Every Orthodox Christian has admired church hymns at least once in his life. When performed correctly and beautifully, spiritual singing evokes feelings of reverence, tenderness and repentance. And all this thanks to the church choir, or choir.
Both among the faithful children of the Orthodox Church and among people close to the church, there will be those who would like to devote their energy and time to serving God. One of such services can be called singing in a church choir. Unfortunately, many still do not know how to implement such a pious intention.
Features of training in a church choir
During the formation of the Church, Christians did not have the concept of a choir. The community of believers prayed and sang liturgical hymns together. After the period of persecution, attention to the beauty of church services increased, since believers could worship openly. At this time, choirs or choirs appear.
Church choirs (choirs) appeared during the persecution of the Church
In modern churches you can find several choirs that sing alternately. Such choirs are located on a raised platform, on both sides of the altar. In the Orthodox tradition, it is not customary to use musical instruments: all harmony is built on the singing of several voices.
The regent is considered to be the main person in managing the choir. Often such people have a higher musical education. The course of the service depends on their professionalism, since there is a continuous relationship between the clergyman and the choir: the priest cannot conduct a service without the choir and reader, and the choir and readers, in turn, cannot sing without the blessing of the priest.
To study in the choir you need:
- be baptized in the Orthodox Church;
- have an ear for music and a beautiful voice;
- It is desirable to have a musical education.
Advice! If you don't have any musical talent, there is an option to become a reader. To do this, you need to be able to read texts in Church Slavonic loudly and expressively.
PORTAL CONTACTS
When I asked my confessor for his blessing to sing in the choir, he said a phrase that I didn’t pay much attention to at that moment: “The choir is the front line. Front edge. The evil one does not like church singing, so expect temptations.” A month later, in tears, I came to my confessor for a new blessing - to leave the choir: “I can’t, it’s not working, it’s not my thing.” The answer was stern: “You will leave when the regent kicks you out. Consider this your obedience. We must endure and learn." Now I can’t imagine how I would live without singing. Although I still sometimes ask myself: would I have decided to go to the choir if I knew how many promised temptations there would be?
Recently, on one of the regency singing forums on the Internet, I read: choristers are supposedly the church “elite”: no discipline, no prayer, a lot of arrogance and conceit.
I wanted to be indignant, but... I changed my mind. Because, to my great regret, there is a certain amount of truth in this philippic. My goal is not to scare anyone who wants to sing in a church choir - I want the beginner, albeit in general terms, to imagine what awaits him and what he needs to be prepared for. When a person who comes to church ends his new beginning period, he understands that being a Christian is not an easy matter at all. A novice singer understands much more quickly that it is difficult for God to sing. It’s good when a singer “grows up” from a children’s choir - he already knows the basic wisdom, and the process of joining the choir itself is painless. The trouble is that only a few make such a “transition”. And not every church is capable of raising a children’s choir.
Usually one gets to the choir in two ways (we do not take into account professional singers). The temple already has a large, strong choir or even two - “right” and “left” (also called amateur, educational or everyday). A parishioner (or more often a parishioner), regularly singing “I Believe” and “Our Father” along with everyone else, finally plucks up courage, approaches the regent and timidly asks: “Can I try to join the choir...?” The second option is that there is no one at all to sing in the church except the mother regent, who listens carefully during the nationwide singing and finally approaches the potential singer: “They say you once graduated from three classes of music school? Maybe you can try singing in the choir?”
The person begins to try. Most often, at the very first rehearsal or service, it turns out that he doesn’t know anything and can’t do anything. And even if he can, it’s somehow not right. While I was bending my fingers so as not to confuse the vowels, it turned out that I sang a stichera or troparion without understanding what it was about. While I was following the notes, the litany ended, but I still didn’t have time to pray. And in general, the service flew by like one minute, leaving a physical feeling of the loading work being completed, especially if the choir is small and you need to sing, and not sing along. But how can we “glorify God with one mouth”? When I prayed in the temple, everything seemed a little different... This was the first temptation of the newcomer.
It would be good if someone immediately explained to a person that prayer on the choir is done more by deeds than by words. Beautiful singing that encourages those present to pray is prayer in itself. And it’s not uncommon for choristers to simultaneously sing a special litany and read a memorial service. Both of them turn out bad...
It happens that they sang poorly, the regent made a remark, and immediately - despondency and “I’m not a singer!” If you sang well, you want to praise yourself: “Wow, how well I’m doing!” In any case, my confessor advised me to thank the Lord. It turned out well - “Thank God!” It’s bad - it’s still “Glory to God!”... On many choirs there is an icon of the patron saint of singers - St. Roman the Sweet Singer. And I would also recommend re-reading his life in moments of despondency. And think: “Do I really want to sing to God, as Saint Roman wished, or am I just flattering my vanity?”
Discipline in the choir is the talk of the town. Especially in large “holiday” choirs, where unchurched professional singers often sing. Few places can get by without being late, talking and arguing with the regent. Not every director has enough time for both the musical part and the educational part. And not everyone will decide to “educate” a careless prima: she will get offended and leave, then look for someone else with a small salary...
Salary is a special conversation. Leftist choirs usually sing to the glory of God. On some level, it’s easier for them. Although even here there is a danger of falling into delusion: “Here they are, self-interested people, singing for money, but I am unmercenary.” The “self-interested” from the right-wing choir have their own concerns: the wages are low and there are fewer scheduled services than we would like. The rate is really small everywhere, except for large cathedrals in large cities. Once I advertised: “Singers wanted,” and indicated our usual rate. I received advice: for that kind of money, look for a grandmother or grandfather from the parishioners.
By the way, the topic of wages is one of the most pressing. One thing is clear: it is unrealistic to live on the salary of a regent or a singer. However, the Lord does not abandon true devotees of singing by His mercy. But sometimes a person thinks: “A real singer shouldn’t waste his time, I need to feed my family, so it’s better not to sing at all than to be a slob.” Usually, such “former choristers” understand in their hearts that they are wrong, but they get terribly angry with those who combine choir singing with other work (and these are the majority).
However, it seems to me that there are no “former singers” at all. There are people who came to the choir to earn extra money or to enjoy the process of singing and beautiful music - just like in a choir club. Real singers do not come - the Lord brings them, and sometimes in the most amazing ways. As one of my friends said, a real singer will not leave the choir of his own free will. He will experience failures, pray, study, but he will not be able to live without the choir.
School of Church Singing Octoplasty
Octoplasty or eight-voice is a musical system of eight voices. Voice is a special mode. Each day of the week and holiday has its own special voice.
Osmoglasie - musical modes on which all chants in the Orthodox Church are based
The first voice is solemn in nature, as it is used on the brightest and most joyful holiday of Easter.
The second voice contains a reverent and meek motive, and at the same time removes grief and sadness.
The third voice makes you think about the heavenly world, makes you think about exploits for the sake of Christ.
The fourth voice has a double quality. First it awakens joy, then it causes sadness.
The fifth voice has a soothing and at the same time sad character.
Voice six - attunes to pious thoughts and feelings.
The seventh voice is rarely used. It is touching and simple in nature.
The eighth voice has a glorifying character, magnifying the joy of the future life.
This system has been preserved in church traditions century after century and shapes its musical culture.
On the middle, polyeleos, and small, with doxology, feasts of saints, the order is the same: at every Sunday liturgy and during the week (except Saturdays), troparia and kontakia of the temple saints are added. They are not excluded from pre-celebrations and post-celebrations. Temple troparia to saints on major and minor feasts of saints are excluded if they coincide with minor feasts of the Lord or the Theotokos. The troparia of the churches of Christ and the Theotokos also precede the troparia of the minor saints, and the kontakia of these churches are also final, as in the services of the great saints, and just as in the services of the great saints, they change into forefeasts and afterfeasts.
Easter is not one of the twelve or great holidays. She is the holidays Holiday. The Easter troparion “Christ is Risen...”, where it is sung precisely as a troparion, must be sung three times. If instead of the prayer “Heavenly King...” we sing “Christ is Risen...” three times, all the more should we sing three times each time instead of the troparion in the proper sense. In the services of Kiriopaskha and the Great Martyr. George on one of the days of Bright Week in the 48th chapter of part 1 of the Typikon, it is directly indicated at the entrance “Christ is Risen...” to be sung three times. There is no such instruction in the 50th chapter of part 1 of the Typikon, which sets out the order of the Easter service, just as there is no instruction to sing once, because the Typikon does not repeat what was said earlier, which was already well known. At the end of Easter Week in St. Thomas, Sunday is a service similar to the Twelve Feasts. The Holy Week preceding Easter with the Week of Vai and Lazarus Saturday are, as it were, the pre-holiday days of Easter. The Sunday days following Easter week until the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord are each a post-feast day of Easter, and each such Sunday day is also a holiday, and the week following this Sunday is, as it were, a post-feast in relation to it, just as the entire Pentecost is in relation to Easter. On these Sundays, the Church remembers the witnesses of the Resurrection of Christ, His miracles and teachings. The troparia and kontakia, which are sung on these Sundays, are also sung throughout the week, as on after-feasts. In the middle of the period of Pentecost, the feast of Mid-Pentecost is celebrated, which has both an after-feast and a giving away. Sundays and some Saturdays of Lent are holidays. On the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Saturdays of Lent (if the feasts of the Forerunner, the Holy 40 Martyrs or the Annunciation do not occur on them) and on Meat Saturday, funeral services are performed, as well as on Trinity Saturday.
For all holiday and everyday services, one general order is observed in the singing of troparions and kontakions during the liturgy. First, all the troparia are sung, then after them, in the same sequence, the kontakia are sung; Of the kontakions, usually the most important kontakion for a given day is left for “Glory” - the celebrated saint or (during the period of singing the Triodion) the Triodion kontakion, then on “And now” the final kontakion is sung - the Theotokos or another. Triode kontakia are often sung as the final ones. Troparions to the Savior, the Mother of God, and the Heavenly powers are always preceded. When at weekday services there is neither a Sunday (which cannot be) nor a holiday (which can be on the forefeast and afterfeast) troparion, the singing begins with temple or daytime troparions. Sometimes daily troparions precede temple troparions in memory of saints.
This can be expressed more clearly in the following diagrams. The first distributes the troparia according to their order, and the second indicates the sequence in which they are sung at the liturgy.
Scheme I. Troparia: 1) to the Savior, 2) to the Mother of God, 3) to the heavenly powers, 4) to the prophets and forerunners, 5) to the apostles and saints, 6) to the martyrs, saints, righteous, 7) to all saints. (All kontakia are distributed in the same way.)
Scheme II. Troparion: 1) Sunday or holiday, 2) to the Temple of Christ, 3) to the Temple of the Mother of God, 4) to the Temple of the saint, 5) Daily (on the day of the week), 6) Saints whose service was celebrated, 7) Final kontakia. (Before the final kontakia, other kontakia are sung in the same order.)
Notes on the first diagram
1. The first troparion can be a Sunday troparion, a holiday troparion (the great - the twelve and non-twelfth - holiday and other middle and small holidays of the Lord, their forefeasts and afterfeasts). The Cross, the Image Not Made by Hands, on the eve of the Twelfth Feast, the Sunday of the Colored Triodion.
2. The Troparion of the Mother of God can be of any of Her feasts or forefeasts and afterfeasts or icons.
3. There can be a general troparion for the heavenly powers and for one angel or archangel.
4. The prophets can also have a general troparion for one prophet, as well as for any of the holidays in memory of John the Baptist.
5. The troparia of the apostles are also for one or for many. This includes the troparions of Saints Equal-to-the-Apostles Constantine and Helen, Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir, Equal-to-the-Apostles Princess Olga, Saint Equal-to-the-Apostles Nina, Blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky, Saint Mary Magdalene and troparions to saints, one and many.
6. The rank of martyrdom also includes holy martyrs and great martyrs, and venerable martyrs, and confessors - men and wives, and virgins, and youths. This group also includes the troparia of the passion-bearers Princes Boris and Gleb and Tsarevich Dimitri of Uglich. The troparion of the saint or saints is sung after the troparion of the martyr, and after the troparion of the saints, the troparion of the righteous and blessed.
7. The Troparion to All Saints on Saturdays is sung first among the troparions of other saints, who are numbered in the Menaion. When any of these troparions is missing, the remaining troparions maintain this order without disturbing the overall harmony.
Notes on the second diagram
1. Each of the eight voice Sunday troparions is sung only on Sunday and always first. It is not sung with its voice hymns on Easter week, on the days of the Lord's twelve feasts, when nothing from its voice service is sung at all. Together with its vocal chants, it is sung on weekdays in the post-Easter weeks before the Ascension, as a holiday. On Sunday at the liturgy, the Sunday troparion precedes other holiday troparions - the Twelve Feasts of the Theotokos and their forefeasts and afterfeasts, the vespers of the Nativity of Christ and the Epiphany, the troparia of the Cross, the Image Not Made by Hands, other great and middle and small feasts of the Lord and the Theotokos, the troparia of the Weeks of St. Thomas and Myrrh-Bearer, Mid-Pentecost. The Sunday troparion is connected with the troparions of the Lord's twelve feasts only in the after-feasts and celebrations of these holidays as a preliminary one.
2. Troparion to the Temple of Christ, i.e. any of the Lord's twelve feasts or minor ones, the Holy Trinity, the Life-Giving Cross or the Image Not Made by Hands, is sung only when there is no Sunday or other festive (Lord's feast) troparion. It is not sung in the Lord's forefeast and afterfeast. During the festive troparion to the Theotokos and on the pre-celebration and post-celebration of the Theotokos, the troparion to the Temple of Christ in the Church of Christ should be sung first, before the festive troparion to the Theotokos. When a temple is not in honor of the Lord Jesus Christ, but has another altar, then the first will be one of the next in order of troparions, if there are no festive troparions of the Lord, neither to the Mother of God, nor to the temple of the Mother of God.
3. The troparion to the temple of the Mother of God in the churches of the Mother of God is also never sung if there is another troparion of a holiday or forefeast and after-feast of the Mother of God or in honor of Her icon. Like other holidays, it is sung after the troparion of Sunday or the Lord's holiday. It also happens to be a preliminary one, if there is no troparion of either the Sunday, or the Lord's holiday, or the troparion of the Temple of Christ. It is not sung on the forefeast and afterfeast of the Theotokos, but is sung on the forefeasts and afterfeasts of the Lord's feasts. However, the latter is not always the case. So, for example, on the after-feast of the Nativity of Christ, the troparion to the Church of the Mother of God is not sung, since in the festive Nativity kontakion the Mother of God is also glorified. At the weekly liturgy on Wednesday and Friday, the troparion of the Church of the Mother of God is sung after the troparion to the Cross.
4. The troparion to the saint’s church is also sung at Sunday services, when there is no connection between the Sunday service and the service of the vigil saint; It is also sung on minor feasts of saints, when there is a service with polyeleos or doxology. It is not sung on the minor feasts of the Lord and the Mother of God. In accordance with the first scheme, at the weekly services the troparion of the temple saint gives way to the troparion of the greater saints and precedes the troparion of the lesser saint. Thus, the temple troparion of the Heavenly Armies, or the Archangel Michael, or the Archangel Gabriel, in the absence of a troparion to the temple of Christ and the temple of the Mother of God outside the forefeast and afterfeast, is sung first at the weekly liturgy on Tuesday and Thursday, excluded on Monday and sung second on Wednesday and Friday. The temple troparion to the prophet or Baptist John or the feast of the Baptist under the same conditions is sung second on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, excluded on Tuesday and sung first on Thursday. The temple troparia of the apostle and saint are always sung after the daytime troparions and are excluded from singing on Thursday. Temple troparions of martyrs and saints are sung on all weekdays, except for the Saturday liturgy, also after the daytime troparions. (Temple troparia and kontakia of saints are excluded on some weekdays outside of the forefeasts and afterfeasts, because they are identical to the troparions and kontakia of the day. And when (as, for example, on the forefeasts and afterfeasts) daytime troparia are not sung, there is no reason to exclude troparia on weekdays and kontakia of the temple saints. An exception may be Saturday since it is, as it were, the giving of the week, and therefore on Saturday, if it coincides with the forefeast and afterfeast, there may be a reduction in the number of troparia and kontakia).
5. Daily troparia and kontakia are sung on weekdays, when there are no holiday troparions (no feast of the Lord or the Virgin Mary or saints with any red calendar sign), no forefeast, no afterfeast. The Troparion of the Heavenly Hosts on Monday, in the absence of temple troparions to Christ and the Mother of God in the Church of Saints, is sung first and excludes the temple troparion in the Church of Angels. The Troparion of the Forerunner on Tuesday is also sung first in the absence of troparions to the Temple of Christ and the Church of the Virgin Mary and excludes the temple troparion of the Forerunner or his holidays, but not in the Temple of Angels. In the temple of the Angel or Angels, the daily troparion of the Forerunner is sung after the temple troparion of the Heavenly Hosts; in the churches of saints without troparions to the temple of Christ or the temple of the Mother of God, it is sung before the troparion of the temple saints. The troparion to the Cross on Wednesday and Friday is always sung first and always excludes the troparion to the temple of Christ, preceding the troparion to the temple of the Mother of God, if there is one. Two troparions on Thursday - to the apostles and Saint Nicholas - are sung after the temple troparions to the Heavenly powers, the prophet, the Forerunner and before the temple troparions to the martyr or saint, the righteous, excluding the temple troparions of the apostle or apostles and the saint or saints. The first Saturday troparion to All Saints is sung first in the churches of the saints, if there are no troparions to the temple of Christ or the Mother of God, and everywhere excludes all troparions of the temple saints. The second Saturday troparion for the dead is sung only in those cases when there are no troparions in the Menaion in memory of the saints for whom the service is performed on that day.
6. On weekdays, the service of saints under the number in the Menaion or in the Triodiion without a forefeast or afterfeast can be celebrated without the Octoechos or with a small addition from the Octoechos. (This happens with the black sign, and on the first Saturday of Lent in memory of the Holy Great Martyr Theodore Tiron). Then sometimes there may not be a daily troparion, and the troparion of the saints by whom the service was ruled may be the first and only one even on Saturday (indications occur in a row), but usually on weekdays the troparion of the saints by whom the service was ruled is sung outside the forefeast and afterfeast after the daily troparions, and on the forefeast and afterfeast after the troparion of the temple saint. There may be more than one troparion under the number. When the service is celebrated by several saints from the Menaion, then in the liturgical singing these troparia follow the first pattern. If one prophet or martyr has special troparions, then the general troparion of another prophet or martyr gives way to a special troparion. Troparions under the number are never sung before the daytime troparions. On the minor feasts of the saints on the given day of the month when the service was performed for them, their troparions, as well as on weekdays, are sung after the temple or other holiday troparia; so on the forefeasts and afterfeasts. If another service is added to the service below the date, then they join in the liturgy and troparia of this service. This also happens when the services of the Menaion and the Triodion are combined, or services for one Menaion, but when the festive service and the saints are combined (on forefeasts and afterfeasts). But one should never add troparions to saints whose services were not performed. At funeral services, no troparions of saints are sung. Also, in the services to the saints, the troparions for the dead are not combined with the troparions of the saints under the number in the Menaion. With troparions, the number excludes the Saturday funeral troparion.
7. After all kontakia have been sung in the same order as the troparia of a given day, the final kontakia are sung. When the feasts of the Lord and the Theotokos are combined, when there are no troparions and kontakions of saints, the kontakion of the Feast of Christ is sung on “Glory,” and the kontakion of the Feast of the Theotokos on “And Now.” Usually the kontakion of the vigil or polyeleos saint or the kontakion of the Triodion is left for “Glory”. On weekdays, the last kontakion of the saints is sung on “Glory” during the forefeast and afterfeast, and without forefeast and afterfeast on weekdays, when singing the daily troparions, the funeral kontakion “Rest with the saints...” is always sung. The funeral kontakion is never sung with “And now,” and the kontakion of saints is never sung with “And now.” When there is no festive Kontakion of the Savior or the Theotokos or a temple Kontakion of the Theotokos, then the kontakion of the Temple of Christ can also be sung on “And Now.” In the churches of Christ in honor of the Resurrection, His final kontakion may be on “And now,” even on weekdays, the Sunday voice kontakion. On the Easter after-feast, the final kontakion on Sundays is the kontakion of Easter, and on the week-long post-Easter days the final kontakion on “And Now” is the kontakion of the Triodion of the past Sunday, performed on Sunday on “Glory.” This is how it is sometimes sung not in the Churches of the Mother of God on “And Now” and the kontakion of the Sunday of the Lenten Triodion. On pre- and post-celebration holidays, the final kontakion is always the festive kontakion, except for special statutory cases. On ordinary weekdays with daily troparia, when there are no kontakions for the temple of Christ and the temple of the Mother of God, as well as on Sundays and on saints' feast days, in churches the final holy kontakion everywhere is the common Theotokos - “The unashamed intercession of Christians...”. It should not be arbitrarily replaced by any other kontakion. Where and when such a replacement is required, there are instructions about this in the Charter. Thus, in exceptional cases, singing on “And now” and the kontakion of saints is indicated, as the kontakion of martyrs on “And now” is sung on Saturdays, or instead of the kontakion on “And now” the Theotokos is sung at funeral services.
In conclusion, small examples of practical application of all the above are offered.
1. In the main altar in honor of the Resurrection of Christ in the church, named after one of the side altars - in memory of the Miracle of the Archangel Michael, on the day of memory of the holy noble prince Alexander Nevsky, on Sunday November 23, a vigil service is performed - a combination of the Sunday service, the post-feast of the Entry into the Temple Blessed Virgin Mary and saint.
The sequence of troparions and kontakia at the liturgy will be as follows:
1) Troparion for the Sunday voice, 2) Troparion for the feast of the Entry of the Mother of God into the Temple, 3) Troparion for the holy noble prince Alexander Nevsky, 4) Kontakion for the Sunday voice, 5) “Glory”: the kontakion of the saint, 6) “And now”: the post-feast Kontakion for the Entry.
Temple troparia are not sung. The troparion to the temple of Christ is excluded on the occasion of Sunday, the other temple troparion - the Archangel - is excluded for the sake of the service of the great saint. Services for other saints of this day were not added to this service during the all-night vigil, therefore there are no other troparions and kontakions for other saints at the liturgy.
2. In the same altar of the same church, the next day, Monday, November 24, the service on the day of memory of the Holy Great Martyr Catherine is celebrated, together with the service to the Holy Great Martyr Mercury and the same feast day service. The combination of troparions and kontakia at the liturgy will be different:
1) Troparion of the temple - Renewal of the Church of the Resurrection of Christ in Jerusalem (which replaces the Easter one), 2) Troparion for the feast of the Entry of the Theotokos into the temple, 3) Troparion of the temple saint - Archangel Michael, 4) Troparion of the Holy Great Martyr Catherine, 5) Troparion of the Holy Great Martyr Mercury, 6 ) Kontakion to the Holy Great Martyr Catherine, 7) “Glory”: Kontakion to the Holy Great Martyr Mercury,
“And Now”: Kontakion of the Post-Feast of the Introduction.
In this example, we sing as a temple troparion not the Sunday troparion, but the troparion of Renewal. The troparion and kontakion of the Church of Christ are not excluded from the feast of the Theotokos. They did not sing the kontakion to the Temple of Christ because it was replaced by the final kontakion of the holiday. (Outside the forefeast and afterfeast, it would be replaced - also as a final one - by the Sunday vocal kontakion.) On the occasion of the afterfeast, the daytime troparion and kontakion of “Heavenly Armies of the Archistratizhe...” are absent, and therefore “Heavenly Armies of the Archistratizhe...” is sung, i.e. troparion of the temple saint. The kontakion to the Archangel Michael could have been sung on “Glory,” but it was excluded only because the more important one, the Temple Kontakion of Christ, was also excluded.
The troparion of the Holy Great Martyr Catherine is sung before the troparion of the Great Martyr Mercury, because it is a special troparion, while Saint Mercury has a common troparion of martyrs. If the service to St. Catherine were polyeleos, then the kontakion of the second saint would be sung on the Slava, but the Rule on weekdays orders the kontakion of the second saint to be sung on the Glory. During the vigil service there would be neither a troparion nor a kontakion of the temple saint. For the sake of the post-feast, there is no daily troparion and kontakion, therefore there is no singing and funeral kontakion and “Glory”.
3. Let's take another example - a weekday service without fore-celebration or after-feast. Let us assume that in the same church a weekday service is being held, but not in the main chapel, but in the side chapel in honor of the Miracle of the Archangel Michael, which is the chapel chapel, on Thursday, December 4, on the day of remembrance of the Holy Great Martyr Barbara and St. John of Damascus. Service with Octoechos, without polyeleos and without doxology.
In this case, we have one temple troparion and one temple kontakion - the Archangel. I no longer sing the Troparion and Kontakion of the Resurrection Altar. Without polyeleos and doxology with the singing of the Octoechos, we must have both the daily troparion and kontakion (there are two of them on Thursday). There are two troparions and a number in the Menaion. When there is no troparion for the second saint in the Menaion, then on weekdays, except Saturday (especially if there is only one saint), a common troparion must be sung.
So, the order of singing troparions and kontakions in this example will be as follows:
1) Temple Troparion of the Archangel, 2) Daily Troparion to the Apostles, 3) Daily Troparion to St. Nicholas, 4) Troparion to the Holy Great Martyr Barbara, 5) General Troparion of the Venerable Confessor, 6) Temple Kontakion of the Archangel, 7) Daily Kontakion to the Apostles, Daily Kontakion to St. Nicholas, 9) Kontakion to the Holy Great Martyr Barbara, 10) Kontakion to St. John of Damascus, 11) “Glory”: “Rest with the saints...”, 12) “And now”: “The intercession of Christians is shameless...”.
Let's consider possible options depending on the type of service in the same church and chapel on the same day and date.
During the polyeleos and doxology services, the daily troparia and kontakia and the funeral kontakion on the “Slava” would not be sung. During the doxology on “Glory” there will be a kontakion of the second saint, and during the polyeleos there will be a kontakion of the saint of the polyeleos. So the troparion of the polyeleos saint will be the first after the temple one.
During the vigil service, the troparion and kontakion of the temple saint are excluded, and the second service along with its troparion and kontakion may be excluded.
When performing a service in the main altar - the Resurrection altar, the troparion of the Renewal of the Church of the Resurrection of Christ in Jerusalem will precede in all cases, and the final kontakion will be either the Sunday voice kontakion or the kontakion of the Renewal of the Church of the Resurrection of Christ.
These are the statutory instructions of the Typikon on the singing of troparions and kontakions at the liturgy.
