The Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, or simply the Presanctified Mass, is such a service, during which the sacrament of the laying of bread and wine into the body and blood of the Lord is not performed, but the believers partake of St. gifts previously consecrated at the liturgy of Basil the Great or St. John Chrysostom.
The Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is celebrated on Wednesday and Friday of the first six weeks of Holy Forty, on Tuesday or Thursday of the 5th week of Great Lent (that is, on the day of the reading of the canon of St. Andrew of Crete), on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of Holy Week. The Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is also celebrated on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday of the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th weeks of Great Lent, if a temple feast or saint with polyeleos occurs on these days (for example, February 24 (1st and 2nd Discovery of the head of St. John the Baptist), March 9 (40 Martyrs of Sebastia) Although "there can be no unforeseen Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, since the days of their celebration are precisely determined by the Rite" (Jerusalem), but history testifies that “in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is held throughout Lent, except for Monday and Tuesday of the 1st week.” This remnant of the Studian Rite was preserved in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra until its closure.
The Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts was established in the early days of Christianity and was celebrated by St. the apostles; but she got her real appearance from St. Gregory Dvoeslov, a Roman bishop who lived in the VI century A.D. The need for its establishment by the apostles arose from the fact that Christians were not deprived of St. Christ's Mysteries also during the days of Great Lent, when, at the request of the fast time, the liturgy is not supposed to be celebrated in a solemn manner.
The Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts does not contain the first part of the complete Liturgy - the proskomidia.
The Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts consists of Lenten 3, 6, and 9 hours, Vespers and the Liturgy itself.Lent hours of worship are different from ordinary hours, the fact that, in addition to the prescribed three psalms, one kathisma is read at each hour; the distinctive troparion of each hour is read by the priest before the royal doors and is sung three times on the kliros with earthly bows; at the end of each hour, the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian: "Lord and Master of my belly ...".
The initial part of the Liturgy of the catechumens in the rite of the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is replaced by the Vespers, all chants and prayers are lowered to the augmented litany. At Vespers, after the stichera sung in Lord, I cried out, occurs entrance with censer, and on holidays with the Gospel, from the altar to the royal doors. At the end of the evening entrance, two paremias are read: one from the book of Genesis, the other from the book of Proverbs. At the end of the first paremia, the priest in the open gates addresses the people, making the cross with a censer and a burning candle, and says: “ The Light of Christ enlightens everyone! " At the same time, believers fall on their faces, as if before the Lord Himself, begging Him to enlighten them with the light of Christ's teaching for the fulfillment of Christ's commandments.
This is followed by the reading of the second pair. Sometimes at the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, in addition to the two paramics of the Triodi, a couple of the feast days are also read. Paremias are followed by the singing of selected verses of the 140th psalm with a refrain to each verse: "May my prayer be corrected ...". At the end of the singing, the priest proclaims the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian.“By the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian ends Vespers; further follows the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts itself ”. After the prayer, it is possible to prokimna prokimna, read the Apostle, proclaim Alleluia and read the Gospel. This happens during the polyeleos saint and the temple feast. And on Holy Week at this moment only the Gospel is read (the Apostle is not read). After the reading of the Gospel, or after great bows, if the Gospel was not read, the usual order of the liturgy follows: augmented litany and litany of the catechumens are pronounced. From the Wednesday of the Week of the Cross, a special litany and prayer for those preparing for the holy Enlightenment (Baptism) are added. "After commanding the catechumens to leave the church, the Liturgy of the faithful begins." Two litanies are proclaimed and two prayers are read for the faithful. Further, Great entrance, during which the chant is sung: “Now the Heavenly Forces are invisibly serving with us ...” (At the full Liturgy - the Cherubic song).
Discos with St. Lamb from the altar, through the royal gates, to St. the throne is carried by the priest at his head, he is preceded by a deacon with a censer and a candle bearer with a burning candle. Those who are to come fall down on the ground in awe and holy fear of St. gifts, as before the Lord Himself. The Great Entrance at the Presanctified Liturgy is of particular importance and significance than at the Liturgy of St. Zlatoust. During the Presanctified Liturgy at this time, already consecrated gifts, the body and blood of the Lord, a sacrifice are transferred perfect, Himself the King of glory, therefore the consecration of St. there are no gifts.
At the end of the singing, the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian with three bows. The Liturgy of the faithful does not have prayers and hymns related to the preparation and offering of the Holy Gifts, since They were consecrated before, at the Liturgy of John Chrysostom or Basil the Great. Since at the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts there is no consecration of the Gifts itself, then the Great Entrance is immediately followed by the preparation of the believers for communion. A supplicatory litany with its own characteristics is recited, and the priest reads a special secret prayer. Instead of the daily sacrament, the choir sings the sacrament: "Taste and see ...". This is followed by the communion of the clergy ( peculiarity of communion: if the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is performed by a priest with a deacon, then the deacon, having received a particle of the Holy Mysteries, does not drink from the Chalice until the consumption of the Holy Gifts; the priest also acts if he serves without a deacon) and the communion of the laity.
Priest:"Save, God, Thy people ..." Singers:“Taste the Heavenly Bread and the Cup of Life and see how good the Lord is. Alleluia (thrice). " This chant replaces the chant "Videhom true light ...".
This is followed by thanksgiving after Communion and behind the ambo prayer. The text of the prayer outside the ambo at the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts also differs from the analogous prayer at the full Liturgy. On behalf of the believers, the priest in this prayer asks God to help them worthily accomplish the feat of fasting and unconditionally attain and worship the Holy Resurrection.
At the end of the Liturgy, a dismissal is pronounced. On leave commemorated first by the day saint, then by the saint of the next day and St. Grigory Dvoeslov.
Great Lent continues - a special time in the life of the Church, when, among other things, the liturgical life is changing greatly. Lent is not performed on weekdays. This is due to the fact that it is the most solemn and joyful event in the liturgical circle. Instead, the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is performed on weekdays. Hegumen Siluan (Tumanov) tells about the peculiarities of this service, about why it is not enough to take Communion even once a week.
Today we are so accustomed to the fact that we come to church in the morning to receive the Holy Mysteries of Christ, that we would be very surprised to learn that once, a very long time ago, more than a thousand years ago, monks and laity had the custom of taking communion on their own.
In ancient times, after the general liturgy in the church, the deacons carried the Holy Gifts to those who could not receive communion in the church - the sick and prisoners. There was also a custom to take the Sacrament to their homes, where on weekdays, during home prayer, the faithful received the Sacrament themselves and communed their household members.
Divine services in monasteries and in parishes, not to mention cathedrals, varied significantly.
For example, in the first half of the first millennium from the birth of Christ, few monks wanted to become a priest. Great responsibility. Therefore, a married priest was invited from the nearest village, who served the liturgy once a week, on Sunday, and the hermits dispersed to their cells until the next Sunday. And in order not to deprive themselves of the communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ (again, people aged, in a deserted place, there are all sorts of dangers, you can get sick or be dying), the monks took with them particles of the Holy Gifts and after a long prayer they themselves received communion.
The custom of self-communion among monks existed until the 15th century, St. Simeon of Thessalonus mentioned this, but among the laity this custom ceased when the number of members of the Church increased, when Christianity spread and the level of spiritually intense life, which was distinguished by the first Christians, inevitably decreased, and the church authorities had to take measures to prevent the possible abuse of the Holy Gifts. Over time, people stopped taking the Body of Christ home, and began to come to church on weekdays to receive communion. And at a time when the Liturgy is not celebrated on weekdays, they received communion at a special service - the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts.
This very beautiful divine service is performed only on the days of the Forty Day, Great Lent: on Wednesdays and Fridays, on the feasts of the 40 Martyrs of Sebastia, the First and Second Acquisition of the Chapter, on Thursday of the 5th week of Lent (“”), as well as on the days of temple holidays.
At this Liturgy, the faithful partake of the Holy Body and Blood of Christ, prepared on the previous Sunday and reverently preserved during the throne in the altar of the church.
It is not known for certain who is the compiler of this liturgy. In ancient times, authorship was attributed to Saint James, the brother of the Lord, and Basil the Great, and Gregory the Theologian, and John Chrysostom, and others. The modern Slavic miscellany (the book on which the priests perform divine services) indicates the authorship of St. Gregory Dvoeslov (VII century), Bishop of Rome. But this inscription does not appear earlier than the 16th century in Greek liturgical books printed by the Uniates in Italy, which were taken as models in Russia when carrying out a book inquiry (reform) under Patriarch Nikon in the 17th century.
In modern Greek service books, there is no reference to St. Gregory the Dvoeslov as the author of the rite of the liturgy. But this in no way prevents us from commemorating the great saint of the ancient Church as the heavenly patron of the performed divine service, following the established tradition. After all, such a divine service, as a special liturgy - Vespers with Communion, has been known since the 6th-7th centuries, and it is possible that Saint Gregory served it in one form or another.
The Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is celebrated in conjunction with the Lenten Vespers. But this does not mean that it is necessarily performed at the end of the day, although in some temples there is such a custom.
The fact is that the Byzantine time differs from the accepted one today. The evening hours, in terms of our time, are about 14 o'clock in the afternoon. Before this Lenten Liturgy, a long matins is sung, read and pictorial. And even if the service began early, the liturgy itself begins closer to noon. So the difference is not so big, and you should not think that if you serve the Presanctified in the evening, at 6 pm, it will be more correct. Another thing is that at the evening liturgy, people can receive Holy Communion by coming to church after work.
"What for? - you ask. - Isn't it enough for us to receive Holy Communion on Sunday of Great Lent? At least every Sunday! Why so often? "
The answer is both complicated and simple. Simple because it is known that communion is the center of a Christian's life.
He recalls this in one of the letters of St. Basil the Great (IV century): "It is good and useful every day to commune and receive the Holy Body and Blood of Christ, because Christ Himself says:" Whoever eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood has eternal life. " ... All monks living in deserts where there is no priest, keeping the sacrament in the house, commune themselves. And in Alexandria and Egypt, every baptized layman, for the most part, has the sacrament at home, and he himself takes it when he wants to. "
But it is not easy, because for the past several centuries parishioners have become accustomed to receiving Communion extremely rarely - four times a year. The labors of such righteous people as St. John of Kronstadt, St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov), the Athonite ascetics of the 20th century led to the Eucharistic revival. It has become a common custom to receive communion once every two weeks or once a week.
But we understand communion today not as an actualization of our stay in the Church (= I am a member of the Church, one of all, therefore I receive communion as often as possible), but as a means of personal sanctification, spiritual and physical healing.
Many today believe that the sacrament must be earned by good behavior. Probably, these people did not read the prayers for communion thoughtfully, which directly says that we will never be worthy of communion in our life and we partake in order to purify our souls:
“I know, Lord, that I unworthily partake of Your most pure Body and Your honest Blood, and am guilty, and I eat and drink condemnation to myself, not realizing that it is Your Body and Blood, Christ and my God. But, hoping for Your mercy, I come to You, who said: "He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood, he abides in Me, and I in him." Have mercy, Lord, and do not reprove me as a sinner, but walk with me according to Your mercy, and may this Shrine serve me for healing, cleansing, enlightenment, for the preservation, salvation and sanctification of soul and body, for driving away all dreams and crafty deeds, and the attacks of the devil, acting through thought in me - in boldness and love for You, in correcting life and strengthening it, in increasing virtue and perfection, in fulfilling the commandments, in communion with the Holy Spirit, in parting words for eternal life, in a favorable response at Your Last Judgment, not in condemnation ”(prayer of St. Basil the Great).
However, such a custom did not appear out of nowhere, and it contains a reasonable grain. Communion was never available to everyone who came to church, but only to the faithful, striving to openly live according to the commandments of God. Those who repent of grave sins were not allowed to receive communion, who missed prayer in church for more than three Sundays in a row, etc. The desire to at least occasionally feel faithful, not to drown out the voice of conscience, which denounces us not at all in a Christian way of life, encourages us to voluntarily refuse daily communion as a symbol of our earnest striving for a life flawless before God.
In general, everything is difficult and the main thing is not to condemn anyone and not to be embarrassed, and when the soul calls us on a weekday to the church for communion, get up early and on a cool spring morning go through the streets of the awakening city to the church.
In the church it is twilight, chandeliers are not lit as a sign of Lenten restraint and repentance. A few candles and icon lamps are burning. As a rule, there are few people, if it is not a central monastery or a holiday.
Priests in dark, usually even black vestments, occasionally leave the altar, in the kliros they sing and read a lot and for a long time. But what and what is a separate conversation.
The Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, as well as the usual liturgy, begins with an exclamation glorifying the Holy Trinity: "Blessed is the Kingdom of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and forever and ever." But this is still Vespers (albeit in the morning), therefore, immediately after the words of the priest, Psalm 103 is read, in which the creation of the world by God is glorified. Then the deacon leaves the altar and pronounces a peaceful litany, after which passages from the psalms are read - kathismas, ending with the doxology “Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and forever and ever. Amen. Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, Glory to You God! "
After each such passage, the deacon comes out and again calls us to pray, and in the altar the priest puts St. Gifts on the open plate with the relics of the martyrs - antimension, censes around the throne with the Gifts and carries St. Gifts from the throne to the altar.
In many churches, at this moment, a small bell is ringing so that people know that they must kneel down and pray reverently while transferring the shrine.
After Kathisma, Lenten Vespers goes on in its own order - “Lord I Cry ...” (Verses from Psalm 140) and stichera-chants are performed, corresponding to the day of the church calendar. The deacon censes the entire church.
During the singing of the last stichera, the central doors in the iconostasis - the Royal Doors - are opened, and the clergy perform a small entrance with a censer and candles (sometimes the Gospel is read, so they can take it out too).
The deacon proclaims "Wisdom, forgive me!" and the choir sings an ancient hymn Silent Light turned to Jesus Christ.
Further, the royal gates are closed, and the singing and reading of passages from the psalms and the biblical books of the Old Testament - prokimns and parimias follow. Before the beginning of the second parimia, the gates open again, the priest with a censer and a candle in his hands goes to the pulpit and cross-like blesses the people with the words: "The Light of Christ enlightens everyone." At this moment, by tradition, it is necessary to kneel.
At the end of the readings, excerpts from Psalm 140 are sung with a special melody. " During their singing, the believers also kneel.
"May my prayer be corrected" music by P. G. Chesnokov
Then the usual litany of the Liturgy are read with increased prayer for those who are preparing for Baptism - for the catechumens. This is an echo of the ancient tradition to baptize those who accept Christianity right before Easter and prepare them for this throughout Lent.
The priest at this time quietly prays in the altar:
... the eye of ubod may not be attached to all sly sight, hearing is not entered by idle words, but the language will be cleansed of the unlikened verb. Cleanse our lips, praising Thee, Lord: create our hands of evil, shake off deeds, and act that is pleasing to You, all our udy and Thy thought affirming with grace.
... may our eyes not be joined to all deceitful sight, and our hearing will be closed to idle words. Cleanse our lips that praise You, Lord: may our hands abstain from evil deeds, so that we can do only deeds that are pleasing to You, strengthening and strengthening all our members and our thoughts by Your grace.
Another prayer prepares us for the transfer of the Presanctified Gifts:
… Behold His most pure Body and life-giving Blood, entering at the present hour, on this secret they offer a meal, from the multitude of the heavenly army invisibly dorinosimya. Grant us their communion without condemnation, so that the eye of the mind illuminating, we will be the sons of light and the day.
… For behold, His Most Pure Body and life-giving Blood, which are entering at the present hour, will be offered at this secret meal, invisibly carried by the multitude of heavenly armies. Grant us uncondemned communion with them, may our mental eye be enlightened by them, and we will become sons of light and day.
Instead of the usual Cherubic song, the choir will sing the hymn "Now the Heavenly Powers". Since they endure the already consecrated Gifts, the believers again kneel, and then once again make three earthly bows, mentally repeating the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian.
After the great entrance, the royal doors and the curtain are closed halfway.
The Holy Gifts have now been transferred to the throne, and we, preparing for Communion, ask:
... sanctify all of us souls and bodies with inalienable sanctification: yes, to a pure conscience, an unashamed face, an enlightened heart of these divine I partake of the holy things and from them make us quicken, let us unite to Thy Christ Himself ... ... let us be the Temple of the Most Holy and worshiped Thy Spirit, deliverance from all devilish intrigues ... and we will receive the good promised to us with all Thy saints ...
... sanctify the souls and bodies of all of us with inalienable sanctification: so that by a clear conscience, an unashamed person, an enlightened heart, having communed the Holy Gifts and having received life from them, we would be united with Thy Christ Himself ... who said: he who eats my flesh and drinks blood Mine, in Me dwells, and I in him ... may we be the Temple of the Most Holy and worshiped by Your Spirit, may we be delivered from all devilish intrigues ... and we will receive the promised blessings to us with all Your saints ...
The deacon leaves the altar to read a supplicatory litany about our spiritual needs and the forgiveness of sins, after which the choir in a very simple tune sings the Lord's prayer "Our Father." Soon the priest proclaims “The Presanctified Holy One” after which he himself takes communion and then goes out to commune the people.
After communion, a special Lenten prayer outside the ambo is read, for the sake of which the priest descends from the altar,
Master Almighty, Who created the whole creation in wisdom and through Your unspeakable providence and great goodness led us into these holy days to purify the soul and body, to abstain from passions, in the hope of resurrection; You, Who Thy pleaser Moses handed over the tablets written by God for forty days - let us, O Good One, fight a good deed, observe fasting throughout its entire time, maintain an inviolable faith, crush the heads of invisible snakes, become victors of sin and uncondemned reach to worship and the Holy Resurrection ...
Then, with the usual prayers and many years, the priest blesses everyone to leave the church.
It must also be said that in the Russian Church during the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts it is not customary to give communion to infants, whom only the Blood of Christ is given during the full liturgy.
The argument is as follows - Since the consecration prayer was not read over the wine, it is not the Blood of Christ, therefore there is nothing to commune with infants.
But it is useful to note that this tradition is not widespread, not of Orthodox origin, and relatively recent by church standards. Only from the 17th century in our service books, thanks to Latin influence, do notes with similar prohibitions appear, because medieval scholasticism could not accommodate Byzantine liturgical freedom. There is no formula for consecration - that means there is no consecration - thought then people with a consciousness formatted by Catholic theology.
And in the Greek Church, wine in the Chalice is still honored after the priest puts a portion of the Sanctified Bread - the Body of Christ - into it, since it is believed that it is sanctified through this.
As early as the 15th century, St. Simeon of Thessalonica: “... Wine and water are poured into the sacred chalice, without reciting a well-known prayer, so that, after dissolving in them the Divine Bread and Blood, with which he has already been watered according to the rite of the Liturgy, these substances in chalice are consecrated with the sacrament, and so that the priest , according to the rite of the Liturgy, he could partake both from the bread and from the chalice ... Desiring someone to partake of the Mysteries without the Liturgy, we partake as follows: we take a particle of the bread observed for such a case and put it in wine with water, we even often use one dry Life-giving Bread, as combined with Blood. Here, at the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, this is done for the fulfillment of the rule of communion, as it is said, and so that more persons can be introduced, if necessary. So, what is at the Presanctified Liturgy in chalice is sanctified not by invoking and sealing the Holy Spirit, but by communion and union with the Life-giving Bread, which, in truth, is the Body of Christ in union with the Blood. "
So if you need to commune a baby on a weekday during Great Lent, this is at the discretion of the ministering priest. If he honors the universal common Orthodox traditions, he will commune. If he considers it necessary to adhere to the letter of the service book - no.
In any case, the main thing is to keep peace in the soul and remember that the Lord calls us to the temple, and we come to Him, and not just go to look at the priests and consult with them.
The main thing is to live so that the words of the Apostle Paul were not just words, but a transforming confession bursting from the depths of the soul:
“Now, as always, Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For for me life is Christ, and death is gain "(Phil. 1, 20).
Without exaggeration, the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts can be called the spiritual pinnacle of Lenten worship. A living, real feeling of the unity of the Earthly Church and the Heavenly Church, experienced by a Christian during this service, gives rise to an invaluable experience of mystical communion with eternity, becomes another step on the path of ascent to Heavenly Jerusalem.
Unfortunately, for many Christians living in the world, this liturgy is almost unknown. It is performed on weekdays, weekdays, and often in a half-empty church. On Sundays, the church will again be filled with parishioners, but it will no longer be the Lent, but the Sunday service. Meanwhile, the Presanctified Liturgy occupies a special place in the annual liturgical circle, which must be known and in which every Christian must participate.
Great Lent is a time of repentance, contrition for one's sins, self-absorption and spiritual exploits for the sake of cleansing the soul. On weekdays of Holy Forty, from Monday to Friday, the Church Rule prohibits the celebration of the Eucharist, except for the feast of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos. What is the reason for this? The Eucharist, which is celebrated at the Divine Liturgy, is always a holiday, the triumph of the Church and the joy of thanksgiving (word Eucharist translated from Greek as thanksgiving), this is the appearance of Christ Himself and the proof of His resurrection. How, then, can the festive liturgy be combined with the Lenten mourning for sins? During the period of the Forty-day period, the Holy Church established that the Divine Liturgy should be celebrated only on Saturdays and Sundays, when fasting is slightly weakened. And in order not to deprive Christians of the communion of the Holy Mysteries for a whole week, in order to strengthen them in the spiritual exploit of fasting, the Rule prescribes to perform a special rite called Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts... Lent worship and inert(lingering) singing combined with the opportunity to join "Heavenly Bread" gives birth to a Christian joyful sadness- this is a special spiritual mood in which repentant crying and bright hope in the mercy of God are harmoniously combined.
The compiler of the rite of the Presanctified Liturgy is considered to be St. Gregory the Dvoeslov, Pope of Rome. More precisely, the introduction of this rite in the Western Church is associated with his name, while in the Orthodox East this liturgy was already widespread. However, today in the Catholic West this rite is performed only once a year - on Great Friday, just when the Rite prohibits the celebration of any liturgy at all.
The Liturgy of the Pre-Sanctified Gifts is an ancient evening service (as the Rule suggests) Wednesday and the heel. The time of day determined by the Charter for this service is due to the fact that on Wednesday and Friday of Great Lent, eating is prescribed only after sunset. Therefore, the Divine Meal is delivered at the evening service. Vespers adds a special rite of communion of Christ's Mysteries, which were consecrated the day before, during the full Sunday liturgy. This is where the name comes from - Presanctified... The divine service is performed with special reverence, fear of God and trembling - after all, on the throne in the altar are already sanctified Gifts - the Body and Blood of the Savior, that is, the Savior Himself, incarnate and sacrificing Himself for our sins.
Over the centuries, the rite of the Presanctified Liturgy has developed and changed. It is based on the practice of home self-communion of Christians of the first centuries and ancient hermits, ascetics-hermits. Self-communion of the laity was widespread in the Church not only in apostolic times and the period of persecution. In the 4th century, St. Basil the Great encouraged pious Christians to have spare Gifts in their homes for daily communion. Over time, this practice not only became a thing of the past, but was also banned, but we also notice traces of it in our liturgical life - in the communion with the Presanctified Holy Gifts.
The modern rite of the Presanctified Liturgy consists of three parts, the origins of which go back to antiquity: the announcement (teachings for the reception of Holy Baptism), Vespers and, in fact, communion with preparation for it. And although in this service (in its second half) we find some elements of the liturgy, the liturgy itself is not celebrated, since its center - the Eucharistic Canon - is absent.
After the reading of 3, 6, 9 o'clock, the succession of pictorial and small dismissals, the usual vespers is performed. It begins with the same exclamation as the complete Divine Liturgy: "Blessed is the Kingdom of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and forever and ever.".
This is followed by the reading of the initial Psalm 103, which tells about the creation of the world, is an unsurpassed hymn to the Lord God, Creator and Provider. Worship continues Great litany and reading 18th kathisma... "Songs of degrees, or ascents" (psalms 119-133) are named after the number of 15 steps of the Jerusalem temple, during the ascent along which these 24 psalms were sung. Listening to the ancient prophecies about the ascent of the Jews in captivity to Babylon to Jerusalem, we turn our minds to Heavenly Jerusalem ...
On the third antiphon kathisma in the modern practice of the Presanctified Liturgy, there is some action that is completely incomprehensible to people unfamiliar with the Lenten service. The reading of the Psalter is interrupted, and all those praying, including the reader, prostrate themselves with great reverence. After half a minute, everyone gets up and the reading continues. At this time, the priest in the altar, with the royal gates closed, bowing to the ground before the Holy Gifts, raises the diskos above his head and transfers the Holy Lamb from the throne to the altar. The body and blood of the Savior are borne with special trepidation, reverence and fear of God.
Vespers continues with the singing of ten stichera on "Lord, cry out ..." with psalms 140-141. The stichera of the Triodi call us to the spiritual feat of fasting, and the hymns of the Menaion are dedicated to the saint, whose memory is performed in the coming day. The stichera end with the Theotokos - a chant praising the Most Pure Virgin. The Royal Doors are opened, and the priest makes an evening entrance with a censer. Song "Quiet Light ..." glorifies the Son of God, who came in the flesh, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit.
Next then first prokemen Triodi prepares us for the perception of the Old Testament scriptures, anticipating the reading first pair. Excerpts from Genesis turn our mind's eye to the creation of the world, primordial man, the fall of the forefathers and its consequences. Adam names the animals, and the Lord creates an assistant for him - Eve. But here is the first temptation that came through the ancient serpent, the first fall, the transgression of the commandment of God: here is disobedience, and breaking the fast, and pride, and self-justification, and even a reproach to God the Father. Man lost his first grace, his nature underwent a change, as if as a result of a serious illness, his body lost its immortality, and his soul submitted to fleshly desires ...
After singing second prokimna The Triodion we hear the echo of the early Christian liturgy that has come down to us, when Great Lent was a period of preparation for the reception of Holy Baptism. The royal gates are opened and the priest with a lighted candle and a censer in his hands blesses the praying with the words: "The Light of Christ enlightens everyone"... Those praying with a sense of humility and reverence kneel down, bowing their heads to the ground. A burning candle is a symbol of Christ, the Light of the world. "Enlightenment", that is, Holy Baptism, for which the catechumens are preparing, will enlighten their minds and open them to an understanding of Holy Scripture. The Old Testament forefathers, whose writings proclaim paremias to us, were enlightened by the same light of Christ with which the people of the New Testament are now enlightened. This fragment of the divine service, in addition to its symbolic meaning, also has a historical one: since the Presanctified Liturgy was performed in the evening, a lighted lamp was brought into the prayer meeting to illuminate the premises and supplied on salt.
After second paremy we hear responsive poetry singing "May my prayer be corrected ...", which in their essence are the ancient great prokimnom of solemn Lenten services. Therefore, the Rite instructs the canonarch not to proclaim, but to sing his verses, standing in front of the pulpit, while the prokeimenon himself sings the choir.
"May my prayer be corrected, like a censer before You: lifting up my hand, the evening sacrifice" - the singer calls to the Lord, standing in the center of the temple in front of the pulpit. The chorus echoes him, and the singer continues: "Lord, cry out to you, hear me: listen to the voice of my prayer, always cry out to you". I remember the paremia I just read about the first fall ... What else can a person do in order to incline the mercy of God to himself, how not to cry out to God with his whole soul? "Lay, O Lord, the keeping with my mouth and the door of the barrier on my lips.". Really: tongue is a small member, but it does a lot ... tongue - desecrates the whole body ... tongue ... is an irrepressible evil; it is filled with deadly poison. With them we bless God and the Father, and with them we curse people, created in the likeness of God "(James 3, 5-6, 8-9). A very pertinent petition for a Lenten season. "Do not deviate my heart into words of deceit, do not feel guilty about sins". How often do we, disingenuous before our conscience, invent an excuse for our sins or shift the blame onto our neighbor! .. During this chant, those praying kneel down, crying to the Lord with repentance.
With the reading of the prayer of Saint Ephraim the Syrian with three great bows, Vespers ends and the liturgy begins, more precisely, the preparation for Holy Communion.
The deacon pronounces the prescribed litany, after which the Great Entrance is made: the priest transfers from the altar to the altar the Holy Gifts lying on the diskos, and the chalice with wine. Since the Holy Lamb on the altar has already been sanctified, instead of Cherubic song we hear other touching and at the same time terrible words of the chant: Now the Forces of Heaven are invisibly serving with us, behold the King of Glory enters: behold, the Secret Sacrifice is complete and is being borne. (Now invisibly the Heavenly Forces serve with us, for the King of Glory enters: here is the mysterious Sacrifice, already consecrated, is solemnly transferred.)
The deacon walks in front of the priest, ceaselessly kadya the Holy Gifts. Those praying with the fear of God fall on their faces, not daring to look at the Terrible Sacrifice: Christ Himself, with His Honest Body and Blood, walks through the temple. The chorus continues: “Let us approach by faith and love, that we may be partakers of eternal life. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia ".
Those who work not only hear these words, but also survive they, in a different way, will perceive not only the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, but also the complete Divine Liturgy, at which the great Sacrament of the Eucharist is celebrated. These unforgettable moments of communion with the Heavenly Church will forever remain in the memory and heart of a Christian.
The prayer of the Monk Ephraim the Syrian sounds again, accompanied by three great bows. Then follows supplicatory litany with prayers for the communion of the faithful. It begins with words "Let's Fulfill Our Lord's Evening Prayer"- Vespers continues, including elements of the liturgy. However, we hear neither the hymns of the Eucharistic Canon, nor the Symbol of Faith: the Gifts have already been consecrated on the past Sunday, and "I Believe" was read in pictorial ones and is no longer repeated. The choir sings the Lord's Prayer "Our Father ..." Words are colored with a special meaning "Give us this day our daily bread"... According to the interpretation of some of the holy fathers, under daily bread should be understood Heavenly, Eucharistic Bread- The Holy Mysteries, the need for communion with which is felt with particular force during the period of forty days of Lenten feat.
During the sacrament verse “Taste and see how good the Lord is. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia " communion of the clergy takes place in the altar.
The communion of the laity has one peculiarity: during the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, babies who are not yet able to partake of solid food are not given. This is due to the following circumstance. If at the full liturgy newborn children are given a drop of Blood, then at the Presanctified Liturgy there is not Blood in the chalice, but blessed wine, which serves for the convenience of the reception of the Holy Mysteries by the laity. The Divine Blood, with which the Lamb was watered before immersion in the chalice, is united with the Body of Christ in an inseparable way, therefore it cannot be given to infants separately from the Body.
Having partaken of the Holy Mysteries of Christ and giving thanks to the Lord, the believers disperse to their homes to continue the Great Lent.
It is impossible to make the Lenten journey without understanding its purpose and content. Ignoring the services of the weekdays of Holy Lent, and especially the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, we deprive ourselves not only of familiarizing ourselves with the beauty and depth of church prayer, but also that which gives our fast a meaning and transforms it from a gastronomic fast into a true fast - spiritual and “ pleasing to the Lord ".
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* In the Typicon there are no instructions on the transfer of the Holy Gifts here from the altar to the altar for their subsequent transfer back from the altar to the altar: these actions are a distinctive feature of modern liturgical practice. Apparently, in the Ancient Church the Holy Gifts were kept not on the throne, but in some special storehouse on the altar. From there the Great Entrance was made with the transfer of the Lamb to the throne.
Re sponsored singing is a special type of antiphonic singing, in which the singing of the reader standing in the middle of the temple alternates with the singing of the people, divided into left and right faces.
http://www.eparhia-saratov.ru/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6225&Itemid=3
What is the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, what is its difference from the full liturgy, when it is served, how to receive communion at it, and is it possible for everyone? We tried to find answers to these and some other questions.
How does the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts differ from the “usual” liturgy - John Chrysostom or Basil the Great?
During the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, believers are offered the Holy Gifts for communion, which were previously consecrated - at the previous full Liturgy according to the order of St. Basil the Great or St. John Chrysostom and kept in the ark usually on the throne or (less often) on the altar.
In the follow-up to the Presanctified Liturgy:
When is the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts served?
The Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is served together with the Lenten Vespers. In ancient times, they served in the evenings, abstaining from food all day.
Today, in most churches, Presanctified is served in the morning, but in some parishes there are also evening services.
If you partake in the evening, how long should the Eucharistic fast be?
Six hours according to the established tradition.
On what days is the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts served?
On Wednesdays and Fridays of Great Lent, on the feast of the First and Second Finding of the Head of John the Baptist (March 9 according to the new style), on Thursday of the fifth week of Great Lent (March 26 in 2015), on the feast day of the 40 Martyrs of Sebastia, as well as on the first three days of Holy Week.
Exceptions:
Are everyone receiving Communion at the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts?
According to the tradition that has developed in the Russian Orthodox Church, those who can receive the Particle take communion after the Presanctified. That is, infants who partake of the Blood are not given Communion during the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts.
The most common answer to this question will be St. Gregory Dvoeslov. And it will not be entirely correct.
In fact, there is no confirmation of this: neither in Greek nor Slavic manuscripts, this rite is usually not signed there by anyone's name, or the names of St. Basil the Great, Epiphanius of Cyprus or Herman of Constantinople. In addition, there is nothing of the kind in the surviving texts of St. Gregory himself. However, his works contain an indication of the order of the Roman Church - the consecration of the Chalice through the immersion of the Presanctified Bread into it.
When and why does the bell ring during the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts?
The most important moments of the service are marked by the ringing of a bell. By tradition, at the sound of the bell, all worshipers kneel, and when the bell is heard again, they rise.
The first time during the transfer of the Holy Gifts to the altar:
The last, third part of the kathisma is read, during which the transfer of the Holy Gifts from the throne to the altar is performed. This will be marked by the ringing of a bell, after which all those gathered, noting the importance and sacredness of this moment, should kneel. After the transfer of the Holy Gifts to the altar, the bell rings again, which means you can already get up from your knees.
Second time:
During the reading of the first couple, the priest takes a lighted candle and a censer. At the end of the reading, the priest, tracing the holy cross with a censer, says: “Wisdom, forgive me!”, Thereby calling for special attention and reverence, pointing out the special wisdom contained in the present moment.
Then the priest turns to the audience and, blessing them, says: "The Light of Christ enlightens everyone!" The candle is a symbol of Christ, the Light of the world. Lighting a candle while reading the Old Testament means that all prophecies were fulfilled in Christ. The Old Testament leads to Christ in the same way as Great Lent leads to the enlightenment of the catechumens. The light of baptism that unites the catechumens with Christ opens their minds to understand the teachings of Christ.
According to the established tradition, at this moment all those present kneel down, about which they are warned by the ringing of the bell. After the words are spoken by the priest, the bell is ringing to remind you that you can get up from your knees.
Saturdays and Sundays of Lent are not considered fast days. And not because it is allowed to eat something quick these days. (Modest for healthy bodily people is prohibited until Easter.) But because on Saturdays and Sundays, a full, real Liturgy is served. So the Liturgy is placed by the Church at the forefront, and from its presence or absence, the days become festive or mournful, respectively.
If you go to Sunday services only during Great Lent, then you will not feel the fast, despite abstinence in food. It is also necessary to attend special fasting services in order to feel the contrast of these holy days with other days of the year, in order to deeply breathe in the healing air of the Forty-day. Chief among the special services is the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts.
It differs from the traditional liturgy in that it does not offer a Bloodless Sacrifice to God. The Sacrifice is brought in advance, the Gifts are consecrated, and Them can be used for communion. The whole service is preparation for Communion with the Gifts prepared in advance.
The main thought that should be born from attention to the topic raised is the longing for Communion, the sorrow of separation. This unwillingness to remain even for one week without the Holy Mysteries. Let us not triumph, but we must humble ourselves and cry. But all the same it is impossible not to partake of Communion, and, therefore, it is necessary to partake of Communion at least with the Gifts prepared in advance.
It is impossible to understand the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, its order, its origin, the need for it without love for the Sacraments and the practice of frequent Communion. What you want to say and what you want to think, but if in the Ancient Church there was a tradition to receive communion five or six times a year, then the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts would never have arisen. There would be no need for it itself. And this need is called: I cannot live without Christ and the Sacrament. "For me life is Christ, and death is gain."
If you rarely receive communion, then you should rarely serve the Liturgy, filling the rest of the days with the reading of the Mass, psalmics, akathists, teachings and sermons. But this is an honest path to nowhere, which should be clear to the blind. The Liturgy must not be abandoned. She is our only wealth. On the contrary, one must love the Liturgy so deeply in order to understand church life in general through it. A.S. Khomyakov quite rightly said that "Christianity is understood only by those who understand the Liturgy."
Mary of Egypt did not otherwise go into the wilderness for many years, as having received the Holy Communion. Still not cleansed of passions, she received Communion and grace as a pledge for the future, so that there, in the wilderness, she could have Divine help.
So we, according to the word of Andrew of Crete, must settle "in the desert of passions through repentance."
During fasting, passions reveal themselves, wake up, torment and disturb the soul. At times they not only disturb, but burn and scorch. The need for Divine help is becoming more in demand, more tangible. The Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts was created for such auspicious toilers, who felt especially acutely their weakness.
According to its rank, it is united with Vespers, and it would be good to serve it in the evening. (Do not rush to object - let me finish.)
Actually, there is only one difficulty in the evening service - the long Eucharistic fast. Everything else is technical details. The excuse that they haven't done this for a long time does not work. We didn’t do a lot of good things, but we got used to many bad things. Well, we should mark all mistakes with the “do not touch” icon, but dismiss all the forgotten heritage?
The unusually long Eucharistic fast is the only serious questioning on the way to the evening liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts. But isn't that why fasting exists, in order to feel hunger and thirst, a kind of subtle weakness in the body and a slight dryness in the womb? Have we completely given up work, effort, abstinence and are fit only to gratify our infirmities? One has only to try, and there will be more people ready to fight and pray than we thought. Children in this service do not receive communion. They have Saturday and Sunday. They will say: they say, old people cannot live long without medicine and food. But for them there is Saturday and Sunday. And those who can not eat or drink until evening, who are strong and strong, who are disturbed by carnal passions due to their youth and excess of strength, let them endure and fight with themselves. I’ll tell you more: in practice, it turns out that old people are ready not to eat and to pray in anticipation of Communion, often more often than young people. And young people crave a feat more often than we think.
It is worth serving this service in the evening once in your life, if only for the sake of experience and a sense of contrast. It is worth singing: “When you came to the west of the sun, seeing the evening light,” not at 8:30, but at 18:00, when the sun really came to the west. It is worthwhile to feel how much better it is to combine your mind with the words of the psalm: "Raising my hand is an evening sacrifice" - in the darkness of the temple, illuminated only by lamps, and not in bright sunlight. And “Let us fulfill our Lord's evening prayer” is incomparably better and more natural to say late in the evening, and not before noon. It is worthwhile to understand with the body how much better it is to pray on a completely empty stomach, in order to then choose the ancient and better path, albeit more difficult.
All singing, burning incense, kneeling, all walking with candles and incense around the Eucharistic Lamb, all the prayers of Saint Ephraim are intended here for the evening time. This service is mysterious and especially intimate. She shuns direct sunlight and electric light, since people who have decided on an intensified feat, people who have constrained themselves for the sake of the breadth of the Heavenly Kingdom, partake of Christ on it.
The Liturgy is not for prying eyes at all. A sheer illness and true punishment are our doors always open at the service and random people buying candles and bargaining at tables with notes at any time of the service. Whether the Gospel is being read, whether the Cherubim is sung, someone will always have a wandering eye looking for places on the candlestick for their candle. God would give us to grow up, become more serious and someday on the exclamation of "Doors, doors!" they really closed the front doors so that no one would come in and out before the end of the service.
So at the usual liturgy.
But at the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts it is even more serious. This is not the place for random people who wandered into the light, "unable to pray with us." They are immediately visible. They do not kneel down with everyone, they stare at the priest with the exclamation "The Light of Christ enlightens everyone!" and, even worse, at the entrance with the Gifts. They definitely cannot be given communion.
It, the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, raises the bar for the clergy. There is a lot to explain, to tell. One must learn to interpret the texts of Genesis and Proverbs read at these services. It is also necessary to reassure those who see a trace of renovationism in everything unusual.
Renovationism is a lowering of church discipline for the sake of pleasing the spirit of the times. A return to tradition is the opposite movement: from relaxation - to concentration, from self-indulgence - to struggle with oneself. This is a movement from simple proofreading of texts to comprehending the spirit of the texts. For example, at the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, frequent prayers are laid for the catechumens and for “those who are preparing for holy enlightenment”. This is a trace of an ancient era, when people prepared for baptism for a long time and passed the announcement. Today, in order not to release these prayers as unnecessary and not to read for the sake of simple proofreading, we must find an application for them. After all, many have relatives, friends and acquaintances who have heard about Christ, but have not been baptized. Many almost agree, but still hesitate. So, maybe we should accept notes with the names of those who are on the verge of baptism, who need a Divine impulse? Especially if they are relatives of our regular parishioners. And if there are no such, then one could pray for the illumination of the light of Christ's faith of many peoples who are still in the darkness of paganism.
Not all of this will work out everywhere. At least not everywhere will work out right away. This is good. Because all people are different, and we do not need revolutions, radical reforms and instant uniformity. But we need love for the Church and a burning desire for everything to be right, and not "as we are used to." If everything is "as we are accustomed to," then this is just self-love and fear of stirring up the familiar environment, and not standing up for the truth.
Lent flies by quickly. And having flown, it often leaves a residue of dissatisfaction. They say that again the lean time has passed, and I did not have time to work or change. Easter is approaching, and I feel that I have missed the whole Forty Day, felt sorry for myself, fasted half-heartedly. And I seem to know that “the kingdom is taken by force”, that “the path is narrow and the gates are narrow”, but I repeat out of habit that “the times are not the same,” that there is no strength. I myself relax, I calm others who are relaxed.
That is why Easter Red does not fill us to the brim with eternal life, because during fasting we do not have time to clean out our insides. The Lord does not pour us "young wine into old wineskins." And the Lord is not to blame, but we, comfortably seated behind a palisade of various excuses.
This is not good. Ugly. Not fair.
The planets circle the sun.
Our Sun is Christ. “For you, who revere my name, the sun of righteousness and healing in its rays will rise,” says the prophet Malachi (Mal. 4: 2).
Thus, at the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, we fearfully touch the Lamb and ring the bell for people to kneel; and we make obeisances: and we sing many songs of repentance and praise. And the heavenly powers serve the King of Glory with us together invisibly. And all this results in such a prayerful feeling and attitude, such a thirst for standing before Christ, that this should be enough for a long time.
And the fast will pass, but the reverence will remain. And after Easter, other holidays will come, and the desire to pray with tears, to bow down and fast will not leave the soul. Therefore, we need to breathe in deeply the mournful and healing air of Great Lent, so that chastity and severity, dissolved in this air, penetrate deeply into every cell of our spiritual body.
Archpriest Andrei Tkachev
M ir to you, dear visitors of the Orthodox site "Family and Faith"!
P we will diminish for you the audio recording of the excellent guard service, which was recorded in the Sretensky Monastery - on Wednesday, the 1st week of Great Lent, when the midnight office was served, matins, 1st, 3rd, 6th, 9th hours, are pictorial, Vespers and Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts.
Many of you, for various reasons, cannot visit the Temple of God on Wednesday and Friday of Great Lent, when this wondrous fast service is performed. But, you can listen to it at home, or even at work. Not necessarily all (the audio recording of this fasting service lasts more than 5 hours), but at least some part of it. And grace will surely touch you, and the fasting mood will cover your mind, soul and heart!
Description of the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts
The Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is a divine service during which the faithful are offered for communion the Holy Gifts consecrated before - at the previous full liturgy according to the order of St. Basil the Great or St. John Chrysostom and kept in the ark usually on the throne or (less often) on the altar.
The Sixth Ecumenical Council, by Canon 52, approved the widespread celebration of the Presanctified Liturgy in the days of the Holy Forty, so as not to deprive believers of mystical communion with the Lord and at the same time not to break fast and repentance by celebrating the full solemn liturgy.
The sequence of the Presanctified Liturgy contains the following features:
a) it does not contain the first part of the full liturgy - the proskomedia;
b) the Liturgy is preceded by the service of the 3rd, 6th and 9th hours with a succession of pictorial;
c) after the dismissal of the pictorial ones, Vespers is performed, which replaces the initial part of the Liturgy of the catechumens (the last part of it is also found in the Presanctified Liturgy);
d) at the liturgy of the faithful, there are no prayers and hymns related to the preparation and presentation of the Holy Gifts.
Church services of hours, consecrating certain times of the day, are associated with the most important sacred events of gospel history.
The service of the first hour, which according to our counting time corresponds to 7 o'clock in the morning, reminds believers of the judgment of the Lord Jesus Christ by Pilate.
In addition, the service of this hour contains thanksgiving to God for the coming of the day and prayers for the blessing of God for the day ahead.
At the third hour (corresponding to 9 o'clock in the morning), the events of the last hours of the earthly life of the Lord Jesus Christ are recalled: the abuse of Him and the scourging of Him after the trial of Pilate. In addition, this hour is dedicated to the remembrance of the event of the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles, which took place at this hour on the day of Pentecost.
At the sixth hour (corresponding to the 12th hour of the day), the memory of the voluntary sufferings and the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ on Calvary is made.
At the ninth hour (corresponding to the third hour of the day), the Death on the Cross of the Lord Jesus Christ is remembered and the significance of His death for the eternal salvation of those who believe in Him is pointed out.
The service of hours performed during Great Lent has its own characteristics in comparison with the daily (Great Lent) hours.
Lent hours are performed on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday throughout Holy Forty days, on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of Holy Week, on Wednesday and Friday of Cheese Week (if these days of Cheese Week do not coincide with the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord or with a temple holiday).
Lent hours begin with the priest's exclamation: Blessed be our God ...
Reader: Amen. Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee. Heavenly King ... Trisagion according to "Our Father".
Priest: Thine is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory, of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and forever and ever.
Reader: Amen. Lord have mercy (12 times). Glory, and now. Come, let us bow ... (three times).
Then, at the third hour, the reading of three psalms follows: “Hear, O Lord, my truth ...” (16th psalm); “To Thee, Lord, have raised my soul ...” (24th psalm) and “Have mercy on me, God ...” (50th psalm).
The sixth hour is read immediately at the end of the third hour and begins with the reader's proclamation: Come, let us bow ... (three times), then three psalms are read: "God, in Thy name save me ..." (53rd), "Inspire, O God, my prayer ... "(54th) and" Alive in the help of Vyshnyago ... "(90th psalm).
The ninth hour follows the sixth and begins with the reading "Come, let us bow ..." (three times), then the psalms are read: "If Thy village is beloved ..." (Psalm 83); “Thou art favored. Lord, Thy land ... "(84th psalm) and" Incline, O Lord, Thy ear ... "(85th psalm).
After reading three psalms, the reader says at every hour: Glory and now ... Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, glory to Thee, God (three times). Lord, have mercy (three times). Glory, and now ... Then he reads an ordinary kathisma.
After reading the 1st antiphon (otherwise, the first "Glory") of the kathisma, the reader pronounces: Glory to the Father, I to the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and the choir sings: And now, and ever, and forever and ever. Amen. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, glory to Thee, God (thrice). Lord, have mercy (three times). Glory to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Then the reader says: And now ... And he reads the second antiphon of Kathisma. Then brief prayers are repeated in the same order as after the first antiphon.
After reading the third antiphon of Kathisma, the reader says: Glory, and now ... Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, glory to Thee, God (three times). Lord, have mercy (three times).
After the verse of kathisma, the priest, standing in front of the royal doors, pronounces the fasting troparion of the hour.
In the third hour (voice 6): Lord, Like Thy Most Holy Spirit in the third hour, Thy Apostle, Thy Apostle; 1st verse: Build a pure heart in me ... 2nd verse: Cast me not away from Thy Face ...
At the sixth hour (voice 2): Even on the sixth day and the hour on the Cross with the guides to paradise, Adam's bold sin, and tear apart our sins, Christ God, and save us. 1st verse: Suggest. God, my prayer ... 2nd verse: I cried to God, and the Lord heard me.
At the ninth hour (voice 8): Even at the ninth hour of us, for the sake of the flesh, having tasted death, put our wisdom to death in the flesh, Christ God, and save us. 1st verse: May my prayer draw near ... 2nd verse: May my petition come in before You, Lord ...
The choir, after the priest has pronounced the troparion, sings it for the first time. After the priest has recited verse 1, the choir sings the troparion a second time, and after the second verse has been recited, it sings it a third time.
During the recitation of the troparion (or verse) by the priest, the singers and all the worshipers kneel, and during the singing of the troparion in the chorus, the priest and the worshipers bow their knees.
After singing the troparion of the hour, the priest says: Glory to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Reader: And now ... And the Theotokos of the hour.
At the third hour: Mother of God, Thou art the true Vine ... At the sixth hour: Like imams of boldness ... At the ninth hour: For us, for the sake of being born of the Virgin.
At the sixth hour after the Mother of God, the reader pronounces the Troparion of prophecy (that is, the troparion, which in its content is related to the further Readable prophecy (parimia). The choir sings this troparion twice (the second time - on "Glory, and now").
Then the priest proclaims: Let us hear it. And the reader, before reading the parimia, pronounces the prokeimenon Triodi (for example: the sixth voice: Save, Lord, Thy people ...), but the reader does not pronounce the very word “prokeimenon”.
The choir sings the prokeimenon Triodi. A parimia is read; from the book of the prophet Isaiah, and upon reading another prokeimenon of the Triodi is sung.
At the third and ninth hours (after the Mother of God); and at the sixth hour (after the second prokimn) the following prayers are read:
At the third hour: the Lord God is blessed ... At the sixth hour: Soon, may Thy bounties precede us ... At the ninth hour: Do not betray us to the end ...
If there is a reading of the Gospel on the clock (in the first three days of Holy Week), then the prayers laid after the Mother of God are read after the Gospel readings or parimia (as at the sixth hour).
After an hour's prayer, the reader reads the Trisagion according to Our Father.
Priest: Yours is the Kingdom ...
At the sixth hour: Thou hast made Salvation in the midst of the earth ... "Glory ..." - "We bow to Thy Most Pure Image, Good One ..." on Wednesday and Friday instead of "Mercy of the Existing Source ..." Virgin Mary ...
At the ninth hour: Enlightened earthly with the Cross ... "Glory" - Like a robber, confess, cry Ti, Better ... "And now" - Come for the sake of the Crucified One, all, let us sing. On the clock, instead of the indicated kontakions, other kontakis are read on the prescribed days, for example, on Great Monday (see Sequence of the hours in the Lenten Triodion).
The priest proclaims: God, bless us ...
After this exclamation, the priest at every hour says the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian:
Lord and Master of my belly! Do not give me the spirit of idleness, despondency, lust for power (lust for power) and idle talk. - And makes a great (earthly) bow. Grant the spirit of chastity, humility, patience and love to Thy servant. - Great bow. To her, Lord, to the King, grant me to see my sins and not to condemn my brother, for you are blessed forever and ever. - Great bow and 12 small bows, that is, waist bows, with the prayer "God, cleanse me, sinner."
At the third and sixth hours, 16 bows are supposed, and at the ninth hour, if the representational (and not inter-hour) follows, only three great bows are supposed.
Those praying also bow down.
After the bows, the final prayer of the hour is read and the following service begins: after the third hour - the service of the sixth hour, then the ninth hour and the rite of pictorial.
Prayer of the third hour:
Lord God, Father Almighty ...
Prayer of the Sixth Hour:
God and Lord of strength ...
Prayer of the ninth hour:
Lord Jesus Christ, our God ...
SEQUENCE OF FINEImmediately after the ninth hour, a short service is performed, which is called the Succession of the Pictorials. In Great Lent, the succession of the pictorials is performed in this order. After the final prayer of the ninth hour: Lord Jesus Christ, our God ... the service begins with the singing of the Blessed, and psalms 102 ("Bless, my soul, the Lord ...") and 145 ("Praise, my soul, the Lord ...") go down. The choir sings in tune 8 (with a special Lenten chant): In Thy Kingdom, remember us, Lord, when you come in Thy Kingdom. Blessed is the poor in spirit, for those are the Kingdom of Heaven. Remember us, Lord, when you come to Thy Kingdom. The blessedness of crying, for they will be comforted. Remember us. Lord, always ... Blessed crotzia, for they will inherit the earth. Remember us, Lord, when ... Blessed are the hungry and thirsty for righteousness, as they will be satisfied. Remember us, Lord, always ... Blessed be mercy, as there will be mercy. Remember us, Lord, when ... Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Remember us, Lord, when ... Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the sons of God; Remember us, Lord, when ... Blessedly exiled for righteousness, for those are the Kingdom of Heaven. Remember us, Lord, when ... Blessed naturally, when they revile you. the world is dependent, and every rekut is an evil verb against you lying for me. Remember us, Lord, always ... Rejoice and be merry, as your wages are many in heaven. Remember us, Lord, always ... Glory to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Remember us. Lord, always ... And now, and ever, and forever and ever. Amen. Remember us, Lord, when ... Remember us, Lord, when you come to Thy Kingdom. Remember us, Master, when you come to Thy Kingdom. Remember us, Holy One, when you come to Thy Kingdom. Blessed are not sung, but read on Wednesday and Friday of cheese week, on the feasts of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos, in the temple and the great saint; on Thursday and Saturday of Holy Week. After the singing, the Blessed Reader: The face of heaven sings Thee and says ... "Glory" - The face of the saints is an angel ... "And now ..." - "I believe in the One God ..." And prayer: Weaken, leave ... "Our Father ..." Upon the exclamation of the priest: "Yours is the Kingdom ... and the reader says:" Amen, "the reading of the kontakions follows. If "Alleluia" is supposed to be at Matins or there is no celebrated saint, which is according to the Book of Hours, first the kontakion of the Transfiguration of the Lord is read, which recalls the event of the Transfiguration, as being before the sufferings of the Lord - during the time of our Holy Forty-day. Next, the kontakion is read in the daytime (see in the Book of Hours alongside, for every day). (We honor the kontakion of the temple and the ordinary saint. On "Glory" - Rest with the saints ... "Now" - Theotokos: The betrayal of Christians is not shameful ... (Typikon, 1st week of the Holy Forty-day, chapter 52). After the kontakion it reads: Lord, have mercy ... (40 times). Glory, and now: The most honest Cherubim ... Bless in the Name of the Lord, Father. Priest: God, bless us, bless us, enlighten Thy Face on us and have mercy on us. Reader: Amen. The priest says the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian: Lord and Master of my belly ... (with 16 bows). After prayer and bows, the reader: The Trisagion according to Our Father. And at the exclamation of the priest - Lord, have mercy (12 times) and prayer: All-Holy Trinity ... Priest: Wisdom. Chorus: It is worthy, as indeed, to bless Thee, the Mother of God, the Most Blessed and Most Immaculate and the Mother of our God. Priest: Holy Mother of God, save us. Chorus: The most honest Cherubim and the most glorious without comparison Seraphim, who gave birth to God the Word without corruption, we magnify the Mother of God. Chorus: Glory, and now ... Lord, have mercy (three times). In conclusion, the followings of the pictorial priest pronounces a small dismissal. |
Before the beginning of Vespers, the clergy perform entrance prayers on the Sole (as is customary), and then they put on vestments at the entrance to the altar.
The clergy read the entrance prayers after great bows at the ninth hour and during the singing: In Thy Kingdom ... They include the same prayers as in the full liturgy, with the exception of the prayer: Lord, send down Thy hand ... in which the Lord is asked for help to accomplish Demon of the Blood Sacrifice, which happens at the full liturgy.
It is customary to take off skuffies and kamilavki, as before the full liturgy, when kissing icons. Then, after the vestments, they put on skufi and kamilavkas and take them off before transferring the Holy Gifts from the throne to the altar. Then they put them on and stand in them until the singing: May my prayer be corrected ... Before the augmented litany, they put them on again and take them off before singing: Now the Heavenly Forces ... Further, as in the full liturgy, skufi and kamilavka are put on before the liturgy: Forgive me, accept ... and remain in them until the end of the liturgy (except for the time of reading the prayer outside the ambo).
After the entrance prayers, the clergy enter the altar, three times are captured before the throne, kiss the throne, the Cross on it and the Gospel, then they are clothed with sacred clothes. The vesting is done before the release of the pictorial.
The deacon, having received the blessing for the vestment, kisses the cross on the vestment and quietly says: Let us pray to the Lord.
The priest, when putting on every sacred garment, creates a cross over it, kisses it and also quietly says: Let us pray to the Lord. Thus, the clergymen during the vesting do not say the prayers that are laid down at the same time during the full liturgy.
Having put on, the priest and deacon worship three times reverently before the throne with the words: God, cleanse me, a sinner. The priest kisses the Gospel, the deacon - the throne and the Cross on the throne.
Upon the dismissal of the pictorials, the deacon, having received a blessing from the primate and bowing to him, proceeds through the northern doors to Solea, stands on the ambo and, after praying, as usual, to the east, proclaims: Bless. lord.
The priest at this time prays at the throne and at the exclamation of the deacon, taking the Gospel, depicts the sign of the cross over the antimension, exclaiming: Blessed is the Kingdom ... Upon proclamation, he puts the Gospel on the antimension.
Chorus: Amen.
The reader says: Come, let us bow ... (three times) and reads the 103rd (preliminary) psalm.
The priest proceeds from the northern doors to Solea and secretly reads lamp prayers before the royal doors, asking God to enlighten the eyes of the hearts of those praying for the knowledge of the truths of faith and clothe them in the weapon of light.
At the same time, he reads the first three luminary prayers in the future with small litanies in order and, after reading each prayer, in conclusion (after litanies) he utters an exclamation. Here he secretly reads the 4th, 5th, 6th to 7th prayers:
Prayer four:
With ceaseless songs and ceaseless glorifications from the holy Powers, praised one, fill our lips with Thy praise, give the majesty to Thy saint's Name: and give us participation and inheritance with all those who fear Him in truth and keep Thy commandments, the prayers of the Holy Theotokos and all Thy saints. Yako all glory, honor and worship befits You. Father, and Son, and Holy Spirit, now and forever, and forever and ever. Amen.
Fifth Prayer:
Lord, Lord, with Thy most pure hand, hold every kind, long-term on all of us and repent of our malice! Remember Thy compassion and Thy mercy, visit us with Thy goodness and grant us to escape and so on with Thy grace from the various intrigues of the evil one and I hate our life; observe the grace of Thy All-Holy Spirit. By the grace and love of mankind of Your Only Begotten Son, with Him you are blessed, with Your All-Holy and Good and Life-giving Spirit, now and ever, and forever and ever. Amen.
Prayer six:
Great and wondrous God, govern every kind of thing and worldly, with an inscrutable goodness and rich Providence, a good gift to us, and entrusting us with the promised Kingdom with the promised (in some editions: bestowed) good ones, making us and the day that passed away part of all to evade evil! Grant us, and the rest, to accomplish blamelessly before Thy holy Glory, petty Thee, the One Good and humane God of ours. For Thou art our God, and we glorify Thee, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and forever and ever. Amen.
The seventh prayer:
God the great and highest, one who has immortality, in the unapproachable living light, created all creation with wisdom, dividing between light and between darkness and put the sun in the area of the day, the moon and stars in the area of night, vouching for us, sinners, and in the present hour precede Thy Face with a confession and bring Thy praise to thee in the evening! Himself, Human-loving, correct our prayer, like a censer, before You and receive it in a stench of fragrance: give us a real evening and the coming night of myrna: clothe us in the weapon of light: save us from the fear of the night and all things that are transient in darkness: and Give sleep, which you gave to the rest of our weakness, alienated from all the dreams of the devil. To her, Master, good to the Giver, yes, and on our couches, we are touching, we remember Thy Name in the night and, by the teaching of Thy commandments, enlighten, in the joy of our souls we rise to the praise of Thy goodness, prayer and prayer to Thy benevolence, bringing about our sins, and all Thy people Even with the prayers of the Holy Mother of God, visit. For God is good and lover of mankind, and we give glory to you. Father, and Son, and Holy Spirit, now and forever, and forever and ever. Amen.
After reading the seventh prayer, the priest enters the altar through the northern doors.
The deacon, after reading the 103rd psalm, pronounces the great litany: In peace, let us pray to the Lord ...
Chorus: Lord, have mercy.
At the end of the litany, the priest proclaims: For all glory befits You ...
Chorus: Amen.
Reader: the first antiphon of the 18th kathisma (Except for the fifth week of Great Lent (Typikon, 174th chapter)).
When reading the kathisma of singing: And now ... Lord, have mercy does not exist. After exclaiming "Yako befits ..." and singing "Amen", the reader immediately begins reading the kathisma and each antiphon (there are three of them in kathisma) ends with the words: "Glory, and now ... Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. Glory to Thee, O God ”(three times).
During the reading of the kathisma, the priest takes out the Presanctified Holy Lamb from the tabernacle (on the throne) and places it on the diskos, burns incense and transfers the Holy Lamb to the altar.
This sacred rite is performed as follows:
During the first antiphon, the priest performs the position of the Holy Lamb on the diskos.
Upon uttering the exclamation “Like all glory befits You ...” the priest worships before the throne, takes the Gospel lying on the antimension, puts it behind the antimension and, having opened the latter, goes to the offer (altar) for the diskos and, taking it, delivers it on the open antimension. Further, the priest reverently collects the Presanctified Holy Lamb from the tabernacle, puts it on the diskos, after which he worships earthly before the Holy Gifts.
By this time, the reader has finished the first antiphon. The deacon pronounces the small litany, and the priest reads (secretly) the prayer of the first antiphon (the first luminary prayer): Lord, generous and merciful, longsuffering and many-merciful! Instill in our prayer and behold the voice of our prayer, create with us a sign for good; Lead us on Thy path, hedgehog walk in Thy truth: rejoice our hearts, in a hedgehog fear Thy Holy Name. Zane Veliky Thou art and work miracles, Thou art the One God, and there is nothing like Thee in Bozeh. Lord: strong in mercy and good in strength, in the hedgehog to help, and comfort, and save all who trusts in Thy Holy Name.
At the end of the litany, the priest proclaims: as Your state ...
Chorus: Amen.
The reader reads the second antiphon of Kathisma.
During the reading of this antiphon, the censing of the Holy Lamb, who is on the throne, is performed. By the exclamation “As for Thy power ...” the priest and deacon worship earthly before the Holy Gifts; then the priest receives the censer, and the deacon accepts the candle and burns incense, going around the throne three times from all sides.
At the end of the censing, both again worship before the Holy Gifts.
The deacon pronounces the small litany in accordance with the second antiphon, the priest, at the end of the censing, secretly prays, reciting the prayer of the second antiphon (the second luminary prayer): Lord! Do not expose us with Thy anger, punish us with Thy wrath: but do with us according to Thy mercy, the Physician and Healer of our souls: guide us to the haven of Thy desire: enlighten the eyes of our hearts to the knowledge of Thy truth and grant us the rest of the present day. peaceful and sinless and all the time of our life, by the prayers of the Holy Mother of God and all Your saints.
Then, at the end of the litanies, the priest proclaims: Yako is Good and Man-lover God is ...
Chorus: Amen.
The reader reads the third antiphon of Kathisma.
During the reading of this antiphon, the transfer of the Holy Lamb to the altar is performed: having worshiped before the Holy Gifts, the priest, holding the diskos with both hands at the level of the brow, transfers the diskos to the altar, walking past the high place. The priest is preceded by a deacon who walks with a candle and censer and performs the censing of the Holy Gifts.
Approaching the altar and reverently placing a diskos on it, the priest pours grape wine and water into the chalice (not for consecration). Then he takes a star and, having given it a shot, puts it on a disk over the Holy Lamb; taking a Nokrovets and dousing him, covers them with a diskos; having given another cover, he covers the chalice with it. Finally, having poured air, covers the diskos and chalice with it.
At each service, the priest prayerfully pronounces (quietly): Let us pray to the Lord, Lord, have mercy. At the end (after covering the holy vessels with air) he says: Through the prayers of our holy fathers. Lord Jesus Christ, our God, have mercy on us. (The other prayers for the full liturgy are not recited at this time.)
After the transfer of the Holy Gifts, the deacon, according to custom, goes to the pulpit and recites the Lesser Litany for the third time, and the priest, returning to the throne, rolls up the antimension, again puts the Gospel on the antimension and prays (secretly), reciting the third prayer of the antiphon (the third lamp prayer) : Lord our God! Remember us, Your sinful and obscene servant, always call upon us Your Holy Name, and do not shame us from the expectation of Your mercy, but grant us, O Lord, all, even for salvation, petitions and grant us to love and fear You from the bottom of your heart. our and creative; in all thy will.
At the end of the litany, the priest proclaims: For you are our God ...
Chorus: “Lord, I have cried” (in the voice of the sticheron on “Lord, I have cried out” - according to the Lenten Triodion).
It is prescribed by the Charter to sing ten stichera.
At this time, the deacon is censing the church.
When singing the last stichera, on "And now," or "Glory, and now" The royal gates are opened and the evening entrance is made with a censer or with the Gospel (if the Gospel reading is supposed, for example, February 24, March 9, on a three days of Holy Week).
Before the singing of the stichera on "And Now," the deacon opens the royal doors, takes the censer and asks the primate for a blessing, saying: Bless, master, censer. Having received the blessing, the deacon kisses the edge of the throne and walks (in front of the priest) to Soleia through a high place through the northern doors, preceded by the chapel bearer.
The priest, having given a blessing to the censer, kisses the throne, follows the deacon from the altar and stands opposite the royal doors. The deacon stands to his right and, bowing his head, holds the orarion with three fingers of his right hand (as during the recitation of the litanies). Turning to the priest, he quietly says: Let us pray to the Lord. The priest secretly reads the prayer of the entrance: Evening, and morning, and noon, we praise, bless, thank and pray to You, Master of all: correct our prayer, like a censer, before You and do not deviate our hearts into words or thoughts of guile: but deliver us from all those who catch our souls, for our eyes are to You, Lord, Lord, and in You with hope, so do not put us to shame, our God. Like all glory, honor and worship befitting You, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and forever and ever. Amen.
The deacon, having sprinkled the icons and the primate, points to the east with an orarion and quietly says: Bless, Vladyka, the holy entrance.
The priest blesses, saying (quietly): Blessed is the entrance of Thy saints, O Lord.
The deacon says: Amen. And again he censes the primate.
Standing at the royal doors, the deacon awaits the end of the singing of the stichera; then, tracing a cross in the air with a censer, he exclaims: Wisdom, forgive me, enters the altar through the royal gates, censes the throne and, in a high place, stands on the left side of the throne, facing west.
Chorus: Quiet light ...
The priest kisses the holy icons on the royal gates, blesses the candle bearer, enters the altar, kisses the throne and stands on a high place (also facing the west).
Deacon: Let us listen.
Priest: Peace to all!
Reader: And perfume yours.
Deacon: Wisdom.
Reader: Prokimen, voice (name of the voice). And pronounces the prokeimenon Triodi.
The choir sings the prokeimen.
The reader recites the first half of the prokimn, and the choir sings the second (final) half of the prokimn.
Deacon: Wisdom.
Reader: Genesis reading.
Deacon: Let us hear it (and closes the royal gates).
The reader reads the parimia.
After reading the parimia, the royal gates are opened.
Deacon: Let us listen.
Reader: Prokimen, voice (name of the voice). And pronounces the most prokemen.
The choir sings the prokeimen.
The reader speaks a verse.
The choir repeats the chanting of the prokimn.
The reader speaks the first half of the prokimn.
The choir finishes chanting the prokimn.
The deacon, addressing the priest, proclaims: Command. (The priest, when serving without a deacon, does not pronounce the word "Command".)
The priest takes in his hands a censer and a lighted candle that stood in front of the Holy Gifts, and before the throne, designating a cross, says: Wisdom, forgive me. Then, turning to the west, he says to those who are praying: The Light of Christ enlightens everyone.
At this time, those praying, out of deep reverence for the Lord Jesus Christ with the Light of Truth, bow down to the ground.
The priest's proclamation, the Light of Christ ... reminds believers that the Old Testament righteous, who are spoken of in the read parimia, were enlightened by the light of Divine truth and prepared by Old Testament prophecies and types for the coming to earth of the Lord Jesus Christ.
After the overshadowing of those praying with a candle and a censer, the royal gates are closed and the reader says: Proverb reading.
Deacon: Let us listen.
The reader reads the second parimia from the book of Proverbs.
1. On the weekdays of the Forty-day period, the first parimia is read from the book of Genesis, which tells about the creation of the world and the consequences of the fall of the forefathers; the second parimia from the Book of Proverbs, which instructs believers to understand and love Divine wisdom. 2. On Holy Week, on Great Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, two parimia are also read, but one from the book of Exodus, the other from the book of Job. 3. In addition to the two parimias, the parimia of the feast from the Menaion is also read in the case when the next day there will be a temple feast or a saint
Polyeleos (e.g. February 24, March 9). If on the eve of these feasts the Presanctified Liturgy is not prescribed, then the parimia of the feast is read on the eve of the Vespers, which is connected to the clock.
At the end of the reading of the parimia, the priest says: Mir Ti.
The deacon opens the royal doors (as is customary everywhere) and proclaims: Wisdom.
The reader, standing before the royal doors behind the pulpit (according to the Rule), sings selected verses of the 140th psalm: May my prayer be corrected, like a censer, before You: lifting my hand is an evening sacrifice.
At this time, all worshipers kneel down and stand like this until the end of the chanting of all four verses.
The choir singers, at the end of the singing of the first verse by the reader, get up from their knees and sing the same "May my prayer be corrected ..." and then again kneel down; the reader kneels down during the singing of the choir and during the singing at the end of the verse 1 "May my prayer be corrected ..."
The reader sings: Lord, cry out to You, hear me: heed the voice of my prayer, always cry out to You.
The reader sings: Lay, O Lord, the keeping with my mouth and the door of the barrier on my lips.
Chorus: May my prayer be corrected ...
Reader: Do not deviate my heart in a word of guile, not to blame for sins. (Do not let my heart go to the evil intention of inventing excuses for my sins.)
Chorus: May my prayer be corrected ...
Reader (in conclusion): May my prayer be corrected, like a censer, before You. The chorus ends: Raising my hand is an evening sacrifice.
The priest, while singing these verses, standing in front of the throne, performs incense, as a sign of offering up heartfelt prayers to God, in accordance with the repeated words of the prayer "May my prayer be corrected, like a censer, before You ..." , having given the censer to the deacon for burning incense before the altar, kneels at the throne.
At the end of the singing "May my prayer be corrected ..." the priest in the altar proclaims the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian: Lord and Master of my belly ... (with three great bows).
By the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian ends Vespers; then follows the liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts itself.
The Presanctified Liturgy itself begins (after the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian and great bows) usually with augmented litany (before the liturgy, the priest, having kissed the Gospel, sets it above the antimension).
During the recitation of the litanies, the priest secretly prays with the words of diligent prayer: O Lord our God, receive this diligent prayer from Thy servants, and have mercy on us according to the multitude of Thy mercy, and send Thy compassion on us and on all Thy people who yearn for rich mercy from You.
During the litany petition for the Patriarch, as well as during the full liturgy, the priest unfolds the iliton and the antimension from three sides, and at the end of the litany he proclaims: Yako is Merciful and Lover of Man, God is ...
After the augmented litany, the litany of the catechumens is pronounced.
Deacon: Pray, catechumens, Lord.
Chorus: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: Vernias, let us pray for the catechumens, may the Lord have mercy on them.
Chorus: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: Will announce them with the word of truth.
Chorus: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: Reveals the gospel of righteousness to them.
Chorus: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: He will unite them with His Holy One, the Synod and Apostles of the Church.
Chorus: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: Save, have mercy, intercede and save them, God, by Your grace.
Chorus: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: Announcements, incline your heads Gbspodevy.
Chorus: For you, Lord.
The priest at this time reads a prayer for the catechumens: God, our God. To the Creator and Assistant of all, Even though everyone may be saved and come to the mind of truth! Look upon Thy servants who are catechumens and rescue them from the ancient delusions and intrigues of the resistance, and call them into eternal life, enlightening their souls and bodies and matching them to Thy verbal flock, on whom Thy Holy Name is denominated.
At the end of the litany, the priest proclaims: Yes, they are glorifying with us ...
At the beginning of this exclamation, he unfolds the upper side of the antimension, makes a sign of the cross on it with an antimension sponge, kisses the sponge and places it on the right side of the antimension. (Iliton and the other sides of the antimense unfold earlier - after a prayer of diligent supplication.)
Chorus: Amen.
The deacon says: Elites of the catechumens, go out; publicity, go out, trees of publicity, go out. Yes, no one from the catechumens, the Elites of faith, packs and packs in peace, let us pray to the Lord.
Chorus: Lord, have mercy.
Beginning with the Wednesday of the Christ-worshiping (fourth) week after the exclamation: Yes, and tii are glorified with us ... a special litany and prayer for those preparing for the holy Enlightenment (Baptism) are laid.
Deacon: Elites of the catechumens, go out; oglaigenia, go; Elites to the Enlightenment, go out (more correctly, from the Greek: start); wash yourself up, like the Enlightenment.
Chorus: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: Vernia, let us pray to the Lord about those who are going to receive the holy Enlightenment of the brethren and their salvation.
Chorus: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: Like yes, our Lord our God will confirm and strengthen them.
Chorus: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: Enlighten them with enlightenment of reason and piety.
Chorus: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: Vouchsafe them during the time of the needful bath of the Holy Spirit, the forgiveness of sins and the garment of incorruption.
Chorus: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: Produces them with water and spirit.
Chorus: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: Grants them the perfecting of faith.
Chorus: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: Will co-ordinate them with His holy and chosen flock Chorus: Lord, have mercy ...
Deacon: Save, have mercy, intercede and preserve them. God, by your grace.
Chorus: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: Even to the Enlightenment, your heads, incline the Lord.
Chorus: For you, Lord.
The priest secretly reads a prayer for those who are preparing for the holy Enlightenment: Reveal, O Lord, Thy Face on the second to the holy Enlightenment of those who are preparing to shake off sinful filth: illuminate their thoughts, exorcise me in faith, confirm in hope, accomplish in love, show me your honest Christ. the deliverance given to Himself for our souls.
After singing “To You, Lord,” the priest proclaims the end of the prayer for those who are preparing for the holy Enlightenment: As you are our Enlightenment, and we glorify Thee, the Father and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and forever, and forever and ever.
Chorus: Amen.
Deacon: Elitsy to the Enlightenment, publish; like the Enlightenment, go out; trees of publicity, go out. Yes, no one from the catechumens, the trees of faith, packs and packs in peace, let us pray to the Lord.
Chorus: Lord, have mercy.
(“Even up to here, even from the middle environment” - Service Book, that is: “the litany and prayer for those preparing for the Enlightenment end here”).
After commanding the catechumens to leave the church, the Liturgy of the faithful begins.
The priest secretly prays (the first prayer of the faithful): Great and praiseworthy God, Who gives life to Thy death of Christ, "and the incorruption of us from corruption! Thou art all our feelings of passionate mortification of freedoms, giving a blessed inner thought to the Lord: and let every evil sight be uncommunicative, hearing is not an idle word, but let the tongue be cleansed of the inappropriate verb: cleanse our mouth, praising Thee, O Lord; Create our hands evil to avoid deeds, to act the same that is pleasing to You, all our udas and Thy thought are affirming by grace.
Deacon: Step in, save, have mercy and save us, God, by Your grace.
Chorus: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: Wisdom.
The priest proclaims the end of the first prayer of the faithful: Like all glory, honor and worship, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and forever and ever.
Chorus: Amen.
Deacon: Packs and packs in peace let us pray to the Lord.
Chorus: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: Let us pray to the Lord for the heavenly peace and the salvation of our souls.
Chorus: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: Let us pray to the Lord for the peace of the whole world, the welfare of the Holy Churches of God and the unification of all.
Chorus: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: For this holy temple and with faith, reverence and fear of God entering into it, let us pray to the Lord.
Chorus: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: Let us pray to the Lord about getting rid of all sorrow, anger and need. ...
Chorus: Lord, have mercy.
The priest secretly prays (the second prayer of the faithful): Holy Lord, Most Good! We pray to Thee, in the mercy of a rich man, to be merciful to us, sinners, and worthy of us to create the rise of Thy Only Begotten Son and our God, the King of glory. His Most Pure Body and Life-giving Blood, entering at the present hour, are offered a meal at this secret, from the multitude of the Heavenly Host invisibly dorinosymya: grant us the same communion uncondemned, so that the mental eye is illuminating, the son of Light and the day will be.
Deacon: Step in, save yourself, have mercy and save us, God, with Your grace.
Chorus: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: Wisdom ...
The cry of "Wisdom" reminds the believers of the special importance of further divine services - of the time of the transfer of the Presanctified Holy Gifts from the altar to the throne.
The priest proclaims the end of the second prayer of the faithful: By the gift of Thy Christ, with Him blessed art, with Thy Most Holy and Good and Life-giving Spirit, now and ever, and forever and ever.
Chorus: Amen.
After the priest's exclamation: By the gift of Thy Christ ... the deacon enters the altar through the northern doors, opens the royal gates, takes the censer and censes the throne, the altar and the priest, while reading (secretly) the 50th psalm. (When ministering without a deacon, the priest also secretly reads the 50th Psalm while censing.)
Then the deacon stands at the throne next to the priest, and they pray together, reciting three times: Now the Forces of Heaven ... (The priest holds his hands upraised for grief.)
Chorus: Now the Forces of Heaven are invisibly serving with us, behold, the King of Glory is coming out: behold, the Secret Sacrifice is complete and is being borne.
(In Russian: Now the Heavenly Forces are invisibly serving with us, for the Tsar of Glory enters: here is the mysterious Sacrifice, already consecrated, solemnly transferred).
At these words, the chanting of the chant is interrupted and resumed upon the introduction of the Holy Gifts into the altar.
The priests, having read three times: Now the Heavenly Forces ... worship three times before the throne, then the priest kisses the antimension and the throne, the deacon - the throne, and both go to the altar.
Here they, saying the prayer “God, cleanse me, a sinner,” and bowing three times, perform the following sacred rites: the priest censors three times in front of the Gifts, and then, giving the censer to the deacon, puts a large air on his left shoulder (if the priest serves alone, he assumes air on your left shoulder). Further, the priest takes the diskos with his right hand and lifts it to the level of his brow, and in his left hand he takes up the chalice and carries it, holding it at the persech (at the chest). The deacon with the censer precedes the priest and often censes. The priests pass, as in the full liturgy, through the northern gates to Solea and through the royal gates to the altar, without saying anything. During the transfer of the Holy Gifts, all those in the temple bow down to the ground, expressing with this worship reverence for the Presanctified Holy Gifts, and rise after the introduction of the Holy Gifts into the altar.
The choir continues the sacred song: Let us approach by faith and love, so we will be partakers of eternal life. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
(In Russian: Let us approach (to the Sacrifice) with faith and love in order to become (become) participants in: eternal life. Hallelujah).
Having entered the altar with the Holy Gifts, the priest first places the chalice on the throne (on the antimension), and then with both hands the diskos, removes the covers from the Holy Gifts, takes air from the deacon's shoulder, brings air over the censer (which the deacon holds), covers the Holy Gifts with air and he censes them, performing sacred ceremonies with great reverence, but saying nothing.
At the end of the singing "By faith and love ..." three great bows are made with the recitation (according to custom) by the priest aloud (from the altar) of the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian: Lord and Master of my belly ...
This half-closing of the veil along the great entrance corresponds to its complete closure after the Cherubic song and then to the opening before the chanting of the Creed during the celebration of the full liturgy. The half-closing of the veil combines the meaning of both actions and indicates the peculiarity of the Presanctified Liturgy as an incomplete liturgy (that is, without the Eucharistic canon).
After the Great Entrance and the fasting of the Holy Gifts on the throne, believers are prepared for Holy Communion.
After great bows, the deacon, “take the time” (Service Book), that is, taking the blessing from the priest, goes to the pulpit and pronounces a supplicatory litany: Let us fulfill our Lord's evening prayer.
Chorus: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: For the offered and Presanctified Honest Darech let us pray to the Lord.
Chorus: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: Like yes, Humanity is our God, accept me as a saint, and heavenly, and my mental altar, in the stench of the spiritual fragrance, will exalt us with Divine grace and the gift of the Holy Spirit, let us pray.
Chorus: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: For us to get rid of all sorrow, anger and need, let us pray to the Lord.
Chorus: Lord, have mercy.
The priest secretly reads a prayer: Along with ineffable and invisible secrets, God, the essence of the secret of wisdom and reason is hidden in the Worthless, And also the ministry of sowing service, revealing to us and putting us sinners, for much Thy philanthropy in the hedgehog to offer You gifts and sacrifices about our sins and about human ignorance! Himself invisible to the King, create great and unexplored, glorious and fair, and there is no number, look upon us, unworthy of Thy servant, like this holy altar, like Thy cherubic Throne, on whom Thy Only Begotten Son and God are present, the Terrible, rests the Mysteries and, every one of us and Thy faithful people, having freed uncleanness, sanctify all of us souls and bodies with inalienable sanctification. Yes, with a clear conscience, with an unashamed face, an enlightened heart of the Divine powers that partake of the holy things and be made alive from them, let us unite to Thy Christ Himself, our true God, who commanded: The Poisonous My Flesh and drink My Blood abide in Me, and I am in him. Like yes, I will dwell in us and walking Thy Word, O Lord, we will be the temple of the Most Holy and worshiped Thy Spirit, deliverance of all devilish intrigues, by deed, or by word, or thought of action, and having received the good promised to us with all Thy saints, who have delighted You from time immemorial.
Chorus: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: Evenings are perfect, holy, peaceful and sinless, we ask the Lord.
Chorus: Come on, Lord.
Deacon: An angel is peaceful, faithful as a mentor, keeper of our souls and bodies, we ask the Lord.
Chorus: Come on, Lord.
Deacon: Forgiveness and remission of sins, I ask the Lord for our sins.
Chorus: Come on, Lord.
Deacon: We ask the Lord for good and helpful souls and peace from the Lord
Chorus: Come on, Lord.
Deacon: We ask the Lord for the rest of our life in peace and repentance.
Chorus: Come on, Lord.
Deacon: Christian deaths of our belly, painless, shameless, peaceful and a kind answer, but we ask for the terrible judgment of Christ.
Chorus: Come on, Lord.
Deacon: Having asked for the union of faith and the communion of the Holy Spirit, we ourselves, and each other, and we will give our whole life to Christ God.
Chorus: For you, Lord.
Priest: And vouch for us, Vladyka, with boldness, without condemnation sweep away call on Thee, Heavenly God, the Father, and speak ...
Chorus: Our Father ...
Priest: Yours is the Kingdom, and power, and glory. The Father, and the Son, and the S. of the Spirit, now and ever, and forever and ever.
Chorus: Amen.
Priest: Peace to all.
Chorus: And perfume yours.
Deacon: Let us bow our heads to the Lord.
Chorus: For you, Lord.
The priest, bowing his head, secretly prays: God, the One Good and Beneficent, Alive in the tall and look down on the humble! Look with a blessed eye on all Thy people, and preserve them, and grant all of us uncondemned communion of Thy Life-giving Mysteries, You have your own head bowed, longing for rich mercy from You.
Chorus: Amen.
The priest prays with great reverence: Behold, Lord Jesus Christ, our God, from Thy holy dwelling place and from the Throne of the glory of Thy kingdom, and come in the hedgehog to sanctify us, And mount the same mountain with the Father, and here invisibly sprinkle us with the power of Thy power. us Thy Pure Body and Honest Blood, and us - all people.
After this prayer, the priest is in the altar, and the deacon in the ambo is worshiped three times, each saying secretly: God, cleanse me, a sinner.
Deacon: Let us listen.
The priest, covered with the real Holy Gifts, touches the Life-giving Holy Bread “with reverence and fear of many” (Serviceman) and utters exclamation: The Presanctified Saint - to the saints (without lifting up the diskos, for the ascension has already been completed before - at the full liturgy) and postpones the fuss.
Chorus: One is Holy ... And participates (kinonik): Taste and see, as good
Lord. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
If the Apostle and the Gospel were read on the day of the saint or the church, then the fugue is sung - as laid down in the Rule - and participates. After Communion, prayers are read in the kliros before Communion (for the sacraments).
The deacon enters the altar and, standing beside the priest, with reverence, quietly says to the priest: Break up, Vladyka, Holy Bread.
The priest breaks the Holy Bread “with much attention” (the Serviceman) into four parts, saying: The Lamb of God is broken and divided, fragmented and indivisible, always poisoned and never dependent, or sanctifying communion.
The priest places the part with the name "Jesus" in the chalice, without saying anything, the deacon silently pours warmth into the chalice.
The priest, addressing the deacon, says: Deacon, come on. Diacon reverently worships and quietly says: Behold, I come to the Immortal King and our God. Teach me, Vladyka, the Honest and Holy Body and Blood of the Lord and God and Savior of our Jesus Christ. Priest: a particle of a part with the name "Christ" was given to him, says: (the name of the rivers) the Holy Deacon is taught the Honest and Holy and Most Pure Body and Blood of the Lord and God and our Savior Jesus Christ, for the remission of his sins and into eternal life.
Having kissed the priest's giving hand, the deacon departs, stands to create the throne and, bowing his head, prays in the same way as a priest (see below).
The priest takes a particle from the part with the name "Christ", saying: The Honest and Most Pure Body and Blood of the Lord and God and our Savior Jesus Christ is taught to me, the name of rivers, to the priest, for the remission of my sins and for eternal life. And, bowing his head, he prays: I believe, O Lord, and I confess ...
Both clergymen receive communion.
Then the priest takes the chalice with the shroud with both hands and drinks it, without saying anything, wipes the lips and chalice with the shroud and places the chalice on the throne, accepts the antydor, washes his hands and lips and, standing a little away from the throne, reads a prayer of thanks: Thank You Savior of all God, about all of them, thou hast given us good things, and for the sacrament of the Holy Body and Blood of Thy Christ, and we pray to Thy, Master Thorny Man: keep us under Thy krill and give us even to our last breath worthy to partake of the holy things Yours, in the enlightenment of soul and body, in the Kingdom of Heavenly heritage.
At this time, the Deacon does not drink from the Chalice, but drinks after the consumption of the Gifts after the prayer outside the ambo. (If a priest serves without a deacon, then he does not drink from the Chalice at that time, but after the celebration of the Liturgy and the consumption of the Gifts.)
The priest, crushing the particles of "NI" and "KA", puts them in a chalice, saying nothing. Kisses the discos and places it near the chalice. Taking the veil, the veil and the chalice, he puts the star, the patrons on the diskos and worships three times. Then the deacon opens the royal gates, with reverence and attention receives the chalice from the hands of the priest, and, turning to those who are praying, he exclaims: With the fear of God and faith, approach.
Choir: I will bless the Lord for all time, His praise is in my mouth.
If there are sacraments, the priest reads a prayer before communion and gives communion to the laity (at the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, infants are not received according to custom).
Then the priest says exclaiming: Save, O God, Thy people and bless Thy heritage.
Choir: Heavenly Bread and Taste the Cup of Life and see how good the Lord is. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Having dropped the Holy Gifts three times, the priest gives the censer to the deacon, and taking the diskos, he gives it to the deacon. The deacon accepts the diskos with reverence, holding it at the level of the chela, and, turning to the royal doors, silently goes to the altar and sets the diskos on it.
The priest, bowing and taking the chalice, goes to the royal doors, secretly saying: Blessed be our God, and then aloud to those who are praying he proclaims at the royal doors: Always, now and ever, and forever and ever.
And the priest carries the Holy Gifts to the altar.
Chorus: Amen. May our lips be filled with Thy praise, O Lord, as we sing Thy glory, as Thou hast vouchsafed us to partake of Thy Holy, Divine, Immortal and Life-giving Mysteries. Observe us in Thy sanctuary, study Thy righteousness all day. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The deacon proceeds from the northern doors to the pulpit and recites the litany: Forgive, accept the Divine, Saints, Most Pure, Immortal, Heavenly and Life-giving Terrible Christ Mysteries, we are worthy to thank the Lord.
Chorus: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: Step in, save, have mercy and save us. God, by your grace.
Chorus: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: Evenings are perfect, holy, peaceful and sinless, having asked them for themselves, and for each other, and we will give our whole life to Christ God.
Chorus: For you, Lord.
Priest: As Thou art our Sanctification, and we glorify Thee, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and forever and ever.
Chorus: Amen.
Priest: Let us leave in peace.
Chorus: About the Name of the Lord.
Deacon: Let us pray to the Lord.
Chorus: Lord, have mercy.
The priest reads the prayer behind the ambo, in which he asks God, who introduced the believers in the days of fasting, to help them in their exploit, the good during fasting, to crush the invisible serpents and unconditionally reach and worship the Holy Resurrection: Vladyka Almighty, Who made all creation by wisdom and ineffable by Thy Providence leading us into these holy days, to the purification of souls and body, to the abstinence of passions, to the hope of resurrection, And for fourty days he handed the tablets, God-written letters, to Thy saint Moses! Grant to us, Beloved, to ascend with a good deed, complete the course of fasting, keep indivisible faith, crush the heads of invisible serpents, appear as the victor of sin and uncondemnedly reach to worship the Holy Resurrection. Yako be blessed and glorified, your most honorable and magnificent Name. Father, and Son, and Holy Spirit, now and forever and forever and ever.
Chorus: Amen. Blessed be the name of the Lord ... (three times).
Reader: Glory, and now ... I will bless the Lord ... (Psalm 33 in full) Next, the priest reads a prayer before consuming the Holy Gifts: O Lord our God, who introduced us into these all-holy days and create Thy Terrible Mysteries with us! Bring us together to your verbal flock, and show your heirs your kingdom, now and ever, and forever and ever. Amen.
The deacon listens to this prayer and consumes the Holy Gifts with reverence.
The priest comes out of the altar and distributes the antidor to those who are praying. At the end of the reading of the psalm and the distribution of the antidora, the priest proclaims: The blessing of the Lord is upon you. That grace and philanthropy always, now and ever, and forever and ever.
Chorus: Amen.
Priest: Glory to Thee, Christ God, our Hope, glory to Thee.
Chorus: Glory, and now ... Lord, have mercy (three times). Bless.
Priest: Christ, our true God, through the prayers of His Most Pure Matera, and holy (the name of the rivers, which is also a temple, and it is also a day, then a saint of the next day), and others like the saints of our Father Gregory the Dvoeslov, Pope of Rome, and all saints, will have mercy and save us, as the Lover of Man is good.
Such a dismissal is pronounced before Holy Week; on Holy Week one says its release, every day.
On dismissal, prayers of thanks are read. Then “Now let go”, the Trisagion according to the “Our Father” and at the exclamation of the priest “For Thy is the Kingdom” - the troparion, voice 5: We receive Divine grace from God from above, gloriously Gregory and strengthen Him by strength, you have deigned to walk in the gospel, from Christ the retribution of labors you have accepted, all-blessed, pray to Him that He may save our souls.
"Glory", kontakion, voice 3: The Sub-Commander appeared to be the Chief as a shepherd of Christ, monks in succession, Father Gregory, instructing the heavenly fence, and from there you taught the flock of Christ by His commandment: now you rejoice with them and rejoice in heavenly blood.
“And now,” the Theotokos: The betrayal of Christians is not shameful, Intercession to the Creator is immutable! Do not despise the voices of sinful prayers, but pre-empt, like the Good One, to the help of us, who are rightly calling Ty: hurry up to prayer and sweat for supplication, presenting everlastingly, to the Mother of God, who honor Thee.
After thanksgiving prayers, the Holy Cross is given for kissing, then the royal gates are closed, the clergy take off the sacred garments, thanking God for the Divine Liturgy, and come out of the church or perform, if any, treasures.
Such wonderful fasting services are performed on every Wednesday and Friday of Great Lent, and sometimes on other days, if there is a big holiday on them.
God bless you!
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