What do the colors of clergy vestments mean? Why do priests wear vestments of different colors during services?

When attending an Orthodox service in a church, you certainly pay attention to the beauty and solemnity of the vestments. Color diversity is an integral part of church-liturgical symbolism, and each color has the spiritual meaning of the event in honor of which the service is performed.

The color scheme of the vestments consists of all the colors of the rainbow: red, yellow, orange, green, blue, indigo, violet, as well as their combination - white and the opposite of the latter - black. Each color is assigned to a specific group of holidays or fasting days.

White color

It combines all the colors of the rainbow, a symbol of the Divine light that shone from the Tomb of the risen Savior and sanctified God’s creation.

All great holidays are celebrated in white vestments: the Nativity of Christ, Epiphany, Ascension, Transfiguration; Easter Matins begins in them as a sign of the Light that has shone from the Tomb of the risen Savior. White vestments are used for baptisms and burials (since for a Christian, death is a transition to another, better world).

Red color

In red vestments, following the white ones, the Easter service continues and remains unchanged until the Feast of the Ascension. This is a symbol of God’s inexpressible, fiery love for the human race and the victory of the “Sun of Truth” - the risen Lord Jesus Christ.

But this is also the color of blood, and therefore services in honor of the holy martyrs are held in red or crimson vestments as a sign that the blood shed for the faith of Christ was evidence of their fiery love for the Lord.

Yellow, gold or orange colors

The color orange has no place in the canon of liturgical vestments. However, it has been present in the Church since ancient times. This color is very subtle and is not perceived correctly by every eye. Being a combination of red and yellow colors, orange color in fabrics almost constantly slides: with a tint towards yellow it is perceived as yellow, and with a predominance of red it is perceived as red. Such instability of the orange color deprived it of the opportunity to occupy a certain place among the generally accepted colors for vestments. But in practice, it is constantly found in church vestments, which are considered either yellow or red.

These are royal colors. They are the colors of glory, greatness and dignity. Used on holidays in honor of the Lord Jesus Christ and on Sundays. Christ is the King of Glory, and His servants have in the Church the fullness of grace of the highest degree of priesthood; In addition, in golden robes the Church celebrates the days of His special anointed ones - prophets, apostles and saints.

Green color

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1 Indications on the color of vestments are set out taking into account established church practice, as well as the chapter of the 4th volume of the “Handbook of the Clergyman” (M., 1983, p. 148) - “Colors of liturgical vestments. The symbolism of flowers."

2 There is a practice of performing services in honor of the Cross of Christ in burgundy vestments or in red vestments, but of a darker shade than Easter ones.

3 In ancient times, the Orthodox Church did not have black vestments at all, and during Lent they served in “crimson vestments,” that is, in dark burgundy. Thus, on the weekdays of Lent, services can also be performed in purple vestments, but in a darker shade than on St. Sundays. Pentecostals.

4 There is a practice according to which blue vestments are used throughout the entire Dormition Fast (except for the Transfiguration).

5 The vestments on weekdays are replaced by vestments corresponding to the face of the saint, in the event of a polyeleos or service with great doxology being performed for the saint. During post-feast periods, the color of vestments for the celebration of the polyeleos saints in many churches does not change. When the saint's memory coincides with Sunday, the color of the vestment does not change and remains golden.

6 On the days of remembrance of the noble princes who took monastic vows (for example, the Holy Blessed Prince Daniel of Moscow), the divine service is performed in green vestments. The service in honor of the faithful princes-martyrs or passion-bearers is performed in the robes of martyrdom.

There is also a pious tradition for the laity to dress in the appropriate colors of the holidays, for example: for women to wear a headscarf in the color of the holiday. There is nothing reprehensible in this, but on the contrary it should be encouraged.

Our church does not have several types of liturgical vestments, so in the photographs, the color assigned to the day of the service and in which the service is performed may differ.

For more than 1030 years, the Russian Orthodox Church has presented the world with biblical teaching about the temple and worship. The Holy Scripture compares the Flesh and Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ with the temple veil (Heb. 10:19-20), which was torn in two at the moment of the Savior’s death on the cross (Matt. 27:51; Mark 15:38; Luke 23:45).

For more than 1030 years, the Russian Orthodox Church has presented the world with biblical teaching about the temple and worship. The Holy Scripture compares the Flesh and Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ with the temple veil (Heb. 10:19-20), which was torn in two at the moment of the Savior’s death on the cross (Matt. 27:51; Mark 15:38; Luke 23:45). Like the temple veil, the vestments of the clergy indicate the union of the earthly and the heavenly in the theanthropic organism of the Church.

Color diversity is an integral part of church and liturgical symbolism, a means of influencing the feelings of worshipers. The color scheme of liturgical vestments consists of the following primary colors: white , red , orange , yellow , green , blue , blue , violet , black . They all symbolize the spiritual meanings of the saints and sacred events being celebrated.

The most important holidays of the Orthodox Church and sacred events, which are associated with certain colors of robes, can be combined into six main groups:

• Lord Jesus Christ, prophets, apostles and saints . Robe color - gold (yellow), all shades
• Group of holidays and memorial days The Most Holy Theotokos, ethereal powers, virgins and virgins . Robe color - blue And white
• Group of holidays and days of remembrance Cross of the Lord . Robe color - violet or Dark red
• Group of holidays and days in memory of the martyrs . Robe color - red (on Maundy Thursday the color of vestments is Dark red , although all the decoration of the altar remains black , on the throne - white veil)
• Group of holidays and days in memory of saints, ascetics, holy fools . Robe color - green . Trinity Day, Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem, Holy Spirit Day are usually celebrated on green vestments of all shades.
• During the period of fasting, the color of vestments is Navy blue , violet , black , Dark red , dark green . Black used mainly during Lent. On the first week of this Lent and on weekdays of other weeks, the color of vestments black ; on Sundays and holidays - dark with gold or colored trim.

Burials are usually performed in white vestments.

In ancient times the Orthodox Church did not have black liturgical vestments, although the everyday clothes of the clergy (especially monastics) were black. In ancient times, in the Greek and Russian Churches, according to the Charter, during Great Lent they dressed in “crimson vestments” - in vestments of a dark red color. In Russia, for the first time, it was officially proposed that the St. Petersburg clergy should dress in black vestments, if possible, in 1730 to participate in the funeral of Peter II. Since then, black vestments have been used for funeral and Lenten services.

In the canon of liturgical vestments there is no “own place” for orange colors. However, it has been present in the Church since ancient times. Being a combination of red and yellow colors, the color orange in fabrics almost constantly slides: with a tint towards yellow it is perceived as yellow (gold often gives an orange tint), and with a predominance of red it is perceived as red.

Present in church vestments white color as a symbol of light, all seven colors of the spectrum of sunlight and black.

The seven primary colors of the rainbow (spectrum) correspond to the mysterious number seven, placed by God in the orders of heavenly and earthly existence - the six days of the creation of the world and the seventh day of the Lord’s rest; Trinity and Four Gospels; the seven sacraments of the Church; seven lamps in the heavenly temple, etc. The presence of three underived and four derived colors in the colors corresponds to the ideas about the uncreated God in the Trinity and the creation created by Him.

Feast of feasts - Easter begins in white vestments as a sign of the Divine light shining from the Tomb of the Risen Savior. But already the Easter liturgy, and then the entire week, are served in red vestments, marking the triumph of God’s inexpressible fiery love for the human race, revealed in the Redemptive Feat of the Son of God. In some churches it is customary to change vestments at Easter Matins for each of the eight songs of the canon, so that the priest appears each time in vestments of a different color. It makes sense. The play of rainbow colors is very appropriate for this celebration of celebrations.

Sundays, memory of the apostles, prophets, saints are marked in golden (yellow) colored vestments, since this is directly related to the idea of ​​Christ as the King of Glory and the Eternal Bishop and of those His servants who in the Church signified His presence and had the fullness of grace of the highest degree of priesthood.

Feasts of Our Lady are marked by the blue color of their vestments because the Ever-Virgin, the chosen vessel of the grace of the Holy Spirit, was twice overshadowed by His influx - both at the Annunciation and at Pentecost. Denoting the intense spirituality of the Most Holy Theotokos, the blue color at the same time symbolizes Her heavenly purity and innocence.

On holidays where the direct action of the Holy Spirit is glorified - Trinity Day and Holy Spirit Day green color is used. This color is formed by a combination of blue and yellow colors, signifying the Holy Spirit and God the Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, which exactly corresponds in meaning to how the Lord fulfilled His promise to send from the Father to the Church united with Christ and in Christ the Holy Spirit, “the life-giving Lord " Everything that has life is created by the will of the Father through the Son and is quickened by the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the tree is shown as a symbol of eternal life both in the Holy Scriptures and in the church consciousness. So the ordinary earthly greenery of trees, forests and fields has always been perceived with religious feeling, as a symbol of life, spring, renewal, revitalization.

If the spectrum of sunlight is represented in the form of a circle so that its ends are connected, then it turns out that the violet color is the mediastinum of two opposite ends of the spectrum - red and cyan (blue). In paints, the color violet is formed by combining these two opposite colors. Thus, violet color combines the beginning and end of the light spectrum. This color is internalized by memories about the Cross and Lenten services , where the suffering and Crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ is remembered for the salvation of people. The Lord Jesus said about Himself: “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the First and the Last” (Rev. 22:13)

The Savior's death on the cross was the repose of the Lord Jesus Christ from His works of saving man in earthly human nature. This corresponds to the repose of God from the works of creating the world on the seventh day, after the creation of man. Violet is the seventh color from red, from which the spectrum begins. The purple color inherent in the memory of the Cross and Crucifixion, containing red and blue colors, also denotes the special presence of all the Hypostases of the Holy Trinity in Christ’s feat on the Cross. The color purple expresses the idea that Christ conquered death by His death on the Cross.

The feasts of martyrs are marked by the red color of their liturgical vestments as a sign that the blood they shed for their faith in Christ was evidence of their fiery love for the Lord “with all their heart and with all their soul” (Mark 12:30). Thus, red in church symbolism is the color of the boundless mutual love of God and man.

The green color of vestments for the days of remembrance of ascetics and saints means that spiritual feat, while killing the sinful principles of the lower human will, does not kill the person himself, but revives him by combining him with the King of Glory (yellow color) and the grace of the Holy Spirit (blue color) to life eternal and renewal of all human nature.

The white color of liturgical vestments is adopted on the holidays of the Nativity of Christ, Epiphany, and Annunciation because it signifies the uncreated Divine Light coming into the world and sanctifying God’s creation, transforming it. For this reason, they also serve in white vestments on the feasts of the Transfiguration and Ascension of the Lord.

White color is also adopted for commemorating the dead, because it very clearly expresses the meaning and content of funeral prayers, which ask for repose with the saints for those who have departed from earthly life, in the villages of the righteous, clothed, according to Revelation, in the Kingdom of Heaven in the white vestments of Divine Light.

The Lord Himself testifies to the holiness of liturgical clothing. Being on the verge of the material and spiritual worlds, church vestments are a shrine and a visible image of Divine Glory: “And behold, a woman who had suffered from bleeding for twelve years, coming up from behind, touched the hem of His garment, for she said to herself: if only I touch the garment Him, I will get well” (Matthew 9:20-21; Mark 5:25-34; Luke 8:43-48); “And they brought to Him all the sick, and asked Him just to touch the hem of His garment; and those who touched were healed” (Matthew 14:34-36); “And His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became white as light” (Matthew 17:2)

Alexander A. Sokolovsky

If for worldly affairs on important ceremonial occasions they dress in the best clothes, then when serving God they put on special clothes. Sacred garments mean garments used during Divine services. Each rank of clergy and clergy is assigned its own special clothing during Divine services. At the same time, the highest rank of clergy always has the vestments of the lower ranks.

The deacon puts on surplice- long clothes with wide sleeves, altar servers and readers also wear surplices, orari- a long wide ribbon that he wears over the surplice on his left shoulder. The deacon puts on his hands instruct-short sleeves covering only the wrist.

The priest dresses in sacristan(surplice with narrow sleeves), stole- an orarion folded into two means that the priest is given double grace, greater than that of a deacon; according to the statutes of the Church, a priest without an epitrachelion, like a deacon without an orarion, cannot perform a single service. Belt-clothing worn over the epitrachelion and vestment symbolizes readiness to serve the Lord and Divine power, strengthening the clergy in their service. Gaiter And club- these are clothes worn on the belt at the hip. The first is a quadrangular, somewhat oblong board, and the second is a square board. Felonne, or chasuble- this is a long, round, sleeveless robe with an opening for the head; the phelonion reminds priests of the robe of truth that they must be clothed with as servants of Christ. On their heads during worship, priests wear skufji-small hats made of cloth, or kamilavki-tall velvet hats, which are given as a reward or distinction. Unlike deacons, priests wear a pectoral cross on their vestments and on their home clothes.

The vestments of a bishop are all priestly vestments, only instead of a phelonion, the bishop wears sakkos, on top of it omophorion. Omophorion means that lost sheep that Christ, the Good Shepherd, took on his shoulders to carry to the Father. Miter- forms the head adornment of a bishop; it serves as a symbol of pastoral power; the skufia and kamilavka given to priests have the same meaning. Panagia- a small round image of the Savior or the Mother of God, worn by bishops on their chests. Rod, or staff, used by bishops during sacred services, indicates their pastoral responsibility: to guide their flock on the path of salvation, to prevent them from going astray and to repel the spiritual wolves attacking them. Orlets-round rugs with the image of an eagle flying over the city. They are placed at the feet of the bishop during the service and remind him that he must strive for heaven with his thoughts and deeds. The bishop wears a pectoral cross on his chest.

Part of the church-liturgical symbolism is the variety of colors of priestly vestments. Their color scheme consists of all the colors of the rainbow: red, yellow, orange, green, blue, indigo, violet; and besides, it’s also white.
White color, is a symbol of Divine uncreated light. Priests serve in white vestments on great holidays: the Nativity of Christ, Epiphany, Ascension, Transfiguration, and Easter Matins begins in them. During baptism and burial, the priest is also dressed in white.
Red color Following the white one, the Easter service continues and in red vestments they serve until the Feast of the Ascension. This color is a symbol of God’s inexpressible, fiery love for the human race. But red is also the color of blood, which is why services in honor of the martyrs are held in red vestments.
Yellow, or gold and orange colors are symbols of glory, greatness and dignity. They serve in such vestments on Sundays and on the days of remembrance of prophets, apostles and saints.
Green color adopted on the days of remembrance of the like and testifies that their monastic feats revive a person by union with Christ and elevate him to heaven. Green flowers are used on Trinity Day, Palm Sunday, and Holy Spirit Monday.
Blue or blue color Mother of God holidays. This is the color of the sky, and it corresponds to the teaching about the Mother of God, who carried Christ the Celestial in her womb.
Purple adopted on the days of remembrance of the Holy Cross.
In black Priests wear vestments during the days of Lent. This is a symbol of renunciation from pomp, from worldly vanity, the color of repentance and crying.

The colors used symbolize the spiritual meanings of the events being celebrated.

Some parishioners of Orthodox churches have a tradition of wearing clothes of the appropriate color (especially women's scarves), and also covering the red corner shelf at home with a scarf of the corresponding color.

Symbolism

Liturgical literature does not contain explanations about the symbolism of the colors used, and iconographic originals only indicate what color should be used when painting the clothes of a particular saint, but do not explain why. The symbolism of flowers can be determined based on a number of instructions from the Old and New Testaments, interpretations of John of Damascus, the works of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, as well as the acts of the Ecumenical and Local Councils.

The established canon of colors for liturgical vestments consists of white (symbolizing the divine uncreated light), seven primary colors of the spectrum of sunlight, of which white is composed (in fulfillment of the words of John the Theologian - “there was one sitting on the throne... and a rainbow around the throne” (Rev. 4: 3-4), as well as black (symbolizes the absence of light, non-existence, death, mourning, or vice versa, renunciation of worldly vanity).

Use of colors

In ancient times, the Orthodox Church did not use black liturgical vestments, although the everyday clothes of the clergy (especially monks) were black. According to the Charter, during Lent they dressed in “ scarlet vestments“that is, in dark red vestments. For the first time in Russia, the St. Petersburg clergy was officially invited to wear black vestments if possible in 1730 to participate in the funeral of Peter II. Thus, black vestments came into use during funeral and Lenten services. However, traditionally, during burial and funeral services, white vestments are used, symbolizing the white vestments of Divine Light prepared for the righteous in the Kingdom of Heaven.

The color orange, although often found in church vestments, does not have its place in the canon. If its shade is closer to yellow (golden color can often give an orange tint), then it is perceived and used as yellow, and if it is predominantly red, then it is classified as red.

It must be emphasized that the above combination of certain holidays and certain colors of vestments is set out in accordance with the customs of the Russian Orthodox Church. The customs of other Local Churches may not coincide with those stated above.

On all Saturdays and Sundays of Lent, the color purple is used exclusively.

In the modern Russian Orthodox Church there is a tendency to abandon the use of black and replace it with purple, a darker shade than those traditionally used for Saturday and Sunday services during Lent.

The color scheme of liturgical vestments consists of the following primary colors: white, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet, black. They all symbolize the spiritual meanings of the saints and sacred events being celebrated. On Orthodox icons, the colors in the depiction of faces, garments, objects, the background itself, or “light”, as it was accurately called in ancient times, also have a deeply symbolic meaning. The same applies to wall paintings and the decoration of churches. Based on the established traditional colors of modern liturgical vestments, from the evidence of the Holy Scriptures, the works of the Holy Fathers, from surviving examples of ancient painting, it is possible to give general theological interpretations of the symbolism of Dvet.

The most important holidays of the Orthodox Church and sacred events, which are associated with certain colors of robes, can be combined into six main groups.

1. A group of holidays and days of remembrance of the Lord Jesus Christ, prophets, apostles and saints. The color of the vestments is gold (yellow), of all shades.
2. A group of holidays and days of remembrance of the Blessed Virgin Mary, ethereal forces, virgins and virgins. The color of the vestments is blue and white.
3. A group of holidays and days of remembrance of the Cross of the Lord. The color of the vestments is purple or dark red.
4. Group of holidays and days of remembrance of martyrs. The color of the vestments is red. (On Maundy Thursday, the color of the vestments is dark red, although all the decoration of the altar remains black, and there is a white shroud on the throne.)
5. A group of holidays and days of remembrance of saints, ascetics, holy fools. The color of the vestments is green. The Day of the Holy Trinity, the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem, the Day of the Holy Spirit are celebrated, as a rule, in green vestments of all shades.
6. During the fasting period, the color of vestments is dark blue, purple, dark green, dark red, black. The latter color is used mainly during Lent. On the first week of this Lent and on weekdays of other weeks, the color of the vestments is black; on Sundays and holidays - dark with gold or colored trim.

Burials are usually performed in white vestments.

In ancient times, the Orthodox Church did not have black liturgical vestments, although the everyday clothes of the clergy (especially monks) were black. In ancient times, in the Greek and Russian Churches, according to the Charter, during Great Lent they dressed in “crimson vestments” - in vestments of a dark red color. In Russia, for the first time, it was officially proposed that the St. Petersburg clergy should dress in black vestments, if possible, in 1730 to participate in the funeral of Peter II. Since then, black vestments have been used for funeral and Lenten services.

Orange has no “place” in the canon of liturgical vestments. However, it has been present in the Church since ancient times. This color is very subtle, and not every eye perceives it correctly. Being a combination of red and yellow colors, orange is almost constantly gliding in fabrics:

with a tint towards yellow it is perceived as yellow (gold often gives an orange tint), and with a predominance of red it is perceived as red. Such instability of the orange color deprived it of the opportunity to occupy a certain place among the generally accepted colors for vestments. But in practice it is often found in church vestments, which are considered either yellow or red.

If we take into account this remark about the color orange, then it is not difficult to notice that in church vestments there is white as a symbol of light, all seven colors of the spectrum of sunlight and black.

Church liturgical literature remains completely silent about the symbolism of flowers. Iconographic “facial scripts” indicate what color of clothing should be painted on the icons of this or that holy face, but do not explain why. In this regard, “deciphering” the symbolic meaning of flowers in the Church is quite difficult. However, some instructions from the Holy Scriptures. The interpretation proposed below of the basic meanings of colors in church symbolism is given taking into account modern scientific research in this area.

External, material, earthly light has always been considered by the Church only as an image and sign of the immaterial Divine light. In fact, if there is not and cannot be anything external that would not be a phenomenon in visible matter of the invisible, spiritual, then light and its constituent colors must contain reflections of certain Divine truths and phenomena, be images of those colors that are in areas of heavenly existence are inherent in certain spiritual phenomena and persons. The Revelation of John the Evangelist is replete with an astonishing array of color details. Let's note the main ones. Saints and angels in the realm of heavenly life are dressed in white robes of Divine Light, and the “wife of the Lamb” - the Church - is dressed in the same light clothes. This light, common to Divine holiness, seems to be revealed in the many colors of the rainbow, and in the radiance around the throne of the Almighty, and in the brilliance of various precious stones and gold that make up the “New Jerusalem,” spiritually also meaning the Church - “the wife of the Lamb.” The Lord Jesus Christ appears either in a podir (the Old Testament vestment of the high priest, which was blue for Aaron), or in a robe the color of blood (red), which corresponds to the shedding of the blood of the Son of God for the salvation of the human race and the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ constantly feeds the Blood of His Church in the sacrament of Communion. The angels are girded across their chests with golden belts; on the heads of Christ and the elder priests surrounding Him, the Seer sees golden crowns.

Gold, due to its solar luster, is in church symbolism the same sign of Divine light as the color white. It also has a special semantic meaning - royal glory, dignity, wealth. However, this symbolic meaning of gold is spiritually united with its first meaning as the image of “Divine Light”, “Sun of Truth” and “Light of the World”. The Lord Jesus Christ is “Light from Light” (God the Father), so that the concepts of the royal dignity of the Heavenly King and the Divine light inherent in Him are united at the level of the idea of ​​the One God in the Trinity, the Creator and the Almighty.

V.V. Bychkov in the above-mentioned article writes about it this way: “Light played an important role at almost any level of Eastern Christian culture. The entire mystical path of “knowledge” of the root cause in one form or another was associated with the contemplation of the “Divine Light” in oneself. “Transformed “a person was thought of as “enlightened.” Light, illumination, lighting of various lamps and candles at certain moments of the service, lighting motifs - all this was of great importance in the structure of the service - the liturgical path of initiation into higher knowledge. The “Canon of Matins” ended with the exclamation of the primate : “Glory to You, who showed us the light!” This meant both the light of the sun (rising) and the light of truth, for Jesus Himself said about Himself: “I am the light of the world” (John 9:5). Therefore, gold is stable symbol of truth."

The same V.V. Bychkov notices and emphasizes that in icon painting the Divine light was symbolized not only by gold, but also by white, which means the radiance of eternal life and purity in contrast to the black color of hell, death, spiritual darkness. Therefore, in icon painting, only images of the cave were painted over with black, where the Born Child of God rests in white shrouds, the tomb from which the resurrected Lazarus emerges in white shrouds, the hole of hell, from the depths of which the righteous are tormented by the Risen Christ (also in white shrouds). And when it was necessary to depict something on icons that has the color black in everyday earthly life, they tried to replace this color with some other color. For example, black horses were painted blue;

It should be noted that for a similar reason, in ancient icon painting they tried to avoid the color brown, since it is essentially the color of “earth” and dirt. And when we sometimes see brown color on ancient icons, we can think that the painter still had in mind a dark yellow, ocher color, trying to convey a certain physicality, but not earthly, damaged by sin.

As for the pure yellow color, in icon painting and liturgical vestments it is predominantly a synonym, an image of gold, but in itself, it does not directly replace the white color, as gold can replace it.

The hypostasis of the Holy Spirit corresponds well with the blue color of the sky, which eternally pours out the gifts of the Holy Spirit and His grace. The material sky is a reflection of the spiritual Sky - the immaterial region of heavenly existence. The Holy Spirit is called the King of Heaven.

The Persons of the Holy Trinity are one in Their Essence, so that, according to the teaching of the Orthodox Church, the Son is in the Father and the Spirit, the Father is in the Son and the Spirit, the Spirit is in the Father and the Son. Therefore, if we accept colors as symbols of the Trinity, then any of the colors can symbolically reflect ideas about any of the Persons of the Triune Divinity. All providential actions of God contain the participation of all the Persons of the Trinity. But there are Divine acts in which either God the Father, or God the Son, or God the Holy Spirit is predominantly glorified. Thus, in the Old Testament, the most noticeable thing is the glory of God the Father - the Creator and Provider of the world. In the earthly life and feat of the cross of Jesus Christ, God the Son was glorified. At Pentecost and the subsequent outpouring of grace in the Church, the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, is glorified.

Accordingly, the red color can primarily express ideas about God the Father, gold (yellow) - about God the Son, blue (blue) - about God the Holy Spirit. These colors, of course, can and do also have special, other semantic symbolic meanings depending on the spiritual context of the icon, wall painting, or ornament. But even in these cases, when studying the meaning of a work, one should not completely neglect the main meanings of these three primary, non-derivative colors. This makes it possible to interpret the meaning of church vestments.

The Feast of Feasts - Easter of Christ begins in white vestments as a sign of the Divine light shining from the Tomb of the Risen Savior. But already the Easter liturgy, and then the entire week, are served in red vestments, marking the triumph of God’s inexpressible fiery love for the human race, revealed in the Redemptive Feat of the Son of God. In some churches it is customary to change vestments at Easter Matins for each of the eight songs of the canon, so that the priest appears each time in vestments of a different color. It makes sense. The play of rainbow colors is very appropriate for this celebration of celebrations.

Sundays, the memory of the apostles, prophets, and saints are celebrated in golden (yellow) colored vestments, since this is directly related to the idea of ​​Christ as the King of Glory and the Eternal Bishop and of those His servants who in the Church signified His presence and had the fullness of grace highest degree of priesthood.

The feasts of the Mother of God are marked by the blue color of the vestments because the Ever-Virgin, the chosen vessel of the grace of the Holy Spirit, is twice overshadowed by His influx - both at the Annunciation and at Pentecost. Denoting the intense spirituality of the Most Holy Theotokos, the blue color at the same time symbolizes Her heavenly purity and innocence. Blue is also a high energy color, which represents the power of the Holy Spirit and His action.

But on icons, the Mother of God, as a rule, is depicted in a veil of purple (dark red, cherry) color, worn over a robe of dark blue or green colors. The fact is that purple robes, crimson robes, along with gold ones, were the clothing of kings and queens in ancient times. In this case, the iconography indicates by the color of the veil that the Mother of God is the Queen of Heaven.

The holidays where the direct action of the Holy Spirit is glorified - the Day of the Holy Trinity and the Day of the Holy Spirit - are given not blue, as one might expect, but green. This color is formed by a combination of blue and yellow colors, signifying the Holy Spirit and God the Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, which exactly corresponds in meaning to how the Lord fulfilled His promise to send from the Father to the Church united with Christ and in Christ the Holy Spirit, “the life-giving Lord ". Everything that has life is created by the will of the Father through the Son and is quickened by the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the tree is shown as a symbol of eternal life both in the Holy Scriptures and in the church consciousness. So the ordinary earthly greenery of trees, forests and fields has always been perceived with religious feeling, as a symbol of life, spring, renewal, revitalization.

If the spectrum of sunlight is represented in the form of a circle so that its ends are connected, then it turns out that the violet color is the mediastinum of two opposite ends of the spectrum - red and cyan (blue). In paints, the color violet is formed by combining these two opposite colors. Thus, violet color combines the beginning and end of the light spectrum. This color is appropriated to the memories of the Cross and Lenten services, where the suffering and Crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ for the salvation of people are remembered. The Lord Jesus said about Himself: “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the First and the Last” (Rev. 22:13).

The Savior's death on the cross was the repose of the Lord Jesus Christ from His works of saving man in earthly human nature. This corresponds to the repose of God from the works of creating the world on the seventh day, after the creation of man. Violet is the seventh color from red, from which the spectral range begins. The purple color inherent in the memory of the Cross and Crucifixion, containing red and blue colors, also denotes a certain special presence of all the Hypostases of the Holy Trinity in the feat of the cross of Christ. And at the same time, the color violet can express the idea that by His death on the Cross Christ conquered death, since combining the two extreme colors of the spectrum together does not leave any place for blackness in the vicious circle of colors thus formed, as a symbol of death.

The color violet is striking in its deepest spirituality. As a sign of higher spirituality, combined with the idea of ​​the Savior’s feat on the cross, this color is used for the bishop’s mantle, so that the Orthodox bishop, as it were, is fully clothed in the feat of the cross of the Heavenly Bishop, whose image and imitator the bishop is in the Church. The award purple skufiyas and kamilavkas of the clergy have similar semantic meanings.

The feasts of martyrs adopted the red color of liturgical vestments as a sign that the blood shed by them for their faith in Christ was evidence of their fiery love for the Lord “with all their heart and with all their soul” (Mark 12:30). Thus, red in church symbolism is the color of the boundless mutual love of God and man.

The green color of vestments for the days of remembrance of ascetics and saints means that spiritual feat, while killing the sinful principles of the lower human will, does not kill the person himself, but revives him by combining him with the King of Glory (yellow color) and the grace of the Holy Spirit (blue color) to life eternal and renewal of all human nature.

The white color of liturgical vestments is adopted on the holidays of the Nativity of Christ, Epiphany, and Annunciation because, as noted, it signifies the uncreated Divine Light coming into the world and sanctifying God’s creation, transforming it. For this reason, they also serve in white vestments on the feasts of the Transfiguration and Ascension of the Lord.

White color is also adopted for commemorating the dead, because it very clearly expresses the meaning and content of funeral prayers, which ask for repose with the saints for those who have departed from earthly life, in the villages of the righteous, clothed, according to Revelation, in the Kingdom of Heaven in the white vestments of Divine Light.

Weekly circle of worship

The Orthodox Church, following the example of Christians of apostolic times (Acts 2:46), sanctifies all days of the week by performing church services. Each day is assigned certain sacred memories, and daily church services, while remaining unchanged in their main features, change only in particulars, and only in those parts of the service that are allowed to change.

The days of the week have the following dedications: Sunday (Week), the first day of the week, is dedicated by the Holy Church to the remembrance and glorification of the Resurrection of Christ; Monday - to the Ethereal Forces created before man, who are in the triumphant Church the spirits closest to God and sent by Him to help people to achieve salvation; Tuesday - to the Old Testament prophets, as the heralds of the Kingdom of Christ on earth, and especially to the honest and glorious prophet - the Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord John, more than whom there was no one born of women (Matthew 11:11).

The first day of the week after the Old Testament Sabbath is marked by the event of the glorious Resurrection of Christ. Hence its name - the day of the Lord. Sunday is called the Week (ecclesiastical - rest, peace), according to the name of the Old Testament Saturday (Hebrew-Aramic Shabbat - rest, peace) - not doing worldly affairs and dedicating oneself on this day to serving God.

Sunday in the weekly circle is the same as Easter in the annual circle. Therefore, worship on Sunday is especially solemn. The Holy Church attaches such high importance to the remembrance of the Resurrection of Christ that it does not abandon it even when any other holiday occurs on Sunday, except for the twelve feasts of the Lord.

According to the memories associated with them, Monday and Tuesday seem to represent Old Testament times. Entering New Testament times, with Wednesday and Friday the Holy Church associates the remembrance of the betrayal of Jesus Christ to suffering and death, the suffering and death itself, paying special veneration on these days to the Life-giving Cross - the instrument of the saving suffering and atoning death of Jesus Christ.

On Thursday, the Church glorifies the apostles - the first heralds of the Gospel about the completed redemption of man, and among the successors of their evangelistic ministry - especially St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, Archbishop of Myra.

On Saturday the creation of the world by God was completed. This day primarily points to the eternal blissful peace awaiting His faithful servants in unity with God. Therefore, Saturday is dedicated to the remembrance and glorification of the saints enjoying the bliss in the abodes of the Heavenly Father and all those who have died in the faith.

As the ever-present Representative for Christians before the Throne of Her Son, the Most Holy Mother of God is remembered and glorified by the Church on all days of the week, especially on Sunday, Wednesday and Friday. The services of the weekly circle are performed according to the Octoechos, where they are arranged by day and in the order of voices.

Everyday, or weekday, worship is performed on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, unless there is a special holiday on these days. Sequences of church services, designated in the liturgical books as daily or performed on all days, are sent according to the Octoechos and Menaea. At these services, the sacred memories of both the weekly and annual circles of a given day are equally honored, therefore, in the modified parts of the service, borrowed from the Octoechos and Menaion, a balance is maintained: as many modified prayers are taken from the Octoechos, as many from the Menaion, and the hymns of the Octoechos precede the Menaion.

The Saturday service is celebrated according to the Octoechos and Menea, and first the hymns of the Menaea are read or sung, and then the Octoechos. The difference between the Saturday service and the daily service mainly lies in the fact that at “Lord, I cried” and after the troparions, the Sunday litanies of the Theotokos are used, and not the weekly litanies, and after the kathismas the litanies are pronounced.

Posts

Since ancient times, the Holy Church has established fasts. Fasting was sanctified by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, who, before beginning His public ministry, spent 40 days in fasting. Many Fathers and Teachers of the Church speak about the great significance of fasting, and observing fasts is a strict duty for all members of the Church.

The most important of the fasts established by the Church is Great Lent, or Holy Pentecost. This fast was established in memory and imitation of the forty-day fast of the Lord Jesus Christ, with the goal that Christians, having been cleansed of their sins, would worthily celebrate Holy Easter. Adjacent to Holy Pentecost is Holy Week, dedicated to the remembrance of the suffering and death on the cross of Christ the Savior. This fast is strict: it is forbidden to eat meat, dairy, eggs and fish, except for the twelve feasts of the Annunciation and the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem, when eating fish is permitted.

The next fast is Peter's fast in honor and memory of the holy Apostles. It begins on the Monday after All Saints' Week and ends on the day of remembrance of Sts. App. Peter and Paul. Its duration varies from year to year (from six weeks to one week and one day) and depends on the day of Easter celebration in a given year. During this fast, eating fish is allowed, except on Wednesdays and Fridays.

The third annual fast is the Assumption Fast. It was installed in honor of the Mother of God, in memory of Her Assumption. Lent begins on August 1 and ends on the Feast of the Assumption. During this Lent, as well as during Lent, it is forbidden to eat fish, except on the Feast of the Transfiguration.

The last annual fast is the Nativity Fast, established in honor of the Nativity of Christ, its purpose is to prepare Christians for the celebration of this bright and joyful holiday. Lent begins the day after the memory of St. ap. Philip (hence it is sometimes called the Philip fast among the people) and continues until the Feast of the Nativity of Christ. Fish is allowed during this fast, just like during Peter’s fast.

In addition to these multi-day posts, there are one-day posts. These include weekly posts on Wednesday and Friday of each week. Fasting on Wednesday is established in remembrance of the betrayal of Jesus Christ by Judas, and fasting on Friday in memory of the suffering on the cross and death of the Savior.

There are several weeks in the year in which fasting on Wednesday and Friday is canceled (solid weeks): these are 1) Christmastide, i.e. the time from the celebration of the Nativity of Christ to the eve of the feast of the Epiphany, 2) Week of the Publican and the Pharisee, 3) cheese week (or Maslenitsa, this week it is forbidden to eat meat), 4) Easter and 5) Trinity week.

One-day fasts include fasts on the day of the Feast of the Exaltation, on the day of remembrance of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist, as well as on the eve of the holidays of the Nativity of Christ (the day of especially strict fasting, which ends the Nativity Fast), and Epiphany, the last two days are called Christmas Eve.

Annual circle of services

Beginning with Philippi or the Nativity Fast until Pentecost, the Church remembers sacred historical events that had the goal of saving people, as the revelation of the Trinitarian God to the world. The Nativity of Christ, baptism, suffering, resurrection, ascension into heaven and the descent of the Holy One. The essence of the celebrations of both the weekly and annual circle lies in the same thing - namely, in the memories of the suffering and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

In the present period, in addition to Easter and Pentecost, other holidays appear, and the church year grows and expands.

I. Holiday Easter in its church-dogmatic essence was defined back in the 2nd century. According to ancient custom, this holiday was preceded by Easter post(Quentary), which lasted for different times in different Churches: some fasted for three weeks, others for six or even seven. Moreover, among the eastern ones, Saturday and Sunday were excluded, if not the days of fasting; and the Westerners also fasted on Saturday, so the Easterners needed more time to get 40 (36) (Tenth of a year) days.

The weekly day preceding Great Holy Monday was called the week, since the time of John - the week of Vai. After the mass or liturgy on this day, a procession with palm branches was held in memory of the Lord's entry into Jerusalem. A preliminary announcement of forgiveness to the penitents was timed to coincide with the day of Vai. From ancient times, the especially sacred day of St. Great Week was considered Thursday, as the day of the establishment of the Eucharist, especially in the African Churches, it was honored with two Eucharists - morning and evening. At the same time, it was often a day of testing for the catechumens, a day of forgiveness for the repentant. In addition, Thursday was marked by the washing of feet. The consecration of the world was also timed to coincide with this day, especially in Rome.

The services on Monday, Tuesday and partly on Wednesday follow or imitate the order of Pope Leo the Great. He used to explain the suffering of the Savior every year at the end of Lent before Easter. He began on the Sunday before Easter, i.e. per week Vaiy and, being unable to exhaust the subject in one speech, he continued the presentation of the subject on Monday, Tuesday and ended on Wednesday, as the day of standing. Friday before Easter, as a day of preparation, the day of Christ's crucifixion, the day of Christ's death - was a day of deepest mourning and peace, without the slightest solemnity, a day of the strictest fasting; therefore, according to the apostolic decrees, it took place without the Eucharistic sacrifice; only in Syria in the evening was Eucharistic communion allowed outside, in cemeteries, in remembrance of the descent of Jesus Christ into hell to the dead. Holy Saturday already in the pre-noon hours it had a lively character, for it was the day of the end of the announcement and the pronunciation of the symbol; in the East on this day the baptism of the catechumens took place.

The Easter holiday, dedicated to the joyful event of the resurrection of Christ, opened with the Midnight Office, which in Jerusalem began on Saturday afternoon and lasted all night until the rooster crows. Although this service was associated with the last act of repentance and baptism of the catechumens, the prevailing mood was joyful about the Savior’s victory over death; On the same night, believers expected the second coming of the Lord. From the first communion on Easter night until the next resurrection for the community and for the neophytes, the holiday of joy lasted for 8 whole days, which was not interrupted by work, like Holy Week. The celebration consisted of daily worship and works of mercy. State authorities gave freedom and amnesties to prisoners.

Easter week extended, in some way, for 50 days. All this time it is customary to call Pentecost. The Council of Nicaea prohibited spectacles at this time. The Eucharist was celebrated daily. The last day of Pentecost was the day outpouring of the Holy Spirit. This “greatest holiday” began with the midnight office with the baptism of the catechumens, and its celebration, like Easter, lasted 8 days. Since the 4th century, the circle of Pentecost has included the celebration everywhere Ascension of the Lord on the 40th day after Easter - a day also glorified by special worship, abstinence from work, even for slaves/

The Greek Church makes the 8th day after Pentecost the holiday of martyrs and all saints. Throughout Pentecost, as on Sundays, they prayed standing, without kneeling

Stichera are church songs composed in honor of a holiday or saint. There are three types of stichera: the first are “stichera I cried to the Lord,” which, as we have already noted, are sung at the beginning of Vespers; the second, which sound at the end of Vespers, between verses taken from the psalms, are called “stichera on verse”; the third ones are sung before the end of the second part of the All-Night Vigil in conjunction with psalms, in which the word “praise” is often used, and therefore are called “stichera on praise.”

Sunday stichera glorify the Resurrection of Christ, holiday stichera talk about the reflection of this glory in various sacred events or deeds of saints, for, ultimately, everything in church history is connected with Easter, with the victory of Christ over death and hell. From the texts of the stichera one can determine who or what event is remembered and glorified in the services of a given day.

Osmoglasie

The stichera, like the psalm “Lord, I have cried,” are also a characteristic feature of the All-Night Vigil. At Vespers, from six to ten stichera are sung in a certain “voice.” Since ancient times, there have been eight voices, composed by Ven. John of Damascus, who labored in the 8th century in the Palestinian monastery (Lavra) of Saint Sava the Sanctified. Each voice includes several chants or melodies, according to which certain prayers are sung during worship. The voices change weekly. Every eight weeks the circle of the so-called "osmoglasiya", that is, a series of eight voices, begins again. A collection of all these chants is contained in the liturgical book - “Octoechos” or “Osmoglasnik”.

Voices constitute one of the special striking features of Orthodox liturgical music. In the Russian Orthodox Church, the voices come in different chants: Greek, Kyiv, Znamenny, everyday.

Dogmatists

God's answer to the repentance and hope of Old Testament people was the birth of the Son of God. This is narrated by a special “Mother of God” stichera, which is sung immediately after the stichera on the Lord I cried. This stichera is called “Dogmatist” or “Virgin Dogmatist”. The dogmatists - there are only eight of them, for each voice - contain praise to the Mother of God and the teaching of the Church about the incarnation of Jesus Christ and the union in Him of two natures - Divine and human.

A distinctive feature of dogmatists is their exhaustive doctrinal meaning and poetic sublimity. Here is the Russian translation of Dogmatist 1st tone:

"Let us sing to the Virgin Mary, the glory of the whole world, who came from people and gave birth to the Lord. She is the heavenly door, sung by ethereal forces, She is the adornment of believers! She appeared as heaven and as a temple of the Divine - she destroyed the enemy's barrier, gave peace and opened the Kingdom (Heavenly) "Having Her as a stronghold of faith, we also have the Intercessor of the Lord who was born from Her. Be bold, people, be bold, people of God, for he defeated his enemies like the Almighty."

This dogmatist briefly outlines the Orthodox teaching about the human nature of the Savior. The main idea of ​​the Dogmatics of the First Tone is that the Mother of God came from ordinary people and She Herself was a simple person, and not a superman. Consequently, humanity, despite its sinfulness, nevertheless preserved its spiritual essence to such an extent that in the person of the Mother of God it turned out to be worthy to receive into its bosom the Divinity - Jesus Christ. The Most Holy Theotokos, according to the Fathers of the Church, is “the justification of humanity before God.” Humanity in the person of the Mother of God was understood to heaven, and God, in the person of Jesus Christ, Who was born of Her, bowed down to the earth - this is the meaning and essence of the incarnation of Christ, considered from the point of view of Orthodox Mariology, i.e. teachings about the Mother of God.

Here is the Russian translation of another Dogmatist of the 2nd tone:

“The shadow of the law passed away after grace appeared; and just as the bush, when scorched, was not burned, so the Virgin gave birth - and remained a Virgin; instead of the (Old Testament) pillar of fire, the Sun of Truth (Christ) shone, instead of Moses (came) Christ, salvation of our souls."

The meaning of this dogmatist is that through the Virgin Mary grace and liberation from the burden of the Old Testament law came into the world, which is only a “shadow,” that is, a symbol of the future benefits of the New Testament. At the same time, the dogmatics of the 2nd tone emphasizes the “ever-virginity” of the Mother of God, depicted in the symbol of the burning bush, taken from the Old Testament. This “burning bush” is the thorn bush that Moses saw at the foot of Mount Sinai. According to the Bible, this bush burned and did not burn, that is, it was engulfed in flames, but itself did not burn.

In ancient times, wax and oil were offerings of believers to the temple as voluntary sacrifices. Liturgist of the 15th century. Blessed Simeon, Archbishop of Thessalonica, explaining the symbolic meaning of wax, says that pure wax means the purity and innocence of the people bringing it. It is offered as a sign of our repentance for perseverance and readiness to continue to obey God, like the softness and pliability of wax. Just as wax produced by bees after collecting nectar from many flowers and trees symbolically means an offering to God as if on behalf of all creation, so the burning of a wax candle, like the transformation of wax into fire, means deification, the transformation of earthly man into a new creature through the action of fire and warmth of Divine love and grace. Since a candle is bought, it is a sign of a person’s voluntary sacrifice to God and His temple.

Oil, like wax, also signifies the purity and sincerity of a person in his worship of God. But oil also has its own special meanings. Oil is the oil of the fruits of olive trees, olives. Even in the Old Testament, the Lord commanded Moses to offer pure oil without sediment as a sacrifice to God. Testifying to the purity of human relationships with God, oil is a sign of God’s mercy towards people: it softens wounds, has a healing effect, and approves of food.

In the Orthodox Church, one of the seven sacraments is the sacrament of Anointing, that is, the special consecration of oil with which people are anointed for healing from illnesses. According to the meaning of the sacrament, oil contains in this case the mercy of God towards a sick person, expressed in the remission (forgiveness) of his sins, the grace of the Holy Spirit, cleansing and spiritually regenerating a person, and the healing power from bodily and mental illnesses.