Liturgical gospel. The Gospel of Matthew in church tradition and modern science. History and Theology: A View from Inside the Gospel

Books used during worship can be divided into sacred liturgical books and church liturgical books. The sacred liturgical books include: the Gospels, the Apostle and the Psalter, i.e. books taken from the Bible. Church liturgical books include: the Service Book, the Book of Hours, the Octoechos, the Menaion, the Lenten Triodion, the Colored Triodion, the Typikon, or the Rule, Irmologium, the Breviary, the Book of Prayer Songs, books compiled by the Fathers and Teachers on the basis of the Holy Scriptures and Holy Tradition.

Liturgical Gospel contains four gospels: from Matthew, from Mark, from Luke and from John, which is why it is sometimes called the Four Gospels.

According to the rules, the reading of the Gospel during worship is required every day, except for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday of Lent and Wednesday and Friday of Cheese Week. The entire Gospel is read over the course of a year.

Before each Gospel there is placed: 1) short description life of the Apostle-Evangelist; 2) summary gospel chapters; 3) an index of parallel passages from other evangelists. In this index, events are arranged in chronological order, starting from the Nativity of Christ and ending with His resurrection and ascension. The numbers that indicate the Gospel events correspond to black numbers on the outer margins.

The usual division of the text of Holy Scripture into chapters and verses is preserved in the liturgical Gospel. The chapter count is indicated in the top margin. The count of verses is indicated in black numbers on the inner field. In addition to the division into chapters: (Matthew 20, Mark 16, Luke 24, John 21) and verses, each of the four Gospels is divided for liturgical use into so-called conceptions. In the Gospel of Matthew conceived 116, Mark 71, Luke. 114, In. 67. The division of the Gospels into concepts was made by St. John of Damascus and St. Theodore Studite.

Conceived is the part of the text of the New Testament designated for reading during worship on a given day. An asterisk is placed before the conception, and the date of reading the conception is indicated below the line. There, under the line, the words are indicated with which to begin the reading of the conception: “At the time it is,” “The Lord speaks...” The end of the Gospel reading is indicated in the text itself with cinnabar, for example: “end of the week,” “end of the heel.” Sometimes the gospel reading consists of several passages selected from different chapters and even different evangelists; which transition in the text itself is indicated as follows: “transcend the Cross”, and “honor the Cross”.

At the end of the liturgical Gospel there is an index of ordinary readings for each day of the week of the entire year and all weeks (Sundays) starting from Easter and ending with cheese week.

From Easter to All Saints Sunday there are 8 weeks. Then follow 32 weeks and preparatory weeks for Great Lent: the 33rd week about the publican and the Pharisee, the 34th week about the prodigal son, the 35th week of the meat fast, after which Great Lent begins. (For the evangelical transgression and apostasy necessary for this, see the 3rd grade notes).

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Liturgical Gospel

The Holy Gospel contains four gospels: from Matthew, from Mark, from Luke and from John, which is why it is sometimes called the Four Gospels.

According to the rules, the reading of the Gospel during worship is required every day, except for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday of Lent and Wednesday and Friday of Cheese Week. The entire Gospel is read over the course of a year.

Before each Gospel there is placed:

a brief description of the life of the Apostle-Evangelist;

index of parallel passages from other evangelicals.

In this index, events are arranged in chronological order - starting from the Nativity of Christ and ending with His resurrection and ascension. The numbers that indicate the Gospel events correspond to black numbers on the outer margins.

The usual division of the text of the Holy. The Scriptures in chapters and verses are also preserved in the liturgical Gospel. The count of chapters is indicated in the top field. The count of verses is indicated in black numbers on the inner field. In addition to the division into chapters: (Matt. - 28 chapters, Mark - 16 chapters, Luke - 24 chapters, John - 21 chapters) and verses, each of the four gospels is divided for liturgical use into so-called conceptions . In the Gospel of Matthew conceived 116, Mark - 71, Luke. - 114, In. - 67. The division of the Gospels into concepts was made by St. John of Damascus and St. Theodore Studite.

The beginning is the part of the text of the New Testament designated for reading during worship on a given day. An asterisk is placed before the conception, and the date of reading the conception is indicated under the line. There, under the line, the words are indicated with which to begin the reading of the conception: “At the time it is,” “The Lord speaks...” The end of the Gospel reading is indicated in the text itself with cinnabar, for example: “end of the week,” “end of the heel.” Sometimes the Gospel reading consists of several passages selected from different chapters and even different evangelists; such a transition in the text itself is indicated as follows: “presence the Cross,” and “honor the Cross,” and similarly: “honor Monday, or transgress...”

At the end of the liturgical Gospel there is an index of ordinary readings for each day of the week of the entire year and all weeks (Sundays) starting from Easter and ending with cheese week.

From Easter to All Saints Sunday there are 8 weeks. Then follow 32 weeks and preparatory weeks for Lent - the 33rd week About the Publican and the Pharisee, the 34th week about the Prodigal Son, the 35th week of Meat, after which Great Lent begins. (For the evangelical transgression and apostasy required in this case, see class III note).

Liturgical Apostle

The book of the Apostle contains:

a) Acts of the Holy Apostles;

b) seven Council Epistles;

c) fourteen Epistles of St. ap. Paul and, in some editions

d) Apocalypse.

All of the indicated New Testament books have their own division into chapters and verses and conceptions, but the account of the latter is general. All conceptions go in continuous order from the 1st chapter of Acts to the 13th chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews - a total of 335 conceptions, and the only deviation from it is the presence of two 50th and 51st conceptions: some of them relate to the Acts of the Apostles, and others - to the Epistle of St. ap. James, the 50th and 51st conceptions are the last in the book of Acts, and in the Epistle of St. Jacob 50th and 51st conceived - first. The reason for this numbering of the beginnings is as follows: the book of Acts is divided into 51 beginnings, but of them the 33rd and 49th are not read in a row, but are used during divine services on special days of the year (33 on August 29 - on the day of the Beheading of St. John Forerunners, and 49 conceived on May 21 - on the day of memory of St. Equal to the Apostles Constantine the Great). So, the ordinary ones were conceived in Acts, without two it turns out that in fact it is not 51, but 49, and therefore the following ordinary ones were conceived in the Epistle of St. Jacob are designated by the numbers 50 and 51.

In the book of Acts there are also conceptions that are read on the days of special saints, but they are also included among the ordinary conceptions. In the Apostle, just as in the Gospel, the statutory readings have cinnabar notations and interlinear characters. In addition to the division of the Apostle into conceptions, there is a special division into certain divisions. Before the beginning of each such section there is a special sign (in the form of a medallion), in the middle of which the name of the day of the week is written: “week”, “Monday”, “Tuesday”, etc.

The division into the indicated sections is made for cell reading and for that reading, which, according to the Rules, should be at the all-night vigil after the blessing of the loaves, when the Acts, Epistles and Apocalypse are supposed to be read. (Typikon, chapter 2). The number of such departments is close to the number of vigils per year prescribed by the Typikon in Chapter 6. There are about 70 vigils, and 72 departments.

At the beginning and end of the Liturgical Apostle there are articles similar to those in the Gospels, which provide a number of introductory information and so on.

Before the book of the Acts of the Apostles and before each Epistle there are the following “articles”:

1) "Signs". This article contains an indication of the subjects of the New Testament book.

Black (sometimes small) numbers indicate the item, and red (sometimes large) numbers indicate some detailed additions to the item.

"Tales". It talks about the purpose, reason and purpose of writing the Message.

At the end of the Apostle are placed:

1. Index of the apostolic readings by week, starting from Easter and ending with Holy Saturday, with prokeemnas, antiphons, troparions, kontakia, alleluaries and sacraments of the feast days.

2. Monthsword.

3. Sunday prokeimnas of eight voices.

4. Prokeimnas of the seven days.

5. Index of readings for the “common saints” and for “every need.”

6. Daily antiphons.

Directions for reading the Apostle

The reader must receive a blessing from the serving priest to put on the surplice and to read the Apostle, after which he goes to the indicated place to read the appointed Apostle.

After the choir sings the Trisagion and the priest exclaims: “Peace to all,” the reader says: “And to your spirit.” Deacon: “Wisdom”, the reader pronounces the prokeimenon. The choir sings the prokeimenon, then the reader recites the verse, and the choir sings the prokeimenon a second time. Next, the reader pronounces the first part of the prokeimna, and the choir sings the second part. At the end of the singing of the prokeemna, the deacon exclaims: “Wisdom,” and the reader pronounces the inscription of the apostolic reading, for example: “Reading the Acts of the Apostle,” “Reading the Catholic Epistle of John,” “Reading the Epistle of the Holy Apostle Paul to the Galatians.” Deacon: “Let us hear,” the reader reads more appropriately the conception of the Apostle.

At the end of the reading of the Apostle, the priest quietly pronounces “Peace be upon you,” the reader answers him in the same tone: “And give Thy spirits to him.” Deacon: "Wisdom." The reader, after saying: “And to Your Spirit,” immediately says: “Alleluia” (three times). The choir sings: "Alleluia" (three times). The reader recites the verse, the xop sings a second time: “Alleluia,” then the reader recites the second verse, and the choir sings a third time: “Alleluia.” The reader, having crossed himself, enters the altar through the southern doors, takes a blessing from the serving priest and then unmasks himself.

On some days there are two apostolic readings and two prokemenas. The order of singing the prokeimenon is as follows: the reader pronounces the first prokeimenon, the choir sings this prokeimenon, then the reader recites the verse of the prokeimenon, and the choir sings the prokeimenon a second time. Next, the reader, instead of the first half of the prokeimenon, pronounces the second prokeimenon. The choir also sings the second prokeimenon.

Some prokeimnas have inserted words, for example: prokeimnas for the feasts of the Mother of God. "Song of the Mother of God", prokeimenon on the Sunday of Sts. Fathers: "Song of the Fathers".

The alleluary is always sung only three times. Some alleluaries have one verse instead of two; in this case, it must be divided into two parts or repeated. If two alleluaries are prescribed, the first verse should be taken from one, the second verse from the other. At the Liturgy, more than two apostolic readings are not read, two began. If on any day you have to read three apostolic conceptions, then they are read as two, i.e. one conception is read “under conception” with the other.

Note: The expression “under conception” means that the two Apostles are read as if they constitute one conception, i.e. There is no long pause between the readings of two conceptions.

When reading the two apostolic principles, the following order is observed:

First, the conceptions of the day (i.e., ordinary ones) are read, then to the saints:

a) on all days of the week, except Saturday;

b) on Saturdays from the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee to the Sunday of All Saints, i.e. during the period of singing the Lenten and Colored Triodion.

c) on all Sundays (except for the weeks before the Exaltation and after the Exaltation, the week after the Nativity of Christ),

d) on the days of the dedication of the Mother of God holidays, first the ordinary conception is read, and then to the Mother of God.

2. The apostle is read first to the saint, and then to the ordinary on Saturdays from the Sunday of All Saints until the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee.

Note: In the Apostle there are conceptions designated by the word “from the floor,” i.e. from half.

Psalter

The Psalter is printed in two ways: firstly, with the appendix of the Book of Hours and other “sequences” - the so-called “Psalter with succession”, “Psalter with succession”, “Psalter followed”, secondly, only the Psalter without “sequences” ", in church language called the "Little Psalter", "The Cell Psalter".

The Psalter is sometimes called the “Teacher Book”, since of all the church hymns contained in liturgical books, psalms are primarily edifying, teaching, hymns. In the psalms, the entire Church and every believer can express their reverent experiences, feelings of repentance and joy. According to St. Basil the Great, “The Psalter prophesies about the future, recalls the past... It is a kind of treasury of good instructions; it heals old mental ulcers, and gives quick healing to those who have received a fresh wound; it strengthens the weak, protects healthy, destroys passions. It brings calm to the soul, produces peace, tames stormy and rebellious thoughts. The Psalm softens an angry soul, disciplines a lustful soul... What does the Psalter not teach you? You will learn from it excellent courage, and strict justice, and constant abstinence, and perfect generosity, and an image of repentance, and complete patience, you will learn from it everything good..." (Conversation on the 1st Psalm).

In ancient Rus', the Psalter was one of the subjects of education and was educational book. Therefore, in the Psalter, as a teaching book, “articles” are published that teach the truths of faith in the One God, glorified in the Trinity. These include:

a) The symbol of St. Athanasius, Patriarch of Alexandria;

b) An account of the faith of Anastasius, Patriarch of Antioch and Cyril of Alexandria in question-and-answer form;

c) an account of the faith of St. Maximus the Confessor;

d) a short lesson on the sign of the cross and the folding of fingers to perform it, etc.

The Psalter is divided into 20 kathismas, and each kathisma into three “Glories”, or parts; ending with the words: "Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit."

"Glories" are sometimes called "articles", "antiphons:". The 17th kathisma is divided not only into three “Glories”, but also into two halves. In it, before verse 94 (“I am yours, save me”) the word is printed: “Wednesday, i.e. the middle.” Since the Psalter is used in Divine services throughout the year, at the beginning of it there is an index of readings. Kathismas are followed by “Prophetic songs ", currently used only in Lent, and "Selected Psalms". At the end of the Lesser Psalter there are "Following the departure of the soul from the body" and "Commemoration", and in more complete editions - "The Order of 12 Psalms" and instructions "From eldership about the cell rule."

Followed by Psalm 9

The following Psalter is divided into 5 parts: Psalter, Book of Hours, Book of Months, Canon, Semidnev 10.

The first part of the Followed Psalter included psalms that the Church established to be read in church during divine services during each week. Kathismas are read at Vespers and Matins.

After the 20th kathisma, the Followed Psalter contains selected psalms and magnifications for them, which are sung on great holidays after “Praise the name of the Lord.” They are performed antiphonally, by two choirs; which choir should sing which verse is indicated in the margin opposite the psalm with the letters “a” and “c”. The greatnesses are arranged in the order in which the holidays follow according to the Monthly Dictionary. In addition, between the magnifications of the Flower-bearing and Fomina weeks, praises with the 17th kathisma are placed, sung at the burial of the Savior on Holy Saturday.

The first part of the Followed Psalter ends with the third chapter, containing the text of troparia and prayers read after each kathisma during cell prayer. (In the Small Psalter, tro-paris and prayers are printed in a row after each kathisma). IN Orthodox Church Since ancient times, there has been a pious custom of reading the Psalter over the body of a deceased monk, layman, as well as a deacon (the Gospel is read over a bishop and priest, and only by clergy). Reading the Psalter is required while standing. The one who first begins to read the Psalter over the body of the deceased must first of all read “The Sequence on the Exodus of the Soul from the Body.”

The order of reading the Psalter for the dead is as follows:

"Through the prayers of the Holy Father... Amen. Trisagion according to "Our Father..." Troparion: "Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us...", "Glory", "Honorable triumph of Thy prophet, O Lord...", " And now,” “Many multitudes...”, “Lord, have mercy” - 40 times, the prayer “All-Holy Trinity...”, “Come, let us worship” (three times) and the 1st kathisma. On each “Glory” a prayer is read: “Remember, O Lord our God, in faith and hope, the life of your eternal servant (name of the rivers) who passed away... or your handmaid...” This prayer is at the end of the sequence after the exodus of the soul. For each kathisma, the Trisagion is read according to the “Our Father,” the troparia and the prayer prescribed for each kathisma.

The next kathisma begins with the words: “Come, let us worship.” The Psalter is read for all the dead, except for those who committed suicide.

2nd part of the Followed Psalter: Book of Hours.

The second part of the Followed Psalter is the Book of Hours, which contains the rites of the daily cycle of worship, mainly with those prayers and hymns that are sung and read by readers and singers,

The daily cycle of Divine services consists of Vespers, Compline (small or great), Midnight Office, Matins, 1st hour, 3rd hour, 6th hour and 9th hour, which serve as preparation for the main Divine service - Divine Liturgy.

In ancient times, these sequences were performed separately from one another at hours appointed by the Church, but later, out of condescension to the weaknesses and needs of Christians, the Church allowed them to be performed at three times of the day: in the evening, in the morning and around noon.

The Church begins its daily worship service in the evening. The evening services of the Orthodox Church include: the 9th hour, Vespers and Compline.

The morning service includes: Midnight Office, Matins and the first hour. Daytime services consist of: 3rd, 6th hour and Liturgy (or pictorial).

In the Book of Hours these services are arranged in a slightly different order. The Book of Hours begins with the Midnight Office. This service is called so because the Charter prescribes it to be performed at midnight. The Book of Hours contains three separate sequences of the Midnight Office: daily, Saturday and Sunday. Before the Midnight Office, at the very beginning of the Book of Hours, there are the initial morning prayers. The daily midnight office is celebrated from Monday to Friday inclusive.

Saturday - on Saturday. The main difference between the Saturday midnight office and the daily midnight office is that at the daily midnight office the 17th kathisma is read, and at the Saturday midnight office the 9th kathisma is read. According to the Rule, the Sunday Midnight Office is supposed to be celebrated on Sunday. Weekly, i.e. Sunday Midnight Office has a special rite. The canon of the Holy Trinity (according to the voice), located in the Octoechos, is based on it.

Sunday Midnight Office is followed by Matins. It begins with two psalms with troparions and a litany, which are read before the Six Psalms, when there is no vigil. Then follows the Six Psalms, i.e. six selected psalms. Next - “God the Lord with verses.” During Great Lent and in those cases when there is no Liturgy, instead of “God the Lord” “Alleluia” is sung with special verses. Next are the Trinity Troparions. They are sung during Great Lent, from Monday to Friday inclusive, and replace those troparions to the saints that are supposed to be sung with “God the Lord.” The Trinity troparia are arranged according to the voices. I ate the Trinity Troparions and there are luminaries and exapostilaria 8 chapters of owls. Luminaries are read after the 9th canto during Great Lent, and exapostilaria are read on all weekdays.

In the 9th song of the canon, the song of the Most Holy Theotokos is sung: “My soul magnifies the Lord...” with the refrain: “The most honorable Cherub...” This hymn to the Mother of God is included in its entirety in the Book of Hours.

The lamps and exapostilaries are followed by psalms of praise - 149, 150. They are called praiseworthy because their content is the glorification of God not only by man, but by all creation. These psalms are included in both holiday and daily services. At the festive service, they begin with singing from the words: “Let every breath praise the Lord at the daily - reading from the words: “Praise the Lord from heaven.”

At the end of the last psalm there is an indication of cinnabar - “for 6”, “for 4”. This means that from a given verse one should add a stichera to each verse (from the Menaion, Octoechos or Triodion). The singing of psalms ends with the prayer: “Blessed are you, the Virgin Mary...” and great doxology. Then there is a daily doxology, which is preceded by the prayer: “Glory befits you, O Lord our God...”

Thus, at daily matins, when the great glorification is not sung, one must read the psalms of praise from the words “Praise the Lord from heaven, a song befits you to God...” to the end (“Let every breath praise the Lord”) and immediately move on to to sing on “Glory befits you...” and daily praise. Further in the Book of Hours there are verses for the morning verse stichera: “In the morning we will be filled with Thy mercy, Lord...”, “And be lordship...” Next - “It is good to confess to the Lord...” Verse stichera and “It is good.. ." read at Matins in those cases when the doxology is read and not recited. At the end of the rite of Matins, according to the Book of Hours, there is the rite of the end of Lenten.

After Matins, the Book of Hours begins the service of the Hours (1st, 3rd and 6th) with interhours. Between hours depart in Palestinian monasteries and on Mount Athos.

After the interhour of the sixth hour there is a rite of the Fine, which includes chants from the beginning of the Liturgy: Psalm 102 “Bless my soul the Lord” and Psalm 145 - “Praise my soul the Lord”, then “The Only Begotten Son...”, “In Thy kingdom...", then come the kontakia, sung at the Liturgy at the small entrance, and the 33rd psalm: "I will bless the Lord..."

Behind the Fine Arts is placed the “Rite of Panagia,” performed in monasteries (usually in holidays, after the Liturgy at the meal). Next comes the 9th hour with its inter-hours. Then - Vespers, which includes Psalm 103, the so-called pre-initial; 140, 141, 129, 116 psalms under common name"The Lord cried..."

The end has cinnabar marks “by 10”, “by 8”, “by 6”, “by 4”, this means that depending on the holiday, a certain number of stichera are added to these verses. Next comes: “Quiet Light...”, “Alleluia” with verses for Lent and daily Vespers prokeme with verses for the seven-day cycle. Then the prayer: “Lord grant...”, which is read at every Vespers. After all the hymns there are verses for the verse stichera of the daily vespers: “My eyes have lifted up to you...”, “Have mercy on us. Lord”... The beginning follows: “Now you forgive...”, “Rejoice, Virgin Mary” and the rite end of Lenten Vespers. Following the rite of Vespers, prayers are read, said before and after the evening meal. Below is the rite of Great Compline. It is sent on the eve of the holidays of the Nativity of Christ, Epiphany, Annunciation, as well as during Lent from Monday to Friday inclusive. It is followed by Small Compline, which, according to the Rule, is supposed to be celebrated after the evening meal every day throughout the year, on days when Great Compline is not supposed to be celebrated.

At the end of the Book of Hours there is a statutory article “On the signs of the Lord’s and Theotokos’ feasts, and the saints.” The ending of the "Teaching Book of Hours" is much more extensive. There they also place troparia and kontakia for Sundays, the twelfth feasts of great saints, etc.; in the Followed Psalter they are at the end of the Month.

Part 3: Monthly Words

The Book of Hours in the Followed Psalter is followed by the Month of Words. A monthly word is a brief listing of holidays and saints in order of months and days of the year, starting from September 1st. For each number, a troparion and kontakion of the saint are given here.

The month calendar is otherwise called the calendar. In addition to the Followed Psalter, the Book of Months is also included in other liturgical books, such as the Gospel, Apostle, Typikon, Great Book of Hours, etc., and is also published as a separate book. The Book of Months in the Followed Psalter is preceded by the article: “On the signs of the Master and Mother of God Feasts and Saints,” i.e. about the holiday signs, which we have already become familiar with while studying the holidays of the Holy Orthodox Church.

Unlike the Gospel and Apostolic, the Psalter Month against numbers has a statutory holiday sign. In many of the Followed Psalms, after indicating the memory of the saint, a brief account of his life is given.

Looking in detail at the contents of the Monthly Word, it is easy to notice that the names of the days (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, etc.) are not shown here. In the margins we see only letters: some with a title, others without a title. The latter are mostly printed in red font. The letters under the title are the dates of each month. There are only seven letters without titles in the Monthly Word: A, B, D, D, S, Z. They are arranged in reverse alphabetical order. These seven letters are called vrucelet letters and serve to determine the days of the week for a given date in any year. To do this, you only need to know which day in a given year corresponds to at least one letter.

Under each date in the Church Monthly Book the name of a saint is mentioned. In the ranks of saints, the Orthodox Church glorifies angels, prophets, apostles, saints, martyrs, saints and righteous people.

Saints are called pastors-teachers of the Church, glorified in the rank of bishop. Most of them bear the names of the churches in which they served as priests. For example: Nicholas of Myra, i.e. bishop in the city of Myra, in Lycia (in Asia Minor); Tikhon of Voronezh; Dimitry Rostovsky; Theodosius of Chernigov, etc.

Martyrs and martyrs are called saints who endured suffering and death for the truth of the faith of Christ. Martyrs of persons holding holy orders are called holy martyrs. Holy martyrs or martyrs of the monastic order are called venerable martyrs and venerable martyrs. Lay Christians who died in agony for Jesus Christ are simply called martyrs and martyrs. Saints who died in especially great suffering for the Christian faith are called great martyrs and great martyrs. All Christian martyrs in general are often called passion-bearers, i.e. having endured suffering.

Reverends The Orthodox Church calls saints who lived away from the world, i.e. monastics. The name “father”, which appears quite often in the Monthly Book, is adopted by the abbot of the monastery, canonized as a saint, as well as by presbyters and bishops (due to the fact that they receive from God the grace to spiritually revive and educate people), and mainly by those who attended the Ecumenical Councils . The title of “mother” is adopted by the abbess of the monastery or, in general, by the venerable one.

Righteous The Orthodox Church names saints who, living in the world and performing worldly duties, pleased God.

After the Month of the Month, troparia and kontakia of the moving days of the annual circle are placed, i.e. Weeks about the publican and the Pharisee, about the prodigal son, meat and cheese, and the seven weeks of Great Lent. A full service has been given for Easter so that this service can be performed where for some reason there are no other liturgical books.

The Easter service is followed by troparia and kontakia of the following weeks: Antipascha, Myrrh-Bearers, the Paralytic, the Samaritan, the Blind, the Feast of the Ascension of Christ, Pentecost, the Sunday of Sts. Fathers, All Saints. Next are the tro-paris, kontakia, Theotokos and Sunday hypak in 8 voices. (Ipakoi is a short chant that is placed at Sunday Matins after the polyeleos before the reading of the Gospel. Its purpose is to focus our attention on the upcoming Gospel reading).

After the Sunday troparions in 8 tones there are troparions sung at Sunday matins after the polyeleos with the refrain: “Blessed art thou, Lord, teach me by thy justification.” Then troparia of the same purpose are given, sung on Saturday - they are called deathly, because... relate in their content to the funeral service. Next comes chapter 27 (25th in the Small Format Psalms), which contains “Theotokos of Dismissal.” This is the name of the hymns “sung throughout the summer along the troparia at Vespers, for God the Lord at Matins, and again at end of Matins." These Theotokos are arranged according to the voices and they are attached according to the voice and day to the troparion, which has a black sign or does not have a sign.

Saints with a red sign are given the Sunday Mother of God instead of these Mother of God.

The next chapter contains troparia for the seven-day circle; further - kontakia common to the saints.

The first place among the liturgical books is occupied by: Gospel, Apostle And Psalter. These books are taken from the Holy Scriptures - the Bible - and therefore are called sacred and liturgical.

Then follow the books: Service Book, Book of Hours, Breviary, book of prayer chants, Octoechos, Menaion of the month, Menaion of the general, Menaion of the holidays. Lenten Triodion, Colored Triodion, Typikon or Charter, Irmologium and Canon. These books were compiled on the basis of Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition, by the fathers and teachers of the Church. And they are called church services.

Gospel- this is the Word of God. It consists of the first four books of the New Testament, written by the evangelists Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The Gospel contains a description of the earthly life of our Lord Jesus Christ: His teaching, miracles, suffering on the cross, death, glorious resurrection and His ascension to heaven. The liturgical Gospel has the peculiarity that, in addition to the usual division into chapters and verses, it is also divided into special sections called “conceptions.” At the end of the book there is an index: when to read this or that.

Apostle, this is the name in church language of a book containing the subsequent books of the New Testament: the Acts of the Holy Apostles, the conciliar epistles and the epistles of the Apostle Paul (except for the book of the Apocalypse). The book of the Apostle, like the Gospel, is divided, in addition to chapters and verses, into “conceptions,” with an indication at the end of the book of when and which “conception” to read.

Psalter- book of the prophet and king David. It is so called because most of the psalms in it were written by St. Ave. David. In these psalms, St. the prophet opens his soul to God, all his joys and sorrows, repents of his sins, glorifies God’s endless perfections, thanks Him for all His mercies and good deeds, asks for help in all his undertakings... That is why the psalter is used during Divine services more often than any other liturgical books.

The book of Psalms for use in divine services is divided into twenty sections called “kathismas,” and each “kathisma” is divided into three parts, called “glories.”

In addition to the simple Psalter, there is also a Psalter “followed”; it is distinguished by the fact that it contains three appendices: a) Book of Hours, b) troparia and kontakia selected from all liturgical books and c) all prayers that should be read by those approaching the Holy Sacrament Communions.

Missal- a book for priests and deacons. It contains the order of Vespers, Matins and Liturgy. At the end of the service book there are: dispensations, prokemenyas, magnifications and months, i.e. a list of saints commemorated daily by the church.

The bishop's missal (or "Bishop's Official") is distinguished by the fact that it also contains the rite of consecration of the antimension and the rite of ordination to the rank of reader, deacon, priest, etc.

Book of Hours- a book that serves as a guide for readers and singers in the choir. The Book of Hours contains the order of all daily services, except for the Liturgy.

Breviary- a book containing the rites of the Holy Sacraments (except for the sacraments of Holy Communion and Priesthood) and other requirements - the rite of funeral and burial of the deceased, the rite of the blessing of water, prayers for the birth of a baby, at the naming of the baby and his churching, etc.

Book of Prayer Songs contains rites of prayers (prayer chants) for different occasions.

Octoechos or Osmiglasnik contains hymns (troparia, kontakion, canons, etc.), divided into eight tunes or “voices.” Each voice, in turn, contains hymns for the entire week, so that the services of the Octoechos are repeated once every eight weeks. The division of church singing into voices was accomplished by the famous hymnist of the Greek Church, St. John of Damascus (VIII century). The Octoechos is attributed to him and compiled, although it should be noted that St. took part in the composition of the Octoechos. Mitrofan, Bishop of Smyrna, St. Joseph the hymnographer and others.

Menaea Menses contains prayers in honor of saints for every day of the year and solemn services for the feasts of the Lord and the Mother of God, falling on a specific day of the month. According to the number of 12 months, it is divided into 12 separate books.

Minea General contains hymns common to a whole group of saints, for example, in honor of prophets, apostles, martyrs, saints, etc. It is used during Divine services in the event that a separate service has not been compiled for any saint in the Menaion of the Month.

Minea Festive contains the services of the Great Holidays, extracted from the Menaion of the Month.

Lenten Triodion contains prayers for the days of Great Lent and for the preparatory weeks for it, starting from the week of the Publican and the Pharisee and until Easter. The word: "Triod" is Greek and means three songs. This book and the following “Triod Tsvetnaya” received this name because they contain incomplete canons, consisting of only three songs, instead of the usual nine songs of the canon.

Triodion Colored contains hymns from the day of Holy Easter to the week of All Saints (i.e., until the 9th Resurrection, counting from the day of Easter).

Typicon or Charter contains detailed instructions: on what days and hours, during what Divine services and in what order the prayers contained in the service book, book of hours, octoechus and other liturgical books should be read or sung.

Irmology contains chants selected from various canons, called irmos (irmos is the initial chant of each song of the canon).

The Holy Gospel is the most main book in the life of an Orthodox Christian, the most sacred book of the Holy Mother of our Church. Apparently, it was precisely while reading the Holy Scriptures that the parents found the child Jesus in the Jerusalem Temple (Luke 2:46-47). It was precisely from the Gospel that the newly converted Christians of the apostolic age studied the faith.(Acts 17:11). It is with the Gospel that both the Holy Fathers and our priests in churches strongly advise modern believers to check their daily actions.

The Gospel is the main, but not the only book used during services in churches. The Apostle is also read from the pulpit. Other liturgical books are used in the choir - menaion, octoechos, psalter... They are publicly available today and can be purchased in large church stores. But, unfortunately, not many people know what these books are (with the exception of clergy and some scientific workers). We will tell you today what books are on the choir bookshelves.

Liturgical books– contain, in whole or in part, the rites of service and statutory instructions. Each liturgical book has its own “core” - the basis of its content - and applications that are included in it for ease of use. Sometimes these applications may be the same for different books. All these books are divided into two parts - sacred liturgical and church liturgical. The first include books borrowed from the Bible - Gospel, Apostle, Psalter. To the second, compiled on the basis of Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition, transmitted by the Fathers and teachers of the Church: Book of Hours, Service Book, Menaion, Octoechos, Triodion, Typicon, Irmologium, Breviary.

Liturgical Gospel

The Gospels are the first four books of the New Testament, which describe the teaching, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Each book is named after the author-compilers - the apostles Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The word “Gospel” itself translated from Greek means good news. In Byzantine-Slavic liturgical writing, several types of Gospels developed: Gospel-chetiy (for reading), Gospel aprakos(for services), Explanatory Gospel, Teaching Gospel.

In the Aprakos Gospel, short Gospel texts were arranged in the order of readings for each week (week) of the liturgical year. This Gospel became the first translation of the Holy Book into the Slavic language, made in 863-867 by the Slavic first teachers, Saints Equal to the Apostles Cyril and Methodius.

The liturgical Gospel that we hear in church is slightly different in its text structure from the Gospel that we are used to reading at home. In the liturgical Gospel the text is divided into “conceptions” (passages). Each “conception” has an initial phrase that we hear during worship, but never find in the text of the Gospel - “At the time it was...” or “The Lord spoke.” At the end of the liturgical Gospel there is an index of readings for each day of the year.

Apostle

This liturgical book, compiled by the Byzantine Church, contains the “Acts” and “Epistle” of the holy apostles (the epistles of the Apostle James, the two epistles of the Apostle Peter, the three epistles of the Apostle John, the epistle of the Apostle Jude, and the fourteen epistles of the Apostle Paul). By analogy with the Gospel books, the “Apostle” was divided into three types.

“Apostle” is read at the Divine Liturgy, before reading the Gospel. In addition to the books listed, the liturgical “Apostle” also contains a collection of general and Sunday prokeimns, prokeimns for special services(dedicated to martyrs, prophets...) and alleluia - individual verses from the Psalter or other books of Holy Scripture.

The entire text of the “Apostle” is divided into 335 concepts, each of which corresponds to the reading of one day. The beginning and end of each reading are marked with an asterisk, and below the line there are two instructions for the readers: when to read “conception” and the words that begin the concept when reading (“Brotherhood”, “Child Timothy”, “Beloved.”).

And it is also worth noting that “The Apostle” is the first book printed in Russia, published in 1564 in the first printing house of Ivan Fedorov.

Psalter

This is one of the books of the Old Testament, consisting of songs of praise - psalms. In addition to the psalms of the prophet David, of which there are no less than 78, there is one more (89th) belonging to Moses, eleven psalms (41-48, 83, 84, 86) of the Levites, the sons of Korah, twelve (49, 72-82) Asaph the prophet, also from the tribe of Levi, one (87th) of Heman and one (88th) of Etham, contemporaries of David. All 150 psalms were collected into one book by the high priest Ezra. Later, another one was added to the canonical psalms - the 151st, dedicated to the psalmist David.

The Psalter is divided into 20 sections, called kathismas, each of which, in turn, is divided into three parts of “Glory”, ending with the prayer “Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” The Psalter was very popular both in the pre-Christian period and since the era of early Christianity. It was translated into the Slavic language in the initial period of the emergence of Old Slavic writing, since without its text it was impossible to perform a church service.

Today, the daily services of the Orthodox Church include fifty psalms, including the Six Psalms. The entire Psalter is read during worship within one week, and during Lent - twice a week. For worship, the following psalter is also used - a book indicating the troparia and prayers read after the kathismas. The book can contain a book of hours and months.

Missal

This book is for deacons and priests. It contains the sequences of the three Divine Liturgies that are served in the Orthodox Church - Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, Liturgy of St. Basil the Great and Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts. Hence the second name of this book - liturgiary. All the sequences of the service book are given precisely from the point of view of the clergy: all the prayers, litanies, exclamations that they pronounce; all the actions that they must perform. This book also indicates what is read or sung in the choir at this time. In addition to the rite of the Divine Liturgy, the Service Book contains rite of Vespers and Matins, but in the form in which it is necessary for the deacon and priest.

This composition of the Service Book was formed by the beginning of the 17th century and was recorded in its first printed editions. Before this, the Service Book of Varlaam of Khutyn (XII-XIII centuries) and the Service Book of Metropolitan Cyprian (XIV-XV centuries) were used in services.

The service book has several applications. First of all, vacations- words spoken by the priest at the very end of the service; months - indication of the memory of saints and holidays for each day of the year; prokimny which the deacons proclaim.

Let us also mention a book called Bishop's service book or Official of the bishop's clergy. Its content coincides with the usual Service Book, but is supplemented by the rite of one sacrament that cannot be performed by a priest - the Sacrament of Ordination (ordination). Also in this book is the sequence of the rite of consecration of the antimension. It is not considered one of the main sacraments of the Church, however, it is closely connected with them.

Book of Hours

This is the main book for choir use. Its composition is attributed to the Monk Sava the Sanctified (532). Then it was supplemented by John of Damascus and Theodore the Studite. The appearance of the first complete Books of Hours dates back to the 9th century. (It was according to the Book of Hours that children were taught to read in Ancient Rus'). The Book of Hours contains unchangeable prayers of the services of the daily daily circle: Matins, Midnight Office, Fine Office, Vespers and Hours with Interhours (hence the name). There are two types of Book of Hours: large and small.

Great Book of Hours contains the sequences of the Midnight Office of the day, Saturday and Sunday, Great and Lesser Compline, the Hours with the hours between them. This book also includes prayers for the Eves of the Nativity of Christ, Epiphany and Friday of Holy Week; succession of Fine, daily and Paschal Matins, Great and Small Vespers. In addition, the modern Slavic Book of Hours contains morning prayers read after the Midnight Office, a blessing of the meal after Vespers, a canon to the Mother of God, prayers for the future, troparia and kontakia, a monthly book with hymns in honor of the saints and other prayers.

Small Book of Hours is an abbreviation of a large book of hours.

Menaea

This liturgical book is also used mainly in the choir. It appeared in our churches at the end of the 10th century, from the time when its first translation into the Slavic language was made from the Greek mena on Mount Athos and Ohrid. The second edition, Russian, was created on the basis of the South Slavic translation in the middle of the 11th century. Menaia come in three types.

Menaea menstruation contain variable chants of fixed holidays for one month. It consists of 12 books according to the number of months in the year, but almost each month can be divided into two or three books, so there are many more volumes. The first book of the Menaion begins with the church new year - September 14 according to the new style. There are publications in which one book includes two or three months; sometimes the menaion consists of two books - September (September-February) and March (March-August); sometimes from one - annual. But such publications are extremely rare today.

Festive Menaion is a convenient liturgical collection, a selection from the monthly Menaion for the entire year. It includes services for the twelve feasts of the Lord and the Mother of God, some of the most revered icons of the Mother of God and great saints. This book is not required for worship, but is used by readers for convenience. The festive Menaion may also include commemorations of ordinary saints, whose memory coincides with the pre-celebrations and post-celebrations of fixed holidays.

Menaea common consists of modified prayers and hymns that the Church has assigned to the saints of one person or another - prophets, saints, apostles, and so on. For each face of saints there are two sequences: for the service alone to the saint and for service several saints of the same face . The texts in it are composed in such a way that they glorify the feat of the saint in his general outline. Most chants leave spaces: name - the name of the saint to whom the memory is being celebrated is inserted.

Usually the “General Menaia” is used together with the “Festive Menaia” where the “Monthly Menaia” is missing. The “General” and “Festive” Menaions are also used when it is necessary to perform a service to a saint (for example, a newly glorified saint), the following of which is either not at all in the Menaions of Menstruation, or it is incomplete.

The Menaion contains one appendix – Theotokos.

There is also a fourth version of this book - "Cheti-Menei". It contains, in calendar order, the lives of saints whose memory the Church honors daily. “Cheti-Menei” is divided into twelve volumes, corresponding to the months of the year. At the very beginning of its creation, this book was intended for choir reading, but it soon became so popular, not only among clergy, but also among ordinary believers, that it soon ended up on the shelves of home and public libraries. The “Cheti-Menei” compiled by St. Demetrius of Rostov were and continue to be especially popular.

Triodion

Triodion translated into Church Slavonic means “trisong”. This name is determined by the fact that the canons contained in it mostly consist of three songs. After the sixth song of the canon there is a Synaxarium - a collection historical information about a holiday or some saint. The authors of the Byzantine Triodion are many Holy Fathers, including the Venerable Roman the Sweet Singer, Andrew of Crete (let us remember his Great Penitential Canon), and John of Damascus.

According to the testimony of the first synaxarion of the Lenten Triodion, these hymns were collected into one book by the Monks Theodore and Joseph the Studites. In the 9th century, saints the brothers, combining the 200-year experience of their predecessors and adding stichera and canons of their own work to their works, created a church service prayer book containing about one hundred and sixty large and small services - the triodion. In the 10th century, this book was divided into two parts: Lenten Triodion And Triodion Colored.

Lenten Triodion contains modified prayer books for the Lenten cycle services. It begins with three preparatory weeks for Lent (with the Week of the Publican and the Pharisee)

The first two preparatory weeks of the Triodion are used only at Sunday services, and starting from the Saturday before the Week of the Last Judgment and throughout the entire Pentecost - daily. A very special period: Lazarus Saturday, Palm Sunday and Holy Week. At the Midnight Office before Easter Matins, the Lenten Triodion is used for the last time in the annual cycle of services.

On Easter night the service begins Triodion Colored, otherwise called penticostarion, (from the Greek word - Pentecost) , which contains modified prayers for the services of Easter, Easter Week and all the time until Pentecost and All Saints Sunday, when the last service according to this book is performed.

Octoechos

This book was compiled at the beginning of the 7th century. A hundred years later it was edited and supplemented by Saint John of Damascus. The Octoechos contains the chants of Vespers, Compline, Matins and Liturgy (and on Sundays - Little Vesper and Midnight) of the weekly cycle, sung in one voice. There are eight voices in total (hence the name of this book - Osmoglasnik; Greek). Word and sound are inseparable in this book. In the vocal system, this is very easy to feel, because when the voice changes, not only the tunes change, but also the texts that correspond to the liturgical themes of the days of the week. After completing the cycle of eight weeks, the singing of the Octoechos begins again with the chants of the first tone. The change of voice occurs on Saturday evening, at the Sunday all-night vigil.

Each day of the week in Octoechos is associated with the remembrance of a certain face of saints or sacred events: Sunday is dedicated to the Lord Jesus Christ and his Resurrection; Monday's hymns are of a penitential nature and sing of the holy angels; on Tuesday they glorify St. John the Baptist; on Wednesday and Friday - hymns are dedicated to the Holy Cross and the Mother of God; on Thursday - the apostles and St. Nicholas the Wonderworker are glorified; On Saturday, All Saints and departed Christians are commemorated in prayer.

There are two periods of action of Octoechos. From the Sunday of All Saints to the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee, this book interacts only with the Menaion. It is called period of the singing of the Octoechos. The Sunday service always dominates the weekly cycle of worship. It can only be canceled if it coincides with the Twelfth Feast of the Lord. IN period of singing of the Triodion Octoekh is connected with the Triodion and at this time it is used less often: on weekdays of Great Lent - only at certain moments of the service, but on Sundays it comes first. From Lazarus Saturday to Great Saturday, the Octoechos is not used at all.

Octoechos also contains numerous applications. One of them contains a table from which one can determine which of the eleven Sunday Gospels is read at Sunday Matins on a given day. The Gospel texts themselves are also placed in the Octoechos. Another appendix contains liturgical texts (exapostilary, his Theotokos and Gospel stichera), which are related to the Gospel reading. They depend not on the voice, but on the Gospel reading on a given Sunday.

It is also worth noting that starting from the 13th-14th centuries, several types of the abbreviated Octoechos became widespread: Elective Octoechos, Paracliticus, Six-Day Service and Theotokos.

Irmology

This is a singing book. It contains irmos from various liturgical books and is distributed among eight voices. The voice itself consists of nine songs, according to their number in the complete canon. Most of the irmos included in the Irmology are borrowed from the canons of Octoechos, as well as from the Menaion and Triodion. This liturgical book has an appendix - prayers that are sung by singers at Liturgies - St. John Chrysostom, St. Basil the Great and the Presanctified Gifts; various Theotokos, troparia performed at Matins and Polyeleos, prokemenyas, prophetic biblical songs and others. However, the same application is available in the Menstruation Menu.

Breviary

This book is used by clergy. All the rites contained in the Trebnik are not performed every day, but as necessary, upon request - baptism, memorial services, funeral services, betrothal and wedding services; Confirmation, various rites of consecration. The earliest Slavic copy of the Trebnik is Glagolitic (11th century), kept in the library of the Sinai Monastery of St. Catherine. It is an incomplete translation from Greek of special prayers and services for various occasions. The oldest Russian Trebniks have also been preserved in monastic libraries - these are the monastic Trebniks.

In the modern Trebnik, several thematic sections of various rites and prayers can be distinguished: those that are performed by the priest in the church or outside it, and those that occur at the request of the worshipers in connection with their life circumstances.

In addition to the monastic Breviaries, there are bishop's Breviaries, which contain both the rites and rituals necessary for monastics, and those that are performed only by the bishop - the rites of ordination, installation of abbot, chrismation, consecration of the antimension, special prayers of the bishop.

Typicon

The very first Typicons - monastic Rules - appeared along with the birth of monasticism in the 3rd-4th centuries. The most famous are the Typicons of Studite, Jerusalem and the Great Church. The latter was common in Rus' until the 11th century. Then, in the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery, the St. Theodosius of Pechersk introduced the Studite Typikon. In the 14th century, the Monk Afanasy Vysotsky translated from Greek and brought from Constantinople the Jerusalem Typikon, which began to be used in Rus'.

In its entirety, the Typikon consists of two large sections: liturgical and disciplinary. In the liturgical book, instructions are given on what days and hours, in what order and how all the sequences that are in the above-mentioned liturgical books are combined and read. The liturgical section of this book (also called Liturgical) is divided into two parts - triode and synaxarium. The first contains a description of the liturgical sequences according to the Lenten and Colored Triodion, the second, synaxar, - according to the monthly word for the entire annual circle

The modern Typikon can be divided according to its content into three main parts. Part one (from chapters 1 to 47) contains general instructions on the procedure for performing services. The second (chapters 47-52) contains a description of the liturgical sequences for each day of the year. The third part (chapters 52-60) contains a singing appendix to the Typikon.

There is also the “Explanatory Typikon” Mikhail Skaballanovich. In it, the author gives a detailed explanatory presentation of the Typikon with an analysis of the historical circumstances of the formation of the liturgical charter. When considering each fragment of the charter, discussions are given about its meaning, significance and history.

Prepared by Dimitry Bogachev

To determine and find the Gospel conception for a given day, you must use the Gospel appendices, which contain all the necessary instructions. In total, the following four applications can be distinguished in the Gospel:

1. “The saying of the hedgehog for every day should be an honor to the Gospel of the weeks of the whole summer”- ordinary readings of the moving circle of worship. This application begins on the day of Holy Easter and ends on Holy Saturday. The period of Lent stands out in particular. Here are the ordinary or daily readings for all Sundays and weekdays of the year, with the exception of Wednesday and the heel of Cheese Week, as well as the weekdays of Holy Pentecost (that is, days when the Gospel is not supposed to be read). At the end of the appendix are 11 Sunday morning Gospels, which are read sequentially on Sundays throughout the year at matins.

2. “Collegiate of the 12th month”- reading the fixed circle of worship (months of words). Here are readings for every day of the year. Since the beginning of the church year falls on September, the month begins on September 1 and ends on August 31. It should be noted that on the days of remembrance of some minor saints, the Gospel reading is not indicated at all in the monthly text (September 10, October 15, etc.). In these cases, only ordinary readings are read at the liturgy.

3. “The Gospel is common to the saints”- readings are common for each face of saints. This application is used in the same cases when the book of the General Menaion is used: if a vigil or polyeleos service is performed to a saint who does not have a sign in the Rule (for example, in the case of a temple holiday), or when services are performed for newly glorified saints.

4. “There is a different gospel for every need.” Here are the Gospel readings during the celebration of the Sacraments and other private services.

Gospel reading scheme

The usual scheme for reading the Gospel during worship is as follows:

Deacon: “And we pray that we may be worthy to hear the Holy Gospel of the Lord God.”

Choir: "Lord have mercy" (three times).

Deacon: “Wisdom, forgive me, let us hear the Holy Gospel.”

Priest: "Peace to all".

Choir: "And to your spirit."

Priest: "From… (names the evangelist) Reading of the Holy Gospel."

Choir:

Deacon: “Let’s hear it.”

Priest reads the Gospel.

Choir(after finishing reading): “Glory to Thee, Lord, glory to Thee.”

On liturgy this scheme is somewhat different in the sense that the Gospel is read by a deacon on the pulpit, and therefore, if there is no second deacon, the words of the deacon (“Wisdom, forgive ...” and “Let us remember”) in the dialogue before the Gospel are spoken by the priest, and the deacon calls the name of the evangelist. In addition, during the liturgy the initial prayers “And may you be considered worthy to us...” and “Lord, have mercy” are always omitted, so the transition to reading the Gospel begins immediately with “Wisdom, forgive...”. Also, “And about us being considered worthy...” is not said in the following two cases:

At the Great Hours (always), at Vespers of the Nativity of Christ, Epiphany and Good Friday and at the matins of Great Saturday, when the Gospel follows after the Apostle;

At the 3rd, 6th and 9th hours in the first three days of Holy Week in those cases where the reading of the same Gospel that was started in the previous hour continues. In particular, the Gospel of Luke is divided into three parts, and only at the beginning of the reading of the first part is it said “And we are counted worthy...”, while before the beginning of the second and third parts it is said immediately “Wisdom, forgive...”.

Charter for reading the Gospel

At the beginning of each beginning there is an asterisk (if there are two beginnings on one page, then at the beginning of the second there are two asterisks), which plays the role of a link and correlates with the interlinear. At the bottom of the page, the day of reading of this concept is indicated interlinearly, and here is an introductory phrase with which to begin reading the concept. The phrases most often used in the Gospels are “At the time it was...” and “The Lord spoke...”.

Thus, when reading the Gospel during the service, one should, firstly, use the appendices to determine the Gospel and the number of the conception that is assigned for reading on that day. Then, having opened the desired beginning, you should immediately make sure, based on the interlinear translation, that it is really intended to be read on a given day. Next, you need to completely take the introductory phrase from the interlinear translation and then read from the very words that appear after the asterisk (that is, the words that appear before the asterisk in the main text of the Gospel are omitted in this case). The reading ends not where the next beginning begins, but only in the place indicated by the words “end...” (for example, “the end of the Epiphany” or “the end of the Sabbath”). If, in the middle of reading one beginning, the beginning of another reading is encountered, then in this case it is necessary to follow the main text, not paying attention to the interlinear text.

Some Gospel readings have a break in the text, or crime , when a certain passage in the middle of a given beginning is omitted. In this case, it is necessary, having reached the mark “transcend ...”, skip the next passage, find the note “honor ...” and immediately continue reading from this point. As an illustration, we give the most famous and frequently used reading with “crime” - conception 4th from Luke(Luke 1, 39–49, 56), which is read at matins on all the feasts of the Mother of God:

In those days, Miriam arose and went to the mountains with diligence, to the city of Judah. And Zechariah went into the house and kissed Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard Mary kissing, the baby leaped in her womb: and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. And you cried with a great voice and said: Blessed are You among women, and blessed is the fruit of Your womb. And where do I get this from, so that the Mother of my Lord may come to me? Behold, as if the voice of Thy kiss came into my ear, the baby leaped with joy in my womb. And blessed is She who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of what was spoken to Her by the Lord. And Mariam said: My soul magnifies the Lord, and My spirit rejoices in God My Savior: for I have looked upon the humility of My Servant: behold, from now on all my kindred will bless Me. For the Mighty One has done great things for Me, and holy is His name.

Transgress the Mother of God.

And His mercy endures throughout all generations of those who fear Him. Create power with Your arm: squander the proud thoughts of their hearts. Destroy the mighty from their thrones and lift up the humble. Fill those who hunger with good things; and those who are rich, let go of their vanity. They will remember His servant Israel, remembering His mercies, just as He said to our fathers Abraham and his seed forever. this passage is omitted].

Honor the Mother of God:

So Miriam remained with her for three months and returned to her home.

The end of the Mother of God.

In this case, immediately after the sentence “For the Mighty One has done great things for Me, and holy is His name,” it reads “Mariam abide with her for three months and return to her home,” and the intervening passage is omitted.

Due to the fact that many readings have “crimes,” it is necessary in advance (preferably before the service) to look through the entire beginning and note where and with what introductory phrase it begins, which passage is skipped (in the case of a “crime”) and where the beginning ends. In some cases, reading with a “crime” ends not in the present beginning, but several beginnings or chapters later. A typical example here is the Gospel for the feasts of the Virgin Mary at the liturgy - from Luke the 54th conceived:

During this time, Jesus came into the whole place: and a certain woman named Martha received Him into her house. And she had a sister, called Mary, who even sat at the foot of Jesus and heard His word. Martha, speaking of much service, began to say: Lord, are you not delusional, because my sister has left me alone to serve? Thank you so much, let me help you. Jesus answered and said to her: Marfo, Marfo, worry and say about the multitude: There is only one thing that is needed. Mary has chosen the good part, and it will not be taken away from her.

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