Help on Tele2, tariffs, questions

Now everything is absolutely clear about the weekly cycle thanks to the clear and sensible answers of Archimandrite Nazariy (Omelianenko), a teacher at Kyiv theological schools.

– Father, please enlighten me, do the days of the week have special dedications?

- liturgical life Orthodox Church cyclical. There are three liturgical circles: annual, weekly and daily. The annual contains mobile and fixed holidays, repeating from year to year; the weekly consists of the days of the week, which are dedicated to the most important events of the Savior's earthly life and the most revered saints; the daily cycle consists of nine services. They are repeated every day.

Thus, each of the seven days of the week in the Orthodox Church has its own consecration. Some of them, such as Sunday, Wednesday and Friday, were especially honored even in times ancient church, and their meaning has not changed over the centuries. So, Monday is dedicated to the Heavenly Forces, Tuesday is dedicated to John the Baptist, Wednesday is the day of betrayal by Judas the Savior, therefore the Cross of Christ is especially revered, Thursday is dedicated to the holy apostles and St. Mother of God, and all the dead are also commemorated. Sunday - Little Easter - the day of the Holy Resurrection of Christ, thanks to which immortal life to all mankind.

- What does it mean: Monday is dedicated to the Angels?

– On Monday, the Church especially venerates the holy angels. This veneration is expressed in a prayerful invocation Heavenly Forces incorporeal. Prayers are heard during the Monday service, in which believers ask for help from their Guardian Angels, as well as from other Angels, so that they accompany human life and helped save the Christian soul. In the Orthodox Church there is a teaching according to which every Christian has a Guardian Angel, which is given to a person during the Sacrament of Baptism. Yes, and all human life is closely connected with the invisible angelic world. Some pious Christians, aggravating their feat, take on this day the burden of fasting. The same practice exists in some monasteries. The monks imitate the Angels, dedicating their lives to serving God and praising His Heavenly Glory, and therefore they especially celebrate the day of veneration of the incorporeal Heavenly Forces.

– And how do you understand: Tuesday is dedicated to John the Baptist? How to dedicate this day to him?

– On Tuesday, the Church glorifies all the Old Testament righteous and prophets, who by their fidelity to God made possible the coming of the Savior of the world. Saint John the Baptist is the personification of fidelity to God, righteousness and asceticism. According to the Savior, the Forerunner is "the Greatest among those born of women." To dedicate a day to a saint means, first of all, if you are not familiar with his life, then to take an interest in the main milestones in the life and feat of the saint. The basis of the feat of John the Baptist is asceticism and service to God. Exploring the life of the Forerunner, every Christian will see a vivid example to follow. Therefore, dedicating a day to a saint, analyze your life and identify those virtues that unite us. If there are none, you have a large field for spiritual work.

- Wednesday is dedicated to the Cross. How is this day different from others?

– On Wednesday, the Church’s commemoration of the Old Testament ends and the glorification of New Testament events begins. Wednesday and Friday are the days of remembrance of the sufferings and death of the Savior on the Cross. On Wednesday, Judas betrayed the Savior. From that day, the suffering of the Savior actually began. In connection with this, the Cross is especially revered as an instrument of our salvation. On this day throughout the year you need to fast.

- Thursday is dedicated to the apostles and St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. How to behave on this day?

– On Thursday, the Church commemorates the holy apostles, through whose labors Christianity was established on earth. On the same day, we honor the successor of the apostles, one of the most revered saints of the Orthodox Church - St. Nicholas, Archbishop of Myra, miracle worker. Today, in virtually every Orthodox home, there is an icon of this great Pleaser of God. And therefore, reverence for the Saint should be expressed not simply in remembrance, but in living and real prayer.

- On Friday, should we somehow especially remember the Crucifixion of Christ? Are there special prayers in temples on this day?

- Friday is the day of remembrance of the passions and the death of the Savior on the Cross. Lenten day. The Church prayerfully sympathizes and glorifies the redemptive feat of Christ.

Saturday is dedicated to all saints. How to mark it?

On Saturday we honor all the saints. The first among them is the Mother of God. In the tradition of the Russian Church, every Christian is given a name in honor of some saint. Thus, on Saturday, honoring all the saints, we resort to the prayerful intercession of our saint, as well as to other saints close to our hearts, but for whom there is no specially set day during the week.

On this day, Christians especially pray for the repose of the departed, remembering their relatives, friends and all those who have died from time immemorial. Remembrance can be expressed both in private prayer and through participation in the memorial service traditionally performed in churches on this day.

Sunday is dedicated to the Lord. How to spend this day?

- Sunday is a small Easter. It is dedicated to the Lord and has been revered by Christians since apostolic times. On this day, every believer must visit the temple to participate in the Divine Liturgy. Since the resurrection of Christ is the hope for all people, the veneration of this day is especially special. It is best to spend the day after the service doing good deeds: visit the sick, help the needy, visit the elderly. Also on Sunday, one should devote several hours to reading the Holy Scriptures and praying. It would be correct to analyze the events of the past week (what good and bad happened during this period) and try to build a specific plan of action in the spiritual life for the next seven days. Thus, the core of spiritual life, which is formed due to a person's participation in worship and moral perfection, will help a person, even in difficult life circumstances, not to deviate from the path leading to the Truth.

Interviewed by Natalya Goroshkova

And since it is obvious that God did not need rest, what follows from this if not that this decree meant a person, i.e., that the Sabbath, as Jesus Christ proclaims, is given for a person who the most ancient times and celebrated it much earlier than in the form of the law the celebration of the Sabbath rest was legalized at Sinai. Here is the initial basis for establishing a day of rest.

So, before us is the Divine decree: the Sabbath is for man, for man of all times and places. We will add: for man before his fall. If it was necessary for him in the state of his innocence, then was not the fallen man in need of it all the more; man subject to the flesh, visible world, the harsh necessity of labor, and finally, sin, which constantly erases from his heart the image of God and the consciousness of a high human purpose?

In the book of Exodus (16:23-30) the Sabbath is mentioned for the first time, and this mention only preceded the Jewish law. The very way in which Moses reminds the Israelites of this command concerning the collection of manna on the eve of this day shows that he does not give them a new commandment, but restores the old, weakened, and perhaps forgotten amidst the hard work in Egypt. Now, in the desert, at liberty, it could and should have been restored. This is why the very expression in which the fourth commandment is prescribed: remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy, shows that they remember only what they already know, just as they cherish only what they have. Therefore, it is impossible to ascribe to the Sinai legislation that decree, which it itself transfers 25 centuries ago and borrows from the first traditions of mankind. It is obvious that even before the Sinai law, the establishment and observance of the day of rest was known and applied even outside Jewish people everywhere being a universal and eternal decree. Ages have not destroyed it; it remains just as necessary and sacred for us both in our business life and in a noisy civilization, as it was with the first believers, who brought with them under the tent of the desert faith in God, the original traditions of the world and the future of mankind.

Its very severity shows us how necessary God considered this decree for the religious education of His chosen people. But, having learned from the holy Apostle Paul that we are not under the law, but under grace (see), we will not take this ancient decree lightly. What is most noteworthy here is that the institution of the Sabbath found its place in the Decalogue instead of being mixed with the many different petty precepts of the Mosaic Law. The Decalogue, in a short but wonderful form, sets out the whole moral law, and all the requirements contained in it are directly related to the religious life of every person who would wish to serve the Lord God in any era. Thus, seeing that the observance of the day of rest occupies such a prominent place and is prescribed in such an insistent and precise form, we conclude that it is based on the most fundamental conditions of the religious and moral life of a person and must have an eternal meaning.

The Pharisees added their petty precepts to the law; they determined exactly what things should be allowed on that day, even calculated the number of steps that could be taken, and decided that instead of caring for the sick, it was better to leave him to die, glorifying God with his complete inaction.

Jesus Christ, by His teaching, freed us from such hypocrisy. He destroyed the collections of their instructions and prescriptions. Redeemed by grace, we are no longer under the yoke of the law and its ritual prescriptions. But if Jesus Christ removed from the Jewish Sabbath its sub-legal ritual and purely external character, does it follow from this that He condemned the very establishment of the Sabbath? No. On the contrary, He restores to him his eternal meaning with these memorable words: "Sabbath for a man." He only leads us by this expression to the original establishment of this day. On various occasions He directs us in what spirit this day should be celebrated. Allowing His disciples to pluck ears of corn for food, He thereby resolves the extremely necessary matter of worldly needs; healing the sick, He blesses the works of mercy; does not forbid pulling out sheep, or a donkey, or an ox that fell into a pit or well (see;), showing that He is the Lord of the Sabbath, and that, if it comes to serving God, then we can be called on this day to the most difficult and difficult feats.

The New Testament Church inherits the spirit of her Teacher: she refuses the external observance of the Jewish Sabbath and obeys the prescriptions of the apostle, who clearly says to those hearts that such a thought could frighten: let no one condemn you for ... Saturday ().

And as if wanting to show that the Church enjoys the spiritual freedom granted to her, she changes the day of rest: she boldly dedicates the day dedicated to the Father to the Son, celebrating the memory of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, by Whom everything was renewed. The Church itself, even in the time of the apostles, consecrated the first day of the week. So, in the book of the Acts of the Apostles, we clearly see this day set for the breaking of bread (). This custom is immediately introduced in the churches founded by the holy Apostle Paul, and this is clearly shown by the circumstance that, during his stay in Troas, the holy Apostle Paul, despite the fact that he was in a hurry to continue his journey, remained until the first day of the week, when the disciples gathered to break bread, and talked with them until midnight (cf. Acts. 20:7). This is, although indirect, but, it seems to us, quite clear evidence that this day was established, that is, the celebration was transferred from Saturday to Sunday, by the first Christians. In the apostolic epistles we find admonitions pertaining to mercy, especially on this day; Finally, the last book of Holy Scripture, the Apocalypse, tells us in its first verses that on one of the Sundays the holy apostle and evangelist John, exiled to Patmos, had a vision, which he tells about, calling this day the Sunday day (cf. ).

Here is the teaching of Scripture regarding the day of rest. This day, as we have seen, was preserved at all times by God's chosen people, and if in some periods it took on a formal character, then, nevertheless, from the same Jewish form it is reborn in the New Testament, as a Divine decree, universal and eternal. .

Having resurrected on the first day of the week, the Savior, the true Lord of the Sabbath, connected with Sunday more important memories for Christians than those that were connected with the Old Testament Sabbath. Saturday Reminder of Creation ancient world who, due to the fall of man, fell under the power of “the prince of this world” and turned out to be evil; The very first day of the week reminds us of redemption from the power of sin and the devil, of the re-creation of humanity.

An indirect reference to the rest observed on Sunday is already found in Hieromartyr Ignatius the God-bearer in the Epistle to the Magnesians. Then the presence of Christians of the primordial church on Sundays at divine services and at love suppers shows that they stopped their worldly affairs at least in the first half of the day. But one can guess that Christians, out of respect for Sunday, which replaced Saturday, did not work all day. The observance of rest on Sunday is spoken of in the Apostolic Decrees (book 7, ch. 33; book 8, ch. 33). The first ecclesiastical canon in time, which legitimizes the custom of resting on Sunday, is the 29th canon of the Laodicean Council, which was at the end of the 4th century. “It is not appropriate,” this rule says, for Christians to Judaize and celebrate on the Sabbath, but do it on this day; and Sunday is predominantly celebrated, if they can, like Christians. Here, the opposition of Sunday, which should be celebrated, to the Sabbath, on which one should work, shows that the celebration of Sunday should consist in peace, and the words: “if they can” make it clear that necessary, important and urgent things can be done on Sunday, without violating its holiness - that Christians do not need the coercive and petty prescriptions with which the Jewish celebration of the Sabbath was burdened in later times - that they should act according to their conscience and be guided by moral freedom.

The custom of observing Sunday rest, in addition to church rules, was also approved by the power of the emperors. Saint Constantine the Great freed Christian soldiers from military occupations on Sundays so that they could more freely come to church for public worship. He also forbade trading on Sundays, and this was later confirmed by the law of the Byzantine emperor Justinian. It was allowed to trade only items necessary for life. In addition, the saint and many subsequent emperors forbade court cases on Sunday, unless the duty of philanthropy and the preservation of public order did not allow a delay.

The church forbade doing everyday things on holidays. And the deeds of reverence, piety, somehow: visiting the temple and being present at public worship, prayer at home, burying the dead, religious processions, disinterested help to neighbors, especially the unfortunate, reading religious books, explaining Scripture, etc., it not only does not forbade, but either directly and persistently legitimized, or at least approved, because it is by such deeds that Sunday is mainly sanctified.

The Church has always recognized Sunday as a day of spiritual joy. She expressed this, first of all, in the prohibition of fasting on Sunday (see the 64th Apostolic Canon; the 18th Canon of the Gangra Council).

Abba Dula, a disciple of the Monk Bessarion, said: “I went into my cell to my elder and found him standing at prayer; his hands were stretched out to heaven, and he remained in this feat for fourteen days.

Prayer is a reverent conversation between the human soul and God. Pretty good at holidays and conversation with people, but, of course, not all, but only about divine objects.

The soul after pious conversations is filled with holy thoughts, feelings and desires. The mind becomes clearer, brighter; regret about the badly spent past penetrates into the heart - the will would still want to do only one thing that is pleasing before God.

Oh, that each of us would love to speak and hear more about things that concern God and the soul; then faith and virtue would not be with us only in words, but would be the life and property of the heart, of our whole being.

It is equally useful and salutary both to conduct soul-saving conversations and to read soul-saving books. The Holy Apostle Paul commands his beloved disciple, Bishop Timothy, to read holy and soulful books as one of the main means for success in the spiritual life. Listen to reading (), - he writes to him. And the holy fathers, following the apostle, command everyone to read the holy books as one of the important means for spiritual perfection.

It is especially useful to read the Holy Scriptures. “If we read Holy Scripture with faith,” says the saint, “then we feel that we see and hear Christ Himself. What needs, whether by a living voice, or through scripture, who speaks to us? It's all the same. So in Holy Scripture God speaks to us as truly as we speak to Him through prayer.”

It is very useful and saving for the soul to do good on holidays. The holy apostle Paul advised the Christians of the Corinthian church to establish a permanent collection for the benefit of the needy: do as I have established in the churches of Galatia. On the first day of the week (i.e., every Sunday - Approx. Ed.), Let each of you save and collect as much as his state () allows him. The saint, inspiring this commandment to the Christians of Constantinople, says: “Let us arrange in our house an ark for the poor, which let it be located at the place where you stand for prayer. Let everyone put aside the money of the Lord at home on Sunday. If we make it our rule on Sunday to set aside something for the benefit of the poor, we shall not break this rule. The craftsman, having sold something from his works, let him bring the firstfruits of the price to God and share this part with God. I do not demand much, only I ask you to set aside at least a tenth. Do the same not only when selling, but also when buying. Let all those who acquire righteously keep these rules.”

The ancient Christians lovingly honored the holidays with abundant offerings to the church, of which one part went to the maintenance of church employees and church needs, and the other to help the poor. “These offerings,” says one ancient Christian writer, “serve as a pledge of piety; because they do not go to feasts, not to drunkenness, not to overeating, but to feed and bury the poor, to youths and maidens who have lost their property and parents, to old men who, due to weakness, can no longer leave their homes and do work, also those who suffered misfortune and imprisoned for their faith in ore-digging, on islands and dungeons.

Many of the people sufficient in respect for the holidays themselves distributed generous alms to the poor brethren, fed the hungry, looked after the strange and went to hospitals, trying with words of consolation and various services to alleviate the suffering of the sick. So the writer of the life of St. Martha, talking about how she revered divine holidays, among other things, says: “She was inexpressibly merciful to the poor, feeding the hungry, and clothing the naked. Often entering hospitals, serving the sick with your own hands, giving burial to the dying from your labors, and giving white clothes to those who are baptized from your needlework.

The common custom of ancient Christians was to arrange festive meals for orphans, wanderers and all the poor during the days. In the early days of Christianity, this kind of meal was established at churches and the tombs of martyrs; but subsequently they began to be arranged by benefactors only in their own homes. The generosity of some Christians extended to the point that sometimes, due to the large gathering of beggars, on one holiday they arranged several meals one after another. So, it is known that one Christ-loving brother, named Isaiah, was distinguished by special charity during the holidays: having created a hospice and a hospital, he tried to put to rest all those who came to him and served the sick with all diligence: “on the Sabbaths and on the days of the week, two , three, and four meals representing the poor for the sake of. If one of your relatives or friends is sick, go to the sick person, comfort them as much as you can. Maybe someone close to your heart lies in the cemetery. Go to the grave of the deceased, pray for him. Now, in many churches, on holidays, extra-liturgical interviews of pastors with the people are arranged. It's good to visit them.

This is how a Christian should spend a Sunday or a holiday. But is this really how we do it?

Many of the Christians, dissatisfied with their constant earnings, also devote time of sacred rest to their work, thinking through this to increase their fortune. But in vain they think so. The Prologue contains such a story.

Two artisans lived side by side, both of whom were engaged in the same craft: they were tailors. One of them had a wife, father, mother and many children; but he went to church every day. However, despite the fact that through this he took up a lot of time for work in the craft, he adequately supported himself and fed himself with the whole family, thanks to the blessing of God, daily requested for work and for his home. The other one devoted himself too much to the craft, so that often on holidays, which should be devoted to the service of God, he was not in the temple of God, but sat at work, but was not rich and hardly fed himself. So he began to envy the first; one day he could not stand it and asked his neighbor with irritation: “why is this and how do you get rich? for here I work harder than you, but I am poor.”

And he, wanting his neighbor to remember God more often, answered: “Here I am, going to church every day, often finding gold along the way; and so little by little I acquire. If you want, we will go to church together, I will call every day; but only everything that each of us would not find - to divide in half. The poor man believed, agreed, and together they began to visit the temple of God every day, where the soul involuntarily disposes itself to prayer and where the grace of God invisibly touches the heart of man; the other soon became accustomed to such a pious custom. But what? God apparently blessed him and his work: he began to get better and grow rich. Then the first one, who gave a good thought, confessed to his neighbor: “I didn’t tell you the whole truth before, but from what I said for the sake of God and your salvation, what good is it for your soul and for your estate! Believe me, I did not find anything on earth, no gold, and it was not because of gold that I visited the temple of God, but precisely because God said: seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all this will be added to you (). However, if I said that I found gold, I did not sin: after all, you found and acquired. - Thus, the blessing of the Lord on those who revere the Lord sacredly serves as the best and most reliable companion for labors.

Those who disrespect the holy holidays can always be comprehended by God's punishment. After all, having a holiday completely free from work, they are too lazy even to go to the temple of God, and if they come, they stand absent-mindedly in the church of God, praying unzealously, thinking about how they could spend the holiday more cheerfully. And when they come home, they indulge in unbridled fun.

Of course, there is no sin in innocent pleasures and complete rest from constant work. The monk often said to his disciples: “Just as it is impossible to constantly and strongly strain the bow, otherwise it will burst, so it is impossible for a person to be constantly in tension, but he also needs rest.” But the best joy for a Christian is in God; - therefore, the best joy of a Christian on the day of the holiday should be the joy of reading soul-saving books, conducting pious conversations and doing godly deeds. However, not only is a Christian not prohibited on this day from any reasonable entertainment - visiting any museum or exhibition, relatives or friends, etc., but even these healthy and useful entertainments are strongly recommended. But completely inconsistent with holiness sunday to indulge in drunkenness, to sing outrageous songs, and to indulge in excesses of every kind. The saint says: "The feast is not for us to act outrageously and multiply our sins, but to purify those that we have."

Once upon a time, the Lord God, through the mouth of His prophet, spoke to the Jews who spent the holidays in the service of one sensuality: My soul hates your holidays (). This is a terrible word. Let us fear the wrath of God, let us spend the holidays holy, not indulging in feasting and drunkenness, nor voluptuousness and debauchery, nor quarrels and envy (), but let us spend the holidays in purity and righteousness.

CONCLUSION

In Christianity, the very first day was a day of bright joy for the disciples of Christ. Since then, the day of the resurrection of the Lord has always been a day of joy for Christians.

Therefore, the word "holiday" is associated with spiritual joy. This does not include the manifold entertainments of the world, which, however exalted in form, cannot in any way sanctify the holy day.

The celebration of Sunday is a direct service to God, consisting mainly in the remembrance of the Resurrection of Christ. Peace from worldly affairs is a necessary condition for celebration, and joy is its natural result.

Communication with God, which is the essence of the celebration, is more conveniently achieved in the company of people, for the Lord said: where two or three are gathered in My name, there I am in the midst of them (). First of all, the celebration should take place in the temple - this place of the special grace-filled presence of God. Here the Sacrament of the Eucharist is celebrated, here the clergy teach the word of God, appointed by God Himself to shepherd His flock and having received special blessed means for this. Here all believers with one mouth and one heart offer their prayers, petitions and thanksgiving to God. Here the members of the Body of Christ enter into the closest spiritual communion with their head, Christ, and among themselves. Solemn silence and reverence elevate hearts to God. The fellowship of all believers, mutual example excite and intensify the reverence and prayer of each individual. The performance of holy and spiritual works on Sunday satisfies the most essential needs of the human soul. This in itself is good, and at the same time - the main means to achieve paradise, union with God and eternal bliss.

Orthodox Christians! Let us strictly and steadily celebrate Sunday and all other feast days established by the Holy Church for our earthly happiness and eternal salvation.

The topic explored by the author of the article concerns one of the most important aspects of Christian life - the veneration of Sunday, as well as its relationship with the fourth commandment of the Decalogue, which prescribes to observe the Sabbath. This publication provides answers to many questions on the topic, including: what is the New Testament Orthodox understanding of the Sabbath? Is it possible to say that Sunday is celebrated by the Church instead of Saturday? Also E.O. Ivanov makes an attempt to reveal the depth of the meaning of the fourth commandment in accordance with Scripture and Tradition of the Orthodox Church.

The proposed topic concerns one of the most important aspects of Christian life - the veneration of Sunday, as well as its relationship with the fourth commandment of the Decalogue, which prescribes the observance of the Sabbath. In our opinion, the widespread idea among the Orthodox that Saturday as a special holiday was replaced by Sunday arose as a result of Catholic influence and requires clarification in the light of the teachings of the Church. This article outlines the foundations of the theology of Sunday and Saturday, which makes it possible to more accurately understand the meaning of the fourth commandment in accordance with Scripture and the Tradition of the Orthodox Church.

Foundations of Orthodox veneration of Sunday

The Orthodox theology of the Sunday is the Church's active comprehension of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ as the foundation of the Christian faith. The Resurrection of Christ took place “on the first day of the week” (Mark 16:9), in connection with which, from the time of the apostles, this day was given a special meaning in the life of the Church and the name “the day of the Lord.”

The meaning of the resurrection was expressed with special power by the holy Apostle Paul, who says: “But if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is in vain, and your faith is also in vain” (1 Cor. 15:14). This thought runs through New Testament, in whose books various aspects of faith in the resurrection are revealed. Thus, the apostle Paul points out that God was “revealed as the Son of God in power, according to the spirit of holiness, through the resurrection from the dead” (Rom. 1:4); that Christ "was raised for our justification" (Rom. 4:25). Paul preached to the Athenians "Jesus and the resurrection" (Acts 17:18). The Apostle Peter says that through the resurrection of Christ, God regenerates believers "to a living hope" (1 Pet. 1:3). In the book of Acts it is written: “The apostles great strength testified of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 4:33). These and other verses (eg Acts 2:31, 4:2) testify to the resurrection of the Lord as the foundation of the Christian faith.

Sunday worship began in apostolic times. There is evidence of this in Holy Scripture. Thus, the book of Acts says: “On the very first day of the week, when the disciples gathered to break bread, Paul, intending to go on the next day, talked with them and continued the word until midnight” (Acts 20:7). Thus, on Sunday, the disciples gathered together to celebrate the Eucharist, as well as listening to the sermon. Assuming the regularity of Sunday meetings, the Apostle Paul instructs on this very day to set aside funds for the needs of the Church: “On the first day of the week, let each of you put away and save as much as his condition allows” (1 Cor. 16:2). St. John Chrysostom explains the words of the apostle: “Remember, he says, what you were honored on this day: ineffable blessings, the root and source of our life, began on this day, and not only because this time disposes to philanthropy, but also because it delivers rest and freedom from work.

In Revelation, the Apostle John the Theologian reports that he "was in the spirit on the resurrection day" (Rev. 1:10). St. Andrew of Caesarea conveys the apostle's thought as follows: "I, embraced by the Holy Spirit, having acquired spiritual hearing, heard on a revered day, for the sake of the resurrection, more than any other day the voice of the Lord in sonority like a trumpet."

In the writings of Christians of the first centuries, the veneration of Sunday appears as a universally recognized tradition. St. Ignatius the God-bearer (II century), denouncing the Judaizers, wrote: “If we still live according to the Jewish law, then through this we openly admit that we have not received grace”; “those who lived in the ancient order of things drew near to the new hope, and no longer kept the Sabbath, but lived the life of the Resurrection.” Similar thoughts are contained in the "Epistle of the Apostle Barnabas" (II century): "We also spend the eighth day in joy, on which Jesus rose from the dead." St. Justin the Philosopher (II century) testified: “On the day of the sun, we all generally hold a meeting, because this is the first day on which God, having changed darkness and matter, created the world, and Jesus Christ, our Savior, on that same day rose from the dead." Tertullian, in his epistle to the Gentiles (1:13), reports that some "think that christian god- this is the sun, because our custom is known (...) to celebrate the day of the sun.

Also curious is an excerpt from a letter from a Roman statesman
Pliny the Younger (2nd century) that Christians "on the appointed day gathered before dawn, sang, alternating, Christ as God" . This testimony is fully consistent with Holy Scripture and Tradition. Thus, the Evangelist Mark writes that the myrrh-bearing women came to the tomb of Christ on Sunday “very early”, “at sunrise” (Mark 16:2), and the Apostle John specifies that this happened “early, when it was still dark” (John 20:1). Since Pliny is obviously talking about Sunday, the mention of the divinity of Christ, which with the greatest force and clearly witnessed precisely in His resurrection. This is fully consistent with the practice of the Church, which in Easter night calls on believers to repeat the path of the myrrh-bearing women and meet the risen Christ: “Let us morning deep in the morning and instead of the world we will bring a song to the Lady, and we will see Christ the truth of the Sun, shining life to all” (irmos 5 songs of the Easter canon).

From the time of Constantine the Great, the Roman authorities began to legally support the veneration of Sunday: in 321, the emperor, who favored Christians, by his decree proclaimed the “day of the Sun” non-working. As Eusebius of Caesarea reports, the king ordered pagan soldiers to gather on Sundays in open squares and pray to God.

The veneration of Sunday so entered the life of the Church in the first centuries that its meaning for Christians was self-evident and did not require any special "theoretical" justification. As stated in Canon 1 of Theophilus of Alexandria (4th century), “both custom and duty require us to honor every Sunday and celebrate it: because on this day our Lord Jesus Christ showed us the resurrection from the dead.”

In view of the self-evident significance of Sunday, it is not surprising that in the rules of church councils it is rarely spoken of and more from a disciplinary point of view than from a doctrinal point of view. So, canon 20 of the First Ecumenical Council forbids kneeling on Sunday. Rule 18 of the Gangra Council (circa 340) and Rule 64 of the Apostolic Ordinances forbade fasting on Sunday. Canon 11 of the Sardic Council (340s) states: “If a layman, while in the city, on three Sundays, for three weeks, does not come to the meeting, let him be removed from the fellowship of the Church.” Canon 29 of the Council of Laodicea (4th century) prescribed that "Sunday should be celebrated predominantly." The Council of Carthage (419) in the 72nd rule forbids spectacles and games "on Sunday".

It is important to note that neither in the Holy Scriptures nor in the Tradition of the Church is there any basis for the assertion that is widespread today that Sunday is a substitute for Saturday. Only centuries later, largely under the influence of Roman Catholicism with its characteristic meticulous systematization of its doctrine, did the Orthodox Church receive a catechetical exposition of the foundations of the veneration of Sunday, tying it to the fulfillment of the fourth commandment of the Decalogue. In the "Orthodox Confession" of Metropolitan Peter Mohyla, published in the 1640s, regarding the fourth commandment of the Decalogue (about keeping the Sabbath), it says: Jesus Christ our Lord, the renewal of the whole world took place, and the liberation of the human race from the slavery of the devil. St. Philaret of Moscow in the Catechism interprets the fourth commandment as follows: “The seventh is also celebrated every six days, only not the last of the seven days, or Saturday, but the first day of every week, or Sunday” (ch. 534). The Catechism also says that “Sunday is celebrated from the time of the Resurrection of Christ” (ch. 535). St. Nicholas of Serbia in his "Catechism" explains the fourth commandment and the veneration of Sunday as follows: "Why do we consider Sunday a day of rest? “Because our Lord Jesus Christ rose from the dead on the seventh day, and on Saturday He was in Hell, preaching the Gospel to the dead and saving them.” Nikolai Serbsky also points to the proper pastime of Sunday, which consists in joyfully remembering the victory of Christ over death, refraining from everyday work, prayer, reading the Bible, doing good deeds, etc.

So, we can sum up the intermediate results:

1) the self-evident and self-sufficient significance of Sunday as the main celebration of the Christian faith is confirmed both by the Holy Scripture of the Church and its Tradition;

2) at the same time, in Orthodox catechisms, starting from the 17th century, a concept that is Roman Catholic in its origins appears, according to which Saturday is replaced by Sunday, and the celebration of Sunday is subordinate to the Old Testament commandment about Saturday.

In this regard, we should consider what the New Testament Orthodox understanding of the Sabbath is and whether it is possible in any sense to say that Sunday is celebrated by the Church instead of the Sabbath.

The Sabbath and Sunday Command in the Light of the New Testament

First of all, from a formal point of view, it is incorrect to apply the fourth commandment to Sunday, since it speaks not of the first day of the week, but of the seventh: “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy; six days you shall work, and do [in them] all your works, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God” (Ex. 20:8-10). Sunday is the first day in the week of creation and a model for the rest, thus significantly differing in meaning from the Sabbath. If on the first day the dynamics of the creation of the world is set, then on the seventh day the unshakable fullness of creation is contemplated. Saturday, therefore, is an image of the rest in which God dwelt at the end of the six creative days: “And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it, for in it he rested from all his works, which God created and created” (Genesis 2:3).

Further, it should be borne in mind that with the advent of Christ, the Old Testament commandments, including the Sabbath, are overcome in their worldly-restrictive, “bodily” dimension, acquiring a new spiritual meaning. The Apostle Paul characterizes the unspiritual fulfillment of the commandments of the Decalogue as "the ministry of deadly letters inscribed on stones" (2 Cor. 3:7), pointing out that it is useless: former commandment it happens because of its weakness and uselessness, because the law did not bring anything to perfection; but introduced best hope by which we draw near to God” (Heb. 7:18-19). Accordingly, the Church did not consider it possible to keep the law of Moses, as determined at the Council of Jerusalem in the first century (see Acts 15:28-29).

As for the Sabbath, according to the words of the Apostle Paul, it is a prototype, “the shadow of the future” (Col. 2:17), that is, a foretaste of that true and full spiritual life that is revealed in Christ. The Jews, despite their outward observance of the Sabbath, did not enter into God's rest "for disobedience" (Heb. 4:6). Calling himself "Lord of the Sabbath" (see Mark 2:28) in response to the reproaches of the Pharisees, Christ abolishes the Old Testament commandment in its carnal-formal and worldly-limiting relation, thereby showing a completely new spiritual content of faith and that the true Sabbath consists in confessing the Lordship of Christ, cutting off evil deeds and evil will, doing good.

The connection of the New Testament Sabbath with the resurrection and divinity of Christ is revealed even more fully in chapter 5 of the Gospel of John. To the accusations of violating the Old Testament Sabbath, Christ replied: “My Father is working until now, and I am working” (John 5:17). Consequently, rest from work in a set period of time does not yet constitute a Sabbath as such, because the divine rest of the seventh day does not mean the complete inaction of God the Trinity and the absence of His care (providance) for the world after creation. Christ teaches not to abstain from deeds in general, but from a sinful way of thinking and living, which turns out to be impossible to correct by keeping the Sabbath in the Old Testament sense. According to St. Maximus the Confessor, "according to the law, corresponding to the state of temporary things, giving birth and dying, Saturday is honored by the suppression of deeds, and according to the Gospel, corresponding to the state of spiritual and mental affairs, it is celebrated by doing good deeds" .

It is noteworthy that in response to the reproach about the Sabbath, Christ confessed Himself to be God (John 5:18-27), preached the resurrection of the dead and His power over death. Thus He showed that the New Testament Sabbath includes the confession of the deity of Christ and His victory over sin and death. Not in the Sabbath itself, but in the resurrection according to the Holy Scriptures, the union of a person with Christ, the final abolition of sin and victory over death (Rom. 6:5-9) takes place.

Christ, being the lord of the Sabbath, manifests his dominion most powerfully in his resurrection, through which alone entry into divine rest is possible. Heavenly Kingdom. St. John of Damascus testifies: “We celebrate the perfect peace of human nature; I'm talking about the day of resurrection, on which the Lord Jesus, the Head of life and Savior, led us into the inheritance promised to those who serve God spiritually, into which He Himself entered as our Forerunner, having risen from the dead, and after the gates of heaven were opened to Him, He sat bodily at the right hand Father, here also those who keep spiritual law", i.e., keeping the true, spiritual Sabbath.

In the light of the New Testament, the fourth commandment of the Decalogue can be fulfilled spiritually (that is, truly) only through participation in the triumph of the resurrection of Christ, and not through following formal prescriptions and restrictions. If the Old Testament Sabbath requires a person to have a special pastime and worship God on the seventh day, then the New Testament Sabbath consists in complete renunciation of sin and doing good at all times.

It should also be noted that the law did not so much bring closer to God as it did not allow a person to move away from God even further than he had already moved away. And in this sense, the requirements of the law are minimal and consistent with the state of people in pre-Christian times. As St. John of Damascus, the Sabbath commandment was given so that “those who do not consecrate their whole lives to God, who serve the Lord not out of love, as the Father, but as ungrateful servants, give God at least a small and insignificant part of their lives and (would do ) this is at least because of the fear of responsibility and punishment for violation (commandments) ".

In the New Testament, not just one day of the week (be it the seventh or the first) is subject to consecration, but the whole life, every thought, word and action of a transformed person, regardless of time and place. The first Christians “did every day with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with joy and simplicity of heart, praising God” (Acts 2:46-47). The Savior cancels both temporal and spatial restrictions in the worship of God: “the time is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father” (John 4:21). Thus, in the Orthodox Church, the conciliar service to God (liturgy) is performed daily and everywhere, and not on just one Saturday in just one specific place. Sunday stands out in the cycle of the week not as the only day for consecration and worship, but as a special holiday.

From the above, the following conclusions can be drawn:

1) the fourth commandment of the Decalogue is not applicable to Sunday from a formal point of view (a formal argument);

2) the New Testament Sabbath consists in confessing the divinity of Christ, believing in His resurrection, putting off evil deeds and evil will, doing good deeds, since through this entry into the rest (Sabbath) of the Kingdom of Heaven is carried out (spiritual argument).

In our opinion, some problematic of the Orthodox catechetical exposition of the fourth commandment lies in the fact that it reproduces its outwardly formal content, which has ceased to be relevant from the point of view of the New Testament, while the spiritual content of the New Testament is reflected insufficiently and, as it were, is limited to one day of the week. The formal aspect here prevails over the spiritual.

At the same time, the substantiation of the veneration of Sunday by referring to the fourth commandment has some grounds of a different kind.

It should be noted that statements about the need to honor Saturday or Sunday have a common logical form: "It is necessary to allocate a special day in the week for worshiping God." In this sense, the analogy between Saturday and Sunday is obvious (without detracting from the fact that the reasons for honoring each of these days are different). This idea is present in St. John Chrysostom on the book of Genesis: “Already here, at the very beginning (of the existence of the world), God divinely offers us the teaching that we devote one day in the circle of the week and separate it for spiritual deeds.”

This argument is very convenient from the point of view of practical, pastoral tasks, since it allows the Church to remind believers of their religious duty. As St. John Chrysostom, “the week has seven days; God divided these seven days with us so that He did not take more, and did not give us less, and did not even divide them equally - He did not take three for Himself and did not give us three, but He separated six days for You, and left one for Himself. .

Coming to Church on Sundays is not the fulfillment of the Old Testament commandment about the Sabbath in the literal sense, but the veneration of Sunday has a clear similarity with the veneration of the Sabbath. Thus, Sunday is celebrated “instead of” Saturday, not in the sense of its literal replacement, but by analogy with it. At the same time, Sunday is filled with a special spiritual meaning and reveals the New Testament meaning of the Sabbath.

The presented argument from analogy (together with the pastoral aspect) allows us to consider the Orthodox catechetical exposition of the fourth commandment, although incomplete, but having the necessary foundations.

Saturday at Orthodox worship and asceticism

Christ in the Sermon on the Mount said that "not one jot or one tittle will pass from the law until all is fulfilled" (Matthew 5:18). Therefore, the commandments of the Old Testament have some meaning for the Christian, even if they are formally repealed. Thus, according to Metropolitan Philaret (Drozdov's) Catechism, “Saturday in the Christian Church is not celebrated as a perfect (real) holiday. However, in memory of the creation of the world and in continuation of the original celebration, he is released from fasting. Therefore, if the fourth commandment really changed Saturday to Sunday, then there would be no basis for the continued special status of the Sabbath in Orthodox theology and liturgy. Saturday has a distinct festive meaning; on this day, as on Sunday, fasting is canceled or weakened.

It is known that since ancient times, the Orthodox Church in its weekly liturgical cycle has emphasized exactly Saturday and Sunday. For example, in "Lavsaik" (5th century) it is said about the Nitrian ascetics that they "gather to church only on Saturdays and Sundays" . The content of the Sabbath liturgy is different from the services of any other day. The Orthodox Church on Saturday remembers not only the divine rest after the creation of the world, but also the departed Christians. IN Great Saturday On the eve of Easter, the Church experiences the descent of Christ into hell. It was on Holy Saturday that mass baptisms were performed in ancient times: the catechumens were invited to be mystically buried with Christ, to plunge into Saturday rest, in order to then be resurrected with the Savior. The kontakion of the sixth irmos of the canon of Great Saturday reads: "This Saturday is blessed, in which Christ, having fallen asleep, will rise three days."

The special spiritual significance of the commandment about the Sabbath is revealed in Orthodox asceticism. From Saints Justin Martyr and Irenaeus of Lyon, the first evidence of such a spiritual understanding has come down to us, in full agreement with Holy Scripture. Yes, St. Justin, in a dialogue with Trypho the Jew, says that in the New Testament, God commands "to keep the everlasting Sabbath," that is, to repent and sin no more: the next one "will make the true and pleasant Sabbath of God." According to St. Irenaeus of Lyon, “and it is not commanded to spend the day in peace and leisure to those who observe the Sabbath every day, that is, in the temple of God, which is the body of man, performs a worthy service to God and does righteousness every hour.” Other Orthodox saints had the same understanding of the Sabbath.

Thus, St. Macarius of Egypt, in his conversation “On the New and Old Sabbath,” said that the old Sabbath was “the image and shadow of the true Sabbath,” consisting in the fact that “the soul, having been able to get rid of shameful and impure thoughts, Sabbaths the true Sabbath, and rests true peace, being idle and free from all dark deeds. St. Gregory the Theologian instructed: "Keep every Sabbath - both lofty and hidden." St. Basil the Great, in his commentary on the prophet Isaiah, wrote: “True Sabbaths are the rest intended for the people of God; them, because they are true, God accepts. And those Sabbaths of rest are reached by the one in whom the world was crucified, - he reaches the perfect distance from the mundane and upon entering his own place of spiritual rest, abiding in which he will not move from his place, through the silence and serenity of this state. Etc. Mark the Ascetic wrote that “the Sabbath of Saturdays (Lev. 16:31) is the peace of mind of the rational soul, which, distracting the mind even from all the Divine words that are hidden in beings (created), in the rapture of love completely clothed it in the one God and mysterious theology has made the mind completely inseparable from God.

Cyril of Alexandria, Maximus the Confessor, John of Damascus and other saints had a similar understanding of the Sabbath.

These saints did not put into the commandment about the Sabbath the meaning that it is assimilated in modern Orthodox catechisms, and did not connect it with the external veneration of Sunday. St. Maximus the Confessor in the Speculative and Active Chapters (ch. 228, 229) clearly distinguishes the meaning of Saturday and Sunday (Easter): “Saturday is the repose of the movement of passions, or their complete inactivity. God commanded to honor the Sabbath, (...) for He Himself is also the Sabbath (...); there is He and Easter (…); and Pentecost is He. The same saint directly says that the commandment on the Sabbath is not connected with the veneration of any one day (be it Saturday or Sunday): “Some of the commandments of the law must be observed bodily and spiritually, and others only spiritually. For example, do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not steal, and such must be observed bodily and spiritually (...). On the contrary (…) keeping the Sabbath (…) is only spiritual” (Chapters on Love, Second Centurion, 86).

So, Orthodox theology and tradition testify that Sunday should not be regarded as a day that replaced Saturday, but as a new and main holiday in the history of God's people. In Orthodox hymnography, this significance of Sunday and its preeminence over Saturday is especially strongly expressed in the Paschal Canon of St. John of Damascus: “This is the appointed and holy day, one Sabbath is the king and Lord, the holidays are the feast and the triumph of celebrations, in which we will bless Christ forever.”

Although Saturday is abolished in Christianity as a mandatory institution, its meaning, however, continues to be displayed in Orthodox liturgics. The commandment to observe the Sabbath is considered in Orthodoxy mystically and ascetically as a call to union with God and the cessation of sin. At the same time, the Old Testament veneration of the Sabbath remains part of the Christian heritage (as well as other Old Testament commandments), in support of which we can refer to the words of St. Irenaeus of Lyons: “Preparing a person for this life, the Lord Himself spoke to everyone equally the words of the Decalogue; and therefore they also remain with us, having received through the fleshly advent of His expansion and increase, and not destruction.

Thus, in New Testament asceticism, the Sabbath commandment has a deep spiritual meaning, and its Old Testament meaning is not diminished, but rather, on the contrary, acquires its fullness.

The Doctrine of Sunday and Saturday in Western Orthodoxy

In the Orthodox West, the theology of Sunday and Sabbath was basically identical to the teaching of the churches of the East, with the exception that the Roman Church kept the Sabbath fast, thereby emphasizing the non-holiday nature of the Sabbath, and paid more attention to the disciplinary aspects of the veneration of Sunday.

The theology of Sunday and Saturday was most fully revealed in the West by Blessed Augustine of Hippo. In a letter to Junuarius, he testifies that the Lord's day is celebrated by Christians in honor of the resurrection of the Lord (see letter 55, from Augustine to Januarius, 13, 23). Augustine draws attention to the fact that the Old Testament command about the Sabbath is placed among the commandments that determine a person's attitude to God, and not to other people: Saturday is an invitation precisely to Divine rest, which therefore cannot be bodily and limited in time. This is “complete and holy eternal rest” (letter 55, from Augustine to Januarius, 9, 17), to which the Christian strives in faith, hope and love, and the way to which Jesus Christ opened through His sufferings; peace from all heaviness, care and anxiety, which, however, is not passive inaction, but is full of life, good deeds and prayerful glorification of God. Therefore, “the prescribed bodily rest is an image that we received as a means of our edification, and not as a duty that weighs on us” (letter 55, from Augustine to Januarius, 12, 22). In his "Confession" Augustine asks God for "peace of rest, peace of the Sabbath, peace that knows no evening", he spiritually understands the seventh day as the eternal rest of the Kingdom of Heaven.

As later St. Maximus the Confessor, Bl. Augustine says that the command about the Sabbath, unlike the rest of the commandments of the Decalogue, has a figurative and mystical meaning and must be fulfilled spiritually, and not bodily: “we are not commanded to keep the Sabbath day literally, in repose from bodily labors, as the Jews do” ( letter 55, from Augustine to Januarius, 12, 22). Augustine points out that the spiritual meaning of the Sabbath is revealed through the resurrection of the Savior: “Now, when through rest we return to that true life that the soul lost through sin, the symbol of this rest is the seventh day of the week. But this true life itself (...) is displayed by the first day of the week, which we call the day of the Lord ”(letter 55, from Augustine to Januarius, 9, 17). These thoughts of Augustine are consistent with what the Eastern holy fathers spoke about.

Other examples should be cited regarding Sunday and Sabbath theology in Western Orthodoxy.

Pope Innocent I at the beginning of the 5th century. wrote: "We celebrate Sunday because of the revered Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ." Pope Gregory the Dialogist (c. 540-604) spoke about the holiness of Sunday: “our respect for the day of the resurrection of our Lord and care for its holiness requires us that we dedicate this day, appointed for rest from labors, dedicating it to the Lord before Him are prayers for the forgiveness of the sins we have committed during the six days. As St. Gregory the Dialogist, “everything that is written in the Old Testament about the Sabbath, we accept and keep spiritually, and since Saturday is a day of rest, then our true Sabbath is our Redeemer Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, who gave temporary and eternal rest to the souls of the righteous.” The Second Masonic Council in the 6th century decreed that the Sunday rest was "offered to us in the manner of the seventh day in the law and the prophets."

The Church in the West gave great importance disciplinary aspects of Sunday observance. Even at the Elvira Local Council (306), it was decided that a person could be expelled from the city if he did not attend worship three Sundays in a row (21 rules). The Council of Agde (506) obliged Christians to attend the Sunday service. Similar rules were adopted at the III Orleans Council (538) and II Masonic (581-583).

It should also be noted that the Roman Church fasted on the Sabbath. At first, this practice was not universal: according to Bl. Augustine, she was absent in the Milan area. However, later the Sabbath fast was established everywhere in the West, which became one of the reasons for the separation with the Eastern churches.

In the future, the Catholic doctrine of Sunday and Saturday, developing already outside Orthodox tradition, has acquired its own characteristics, the main of which, in our opinion, is the concept of replacing Saturday with Sunday. Since this concept influenced Orthodox Christians at a later time, it is necessary to consider what the Roman Catholic doctrine of the Sabbath and Sunday is.

Sunday and Sabbath Doctrine in Roman Catholicism

In its foundations, the Catholic understanding of the day of the Lord coincides with the church, as it is based on faith in the resurrection of Christ and the heritage of the pre-schism period. In Dies Domini (1998), summarizing Catholic Sunday theology, Pope John Paul II referred to the Lord's day as Easter, "which returns week after week." According to the Catholic catechism, "through Easter Christ Sunday fulfills the spiritual truth of the Jewish Sabbath and proclaims man's eternal rest in God." Obviously, these provisions are consistent with the Tradition of the Church.

Serious differences between the Roman Catholic teaching and the church lie in its excessive legalism, as well as in the concept of replacing Saturday with Sunday, which to some extent was also accepted by Orthodox Christians.

A strongly pronounced legalism in the understanding of the fourth commandment and the day of the Lord is present in the catechism of the Council of Trent (1545-1563), the most significant in terms of completeness of presentation catholic doctrine. In it, the commandment to rest on the seventh day is interpreted precisely as a duty: "those who completely neglect its fulfillment oppose God and His Church: they are enemies of God and His holy laws."

However, only in 1917, in the Code of Canon Law, participation in Sunday mass was made a direct obligation for believers. The current Code formulates this prescription as follows: “faithful Christians are bound by the obligation to participate on Sundays and holidays in Divine Liturgy» . The Second Vatican Council also confirmed this in the constitution on the sacred liturgy (Sacrosanctum concilium, II, 56): "The Holy Council urges pastors in teaching the faith to persistently remind the faithful of their obligation to participate in the entire Mass, especially on Sundays." The same is said in the catechism.

Thus, in Catholicism, the veneration of Sunday appears as a binding legal norm, the violation of which is punishable. Such an understanding is in many ways alien to the Orthodox Church, which, having canonical prescriptions for Sunday, is more drawn to the good conscience and free will of man. However, it should be noted that in the message "Dies Domini" (1998), Pope John Paul II softened the legal tone of the catechetical teaching: "observance of the Lord's Day (...) remains a genuine obligation. However, such observance should be perceived more not as a prescription, but as a need that arises in the depths of the Christian life.

Another difference between Catholicism in the doctrine of Sunday is the fundamental assertion that Sunday is celebrated instead of Saturday. In the largest Catholic teacher, Thomas Aquinas (c. 1225-1274), this thought finds a complete expression: the beginning of a new creation in the resurrection of Christ.

To justify the concept of substitution, Aquinas divided the commandment on the Sabbath into what pertains to moral (natural, divine, immutable, eternal) law and what is ceremonial (situational, ceremonial, changeable, temporal) institution: moral in the sense that it prescribes a person to devote part of his time to the divine (...), and it is in this sense that it is among the prescriptions of the Decalogue, and not in that it establishes a specific time, in which respect it is a ritual prescription. On this Thomist basis, the confession of the Council of Trent (1545-1563) was formed, in the catechism of which it was said that the commandment on the Sabbath, "from the point of view of the time of its fulfillment, is not fixed and immutable", "we are not taught by the natural right to worship God in Saturday, like any other day." Accordingly, Saturday can be celebrated on Sunday: "The Church of God, in her wisdom, prescribed that the celebration of the Sabbath should be transferred to the "day of the Lord"".

Thus, both Saturday and Sunday are introduced into the relativistic logical construction as subordinate elements in relation to the “natural law”, thus the unique meaning of each of these days is, as it were, eliminated. The Sabbath command is reduced to its most general formulation: "Remember that you must keep the feast days holy."

The Fathers of the Church understand the fourth commandment spiritually as entry into Divine rest through renunciation of sins and passions, do not tie its fulfillment to any period of time, and nowhere do they teach about replacing Saturday with Sunday. The commandment on the Sabbath is not divided by the holy fathers into parts, it is fully recognized as an expression of the immutable divine will (“natural law” in the terminology of Thomas Aquinas) and receives a spiritual increment in the light of the New Testament. Whereas in the Catholic Thomistic interpretation the Sabbath commandment is artificially broken, Sunday is understood as a replacement for the Sabbath, and the New Testament spiritual content of the commandment is not revealed. Although Thomas Aquinas used the image of the "spiritual Sabbath", it was not developed much.

Perhaps the specific attitude towards the Sabbath that developed in Roman Catholicism was caused by the spread of Sabbath sects in the West. Although similar movements arose in the East, perhaps it was in Rome at some stage that they constituted a threat to the Church. Pope Gregory the Dialogist called the Subbotniks "preachers of the Antichrist." The confrontation with the sects could strengthen the Roman Church in the practice of the Sabbath fast and the conscious elimination of the festive features of the Sabbath, preserved in the Orthodox Church.

The Trullian (or Fifth-Sixth) Ecumenical Council (691-692) in the 55th rule ordered the Roman Church to abolish the Sabbath fast. Despite such an authoritative decision, the Roman Church did not change its practice. In 867, Patriarch Photius of Constantinople in his “District Epistle” singled out the Sabbath fast as the first difference between the Eastern and Western Churches: “For their first untruth is the Sabbath fast, which not only rejects Tradition in a small way, but also reveals neglect of the teaching as a whole” .

Thus, although the Orthodox and Catholic teachings about Sunday and Saturday are identical in their foundations, they also have significant differences. Probably, the presence in the Orthodox catechisms of the concept of replacing Saturday with Sunday is caused, as we have already mentioned, by Catholic influence. This is confirmed by her late appearance in the Church.

Conclusion

Revealing the theology of Sunday and Saturday in the light of the teachings of the Orthodox Church, we are convinced of the deep spiritual meaning inherent in their veneration. This meaning is not limited to setting aside one day a week for the worship of God. This external, "bodily" dimension is inseparable from the Christian life, but secondary to that fullness of the life of the Holy Spirit, which is given in the New Testament and which overcomes temporal and geographical limitations.

The Orthodox Church teaches that through the resurrection of Christ, the way is opened to the peace of the Kingdom of Heaven, true Sabbath in the glorification of God, victory over sin and death, the creation of good deeds. Sunday, therefore, is the new and main feast of the Church, "there is one Sabbath, the king and the Lord," according to St. John of Damascus.

At the same time, in Orthodoxy, reverence for Saturday is preserved: it is the second most important day in the seven-day liturgical circle. The glory of the Sabbath as the main Old Testament holiday is diminished by the glory of Sunday, but not swallowed up or destroyed by it. In the I-II centuries, the Church did not oppose Jewish Christians in keeping the Sabbath according to the law of Moses, but forbade this to be done by new converts from Gentiles. Later, the Church finally banned the Old Testament rites of the Sabbath, at the same time affirming in the canons its special status in memory of the Old Testament celebration.

The relationship of Saturday and Sunday is thus the relationship of the New and Old Testament. Greatest Old Testament prophet- John the Baptist - said about Christ: "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30).
Bl. Theophylact of Bulgaria interprets these words as follows: “How is the glory of the Forerunner diminished? Just as the morning dawn is covered by the sun, and it seems to many that its light has died out, although in fact it has not died out, but is covered by a greater one, so, without a doubt, the Forerunner daylight is covered by the mental Sun, and therefore it is said that it diminishes. So is Saturday: it is not canceled by the Church, but its significance is diminished in comparison with Sunday, dedicated to the triumph of Easter of Christ.

Roman Catholicism also recognizes the advantage of Sunday over Saturday, but the glory of Saturday and the memory of its celebration are eliminated: Saturday, according to Catholic teaching, is replaced by Sunday. This concept, due to purely external, historical reasons had an impact on Orthodox Christians, but it has no basis in the Tradition of the Church. The consequence of this influence is that Orthodox Christians are often unaware of the spiritual meaning that the Holy Fathers put into the commandment about the Sabbath.

In our opinion, the clarification of the spiritual meaning of both Saturday and Sunday in the light of the teachings of the Holy Fathers can contribute to the spiritual growth of Orthodox Christians and a better understanding of the faith. The missionary-apologetic aspect of Sunday and Sabbath theology is also important, in particular from the point of view of the controversy with Subbotniks.

Bibliography

1. Archbishop Peter (L'Huillier). Rules of the first four Ecumenical Councils/ Authorization per. from French; Ed. arch. Vladislav Tsypin. – M.: Ed. Sretensky Monastery, 2005.

2. Bible. The books of the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are canonical. In Russian translation with parallel places and applications. Russian Bible Society, Moscow, 2002.

3. Blessed Augustine. Confession / Per. from lat. M. E. Sergeenko; intro. Art. deac. A. Gumerova. - M .: Publishing House of the Sretensky Monastery, 2006.

4. Blessed Augustine. Creations: In 4 vols. Vol. 2: Theological treatises. - St. Petersburg: Aletheia; Kyiv: UCIMM-Press, 2000.

5. Varzhansky N. The weapon of truth. - M .: LLC "Three sisters", 2011.

7. Gregory Palamas. Decalogue on the Christian Law.

8. Day of the Lord // Catholic Encyclopedia. Volume I. A-Z. Franciscan Publishing. Moscow, 2002.

9. Acts of the Ecumenical Councils, published in Russian translation at the Kazan Theological Academy. Volume six. Third edition. Kazan, 1908.

10. Acts of the nine local councils published at the Kazan Theological Academy in Russian translation. Second edition. Kazan, 1901.

11. Deacon Andrei Kuraev. Appeal to Adventists // Deacon Andrey Kuraev. Protestants about Orthodoxy. Legacy of Christ. 10th edition, revised and enlarged. " Christian life", Klin, 2009.

12. Philokalia: In 5 vols. - Vol. 1. - 4th ed. - M .: Publishing house of the Sretensky Monastery, 2010.

13. Philokalia: In 5 vols. - Vol. 3. - 4th ed. - M .: Publishing house of the Sretensky Monastery, 2010.

14. Philokalia: In 5 vols. - Vol. 5. - 4th ed. - M .: Publishing house of the Sretensky Monastery, 2010.

15. Documents II Vatican Cathedral. Moscow: Paoline, 1998.

16. Eusebius Pamphilus. Life of Constantine / transl. SPb. Theological Academy, revised and corrected by Serpova V.V.; note: Kalinin A. - M.: ed. group Labarum, 1998.

17. John Paul II. Apostolic Epistle Dies Domini (“Day of the Lord”), III, 47. Russian version, URL: http://www.catholic.tomsk.ru/library/text/apostolskoe-poslanie-dies-domini.html ; English version, URL: http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_letters/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_05071998_dies-domini_en.html

18. Catechism Catholic Church. URL: http://cathmos.ru/files/docs/vatican_documents/cce4/content.htm

19. Catechism of the Catholic Church. Compendium. – M.: Cultural Center"Spiritual Library", 2007.

20. Cyril of Alexandria. Glafira or skillful explanations of selected places from the book of Exodus.

21. Krasovitskaya M. S. Liturgy. - Moscow: Orthodox St. Tikhon Theological Institute, 1999.

22. Palladius, Bishop of Helenopolis, Lavsaik, or the Narrative of the Life of the Holy and Blessed Fathers / Per. from Greek ep. Eusebius (Orlinsky). 3rd ed. SPb., 1873. (Reprint edition.)

23. Writings of the men of the apostles. – Publishing Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, 2008.

24. Full Orthodox prayer book for the laity and the Psalter. - M .: Ark, 2009. (Including the Easter canon of John of Damascus.)

25. Popov A. Historical and literary review of ancient Russian polemical writings against the Latins. XI-XV centuries M., 1875.

26. Rules of the Orthodox Church with interpretations of Nikodim, Bishop of Dalmatia-Istria. Volume II. St. Petersburg, 1912.

27. Orthodox Encyclopedia. URL: http://www.pravenc.ru/

28. Orthodox Confession of the Eastern Catholic and Apostolic Church, with the words of St. John of Damascus on holy icons, and the statement of faith, according to the revelation of St. Gregory the Wonderworker, Bishop of Neocaesarea. Translation from Greek. Moscow. Synodal Printing House. 1900.

29. Our Reverend Father Macarius of Egypt spiritual conversations, epistle and words, with the addition of information about his life and writings. Moscow. In the printing house of Vladimir Gauthier. 1855.

30. Our Reverend Fathers, Abba Isaiah the Hermit and Mark the Ascetic, teachings and words. - M .: "Rule of Faith", 2007.

31. A lengthy Christian catechism of the Orthodox Catholic Eastern Church. Compiled by Metropolitan Filaret (Drozdov). Reissue. Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra, 2008.

32. Early Church Fathers. Anthology. – Brussels, 1988.

33. Saint Gregory the Dialogist, Pope of Rome, Epistle to the Citizens of Rome, in which he forbids keeping the Sabbath, according to Jewish custom. // Journal "Christian reading, published at the St. Petersburg Theological Academy". - St. Petersburg: In the printing house of K. Zhernakov. - 1843 - Part IV.

34. Saint Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia. Creations: In 2 volumes. Volume One: Dogmatic-polemical writings. exegetical writings. Conversations. App.: Archbishop. Vasily (Krivoshein). The problem of knowing God. – M.: Siberian Blagozvonnitsa, 2012.

35. Saint Nicholas of Serbia. Orthodox catechism. "Christian Life", Klin, 2009.

36. Saint Andrew, Archbishop of Caesarea Interpretation of the Apocalypse // Vladimir, Metropolitan of Kiev and All Ukraine. "Yes, come, Lord Jesus." Saint Andrew, Archbishop of Caesarea. Interpretation of the Apocalypse (collection). - Russian language. - K .: Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, 2011.

37. St. John of Damascus. Accurate presentation Orthodox faith. Book. IV, ch. XXIII. Against the Jews, about the Sabbath // complete collection creations of St. John of Damascus. Volume 1. St. Petersburg, 1913.

38. St. Irenaeus of Lyons. Against heresies. Proof of the Apostolic Sermon / Translation by Archpriest P. Preobrazhensky, N. I. Sagarda. – Ed. 2nd, corrected. - St. Petersburg: "Publishing house of Oleg Abyshko", 2010.

39. St. Justin Philosopher and Martyr. Creations. – M.: Palomnik, Blagovest, 1995.

40. St. Cyril of Alexandria. Commentary on the Gospel of John//Creations. Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra, 1901.

41. Symphony based on the works of St. Gregory the Theologian - M .: "DAR", 2008.

42. Skaballanovich M. N. Explanatory Typicon. M., 2004

43. Creations of St. Epiphanius of Cyprus. Part one: On eighty heresies Panary, or the Ark. M .: Printing house of V. Gauthier, 1863.

44. Creations of our holy father John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople, in Russian translation. Volume two in two books. Book one. St. Petersburg. Edition of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy. 1896.

45. Creations of our holy father John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople, in Russian translation. Volume ten in two books. Book one. St. Petersburg. Edition of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy. 1904.

46. ​​Tertullian. Selected works: Per. from lat./General. ed. and comp. A. A. Stolyarova. - M .: Publishing group "Progress", "Culture", 1994.

47. Thomas Aquinas. sum of theology. Part II-I. Questions 90-114. - K .: Nika-Center, 2010.

48.St. Augustine: Letters 1-99. Translation, introduction, and notes by Roland J. Teske, S.J.. Hyde Park, NY: New City Press, 2001.

49. The Catechism of the Council of Trent, published by command of Pope Pius the Fifth. Translated into English by Rev. J. Donovan, Professor, &c., Royal College, Maynooth. Dublin, 1829.

Dies Domini, III, 47.

To date, the last pan-Catholic cathedral, and therefore in a relative sense more authoritative for Catholics.

Documents of the II Vatican Council. Moscow: Paoline, 1998, p. 37.

Thomas Aquinas. sum of theology. S. 133

See: Acts of the Ecumenical Councils, published in Russian translation at the Kazan Theological Academy. Volume six. Third edition. Kazan, 1908. S. 288.

Popov A. Historical and literary review of ancient Russian polemical writings against the Latins. XI-XV centuries M., 1875. S. 9.

The earliest example is from St. Gregory Palamas (XIV century), see his Decalogue of the Christian Law, where it is said: “One day of the week, which is called the Lord’s, because it is dedicated to the Lord, who rose from the dead into it, and thus the general resurrection of all foreshadowed in him warned - this day is holy (Ex. 20: 10-11), and do not do any worldly work on it (...). Having thus God as a place of refuge, you will not transgress the commandments, you will not kindle the fire of passions, and you will not take the burden of sin upon yourself; and thus you will sanctify the Sabbath day, Sabbath-keeping by not doing evil ”(St. Gregory Palamas. Decalogue of the Christian Law // Philokalia: In 5 vols. - Vol. 5. - 4th ed. - M .: Publishing House of the Sretensky Monastery, 2010. S. 275). St. Gregory, like the early holy fathers, speaks of the spiritual Sabbath, but he ties the fulfillment of the commandment about the Sabbath to Sunday.

As M. N. Skaballanovich wrote, “From the very beginning of the 3rd century, with the weakening of antagonism to Judaism, there was a tendency to honor the Sabbath in some way, separating it from a number of ordinary days, and this trend by the end of the century and the beginning of the 4th century. leads to the fact that in some Churches Saturday is honored almost equally with Sunday ”(Skaballanovich M.N. Explanatory Typikon. M., 2004).

See also the words of the righteous Simeon the God-Receiver: “Now you release Your servant, Lord, according to Your word, in peace, for my eyes have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, a light to enlighten the Gentiles and the glory of Your people Israel” (Lk 2:29-32).

Interpretation on holy gospel Blessed Theophylact of Bulgaria. In two volumes. T. II.

Interpretations on the Gospels of Luke and John.: Siberian Blagozvonnitsa; Moscow; 2010, p. 204.

. Who will get the reader's choice award is up to you: leave comments at the end of the article. Send us your stories

Sunday. Morning. In a few minutes, the parishioners will gather for a prayer service with an akathist before the Liturgy. Everyone can participate in reading and singing, just 5 years ago, and I began my churching with just such akathists ...

... A thin little book with the inscription "Akathist to All Saints" trembles in her hands, Natalya Borisovna, head of the temple and "senior in akathists", looks around in search of readers. A book in my hands is a signal of readiness for reading, and I do not go unnoticed. Reassuring smile: "Will you read?" A lump in my throat, at first my voice changes, but slowly gets stronger. When I finish, I see friendly faces nearby - they accepted me ...

After the akathist - Hours before the Liturgy. The temple is filling up, it's so nice to see everyone again, just like every weekend! Notes are served, candles are bought, everyone disperses to their usual places ... Father Alexy burns incense and congratulates everyone on the holiday ...

... The first time I saw Father Alexy was on TV - a local television company showed a story about a visit by the rector of the Intercession Church in the village of Khomutovo to the Shchelkovsky orphanage. “This is the kind of priest I could go to confession to…” – this thought stuck in me and served as the beginning of my return to the church, after I stopped attending Sunday school, I began to be afraid to appear in the vicinity of the church.

“Blessed is the Kingdom…” — the Liturgy begins.

Gradually, numerous parents with children gather at the temple. Older children immediately go to the service, the little ones go to the playground on the territory of the temple. Mothers and fathers of very young children usually take turns attending the service in order to be able to pray in peace. Sandbox, swings, climbing ladders - what a joy for kids! But all this appeared not so long ago, the number of children in the parish, thank God, is growing every year.

Those who signed up for baptism timidly look into the territory through the gate. Mothers swing babies, future godparents, ruddy and cheerful, ask where the gatehouse is, standing right in front of her door. The owners of video cameras and cameras, in anticipation of the main event, capture the beauty of the temple and the numerous flower beds in the fence, carefully cultivated by parishioners. Most often, a temple for those who come to be baptized or baptize children is something distant, mysterious and enigmatic ... Soon our Lena will come to them, conducting public discussions before baptism, she will explain everything and answer all questions. In addition to this obedience, Lena also takes care of the library at the temple, where anyone can borrow books to read. And she, like many others, helps to clean up the temple.

I remember the first time I decided to offer my help in the temple - I stayed after the service. Valentina, the young woman behind the box, was a little surprised, smiled amiably, and went to teach me how to put out the lamps. I remember how the priest, passing by, looked at me for a while - someone new appeared ... And then, with tears in my eyes, I told my friends at the school how I wanted to become a member of this family - clean up, wash floors, everything anything - just to be there ...

I remember that the first person who greeted me in the church at the Easter night service with a joyful exclamation of “Christ is Risen!” there was Irina, under whose guidance my friend and I watched the candles and washed the floors on Holy Saturday ...

... Here Annushka, an old altar girl, passed from the gatehouse to the temple. It seems that she already hears and sees very badly, but she will never pass by familiar faces without a slight bow and a surprisingly kind and joyful smile. We have two altar girls - there is also Antonina - a zealot for a reverent attitude towards the temple and the service, simple and kind, but not giving descent to the altar boys in case of negligence.

It's time for us to go to church. You enter and immediately hear harmonious choir singing. Today, Sunday, the choir is in full force. Regent Luba is still quite young, but very strict - try to hit the wrong note! But this does not happen on Sundays - the parishioners with the best vocal abilities, and the most experienced, are on the kliros. Among them, if you look closely, you can see our oldest and most respected chorister, Zinaida Grigorievna. It was she, mother Zinaida, who once took me by the hand and led me to the kliros, without even imagining how much it meant to me then, and this event became significant for me forever in my life ... Modest and inconspicuous at festive services, Mother Zinaida, who devoted her whole life to the church, is simply indispensable at everyday services, when there are very few singers, not infrequently, and one had to help the priests sing and subtract the service lasting several hours ...

Behind the box - Elizabeth, Valentina, Lyudmila Andreevna - the treasurer of the temple. They will always smile, answer the inexhaustible questions of those who are just looking for the way to the temple, who came “accidentally”, out of curiosity, they will recommend a book, talk about icons, tell you when it is more convenient to approach the priest with a question. Well, moms with kids will always add an extra prosphora - after Communion, no sweets can be compared with fresh prosphora!

In Nikolsky aisle - confession. Father Vasily is now confessing. Amazing dad! Recently the entire parish celebrated his 70th birthday. Despite all the infirmities, Father Vasily does not leave the service in the temple. He confesses, concelebrates, serves a memorial service - his service means a lot, the parishioners love and appreciate him. Always by his side right hand- Mother Tamara - kind, friendly, the favorite of all the kids in the parish.

We have one more father - father Alexander. You don’t often meet such a cheerful father - everyone will remember some of his good jokes, a funny remark that brings you out of despondency. Father Alexander will never pass by the children just like that - he will bless, pat on the head, ask how things are going, does anyone offend? Many noticed that he was especially partial to boys - the father has four daughters and two granddaughters, whom he never gets tired of talking about.

It is impossible not to mention Matushka Evgenia, the wife of our rector, mother of four children. She is always aware of all the affairs in the parish, she will always support in difficult times, pray, find someone who can help in a difficult situation. Young mothers will be advised how to cope with small children, not to forget the temple and not to leave prayer under any circumstances.

“Come with the fear of God and faith…” – that’s Communion. Many young mothers and fathers with babies in their arms reached out towards the priest, who was holding the Chalice in his hands and reciting a prayer. In front of Father Alexy there are many children in colorful festive clothes and scarves, a little further away - older children, sedately folded their hands on their chests ... Thank God that there are so many of them! Grant, Lord, that they go through their whole lives with faith and hope in God's help...

After Communion, the little ones are taken away to be fed and put to sleep in strollers, many remain until the end of the service. Adult parishioners pull closer to the priest to listen to the sermon. But, thanks to the care of our craftsmen, Grigory and Sergey, who extended wires with microphones to the altar, the sermon is very clearly audible not only next to the priest, but also in any corner of the church.

Let's go to the Cross. The priest greets everyone, asks how his health is, whether things have improved, invites him to a meal.

In the porch, many linger at the stands. Here you can always find out the news of the parish, read announcements about upcoming religious processions, parish holidays, read articles by parishioners from our website, see photo reports from past parish events and festive concerts, admire the drawings of young Sunday school students, and learn much more. Adults are invited to talk about Orthodoxy with the priest, held on Wednesdays in a children's club in the town of Schelkovo-7.

The youth, led by a young officer Vladimir, agrees on the next hiking or cycling trip - after all, summer is in the yard, it's time to relax in nature.

About once a month in the porch, and in the summer sunny days and at the exit from the temple, distribution of clothes and shoes for those in need is carried out. Natalya Nikolaevna, who is obedient here, says that such distributions help many. Well, mothers at the parish at any time do not stop exchanging children's clothes and things that babies, as a rule, do not have time to wear out.

In the days patronal holidays at the exit from the temple, a festive meal awaits everyone - specially made tables are lined with dishes with cookies and sweets, everyone is treated to fragrant tea - the whole air around is permeated with the atmosphere of the holiday ... We communicate, rejoice, share news and impressions, plan future meetings.

After the service, many remain in the church to help, after a meal and rest, Sunday school classes begin. For seniors, Alexander Georgievich, a former military man, conducts a hand-to-hand combat section.

My children and I are going home - they are still too small for Sunday school, and my husband’s obedience in the church is rather “homely” - Boris, and another of our parishioners, and just a friend, Sergey, with the blessing of the priest, are engaged in the website of our church. They write new articles, make photo reports, regularly update the schedule of services, and look for interesting materials.

Last look at the temple sign of the cross, bow ... We go home, but the soul never leaves here. This is our second, or rather, first home, here are our friends, our family, which is constantly growing and changing, always ready to accept someone who is hard and lonely, ready to help and support. Our family is our parish.

Olga Ushkevich

Many novice Christians ask themselves the question - How to spend Sunday in an Orthodox way? Let's try to answer this question. The time of the holiday is a time of special service to God. And since God especially dwells in the temple, then on holidays it is necessary to visit the temple of God.

With what zeal should we respond to the invitation of the Heavenly King, to whom every holiday, every Sunday, with special strength and perseverance, the Holy Church calls us to the house of God, where the Heavenly King Himself is present by His grace! “For those people, says Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow, who, out of weakness, out of need, out of duty of obedience in sacred times, are forced to stay in their homes, it must be said: at least when they hear the exalted voice of the bell announcing the high minute of bloodless sacrifice, let them send into the church a reverent thought, a pious desire, let them sanctify themselves with the sign of the cross, as if together with those who are coming to the altar; the angel of the temple will meet them and count them from a distance among those really coming and will offer their memory to the altar of the Lord.

Returning home from the church, a Christian must maintain a prayerful mood here too.

If on weekdays, when a person is entertained by worldly cares and labors, he cannot always devote much time to prayer, which is so necessary for his soul, then on Sundays and holidays he must devote most of his day to this pious and saving occupation.

Saint Tikhon, Bishop of Voronezh, went to church almost every day for Liturgy and Vespers, and he himself sang in the kliros. He spent his nights without sleep and went to bed at dawn.

Prophet David prayed at the beginning of the night, got up for prayer at midnight, prayed in the morning, in the evening and at noon.

That is why he said: in the seven days of the day praise Thee (Ps. 119:164).

Abba Dula, a disciple of the Monk Bessarion, said: “I went into my cell to my elder and found him standing at prayer; his hands were stretched out to heaven, and he remained in this feat for fourteen days.

Prayer is a reverent conversation between the human soul and God. Quite decent on holidays and conversation with people, but, of course, not all, but only about divine objects.

The soul after pious conversations is filled with holy thoughts, feelings and desires. The mind becomes clearer, brighter; regret about the badly spent past penetrates into the heart - the will would still want to do only one thing that is pleasing before God.

Oh, that each of us would love to speak and hear more about things that concern God and the soul; then faith and virtue would not be with us only in words, but would be the life and property of the heart, of our whole being.

It is equally useful and salutary both to conduct soul-saving conversations and to read soul-saving books. The Holy Apostle Paul commands his beloved disciple, Bishop Timothy, to read holy and soulful books as one of the main means for success in the spiritual life. Attend to reading (1 Tim. 4:13), he writes to him. And the holy fathers, following the apostle, command everyone to read the holy books as one of the important means for spiritual perfection.

It is especially useful to read the Holy Scriptures. “If we read the Holy Scriptures with faith,” says St. Basil the Great, “we feel that we see and hear Christ Himself. What needs, whether by a living voice, or through scripture, who speaks to us? It's all the same. So in Holy Scripture God speaks to us as truly as we speak to Him through prayer.”

It is very useful and saving for the soul to do good on holidays. The holy apostle Paul advised the Christians of the Corinthian church to establish a permanent collection for the benefit of the needy: do as I have established in the churches of Galatia. On the first day of the week (that is, every Sunday - Approx. Ed.), Let each of you save and collect as much as his condition allows (1 Cor. 16: 1-2). St. John Chrysostom, inspiring this commandment to the Christians of Constantinople, says: “Let us arrange in our house an ark for the poor, which should be located at the place where you stand for prayer. Let everyone put aside the money of the Lord at home on Sunday. If we make it our rule on Sunday to set aside something for the benefit of the poor, we shall not break this rule. The craftsman, having sold something from his works, let him bring the firstfruits of the price to God and share this part with God. I do not demand much, only I ask you to set aside at least a tenth. Do the same not only when selling, but also when buying. Let all those who acquire righteousness observe these rules.”

The ancient Christians lovingly honored the holidays with abundant offerings to the church, of which one part went to the maintenance of church employees and church needs, and the other to help the poor. “These offerings,” says one ancient Christian writer, “serve as a pledge of piety; because they do not go to feasts, not to drunkenness, not to overeating, but to feed and bury the poor, to youths and maidens who have lost their property and parents, to old men who, due to weakness, can no longer leave their homes and do work, also those who suffered misfortune and imprisoned for their faith in ore-digging, on islands and dungeons.

Many of the people sufficient in respect for the holidays themselves distributed generous alms to the poor brethren, fed the hungry, looked after the strange and went to hospitals, trying with words of consolation and various services to alleviate the suffering of the sick. So the writer of the life of St. Martha, talking about how she honored the divine holidays, among other things, says: “She was inexpressibly merciful to the poor, feeding the hungry, and clothing the naked. Often entering hospitals, serving the sick with your own hands, giving burial to the dying from your labors, and giving white clothes to those who are baptized from your needlework.

The common custom of ancient Christians was to arrange festive meals for orphans, wanderers and all the poor during the days. In the early days of Christianity, this kind of meal was established at churches and the tombs of martyrs; but subsequently they began to be arranged by benefactors only in their own homes. The generosity of some Christians extended to the point that sometimes, due to the large gathering of beggars, on one holiday they arranged several meals one after another. So it is known that one Christ-loving brother, named Isaiah, was distinguished by special charity during the holidays: having created a hospice and a hospital, he tried to put to rest all those who came to him and served the sick with all zeal: three, and four meals representing the poor for the sake of. If one of your relatives or friends is sick, go to the sick person, comfort them as much as you can. Maybe someone close to your heart lies in the cemetery. Go to the grave of the deceased, pray for him. Now, in many churches, on holidays, extra-liturgical interviews of pastors with the people are arranged. It's good to visit them.

This is how a Christian should spend a Sunday or a holiday. But is this really how we do it?

Many of the Christians, dissatisfied with their constant earnings, also devote time of sacred rest to their work, thinking through this to increase their fortune. But in vain they think so. The Prologue contains such a story.

Two artisans lived side by side, both of whom were engaged in the same craft: they were tailors. One of them had a wife, father, mother and many children; but he went to church every day. However, despite the fact that through this he took up a lot of time for work in the craft, he adequately supported himself and fed himself with the whole family, thanks to the blessing of God, daily requested for work and for his home. The other one devoted himself too much to the craft, so that often on holidays, which should be devoted to the service of God, he was not in the temple of God, but sat at work, but was not rich and hardly fed himself. So he began to envy the first; one day he could not stand it and asked his neighbor with irritation: “why is this and how do you get rich? for here I work harder than you, but I am poor.”

And he, wanting his neighbor to remember God more often, answered: “Here I am, going to church every day, often finding gold along the way; and so little by little I acquire. If you want, we will go to church together, I will call every day; but only everything that each of us would not find - to divide in half. The poor man believed, agreed, and together they began to visit the temple of God every day, where the soul involuntarily disposes itself to prayer and where the grace of God invisibly touches the heart of man; the other soon became accustomed to such a pious custom. But what? God apparently blessed him and his work: he began to get better and grow rich. Then the first one, suppressing a good thought, confessed to his neighbor: “I didn’t tell you the whole truth before, but from what I said for the sake of God and your salvation, what good is it for your soul and for your estate! Believe that I did not find anything on earth, no gold, and did not visit the temple of God because of gold, but precisely because God said: Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all this will be added to you (Matt. 6: 33). However, if I said that I found gold, I did not sin: after all, you found and acquired. - Thus, the blessing of the Lord on those who revere the Lord sacredly serves as the best and most reliable companion for labors.

Those who disrespect the holy holidays can always be comprehended by God's punishment. After all, having a holiday completely free from work, they are too lazy even to go to the temple of God, and if they come, they stand absent-mindedly in the church of God, praying unzealously, thinking about how they could spend the holiday more cheerfully. And when they come home, they indulge in unbridled fun.

Of course, there is no sin in innocent pleasures and complete rest from constant work. The Monk Anthony the Great often said to his disciples: “just as one cannot constantly and strongly strain the bow, otherwise it will burst, so it is impossible for a person to be constantly in tension, but he also needs rest.” But the best joy for a Christian is in God; - therefore, the best joy of a Christian on the day of the holiday should be the joy of reading soul-saving books, conducting pious conversations and doing godly deeds. However, not only is a Christian not prohibited on this day from any reasonable entertainment - visiting any museum or exhibition, relatives or friends, etc., but even these healthy and useful entertainments are strongly recommended. But it is completely inconsistent with the holiness of Sunday to indulge in drunkenness, sing disorderly songs, and indulge in excesses of every kind. St. John Chrysostom says: "The feast is not for us to act outrageously and multiply our sins, but to purify those that we have."

Once upon a time the Lord God, through the mouth of His prophet, spoke to the Jews, who spent their feast days in the service of one sensuality: My soul hates your feasts (Isaiah 1:14). This is a terrible word. Let us fear the wrath of God, let us spend the feasts holy, not indulging in feasting and drunkenness, nor sensuality and debauchery, nor strife and envy (Rom. 13:13), but let us spend the feasts in purity and righteousness.

ABC of Faith