There is no service on Sunday. All about worship

Divine services are an integral part of church life. Orthodox churches are erected for their sake.

The services that take place in the Church are not just a religious act and ritual, but spiritual life itself: especially the Sacrament of the Liturgy. The services are varied, but despite all the diversity they are subject to a fairly clear system.

What services are held in the Church? We tell you the most important things you need to know.

Divine service in the Church of the Three Saints in Paris. Photo: patriarchia.ru

Services in the Church

The liturgical life of the Church consists of three cycles:

• Year circle: where the central holiday is Easter.
• Weekly circle: where the main day is Sunday
• And the daily cycle: in which the central service is the Liturgy.

Actually, the most important thing you need to know about the services is that with all their diversity, the main thing is the Liturgy. It is for her sake that the entire daily cycle exists, and all the services that take place in the temple are “preparatory” for it. (“Preparatory” does not mean secondary, but means that they prepare a Christian for the main thing that can be in his spiritual life - Communion.)

Externally, the services differ from each other in a more or less solemn appearance. For example, the entire priestly rank that is in the temple or monastery, as well as the choir, takes part in the Liturgy. And in the service of the “hours” (essentially, the reading of prayers and certain psalms) there is only a reader and a priest, who at this moment is hidden in the altar.

What services are held in the Church?

The daily cycle of services in the Orthodox Church consists of nine services. Now they are conventionally divided into evening and morning (they take place in churches in the morning or evening, uniting as if into a single evening or morning service), but initially, once upon a time, they were evenly distributed throughout the whole day and night.

At the same time, according to Church tradition, the beginning of the day is considered to be 6 o’clock in the evening. That is why those who are preparing for Communion need to attend the evening services the day before - so that the entire church day will be illuminated by the upcoming Sacrament.

The sacrament of the Liturgy and communion are the center of the entire liturgical circle in the Church. Photo: patriarchia.ru

Today, the liturgical cycle has acquired the following form. (In its full form, it takes place, as a rule, only in monastery churches.)

Evening services:

• 9th hour
• Vespers
• Compline
• Matins
  • (on the eve of Great Holidays or on Saturday evening, evening services are combined into the All-Night Vigil)
• 1st hour

Morning services:

• Midnight Office
• 3rd and 6th hours
• Liturgy

In “parish” churches the circle is usually reduced to the following services:

In the evening: Vespers, Matins
In the morning: Hours and Divine Liturgy

Ideally, Liturgy in any church should take place every day - since worship is not a ritual, but the Breath of the temple. However, in parishes where there is only one priest or not many parishioners, services are held less frequently. At a minimum: on Sundays and...

What are the requirements in the Church?

Requirements are an integral part of church life. These are services that do not have a clear schedule and are served according to need. In particular:

• Prayer service. Congregational prayers on a variety of occasions at various times (and not only in church). For example, a prayer before an important event, or for warriors, or for peace, or for rain in case of a ruthless drought. In some churches, prayer services are held regularly on certain days.
• Baptism.
• Funeral service for the deceased.
• Memorial service: prayer for the ever departed.

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” M. Leontyeva

Orthodox worship is unusual! Some of its distinctive features are noticeable as soon as you cross the threshold of the temple, and can be confusing. Its other features become obvious over time. I will provide some background information that may help you feel more confident at an Orthodox service: twelve facts that you need to know when you find yourself in an Orthodox church for the first time.

1. What kind of mess is this?

At the very beginning of the service, you may get the impression that there is confusion in the church: people go to the front of the church, pray in front of the iconostasis (a row of icons standing in front of the altar), kiss various objects, light candles, despite the fact that the service is already in progress. In general, when you entered, the service was already in progress, although it was clearly written on the door: “The Divine Liturgy begins at 9:30.” You were clearly embarrassed that you were late, but these people arrived even later and are now moving around the temple. What's going on here?

On Sundays in the Orthodox Church there is one Eucharistic service * - it is preceded by Matins [in the Greek and Slavic Churches the liturgy is served after Matins - ed.]. There is no break between these services; as soon as one ends, another begins, so the start time of the service is indicated tentatively. In total, during a Sunday service, the clergyman spends more than three hours in the altar, “being in the light,” as one priest put it.

Because everyone is constantly on the move, there is never a moment when everyone is sitting in the pews, meekly waiting for the opening verse to begin and watching the hands of the clock approach 9:30. Orthodox believers can arrive at different times of Matins or the beginning of the Liturgy, that is, somewhere within the hour. Whenever they arrive, the service is probably already underway, but this does not prevent them from performing the personal prayers required upon arrival at the temple.

This is distracting for newcomers and can even be perceived as disrespectful, but you soon begin to understand that this is not just a formality, but a deeply personal expression of faith. Of course, this does not justify those who are late, but, unfortunately, punctuality is often absent from the list of virtues of many Orthodox believers.

2. Stand for Christ!

In the Orthodox tradition, believers stand for almost the entire service. Indeed. Some Orthodox churches don't even have chairs, except for a few around the edges of the room for those who need them.

In any case, if you find it too difficult to stand all the time, you can sit down. No one will object, and hardly anyone will pay attention to it. Over time, you will get used to standing for long periods of time.

3. Sim win

It is no exaggeration to say that we often... We make the sign of the cross at the mention of the Holy Trinity, when we venerate the cross or an icon, and many more times during the Divine Liturgy.

But this does not mean that everyone should behave the same.

Some cross themselves three times in a row, others, having crossed themselves, touch the ground with their right hand. Upon entering the temple, some believers can approach the icon and perform “throwing” - cross themselves, touch the floor with their right hand, and, having done this twice, kiss the icon, and then repeat “throwing” again.

Over time it won't be difficult, but at first it seems like it's only for the initiated and you're afraid of doing something wrong. Rest assured, you don't have to follow their lead immediately.

We cross ourselves with our right hand from right to left, unlike Catholics and Protestants - High Church Anglicans. We fold our fingers in a special way: the thumb and the next two are joined together, and the remaining two fingers are pressed against the palm.

As with all our actions, with this Orthodoxy encourages us to confess our faith. Try to guess what symbol is behind this? (Three fingers folded together symbolize the Trinity, two fingers lowered to the palm - the two natures of Christ, as well as His descent to earth).

This also requires training. But if at first you don’t put your fingers together accurately, no one will accuse you of doing it.

4. Kneeling

As a rule, we do not pray on our knees. Sometimes we fall on our faces. But not in the same way as Catholics fall prostrate on the floor. We kneel, rest our hands on the floor and touch it with our foreheads.

It looks like in photographs from some Central Asian worship service, and to representatives of Western culture it seems unprecedented. At first you feel awkward, falling on your face, but everyone else does it naturally and eventually the awkwardness goes away. Women notice that it is more convenient to bow to earth in wide skirts, and it is more comfortable to stand in shoes without heels.

Sometimes we bow to the ground and immediately rise, as during, which is often pronounced during. It happens that we worship and linger for a while, as they do in some communities in some places of the Eucharistic Prayer.

Not everyone prostrates. Some believers kneel, others stand with their heads bowed, and those seated may lean forward and sit hunched over. Standing timidly is also not forbidden. Nobody will pay attention if you don't fall on your face. For Orthodoxy, various forms of expressing personal religiosity are more characteristic than the feeling that you are being watched and may be offended if you do something wrong.

One of the former priests of the Anglican Church in America admitted that his decision to become Orthodox was most influenced by the sight of believers bowing to the ground. He thought then that this is how he should stand before God.

5. I love you and kiss you.

We kiss the shrines.

When we enter church, we kiss (it is customary for Jesus to kiss the feet, and for saints the right hand). You soon notice that some kiss the Holy Chalice, some kiss the hem of the priest's vestments when he comes by, the clerics kiss his hand when they hand him the censer, at the end of the service we all line up to kiss the cross.

When we say that we “kissed” something, it means that we made the sign of the cross and kissed this object.

Another reason why we protect the Eucharist from public access is that we take it more seriously than many other Christian denominations. We believe that this is truly the Body and Blood of Christ. We do not begin communion without confessing our sins to the priest and making peace with other members of the Church. We abstain from food and drink, even our morning cup of coffee, from midnight before communion.

So, we come to the topic. When newcomers learn about this Orthodox tradition, they usually have a hard time believing it. We abstain from meat, fish, dairy, wine and vegetable oil every Wednesday and Friday, as well as during four periods of the year, the longest during Lent before Easter. In total it takes about six months.

Here, as elsewhere, variations are possible. After consulting with the priest, people decide to what extent they can maintain these fasts, both from a physical and spiritual point of view - excessive strictness can soon lead to frustration and depression. Fasting is a personal matter for each person. As he said, this is a holiday for everyone who fasted and who did not fast: “abstinent and careless, honor this day equally; you who have fasted and those who have not fasted, rejoice now!”

It is important to note that fasting is not a strict rule, breaking which puts you in terrible danger, and it is not a punishment for sins. Fasting is an exercise for our growth and strengthening, a medicine for the soul.

After consulting with a priest, as a spiritual doctor, you can develop a measure of fasting that will keep you in good shape, but will not break you. Perhaps next year you will be able to handle more. Over time, after experiencing fraternal fasting with a loving community, many people find that they begin to enjoy fasting.

7. Why is there no general confession?

We believe that we do not have the same sins, they are all individual. There is no separate prayer of confession during the liturgy. Orthodox Christians must regularly visit the priest in person.

The role of the priest is more reminiscent of the role of a spiritual father than in other faiths. They do not simply address him by name, but pronounce him “father” before the name. His wife also has her own specific role as the mother of the parish, and she is also called by a special name, depending on the culture: in Arabic “Khouria”, in Greek “Presbytera”, both of which mean the priest’s wife, and in Russian “ matushka" which means "mother".

Another feature is the Creed, which is recited or sung, depending on the parish. If you say out of habit or intentionally, “And from the Son who proceedeth,” no one will support you. appeared in the Creed six centuries after its composition, and we adhere to the original version. Visitors from High Church communities note that we do not bow or kneel at the words “and he who became incarnate.”

We also do not stop exclaiming “Hallelujah” during Great Lent, as the nuns of the Anglican Communion do; moreover, Lenten Matins are especially replete with this exclamation.

8. Music.

About seventy-five percent of the service is occupied by parishioners singing. Orthodox Christians do not use musical instruments during services. The singing is usually led by a small a cappella choir, and the degree to which parishioners participate in the singing varies from parish to parish. The musical style also varies, ranging from single-voice singing in the eastern traditions of the Arab Church to the European sound of four-part harmony in the Russian Church, with many variations in between.

This continuous singing is overwhelming at first, it seems as if you are stepping onto a rapidly moving escalator, and you are carried for an hour and a half until you get off it. Someone rightly noted that the liturgy is one continuous song.

Almost the same thing is sung every week, and this prevents fatigue. Each subsequent Sunday the service changes very slightly, the main prayers and chants are in the same order, and soon you will already know them by heart. Then you will begin to feel the presence of God, which is almost impossible to do at that stage when you switch, now to reading the prayer book, now to the text of the liturgy, now to studying the parish leaflet.

9. Editors are powerless

Isn't it possible to say this more briefly? Why these extra epithets? Is it possible to once again condense this text, even if it is quite accurate and apt? But then it will no longer be an Orthodox service. Orthodox Christians will always try to express themselves as broadly as possible. In the Orthodox faith, there is never too much prayer, and this also applies to its other aspects. When a priest or deacon exclaims: “Let us fulfill our ** prayer to the Lord...”, be sure that you will have to stand for another fifteen minutes.

Initially, the liturgy lasted more than five hours, this shows that people in those days were on fire with their hearts for the Lord. in his edition of the liturgy, he reduced its duration to two and a half hours, and later (about 400) St. John Chrysostom further reduced this time to one and a half hours. Usually on Sundays the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, but on some days (Sundays of Great Lent, Epiphany Eve), we serve a longer liturgy of St. Basil the Great.

10. Chosen Voivode

An unchanging feature of Orthodox worship is the “Invincible Voivode” of all Christians. We also call her the Theotokos or Mother of God. She contributed to our salvation by making the incarnation of God into man physically possible. But, despite Her veneration, as it is said in the Gospel: “Behold, from now on all generations will bless Me” (Luke 1:48), this does not mean that we believe in the magical powers of Her or other saints or consider them demigods. When we sing “Most Holy Theotokos, save us,” we do not expect that She will grant us salvation in eternity, but we ask Her prayers for our intercession and growth in faith.

We ask for the prayers of the Virgin Mary and other saints just as we ask for the prayers of each other. They didn’t die, they simply went to another world. We surround ourselves with icons to remind us that all saints participate invisibly in our prayer.

11. Three gates.

In every Orthodox church there is a . Iconostasis means “stand for icons” and it can simply represent a large icon of Christ on the right and an icon of the Virgin and Child on the left. In a more well-equipped church, the altar may be a partition decorated with icons. Some types of iconostases block the altar from view, except for those moments when the central gate is open.

The simplest version of the iconostasis with two large icons has three entrances. The central one, directly in front of the altar, is called the Holy or Royal Doors, because during the Eucharist the King of Glory himself comes out to the worshipers through them. The Holy Gates are used only by a priest or deacon with the Chalice in his hands.

On both sides of the icons, if this is a simplified iconostasis, there are doors with angels depicted on them; they are called the Deacon's Gate. They are used by altar servers and other ministers, but it is not allowed to enter or leave the altar unless absolutely necessary. Altar servers - priests, deacons, altar servers - can only be male. Women can participate in all other areas of church life. Women's contributions have been valued on an equal basis with men's since the time of the first martyrs; looking towards the altar, you can always see the Mother of God and other holy women. In many Orthodox churches, women work equally with men: they direct the choir, paint icons, teach lessons, read the Apostle and participate in the parish council.

12. Where should an American go?

Flipping through the Yellow Pages of any metropolis, you can find a large number of Orthodox churches: Greek, Romanian, Russian, Antiochian, Serbian and many others. Is Orthodoxy really that nationally oriented? Are these divisions evidence of theological divisions and schisms? Not at all. All these Orthodox churches are one Church. Nationality indicates under whose jurisdiction the parish falls and to which bishop it reports.

With 6 million Orthodox Christians in North America and 250 million worldwide, the Orthodox community is the second largest of all Christians.

Despite such national diversity, it is striking that Orthodoxy is united on theological and moral issues. Orthodox Christians throughout the world unanimously adhere to the fundamental Christian principles preached by the apostles, which are passed down from generation to generation by bishops - the apostolic successors. In addition, they are faithful to the apostolic principles of morality: sexual relations outside the family are also considered a sin from an Orthodox point of view.

Some might explain this unity as a historical accident. However, we attribute this to the influence of the Holy Spirit.

Why then such a variety of national churches? This nationality clearly reflects geographical features. North America is also a geographical entity; someday we will also have one national church: the American Orthodox Church. This should have been the case initially, but due to complex historical background this did not happen. Instead, each Orthodox ethnic group that emigrated to the United States produced its own church structure. This diversity of Orthodox jurisdictions is nothing more than a temporary misunderstanding; intense prayers and a lot of work are being done to overcome these unnecessary barriers.

Currently, the largest jurisdictions in America are the Greek Orthodox Metropolis, the Orthodox Church in America (Russian origin) and the Antiochian Metropolis (Arab origin). The liturgies in all of them are basically the same, perhaps with some differences in language and music.

At first, Orthodoxy strikes you with its unusualness, but over time this feeling passes. More and more you begin to feel at home in it, and gradually it will lead you to your true home - to the Kingdom of Heaven.

Translation from English of the article First Visit to an Orthodox Church: Twelve Things I Wish I’d ​​Know especially for the portal “” by M. Leontyeva

* This applies to churches with one altar (Editor's note).

** “We will fulfill” means we will complete (Editor’s note).

And now everything is in order. Church services or public worship are the main purpose of all temples. Evening, morning and afternoon services are held daily and each of them consists of three types of services. Thus, it turns out that 9 services are held per day, which are repeated day after day, which is why such daily services are called the daily circle.

There is also a seven-week circle of services - a sequence of services repeated within 1 week (1 week). There are services that are held once a year, they are called annual. The church bell calls all believers to the church for prayer, but it is better to come to the church in advance in order to have time to venerate the icons, order a memorial, and light candles before the service begins.

Women must wear a dress or skirt to the temple, be sure to come with their heads covered, and it is also advisable not to wear makeup. Men, on the contrary, must bare their heads when entering the temple. If you have a desire to take part in a service, it is better to find out in advance how the service is held in the church.

Upon entering the temple, you should cross yourself 3 times and bow. As soon as the service begins, you should stand in one place. The service itself consists of prayers and church chants performed by a clergyman, who is often assisted by a church choir. From these chants, Christians learn about the life of Christ and his disciples; in their prayers, believers thank the Lord.

During the service, you cannot walk around the temple, you cannot talk, you must stand and listen carefully to everything that the clergyman says. Only seriously ill people are allowed to sit, while others can only sit while reading certain prayers. If you are late for the start of the service, you should enter the temple and join the worshipers.

But the Orthodox celebrate the most important parts of the service, such as the Six Psalms and the Gospel, during which entry is prohibited: you should remain at the door, waiting for the end of these prayers. Leaving the temple during the service is a great sin. If you see someone you know while a church service is going on, you are only supposed to nod your head to him; shaking hands in the church is prohibited.

The duration of services is not limited by any canons; the service can last from 1.5 to 3 hours. The Orthodox Church attaches great importance to any prayer, but it is believed that it is the conciliar prayer of the assembled believers that has the greatest power. In addition to the daily, seven-week and annual cycle of services, the church also holds services called trebami, which means according to the needs of Christians. These include baptism, prayer services, weddings, funeral services, memorial services, etc.

Service in the church is a service to God, which consists of appropriate rituals and prayers. It reflects the internal religious content. Temples are specifically designed for church services. Every day, public afternoon, morning and evening services are held in Orthodox churches.
Each church service consists of three types of services. Together they form a daily circle of services, starting with the evening (from the ninth hour, vespers and compline) and ending with the daytime (from the third hour, sixth hour and the Divine Liturgy). Between them there is also a morning service in the church (midnight office, matins and the first hour). It is not difficult to calculate that the entire daily circle contains nine services.

The Orthodox church service borrowed a lot from Old Testament worship. So, a new day begins not at twelve o’clock at night, but at six o’clock in the evening. Therefore, the daily cycle of worship begins with Vespers. This service in the church is significant in that it voices the main biblical events, starting from the creation of the world, the fall of Adam and Eve, the Mosaic commandments and ending with the ministry of the prophets. Orthodox parishioners thank the Lord for the day they lived.

Prayer for the coming sleep

After supper, Compline is served in churches. What is this kind of worship? This is a kind of church prayer for the coming sleep. Believers remember the descent of Christ into the underworld and the liberation of the righteous from the power of Satan.

Seven services of the daily circle

At midnight, the third service of the daily cycle takes place - the Midnight Office. This service should remind parishioners of the Last Judgment and the second coming of Christ. Matins is served before sunrise. This church service is one of the longest. It is dedicated to the events of Christ's earthly life. Numerous prayers of thanksgiving and repentance are offered on it. The first hour is spent around seven o'clock in the morning. This service is short. It recalls the presence of the Messiah at the trial of the Jewish high priest Caiaphas. The third hour is served at nine o'clock in the morning. This service is dedicated to the events in the Upper Room of Zion, where the Holy Spirit descended on the companions of Christ, and in Pilate’s Praetorium, where the son of God was sentenced to death. The sixth hour is celebrated at twelve o'clock in the afternoon, and the ninth hour is served at three o'clock in the afternoon. This time is considered the moment of Christ's death on the cross. Therefore, these services are dedicated to this event.

Main worship service

The main Orthodox church service in the daily circle is the Divine Liturgy. This service makes it possible not only to remember moments of Sacred history, but also to unite with Christ through the sacrament of Communion, which, according to church tradition, was established by him during the Last Supper. This service is held between the sixth and ninth hours, as a result of which it is also called mass.

How long does the church service last?

From 1-2 hours, depending on the service itself and the temple in which it is held. Today, some changes have been made to the instructions of the church charter. In parish churches, Compline is served only during Lent, and on the eve of Easter the Midnight Office is celebrated once. The ninth hour is also almost never served, and the remaining six services are combined into 3 church services.

He is everywhere and you can offer prayers to Him anywhere. Temples, cathedrals, churches are heaven on earth, where the Lord dwells in a special way, bestows His gracious help in various matters, comforts the grieving, and receives gratitude from people. Divine services are performed strictly according to the rules. To find out what time the church service starts, you need to call or go to the temple of interest.

As a rule, general prayers are performed in the morning, evening, and sometimes during the day. On fasting, holidays or ordinary days, the schedule of services changes. In monasteries they live under a special regime, they work for God more often and longer. During special periods, such as Easter and Christmas, the liturgy takes place at night. All services are divided into:

• daily allowance;
• weekly;
• annual

All services are held in full in monasteries. In the city's cathedrals and large churches, services are held daily. Small urban and rural parishes schedule services based on the existing demands of the laity and the capabilities of the clergy.

The liturgical church year starts on September 1 according to the old style, and all services of the year are built depending on the main holiday of Easter. The daily service begins in the evening, based on the biblical creation of the Universe: first there was evening, and then morning. Vespers is celebrated in honor of a holiday or saint remembered on the next day according to the calendar. Every day the church commemorates some event from the earthly life of the Lord, the Queen of Heaven or the Saints.

Each day of the liturgical week is dedicated to an important event:

• Sunday is a special day, little Easter, the remembrance of the resurrection of Christ;
• Monday they pray to the Angels;
• Tuesday - to the Holy Prophet John the Baptist;
• Wednesday - the betrayal of the Lord by Judas and the memory of the Cross are remembered, the day of fasting;
• Thursday is the day of the Apostles and St. Nicholas;
• Friday - service in honor of the sufferings of the Lord and the Life-Giving Cross, a day of fasting;
• Saturday - the Mother of God, the memory of saints and all deceased Orthodox Christians are venerated.

Modern evening worship consists of:

• vespers;
• matins;
• 1st hour.

The evening service is dedicated to the memory of events from the Old Testament: God’s creation of the world, the fall of the first people, the law of Moses, and the activities of the prophets. Orthodox Christians thank God for the sorrows and joys of the day and ask for blessings for the coming night and morning.

Many people are interested in the question: what time does the evening service in church begin? Different parish churches have their own tradition of holding common prayers, but on average the beginning of Vespers usually falls between 15:00 and 18:00 local time. If you want to take part in a service, it would be a good idea to inquire in advance about the exact time in a particular church.

How long does a church service last and what does its duration depend on?

Worship has the goal of tearing a person away from earthly vanity and touching eternity. It instructs in faith and prayer, and encourages repentance and thanksgiving. Believers communicate with the Lord through common prayer and sacraments. In church services there is not a single action or word spoken for beauty or inappropriately; everything has deep meaning and symbolism. How long the service lasts in the church will depend on such parameters as:

• parish church or monastery;
• type of service (holiday, regular Lenten, all-night vigil, liturgy, etc.);
• choir singing;
• speed of service by the clergy;
• number of confessors and communicants;
• duration of the sermon.

In parish churches, services are greatly reduced due to the numerous earthly concerns of lay believers; in monasteries they are held in full. During Lent, especially during Great Lent, services are long, with the reading of the Psalter and prayers of repentance. Church holidays are celebrated with special grandeur and solemnity, with numerous clergy and people. The greater the number of confessors and communicants, the longer the conciliar prayer. The style of conducting the service also matters: in some churches the choir sings more protractedly and the prayers are pronounced slowly and clearly, but in others, on the contrary, the tempo is faster. After the liturgy, the priest, for the edification of the believers, delivers a sermon on important events of the day or on the topic of a passage from the Gospel being read. One priest speaks at length, instructively, with examples from life, the other briefly, to the point.

Taking into account all these points, a church service can last from 1.5 to 8 hours. On average, in parish churches on ordinary days, prayer lasts 1.5–3 hours, and on Holy Mount Athos and in other monasteries it reaches 6–8 hours. Before major holidays and Sundays, an all-night vigil is always held, combining Vespers, Matins and the 1st hour. In ordinary parish churches it lasts about 2–4 hours, in monasteries - 3–6.

What time does morning service start in church?

In modern church practice, the morning service consists of:

• 3rd hour (memory of the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles);
• 6th hour (in memory of the crucifixion of the Lord);
• Divine Liturgy (proskomedia, liturgy of the catechumens and the faithful).

Liturgy or Eucharist (Thanksgiving) is the central service in the church, at which the main Sacrament takes place - the Communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. This sacred rite was approved by the Lord Himself at the Last Supper, on the eve of the suffering of the Cross, and He commanded this to be done in His memory.

In the 4th century, St. Basil the Great compiled and recorded the rite of the Liturgy, and later St. John Chrysostom proposed a shortened version of the service. These two rites are still used in the modern church. The Liturgy of St. Basil the Great is served 10 times a year: on Sundays of Great Lent, except Palm, on Maundy Thursday and Saturday of Holy Week, January 14 (on the day of remembrance of St. Basil) and on the holidays of the Nativity of Christ and the Epiphany.

During Great Lent, the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is served on Wednesdays and Fridays. The remaining days of the year the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom is celebrated.

At the Liturgy, the earthly life and teaching of the Savior from birth to ascension are remembered. In ancient times, such a service was called the breaking of bread. In the Holy Scriptures it is called the Lord's meal or supper (1 Cor. 10:21; 11:20).

The answer to the question “What time does the morning service in the church begin?” will depend on the tradition that has developed in a particular parish, the number of communicants and altars in the church, but we can definitely say that the liturgy is always celebrated before noon. In large churches with a large parish there may be three services, starting at 6 a.m. Small churches with one altar cannot celebrate more than one liturgy per day. On average, the beginning of morning worship ranges from 06:00 to 10:00. The specific time can always be found in the temple itself.

You can pray to God everywhere, but the temple is a special place of God’s presence. Any person, even those far from the church, entering the house of the Lord, will feel the special grace that dwells there. As in any public place, there are important rules of behavior in the temple.

Approaching the house of God, you need to cross yourself three times with a short prayer: “Lord, have mercy,” or learn a special one, which is read at the entrance to the church. It is better for women to wear a skirt or dress below the knees and scarves, and their shoulders should be covered. Men are supposed to enter the temple without a headdress and in decent clothing. It is not allowed to talk, much less laugh, especially during the service.

It is better to come to the service in advance in order to:

• buy and put candles;
• write notes for peace and health;
• order a prayer service, magpie, memorial service (optional);
• venerate icons, relics, crucifixes.

It is imperative to place a candle for the holiday on the central lectern with the icon of the day or saint, opposite the iconostasis. The repose is placed in a separate place (kanun), usually near the crucifix. The remaining candlesticks are all for health, as a rule, near the icon of the Most Pure Mother of God, saints or church holidays. There is no hard and fast rule about where and how many candles should be placed or donations should be placed: it all depends on the desire and capabilities of the person.

When the service begins, you need to stand in an empty seat, listen carefully to the readings and chants, try to delve into it and pray along with everyone. Everything will be incomprehensible the first time, but if you wish, you can read special educational literature and gradually study the liturgical structure in the Orthodox Church. A good rule would be to monitor the actions of the clergy and laity, cross yourself and bow together with everyone. Only seriously ill people are allowed to sit during the service. They listen to the Gospel with their heads bowed, with special reverence. At the Divine Liturgy, the prayers “Creed” and “Our Father” are read aloud by all those present; they must be learned by heart.

It is impossible to cover the topic “How the service is held” within the framework of one article, because many different services take place throughout the year, and they all differ from each other in chants and prayers. There are also special services in the form of prayers and memorial services, which follow a special rite. Lenten services are very heartfelt, long, with many kneeling prayers: at this time they read a lot and sing a little. Festive services are held under the bright lighting of the temple, the Lord, the Mother of God, and the Saints are glorified majestically and magnificently, and a person receives consolation, joy, and is sanctified by grace.