Liturgical circle
Let's do a little educational program. To begin with, let us remember that the Divine service consists of three circles:
- DAILY CIRCLE - begins with Vespers, consists of the All-Night Vigil and the Divine Liturgy;
- SEVENDAY CIRCLE (weekly circle) - each day of the week is dedicated to some event from Sacred History or a saint.
- ANNUAL CIRCLE - every day of the year is dedicated to the memory of a saint or holiday; There is a fixed annual circle of services (not moving holidays, like Christmas, Epiphany, etc.), but there is a moving one (moving holidays, like Easter, Trinity).
Infographics daily cycle of divine services
I have prepared for you an infographic about the daily cycle of Divine services. To download a picture in high quality, enter a valid e-mail in the form below.
Hang it in a visible place, look at it periodically, you will quickly remember what goes for what. I hope it will help you understand how Orthodox worship works.
Weekly (weekly) circle of services.
The week in the Church begins on Sunday. “Week” (Church Glav.) = week (Russian) = 7 days. Every day the service is dedicated to a saint and some events of Holy Scripture:
- RESURRECTION is dedicated to the Resurrection of Christ,
- MONDAY - to ethereal forces and Repentance,
- TUESDAY - Righteous John the Baptist and Repentance,
- WEDNESDAY - the Cross (betrayal of Judas) and the Mother of God,
- THURSDAY - To the Apostles and Saint Nicholas,
- FRIDAY - the Cross (memory of the crucifixion) and the Mother of God,
- SATURDAY - to all saints, to all the departed and to the Mother of God.
Daily cycle of services
The day in the Church begins in the evening, for example, on Saturday evening it is considered that Sunday has already arrived. If you came to the service on Tuesday in the evening, then according to the church calendar Wednesday has already arrived.
The daily circle begins with Vespers, then Compline, Midnight Office, Matins, 1st hour. Very often Compline and Midnight Office are not served. The evening service is called the All-Night Vigil - “ever-night vigil”, since previously the service was not divided into two days, but was served from the evening all night until the morning.
So, the All-Night Vigil today most often consists of Vespers, Matins and the 1st hour.
Usually the Divine Liturgy is served the next morning. It consists of the 3rd hour, the 6th hour, the Liturgy and the 9th hour (but lately this has also been omitted in many churches and is not read). In fact, the Liturgy can be served both at night and in the evening; it is not tied to a specific time period. Each part of the service has its own symbolic meaning; we remember some biblical events.
