According to Russian Orthodox tradition, God is in everyone’s soul, and in order to ask Him for something, it is not necessary to go to church, since the text of the prayer reaches God through the word. The order of service in the church is only the earthly embodiment of faith. You can come here, repent and receive a blessing.

It is very important for many people not only to feel the support of God in their souls, but also to see his embodiment in the icons that are in the temple. The church holds services according to certain canons. The duration and start time differ depending on the church holiday.

Schedule of liturgies

No for church monasteries general rule holding Divine Liturgies, matins, especially on weekdays. The temple opens early in the morning. The time of the event is determined by the priest himself. depending on the wishes of the people visiting it.

On major Christian holidays, evening and morning liturgies are held. In addition, a prayer service is held on Sunday. Church services on Sundays usually start at 7-8 am. In some churches Matins and Matins may be moved an hour later or an hour earlier. That's why about matins you need to check with the temple servants, where you go, how long the liturgy lasts in the morning, they decide. Vespers at 19-20 hours. Night service also happens, but only on major holidays: Epiphany, Easter. In addition, a religious procession is held for the glory of God.

How long a church service lasts depends on the significance of the holiday. On weekdays it can be held for a maximum of 2 hours, and Sunday services in the Orthodox Church can last up to three hours.

What time does it start evening service in the church, also depends on the scale of the holiday. The earliest start can be at 16:00, the latest at 18:00. This service takes place over 2-4 hours. If church holidays are celebrated, then it is divided into daily, small and great. carried out using the all-night language.

Types of services

Regardless of who holds it and in what place, all services are divided into daily, annual and weekly. Full services are held in monasteries, and it is the monks who follow all the canons of the church. The monks fully comply with the rules of church services, but in small churches they are held depending on the schedule created by the ministers.

Each day of the week is celebrated in the church and dedicated to certain moments:

• Sunday is Little Easter, on this day the resurrection of Christ is remembered.
• You can pray to the angels on Monday.
• John the Baptist hears prayers on Tuesday.
• On Wednesday they remember the betrayal of Judas and the memory of the Cross.
• Thursday is considered an apostolic day and is dedicated to St. Nicholas.
• On Friday, services are held dedicated to prayer for the suffering of Christ.
• Saturday is dedicated to the Mother of God.

Therefore, if you do not have the opportunity to go to church regularly, then you can read prayers every day, depending on who they will be intended for.

Church services on weekdays

Believers visit the temple not only on Saturday or Sunday, but also on weekdays. You can go to church when it is convenient for the believer. At the same time, a Christian parish should always be open. The daily cycle of worship is divided into 9 different parts, And it includes:

• The circle starts at 18:00.
• Compline is the reading of prayers in the evening.
• From 12:00 at night there is a midnight office.
• Matins is divided into the following: the first hour - from 7:00, the third hour - from 9:00, the sixth hour - from 12:00, the ninth hour from 15:00.

Liturgy held from 6:00, 9:00 and until 12:00 is not included in the daily circle of church services. Speaking of ideal worship, every temple should be open at this time, and all of the listed services should be held.

The specifics of their implementation depend solely on the chief priest of the church. In villages, early and late readings of prayers occur only in large churches.

Service in the temple

As already mentioned, the service is held in each church, the only difference is in the time and its duration. During the day, the main worship service is the Divine Liturgy.

At the service, a prayer is read, Christ is remembered, and it ends with an invitation to everyone who wants to undergo the sacrament of Communion. It is carried out between 6 and 9 o'clock.

On Sunday, as a rule, one service is held, and it is called the Eucharistic. Services on this day go one after another. Matins gives way to mass, and mass, in turn, gives way to evening service.

Not long ago there were changes in the Church Charter, and now Compline is held only during the beginning of Lent. If we're talking about about church holidays, then the service may not stop, and one replaces the other.

In addition to large services, the church can hold rituals and sacraments, reading evening and morning prayers, reading akathists in the temple and much more. All services, regardless of the time, are conducted by the minister of the temple, and visitors become its participants.

Visiting church, reading a prayer at night or during the day is solely everyone’s business. No one can force a person to go to church and pray. Only the person himself decides for himself what to do, what to visit and how to convey his prayer to God.

Public worship or, as people say, church services- this is the main thing for which our temples are intended. Every day the Orthodox Church holds evening, morning and afternoon services in churches. Each of these services consists in turn of three types of services, collectively combined into a daily cycle of services:

vespers - from the 9th hour, vespers and compline;

morning - from midnight office, matins and 1st hour;

daytime - from the 3rd hour, 6th hour and Divine Liturgy.

Thus, the entire daily circle consists of nine services.

In Orthodox worship, much is borrowed from the worship of Old Testament times. For example, the beginning of a new day is considered not midnight, but six o’clock in the evening. That is why the first service of the daily cycle is Vespers.

At Vespers, the Church remembers the main events of Sacred History Old Testament: about the creation of the world by God, the fall of our first parents, about the Mosaic legislation and the ministry of the prophets. Christians give thanks to the Lord for the day they have lived.

After Vespers, according to the Church Rules, Compline is supposed to be served. This is in in a certain sense public prayers for the coming sleep, which remember the descent of Christ into hell and the liberation of the righteous from the power of the devil.

At midnight, the third service of the daily cycle is supposed to be performed - the Midnight Office. This service was established to remind Christians of the Second Coming of the Savior and the Last Judgment.

Before sunrise, Matins is served - one of the longest services. It is dedicated to the events of the earthly life of the Savior and contains many prayers of both repentance and gratitude.

At about seven o'clock in the morning they perform the 1st hour. This is the name of the short service at which the Orthodox Church remembers the presence of Jesus Christ at the trial of the high priest Caiaphas.

The 3rd hour (nine o’clock in the morning) is served in remembrance of the events that took place in the Upper Room of Zion, where the Holy Spirit descended on the Apostles, and in Pilate’s Praetorium, where the Savior was sentenced to death.

The 6th hour (noon) is the time of the Lord’s crucifixion, and the 9th hour (three o’clock in the afternoon) is the time of His death on the cross. The above-mentioned services are dedicated to these events.

The main divine service of the Orthodox Church, a kind of center of the daily circle, is the Divine Liturgy. Unlike other services, the liturgy provides an opportunity not only to remember God and the entire earthly life of the Savior, but also to actually unite with Him in the sacrament of Communion, established by the Lord Himself during the Last Supper. According to the time, the liturgy should be performed between the 6th and 9th hour, before noon, in the pre-dinner time, which is why it is also called mass.

Modern liturgical practice has brought its own changes to the regulations of the Charter. Thus, in parish churches, Compline is celebrated only during Lent, and the Midnight Office is celebrated once a year, on the eve of Easter. The 9th hour is extremely rarely served. The remaining six services of the daily circle are combined into two groups of three services.

In the evening, Vespers, Matins and the 1st hour are performed in succession. On the eve of Sundays and holidays, these services are combined into one service called the all-night vigil. In ancient times, Christians actually often prayed until dawn, that is, they stayed awake throughout the night. Modern all-night vigils last two to four hours in parishes and three to six hours in monasteries.

In the morning, the 3rd hour, the 6th hour and the Divine Liturgy are served successively. In churches with large congregations, there are two liturgies on Sundays and holidays - early and late. Both are preceded by reading the hours.

On those days when there is no liturgy (for example, on Friday of Holy Week), a short sequence of pictorial ones is performed. This service consists of some chants of the liturgy and, as it were, “depicts” it. But visual arts do not have the status of an independent service.

Divine services also include the performance of all sacraments, rituals, reading of akathists in church, community readings of morning and evening prayers, rules for Holy Communion.

From the first centuries of the advent of Christianity, morning was considered a favorable time for. A person waking up after a night's rest should turn to God with prayers before starting the coming day. In the history of Christian worship, Matins (in the morning) could begin with the appearance of the first rays of the sun, followed by the liturgy, after which the believers partook of the mysteries of the body of Christ. On major holidays, the service in the temple took place at night on the eve of the solemn event. The all-night vigil lasted several hours, and at dawn the liturgy began. Nowadays this practice is very rare. Only on Christmas, Easter and Epiphany do services begin at night. On weekdays, Vespers and Matins are held in the evening, and the Liturgy begins the next day in the morning.

What time do morning services begin in modern churches?

Depending on the day of the week, the status of the temple and total number of the clergy serving in it, the morning service can begin at different time. In large cathedrals, where services are held daily, on weekdays the liturgy usually begins at 8 or 9 am. There are liturgical periods when the Eucharist is not supposed to be celebrated ( Lent except Wednesday and Friday, Holy Week till Thursday). At this time, matins services are held in churches, which can begin at 7 am. In monasteries, an even earlier start to serving God is practiced, since the duration of matins or liturgy is much longer.

In church liturgical practice, it is prescribed to perform the liturgy no later than 12 noon. In order to finish around this time, the service begins at 8 or 9 o'clock in the morning. However, there are separate indications that if the liturgy begins, then the Eucharist can take place later. This happens on Christmas Eve, the holidays of the Nativity of Christ and Epiphany. The usual time for the start of morning services in the parish church is nine hours after midnight.

I would especially like to note that in large cathedrals and churches with a large clergy on Sundays and holidays, the liturgy can be celebrated twice in the morning. So, the first liturgy is early and begins at approximately 6 or 7 o’clock in the morning. During this time, a person can visit the temple before the start of the working day (if it is religious holiday, falling on a weekday), confess and receive the holy gifts. After this, with a feeling of spiritual joy from communicating with God, the believer can go to work.

The second morning liturgy is called late and usually begins at 9 am. A special place in the liturgical practice of the Church is occupied by services in which the ruling bishop takes part. The liturgy during the episcopal service is a separate meeting of the bishop and the service itself. In such cases, the service can begin at 9.30.

Related article

The church life of a Christian is subject to special laws. Its rhythm is largely determined by the schedule of services - both annual and daily. It is very important for a person who has recently come to faith to understand this.

Once upon a time, all these services took place separately, but later, to make it more convenient for parishioners, they were combined into three services: evening, morning and afternoon. The first one in this list is precisely , because the counting of time differs from the worldly one; the beginning of the day is considered not morning, but evening. This corresponds to the ancient Jewish tradition of counting time, inherited by the Christian Church.

The ninth hour, Vespers and Compline are combined into the Vespers, Midnight Office, Matins and the first hour - into the morning, and the third hour, sixth and Divine Liturgy - into the afternoon.

Each service is dedicated not only to certain events described in the Bible, but also various aspects man's relationship with God.

Worship times

The starting point of the daily cycle of services is the ninth hour, which corresponds to 15.00 Moscow time. This service is dedicated to giving thanks for the day and remembering the suffering of Jesus Christ. This is followed by Vespers, dedicated to repentance and forgiveness, and Compline. The Midnight Office, dedicated to the prayer of Jesus Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane, took place at midnight.

The earliest service, based on the worldly reckoning of time, can be considered the first hour that sanctifies the coming day - 7 o'clock in the morning. The third hour corresponds to 9.00, the sixth - 12.00, and the Divine Liturgy is the most important of the services, during which holy sacrament Eucharists were celebrated during the day.

This was the order of worship in Orthodox churches in the Middle Ages.

Currently, such richness has been preserved only in monasteries, because monks completely devote their lives to serving God. For the laity this is the order church life is impossible, therefore, in most parish churches there are two services: evening - at 17.00 and morning - at 9.00.

Sometimes the times of services in individual churches change at the discretion of the rectors, who try to take care of the interests of the parishioners.

Related article

IN Orthodox Church Sunday is a special day on the calendar. This is the focus of the entire liturgical week, a special holiday, the very name of which indicates the miraculous event of the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is no coincidence that every Sunday in Orthodoxy is called Little Easter.

All Orthodox worship is divided into certain services from the daily circle, departing at set times. Over hundreds of years of formation and development Orthodox worship a charter was developed defining the order and features of each service.

On a liturgical day, it begins in the evening of the day before the celebrated event. Therefore, Sunday services in the church begin on Saturday evening. Most often, Saturday evening is marked by Sunday's Great Vespers, Matins and the First Hour.

On Sunday Vespers Among other standard chants, the choir performs certain stichera dedicated to the risen Lord. In some churches, at the end of Sunday Great Vespers, a lithium is performed with the blessing of bread, wheat, oil (oil) and wine.

At Sunday morning a special troparion is sung in one of eight voices (tunes); the polyeleos is performed - a special chant “Praise the Name of the Lord”, after which the choir sings the Sunday troparions “Cathedral of Angels”. Also at Sunday morning special canons are read: the Sunday canon, honorable cross and the Mother of God (sometimes, depending on the order of connection of the Sunday service with the memory of the venerated saint, the canons may change). At the end of Matins the choir sings a great doxology.

Ends Saturday evening service the first hour, after which the priest performs the sacrament of confession for those who wish to partake of the holy Body and Blood of Christ at the liturgy on Sunday.

On Sunday itself, the service in the Orthodox church begins in the morning. Usually at half past eight. First, the sequences of the third and sixth hours are read, and then follows the main service of Sunday - the Divine Liturgy. The liturgy itself usually begins at nine in the morning. Most often, in Orthodox churches on Sunday, a liturgy is celebrated, compiled by the great Saint John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople. This rite is standard, except that the choir performs special Sunday troparia depending on the current voice (there are only eight of them).

Usually in churches at the end of the liturgy a prayer service is held, during which the priest specifically prays for the needs of believers: for health, for healing in illnesses, blessings on travel, etc.

After the end of the prayer service, a memorial service in memory of the deceased and a funeral service can be held in the church. Thus, the Church on Sunday does not forget to pray especially not only for the health of living people, but also for deceased relatives.

During the service, you need to carefully monitor its progress, cross yourself and bow along with everyone present in the church. Before lighting a candle or approaching an icon, you should also cross yourself. When entering and leaving the church they also bow and cross themselves. Church service does not tolerate fuss. Unnecessarily, they do not leave it during the service; women come with their heads covered and modestly dressed, if possible, without makeup; on menstruation days it is strictly forbidden to go to church, this is a great sin.

Conducting services in accordance with church regulations

There is a church charter, according to which daily services are held in monasteries and must be held in the church. How long does the church service last? First comes morning service, then the Divine Liturgy. Evening service takes place around 6-7 pm.

A specific time of day is not mandatory, but the service, by its purpose and content, is tied to a specific time of day, so the church adheres to holding services during the hours allotted to it. The duration of the service is also not limited by any canons. There is a centuries-old custom of conducting a service, which averages from 1.5 to 2-3 hours.

Services in the church are divided into daily, weekly, and annual services. Daily services last for 24 hours and then are repeated, thus closing in a circle. The same thing happens with the seventh and annual circles. The services do not have a specific ritual; only the daily daily services remain unchanged; this is the basis of worship.

How is a church service held?

Daily services are held daily. During the days of fasting, Great Lent and others, not only service to God is performed, but also a service is held in the church with confession and communion of the Holy Mysteries of Jesus Christ. Large parishes where people gather for services a large number of believers can perform two liturgies a day. Rural parishioners go to services on Sundays and holidays.

How are church services held? It must be said that services are not performed one at a time. For example, a service dedicated to Birth or Baptism (that is, an event that occurs once a year) is not separated into a separate service, but is combined with the services of the daily circle. The daily cycle includes weekly and annual services. They are combined into one service, in which prayers, readings and chants are heard that are associated with the days of the year and week.

There are 9 types of church services in the church: In the morning - 9th hour, evening service, Compline, then midnight office. Matins, and then by the hour: first, third and sixth. In the evening, after the sixth hour - Divine Liturgy. The first hour joins morning prayer, but is a special service. All services that should be held in the temple are usually seven.

All prayers, with the exception of the Lord's Prayer, were invented by people

The history of Christianity knows only one prayer, transmitted directly by Jesus Christ: “Our Father.” Then the apostolic instructions gave recommendations for reading daily prayers. In the morning, at three o'clock, at six, at nine and in the evening. In the morning - in gratitude to the Lord, on the third because Christ received the sentence. The sixth hour is the hour of crucifixion and the ninth is the hour of sorrow. Evening prayer- thanks to God. Just as in ancient times the apostles glorified Jesus Christ and the most significant events associated with his life and death, so today the tradition of worship in the temple is preserved.

Each of the listed services should be performed daily and independently in the church. But, tolerating the conditions of worldly life, the church holds morning and evening services twice a day, that is, in public churches they do not strictly adhere to the rules. In monasteries, services are held in accordance with the church charter, as expected, seven times a day.

Jesus, in his instructions to the apostles, says that prayer must be sincere. Whatever the prayers written by others, a person always has the opportunity to turn to God directly, in his heart, and He will definitely hear a sincere prayer coming from the heart.

Schedule of public services in churches.

What time does the early and late morning service in church begin and end?

Important: each temple creates its own schedule of public services! There is no general schedule for all temples!

Two liturgies, early and late, are served on major Christian holidays and Sundays in churches with large parishes.

The early service is held at 6-7 am, the late service at 9-10 am. In some churches, the time is shifted to 7-8 a.m. for early services and 10-11 a.m. for late ones.

The duration of public worship is 1.5-2 hours. In some cases, the duration of the morning liturgy can be 3 hours.

What time does the evening and night service in the church begin and end?

Evening public worship is served no earlier than 16:00 and no later than 18:00. Each temple has its own schedule.

The duration of the service is 2-4 hours and depends on the significance of the upcoming holiday. According to the Rule, Vespers can be daily, small and great.

Every day is performed on weekdays, unless a holiday with a polyeleos or vigil falls on them.

Small is part All-night vigil. The Great Service is served on major holidays and can be performed separately or combined with Matins.

The world is changing, and these changes affect, among other things, the Church Charter. Night or all-night vigils rarely last from three to six hours (for monasteries). In ordinary temples the duration night service 2-4 hours.

The night service begins at 17:00-18:00 depending on the parish Charter.

What time does church service begin and end today: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday?

Daily circle church services consists of nine different services. This includes:

• Vespers - from 18:00 - the beginning of the circle,
• Compline,
• Midnight Office - from 00:00,
• Matins,
• 1st hour - from 7:00,
• 3rd hour - from 9:00,
• 6th hour - from 12:00,
• 9th hour - from 15:00,
• Divine Liturgy - from 6:00-9:00 until 12:00 - is not included in the daily cycle of services.

Ideally in every active temple these services should be held daily, however, in practice the daily cycle is performed only in large churches, cathedrals or monasteries. In small parishes it is impossible to ensure constant worship in such a rhythm. Therefore, each parish determines its own pace, coordinating it with its real capabilities.

It follows from this that you need to find out the exact schedule of services in the temple you are going to visit.

Approximate times for morning and evening services are given at the beginning of the article.

What time does Saturday church service begin and end?

Having carefully read the previous part of the article, you most likely noticed the fact that the beginning of the liturgical day corresponds not to 00:00 (as is customary in secular life), but to 18:00 (the previous calendar day).

What does it mean?

This means that the first Saturday service begins on Friday after 18:00, and the last one ends on Saturday before 18:00. The most important Sabbath service is the full Divine Liturgy.

As a rule, Saturday services are dedicated to the venerable fathers and mothers, as well as to all the saints, to whom they turn with appropriate prayers. On the same day, the commemoration of all the dead takes place.

What time does church service start and end on Sunday?

The first Sunday service begins on Saturday after 18:00, and the last service ends on Sunday before 18:00. Sunday services are filled with the theme of the Resurrection of the Lord. That is why Sunday services, especially the Divine Liturgy, are the most significant in the weekly cycle of services.

Check with the temple you are planning to visit for the exact schedule of services.

What time does the festive service in the church begin and end: schedule

You can find approximate times for morning and evening services at the beginning of the article.

Each temple draws up its own schedule of public services, including holiday ones. There is no general schedule for all temples!

As a rule, the Charter prescribes the so-called “all-night vigil” to be served on holidays - a particularly solemn service, which in modern interpretation has retained the division into Vespers and Matins.

In addition, on the days of the twelfths and other major holidays, the Liturgy necessarily takes place, during which believers receive communion.

At the same time, each holiday service has accompanying texts and rituals unique to it, which cannot but affect the duration of the service.

What time does the Christmas service in church begin and end?

• 1st hour service. Time - from 7:00. Stichera are read about the fulfillment of the prophecy about the birth of the Messiah.
• 3rd hour service. Time - from 9:00. The stichera about the Incarnation are read.
• 6th hour service. Time - from 12:00. The stichera with the call to meet Christ are read, and the Gospel is read.
• 9 o'clock service. Time - from 15:00. Stichera are read. At the end they read figuratively.

• Depending on the day on which Christmas Eve falls, one of the evening Liturgies is celebrated: St. Basil the Great or St. John Chrysostom. Time: depending on the temple from 17:00.
• Celebration of the Great Vespers of the Nativity of Christ.
• Celebration of the All-Night Vigil of the Nativity of Christ. Time: depending on the temple - from 17:00 to 23:00.

There is no strict sequence in conducting the festive service. In large churches and monasteries, Christmas services (evening, the most solemn part) last 6-8 hours, in small ones - 1.5-2 hours.

Find out about the exact time of the service at the temple you are going to visit.

ABOUT folk traditions Christmas celebrations can be read.

What time does the service in the church on Epiphany Eve begin and end?

Services on Epiphany Eve are very similar to Christmas services.

On this day, the hours are read in the morning, and in the evening the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great is celebrated. After the Liturgy, as a rule, the first blessing of water occurs.

Depending on the day on which Epiphany falls, the order of services may differ.

On January 19, morning and evening services are held with the obligatory subsequent blessing of water.

The exact time of the services will be told to you directly in the temple.

What time does the festive service in the church for Candlemas begin and end?

Meeting completes the Christmas circle Orthodox holidays. The date of celebration is February 15.

After the solemn morning liturgy, the rite of consecration of water and candles is performed.

Be sure to check the time of the liturgy in the church.

What time does the festive service in the church for the Annunciation begin and end?

The Annunciation is celebrated on April 7. However, believers should attend the evening service on April 6. In some churches, all-night vigils are held from April 6 to 7.

On April 7, early and/or late liturgies are served with mandatory confession and communion for the laity.

What time does the festive service in church on Palm Sunday begin and end?

The date of Palm Sunday celebration depends on the date of Easter celebration and is determined according to the lunisolar calendar.

Festive services begin with the evening service and subsequent all-night vigils on Lazarus Saturday. Lazarus Saturday is the day before Palm Sunday. During the evening service, palm branches are necessarily blessed.

IN Palm Sunday Early and/or late liturgies are performed, followed by the consecration of the willow.

The time of services depends on the internal regulations of the temple.

What time does the festive service in church on Easter begin and end?

Everything depends on the internal regulations of the temple. Be sure to check the time of services!

As a rule, holiday services begin on Saturday with an evening service (16:00-18:00). In some churches, after the evening service, a blessing of Easter cakes is held.

Then all-night vigils begin with obligatory procession at 24:00.

After vigils and matins, the Divine Liturgy is served, followed by the blessing of Easter cakes. As a rule, the blessing occurs at the first rays of the sun.

Evening in Svetloye Christ's Resurrection The evening service is also corrected. However, Easter cakes are no longer blessed.

Beautiful Easter greetings can be found.

What time does the festive service in the church on Radonitsa begin and end?

Radonitsa is a special holiday that connects the past and the future. On this day it is customary to remember deceased relatives and friends.

Radonitsa is celebrated on the ninth day after Easter Sunday.

The evening before, an evening service is held, and in the morning there is an early and/or late liturgy. A full memorial service is served either after the evening service or after the morning services - it all depends on the internal rules of the temple.

In addition, the charters of many churches require that Easter funeral services be held in city cemeteries.

More information about Radonitsa.

What time does the festive service in the church for Trinity begin and end?

The date of the celebration of Trinity or Pentecost depends on the date of Bright Resurrection.

Important: on the eve of the holiday of Trinity, Trinity Parents' Saturday is always held, the peculiarity of which is a special funeral service. This is a special Funeral Liturgy, after which you can and should visit the cemetery and remember the dead.

Evening Parents' Saturday marked by a festive All-Night Vigil.

On Sunday, early and/or late holiday liturgies are celebrated. In many temples, bouquets of twigs and medicinal herbs are blessed.

Be sure to check the time of services directly with the temple you want to visit!

Tips on how to talk to children about the Trinity.

Goda will help you not to miss significant services.

Video: How to behave in the Temple?