The day before Christmas. How do they prepare for the holiday in the temple? Nativity. All-night vigil

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On major Orthodox holidays, all Christians try to visit the church in order to take part in the solemn service. Well, since Christmas is considered one of the most significant events in the Christian world, then is held in literally all, even the smallest, churches and chapels. Thus, believers get the opportunity to visit the temple at a place and time convenient for them, especially since Christmas service schedule covers the widest time zones, starting very early and ending well after midnight.

It is an undeniable fact that the bustle of the world does not allow our contemporary to attend church with the regularity that he needs. Meanwhile, on the most important days, such as Christmas, Easter, Trinity, Annunciation and others, true Christians definitely come to church. And in this case Christmas service in church is one of the most important events that are a priority for an Orthodox person. However, Catholic Christmas service is for a believer the measure by which he orients himself and makes his plans. In fact, what we are talking about here is that regardless of religion, a person always worships God, begging him for forgiveness and mercy.

Christmas service in the temple

On Christmas Eve, many of our compatriots, who rarely have the opportunity to visit places of worship, wonder whether What time is Christmas service starts, when should you go to church and how to plan your day? After all, according to tradition, preparations for the Nativity of Christ begin on January 6, when you need to have time to prepare 12 dishes and visit the temple. At the same time, it is important to understand that This is an event that you cannot look into for a minute, but you will have to devote quite a lot of time to it.

Festive Christmas service in the church is a special event that the whole family attends. And since we are talking about children here, they need to be prepared for a long and solemn service in advance. On the other hand, it is important to maintain silence and submissiveness, so if the child begins to get tired, then the best option would be to quietly go outside with him. Well, if you find Christmas service text, then in this case you can continue worship at home. Of course, this is not as solemn as in church, but serving and praying to God is not necessarily a triumph; first of all, it is faith and hope.

Beginning of the Christmas service

Christmas is considered one of the biggest Christian holidays, so services on this day are held in each church according to its own schedule. That is, in each specific temple the beginning of the Christmas service determined by the abbot and adjusted with an emphasis on the canons of Christianity. In fact, this means that every believer can come to church at any time convenient for him and stay here for as long as he deems necessary.

On the other hand, since Christmas is a very bright, festive, but also busy day, Christmas service January 6 may be visited. If we take into account the fact that Christmas falls on different days of the week every year, then the duration of the service will depend on this factor. But, be that as it may, and whenever a person comes to the temple, be it January 6 or 7, or on some other date, he can always find support from our Lord Jesus Christ here, light a candle and pray in silence.

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05.01.2014

January 6 - Eve of the Nativity of Christ, or Christmas Eve,- the last day of the Nativity Fast, the eve of the Nativity of Christ.
On January 6, Orthodox Christians especially prepare for the upcoming holiday; the whole day is filled with a special festive mood.
On the morning of Christmas Eve, after the end of the Liturgy and the following vespers, a candle is brought into the center of the church and the priests sing the troparion to the Nativity of Christ before it.
The services and fasting of Christmas Eve have a number of features, so it is on these days that many questions come to our website about how to spend Christmas Eve correctly.
Most frequently asked questions:
— When does the night service on the Feast of the Nativity of Christ begin?
Night services usually begin at 23:00 on January 6. After the All-Night Vigil, the Liturgy begins, where many believers receive communion.
— How can I find out the schedule of Christmas services in churches in the city of Tolyatti?
You can find out the schedule of Christmas services by calling all churches in the city of Togliatti, posted on the websites of the deaneries of the portal “Orthodox Togliatti”: Central Deanery, Tikhonovsky deanery, Preobrazhenskoye Deanery, Neva Deanery.
As a rule, believers try to celebrate the Nativity of Christ at the night festive liturgy. But in many churches, the All-Night Vigil and Liturgy are also served at the usual time - 5 pm and in the morning.
In this regard, they often ask whether it is not a sin for a young man, not infirm, without children, to go to service not at night, but in the morning?
Solemn night services contribute to a deeper prayerful experience and perception of the Holiday.
Attending a night service or a morning service is something you should be able to watch. Celebrating a holiday at night is, of course, a special joy: both spiritual and emotional. There are very few such services a year; in most parish churches, night liturgies are served only on Christmas and Easter - especially solemn services are traditionally performed at night.
— How to fast on Christmas Eve correctly, until what time should you abstain from eating food?
Christmas Eve- the name is believed to come from the word “sochivo” (the same as “kolivo” - boiled grains of rice or wheat).
It is customary to eat “sochivo” or “kolivo” on the eve of the holiday only after the liturgy, which is combined with Vespers. Thus, part of Christmas Eve is spent in complete non-eating.
— What does “fast to the first star” mean?
The tradition of not eating food until the first evening star is associated with the memory of the appearance of a star in the East (Matthew 2:2), which announced the birth of Christ, but this tradition is not prescribed by the charter.
Indeed, the Typikon prescribes fasting until the end of Vespers. However, the service of Vespers is connected to the Liturgy and is served in the morning.
That’s why we fast until the moment when a candle is brought into the center of the church and before the candle the troparion to the Nativity of Christ is sung.
— Is the measure of abstinence the same for those who work and those who do not work on this day?
It is obvious that the people in the church are fasting; many take communion on this day. It would be good if those who cannot attend church services and who work honor this day with a stricter fast. We remember that, according to the Russian proverb, “A full belly is deaf to prayer.” Therefore, a more strict fast prepares us for the coming joy of the holiday.
— How long does the fast last before communion?
Those who receive communion at the night Liturgy on January 7, according to church tradition, eat food for the last time no less than six hours before the time of Communion, or from about 6 pm.
And here the point is not in a specific number of hours, that you need to fast for 6 or 8 hours and not a minute less, but in the fact that a certain limit is established, a measure of abstinence that helps us keep the measure.
Many questions come from sick people who cannot fast, asking what they should do?
Sick people, of course, must fast to the extent that this is consistent with taking medications and with doctor’s orders. The point is not about putting a weak person in a hospital, but about strengthening a person spiritually. Illness is already a difficult fast and feat. And here a person should try to determine the measure of fasting according to his own strength. Any thing can be taken to the point of absurdity. For example, imagine that a priest who comes to give communion to a dying person will ask when the person last ate?!
— At the Christmas Liturgy, many receive communion. And people feel some embarrassment: you have just received communion, in the books of the holy fathers it is written that in order to retain grace you need to try to protect yourself from conversations, especially laughter, and try to spend the time after communion in prayer. And here is a festive feast, even with brothers and sisters in Christ... People are afraid of losing their prayerful mood.
The Apostle Paul commanded us to “Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks to the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). If we celebrate the holiday with joy, prayer and gratitude to God, then we are fulfilling the apostolic covenant.
Of course, this issue needs to be considered individually. Of course, if a person feels that behind the noisy celebration he is losing his gracious mood, then perhaps he should sit down at the table for a while and leave earlier, maintaining spiritual joy.
– Is it necessary to attend the evening service on the day of the holiday itself - the evening of the Christmas holiday?
Everyone must decide this for themselves. After the night service you need to recuperate. Not everyone, due to age, health and spiritual level, is able to go to church and take part in the service. But we must remember that the Lord rewards every effort that a person makes for His sake.
The evening service on this day is short, especially spiritual, solemn and joyful, the Great Prokeimenon is proclaimed at it, so, of course, it’s good if you manage to attend it.
— Questions related to the Orthodox tradition of the Christmas meal.
The foundations for celebrating Christmas Eve were established by the Orthodox Church already in the 4th century. According to tradition, on Christmas Eve it is customary to refuse food until the first star. This tradition is associated with the legend of the appearance of the Star of Bethlehem, which announced the birth of Christ, but it is not written down in the church charter.
For the Orthodox, the Christmas meal began with eating kutya. The order of meals was determined by strict rules: appetizers were served first, then red borscht, mushroom or fish soup. Borscht and mushroom soup were served with abalone or pies with mushrooms, and the Orthodox sochni served flour tortillas fried in hemp oil. At the end of the meal, sweet dishes were served on the table: gingerbread, poppy seed roll, honey cakes, apples, nuts, cranberry jelly, dried fruit compote.

10 tips from Bishop Jonah (Cherepanov).

Christmas is a special holiday. And the service on this day is special. Or rather, at night... After all, in many of our churches the liturgy (and sometimes Great Compline and Matins) is served precisely at night. Why is Liturgy celebrated at night? How to calculate your strength and properly prepare for standing at night? How to deal with sleep? Is it worth taking children? Is it possible to pray from books with translations and explanations of the service? Where did the expression “not eat until the first star” come from, and to whom does this rule not apply? How many hours before Communion can you eat? If all the days before Christmas are fasting, then when should you devote time to preparing dishes for the festive table? These and many other questions were answered in his interview with Nachalo magazine by the abbot of the Kyiv Trinity Ionin Monastery, Bishop Jonah (Cherepanov) of Obukhov.

Part I. WHY DO PEOPLE PRAY FOR SO LONG? OR WHERE DID THE TRADITION OF NIGHT SERVICES COME FROM?

– The history of long services goes back to apostolic times. The Apostle Paul wrote: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in everything.”

The book of the Acts of the Apostles says that all the believers were together, day after day they gathered in the temple and praised God (Acts 2:44). From here, in particular, we learn that long services were commonplace in the life of the first Christians.

The Christian community of apostolic times lived in readiness for martyrdom for Christ, in anticipation of His imminent second coming. The apostles lived in accordance with this expectation and behaved accordingly - burning with faith. And this fiery faith, love for Christ was expressed in very long prayers.

In fact, they prayed all night long. After all, we know that the early Christian communities were persecuted by the then pagan authorities and were forced to pray at night in order to go about their normal affairs during the day without attracting attention to themselves.

In memory of this, the Church has always maintained the tradition of long, including night, services. By the way, once upon a time services in monastery and parish churches were performed according to the same rite - there was virtually no difference between the parish and monastic typikon (except that special additional teachings were inserted into the monastery service, which are now omitted almost everywhere in monasteries).

During the atheistic twentieth century, the traditions of long services in countries in the post-Soviet space were practically lost. And seeing the example of Athos, we are perplexed: why serve for so long a service that can be completed three times faster?

Regarding the Svyatogorsk tradition, I would like to note that, firstly, such long services are not performed constantly, but on special holidays. And secondly, this is one of the wonderful opportunities for us to bring our “fruit of the lips” to God. After all, which of us can say that he has such virtues that he is ready to lay them before the Throne of God right now? Anyone who is critical of himself and consciously confesses knows that his deeds, strictly speaking, are deplorable and he cannot bring anything to the feet of Christ.

And at least each of us is fully capable of bringing “the fruit of the lips” glorifying the name of the Lord. At least somehow we can praise the Lord.

And these long services, especially on holidays, are precisely dedicated to serving our Lord in some way.

If we talk about the Christmas service, then this, if you like, is one of those gifts that we can bring to the manger of the born Savior. Yes, the most important gift to God is the fulfillment of His commandments of love for Him and love for one’s neighbor. But still, a variety of gifts are prepared for a birthday, and one of these can be a long prayer at a service.

– The question, probably, is also how to make this gift correctly, so that it is pleasing to God and useful for us... Do you feel tired during long night services?

– What you have to struggle with at such services is sleep.

Not long ago I prayed on Mount Athos in the Dokhiar monastery during a service on the Feast of the Archangels. The service, with short breaks, lasts 21 hours, or 18 hours of pure time: it begins at 16:00 the day before, has a one-hour break in the evening, and then continues all night until 5 in the morning. Then two hours for rest, and by 7 am the liturgy begins, which ends at 1 pm.

Last year, on the patronal feast day in Dohiara, Vespers and Matins were more or less completed for me, and during the liturgy, sleep overcame me with terrible force. As soon as I closed my eyes, I immediately fell asleep standing up, and so soundly that I even began to dream. I think many people are familiar with this state of extreme need for rest... But after the Cherubim, the Lord gave strength, and then the service went normally.

This year, thank God, it was easier. What was especially impressive this time was that I didn’t feel any physical fatigue at all, by the grace of God. If I didn’t want to sleep, I could have been at this service for 24 hours. Why? Because all those praying were inspired by a common impulse towards the Lord - both monks and lay pilgrims.

And this is the main feeling that you experience at such services: we have come to glorify God and His Archangels, we are determined to pray and praise the Lord for a long time. We are not in a hurry and therefore we will not rush.

This general state of those present in the church was very clearly visible during the entire service. Everything was very leisurely, everything was very carefully, very thoroughly, very solemnly and, most importantly, very prayerfully. That is, people knew what they came for.

Why is such unanimity in prayer not felt during parish services? Because of those present in the church, there are very few who really understand why they are actually in the church. Such people who would ponder the words of liturgical texts and seriously understand the course of the service are, unfortunately, a minority. And the bulk are those who came either because of tradition, or because it is so supposed, or they want to celebrate the holiday in church, but do not yet know the words of the psalm: sing to God wisely. And these people, as soon as the service began, are already shifting from foot to foot, thinking that it would be over soon, why they are singing something incomprehensible, and what will happen next, and so on. That is, the person is completely unaware of the course of the service and does not understand the meaning of the actions being performed.

And those who come to Athos have an idea of what awaits them there. And at such long services, they actually pray very enthusiastically. So, according to tradition, during the holiday, the brethren of the monastery sing on the left choir, and guests sing on the right. Usually these are monks from other monasteries and laymen who know Byzantine chants. And you should have seen how enthusiastically they sang! So sublime and solemn that... if you see it once, then all questions about the need or unnecessaryness of long services will disappear. It is such a joy to glorify God!

In ordinary worldly life, if people love each other, then they want to be close to each other for as long as possible: they cannot stop talking or communicate. And just like that, when a person is inspired by the love of God, even 21 hours of prayer is not enough for him. He wants and craves communication with God all 24 hours...

Part II. WE CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS RIGHT: 10 TIPS OF THE ARCHIPASTER

– So, how to prepare yourself for long-term service and spend time in the temple with dignity?

If possible, attend all statutory holiday services. I want to emphasize that you definitely need to be at the festive all-night vigil. During this service, in fact, Christ, who was born in Bethlehem, is glorified. Liturgy is a worship service that remains virtually unchanged due to holidays. The main liturgical texts, the main chants, which explain the event remembered on this day and set us up on how to properly celebrate the holiday, are sung and read in the church during Vespers and Matins.

It should also be said that the Christmas service begins a day earlier - on Christmas Eve. On the morning of January 6, Christmas Vespers are celebrated in churches. It sounds strange: vespers in the morning, but this is a necessary deviation from the rules of the Church. Previously, Vespers began in the afternoon and continued with the Liturgy of Basil the Great, at which people received communion. The whole day of January 6 before this service there was a particularly strict fast; people did not eat food at all, preparing to take communion. After lunch, Vespers began, and communion was received at dusk. And soon after this came the solemn Christmas Matins, which began to be served on the night of January 7th. But now, since we have become more frail and weak, solemn vespers are celebrated on the 6th in the morning and end with the Liturgy of Basil the Great.

Therefore, those who want to celebrate the Nativity of Christ correctly, according to the charter, following the example of our ancestors - ancient Christians, saints, should be, if work allows, on the eve of Christmas, January 6, at the morning service. On Christmas itself, you should come to Great Compline and Matins and, naturally, to the Divine Liturgy.

When preparing to go to the night liturgy, take care in advance that you don’t want to sleep so much.

In the Athonite monasteries, in particular in Dokhiar, the abbot of the Dokhiar monastery, Archimandrite Gregory, always says that it is better to close your eyes for a while in the temple, if you are completely sleepy, than to retire to your cell to rest, thus leaving the divine service.

You know that in the churches on the Holy Mountain there are special wooden chairs with armrests - stasidia, on which you can sit or stand, reclining the seat and leaning on special arms. It must also be said that on Mount Athos, in all monasteries, the full brethren are necessarily present at all daily services. Absence from service is a fairly serious deviation from the rules. Therefore, you can leave the temple during the service only as a last resort.

In our realities, you can’t sleep in a church, but there’s no need for that. On Mount Athos, all services begin at night - at 2, 3 or 4 o'clock. And in our churches, services are not daily; liturgies at night are generally rare.

Therefore, in order to go out for night prayer, you can prepare in completely ordinary everyday ways.

For example, be sure to sleep the night before the service. While the Eucharistic fast allows, drink coffee. Since the Lord has given us fruits that invigorate us, we need to use them.

But if sleep begins to overcome you during the night service, I think it would be better to go out and make several circles around the temple with the Jesus Prayer. This short walk will definitely refresh you and give you strength to continue to pay attention.

Fast correctly. “Until the first star” means not to go hungry, but to attend the service.

Where did the custom of not eating food on Christmas Eve, January 6, “until the first star” come from? As I already said, before Christmas Vespers began in the afternoon, it went into the Liturgy of Basil the Great, which ended when the stars actually appeared in the sky. After the liturgy, the rules permitted eating a meal. That is, “until the first star” meant, in fact, until the end of the liturgy.

But over time, when the liturgical circle was isolated from the life of Christians, when people began to treat divine services rather superficially, this developed into some kind of custom completely divorced from practice and reality. People don’t go to the service or take communion on January 6, but at the same time they go hungry.

When people ask me how to fast on Christmas Eve, I usually say this: if you attended Christmas Vespers and the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great in the morning, then you are blessed to eat food, as required by the rules, after the end of the Liturgy. That is, during the day.

But if you decide to devote this day to cleaning the premises, preparing 12 dishes, and so on, then, please, eat after the “first star”. Since you didn’t carry out the feat of prayer, at least carry out the feat of fasting.

Regarding how to fast before Communion, if it is at a night service, then, according to existing practice, liturgical fasting (that is, complete abstinence from food and water) in this case is 6 hours. But this is not directly formulated anywhere, and there are no clear instructions in the charter how many hours before communion one cannot eat (the interview was taken before the development of the document “On the participation of the faithful in the Eucharist”, approved at the Bishops’ Conference on February 2-3, 2015, in which this question stipulated: “One should also be guided by a minimum six-hour norm of abstinence when preparing for communion during the Divine Liturgy performed at night (for example, on the holidays of Holy Easter and the Nativity of Christ),” the said document says.).

On an ordinary Sunday, when a person is preparing for Communion, it is customary not to eat food after midnight. But if you are going to receive communion at a night Christmas service, then it would be correct not to eat food somewhere after 21:00.

In any case, it is better to discuss this issue with your confessor.

Find out about the date and time of confession and agree in advance so as not to spend the entire holiday service in line. The issue of confession at the Christmas service is purely individual, because each church has its own customs and traditions.

It is easy to talk about confession in monasteries or those churches where there are a large number of serving priests. But if there is only one priest serving in the church, and there are a majority of them, then it is best, of course, to agree with the priest in advance, when it will be convenient for him to confess you. It is better to confess on the eve of the Christmas service, so that during the service you think not about whether you will or will not have time to confess, but about how to truly worthily meet the coming of Christ the Savior into the world.

Do not exchange worship and prayer for 12 Lenten dishes. This tradition is neither evangelical nor liturgical.

I am often asked how to reconcile attendance at services on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with the tradition of a feast on Christmas Eve, when 12 Lenten dishes are specially prepared. I’ll say right away that the “12 Strava” tradition is somewhat mysterious to me. Christmas Eve, like Epiphany Eve, is a fast day, and a day of strict fasting. According to the regulations, boiled food without oil and wine are allowed on this day.

How you can cook 12 different lenten dishes without using oil is a mystery to me.

In my opinion, the “12 Stravas” is a folk custom that has nothing in common either with the Gospel, or with the liturgical charter, or with the liturgical tradition of the Orthodox Church. Unfortunately, on the eve of Christmas, a large number of materials appear in the media in which attention is concentrated on some dubious pre-Christmas and post-Christmas traditions, eating certain dishes, fortune telling, festivities, caroling, and so on - all that husk that is often very distant from the true meaning of the great holiday of the coming of our Redeemer into the world.

I am always very hurt by the profanation of holidays, when their meaning and significance are reduced to certain rituals that have developed in one area or another. One hears that such things as traditions are needed for people who are not yet particularly churchgoers, in order to somehow interest them. But you know, in Christianity it is still better to give people good quality food straight away, rather than fast food. Still, it is better for a person to recognize Christianity immediately from the Gospel, from the traditional patristic Orthodox position, than from some “comics”, even if sanctified by folk customs.

In my opinion, many folk rituals associated with this or that holiday are comics on the theme of Orthodoxy. They have practically nothing to do with the meaning of the holiday or the gospel event.

Don't turn Christmas into a food holiday. This day, first of all, is spiritual joy. And it is not good for your health to break your fast with a large feast.

Again, it's all about priorities. If it is a priority for someone to sit at a rich table, then the entire day before the holiday, including when the festive vespers are already being celebrated, the person is busy preparing various meats, Olivier salads and other sumptuous dishes.

If it is a priority for a person to meet the born Christ, then he, first of all, goes to worship, and in his free time prepares what he has time for.

In general, it is strange that it is considered obligatory on the day of the holiday to sit and consume a variety of abundant dishes. This is neither medically nor spiritually beneficial. It turns out that we fasted throughout Lent, missed Christmas Vespers and the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great - and all this in order to simply sit down and eat our fill. This can be done at any other time...

I’ll tell you how the festive meal is prepared in our monastery. Usually, at the end of night services (Easter and Christmas), the brethren are offered a short break of fast. As a rule, this is cheese, cottage cheese, hot milk. That is, something that does not require much effort when preparing. And already in the afternoon a more festive meal is prepared.

Sing to God intelligently. Prepare for the service - read about it, find translations, texts of the psalms.

There is an expression: knowledge is power. And indeed, knowledge gives strength not only morally, but also literally – physically. If a person has at one time taken the trouble to study Orthodox worship and understand its essence, if he knows what is currently happening in the church, then for him there is no question of standing for a long time or getting tired. He lives in the spirit of worship, knows what follows what. For him, the service is not divided into two parts, as it happens: “What is in the service now?” - “Well, they’re singing.” - "And now?" - “Well, they’re reading.” For most people, unfortunately, the service is divided into two parts: when they sing and when they read.

Knowledge of the service makes it clear that at a certain moment in the service you can sit down and listen to what is being sung and read. The liturgical regulations in some cases allow, and in some even require, sitting. This is, in particular, the time of reading psalms, hours, kathismas, stichera on “Lord, I have cried.” That is, there are many moments during the service when you can sit. And according to the expression of one saint, it is better to think about God while sitting than to think about your feet while standing.

Many believers act very practically by taking lightweight folding benches with them. Indeed, in order not to rush to the benches at the right time to take seats, or not to “occupy” the seats by standing next to them throughout the service, it would be better to take a special bench with you and sit down on it at the right moment. There is no need to be embarrassed about sitting during the service. The Sabbath is for man, not man for the Sabbath. Still, at some moments it is better to sit down, especially if your legs hurt, and sit and listen attentively to the service, rather than suffer, suffer and look at the clock to see when all this will end.

In addition to taking care of your feet, take care of food for your mind in advance. You can buy special books or find and print materials about the holiday service on the Internet - interpretation and texts with translations.

The reading of the psalms is an integral part of any Orthodox service, and the psalms are very beautiful both melodically and stylistically. In church they are read in Church Slavonic, but even for a church-going person it is difficult to perceive all their beauty by ear. Therefore, in order to understand what is being sung at the moment, you can find out in advance, before the service, which psalms will be read during this service. This really needs to be done in order to “sing to God intelligently” in order to feel all the beauty of psalmody.

Many people believe that you cannot follow the liturgy from a book in church - you need to pray together with everyone. But one does not exclude the other: following a book and praying, in my opinion, are one and the same thing. Therefore, do not be embarrassed to take literature with you to the service. You can take a blessing from the priest for this in advance in order to cut off unnecessary questions and comments.

On holidays, churches are crowded. Have pity on your neighbor - light candles or venerate the icon another time. Many people, when they come to church, believe that lighting a candle is the duty of every Christian, a sacrifice to God that must be made. But since the Christmas service is much more crowded than a regular service, some difficulty arises with the placement of candles, including because the candlesticks are overcrowded.

The tradition of bringing candles to the temple has ancient roots. Previously, as we know, Christians took everything they needed for the liturgy from home with them: bread, wine, candles for lighting the temple. And this, indeed, was their feasible sacrifice.

Now the situation has changed and setting candles has lost its original meaning. For us, this is more a reminder of the first centuries of Christianity.

A candle is our visible sacrifice to God. It has a symbolic meaning: before God, we must, like this candle, burn with an even, bright, smokeless flame. This is also our sacrifice for the temple, because we know - from the Old Testament - that people in ancient times were required to tithe for the maintenance of the Temple and the priests serving at it. And in the New Testament Church this tradition was continued. We know the words of the apostle that those who serve the altar are fed from the altar. And the money that we leave when purchasing a candle is our sacrifice.

But in such cases, when churches are overcrowded, when whole torches of candles are burning on candlesticks, and they are all being passed around and passed on, perhaps it would be more correct to put the amount that you wanted to spend on candles in a donation box than to embarrass your brothers by manipulating candles and sisters praying nearby.

When bringing children to the night service, be sure to ask them if they want to be in the temple now.

If you have small children or elderly relatives, then go with them to the liturgy in the morning.

This practice has developed in our monastery. At night at 23:00 Great Compline begins, followed by Matins, which turns into the liturgy. The liturgy ends around half past four in the morning - so the service lasts about five and a half hours. This is not so much - the usual all-night vigil every Saturday lasts 4 hours, from 16:00 to 20:00.

And our parishioners who have small children or elderly relatives pray at night at Compline and Matins, after Matins they go home, rest, sleep, and in the morning they come to Liturgy at 9:00 with small children or with those people who, for health reasons, could not attend the night service.

If you decide to bring your children to church at night, then, it seems to me, the main criterion for attending such long services should be the desire of the children themselves to come to this service. No violence or coercion is acceptable!

You know, there are things of status for a child, which are criteria for adulthood for him. Such, for example, as the first confession, the first visit to the night service. If he really asks that adults take him with them, then in this case this needs to be done.

It is clear that a child will not be able to stand attentively for the entire service. To do this, take some kind of soft bedding for him, so that when he gets tired, you can put him in a corner to sleep and wake him up before Communion. But so that the child is not deprived of this joy of the night service. It is very touching to see when children come to the service with their parents, they stand joyful, with sparkling eyes, because the night service for them is very significant and unusual. Then gradually they subside and turn sour. And now, passing through the side aisle, you see children lying side by side, immersed in the so-called “liturgical” sleep.

As long as the child can stand it, he can stand it. But you shouldn’t deprive him of such joy. However, I repeat once again, getting into this service should be the desire of the child himself. So that Christmas would be associated for him only with love, only with the joy of the born Baby Christ.

Be sure to take communion! When we come to church, we often worry that we didn’t have time to light the candles or didn’t venerate some icon. But that's not what you need to think about. We need to worry about whether we often unite with Christ.

Our duty during worship is to pray attentively and, as often as possible, to receive the Holy Mysteries of Christ. The temple, first of all, is the place where we partake of the Body and Blood of Christ. This is what we must do. Indeed, attending the liturgy without Communion is meaningless. Christ calls: “Take, eat,” and we turn away and leave. The Lord says: “Drink from the Cup of Life, all of you,” and we don’t want to. Does the word “everything” have a different meaning? The Lord does not say: drink 10% from Me - those who were preparing. He says: drink from Me, all of you! If we come to the liturgy and do not receive communion, then this is a liturgical violation.

INSTEAD OF AN AFTERWORD. What basic condition is necessary to experience the joy of a long all-night service? It is necessary to realize WHAT happened on this day many years ago. That “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth.” That “no one has ever seen God; The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has revealed.” That an event of such cosmic proportions occurred that had never happened before and will not happen after. God, the Creator of the universe, the Creator of the infinite cosmos, the Creator of our earth, the Creator of man as a perfect creation, the Almighty, who commands the movement of the planets, the entire cosmic system, the existence of life on earth, Whom no one has ever seen, and only a few in the entire history of mankind have been privileged to behold part of the manifestation of His some kind of power - this God became a man, a baby, completely defenseless, small, subject to everything, including the possibility of murder. And this is all for us, for each of us.

There is a wonderful expression: God became man so that we could become gods. If we understand this - that each of us has received the opportunity to become God by grace - then the meaning of this holiday will be revealed to us. If we are aware of the scale of the event we are celebrating, what happened on this day, then all the culinary delights, caroling, round dances, dressing up and fortune-telling will seem to us trifle and husk, completely not worth our attention. We will be absorbed in the contemplation of God, the Creator of the universe, lying in a manger next to the animals in a simple stable. This will exceed everything.

Christmas is a special holiday. And the service on this day is special. In many churches, but not everywhere, the festive service is performed at night. How to celebrate Christmas in order not only to feel the festive mood, but also to experience this event together with the Church - the abbot of the Kyiv Trinity St. John's Monastery, Bishop Jonah (Cherepanov) of Obukhov, spoke about this in an interview.

1. If possible, attend all statutory holiday services.

I want to emphasize that you definitely need to be at the festive all-night vigil. During this service, in fact, Christ, who was born in Bethlehem, is glorified. Liturgy is a divine service that remains virtually unchanged on one holiday or another. The main liturgical texts, the main chants, which explain the event remembered on this day and set us up on how to properly celebrate the holiday, are sung and read in the church during Vespers and Matins.

It should also be said that the Christmas service begins a day earlier - on Christmas Eve. On the morning of January 6, Christmas Vespers are celebrated in churches (with the exception of days when Christmas Eve falls on Saturday or Sunday, as this year. In this case, the Divine Liturgy of the current day is served in the morning, and after it Vespers. - ). It sounds strange: vespers in the morning, but this is a necessary deviation from the rules of the Church. Previously, Vespers began in the afternoon and continued with the Liturgy of Basil the Great, at which people received communion. The whole day of January 6 before this service there was a particularly strict fast; people did not eat food at all, preparing to take communion. After lunch, Vespers began, and communion was received at dusk. And soon after this came the solemn Christmas Matins, which began to be served on the night of January 7th.

But now, since we have become more frail and weak, solemn vespers are celebrated on the 6th in the morning and end with the Liturgy of Basil the Great.

2. When preparing to go to night service, worry in advance about not wanting to sleep so much.

In our realities, you can’t sleep in a church, but there’s no need for that. On Mount Athos, all services begin at night - at 2, 3 or 4 o'clock. And in our churches services are not daily, liturgies at night are generally rare. Therefore, in order to go out for night prayer, you can prepare in completely ordinary everyday ways.

For example, be sure to sleep the night before the service. While the Eucharistic fast allows, drink coffee. Since the Lord has given us fruits that invigorate us, we need to use them.

3. Fast correctly. “Until the first star” means not to go hungry, but to attend the service.

Regarding how to fast before Communion, if it is at a night service, then liturgical fasting (that is, complete abstinence from food and water) in this case is 6 hours. But this is not directly formulated anywhere, and there are no clear instructions in the charter how many hours before communion one cannot eat.

On an ordinary Sunday, when a person is preparing for Communion, it is customary not to eat food after midnight. But if you are going to receive communion at the night Christmas service, then it would be correct not to eat food somewhere after 21.00.

In any case, it is better to discuss this issue with your confessor.

4. Find out and agree on the date and time of confession in advance. So as not to spend the entire festive service in line.

The issue of confession at the Christmas service is purely individual, because each church has its own customs and traditions. It is easy to talk about confession in monasteries or those churches where there are a large number of serving priests. But if there is only one priest serving in the church, and there are a majority of them, then it is best, of course, to agree with the priest in advance, when it will be convenient for him to confess you. It is better to confess on the eve of the Christmas service, so that during the service you think not about whether you will have time or not to confess, but about how to truly worthily meet the coming of Christ the Savior into the world.

5. Do not exchange worship and prayer for 12 Lenten dishes. This tradition is neither evangelical nor liturgical.

I am often asked how to reconcile attendance at services on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with the tradition of the Christmas Eve feast, when 12 Lenten dishes are specially prepared. I’ll say right away that the “12 Strava” tradition is somewhat mysterious to me. Christmas Eve, like Epiphany Eve, is a fast day, and a day of strict fasting. According to the regulations, boiled food without oil and wine are allowed on this day. How you can cook 12 different lenten dishes without using oil is a mystery to me.

In my opinion, many folk rituals associated with this or that holiday are comics on the theme of Orthodoxy. They have practically nothing to do with the meaning of the holiday or the gospel event.

6. Don't turn Christmas into a food holiday. This day is, first of all, spiritual joy. And it is not good for your health to break your fast with a large feast.

If it is a priority for a person to meet the born Christ, then he, first of all, goes to worship, and in his free time prepares what he has time for.

7. Sing to God intelligently. Prepare for the service - read about it, find translations, texts of the psalms.

There is an expression: knowledge is power. And, indeed, knowledge gives strength not only morally, but also literally - physically. If a person has at one time taken the trouble to study Orthodox worship and understand its essence, if he knows what is currently happening in the church, then for him there is no question of standing for a long time or getting tired. He lives in the spirit of worship, knows what follows what. For him, the service is not divided into two parts, as it happens: “What is in the service now?” - “Well, they’re singing.” - "And now?" - “Well, they’re reading.” For most people, unfortunately, the service is divided into two parts: when they sing and when they read.

Knowledge of the service makes it clear that at a certain moment in the service you can sit down and listen to what is being sung and read. The liturgical regulations in some cases allow, and in some even require, sitting. This is, in particular, the time of reading psalms, hours, kathismas, stichera on “Lord, I have cried.” That is, there are many moments during the service when you can sit. And, as one saint put it, it is better to think about God while sitting than to think about your feet while standing.

Many believers act very practically by taking light folding benches with them. Indeed, in order not to rush to the benches at the right time to take seats, or not to “occupy” the seats by standing next to them throughout the service, it would be better to take a special bench with you and sit down on it at the right moment.

There is no need to be embarrassed about sitting during the service. It is not the Sabbath for man, but man for the Sabbath. Still, at some moments it is better to sit down, especially if your legs hurt, and sit and listen attentively to the service, rather than suffer, suffer and look at the clock to see when all this will end.

I definitely recommend also finding the Psalter translated into your native language (we recommend searching online and downloading translations of the psalms. - Note editors of "Kievan Rus"). The reading of the psalms is an integral part of any Orthodox service, and the psalms are very beautiful both melodically and stylistically. In church they are read in Church Slavonic, but even for a church-going person it is difficult to perceive all their beauty by ear. Therefore, in order to understand what is being sung at the moment, you can find out in advance, before the service, which psalms will be read during this service. This really needs to be done in order to “sing to God intelligently” in order to feel all the beauty of psalmody.

8. On holidays, churches are crowded. Have pity on your neighbor - light candles or venerate the icon another time.

Many people, when they come to church, believe that lighting a candle is the duty of every Christian, a sacrifice to God that must be made. But since the Christmas service is much more crowded than a regular service, some difficulty arises with the placement of candles, including because the candlesticks are overcrowded.

Now the situation has changed and setting candles has lost its original meaning. For us, this is more a reminder of the first centuries of Christianity.

A candle is our visible sacrifice to God. It has a symbolic meaning: before God, we must, like this candle, burn with an even, bright, smokeless flame.

This is also our sacrifice for the temple, because we know from the Old Testament that people in ancient times were required to tithe for the maintenance of the Temple and the priests serving at it. And in the New Testament Church this tradition was continued. We know the words of the apostle that those who serve the altar are fed from the altar. And the money that we leave when purchasing a candle is our sacrifice.

But in such cases, when churches are overcrowded, when whole torches of candles are burning on candlesticks, and they are being passed around and passed on, perhaps it would be more correct to put the amount that you wanted to spend on candles in a donation box than to embarrass your brothers by manipulating candles and sisters praying nearby.

9. When bringing children to the night service, be sure to ask them if they want to be in church now.

If you have small children or elderly relatives, then go with them to the liturgy in the morning.

And our parishioners who have small children or elderly relatives pray at night at Compline and Matins, after Matins they go home, rest, sleep, and in the morning they come to Liturgy at 9.00 with small children or with those people who, for health reasons, could not attend the night service.

It is very touching to see when children come to the service with their parents, they stand joyful, with sparkling eyes, because the night service for them is very significant and unusual. Then gradually they subside and turn sour. And now, as you pass through the side aisle, you see children lying side by side, immersed in the so-called “liturgical” sleep.

As long as the child can bear it, he can endure it. But you shouldn’t deprive him of such joy. However, I repeat once again, getting into this service should be the desire of the child himself. So that Christmas would be associated for him only with love, only with the joy of the born baby Christ.

10. Be sure to take communion!

When we come to church, we often worry that we didn’t have time to light the candles or didn’t venerate some icon. But that's not what you need to think about. We need to worry about whether we often unite with Christ.

Our duty during worship is to pray attentively and, as often as possible, to partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. The temple, first of all, is the place where we partake of the Body and Blood of Christ. This is what we must do.

And, indeed, attending the liturgy without communion is meaningless. Christ calls: “Take, eat,” and we turn away and leave. The Lord says: “Drink from the Cup of Life, all of you,” and we don’t want to. Does the word “everything” have a different meaning? The Lord does not say: drink 10% from me - those who were preparing. He says: drink from me, everyone! If we come to the liturgy and do not receive communion, then this is a liturgical violation.

INSTEAD OF AN AFTERWORD. What basic condition is necessary to experience the joy of a long all-night service?

It is necessary to realize WHAT happened on this day many years ago. That “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth.” That “no one has ever seen God; The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has revealed.” That an event of such cosmic proportions occurred that had never happened before and will not happen after.

God, the Creator of the universe, the Creator of the infinite cosmos, the Creator of our earth, the Creator of man as a perfect creation, the Almighty, who commands the movement of the planets, the entire cosmic system, the existence of life on earth, Whom no one has ever seen, and only a few in the entire history of mankind have been privileged to behold part of the manifestation of His some kind of power... And this God became a man, a baby, completely defenseless, small, subject to everything, including the possibility of murder. And this is all for us, for each of us.

Prepared by Yulia Kominko

On major holidays, the so-called twelve, every Orthodox Christian tries to visit the church and take part in the solemn service.

Are services long in Orthodox churches?

On Christmas Eve, everyone waits for the star to rise, eats nothing, prepares 12 ritual dishes, and reads or listens to prayers.

The day off, according to the calendar, falls on January 7, and everyone is looking for the star heralding the coming of the Savior into the world in the sky on the evening of the 6th. There is some strange paradox and some inconvenience in this.

What should you do if you want to bring your child to the holiday service?

When they go to church (on Christmas or some other bright holiday), they notice that all the services, although long, are very beautiful and solemn. There are a lot of people in churches, it can be stuffy, but you want to go with the whole family, with children. If an adult can make an effort and make at least such a sacrifice to the Lord, then children cannot do this. And is it necessary for them to have unpleasant feelings from observing Orthodox traditions? Good parents want Christian holidays and church visits to be the most enjoyable days for their children. What if kids have to stand on their feet for hours in a crowded and dense crowd of people?

During the service it is not customary to walk, talk or engage in extraneous activities. You need to stand with your head down and listen to church texts. In addition, you should prepare in a special way for visiting the temple. It is very important to plan everything correctly and teach children to attend church on a major holiday. If you see that the child cannot stand it, quietly go outside with him. Let him not perceive visiting the temple as an unpleasant duty. He is not so sinful as to make such a difficult sacrifice, which not everyone can afford.

The main thing is that children understand for what purpose and to whom they come when they go to church.

Visiting temples by unchurched Christians

Unchurched people, when they go to church on Christmas, treat this event with particular reverence. Many even refuse to participate in a Christian holiday if they have desecrated themselves the day before or if there is a ban on visiting the Abode of the Holy Spirit. Many are stopped by the fear of being judged because they do not know the text of prayers or do not know how to behave correctly in church. This is a whole science. And on a major holiday, churches are filled with a variety of people, and there is no fear that the most zealous and fanatical believers will drive them away or condemn them. It’s no secret that on ordinary days, when there are few people in church, this happens.

How to find out the schedule of services

If an unchurched person asks in a church: “When do they go to church on Christmas - January 6 or 7?”, he may not be given a definite answer. After all, those who serve in the temple are present at all services on this day. They have a lot of other worries at this time. After all, you have to promptly look after the candle box, maintain cleanliness in the House of God, and there are plenty of other, most often voluntary, responsibilities. Those people who work in the temple do not receive wages for their work. Accordingly, parishioners cannot demand anything from them. So, if you come across an intelligent and free person working in the temple and in this way making his sacrifice to God, consider yourself lucky.

If you come to the Temple the day before and inquire in advance about the order of services, ask when they go to church on Christmas from 6 to 7, then, again, they may not answer you, because usually the schedule appears no more than a few days before the holiday, and Services in all churches do not begin at the same time.

In post-Soviet times, there were few operating churches, and there were much more difficulties in participating in holiday services than now, when there are so many churches, large and small, as well as chapels that you don’t need to travel across the whole city to defend the holiday Mass.

What affects the duration of service?

What determines the beginning of the solemn service? For example, from such a factor as the sacrament of confession. Before holiday services, so that parishioners approach them cleansed, priests conduct confession. It is impossible to predict how many people will participate in it and how long they will repent. The duration and start time of the next service is also affected by the number of communicants. Usually, when they go to church on Christmas, they try to both confess and receive communion on this day. In order for the holiday to bring joy from joining the great sacrament, peace to the soul and prosperity to the family, you need to prepare for it in advance.

To understand when people go to church on Christmas, you need to find out what services are held at this time. Moreover, it is impossible to know this once and for all, because this holiday is moving, and it can happen on any day of the week.

Christmas Dress Colors

There is a certain system and hierarchy in the annual circle of the most important Christian holidays. All of them are divided into the Lord's, that is, most related to Jesus Christ, and the Theotokos, dedicated to his Most Pure Mother. The Lord's are the most important.

Made from yellow brocade and decorated with gold embroidery and braid, they are associated with power and might and symbolize God. Orthodox Christians, when they go to church on Christmas Day from January 6 to 7, note that the priests' festive vestments are painted in the colors of the Virgin Mary, symbolizing purity and purity - white and blue. Although this is the Lord's holiday. He is the second most important. The first one is Easter. Resurrection of Christ is the main holiday, and Christmas is the largest in terms of the number of days during which holiday services are held.

The longest holiday

The church and the entire Orthodox people prepare for great holidays long ago, making sacrifices through fasting, cleansing the soul with repentance and prayers. A joyful event also does not end in one day. After the most significant dates, the obligatory fasts on Wednesdays and Fridays are canceled, and entertainment events are allowed. It is no coincidence that weddings are always planned for this time.

The twelve holidays also differ in the number of days on which the great event is celebrated. The Nativity of Jesus Christ is the longest of all. Each celebration is divided into three stages - pre-celebration, post-celebration and giving. All together it continues for almost two weeks.

The pre-Christmas celebration lasts five days. People go to church on Christmas Day on the eve of the Great Event, on the 6th, on the 7th, and throughout the next week. After-feast lasts from one to eight days, depending on the proximity to fasting or the next holiday, and ends with giving.

This is the most solemn service. It recalls all the most significant circumstances of the celebrated event.

When is it better to go to temple - before or after the rising of the Star of Bethlehem?

Do people go to church on Christmas after the appearance of a star in the sky announcing the birth of the Child Christ? This question doesn't make sense. Of course they do. Visiting churches during Christmas is like visiting a close relative in the maternity hospital who has successfully given birth or is about to give birth to a child. If it is permissible to draw such a parallel.

The coming of each of us to the temple is an expression of gratitude to the Creator for the fact that on this day He gave us all, all of humanity, His Only Begotten Son to save us from death in fiery hell. And to the question of whether people go to church on Christmas before the star, and if they do, then what is the point of visiting church before the birth of the Infant God, we can answer the following.

Preparing for any holiday, we choose elegant clothes for ourselves, do a beautiful hairstyle, etc. Waiting for the arrival on earth of an immaculate child (a future sacrifice for our sins), we try to cleanse ourselves as much as possible from our sins, hoping that the less vicious we are, The purer the soul, the less suffering the Savior will experience in His earthly incarnation.

Thus, the question “when do they go to church on Christmas: the 6th or 7th” cannot be considered significant.

The Lord is stronger, kinder and smarter than we think

Of course, this day is shrouded in many secrets, superstitions and signs. This reveals our spiritual immaturity. The Lord sees the soul of each of us individually. And He sees whether we came to the temple to meet and communicate with Him, or because someone said that on this day all the desires of those who visit the church will certainly be fulfilled. Or maybe this is actually true? After all, God’s mercy is so great!

When they go to church on Christmas Day on January 6th in the morning, they don’t eat or drink anything until confession. Having received absolution and blessing for Communion, parishioners participate in Great Vespers and the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great. Before communion, you should not put anything in your mouth, not even water. If you do not take communion on this day, then until the first star rises in the sky you are allowed to drink only water.

Finally, we note that many instructions are announced by the priest looking after the temple at the end of the sermon. You just need to listen carefully.