We asked the visitors of our portal whether they read and how often the Holy Scriptures. About 2,000 people took part in the survey. It turned out that more than a third of them do not read Holy Scripture at all or do it very rarely. About a quarter of the respondents constantly read the Holy Scriptures. The rest - from time to time.

Scripture itself says: “Search the Scriptures, for you think through them to have eternal life; but they testify of Me ”(John 5:39); “Pay attention to yourself and to the teaching; do this constantly: for by doing this you will save yourself and those who listen to you ”(1 Tim. 4: 16). As you can see, reading and studying the Holy Scriptures is imputed to the main work and duty of a believer.

We turned to Archpriest Oleg Stenyaev.

If a Christian does not turn to Holy Scripture, then his prayer, which is not connected with the reading of the word of God, is most likely a monologue that does not rise above the ceiling. In order for prayer to become a full-fledged dialogue with God, it must be combined with the reading of the Holy Scriptures. Then, turning to God in prayer, through the reading of His word, we will receive an answer to our questions.

The Scripture says that man does not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God (see: Deut. 8: 3). We must remember that a person needs not only physical, material, but also spiritual food. The Word of God is food for our inner, spiritual man. If we do not feed a physical person for a day, two, three, four, we neglect to take care of him, then the result will be his exhaustion, dystrophy. But a spiritual person can also find himself in a state of dystrophy if he does not read the Holy Scriptures for a long time. And then he wonders why his faith is weakening! The source of faith is known: “faith is from hearing, and hearing is from the word of God” (Rom. 10:17). Therefore, it is absolutely necessary for every person to cling to this source.

Reading the Holy Scriptures, we immerse our consciousness in the commandments of God

The first psalm begins with the words: "Blessed is the man who does not go to the council of the wicked and does not stand in the way of sinners and does not sit in the assembly of corrupts, but his will is in the law of the Lord, and he meditates on His law day and night" (Ps. 1: 1-2). Here, in the very first verse, we are shown three positions of the human body: not walking, not standing, not sitting. And then it is said that the believer in the Law of God abides day and night. That is, it tells us who we cannot walk with, with whom we cannot stand together, with whom we cannot sit together. The commandments are in the word of God. Reading the Holy Scriptures, we immerse our consciousness in the commandments of God. As David said: “Your word is a lamp to my feet” (Psalm 119: 105). And if we do not immerse our consciousness in, then we walk like in darkness.

Addressing the admonition to the young Bishop Timothy, the Apostle Paul wrote: “Let no one despise your youth; but be a model for the faithful in word, in living, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Until I come, engage in reading, instruction, and teaching ”(1 Tim. 4: 12-13). And the god-seer Moses, setting Joshua, told him: “Let this book of the law not depart from your mouth; but learn to her day and night, so that you can exactly do everything that is written in it: then you will be successful in your ways and you will act prudently ”(Joshua 1: 8).

What is the right way to study the Holy Scriptures? I think that we should start with the Gospel and Apostolic readings of the day, the indications of which are in every church calendar - and such calendars today are common to everyone. In the old days, it was customary: after the morning rule, a person opened the calendar, looked at what is the Gospel reading today, which is the Apostolic reading, and read these texts - they were a kind of edification to him for this day. And for a more intensive study of the Holy Scriptures, the time of fasting is very good.

It is imperative that you have a Bible at home, choose for yourself such a copy that will be convenient for your eyes, which is pleasant to hold in your hands. And there must be a bookmark. And under the bookmark, you must read a fragment of the Holy Scriptures from beginning to end.

It is of course recommended to start with the New Testament. And if a person is already churched, he needs to read the entire Bible at least once. And when a person uses the time of fasting for an intensive study of the Holy Scriptures, this will bring him God's blessing.

It has long been noted that no matter how many times a person reads the same biblical text, in different periods of life it opens up with new facets. Likewise, a gemstone, when turned, shines blue, turquoise, and amber. The Word of God, no matter how many times we turn to it, will open to us more and more new horizons of knowledge of God.

The Monk Ambrose of Optina recommended that beginners familiarize themselves with the New Testament according to the interpretations of the blessed Theophylact. These, although short, convey the very essence of the text. And in his comments, Blessed Theophylact does not deviate from the topic. As you know, he took as a basis the works of St. John Chrysostom, but from them he singled out only that which relates directly to the text that is being commented on.

When reading the biblical text itself, one must always have at hand either the Explanatory Orthodox Bible, or the same commentary of Blessed Theophylact, and when something is not clear, refer to them. The commentary itself, without the biblical text, is quite difficult to read, because it is still reference literature; you need to turn to him when you come across an incomprehensible or difficult fragment of the Bible.

Parents Should Study the Scriptures with Their Children

How to teach children to read the Scriptures? I think that parents should study the Holy Scriptures together with their children. The Bible repeatedly says that it is the father who must teach the Law of God to his children. And, by the way, it is never said that children should learn. This means that, whether they want it or not, they still need to deal with the Law of God and read the Bible with them.

In order to preserve the revelation of God and convey it to descendants, the holy men, having accepted the inspiration from the Lord, wrote it down in books. The Holy Spirit helped them to cope with this difficult task, who was invisibly present nearby, showing the right path. The numerous collection of all these books is united by one common name - Holy Scripture. Written by the Spirit of God through the chosen people, among whom were kings, prophets, apostles, it has become sacred since ancient times.

The second name that is used to describe the Holy Scriptures is the Bible, which is translated from Greek as "books". This is an accurate interpretation, since the correct understanding here lies precisely in the plural. On this occasion, St. John Chrysostom noted that the Bible is many books that form one and only one.

The structure of the Bible

Holy Scripture is divided into two components:

• The Old Testament - those books that were written before the appearance of Jesus Christ in the world.
• New Testament - was written down by the holy apostles after the coming of the Savior.

The word "covenant" itself literally translates as "mandate", "instruction", "instruction". Its symbolic meaning lies in the creation of an invisible union between God and man. Both of these parts are equal and together are added into a single Holy Scripture.

The Old Testament, representing a more ancient union of God with man, was created immediately after the fall of the forefathers of mankind. Here God gave them the promise that a Savior would come into the world.

The Holy Scripture of the New Testament is based on the fact that the Savior promised by the Lord appeared to the world, assuming a human nature, became in everything like people. Throughout his short life, Jesus Christ showed that she can be free from sin. Having resurrected, he gave people the great grace of renewal and sanctification by the Holy Spirit for the continuation of life in the Kingdom of God.

The structure of the Old and New Testaments. Sacred books

They are written in the ancient Hebrew language. There are 50 of them in total, of which 39 are canonical. However, it should be noted here that, according to the Hebrew code of the Holy Scriptures, some groups of books are combined into one. And therefore their number is 22. That is the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet.

If we form them according to their content, then we can distinguish four large groups:

• law-positive - this includes the five main books that form the basis of the Old Testament;
• historical - there are seven of them, and they all tell about the life of Jews, their religion;
• instructive - five books containing the doctrine of faith, the most famous is the Psalter;
• prophetic - all of them, and there are also five of them, contain a premonition that the Savior will soon come into the world.

Referring to the New Testament sacred sources, it should be noted that there are 27 of them, and all of them are canonical. The above Old Testament division into groups is not applicable here, since each of them can be attributed to several groups at once, and sometimes to all at once.

In addition to the four Gospels, the New Testament includes the Acts of the Holy Apostles, as well as their Epistles: seven conciliar and fourteen from the Apostle Paul. The story ends with the Revelation of John the Divine, also known as the Apocalypse.

Gospels

The New Testament begins, as you know, with the four Gospels. This word means nothing more than the good news of the salvation of people. It was brought by Jesus Christ himself. It is to him that this high evangelism belongs - the Gospel.

The task of the evangelists was only to convey it, telling about the life of the Son of God Jesus Christ. Therefore, they say not "the Gospel of Matthew", but "from Matthew". It is understood that all of them - Mark, Luke, John and Matthew - have the same gospel - Jesus Christ.

1. Gospel of Matthew. The only one written in Aramaic. It was intended to convince the Jews that Jesus was the very Messiah they had been waiting for.
2. Gospel of Mark. Greek is used here to convey the message of the Apostle Paul to Christian converts from paganism. Mark focuses on the miracles of Jesus, while emphasizing his power over nature, which the pagans endowed with divine properties.
3. Luke's Gospel is also written in Greek for former pagans who converted to Christianity. This is the most detailed description of the life of Jesus, which touches upon the events that preceded the birth of Christ, born of the Blessed Virgin Mary. According to legend, Luke was personally acquainted with her and became the author of the first icon of the Most Holy Theotokos.
4. Gospel of John. It is believed that it was written in addition to the three previous ones. John quotes those words and acts of Jesus that are not mentioned in the previous Gospels.

The inspiration of Scripture

The books, which together form the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, are called divinely inspired because they were written by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. In other words, we can say that their only and real author is none other than the Lord God himself. It is he who, defining them in a moral and dogmatic sense, enables a person to realize God's plan by creative labor.

That is why Holy Scripture has two components: divine and human. The first contains the Truth revealed by God himself. The second expresses it in the language of people who lived in one of the eras and belonged to a particular culture. A person who is created in the image and likeness of God is endowed with a unique opportunity to enter into direct communication with the Creator. God, being all-wise and omnipotent, has all the means to communicate his revelation to people.

About Sacred Tradition

Speaking about Holy Scripture, one should not forget about one more way of spreading divine revelation - Holy Tradition. It was through him in ancient times that the doctrine of faith was transmitted. Such a method of transmission exists to this day, for under the Holy Tradition it is thought to transmit not only the teaching, but also the sacraments, sacred rites, the Law of God from the ancestors who correctly worship God to the same descendants.

In the twentieth century, there was some change in the ratio of views on the role of these sources of divine revelation. In this regard, Elder Silouan says that Tradition covers the entire life of the church. Therefore, that very Holy Scripture is one of its forms. Here the meaning of each of the sources is not opposed, but only the special role of Tradition is emphasized.

Bible interpretation

It is obvious that the interpretation of Holy Scripture is a difficult matter and not everyone can do it. Acquaintance with a teaching of this level requires special concentration from a person. Because God may not reveal the meaning inherent in a particular chapter.

There are several basic rules to be followed when interpreting the provisions of Scripture:

1. Consider all the described events not in isolation, but in the context of the time when they occurred.
2. Approach the process with due reverence and humility so that God will allow the meaning of the Bible books to be revealed.
3. Always remember who is the author of the Holy Scriptures, and if there is a conflict, interpret it based on the context of the entire message as a whole. Here, it will be important to understand that there can be no contradictions in the Bible, since it is integral and its author is the Lord himself.

Scriptures of the world

In addition to the Bible, there are other inspired books that representatives of other religious trends refer to. In the modern world, there are more than 400 different religious movements. Let's dwell on the most famous ones.

Scripture of the Jews

One should start with the scripture that is closest in content and origin to the Bible - the Jewish Tanakh. It is believed that the composition of the books here practically corresponds to the Old Testament. However, there is a slight difference in their location. According to the Jewish canon, the Tanakh consists of 24 books, which are conventionally divided into three groups. The criterion here is the genre of presentation and the period of writing.

The first is the Torah, or, as it is also called, the Pentateuch of Moses from the Old Testament.

The second - Neviim, translated as "prophets" and includes eight books, covering the period from the coming to the promised land to the Babylonian captivity of the so-called period of prophecy. There is also a certain gradation here. The early and late prophets are distinguished, the latter are divided into small and large.

The third is Ktuvim, literally translated as "records". Here, in fact, contains the scriptures, including eleven books.

The Koran is the holy book of Muslims

Just like the Bible, it contains the revelations that were uttered by the prophet Muhammad. The source that transmitted them to the mouth of the prophet is Allah himself. All revelations are ordered into chapters - suras, which, in turn, are composed of verses - verses. The canonical version of the Quran contains 114 suras. Initially, they had no names. Later, due to the various forms of transmission of the text, the suras were named, some of them several at once.

The Koran is sacred to Muslims only if it is in Arabic. Translation is used for interpretation. Prayers and rituals are recited only in the original language.

In terms of content, the Qur'an tells stories about Arabia and the ancient world. Describes how the Last Judgment, posthumous retribution will take place. It also contains moral and legal norms. It should be noted that the Koran has legal force, since it regulates certain branches of Muslim law.

Buddhist Tripitaka

It is a collection of sacred texts that were written down after Buddha Shakyamuni died. The name, which is translated as "three baskets of wisdom", is noteworthy. It corresponds to the division of the sacred texts into three chapters.

The first is Vinaya Pitaka. Here are the texts that contain the rules governing life in the monastic community of the Sangha. In addition to the edifying aspects, there is also a story about the history of the origin of these norms.

The second, the Sutra Pitaka, contains stories about the life of the Buddha, recorded by him personally, and sometimes by his followers.

The third - Abhidharma Pitaka - includes a philosophical paradigm of teaching. It contains a systematic presentation based on deep scientific analysis. While the first two chapters contain practical provisions on how to achieve the state of enlightenment, the third strengthens the theoretical foundation of Buddhism.

The Buddhist religion contains a considerable number of versions of this doctrine. The most famous of these is the Pali Canon.

Modern translations of the Holy Scriptures

A doctrine of the magnitude of the Bible attracts the attention of a great many people. Humanity's need for it is undeniable. However, at the same time, there is a danger of inaccurate or deliberately distorted translation. In this case, the authors can promote any of their interests, pursue their own goals.

It should be noted that any translation of the Holy Scriptures existing in the modern world has been criticized. Its validity has been confirmed or refuted by the strictest judge - time.

Today, one such widely discussed Bible translation project is considered to be the Scripture of the New World. The author of the publication is the religious organization Jehovah's Witnesses. In this version of the presentation of the Holy Scriptures, there is a lot that is new and unusual for admirers, people of true believers and who know it:

• some words that have become common knowledge have disappeared;
• new ones appeared that were absent in the original;
• the authors overuse paraphrase and actively add their own footnotes.

Without entering into the controversy created around this work, it should be noted that it can be read, but preferably accompanied by a synodal translation accepted in Russia.

22.1. How and in what order to read the Bible? You can adhere to the reading order that is observed during worship. It is listed in the Orthodox Church calendar for every day. In the Bible of the Moscow Patriarchate Publishing House at the end of the Old Testament there is an index of the Old Testament readings, and at the end of the New Testament there is an index of the Gospel and Apostolic readings. 22.2. What can you read from the Holy Scriptures in Lent? To the daily prayer rule, you can add the reading of the Gospel, Apostolic Acts and Apostolic Epistles, Psalms. 22.3. What if not everything you read in the Bible is clear? It is necessary to read the Holy Scriptures while living in the Church, for only the Church - since the Holy Spirit is always present in her - is a true teacher in reading; and in order to avoid the risk of falling into error due to a misunderstanding of the texts, one should resort to church interpretation.

Recognizing our limitations and sinful impurity, which hinder the penetrating knowledge of the word of God, we must humbly pray to God that He would deserve to hear and fulfill His word.

22.4. What book should you buy to understand the service in the temple?

- A book telling about the liturgical Rule of the Orthodox Church.

22.5. What book to buy to fast properly?

- There are many books in church shops that tell about all aspects: about fasting, prayer, the Sacraments, etc.

22.6. In what literature can you read the Ten Commandments?

- A detailed explanation of the ten commandments is given in the Law of God (compiled by Archpriest Seraphim Slobodskoy).

22.7. What books should a believing Orthodox Christian have?

-, Psalter, God's Law, Orthodox prayer book, Lives of the Saints, Akathist, Canon.

- First you need to pray to God that He direct the mind to understand the Scriptures. Not content with just reading the Gospel - trying to fulfill its commandments.

The Holy Fathers advise to read the Gospel daily: even if there is not enough time, you should still try to read one chapter. On the other hand, the advice of holy people is known to observe moderation when reading: it maintains a constant desire for reading, and satiety with reading turns away from him.

- The point is not who the Bible was taken from, but what is printed in it. The overwhelming majority of "Protestant" Bibles in Russian are printed from the Synodal edition of the 19th century, as indicated by the inscription on the back of the title page. If there is such an inscription, you can read it without embarrassment, since the texts of the holy books do not contain anything non-Orthodox. Another thing is “free” or “modern” translations of the Bible or individual Bible books (for example, “The Word of Life”), as well as the Bible with commentaries. Naturally, Protestants comment on the Word of God from their heretical positions.

- Christianity does not close the world from a person, but opens it up in all its diversity, but through a new prism of perception. Of course, you can read good secular literature, historical, scientific. It is necessary to avoid only those compositions that arouse base passions, deprive the soul of peace and joy.

- You should read books that strengthen your faith. For a believer, especially a person who is beginning to become a Christian, it is necessary not only to get acquainted with Christianity, but to try to study it deeply in order to clearly know what, why and why he believes? Otherwise, faith will remain at the level of stereotypes, sometimes very far from true Christianity.

Any Christian should deepen his knowledge of faith also because others, knowing that he believes in God, periodically ask him questions about faith. And you must be able to give an answer. "Be always ready to give an answer with meekness and reverence to everyone who requires you to account for your hope."(1 Pet. 3:15).

Before you do something, you need to find out. Reading the ascetic and dogmatic creations of the holy fathers, one can approach the depth of their faith, which they acquired by their ascetic life.

- One becomes a member of the Church through Baptism, before which it is desirable to undergo a course of public discourses. After Baptism, one must regularly participate in divine services and proceed to the Sacraments. Whoever misses church service for three Sundays in a row is excommunicated from the Church.

22.14. When reading the Psalter, there are places where it is said about enemies. What enemies are meant?

- These are invisible enemies - cunning evil spirits who harm people with sinful thoughts and push people to sins.

22.15. What to do with non-Orthodox literature?

- As in any other area of ​​life, the content of books depends on what comes from the hearts of their authors. If this is sin and passions, then the work is saturated with them and transfers them to other people. A true Christian turns away from such things and tries to protect himself and his loved ones. If the work artistically reflects the richness of life created by God, and even more so the high spiritual and even spiritual aspirations, on the basis of which the author created his creation, then the introduction of such literature to a Christian is not only permissible, but also necessary.

Therefore, non-Orthodox literature must be approached judiciously. Secular books (textbooks, reference books, etc.) should be used for their intended purpose, clearly spiritually harmful (pagan, magic, occult, sectarian and immoral) books and brochures must be set on fire. “We will be ashamed if we know how to reject food that is harmful to the body, and do not have discernment in the knowledge that feeds our soul, and allow good and bad things to come to it” (St. Basil the Great).

It is impossible to simply throw away soulful books in the trash: firstly, other people can read them, which can harm them, and secondly, many of these books contain quotations from the Holy Scriptures and it is not good to throw such books into the dirt.

A Practical Guide to Parish Counseling. St. Petersburg 2009.

Our knowledge of God is most strengthened when considering all the surrounding and wisely arranged nature. Even more God reveals himself in Divine revelation, which is given to us in Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition.

The Holy Scriptures are books written by the Prophets and Apostles with the help of the Holy Spirit of God, revealing to them the secrets of the future tense. These books are called the Bible.

The Bible is a historically established collection of books that spans — by Biblical reckoning — an age of about five and a half thousand years. As a literary work, it has been collected for about two thousand years.

It is divided by volume into two unequal parts: the large one - the old, that is, the Old Testament, and the later - the New Testament.

The history of the Old Testament has been preparing people for the coming of Christ for about two thousand years. The New Testament covers the earthly period of the life of the God-man Jesus Christ and his closest followers. For us Christians, of course, the story of the New Testament is more important.

Bible books have a wide variety of topics. At the beginning, it is devoted to the historical past from the point of view of the philosophy of history and theology, the origin of the world, and the creation of man. This is what the oldest part of the Bible is about.

The Bible books are divided into four parts. The first of them speaks of the law left by God to the people through the prophet Moses. These commandments are dedicated to the rules of life and faith.

The second part is historical, it describes all the events that have passed over 1100 years - up to the II century. ad.

The third part of the books includes moral and edifying ones. They are based on instructive stories from the lives of people famous for certain deeds or a special way of thinking and behavior.

There are books of very high poetic, lyrical content - for example, the Psalter, the Song of Songs. The Psalter is especially interesting. This is a book of the history of the soul, the inner life of a person, covering the range of internal states from spiritual take-off to deep despair due to this or that wrong act.

It should be noted that of all the Old Testament books, the Psalter was the main one for the formation of our Russian worldview. This book was educational - in the pre-Petrine era, all Russian children learned to read and write from it.

The fourth part of the books is prophetic books. Prophetic texts are not just reading, but revelation - very important for the life of each of us, since our inner world is constantly in motion, striving to achieve the primordial beauty of the human soul.

The story of the earthly life of the Lord Jesus Christ and the essence of his teaching is contained in the second part of the Bible - the New Testament. The New Testament consists of 27 books. These are, first of all, the four Gospels - a story about the life and three and a half years of the preaching of the Lord Jesus Christ. Then - the books that tell about His disciples - the books of the Acts of the Apostles, as well as the books of His disciples themselves - the Epistles of the Apostles, and, finally, the book of the Apocalypse, which tells about the final destinies of the world.

The moral law contained in the New Testament is stricter than that of the Old Testament. Here not only sinful deeds are condemned, but also thoughts. The goal of every person is to eradicate evil in himself. Having conquered evil, man conquers death.

The main thing in the Christian doctrine is the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, who conquered death and opened the way for all mankind to eternal life. It is this joyous sense of liberation that permeates the New Testament narratives. The very word "Gospel" is translated from Greek as "Good News".

The Old Testament is an ancient union of God with man, in which God promised people a Divine Savior and for many centuries prepared them to receive Him.

The New Testament is that God really gave people a Divine Savior, in the person of His Only Begotten Son, who descended from heaven and incarnated from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and suffered and was crucified for us, was buried and Risen on the third day according to the Scriptures.

Holy Scripture and Worship

Many people complain that they have been to an Orthodox church and have not heard the reading of the Word of God. Someone then goes to a Protestant meetinghouse, where the Bible is read often and in plain language, which immediately captivates them, and they stay there. "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." It is impossible to be in an Orthodox church and not hear “Lord, have mercy” (Matthew 17:15).

Baptist Campbell Morgan established that the entire Bible (from Genesis to the Apocalypse) can be read in 78 hours. In general, Protestants believe that faith is agreement with the text. Therefore, not reading means not knowing the Bible and not having faith.

But the Orthodox divine service, giving the Holy Scripture an all-embracing place, contains something else important. Every day, during the service, the process of the whole work of human salvation is repeated in general terms:

-vespers- remembrance of the creation of the world, the Fall, the repentance of Adam and Eve, the gift of the Sinai Law;

-matins depicts the state of Old Testament humanity before the coming of Jesus Christ into the world, about the Annunciation, the Nativity of Christ;

-Liturgy depicts the whole life of Christ from the Bethlehem manger to the Ascension, through symbols introducing into reality (the Communion of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ).

A repetition of the process of preparing mankind for the acceptance of the Savior in worship is necessary.

Holy Bible depicts the historical process of preparation of mankind for the coming of Jesus Christ, because all the historical events associated with this are set forth there. It prepares souls for spiritual growth and for meeting the Lord. For example, when the Archangel Gabriel appeared to the Mother of God and announced the Good News, she was just reading the book of the prophet Isaiah, which helped her to understand, prepared her to accept the great mystery of the Incarnation.

Divine service serves the same purpose - prepares humanity to fulfill Israel's aspirations. But the Orthodox divine service is not only talking about God with each other, but it is joint prayer and sacred action.

Holy Scripture is the basis of worship.
Orthodox worship is woven from the Holy Scriptures. For example, for those who cannot read, the church service will tell the Gospel, depict the Gospel events before their eyes.

“All Scripture is divinely inspired and useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, so that the man of God may be perfect, prepared for every good work” (2 Timothy 3: 16-17).
The prophet Moses also established the reading of the Law on Saturdays, divided his Pentateuch into readings according to the number of Saturdays in the year. The pious Jewish kings commanded to read the Scriptures in cities and villages [A. Volkov. The Use of the Pentateuch of Moses in the Divine Services of the Orthodox Church].

Initially Christian worship (even in the time of the Apostles), in fact, is listening and learning from the Divine verbs of both Testaments: reading the Psalter, singing hymns singing some of God's good deeds, glorifying the miracles of God: “... Moses writes a song, and Isaiah chants, and Habakkuk prays in song ”(St. Athanasius of Alexandria).

But, returning to the Protestant view of the Holy Scriptures as the only source of knowledge about God and the only way to salvation, let us recall that during His earthly life many people heard, moreover, they saw His great miracles. But then only a few followed Him. It means few eyes, ears to follow the Word of God. It means that you need to open your heart and pray for the understanding of the audible and visible.

Venerable Pamva (commemorated on July 18), when he was not yet literate, asked to be read to him. In the words of the 38th psalm ( "Reh, I will keep my ways, hedgehog not with my tongue") he was so impressed that he said: "Enough reading, I will actually study this lesson."

Before reading the Holy Scriptures in the temple, the priest proclaims: "Wisdom, forgive me, we will hear ...", - i.e. let's stand upright, prepare for heavenly wisdom. “We will hear” means we will obey His words, which He now speaks to us. During the reading of Scripture in an Orthodox church, the Gospel atmosphere is preserved: one reads (as if from the Face of the Lord), everyone listens standing, in reverent silence. The prayer environment of reading warms the faith.

"Faith comes from hearing, and hearing comes from the word of God"(Rom. 10:17). If, upon entering an Orthodox church, you calm down, become silent in your thoughts, then you will hear the Holy Scriptures at every minute of the church service. [priest. Alexy, Belarus].
"Let the Word of Christ dwell in you abundantly, with all wisdom"(Col. 3:16).

During the year, the entire New Testament is read in the temple (except for the Apocalypse), many books of the Old Testament. Every day, as in the days of the Apostles (Acts 17:11), the Holy Scriptures are read in the church. In the first centuries of Christianity, this, among other things, had a practical significance: very few people had a Bible at home.
The Gospel - as the main part of the New Testament (since it contains the words and deeds of the Lord Jesus Christ in the narration of the four Evangelists) - lies in the altar on the Throne, symbolizing the presence of Jesus Christ in the temple (John 1: 1). The altar Gospel is always richly decorated; the Risen Christ and four evangelists are depicted on the front of the setting.

“He who regularly goes to church, a year is enough for him to acquire a rich knowledge, for we read Scripture continuously” (St. John Chrysostom).
At the service, the word of prayer is supported by sacred rites.

Worship as a way of preserving the Tradition.
Even if any text of the divine service is not a direct quote from Holy Scripture, then it has Holy Scripture at its core. For example, irmos "He opened the depths to eat the bottom and draws his own land, covering the nasty ...": not a literal quotation of Ex. 14: 21-30, but a chant that conveys the content of this passage in the Old Testament.

Those. liturgical material, which is not Scripture itself, has Holy Texts in its inner content. Hence another important significance of worship in the life of the Church follows: preservation of Tradition(i.e. that God-inspired knowledge that did not enter the Holy Scriptures, but is sanctified by the authority of Scripture and also conveys Divine truth).

Here is what St. Basil the Great: "... of the dogmas and sermons observed in the Church, some we have from written instruction, and some have received from the Apostolic Tradition by succession in secret."(Epistle 28 to Amphilochius of Iconium about the Holy Spirit).

The Orthodox Church keeps the Revelation and grace given to Adam and Eve in purity and immutability. And her worship in its origins comes into contact with the original divinely established worship (Genesis 2: 2-3 - the beginning of the sacred veneration of the seventh day).
The Lord taught Adam and Eve to offer sacrifices, through which they saw the future Calvary Sacrifice. Gradually, the Old Testament worship developed: sacrifices and simply contemplation of the wisdom and goodness of the Creator, which gave rise to prayers of thanks, and these, in turn, were overgrown with external rituals.
Through the Sinai legislation, the Lord gave the command to build the Tabernacle, establish the priesthood, determined the range of holidays and the timing of sacrifices.

New Testament Christian worship is supplemented by the Sacrament of the Sacrament.

The apostles passed on this knowledge, received from time immemorial, to everyone. After them, the divine service was only supplemented with new prayers, services in honor of the newly glorified saints, etc. ...

Gradually the liturgical rites were written down, thanks to which we have our liturgical books today.
“All these books contain sound and true theology and consist of songs or texts selected from the Holy Scriptures, or texts composed by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, so that in our hymns only words are different from those in Scripture, but in fact we sing the same thing, what is in the Scripture ... ”[Epistle of the Eastern Patriarchs].
The symbolic content of the service.
The basis of all external sacred rites in the temple is also the Holy Scripture (Ex. 25: 9).

Everything makes sense, everything is collected by the mind: through sight, hearing, smell. Liturgical symbolism connects the earthly and the heavenly, through the visible, pointing to the invisible, the spiritual. All symbols (water, bread, oil, incense, etc.) cover the word of prayer, making it visible in movement upward, woe, to God.

For example, the singing of the 140th psalm (May my prayer be corrected) is accompanied by burning incense, the smoke rises up to where the Savior is depicted under the dome: may prayer be pleasing to Him, as to us - the smell of incense.
Or the sign of the cross is a symbol of the Christian faith, a sign of God's love and mercy for man, an image of the altar, on which Christ ascended for our salvation.

Church worship acts with a word and a visible symbol as a person with a tongue and two hands.
Rituals and symbolic actions are necessary as a natural manifestation of the human soul. In addition, most of them are the legacy of antiquity, handed down to us by the Savior Himself:

Jesus Christ, when praying and communicating grace-filled help to people, lifted his eyes to heaven (Matthew 14:19);

Kneel down (Luke 22:41, Matthew 26:39);

With raised hands he blessed the disciples (Luke 24:50);

After healing the man born blind, he ordered him to wash in the well of Siloam (John 9:11);

In the radiance of light and oil and lamps in the parable of the ten virgins, he portrayed the triumph in the Kingdom of God (Matthew 25: 1-13);

In the days of the Apostles, they also knelt at the divine service (Acts 7: 60, 9:40, 20:36; Eph. 3:14), lit lamps (Acts 20: 7-8), lifted up their hands (1 Tim. 2 :eight).

This is what Orthodox worship is, it is Scripture, Tradition, and sacred rites.
it "Not only a treasure of church dogmas and soulful instructions, but even more a school of piety, where we not only learn, but also feel our life and the path to salvation"(S. Rose).
“Christians have their own world, their way of life, and their minds, and their words, and their activities; the way of life, and the mind, and the word, and the activities of the people of this world are alike. Some are Christians, others are peace-lovers; there is a great distance between those and others ... Because the mind and understanding of Christians are always occupied with philosophizing about heavenly things, they contemplate eternal blessings by communion and the communion of the Holy Spirit; because they were born again of God, in reality and power they were vouchsafed to become children of God ... By the renewal of the mind, the peace of mind, love and heavenly adherence to the Lord, a new creature differs from all people in the world - a Christian ... Christians have a different world, a different meal, others clothes, a different pleasure, a different communication, a different way of thinking, why are they better than all people ...
Is it possible to be saved without such a feat? Many people want to be vouchsafed to the Kingdom of Heaven without labor, without deeds, without shedding sweat, but this is impossible ...
Great deeds are unattainable for those living in the world and associated with worldly concerns. How important it is for us to take advantage of the opportunity for gracious and inspired exploits that the Church provides for our seeking souls - the daily cycle of church services. Even a small but regular participation in it can make a Christian truly different from others and open to him a hitherto unknown world of thoughts and feelings - the earthly life of the Church of Christ ”(St. Macarius the Great).

All-night vigil.

Let us try, using the example of the all-night vigil, to show that worship, being a form of Holy Tradition, is not, like Scripture, "human, for the Apostles received and taught it not from man, but through the revelation of Jesus Christ" (Gal. 1: 11-12).

Where did the tradition of praying at night come from?

- The Savior himself often prayed at night: Matthew 14:23,26: 36, Mark 6:46, Luke 6:12, John 6:15);

Night prayer is known in Acts: 12:5,16:25, 20:7;

-Apostle Paul mentions night prayer: 2 Cor. 6: 5, 11:27, Eph. 6:18.

Historical reference: Speaking of night vigils, it is not out of place to cite the division of the night into 4 military guards, adopted in the Roman Empire at the time of the Apostles. This division was adopted by the civilian population as well. The fact is that Roman legions were scattered throughout the empire. And wherever there was at least one unit of Roman troops, at the beginning of each guard there was a loud sound of military trumpets. Of course, the life of the surrounding population was soon also subject to such a time division.

Summarizing the data of all historians (Pliny, Phrynica, Polivius, Tacitus, Titus Livy) and comparing these Gospel passages (Mark 13:35, Luke 12:38, Matthew 14:25, Mark 6:48), we can cite the following division of the night, adopted by the Evangelists:

1st guard - 1-3 hours (now 18-21 hours) - evening;
2nd guard - 4-6 hours (now 21-24 hours) - midnight;
3rd guard - 7-9 hours (now 24-3 hours) - night;
4th guard - 10-12 hours (now 3-6 hours) - cock crowing.

Before the arrival of the Romans, they adhered to the biblical order:
1 guard - 18-22 hours;
2 guards - 22-2 hours;
3 guards - 2-6 hours.

If we continue the historical process that resulted in today's all-night vigil, then I must say that this was largely facilitated, of course, by the later monasticism.
Here are the possible schemes of monks' night vigils according to the teachings of Abba Palamon: prayer until midnight - rest until morning; rest until midnight - prayer until morning; a short rest at the beginning of the night - night prayer - rest until the morning.
Full night vigils were an exception at first (Easter night, for example).

-Apostolic Euchologies regulate the procedure for carrying out baptismal and Easter vigils:

1) "Apostolic Tradition", ch. 20-21: baptismal all-night vigil from Saturday evening to Sunday. During it - readings and teachings of the catechumens. Then - baptism - during the crowing of the roosters, after it - the Eucharist;

2) "Testament of the Lord Jesus Christ", book 1, chapter 8: prescribes during the Lenten vigils reading, singing the Psalter, teaching; and also determines the performance of the vigil before baptism on the night of Easter;

3) Apostolic Didascale: vigil with reading, psalmics, prayers "in anticipation of the Resurrection" until the 3rd hour (3rd watch), when fasting ends and the Eucharist is celebrated, at the end "Christ is Risen!"

4)Apostolic decrees: All-night vigil from Great Saturday to the day of Resurrection: prayers, reading the Law and the Prophets, psalm singing, baptism for cock crowing, reading the Gospel and ending the mourning, "Christ is risen!" and the Eucharist.

-Ancient Sophia Typicon(ancient Western rites - Milanese, Spanish, Roman):

Vespers at the beginning of the night;

- baptism during readings;

- Gospel and Liturgy of St. Basil the Great;

Festive memorial service with a full kontakion;

- Matins and Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom the next morning.

-Studio-Savvaite Typicon:

Vespers: 25 readings, Apostle, Gospel, Liturgy of St. Basil the Great - after sunset - 1st guard;

- Compline, midnight office - at midnight - 2-3 guards;

- Easter Matins and Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom - before dawn.

All-night vigil Abba Nile on Mount Sinai(story of John Moschus and Sophrony):

From sunset to sunrise

Vespers without stichera, fraternal meal, "canon" (six psalms, the entire Psalm in three statues - 50 psalms in each, Our Father ... Lord, have mercy, a whole message (John, Peter or James), biblical songs, Our Father ..., Lord , have mercy, psalms 148-150, Glory to God in the highest ..., I believe ..., Our Father ..., Lord, have mercy.

-Unsleeping monks in Constantinople: round-the-clock reading of the Holy Scriptures.

On the importance of night prayer:

- St. Clement of Alexandria said that night prayer helps to avoid deep sleep, which means it is more diligent to wait for the Lord;

Origen referred to Psalm 119: 62 and Acts 16:25;

St. Cyprian cited the prophetess Anna (Luke 2:37) as an example and called to live so that night would become day in the Divine light;

St. John Chrysostom: “The Church of God rises at midnight; Christ, accompanied by angels, stands among the believers; in the same way children should participate in the part of the vigil, the work of the day is not a reason not to come to vigils, because after the vigil, sleep is more pleasant ”;

The Apostle Paul in 1 Thess.5: 17 teaches to pray incessantly.

Gradually, the familiar rite of the all-night vigil took shape. Traces of previous generations are visible in it.

We give the scheme of the all-night vigil , by the example of which we will try to show that worship is based on the Holy Scriptures:

Great Compline

The theme is the aspirations of Israel, the expectation of the Savior, the Old Testament events.

Rise up!(Stand up)

Lord bless!(The silence in the temple, the silent incense before the throne - symbolizes the beginning of the creation of the world)

Glory to the Saints and Consubstantial and Life-giving and Indivisible Trinity always, now and forever and forever and ever... (The exclamation according to the Rule is a shrine, which should not be touched by unsanctified lips; for the first time during the service, the Name of God sounds in it. It is pronounced by the priest)

Come, let us worship our Tsar God, come, let us adore Christ our Tsar God, come, let us worship Christ the Tsar Himself and our God, come let us worship and fall down to Him!(The Typikon prescribes to sing in ascending order, at first very quietly, then louder)

Initial Psalm 103(According to the Charter, the whole is sung, with an 8th voice (festive), with refrains, which can take from 30 minutes to 1.5 hours (this is how it is sung on Athos). This psalm artistically depicts the creation of the world and man. In parallel to the singing, the priest censes the entire temple ( Genesis 1:21). The Royal Gates are still open, the beginning is solemn, which symbolizes the innocent state of the ancestors in paradise before the fall. At the end - the Gates are closed - the expulsion from paradise is recalled)

Great litany(Always the first in the service. This prayer expresses the essence of our requests to the Lord, which we turn to Him, standing at the closed Gates, like Adam and Eve before Paradise.)

Blessed is the husband ... - psalm 1, kathisma 1(The entire Psalter must be read in a week, the kathisma are distributed by day. The week begins on Saturday evening, therefore, on Great Vespers on Saturday, the first kathisma is read, according to the Rite all. The first kathisma contains the Messianic Psalms - prophecies about Christ. the righteous, then - "not so wicked ..." Fully righteous is Jesus Christ, figuratively - every righteous. This kathisma, after the reminder of the fall (closing the Gates), reminds that salvation is served for fulfilling the will of God).
Small litany

Stichera on "Lord I Cry"... (These are the verses of their psalms (ie from the Old Testament) in conjunction with stichera - chants of the feasts of the day (this is a product of church creativity often on New Testament themes). Verses from the psalms develop a penitent feeling and at the same time give hope in God. these are prayers of consolation and consolation, informing that the prayer has been heard (especially for Sunday stichera). Through faith in Christ and the fulfillment of His teachings - the way out of their sinful state. The stichera of the saints usually contain, among other things, a call to imitation. - the so-called Theotokos dogmatist - a dogma about the incarnation of Jesus Christ from the Mother of God and the Holy Spirit and about the union of two natures in Him.

Entrance with censer- during the singing of the dogmatist (at the same time the Royal Doors open, which symbolizes the appearance of Jesus Christ for the salvation of man)

Wisdom, forgive... (Call for attention - "Forgive" - ​​stand up straight - because the important moment of the service has come)

Quiet light ...(This is the oldest Christian hymn that has come down to us recorded. Its antiquity is confirmed by the fact that the author is not exactly known (either St. Sophronius of Jerusalem - 7th century, or martyr Afinogen - 4th century. The hymn reflects a typical Christology of 2-3 centuries, It is sung parallel to the Entrance and conveys the joy of the Savior's coming into the world (light pours from the altar, Christ came to earth quietly. It symbolizes the Old Testament expectation of the Savior and His New Testament coming. Censer smoke is our prayer, the cross-shaped overshadowing of the entrance to the altar with a censer means that Paradise opened only through the Cross)

Prokemen("Preceding" is a verse read most often before the reading of the Holy Scriptures from the Holy Scriptures, more often from the Psalter, which conveys the essence of the day's sacred memory. In ancient times, a whole psalm was read with a refrain)

Parimia(they sound only on big holidays. This is the reading of passages from the Old Testament (less often - the New Testament), containing prophecies about the essence of the holiday. They form cycles associated with different holidays: the Mother of God parimia, Lord's holidays, various saints)

Augmented litany("Double, intensified prayer")

Grant, Lord ...(as if the continuation of the litany - a request for a sinless evening)

Supplicatory litany(at the end, the worshipers bow their heads, and the priest at this time prays secretly for sending help and intercession to those who bowed their heads on the coming night)

Lithium(served only on major holidays. This is a "common prayer" in the narthex or near it, in which the Church prays for all Orthodox Christians)

Stanzas on verse(chants created by hymnographers, which support the hopes of those praying for the Savior, glorify His merits in the redemption of mankind, if in honor of the saints, then they praise the saints)

Now let go ...(Luke 2: 29-32. Prayer of righteous Simeon, the key moment in the history of the world is the meeting of the Old and New Testaments. The theme of Vespers is the expectation of the Savior, here, therefore, the peak of Vespers is the fulfillment of the expectation. In addition, the example of righteous Simeon is given for our edification: and we must at all times be ready to appear before the Lord)
Trisagion - Our Father(This is a concentrated, intensified prayer at the peak of Vespers, one might say - this is a completed service [MS Krasovitskaya. Liturgy]. The nature of the prayer is growing, this is an appeal to the Holy Trinity and to each of Her Faces, the request for clemency sounds many times)

Virgin Mary, rejoice ...(Luke 1:28 - Archangel Gabriel's greeting to the Mother of God on the day of the Annunciation. This is the day of the transition from the Old Testament to the New)

Blessing of the loaves(if there was lithium. Goes from the ancient custom of reinforcing strength at a long all-night vigil)

God bless them ...

Psalm 33(until the middle).
Matins.
The Matins theme is the appearance of the Messiah on earth. Depicts New Testament events.
Gloria... (the song of the Angels, sung on the day of the Nativity of Christ. The temple is plunged into twilight, silence is a symbol of the Christmas night)
Six Psalms(Psalms 3,37,62, 87, 102, 142. They depict the troubles that persecuted David. And the life of David is a type of the disastrous earthly life of Jesus Christ. It speaks of the sinful state of a person whose only hope remains the hope of God's mercy. In the middle of the reading the priest comes out and in front of the Royal Doors reads 12 "morning" prayers for all those praying, granting them morning and day, for the abandonment of our sins, the granting of faith, love, blessing in deeds and the granting of the Kingdom of Heaven)

Great litany

God is Lord, and appear(past tense form - appeared) us, blessed is the Coming One in the Name of the Lord... (this is a messianic - that is, one that prophesies about the Messiah - psalm 119, sung as a triumphant joyful hymn.

Holiday troparia

Kathisma(i.e. reading the Psalms about suffering, the Cross and the Resurrection of the Lord)

Small litany

Ipakoi(the oldest hymnographic term, translated as "obedience", the author is unknown)

Sedalen(church creativity)

Antiphones "From my youth ..."(a hymn of grace-filled help through Jesus Christ and the Church of God performed for two choirs)

Prokemen(most often a verse from the Psalter, preceding the reading of the Gospel and associated with it in meaning)

Let every breath praise the Lord... (from the Psalter)

Gospel

Having seen the Resurrection of Christ ...(only for Sunday service)

Psalm 50

Canon(irmos - Old Testament images, remnants of biblical songs, the canons themselves - the work of church hymnography)

Irmos canon: 1st and 2nd - the song of Moses, 3rd - the prophetess of Anna, the mother of Samuel, 4th - the prophet Habakkuk, 5th - the prophet Isaiah, 6 - the prophet Jonah, 7 and 8 - three youths, 9 - Zechariah.
Honest Cherub... (sung after the 8th canon of canon. This is from the Gospel of Luke ...)

Exapostilarium or luminous(chant at the end of the canon, prayer for the sending of light, for the enlightenment of the mind for the worthy praise of the Lord)

Praising psalms(with the stichera of the day are sung. This is a praise to God from every creature)

At the end of the praising psalms, the chant of the Mother of God "Most blessed ..." is sung and the Royal Gates are opened, which means that the Mother of God has opened the entrance to the Kingdom of Heaven.

Great praise- "Glory to God in the Highest ..." (the author is the martyr Athenagoras. Praise to the Lord from the whole earthly Church. Words "Glory to Thee, who showed us the light" remind that in ancient times the all-night vigil was served until morning, and the priest pronounced these words at the sight of the dawn. The image of daylight symbolizes the spiritual light and the Savior of the world. Gratitude)

Trisagion(at the end of the doxology, the Lord and the Kingdom of grace are glorified)

Troparion of the day(in these troparions - the so-called "dismissal" - it is said about the Resurrection, about the works of the Apostles to spread Christianity)

Augmented litany

Supplicatory litany

Great release(says the priest).