Celebrating the Beginning of the Indict - the Church New Year. Church New Year

On September 14 (September 1, old style) the Orthodox Church in Russia will celebrate the Church New Year, or Church New Year. If according to the calendar for ordinary residents of the world the New Year begins on January 1, then church calendar has its own characteristics.

Countdown to the new year from the period ancient Rome was carried out from the moment of levying the tax, or indict. Traditionally, this was done in early autumn, when work in the fields ended and tax collectors could come and collect what was due to the emperor. Later, Emperor Constantine the Great, in honor of his military victory allowed Christians to practice their faith and did this just on the day of the indict, or tax collection. From that time on, September 1st became associated not only with the new year, but also with the beginning of the recognition of the Christian faith.

Since that time, the New Year has been the beginning of the indict, or the beginning of a new church year. Over time, the meaning of the indictment as the beginning of a new tax period disappeared and was replaced by the Christian concept of the New Year. And New Year's Slavic tradition called “New Year”, with which many folk signs are associated.

New Year according to the church calendar

Nowadays, despite the fact that we continue to celebrate the New Year traditionally on January 1, the New Year has not lost its meaning. The date of the holiday was moved from September 1 to the 14th as a result of a change in the calendar after the 1917 revolution. And exactly a week after the New Year - September 21 - believers will be able to celebrate the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary - the mother of Jesus Christ.

How to celebrate the New Year

Believers, despite the long-gone church tradition of celebrating the New Year in September, do not forget this holiday and continue to celebrate it. On this day, believers can attend festive services, attend the liturgy and, of course, ask God for good luck and happiness in the New Year. However, you should not ask for unimaginable monetary wealth - such a desire on a bright holiday would be inappropriate.

You shouldn't celebrate the New Year alone, because it's... family celebration, which needs to be spent with loved ones. Gather your family, invite your friends. A warm and family atmosphere will really create a New Year's mood.

Unlike the traditional New Year, which falls at the height of Lent, in the New Year there are no prohibitions on festive table. On this day you can pamper yourself and your loved ones with the best treats. According to the superstition, the richer the table, the more prosperity there will be next year.

Don't forget about gifts. There is no need to bring anything expensive as a gift. An ordinary modest gift from a pure heart would be suitable sign attention specifically on the Church New Year.

On New Year’s Day, September 14, many churches will hold festive services, dedicated to the holiday. Despite the fact that the New Year is not celebrated magnificently and solemnly, like the traditional New Year, for Orthodox believers this holiday marks the beginning of a new life, a new year that will bring its own joys and sorrows. be happyand don't forget to press the buttons and

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The beginning of the indictment. Church New Year September 14th, 2016

On September 1 (September 14, new style), the Orthodox Church celebrates the church new year (the beginning of the church year), also called the Beginning of the Indict. The last holiday of the ending year is the Assumption, and the first holiday of the new year is Christmas. Holy Mother of God.

History of Indict

Even in the Old Testament, the Lord our God commanded that every year we specially celebrate the onset of the seventh month, so that people on this day, freed from the vanity of life, would serve the One God. In this particular month, when the waters of the flood began to subside, Noah’s ark stopped on the mountains of Ararat.

In the same month, the holy prophet Moses came down from the mountain with his face illuminated by the glory of the Divine, and brought new tablets on which the Law given by the Lord Himself was inscribed. And in the same month, the consecration of the Temple of the Lord, created by King Solomon, took place, and the Ark of the Covenant was brought there. There are many other indications in the Old Testament about great importance the seventh month (current September), according to Biblical chronology, counting the creation of the world in the month of March.

In the 6th century, during the reign of Justinian I (527-565), in Christian Church calendar calculation is introduced according to indicts or indictions (from the Latin indictio - announcement), 15-year periods of imposition of tribute. In the Roman Empire, indictio was understood as the designation of the number of taxes that should be collected in given year.

Thus, the financial year in the empire began with the “indication” (indictio) of the emperor how much taxes needed to be collected, while every 15 years the estates were revalued (according to V.V. Bolotov, the indictions had Egyptian origin). The official Byzantine reckoning, the so-called indictions of Constantine the Great or the Constantinople reckoning, began on September 1, 312.

In Byzantium, the church year did not always begin on September 1 - both in the Latin West and in the East the March calendar was well known (when the beginning of the year is considered to be March 1 or March 25 (the date of the Feast of the Annunciation)). In general, the solemn celebration of the New Year on September 1 can be considered a late Byzantine phenomenon.

In Rus', each new year of a fifteen-year period, and the fifteenth anniversary itself, were called an indict. In addition, after 532 years, the circles of the Sun and Moon begin together again, that is, the natural situation of the day of the exploit of Jesus Christ is repeated, when the full moon occurs on Friday. The time interval of 532 years is called an indiction. September 1, 2016 (September 14, new style) marks the year 7525 from the creation of the world.

Since 1492, Rus' has celebrated the New Year as a church and state holiday. The meaning of the New Year's service was the remembrance of the Savior's sermon in the Nazareth synagogue, when Jesus Christ said that He came “to heal the brokenhearted... to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”

In Rus' in the 17th century, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, and after him the boyars and all the people of Moscow, dedicated New Year's Day to works of mercy. Not a single beggar left home without consolation - they were all richly provided with alms, clothes and shoes, and fed a hearty holiday dinner. The common people were given gifts and gifts, and visited prisoners in prison.

The cessation of the rank of summerkeeping is associated with the publication by Peter I of a decree on postponing the start of the civil new year to January 1. IN last time The rite was performed on September 1, 1699 in the presence of Peter, who, sitting on the throne installed on the Kremlin Cathedral Square in royal clothes, received the blessing from the Patriarch and congratulated the people on the New Year. On January 1, 1700, the church celebration was limited to a prayer service after the liturgy, but the rite of summer service was not performed.

Since those times, the celebration of the church new year on September 1 is not celebrated with the former solemnity, although the Typikon still considers this day a small Lord's holiday “The Beginning of the Indictment, that is, the New Summer,” combined with a festive service in honor of St. Simeon the Stylite, whose memory falls on the same date.

On this day, the Church remembers how the Lord Jesus Christ read in the synagogue in Nazareth the prophecy of Isaiah (Isaiah 61.1-2) about the coming of a favorable summer (Luke 4:16-22). In this reading of the Lord, the Byzantines saw His indication of the celebration of the New Year's Day; Tradition connects this event itself with September 1st. The Menology of Basil II (10th century) says: “From that time on, He gave us Christians this holy holiday” (PG. 117. Col. 21).

According to Typiknu about the Great Church and the Byzantine service Gospels, the rite of summer conduction has the following order: after Matins, the bishop proceeds with a procession to the city square accompanied by the singing of the “big” Trisagion. When the procession reaches the square, the deacon proclaims the litany and 3 antiphons are sung. After the antiphons, the bishop pronounces an exclamation, blesses the people three times and sits down on the seat. This is followed by the prokeimenon and the Apostle; According to the Apostle, the bishop, having blessed the people three times, begins reading the Gospel. Lithium petitions are then pronounced; at the end of the petitions and the head-bending prayer, the singers begin to sing the troparion in 2 voices: All creation to the Creator..., and the procession goes to the temple to perform Divine Liturgy.

Troparion of the Indicta (Church New Year), tone 4:

Give thanks to your unworthy servant, O Lord, /
about Your great blessings upon us, /
glorifying You, we praise, we bless, we thank, we sing and magnify Your compassion, /
and slavishly we cry out to love: /
Our Benefactor, our Savior, glory to You.

Glory: voice 3:
Your blessings and gifts to Tuna, /
like a servant of indecency, you have been honored, O Lord, /
We earnestly flow to You, we offer thanksgiving according to our strength, /
and to You, as the Benefactor and Creator, we glorify: /
glory to You, Most Generous God.

And now: voice 2:
To the Creator of all creation, /
setting times and seasons in His power, /
bless the crown of summer of Thy goodness, O Lord, /
keeping your people and your city in peace /
through the prayers of the Mother of God and Savior.

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On September 1 (September 14, New Style), Orthodox Christians celebrate the Church New Year, which, in accordance with Byzantine tradition, is called the Beginning of the Indict.

BEGINNING OF THE INDICATION - NEW YEAR

In the 6th century, during the reign of Justinian I (527–565), the Christian Church introduced calendar reckoning based on indictions or indictions (from Latin indictio - announcement), 15-year periods of tribute.

In the Roman Empire, indictio was understood as the designation of the number of taxes that should be collected in a given year. Thus, the fiscal year in the empire began with the emperor’s “indication” (indictio) of how much taxes needed to be collected, while every 15 years the estates were revalued (according to V.V. Bolotov, indictions were of Egyptian origin).

The official Byzantine reckoning, the so-called indictions of Constantine the Great or the Constantinople reckoning, began on September 1, 312.

In Byzantium, the church year did not always begin on September 1 - both in the Latin West and in the East the March calendar was well known (when the beginning of the year is considered to be March 1 or March 25 (the date of the Feast of the Annunciation)). In general, the solemn celebration of the New Year on September 1 can be considered a late Byzantine phenomenon.

On this day, the Church remembers how the Lord Jesus Christ read in the synagogue in Nazareth the prophecy of Isaiah (Isaiah 61:1–2) about the coming of a favorable summer (Luke 4:16–22). In this reading of the Lord, the Byzantines saw His indication of the celebration of the New Year's Day; Tradition connects this event itself with September 1st. The Menology of Basil II (10th century) says: “From that time on, He gave us Christians this holy holiday” (PG. 117. Col. 21). And to this day in Orthodox Church On September 1, during the liturgy, this very Gospel concept about the preaching of the Savior is read.

The same Gospel was read by the Patriarch in a special rite of summer service - a festive service held on September 1. It is significant that the Patriarch himself read the Gospel - in the practice of the Church of Constantinople in late Byzantine times, the Patriarch himself read the Gospel, except for this case, only three times a year: on the morning of Good Friday (the first of 12 Passion Gospels) and at the liturgy and vespers on the first day of Easter.

According to the Typicon of the Great Church and the Byzantine service Gospels, the rite of summer conduction has the following order: after Matins, the bishop proceeds with a procession to the city square accompanied by the singing of the “big” Trisagion. When the procession reaches the square, the deacon proclaims the litany and 3 antiphons are sung. After the antiphons, the bishop pronounces an exclamation, blesses the people three times and sits down on the seat. This is followed by the prokeimenon and the Apostle; According to the Apostle, the bishop, having blessed the people three times, begins reading the Gospel. Lithium petitions are then pronounced; at the end of the petitions and the head-bending prayer, the singers begin to sing the troparion 2 voices: All creation to the Creator..., and the procession goes to the temple to perform the Divine Liturgy.

In Rus', after the adoption of Christianity, there was a civil year until the 15th century. started in March. All ancient Russian chroniclers began the year on March 1, including St. Nestor. But, despite the fact that only in the 15th century. the beginning civil year officially becomes September 1, there is evidence of the rank of flight keeping being carried out in Rus' on September 1, not only at the end of the 14th century. (Trebniks of the State Historical Museum. Sin. Slav. 372, late XIV - early XV centuries and RNL. Sof. 1056, XIV century), but even already in the XIII century. (the rank is mentioned in the Questions and Answers of Bishop Theognostus (1291)). The rite consisted of singing stichera, antiphons, reading proverbs, the Apostle, the Gospel and saying prayers. Russians edition XVII V. The rank of summer maintenance on September 1 is contained in the Moscow Worldly Potrebnik of 1639, in the Moscow Potrebnik of 1651, in the Metropolitan Trebnik. Peter's Mogila 1646 and in the collection printed without year designation church officials(Nikolsky K., Archpriest. About the services of the Russian Church, which were in previous printed liturgical books. St. Petersburg, 1885. P. 113). The Novgorod rank, contained in a handwritten collection of the first quarter of the 17th century, is also close to the printed Moscow ranks.

Note interesting features, contained in the Moscow and Novgorod ranks (for more details, see: Ibid. pp. 114–116). During the reading of the proverbs, the archpriest performed the rite of blessing of water until the moment of immersion of the cross. Then, after reading the Gospel, the saint immersed the cross in water while singing the troparion: Save, O Lord, Thy people... and washed the icons with his lip dipped in consecrated water, after which the prayer of Patriarch Philotheus of Constantinople was read: Master Lord our God... and head-bending prayer. In addition, the Moscow printed rite describes the ceremony of the Tsar’s coming to action (in Moscow, the rite was performed on the cathedral square of the Moscow Kremlin, and the Tsar most often arrived there after the Patriarch had arrived with a procession of the cross, but sometimes he could come with him), his meeting and congratulatory speech to him by the Patriarch. In Novgorod, the serving saint addressed congratulations to the governors and people with the pronouncement of the “title” about the royal long-term health.

The Kyiv rank differed from the Moscow and Novgorod ones. It does not indicate the religious procession to the square, the blessing of water and the washing of icons. The reading of the Gospel took place in the church; there were no proverbs and no Apostle. The litia was performed in front of the temple: first they walked around the temple twice with a procession of the cross while singing stichera, on the third circuit they stopped in front of each side of the temple, and the deacon pronounced a litany; in front of the western side the saint read a prayer. The ritual of congratulation is also not specified in the Kiev rite.

The cessation of the rank of summerkeeping is associated with the publication by Peter I of a decree on postponing the start of the civil new year to January 1. The last time the rite was performed was on September 1, 1699 in the presence of Peter, who, sitting on the throne installed on the Kremlin Cathedral Square in royal clothes, received the blessing from the Patriarch and congratulated the people on the New Year. On January 1, 1700, the church celebration was limited to a prayer service after the liturgy, but the rite of summer service was not performed.

Since those times, the celebration of the church new year on September 1 is not celebrated with the former solemnity, although the Typikon still considers this day a small Lord's holiday “The Beginning of the Indictment, that is, the New Summer,” combined with a festive service in honor of St. Simeon the Stylite, whose memory falls on the same date.

Mikhail Bernatsky.Patriarchy.Ru.

CHURCH YEAR

The Church calendar is not a simple reminder throughout the year historical events from the earthly life of Jesus Christ, the Mother of God and the saints. The calendar year is a period of a Christian’s life, during which he is called by the Church to ascend a new step of the spiritual ladder, leading us to heaven to God Himself, through His Son, calling each of us to divine perfection: “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.”(Matt. 5:48). “For this reason God came down to earth, so that he may lead us to heaven,”- says the church hymn. “For this purpose God became man,” wrote the ancient saints, “so that man would become deified,” that is, become “god by grace.”

Every year the Church instructs its children on the path of spiritual perfection with a centuries-old system of holidays, fasts, and the entire structure of its divine services - daily, weekly (weekly) and annual circles. These three circles of worship constitute the essence of church holidays and the Orthodox calendar.

In Orthodoxy, every time of day and every day of the week is dedicated to the prayerful remembrance of a special Divine providence for the salvation of mankind (for example, on Wednesday we remember how Judas conspired with the high priests to betray Christ to them, on Friday - the crucifixion of the Lord, on Sunday - His rising from the dead). Throughout the year, every day in churches there is a prayerful memory of one of God's saints: prophets, apostles, martyrs, saints, righteous people, blessed ones - those who with their lives showed us an example of serving God and our neighbors, an example of achieving the perfection commanded to us by the Lord. In addition, there are also annual holidays in honor of the Lord Jesus Christ and His Most Pure Mother. Therefore, in the Church, every day of the year is a holiday - small, medium or great.

What is an Orthodox holiday, how should it be understood and celebrated? The word “holiday” has the same root as the word “idle”, meaning “empty”, “empty”. "Holiday" literally means a day busy with business, free from work, empty from the daily bustle.

According to the fourth commandment, given by God to Moses, a person must “do his own work” for six days, and devote every seventh day to God - worship, prayer, good deeds towards others - everyone who needs our help. In addition to every seventh day (“Sabbath” - day of rest), Old Israel, by direct instructions from Yahweh, honored and special days of the year. Christians – the New Israel – do the same. On such “idle” days from the usual bustle, a person must immerse his mind in the contemplation of God and His good deeds, in order to imitate Him in the same. Since ancient times, on holidays, Christians performed special solemn services.

What is its essence, why do we need it?

An Orthodox holiday is, first of all, prayer - praising God for His providence (care) for us - His " prodigal sons”, who once left Him “to a country far away” for an easy and sweet life, but fell into sorrow, illness, melancholy and despondency from the monotony and meaninglessness of their existence, spiritually hungry for His grace - merciful, forgiving, comforting, healing, enlightening, admonishing, making us wise, freeing us from slavery to sin and Satan and transforming us into the glory of the sons of God. But we ourselves do not know how to correctly pray, glorify and thank God, and therefore we should learn this from the saints, and for this, pray in church at a service together with the entire Church.

St. Peter of Damascus wrote: “The Church well and godly accepted songs and other troparia, for the sake of the weakness of our mind, so that we, foolish, attracted by the sweetness of the songs, would, as it were, reluctantly sing to God. And those who have knowledge, from delving into the spoken words with their minds, become moved and, as if on a ladder, ascend into good thoughts... And as much as we progress in the habit of thinking about God, so much does the Divine desire attract us to achieve understanding and worship the Father in spirit and truth (John 4 : 24), as the Lord said."

The holiday is the contemplation of God and His glory with an open face, which is currently only available to angels and saints already in heaven. Our earthly holidays are a symbol and likeness of a heavenly celebration, just as a choir singing liturgical hymns in a church symbolizes and, to the best of their ability, imitates the choir of angels in the spiritual sky praising the Creator of all things.

Due to our spiritual weakness and lack of experience, most of us do not know how to pray, do not know how and for what to praise God, in what words and what we should and can ask Him for; haven't tested it yet own experience, which means “to bow the knees of the heart” before the Lord, have not learned to “get away from the vanity of the world, placing your mind in heaven,” and, in the words of the Apostle Paul, have not yet found and felt God, “although He is not far from each of us” ( Acts 17:27).

We can learn this from the saints, from those who, through much sweat, and often through their own suffering and even their own blood, acquired the grace of the Holy Spirit, entered into direct communion with God and passed on to us their experience of knowing God, compiling prayers, holiday and everyday services for every day of the Church. of the year. And for this teaching, we must pray daily at home and come to church services as often as possible, if not every day, as monks do in monasteries, then at least on Sundays and holidays, so that, together with the entire Church, in the divinely inspired words of ancient psalms and Christian hymns, we give praise to God for His mercy, goodness and ineffable love for His restive and, by and large, ungrateful creation.

Hieromartyr Sergius (Mechev), who suffered for Christ at the beginning of the last century, said that the divine service performed here on earth is a consistent revelation in time of the mysteries of eternity. And for every believer it is the path that leads us to eternal life. Therefore, church holidays are not a random collection of memorable days, but shining points of eternity in our temporary world, the passage through which is subject to an unchangeable spiritual order. These points replace each other in a certain sequence, like the steps of a single staircase spiritual ascent, so that, standing on one of them, we already see the light illuminating us from the other step. The mystery of worship is the greatest of the mysteries of the Church, which we ourselves cannot immediately comprehend. But it is open to the saints. Therefore, only by entering into their experience through those prayers and liturgical chants in which they captured it, asking for their help for us sinners, do we begin to touch this mystery. And as through this the elements of eternity are born and grow in us, we will begin to understand that our life is only the path leading to it. And then, after leaving this life, we, perhaps, will be worthy of the Eternal Kingdom prepared by the Lord for those who have already begun to enter His life on earth. Eternal Memory, which is greatest achievement for a person going from what is below to what is above.

It is important for all Orthodox Christians to learn to understand the church calendar, to read it as a book telling about God’s salvation of the human race from the power of Satan, about the transfiguration of man, about victory over sin and death. However, to truly understand this book, you must read it own life, or, as Saint John of Kronstadt said, “live the life of the Church.” And then the next year we live in the Church will become not just the “last year” of our biography, but a new turn in the upward spiral, bringing us closer to the “heaven of heavens.”

Note that the church year begins not on January 1 (or even on the 14th), but on September 1 Julian calendar, or September 14 according to the now accepted Gregorian (“new style”), and therefore it ends on August 31 (September 13), respectively. Therefore, the first major holiday of the church year is the Nativity of the Virgin Mary (September 8/21), and the last is Her Assumption (August 15/28) - the transition from temporary life to eternal life. Within the time boundaries indicated by these two events, a year of life passes Orthodox Christian, which should be filled with deep spiritual content and meaning for him.

Symbolically born together with the Ever-Virgin at the beginning of the church year, a Christian is called to live the coming twelve months, given to him by God, as a time favorable for salvation - spiritual and physical work to cleanse himself from sinful passions and acquire virtues - so as to end the year, becoming like in them the perfection of the Mother of God, Who was awarded for this the blessed end of this temporary life - the Dormition - and reunification with Her son Jesus Christ.

The Church marks this year-long journey as milestones with small and major holidays, the main ones of which are the Nativity of the Virgin Mary (September 8/21), the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (September 14/27), the Protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary (October 1/14), the Entry of the Virgin Mary to the temple (November 21/December 4), Nativity of Christ (December 25/January 7), Circumcision of the Lord (January 1/14), Epiphany (January 6/19), Presentation (February 2/15), Annunciation (March 25 / April 7), Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem ( Palm Sunday), Easter of Christ, Ascension of the Lord, Pentecost (Holy Trinity), Nativity of the prophet John the Baptist (June 24/July 7), memory of the apostles Peter and Paul (June 29/July 12), Transfiguration of the Lord (August 6/19), Dormition Mother of God (August 15/28). And also periods of special bodily and prayerful activity - multi-day fasts. These are the Nativity, Great, Petrine (or Apostolic) and Assumption fasts.

Not all holidays listed above have a date. This is no coincidence. Orthodox calendar represents a combination of the Months (or Saints) and Paschal. The month book indicates the names of saints whose memory is celebrated on one day or another of the month, as well as immovable (or fixed) holidays that have a constant calendar date. Paschal determines the moving date of Easter and all the moving holidays that depend on it (Palm Sunday, Ascension, Trinity), which do not have a constant date in the calendar, but move depending on the day of Easter. This happens because Monthly is associated with the solar calendar, and Paschal is associated with the lunar calendar.

The rules of Orthodox Paschal stipulate that Easter should be celebrated on the first Sunday after the first spring full moon following the day spring equinox March 21 (Julian calendar). Therefore, Orthodox Easter is celebrated on different years in the period from March 22 to April 25 according to the Julian calendar (that is, from April 4 to May 8 of the new style), falls almost in the middle of the church year both in the calendar and in spiritual sense is its center.

Before moving on to the story of the great holidays, let's say a few more words about the essence of the church holiday.

An Orthodox Christian who lives a spiritual life, that is, who tries to live according to the Gospel and therefore strictly judges himself for violating God’s commandments, comes to the holiday with the consciousness of his sinful weakness, a vision of his unlived sinful passions and habits, his lack of victory over sin, and confesses this in the sacrament repentance and asks God for forgiveness for this. But at the same time he comes to the temple with hope and sincerely asks and expects from the Lord the mercy and help that Christ gives us, uniting us with Himself in the sacrament of the Eucharist, and without participation in this sacrament, a person, according to the word of the Savior, cannot inherit eternal life (cf. .: John 6: 26–59).

Each holiday has its own grace, its own revelation of the mysteries of God, although it is given from the Holy Spirit alone. And therefore, while awaiting the holiday, a Christian must prepare himself to receive grace - by living according to the commandments, good deeds, prayer, reading Holy Scripture and spiritual literature, and when necessary, by long fasting, for grace acts in a person in accordance with his disposition and readiness to accommodate it.

The essence of the Orthodox holiday lies not in the festive meal (“food and drink”), not in the toasts and many years proclaimed at the table, not in how the temple is decorated (birch trees, firs or willows), but in joyful anticipation and in the very meeting of a person with his Lord, Who welcomes those who come to Him - albeit a sinner, but sincerely repenting of their imperfection (for “God kisses even the intention”). On the holiday of the Lord in a special way He reveals Himself to man, bestows upon believers—His disciples—His perfect joy (see: John 15:11), which no one can take away (see: John 16:22). On holidays, the Lord again and again calls us to Himself, extracting us from the vanity of everyday life and the mire of our passions, lifting us above the mortal earth, revealing to us His future Kingdom, which has already come in power. And this Kingdom of God is within us.

To free the soul from habitual worries, to “abolish” it, to cleanse it of sinful thoughts and unclean desires, so that the Lord may enter this prepared place—this is the task of a true “idle-lover”—a believing Christian who goes to church for a holiday. And it’s not at all what many people do: light a candle, make the sign of the cross on your forehead, anoint yourself with oil at the priest’s, and then run home to watch the TV. And even then they don’t do that - he looked at the calendar: “Is it a holiday? Well, we Orthodox Christians have a reason to have a drink..."

No, this is not why God came down to earth, became Man, taught the lost, fed the hungry, healed the sick, was persecuted by his fellow tribesmen, betrayed by his closest disciple, crucified on the Cross, resurrected and before His Ascension gave the command to his disciples to preach the Gospel throughout the world and baptize everyone peoples. Not for that! So let us try to become worthy disciples of Christ! And if we are not only listeners, but also doers of His words, then when we hear in the temple: “Come, you idle lovers! Let us rejoice in the Lord and His Most Pure Mother and His saints!”, “Praise the name of the Lord...”, our heart will be filled with unearthly joy, and our soul will be delighted. Because only we have such a God - who has mercy on the repentant, forgives those who sin, who suffers with those who suffer, who gave the commandment of love to death (see: John 15: 12-13) and who Himself was the first to fulfill it, crucified on the Cross for us... Only We have such a God who “did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).

The liturgical church year begins on September 1 according to the old style, and on September 14 according to the new style. On this day in church service The Church remembers the beginning of the preaching of the Lord Jesus Christ, when in the temple in Nazareth He read the prophecy of Isaiah (Is. 61: 1-2) about the coming of a favorable summer (Luke 4: 16-22). In this instruction of the Lord, the Byzantines saw His order to celebrate New Year's Day, and Sacred Tradition connects this event itself with the day of September 1. In the Menology of Basil II, created by him in the 10th century, it is said: “From that time on, He gave us Christians this holy holiday.” In its own way, it was God’s providence, which manifested itself much later than Christ’s sermon in His embodied historical testimony - it was on this day, September 1, that Constantine the Great defeated Emperor Maxician, which opened the way for the free development of Christianity in all territories of the Roman Empire, which included then Byzantium. And today, at the liturgical service in the Orthodox Church on September 1, this Gospel text is read about the beginning of the Savior’s preaching.

Of course, it would seem logical to assume that the date September 1/14 was set in accordance with the result of the agricultural year - the harvest has been harvested, it’s time to thank God, and to follow ancient tradition, and New Year's Day was adjusted to this date. In part this is true, but in general the New Year is an ancient spiritual Christian tradition.

After the victory over the pagan Roman on September 1, 312, Constantine the Great declared freedom of religion and worship for Christians, and many pagan temples were given over to Christian churches. In memory of this victory, at the First Ecumenical Council of 325, the holiday of the Church New Year was established, otherwise - indictment.

The concept of indict was introduced much later, in the 6th century, under Emperor Justinian I, who introduced calendar reckoning in the Christian Church according to indicts, or indictions (from the Latin indictio - announcement, instruction). Once every 15 years, on September 1, tribute was collected throughout the Roman Empire. The amount of taxes to be collected in a given year and the revaluation of estates were announced. From these fees, which, by the way, began under Constantine the Great, a military pension was deducted - the service period was then 15 years. (Evaluate the difference with the current military service in the absence of war.) So the Byzantines, unlike us, measured milestones not in ten, as we do now, but in fifteen years.

However, earlier both in Byzantium and Rome, the March chronology was known, going back to the eastern, ancient chronology, reflected in the time calculation of Egypt, Assyria, associated with the myths about Osiris, Gilgamesh, etc., with the advent of astronomical spring, so New Year 1 September - late Byzantine calculation of the day of this event.

The Byzantines introduced another temporary concept, the Great Indiction - 19 fifteen years, that is, 532 years. This seemingly inconvenient, non-circular date has an astronomical justification: the eastern sages were excellent astronomers and knew that every 532 years the beginnings of the orbital circles of the Sun and Moon coincided. This position of the Earth also developed on the day when our Lord Jesus Christ went out to preach with the words of the prophet Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me; for He has anointed Me to preach the gospel...to preach the acceptable year of the Lord” (Luke 4:18, 19).

This was the Lord's first testimony to the fulfillment of prophecies Old Testament about the coming of the Messiah, and that the time of the New Testament began. In the East, where astronomy occupied one of the first places among the sciences, the Magi determined the place of His Nativity precisely by the star that rose at the moment of the birth of Christ.

“The Lord not only came to announce a pleasant summer, but also brought it. Where is it? In the souls of believers. The earth will never be transformed into a paradise as long as the present order of things continues to exist; but it is and will be a field of preparation for heavenly life. Its beginnings are placed in the soul; the possibility of this is in the grace of God; Our Lord Jesus Christ brought grace - therefore, he brought a pleasant summer for souls. Whoever listens to the Lord and fulfills everything He commands, receives grace and, by its power, enjoys a pleasant summer within himself,” St. Theophan the Recluse wrote about the New Year.

New Year's Eve in Rus'

Despite the fact that Rus' adopted Christianity at the end of the 10th century, the process of Christianization of Rus' lasted a long time and ended around the end of the 15th century. Then the civil celebration of the New Year on March 1 and the New Year diverged - we find evidence of this in all the ancient chroniclers, including the Venerable Elder Nestor.

Since 1492, the New Year and the New Year on September 1 were combined by state decision. In Moscow on Cathedral Square A platform was being built in the Kremlin. From him the Metropolitan and Grand Duke announced the change of year, the clergy blessed the water and the metropolitan congratulated the ruler and the people. This is how the celebration took place. Many important state events were timed to coincide with the New Year and the New Year: for example, the crowning of Boris Godunov in 1598. On New Year's Day, the heir to the throne was presented from the platform upon reaching 14 years of age - in the old days, adulthood came earlier than now.

From the beginning of the reign of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov, the father of the reformer Tsar Peter, in the 17th century, New Year's Day was dedicated to charity: the poor were fed, clothed warm clothes, shoes before the cold Russian winter, fed to the full, and gave alms. The common people received gifts, and prisoners in dungeons also did not remain forgotten - they were visited and also left them alms and food better than the usual prison food.

But that didn't last long. Peter I indicated in 1699, looking at Western traditions, to move the civil New Year to January 1, although the spiritual celebration remained on September 1.

Since then, the New Year has lost its former ancient solemnity, the rite of summer service - seeing off the annual church circle - is now limited to a short prayer service.

The New Year, together with the civil New Year, was celebrated on September 1 until Peter the Great came to the throne, who in 1699 ordered to move the New Year's day to January 1, including an order to decorate homes with New Year trees, again in imitation Western tradition. But in the liturgical books the arrival of the new spiritual summer remains for September 1. Although this celebration has lost its former solemnity, according to the Typikon - a set of instructions for conducting festive services - this day is considered a small Lord's holiday: “The beginning of the indictment, that is, the new summer.” It is connected with the festive service in memory of St. Simeon the Stylite, due to the coincidence of both dates. In a yearly circle Orthodox holidays The first holiday after the New Year is the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary - September 8/21. It's also symbolic. A new time in the history of mankind begins with Her, for time will pass, and through the Unbrided Bride the Savior of all will come to him.

And on December 31, New Year’s Eve, at about 6:00 p.m., short prayer services are held in many churches in honor of the beginning of the civil New Year, or rather, “New Year.”

About the church New Year, the famous Russian philosopher and theologian Archpriest Sergius Bulgakov said: “In the New Year, the revelation of eternity intensifies... Turning times and dates tell us about our birth and death, about entry into the world and departure from it, about the facets of life, limited in time. time.

When you watch time pass, you experience a feeling of lightness, freedom from time, soaring above it.

We live in time, but we bear the image of eternity, such is the contradictory nature of our created existence, but this is also a sign of freedom from it, a sign of the freedom of the children of God" 1 .

Troparion indicta (Church New Year), tone 4:

Give thanks to Your unworthy servant, O Lord, for Your great blessings upon us; we glorify You, bless You, thank You, sing and magnify Your compassion, and slavishly cry out to You in love: Our Benefactor, our Savior, glory to You.

Glory: voice 3rd:

As a servant of indecency, having been honored with Your blessings and gifts, Master, we earnestly flow to You, giving thanks as much as we can, and we glorify You, as the Benefactor and Creator, crying out: Glory to You, Most Generous God.

And now: voice 2:

To the Creator of all creation, who has laid times and seasons in His power, bless the crown of the summer of Thy goodness, O Lord, preserving Thy people and city in peace through the prayers of the Theotokos and save us.

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1 Bulgakov Sergius, archpriest. Word for the New Year. Words, teachings, conversations. Paris, 1987. P. 129.