Bishop's service following for the choir. Bishop's service

A little theory

St. Vladimir's Church in Korenovsk is, in fact, the second cathedral Tikhoretsk diocese. This is enshrined in the rank of Bishop Stefan: Bishop of Tikhoretsky and Korenovsky. Last Saturday and Sunday, Bishop Stefan performed the rite in our church bishop's service.

Before we talk about the service itself, let us briefly recall what a bishop’s service is. As the name implies, the episcopal service is the service performed by the ruling bishop, the bishop. According to the apostolic church structure, the bishop is the head of his ecclesiastical region, symbolizing Christ - the Head of the entire Church. As Hieromartyr Ignatius the God-Bearer said, “Where the bishop is, there must be the people, just as where Jesus Christ is, there will be the Catholic Church.”

The bishop's divine service has its own characteristics, different from the divine services performed by the rector of the temple. For example, according to the charter, the participation of a large number of clergy is required: a protodeacon, several presbyters and deacons, and subdeacons. Two deacons serve the bishop a dikiriy and a trikiriy (a two-candlestick and a three-candlestick), and they lay out orlets for the bishop - round rugs with the image of an eagle. These rugs symbolically represent the bishop overseeing the diocese. The bookseller holds the Bible in front of the bishop. One of the deacons is given a primikirium - a remote candle. The bishop dresses in a special way, which symbolizes the fullness of the grace resting on him. In the center of the church there is a raised platform for the bishop - the bishop's pulpit, on which the bishop stands when he is not in the altar, but in the church, and from which he reads the Gospel. During the bishop’s service, Greek texts left untranslated are heard: “Is polla these, despota” (For many years, master), as well as others denoting: “Our Lord and bishop, O Lord, save,” “Lord, have mercy,” and so on. . The bishop overshadows the clergy and people on 4 sides with candles. The royal doors are not closed until the cry: “Holy to the holy.” There are many other differences in the bishop's service.

Heartfelt meeting

Bishop Stefan arrived in Korenovsk at the beginning of Vespers on Saturday, August 22. The parishioners of the temple greeted the bishop warmly and cordially. According to Russian custom, the oldest parishioner, Ivan Demyanovich Zinchenko, met the dear guest on the threshold of the temple and handed him bread and salt, and Tatyana Ivanovna Polyakova - a bouquet of flowers. In the premises of the temple, the bishop was met by the rector, Abbot Tryphon.

At the services on Saturday and Sunday, the ruling bishop was co-served by Archimandrite Nikon, rector of the Holy Dormition Convent of Korenovsk, Abbot Tryphon, rector of St. Vladimir's Church, Priest Evgeny Ilyin, secretary of the diocesan administration, Protodeacon Vladimir Sushko, bishop's protodeacon, as well as other clergy accompanying bishop.

At the end of the evening service, Bishop Stefan performed the rite of anointing, and then many parishioners lined up for confession, hoping to receive the Great Mysteries of Christ on Sunday at the Divine Liturgy, which will be performed by the ruling bishop.

The Divine Liturgy on Sunday was held with special solemnity. Many parishioners noticed the peculiarities of the bishop's service, in particular, the fact that the Royal Doors were not closed until the proclamation “Holy to the Holy!”, that Bishop Stefan himself repeatedly shaded them with candles in the dikiria and trikiria.

Priest Evgeniy Ilyin addressed the parishioners with a sermon. He revealed in detail the essence of the passage from the Gospel of Matthew read at the liturgy, which speaks of a rich young man who asked Jesus Christ how he could enter eternal life.

By decree of the Patriarch

The award ceremony, which was conducted by Bishop Stefan, was unexpected for many. By decree of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Kirill, the regent-psalmist of the St. Vladimir Church Natalia Stanislavovna Volodina was awarded the anniversary medal of the Russian Orthodox Church"In memory of the 1000th anniversary of the repose of Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Duke Vladimir." The bishop attached the medal to Natalia Volodina's blouse and presented her with a certificate of the award. Later, Natalia Stanislavovna, through tears of gratitude and joy, repeated: “Am I really worthy of such an award...”. This means that she is worthy, since the Patriarch signed the decree, and the Lord blessed him for this.

After the service, Bishop Stefan came out to the parishioners and addressed them with a sermon. Then everyone began to take turns approaching the bishop to kiss the cross. Suddenly, one of the youngest parishioners, five-year-old Sofia Kitova, squeezed through the line of adults to the bishop with a huge bouquet of white chrysanthemums. Having given the bouquet and kissed the cross, the girl walked away, embarrassed by the gratitude of the bishop himself...

How does the outback live?

Having finished the hierarchal service, Bishop Stefan did not rush immediately to Tikhoretsk, but, together with Abbot Tryphon and his entourage, went to the village of Novoberezansky. The purpose of the trip was, firstly, a more detailed acquaintance with church life The Korenovsky deanery in general, and in particular - with the arrival of the Supreme Apostles Peter and Paul, who is cared for by the dean of the Korenovsky church district, Abbot Tryphon. Secondly, the bishop showed specific interest in the progress of construction of the temple of the prophet Isaiah in the village. The bishop blessed the parishioners who were working at that time in caring for the garden and building the temple. Restrained in praise, like any monk, the bishop was nevertheless pleased with the good condition in which the garden was kept and the fruits it produced. In the building under construction at the Church of the Prophet Isaiah, the Bishop inquired about where the iconostasis would be located, how the ceiling and walls would be finished, and how they were going to heat the building in winter. Having received comprehensive answers, he blessed Abbot Tryphon for further work for the glory of God. Then he talked with the parishioners and answered their questions.

After the departure of the bishop, finishing work began on the premises of the church under construction by a team that, at the call of the heart and soul, came to the village of Novoberezansky from Yeisk.

If in an ordinary parish church they are waiting for the arrival of the bishop, for the ordinary parishioner this means, first of all, that the service will be longer, more people will come, and the choir will sing louder than usual. For many, knowledge about bishop's services is limited to this. Meanwhile, this service is full of beauty and symbolic meaning. Therefore, when Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk came to the temple of the Holy Right-Believing Tsarevich Demetrius, we decided to take the opportunity and record some moments bishop's liturgy in order to “decipher” them.

The Apostles received all spiritual powers in the Church from the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. In turn, they transferred these powers to chosen successors who were called bishops, which means “overseeing” in Greek. Bishops had to take care of satisfying the spiritual needs of Christians in teaching, moral guidance and sacred rites. Unlike the apostles, who preached while traveling, bishops were constantly present in their city or province. In his farewell speech to the primates of the Ephesian Church, the Apostle Paul speaks about the episcopal service: “The Holy Spirit has made you overseers to shepherd the Church of the Lord and God” (Acts 20:28)

As the Church expanded, parishes began to form and more bishops were needed. The bishops decided all the affairs of the regions entrusted to them with the help of the council of presbyters, that is, priests. Thus, supreme authority in the Church it is entrusted to the bishops by the apostles themselves. Other ranks of the hierarchy - deacons, priests - have already been appointed by bishops to assist in church administration and service.

1. Attire. After the bishop has been greeted in the vestibule, he is vested with special solemnity in the center of the church. Poems are recited for each piece of clothing.

The most important element of the bishop's vestment is the sakkos (from the Greek saccos - woolen material), the outer liturgical clothing, replacing the priestly phelonion and having the same spiritual meaning. In terms of cut, the sakkos is a tunic-like robe, usually not sewn at the sides, with short wide sleeves and a cutout for the head. In the Russian Orthodox Church, sakkos has been known since the beginning of the 15th century, when the Kiev Metropolitan Photius brought it with him from Greece. In the 18th century it became the common clothing of all the bishops of Sakkos - a symbol of humility, during divine services it means the robe of the Savior, it recalls the scarlet robe in which Christ was clothed (John XIX, 2, 5). The bishop, putting on the sakkos, must remember the humiliation and humility of Jesus Christ.

The bishop is vested by his assistants - subdeacons. Previously, the range of duties of subdeacons was wider: they not only prepared and kept in order the sacred vessels, vested the bishops and helped in the service, but also stood at the church gates during the service and watched so that no one unworthy entered. And at the cry of “Catechumens, come forth!” The subdeacon's duties included leading all catechumens (i.e., those preparing to receive the sacrament of baptism) out of the church.

2. Orlets. An indispensable attribute of the bishop's service is the eaglets on the floor of the church. They appeared in Byzantium in the 13th century. This honorary award to the Patriarch of Constantinople from the emperor had a certain spiritual meaning: the image of the city and the eagle soaring above it indicates the highest heavenly origin and dignity of the episcopal rank. Standing on the eagle everywhere, the bishop seems to be resting on the eagle all the time. The eagle is a symbol of the highest heavenly creature, the angelic ranks.

3. Dikirium and trikirium. At the end of the vestment, the bishop takes a dikiriy (candlestick with two candles) and a trikiriy (candlestick with three candles) and blesses (overshadows) the clergy and people on four sides with candles. Two dikiria candles symbolize the Light of the Lord Jesus Christ, cognizable in two natures - divine and human. The three trikiriya candles mean the uncreated Light of the Holy Trinity. The blessing of the people with dikiriy and trikiriy is performed repeatedly at the liturgy. It imparts special grace to believers and testifies to the Divine Light coming to people for their enlightenment, purification and sanctification.

4. Hand washing. During the peaceful litany, the bishop washes his hands. This rank has been known since the 5th century. But then everyone washed their hands together: both the presbyters and the bishops. This was done after the deacons brought from separate building bread and wine prepared for the Eucharist (in modern liturgy this transfer is depicted in the Great Entrance). The washing of hands before the transformation of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of the Lord begins was of a cleansing and hygienic nature. Today, the custom of solemnly and publicly washing one’s hands has been preserved only in bishop’s services. This rite was transferred to the beginning of the service and to the time of the singing of the Cherubim.

5. Department. During the singing of the antiphons and the performance of proskomedia in the altar, the bishop sits on the pulpit. This is a specially organized place in the center of the temple, which is called the “bishop’s pulpit.” A chair for the bishop is installed on it.

Previously, in Russia, the construction of elevations in the center of the temple (up to a meter high) was a common occurrence, not associated exclusively with bishop's services. The Holy Scriptures were read from it, the most important hymns were sung, and litanies were pronounced. Nowadays the pulpit is installed only during bishop's services. A stationary bishop's pulpit is only available in those churches where the bishop serves constantly. It stands on it when it is not in the altar, but in the temple, and the Gospel is read from it.

6. Rips. When the deacon reads the Gospel from the bishop's pulpit, the subdeacons hold ripids (Greek - “fan”) over the Gospel. At first, ripids were used at the altar during the celebration of the sacrament of the Eucharist. The liturgical instructions of the Apostolic Constitutions say that two deacons should hold ripids made of thin leather, peacock feathers or fine linen on both sides of the Altar and quietly drive away flying insects. There is an assumption that in the Old Testament times such fans were used to drive away flies from the altar on which the sacrificial animal was slaughtered. By the 7th century, ripids already symbolized cherubim and seraphim, invisibly participating in the sacraments of the Church.

7. Creed. At the cry: “Doors, doors...” the bishop stands before the throne, bowing his head, and all the priests take air and blow it over the sacred vessels. The bishop or a clergyman designated by him reads the Creed. Throughout the liturgy, with the exception of the small and great entrances and the time of communion, there is a staff member with the bishop's staff at the Royal Doors. Rod - ancient symbol priestly power. The history of its appearance goes back to Old Testament history about the prosperous rod of Aaron (Num. 17: 1-13). The peculiarity of Russian bishop's staffs is the sulok (two scarves, nested one inside the other and tied to the staff at the top). Sulok appeared in Russia due to severe frosts. The lower scarf protects the hand from the cold rod, the upper one protects the hand from the frosty air.

8. Omophorion. This is an integral attribute of bishop's worship. Omophorion translated from Greek means “shoulder.” It comes in two types. The Great Omophorion is a long wide ribbon with images of crosses. Curving around the neck, one end goes down to the chest and the other to the back.

A small omophorion is a wide ribbon that goes down to the chest at both ends; it is sewn or secured with buttons at the front.

The bishop's omophorion symbolically denotes the blessed gifts of the bishop as a clergyman, therefore the bishop cannot serve without it. In addition, the omophorion reminds us that the archpastor, like the Gospel Good Shepherd carrying a lost sheep on his shoulders, must take care of every lost person.

9. Fullness of service. The holy myrrh, which is anointed during the sacrament of confirmation in Baptism, can only be consecrated by the bishop, the head of the local Church. The antimension, a necessary accessory for the celebration of the Eucharist, is consecrated according to a special rite only by the bishop. Priesthood, one of the seven sacraments of the Church, has the right to be performed only by bishops during the Liturgy. They accepted this right from the hands of the apostles themselves. Thus, the bishop, having the opportunity to perform all the Sacraments, represents the fullness of the Church. As Saint Simeon of Thessalonica said: “Without him there will be neither the throne, nor the ordination, nor the holy. peace, no Baptism, and, therefore, Christians” (On sacred anointing. Ch. 45).

Irina SECHINA, Irina REDKO

Photo by Ekaterina STEPANOVA

During the divine service, which is performed by the bishop, objects that belong only to the bishop's service are used: special candlesticks - dikiri and trikiri, ripids, orlets, a rod (staff).

Dikirium and trikirium are two hand-held shaped lamps with cells for two and three long candles. Dikiriy with burning candles signifies the light of the Lord Jesus Christ, cognizable in two natures. Trikirium means the uncreated light of the Holy Trinity. Dikiriy has the sign of the cross in the center between two candles. In ancient times, it was not customary to put a cross on the trikiria, since the feat of the cross was accomplished only by the incarnate Son of God.

Candles burning in dikirias and trikirias are called double-braided, triple-braided, autumnal, or autumnal. In the cases provided for by the Charter, dikirii and trikirii are worn before the bishop, who blesses the people with them. The right to bless with these lamps is sometimes granted to the archimandrites of some monasteries.

At the liturgy, after vesting and entering the altar, while singing “Come, let us worship,” the bishop overshadows the people with a dikiriy, which he holds in his left hand, and a trikiriy in his right. After the small entrance, the bishop censes, holding the dikiri in his left hand. When singing the Trisagion, he overshadows the Gospel on the throne with a dikiriy, having it in his right hand, and then, holding a cross in his left hand, and a dikiriy in his right, blesses the people with them. These actions show that the Trinity unity was especially revealed to people through the coming in the flesh of the Son of God, and finally, that everything done by the bishop in the church happens in the name of the Lord and according to His will. The overshadowing of people with light, signifying the Light of Christ and the Holy Trinity, imparts special grace to believers and testifies to them of the Divine light coming to people for their enlightenment, purification and sanctification. At the same time, the dikiriy and trikiriy in the hands of the bishop mean the fullness of God’s grace, which pours out through him. Among the ancient fathers, the bishop was called the enlightener, or enlightener, and imitator of the Father of Lights and the True Light - Jesus, having the grace of the apostles, who were called the light of the world. The bishop leads to the light, imitating Christ - the light of the world.

Dikiria and trikiria were introduced into church use probably no earlier than the 4th–5th centuries.

Ripides (Greek – fan, fan) have been used during the celebration of the sacrament of the Eucharist since ancient times. The liturgical instructions of the Apostolic Constitutions say that two deacons should hold ripids made of thin skins, or peacock feathers, or thin linen on both sides of the altar and quietly drive away flying insects. Ripides, therefore, began to be used mainly for practical reasons.

By the time of Sophronius, Patriarch of Jerusalem (1641), in the church consciousness the ripids were already images of cherubim and seraphim, invisibly participating in the sacraments of the Church. Probably from that same time, images of angelic beings, most often seraphim, began to appear on the ripids. Patriarch Photius of Constantinople (IX century) speaks of rhipids made of feathers in the image of six-winged seraphim, which, in his opinion, are called upon to “not allow the unenlightened to dwell with their minds on the visible, but to distract their attention so that they turn the eyes of their minds to the highest and ascend from visible to invisible and to indescribable beauty." The shapes of ripids are round, square, and star-shaped. In the Russian Orthodox Church, since the adoption of Christianity, ripids were made of metal, with the image of seraphim.

The final appearance that the ripida acquired was a radiant circle of gold, silver, and gilded bronze with the image of a six-winged seraph. The circle is mounted on a long shaft. This view fully reveals the symbolic meaning of this item. Rips mark penetration angelic forces into the mystery of salvation, into the sacrament of the Eucharist, participation heavenly ranks in worship. Just as deacons drive away insects from the Holy Gifts and create a breath of kind of wings over the Gifts, so the Heavenly Forces drive away the spirits of darkness from the place where the greatest of the sacraments is performed, surround and overshadow it with their presence. It is appropriate to remember that in the Old Testament Church, by the command of God, images of two cherubim made of gold were built in the Tabernacle of Testimony above the Ark of the Covenant, and in other places there are many images of the same angelic ranks.

Since the deacon portrays himself as an angel serving God, upon ordination to the deacon, the newly ordained person is given a ripid into the hands, with which, upon receiving the rank, he begins to slowly signify the Holy Gifts with cruciform movements at the exclamation: “Singing, crying...”

Ripids are used to cover the paten and chalice at the great entrance during the liturgy; they are carried out in the statutory places of the bishop's service, in processions of the Cross, with the participation of the bishop, and on other important occasions. Ripids overshadow the coffin of the deceased bishop. The radiant gilded circle of the rhipida with the image of the seraphim represents the light of the highest immaterial forces that serve in close proximity to God. Since the bishop portrays the Lord Jesus Christ during the divine service, ripids became a property of only the bishop's service. As an exception, the right to serve with ripids was granted to the archimandrites of some large monasteries.

Orlets are also used during bishop's services - round rugs with the image of a city and an eagle soaring above it.

Orlets lie under the feet of the bishop in the places where he stops while performing actions during the service. They were first used in the 13th century in Byzantium; then they represented something like an honorary award of the emperor Patriarchs of Constantinople. Double-headed eagle – National emblem Byzantium was often depicted on royal chairs, carpets, even on the shoes of kings and the most noble dignitaries. Then they began to depict him on the shoes of the Patriarchs of Constantinople, Antioch and Alexandria. This image moved from shoes to the saints' carpets. In some temples, a mosaic circle with an image of an eagle was made on the floor in front of the altar since ancient times. After the capture of Constantinople by the Turks (1453), Rus' historically became the successor to the state and church traditions of Byzantium, so that the state emblem of the Byzantine emperors became the emblem of the Russian state, and eagles became the honorary symbol of Russian bishops. In the Russian rite for the installation of a bishop in 1456, the eagle is mentioned, on which the metropolitan should stand at his throne in the place of the vestments. In the same rite, it is commanded to draw “the eagle of the same head” on the platform specially built for episcopal consecration.

The eagle on Russian eagles was single-headed, in contrast to the double-headed ones on the eaglets of Byzantine saints, so the eagle in Rus' was not a royal reward, but an independent symbol of the Church.

In the XVI–XVII centuries. Orlets in Rus' necessarily lay down under the feet of the bishops when they entered the temple and when leaving it, standing on it, the bishops made the usual beginning of the service with a final bow. At the Moscow Council of 1675, it was determined that only the Metropolitans of Novgorod and Kazan could use orlets in the presence of the Patriarch. Then the Orlets widely became part of the episcopal worship service and began to rest at the feet of the bishops, where they had to stop for prayer, blessing the people and other actions Spiritual meaning An eagle with an image of a city and an eagle soaring above it indicates, first of all, the highest heavenly origin and dignity of the episcopal rank. Standing on the eagle everywhere, the bishop seems to rest on the eagle all the time, that is, the eagle seems to constantly carry the bishop on itself. The eagle is a symbol of the highest heavenly creature of the angelic ranks.

The belonging of the serving bishop is the staff - a tall staff with symbolic images. Its prototype is an ordinary shepherd's crook in the form of a long stick with a curve at the upper end, widespread since ancient times among eastern peoples. A long staff not only helps to drive sheep, but also makes it very easy to climb uphill. Moses walked with such a staff while tending the flocks of his father-in-law Jethro in the country of Midian. And the staff of Moses was destined for the first time to become an instrument of salvation and a sign of pastoral power over the verbal sheep of God - the ancient people of Israel. Having appeared to Moses in a burning and unburning bush at Mount Horeb, the Burning Bush, the Lord was pleased to impart miraculous power to the staff of Moses (). The same power was then given to Aaron’s staff (7, 8–10). With his rod, Moses divided the Red Sea so that Israel could walk along its bottom (). With the same staff, the Lord commanded Moses to draw water from a stone to quench the thirst of Israel in the desert (). The transformative meaning of the staff (rod) is also revealed in other places of Holy Scripture. Through the mouth of the prophet Micah, the Lord speaks of Christ: “Feed Your people with Your rod, the sheep of Your inheritance” (). Shepherding invariably includes the concept of fair trial and spiritual punishment. Therefore, the Apostle Paul says: “What do you want? come to you with a rod or with love and a spirit of meekness?” (). The Gospel points to the staff as an accessory for pilgrimage, which, according to the Savior’s word, the apostles do not need, since they have support and support - the gracious power of the Lord Jesus Christ ().

Wandering, preaching, shepherding, as a symbol of wise leadership, is personified in the rod (staff). So the staff is the spiritual power given by Christ to His disciples, called to preach the word of God, teach people, knit and solve human sins. As a symbol of power, the rod is mentioned in the Apocalypse (2, 27). This meaning, which includes a variety of private meanings, is attributed to the bishop's staff - a sign of the bishop's archpastoral power over the church people, similar to the power that a shepherd has over a flock of sheep. It is characteristic that the most ancient symbolic images of Christ in the form of the Good Shepherd usually represented Him with a staff. It can be assumed that the rods were in practical use by the apostles and were passed from them with a certain spiritual and symbolic meaning to the bishops - their successors. As an obligatory canonical accessory of bishops, the staff is mentioned in the Western Church from V. Eastern Church– from the 6th century. At first, the shape of the bishop's staff was similar to a shepherd's staff with top part, curved down. Then staves appeared with a two-horned upper crossbar, the ends of which were bent slightly downward, which resembled the shape of an anchor. According to the interpretation of Blessed Simeon, Archbishop of Thessaloniki, “the rod that the bishop holds means the power of the Spirit, the affirmation and shepherding of people, the power to guide, to punish those who disobey and to gather those who are far away to oneself. Therefore, the rod has handles (horns on top of the rod), like anchors. And over those hilts the Cross of Christ means victory.” Wooden, overlaid with silver and gold, or metal, usually silver-gilded, or bronze bishop's staffs with a double-horned handle in the form of an anchor with a cross at the top - this is the most ancient form of episcopal staffs, widely used in the Russian Church. In the 16th century in the Orthodox East, and in the 17th century. and in the Russian Church there appeared staves with handles in the form of two snakes, bending upward so that one turned its head towards the other, and the cross was placed between their heads. This was intended to express the idea of ​​the profound wisdom of archpastoral leadership in accordance with the famous words of the Savior: “Be wise as serpents and simple as doves” (). Rods were also given to abbots and archimandrites as a sign of their authority over the monastic brethren.

In Byzantium, bishops were awarded with staffs from the hands of the emperor. And in Russia in the 16th–17th centuries. the patriarchs received their staffs from the kings, and the bishops from the patriarchs. Since 1725, the Holy Synod has made it the duty of the senior bishop by consecration to hand over the staff to the newly appointed bishop. It was customary to decorate bishop's staffs, especially metropolitan and patriarchal ones. precious stones, drawings, inlays. A special feature of Russian bishop's staffs is the sulok - two scarves inserted into one another and tied to the staff at the top crossbar - the handle. Sulok arose in connection with Russian frosts, during which religious processions had to be performed. The lower scarf was supposed to protect the hand from touching the cold metal of the rod, and the upper one was supposed to protect it from external cold. There is an opinion that reverence for the shrine of this symbolic object prompted the Russian hierarchs not to touch it with their bare hands, so that the sulok can also be considered a sign of God’s grace covering the bishop’s human weaknesses in the great matter of governance and in the use of God-given power over it.

Liturgy

Proskomedia

Proskomedia is performed before the bishop arrives at the church. The priest, together with one of the deacons, reads the entrance prayers and puts on full vestments. Prosphora, especially for the Lamb, health and funeral, are prepared large sizes. When carving the Lamb, the priest takes into account the number of clergy receiving communion. According to custom, two separate prosphora are prepared for the bishop, from which he removes particles during the Cherubic Song.

Meeting

Those participating in the concelebration with the bishop come to the church in advance in order to dress in time for those who should, and to prepare everything necessary. The subdeacons prepare the bishop's vestments, lay the orlets on the pulpit, in front of the locals (the Savior and Mother of God), temple and holiday icons, in front of the pulpit and at entrance doors from the vestibule to the temple.

When the bishop approaches the temple, everyone comes out with the royal doors closed (the curtain is pulled back) through the northern and southern doors from the altar to meet and stand at the entrance doors. At the same time, each couple maintains its own alignment. The priests (in robes and headdresses - skufyas, kamilavkas, hoods - according to seniority (from the entrance) stand in two rows, and the one who performed the proskomedia (in full vestments) stands in the middle (between the last priests), holding the altar cross in his hands, with the hilt towards left hand, on a platter covered with air. The protodeacon and the first deacon (in full vestments) with the tricurium and diquirium, holding them at the same height, and the censers and between them the priest stand in a row opposite the entrance, retreating a step east of the priest. Subdeacons They stand at the entrance doors from the vestibule to the temple: the first is on the right with a mantle, the second and the staff-bearer (poshnik) are on the left.

The bishop, having entered the temple, stands on the eagle, gives the staff the staff, and everyone prays three times and bows to the bishop, who blesses them. The protodeacon exclaims: “ Wisdom" and reads: " It is worthy to eat as truly..."The singers are singing at this time: " Worthy..." drawn out, with sweet singing. At the same time, the subdeacons put the mantle on the bishop, who, having made one adoration, accepts the Cross from the priest and kisses it, and the priest kisses the bishop’s hand and retreats to his place. Priests, according to seniority, kiss the Cross and the hand of the bishop; after them - the priest who performed the proskomedia. The bishop kisses the Cross again and places it on the plate. The priest, having accepted the Cross and kissed the hand of the bishop, takes his place and then, having bowed with everyone else for the blessing of the bishop, goes with the Holy Cross to the royal doors and passes through the northern door into the altar, where he places the Holy Cross on the throne. Behind the priest with the Cross comes a priest, followed by a protodeacon, turning around for each bishop walking (if there are several). The priests follow the bishop in pairs (the eldest are in front). The priest stands on the salt, near the icon of the Mother of God, the bishop stands on the eagle near the pulpit; behind him are priests, two in a row, the protodeacon is on the right side near the bishop, having previously given the subdeacon the trikiria with the censer. The subdeacon and the second deacon go to the altar.

Protodeacon: " Bless, Master."Bishop: " Blessed is our...» The archdeacon, according to custom, reads the entrance prayers. When the archdeacon begins to read: “ Mercy doors...", the bishop gives the staff-bearer the staff and ascends to the pulpit. He worships and kisses the icons while the protodeacon reads troparions: “ To Your most pure image...» « There is mercy..." and the temple. Then, bowing his head before the royal doors, he reads the prayer: “ Lord, send down Your hand..." The protodeacon, according to custom, reads: “ God, relax, leave..."Having put on a hood and having accepted the staff, the bishop from the pulpit blesses everyone present on three sides while singing: " Ton despotin ke archierea imon, Kyrie, filatte"(once), " Is polla these despots"(three times) (" Our master and bishop, Lord, save for many years") and goes to the middle of the temple, to the pulpit (cloud place). The priests go there too. Having stood in two rows and made a one-time worship at the altar, they accept the blessing from the bishop and go through the northern and southern doors to the altar to put on their vestments.

Bishop's vestments

When the bishop goes from the pulpit to the place of vestment, subdeacons and other servers come out of the altar, in surplices, with a dish covered with air, and with a dish with bishop's vestments, as well as the first and second deacons with censers. Both deacons stand below the pulpit, opposite the bishop. The book holder accepts from the bishop a hood, panagia, rosary, mantle, cassock on a plate and takes it to the altar. A subdeacon with bishop's vestments stands in front of the bishop.

The protodeacon with the first deacon, having made a bow in front of the royal doors, exclaims: “ " After the blessing, the first deacon says: “ Let's pray to the Lord", the protodeacon reads: " Let your soul rejoice in the Lord; clothe you with the robe of salvation and clothe you with the robe of joy, as you put a crown on a bridegroom and adorn you with beauty like a bride.”

The subdeacons, after the bishop has blessed each garment, first put on the surplice (saccosnik), then other garments, in order, and the deacon says each time: “ Let's pray to the Lord”, and the protodeacon is the corresponding verse. The singers sing: “ Let him rejoice..."or other prescribed chants.

When the omophorion is placed on the bishop, a miter, cross and panagia are taken out of the altar on a platter.

The dikirium and trikirium are taken out of the altar to the subdeacons, and they hand them over to the bishop. Protodeacon after being proclaimed by the deacon: “ Let's pray to the Lord", says the Gospel words loudly: " Thus may your light shine before men, so that they may see your good deeds and glorify our Father, who is in Heaven, always, now and ever, and unto ages of ages, amen" The singers sing: “ Tone despotin...“The bishop overshadows the people in four directions (east, west, south and north) and gives the trikyriy and dikyriy to the subdeacons. The singers on the choir sing three times: “ Is polla...“The subdeacons stand in a row with the protodeacon and deacon, who cense the bishop three times three times, after which everyone bows in front of the royal doors, and then to the bishop. The subdeacons, taking the censers, go to the altar, and the protodeacon and deacon approach the bishop, receive his blessing, kiss his hand, and the first stands behind the bishop, and the second goes to the altar.

Watch

When the bishop overshadows the people with the trikiriy and dikiriy, the priest who performed the proskomedia comes out of the altar through the southern door, and the reader through the northern door. They stand near the bishop's pulpit: right side- the priest, on the left - the reader and after bowing three times to the altar, at the same time, with the protodeacon, deacon and subdeacons, they bow to the bishop. At the end of the singing on the choir: “ Is polla..." the priest exclaims: " Blessed is our..." reader: " Amen"; then the normal reading of the hours begins. After each exclamation, the priest and reader bow to the bishop. Instead of exclamation: “ Through the prayers of the saints our father..." the priest says: " Through the prayers of our holy ruler, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us." The reader says: “ In the name of the Lord, master, bless", instead of: " Bless you in the name of the Lord, father.”

When reading the 50th psalm, the first and second deacons with censers come out to the pulpit from the altar, bow before the royal doors, bow to the bishop and, having received a blessing on the censer, go to the altar and cense the throne, altar, icons and clergy; then - the iconostasis, the holiday icon. And having descended from the pulpit, the bishop (three times three times), the priest, the reader. Having ascended to the pulpit again, both choirs, the people, and then the whole temple; having converged at the western doors of the temple, both deacons go to the pulpit, cense the royal doors, local icons, the bishop (three times), pray to the altar (one bow), bow to the bishop and go to the altar.

When censing, the following order is observed: the first deacon censes the right side, the second - the left. Only the throne (front and back), the royal doors and the bishop are censed together.

When the hours are read, the bishop sits and rises up: “ Hallelujah", on the: " Trisagion" and to: " The most honest"(Official).

At the end of the censing, the subdeacons and the sexton bring out a vessel for washing their hands with a basin and a towel, (the sexton stands between the subdeacons) perform a prayerful veneration at the royal doors (usually together with the deacons who have completed the censing), then, turning their faces to the bishop and, bowing to him, go to pulpit and stop in front of the bishop. The first subdeacon pours water on the hands of the bishop, together with the second subdeacon, removes the towel from the sexton’s shoulders, hands it to the bishop and then again places the towel on the sexton’s shoulders. While the bishop is washing his hands, the archdeacon reads a prayer in a low voice: “ I will wash myself in innocent hands...”, and according to his will, he kisses the hand of the bishop, the subdeacons and the deacon also kiss the hand of the bishop and go to the altar.

At the end of the hours, during prayer: “ For any time... "the priests stand in order of seniority near the throne, perform threefold worship in front of it, kiss it and, having bowed to each other, leave the altar (north and south doors) and stand near the pulpit in two rows: among them he takes the corresponding place according to rank the priest who uttered exclamations on the clock.

The priest and staff bearer take their places at the Royal Doors: the first - on the north side, the second - on the south. The book holder stands next to the bishop on the left side. According to another practice, the book holder leaves the altar at the beginning of the liturgy, after exclamating: “ Blessed is the Kingdom..." The protodeacon and both deacons stand in a row in front of the priests. Everyone bows to the altar, then to the bishop. The bishop, with the raising of his hands, reads the prescribed prayers before the start of the liturgy. The priest and deacons pray with him secretly. After prayerful worship, everyone bows to the bishop. After this, the protodeacon says: “ Time to create the Lord, Most Reverend Master, bless" The bishop blesses everyone with both hands with the words: “ Blessed be God..." and gives the right hand to the chief priest. Having received the blessing, the priest enters the altar through the southern door, kisses the altar and stands in front of it.

After the leading priest, the protodeacon and deacons approach the bishop for a blessing. The elder says in a low voice: “ Amen. Let us pray for us, Holy MasterMay the Lord correct your feet" Protodeacon: " Remember us, Holy Master" The bishop, blessing with both hands, says: “ May he remember you..." The deacons answer: "Amen", kiss the hand of the bishop, bow and leave; the protodeacon goes to the solea and stands in front of the icon of the Savior, and the rest of the deacons stand behind the bishop on the lower step of the pulpit.

At the end of the hours, the subdeacons open the royal doors. The leading priest, standing in front of the throne, and the protodeacon on the solea simultaneously perform prayerful veneration to the east (the priest kisses the throne) and, turning to the bishop, bows, accepting his blessing.

The beginning of the liturgy. The protodeacon exclaims: “ Bless, lord" The presiding priest proclaims: “ Blessed is the Kingdom..." raising the Gospel above the holy antimension and making a cross with it, then kisses the Gospel and the throne, bows to the bishop together with the protodeacon, concelebrating priests, subdeacons and the reader and stands on the southern side of the throne.

The protodeacon pronounces the great litany. At the beginning and end of the great litany and at the two small litanies, the book holder opens the Official to the Bishop to read prayers.

At the petition of the great litany: “ Oh let us get rid of..." the deacons come out from behind the pulpit and walk in the middle between the rows of priests on the solea; the first stands opposite the image of the Mother of God, and the second stands near the protodeacon on the right side. The leading priest utters an exclamation at the throne: “ As befits You..." and bows to the bishop at the royal doors. At the same time, the protodeacon and deacons and the second priest bow to the bishop. The protodeacon from the solea goes to the pulpit, stands behind, to the right of the bishop; the second priest enters the altar through the northern door, kisses the throne, bows to the bishop through the royal doors and takes his place, opposite the first priest.

After the small litany, which is pronounced by the first deacon, the second priest pronounces the exclamation: “ For Your power is..." and bows to the bishop. At the same time, the deacon and two priests standing at the pulpit bow with him: the latter go through the side doors into the altar, kiss the altar and bow through the royal doors to the bishop.

Similarly, the remaining clergy and subdeacons go to the altar after the second small litany and the next exclamation: “ Yako Blag and Lover of Humanity...»

During the singing of the third antiphon or " Blessed"A small entry is made.

Small entrance

The subdeacons take the trikirium and dikirium, the sextons take the ripids, the deacons take censers; the leading priest, having bowed before the throne and bowed to the bishop together with the protodeacon, takes the Gospel and gives it to the protodeacon, who stands with him behind the throne, facing west. At this time, the first and other priests, having bowed from the waist, kiss the throne, bow to the bishop and follow the protodeacon one by one. Everyone leaves the altar by the northern door in the following order: the cleric, the assistant, two deacons with censers, subdeacons with trikyriy and dikyriy, ripidchiki, protodeacon with the Gospel and priests in order of seniority. Arriving at the pulpit, the priests stand on both sides of the pulpit towards the altar. The sacred bearer and the assistant take their places at the royal gates. The protodeacon with the Gospel is below the pulpit, in the middle, opposite the bishop; On the sides of the Gospel there are ripid boys, facing each other. Near them, closer to the pulpit, are the deacons and subdeacons. Having made one bow, everyone takes the general blessing of the bishop. The bishop and priests read secretly the prayer: “ Sovereign Lord, our God..."The archdeacon says in a low voice: " Let's pray to the Lord" After the bishop has read the prayer, and after the award, if any, has been made and promotion to the highest rank, the protodeacon, shifting the Gospel onto his left shoulder, raises his right hand with the orarion up and says in a low voice: “ Bless, Most Reverend Master, the holy entrance" The bishop, blessing, says: “ Blessed is the entrance of Thy saints always, now and ever, and unto ages of ages.” The protodeacon says: “ Amen” and together with the subdeacons approaches the bishop, who kisses the Gospel; the protodeacon kisses the right hand of the bishop, holding the Gospel while kissing, and goes with the Gospel to the ripidites. The subdeacons remain at the pulpit and hand over the trikiri and dikiri to the bishop. Protodeacon, raising the Gospel a little, proclaims: “ Wisdom, forgive me" and, turning his face to the west, sings with everyone slowly: " Come, let's worship..." The deacons incense on the Gospel, then on the bishop as he slowly worships before the Holy Gospel and then overshadows the trikiri and dikiri on the clergy bowing to him.

The bishop overshadows the people to the west, south and north with trikiria and dikiria. At this time, the protodeacon, preceded by the deacons, introduces holy gospel into the altar through the royal doors and places him on the throne; all other clergy enter the altar through the north and south doors, while the priests remain at the bottom of the solea.

The bishop leaves the pulpit and ascends to the pulpit, where he overshadows the choristers as they sing: “ Save us, Son of God...» With trikiriy and dikiriy, the people move to both sides and go to the altar. The protodeacon meets him at the royal gates, accepts the trikirium from him and places him behind the throne. The bishop, having kissed the icons on the pillars of the royal gates, the throne and accepted the censer from the deacon, begins to burn incense.

Following the bishop, the priests enter the altar, each kissing the icon in the royal gates on his side.

The bishop, with the clergy singing slowly: “ Save us, Son of God..." preceded by the protodeacon with the trikirium, incense the throne, the altar, the high place, the priests on the right and left sides, the priests and clergy and proceeds to the sole. The priest-bearer and the co-worker come down from the solea and stand below the pulpit opposite the royal gates; The performers sing quietly and sweetly: “Is these polla, despota”. The priests kiss the throne. The bishop censes the royal doors, the iconostasis, the choir, the people, local icons, enters the altar, censes the throne, the priests and the protodeacon.

The cleric and the acolyte return to their places. On the choir they sing: “ Is polla...» drawn-out (once) and then troparia and kontakion according to the Rule.

The second subdeacon receives the dikirium from the bishop, the protodeacon receives the censer (the trikirium is transferred to the first subdeacon). All three stand behind the throne and at the same time bow when the archpriest censes the archbishop three times; then they turn to face the east, the protodeacon hands the censer to the sexton, all four make a bow, bow to the bishop and go to their places.

Subdeacons who have ordination place the trikyrius and dikyriy on the throne, while those who do not have ordination place the trikyrius and dikyriy on the stands behind the throne. The Book Holder approaches the Bishop with the Official to read the prayer: “ Holy God, who rest in the saints...»

After singing the troparions and kontakions, the protodeacon kisses the throne and, holding the orarion with three fingers, says in a low voice: “ Bless, Most Reverend Master, the time of the Trisagion”; Having kissed the bishop’s blessing hand, he goes out onto the sole and against the image of the Savior says: “ Let's pray to the Lord" Singers: " Lord have mercy" The bishop utters his first exclamation: “ For art thou holy, our God... now and ever" The protodeacon, standing at the royal doors, turning his face to the people, finishes the exclamation: “ And forever and ever", pointing the orar from the left hand to the right, at the level of his forehead. The singers sing: “ Amen" and then: " Holy God..." The protodeacon, entering the altar, takes the dikiri and gives it to the bishop; in the altar everyone sings: “ Holy God..." The bishop creates a cross over the Gospel with dikiri.

The second priest, taking the altar Cross by the upper and lower ends and turning the front side, on which the sacred images are located, towards the throne, gives it to the bishop, kissing the bishop’s hand.

In front of the pulpit, opposite the royal doors, stand the candle-bearer and the pole-bearer.

The bishop, holding the Cross in his left hand, and the dikirius in his right, while the singers chanted the recitative: “ Holy God..." goes to the pulpit and says: “ Look down from heaven, O God, and see, and visit these vines, and establish them, and Thy right hand plant them.”

After saying this prayer, when the bishop blesses the west, the performers sing: “ Holy God" South - " Holy Mighty", on North - " Holy Immortal, have mercy on us."

The bishop enters the altar. The singers on the choir sing: “ Holy God..." The cleric and the acolyte take their places. The bishop, having given the Cross (the Cross is accepted by the second priest and places it on the throne) and, having kissed the throne, goes to the high place.

When the bishop departs for the high place, all concelebrants venerate the throne in the usual manner and, then departing for the high place, stand behind the throne according to their rank.

The bishop, walking around the throne on the right side and blessing the high place with the dikiri, gives the dikiri to the subdeacon, who places it in its place. The protodeacon, standing at the high place to the left of the throne, reads the troparion: “ The Trinity appeared in the Jordan, because the Divine nature itself, the Father, exclaimed: This baptized Son is My Beloved; The Spirit came to the like, whom people will bless and extol forever.” and gives the trikirium to the bishop, who overshadows the trikirium from the high place straight, to the left and to the right, while all the concelebrants sing: “ Holy God..." After this, the singers finish the Trisagion, starting with: “ Glory, even now."

Reading the Apostle and the Gospel

The protodeacon, having accepted the trikiria from the bishop, passes it to the subdeacon, and he puts it in its place. The first deacon approaches the bishop with the Apostle, placing his orarion on top, receives a blessing, kisses the bishop’s hand and walks along the left side of the throne through the royal doors to the pulpit for reading the Apostle. At this time, the protodeacon brings the bishop an open censer with burning coals, and one of the subdeacons (on the right side of the bishop) brings a vessel with incense.

Protodeacon: " Bless, Your Eminence Vladyka, the censer", the bishop, putting incense into the censer with a spoon, says the prayer: " We bring you the censer..."

Protodeacon: " Let's see!"Bishop: " Peace to all". Protodeacon: " Wisdom". The reader of the Apostle pronounces the prokeimenon and so on, according to custom. According to the exclamation of the bishop: “ Peace to all" the subdeacons remove the omophorion from the bishop and place it on the hand of the second deacon (or subdeacon), who, having kissed the blessing hand of the bishop, moves away and stands on the right side of the throne. The first deacon reads the Apostle. The protodeacon censes, according to custom. (Some people observe the custom of burning incense on alleluia.)

At the beginning of the reading of the Apostle, the bishop sits on the seat of the high place and, at his sign, the priests sit on the seats prepared for them. When the protodeacon censes the bishop for the first time, the bishop and priests stand up and respond to the censing: the bishop with a blessing, the priests with a bow. During the second censing, neither the bishop nor the priests stand up.

At the end of the reading of the Apostle, everyone stands up. The sextons, taking the ripids, the subdeacons - dikiriy and trikyriy, go to the pulpit, where they stand on the right and left sides of the lectern prepared for reading the Gospel. Alleluiaries are sung according to custom. The bishop and all the priests secretly read the prayer: “ Shine in our hearts..." The leading priest and protodeacon bow to the bishop and, having received the blessing, go to the throne. The leader takes the Gospel and gives it to the protodeacon. The protodeacon, having kissed the throne and accepted the Gospel, brings it to the bishop, who kisses the Gospel, and he kisses the bishop’s hand, and goes through the royal doors to the lectern, preceded by a deacon with an omophorion. When the deacon with the omophorion (walking around the lectern) reaches the reader of the Apostle, he goes to the altar (if the deacon - through the royal doors) and stands at left side throne, and the deacon with the omophorion - to their original place. On both sides of the protodeacon stand the subdeacons with trikyriy and dikyriy and ripids, raising the ripids above the Gospel. The archdeacon, placing the holy Gospel on the lectern and covering it with an orarion, bows his head over the Gospel and proclaims: “ Bless, Your Eminence Vladyka, the evangelist...”

Bishop : “God, with prayers...” Protodeacon says : "Amen"; and, placing the orarion on the lectern under the book, he opens the Gospel. Second Deacon : “Wisdom, forgive me...” Bishop : "Peace to all". Singers : “And to your spirit.” Protodeacon: " Reading from (name of rivers) the Holy Gospel.” Singers First Deacon: " Let's remember." The protodeacon reads the Gospel clearly.

When the reading of the Gospel begins, both deacons kiss the altar, go to the bishop for blessing, kiss his hand and place the Apostle and the omophorion in their places. The priests listen to the Gospel with their heads uncovered, the bishop wearing a mitre.

After reading the Gospel the choir sings : “Glory to Thee, Lord, glory to Thee.” The lectern is removed and the ripids are taken to the altar. The bishop descends from the high place, passes through the royal doors to the pulpit, kisses the Gospel held by the protodeacon, and overshadows the people with dikiri and trikiri while singing in the choir : “Is polla...” The protodeacon gives the Gospel to the first priest, and he places it on the high place of the throne.

The subdeacons pray to the east (one bow), bow to the bishop, and place the dikiri and trikiri in their places. The priests take their places.

Litany

The special litany is pronounced by the protodeacon or first deacon. When the petition is said : “Have mercy on us, O God...” all those present at the altar (deacons, subdeacons, sextons) stand behind the throne, pray to the east and bow to the bishop. After the request: “...and about our Most Reverend Lord...” those standing behind the throne sing (together with the priests) three times: “ Lord have mercy", They pray to the east, bow to the bishop and retreat to their places. At the same time, two senior priests help the bishop open the antimension from three sides. The deacon continues the litany. The bishop makes an exclamation : “How merciful...”(Usually the bishop himself distributes shouts to the serving priests).

The deacon, having bowed to the bishop, proceeds through the northern doors to the sole and pronounces the litany about the catechumens. When asking : “The Gospel of righteousness will be revealed to them” the third and fourth priests open top part antimins, pray to the east (one bow) and bow to the bishop. During the cry of the first priest : “Yes, and they are glorified with us...” the bishop makes a cross with a sponge over the antimension, kisses it and places it at the top on the right side of the antimension.

The protodeacon and first deacon stand at the royal doors; Protodeacon says: “ Elitsy of the announcement, come out"; second deacon : “The announcement, come out,” first deacon: " Elitsy of the announcement, come out.” The second deacon continues the litany alone : “Yes, no one from the catechumens, elitsa vernia...” And so on.

The bishop and priests read secretly prescribed prayers.

The first deacon takes the censer and, having asked for a blessing from the bishop, censes the throne, the altar, the high place, the altar, the bishop three times three times, all concelebrants, the throne in front, the bishop three times, gives the censer to the sexton, both pray to the east, bow to the bishop and leave . At this time the second deacon says the litany : “Packs and packs...” Exclamation : “As if under Your power...”- says the bishop.

Great Entrance

Having finished the litany, the deacon goes to the altar, prays to the east and bows to the bishop. [Optional rite: one of the junior priests on the left row goes to the altar, removes the air from the vessel and places it on the right corner of the altar; removes the cover and star from the paten and puts it aside; before the paten he places the prosphora on a plate and a small copy]

The subdeacons with a vessel and water and a lahan and a sexton with a towel on their shoulders go to the royal doors to wash the hands of the bishop.

Bishop reading a prayer : “No one is worthy...”(during this prayer, the priests take off their miters, kamilavkas, skufiyas; the bishop wears a mitre), goes to the royal doors, says a prayer over the water, blesses the water and washes his hands. After washing, the subdeacons and the sexton kiss the hand of the bishop and, together with the priest and the assistant, go to the altar. The bishop stands in front of the throne, the protodeacon and deacon place a small omophorion on him, the bishop prays (bows three times) and reads three times with raised hands : “Like the Cherubim...” The archdeacon removes the miter from the bishop and places it on a dish on top of the large omophorion lying on it. The bishop, having kissed the antimension and the throne and blessed the concelebrants, goes to the altar; the first deacon hands him the censer. The bishop censes the altar, gives the censer to the deacon and places air on his left shoulder.

The deacon departs from the bishop, censes the royal doors, local icons, choirs and people.

After the bishop, the priests approach the throne in pairs from the front, make two bows, kiss the antimension and the throne, make another bow, then bow to each other with the words : “May the Lord remember your archpriesthood (or: priesthood) in His Kingdom...” and go to the altar. The bishop at this time performs commemoration at the prosphora at the altar. Priests by seniority, protodeacon, deacons, subdeacons approach the bishop from the right side, saying : “Remember me, Most Reverend Master, priest, deacon, subdeacon (name of the rivers)”, and kiss him on the right shoulder; the deacon who performed the incense does the same. Having mentioned his health, the bishop takes the funeral prosphora and commemorates the deceased.

At the end of the bishop's proskomedia, the subdeacons remove the omophorion from the bishop. (Extra rituals: one of the priests gives the bishop a star, which, scented with incense, the bishop places on the paten, then the priest gives a cover with which the paten is covered.) The protodeacon, kneeling on his right knee, speaks : “Take it, Most Reverend Master.”

The bishop takes the paten with both hands, kisses it, gives the paten and his hand to the protodeacon to kiss and, placing the paten at the protodeacon’s forehead (the protodeacon accepts it with both hands), says : “In peace, raise your hands to the holy...” The protodeacon leaves. The first priest approaches the bishop, accepting the holy chalice from the bishop, kisses it and the bishop’s hand, saying : “May the Lord remember your bishopric in His Kingdom always, now and ever, and forever and ever.” The second priest approaches, holding the Cross (upper end to the right) in an inclined position with both hands and saying: “ May your bishops remember..." kisses the hand of the bishop, who places it on the handle of the Cross, and kisses the Cross. The rest of the priests, saying the same words and kissing the hand of the bishop, accept from him the sacred objects of the altar - a spoon, a copy, etc.

The great entrance is made. Ahead through the northern doors are a deacon with a miter and a homophone on a platter, a candle bearer, an assistant, a deacon with a censer, subdeacons with a dikiriy and trikyriy, sextons with ripids (usually one in front of the paten, the other behind the chalice). Protodeacon and priests by seniority.

The candle-bearer and the acolyte stand in front of the salt. The deacon with the miter goes to the altar and stops at the left corner of the throne. The riparians and subdeacons stand on the sides of the eagle, laid out on the salt, the protodeacon - in front of the eagle, kneeling on one knee, the deacon with a censer - at the royal gates on the right hand of the bishop, the priests - in two rows, facing north and south, the elders - to the royal gates.

The bishop goes to the royal doors, takes the censer from the deacon and censes the Gifts. The archdeacon speaks quietly : “Your bishopric...” the bishop takes the paten, performs the commemoration according to the rite, and takes the paten to the throne. The leading priest stands in front of the eagle and quietly speaks to the bishop walking from the altar : “Your bishopric...” The bishop censes the cup and takes it. The first deacon, having received the censer from the bishop, moves to the right side of the throne; the leading priest, having kissed the bishop's hand, takes his place. The bishop performs the commemoration according to the rite and takes the cup to the throne; Behind the bishop, the priests enter the altar. Reading the prescribed troparia, the bishop, having removed the veils, covers the paten and chalice with air, then puts on the miter and, after censing the Gifts, says : “Brothers and fellow servants, pray for me.” They answer him : “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.” Protodeacon and concelebrants : “Pray for us, Holy Master.” Bishop : “May the Lord correct your feet.” Protodeacon and others : “Remember us, Holy Master.” Bishop blessing the protodeacon and deacons Protodeacon : "Amen."

After the blessing, the first deacon, standing at the eastern right corner of the throne, censes the bishop three times, gives the censer to the sexton, both pray to the east, bow to the bishop, and the deacon leaves the altar and pronounces the litany. The bishop on the sole blesses the people with dikiriy and trikyriy. The singers sing : “Is polla...” The royal doors at the great entrance are not closed during the bishop's service. The acolyte and the candle-bearer take their places at the royal gates.

The first deacon pronounces the litany : “Let us fulfill our prayer to the Lord.” During the litany, the bishops and priests read a prayer secretly : “Lord God, Almighty...” Exclamation : “By the bounty of Your only begotten Son...” After the litany, when the deacon speaks : "Let us love each other" everyone bows three times while speaking secretly : “I will love You, O Lord, my Fortress, the Lord is my strength and my refuge.” The archdeacon removes the miter from the bishop; the bishop kisses the paten, saying : "Holy God" cup : "Holy Mighty"and the throne : “Holy Immortal, have mercy on us,” stands near the throne on the right side on the eagle. All priests also kiss the paten, chalice and altar and approach the bishop. To his greeting : “Christ is in our midst” they answer : “And there is, and there will be” and they kiss the bishop’s right shoulder, left shoulder and hand and, having kissed each other in the same way (sometimes, with a large number of concelebrants, they kiss only each other’s hand), take their places near the throne. Word : “Christ is in our midst” the eldest always speaks.

After the deacon calls : “Doors, doors, let us smell wisdom” and the singing will begin : “I believe...” – the priests take the air by the edges and blow it over the Gifts and over the bowed head of the bishop, reading with him to themselves : “I believe...” After reading the Creed, the bishop kisses the cross in the air, the priest places the air on the left side of the throne, and the protodeacon places the miter on the bishop.

Consecration of the Gifts

The deacon exclaims on the solea : “Let’s become kind...” and enters the altar. The subdeacons pray to the east (one bow), bow to the bishop, take the trikiri and dikiri and give them to the bishop, kissing his hand. The singers sing : "The mercy of the world..." The bishop comes out to the pulpit with the trikiri and dikiri and, turning his face to the people, proclaims: “ The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ..."

Singers : “And with your spirit.” Bishop (overshadowing the southern side ): “We have sorrow in our hearts.”

Singers : “Imams to the Lord" Bishop (overshadowing the northern side ): “We thank the Lord.” Singers : “Dignified and righteous...” The bishop returns to the altar, the subdeacons accept the trikiri and dikiri from him and put them in place. The bishop, having bowed before the throne, reads a prayer together with the priests : “It is worthy and righteous to sing to You...”

The first deacon, having kissed the throne and bowed to the bishop, takes the star with three fingers with an orar and, when proclaimed by the bishop : “Singing a song of victory, crying, crying and speaking” she touches the paten from above with four sides, crosswise, kisses the star, folds it, places it on the left side of the throne above the Cross and, together with the protodeacon, having kissed the throne, bows to the bishop.

The choir sings : “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts...”: “With these blessed powers we too...” At the end of the prayer, the protodeacon removes the miter from the bishop, and the subdeacons put a small omophorion on the bishop.

The protodeacon, with his right hand and orarion, points to the paten, when the bishop, also pointing with his hand to the paten, says : “Take, eat...” and on the chalice, when the bishop proclaims : “Drink everything from her...” When proclaiming : “Yours from Yours...” The protodeacon takes the paten with the orarion with his right hand, and with his left hand, below the right, the Chalice and lifts them up above the antimension. The singers sing : “I’ll eat for you...” the bishop and priests read the prescribed secret prayers.

The bishop prays in a low voice with raised hands : “Lord, Who is Your Most Holy Spirit...”(priests - secretly), three times, each time with a bow. The protodeacon, and with him secretly all the deacons recite poetry : “The heart is pure...”(after reading : “Lord, like the Most Holy...” for the first time) and " Don't reject me..."(after the second reading: " Lord, like the Most Holy...»)

After the third reading by the bishop: “ Lord, Who is Your Most Holy Spirit..." the protodeacon, pointing his oracle at the paten, says: “ Bless, Master, the Holy Bread.” The bishop speaks quietly (priests speak secretly ): “And create this Bread...” and blesses the bread (only the Lamb) with his right hand. Protodeacon : "Amen"; pointing to the Chalice, says : “Bless, Master, the Holy Chalice.” The bishop speaks quietly : “And the hedgehog in this Chalice...”(priests - secretly) and blesses the Chalice. Protodeacon: " Amen"; pointing to the paten and the Chalice says : “Bless the wallpaper, Master.” The bishop (priests - secretly) speaks : “Transformed by Your Holy Spirit” and blesses the paten and the Chalice together. Protodeacon : "Amen" three times. Everyone in the altar bows to the ground. The subdeacons remove the omophorion from the bishop.

Then the protodeacon, turning to the bishop, says : “Remember us, Holy Master”; all the deacons approach the bishop and bow their heads, holding the orari with the three fingers of their right hand. The bishop blesses them with both hands, saying : “May the Lord God remember you...” The protodeacon and all deacons answer : "Amen" and leave.

The bishop and priests read a prayer : “It’s like being a communicant...” At the end of prayer and singing in the choir : “I’ll eat for you...” the protodeacon places the miter on the bishop, the deacon hands the censer, and the bishop, censing, exclaims : “A lot about the Most Holy...” Then the bishop gives the censer to the deacon, who censes the throne, the high place, the bishop three times three times, the priests and again the throne from the bishop, bows to the bishop and leaves. The bishop and the priest read a prayer : “About Saint John the Prophet...” The singers sing : “It’s worthy to eat...” or worthy of the day.

At the end of singing : “It’s worthy to eat...” the protodeacon kisses the throne, the hand of the bishop, stands facing west in the royal doors and, pointing his right hand with the orar, proclaims : “And everyone and everything.” Singers : “And everyone and everything».

Bishop : “First remember, O Lord, our Master...”

High Priest : “Remember, Lord, and our Most Reverend Lord (name of rivers), metropolitan (archbishop, bishop; his diocese), grant him to Thy Holy Church in peace, whole, honest, healthy, long-lived, rightly ruling the word of Thy truth.” and approaches the bishop, kisses his hand, miter and hand again. The bishop, blessing him, says : “The priesthood (archpriest, etc.) is yours...”

The protodeacon, standing at the royal doors and turning his face to the people, speaks loudly : “Our Lord, His Eminence (name of rivers), Metropolitan(archbishop, bishop; his own diocese; or: Right Reverends by name and title, if several bishops are performing the liturgy), bringing (or: bringing)(turns and enters the altar) These Holy Gifts(points to the paten and chalice) Lord our God(approaches the high place, crosses himself, bows and, having bowed to the bishop, goes and stands at the royal doors); about the Right Reverend archbishops and bishops and all the priesthood and clergy, about this country and its authorities, about the peace of the whole world, about the welfare of the Holy Churches of God, about salvation and help with diligence and the fear of God of those who work and serve, about the healing of those lying in weakness, about Dormition, weakness, blessed memory and remission of sins of all the Orthodox who have previously fallen asleep, about the salvation of the people who are coming and who are in everyone’s thoughts and for everyone and for everything,”(goes to a high place, crosses himself, makes one bow, then goes to the bishop, kisses his hand, saying : “Is these despots gone?” the bishop blesses him).

Singers : “And about everyone and for everything.”

After the bishop's exclamation : “And give us one mouth...” the second deacon comes to the pulpit through the northern doors and after the bishop has blessed the people from the solea during the proclamation : “And let there be mercy...” says the litany : “Having remembered all the saints...”

After the litany, the miter is removed from the bishop and he proclaims : “And grant us, Master...” The people are singing : "Our Father..." Bishop : “For Thine is the kingdom...” Singers : "Amen." The bishop blesses the people with his hands, saying : "Peace to all". The bishop is wearing a small omophorion.

Singers : “And to your spirit.” Deacon (in Soleev): “ Bow your heads to the Lord.”

Singers : “To you, Lord" The bishop and priests, bowing their heads, secretly read a prayer : “We thank you...” The deacons gird themselves with orarions in a cross shape. The bishop makes an exclamation : “Grace and bounties...”

Face : "Amen." The bishop and priests secretly read the prayer: “ Look, Lord Jesus Christ our God..."

The royal doors are closed and the curtain is drawn. The deacon on the pulpit proclaims : “Let’s get out there!” and enters the altar. The candle-bearer places a candle opposite the royal doors and also enters the altar with a staff.

The bishop, having made three bows with his concelebrants, proclaims : "Holy of Holies." The singers sing : “One is Holy...”

Communion

Protodeacon (standing to the right of the bishop ): “Shatter, Master, Holy Lamb.”

Bishop : “The Lamb of God is fragmented and divided...”

Protodeacon pointing the orar at the chalice : “Fulfill, O Master, the holy chalice.” The bishop lowers the “Jesus” part into the chalice, saying : "Filling of the Holy Spirit." Protodeacon answers : "Amen" and, offering warmth, says : “Bless, Master, the warmth.” The bishop blesses the warmth, saying : “Blessed is the warmth of Thy Saints...”

Protodeacon : "Amen"; pouring warmth into the chalice in a cross shape, he says : “Warmth of faith, fill with the Holy Spirit, amen.”

The bishop splits up the “Christ” part according to the number of clergy receiving communion. The protodeacon and deacons stand at this time between the high place and the throne, kissing each other on the right shoulder; there is a custom for the elder to say : "Christ is in our midst" and the younger ones answer : “And there is and there will be.” The bishop, addressing everyone, says : “Excuse me...” The concelebrants, bowing to the bishop, answer : “Forgive us, Your Eminence, and Bless us.” The bishop blessed and bowed before the throne with the words: “ Behold, I’m coming..." takes a piece of the Holy Body of the Lord, reads it together with the clergy : “I believe, Lord, and I confess...” and partakes of the Holy Body, and then the Blood of the Lord.

When a bishop receives communion from the chalice, the protodeacon usually says : “Amen, amen, amen. Is these despots polla" and then, turning to the priests and deacons, he proclaims: “ Archimandriti, archpriest... priest and deacon, come." Everyone approaches the bishop from the north side of the throne with the words : “Behold, I come to the Immortal King and our God...” and they partake of the Holy Body and Blood of the Lord according to custom.

The priests, when they receive the Body of the Lord, move near the throne through the high place to the right side, where above the throne they partake of the Holy Body. Deacons usually receive communion on the left side of the altar. The Holy Blood of the Lord is administered to priests by the bishop on the right side of the throne, and to deacons - usually by the first of the priests.

One of the priests crushes parts HI and KA and lowers them into the chalice for communion of the laity.

The bishop stands in the altar on the right side of the throne and reads the prayer: “ We thank You, Master..." accepts the prosphora, tastes the antidor and warmth, washes his lips and hands and reads thanksgiving prayers. The one serving the heat must place the ladle on a platter so that it is convenient for the bishop to take it, namely: he places the prosphora to the right (away from himself) and places the antidoron on top of the prosphora, and places the ladle to the left, and the handle of the ladle should also be turned to the left.

At the end of the singing in the choir, the cleric and the assistant take their places, the subdeacons with the dikiri and trikiri go to the pulpit. The Royal Doors open, and the bishop, putting on a miter, gives the chalice to the protodeacon, who, having kissed the bishop’s hand, stands in the Royal Doors and proclaims : “Draw near with the fear of God and faith.” Singers : “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord...”

If there are communicants, then the bishop, taking the chalice, gives them communion on the pulpit while singing : “Receive the Body of Christ...”

After communion, the bishop places the holy chalice on the throne, goes out to the solea, receives the trikiri and dikiri from the subdeacons and blesses the people with the words: “ Save, O God, Thy people...” Singers : “Is polla...”, “I see the true light...” At this time, one of the clergy lowers particles from the paten into the chalice, reading secret prayers.

The bishop, standing at the throne, takes the censer from the deacon and censes the Holy Gifts, pronouncing quietly : “Ascend into heaven, O God, and throughout all the earth is Your glory,” gives the censer to the deacon, the paten to the protodeacon, who, preceded by the censing deacon, transfers the paten to the altar. The bishop takes the cup with the words : "Blessed are we"(quiet). The leading priest, kissing the hand of the bishop, accepts the cup from him with both hands, goes to the royal doors, where he proclaims, raising a small chalice : “Always, now and ever, and forever and ever...” and then goes to the altar: the deacon burns incense on the chalice. Singers : “Amen. May our lips be filled with..."

After placing the cup on the altar, the first priest censes the Holy Gifts, and a candle is lit in front of the Holy Gifts.

End of the Liturgy

The protodeacon, having prayed to the east and bowed to the bishop, comes out of the altar by the northern door and says the litany : “Sorry, please accept...”(if there is a protege deacon, then he pronounces the litany). During the litany, the bishop and the priests fold the antimis, the first priest gives the bishop the Gospel, which, when uttering an exclamation, : “For You are our sanctification...” the bishop marks the antimis, and then, having kissed the Gospel, places it on the antimis.

Singers : "Amen." Bishop: " Let's go in peace" Singers: " About the name of the Lord».

The junior priest (if there is one, then a protege) kisses the throne and, having bowed for the blessing of the bishop, leaves through the royal doors and stands in the middle, below the pulpit.

Protodeacon (or deacon-protege ): “Let us pray to the Lord" Singers: " Lord have mercy".

The priest reads the prayer behind the pulpit : “Bless the Lord who bless You...” During prayer, the protodeacon or deacon-protege stands in front of the icon of the Savior, raising his right hand with an orar.

The deacon, having prayed to the east, stands on the left side of the throne, folds his hands crosswise on the edge of the throne and places his head on them. The bishop blesses his head and reads a prayer over him : “The fulfillment of the law and the prophets...” The deacon crosses himself, kisses the throne and, having bowed to the bishop, goes to the altar to consume the Holy Gifts.

At the end of the prayer behind the pulpit, the protodeacon enters the altar through the southern door to the high place, crosses himself and bows; the priest, having read the prayer behind the pulpit, goes through the royal doors to the altar, kisses the throne, takes his place and, together with the protodeacon, bows to the bishop.

Singers: " Be the name of the Lord..." The bishop delivers a sermon.

The bishop, blessing the people at the royal doors with both hands, says: “ The blessing of the Lord is upon you..."

Singers : "Glory, even now." "Lord have mercy"(three times). " Master, bless."

The bishop, facing the people, pronounces the dismissal, holding the trikirium and dikirium in his hands, and, having crossed them over the worshipers, enters the altar, kisses the throne and removes the sacred clothes (in front of the throne or to the right of it).

Singers : “Is polla...” and perennial : "Great Master...»

The priests, having kissed the throne and bowed to the bishop, also remove their sacred clothes.

The subdeacons, having placed the trikiri and dikiri in their places, remove from the bishop sacred robes and put them on the dish. The archdeacon reads the prescribed prayers (“ Now you are letting go..." troparia, etc., small vacation). The bishop puts on a cassock, puts on a panagia, puts on a mantle and hood, and accepts a rosary. After the small dismissal, the bishop blesses with a general blessing all those present at the altar and goes out to the royal doors to the soleya. The assistant gives him the staff, the bishop prays, turning to the icons of the Savior and the Mother of God. The singers sing : “Tone despotin...” The bishop blesses the people with a general blessing from the pulpit, then from the pulpit or pulpit blesses each of the people individually.

After the blessing, the bishop goes to the western doors, stands on the eagle, gives the staff to the co-worker, and the subdeacons take off his mantle.

About the ringing

The ringing of the large bell for the liturgy begins at the appointed time. When the bishop approaches the church, there is a ringing “at full blast” (trezvon): when the bishop enters the temple, the ringing “at full blast” stops and continues with one bell until the bishop begins to vest.

At the beginning of the 6th hour there is a full ringing; if there is an ordination to the surplice or to the subdeacon, the ringing begins after the bishop reads the prayers.

While singing: " I believe..." – to one bell : “Worthy...” – 12 strokes.

During the communion of the laity, the prayer bell rings.

When the bishop leaves the church, there is a loud ringing.

About the Eaglets

The eagle is placed under the feet of the bishop so that the eagle's head is turned in the direction in which the bishop will face. In the altar, the Orlets lay subdeacons, on the soleum and in other places of the temple - a cobbler.

Before the bishop arrives at the temple, the assistant places the orlets on the sole in front of the royal doors, in front of the icons of the Savior and the Mother of God, temple or holiday, in front of the pulpit and at the entrance to the temple from the vestibule, where the bishop will meet. When, after the meeting, the bishop goes to the pulpit, the poshonik takes the eagle at the entrance and places it on the place of the clouds; when the bishop ascends to the solea, the pole takes the eagle from the place where the bishop stood and lays it on the edge of the pulpit with his head to the west. The orlets are removed from the solea and pulpit by the canon bearer when the bishop leaves for the vestment place (cathedra). In front of the small entrance, the subdeacons place eaglets in the altar around the throne and half the distance between the altar and the throne. During the small entrance, a poshonik places an eagle on the edge of the pulpit (with the eagle’s head to the west), another - in the middle between the royal doors and the pulpit (to the east) and removes them after the bishop’s prayer : “Look down from heaven, O God...” After the bishop has placed the altar, the subdeacons remove the eaglets, leaving two or three eaglets in front of the altar and placing one on a high place. During the reading of the Gospel, the eagle is spread on the salt in front of the lectern. Before the singing of the Cherubic Song, the eaglets are placed in the royal doors in front of the altar and opposite the left front corner of the throne and when the pulpit is taken away, this eaglet is removed, and the eaglet is placed at the right front corner of the throne). When singing the Cherubic Song, the eagle in the royal doors moves a step or two to the west to receive the Holy Gifts and then to the overshadowing. At the words : “Let us love each other...” The eagle is placed at the right front corner of the throne and while the bishop is standing on this eagle, the eagle is removed in front of the throne. At the end of the singing : “I believe...” an eagle is placed at the end of the pulpit; to the proclamation : “And let there be mercies...” – at the royal doors; in singing : "Our Father..." - Also. (According to the exclamation: “ And let there be mercy..." an eagle is placed at the left front corner of the throne if there is an ordination to the deacon; after the protege has walked around the throne and taken away the pulpit, it is removed, and the eagle is placed at the right front corner of the throne.) Before the communion of the people, the eagle is placed where the bishop will give communion. Following the prayer behind the pulpit, the orlets are spread out in front of the royal doors (for the holiday of the liturgy and for the prayer of the bishop upon leaving the altar after taking off his clothes), on the edge of the pulpit - for a general blessing; on the western lower step of the pulpit (usually also on the edge of the pulpit) - for blessing people; at the exit from the temple - where the bishop will take off his robe.

Consecrations and Awards

The rite of initiation into a reader and singer

Reader and singer are the lowest degrees of the church clergy, which everyone preparing to take holy orders must go through as preparatory ones. Ordination (consecration) as a reader, singer, and subdeacon is not a sacrament, but only a solemn rite of selecting the most worthy in piety from among the laity to serve in church services.

The dedication takes place in the middle of the church before the start of the liturgy. After the bishop's vestments, before the reading of the hours, the subdeacons bring the chosen reader and singer to the middle of the church. He bows three times to the altar, and then, turning, three times to the bishop. Approaching the bishop, he bows his head, which he signs with the sign of the cross and, laying his hands on the dedicatee, reads two prayers. Since the reader and the singer simultaneously fulfill the position of a priest, in the first prayer the bishop asks God: “Thy servant, present the priest with Your Holy Sacrament, adorning him with Your undefiled and immaculate clothes.” Then they sing troparia to the apostles: “Holy apostles, pray to the merciful God, that he may grant remission of sins to our souls,” then to the saints, compilers of liturgies - to St. John Chrysostom: “Thy lips are like the light of fire, shining forth grace...” to the saint: “ Thy message went forth into all the earth...”, St. Gregory the Dvoeslov: “The pastoral flute of your theology of the rhetoricians conquer the trumpets...”, on “Glory, and now” the troparion is sung: “Through the prayers, O Lord, of all the saints and of the Mother of God, grant us Your peace and have mercy on us, for He alone is generous.”

If the initiation into a reader and singer is not performed at the liturgy, then before these troparions the bishop pronounces the exclamation: “Blessed is ours,” then the following are sung: “To the Heavenly King,” the Trisagion, “The Most Holy Trinity,” “Our Father,” and then the indicated troparia.

After the end of the troparions, the bishop tonsures the priest’s hair in a cross shape, saying at the first tonsure: “In the name of the Father,” “Amen,” answers the protodeacon, reader or singer. At the second tonsure: “And the Son,” “Amen,” they say the same. At the third tonsure: “And the Holy Spirit,” “Amen,” they answer him. And he completes the tonsure with the words: “Always, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen".

As a sign of dedication to God, the reader or singer dresses in a short phelonion. Then the bishop again blesses his head three times, laying his hand on it, reads a second prayer for him as a reader and singer: “And grant him, with all the wisdom and understanding of Your divine words, teaching and reading, keeping him in immaculate living.”

The exclamations of the prayer of the catechumens are pronounced by the concelebrants, also in order of seniority. Exclamation: “ By the gift of Christ..." says the Bishop. Then the Bishop comes (after reading three times: “Now are the powers of heaven”) and bowed three times to St. proposal, says: “ God cleanse me, a sinner,” gives the miter, and gives the censer to the protodeacon. The protodeacon performs throwing. Then the Bishop, taking the air with both hands, places it on the frame. When the protodeacon leaves, the first archimadrite or other primate of the priests approaches the Bishop and bows to him. The bishop, taking the paten with both hands and kissing it, places it on the head of the archimandrite, without saying anything. And the Archimandrite kisses the hand of the Bishop, supported by the deacons. Then another archimandrite, or hegumen, or protopresbyter, or priest comes and, having bowed, receives St. Chalice, kisses him and then the hand of the Bishop. Others carry a cross, a spoon, a spear, a lip, etc., from sacred vessels and kiss the hand of the Bishop. The archimandrite exits by the northern door, followed by two deacons carrying ripids higher above St. paten and blowing them. Then follows another archimandrite with St. rubbing, without rapidity. The other deacons come out with a miter and omophorion. The protodeacon comes out behind the deacons with censers. Outside, in front of the northern door, two candlesticks await, which are carried in front. Also coming out: a staff-bearer with a pastoral staff and a primikirium (light-bearer) with a lit lamp in front of everyone walking. The archdeacon and archimandrites say nothing as they march. And the reader comes out... (And the reader comes out carrying a staff, and the priest comes out with a lamp in front of the royal doors, and the Bishop is worshiped: and they stand on both sides of the royal doors. The deacons also come carrying a miter and the Bishop kisses it, and enter the altar by the left door. The other deacons are with the omophorion, and the Bishop kisses the omophorion and enters the altar through the right door). The Protodeacon, turning to the Bishop, censes the Bishop. The bishop stands in front of the royal gates and, taking the censer, censes St. The Mysteries three times, with fear and reverence, and having bowed, he accepts the paten from the head of the archimandrite and kisses it, and shows it to the people, without saying anything. Then, entering the altar, silently, he places him on the throne. The second priest with the Chalice enters the altar, also without saying anything. And the Bishop places him on the throne according to custom. The other clergy enter the altar without saying anything. The bishop, from the same place where he stands, blesses them with his hand, and takes the coverings from the paten and from the Chalice, and places them on the edge of the throne according to custom. He takes air from the shoulder of the protodeacon, puts it on the censer and silently covers the paten and the Chalice with fragrance: and having taken the censer, only the Holy One censes, immediately gives the censer, without censing anyone else. Then he proclaims the prayer of St. with bows. When the Bishop puts on the miter, the overshadowing takes place, according to custom.

The deacon, leaving the altar, and standing in his usual place, proclaims the litany: “ Let's perform evening prayer." and others... The bishop prays: “ Other unspeakable..."After prayer the deacon says: " Intercede, save, have mercy”, “This evening is perfect, holy” and others. According to the litany, the Bishop proclaims: “ And vouchsafe us, Master.” People: " Our Father"(etc. - see Arch. Theologian). The bishop, placing his hand on the covered Divine Gifts, touches the Life-giving bread with reverence and fear. The deacon girded himself with the orarium in the form of a cross and, bowing his head, said: “ Let's remember"(the royal doors close). The bishop proclaims: “ Presanctified Holy Place of Saints." Singers: " One is Holy." The bishop removes St. air. Then the deacon enters St. altar. The protodeacon stands next to the Bishop and says: “ Shatter the Lord St. Lamb". The bishop, with great attention, splits the Lamb into four parts, saying: “ Fragments..." And puts a particle into the Chalice, without saying anything. And the protodeacon pours warmth into the Chalice without saying anything. Then the Bishop performs forgiveness with his fellow servants. Taking one particle of the Holy Mysteries in his right hand, and bowing his head, he prays according to custom: “ I believe, Lord..." Also: " Your secret supper...», “Don’t go to court...” Then he approaches St. paten and partakes of the Holy Body and Blood of the Lord with tenderness and reverence, saying: “ Honest and All-Holy and Most Pure Body and Blood of the Lord..."Then, taking his lip, he wipes his hand, saying: "Glory to You God"(three times). And after kissing the lip, he puts it back in place. Taking St. The chalice with both hands, with a cover, drinks from it without saying anything. Then he wipes his lips and St. The chalice is held in the hands of the patron and places it on the saint. meal. Then the Bishop puts on the miter. The archdeacon calls on one of the archimandrites, saying: “ Get started." And then one archimandrite approaches from the left side of the Bishop, bowing his head and folding his palms in a cross shape ( right palm above) and says: “ Behold, I come to the Immortal King and our God, and teach me the Most Reverend Master, the Honest, and All-Holy, and Most Pure Body and Blood of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ.” The bishop, taking with his right hand, with three fingers, a particle of the Venerable Body and Blood of Christ, places it in the hands of the arriving archimandrite or priest, saying: “ It is taught to you... The Honest and Most Pure and Immortal Body and Blood of the Lord...» The archmadrite must give communion to the deacons and teach them the Precious Body and Blood of Christ. From St. The Bishop himself gives the Chalice to the archimandrites, abbots, protopresbyters and priests, without saying anything. The Archimandrite serves as a deacon from the Chalice, to whom the Bishop commands without saying anything. After communion, the Bishop, having accepted the anaphora, washes his hands and lips, stands near the saint. throne and says a prayer of thanksgiving: “ We thank you Savior...“The deacon (who will be instructed to consume the Holy Gifts) does not drink from the Chalice at this moment, but after the prayer behind the pulpit, and after consuming the remaining particles of the Holy Mysteries. The protodeacon took St. paten, raises it above St. With a chalice, and wipes it with his lip with great attention, putting the Holy Mysteries inside the Holy. Having rubbed and kissed St. paten, placed near St. Chalice. Then he took the cover and covered St. Chalice. On St. The paten places the star and the coverings and the air, without saying anything, and worships three times. And the royal gates open. And taking the Bishop of St. The chalice, and after kissing it, gives it to the protodeacon. The Protodeacon, having received it with both hands, kisses the hand of the Bishop and leaves through the royal doors, raising St. Chalice and says: “ With the fear of God..." The singers sing: " I bless the Lord..."Then the Bishop comes out of the royal gates and blesses the people with trikiri and dikiri. He says loudly: “ God save your people..." Singers: " Is polla these despots" slowly and sweetly. And he turns again to the Holy Table, overshadows the concelebrants, and gives the trikiri and dikiri. Then he takes the Holy Chalice from the hands of the protodeacon and places it on the Holy Meal, having accepted the censer, only the Saint censes (three times) and immediately gives the censer, censing no one. Then the Bishop receives St. paten and places it on the head of the protodeacon. The protodeacon, accepting it with both hands, moves back into the sentence, without saying anything, and puts it there. The bishop, having accepted the Holy Chalice and kissed it, gives it to the first archimandrite or abbot, saying quietly: “ Blessed be ours." The Archimandrite, accepting him with both hands and kissing him and the hand of the Bishop, turns to the royal doors, facing the people, and says in a loud voice: “ Always, now and ever, and forever and ever.” Goes to St. proposal, supported by two deacons, and puts it there. Singers: " Amen" "Let your lips be filled..." Then the protodeacon leaves through the northern doors, and stopping at the usual place, says: " Sorry, please accept..." The bishop, creating the cross with the Gospel over the antimension, proclaims: " For You are the sanctification..." Singers: " Amen". Bishop: " We will leave in peace." Singers: " About the name of the Lord." Protodeacon: " Let us pray to the Lord." Singers: "Lord have mercy". The priest comes out, stands in his usual place and says the prayer behind the pulpit: “ Lord Almighty...” The bishop says the final prayer: “ Lord our God..." And so on according to order, as written in the liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. Then the dismissal is pronounced: “ Our true Christ, through the prayers of His Most Pure Mother,” and others throughout the day, commemorating the saint of this day (name of the rivers). "... And others like him in St. our father Gregory the Dvoeslov, and all the saints, will have mercy and save us, for he is good and a lover of mankind.” This holiday is read before Holy Week: a special holiday is said during Holy Week.

The bishop enters the temple. The protodeacon proclaims: “Wisdom” and then reads: “It is worthy” (or worthy), “Glory, And now,” “Lord, have mercy” three times, “(Highly) Most Reverend Master, bless.” At this time, the protodeacon and 1st deacon constantly burn incense to the Bishop. The dean and the rector take their place among the priests. The bishop stands on the eagle and gives the staff to the subdeacon. The bishop and all priests are baptized three times. The priests bow to the Bishop, who blesses them with the general overshadowing. The bishop puts on a robe.

A priest with a cross on a tray approaches the Bishop. The Bishop takes the cross, and the priest kisses the Bishop’s hand and retreats to his previous place. All the priests take turns, in order of seniority, approach the Bishop, cross themselves, kiss the cross and the Bishop’s hand, then retreat to their places. The priest comes up last with a tray, kisses the cross and the hand of the Bishop. The bishop kisses the cross and places it on a tray. The priest kisses the hand of the Bishop, immediately goes into the Altar through the northern doors and places the cross on the throne. At the Liturgy, this priest does not come out for entrance prayers, since he has already performed them before the proskomedia.

The Bishop and all the priests are baptized again, and the priests bow to the Bishop, who overshadows them with a general blessing.

After kissing the cross at the meeting, the Bishop goes to the pulpit, then leaves it and kisses the icon of the holiday. He rises to the pulpit, turns and blesses the people on three sides. The priests, in two rows, follow the Bishop to the pulpit; they do not venerate the icon; standing in front of the pulpit, they bow in response to the Bishop’s blessing. The bishop turns and enters the altar through the Royal Doors, which are opened by the subdeacons. The priests, at the same time as the Bishop, enter the altar through the side doors. The bishop and priests venerate the throne and take their places.

At the all-night vigil, the priest who went out to meet the cross enters the altar, places the cross on the altar, goes to the High Place and accepts the censer from the subdeacon or protodeacon. The protodeacon enters the altar, gives the censer to the subdeacon or priest, accepts the deacon's candle from the subdeacon and stands next to the priest, to his right. The bishop enters the altar and venerates the throne. The priest, standing a little to the right of the center of the High Place, asks the Bishop for a blessing on the censer: “Bless, (Highly) Most Reverend Bishop, the censer.” Next, the priest, preceded by the protodeacon, performs the usual censing of the altar. The bishop censes three times three times. The protodeacon goes to the pulpit and proclaims: “Rise up.” At this time, all the clergy gathers at the High Place. The protodeacon returns to the altar. At the exclamation: “Glory to the Saints...” all the clergy in the High Place, at the sign of the protodeacon, cross themselves, bow to the Bishop and sing: “Come, let us worship...”. At the end of the singing, everyone crosses themselves again, bows to the Bishop and goes to their places. The protodeacon gives the candle to the 1st deacon, who walks in front of the priest, who performs the full censing of the temple.

There is a widespread tradition when the priest performing incense is accompanied by two deacons. In this matter, one must follow the instructions of the archdeacon.

Upon returning to the altar, the priest censes the altar, moves to the right and stands with the deacon opposite the Bishop. The priest censes the Bishop three times, the deacon three times and gives the censer to the deacon. The deacon censes the priest three times, and the priest and deacon cross themselves, bow to the Bishop and retreat to their places.

The royal doors are closed by subdeacons. The protodeacon pronounces the peaceful litany. The priest makes an exclamation after the litany and after the end of the exclamation he bows to the Bishop.

This instruction also applies to all exclamations made by the priest during the service.

After the exclamation of the peaceful litany, the priest, protodeacon and all the rest of the clergy located in the altar approach the Bishop for blessing.

Before going out to pronounce any litany, the deacon is baptized in the High Place and bows not to the priest, but to the Bishop.

The clapping on “Lord, I have cried...” is performed by a pair of junior deacons. They take the censer, cross themselves on the High Place, turn to face the Bishop, raise the censer, and the eldest of the two deacons says: “Bless, (Highly) Most Reverend Bishop, the censer.” The bishop blesses the censer. The deacons perform incense according to the usual pattern, the bishop is censed three times at the beginning, and three times at the end of the incense.

During the singing of the stichera on: “Lord, I have cried...” all the priests, and if there are many priests, then those whom the dean directs wear stoles, bracelets, phelonions and headdresses. At the end of the censing, all vested priests stand near the throne in two rows according to seniority. The senior priest (usually a dean or rector) takes the primacy.

After the canonarch exclaims: “And now,” the junior deacons open the Royal Doors. All priests(incoming priest and protodeacon) and the protodeacon venerate the throne and go to the High Place. The protodeacon at the High Place receives the censer from the subdeacon. All priests and the protodeacon cross themselves to the east, turn and bow to the Bishop. The Protodeacon takes the blessing for the censer from the Bishop. All clergy comes out on the sole. The protodeacon censes local icons, enters the altar, goes to the right, censes the Bishop three times three times, goes to the Royal Doors and asks the Bishop for a blessing to enter. The Bishop blesses the entrance, the protodeacon censes the Bishop three times with the words: “Is pollla,” stands in the Royal Doors and proclaims: “Forgive Wisdom.” Next, the protodeacon enters the altar, censes the altar from four sides and gives the censer to the subdeacon. All priests they cross themselves, bow to the primate and enter the altar through the Royal Doors, each kissing the icon on the Royal Doors that is on his side. The Primate, as usual, venerates the icons at the Royal Doors, but the people do not bless with their hand, but only bow slightly to him.

This instruction also applies to all those moments of the service when the priest is supposed to overshadow the people with his hand.

All the priests and the protodeacon cross themselves, venerate the throne and go to the High Place. At the High Place, all the clergy are baptized and bow to the Bishop. The choir finishes singing: “Quiet Light.” The 1st priest and protodeacon bow to the Bishop. Protodeacon: “Let us attend.” Priest: “Peace to all” (without overshadowing the people with his hand). The protodeacon proclaims, according to custom, the prokeimenon. After him, all the priests and the protodeacon cross themselves, bow to the Bishop and go to their places. Subdeacons close the Royal Doors. If there are proverbs, then the protodeacon, standing at the throne, gives the exclamations required for them. The priest who began the service takes the primate's place. The rest of the priests put aside their phelonies and move away from the throne to their places. Then the service proceeds as usual.

If a litany is expected, then at the petitionary litany all the priests, dressed in stoles, bracelets and headdresses, stand in two rows on either side of the throne. The priest standing at the Throne also puts aside the phelonion and takes his place among the priests. Two deacons, appointed by the protodeacon, receive the censer at the High Place from the subdeacons. The bishop takes the primate's place. After the exclamation: “Be a power...” the deacons open the Royal Doors. The Bishop and all the clergy are baptized twice, venerate the throne, everyone is baptized once more, and the Bishop blesses the clergy with a general overshadowing. At this moment, the deacons take a blessing on the censer. The bishop enters the litany through the Royal Doors, all priests and deacons through the side doors. After the Bishop has left the altar, the Royal Doors are immediately closed by the deacons. Deacons with censers perform incense.

Regarding the censing scheme for lithium, practice is very heterogeneous. Considering that our goal is to show the practice of the Moscow diocese, we will describe in detail the scheme adopted in the Assumption Cathedral Church of the Novodevichy Convent. The deacons perform full censing of the altar, the iconostasis, the festive icon (three times three times), the Bishop (three times three times) and the clergy (from the middle of the temple), the choir and people (from the pulpit), the Royal Doors, the icons of the Savior and the Mother of God, the holiday icon (three times ) and Bishop (three times). Next, the deacons cross themselves, bow to the Bishop and give the censer to the subdeacon, and they themselves stand in a row with the other deacons.

Next, the lithium proceeds in the usual manner. At the exclamation of “Our Father”: “For Thine is the Kingdom...” the subdeacons open the Royal Doors. At the same exclamation, the protodeacon accepts the censer from the subdeacon and asks the Bishop for the blessing for censing. During the singing of the troparion, the protodeacon censes the lithium device around three times, then censes the icon of the holiday, the Bishop three times three times, the clergy, then crosses himself, bows to the Bishop and gives the censer to the subdeacon. At the end of the prayer for the consecration of bread, wheat, wine and oil, all the clergy (they listened to the prayer, removing their headdresses) cross themselves, bow to the Bishop, go into the altar through the side doors (the younger ones go in front) and stand in two rows near the throne. One verse before the end of the chorus singing the 33rd Psalm, all the clergy turn to face the Royal Doors (the 1st pair of priests comes out closer to the Royal Doors), and everyone bows in response to the Bishop’s blessing. The bishop overshadows the people with the words: “The blessing of the Lord...” and enters the altar. The bishop and all the clergy cross themselves and venerate the throne. All clergy bow to the Bishop in response to his blessing. Deacons close the Royal Doors. The bishop retreats to his place and unmasks himself. The rector presents the Bishop with consecrated bread and wine (prepared on a tray by the subdeacons). The priest who began the service takes the primate's place, and the same priest, during the reading of the second part of the Six Psalms, goes out to the solea to the Royal Doors to read the prescribed secret prayers.

Further all-night vigil continues as usual. The polyeleos performed by the bishop's service does not have any special differences from that performed by the conciliar priestly service. The anointing of all clergy is performed by the Bishop, standing at the pulpit. After the anointing of the clergy, all clergy are baptized, bow to the Bishop and go to the altar. At the altar, all the clergy cross themselves, venerate the throne, bow to the Bishop from the Royal Doors and go to their places. If the anointing of believers is expected from more than one icon, then the appointed priests go to their places and perform the anointing.

The deacon, pronouncing the small litany during the reading of the canon, goes out to the solea from the northern door, stands in the center of the Royal Doors, crosses himself, bows to the Bishop and says the litany. The priest who began the service, standing in the altar, makes an exclamation and at the end of it bows from the Royal Doors to the Bishop. During the exclamation, the deacon moves to the right to the icon of the Savior, and at the end of the exclamation he also crosses himself and, together with the priest, bows to the Bishop. If during the small litany according to the 6th song of the canon the Bishop continues to anoint the believers, then the protodeacon with a censer in his hands comes out of the northern door onto the solea and stands opposite the icon of the Mother of God. At the exclamation of the litany, the protodeacon is baptized, bows to the Bishop together with the priest and deacon who spoke the litany, and asks the Bishop for a blessing on the censer.

After the Bishop returns to the altar after anointing the people, the deacons close the Royal Doors.

While singing the stichera on “Praise...” all the priests, dressed in phelonions, stand in two rows on either side of the Throne. The Bishop takes the primate seat. On “And Now” the deacons open the Royal Doors. The subdeacons present the Trikiri and Dikiri to the Bishop. The bishop proclaims: “Glory to You...”, goes to the pulpit and overshadows the people on three sides. All priests turn to face the Royal Doors. The 1st pair of priests goes to the middle of the space between the throne and the Royal Doors and faces the Royal Doors. The bishop turns and, standing on the pulpit, overshadows the clergy with dikiriy and trikiriy. All clergy bow to the Bishop and retreat to their places. The bishop enters the altar and gives the candles to the subdeacons. At the end of the singing of the Trisagion, after the doxology, the protodeacon, 1st deacon and subdeacons with the dikiri and trikiri are baptized on the High Place and bow to the Bishop. The deacons go to the solea to recite the litanies. At the special litany, when remembering the name of the serving Bishop, all priests cross themselves and bow to the Bishop. Before the exclamation: “Peace to all” and before the Bishop leaves the altar to pronounce the dismissal, the Bishop blesses the clergy, and they bow to him in response.

After the dismissal of Matins, the Bishop and all the priests are baptized, venerate the throne, the Bishop bestows a general blessing on the clergy, and the clergy bow to the Bishop. Deacons close the Royal Doors. The bishop and all the clergy are exposed. The priest, who began the service, in the epitrachelion, bands and headdress, takes the primate's place and ends, according to custom, the 1st hour.

During the reading of the prayer of the hour, the Bishop and all the clergy cross themselves and venerate the throne. Subdeacons open the Royal Doors. The bishop leaves the altar through the Royal Doors, and the priests and deacons through the side doors. All clergy stand in two rows in front of the pulpit facing the altar. The priest, standing at the icon of the Mother of God facing the people, takes leave of the hour, goes to the altar, undresses, leaves the altar and takes his place in the ranks of the clergy. After the dismissal of the 1st hour, the choir sings: “Lord, have mercy” (three times). The bishop, standing on the pulpit in a robe, speaks a word to the believers. After this, everyone sings the troparion or magnification of the holiday, and the Bishop, preceded by the clergy, goes to the end of the church. At the end of the temple, the clergy stand in two rows facing each other. The bishop stands on the eagle, and the subdeacons take off his robe. The choir sings: “Confirmation of those who trust in You...” (irmos of the 3rd song of the canon for the Presentation of the Lord, tone 3). The Bishop and all the clergy are baptized three times, and the Bishop overshadows the people in three directions. The choir sings: “Is polla.” The bishop, accompanied by the dean and the rector, leaves the church.

The Bishop walks along the carpet to the pulpit, the priests in 2 rows follow the Bishop, the elders in front. The deacons go to the altar (in front of the Bishop) and stand in a row in front of the pulpit facing it. The bishop ascends to the pulpit. The deacons cense the Bishop three times, blessing them, and go into the altar through the side doors. The bishop reaches the pulpit. The Protodeacon, standing on the right hand of the Bishop, crosses himself, bows to the Bishop and begins reading the entrance prayers.

At the Liturgy, during the entrance prayers, only the Bishop venerates the icons of the Savior and the Mother of God, and the priests stand in their places while reading the prayers, removing their hoods and kamilavkas at the appropriate moment.

After the end of the entrance prayers, the Bishop blesses the people on three sides and goes to the pulpit. The priests bow in response to the Bishop’s blessing and follow him to the pulpit, the elders leading the way. At this time, the subdeacons come out of the altar, participating in the vestments of the Bishop. Behind them, the 1st deacon immediately comes out of the northern door with two censers, one of which he gives to the protodeacon. The Protodeacon and 1st Deacon stand on the pulpit facing the Bishop.

The Bishop, all the priests, the protodeacon, the 1st deacon and the subdeacons are baptized on the altar, bow to the Bishop, and all the priests in turn, in order of seniority, approach the Bishop for a blessing, then immediately go to the altar, without waiting for each other. After the Bishop takes off his cassock, the protodeacon and 1st deacon take a blessing on the censer.

During the vesting of the Bishop, the 1st deacon exclaims: “Let us pray to the Lord,” and the protodeacon reads the prescribed verses from the books of Exodus, the prophet Isaiah and the psalmist David. The Protodeacon and the 1st Deacon continuously and synchronously perform the incense of the Bishop.

Upon arrival at the altar, each priest dresses in full vestments with the headdress that is assigned to him (if he was not dressed before the meeting). All clergy are lined up in two rows according to seniority on either side of the throne. As soon as the protodeacon begins the exclamation: “So let it be enlightened...” (Matthew 5:16), all priests and deacons cross themselves, venerate the throne, go out through the side doors onto the solea and stand in line with the protodeacon and the 1st deacon, facing the Bishop. The bishop overshadows the clergy with dikiriy and trikiriy, and the clergy walk to the pulpit in two rows. After the overshadowing of the people, the Bishop gives the dikiri and trikiri to the subdeacons and blesses the protodeacon and the 1st deacon, who incense him at this time three times. All priests, deacons and subdeacons with dikiri, trikiri and staff cross themselves and bow to the Bishop. Then the subdeacons with the dikiri and trikiri go to the altar, along the way taking the censer from the protodeacon and the 1st deacon. The protodeacon and 1st deacon go to the pulpit, and all the deacons line up in two rows, facing each other (facing the altar!), between the rows of priests.

The bishop reads the prayers prescribed before the start of the Liturgy. Protodeacon: “It’s time to create the Lord...”. The 1st priest takes the blessing from the Bishop, goes through the southern doors (on Easter week through the Royal Doors) into the altar and stands in front of the throne. Protodeacon: “Pray for us...”, and all the deacons in pairs approach the Bishop for blessing. The protodeacon goes to the solea, and the rest of the deacons stand in one row behind the bishop's see. The subdeacons open the Royal Doors, the first priest crosses himself twice, venerates the Gospel and the altar, crosses himself again, turns around, bows to the Bishop together with the protodeacon and subdeacons, turns again to the altar, and picks up the altar Gospel. Protodeacon: “Bless, Master.” 1st priest: “Blessed is the Kingdom...”, makes a cross over the throne with the Gospel, places the Gospel, crosses himself once, applies himself to the Gospel and the throne, turns, bows together with the protodeacon and subdeacons to the Bishop and stands on the south side of the throne. At the petition: “O Great Lord...” the 1st priest and two subdeacons stand before the throne, cross themselves once and, at the commemoration of the serving Bishop, bow to him together with the protodeacon in response to the blessing. The 1st priest retreats to his place. All the priests standing at the pulpit also cross themselves and bow to the Bishop during this peaceful litany.

At the request: “May we be delivered…” The 2nd and 3rd deacons leave the pulpit and walk in the middle between the rows of priests on the sole. The 2nd deacon stands near the icon of the Mother of God, and the 3rd - next to the protodeacon, to his right.

The exclamation after the peaceful litany: “As it befits You...” is made by the 1st priest. In the words: “To the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever...” The first priest is baptized. With the words: “and forever and ever,” he comes out into the space in front of the throne, faces the Bishop and bows to him along with the protodeacon and two deacons. At the same exclamation, the 2nd and 3rd priests also cross themselves, bow to the Bishop and go into the altar through the side doors (on Bright Week through the Royal Doors). Having entered the altar, the 2nd and 3rd priests cross themselves once, kiss the throne (from the sides), go out to the Royal Doors, stand facing the Bishop, bow to him, then to each other and take their places on the side of the throne. The protodeacon goes to the pulpit together with the subdeacons carrying out the ablution. The bishop washes his hands during the 1st antiphon. The archdeacon reads: “I will wash the innocent...” (Ps. 25:6-12) and stands at the pulpit.

The practice regarding the number of priests leaving after the peaceful and first small litanies to the altar is not the same. The bishop can indicate this number personally.

The 2nd deacon pronounces the 1st small litany. The exclamation at the first small litany is made by the 2nd priest and, in the same manner at the end of the exclamation, he bows to the Bishop, standing in the Royal Doors together with the 2nd and 3rd deacons. At this exclamation, the 4th and 5th priests cross themselves, bow to the Bishop and go through the side doors (on Easter week - the Royal Doors) into the altar, there they cross themselves once, kiss the throne, go out to the Royal Doors, bow to the Bishop, bow to each other and fall into place.

The 3rd deacon speaks the 2nd small litany. During it, all the deacons standing at the pulpit go to the solea and stand in one row facing the altar. The exclamation for the second small litany is made by the 3rd priest, who also at the end of the exclamation bows to the Bishop, standing in the Royal Doors, simultaneously with all the deacons standing on the pulpit and all the priests standing at the pulpit. After the exclamation, all these priests and all the deacons go to the altar through the side doors (on Easter week - through the Royal Doors). At the altar, all the priests and deacons who came cross themselves, venerate the throne, bow from the Royal Doors to the Bishop and take their places. The 1st and 2nd deacons go to the High Place and take the censer from the subdeacon.

During the singing of the third antiphon, the 1st priest and protodeacon stand in front of the throne, cross themselves twice, kiss the throne, cross themselves and bow to the Bishop. The first priest takes the Gospel from the throne and gives it to the protodeacon, who goes with the Gospel to the High Place. All priests, protodeacon, 1st and 2nd deacons and subdeacons are baptized, priests venerate the throne, everyone bows to the Bishop (priests - from the Royal Doors). The 1st and 2nd deacons ask for a blessing on the censer, and all the clergy march to the small entrance. The order is as follows: priest, co-worker, 1st and 2nd deacon with censers, subdeacons with dikiri and ripida, protodeacon with the Gospel, subdeacons with ripida and trikiri, priests in order of seniority, the elders in front. The protodeacon, descending from the pulpit, quietly says: “Let us pray to the Lord,” and the Bishop reads the prayer of entry. When the priests begin to descend from the pulpit, each goes to his own side (right or left) to the pulpit. The 1st and 2nd deacons, together with the subdeacons, go around the pulpit, disperse to the sides and stand at the level of the last pair of priests (or approximately the 4th pair, if there are many priests) facing each other. At the sign of the protodeacon, all the clergy are baptized on the altar and bow to the Bishop. The Protodeacon asks the Bishop for a blessing to enter and brings him the Gospel for him to kiss. The Bishop venerates the Gospel, the protodeacon kisses the Bishop’s hand, then, turning to the east, exclaims: “Wisdom, forgive me” and turns to the west. After the protodeacon’s exclamation, all the clergy sing: “Come, let us worship...”. The 1st and 2nd deacons go to the pulpit and incense the Gospel. When the Bishop begins to worship the Gospel and bless with candles to the east, the deacons burn incense to the Bishop. When the Bishop begins to overshadow the people, the deacons again incense the Gospel. At the moment when the Bishop begins to leave the pulpit, The 1st and 2nd priests support him by the arms. The protodeacon, 1st and 2nd deacons go to the altar ahead of all the clergy. The bishop goes to the pulpit, followed by priests in two rows, the elders in front. When the Bishop rises to the pulpit, The 1st and 2nd priests support him by the arms and step back. The bishop blesses the people with dikiriy and trikiriy. The priests, standing in two rows in front of the sole, facing the Bishop, bow to him. The protodeacon accepts the trikirium from the Bishop and goes to the High Place. The bishop venerates the icons at the Royal Doors and enters the altar. Behind him, priests enter the altar in two rows, each kissing the icon at the Royal Doors that is on his side. The deacon gives the Bishop a censer.

The bishop with the dikiri in his hand censes the altar, preceded by the protodeacon carrying the trikiri. While the Bishop censes the Royal Doors and comes out of the altar to cense the iconostasis, all the priests and deacons cross themselves, venerate the throne, bow to the Bishop from the Royal Doors and retreat to their places. All deacons and subdeacons gather at the High Place. The bishop censes the iconostasis, the choir and the people, then enters the altar and censes the clergy. All the priests respond with a bow. Next, the Bishop censes the protodeacon and gives him the censer. The Protodeacon censes the Bishop three times, crosses himself along with all the clergy standing on the High Place, and bows to the Bishop. After the choir has sung the big “Is polla these, despota” (hereinafter abbreviated as “Is polla”), everyone in the altar sings the same for many years. When the Bishop begins to read the Trisagion prayer from the Official, then the priests also begin to read it from the Service Book.

About reading secret prayers from the Missal: according to established tradition, at the Liturgy, priests begin to use the Missal to read secret prayers only after entering the altar.

The last kontakion on “And Now” is traditionally sung by the clergy in the altar. At the end of the singing of the last kontakion, the protodeacon venerates the throne, asks the Bishop for a blessing: “Bless, Master, the time of the Trisagion,” and goes to the sole. The further exclamations of the protodeacon are the same as at the priestly service.

The Trisagion is sung by the choir once. At this time, the protodeacon receives the dikiri from the subdeacon and gives it to the Bishop. The clergy sings for the second time. At this time, the 2nd priest takes the altar cross from the throne and presents it to the Bishop with the front side of the cross facing the Bishop. The choir sings the Trisagion for the third time. At this time, the Bishop comes out with a cross and dikiriy to the sole. All priests turn to face the Royal Doors, with the 1st and 2nd priests going to the middle of the space in front of the throne. All deacons and subdeacons disperse from the High Place to their places. The 1st subdeacon lights the trikirium and gives it to the protodeacon standing on the High Place.

The bishop exclaims: “Look...” (Ps. 79:15-16), and the trio sings the Trisagion for the fourth time. The bishop overshadows the people, then turns and overshadows the clergy in the altar. The priests bow to the Bishop and retreat to their places. The 2nd priest at the Royal Doors takes the cross from the Bishop and places it on the throne. The bishop venerates the throne, goes to the High Place, overshadowing it with the dikiriy, gives the dikiriy to the subdeacon and ascends to the High Place. The protodeacon says: “Command, (Highly) Most Reverend Master,” “Bless, (Highly) Most Reverend Master, the High Throne,” “The Trinity appeared in the Jordan, for the very Divine Nature of the Father cried out, This baptized Son is my beloved, the Spirit having come to something like this, people will bless Him and praise Him forever” (3rd Troparion of the 8th Canto of the 1st Canon for the Epiphany) and gives the Bishop the trikiri. After the Bishop venerates the throne, all priests venerate the throne and move closer to the High Place in order of seniority. The choir sings the Trisagion for the fifth time. The sixth time - the clergy sings. The Bishop, standing on the High Place, overshadows the clergy, who bow to the Bishop. The trikyrius is received by the subdeacon from the Bishop. The 1st deacon crosses himself, venerates the throne, approaches the Bishop with the Apostle, placing his orarion on top, receives a blessing, kisses the hand of the Bishop and walks along the left side of the throne through the Royal Doors to the pulpit for reading the Apostle. The choir sings: “Glory, And now, Holy Immortal...”, and one more time: “Holy God.”

Protodeacon: “Let us attend.” Bishop: “Peace to all.” 1st Deacon: “And the spirits...”, and then reads, as usual, the prokeimenon and the Apostle. The subdeacons remove the large omophorion from the Bishop. The 3rd deacon stands in front of the Bishop. The subdeacons place the omophorion on the hands of the deacon. The Bishop blesses the deacon, he kisses the Bishop's hand, moves with the omophorion to the south side of the throne and stands facing the throne, holding the omophorion with two palms at the level
your shoulders.

According to the regulations, incense is supposed to be performed on an alleluaria, but, according to universally established practice, immediately after the omophorion is removed from the Bishop, a protodeacon with a censer and a subdeacon with an incense holder and a spoon (the incense holder should contain incense) approach him. The archdeacon says: “Bless the censer, Master!” and presents the censer to the Bishop, holding the cup with his right hand. The subdeacon presents the Bishop with incense. The bishop places incense on the coals with a spoon and blesses the censer. The subdeacon kisses the hand of the Bishop. The protodeacon begins censing.

After reading the Apostle, the 1st priest bows to the Bishop and, together with the protodeacon, goes to the throne. At the throne, the 1st priest and the protodeacon are baptized together (they do not bow to the bishop or each other), the priest kisses the Gospel and the throne and gives the Gospel to the protodeacon. The 1st priest takes his place and bows to the Bishop. The Protodeacon brings the Gospel to the Bishop, who kisses the Gospel, and the Protodeacon kisses the Bishop's hand. The protodeacon carries the Gospel through the Royal Doors to the pulpit. The 3rd deacon with the omophorion walks in front of the protodeacon carrying the Gospel in the following way: he goes around the throne from south to north through the High Place, leaves the altar through the Royal Doors, walks in the middle of the temple to the pulpit, walks around the pulpit from his right to his left, returns to the altar through the Royal Doors together with the deacon who read the Apostle, and stands in the place from which he began to move with the omophorion (the south side of the throne). The deacon and the Apostle stand at the north side of the throne, opposite the deacon holding the omophorion. The exclamation: “Forgive wisdom, let us hear the Holy Gospel” is made by the deacon holding the Apostle, and “Let us hear” by the deacon holding the omophorion. After this exclamation, both deacons kiss the throne, approach the Bishop for blessing, kiss his hand and retreat to their places, putting aside the omophorion and the Apostle.

Priests and deacons listen to the reading of the Gospel with their heads uncovered, and the Bishop wears a miter.

After reading the Gospel, the Bishop crosses himself to the east, goes out onto the solea, venerates the Gospel, which the protodeacon offers him, and blesses the people with the dikiri and trikiri. All priests are also baptized and return to their places at the throne. The protodeacon places the Gospel on the far right corner of the throne or, if the throne is small, on the seat in the High Place. At the end of the reading of the Gospel, the 1st deacon crosses himself at the northern side of the throne, bows to the Bishop and goes to the pulpit to recite the special litany.

After the gospel may preach a sermon

At the special litany, all the subdeacons and deacons gather in the High Place and at the petition for the serving Bishop they sing: “Lord, have mercy” three times. He asks not to do this)

At the special litany, the Bishop opens the antimension. He is assisted by the 1st and 2nd priests. After this, the Bishop, the 1st and 2nd priests cross themselves, venerate the throne, cross themselves, the 1st and 2nd priests bow to the Bishop, who blesses them.

Usually, starting with the exclamation of the special litany, the Bishop distributes the exclamations among the clergy. The priest whose turn is approaching must be prepared to utter an exclamation. The bishop gives a sign with his blessing. The priest bows to the Bishop, pronounces the prescribed exclamation and at the end of the exclamation crosses himself and bows to the Bishop.

At the Liturgy celebrated by the Bishop, the Royal Doors open to: “Blessed is the Kingdom” and remain open until the exclamation: “Holy to the Saints.”

The litany of the catechumens is pronounced by the 3rd deacon or appointee to the priesthood. In the words: “The Gospel of Truth will be revealed to them,” the 3rd and 4th priests open the upper part of the antimension and, together with the protodeacon and 1st deacon, cross themselves, venerate the Throne, cross themselves and bow to the Bishop. At the exclamation: “Yes and this...” the protodeacon and the 1st deacon leave the altar and, together with the 3rd deacon, proclaim: “Depart from the catechumens...”. The 2nd deacon, standing on the High Place, takes the Bishop’s blessing on the censer and performs the full censing of the altar (the Bishop first censes three times, and at the end of the censing three times).

After the exclamation: “Yes, and they are glorified with us...” (or according to another practice - after the exclamation: “For under Thy power...”), the Bishop washes his hands in the Royal Doors. Upon the Bishop’s return to the altar, the protodeacon and 1st deacon place a small omophorion on him.

The 2nd or most experienced priest, appointed by the dean, goes to the altar and performs the following actions:

- removes air from the holy vessels and places it on the left corner of the altar;

- removes the coverings from the paten and the Chalice and places one on top of the other on the right corner of the altar;

- removes the star from the paten and places it behind the paten and the Chalice;

- checks the presence on the altar of two untaken prosphoras on plates standing in front of the paten and the Chalice and another plate with a copy lying between them.

Large air can also be placed on top of the shrouds on the right corner of the altar.This is not done by the priest, but by the subdeacon

When the Bishop reads the Cherubic Song, the protodeacon removes his miter, places it on a tray and gives the tray to the 3rd deacon. The bishop goes to the altar, the 1st deacon approaches him. The bishop places air on his shoulder, and the deacon takes the blessing on the censer and censes the iconostasis, choirs and people. The priests, in pairs, take turns, approach the throne, cross themselves, venerate the throne, bow to each other with the words: “May your priesthood (archpriesthood, abbess, hieromonasticity) be remembered...” and take the altar crosses. If an odd number of priests is serving, then the last three approach the throne at the same time. The last three priests usually do not carry crosses, but a plate, a spoon and a spear. When the Bishop says: “To the fellow-serving brethren,” then with The priests, according to their seniority, approach the Bishop, kiss him on the right shoulder and quietly say: “Remember me, (Highly) Most Reverend Bishop, Priest N.” Unsuitable! (if there is a large number of clergy, the dean can give a sign that there is no need to approach so as not to cause fuss). At the end of the commemoration, the omophorion is removed from the Bishop. The 1st deacon approaches the altar with a censer. The 1st priest gives the Bishop a star and coverings, which the Bishop, scented with incense, places on the sacred vessels. The 1st deacon pronounces the usual exclamations required at the end of the proskomedia, and at the appointed moment gives and receives the censer from the Bishop. The Protodeacon accepts the paten from the Bishop, and the 1st priest takes the Cup with the words: “May the Lord God remember your bishopric in His Kingdom...” and kisses the Bishop’s hand. The 2nd priest and the rest of the priests carrying the altar Crosses take turns approaching the Bishop, holding the Cross facing the Bishop in an inclined position (the upper end of the Cross to the right). The bishop venerates the cross. The priest kisses the hand of the Bishop and says: “Let your Bishop remember...”. The junior priests accept a copy, a spoon and a plate from the hands of the Bishop. During the proskomedia, the 2nd deacon also prepares a censer for himself.

At the Great Entrance, the order of the procession is as follows: the protege to the priesthood (if there is one), the 3rd deacon with a tray on which the subdeacons place the omophorion and miter, the candle-bearer, the poshnik, the 2nd and 1st deacons with censers, the subdeacons with a dikiri, trikiri and ripida, protodeacon with paten, 1st priest with the Chalice, subdeacon with ripida and the rest of the priests (the eldest in front).

The 3rd deacon with a tray enters the altar through the Royal Doors and stands between the throne and the Royal Doors, facing north. The 1st and 2nd deacons enter the altar and perform incense on the altar. The Bishop approaches the 3rd deacon, kisses the miter, and the deacon kisses the Bishop’s hand. The 1st deacon gives the Bishop a censer at the Royal Doors. The bishop censes the paten three times and gives the censer to the deacon. The Protodeacon quietly remembers the Bishop: “Let your Bishop remember...”. The bishop also commemorates the protodeacon. The archdeacon quietly answers: “Is polla.” The bishop accepts the paten from the protodeacon and performs the first commemoration, after which he enters the altar and places the paten on the throne. The 1st and 2nd deacons perform the incense of the Bishop. At this time, the first priest stands in front of the Royal Doors, facing them. The 1st deacon presents the censer to the Bishop at the Royal Doors. The Bishop censes the Chalice, and The first priest quietly says: “Let your bishop remember...”. The bishop answers: “Let the priesthood (abbess, etc.) remember yours...”. The 1st priest answers: “Is polla,” gives the Cup to the Bishop, kissing his hand, and retreats to his previous place in the row of priests. After the Bishop has performed the required commemoration, all the priests, saying: “Let your Bishop remember...”, follow the Bishop into the altar, place crosses and other sacred objects on the throne in their proper places. The 1st and 2nd deacons perform the incense of the Bishop when he brings the Holy Chalice into the altar.

In response to the Bishop’s request: “Pray for me, brothers and fellow ministers,” all the priests and deacons answer: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.” The Protodeacon gives the Bishop a miter. At the appointed moment, the 1st deacon hands the Bishop a censer for censing and accepts it. All deacons receive the blessing from the Bishop, and the 1st and 2nd deacons from the High Place perform the incense of the Bishop three times. Litany: “Let us fulfill our prayer...” is pronounced by the protodeacon.

If there are a lot of priests, then it is possible that, according to the dean’s instructions, not all the priests go to the great entrance, but only the first few couples.

At the cry of the protodeacon: “Let us love one another...” all the priests, together with the Bishop, cross themselves three times with the words: “Lord, my fortress, I will love thee...” and the priests move to the left side of the altar. The bishop puts aside the miter (it is accepted by the 2nd deacon and placed on the throne), venerates the sacred vessels, the throne and moves to the right. All the priests take turns kissing the holy paten (with the words “Holy God”), the Holy Chalice (“Holy Mighty One”), the throne (“Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us”) and approach the Bishop. The bishop says: “Christ is in our midst,” to which each priest replies: “And is, and will be,” and kisses the Bishop on his right (from himself left) and left shoulders, and then kisses the Bishop’s hand and moves to the left. Also, all priests share Christ with each other.

At large number It is better for priests to kiss only the hands of each other when making mutual christenings, so as not to delay the rite (the initiative for such a reduction should come from the elder). The Bishop is always greeted with Christ in full rite.

At the cry: “Doors, doors...” and when the rite of mutual kissing ends, the Bishop stands before the throne, bowing his head, and all the priests take air and blow it over the sacred vessels. Those standing on the right hand of the Bishop hold the air with their right hand, and those standing on the left hand - with their left. Bishop or indicated by himpriest(1st priest) reads the Creed. After reading, the Bishop kisses the cross in the air and the 2nd priest or another priest from the left row takes the air and places it on the altar. The 2nd deacon gives the bishop a miter.

At the Eucharistic canon, when the Bishop comes out with the dikiri and trikiri to bless the people, all the priests turn to face the Royal Doors, and the 1st and 2nd priests go out into the space in front of the throne and also face the Royal Doors. After the exclamation: “We thank the Lord,” the Bishop showers candles on the clergy. All priests bow to the Bishop and retreat to their places.

At the exclamation: “Victory song,” all the usual actions with the star are performed by the 1st deacon. At a sign from the Bishop during the singing: “Holy...” the protodeacon removes the miter from the Bishop and hands it over after all the deacons have received the blessing from the Bishop during the singing: “We sing to you.”

After the exclamation: “Exactly about the Most Holy One,” the 3rd deacon takes the censer from the Bishop and censes the altar. The bishop censes three times three times, and at the end of the incense only three times.

While singing: “It is worthy to eat,” the protodeacon venerates the throne, asks for a blessing from the Bishop and proceeds to the pulpit through the Royal Doors. At the end of singing: “Worthy,” the protodeacon exclaims: “And everyone and everything.” The choir sings: “And everyone, and everything.” The bishop proclaims: “Remember first...”.

At the exclamation of the Bishop, the 1st priest immediately makes an exclamation: “First remember, Lord, our Lord (Highly) Most Reverend (remembering the Bishop leading the Liturgy), who grant to Your holy Churches in the world safe, healthy, long-lived, the right to rule the word of Your Truth ” and, putting aside the Missal, approaches the Bishop, receives his blessing, kisses his hand, the icon on the miter, once again bows to the Bishop with the words: “Is polla” and retreats to his place.

If several Bishops are serving, then after the exclamation of the 1st priest, his actions are repeated by the 2nd priest in relation to the 2nd bishop, the 3rd priest in relation to the 3rd bishop, etc.

The protodeacon, standing on the salt, proclaims: “Our Lord (remembers the serving Bishop), who brings these Holy Gifts (enters the altar and points to the Holy Mysteries) to our Lord God” (goes to the High Place, is baptized, bows to the Bishop, proceeds from Altar with the Royal Doors and stands on the pulpit facing the people). About our Great Lord and Father Alexy, His Holiness the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus', about His Eminence metropolitans, archbishops and bishops and about all the priestly and monastic ranks, about our God-protected country of Russia, about the authorities, the army and its people, about the peace of the whole world, about the welfare of the Holy Churches of God, about the salvation and help with care and fear of God of those who work and serve, about the healing of those lying in weakness, about the dormition, weakness, blessed memory and forgiveness of sins of all the Orthodox who have fallen asleep, about the salvation of the people who are coming and about them in everyone’s thoughts, and about everyone, and for everything.” The choir sings: “And about everyone, and for everything.” The Protodeacon enters the altar through the Royal Doors, is baptized in the High Place, bows to the Bishop and takes his blessing with the words: “Let your Bishop be remembered...”, “Is polla.”

At the exclamation: “And grant us...” the 2nd deacon on the High Place is baptized, bows to the Bishop and goes to the pulpit to say the litany: “Having remembered all the saints...”. After singing “Our Father...” the Bishop proclaims: “Peace to all” and blesses the people. Before this, the 2nd deacon moves to the right, bows to the Bishop and, after the Bishop has entered the altar, returns to his place.

If a sermon is expected before the communion of the people, then at the litany: “Having remembered all the saints...”, after the Bishop reads a secret prayer, the first priest gives the Bishop an altar cross. The Preacher venerates the Throne and approaches the Bishop, who signs the cross over him, and the preacher at this time crosses himself, kisses the cross and the hand of the Bishop, goes back to his place, crosses himself again and bows to the Bishop. The 1st priest takes the cross from the Bishop and places it on the throne.

After the exclamation: “Peace to all,” the protodeacon removes the miter from the Bishop and places it on the throne.

First, the Bishop receives communion.

At the cry of the protodeacon: “Archimandriti, and, archpriests, priests... come,” all the priests from the right side of the altar move to the left and, in order of seniority, approach the throne (without making a prostration, since the prostration was made earlier) with the words : “Behold, I come to the Immortal King and my God. Teach me, (Highly) Most Reverend Master, to the unworthy priest N (pronounce his name clearly and distinctly) the Honest and Holy Body of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ.” The priest crosses himself, kisses the Holy Altar, receives the Holy Body, kissing the hand and left (from himself right) shoulder of the Bishop, with the words “both is and will be,” he moves to the left to the altar and immediately takes communion. After receiving Holy Communion, each priest moves to the right side of the throne. The deacons share Christ with each other and receive communion in the same way as the priests, after them. After the Bishop communes all the priests and deacons with the Holy Body, he communes them with the Holy Blood. The priest receives Holy Communion in the same way as the deacon at the priestly service.

The bishop reads the prayer: “We thank You, Master...” and moves to the right. The rector brings the Bishop a drink, which is prepared by the subdeacons. Other priests divide the Holy Body according to the number of communicants.

The rector should ensure that the required number of Cups, spoons and communion plates are ready.

If it is intended to administer communion from several Chalice, then the rector appoints priests to administer communion to the laity.

After the exclamation of the Bishop: “God save your people...”, he censes the Holy Gifts, gives the paten to the protodeacon, then takes the Chalice and says quietly: “Blessed is our God,” then gives the Chalice to the 1st priest. He, having accepted the Chalice and kissed the hand of the Bishop, stands in the Royal Doors and proclaims: “Always, now and ever, and unto ages of ages,” then goes with the Holy Chalice to the altar with the words: “Ascend into heaven...” and places it on the altar. . A candle is placed in front of the Holy Chalice. The 1st priest censes the altar three times, the protodeacon three times and gives the censer to the protodeacon. The protodeacon censes the 1st priest three times. The 1st priest and protodeacon cross themselves, bow to each other, to the Bishop and retreat to their places. At this time, the Bishop, together with the 2nd and 3rd priests, puts together the antimension. The first priest gives the Bishop the Gospel, which he places on the throne. The protodeacon (or newly ordained deacon) pronounces the litany: “Forgive me, accept...”.

At the exclamation: “For You are the sanctification...” the junior priest in a headdress (or a newly ordained priest) together with the Bishop crosses himself once, kisses the throne, at the cry of the Bishop: “We will go out in peace” (this exclamation is pronounced by the priest who goes to read the prayer) bows in response to the Bishop’s blessing and goes to read the prayer behind the pulpit. After the prayer behind the pulpit, the junior priest returns to the altar, kisses the altar and bows to the Bishop.

About the time of wearing headdresses: headdresses are put on for a meeting, taken off for the reading of the Gospel and put on after the reading, taken off during the litany of the catechumens and put on during the prayer behind the pulpit.

After the dismissal of the Liturgy, various rites are possible. All clergy are guided by the instructions either directly of the Bishop, or the dean, or the rector.

If after the Liturgy it is planned procession, then the abbot should check his route in advance.

The rector determines the circle of laity who will carry banners, icons and other shrines. They should be given detailed instructions in advance regarding the order of the procession. The movement of the religious procession is led by a person in charge. He carries nothing, walks to the side of the banners and makes sure that the pace of movement does not change. If there are few people, then the person in charge carries the lantern ahead of the procession.

The order of the procession is: a lantern, followed by an altar cross and an icon, followed by banners, followed by artos (if the service is performed on Bright Week), or an icon of a temple or holiday (if it is supposed to be carried to the laity), the clergy, subdeacons, the Bishop, then the choir.

It is advisable for the choir, during the communion of the laity, to move to the center of the church and from there sing the end of the Liturgy. When leaving for the religious procession, the choir lets the clergy and the Bishop pass and follows them.

During the religious procession, four stops are usually made along the sides of the temple (south - east - north - west). At the second stop, according to tradition, the Gospel is read. Consequently, in the altar Gospel that will be brought to the religious procession, it is necessary to lay either the concept that the Bishop indicates, or the concept that was read at Matins.

Usually the Bishop goes with a three-candlestick (if we are talking about Holy Week), the 1st priest with the altar cross, the 2nd priest with the altar Gospel (if the book is heavy, then it can be carried by two priests, who in this case are not in the ranks of the clergy, and move to the center, between the rows of clergy). The 3rd priest and other priests (not necessarily all) can carry icons of a temple, a holiday, or a locally revered image. The protodeacon and 1st deacon go with censers, and the 3rd and 4th deacon with deacon's candles.

It is necessary to prepare a bowl of holy water and sprinkler in advance, and also have a sufficient supply of holy water.

Every Orthodox man meets with clergy who speak publicly or conduct church services. At first glance, you can understand that each of them wears some special rank, because it’s not for nothing that they have differences in clothing: different color robes, headdresses, some have jewelry made of precious stones, while others are more ascetic. But not everyone is given the ability to understand ranks. To find out the main ranks of clergy and monks, let's look at the ranks of the Orthodox Church in ascending order.

It should immediately be said that all ranks are divided into two categories:

1. Secular clergy. These include ministers who may have a family, wife and children.
2. Black clergy. These are those who accepted monasticism and renounced worldly life.

Secular clergy

The description of people who serve the Church and the Lord comes from Old Testament. The scripture says that before the Nativity of Christ, the prophet Moses appointed people who were supposed to communicate with God. It is with these people that today's hierarchy of ranks is associated.

Altar server (novice)

This person is a lay assistant to the clergy. His responsibilities include:

If necessary, a novice can ring bells and read prayers, but he is strictly forbidden to touch the throne and walk between the altar and the Royal Doors. The altar server wears the most ordinary clothes, with a surplice thrown over the top.

This person is not elevated to the rank of clergy. He must read prayers and words from scripture, interpret them to ordinary people and explain to children the basic rules of Christian life. For special zeal, the clergyman can ordain the psalmist as a subdeacon. From church clothes he is allowed to wear a cassock and a skufia (velvet cap).

This person also does not have holy orders. But he can wear a surplice and an orarion. If the bishop blesses him, then the subdeacon can touch the throne and enter through the Royal Doors into the altar. Most often, the subdeacon helps the priest perform the service. He washes his hands during services and gives him the necessary items (tricirium, ripids).

Church ranks of the Orthodox Church

All of the church ministers listed above are not clergy. These are simple peaceful people who want to get closer to the church and the Lord God. They are accepted into their positions only with the blessing of the priest. Let's start looking at the ecclesiastical ranks of the Orthodox Church from the lowest.

The position of deacon has remained unchanged since ancient times. He, just as before, must help in worship, but he is prohibited from performing independently church service and represent the Church in society. His main responsibility- reading the Gospel. Currently, the need for the services of a deacon is no longer required, so their number in churches is steadily decreasing.

This is the most important deacon at a cathedral or church. Previously, this rank was given to a protodeacon, who was distinguished by his special zeal for service. To determine that this is a protodeacon, you should look at his vestments. If he wears an orarion with the words “Holy! Holy! Holy,” that means he’s the one in front of you. But at present, this rank is given only after a deacon has served in the church for at least 15–20 years.

It is these people who have a beautiful singing voice, know many psalms and prayers, and sing at various church services.

This word came to us from the Greek language and translated means “priest.” In the Orthodox Church this is the lowest rank of priest. The bishop gives him the following powers:

• perform divine services and other sacraments;
• bring teaching to people;
• conduct communion.

The priest is prohibited from consecrating antimensions and performing the sacrament of ordination of the priesthood. Instead of a hood, his head is covered with a kamilavka.

This rank is given as a reward for some merit. The archpriest is the most important among the priests and also the rector of the temple. During the performance of the sacraments, archpriests put on a chasuble and stole. Several archpriests can serve in one liturgical institution at once.

This rank is given only by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' as a reward for the kindest and most useful deeds that a person has done in favor of the Russian Orthodox Church. This is the highest rank in the white clergy. It will no longer be possible to earn a higher rank, since then there are ranks that are prohibited from starting a family.

Nevertheless, many, in order to get a promotion, leave worldly life, family, children and go into monastic life forever. In such families, the wife most often supports her husband and also goes to the monastery to take monastic vows.

Black clergy

It includes only those who have taken monastic vows. This hierarchy of ranks is more detailed than that of those who preferred family life monastic.

This is a monk who is a deacon. He helps clergy conduct sacraments and perform services. For example, he carries out the vessels necessary for rituals or makes prayer requests. The most senior hierodeacon is called "archdeacon."

This is a man who is a priest. He is allowed to perform various sacred sacraments. This rank can be received by priests from the white clergy who decided to become monks, and by those who have undergone consecration (giving a person the right to perform the sacraments).

This is the abbot or abbess of a Russian Orthodox monastery or temple. Previously, most often, this rank was given as a reward for services to the Russian Orthodox Church. But since 2011, the patriarch decided to grant this rank to any abbot of the monastery. During initiation, the abbot is given a staff with which he must walk around his domain.

This is one of the highest ranks in Orthodoxy. Upon receiving it, the clergyman is also awarded a miter. The archimandrite wears a black monastic robe, which distinguishes him from other monks by the fact that he has red tablets on him. If, in addition, the archimandrite is the rector of any temple or monastery, he has the right to carry a rod - a staff. He is supposed to be addressed as “Your Reverence.”

This rank belongs to the category of bishops. At their ordination, they received the highest grace of the Lord and therefore can perform any sacred rites, even ordain deacons. According to church laws, they have equal rights; the archbishop is considered the most senior. According to ancient tradition, only a bishop can bless the service with an antimis. This is a quadrangular scarf in which part of the relics of a saint is sewn.

This clergyman also controls and guards all monasteries and churches that are located on the territory of his diocese. The generally accepted address to a bishop is “Vladyka” or “Your Eminence.”

This is clergy high rank or the highest title of bishop, the most ancient on earth. He obeys only the patriarch. Differs from other dignitaries in the following details in clothing:

• has a blue robe (bishops have red ones);
• The hood is white with a cross trimmed with precious stones (the rest have a black hood).

This rank is given for very high merits and is a badge of distinction.

The highest rank in the Orthodox Church, the main priest of the country. The word itself combines two roots: “father” and “power”. He is elected at the Council of Bishops. This rank is for life; only in the rarest cases can it be deposed and excommunicated. When the place of the patriarch is empty, a locum tenens is appointed as a temporary executor, who does everything that the patriarch should do.

This position carries responsibility not only for itself, but also for the entire Orthodox people of the country.

The ranks in the Orthodox Church, in ascending order, have their own clear hierarchy. Despite the fact that we call many clergymen “father,” each Orthodox Christian must know the main differences between dignitaries and positions.