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Church connection

A person’s connection with the church can be manifested in a person’s internal appeal to God and in external actions. The latter include church rites and sacraments, holidays of veneration of saints and prayer services.

Church rituals in Orthodoxy differ from Protestant and Catholic rituals, although they have a lot in common. First of all, they are all the thread and material external link that connects man and God. The conduct of church rites in Orthodoxy accompanies the most significant events for a person: birth, baptism, wedding, funeral.

Worldly life and church rituals

Despite the modern pace of life, a certain technological development of civilization, the church and rituals continue to occupy an important place in human life. This is connected both with traditions that have developed over centuries, and with a person’s inner need for support from above, in faith in God’s justice and love.

The greatest interest among people is caused by church sacraments associated with baptism, wedding, communion, and funeral services. And although many rituals performed by temples are optional and do not have any civil or legal force, their necessity is felt by almost every adult.

The exception, perhaps, is baptism, when parents decide to give the child a spiritual name and the intercession of the Almighty for life. Many of those who were not baptized in childhood then independently come to the temple for God’s blessing and undergo the rite of baptism.

Conditional division of church rituals

All church rites can be divided into four groups: church liturgical rites, rites for the everyday needs of believers, symbolic rites and sacraments.

The latter include baptism, communion rites Orthodox Church, anointing, wedding, repentance. All of them are carried out in accordance with certain rules and requirements of the church.

Symbolic rites include making the sign of the cross over oneself, which accompanies prayers to God and saints, church services, and entering the temple.

Church rituals aimed at meeting the needs of believing parishioners include the consecration of food and water, housing, blessings for study, travel, and fasting.

Temple church rituals include liturgical events.

Great Church Sacraments: Baptism

The rite of baptism of a child can be performed after the fortieth day from the moment of his birth. To perform the ceremony, you must have godparents who are chosen from close people. Their responsibilities include spiritual guidance to the godson and his support in life. The mother of the child is not allowed to attend the sacrament of baptism.

During the ceremony, the child is in a new baptismal shirt in the arms of the godparents, who pray and make the sign of the blessing together with the priest. According to tradition, the child is dipped into the blessed font three times and carried around the font three times. The strands of hair cut off during the ritual are a symbol of submission to the Savior. At the end, the boys are brought behind the altar, and the girls are leaned against the face of the Virgin Mary.

It is believed that baptism gives a second birth to a person, provides him God's help and support in difficult moments, protects from sins and troubles.

Great sacraments of the church: communion

It is believed that communion in church frees a person from committed sins and grants him God's forgiveness. The rite of communion precedes the wedding rite, but it also needs some preparation.

About a week before the rite of communion, it is necessary to attend church if possible. On the day of the sacrament, you need to defend morning service fully. When preparing for communion, you must adhere to the same rules as when fasting. That is, abstain from food of animal origin, alcoholic drinks, entertainment and idle talk.

On the day of the rite of communion, before the start of the Divine Liturgy, you must confess to the priest. The communion itself is held at the end of the service, when everyone who wants to perform the ceremony takes turns approaching the pulpit, on which the clergyman holds the cup. You must kiss the cup and step aside, where everyone will be given holy water and wine.

The arms should be folded crosswise on the chest. On the day of communion, you should also adhere to strict rules: do not sin even in your thoughts, do not have fun, and abstain from sinful food.

Great church sacraments: wedding

All church ceremonies differ not only in the specifics of their conduct, but also in their rules and requirements. In order to undergo a wedding ceremony, you must first officially register the relationship in the registry office. A priest can perform a wedding ceremony only if he has an official marriage certificate.

An obstacle to the ceremony may be a different religion of one of the young people, an undissolved marriage with another person, blood relationship, or a vow of celibacy given in the past. Grand weddings are not held church holidays, during weeks and strict fasts, and special days weeks.

During the ceremony, grooms stand behind the newlyweds and hold crowns over the couple. All women present at the sacrament must have their heads covered. During the wedding ceremony, the bride touches the Face of the Mother of God, and the groom touches the Face of the Savior.

It is believed that the wedding ceremony protects the marriage from destruction from the outside, gives the couple God's blessing and help from the Almighty in difficult moments of life, and helps maintain love and respect for each other.

Besides external beauty and solemnity, which are characteristic of all church rites, they give a person’s soul peace, relieve him from the feeling of loneliness and internal torment. Their main advantage is that they force a person to look inside himself, clear his mind of bad thoughts, and gain true life values.

Customs and rituals of Orthodoxy

“The ritual (taken in itself),” says priest Pavel Florensky, “is the realized orientation towards God, who has come in the flesh, of our entire earth.”

Speaking about church Orthodox rituals, it should be noted that they are fundamentally different from typically pagan rituals, which also take place in the lives of Russian people. For example, Christmas fortune-telling is by no means welcomed by the Orthodox Church, although they can rightfully be called a ritual act. The sacraments, according to the Holy Scriptures, are a deep, hidden thought or action by virtue of which the invisible grace of God is communicated to believers. Rituals represent a kind of ladder along which human understanding ascends from the earthly to the heavenly and descends from the heavenly to the earthly, that is, the ritual, being a part of earthly reality, elevates the spirit to the contemplation of the Sacrament, directs consciousness to the feat of faith.

In Orthodoxy, such rites are known as the great consecration of water on the eve and feast of the Epiphany - the Epiphany, the minor consecration of water, monastic tonsure, the consecration of the temple and its accessories, the consecration of the house, things, food. These rituals are manifestations of the mystery of salvation, where God and humanity are united together. In addition, rituals are introduced into the church and personal life of a Christian so that through them the blessing of God descends on a person’s life and activity and strengthens his spiritual and moral strength.

Conventionally, Christian rites can be divided into three types: firstly, rites of worship, which are part of the liturgical life of the church. This includes the anointing of believers with consecrated oil at Matins, the great consecration of water, the consecration of artos on the first day of Easter, the removal of the holy shroud on Good Friday, etc.

Secondly, in Orthodoxy there are rituals that can be conditionally called everyday, i.e., sanctifying the everyday needs of people: commemoration of the dead, consecration of homes, products (seeds, vegetables), good undertakings (fasting, teaching, travel, building a house).

And thirdly, symbolic rituals that serve to express religious ideas and are perceived by the Orthodox consciousness as a path to communion with God. It is appropriate to cite the example of the sign of the cross: it is performed in remembrance of the suffering of Christ on the cross and at the same time serves in a real way protecting a person from the influence of evil demonic forces.

This chapter will examine the most famous church rites and customs. And one of the most important is, of course, baptism. Nowadays, even people who are not true Christians strive to baptize a newborn child, understanding on a subconscious level the importance and necessity of this action. The sacrament of baptism symbolizes the spiritual birth of a person. Through this action, the person receiving baptism is given special grace from God. From the moment of baptism, the life of a new member becomes ecclesiastical, that is, interconnected with the life of the church. If we turn to the history of Orthodoxy, one cannot help but notice that the rite of baptism is performed not only on newborns. Previously, a person accepted baptism consciously, of his own free will. Baptized in Ancient Rus', passing from paganism to Orthodoxy, apostolic men were baptized.

How is the baptism ceremony performed? Baptism is carried out in the following sequence: first there is a catechumen (instruction in the truths of faith), followed by repentance with renunciation of previous errors and sins. Then the baptized person must make an oral confession of faith in Christ, and lastly the spiritual birth itself occurs when immersed in water with the words pronounced: “In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”

Another necessary church rite is naming. Previously, during the birth of Christianity, it was customary to preserve pagan names (for example, under pagan names Vladimir, Vasily in holy baptism, Boris - Roman, Gleb - David, etc. were known).

In the 16th century the number of prayers increased, and when it was necessary to name the baby, the priest stood at the door of the house or temple and said a prayer, first of all, “to the temple, in which the baby will be born,” and then “a prayer to the wife, when she gives birth.” After this, the priest censed the house and, consecrating the child with the sign of the cross, read the prayers “name the baby”, “the wife by birth and all the wives who were born” and the “woman” who delivered the child.

Usually, the parents gave the name to the newborn in honor of one of the saints revered in the Russian church. Our ancestors also named their children after the name of the saint, whose memory fell on their birthday or on the day of their christening. Sometimes the child’s name was chosen in honor of a saint especially revered by the whole family. The name was given either by the father of the family or by the priest.

The baptized person must also immerse himself in consecrated water. This custom has existed since the 2nd–3rd centuries. Hieromartyr Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage, wrote that “the water must first be consecrated by the priest, so that during Baptism it can wash away the sins of the person being baptized.”

The rite of consecration of water for the Sacrament of baptism passed from the Greek church to the Russian one. Historical sources say that “the water of Baptism was marked with the sign of the cross.” In addition, a peaceful litany was recited and a prayer was read for the blessing of water.

Later, the custom was added before the start of baptism to cense water and bless it three times with a candle. When the words “Great art thou, Lord...” three times, the priest blessed the water three times. At the words “Let all opposing forces be crushed under the sign of the image of Your Cross,” according to later Greek practice, he only blew on the water and blessed it, but did not immerse his fingers in it.

Baptism itself was always performed through three times immersion in water in the name of the Holy Trinity. Since the times of Ancient Rus', white clothes were put on the newly baptized person and a cross, previously consecrated, was laid on him. For us, baptism was performed through three times immersion of the person receiving baptism in the consecrated waters of the font. After baptism, the newly baptized person was dressed in white clothes without saying or singing the words “Give me the robe...”. The vestments were followed by a litany, in which there were special petitions for the newly baptized.

The priest baptizing the baby had to take the child in his hands and say the words “Blessed is God, who enlightens and sanctifies every person...” and immerse him in the font three times. At the first immersion, the priest said: “The servant of God, named, is baptized in the name of the Father - amen,” at the second: “And the Son, amen,” and at the third: “And the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages.” Amen".

It is impossible not to mention such a custom in the Orthodox religion as the consecration of oil. According to Scripture, Noah received a “sign of reconciliation” in the form of an olive branch brought by a dove after the end of the flood. Comprehending the “sacrament of grace,” the priest asks God: “Bless this oil yourself, with the power and action, and influx of Your Holy Spirit: just as there was that anointing of incorruptibility, a weapon of righteousness, a renewal of soul and body...” The water in the baptismal font is also anointed with consecrated oil. . In this case, the oil, combining with water, is likened to the olive branch received by Noah as a joyful sign of God’s reconciliation with the world. Having been anointed with it, the one receiving baptism is consoled and strengthened by hope in God’s mercy and hopes that immersion in the water element will serve his spiritual rebirth.

One of the meanings of the word “oil” emphasizes its purpose in the Sacrament - to be a sign of the strengthening effect of God’s grace on the soul of those receiving baptism. It is characteristic that the anointed parts of the body - forehead, chest, interdorsum (between the shoulders), ears, arms and legs - say that the primary purpose of the oil is to sanctify the thoughts, desires and actions of a person entering into a spiritual covenant with God.

After being anointed with the “oil of gladness,” the person receiving baptism must enter into a “covenant with God” through “three immersions of a single sacrament.” Immersion in water means communion with the death of Christ the Savior crucified on the Cross. The cross is a sign of redemption and sanctification. Everything in Christianity is sanctified by it; every prayer ends with the sign of the cross.

Then the priest dresses the newly baptized person in white robes. Sin once revealed their nakedness to Adam and Eve and forced them to cover it with clothing. Before this, they were clothed in Divine glory and light, in the inexpressible beauty that constitutes the true nature of man. Putting a person in the baptismal robe means returning him to the integrity and innocence that he possessed in paradise, to unity with the world and nature. To confirm this, they sing the troparion “Give me a robe of light, dress in light like a robe, O most merciful Christ our God.”

The person emerging from the font and dressed in white robes is given a candle, symbolizing the light of faith and glory. future life.

The Sacrament of Confirmation completes the grace-filled process of a new member joining the Church. Participation in this rite makes a new member of the Church worthy to be a partaker of the Body and Blood of Christ. The word "mirror" in Greek means "fragrant oil." Myrrh was used for sanctification back in the days of the Old Testament. The Holy Scripture calls the preparation of the world a holy work, and the world itself - “a great shrine.”

The sacrament of anointing consists of two separate sacred rites: the preparation and consecration of the world and the actual anointing of the newly baptized with the consecrated world, which is performed by the priest immediately after the sacrament of baptism. There is an internal organic connection between these actions, despite the fact that they are performed at different times.

In the Russian church, the forehead, nostrils, lips, ears, heart and palm of one hand are anointed. Also, the features of anointing include dressing in white robes, laying a scarlet crown and presenting a candle. By crown is meant either a bandage covering the forehead of the anointed person, or a kukol - “robe for the head”, on which three crosses were embroidered. When anointing with myrrh, one must pronounce the words: “Seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit.” After confirmation, the baby is dressed in new clothes with the words “The servant of God is dressing...”.

The next ritual that will be discussed is less known than the previous ones. The threefold walk of those receiving baptism around the font appeared after the separation of the Sacrament of baptism and confirmation from the liturgy. After confirmation, the priest entered the altar with the newly baptized person and placed the boy on the four sides of the throne, and the girl on the three, excluding the front. Coming out of the altar, the priest sang: “Blessed ones, to whom the essence of iniquity has been forgiven...” This was followed by the liturgy, and the newly baptized received communion of the holy mysteries of Christ.

After the anointing, the priest and the recipient with the baby walked around the font three times, after which the priest took the child and carried the boy to the altar, and the girl to the Royal Doors, without bringing her into the altar.

According to the customs of the ancient church, 7 days after the Sacrament of Confirmation, the newly baptized came to the temple to be washed by the hands of the priests.

The newly baptized was obliged to keep on himself the seal of anointing with holy chrism. Therefore, the newly baptized did not take off the clothes they wore at baptism and did not wash themselves until the eighth day. In the 16th century the newly enlightened one attended the liturgy. During the great entrance, he walked ahead of the priest carrying the gifts prepared for consecration with a lit candle in his hands. At the end of the liturgy, accompanied by relatives and friends who had lit candles, he retired home. For 7 days he was obliged to attend the services of Matins, Vespers and Liturgy, standing with a burning candle. Next, the priest read prayers and troparia.

I would also like to recall an Orthodox ritual that is observed by almost all people. We will, of course, talk about the Sacrament of Marriage. Nowadays, many newlyweds get married in a church, according to the Orthodox rite, observing traditions and customs established in ancient times. Even those who do not believe in God (we are not talking about those who preach atheism) one way or another strive to enter into a marriage in Orthodox church, calling on God to sanctify marriage and make it happy and successful. What is marriage from a Christian point of view?

Christian teaching recognizes marriage as a union in which a man and a woman accept the responsibility to live together inseparably throughout their lives as husband and wife, helping each other in everyday needs. A strong relationship based on love, trust and respect creates favorable conditions for the birth and upbringing of children, that is, the continuation of the human race.

Let's turn to the Bible to find out how the marriage union between a man and a woman arose. The book of Genesis introduces us to the story of the first marriage performed in paradise by the Lord God.

Having created the first man - Adam, the Lord created a woman - Eve - from his rib, since loneliness could burden Adam, deprive him of the closest and most understandable means for comprehensive development his personality in love and obedience to God. Thus, the very first marriage union in paradise was concluded.

The history of Old Testament humanity shows that believers valued God’s blessing on marriage, which they received first from their parents and then from the priest. Over the course of many centuries, complex marriage rituals were formed that accompanied marriage. This includes the voluntary consent of the bride and groom, and parental blessing for marriage, gifts to the bride and her parents from the groom, drawing up marriage contract in front of witnesses, a wedding dinner in compliance with the prescribed etiquette. The custom of marriage in the Russian Church is interesting. As in Byzantium, in Rus' marriages began with the bride and groom turning to the bishop with a request to bless their marriage. Later, marriages were accompanied by a “charge” - an agreement providing for the payment of monetary compensation in the event of divorce. During the era of the Holy Synod in Russia, only the parish priest of the bride or groom could solemnize a marriage. Anyone wishing to get married had to announce this to his parish priest, and the priest announced the proposed marriage in the church. If there was no information about an obstacle to marriage, then the priest made an entry about this in the search book, i.e. a search. It was signed by the bride and groom, their guarantors and the priest. This action was performed in the personal presence of the bride and groom, as well as their witnesses, who confirmed the act of marriage with their signatures in the registry book. This order has been established in the Russian Church since 1802.

Why is it so important to perform a wedding ceremony in a church? According to the Bible, the church is the Body of Christ, in which Christ is the Head, and all who are born of water and the Spirit are members of his Body. Therefore, marriage can only be concluded in church with the blessing of a bishop or priest. In a Christian marriage, the husband takes on the cross of family life, and the wife should be his helper and friend. The sanctity of Christian marriage makes it unlike any other marriage outside the church, since it is based on the creation of a “house church” from the family. Family life will be harmonious when both spouses have love for God and each other. This is the key to a strong and strong family, capable of leaving behind a worthy generation.

The initial stage of the marriage ceremony is the betrothal, which is preceded by the blessing of the parents and spiritual father. A sign of the establishment of this union in peace, love and harmony is the presentation of rings to the bride and groom with the priest’s prayer for the Heavenly blessing of their betrothal. In ancient times, the betrothal of the bride and groom was carried out by their parents and relatives. The pious custom of also securing the blessing of a bishop arose for the reason that Orthodox Christians, in addition to their parents, have a spiritual father in the person of the bishop. Having secured the blessing of their parents and confessor-priest, the chosen bride and groom, after consulting with their elders, set a wedding day. First, the marriage must be registered in the civil authority - the registry office, after which it is performed Holy Sacrament, in which the newlyweds are taught Divine grace, sanctifying their union and imparting to them God’s blessing on life together, birth and raising children.

Custom prescribes on the very day or on the eve of civil registration to serve a prayer service to the Lord Jesus Christ for the beginning of a good deed. On the wedding day, after saying prayers, parents must bless their children. The son is blessed with the icon of the Savior, the daughter with the icon of the Mother of God.

On the day of betrothal, young people who love each other must receive God's blessing, and for this, according to custom, they arrive at the temple. The groom appears first in the church, accompanied by groomsmen and one of the children carrying the icon of Christ the Savior ahead of the groom. At the temple, the groom is greeted with one of the church hymns appropriate for the occasion. After praying to God, the groom moves from the middle of the temple to the right side and awaits the arrival of the bride. The bride arrives at the temple a little later and worships God and listens to church hymns. Then she moves to the left side of the temple.

Before the betrothal begins, the newlyweds’ rings are placed by the priest on the holy throne so that they can be sanctified by the Lord, since from that moment the newlyweds entrust their lives to him.

The betrothal begins with the carrying of the Saints of the Cross and the Gospel from the altar into the middle of the church, which the priest places on a lectern. In the vestibule, the priest brings the groom to the bride and, connecting the groom’s hand with the bride’s hand, places them in the middle of the vestibule, where the betrothal ceremony will take place. Thus, the bride and groom meet in the temple, where they are surrounded by family, friends and parishioners. The church becomes a witness to the vows of the bride and groom, which they make to each other before God, and the blessing of the priest confirms this word with a holy union, after which the priest gives the bride and groom lighted candles. Burning candles are a symbol in Christianity: they depict spiritual triumph, the glory of chaste action and the light of Divine grace. The flame of candles illuminates the beginning of a new life into which the young people are entering, testifying to the joy of meeting these people and the general joy of those present. The actual ceremony of betrothal begins with the glorification of the Heavenly Father.

Probably, few people know where the custom of betrothal rings came from. In Orthodox Christianity this ritual is prescribed deep meaning. By presenting the rings brought from the Holy See, the priest expresses to the bride and groom the faith of the church in the continuity of their union, granted to them by God's will. In addition, the exchange of rings indicates that the mutual consent of the engaged couple also includes the consent of the parents.

Why is the bride's ring first with the groom, and the groom's ring with the bride? This is seen as an ancient practice, when the betrothal was separated from the wedding for a long period and the engaged kept their wedding rings as a sign of their love and fidelity, and at the time of the wedding they returned to each other the saved sign of their love, which symbolized their readiness to enter into agreement with each other in all their affairs, laying the foundation for the exchange of thoughts and feelings, concerns and works.

The betrothal ends with a special litany, the prayer of which emphasizes the church recognition of the intentions and feelings of the bride and groom and seals the word they gave to each other. The spiritual family is now connected to His Holiness Patriarch, the hierarchy of the church, with each other and with all brothers in Christ.

Ends with engagement preparatory stage to the indivisible residence of husband and wife. Then follows the wedding ceremony, which is also carried out according to Christian customs.

The young bride and groom enter the temple with lighted candles, and the priest places the young couple in front of a lectern with the Cross and the Gospel on a piece of white cloth spread on the floor, which is a symbol of unity and inseparable residence in marriage.

At the end of the singing of the psalm, the priest speaks a lesson to the bride and groom, in which he draws their attention to great secret marriage union, on the meaning of the sacred rites of the Sacrament. By this he attunes their hearts to the perception of the life of the Kingdom of God.

At the end of the speech, the priest first asks the groom and then the bride about their consent to marry. The husband must first of all understand his responsibility for creating a family, since he is the head of the family, and the wife is his assistant. Therefore, both the bride and groom must understand the importance of the decision being made in order to consciously answer the priest’s question. The questions asked by the priest are also important because the Church has witnessed the voluntariness of spouses entering into cohabitation.

The mysterious wedding ceremony begins with the glorification of the Kingdom of the Holy Trinity. The Christians gathered in the church ask God, glorified in the Holy Trinity, for salvation for the newlyweds, the blessing of the marriage union, the preservation of their bodily and spiritual purity and sacred protection in life together.

At the end of the peaceful litany, the priest says three prayers in which he asks God to bless the present marriage, to preserve those married, as he once preserved Noah in the ark, Jonah in the belly of the whale, and to give them the joy that blessed Helen experienced when she found Honest Cross Lord's. The priest prays to God to grant those entering into marriage peaceful life, longevity, mutual love and kindness.

Having completed the reading of prayers, the priest proceeds to the main moment of the Sacrament, blessing the marriage union in the name of the Triune God. Taking the crown, the priest blesses the groom with it and says: “The servant of God (name) is married to the servant of God (name) in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, amen.” Then, in the same way, the priest crowns the bride’s head, saying: “The servant of God (name) is crowned with the servant of God (name) ...”

Following this, crowns are placed on the bride and groom. They symbolize the glory of Christ's union with the church. With this rite, the church honors the bride and groom for their chastity and preserved virginity and makes obvious the blessing of God - to be the ancestors of offspring for the married couple. The laying of crowns and the words of the priest “Lord our God, I crown (them) with glory and honor” capture the Sacrament of marriage. The Church proclaims those getting married to be the founders of a new Christian family - a small, home church, pointing the way to the Kingdom of God and signifying the eternity of their union.

The litany of petition includes the reading of the Lord's Prayer, in which the newlyweds testify to their determination to serve the Lord and fulfill His will in family life. At the end of this they drink from a common cup. The common cup is a cup of red wine, which the priest, when pronouncing the words “bless with a spiritual blessing,” blesses once. Spouses drink from a common cup three times: first the husband, then the wife. Eating wine is reminiscent of the miraculous transformation of water into wine performed by Jesus Christ in Cana of Galilee. This rite symbolizes the complete unity of the spouses, captured in the sacrament performed. From now on, husband and wife common life, just thoughts, desires, ideas. In this inextricable union they will share among themselves the cup of joys and sorrows, sorrows and consolations.

After this action, the priest connects the husband’s right hand with right hand wife, covers the joined hands with the stole and places his hand on top of it. This means that through the hand of the priest the husband receives a wife from the church itself, uniting them in Christ forever.

There are many symbols in Christian rituals. In the Sacrament of Marriage, in addition to wedding rings, there is an image of a circle symbolizing eternity. The priest leads the newlyweds around the lectern three times. The threefold circumambulation is performed for the glory of the Holy Trinity, which is called upon as evidence of the vow before the church to forever preserve the marital union. During the first solemn procession around the lectern, the troparion “Isaiah rejoice...” is sung, in which the Holy Virgin, which served the mystery of the incarnation of the Son of God. When going around the second circle, the troparion “Holy Martyrs...” is sung, where the holy ascetics and martyrs who defeated sinful passions are glorified, so that they strengthen the newlyweds’ readiness for confessional and spiritual deeds.

For the third time, during the procession around the lectern, the troparion “Glory to Thee, Christ God...” is sung. In it the church expresses the hope that family life combined will be a living preaching of the consubstantial Trinity in faith, hope, love and Christian piety.

After going around three times, the husband and wife are put in their place, and the priest removes the crowns first from the husband, then from the wife, addressing each with words of greeting. Then the priest reads two prayers. In the first, he asks the Lord to bless those who were married and accept their immaculate crowns in the Kingdom of Heaven. In the second, he prays to the Holy Trinity to grant the spouses long life, success in faith, as well as an abundance of earthly and heavenly blessings.

Then comes kissing and congratulations to those who have entered into marriage and a new relationship. At the end there is a “Prayer for the permission of the crowns on the eighth day.” This is due to the fact that in ancient times those who got married wore crowns for 7 days, and on the eighth day the priest took them off with prayer.

At the end of the wedding, the newlyweds return to their home, where they are met by the parents of the bride and groom, who, according to custom, offer them bread and salt and bless them with icons of the Savior and the Mother of God. Having kissed the icons and the hands of their parents, the husband and wife enter their home to place the “blessed images” in the front corner and light a lamp in front of them to create a prayerful atmosphere of a temple in the house.

Let us conclude this chapter with a description of the ritual performed at the end of a person’s earthly journey. We will talk about funeral services and commemoration of the dead. Without the custom that accompanies the transition from earthly life to the afterlife, not a single religion is conceivable. In Orthodoxy, this event is given special importance: death is the great sacrament of the birth of a person from earthly, temporary life into eternal life. The separation of the soul from the body occurs mysteriously, and the essence of this phenomenon is inaccessible to human consciousness.

Upon leaving the body, the human soul finds itself in completely new conditions, where the deep spiritual connection of the deceased person with the church, which continues to care for him in the same way as during life, becomes of utmost importance. The body of a deceased Christian is prepared for burial and prayers are performed for the repose of his soul so that the deceased is cleansed of sins and approaches Divine peace. If the deceased was a righteous person, prayer for him evokes a response prayer before God for those praying themselves.

Currently, there are the following rites of funeral services according to the age and condition of the dead: burials of lay people, monks, priests, infants.

What is a funeral service and how is it carried out according to the Orthodox faith?

The funeral service is a funeral service for the dead, and it is performed for the deceased only once. This is its fundamental difference from other funeral services, which can be repeated several times (memorial services, lithiums).

The funeral service is intended to pray for the deceased, that is, to ask for forgiveness for sins committed during life. The funeral rites have the goal of giving the soul of the deceased spiritual peace. However, this ritual benefits not only the deceased: like all funeral services, the funeral service helps the relatives and friends of the deceased cope with grief, heal emotional wounds, and come to terms with loss. Grief and individual grief take on a universal form, the form of pure humanity, and the mourner himself receives liberation and some relief.

A secular person is buried according to the following scheme, consisting of three parts.

Part I

"Blessed be our God..."

Psalm 118 (three articles, the first two end with a litany)

On the third article: troparia for the “Immaculate Ones”

Litany: “Packs and packs...”

Troparion: “Peace, our Savior...”, “Breaking forth from the Virgin...”

Part II

Canon “Like on dry land...”, tone 6

The verses of St. John of Damascus are self-concordant: “What is the sweetness of life...”

"Blessed are..." with troparia

Prokeimenon, Apostle, Gospel

Permissive prayer

Stichera for the last kiss

Part III

Carrying the body out of the temple

Lithium and lowering the body into the grave

In addition to the funeral service, a service such as a memorial service is also performed. A memorial service is a funeral service at which prayers are offered to God for the deceased. In its composition, this service resembles Matins, but in terms of the duration of the memorial service, it is much shorter than the funeral service.

Memorial services are sung over the body of the deceased on the 3rd, 9th and 40th days after death, as well as on the anniversary of death, birthday and namesake. Memorial services are not only individual, but also general or universal. There is a full, or great, requiem service called “parastas”. It differs from an ordinary funeral service in that “Immaculate” and the full canon are sung.

Litiya for the dead is performed when the body of the deceased is taken out of the house and at the liturgy after the prayer behind the pulpit, as well as after Vespers and Matins. It is shorter than a memorial service and occurs together with a memorial service. According to church custom, kutia, or kolivo, is placed in memory of the deceased - boiled wheat grains mixed with honey. This food also has religious significance. First, seeds contain life, and in order to form an ear and bear fruit, they must be placed in the ground. The body of the deceased must be buried and experience decay in order to rise later for the future life. Consequently, kutya is nothing more than an expression of believers’ confidence in the existence of an afterlife, in the immortality of the deceased, in their resurrection and subsequent eternal life through the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave resurrection and life to his earthly slaves.

An inseparable part of public and cell worship is prayer for our brethren, the living and the departed. The Church provides a harmonious, consistent system of commemoration. The church charter defines in detail and precisely when and what kind of funeral prayers can be performed, and in what forms they should be pronounced. For example, daily worship, consisting of nine daily services, is performed in three sessions: evening, morning and afternoon. The first service of the coming day will be Vespers, followed by Compline, ending with the litany “Let us pray...”. The morning service begins with the Midnight Office. The entire second half of this earliest service is devoted to prayer for the departed. In view of the special importance of midnight prayer for the dead, it is not only included in public worship, but is also distinguished as a special one. independent part, separated from the first part of the Midnight Office. But at the same time it is brief and limited to two very short psalms, after which follow the Trisagion, two troparions and a funeral kontakion. The hymns to the Theotokos end, and then a special funeral prayer follows. Its peculiarity is that it is not repeated anywhere at other times. The church considers the midnight prayer for the dead so important and necessary thing, which releases him only on Easter week, when the special structure of the entire service simply does not leave room for the Midnight Office.

The daytime service is combined with the liturgy, at which, among other rituals, the names of the living and the dead are commemorated. At the liturgy itself, after the consecration of the Holy Gifts, the living and deceased are commemorated for the second time by name. This part is the most important and effective, since the souls for whom prayer is offered receive remission of sins.

Funeral prayers are most intensified on church holidays. For example, in two Ecumenical parents' Saturdays Before the weeks of the Meat Fast and Pentecost, intense prayers are performed for the dead who died in true faith. Commemorations are performed during Lent, Easter, and every Saturday. The Holy Church chose Saturdays, especially when the Octoechos is sung, primarily for the remembrance of all Christians who have died from earthly labors. In the hymns set for Saturday, the church unites all the dead - both Orthodox and non-Orthodox, pleasing the former and calling on them to pray for the latter.

Any service includes prayer singing. According to established tradition, prayer singing (or prayer service) is a special service in which the church makes a prayerful appeal to the Lord, His Most Pure Mother or the holy saints of God with a prayer for the sending of mercy or thanks God for the benefits received. Usually prayer services are performed during any events in church life: temple holidays, days of remembrance of saints, etc. In addition, prayer services are timed to coincide with the dates of joyful or sad events in the life of the Fatherland, city or church community. This includes victories over the enemy or invasions of enemies, natural disasters - famine, drought, epidemics. Prayer services are also served at the request of believers in connection with events in their lives. For example, prayers are performed for the health of a particular person, before a trip or the start of any activity. For believers, even private events in life require sanctification: prayers are performed before any activity.

In prayer services the church sanctifies and blesses:

1) elements - water, fire, air and earth;

2) home and other places of residence of Orthodox Christians, such as a house, ship, monastery, city;

3) food and household items - seeds and fruits of cultivated plants, livestock, fishing nets, etc.;

4) the beginning and completion of any activity - study, work, travel, sowing, harvesting, housing construction, military service etc.;

5) spiritual and physical health of a person (this includes prayers for healing).

How are prayer services performed? The prayer service begins with the exclamation of the priest “Blessed is our God” or the exclamation “Glory to the Holy One, Consubstantial and Indivisible Trinity.” After this, “To the Heavenly King” is sung, the Trisagion according to “Our Father” is read, and then a psalm chosen in accordance with the purpose and subject of the prayer.

Sometimes after the psalm the Creed is read - mainly in prayer singing we're talking about about the sick, and on the day of the Nativity of Christ - the prophecy of the holy prophet Isaiah: “God is with us, understand, O Gentiles, and submit, for God is with us.”

Next the great litany is pronounced. It includes petitions related to the subject of the prayer. After the litany, “God is the Lord” and troparia are sung.

Sometimes the 50th Psalm or the 120th Psalm “I lifted up my eyes to the mountains…” is first read after them. After the 3rd song of the canon there is a special litany “Have mercy on us, O God.” After the 6th song, the small litany is said and the Gospel is read. The canon ends with the singing of “It is worthy to eat” on ordinary days, and on holidays with the Irmos of the 9th song of the holiday.

Then the Trisagion after the “Our Father” is read, the troparion is sung and the special litany is pronounced: “Have mercy on us, O God.” Then follows the exclamation “Hear us, O God, our Savior...” and a special prayer is read in accordance with the subject of prayer or thanksgiving. It is often read with genuflection.

After the prayer comes the dismissal, which the priest pronounces while holding a cross in his hands.

In conclusion, we add: in this chapter only some of the Orthodox rituals were considered. There are many more Sacraments and church customs that are sacredly revered by the Russian Orthodox Church and Christians. All rituals take place in accordance with Orthodox canons developed over centuries.

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