In the Church Slavonic language, the word "week" fully corresponds to the familiar version of "week". But there is one caveat: our ancestors did not use the word “week” for all seven days, but only one of them? the one that we now call Sunday. The seven-day countdown began with him, and on this day it was fitting to rest. The word "week" comes from "not to do", that is, to rest. The week was called the entire cycle of seven days. In addition to the usual weeks in the Orthodox calendar, there are also special ones. Let's talk about them.
First of all, we learn about what a continuous week is. What is the week, we have found out, but what is the meaning of the word "continuous"? To understand this, we will make a small digression, referring to the church charter. The fact is that during the week (week) he prescribes the observance of two one-day fasts.
The first one? on Wednesday. This is the day when Judas Iscariot appeared to the high priests and invited them to betray Jesus Christ for a reward. In memory of the sad day, Orthodox people observe fast every Wednesday.
The second one-day fast is prescribed on Friday. Is it installed to commemorate the greatest event? on this day Jesus Christ was crucified. This is how all Orthodox people observe fasting two days a week throughout the year. Week in this case is normal.
Five continuous weeks
There are weeks in which it is allowed to eat meat all seven days in a row. This is what is called "continuous week". Probably everyone knows what Christmastide is. This is the time from the Nativity of Christ to the Baptism of the Lord. It is during this period that the first continuous week of the year is included. There are five of them. Two weeks before the beginning of Great Lent, a continuous week was established, which is called the week of the publican and the Pharisee. Just before the beginning of Lent? cheesy seven days. They are popularly called Maslenitsa. This is also a continuous week, but on the indicated days meat is excluded from the diet.
Is there another one after the joyful spring holiday of Easter? Easter, or bright week. After completing the long weeks of fasting, the church gives us the opportunity to replenish our strength. And, finally, the last continuous week of the year? Troitskaya. It follows immediately after the feast of Trinity. And this is no coincidence. It is in order to highlight the day on which God first revealed his trinity at the baptism of Jesus Christ in the Jordan, and a continuous week was established.
What is Holy Week?
The forty days of Great Lent, established in memory of the time spent by our Lord in the wilderness, are ending. A week remains until the bright Sunday of Christ. These are the last 7 days of the Savior's earthly life. Are the events that filled it so important and dramatic that the whole week is called that? Great week. She is also called Passionate, that is, filled with suffering. This refers to the atoning torment endured by the Savior during these days.
Days of Great Week
The six days of this week begin with the word "great." On Great Monday, the church commemorates the miracle of the drying up of the barren fig tree. By this, she gives an example of faith and the power of prayer, as well as the doom of everything and everyone who does not bear the fruits of Christ's teaching. On Great Tuesday, Christ, having come to the temple, teaches a lot and instructs the audience. The high priests and elders want to grab Him, but they hesitate. On Great Wednesday, one remembers the libation of a certain woman on the head of Christ of the precious world, as well as the conspiracy of Judas with the high priests.
Maundy Thursday is full of events worthy of memories. This is the Last Supper, and the washing by Christ of the feet of his disciples, and the dramatic events in the Garden of Gethsemane, and everything that followed. Good Friday? the day of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, His great atoning sacrifice. The next Great Saturday? the day when the Savior brought all the righteous Old Testament out of the depths of hell, destroying it and opening the way for all people to eternal life.
In this article, we examined what a continuous week is, what is Holy Week, what meaning the church puts in them. These are very important concepts, without which it is impossible to carry out a full-fledged fulfillment of the annual circle of services.
The naming of the seven-day week as a week, accepted in modern society, corresponds to the church concept of the week. Continuous weeks are certain days when the Church of Christ triumphs in honor of the holiday or allows a person to abolish fasting on Wednesday and Friday in preparation for a multi-day period of abstinence.
Among the Continuous Weeks, there are rolling and non-rolling weeks.
Intransitive Continuous Week
One of the main holidays of the Christian faith is the Nativity of Christ. This event, celebrated on January 7th, continues with the Christmastide period, during which fasting on Wednesday and Friday is canceled. Calendarically, this period is a period of time from January 7th to January 17th inclusive.
Rolling Continuous Weeks
All rolling Continuous weeks depend on the date of Easter (the date of Easter can be viewed in Easter).
After the week of the publican and the Pharisee (4th Sunday before the beginning of Great Lent), a continuous week follows. In 2016, it falls on the 22nd - 28th February.
Cheese week (Maslenitsa) is a continuous week. This the last week before entering Great Lent. The charter permits any food other than meat. In 2016, Maslenitsa falls on the 7th - 13th of March.
The most solemn Continuous week is Bright Week - the time when the Church triumphs in honor of the risen Lord Jesus Christ. This week immediately follows the Easter holiday. For 2016, the time of this Easter week is determined by the following numbers: from May 2nd to 8th.
The feast of the Holy Trinity implies the presence of the Trinity Week in the calendar, during which fasting on Wednesday and Friday is also canceled. The Feast of Pentecost is celebrated on the fiftieth day after Easter, so Trinity Week begins on the Monday after Trinity Day. In 2016, this week falls on the time from June 20th to 26th.
Seven (literally "seven", from Slavic seventh; Greek έβδομάς, from έptά - "seven") is the Church Slavonic name of a week, a seven-day calendar cycle.
Week 7 is a week from Monday to Sunday. In continuous weeks, there are no fasts on Wednesdays and Fridays.
Continuous weeks in 2019
There are five continuous weeks:
1. Christmastide- from Christmas to Epiphany, from 7 to 18 January.
2. Publican and Pharisee- two weeks before Lent - February 17 - 23.
3. Cheese (Shrovetide)- the week before Great Lent (the whole week is allowed for eggs, fish and milk, but without meat) - March 4-10.
4. Easter (Light)- the week after Easter - April 28 - May 4.
5. Troitskaya- the week after Trinity (the week before Peter's Lent) - June 16 - 22.
Is it possible to receive communion on a continuous week?
A continuous week is coming to an end - one of the preparatory weeks before Great Lent. In this regard, many parishioners have a question: how to receive communion on the coming Saturday and Sunday, because the usual preparation for receiving the Holy Mysteries of Christ includes, among other things, bodily fasting? Should we dare to approach the Chalice without fasting, or, on the contrary, should we fast in the usual manner and at the same time ignore the establishment of the church charter, which presupposes the absence of fasting in a continuous week, even on Wednesday and Friday? Or maybe you shouldn't start communion at all during this period?
For an explanation of this difficult moment for many, let us turn to several respected and authoritative clergy. They were asked to answer two questions: is it possible to receive communion on solid week and on the Sunday following it? if so, how should you prepare for the sacrament on these days?
Archimandrite Porfiry (Shutov), abbot of the Solovetsky stavropegic monastery:
“In understanding this issue, we need to share the abundance of pastoral practices and private opinions that may exist, and the requirements of the charter. There is a boundary for private theological opinions and pastoral practices, and in this case it consists in the fact that the Liturgy is celebrated on this day, which means that the Church blesses the communion of believers.
In my life, I had a chance to meet with priests who are convinced that it is impossible to receive communion during continuous weeks, and categorically refuse to do so to believers. I had to see how often it was painful for people.
And it is understandable why, because they can be in different spiritual and mental states. For example, there is a period of some kind of special sorrow for a person, when he naturally fasts, so there will be no sin if, in the state of his soul and body, he does not eat the slow-moving, according to the disposition of his soul, he will seek communion, will seek Help Christ in your difficult circumstances. Therefore, communion is possible, necessary and necessary in such cases, and the Church, as a loving Mother, in no case rejects her children from this strengthening - the greatest that she can give - through the communion of the Holy Body and Blood of Christ.
The wise church statute knows continuous weeks. At the same time, this does not mean that one should not prepare for communion in this period by fasting and prayer. In continuous weeks, as always, preparation for the sacrament is necessary, but specific questions need to be left to the discretion of the pastor and his spiritual child: for example, a name day can happen during this period - how can a believer fast in order to worthily partake of the sacrament? When considering such questions, there are many individual, particular circumstances that must be taken into account.
Well, in general, if there is a relaxation of the fast and, in particular, its complete abolition on Wednesday and Friday during the solid week, then it seems that a certain relaxation in this part of the preparation can be foreseen. This is a matter of individual spiritual judgment of the shepherd and flock.
Archpriest Nikolai Balashov, Deputy Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, Rector of the Moscow Church of the Resurrection Slovusche at the Assumption Throw:
- Of course, you can take Communion. On those days when it is impossible to receive communion, and the Liturgy is not served, for example, on Good Friday during Holy Week.
Preparation for communion in continuous week depends on the person and how often he takes the communion. I think that for those who receive communion often - say, every week - it is enough to observe the established fasts. This is the rule that the clergy generally follow. But how can you put burdens on others that you yourself don’t bear? I think this is bad and wrong. But for those who receive Communion very rarely - say, once a year or even less often - and for some reason need the Sacrament on these days, I would probably advise to fast at least a few days, even though the week is continuous ...
The main preparation, of course, is not in diet, but in the test of conscience, in the thirst for another life: “Let a man test himself, and thus let him eat of this bread and drink from this cup” (1 Cor. 11:28).
First Deputy Chairman of the Educational Committee of the Russian Orthodox Church, rector of the Patriarchal Compound - the Church of St. Seraphim of Sarov on Krasnopresnenskaya Embankment in Moscow, Archpriest Maxim Kozlov:
- There is no Divine Liturgy, during which believers could not partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. And in this sense, no continuous week is a period when an Orthodox person should not receive communion if he has the impulse and desire to do so.
As for the question of whether one should fast before communion in a continuous week, then, guided by the spirit and letter of the Typicon, it should be noted that to establish fasting for oneself at a time when the Church abolishes it means, at least, to self-command and impose burdens which do not need to be imposed.
From the point of view of external preparation for communion, everything is simple: in a continuous week, eat what is permitted - that is, a modest one, but do not arrange a feast for yourself "from the belly" on the eve of communion. After all, it is clear that on a fast day you can eat three kilograms. fried potatoes even to the point of suffering from indigestion later, this will also not be a proper way of preparing for the reception of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. Moreover, one should refrain from inadequate alcohol consumption.
What obstacles may arise for those who wish to receive communion in a continuous week? From my point of view, there can be only one obstacle: it is unacceptable to begin the Holy Mysteries for someone who deliberately and cunningly postpones the sacrament for a whole week so as not to prepare for it. Suppose a person takes Communion three or four times a year, and instead of waiting for Great Lent, talking, getting together, he says: “I’ll take Communion on a continuous week after the Week of the Publican and Pharisee, on Shrovetide and on Bright Week - this is how you can will not fast before accepting the Holy Mysteries. " It is clear that if the idea of communion during this period is not striving for Christ, but flight from fasting, then a person who is guided by such thoughts acts cunningly, he can be advised, for the benefit of his own spiritual and physical health, to think about himself and not take communion yet.
Deputy Chairman of the Synodal Department for Youth Affairs, Governor of the Vysoko-Petrovsky Stavropegic Monastery in Moscow, Hegumen Isidor (Tupikin):
- Communion on a continuous week is not only possible, but also necessary. The celebration of the Divine Liturgy by a priest presupposes the communion of those present at it.
What about fasting before the sacrament? If we are talking about the so-called “practicing” believers (who often receive communion, who understand the meaning of fasting), then with the individual blessing of the confessor, communion is possible without fasting for many days - it will be enough just to refrain from meager food and other pleasures the day before.
Participation in the Sacrament of Confession before Communion, heartfelt repentance and the realization of our unworthiness before God open up to us the possibility of communion not only on the week of the Publican and Pharisee Week, but also on Bright Week and on Christmastide.
Associate Professor of the Moscow Theological Academy, editor-in-chief of the scientific theological portal "Bogoslov.ru" Archpriest Pavel Velikanov:
- Is it possible in the Church such a situation that the Divine Liturgy is served “for no one”? After all, the priest does not serve for his own sake: "Yours from Yours to You, offering ABOUT ALL AND FOR ALL." Of course, you can receive communion on a continuous week, and it is especially useful on the eve of Great Lent, in order to protect yourself from the opinion about the significance of our "deeds". The Wise Church calls on us to minimize all our exploits - even those usually performed in preparation for communion - and boldly approach the Chalice, just not with an arrogant feeling - "and in this I am completely obedient to the Church!" - but with the opposite feeling of one's own lewdness, with a heightened sense of the need for God - exactly what the publican had.
The issue of preparation for communion requires an individual approach, but on the whole, it seems to me, in this week it makes sense to preserve only that inadmissible minimum, without which it would be simply impudence to dare to approach the Chalice - namely, to preserve the prayer reading of the Rule for Communion, without three canons and akathist - just as it happens on Bright Week. Only on Easter are we filled with the grace of the Risen Christ, but here we belittle ourselves "to the brightest", not observing fasting, limiting only ourselves not in the choice of food, but in its quantity. After all, you can get up with a slight feeling of hunger from the table with quick dishes.
And it is also very good as a preparation for the meeting with the Seeker of the heart - to take, and finally do that very good deed, which has been put on the back burner for so long. And, having done it, not to think about yourself, but to consider this act nothing more than the return of a long-standing debt. And, bowing his eyes down, walk towards Christ - to the Chalice with His Body and Blood.
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Novices who have recently begun to attend church and observe fasting do not always know what a continuous week is in the Orthodox calendar. For such people, this information can be quite a pleasant surprise. It turns out that the year of an Orthodox person does not consist of only fasts. But first things first.
Posts
To better understand what a continuous week is, it is important to understand how the Orthodox calendar works. There are 4 multi-day fasts in Orthodoxy: Rozhdestvensky, Petrovsky, Uspensky and Veliky Orthodox post... The Nativity Fast always runs from November 28 to January 6. Lent always has a duration of 48 days, but its boundaries shift depending on the day of the celebration of Easter.
Orthodox Christians also fast on Wednesday and Friday every week. It is also recommended to observe 3 days of fasting before the sacrament. But there are exceptions to the rule. For example, indulgences in fasts for sick, pregnant and nursing mothers traveling.
Continuous weeks
One of these exceptions is just continuous weeks. What is a continuous week? This is a week in which the normal Christian fast on Wednesday and Friday is not observed. If a person is going to receive communion in a continuous week, he is allowed not to fast before the sacrament. In calendars, solid weeks are either marked with a special color, or are distinguished by the fact that on all days there are no symbols denoting fasting, and cells with dates usually remain white. Such weeks mark great holidays or prepare for long fasts.
There are five such weeks in a year. When do Orthodox Christians expect Continuous Weeks in 2018?
Christmastide
This period lasts every year from January 7 to January 18, that is, from the Nativity of Christ until the eve of the Epiphany of the Lord. Calling it a continuous week is not entirely correct - after all, Christmastide lasts for 11 whole days! Christmastide is a word that tells us about Russian traditions. It was customary to spend all these days cheerfully, to visit each other. During this winter period, people were sledding, playing snowballs. No work was done other than the most mundane and necessary, and the youth could celebrate. So you can even consider traditional Christmastide as an analogue of modern winter holidays. Caroling was widespread - when children, and sometimes young people, went from house to house and performed church chants. At Christmas time, it was customary to guess. This period was associated with mysticism and, oddly enough, dark forces. Apparently, the belief was influenced by the belief that from Christmas to Epiphany is the time “without the cross”, when the Infant has not yet been baptized, despite the fact that the Savior was baptized as an adult, at the age of 30. But the Church did not approve of fortune-telling and fascination with mysticism. What is a continuous week? After all, this is not at all a pagan custom, but a decision of the Church, therefore, it is worth carrying it out within the framework of Orthodox traditions.
The week of the publican and the Pharisee
It is called so because in churches the triodi "about the publican and the Pharisee" are read. This is the preparatory week before Great Lent, and it motivates believers to look into themselves and evaluate whether we are not overly exalting our achievements before God, whether we are comparing ourselves with others, whether our hearts are open, whether we are full of repentance. The parable of the publican and the Pharisee tells about two people who came to the Temple. One of them was a righteous Pharisee who observed all the rituals, the other was a publican, that is, a tax collector, who were often selfish and dishonest people. And the Pharisee listed all his virtues and, finally, thanked God for not being like this tax collector. Meanwhile, the publican did not dare to raise his eyes and only repeated "God, have mercy on me, a sinner." This parable emphasizes the importance of sincere repentance and humility, and teaches us not to be proud of others. In the coming year, the week of the publican and the Pharisee will continue from January 29 to February 4.
Pancake week
Shrovetide, in other words, Cheese Week, this year falls from 12 to 18 February. Although dairy and eggs are allowed daily, meat is prohibited this week. Otherwise, it is called Meat. Shrovetide precedes the beginning of Lent. Maslenitsa, like Christmastide, is rich in traditions.
Traditional winter fun was combined with specific Shrovetide. For example, fist fights were arranged, everyone could try to climb a pole with a prize. People were having fun, visiting each other, baking and eating pancakes. Each of the days of this week has its own name. Monday - "Shrovetide Meeting", Tuesday - "Flirt", Wednesday - "Gourmet", Thursday - "Razgulyay", Friday - "Mother-in-law's evening", Saturday - "Sister-in-law's gatherings". This determined how the days were spent and which of the relatives it was customary to visit. On Sunday, called "Forgiven", it was customary to ask each other for forgiveness before the beginning of the fast. Also on this day, a straw effigy was burned, which symbolized winter. This is a colorful event with round dances, songs, dances.
Easter week
In 2018, Easter will come on April 8, and the next Easter week, or Easter week, will last from April 9 to 15. Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after the spring full moon, so it falls on a different date each year. Its celebration also determines the dates of the Great Lent preceding it and the two continuous weeks described above. What is Easter for Orthodox Christians? Feast of Holidays! It is difficult to imagine what joy and what depth the message of the Resurrection contains. Christ the conqueror, as it were, shows us that death no longer exists. All who have lost their loved ones believe in their resurrection in the distant future, all who are soon to leave this world themselves look forward more boldly. The atonement for human sins has been accomplished. Behind everything heavy and painful - both the suffering of Christ, and the severe restrictions that the Orthodox carried through the entire fast, remembering His sacrifice. Therefore, the Easter week is always bright and joyful. In churches, the procession of the Cross is performed every day, bells ring cheerfully. For several days people eat for breakfast the food consecrated on Holy Saturday - cakes and eggs. It is customary to spend these days in a joyful, elated mood and do good deeds.
Trinity week
from May 28 to June 3. In some ways, this week has long been reminiscent of Christmastide - many pagan rituals associated with fortune-telling, mermaids, the other world have been preserved on it. The fact is that it has absorbed many pagan traditions that are associated with such a holiday as Semik. With the advent of Orthodoxy, this holiday began to depend on the Trinity, which occurs on the 50th day after Easter (its other name is Pentecost), but its content remained pagan. The symbol of this week is a birch tree. This continuous week is even called "green week", because not only temples, but also houses are decorated with birch branches and grass, and girls wear wreaths. The day following the Trinity is called the Day of Spirits and is dedicated to the Holy Spirit. After this week, Peter's fast begins.
We figured out what a solid week means. This is a week completely devoid of fasting days. So, now it became quite clear what it is. The days of continuous weeks allow you to gain strength before a difficult and long fast or to restore them after it, they bring into life not only a varied diet, but also a cheerful atmosphere of celebration.
For our readers: what is a week according to the Orthodox calendar? With detailed description from various sources.
For people who believe in Christ according to their inner vocation, but who are not yet churchly, but who are just beginning their introduction to Orthodoxy, first of all, they have to get acquainted with how, in principle, the church calendar is built. Why are the dates of Christian holidays shifted, and when, in fact, the holidays should be celebrated.
Features of the church calendar
The church calendar differs significantly from the secular one, there are even differences in the name - for believers, 365 days are called the annual circle. The church recognizes September 14 as the beginning of the year, and the chronology starts from the creation of the world. In Orthodox Christianity, in parallel with the countdown of the universe, the years from the birth of Christ are counted.
Why do Orthodox holidays change their dates
People of a secular mind often do not understand why Christmas in Russia is always celebrated on January 7, and the holiday of the Bright Resurrection of Christ changes every year.
The thing is that the church counts biblical events according to the solar and lunar calendars... The central holiday of Orthodoxy is Easter. It depends on this day on which day the subsequent mobile holidays will fall (Ascension of the Lord, the day of the Holy Trinity, the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem).
What is a week?
Confusion arises with the definition of church weeks. In fact, everything is quite simple. The church week consists of seven days, hence the name - week (from the Old Church Slavonic "seven" - seven). Due to linguistic interweaving, seven days this is the church week.
According to legend, the Lord created the world in six days, and on the seventh day he rested from his labors. Having created the Earth and everything around, on the seventh day God did nothing, which he bequeathed to his creatures. So the seventh day turned into a day of "doing nothing" and in Slavic dialects it sounds like "week". In the secular calendar, Sunday is considered a day off, on church calendar the same day is called the Week.
It is from the Week that every Christian week begins. Those familiar with English language, remember that the week for the British also begins on Sunday (Sunday), then Monday, Tuesday, etc. In Catholic countries, the secular and church calendar are interconnected.
In Russia, the working week begins on Monday - the second day of the week. In the church calendar, Sunday is the seventh public holiday, since the countdown comes from significant events. The week also starts on Monday eve. As soon as the stars appear in the sky, a new Orthodox day begins.
Orthodox holidays allow you to remember and understand the relationship. So the Day of Easter will always fall on a Sunday with the name of Christ's Resurrection. 7 days before the holiday falls the "Week of the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem", 6 days after - the Week of the Ascension of the Lord. That is, all secular Sundays should be called weeks, and only the holiday of Bright Easter - the Resurrection of the Savior.
What are the weeks?
Believers, beginning the seven-day week on Monday, fast on Wednesday and Friday each week. It is forbidden to eat animal products on these days. But on days of light festivities, the church makes exceptions. In the first week after Easter, which ends a long strict fast, a continuous Bright Week begins. The word "solid" means that people who have strictly observed the fast can eat fast food all days of the week in order to recuperate both physically and spiritually. In total, there are five continuous weeks in the church calendar, such weeks are popularly called Omnivorous, all of them are called to support believers before or after long strict fasts.
Novices who have recently begun to attend church and observe fasting do not always know what a continuous week is in the Orthodox calendar. For such people, this information can be quite a pleasant surprise. It turns out that the year of an Orthodox person does not consist of only fasts. But first things first.
Posts
To better understand what a continuous week is, it is important to understand how the Orthodox calendar works. In total, there are 4 multi-day fasts in Orthodoxy: Rozhdestvensky, Petrovsky, Assumption and Great Orthodox Lent. The Nativity Fast always runs from November 28 to January 6. Lent always has a duration of 48 days, but its boundaries shift depending on the day of the celebration of Easter.
Orthodox Christians also fast on Wednesday and Friday every week. It is also recommended to observe 3 days of fasting before the sacrament. But there are exceptions to the rule. For example, indulgences in fasts for sick, pregnant and nursing mothers traveling.
Continuous weeks
One of these exceptions is just continuous weeks. What is a continuous week? This is a week in which the normal Christian fast on Wednesday and Friday is not observed. If a person is going to receive communion in a continuous week, he is allowed not to fast before the sacrament. In calendars, solid weeks are either marked with a special color, or are distinguished by the fact that on all days there are no symbols denoting fasting, and cells with dates usually remain white. Such weeks mark great holidays or prepare for long fasts.
There are five such weeks in a year. When do Orthodox Christians expect Continuous Weeks in 2018?
Christmastide
This period lasts every year from January 7 to January 18, that is, from the Nativity of Christ until the eve of the Epiphany of the Lord. Calling it a continuous week is not entirely correct - after all, Christmastide lasts for 11 whole days! Christmastide is a word that tells us about Russian traditions. It was customary to spend all these days cheerfully, to visit each other. During this winter period, people were sledding, playing snowballs. No work was done other than the most mundane and necessary, and the youth could celebrate. So you can even consider traditional Christmastide as an analogue of modern winter break... Caroling was widespread - when children, and sometimes young people, went from house to house and performed church chants. At Christmas time, it was customary to guess. This period was associated with mysticism and, oddly enough, dark forces. Apparently, the belief was influenced by the belief that from Christmas to Epiphany is the time “without the cross”, when the Infant has not yet been baptized, despite the fact that the Savior was baptized as an adult, at the age of 30. But the Church did not approve of fortune-telling and fascination with mysticism. What is a continuous week? After all, this is not a pagan custom at all, but a decree of the Church, therefore, it is worth carrying it out within the framework of Orthodox traditions.
The week of the publican and the Pharisee
It is called so because in churches the triodi "about the publican and the Pharisee" are read. This is the preparatory week before Great Lent, and it motivates believers to look into themselves and evaluate whether we are not overly exalting our achievements before God, whether we are comparing ourselves with others, whether our hearts are open, whether we are full of repentance. The parable of the publican and the Pharisee tells about two people who came to the Temple. One of them was a righteous Pharisee who observed all the rituals, the other was a publican, that is, a tax collector, who were often selfish and dishonest people. And the Pharisee listed all his virtues and, finally, thanked God for not being like this tax collector. Meanwhile, the publican did not dare to raise his eyes and only repeated "God, have mercy on me, a sinner." This parable emphasizes the importance of sincere repentance and humility, and teaches us not to be proud of others. In the coming year, the week of the publican and the Pharisee will continue from January 29 to February 4.
Pancake week
Shrovetide, in other words, Cheese Week, this year falls from 12 to 18 February. Although dairy and eggs are allowed daily, meat is prohibited this week. Otherwise, it is called Meat. Shrovetide precedes the beginning of Lent. Maslenitsa, like Christmastide, is rich in traditions.
Traditional winter fun was combined with specific Shrovetide. For example, fist fights were arranged, everyone could try to climb a pole with a prize. People were having fun, visiting each other, baking and eating pancakes. Each of the days of this week has its own name. Monday - "Shrovetide Meeting", Tuesday - "Flirt", Wednesday - "Gourmet", Thursday - "Razgulyay", Friday - "Mother-in-law's evening", Saturday - "Sister-in-law's gatherings". This determined how the days were spent and which of the relatives it was customary to visit. On Sunday, called "Forgiven", it was customary to ask each other for forgiveness before the beginning of the fast. Also on this day, a straw effigy was burned, which symbolized winter. This is a colorful event with round dances, songs, dances.
Easter week
In 2018, Easter will come on April 8, and the next Easter week, or Easter week, will last from April 9 to 15. Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after the spring full moon, so it falls on a different date each year. Its celebration also determines the dates of the Great Lent preceding it and the two continuous weeks described above. What is Easter for Orthodox Christians? Feast of Holidays! It is difficult to imagine what joy and what depth the message of the Resurrection contains. Christ the conqueror, as it were, shows us that death no longer exists. All who have lost their loved ones believe in their resurrection in the distant future, all who are soon to leave this world themselves look forward more boldly. The atonement for human sins has been accomplished. Behind everything heavy and painful - both the suffering of Christ, and the severe restrictions that the Orthodox carried through the entire fast, remembering His sacrifice. Therefore, the Easter week is always bright and joyful. In churches, the procession of the Cross is performed every day, bells ring cheerfully. For several days people eat for breakfast the food consecrated on Holy Saturday - cakes and eggs. It is customary to spend these days in a joyful, elated mood and do good deeds.
Trinity week
from May 28 to June 3. In some ways, this week has long been reminiscent of Christmastide - many pagan rituals associated with fortune-telling, mermaids, the other world have been preserved on it. The fact is that it has absorbed many pagan traditions that are associated with such a holiday as Semik. With the advent of Orthodoxy, this holiday began to depend on the Trinity, which occurs on the 50th day after Easter (its other name is Pentecost), but its content remained pagan. The symbol of this week is a birch tree. This continuous week is even called "green week", because not only temples, but also houses are decorated with birch branches and grass, and girls wear wreaths. The day following the Trinity is called the Day of Spirits and is dedicated to the Holy Spirit. After this week, Peter's fast begins.
We figured out what a solid week means. This is a week completely devoid of fasting days. So, now it became quite clear what it is. The days of continuous weeks allow you to gain strength before a difficult and long fast or to restore them after it, they bring into life not only a varied diet, but also a cheerful atmosphere of celebration.
In the Orthodox world, the calendar year begins with the Nativity Fast, which continues until the onset of the Nativity of Christ. On January 7, a continuous week begins, called the Yule Church, and among the people - simply Yuletide.
Traditionally, fasting for many days is meant for introspection, prayer, and spiritual exploits. There are special rules during fasting that must not be violated. As a rule, the week is divided into Monday, Wednesday and Friday, when only food is allowed, Tuesday and Thursday, when you can eat hot food without oil, and Saturday and Sunday, when it is allowed to add vegetable oil to the dishes.
Continuous weeks serve as consolation after many days of fasts, help to stock up on strength before the upcoming spiritual test (there are several fasts), do not allow one to think of oneself as an “eternally limiting fasting”.
What is continuous week
The week from Monday to Sunday is called a continuous week, when even weekly fasts on Wednesday and Friday are canceled, it is allowed to eat any food.
Such weeks are often preparatory for the 4 main Lent (Great, Petrov, Assumption and Nativity Lent) and are tied to church holidays.
Types of weeks
During the year, in the Orthodox calendar, the Church has established five continuous weeks before one or another fast.
Christmas week
The end of the Nativity Fast will mark the beginning of the Holy Week. Strictly speaking, it lasts not seven days, but 11. The week covers the period from the birthday of Christ, in the name of the salvation of mankind, who appeared in our world, to the Baptism of the Lord - from 7 to 18 January.
"Holy days" or "Holy evenings" have been venerated in the Church since ancient times. These days, the Charter of St. Sava the Sanctified was forbidden to fast, kneel and marry.
The holiness of the continuous week was violated by the remnants of pagan holidays: for example, fortune-telling.
Week of the Publican and Pharisee
The Week of the Publican and the Pharisee got its name from the parable of the same name from the Gospel of Luke, which tells about the need for humility, not pride and exaltation of one's dignity.
The publican and the Pharisee are the heroes of the parable who have come to repentance. The second convinced himself of his own elevation and closeness to God so much that he stopped noticing his own pride, and the first sincerely confessed his sins and asked for forgiveness.
This week is one of a series of preparatory weeks on the eve of Great Lent.
The Church Charter does not establish the exact date of the continuous week, because it is tied to the date of Easter. Such a week must necessarily take place 14 days before the start of the fast.
Week about prodigal son
Before Great Lent, there is another preparatory week - the Week of the Prodigal Son. Luke's Gospel contains a parable that tells the story of a father and son. A son wandering around the world, who skipped everything that was behind his soul and was given by his father, returns home to sincerely pray for forgiveness, and receives it.
Drawing an analogy, before Great Lent it is necessary to repent of sins and return to the bosom of the church, hoping for His mercy.
Last Judgment Week
The last 7 days before Great Lent in Orthodoxy, the Parable of the Last Judgment is read at liturgies, and the whole week is dedicated to the memory of the departed, inveterate and not inveted by the church. These days it should be remembered that God is a just judge, and not only merciful.
Pancake week
Pagan Shrovetide actually merged with the last preparatory before fasting continuous Cheese Week, which is revered Orthodox churches... In the Christian sense, during Cheese Week, you need to devote yourself to communication with your neighbors, to reconciliation with them.
The emergence of such a church tradition is associated with the vow of the Byzantine emperor Heraclius I, who waged a grueling war with the Persians. He made a vow not to eat meat a week before the start of Great Lent, and when the victory was won, the Church included such a rule in the Rite.
A distinctive feature of Cheese Week is food restrictions associated with the proximity of fasting. This week you can eat fish, dairy products, cheese and eggs, and meat dishes is no longer possible.
Bright week
During the Passover week, Jesus met with his disciples several times until they finally believed what had happened. The last meeting of the Savior was with the Apostle Thomas, who for the longest time refused to believe in the Resurrection of the Lord and wanted to see the wounds and be convinced of the miracle.
Christ gave him such a chance by personally visiting Thomas, returning the disciple to the true path. The example of the apostle shows that the Church does not close the door to a person who wants to believe, but does not have internal forces for this.
The first week after Easter is called the bright week - a time of joy, happiness, a great miracle.
At this time, all services will be like Easter.
It is strictly forbidden to observe fasting, austerity and even kneel. In a continuous week, people celebrate the Resurrection of the Lord: they rejoice and rejoice. You can eat any food on all days.
Trinity week
The last continuous week in the calendar year is Trinity, following the feast of the Holy Trinity - the Day of the Church's birthday. According to legend, it was on this day that the Holy Spirit descended to the apostles and gave them the knowledge of languages.
There were 9 such gifts, according to the Bible, including the gift of tongues. The Holy Spirit descended to believers, giving them the opportunity to attract those who do not have faith to the Church, to edify themselves and others.
During the week, you can eat whatever you want - the limitations of the Fast are ahead.
The end of Trinity week is also the beginning of the summer Petrov (Apostolic) fast, which has a different duration, but always ends on July 12 - the Day of Peter and Paul.
Orthodox fasts and weeks are inseparable from each other: the former make it possible to perform spiritual feat, to cleanse and engage in introspection, while the latter give time to rest from asceticism, to feel the other side of life. At the same time, it is important to remember that continuous weeks are given not for continuous fun, but deliberate fun - each of them is filled with an inner meaning open to believers.
If you don't understand something, your faith is not strong, or you are looking for a mentor, go to church. Reach out to God or speak with a minister.
The Orthodox tradition was largely due to the monastic movement of the first centuries of Christianity. Therefore, in particular, the number of fasts in the Orthodox calendar, according to the most conservative estimates, is approaching one hundred and twenty days, that is, to a third of the year. In addition to this, many clergymen, dissatisfied with the softness of the general church canonical rules governing the ascetic practice of believers, introduce additional days of fasting, especially before (and sometimes after!) Jesus is a disgraced Jewish preacher and founder of the Christian church. Still alive, however, is another, brighter tradition, coming from the depths of the ages, when Christians were able not so much to grieve and repent, but to love and enjoy life, each other and God's presence among them. A private expression of this mentality of the first followers of Jesus in the ascetic tradition is the continuous week. A deeper definition of fasting will help you understand what it is. So, fasting in Orthodoxy is a time intended for introspection, deep prayer and religious exploits, such as reading the scriptures, giving alms, and the like. The gastronomic background of this practice is bodily abstinence from certain types of food. In the strictest fasting, all animal products (meat, fish, poultry, eggs, milk), as well as vegetable oil are subject to refusal.
In total, in Orthodoxy, there are four multi-day fasting: Rozhdestvensky, Petrovsky, Assumption and Great Orthodox fast. In addition to these, there are many one-day periods of abstinence. Most of the latter are Wednesdays and Fridays, which by default are fast days almost every week (week - according to the old Church Slavonic terminology) of the year. There are, however, exceptions. In some weeks, fasting from Wednesday and Friday is removed due to certain circumstances. We know them as the days of continuous weeks. What does this mean in practical terms? First, at this time it is allowed to eat the so-called mild food: meat, milk and everything else that is usually considered non-fasting. Secondly, which is especially important, during these weeks you can receive communion without prior fasting, at least this is what is supposed to be done according to the fixed written norm of the liturgical charter.
There are only five continuous weeks a year:
Christmas week or Christmas time.
The week of the publican and the Pharisee.
Cheese week, aka Shrovetide.
Easter, better known as Bright week.
Trinity week.
Each of them either precedes a multi-day fast, or, conversely, marks a period of rest and relaxation after it.
Christmas week
Christmastide, strictly speaking, is not a week, it is eleven days between Christmas and Epiphany. They always fall on the same dates - from January 7 to January 18 in the new style, or from December 25 to January 5 in the old style. Thus, Christmastide days immediately follow the Nativity Fast until Epiphany Eve.
Week of the Publican and Pharisee
Before Great Lent, there are several so-called preparatory weeks. One of them is the Week of the Publican and the Pharisee. Since the dates of Easter and the period of fasting preceding it each year fall on different numbers, then the preparatory weeks are not tied to specific days. Specifically, the week of the Publican and the Pharisee is set aside two weeks before Great Lent.
Pancake week
The famous Shrovetide is a relic of the pagan holiday of welcoming spring. Today, it has practically merged with cheese week. One way (or another - meat-eating) is another preparatory continuous week. What time is it? Basically, these are the last seven days before the forty-eight-day fasting period leading up to Easter.
A distinctive feature of Maslenitsa from other continuous weeks is that it is already forbidden to eat meat products, but it is allowed to eat fish and dairy products.
Bright week
The first week after Easter is also continuous, due to the special significance of the holiday. In fact, the Resurrection of Christ is officially celebrated for forty days, so it is not surprising how special the scale of solemnity and fun is this continuous week. What does it mean? The fact that any fasting, asceticism and even kneeling prayers are strictly forbidden on Bright Week.
Trinity week
The day of the Holy Trinity is followed by the last continuous week in the church calendar. What holiday is it? Otherwise, it is called Pentecost and is celebrated on the fiftieth day after Easter. Its roots go back to Jewish eortology, and a purely Christian meaning is based on the story from the New Testament about how the Holy Spirit in the form of tongues of flame descended on the apostles, giving them knowledge of other languages and other supernatural gifts. This event is considered the birthday of the Church, therefore, in honor of the day of the Holy Trinity, the following week is devoid of fasting days. But after its end, the long Peter's fast begins, and therefore this week is also preparatory for the period of abstinence, which ends every year on the same day - July 12, on the day of remembrance of the apostles Peter and Paul.
