This is the most important and essential part of the Liturgy. It mysteriously depicts: the suffering, death and resurrection of the Savior; His ascension into heaven; His sitting at the right hand of the Father, the outpouring of the grace of the Holy Spirit on believers, and finally, His second coming.
It begins with the litany pronounced by the deacon: Let us pray again and again in peace to the Lord! in which some petitions from the great litany are placed and which with a double exclamation Wisdom! different from all the others. This double reminder is necessary here, for at this time the most perfect wisdom of God begins, that is, the fulfillment of the Mysteries!
At the beginning of this litany, the priest reveals the Holy Antimension on the throne and secretly prays to the Lord to grant him worthiness to stand before His great altar, and, having cleansed it from all defilement of the flesh and spirit, to make it satisfactory (satisfactory) for the performance of the holy and terrible service.
At this time, the Cherubic Song begins, during which those present, having purified their souls to the purity characteristic of the Cherubim (for in order to sing with them the Trisagion Hymn to the Life-Giving Trinity, it is necessary to become like them), and having put aside all worldly cares, they must be ready to reverently meet the King of Kings, Whom the ranks of Angels invisibly bestow!
At the end of this song, there follows the Great Exit, in which the Holy Gifts are transferred from the altar to the altar or table for consecration. This transfer depicts the transfer of the Most Pure Body of the Lord Jesus Christ from Golgotha to the place of His burial. And therefore the mysterious exit takes place in the following way: the priest and deacon, like Joseph and Nicodemus, who found the body of the crucified Jesus on Calvary, reverently took Him down from the cross and carried Him along the northern side from the place of the crucifixion to the burial cave - go from the northern doors of the altar and carry the body and blood of the Lord, not yet glorified in the resurrection. The lamp preceding them depicts the prophets who so faithfully predicted the image of the suffering and death of the Savior. The air lying on the deacon's shoulder forms a shroud; the covers - on the paten and the chalice - mean - one is a sir, and the other is the shrouds with which the head and body of Christ were wrapped; the censer in the deacon’s hand is the aromas used during the burial.
Stopping in front of the royal doors (facing those ahead), the priest begins to pray for the Emperor and for the entire Royal House (by name); The deacon continues this prayer, mentioning the Holy Synod and the local Bishop, and concluding it with a general ending: May the Lord God remember them in His Kingdom, enters the altar and, kneeling before the meal, with a paten on his head, awaits the priest. The priest, having made the sign of the cross in the shape of a cup to those present, assures them that may the Lord God remember all those who worthily contemplate the Great Sacrament of Orthodox Christians in His Kingdom. Then, having entered the altar and placing the cup on the altar, the priest removes the paten from the head of the deacon and places it next to the cup.
In these actions, the throne marks the city of Joseph; the Antimins laid out on the throne - the tomb of the Savior, the air that covers, above the covers, the paten and the chalice - that great stone that was rolled by Joseph to the burial cave; - incense, - funeral incense; and the words of the psalm read by the priest: Bless Zion, O Lord, with Your favor - contain that prayer in the sense of which the new Zion means the Church of Christ: - and therefore the priest asks to strengthen the shepherds and teachers, as if the walls of the new Jerusalem.
Following the transfer of the Holy Gifts, the royal doors are closed and the church curtain is drawn behind them. This depicts the time when everything Divine was enclosed in the tomb and even sealed with the seal of Caiaphas. Then, the deacon, leaving the altar in front of the royal doors, awakens those present to prayer for the offered Gifts and adds to it some other petitions, which the priest supports with a secret prayer to God, asking in it for himself. But just as prayers not animated by love and faith have no value before the Lord, the Church demands from her children a solemn declaration before the source of peace and love, the Lord Jesus Christ. And therefore, the deacon, after the litany and the priestly exclamation of Peace, calls upon all those praying to the sacred fulfillment of the great commandment, calling upon Let us love one another, that we may confess with one mind, while the clergy, as if testifying to a common readiness for this, continues: Father, and Son, and Holy Spirit, Trinity Consubstantial and Indivisible!
And after this, the church begins to confess faith; but in order for those present to fulfill this, as if in the face of God Himself, not only is the veil removed from the royal gates, but the air is also removed from the Holy Gifts, and the deacon proclaims Doors, doors! let us rejoice in wisdom! and the clergy, on behalf of all those present, solemnly pronounces the Creed.
In ancient times, when confessors of the Christian faith were still suffering persecution from unbelieving Jews and pagans, these words were Doors, doors! treated the outer doors of the church in order to have them locked at this time, in order to avoid attacks by pagans and unbelievers who could interfere with the rites; and also so that any of the catechumens, repentants, and in general those unworthy to see the performance of the Holy Mysteries do not enter the temple at this time. Let us reek of the words that follow them as Wisdom! treated those praying as a warning that the proclaimed Creed should be pronounced with full understanding and appreciation of the holy Gospel truths that it contains.
At a later time, when the persecution of Christians had already ceased, the Teachers of the Church gave the words: doors, doors! another, more important meaning. Namely: since all the sacraments of the incarnation of Christ, and with Him our faith, were replenished by His resurrection, then in the actions of the Church, at this moment of worship, we must contemplate the following: in the opening of the church curtain and the raising of the air, representing the stone on the tomb, the three-day uprising of Christ. And therefore, the words doors, doors! Let us rejoice in wisdom! must proclaim that the doors of Christ’s tomb have already been opened for His rebellion; and behind them the doors of paradise, formed by the altar, will open for our ascension into the Holy of Holies. And that the renewed flesh of Christ, under which He previously, as if under a veil, hid His Divinity, now, after taking away its earthly properties, has become for earth-born people a living and new path to the heavenly fatherland!
During the clergy’s recitation of the Creed, the priest, taking air, waves it over the Holy Gifts; this depicts: the earthquake (coward) that occurred when the stone rolled away from the tomb, as well as the breath of the Holy Spirit, the descent of which the Holy Scripture itself calls the breath of the wind and by the action of which in the present case the consecration of the gifts presented is accomplished.
And therefore, since all the actions of this moment depict the resurrection of Christ, which resurrected all fallen humanity, the priest, as a priest in fulfillment of the commandment of Christ, does all this in His remembrance - he prepares for the performance of the Great Sacrament, filled with the greatest gratitude for all the benefits of God. That is why this part of the celebration of the Gifts is called the Eucharist, i.e. thanksgiving. But so that those present, with the same true feeling of the fear of God and with purity of spirit, would add their prayers to it, the deacon encourages them to do so with the words: Let us become kind, let us begin with fear, to bring holy offerings to the world. To this invocation, the clergy, on behalf of those present, testifies that they realize that it is impossible to worthily approach the heavenly table of God without feelings of mercy and love for others and that forgiveness of offenses and mutual reconciliation is a favorable sacrifice to God, especially in these moments of solemn glorification of Him, and therefore exclaims: Mercy of the world, sacrifice of praise!
The priest, for this holy readiness, greets them with the Apostolic words: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love (i.e., love) of God and the Father, and the communion (influx) of the Holy Spirit, be with you all! The clergy responds to him with gratitude, with the same wish, saying: And to your spirit!