When the penitential canon of Andrew of Crete is read in full. Great Penitential Canon of Andrew of Crete

29.09.2019

Orthodox believers know St. Andrew of Crete as a great ascetic of piety and a prayer book before God. By his life, the righteous man showed an example of meekness, humility of wisdom and virtue. The liturgical life of the Church even now preserves, perhaps, the main written work of the saint - the Great Canon of Penitence.

First week of Great Lent

The Great Penitential Canon is an outstanding liturgical work, composed of 250 penitential troparia, reflecting the prayerful appeal of a sinner to God with sincere repentance. In the texts of prayers of the canon, biblical Old Testament types are given, showing the full depth of the possible sinfulness of man.

The reading of this canon is prescribed by the Church for the time of the holy Great Lent. On the first week of Lent (on the first four days) this canon is read by the priest during the evening service. The priest reads the canon in the center of the church at the beginning of Lenten Compline. Prostrations are placed between the troparia of the work.

The entire liturgical work of St. Andrew of Crete during the first week of Lent is divided into four parts.

Thursday of the Fifth Week of Great Lent

During the Lenten service, the penitential canon of Andrew of Crete is read in full in the church on Thursday of the fifth week of Fortecost, when the Church honors the memory of St. Mary of Egypt. Taking into account the fact that the liturgical day begins on the evening before the event, the penitential canon is read at Matins on Thursday on Wednesday evening of the fifth week.

The divine service of this day received a special name - Mary's standing. When the Church venerates the outstanding penitential feat of St. Mary of Egypt, the Great Canon of St. Andrew is the best suited for a person's prayerful repentance of his sins.

By day of the week

Since ancient times, the first week of Great Lent has been called the "dawn of abstinence" and "clean week." This week, the Church urges her children to get out of that sinful state into which the whole human race fell due to the intemperance of our forefathers, having lost heavenly bliss, and which each of us multiplies by our own sins, - to get out through faith, prayer, humility and God-pleasing fasting. This is the time of repentance, says the Church, this is the day of salvation, entrance of fasting: be awake to the soul, and close the passions of the entrance, looking to the Lord (from the first song of the triode at Matins on Monday of the first week of Great Lent).

Like the Old Testament Church, which especially sanctified the first and last days of some great feasts, Orthodox Christians, prepared and inspired by the motherly suggestions of their Church, since ancient times, according to its charter, spend the first and last week of Great Lent with special zeal and severity.
During the first week, especially lengthy services are performed and the feat of bodily abstinence is much more severe than on the following days of Holy Forty Days. On the first four days of Great Lent, Great Compline is served with the reading of the Great Penitential Canon of St. Andrew of Crete, who, as it were, sets the "tone", determines the entire subsequent tonality, the "melody" of Great Lent. During the first week of Lent, the Canon is divided into four parts. The wonderful creation of St. Andrew of Crete is fully brought to our attention on Thursday (more precisely, on Wednesday evening) of the fifth week of the Holy Forty Days, so that we, seeing the approaching end of Lent, do not become lazy in spiritual exploits, do not become careless, do not forget and do not stop strictly following everything behind you.
Each verse of the Great Canon is accompanied by the psalm refrain Have mercy on me, God, have mercy on me! Several troparia are added to the canon in honor of the author himself - St. Andrew and Rev. Mary of Egypt. Even during the lifetime of St. Andrew, the Church of Jerusalem introduced the Great Canon into use. Departing in 680 for the Sixth Ecumenical Council in Constantinople, St. Andrei brought there and made known his great creation and the life of St. Mary of Egypt, written by his compatriot and teacher, Patriarch Sophronius of Jerusalem. The life of an Egyptian ascetic is read together with the Great Canon at Matins on Wednesday of the fifth week of Great Lent.
Of all the prayers of Great Lent, the Great Canon strikes the soul more than any other. The Great Canon is a miracle of church hymnography, these are texts amazing strength and poetic beauty. The canon was compiled in the 7th century by St. Andrew, Archbishop of Crete, who also compiled many other canons that the Church uses throughout the liturgical year. The Church called this canon great, not so much because of its volume (it contains 250 troparia or verses), but because of its inner dignity and strength.
The Great Canon is a conversation between the penitent and his own soul. Here's how it starts:
From where shall I begin weeping of my accursed life of deeds? How shall I begin, O Christ, the present weeping? But it is like a merciful give me forgiveness of sins - where do I start to repent, because it is so difficult.
Then follows the wonderful troparion:
Come, wretched soul, with thy flesh. Confess to the builder of all and remain the rest of the previous speechlessness, and bring tears to God in repentance.
Amazing words, here both Christian anthropology and asceticism: the flesh must also participate in repentance, as an integral part of human nature.
This conversation with the soul, its constant persuasion, calls to repentance, reach its climax in the kontakion, which is sung after the 6th ode of the Canon:
My soul, my soul, get up, why are you sleeping? The end draws near, and the Imashi become confused; Rise up, then, may Christ God have mercy on you, who is everywhere, and fulfills everything.
These words are pronounced, addressing himself, by the great lamp of the Church, the one to whom the expression used by him regarding St. Mary of Egypt, who really was "an angel in the flesh." And so he turned to himself, reproaching himself for the fact that his soul was sleeping. If he saw himself as such, then how should we see ourselves? Immersed not only in a deep spiritual sleep, but in some kind of mortification...
When we listen to the words of the kontakion from the canon of St. Andrew of Crete, we need to ask ourselves: what should I do? If a person properly fulfilled God's law, his life would be filled with a completely different content. That is why the Church offers us this deep, penetrating Lenten canon of repentance, so that we look deeper into our souls and see what is there. And the soul is sleeping ... This is our grief and our misfortune.
In a wonderful prayer, Rev. Ephraim the Syrian, which we repeat throughout Great Lent, says: Lord King, grant me to see my sins! - I don’t see them, my soul fell asleep, dozed off and I don’t even see these sins, as I should. How can I repent of them! And that's why you need to focus more on yourself during the days of Great Lent, evaluating your life and its content by the evangelical measure, and not by any other.
The main features of the Great Canon include a very wide use of images and plots from the Holy Scriptures, both the Old and the New Testament. It is a pity that we are not familiar with the Holy Bible. For many of us, the names of the people mentioned in the Great Canon mean nothing, because we do not know the Bible well.
Meanwhile, the Bible is not only the history of the Israeli people, but also a grandiose chronicle of the human soul - the soul that fell and rose before the face of God, which sinned and repented. If we look at the lives of the people mentioned in the Bible, we will see that each of them is presented not so much as a historical character, not so much as a person who has done certain deeds, but as a person standing in the face of the Living God. Historical and other merits of a person fade into the background, what remains most important is whether a person has remained faithful to God or not. If we read the Bible and the Great Canon from such an angle, we will see that much of what is said about the ancient righteous and sinners is nothing but a record of our soul, our falls and rebellions, our sins and repentance.
One ecclesiastical writer very opportunely remarks on this matter: “If in our day so many find it (the Great Canon) boring and not relevant to our life, this is because their faith is not fed from the source of Holy Scripture, which for the Fathers of the Church was the very source of their faith. We must again learn to perceive the world as it is revealed to us in the Bible, learn to live in this biblical world; and no better way learn how to do it through church service which not only transmits to us the biblical teaching, but also reveals to us the biblical way of life” (Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann, “ Great Lent”, page 97).
So, in the Great Canon, the whole Old Testament and New Testament history passes before us in persons and events. The author points to the fall of the forefathers and the corruption of the primitive world, to the virtues of Noah and the impenitence and bitterness of the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah, resurrects before us the memory of pious patriarchs and valiant men: Moses, Joshua, Gideon and Jephay, presents to our eyes the piety of King David, his fall and tender repentance, points to the wickedness of Ahab and Jezebel and to the great examples of repentance - the non-nevites, Manasseh, a harlot and a prudent thief, and especially Mary of Egypt, repeatedly stops the reader at the Cross and the Holy Sepulcher - everywhere teaching repentance, humility, prayer, selflessness . On these examples, the soul is constantly being exhorted - remember this righteous man, he pleased God so much, remember this righteous man, he pleased him so much - you did nothing of the kind.
Some characters of the Bible are spoken of in a positive sense, others in a negative sense, some need to be imitated, and some do not.
The charioteer Elijah, the chariot of virtues entered, as if into Heaven, sometimes hovering above the earthly. Therefore, my soul, think of the sunrise - think, my soul, about the ascent of the Old Testament righteous.
You imitated Gehazi, accursed, always a bad mind, soul, put aside his love of money for old age, run away from the fire of hell, retreating from your evil ones - at least in old age, reject the love of money of Gehazi, soul, and leaving your atrocities, avoid the fire of hell.
As you can see, the texts are quite difficult, so it is necessary to prepare in advance for the perception of the Great Canon.
In the final song of the first day, after all the memories, troparia of amazing power follow:
The law is exhausted, the Gospel is celebrating, the writing is all negligent in you, the prophets are exhausted, and all the righteous word: your scabs, about the soul, multiplying, I am not a doctor who heals you - there is nothing to remember from Old Testament, everything is useless. I will give you examples from the New Testament, maybe then you will repent:
I cite a new scripture of instruction, introducing you, soul, to tenderness: be jealous of the righteous, but turn away the sinners, and propitiate Christ with prayers and fastings and purity and reverence.
Finally, the spiritual writer, having presented everything of the Old Testament, ascends to the Life-Giver, the Savior of our souls, exclaiming like a robber: Remember me!, crying like a publican: God be merciful to me a sinner! son of David!, shedding tears, instead of peace, on the head and feet of Christ, like a harlot, and weeping bitterly over themselves, like Martha and Mary over Lazarus.
Further in the Canon, it is emphasized that the most terrible sinners have repented and will come to the Kingdom of Heaven before us: Christ became human, calling robbers and harlots to repentance: soul, repent, the door of the Kingdom has already been opened, and they anticipate the Pharisee and publican and adulterer repentant.
When, in a kind of spiritual horror, following the miracles of the Savior from afar and being touched by every feat of His earthly life, the author of the Canon reaches the terrible slaughter of Christ, the strength of his heart becomes impoverished and, together with all creation, he falls silent on the trembling Golgotha, at the last once exclaiming: My Judge and my Vedic, even if you come with the angels, judge the world of everything, with your merciful eye, then, having seen me, have mercy and have mercy on me, Jesus, who has sinned more than any human nature.
The Great Canon, moving us to repentance by all means, in the last troparia, as it were, reveals to us its “methodology”: how I talked with you, my soul, reminded you of the righteous of the Old Testament, and cited New Testament images for you as an example, and all in vain: they are not the same Thou, soul, was jealous of neither deed nor life: but woe to you, when you will be judged - woe to you when you appear in judgment!
Listening to the words of the Great Canon, peering into the history of the lives of people who fled from God, but were overtaken by Him, people who found themselves in the abyss, but whom God led out of there, let's think about how God brings each of us out of the abyss of sin and despair in order to that we may bear to Him the fruits of repentance.

A little about Canon itself.

The first week of Great Lent is notable for its particular severity, and at the same time, the Divine Liturgy for a special duration. On the first four days (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday) at Great Compline, Canon of St. Andrew of Crete with refrains to the verse: "Have mercy on me, God, have mercy on me". Canon of St. Andrew of Crete is also called the Great Penitential Canon, consists of 250 troparia (stanzas) and is considered the longest canon in existence. According to Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann, this canon “can be described as penitent lamentation, revealing to us the whole immensity, the whole abyss of sin, shaking the soul with despair, repentance and hope”.
This canon brings together the events of the Old Testament and New Testament history from the fall of the forefather Adam to the Ascension of Christ. The events are presented in the spirit of deep heartfelt contrition, with extraordinary skill applying each of them to the state of the soul of a sinner. Before the gaze of the sinner pass the faces, deeds and events of the world of the Old Testament and the New Testament, in which the meaning and power of sin, as well as the dignity of a righteous life, are reflected with special force; his attention is brought to the whole sacred history on the examples of piety and wickedness of its figures, their appeals to God and impenitence in sin. In addition to examples from sacred history The Canon provides a living example of the most extreme fall and rebellion in the person of the holy ascetic Mary of Egypt, who reached a high degree of perfection.

When the Canon of St. Andrew of Crete.

According to the Typicon, the Great Canon is read only during Great Lent, at Great Compline on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of the first week of Great Lent Canon of Andrew of Crete sung and read in parts. On Thursday morning of the fifth week of Great Lent Canon of Andrew of Crete sung and read in full.
At the divine service of Matins on Thursday of the fifth week of Great Lent, the life of St. Mary of Egypt. The reading of the life is divided by the singing of the Great Canon, at the end of each song of which the troparia of the corresponding song are added. Canon of Saint Mary(these troparia are added to To the penitential canon also on Wednesday and Thursday of the first week of Great Lent). For each troparion of the canon, it is necessary to make three bows to the earth.
You can listen and read the entire canon.

Saint Andrew of Crete. History reference.

Saint Andrew of Crete or Andrew of Jerusalem was born in 650 in Damascus in Christian family. The exact date of death has not been established (July 4, 712 or 726). Andrew of Crete was mute from birth to seven years of age. He miraculously healed by partaking of the sacrament. And from that time on, Andrei begins to study Holy Bible and theological sciences. At the age of fourteen he entered the monastery of the Monk Savva the Sanctified near Jerusalem, where he led a strict monastic life. Later, Andrei of Crete was appointed archdeacon and special envoy of the Patriarch of Jerusalem at the 6th Ecumenical Council. At the 6th Ecumenical Council, Andrew opposed heretical teachings, showing a comprehensive education, a deep knowledge of the dogmas of the Church and a high spirit of piety. Soon after the council, he was recalled from Jerusalem to Constantinople and appointed archdeacon at the church of Hagia Sophia.
During the reign of Emperor Justinian II, Andrew was ordained archbishop of the city of Gortyna in Crete, where his talent as a preacher and poet is revealed. The sermons of Andrew of Crete are distinguished by their high style and harmonious phrase, which allows us to speak of him as one of the outstanding church orators of the Byzantine era.

Andrew of Crete died on the island of Mytilene, returning to Crete from Constantinople, where he went on Church business. Later, the relics of Andrew of Crete were transferred to Constantinople.
According to historical sources, Andrei of Crete is known as the writer of texts and melos of irmos, self-voiced troparia and self-voiced stichera, which have been preserved in handwritten and printed Irmologies, Menaions, Triods, Stihirary, Theotokaria.
Apart from Great Penitential Canon Andrew of Crete owns the authorship of the canons on Nativity, Epiphany, Meeting, Annunciation, Easter, Transfiguration, Nativity of the Virgin, Conception of St. Anna, Nativity of John the Baptist, Beheading of John the Baptist, on the days of memory of the holy Maccabees, worship of the chains of the Apostle Peter, St. Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom and on the day of finding his relics , the Great Martyr George, the Martyr Kodrat, St. Ignatius the God-bearer, St. Thekla, St. Nicholas, St. Patapius, as well as canons, three odes, four odes and self-voiced stichera for many days of the Lenten and Color Triodion cycle. It is believed that St. Andrew of Crete invented, or at least first introduced into the Byzantine liturgical service, the very form of the canon.

Materials used:

- Prot. S. Slobodsky "God's Law" M.: Yauza-press, Lepta Kniga, Eksmo, 2008.
- from websites http://ru.wikipedia.org, http://azbyka.ru, http://www.predanie.ru Please enable JavaScript to view the

The canon of Andrew of Crete is written in the first person, which gives believers an idea of the events described through the prism of feelings and impressions. It belongs to church hymnography and is considered an amazing work glorifying the events of the Old and New Testaments.

According to the church charter, the entire text of the canon is read in the first week: one part for one divine service (on the days of the week), since it is extremely difficult to immediately endure reading the full work. On the fifth week, the canon is read again, but already in full for one service, because it is believed that by this time the souls of the parishioners have grown strong enough, and they are ready for this test and repentance.

Nowadays, it is easy to find a canon in Russian, for example, buy it in a church shop of any Orthodox church, which will allow you to read it at home, for example, if you cannot attend church.

It is worth noting: readings of this text are allowed at any time of the year, and not only during Great Lent. After all, repentance and a petition for mercy are needs that follow every believer all year round.

Saint Andrew of Crete - a short life

Born into a Christian family in the city of Damascus, Andrew was mute until the age of seven.

One day, his family went to church for communion, and there, after receiving the Holy Sacrament of Christ, Andrei miraculously found his voice and spoke. It was then that the boy chose the church path and began to study theology and Holy Scripture.

Already at the age of fourteen, Andrei was tonsured a monk in the monastery of Savva the Sanctified, he observed a strict routine and led a calm, chaste lifestyle.

Years later, St. Andrew was called to serve as archdeacon at the Church of St. Sophia in Constantinople, then he was already famous as a theologian and hymnographer. Moreover, he also wrote music for church prayers.

The Saint died on the island of Militina, and his relics were taken to Constantinople.

Prayer to Andrew of Crete

V Orthodox Church there is a Saint with the name Andrew of Crete, a reverend martyr whose feast day is celebrated on October 30.

This Holy Martyr should not be confused with Bishop and Saint Andrew of Crete, the author of the Great Penitential Canon.

Prayers to St. Andrew of Crete, as well as the troparion, which is read on the feast day of the Saint - July 17.

Akathist to Andrew of Crete

St. Andrew of Crete is the author of the Great Penitential Canon, read during Great Lent, the Paschal Canon, read on Bright Paschal Week, and the Canon to the Holy Martyrs 1,400 Infants, Killed at the Time and by Order of King Herod.

His Eminence Metropolitan John (Snychev) of St. Petersburg compiled, on the basis of the Penitential Canon of St. Andrew of Crete, the Akathist of the Penitent.

The text is not used for worship and is intended for prayer at home. This akathist helps to put in order thoughts, prayer petitions, images. This is no longer a laudatory song - the original purpose of the akathist, but repentance through prayer.

Conclusion

Great Lent is an important time in the life of all Orthodox Christians, this is the period when you need to ask for help and mercy from above, when you should forgive your loved ones and ask for forgiveness yourself.

Saint Andrew created a work that concentrated all the necessary words and feelings experienced by believers at the moment of repentance. This is a great word by which a person touches Divine grace.

The canon of St. Andrew of Crete is one of the greatest liturgical texts - a penitential canon that combines the interweaving of images of Holy Scripture, high poetry and an accurate portrait of a person.

Text of the Great Canon of Andrew of Crete, translation, AUDIO
- Translation into Russian
Contents of the canon
6 amazing facts about the canon of Andrew of Crete

In the first four days Great Lent at the evening service, the canon of St. Andrew of Crete. Grand canon Andrew Kritskog Oh - this is the miracle of all church hymnography, these are texts of amazing power and beauty. It begins with a text addressed to Christ: “Where shall I begin to weep for my accursed life of deeds? How shall I begin, O Christ, the present weeping?” - where should I start to repent, because it is so difficult.

“Come, wretched soul, with thy flesh. Confess to the builder of all ... ”- amazing words, here both Christian anthropology and asceticism: the flesh must also participate in repentance, as an integral part of human nature.

Text of the Great Canon of Andrew of Crete, translation, AUDIO

Full text of the Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete

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Canon of Andrew of Crete Monday
Canon of Andrew of Crete Tuesday the first week of Great Lent (text + audio)
Canon of Andrew of Crete Wednesday the first week of Great Lent (text + audio)
Canon of Andrew of Crete Thursday the first week of Great Lent (text + audio)
Canon of Andrew of Crete. Mariino standing (+ Audio + Video)

Recordings of the reading of the canon of St. Andrew of Crete

Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete - Reading at Sretensky Monastery (AUDIO)
The Great Penitential Canon of St. Andrew of Crete - read by Metropolitan Filaret of Minsk (AUDIO)
Great Canon of Andrew of Crete - read by Patriarch Pimen (AUDIO)

Translation into Russian

Canon of St. Andrew of Crete translated by Metropolitan Nikodim (Rotov)
Download Metropolitan Nikodim's translation PDF format

Parsing the text of the canon - interpretation of difficult passages

Through the pages of the canon of St. Andrei of Crete - an article by philologist L. Makarova

Reflections on the pages of the canon

Bishop Benjamin (Milov): Edification according to the "Great Canon" of St. Andrew, Archbishop of Crete
Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann: Lenten Wandering - Great Canon of Andrew of Crete
Nun Ignatia (Petrovskaya) Place of the Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete in the song-writing heritage of the Church
Hieromonk Dimitry Pershin On the canon of Andrei of Crete, aliens and brands of refrigerators (conversation + video)
Archpriest Nikolai Pogrebnyak Great Canon: history and iconographic parallels (reading the canon through icons)
Olivier Clement Canon of St. Andrew of Crete - the awakening of the soul
Archpriest Sergius Pravdolyubov On St. Andrew of Crete and his Great Canon
M.S. Krasovitskaya According to the pages of the Great Canon of Andrew of Crete. great post

Canon of Andrew of Crete in art

Canon of Andrew of Crete - song by Hieromonk Roman (Matyushin) !Recommended (AUDIO)
Canon of repentance of St. Andrew of Crete in verse transcription by Priest Gabriel of Pakat
Anna Akhmatova I listened to the canon of Andrew of Crete in this church…

Sermons after the canon of St. Andrew of Crete

Archpriest Valentin (Amphitheatrov) Sermons during the First Week of Great Lent
Hieromartyr Hilarion (Troitsky), Archbishop of Vereya On Wisdom. Meditation on two troparia of the Great Canon of Andrew of Crete
Archimandrite Kirill (Pavlov)
- Sermon on Tuesday of the 1st Week of Great Lent at Great Compline About fasting and its benefits
- Sermon on Wednesday of the 1st Week of Great Lent at Great Compline On fasting and repentance
- Sermon on Thursday of the 1st Week of Great Lent at Great Compline About fasting and its meaning

About the author of the Canon. About Andrew of Crete.

The Great Canon of Andrew of Crete deals with the repentance of the soul and the difficult path of the soul towards the Heavenly Father, towards God. The author of the canon wrote it in his declining years, having lived a long and difficult life. Andrew of Crete was born in Syria, in Damascus. He lived and worked in Syria, in Constantinople, in Crete. This poem is dedicated to the repentance of his own soul, but personal history is passed through the prism of the history of the Old and New Testaments. The great Christian theologian and author of many hymns, St. Andrew of Crete is best known for his penitential canon, which is read during Great Lent. At birth, Andrei of Crete could not speak, having communed the Holy Mysteries at the age of seven, he found his voice. As a teenager, he led the ascetic life of a monk in the monastery of St. Savva the Sanctified. Later he became archdeacon at the church of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople. His relics were transferred to Constantinople, but he died on the island of Lesbos, serving the Church and the Lord to the end.

Why is the Canon called Great?

The canon of Andrew of Crete contains about 250 verses, it is quite large in form and complex in content. In the original, the canon of Andrew of Crete was written in Greek, later it was translated into Church Slavonic, it is in this form that we hear it in the temple. Since much is done during the reading of the great canon. prostrations, it may seem that reading the canon is difficult primarily physically. But the essence of the canon of St. Andrew of Crete, of course, is not in physical, but in spiritual labor. There are many translations of the canon of Andrew of Crete. To understand not only the content of the canon, but also its meaning, it is best to read the Holy Scriptures. It is believed that they most fully reveal the whole horror of sin and the suffering of the soul affected by it.

The canon of Andrew of Crete is divided into four parts. This is a great poetic and theological work that prepares the faithful for the field of Great Lent. After all, the essence of fasting is not in limiting food, but in spiritual exercise, in learning to repent and pray. After each small verse, according to the established tradition, believers bow to the ground. The canon of Andrew of Crete consists of more than 250 stanzas. Its text is in the Lenten Triodion. The Great Canon of Andrew of Crete has been set to music and performed in polyphony.

When the Canon of Andrew of Crete is read

On the first week of Great Lent, the penitential canon of St. Andrew of Crete is read in the church for four days. At the center of Great Lent is the change of a person, change through repentance. Without repentance, spiritual life and the growth of the human spirit are impossible. Repentance for sin involves judging oneself, and judging oneself is difficult but necessary when it comes to spiritual growth.

Many Christians, who are called "neophytes", who have recently come to believe, come to the services of Great Lent. It seems difficult for them to endure a long penitential service, which speaks of the penitent and difficult path of the sinful human soul to the Perfect Creator. The practice of reading the canon was different in different ancient manuscripts. The Church divided the canon into four parts in order to gradually prepare a person for great repentance. If you read the entire canon at once, the feeling will be heavy. The Charter of the Church proposes to read the canon of Andrew of Crete in parts. But on Thursday (or Wednesday evening) of the fifth week of Great Lent, the canon of Andrew of Crete is read again, this time in its entirety. By this time, a person is already prepared for a long worship service, usually spiritually. As an example of great repentance, the life of Mary of Egypt is read. After all, it was Mary of Egypt who achieved holiness, having endured the great feat of repentance. The canon of Andrew of Crete reminds us of the power of God's grace, which purifies any heart. Even the one that, it would seem, is completely mired in sin.

The canon of Andrew of Crete can be read at home. A prayer book, like a book, appeared only in the 8th century. In ancient times, the canon of Andrew of Crete was read at home, especially, due to the huge amount of translation, it is possible to clarify the essence of phrases that are incomprehensible in Church Slavonic. If it is not possible to come to the temple, it is better to read the canon of St. Andrew of Crete at home than not to read at all. It will be quite appropriate. It is also allowed to read the canon in cell prayer at other times, not only during Great Lent. A feeling of repentance before the Lord, a desire to be cleansed from sin should accompany a Christian not only at certain times of the year.

6 amazing facts about the canon of Andrew of Crete

The Great Penitential Canon is an endless reason for wonder. Do you know that before it was read not at all in those days of fasting, what is it now? Moreover, that its creation has nothing to do with Great Lent at all? And one more thing - can you imagine how long the church service lasted in the 7th century?

1. The Great Canon of Penitence is not the only work of St. Andrew of Crete, he also owns the canons for the main Byzantine church holidays. In total, there are more than seventy canons attributed to the pen of St. Andrew of Crete.

2. Saint Andrew of Crete was not only a preacher(he owns whole line"words" - sermons) and a hymnographer, but also a melody. That is, the chants to which the words of the canon were sung were also originally invented by him.

3. Saint Andrew of Crete is considered inventor of the very form of the nine-part canon- a genre of church poetry, a kind of hymn-poem. As a genre, the canon replaced the kontakion, which in ancient times was also a multi-stanza poem.

In general, the services of that time were much longer. Thus, the Great Penitential Canon is by no means the most extensive in the work of Andrew of Crete. And, for example, only in the same 7th century, when the saint began to preach, did the form of the Six Psalms presumably take shape. Prior to that, during the service, the Psalter was read in full.

4. Until the 14th century, Russia adhered to the Studite Charter, which prescribed to sing the Great Penitential Canon on the Fifth Week of Great Lent. Sometimes the canon was divided into parts, sometimes it was entirely part of the Sunday church service. The tradition of singing the canon in parts during the first four days of Great Lent is provided for in the Jerusalem Rule.

When, in the 14th century, the Russian Church switched to the Jerusalem Rule, it appropriately adopted this tradition as well. The tradition of reading the canon on Thursday of the fifth week is of late origin.

5. Initially the Great Penitential Canon in general not connected with the time and services of the Fortecost. Some researchers believe that this work of St. Andrew arose as his dying autobiography, as a repentance for participating in the false council of 712. Then, under pressure from the heresiarch emperor, among other participants, the saint signed a condemnation of the decisions of VI Ecumenical Council.

A year later, the emperor was replaced, and all participants in the meeting repented, especially putting their signatures under the documents of the Ecumenical Council. But, apparently, the past act did not give the saint peace. And then he creates his extensive poem about human repentance and the path of man to God.

6. Parts into which the Great Penitential Canon is divided when performed on the first week of Great Lent, in Greek they are called "mephimons". However, in Russian everyday life this word was often pronounced as "efimons". The hero's trip to the "efimons" is described in the novel by I.S. Shmelev "Summer of the Lord"