Г. О некоторых церковных чтениях

From the Greek language parimia actually means: parable, proverb, i.e. such a saying, which, containing either observations on the morals and behavior of people or the rule of morality, community life, piety and worship of God, is expressed in the shortest, sharpest, and sometimes mysterious words. We have a lot of such parables or proverbs in use, for example, “live forever, learn forever,” etc. In ancient times, this way of speech was the most common. For the deep wisdom of parables, they were collected, written down, and thus entire books of them were compiled. Several such books were included in the Bible, namely: “The Proverbs (parables) of Solomon,” i.e. compiled and collected by the Jewish king Solomon 21, the book of the Wisdom of Solomon and the book of the Wisdom of Jesus, son of Sirach. In church usage, the word paramia means a reading selected from one or another book of the Old Testament, which either generally tells what happened from the beginning of the world, or in particular contains a prophecy about one or another event, or there is any similarity between what happened in ancient Jewish history and what happened in the Church of Christ; or any common features are indicated among the ascetics of faith and piety of the Old Testament and New Testament; or, finally, which can have a beneficial and strong effect on the spirit and moral mood of an Orthodox Christian. But why, with such a variety of choices, did all these readings adopt one common name parimia? One might think that the first Christians, who were faced with such cruel and undeserved persecution, such fierce anger from the enemies of the cross of Christ, often turned for advice and teaching to the ancient sayings of wisdom, i.e. to the pariams of Solomon, and read them in the assembly of the faithful. To see off the tortured remains of brothers in Christ to their eternal rest, and to prepare themselves for the same thing - this was an almost every day task for them. And at the same time, as much as in remembrance of those who have already gone to Christ, so much for our own consolation and reinforcement, how close and natural it was to remember and read: “The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and no torment will touch them. In the eyes of the insane, they seem dead and their death seems a shame. Even for us their departure is sorrow, but they are at peace. Because even if in human eyes they suffer torment, their hopes are full of immortality. After suffering for a short time, they receive wonderful rewards, because God tested them and found them worthy of Himself. He tested them like gold in a furnace, and like the purest aroma of a sacrifice He accepted them 22 . The righteous live forever and their reward is with the Lord. They will receive the kingdom of bliss and the crown of glory from the hands of the Lord” 23, etc. Of course, these readings were not limited to Solomon’s parimations alone, but other books of similar content were also read; but since the parimia could come first or be read more often, then behind all such readings one common name could be preserved. However, this is just a guess, and there are no clear and precise indications of why all the readings from the Old Testament are called parimias (or paremias, as they are called in liturgical books). The reading of parimia is part of the evening services proper. There is not a single feast of the Vigil or Polyeleos, at which vespers the parimia would not be read. The usual number is three; but on the three greatest holidays: Easter, Christmas and Epiphany, their number increases. Namely, in Vespers: Easter - 15 parimias; Nativity of Christ – 8; Epiphany - 13. During Great Lent, for the reading of parimia, as for everything, there is a special routine. Namely: at the sixth hour of parimia, at vespers there are two, of which the first is always from the book of Genesis; the second is from the book of Proverbs. On Maundy Thursday, instead of the sixth, parimia is at the first hour; on Holy Saturday - at Matins after the doxology. In order to have a clearer understanding of the meaning and content of parimations, I will point out a few here. So, for example, at the vigil of Pentecost the parimia is read: the first from the book of Numbers 24. It describes the most ancient manifestation of the Spirit of God on seventy men chosen to help Moses - a phenomenon in which similarities are visible, in the manifestations of the Spirit on the apostles, God's chosen partakers of the grace-filled powers of the great prophet, typified by Moses (the Lord Jesus Christ). Second from the prophecy of Joel 25. In it we hear the very words of divine prophecy with which the Apostle Peter, on the day of the descent of the Holy Spirit, explained to the surprised people the mystery of this great event: this is the promise of the outpouring of the Spirit on all flesh, on sons and daughters, on elders and youths 26 . Third from the prophecy of Ezekiel 27. It foretells to believers cleansing spiritual waters, the gift of a new spirit instead of the old, and a heart of flesh instead of a stony one, and the Spirit of God is promised so that we will walk in the justifications of the Lord, preserve His destinies and be His chosen people. Likewise, on all the twelve holidays, passages from the books of the Old Testament are read that have some connection with the event being celebrated. And in order to have an understanding of the parimias, actually the so-called ones, i.e. about the parables collected by Solomon, I will write out several passages from his book “Proverbs”. “Go, sloth, to the ant, look at its behavior and be smart. He has neither judge, nor overseer, nor ruler, but in the summer he prepares bread for himself; During the harvest, he collects food for himself. How long will you sleep, sloth? When will you awaken from your sleep? You won’t sleep much, you won’t doze much, you won’t lie down with folded arms. But before you know it, poverty will come to you like a horseman, and poverty like an armed robber” (Prov. 6:6-11). “The commandment (of God) is a lamp; learning is light; the lessons of education are the path of life” (v. 23. This is what our proverb says: “learning is light, ignorance is darkness”). “Wisdom is better than pearls, and all jewels cannot compare with it” (Proverbs 8:11). “He who adheres to doctrine leads to life, but he who neglects to educate himself will go astray” (Proverbs 10:17). “In a multitude of words one cannot avoid sin; but he who keeps his mouth is wise. The tongue of the righteous is choice silver; but the heart of the wicked is worth nothing” (Prov. 10:19, 20). “When pride comes, so does shame; wisdom is with the humble” (Prov. 11:2). “Whoever shames another is not smart; a reasonable person is silent." “Whoever locks up bread is cursed by people; but blessings fall on the head of the one who distributes” (Proverbs 11:26). “Whoever despises learning will be in poverty and disgrace, but whoever loves education will be honored” (Prov. 13:18). “Righteousness exalts a people, but iniquity destroys a people.” “Better is greenery served on the table, and with it friendship, than a fatted ox, and with it enmity” (Prov. 13:15, 20, 34). “Better is a little righteousness than much gain from wickedness” (Prov. 16:8). “He who subdues anger is better than the brave, and he who controls his spirit is better than the conqueror of cities” (Prov. 16:32). “Better is a dry piece of bread and with it harmony, than a house full of wealth with discord.” “A wise man is more touched by a reprimand than when you beat a fool a hundred times.” “Whoever gives an answer without listening will come out with an absurdity - to his shame.” “A person’s spirit can strengthen him even in illness, but when his spirit falls, who will raise him up?” ( Proverbs 18:8, 13, 14 ). “Wine is obstinate, strong drink is noisy; whoever deals with them will not be smart.” “It is a man’s honor to leave behind a quarrel; but a fool is always perky.” “Drive away the scoffer, and discord will go away, and quarreling and fighting will cease” (Prov. 20:10). “Who's howling? Who's moaning? Who's having a quarrel? Who's in trouble? Who suffered needless beatings? Who has purple eyes? Those who sit late drinking wine love to taste the dissolved wine. Don't look at the wine, how it sparkles in the cup. In the end it will bite like a snake and sting like an adder. Your eyes will look at other people's wives, and your heart will speak depravedly. And you will be like one sleeping in the middle of the sea and like one slumbering at the edge of the stern. They hit me (says the drunkard), and it doesn’t hurt me; They push me, I don’t feel it. When I wake up, I will go again and look for it (wine) again” (Prov. 23:29-35). But these extracts are enough to get an idea of ​​how much deep, experienced wisdom there is in Solomon’s parables. No subtleties, no intricacies of the mind - just life lessons that are before everyone’s eyes, which anyone who is not lacking in observation can notice at every step. And these lessons, not in fragments, as I presented now, but completely, i.e. The entire book of Proverbs is read during Lent. How much benefit must Orthodox Christians receive from listening to such excellent lessons, so close to everyone’s life?! (From the book “On Church Services”, I. I. Bellustina). 2. Conversation on the fiftieth psalm Not a single psalm in the entire Psalter is read as often in church services as the fiftieth, which begins with the words: “Have mercy on me, O God, according to Thy great mercy,” etc. That is why we need to talk about it especially and in as much detail as possible. First of all, I will write it out in Russian translation. “A Psalm of David, when the prophet Nathan came to him, after he had entered Bathsheba. (Verse 3) Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your great mercy and according to Your great mercy blot out my crimes. (4) Wash me often from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. (5) For I know my transgressions, and my sin is continually before me. (6) Before You, before You alone, I have sinned, and in Your sight I have done evil, so that You are righteous in Your word and pure in Your judgment. (7) Behold, I was born in iniquity, and my mother conceived me in sin. (8) Behold, You loved the truth in your heart, and You reveal wisdom to me inwardly. (9) Sprinkle me with hyssop, and I will be clean; Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. (10) Let me hear joy and gladness, and the bones struck by You will rise. (11) Turn away Your face from my sins, blot out all my iniquities. (12) Create for me, O God, a pure heart and renew a right spirit within me. (13) Cast me not away from Thy presence, and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me. (14) Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and let the sovereign Spirit strengthen me. (15) I will teach the wicked your ways, and sinners will turn to you. (16) Free me from blood, O God, my Savior God, and my tongue will proclaim Your righteousness. (17) Lord! open my mouth and they will declare Your praise. (18) For You do not want sacrifice; I would bring it: you do not delight in a burnt offering. (19) The sacrifice to God is a broken spirit; You do not reject a broken and dejected heart, O God. According to Your good pleasure, do good to Zion, build up the walls of Jerusalem. (20) Then you will love the sacrifices of righteousness, wave offerings and burnt offerings; Then they will lay bulls on Your altar.” On what occasion did David write this psalm? This was the most terrible, darkest incident in the entire life of the prophet king. The Jews had a war with the sons of Ammon. David sent his military commander Joab against them, and he himself, contrary to custom, remained in his capital Jerusalem. One evening, walking along the roof of his house 28, he saw a beautiful woman washing herself in the neighboring garden. An unclean desire flared up in him, and what won’t the authorities do? – the woman was brought to him. It was Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, who was at war. She became pregnant. David, in order to hide the crime as much as possible, called Uriah home. But he, returning to the capital, spent the night outside his house and explained to David the reason for this: “How! the ark of God (the ark was worn during the war) and all the Jews are now staying in tents; and my captain Joab, and all those who are with him in the war, all under the open sky; and I will go up to my house to eat and drink and sleep with my wife. No way!” David sent him back to war, and at the same time wrote to the military commander Joab so that Uriah should be killed. Joab carried out the royal order, ordering that Uriah be placed in the most dangerous place and die. After his death, David took Bathsheba as his wife. The fruit of his iniquity died as a baby. Subsequently, David had a son, Solomon, from Bathsheba. The prophet Nathan came to expose David's terrible double crime. With the threat of heavenly execution, he awakened the conscience of the criminal, and David said: “I have sinned before the Lord.” This is not enough - in the deep consciousness of his crime he wrote a psalm: “Have mercy on me, O God, etc. (The story about this event is in chapters XI and XII of the second book of Kings). What is so special about this psalm that it is used so widely in our church services? The fact that in no other psalm is there such a sincere, deep, astonishing awareness of one’s sinfulness as in this one. It has already been said that the main goal of church services is to awaken sinners from the sleep of sin, to ask them for forgiveness and mercy, reconciliation with the Lord God, and thus eternal salvation. And which of us dares to say about himself that he is not a sinner? “If we say that there is no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us” 29. What is the condition for getting out of this sinful darkness? “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous, and may he forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” 30 . But in order to confess your sins, you must first of all acknowledge them. And so the church presents us with an example, so to speak, at every step: both the consciousness of sinfulness and its confession. Continuously, incessantly, on weekdays and on holidays, except for Easter, she reminds and shows us both the extent to which a person can fall and the way in which he can rise. And not only that, he reminds and points out, he puts into our mouths the very words with which the great sinner bowed the Lord to mercy, for which the same Nathan the prophet said to him: “and the Lord will take away your sin, and you will not die” 31 . Yes, you just have to delve deeper into the meaning of this psalm to see how much grace-filled power there is in it. "Have mercy on me, O God." Oh, merciful Lord! Have pity on the unfortunate sinner, whom sin has deprived of all Your grace-filled gifts, who is completely mired in the abyss of crimes, and would have long ago fallen into despair if he did not know, if he did not hope, that there is much deliverance from You. Have mercy! Grant me forgiveness, as You granted it to David, You, my God and Judge. I have no excuses before You; I deserved wrath, rejection and execution. My one and last hope in life is in Your mercy. Have mercy according to Your great mercy. “And according to the multitude of Your compassions, cleanse my iniquity.” But have mercy not with human mercy, but with divine mercy. It’s not enough if the guilt is forgiven; It is not enough if sins remain only unpunished - it is not necessary that they be cleansed, erased from the soul and conscience. Otherwise, what is the benefit if I do not suffer external punishment, but all the torments of hell remain inside, and my conscience will torment and torment me all my life? This is how people can forgive their guilt and forgive their sins, but You, my God, blot them out, cleanse this terrible ulcer from my soul! May she be all pure and holy! I know that this cannot happen soon: too much dirt has accumulated on it; she is too deeply mired in the swamp of sensuality, but I am ready for anything - for all the trials, for all the sacrifices, as long as they are a means of cleansing. Wash me as many times and with such bitter waters as and how you find it necessary, so that my iniquities are finally washed away and my sins are cleansed. “For I know my iniquity, and I will take away my sin before me.” And whatever You do to cleanse me, all of it will not, cannot be as heavy as the consciousness of my sinfulness; no trials can be as terrible as my sins, which always, relentlessly, such a formidable, all-suppressing ghost stand before me and do not give me peace of mind for a minute, not for a moment. “I have sinned against You alone, and have done evil before You: so that You may be justified in Your words, and be victorious when You judge.” And what is especially bitter to the point of unbearable heartache is that I offended You with my sins, You, the merciful Heavenly Father, to Whom I owe everything that I have in my life, as well as life itself. Yes, what do I have of my own, from breathing to the ability to live and act, to the means of living? Everything is Your gift. “You give me everything I need for life - I accept it, you open Your hand - I am satisfied with every good thing. You hide Your face, I am in terrible confusion; If you take the spirit from me, I will die and return to my dust” 32. My personal acquisition, my complete property, is sin and lawlessness! And when I compare, on the one hand, Your wonderful, ineffable mercies sent down to me at every moment, and on the other hand, all my opposition to Your will, all my daring, outrageous violations of Your commandments, then what kind of judgment will be severe enough, what sentence is completely worthy of such an evil, ungrateful, desperate creature! God! No matter what torments You condemn me to, no matter what executions You sentence me to, everything “You are righteous in Your word and pure in Your judgment,” because I deserved all this, completely, unconditionally deserved it. “Behold, I was conceived in iniquity, and my mother gave birth to me in sins.” After all, in addition to my personal acquisitions, my ancestral sin weighs on me; From my very conception, the same condemnation fell upon me that befell the first sinners on earth and was passed on by them to all their unfortunate offspring. What an impenetrable abyss of sin! “For Thou hast loved the truth, Thou hast revealed to me Thy unknown and secret wisdom.” But You, Lord, love the truth; truth is the basis of Your judgments; You did not hide this from me. I cannot say that I sinned out of ignorance, out of ignorance. No, within me You have placed a judge who is vigilant, incorruptible and so wise that he is fully able to distinguish between good and evil. My conscience positively, without hesitation, tells me what a sin is and warns me against it in every possible way. But what's the use? All her instructions, warnings, threats were in vain - everything was in vain for me! I sinned and sinned, not paying any attention to anyone or anything. Now what can I do? One and only thing: hope in Your ineffable mercy. Just as in the Old Testament church lepers were finally cleansed by sprinkling them with sacrificial water seven times, so now You mystically sprinkle me, and I will be clean; Wash me and I will be whiter than snow. “Give joy and gladness to my hearing, humble bones will rejoice; turn away Your face from my sins, and cleanse all my iniquities.” And as soon as the miracle of Your mercy is performed on me, unworthy, You turn Your face away from my sins, You blot out all my iniquities, then what joyful news this will be for me! My whole being, hitherto suffering, exhausted, crushed by the weight lying on it, will rise up and come to life! But then, what else awaits me in the future? Once pardoned, will I be able to take advantage of this wonderful mercy? how little hope there is! Knowing my past, how afraid I am for the future! Oh no, my God! All my hopes are not in myself, but in You alone! “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a right spirit in my womb. Do not cast me away from Your presence and do not take Your Holy Spirit away from Me. Reward me with the joy of Your salvation, and strengthen me with the Lord’s Spirit.” My whole being has become dilapidated and corrupted. From my evil treasure - the heart - only evil 33 can come out of “evil thoughts, adultery, fornication, murder, theft, covetousness, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, pride, madness, in a word, everything that defiles a person” 34. This means that, in addition to forgiveness and pardon, I still need to erase, destroy all this rags in me; everything in me needs to be remade, recreated, so that everything is new in my inner being. And who can do this except You, my God? But this is still not enough. And at the same time, with only my own strength, I can still fall at every step, I can rush again onto the same disastrous path. That's why I definitely need the highest support; It is absolutely necessary that Your divine power, or more precisely, You Yourself, Lord, should dominate and rule within me! That is why I pray not to take Your Holy Spirit away from me: may this Spirit of strength and reason, Your sovereign Spirit, strengthen me on all my paths throughout my entire subsequent life! “I will teach the wicked Your way, and their wickedness will turn to You. Deliver me from bloodshed, O God, God of my salvation; my tongue will rejoice in Your righteousness. Lord, open my mouth, and my mouth will declare Your praise.” David, on whom lay the blood of Uriah, who was pardoned by You for his fervent repentance, became an eternal example for all sinners. His example has an irresistible effect on everyone who has not reached that extreme degree of evil at which the sinner is already negligent, i.e. does not think or think about his future, either senselessly denying everything beyond the grave, or simply being in a state of petrified insensibility. And the word of David: “I will teach the wicked your way, and they will turn to you in wickedness,” is not an idle word. How many sinners, serious sinners, have not fallen into despair and perished forever, precisely imagining the example of David! How many have learned the power of repentance from this example! Oh yes, it is not in vain that the terrible story about him entered the sacred books: it is destined to save millions of those who perished from eternal destruction. But I, no matter who I am, can’t do something similar to the best of my ability and means? Are there not enough people around me, and even those close to me, who are erring, wicked, and even lawless? And for the miracle of God’s mercy shown to me, I will try in every possible way to teach and admonish my erring brothers. By the example of my life, by the word of love, advice, encouragement, and where necessary and possible, prudent reproof (my tongue will proclaim Your truth without hesitation), I will act on those who do not follow God’s path in life. God! Just help me in this - without Your all-powerful help, I am not able to not only do, but even think of anything truly good, - “open my mouth” - and my works and efforts will not remain useless, and for everything that I manage to do that is truly good, I will give glory to You alone. "God! You will open my mouth, and my mouth will declare Your praise.” And how else can I repay You for Your wonderful, ineffable mercy? “As if you had wanted sacrifices, you would have given; You do not favor burnt offerings.” I would offer You every sacrifice, but what’s the point? Isn’t everything that I have, from life and breath to the means of my existence, all Yours? Is everything too precious for You, no matter what I burn before You? The only thing I can offer as a sacrifice worthy and pleasing to You is my will. She alone is my complete and unconditional property. It is she who I must captivate into obedience to Your will; those. I must subordinate everything that is in me, everything that the will governs, to You: the strength of the mind, so proud, so self-ascending, and the aspirations of the heart, so easily carried away by created objects. I must submit to You, if for this I had to endure the most difficult, bloodiest struggle with myself; at all costs (what is the use of willpower?) I must humble before You the pride of the mind, and the exaltations, and the aspirations of the heart, because only such a sacrifice has value before You. “A sacrifice to God is a broken spirit; God will not despise a broken and humble heart.” What psalm with such depth and completeness represents the entire course of a sinner’s conversion to God from that bright moment when he, having come within himself, says: I will rise 35 and until that time of grace when he becomes a new creature? What psalm could be the best guide on this truly difficult path: from the first word of repentance to the final final word of reconciliation: with the Lord God? Everything in this psalm - motivation, example, encouragement - everything that can have a strong and beneficial influence on the soul of a sinner. This is the reason for its continuous use in God's church. And not only is it so often read in its entirety, but individual verses from it are also constantly used. So the third verse (“Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your great mercy and according to the multitude of Your mercies, cleanse my iniquity”) is sung at all vigil and polyeleos services at Matins after the Gospel. It is left only from Easter to the Ascension, because it is incompatible at the same time to sing praises to the risen Lord and cry before Him with the lament of David. Thus, in the “repentant and touching stichera and sedals” of everyday services, the fall and rise of David are constantly remembered, and, at the same time, words and entire verses from the fiftieth psalm are cited. For example, “Have mercy on me,” said David, “and I cry to You: “Savior! I have sinned, cleanse my sins for repentance, have mercy on me” (Sedalen on the 2nd kathisma, on Tuesday, tone 2). Thus, before each verse of the great canon, which is sung at Compline during the first week of Great Lent, the following is sung: “Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.” So, although it was not prescribed in the ancient Greek service books, the pious zeal of our domestic hierarchs decreed that at the liturgy, during the invocation of the Holy Spirit for the holy gifts, the 12th and 13th verses of this psalm should be read. In a word, there is not a single church service, except, I repeat, Easter, in which the fiftieth psalm would not be used - in whole or in fragments. If this is how it is used in God’s Church, then how can one not constantly use it in home prayer? Oh, brothers, add it to all your prayers - morning, evening, as soon as the Lord gives you the desire to pray. Only in accordance with the church charter, leave it on the bright days of Easter; May the joy of the wonderful resurrection not be darkened by the groans of a repentant soul. It is clear that when I advise you to continually read this psalm, I do not mean the senseless wagging of it in one tongue - such a way of reading means absolutely nothing and is worthless. No, read it with your soul, your heart, i.e. so that every word of the psalm is understandable, so that the thought of each verse is accepted and assimilated; so that the entire psalm makes you look back at your past life - examine it strictly and impartially, all the way down to the smallest details, down to your innermost deeds, words and even thoughts. This will be a reading during which the stone man will not shed tears - bitter, but at the same time saving tears of repentance. (Compiled from the book On Church Liturgy by I.I. Bellustin). This book is named after Solomon, and he was not the only one who compiled and collected it. In addition to Solomon, they collected and wrote down parables: the men of Hezekiah, king of Judah, and an unknown person who contributed his collection under the title: “and these are the parables of the wise.” To explain this, it should be noted that in the east, from the most ancient times until now, the roofs on houses have been completely flat. Flowers are displayed on it, like on our balconies, and in the evenings people and friends gather to pass the time. It is clear that David's royal house towered above the others, and he could easily see what was happening with his neighbors.