Vespers, connected with Compline, is celebrated on ordinary days separately from Matins. At the very beginning of it, the church curtain is taken away or the royal gates themselves are dissolved and the deacon, upon leaving the altar, standing in front of them, exclaims: Lord, Bless! and the priest after this proclaims: Glory to the Holy One, Consubstantial, Life-Giving and Indivisible Trinity, etc.
It should be noted here that the opening of the royal doors during Divine services generally means the revelation of the glory of God and the revelation of the Mysteries of God. And just as from ancient times the Lord revealed His glory many times and in various ways: in miracles, in promises, prototypes and prophecies, so the opening of the royal doors during Divine services happens more than once, and always indicates some special condescension of God towards people. Here it precisely expresses the discovery of the glory of God, revealed in the creation of the world and man, to which the mentioned words of the priest refer.
Following this, the priest calls on the triple believers to come and worship our King God, who showed us the light of our life and knowledge of God, that is, the mystery of the nature of God!
Then, the priest with a censer in his hand, preceded by a deacon with a lighted candle, goes around the entire church and censes the images and people, as if spreading the grace of the Lord to everyone present in the church and calling them to desire, so that the fire of Divine love, having burned into them all the principles of the old man, would lift up the prayers of their contrite hearts, like the fragrance of a spiritual censer, before the heavenly and mental altar of the Lord.
In general, a censer during worship, when it turns on behalf of those praying to God, means their prayer, praise, thanksgiving and any other heartfelt sacrifice, but when it turns on behalf of God to those praying, it means that the Lord, having accepted this sacrificial censer, sends down to the believers the grace of His All-Holy Spirit. A burning candle in the hands of a clergyman or presented in a candlestick - having the general meaning of the Light of God and the fire of Divine love of people for God and His for people, in the latter case means those messengers of God who, being illuminated from above by the light of wisdom, dispersed sinful darkness on earth and prepared the way for the Savior, such as the Prophets and especially the Forerunner of Christ John, who was the lamp that burned and shone (John 5:35).
Here, the censer and candle, while singing a psalm glorifying God for the creation of the world, depict how the Spirit of the Lord hovered, like clouds of incense, over the abyss in the days of creation and how the Creative voice was heard: Let there be Light!
At the end of the solemn incense, the royal gates are closed, signifying the expulsion of our ancestors from paradise, and the Church, looking at these closed gates as the gates of paradise itself, in accordance with the depicted meaning, begins to pray to the Lord, in the so-called great litany, for the sending of those mercies and grace that man lost through his fall.
Further, admonishing speeches are repeated again, reminding us of the lost paradise, and in the mysterious words Blessed is the man who does not follow the advice of the wicked, a warning is heard for everyone against sins and temptations.
Each of these verses ends with the word Hallelujah, which means Praise God.
After this, the clergy, as if suppressed by spiritual grief over the loss of primeval bliss, imitating the expelled Adam, on behalf of those present and all humanity, calls out: Lord, I have called to You, hear me! May my prayer be corrected like incense before You. At this time, the deacon comes out to burn incense in front of the royal doors and the smoke of his incense, like our prayer, ascends the mountain, depicting the sacrifices made in the Old Testament from the very beginning of the world, which served as a prototype of the Savior’s sacrifice on the cross.
But now, among these touching prayers of a man tormented by the grief of his fall, comforting promises are heard about the coming into the world of the Savior, who will again open paradise to sinners, and the clergy cries out on behalf of everyone: Bring my soul out of prison to confess to Your Name!
This comforting revelation about the appearance of Christ the Savior into the world is depicted by the opening of the royal doors again and the exit of the clergy from the altar by the northern door. At this time, the clergy usually sings a song, either in honor of the Ever-Virgin Mother of the One who defeated the ancient serpent, or in honor of Christ Himself.
The Church, as if out of fear that the contemplation of this joyful moment might remain incompletely noticed or misunderstood by those praying, proclaims through the mouth of the deacon: Wisdom! Sorry! and the clergy, in the touching hymn Quiet Light, glorifies the Savior promised to the ancestors, Who, like the quiet light of the holy glory of the Heavenly Father, appeared already in the last days, when countless generations saw not only the setting of the sun, but also the sunset of their lives. Upon the proclamation Wisdom! The clergy enter the altar through the royal doors, which close behind them.
Following this majestic hymn, the so-called Proverbs are read, usually borrowed from ancient historical sacred books, parables and prophecies (one reading from each section, in which promises, types and prophecies about the Savior are expressed, subsequently justified by the events of His earthly life.
The proverbs are followed by an intense or intensified litany, combined with a litany of supplication, in which, between many prayers, prayers are offered that the Lord will save those present that evening from sin.
After this, on the eve of major holidays, the priest and deacon, in front of whom they carry a lighted candle, go out into the vestibule of the Church and the deacon (and if he is not there, then the priest himself) performs Litia, that is, public prayer, and prays for every Christian soul that is grieving, embittered and demanding the mercy of God, asking for the intercession of all heavenly powers and holy saints; the priest ends this Litiya with a prayer that the Lord God will forgive the sins of those who pray and grant them a peaceful life.
On the same eve of the holidays, after the Litiya, the consecration of loaves, wheat, wine and oil takes place, in the image of the five loaves with which the Lord fed 5 thousand people.
But now, from the choir one can hear the reading or singing of the touching song of St. Simeon the God-Receiver, which, as it were, tells everyone that the fulfillment of the promise given to the Forefathers and Forefathers is close, that Christ is already at the door, and that the sinful world, tired of waiting for the Redeemer, can finally exclaim enthusiastically together with the Holy Elder: Now do you let go of your servant, Master, according to Your word, in peace!
And after this, the worshipers prostrate themselves, hearing the Angelic gospel of God's chosen Revelation and in reverent fear of the great mystery of the eternal Council of God, with tenderness and gratitude, as the holy instrument of universal salvation, together with the Angel they cry out to Her: Rejoice, Virgin Mary! Blessed Mary, the Lord is with you!
The leader of the worshipers, the priest, seeing and sharing the spiritual joy bequeathed to him by Christ of the flock, overshadows it with the saving image of the Cross, and saying: The blessing of the Lord is upon you, by His grace and love for mankind, always, now, and ever, and unto the ages of ages - thus ends the evening service.