What to say during the rite of forgiveness. Liturgics

Everyone who wants to begin the feat of fasting and prayer,
everyone who wants to reap the fruits of their repentance,
hear the Word of God, hear the covenant of God:
Forgive your neighbors for their sins against you.
Saint Ignatius (Brianchaninov)

Are you fasting? Appease the one you have offended
Never envy your brother, never hate anyone.
Saint John Chrysostom

If you, a person, do not forgive everyone
sinned against you, then do not bother yourself
fasting and prayer... God will not accept you.
Venerable Ephraim the Syrian

What has been forgiven is risenNye - the last day before Lent.

On this day, all Orthodox Christians ask each other for forgiveness - in order to begin fasting with a good soul, focus on spiritual life and meet Easter - the day of the Resurrection of Christ - with a pure heart.

Of course, on this day we must first of all ask ourselves: who have I hurt, voluntarily and unwittingly?

Who am I having an unhealthy relationship with and what can I do to change this? And first of all, ask our loved ones for forgiveness from the heart. It’s easier to do this in church, for everyone together. It's easier to ask for forgiveness and forgive. This opportunity, which cannot be neglected, is given to us by the Church on Forgiveness Sunday.

On this day, fast food is consumed for the last time.

The rite of forgiveness, as a rule, is performed in churches on Sunday evening - this is the service of Vespers of Cheese Week. The service begins as an ordinary Vespers, but in the church everything is different: there are Lenten black or purple lecterns on the lecterns, and in the middle of the service the priests change their vestments to dark ones. It’s especially solemn and joyful: Lenten spring, spiritual spring begins!

We make three great bows and say a prayer Venerable Ephraim the Syrian:

Lord and Master of my life, do not give me the spirit of idleness, despondency, covetousness, and idle talk.

Grant me the spirit of chastity, humility, patience, and love to Your servant.

To her, Lord the King, grant me to see my sins, and not to condemn my brother, for blessed are you forever and ever, amen.

After this, the rector of the temple delivers a sermon, then the priests ask for forgiveness from the parishioners and each other. After this, all the clergy go to the pulpit, and the parishioners come up, kiss the cross or icon, and ask the clergy for forgiveness.

BeginsGreat Lent.

The last Sunday before Great Lent is Forgiveness Sunday.

And on this day, even when you go to the temple, you step more quietly, and, holding your breath, you enter the darkness... Everyone is silent, many are in the dark, and the whole temple has changed clothes...

And so, when the lights in the church are turned off, and the rector, wearing a dark stole, comes out to the pulpit and speaks in a quiet voice about the coming days of Lent, and that we will now ask each other for forgiveness. All of us, having opened our hearts to each other: both clergy and ordinary lay people of all ages, will ask each other for forgiveness.

Let us now approach first the icon of Christ, our God and our Savior, Who paid a dear price for the power to forgive; Let us turn to the Mother of God, Who gave Her Only Begotten Son for our salvation; if She forgives, who will deny us forgiveness? And then we turn to each other. And while we walk, we will no longer hear repentant singing, but as if overtaking us from afar, the song of the Resurrection, which will become louder halfway, when the time comes to worship the Cross, and then fill this temple - and the whole world! - on the night when Christ resurrected, having won the victory.

Forgiveness Sunday, historically, is the day on which the monks of one Egyptian monastery said goodbye to each other before a long Lenten journey through the desert, from which not everyone returned, due to drought, illness, wild animals or banal old age. Before a long separation, ask for forgiveness from the people with whom you lived for a whole year under the same roof, whom you probably upset many times with your life during all this time and whom you may never see again - what could be more natural?

Yes, Not everyone understands the “strange” church custom of gathering in church and asking people for forgiveness, with whom, perhaps, I haven’t even exchanged a few words all year. Yes, not everyone will be satisfied with the explanation that forgiveness is the best antidote to the most common and dangerous sin of condemnation. But, nevertheless, if we sacredly honor such “traditions” as overeating on pancakes at Maslenitsa and Easter cakes at Easter, why not approach this Russian custom with the same seriousness - asking each other for forgiveness on the last Sunday before Lent ? And if someone’s “subtle mental organization” is so disgusted by the falseness with which one inevitably has to “say goodbye” to those who have “never been offended in anything,” there is no need to send them these vulgar poems and give them stamped postcards with teddy bears and the standard phrase “Sorry!..” Well, there’s nothing to ask for forgiveness from him - maybe there’s no need...

It's better to remember: Is there really not a single person in your life to whom you really need to apologize? There must be such a person. Because they are never offended only by furniture or dead people (and then, you know, anything can happen)… Don't text this person ok. Don't give him cards. Call. Better yet, knock on the door of his house. Moreover, there is such a wonderful occasion as Forgiveness Sunday!

This Sunday is called Forgiveness not only because after Vespers the rite of forgiveness occurs. Already at the Liturgy in the morning, the Gospel reading speaks of forgiveness: “... if you forgive people their sins, then your Heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive people their sins, then your Father will not forgive you your sins” (Matthew 6: 14-15).

Vespers of Forgiveness Sunday - This is the first service of Lent, because in the Church the day begins in the evening. Its observance is not much different from Vespers on Wednesday or Friday of Cheese Week, at which prostrations are already made and the prayer of Ephraim the Syrian is read - it’s just that few people manage to come to them.

There are several differences: the royal doors open, the vestments of the priests and the decoration of the temple change to black, and the Lenten “Great Prokeimenon” sounds:“Do not turn Your face away from Your youth, for I grieve...”, expressing the main mood of the first days of Lent - bright sadness: “a mysterious mixture of despair and hope, darkness and light” for a person, a weak youth, a weak-willed slave striving for the Kingdom of God, but feeling expelled from it.

Light sadness - because simultaneously with the awareness of sinfulness, repentance arises as a path to rebirth, renewal of the soul. It is no coincidence that in one of the hymns of the Triodion, Lenten fasting is compared with spring - “the ascension of the fasting spring.” Only at the beginning of spring can there be such cold light, such clear air, and it seems to me that it is very consistent with the spiritual experience of the beginning of Lent - purity, sobriety, which is conveyed by the entire liturgical structure of Lent - quiet strict chants, dark vestments, measured bows. Spring is a renewal of life, a renewal of the spirit, but “spring for souls” begins secretly in the very depths, just like in nature the early spring that comes at this time: there seem to be no visible changes, but the day has already become longer, and the darkness is receding.

Vespers of Forgiveness Sunday opens the time when everyone can feel a little like a monk: long services begin, prostrations to the ground, fasting food, reading patristic teachings. And the very rite of forgiveness, which the laity performs at divine services once a year, is customary in monasteries to be performed daily at Compline. You need to start a new day with a clear conscience. Start Lent in the same way - having cleared your soul of the burden of grievances, misunderstandings, disagreements with others, so that you can calmly focus on yourself, your relationship with God, according to the word of Christ: “When you go with your rival to the authorities, then on the road try to free yourself from him, so that he does not bring you to the judge, and the judge does not hand you over to the torturer, and the torturer does not throw you into prison” (Luke 12:58).

After Vespers, the rector of the temple addresses the people with a word, at the end of which the first asks for forgiveness. Here, each temple may have its own traditions, but, as a rule, the priesthood of the temple comes out with crosses, and the parishioners take turns first approaching them, and then to each other with words “Forgive me” and the answer “God forgives, and I forgive”. At this time, the choir usually sings the hymns of the preparatory days for Lent, such as “Open the doors of repentance,” and in some churches the Easter stichera, as if indicating the goal towards which we are beginning the journey.

And even if you don’t know anyone at the parish, it is still very important to go to this service in order to feel the atmosphere of the upcoming Lent and begin your repentance by asking the priest for forgiveness.

The rite of forgiveness is repeated several more times during Great Lent: the first four days of the first week, when the canon of St. Andrew of Crete is read, but not in its entirety, when everyone asks for forgiveness from each other, but briefly - the rector of the church at the end of the service says: forgive me, fathers and brothers, and bows to the ground, to which the believers also respond with a bow to the ground. And once again, in a more complete version, the rite of forgiveness is repeated on Holy Wednesday before the last Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts of this Lent - before the coming Maundy Thursday, the Last Supper and the passionate events of Good Friday. This is stated in the Lenten Triodion. Its meaning is also to put aside all our “earthly concerns” and adequately prepare for the services in which we will live through the most terrible and important events in the history of the world.

The main question on this day should be: do I really wish someone death and God’s punishment - or, in spite of everything, I wish him salvation and eternal life, I want God to forgive him, have mercy, despite my feelings with him, maybe , disagreements, maybe the evil he did to me? And if I don’t wish him salvation, can I go to Easter, when, as St. John Chrysostom says in his word: “...enter, all of you, into the joy of your Lord! Both first and last, accept your reward; rich and poor, rejoice one with another; Abstinent and careless, honor this day equally; you who have fasted and those who have not fasted, rejoice now!” And sorting out relationships, trying to understand another person, his actions sometimes takes a whole life.

Of course, on this day we must first of all ask ourselves: who have I hurt, voluntarily and unwittingly? Who am I having an unhealthy relationship with and what can I do to change this? And first of all, ask our loved ones for forgiveness from the heart. It’s easier to do this in church, for everyone together. It's easier to ask for forgiveness and forgive. This opportunity, which cannot be neglected, is given to us by the Church on Forgiveness Sunday.

There are situations when there is no need to ask for forgiveness. It rarely happens when a relationship is so perfect that there are no rough spots in it. But if, for example, we recently made peace with someone after some misunderstandings, and all these misunderstandings were finally resolved, why else is there a need for a formal ritual on this particular day? If, for example, a parishioner confessed a few days ago, and since then has been protected by God from temptations, it is stupid to demand from him a new confession before communion simply because “that’s the way it should be.” It’s the same with forgiving each other. Another nonsense is the exchange of forgiveness between people who are practically strangers, who are unlikely to be offended by each other.

It probably won’t be a sin to answer “I have nothing to forgive you for” instead of “God will forgive” in cases where there really is nothing for it. This is better than once again breaking the third commandment by taking the name of God in vain. As a rule, the “unforgiven” in such a situation tries to prove that “this is how it should be”; in response to this, one can gently remind one of the dangers of a formal attitude towards the need for reconciliation before fasting. But only if this reminder is truly meek and loving, otherwise the reason for mutual forgiveness that was missing may immediately appear.

AND AGAIN: remember on this day the personWho would it really be worth apologizing to?… Don't text this person ok. Don't give him cards. Call. Better yet, knock on the door of his house.

HAPPY BEGINNING OF GREAT LENT, MY BROTHER AND SISTER!

...Images, altar, crucifix,
The repentant cry flies.
Forgive me, sisters and brothers:
They answer: God will forgive.

Neither your sins nor your sorrows
The heart is not hidden these days.
You will forgive before the Lord,
My sisters and brothers:

Strangers, acquaintances,
Those who have no relatives
You will forgive the iniquities
My vain soul.

I silently cry for salvation,
Having made the sign of the Cross.
Spring light. Resurrection.

The last day before Lent.

The last Sunday before the start of Lent is called by the Church Cheese Week, since it is on this day that the consumption of dairy products ends. The Church reminds us of the expulsion of Adam and Eve from paradise for disobedience and intemperance. This day is also called Forgiveness Sunday. At the Liturgy, the Gospel is read with a part from the Sermon on the Mount, which talks about forgiveness of offenses to neighbors, without which we cannot receive forgiveness of sins from the Heavenly Father, about fasting, and about collecting heavenly treasures. Gospel reading on Forgiveness Sunday: Matthew, 17 credits, 6, 14--21 14 For if you forgive people their sins, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 and if you do not forgive people their sins, then your Father will not forgive you your sins. 16 Also, when you fast, do not be sad like the hypocrites, for they put on gloomy faces in order to appear to people as fasting. Truly I tell you that they are already receiving their reward. 17 And when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 that you may appear to those who fast, not before men, but before your Father who is in secret; and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you openly. 19 Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in and steal, 21 for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Interpreting the Gospel verses about the mutual forgiveness of offenses on Forgiveness Sunday, Bishop Theophan the Recluse exclaims: “What a simple and ready-to-hand method of salvation! Your sins are forgiven, under the condition that your neighbor’s sins against you are forgiven. You yourself, that means, are in your own hands. Break yourself and from unpeaceful feelings for your brother turn to sincerely peaceful ones - and that’s all. Forgiven day - what a great heavenly day of God this is!? falsely, if they used it, then today Christian societies would be transformed into heavenly societies, and the earth would merge with heaven..." In accordance with the Gospel reading, Christians have the pious custom of asking each other on this day for forgiveness of sins, known and unknown grievances, and to take all measures for reconciliation with those at war. After the evening service in churches, a special rite of forgiveness is performed, when clergy and parishioners mutually ask each other for forgiveness in order to enter Lent with a pure soul, reconciled with all their neighbors.

The rite of forgiveness. History of establishment

The rite of forgiveness appeared in the monastic life of Egyptian monks. Before the onset of Lent, in order to strengthen the feat of prayer and prepare for the bright holiday of Easter, the monks dispersed one by one through the desert for all forty days of fasting. Some of them never returned: some were torn to pieces by wild animals, others died in the lifeless desert. Therefore, when they separated to meet only on Easter, the monks asked each other for forgiveness for all voluntary or involuntary offenses, as before death. And of course, they themselves forgave everyone from the bottom of their hearts. Everyone understood that their meeting on the eve of Lent could be their last. This is why the rite of forgiveness existed - to be reconciled and forgiven with everyone and - thanks to this - with God Himself. Over time, this tradition passed into the worship of the entire Church. In Rus', on the eve of Lent, our pious ancestors from time immemorial performed a ritual of the highest humility. The elder and powerful asked for forgiveness from the last and insignificant. And the sovereigns asked their subjects for forgiveness. For this purpose, they toured the troops, asked forgiveness from the soldiers, visited monasteries, where they asked for forgiveness from the brethren, and came to the bishops to ask them for forgiveness.

The rite of forgiveness: order

The rite of forgiveness, as a rule, is performed in churches on Sunday evening - this is the service of Vespers of Cheese Week. The service begins as an ordinary Vespers, but in the church everything is different: there are Lenten black or purple lecterns on the lecterns, and in the middle of the service the priests change their vestments to dark ones. It’s especially solemn and joyful: Lenten spring, spiritual spring begins!

Holy Fathers on forgiveness:

All who wish to begin the feat of fasting and prayer, all who wish to reap the fruits of their repentance, hear the Word of God, hear the covenant of God: forgive your neighbors for their sins against you.
Saint Ignatius (Brianchaninov) Are you fasting? Appease the one you have offended, never envy your brother, do not hate anyone.
Saint John Chrysostom If you, a man, do not forgive everyone who has sinned against you, then do not bother yourself with fasting and prayer... God will not accept you.
Venerable Ephraim the Syrian Although the one who is obliged to ask you for an apology does not ask for it, and does not worry about it - why, you might consider it excusable for yourself not to forgive him for the offenses committed against you - nevertheless, forgive him, if possible, calling him to you, and if this is impossible, within yourself, without showing by your actions that you want to take revenge. Venerable Isidore Pelusiot Metropolitan Veniamin (Fedchenkov): "... what to do if someone does not have enough strength to ask for forgiveness from the one whom he considers guilty before himself (and not himself). To this, first of all, one must say in the words of the Lord Himself: “What is impossible for man is possible God!" Decide to ask for forgiveness, and the Lord Himself will do the rest. Therefore, do not say: this matter is beyond my strength! This is not true: God will help!" Bishop Callistos of Diocleia: "... the rite of mutual forgiveness is very far from being just a ritual. It can be, and often is, a deeply effective event that changes the lives of those who participate in it. I can remember cases when the exchange of forgiveness on the eve of Lent served a powerful stimulus that suddenly destroys long-standing barriers and allows us to truly restore relationships between people. This Vespers of Forgiveness Sunday tells us better than any words that no one can set out on the Lenten voyage alone.” Archimandrite John (Peasant): “We need to forgive those who have offended us, and ask for forgiveness from those whom we have voluntarily or unwittingly offended. Otherwise, all our labors in the upcoming Lent will be in vain. The Lord will not accept our many prostrations to the ground if grievances continue to live in our hearts against one’s brother, evil and ill will toward one’s neighbors.”

The purpose of Lent is cleanse yourself of sins and be reborn spiritually. In order for the Lord God to forgive us our sins, we must forgive all people for their “sins” before us: “Judge not, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven” (Luke 6:37).

The rite of forgiveness is performed on Sunday during the evening service. You need to come to the beginning of the service in the temple and, together with everyone else, become a participant in this rite.

At the same time, we try to ask forgiveness from all loved ones. There is no such person who, having regularly communicated, would not upset another with a word, deed or insensitivity. There is no rank here. It is important that our words are sincere.

“If you, a man, do not forgive everyone who has sinned against you, do not bother yourself with fasting and prayer - God will not accept you” (Rev. Ephraim the Syrian).

LENT

Having prepared believers for the feats of fasting and repentance, the Church introduces them to the feat itself. The services of Great Lent, as well as the services of the weeks leading up to it, constantly encourage fasting and repentance, and depict the state of the soul, repenting and crying for its sins. The external image of the celebration of Lenten services corresponds to this: on the weekdays of Great Lent, excluding Saturdays and Sundays, the Church does not perform the full liturgy, this most solemn and festive Christian service. Instead of the full liturgy, on Wednesdays and Fridays the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is served. The composition of other church services changes with the times. On weekdays, singing almost stops, reading from the Old Testament scriptures, especially the Psalter, is preferred, the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian with great (earthly) bows is introduced into all church services, and the third, sixth and ninth hours are connected with Vespers to indicate the time to which one should extend day post

The Holy Pentecost and its services begin with Vespers of the Week of Cheese. Cheese Sunday is also colloquially called Forgiveness Sunday, because during the evening service on this day there is a rite or ritual of general forgiveness in the church.

The rite of forgiveness is performed as follows: the icons of the Savior and the Mother of God are brought out and placed on lecterns; The rector usually pronounces a word, asking for forgiveness of his sins from the clergy and the people, saying: “Bless me, holy fathers and brethren, and forgive me, a sinner, as much as I have sinned on this day and all the days of my life: in word, in deed, thoughts and all my feelings." At the same time, he makes a general prostration to the clergy and people. Everyone also bows to the ground, saying: “God will forgive you, Holy Father. Forgive us, sinners, and bless us.” Then the rector takes the altar Cross, and all the clergy, in order of seniority, venerate the icons on the lectern, approach the rector, kiss the honorable Cross, and his hand holding the Cross kisses the rector. After them, the laity come up, venerate the holy images and the Cross and ask for forgiveness from the clergy and from each other.

During the rite of forgiveness, it is customary to sing “Open the doors of repentance”, “On the rivers of Babylon” and other penitential chants. In some churches, the stichera of Easter are also sung at the same time, up to and including the words “and thus we will cry out” (in the last stichera).

In accordance with the words of the Gospel read this Sunday, inspiring to forgive one another’s sins and to be reconciled with everyone, in ancient times Egyptian hermits gathered on the last day of Cheese Week for common prayer and, having asked each other for forgiveness and blessing, while singing Easter stichera, as if as a reminder of the expected Easter of Christ, at the end of Vespers they went into the desert for solitary labors during Lent and gathered again only for Vai Week. That is why even now, following this ancient pious custom, the sons of the Orthodox Church, as a sign of reconciliation and forgiveness, pray for the dead and visit each other on cheese week.

The first week of Great Lent is particularly strict, for it is proper to have zeal for piety at the beginning of the feat. Accordingly, the Church holds longer services in the first week than on the following days. From Monday to Thursday at Great Vespers the penitential canon of St. Andrew of Crete is read (+ 712). This canon is called Great both by the multitude of thoughts and memories contained in it, and by the number of troparia it contains - about 250 (in ordinary canons there are about 30). For reading during the first week of Lent, the canon is divided into four parts, according to the number of days.

On Wednesday and Thursday, several troparions are added to the Great Canon in honor of the Venerable Mary of Egypt (+ 522), who came from a deep spiritual decline to high piety.

The Great Canon ends with troparions in honor of its creator, Saint Andrew of Crete.

The last preparatory week (the last day before) is called Cheesecake week. This day ends the eating of milk, cheese and eggs. On this day, during the service, the fall of Adam and Eve is remembered: the first people were expelled from Paradise because they transgressed and violated the commandment of God. We should remember our sins, because preparation for the great holiday begins with repentance, fasting and prayer.

Forgiveness Sunday. Divine service and the “rite of forgiveness”

Forgiveness Sunday before Great Lent is a day of mutual repentance and pacification of all the misunderstandings and disagreements that have happened between us, when we say to each other: “ Sorry!", so that with a pure heart and joyful soul we can begin the upcoming feat. The Gospel reading for this day indicates that true fasting should begin with mutual forgiveness of grievances and insults:

If you forgive people their sins, then your Heavenly Father will also forgive you; and if you do not forgive people their sins, then your Father will not forgive you your sins (Matthew 6:14-15)

This is the basis for the custom of Orthodox Christians on the last Sunday before Lent to ask each other for forgiveness, which is why this very day is usually called forgiven resurrection. It has long been customary on this day to ask for forgiveness, make peace and forgive the insults inflicted, in order to begin the spiritual exploits of Great Lent with a pure soul, to take your sins before the priest and receive communion. For what is fasting, kneeling and other bodily labors with which we humble our carnal passions and lusts? This is only our weapon in spiritual warfare, the path to internal self-improvement and the acquisition of gospel virtues.

The fruit of the Spirit is: love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, meekness, self-control (Cor. 5:22-23).

But just as fruits cannot grow on their own, without roots and trees feeding them, so spiritual fruit is the result of many years of abstinence and cutting off carnal lusts in order to purify the heart and soul and make them worthy to receive God’s grace.

Usually in Old Believer churches on Forgiveness Sunday a service is performed - vespers and vespers. After this is done rite of mutual forgiveness, when parishioners bow to the ground to the rector, asking for forgiveness and blessings for Lent. Believers also bow to each other with the words:

Forgive me for Christ's sake!

- “God will forgive, and you forgive me for Christ’s sake!”

This custom is ancient. Thus, the Frenchman Margeret, who was in military service in Rus' at the beginning of the 17th century, writes in his essay “The State of the Russian State and the Grand Duchy of Moscow”:

On Maslenitsa, Russians visit each other, kiss, say goodbye, make peace if they have offended each other in word or deed, meeting even on the street - even if they have never seen each other before - they kiss, saying: “Please forgive me,” the other replies: “ God will forgive you, and you forgive me.”

It is known that the “rite of forgiveness” of the great princes and kings of Moscow included visits to Moscow monasteries; sometimes the sovereign went to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, saying goodbye to the brethren and asking for blessings. All this was done on, and on Sunday the rite of forgiveness was performed in the Assumption Cathedral. The Tsar asked for forgiveness and blessings from the Patriarch and said goodbye to his courtiers. It was also customary to give freedom to prisoners on this day.

The entire period of Pentecost (the time from Monday of the first week of Lent to Friday of the sixth week inclusive) is the anticipation of the day of Easter and preparation for it. This is how it is said in the stichera, which is sung on the evening of Forgiveness Sunday:

PThe new season of light begins, we strive to move ourselves forward, cleanse our soul and3 body. post1msz ћkozhe in dєkh, s11tse i3 t vсskіz passions, feeding on virtuesz d¦a. In the future we will remain in love2, so that we will all be able to see this all-honorable article of God, and3 this Easter, let us rejoice.

Poetic and full of deep meaning, the Church Slavonic text of this stichera strengthens those praying and teaches them that fasting is a joyful time. This prayer can be translated into Russian with the following words:

We will begin the time of fasting brightly and joyfully, encouraging ourselves to spiritual deeds, and cleanse our soul and body. Let us fast not only from food (abstaining from food), but also from passions, feeding on the virtues of the Spirit. With love, let us improve in virtues so that we all may be worthy to see the Passion of Christ and meet Holy Easter in spiritual joy.

Soulful teaching on Forgiveness Sunday

Love and forgiveness of mutual offenses are the main commandments in Christianity, without the fulfillment of which none of our good deeds can be acceptable before God.

So, if you bring your gift to the altar and there you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go, first make peace with your brother, and then come and offer your gift (Matthew 5 , 24-25).

The Reverend Fathers call the Fast of the Holy Pentecost spiritual tithe, which we sacrifice to God, devoting this time to strict abstinence and prayer.

While we live on earth, our soul and body are inseparable from each other. If we are Christians, we must devote both to the service of God. There are commandments for the soul, and there are also ones for the body. Following the example of the holy fathers and desiring eternal salvation, we cannot neglect or transgress the slightest of them. The “Ancient Patericon” tells about one young monk who walked through the city to the inn and, in response to the admonitions of an experienced hermit elder, who happened to be in the same place, said that God does not require anything except purity of heart. The elder exclaimed in grief:

I have lived in the desert for fifty years and have not acquired purity of heart, but you want to acquire it in an inn!

Soon, that careless and arrogant monk fell into grave sin, because we cannot overcome our passions and lusts if we do not move away from the cause that gives rise to them.

“Great is the feat and labor at the beginning of those who approach God in silence and silence; and then - unspeakable joy. Just as those who want to light a fire first endure smoke and shed tears, and in no other way achieve the desired goal; so those who want to kindle the Divine fire in themselves must kindle it with tears and labors, with silence and silence” (Miterikon).

When we begin to weed our field in the summer, at first the work, as they say, “scares the eyes,” but little by little, step by step, with difficulty and bows, we pull out the harmful thorns that can choke and destroy all our good fruits. So, with God’s help, having overcome the first difficulties, we begin to notice that it becomes easier. We easily and joyfully turn back when we see our noble plantings perked up, cleansed. It is easy and joyful for us to collect the fruits at the end of long-term painstaking work. So it is with Lenten time: at the beginning it seems painful and inconvenient, but gradually, day after day, freeing our soul from sinful thorns, we noticeably already notice some relief in the feat. A special joy is the bright Easter day, which we greet with a feeling of fulfilled duty for the sake of the good labors and efforts endured.

The Holy Fathers call reasonable and moderate fasting the basis and affirmation for all virtues. On Forgiveness Sunday, we remember Adam’s expulsion of sweets from Paradise, which was a consequence of intemperance and a violation of the commandment to fast, which was also established for the primordial man. Therefore, just as we have lost incorruptibility and purity through intemperance from forbidden foods, in the same way we find them again, oppressing our bodily needs in order to strengthen and approve the soul for prayer and contemplation of God.

“Do not be deceived, you cannot free yourself from the mental Pharaoh, nor see the heavenly Passover, if you do not always eat bitter potion and unleavened bread. Bitter potion is the compulsion and patience of fasting, and unleavened bread is unpuffed wisdom. May this word of the psalmist be united with your breath:<бесы>cold, I clothed myself in sackcloth and humbled my soul with fasting, and my prayer in the depths<души моей>will return (Ps. 34:13).

Fasting is the violence of nature, the rejection of everything that pleases the taste, the extinction of bodily inflammation, the destruction of evil thoughts, liberation from bad dreams, the purity of prayer, the luminary of the soul, guarding the mind, the destruction of heartfelt insensibility, the door of tenderness, humble sighing, joyful contrition, restraint of verbosity, the cause of silence, the guardian of obedience, the relief of sleep, the health of the body, the culprit of dispassion, the resolution of sins, the gates of Paradise and heavenly pleasure” (“Ladder”, word 14).

We see the path and example here primarily from our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. He fasted for forty days in the desert, leaving us an image so that without a doubt we would imitate Him and walk in His footsteps. And the great saints of God and prophets, who were awarded special high revelations and grace - Moses, Elijah, Daniel, also underwent a forty-day fast. Never and nowhere do the holy fathers praise those who work for their own belly. For the heart of a glutton is a receptacle for all impurity and bad desires, and the heart of a humble fasting ascetic is an abode for God’s grace, if, of course, we maintain kindness, prudence and other virtues, without which all our deeds cannot be salutary and pleasing to God.

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break through and steal; But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Matthew 6:19-21).

Our true spiritual treasure is to be partakers of the eternal Easter joy that the Lord has prepared for those who love Him. Physical fasting also presupposes spiritual fasting, i.e. in order to especially closely monitor your inner man, the movements of your heart and soul. The holy fathers compare the fasting and silent person, who harbors in his heart malice and condemnation of his neighbors, to a poisonous adder hiding in its hole. If we say “forgive” but do not forgive ourselves, if only for the sake of appearance out of ostentatious vanity we bow to the brother who insulted us, and, having gone to the side, are again darkened with anger, then in vain we watch and fast, for the devil himself never eats and never does not sleep, but this does not cease to be the devil. The heart of an angry and angry person is the home and refuge of crafty demons. Nothing exposes us to God's grace more than resentment and condemnation, hatred and slander. Here you can see the road to the very depths of the underworld and the treasury of eternal torment.

“Quick and strict judges of the sins of their neighbors suffer from this passion because they do not have perfect and constant memory and concern for their sins. For if a person saw exactly his evil deeds, without the veil of self-love, then he would no longer worry about anything else related to earthly life, thinking that he would not have enough time to mourn himself, even if he were a hundred years old. lived for years and at least saw a whole Jordan of tears flowing from his eyes. I observed the cry of true repentance and did not find in it a trace of slander or condemnation” (“The Ladder”, word 10).

Just as wasps and flies attack sweets, so the evil spirit rushes against every virtue in order to mix something harmful into it and reverse the saving endeavor. Lenten abstinence was established for us by the holy fathers so that with a lightened soul we would acquire love and humility, meekness and mercy towards our neighbors. Evil spirits, on the contrary, try to puff up the heart of the fasting person with vanity and conceit and teach him to despise his weakest brothers. A proud person is always prone to harsh and harsh denunciations; the one who speaks to a brother out of love will talk about the matter as if talking about his own weakness, and, without a doubt, will achieve a better result. For it is known that a cruel and insulting word can confuse a good person and move him to anger, while a good word spoken with meekness is really powerful in correcting evil in any person and instructing him to virtue.

He who eats, do not disparage the one who does not eat; and whoever does not eat, do not condemn the one who eats: because God has accepted him. Who are you, judging someone else's slave? Before his Lord he stands or falls; and he will be raised up, for the Lord is able to raise him up (Rom. 14:3,4).

Whether we fast, vigil, make many bows and otherwise humble our body, we must always remember that this is not an “end in itself,” but only a means to achieving the true goal: peace and purification of the soul. That even supernatural bodily asceticism will not bring us any benefit if we do not at the same time preserve our first commandment about love for God and neighbor. When we live in a large family, we love all our household members, we tolerate and resign ourselves to their infirmities, we endure the troubles and annoyances that they cause us, we always think about how to support and comfort them. But we should have similar and even greater love not only for our close relatives, but also for all the people around us. True love is recognized precisely in the forgiveness of slander and insults, when, having suffered humiliation from a neighbor, our hearts ache not for ourselves, but for our offender, and sincerely want to help him and reassure him.

“Forgive” is a word of love and consolation when, having reconciled with a brother, we hope for forgiveness of our own sins. For all our righteousness is like the sackcloth of an unclean woman before God. And if we can still count on leniency, for the sake of our natural weakness, with weak progress in bodily virtues, then the hidden hatred in the heart has no reasonable justification for itself. And it destroys all our labors and exploits, forever separating us from God’s grace, for “The Holy Spirit does not live where there is anger” (Nikon Chernogorets).

In the prologue from the Lives of the Saints (February 9th) there is one very touching story about the holy martyr Nikephoros (c. 257), who suffered during times of severe pagan persecution.

In the city of Antioch there lived two friends - the priest Sapricius and the layman Nicephorus, who loved each other in the Lord. But the devil was jealous of their unfeigned love and sowed enmity between them. And this enmity flared up so much that even if they met on the street, they ran in different directions, blinded by demonic malice. And so both of them - Sapriky and Nicephorus, forgetting about the law of Christ, rushed to eternal destruction.
But over time, the layman Nicephorus repented of his anger towards Priest Sapricius and began to ask him for forgiveness. Three times he sent his friends and neighbors to him, considering himself a sinner and unworthy to approach the priest he had insulted, and three times Sapriky refused reconciliation. Finally Nikifor made up his mind and fell at the feet of his former friend with the words:
- Forgive me, father, for the sake of the Lord, forgive me!
But Sapriky again did not want to reconcile with the humble Nicephorus, for Satan took possession of his heart.
At that time there was a terrible persecution of Christians, and Sapricius was brought to trial. The ruler demanded that he make sacrifices to idols, but Sapriky courageously answered:
- O ruler! We are Christians. Our King is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the One, True God, Creator of the earth and sea. Your gods are demons. May they perish! Your gods are the creations of human hands!
He was tortured for a long time and cruelly, but Sapriky, even in suffering, said to the boss:
- You have power over my body, but not over my soul. My Lord Jesus Christ, who created my soul, He alone has power over it.
Seeing the inflexibility of Sapricius, he was condemned to death. But when the executioner was already leading him to the place of execution, Nikifor, hearing about this, ran and fell prostrate before Saprikiy, crying out with tears:
- O martyr of Christ! Sorry, forgive me! I have sinned before you!
But Sapriky, blinded by malice, again renounced reconciliation.
Blessed Nikephoros begged him for a long time, but in vain. And then the power of God and grace retreated from the mad priest, and Sapriky suddenly lost heart and renounced the Lord Jesus Christ.
- “Oh, my beloved brother,” exclaimed Nikephoros, “don’t do this!” Do not lose the heavenly crown that you have woven through many sufferings! Now the Heavenly Lord is preparing to appear to you and reward you with eternal joy for temporary suffering and death.
But having hated his neighbor and been abandoned by God for this, Sapriky continued to renounce. Then, strengthened by the Holy Spirit, Nicephorus turned to the pagans and said:
- I'm a Christian! I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and will not sacrifice to idols. I will accept the execution instead of Sapricius.
Then, by order of the ruler, the apostate was released, and Nikifor’s head was cut off. With rejoicing, his pure soul flew to the Lord and, with all the holy martyrs, appeared before the throne of God, to Him be power and glory, honor and worship forever. Amen.

If possible, be at peace with all people (Rom. 12:18).

If we do not dare to touch a shrine with unclean hands or come to the Divine service in unclean clothes, especially in uncleanness of heart, i.e. in unrepentant enmity and hatred against our brother, we cannot make a spiritual sacrifice for God, lest, instead of forgiveness of sins, we incur even greater anger and condemnation. Tears and repentance are a bath for the soul. Love and forgiveness are the path of reconciliation with God, the beginning and end of the path of salvation and improvement. Internal and external abstinence from sinful passions and lusts elevate a person to the former state from which ancient Adam fell through negligence. But which, by the grace of God, is revealed to us again, if only we vigilantly and diligently follow all the wise commandments of the Lord, leading us to eternal salvation.

“Having opened the feat of virtue, enter into those who want to suffer, having girded yourself with the good feat of fasting. Those who suffer lawfully also get married lawfully. And having taken up all the weapons of the cross, we will resist the enemy, holding faith like an indestructible wall, and prayer like armor. And send alms. Instead of a sword, fasting, which cuts off all anger from the heart. Do this, the true one will receive the crown from King Christ of all on the Day of Judgment.” ( Lenten Triodion ).

Forgiveness Sunday in folk traditions

This is how the 19th century writer and ethnographer describes the folk traditions of “Forgiveness” Sunday. S.V. Maksimov.

The last day of Maslenitsa is called “forgiven”, and the peasants dedicate it to the ritual. At about 4 in the afternoon, in the village bell tower, the sad, Lenten bell for Vespers is heard and, hearing it, the peasants who have been out for a walk fervently cross themselves and try to shake off the cheerful Maslenitsa mood: little by little the crowded streets empty, the festive talk and noise subsides, fights, games stop, skating. In a word, the wide, drunken Maslenitsa comes to an abrupt stop and is replaced by Lent. The approach of fasting also affects the spiritual mood of the peasants, awakening in them the thought of repentance and complete reconciliation with their neighbors. As soon as the church bells stop ringing and vespers ends, relatives and neighbors begin to walk around the huts, asking each other for forgiveness. Low, right down to the ground, the peasants bow to each other and say: “Forgive me, for Christ’s sake, for what I have sinned against you.” “Forgive me too,” the same request is heard in response.

However, this beautiful custom, full of Christian humility, began to gradually die out. According to our correspondents, in some central provinces it almost no longer exists, but in the forest provinces of the north, where customs are generally stable and strong, “farewell” is observed very strictly and there is even a special ritual for it. The newcomer asks for forgiveness, kneels down near the door and, turning to the owners, says: “Forgive me and your entire family for what I have been rude to you this year.” The owners and everyone in the hut answer: “God will forgive you and we will be right there.” After this, those who came to say goodbye stand up and the owners, having kissed them, offer them a treat. And after an hour, the hosts themselves go to say goodbye, and the whole ceremony, including the refreshments, is done first.

So, moving from hut to hut, they walk until it’s light, and, walking along the street, both men and women consider it their duty to shout at the top of their lungs: “Madame Maslenitsa, stretch!” or: “Wet-lipped Maslenitsa, stretch!”

As for the village youth, they either do not adhere to the custom of saying goodbye at all, or their farewell takes on a playful character. Here's what our Oryol correspondent reports on this matter: guys and girls stand in a row and one of the guys comes up to the one on the right side and says to him: “Forgive me, dear Ivan (or dear Daria), what I sinned against you.” He (or she) answers: “God will forgive you and I will forgive you right away.” After this they kiss each other three times. So the whole row of those saying goodbye goes through and stands to the side, the second one goes after the first to say goodbye, etc. When saying goodbye, of course, there are jokes.

Farewell in the family circle has some special features. This is how it happens in the Saratov province. The whole family sits down for dinner (and scrambled eggs are always served as the last dish), and after dinner everyone prays earnestly and then the youngest begins to bow to everyone in turn and, having received forgiveness, moves to the side. Behind him, in order of seniority, the next oldest member of the family begins to bow (but does not bow to the youngest and does not ask for his forgiveness), etc. The last to bow is the hostess, and asks for forgiveness only from her husband, while the head of the family bows to no one.

Although the custom of asking forgiveness from relatives and neighbors, as just said, is noticeably falling out of use, the custom of saying goodbye to the dead is extremely firmly held. At least our correspondents unanimously testify that this kind of farewell has been preserved everywhere. The custom of going to the cemetery on the last day of Maslenitsa is maintained mainly by women. At four o'clock in the afternoon they, in groups of 10-12 people, go with pancakes to the dead and try not to say anything along the way. At the cemetery, each one looks for her own grave, kneels down and bows three times, and with tears in her eyes, whispers: “Forgive me (name), forget everything that I was rude to you and harmed you.” After praying, the women put pancakes on the grave (and sometimes vodka) and go home as silently as they came. At the same time, it is considered a good sign if on the third day there are no pancakes or vodka left on the grave: this means that the deceased has a good life in the next world and that he does not remember evil and is not angry with the person who brought the treat.