The service of the rite of forgiveness takes a long time. Forgiveness Sunday
It is called so because on this day, at the evening service, the Rite of Forgiveness is performed, in which the rector of the temple or monastery, at the end of Vespers, with a bow to the ground, asks for forgiveness from his and the parishioners, and they also answer him with a bow to the ground. After which everyone, one by one, approaches the abbot and asks for his forgiveness.
At the same time, the priests kiss him according to the priestly rite, kissing each other on the hands, and the deacons, clergy and parishioners make a waist and accept. Also, all parishioners ask each other for forgiveness.
On Forgiveness Sunday, it is customary to ask and reconcile with each other not only in church, but also at home with neighbors, at work with colleagues. This is done approximately as follows: a bow is made (from the waist or to the ground) and it is said: “Forgive me, (Name), in what I sinned against you,” a reciprocal bow is made with the words: “God will forgive you, and I forgive. Forgive me too (Name)- “God will forgive you, and I forgive you,” and a triple Christian kiss is performed.
The custom of asking for forgiveness on the eve of Lent dates back to deep church antiquity, when ascetics left cities and monasteries for the entire fast into the desert and, not knowing whether they would all return from this difficult feat, said goodbye and reconciled with each other.
History of the rite of forgiveness
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, 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 pre-revolutionary Russia, for example, there was a custom for the tsar to ask forgiveness from his subjects. For this purpose, the tsar toured the troops and asked forgiveness from the soldiers, visited monasteries, where he asked forgiveness from their brethren, and came to the bishops to ask them for forgiveness.
Divine service
In the evening on Forgiveness Sunday, daily vespers is performed with the rite of forgiveness, with which St. Pentecost.
The entrance is made with a censer, for the sake of singing the great prokemne: Do not turn Your face away from Your servant, as I grieve, hear me soon: take in my soul and deliver me ().
This great prokeimenon, in addition to Raw Sunday, is also sung on the 2nd and 4th Weeks (Sundays) of Great Lent.
Listen to the Great Prokeimenon:
The festive Sunday service ends with the singing of the Great Prokemena, and from the Lord's Grace (read immediately after the Prokemena) the Lenten service begins. At this time, the clergy change into dark, fast vestments. The priest pronounces a litany of petition Let's perform evening prayer, and the choir sings for each petition in a special, fast chant.
After the stichera on the poem, reading Now you let go and Trisagion according to Our Father Lenten troparia are sung with great bows after each troparion. After prayer Heavenly King the priest says the prayer to St. Lord and Master of my belly with three bows.
After the dismissal, Vespers are celebrated The rite of forgiveness:
The altar cross, icons of the Savior and the Mother of God are brought out onto the solea and placed on lecterns. The abbot bows to the ground before them and kisses them. Then he addresses those present with a lesson about the Christian conduct of fasting and asks for forgiveness of sins from the clergy and the people, saying: “ Bless me, holy fathers and brothers, and forgive me, a sinner, for those who have sinned this day and all the days of my life in word, deed, thought and all my feelings" Having said this, he bows to the people. Everyone bows to him and says: “ God will forgive you, holy father. Forgive us sinners and bless us" In some churches and monasteries they say differently: “ God will forgive you, holy father. Pray for us sinners", which is quite consistent with the Charter. To this the serving priest (usually the rector) replies: “ By His grace may God forgive and have mercy on us all" Then the abbot takes the altar cross. All clergy, in order of seniority, kiss the icons on the lectern, approach the rector, kiss the Cross and kiss the rector and each other on the shoulders (shoulders), mutually asking for forgiveness. The laity follow them, venerate the Cross, kiss the icons, which are usually held by the clergy, and ask forgiveness from the clergy and from each other. The Typikon says nothing about singing any chants during the rite of forgiveness. Brief instructions: “And intact at I'm holy s I'm honest s I'm ik O us" provides for this ritual to be performed in silence. During the rite of forgiveness in some churches it is customary to sing “Open the doors of repentance...”, “On the river A x of Babylon..." and others, as well as Easter stichera, ending with the words: "And t A to cry out And m".
Why is Forgiveness Sunday called Forgiveness Sunday?
The basis of the rite of forgiveness is associated with the ancient Egyptian tradition. According to this tradition, during the fast before ) (the Fourth Day) the monks retired to deserted desert places. There they intensified their ascetic deeds, indulging in concentrated intense prayer and, for the sake of special internal cleansing, worthy of preparation for Easter.
However, before leaving the walls, the brethren gathered for joint worship. This happened on the last day of Cheese Week. On this day, the brethren were reconciled in Christ, asked each other for forgiveness, forgot accumulated grievances, and received blessings. At the end of Vespers, the monks dispersed.
This good monastic tradition was mainly associated with Christ’s commandment to forgive others for their sins (), maintain peace, and love ().
Meanwhile, there was a private reason for this. By leaving for semi-wild lands, the brothers exposed their lives to potential danger: many did not know whether they would return by Easter, and even whether they would return at all. Thinking about this, they understood that there might not have been another opportunity to forgive their neighbors and ask for their forgiveness themselves. Who wanted to die without forgiveness, out of peace with the brothers?
Subsequently, the tradition of asking for forgiveness and making peace with neighbors on the eve of Lent became widespread among. This practice helps to better tune in to repentance and begin fasting in an elevated state of mind.
The rite of forgiveness in the Church is connected with Vespers and is performed after. Its general features are as follows.
The abbot bows to the ground before the altar cross, the icons of the Redeemer and the Mother of God, which had previously been placed on the solya, then reverently kisses the cross and icons. After this, he addresses the congregation with a pastoral exhortation. Then he sincerely asks everyone for forgiveness for their sins and bows with humility. Those present respond to him with a return bow and say: “God will forgive you, Holy Father.”
Finally, the abbot takes the altar cross. Other clergy begin (in accordance with seniority) to venerate the icons located on the analogue, approach the rector and venerate the cross. Then they kiss shoulders (ramen) with the abbot and with each other; at the same time asking each other for forgiveness.
Then the laity come up one by one, kiss the Cross, the icons, ask forgiveness from the church clergy and one from the other.
In addition to participating in the rite of forgiveness, believers ask for forgiveness at home, at work, and generally wherever appropriate.
On Sunday, February 22, rector Fr. Nicholas and other clergy of our cathedral will serve Great Vespers with the rite of forgiveness. Parishioners of our church Elena Dumbi and Nadezhda Koroleva (Zaitseva) prepared material about the history of this tradition.
The rite of forgiveness
The last Sunday before Lent is called the Week of Cheese and is dedicated to the remembrance of Adam's expulsion from paradise. The second name - Forgiveness Sunday - this day received thanks to the rite of forgiveness performed at the end of Vespers. Let us try to trace the history of the emergence of this truly Christian rite.
For the first time, the theme of forgiveness on the Week of Cheese is heard in the liturgy, when we hear the words of Christ from the Sermon on the Mount: “For 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 also forgive you.” yours will not forgive you your sins" (). At the end of Vespers, which opens the services of Great Lent, the rite of forgiveness is performed in all Orthodox churches. It is noteworthy that it is not mentioned either in the Typikon or in the Lenten Triodion, but is considered one of the most ancient Christian rites.
The origins of the rite of forgiveness on the eve of Lent are seen in the practice of ancient Egyptian and Palestinian monks. Always distinguished by extreme asceticism and austerity of life, during the Holy Pentecost the desert dwellers took upon themselves additional feats of abstinence and absolute solitude. Reverends Euthymius the Great and Savva the Sanctified left their monasteries during Lent and went to remote desert mountains, and the holy fathers began their Lenten labors earlier than is customary today: Euthymius - after the service of Epiphany on January 27, Savva - on February 2. Later, the custom was established of leaving the monastery on the eve of Pentecost, which we learn from the life of Mary of Egypt: “On the first Sunday of Great Lent, the abbot served the Divine Liturgy, everyone partook of the Most Pure Body and Blood of Christ, then ate a small meal and gathered again in the church. Having said a prayer and the prescribed number of prostrations to the ground, the elders, having asked each other for forgiveness, took a blessing from the abbot and accompanied by the general singing of the psalm “ The Lord is my enlightenment and my Savior: whom shall I fear? The Lord is the protector of my life: from whom shall I fear?”(Ps. 27:1) they opened the monastery gates and went into the desert.” At this time, only the sick elders, the monks caring for them, and one priest remained in the monastery to perform services. All the rest stayed in the mountains, eating dry bread, grains and root vegetables, praying and doing handicrafts for the needs of the monastery. On Lazarus Saturday, hermits from all over flocked to the monastery, holding palm branches and crosses made from palm branches in their hands. With singing " Today the grace of the Holy Spirit has gathered us, and we have all taken up Your cross and say: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, Hosanna in the highest“They entered the temple for the all-night vigil.
During the period of the Persian invasions of Palestine (VII-XI centuries), the monks were often forced to remain in the monastery during Lent in order to protect their helpless sick brethren in the event of an enemy attack. For this reason, in the most ancient copies of the Jerusalem Rule there is a special instruction strictly prohibiting the abbot from leaving the monastery and leaving it during the Great, Nativity and Apostolic fasts. Thus, the custom of fasting in the desert was abolished. However, his memory remained in liturgical texts: the hymn of the conquerors of sin, with which the hermits returned from the desert to the monastery, is still used in the Palm Sunday service as a repeatedly repeated stichera. The special rite of forgiveness on the eve of Lent was also not forgotten: on the basis of the lives of ancient ascetics of piety and the statutory rites of forgiveness, it was restored and gradually spread throughout the Church.
Every day in their evening prayers, Christians ask God for forgiveness of sins that they have committed during the day “in deed, word and thought.” It is natural to make peace with your neighbors before going to bed, therefore the last service of the astronomical day, Compline, ends with the rite of forgiveness described in the Book of Hours. In the monasteries of Athos, it is performed as follows: “On dismissal, the priest bows to the abbot standing in the middle of the temple, then the brethren approach the abbot, bow to him to the ground and take the blessing. Before this, the brethren walk around the lithium porch in a circle and venerate all the icons, starting with the images of Christ and the Mother of God. During this touching rite, the stichera of the holiday or saint to whom the monastery is dedicated is sung.”
A similar rite of forgiveness at the end of Compline for all days of the Holy Pentecost is prescribed by the Lenten Triodion. After reading the kneeling prayer " The Lord is most merciful" the serving priest, bowing to the ground, asks for forgiveness from the brethren of the monastery: “ Bless, holy fathers, forgive me the sinner who has sinned in word, deed, thought and with all my feelings.”. They answer him: “ May God forgive you, holy father.". Then all the monks, two by two, approach the priest and ask for forgiveness with a bow to the ground.
A special rite of forgiveness on Cheesecake Week appeared in Russian monastic everyday life and episcopal officials no earlier than the 16th–17th centuries, but quickly became widespread and acquired interesting features. In the Holy Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius, after the dismissal of vespers, an image of the Most Holy Theotokos was placed on the lectern. The archimandrite venerated the shrine of St. Sergius and the analogue image, then asked forgiveness, bowing to the ground, from the monks in the choir. The archimandrite was followed by priests in twos and brethren in twos. Having venerated the shrine and the icon, they asked for forgiveness from the archimandrite and the choir members, the cellarer, the treasurer and each other. All this time the choir sang penitential stichera. In the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery, the rite of forgiveness was performed at the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, which, after the funeral litany, was carried into the middle of the temple for kissing. The brothers walked in twos and said goodbye at the choir. On this day, the abbots of the monasteries visited the infirm, sick, and elderly brothers in their cells who could not attend the service.
At the evening meal, after the rite of forgiveness, the Trinity archimandrite solemnly treated all the brethren, servants and workers of the monastery with honey as a sign that no bitterness of grievance remained in the hearts of the monks before Great Lent. The monks sat at the tables at meals, the choir sang poetry, the deacon held a large lit candle, and the archimandrite walked around everyone: first the priests, then the choir monks and the rest of the brethren. He served each person two ladles of honey: scalded and molasses. Then he sat on a bench covered with a carpet, servants came up to him and also received a ladle of honey.
In modern parish practice, the rite of forgiveness usually proceeds as follows. After Vespers, the church clergy come out with crosses (the Gospel, revered icons) to the pulpit, the rector addresses the people with a sermon, at the end of which he asks for forgiveness and bows to the ground. Everyone answers him with a bow to the ground. Then the parishioners take turns approaching first the priests and then each other with the words “Forgive me” and the answer “God will forgive, and I forgive.” At this time, the choir performs chants from the period of preparation for Lent “ Open the doors of repentance», « On the rivers of Babylon" and Easter stichera " May God rise again...", ending with the words " forgive us all by resurrection» (« Christ is Risen" is not sung). The singing of the stichera of Easter serves as a reminder that through the feat of fasting we must prepare ourselves for a worthy meeting of the Resurrection of Christ.
Kirill Skifopolsky. The life of our venerable father Savva the Sanctified.
Saint Sophronius of Jerusalem. Life of the Venerable Mary of Egypt.
I. D. Mansvetov. Church Charter (Typic): its formation and fate in the Greek and Russian Church.
M. M. Klimenko. Features of the All-Night Vigil in the monasteries of Holy Mount Athos.
Lenten Triodion. First Week of Great Lent. Monday at Great Compline.
A cellarer (translated from Greek as “barn”) is an official of the monastery whose responsibilities include preparing, storing food, and releasing it to the monastery kitchen.
E. Romanenko. Daily life of a Russian medieval monastery.
The time of Lent is approaching. The last Sunday before the start of Lent is called Cheese Week or Forgiveness Sunday. On this day, after the evening service, in, as in all Orthodox churches, a special rite of forgiveness will be performed, when the clergy and parishioners mutually enter into Lent with a pure soul, reconciled with all their neighbors. This is one of the most touching services of the Orthodox Church. Many people have tears in their eyes, but everyone has tears in their souls — light and joyful. On this evening the temple is always full of believers. Everyone comes to ask their neighbor for forgiveness.
The rite of forgiveness — this is one of the blank spots in Orthodox worship, which is still just waiting for its researchers. The Typikon itself says nothing about the rite; at the end of Vespers it only says: “and we kiss the holy and venerable icons.” This silence of the Typicon speaks volumes. The rite of forgiveness appeared in Russian monastic Obikhodniki and bishop's Officials of the 16th-17th centuries. In earlier monuments, no traces of the rite of forgiveness on Forgiveness Sunday could be found. This touching rite was born from the statutory rite of forgiveness, which must be performed at the end of Compline daily. Gradually, this rite on Forgiveness Sunday was rethought on the basis of information from the life, which talks about the custom of the Jordan monastery on the last day before the start of Lent to ask each other for forgiveness and, having taken a blessing from the abbot of the monastery, go into the desert for the entire Lent to return to Palm Sunday.
After the end of Vespers, the rector of the church takes the altar Cross and, going out to the solea, speaks words of instruction and asks for forgiveness from the clergy and people with the words: “Bless, holy fathers and brethren, and forgive me, a sinner, for everything I have sinned on this day deed, word, thought and all my feelings.” After this he bows to the ground. Everyone bows down to him and says: “May God forgive you and have mercy on you, Holy Father. Forgive and pray for us sinners too.” All the clergy, in order of seniority, and then the parishioners, approach the rector, kiss the Cross, ask for forgiveness and kiss the Cross. "I'm sorry!" - “God will forgive, and you forgive me!” - quiet voices are heard in the temple.
“Forgive, and you will be forgiven” - these are wonderful words from the Gospel, but what does it mean to forgive? For some, this is simply a ritual action, behind which resentment and mistrust are still hidden. Someone moves on and tries not to remember the harm done to him. There are also those who, like the father in the parable of the prodigal son, himself runs towards the offender and does everything possible and impossible to restore broken good relationships. Everyone has their own measure.
No less difficult than to forgive is to accept forgiveness and believe that everything has really passed. People can bring the same sins to confession for years and not talk to those who, as it seems to them, still have something against them. In carrying this burden they find their sweetness, which is sometimes called humility or modesty for some reason. “I’m a scoundrel” - these words will not help anyone unless you add to them: “but I will try to become better.”
It will be difficult, it will put new responsibilities on me, but without it, the forgiveness I hope to receive remains invalid because I don't really accept it. I want to stay the way I am.
True forgiveness is also an attempt at change. Fasting, which begins immediately after Forgiveness Sunday, is precisely the way for a Christian to achieve this change. Christians call this repentance and want to enter into it all together, without losing anyone, and therefore they put aside at the threshold of fasting that which interferes with their unity, at least within the framework of a separate parish, circle of relatives and friends. On the path to God, it is important not to leave anyone behind.
The Christian essence of the holiday Forgiveness Sunday, history of origin and meaning. How to behave correctly on this day. Traditions of church services in honor of the holiday. Folk traditions and festive table.
Forgiveness Sunday is a holiday of Christian highest humility. On this day, an Orthodox person grieves over his pride and asks for forgiveness from those around him, whom he hurt intentionally out of malice or simplicity of mind, or could accidentally offend in word or deed, without even realizing this fact, succumbing to intemperance or in mental blindness. However, it is important to sincerely forgive yourself, that is, to carry out such work on your own soul in order to be able to let go of grievances, even undeserved ones, and personally ask for forgiveness from the offended person.
Why is Sunday called Forgiven?
The Church honors Forgiveness Sunday on the eve of Great Lent, during Maslenitsa week. This day concludes the last week in which it is allowed to eat milk, cottage cheese and eggs in preparation for the upcoming forty-day fast. Reconciliation with the offended is the first step to subsequent work on oneself, to cleansing the soul and preparing for deep repentance before Easter. With a relieved, reconciled soul, the believer enters into fasting and strives for self-improvement, for God, in order to confess and deservedly partake of the Holy Sacraments, and to acquire the gospel virtues in spiritual achievement.
How to ask for forgiveness correctly?
For a long time, there has been a tradition of sincerely and sincerely asking for forgiveness from colleagues, neighbors, relatives with the words: “Forgive me for sinning before you!”, to which the answer follows: “God will forgive, and I forgive you, forgive me too!” » After which a Christian kiss is performed three times on the cheek. If a person cannot forgive and ask for forgiveness himself, the road to repentance and the Grace of God is closed to him, since pride has paralyzed his soul. Therefore, it is so important to sincerely pray for a once offended person, to see, first of all, one’s own sins and personal imperfections. Even if he cannot forgive a long-standing sin, he must find the strength not to respond with bitterness, to consign everything bad to oblivion, and to avoid condemnation.
Advice. Start praying for your enemies and be sure to go to confession in Church!
The story of Forgiveness Sunday
The origins of this holiday originate from the life of the first righteous people of Egypt, who secluded themselves with prayers in the desert for 40 days to prepare for (like the Lord), to overcome temptations and strengthen the soul.
In the waterless wasteland, great dangers awaited the ascetics: wild animals and poisonous insects, physical weakness due to lack of water. Therefore, they asked each other for forgiveness, as if they were preparing for death, forgiving all sins. Gradually this tradition became established in the rituals of the Church.
Among the Russian people, Forgiveness Sunday has always been revered: in families, the elders asked for forgiveness from the younger ones, the rich and noble - from their servants and peasants. In the villages, peasants went to visit neighbors and relatives, visited the sick and remembered lonely relatives with the desire to help them as much as possible.
The Tsar was the first to set an example of Christian humility: he asked for forgiveness from the monastery brethren and bishops, from the soldiers in the army, carried out an amnesty for those convicted and distributed alms everywhere. On this day, military operations were even suspended.
Worship in the temple
The service on Forgiveness Sunday begins with a recollection of the events of Adam's expulsion from Eden (Paradise) due to the Fall. The priests serve the Liturgy in golden vestments, read the Gospel of Matthew and an excerpt from the Sermon on the Mount, which talks about forgiveness of others' insults as an important condition for the Lord to forgive one's own sins, a condition for acquiring heavenly treasures. An analogy is drawn between the sinfulness of humanity and the state of the soul of fallen Adam. Adam's lines of contrition about his own sins sound piercingly.
After the Liturgy, Vespers begins, before which there is reading for 9 hours. The service opens with the singing of the prokemne “Blessed is our God” and at the same time the clergy exit with censing. Then the prokemenes sound: “Quiet Light”, “Do not turn Your face away from Your servant...”. The prayer “Grant, O Lord” is said.
Evening prayers are performed in a minor key. The rector loudly reads the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian with a threefold bow. Then he says “Lord, Most Merciful,” and those present kneel.
Next is the Rite of Forgiveness.
The rector bows before the images of Jesus Christ and the Most Pure Virgin Mary, kisses the cross and venerates the icons. Stichera and prokeimenons are heard glorifying the Heavenly Father, the Holy Spirit, Christ and the Mother of God, calling for the spiritual feat of Lent and preparation for participation in the eternal Easter joy.
After this, the rector delivers the text of the sermon, at the end of which he humbly asks for forgiveness from the parishioners. The clergy present follow him by venerating the images and the cross. They ask each other for forgiveness. The laity also kiss the cross.
Folk traditions
Forgiveness Sunday coincides with the period of mass festivities in honor of Maslenitsa, but this holiday is filled with deep spiritual meaning and is the threshold of fasting as a period of spiritual trials and struggle with passions.
In honor of the holiday, it was customary to set the table and call close and distant relatives.
They prepared simple dishes, excluding meat and poultry.
They put on the table:
– baked fish;
– fish snacks, caviar;
– plain and yeast pancakes with wheat, buckwheat, oatmeal flour with sour cream and filling;
– dumplings and cheesecakes;
- pies and pies.
This feast brought together all relatives, young and older generations: here differences were smoothed out and long-standing grievances were forgiven. The holiday traditions are still alive today. It is customary to give gifts and make donations to the poor, to show mercy and love for others. At the courts of rich people, food was provided for the poor; anyone could take part in it.
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
Forgiveness Sunday is 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, to focus on spiritual life with a pure heart, to celebrate Easter - the day of the Resurrection of Christ.
On this day, fast food is consumed for the last time.
“On this day, according to the custom established in ancient times, by bowing to each other from the depths of our hearts, Orthodox Christians forgive mutual offenses and sins.
We need this if we want to live with the Lord both while on earth and when we move into eternal life. We all wish for eternal salvation. But this is only possible if there are no offenses in our hearts; there will be no mutual condemnation or hostility.
It is possible only when there is peace in our hearts - this is a precious sacred good that Christ the Savior gives us.
But for this 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 efforts in the upcoming post will be in vain. The Lord will not accept our numerous prostrations to the ground if resentment towards our brother, evil and ill will towards our neighbors continue to live in our hearts.” Archimandrite John Krestyankin.
The rite of forgiveness is usually performed in churches on Sunday evening- This is the Vespers service 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!
The rector of the temple speaks words of instruction and asks for forgiveness from the clergy and people with the words: “Bless, holy fathers and brethren, and forgive me, a sinner, for everything I have sinned on this day in deed, word, thought and all my feelings.” After this he bows to the ground. Everyone bows down to him and says: “May God forgive you and have mercy on you, Holy Father. Forgive and pray for us sinners too.” The priest says, “By His grace may God forgive and have mercy on us all.”
Then the abbot takes the altar cross. All the clergy, in order of seniority, and then the parishioners, approach the rector, kiss the Cross, ask for forgiveness and kiss the Cross. Then it is customary to bow to each other, ask for forgiveness and, as a sign of forgiveness, answer: “God will forgive,” forgiving the person not formally, in words, but sincerely, from the bottom of my heart.
At the end of the service in many churches, Easter hymns are sung (“Resurrection Day”, ending with the words “we will forgive everything with the resurrection”), recalling that fasting is the path to Easter, which is already close.
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. That's why it existed rite of forgiveness- 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 pre-revolutionary Russia, for example, there was a custom for the tsar to ask forgiveness from his subjects. For this purpose, the tsar toured the troops (since the 18th century, the locations of the regiments stationed in the capital), asked for forgiveness from the soldiers, visited monasteries, where he asked for forgiveness from their brethren, and came to the bishops to ask them for forgiveness.
“We need to forgive those who have offended us, and ask for forgiveness from those whom we have voluntarily or unwittingly offended,” Archimandrite John (Krestyankin) reminded in his sermon– Otherwise, all our efforts in the upcoming post will be in vain. The Lord will not accept our numerous prostrations to the ground if resentment towards our brother, evil and ill will towards our neighbors continue to live in our hearts.
The Lord will not hear our tearful prayers and sighs to Him for mercy on us if the words of the Savior do not touch our consciousness: “If you forgive people their sins, then your Heavenly Father will also forgive you” (Matthew 6:14).
And now this tradition has spread beyond the temples.
Forgiveness Sunday- this is the day of testing our spiritual maturity, the day of our strict self-examination: are we able to follow Christ, fulfilling all His commands?
Many of us know well from our own life experience that it is much easier to forgive than to ask for forgiveness from someone whom we have offended in some way. Here our pride prevents us from admitting guilt.
In the era of the Internet and mobile phones, the farewell ceremony began to take on new strange forms - for example, requests for forgiveness in the form of mailing to a large list of subscribers. I would like to ask - if this conversation were the last, would we really limit ourselves to an impersonal SMS? It is clear that it is much easier this way - to ask forgiveness from everyone at once and for everything at once, and also to forgive everyone wholesale for everything. It is much more difficult to forgive a specific person for a specific offense. It’s difficult, but necessary if you want to live on and not rehash an old grudge for the tenth time.
But before asking forgiveness from each other, we must ask forgiveness from the Lord for the fact that we paid Him with callous ingratitude and for His suffering at Calvary, and for His death on the cross, which He endured for the atonement of our sins. Because we have so little love for Him.
On this day, the Church remembers the terrible tragedy that happened to humanity at the dawn of its history - its expulsion, in the person of our common forefather Adam, from the face of God, the expulsion of Adam from paradise.
A vale of weeping and sorrow - the earth accepted the exile, so that, according to the commandment of God, the criminal would grow thistles and thorns, so that in the sweat of his face he could bear his bread, so that in pain, tears and sorrow he could give birth and feed his children, so that he could reap all the bitter fruits of his disobedience to the Heavenly Father. .
Adam cried after his exile, in the gray of “straight from heaven,” he cried, remembering who he was, and what he possessed, and Whom he lost. And according to Adam the first, all humanity to this day cries and sighs for the now elusive ghost of happiness. And the whole world, tormented and tired, cries from lack of direction, from the fact that the soul is naked, that life is aimless and joyless. And nothing can fill our life so that a complete person feels the unconditional fullness of real, and not illusory, happiness, for it, this fullness, is only in God.
But we are exiles. Paradise is far away, and the further humanity lives from the time of the fall, the more obscure the beautiful image of paradise becomes in it, the deeper the pain and suffering of humanity and the more the image and likeness of God is erased in the human soul. And the world would have perished long ago if it were not for the Second Adam - Christ, who again opened the closed paradise and gave man the opportunity to return to it.
And we all now bear the tightness and burden of life as an exile. But we, those who live the life of the Church, know the heavenly joy of the open Royal Doors and the life-giving, jubilant words: “Christ is Risen!” and in them - the original closeness of Divine love to man. But this heavenly joy on earth is preceded by Lent, and the Church constantly teaches that what we have lost through sin can be found, gained, and returned only through repentance, heroism, and the labors of great abstinence.
Only a few hours will pass, and you and I will all notice with amazement that something will change around us and in us; something will happen that will leave the stamp of special concentration and attention on everything. This will be the holy Great Lent. And we, together with the Church, will have to move from the call to repentance to the labors of repentance themselves, to the work of repentance.”