What is the meaning of liturgy. What is the most important moment in the Liturgy? Consequence of the sacrament of the Eucharist

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

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

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

The Holy Gifts are a fire that burns up every sin and every defilement if a person strives to receive communion worthily. We receive communion for the healing of soul and body. When starting communion, you need to do it with reverence and trembling, realizing your weakness and unworthiness. “Although you eat (eat), O man, approach the Master’s Body with fear, so as not to be burned: for there is fire,” says the prayers for Holy Communion.

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

Often, spiritual people and ascetics experienced phenomena of heavenly fire descending on the Holy Gifts during the celebration of the Eucharist. Yes, the Sacrament of Communion, the Eucharist is the greatest miracle and mystery, as well as the greatest mercy for us sinners, and visible evidence that the Lord established a New Covenant with people in His Blood (see: Luke 22:20), sacrificing for us cross, died and rose again, spiritually resurrecting all humanity with Himself. And we can now partake of His Body and Blood for the healing of soul and body, abiding in Christ, and He will “abide in us” (see: John 6:56).

Origin of the liturgy

Since ancient times, the sacrament of communion, the Eucharist, has also received the name liturgy, which is translated from Greek as common cause, common service.

The holy apostles, disciples of Christ, having accepted from their Divine Teacher the commandment to perform the Sacrament of Communion in remembrance of Him, after His Ascension they began to break bread - the Eucharist. Christians continued constantly in the teaching of the Apostles, in fellowship and the breaking of bread and in prayers(Acts 2:42).

The order of the liturgy was formed gradually. At first, the apostles celebrated the Eucharist in the very order that their Teacher taught them. In apostolic times the Eucharist was united with the so-called agape, or meals of love. Christians ate food and were in prayer and fraternal fellowship. After the supper, the breaking of bread and communion of the believers took place. But then the liturgy was separated from the meal and began to be performed as an independent sacred rite. The Eucharist began to be celebrated inside sacred churches. In the 1st-2nd centuries, the order of the liturgy was apparently not written down and was transmitted orally.

What are the liturgies?

Gradually, different localities began to develop their own liturgical rites. Served in the Jerusalem community Liturgy of the Apostle James. It took place in Alexandria and Egypt Liturgy of the Apostle Mark. In Antioch - the liturgy of Saints Basil the Great and John Chrysostom. All these liturgies are united in their meaning and meaning, but differ in the texts of the prayers that the priest offers during the consecration of the Holy Gifts.

Now in the practice of the Russian Orthodox Church they usually perform three orders of liturgy. These are the liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, the liturgy of St. Basil the Great and the liturgy of St. Gregory the Great.

This liturgy is celebrated on all days of the year, except for the first five Sundays of Great Lent and weekday Lenten days. Saint John Chrysostom compiled the rite of his liturgy based on the previously compiled liturgy Saint Basil the Great, but shortened some prayers.

Liturgy of St. Basil the Great

According to the legend of Saint Amphilochius, Bishop of Iconium, Saint Basil the Great asked God “to give him the strength of spirit and mind to perform the liturgy in his own words. After six days of fiery prayer, the Savior miraculously appeared to him and fulfilled his request. Soon Vasily, imbued with delight and divine awe, began to exclaim: “Let my lips be filled with praise,” “Take in, Lord Jesus Christ our God, from Thy Holy Dwelling,” and other prayers of the liturgy.”

Liturgy of St. Basil is being done ten times a year:

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

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

During the Holy Pentecost of Great Lent, the service of the full liturgy ceases on weekdays. Lent is a time of repentance, crying over sins, when all festivity and solemnity are excluded from worship. And therefore, according to church rules, on Wednesday and Friday of Lent Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts. The Holy Gifts, with which believers receive communion, are consecrated at the Liturgy on Sunday.

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

Sequence and symbolic meaning of the liturgy

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

Proskomedia

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

Used for proskomedia five prosphoras in memory of the miraculous feeding of five thousand people by Christ.

For communion, one prosphora (lamb) is used. For the Lord also gave communion to the apostles, breaking and distributing one loaf. The Holy Apostle Paul writes: there is one bread, and we, who are many, are one body; for we all partake of one bread(1 Cor 10:17). The Lamb is crushed after the transfiguration of the Holy Gifts, and the clergy and all those preparing for communion receive communion with it. During the liturgy, red grape wine is used, as it resembles the color of blood. Wine is mixed with a small amount of water as a sign that blood and water flowed from the Savior’s pierced rib.

Proskomedia is performed at the very beginning of the liturgy in the altar while the reader is reading the hours. Exclamation "Blessed be our God" pre-reading three o'clock, is also the initial exclamation of the proskomedia. Before the liturgy there is a sequence three and six o'clock.

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

Let us remind you: the proskomedia is performed on altar.

From Lamb prosphora priest with a special knife called a copy, cuts out the middle in the shape of a cube. This part of the prosphora has the name Lamb as a sign that the Lord, as the Immaculate Lamb, was slain for our sins. From the bottom of the Lamb is cut crosswise with the words: “The Lamb of God takes away the sins of the world for the worldly belly (life) and salvation.” The priest pierces the right side of the Lamb with a spear, saying the words: one of the soldiers pierced His ribs with a spear, and immediately blood and water flowed out. And he who saw it bore witness, and his testimony is true.(John 19:34-35).

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

The cooked Lamb and the particles taken from the four other prosphoras symbolize the entirety of the heavenly and earthly Church. After the Lamb is prepared, it rests on the paten.

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

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

At the altar at the proskomedia, believers submit notes of health and repose. Particles are also taken out for the people whose names are contained in the notes.

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

The priest, having bowed, places a star on the paten above the Lamb and the particles. The paten marks both the Bethlehem cave and Golgotha, the asterisk marks the star above the cave and the cross. The priest censes special coverings and places them on top of the paten and chalice as a sign that Christ was laid in the tomb and His body was wrapped in shrouds. These swaddling clothes also symbolize the Christmas swaddling clothes.

The meaning of commemoration at the Proskomedia

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

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

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

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

Liturgy of the Catechumens

The second part of the liturgy is called Liturgy of the Catechumens. In ancient times, people underwent very lengthy preparation to receive holy baptism. They studied the basics of faith, went to church, but they could pray at the liturgy only until the Gifts were transferred from the altar to the throne. The catechumens, as well as the penitents, excommunicated from communion for serious sins, had to go out into the vestibule of the temple.

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

The peaceful litany covers all aspects of our existence. We pray: for the peace of the whole world, for the holy churches, for the temple where the service is celebrated, for bishops, presbyters, deacons, for our country, its authorities and soldiers, for the blessing of the air and the abundance of earthly fruits necessary for food. Here we also ask God for help to all those traveling, sick and in captivity.

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

After Great Litany psalms are sung called antiphons, since they are supposed to be sung in two choirs alternately. The psalms of the prophet David were part of the Old Testament worship and made up a significant part of the hymns in the early Christian service. After the second antiphon, the chant is always sung: “Only Begotten Son...” - about the coming of Christ the Savior into the world, His incarnation and atoning sacrifice. During the singing of the Gospel beatitudes from Christ’s Sermon on the Mount, the royal doors are opened and the small entrance is made, or entrance with the Gospel. The priest or deacon, exalting the Gospel, signifying the cross with it at the royal doors, exclaims: “Wisdom, forgive!” Translated from Greek sorry Means directly. This is said as a reminder to us that we need to be attentive in prayer and stand upright.

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

After singing the troparions dedicated to the holiday given to the day, the saints of the day and the temple are sung Trisagion: “Holy God...” On Christmas, Epiphany, Easter and Paschal week, on the day of the Holy Trinity, as well as on Lazarus and Great Saturdays, instead of the Trisagion, the following is sung: “Those (who) were baptized into Christ (baptized), into Christ put on (put on). Alleluia." In ancient times, catechumens were baptized traditionally on these holidays. On the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord and the week of the Veneration of the Cross of Great Lent, instead of the Trisagion, the following is sung: “We bow to Thy Cross, O Master, and glorify Thy holy resurrection.”

For careful reading Apostle And Gospels We are prepared by the cries of “Let us hear” and “Wisdom, forgive us, let us hear the Holy Gospel.” After the Gospel reading, a special (intensified) litany follows, in which, in addition to various prayers for the hierarchy, authorities, the army and all believers, there is a name commemoration of those who submitted their notes to the liturgy: their names are proclaimed by the clergy, and all the people pray with them for health and the salvation of God’s servants, “all who are now remembered here.”

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

After the spoken special litany often added Litany for the Dead. During it, we pray for all our previously deceased fathers, brothers and sisters, asking God for forgiveness of their voluntary and involuntary sins and their placement in heavenly abodes, where all the righteous rest.

Followed by Litany of the Catechumens. Some people find this part of the service confusing. Indeed, the practice of catechumen and preparation for baptism that existed in the ancient Church does not exist now. Today we typically baptize people after one or two conversations. But still, there are still catechumens preparing to accept the Orthodox faith. There are many people who have not yet been baptized, but are drawn to the Church. We pray for them, that the Lord would strengthen their good intentions, reveal to them His “Gospel of Truth” and join them to the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.

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

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

Liturgy of the Faithful

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

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

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

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

It's called transference great entrance. The priest and deacon carry the Gifts, leaving the altar by the northern (left) doors. Stopping at the pulpit, in front of the royal doors, turning their faces to the believers, they commemorate His Holiness the Patriarch, metropolitans, archbishops, bishops, the priesthood, all those who work and pray in this temple.

After this, the clergy enter the altar through the royal doors, place the Chalice and paten on the throne and cover the Gifts with a special shroud (air). Meanwhile, the choir finishes singing the Cherubic Song. The Great Entrance symbolizes the solemn procession of Christ to His free suffering and death.

Litany, which follows after the transfer of the Gifts, is called supplication and prepares believers for the most important part of the liturgy - the consecration of the Holy Gifts.

After this litany it is sung Symbol of faith. Before all the people sing the Creed, the deacon proclaims: “Doors, doors! Let us sing of wisdom!” In ancient times, these words reminded the gatekeepers that the main and solemn part of the service was beginning, so that they would watch the doors of the temple so that those entering would not disturb decorum. This reminds us that we need to close the doors of our minds from extraneous thoughts.

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

We often have to deal with the fact that godparents, recipients of the Sacrament of baptism, cannot read the Creed. This happens because people do not read morning prayers (they include the Creed) and rarely go to the liturgy. After all, in the church, every Divine Liturgy, all the people confess their faith with one mouth and, of course, know this chant by heart.

The sacrament of the Eucharist, the holy offering, must be offered with the fear of God, with reverence and special attentiveness. Therefore, the deacon proclaims: “Let us become kind, let us become fearful, let us bring holy offerings to the world.” Begins eucharistic canon. Chant "Mercy of peace, sacrifice of praise" is the answer to this call.

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

Let us dwell on the main, main prayers of the Eucharistic canon. In the words of the priest, “We thank the Lord!” preparation begins for sanctification, the implementation of honest Gifts. The priest reads the Eucharistic prayer of thanksgiving. It glorifies the benefits of God, especially the redemption of the human race. We thank the Lord for accepting from us the Bloodless Sacrifice in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, although the ranks of angels stand before and serve Him, glorifying Him: “Singing the song of victory, crying out, calling out and speaking.” The priest pronounces these words of prayer in a full voice.

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

Further, remembering all the blessings God has given to people - the Sacrament of Communion itself, His sacrifice on the cross and His glorious Second Coming promised to us - the priest utters an exclamation filled with deep theological meaning: “Thine from Thine is offered to Thee for everyone and for everything”. We dare to offer God these gifts from His creations (bread and wine), making a bloodless sacrifice for all the children of the Church and for all the benefits He has given us. The chorus ends this phrase with the words: “We sing to You, we bless You, we thank You, we pray to You(You), Our God".

While singing these words happens sanctification, transformation prepared bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ. The priest prays and prepares for this great moment, reading aloud the troparion of the third hour three times. He asks that God send His Most Holy Spirit on all those who pray and on the Holy Gifts. Then the Holy Lamb signs with the words: “And thou shalt make this bread, the venerable Body of Thy Christ.”. The deacon answers: "Amen". Then he blesses the wine, saying: “And in this Chalice is the precious Blood of Thy Christ”. The deacon answers again: "Amen". Then he marks the paten with the Lamb and the Holy Chalice with the words: "Transformed by Your Holy Spirit". The consecration of the Holy Gifts ends threefold: "Amen, amen, amen". The priests bow to the ground before the Body and Blood of Christ. The Holy Gifts are offered as a bloodless sacrifice for everyone and everything without exception: for all the saints and for the Mother of God, as stated in the exclamation of the priest, which is the end of the priestly prayer: "Considerably(especially) about our Most Holy, Most Pure, Most Blessed, Glorious Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary". In response to this exclamation, a chant is sung dedicated to the Mother of God: "Worthy to eat". (On Easter and on the twelve feasts, before the dedication, another hymn of the Theotokos is sung - the hymn of honor.)

Next comes the litany, which prepares the faithful for communion and also contains the usual petitions of the litany of petition. After the litany and exclamation of the priest, the Lord’s Prayer is sung (most often by all the people) - "Our Father" .

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

The priest's exclamation: "Holy to holies!" tells us that we need to approach the Holy Mysteries reverently, sanctifying ourselves with prayer, fasting and cleansing ourselves in the Sacrament of Repentance.

In the altar at this time, the clergy crush the Holy Lamb, receive communion themselves and prepare the Gifts for the communion of the faithful. After this, the royal doors open, and the deacon brings out the Holy Chalice with the words: “Draw with the fear of God and faith”. Opening of the royal gates marks the opening of the Holy Sepulcher, and removal of the Holy Gifts- the appearance of the Lord after His resurrection.

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

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

Everyone who was preparing for communion and received permission from the priest receives communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. After this, the priest brings the Holy Chalice into the altar.

The priest overshadows the worshipers with the holy Chalice with the words: “Always, now and ever and unto ages of ages” and carries it to the altar. This marks the last appearance of the Savior to the disciples and His ascension into heaven.

The deacon pronounces a short litany of thanksgiving, ending with the priest’s prayer behind the pulpit (that is, read in front of the pulpit).

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

All those praying kiss holy cross, which is held by the priest.

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

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

From the editor: The clergy of the Belgorod diocese have been performing missionary services for several years. At such a service, the priest comes out to the people several times during the service, explaining what is happening in the temple at the moment. We published the text of the commentary on the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts.

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

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

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

But the main problem is that our worship is in many ways unclear. In order to partially resolve this problem today, the Divine Liturgy as it is celebrated will be accompanied by commentaries explaining the meaning of the sacred rites and prayers being performed. The hours, which are part of the daily cycle of worship, have just been read, and the priest performed proskomedia in the altar (in translation from Greek. offering), during which part of the bread was taken from the offered prosphoras (symbolizing the Lamb of God, i.e. Christ), particles in honor and memory of the Most Holy Theotokos, saints, as well as living and dead Orthodox Christians for whom commemorations were given. All this rests on the paten and symbolizes the Church of Christ - heavenly and earthly. Wine combined with water is poured into the Chalice in memory of the fact that blood and water flowed from the side of the Lord, after it was pierced by a spear on the Cross. After this, the proposed gifts are covered with special payments (covers and air at hom) and the priest reads the prayer of offering, in which he asks to bless and accept the offering on the Most Heavenly Altar, to remember “ those who brought and for their sake brought"(i.e. those who offered commemoration and for whom) and we will remain uncondemned during the sacred rite.

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

The Divine Liturgy begins with a solemn exclamation “ Blessed is the Kingdom of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages", to which the choir replies " Amen", What means May it be so. Any responsibility of the choir expressed in the utterance of the words “ Amen“are expressions of consent and acceptance by the people of God, i.e. by all faithful Christians, everything that happens in the Church.

This is followed by the great or “peaceful” litany, which begins with the words “ Let us pray to the Lord in peace", "peace", means "in the world", i.e. a peaceful state of mind and reconciliation with others. You cannot make a sacrifice to God while in an embittered state. Petitions are pronounced, and we, together with the choir, answer them “ Lord have mercy" After the great litany, a prayer is read in which the priest asks the Lord to “ looked at this holy temple and gave us and those praying with us inexhaustible mercies" This is followed by the singing of antiphons. Antiphons are entire psalms or verses from them, which are sung alternately by the right and left choir. Not everywhere, of course, it is possible to follow this tradition. The main content of the antiphons is the glorification of God and His eternal Kingdom. Initially, they were not part of the liturgy, but were sung by the people on the way to the temple. While singing the antiphons, the priest reads a prayer in which he asks God to “ save Your people and bless Your inheritance, preserve Your Church in its entirety... and do not forsake us who trust in You».

Pronounced so-called "small" litany " packs and packs, let us pray to the Lord in peace", i.e. " again and again in peace let us pray to the Lord». « Lord have mercy“responses the choir, and with it all of us.

This is followed by the singing of the second antiphon “ Praise the Lord my soul" and song " Only Begotten Son”, which expresses the Orthodox teaching about Christ: in Him two natures are united - divine and human, and both of them are present in Him in all their fullness: God, having become incarnate, did not cease to be God, and man, united with God, remained a man. At this time, the priest reads a prayer where he prays “… Fulfill the request of Your children for the benefit: grant us in the present age the knowledge of Your Truth, and in the future grant us Eternal Life».

And again the “small” litany follows, after which the singing of the third antiphon, the so-called. “blessed”, i.e. the beatitudes given by the Lord, during which the small entrance takes place. Priests carry the Holy Gospel from the altar while reading a prayer “...make at our entrance the entrance of holy angels, serving with us and glorifying Your goodness" The priest blesses the holy entrance with the words " Blessed is the entrance of your saints", followed by the exclamation " Wisdom, forgive me!». "Sorry"- that means, let’s stand upright, reverently. The Small Entrance symbolizes the appearance of the Church, which, together with the angelic forces, gives unceasing praise to God. But earlier, the bringing of the Gospel also had a purely practical nature, because it was not kept on the throne, but in a separate place, and at that moment it was brought to the temple in order to be read.

The choir sings " Come, let us worship and fall before Christ!", followed by the singing of troparions and kontakions for this day. During the singing, the priest reads the prayer of the Trisagion, which is in direct logical connection with the idea of ​​entry and the prayer of entry, and it speaks of concelebration with the priest and the Heavenly Forces themselves. Holy God, who rests among the saints, Whom the seraphim sing with the Trisagion hymn and the cherubim glorify...You Yourself, Master, accept from the lips of us sinners the Trisagion hymn and visit us in Your goodness, forgive us all voluntary and involuntary sins...».

This is followed by the exclamation “ Lord, save the pious...", which survives from the ceremonial of the Byzantine service, which was attended by the kings. And immediately follows the singing of the Trisagion " Holy God, holy Mighty, holy Immortal, have mercy on us" During the singing of the Trisagion, the clergy ascend to the high place in the altar, a place on which only the bishop can sit, symbolizing Christ. Ascending to a mountainous place takes place to hear the Holy Scriptures, therefore it is from there that the primate teaches peace to all those gathered, so that we can hear the word of God. The reading of the Holy Scriptures is preceded by the singing of the prokemena (translated from Greek. presenting). A prokeimenon is a verse from Holy Scripture, most often from the Psalter. For the prokemna, the verse chosen is particularly strong, expressive and suitable for the occasion. The Prokeimenon consists of a verse, properly called a prokeimenon, and one or three “verses” that precede the repetition of the prokeimenon.

Afterwards the reader reads the corresponding passage from their apostolic epistles. Today there will be two such passages from the letter of the Apostle Paul to the Colossians and the first letter to the Corinthians. During the reading of the Apostolic Epistle, incense is performed on the altar, the iconostasis, the reader of the apostle, the choir and all those gathered in the church. Previously, incense was used during singing alleluaria with verses of psalms, i.e. after the reading of the Apostle, but since this singing is usually done very hastily, the incense was transferred to the reading of the passage of the Apostolic Epistle itself. Hallelujah is a Hebrew word and literally means “praise Yahweh” (Yahweh, or Jehovah, is the name of God revealed in the Old Testament).

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

And now the Divine Liturgy will begin, so I call on everyone gathered in the church to take a responsible and prayerful turn at the service, because our common prayer is the prayer of the entire Church. God help everyone!

Next Stop After Reading Scripture

Beloved brothers and sisters in the Lord, immediately after reading the Gospel the so-called “extreme” litany, during which we pray for the Primate of our Church, His Holiness the Patriarch, the Ruling Bishop, the God-protected country, the people and the army, for all those who stand and pray, who do good for this holy temple, those who sing and those who stand expect great mercy from the Lord. The choir responds to each request three times “ Lord have mercy“, and each of us must repeat this prayer in our hearts. During the litany, the priest prays that the Lord “ accepted this fervent prayer... and had mercy on us according to the multitude of mercy" His. Also, the serving clergy reveals the holy antimension (literally - instead of the throne), a plate with a sewn-in particle of holy relics, on which the Bloodless Sacrifice will be offered.

On weekdays, after the “special” litany, there is a funeral litany, but on Sundays and other holidays it is not scheduled, which means there will not be one today. But let us not forget that the commemoration of the dead is always performed at the proskomedia, and after the consecration of the Holy Gifts, in a place that will be discussed later.

After this, the litany of the catechumens is pronounced, which reminds us that in the Ancient Church Baptism was performed only after a long teaching (catechumen) and those preparing for this great sacrament were called catechumens. They were allowed to attend the service up to a certain point. After the recitation of this litany, all those preparing for Baptism had to leave the service. Today there are practically no catechumens, but the litany has been preserved, and it is possible that it will become a guarantee that the ancient catechumen practice will be revived in our Church. During this litany, the priest prays that the Lord " honored them ( those. catechumens ) during a favorable bath of renewal ( those. Baptism )… united them with His holy, catholic and apostolic Church and included them among His chosen flock…».

At the end of the litany, “ Elitsa(i.e. all those who) announcement, come out...", which means it ends Liturgy of the Catechumens and it begins Liturgy of the Faithful, which can only be attended by members of the Church, i.e. Orthodox Christians.

During the recitation of the litanies in the altar, two prayers of the faithful are read, in which the priest, on behalf of all those gathered, asks the Lord to accept “ ...our prayer, to make us worthy to offer Him prayers, supplications, and bloodless sacrifices for all His people...", grant " To all who pray with us, prosperity in life and faith and spiritual understanding" And " innocent and uncondemned to partake of His holy Sacraments and His heavenly Kingdom will be worthy" At the end of the reading of the second prayer, the exclamation follows: “ For according to Thy power(so that we are under Your authority) always preserved, they sent glory to You, Father, and Son, and Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages" After double " Amen"The choir begins singing the Cherubic Song. At the beginning of the singing cherubic the priest silently reads a prayer in which he asks God “ ...honor that through me, a sinful and unworthy servant of Yours, these gifts be brought to You. You Yourself are the one who brings and is offered, the one who receives and who is distributed, O Christ our God..." This prayer is a preparation for the moment of the great entrance, i.e. transferring the Gifts from the altar to the throne. After reading the prayer, the priest (if the deacon is absent) performs censing, during which he silently reads the penitential 50th psalm.

Having completed the incense, the primate raises his hands up with the words “ We, depicting the cherubim in the sacrament and singing the Trisagion hymn to the life-giving Trinity, will now put aside all worldly cares in order to receive the King of the world, accompanied invisibly by the ranks of angels. Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah».

The transfer of the Gifts and their placement on the throne is expressed in terms of sacrifice, but again, our sacrifices, sacrifices of praise that we ask you to accept “ from the hands of us sinners…”. In the event that the liturgy is celebrated without a deacon, the primate takes the paten and the Chalice and, on the solea, commemorates the First Hierarch of our Church, the Ruling Bishop, the Right Reverend Metropolitans, Archbishops and Bishops, as well as all those present in the church with the words “ May the Lord God remember in His Kingdom, always now and ever and unto ages of ages" Placing the holy vessels on the altar, the priest covers them with air and recites the troparions of Good Friday. After transferring the Gifts from the altar to the throne, we will make one more stop with you to explain the further course of the service. God help everyone!

Next stop after the Great Entrance

Beloved brothers and sisters in the Lord, the Great Entrance has taken place, and you and I have almost come close to the culminating moment of the service - the Eucharistic canon. Immediately after the transfer of the Gifts from the altar to the throne, the litany of petition begins. The petition sounds " Let's do it(i.e. we will replenish) our prayer to the Lord“, and we, together with the choir, answer “Lord, have mercy.” After the request " We ask the Lord to spend the entire day holy, peacefully and sinlessly", we answer with the words " Give it, Lord", and that is why the litany is called petitionary. This litany develops petitions regarding what people need: the Guardian Angel, forgiveness of sins, peaceful death, etc. During its recitation, the prayer of offering is read. This last prayer before the anaphora itself (i.e., the Eucharistic canon) attracts attention by invoking the Holy Spirit on the Gifts and on the people: “... Make us worthy to find favor in Your sight, so that our sacrifice may be acceptable to You and that the good Spirit of Your grace may rest upon us, and on these gifts set before us, and on all Your people...».

After the exclamation " Through the bounty of Your Only Begotten Son, with Him you are blessed..."priest teaching" peace to all" Then follows the exclamation “ Let us love one another, so that we may confess with one mind" and the choir continues " Father and Son and Holy Spirit - Trinity Consubstantial and Indivisible" In ancient times, at this moment the so-called kissing the world, when the faithful taught one another the kiss of peace in Christ: men to men, women to women. It can be assumed that the disappearance of this action was associated with the growth of the Church, with the appearance of crowded meetings in churches, where no one knew each other and where these actions would be a mere formality. Today this custom has been preserved only among clergy, when one greets the other with the words “ Christ is in our midst" to which the answer follows " and there is and there will be».

This action symbolically signifies complete internal reconciliation between Christians intending to participate in the sacrament of the Eucharist. The Savior’s commandment (Matthew 5:23-24) directly commands that one should first be reconciled with one’s brother, and then bring the sacrifice to the altar. But this reconciliation must also mean complete like-mindedness, complete spiritual unity. Therefore, immediately immediately after the kiss of peace, the Creed is proclaimed (adopted at the First Ecumenical Council in Nicaea and supplemented at the Second Ecumenical Council in Constantinople), as the measure of the dogmatic truth of Christians. The Eucharistic offering can only be with one mouth and one heart, in a single faith, in agreement of dogmas, in the same view on the basic issues of faith and salvation.

After the exclamation " Doors, doors, let us smell wisdom(i.e., let us listen)” the Creed is sung by all the people of God as an expression of the dogmatic unity of the Church. Exclamation " doors, doors"in ancient times was a sign for deacons who stood at the doors so that during the Eucharistic prayers no one would leave or enter the assembly of the faithful.

At the end of the singing of the Creed, the Eucharistic canon or anaphora prayers begin (from the Greek. exaltation), which are the culminating part of the liturgy. We hear the cry " Let's become kinder(i.e. slim), let's stand with fear, let's scream(i.e. we will pay attention) to bring holy offerings in the world -" and the choir continues " mercy, peace and sacrifice of praise" The priest, turning his face to the people, exclaims: “ The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God and the Father, and the sacrament(communication) May the Holy Spirit be with you all!" The choir, and with it all of us, answer: “ And with your spirit" Primate: " Gore e we have(i.e. let's lift up) hearts", the chorus answers: " Imams(i.e. we exalt) to the Lord", priest: " We thank the Lord!" And the choir begins to sing " It is worthy and righteous to worship the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, the Trinity Consubstantial and Indivisible" At this time, the primate performs a prayer of thanksgiving, in which he praises God for all His blessings, revealed and unseen to us, for the fact that He brought us from non-existence into existence and restored us again after the fall, for the service that is performed, despite the fact that He thousands of archangels and multitudes of angels are coming, cherubim and seraphim, six-winged, many-eyed, soaring on wings, which (the priest exclaims) “ singing the song of victory, shouting, shouting and speaking" (chorus continues) " Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord of hosts; Heaven and earth are full of Your Glory! Hosanna(i.e. salvation) in the highest! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!" And the priest continues " with these blessed Powers we, the philanthropic Lord, exclaim..."After which the primate in prayer remembers the event when our Lord Jesus Christ established the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist" taking the bread into His holy and immaculate and sinless hands, giving thanks and blessing, sanctifying" and saying to his disciples and apostles " Take, eat, this is My Body, broken for you for the remission of sins", the choir and we together with him " Amen!" The priest prays In the same way I drink the cup after supper, saying: (out loud) Drink from it, all of you, this is My Blood of the New Testament, shed for you and for many for the remission of sins" The chorus continues to answer " Amen!", priest " So, remembering this saving commandment of His and everything He did for us: the cross, the tomb, the three-day resurrection, ascension to Heaven, to the right hand(from Father) sitting, and also His second and glorious coming,(raising the Gifts) “Thine from Thine, offering unto Thee for all and for all" And further " We sing to You, we bless You, we thank You, Lord, and we pray to You, our God!"(chorus echoes this). And the priest begins to read a prayer about the calling of the Holy Spirit to the Gifts " and we ask, and we pray, and we work hard(i.e. seizure A eat): send down Your Holy Spirit on us and on these gifts that are set before us,».

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

The prayer of epiclesis (i.e. the prayer for the invocation of the Holy Spirit) continues inextricably with the words “ And make this bread with the honest Body of Thy Christ"(the priest blesses the paten with his hand), " and in this Chalice is the precious Blood of Thy Christ"(the priest blesses the Chalice), " changed by Your Holy Spirit"(the priest blesses the paten and the chalice together). After this, a prostration is made before the consecrated Holy Gifts.

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

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

Next stop after the Eucharistic canon

Beloved brothers and sisters in the Lord, the transformation of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ took place, in order to then be offered to the faithful for communion and union with God. Now a litany of petition will be pronounced after the consecration of the Gifts. Having remembered all the saints, let us pray to the Lord again and again in peace" By saints here we mean not only the holy saints of God glorified by the Church, but also all faithful Orthodox Christians, deceased and living, remembered during the service. In the early Church, saints meant all Christians in general, and the apostolic writings refer to Christians in this way. Next is the petition “ Let us pray to the Lord for the offered and consecrated honest Gifts“, this is a petition for the sanctification of us by the communion of these Gifts, which follows from the following petition “ So that our humane God, having received them onto His holy and heavenly and mental altar, like a spiritual fragrance, would send down to us divine grace and the gift of the Holy Spirit as reward - let us pray!”, then the usual petitions for the litany of petition follow, and the priest prays that each of us will receive communion without condemnation and be cleansed from the defilements of the flesh and spirit. St. writes about the meaning of this prayer and litany. Nicholas Kavasila, one of the best interpreters of the Liturgy: “Grace acts in honest Gifts in two ways: firstly, by the fact that the Gifts are sanctified; secondly, by the fact that grace sanctifies us through them. Therefore, no human evil can hinder the action of grace in the Holy Gifts, because their sanctification is not an act of human virtue. The second action is a matter of our efforts, and therefore our negligence can interfere with it. Grace sanctifies us through the Gifts if it finds us worthy of sanctification; if it is found unprepared, then it does not bring us any benefit, but causes even greater harm.” The litany ends with the petition “ Having asked for the unity of faith and the communion of the Holy Spirit, we commit ourselves and each other, and our whole life, to Christ God", followed by the exclamation " And grant us, O Master, with boldness and without condemnation to dare to call You, the Heavenly God, Father and to speak»:

And all the people, together with the choir, sing the Lord’s Prayer: “ Our Father…" The petition in the Lord's Prayer for daily bread acquires a special Eucharistic character during the liturgy. The prayer ends with the exclamation “ For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory...", after which the priest gives peace to everyone, and after an exclamation of adoration, reads the corresponding prayer, in which he thanks God and asks for our immediate needs " Float to those who swim, travel to those who travel, heal the sick, Physician of our souls and bodies" After the chorus responds " Amen", the priest reads a prayer before the crushing of the Holy Lamb, in which he asks God " to give us His pure Body and honest Blood, and through us - to all His people».

Followed by the exclamation “ Let's see!(i.e. let us be attentive)" and the primate, lifting up the Holy Lamb, proclaims " Holy to saints!" Here, as we have already said, saints mean all Orthodox Christians, in this case, those gathered in this holy temple, i.e. understood by each of us. The choir sings: " There is one Holy One, one Lord, Jesus Christ, to the glory of God the Father. Amen" The Primate performs the crushing of the Holy Lamb, with the words “ Filling of the Holy Spirit“puts a particle with the inscription “Jesus” into the Chalice, a particle with the inscription “Christ” will be used by the clergy, and the remaining two with the inscriptions “NI” and “KA” (i.e. victory) will be crushed for teaching to everyone who gathers today take communion. A ladle of hot water, the so-called, is poured into the Holy Chalice. "warmth", which in its theological interpretation goes back to the death of the Savior on the cross, because The blood that flowed from the Lord was hot. After the clergy have received communion, we will again make a short stop and explain the rest of the service, after which the Body and Blood of Christ will be given to everyone who prepared for it today.

Next stop after clergy communion

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

Striving for constant unity with God in joint prayer and in communion in the sacraments, we will step by step make our spiritual ascent to which every Christian is called. The Liturgy is not celebrated so that we can light candles and order mass; more precisely, we also have every right to do all this, but the main meaning of its celebration is our union with God Himself. The goal of an Orthodox Christian's life is to achieve O marriage, because, according to the words of St. Athanasius the Great, “God became man in order for man to become God.” And our deification is unthinkable without participation in the church sacraments, to which we must resort not occasionally, from time to time, but constantly, remembering that this is precisely what our church life consists of. Naturally, all this is unthinkable without painstaking and thorough work on oneself, without struggling with one’s sins, because as the Holy Scripture says: “ The Kingdom of Heaven is taken by force, and those who use force take it away"(Matthew 11:12). God saves us, but not without us; if each of us does not thirst for salvation, then it will be impossible to achieve it.

And in addition to our constant mysterious life, we must make efforts to better know our faith, because everyone who looks at us already has an idea of ​​the Church of Christ, and what this idea will be like if we cannot give answers to elementary questions. You need to constantly force yourself to study, read the Holy Scriptures, the Fathers of the Church, the works of Orthodox theologians and, undoubtedly, improve in prayer. Each of us has a huge responsibility before God, the Church and people, because having become Christians we have become, according to the words of the Apostle Peter, “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people taken for his own possession, that we might proclaim the perfections of Him who called us out of darkness into His wonderful light” (1 Pet. 2:9). Keeping this responsibility in mind, we must perform our church service.

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

Let's dive the particles, the priest proclaims " Save, O God, Your people and bless Your inheritance!" Then the Holy Chalice is transferred to the altar, with the words “ Blessed be our God" (quiet) " Always now and ever and unto ages of ages!"(exclamation). The priest saying " Ascend into heaven, O God, and throughout all the earth Your glory» places the Cup on the altar. The choir, on behalf of all those who received the Holy Mysteries, sings “ May our lips be filled with Your praise, O Lord, so that we may sing Your Glory, for You have honored us with communion of Your holy, divine, immortal and life-giving Mysteries" This is followed by the litany “ Let's be reverent! Having partaken of the divine, holy, immaculate, immortal, heavenly and life-giving, terrible Mysteries of Christ, we worthily thank the Lord!", after which it is proclaimed " Let's go out in peace!"and the junior clergyman reads the so-called. "behind the pulpit" prayer, in which he asks " Lord... save Your people and bless Your inheritance... Grant Peace to Your world, Your churches, the priesthood, our rulers and all Your people..." The choir and the people respond, “ Amen!", after which the blessing is given to all the faithful with the words " The blessing of the Lord is upon you..." After which the primate makes a dismissal, i.e. the final prayer of the liturgy, in which the Mother of God, the holy apostles, the saints of the temple and the day are remembered (today this is, first of all, Equal-to-the-Apostles Nina, the enlightener of Georgia) and St. John Chrysostom, whose liturgy is celebrated today. After which the choir sings many years to the Primate of the Russian Church, His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy II and our Ruling Bishop, His Eminence John, Archbishop of Belgorod and Stary Oskol. Thus the service ends.

We hope that today’s service, which was constantly commented on during its celebration, has given us the opportunity to better know our liturgical heritage, and we will continue to make efforts so that we have a desire to comprehend our Orthodox heritage more and more, through meaningful participation in worship, through participation in the Sacraments of the Holy Church. Amen.

The end and glory to our God!

Priest Andrei Chizhenko answers.

The main point of the Divine Liturgy is the transubstantiation (translation) of the Holy Gifts - the Body and Blood of Christ. This is the heart of the Liturgy, without which it is impossible. The Eucharistic canon was actually established at the Last Supper by the Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ. Let us remember the Gospel verses: “And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat: this is My body.” And taking the cup and giving thanks, he gave it to them and said, “Drink from it, all of you, for this is My Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Matthew 26:26-28).

Today, in the Liturgies of the Byzantine liturgical tradition of Saints Basil the Great and John Chrysostom, which we, the clergy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, serve, the Eucharistic canon begins with the priest’s proclamation: “Let us become kind, let us stand with fear, let us bring holy offerings to the world” and ends with the exclamation: “ And grant us with one mouth and one heart to glorify and glorify Your most honorable and magnificent name, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages.”

The word “Eucharist” itself is translated from Greek as “thanksgiving” or “thanksgiving sacrifice.” To this day, even in modern Greek, the word “thank you” is pronounced “eucharisto.” The church gives the believer a very deep and piercing mood. We must tremble before the immeasurable love of the Almighty, Who gave His Body and Blood for our salvation. We need to thank Him for this. Indeed, in essence, the Holy Gifts are the main holy means for the salvation and deification of a person. The Lord Jesus Christ himself testifies to us about this: “Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink His Blood, you will not have life in you. He who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. He who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood abides in Me, and I in him” (John 6:53–56).

Therefore, it is very important to begin Holy Communion - this main means that opens the doors of heaven for us, because the Lord Himself in the Sacrament of the Eucharist unites man with Himself according to His Fatherly mercy and love!

Let us not deprive ourselves, dear brothers and sisters, of this gracious means of salvation, this precious Shrine that sanctifies us, as they say in the liturgical exclamation “Holy to Holies.”

The Eucharistic canon is called a canon because it is a clear, structured, unshakable rule that the clergyman must strictly observe when celebrating the Liturgy. The word “canon” is translated from Greek as “rule, norm, pattern.”

A synonym for the phrase “Eucharistic canon” is also the word “anaphora”. Translated from Greek, it means “ascension”, since at one of the moments of the anaphora there is an actual elevation (raising upward) of the paten with bread (prosphora) and the Cup of wine and water, on which in a few minutes the grace of the Holy Spirit will descend, transforming them into Body and Blood of Christ. The substance of the Sacrament, just like our souls in a symbolic spiritual sense, seem to be separated from everything else material and material and enter and ascend into another spiritual world, where the King of glory sits on the throne - God the Holy Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. To him be glory forever and ever. Amen!

Priest Andrey Chizhenko

The main church service in the Orthodox Church is the Divine Liturgy. Our ancestors knew very well what this was, although they called it mass. Catholics call it the mass.

The origins of this worship go back to early Christianity. Much time has passed since then, the church itself has undergone external changes, but the basis of the liturgy and its symbolism have remained the same.

Development of Christian worship

The tradition of worship dates back to Old Testament times. This is exactly how the first Christians perceived it, who were considered a Jewish sect in the eyes of society. This was understandable - the Holy Apostles came from Palestine, received a Jewish upbringing and followed the behests of their ancestors.

But it was then, in the years of the first sermons reflected in the Acts of the Apostles, that the history of modern service begins.

Sermon and Eucharist

The followers of the teachings of Christ were far from enjoying a privileged position in the Roman Empire. They were persecuted, so their meetings were held secretly. Someone's house or even a cemetery was chosen for meetings; the latter gave temporary immunity to those present in it according to Roman laws.

At first, Christians living in Palestine freely visited the Jerusalem Temple. This practice was stopped after the Jewish War, when Jerusalem was destroyed by Roman troops and a final break occurred between Jews and Christians.

The apostles Paul and Barnabas concluded during their missions that converted Gentiles did not need to be persuaded to obey the Law of Moses. This applied to both everyday life and worship. The apostles believed that the new teaching was intended for all people, regardless of their origin. In principle, it could not fit into the framework of Judaism and the Temple, and it was not necessary. It was believed that one could serve the Lord all over the world.

The first services consisted of the reading of psalms, prayers, a sermon and the remembrance of the Last Supper. The last is most important - it was a memory of the events leading up to the execution of Christ. It was accompanied by the breaking of bread and drinking wine, which symbolized the body and blood of the Lord. This would later become a sacrament called the Eucharist.

And while they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed it, broke it, gave it to them, and said, “Take, eat, this is My Body.” And he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them: and they all drank from it. And he said to them, “This is My Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many.”

The Gospel of Luke also mentions the continuation of his words - “ do this in remembrance of Me».

Since then, partaking of the body and blood of Christ has been an integral part of worship.

Development in the first centuries

Spreading throughout the Mediterranean, Christianity increasingly acquired the features of a worldwide teaching. This was facilitated by Greek philosophy, which organically entered the theological works of apologists.

The liturgical rite also acquires Hellenic features. For example, the choral singing that accompanies the service comes specifically from the Balkans. A group of Church ministers is gradually identified, and the continuity of ordination is observed. Despite the fact that the ritual in its key features followed the service in the Jerusalem Temple, a different meaning was invested in it. Important differences between Christian worship and Jewish worship are the following:

1. rejection of blood sacrifice - although the altar is present;
2. the availability of ordination for any Christian, and not for the descendants of Aaron;
3. the place of service can be the whole world;
4. The time frame for the service expanded - Christians also prayed at night.

This attitude towards service was not accidental. A Jew was considered righteous insofar as he kept the Law of Moses and was faithful to its letter. The Christian followed not the letter, but the spirit, and faith itself was more important to him.

After the legalization of the doctrine under Constantine the Great, Christians were given church buildings, and worship began to develop in a modern direction. A service appears on the hour, a list of sacraments is approved, the requirements are systematized - Baptism, Wedding, Anointing, and becomes a practice on the eve of Easter. But the central sacrament remains the Eucharist, which has become the basis of the Divine Liturgy.

Service structure and practice

To have an idea of ​​the principle by which the schedule of services is built, it is worth remembering that it has its origins in the Old Testament, and the day in the Church is calculated somewhat differently. They start at 6 pm, not midnight.

The concept of liturgical hours

The hours in worship are called prayer, timed to a specific time of day. In church it takes about fifteen minutes and is designed to take the attention of the worshiper away from everyday worries. This practice dates back to ancient times: it is known that the apostles prayed at the established hours.

The daily cycle of services can be represented as follows:

The word “guard” was used back in ancient Israel - according to this schedule, security at populated areas changed. Time was then determined by the position of the sun above the horizon, but in modern practice, ordinary clocks are more often used.

Between the timed prayers, one or another service is performed.

Daily services and their names

Conventionally, all services in the church can be divided into:

1. evening;
2. morning;
3. daytime.

The first include Vespers and Compline. Vespers begins at 17:00, that is, an hour before the start of the new day. Accordingly, Compline is celebrated from 21:00. Midnight Office and Matins are considered nightly, and they end with the prayer of the first hour, performed at 7 am. Daytime prayer is read at 9, 12 and 15 o'clock (they are called, respectively, the Third, Sixth and Ninth Hours).

The Liturgy was originally held before Vespers - in early Christianity this was a common practice, as were night services. At a later time it was moved to the morning, and now it runs from 9 to lunch. There is no strict regulation on this matter, therefore, to find out when the liturgy is served in a particular church, it is better to look at the schedule of services.

Depending on fasts, holidays and special dates, services may vary. So, before Easter, an all-night vigil takes place, combining Vespers, Compline and Midnight Office.

Liturgy is not held on some days - for example, on Good Friday. Instead, pictorial ones are read - a service in which the liturgical chants are repeated, but the sacrament of the Eucharist is not performed.

Contents and sequence of the liturgy

In contrast to evening and night services, the liturgy is performed almost daily, with the exception of some days of Lent and Nativity, Wednesday and Friday of Cheese Week (the week before Lent) and a number of other days.

Consequence of the sacrament of the Eucharist

During this service, the entire life of Christ is remembered, from Christmas to death on the cross. It is divided into three parts, each of which is served according to a special rank:

1. Proskomedia.
2. Liturgy of the Catechumens.
3. Liturgy of the Faithful.

In the first part, behind the closed doors of the altar, the priest prepares bread and wine for Communion and reads prayers for the health and peace of the members of the Church. Parishioners should also engage in this prayer. When the preparation is completed, the Third and Sixth Hours are read, during which the Nativity of Christ and the prophecies about it are remembered.

Some people mistakenly believe that the first part is some kind of liturgy about health. What this is is not entirely clear: during the preparation of the Gifts, prayers are read both for health and for peace, and the memory of saints, prophets and apostles is honored.

The Liturgy of the Catechumens is intended to prepare those praying for the sacrament. It was named so because in ancient times it was attended by people who had not received Baptism, but were preparing for it. They were called catechumens.

It begins with the antiphonal singing of the hymn “The Only Begotten Son.” Then comes the small entrance with the Gospel, followed by singing and reading. The singing of psalms, called the prokeimenon, precedes the reading of the Apostle, after which comes the Sermon. Alternation with verses from the Psalter precedes the reading of the Gospel. After this the Sermon follows again.

This part of the liturgy ends with a litany - a prayer request performed by the priest and choir. This is a recognizable part of the service - for each verse read by the priest, the choir responds by singing “Lord, have mercy,” “To you, Lord,” or “Amen.” At this time, parishioners make the sign of the cross.

In ancient times, after this, the catechumens left, and the doors of the temple were closed to continue. Now they don’t do this, but those who are not baptized do not take part in further services.

The Liturgy of the Faithful begins with the singing of the Cherubic Song, during which the Great Entrance takes place. The Royal Doors of the altar open, the deacon with a censer walks around the throne, the altar, the iconostasis, the priest, and the people. At the same time, he reads Psalm 50. Wine and bread are transferred from the altar to the throne, after which the gates are closed.

After the presentation of the Gifts, the Creed is read. This is done by all parishioners, and before reciting the Creed you need to cross yourself.

Next comes the most ancient and basic part of the liturgy - anaphora. In Orthodox churches, it is a five-part Eucharistic prayer read by a priest. The order of reading it is as follows:

1. Entry, or preface;
2. Sanctus;
3. Anamnesis - memory of the Last Supper;
4. Epiclesis - invocation of the Holy Spirit for the consecration of the Gifts;
5. Intercession is intercession for the living and the dead.

During the anaphora, the transposition or transubstantiation of the Gifts occurs - they become the Body and Blood of Christ.

After the anaphora, the “Our Father” is read, and Communion itself begins. Children can be taken to it just like that, but adults should first confess and fast for three days. The clergy receive communion first, followed by the men, and finally by the women and children.

At the end of the service, parishioners kiss the altar cross.

Symbolic meaning of the liturgy

As mentioned earlier, the liturgy reproduces the main moments of the earthly life of Christ. Some theologians view it as a timeless memory. Each liturgical action carries more than one meaning. So, at proskomedia, wine is diluted with water - this is a direct reference to the moment when one of the soldiers pierced the crucified Christ with a spear, and blood and water poured out of the hole. The instrument used to cut off particles from the prosphora at the proskomedia is called a copy and is shaped like that same spear.

The altar itself, on which the proskomedia takes place, is an image of the cave where Jesus was born, and the paten, where the particles of the prosphora are placed, is the Holy Sepulcher.

The ritual itself reproduces the ancient sacrifice with the only difference that the sacrifice is bloodless: Jesus gave his blood for the whole world on the cross.

The entire liturgy is viewed from the same point of view. Thus, the Small Entrance to the Liturgy of the Catechumens is the entrance of Christ to the sermon, which is read in this part of the service. The Great Entrance symbolizes the passion and death on the cross. Particular attention is paid to the memory of the Last Supper - it became the prototype of the sacrament of the Eucharist.

Variants of liturgy in the Byzantine rite

Traditionally, it has been that in Orthodox churches it is possible to conduct five types of liturgy, but in practice three of them are most often carried out:

• The Liturgy of John Chrysostom is celebrated, as they say, by default. This is a classic option that should follow the plan outlined in previous chapters. The only thing that is moved to the end of the service today is the sermon. It has become a kind of parting word, and its topics are diverse, which is why its duration may not fit into standard time periods.
• The Liturgy of Basil the Great is celebrated ten times a year - on the Eve of Christmas and Epiphany, during Great Lent and on the day of remembrance of St. Basil the Great. It is distinguished by longer prayers - the saint himself insisted on free prayer. Before reading “Our Father...” the priest reads not “It is worthy to eat...”, but “He rejoices in You...” or the festive worthy.
• The Liturgy of Gregory the Dvoeslov, or, as it is also called, the Presanctified Gifts, is served only during the days of Great Lent and several holidays, if they fall during this period. The main difference between this liturgy is the absence of Proskomedia - communion is made with the same Gifts that were consecrated earlier. This service takes place in the evening.
• The Liturgy of the Apostle James is celebrated by some churches on the day of his memory. Its main differences are the position of the priest - he stands facing the flock, reading secret prayers out loud and receiving communion in parts: first the priest gives the layman a piece of bread, and then the deacon gives him a drink of wine.
• The Liturgy of the Apostle James is held in a number of parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church abroad. What distinguishes it from others is the Anaphora formula: Intercession in it follows Preface.

Those who wish to attend the liturgy should know that they should not be afraid to visit the temple. But certain rules must be followed.

On the eve of the sacrament, repentance is necessary. To do this, you need to go to the temple a day before, talk to the priest and confess. Before going to church, fasting is observed, and if health allows, it is better not to eat at all.

Don't miss the start of the service. By arriving early, you can submit notes for health and peace before Proskomedia, and also participate in the prayer of the Third and Sixth Hours. It is simply impolite to skip the Hours; after all, the Eucharist is not a shamanic ritual, but a Sacrament in which believers receive the Body and Blood of Christ.

There is no need to walk around the temple from corner to corner. This prevents others from praying.

During Communion itself, one should not crowd around the altar. They approach him, crossing their arms on their chest, left under right, and saying their name. Having accepted the Body and Blood, you need to kiss the edge of the cup.

Before communion, women should refrain from wearing decorative cosmetics, in particular lipstick. Marks on the spoon or cloth used to wipe the lips after Communion will ruin the event for other parishioners.

They leave the service no earlier than kissing the cross and praying.

Question. Who brought the liturgy to the composition in which it is now celebrated in the Orthodox Church?
Answer. The Liturgy was presented in its present composition by the saint, and then, for the convenience of everyday performance, some of the prayers in it were summarized by the saint.

Question. On what days is the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great celebrated?
Answer. The Liturgy of St. Basil the Great is celebrated ten times a year: in memory of this saint - January 1/14; on five Sundays of Lent; on Maundy Thursday; on Holy Saturday; on the eve of the Nativity of Christ and the Epiphany, or on the very days of these holidays, when their eves take place on Saturday or Sunday.

Question. What is depicted in the liturgy?
Answer. In the liturgy, under the external rites, the entire earthly life of the Lord Jesus Christ is depicted, such as: His birth, teaching, deeds, suffering, death, burial, resurrection and ascension into heaven.

Question. How is the liturgy divided?
Answer. The liturgy is divided into three main parts: the proskomedia, the liturgy of the catechumens and the liturgy of the faithful.

Part one. Proskomedia

Question. What does the word mean proskomedia?
Answer. Word proskomedia Means bringing.

Question. Why is the first part of the liturgy called this?
Answer. It is so called from the custom of ancient Christians to bring bread and wine to church for the celebration of the Sacrament. For the same reason, bread began to be called prosphora, What means offering.

Question. What is proskomedia as part of the liturgy?
Answer. Proskomedia is the preliminary preparation of bread and wine for the celebration of the Sacrament.

Question. Where and how is proskomedia performed?
Answer. Proskomedia is performed on the altar. Having put on sacred clothes and read the preliminary prayers, the priest takes out from the prosphora the part required for the performance of the Sacrament, called Lamb, puts it in the center paten, cuts crosswise and pierces with a spear; then pours it into chalice the required portion of wine combined with water. In preparing the substance for the Sacrament in this way, the priest recalls some prophecies and foreshadowings, and in part the very incidents relating to the Nativity and death of the Savior on the Cross.

Question. What action does the priest perform in preparing the substance for the Sacrament of Communion?
Answer. After preparing the substance for the Sacrament of Communion, the priest also removes particles from the other four prosphoras: from the second prosphora a particle is taken out in honor and memory of the Mother of God and placed on the right side of the Lamb; from the third - nine particles in honor and memory:
1) John the Baptist,
2) prophets,
3) apostles,
4) saints,
5) martyrs,
6) reverends,
7) moneyless,
8) the righteous parents of the Holy Virgin Mary - Joachim and Anna and all the saints,
9) saint or saint (depending on whose liturgy is being celebrated).

These nine particles are placed on the left side Lamb, in three rows, in the likeness of the nine ranks of the heavenly hierarchy. Particles are taken out of the fourth prosphora: about the spiritual authorities and in general about living Orthodox Christians. From the fifth prosphora a particle is taken out in memory of the most holy patriarchs, pious kings and queens, and several particles are separated for the departed with the hope of resurrection and eternal life.

All particles removed from the last two prosphoras are located in two rows, on the paten at the bottom Lamb. Thus, the Lamb (depicting Jesus Christ), reclining on the paten among all the removed particles as the King of glory and the mysterious Head of the Church, triumphant in heaven and militant on earth under the sign of His cross, is surrounded by the army of heaven and earth.
During these actions of proskomedia, the priest glorifies the saints, prays for the living and the dead.

After being fragrant with incense star, he delivers it over Lamb; then, after smelling three cover, one of them lays on paten, the other - on chalice, and the third, large one, called air, extends over both; finally, having shown the offered Gifts three times, that is, bread and wine, he prays to the Lord to bless these Gifts and accept them into His heavenly altar.

Question. What bread and what wine is used for the Sacrament of Communion?
Answer. Following the example of Jesus Christ and the apostles, clean, wheat, leavened bread is used for the Sacrament of Communion; and the wine is red, as a substitute for the Blood of Jesus Christ.

Question. Why is the bread prepared for the Sacrament called Lamb?
Answer. Because it represents the image of the suffering Christ, just as it represented Him in the Old Testament Passover Lamb, which the Israelites, by command of God, slaughtered and ate in memory of their deliverance from destruction in Egypt.

Question. What is depicted in the proskomedia by the removal from the first prosphora of a part called Lamb, cutting and perforating it with a copy and pouring it into chalice wine combined with water?
Answer. These actions depict not only the birth, but also the suffering of Jesus Christ, for the Son of God became incarnate for this purpose, in order to suffer and die for the salvation of the world.

Question. Why is the wine for the Sacrament dissolved in water?
Answer. In commemoration of the fact that when, during the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on the cross, one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, blood and water poured out of this ulcer.

Question. What do the altar on which the proskomedia is celebrated and the paten on which the Lamb is laid signify?
Answer. The altar symbolizes the Bethlehem den, where Jesus Christ was born, and Mount Golgotha, on which He was crucified, and paten- a manger and His tomb.

Question. What does it represent? star, supplied on top Lamb?
Answer. Zvezditsa depicts that wonderful star that once led the Magi to Bethlehem to worship the born Savior.

Question. What do they represent? covers which are entrusted to the Holy Gifts?
Answer. Two small cover symbolize the shrouds with which the Divine Child was wrapped, and big- the shroud with which the body of the deceased Savior was wrapped.

Question. What does it mean to burn the offered Gifts three times?
Answer. This censing serves as a remembrance of those gifts: Zlata, Lebanon and Smyrna which the Magi brought to the born Savior, and those aroma And peace with which His most pure body was anointed during burial.

Question. How does the proskomedia end?
Answer. Proskomedia ends release, pronounced by the priest, and by incense of the altar and the entire temple.

Question. Why is this censing performed?
Answer. To denote the mysteriously spreading grace of the Holy Spirit. The cutting of the throne, altar and icons is done to express respect and reverence for them; and the incense of those present is for their sanctification and in commemoration of their prayers.
Note. Since the proskomedia is performed quietly in the altar, the so-called watch- 3rd, 6th, and sometimes 9th, so that those present in the temple are not left without reverent reflection and prayerful guidance.
The clock is a collection of some psalms of the Inspired King David and edifying prayers written by the holy fathers.
The 3rd, 6th and 9th hours successively remember the condemnation of the Lord to death, His crucifixion and death itself, and moreover, the 3rd hour brings to mind the descent of the Holy Spirit.

Part two. About liturgy

Question. Why is the second part of the liturgy called liturgy? catechumens?
Answer. It is called so because the catechumens, that is, those preparing for baptism, are allowed to listen to it, as well as the repentant, who are not allowed to receive communion.

Question. How does this part of the liturgy begin?
Answer. Standing before the throne, the priest begins this part of the liturgy with a blessing, or glorification, of the kingdom of the Most Holy Trinity. He proclaims: blessed is the Kingdom of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit... and the face, in confirmation of these words, cries out: Amen, that is true, or May it be so.

Question. What does the exclamation remind us of? blessed is the Kingdom of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit?
Answer. The fact that in the mystery of the incarnation of the Son of God we clearly recognized the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity.

Question. What are the main actions that make up the Liturgy of the Catechumens?
Answer. In addition to the prayers read secretly by the priest in the altar, the liturgy of the catechumens consists of:
1) one great and two small litany,
2) antiphons,
3) song: The only begotten Son and Word of God...
4) blessed,
5) small entrance with the Gospel,
6) song: Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal...
7) reading the Apostolic Epistles or Acts and the Gospel,
8) strictly litany,
9) prayer for the catechumens.

Question. What's happened litany?
Answer. Great litany starting with the words: let us pray to the Lord in peace, - there is a long-term connection of prayers for spiritual and physical benefits, temporary and eternal. Prayers are offered for all people, and especially for the pastors of the Church. In small litanies, prayers for spiritual and physical blessings are presented in abbreviated form. Both the great and small litanies end with the encouragement of believers to surrender themselves and their whole lives to Christ our God, with the remembrance of the Mother of God and all the saints as our intercessors before the Lord. The priest, following the words of the deacon in secret prayer, always proclaims praise to the Triune God at the end of the litany.

Question. What does the beginning of the litany lead us to? let us pray to the Lord in peace?
Answer. It disposes us to true prayer; for the word world here it means peace with God, right faith, a clear conscience and agreement with all people, without which one should not begin to pray.

Question. What's happened antiphons?
Answer. Psalms, or verses, which are partly taken from the Old Testament, and partly recall New Testament events and show that the One about whom the prophets predicted, that is, the Savior, has already appeared in the world.
The antiphons are divided into three parts for the glory of the Most Holy Trinity and are sung by both faces on two choirs alternately, in imitation of the Angels proclaiming the glory of God to each other. The singing of antiphons was established by Saint Ignatius the God-Bearer, whom Jesus Christ blessed among the children brought to Him.

Question. Why is it sung and what does the song remind us of: Only Begotten Son and Word of God?
Answer. The song is sung in honor and glory of the Son of God, who became incarnate for us men and for the sake of our salvation, and reminds us of: 1) the words of John the Baptist spoken about Jesus Christ: behold the Lamb of God, take away the sins of the world, and 2) the baptism of the Savior in the Jordan, when the heavenly voice of God the Father solemnly testified: This is My beloved Son, in Him I am well pleased.

Question. What's happened blessed?
Answer. This is the name of verses from the Gospel, depicting those great virtues that the Savior teaches us, and for which he promises us eternal bliss in the kingdom of heaven. Blessed begins with the words of the prudent thief: in Your Kingdom remember us, O Lord...

Question. How is the small entrance made with the Gospel?
Answer. The royal gates open, and the priest, preceded by a deacon with the Gospel, exits the altar through the northern door into the middle of the church with a lighted lamp presented and again enters the altar through the royal gates.

Question. What does the entrance with the Gospel represent?
Answer. It depicts Jesus Christ appearing into the world after His baptism and desert solitude and beginning to preach the Gospel ().

Question. What do the words mean: wisdom, forgive me, - pronounced by the deacon among the royal doors, during the exaltation of the Gospel?
Answer. In a word wisdom the deacon admonishes us that the Gospel preaching is true wisdom, making people wise and saving; but in a word sorry, according to the interpretation of Saint Herman, it inspires us to raise our thoughts and hearts from the earthly to the heavenly and to comprehend the blessings given to us. For this reason, the face, as if pointing to those present in the temple at the Savior who had appeared in the world, invites them to approach Him, bow and prostrate themselves before Him with joy and reverence: come, let us bow down and fall before Christ... alleluia.

Question. What does the word mean: hallelujah?
Answer. Word hallelujah means: praise God. The singing of this song is set in imitation of the Angels proclaiming to God: hallelujah.

Question. What does the lit lamp carried before the Gospel represent?
Answer. It depicts:
1) prophets who predicted the coming of Christ;
2) John the Baptist, who announced to the Jewish people that Christ is the expected Messiah, and whom the Savior Himself called a burning and shining lamp,
3) the spiritual light of the Gospel teaching, enlightening people ().

Question. What does the procession of the clergy with the Gospel through the royal gates to the altar to the throne signify?
Answer. It is significant that the saving preaching of Jesus Christ takes us to heaven, represented by the altar, and makes confessors of the Gospel, that is, true believers, heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Question. What does the priest do upon entering the altar?
Answer. Upon entering the altar, the priest glorifies the holiness of the Triune God, clearly preached in the teaching of the Gospel, proclaiming: For You are holy, our God, and we send up glory to You, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit... After which the face, on behalf of the faithful, begins to worship the Most Holy Trinity with the Trisagion hymn: Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us!

Question. What should you notice about this song?
Answer. This song was accepted by the Church from heavenly revelation. During a prayer service on the occasion of a prolonged earthquake in Constantinople, one youth, caught up into heaven by an invisible force, heard the voice of Angels there singing a song: Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal- and handed it over to the people. When all the people shouted this song, the disaster immediately stopped.

Question. What does the reading of the Epistles and Acts of the Apostles signify?
Answer. The sermon of the apostles themselves, who announced to the world about the coming of Jesus Christ to earth for the salvation of people. Therefore, while reading the Apostolic Scriptures, we should have such attention and reverence as if we were seeing and hearing the apostles themselves.

Question. What's happened prokeimenon and why is it sung before the reading of the Apostolic Scriptures?
Answer. The prokeimenon is a short verse selected from the Holy Scriptures, mainly from the psalms of the king and prophet David, containing a prophecy about Jesus Christ. The Prokeimenon is sung to prepare those who are about to read and listen to the Apostle and the Gospel in order to explain the content of the day's service.

Question. Why are the Apostolic Scriptures read before the Gospel?
Answer. Because the Savior Himself sent His disciples before Him with the preliminary preaching of the Gospel.

Question. What does reading the Gospel signify?
Answer. The preaching of Jesus Christ Himself. Therefore, when reading the Gospel, we should have such attention and reverence as if we were seeing the Savior Himself and hearing from His Divine lips the word of life and salvation.

Question. Why are the words said before reading the Gospel: let's remember... wisdom, forgive me?
Answer. These words are always spoken to arouse in us reverent attention to the Divine service being performed and to encourage us to stand decently in the temple of God.

Question. Why does the priest, before reading the Gospel, bless the people, exclaiming: peace to all?
Answer. With these words, the priest calls upon Christians the peace and blessing of God, like the Savior, Who gave and left peace to the apostles ().

Question. What does censing before reading the Gospel signify?
Answer. It signifies that through the teaching of the Gospel the whole world has been filled with the grace of God.

Question. Why does the face exclaim before and after reading the Gospel: glory to you, Lord, glory to you?
Answer. In order to express joy, praise and gratitude to the Lord, who has made us worthy to hear the saving truths of the Gospel.

Question. What words does it begin with? strictly litany?
Answer. It begins with words that encourage us to pray diligently: with all our hearts, and with all our thoughts, with all our hearts.

Question. Why is this litany called purely?
Answer. Because in it, after each prayer, the appeal is strengthened or, more precisely, tripled: Lord have mercy.

Question. Why, after the special litany, are believers invited to pray for the catechumens?
Answer. Because, out of Christian love, we must desire and ask the Lord for happiness and salvation for our neighbors, as for ourselves.

Question. What is asked in prayer for the catechumens?
Answer. So that the Lord, having enlightened the catechumens with the true faith, would join them to the Orthodox Church and grant them spiritual benefits, so that they would glorify with us the most honorable and magnificent name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Question. How does the Liturgy of the Catechumens end?
Answer. Commanding the catechumens to leave the church: elits of the announcement, come out...

Question. What does this exclamation remind us of?
Answer. The fact that in ancient times at this time catechumens and publicly penitents were driven out of the temple.

Question. What should we think about now, when we see neither the catechumens nor the repentant leaving the temple?
Answer. We must reflect on our unworthiness, repent and be touched in our souls, and secretly ask the Lord for the remission and cleansing of our sins.

Part three. About the Liturgy of the Faithful

Question. What is Liturgy of the Faithful?
Answer. The liturgy of the faithful consists of offerings to the Almighty from some faithful sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving, in the consecration of the Gifts and their communion.

Question. How it begins Liturgy of the Faithful?
Answer. After the proclamation: elitsy catechumen, come out, - the deacon, with two short litanies, invites the faithful to pray for themselves, and with a word wisdom, repeated twice, encourages them to pay special attention to the subsequent sacred rite. Meanwhile the priest is over the open antiminsom, depicting the altar of the Lord, secretly offers prayers to the Lord for himself and for all people, and concludes the deacon’s second litany with the exclamation: as if we always keep under Your power...

Question. What follows after the exclamation with which the priest concludes the second litany?
Answer. Then the royal gates open and the singing of the Cherubic song begins: as the Cherubim secretly form and sing the Trisagion hymn to the Life-Giving Trinity, let us now put aside all worldly cares... For let us raise up the King of all, invisibly carried by the angels. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

Question. Why is this song called Cherubic?
Answer. Because it invites believers to the mysterious, together with the Cherubim, glorification of the Triune God.

Question. How can the Cherubic Song be stated more clearly?
Answer. You can put it this way. We, mysteriously depicting the Cherubim and together with them singing the Trisagion hymn to the Life-Giving Trinity: hallelujah, - let us now put aside all concern for the affairs of this life, and let us raise up the King of all Jesus Christ, invisibly carried by the army of angels.

Question. What means unbearable?
Answer. Greek word dory means spear, therefore unbearable means accompanied with spears, so in ancient times armed bodyguards solemnly accompanied kings..

Question. What does the Cherubic Song encourage and teach us?
Answer. This touching song encourages us, with the purity of soul characteristic of the Cherubim, to glorify the Most Holy Trinity and teaches us, with undoubted faith, zeal, fear and reverence, to meet the heavenly King Christ, invisibly coming to the temple to offer Himself at a holy meal as a sacrifice to God the Father for the whole world and offer His Body and Blood as food to the faithful through the Sacrament of Communion.

Question. What do the priest and deacon do while singing the first half of the Cherubic Song, before the words as if we will raise up the Tsar all?
Answer. While singing the first half of the Cherubic Song, the priest offers a prayer to the Lord, and the deacon censes, reading the psalm in secret: have mercy on me, O God, according to Your great mercy. After this, the priest and deacon read the Cherubic Hymn three times, then both go to the altar. Then the Great Entrance takes place, in which the Holy Gifts are transferred from the altar to the throne for their consecration.

Question. How is the Great Entrance with the Holy Gifts performed?
Answer. The Great Entrance with the Holy Gifts is performed as follows. On the shoulder of the deacon, holding a censer with incense, the priest places the air that overshadowed the Gifts, and on his head - a paten with a prepared Lamb; He himself takes into his hands a chalice filled with wine and water. Both clerics come out of the north door to the people, praying aloud: Our great lord and father, His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'...may the Lord God remember in His Kingdom... Upon the entrance of the clergy into the altar through the royal gates, the Holy Gifts are placed on the throne, the gates are closed and covered with a curtain, and the face ends the Cherubic Hymn : as if we will raise up the King of all, the angels invisibly carry the chinmi. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

Question. What do the words express: as if we will raise up the Tsar all?
Answer. They express that in ancient times, Roman soldiers, when proclaiming a newly elected emperor, raised him on a shield in the middle of the legions, so that he appeared on top of the spears surrounding him. So the deacon appears from the altar, as if one of the invisible legion of Angels, raising above his head, on a paten, like on a shield, the King of all in the humble form of the Lamb.

Question. What does the Great Entrance with the Holy Gifts mean?
Answer. The Great Entrance with the Holy Gifts means not only the procession of Jesus Christ to free suffering and death, but also the transfer of His most pure body from the cross and from Golgotha, where He was crucified, to the tomb. The priest and deacon carrying the Holy Gifts depict Joseph and Nicodemus, who participated in the removal from the cross and burial of the deceased Savior. The air on the deacon's shoulder signifies the shroud, one of the small covers is the sir, with which the head of Jesus was entwined, the other is His burial shrouds. The censer with incense represents myrrh and aloes, with which the most pure body of the Savior was anointed during its placement in the tomb and burial. The entombment and burial of Jesus Christ is depicted by placing the transferred Holy Gifts on the antimension lying on the throne, covering them with air and censing. Therefore, during this action, the priest reads troparia, which depict a brief history of the burial of Christ, the indescribable omnipresence of His Deity and the grace of the life-giving tomb, which through the rise of the Savior became the source of our resurrection.

Question. What signification do the throne, the antimension, the air with which the Gifts are covered, the star remaining on the paten, the closing of the royal gates and closing them with a curtain have?
Answer. After the transfer of the Holy Gifts from the altar, the throne depicts the helix, where the coffin of Christ was carved out of stone, and the antimension is this very coffin. The air covering the Gifts signifies the large stone that Joseph rolled against the door of the tomb. The star remaining on the paten signifies the seal applied to this stone by the Jewish high priests and Pharisees. The closed royal gates and the curtain signify the guards assigned to the tomb of the Savior.

Question. What action is performed upon transferring the Holy Gifts from the altar to the altar?
Answer. After the transfer of the Holy Gifts from the altar to the altar, all those present in the temple are invited to prayer, to witness mutual brotherly love and their common soul of faith, and thus prepare to offer the Gifts as a sacrifice to God.

Question. How are those present in the temple invited to prayer?
Answer. The deacon pronounces the litany: let us fulfill our prayer to the Lord, - in which he invites those present to pray for the offered Gifts, so that they receive sanctification, and sets out other petitions for spiritual and heavenly benefits. The priest, in secret prayer, asks the Lord to grant him permission to make this verbal and bloodless sacrifice.

Question. How are those present in the temple invited to witness mutual brotherly love?
Answer. In order to invite those present in the church to witness mutual brotherly love, the priest greets them with the words: peace to all, and the deacon exclaims: let us love one another, that we may be of one mind. Lik says on behalf of all believers: Father and Son and Holy Spirit, Trinity Consubstantial and Indivisible, - showing that they maintain mutual love and unanimously confess the true God.

Question. How should those present in the temple testify to mutual brotherly love?
Answer. According to the deacon: let's love each other, - ancient Christians proved mutual brotherly love in the temple itself by kissing each other; but now only the clergy at the altar testify to such love by kissing, while others are left to mark the outer ritual of kissing with the inner disposition of the soul.

Question. How are those present in the temple invited to bear witness to the common faith?
Answer. The curtain at the royal gates opens, and the deacon, inviting those present to testify to their common faith in the true God, exclaims: . The person on behalf of those present begins to sing the Creed, so that everyone confesses the rightness of their faith before the whole Church.

Question. What do the words mean: doors, doors, let us smell wisdom?
Answer. Words: doors, doors- mean that the Sacrament is ready to be revealed and communicated to everyone through faith. The same signifies the opening of the curtain at the royal gates and the rising of air from the vessels, paten and chalice. During the entire singing of the Creed, the air fluctuates over the Holy Gifts as a sign of the quiet breath of the Holy Spirit (that is why the great cover is called air). In words: let us smell wisdom- encourages special attention to the wisdom of God preached in the Creed.

Question. How else do those present in the temple prepare for the offering of Gifts as a sacrifice to God?
Answer. So that those present in the church may be even more honored by the spectacle of Christ’s bloodless sacrifice, the deacon proclaims: let us become kind, let us become fearful, let us bring holy offerings to the world. With this exclamation, the faithful are encouraged to stand in the temple during the offering of the sacrifice as it is fitting to stand before the face of God Himself, that is, with fear and trembling. To the deacon’s exclamation, the lyce answers for everyone: mercy of the world, sacrifice of praise. These words mean that we will bring to the Lord the mercy of peace, that is, mercy towards others as the fruit of mutual peace and love and the sacrifice of praise, that is, praise and thanksgiving. Then the priest, for such pious readiness of the faithful, expresses a desire that they may be worthy to receive three spiritual gifts from each person of the Most Holy Trinity, greeting them with the apostolic words: the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the Father and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. The face responds with the wish that these spiritual gifts remain inseparable from his spirit: and with your spirit. Finally, in order to further remind those present of the importance of the present hour, the priest exclaims: woe we have hearts, - and thereby convinces one to ascend in spirit above all earthly things, for the celebration of the Sacrament itself and the offering of Gifts as a sacrifice have already begun. The face is responsible : imams to the Lord, - that is, we have directed our hearts above all earthly things - to the Lord.

Question. How does the Sacrament of Communion begin?
Answer. Beginning the celebration of the Sacrament of Communion, the priest, like Jesus Christ Himself, the Legislator of this Sacrament, who began it with thanksgiving to the Father, calls on all the faithful to thank the Lord. Then while singing it is worthy and righteous to worship the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit... raises a secret prayer to the Heavenly Father, in which he glorifies and thanks the Lord Almighty for all the wondrous blessings shown to the human race, starting from the creation of the world until its redemption. He also thanks for the service given to us, which the Almighty is pleased to accept from us, while the Angels serve Him and, contemplating the victory of His goodness, glorify Him, singing, blatantly, appealingly and verbally. The priest pronounces these words out loud; and the face immediately begins to glorify the Triune God with the song of the Seraphim: Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of Hosts, fill Heaven and earth with Your glory; - and with this heavenly song he connects the earthly exclamations of the Jewish youths: Hosanna in the highest, Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord...- with which they greeted the Savior at the gates of Jerusalem, coming with palm branches to meet Him as King.

Question. What do the words mean: singing, crying, calling and speaking?
Answer. These words refer to the Seraphim, whom the prophet Ezekiel and the Apostle John saw in the mysterious images of an eagle, a calf, a lion and a man. In the form of an eagle the Seraphim sing, in the form of a calf they cry out, in the form of a lion they cry out, in the form of a man they say a solemn song: Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of Hosts.

Question. What do the words mean: Hosanna in the highest...
Answer. Among the Jews, these words were proclaimed at the meeting of Sovereigns and other great men sent by God to deliver them from troubles as a benevolent greeting and expression of high respect, devotion and gratitude to them. The Christian Church, reverent for its Redeemer and recognizing Him as the Conqueror of hell and death, the Giver of all temporal and eternal blessings, in imitation of Jewish children () in the words: Hosanna in the highest...- greets the Lord in those solemn moments when He comes invisibly from heaven to the temple, as to the mysterious Jerusalem, to offer Himself at a holy meal, as on the altar of the cross, as a sacrifice to God the Father for the salvation of the world. With this greeting, believers testify that Hosanna, that is the rescue, is given from the Lord, who comes to us and is present together in the highest - above the Angels and all the Heavenly Powers.

Question. How does a priest perform the Sacrament of Communion and offer the Holy Gifts as a sacrifice to God?
Answer. The priest performs the Sacrament of Communion as established by Jesus Christ; he pronounces the same words that the Savior Himself spoke: take, eat, this is My Body... Drink from it all, This is My Blood of the New Testament... Then, remembering His saving commandment: do this in remembrance of Me,- the priest offers up the Holy Gifts on behalf of the faithful to God the Father, proclaiming: Yours from Yours bringing to You for everyone and for everything. Thus, saying that Your Gifts - bread and wine, from among Your creations, chosen by Your Only Begotten Son and commanded to us, we sacrifice to You for the salvation of all people and for all Your benefits. The face begins to sing this verse: We sing to You, we bless You, we thank You, O Lord, and we pray to You, our God. While singing this verse, the priest, raising his hands to the mountain, calls on the Holy Spirit three times both on all people and on the Gifts that are presented. Then, pronouncing the mystical words, he blesses with the sign of the cross first the bread on the paten, and then the wine in the chalice, and finally both, as constituting a single Sacrament. Thus, by remembering the words spoken by the Savior at the Last Supper, with the prayerful invocation of the Holy Spirit and the mysterious blessing, the offered Gifts are sanctified. Then the greatest miracle of God’s almighty love occurs - the Holy Spirit Himself descends from heaven and transforms bread and wine into the true Body of Christ and into the true Blood of Christ. “During the consecration of the Gifts,” says John Chrysostom, “Angels stand before the priest, and the entire rank of Heavenly Powers flocks to exclamations, and the entire place around the altar is filled with Angelic faces in honor of the One reclining at the table.” At this time, the ringing of the bell encourages those present in the church to pray most fervently, and those absent are given notice so that everyone should leave their studies for a few minutes and join their prayer to the prayers of the Holy Church.

Question. What follows the consecration of the Gifts?
Answer. After the consecration of the Gifts, seeing Jesus Christ Himself before his face as the Sacrifice slain for the whole world, the priest gratefully remembers all the saints who have pleased the Lord, begging Him to visit us with His bounties through their prayers and intercession, considerably, that is, mainly before the saints, remembers out loud about our Most Holy, Most Pure, Most Blessed, Most Glorious Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary, which the face pleases with a solemn song: it is worthy to eat as truly... magnifying Her The most honorable Cherub and the most glorious without comparison Seraphim. Then the priest prays for the departed, with the hope of resurrection and eternal life, and for the living: for the patriarch, for bishops, for priests, for deacons and for all the clergy, for the entire universe, for the Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, for our country, for authorities and her army, so that we may lead a quiet and serene life in all piety and purity. Remembering all our needs and troubles in this life, the priest asks all members of the Church for the necessary benefits. But since the good of the Church itself, which is a universal good, is achieved primarily by the worthy service of pastors, the priest encourages them to pray for them with the exclamation: first remember, Lord, the Great Lord and Father of our Holy Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'...(and: The Most Reverend Metropolitan, or: The Most Reverend Archbishop...), to which the face cries out: and everyone and everything. Finally, the priest concludes the thanksgiving and sacrifice for the whole world with the exclamation: and grant us with one mouth and one heart to glorify and glorify Your most honorable and magnificent name, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages, - thus beseeching the Lord to bring all people into the unity of faith and knowledge of the Son of God and to grant to all unanimity to glorify His great name.

Question. What action is performed after the grateful remembrance of all the saints before the consecrated Gifts and prayer for the living and the dead?
Answer. After the grateful remembrance of all the saints before the consecrated Gifts and prayer before them for the living and the dead, the priest prepares those present in the church for Holy Communion, calling upon them mercy from above: and may the mercies of the Great God and our Savior Jesus Christ be with you all! And since the greatest of all heavenly mercies is that we are worthy to partake of the Holy Mysteries, the priest secretly begs God for this, and the deacon, standing on the pulpit, pronounces a litany in which he invites the faithful, having remembered all the saints, to pray in order The Lord accepted the offered and consecrated Gifts into His heavenly altar, sent down to us Divine grace and the gift of the Holy Spirit, and so that through these Gifts He would grant us sanctification. At the conclusion of the litany, in order to further prepare ourselves and those about to receive the Sacrament of Communion through the most God-pleasing of all prayers, which the Savior Himself taught us, the priest proclaims : and grant us, O Master, with boldness,Dare without condemnation to call upon You, Heavenly God the Father, and say. After which the Lord’s Prayer is sung: Our Father. Believers, approaching Holy Communion, must have inner peace, and therefore the priest greets them with the desire for this peace: peace to all, - and the deacon invites them to bow their heads before the Lord as a sign of humility, with the hope of receiving from Him the necessary benefits requested by the priest’s secret prayer: grace, and compassion, and love for mankind of Your only begotten Son... At this time, the deacon girds himself with an orar in a cross shape and, arousing the attention of the faithful with the word: let's remember, - enters the altar for communion of the Holy Mysteries; and the royal gates are closed with a curtain.

Question. Why at this time does the deacon gird himself crosswise with an orar?
Answer. He will gird himself so that: 1) he can serve more easily during communion; 2) covering himself with an orar, express his reverence for the Holy Gifts, in imitation of the Seraphim, covering their faces before the unapproachable light of the Divine.

Question. What action is performed after the deacon’s exclamation: let's remember- and closing the royal doors with a curtain?
Answer. The priest, having raised the venerable Body of Christ above the paten, solemnly proclaims: holy of holies. This is how each of us is given to understand how holy we must be in order to worthily begin to receive the Holy Mysteries. Lik, on behalf of the faithful, answers: there is one Holy One, one Lord, Jesus Christ, for glory God the Father. Amen.- thereby confessing that none of us has our own holiness from ourselves, and human strength is insufficient for this, but we all acquire this holiness through Christ. Then the priest, imitating Jesus Christ, who broke bread during the establishment of the Sacrament (), splits the Holy Lamb into four parts and places them crosswise on the paten. Then one part of the Lamb containing the image of the word Jesus, puts it into the chalice to combine both types of Sacrament and pours some warmth into the chalice. Finally, first the priest, and then the deacon, reverently partake of the Holy Mysteries. At this time, the lyric sings the sacramental verse in order to occupy the attention of those ahead with reverent reflections.

Question. What represents the elevation of the Holy Lamb above the paten and its fragmentation into four parts?
Answer. The elevation of the Holy Lamb above the paten and its fragmentation into four parts depicts the ascension of Jesus Christ to the cross and on it His suffering and death. For this purpose, there will be a chalice near it, containing the blood and water that flowed out from the Savior’s pierced ribs.

Question. Why is heat poured into the chalice?
Answer. For a greater resemblance to the warmth of the blood that flowed from the pierced ribs of the Savior, and so that the warmth produces in our mouths the feeling that we are tasting the truest Blood of Christ.

Question. What is depicted through the communion of the Body and Blood of the Savior?
Answer. Through the communion of the Body and Blood of the Savior, His burial and resurrection are mysteriously depicted. According to the interpretation of the saint, “when we partake of the Body and Blood of Christ, then through this we perform the sacrament of His burial, and He, as it were, descends into the grave with His flesh into our wombs; having descended into the inner repositories of our hearts, he then resurrects in us and brings us to life together with Himself.”

Question. What action is performed upon the clergy receiving communion?
Answer. After the clergy have received communion, the royal gates are opened, and the deacon, holding the chalice with the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ in both hands, calls those present to the communion of the Holy Mysteries, exclaiming: approach with the fear of God and faith,- and those who have prepared for communion begin the Sacrament while singing the verse: Receive the Body of Christ, taste the immortal Source. After the communion of the faithful, the priest lowers into the chalice the particles taken from the prosphora at the proskomedia in honor of the Mother of God and the saints, as well as for the living and the dead.

Question. What are the particles of prosphora that lie near the Lamb and are then put into the chalice?
Answer. The particles represent the very persons in whose name they are taken out, and are sacrificed to God for them. The particles offered to the saints are for their glory, honor, increase in dignity and greater acceptance of Divine enlightenment. Particles for the living and the dead are offered so that they receive grace, sanctification and remission of sins for the sake of the universal cleansing sacrifice offered on the throne; for the particle reclining near the most pure Body of the Lord, when, being brought into the chalice, is given His Blood to drink, it is completely filled with holiness and spiritual gifts sent down to the one in whose name it is exalted.

Question. What is represented by the removal of the veil, the opening of the royal doors and the manifestation of the Holy Gifts before the communion of believers?
Answer. The removal of the veil represents the earthquake that accompanied the resurrection of Christ, and the stone rolled away from His tomb; and by the opening of the royal gates - the opening of the tomb and the rise of the God-man. The deacon opening the gates and appearing in them forms the Angel who sat on the tomb and announced the resurrection of Christ the Giver of Life to the myrrh-bearing women. The appearance of the Holy Gifts to the people represents the appearance of the Savior after the resurrection. Therefore, the face, meeting with faith and joy the risen and appeared Savior, sings the verse once predicted by the prophets, but now actually fulfilled: Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, God the Lord, and He has appeared to us.

Question. What benefit does the person who receives the Holy Mysteries receive?
Answer. He is most closely united with the Lord Jesus Christ and in Him becomes a participant in eternal life.

Question. What is required from everyone, especially from those who wish to partake of the Holy Mysteries?
Answer. He must test his conscience before God and cleanse it by repentance for sins, which is facilitated by fasting and prayer.

Question. Should one often receive Holy Communion?
Answer. Ancient Christians took communion on every Sunday, but few of today have such purity of life as to always be ready to begin such a great Sacrament. The Church commands those who are zealous for a reverent life to partake of the Body and Blood of Christ every month.

Question. What kind of participation in the Divine Liturgy can those who listen to it and do not proceed to Holy Communion have?
Answer. They can and should participate in the liturgy through prayer, faith, and especially the unceasing remembrance of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who specifically commanded this to be done in His remembrance ().

Question. What does the entry of the clergy into the altar with the Holy Gifts after the communion of the faithful show?
Answer. It shows that Jesus Christ, after His resurrection from the dead and before His ascension into heaven, during His forty-day stay on earth, was not always visible to His disciples, but appeared to them when it was necessary.

Question. What does the blessing of the priest, given to the people with prayer, represent: save, O God, Thy people and bless Thy inheritance?
Answer. Depicts the blessing of the Savior Himself, given from Him to the apostles before the ascension from the Mount of Olives ().

Question. What does the song sung after that mean: seeing the true Light, receiving the Heavenly Spirit, Having found true faith, we worship the Undivided Trinity: She saved us?
Answer. With this joyful song, the face, on behalf of the faithful, confesses the salvation they have acquired and glorifies the Triune God for the blessings received from Him.

Question. What does the last appearance of the Holy Gifts to the people with the priest’s proclamation depict: - after which they are carried from the throne to the altar?
Answer. The last appearance of the Holy Gifts to the people and their transfer from the throne to the altar depicts the ascension of Jesus Christ to heaven. The throne in this action means the Mount of Olives, from where the Savior ascended; the altar represents heaven itself and God the Father sitting in it at His right hand. The priest's exclamation: always, now and ever and unto ages of ages, - reminds believers both of the ever-gracious presence of Jesus Christ with them on earth, and of His eternal glorious Kingdom in heaven and replaces the words of the Savior that he said to the apostles at the Ascension: Behold, I am with you all the days until the end of the age(). And just as the holy apostles bowed to the Lord, who ascended into heaven, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, praising and blessing God (), so those present in the temple at the last appearance of the Holy Gifts, giving them worship, thank and glorify the Lord for the communion of the Holy Mysteries with a song : Let our lips be filled with Your praise, O Lord...

Question. How does the liturgy end?
Answer. The liturgy ends with the litany: forgive me for accepting the Divine, Holy, Most Pure, Immortal, Heavenly and Life-giving, Terrible Mysteries of Christ, we worthily thank the Lord... This litany, which encourages those receiving communion to thank the Lord for receiving the Sacrament, was established by the Church in imitation of the Divine singing that the Apostles performed together with our Savior at the end of the Last Supper : and singing she went up to the Mount of Olives().

Question. What action is performed after the litany of thanksgiving before the people leave the temple?
Answer. After the litany of thanksgiving for communion of the Holy Mysteries, the following action is performed. Imitating Jesus Christ Himself, Who, after celebrating the Last Supper, said to His disciples: get up, let's get out of here(), - the priest proclaims : Let's go in peace. With these words, he notifies those present about the end of the Divine Service and together gives instructions so that they remain at peace with God, their conscience and with all their neighbors, not only in the temple, but also outside it. Lik answers: in the name of the Lord,- showing that believers, before leaving the temple, want to receive a blessing from the priest in the Name of the Lord. Fulfilling such a pious desire of the faithful, the priest leaves the altar in the middle of the church and reads a parting prayer for them: Bless those who bless You, O Lord... in which he calls upon them a blessing from the Lord and begs Him to grant peace to the whole world. Then the song of the king and prophet David: Blessed be the name of the Lord from now on and forever, and reading the psalm: I will bless the Lord at all times...- when distributing the antidor, thanks are offered to the Savior for his merciful care of His Church and instructions are instilled in those who partake of the Holy Mysteries. Finally, the priest, still blessing the people and calling upon them the blessing of God with psalm words: God bless you...- gives glory and thanksgiving to Christ God, proclaiming: glory to Thee, Christ God, our hope, glory to Thee. Then he concludes the Divine service, dismissing the people with hope and hope that Christ, our true God, through the prayers of His Most Pure Mother... and all the saints, will have mercy and save us, as He is Good and Lover of Mankind. The face, on behalf of the entire people, sings for many years, begging the Lord to preserve the health of all Orthodox Christians for many years. Then the royal gates are closed and covered with a curtain.

Question. What's happened antidor, and why is it distributed at the end of the liturgy?
Answer. Antidoron is the name given to the remnant of that consecrated prosphora from which the Lamb was taken out during the proskomedia. The Antidoron is distributed in imitation of the brotherly loving meal of ancient Christians, which was established after the liturgy.

Question. What does the closing of the royal doors and their closing with a curtain at the end of the liturgy signify?
Answer. The closing of the royal gates and the covering of them with a curtain signifies that after the end of the world, when the palace of the Kingdom of Heaven is closed forever, there will be no time for repentance, and no sacrifice will work to save our souls.

The end and glory to our God!

Notes

1. Since the Great Lent of Pentecost is primarily a time of contrition for sins and repentance, the Church Fathers decided at the Councils during Great Lent not to perform the full liturgy every day, but only on Saturdays and Sundays - on days dedicated to the joyful remembrance of the creation of the world and the resurrection of Christ; for the celebration of the full liturgy is the true triumph of the Christian, and fills his heart with heavenly joy, which is incompatible with the sorrow of the repentant soul. In addition to Saturdays, Sundays and the Feast of the Annunciation, the Church, strictly observing the rules of fasting, celebrates the hours during Pentecost on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays (except for Thursday of the fifth week), and on Wednesdays, Fridays and Thursday of the fifth week, as well as on Monday , Tuesday and Wednesday of Holy Week - the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, delivering spiritual consolation to believers with the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ.
The Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is so named because in it the Divine Mysteries have already been consecrated before - on the previous Sunday.
2 . The sacred vestments in which the priest and deacon are clothed are the following: 1) a surplice, which is also called a cassock, 2) an orarion, 3) an arm, 4) an epitrachelion, 5) a belt, 6) a phelonion, 7) a loincloth, 8) a club.
The surplice is the outer garment of the deacon and the lower garment of the priest. This clothing, always almost light, signifies the purity of life and spiritual joy and together depicts those brilliant vestments in which the Angels appeared (;). The orarion is a long cloth placed on the deacon's left shoulder. According to the interpretation of St. John Chrysostom, the orarion is likened to Angel wings and therefore signifies the readiness of the servants of the Church to fulfill the will of God. The bonds used by the deacon and priest serve for the freest action and generally signify the power of God strengthening them, and in addition, the priest depicts the bonds with which the hands of the suffering Christ were bound when He was led to Pilate. The epitrachelion is an orarion folded in half, and is placed on the priest in commemoration of the grace poured out on him and the good yoke of Christ. The belt with which the priest girds himself signifies his readiness to serve God and is reminiscent of the lention with which Jesus Christ Himself girded when washing the feet of His beloved disciples. The phelonion is the outer round robe of the priest. It depicts the scarlet robe in which the Savior was clothed in Pilate’s court. The gaiter and the club are the decoration of the highest or senior priests and have the sign of the spiritual sword, that is, the word of God, with which the shepherd of the Church must, with special zeal and strength, arm himself against the infidels and the wicked, against enemies visible and invisible.
3. The Orthodox Church prepares and brings bread for the liturgy in five prosphoras; but only one of them is offered and prepared for the Sacrament. This, according to the explanation of the Apostle Paul, means that that there is one bread, one body we are many; Thou art for we partake of one bread().
4. The nine ranks of the heavenly hierarchy, according to the teachings of the saint, are the following: Thrones, Cherubim, Seraphim, Powers, Dominions, Powers, Angels, Archangels and Principalities.