Following the daily service. I

According to its structure, Matins can be of 2 types - everyday or everyday and holiday.

According to the Rules, daily Matins must be performed in the morning. In modern practice, it (with the 1st hour) is served in the evening. Matins is added to the daily Vespers after “Confirm, O God...”, and it begins immediately with the Six Psalms. This practice is due to the conditions modern life when it is not possible to come to church for worship in the evening. In monasteries and churches, zealous for the fulfillment of the Rule, they return to ancient practice, since the content and nature of the chants and prayers really correspond to the beginning of the day.

Metropolitan Benjamin speaks about it this way: “He’s still a fresh person, so the services are longer and there are more psalms: you need to gain a spiritual supply for the whole day. In the morning, the birds sing, but in the evening they fall silent. And the man praises the Lord. And with him all creation praises: the sun, clouds, fish, ... animals, birds, kings and common people, old and young. And the ascetics prepare for prayer and to fight the enemy. ...The Six Psalms also speaks of the same struggle, with alternating cries to God and hope for His help and glory to Him. ...So, Matins - service of joyful feat».

If the liturgical theme of Vespers is the history of the Old Testament - the creation of the world, the Fall, the hope of redemption, then Matins is the New Testament, the appearance of the Messiah.

In cases where daily Matins is served in the morning, then it begins a little differently than if it is performed in the evening in conjunction with Vespers:

After the priest’s exclamation “Blessed is our God...” the reader: “Amen. Trisagion according to Our Father. Lord, have mercy 12 times, Come, let us worship...” (if the Midnight Office was served before Matins, then after the exclamation comes “Come, let us worship...”). Then the double psalm is read - Psalms 19 and 20 (at this time the priest censes the altar and the temple), “Glory, and now... the Trisagion of Our Father,” the troparion is read, “Save, O Lord, Thy people..., Glory... Ascended to the Cross..., And now... A terrible intercession...", then the abbreviated, intense litany "Have mercy on us, O God...", the exclamation "For you are merciful...", chorus: "Amen. Bless in the name of the Lord, Father,” then the exclamation of Matins, “Glory to the Saints...”

The procedure for performing daily Matins is set out in Chapter 9 of the Typikon, where, as in the sequence of Vespers, instructions for non-fast service (with “God is the Lord”) and fast service (with “Alleluia”) alternate. This order can also be traced through the Book of Hours and the Octoechos.

Brief outline of daily matins

Six Psalms – Ch, immutable

Great Litany – Sl

“God is the Lord...” and troparia – Sl, Ch, immutable, M, changeable

Kathismas - Ps

Canon - O, M, changeable

Psalms of praise - Ch, immutable

Everyday doxology - Ch, immutable

Litany of Petition – Sl

Stichera on verse - Oh, changeable

Tropari - M, changeable

Sublime Litany – Sl

Detailed diagram of daily (weekday) Matins

Priest: "Glory to the Saints..."

Six Psalms

Great Litany

"God the Lord..." with verses

Troparion to Saint Menaion twice

Glory, even now: Theotokos (according to the voice of the troparion to the saint from the 4th appendix of the Menaion)

* If the service is for 2 saints, then: troparion to the 1st saint sung twice, “Glory...” Troparion to the 2nd saint, “And now...” Theotokos ( according to the voice of the last troparion from the 4th appendix)

Kathisma ordinary, sedalny (Octoecha)

Psalm 50

Canon: two canons of Octoechos and one canon of Menaion

* If the service is to two saints, then: one canon of Octoechos and two canons of Menaion

Katavasia - irmos of the last canon - after the 3rd, 6th, 8th, 9th cantos

according to the 3rd canto, the litany of the small, sedalen of the Holy, Glory, and now: Theotokos

according to the 6th song of the litany of the small, kontakion and ikos to the holy Menaion

according to the 8th song "The most honest..."

on the 9th song after the chaos, “It is worthy to eat” is sung (to the voice of chaos)

Litany small

Svetilen (in the Oktoeha app, by day)

Glory, even now: Theotokos Octoechos

* If there is a luminary for the saint in the Menaion, then: luminary Octoechos, Glory: luminary to the saint in the Menaion, And now: Theotokos in the Menaion (on Wednesday and Friday Octoechos is the Theotokos of the Holy Cross)

Psalms of Praise

Everyday doxology read

Litany of petition

Stichera on verse (Octoechos)

Glory, even now: Theotokos (Octoeche)

* If there is Glory to a saint in a poem, then: after the 3 stichera of the Octoechos - Glory: to the holy Menaion, And now: Theotokos (according to the voice of Glory from the 2nd appendix of the Menaion)

“It’s good to have a confession...”

Trisagion according to Our Father:

Troparion to Saint Menaion,

Glory, even now: Theotokos (according to the voice of the troparion to the saint, from the 4th appendix of the Menaion)

* If the service is to two saints, then: Troparion to the 1st saint, Glory: to the 2nd saint, And now: Theotokos (according to the voice of the last troparion from the 4th appendix of the Menaion)

Litany

Part II. Diagram of the Liturgy of the Catechumens

1. Initial exclamations from the deacon and priest.
2. Great Litany.
3. Psalm 1 pictorial “Bless the Lord, my soul” (102) (first antiphon).
4. Small Litany.
5. The second pictorial psalm (145) - “Praise, my soul, the Lord” (second antiphon).
6. Singing the hymn “The Only Begotten Son and Word of God.”
7. Small Litany.
8. Singing the Gospel beatitudes and troparia “blessed” (third antiphon).
9. Small entrance with the Gospel.
10. Singing “Come Let Us Worship.”
11. Singing the troparion and kontakion.
12. The deacon’s cry: “Lord, save the pious.”
13. Singing of the Trisagion.
14. Singing prokimna.
15. Reading of the Apostle. Singing the alliluary.
16. Reading the Gospel.
17. A special litany.
18. Litany of the Catechumens.
19. Litany with the command for the catechumens to leave the temple.

Part III. Scheme of the Liturgy of the Faithful

1. Abridged Great Litany.
2. Singing the 1st part of the Cherubic Song and the priest reading the Great Entrance Prayer.
3. Great Entrance and Transfer of the Holy Gifts.
4. Singing the 2nd part of the Cherubic Song and placing the Holy Vessels on the Throne.
5. 1st Petitionary Litany (About the offered, honest Gifts): preparation of those praying for the consecration of the Gifts.
6. The deacon's instillation of peace, love and unanimity.
7. Exclamation: “Let us love one another, that we may be of one mind.”
8. Singing the Creed. (after the exclamation “Doors, let us open the doors of wisdom”).
9. The exclamation “Let’s become kind...”.
10. Eucharistic prayer (3 parts).
11. Consecration of the Holy Gifts (while singing: “We sing to you...”).
12. Glorification of the Mother of God (“It is worthy to eat...”).
13. Commemoration of the living and the dead (“And everyone, and everything...”).
14. 2nd Petitionary Litany (On the Consecrated Honorable Gifts).
15. Singing "Our Father".
16. Ascension of the Holy Gifts. ("Holy of Holies...").
17. Communion of the clergy at the altar and the “sacrament” verse.
18. The penultimate apparition of the Holy Gifts and Communion of the laity.
19. The exclamation “Save, O God, Thy people” and the chant “We see the True Light.”
20. The last appearance of the Holy Gifts and the chant “Let our lips be filled.”
21. Litany of thanksgiving for Communion.
22. Prayer behind the pulpit.
23. “Be the name of the Lord” and the 33rd Psalm.

Scheme of the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts (served only during Lent)

1. The cry of the deacon and priest: “Blessed is the kingdom”...
2. Reading Psalm 103: “Bless the Lord, O my soul.”
3. Great Litany.
4. Kathismas.
5. Small Litany, or three small litanies (after each of the three kathismas), during which the transfer of the Holy Lamb from the Throne to the altar takes place.
6. “The Lord cried.”
7. Stichera “I cried to the Lord.”
8. Evening entrance with censer (or with the Gospel, if required according to the Charter).
9. “Quiet light”...
10. Reading the first proverb.
11. Shouts: “Wisdom, forgive me. The light of Christ enlightens everyone.”
12. Reading the second proverb.
13. Singing: “May my prayer be corrected.”
14. Reading the Gospel (if required by the Charter).
15. A special litany.
16. Prayer for the Emperor.
17. Litany of the Catechumens.
18. Litany for the Enlightened. Exclamation: “For You are our enlightenment” (From the 4th week of Lent).
19. Small litany of the faithful. The exclamation “As befits”...
20. The second small litany is about the faithful.
21. "Now are the powers of heaven."
22. Great Entrance with the Presanctified Gifts.
23. The second part of the prayer: “Let us approach by faith and love.”
24. Prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian.
25. Litany of petition.
26. The Lord's Prayer "Our Father".
27. Exclamation: “The Holy One, Presanctified to the Saints.”
28. The penultimate appearance of the Holy Gifts (“I will bless the Lord”).
29. The last apparition of the Holy Gifts.
30. Thanksgiving for Communion.
31. Prayer behind the pulpit (“Lord Almighty”).
32. “Blessed be the name of the Lord” (three times) and Psalm 33.
33. The priest's last blessing.
34. Vacation.

Scheme of Vespers at the All-Night Vigil

1. Exclamation of the deacon and priest.
2. Opening Psalm 103 “Bless the Lord, my soul.”
3. Great Litany.
4. Psalm: “Blessed is the man who does not follow the counsel of the wicked.”
5. Small Litany.
6. “The Lord cried.”
7. Stichera on “I cried to the Lord”...
8. Dogmatist or Mother of God.
9. Evening entrance (with censer).
10. Singing the hymn: “Quiet Light.”
11. Prokeimenon of the day.
12. Reading paroemias (3 paroemias). (On the eve of great and temple holidays).
13. A special litany.
14. Prayer: “Lord grant”...
15. Litany of petition.
16. Stichera on lithium.
17. Lithium. (On the eve of great and temple holidays).
18. Poems on poems,
19. “Now you let go,” the Trisagion according to the “Our Father.”
20. Troparion or (on Sundays) “Virgin Mother of God.”
21. Blessing of the loaves. (On the eve of great and temple holidays.).
22. “Blessed be the Name of the Lord” and Psalm 33.
23. Blessing of the priest.

Scheme of Matins at the All-Night Vigil

1. Six Psalms (Psalms 3, 37, 62, 87, 102, 142).
2. Great Litany.
3. “God is the Lord and appear to us.”
4. Troparion for Sunday or holiday or Saint.
5. Reading kathisma.
6. Small Litany.
7. Polyeleos (“Praise the name of the Lord”).
8. Sunday “blameless” troparia (“Blessed art thou, O Lord”).
9. Greatness (on great holidays).
10. Small Litany.
11. Sedate (on the occasion of great holidays, antiphon 4 voices: “From my youth”)...
12. Reading the Gospel.
13. “Having seen the Resurrection of Christ.”
14. The deacon’s exclamation “Save, O God, Thy people”...
15. Canon (small litanies on the 3rd and 6th cantos).
16. “My soul magnifies the Lord.”
17. “Let every breath praise the Lord” and stichera on those who praise.
18. Theotokos: “Blessed are you, the Virgin Mary” (textbook of Hours).
19. Great Doxology.
20. Sunday troparion of dismissal or holiday troparion.
21. A special litany.
22. Litany of petition.
23. Vacation.
24. First Hour (see diagram of the Hours).

Scheme of Great Compline

Part I

1. The usual start.
2. “Come, let us worship” and Psalm 69 (See the Teachings of the Book of Hours).
3. Canon of St. Andrew of Crete (in the first 4 days of Lent).
4. Six psalms: 4, 6, 12, 24, 30, 90.
5. "God is with us".
6. Troparion: “The day is past, I thank You, Lord.”
7. Symbol of faith.
8. Prayer: “To the Most Holy Lady.”
9. Trisagion according to Our Father.
10. Troparion and Theotokos (Various by day of the week).
11. “Lord have mercy” 40 times; prayers of dismissal: “Glory even now”, “Most honorable Cherub”, etc.
12. Prayer “Lord, deliver us from every arrow that flies throughout the days.”

Part II.

1. “Come, let us worship” (three times), Psalms 50 and 101;
2. Manasseh's prayer: "Lord Almighty, God of our fathers."
3. Trisagion according to Our Father.
4. Troparion: “Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy on us.”
5. “Lord have mercy” 40 times and the same prayers of absolution.
6. Prayer: “Sovereign God, Father Almighty”...

Part III.

1. “Come, let us worship” (three times).
2. Psalms 69 and 142 and the Great Doxology.
3. Trisagion according to Our Father.
4. Canon private.
5. Singing: “Lord of strength be with us.”
6. “Lord have mercy” 40 times. Prayer: “For every time and every hour” and the same prayers of dismissal.
7. “Lord and Master of my life”...
8. Prayer: “Undefiled, unblasphemous”...
9. “And grant us, O Master, our future sleep”..., “Glorious Ever-Virgin”, “My Father’s Hope.”
10. Great holiday. Reading sacred they say "The Lord is most merciful."
11. A special litany.

The royal gates open.

Every altar.

Deacon: Rise up. God bless.

Priest: Glory to the Holy Ones...

Come, let's worship... (three times).

Ceremony of the entire temple.

Chorus: Bless the Lord, my soul... (Psalm 103).

The royal gates are closing.

Lamp prayers (secretly read by the priest).

Great Litany: Let us pray to the Lord in peace.

As befits You...(exclamation).

Singing of the 1st antiphon of the 1st kathisma.

Small litany: Packs and packs...

For Your power...

Lord, I cried and stichera on the Lord, I cried. (Censing of the entire temple.)

And now. The Mother of God dogmatist or stichera.

The royal gates open.

Entrance with censer.

Sveta Quiet

Prokeimenon.

The royal gates are closing.

Parimia (if any).

Litany of aggravation: Rtsem all...

Vouchsafe, Lord...

Litany of petition: Let's perform evening prayer...

Yako is Good and Lover of Humanity...

Lithium (if available).

Stichera on verse.

Now you let go... The Trisagion. Our Father...
For Yours is the Kingdom...

The royal gates open.

Troparion. (Censing of bread, if there was a litia.)

Blessing of the loaves (if there was a litia).

Be the Name of the Lord...

I will bless the Lord... (Psalm 33), ending with the words: .. .will not be deprived of any good.

The blessing of the Lord is upon you...
Amen.

The royal gates are closing.

Matins (with polyeleos)

Six Psalms (Psalms: 3, 37, 62, 87, 102 and 142).

Morning prayers (the priest reads secretly).

Great Litany.

For all things befit You glory...

God the Lord, and appear to us...

Small Litany.

The royal gates open.

Polyeleos. Praise the Name of the Lord...

Magnification (if any).

Ceremony of the entire temple.

At the Sunday all-night troparion: The Cathedral of Angels was surprised...

Small Litany.

For Thy Name is blessed...

Degrees (antiphons).

Carrying out the Gospel

Prokeimenon.

Reading the Gospel

At Sunday Vigil: Having seen the Resurrection of Christ...

Psalm 50.

Glory. Through the prayers of the Apostles...

And now. Prayers of the Mother of God...

Have mercy on me, God...(1st verse of the 50th Psalm)

Stichera (holiday or Sunday)

Save, O God, Thy people...

With mercy and bounty...

The royal gates are closing.

Canon

After the 3rd song of the canon there is a small litany.

For You are our God...

After the 6th song of the canon there is a small litany.

You are the King of the world...

According to the 8th song of the canon:

Let us exalt the Mother of God and the Mother of Light with songs.

Ceremony of the entire temple.

My soul magnifies the Lord...

According to the 9th song of the canon, the small litany

As if all the powers of heaven praise You...

Exapostilary (luminous).

Every breath...

Stichera on praise.

And now. Theotokos.

The royal gates open.

Glory to You, who showed us the light.

The doxology is great.

The Troparion of Dismissal and the Theotokos.

Litany of extremes: Have mercy on us, God...

Yako is Gracious and Lover of Humanity...

Litany of petition: Let's do morning prayer...

Like the God of mercy and generosity...

Wisdom. Bless. Blessed be...

Confirm, God...

Most Holy Theotokos, save us.

The most honest Cherub...

Glory to Thee, Christ God... Glory, and now, Lord, have mercy (three times). Bless.

Great release.

Many years.

The royal gates are closing. 1st hour reading.

Great Vespers (in conjunction with Matins)

The royal gates open.
Every altar.
Deacon: Rise up. God bless.
Priest: Glory of the Saints...
Come, let's worship... (three times).
Ceremony of the entire temple.
Chorus: Bless the Lord, my soul... (psalm 103rd).
The royal gates are closing.
Lamp prayers (secretly read by the priest).
Great Litany: Let us pray to the Lord in peace.
As befits You... (exclamation).
Singing of the 1st antiphon of the 1st kathisma.
Small Litany: Packs and packs...
For Your power is...
Lord, I cried and stichera on the Lord, I cried. (Censing of the entire temple.)
And now. The Mother of God dogmatist or stichera.
The royal gates open.
Entrance with censer.
Sveta Quiet
Prokeimenon.
The royal gates are closing.
Parimia (if any).
Litany of extremes: Rtsem all...
Yako the Gracious and Lover of Humanity...
Vouchsafe, Lord...
Litany of petition: Let's perform evening prayer...
Yako Blag and Lover of Humanity...
Lithium (if available).
Stichera on verse.
Now you let go... The Trisagion. Our Father...
For Yours is the Kingdom...
The royal gates open.
Troparion. (Censing of bread, if there was a litia.)
Blessing of the loaves (if there was a litia).
Be the Name of the Lord...
I bless the Lord... (Psalm 33), ending with the words: ... will not be deprived of any good.
The blessing of the Lord is upon you...
Amen.
The royal gates are closing.

Matins (with polyeleos)

Six Psalms (Psalms: 3, 37, 62, 87, 102 and 142).
Morning prayers (the priest reads secretly).
Great Litany.
For all glory is due to You...
God the Lord, and appear to us...
Tropari.
Kathismas.
Small Litany.
The royal gates open.
Polyeleos. Praise the Name of the Lord...
Magnification (if any).
Ceremony of the entire temple.
At the Sunday all-night troparion: Cathedral of Angels surprised...
Small Litany.
For Your name is blessed...
Degrees (antiphons).
Taking out the Gospel.
Prokeimenon.
Reading the Gospel.
At Sunday Vigil: Having seen the Resurrection of Christ...
Psalm 50.
Glory. Through the prayers of the Apostles...
And now. Prayers of the Mother of God...
Have mercy on me, God... (1st verse of the 50th Psalm)
Stichera (holiday or Sunday)
Save, O God, Thy people...
With mercy and bounty...
The royal gates are closing.
Canon.
After the 3rd song of the canon there is a small litany.
For You are our God...
After the 6th song of the canon there is a small litany.
You are the King of the world...
According to the 8th song of the canon:
Let us exalt the Mother of God and the Mother of Light with songs.
Ceremony of the entire temple.
My soul magnifies the Lord...
According to the 9th song of the canon, the small litany
As if all the powers of heaven praise You...
Exapostilary (luminous).
Every breath...
Stichera on praise.
And now. Theotokos.
The royal gates open.
Glory to You, who showed us the light.
The doxology is great.
The Troparion of Dismissal and the Theotokos.
Litany of extremes: Have mercy on us, God...
Yako the Gracious and Lover of Humanity...
Litany of petition: Let's do morning prayer...
Like the God of mercy and bounty...
Wisdom. Bless. Sy blessed...
Establish, God...
Holy Mother of God, save us.
Most honorable Cherub...
Glory to You, Christ God... Glory, and now, Lord, have mercy(three times). Bless.
Great release.
Many years.
The royal gates are closing. 1st hour reading.

On the eve of great holidays and Sundays it is served all-night vigil, or, as it is also called, all-night vigil. The church day begins in the evening, and this service is directly related to the event being celebrated.

The All-Night Vigil is an ancient service; it was performed back in the first centuries of Christianity. The Lord Jesus Christ himself often prayed at night, and the apostles and the first Christians gathered for night prayer. Previously, all-night vigils were very long and, starting in the evening, continued throughout the night.

The All-Night Vigil begins with Great Vespers

In parish churches, Vespers usually begins at seventeen or eighteen o'clock. The prayers and chants of Vespers relate to the Old Testament, they prepare us for matins, which is mainly remembered New Testament events. The Old Testament is a prototype, a forerunner of the New. Old Testament people lived by faith - waiting for the Coming Messiah.

The beginning of Vespers brings our mind to the creation of the world. The priests cense the altar. It signifies the Divine grace of the Holy Spirit, which hovered during the creation of the world over the earth that had not yet been built (see: Gen. 1, 2).

Then the deacon calls the worshipers to stand before the start of the service with an exclamation "Rise up!" and asks for the priest’s blessing to begin the service. The priest, standing before the throne in the altar, utters the exclamation: “Glory to the Holy One, Consubstantial, Life-Giving and Indivisible Trinity, always, now and ever and unto ages of ages”. The choir sings: "Amen."

While singing in chorus Psalm 103, which describes the majestic picture of God’s creation of the world, the clergy censer the entire temple and those praying. The sacrifice signifies the grace of God, which our ancestors Adam and Eve had before the Fall, enjoying bliss and communion with God in paradise. After the creation of people, the doors of heaven were open to them, and as a sign of this, the royal doors are open during incense. After the Fall, people lost their pristine righteousness, distorted their nature and closed the doors of heaven to themselves. They were expelled from paradise and wept bitterly. After censing, the royal gates are closed, the deacon goes out to the pulpit and stands in front of the closed gates, just as Adam stood in front of the gates of heaven after his expulsion. When a person lived in paradise, he did not need anything; With the loss of heavenly bliss, people began to have needs and sorrows, for which we pray to God. The main thing we ask God for is forgiveness of sins. On behalf of all those praying, the deacon says peace or great litany.

After the peaceful litany there follows the singing and reading of the first kathisma: Blessed is the man like him(which) do not go to the counsel of the wicked. The path of returning to paradise is the path of striving for God and evading evil, wickedness and sins. The Old Testament righteous, who waited with faith for the Savior, maintained the true faith and avoided communicating with godless and wicked people. Even after the Fall, Adam and Eve were given the promise of the Coming Messiah, that the seed of the woman will erase the head of the serpent. And a psalm Blessed is the husband also figuratively tells about the Son of God, the Blessed Man, who committed no sin.

Next they sing stichera on “Lord, I have cried”. They alternate with verses from the Psalter. These verses also have a penitential, prayerful character. During the reading of the stichera, incense is performed throughout the temple. “May my prayer be corrected, like incense before You,” the choir sings, and we, listening to this chant, like our sinners, repent of our sins.

The last stichera is called the Theotokos or dogmatist, it is dedicated to the Mother of God. It reveals the church teaching about the incarnation of the Savior from the Virgin Mary.

Although people sinned and fell away from God, the Lord did not leave them without His help and protection throughout Old Testament history. The first people repented, which means the first hope for salvation appeared. This hope is symbolized opening of the royal gates And entrance at vespers. The priest and deacon with the censer leave the northern side doors and, accompanied by the priests, go to the royal doors. The priest blesses the entrance, and the deacon, drawing a cross with a censer, says: “Wisdom, forgive me!”- this means “stand up straight” and contains a call for attention. The choir sings a chant "Quiet Light", saying that the Lord Jesus Christ descended to earth not in greatness and glory, but in a quiet, Divine light. This chant also suggests that the time of the Savior’s birth is near.

After the deacon proclaimed verses from the psalms called prokinny, two litanies are pronounced: strictly And pleading.

If the all-night vigil is celebrated on the occasion of a major holiday, after these litanies the lithium- a sequence containing special prayer requests, at which the blessing of five wheat bread, wine and oil (oil) in memory of Christ’s miraculous feeding of five thousand people with five loaves. In ancient times, when the All-Night Vigil was served all night, the brethren needed to refresh themselves with food in order to continue performing Matins.

After the litia they sing "stichera on verse", that is, stichera with special verses. After them the choir sings a prayer “Now you let go”. These were the words spoken by the righteous saint Simeon, who waited for the Savior with faith and hope for many years and was honored to take the Infant Christ into his arms. This prayer is pronounced as if on behalf of all the Old Testament people who with faith awaited the coming of Christ the Savior.

Vespers ends with a hymn dedicated to the Virgin Mary: "Virgin Mother of God, rejoice". She was the Fruit that Old Testament humanity had been growing in its depths for thousands of years. This most humble, most righteous and most pure Young Lady is the only one of all the wives who was honored to become the Mother of God. The priest ends Vespers with the exclamation: "The blessing of the Lord is upon you"- and blesses those praying.

The second part of the vigil is called Matins. It is dedicated to the recollection of New Testament events

At the beginning of Matins, six special psalms are read, which are called six psalms. It begins with the words: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” - this is the chant sung by the Angels at the birth of the Savior. The Six Psalms is dedicated to the anticipation of the coming of Christ into the world. It is an image of the Bethlehem night when Christ came into the world, and an image of the night and darkness in which all humanity was before the coming of the Savior. It is not for nothing that, according to custom, all lamps and candles are extinguished during the reading of the Six Psalms. The priest in the middle of the Six Psalms in front of the closed royal doors reads special morning prayers.

Next, a peaceful litany is performed, and after it the deacon loudly proclaims: “God is the Lord, and appear to us. Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.". Which means: “God and the Lord appeared to us,” that is, he came into the world, the Old Testament prophecies about the coming of the Messiah were fulfilled. Reading follows kathisma from the Psalter.

After the reading of the kathisma, the most solemn part of Matins begins - polyeleos. Polyeleos translated from Greek as mercifully, because during polyeleos verses of praise are sung from Psalms 134 and 135, where the multitude of God’s mercy is sung as a constant refrain: for His mercy endures forever! According to the consonance of words polyeleos sometimes translated as abundance of oil, oil. Oil has always been a symbol of God's mercy. During Great Lent, the 136th psalm (“On the rivers of Babylon”) is added to the polyeleos psalms. During the polyeleos, the royal doors are opened, the lamps in the temple are lit, and the clergy, leaving the altar, perform full incense on the entire temple. During censing, Sunday troparia are sung "Angelic Cathedral", telling about the resurrection of Christ. At all-night vigils before the holidays, instead of Sunday troparions, they sing the glorification of the holiday.

Next they read the Gospel. If they serve the all-night vigil on Sunday, read one of the eleven Sunday Gospels, dedicated to the resurrection of Christ and His appearances to the disciples. If the service is dedicated not to the resurrection, but to a holiday, the holiday Gospel is read.

After the reading of the Gospel at Sunday all-night vigils, hymns are sung “Having seen the Resurrection of Christ”.

Those praying venerate the Gospel (on the holiday - to the icon), and the priest anoints their forehead with consecrated oil in the shape of a cross.

This is not a Sacrament, but a sacred rite of the Church, serving as a sign of God’s mercy towards us. Since the most ancient, biblical times, oil has been a symbol of joy and a sign of God’s blessing, and the righteous person on whom the favor of the Lord rests is compared with the olive, from the fruits of which oil was obtained: But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God, and I trust in the mercy of God forever and ever.(Ps 51:10). The dove released from the ark by the patriarch Noah returned in the evening and brought a fresh olive leaf in its mouth, and Noah learned that the water had gone down from the earth (see: Gen. 8:11). This was a sign of reconciliation with God.

After the priest’s exclamation: “By mercy, generosity and philanthropy...” - the reading begins canon.

Canon- a prayer work that tells about the life and deeds of the saint and glorifies the celebrated event. The canon consists of nine songs, each beginning Irmosom- a chant sung by a choir.

Before the ninth hymn of the canon, the deacon, having bowed to the altar, exclaims before the image of the Mother of God (to the left of the royal doors): “Let us exalt the Virgin Mary and Mother of Light in song”. The choir begins to sing a chant “My soul magnifies the Lord...”. This is a touching prayer-song composed by the Holy Virgin Mary (see: Lk 1, 46-55). A chorus is added to each verse: “The most honorable Cherub and the most glorious without comparison Seraphim, who without corruption gave birth to God the Word, we magnify Thee as the real Mother of God.”

After the canon, the choir sings psalms "Praise the Lord from heaven", “Sing a new song to the Lord”(Ps 149) and "Praise God among His saints"(Ps. 150) along with “praise stichera.” At the Sunday all-night vigil, these stichera end with a hymn dedicated to the Mother of God: “Most blessed art thou, O Virgin Mary...” After this, the priest proclaims: “Glory to You, who showed us the Light,” and begins great doxology. The All-Night Vigil in ancient times, lasting all night, captured the early morning, and during Matins the first morning rays of the sun actually appeared, reminding us of the Sun of Truth - Christ the Savior. The doxology begins with the words: "Gloria..." Matins began with these words and ends with these same words. At the end, the entire Holy Trinity is glorified: “Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us.”

Matins ends purely And petitionary litanies, after which the priest pronounces the final vacation.

After the all-night vigil, a short service is served, which is called the first hour.

Watch- this is a service that sanctifies a certain time of the day, but according to established tradition they are usually attached to long services - matins and liturgy. The first hour corresponds to our seven o'clock in the morning. This service sanctifies the coming day with prayer.