Proskomedia - what is it? Proskomidiya about health. Proskomedia for the repose

The Orthodox faith has so many nuances and special rituals that it is simply impossible to know them, and it is extremely difficult to understand them to an ordinary person. So, the proskomedia: what it is and what this action represents - this is exactly what you want to talk about in the article.

Designation

It is worth mentioning that the most important church service is Mass, or Liturgy, where the sacrament of communion is performed. For this rite, you must necessarily red grape wine, as well as bread, or prosphora. They are prepared before the beginning of the liturgy in a special way. To this end, the priest, along with the deacon, dressed in elegant holy clothes, perform special actions on the altar, altar, and read special prayers. It can be concluded: before the liturgy, certain preparations are needed, which by their very nature are very important. That's exactly what they are called proskomedia. It should also be said that there is a proskomedia about the repose, and also about health.

About the word

It is also necessary to understand the concepts. So, proskomedia: what is it? In Greek, this word means an offering. However, on the basis of this, it is very difficult to draw any conclusions. After all, in the first part of the Mass there was no mysterious offering to God, but special preparations were made, thanks to which bread and wine became not ordinary, but sacred. Even at the stage of the proskomedia they could not be confused with ordinary products and consumed together.

Preparing for the proskomedia

Having dealt with the concept of "proskomedia" - what it is, and from what language it happened - it is also worth considering the very preparation of wine and prosphora. As it became clear, these are the products that Jesus used when establishing the sacrament. It is worth talking about prosphora. In translation, its name means "an on-die gift". Where did this word come from? In ancient times, for the preparation of sacred bread, people brought to the church its various varieties and species, so that one could choose the best for church action. The part was used for selection, the rest was consumed behind a friendly meal, which necessarily happened after the Liturgy, and where all laymen present at the luncheon were invited. At the same time, other products were brought to the church, such as wine, butter, incense , etc. All this was combined in one word - prosphora. Today, everything is a bit different. It is not customary for the church to bring all sorts of food, so it's only bread that is not brought by the believers, but baked at churches in special prosphorinas (women from priests' wives or honest widows).

About bread

So, the proskomedia (what it is, we have already figured out) is the most important stage in the preparation for the liturgy. It is worth saying that bread itself is made for this purpose necessarily from wheat flour (this is what the Jews used during the life of Christ). Its significance was very important: it was the atoning death of Jesus Christ. According to the beliefs, everything can be known in comparison: after all, by dying and becoming bread, wheat can bring a lot of benefits. However, if she simply falls on the field, she will not fulfill her most important mission. The same applies to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The very preparation of prosphora is considered a sacred activity: the bread should be white, not anointed at the stage of preparation (milk, eggs), moderately salty. It is served only fresh, not moldy, not firm. It is also interesting that the bread consists of two halves, which symbolize the human and divine likeness of Christ.

About wine

With wine for the sacrament of the Eucharist, wine should be prepared. It will necessarily be red (representing the blood of Christ) and grape (because such a wine was consumed by the Assessor himself, as stated in the Holy Scripture).

Prosfora

It should be said that the particles in honor of all the saints, priests, as well as people who live and die, are confiscated from four prosphora: the Virgin, nine-part, zazdravnoy and funeral. If we take into account the mandatory prosphora of the Lamb, then the divine service will be performed on five units. Other prosphoras may be brought, but in the total amount today they should not be less than five. Three times having bowed, the priest takes in hands the first prosphor, which is usually more than the others, and cuts out of it the Lamb of the quadrangular form, uttering special words and putting it on a discus. From the second prosphora the priest takes out a particle of the Virgin. The third prosphora is a nine-part prayer, designed for the memory of nine saints: John the Baptist, prophets, apostles, martyrs, and also saints who are worshiped in a given church or city. It is worth mentioning that during the whole liturgy the names of the living and dead are often remembered . And this happens for the first time in the proskomedia. First comes the proskomedia about health, then - about the repose. After the commemoration of the living and the dead has ended, the priest almost always takes out the particle and for himself, while reading special prayers.

A note

In church terminology, there is such a thing as a note on the proskomedia. What is it? Before the liturgy, everyone can submit a specific petition written on paper about those people for whom the priest will pray. More than once everyone has seen that out of a piece of bread that the priest gives on the sacrament of the Eucharist, as if a piece is taken. There are as many holes in the prosphora as there are names in the note. All these crumbs gather in the disco, during the liturgy they are next to the Lamb (big prosphora), and after such symbolic "souls" are immersed in a bowl of wine. The clergyman must read a special prayer. Important is the fact that the note can only include the names of Orthodox baptized people. There are also simple and customized notes. Information about this must be specified directly in the church itself. However, in general, according to a simple note, the person's name will simply be taken out on the proskomedia, according to the custom-made note - it will also sound at the prayer service.

Types of notes

It is worth saying that there are two types of notes. First, a proskomedia about health can be ordered. Before the beginning of the ministry it is necessary on a special sheet, which will most often be near the candle counter, to write down the names of people whose health you need to pray for. By the same document, a proskomedia is held for the repose. Writing down the names of people, it is important to carefully read the inscriptions from above and not to confuse leaflets. If you need to order a commemoration of the proskomedia, you can file a note in the evening, just by indicating the number you want.

About the living and the dead

Commemoration of the proskomedia for the living and the dead is done by virtue of a bloodless sacrifice prepared for the proskomedia. It is worth mentioning that it is of paramount importance not only for people living on the earth, but also for dead people. There is a story about a brother who for certain sins before the church was after death for 30 days deprived of burial and reading prayers. At the end of this time, when everything was done according to the Christian laws, the spirit appeared to the living brother and said that only now he had found peace, only after the bloodless sacrifice was brought.

Preparations for the proskomedia

The priest and the deacon should carefully prepare themselves for such a sacred activity as the proskomedia. There must be several important nuances.

1. Prayers are required before entering the altar and before the altar itself.
2. Priests should be dressed in special clothes.
3. Obligatory is the procedure of washing hands with reading poems from the 25th Psalm.

The proskomedia itself

In different ways, you can find out how the proskomedia is going: photos will help you with this. However, it is better to know in advance what will happen at this time. The bulk of the proskomedia consists of an action that is not time-consuming. The priest and deacon stand in front of the altar, where the sacred vessels are placed: chalice, discos, copy, star, cover-pots. When prayers are read, rituals are performed with prosphora (sacred bread).

The end of the proskomedia

After the end of the proskomedia, the clergymen are preparing for a more solemn part - the liturgy. However, all this must pass according to certain rules.

1. The censing of the holy meal and the whole church by the deacon.
2. Reading special prayers.
3. The deacon's request from the priest for permission to begin the next part of the liturgy.