Question: Why is it that in most Russian monasteries Matins is performed in the evening immediately after Vespers? What is the liturgical explanation for this tradition and how correct is it?

Answer: Before proceeding directly to the answer, I would like to clarify three points arising from your question. Firstly, we are talking not only about “Russian monasteries”, but about the monasteries of the Russian Orthodox Church, which includes the majority of monasteries in the Republic of Moldova, where almost all of them serve in Romanian. Secondly, I have to disappoint you by clarifying that this statutory anomaly is typical not only for monasteries from this “canonical-liturgical space”, but also for most parishes, especially in cities. For example, in Chisinau there is practically no church where Matins is celebrated in the morning, even in the parishes of the “Bessarabian Metropolis” (Romanian Orthodox Church). Third, I would like to avoid the word “tradition” because we are talking about a relatively new liturgical practice when compared with the two thousand year history of the Church. If we avoid the word “tradition,” this will allow us to approach the issue more critically, and not fanatically and harshly, and not make an idol out of this or that liturgical practice.

Now let’s try to specifically answer each point of the question, which concerns not only the Russian, but also the Romanian Orthodox Churches. And it may turn out that the answer will only be the beginning of a discussion, since this topic seems extremely complex, and within its framework it is impossible to announce final and generally valid decisions.

1. The practice of combining Vespers with Matins is provided for in the Rules of the Monastery of St. Sava in cases where we are talking about “all-night vigils” (agrypnia) on the eve of Sundays and major holidays. (In Russian, this service is called “all-night [vigil].” And this sounds all the more ridiculous, since we are talking about a service lasting two to three hours, performed at sunset. For the word “agripnia” in the Romanian language there is a term “priveghere “As for some Lenten vigils, the word “denie” (from “vigil”) was borrowed from the Slavic with distortion.)

There are a number of explanations for why monks in Palestine had the custom of performing such “vigils” (You can read about this in detail in the study “Istoria şi rânduiala explicată a Privegherii de sâmbătă seara” / “History and rites with explanations of the All-Night Vigil on Saturday evening”, footnote 10, p. 4). What is important here is that these vigils were not daily. When they were performed, they were literally “all-night vigils” and continued all night, so that Matins ended at sunrise, as stated in the prayers and chants in this part of Matins. That is why the Typikon stipulates that in such cases the Midnight Office is not read, because then the vigil should end with the First Hour, i.e. at the first hour of the day. (In the past, the hours were read at the appropriate time of the day: the first hour - at 6.00, the third hour - at 9.00, the sixth hour - at noon, the ninth hour - at 15.00. The content of their psalms, troparions and prayers corresponds to the time of day when they are read .)

For small holidays or daily services, as is very clearly stated in the Typikon of the Monastery of St. Sava, Matins should be performed in the morning, and all other sequences should be performed in their natural order. In the evening: Ninth Hour, Vespers and Compline, in the morning: Midnight Office, Matins and First Hour, and in the morning: Third and Sixth Hours, Liturgy. Or vice versa: Liturgy, Third and Sixth Hours. (And today, in many monasteries on Athos, the liturgy is celebrated immediately after the First Hour. After this, the monks rest for an hour or two, and then the Third and Sixth Hours are celebrated.) Thus, three cycles are obtained, each of which consists of three elements.

2. If Matins takes place in the evening, long before midnight, and then after that some also eat a meal, then such a “vigil” is not only meaningless, but is also a kind of lie to God and to oneself. We cannot say: “Glory to You, who showed us the Light” when it is dark outside or the sun is barely setting. An honest and conscientious priest cannot thank God for the fact that he “rose from sleep” (see the text of the twelve morning prayers performed during the reading of the Six Psalms.) when he had not yet had dinner and after that he will go to bed.

Thus, by performing Matins in the evening, we are actually serving formally, which is essentially a lie. (In other words, instead of “worship in spirit and truth” - “worship in letter and in untruth.”) The same applies to Vespers performed in the morning (especially during Lent). In addition to this absurdity, the constant celebration of Matins combined with Vespers inevitably leads to a change in the sequence of other services, which turns into a caricature: Ninth Hour - Vespers - Matins - First Hour - dinner - Compline (with " General rule"and "evening prayers") - sleep - ("morning prayers") - Midnight Office - (prayer service and/or akathist) - Third Hour - Sixth Hour - Liturgy - (another prayer service or akathist / those services indicated in brackets are performed not everywhere). In addition to these services, in large monasteries there is the rite of the “unfailing Psalter”* and, of course, many “obediences”**, which deprive the monk of his cell rule, which is simply unthinkable for any monk.***

* In most large and medium-sized monasteries of the Russian Orthodox Church, as well as in some Romanian monasteries, there is a practice of continuous reading of the Psalter. The inhabitants of the monastery take turns reading from the Psalter, imitating the ancient Egyptian monastic communities. But here it is necessary to clarify three points: where the Psalter was continuously read/sung, there were no daily temple services; this rite was not considered obligatory and was performed only in very large communities (numbering hundreds or even thousands of monks); Studite and Athonite monasticism never knew such a practice, including three kathismas a day in the rite of services and, thus, reading the entire Psalter in a week.

** It would be more correct to call them “ministries” (in Greek “diakonima”). Of course, these services are an expression of obedience. However, this does not mean that service itself is obedience, or that if you serve well, then you obey well. And the idea that “obedience is higher than fasting and prayer” should be understood in the sense that higher than fasting and prayer is not work/service, but such obedience, which implies cutting off one’s own will and subordination to the will of the abbot and other brethren. Unfortunately, in our monasticism, the understanding of all this is seriously distorted.

*** All ancient and new monastic rules pay Special attention spiritual work in cells, where the monk grows spiritually, being in solitude with God. Therefore, Athonite monasticism (like any ancient form of monasticism) did not provide for the monks to live two or three in one cell, but each one must live in solitude. Moreover, the main part of the prayer canon and spiritual reading are intended for spiritual work in the cell, and general services revolve around the Liturgy and, as it were, improve the personal rule.

IN in this case I don’t want to say at all that monks and ordinary Christians don’t need to pray more (on the contrary!). I just wanted to emphasize the fact that in some places, perhaps under the influence of some version of communism, they do not make a difference between the general prayer of the Church and private prayer, which may differ among people both in quantity and in quality.

3. The scheme of services that is widely practiced in the Russian Orthodox Church is simply ridiculous. And the emphasis is not on the time of each individual service, but on its mandatory reading, regardless of the hour or the “speed” at which it is read. (In the past, each service was performed at the appointed hour. Monastics preferred to pray more briefly, but more often. Between these joint prayers, everyone had their own internal prayer activity (mental/heartfelt prayer).) Moreover, if you look in depth, the above diagram is actually in fact, it contains 4-6 “matins” in one liturgical day, some incomplete, of which two are served in the evening, the rest in the morning. This refers to the “scheme of Matins” from a historical point of view, when in cathedrals and parishes in Byzantium it was reduced to several psalms and “Kontakion” (Petre Vintilescu, Poezia imnografică, Bucureşti, 1937.), i.e. akathist (matins + akathist = 2 matins: one monastic, the other ancient parish. The exception on Saturday of the fifth week of Great Lent actually confirms this rule, since the Triodion already reflects the overlap of these two types of matins, carried out in the 11th-13th centuries.) . In monasteries in Byzantine cities, according to the tradition of the Studite monastery (IX-XII centuries), Matins consisted of several psalms, two or three canons and the Great Doxology, which was read - almost the same as in our time weekday matins. Those who for some reason did not go to Matins (which took place almost at night), but especially those who were going to take communion that day, had to privately read the three canons of Matins or others similar to them in the evening (cf. “Pravila lui Nicodim Sachelarie ").

So it came to the point that the “general rule” of three canons* (as part of Compline), which in the Russian Church was “raised to the level of dogma” and practically duplicates Matins. The prayer service of the “Russian type” is also a “Matins in miniature”, which does not contain anything from Matins as such, except “God is the Lord...” with the troparia of the day + the Gospel (which is read exactly the same as at Matins) + verses between songs of the canons, which the priest sings very solemnly, and the choir echoes him (antiphonal singing). But the whole point is that these verses were not in the ancient rite of Matins, in which the canons, sung antiphonally, alternated with the “Songs of Moses.”**

* In Russian and some Romanian monasteries, it is required that the monk daily read the penitential canon (compiled for the laity, and not for monks), the [prayer] canon to the Most Holy Theotokos and the Canon to the holy Guardian Angel. If a monk is preparing for Communion, then to these three canons he must add the Follow-up and prayers for Holy Communion. On Mount Athos such a rule had never been heard of. The inhabitants of Athos on Friday and Saturday evening at Compline read the Follow-up to Holy Communion, so that in the following days the whole community will receive communion, and on the remaining days this Follow-up is read privately. The Holy Mountain residents sing the prayer canon of the Mother of God almost every day in church, but they do not use other canons.

**In the same way, they are currently serving on the Holy Mountain, where these biblical songs (called "songs of Moses", although only the first two belong to him) are sung all year round, since the irmos and troparia were compiled to be combined with these biblical songs.

It should also be noted that the “morning” and “evening prayers” that we find in prayer books, and more recently in the Book of Hours, are essentially a secular (“home”) version of the corresponding monastic services. In no monastery where there is a genuine liturgical tradition, you will not find such that Compline and evening prayers are also performed (which are not in the original Book of Hours). The same is the case with morning prayers, which are “matins” for the laity who do not have daily services in the temple. Monks could also read them when they were outside the monastery and could not come to worship.

4. Thus, we can affirm that the daily connection of Matins with Vespers is a liturgical and logical anomaly, which cannot be justified even in monasteries, not to mention parishes, where the so-called “vigil” is an elementary mockery, where everything abbreviated and read with formal adherence to the scheme, which is only the “letter”, but not the “spirit”. We have to admit that the imposition of monastic rules on the parishes of the Russian Church had a negative impact, first of all, on the monasteries themselves. After all, the parishes, in any case, were unable to comply with the rules, which were unnatural for parish conditions, and significantly reduced services. The monasteries, in turn, adopted the same practice in order to achieve statutory uniformity between monasteries and parishes.

The cuts were due not only to the weakening zeal for prayer, but also to the “inflation of akathists” and the “populism of loud reading of memorial notes,” which had to find a place for themselves between the services of the Book of Hours. So it has come to the point that in the Russian Orthodox Church almost everything is read - stichera on “Lord, I cried,” stichera on the stichera, sedalny, “praise” psalms, not to mention the canons - although all this should be sung. (In the Romanian Orthodox Church, with the exception of the canons, they are sung. In monasteries, the canons are read in full (without abbreviations). In parishes they are almost never heard, but only catavasias are sung. They are also served in Greek parishes. These rites usually correspond like this called the parish Typicon of Constantine and Violakis (XIX century).)

Polyeleos Psalms 134 and 135, which should also be sung in full, were eventually shortened so much that only the first and last verses of each were sung, or four verses in total. (In the Romanian Orthodox Church, eight verses are sung, that is, four from each psalm. On Athos, these psalms are always sung in full.)

A similar fate also befell Psalm 103 at the beginning of Vespers, the first antiphon of the First Kathisma: “Blessed is the man,” Psalm 102 from the liturgy (at the Liturgy, Russians sing only eight verses from this psalm, and Romanians only one verse.), etc.

5. One may get the impression that all of the above does not clarify this problem, but only confuses it even more. After all, a natural question arises: what to do? The answer to this is not at all simple.

In my opinion, first of all, parishes and monasteries should have two different statutes. The Greeks, Romanians, Serbs, Bulgarians and others implemented this system throughout the 19th century, and the Russians tried to do so at the Local Council of 1917-1918, but due to the revolution and the tragic events that followed it, it failed. And it would be foolish to believe that “God did not allow this,” since until the 13th century there were two rather different versions of the Rule throughout the Church: one cathedral-parochial, with shorter services, and the other monastic, with longer services, and this difference was completely natural. (In the Russian Orthodox Church, the Studite Charter was in force until the end of the 14th - beginning of the 15th centuries.)

Secondly, in my opinion, monasteries should return to the system of services that is provided for in the Book of Hours and the Typikon, observing the order and time of their performance, without burdening them with all sorts of secondary rites. In the evening, the Ninth Hour should be celebrated with Vespers, then dinner and Compline with the canon to the Most Holy Theotokos, as prescribed by the Rule. After this, you must go to your cells, since the Typikon prohibits any conversations or work after Compline. In the morning (around 4:00) you should perform the Midnight Office, Matins, Hours and Liturgy. (Here we mean mainly weekdays. On Sundays and holidays, the service may begin two hours later.) Everything must be arranged in such a way that the monastic community participates in all services or, at least, attends Vespers and Liturgy. But not in the same way as some abbots do (both in Russia and Romania), who force monks to come to Moleben or Akathist, and during the Liturgy they are sent to obedience. We are no longer talking about the fact that monks should receive communion at least twice a week, and participation in liturgical service should be a necessity and a duty.

6. I have already been asked several times about the parish charter scheme. Perhaps it's time to sketch out a few ideas that can be fleshed out.

It would be best to celebrate in parishes Vespers in the evening with a short sermon + Lesser Compline with the inclusion of the canons of Matins (in order to “honestly” shorten Matins - especially since their contents do not mention morning time), and during the reading of these canons the priest can confess those who are going to take communion the next day. (Of course, we are talking not only about four multi-day fasts, but about the weekly communion of believers, when it is not necessary for all those receiving communion to confess weekly. Confession can be done once every two to three weeks, and communion every week.)
If there are too many people for confession, the service can be continued by reading the Follow-up to Holy Communion. In the morning, at about eight o'clock, you can perform Matins (without canons), the Hours and the Liturgy. (The hours represent not parish, but monastic services, which were read especially when there was no Liturgy. In the same case, if the Liturgy was celebrated, then the hours were not read. The Charter of the Cathedral of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople provided for the combined rite of the Third and Sixth The hours called “tritoekti”, and the first hour was never performed, because its time and meaning overlapped with the content of Matins. Currently, the reading of the hours is necessary in order to have enough time to perform the proskomedia commemorations and censing at the end of them. However, in the Greek Church. It became the rule for the Proskomedia to end during the “praise” psalms, and the Liturgy to begin immediately after the Great Doxology. This trend is also observed in the Bulgarian and Romanian Orthodox Churches.)

Moreover, I would suggest reading the entire kathisma in order at Vespers and Matins, from the first to the twentieth. Considering that there may be holidays within a week, the entire Psalter will be read in two months or even less. The system of reading three kathismas every day (since on Sundays the first to third kathismas are read each time) is suitable for monasteries where divine services are performed daily. In parishes this system is ineffective. In parishes, special emphasis should be placed on preaching and the congregational singing of believers, at least the most important chants.

7. It is also possible to shorten Matins by transferring its canons to Compline in monasteries. This would provide a logical explanation for the custom of reading three canons at Compline. In addition, such a practice would still make it possible to perform cell service prayer rule on a personal basis, to the best of each person’s ability (as is done throughout Orthodox world, with the exception of the Russian Orthodox Church). Then one could return to the singing of many troparions and stichera, and all the elements of Matins, which speak of “rising from sleep,” “sunrise,” “appearance of light,” and so on, would be read and sung in the morning, at their appointed time and “unfalse.” In addition, the length of evening and morning services would be more balanced, allowing more people to participate. Indeed, in reality, only a few monks or nuns stand in the temple for the entire service, while the rest are on all sorts of “obediences,” more or less important and urgent.

8. The problem of performing Vespers in the morning is even more complex, since this Vespers is sometimes associated with the Liturgy and the communion of the Holy Mysteries, which must be preceded by the Eucharistic fast. However, historically, whenever there is talk about the unification of the Liturgy with Vespers, we must understand that the Liturgy was celebrated in the afternoon, closer to evening. This rank, which has a logical and historical basis in Maundy Thursday(in remembrance of the Last Supper), was born from a monastic zeal to fast until the evening (until 3-4 o'clock in the afternoon), and then receive Holy Communion, because even Communion in the morning was considered a violation of strict fasting. But in parishes where lay people come, forced to work all day (often in very difficult work), the rites could never be applied in the form in which it was intended. Vespers with the Liturgy were either postponed to the morning, which makes no sense, or to the very evening (at six or seven o’clock), when the parishioners’ working day ended and they could go to the service. At the same time, they are forced to fast even longer than the monks. The “letter” triumphed over the “spirit”, and, as a result, the practice of performing vespers in the morning throughout Lent spread, even if it is not combined with the Liturgy. In the 19th century, this custom spread widely throughout monasteries, and nowadays very few are trying to return to the norm, serving the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts late in the evening (this trend is very clearly visible in Greece, in the Western diaspora and the dioceses of the Romanian Orthodox Church), when, at least in March, it is already completely dark, according to the rule “at sunset.” Others propose combining this Liturgy with the Rite of the Fine or other morning services. (In the past, the Obednitsa (rite of the Fine) was a monastic rite (performed without a priest) of the communion of the Holy Mysteries. Consequently, it was also a type of the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts. And if there is a desire to celebrate the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts in the morning, then it is more logical to combine it with the rite of the Fine, and not with Vespers, because the original goal of fasting until the evening seems to have long disappeared.)

One way or another, the anomaly of celebrating Vespers in the morning is obvious, and those who consciously serve God cannot remain indifferent to this.

Translation from Romanian: Elena-Alina Patrakova, www.teologie.net

Today, many zealots of the Typikon are raising the problem of the inconsistency of our service with the Typikon; I would like to examine the issue with the service of Matins in the morning.
Before talking about Matins, I would like to explain such a concept as Charter Time. The statutory time differs from our usual time, as well as from the time of services now. Charter time is the time for performing divine services according to the Charter adopted in our Church, that is, according to the regulations of the monastery Saint Sava consecrated, that is, Eastern time. According to Eastern time, at different times of the year, day and night have different lengths, and therefore the beginning of services is also determined depending on the time of year. On average, a night according to Typikon lasts from 19-20 hours to 3-4 hours. And the morning is from 3 o'clock to 7.
According to the Typikon, Matins should be preceded by the Midnight Office and be until 1 o'clock in the afternoon. The Midnight Office is served "in morning time, before the illumination of the day” (Typikon), but do not forget that after the Midnight Office Matins should be served and after it 1 hour. That is, the Midnight Office is served at 3-4 o’clock in the morning. After it comes Matins, it must begin immediately after the Midnight Office, because the statutory Matins is quite long, 2 kathismas, interpretations of the gospel and the apostle for tomorrow, the synoxarion are read on it, on Polyelean holidays two Polyean psalms are also sung, that is, Matins lasts about 3 hours , and ends just before the first hour. That is, the statutory time of Matins is from 4 to 7 hours. In addition, this is evidenced by the exclamation that precedes the Great Doxology, “Glory to Thee, who showed us the light!” (In some service books “Dawn”), this exclamation glorifies God who made us worthy to see the dawn, therefore it also indicates that Matins should be over by 6-7 o’clock.
Based on this, the question arises, what is the point of serving Matins in the morning if, in our understanding, morning is already a full day. The petition “We will fulfill morning prayer Lord” that is just as inappropriate as in the evening. So it makes sense to destroy a tradition that, firstly, has meaning and its own history, going back to the all-night vigil, and secondly, it has firmly established itself in parishes and fits very well into our lives. Let’s not forget that the Rule is written for monks, the main obedience and the main goal of life is unceasing prayer, but we live in the world, and we need to adapt to it no matter how much we want it. Modern man It is unlikely that he will come to church at 4 o’clock every holiday, having previously attended a very long evening service.
From all of the above, it is clear that the Matins service in the morning actually turns out to be far from what we imagine it to be.

The following daily services - Vespers and Matins - are performed on weekdays, that is, from Monday to Saturday during the so-called period of singing the Octoechos. This period does not include the time from the beginning of Lent to the Sunday of All Saints, as well as the pre- and post-celebrations of the Twelve Feasts, when Vespers and Matins differ to a greater or lesser extent from the daily ones. During the period of the singing of the Octoechos, daily worship is not performed if the saint in the Menaion has some kind of holiday sign and the service is carried out in a festive manner.

Everyday (weekday) Vespers

The daily liturgical cycle begins with Vespers. Divine service - Vespers (and, according to modern practice, Matins with the 1st hour) in honor of some holiday or saint takes place on the evening before the holiday. The nature and content of the hymns and prayers of Vespers are beautifully conveyed by Metropolitan Veniamin (Fedchenkov): “There is almost no element of praise there. ...This is explained simply. By evening the man was tired: both physically - from work, and mentally - from worries, sorrows and spiritual struggle. Therefore, it is difficult for him to praise, it is easier for him to repent, to lament, he wants peace, rest, rest. …That’s why “Quiet Light…” is sung here… That’s why the reconciled, dying song of Saint Simeon, “Now do You let Your servant go in peace,” is so appropriate here. ...The character of Vespers... peacefully repentant. ...By the way, how comforting, soothing, and reassuring all the prokeimnas at Vespers are...”

There are several types of vespers:

Small vespers.

A short service that is supposed to be performed before the all-night vigil. In modern practice it is almost never done (with the exception of Mount Athos). vespers Everyday or everyday

. vespers It is performed on weekdays, if there is no memory of a saint who has the sign of polyeleos and a vigil. Great.

Celebrated on Sundays, Twelfths and great holidays and days saints' memory having the sign of polyeleos and vigil.

The procedure for performing daily Vespers is set out in

Chapter 9 of the Typikon , where instructions for non-guard services (with “God is the Lord”) and guard services (with “Alleluia”) alternate. It can also be traced through the Book of Hours and the Octoechos.

Brief outline of daily Vespers

Psalm 103 – Ch, , where instructions for non-guard services (with “God is the Lord”) and guard services (with “Alleluia”) alternate. It can also be traced through the Book of Hours and the Octoechos.

immutable Great Litany – Sl

“Lord, I cried...” – Ch, , where instructions for non-guard services (with “God is the Lord”) and guard services (with “Alleluia”) alternate. It can also be traced through the Book of Hours and the Octoechos.

stichera “to the Lord, I cried” – O and M, , where instructions for non-guard services (with “God is the Lord”) and guard services (with “Alleluia”) alternate. It can also be traced through the Book of Hours and the Octoechos.

changeable , where instructions for non-guard services (with “God is the Lord”) and guard services (with “Alleluia”) alternate. It can also be traced through the Book of Hours and the Octoechos.

“Quiet Light...” – Ch,

Prokeimenon – Ch, Sl, Great Litany – Sl

“Vouchsafe, Lord...” – Ch, , where instructions for non-guard services (with “God is the Lord”) and guard services (with “Alleluia”) alternate. It can also be traced through the Book of Hours and the Octoechos.

Litany of Petition – Sl Great Litany – Sl

Stichera on verse - Oh,

“Now you let go...” – Ch,

Troparion - M,

Sublime Litany – Sl if you didn't read the 9th hour

"Come, let's worship..." (three times)

Psalm 103 read

Great Litany

“Lord, I cried...” [and the verses “Lay down, O Lord, the keeping...”]

Stichera with verses on 6: 3 stichera of Octoechos

3 stichera to Saint Menaion

* (if there is a service to two saints in the Menaion, then: 3 stichera for the 1st saint, 3 stichera for the 2nd saint)

Glory: Saint Menaion (if there is)

And now: Theotokos (according to the voice of Glory from the 2nd appendix of the Menaion)

"Quiet Light..."

Prokeimenon of the day

"Grant, Lord..."

Litany of petition

Stichera on verse (Octoechos)

Glory, even now: Theotokos Octoechos

* If there is Glory to the saint in the Menaion: on the stichera, then, after the 3 stichera of the Octoechos- Glory: Saint Menaion,

And now: Theotokos (according to the voice of Glory from the 2nd appendix of the Menaion)

"Now you are letting go..."

Trisagion according to Our Father

Troparion to Saint Menaion

Glory, even now: The Mother of God (according to the voice of the troparion of the saint from the 4th appendix of the Menaion)

* If the service is to two saints, then the troparia are sung in the following order:

Troparion of the 1st St.,

Glory: Troparion of the 2nd St.,

And now: Theotokos (according to the voice of the last troparion from the 4th appendix of the Menaion)

Litany

Ending: S.: "Wisdom"

H.: "Bless"

S.: “Blessed are you...”

Kh.: “Amen. God confirm...”

__________________________________________________________________

In modern practice, weekday vespers are joined by weekday matins, so after “Confirm, O God...” followed by the exclamation of matins “Glory to the Saints...”, six psalms, etc. of matins.

S.: "Most Holy Mother of God, save us"

Kh.: "The most honorable Cherub..."

S.: “Glory to Thee, Christ God...”

Kh.: "Glory, and now... Lord have mercy (three times) Bless"

S.: says leave

Kh.: "Great Master..."

Scheme

services of all levels:

simple, sixfold,

funeral service

is printed

Tobolsk, 1998.

Follow-up of Matins

Following the Sixfold Service.

The sixfold service differs from the daily service in that at Vespers the stichera on “I have cried to the Lord” are all taken from the Menaion (6 stichera), and at Matins they are omitted Martyred - in the sedals and on the canon.

The first Canon is read from the Octoechos without the martyrs with the Irmos at 4.

The second Canon is from Octoechos on 4.

The third Canon is from the Menaion on 6.

note. At the Sixth Service in Menaion there may be stichera on praises. In this case, they are read with verses from mark 4. After the Mother of God, “Glory befits You...” is not read, but immediately reads “Glory to You, who showed us the light...” and the daily doxology.

Following the Doxological Service.

The entire service is performed according to the Menaion, except for the canon. The canon is taken from the Octoechos and Menaion.

The doxological service before the singing of the stichera on the praises according to the scheme no different from the Sixth.

Features of the Doxological Service at Vespers

1. . On “Lord I cried” to “and now” the Theotokos (dogmatist) from the 1st appendix of the Menaion is sung in the voice of “Glory”.

2. The Holy Cross is not used at the doxological service.

3. The stichera on the verse are taken from the Menaion, with the refrains of the saint indicated in the Menaion. “Glory” of the menaion, “and now” along with or II appendix of the menaion.

At Matins.

1. On God the Lord on “And now” the Resurrection of the Theotokos from the 3rd appendix of the Menaion is sung according to the voice of “Glory” or troparion.

2. After the kathismas there is the Small Litany “Packs and Packs”, the exclamation of the Priest - “Like your power...”.

3. The sedals of the Saint are taken from the Menaion.

4. The canon reads: 1st from Octoechos with Irmos at 4, without martyrs,

2nd from Octoechos on 4,

3rd from Menaia at 6.

Festive chaos for every song.

5. According to the 9th pesei, “It is worthy to eat” is not sung; after the chaos, the Small Litany is immediately performed.

6. Exapostilary Octoechos, “Glory” of the Svetilen from the Menaion, “And Now” the Theotokos in a row from the Menaion.

At the Liturgy.

Fine songs are sung

at the entrance - troparia: "Apostles, martyrs..."

"Lord remember..."

"Glory", kontakion "Rest with the saints..."

“And now,” the Mother of God, “To you is the wall and refuge of the imams...”

Prokeimenon, Apostle, Gospel, Alleluary and Sacrament- private and mortuary.

Features of worship on Saturday
2, 3 and 4 weeks of Great Lent.

Vespers

Vespers is celebrated in the morning in conjunction with the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, according to the Lenten rite.

In the evening, Great Compline and funeral Matins are celebrated.

Great Compline is read quickly, without interruptions.

According to the 1st Trisagion the troparia are read:

"Apostles, martyrs and prophets..."

"Glory" - "Remember, Lord..."

“And now” – “Holy Mother...”

According to the 2nd Trisagion:

along with “Have mercy on us, Lord...”, etc.

According to the Daily Doxology, the canon for the departed is read in the present voice, printed in the Octoechos after Matins.

According to the 3rd Trisagion:

Kontakion: "Rest with the saints..."

At the end there is a Small Dismissal (and not the prayer “Master is Most Merciful...”) and the usual rite of forgiveness.

Matins.

Matins begins with two psalms (in practice, without two psalms, immediately with the exclamation “Glory to the Holy Ones, Consubstantial and Inseparable...”).

Matins takes place in chapter 49. Typikon: "On Saturday 2nd of Lent at Matins." This service is in every way similar to the funeral service performed according to Chapter 13. Typicon. It differs only in the reading of the canon, because from the Triodi one is supposed to sing the four songs (6, 7, 8 and 9 songs each).

The canon reads as follows:

In the Church of the Lord and the Virgin Mary:

Temple canon with Irmos at 6.

St. from Menaion on 4.

It begins with the 6th song, the canon of the temple is left and the canon of St. is sung first. from Menaion, and then the Four Songs from Triodion.

In the temple of the saint:

St. from Menaion with Irmos at 6.

St. Church at 4.

Starting from the 6th song, the canon of the temple is abandoned and the canon of the Menaion is sung first, and then the Four Songs.

Funeral service
on Meat and Trinity Saturdays.

In their structure and scheme, these services are not much different from the usual funeral services performed according to Chapter 13. Typicon.

The charter on the performance of these services is in Chapter 49. Typicon, page 394 overleaf.

Comparing these services with the funeral service performed according to Chapter 13. Typicon, the following characteristic differences can be noted:

I. On “Lord I cried” to “Glory” - the stichera of Chapter 8 is sung: “I cry and sob...”.

II. Instead of the daily prokeimna, the deacon says “Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia,” ch. 8 with verses

1) “Blessed are you, whom the Lord has chosen and accepted.” “Their memory will last forever” (two verses together)

2) “Their souls will dwell in good things”

Chorus: 3x3 sings Alleluia.

III. According to “Now you let go...” at Vespers and according to “This is Good” at Matins, the troparion of Chapter 8 is sung.

"The depth of wisdom..."

IV. Instead of “God is the Lord,” Alleluia 8 is sung in the same way.

Troparion "With the depth of wisdom..." 2 times

“Glory, even now,” “To you both a wall and a refuge...”

V. Reading the canon:

1) Canon of the temple (of the Lord or the Mother of God or a saint) with an irmos at 6.

2) Canon of the Triodion on 8.

To the troparions of the Triodion canon - the refrain: "Rest, O Lord, to the souls of Thy servants who have fallen asleep." The second song in a row in the Triodion is also sung. Katavasia Triodion for each song “Let us pour out a song to the people...”. “It is worthy to eat” is not sung.

In practice, most often only the canon of the Triodion is read. Irmos are the usual funeral ones, chapter 6: “As Israel walked on dry land...” (found in the Sunday service, chapter 6). As a rule, the canon is read by clergy in the middle of the temple. The choruses “Peace, Lord, souls...” the choir sings. The clergy enter the altar after reading the luminary with the Mother of God from the Triodion. (All the time from leaving the altar according to the 16th kathisma and until the reading of the lamp they are in the middle of the temple).

VI. On the clock: "With the depth of wisdom..."

According to the trisagion kontakion: "Rest with the saints..."

VII. Troparion at the Liturgy:

“With the depth of wisdom...”, “Glory” - “Rest with the saints...”, “And now” - “To you both a wall and a refuge...”

One funeral prokeimenon, two readings according to the Typikon.

VIII. To Trinity parent's Saturday instead of “By seeing the true light...” the troparion is sung “By the depth of wisdom...”

On lithium

(deacons take the blessing for censing from the High Place before the clergy enters the middle)

Incense is not performed in the Altar

a) Iconostasis (right and left parts)

b) Icon on a lectern, in the middle of the temple

c) Primate and those present (from the middle of the temple)

d) Choirs and people (from the pulpit)

e) The Royal Doors and local icons

e) Icons on the lectern

g) Primate

Scheme

services of all levels:

simple, sixfold,

doxology, polyeleos, all-night vigil and

funeral service

is printed

with the blessing of His Grace Demetrius

Bishop of Tobolsk and Tyumen,

Rector of Tobolsk Theological Seminary

Following the daily service................................................... ....... 3

Following the sixfold service................................................... ..... 7

Follow-up of the doxological service................................................... .... 7

Follow-up of the polyeleous service................................................................... ..... 9

Consequence of the All-Night Vigil................................................................... ........12

The order of combining the all-night vigil with the services of the saints of all

ranks........................................................ ........................................................ 16

Funeral service (Parastas) .................................................... ... 17

Features of worship on Saturday of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th weeks of the Great

Post......................................................... ........................................................ ..... …..20

Funeral service on Meat and Trinity Saturdays..... .21

The order of censing at the All-Night Vigil and at the Liturgy..................................22

The diagrams were prepared by the teacher of the Tobolsk Theological Seminary, Hegumen Photius (Evtikheev)

Tobolsk, 1998.

Following the daily service

Follow-up of Matins

Troparion to the Saint, “Glory, even now” – Theotokos.

Note. If there are 2 Saints, then the troparion to the Saint, “Glory...” troparion to the 2nd Saint, “And now” the Theotokos “at the end of Matins” from the 4th appendix of the Menaion or according to the Book of Hours.

Full dismissal (for the doxological service and above, the dismissal after the 1st hour is small, since the full dismissal is pronounced after Matins)

Many years (after the Little Dismissal, Lord have mercy (3 times)).“Confirmation of those who hope for You...” What is the Charter and how did it develop? Where did all-night vigils come from? What is the meaning of Vespers? Why do we sing “Now you let us go” at Vespers? These are the questions that the lesson was devoted to answering. Audio recording of the lesson

What is the Charter? Charter (or Typicon ) are a kind of “methodological materials” for compiling a service. It contains instructions on how services should be performed at different times throughout the year. Since the modern Charter is focused on monastic worship and life, it contains many instructions about life in the monastery. When we say “fast according to the monastic rules,” this means that we mean the Typikon’s instructions regarding fasting, i.e. we fast according to these injunctions. The modern Charter was formed over a fairly long historical period. The development of our Charter was influenced by three different Greek Charters - Charter Great Church

(St. Sophia in Constantinople), Alexievo-Studiysky Charter(Charter of the Studite Monastery in Constantinople as amended by Patriarch Alexy of Constantinople (1025-1043)) and Jerusalem Charter(Charter of the Lavra of St. Savva the Sanctified near Jerusalem). The Charter of the Great Church, which is also called and ceremonial entrances at Vespers and Matins, the presence of choirs of professional singers and the predominance of singing over reading (hence the name “Charter of Song Sequences”). It was the divine service according to this Charter that the ambassadors of Prince Vladimir, who arrived in Constantinople according to the legend about the choice of faith, could see. It amazed them with its beauty and was borrowed for cathedral and parish services in Rus'.

Around 1065, the Monk Theodosius of Pechersk brought the Alexievo-Studio Rule for his monastery, and it became the Rule of other Russian monasteries as well. IN XIV - XV century we have another Charter - the Jerusalem Charter. It is slowly coming into use both in monasteries and in parish churches, and a combination of all three Rules is taking place. Elements of each of them have been preserved in modern worship. We'll talk about this later.

How did all-night vigils appear?

The main difference between the Studio Charter and the Jerusalem Charter is that in the first there is no all-night vigils(i.e. sequences of services connected to each other, which were served at night). All services according to the Studio Charter were served separately from each other at the appointed time. This was due to the fact that the monks in the Studite monastery lived on the same territory and had the opportunity to be at every service. Jerusalem Lavra Ven. Sava the Sanctified was a slightly different type of monastery: it had a central temple, and the monks lived in separate cells and caves, scattered at a great distance from each other and from the temple. Usually they performed all the daily services in their cell, and went to church for the Divine Liturgy on Sunday or on a holiday. To get to the temple, it was necessary to spend many hours and miss some services. Therefore, when the monks gathered in the temple, they served all the missed services, connecting them with each other, so that one was immediately followed by another. Usually they came to the temple closer to the night, so all the missed services were at night, then in the morning Matins was served and then the liturgy for which they gathered.

All-night vigils come to Rus' along with the Jerusalem Rule. Modern all-night vigils consist of Vespers, Matins and the first hour, connected to each other. They are served the day before Sundays, twelve and other great holidays, when according to the Charter an all-night vigil is required. In this lesson we will focus on analyzing the rites of Vespers - the first part of the All-Night Vigil.

What kind of vespers are there?

In the Charter of the Russian Orthodox Church there are three types of vespers: small, everyday and great. Daily Vespers happens on weekdays, it is shorter Great Vespers, which is served separately on the feast of great saints or as part of an all-night vigil on Sunday or the twelfth feast. At all-day vespers most of chants are read rather than sung, which makes it less festive. Small Vespers According to the Charter, it should be served until sunset before the all-night vigil on Sunday or a great holiday. This type of vespers is not found in the Greek church; it is a Russian invention, resulting from historical necessity. When all-night vigils appeared in Rus', they began to be reduced in parish churches, and not in the same way as they do now, i.e. Matins is moved to the evening before, connecting with Vespers, but on the contrary, Vespers was moved to a later time, almost at night, so that Matins would end, as it should, with dawn. Because of this, the evening, sunset, time remained unsanctified by prayer: from three o’clock in the afternoon (ninth hour) until night there was no service left in parish churches. Then a small vespers was created - shorter than the daily one.

Great Vespers outline:

1. Opening Psalm (103rd). Luminary prayers of the priest.

2. Great Litany (“Let us pray to the Lord in peace…”)

3. Kathisma “Blessed is the man.”

4. Stichera on “Lord, I have cried.” Entrance with censer.

5. “Quiet Light.”

6. Prokeimenon.

7. A special litany (“Rant everything with all my heart...”).

8. “Vouchsafe, Lord.”

9. Litany of Petition (“Let us fulfill evening prayer ours...")

10. Stichera on verse

11. The song is right. Simeon the God-Receiver (“Now You Let Go”)

12. Prayers from the Trisagion to Our Father. Troparion of the holiday.

13. Psalm 33.

The most ancient part of Vespers

The evening Orthodox service has its origins in the service of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. Most of the early Christians were Jewish, and they naturally retained some Temple traditions even after the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD. One of these traditions was lighting a lamp in the evening. The Lord himself ordered the Jews to perform this rite (Exod. 30:8; Lev. 24:1-4). Christians, preserving it, give it new meaning: a lit lamp brought into the congregation was a reminder of Christ, the Light of the world (John 8:12), “The true Light that enlightens every person” (John 1:9). The lit lamp is a symbol of Christ; it reminded those gathered that Christ dwells among them, as He spoke of two or three gathered in His name (Matthew 18:20). It was to the lamp that the evening hymns of praise were addressed. Among them was one of the most ancient chants (even St. Basil the Great in IV century called him ancient) - "Quiet Light", which is sung at modern vespers after entrance with censer.

Vespers in ancient times was called "thanksgiving thanksgiving" The ritual of lighting the lamp was performed both in the congregation and at home, and how strong this tradition was, how seriously Christians took it, can be evidenced by the story of St. Gregory of Nyssa about last minutes the life of his sister St. Macrina. “When evening came and the fire was brought into the room, she opened her eyes wide and, looking at the light, apparently, tried to read the light thanksgiving την επιλυχνιαν ευχαριστίαν, but since her voice had already disappeared, she fulfilled the prayer only in her mind, Yes, with a movement of the hand and lips. When she finished her thanksgiving and raised her hand to her face to cross herself, she suddenly took a strong and deep breath. Along with the prayer, her life also ended... A dying Christian woman, seeing a lamp brought into her room, strains her last strength to read the prayer of thanksgiving for the lamp. This prayer delays her last breath, which comes with the end of the luminary thanksgiving” (Quoted from: Uspensky N.D. Orthodox Vespers ).

The theme of lighting the lamp was also reflected in the name of the priestly prayers, which are now read secretly at the beginning of Vespers, before entering with the censer - "lamp prayers". There are seven of them, they are the legacy of the Charter of Song Sequences.

Entrance with censerin ancient times it was an entrance with a lamp, and even now during the entrance, the altar boy carries a lamp in front of everyone. In ancient times, this entrance was the entrance of the entire assembled clergy into the altar (before this, they did not enter the altar, and all services were performed in the middle of the temple). The tradition of taking the lamp out of the altar originated from Jerusalem, from the practice of evening worship in the Church of the Resurrection (Holy Sepulcher). IN IV Century, during the evening service, a lamp was brought from the Holy Sepulcher; it was lit from the lamp that was constantly burning there. The altar (or more precisely the throne) is a symbol of the Holy Sepulcher, and they began to carry a lit lamp out of it.

Thus, the ritual of lighting the lamp to this day, albeit less clearly, remains at the center of Vespers. This is also the beginning of the remembrance of the Incarnation of Christ, the true Light who came into the world. We find its continuation, more specific, at the end of Vespers in another ancient chant taken from the Gospel - “Now you let go”, or songs righteous Simeon God-receiver, which he sang in the Jerusalem Temple when he received from the hands of the Mother of God the born Savior, the incarnate Son of God, for whom he had been waiting so much.

Litany

Great Litany(from the Greek litany - “long prayer”), the first one, which is said at Vespers and which is also called “peaceful” after the first line “Let us pray to the Lord in peace,” like other litanies - small, severe And pleading- appeared quite early. Already in IV century there were lengthy deaconal prayers for different categories of people in the church and outside it, which were sometimes listened to by believers on their knees.

Small Litanythe shortest one and contains only one petition: “Intercede, save, have mercy and preserve us, O God, by Your grace.” It begins with the words “Back and back (that is, again and again) in peace let us pray to the Lord.”

The Great Litanybegins with the deacon’s call to “Recite everything with all our souls and with all our thoughts…” (“Let us shout everything with all our souls and with all our thoughts we will shout”). Purely translated from Church Slavonic it means “twice”, but the people’s petition “Lord, have mercy” is repeated not twice, but three times, and in an exact translation from Greek the name of this litany would be “diligent prayer”. The term “extreme litany” here can be understood in the sense of a petition pronounced with special zeal, special warmth of the heart. In the special litany, the petitions are already more specific than in the great litany. For example, about salvation, forgiveness of sins and other benefits for those who pray themselves, as well as for those who make donations and do good in the temple in which this prayer is said.

Litany of Petition contains some other petitions of the deacon than the great and special one: “We ask the Lord for a perfect, holy, peaceful and sinless evening... We ask the Lord for a peaceful, faithful mentor, guardian of our souls and bodies... Forgiveness and remission of our sins and transgressions from the Lord Gentlemen we ask... We ask for kindness and benefit to our souls, and peace from the Lord... and others.” The people’s petition also changes from “Lord, have mercy” to “Give, Lord.”

The legacy of ancient monastic worship in modern vespers

Opening Psalm , which is sung at Great Vespers (or rather, selected verses from it) and read at daily vespers, contains a poetic retelling of the history of the creation of the world. He came to our Vespers from the ancient monastic rules of psalmody, which replaced the monks with the solemn and magnificent worship of parish churches. The hermit monks could not perform divine services aimed at cathedrals with professional choirs, a large number of clergy and people, so in their cells they recited psalms and the most ancient works of church poetry, such as “Quiet Light” and other vespers chants. (as well as Matins and Compline) - “ Lord grant", a prayer glorifying God and asking Him to save us this evening (day, night) from sin.

Kathisma -it is one of the 20 parts of the Psalter, the biblical book on which almost all ancient worship was based. Kathisma "Blessed is the man" or rather, selected verses from the 1st kathisma, named after the first line of the first psalm, “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked.” They are sung with the chorus "Hallelujah". This is a remnant of both the monastic Rules and the Rules of the Great Church. The reading of kathismas came into our worship from monastic vespers, but by the nature of the execution of kathismas, “Blessed is the Man” resembles antiphonal singing from the divine service according to the Rule of Song Sequences, when selected verses from the psalms were sung with a refrain by two choirs alternately.

Variable Vespers chants: stichera and troparia

Stichera on “Lord, I have cried” - also a legacy of song vespers (Rule of Song Sequences). Here the verses of Psalms 140, 141, 129 and 116 alternate with stichera, works of Christian songwriting that narrate an event or glorify the memory of a saint whose feast day is celebrated on this day. The stichera are found in Octoechos, Menaion and Triodion. The first two verses before the stichera: “Lord, I have cried to You, let us hear me... Let my prayer be corrected...” - these are lines from Psalm 140. Psalms 140, 141 and 129 - the second three-psalm of Vespers of song sequences. That vespers contained three three-psalms (three times three psalms, read together at the beginning of vespers, in the middle and at the end).

Stichera on poetry- another stichera at Vespers. They also alternate with the verses of their psalms and tell the story of the event or saint being celebrated. They begin not with a verse of the psalm, but with the proclamation of the beginning of the first stichera, which the choir then sings in full.

Troparion(from Greek: 1) sample, 2) victory sign, trophy) - the oldest Christian chant, the first genre of Christian songwriting proper, while most of the worship consisted of biblical texts - psalms, readings from Old Testament etc. In ancient times stichera were also called troparia. Now the troparion is the main chant of the holiday, telling about its meaning and glorifying it. Troparions are also sung at all services of the daily cycle. If two or three holidays coincide on one day, two or three troparions are sung accordingly.

Prokeimenon and proverbs

Prokeimenon(from the Greek "present"), following "Quiet Light", are several lines from the psalm that are sung before reading Holy Scripture(at Vespers most often from the Old Testament). These passages of Scripture are called paremias and contain prototypes of the event being celebrated. For example, in passages on the feasts of the Mother of God, the story is told about the burning bush (a prototype of the Mother of God who accepted God, Who is fire); about the ladder from earth to heaven (the Mother of God, who gave birth to Christ, united the earthly and the heavenly); about the closed gates in the east, through which only the Lord God will pass, and they will remain closed (about the miraculous conception of Christ and the ever-virginity of the Mother of God); about the house with seven pillars, which Wisdom built for herself (the Mother of God Mary, having contained God the Word in Herself, became His house).

Unlike antiphonal singing, prokeimenons were and are sung hypophonic, i.e. the deacon proclaims a verse of the psalm, and the people or choir repeat it (sing along; the word “hypophonic” comes from Greek word“sing along”), then the deacon proclaims a new verse, and the people sing the first verse as a chorus. “The fathers established,” says St. John Chrysostom, - so that the people, when they did not know the whole psalm, would sing along (ὑπηχεῖν) a strong verse from the psalm, containing some high teaching, and from here extract the necessary instruction” (Quoted from: M. N. Skaballanovich. Explanatory Typikonhttp://azbyka.ru/tserkov/bogosluzheniya/liturgika/skaballanovich_tolkovy_tipikon_07-all.shtml#23 ). In ancient times, entire psalms were sung in this way as prokeimenons.

Where did lithium come from?

At the end of Great Vespers, at the All-Night Vigil, according to the Rules, it is necessary to serve lithium(from Greek “zealous prayer”). Litiya originates in the divine service of the Jerusalem Church of the Holy Sepulcher, when after Vespers the clergy and people went out to holy places - to the holy garden and to Golgotha ​​- to pray there, remembering what the Lord suffered for us. And to this day, according to the Charter, the lithium must be served outside the church, in the vestibule. The blessing of bread, wheat, wine and oil at the lithium arose from the need to strengthen the strength of those praying during the vigil, which lasted all night. Initially, only bread and wine were blessed and distributed, as they did not require additional preparation; oil and wheat began to be blessed later.

More information about the history of Vespers:

1. Archpriest Alexander Men. Orthodox worship. Sacrament, word and image (“Chapter 2. Evening in the temple”).

2. Kashkin A. Charter Orthodox worship(“Chapter 4 Types of church prayers”, “Chapter 5 Worship of the book. P.3. Typikon. Short story Typicon").

3. Uspensky N.D. Orthodox Vespershttp://www.odinblago.ru/uspensky_vecherna

Ceremony of Vespers in Church Slavonic with translation into Russian: