In Orthodox churches, as well as in Catholic, but performing in their religious life eastern liturgical rites, it has become a tradition to organize solemn processions with banners and icons, in front of which they usually carry a large cross. From him, such processions were called processions. These can be processions organized on Easter week, at Baptism, or on the occasion of any significant church events.
The birth of tradition
Religious processions ─ this is a tradition that came to us from the first centuries of Christianity. However, during the time of persecution of the followers of the Gospel doctrine, they were fraught with considerable risk, and therefore committed in secret, and information about them was hardly preserved. Only certain drawings on the walls of the catacombs are known.
The earliest mention of the performance of such a rite dates back to the 4th century, when the first Christian emperor Constantine I the Great, before the decisive battle, saw the sign of the cross in the sky and the inscription: “Victory be this.” Having ordered to make banners and shields with the image of the cross, which became the prototype of future banners, he moved the column of his troops to the enemy.
Further, the chronicles report that a century later, the bishop of Gazy Porfiry, before erecting another Christian church on the site of the devastated pagan temple, made a procession to him to bless the land scolded by idolaters.
Emperor in a hair shirt
It is also known that the last emperor of the united Roman Empire, Theodosius I the Great, used to go on a campaign every time he went with his soldiers. These processions, ahead of which the emperor, dressed in a hair shirt, were always ending near the tombs of Christian martyrs, where an honest army prostrated themselves, asking for their intercessions before the Heavenly Forces.
In the 6th century, religious processions in churches were finally legalized and became a tradition. They were given so much importance that the Byzantine emperor Justinian I (482-565) issued a special decree according to which it was forbidden to make them laity without the participation of clergy, since the pious ruler saw this as a profanation of the sacred rite.
The most common types of religious processions
Having over time become an integral part of church life, religious processions today have the most diverse forms and take place in a number of cases. Among them, the most famous are:
- Easter procession, as well as all other processions associated with this main holiday of the annual Orthodox circle. This includes the procession on Palm Sunday ─ “walking on a donkey”. On Holy Saturday, the prototype of the procession is the removal of the shroud. It takes place at the Easter Matins (more on this below) and also daily during the Bright Week and every Sunday until Easter.
- Religious processions during the days of major Orthodox holidays, as well as patronages celebrated by the community of a particular parish. Such processions are often organized in honor of the consecration of temples or celebrations dedicated to especially revered icons. In these cases, the procession of the procession runs from village to village, or from church to church.
- To sanctify the water of various sources, as well as rivers, lakes, etc. They are celebrated on the day of the Epiphany (or on the eve before), on Friday of the Bright Week - the Feast of the Life-Giving Spring, and on August 14 on the day of the Depreciation of the honest trees of the Holy Cross of the Lord .
- Funeral processions accompanying the deceased to the cemetery.
- Associated with generally unfavorable life circumstances, such as drought, floods, epidemics, etc. In such cases, the procession is part of a prayer service for the intercession of the Heavenly Forces and the sending of deliverance from the calamities that have befallen, among which also man-made disasters and military operations.
- Inside the temple, performed on a number of holidays. A variety of religious procession is also considered lithium.
- Commemorated on the occasion of any public holidays or major events. For example, in recent years it has become a tradition to celebrate the Day of National Unity with religious processions.
- Missionary processions held to attract unbelievers or followers of other religious teachings.
Air godparents
It is interesting to note that in our century of scientific and technological progress, a completely new non-canonical form of the procession using technical means has appeared. This term usually refers to a flight made by a group of priests with an icon on the plane, their prayers in certain places.
It began in 1941, when the miraculous list of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God was surrounded around Moscow in this way. This tradition was continued already in the perestroika years by flying over the borders of Russia, dedicated to the 2000th anniversary of the Nativity of Christ. It is believed that, as long as the procession takes place on an airplane, so much time the grace of God is sent down to the earth.
Features of the procession
According to the Orthodox and Eastern Catholic tradition, the Easter procession, like any other, performed around the church, walks in the opposite direction to the movement of the sun, that is, counterclockwise ─ “anti-salt”. Orthodox Old Believers, however, make their religious processions moving in the direction of the sun ─ “salting”.
All the church clergy participating in it go in pairs in vestments appropriate to the occasion. At the same time, they sing the prayer canon. The obligatory attribute of the procession is the cross, as well as the lit censers and lamps. In addition, during the procession, banners are carried, the ancient prototype of which are military banners that once became part of the sacred rites, since emperors took part in them. Also, from the depths of centuries, the tradition of carrying icons and the Gospel has come.
When does the procession begin on Easter?
Among the many questions that interest everyone who is just starting their “path to the temple,” this question is most often asked on the eve of the Holy Resurrection of Christ. “What time is the procession for Easter?” ─ asked mainly those who attend church not regularly, but only during the main Orthodox holidays. It is impossible to answer it by naming the exact time, since this happens around midnight, and some deviations in one direction or the other are quite acceptable.
Midnight Office
The festive church service, during which the procession takes place, begins in the evening on Holy Saturday at 20:00. Its first part is called the Midnight Office. It is accompanied by sad chants dedicated to the suffering of the cross and the death of the Savior. The priest and the deacon censor (they smoke with a censer) around the Shroud - a cloth board with the image of Christ laid in the tomb. Then, with the singing of prayers, they take her to the altar, and lay her on the throne, where the Shroud will be 40 days until the feast of the Ascension of the Lord.
The main part of the holiday
Shortly before midnight, the time comes for the Easter morning service. All priests, standing at the Throne, perform a prayer service, at the end of which there is a ringing of bells announcing the approaching of the bright holiday of the Resurrection of Christ and the beginning of the procession. According to tradition, a solemn procession trips around the temple, stopping at its doors each time. Regardless of how long the procession lasts, they remain closed, symbolizing the stone that blocked the entrance to the Holy Sepulcher. Only the third time the doors open (the stone is thrown away), and the procession rushes into the temple, where the Bright Matins take place.
Festive singing bells
An important component of the solemn procession around the temple is the ringing of the bell ─ at what time the procession for Easter leaves the door of the temple, and at the same time its joyful sounds, called “chimes” begin to be heard. The complexity of this type of bell ringing lies in the fact that it includes three independent parts, constantly alternating and separated by only a small pause. From time immemorial, it was believed that it was during the procession that the ringleaders had the most favorable opportunity to shine with their skill.
The festive Easter service usually ends no later than 4 a.m., after which the Orthodox chatter, eating colored eggs, Easter, Easter cakes and other meals. Throughout the whole of the Bright Week, announced by the joyful ringing of bells, it was customary to have fun, go on a visit and host relatives and friends. One of the main requirements for each owner of the house was the generosity and hospitality, so common in Orthodox Russia.