What a religious holiday February 14th. Orthodox church holidays of February

Memorial Day of the Holy Martyr Tryphon - February 14 - coincides with the so-called St. Valentine's Day (all lovers). Mitred archpriest Maxim Kozlov, professor of the Moscow Theological Academy, First Deputy Chairman of the Educational Committee under the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, rector of the Church of St. Seraphim of Sarov on Krasnopresnenskaya Embankment in Moscow, reflects on marketing technologies that oppose the Orthodox tradition.

Father Maxim, today even in kindergartens they make “valentines”. What do you think is the reason for the popularity of this “holiday”?

There was also something reasonable in the Soviet past, in particular, opposition to cringing before the West, which in this case would be appropriate. In the celebration of Valentine's Day there is nothing national, religious, or even simply reasonable.

In the Russian Orthodox Church, this day is very, very busy: on the one hand, the eve of the feast of the Presentation of the Lord, which, if we talk about innovations, has also been declared the Day of Orthodox Youth. But most importantly, February 14 is the day of memory of the holy martyr Tryphon, who is very revered by church people, at least in Moscow.

I remember the late 70s and 80s well. of the last century, when on this day the Church of the Sign on Rizhskaya, where the miraculous icon of the holy martyr Tryphon is located, was a place of pilgrimage for all Orthodox Moscow - it did not accommodate everyone who was going to worship. On this day, as a rule, the ever-memorable His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Pimen performed the liturgy.

But in addition to February 14, twice a week, a prayer service with an akathist to the martyr Tryphon was served in the temple. There were always many people at this worship service who came with their needs. They made, if not a feat, then a certain effort - they traveled from all over Moscow, broke away from work - with warm faith in this saint.

The reasons for such veneration are understandable: the Russian Orthodox Church perceives the martyr Tryphon (beginning with the miraculous appearance of the falconer Tryphon) as a saint who helps in emergency life circumstances, when there is no longer any rational hope of a way out. Such miracles of the era of Tsar Ivan the Terrible found a lively response in the soul of the Russian people. In this regard, we can also recall the Monk Martyr Cornelius of the Pskov Caves, whose veneration was also very widespread at that time, and, of course, St. Philip.

Thousands of people have prayed to the Holy Martyr Tryphon over these centuries, and now many know his help. We can be skeptical about the lists of saints who help in various life needs, but I know many examples, and they also exist in my life, when the martyr Tryphon solved the very housing issue that, as the writer said, spoiled many of our compatriots; helped in finding a job, as well as in other needs - as a saint, as a bright, clear young man, a wonderful example of a saint of God.

Thus, we are not talking about filling an empty day - there is a displacement of one's own, native, spiritual, primordial; betrayal of your good for the sake of you will not understand what.

On February 14, the Catholic Church celebrates the memory of the early Christian saints Valentine of Interamne and Valentine of Rome, from scarce information about them it is known that these are holy martyrs who suffered for the faith. Where did the legend about the patronage of lovers and, in fact, Valentine's Day come from?

The Catholic Church, represented by its hierarchs, has repeatedly testified that it has nothing to do with this cult. Never in the traditions of the Western Catholic Church was and could not be the assignment of Saint Valentine - the bishop of one of the Italian cities and the holy martyr - the strange role of the patron of romantic love, and even more promiscuous sexual relations.

You can criticize our Catholic brothers for something else, but they have never engaged in this kind of exploitation of their own saint. Catholics do not have any peculiar rituals in this regard. They have other traditions that are unusual for us, connected, say, with Francis of Assisi, prayers for animals. These customs can be treated differently, but, I repeat, relatively speaking, there is no rite of consecration of Valentine among Catholics.

The Orthodox Church also celebrates the memory of the saints mentioned, but on a different day.

As for the origins of Valentine's Day, marketing textbooks list the so-called Valentine's Day (or rather, without the word "holy") as one of the first success stories of commercial advertising. In the West, there was a long pause between sales - Christmas and Easter and pre-Easter, and the idea of ​​this holiday was promoted solely to stimulate trade. So why blindly be guided by the commercial cult and the idea of ​​​​sales in our lives? Encourage already Chinese manufacturers and retail chains in their pursuit of commercial gain?

Father Maxim, but there is a beautiful legend that Saint Valentine was executed for the wedding of Roman legionnaires with their lovers, despite the emperor's ban.

I don't know how this legend came about. There is nothing of the kind in the canonical lives of the holy martyrs Valentin of Interamna and Valentin of Rome.

- And how to deal with this kind of fiction?

It is pointless to fight, we will never be able to capture the commercial space in which big business operates. But the more people in our country will have at least the beginnings of a serious church worldview, the less commercial cults will have leads.

For many years you were rector of the Church of the Holy Martyr Tatiana at Moscow State University. M.V. Lomonosov. What happened on February 14 in the temple? What can be said about the morality and chastity of modern students?

When I served in the church at Moscow State University, I did not observe the flow of students that day who would have asked for special prayers for St. Valentine. With regard to chastity, the position of the Church against promiscuity has been known since the preaching of the apostles. And whoever wants to hear it, he hears, and whoever does not hear it, will act in accordance with his desires. I have no particular illusions about this. Even if we say this 10 more times, even on the first channel, these people will not begin to live quietly and gracefully in all piety. But once again to testify that the Church has nothing to do with the day of “Saint” Valentine, it is useful that at least the illusion of being able to sit on two chairs is not created: in the morning to pray to the holy martyr Tryphon, and in the evening to go on a spree about Valentinov day.

- And what do you say to young people who think that close relationships before marriage are normal?

In my opinion, it is rather pointless to say anything about this in view of the general non-church worldview. One cannot fragmentarily incorporate Christian morality. What is the point of explaining to a person that it is bad to steal if he does not believe in eternal life and retribution? What is wrong, say, to push people with their feet and go over their heads, if he is convinced that without this he cannot make a career? In the same way, it is futile to inspire the idea that Christian virtues are good, and there is no need to sin against the seventh commandment if a person lives according to the principle “take everything from life”, especially while you are young. It is necessary to preach the Gospel, eternal life and faith in the Risen Christ, and from this follows Christian morality. In my opinion, morality cannot be made the center of Christian preaching.

That is, it remains only to pray that the Lord enlightens young people who believe that it is possible to cohabit before marriage?

Of course, to pray that the Lord enlightens the one who achieves the contrary to the convictions of a Christian. A person must believe in the Risen Christ and in eternal life, and then he himself, gradually, with the help of the Church, affirming the Gospel, draw some conclusions for himself.

* Prefeast of the Presentation of the Lord. * Martyr Tryphon (250).
Martyrs Perpetua, Martyrs Satyr, Revokata, Sathornila, Secundus and Martyrs Filicitata (c. 202-203). Venerable Peter of Galatia (429); Vendemian, the hermit of Bithynia (c. 512); Timothy the Confessor. Saints David and Simeon, Mytilene confessors and miracle workers (after 820). Saint Basil, Archbishop of Thessalonica, Confessor (c. 870); Tryphon, Bishop of Rostov (1468). Martyrs Theion with 2 youths; Karion; Agathodora; Jordan (1650); Anastasia Navpliota (1655). Martyr Gabriel of Constantinople (1676). Hieromartyr Nicholas (Mezentsev) Archpriest (1938). Conspiracy for Great Lent.

Day of the Holy Martyr Tryphon

The Holy Martyr Tryphon (†250) was born in one of the regions of Asia Minor - Phrygia, not far from the city of Apamea, in the village of Kampsada. His parents were simple and pious peasants. As a child, he grazed geese and did not receive an education. But Saint Tryphon, as a child, was vouchsafed from the Lord the gift of miracles: he cast out demons, healed ailments, and through his prayer did many other good deeds.
Once the inhabitants of the native village of Saint Tryphon were saved by him from starvation: by the power of his childhood prayer, the saint forced the harmful insects that destroyed the crops to leave. On the basis of this miracle, the Church established a special rite of prayerful appeal to Saint Tryphon, which is performed when pests attack crops or plantings.
Saint Tryphon was especially famous for casting out a demon from the daughter of the Roman emperor Gordian (238-244). A demon possessed the young, intelligent and beautiful Tsarevna and severely tormented her. Once he shouted that only Tryphon could expel him. The emperor ordered the miracle worker to be found and brought to Rome. At that time Saint Tryphon was 16 years old. When the saint approached Rome at a distance of three days' journey, the evil spirit could not endure his approach and left Gordian's daughter. Saint Tryphon was brought before the emperor, surrounded by court nobility. He begged the saint to show the demon with his own eyes, wanting to make sure that the young man really healed the princess. After a solitary prayer to God and a strict fast for six days, Saint Tryphon ordered the unclean spirit to appear visibly to the emperor and his entourage. In the Menaia of St. Demetrius of Rostov († 1709), this is narrated as follows: “Saint Tryphon is filled with the Holy Spirit, and looking at the invisible spirit with smart eyes, he says: I say to you, unclean soul, in the Name of my Lord Jesus Christ, appear obviously existing here, and show them your stingy and shameless image, and your confession of weakness. And the devil appeared before everyone in the form of a black dog, having eyes like fire, the head of attraction on the earth ... ". To the question of Saint Tryphon, how he dared to dwell in the creation of God, the demon replied that he did not have such power over Christians, but could torment only those “who follow their lusts and do deeds pleasing to us.” Hearing this, many of those present left idolatry and believed in Christ. Generously endowed by the emperor, Saint Tryphon returned to his homeland. He distributed all the gifts he received along the way to the poor.
When Emperor Decius (249-251), a cruel persecutor of Christians, ascended the royal throne, it was reported to his eparch Aquilinus that Saint Tryphon boldly preaches Christianity and leads many to Baptism. Hearing that the royal servants were looking for him, Saint Tryphon did not hide himself, but he himself gave himself into the hands of the persecutors. Brought to trial before Aquilinus in Nicaea, he boldly confessed his faith in Christ. Aquilinus was unable to intimidate the young Tryphon with any threats. Then the eparch ordered the hands of the holy martyr to be tied, hung on a tree and beaten for three hours. During the beating, the tormentor did not hear a single moan of the martyr. After this, Saint Tryphon was thrown into prison.
After some time, Aquilinus once again used threats and persuasion, and then, seeing the futility of his efforts, subjected the martyr to new tortures. The body of Saint Tryphon was torn with iron hooks, the wounds were burned with fire, iron nails were driven into his feet, and they led him through the city. And when the martyr was forced to follow the horse on which the eparch went hunting, Saint Tryphon sang the following verses from the psalms of the prophet David: “Make my steps in Thy paths, lest my steps be moved... yours, and let no iniquity possess me” (Ps. 16:5; 118:133). He often repeated the words of the first martyr, the holy archdeacon Stephen: “Lord, do not impute this sin to them” (Acts 7:60).
The Lord strengthened His chosen one, and he courageously endured all the tortures. During the torment, an angel appeared before the saint with a precious crown in his hands. Seeing this, the tormentors were frightened, but Aquilinus became even more hardened. The next day he continued the torture, after which he sentenced the martyr Tryphon to be beheaded with a sword. Before his death, the saint thanked God, who strengthened him in his sufferings.
The Ancient Life conveys the following words of the holy martyr to God: “... Receive my soul in the world, all those who are me, Thy servant, will be remembered, and in my memory they will bring Holy Sacrifices to Thee, hear from the height of Thy Holy, and look at them from Thy Holy Dwelling, giving them an abundant and imperishable gift, as you alone are Good and Generous Giver forever and ever. The saint departed to the Lord before his honest head was cut off.
The Christians wanted to bury the body of the martyr in the city of Nicaea, the place of his suffering. But Saint Tryphon in a vision ordered that his body be transferred to his homeland, to the village of Kampsada. The will of the holy martyr was fulfilled. Subsequently, the relics of Saint Tryphon were transferred to Constantinople, and then to Rome.
The holy martyr Tryphon enjoys great veneration in the Russian Orthodox Church.
There is a legend that during the reign of Tsar Ivan the Terrible (1533-1584), the beloved royal gyrfalcon flew away during a hunt. The king ordered the falconer Trifon Patrikeev to find the bird that had flown away and threatened him with death for failure to comply with the order. Falconer Tryphon toured the surrounding forests, but to no avail. On the third day, exhausted by the long search, he lay down to rest, earnestly asking for help from his patron, the holy martyr Tryphon. In a dream, he saw a young man on a white horse, holding a royal gyrfalcon in his hand. This young man said: "Take the lost bird, go with God to the king and do not be sad about anything." Waking up, the falconer saw a gyrfalcon, which he was looking for, nearby on a pine tree. He immediately took him to the king and told him about the miraculous help he had received from the holy martyr Tryphon. Soon, on the spot where the saint's appearance took place, the falconer Tryphon Patrikeyev built a chapel, and then a church in the name of the holy martyr Tryphon.
At present, the head of the holy martyr is kept in the city of Kotor (Montenegro), in the Cathedral of St. Tryphon. Part of the relics was brought from there to Russia in 1803. In 1819, this shrine was invested in three shrines in the icon of the holy martyr Tryphon, which was in the church built in his honor. Now this icon is in the church in honor of the Sign of the Most Holy Theotokos, at the Rizhsky railway station in Moscow, not far from the place where St. Tryphon appeared to the falconer.

Martyr Perpetua and with her the martyrs Satyr, Revokat, Satornilos and Secundus and the martyr Filicitata suffered in Carthage in 203 Perpetua, a 23-year-old woman, belonged to a noble and rich family, the rest came from a slave class. Perpetua was secretly baptized in the absence of her pagan father.
"I'm Christian!" she answered her father. Felicitata had to give birth in a dungeon, and during the agony she groaned. “Behold, you could not endure even light suffering. What will happen when they throw you to be eaten by beasts? the prison guard told her. “Now I suffered alone, but then Christ will suffer for me, for whom I will suffer,” the martyr answered. Sts. all the confessors, except for Secundus, who died in prison, were given over to be torn to pieces by the beasts, and when they did not touch them, they were killed with a sword.

Despite the fact that in the Orthodox Church there are several references to various saints under the name Valentine, Valentine's Day is not recognized as a Christian holiday in Orthodoxy.

According to the priests, there is no sin in celebrating this day if there is no spiritual worship of Valentine invented by the world.

You can safely call this day a holiday for all lovers, give flowers, hearts, sweets to loved ones and loved ones, speak beautiful words, send love messages - fill the world with joy and love.

Saints named Valentine in Orthodoxy

Several times a year the Church remembers the holy martyrs with that name, but this has nothing to do with the feast of lovers. A beautiful holiday filled with beautiful attributes brings joy and love, but it is not in the Orthodox calendar.

Saint Valentine

1. The Orthodox Church honors Valentine of Rome, who was martyred during Christian persecution in the third century.
2. The second saint, also executed for faith in Christ, is mentioned in the Orthodox chronicle by Bishop Valentine, who served in the Italian city of Interamna. The time of his execution is February 14, 270.
3. About the third martyr Valentine, there is only one mention that he was executed in Carthage on the same day.

Although, based on historical information about Nikolai Ugodnik, when data about the parents of the priest from Pinar, also Nikolai, were mistakenly entered into the biography of Nikolai Mirlikisky, it can be assumed that history did not retain accurate information about St. Valentine.

The Russian Orthodox Church celebrates the day of the Great Martyr Valentine, July 16 - Roman, August 12 - Bishop Interamna.

Russian patrons of lovers - Peter and Fevronia

As an alternative to Valentine's Day, the Russian church offers the feast of Saints Peter and Fevronia, who are considered in Orthodoxy to be the guardian angels of family happiness. Because of his beloved Fevronia, Peter renounced power, being a prince, for which, together with his beloved, he was sent into exile.

Ordinary people raised confusion in defense of their beloved prince and his love for a simple girl. Under pressure from the people, the boyars were forced to return Peter and Fevronia to the throne, who honestly ruled and lived in happiness and harmony.

Read about saints:

• Prayers to Saints Peter and Fevronia for family well-being

As old age approached, the holy couple took tonsure in various monasteries, left in the memory of the Church by David and Euphrosyne.

The Lord gave a miracle after the death of a couple in love, each of them died in his monastery, but it happened at the same time, at the same time. The miracle was that the bodies of the spouses, lying in different places, were together in the morning.

Since 2008, Russia has its own Russian holiday of Love and family happiness, it is celebrated on July 8 in honor of the memory of Peter and Fevronia.

Beautiful legends about the patron saint of lovers

The first legend ascribes the patronage of loving couples to Saint Valentine of Interan, who lived in Italy.

Claudius II, ruling in Germany, gathered his army from unmarried men, but there were very few of them, because everyone was in a hurry to get married. Then Claudius issued a decree forbidding guys to marry before serving in the army.

Secretly from Claudius the Second, the interan priest crowned loving hearts, which earned the indignation of the emperor, it was decided to execute him.

In addition to church activities, Bishop Valentine was involved in the treatment of parishioners, among them was the blind girl Yulia, the daughter of a prison guard.

Through him, the bishop, being in prison, gave the girl a note with a declaration of love and an ointment with saffron, from which she received her sight.

Valentine was executed exactly on February 14th.

The discrepancy between this legend and reality is that in the third century there was no wedding ceremony yet.

Even if the young received a blessing according to the Christian rite, this did not matter to the emperor Claudius. The third century is symbolized by the most cruel reprisals against the followers of Christ.

Roman Emperor Claudius

According to another version, the roots of the holiday of St. Valentine are pagan. The Church could not come to terms with the "wild" rite of sacrifice of a goat and a dog on the day of veneration of the brothers Romulus and Remus, who, according to legend, are the founders of Rome.

Belts were cut from the skin of slain animals, with which naked young men ran around the city and whipped all passers-by. It was believed that if someone touches the whip, he will recover, and the woman will be able to give birth, being infertile.

According to another legend, beating pregnant women with a whip of sacrificial animals guaranteed the birth of a healthy child, because infant mortality in ancient Rome was too high.

Februa - the name of the belts, from this came February.

To get rid of the pagan worship of Romulus and Remus, the priests came up with the day of lovers, known as the feast of St. Valentine.

According to the third legend, a young priest, Valentine, lived in the Italian city of Terni, who helped people and showed special love to children. He spent a lot of time with the children, treated them and taught them the basics of Christianity, but the Romans found out about this and arrested the young man.

The children missed their mentor very much, and every day they threw notes to him in the prison window with words of love and respect. These papers were read by the prison guard. The old man had a blind daughter, whom he secretly brought to the priest for a prayer of healing, but the girl did not see clearly, and the young priest fell in love with her.

Before his death, the young man sent Julia, that was the name of the watchman's daughter, a note in the form of a heart and put a flower - a yellow crocus or saffron.

The girl unfolded the note, sniffed the flower and regained her sight. After that, she read "Your Valentine" on the note. Julia was the first to call the Terni priest a saint.

All the legends belong to the third century and have been carried through the centuries by people who so desire happiness and love.

Humanity will never establish the truth, but legends are born in the past and most likely Valentine lived in the world, who died in the name of love:

• to God;
• to a beautiful girl;
• to all people.

In the fifth century, the Pope announced February 14 as St. Valentine's Day, which eventually turned into Valentine's Day.

Traditions of celebrating Valentine's Day in different countries

The beginning of the heyday of this holiday can be considered the 19th century, at the same time, businessmen around the world discovered the opportunity to make money on beautiful messages. This is how postcards, perfumes with messages, sweets with the image of a heart, toys and much more appeared. All these things began to be called valentines.

About other traditions:

In the United States, boys and girls held parties at which couples were formed by a simple choice. In the basket were the names of those present, written on pieces of paper in the form of hearts. Pulling out a valentine, the guy chose a girl for himself and gave her marzipan.

Japan is famous for the various forms of chocolate that lovers give to each other on this day. This is the only day of the year when a girl can be the first to declare her love.

Unmarried English women look out in the morning for a bird that will bring marriage. A robin foreshadowed a sailor, a sparrow - a poor man, but a meeting with a goldfinch meant a rich husband.

The French remain French, their valentines are hidden in jewelry.

Many lovers believe that a wedding played on this day will guarantee a happy life. Deep delusion!

Happiness, peace and tranquility in the house will be given by God if the family lives according to His precepts. Only common prayer unites and makes a strong family.

Video about what the church thinks about Valentine's Day.

The commemoration of the departed Christians on the Saturday preceding the Week (Sunday) of the Last Judgment (the penultimate Sunday before Great Lent, when a passage from the Gospel dedicated to the Last Judgment is read in the church and a conspiracy for meat takes place, why these Saturdays and Sundays are called "meatless") began even in apostolic times. This is confirmed by the Jerusalem Rule, compiled in the 5th century by the Monk Savva the Sanctified on the basis of ancient traditions and customs. It is in this statute that it is first referred to as the Ecumenical Parental Sabbath.

Its meaning is that on the eve of Sunday, dedicated to the remembrance of the Second Coming of Christ, as if on the day preceding the Last Judgment, and on the eve of Great Lent, into which believers strive to enter, reconciled with all members of the church - both living and dead - Christians through prayer, they enter into communion with them and together pray to God to have mercy on all "who have died from eternity", especially those whose death was sudden - in war, during natural disasters and catastrophes, in the mountains, at sea, in a fire - who died without repentance and was not buried and buried in a Christian way, so that no one, no matter when, where and no matter how he ended his earthly life, would not be deprived of the prayers of the church.

Martyr Tryphon

There is practically no historical information about the life of Saint Tryphon. According to legend, he was born in Phrygia into a Christian family in the 3rd century, became a talented preacher and was executed during the persecution of Christians under Emperor Decius in Nicaea in 250.

Subsequently, the relics of the martyr were transferred to Constantinople, and then to Rome.

The special veneration of St. Tryphon in Russia is associated with local legend, according to which, during the royal hunt, Ivan the Terrible's beloved gyrfalcon flew away, and the royal falconer Trifon Patrikeyev, sent to his squeaks, knowing the royal royal temper, fervently prayed for help to his heavenly patron. For several days he rode in vain through the forests near Moscow, and when he lay down to rest in exhaustion, Saint Tryphon appeared to him in a dream on a white horse, holding a lost bird in his hand. Waking up, the falconer found her sitting next to him on a tree branch. In this place - in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe current Maryina Grove - he built a chapel in gratitude, and then a church in the name of the holy martyr Tryphon.

Therefore, in Byzantine iconography, this saint is depicted standing with a cross in his hand, and in Russian - with a falcon and often on horseback.

Now one icon with a particle of the relics of the saint is in the church in honor of the icon of the Mother of God "Unexpected Joy" in Maryina Grove, and the other is in the Church of the Sign in Pereyaslavskaya Sloboda.

Day of Saints Cyril and Methodius, patrons of Europe

Now, especially after they were proclaimed patrons of Europe by Pope John Paul II, the veneration of Saints Cyril and Methodius in the Catholic Church is almost as developed as in the Orthodox Church. But the path to their glorification in the West was not easy.

Their fate was difficult even during their life in Great Moravia. Liturgy in the Slavic language, which they introduced among the Slavs for missionary purposes, met with fierce resistance from the German clergy serving in Latin. Therefore, the holy brothers went to Rome, where in 863 Pope Adrian II officially allowed them to serve in the Slavic language.

But despite this blessing, clashes between supporters and opponents of the Slavic liturgy continued. Therefore, it is not surprising that after the death of Bishop Methodius of Moravia in 885 (his brother died in Rome in 869), the activities of the "Slavic" clergy were forcibly stopped: the Great Moravian prince Svatopluk expelled supporters of the Slavic rite from his lands - some of them moved to the Balkans, and some hid from the authorities in hard-to-reach places.

But in the Balkans, in Bulgaria, the disciples of Cyril and Methodius were warmly received and laid the foundations of ancient Bulgarian writing and Slavic Orthodoxy.

Meanwhile, in 907 Great Moravia as a state ceased to exist, and the emerging Czech state became the center of the "Slavic" clergy. Here, for several centuries, the Slavic service was preserved and coexisted with the Latin service.

The second center of the Slavic liturgy in the West was Dalmatia, where the monks used not only the Church Slavonic language, but also the original Cyrillic and Methodian script - Glagolitic.

These two regions - Bohemia and Dalmatia - subsequently became the main territories in which Saints Cyril and Methodius were venerated by Catholics. They were canonized by Pope John IX (914-928) already 50 years after his death, but only as "locally venerated saints", whose veneration is not obligatory for the whole church.

The Slavs tried to achieve their church-wide veneration, but already Pope John X in 924 reproached the Croats for referring to Methodius, whose name is not recorded in any code of saints, and Pope Alexander II (1061-1073) even called Methodius a heretic.

Discussions about the veneration of Cyril and Methodius in the Catholic Church resumed only in the 19th century in connection with the general rise in the national self-consciousness of small peoples, including the Slavs. The veneration of the Thessalonica brothers gradually resumed. A major role in this was played by Pope Leo XIII, who in 1880 published the encyclical Grande Mundus, which ranked Cyril and Methodius among the universally revered Catholic saints.

The most magnificent celebrations are held annually in the city of Vlehrad in Moravia, where the tomb of St. Methodius is located.

As for Saint Valentine's, then there is no generally revered saint with that name in the General Liturgical Calendar of the Catholic Church, and among the locally revered saints on February 14, three Valentines are mentioned - two who were martyred in Rome in the 2nd and 3rd centuries and one in North Africa. No information about their life has been preserved, and in the medieval "Golden Legend" there is no romantic coloring of the image of St. Valentine. The legend of Valentine as the author of the first Valentine's card in history was invented already in the 20th century.

In addition, the Day of Saints Cyril and Methodius has the status of a holiday, that is, a level of veneration that does not allow liturgical celebrations of other saints (the exceptions are the few places where one or another Saint Valentine is venerated as the patron saint of a city or area, as well as temples bearing the name of one of them and, accordingly, celebrating the patronal feast on this day).

(with Russian translation, mp3).

Matins

It begins with a double psalm (psalms 19, 20).

After the Six Psalms and Peace Litany, instead of God Lord is sung Alleluia co and Trinitarian troparia of the voice.

Then 3 kathismas are chanted - 4th (psalms 24-31), 5th (psalms 32-36), 6th (psalms 37-45).

The canons (of the saint from the Menaion and two triodes from the Triodion) are sung in conjunction with biblical songs.

Reading.

After the prayer to the Heavenly King, the priest reads (with 16 prostrations).

General Features of Lenten Hours : at each hour, after reading the three ordinary psalms, an ordinary kathisma is chanted. At each hour, the troparion of the hour is sung three times with three prostrations. It is pronounced at the end of every hour. The 3rd, 6th and 9th hours are read together, and pictorial and vespers join them.

1st hour

There is no kathisma on Monday.
Troparion of the hour.
Also sing.

3rd hour
The 7th kathisma is chanted (Psalms 46-54).
Troparion of the hour.

6th hour
8 kathismas are chanted (Psalms 55-63).
Troparion of the hour.
Reading.

9th hour
9 kathismas are chanted (Psalms 64-69).
Troparion of the hour.
At the end of the 9th hour with 3 prostrations.

pictorial
After the 9th hour, the veil from the royal doors opens and the choir sings.
After the prayer "God, have mercy on us" - with 16 bows.

Vespers daily .
Everyday Vespers follows the pictorial ones without an initial exclamation.
On the spoof of the day: .

Great Compline

During Great Lent, on the evening of those days when there was no full Liturgy (with the exception of Wednesday and Friday evenings of the 5th week), Great Compline is always served. Great Compline is sung separately from Vespers.

Great Compline consists of 3 parts. Each part begins with a reading Come let's bow down and ends with a special prayer.

After and 69 psalm is read. According to tradition, during the reading of the psalm, the priest in the stole comes to the middle of the temple, where there is a lectern with the prepared text of the Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete. The canon is divided into four parts and is read on Monday evening, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Immediately after the end of the canon, Psalm 4 and the rest of Compline are read.

After Psalm 90, the choir sings with a refrain Like God is with us for every verse, troparia.

After that, the priest leaves the altar and in front of the royal doors sings Most Holy Lady Theotokos, pray for us sinners(bow). And then they sing.

After the first Trisagion, the troparia are sung "loudly and with sweet singing".

After the second Trisagion, troparia are sung.

After the third Trisagion, the choir sings "loudly and inertly" (that is, loudly and slowly).

After the exclamation God bless us the priest pronounces (with 16 bows). While the priest is reading the prayer Vladyko many-merciful all worshipers bow to the ground, and the priest pronounces the words Bless you holy fathers. Prayers respond: God forgive you, holy father(or God forgive you, holy father, pray for us sinners). The priest, turning to the altar, proclaims the petitions of the litany.