Time for the liturgy on the 1st day of Easter

Contents Time of the liturgy on the 1st day of Easter Reading of the Gospel on the 1st day of Easter in different languages and rituals accompanying this reading Vespers on the 1st day of Easter on the eve of the Feast of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Time for the liturgy on the 1st day of Easter “The observance of the liturgy can be delayed,” notes our Typikon regarding the time of the liturgy on the first day of Easter. This expression can be put in parallel with other places in the same Typikon. “On this (or this) day there is a liturgy for the wound, the Typikon says about the liturgy on the day of the Nativity of Christ and on the day of the Epiphany of the Lord, labor for the sake of the vigil” (fol. 153 and 170 vol.). But no matter how identical these passages of the Typikon seem to be, no matter how similar they are even in their word expressions, nevertheless, the current practice of our church shows that they are not given the same importance everywhere. The Liturgy for Christmas and Epiphany actually begins earlier than usual than on ordinary weekdays and other holidays. This is what the priests of rural parishes do on the first day of Easter 1, giving their parishioners some time after Matins to rest. But in urban parishes it has almost universally become the custom to begin the Liturgy directly, without leaving, after Matins. Some, forgetting about the above-mentioned similarity in the expressions of the Typikon regarding the time of the liturgy on Easter and on some other days, try to find reasons for this custom, not specified in the Charter. “Since the fast of Holy Saturday, according to ancient church rules, should end at midnight (Trul. Sob. rights. 89 fn. Dionysus. Archbishop Alexander. rights. 1. Book of the Rules of the Holy Apostles, Holy Councils and Holy Fathers. M. 1872 p. 443) before the announcement of the Kurogreement (Typical last. Great Saturday), says Fr. Nikolsky, “therefore, the liturgy on Easter day is celebrated in the very early hours” 2. In response to this, it should be noted that other fasts, according to the established tradition of St. Churches also end at midnight and if they talk about the fast of St. Pentecostals in the 89th rule of the Council of Trula and the 1st rule of Dionysius of Alexandria, this does not mean that other fasts end at a different time, but only that this particular fast was discussed very often in ancient church practice and there were even discussions about it at the Council of Trulla, but there was no talk about other fasts 3 . Therefore, a priest will not be in conflict with church canons if he serves the liturgy on the holidays of Christmas, Epiphany, Dormition and St. the apostles Peter and Paul at two or three o'clock in the morning 4. Consequently, if it has now become a custom for us to serve the liturgy on Easter in the “earliest hours,” but this does not happen on other holidays following Lent, then the reason for this phenomenon lies not in these rules of the Trull Cathedral and others that we have just mentioned, but in something else. In our opinion, we will not be mistaken if we point out this reason in the contemporary liturgical practice of the churches of the Christian East, from which we have borrowed a lot in our modern Easter services. According to the modern Charter of the Church of Constantinople, the beginning of the liturgy is done after the singing of the stichera on the praises and specifically the stichera of Easter: “The day of the Resurrection and let us be enlightened with triumph” and the troparion three times: “Christ is risen.” “I blessed the priest,” says the Typikon, ““Christ is Risen” is sung from the priest three times, then from both choirs three times and again from the priest once. At the liturgy there are antiphons... Instead of “Be the name of the Lord,” “Christ is risen” three times (until Saturday). Then the patriarch reads the prayer (ευχ ἠ ν): “If anyone is pious and God-loving,” and “Your lips are like the light of fire” is sung and dismissal. (Τυπικ. edit. Κωνσταντ. 1838 pag. 192). This is the custom in the practice of the modern Bulgarian church, which adopted its Typikon from the Church of Constantinople (Typik. ecclesiastical ed. Constant. 1860, p. 300). “Without waste, immediately after Matins, the liturgy begins in the Church of the Resurrection in Jerusalem” 5. From here we see that throughout the East, the liturgy on the first day of Easter is so closely adjacent to Matins that it ends with it in one common dismissal, or, better to say, the dismissal of Matins. And since Matins on this day, due to the importance of the event being remembered, begins at midnight and ends in the earliest hours of the morning, the beginning of the liturgy very naturally therefore coincides with the end of Matins and is served at the earliest hours, at which it is never served on other holidays of the year. So, without any doubt, our existing custom is to serve the Liturgy on the first day of Easter immediately after Matins, or as the author of “Great Lent in St. city ​​of Jerusalem”, “without spending”, in the very early hours, despite the similarity of the Typikon’s expressions on this matter with its other places regarding the liturgy on other days of the year, is in a direct genetic connection with modern practice regarding this in the churches of the entire Christian East without exception. Remaining faithful to the modern practice of the churches of the Christian East to the end, we think it would not be superfluous if our highest church-administrative authority allowed, for the relief of those praying who spent the entire night of the Resurrection of Christ without sleep, those reductions in the Easter service and deviations from the prevailing Rule, which we see in the practice of the Eastern churches. That is, begin the liturgy immediately after Easter stichera with the refrains: “May God rise again,” during which the priest, as in Greek churches, can perform proskomedia. Reading the teaching of John Chrysostom to move to the end of the liturgy. Here, after the dismissal, while kissing the cross, the priest and clergy can also perform the ritual of “consecration of Christ” with those praying in the church. This rite can also be postponed until Vespers, after which it is performed in Greece 6 . Not only the Charter of the Church of Constantinople, but even the modern Greek Charter of Jerusalem says that the celebration of the liturgy on this bright and joyful day for everyone should be more likely than usual. “Ἡ δἐ τῆς λειτουργίας ἀκολουθία,” says the Pendicostaria of 1801, “γίνεται ταχύτερον ( Πεντηκοσταρ. edit. 1801 φ. Reading the Gospel on the 1st day of Easter in different languages ​​and rituals accompanying this reading Among the many customs performed during our services during Holy Week and on the first days of Easter and transferred to us from the East tacitly, without recording these customs on the pages of our current Typikon, a fairly prominent place is occupied by the well-established custom of reading the Gospel in various languages ​​on the first day of Easter during the liturgy. This custom is not only practiced in cities, where among those praying there are actually people who understand and know the languages ​​in which the Gospel is read, but recently, since the appointment of priests from those who have completed courses in theological seminaries, it has been transferred, following the example of cities, to villages and villages, where, except for the reader himself, and even then, often with a sin, no one understands “what is being read.” Thus, a custom that is completely natural in the place of its origin and has a deep meaning there, in our country, as an imitation, loses its meaning and importance and turns into an empty beating of air and an unnecessary prolongation of the divine service. Meanwhile, if this traditionally established custom is given a slightly different formulation in our Rus', then it can have enormous educational significance and will bring undoubted benefit to the Church and those praying. Our current Typikon says this about the reading of the Gospel at the liturgy on the first day of Easter: “When the time has come for the reading of the Holy Gospel, the initial deacon, although the Gospel of honor says: “Bless, Master, the evangelist.” The rector also says: “God through the prayers of the glorious Saint” and so on, as indicated in liturgiary. The deacon proceeds, and at the usual place, directly at the royal gates, he will stand facing the east. And the abbot first exclaimed before the throne: “Wisdom, forgive us, let us hear the holy gospel.” Likewise, all the priests and priests are servants. According to these, the deacons also speak in different places, having become one from the holy throne to the western gates of the church. The archdeacon stands behind everyone. And everyone honors them, one by one, according to the articles, as the rector orders. And the rector begins: “The reading of the Holy Gospel from John.” The rest are the same. The rector, “Let us take notice.” The rest are the same. The rector, standing before the throne, facing the east, reads: “In the beginning there was no word,” etc. Others too. And at every exclamation, or article of the Gospel, the Church strikes once in candia. The paraecclesiarch was outside the church during the Great Beaten, and during the Great Campanian. At the last exclamation they strike the whole campanium and the great bell” (fol. 401 vol.). This remark is not found either in the current Greek Typicon of Jerusalem 7 or in the modern Charter of the Church of Constantinople; Nor was it in the most ancient liturgical monuments of the Greek Church. Obviously, this note was developed in Rus' under the influence of the very custom of reading the Gospel on Easter in sections to the priest and deacon together, which (i.e., the custom), as we will see below, was entirely transferred to us from the east and has existed with us for a very long time. The beginning of this custom can be seen in the practice of our Church in the 11th-12th centuries. According to the studio charter, on the first day of Easter the entire liturgy was performed inside the altar, except for the antiphons, which were sung by the people in the church. Here at the throne the prokeimenon, apostle, hallelujah and gospel were read. The latter was read in the hands of two deacons 8. This custom later took on a more complex form. With the advent of the so-called Jerusalem Rule in Rus', the custom of performing the entire liturgy in the altar ceased, but the custom of reading the Gospel to the priest behind the altar, facing west, in the hands of two persons serving him at the altar 9 was preserved almost entirely. The only thing that changed was the position of the priest, who now had to stand behind the throne, facing west, and the two deacons were replaced by two persons who served the priest at the altar. The changes in relation to the reading of the Gospel were actually very minor. However, the inconvenience of the position of the priest in the altar and the inconvenience for those praying in the church, to whom much of what the priest read could not be heard clearly and distinctly, prompted us to make and allow some changes and deviations in relation to the custom that had been established among us almost since the very first centuries of Christianity. Therefore, in the liturgical monuments of the 16th century we see this ritual with significant complications and changes. The section read by the priest standing behind the throne was repeated for greater clarity by the deacon, standing on the sole. After each section from the Gospel reading, they struck “the kandiliya” (opanica) hanging in the church, and the paraecclesiarch struck “the great kamban and the great beat.” After reading the entire gospel, they struck “in vain all the kambans and the great one beat clearly” 10 . The real form of reading the Gospel for Easter was finally developed already in the 13th century. It is presented, as can be seen from reading the current Typikon, in relation to the conciliar ministry of priests. But saying above that the present remark of the current Typikon regarding the reading of the Gospel on Easter does not have an original in the most ancient and newest Typikons of the Greek Church, and that it was developed in Rus' under the influence of custom itself, we do not at all want to say that this note and, at the same time, our current custom have nothing in common with the practice of the Eastern churches, and that both are a work of purely Russian creativity, a product of the development of the life of the Russian Church, Russian-church practice. On the contrary, we are positively confident that our present custom in all its smallest details represents a positive identity with the practice of the churches of the Christian East. Here we see it in its entirety, although in a different service, namely at Vespers on the first day of Holy Easter. According to the statutes of the Church of Constantinople, a rather mute remark is made about reading the Gospel at this particular time. Then, says this Charter, the holy gospel is read according to custom (κατὰ τό σύνηθες): “I am here to come,” the end “I will not believe.” 11 How should we understand the expression of the Charter: “according to custom” - the answer to this is given to us by the current Bulgarian Typikon. “The holy gospel is also read,” it says, “from the patriarch and from the holy bishops (in various languages, as usual).”12 Thus, it is clear that the reading of the gospel according to articles, by all bishops and, moreover, in various languages, is timed in the practice of the Greek and South-Slavic churches precisely for this vespers. This ritual, performed in the east with particular solemnity and pomp, always attracted the attention of our Russian travelers, who gave the most detailed descriptions of it. “At first the service went quickly in Greek and did not represent anything special,” writes a certain A. Selivanova about the celebration of Vespers in Jerusalem on this day of St. Easter, until the Greek deacon proclaimed: “And be made worthy of Nama.” “Vonmem,” the voice of the patriarch answered from the depths of the altar in Greek. Involuntarily, everyone became quiet, and in the midst of the ensuing silence, the first words of the Gospel were clearly heard in the Slavic language. They read about the second appearance of Christ to his disciples, which is why Vespers is called the second resurrection. The reading did not last long: after 7-8 minutes the reader stopped. A strange metallic sound suddenly rang through the church and then a loud bell rang overhead. Everyone shuddered. “And make us worthy,” the clear, calm voice of the deacon is heard again, and again the Gospel is read in Greek. As soon as his last word died away, the same strange sound, the sound of iron hitting iron, spread throughout the church and was repeated: the bell rang twice. The Gospel is read again and the mysterious ringing is heard again. One after another, from different sides of the church, the monks read the Word of God, it seems, in twelve languages: Slavic, Greek, Latin, French, Italian, Turkish, Arabic, Jewish and other dialects sound alternately in the vast church, full of silent crowds, and are accompanied by a loud ringing. The impression, Ms. Selivanova concludes her description, is strong. Perhaps that is why the people love this Vespers so much” 13. From the descriptions of another Russian traveler of this vespers, we learn about the position of the gospel readers in the church. The patriarch reads the gospel in a high place, one bishop on the throne, another in the royal doors, priests and hierodeacons in the church on pulpits 14. Thus, there is no doubt that our custom of reading the Gospel with divisions into sections for the priest and deacon and with bells after each section was developed in all its details under the influence of a similar custom of the Greek-Eastern churches, a custom that takes place after vespers on the first day of Easter. Not only that, we are extending this dependence further. We think that here lies the reason for the emergence of another custom among us, a strong one, established in cities and even spread to villages, the custom of reading the Easter Gospel in various languages, such as Greek, Latin, Hebrew, etc. We saw above that the statutes of the Church of Constantinople, and especially the current Bulgarian one, date this custom precisely to this Easter Vespers. As for the Gospel at the Easter liturgy, according to the Rule, it is read in the usual way, and the entire liturgy and Easter service in general, as we have seen, is performed quickly and with significant abbreviations, contrary to the Jerusalem Rule. It is only in Jerusalem that the gospel is read in various languages ​​during the liturgy 15 . But here, too, all the detailed details of the present reading are undoubtedly transferred from the evening service. The custom, called by the Greeks “devtera anastasis” (Δευτέρα ἀνάστασις), or the second resurrection, or the second Orthodoxy, enjoys, according to our travelers, special respect and attracts masses of people. A huge gathering of people still happens in the church of the former Greek Archangel Michael Church in the city of Nizhyn 16, where this custom has been practiced for a long time. Such love for this custom among the people is explained, first of all, by the physical vigor that all pilgrims feel, having already sufficiently strengthened their strength with rest, as well as by their festive mood, which seeks, accordingly, a great celebration and majestic ceremonies 17, and an extraordinary spiritual triumph. Not without some curiosity, they listen to the reading of the Gospel in various languages ​​during the liturgy, and we have tired and half-asleep pilgrims of this day, although they definitely do not receive any benefit from this reading. Readable for most of them is an empty phrase and the satisfaction of one idle curiosity. That is why, having nothing in principle against the existence of such a custom in Rus', we intend to say a few words about its better and more expedient implementation in our country. We have already said that among the Greeks in Jerusalem, where pilgrims from all countries flock to Easter days, as well as in Constantinople and other eastern cities, where people of different tribes and dialects are present at the divine services, the reading of the Easter Gospel (whether it will be during the liturgy or during Vespers is still indifferent) in various languages and namely: in Greek, Turkish, Arabic, Jewish - has makes sense and is quite appropriate. Each of the nationalities present in the church can hear the gospel word in a language it understands. It’s a completely different matter here in Rus', where Greek and Latin are understood only by bookish people, and the majority of those who pray, the common people, know about these languages ​​and peoples only by hearsay from others. Consequently, for them, reading the gospel in these languages ​​will be completely incomprehensible and pointless. Therefore, in Russia, inhabited by many tribes, nationalities and dialects, it is possible to replace the reading of the Gospel in Greek, Latin, etc. reading in the dialects of those peoples who inhabit this or that area of ​​our vast fatherland and for whom the Slavic and Russian languages ​​are completely incomprehensible. So, for example, in the parishes of the St. Petersburg diocese, priests can successfully read the Gospel in Finnish, in the Kazan province in the Tatar, Cheremis and Mordovian dialects, in the Vyatka province - in Votsk, in Siberian - in the language of those nationalities that inhabit this or that area, in the Astrakhan province - in Kalmyk, etc. In a word, it is desirable, so that on this day of the Holy Resurrection of Christ “all creation” would listen to the Word of God in a language that everyone understands, and would not remain an indifferent listener to alien sounds. Such reading should be especially desirable in foreign parishes, where more than half of the worshipers have difficulty understanding the Slavic language. It will be pleasant 18 for our foreign Christians to hear the Word of God on this bright holiday in their native dialect. They will understand that their St. The Church considers her sincere children and readily gives them spiritual food, which they will accept with joy in their hearts and with the praise of God on their lips. For this purpose, it is possible to publish the Easter Gospel in the Russian alphabet 19 in all dialects that are found within vast Russia, so that the Easter Gospel can be read by priests serving in parishes with foreigners, but who do not know the language of these latter. Reading the gospel in this way would be a direct response to the words of the Savior: “Go and teach all languages... preach the gospel to every creature.” And this, in turn, can be a wonderful sermon about Christ to those who do not yet believe in Him. Our Easter service, with its solemnity and extraordinary majesty, quite often attracts pagans, non-believers, etc., to our churches, who, having become interested in our service, can listen to the Word of God in their own language. We are even confident that if the custom of reading the Gospel in the languages ​​of the area in which the Easter service is celebrated becomes a general practice, then non-believers and pagans will go to our churches directly for the purpose of listening to their language as applied to Christian worship. And the seed of Christ’s teaching, which accidentally falls on a heart that is not hardened, can bear abundant fruit... That is why the question arises by itself: is it not better to postpone, in accordance with the practice of the Eastern churches, the reading of the Gospel in various languages ​​for Easter Vespers. This will greatly relieve those praying who spend the whole night without sleep, and will give them the opportunity to listen to the evening service with full vigor of body and spirit, which will become even more interesting and solemn by adding to it the reading of the Gospel in various languages. This is one side of the real matter. Another, more serious, is that the real Easter gospel, setting out the sublime theological teaching about God the Word, can with difficulty be assimilated by purely Orthodox people, and there is nothing to say about fellow believers... Whereas the evening gospel, which treats the second appearance of the Lord to his disciples gathered in one place, is a gospel, so to speak, of a purely missionary nature and can provide a rich lesson for all believers and non-believers edification. Here we hear Christ endowing his disciples with the gifts of grace: “Receive the holy spirit”... Here we hear a reproach for those who want to touch everything and know through experience: “Blessed are those who have not seen but have believed” (John 20, 22, 29). Such a gospel, when read in an understandable dialect, can in itself be easily assimilated by those present in the church and can provide abundant material for words of teaching to shepherds. In this case, about the use of different languages ​​during worship, one must remember the wise instruction of the teacher of languages, St. Apostle Paul. “Whoever speaks in an unknown tongue,” he writes in his letter to the Corinthians, “edifies himself... So if you also utter unintelligible words with your tongue, how will they know what you are saying? You will speak into the wind... For if you bless in spirit, how will one standing in the place of a commoner say: Amen, at your thanksgiving? Because he doesn't understand what you're saying. You give thanks well, but the other is not edified... But in church I would rather say five words with my mind, in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in an unknown language... Tongues are a sign not for believers, but for unbelievers. ..” (14, 4, 9, 16, 17, 19, 22). From all that has been said, the following provisions clearly follow: 1. The current remark of the Typikon about reading the Easter Gospel with divisions into articles and with the reading of the latter by priests and deacons was developed under the influence of the very custom that has appeared in Russia since ancient times. 2. In its present form, this rite was finally established in the 16th or 17th century, when our current note about it appeared in the Typikon. 3. Detailed details were undoubtedly borrowed from the practice of the Eastern churches, where the custom of such a reading of the Gospel is practiced at Vespers on the first day of Easter. 4. The reading of the Gospel at the liturgy of the first day of Easter in Greek, Latin, etc. appeared in our country under the influence of the contemporary practice of the Eastern churches, where this custom takes place at Vespers on the first day of Easter. 5. Such multilingual reading of the Easter Gospel, having deep meaning and significance in the place of its origin, in Rus' can be replaced by reading in the languages ​​of those of our foreigners who live in this or that province, in this or that parish. 6. Finally, in purely missionary forms, the reading of the Gospel in different languages, in accordance with the practice of the Eastern churches, can be transferred from the liturgy to Vespers on the first day of Easter, which from this ceremony will become more solemn and will attract even pagan foreigners to the temple. For the same purpose, it is necessary to publish the Easter Gospel in all foreign dialects that can be found here in Russia and certainly in the Russian alphabet, so that priests who do not know the languages ​​of the foreigners around them can use this publication. Vespers on the first day of Easter on the eve of the Feast of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary In this year (1885), the Feast of the Annunciation falls on Monday of Easter week, or, what is the same, on the second day of Easter. In the so-called “Mark’s chapters” a similar case of a confluence of holidays is provided for in the article “On the same holiday, if the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos happens on Monday, Tuesday, or on Wednesday of Bright Week” (Typical edition. Kyiv. 1824. Coll. Πεντηκοστάριον edit. Venet. 1801 an. pag. 18), which sets out the procedure for service in this case. The “Chapter of Mark” we mentioned should and without a doubt will guide our shepherds in this case. But this chapter, for all its completeness and consistency, in practice can give rise to some kind of perplexity and difficulties, which, however, can be easily eliminated. Let's make a little clarification about it. The “Mark’s Chapter” of the Rules that we indicated contains a statement of four church services, namely: Little Vespers, Great Vespers, Matins and partly the Liturgy. The general, ordinary Charter of the Easter service knows only the three rites of Great Vespers, Matins and Liturgy. It does not and cannot speak of Little Vespers, because at Vespers the Little Entrance is performed throughout the entire week - on the first day of Easter with the Gospel, and on the rest - with the censer, and the Great Prokeimenon is sung, which constitutes an integral and distinctive feature of Great Vespers only. Consequently, the appearance in this case of Little Vespers, in addition to Great Vespers, is a certain deviation from the same Rule and the presentation of the service for these great days is similar to its presentation if the Feast of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos fell not on Easter, but on some other day. In addition, in Rus', the custom has firmly taken root, contrary, however, to the instructions of the Typikon and Octoechos, to serve Great Vespers with Little Vespers not on the eve of the holidays, but on the holiday itself along with Matins. On the eve, one small vespers is served, and only in city and monastery churches is an all-night vigil, which during Easter week is not served even in these churches. Now, guided by the “Chapter of Mark” that we called, regarding the service for the Annunciation on Easter Monday and without deviating from the customs firmly rooted in Rus', the priest on the first day of Easter in the evening will have to serve only one small vespers, and leave the great one until the morning and serve it together with matins. This is what our shepherds would have done without any doubt, and perhaps some will do it, but here comes this kind of difficulty: when should we read the Easter Gospel - at Little Vespers or in the morning at Great Vespers after Matins? This question is very natural and quite reasonable, since in the rite of Little Vespers, set out in the chapter we mentioned, it is said: “Quiet light without entry (ἄνευ εὶσόδου), great prokeimenon 20: Who is the great God and his first verse, the same Lord vouchsafe,” etc. (fol. 247 vol.). That is The Charter does not speak about the small entrance with the Gospel, nor about the reading of the Paschal Gospel itself: “I am present later,” which, according to the same article, is included in the rite of Great Vespers. Consequently, if a priest wishes to adhere to the generally accepted custom in Rus' - to serve Great Vespers together with Matins and does not create an all-night vigil from these services, which is never served in the villages, and in the cities, as we have noticed, it is customary, at least on Easter, to serve Matins without fail, then the Easter Gospel, which, according to the Rule, is set at Vespers, should be left unread. This is required by the nature of the Gospel reading, timed to coincide with the evening of this particular day, and the following remark of the Typikon: “Even in the week of the evening, according to this (i.e., but the reading of the five proverbs of the holiday) the priest: “And be made worthy of us,” the Gospel of John began 65: “I am present later in that day” (fol. 248).” That is. if Great Vespers on the eve of the Annunciation is celebrated on Monday or Tuesday morning together with Matins or evening on the same days, since the Feast of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos can also take place on these days, then the above note will not take place. In the Greek Pendikostarium, in which the service for the Annunciation on Easter Monday is set out independently, we do not see the above remark of our Typikon about reading the Gospel (edit. Venet. 1801 an. pag. 19). So that the evening Easter Gospel does not actually remain unread, the priest must certainly, contrary to the established custom in Rus', immediately after the small vespers, serve another great... Apparently, the present “Mark’s Chapter” is set out in relation to the service in the patronal churches, where, in addition to Little Vespers, according to the Rule, the 21st All-Night Vigil must also be celebrated. But, firstly, if we turn to the so-called “church chapters,” we will clearly see that they do not require such an abundance of services as the “Mark’s Chapter” we are considering represents, but, on the contrary, directly indicate that only three services should take place in the throne churches: Great Vespers, Matins and Liturgy. So, the 48th “church chapter” reads as follows: “If the holy church happens from Monday of Bright Week to the 4th week of Easter, and we sing on those days the service of the church, “as St. George wrote on the 22nd in the Monthly Book” (fol. 479 vol.). We find the “Mark’s chapter”, which is indicated by the now cited “church chapter”, and we clearly see that in it and there is no mention of small vespers, but only the rite of great vespers, matins and liturgy is spoken of (fol. 258). Secondly, the “Mark’s Chapter” we are examining does not eliminate all difficulties even if an all-night vigil is served on the first day of Easter in the evening. The fact is that at this all-night vigil, following the literal instructions of this “chapter,” the priest will have to read two gospels: one during Great Vespers, after the proverbs of the holiday, and the other at Matins after the Great Litany and Sedate Litany (l. 248). Such a phenomenon in our all-night vigil, at which in ordinary times only one gospel is read at Matins, does not occur often... All these difficulties can easily be eliminated if our pastors, guided by the “Chapter of Mark” we are considering for the service of the Feast of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos on Easter Monday of the current Typikon and following the example of ancient Greek liturgical practice 23 and our ancient Russian one, leave the rite of Little Vespers without performing and serve, as the current Typikon requires for services in general on Easter week, only Great Vespers, Matins and liturgy. In the patronal churches, and where an all-night vigil will be held on the first day of Easter in the evening, you can also serve a small vespers, but certainly with the addition of the entrance with the gospel and the reading of the evening Easter gospel, so as not to read two gospels at the all-night vigil and thus not deviate from our generally accepted customs in relation to the all-night vigil. The custom of serving the liturgy on Easter some time after the end of Matins was practiced in ancient times and in the East in Greek churches. “I died from the Holy Sepulcher by the eastern doors,” our famous 12th-century pilgrim Hegumen Daniel says about Easter Matins, “and having entered the altar and kissed the faithful Christian and Suryan priests, that is, Syrian, he died from the church and died into his monastery and rested there until the liturgy.” (Igum Daniel’s travels around the holy land at the beginning of the 12th century. Ed. Norov. St. Petersburg, 1864, p. 146). Benefit to study Charter divine service right churches. St. Petersburg 1874 p. 618. Arch. John. Experience. church course laws. St. Petersburg 1851, vol. I, p. 239, vol. II, p. 489. Matthew Blastar in his Syntagma directly indicates that the custom of serving the liturgy in the early hours of the night (ὥ ρα τρίτη) on the holidays of Easter, Christmas, Epiphany and even the Annunciation has been practiced in the ancient Christian church for a long time and is considered a custom established by the fathers (Syntagm. alphabet. lit. T., κεφ. ε page 237). Vlastar also points out the reasons why this custom was established in ancient Christian practice. (Συνοδ. sive Pandect. Canonum ss. apost. et consilior. ab eccles. graec. recept. edit. MDCLXXII an.). Great. fasting in St. city ​​of Jerusalem M. 1864 p. 76; Histor. Vestn. 1884 book. XII page 700. Histor. Vestn. 1884 book. XII p. 702; Great. fasting in St. city of Jerusalem M. 1864 p. 79. ἡ θεία λειτουργία τοῦ Χρυσοστόμου. (Τυπικ. edit. Venet. 1643 l. 88 vol.; Πεντηκοστ. edit. Venet. 1801 p. 14). Charter RKP. XI-XII centuries M. Typogr. bib. No. 285 l. 9 rev. – 11; RKP. XI-XII centuries M. Synod. bib. No. 330 l. 36–38; Triode. RKP. XII century M. Typogr. bib. No. 254 l. 186 rev. – 187; No. 255 l. 54–55. Service RKP. XV century No. 1020 l. 31; XVI century No. 1025 l. 57; No. 1026 l. 47 rev; RKP. Volokol. bib. No. 342 l. 42; RKP. Typogr. bib. No. 132 l. 61 rev., 62. Typical. RKP. 1553 M. Synod. bib. No. 337 l. 452; XVI century No. 814 l. 275; RKP. Solov. bib. No. 1118 l. 478 rev; RKP. Anz. sk. No. 86 l. 348; RKP. Typogr. bib. No. 288 l. 502; RKP. Volokol. bib. No. 338 l. 262 rev; No. 342 l. 41 rev; Service RKP. Solov. bib. No. 1024 l. 38; No. 1025 l. 51; No. 1026 l. 47 rev; Triode. ed. Moscow 1591 yr. 219. Τυπικ. edit. Κωνσταντ. 1838 p. 193. Church Charter. according to the order of Christ's great Church ed. 2nd, G. K. Protopsalt. 1860 Constant. page 303. Historical Vestn. 1884 book. XII page 761. Lent is great. in St. gr. Jerusalem, pp. 76–79. “The liturgy in the Church of the Resurrection was without expense,” our Russian traveler describes the service on the first day of Easter in Jerusalem in 1858, “six bishops served: His Eminence Meletius (patriarchal vicar), Metropolitan Peter of Arabia, Samuil of Naples, Philemon of Gaza, Amir Macarius (visitor) and the head of the Russian mission Kirill, bishop Melitopol. The Gospel was read: on the throne, the Right Reverend Meletios - in Greek, the Right Reverend Cyril - in Slavic at the royal doors, the priests and hierodeacon in the church - at the pulpits, in Greek, Slavic, Arabic, Wallachian and Turkish" (Lent in the Holy City of Jerusalem, p. 76). But there is no reason to connect our custom with this custom of the Jerusalem Church. Here we see a natural and completely reasonable desire of the Holy Sepulcher clergy to give strangers from distant and different countries the opportunity to listen to the Easter Gospel in their native language. In Jerusalem, this is done not only in relation to the Gospel, but to entire sequences performed in one language or another, or to individual exclamations and prayers pronounced by Greek hierarchs in Slavonic, Moldavian, etc. “The third morning was in Greek,” writes A. Selivanova, “but the litanies were pronounced alternately in Russian and then in Greek, even two or three prayers were somehow timidly and quietly sung by our pilgrims” (Histor, Vestn. 1884, book XII, p. 700). Whereas our current custom of reading the Gospel in different languages ​​is nothing more nor less than a simple ceremony, which among the Greeks and throughout the East already takes place after vespers on the first day of Easter. The reading of the Gospels in different languages ​​at this time is considered as a ceremony by modern Greek and Bulgarian Charters (Τυπικ. 1838 p. 193; Church Charter. 1860 p. 303). That is why we do not connect our custom with the custom of the Jerusalem Church in relation to the reading of the Gospel at the liturgy of the first day of Easter. This is how the celebration of Vespers on this day is described in a handwritten booklet given to the candilapt of this church, or sexton, for guidance for the whole year. “On the first day of the Resurrection,” says the little book we mentioned, “vespers should be with ceremony. The Gospel is read in different languages ​​by all (serving) priests and deacons. They are dressed in the best vestments in full attire. When they sing “I have cried to the Lord,” the sexton sprinkles rose water on the worshipers. At the last stichera, place boys in surplices with green candles in the middle of the church in a circle (around). When they make an entrance (with the gospel), the boys should stand behind the priests and not move from their place upon exit while the priests begin to leave (from the altar) with the gospel. Then each boy should follow the priest or deacon and stand on the right side of the lectern. Shine (i.e., light) candles (in front of local images), chandeliers and polyeleos in advance (i.e., chandeliers in which lamps with wooden oil are placed instead of candles).” In the east, Vespers on the first day everywhere begins with a solemn procession of the cross from the patriarch’s house to the church where this Vespers is to be celebrated. “At three o’clock in the afternoon, the patriarch and all the holy bishops dress in all the bishop’s (sacred) clothes,” says the Charter of the present Church of Constantinople, “in the large synodal hall (εἰς τὸ μέγα σονιδιὸν), (where the meetings of the synod take place), and with the presentation of the honorable cross with ripids ) and with the singers singing “Christ is Risen” they go to church. After the initial exclamation: “Glory to the saints” (this exclamation is pronounced at all Easter services and at the celebration of Easter instead of: “Blessed is our God”), “Christ is Risen” is sung with its verses. Then the great litany, “I cried to the Lord” with “Let him be corrected,” the patriarch burns incense for all the people. After the Sunday stichera, “Before the Age,” we are in order of six, glory, “Singing the song of salvation,” and now, “The shade of the law has passed away.” Entrance with the Gospel, “Quiet Light”, prokeimenon: “Who is the great God, even as our God” (sung by the patriarch and bishops in the altar). Then, according to custom, the holy Gospel “I am present” is read (in various languages, as usual in the Bulgarian church charter), the litany: “Recite all”, “Lord grant”, “Let us fulfill our evening prayer”. After the exclamation, we sing stichera on the stichera: “Thy Resurrection is Christ the Savior.” Then “Holy Easter” with their verses, glory and now “Resurrection Day”, “Christ is Risen” three times and dismissal. Upon leaving the church, we sing “Christ is risen” to the synodal hall (μέχρι τοῦ σονιδικοῦ), where, upon the arrival of the patriarch and bishops, the protopsalt of the patriarch is celebrated and the service ends” (Τυπικ. 1838 p. 192, 193). In the procession in Jerusalem, the clergy walks with lighted candles, and the patriarch walks, “holding a lighted candle in his left hand, and in his right hand a wonderful amal image of the Resurrection, in a frame of emeralds, rubies and diamonds” (Historical Vestn. 1884, p. 701). “At the exit (in the same place) the deacons with trikirii and dikirii are in front, then the priests with arks and crosses, then the bishops. While singing “Quiet Light,” they together overshadow the people” (Lent. in the Holy City. Jerusalem, p. 76). In the Bulgarian church, the great prokeimenon is first sung in the altar, and then once in the choir (Church Charter, 1860, p. 302). We know the fact of reading the “Acts of the Apostles” in various foreign dialects on the first day of Easter during the liturgy in the church of the Kazan Foreign Teachers’ Seminary. This custom, established according to the thoughts of the highly enlightened director of the seminary P. I. Ilminsky, makes a deep impression on the students of the seminary and gives the entire divine service extraordinary majesty. In a similar way, many spiritual, moral and even liturgical books are printed in Kazan in various foreign dialects by the translation commission existing there at the missionary department. The translation of the gospel we recommend could easily be carried out by this commission. In the Greek original it is simply προκέιμενον without adding the irrelevant adjective “great” (Πεντηκοσταρ. edit. Venet. 1801 an. pag. 18; Μην. Μαρτ. edit. Venet. 1779 an. pag. 114), which, as one can most likely assume, remained in our Typikon (fol. 247 vol.) due to the oversight of translators or proofreaders, because if the great prokeimenon was placed on vespers, then the latter could in no way be called “small vespers.” The great prokeimenon is considered an integral part of only the great vespers, while at the small vespers the great prokeimenon, consisting of two verses, is called the small prokeimenon or prokeimenon of the day (Nikol. manual for the study of the church. Charter. p. 223 note 3). There is also another vigil for these (i.e., for the 52 all-night vigils prescribed by the Rule) of the holy church in the monastery, which must be observed, says Chapter 6 of the current Typikon, and in no way left in memory of it “(Typ. 1824, Kiev, ed. l. 12). This is also the practice in the modern Greek church Μην. Απριλλ. edit. Venet. 1780 an. pag. 103. If the Annunciation happens on Monday of Bright Week, says the Greek Typikon of 1643, on the evening of Great Resurrection, first the Sunday stichera, then the Theotokos; entrance: “Quiet Light”, prokeimenon: “Who is great God, even as our God”, gospel of the day: “I am present later in that day”, litany, “Lord vouchsafed”, petitionary litany, Easter stichera. And if you do an all-night vigil, then follow it; if not, “Christ is risen” and dismissal. At Monday morning after “Christ is risen,” glory to the troparion of the Theotokos, and now the same thing. The rest of the sequence is the same as on the Great Resurrection, except for the kissing. There is also lithium.” Τυπικ. edit. Venet. 1643 an. φ. 48. You might be interested in: