Celebrating the Beginning of the Indict - the Church New Year. Church New Year

30.09.2019

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The last holiday of the ending year is the Assumption, and the first holiday of the new year is Christmas. Holy Mother of God.

Also in Old Testament The Lord our God commanded that every year we especially celebrate the onset of the seventh month, so that people on this day, freed from the vanity of life, would serve To the One God. In this particular month, when the waters of the flood began to subside, Noah’s ark stopped on the mountains of Ararat. In the same month, the holy prophet Moses came down from the mountain with his face illuminated by the glory of the Divine, and brought new tablets on which the Law given by the Lord Himself was inscribed. And in the same month, the consecration of the Temple of the Lord, created by King Solomon, took place, and the Ark of the Covenant was brought there. There are many other indications in the Old Testament about great importance the seventh month (current September), according to Biblical chronology, counting the creation of the world in the month of March.

In the 6th century, during the reign of Justinian I (527–565), in Christian Church calendar calculation is introduced according to indicts or indictions (from the Latin indictio - announcement), 15-year periods of imposition of tribute. In the Roman Empire, indictio was understood as the designation of the number of taxes that should be collected in a given year. Thus, the financial year in the empire began with the emperor’s “indication” (indictio) of how much taxes needed to be collected, while every 15 years the estates were revalued (according to V.V. Bolotov, indictions were of Egyptian origin). The official Byzantine reckoning, the so-called indictions of Constantine the Great or the Constantinople reckoning, began on September 1, 312.

In Byzantium church year did not always begin on September 1 - both in the Latin West and in the East the March calendar was well known (when the beginning of the year is considered to be March 1 or March 25 (the date of the Feast of the Annunciation)). In general, the solemn celebration of the New Year on September 1 can be considered a late Byzantine phenomenon.

In Rus', each new year of a fifteen-year period, and the fifteenth anniversary itself, were called an indict. In addition, after 532 years, the circles of the Sun and Moon begin together again, that is, the natural situation of the day of the exploit of Jesus Christ is repeated, when the full moon occurs on Friday. The time interval of 532 years is called an indiction. September 1, 2007 (September 14, new style) marks the year 7516 from the creation of the world.

Since 1492, Rus' has celebrated the New Year as a church and state holiday. The meaning of the New Year's service was the remembrance of the Savior's sermon in the Nazareth synagogue, when Jesus Christ said that He came “to heal the brokenhearted... to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”

In Rus' in the 17th century, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, and after him the boyars and all the people of Moscow, dedicated New Year's Day to works of mercy. Not a single beggar left home without consolation - they were all richly provided with alms, clothes and shoes, and fed a hearty holiday dinner. The common people were given gifts and gifts, and visited prisoners in prison.

The cessation of the rank of summerkeeping is associated with the publication by Peter I of a decree on postponing the start of the civil new year to January 1. IN last time the rite was performed on September 1, 1699 in the presence of Peter, who, sitting on the one installed on the Kremlin cathedral square throne in royal clothes, received a blessing from the Patriarch and congratulated the people on the New Year. On January 1, 1700, the church celebration was limited to a prayer service after the liturgy, but the rite of summer service was not performed.

Since those times, the celebration of the church new year on September 1 is not celebrated with the former solemnity, although the Typikon to this day considers this day to be a small Lord's holiday “The beginning of the indictment, that is, the new summer,” connected with festive service in honor of St. Simeon the Stylite, whose memory falls on the same date.

Troparion, tone 2

To the Creator of all creation, having set times and seasons in Your power, bless the crown of the summer of Your goodness, Lord, preserving Your people and your city in peace, through the prayers of the Mother of God, and save us.

Kontakion, voice the same

In the highest, living Christ the King, Creator and Creator of all visible and invisible, Who created days and nights, times and summers, now bless the crown of summer, observe and preserve in peace Your city and people, O Many-merciful One.

On September 1 (September 14, New Style), Orthodox Christians celebrate the Church New Year, which, in accordance with Byzantine tradition, is called the Beginning of the Indict.

BEGINNING OF THE INDICATION - NEW YEAR

In the 6th century, during the reign of Justinian I (527–565), the Christian Church introduced calendar reckoning based on indictions or indictions (from Latin indictio - announcement), 15-year periods of tribute.

In the Roman Empire, indictio was understood as the designation of the number of taxes that should be collected in a given year. Thus, the financial year in the empire began with the emperor’s “indication” (indictio) of how much taxes needed to be collected, while every 15 years the estates were revalued (according to V.V. Bolotov, indictions were of Egyptian origin).

The official Byzantine reckoning, the so-called indictions of Constantine the Great or the Constantinople reckoning, began on September 1, 312.

In Byzantium, the church year did not always begin on September 1 - both in the Latin West and in the East the March calendar was well known (when the beginning of the year is considered to be March 1 or March 25 (the date of the Feast of the Annunciation)). In general, the solemn celebration of the New Year on September 1 can be considered a late Byzantine phenomenon.

The same Gospel was read by the Patriarch in a special rite of summer service - a festive service held on September 1. It is significant that the Gospel was read by the Patriarch himself - in the practice of the Church of Constantinople in late Byzantine times, the Patriarch himself read the Gospel, except for this case, only three times a year: at Good Friday Matins (the first of the 12 Passion Gospels) and at the liturgy and vespers of the first day of Easter.

According to the Typikon Great Church and the Byzantine service Gospels, the rite of summer service has the following order: after Matins, the bishop proceeds with a procession to the city square under the singing of the “big” Trisagion. When the procession reaches the square, the deacon proclaims the litany and 3 antiphons are sung. After the antiphons, the bishop pronounces an exclamation, blesses the people three times and sits down on the seat. This is followed by the prokeimenon and the Apostle; According to the Apostle, the bishop, having blessed the people three times, begins reading the Gospel. Lithium petitions are then pronounced; At the end of the petitions and the head-bending prayer, the singers begin to sing the troparion in 2 voices: To the Creator of all creation..., and the procession goes to the temple to perform the Divine Liturgy.

In Rus', after the adoption of Christianity, there was a civil year until the 15th century. started in March. All ancient Russian chroniclers began the year on March 1, including St. Nestor. But, despite the fact that only in the 15th century. September 1 officially becomes the beginning of the civil year; there is evidence of the rank of flight keeping being carried out in Rus' on September 1, not only at the end of the 14th century. (Trebniks of the State Historical Museum. Sin. Slav. 372, late XIV - early XV centuries and RNL. Sof. 1056, XIV century), but even already in the XIII century. (the rank is mentioned in the Questions and Answers of Bishop Theognostus (1291)). The rite consisted of singing stichera, antiphons, reading paremias, the Apostle, the Gospel and saying prayers. Russian editions of the 17th century. The rank of summer maintenance on September 1 is contained in the Moscow Worldly Potrebnik of 1639, in the Moscow Potrebnik of 1651, in the Metropolitan Trebnik. Peter Mogila 1646 and in the collection printed without year designation church officials(Nikolsky K., Archpriest. About the services of the Russian Church, which were in previous printed liturgical books. St. Petersburg, 1885. P. 113). The Novgorod rank, contained in a handwritten collection of the first quarter of the 17th century, is also close to the printed Moscow ranks.

Note interesting features, contained in the Moscow and Novgorod ranks (for more details, see: Ibid. pp. 114–116). During the reading of the proverbs, the archpriest performed the rite of blessing of water until the moment of immersion of the cross. Then, after reading the Gospel, the saint immersed the cross in water while singing the troparion: Save, O Lord, Thy people... and washed the icons with his lip dipped in consecrated water, after which the prayer of Patriarch Philotheus of Constantinople was read: Master Lord our God... and head-bending prayer. In addition, the Moscow printed rite describes the ceremony of the Tsar’s coming to action (in Moscow, the rite was performed on the cathedral square of the Moscow Kremlin, and the Tsar most often arrived there after the Patriarch had arrived with procession, but sometimes he could come with him), his meeting and the Patriarch’s congratulatory speech to him. In Novgorod, the serving saint addressed congratulations to the governors and people with the pronouncement of the “title” about the royal long-term health.

The Kyiv rank differed from the Moscow and Novgorod ones. It does not indicate the religious procession to the square, the blessing of water and the washing of icons. The reading of the Gospel took place in the church; there were no proverbs and no Apostle. The litia was performed in front of the temple: first they walked around the temple twice with a procession of the cross while singing stichera, on the third circuit they stopped in front of each side of the temple, and the deacon pronounced a litany; in front of the western side the saint read a prayer. The ritual of congratulation is also not specified in the Kiev rite.

The cessation of the rank of summerkeeping is associated with the publication by Peter I of a decree on postponing the start of the civil new year to January 1. The last time the rite was performed was on September 1, 1699 in the presence of Peter, who, sitting on the throne installed on the Kremlin Cathedral Square in royal clothes, received the blessing from the Patriarch and congratulated the people on the New Year. On January 1, 1700, the church celebration was limited to a prayer service after the liturgy, but the rite of summer service was not performed.

Since those times, the celebration of the church new year on September 1 is not celebrated with the former solemnity, although the Typikon still considers this day a small Lord's holiday “The Beginning of the Indictment, that is, the New Summer,” combined with a festive service in honor of St. Simeon the Stylite, whose memory falls on the same date.

Mikhail Bernatsky.Patriarchia.Ru.

CHURCH YEAR

The Church calendar is not a simple reminder throughout the year historical events from the earthly life of Jesus Christ, the Mother of God and the saints. A calendar year is a period of a Christian’s life during which he is called by the Church to ascend to new level a spiritual ladder that takes us to heaven to God Himself, through His Son, calling each of us to divine perfection: “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.”(Matt. 5:48). “For this reason God came down to earth, so that he may lead us to heaven,”- says the church hymn. “For this purpose God became man,” wrote the ancient saints, “so that man would become deified,” that is, become “god by grace.”

Every year the Church instructs its children on the path of spiritual perfection with a time-tested system of holidays, fasts, and the entire structure of its divine services - daily, weekly (weekly) and annual circles. These three circles of worship constitute the essence church holidays and the Orthodox calendar.

In Orthodoxy, every time of day and every day of the week is dedicated to the prayerful remembrance of a special Divine providence for the salvation of mankind (for example, on Wednesday we remember how Judas conspired with the high priests to betray Christ to them, on Friday - the crucifixion of the Lord, on Sunday - His rising from the dead). Throughout the year, every day in churches there is a prayerful memory of one of God's saints: prophets, apostles, martyrs, saints, righteous people, blessed ones - those who with their lives showed us an example of serving God and our neighbors, an example of achieving the perfection commanded to us by the Lord. In addition, there are also annual holidays in honor of the Lord Jesus Christ and His Most Pure Mother. Therefore, in the Church, every day of the year is a holiday - small, medium or great.

What is an Orthodox holiday, how should it be understood and celebrated? The word “holiday” has the same root as the word “idle”, meaning “empty”, “empty”. A “holiday” is literally a day not busy with business, free from work, empty from the daily bustle.

According to the fourth commandment, given by God to Moses, a person must “do his own work” for six days, and devote every seventh day to God - worship, prayer, good deeds towards others - everyone who needs our help. In addition to every seventh day (“Sabbath” - a day of rest), Old Israel, on the direct instructions of Yahweh, also honored special days of the year. Christians, the New Israel, do the same. On such “idle” days from the usual bustle, a person must immerse his mind in the contemplation of God and His good deeds, in order to imitate Him in the same. Since ancient times, on holidays, Christians performed special solemn services.

What is its essence, why do we need it?

The Orthodox holiday is, first of all, a prayer - glorifying God for His providence (care) for us - His “prodigal sons”, who once left Him “to a faraway country” for an easy and sweet life, but who fell into sorrow, illness, melancholy and despondency from monotony and meaninglessness of their existence, spiritually hungry for His grace - merciful, forgiving, comforting, healing, enlightening, admonishing, making us wise, freeing us from slavery to sin and Satan and transforming us into the glory of the sons of God. But we ourselves do not know how to correctly pray, glorify and thank God, and therefore we should learn this from the saints, and for this, pray in church at a service together with the entire Church.

St. Peter of Damascus wrote: “The Church well and godly accepted songs and other troparia, for the sake of the weakness of our mind, so that we, foolish, attracted by the sweetness of the songs, would, as it were, reluctantly sing to God. And those who have knowledge, from delving into the spoken words with their minds, become moved and, as if on a ladder, ascend into good thoughts... And to the extent that we succeed in the habit of thinking about God, so much does the Divine desire attract us to achieve understanding and worship of the Father in spirit and truth (John 4 : 24), as the Lord said."

The holiday is the contemplation of God and His glory with an open face, which is currently only available to angels and saints already in heaven. Our earthly holidays are a symbol and likeness of a heavenly celebration, just as a choir singing liturgical hymns in a church symbolizes and, to the best of their ability, imitates the choir of angels in the spiritual sky praising the Creator of all things.

Due to our spiritual weakness and lack of experience, most of us do not know how to pray, do not know how and for what to praise God, in what words and what we should and can ask Him for; have not yet experienced in their own experience what it means to “bow the knees of the heart” before the Lord, have not learned to “get away from the vanity of the world, placing your mind in heaven,” and, in the words of the Apostle Paul, have not yet found and felt God, “although He is not far away.” from each of us" (Acts 17:27).

We can learn this from the saints, from those who, through much sweat, and often through their own suffering and even their own blood, acquired the grace of the Holy Spirit, entered into direct communion with God and passed on to us their experience of knowing God, compiling prayers, holiday and everyday services for every day of the Church. of the year. And for this teaching, we must pray daily at home and come to church services as often as possible, if not every day, as monks do in monasteries, then at least on Sundays and holidays, so that, together with the entire Church, in the divinely inspired words of ancient psalms and Christian hymns, we give praise to God for His mercy, goodness and ineffable love for His restive and, according to by and large, ungrateful creation.

Hieromartyr Sergius (Mechev), who suffered for Christ at the beginning of the last century, said that the divine service performed here on earth is a consistent revelation in time of the mysteries of eternity. And for every believer it is the path that leads us to eternal life. Therefore, church holidays are not a random collection of memorable days, but shining points of eternity in our temporary world, the passage through which is subject to an unchanging spiritual order. These points replace each other in a certain sequence, like the steps of a single ladder of spiritual ascent, so that, standing on one of them, we already see the light illuminating us from another step. The mystery of worship is the greatest of the mysteries of the Church, which we ourselves cannot immediately comprehend. But it is open to the saints. Therefore, only by entering into their experience through those prayers and liturgical chants in which they captured it, asking for their help for us sinners, do we begin to touch this mystery. And as through this the elements of eternity are born and grow in us, we will begin to understand that our life is only the path leading to it. And then, after leaving this life, we, perhaps, will be worthy of the Eternal Kingdom prepared by the Lord for those who have already begun to enter His life on earth. Eternal Memory, which is the greatest achievement for a person going from below to above.

It is important for all Orthodox Christians to learn to understand the church calendar, to read it as a book telling about God’s salvation of the human race from the power of Satan, about the transfiguration of man, about victory over sin and death. However, to truly understand this book, you must read it own life, or, as Saint John of Kronstadt said, “live the life of the Church.” And then the next year we live in the Church will become not just the “last year” of our biography, but a new turn in the ascending spiral, bringing us closer to the “heaven of heavens.”

Note that the church year begins not on January 1 (or even on the 14th), but on September 1 according to the Julian calendar, or September 14 according to the now accepted Gregorian (“new style”), and therefore it ends on August 31 (September 13) accordingly. . Therefore, the first major holiday of the church year is the Nativity of the Virgin Mary (September 8/21), and the last is Her Assumption (August 15/28) - the transition from temporary life to eternal life. Within the time boundaries indicated by these two events, a year of life passes Orthodox Christian, which should be filled with deep spiritual content and meaning for him.

Symbolically born together with the Ever-Virgin at the beginning of the church year, a Christian is called to live the coming twelve months, given to him by God, as a time favorable for salvation - spiritual and physical work to cleanse himself from sinful passions and acquire virtues - so as to end the year, becoming like in them the perfection of the Mother of God, Who was awarded for this the blessed end of this temporary life - the Dormition - and reunification with Her son Jesus Christ.

The Church marks this year-long journey as milestones with small and major holidays, the main ones of which are the Nativity of the Virgin Mary (September 8/21), the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (September 14/27), the Protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary (October 1/14), the Entry of the Virgin Mary to the temple (November 21/December 4), Nativity of Christ (December 25/January 7), Circumcision of the Lord (January 1/14), Epiphany (January 6/19), Presentation (February 2/15), Annunciation (March 25 / April 7), Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem ( Palm Sunday), Easter of Christ, Ascension of the Lord, Pentecost (Holy Trinity), Nativity of the prophet John the Baptist (June 24/July 7), memory of the apostles Peter and Paul (June 29/July 12), Transfiguration of the Lord (August 6/19), Dormition Mother of God (August 15/28). And also periods of special bodily and prayerful activity - multi-day fasts. These are the Nativity, Great, Petrine (or Apostolic) and Assumption fasts.

Not all holidays listed above have a date. This is no coincidence. The Orthodox calendar is a combination of the Months (or Saints) and Paschal. The month book indicates the names of saints whose memory is celebrated on one day or another of the month, as well as immovable (or fixed) holidays that have a constant calendar date. Easter determines the moving date of Easter and all that depends on it moving holidays(Palm Sunday, Ascension, Trinity), which do not have a fixed date in the calendar, but move depending on the day of Easter. This happens because Monthly is associated with the solar calendar, and Paschal is associated with the lunar calendar.

The rules of Orthodox Easter determine to celebrate Easter on the first Sunday after the first spring full moon following the vernal equinox on March 21 (according to the Julian calendar). Therefore, Orthodox Easter is celebrated on different years in the period from March 22 to April 25 according to the Julian calendar (that is, from April 4 to May 8 of the new style), falls almost in the middle of the church year both in the calendar and in spiritual sense is its center.

Before moving on to the story of the great holidays, let's say a few more words about the essence of the church holiday.

An Orthodox Christian who lives a spiritual life, that is, who tries to live according to the Gospel and therefore strictly judges himself for violating God’s commandments, comes to the holiday with the consciousness of his sinful weakness, a vision of his unresolved sinful passions and habits, his lack of victory over sin, and confesses this in the sacrament repentance and asks God for forgiveness for this. But at the same time he comes to the temple with hope and sincerely asks and expects from the Lord the mercy and help that Christ gives us, uniting us with Himself in the sacrament of the Eucharist, and without participation in this sacrament, a person, according to the word of the Savior, cannot inherit eternal life (cf. .: John 6: 26–59).

Each holiday has its own grace, its own revelation of the mysteries of God, although it is given from the Holy Spirit alone. And therefore, while awaiting the holiday, a Christian must prepare himself to receive grace - by living according to the commandments, good deeds, prayer, reading Holy Scripture and spiritual literature, and when necessary, by long fasting, for grace acts in a person in accordance with his disposition and readiness to accommodate it.

The essence Orthodox holiday lies not at all in the festive meal (“food and drink”), not in the toasts and many years proclaimed at the table, not in how the temple is decorated (birch trees, firs or willows), but in joyful anticipation and in the very meeting of a person with his Lord , Who welcomes those who come to Him - albeit a sinner, but sincerely repenting of their imperfection (for “God kisses even the intention”). On the holiday, the Lord reveals Himself to man in a special way, giving the believers - His disciples - His complete joy (see: John 15: 11), which no one can take away (see: John 16: 22). On holidays, the Lord again and again calls us to Himself, extracting us from the vanity of everyday life and the mire of our passions, lifting us above the mortal earth, revealing to us His future Kingdom, which has already come in power. And this Kingdom of God is within us.

To free the soul from habitual worries, to “abolish” it, to cleanse it of sinful thoughts and impure desires, so that the Lord may enter this prepared place—this is the task of a true “idle-lover”—a believing Christian going to church for a holiday. And it’s not at all what many people do: light a candle, make the sign of the cross on your forehead, anoint yourself with oil at the priest’s, and then run home to watch the TV. And even then they don’t do that - he looked at the calendar: “Is it a holiday? Well, we Orthodox Christians have a reason to have a drink..."

No, this is not why God came down to earth, became Man, taught the lost, fed the hungry, healed the sick, was persecuted by his fellow tribesmen, betrayed by his closest disciple, crucified on the Cross, resurrected and before His Ascension gave the command to his disciples to preach the Gospel throughout the world and baptize everyone peoples. Not for that! So let us try to become worthy disciples of Christ! And if we are not only listeners, but also doers of His words, then when we hear in the temple: “Come, you idle lovers! Let us rejoice in the Lord and His Most Pure Mother and His saints!”, “Praise the name of the Lord...”, our heart will be filled with unworldly joy, and our soul will be delighted. Because only we have such a God - who has mercy on the repentant, forgives those who sin, who suffers with those who suffer, who gave the commandment of love to death (see: John 15: 12-13) and who Himself was the first to fulfill it, crucified on the Cross for us... Only We have such a God who “did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).

According to Art. Art. and marks the beginning of a new liturgical circle of the twelve church holidays. See also indict

The same Gospel was read by the patriarch in a special rite of summer service - a festive service held on September 1. It is significant that the Gospel was read by the patriarch himself - in the practice of the Church of Constantinople in late Byzantine times, the patriarch himself read the Gospel, except for this case, only three times a year: at Good Friday Matins (the first of the 12 Passion Gospels) and at the liturgy and vespers of the first day of Easter.

According to the Typicon of the Great Church and the Byzantine service Gospels, the rite of summer conduction has the following order: after Matins, the bishop proceeds with a procession to the city square accompanied by the singing of the “big” Trisagion. When the procession reaches the square, the deacon proclaims the litany and 3 antiphons are sung. After the antiphons, the bishop pronounces an exclamation, blesses the people three times and sits down on the seat. This is followed by the prokeimenon and the Apostle; According to the Apostle, the bishop, having blessed the people three times, begins reading the Gospel. Lithium petitions are then pronounced; At the end of the petitions and the head-bending prayer, the singers begin to sing the troparion in 2 voices: To the Creator of all creation..., and the procession goes to the temple to celebrate the Divine Liturgy.

In Rus', after the adoption of Christianity, there is a civil year until the century. started in March. All ancient Russian chroniclers began the year on March 1, including St. Nestor. But, despite the fact that only in September 1 officially becomes the beginning of the civil year; there is evidence of the rank of flight keeping being carried out in Rus' on September 1, not only at the end of the 14th century. , but even already in the 13th century. (the rank is mentioned in the Questions and Answers of Bishop Theognostus (1291)). The rite consisted of singing stichera, antiphons, reading paremias, the Apostle, the Gospel and saying prayers. Russian editions of the 17th century. The rank of summer maintenance on September 1 is contained in the Moscow Worldly Potrebnik of 1639, in the Moscow Potrebnik of 1651, in the Metropolitan Trebnik. Peter's Mogila 1646 and in a collection of church rites printed without a year designation. The Novgorod rank, contained in a handwritten collection of the first quarter of the 17th century, is also close to the printed Moscow ranks.

The cessation of the rank of summerkeeping is associated with the publication by Peter I of a decree on postponing the start of the civil new year to January 1. The last time the rite was performed was on September 1 in the presence of Peter, who, sitting on the throne installed on the Kremlin Cathedral Square in royal clothes, received the blessing from the patriarch and congratulated the people on the New Year. On January 1, 1700, the church celebration was limited to a prayer service after the liturgy, but the rite of summer service was not performed.

Since those times, the celebration of the church new year on September 1 has not been celebrated with the former solemnity, although the Typikon to this day considers this day a small holiday of the Lord “The beginning of the indictment, that is, the new summer”, connected with the festive service in honor of St. Simeon the Stylite, whose memory falls on the same date.

Troparion of the Indict, tone 2

To the Creator of all creation,/ having established times and seasons in His power,/ bless the crown of the summer of Thy goodness, O Lord,/ preserving Thy people and Thy city in peace,/ through the prayers of the Mother of God, and save us.

Kontakion of the Indict, voice of the same

In the Highest, living, Christ the King, / all visible and invisible Creator and Creator, who created days and nights, times and summers, / now bless the crown of summer, / observe and preserve in peace Your city and people, O Many-merciful One.

Used materials

Mikhail Bernatsky Celebration of the Beginning of the Indict - Church New Year
Complete Troparion. - Publishing house "Trinity". - 2006. - T. 1.

PG. 117. Col. 21

Breviary of the State Historical Museum. Syn. glory 372, con. XIV - beginning XV century and RNB. Soph. 1056, XIV century.

Nikolsky K., prot. About the services of the Russian Church, which were in previous printed liturgical books. St. Petersburg, 1885. P. 113

"The Lord's Favorable Summer"

Without a doubt, everyone knows well what we are celebrating New Year in January, moreover, twice, and our high logic is inaccessible to rational foreigners who cannot understand how this “new” year can be at the same time “old”? But it turns out that that January New Year was Peter’s innovation, and today’s date has a long and venerable tradition for us. It is no coincidence that in some churches the prayer service for the beginning of the teaching is repeated today, because in our church () calendar it is only September 1st. Indeed, here we read: “The beginning of the indictment is the church new year.” Based on the title, we can assume that the starting point of this purely church New Year is associated with some mysterious “indication”. What is it?

Historians know that indicator- this is the serial number of the year within a regularly repeating fifteen-year period of time (the so-called “indiction”), from one indication (census) to another. The indiction cycles themselves are not numbered, but are used to correlate with another dating system.

Initially, “indication” (Latin indictio - “proclamation”) is an announcement of mandatory supplies of food supplies to the government. The origin of the index cycle remains unclear (possibly of Egyptian origin), but already under the persecuting emperor Diocletian (284-305), who radically reformed the system of government, property was revalued every 15 years in the Roman Empire to determine the amount of tax levied. Need for the population to know tax year and led to the calculation of years by indicts. Officially, this calculation of time was introduced by the emperor (in 312/3). At first, the indictment began on September 23 - the date of birth of the first Roman emperor Octavian Augustus, but in 462, for practical reasons, the beginning of the year was moved to September 1. Dating of years according to indictments became mandatory in 537, becoming widespread in civil and church records management. It was used by the Supreme Tribunal of the Holy Roman Empire until its collapse in 1806 and is still used in some calendar systems. For applied chronology, dating by indices is of great importance. “Among the chaos of medieval dating, these were at least stable” ( Bickerman E. Chronology ancient world. M., 1975. P. 73).

In modern Russian Orthodox calendar, as already mentioned, under September 1/14 it says “The beginning of the indictment - the church new year,” celebrated in churches with a thanksgiving prayer. This New Year (the so-called “September style”) - together with the era from the Creation of the world, “after the cosmos, after the Adam” - was at the same time the state year in Russia until 1700. It should be remembered that this Church New Year according to the Julian calendar falls on September 14 according to the Gregorian only in the 20th-21st centuries (in the 19th century it fell on September 13, and from 2100 it will fall on September 15, etc.).

The year indicate corresponds to the remainder of dividing the number of the year of the Byzantine era from the creation of the world (with a starting point of September 1, 5509 BC) by 15. When using the calendar from the Nativity of Christ (AD), 3 is added to the number of years and the result is the same divided by 15. (Since the change of indict occurs on September 1 according to the Julian calendar, when working with dates according to the January and March calendar styles, it is necessary to make appropriate amendments.) So, September 14, 2000 AD. e. = September 1, 7509 from the creation of the world, 9th year of indictment; September 14, 2006 = September 1, 7515 from the creation of the world, 15th year of indictment; September 14, 2007 = September 1, 7516 from the creation of the world, 1st year of indictment; September 14, 2017 = September 1, 7526 from the creation of the world, the 11th year of the indictment, etc. (See also on the concept website, Era.)

Lit.: Klimishin I. A. Calendar and chronology. M., 1990; Bolotov V.V. Lectures on history Ancient Church. M., 1994. T. 1.

Yuri Ruban,
Ph.D. ist. Sciences, Ph.D. theology

Application

From the holiday service

Apostolic reading (new years)

And He rolled up the scroll, gave it to the servant, and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. He began to tell them that today this word of Scripture was fulfilled before them.

And everyone confirmed (testified) this to Him and were amazed at the words of grace that came from His mouth, and asked: “Isn’t this the son of Joseph?”

Commentary on the Gospel reading

"Summer of the Lord" in the Russian Synodal Bible (both in the prophecy of Isaiah and in the quotation of this prophecy in the Gospel of Luke) is an untranslated Slavic word literally meaning "year". In the biblical context, it refers to a time called “the Day of the Lord.” This is the time when “God will visit His people,” that is, He will send the long-awaited Messiah, and He will establish a theocratic Messianic kingdom on earth. When the familiar “son of Joseph” (who until recently was a carpenter here and carried out their orders!) makes it clear that the famous prophecy refers to Him, this is perceived as blasphemy and causes indignation (“everyone... was filled with rage”). They drive Jesus out of the city and even want to push him off the mountain. We read about this a little further in Luke. The nationalistic and politicized consciousness of the Jews cannot accept the “Kingdom that is not of this world.” “Lord, has the time come when You will return the kingdom to Israel?” (), - the apostles ask their Teacher with hope even on the day of His Ascension!

“The word of the prophet Isaiah, which the Lord Jesus reads in the Nazareth synagogue, is one of the most famous messianic prophecies. For centuries it was read in Jewish congregations and filled the hearts of believers with joy and hope. Through all the vicissitudes of history, through all the disasters and tragedies, falls and uprisings, Israel carried the hope that Someone would come who would give healing to the brokenhearted and liberation to the captives, who would set the tormented free. Over the centuries of foreign oppression, such prophecies also became a banner of painful patriotism, which understood the “favorable summer of the Lord” in too mundane a way. And now, not for the first time, a preacher appears in Israel, performing miracles and proclaiming the unheard of.<…>And therefore, when He sat down, everyone's eyes were fixed on Him. The Greek text speaks more clearly here synodal translation: “Everyone’s eyes were fixed on Him.” Everyone is waiting, What He will say further. And on this day from the lips of Jesus comes what has been awaited for centuries: “Today this word of Scripture has been fulfilled.” In Him the expectation of people was fulfilled, and in Him our hope for life, truth and love is fulfilled to this day.

And then something terrible happens. As soon as Jesus, the Savior sent by God, says that salvation is given to everyone, and not just to the Jews, He is kicked out to kill. This is a dire warning to all of us.<…>"("Thinking Out Loud" on).

Word on the first day of indictment, or new year

King of ages, Lord our God, "put the times or summers in his power"(), He Himself established various holidays during these times for His glorification and for resting people from their worldly affairs. Even in the Old Testament, He commanded to especially celebrate the onset of the seventh month every year, so that people, freed from the vanity of life, would serve the One God on this day. For this is what is written in the books of Moses: “The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Say to the children of Israel, “In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, let you have rest: you shall not do any work on that day in all your dwellings, and you shall offer a sacrifice to the Lord.” (). Just as the Creator Himself, who created the world in six days with His Word, once blessed and sanctified the seventh day, resting from the works of creation ( ; ; ); and as he later gave the commandment to man: “Six days you shall work; on the seventh day, which is the Sabbath of the Lord your God, you shall not do any work.”(), so He blessed and sanctified the seventh month and commanded people to rest from worldly affairs at this time. The Lord commanded Moses about this again, “Saying, in the seventh month, when you gather in the produce of the earth, celebrate the feast of the Lord.”() .

For what reason was this celebration established?

In this particular month, when the waters of the flood began to flow, Noah's ark stopped on the mountains of Ararat.

This month, the holy prophet Moses descended from the mountains, with his face illuminated by the glory of the Divine, and brought new tablets on which the law given by the Lord Himself was inscribed ().

This month the construction of the Tabernacle of the Lord began among the camp of the Israelites ().

In the same month, the high priest entered the Holy of Holies for the only time during the entire year. “Not without blood, which he brings for himself and for the sins of ignorance of the people.” .

This month, the people of God, humbling their souls with fasting and bringing a burnt offering to the Lord, accepted cleansing from their sins committed during the year.

This month, the solemn consecration of the magnificent Temple of the Lord, created by King Solomon, took place, and the Ark of the Covenant was brought into this temple ().

This month, all the tribes of the people of Israel from everywhere flocked to Jerusalem for the holiday, fulfilling the commandment of the Lord: “This is a Sabbath of rest for you, and mortify your souls.” ().

From this month they began counting the years, special for every fifty years. While the people of Israel were entering the Promised Land, the Lord commanded that the people especially celebrate every fiftieth year; and not only themselves took part in this celebration, but also the servants and cattle; even the very land where the Israelites settled was commanded to be left alone, not to plow, not to sow, not to gather ears of corn, grapes, or garden fruits: all this was provided as food for poor people, as well as animals and birds. This is written about this in the books of Moses: “Blow the trumpet throughout all your land and sanctify the fiftieth year, and declare freedom on the land to all its inhabitants; do not sow or reap what grows on it, and do not reap the grapes from its unpruned vines, so that the poor of your people may eat, and the beasts of the field may eat what is left behind them, do the same with your vineyard and your olive tree" ( ; ). In this fiftieth year, debtors were forgiven their debts, slaves were set free, and each person took special care of himself, so as not to anger the Lord with any sin, so as not to sadden his neighbor. It was a year of forgiveness and cleansing from sins. This fifty-year circle, by command of the Lord, was divided into seven annual weeks (that is, seven times seven years) and every seventh year was called Sabbath or rest. The Lord gave the following command about this through Moses: “Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard, and gather in the produce thereof; in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of rest for the land, a Sabbath of the Lord; you shall not sow your field, and you shall not prune your vineyard. If you say: “What shall we eat in the seventh year, when we neither sow nor gather our produce,” I will send My blessing upon you in the sixth year, and it will bring produce for three years” (). All these years, in which the Lord established festive peace both for people and for the earth, began, also by command of the Lord, from the month of September. "And blow the trumpet", - said the Lord, - "a year of rest in the seventh month"(), i.e. in September, since September from March, the first month from the creation of the world, is the seventh month.

But the year began on the first of September not only according to the Old Testament laws, but also according to the pagan indiction. This indiction is described as follows.

The New Year holiday was established by the holy fathers on I Ecumenical Council, in Nicaea. This was at the same time when Tsar Constantine the Great, having defeated Maxentius, enlightened the universe with the light of piety, eradicated idolatry festivals, freed the faith of Christ from severe persecution and established his indictions. Then the holy fathers established the celebration of the New Year as the beginning of Christian freedom, in remembrance of Christ’s visit to the Jewish synagogue on this day and His preaching about the pleasant year of the Lord. Since then, we have been celebrating the first day of September. But this is no longer a holiday of the Old Testament, but of new grace. For on this day the Lawgiver Himself, who descended from heaven and carried within Himself the Spirit of the Father, revealed Himself to the world and inscribed the law of God not with a finger, but with His Divine tongue and sweet lips, and not on tablets of stone, but "on the fleshy tablets of our hearts"(). Creating His Church, which was only typified by the Old Testament tabernacle, He offered God the Father a sacrifice for our sins, not without blood, namely Himself. The Great High Priest Himself, who passed through heaven (), having cleansed us from sins with His blood shed for us, made us holy temples, according to the words of the Apostle: "The temple of God is holy, and this temple is you" () .

Bringing thanks to the Lord for all these, we celebrate the summer of the Lord is pleasant: We have received from Him many unspeakable blessings, but let us hasten to be pleasing to Him ourselves. After all, we celebrate the indiction, not established by the Roman kings, but legitimized by the Heavenly King of glory - Christ. Christ's indiction is His holy commandments, which we must observe and fulfill. Our King Christ does not require from us either copper, or iron, or silver, or gold, as David explained, who once said: "You are my Lord; You do not need my blessings"(). But instead of iron and copper, the Lord requires from us virtue that is solid and strong, Orthodox faith into God. For our faith is based on the blood of the holy martyrs tortured with iron and copper weapons, of whom it can be said that "iron pierced his soul"(). The Heavenly King and our God commanded us that we believe in Him with a right heart and piety: "for with the heart they believe unto righteousness"(). Let us also defeat the enemy with this faith, like a weapon with an iron and copper shield. Let us follow our holy forefathers, who “by faith conquered kingdoms, did righteousness, received promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were strengthened from weakness, were strong in war, drove away the armies of strangers” () .

Instead of silver, our King Christ demands from us a second virtue, undoubted hope in God. This virtue, more than silver, provides a person with a prosperous life. If one who has become rich in a lot of silver is confident that he will receive all worldly blessings, and, trusting in wealth, spends his days cheerfully; then, all the more, he who is rich in undoubted hope in God and in Him alone, having placed all his trust, will receive everything he desires and will live in joy, neglecting all the disasters and sorrows that come from the world, the flesh and the devil, and enduring all this with pleasure for the sake of reward V future life. Often silver deceives its master and, accidentally disappearing, leaves him in poverty; and the one who hoped to see abundance in everything until the end of his life suddenly loses daily bread. - He who trusts in the Lord, "as Mount Zion shall never be moved"() : “does not put to shame, because the love of God is poured out”(). It is this immaterial silver that the Lord desires from us and commands that we should not place our hopes in fleeting wealth, "but against the living God" (), "the words of the Lord are pure words, like silver tried for refinement"(). He unfailingly promised us unspeakable eternal blessings in His Kingdom, so that we would greatly benefit from His goodness, which we believed in our hearts, confessed with our lips, "but with the mouth they confess unto salvation"(). Let us, like good soldiers of Christ, encourage ourselves to great deeds with the hope of reward. After all, the hope of a reward excites a warrior to fight, as St. John of Damascus says about the passion-bearers: Thy martyrs, Lord, having been confirmed in faith and strengthened by hope, defeated the torment of their enemies and received crowns.

Instead of gold, Christ our King demands from us the most precious virtue, unfeigned love for God and our neighbors. Due to its high meaning, love is always presented by the Teachers of the Church under the image of gold; for just as gold is more precious than silver, copper and iron, so love is more precious than hope and faith. "Now", the Scripture says, “These three remain: faith, hope, love; but the greatest of these is love.”(). This is exactly the kind of gold that the Lord desires from us and commands us to pray to Him unfeignedly, not only believing in our hearts and confessing with our lips, but actually showing this love. We must be ready to lay down our souls for Him and accept death for His sake. Divine love to us. Moreover, we must love our neighbors, as Christ’s beloved disciple John the Theologian teaches. "My Children", he said, “let us begin to love not in word or tongue, but in deed and truth”(). Such love is accepted for adornment by the most beautiful Himself, more than the sons of men, Christ our God, as the Wisdom of God Herself says: it was adorned and became beautiful before the Lord and people; this is unanimity between brothers and love between neighbors ().

This is the kind of Christian indiction that the Orthodox Church celebrates today, instead of the ancient pagan one, “having put off the old man with his deeds and put on the new one, who is renewed in the image of the One who created him” (). Let us celebrate the New Year as the apostle advises us: we walk in newness of life, so that we may serve in "by renewal of the spirit, and not by the oldness of the letter"(). Let us celebrate the indiction, obeying the commandments of the Lord our God given through Moses, in whose books it is now read: “If you walk in My statutes, and keep My commandments and do them, then I will give you rain in its season, and the earth will give my growth, and I will send peace to your land, and you will drive out your enemies, and I will look upon you, and I will bless you, and My soul will not abhor you, and I will walk among you, and I will be your God, and you will be My people" () .

Zion is the mountain on which Jerusalem is built.

The words of God are pure from all admixture of lies and deception, like pure silver refined through fire.

What is required of a Christian for his salvation is not only faith, but also its expression, which in the abundance of faith is (professes) itself.

These words of Holy Scripture are read during services on the day of indictment in one of the proverbs, of which there are three. 1st from the book. prophet Isaiah 61:1-9 is a prophecy about Jesus Christ as the Anointed One, Teacher, Savior and restorer of all those who suffer on earth, about the spread of His Church among the nations, about the bliss and glory of those who belong to it. This particular prophecy, as we saw above, was read by the Savior Himself in the Nazareth synagogue. - 2nd proverb (from) contains the Lord’s promises to those who fulfill the Lord’s Commandments and threats to violators; Zealous fulfillment of these commandments is the main condition for prosperity on earth, which we usually wish at the onset of the new year for ourselves and our neighbors. - The 3rd proverb (from) relates to the memory of St. Simeon the Stylite, who carried out the lessons of true wisdom in his life and demonstrated the triumph of piety glorified in the Book of Wisdom. - In the 8th century. St. John of Damascus wrote many hymns on the 1st day of September.

THE BEGINNING OF THE INDICT - THE CHURCH NEW YEAR September 1 (September 14, new style) The Orthodox Church celebrates the church new year (the beginning of the church year), also called the Beginning of the Indict.

Even in the Old Testament, the Lord our God commanded that every year we specially celebrate the onset of the seventh month, so that people on this day, freed from the vanity of life, would serve the One God. In this particular month, when the waters of the flood began to subside, Noah’s ark stopped on the mountains of Ararat. In the same month, the holy prophet Moses came down from the mountain with his face illuminated by the glory of the Divine, and brought new tablets on which the Law given by the Lord Himself was inscribed. And in the same month, the consecration of the Temple of the Lord, created by King Solomon, took place, and the Ark of the Covenant was brought there. In the Old Testament there are many other indications about the great significance of the seventh month (current September), considering the creation of the world in the month of March according to Biblical chronology. New Testament times. In the 6th century, during the reign of Justinian I (527–565), the Christian Church introduced calendar reckoning based on indictions or indictions (from Latin indictio - announcement), 15-year periods of tribute. In the Roman Empire, indictio was understood as the designation of the number of taxes that should be collected in a given year. Thus, the financial year in the empire began with the emperor’s “indication” (indictio) of how much taxes needed to be collected, while every 15 years the estates were revalued (according to V.V. Bolotov, indictions were of Egyptian origin). The official Byzantine reckoning, the so-called indictions of Constantine the Great or the Constantinople reckoning, began on September 1, 312. In Byzantium, the church year did not always begin on September 1 - both in the Latin West and in the East the March calendar was well known (when the beginning of the year is considered to be 1 March or March 25 (date of the Feast of the Annunciation)). In general, the solemn celebration of the New Year on September 1 can be considered a late Byzantine phenomenon.

On this day, the Church remembers how the Lord Jesus Christ read in the synagogue in Nazareth the prophecy of Isaiah (Isaiah 61:1–2) about the coming of a favorable summer (Luke 4:16–22). In this reading of the Lord, the Byzantines saw His indication of the celebration of the New Year's Day; Tradition connects this event itself with September 1st. The Menology of Basil II (10th century) says: “From that time on, He gave us Christians this holy holiday.” And to this day in the Orthodox Church on September 1, during the liturgy, this very Gospel concept about the preaching of the Savior is read. The same Gospel was read by the Patriarch in a special rite of summer service - a festive service held on September 1. It is significant that the Gospel was read by the Patriarch himself - in the practice of the Church of Constantinople in late Byzantine times, the Patriarch himself read the Gospel, except for this case, only three times a year: at Good Friday Matins (the first of the 12 Passion Gospels) and at the liturgy and vespers of the first day of Easter. According to the Typicon of the Great Church and the Byzantine service Gospels, the rite of summer conduction has the following order: after Matins, the bishop proceeds with a procession to the city square accompanied by the singing of the “big” Trisagion. When the procession reaches the square, the deacon proclaims the litany and 3 antiphons are sung. After the antiphons, the bishop pronounces an exclamation, blesses the people three times and sits down on the seat. This is followed by the prokeimenon and the Apostle; According to the Apostle, the bishop, having blessed the people three times, begins reading the Gospel. Lithium petitions are then pronounced; at the end of the petitions and the head-bending prayer, the singers begin to sing the troparion 2 voices: All creation to the Creator..., and the procession goes to the temple to perform the Divine Liturgy. In Rus', after the adoption of Christianity, there was a civil year until the 15th century. started in March. All ancient Russian chroniclers began the year on March 1, including St. Nestor. But, despite the fact that only in the 15th century. September 1 officially becomes the beginning of the civil year; there is evidence of the rite of summerkeeping being performed in Rus' on September 1, not only at the end of the 14th century, but even as early as the 13th century. The rite consisted of singing stichera, antiphons, reading paremias, the Apostle, the Gospel and reciting prayers. Russian editions of the 17th century. The rank of summer maintenance on September 1 is contained in the Moscow Worldly Potrebnik of 1639, in the Moscow Potrebnik of 1651, in the Metropolitan Trebnik. Peter the Great in 1646 and in a collection of church rites printed without a year designation. The Novgorod rank, contained in a handwritten collection of the first quarter of the 17th century, is also close to the printed Moscow ranks. Let us note the interesting features contained in the Moscow and Novgorod ranks. During the reading of the proverbs, the archpriest performed the rite of blessing of water until the moment of immersion of the cross. Then, after reading the Gospel, the saint immersed the cross in water while singing the troparion: Save, O Lord, Thy people... and washed the icons with his lip dipped in consecrated water, after which the prayer of Patriarch Philotheus of Constantinople was read: Master Lord our God... and the prayer of supremacy. In addition, the Moscow printed rite describes the ceremony of the Tsar’s coming to action (in Moscow, the rite was performed on the cathedral square of the Moscow Kremlin, and the Tsar most often arrived there after the Patriarch had arrived with a procession of the cross, but sometimes he could come with him), his meeting and congratulatory speech to him by the Patriarch. In Novgorod, the serving saint addressed congratulations to the governors and people with the pronouncement of the “title” about the royal long-term health. The Kyiv rank differed from the Moscow and Novgorod ones. It does not indicate the religious procession to the square, the blessing of water and the washing of icons. The reading of the Gospel took place in the church; there were no proverbs and no Apostle. The litia was performed in front of the temple: first they walked around the temple twice with a procession of the cross while singing stichera, on the third circuit they stopped in front of each side of the temple, and the deacon pronounced a litany; in front of the western side the saint read a prayer. The ritual of congratulation is also not specified in the Kiev rite. The cessation of the rank of summerkeeping is associated with the publication by Peter I of a decree on postponing the start of the civil new year to January 1. The last time the rite was performed was on September 1, 1699 in the presence of Peter, who, sitting on the throne installed on the Kremlin Cathedral Square in royal clothes, received the blessing from the Patriarch and congratulated the people on the New Year. On January 1, 1700, the church celebration was limited to a prayer service after the liturgy, but the rite of summer service was not performed. Since those times, the celebration of the church new year on September 1 is not celebrated with the former solemnity, although the Typikon still considers this day a small Lord's holiday “The Beginning of the Indictment, that is, the New Summer,” combined with a festive service in honor of St. Simeon the Stylite, whose memory falls on the same date.