SATURDAYS OF GREAT LENT On Saturdays 2nd, 3rd and 4th of Great Lent, a deliberate commemoration of the dead is also performed. These are also “parental” Saturdays. But here there are much fewer prayers for the dead, and their character is not as exclusive and comprehensive as there. Those two Saturdays

Week 5 of Great Lent, if the Annunciation is on Thursday (when the Annunciation coincides with the reading of the Great Canon) How to read the Great Canon and at the same time celebrate the Annunciation? This year, this almost happened. The point is that the reading of the Great Canon takes place at Matins.

The Weeks of Great Lent When we say "week" we usually mean the length of time from Sunday to Sunday. But we must remember that the word is Slavic and means the day on which they “do not do” - that is, they spend it “idly”. And the usual weeks are called

Weeks of Great Lent Great Lent consists of six weeks, each named after a serial number. Great Lent ends on Friday of its sixth week, followed by Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday.The first week of Forty - Feodorov

§ 37. Features of Catholic doctrine and worship Catholics make up 50% of all Christians. Majority of the European population, all countries Latin America, a number of countries in Africa, the Philippines profess Catholicism. At the head Catholic Church stands the Pope, who is

Great Lent Services

Maria Sergeevna Krasovitskaya is a senior lecturer in the Department of Liturgical Theology at the Orthodox St. Tikhon University, the author of a course of lectures on liturgy.

Each liturgical day is an indissoluble unity of the divine service of time and how, what and at what time the liturgy is celebrated on that day, how the sacrament of the Eucharist appears to us on that day. If during the singing of the Octoechos there is not much diversity, then during the singing of the Triodion, the variety of forms of the appearance of the Eucharist among the services increases. church day. We will talk about this.

So, the Eucharist in the days of Great Lent. We emphasize that the main restriction of fasting is not restrictions on food, its quantity and quality, restrictions on entertainment, restrictions on free time (which is mostly given to prayer), the greatest severity is the restriction on the celebration of the Eucharist. It is important for us here not only to comprehend the established order, but to feel the taste of Lenten worship as keenly as we know the taste white bread or the taste of black; we have to know it deeper than just by reason. When you delve into the meaning of the prescriptions of the Charter, the divine service is colored with completely new colors: when you come to the temple for bright week When the Liturgy is celebrated every day, you understand what we are deprived of by fasting and what Pascha brings to us.

So, in the post with the rules of Sts. Fathers, rules Ecumenical Councils it is forbidden to celebrate the full liturgy on weekdays. Back in the 4th century, 49, the Council of Laodicea ruled “not to celebrate the full Divine Liturgy on the days of the Holy Forty Days, except for Saturdays and Sundays.” On the weekdays of Great Lent, what we call the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is celebrated. The first mention of this liturgy dates back to the end of the 6th - beginning of the 7th century. There is reason to believe that it arose (of course, not in its present form) in Antioch at the end of the 5th - beginning of the 6th century. And in the middle of the VI century it was adopted by Constantinople, from where it spread throughout the entire Universe of the Church.

For prayers of thanksgiving read after the Presanctified, the troparion and kontakion of St. Gregory Dvoeslov, Pope of Rome (VI century). Now in the church consciousness the liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is connected precisely with his name; St. Gregory is commemorated at the dismissal of this liturgy. Certainly, but not the author of the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts; but it was he who introduced its celebration in the Roman Church (now Roman Catholics celebrate the Presanctified only once a year - on Good Friday). St. Gregory streamlined this rank, perhaps adding something (what exactly is unknown). Therefore, it is not in vain that he is remembered at this liturgy.

A little bit about Gregory the Dvoeslov. Double-worded (from the Greek διαλογος) he is called as the author of dialogues about the life of the Italian fathers. A dialogue is a conversation between at least two people, which is why it is called Double Word. He was the Pope of Rome and obviously worked on streamlining church chants. Just as the name of John of Damascus in the Eastern Church is associated with the system of osmosis, so in the West the name of Gregory the Dialogist is associated with the most famous Gregorian chant. Of course, he did not alone compose all the monuments of this layer of musical culture, but the culture itself is associated with his name, with his time, with his works. I must say that the Gregorian chant stands out from the entire Western musical culture. It is extraordinarily beautiful, and having heard it, one cannot but feel its deep unity with the unison singing of the Eastern Church.

Gregory the Dialogist was canonized rather late, and in our Typicon he is not mentioned at all, but in the Fourth Menaion on March 12 there is his life, and it is stated first, and the saint corresponding to this number in the Typicon is mentioned second. March 12 is the day of the repose of Gregory the Dialogist, and there is a service for him in the Menaion. Now a completely unique situation has developed: on the day of the memory of Gregory the Dialogist, the Presanctified Liturgy is not performed. In the Solovetsky calendar, the Presanctified for this day is indicated, but in Moscow, in those parishes where it happened, the Presanctified was not performed on this day. This is our church reality. But if this question arises for the church people, then it can also arise for the hierarchy and somehow be resolved. On Athos, the Presanctified One is necessarily served on this day, moreover, if the memory of St. Gregory falls on Saturday or Sunday, then his service is transferred to one of the weekdays for the sake of the Presanctified.

The Council of Trullo, by its 52nd canon, formulates the procedure for the celebration of the Presanctified Liturgy during the days of Great Lent in a different way. It says this: “On all the days of Holy Forty Days, except for Saturdays and weeks, and the holy day of the Annunciation (earlier, even on the Annunciation, which fell on a weekday, the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts was served), let the holy Liturgy be none other than the Presanctified Gifts.” This means that on the weekdays of Great Lent, only an incomplete Liturgy, only the Presanctified Gifts, can be served, and on Saturday and Sunday, a full Liturgy. There is a contrast between the full liturgy and the incomplete one. We do not feel acutely enough at times the difference between a full liturgy (for example, that of St. John Chrysostom) and an incomplete, Presanctified liturgy, because we can come to confession and take communion in both cases. It is necessary not only with the mind, but with the whole being to feel the difference between what is done at one and the other liturgy.

Now there are two ranks of the full liturgy - Basil the Great and John Chrysostom (the liturgy of Apostle James in Russia is served on very rare occasions and, it seems, only at the St. Petersburg Academy; in Greece, on the contrary, in memory of Apostle James it is served in almost all churches ). These are the liturgies at which the sacrament of the Eucharist is celebrated. The main thing that binds the members of the Church is their common cause - the Divine Liturgy ( Greek wordλειτουργια means "common cause"); on it the sacrament of the Eucharist is performed - preparation, offering, change of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of the Lord and communion of believers with the Holy Gifts.

The presanctified liturgy is, in fact, vespers, during which the faithful partake of the Holy Gifts consecrated in advance. We can offer the following comparison: for example, a priest comes to a sick person's home to give communion with the spare Holy Gifts. In this case, the transfer of the Gifts took place at the liturgy in the temple, and they commune with them after the end of the service, after a certain period of time. Here one must be very careful in terms: one cannot say that the sacrament of the Eucharist is not celebrated at the Presanctified Liturgy. After all, if we partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ after the Presanctified One, then we also participate in the Eucharist; it’s just that the sacrament turned out to be stretched out in time: the change of the Gifts took place in a week, and we receive communion on one of the weekdays of the week. The sick person, to whom the priest has come, communes in the way he can, and on the weekdays of Great Lent we participate in the Eucharist in the way permitted by the Charter.

According to the Jerusalem Rule, the Presanctified is celebrated on Wednesday and Friday, and on other days at the polyeleos feast. According to the Studian Rule, the Presanctified Liturgy was served on all five weekdays (this remnant of the Studian Rule was preserved in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra until it was closed), and this is important to know, because you and I perceive the Presanctified on Wednesday and Friday as something special, something out of the ordinary, but in fact, on any weekday, St. Forty-cost Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is possible. It is performed on such days in certain cases, which will be discussed later. And therefore it is necessary to feel the Presanctified as something normal for a weekday, but the full Liturgy on a weekday can be performed by fasting only on the day of the Annunciation Holy Mother of God. The celebration of the Presanctified Liturgy, communion with the reserve Holy Gifts will not break the fast as abstention from the daily full Liturgy. Here I refer you to the work of Fr. Alexander Schmemann ““, in which he speaks vividly and clearly about the two meanings of communion in a person’s life and about the two meanings of fasting.

So, the full liturgy in fasting is performed only on the week and Saturday, as well as on the feast of the Annunciation, no matter what day of the week it falls. On Wednesday and Friday of each week of Great Lent, as well as on Thursday of the fifth week, on the day of the Finding of the head of John the Baptist, on the day of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste and the temple saint, if they fall on Monday, Tuesday or Thursday - these days the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is celebrated. The Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is also celebrated on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday during Holy Week.

The celebration of the Presanctified in the days of the memory of the Finding of the head of John the Baptist and the Forty Martyrs gives us a model (and the Typikon is the book of samples) for the polyeleos service to other saints, new, or other celebrations. So, for example, in some churches they appoint a Presanctified on the day Sovereign Icon Mother of God, and in general the appointment of an additional Presanctified Liturgy is a possible thing, not contrary to the Rule. We do this timidly, cautiously and rarely, and rightly so: in church life one must be careful. Nevertheless, history testifies that on all five weekdays it is possible to celebrate the Presanctified Liturgy, and not only on Wednesday and Friday.

Let us move on to a more specific consideration of the following of the Presanctified Liturgy. To do this, it is necessary to begin with the divine service that precedes it, and here there is a difficulty: in our parishes, Vespers is served in the morning, and Matins, as a rule, in the evening. We try, first of all, to talk about the Charter, and only then about its violations. Take for example heels (Friday); On this day, the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts must be celebrated. What services precede it?

In parishes on Thursday morning, the rite of fine arts and vespers were performed. This vespers already belongs to Friday, and according to the Rule, it should be celebrated, although not in the evening, but still somewhere in the middle of the day. But we cannot gather in the temple in the middle of the day, so we have it in the morning. So the liturgical day of the heel began a long time ago: on Thursday morning we celebrated pictorial and vespers, and this vespers already belongs to Friday. Then Compline follows around the circle of the church, which is very rarely celebrated in parishes. In some churches, Great Compline, Matins (of course, Great Lent) and the first hour are served on Thursday evening, and in some only Matins and the first hour. According to the Rule, Matins should be in the morning, and between Compline and Matins, of course, there should be Midnight Office, but in parishes all this is reduced. Matins heel, of course, should be in the morning, but in most churches we attend it in the evening. And, finally, Friday itself, when in the morning the third, sixth, and ninth hours are celebrated in churches, the rite of pictorial and vespers, at which the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is served.

There is a special order of services, notable for the fact that the rite of fine arts is performed. This rite is performed in two cases: when there is no liturgy on that day at all, and when the liturgy is served at Vespers or after Vespers. Consider the first case, when there is no liturgy. It may not be for two reasons: because of the need of the church, when there is no bread and wine (for example, there were such cases in the monastery of St. Sergius) or there is no priest, and when the liturgy is not required according to the Charter. For example, in our time in Great Lent on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, the liturgy is not performed, and then the rite of pictorial is performed, which, as it were, depicts the liturgy (hence its name). Its initial part contains chants familiar to everyone: Bless, my soul, the Lord; Praise, my soul. Lord, in the kingdom(Lenten pictorial lines begin immediately with In your kingdom).

In the second case, the rite of representations is performed when the liturgy is scheduled for Vespers. It must be said that the Charter is synthetic knowledge, not analytical. In fact, one cannot say a word about the Charter without knowing the full context of this word. Therefore, when we talk about church day services at the beginning of the course, we need to know a lot of what we will talk about at the end of the course. We whole year We're talking about different things, but we're talking about the same thing. The most important question- this is a combination of the Eucharist and the services of the church day. And one more question, which is very important in the course of the Rules, is the peculiarities of the position of vespers among the services of the daytime circle. Vespers occupies a very special place, it stands on the border of two days. The very name of Vespers is associated with the evening, with the departure of the astronomical day; its liturgical theme is the expectation of the Messiah, and the pinnacle of the service is the New Testament text “Now you let go of your servant, Master…”, the one that was uttered at the moment of the meeting of the Old and New Testaments, when the aspiration of Israel was fulfilled, the Savior of the world came and the Old Testament righteous man recognized Him. The theme itself is certainly related to the sunset: the sunset of the day, the sunset of the sun, the sunset ancient world, performance Old Testament. The whole service has, as it were, a final, outgoing character; it can be very festive, but compared to matins, it has a different connotation - something ends, something ends, leaves. And, of course, it is connected with the passing day, although according to the Rule, Vespers begins a new liturgical day. We say that the Sunday service begins on Saturday evening, the Thursday service begins on Wednesday at Vespers. And Vespers turns out to be on the border of two days: it completes the outgoing one and begins a new liturgical day.

The school liturgy divides Vespers as follows: until Grant, Lord vespers refers to the passing day, and after Grant, Lord- to the next one. This is both right and wrong, because God bless already sang verses on Lord, call that talk about the topic of the coming day. And at the same time after God bless the theme of the evening, the theme of the departure of the day does not disappear, it remains. But nevertheless, such a division is justified: as we remember, on Forgiveness Sunday at Vespers, it is on Grant, Lord there is a turning point - the transition from non-fasting worship to fasting. And the point is not to cut Vespers into two parts, like a loaf of bread, but to feel this tension inside it, the tension of the connection of two days. On the evening of a great holiday (for example, the first day of Easter), the great prokeimenon is proclaimed: “Who is a great god, like our God ...” The great prokeimenon is proclaimed not for the sake of Bright Monday, but for the sake of the outgoing first day of Pascha, although formally this vespers begins the next day; meanwhile, something connects her with the passing day.

The celebration of the Presanctified Liturgy at Vespers, and the celebration of the Liturgy at Vespers in general, shows most clearly that Vespers is connected with two days and refers to two days. On Holy Saturday, the liturgy is celebrated at Vespers, and this is not the liturgy of the first day of Pascha, but Great Saturday because Vespers closes the day. After Vespers, the Liturgy is celebrated in special days years: on Holy Saturday, on Holy Thursday, on and Epiphany Christmas Eve. Also, if the Annunciation falls on a weekday of Lent, then the full Liturgy is also celebrated at Vespers. The Presanctified Liturgy is always celebrated at Vespers. What does it mean?

In reality, you and I feel that the service is a little longer than just a full liturgy. In fact, we should feel it more sharply and stronger, because Vespers these days should be served in the afternoon (at 3-4 pm). And that is why we are in perfect fasting all day long - after all, in order to participate in the Eucharist, one must not eat anything (in liturgical language this is called perfect fasting, in contrast to ascetic fasting, when certain types of food cannot be eaten). At 3-4 pm the ninth hour begins, pictorial, vespers and liturgy; thus communion will be in the late afternoon. The appointment of the liturgy at Vespers is not a formality, but a prescription, complete deep meaning: it highlights certain days of the year that the children of the church must spend in perfect fasting, in intense expectation of the liturgy and Communion of the Holy Mysteries. These days bear a very special imprint, and although we do not fast until evening, we must know this. Now in many Orthodox Churches in Western countries, the Presanctified Liturgy is performed in the evening, as required by the Charter. It should be noted that in this case, those who work during the day can come to the service. After all, a person who works five days a week may sometimes never visit a single pre-consecrated one for the entire Lent. Holy Synod The Moscow Patriarchate issued the following definition in 1968:

To bless the celebration of the Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts in the churches of the Moscow Patriarchate in the evening, where the ruling bishop deems it useful.

During the celebration of the Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts in evening hours abstinence for those who take communion from eating and drinking should be at least six hours; however, abstinence before communion from midnight from the beginning of a given day is highly commendable, and those who have physical strength can keep it.

"Liturgy: A Course of Lectures". M.S. Krasovitskaya. M., 1999. 2004 2

Great is the temptation to fall into despondency: “How can I live without delicious food! Now no fun! What a long service! – while there is no reason to be discouraged. Long services are both high examples of medieval spiritual poetry, and philosophical reflections about the place of man in eternity, and the feeling of unity with other prayers, and communion with God Himself.

No less often, if not more often, is the reverse side of Lenten despondency: “I cannot fast according to the Rule. I skip services. I am distracted by worldly vanity.

Trite, but no less true: remember that God does not need a stomach and legs, but a heart, He sees in the human soul a sincere desire to serve Him, and sees infirmities.

This constant remembrance of God will be our unceasing joy in Him.

No, of course, we all do not need to become hesychasts for fasting, but we can try to become half a step closer to the ideal.

Prayer should be given a little more time than usual. More attention to the services - sometimes it is worth taking a book with the texts of the service with you. Perform more carefully prayer rule- get out of the computer half an hour earlier and read evening prayers. Add a prayer Saint Ephraim Sirina. On the way, listen or read the Psalter.

It is useful to fight against numerous Lenten temptations with prayer: to respond to irritation, anger, and despondency in oneself with a brief Jesus Prayer.

Household chores, rush-hour travel, noise at work - even if we were able to organize our lives in such a way that we only eat permitted food, read the entire prayer rule and even pray during the day, we are terribly tired of all this fuss. And this is where the temple comes to the rescue.

In monasteries and in many parish churches in large cities, Lenten services are celebrated every day in the morning and evening. It is worth visiting at least part of the service before or after work - this sets you in a completely different way from the surrounding reality.

There are divine services for which it is not a sin to take time off from work early. These are the Great Canon of Andrew of Crete on the first four days of Great Lent, Mariino Stoyanie on Wednesday evening of the Fifth Week, the Akathist to the Mother of God on Friday evening, the services of Passion Week…

It’s good to visit the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts at least once during Lent; by the way, in some churches it is sometimes performed in the evenings (for example, in the Sretensky Monastery, several times during Lent, the Presanctified begins at 18.00).

It is common knowledge that fasting is needed not by God, but by us. Great Lent consists of two parts: Lent and Holy Week. The first is the time of repentance, the second is the time of purification, preparation for Easter.

It is not for nothing that the Church offers us the reading of the canon of St. Andrew of Crete twice for Lent. It is not in vain that every Lenten Saturday during the All-Night Vigil we hear the chant “Open the doors of repentance, Giver of Life.” It is not for nothing that three weeks before Lent the Church calls for repentance: with the parable of the publican and the Pharisee, the parable of the prodigal son, a reminder of the Last Judgment and the expulsion of Adam from Paradise.

It is precisely for repentance that we need the time of Fortecost. If you are not going to repent, you should not start and fast - a waste of health.

By the way, health. If during the fast there are problems with well-being, the degree of abstinence should be immediately discussed with the confessor.

According to the charter, or even close to the charter, there can be no talk of any unauthorized fasting if there are diseases associated with the stomach or metabolism. In modern conditions, even monasteries in rare cases fast with dry eating - the Lord will not condemn a working person who does not shine with health.

(It is worth remembering that the sacrament of Unction is performed in churches during Great Lent - anointing with specially consecrated oil with a prayer for the healing of the sick.)

A stomach ulcer will in no way bring you closer to God, and it can even significantly distance you - an extremely thin line between a sincere desire to obey the church charter, not sparing your stomach, and pride in your zeal.

“I fast - I am conceited, and I do not fast - I am conceited,” mourns the Monk John of the Ladder in his “Ladder”.

“Vanity by fasting” is dangerous in its obviousness and goes hand in hand with condemnation. A brother eats fish during the first week of Great Lent, while you sit on bread and water? None of your business. He drinks milk, and you don't even put sugar in your tea? You don't know how his body works (by the way, seminaries often give dairy products to students). I ate a sausage and the next day went to take communion, while you started the Eucharistic fast even before the All-Night Vigil? This is the business of him and the priest who admitted him to the sacrament.

“Vanity through impunity” is a more subtle passion. In our time, there is such a character as the publican, who is proud that he is not a Pharisee. And here another trend already arises: he does not eat vegetable oil - but on the other hand, I put a hundred prostrations at home before going to bed! He does not drink any alcohol - but I repent every weekend!

Therefore, I would like to repeat the call of educators in kindergarten: "Look at your plate!"

And in general, talk less about food. No matter how tired this simple truth is, Great Lent is only to the least extent a change in diet.

Vegetarians never eat animal food - it neither brings them closer to God nor removes them, exactly in accordance with the words of the apostle.

Continuation famous quote: “but with every word of God,” is ideal for the Lenten period, when reading the Bible - the word of God - is given special attention.

During Great Lent, it is customary to read the entire Gospel. Also during this period, the Old Testament is read daily in temples.

It would be good to combine a decrease in interest in the contents of other people's plates with an increase in attention to others in general.

Focusing on one's own spiritual state should not turn into indifference to others. Fasting should benefit the cultivation of both virtues in oneself: love for God and love for neighbors.

St. John Chrysostom called for spending money saved on a Lenten meal to help the poor. Having dined for several days in the dining room with a side dish without a cutlet, you can buy gloves for a freezing beggar or an educational game in an orphanage.

It is not at all necessary during fasting to interrupt communication with people who may need it - a pregnant friend, a sick neighbor, a lonely relative. Chatting with them over a cup of tea is not entertainment, but helping one's neighbor.

A kind attitude towards our neighbors sometimes turns into the most unpleasant side for us: human pleasing. In fact, as a rule, there is no good attitude here - there is one's own weakness of character and dependence on someone else's opinion. It is during Great Lent that this passion intensifies.

"Let's meet on Friday after work at the cafe!" - offers a friend, and now you are already ordering a cake with her - you can’t offend!

"Come visit on Saturday night!" - the neighbors call, and you miss the service instead of apologizing and rescheduling the meeting to a later time or Sunday.

"Eat a piece of chicken, otherwise I'll be offended!" - the relative is frankly capricious, and here you can even hide behind respect for the elders, only it will be cunning: unwillingness to go into conflict is far from always connected with love for one's neighbor.

In order to free ourselves from the sin of pleasing people, we can recall the advice given by Elder Paisius the Holy Mountaineer: we must hide our personal fasts so as not to fast for show, but a general church fast is standing in faith. We must not only respect our neighbors ourselves, but also strive to be respected for us and our faith.

Most often, people understand polite explanations and get into position. And even more often it turns out that our tricky interpretations are far-fetched. A friend in a coffee shop is not at all embarrassed by our empty cup of espresso, the neighbors will be happy to meet after the service, and a relative will gladly treat the fasting guest with potatoes and mushrooms.

Finally, the most important rule of Great Lent is to remember why this period exists.

Great Lent - the time of concentrated expectation of the Light Christ's Resurrection. Active expectations: together with the Lord we will try to go through forty days of fasting, together with the Lord we will approach the tomb of Lazarus, together with the Lord we will enter Jerusalem, we will listen to Him in the Temple, we will commune together with the Apostles at His Last Supper, we will follow Him on the Way of the Cross, with Mother of God and beloved Christ's apostle John let us mourn at Golgotha...

Finally, together with the myrrh-bearers, we will come to open coffin and again and again we will experience joy: He is not here. Christ is Risen!

What days should you try to be in the temple?

In 2018, Lent begins on February 19. The Church invites believers to spend these days in more profound, repentant prayer.

Every day, except Saturdays and Sundays, at all divine services of the daily circle, the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian is read. For the first time during the Lenten Triodion, it is pronounced on Wednesday and Friday of Cheese Week, and for the last time on Great Wednesday (April 4), after which all prostrations, except before the Shroud, stop until the day of Pentecost.

Fifth Saturday (March 24) of Great Lent - the celebration of the Praise of the Most Holy Theotokos (Saturday Akathist), the day before, on Friday evening (March 23), Matins is served with the singing of an akathist to the Most Holy Theotokos. The sixth Saturday (March 31) - the memory of the resurrection of the holy righteous Lazarus of the Four Days (at the meal, eating fish caviar is allowed).

On all Sundays of Lent, the Liturgy of Basil the Great is served, and in the first week (February 25), after the end of the Liturgy, prayer singing is also performed in honor of the Triumph of Orthodoxy. The second Sunday (March 12) is dedicated to St. Gregory Palamas, the teacher of the Church, who formulated the theology of grace. On the eve of the third Sunday, the week of the Adoration of the Cross (March 11), at matins in the great doxology, the Holy and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord is brought out to worship. On the fourth Sunday (March 18) of Pentecost, the Church commemorates the Monk John, hegumen of Mount Sinai, author of the famous ascetic work "The Ladder", and on the fifth (March 25) - the feat of St. Mary of Egypt. On the feast of the Annunciation (April 7), fish is allowed at the meal.

Last Sunday before Easter - Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem, Palm Sunday (April 1). On this day, the Liturgy of John Chrysostom is performed and the willows are blessed.

On the first four Sundays of Great Lent, a special service is also ruled - Vespers with an akathist to the Passion of Christ (Passia). This worship service is of Western origin, serves as a constant reminder of the saving deed and suffering of the Lord Jesus Christ on Calvary.

On the first three days of Holy Week (April 10, 11, 12) the last Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts of the year is celebrated. On the morning of these days (the first of them takes place on Sunday evening), the troparion "Behold, the Bridegroom is coming at midnight" is sung, and at the dismissal the words "Coming Lord on a free Passion" are pronounced.

Maundy Thursday (April 5) - commemoration of the Last Supper and the establishment of the Sacrament of the Eucharist. On this day, Vespers is celebrated with the Liturgy of Basil the Great and reserve Gifts are prepared for the communion of the sick. At the end of the Liturgy, the rite of the Washing of the Feet is performed during the Episcopal Divine Liturgy.

On Thursday evening, Good Friday Matins is celebrated with the reading of the 12 Gospels of the Passion of the Lord, one of the longest and most beautiful services of the church year. There is an old Russian custom to bring home burning candles from this service.

Good Friday (April 6) is a day of strict fasting. In the morning, the Follow-up of the Great Heel Hours with pictorial ones is performed, the Liturgy is not served. In the afternoon - Vespers with the removal of the Shroud, after the dismissal, the canon "Lamentation of the Most Holy Theotokos" is sung, during which the Shroud is kissed.

On Friday evening or Saturday night, Great Saturday Matins is served with the burial of the Shroud of the Savior. On Great Saturday itself (April 7), the Liturgy of Basil the Great is served, during which the clergy change from purple and black Lenten robes to white. During this divine service, the Gospel is already being read, which recalls the Resurrection of Christ (chapter 28 of the Gospel of Matthew). After the Liturgy - the consecration of Easter dishes.

On Paschal night, services begin with the Midnight Office with the reading of the canon of Holy Saturday before the Shroud. Before this, during non-liturgical hours, the Acts of the Holy Apostles are read in the church. After Midnight Office, Easter Matins is served with the Paschal Canon of St. John of Damascus, and then - the Paschal Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom.

Maria Senchukova