“They sit down at the Easter table after the service - at four o’clock in the morning or on Sunday afternoon”

On Sunday, April 16, Easter awaits us - the main Orthodox holiday, “triumph of triumphs”, day of victory over death. It is celebrated by all Orthodox Christians, but in Russia the culture of church celebrations was interrupted for many decades, and is now only being revived. Therefore, it is useful to remind you of how to properly celebrate Easter and the meaning of Easter attributes.

For example, about why we paint eggs and what it symbolizes. Religious scholar Sergei Chapnin told us these details.

The coming Saturday and Sunday for a person are the result of a long journey: Lent and Holy Week. If he has been preparing himself for the holiday all this time, then he has no questions about how and what to celebrate. He is ready for the joy of resurrection and victory over death, which is quite difficult to describe in words, but easy to feel in the heart.

But let's not be hypocritical: the vast majority of our people do not fast, but they still celebrate Easter. How should they spend Saturday and Sunday?

Holy Saturday is a day that needs to begin with worship, it begins in the morning. The liturgy is very beautiful and lasts a long time: three hours or more. After it, the consecration of Easter cakes and eggs begins.

I do not insist that everyone defend the entire service. But I would highly recommend gathering your strength and going to the temple at least for a short time to complete it, at ten in the morning or at half past ten. It would be correct to open the most short gospel- from Mark - and read his last chapters dedicated to the resurrection of the Savior. Without the Gospel in Holy Saturday no way. If we are preparing to meet the risen Christ, then it is important to read about it before attending the service. At least from a smartphone.

Saturday is a day without worldly fuss, a day of rest. Preparations for the Easter table are completed on Maundy Thursday, this table will be set on Sunday morning, and on Saturday only communion, lighting of festive dishes takes place, and it is advisable to minimize household chores. And - to avoid all household and business fuss.

On this day, the shroud of the Savior is in the temple - and it is important to bow to it, kiss it and light a candle. And this is done slowly, without fuss. With the understanding that the joy of Easter Sunday is inextricably linked with grief for those of our relatives who died, and for the death of God himself. And it is important to remember the message of the Apostle Paul, which says that our greatest enemy is death. And Easter is a victory over this enemy. Christ conquered what we thought was impossible to conquer in earthly life. And before the shroud in the temple, everyone begins to think about what the resurrection of Christ is for him personally. This is the most important thing, and further consecration of food is only the completion of the prayerful exaltation.

Then there will be an evening service and procession. Many of our citizens have the habit of setting the festive table on Saturday afternoon, consecrating food, and coming to the religious procession, on the night from Saturday to Sunday, well-fed and “warmed up”. How would you comment on this “tradition”?

If you want to come to the Easter service and procession the way Christians do, then it is better not to sit down at the table at all. They sit down at the Easter table after the service - at four o'clock in the morning or on Sunday afternoon. To do this before, in my opinion, is terrible. But we still have a long way to go to understand what Easter is and church tradition. Without a church it is quite difficult to feel this joy. And if the church is not celebrating yet, and you are already breaking your fast and drinking, then your joy cannot be full and real.

- Can an unbaptized person participate in the religious procession?

Undoubtedly. The doors of the church are open to everyone. And for the baptized, and for non-believers, and for Muslims who want to see how the Orthodox celebrate Easter. Another thing is that the culmination of the night service is communion, and the unbaptized cannot, of course, receive communion.

How to break your fast correctly? We decided on the time: after the service, at about four in the morning on Sunday. Are there other rules for breaking the fast?

If you wait until the end of the service, many churches will offer you an Easter treat lit the day before. Right in the temple. These are primarily colored eggs, which are a symbol of resurrection. When Mary Magdalene told Emperor Trajan about the resurrection of Christ, he said: “It’s as if an egg would now change color.” And before his eyes the white egg turned red. In memory of this legend, we put an Easter egg on the table and break our fast with it.

What time does the Easter service in church begin? This is the right question that many believers ask themselves on Holy Saturday. If you decide to attend the Easter service this year, you should find out in advance exactly when it begins in a particular church. Although, there are some church canons, which all churches try to adhere to.

Important information about the Easter service

Easter prayers begin on Holy Saturday. Let us remind you that this is the last day of Lent, which always happens right before Easter. Each year, accordingly, the date of Holy Saturday will also be different, because it depends directly on the date of Easter. People gather for the service in advance and the onset of Easter itself is midnight, celebrated in the church. How to prepare.

On the night from Saturday to Sunday, that is, on the night of Easter, the Acts of the Holy Apostles are read in churches. They talk about how they witnessed the bright resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Saturday service ends with a religious procession, which is a harbinger of the morning service. Procession walks around the church.

The service in honor of the onset of Easter lasts, as a rule, from late Saturday evening until 2-3 o'clock in the morning on Sunday. If you plan to take children with you, then you need to be absolutely sure that during the long service they will not be capricious or distract the people who came to the temple to pray.

After the religious procession ends, this usually happens around midnight, and Matins begins. Then it goes into the Divine Liturgy, after which you can partake of the sacraments of Christ. If you decide to take communion after Easter service, then you need to confess in advance and get a blessing from the priest for this. Of course, if you ignore these rules, then no one will be denied communion. But we should remember that the true essence of this sacrament is to receive communion with a pure body and spirit, and not to turn everything into just a show for show.

Several important rules on how to behave during the Easter service in church:
Under no circumstances should you turn your back to the altar during the service;
Cell phones turn it off at the entrance to the temple territory;
If you take children with you, you need to make sure that they behave quietly, understand the essence of what is happening, do not run around and do not distract people;
During the reading, the priest often crosses himself with the cross and the Gospel; it is not necessary to be baptized every time, but you must bow at such moments.
Every believer who is at a church service must be baptized with the words: “Lord, have mercy,” “In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,” “Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”
You need to cross yourself three times when entering the temple, and also three times when leaving the temple.
During the Easter service, it is not customary to kiss each other three times and give each other colored eggs; this must be done after the service is over.
Clothing should be clean and modest. Women should not come to church wearing trousers and without covering their heads.
It is always necessary to be baptized without gloves.
Please also note that you are not allowed to speak loudly to each other or talk on the phone during the service.

Advice! It happens that a person is baptized, seemingly out of place. There is no need to worry or be nervous about this, because you can be baptized at any time and this, of course, does not contradict the general rules of behavior in the church. If the gesture was made out of impulse of the soul, then there is nothing reprehensible in it.

When does the service start?

So, what time does Easter service start in church? This is the most important night for every Orthodox believer, preparation for which begins on Thursday evening. On this day, Easter cakes are baked and eggs are painted. IN Good Friday They don’t do anything; on Saturday they always go to church with a basket to bless the food. Then in the evening they return to the temple to defend festive service in honor of Svetly Christ's Resurrection. How to cook .

As a rule, the service begins on Saturday around 23.00 and ends on Sunday morning, somewhere at 2-3 am. After the first hour of the service, a procession of the cross takes place around the temple, after which the priest announces to everyone that Easter has come and Christ is Risen.

During the evening service on Holy Saturday, the priests talk about what the holy apostles, who were real witnesses of the Resurrection of Christ, wrote. Divine services begin at 23.00, so by this time you can gather in the temple. After the procession, everyone returns to the temple, the service and prayers continue.

Of course, a worldly person who decides to spend the festive Easter night in church and take part in the Divine service must behave correctly. Rules of conduct that will help you feel at ease have already been discussed in our material. Be sure to read the code of correct behavior in church again so that only pleasant moments and memories remain from the festive service. What date .

Now you can figure out what time the Easter service in the church starts. The service itself begins at 23.00, but on this night many believers come to churches, so in order to get inside and take a comfortable place there, you should come to the temple in advance. Moreover, there is always something to do there: pray, light candles, think about the upcoming Easter, about what happened to you, to your spiritual life during such a long fast and such a long period of preparation for Easter.

We always try to go to church to bless Easter cakes, eggs, and cottage cheese on the night of Holy Saturday after 4 p.m., and many do this and come at this time. You can bring other products to be blessed: a little lard, sausage, meat, pastries, a bottle of red wine. If it is not possible to come to bless Easter cakes with eggs on Holy Saturday, then we come to church on Easter Sunday. In the morning on Easter, people also come to bless food.

In general, eggs and Easter cakes are usually blessed after the night Easter service, which takes place on the night from Saturday to Sunday. At the end of the service, the Priest begins to bless Easter cakes, eggs and Easter. The Easter service is very beautiful. It is advisable to attend this service and bless Easter cakes and Easter.

Easter cakes and eggs are blessed early in the morning on Holy Saturday, because the procession of the Cross will begin in the evening. When the All-Night Vigil ends on Saturday morning, eggs and Easter cakes will begin to be blessed, this is at four o’clock in the morning. They will sanctify as long as people continue to walk. Therefore, on Saturday, but better early in the morning, although people usually gather by eleven o’clock in the morning.

On the night from Saturday to Sunday before Easter, an all-night vigil is served. As a rule, this happens from 00.00 to 4 or 5 o'clock in the morning. But the blessing of Easter cakes and other Easter food can be carried out both before the service (on Saturday evening) and on Sunday. This year in our church the consecration was held until 13.00 so that everyone could have time.

Probably depends on the temple. In large parishes they will sanctify the entire Saturday after the morning service. In our church they celebrate the holy day for a couple of years even after the Midnight Office, i.e. night Easter service. But it’s better to come on Saturday.

According to Orthodox tradition, Blessing of Easter cakes and paskas is urgent need, in order to sanctify the transition from fast food to fast food. If you want to observe all the rituals, like a true Orthodox Christian, then Easter and Easter cakes must be blessed no earlier than the all-night vigil, which begins at sunset on Holy Saturday and ends at dawn.

However, not everyone will be able to stand through a whole night of worship, so there are two more options for visiting church to bless the holiday bread.

Option 1. Most temples and churches begin the consecration of paskas and Easter cakes on Holy Saturday in the afternoon, after 16:00.

Option 2. You can also come to church to bless Easter cake and Easter, directly early in the morning, on the day of the Resurrection of Christ.

By the way, you can bless not only holiday bread and colored eggs, but also wine and meat, since it was these products that true believers refused during Lent.



After all, Easter begins on the night from Saturday to Sunday - at 00:00 hours and at the same time in the Temples begins All-Night Vigil, then the liturgy and only then the priest blesses all the brought products (at about 4 o’clock). All believers go to Church at 12 o'clock at night and bring with them what they want to consecrate. Here (Khabarovsk - Far East) in the Temple everything ends quite late - by 5 o'clock in the morning - this is difficult for many (especially if you take children with you). We once took the children with us (in vain) and spent half the service persuading them to be patient and not go home.

In Russia, almost everywhere, eggs and Easter cakes are blessed only at night, and on Saturday or Sunday morning it is not common or rare.



Usually, in the majority Orthodox churches, the consecration of Easter cakes, Easter cottage cheese, eggs and other things begins on Saturday after the morning service. Then the consecration occurs after the solemn Easter service, performed on the night from Saturday to Sunday. It lasts until about four o'clock in the morning.

It is best to check the schedule of all Easter services at your church.

Our parishioners usually go to church on the night from Saturday to Sunday. They bring Easter cakes, eggs, and Easter with them. After the Easter service, the priest begins to bless the eggs in the morning. If it is not possible to attend the service, you can come in the morning to bless the Easter dishes.

IN different temples this can happen in different ways. In one church you can consecrate food for the festive Easter table on Saturday after the Vespers service; in another church this is done early on Sunday morning after the Easter service. And in some churches, services are held in such a way that believers even have the opportunity to bring food twice for consecration. But it’s still more convenient to do this on Saturday. After all, if you consecrate on Sunday, you will have to defend the entire night service, this is until about 4 o'clock in the morning.

Easter in 2019 continues to be an important religious holiday. A festive service is traditionally held on Easter Sunday. On Easter, many believers plan to visit church and bless eggs and Easter cakes.

Easter is one of the greatest and most important holidays for all believers. Traditionally, a festive service is held on Easter Sunday. On Easter, many people try to attend church services and, of course, dedicate eggs and Easter cakes.

When does the Easter service begin and end?

Note! Great religious holiday always begins at midnight from Holy Saturday to Sunday. Churches hold bright Easter matins, a solemn church service. During the morning service, you can receive communion if a person confessed during Holy Week. After this, the Easter liturgy is held. This church service ends at approximately 3 am.

Parishioners light candles together. Then the believers wait for the clergy to leave the church and make a religious procession with a festive church singing. This ritual is traditionally performed at night, closer to morning. People rejoice on Easter Sunday.

Fact! During the service, Easter cakes and colored eggs are illuminated. It is believed that after the believers return home and organize Sunday lunch, they need to taste Easter cakes and eggs.

What is the pattern for the Easter service?

The Easter service begins late Saturday evening. In this case, the service is carried out in certain stages:

1. Initially, the shroud is taken out. This happens about half an hour before midnight.
2. On next stage the stichera is sung in the altar.
3. After the chants, priests and parishioners take part in a small procession around the temple.
4. Bright Matins begins with the use of a censer and a cross with a three-candlestick.
5. Easter Matins also refers to important rite. During Matins, church servants bring out special bread prepared according to ancient recipes for Easter.
6. The service always ends with the ringing of bells. Believers congratulate each other with traditional phrases: Christ is Risen - Truly Risen.

The Easter service in the church in honor of the holiday begins somewhere around eleven o'clock at night on Holy Saturday. There are chants, and at approximately midnight a solemn ceremony takes place. The priests leave the temple in a large festive procession, followed by believers. The procession circles the temple three times with songs, and then the priest announces that Christ is Risen. Believers begin to congratulate each other on the fact that Easter has come.

It is best to come to church a few hours before midnight; there is no exact church rule here and each parish will have its own exact beginning of the Easter service. But according to the rules for holding this festive service, a religious procession must be held somewhere at midnight, and somewhere at one thirty in the morning the morning festive liturgy in honor of Easter begins.

Important! Matins ends around four in the morning. Previously, it was after this service that food was blessed, but now the blessing of food takes place the day before on Holy Saturday, so that there would be no crowds at night and everyone would have enough time and space to bless their Easter basket. However, the priests say that if it was not possible to bless the basket on Holy Saturday, you can come to the all-night vigil with it and simply go through the procession of the Cross. This ritual will allow you to consider your basket consecrated.

What time does the Easter service start and end, basic rules:

1. On Holy Saturday, the Acts of the Holy Apostles are read in churches until midnight. Among other things, they contain clear evidence of how Jesus Christ was resurrected. Then, around midnight, the procession of the Cross begins, and then the Easter all-night vigil. The procession of the cross is a symbol of the flock following towards the risen Savior.
2. At the end of Matins, around four in the morning, special Easter verses are sung as believers congratulate each other on the coming of the holiday. You need to kiss three times, give Easter cakes and colored eggs, and also say the words “Christ is Risen,” to which you need to respond “Truly he is risen!”
3. Morning gradually turns into divine liturgy, the sacrament of communion is taking place. If you plan to take communion on Easter morning, then during the day before Holy Week you should find time to confess.

How to behave in the temple

It is worth remembering that when going to church you need to dress modestly and wear closed clothes. Women are recommended to wear a long skirt or dress; after all, you are going to a festive service and you need to try to find suitable clothes for this. At the same time, men entering the temple must take off their headdress. But women and girls need, on the contrary, to cover their heads. This is not necessarily a scarf, a hat or hat is also suitable: but modest, without unnecessary pathos. You came to the temple, not to the fashion catwalk.

Before entering the temple, you need to stop at its doors and cross yourself three times, bowing to the ground each time. Also remember that you need to turn your face to the entrance to the temple and cross yourself three times with a bow when leaving the temple after the service. During the service, behave quietly and humbly, do not jostle and spread joy around you, not irritation. If you take children with you to the all-night vigil, then you need to explain to them separately how to behave in church: do not make noise, do not shout or laugh, and stand in one place.

It is also worth remembering that when a service is taking place, you cannot turn your back to the altar. Please also note that women are always prohibited from entering the altar gates. As for men, this can be done with the special permission of the priest, and it is certainly better to postpone this event until calmer days, and not the festive Easter service.