Divine Liturgy.

2. Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom.

Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, as we have seen, is the most commonly used liturgy in our church, and therefore we will begin our study of the greatest Christian sacrament with it. "Liturgy, as Archimandrite Gabriel says, according to the rules Eastern Church, represents one great, harmonious and whole divine service, which, from beginning to end, is imbued, according to the commandment of Jesus Christ, with the remembrance of Him. But this single whole, in turn, can be divided in external form, as it was in ancient times, into three main parts: 1. the proskomedia, 2. the liturgy of the catechumens and 3. the liturgy of the faithful" ("Manual on Liturgics." Tver , 1886, p. 495) So, the liturgies of St. Basil the Great and St. John Chrysostom are divided into three parts:

- Proskomedia, (which, according to word production from Greek ?????????? from ?????????? - “p roskomizo” I bring, means offering), on which the substance for the sacrament is prepared from gifts of bread and wine brought by believers; — Liturgy of the catechumens, which consists of prayers, readings and singing in preparation for the celebration of the sacrament, and which is so called because the presence of “catechumens,” that is, those who have not yet been baptized, but only those preparing to receive baptism, is allowed; - The Liturgy of the Faithful, at which the sacrament itself is performed and only the “faithful,” that is, those who have already been baptized and have the right to begin the sacrament of communion, are allowed to attend.

Proskomedia.

During a cathedral service, the entire proskomedia is performed from beginning to end by only one priest and, as is customary, the youngest of the servants. Proskomedia is performed secretly in the altar with the royal doors closed and the curtain drawn. At this time, hours 3 and 6 are read on the choir. Approaching the altar on which the proskomedia is celebrated, the priest and deacon first of all inspect the substance for the sacrament: prosphora and wine. There should be five prosphoras. They should be well baked from pure wheat flour mixed with natural plain water and not milk, should not be anointed with butter or eggs, should not be made of musty and spoiled flour and should not be “stale velma, many days old.” The dough must be leavened with yeast, for the bread for the sacrament must be leavened, such as the Lord Himself blessed at the Last Supper and such as was consumed by the saints. Apostles (in Greek: ????? "artos" - bread that has risen, from ?????? or ????? - to raise upward, i.e. leavened, sour bread). The prosphora is stamped with a cross in the form of a cross with letters on the sides: IS HS NI KA. The wine must be pure grape wine, not mixed with any other drink, red in color, like blood. You should not use juice from berries or vegetables for proskomedia. The wine should not be sour, turned to vinegar or moldy. Having prepared and examined everything necessary, the priest and deacon make three bows before the altar, saying: God, cleanse me, a sinner, and have mercy on me, and then read the troparion of the Great Heel: You have redeemed us from the legal oath... The deacon asks for a blessing, saying: Bless, lord, and the priest begins the proskomedia with the exclamation: Blessed be our God... Then holding the prosphora with his left hand (it should be two-part, in the image of the two natures in the person of Jesus Christ), and with his right hand a copy, he “signifies” the prosphora with it three times, that is, he depicts the sign of the cross above the seal, while saying three times: In remembrance of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ. Then, thrusting the copy vertically, he cuts the prosphora on all four sides of the seal, while pronouncing the prophetic words of St. the prophet Isaiah about the suffering and death of the Lord (Is. 53: 7-8). It must be borne in mind that the right and left sides indicated in the service book are considered as such in relation to the prosphora, and not to the priest. The deacon, reverently looking at this and holding the orarion, says with each cutting: Let's pray to the Lord. Then he says: Take it, lord, and the priest, having inserted a copy into the right side of the lower part of the prosphora, takes out a part of the prosphora cut out in a cubic shape, saying the words: As if His belly would rise from the ground than indicated on violent death Gentlemen. This regular cubic part, separated from the prosphora, bears the name “Lamb,” for it represents the image of the suffering Jesus Christ, just as the Passover lamb represented Him in the Old Testament. The rest of this first prosphora is called "Antidor" (from Greek ???? = "anti" instead of ????? - "doron" - gift). The antidoron is broken into pieces and distributed by the priest at the end of the liturgy to believers who have not begun the sacrament of communion, as if in exchange for communion, which is why only “non-eaters” can eat the antidoron. The priest places the Lamb removed from the prosphora on the paten with the seal facing down. Deacon says: Devour, lord, and the priest cuts it crosswise, thereby depicting the slaughter, the death of the Savior on the cross. The lamb is cut from the flesh to the crust so that it does not fall into four parts and so that it is convenient to break it into four parts at the end of the liturgy. At the same time the priest says: Eats, that is: “sacrificed” Lamb of God, take away the sins of the world, for the world's belly and salvation. Then the priest places the Lamb on the paten with the seal facing upwards and with the words of the deacon: Give me a break, my lord, pierces with a copy the upper right side of the Lamb, on which is the inscription IS, pronouncing the gospel words (John 19:34-35): One of the warriors with a copy of His rib was pierced, and from it came forth blood and water, and he who saw it testified, and truly there is his testimony. The deacon, by his very action, depicts the remembered event. Having taken the priest's blessing, he pours wine mixed with a very small amount of water into the chalice. At this moment and then after the consecration of the gifts, before communion, so much water must be poured in so that “the taste characteristic of wine does not change into water” (see Izv. Teaching). Next, the priest continues the proskomedia without the participation of the deacon, who at this time can prepare the Gospel reading and memorial notes, and again enters into it at its conclusion. Having prepared the Lamb in this way, the priest takes out particles from the other four prosphoras. Some particles are taken out “in honor and memory” of those people who, through the merits of the Lord on the cross, were worthy to stand at the throne of the Lamb. Other particles are taken out so that the Lord remembers the living and the dead. First of all, a triangular particle is removed from the second prosphora In honor and memory of our Most Blessed Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary... This particle is placed "at the right hand of the Lamb." Then the priest takes the third prosphora and removes from it nine triangular particles in honor of the nine faces of saints who have been awarded a home in heaven, like the nine ranks of angels. In honor of the Angels, the particle is not removed, for they, as those who had not sinned, had no need for redemption by the Blood of Christ. These nine particles are placed on the left side of the Lamb in three rows: in the 1st row, the first particle is in the name of John the Baptist, the second below it is in the name of the Prophets, the third even lower under the second is in the name of the Apostles; in the 2nd row the first is in the name of the Saints, the second below it is in the name of the Martyrs and the third is in the name of the Venerables; in the 3rd row, the first in the name of the Unmercenaries, the second below it in the name of the Godfathers Joachim and Anna, the Temple Saint, the Daily Saint, and all saints, and finally, the third and last in the name of the compiler of the liturgy, depending on whose liturgy done, St. John Chrysostom or St. Basil the Great. The second and third prosphoras are thus dedicated to the saints; the fourth and fifth to all other sinful people who need to wash away their sins with the most pure Blood of Christ, and from the fourth prosphora particles are taken for the living, and from the fifth - for the dead. First of all, bits about the spiritual and secular authorities are taken out, and then about ordinary believers. All these particles are placed under the Lamb, first for the living, and then for the dead. With each name, taking out a particle, the priest says: Remember, Lord, servant of God such and such, name. At the same time, it is customary for a priest to first honor the bishop who ordained him. Here the priest also remembers (takes out particles from the prosphora served by the laity) about health and repose. At the conclusion of the entire proskomedia, from the prosphora designated for the commemoration of the living, the priest takes out a particle for himself with the words: Remember, Lord, my unworthiness and forgive me every sin, voluntary or involuntary.. The removal of all particles should be completed with the end of the proskomedia, which is strictly adhered to in the East. But, unfortunately, it has become a custom among us that lay people who are late for the beginning of the Divine Liturgy serve commemorations with prosphora after the end of the proskomedia, often right up to the Cherubic Song itself, and the priest continues the commemoration and taking out the particles, moving away from the throne to the altar, during the time of the liturgy itself, when, strictly speaking, this should no longer be done, because the proskomedia is over and returning to it again, after the dismissal has been pronounced, is no longer correct, and the walking of the serving priest from the altar to the altar and back, while the liturgy is in progress, introduces an undesirable chaos and confusion, especially if there is a lot of prosphora served, and the priest has to be nervous, rushing to take them out. Participation in the removal of particles by a non-servant, but only a priest present during the service at the altar, is completely wrong and should not have been allowed at all. In any case, any removal of particles must be undoubtedly stopped after the Cherubim and the transfer of the Holy Gifts to the throne. At the bishop's liturgy, the serving bishop also performs a proskomedia for himself, remembering whoever he wants during the Cherubic Song, just before the Great Entrance. Having taken out all the prescribed particles from the prosphora, the priest covers the paten and chalice with coverings, having previously scented them with incense over the censer, which is brought to him by the deacon, or if there is no deacon, then by the altar boy. First of all, having blessed the offered censer, the priest says the censer prayer: We bring the censer to you... and then fumigates a star over the censer and places it on the paten above the gifts, both to maintain the cover over them and to depict the star that appeared at the Nativity of the Savior. As a sign of this, the priest says: And a star came, a hundred above, where the Child. Then the priest fumigates the cover with incense and covers the paten with it, pronouncing the words of the psalm: ... Then he fumigates the second cover and covers the chalice with it, saying: Cover the heavens with your virtue, O Christ.... And finally, having fragrantly fragrant the large cover, called “air,” he places it on top of the paten and chalice together, saying: Cover us with the blood of your wing... During these actions, the deacon holding the censer says: Let's pray to the Lord: And Cover, lord. Having covered St. paten and chalice, the priest takes the censer from the deacon’s hands and censes them three times, uttering three times praise to the Lord for the establishment of this great sacrament: Blessed be our God, thou art of good will, glory to thee. The deacon adds to each of these three exclamations: Always, now, and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen. At the same time, both of them bow three times before St. altar. At the end of the Proskomedia it is indicated " Vedati befits: if a priest serves without a deacon, in the proskomedia of the deacon’s words, and in the liturgy before the Gospel, and in response to his answer: Bless, lord, And Give me a break, my lord, And Time to create, let him not say: only litanies and official offerings" (that is, only what is indicated for the priest according to the rite). Then the deacon, having accepted the censer from the priest, invites him to pray for the honest gifts offered, to which the priest reads the so-called prayer Offers starting with the words: God, our God, heavenly bread... The proskomedia ends with the usual dismissal, at which the saint whose liturgy is served is remembered. Upon dismissal, the deacon censes the holy offering, pulls back the curtain on the royal doors, and censes around the saint. the throne, the entire altar, and then the entire temple, saying the Sunday troparia: Carnally in the grave..., and Psalm 50. Returning to St. altar, censes the altar and the priest again, after which he puts the censer aside. As we see, the proskomedia symbolizes the Nativity of Christ. The prosphora from which the Lamb is taken means the Blessed Virgin, “from Whom Christ was born,” the altar represents a nativity scene, the paten signifies the manger in which the baby Jesus was laid, the star the star that led the Magi to Bethlehem, the shrouds with which the Newborn was wrapped Baby. The cup, censer and incense resemble the gifts brought by the Magi - gold, frankincense and myrrh. Prayers and doxologies depict the worship and praise of shepherds and wise men. At the same time, prophetic words also recall what Christ was born for, His suffering on the cross and death. Nowadays, we have almost lost why the first part of the liturgy is called “proskomedia,” that is, the bringing by the faithful of everything necessary for the performance of the Divine Liturgy. All this is purchased with church money; prosphoras for commemorating loved ones, living and dead, are bought by parishioners from the candle box. But in the East, a partly ancient custom has still been preserved: believers themselves bake prosphora and bring them to the liturgy, just as they bring wine, oil for lamps and incense, handing all this over to the priest before the liturgy for the health and repose of the souls of their loved ones . In ancient times, all this did not go to the altar, but to a special department of the temple, called “Professis” =????????, which means “ Offer"where the deacons were in charge, separating the best of what was brought for the celebration of the Divine Liturgy, while the rest was used for the so-called" Agapah"or "love suppers," fraternal meals among ancient Christians. Agapes (from the Greek ????? - love) "love suppers," organized by ancient Christians in remembrance of the Last Supper, with the celebration of the sacrament of the Eucharist. Later, agapes turned into feasts and sometimes riots arose at them, which is why in 391 the Council of Carthage (3rd) made a decree on separating the Eucharist from agapes, and a number of other councils prohibited the celebration of agapes in churches (see 74 Ave. of the Trulle Cathedral).So agapes gradually disappeared .

Liturgy of the Catechumens.

The second part of the liturgy, performed in full hearing of the people coming to the church, is called " Liturgy of the Catechumens", since the presence of "catechumens," that is, only those preparing to receive Christ's faith, but not yet baptized. Having finished censing, the deacon stands with the priest in front of the throne. Having bowed three times, they pray for the grace of the Holy Spirit to be sent down to them so that they can perform the terrible service in a worthy manner. The priest, raising his hands up, reads: King of heaven:, while the deacon stands to his right, raising his orarion up. Then, having marked himself with the sign of the cross and made a bow, the priest reads in exactly the same way twice the song sung by the angels at the Nativity of Christ: Gloria...and finally for the third time: Lord, open my lips... After this, the priest kisses the Gospel, and the deacon kisses St. throne. Then the deacon, turning to the priest three times and reminding him of the arrival of the moment for the beginning of the sacred rite, asks for a blessing for himself. Having received the blessing, the deacon goes out through the northern doors of the altar to the pulpit, stands opposite the royal doors and, having bowed three times, says to himself three times - Lord, open my lips:, and proclaims: Bless, lord. The priest begins the liturgy with a solemn glorification of the gracious kingdom of the Holy Trinity, indicating that the Eucharist opens the entrance to this kingdom: Blessed be the kingdom of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Lik sings: Amen. Only the sacraments of Baptism and Marriage begin with a similar solemn exclamation, which indicates their connection with the liturgy in ancient times. In the East, at this exclamation, it is customary to remove hoods and kamilavkas. Pronouncing this exclamation, the priest, lifting the altar Gospel, makes the sign of the cross over the antimension and, having kissed it, then places it in its original place. Further, the liturgy of the catechumens consists of alternating litanies, singing, mainly psalms, reading the Apostle and the Gospel. Its general character is didactic and edifying; while the liturgy of the faithful has a mysterious, mystical character. In ancient times, in addition to the Apostle and the Gospel, the Liturgy of the Catechumens also offered the reading of the Old Testament scriptures, but gradually this fell out of use: proverbs are now read at the Liturgy only when on some days of the year it is combined with Vespers, which precedes it. Second distinguishing feature The liturgy of the catechumens, in comparison with the liturgy of the faithful, is characterized by greater variability in its content: it includes antiphons, troparia, kontakia, apostolic and gospel readings and some other hymns and prayers, which are not always the same, but change depending on the holiday and day on which the liturgy is celebrated. After the initial exclamation there follows a great or peaceful litany, to which sometimes special petitions are added, depending on a particular need (usually after the petition “for those floating”). This litany concludes with the secret prayer of the priest, called the “prayer of the first antiphon” and the exclamation of the priest: For all glory is due to you... Then follow three antiphons or two pictorial psalms and “blessed,” separated from each other by two small litanies, at the end of which secret prayers are read, bearing the names: “prayer of the second antiphon” and “prayer of the third antiphon.” The first small litany concludes with the exclamation of the priest: For the dominion is Yours, and Yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory.... second - For God is good and a lover of mankind... There is a special 21st chapter in the Typikon about the antiphons of the liturgy, when which ones are sung. On all weekdays, when there is no holiday, this name is sung. " Daily antiphons", starting with words: 1st: It is good to confess to the Lord...with choruses: . 2nd: The Lord reigns, clothed in beauty...with choruses: Through the prayers of your saints, O Savior, save us; and 3rd: Come, let us rejoice in the Lord...with chorus: Save us, Son of God, wondrous among the saints, singing to you, Alleluia. On the days of the sixfold holidays, glorification, polyeleos and vigils up to and including the twelfth feasts of the Theotokos, the so-called " Fine" And " Blessed", that is: 1. Psalm 102: Bless the Lord, my soul:, 2. Psalm 145: Praise, my soul, the Lord: and 3. Commandments Beatitudes, beginning with the prayer of the prudent thief: In your kingdom remember us, Lord: with the addition of troparia. These troparia, printed in Octoechos, have the technical title: " Blessed", and it is indicated after which the beatitudes begin to be sung: "Blessed are the 6 or the 8." In the Octoechos these troparions are special, but in the Menaion there are no special troparions, and they are borrowed from the troparions of the song of the corresponding canon, which is always indicated along the way, then There is where exactly these troparia come from. On the days of the twelve feasts of the Lord: on the Nativity of Christ, Epiphany, Transfiguration, Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem, Easter, Ascension, Pentecost and Exaltation, very special ones are sung holiday antiphons in the form of verses from psalms containing prophecies or predictions for a given holiday. At the same time, there is a chorus to the first antiphon: Through the prayers of the Mother of God, Savior, save us, to the 2nd - Save us, Son of God, born of a Virgin... or: Transformed on the mountain... or: Crucified to the flesh... and so on. Singing: Alleluia. The third antiphon is verses from the psalms, alternating with the singing of the troparion of the holiday. In all of the above cases, after the second antiphon on “Glory, even now,” a solemn hymn to the Incarnate Son of God, composed according to legend by the Emperor Justinian, is always sung: The only begotten Son, and the Word of God, immortal, and desiring for our salvation to be incarnate from the Holy Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary, immutably made man: crucified, O Christ God, trampling death by death, One of the Holy Trinity, glorified to the Father and the Holy Spirit, save us. Antiphonal singing in our worship is of very ancient origin. According to legend, even St. Ignatius the God-Bearer, being caught up into heaven, saw angelic faces alternating in singing, and, imitating the angels, introduced antiphonal singing in his Antiochian Church. The deacon speaks all the litanies in front of the royal doors, and at the end of the great and first small litany he does not enter the altar, but during the singing of the antiphons he moves slightly to the side and stands in front of the local icon of Christ the Savior (there is also a practice that after the great litany the deacon stands at the icon of the Savior, and after the first small one at the icon of the Mother of God). After the second small litany, he enters the altar and, having made the sign of the cross and bowing towards the high place, bows to the serving priest. To correctly understand the expression “secret prayers,” you need to know that they are called “secret” not because their content should be hidden from the laity, far from it, for in our Church, according to the idea of ​​our worship, the praying people take an active part in the service , and in ancient times these prayers were often pronounced out loud, but because now the custom has been established of reading these prayers not “vocally,” in the hearing of the people, but quietly, to oneself. There are sacraments in our Church, but there are no secrets that should be hidden from anyone. Small entrance. At the end of the second antiphon and the second small litany after it, the royal doors are opened to enter with the Gospel, or the so-called “small entrance.” The smallest entrance occurs during the singing of the third antiphon, so it is necessary to exit in such a way as to have time to complete the entrance by the end of the singing of the third antiphon. To enter, the clergy make three bows before St. The throne. At the same time, according to established custom, the priest venerates the Gospel, and the deacon venerates the St. To the throne. The priest gives the Gospel to the deacon, who, accepting it with both hands, kisses the priest's right hand. Both of them go around St. the meal on the right, pass the high place, go out through the northern doors and stand in front of the royal doors. A candle bearer walks ahead of them. At the same time, the deacon, carrying the Gospel with both hands “at the front,” walks in front, and the priest follows him from behind. The deacon says, usually while still at the altar or while walking: Let's pray to the Lord, to which the priest reads the “entrance prayer”: Sovereign Lord our God... The content of this prayer testifies that Angels will co-serve with the priest during the celebration of the Divine Liturgy, which is why “this concelebration is terrible and great even with the heavenly powers themselves.” Then leaning the Gospel against his chest and pointing the oracle with his right hand to the east, the deacon says to the priest in a quiet voice: Bless, lord, the holy entrance. The priest in response blesses with his hand to the east, saying: Blessed is the entrance of your saints, always, now, and ever, and unto ages of ages. Deacon says: Amen. Then the deacon approaches the priest, giving him to venerate the Gospel, while he himself kisses the priest’s right hand. Turning to the east and waiting for the end of the singing, the deacon raises the Gospel and, drawing a cross with it, proclaims: Wisdom forgive me, after which the first one enters the altar and places the Gospel on the throne, and behind him the priest enters, who first venerates the icon of the Savior, then blesses the priest with his hand, venerates the icon of the Mother of God, and then enters after the deacon. Both of them, entering the altar, kiss the throne. On great holidays, when festive antiphons are sung (and on Candlemas, as well as on Monday of the Holy Spirit), after the exclamation “Wisdom, forgive,” the deacon says again “ Input," or " Entrance verse", which is borrowed from the psalms and is related to the festive event. The origin of the small entrance is as follows. In ancient times, the Gospel was kept not on the throne, but in a special container. The ancient temple had special compartments that were not connected to the altar: ??????? ?="professis" - a sentence where the altar and "diakonikon" - or sacristy were located. When the moment came for reading the Gospel, the clergy solemnly took it out of the receptacle, where it was constantly located, and transferred it to the altar. Currently, the small entrance with the Gospel no longer has its former practical meaning, but it has great symbolic meaning: it depicts the procession of the Lord Jesus Christ into the world to preach the Gospel and His emergence into public service to the human race. The lamp offered to the Gospel symbolizes St. John the Baptist. The exclamation “Wisdom forgive” means the following :" Wisdom" - the appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ to preach is a manifestation of the Wisdom of God to the world, as a sign of extreme reverence for what we should become " sorry", that is, "directly," "reverently," without being amused by anything, quietly, diligently delving into this great matter of Divine wisdom. On Sundays and weekdays, as well as on the feasts of the Mother of God, when holiday antiphons are not sung, the "entrance verse" serves chant, which is then sung immediately after the deacon’s exclamation “Forgive Wisdom”: Come, let us worship and fall before Christ:, to which is added the chorus of the antiphon corresponding to the day: on weekdays: Save us, Son of God, wondrous among the saints, singing to you: Alleluia, on the Mother of God holidays: Save us, Son of God, through the prayers of the Mother of God, singing to you: Alleluia, on Sundays - Save us, Son of God, risen from the dead, singing to you: Alleluia. If there is an Entrance Verse, then in this case, the choir immediately sings the troparion of the holiday. (During the bishop's service, the bishop stands at the pulpit, and starting from the small entrance he enters the Altar and then participates in the celebration of the liturgy). Singing troparia and kontakion. Now, after the entrance and the entrance verse, the singing begins Troparion And kontakion, according to a special order indicated in the Typikon, especially in the 52nd chapter. This is almost the only place in the liturgy dedicated to memory of the day. The group of troparions and kontakions tries to embrace all the memories connected with the day of the liturgy as a sign that the liturgy is celebrated for everyone and for everything. Therefore, at liturgy on weekdays they sing Troparion And kontakion of the seventh day, which are not sung at Vespers, Matins, or the Hours. They sing right there Troparion And kontakion of the temple, which are also not sung at other daily services. The troparia and kontakia are sung in this order: first all the troparia are sung, and then all the kontakia follow them. Before the penultimate kontakion it is always sung " Glory"and before the last kontakion it is sung" And now"The kontakion is always sung last. Theotokos, or Kontakion of the forefeast or holiday. The order of this singing is as follows: first, the troparion is sung in honor of the Lord; therefore, where the temple is dedicated to the Lord, first of all the troparion to the temple is said, which on Sundays is replaced by the Sunday troparion, on Wednesdays and Fridays by the troparion of the cross: God bless your people..., on the days of the forefeast and afterfeast of the Lord's holidays - the troparion of the forefeast or holiday. The troparion in honor of the Lord is followed by the troparion in honor of the Most Pure Mother of God. If it is a temple of the Theotokos, then the troparion of the temple is sung; if it is a forefeast or afterfeast of the Theotokos feast, then the troparion of the forefeast or feast is sung. After the troparion in honor of the Mother of God, the troparion of the week's day is sung - Monday, Tuesday, etc. After the day's troparion, the troparion is sung to an ordinary saint, whose memory is glorified on that date and month. On Saturday, first the daily troparion is sung - to All Saints, and then to an ordinary saint. The kontakia are sung in the same sequence as the troparia, with the difference that they end or, as the Typikon puts it, “are covered” Mother of God: The representation of Christians is shameless... Instead, the Mother of God, in a temple that is dedicated to the Lord, the kontakion of the temple is sung, and in the temple that is dedicated to the Most Holy Theotokos, its kontakion is sung; on the days of the forefeast or afterfeast, the kontakion of the forefeast or feast is always sung. On weekdays, when there is a simple service, then on Glory: Kodak is always sung Rest in peace with the saints.." On Saturday the kontakion is usually sung at the end: like the firstfruits of nature". One must, however, know that not always, not every day of the year, all the above-mentioned troparia and kontakia are sung in full.

- Temple troparia and kontakia are not sung, as in other troparions and kontakia that happened on this day, the same glorification is contained as in the temple ones. So, on Tuesday “we do not say the kontakion of the temple of the Forerunner, but beforehand we say the kontakion of the day, the Forerunner. Where is the temple of the Apostles, there on Thursday we do not say the troparion and kontakion for them. On Saturday we do not say the temple troparia and kontakia, where is the temple of the saint, for all the saints the essence is named in the daily troparion. On Wednesday and Friday the troparion to the Temple of the Lord is not spoken, for the troparion is spoken to the Savior: Save, Lord, your people... On Sunday, troparions are not sung to the temple of Christ, “before he is resurrected,” that is, the Sunday troparion is sung, in which Christ is glorified. In the same way, the troparion of the Temple of Christ is not sung on the days of the forefeast and afterfeast of the Lord's feasts, nor is the kontakion. On the forefeast and afterfeast of the Theotokos feasts, the troparion of the Church of the Theotokos and the kontakion of the temple are not sung. The troparia and kontakia of temples to saints are not spoken; if a saint happens to have a vigil ( but not polyeleos), on Sundays and weekdays. - The troparia and kontakia of the day are sung one on each day, excluding Thursdays and Saturdays. On Thursday they sing two daily troparion to the Apostles and St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, and on Saturday to All Saints and for the repose. But the daily troparia and kontakia are not sung at all if the octoi are not sung. On the days of the forefeast and post-feast, instead of the day's troparions, the troparia and kontakia of the forefeast, the feast of either the vigil or the polyeleos saint are sung. - Troparions and kontakia for the repose are not spoken on Sundays and weekdays, except for Saturday, if there is a saint for whom it is due: a doxology, a polyeleos or a vigil. Funeral troparion: Remember, Lord..., is sung on Saturday only when there is no troparion to the holy private.

-- On weekdays, if one ordinary Apostle is read, one is sung prokeimenon of the day, that is, Monday, or Tuesday, or Wednesday, etc.

- If on a weekday the second Apostle is read to the saint, then, except for Saturday, it is sung first prokeimenon of the day, and then prokeimenon to the saint. On Saturday it happens in reverse order: first prokeimenon to the saint, and then prokeimenon of the day(See Typikon, chapters 12 and 15). -- On the days of after-feast (but not before-feast, when the prokeimenon for the day is not canceled) instead of the daytime prokeimenon, it is sung prokeimenon of the holiday three times every day until the celebration of the holiday, and the prokeimenon for the day is canceled completely. - If on the days of post-feast a special reading is due to a saint, then it is sung first prokeimenon of the holiday, and then prokeimenon to the saint. - On the very day of the great holiday it is sung only the prokeimenon of this holiday, the same as on the day of giving. -- Every Sunday a special day is sung prokeimenon Sunday voice(there are only 8 of them in terms of the number of voices), and in second place, if there is a second prokeimenon - feast of the Virgin Mary or saint that happened on this Sunday. If it happens in a week giving twelfth feast, no matter the Lord's or the Theotokos, is sung first the Sunday prokeimenon, and then holiday.

Liturgy of the Faithful.

3. Liturgy of Basil the Great.

- The Eucharistic and intercessory prayers are much longer, as a result of which the chants at this time are used more drawn out. Eucharistic prayer of the liturgy of St. Basil the Great is distinguished by its special dogmatic depth, inspiration and height of contemplation, and its intercessory by its amazing comprehensiveness. Some other secret prayers also have a different text, starting with the prayer for the catechumens; — The words of the establishment of the sacrament of the Eucharist are pronounced exclamation together with the words preceding them: Dade the saint his disciple and apostle of the rivers: Take it, eat it... and then: The saint gave the rivers to his disciple and apostle: Drink from it all... - After invoking the Holy Spirit, words over the Holy Gifts - over the Holy Bread: This bread is the most pure body of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ. Above St. bowl - This cup is the most precious blood of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ. And then: Poured out for the belly of the world. And then as usual. -- Instead of a song Worthy to eat: is sung: She rejoices in you, O grace-filled one; every creature:, which is in holidays, Vel. Thursday and Vel. Saturday is replaced by a worthy person.

-- Liturgy of St. Basil the Great is currently performed only ten times a year: 1. and 2. On the eve of the Nativity of Christ and the Epiphany, and if these eves fall on Saturday or Sunday, then on the very holidays of the Nativity of Christ and the Epiphany, 3. on the day of remembrance of St. Basil the Great - January 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8, the first five Sundays of Great Lent, starting with the week of Orthodoxy, 9, and 10, Maundy Thursday and Holy Saturday of Holy Week. On all other days of the year, with the exception of a few days when no liturgy is offered or the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is held, the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom.

4. Liturgy of the Apostle James.

Published by Holy Trinity Monastery, Jordanville, N.Y. 13361-0036

There are many different services in the Orthodox Church, each of which has its own, unique meaning, but one of them occupies a very special place. This is the Divine Liturgy, or – as it is also popularly called – mass.

The popular name is due to the fact that this service is performed in the morning, i.e. before lunch, and also with the fact that the ancient Christians after the service had a common meal, and what does the word liturgy mean? This word (like many other terms in Orthodoxy) is of Greek origin, and it is translated as “common, joint action.” This is why it is absolutely wrong to say “listen to the liturgy” or “defend the liturgy” - the liturgy requires active participation and personal activity from the Christian. What kind of activity is this?

First, let’s figure out how liturgy differs from any other service. The answer is obvious to everyone who has been to church at least once: they receive communion at the liturgy! Communion is one of the Seven Sacraments of the Christian Church, which, as is known, were established by God himself. In particular, the sacrament of the Eucharist (communion) was established by Jesus Christ at the Last Supper, and by taking part in the Divine Liturgy, we do not just remember this event - we are present at it. During the liturgy, a miracle occurs - bread and wine, gifts of the Earth, become Holy Gifts - the flesh and blood of the Savior, the unity of the material and the Divine, flesh and spirit, man and God, broken by sin, is restored. Such events of a truly universal scale take place regularly in every church - from luxurious cathedrals to a small church in some village, and each of us can participate in them!

Transubstantiation (i.e. the transformation of bread and wine into the Holy Gifts) occurs during the first part of the liturgy– Proskomedia (which is translated from Greek as “offering”: after all, in ancient times, Christians themselves brought with them everything they needed for worship). This happens at the altar.

Of course, only a Christian can be allowed to participate in such important events. Only those who have been reunited with God, “born of water and the Holy Spirit,” are admitted to this “core” of the Church, without which, in essence, there is no Church. Therefore, the part of the liturgy following the proskomedia is divided into two parts. The first part is called the “liturgy of the catechumens.” The fact is that in ancient times people were baptized as adults, and before that they were instructed in the faith for some time - such people preparing for baptism were called catechumens. In our time, people are usually baptized in infancy, and even the instruction of adults before baptism does not always take place, but the concept of “liturgy of the catechumens” is preserved: everyone is allowed to attend this part of the liturgy. The Liturgy of the Catechumens begins with the deacon emerging from the altar and exclaiming: “Bless, Master!” (in the sense of blessing to begin the service). The choir sings a series of psalms.

Climax of the Liturgy of the Catechumens- reading of the Gospel, which parishioners listen to with their heads bowed respectfully. Then they pray for the living and for the dead (in order for your loved ones to be remembered in this prayer, you need to submit notes with their names before the service).

Then the priest exclaims: “Catechumens, come forth! Catechumens, come out!” – and from this moment the so-called Liturgy of the Faithful. This is the most intimate part of the Liturgy, and only those who have been baptized have the right to attend it. During this part of the liturgy, among other prayers, the two most important ones are heard. Firstly, this is the “Creed”, which sets out in a concise form the foundations of our faith (after all, if a person does not accept any of these postulates for himself, he should seriously think about whether he is a Christian at all?). Secondly, this is the “Our Father,” a prayer given by Jesus Christ himself. The special significance of these prayers is emphasized by the fact that they are sung not only by the choir, but by everyone present.

Most main point liturgy of the faithful- the actual participle. First, the clergy take communion, then the priest takes the Holy Chalice out of the altar, reads a special prayer before communion, which is mentally repeated by those who will receive communion today, after which the communicants approach the Chalice, crossing their arms on their chest (right over left), accept the holy gifts, kiss edge of the bowl and go to the table, where they wash down the so-called communion. “warmth” (church wine diluted with warm water).

After this, the believers and the priest thank God for the sacrament, and the priest exclaims: “We will depart in peace,” making it clear that the liturgy is ending. At the end of the liturgy, the choir sings: “Blessed be the name of the Lord from now on and forever,” the priest blesses those praying with a cross, the parishioners approach him and kiss the cross before leaving the church.

Of course, this is only a quick description of the Divine Liturgy. To understand it more deeply, it is better to read special literature written by clergy, and it is better to attend the liturgy yourself more often. There are things that can only be comprehended through one’s own spiritual experience.

Translated from Greek, the word “liturgy” means “common cause” or “common service.” The Divine Liturgy is also called the Eucharist - thanksgiving. By doing it, we thank God for saving the human race from sin, curse and death through the Sacrifice made on the Cross by His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. The Liturgy is also called “Lover”, since it is supposed to be celebrated at noon (pre-dinner). In apostolic times, the Liturgy was also called “the breaking of bread” (Acts 2:46).

The Divine Liturgy is celebrated in the church, on the throne, on a platform consecrated by the bishop, which is called the antimension. The Performer of the Sacrament is the Lord Himself.

“The priest’s only lips pronounce the consecrating prayer, and the hand blesses the gifts... The active power comes from the Lord,” he wrote St. Feofan the Recluse.

Prayers and sacraments of thanksgiving bring down the grace of the Holy Spirit onto the prepared bread and wine and make them Holy Communion - the Body and Blood of Christ.

The Kingdom of God comes in the temple, and eternity abolishes time. The descent of the Holy Spirit not only transforms bread into the Body and wine into the Blood of Christ, but connects Heaven and earth, elevates Christians to Heaven. Those present in the church during the liturgy become participants in the Last Supper of the Lord.

The Divine Liturgy consists of three parts:

1) proskomedia

2) liturgy of the catechumens

3) liturgy of the faithful.

The word "proskomedia" means "bringing". The first part of the liturgy is so called in accordance with the custom of ancient Christians to bring bread and wine to church for the celebration of the Sacrament. For the same reason, this bread is called prosphora, which means offering. Proskomedia is performed by the priest on the altar with the altar closed in a low voice. It ends when the 3rd and 6th (and sometimes 9th) hours according to the Book of Hours are read on the choir.

The second part of the liturgy is called Liturgy of the Catechumens, because in addition to those who are baptized and allowed to receive communion, catechumens are also allowed to listen to it, that is, those preparing for baptism, as well as repentants who are not allowed to receive communion. It ends with a command to the catechumens to leave the church.

The third part of the liturgy, during which the sacrament of communion is performed, is called Liturgy of the Faithful, because only the faithful, that is, the baptized, can attend it.

It can be divided into the following parts: 1) transferring honest Gifts from the altar to the throne; 2) preparing believers for the consecration of the Gifts; 3) consecration (transubstantiation) of the Gifts; 4) preparing believers for communion; 5) communion and 6) thanksgiving for communion and dismissal.

The Sacrament of Holy Communion was instituted by our Lord Jesus Christ Himself during the Last Last Supper, on the eve of His suffering on the Cross (Matt. 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:19-21; 1 Cor. 11:23 -26). The Lord commanded that this Sacrament be performed in His remembrance (Luke 22:19).

The apostles celebrated Holy Communion according to the commandment and example of Jesus Christ, combining it with the reading of the Holy Scriptures, the singing of psalms and prayers. The compiler of the first rite of the liturgy of the Christian Church is considered to be the holy Apostle James, the brother of the Lord.

In the fourth century St. Basil the Great wrote down and offered for general use the rite of the Liturgy he compiled, and St. John Chrysostom somewhat reduced this rank. This rite was based on the ancient Liturgy of St. Apostle James, the first bishop of Jerusalem.

Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom is performed in the Orthodox Church throughout the year, except for Great Lent, when it is performed on Saturdays, on the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos and on Vai Sunday.

Takes place ten times a year Liturgy of St. Basil the Great.

On Wednesdays and Fridays of Lent it is celebrated Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts St. Gregory Dvoeslov, who has a special rank.

Comments to Divine Liturgy Saint John,Archbishop of Constantinople, Chrysostom

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Next Stop After Reading Scripture

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Next stop after the Great Entrance

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Next stop after the Eucharistic canon

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

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

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

Next stop after clergy communion

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

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

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

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

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

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

The end and glory to our God!

It is noteworthy that many of those who attend divine services may not understand at all the meaning and deep meaning of the Divine Liturgy. The words spoken in chants also remain misunderstood. A gap in knowledge of this kind deprives prayer of meaning, therefore, when talking with God - our Heavenly Father - we must consciously approach this issue. Christians must understand what the words they hear and speak mean.

For many, visiting church becomes almost a feat in the spiritual sense, because you have to wait a long time for your turn at confession, and then listen to the incomprehensible speeches of the churchman. In fact, when we come to Church, we essentially find ourselves in the Upper Room of Zion, where we await our hour of spiritual cleansing.

You need to be ready for Orthodox worship, so that together with everyone, with one heart and mouth, you can sing the glory of the Lord. This article will reveal the meaning and give an explanation of this church service, talk about its origin, what types there are, how they are performed, what the order is.

Divine Liturgy with explanations - download, listen online

There is also a wonderful lecture by Protodeacon Andrei Kuraev on the Divine Liturgy, in which a detailed explanation is given in clear language and easy style Orthodox rite(clear even for dummies in this matter).

Lectures by Protodeacon Andrei Kuraev, replete with explanations, can be found in video and audio format, watch and listen online, and also download. Such materials are recommended for familiarization both to people beginning their Orthodox path and to churchgoers.

The Divine Liturgy should not be confused with the funeral service, which is called a memorial service. This service is distinguished by the fact that it commemorates the deceased; it is served on the day of death of the deceased, also on the 3rd, 9th, 40th day, and on every anniversary after death, on birthdays, name days.

The memorial service can be served either in church by a priest or at home by a layman. During this service, trusting in God’s mercy, the Lord asks for forgiveness of sins for the deceased and eternal life.

What is liturgy in church

This is the main Christian service, it is also called mass - the basis and center of the entire church world.

The purpose of this sacred tradition is preparation for the sacrament of the Eucharist or Communion, which occurs at the end of the service.

The first Eucharist was celebrated by Jesus Christ on Maundy Thursday.

This is interesting: Maundy Thursday (aka Maundy Thursday, Holy Thursday) is the fourth day Great Week. On this day, followers of the Christian faith remember the Last Supper. It was then that Jesus Christ washed the feet of the apostles and established the sacrament of Communion. Surrounded by His disciples, Christ blessed the bread, which is His Body, and the wine, which is His Blood, and said: “Take, eat: this is My Body” (Matthew 26:26; Mark 14:22; Luke 22:19 ).

It is during this main church service that the remembrance of the deceased takes place according to notes “For the Repose” and for health according to the notes “For Health” submitted by Christians. It is recommended to submit notes before the start of the service, and preferably in the evening - during the evening service.

Origin of the Orthodox Liturgy

As stated earlier, the Eucharist forms the basis of liturgical worship. In Ancient Greece there was such a thing as the “Eucharist”.

Translated from Greek into Russian, this word means “common cause.” As history testifies, after the Savior’s ascension into heaven, the apostles broke bread in remembrance of Him.

Subsequently, the tradition was passed on to all followers of this religion. Christians, having accepted the teachings of the apostles, also began to perform this sacrament, and do so to this day.

The service itself has changed over time. If at first the sacred rites were carried out in the order that was established in the time of the Apostles (when communion was combined with meals, prayers and communication), then in modern realities the liturgy was separated from the meal and turned into an independent ritual. The rites began to be held in churches and temples.

What are the liturgies?

Liturgical rites vary depending on the location. For example, in Israel the rite of the liturgy of the Apostle James was formed.

The essence and meaning of the various versions of the sacred rite are absolutely the same, and the difference lies in the prayer texts pronounced by the priests and priests.

I would like to note that in various churches there are two services at once - early and late. The first, as a rule, begins around 7 a.m., and the second at 10 a.m. Services are held in different chapels, different priests serve, and confession occurs at both early and late mass.

This was done for the parishioners themselves - those who work can attend early services, as well as mothers and fathers of families can attend such services without children, and bring their household members to the late service. In this way, every Christian believer can enjoy prayerful communication with God.

Liturgy of the Apostle James

This rite belongs to the Jerusalem type, compiled by the Apostle James. In the 30s, the rite was also introduced in the Russian Orthodox Church, however, not in Russia, but abroad. After 40 years, this variety church service became widespread in the Moscow Patriarchate.

Today, services are held in Orthodox churches in our country several times a year.

The difference between this rite and others similar to it is the way the service is conducted for the laity. Communion of the Body and Blood of Christ occurs separately: first they eat bread from the hands of a priest, and then they accept the Cup of the Blood of Christ from another minister.

Such a service is performed on the day of remembrance of St. James - October 23, and is also served in the East and in some Russian churches.

Liturgy of the Apostle Mark

This rank belongs to the classical Alexandrian type. The features of worship in this case include conciseness, expressiveness, and clarity.

Thanks to these qualities, the ritual became very popular in several countries at once - first it was carried out in Alexandria, then in Egypt, and then in Italy, Armenia and Syria.

The conduct of the liturgy consists in the fact that first there is a procession of clergy (small entrance), then there are vocal prayers.

Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom

This is one of three services performed in the Russian Orthodox Church, which include the liturgy of St. Basil the Great, on the basis of which the rite of John Chrysostom was compiled, and the liturgy of St. Gregory Dvoeslav.

Worship is held almost all year round, with the exception of some special days.

Liturgy of St. Basil the Great

Services are held 10 times a year, including Christmas and Epiphany.

The procedure and content of the service, with some exceptions, coincide with the previous rite.

Liturgy of St. Gregory Dvoeslov

This service is also called the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts. This is explained by the fact that the Body and Blood are consecrated during this service, and then parishioners and clergy receive communion with them.

The Orthodox rite is performed on Wednesday and Friday of Lent.

The order of performing the full liturgy and its explanation

Before performing the main church service, clergy must prepare themselves. Without yet putting on any vestments, standing in the temple in front of the royal urats, the priests pray, reading the so-called “Entrance Prayers.”

Then the ministers bow and kiss the icons of the Savior and the Mother of God and recite troparia.

After this, the priests secretly pray in front of the gates that the Lord will strengthen them for the upcoming service. Next, they bow to each other, to the holy icons and to the people, and enter the altar.

The service lasts about two hours and takes place mainly in the morning. The duration, however, can be completely different, and in addition, services can even be held at night or in the evening.

As a rule, the ceremony is carried out on Sundays, as well as on holidays, on the days of remembrance of Saints and the celebration of icons. The entire ceremony of worship is a sequential series of actions, divided into several stages, which have their own names and are performed in accordance with certain rules.

The church service consists of three parts:

• proskomedia;
• Liturgy of the Catechumens;
• liturgy of the faithful.

The Liturgy of St. Gregory the Dvoeslov is not included in the full rites. The procedure and scheme for performing a full church service is as follows.

First, the clergy prepare the substance for celebrating the sacrament of the Eucharist from bread and wine. Secondly, preparation for the Sacrament is underway. And thirdly, the Eucharist is celebrated, during which the Holy Gifts are consecrated, and Holy Communion occurs for the participants in the service.

Proskomedia

This is the first stage. The process consists of preparing and bringing the necessary attributes of worship - bread and wine. Proskomedia is performed on the altar during the reading of the hours (prayer blessings that sanctify a certain time of day).

At the very beginning of the proskomedia, church ministers put on sacred attire and read the entrance prayers. Next, on the first prosphora, an image of a cross is made three times and a prayer is said. The middle of the prosphora is cut out in the form of a cube - the Lamb. It is placed on one of the liturgical vessels - the paten.

Next, the priest pours wine into the chalice. On three sides there are particles from five prosphoras. At the end, the priest covers the vessels with the Gifts with coverings and “air” and asks God to give a blessing to the Gifts.

Liturgy of the Catechumens

In the past, participation in church rituals required serious, lengthy preparation. People had to study religious dogmas and attend church, but they had the right to read prayers during church services only before bringing the Gifts from the altar to the throne.

First, prayer requests are said, psalms and troparia are sung. Next, the catechumens must leave the place where the Orthodox ceremony is taking place, since the main stage of the Divine Liturgy begins.

Liturgy of the Faithful

As soon as the call to the catechumens to leave the temple sounds, the third part of the service begins. Prayer requests are said and chants are sung. At the same time, the transfer of the Gifts to the throne occurs. This process is called the great move, which symbolizes the procession of the Savior to suffering and death.

Before the consecration of the Holy Gifts, a litany of petition is pronounced. A litany is also pronounced, which prepares those present for communion, then the prayer “Our Father” is sung. Next comes the communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ to all those who have prepared for this and received the blessing of the clergyman.

It is important to know: In order to become a participant in the great sacrament of Communion, believers must undergo a liturgical fast and clear their conscience - not eat or drink after 00 o'clock the day before and come to confession.

After bringing the Chalice to the altar, a short litany is said. At the end of the church service, the priest calls a blessing on those praying, the parishioners kiss the cross, and prayers of thanks are read.

Conclusion

This is the essence and order of the Divine Service. Everyone who considers himself a member of the Christian faith must know everything about the liturgy and understand the meaning of all actions in order to conduct a dialogue with God and make his faith truly meaningful.