Full all-night service with choir. How does the all-night vigil work? Why does the deacon stand with his back to the worshipers in church?
All-night vigil
On Sundays and holidays, a special service to God is performed in the evening (and in other places in the morning), usually called the all-night vigil, or all-night vigil.
This service is called so because in ancient times it began in the evening and ended in the morning, therefore, the entire pre-holiday night was spent by believers in church in prayer. And nowadays there are such saints. monastery, where the all-night vigil continues for about six hours from its beginning.
The custom of Christians to spend the night in prayer is very ancient. The apostles, partly following the example of the Savior, Who more than once in His earthly life used the night time for prayer, partly out of fear of their enemies, had prayer meetings at night. The first Christians, fearing persecution by idolaters and Jews, prayed at night on holidays and days of remembrance of martyrs in country caves, or so-called catacombs.
The All-Night Vigil depicts the history of the salvation of the human race through the coming to earth of the Son of God and consists of three parts, or divisions: Vespers, Matins and the first hour.
The beginning of the all-night vigil takes place like this: the royal doors open, the priest with a censer and the deacon with a candle cense the St. altar; then the deacon speaks from the pulpit: Arise, Lord bless! The priest says: glory to the holy, consubstantial, life-giving and indivisible Trinity always, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Then the priest calls on the faithful to worship Christ the King and our God; The singers sing selected passages from Psalm 103: Bless the Lord, my soul... O Lord my God, you are greatly exalted (i.e., very much)... There will be waters on the mountains... Wonderful are your works, O Lord! With wisdom you have created all things!.. Glory to Thee, O Lord, who created all things. Meanwhile, the priest and the deacon, having censed the altar, go around the entire church with a censer and cense St. icons and worshipers; after this, towards the end of the singing of Psalm 103, they enter the altar, and the royal doors are closed.
This singing and the actions of the priest and the deacon before they enter the altar remind us of the creation of the world and the happy life of the first people in paradise. The closing of the royal doors depicts the expulsion of the first people from paradise for the sin of disobedience to God; The litany, which the deacon says after closing the royal doors, recalls the joyless life of our forefathers outside paradise and our constant need for God's help.
After the litany, we hear the singing of the first psalm of King David: Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, and the way of the wicked perishes; work (serve) the Lord with fear, and rejoice in Him with trembling; Blessed are all who hope nan (in Him). Arise, Lord, save me, my God; Salvation is the Lord's, and Your blessing is upon Your people. Selected passages from this psalm are sung in order to depict both the sorrowful thoughts of our forefather Adam on the occasion of his fall, and the advice and admonitions with which our forefather Adam addresses his descendants in the words of King David. Each verse from this psalm is separated by the angelic praise of alleluia, which means in Hebrew, praise God.
After the small litany, two touching prayers are sung to the Lord God: Lord, I have called to You, hear me. Hear me, Lord, Lord, I have cried to You, hear me; Hear the voice of my prayer, always cry to You, hear me, Lord! (Psalm 140)
May my prayer be corrected as incense before You, the lifting of my hand as an evening sacrifice. Hear me, Lord!
May my prayer come like incense before You; the raising of my hands shall be the evening sacrifice. Hear me, Lord!
This singing reminds us that without God’s help it is difficult for a person to live on earth; he constantly needs God's help, which we remove from ourselves by our sins.
When the prayers following the singing of the Lord, called stichera, are sung, the evening entrance takes place.
It is performed as follows: during the last stichera in honor of the Mother of God, the royal doors are opened, first the candle-bearer with a burning candle leaves the altar with a burning candle, then the deacon with a censer and the priest. The deacon censes St. icons of the iconostasis, and the priest stands on the pulpit. After singing the hymn of the Mother of God, the deacon stands at the royal doors and, depicting the cross as a censer, proclaims: wisdom, forgive! The singers respond with the following touching song of the holy martyr Athenogenes, who lived in the 2nd century after Christ:
Quiet light of holy glory, Immortal Father in heaven, Holy, Blessed, Jesus Christ! Having come to the west of the sun, having seen the evening light, we sing of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit of God. Thou art worthy at all times to sing the voices of reverends, O Son of God, giving life: with the same the world glorifies Thee.
The quiet light of the holy glory, the Immortal Father in heaven, Jesus Christ! Having reached sunset, having seen the evening light, we sing praises to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit of God. You, Son of God, life giver, are worthy to be sung at all times by the voices of the saints. Therefore the world glorifies You.
What does the evening entrance signify? Taking out the candle means the appearance before the coming of Christ by St. John the Baptist, whom the Lord Himself called a lamp. The priest, during the evening entrance, depicts the Savior who came into the world to atone for the guilt of man before the Lord. The words of the deacon: forgive wisdom! They instill in us that we should stand and watch sacred actions with special attention, praying to the Lord to forgive us all our sins.
While singing Sveta, a quiet priest enters the altar and kisses St. throne and stands on a high place, turning his face to the people. By this action, he depicts the ascension of Jesus Christ into heaven and His enthronement in all glory over the world, therefore the singers, following the singing of the Quiet Light, sing: The Lord reigned, clothed with beauty, i.e. That Jesus Christ, after His ascension, reigned over the world and clothed itself with beauty. This verse is taken from the psalms of King David and is called the prokeemne; it is always sung on Sunday. On other days of the week, other prokeimnas are sung, also taken from the Psalms of David.
After the prokemna, on the twelfth and Mother of God holidays and on holidays in honor of the holy saints of God, especially those we honor, paremias are read, or small three readings appropriate for the holidays from the books of the Old and New Testaments. Before each proverb, the deacon’s exclamation of wisdom indicates the important content of what is being read, and with the deacon’s exclamation let us hear! It is suggested that we should be attentive while reading and not be mentally entertained by foreign objects.
Litia and blessing of the loaves.
Following the strict and petitionary litanies, sometimes on more solemn holidays a litany and blessing of the loaves are performed.
This part of the all-night service is performed as follows: the priest and deacon leave the altar to the western part of the church; in the choir the stichera of the holiday are sung, and after them the deacon prays for the Sovereign Emperor, the Sovereign Empress and for the entire Reigning House, for the diocesan bishop and all Orthodox Christians, that the Lord will preserve us all from troubles and misfortunes. The litia is celebrated on the western side of the temple in order to announce the holiday to the penitents and catechumens, who usually stand in the vestibule, about the holiday and to pray with them for them. Here is the basis for praying during the Litiya for every Christian soul that is in sorrow and grief, in need of God’s mercy and help. Litia also reminds us of the ancient religious processions that the leading Christians performed during public disasters at night for fear of being persecuted by the pagans.
During the lithium, after the stichera sung in the poem, after the dying song of Simeon the God-Receiver, and when the troparion of the holiday is sung three times, the blessing of the loaves is performed. In the first times of Christianity, when the all-night vigil continued until dawn, to strengthen the strength of those praying, the priest blessed bread, wine and oil and distributed them to those present. As a reminder of this time and for the sanctification of the faithful, and at the present time the priest prays over the 5 loaves, wheat, wine and oil and asks God to multiply them and for the Lord to sanctify the faithful who partake of these loaves and wine. Oil (oil), consecrated at this time, is used to anoint those praying during the all-night vigil, and wheat is used for food. The five loaves consecrated on this occasion are reminiscent of the miracle that the Lord performed during His life on earth, when He fed 5,000 people with 5 loaves.
The first part of the all-night vigil ends with the words of the priest: the blessing of the Lord be upon you, through grace and love for mankind always, now and ever and unto ages of ages, amen.
At this time there is a ringing sound, reminiscent of the end of Vespers and the beginning of the second part of the All-Night Vigil.
Second part of the all-night vigil
The second part of the All-Night Vigil is Matins, following Vespers. It begins with a joyful song of angels on the occasion of the Nativity of Christ: glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
Behind it is read the Six Psalm, which contains six psalms of King David, in which this pious king prays to God to cleanse people from the sins with which we offend God every minute, despite His constant providence for us. During the reading of the Six Psalms, the priest, first in the altar and then on the pulpit, prays to God to send God’s mercy to people. The priest's humble exit from the altar to the pulpit indicates the quiet, solitary life of the Lord Jesus in Nazareth, from which He only occasionally came to Jerusalem to pray during the holidays. The Six Psalms ends with an exclamation in honor of the Triune God: Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, glory to Thee, O God!
After the great litany, pronounced at the sixth psalm, a verse from the psalms of King David is sung four times: God is the Lord and He who appears to us, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, indicating the appearance of the Savior to people as a Teacher and Wonderworker.
Then the troparion of the holiday is sung and two kathismas are read.
Kathismas are sections of the psalms of the king and the prophet David, which are the sections in Psalm 20. These sections of psalms are called kathismas because while reading them, those praying in the church are allowed to sit. The word kathisma from Greek means seat. Each day a different kathisma is read, so that over the course of a week the entire psalter is read.
Polyeleos
After each kathisma, a small litany is pronounced by the clergyman. Then begins the most solemn part of the all-night vigil, called polyeleos, which means from Greek much mercy, or much oil. The royal doors open, large candles in front of St. The icons, extinguished during the reading of the sixth psalm and kathisma, are rekindled, and on the choir a song of praise to God from Psalms 134 and 135 is sung: Praise the name of the Lord, praise the servants of the Lord, hallelujah! Blessed be the Lord from Zion (where in ancient times there was a tabernacle and temple) living in Jerusalem, hallelujah! Confess to the Lord (confess your sins), for He is good (because He is good), for His mercy endures forever, hallelujah! Confess to the God of heaven that He is good, that His mercy endures forever, hallelujah! The priest and the deacon perform censing throughout the church. The opened royal gates signify to us that an angel has rolled away the stone from the Holy Sepulcher, from where a new eternal life has shone for us, full of spiritual joy and joy. The clergy walking around the church with a censer reminds us of St. the myrrh-bearers who went to the tomb of the Lord on the night of the resurrection of Christ to anoint the body of the Lord, but received joyful news from an angel about the resurrection of Christ.
On Sundays, after singing the laudatory verses of Psalms 134 and 135, in order to better impress upon those praying the thought of the resurrection of Christ, troparia are sung, in which the reason for our joy about the resurrection of Christ is expressed. Each troparion begins with words glorifying the Lord: blessed art thou, Lord, teach me by Thy justification (i.e., Thy Commandments). The Sunday polyeleos ends with the reading of St. Gospel about one of the appearances of the risen Savior. The Holy Gospel is carried into the middle of the church, and the believers kiss the Holy Gospel. the Gospel, having (at the same time) in mind all the benefits of the risen Lord. At this time, the choir sings a song of invitation to worship the resurrection of Christ:
Having seen the Resurrection of Christ, let us worship the Holy Lord Jesus, the only sinless one. We worship Your Cross, O Christ, and we sing and glorify Your holy resurrection: for You are our God; Do we know (except) You otherwise; we call Your name. Come, all the faithful, let us worship the Holy Resurrection of Christ. Behold, for joy has come to the whole world through the cross, always blessing the Lord, we sing His resurrection: having endured crucifixion, destroy death by death
The polyeleos on the twelfth feasts and feast days of the holy saints of God differs from the Sunday polyeleos in that after the laudatory verses of Psalms 134 and 135, the clergy go out to the middle of the temple, where the icon of the holiday is placed on a lectern, and a magnification is sung, with verses in honor of St. the myrrh-bearing women are not sung. The Gospel is read, having application to the day of the holiday; worshipers in the temple kiss St. the icon on the analogue and are anointed with the oil consecrated during the litia, but not St. peace, as some in ignorance call this oil.
After reading the Gospel and a prayer to the Lord God for mercy on us sinners, usually read by a deacon before the icon of the Savior, a canon or rule is sung to glorify God and the saints and to ask for God’s mercy through the prayers of God’s holy saints. The canon consists of 9 sacred songs, modeled after those Old Testament songs that were sung by righteous people, starting with the prophet Moses and ending with the parent of the Baptist John, the priest Zechariah. In each song, irmos is sung first (in Russian - connection), and at the end katavasiya (in Russian - convergence). The name of the song katavasiya was adopted because, according to the rules, both choirs must come together to sing it. The content of irmos and katavasia is taken from those songs on the model of which the entire canon is compiled.
1. The song is modeled after the song that the prophet Moses sang after the miraculous passage of the Jewish people through the Red Sea.
2. The song is modeled after the song that the prophet Moses sang before his death. With this song the prophet wanted to incite the Jewish people to repentance; as a song of repentance, according to the rules of the Orthodox Church, it is sung only during Great Lent. At other times, after the first song in the canon, the third song immediately follows.
3. The song is modeled after the song sung by the righteous Anna upon the birth of her son Samuel, a prophet and wise judge of the Jewish people.
4. The song is modeled after the song of the prophet Habakkuk.
5. The song of the canon contains thoughts taken from the song of the prophet Isaiah.
6. The song is reminiscent of the song of the prophet Jonah, which he sang when he was miraculously delivered from the belly of the whale.
The 7th and 8th songs are modeled after the song sung by the three Jewish youths after their miraculous deliverance from the kindled Babylonian furnace.
After the 8th hymn of the canon, the hymn to the Mother of God is sung, divided into several verses, after which the hymn is chanted: Most honorable cherub and most glorious without comparison seraphim, without corruption (illness) of God the Word, the real Mother of God, we magnify Thee.
9. The song contains thoughts taken from the song of the priest Zechariah, which he sang after the birth of his son, the Forerunner of the Lord John.
In ancient times, Matins ended with the onset of day, and after the singing of the canon and the reading of Psalms 148, 149 and 150, in which St. King David enthusiastically invites all nature to glorify the Lord, the priest thanks God for the light that has appeared. Glory to You, who showed us the light, says the priest, turning to the throne of God. The choir sings a great praise to the Lord, beginning and ending with the song of St. angels.
Matins, the second part of the all-night vigil, ends with a deep and petitionary litany and dismissal, usually pronounced by the priest from the open royal doors.
Then the first hour is read - the third part of the all-night vigil; it ends with a song of thanksgiving in honor of the Mother of God, composed by the inhabitants of Constantinople for their deliverance through the intercession of the Mother of God from the Persians and Avars who attacked Greece in the seventh century.
To the chosen victorious Voivode, for having been delivered from the evil ones, let us sing thanks to Thy servants, the Mother of God. But as you have an invincible power, free us from all troubles, let us call You: Rejoice, unbrided Bride
To You, who prevails in battle (or war), we, Your servants, the Mother of God, offer songs of victory (solemnity), and as those delivered by You from evil, songs of gratitude. And you, as having invincible power, deliver us from all troubles, so that we cry to you: Rejoice, Bride, who has no groom among men.
Orthodox theology and tradition have many terms that are still pronounced in the ancient Slavic language. One of these is the all-night vigil. It is important for every believer to know his religion, and not just blindly obey the priest. A faith that does not have a solid foundation is not true. The Apostle James wrote: “even demons believe,” but their faith does not bring any benefit.
Each person has the opportunity to contact a clergyman in order to get an answer to his questions. God created the Church so that people would come and receive knowledge and instruction in the truth.
What it is
The All-Night Vigil or All-Night Vigil is a joyful holiday for all Orthodox Christians. This communication of believers usually lasts from sunset to dawn. That is why it is called a vigil, since the parishioners and ministers of the church will stay awake all night. How long the service will last also depends on the seasons. For example, in winter from 18:00 to 6:00, and in summer from 21:00 to 5:00.
The Slavic church tradition believes that in relation to this occasion it would be more spiritual to use phrases like: I'm going to the all-night vigil; I'm returning from the all-night vigil etc. Sometimes people, in everyday speech, can use the term “all-night vigil” in the sense of the Easter service, which takes place at night and consists of midnight office, matins, Easter hours and liturgy. The Roman Catholic Church celebrates the Vigil (from the Latin vigilia).
The All-Night Vigil is usually held on the eve of the following events:
- Sundays.
- Twelfth holidays.
- Holidays marked with a special sign in the Typikon.
- Days of temple holidays.
- Any other holiday in accordance with the rector of the temple or local tradition.
In the interval from evening to matins, after the litany, intensive prayer is held. Christians are called upon with one heart to get rid of all unnecessary thoughts and completely devote themselves to calling on the Almighty.
History and significance
The interpretation of the all-night vigil is very simple - it is a night prayer performed by Christians on their knees. Many great saints believed, and still believe, that prayer is the highest of virtues. Deeds can help a person, but when we pray, God Himself descends and helps. It was said about some prayer books in history that enemies were afraid of their prayers in an army of more than ten thousand.
As you read Scripture, it is easy to notice accounts of such practices already in the Old Testament church. For example, Joseph, the son of Israel, had the custom of going out at night to pray and reason. And also King David often did not allow himself to fall asleep in order to be alone and pray. The most important confirmation is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself and His apostles.
But historically, the all-night vigil was defined and officially recognized Church in the time of John Chrysostom. Over time, the order of this service was improved and enriched by other saints, such as John of Damascus and Theodore the Studite. The vigil is often associated with the calling of Christians to always be sober, to pray unceasingly and to remember that the Lord is coming.
Especially during times of persecution, Christians gathered for general prayer at night. They were often accused of corrupting children, of atheism, cannibalism, and other terrible things. Since they had to hide from the authorities, they chose more secret places, in catacombs and cemeteries.
In the II-III centuries. Ekah the movement of hermits and monks spread greatly. In addition to asceticism, they often spent the entire night in prayer, singing and praising. For the Church Fathers, the vigil had eschatological connotations. Vigil was considered a way of spiritual life. A Christian must always remember the cross of Christ, the Holy Gospel, forgiven sins and the reward in heaven for faithfulness. The Greek term "agrypnia" appears in the writings of Basil the Great. He wrote that such meetings were held in many places in the East and took place on the eve of Sundays.
How it happens
Prayer nights have a deep spiritual meaning. The Church proclaims that the beautiful light of the sunset depicts a spiritual image of the light of Christ. And also the gaze of praying people is directed to the future light of God’s Kingdom. The Lord promised that he would come for those who are waiting for Him. And His coming will be in the presence of holy angels, who will bring joy to those who believe, and disappointment and judgment to those who have rejected God's Son.
The all-night vigil can be compared with the principle that is present in our culture on the New Year. People part with the bad and welcome the good. In the same way, Christians, at the vigil, celebrate a new beginning; darkness leaves and light triumphs. It is impossible to leave such a service unchanged. Therefore, the vigil serves as preparation for the Divine Liturgy and the Eucharist.
How long does this service last?
The canon at the all-night vigil has its own characteristics and must meet certain criteria. Such service has a rather long sequence, consisting of more than 20 actions.
At the moment, based on the fact that among the believers there are old and infirm, the tradition may be more lenient towards people. Thus, it is possible to stay at the service for several hours and then return home.
Confession during the all-night vigil
One of the most important components of parishioners’ prayers is confession of their sins before God. In addition to confessing to a priest, every Christian must come to God with prayers and confession. Confession has enormous power. The Apostle John encourages us to live in the light and not remain in darkness. Sin by its nature loves darkness. But we can only defeat it if we bring it into the light. Light sanctifies people and shows them what they are. God wants for Christians to confess. The Church explains that vigil can help a person get rid of bad and sinful habits.
Worship structure
Such an ancient rite has historical significance and is a symbol of the Old and New Testaments. The structure that is used in such services is as follows:
Thus the whole Gospel is explained. People have the opportunity to understand who God is, how holy and omnipotent He is; we disobeyed Him and sinned; but He, in His great mercy, sent us a Savior. As a result, a person can believe in the most important teachings of Christianity and join the Church.
The gospel can satisfy the need of our hearts completely and exclusively. You should not think that if we belong to the Christian denomination and church, then we no longer need anything. God is the need of the Christian's heart. He created us for Himself and our souls will have no peace until they find it in Him. Beyond salvation which is gained through faith in Jesus Christ, the Christian needs constant sanctification. Therefore, you should continue to pray and cleanse your souls every day until the Lord comes.
All-night vigil(or all-night vigil) is a service that takes place in the evening on the eve of revered holidays. It consists of combining Vespers with Matins and the first hour, and both Vespers and Matins are celebrated more solemnly and with greater illumination of the temple than on other days.
This service is called all-night vigil because in ancient times it began late in the evening and continued all night until dawn. Then, out of condescension for the infirmities of the believers, they began to begin this service a little earlier and make cuts in reading and singing, and therefore it now ends not so late. The former name of its all-night vigil has been preserved.
Vespers
Vespers in its composition recalls and depicts the times of the Old Testament: the creation of the world, the fall of the first people, their expulsion from paradise, their repentance and prayer for salvation, then, people’s hope, according to God’s promise, in the Savior and, finally, the fulfillment of this promise.
Vespers at the All-Night Vigil begins with the opening of the royal doors. The priest and deacon incense the altar and the entire altar, and clouds of incense smoke fill the depths of the altar. This silent censing marks the beginning of the creation of the world.
But now, the priest, standing before the throne, with his first exclamation glorifies the Creator and Creator of the world - the Most Holy Trinity: “Glory to the Holy and Consubstantial, and Life-giving, and indivisible Trinity, always, now and ever and unto ages of ages”. Then he calls on the believers three times: “Come, let us worship our King God. Come, let us worship and fall down before Christ, our King God. Come, let us bow and fall down to Christ Himself, the King and our God. Come, let us worship and fall down before Him". For “all things came into being through Him,(i.e. exist, live) and without Him nothing began to be that has come into being.”(John 1, 3).
In response to this call, the choir solemnly sings the 103rd Psalm about the creation of the world, glorifying the wisdom of God: “Bless the Lord, my soul! Blessed are you, Lord! Lord, my God, you have been magnified in evil (i.e., greatly)... you have created all things with wisdom. Wonderful are Your works, O Lord! Glory to You, Lord, who created everything!”
During this singing, the priest leaves the altar, walks among the people and censes the entire church and those praying, and the deacon precedes him with a lamp in his hand.
This sacred rite reminds those praying not only of the creation of the world, but also of the initial, blissful, paradise life of the first people, when God Himself walked among people in paradise. The open royal doors signify that the doors of heaven were then open to all people. But people, seduced by the devil, violated the will of God and sinned. By their fall, people lost their blissful heavenly life. They were expelled from paradise - and the doors of heaven were closed to them. As a sign of this, after censing is performed in the temple and at the end of the singing of the psalm, the royal doors are closed.
The deacon leaves the altar and stands in front of the closed royal doors, as Adam once did before the closed gates of heaven, and proclaims the great litany: “Let us pray to the Lord in peace. Let us pray to the Lord for heavenly peace and the salvation of our souls...” Let us pray to the Lord, making peace with all our neighbors, not having anger or enmity towards anyone. Let us pray that the Lord will send us “from above” - heavenly peace and save our souls...
After the great litany and the exclamation of the priest, selected verses from the first three psalms are sung: “Blessed is the man who does not join the council of the wicked. For the Lord declares that the way of the righteous will perish, and the way of the wicked... Blessed is the man who does not take counsel with the wicked. For the Lord knows the life of the righteous, and the life of the wicked will perish...”
Then the deacon intones the small litany: “Once and again (again and again) let us pray to the Lord in peace...”
After the small litany, the choir cries out in verses from psalms: “Lord, I have called to You, hear me... Let my prayer be corrected, like incense before You... Hear me, Lord... Lord! I cry to You: hear me... Let my prayer be directed like incense to You... Hear me, Lord!..”
While singing these verses, the deacon censes the church. This moment of worship, starting from the closing of the royal doors, in the petitions of the great litany and in the singing of psalms, depicts the plight that the human race was subjected to after the fall of the first parents, when along with sinfulness all kinds of needs, illnesses and suffering appeared.
We cry to God: "Lord have mercy!" We ask for peace and salvation of our souls. We lament that we listened to the wicked advice of the devil. We ask God for forgiveness of sins and deliverance from troubles, and we place all our hope in the mercy of God. The deacon's censing at this time signifies those sacrifices that were offered in the Old Testament, as well as our prayers offered to God.
To the singing of Old Testament verses "Lord I cried" stichera are added, that is, New Testament hymns, in honor of the holiday.
The last stichera is called the Theotokos or dogmatist, since this stichera is sung in honor of the Mother of God and it sets out the dogma (the main teaching of the faith) about the incarnation of the Son of God from the Virgin Mary.
On the twelfth holidays, instead of the Mother of God dogmatics, a special stichera is sung in honor of the holiday. When singing the Mother of God (dogmatics), the royal doors open and the evening entrance takes place: the candle-bearer comes out of the altar through the northern doors, followed by a deacon with a censer, and then a priest. The priest stands on the pulpit facing the royal doors, blesses the entrance in a cross shape, and, after the deacon pronounces the words “Wisdom forgive me!”(means: listen to the wisdom of the Lord, stay awake), enters together with the deacon through the royal doors into the altar and stands in the high place.
At this time, the choir sings a song to the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ: “Quiet light, holy glory of the Immortal Father, Heavenly, Holy, Blessed, Jesus Christ! Having come to the west of the sun, having seen the evening light, we sing of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, God. You are worthy at all times to be a holy voice. Son of God, give life, so the world glorifies You".
In this song-hymn, the Son of God is called a quiet light from the Heavenly Father, for He came to earth not in full Divine glory, but as a quiet light of this glory. This hymn says that only through the voices of the saints (and not our sinful lips) can a song worthy of Him be offered to Him and due glorification be performed.
The evening entrance reminds believers of how the Old Testament righteous, according to the promises of God, types and prophecies, awaited the coming of the Savior of the world, and how He appeared in the world for the salvation of the human race.
The censer with incense at the evening entrance means that our prayers, at the intercession of the Lord Savior, like incense, ascend to God, and also signifies the presence of the Holy Spirit in the temple.
The cruciform blessing of the entrance means that through the cross of the Lord the doors of heaven are again opened to us.
After the song: "Quiet light..." the prokeimenon is sung, that is, a short verse from Holy Scripture.
At Sunday Vespers it is sung: "The Lord reigns in bliss(i.e. beauty) put on", and on other days other verses are sung. At the end of the singing of the prokeimna, on major holidays the paremias are read. Proverbs are selected passages of Holy Scripture that contain prophecies or indicate prototypes related to celebrated events, or teach instructions that seem to come from the person of those holy saints whose memory we commemorate.
After the prokemna and paremia, the deacon pronounces an august (i.e., enhanced litany: “Let us say everything, with all our hearts and with all our thoughts, with all our hearts...”
Then the prayer is read: “Grant, Lord, that this evening we may be preserved without sin...”.
After this prayer, the deacon pronounces a petitionary litany: “Let us fulfill (offer in its entirety) our evening prayer to the Lord (Lord)....”
On major holidays, after a special and petitionary litany, a litany and blessing of the loaves are performed.
Lithium, a Greek word, means general prayer. Litiya is performed in the western part of the temple, near the western entrance doors. This prayer in the ancient church was performed in the narthex, with the purpose of giving the catechumens and penitents standing here the opportunity to take part in the general prayer on the occasion of the great holiday.
Following the litia, there is a blessing and consecration of five loaves, wheat, wine and oil, also in memory of the ancient custom of distributing food to those praying, who sometimes came from afar, so that they could refresh themselves during a long service. The five loaves are blessed in remembrance of the Savior's feeding of the five thousand with five loaves. The priest then, during Matins, after kissing the festive icon, anoints the worshipers with consecrated oil (olive oil).
After the litia, and if it is not performed, then after the litany of petition, “stichera on verse” are sung. This is the name given to special poems written in memory of a remembered event. Vespers ends with the reading of the prayer of St. Simeon the God-Receiver: “Now do You let Your servant go, O Master, according to Your word in peace: for mine eyes have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared before the face of all people, a light for the revelation of tongues, and the glory of Your people Israel.”, then reading the Trisagion and the Lord’s Prayer: “ Our Father...", singing the Angelic greeting to the Mother of God: “Virgin Mother of God, rejoice...” or the troparion of the holiday and, finally, after singing the prayer of righteous Job three times: “Blessed be the name of the Lord from now on and forevermore”, with the final blessing of the priest: “The blessing of the Lord is upon you through His grace and love for mankind - always, now and ever, and unto ages of ages.”.
End of Vespers- prayer of St. Simeon the God-Receiver and the Angel's greeting to the Mother of God indicate the fulfillment of God's promise of the Savior.
Immediately after the end of Vespers, during the All-Night Vigil, Matins begins with reading six psalms.
Matins
The second part of the all-night vigil - Matins - reminds us of the times of the New Testament: the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ into the world for our salvation and His glorious Resurrection. The beginning of Matins directly points us to the Nativity of Christ.
It begins with a doxology of the angels who appeared to the Bethlehem shepherds: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”.
Then it reads six psalms, that is, six selected psalms of King David (3, 37, 62, 87, 102 and 142), which depict the sinful state of people, full of troubles and misfortunes, and fervently express the only hope people expect for God’s mercy.
Worshipers listen to the Six Psalms with special concentrated reverence.
After the Six Psalms, the deacon pronounces the great litany. Then a short song with verses about the appearance of Jesus Christ in the world to people is sung loudly and joyfully: “God is the Lord and he has appeared to us, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”, i.e. God is Lord and has appeared to us and is worthy of glorification, going to the glory of the Lord.
After this, a troparion is sung, i.e., a song in honor of a holiday or a celebrated saint, and kathismas are read, i.e., individual parts of the Psalter, consisting of several consecutive psalms.
The reading of kathismas, as well as the reading of the Six Psalms, calls us to think about our disastrous sinful state and place all hope in the mercy and help of God. Kathisma means sitting, since one can sit while reading kathisma.
At the end of the kathisma, the deacon pronounces the small litany, and then performs polyeleos.
Polyeleos The word is Greek and means “much mercy” or “much illumination.” The polyeleos is the most solemn part of the all-night vigil and expresses the glorification of God’s mercy shown to us in the coming of the Son of God to earth and His accomplishment of the work of our salvation from the power of the devil and death.
Polyeleos begins with the solemn singing of verses of praise: “Praise the name of the Lord, praise the servants of the Lord. Hallelujah! Blessed be the Lord of Zion, who dwelleth in Jerusalem. Hallelujah! Confess to the Lord that He is good, for His mercy endures forever. Hallelujah!, which means: glorify the Lord, because He is good, because His mercy (towards people) endures forever.
When these verses are chanted, all the lamps in the temple are lit, the royal doors are opened, and the priest, preceded by a deacon with a candle, leaves the altar and burns incense throughout the entire temple as a sign of reverence for God and His saints. After singing these verses, special Sunday troparia are sung on Sundays; that is, joyful songs in honor of the Resurrection of Christ, which tell how angels appeared to the myrrh-bearers who came to the tomb of the Savior and announced to them about the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
On other great holidays, instead of Sunday troparions, a magnification is sung before the icon of the holiday, that is, a short verse of praise in honor of a holiday or saint. After the Sunday troparions or after the magnification, the deacon pronounces the small litany, then the prokeimenon, and the priest reads the Gospel.
At the Sunday service, the Gospel is read about the Resurrection of Christ and about the appearances of the risen Christ to His disciples, and on other holidays the Gospel is read, relating to the celebrated event or to the glorification of the saint. After reading the Gospel, a solemn hymn is sung in the Sunday service in honor of the risen Lord: “Having seen the Resurrection of Christ, let us worship the holy Lord Jesus”... The Gospel is carried out into the middle of the temple, and the believers venerate it. On other holidays, believers venerate the holiday icon. The priest anoints them with blessed oil and distributes consecrated bread. After singing "The Resurrection of Christ..." Several more short prayers are sung. Then the deacon reads a prayer “Save, O God, Thy people...”, and after the exclamation of the priest "By grace and bounty..." singing begins canon.
Canon At Matins, a meeting of songs composed according to a certain rule is called. “Canon” is a Greek word that means “rule.” The canon is divided into nine parts (songs). The first verse of each song that is sung is called irmos, which means connection.
These irmos seem to bind the entire composition of the canon into one whole. The remaining verses of each part (song) are mostly read and called troparia. The second hymn of the canon, as a penitential hymn, is performed only in Lent. Particular efforts were made in composing these songs: St. John of Damascus, Cosmas of Mayum, Andrew of Crete (the great canon of repentance) and many others. At the same time, they were invariably guided by certain chants and prayers of sacred persons, namely: the prophet Moses (for 1 and 2 irmos), the prophetess Anna, the mother of Samuel (for the 3rd irmos), the prophet Habakkuk (for 4 irmos), the prophet Isaiah (for 5 Irmos), the prophet Jonah (for the 6th Irmos), the three youths (for the 7th and 8th Irmos) and the priest Zechariah, father of John the Baptist (for the 9th Irmos).
Our Lord Jesus Christ commanded us to constantly watch and pray. Trying to fulfill this commandment, Christians since ancient times, on especially memorable days, performed a divine service that lasted all night, from evening until morning, and therefore received the name all-night vigil. Its main parts are Great Vespers And Matins.
At the very beginning of Great Vespers, the life of our first parents Adam and Eve in Paradise is remembered. Being in this most beautiful place, enjoying the beauties of Paradise and the greatness of the world created by God, our ancestors in delight offered their prayers and thanksgiving to God. At that blessed time, people talked with God face to face, since they were sinless.
This is symbolized by The Royal Doors open before the start of the service. In remembrance of the very beginning of God’s creation of the world (when the Spirit of God, like incense smoke, enveloped the pristine earth, reviving the yet uncreated world) the priest censes the altar, and then, giving glory to the Life-Giving Trinity, comes out of the altar and censes the temple, which symbolizes the time when God himself was close to people. The choir sings selected verses of Psalm 103, depicting a majestic picture of the world and glorifying the Creator: “ Bless the Lord, my soul. Blessed art thou, O Lord!.. For Thy works are magnified, O Lord, Thou hast done all things with wisdom...».
God gave man freedom to freely choose only good. But the man listened to the envious and deceitful advice of the devil and refused to communicate with God. After this, the person could no longer remain in Paradise. God expelled him from Paradise and settled him on an impoverished and impoverished earth. However, the merciful Creator, out of His ineffable love, reassured man with the promise of the Savior. The sad history of humanity on earth began - the story of repentance, correction, and the gradual return of lost children to their Heavenly Father.
The Church reminds us of these events in the further course of the service. The Royal Doors are closed. Before them, as before a closed Paradise, the deacon pronounces the great litany(litany - in Greek: zeal, diligent prayer), in which God's help is asked for sinful man in the various needs of his earthly life. After each petition of the litany The choir sings on behalf of the worshipers: "Lord have mercy" . Then the choir sings selected verses from the 1st Kathisma(kathismas are the parts into which the Psalter is divided), speaking about the life of the righteous and the unrighteous: “ Blessed is the man who does not follow the counsel of the wicked... and the way of the wicked will perish... Work for the Lord with fear and rejoice in Him with trembling... Blessed are you who hope Nan..."(Ps. 1, 1, 6; 2, 11-12).
The Old Testament righteous lived in hope of the promised Savior. The Old Testament worship with its sacrifices was a reminder of God's promise, a prototype of the future great Sacrifice, when the Son of God Himself, being God, would become Man, come to people to save them, and with His righteous life, His victory over death, and His Ascension to God the Father would reconcile man with God and will become, as it were, a new Progenitor for fallen humanity, who wants to regain communication with the Creator.
The continuation of the all-night vigil speaks of these hopes. The choir sings verses of the psalm, full of mournful prayer: “Lord, I have called to You, hear me...” (Ps. 140). Ceremony performed by a deacon at this time, means the sacrifices that were made in the Old Testament, as well as our prayers to God. The verses of the Psalter begin to alternate with stichera - chants dedicated to the holiday. When singing the last stichera - a dogmatist speaking about the mystery of the Incarnation of the Savior - the clergy come out with the censer from the side doors of the altar and enter it through the Royal Doors. The exit of the priest from the altar symbolizes the descent to earth of the Son of God for the salvation of people, His preaching, free suffering, death on the cross and descent into hell, and the entrance into the altar symbolizes the resurrection and ascension to Heaven.
Followed by singing prokimna and sometimes reading from scripture, then - two litanies. On major holidays there is a litiya - fervent prayer performed outside the temple or in its vestibule. Priests leaving the altar symbolizes the expulsion of Adam from Paradise and expresses our humility before God and the desire for the gates of Heaven to be opened for us and God’s benevolence.
At the end of the lithium the choir sings several stichera and a prayer “Now dost thou release thy servant, O Master...” (prayer of Saint Simeon the God-Receiver). After prayer "Our Father" Arkhangelsk greeting "Virgin Mother of God, rejoice" the Mother of God is glorified or, with a special chant, the event being celebrated. (On holidays there is a blessing of bread, wheat, wine and oil). Vespers ends with the 33rd Psalm and the blessing of the priest. The last prayers of Vespers bring us to the New Testament events remembered at Matins, the second part of the All-Night Vigil.
Matins begins with angelic doxology, sung at the Nativity of the Savior: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” (Luke 2:14). Then it reads six psalms- six selected psalms, depicting both the joyful state of the soul of a person, with whom the mercy of the Lord is, and the sorrow of the soul, burdened with sins and moving away from God.
After reading three psalms the priest leaves the altar and, standing in front of the closed Royal Doors, reads the 12 morning prayers, asking for God's blessings for the coming day. After the Six Psalms and Great Litany the deacon solemnly proclaims: “God is the Lord and he has appeared to us, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” and a few more selected verses of Psalm 117 - and the choir repeats after each of them the first verse, announcing to us the appearance of the Savior. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; and we have seen His glory, the glory as the only begotten of the Father (John 1:14). Psalm verses "Confess the Lord..." uttered when singing "God the Lord...", depict the Savior’s earthly life full of suffering.
Further the troparion of the holiday is sung and kathismas from the Psalter are read. The Psalter is divided into 20 sections, which are called kathismas. Kathisma is divided into three parts (“Glory”), after reading each of which a small doxology is sung (hence the name “Glory”).
Kathisma translated from Greek means “sitting”; You can sit while reading kathismas, but you must stand up during the small doxology.
At the all-night vigil, two kathismas are read, and after each there are a small litany and sedalny - short prayers timed to coincide with the reading of the kathismas.
After reading the kathismas, the most solemn part of the all-night vigil begins - polyeleos, which means “great mercy” or “abundance of oil, oil.” When all the lamps are lit the priest comes from the altar like an Angel who came from the cave of the Holy Sepulcher to announce the Resurrection, and burns incense at the temple. Everyday, which accompanies many other important parts of the service, marks both our prayers directed to God with attention and zeal, and the grace of the Holy Spirit overshadowing us. When the priest censes the believers, they respond by bowing their heads.
The choir sings verses from Psalms 134 and 135: “Praise the name of the Lord, praise ye servants of the Lord...” , and on Sunday there are also Sunday troparia about the appearance of Angels to the myrrh-bearing women (disciples of the Lord), who announced the Resurrection of the Savior from the dead: “Early early the myrrh-bearing women came to Thy tomb, O Savior, weeping...”. And very early, on the first day of the week, they come to the tomb, at sunrise, and say to each other: who will roll away the stone for us from the door of the tomb? And, looking, they see that the stone has been rolled away; and he was very big. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in white clothing; and were horrified. He says to them: do not be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, crucified; He has risen, He is not here. This is the place where He was laid (Mark 16:2-6).
On holidays and days of remembrance of saints praise is sung to a celebrated event or saint.
After singing the established psalms and troparions or magnification a passage from the Gospel relating to the remembered events is read. After reading the Gospel on Sundays, it happens singing of a solemn song by all believers “Having seen the Resurrection of Christ, let us worship the Holy Lord Jesus, the only sinless one...”
The gospel relies on a lectern for worship and kissing by believers in memory of the appearance of the Risen Teacher to the disciples and their joyful and reverent worship of the Savior. When they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them and said: Rejoice! And they came, grabbed His feet and worshiped Him (Matthew 28:9). On holidays, a festive icon is brought out.
While kissing the Gospel or holiday icon the priest anoints the faithful with the oil blessed at Vespers as a sign of God's mercy; also, if there was a lithium, consecrated pieces of bread with wine are distributed to the believers in memory of the giver of all good things, God, for the gracious strengthening of physical and mental strength (this was especially necessary in ancient times, when longer services required reinforcement of strength for unflagging attention).
Followed by reading the canons- prayers dedicated to the glorification of God, the Most Holy Theotokos, saints of God or individual events of sacred and church history. Each canon consists of separate parts called cantos. After the 8th song of the canons, a hymn of praise to the Most Holy Theotokos is sung "My soul magnifies the Lord..." with chorus: “The most honorable Cherub and the most glorious without comparison Seraphim...” , which says that the Mother of God surpasses even the holy Angels in honor and glory. The deacon, while singing “Most Honest...”, censes the temple.
After the canons, in psalms of praise and subsequent stichera, the faithful are called upon to glorify God’s love for man. After the priest exclaimed: “Glory to You, who showed us the light” (visible light, since in ancient times matins ended at dawn, and spiritual Light - the Savior), the choir sings the great doxology- an ancient hymn praising God for all His gifts and mercies. This hymn, composed of deep and inspired words of the Old and New Testaments, was composed during the time of the first Christians, who glorified the Divinity of the Savior with this hymn and defended the name of the Lord Jesus Christ from pagan slander. It is mentioned already in a report about Christians to the Roman emperor Trajan (98-117 AD), as well as in the writings of ancient Christian authors. Even in the ancient work “Apostolic Constitutions” there is a morning prayer, not much different from the great doxology.
This hymn ends, breathing with the simplicity and spiritual grandeur of the first Christian times, singing the Trisagion- one of the most frequent and important prayers of Christian worship (according to legend, the first part of it - the angelic doxology “Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal” - was heard by a Christian boy ascended to Heaven during an earthquake in Constantinople in the 5th century. ).
On the holidays of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (September 14/27) and the Origin of the Honest Trees of the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord (August 1/14), as well as on the 3rd Sunday of Great Lent (Sunday of the Worship of the Cross), during the Trisagion, the clergy solemnly remove the holy cross and worship him.
According to the Trisagion, the Sunday troparion or the holiday troparion is sung.
After two litanies, a prayer and a petition, and a dismissal, the choir asks God to grant many years to the ruling bishop and all Orthodox Christians. After Matins the 1st hour is read- a short service related in content to the beginning of a new day.
From the book “All-Night Vigil. Divine Liturgy. Sacraments of the Church" publishing house of the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra
All-night vigils have been celebrated by the Church since the earliest Christian times. The Lord Jesus Christ himself loved to devote the night hours to prayer. His disciples, the apostles, also often gathered for prayer at night. And during times of persecution, the first Christians secretly performed divine services at night in the Roman catacombs.
This custom of praying at night has been preserved in the Orthodox Church from ancient times to the present day. Saint John Chrysostom spoke of his Christian contemporaries: “The power of their prayers and love for Christ is such that with their all-night vigils they enlighten the nights.”
The tradition of performing all-night services, where Christians became, as it were, witnesses and participants in the events of Sacred history, gradually developed in the Church. Such great prayer books as St. John Chrysostom, Sava the Sanctified, and St. John of Damascus worked on compiling the rite of the All-Night Vigil.
This service prepares the Christian for the main divine service of the daily liturgical cycle - the Divine Liturgy. And since the church day begins in the evening, at sunset, according to custom, at six o’clock in the evening of Great Vespers, the All-Night Vigil begins. Its beginning is announced to us by the festive ringing of bells.
Great Vespers - the first part of the All-Night Vigil reflects the history of mankind in the Old Testament times and shows that the Old Testament has its saving completion in the New Testament.
Before Vespers begins, the Royal Doors open and we see the altar. The priests cense the altar. The fragrant incense smoke reminds us of the Divine grace that filled Paradise; about the bliss that the Lord bestowed on the ancestors of the human race - Adam and Eve.
Then the entire temple is censed. At the same time, we remember the Spirit of God, which hovered over the waters at the creation of the world. By censing, honor is given to the icons and shrines of the temple, and the grace of God is also invoked on those standing and praying in the temple.
The choir sings Psalm 103. In the Church Charter it is called “pre-initial”, since it tells about God’s creation of the world, and also because the daily liturgical circle begins in the evening.
We hear a solemn, joyful song about the wonderful world that the Lord created. Everything is obedient to the Creator - both heavenly and earthly. Everything lives according to His laws.
But, having become proud, one of God’s Angels, Dennitsa, fell and became the devil. The man listened to the advice of the devil. He violated the only commandment that the Lord gave him - not to eat the fruits of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil until the time comes. Man committed a sin and deprived himself of Paradise. A spiritual catastrophe has occurred. Together with man, the whole world has changed.
Just as the doors of heaven were closed to Adam and Eve, so the Royal Doors are closed to those praying. After heavenly bliss, Adam and Eve and their descendants experienced poverty and suffering; they were visited by illness and sorrow. And like our forefathers who recognized their sin, the Church prays for forgiveness of sins and help in every human need and need.
To reconcile with God, a person needs to realize his sinfulness and freely choose the path of faith in God, the path of fulfilling His will. The singing of “Lord, I have cried” and censing depict those times when the Lord, through the prophet Moses, gave the Law to people, and the Old Testament worship was established.
But people could not fulfill the Old Testament Law in all its severity, and therefore could not be saved from sin and death. They were waiting for the One who would fulfill the Law and restore communion with God. They were waiting for the Savior of the world, about whom the Old Testament righteous prophesied.
And so, the entrance is made with a censer. At this time, the choir sings a dogmatist - a special song in honor of the Mother of God. It reveals the Church teaching about the Incarnation of Christ from the Blessed Virgin Mary. This is the incarnation of the Son of God and symbolizes the Entrance with the censer.
Candles in the hands of the candlebearers mean the light of the teachings of Christ, enlightening the world. The deacon is like an image of the Forerunner of the Lord John. The priest walks in silence with his hands down in the image of the Lord, as if showing the diminishment of Christ during His incarnation.
“Quiet Light,” the choir sings. This is the news about the end of the Old Testament time and the coming of the Savior to earth. This is the news of the beginning of a new day of grace - the day of eternity. For the sake of the redemptive feat of the Son of God, God gave the world this New Day.
The promises of God about the coming of the Savior into the world have been fulfilled, and we hear the prayer of Simeon the God-Receiver: “Now do You let Thy servant go, O Master, according to Thy word, in peace...” At the end of his long life, he was honored to see and take in his arms the Infant Christ.
Vespers ends with the invocation of the Lord's blessing on all those praying. The second part of the All-Night Vigil begins - Matins. It depicts New Testament events and continues man's glorification of God's wondrous deeds.
