I. Праздник Рождества Христова в Вертепе вифлеемском

Nativity scene of Christ The greatest holiday of the Orthodox Church - the Nativity of Christ - from ancient times to this day has been preceded and accompanied by lengthy preparations of believers, touching and extremely solemnly touching chants and church services, especially on the eve and on the very day of this holiday. But the spiritual celebrations at the very place of the Nativity of Christ, in the Bethlehem Den, to which the thoughts of believers from all over the universe are turned on this day, take on a particularly grandiose and majestic character and make a deep and indelible impression on everyone who had the good fortune to spend this saving night at least once in their lives near the Manger of Christ. On the eve of the Nativity of Christ, December 24, the Patriarch of Jerusalem early in the morning with a large retinue consisting of bishops, archimandrites, priests, deacons and kavas (bodyguards of the patriarchs), leaves 1 on a magnificent horse on horseback or in an open carriage 2 from Jerusalem to Bethlehem. The entire retinue of the patriarch follows in a well-known, pre-established order: in front, 12 Turkish gendarmes ride on horseback, two in a row, behind them, also two in a row and also on horseback, 6 patriarchal cavas in ceremonial suits embroidered with silk and gold, with massive silver maces in their hands, then in a carriage the dragoman of the patriarchy and the archdeacon with with the patriarch's cane (το χαζράνιον) in his hand, holding it in the air, in the next carriage sits the patriarch, wearing all the highest orders, with the secretary of the synod, and behind this carriage, in compliance with seniority, the patriarchal train is closed by a whole row of carriages with synodal bishops and retinue of honorary clergy. Crowds of pilgrims of various nationalities, dressed in festive colorful costumes, crowd the road in the direction from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, rushing to the upcoming celebrations and worship services. During the solemn passage of the patriarch and his retinue, the pilgrims give way and, baring their heads, bow respectfully to the head of the Jerusalem church, who constantly blesses the people. The patriarch's retinue, as it moves away from Jerusalem, gradually grows in number. Sheikhs, elders of local Arab communities, dressed in gray burnouses and colored turbans, ride out on their fast horses to meet the patriarch and join his retinue. At the monastery of St. Prophet Elijah, located halfway between Jerusalem and Bethlehem, the patriarch gets out of the carriage or gets off his horse and is greeted by the abbot of this monastery and the representative Bethlehem and Beitjal sheikhs, who introduce him and his retinue into tents specially arranged and decorated for this purpose and offer them all a short rest, during which the patriarch conducts appropriate conversations with the abbot of the hospitable monastery and with the sheikhs 3. After a short rest in the tents, the patriarch and his retinue again mount their horses or carriages and continue their journey further to Bethlehem. The number of sheikhs now increases even more noticeably in the retinue of the patriarch. Sheikhs, wanting to show their prowess and youth and provide a pleasant spectacle to their dear guests, often separate from the patriarchal train, set off into the whole quarry, overtaking each other, shoot from guns and generally perform all sorts of intricate racing exercises, called “fantasies” in the local language. When the patriarch enters Bethlehem, he is joyfully greeted by crowds of pilgrims and spectators from local inhabitants. All the roofs of the clean little white houses of Bethlehem are crowded with spectators - women wrapped in white veils and their numerous children, who poured out of curiosity here to see the ceremonial entry into the city of the patriarch and his retinue. In front of the Bethlehem basilica itself 4 on that platform, paved with slabs and having the remains of portico columns, where in ancient times there was a courtyard (atrium) of it, a carpet is spread, and here to meet the patriarch all the Bethlehem clergy come out with the abbot at the head (he is replaced by one of the bishops of the patriarchal synod), in sacred vestments, holding in their hands the icon of the Nativity of Christ, the gospel and other shrines. The clergy are located in rows on the right and left sides of the spread carpet. The Patriarch, getting off his horse or carriage, stands on the carpet, puts on a purple robe with brocade tablets made of wide gold braid and, venerating the icon of the holiday, takes St. cross and staff, and then, having kissed the abbot, begins to march through the low, half-closed doors of the western entrance into the interior of the basilica itself. In front, boys in surplices, girded with orarions, carry banners, a lantern, a cross, ripids, candles, then come the singers, followed by the clergy in pairs, not excluding bishops, then two deacons with censers, an icon of the holiday, which is then placed on a high place in the main altar, and, finally, the patriarch, at which the singers sing the troparion of the holiday: “Your Nativity, O Christ our God.” The Patriarch passes through the basilica without stopping and goes straight to the holy cave of the Nativity through the southern door. Having descended into the cave, the patriarch takes the censer in his hands and censes the place of the Nativity of Christ nine times, then bows before it and, standing to the side, waits for all the bishops of his retinue to worship. Then, turning back to St. The manger, censes them nine times, bows to them and also waits for the bishops accompanying him to worship here. Upon leaving St. cave of the Nativity of Christ through the northern door, the patriarch goes to the throne standing on the side of the basilica, opposite the royal doors, blesses the people of St. cross on four sides, while singing “Εις πολλά έτη, δέσποτα”, and enters the throne to listen to the great 5 hours (αί μεγάλαι ώραι) and the liturgy with Vespers. During the celebration of the great hours, the first hour is read with his prayers by the patriarch, who then sings the first troparion of the hours, reads the gospel in the throne and censes the altar, the entire church and the Nativity scene. The second Gospel at the third hour is read at the royal doors in Slavonic by the head of the Russian spiritual mission in Jerusalem, if, of course, he happens to be at these celebrations, and the altar, church and Nativity scene are censed. At the sixth and ninth o'clock, the synodal bishops read the gospel at the royal doors, having omophorions on their shoulders and facing the people, and censer the church and the Nativity scene. The Gospel at the ninth hour is read in Arabic. At the end of the hours, the hierokyrix (preacher) sometimes pronounces a word appropriate for the holiday. Immediately after the hours there is a liturgy with vespers, during which a solemn small exit and consecration of the loaves are performed with the participation of all available clergy, with the exception of synodal bishops. For the blessing of the loaves 6, the clergy leaves the altar, while the hymn of praise is sung from the stichera on the verse: “Rejoice in Jerusalem", which is sung immediately after reading the proverbs. The clergy is located in a semicircle from the altar to the patriarchal throne, having in the middle of the church a table with a skillfully made silver candlestick in the form of a tree with fruits (places for bowls of wine and oil) and five large flat loaves with a relief image of the feast of the Nativity of Christ at the top. Often, in addition to these loaves, other loaves are placed for consecration at the table, intended for distribution to the people. The Patriarch reads: “Now you let go,” one of the clergy: the Trisagion, the Most Holy Trinity and the Our Father, and, at the cry of the patriarch, the troparion is sung once. holiday, and at this time the oldest of the archimandrites once censes the consecrated loaves. Then one of the deacons takes the indicated candlestick from the table and, turning his face to the patriarch, says: “Let us pray to the Lord.” The archimandrite, having lifted the bread from the table, holds it up all the time the patriarch, standing in the throne, reads the prayer for blessing the bread. At the words: “For You are the one who bless and sanctify all things,” the archimandrite, holding the bread, draws a cross over the other loaves and brings it to the patriarch for kissing. The Patriarch, having accepted the bread, hands it to the most honorable person present in the church and distributes other breads to other pilgrims. After prayer, the small litany is pronounced by the deacon, the Trisagion is sung, the apostle and gospel are read, and the liturgy of St. Basil the Great according to custom. It is customary for the Russian Consul General, as the representative of Russia, the defender of the interests of Orthodoxy in the East, to be present on this holiday at all services in Bethlehem with his entire retinue, and thereby add even more splendor and splendor to the present celebration. The consul and his retinue set off for Bethlehem in open carriages, accompanied by a large staff of cavas. Both Kavas and Arabs ride on horseback on the sides of the consular train. On the way, near the above-mentioned monastery of St. The prophet Elijah, the consul and his retinue are met by noble sheikhs and taken to rest in tents prepared for this, and then accompanied with “fantasies” all the way to Bethlehem. Upon arrival in the city, the consul and his retinue enter the basilica and take seats near the patriarchal throne, being present during the liturgy and evening worship. With a similar ceremony, the Greek consul also comes to Vnflehem to participate in the festivities, usually occupying a place on the left side of the basilica. From the church, at the end of the service 7, the patriarch with his retinue and the Russian and Greek consuls with the consular officials accompanying them go up to the monastery hotels and occupy the premises prepared for them. At sunset, all the honored guests sit down to a Lenten, oriental, hearty meal, and then disperse for a short rest before the bell rings for the night solemn festive service, which begins at about nine and a half o'clock in the evening. In order for our readers to clearly understand the order of the Christmas service performed in the Bethlehem Den, we need to give a brief description of the basilica and the cave in which the venerable places are located - the Nativity of Christ and the holy Manger, “in which the inconceivable Christ our God reclines.” Regarding the time of origin of the Bethlehem basilica, scientists have not yet come to a definite, precisely formulated opinion: some, based on the testimony of the historian Bishop of Caesarea Eusebius, speaking about the construction of the Church of St. on the site of the Bethlehem cave. Helena, they consider it to have been built in the 4th century 8, the time of the reign of St. Emperor Constantine, while others, referring mainly to its architectural features, date its origin back to the 6th century, to the time of Emperor Justinian and even later. The latter opinion, especially in our time, begins to take precedence over the first (Izvest. Russian archaeological institute in Konst. 1900 century VI p. 236). But the fact is that the Basilica of Bethlehem undoubtedly had a long and long-suffering history and over the long period of its existence managed to experience many changes and layers from various historical movements, traces of which are now clearly observed in it by its researchers. In its present form, which is most important for our purpose, this basilica is five-nave or five-nave, dissected in the western part by four rows of Corinthian columns. The transept (transverse hall) is of the same height and width as the middle longitudinal ship and has rounded ends protruding outward, in the lead of the apses (semicircles). The altar apse is designed in such a way that first a not deep, but symmetrical rectangular protrusion is made, the width of three medium ships taken together, and then a new, semicircular protrusion is attached to the rear wall of this protrusion, directly opposite the middle ship, its width. Thus, the wide middle ship, if we take into account the space with the transept, is the longest, the two side ships closest to it are shorter, the outer ones, the two further side ships, are even shorter. The upper walls of the middle and transverse ships are cut through with windows that provide abundant light from above. The roof of the basilica is gable, with pediments on the front and rear facades, and is supported by beams of cypress and cedar from the peaks of Lebanon, visible from inside the basilica. There is no photovoltaic in the basilica. Currently, the transept (transverse hall) with the apse (altar), located above the cave of the Nativity of Christ and having a wooden floor slightly raised above the common base, are separated from the rest of the basilica by a low wooden partition, in which three entrance doors are made: from the middle and outer side naves. Transept 9 and the apse now constitute the church in the proper sense of the word, and the naves or ships of the basilica, separated by the named partition that appeared in the basilica only in 1843, in normal times play the role of a courtyard, a place of rest for the townspeople, hiding here, under the arches of this ancient church, from the burning rays of the sun, to relax and chat with friends, and sometimes even served barracks for soldiers, pens for cattle, etc. Only on the feast of the Nativity of Christ, when the crowd of pilgrims to Bethlehem is enormous, and when the internal litany is performed throughout the church, these naves or ships of the Bethlehem basilica fulfill their direct purpose - to serve as a place of prayer for Christians. Even on the eve of the Nativity of Christ, when the liturgy with vespers is celebrated in the presence of the patriarch, you can see here a whole crowd of local children playing ball and running around with cheerful screams and squeals, mingling with the singing of church hymns. Plan of Bethlehem Basilica The western part of the basilica, separated from the transept by a partition Iconostasis of the main altar in the Basilica of the Nativity and descent into the Nativity scene The altar (eastern apse) is separated from the church by a low wooden carved iconostasis of later origin with the Crucifixion on top. The painting in the iconostasis is modern. At the very partition separating the transept from. naves, on the left side of the basilica, for reading the Gospel and delivering sermons, there is a high pulpit with a spiral staircase leading to it. On the right side, behind the throne of the bishop, there is a den of the Nativity of Christ, which has entrances from the north and south, with descents down the marble stairs. The length of the den is about 37 feet, the width is about 8 feet, and the height is 7 feet, therefore, the dimensions of this venerable place are very insignificant. The walls of the nativity scene are now draped with tapestries 10 of a bright crimson color, and the floor is covered with slabs of white marble. When descending into the cave along the southern staircase, in the east, in a recess, there is the place of the Nativity of Christ, covered with marble and overlaid with silver in the form of a star, with the Latin inscription on it: “Hic de Virgine Maria Jesus Christus natus est. 1717,” i.e. “Here Jesus Christ was born from the Virgin Mary, 1717.” A marble canopy is built over this place, the top board of which serves as a throne for Orthodox and Armenians, and inside it numerous lamps burn unquenchably - the fruit of the zeal of various Christian peoples out of respect for this place. In the southern part of the cave there is a manger of the 11th Savior, which is a small polished marble box. Lamps also burn above them. Near St. The manger was built by Catholics as the throne of the “three kings”, i.e. the wise men who came to worship the newborn Savior (Matthew 2:11). From the smoky ceiling of the Nativity scene descends many different sizes and varying values ​​of lamps, lit during services on special occasions. Place of the Nativity of Christ and the throne above it Worthy of mention when describing the Bethlehem basilica is the extension on the right side of the altar apse, which in ancient times served as a vessel guard, and has now been converted into a baptismal 12. In ancient times, there were obviously no separate rooms for the baptism of catechumens at the Bethlehem basilica, and baptism was performed in a reddish marble baptismal chamber, quite large in size, in the form of a vat, which now stands in the right nave of the basilica in complete oblivion. The walls of the basilica once shone with excellent mosaic images of Christian holidays and individual saints, but most of these images are now damaged and crumbling. More or less satisfactorily preserved in the transept of the mosaic: the Mother of God with angels, John the Baptist, St. Chrysostom, the entry of the Lord into Jerusalem and the touch of St. Apostle Thomas. Six angels survived in the naves. This mosaic dates back, according to the surviving inscription, to the time between 1162–1173 and was made at the expense of Emperor Manuel Komnenos by a certain artist Ephraim. Even fewer monuments of fresco painting have been preserved, with which the columns and walls of the naves of the basilica were decorated. With great difficulty one can distinguish several half-worn faces of the venerable fathers on the columns. At nine and a half o'clock in the evening, the bell rings for the all-night vigil from the high new bell tower of the Bethlehem church, built at the expense of Russian pilgrims. The ringing of a single bell is soon replaced by the ringing of “all serious”, announcing to the pilgrims that the Patriarch St. himself is marching to the service. City with its synod. The Patriarch, having entered the baptismal room, dresses here in a mantle, takes the cross in his hands, and, while singing the troparion of the holiday, goes out into the basilica and takes his place on the throne in the middle of the church, having previously blessed the people of St. cross. Pilgrims of the most diverse nationalities crowd not only the transept of the church, but also all the naves of the basilica, which are usually empty at other times, and some are forced to stand even in the courtyard. The entire basilica sparkles with lights burning in numerous lamps, chandeliers and colorful glasses hung on ropes in different directions. Manger and place of the Nativity of Christ The beginning of the all-night vigil 13, which is called “matins” in the language of the vengeful clergy, is performed in this way until the kathisma. First, they serve the Midnight Office 14, at which all the stichera of the lithium and stichera left at the evening service are chanted. The Midnight Office is followed by Matins with the reading of the royal psalms and the Six Psalms, which is performed by the patriarch in the throne. After the kathisma, while singing the polyeleos, called in the music books of the Greek Church by the initial words of the verse from the psalm: “Servants of the Lord,” priests and deacons, having previously received the blessing of the patriarch, put on sacred clothes. Then the patriarch leaves the throne, goes to the altar and puts on full bishop’s vestments. The other bishops participating in this service do the same. At the end of the polyeleos, all the priests and deacons, having lighted candles in their hands, leave the altar and stand in two rows from the royal doors right up to the southern entrance to the cave of the Nativity. Then, when the singing of the polyeleos is over, the patriarch slowly emerges from the altar, accompanied by the bishops, and sings “inertly and sweetly” the sedalene of the polyeleos, which in its content fully corresponds to the holiday, place and given moment in the rite of the morning service: “Come, we see, to the faithful, where Christ was born, we will follow the rest, and maybe a star is coming from the Magi - the kings of the East: the angels sing there unceasingly; the shepherds sing a worthy song, glory in the highest, saying, today in the den of the one who was born of the Virgin and Mother of God in Bethlehem to the Jews.” This sedalene is sung three times. When the patriarch with all the clergy descends into the cave of the Nativity of Christ, he first censes the place of the Nativity of Christ and the divine Manger nine times, and then the entire Nativity scene, having two deacons with candles in front and two behind him. At this time, in tone 5, magnifications like: “Life rests in the tomb” are sung, consisting of the following verses: “We magnify You, Life-Giving Christ, and honor Your holy birth, through which You saved us from corruption.” “We magnify Thee, Jesus the King, who art thou reclined in a wordless manger, defecating the dumbness of men.” “We magnify Thee, O Jesus God, from the Virgin, as a mortal, Thou tookst flesh, the Creator born in a den.” After these magnifications, the antiphons of the fourth tone are sung, the festive prokeimenon is proclaimed and the gospel of the Nativity of the Savior is read by the patriarch (Matthew 2), after which the patriarch blesses the people with the trikyrie. Next, Psalm 50 is read, verses are sung in order, the Gospel stichera, the deacon says the prayer: “God bless,” and another deacon pronounces a special litany for all Orthodox Christians, the Patriarch, Emperor, Empress and Heir of Russia, the king, queen, heir and his wife of the Greeks, the king, queen and heir. Romanians, the king and heir of the Serbs, the prince, princess and heir of the Montenegrins, for the bishops and clergy, for all Orthodox Christians and admirers, epitropes and donors of the holy epiphany cave of the Nativity of Christ. Concluding this litany with the exclamation: “Hear us, O God,” the patriarch, while singing the complete chaos of the holiday, all 9 songs, and special magnifications 15, through the northern entrance, leaves the Nativity scene into the church with all the clergy and performs an internal litany in the basilica. In front of the procession, behind the patriarchal cavas in clothes embroidered with gold, with massive maces with silver knobs in their hands, clearing the way for the procession, there are boys in white surplices with a cross, banners, ripids and candles on the sides, followed by singers, then priests, archimandrites and bishops follow in two rows, then deacons with censers, continuously censing before the patriarch. The procession is closed in shiny uniforms, surrounded by cavas, by officials of the Russian consulate with honored guests and the Greek consul with his retinue. The litany from the cave goes through the northern doors along the northern side nave of the basilica, turning west, enters the southern side nave and through the southern doors into the church itself, and from there through the northern doors again into the northern nave of the basilica, etc. Thus, the litany passes three times through the basilica, crowded with many pilgrims holding lighted candles in their hands. Patriarch of St. He blesses people left and right with the cross. After the third round, the litany enters the middle wide nave and stops on a large carpet spread across its middle. The Patriarch, standing on this carpet, pronounces a special litany for all Orthodox Christians, for the reigning houses of Orthodox states, for the clergy of his church, for admirers, patrons and donors of holy places and in particular the cave of the Nativity of Christ and, after the final exclamation, with all participants in the litany, he enters through the middle doors into the church itself and heads inside the altar. Here everyone takes off their sacred vestments. The Patriarch and some bishops leave the church for temporary rest through the baptismal sanctuary. In the absence of the patriarch, his place on the throne is taken by one of the oldest bishops. Both faces begin singing the canon of the holiday in Greek and Arabic alternately. Litanys and exclamations on the canon are sometimes pronounced in Slavic. The bishop-abbot, in whose administration the Bethlehem church is located, taking the antimension and sacred vessels, descends into the Nativity scene and here on the throne above the place of the Nativity of Christ performs the liturgy. This liturgy is sung entirely in Slavonic by our Russian pilgrims, who gather in huge numbers for the holiday in the Bethlehem Den. Despite the solemnity and majesty of the Bethlehem Christmas service, usually performed in incomprehensible languages - Greek and Arabic, our fans for the most part remain all the time cold, indifferent spectators of only magnificent solemn ceremonies and litanies and are completely reborn during this liturgy, repeating in a common choir repeatedly the wonderful words of the troparion of the holiday: “Christmas Yours, Christ our God” right before the very place of the celebrated event. At this time, everyone’s faces shine with unearthly joy, and their hearts are filled with delight. At the liturgy in the Nativity scene, exclamations, litanies for the most part, the apostle and the Gospel are heard by our pilgrims in the Slavic language, since for this purpose clergy who speak this language, or even pilgrims - Russian priests, deliberately take part in the service here. At the end of the canon, the patriarch again appears in the church and, having taken his place in the throne and blessing the people, while the clergy sings: “ETS πολλά Ιτη, δέσποτα,” he begins to sing a second time all nine songs of katavasia, and then takes part in the singing of the stichera of praise. The last schichera on “Glory”: “Today Christ in Bethlehem is born of the Virgin” is sung by a sweet-voiced singer, who for this purpose goes out for salt in front of the royal door. This stichera is sung three times: the first and last times in Greek, and the second in Arabic. After the great doxology, which is performed in the choir, the patriarch goes to the middle of the church to the pulpit prepared in advance for him and here he vests himself. All the priests, in response to the cry of the protodeacon: “Priests, come forth,” come out of the altar in full vestments, having in their hands one of the accessories of the patriarch’s vestments on a platter, and present them one by one to the patriarch, and the deacons help him with vestments. At this time, the singers sing festive stichera. The archdeacon again exclaims: “Bishops, come out.” The synodal bishops come out of the altar, having hoods on their heads, and the Archeraticon in their hands and, having bowed to the patriarch, stand in ranks with the presbyters. After the patriarch has vested himself and the protodeacon has said: “So let your light shine before men,” the patriarch blesses the people with the dikiri and trikiri and prays before the beginning of the liturgy, which is performed in the usual 16 order accepted for the bishop’s priestly service. During the liturgy performed by the patriarch, everything is sung and read in Greek and Arabic, while only some litanies and exclamations are pronounced in the Slavic language and the apostle and gospel are read. The Gospel in different languages is read with divisions in parts in this way: the patriarch at the throne - in Greek, the Russian archimandrite, if he participates in the divine service, or the bishop who knows the Slavic language - at the royal doors, the bishop or priest - in Arabic at the patriarchal throne in the patriarchal stasis the viceroy bishop in one of the Slavic dialects, and on the pulpit the protodeacon - again in Greek. After each reading, the deacon in the altar rings the bell three times, and the bell tower rings, like on Easter. The liturgy ends at about four o'clock in the morning. From the church, the patriarch with the bishops, the highest clergy, officials of the Russian and Greek consulates and honored guests, goes to the meal for “breaking up”, and then everyone goes to their rooms to rest. The fires that burned throughout the night are burning out in the streets. The noise and bustle gradually subside, as the newly arrived pilgrims begin to little by little leave the cramped monastery hotel shelters, which are usually crowded with noble visitors at this time, and are completely unsuited for such crowded gatherings of pilgrims. On this day, simple pilgrims should huddle either in the basilica or in the open monastery corridors “there is no place for them, in the language of the Evangelist Luke, in the monastery” (2:7). And their homeless situation on this bright holiday is all the more difficult because the night of Bethlehem on the eve of the Nativity of Christ, due to the state of the weather, far from corresponds to our ideas about the warm eastern night, inspired to us mainly by the not entirely correctly understood story of St. Luke the Evangelist: “And there was a shepherd in the same country, keeping vigil and keeping watch over his flock by night” (2:8). On Christmas night, a cold, piercing wind often blows and heavy rain falls with rare breaks. A warm jacket and a sheepskin sheepskin coat are a true blessing for our pilgrim on this night... 17 It is not surprising, therefore, that many pilgrims, who are not the first time on pilgrimage in Bethlehem, despite the fatigue from long services, without rest, “in the still present darkness,” rush in batches to Jerusalem to the warm Russian courtyards. Others, having somehow waited out the darkness of the night, at dawn survey the cave belonging to Catholics and located next to the Nativity Scene, where an angel appeared to the righteous Joseph in a dream and commanded him to flee to Egypt with the Child Jesus (Matthew 11:13), the cave of St. infants beaten by Herod (v. 16), the tomb of Blessed Jerome and his disciples St. Paul and Eustochius and the cell of Blessed Jerome († 420) and hastily leave Bethlehem, hurrying to visit the “milky cave”, “valley of the shepherds” and a small well, in Greek kathisma - seat, near the monastery of St. the prophet Elijah, with whom the remembered St. Church events of this holiday. The “Milky Cave” is located to the east of the Bethlehem Basilica, 150 steps away. This cave is chalk, fenced with a lattice door, with a staircase down of 16 steps. Inside, it is divided into two parts: in the first compartment, a Catholic altar was built in 1871, and in the other - in the past, chalk fragments were lying around in disarray, which our pious pilgrims stocked in sufficient quantities, and which are popularly known as the “milk of the Mother of God.” Nowadays, the enterprising and self-interested inhabitants of Bethlehem have made a fairly significant source of income from this cave. They sell wafers made from imaginary “milk” in large quantities to our pilgrims, since, in their opinion, particles of this “milk” dissolved in water supposedly have healing powers and help women “with breastfeeding.” This cave undoubtedly got its name from its white color, like milk, but the imagination of pious pilgrims connected a legend with this cave, which says that the Mother of God hid in this cave for some time with the Infant Jesus. While feeding the milk of the Savior from her virgin breasts, the Blessed Virgin supposedly accidentally sprinkled a drop of her milk on the wall of this cave, which from that time took on its real “milky” appearance. “Valley of the Shepherds,” known among pilgrims under the touching name “Shepherds.” (Beth Sahur), located half an hour from Bethlehem, east of the city. In this valley, according to legend, the Bethlehem shepherds stayed overnight with their flocks, miraculously, through angels, they were the first to receive the joyful news of the birth of the Savior of the world (Luke 2:8–20). At this place there once stood an extensive Christian above-ground church, traces of which, in the form of the remains of columns, capitals, a place for an altar and a clogged deep cistern, are still visible to this day. But the Orthodox church that exists here is now a dark gloomy cave with 21 steps down, with the poor accessories of a Christian church and its even more pitiful interior decoration. Only the remains of an ancient mosaic preserved on the floor indicate that this revered place once saw better times and attracted more attention from the clergy of the Jerusalem church and Orthodox pilgrims throughout the Christian world... In the western part of this cave church they also indicate the place where angels appeared to the Bethlehem shepherds 18 with the news of the birth of the Savior (Luke 11:8–14). This last circumstance, in connection with the shape of the church in the form of a cave, undoubtedly once again indicates to us that the Bethlehem shepherds on the night of the Nativity of the Savior, remaining outside the city “vigilantly and vigilantly keeping watch over their flock,” were, however, not in an open field, but huddled and, perhaps, even together with their flocks in this cave. They were prompted to do this by winter time - in the Eastern sense, cold, windy and damp... Entrance to the Cave of the Shepherds (in the village of Bet-Sakhur). On the left near the monastery of St. Prophet Elijah, on the very road, pilgrims visit with the singing of the troparion and kontakion of the holiday the well, where, according to legend, the Mother of God had a short rest, going with her righteous betrothed Joseph “to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem” - to write (Luke 11: 4-5), and where the wise men, “from the east” who came to Jerusalem, asked: “Where the king of the Jews is born, you will see his star in the east and, when you come, you will worship him” (Matthew 11:1–2). The words of the holiday chants: “in it, those who serve the stars, study with the stars,” “and travel with the stars of their own will,” now in the mouths of our pious pilgrims, in sight of Bethlehem, receive a clear meaning and make a deep impression on them. On the morning of the very feast of the Nativity of Christ, the Bethlehem church remains silent until the evening: no services are performed in the Orthodox church. But for that, the luxurious Catholic Church of St. Catherine, standing to the left side by side with the Bethlehem basilica, is filled with people praying and a solemn mass is celebrated there to the powerful sounds of a marvelous organ... The Orthodox patriarch, the Bishop of Bethlehem, the abbot, and the Russian and Greek consuls are busy receiving visitors. Local honorary elders, called “sheikhs,” now come with congratulations, hoping to receive a generous “bakshish” from their honored guests for their yesterday’s “fantasies” in their honor. After the gala dinner, all the guests of honor and the patriarch with his retinue go back to Jerusalem in the same order as they went to the holiday. Now all that is visible along the way are the meeting tents, the “sheikhs” on their dashing horses, and there is no excitement that reigned along the entire path the day before. For temporary rest, both the officials of the Russian consulate and the patriarch with his retinue stop for a while at the monastery of St. Prophet Elijah, hurrying to get to Jerusalem by evening. The custom of the patriarchy of the Jerusalem Church traveling with its clergy for a solemn service on the day of the Nativity of Christ to Bethlehem dates back to ancient times. St. clearly speaks about him. Sophronius, Patriarch of Jerusalem (634–644), in one of the troparions, so-called among us, the royal hours, performed on the eve of this holiday. “Come faithful, the Holy Church sings at the sixth hour in the words of the named songwriter, let us be exalted to the divine, and we see the descent of the divine from above, revealed to us in Bethlehem: and having purified our minds, we will bring virtue to life, instead of the world, we will faithfully prepare Christmas entrances from spiritual treasures calling: in the highest, glory to God who exists in the Trinity, His but good will appeared in men, redeeming Adam from the original vows, as a lover of mankind” (Min. December. M. 1894, l. 199). pure heaven inside the nativity scene. For this reason, we go to him, where the Youth of the Young and Eternal God was born” (l. 216). Thanks to the excellent highway from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, on this trip, as well as on other occasions, in Jerusalem the custom of the patriarch sitting on the colt is now beginning to go out of practice. The patriarchs of Jerusalem have already acquired an open, elegant carriage, in which they make their ceremonial trips to the venerable places of Palestine. In the tent, the patriarch's retinue receives the usual treat in the East on such occasions: glyco-nero, i.e. cold water with thick jam or Turkish delight, or any sweets in general, liqueur, cognac, rum, raki (vodka made from mastic) and black coffee. For a resident of blessed Russia and, moreover, the harsh north, where church rules are observed inviolably and strictly, this custom, combined with the obvious weakening of fasting “on Christmas Eve” and, moreover, at such an early hour of the day, before the liturgy, should naturally make a not entirely favorable impression. In the article, “reported from the Asian Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” therefore, having an official character and undoubtedly belonging to the prolific pen of the ever-memorable head of our mission, Arch. Antonin Kapustin, with a detailed description of the celebrations in Bethlehem on the feast of the Nativity of Christ and this meeting of the patriarch and his retinue at the monastery of St. Prophet Elijah, we read the following words: “The abbot of the monastery with his (very small) brethren immediately began treating the travelers with jam, vodka and coffee, according to local custom” (Church Chronicle. Spiritual Conversations 1866, p. 128). Having later noted in a special note that “the Patriarch himself (Kirill) did not touch anything,” not only during the meeting of interest to us near the monastery of St. the prophet Elijah, but even then in the evening in Bethlehem after mass at the monastery’s hearty meal (ibid. note 1), arch. Antoninus also presents here the explanations of this “local custom”, which greatly amazed him, from the words of the Greeks themselves: “The wet weather and the labor of the journey (half an hour’s drive), he writes, were presented by those treating as an excuse for an early meal or reinforcement, according to the opinion of some of those being treated, on a day designated for strict abstinence from morning to evening” (ibid.). But a student of the Kyiv Theological Academy and its former professor for some time should hardly have been tempted by such, one might say, relatively innocent, and, moreover, for the sake of the holiday, “weakening” of the fast in the East on Christmas Eve. In our southwestern region, undoubtedly under the influence of the Catholic Church, another, more criminal and even in direct violation of the Church Charter, is being maintained, the “weakening” of the fast on Christmas Eve before the Nativity of Christ and the Epiphany - “on days designated for strict abstinence from morning to evening.” On these days, popularly called (Christmas Eve on the eve of Christmas) “hungry feast”, and (on the eve of Epiphany) “fed or rich feast”, the Orthodox people of our southwest, although they strictly fast, in the first case “until the star”, i.e. until late evening, and in the second “until the holy water”, when the liturgy ends and the rite of the Epiphany blessing of water is performed, i.e. again, approximately, around the evening, but then, when everyone’s desired “holy” evening arrives, the expected Christmas “star” appears in the sky or they drink holy Epiphany water, then all the inhabitants of the blessed south, from the chambers of the rich to the wretched hut of the poor, having lit a jarago wax candle under the icons near the kutya, standing on the hay, sit down with all the household members and beans - acquaintances for a hearty dinner. On these “holy” evenings, every homely and orderly housewife bakes several types of pies, prepares five to six courses of dishes, and at least two or three of them are certainly fish (the Charter is certainly prohibited: “We don’t eat fish, but with wood oil, and boiled succulently, or kutia with honey”) and concludes with the prescribed, according to Church Charter, traditional kutya and infusion of dried fruits, in compliance with ancient rituals and ceremonies established by custom. Wine is served at this table in great variety and plentifully (according to the Typikon: “We drink wine for the glory of God, but in poor countries we drink beer”), whether it be a well-fed or rich Kutya, or a hungry one. The custom we have described holds firmly in our southwest, not only in the families of the laity, but even in the families of the clergy, especially among local natives. An oblong quadrangular building with a semicircular altar, a transverse hall (transept) with curves on the sides and five ships (naves) in the western part. In the East, these watches are not called royal. If the Feast of the Nativity of Christ falls on Sunday or Monday, then the blessing of the loaves is performed during Great Vespers, directly performed during the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. At the end of the services, people flow in a continuous wave into the den of the Nativity of Christ to kiss the precious shrines of the upcoming festival and light their labor candle in front of them. Therefore, the vaults of St. The den, crowded with pilgrims, among whom the permanent Turkish sentry, with a gun in his hands, maintains order, is announced every minute with festive chants in various languages, but mainly in the Slavic language. Very harmoniously performing the troparion and kontakion of the holiday in the Nativity scene and near the manger of Christ, the randomly formed choirs of our pilgrims fall silent only at about 4 o’clock in the afternoon, for half an hour, when, according to the established agreement, Catholics perform their usual daily litanies here, and after this time, until matins, the chants do not stop. The noble pilgrim of the late 4th century, Silvia of Aquitaine, makes brief remarks about the Bethlehem basilica and its decoration on the feast of the Nativity of Christ, but from these remarks it is clear that the decoration was distinguished by amazing luxury. "There, according to the pilgrim, you will see nothing but gold, precious stones, silk: if you look at the fabrics, they are pure silk, embroidered with gold; if you look at the curtains, they are also pure silk, embroidered with gold. The vessels are all taken out on this day, gold, decorated with stones. And who can estimate or describe the number and weight of candlesticks, lamps large and small and various vessels? Not I’m already talking about the decoration of the building itself, which Constantine, in the presence of his mother, decorated, as far as the means of his kingdom allowed, with gold, musia and precious marbles - both the large church, the Resurrection, and the Cross and other holy places in Jerusalem (Palestine collection, vol. VII, century II, p. 145 “In Bethlehem, this situation is observed daily for eight days.” (Ibid., p. 146). In the transept on the left side there is an Armenian altar with a rather wide mat laid in front of it to mark the place belonging to the Armenian-Gregorian confession in the Bethlehem basilica, and a small Coptic altar occupying a place between this altar and the apse. The door on the north side of the transept leads to the Catholic Church of St. Catherine, and the opposite southern door leads to the Greek monastery. French carpets with artistic sacred images According to legend, Christ's manger was moved by Catholics to Rome. In the East, from deep Christian antiquity to the present day, the custom has been to postpone the baptism of children until the eves of great holidays. In Bethlehem, in particular, local Arab Christians time the baptism of their newborn children on the eve of the Nativity of Christ, for purely practical reasons. On this day, masses of pilgrims gather in Bethlehem from different parts of the world, and, therefore, the native fathers have the full opportunity to make a choice of godfathers, in the hope of receiving “bashish” from them for the holiday. The Bethlehem Arabs ask the first pilgrim they see to take their children from the font, as long as he stands out from the crowd with his costume, which, not without reason, is considered by them to be a sign of his material wealth. And, the truth must be told, rarely do any of our pilgrims recognize the right to refuse this godly deed. Everyone almost readily stands at the font, in which local priests baptize several children at a time. Our pilgrims have the most convincing arguments for this good deed from the Arab priests, who secretly harbor the hope of receiving for their work not three levs (24 kopecks), as the natives pay them, but at least a piece of paper (12 or 13 levs), and sometimes even more. The Arab father also does not lose money, since the generous pilgrims-godfathers leave him with a vestment, a cross, and a few rubles “to save his teeth” for his godson. The priests are happy, the fathers of the baptized children are grateful, and our pilgrims do not grieve, having accomplished “God’s work.” They say that some of the natives, knowing the generosity of our “mothers” (as they call our fans), deliberately baptize their children several times, just to get the tempting “bakshish,” to which the Palestinian Arab is extremely partial. In any case, anyone who has been to Palestine and Bethlehem knows well how annoyingly the “Bethlehem shepherds” of our time pester our pilgrims with offers to baptize the children of a brother, sister and relatives in general, in the hope, of course, of a generous “bakshish” for the christening... The detailed order of the rites for the service of this holiday in Bethlehem is set out in a special booklet, published under the Jerusalem Patriarch Nicodemus I, under the title: “Διάτας:; τοπιχοΰ τών χατά τήν εορτήν τής Χριβτοΰ γεννήαεω; άχολου&ιών. Έν Ίεροβο- λόριοις 1886 ετ.” At this midnight office, the patriarch is sometimes not present and appears for the service already before the start of Matins itself. These greatnesses are not known to our liturgical books: 1) “Today all earth and heaven are celebrating; the angels and heavens rejoice with us. 2) The willing Creator, in order to save Adam, is born in Bethlehem from a pure Virgin. 3) All human race, rejoice with us in the Nativity of God in the manger, like a man. 4) Today, the whole earth rejoiced, truly, the Giver of life is now seen as a child. 5) In the manger Jesus, life is sweet, like a baby in them, a deliverer. 6) The mysterious liar, like a coal, who received Christ in her womb, You are Mariam. 7) The Lord of all things descended to earth, and the angels and earth-born worshiped Him. 8) Enlighten my soul, Mental Light, so that I may see the Lord in the flesh. 9) Pure Virgin, Nourisher of the Creator, now, like a child on earth, you feed the Lord with milk. 10) I behold You, Creator, as a young Child on earth, and save you from the hand of the evil one. 11) The servants of heaven serve him with fear; those on earth now worship him piously. 12) Though one in nature, in the persons of the Trinity preserve thy servants who believe in Thee. 13) Mother of God, hope of all Christians, cover, protect, protect those who hope in Thee.” As a feature of the liturgy of this day, as well as on other holidays, it should be noted that at the small entrance with the Gospel, the entrance: “From the womb before the virgin gave birth to Thee” is not pronounced by the protodeacon, as with us, but is sung by all the clergy and, moreover, with the refrain of the holiday: “Save us, the Son of God, born of the Virgin singing Thee, Hallelujah." “Come, let us worship” is not sung in this case. In the Evangelist John the Theologian we find direct reference to the cold winter weather conditions at this time. “Then there was renewal in Jerusalem, and there was no winter” (John 10:22), and the feast of renewal fell in the ninth month of the Jewish year, when we also celebrate the day of the Nativity of Christ. And to this day, a touching custom has been preserved among the inhabitants of this Arab village of “Shepherds” (Bet Sakhur), glorified for centuries by a significant event in the life of Christ the Savior, but poor in reality, the inhabitants of which have not yet changed their patriarchal way of life and are still engaged in cattle breeding and agriculture, a custom according to which its honorary inhabitants on the eve of the Nativity of Christ, before sunset, appear in Bethlehem to the Patriarch of Jerusalem and bring him as a gift the best young lamb from their herds and a bunch of mature ears of corn from their fields. The Patriarch gives the visitors the baksheesh, which is unchanged in the East, for this. You might be interested in: