Orthodox Christians call the last day before Great Lent Forgiveness Sunday. No one should go to bed if they quarrel with someone. Before night falls, you need to go and ask forgiveness from the one with whom you had a quarrel, so that the sunset does not find you in anger at someone.
You cannot go to confession or communion if you are angry. Whoever has not forgiven his offender himself cannot ask for forgiveness from Christ for his sins.
The priest on this day, serving Vespers in the church, for the first time puts on the Lenten robe and reads the prayer of Great Lent. Then he turns to everyone who came to church, bows at their feet and says: "Forgive me, fathers and brothers." After that, everyone approaches the priest and ask for his forgiveness. Then they ask each other for forgiveness, bowing to each other's feet and kissing each other.
In the 16th century, on this day, the Moscow tsar went to all the Kremlin and city monasteries. At first, he visited suburban cloisters, and in conclusion he came to the Novo-Spassky monastery, where the family tomb of the Romanovs was located. Then the tsar performed a rite of forgiveness with all the ranks of the courtyards and servants, and in the evening he walked to the Assumption Cathedral, where the patriarch performed the rite "according to the rank."
From the cathedral, the sovereign entered the cross chamber to the patriarch, who greeted him with a blessing. Then, after the "Worthy" and "incoming prayer", when the patriarch blessed the sovereign and all the boyars for the second time, everyone sat down in the shops. “And after sitting a little,” the sovereign instructed the stewards to carry the sovereign's drink. “By imposing three cups of Romaneya (red wine), Darrens (white wine), and bastra (sweet, like liqueur brought from foreign lands), the Duma nobleman handed over drinks to the stewards, who decorously, one after another, with cups in their hands, entered ward and brought drinks to the patriarch. " His Holiness drank and offered the tsar "three goblets of all drinks." Then the boyars, okolnichy and Duma people ate. The second time, the tsar was brought red honey in golden ladles three times, the boyars - one at a time. Finally, in silver ladles, "white honey was served in the same custom."After that, the same stewards, at the behest of the sovereign, carried other clergy with the same honey. At the end of these “farewell bowls”, everyone left, and the emperor, being alone with the patriarch, talked with him for about half an hour. Then the boyars entered again, and the patriarch, getting up from his seat, said "Worthy" and "farewell", that is, the farewell prayer "Vladyka is many in mercy," then he blessed the sovereign and all his rank.
After the patriarch, the sovereign in the Ascension Monastery and in the Archangel Cathedral said goodbye at the holy relics and at the graves of his parents: in the first, with female persons; in the second - masculine; then in one of the reception chambers - with "room people", with all the ranks and officials of his court, favoring them to his hand. The same thing and at the same time happened in the half of the queen, where they kissed her hand: of the men - close relatives and the entire male court staff, and of the women - the supreme boyars, mothers, bed-sisters, craftswomen, women (bathhouse attendants), etc. In the morning or in the evening, the chiefs of the orders came to the tsar with a report on the convicts who were sitting in damp and dark prisons with heavy stocks on their necks and shoulders. The Tsar released many of those who had been in prison for many years, mainly those accused of minor crimes.
Despite the fact that the fast has begun, everyone becomes joyful at heart and cheerful - after all, they have forgiven each other. On Forgiveness Sunday, Easter prayers are sung: "Resurrection day, let us be enlightened with triumph and say to each other:" Brothers ", but for those who hate us for the sake of the Resurrection of the Lord and exclaim:" Christ is risen from the dead!"
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The holiday of all holidays - Great Easter was preceded by a seven-week Great Lent, the purpose of which is repentance. During the days of Great Lent, everyone looks into his own life, evaluates bad deeds and good.
… After the solemn entry into Jerusalem, Jesus and his disciples became very hungry. Seeing a fig tree on the road, he approached it, but did not find a single fruit. "May there not be a single fruit from you in the future." And the fig tree immediately withered.
He walked from Bethany to Jerusalem, We languish in advance with the sadness of foreboding.
The fig tree rose not far away
No fruit at all, only branches and leaves, And he said to her: “For what self-interest?
What joy is there to me in your tetanus?
I am thirsty and hungry, and you are a barren flower
And meeting with you is more bleak than granite.
Oh, how insulting and underdone you are!
Stay that way until the end of your years."
(B. Pasternak)
Christians understand a barren fig tree as a sinful person. He does not bear "fruit" - he does not do good deeds, does not do anything good. The Holy Monday Divine Service is dedicated to this event.
The strict days of Great Lent begin, and the songs become silent, the bells suspended from the arches of the carts cease to ring.
Piled up many divine prayers;
But none of them are touching, Like the one that the priest repeats
During the days of Great Lent …
… And do not let idle talk to my soul;
Don't let me see my sins, oh God, Yes, my brother will not accept condemnation from me, And the spirit of humility, patience, love
And revive chastity in my heart.
(A. Pushkin)
Any fasting imposes many requirements on the believer: frequent prayers, abstinence from various types of food, a complete rejection of worldly hobbies and carnal pleasures - in a word, renunciation of the joys of life.
In total, there are four multi-day fasts a year and three one-day fasts on minor holidays, not counting two fast days a week - Wednesdays and Fridays. The total number of fasting days per year is 178-199.
Lent on the eve of Easter is the most important and strict of all. He is distinguished by a particularly severe fasting, that is, abstaining from modest meat and dairy foods. Theatrical and circus performances, all kinds of public entertainment were completely prohibited. As in other posts, marriages were not allowed.
On Monday of the first week of Lent, called "pure", "the holy patriarch did not eat," on Tuesday they served him sieve bread and a kalachik, radish and cabbage with horseradish. The treasurer and others were only given a piece of bread each. On the last day of the first week, the patriarch already allowed himself pickles from 17 dishes, where, together with two kinds of jelly and juice porridge and noodles with pea broth, four kinds of pies and dumplings with mushrooms appeared. The Patriarch, along with others, necessarily fed 12 beggars.
The first week of fasting was celebrated in a special way in Moscow. The famous bargaining of birds and dogs was held here, as well as an exhibition of talking starlings and intelligent dogs.
The fourth week of fasting was called the "worship of the cross." On Wednesday this week, special cross-shaped cookies were baked.
The hostess put a chicken feather in them so that the “chickens were kept”, or rye grain so that “the bread would be born,” and even a human hair, so that “the head was easier”.
In some places they used pies-"crosses" for fortune-telling. Then a piece of coal, a coin was baked in them … So, a coal promised sorrow, grain - a good harvest, a coin - wealth.
On Wednesday, the children walked around the village to congratulate everyone on the end of the first half of the fast, sang songs and received for this treat - the same pies - "crosses".
Auntie Anna, sit on the window, Into an aspen basket,
Water with whatever you want.
Just give me the cross!
Who will not give the cross -
The hut will fall.
There is also a well-known custom: the congratulatory children were planted, like chickens, under a large basket, from where they sang in thin voices: “Hello, the owner is the red sun, hello, the hostess is a bright month, hello, the children are bright stars!.. post) broke, and the other bent over!"
The last week of Great Lent, before Easter, is called passionate, in memory of the passions, that is, the sufferings of Jesus Christ crucified on the cross. Each day of this week, filled with frequent worship and especially strict fasting, was called passionate, or great. Holy Thursday was especially full of events. This is the Last Supper and the betrayal of Judas, the Lord's prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane and his arrest.
100 great holidays. Elena Olegovna Chekulaeva