bishop and censes the altar. The bishop censes three times three times, and at the end of the incense only three times.
While singing: “It is worthy to eat,” the protodeacon venerates the throne, asks for a blessing from the Bishop and proceeds to the pulpit through the Royal Doors. At the end of singing: “Worthy,” the protodeacon exclaims: “And everyone and everything.” The choir sings: “And everyone, and everything.” The bishop proclaims: “Remember first...”.
At the exclamation of the Bishop, the 1st priest immediately makes an exclamation: “First remember, Lord, our Lord (Highly) Most Reverend (remembering the Bishop leading the Liturgy), who grant to Your holy Churches in the world safe, healthy, long-lived, the right to rule the word of Your Truth ” and, putting aside the Missal, approaches the Bishop, receives his blessing, kisses his hand, the icon on the miter, once again bows to the Bishop with the words: “Is polla” and retreats to his place.
If several Bishops are serving, then after the exclamation of the 1st priest, his actions are repeated by the 2nd priest in relation to the 2nd bishop, the 3rd priest in relation to the 3rd bishop, etc.
The protodeacon, standing on the salt, proclaims: “Our Lord (remembers the serving Bishop), who brings these Holy Gifts (enters the altar and points to the Holy Mysteries) to our Lord God” (goes to the High Place, is baptized, bows to the Bishop, proceeds from Altar with the Royal Doors and stands on the pulpit facing the people). About our Great Lord and Father Alexy, His Holiness the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus', about His Eminence metropolitans, archbishops and bishops and about all the priestly and monastic ranks, about our God-protected country of Russia, about the authorities, the army and its people, about the peace of the whole world, about welfare of the Saints Churches of God, about salvation and help with diligence and the fear of God of those who work and serve, about healing those who lie in weakness, about the dormition, weakness, blessed memory and forgiveness of sins of all the Orthodox who have fallen asleep, about the salvation of the people coming and about them in everyone’s thoughts, and about everyone, and for everything.” The choir sings: “And about everyone, and for everything.” The Protodeacon enters the altar through the Royal Doors, is baptized in the High Place, bows to the Bishop and takes his blessing with the words: “Let your Bishop be remembered...”, “Is polla.”
At the exclamation: “And grant us...” the 2nd deacon on the High Place is baptized, bows to the Bishop and goes to the pulpit to say the litany: “Having remembered all the saints...”. After singing “Our Father...” the Bishop proclaims: “Peace to all” and blesses the people. Before this, the 2nd deacon moves to the right, bows to the Bishop and, after the Bishop has entered the altar, returns to his place.
If a sermon is expected before the communion of the people, then at the litany: “Having remembered all the saints...”, after the Bishop reads a secret prayer, the first priest gives the Bishop an altar cross. The Preacher venerates the Throne and approaches the Bishop, who signs the cross over him, and the preacher at this time crosses himself, kisses the cross and the hand of the Bishop, goes back to his place, crosses himself again and bows to the Bishop. The 1st priest takes the cross from the Bishop and places it on the throne.
After the exclamation: “Peace to all,” the protodeacon removes the miter from the Bishop and places it on the throne.
Communion of clergy
First, the Bishop receives communion.
At the cry of the protodeacon: “Archimandriti, and, archpriests, priests... come,” all the priests from the right side of the altar move to the left and, in order of seniority, approach the throne (without making a prostration, since the prostration was made earlier) with the words : “Behold, I come to the Immortal King and my God. Teach me, (Highly) Most Reverend Master, to the unworthy priest N (pronounce his name clearly and distinctly) the Honest and Holy Body of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ.” The priest crosses himself, kisses the Holy Altar, receives the Holy Body, kissing the hand and left (from himself right) shoulder of the Bishop, with the words “both is and will be,” he moves to the left to the altar and immediately takes communion. After receiving Holy Communion, each priest moves to the right side of the throne. The deacons share Christ with each other and receive communion in the same way as the priests, after them. After the Bishop communes all the priests and deacons with the Holy Body, he communes them with the Holy Blood. The priest receives Holy Communion in the same way as the deacon at the priestly service.
The bishop reads the prayer: “We thank You, Master...” and moves to the right. The rector brings the Bishop a drink, which is prepared by the subdeacons. Other priests divide the Holy Body according to the number of communicants.
The rector should ensure that the required number of Cups, spoons and communion plates are ready.
Communion of the laity
If it is intended to administer communion from several Chalice, then the rector appoints priests to administer communion to the laity.
After the exclamation of the Bishop: “God save your people...”, he censes the Holy Gifts, gives the paten to the protodeacon, then takes the Chalice and says quietly: “Blessed is our God,” then gives the Chalice to the 1st priest. He, having accepted the Chalice and kissed the hand of the Bishop, stands in the Royal Doors and proclaims: “Always, now and ever, and unto ages of ages,” then goes with the Holy Chalice to the altar with the words: “Ascend into heaven...” and places it on the altar. . A candle is placed in front of the Holy Chalice. The 1st priest censes the altar three times, the protodeacon three times and gives the censer to the protodeacon. The protodeacon censes the 1st priest three times. The 1st priest and protodeacon cross themselves, bow to each other, to the Bishop and retreat to their places. At this time, the Bishop, together with the 2nd and 3rd priests, puts together the antimension. The first priest gives the Bishop the Gospel, which he places on the throne. The protodeacon (or newly ordained deacon) pronounces the litany: “Forgive me, accept...”.
At the exclamation: “For You are the sanctification...” the junior priest in a headdress (or newly ordained priest), together with the Bishop, crosses himself once, kisses the throne, at the exclamation of the Bishop: “Let us depart in peace,” bows in response to the Bishop’s blessing and goes off to read prayer behind the pulpit. After the prayer behind the pulpit, the junior priest returns to the altar, kisses the altar and bows to the Bishop.
About the time of wearing headdresses: headdresses are put on for a meeting, taken off for the reading of the Gospel and put on after the reading, taken off during the litany of the catechumens and put on during the prayer behind the pulpit.
After the dismissal of the Liturgy, various rites are possible. All clergy are guided by the instructions either directly of the Bishop, or the dean, or the rector.
Procession.
If a religious procession is planned after the Liturgy, the rector should check its route in advance.
The rector determines the circle of laity who will carry banners, icons and other shrines. They should be given detailed instructions in advance regarding the order of the procession. The movement of the religious procession is led by a person in charge. He carries nothing, walks to the side of the banners and makes sure that the pace of movement does not change. If there are few people, then the person in charge carries the lantern ahead of the procession.
The order of the procession is: a lantern, followed by an altar cross and an icon, followed by banners, followed by artos (if the service is performed on Bright Week), or an icon of a temple or holiday (if it is supposed to be carried to the laity), the clergy, subdeacons, the Bishop, then the choir.
It is advisable for the choir, during the communion of the laity, to move to the center of the church and from there sing the end of the Liturgy. When leaving for the religious procession, the choir lets the clergy and the Bishop pass and follows them.
During the religious procession, four stops are usually made along the sides of the temple (south - east - north - west). At the second stop, according to tradition, the Gospel is read. Consequently, in the altar Gospel that will be brought to the religious procession, it is necessary to lay either the concept that the Bishop indicates, or the concept that was read at Matins.
Usually the Bishop goes with a three-candlestick (if we are talking about Holy Week), the 1st priest with the altar cross, the 2nd priest with the altar Gospel (if the book is heavy, then it can be carried by two priests, who in this case are not in the ranks of the clergy, and move to the center, between the rows of clergy). The 3rd priest and other priests (not necessarily all) can carry icons of a temple, a holiday, or a locally revered image. The protodeacon and 1st deacon go with censers, and the 3rd and 4th deacon with deacon's candles.
It is necessary to prepare a bowl of holy water and sprinkler in advance, and also have a sufficient supply of holy water.
Application:
Instructions for the Regent
Rules for the all-night vigil for the choir
At the meeting, at the cry of the protodeacon: “Wisdom,” the choir sings:
1. “From the east of the sun to the west...” (Ps. 113:3-2);
2. Immediately after this, the choir sings the troparion of the holiday (or the temple, if there is no big holiday). The speed of the singing is such that the Bishop has time to give all the priests the Cross to kiss, venerate the festive image and ascend to the pulpit. If there is any revered shrine in the church and it is expected that the bishop will venerate it, at that moment a troparion is sung to this saint, whose holy relics (or revered image, etc.) are in the church.
You can repeat the troparion twice.
3. When the Bishop ascends to the pulpit, turns around and begins to bless the people, the choir sings: “Tone Despotin.”
4. At the cry of the protodeacon: “Arise,” the choir sings: “Most Reverend (or Most Reverend) Master, bless.”
The choir sings the same answer at the end of Matins and the 1st hour.
After the dismissal of Matins, the following is sung: “Is polla” (short), then many years are sung: “Of the Great Master...” and again: “Is polla” (short).
If the end of Matins was performed not by the Bishop, but by the priest, then the choir sings: “Great Master...” and “Is polla...” (short).
Upon the dismissal of 1 hour and the possible word of the Bishop and other persons, the choir sings:
– troparion or magnification of the holiday (slowly);
– “Confirmation of those who hope in you...”;
– “Is pollla” is big (like after the trio at the Liturgy).
Charter of the Divine Liturgy for the choir
Protodeacon: “Wisdom.” Choir: “From the east of the sun to the west...” (Ps. 112:3-2) (from Easter to the Giving-Off - “Christ is Risen”) and then immediately begins singing without interruption: “It is worthy to eat” (or on the twelve feasts, their after the feast day and at Midsummer - worthy). “Worthy” must be sung slowly, so that the Bishop has time to complete the entrance prayers.
Guideline for the regent: at the end of the entrance prayers, the Bishop venerates the icons of the Savior and the Mother of God, reads a prayer in front of the Royal Doors and puts on a hood. At this point, the singing of “Worthy” must be completed.
The bishop turns around, asks everyone for forgiveness and blesses the people on three sides. The choir sings: “Ton despotin ke archirea imon Kyrie filatte. Is all these despots. Is all these despots. Is polla these despots” (Our Lord and Bishop, Lord, preserve for many years). After this chant, the irmos of the 5th song of the canon of the Vai week is immediately sung: “To Mount Zion...”. According to the Charter, it must be sung only at the Patriarchal service, but according to modern practice, it is also sung at any bishop’s service.
The bishop takes off his hood, mantle, panagia, rosary and cassock. The first pair of deacons takes the blessing on the censer, and the protodeacon exclaims: “Let him rejoice...”. The choir begins to sing: “Let him rejoice...”, voice 7. The singing should end by the time the Bishop begins to put on the miter.
A reference point for the regent. The order of the Bishop's vestments is as follows: saccos, epitrachelion, belt, club, arms, sakkos, omophorion, cross, panagia, (a hair comb is also provided), miter.
Protodeacon: “Let it be enlightened... And forever and ever. Amen". The trio sings: “Tone Despotin.” The whole choir sings: “Is this despot” three times. Further, up to the small entrance, the Liturgy proceeds in the usual manner.
Small entrance: at the cry of the protodeacon: “Wisdom, forgive,” the clergy sings “Come, let us worship.” According to the practice of the ministry of Metropolitan Juvenaly, the clergy finishes singing this chant to the end. The choir immediately after the clergy sings: “Save us, Son of God...” in the same tune (Greek). After the choir, the clergy repeats: “Save us...”. After the clergy, a trio of choir singers or subdeacons (who should sing must be agreed upon before the start of the service) begins to sing: “Is polla these despotas.” The singing must end at the moment when the Bishop begins to burn incense in the choir and people. The entire choir responds to the Bishop’s censing by singing the so-called large “Is poll.” If two choirs sing at the Liturgy, then the right choir responds first, and then the left. After the choir, the clergy sings the big “Is pollla”. Next, the choir sings troparia and kontakia according to the Rules (before the service, the regent must agree with the rector and the bishop's protodeacon on the number and order of singing troparions and kontakia). The last kontakion on “And Now,” according to tradition, is sung by the clergy in the altar.
The order of singing the Trisagion: the melody of the Trisagion can be either the “Bulgarian chant”, or the “Agios...” chant of the Gethsemane monastery of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra according to the presentation of Archimandrite Matthew (Mormyl), or the “Bishopish”. Any other music must be approved by the precentor who directs the singing of the clergy in the altar.
The choir sings 1 time, the clergy sings 2 times, the choir sings 3 times. In some manuals for regents you can find instructions that the Trisagion must be sung on the same note 3 times. This is inappropriate for the reason that during the third chanting the Bishop must have time to accept the cross from the priest, bow to the clergy, turn around and leave the altar to the pulpit. Therefore, it is better to sing in the same tune as the first two times.
Bishop: “Look from heaven...” and overshadows everyone in four directions with the reading of the Trisagion. The Trisagion is sung by the trio for the 4th time. It is necessary to sing so that for each of the three overshadowings one “Holy...” is sung, and at the overshadowing of the Altar the words: “have mercy on us” are sung. The trio's singing music may be different from the main melody. The choir sings for the 5th time, as for the third time, in the usual chant. The clergy sings for the 6th time. “Glory, And Now” and “Holy Immortal” are sung by the choir. The choir sings for the 7th time.
After reading the Gospel, “Glory to Thee...” must be sung somewhat slower so that the protodeacon has time to bring the Gospel from the pulpit to the Bishop standing on the pulpit. After “Glory to You...” in response to the Bishop’s blessing of the people, the choir sings a short “Is polla.”
At the Greater Litany, after the deacon commemorates the serving Bishop, the clergy in the altar sings three times: “Lord, have mercy.” Immediately after them, “Lord, have mercy,” the choir sings three times (if possible, then in the same Kyiv chant).
Great entrance. There is an opinion that the Great Entrance at a bishop's service takes much longer than at a priest's service. This is only partly true. Some Bishops perform commemoration at the proskomedia for a long time, some do not. It is better for the regent to clarify this issue with the members of the bishop’s retinue before the start of the service.
There are two special features for the choir at the great entrance. The first is that “Amen” after the Cherubic Song is sung twice: the first time after the Bishop commemorates the Patriarch and concelebrating bishops (must be sung on the same note), and the second time after “you and all...” - according to the notes. After finishing the singing: “Yako da Tsar”, immediately in response to the Bishop’s overshadowing of the people, the choir responds with a short “Is polla”.
If a priestly consecration is intended, then the above short “Is polla” is canceled and transferred to the end of the consecration (after the laying of sacred vestments on the protege with the singing: “Axios”).
Singing during the rites of priestly and deaconal ordination:
For the choir, the ranks of these ordinations are the same in structure. The only difference is in the time of the Sacrament. The priestly ordination takes place after the Great Entrance, and the diaconal ordination after the Eucharistic Canon, after the exclamation: “And let there be mercies...”.
After the exclamation: “Command, Most Reverend Master,” the clergy sings the troparia: “Holy Martyrs,” “Glory to Thee, O Christ God,” “Rejoice Isaiah.” Each troparion, after being sung by the clergy, is sung by the choir (in the same key). After the clergy sing “Lord, have mercy” three times, the choir sings “Kyrie eleison” three times. For each exclamation of the Bishop: “Axios,” the clergy sings the same word three times, and then, in the same key, the choir. After the end of the Sacrament of Ordination, the Bishop overshadows the people with trikiriy and dikiriy. The choir sings: “Is polla...” (short).
After singing at the Eucharistic canon: “It is worthy to eat,” the protodeacon proclaims: “And everyone, and everything.” The choir sings: “And everyone, and everything”
Bishop: “Remember first, Lord...”. 1st priest (immediately, without a break for singing): “First remember, Lord...”. The protodeacon (also immediately) reads a long petition: “The Lord... who offers... both for everyone and for everything.” The choir sings: “And about everyone, and for everything.”
If diaconal ordination is expected, then after the last “Axios” the choir responds to the Bishop’s blessing with a short: “Is polla.”
The time of communion for the clergy is filled either with a sermon by the priest, or with the singing of the choir, perhaps with the people.
After the communion of the laity, the Bishop: “God save...”. Chorus: “Is polla” (short) and further: “I see the light...”.
After the dismissal performed by the Bishop, the choir sings the short “Is polla”, then: “The Great Master... (with the commemoration of the Patriarch, the ruling and serving Bishops)” and further: “Is polla” (short).
If a procession of the cross is expected after the Liturgy, then it is better for the choir to move to the middle of the church during the communion of the laity, so that the situation does not arise that the clergy goes to the procession, and the choir, pushed aside by the people, remains in the church. If there are few people in the temple, then this instruction may not be followed.
The service in honor of the 100th anniversary of the congress of fellow believers - Old Believers who are part of the Russian Orthodox Church - was held in the main church of the country with great spiritual uplift and solemnity. How was it performed and what are the differences between the old rite of the bishop's Liturgy and the new one?
The service was led by Metropolitan Juvenaly of Krutitsky and Kolomna, who has been serving according to the Old Russian rite in Edinoverie parishes for many years. Concelebrating with him was Bishop Stefan of Gomel and Zhlobin and fellow religious priests of the Moscow, St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod and Yekaterinburg dioceses.
For those who are interested in the ancient Russian liturgical tradition, and simply love the beauty of the service, the Liturgy according to the bishop’s pre-Nikon rite, and even in the Assumption Cathedral, and even on the day of remembrance of St. Macarius, during which Russian worship was systematized, is a real holiday celebration.
In the message His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, read after the service, it is emphasized that differences in rituals do not interfere with unity. “The current service in this cathedral is deeply symbolic,” the message says. “It was Saint Macarius who once served the cause of collecting information about Russian saints, leaving us a high example of life in Christ, in the image of the ascetics of ancient Russia. May our church unity continue to strengthen ", being in that diversity that is capable of strengthening the Orthodox faith and the Church, and with them the common national-historical heritage."
You don’t feel distracted at work. On the contrary, you notice the nuances.
It turns out that “Look down from heaven, O God” is pronounced not at the Trisagion, but much later, during the Eucharistic canon. Then you notice that the dikirium and trikirium are bent so that their ends touch. Do you remember that this is how ordinary people served? Orthodox churches in Moscow, until the Greek fashion for candles tied in the middle spread in the early 2000s.
You see that the priests are belted with belts with metal plaques.
They remembered at the funeral litany Metropolitan Platon (Levshin), who came up with the idea of common faith, Metropolitan Anthony (Khrapovitsky), who headed the historical congress (at that time he was still Archbishop of Volyn), Metropolitan Nikodim (Rotov), who advocated the removal of “oaths” (curses) from the old rituals, which happened at the Local Council in 1971.
Before the Chalice, Metropolitan Yuvenaly pronounces not only “Thy Mysterious Supper,” but all the prayers at the end of the Follow-up to Holy Communion...
The secretary of the Commission for the Affairs of Old Believer Parishes and for Interaction with the Old Believers at the DECR MP spoke about the choir that sang during the service. Priest John Mirolyubov, participating in the service of the Liturgy. “In the Assumption Cathedral, the choir of the Church of the Archangel Michael in the village of Mikhailovskaya Sloboda sings,” explains the priest. “It is reinforced by singers from other temples.” We practice two ways of singing, naon and adverb. At first we thought that the two choirs would sing differently, but then we decided that we would read in the style in which the St. Michael’s community was accustomed to singing and reading. In other churches there may be faster reading and a different style of singing, but the Assumption Cathedral is not a place for experimentation."
In naon singing, semivowel, reduced sounds (eras) of the Church Slavonic language, denoted by the letters ъ and ь, are sung as the sounds o and e. Adverbial singing is more understandable, similar to ordinary speech, without pronunciation of the reduced ones.
There are a lot of people at the service - the cathedral is filled, not only with fellow believers, but also with Old Believers. Many are dressed in kosovorotki, some in ozyams (special robes worn by community members during worship).
Academician Alexander Panchenko once wrote about “emigration to Ancient Rus'" - interest in ancient Russian art, antiquity as a reaction to the rejection of Soviet reality in particular and modern unified society in general. Indeed, Edinoverie today attracts both part of the conservative intelligentsia and bohemians.
It would be incorrect to talk about co-religionists as some kind of internal emigrants or aesthetes who have shut themselves up, if not in an ivory tower, then in a mansion with patterned carvings. Edinoverstvo is a strict adherence to traditions, and therefore attention to oneself and asceticism, and the internal logic of rituals, and deep symbolism.
During the service, you understand that they are quite modern, natural, they are simply following tradition. You can feel it when you exchange a few words with those standing next to you. And the fact that a common occurrence is that the ladder is put on a hand that is clutching a smartphone...
A lot of people passed by with smartphones and cameras, because they, of course, wanted to perpetuate it special event. The atmosphere is festive, there is no trace of any kind of severity and detachment that is suspected of Old Believers. People prayed with great concentration, with one mouth and one heart. At the same time, there was no hint of ill will towards those nearby who crossed themselves with three fingers.
The previous time a service according to the old rite in the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin took place twelve years ago, in the fall of 2000. But there is an important difference: it was not the Divine Liturgy, but a prayer service. It was celebrated in memory of the 200th anniversary of the decree of Emperor Paul I on the establishment of common faith. The late Patriarch Alexy II advocated that ancient church rites be preserved and studied, calling them “part of the common spiritual and historical heritage, which should be preserved as an absolute treasure in the liturgical treasury of the Church.” Several hierarchs of the Russian Church prayed at that memorable service in the Kremlin, among them Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, now His Holiness the Patriarch.
IN Lately Edinoverie services in cathedrals become regular. About once a year, prayer services are held in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. In November 2012, with the blessing of Metropolitan Panteleimon of Yaroslavl and Rostov, divine services were performed in the ancient rite in the Assumption Cathedral of Yaroslavl and in the Resurrection Cathedral of Tutaev. In Yaroslavl, almost all students of the local theological seminary received communion at the Liturgy of the Holy Mysteries of Christ, and in Tutaev the service was led by Bishop Veniamin of Rybinsk and Uglich.
The first All-Russian Congress of Orthodox Old Believers (co-religionists) was held in St. Petersburg from January 22 to 30, 1912. It was presided over by Archbishop Anthony (Khrapovitsky) of Volyn. The congress revised the rules of Edinoverie, discussed issues of worship in Edinoverie churches, and touched upon topics related to the organization of Edinoverie communities and the general management of Edinoverie in Russia. We also talked about the oaths of the Moscow Councils of the 17th century. on the Old Believers. The problem of attracting into the fold was discussed Orthodox Church on the basis of the common faith of the Beglopopov Old Believers and representatives of other agreements. On January 31, 1912, a delegation of congress deputies was received by Emperor Nicholas II. At this meeting, Metropolitan Anthony raised the question of officially naming fellow believers “Orthodox Old Believers.” By the beginning of the twentieth century. There were about 600 Edinoverie parishes and several monasteries on the territory of Russia.
At the congress of fellow believers, Archbishop Anthony (Khrapovitsky) said: “Let in the one Church of Christ lovers of the old rites and old books form a single Brotherhood of Orthodox Old Believers... Everything would then merge in one common glorification of the Lord according to the old Book of Joseph, and Russians gathered from the ends of the earth The Old Believers would have erected a new Assumption Cathedral in the heart of Russia, similar in everything to the ancient one, but twice as tall and more extensive.” The service in honor of the centenary of the congress was held in the old Assumption - with great enthusiasm and solemnity.
Lenten service
Great Compline
Some statutory features.
1) After “I Believe...” the priest leaves the altar to the pulpit
And he says: “Most Holy Lady Theotokos, pray for us sinners” (bow) and other “prayer verses.”
2) At the end of the 3rd part, according to “For all time”, the priest
He utters the exclamation from the pulpit: “God, be generous with us...” and
Prayer to St. Ephraim the Syrian (16 bows).
3) After the prayer “My Hope is the Father...”
the priest on the pulpit says: “Glory to Thee, Christ God...”
chorus: “Glory... and now... Lord, have mercy (3). Most Reverend Vladyka, bless.”
The priest (facing the worshipers, “bowed down to the ground”) reads the prayer: “Master, Most Merciful...”, asks for forgiveness and says the litany.
The priest pronounces a small dismissal.
4) Great Compline on Friday is read without the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian and bows. Instead of the prayer “Lord, Most Merciful...” the priest says a small dismissal.
5) During the days of Great Lent, on the eve of the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, Matins with the 1st hour is added to Great Compline. Everything happens as follows: after “Rtsem and about yourself samekh,” the choir sings, the priest: “Glory to the Saints...”, the reader of the Six Psalms, and let everything happen according to order.
Matins
PRIEST: Having put on the stole and phelonion (monastic mantle), he opens the veil. Standing before the Throne, he accepts the censer, reads the prayer of blessing the censer and proclaims: “Blessed is our God...” (censing the altar).
READER: “Amen. Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee; the Trisagion according to Our Father...”
(temple censing)
READER: "Amen. Lord, have mercy (12). Glory even now... Come, Let us worship..." (3), Ps. 19 "The Lord will hear you...", Ps. 20 "Lord, by Thy Power...",
“Glory... and now...”, Trisagion according to Our Father...”
PRIEST: “For Thine is the kingdom...”. The censer is not given away.
READER: Amen. “Save, Lord...” Glory: “Ascended to the Cross...”
And now: “A terrible representation...”
The PRIEST pronounces a short, intense litany at the altar: “Have mercy on us, O God...” exclamation: “As you are merciful...”
CHORUS: "Amen. In the name of the Lord..."
PRIEST: creating a cross with a censer before the Throne,
proclaims: "Glory to the Holy Ones..."
READER: “Amen” and reads the Six Psalms.
PRIEST: reads morning prayers with an open head.
DIACO: the great litany “Let us pray in peace to the Lord.”
PRIEST: "As befits..."
CHORUS: "Amen."
DIAK: "Hallelujah" (3) in the voice of Octoechos with verses.
CHORUS: "Hallelujah" (4)
READER: Trinity troparia.
CHORUS: Endings of the Trinity Troparions, “Lord, have mercy” (3) “Glory...”
READER: “And now...” and reads three kathismas with sedals after each.
READER: Psalm 50.
DIAK: "Save, O God, Thy people..."
CHORUS: "Lord, have mercy" (12)
PRIEST: "By mercy and bounty..."
CHORUS: “Amen” and sings a canon of biblical songs.
DIAK: pronounces the small litany for the 3rd and 6th cantos,
on the 8th - “Theotokos and Mother of Light...” (censing of the entire temple)
CHORUS: “The most honest...”, according to the 9th song - “It is worthy to eat...”
DIACO: pronounces the small litany.
PRIEST: “As they praise You...”
CHORUS: "Amen"
READER: luminous Trinity voices, psalms of praise,
“Glory befits you...”, “Glory to Thee, who showed us the light”, “Glory to God in the highest...”
DIAK: "Let's perform morning prayer..."
PRIEST: "As a God of mercy..."
CHORUS: "Amen."
PRIEST: "Peace to all."
CHORUS: "And to your spirit."
DIAK: “Let us bow our heads to the Lord.”
CHORUS: "For you, Lord."
PRIEST: “Your best is...”
CHORUS: "Amen" and verse stichera (from Triodion).
READER: “There is goodness...” (twice). Trisagion after "Our Father..."
PRIEST: “For Thine is the kingdom...”
READER: “Amen. “In the temple standing...”, Lord, have mercy (40), Glory and now... “The most honorable Cherub...”, In the Name of the Lord, Most Reverend Master, bless.”
PRIEST: “Blessed are you...” (in front of the royal doors)
READER: "Amen." "Heavenly King..."
PRIEST: “Lord and Master of my life...” and 16 bows (3 great, 12 small with the prayer “God, cleanse me, a sinner” and one great).
READER: “Amen” and reads the first hour.
PRIEST: returns to the altar, closes the curtain and removes the phelonion.
First hour
READER: "Come, let us worship..." (3), ps.5 "My verbs...", ps.89 "Lord, refuge...", ps. 1OO "Mercy and judgment..." "Glory and now...Hallelujah (3)
CHORUS: "Lord, have mercy (3), Glory..."
READER: “And now...”, reads the ordinary kathisma (on Monday and Friday the kathisma is not read) and ends it: “Glory even now... Alleluia (3)
Lord, have mercy" (3).
PRIEST: troparion “In the morning, hear my voice...” with verses and three prostrations to the ground (on the pulpit).
CHORUS: “Tomorrow hear my voice...” (3)
PRIEST: “Glory...”
READER: “And now... “What shall we call You...”
CHORUS: "Guide my feet..."
READER: "Trisagion", according to Our Father..."
PRIEST: “For Thine is the kingdom...”
READER: "Amen" and the Theotokos day (Monday, Tuesday and Thursday -
“Most Glorious Mother of God...”, on Wednesday and Friday - “Soon ahead...”). "Lord, have mercy (40) "For all time..." "Lord, have mercy (3) Glory even now... "The most honorable cherub..."
PRIEST: “God, be gracious to us and bless us...” (on the pulpit)
READER: "Amen"
PRIEST: "Lord and Master of my life..."
READER: "Amen"
PRIEST: “Lord and Master of my life...” (16 prostrations)
READER: Shaky, " Holy Trinity...","Our Father..."
Priest: "For Yours is the Kingdom..."
READER: "Amen. Lord have mercy" (12)
PRIEST: "Christ, the true Light..."
CHORUS: "To the elected Voivode..."
PRIEST: "Glory to Thee, Christ God, our hope, glory to Thee"
CHORUS: "Glory... and now... Lord, have mercy (3). Most Reverend Master, bless"
PRIEST: pronounces a full dismissal (remains on the pulpit).
CHORUS: sings the many years of “The Great Master...”
Third hour
PRIEST: “Blessed be our God...” (on the pulpit)
READER: “Amen to the Trisagion of Our Father.”
PRIEST: “For Thy is the Kingdom...”
READER: "Amen. Lord, have mercy (12). Glory... and now... "Come, let us worship..." (3), ps.16 "Hear, O Lord..." ps.24 "To You , Lord..., ps.50 "Have mercy on me, O God..." "Glory...even now..." "Alleluia" (3)
CHORUS: "Lord, have mercy (3). Glory..."
READER: “And now...”, reads an ordinary kathisma, ending it: “Glory and now” Alleluia (3), Lord, have mercy” (3).
HOLY: troparion “Lord, like Thy Most Holy Spirit...” with verses and three prostrations to the ground (on the pulpit).
CHORUS: "Lord, Who is Your Most Holy Spirit..." (3)
PRIEST: "Glory..."
READER: And now... “Mother of God, You are the true Vine...” Trisagion after “Our Father...”
PRIEST: “For Thine is the kingdom...”
READER: Amen. “Blessed art thou, O Christ our God...” Glory: “Soon and known...” And now: “Hope and intercession...” Lord have mercy (40). “Likewise at all times...” Lord, have mercy (3). Glory even now... “More honorable cherubim...” “In the name of the Lord...”
PRIEST: “God, be gracious to us and bless us...” (on the pulpit).
READER: "Amen"
READER: Amen. "Sovereign God..."
Sixth hour
READER: “Come, let us worship...” (3), ps. 53 “God, in Thy name...”, p. 54 “Inspire, O God...”, p. 90. “Living in help...”, “Glory even now.. Alleluia » (3)
READER: “And now... he reads an ordinary kathisma and ends it: “Glory and now... Alleluia (3), Lord, have mercy” (3).
HOLY Troparion “Likewise on the sixth day...” with verses and three prostrations to the ground. (on the pulpit)
CHORUS: “Like on the sixth day...” (3)
PRIEST: “Glory...”
READER: “And now...” “For not the imams of boldness...”
READER: troparion of prophecy.
DIAK: “Let’s take a look.”
READER: Prokeimenon, voice
CHORUS: the prokeimenon sings.
DIAK: "Wisdom"
READER: “The prophecies (of Isain) reading.”
DIAK: “Let’s take a look.”
READER: reads the proverb.
DIAK: “Let’s take a look.”
READER: Prokeimenon, voice.
CHORUS: the prokeimenon sings.
READER: “Soon may we be preceded by...”, Trisagion after “Our Father...”
HOLY “For Thine is the kingdom...”
READER: Amen. “Thou hast wrought salvation...” Glory: “To Thy most pure image...” And now: “Thou art of mercy...” (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday), “Thou art glorified...” (Wednesday, Friday), Lord, have mercy (40). “Likewise at all times...” Lord, have mercy (3). Glory even now... "The most honorable cherub..." "In the name of the Lord..."
READER: "Amen"
PRIEST: “Lord and Master of my life...” (16 prostrations)
READER: Amen. "God and Lord of hosts..."
Ninth hour
READER: “Come, let us worship...” (3), ps.83 “If beloved...”,
Ps.84 “Thou art pleased...”, Ps.85 “Bow down, O Lord...”, Glory even now... Alleluia” (3)
CHORUS: “Lord, have mercy (3). Glory…"
READER: “And now...”, reads an ordinary kathisma (kathisma is not read on Friday) and ends it: Glory even now... Alleluia (3). Lord, have mercy” (3).
HOLY Troparion “At the ninth hour...” with verses and three bows
(on the pulpit)
CHORUS: “At the ninth hour...” (3)
HOLY "Glory…"
READER: And now... “Be born like us for our sake...” “Do not betray us to the end...”, Trisagion according to “Our Father...”
READER: Amen. “Seeing the robber...” Slava: “In the midst of two robbers...”
And now: “The Lamb, and the Shepherd, and the Savior of the world...” Lord, have mercy (40). “Likewise at all times...” Lord, have mercy (3). Glory even now... “The most honorable cherubs...” In the name of the Lord...”
PRIEST: “God has mercy on us...” (on the pulpit)
READER: "Amen"
PRIEST: “Lord and Master of my life...” (3 bows)
READER: Amen. “Master, Lord Jesus Christ...”
Fine
PRIEST: dresses in phenol and opens the curtain from the Royal Doors.
CHORUS: “In Your Kingdom...”
PRIEST: “For Thine is the kingdom...”
2) kontakion of an ordinary saint,
Slava: “Rest with the saints...”
READER: "Amen"
If the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is not celebrated, then Vespers begins.
On the days when the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is celebrated, the figurative gifts have the following ending.
READER: (after the prayers of St. Ephraim the Syrian) “Amen”, Trisagion according to “Our Father...”
PRIEST: “For Thine is the kingdom...”
PRIEST: “Wisdom.”
CHORUS: “...The most honorable cherub...”
CHORUS: “Lord, have mercy” (3).
Vespers
READER: (after the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian) “Come, let us worship...” (3), ps. 103 “Bless the Lord, my soul...”, “Glory... and now... Alleluia” (3)
PRIEST: reads the lamp prayers in front of the Royal Doors.
DIACO: pronounces the great litany “Let us pray in peace to the Lord”
PRIEST: “As befits...”
CHORUS: "Amen"
READER: reads the 18th kathisma
DIACO: pronounces the small litany
PRIEST: “For Your power...”
CHORUS: Amen. “Lord, I cried...” (in the voice of the stichera of the Triodion) “Lay down, O Lord...” and stichera (from the Triodion and Menaion).
DIACO: performs the usual censing of the entire temple.
CHORUS: “Quiet light...”
DIAK: “Let’s take a look.”
READER: “Prokeimenon, voice...”
CHORUS: the prokeimenon sings.
DIAK: “Wisdom.”
READER: “Reading Genesis.”
DIAK: “Let’s take a look.”
READER: reads the first proverb.
DIAK: (after the proverb) “Let’s hear it.”
READER: “Prokeimenon, voice...”
CHORUS: the prokeimenon sings.
DIAK: “Wisdom.”
READER: “Reading parables.”
DIAK: “Let’s take a look.”
READER: reads the second proverb
READER: “Grant, Lord...”
DIAK: “Let’s perform evening prayer...”
CHORUS: "Amen."
PRIEST: “Peace to all.”
CHORUS: “And to your spirit”
DIAK: “Let us bow our heads to the Lord.”
CHORUS: “For you, Lord.”
PRIEST: “Be a power...”
CHORUS: “Amen” and sings verse stichera (from Triodion).
READER: “Now you release...”, Trisagion, “Holy Trinity...”,
"Our Father…"
PRIEST: “For Thy is the Kingdom...” (on the pulpit)
CHORUS: Amen. “To the Virgin Mary...” (bow)
Glory: “To the Baptist of Christ...” (bow),
And now: “Pray for us...” (bow),
“Under Your mercy...” (without bowing)
READER: “Lord. Have mercy" (40). Glory even now... “More honorable cherubim...” “In the name of the Lord...”
PRIEST: “Blessed are you...”
READER: Amen. "Heavenly King..."
PRIEST: “Lord and Master of my life...” (16 prostrations)
READER: Amen. Trisagion, “Holy Trinity...”, “Our Father...”
PRIEST: “For Thine is the kingdom...”
READER: Amen. Lord, have mercy (12). "All Holy Trinity..."
CHORUS: “Be the name of the Lord...” (3)
READER: “Glory... even now...” and reads ps.33 “I will bless the Lord...”
PRIEST: “Wisdom” (on the pulpit)
CHORUS: “It is worthy to eat... and the Mother of our God”
PRIEST: “Most Holy Theotokos, save us”
CHORUS: “The most honorable cherub...”
PRIEST: “Glory to Thee, O Christ God...
CHORUS: Glory even now... Lord, have mercy (3).
“Most Reverend Vladyka, bless”
PRIEST: pronounces complete dismissal.
CHORUS: sings the many years of “The Great Lord...”, “Eternal Council...”.
Lithium by rank
Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts
It is customary to celebrate the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts on Wednesday and Friday of each week of Great Lent, as well as on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of Holy Week.
But besides this, according to the Charter, this liturgy is supposed to be performed:
1. On Thursday of the 5th week of Great Lent, “Standing of Mary of Egypt”;
2. On the day of the first and second Finding of the head of St. John the Baptist;
4. On the day of the temple festival.
The Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is celebrated only on the Holy Gifts consecrated at the next full Liturgy.
At the 9th hour, during the prayer: “Master, Lord Jesus Christ our God...”, the priests read the entrance prayers in front of the Royal Doors (all except the veneration prayer). Then they go to the altar, reading the prayer: “I will go into Your house...”. At the altar they kiss, according to custom, the Holy See, the altar cross and the Holy Cross. Gospel and put on all the sacred clothes, but at the same time they do not read a single prayer on the vestment, but only bless each garment, kiss it and quietly say: “Let us pray to the Lord. Lord have mercy".
Fine
The curtain of the Royal Doors opens.
CHORUS: “In Your Kingdom...”
READER: “The face of heaven...” “Come to Him...” “The face of heaven...” Glory: “The face of the saints...” And now: “I believe...” “Weaken, forsake...” “Our Father...”
PRIEST: “For Thine is the kingdom...”
READER: “Amen” and reads the kontakion: 1) kontakion of the day,
2) kontakion of an ordinary saint,
3) kontakion of a locally revered saint.
Slava: “Rest with the saints...”
And now: “Virgin today...”, “Lord, have mercy (40). Glory even now... "The most honorable cherub...", "In the name of the Lord..."
PRIEST: “God, be generous to us...” (on the pulpit)
READER: "Amen"
PRIEST: “Lord and Master of my life...” (16 bows).
READER: “Amen”, Trisagion according to “Our Father...”
PRIEST: “For Thine is the kingdom...”
READER: Amen. Lord, have mercy (12). "All Holy Trinity..."
PRIEST: “Wisdom.”
CHORUS: “It is worthy to eat... and the mother of our God...”
PRIEST: “Most Holy Theotokos, save us.”
CHORUS: “...The most honorable cherub...”
PRIEST: “Glory to Thee, O Christ God...”
CHORUS: “Glory even now...Lord, have mercy (3) Most Reverend Master, bless.”
PRIEST: pronounces a complete dismissal (for example, on Monday: “Christ our true God, through the prayers of His Most Pure Mother, the intercession of the honest Heavenly forces of the disembodied, the glorious and all-praised apostles, (saints of the temple and day), the holy righteous Godfather Joachim and Anna and all saints, will have mercy and save us, for he is good and a lover of mankind.”
CHORUS: “Lord, have mercy” (3). LONG.
During the singing of “In Thy Kingdom...” the curtain is opened. After reading the pictorial, the priest pronounces on the sole, with the Royal Doors closed, the dismissal: “Christ our true God, through the prayers of His Most Pure Mother, by the power of the honest and life-giving cross“, the glorious and all-praised apostle saints, / the saints of the temple, the day /, the righteous holy Godfather Joachim and Anna and all the saints, will have mercy and save us, for he is good and a lover of mankind.”
Having robed themselves, the priest and deacon reverently worship St. three times. The Throne with the words: “God, cleanse me, a sinner.” The priest kisses St. Gospel, and the deacon is St. Throne. Having received the blessing from the priest and bowed to him, the deacon goes out through the northern doors to the sole, stands on the pulpit and, after praying, proclaims:
DIAK: “Bless, Master.”
AT THE BISHOP'S SERVICE the Royal Doors are opened.
PRIEST: depicting the sign of the Cross with the Holy Gospel, he proclaims: “Blessed is the Kingdom...” and believes St. Gospel on the Antimension
CHORUS: "Amen."
AT THE BISHOP'S SERVICE the Royal Doors are closed.
READER: “Come, let us worship...” (3) and reads the 103rd Psalm,
“Glory even now... Alleluia” (3).
PRIEST: while reading the 103rd psalm, he reads the prayers of the lamp before the closed Royal Doors, starting with the 4th /the first three are read at the small litanies/.
DIACO: pronounces the great litany. Open Ts.Vr.
READER: reads the 1st antiphon of the 18th kathisma –2/
During the reading of the 1st antiphon, the priest makes the position of the Holy Lamb on the paten as follows: removes the St. The Gospel from the Antimension, places it to the right of the Tabernacle, opens the Antimension, puts the sponge to the side and places the Paten with a spoon and a copy in the middle of the Antimension. Having made two prostrations together, the priest, “with the blessing of many,” takes the spoon and copy from the Tabernacle. The Holy Lamb places it on the Paten, wipes the copy and spoon over the Tabernacle with a sponge. Then the clergy bow to the ground.
DIAK.: at the end of the 1st antiphon - “Paki and paki...” (on the pulpit)
PRIEST: after reading the prayer of the 1st antiphon - “For Thy power...”
CHORUS: "Amen"
READER: reads the 2nd antiphon of the 18th kathisma.
During the reading of the 2nd antiphon, a priest with a censer and a deacon with candles perform triple censing around St. Throne.
DIACO: at the end of the 2nd antiphon “Paki and Paki...” (on the pulpit)
PRIEST: “As he is good and a lover of mankind...”
CHORUS: "Amen."
READER: reads the 3rd antiphon of the 18th kathisma.
During the reading of the 3rd antiphon, the priest, having made three prostrations before the Holy Gifts, places the Paten on the head and, holding it with both hands, transfers it to the altar, walking through the High Place. The priest is preceded by a deacon holding a candle in his left hand and censing the Holy Gifts. Having reverently placed the Paten on the altar, the priest pours wine and water into the Chalice. Then he takes a star and, having shown it, places it on the Paten above the Holy Anglo, then, having sprinkled one shroud, covers the Paten with it, and having first covered it with the other cover - the Chalice, then, having sprinkled the air, covers the Paten and the Chalice together with it (saying only: “To the Lord Let's pray. Lord have mercy").
The deacon places a candle in front of the Holy Gifts. The priest censes St. Gifts and says: “Through the prayers of our Holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us,” after which the clergy bow to the ground. The priest goes to the Throne, folds the Antimins and places the Gospel on it.
If there is no deacon, then the priest performs incense without a candle.
DIAK: at the end of the 3rd antifan: “Packs and packs...” (on the pulpit)
PRIEST: after reading the prayer of the 3rd antiphon, exclamation: “For you are our God...”
CHORUS: Amen. “Lord, I cried...” in the voice of the stichera of the Triodion, “Lay down, O Lord...” and stichera on 10 from the Triodion and Menaion.
DIAC.: performs the usual censing.
When singing the Mother of God Menaion, the clergy enter with a censer or the Gospel (if the Gospel reading is required, as well as during the bishop’s service). Login is done as follows. When the Mother of God Menaion is chanted, the Royal Doors open. The priest and deacon make the sign of the cross in front of the Holy See (twice), kiss it, make the sign of the cross three times, bow to each other, and the deacon asks for a blessing from the priest: “Bless the censer, lord.” (If the entrance is made with the Gospel, then the priest gives it to the deacon, taking the Gospel from the priest, brings it to the bishop for kissing). Having received the blessing, Having received the blessing, the deacon and behind him the priest go to the soleya through the Mountain Place. At the High Place, the clergy bow, then to the rector
(if he is present) and each other, proceed from the altar by the northern doors, preceded by the priest, and stand in front of the Royal Doors, here the deacon censes the Throne, local icons of the Savior and the Mother of God, as well as the priest (if the bishop is in the altar, then the deacon after censing local icons enters the altar, the bishop censes three times, asks the bishop for a blessing for entry, censes him three times, then, returning, censes the priest, who makes the entrance). Then the deacon takes the censer in his left hand, standing half-turned towards the priest, points the orar to the east and quietly says: “Bless, Vladyka, the holy entrance.” The priest blesses and says quietly: “Blessed is the entrance of Your saints...” The deacon says: “Amen,” censes the priest again, and at the end of the Theotokos, he proclaims: “Wisdom, forgive.” Next, he censes the Holy See on four sides, kisses the Throne together with the priest, and both go to the high place. In a high place they bow, then to the bishop and to each other, and stand facing west.
PRIEST: kisses the holy icons on the Royal Doors, blesses the priest, enters the altar, kisses the Holy Throne and stands on the High Place (on the first side of the Holy Throne).
DIAK: “Let’s take a look.”
PRIEST: “Peace to all.”
READER: “And to your spirit.”
DIAK: “Wisdom.”
READER: “Prokeimenon, voice...”; verse, and prokeimenon to the middle
CHORUS: the prokeimenon sings.
DIAK: “Wisdom.”
READER: “Reading Genesis.”
DIAK: “Let’s take a look.” The Royal Doors are closing.
READER: reads the 1st proverb.
DIAK: /at the end of the 1st proverb/ “Let us remember.” The Royal Doors open.
READER: “Prokeimenon, voice...”, verse, prokeimenon to the middle.
CHORUS: the prokeimenon sings.
DIAK: “Command.” (Prayers fall on their faces). If the service is without a deacon, then it is not said.
PRIEST: standing facing the Throne and taking a censer and a lit candle with both hands, he draws with them the sign of the Cross and exclaims: “Wisdom, forgive.” Then, turning to the west, to the worshipers, he makes the sign of the cross over them (according to established practice) and says: “The Light of Christ enlightens everyone.”
READER: “Reading Proverbs” (everyone stands up).
DIAK: “Let’s take a look.” The Royal Doors are closing.
READER: reads the 2nd proverb (at the end of the 2nd proverb, the Royal Doors open).
PRIEST: (in the Royal Doors, blessing the reader “Peace be upon you” (quietly).
"And to your spirit."
DIAK: “Wisdom.”
Canonarch or trio: “May my prayer be corrected...” Those standing in the temple kneel down. The priest (without taking off his kamilovka) stands in front of the Holy See and censes. While singing verse 3: “Do not turn away my heart...” the priest goes to the altar and censes the Holy Gifts. The deacon also goes to the altar and kneels not far from the priest. When “Let him be corrected” is sung for the last time, the priest gives the censer to the deacon, who, standing in front of the altar, continues to incense the Holy Gifts, while he himself goes to the Altar and kneels.
PRIEST: at the end of the singing, he pronounces the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian with three bows.
IF THE APOSTLE AND THE GOSPEL IS ORDERED TO BE READED, THEN IT IS READED, EVERYTHING AS AT THE LITURGY AND THE CENCING ON THE APOSTLE.
DIAK.: pronounces a special litany: “Rtsem all...”
PRIEST: places the Gospel on the right near the Tabernacle, opens the Antiminis on three sides and, at the end of the special litany, proclaims: “For he is merciful...” /The Royal Doors are closed/.
DIAK: “Pray, catechumen, O Lord...”. (Starting from Wednesday of the 4th week, after the exclamation: “Yes, and these too glorify with us...”, a special litany is laid out for those preparing for enlightenment.)
PRIEST: at the words: “The Gospel of truth will be revealed to them,” the Antimension unfolds to the end and at the end of the litany, say: “Yes, and they are glorified with them...” With this exclamation, he makes the sign of the Cross on the Antimension with a sponge, kisses it and places it on the right side Antiminsa.
DIACO: recites the 1st Litany of the Faithful.
PRIEST: “As it behooves...”
DIACO: pronounces the 2nd Litany of the Faithful /Royal Doors Open/
PRIEST: “By the gift of Thy Christ...” and takes off his kamilovka.
CHORUS: “Now the powers of heaven…”
DIAK: censes only the altar and the priest, secretly reading the 50th Psalm, and at the end of the censing he stands at the Throne next to the priest.
PRIEST: /prayer with raised hands/
“Now the powers of heaven...” /three times/
DIAK: /ends/ “By faith and love let us approach...” (three times) The priests kiss the Throne, bow to each other and go to the altar.
PRIEST: goes to the altar, makes three small bows with the words “God, cleanse me, a sinner,” then censes the Holy Gifts three times and, having given the censer to the deacon, places air on his shoulder, Himself. Having bowed to the ground, he takes the Paten, places it on his head and holds it with his right hand, and with his left he takes the Chalice / “carries with the perseh” / and makes the Great Entrance - through the northern doors - into the Royal Doors, without saying anything. At the cathedral service, the primate takes the Paten, and the second priest takes the Chalice.
DIACO: precedes the priest holding a candle in his left hand, and a censer in his right, and censes, if possible, often, turning his face to the Holy Lamb. /At this time, the worshipers fall on their faces.
PRIEST: In the Royal Doors he says in an undertone: “By Faith and Love let us approach...” he places first the Chalice on the Holy Altar, and then – with both hands – the Paten, removes the coverings from them, takes air from the deacon’s shoulders and, pouring it over him and covering the Holy Place with it. Gifts, cense according to custom, but nothing is said
CHORUS: “Let us approach with faith and love...”
PRIEST: “Lord and Master of my life...” /3 bows/
(The Royal Doors close and the curtain is drawn halfway).
DIAK: “Let’s perform the evening prayer...”
PRIEST: “And grant us, O Master...”.
CHORUS: “Our Father...”
PRIEST: “For Thine is the kingdom...”.
CHORUS: "Amen."
PRIEST: “Peace to all.”
CHORUS: “And to your spirit.”
DIAK: “Let us bow our heads to the Lord.”
CHORUS: “For you, Lord.”
PRIEST: “Grace and generosity...”.
CHORUS: "Amen."
DIAK: “Let us hear” /the curtain closes/
HOLY: having bowed three times with the prayer: “God, cleanse me, a sinner...” And reverently touching the Holy Lamb with his hand, he proclaims: “The Holy One, presanctified to the saints,” and puts aside the air and the star.
CHORUS: “One is Holy...” and partakes of “Taste and see...”.
DIAK: enters the altar and, standing near the priest, quietly pronounces. “Crush, Master, the Holy Bread.”
PRIEST: crushes the Holy Bread into four parts, saying: “It is crushed and divided...”, puts a particle with the name “Jesus” into the Chalice and pours warmth into it, without saying anything, then splits the particle with the name “Christ” according to the number of servants.
PRIEST: “Deacon, come.”
DIAK: “Behold, I come to the Immortal King...”, kisses the Throne, receives a piece of the Holy Mysteries, kisses the hand and right shoulder of the priest, and stands at the Throne, and, bowing his head, prays: “I believe, Lord...”
PRIEST: takes a particle of the Holy Mysteries and says: “The Honest and Most Holy Body and Blood of the Lord and God...”, then bowing his head, prays: “I believe, Lord...”
Clergy receive communion “with fear and reverence”
PRIEST: taking the sponge, wipes his hand and says: “Glory to Thee, God” /three times/, kisses the sponge and puts it in place, then takes the Chalice with the chalice with both hands and drinks from it, unpronounceably wipes the chalice and chalice with the chalice, and places it on the Throne , after that he takes the antidor, washes his hands and lips and, standing a little to the side, reads a prayer of gratitude: “We thank You, God the Savior of All...”. (The deacon drinks from the Chalice only after consuming the Gifts, and the priest if he serves alone).
PRIEST: having crushed the particles with the names “Ni” and “Ka”, he places them in the Chalice, without saying anything, and covers the Chalice with a shroud.
DIAK: “With the fear of God...”.
CHORUS: “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise is in my mouth.”
PRIEST: reads the prayer “Lord, I believe...” and gives communion to the laity, and after communion he proclaims: “Save, O God, Thy people...”.
CHORUS: “Taste the Bread of Heaven and the Cup of Life and see that the Lord is good.” Hallelujah /3/.
PRIEST: Always, now and ever...”
CHORUS: “Let our lips be fulfilled...”
DIAK: “Forgive me, please…”.
PRIEST: “For You are our Sanctification...”.
CHORUS: “About the name of the Lord.”
DIAK: “Let us pray to the Lord.”
CHORUS: “Lord, have mercy.”
PRIEST: reads the prayer behind the pulpit.
CHORUS: “Amen.” Be the Name of the Lord...” /3/
READER: “Glory even now...” and reads the 33rd Ps. "I will bless the Lord."
PRIEST: at the end of the Liturgy, he pronounces a complete dismissal: “Christ the true God, ours, through the prayers of His Most Pure Holy Mother, His is the temple and His is the day, then the saint next day/ and like our holy father Gregory the Dvoeslov, the Pope of Rome and All Saints, will have mercy and save us, for he is good and a lover of mankind.”
CHORUS: sings the usual many years: “Great Lord...”.
Church reading and singing in the Old Believer church
The Old Believer worship service is special, unique, inherent only to the Old Believers, distinguishing it from all other churches: Latin, Protestant, Nikonian... If you enter an Old Believer church during a service, you will immediately, from its appearance alone, notice that everything here is special , different from other confessions. First of all, the iconography is of Old Russian or Byzantine writing in a consistent church style: not a single pictorial picture. Genuinely - iconography, not painting. Behind the altar, in the altar, as well as on banners, as well as on church domes and in all appropriate places, the Crosses are exclusively eight-pointed; you won’t notice four-pointed ones anywhere except on priestly vestments. Every Old Believer church has two choirs - right and left, where readers and singers stand. The worshipers are sharply divided into two categories - men and women; men stand on the choirs and behind the choirs, and women stand in the rear half of the temple. In some churches, men occupy the right half of the church, and women occupy the left. In the past (quite recently) all men - old and young - were dressed in kaftans (long dresses to the toes with numerous gathers at the back, at the waist, or only narrowed ones, without gathers), and women in sundresses (also long dresses to the toes , without any decorations) and always with a head covered with a scarf. All worshipers stand in rows, praying together: at the same time they cross themselves, at the same time bow, where this is required by church charter and order. Everyone must be attentive to the service being performed and know what to do and when. If it is proclaimed or read: “Come, let us bow,” everyone immediately makes the required bows. To the exclamation of the priest: “Peace to all!” - they answer: “And to your spirit,” and at the same time bow their heads. The same is done in response to the exclamation: “Bow your heads to the Lord.” There are three types of bows: waist bows, great earthly bows, and throwing bows: great bows are performed with the head to the ground (to the floor), and throwing bows only with the hands to the floor. For bowing to the ground, the church has special “rests” (from the word “under the arms”) so that one can place one’s hands on them (actually, palms folded in a row), and not directly on the floor, which may be dusty or dirty. They sign themselves with the sign of the cross earnestly, and not haphazardly, otherwise the neighbor will notice: “Why are you chattering [with your hand] like a Nikonian.” Praying in all directions, whenever one pleases, is not permitted. Recently, “Orthodox” theologians have begun to condemn such prayer, which is hallmark exclusively Nikonian worship, even sectarians do not have it. “Many people praying in the temple during the anaphora pray with their own independent, and not conciliar prayer,” says the collection of Parisian theologians “Living Tradition,” “thank God for their joys, bring their sorrows to Him and ask Him for help in their needs. A meeting of believers , unfortunately, does not recognize himself as unanimous and like-minded and united before the paten, at which the whole Church and the world surround the Head - Christ. In the attitude of the laity to the Eucharist and the liturgy, there is an element of conciliar, social decay, which is aggravated by the sin of rare communion. This is complicity in social sin - the sin of dislike for one's neighbor" ("Living Tradition - Orthodoxy in Perfection". Paris. P. 188). Moreover: it is a sin of destroying prayerful conciliarity, unanimity and like-mindedness. This is simply disorder, which cannot be tolerated in any business, in any meeting, in any organization, except in one former dominant church in Russia - and then only during worship. It is also impermissible to pray on your knees; this is a Latin custom accepted in sectarianism and “Orthodoxy.” It is considered disorderly to stand during the Divine Service carelessly, at random: with your legs apart, or with one stretched out or put aside, and leaning on the other, or shifting from one foot to the other. You need to stand straight and firmly, like a soldier at the front, only slightly bowing your head as a sign of humility and crossing your arms over your chest, pressing them. Each church service begins and ends with the so-called “seven-bowing beginning” (i.e., seven statutory bows). Therefore, every pilgrim who does not come to the beginning of the service necessarily “puts down” (i.e. prays) this “beginning” and thereby, so to speak, enters into the general service, “connects” with it, introduces his prayer “thread” into the general "fabric" of worship.
Old Believer worship is distinguished by the reading of different “poglasitsa”: one poglasitsa reads “kathisma”, “hours”, “glories”, another - “six psalms”, a third - “proverbs”, a fourth - the Apostle, the Gospel, a special poglasitsa - teachings, Prologue ( lives of saints), etc. Reading should be leisurely, attentive, and deliberate. The secular manner of reading, accepted, for example, in sectarianism (and, it seems, in no other religion), is completely unacceptable, as it profanes the Divine service, reducing it to ordinary newspaper entertainment. Some readings require sitting: mainly during the all-night vigil, the longest service. So, the worshipers sit down to read the proverbs, the Prologue, the teachings, the sedals; in some parishes they also sit during kathismas (that is, while reading them), which is not established in the church “Obikhod”. For seating, each church has benches stretching the entire length of the walls, and under them, “in reserve,” there are also small portable benches. But there are such moments in worship when it is not allowed not only to sit, nor even to move from place to place, much less to leave the church: this is during the reading of the Gospel, the Six Psalms, the introduction to any service (Heavenly King, Holy God, Most Holy Trinity, Our Father and Come, let us worship), as well as when singing the Cherubic, Creed, Lord's Prayer (“Our Father”). At these moments, even adjusting candles and lamps is not allowed.
Worship is prayer - a conversation between the soul and God; everything here should be reverent, orderly, concentrated, immersed in the “heavenly stream.” Nothing base, vain, or sinful is inappropriate in Divine services. Moreover, prayer should be common, not scattered, but merged into one church-wide channel, for the whole church prays, “with one mouth and one heart glorifying God,” as is proclaimed in the liturgy. Since apostolic times, singing in churches was common; everyone sang: men and women, old and young. The Holy Fathers testify that it was the same in subsequent centuries.
In the Old Believers, ancient Russian church singing has been preserved to this day, as it was in Rus' before the Nikon reform, in its spirit, in its tonality and in its entire structure, corresponding specifically to the Divine service. This is not secular singing with its all sorts of emotions, effects, polyphony and many other delights, but church singing, truly religious, prayerful. There should be no theatricality in the church, and worship is not a drama, not a game, but a heartfelt, inner fusion with the Divine, that is, in its content, the action of God, and it is expressed in the temple of God by reading and singing. “Nothing excites, inspires the spirit so much, nothing so detaches one from the earth,” says St. John Chrysostom, “like harmonious singing, like a sacred song according to the rules of rhythm.” “Having tuned in to the melody of words,” says another great holy father, “the soul forgets about passions, joyfully looks at the mind of Christ and thinks only about all the best” (Athanasius the Great).
But since Nikon’s times, new singing began to be introduced in Russia during divine services - secular, pretentious, “Fryazhsky”, against which the holy martyr Avvakum protested. Then it turned completely theatrical under the name of “Italian” style.
Old Believer singing is unison, i.e. monophonic: it is strictly required that the overall, united sound, regardless of the number of singers, be of a completely homogeneous nature, not disturbed by attempts by any of the singers to highlight their own voice: The ideal of such singing is unanimity, smoothness, so that the “singing” singers so harmonize their voices with one another that, with all their organic diversity (bass, tenor, treble with their timbres), their singing gives the impression of one inseparable whole. In such singing, not only polyphony (partes) or three-voices are not allowed, but even the so-called second. All melodies in Old Believer singing are subject to the octagon: divided into eight voices, i.e. frets - from the first to the eighth; on one Sunday stichera, vozvahi, irmos are sung in the first tone, on the next - in the second, etc., alternating throughout the year. Some stichera are also sung in “podobny” - the same voice, but the melody is more intricate, special, having its own tonal ladder. In addition, in Old Believer singing there is also a demestine melody. Old Russian "Stage" books call demestvenny singing the most beautiful, and Chronicles - graceful. The demestvo is not subject to the rules of the octagon. Its melody is freer and sounds solemn, sometimes immediately rising to a greater height, then descending to the lowest notes. For chants there are special books - chanters, written in very intricate signs, which received the name "kryukov" by their appearance, which is why the chanter books themselves are called "kryukovy", and singing according to them - znamenny, or stolpovy (from the word "pillar", which is called in the Slavic language every sign). Banners, or signs (hooks) are very different and mean not only the pitch of the tone, but also its duration and strength (stress, underlining, softness and hardness, etc.), and also mean punctuation marks, i.e. pauses, slowdowns, stops. Hook signs correspond to the meaning of the chant and therefore have (p. 290 ***) dynamic shades: some are sung quietly, others are “greyhound”, some mean “rolling” with the voice, others mean “shaking”, “breaking”, others mean “cutting off” , “throwbacks” and other names in tone; they bear appropriate names and require appropriate application to the text of the chant.
The art of hooking is quite difficult, and not everyone can comprehend it. During two and a half centuries of persecution of the Old Believers, it was lost and forgotten in many parishes, in others it was distorted beyond recognition: they sang as best they could and as best they could. When there was the opportunity to study the high art of church singing, when I had to hide in the woods and basements singing. There was also a shortage of choir books: they were written by hand and were expensive. As a result of this situation, church singing fell into decline. Different melodies were created in different places: Belivsky, Mystsevo, [...], Kiev, Morozov, etc. The melodies received layers, [,..], additions and decreases. They sang magnificently only in historically famous monasteries and in rich parishes. But even here the singing was not perfect. It was preserved in all its grandeur only in Moscow at the Rogozhskoye Cemetery, where it was cared for and maintained by a large paid staff of singers. In all other parishes, the parishioners themselves always sang, having learned to sing either from random “masters” or self-taught: from such singers it was impossible to demand any kind of perfection in singing; there was loudness and loudness, but there was no “art”. The most perfect was Morozov's singing. It received this name on behalf of the largest Old Believer figure of recent times (before the “golden” period) Arseny Ivanovich Morozov, a famous manufacturer of the Bogorodsko-Glukhovskaya manufactory (near Moscow). He had the opportunity to maintain a huge choir of singers and singers (up to 150 people [...]) at the Old Believer church in his factory, made up of employees and factory workers, and [...] the "Imperial Society of Lovers of Ancient Writing" published with funds from A .AND. (by means of light printing) the entire “Circle of the ancient church hook of the true river singing of the Znamenny chant”; it included Oktay, Obikhod (with Liturgies), Irmos, Holidays and Trezvony. They were printed from the manuscript of the director of the Morozov choir I.A. Fortova. What was especially important was that in this “Circle” the “Singing ABC” was published, in which explanations were given for all hooks (banners): not only how many tones each hook contains and which ones (ut, re, mi, etc.) d), but also what is their consistency: speed, duration, transitions up and down, and where, above what text, according to its meaning, they are written. This "ABC" established the completeness and perfection of the art of church singing.
When freedom of religion was declared (1905), the Old Believers everywhere began to restore church singing according to the “rules of rhythm,” as St. John Chrysostom. Singing schools were opened in many parishes, and courses for training singing teachers were organized in dioceses; The Saratov Diocesan Congress decided to open schools for church singing and reading in all parishes of the diocese. Similar care was shown in other dioceses. Numerous articles on singing techniques appeared in Old Believer magazines. In the Bogorodsko-Glukhonsk community, training of singing teachers was organized on a very broad program. Here are some of its points: 1) correct voice production (theory and practice); 2) correct study of hooks, faces, fits, coolisms and teaching methods; 3) correct study of demestven singing and methods of teaching; 4) elementary theory; 5) hearing development: solfeggio, dictation; 6) brief information about forms of vocal singing; 7) history of church singing in Russia, etc. The head of this preparation was Fortov’s deputy for managing the Morozov Choir, P.V. Tsvetkov is a bright rising luminary on the singing horizon.
Singing courses were organized with almost the same program at the Moscow Brotherhood of the Holy Cross under the leadership of L.V. K[...], also an excellent expert in church singing. (There is his own compilation and publication of “The ABC” of singing, very valuable in content). Under the Brotherhood, a demonstration choir was also organized under the direction of Y.A. Bogatenko, a teacher of church singing at the Old Believer Institute, a rich scholar [...] and a soulful methodologist and researcher on singing, mainly church, Old Russian. Women's choirs were organized in many parishes - not only in cities, but also in villages and villages. However, the appearance of women's choirs in churches during divine services confused some Old Believers, and the issue of women's singing in churches came up for consideration at the Consecrated Councils. The Consecrated Council, held in 1911, considered this issue on the basis of church liturgical books, patristic works and church history, and decided: “The permission for women to sing in church should be submitted to the discretion of the diocesan bishop, taking into account the circumstances and public opinion.” Locally, in all dioceses, women's choirs were allowed by bishops. During the war years (1914-1918), many parishes were served only by women and girls; even girls sang in Moscow churches. Their singing was allowed in the churches of the Rogozhsky Cemetery itself, because even here the composition of male singers had become scarce.
Long before the just-named war, Old Believer singing, under the leadership of its experienced leaders, had become so leveled up and strengthened, taking on its real, undistorted form, that its inspirers, such as the above-mentioned Tsvetkov and Bogatenko, decided to bring it to the assessment of the general public: they began to organize In Moscow and Petrograd, as well as in other cities, public concerts of Old Believer singing. Tsvetkov's first concert with the Morozov Choir (130 people) was given already in 1908 in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory and in the same year in Petrograd, at the local conservatory. The concerts were a brilliant success. If earlier “Orthodox” connoisseurs, with rare exceptions, had a negative attitude towards Old Believer singing, recognizing it as boring, drawn-out, even “nasal”, now they were very delighted with it. The halls of the conservatories were crowded with listeners, among them the appreciative audience prevailed, worthy connoisseurs of singing: professors of higher educational institutions- universities, institutes, regents and teachers of singing choirs, representatives of the dominant clergy and, most importantly, professors and teachers in conservatories, as well as teachers of the Philharmonic School, Synodal Singing School. All of them spoke laudably of Old Believer singing, recognizing it as truly churchly, truly religious, creating a real prayerful mood.
The press of both capitals also appreciated the Old Believer singing. Even palace circles became interested in him, and the Morozov choir was invited to the court singing chapel in Petrograd, where they sang interspersed with the palace chapel. “Ancient, like Christianity itself, a church melody flowed animatedly and powerfully, felt and reworked by the believing Russian soul,” the capital’s press responded to Old Believer concerts, “it’s not for nothing that our learned composers saw in our old church music a closeness with folk song. The broadness of the singing was felt.” the expanse of the fields of the Russian homeland, elegiac but powerful." Some press organs have an old review by Melnikov-Pechersky in his classic “Forests” about Old Believer singing in the Irgiz: “There is truly angelic singing there. We used to stand at the service, all earthly sadness is taken away, no worldly vanity comes to mind. .. Yes, church singing is a great thing: it lifts the soul to God, cleanses the heart from evil thoughts...” Concerts of the Morozov Choir were repeated in subsequent years, causing the same delight and praise.
Ya.A. Bogatenko began performing on the public concert stage with his choir at the Moscow Brotherhood later - from 1911, and at his first performances he demonstrated only spiritual poems, psalms and his own Old Believer creativity. This creativity reflects either prayerful and religious feelings, or poetic retellings of biblical and evangelical events, or, finally, contains historical facts from the era of persecution of the Old Believers. The singing of these poems was not church, but at home: they were sung during holidays and during work, at family celebrations and festivities (during, for example, weddings), replacing secular songs. Bogatenko accompanied his performances with explanations: these were concerts-lectures that introduced the public not only to the nature of singing poetry, but also to their historical meaning and origin. Yakov Alekseevich's performances with the fraternal choir were greeted and appreciated by the public and experts, as well as by the press, no less enthusiastically than the concert demonstrations of the Morozov choir. Then Mr. Bogatenko introduced purely church Old Believer singing into his concerts. He performed with the fraternal choir not only in Moscow, but also in Petrograd, Yegoryevsk, Rzhev and other cities, everywhere having constant success.
In Petrograd, he organized “evenings of hymns” and his local choir - the Gromovsky Old Believer Cemetery, under the direction of Deacon Kharlampiy Markov, and also with great success. Such evenings of singing began to be organized in other cities by local Old Believer choirs.
Encouraged and inspired by their successes in public performances, Messrs. Bogatenko and Tsvetkov dared to demonstrate Old Believer singing even at exclusively “Orthodox” meetings and congresses and in specially scientific institutions, however, by deliberate invitations. Thus, at the All-Russian Congress of Choral Figures held in Moscow in 1910, a special evening was dedicated to a concert of the Morozov Choir. Before starting it N.A. Bogatenko read the report “Forgotten Art”, and P.V. Before performing each chant, Tsvetkov gave an explanation of its characteristic features. This demonstration of Old Believer singing in front of the regents and directors of Orthodox choirs who had come from all over Russia, as well as representatives of various departments and institutions, was of enormous importance. Already at the Congress itself, one of its members read a report on church singing, in which he decisively stated: “It is necessary to return to the ancient church melody.” There is no doubt that many other members of the congress took the same impression with them to their backwoods. In 1912, at the next All-Russian Congress of Regents and Choral Leaders, also held in Moscow, a representative of the dominant church, Archpriest V.M., gave a report “On hook singing.” Metallov is a singing teacher at the Moscow Conservatory, at the Synodal School and the Archaeological Institute. He argued for the need to return to ancient Russian church singing: “Ancient Russian melodies, imprinted in hook znamenny singing, have undoubted merits and often surpass modern church musical plays in their expressiveness (quite accessible to the understanding of those praying”).
In 1913 Y.A. Bogatenko performed with a fraternal choir at the anniversary Archaeological Congress in Moscow; they also read a report: “Russian spiritual singing of past centuries (church, liturgical and home),” which was published in the “Notes” of the Congress. Even such a completely secular institution as the musical and ethnographic commission in Moscow devoted one of its meetings to listening to Mr. Bogatenko’s report on Old Believer singing with a demonstration of the latter by a fraternal choir. The chairman of the said commission, N.A. Yanchuk even expressed the wish that special scientific expeditions be sent to such Old Believer places as the Volga region, Starodubye, Vetka, the Caucasus, and Siberia in order to “examine and collect oral material stored in folk tradition, since this material disappears every year year after year, and the younger generation of Old Believers, infected with innovations, forgets the old days." And Mr. Yanchuk wished the Old Believers: “Let them not forget their native antiquity, their native chants.” There were, however, also in the Old Believers some “new voices” who tried to introduce some kind of harmonization into church singing, doubling and tripling vocal harmonies. But here they received severe rebuff from the hierarchy and the church people themselves and had no success.
Simultaneously with the development and strengthening of the Znamenny tradition everywhere in the Old Believer parishes, Old Believer publishing houses of singing books also arose. Thus, the publishing house L.F. was founded in Kyiv. Kalashnikov under the company "Znamennye Penie". It produced lithographed books. The publishing house M.D. was organized in Moscow. Ozornova, it began to print singing books using the typographic method. The Kalashnikov Publishing House later merged with him. Books became cheap and affordable to even the poorest parish. The publishing house "Znamenny Penie" undertook, by virtue of the cathedral decree, to submit manuscripts of books intended for printing for preliminary consideration and permission to the Moscow Archbishop. Only such publications were blessed by the Council to be introduced into parish use. In this way, uniform singing was achieved in all parishes. Two special magazines began to be published on singing issues: “Church Singing” in Kyiv and “Church Old Believer Singing Messenger” in Beliv (near Guslitsa). The Old Believers, as we see, paid extremely much attention to church singing during the period being described.
