How long does the Christmas liturgy last in the temple? All about celebrating Christmas. (councils of priests, traditions, rituals, church services)

January 6 - Evening Christmas, or Christmas Eve, - last day Christmas Lent, eve Christmas. On this day, Orthodox Christians especially prepare for the upcoming holiday, the whole day is filled with a special festive mood. On the morning of Christmas Eve, at the end of the Liturgy and the vespers following it, a candle is brought to the center of the church and the priests sing a troparion in front of it. Christmas. Services and Christmas Eve post have a number of features, so it is these days that many questions come to our site about how to conduct Christmas Eve. We asked Archpriest Alexander Ilyashenko to answer these questions.

How to fast on Christmas Eve?

- Father Alexander, the most frequently asked question by our readers is how to fast on Christmas Eve, until what time should one refrain from eating food? What does “fasting until the first star” mean? Is the measure of abstinence the same for those who work and those who do not work on this day? How long does fasting last before communion?

Indeed, the Typicon prescribes fasting until the end of Vespers. However, the service of Vespers is connected with the Liturgy, it is served in the morning, and therefore we fast until the moment when a candle is brought into the center of the church and a troparion to the Nativity of Christ is sung in front of the candle.

It is obvious that people in the temple are fasting, many commune on this day. It would be good if those who cannot be in the service in the temple, who work, honor this day with a more strict fast. We remember that, according to the Russian proverb, "A full belly is deaf to prayer." Therefore, a more strict fast prepares us for the coming joy of the holiday.

Those who take communion at the night Liturgy, according to church tradition, eat food in last time at least six hours before Communion time, or from about 6 p.m. And here the point is not in a specific number of hours, that you need to fast for 6 or 8 hours and not a minute less, but in the fact that a certain border is established, a measure of abstinence that helps us to comply with the measure.

– Father, a lot of questions come from sick people who cannot fast, they ask what they should do?

Sick people, of course, must fast to the extent that this is consistent with the intake of medicines and with the prescriptions of doctors. This is not about putting a weak person in a hospital, but about strengthening a person spiritually. Illness is already a difficult post and a feat. And here a person should already try to determine the measure of fasting according to his own strength. Any thing can be brought to the point of absurdity. For example, imagine that a priest who comes to give communion to a dying person asks when the person last ate?!

– As a rule, believers try to meet at the night festive liturgy. But in many churches, the Vespers and Liturgy are also served at the usual time - 5 pm and in the morning. In this regard, it is often asked whether it is a sin young man, not infirm, without children, to go to work not at night, but in the morning?

To visit a night service or a morning one - you need to watch it according to your strength. Meeting the holiday at night is, of course, a special joy: both spiritual and spiritual. There are very few such services a year; in most parish churches, night liturgies are served only at Christmas and Easter- especially solemn services are traditionally performed at night. But for example, on Athos, Sunday vigils are served at night. Still, there are not so many such services, just over 60 per year. The Church so establishes, taking into account human capabilities: the number of night vigils in the year is limited.

Solemn night services contribute to a deeper prayerful experience and perception of the Holiday.

- The Festive Liturgy has ended, the festive feast. Here we are asked two questions. First, is it possible to celebrate Christmas first in the parish, and not immediately arrange a family celebration?

The second question is related to the fact that Christmas Liturgy many take communion. And people are somewhat embarrassed: you have just received communion, the books of the holy fathers say that in order to retain grace, you need to try to protect yourself from talking, especially laughter, and try to spend time after communion in prayer. And then a festive feast, even with brothers and sisters in Christ... People are afraid of losing their prayerful mood..

Those rules that the hermit fathers offered to monastics cannot be fully transferred to worldly life, and even more so they cannot be transferred to major holidays. We are talking about ascetics - ascetics, especially richly endowed with the grace-filled gifts of God. For them, the outer part is secondary. Of course, the spiritual life is in the first place for the laity, but we cannot draw the same clear line between the spiritual and the earthly here.

The apostle Paul commanded us Always rejoice. Incessantly pray. In everything give thanks to the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). If we meet the holiday with joy, prayer and gratitude to God, then we fulfill the apostolic covenant.

Of course, this issue must be considered individually. Of course, if a person feels that he is losing his fertile mood behind a noisy celebration, then perhaps he should sit down at the table for a while, leave earlier, preserving spiritual joy.

– Father Alexander, isn’t it worth it here for us to distinguish between two states in ourselves – when we are really afraid to spill the feeling received in the temple, and when by our refusal to participate in the holiday we can upset our neighbors, and often refuse to share joy with a non-peaceful heart. Relatives resigned themselves to the fact that their zealous family member flatly refused to meet with them New Year, it would seem that the fast is over, the person should “return” to the family, share the joy of the holiday together, and he again slams the door and says “What a“ sit with us ”, I have a great holiday, such grace, I will lose all my prayer mood with you !!

In this case, a person will hardly harm his prayerful state, since such behavior indicates that a person does not stay in it. The state of contemplation, prayerfulness is always associated with a surge of spiritual joy, grace, which the Lord generously pours out on His slaves. And such an attitude towards neighbors is more like hypocrisy and hypocrisy.

– Is it obligatory to attend the evening service on the very day of the holiday - the evening of the Christmas holiday?

- Everyone should decide for himself. After the night service, you need to recuperate. Not everyone, due to age, health and spiritual level, is able to go to the temple and take part in the service. But we must remember that the Lord rewards for every effort that a person makes for Him.

The evening service on this day is not long, especially spiritual, solemn and joyful, the Great Prokeimenon is proclaimed at it, so, of course, it’s good if you can visit it.

Congratulations to all readers of our site on the upcoming holiday Christmas!

Questions prepared by Lidia Dobrova and Anna Danilova

The Christmas service of the Orthodox Church is a long and extremely important event, the purpose of which is to honor the memory of the Son of God and help people join the virtues.

The Afterfeast is a six-day cycle of repetitive hymns and hymns in honor of the Anointed Jesus.

Preparation for the feast. Abstinence

Church celebration begins with religious preparations. 40 days before January 7, believers begin the Christmas fast, which cleanses the soul from sinful thoughts and the body from harmful influence"heavy" food. Temperance, which is an ascetic nature, allows one to approach the holy day properly.

During fasting, one should not eat food of animal origin and engage in unholy deeds that discredit the eternal soul.

• The recommended diet during this period is quite strict. It is necessary to exclude not only meat, but also alcohol with fish.
• On the first day of fasting, Christian believers set the table and say the appropriate prayers, praising the Almighty for generosity and mercy.
• The Christmas service is not complete without the preparation of kutya, a traditional holiday dish.
• Compote and pancakes on the water are another decoration of the table. They were treated to carolers in order to attract happiness and prosperity to the house.
• On weekends, cooking with vegetable oil is allowed.
• During the fasting period, it is recommended to visit churches more often than usual. This allows you to be spiritually cleansed.
• There was a tradition of attracting wealth. The hostesses went to visit friends, did needlework and asked the Lord for financial well-being.
• At the beginning of the fast, it is recommended to help those in need with food or money. It brings great luck next year.
• On Christmas Eve, festive food should not be eaten until the first star appears. Here there is an analogy with the appearance of a heavenly body at the time of the birth of Jesus Christ.

Festive kutia

Traditions for Christmas Eve

Lent ends with the appearance of the first star in the night sky, and life unfolds in a new round. The ancestors had the belief that the time period had gone its way and resumed the report from scratch. In the past, they left everything heavy and unnecessary, so Christmas traditions are a symbol of birth and renewal.

• AT contemporary culture the celebration is perceived as an additional vacation, it is included in the group of New Year holidays. People have a good reason to please family members and have a good time.
• At this time, two forces are fighting in a person. Kindness directs people to carols and chants, and dark side attracts to the witches' sabbath.
• Before the celebration, it is customary to carefully clean the housing and clean the dishes. A Christmas tree was set up in temples and houses, symbolizing eternal existence. Christmas is characterized by a combination of red and green hues, and figurines of angels, donkeys, babies in a manger and candles are used as symbols.
• Giving gifts is loved by children and the most fun part of the holiday. Dressed as Santa Claus, one of the family members brings sweets and toys in a bag. Children receive gifts on the condition that they behave well and obey adults.
• During the feast, conversations are held about virtues and right deeds. Previously, neighbors and beggars were invited to the table, in the form of which the Lord could appear. Each person tried all the dishes and thanked for the treats. Appetizers were served first, then soups with tortillas, and desserts at the end.
• In church conditions, on the eve of the holiday, there is a Christmas liturgy. It starts on the morning of January 6 and ends on the morning of the next day. The believers who came are present at the service, confess and take communion. The duration of the ceremony depends on the number of people.

Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve (Christmas Eve), January 6, Vespers is held, representing the actual beginning of the celebration.

Christmas Eve represents the end of the Advent Lent, which lasted 40 days. On this day, believers observe the strictest fast. Eating is not allowed until the first star appears, which symbolizes the coming of the Savior into the world.

During Vespers, the All-Night Vigil and the Liturgy of Basil the Great are served. At the end of the service, the image of the star of Bethlehem, which appeared in the sky at the time of the birth of Jesus, is brought into the temple.

All-night vigil

The All-Night Vigil is the next part of the church service with the singing of the most beautiful canons and kissing to the holy face of the Savior. This service lasts from dusk to dawn (from 18 to 6 in the morning) and symbolizes the ascetic renunciation of sleep in favor of prayers and chants in honor of the Lord.

• The practice has been known since the time of the Old Testament: the apostles recommended to stay awake around the clock and remember the coming of the Messiah.
• During the period of persecution, Christians held meetings precisely at night, in secret places (cemeteries or catacombs).
• From the 2nd to the 4th centuries, the monks did not sleep, reciting prayers to Jesus and singing the Psalms. Since they hid in mountain caves, it was dangerous to leave these places at night, as there was a possibility of falling into the abyss. Therefore, they did not close their eyes, praised the Lord, and went to rest only in the morning.

Basil the Great used the term "agripnia" in his writings, which means "lack of sleep." He claims that this practice was widespread in the East and took place on the eve of every Sunday, on the holy night of Pascha and on the feast of the Epiphany.

Divine Liturgy at Christmas

The order of the all-night vigil

There is a special church structure all-night vigil:

1. It begins with a small bell ringing and the ninth hour, where psalms and prayers are said.
2. Next comes the small vespers, the great bell ringing and the lighting of the lamps.
3. Burning candles are installed in a special place in front of the main gates of the iconostasis.
4. The priest deeply bows to the rectors of the church, holy images, choirs of singers, brothers. He enters the altar room and puts on an epitrachelion, prays, fumigates the altar with a censer, opens the Holy Doors and departs.
5. The sexton and the priest loudly say: “Arise!”, and the priest continues to fumigate the icons and the audience.
6. The assistant to the abbot reads the sacred message to the Almighty, and after that - Psalm 103, which is repeated many times. At the end of the ritual, the priest stands in front of the Holy Doors and reads prayers of the lamp.
7. Further, all the ministers are busy with the great litany (petition). After prayers and stichera, the clergy appear in the temple, together with whom the “Virgin Mother of God” is sung and a blessing is pronounced on wheat, wine and oil.
8. After the reading of the Apostolic Epistles, there is a Polyeleos Matins - the most solemn part of the All-Night Vigil.
9. Everything ends with the Hours (first, third, sixth) and the Liturgy.

afterfeast

The next day they celebrate the Cathedral Holy Mother of God.

Afterfeast is a liturgical period characterized by memories of a great event in the Christian world. The clergy glorify the event itself and all the participants. More often, this period lasts six to seven days until the morning festive service on January 7th.

The afterfeast ends with the celebration of the feast, where the most solemn divine services take place with prayers and hymns.

Important! Before the celebration of Christmas, every Christian is obliged to observe a strict forty-day fast in order to cleanse himself and become closer to eternal bliss. There are special traditions of behavior at the refectory table, as well as in church conditions. Observing all these rules, believers remember the appearance of the Messiah and pay tribute to his incredible feat.

Watch the video of the Divine Liturgy on Christmas Day

The All-Night Vigil on the Feast of the Nativity of Christ consists of great compline with lithium matins and 1st hour. Before it begins, there is a blagovest and a “chime in all”.

Great Compline consists of 3 parts. Each part begins with a reading Come let's bow down and ends with a special prayer.

Great Compline is performed as follows. The priest with the deacon, dressed, make the beginning, as in all the Lord's feasts. The royal doors open, and the deacon, having given the priest a censer, with a candle in his hand, goes out to the salt. After the exclamation of the priest: "Blessed is our God ..." the reader reads the usual beginning and other sequence of Great Compline. At this time, the priest, together with the deacon, performs a full incense of the temple, as at the beginning of the all-night vigil. At the end of the censing, the royal doors are closed.

First Part of Great Compline similar to that part of Matins, on which the Six Psalms are first read, then sung God Lord with troparia, and kathismas with sedals and litanies are chanted. This similarity indicates that Great Compline arose on the basis of the Six Psalms and subsequently expanded to a tripartite composition.

After the usual beginning, six psalms are read: 4th, 6th, 12th, and then psalms 24th, 30th and 90th.

The choir sings God with us.

The reader reads other verses (until verse 20: Father of the Future).

The choir sings to each verse: Like God is with us and after the final verse he concludes by singing: God with us.

Reader: Day last, I believe. Then - Most Holy Lady Theotokos, pray for us sinners, All heavenly powers of the holy angel and archangel pray etc.

Instead of troparia: Enlighten my eyes, Christ God and others the choir sings (the royal gates open at the time of singing the troparion).

Reader: Lord have mercy (40), most honest and the closing prayer of St. Basil the Great: Lord, Lord.

The first part is accompanied by a short The second part compline, which in its content is repentant.

Reader: Come let's bow down, psalms: 50th, 101st and the prayer of Manasseh, Trisagion according to Our Father. Instead of troparia: Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy on us and others the choir sings (the royal doors are opened for the time of singing the kontakion).

Reader: Lord have mercy (40), most honest and closing prayer: Lord God Father Almighty.

The third part consists of doxologies and praises to God and the saints of God. It is like that part of Matins during which the canon is sung.

Reader: Come let's bow down, psalms 69 and 142, and the daily doxology is read. Then there is an exit to the litia during singing (the usual ending of Great Compline is omitted here). After lithium - a holiday. By Now let go- (thrice), the blessing of the loaves and the 33rd psalm.

Matins.

After the Six Psalms, God Lord- (thrice), then - kathismas and.

According to polyeleos - greatness: We magnify Thee, Life-Giver Christ, for the sake of us now in the flesh born of the Blessed and Most Pure Virgin Mary.

Degree -1 antiphon 4 voices.

Prokimen, ch. four: And from the womb before the day of the day, Thy begotten, the Lord swears and will not repent. Verse: R the Lord to my Lord: sit at my right hand: until I put your enemies under your feet.

According to the 50th psalm instead of prayers sings: Glory: All joys are fulfilled today: Christ is born of the Virgin. And now- the same, but the end: Christ is born in Bethlehem. Have mercy on me God and verse: Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth! Today, Bethlehem welcomes him who sits ever with the Father.

The Great Doxology is sung, according to the Trisagion -.

At the end of Matins - festive leave Born in a den and lying down in a manger, for our salvation, Christ, our True God, through the prayers of His Most Pure Mother and all the saints, will have mercy and save us, as Good and Lover of mankind.

Liturgy St. Basil the Great.

Entrance verse - holiday: From the womb, before the day, I gave birth to Thee, the Lord swears and does not repent: You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

Instead of the Trisagion, it is sung " Elites in Christ are baptized»

On the night of 6 to 7 January at Orthodox churches Christmas services are taking place. And how do they prepare for Christmas in the Orthodox Church?

In the Parish of St. Michael the Archangel in Minsk, correspondents are met by the rector of the parish, Archpriest Igor Galak, and Deacon Dmitry.

Christmas Eve, or the Eve of the Nativity of Christ, among Orthodox believers, it is customary to celebrate January 6th. On this day, after the morning service in the temple, believers refrain from eating until the first star appears in the sky, which is a symbol of the star that rose over Bethlehem at the time of the birth of Christ.

One of the main places in the church is the lectern (a high narrow table on which an icon, cross or Gospel is placed) in the center of the temple. On it is an icon of the Nativity depicting the sacred moment of the birth of Christ.

By the lit star of Bethlehem, the magi were able to determine where Christ was born. The Jews were waiting for the birth of the King of the world, who could deliver them from slavery and help create their own state. But not an earthly king was born, but a heavenly one. As gifts to him, the Magi brought incense, myrrh and silver - symbols of wealth and kingship. mother of God Mary is depicted with the baby Jesus in her cradle. Joseph and Mary went to the census and, as they had to do long haul, they spent the night in a cave in a barn. That is why the moment of the birth of Christ is depicted in a barn among animals.

The lectern with the icon of the Nativity

Jesus Christ was born at night, which is why a night liturgy is held from January 6 to 7. The icon of the Nativity is in the temple from January 6 to January 13 and before the evening service it is decorated with a spruce wreath, a symbol of an evergreen living tree.

The feast of the Nativity of Christ lasts until the Circumcision of the Lord. Then comes the period of Baptism. All these holidays are connected with the life of the Lord Jesus Christ and cover the period from January 7 to 18. In the church they are called Svyatki. Clothing of priests during the period church holidays different from clothing during normal service. So, for example, at Easter it should be red, and during the period of Christmas services, the Baptism of the Lord and Christmas time, black robes are replaced by white ones.

Priest's clothes for the Christmas service: phelonion, handrails, belt and stole

Is in Orthodox tradition and carolers, but they differ from the usual "pagan". In the church, such people are called Bogoslavs. They do not dress up in such costumes as carolers and come to their friends, sing church hymns during the Christmas season.

General view of the altar inside the temple, decorated for Christmas

In some churches, for the holiday, cribs with figures of a baby, lambs and wise men are placed, symbolizing the birth of Christ.

Evening Christmas Service in the temple begins at 6 am on January 6th. This service is called the Royal Hours. On Christmas Eve, a special liturgy of Basil the Great is served. Starting with the evening service, the feast of the Holy Nativity comes, since in ancient Jerusalem it was believed that the day starts at 6 pm. Until Christmas, believers follow a 40-day fast. On the 6th, it is customary to drink water and not eat food. In the evening there is an anointing with special oil, illumination of bread, millet and wine.

Special dishes, tools for communion and prosphora, located in the altar (photo from the archive of the Parish of St. Michael the Archangel)

Traditionally, the Christmas service is held with the Holy Doors open so that everyone can see what is happening in the altar. At this time, the Proskomidia is performed in the altar, the first part of the liturgy, during which preparations for the Divine service take place: they put special dishes, tools, wine, prosphora, and read prayers.

Liturgical prosphora with seals and Christmas bread

The bread commonly used in church is called prosphora. It is prepared in a special prosphora with the help of flour, Epiphany water and yeast. First, leaven is made, dough is kneaded with prayer, and special breads are baked. One of the prosphoras is specially prepared for communion.

On Christmas Day, a special round Christmas bread is baked at the temple. Baking such special bread is a very long and painstaking process that takes a whole day. They prepare it, as the prosphora women say, according to the will of God and with the word of God.