Matins

Three types of matins are usually distinguished: daily , praise, and polyelein . The order and composition of Matins' prayers and chants is indicated in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 9th and other chapters of the Typicon , and the texts of these prayers and chants are found in almost all liturgical books : oktoikhe , mine , triodi , hymnals followed, the book and in various manuals.

In the Lent (rarely and in other multi-day fasts ), a hallelujah matinee is served, which can be supplemented by compound ternary songs , special saddlery according to the first verse , shortened canons - trippes , ternary lamps , prayer of Ephraim the Syrian , reading of the Life of Mary of Egypt , singing of the Virgin Mary Pophah and blessed ones , with the reading of the 12 Holy Gospels , the removal of the shroud and the procession with it, the reading of the paremia and the apostle and other features.

In addition, a memorial matinee with a parastasis or with a short lithium can be performed on the occupied days.

The general classification does not include the special Easter matins performed on all days of the Bright Week and for the giving of Easter.

For more information on Easter Matins, see the article Easter service

Daily morning service appeared already in Old Testament times. Ancient Christians during the persecution performed services mainly at night and in the early morning.

In the parish practice of the Russian Orthodox Church, matins are almost always performed immediately after Vespers (rarely with a supper ), that is, in the evening; very rarely after midnight ). On the eve of the holidays, Matins is part of the All-Night Vigil . On weekdays of Lent, matins are often served in the evening, but separately from Vespers, as Vespers are served between the Fine Arts and the Liturgy of the blessed Gifts (or simply after hours and fine).

In Greek churches, it always directly precedes the liturgy and is usually performed separately from Vespers. The general symbolism of Matins, as opposed to Vespers, is a depiction of New Testament events.

The Psalter

If matins do not connect with the evening ^[1] , then they have a complete beginning :

1. The catapetasma behind the royal gates is loosened.
2. The priest exclaimed : “ Blessed be our God ... ”
3. Reader (clergyman) : “ Amen, ” and the initial prayers , then bipalism ( clerical psalms of the 19th and 20th ^{[2] [3]} ). The priest at this time censors the altar and the entire temple .
4. Trisagion on “ Our Father ” .
5. The priest exclaimed: “ Thy way is the kingdom ... ”
6. Reader: "Amen," the troparion and kondak of the Exaltation , the Virgin Mary .
7. Shortened pure litany .
8. The choir for each petition sings a triple " Lord have mercy " , and at the end, "In the Name of the Lord bless, Father . "

• At the altar, priest censer crosses the throne with a cry: “The Glory of the Holy, and the One-Holy, and the Life-Giving, and the Inseparable Trinity, is always, now and ever, and forever and ever” . Matins with this exclamation, if she joins Vespers (which most often happens in the modern practice of the Russian Orthodox Church ). The Easter matinee begins with the cry of the same cry, although on Easter night itself the beginning of the procession is preceded by a procession around the church with the singing “Your Resurrection, Christ’s Salvation, ..” , but “The Glory of the Saints and the One Being, ” is not declared the altar before the throne , and on the porch in front of the external gates of the temple. In the same place (on the porch) the Easter beginning is performed with repeated repetition of the troparion of Easter , after which the clergy and parishioners enter the temple.

If an all-night vigil is made , then, after the blessing of the laity by the priest from the Royal Doors, matins only begin with three times singing “ Glory to God in the highest, ..” , since the exclamation “ Glory to the Holy and All-Existing, .. ” was already proclaimed at the beginning of the Great Vespers .

• Then follows the Shestopsalmie - according to the charter, it is honored by the primate himself ^[4] . At this time, all the bishops and priests in the altar silently read the secret morning prayers placed in the clergyman and in the bishop's clergyman.

Since the psalm in the church is canceled and the psalms are skipped on the Holy Week, the sixth psalm, “God the Lord ...” with verses and troparia, kathismas with saddle, polyele and a great blessing, but a great litany follows immediately on Easter and then the canon of Easter is sung.

• Great (peaceful) litany .
• Alternating singing "God the Lord ..." with verses by the deacon (or priest) with a choir in the voice of the upcoming festive troparia, usually sung twice, also the second troparia (if any) and the Mother of God. On certain days of many days of fasting and at requiem services, instead of “God the Lord ...” “ Alleluia ” is sung with its verses, memorials or passionate troparia, and in the posts - with ternary songs .

On Great Thursday , the Royal Doors are opened and the Gospel is read.

On Good Friday , the royal gates are opened, and the clergy proceeds to the middle of the temple, where a crucifixion in the height of man, censorship, is established. The first six Passion Gospels are read with touching antiphons , small litanies, and saddles (on which one is not supposed to sit). Blessed are the saints with the troparia, prokimen: "Divide my garments to yourself ..." and the 7th Holy Gospel

• According to the long-standing tradition of the Moscow Theological Academy and some seminaries , on the matins on all the great holidays before the Kafisms, one of the seminarian- laity delivers a sermon . At some parishes, a sermon on this matins on a festive day is blessed to be told to one of the pre-trained sextonists , readers, singers, watchmen and other staff (only men) of the church.
• The choir “sings to kathisma”: “ Lord have mercy ” (three times), “ Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit ”.
• Reader: “ And now, and ever and ever and ever. Amen ”, and further poems another kathisma .
• If there is a holiday or a celebration : a small litany . If there is no litany, the reader: “Lord, have mercy” three times, “Glory: And now .:”
• Sedalny with the virgin.

On Thursday, the 5th week of Lent, the primate reads the first half of the Life of St. Mary of Egypt from the pulpit.

On Saturday, Akathist turns on the light in the temple, and the clergy through the royal gates enters the middle of the temple to sing the first (out of four) part of the Akathist with the people. Continuous censing of the analogue with the icon.

The Great Heel reads the 8th Holy Gospel.

• The second kathisma and the third (when it is) are poetic with their saddle and theotokos.

On Monday , Tuesday and Wednesday of Holy Week , the Royal Doors are opened and the Gospel is read.

On Saturday, Akathist - the second part of the Akathist is performed as solemnly as the first.

Recently, in many churches the non-statutory practice of solemn reading and singing in the middle of the temple has spread instead of the kathisma of an akathist to a holiday or saint. This akathist at matins organically continues with polyeleim .

• Psalm 50 and the canon.

At the memorial service , except for ordinary kathisma (or instead of it):

1. 17th Kathisma is poetic
2. Priests through the north and south gates (in many parishes through the Tsar’s gates) leave the altar to the tetrapod (memorial table) set in the middle of the church
3. The priest reads the Psalm verses with a candle in his hand, and the singers quietly sing the refrain: on the 1st article - “ Blessed be the Lord ”, on the 2nd article - “ Save, save me ”. The deacon at this time continuously censors the tetrapods, and the Ponomari help to read memorials.
4. The choir sings: “ If it weren’t for your law ... ” ( Psalm 118: 92 ), “ For ever I will not forget your excuses ... ” ( Psalm 118: 93 ) - each verse three times.
5. Memorial litany (as usual with a censer).
6. Chorus: " Lord, have mercy " - 40 times.
7. The priest makes an exclamation: “ For thou art the Resurrection ... ”
8. At the beginning of the 2nd state, the person sings: “ I am the az ... ” ( Psalm 119: 94 ). At this time, the priest and the deacon create small censing (tetrapods around, iconostasis, faces, people).
9. At the end of the 2nd stage, the choir sings: “ My soul will live and praise Thee, .. ” ( Psalm 118: 175 ), “ You lost the way that you lost a sheep: seek thy servant, .. ” ( Psalm 118: 176 )
10. The singing of the Sabbath troparia across the Immaculate, the 5th voice: “You shall receive the holy face ... ” during which the priest and the deacon perform the complete incense of the whole temple.
11. Memorial litany (as usual with a censer), an exclamation.
12. Sedalen, voice of the 5th: “ Peace, Our Salvation , Glory: And now .: ”, theotokos: “ From the Most High God ”
13. Psalm 50 and the canon.

Polyelei

If there is a great or middle holiday, then matins are supplemented with polyeleim .

• The light is lit ( chandelier ), the royal gates are opened, through which all the clergy go to the middle of the temple, where ponomari meet them with lit candles and censers
• Singing of the psalms of the 134th and 135th (in modern practice, only two verses from these psalms)

This is the most solemn part of the matins, so sometimes at this time on the pulpit, or in the middle of the church, church awards are presented to the clergy, worthy laity or generous benefactors

In the week of the prodigal son , in the week of the Last Judgment and on Last Sunday , they are joined by psalm 136 "On the rivers of Babylon ..." . When singing 136 psalms, the electric light is extinguished in the temple, and all those present kneel

From the Week of the 1st Great Lent (the Triumph of Orthodoxy ) to the giving of the Exaltation on September 21 (October 4) - except for coinciding with the Sunday of the polyelean holiday, and from the pre-celebration of Christmas on December 20 (January 2) to the week of the publican and Pharisee on Sunday night services instead above the psalms quoted by the Typicon are laid singing of the immaculate - psalm 118 (17th kathisma) on the 5th voice. In this case, the priest and the deacon perform the complete censing of the temple, starting from the altar, with the royal gates closed (in this case, the deacon opens the royal gates only before reading the Gospel). In parish practice, instead of the Immaculate, on Sunday night vigils, the usual polyeleos are sung

During the week, the cross-worshiper and the Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord, the polyeleus with the reading of the Gospel is performed at the altar, and the anointing is done after being worn in great glorification from the altar to the middle of the church of the cross

• Magnification with verses from a selected psalm and / or
• The Troparia is Sunday, sung along the immaculate "Angel Cathedral ..."

Here, in the service of the Burial of the Mother of God, the blessed are sung to the same 5th voice with a similar chorus: “Blessed Lady, enlighten me with the Light of Your Son.”

• Small litany with the exclamation of a priest
• Sedalen of the holiday (on Sunday and a kind of voice , power antiphons of the current voice)
• The deacon enters the altar with the south gate, is baptized in a high place , through the royal gate he bows to the priest standing in the middle of the church, takes the gospel from the throne and solemnly, with the previous priests, stands on the pulpit, from which prokimen sings with verses
• The priest exclaimed, “How holy you are, our God, and rest in saints ...”
• Deacon: “Every breath ...” with verses
• Gospel reading (on Sunday vigils one of the eleven Sunday morning gospel readings is read that tells about the appearances of the Lord Jesus Christ to His disciples on resurrection)
• Chorus: “ Glory to you, Lord, glory to you ” (on Sundays and during the celebration of Easter, “The Resurrection of Christ has been seen ...” )
• Psalm 50 is on any matins except Easter, even if there is no polyelea. The priests go to the altar with ponomaric gates, and the deacon brings the gospel to the royal gates (on Sunday vigils, the Gospel is laid instead of the icon of the Resurrection of Christ on the lectern in the middle of the church for everyone to kiss)

According to the Charter, at this time, the people should kiss the Gospel, which, after reading, the priest still holds in his hands

On the eve of the feast of the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem , the consecration of yours (willows) occurs at the same time.

• The choir sings: “Glory” ..: “By the prayers of the apostles” (or the celebrated saint) .., “And now” ..: “By the prayers of the Virgin”, “Have mercy on me, God, ..” and poem on the 50th psalm

Instead, on Sundays during the singing of the Lenten Triodey, the choir sings here: “Glory” ..: “Repentance, open the door, Life-Giving”,., “And now” ..: “instruct me to save the path, Mother of God”,., “Have mercy me, God ”,.,“ Many of the fierce deeds I have committed ... ”

• The deacon or priest always (except for all-night vigil and Easter matins), even if there is no polyelei, pronounces the initial petition of the lithium: "God save thy people ..."
• Face: “ Lord have mercy ” 12 times
• Exclamation: “ By grace and bounties ... ”, applying clergy and laity to the Gospel, icon, anointing with oil and distributing particles of bread (if there was lithium at Vespers)

Canon

• Canto 1. Bible songs are sung / read; they are composed in three editions: for everyday, holiday and Lenten services. Then the irmos of the 1st canon and the next verse of the biblical song before each of the 14 ^[5] troparia of the Oktoikh, Minea, and Triodi set in each song. Because of their longer duration and complexity, biblical songs are often replaced by choruses taken from prayers , and the number of troparia on each song is greatly reduced. At the end of each song is katavasiya

Tripesnians have a 1st song on Mondays only

On Easter, the whole service is completely sung; on the canon, the chorus “Christ is risen from the dead” to all troparia, censorship is performed on every song of the canon, and after the catavasia - Troparia Easter (three times) and small litany

The second song on matins happens only in the Great Lent of the Tripods on Tuesdays - at first it is completely sung / subtracted, then the irmos, “Glory to you, our God, glory to you,” before each troparion, except for the last two. At the end of the song Katavasia

• The third song has in its construction some differences from the first one: it always happens in the Great Lent of Tripses only on Wednesdays. On the remaining days of the fasting, Hormos Minea of ​​the 3rd song is transferred to the end of this song as a catavasia
• According to the 3rd song, a small litany, a cry from the priest, reading of the second most important kondak with ikos (if any) and saddle with the virgin (cruciform on Wednesdays and Fridays)

On Thursday, the 5th week of Great Lent, the primate reads the second half of the Life of St. Mary of Egypt from the pulpit

On Saturday, Akathist solemnly performs the third part of the Akathist and saddles

• Canto 4 has in its construction some differences from the 1st: it always happens in the Lent Tripartites only on Thursdays
• Canto 5 has in its construction some differences from the 1st: it always happens in the Lent Tripartites only on Fridays
• The 6th song has some differences from the 3rd in its construction: it happens in the Great Lent four-year-olds only on Saturdays. On the remaining days of fasting, irmos Minea of ​​the 6th song is transferred to the end of this song as a catavasia
• According to the 6th song, a small litany, a cry from a priest, reading a kondak with ikos. Если кондака празднуемому святому в минее нет, то его следует взять из общей минеи, а в великом посту прочесть во глас октоиха мученичен , помещающийся наряду с седальными по 1-му стихословию в приложении триоди. В праздники должны читаться синаксарии .

На поминальной утрени — выход духовенства из алтаря к тетраподу на середине храма, малая заупокойная ектения и малое каждение

• На Стоянии Марии Египетской здесь чтец (иногда диакон) попеременно с хором исполняют блаженны

В субботу Акафиста торжественное исполнение заключительной четвёртой части акафиста

• Песнь 7-я имеет сходство с предыдущими, в великопостнных четверопеснцах бывает только по субботам
• Песнь 8-я имеет сходство с предыдущими, но есть во всех канонах. Вместо «Слава» чтется «Благослови́м Отца и Сына и Святаго Духа Господа»
• Поётся «Хва́лим, благословим, покланяемся Господеви, поюще и превозносяще во вся веки», после чего — катавасия .
• Пред 9-й песнью канона диакон (если его нет, то священник) совершает каждение алтаря и иконостаса, и, с кадилом на солее, возглащает пред иконою Богородицы: «Богородицу и Матерь Света песньми ( или в песнех) возвеличим»,
• Поётся песнь Богородицы («Честнейшую») , написанная святителем Космой Маиумским

Совершается каждение всего храма

На утрени двунадесятых праздников «Честнейшую…» не поётся, но особые праздничные припевы с тропарями 9-й песни. В этом случае первый припев с ирмосом 9-й песни служат задостойником (используются на литургии и других богослужениях вместо « Достойно есть » )

• Песнь 9-я завершает канон
• По будням и в посты поётся «Достойно есть…»
• Малая ектения
• «Свят Господь Бог наш» со стихами (только на воскресном бдении) — в подражание хвале Серафимов ( Ис. 6:2 —3 ).
• Светилен или эксапостиларий и богородичен (крестобогородичен по средам и пятницам)

В Великий пяток читается 9-е Страстное евангелие

Хвалительная часть

• Хвалительные псалмы ( 148, 149 и 150 )
• Стихиры хвалитные (на хвалитех)

В Великий пяток читается 10-е Страстное евангелие

На Пасху в этот момент с амвона зачитывается Слово Огласительное Иоанна Златоустаго , и поётся этому святителю тропарь

В праздники

1. Возжигаются светильники, отверзаются Царские врата, архиерей или священник перед престолом восклицает: «Слава Тебе, показавшему нам свет!»
2. Хор поёт Великое славословие с трисвятым .
3. Тропарь (иногда с богородичным на «Слава» … «И ныне»).
4. Сугубая и просительная ектении .
5. Праздничное окончание утрени.
6. Отпуст .
7. Поются многолетны: «Великаго господина…»

В неделю крестопоклонную , на Воздвижение Креста Господня и на Происхождение честных древ Животворящего Креста в это время совершается торжественное изнесение креста из алтаря на середину храма и поклонение ему, а в Великую субботу совершается крестный ход вокруг храма с плащаницей , с последующим чтением прокимнов со стихами, паремии , Апостола и Евангелия. На чине Погребения Божией Матери крестный ход и елеопомазание .

В будни

1. Чтец: «Слава».: «И ныне».: «Тебе слава подобает, Господи.:» (иногда пропускается)
2. Чтец: « Слава Тебе, показавшему нам свет » и читает вседневное славословие
3. Просительная ектения, возглас.
4. В Великий пяток читается 11-е Страстное евангелие, затем каждение всего храма
5. Стихиры на стиховне из октоиха, триоди и из минеи (если они там приводятся)
6. Богородичен (крестобогородичен — по средам и пятницам)
7. В Великий пяток читается последнее 12-е Страстное евангелие. Евангелие заносится в алтарь, царские врата затворяются
8. «Благо есть…» , трисвятое по « Отче наш »
9. Возглас иерея «Яко Твое есть Царство…»
10. «Аминь» , тропарь с богородичным (крестобогородичным — по средам и пятницам)
11. Сугу́бая ектения
12. Хор «Утверди , Боже, святую…»
13. Если утреня не соединяется с часами (например, с Царскими), то она заканчивается отпустом , с предваряющими его возгласами и опеваниями. В конце поются многолетны

На аллилуйных службах

1. «Благо есть…» , трисвятое по « Отче наш »
2. Возглас иерея «Яко Твое есть Царство…»
3. Чтец: «Аминь». «В хра́ме стоя́ще сла́вы Твоея́»,., «Господи, помилуй» (40 раз), «Слава».: «И ныне».:, «Честнейшую херувим»,.. «И́менем Госпо́дним благослови́, о́тче».
4. Священник: «Сый благослове́н Христо́с Бог наш, всегда́, ны́не и при́сно, и во ве́ки веко́в»
5. Чтец: «Ами́нь». «Небе́сный Царю́, ве́ру утверди́»,..
6. Священник: молитву Ефрема Сирина с поклонами

• Никольский К., протоиерей. Руководство к изучению богослужения православной церкви. — К., 2008.
• Шведов О. В. Чинопоследование утрени — структура и симметрия. // Журнал Московской Патриархии . — 1993. — № 12. — С. 84—96.