home Heating calculation The Lenten Triod is a guide through Great Lent. Lenten triode (Russian translation)

The Lenten Triod is a guide through Great Lent. Lenten triode (Russian translation)

Lenten triode (from the Greek. triodion- three-song) - a liturgical book containing prayers for the days preparing for the Holy Forty Day, for Great Lent itself, as well as for Passion Week. It covers the first half of the liturgical circle, starting from the week of the publican and the Pharisee and ending with Holy Saturday. The Lenten Triod is the richest source on the history of worship, as well as Byzantine liturgical hymnography and hagiography.

The quantitative volume of this cycle, its liturgical and theological significance and place in the church calendar were not immediately determined.

If we talk about the internal content and structure of the Lenten Triodion, then three groups of memories are distinguished in it. First, it is Passion Week, which follows the Lent of Forty Days, preceded by three weeks of preparation. Secondly, the Lenten Triodion included commemorations of the Sundays of the Fortecost, which are now withdrawn from liturgical practice: they are mentioned only in the content of self-voiced and in separate Sunday canons. In accordance with them, for example, in the second week, the parable of the prodigal son is remembered, in the third - about the publican and the Pharisee, etc. And, finally, a special layer is the group of menaean memories - transferred to the mobile liturgical circle from the immovable one.

The most ancient of these structural and content elements is not the three preparatory weeks, as one might assume, but the Paschal fast, that is, the fast on Holy Week. Undoubtedly, it was established by the apostles by the commandment of Christ - to fast on that day, “when the Bridegroom is taken away from them” (Matt. 9: 15). Its duration in different places was not the same. Uniformity was probably hindered in the first place by the fact that not all Christians celebrated Easter at the same time. In the same way, the full cycle of commemorations of Holy Week was not immediately established in all Churches. The earliest, apparently, this was done in Jerusalem.

It is fundamentally important that it was the expansion of the Paschal fast that gave rise to the Lent of Forty Days. True, the existence of the 69th Apostolic Canon prompts us to attribute the origin of this fast to the apostolic era: “Whoever is a bishop, or a presbyter, or a deacon, or a subdeacon, or a reader, or a singer, does not fast on Holy Fortecost before Pascha, or on Wednesday, or on the heel, except for an obstacle from bodily weakness, let him be cast out, but if a layman, let him be excommunicated. But this evidence is not reliable, because "the apostolic canons, together with the collection of apostolic decrees, the conclusion of which they constitute, were formed only in the second half of the 4th century," while the time of the formation of the Pentecost must be counted from the end of the 3rd - the beginning of the 4th centuries. The place of its establishment should be sought, most likely, in Syria, while in Rome and Alexandria it was an alien phenomenon.

According to most researchers, the earliest “indisputable evidence of the 40-day fast preceding Easter (including Holy Week), according to most researchers, should be considered the 2nd festive (Easter) epistle (330) of St. .

Clarifications require a very controversial question for historical liturgics about the methods of calculating the Fortecost. In the 4th century there were at least two of them in the East. One of them, the Palestinian one, is indicated in Eusebius' work "On Pascha", in the Paschal epistles of St. Athanasius, and also in the proclamations of St. Cyril of Jerusalem. It is considered older. Another method, the Antiochian, arose later. Mentions of him can be found in the apostolic decrees, in the works of St. John Chrysostom. In essence, both of these calculations agree with each other, the difference was initially only in the quantitative interpretation of the Easter fast.

According to Eusebius, Lent - with the inclusion of Holy Week - lasts six weeks. But it follows from this that it consists of 42 days, not 40. The latter figure is obtained if Friday and Saturday of Holy Week are excluded from the Easter fast. Saint Athanasius does not make such truncations. And in this regard, it is not entirely clear according to which system - Palestinian or local - he calculates the Fortecost, since in Alexandria in the first half of the 3rd century, under St. Dionysius, the Paschal fast really lasted a whole week.

Within the framework of the Antiochian reckoning, the pre-Easter fast included a full week, and special six weeks were appointed for the Fortecost.

At the same time, one cannot ignore the following fact: initially, both methods of calculation certainly led to the fact that there were less than 40 fasting days in the Forty Days, since Sundays were freed from fasting. At the direction of St. Athanasius the Great, in Alexandria, in addition, Saturdays were also deducted from this number of fast days, with the exception of the Saturday of Passion Week. Thus, it turns out that there were only 31 fast days left along with the Paschal fast. All this suggests that the number 40 is taken from examples of historically attested 40-day fasts. As is known, the Holy Scripture repeatedly points to them: these are the prophets Moses and Elijah and, of course, Jesus Christ Himself.

The desire to bring Fortecost into strict conformity with its name, that is, so that it actually had exactly 40 fast days, eventually caused the emergence of new ways of calculating it. To facilitate further reasoning, it is worth repeating once again: the Palestinian method did not give the desired figure, because even if you do not separate the Easter fast from Fortecost and recognize Saturdays as fasting, all the same, the total number of fasting days will be only 36.

More satisfactory is the Antiochian reckoning. But, again, it is necessary to fulfill the condition of the merging of the Paschal fast and the Forty Day. True, in this case, the number of fast days - with the exception of Sundays - will be 42. If we consider the fast of Forty Days separately, as was customary in the 4th century, the number of days will be reduced to 36.

It should also be taken into account that in the second half of the 4th century in the East, the custom was established, in addition to Sunday, to also honor Saturday. It becomes the day of liturgical meetings, on Saturday it is forbidden to fast. Lenten Saturdays, in addition to the Saturday of Holy Week, are also freed from fasting, as a result of which the number of fasting days in Fortecost is reduced even more.

The new methods of calculation that have arisen are intended to correct these shortcomings. Rome preserved the ancient Palestinian Fortecost for the longest time. The amendment was made only in the 7th century: then the beginning of the fast was transferred to Wednesday of the seventh week before Easter, that is, four more fast days were added to the previously existing 36 fast days, so that exactly 40 days were obtained.

First of all, attempts to correct the calculus of Fortecost appeared where it, in fact, originated - in Syria. Here, eight weeks are observed before Easter. At the same time, in Syria they did not fast on Sundays and Saturdays, excluding Great Saturday, which involves an Easter vigil. In other words, if eight Sundays and seven Saturdays are subtracted from eight weeks, there remain 41 fast days, which are called holidays here.

A similar method of calculation was widespread in the East quite widely. At the beginning of the 4th century, it existed as a firm custom in the Antiochian Church. However, despite its antiquity, it did not establish itself among the Orthodox inhabitants of the East. Thus, in Jerusalem, where it existed as early as the end of the 4th century, in the 6th century Patriarch Peter, in his Paschal epistle, calculates the Pentecost already according to the Antiochian method.

At the same time, the practice of an eight-week fast existed in the East for a long time - almost until the 9th century. In the 7th century, it became extremely widespread due to the following circumstance. According to the Alexandrian chronicle of Patriarch Eutychius, after the end of the Persian war by Heraclius (629), the inhabitants of Jerusalem turned to him with a request to execute the Jerusalem Jews because the latter during the war did a lot of violence against Christians and were in contact with the Persians. The ruler hesitated for a long time in fulfilling their request and agreed to this only when the subjects promised that they would take all the blame on themselves and that they would fast every year before Fortecost for another week, because until now they had observed it by half, abstaining from meat and eating cheese and eggs. After the death of Heraclius, the promise was forgotten, and the inhabitants of Syria returned to their former custom. Only the Copts continued to observe a strict fast on the cheese week, calling it the post of Heraclius. It is possible, however, that the eight-week fast took shape among them much earlier, following the example of the Syrian Monophysites.

In addition to the application of the eighth week, another attempt was made in the East to correct the calculation of fasting - by referring to it the first three days of Passion Week. Such a system exists even now among the Nestorians: they call the above days the last days of fasting.

Most likely, the Greeks quickly forgot what kind of order was established under Heraclius. But the tradition that in his reign they made some addition to the Forty Days was still kept. This can explain the presence in the Greek Church already in the 8th century of the tradition of a semi-lenten preparatory, that is, cheese, week. In other words, a compromise was found between the eight-week fast that had been practiced previously and the seven-week fast. The introduction of the cheese week can also be seen as a form of protest by the Orthodox against the Monophysites.

Be that as it may, but the indicated insertion is of great importance for the formation of the Lenten Triodion in general and its local editions in particular. So, in Palestine, the number of preparatory days for the Forty Days was limited to the cheese week. In Constantinople, on the contrary, over time their number increased by another two weeks. In the evangelists of Constantinople of the 9th-10th centuries, the week of the prodigal son, preceding the Meat-Feast, is usually already celebrated. Therefore, here it is considered a week, preparatory to fasting. The reason that influenced the change in its liturgical status was probably the content of this week's Gospels: their tendency to mark the last weeks before Lent with special readings is clearly visible. In this part of the year, the Gospel of Luke is supposed. In the previous weeks of conception go sequentially: 66 (26th week), 71, 76, 85, 91, 93, 94; on the last two Sundays - the publican and the Pharisee, as well as the prodigal son - the order returns back: 89 and 79. On meat and cheese weeks, conceptions are no longer taken from the Evangelist Luke, but from Matthew (106 and 17).

As for the initial preparatory week of the publican and the Pharisee, it was counted among the preparatory days much later than the week of the prodigal son. At the same time, in the XII century, the first week already firmly takes its current place. The main reason for joining it was, according to I.A. Karabinov, not so much the content of its gospel conception, but rather the ideological and polemical basis. We are talking about the denunciation of the Armenians who spend this week in a strict fast, which they call “arachavork”, which means “first”. A similar fast is observed by all Eastern non-Orthodox Christians under the name of the fast of the Ninevites. As you can see, the Greeks chose the same way of criticizing the Armenian custom as in relation to the eight-week Monophysite Fortecost: it consisted in the fundamental release of the publican and Pharisee Wednesday and Friday from fasting during the week.

Menaine memories in Triodi Lenten

Let us now consider those memories of the Forty Day, which are transferred into it from the motionless - monthly - circle.

The transfer of memory probably began to be practiced from the very first days of the existence of Fortecost and therefore has an obvious explanation: if a certain memory fell on any weekday fasting day, then, according to ancient custom, it was impossible to celebrate it. Saint Athanasius (Sakharov) wrote: “In general, the memories of the weeks of Great Lent are menaean memories and, as such, cannot have an organic connection with the rest of Lenten services.” This ban, in turn, affected the distribution of triodiminal memories on Saturdays and weeks. An exception, it must be said, very late, made according to the definition of the Council of Trullo, was made only for the Annunciation: a full liturgy is laid on it - regardless of the day of the week.

The custom of transferring the memory of the saints to the Sabbaths and weeks of the Fortecost existed in all the Eastern Churches. Of the now recorded, the oldest is probably the memory of the Amasian martyr Theodore Tyron, who suffered under Maximian and Maximinus. In ancient times, he enjoyed great reverence in the East. The reason for the establishment of the holiday is indicated by the well-known miracle of 362, when Saint Theodore, appearing in a dream to the Bishop of Constantinople, warned him against the use by Christians of foodstuffs, secretly defiled by sacrificial blood on the orders of Julian.

Of similar origin is the worship of the Holy Cross of the third week of Lent.

In the fifth week in the Lenten Triodion, two memories meet that have not been transferred. The first of them, being little supported by prayers, is almost not noticeable. On Wednesday, at the sixth hour, the troparion of the prophecy is reposed: "By the diseases of the saints, you have suffered in the image of you." This is the memory or 42 martyrs of the Amorites (March 6. - Hereinafter, the days of memory are indicated according to the Julian calendar. - Ed.), or 40 martyrs of Sebaste (March 9). The second of these memories is indicated by the clearly known canon of St. Andrew of Crete, but it is not easy to say what kind of memory it is. We must immediately exclude the celebration of the reverend himself, since it happens on July 4th. One should assume here the memory of St. Mary of Egypt, laid on April 1, but this is hardly probable. For a possibly precise definition, one must turn to the Sinai Triodion of the 11th century. On this day, it contains a self-voiced sedal, which can be considered a troparion (voice 6): “God’s ban is moving against us, where shall we run, whom shall we beg? We are caught up in our calamities. Look upon us, Blessed One, before Whom the mountains were horrified and shuddered, the sea saw and fled, and the whole creation was shaken. The angelic face implores You to save the world that You created, Holy, Holy, Trisagion Lord, save us.” It is clear that the story is about some kind of earthquake. In the calendars after March 9 there are two memories of a coward: March 17 and April 5. I.A. Karabinov is inclined to believe that the above troparion refers to the first memory. This circumstance is also important: in this case, it is the earthquake that is remembered, and not some other event. The troparion of the prophecy for the fourth of the fifth week, which describes a serious disaster, helps to argue this thesis: “Compassionate, long-suffering, O Almighty Lord, send down Thy mercy on Thy people” . Even more convincing is the parimia from the Genesis of the indicated day. Its content is Abraham's conversation with God about the impending destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, where the Lord promises him not to destroy these cities if there are at least ten righteous people in them. Such an allusion is too transparent and refers to Constantinople. On Monday of the sixth week, the troparion of the prophecy also clearly states: “This is God, a terrible day, we do not hope to reach it in the evening, and Thou, O Trisagion, has graciously honored us to see this.

There are many disagreements about the origin and subject of the Sabbath of the Akathist of the Fifth Week, which, like the memory of St. Mary of Egypt, was finally established only after the 11th century.

Still newer from the point of view of the final liturgical fixation is the celebration of St. John of the Ladder (on the fourth week): it appears from the XIV century. Both festivities are undoubtedly transferred from the calendar, where the first is set on April 1, and the second on March 30. It is noteworthy that "the services of Saints John of the Ladder and Mary of Egypt ... in the Slavic pre-Nikon Triods ... did not even fit - it was recommended to turn to the Menaion for them."

The last, latest, memory - of St. Gregory Palamas on the second week of Lent - according to the testimony of the Greek Triodey, was blessed by Patriarch Philotheus at the Council of 1376.

A few words must be said about two special triode memories - meat and cheese Saturdays. In the first one, “the memory of all those who have departed from the ages” is created, and in the second, “the memory of all the reverend and God-bearing fathers, who shone in the ascetic labor.” The memory of cheese Saturday, apparently, appeared somewhat earlier than meat-fare Saturday. The transformation of the latter was greatly facilitated by the reading of the Gospel of the Meat-Feast Week about the Last Judgment, indicated for this Sunday by the charter of the Great Church of Constantinople. The relatively late origin of both of these memorials is proved by the liturgical monuments of other Churches. Thus, there are no such services in the Armenian Church at all.

In the modern Lenten Triodion, two main compositional and meaningful layers are clearly distinguished: the Paschal fast (Passion Week), which follows the Lent of Forty with the three preparatory weeks preceding it, as well as a fairly branched group of menaean memories transferred to the moving circle from the immovable one. Historically, the liturgical book under consideration also included commemorations of the Sundays of the Pentecost, the remnants of which are considered self-contained and some Sunday canons.

The most ancient of the compositional and semantic components is, of course, the Easter fast, the transformation of which in the direction of expansion laid the foundation for the Lent of Forty Days. The latter for several centuries was associated with a different system of calculation, which means that it included an unequal number of days.

There is no doubt about the late inclusion of three preparatory weeks in the Lenten Triodion. At the same time, the week about the publican and the Pharisee found its place in the liturgical book under consideration.

On the contrary, the transfer of memories from the immovable circle to the mobile one should be attributed almost to the moment of the establishment of the Pentecost. It was associated with the impossibility of everyday celebrations during fasting. It was this restriction that led to the distribution of menaean commemorations on Saturdays and weeks of Fortecost.

The formation of Lenten parimias

The main genre and content components of the Lenten Triodion, with the help of which the external and internal composition of the Paschal Lent, Fortecost, as well as preparatory weeks, are parimia and hymns. True, the first ones are included in the liturgical book under consideration only from the 12th century, until that time they are usually placed in special vaults, that is, parimyniks - collections of parimias for the whole year.

In addition to the variable parts of the liturgy, in the Triodion there is a third element of a completely different kind, connected with purely disciplinary-functional tasks. We are talking about articles from the church charter, which have been put into constant use since the XI-XII centuries.

A comparative analysis of handwritten parimii can not give any answer to the question of where and when the system of triode parimii was developed, since even the most ancient of them usually contain the current selection of the readings in question.

It is quite obvious that the parimias of Holy Week, and in particular Great Heel and Saturday, are considered the oldest parts of the named system. The liturgical parimias of the latter, in fact, belong to the Paschal service, or, more precisely, are the transition from Pascha of the Cross to Sunday. They belong to the ancient Christian vigil, which took place on the night from Saturday to Sunday in remembrance of the Resurrection of Christ. The parimias under consideration are clearly divided into three groups: some of them are ordinary, others speak of the feast of Pascha, and others refer to the baptism of the catechumens that took place during the Paschal Vigil. In this regard, let us compare the words of Archpriest Alexander Schmemann: “The chants of the Triodion were composed for the most part after the actual disappearance of the “catechumens” (baptized as adults and requiring preparation for baptism). Therefore, they mainly speak and emphasize not baptism, but repentance.

Ordinary readings are, undoubtedly, the first (Gen. 1: 1-13) and partly the second (Is. 60: 1-16) parimias. In ancient times, liturgical readings were necessarily taken from both Testaments - the Old and the New. According to the custom that passed into Christianity from the Jews, the first relied on the law and the prophets. In modern worship, all the triodal parimia of Vespers are a vestige of this order. The first parimiya of Great Saturday from Genesis is also ranked among the ordinary readings from the law. The second parimia from Is. 60:1-16 is somewhat associated with the baptism of the catechumens.

Turning to the parimias of the hours of Good Friday, one must first of all point out their undoubted Jerusalem origin, as, indeed, of the entire service. In Constantinople, instead of it, the usual Lenten following of the third and sixth hours with parimia from Zech. 11:10-13. It seems that the selection of parimias in these watches is rooted in antiquity.

The same statement will be true for the choice of parimias of the first hour of Great Thursday (Jer. 11:18-12, 15) and Great Saturday Matins (Jer. 37:1-14). The meaning of these prophecies is extremely transparent: the first is about the sufferings of Christ and the malice of the Jews against Him, and the second is about His resurrection.

The rest of the parimias of Holy Week are in close connection with the parimias of the Fortecost. From the outside, this relationship is manifested in the order of the prokeimons that are with them. The latter are extracted from the psalms in the continuous sequence in which they are located in the Psalter: at the parimiia of the sixth hour of Monday of the first week there is a prokimen from the first psalm, and at the last parimiia of the Great Wednesday - a prokimen from the 137th psalm. Of course, such a logic was adopted after the whole parimia system of the Fortecost and the first half of Passion Week had already been determined.

The reasons why exactly the books of Genesis, Exodus, Proverbs and Job were appointed for reading during the fast do not cause serious disagreement among liturgists. The Exodus is taken for Holy Week in view of the fact that the person of Moses, the event of the exodus of the Jews from Egypt, and the establishment of the Old Testament feast of Easter are types of Christ, the salvation He accomplished, and the New Testament Easter.

The choice of the book of Genesis can be justified in many ways. First of all, it is the most suitable of the law-positive books for uninterrupted reading during such an extensive liturgical cycle as Fortecost. The content of Genesis is concentrated primarily around historical events of universal significance, while other sources are clearly dominated by legislative elements that were intended exclusively for the Old Testament Jews. In addition, the plots of the Fall, the Flood, and others are the most consistent with the repentant character of the Forty Day. At the same time, the personalities of the patriarchs, the events of their lives provide a lot of instructive material in an understandable, convex, narrative form. In addition, the subject-plot component refers not only to the past tense, but also contains prototypes of New Testament persons and events. In other words, historical didacticism merges with symbolic. Such a symbiosis becomes even more weighty and revealing, given that edification is done during the days leading up to Easter - a holiday in memory of the most important events of human salvation.

Kontakion of St. Roman the Melodist

Another extremely extensive and diverse layer of Lenten Triodion is represented by chants, the number of which exceeds 500. They differ greatly from each other in their genesis, form, volume, name, and language. I.A. Karabinov, in the course of studying a huge number of handwritten and printed Triodey, established that the first dated chant in the Triodey dates back to the 5th, and the last to the 14th centuries. This means that the formation of its genre identity falls on the Byzantine stage of Greek church poetry (from the first - ancient Christian - period, not a single work was included in its composition). Despite this diversity, all triode chants have one common origin: they originate from the refrains with which the first Christians accompanied the performance of biblical psalms and songs.

The very nature of the sources of Byzantine hymnography in many respects contributed to the fact that its works developed a form of tonic verse, based primarily on semantic parallelism and logical stress.

All this was in full agreement with the ancient Christian way of singing psalms and songs. It is customary to call it antiphonal, since it consists in the alternating postish performance of chants by two choirs. The refrains used at the same time are called antiphons. Their other no less ancient name is translated as "rhyme". The third term - ipakoi - was also distinguished by a certain instability. Approximately from the 5th century, troparia appear, which are already understood as short chants in the proper sense, and not just refrains. But, probably, this name passed to them from the latter, for even in later monuments one can find similar prayers, consisting of one verse of a psalm. Thus, the name "troparion" began to be used mainly for hymns connected with psalm 117 ("God is the Lord") and with biblical songs.

The most ancient hymns of the Lenten Triodion are some of the troparia of prophecy, which, although not specially composed for the Great Lenten service, began to be used in it from the 8th century.

The name "Ipakoi" was preserved by individual hymns laid down for Matins after Psalms 134-135 (the so-called polyeleos), 118 (blameless) and after the third biblical song.

But for a long time the listed hymnographic terms were used mixed. Moreover, in the current liturgical books one can find many examples when some kind of hymn in one case is called a troparion, and in another - a saddle. So, the troparion of St. Thomas the Week "To the Sealed Coffin" serves as the second saddle of the Sunday service of the seventh tone in Oktoikh; troparion to the apostles Peter and Paul (June 29) "of the Apostles of the Mother See" stands seated on Wednesday (tone 4).

In other words, all kinds of works of Byzantine church poetry are ultimately genetically reduced to the ancient refrains with which Christians accompanied the singing of biblical psalms and songs. The only exception to this is the ancient kontakion. Chants of this kind are a long series of stanzas, united by an acrostic. That is, the poetic form of kondak can be qualified as a strophic poem (from 18 to 40 stanzas) of asymmetrical size, fastened with interstrophic isosyllabia (equisyllabicity, dividing a verse into rhythmic units equal in number of syllables) and omotonia as the same number of intonation segments in each verse .

This external unity corresponds to the internal coherence of the content. In contrast to the canons, where each troparion stands apart, in kontakia the plot develops sequentially, starting from the first acrostic stanza and ending with the last, so that their division into segments is required not so much by semantic logic as by practical necessity - convenience for singers. The disunity of the troparia in the canons is explained by the fact that they, like all other Byzantine hymns in general, are only refrains to biblical hymns. Kontaki, on the other hand, were originally sung completely independently after the sixth ode of the canon, their stanzas followed one after another without inserting any intermediate verses. In its form, the kontakion is a series of sedals, somewhat more extensive than the introductory one, with a consistently developing content. Therefore, in order to explain the emergence of this form of Byzantine liturgical poetry, one must find a reason that, instead of a single sedal, required a series of stanzas.

To solve this problem, it is necessary to focus on the location of the kontakion in the rite of Matins. It is sung according to the sixth ode of the canon and precedes the main reading of Matins: it is after it that either the synaxarium or the life of the celebrated saint is supposed to be. Kontakion in most cases is also a legend about a celebrated memory - it is only stated in a poetic form. All this evokes indispensable associations with hagiographies, then with legends, then with homily. Thus, it can be assumed that the original task of the kontakion was either to serve as a poetic parallel to the reading that follows it, or to supplement the latter, or even to completely replace it. It is quite clear that such a vast content could not be placed in the narrow framework of one sedal, but required a certain set of such stanzas.

The first kondakar chanter, whose personality and works are better clarified and who owns most of the triode kondakars, is St. Roman the Melodist. The following kontakia and ikos are attributed to him: for weeks - the prodigal son (whose author's attribution, however, is in doubt), meat-fare, cross-worshiping and vay, for Saturdays - Saints Theodore and Lazarus, as well as for the quarter of the fifth week and Great Monday and Friday.

Researchers (theologians, philologists, etc.) are unanimous in their opinion that this hymnographer was not the creator of the kontakion, but he brought its form and content to perfection and went down in history as a brilliant author of works written within the same genre.

To better understand the creative phenomenon of Roman Sladkopevets, you need to pay attention to an important personal factor - his origin. The monk was a native of Syria. His creative activity began when he was a deacon of the Church of the Resurrection in the city of Berita (modern Beirut). It is not surprising that in a bilingual culture, Roman turns to non-Greek sources, although he himself wrote exclusively in Greek. The language of his kontakia, despite the author's classical education, is of a mixed nature: it coexists with ancient and Middle Greek forms. But in general, he uses the so-called Koine - a common dialect accessible to the masses. In the style of the monk, rhetorical and colloquial elements are present on an equal footing, which corresponds to the teaching tasks of his poetry. The flourishing of hymnography, associated with the name of St. Roman, was ultimately due to the need of the Greek church audience for precisely such, poetic, forms of religious didactics.

The Syrian sources of his work speak eloquently about this. In the homeland of St. Roman, as early as the 2nd century, there was a custom to pronounce poetic homily, written in verse using simple meters. The real influence - both direct and indirect - on the formation of his kondak was Syrian liturgical poetry, represented by three genres: mimra (researchers also use other transliterations - “speech”), midrash (“teaching”) and sugita (“song”). Mimra is a poetic homily recited at Matins after reading the Gospel. That is, this is a poetic paraphrase of the reading just listened to. Midrash qualifies as a multi-stanza poetic work with an acrostic and a refrain. Finally, sugita is a descriptive work in which the drama of the development of the action was created through the introduction of monologues and dialogues. At the same time, the kontakion cannot be identified with any of the listed works. As rightly noted by N.D. Uspensky, “Roman the Melodist borrowed the very principle of the connection between the poem and the Gospel from the memra, the multi-stanza form, refrain and acrostic from the madrashi, and the techniques of dramaturgy from the sogita” .

St. Roman made many creative changes to the composition of the kontakion. It must be viewed through the prism of the most significant formal elements for this genre: the strophic distribution of the text and the functional load of the chorus. Roman the Melodist, of course, was not their inventor, but he masterfully synthesizes Syriac sources. As a result, the kontakion results in a stable strophic structure, united by a chorus. The inevitable contradiction between the narrative of the plot and a certain isolation of each stanza, always crowned with a refrain, is removed at the semantic level that unites the entire work. That is, the main method of interpretation in Saint Roman is parallelism - compositional and semantic, internal and external, since "kontakia consist of stanzas that are identical in rhythmic pattern, they contain alliterations and an unchanging refrain" .

The architectonics of the kondakar poem is modeled after a song and, at first glance, quite traditional. But St. Roman managed to combine a purely external structure with a functional idea-forming component. The articulation of the text gives rise to interstrophic and intrastrophic connections of a different nature: these are both oppositions between verses and integration relations. The repetition of the refrain plays the same role at the level of stanzas as the element of repetition in rhyme: at the same time, the opposition and opposition of stanzas with their mutual projection occurs, which forms a complex semantic and thematic whole. The logical composition of the work is built in the kondakion not in spite of the stanza, but with its help. The introduction usually fits into one or more of the first ikos, and the conclusion is concentrated in one or more of the last ikos. The main part, of course, is arranged verse by stanza, which is very good for dramatic development. A special device of St. Roman, which unmistakably determines his authorship, is dialogue (external or internal). The replicas are also arranged strophically. This makes use of a principle known from ancient times, but immediately preceding Saint Romanus in the Syriac Midrash and Sugita. In the described case, the refrain is addressed to one or another performer. Postrophic dialogue is the simplest, but the most systemic case of the functioning of poetic parts. However, there are few kontakia with a purely dialogic structure in Roman; basically, the dialogue is placed in a complex narrative context. Another case, also quite common in the work of the monk, is connected with the non-observance of dialogue or its reduction to a minimum. Here the main load is taken by the refrain, which in the kontakion is structurally connected with the ikos, and from the point of view of meaning it holds the whole poem together.

Proimion (a small stanza at the very beginning of the poem) stands apart from Roman. It is quite likely that it developed from the chorus itself in cases where the latter was too short for the people to catch it, and therefore was repeated after each ikos. The proimion may not even be connected with the plot of the kontakion, however, it gives a special coverage to the theme, usually in an extremely elastic and compressed form.

All of the above does not make it possible to agree with the opinion that the kontakion "did not represent an organized, consistent collection of songs on a specific topic" .

So, for the formation of the Lenten Triodion, the following individual-authorial innovation of Roman the Melodist turns out to be the most important: in addition to the exclusively prayerful hymnography cultivated earlier, he, based, however, on the experience of his predecessors, who allotted the kontakion a completely specific liturgical place, adds a preaching component. In this syncretic context, a complex genre is being developed, combining the narrative nature of the homily with purely poetic means of both expressiveness and organization of the text, and having as its primary goal the religious education of Christians.

Many of the works of St. Romanus were not originally intended for Great Lent, but began to be used by the Church in these days later.

Handbook of an Orthodox person. Part 4. Orthodox fasts and holidays Ponomarev Vyacheslav

Triode lean

Preparatory weeks for Great Lent

1. Week (without previous week) publican and Pharisee.

2. Week about the prodigal son and the previous week.

3. Saturday meat-fat, parental(that is, the Saturday before the Week (Sunday) of meat-fare, Shrovetide) and the week preceding it.

4. Week about the Last Judgment(meatless).

5. Week cheese (shrovetide).

7. Week cheese-bearing. Memories of Adam's Exile. Forgiveness Sunday.

Great Lent (Holy Fortecost)

1. Week 1 of Great Lent. Celebration of Orthodoxy.

2. Week 2 of Great Lent. Memory Saint Gregory Palamas Archbishop of Thessalonica.

3. Week 3 of Great Lent. Cross-worship.

4. Week 4 of Great Lent. Reverend John of the Ladder.

5. Week 5 of Great Lent. Reverend Mary of Egypt.

6. Lazarus Saturday. Resurrection of Righteous Lazarus(Saturday of the 6th week of Great Lent).

7. Week 6 of Great Lent. Palm Sunday. Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem.

8. Holy Week:

a) Maundy Thursday. Remembrance of the Last Supper;

b) Good Friday. Commemoration of the Holy Saving Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ.

c) Great Saturday. The descent of Christ into hell.

From the book Notes of the Popadya: Features of the Life of the Russian Clergy the author Sysoeva Julia

Fasting meal. Incantations and conversations What is a fasting table and what are incantations and conversations? As already mentioned, only food of plant origin is allowed during fasting. Many Orthodox housewives take this ban very seriously and, having come

From the book Great Lent author Schmemann Archpriest Alexander

4. TRIODE Great Lent has its own special liturgical book: the Lenten Triodion. This book includes all the hymns (stichera and canons), biblical readings for each day of fasting, starting with the Resurrection of the Publican and the Pharisee and ending with Holy and Great Saturday evening. Chants of the Triodion

From the book The Inner Kingdom author Bishop Kallistos of Diokleia

Lenten Spring The true nature of repentance will become clearer if we consider three characteristic expressions of repentance in the life of the Church: first, very briefly, the liturgical expression of repentance during Great Lent; then, in more detail, its sacramental expression in

From the book Days of Divine Services of the Orthodox Catholic Eastern Church of the author

Triode. To the builder of the mountains and the valleys, the Trisagion of the hymn from the angels: Three hymns, but accept from men. Triode, or triodion, in Greek means three-song. This is the name of the book containing the rite of worship in the continuation of 18

From the book Handbook of an Orthodox Man. Part 4. Orthodox fasts and holidays author Ponomarev Vyacheslav

Lenten Triod Preparatory for Great Lent of the Week and Week1. Week (without the week preceding it) of the publican and the Pharisee.2. The week of the prodigal son and the week preceding it.3. Saturday meat-fare, parental (that is, the Saturday before the Week (Sunday)

From the book Christ - Conqueror of Hell the author Alfeev Hilarion

Triode color 1. Bright Resurrection of Christ - Easter.2. Bright week.3. Week 2 after Easter (Ayatipascha). Remembrance of the assurances of the Apostle Thomas.4. Radonitsa, the day of special commemoration of the dead (Tuesday of the 2nd week after Easter) .5. Week 3 after Easter, holy myrrh-bearing women.6. A week

From the book Orthodox Lent. Lenten Recipes author Prokopenko Iolanta

The Lenten Triodion Let's move on to the Lenten Triodion (Greek: Triodion), which contains liturgical texts from the period from the Week of the Publican and the Pharisee to Holy Saturday inclusive. Thematically, the Lenten Triodion is divided into two unequal parts: the first contains Lenten services, the leitmotif

From the book Monastic Kitchen author Stepasheva Irina

The Colored Triodion The Easter Midnight Office, celebrated right before the start of Paschal Matins, begins the Colored Triodion (Greek Pentikostarion), embracing the period from Pascha to the 1st week after Pentecost. There is much less original material in the Color Triodi than in the Oktoikh and

From the author's book

Russian Lenten Chowder For 4 servings of "Russian Lenten Chowder" you will need: Potato - 550 g, Cabbage - 350 g, Onion - 100 g, Carrot - 100 g, Pearl barley - 90 g, Salt, Fresh dill greens. Rinse the groats and boil until half cooked. Add finely

From the author's book

Lenten botvinya Sorrel to sort out, stew, adding a little water. Same with spinach. Rub the sorrel and spinach through a sieve, cool the puree, dilute with kvass, add sugar, lemon zest, put in the cold. Pour the botvinia on plates, adding slices to taste

Triod, Triodion(ancient Greek Τριῴδιον, from ancient Greek τρία three and ᾠδή, ᾠδά song) is a liturgical book of the Orthodox Church, containing three-song canons (three songs), from which the name comes.

Triodi cover the circle of mobile holidays of the year, the dates of which depend on the day of the celebration of Easter: from the preparatory weeks for Great Lent (that is, from the Week of the publican and the Pharisee) to the first Sunday after the feast of the Holy Trinity (that is, until the Week of All Saints). The first two preparatory weeks Triodion is used only in the Sunday service for the Week of the Publican and the Pharisee and for the Week of the Prodigal Son, and starting from the service on Saturday before the Week of the Last Judgment - daily.

Initially, the Triodion existed in the form of a single collection, and then it was divided into two parts - the Lenten Triodion and the Color Triodion.

The Lenten Triodion (from the Greek triodion - three-song) is a liturgical book containing prayers for the days preparing for Holy Fortecost, for Great Lent itself, as well as for Passion Week. It covers the first half of the liturgical circle, starting from the week of the publican and the Pharisee and ending with Holy Saturday.

This section of the site contains information about the readings of Great Lent, the liturgical and cell (home) charter, and the texts of the canons and prayers read during this period. On our site you can download and listen to the chants of the Lenten Triodion.

About Great Lent

The brightest, most beautiful, instructive and touching time in the Orthodox calendar is the period of Great Lent and Easter. Why and how should one fast, how often should one visit the temple and take communion during Great Lent, what are the features of worship during this period?

The reader can find some answers to these and other questions about Lent below. This material is compiled on the basis of several publications devoted to different aspects of our life in Lent.

I. THE MEANING OF FASTING

Great Lent is the most important and oldest of the multi-day fasts, this is the time of preparation for the main Orthodox holiday - the Bright Resurrection of Christ.

Most people no longer doubt the beneficial effects of fasting on the soul and body of a person. Fasting (however, as a diet) is recommended even by secular doctors, noting the beneficial effect on the body of a temporary rejection of animal proteins and fats. However, the point of fasting is not at all to lose weight or to heal physically. St. Theophan the Recluse calls fasting "a course of salvific healing of souls, a bath for washing everything that is dilapidated, nondescript, dirty."

But will our soul be cleansed if we do not eat, say, a meat patty or a salad with sour cream on Wednesday or Friday? Or maybe we will immediately get into the Kingdom of Heaven just because we don’t eat meat at all? Hardly. It would have been too simple and easy then for the sake of which the Savior accepted a terrible death on Golgotha. No, fasting is primarily a spiritual exercise, it is an opportunity to be crucified with Christ, and in this sense it is our small sacrifice to God.

It is important to hear in fasting a call that requires our response and effort. For the sake of our child, people close to us, we could starve if there was a choice to whom to give the last piece. And for the sake of this love, they are ready for any sacrifice. Fasting is the same proof of our faith and love for God, commanded by Himself. So do we, true Christians, love God? Do we remember that He is at the head of our lives, or do we forget this in our vanity?

And if we do not forget, then what is this small sacrifice to our Savior - fasting? A sacrifice to God is a broken spirit (Ps. 50:19). The essence of fasting is not to give up certain types of food or entertainment, and even urgent matters (as Catholics, Jews, pagans understand the sacrifice), but to give up that which completely absorbs us and removes us from God. In this sense, the Monk Isaiah the Hermit says: "Spiritual fasting consists in the rejection of cares." Fasting is a time of serving God with prayer and repentance.

Fasting refines the soul for repentance. When passions are pacified, the spiritual mind is enlightened. A person begins to see his shortcomings better, he develops a thirst to clear his conscience and repent before God. According to St. Basil the Great, fasting is done as if by wings that raise prayer to God. St. John Chrysostom writes that “prayers are performed with attention, especially during fasting, because then the soul is lighter, is not burdened by anything and is not suppressed by the disastrous burden of pleasures.” For such penitential prayer, fasting is the most fertile time.

“By abstaining from passions during fasting, as far as we have the strength, we will have a useful bodily fast,” teaches St. John Cassian. “The vexation of the flesh, combined with the contrition of the spirit, will make a pleasing sacrifice to God and a worthy abode of holiness.” And indeed, “is it possible to call fasting only the observance of some rules about not eating fast food on fast days? - St. Ignatius (Bryanchaninov) poses a rhetorical question, - will fasting be fasting if, apart from a certain change in the composition of food, we think neither about repentance, nor about abstinence, nor about cleansing the heart through fervent prayer?

Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, as an example to us, fasted for forty days in the wilderness, from where He returned in the strength of the Spirit (Luke 4:14), having overcome all the temptations of the enemy. “Fasting is a weapon prepared by God,” writes St. Isaac the Syrian. “If the Legislator Himself fasted, then how could any of those who were obliged to keep the law not fast?.. Before fasting, the human race did not know victory and the devil never experienced defeat ... our Lord was the leader and firstborn of this victory ... And how soon the devil sees this weapon on one of the people, this adversary and tormentor immediately falls into fear, thinking and remembering his defeat in the wilderness by the Savior, and his strength is crushed.

Fasting is established for everyone: both monks and laity. It is not a duty or a punishment. It should be understood as a saving agent, a kind of treatment and medicine for every human soul. “Lent does not repel women, or the elderly, or young men, or even small children,” says St. John Chrysostom, “but opens the door to everyone, accepts everyone in order to save everyone.”

“You see what fasting does,” writes St. Athanasius the Great: “he heals diseases, drives away demons, removes evil thoughts and makes the heart pure.”

“Eating extensively, you become a carnal person, having no spirit, or soulless flesh; and by fasting, you attract the Holy Spirit to yourself and become spiritual,” writes the holy righteous John of Kronstadt. Saint Ignatius (Bryanchaninov) notes that “a body tamed by fasting gives the human spirit freedom, strength, sobriety, purity, subtlety.”

But with the wrong attitude to fasting, without understanding its true meaning, it can, on the contrary, become harmful. As a result of the unreasonable passage of fasting days (especially many days), irritability, anger, impatience, or vanity, conceit, and pride often appear. But the meaning of fasting lies precisely in the eradication of these sinful qualities.

“One bodily fast cannot be sufficient for the perfection of the heart and purity of the body, unless fasting of the soul is combined with it,” says St. John Cassian. - For the soul also has its harmful food. Heavier with it, the soul, even without an excess of bodily food, falls into voluptuousness. Backbiting is harmful food for the soul, and, moreover, pleasant. Anger is also its food, although it is by no means light, for it often nourishes it with unpleasant and poisonous food. Vanity is her food, which for a while delights the soul, then devastates, deprives of all virtue, leaves it barren, so that it not only destroys merit, but also brings great punishment.

The purpose of the post- the eradication of pernicious manifestations of the soul and the acquisition of virtues, which is facilitated by prayer and frequent attendance at church services (according to St. Isaac the Syrian - "waking in the service of God"). Saint Ignatius also notes on this matter: “Just as tares grow with special vigor on a field carefully cultivated with agricultural tools, but not sown with useful seeds, so in the heart of a fasting person, if he, being satisfied with one bodily feat, does not protect his mind with a spiritual feat, then eat by prayer, the tares of self-conceit and arrogance grow densely and strongly.

“Many Christians ... consider it a sin to eat, even due to bodily weakness, on a fast day something modest and without a twinge of conscience despise and condemn their neighbor, for example, acquaintances, offend or deceive, weigh, measure, indulge in carnal impurity,” writes the righteous saint John of Kronstadt. - Oh, hypocrisy, hypocrisy! Oh, misunderstanding of the spirit of Christ, the spirit of the Christian faith! Is it not inner purity, meekness and humility that the Lord our God requires of us first of all? The feat of fasting is imputed to nothing by the Lord if, as St. Basil the Great puts it, we “do not eat meat, but eat our brother,” that is, we do not keep the Lord’s commandments about love, mercy, selfless service to others, in a word, everything that is asked from us on the day of the Last Judgment (Matt. 25:31-46).

“Whoever limits fasting to one abstinence from food dishonors him greatly,” instructs St. John Chrysostom. - Not only the mouth should fast - no, let the eye, and hearing, and hands, and our whole body fast ... Fasting is the removal from evil, curbing the tongue, putting off anger, taming lusts, ending slander, lies and perjury. .. Are you fasting? Feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, visit the sick, do not forget the prisoners in prison, have pity on the tormented, comfort the mourners and the weeping; be merciful, meek, kind, quiet, long-suffering, compassionate, unforgiving, reverent and sedate, pious, so that God will accept your fast and give the fruits of repentance in abundance.

The meaning of the post- in the perfection of love for God and neighbor, because it is on love that all virtue is based. St. John Cassian the Roman says that we “do not put our hopes on one fast, but, keeping it, we want to achieve purity of heart and apostolic love through it.” Nothing - fasting, nothing - asceticism in the absence of love, because it is written: God is love (1 John 4, 8).

It is said that when St. Tikhon was living in retirement at the Zadonsk Monastery, one Friday during the sixth week of Great Lent he visited the monastery's schema-monk Mitrofan. The schemnik at that time had a guest, whom the saint also loved for his pious life. It happened that on this day a familiar fisherman brought Father Mitrofan a live lizard for Palm Sunday. Since the guest did not expect to stay in the monastery until Sunday, the schemnik ordered to immediately prepare an ear and cold from the verub. It was these dishes that the holy hierarch Father Mitrofan and his guest found. The schemnik, frightened by such an unexpected visit and considering himself guilty of breaking the fast, fell at the feet of St. Tikhon and begged for his forgiveness. But the saint, knowing the strict life of both friends, said to them: “Sit down, I know you. Love is above the post. At the same time, he sat down at the table and began to eat the soup.

About St. Spyridon, the miracle worker of Trimifunts, it is said that during Great Lent, which the saint kept very strictly, a certain traveler came to him. Seeing that the wanderer was very tired, Saint Spyridon ordered his daughter to bring him food. She answered that there was neither bread nor flour in the house, since on the eve of a strict fast they had not stocked up on food. Then the saint prayed, asked for forgiveness and ordered his daughter to fry the salted pork meat left over from the Meat-Sale Week. After its preparation, St. Spyridon, having seated a wanderer with him, began to eat meat and treat his guest to it. The Stranger began to refuse, referring to the fact that he was a Christian. Then the saint said: "It is all the less necessary to refuse, for the Word of God has said: for the pure all things are pure (Tim. 1:15)."

In addition, the Apostle Paul said: if one of the unbelievers calls you and you want to go, then eat everything that is offered to you without any research, for the peace of your conscience (1 Cor. 10:27) - for the sake of the person who welcomed you cordially. But these are special cases. The main thing is that there should not be guile in this; Otherwise, you can spend the whole fast in this way: under the pretext of love for your neighbor, going to friends or receiving them at home is non-fasting.

The other extreme is excessive fasting, which Christians unprepared for such a feat dare to take upon themselves. Speaking of this, St. Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, writes: “Irrational people are jealous of the fasting and labors of the saints with wrong understanding and intention and think that they are passing through virtue. The devil, guarding them as his prey, casts into them the seed of a joyful opinion of himself, from which the inner Pharisee is born and nurtured and betrays them to perfect pride.

The danger of such a fast, according to the Monk Abba Dorotheus, is as follows: “Whoever fasts out of vanity or believing that he is doing a virtue fasts foolishly and therefore begins to reproach his brother, considering himself someone significant. And whoever fasts wisely does not think that he is wisely doing a good deed, and does not want to be praised as a faster. The Savior Himself commanded to perform virtues in secret and hide fasting from others (Matt. 6:16-18).

From excessive fasting, irritability and anger can also appear instead of a feeling of love, which also indicates the incorrectness of its passage. Everyone has their own measure of fasting: the monks have one, the laity may have another. For pregnant and lactating women, for the elderly and the sick, as well as for children, with the blessing of the confessor, fasting can be significantly weakened. “The one who does not change the strict rules of abstinence should be counted as suicides even when it is necessary to strengthen weakened forces by eating,” says St. John Cassian the Roman.

“The law of fasting is like this,” teaches St. Theophan the Recluse, “to abide in God in mind and heart with a renunciation of everything, cutting off everything pleasing to oneself, not only in the bodily, but also in the spiritual, doing everything for the glory of God and the good of others, carrying willingly and fasting labors and hardships with love, in food, sleep, rest, in the comforts of mutual communication - all in a modest measure, so that it does not catch the eye and does not deprive one of the strength to fulfill the rules of prayer.

So, fasting bodily, fasting spiritually. Let us combine external fasting with internal fasting, guided by humility of wisdom. While purifying the body with abstinence, let us also purify the soul with penitential prayer for the acquisition of virtues and love for neighbors. This will be a true fast, pleasing to God, and therefore saving for us.

II. ABOUT FOOD IN LENT

From the point of view of cooking, fasts are divided into 4 degrees established by the Church Charter:
∙ "dry food" - that is, bread, fresh, dried and pickled vegetables and fruits;
∙ "cooking without oil" - boiled vegetables, without vegetable oil;
∙ “permission for wine and oil” - wine is drunk as a measure to strengthen the strength of the fasting;
∙ “permit to fish”.

The general rule: during Great Lent, you can not eat meat, fish, eggs, milk, vegetable oil, wine and eat more than once a day.

On Saturdays and Sundays, you can eat vegetable oil, wine and eat twice a day (except Saturday during Holy Week).

In Lent, fish can only be eaten on the feast of the Annunciation (April 7) and on Palm Sunday (Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem).

On Lazarus Saturday (the eve of Palm Sunday) it is allowed to eat caviar.

The first week (week) of Great Lent and the last - Holy Week - the most strict time. For example, on the first two days of the first Great Lent week, the Church Charter prescribes complete abstinence from food. On Holy Week, dry eating is prescribed (food is not boiled or fried), and on Friday and Saturday - complete abstinence from food.

It is impossible to establish a single fast for monks, clergy and laity with various exceptions for the elderly, the sick, children, etc. Therefore, in the Orthodox Church, in the rules of fasting, only the most stringent norms are indicated, which all believers should, if possible, strive to observe. There is no formal division in the rules for monks, clergy and laity. But the post must be approached wisely. We can't take on what we can't handle. Those who are inexperienced in fasting should approach it gradually and prudently. Lay people often lighten their fast (this should be done with the blessing of the priest). Sick people and children can fast with a light fast, for example, only on the first week of fasting and on Holy Week.

The prayers say: "Fast with a pleasant fast." This means that you need to keep a fast that will be spiritually pleasing. It is necessary to measure one's strength and not to fast too zealously or, conversely, not at all strictly. In the first case, the fulfillment of the rules that are beyond our power can harm both the body and the soul; in the second case, we will not achieve the necessary bodily and spiritual tension. Each of us should determine our bodily and spiritual capabilities and impose on ourselves the feasible bodily abstinence, paying main attention to the purification of our souls.

III. ON THE ORGANIZATION OF SPIRITUAL AND PRAYER LIFE, ATTENDANCE OF SERVICES AND COMMUNICATION DURING GREAT LENT

For each person, the time of Great Lent individually breaks up into many of his special little deeds, small efforts. But nevertheless, it is possible to single out some, common to all, directions of our spiritual, ascetic and moral efforts during Great Lent. These should be efforts to organize our spiritual and prayer life, efforts to cut off certain external distractions and cares. And, finally, these should be efforts aimed at making our relations with our neighbors deeper and more meaningful. Finally filled with love and sacrifice on our part.

The organization of our spiritual and prayer life during Great Lent is different in that it presupposes (both in the church charter and in our private rule) a great measure of our responsibility. If at other times we indulge ourselves, condescend to ourselves, say that we are tired, that we work hard or that we have household chores, shorten the prayer rule, do not reach the vigil on Sunday, If we leave the service early—everyone will accumulate this kind of self-pity—then Great Lent should begin with the fact that all these allowances stemming from self-pity towards oneself should be stopped.

Anyone who already has the skill of reading the entire morning and evening prayers should try to do this every day, at least throughout Great Lent. It would be good for everyone and at home to add the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian: "Lord and Master of my Life." It is read many times in the church during the weekdays of Great Lent, but it would be natural for it to enter into the home prayer rule. For those who already have a great measure of ecclesiality and are somehow looking forward to an even greater measure of initiation into the Lenten system of prayer, we can also recommend reading at home at least some parts from the daily Lenten Triodion. For each day of Great Lent, the Lenten Triodion contains canons, three odes, two odes, and four odes, which are consistent with the meaning and content of each week of Great Lent and, most importantly, dispose us to repentance.

For those who have such an opportunity and prayerful zeal, it is good to read at home in their free time - together with morning or evening prayers or separately from them - the canons from the Lenten Triodion or other canons and prayers. For example, if you did not manage to attend the morning service, it is good to read the stichera that are sung at Vespers or at Matins of the corresponding day of Great Lent.

It is very important to attend Great Lent not only on Saturdays and Sundays, but also necessarily at everyday services, because the features of the liturgical structure of Great Lent are known only at everyday services. On Saturday, the liturgy of St. John Chrysostom is served, the same as at other times of the church year. On Sunday, the liturgy of St. Basil the Great is served, but from the point of view of (at least, the kliros) sound, it differs almost only in one hymn: instead of “It is worthy to eat,” it is sung “Rejoicing in Thee.” There are almost no other visible differences for parishioners. These differences are evident primarily to the priest and those at the altar. But in the everyday service, it is as if the whole system of Lenten service is revealed to us. Multiple repetitions of the prayer of Ephraim the Syrian "Lord, and Master of my life", touching singing of the troparions of the hour - the first, third, sixth and ninth hours with earthly bows. Finally, the liturgy of the presanctified gifts itself, together with its most touching hymns, crushing even the most stony heart: “May my prayer be corrected, like a censer before Thee”, “Now the Powers of Heaven” at the entrance to the liturgy of the presanctified gifts - without praying at such divine services, without joining them, we will not understand what spiritual riches are revealed to us in Lenten services.

Therefore, everyone should try at least a few times during Lent to push apart life circumstances - work, study, worldly cares - and get out to everyday Lenten services.

Fasting is a time of prayer and repentance, when each of us must ask the Lord for forgiveness of our sins (by fasting and confession) and worthily partake of the holy Mysteries of Christ.

During Great Lent, they confess and take communion at least once, but you should try to say goodbye and receive the holy Mysteries of Christ three times: on the first week of Lent, on the fourth and on Holy Thursday - on Great Thursday.

IV. HOLIDAYS, WEEKENDS AND FEATURES OF THE SERVICE IN GREAT LENT

Great Lent includes Holy Lent (the first forty days) and Holy Week (more precisely, 6 days before Easter). Between them is Lazarus Saturday (Palm Saturday) and the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem (Palm Sunday). Thus, Great Lent lasts seven weeks (48 days, to be exact).

The last Sunday before Great Lent is called Forgiveness or "Cheeseless" (on this day the eating of cheese, butter and eggs ends). At the liturgy, the Gospel is read with a part from the Sermon on the Mount, which speaks of forgiveness of offenses to our neighbors, without which we cannot receive forgiveness of sins from the Heavenly Father, about fasting, and about collecting heavenly treasures. In accordance with this Gospel reading, Christians have a pious custom to ask each other for forgiveness of sins, known and unknown offenses on this day. This is one of the most important preparatory steps on the way to Great Lent.

The first week of fasting, together with the last, is distinguished by its severity, and the duration of worship.

Holy Lent, which reminds us of the forty days spent by Jesus Christ in the wilderness, begins on Monday, called clean. Not counting Palm Sunday, there are 5 Sundays in the entire Fortecost, each of which is dedicated to a special remembrance. Each of the seven weeks is called, in order of occurrence: the first, the second, and so on. week of Great Lent. The divine service is distinguished by the fact that, during the entire duration of the Holy Forty Day, there is no liturgy on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays (unless there is a feast on these days). In the morning, Matins, the Hours with some inserts, and Vespers are served. In the evening, instead of Vespers, Great Compline is served. On Wednesdays and Fridays, the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is celebrated, on the first five Sundays of Great Lent, the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great, which is also celebrated on Maundy Thursday and Great Saturday of Passion Week. On Saturdays during Holy Lent, the usual liturgy of St. John Chrysostom is celebrated.

The first four days of Great Lent (Monday-Thursday) in the evening in Orthodox churches, the Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete is read - an inspired work that poured out from the depths of the contrite heart of a holy man. Orthodox people always try not to miss these services, which are amazing in terms of their impact on the soul.

On the first Friday of the Great Post-Last Day, the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, ordained on this day according to the typikon, ends in an unusual way. The canon of St. Great Martyr Theodore Tyron, after which a kolivo is brought to the middle of the temple - a mixture of boiled wheat and honey, which the priest blesses with a special prayer, and then the kolivo is distributed to the faithful.

On the first Sunday of Great Lent the so-called "Triumph of Orthodoxy" is performed, established under Empress Theodora in 842 on the victory of the Orthodox at the Seventh Ecumenical Council. During this holiday, temple icons are exhibited in the middle of the temple in a semicircle, on lecterns (high tables for icons). At the end of the liturgy, the clergy perform prayer singing in the middle of the temple in front of the icons of the Savior and the Mother of God, praying to the Lord for the confirmation of Orthodox Christians in the faith and the conversion to the path of truth of all who have apostatized from the Church. The deacon then loudly reads the Creed and pronounces an anathema, i.e., announces separation from the Church of all who dare to distort the truths of the Orthodox faith, and "eternal memory" to all deceased defenders of the Orthodox faith, and "many years" to those who live.

On the second Sunday of Great Lent The Russian Orthodox Church remembers one of the great theologians, St. Gregory Palamas, Archbishop of Thessalonite, who lived in the 14th century. According to the Orthodox faith, he taught that for the feat of fasting and prayer, the Lord illuminates the faithful with His grace-filled light, which the Lord shone on Tabor. For the reason that St. Gregory revealed the doctrine of the power of fasting and prayer and it was established to celebrate his memory on the second Sunday of Great Lent.

On the third Sunday of Great Lent after the Vespers, after the Great Doxology, the Holy Cross is brought out and offered for veneration by the faithful. When worshiping the Cross, the Church sings: We worship Your Cross, Master, and we glorify Your Holy Resurrection. This song is also sung at the liturgy instead of the Trisagion. In the middle of Fortecost, the Church exposes the Cross to believers in order to inspire and strengthen those who are fasting to continue the feat of fasting as a reminder of the sufferings and death of the Lord. The Holy Cross remains for veneration for a week until Friday, when it is brought back to the altar after the Hours before Liturgy. Therefore, the third Sunday and the fourth week of Great Lent are called the Adoration of the Cross.

Wednesday of the Fourth, Week of the Cross is called the "half" of the Holy Forty Days (colloquially, "middle of the cross").

On the fourth Sunday I recall St. John of the Ladder, who wrote an essay in which he showed the ladder or the order of good deeds that lead us to the Throne of God.

Thursday in the fifth week the so-called “standing of St. Mary of Egypt” is performed (or Mary’s standing is the popular name for Matins, celebrated on Thursday of the fifth week of Great Lent, at which the Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete is read, the same one that is read on the first four days of Great Lent, and the life of St. Mary of Egypt. The service on this day lasts 5-7 hours.). The life of St. Mary of Egypt, formerly a great sinner, should serve as an example of true repentance for everyone and convince everyone of the inexpressible mercy of God.

Annunciation falls most often during Lent. This is one of the most significant and exciting holidays for a Christian, dedicated to the news that the Archangel Gabriel brought to the Virgin Mary that she would soon become the Mother of the Savior of Humanity. On this day, fasting is facilitated, it is allowed to eat fish and vegetable oil. The day of the Annunciation sometimes coincides with the feast of Easter.

Saturday in the fifth week"Praise to the Most Holy Theotokos" is performed. A solemn akathist to the Theotokos is read. This service was established in Greece in gratitude to the Mother of God for Her repeated deliverance of Constantinople from enemies. In our country, the Akathist “Praise to the Mother of God” is performed to affirm the believers in the hope of the Heavenly Intercessor.

On the fifth Sunday of Great Lent the following of the venerable Mary of Egypt is performed. The Church provides in the person of St. Mary of Egypt an example of true repentance and, for the encouragement of those who are spiritually laboring, she shows in her an example of the inexpressible mercy of God to penitent sinners.

sixth week dedicated to the preparation of those who fast for a worthy meeting of the Lord with the branches of virtues and for the remembrance of the passions of the Lord.

Lazarus Saturday falls on the 6th week of Great Lent; between the Pentecost and the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem. The service on Lazarus Saturday is remarkable for its unusual penetratingness and significance; it commemorates the resurrection of Lazarus by Jesus Christ. At Matins on this day, the Sunday “troparias for the Immaculate” are sung: “Blessed be Thou, Lord, teach me Thy justification,” and at the liturgy, instead of “Holy God,” “You are baptized into Christ, put on Christ.” Alleluia."

On the sixth Sunday of Great Lent the great twelfth feast is celebrated - the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem. This holiday is otherwise called Palm Sunday, the Week of Vay and Flower-bearing. At Vespers, after reading the Gospel, “The Resurrection of Christ” is not sung ... but the 50th psalm is read directly and is consecrated, by prayer and sprinkling of St. water, blossoming branches of willow (vaia) or other plants. The consecrated branches are distributed to the worshipers, with whom, with lit candles, the faithful stand until the end of the service, marking the victory of life over death (Resurrection). From Vespers on Palm Sunday, the dismissal begins with the words: “The coming Lord on our free passion for the sake of salvation, Christ our true God,” etc.

Holy Week

This week is dedicated to remembering the suffering, death on the cross and burial of Jesus Christ. Christians should spend this entire week in fasting and prayer. This period is mourning and therefore the robes in the church are black. According to the greatness of the remembered events, all days of Holy Week are called Great. Especially touching memories, prayers and chants of the last three days.

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this week are dedicated to remembering the last conversations of the Lord Jesus Christ with the people and disciples. The features of the divine services of the first three days of Passion Week are as follows: at Matins, after the Six Psalms and Alleluia, the troparion is sung: “Behold the Bridegroom is coming at midnight,” and after the canon, the song is sung: “I see Thy Chamber. Save mine." All these three days the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is served, with the reading of the Gospel. The Gospel is also read at Matins.

On Great Wednesday of Holy Week, the betrayal of Jesus Christ by Judas Iscariot is remembered.

On Maundy Thursday, in the evening after Vigil (which is Good Friday morning), the twelve parts of the Gospel about the sufferings of Jesus Christ are read.

On Good Friday, during Vespers (which is served at 2 or 3 p.m.), a shroud is taken out of the altar and placed in the middle of the temple, i.e. the sacred image of the Savior lying in the tomb; thus it is performed in remembrance of the removal from the cross of the body of Christ and His burial.

On Great Saturday at Matins, with the funeral ringing of bells and singing “Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us,” the shroud is wrapped around the temple in remembrance of the descent of Jesus Christ into hell, when He was in the body in the tomb, and His victory over hell and death.

About the three main motives of the Lenten Triodion and the meaning of the Great Penitential Canon of St. Archimandrite Leonty (Tupkalo), the regent of the academic choir of the Kyiv theological schools, candidate of theological sciences, tells the Orthodox Life portal about Andrew of Crete.

Fasting is not an end in itself, but one of the means to achieve the goal - Easter

With the beginning of the Lenten Triodion, from the All-Night Vigil on the eve of the Week of the Publican and the Pharisee, we began our movement towards Easter. Is it so?

Yes, indeed, the Holy Church, wishing to show believers what the essence and true meaning of Christian fasting is, long before the beginning of Great Lent itself, calls Triodion with liturgical texts to enter into a time favorable for the soul - “spiritual spring”. The content of the services very figuratively shows the essence of fasting.

Fasting is not an end in itself, but one of the means to achieve the goal - Easter, passing by sin. Fasting leads to a meeting with Christ, Who is the true Pascha - "Christ's Pascha is great and all-honourable."

The Monk Theodore the Studite, the author of the stichera on “Lord, I have called...” of the Cheesefare Week, says so: “Let’s start the Lenten time brightly, cleanse the soul, cleanse the flesh, fast from all passions, enjoy the virtues and be able to see the all-honorable passion of Christ God and holy Pascha ".

The three main motives of all the hymns included in the Lenten Triodion: repentance, prayer and fasting

The Lenten Triodion includes chants of various songwriters, about 20. The most remarkable of them have come down to us from the 8th and 9th centuries: Andrei of Crete, Cosmas of Mayum, John of Damascus, Joseph, Theodore and Simeon the Studite, Emperor Leo the Wise, Theophanes the Inscribed and others .

What unites them all, why exactly their songs were included in the Lenten Triodion? And why does the fast begin with the canon of St. Andrew of Crete?

Three main and main motives make up the content of all the hymns included in the Lenten Triodion: repentance, prayer and fasting. All of them are beautifully composed by the holy Studite brothers and other Christian ascetics. These fathers, through their own experience, experienced the inestimable benefits of virtues and told us about this benefit through worship.

High poetic creativity, which the famous brothers Joseph, Theodore, Simeon were naturally endowed with, gave rise to a number of works of deep thought and lofty feelings. It is not at all surprising that these creations are compared by the Church with an angelic song. Almost at the very beginning of the Lenten Triodion, we read the following verses: “To the Builder of the mountains and the valleys, the Thrice-holy song from the angels: accept the Three-Song from men.”

Triode lean

The main idea of the canon of St. Andrew of Crete - a call to repentance for sins and repentance

The Holy Church especially honors the Archpastor of Crete, St. Andrew. During the days of special repentance, which are Great Lent, the Church assigns a central place to the Great Canon in her liturgical order. His church reading is performed: on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of the first week of Lent in parts and in full at matins on Thursday of the fifth week of Lent.

The Synaxarion of Thursday of the Fifth Week gives a remarkable description of the canon: “Along with many other writings useful for salvation, St. Andrew also composed this Great Canon, which is immeasurably touching, for he composed these pleasant songs, finding and collecting various stories from the Old and New Testaments - that is, from Adam even to the very Ascension of Christ and the sermon of the apostles. By this, he teaches every soul to try, to the best of his ability, to imitate everything good described in the story, but to avoid everything evil and always resort to God through repentance, tears, confession and other things that are really pleasing to Him.

“Where shall I begin to weep for my accursed life of deeds? How shall I begin, O Christ, the present weeping? But, like the Merciful, give me forgiveness of sins, ”the Monk Andrew cries out to the sinful soul. From his lips are sometimes heard denunciations, threats, warnings, instructions to a sinful soul and consolation, sometimes turning into tenderness from the contemplation of a penitent soul. The main idea of the canon is a call to repentance for sins and instruction on effective means of repentance.

The Great Penitential Canon in the Academic Church is read by the Rector of KDAiS, Metropolitan Anthony of Boryspil and Brovarsky

The texts of the Lenten Triodion depict the fruits of humility, patience and love, which are born in the virtue of fasting and prayer.

- What does "Triod" mean? What is the most important thing in it? What is its climax?

The Lenten Triod got its name mainly because its most important texts - the morning and evening canons - on weekdays for the entire Great Lent consist of only three (hence the name "Triod") songs. Moreover, the last two songs - the eighth and ninth - always invariably retain their places in the canon, and the first song changes daily in this order: on Monday - the first, on Tuesday - the second, on Wednesday - the third, on Thursday - the fourth, on Friday - the fifth and on Saturday the sixth and seventh.

The liturgical texts of Triodi focus on the fact that only through fasting, repentance and prayer, all the forces of the spiritual and bodily nature of a person break away from the boundaries of passions and enter into the closest unity with God. First of all, prayer for the human mind, especially repentant, gives true knowledge, serves as real enlightenment for it, “repentant honey that gives away thoughts and delights thoughts.” With the help of prayer, the mind of a Christian is gradually adored, becomes a partaker of divine attributes.

The texts of the Lenten Triodion also depict spiritual fruits that are born in the soul of an ascetic through perfection in the virtue of fasting and prayer. The focus is most often on the fruits of humility, patience, and love. These qualities are born under the influence of prayer not separately, but in a harmonious combination.

According to Triodi, a Christian, while ascetic and prayerful, does not deserve or “earns” deification, which is a gift from God, but prepares, as far as possible, to worthily accept this gift. God, by His grace, takes the initiative in the living process of mutual dialogue leading to unity.

This event touches the most intimate and impregnable depths of the soul. Without openness, without the prayer life of a person, such a meeting is impossible. The liturgical texts of Triodi emphasize that deification is not something metaphorical, but a real transformation and glorification of all human nature.

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Note:

1. “Sinaxar (Greek Συναξάριον) - a collection; from the Greek συνάγω - I collect, and Greek. σύναξις - meeting; first, a meeting of believers on a holiday, later - a collection of information, a brief biography, interpretation of the holidays ”/ See Dal V.I. Explanatory Dictionary of the Living Great Russian Language. T. 4. St. Petersburg: Ed. T-va M. O. Volf, 1909. P. 158. Synaxarii of the Lenten Triodion, compiled in the XIV century by the church writer Nikifor Xanthopoulos, reveal to the reader the logic, order, content of the celebrations established by the Church in the pre-Easter and Easter period / See Synaxaria Lenten and Color Triodey. Moscow: St. Tikhon Orthodox University for the Humanities, 2009, pp. 5-12.

The Lenten Triod is a guide through Great Lent. Lenten triode (Russian translation)

Triode lean

About Great Lent

I. THE MEANING OF FASTING

II. ABOUT FOOD IN LENT

III. ON THE ORGANIZATION OF SPIRITUAL AND PRAYER LIFE, ATTENDANCE OF SERVICES AND COMMUNICATION DURING GREAT LENT

IV. HOLIDAYS, WEEKENDS AND FEATURES OF THE SERVICE IN GREAT LENT

Holy Week

Fasting is not an end in itself, but one of the means to achieve the goal - Easter

The three main motives of all the hymns included in the Lenten Triodion: repentance, prayer and fasting

The main idea of ​​the canon of St. Andrew of Crete - a call to repentance for sins and repentance

The texts of the Lenten Triodion depict the fruits of humility, patience and love, which are born in the virtue of fasting and prayer.

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The main idea of the canon of St. Andrew of Crete - a call to repentance for sins and repentance

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