2. Liturgical and ritual texts (Catholic) 28 I don't remember more sins. The final formula of the Catholic confession. ? Markiewicz, s. 502:29 Grant them eternal rest, O Lord, and let eternal light shine upon them! // Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis (lat.). Part of the funeral mass. Goes back to

Medieval Catholic collections of canon law In the Middle Ages, the basis for the codification of Roman Catholic church law was the work of the Bolognese monk Gratian, undertaken in the middle of the 12th century, "Concordantia discordantum canonum" (Agreement of inconsistent canons).

Establishment of the primacy of the popes in Western Christianity. In ancient Christianity, there was no primacy (from Latin primus - first, chief) of any one bishop in the church. At that time, the church was most likely a confederation of bishops. At the same time, there were attempts by the heads of the Roman church to impose their will on the churches of other territories of the empire.

In the context of changes in the political situation in the early Middle Ages, the role of influential bishops, including Rome, sharply increased.

At the same time, the popes sought to gain supreme power in the church. To do this, they skillfully used the fact that it was Rome that was considered the apostolic capital, for, according to legend, the first bishop of this city was St. Peter, whom Jesus Christ appointed as the head of the apostles. The popes of Rome significantly raised their authority in the church by their uncompromising struggle against heresies.

In 75o, Pepin the Short, at the request of the pope, defeated the Lombards who threatened Rome and presented the central part of Italy to the head of the Roman church. Thus the papal state was born. Shortly thereafter, a false edict of Emperor Constantine was drawn up. From this document it followed that as early as the beginning of the 4th c. Emperor Constantine gave the entire western part of the empire to the bishop of Rome and proclaimed him the spiritual head of all Christians. This forged document, known as the Gift of Constantine, was used by the popes not only to substantiate their claims to the primacy of the Christian Church, but also to expand their secular power.

In 1054, another conflict between the pope and the patriarch of Constantinople led to the final split of the church into Catholic and Orthodox.

The reason for the Great Schism of 1054 was a dispute over lands in southern Italy, formally belonging to Byzantium. Having learned that the Greek rite was being supplanted and forgotten there, Patriarch Michael Cerularius of Constantinople closed all the churches of the Latin rite in Constantinople. Meanwhile, papal ambassadors arrived in Constantinople, led by Cardinal Humbert. the patriarch did not accept them, but only presented written denunciations of the Latin rites. Humbert, in turn, accused the patriarch of several heresies, and on July 16, 1054, he arbitrarily declared an anathema to the patriarch and his followers. Michael Cerularius responded with a Council Decree (reproducing all the accusations of Photius in 867) and anathema to the entire embassy. Establishing the primacy of the popes in Western Christianity meant more than simply recognizing the pope as ruler of the church. At the same time, all differences between local churches in doctrine, worship, rituals, even in the clothes and hairstyles of priests were eliminated. All this from now on corresponded to the models of the Roman church.

The Catholic Church became a strictly centralized organization headed by the Pope, who led it as a sovereign monarch. Popes were titled "vicars of St. Peter "a with XIII c" and "vicars of Christ".

To manage the church, the popes created in Rome a numerous bureaucratic apparatus - curia) with hundreds of their priestly officials. The main role in the curia belonged to the cardinals - the highest persons in the Catholic Church after the pope. It was the college of cardinals who elected a new pope from among its members after the death of the previous one.

Next in the hierarchy of the clergy were archbishops, bishops, presbyters, deacons. Archbishops and bishops ruled dioceses - cer. forged provinces, into which the territories of all Catholic countries were divided. The presbyters were at the head of parishes - the lowest administrative church units. The deacons helped the presbyters and bishops in various areas of church life. Archbishops, bishops, and also abbots had to strictly follow the orders of the pope. Archbishops even took an oath of allegiance to the pope. The orders of the legates - papal envoys - were also obligatory for the local clergy.

During feudalization, the church became dependent on secular authorities. This process, with its attendant decline in morals and discipline, is often referred to as the "secularization of the church."

Part of the clergy and monasticism was aware of the perniciousness of such a path for the church, and from the 10th century. a movement to reform the church began. The main slogans of this movement were the demands for the independence of the church from secular authorities and the strengthening of the power of the pope.

The peak of the political power of the papacy was the XIII century. Then many monarchs of Europe recognized themselves as vassals of the popes (especially Innocent III). The political power of the papacy was undermined by the creation of centralized states in Europe. The clash of Pope Boniface VIII with a strong French monarchy ended with the defeat of the papacy and almost 70 years of Avignon "captivity" from the French kings. The decline of the papacy in the late Middle Ages led to the creation in a number of countries, for example, in England, France, of de facto national churches, the clergy of which were subordinate not so much to the popes of Rome as to their kings.

Church and culture. Against the background of the general decline of culture in the Western European early Middle Ages, churches, over time, and monasteries were centers of culture.

new time

Second floor. 15th century became the beginning of the transition of the Western world from feudalism to bourgeois society, and in church terms, the transition from medieval asceticism to the ideas of humanism.

Bologna, Vienna and Baseluniversities were considered the main centers of G.. The cultural center of the Renaissance was Florence, which gave the world many famous poets, writers, artists and sculptors. Duke Lorenzo Medici in this city created the conditions for the development of culture. It was with his light hand that Michelangelo, Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci and others became world famous authors.

Under Pope Nicholas V (1447-1455), a “golden age” began for Rome. An extensive architectural reconstruction in the Renaissance style is being carried out, and the Vatican Library is being created. The next humanist pope was Pius II (1458-1464).

Prior to the Reformation, the papal throne was alternately occupied by humanist popes and anti-humanist popes. Attention should be paid to "the darkest figure of the papacy ... whose reign was a misfortune to the Church." This is Alexander VI Borgia (1492-1503). The last of the Renaissance popes was Leo X (1513-1521) of the Medici dynasty.

In 1515, the pope issued a bull that allowed the sale of full indulgences in Germany. Luther opposed this bargaining, and having written 95 theses against the papacy and indulgences, he attached them to the doors of the cathedral on 31 Oct. 1517 The leaders of the Reformation created the fire of a religious war that engulfed not only Germany, but also adjacent states.

The Catholic Church found itself in a state of war with states in which Protestantism was firmly established and it was necessary for it to look for means for a successful struggle.

In December 1545, the pope convened an ecumenical council in Tridentecotor, which was supposed to work out tactics to combat the Reformation. The council confirmed the ecclesiastical supremacy of the pope, the institution of clergy, celibacy, the mass, the order of confession, and the veneration of saints. At the center of the discussion was the doctrine of justification. Salvation is given to people thanks to the merits of Christ, but faith is only the gate leading to salvation, the achievement of which still requires the mediation of the Church and active virtue. The number of sacraments and the doctrine of original sin were also approved, and thus the gap with the Protestants was further deepened.

The first round of struggle ended in 1555 with the proclamation of the Peace of Augsburg. Appeared the principle of whose state-of-that and religion. That is, the sovereign can determine the religious orientation in his land. Gentiles are given the right to emigrate. However, the counter-reformation was just beginning to take effect in full force.

The decisive moment of the open enmity between Catholics and Huguenots (Calvinists) in France is considered St. Bartholomew's Night on August 24. 1572, when in Paris the Catholics staged a bloody massacre without sparing the Protestants.

First half of the 18th century This is the era of religious wars in which almost all European powers took part. The 30-year war went on with varying success and ended with the Armistice of Westphalia in 1648. Religiously, freedom of confession and equality of rights for all believers were enshrined. The Catholic Church compensated for the lost territories at the expense of the missionary work of the Jesuits in America, already discovered in 1492.

Catholicism in the Age of Enlightenment.

After the Peace of Westphalia, the influence of the papacy in Europe declined markedly. In 1654 and 1658 The German Reichstag limited the rights of papal nuncios in the affairs of the empire, pointing out to them their immediate duties.

Papal rule and the Jesuit order are also criticized. The Enlightenment criticized the medieval world outlook, citing as an argument the achievements of science and technology.

The onset of a new time was demonstrated by the King of France, Louis XIV, the “Sun King”. In the field of domestic policy, unlimited absolutism (Gallicanism) and foreign policy, its European hegemony. The popes of that time were weak and could not outshine the “sun king”.

The Catholic Church at the end of the 18th - the first half of the 19th centuries.

The most famous and tragic event in Europe at the end of the XVIII century. is the bourgeois revolution in France in 1789. The RCC suffered a lot from it, because it had 10% of all land there and most of the clergy were from the nobility. In 1790, the National Assembly adopted a decree on the French nat. a church whose bishops are appointed by the secular authorities. During the Jacobin dictatorship of 40th. clerics left the country due to persecution. The Directory in 1796 proclaimed freedom of religion even further away from Rome. The new Pope Pius VII (1800-1823) was a supporter of a compromise and in 1801 the French Concordat was concluded, which saved the Catholic Church of France from final destruction. On December 2, 1804, Napoleon was crowned by the pope in Notre Dame, or rather, he received only anointing from the pope, and he himself took the crown from his hands and put it on his head. By humiliating the Pope in this way, Bonaparte showed that he would rule without regard to Rome.

The Russian campaign undermined Napoleon's strength and in 1814 he allowed Pius VII to return to Rome and set about restoring his state. The first thing he did was to recreate the Jesuit order. He then forbade Catholics from joining Masonic lodges. During the 100-day restoration of Napoleon, his troops again occupied the Church state and the pope fled to Genoa, but soon the Austrians crushed the uprising and Pius finally returned to Rome.

The Peace Congress of Vienna in 1815 dealt unjustly with the pope and Italy when it decided that part of their territories would pass into the hands of Austria. The reaction was the Italian liberation movement for the reunification of the country.

The era of Pope Pius IX. I Vatican Council.

Pope Pius IX (1846-1878) He first set about reorganizing the papal state. He announced an amnesty, lowered taxes, “cleaned up” the hierarchy.

In 1865, Pius IX creates a commission to prepare the Vatican Council, which will have to consider the issue of papal infallibility.

The cathedral was opened on 8 Dec. 1869 in St. Peter's. The Council worked for 4 sessions, between which commissions worked. The focus was on the draft constitution on papal infallibility or infallibility "Pastoraeternus". So the dogma was accepted by the council, but not accepted by many Catholics. The Council could not end as expected, because in October 1870, Italian troops captured the papal state and Rome. The bishops fled without closing the cathedral. The Parliament left the Pope the Vatican, the Lateran Palace, and the summer residence of Castel Gandolfo. The king moved his residence from Florence to Rome. The Pope declared himself a “prisoner of the Vatican” and took refuge behind the walls of the Vatican, offended by the whole world

Catholicism in the first half of the 20th century.

his successor Leo XIII (1878-1903) began to take steps to break out of this isolation. Neo-Thomism became the ideological basis of the new policy. Thanks to the philosophical and theological system of Thomas Aquinas, the pope once again showed the world that the power of the pope has theological foundations. In order to fix this, Leo XIII in the encyclical of 4 Aug. 1879 "AeterniPatris" declared Thomism the norm of Catholic theology. His teaching in theological schools became compulsory. The goal of Thomism was to use the achievements of science to strengthen the faith, making it more modern. Under this pope, many ecclesiastical and secular sciences flourished. The Vatican Library was reorganized and access to it was facilitated.

Under Leo XIII, Catholic missionary work was significantly intensified. It followed the colonial troops of various European powers and had good success relying on steel bayonets. The uprisings against the colonialists also brought damage to the missions.

In general, Leo XIII managed to bring the RCC out of political isolation and turn it towards the modern world. His undertakings became, as it were, a program of action for subsequent popes, and they carried it out in different ways, demonstrating either extreme conservatism or unbridled modernism.

The first half of the 20th century gave the world 4 popes, three of them bore the name "Pius": these are Pius X, Pius XI, Pius XII. Benedict XV "wedged" between the first two.

Holidays, rituals and sacraments in the life of Christians in Belarus Vereshchagina Alexandra Vladimirovna

1.3. Catholic holidays

1.3. Catholic holidays

Catholics celebrate holidays according to the Gregorian calendar, which was adopted in 1582 at the initiative of Pope Gregory XIII. The Roman Catholic liturgical year, which determines the place of religious holidays and worship, consists of 365 days (or 52 weeks). It contains two types of holidays: non-transitory and transitory. The former are assigned to certain dates of the year, the latter change their place in the civil (Gregorian) calendar every year. Passing holidays always fall in the spring season, depending on the date of the celebration of the main Christian Catholic holiday - Easter, the onset of which is calculated according to the lunar calendar. In total, the liturgical (causal) year is divided into three parts, each of which should remind believers of the most important events in church history. In addition to dividing the year into three parts, the church retains its division into weeks, each of which, in turn, is divided into days that are of particular importance to the church. So, Sunday is dedicated to the Holy Trinity, Monday - to the Holy Angels, Wednesday - St. Joseph, Thursday - memories of the torment of Jesus Christ, Friday is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin.

There is another classification of holidays in the Catholic calendar. All holidays are divided into four groups. The first, called "Dublicia primae classis", includes such holidays as the Nativity of Christ, Theophany (Baptism), the Annunciation, Easter, Ascension, Pentecost, the feast of the Body of the Lord, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, St. Joseph, the Nativity of the Forerunner, the holy apostles Peter and Paul, the Assumption of the Virgin, the feast of Her Immaculate Conception, the feast of All Saints, the day of the consecration of this church and the day of the temple feast, that is, that feast or saint's day to which the temple is dedicated.

The group "Dublicia secundae classis" includes the following holidays: the Circumcision of the Lord, the feast of the Holy Name of Jesus, the feast of the Holy Trinity, the feast of the Holy Blood of Jesus, the Finding of the Holy Cross, the Meeting, the Visitation of the Righteous Elizabeth by the Mother of God, the Nativity of the Virgin, the Seven Torments of the Virgin, etc. the category "Dublicia majora" includes: the Transfiguration of the Lord, the Exaltation of the Cross, the feast of the Carmel Mother of God, the feast of St. Guardian Angels, Beheading of John the Baptist, Conversion of Saul-Paul, St. Francis of Assisi and others. The Simplicia group includes all other holidays.

According to Catholic tradition, there are three most important holidays - Christmas, Easter and the Message of the Holy Spirit, which are joined by other holidays dedicated to the main Roman Catholic dogmas, events of church history and the memory of saints. The liturgical year begins with Advent, the period of Advent Lent (from Latin adventus - "coming"). It lasts about four weeks (that is, a full three weeks plus one to six days) from the first Sunday after St. Andrew (November 30). Catholics strictly observe fasting. At this time, believers eat only fasting dishes: fish, mushrooms, etc. Fasting should prepare believers for the festive celebrations of the Nativity of Christ on December 25, the most joyful and important in the Catholic calendar.

For Christmas (Kolyada), the family prepared in advance: they slaughtered a wild boar, made various meat dishes, the hostess cleaned the hut. According to the old Belarusian tradition, carols were called not only the Nativity of Christ, but also what they gave to a priest who, during the holidays, visited the homes of believers, regardless of their property or class affiliation. As the Belarusian ethnographer of the 19th century wrote. A. Kirkor, the priest visited every house, both the master's and the peasant's, from which they said: “priest edze pa kalendze”, “hadzits chi run on kalendze”. This meant collecting holiday offerings (mostly pork).

The Christmas holiday began on December 24 "cuzzoy". Having washed up the day before in the bath, after sunset the whole family gathered in the house. Hay was spread on the table, covered with a white tablecloth, pre-cooked dishes with buckwheat, barley, wheat, peas, rye, and pancakes were placed. Back in the 19th century a necessary accessory of kutya was a honey satiation. Kutia was on the table throughout the meal. Oatmeal jelly and satu were served at the end of the meal. Each dish of kutya was covered with a circle of payment with the image of the Savior, symbols of faith, the Mother of God and St. Joseph. The family meal began with a prayer. Everyone knelt down and prayed. Before sitting at the table, the hostess took payment, approached each of those present, starting with the owner, broke off a piece, and everyone ate the payment, congratulating each other on the holiday. In the interval between the meal, a stalk of hay was pulled out from under the tablecloth and, by its length, they tried to determine what the growth of flax would be. Nowadays, after a meal, they sing carol songs, they begin to decorate the Christmas tree with toys. On Kolyada, children received gifts "from St. Nicholas."

Since the time of Francis of Assisi (XIII century), in Catholic churches, including in Belarus, on a holiday, mangers have been exhibited for worship of believers - models in glassed boxes depicting a grotto. In the manger lies the baby Jesus, next to the Mother of God, Joseph, an angel, shepherds who came to worship, as well as animals - a bull, a donkey. Scenes from folk life are depicted: peasants in folk costumes are placed next to the holy family, etc. On Christmas, three festive liturgies (imshi) are held in churches: at midnight, in the morning and in the afternoon, which symbolizes the birth of Christ in the bosom of God the Father, in the womb Theotokos and in the soul of the believer. The Church teaches that the birth of Christ opened up the possibility of soul salvation and eternal life for every parishioner. The first festive liturgy usually takes place at midnight and is called “pastorkai” (pasterka), as it should recall those shepherdesses who first learned from the angel about the birth of Jesus and went to bow to Him. The second day of Christmas is dedicated to St. Stephen, the first martyr, and the third day - St. John the Apostle. During this day, wine is blessed in some Belarusian churches and given to parishioners to drink.

In general, customs dedicated to Christmas apply to all twelve days of the holiday (carol cycle). Separate days are distinguished in this cycle: December 28 - “the day of innocent babies”, according to the church canon, became a children's holiday; December 31 - St. Sylvester; January 1 is New Year's Day. Many folk rituals of New Year's Day coincide with Christmas ones. They believe that future well-being depends on how the new year is celebrated, therefore it is customary to arrange a gala dinner on New Year's Eve. On New Year's Eve, Kutya was repeated, with sausages and many other dishes, which is why its name "Shchodraya" came from.

On the eighth day of the Christmas holidays, a feast is celebrated in memory of the fact that the born Child of God received the name Jesus. From this holiday begins the secular New Year. In some churches, a solemn service is held to "thank God for all his favors and ask for blessings in the new year."

Catholics complete the winter cycle of holidays with the day of the Epiphany, or “Three Kings”, on January 6th. On the eve of the holiday, the third Kutia, "Lenten", is arranged, and until the evening blessing of the water, believers adhered to strict fasting. At the feast of the "Three Kings" in the church, the gospel event is remembered, when three kings from the east came to greet Christ. The celebration of the Epiphany consists in attending a solemn mass in the church and a family dinner after midnight. During the festive liturgy, gold, incense and myrrh are consecrated in memory of the gifts that three kings brought to Jesus in Bethlehem. In memory of the appearance of Christ to the pagans and the worship of the three kings, prayers of thanksgiving are performed in churches, gold is sacrificed to Christ as a king, incense is sacrificed to God, and myrrh is sacrificed to a man. According to the legend, "gold means mercy, incense - prayer, myrrh - peace." During the holiday, chalk is consecrated, with which, after the service, believers write the names of the three kings on the doors of their houses: K, M, V (Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar). It is believed that sprinkling houses with holy water and writing the names of the Magi with chalk will give believers "health to the body and salvation of the soul", and also protect them from the evil eye and witchcraft. Chalk was subsequently preserved for a whole year and used as a medicine, with wine, for diseases of the stomach.

In the following winter months, Catholics celebrate several holidays, including carnival, which culminates in the last three days before Lent - on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. February 2 is the feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin, which also has the name of the Mother of God

Gromnichnaya. During it, the priest consecrates wax candles, which are called loud and are lit during the procession. This holiday is also celebrated by the Orthodox on February 15th. The veneration of thunder candles and their use was almost the same among Catholics and Orthodox in Belarus. The tomb was used by the peasants as a talisman against witchcraft and witches, from the evil eye and diseases. For this, back in the 19th century. upon arrival from the church, the peasants lightly burned the hair on the head of all family members with a candle. The tomb was used as a talisman when a newborn was received by a midwife, at his baptism, during wedding ceremonies (conspiracy, planting the bride and groom), at the death of a person. Of particular importance was the thunderbolt, which was given into the hands of the dying. It was believed that she cleanses a person from earthly sins by burning them; brings the soul out of the body and shows it the way to heaven; scares away evil spirits; helps to extinguish the life of the dying; informs God about the death of a person. Many signs and beliefs were associated with the tomb. With the help of the tomb, they guessed (whose candle goes out first in the temple, he will die first). She served as a talisman for livestock, protecting her from cases and epizootics; protected a person from thunder and lightning. The peasants believed that the hut where the thunder was lit was protected from lightning, from divination, witches and sorcerers. The tomb was lit and fumigated with a person with various acute diseases. It was used on Grandfathers, on Kolyada and Baptism, at the first pasture of cattle in the field, during the bypass of residential and outbuildings on Kupala, Kolyada and Baptism; during the Easter meal.

On February 5, Belarusian Catholics celebrate St. Agates church worship and consecrate bread. February 11 is the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. On this day in the town of Lourdes in France, according to legend, the Mother of God miraculously appeared to the poor shepherdess Bernardette Soubirous. These phenomena were repeated 18 times, and in each of them the believers were called to prayer and repentance. On the same day, the World Day of the Sick is celebrated, established in 1992 by Pope John Paul II so that “the whole Church would focus on those who suffer in soul and body” and pray for their healing.

In the Catholic calendar, a group of holidays and ceremonies that precede the Easter holiday (“Vyalikzen”, “Velkanots”, “The Death of Christ”, “The Death of the Father of Pan IIsus”) is separately distinguished. First of all, these are those forty days that are called Great Lent. It was installed in memory of the forty-day fast of Jesus Christ in the desert. On Wednesday of the first week of Lent, on Popelets, before the divine service, the priest blesses the ashes and sprinkles the heads of the faithful with it, while saying: “Remember, man, that you rose from the earth and will become earth.” Catholics strictly adhere to a six-week fast. During this period, special services take place in the churches, which consist of “science”, pious songs about the torment of Jesus Christ (“Bitter Stings”), religious processions are held, called the “cross road” (stacii). During the fasting period, the feast of the Annunciation (March 25), dedicated to the Virgin Mary, is celebrated.

In Great Lent, divine services are celebrated in memory of the suffering and death of Christ, the theme of which is the earthly life of Jesus Christ, starting from his entry into Jerusalem. Every day of Holy Week is revered as "Great". The last Sunday before Easter is called Palm or Palm Sunday. On this day, believers bless the willow. Large branches are decorated with sweets, fruits, ribbons, and they are called "Vilna palm trees, rushchevki". Consecrated branches are attached to the head of the bed, at crucifixes, hearths, in stalls. Dried branches are stored and used as amulets during bad weather, thunderstorms, and diseases.

Churches are decorated on Holy Monday. On Good Friday, a special image of the resurrected Christ, myrrh-bearing women and an angel is installed. Bells are silent from Thursday to Saturday noon. The most mourning days are Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The behavior of believers in these days is determined by strict regulations. On Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of Holy Week there is a special service. On Maundy Thursday, the church commemorates the event dedicated to the sacrament of communion. On this day, in every church during the divine service, the faithful take communion (they receive the Holy Communion), and then the Holy Gifts are transferred with a procession to a special temple room. On Great, or Holy, Friday, believers remember the events associated with the suffering and death of Jesus Christ. During the service, the clothes of the clergy are black. There is no service on this day. The priest says prayers not only for Christians, but also for Jews, Muslims, infidels, for Christ died on the cross for all people. After these prayers, the rite of adoration (adoracija) is performed - worship of the cross. Then the priest takes the Holy Gifts to the coffin arranged in the church, symbolizing the coffin with the body of Christ.

Early in the morning on Great Saturday in churches, the first ceremony is the consecration of fire, which is lit in front of the church doors. After that, the priest returns to the church, where he blesses the paschal (paschal) - a large wax candle, and then blesses the water intended for baptism. The fire is carried around the houses and Easter candles are lit. Easter candle wax is considered miraculous, protecting from evil forces. In the evening on Holy Saturday or early in the morning on Easter Sunday, all churches serve a vigil service. This service is the main rite of the holiday and is called rezurekcija, which means "rising from the grave." The service consists of several psalms that are sung near the coffin, and a procession that goes around the church three times, and the faithful carry the symbols of the rite: the figures of the Savior and a cross tied with a red ribbon. Christians of the first centuries celebrated Easter for a whole week, but later in the Catholic Church only the first two days began to be considered holidays.

Easter dishes are also blessed on Holy Saturday. Eggs, bread, salt and other ritual dishes are brought to the church to consecrate (“sventsit”). After the service in the church, they start a meal and eat “svyantsonae”. Everyone breaks the fast with eggs first. The elder in the family cleans one of the consecrated eggs and cuts it into several pieces according to the number of family members present at the table. Each, having crossed himself, eats his piece with salt. Hard-boiled eggs, scrambled eggs, omelettes are the most important ritual Easter food. Eggs are preferred to be painted red, painted with a variety of techniques. Relatives and friends exchange colored eggs, godparents give them to their godchildren, girls give them to their beloved in exchange for willow. Then they move on to other dishes. For Easter, pies are baked, meat dishes are prepared: sausages, ham, “kvashanina”, etc.

19th century ethnographers noted that the Bright Sunday of Christ is a favorite holiday among the people. Mostly everyone adhered to the fast, so they looked forward to the holiday, for which each family tried to prepare all the “feasts”. The peasants needed the “svyantsonag” to have eggs painted with red paint, Easter cake, cheeses and sausages. The more prosperous peasants prepared pork meat, ham, etc. All this was put into boxes (baskets) and at night the believers went to the church, where after the all-night priest consecrated the "svyantsonae", part of which was left right there for the priest and a parable. The Great Night of the Catholics or the Great Day of the Orthodox of Belarus was accompanied by firing from a gun or mortar (ygots), and tar barrels were lit near the temple. The whole village was on its feet, joy and fun reigned everywhere. Upon returning home from the temple, each family began to break the fast, the hostess cut the egg into several pieces and served it to each of those present, and then proceeded to meat dishes and “garelka”. Previously, they celebrated four days, and the last day was called "ludovaga". Easter games were held in every village - beating and rolling eggs from popular prints, swings, singing drag songs, etc. .

At a meeting on this day, the following words of greeting are said: “Christus zmartvystal” (“Christ is risen”). To which they receive the answer: “Pravdzive has risen” (“Truly risen”). Easter is a favorite holiday among Catholics and is accompanied, in addition to a festive feast, with games, rituals, the exchange of gifts, mutual visits to relatives and guests. The holiday was especially bright and cheerful in the villages. Children visited their godparents, they were treated to treats, presented with gifts and always gave colored eggs. According to the description of modern ethnographers (T. A. Novogrodsky), among modern Easter entertainments, games with colored eggs are the most popular: they are thrown at each other, rolled along an inclined plane, broken, scattering the shell, etc. Adults and children fought with colored eggs into cue balls, rocked them from a shovel or from a hill, etc.

In the evening, drawers (“alalouniki”, “glukalniki”) walked around the yards and sang religious songs (“holy songs”). It was believed that rounds of yards bring fertility to livestock, productivity in the fields, protect the courtyard from various natural elements. Under the windows, the drawers sang songs in which the owner and his family were glorified. After the end of the song, the hosts treated them to eggs, sausage, pies and other Easter dishes. During the entire Easter week, they attend services in churches.

Forty days after Easter, the feast of the Ascension of the Lord is celebrated (“Adyhodu Panskaga da Neba”, Unebaustuplennie). On the altar during the service there is an Easter, which symbolizes Jesus and should remind of the gospel testimony of the ascension of Christ.

The third part of the Catholic year begins with the feast of the Holy Trinity (Pentecost, the Message of the Holy Spirit to the Apostles), which is celebrated on the fiftieth day after Easter. The holiday has another name - Green Christmastide, since on this day believers decorate temples and houses with greenery. On the eve of the holiday, a short fast is held, “so that believers are better prepared to receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit.” In the 19th century on Trinity at night was the first trip to the field of shepherds with horses. "Bedroomers" arranged a special meal, with fires lit, with scrambled eggs and games. An even more solemn holiday was held on the night of Spirits Day. According to the ancient custom, on the feast of the Trinity, not only the streets, houses inside and out are decorated with young birch trees, but even the horns of livestock are wrapped in greenery.

On the first Thursday after Pentecost, the great Catholic feast of the Body of God, or the Eucharist (Corpus Domini, Corpus Cristi) is celebrated. It was introduced into the Catholic calendar by Pope Urban IV in 1264 with a special bull to "oppose the godlessness and madness of heretics." This Catholic holiday is officially established in memory of the establishment by Jesus Christ of the sacrament of communion (Eucharist). The Catholic Church regards the Eucharist as a sacred gift left by Christ to its church. This holiday is solemnly celebrated by all Catholics. On this day, mass processions are organized to the sound of bells with laudatory hymns, with candles and banners in their hands. A priest walks at the head and carries a tabernacle “with Christ” under a canopy. The processions are arranged with special pomp, along the way garlands of flowers are stretched across the streets, the balconies of nearby houses are decorated with greenery, flowers and carpets, the road is covered with fresh flowers. The gospel is read at four altars in the open air, then everyone goes to the church for a festive liturgy.

In the Catholic calendar, a group of holidays established in honor of Jesus Christ, the Mother of God and the saints stands out. Among the holidays established in honor of Jesus are the feasts of the Heart of Jesus, the Name of Jesus, the Finding of the Holy Cross, the Exaltation of the Cross, and the Transfiguration of the Lord (in memory of the transfiguration of the Savior before the apostles on Mount Tabor).

The Feast of the Heart of Jesus Christ (“Naisvyatseyshaga Sertsa Pan Jesus”) is the personification of the Catholic cult of the Heart of Jesus, the first information about which dates back to the 11th-12th centuries. In 1765, Pope Clement XIII confirmed the existence of the feast of the Heart of Jesus, which is considered a symbol of the hope of every believer for salvation.

In honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Church dedicated every Saturday "and the whole most beautiful and pleasant month of the year - May." There is a cult of the Heart of Mary, which is a symbol of special love for Jesus and salvation, and the holiday is dedicated to it. The first information about this holiday dates back to the 12th century. On October 31, 1942, Pope Pius XII introduced the Feast of the Heart of the Virgin Mary in the Catholic Church and designated it the Saturday following the Feast of the Heart of Jesus.

In addition, believers celebrate several of the most important events in the life of the Virgin Mary and church traditions associated with her. On July 16, the Commemoration of the Most Holy Mary of Mount Carmel is celebrated (“Uspamin of the Most Holy Mary Panna from Gary Carmel”). The holiday also has the name of the Mother of God Scapular. It is considered the patronal feast of the Carmelites, since the monastic order takes its name from Mount Carmel, which was the first place dedicated to the Mother of God. In honor of the veneration of Her ascension, a chapel was erected on the slope of this mountain. This is the history of the holiday. In 1251 St. Shimon Stock from England, seeing the danger that threatened the Carmelite order, asked for help from the Most Holy Virgin. On the night of July 15-16, he had a vision: Mary, surrounded by angels, gave him a scapular and said that it was a symbol of salvation from danger and privilege for all Carmelites. Anyone who belongs to the fraternity of the scaplers wears a scapler day and night (an element of monks' outerwear, consisting of two connected pieces of fabric on which the name of the Virgin Mary is embroidered) or a scapular medallion, and also prays to the Virgin Mary and contributes to the expansion of her cult.

On August 15, the Church celebrates the feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary (“Unebaўzyatsya Dzeva Maryi, Matsi Bozhai Zelnay”). Christian theologians, based on the apocryphal cycle "Transitus Mariae", created a legend that the Mother of God, who died as an ordinary person and was buried in Gethsemane, miraculously ascended to heaven. According to legend, when the tomb of the Virgin Mary was opened, a bouquet of fresh roses was found instead of Her body. The holiday dedicated to this event was introduced only by the Eastern Church in the 6th century, when Emperor Maurice ordered on August 15 to celebrate the Ascension of the Virgin Mary throughout his state. The continuation was the issuance of a decree by Pope Pius XII on November 1, 1950. A dogma was announced according to which the Blessed Virgin, after the end of her earthly journey, was taken to heaven "with soul and body for the glory of heaven."

For Belarusian Catholics, this celebration is complemented by folk rituals, one of which is the blessing of plants (“zelak”). Hence the other name of the holiday - "Matsi Bozhai Zelnay". Church tradition has been leading this custom since the 10th century, but in fact it is of pagan origin. The church believes that the rite of blessing plants comes from a universal belief in the beneficial therapeutic effects of herbs. Believers begin to collect medicinal herbs only after July 15 and bring them to the church in the form of compositions, artistically designed, or Dozhin's wreaths. These consecrated wreaths are of great value in the minds of believers, since it is believed that they protect the economy from the elements and all evil, and also help in the event that “God forbid, someone is busy.”

On October 7, the Catholic Church celebrates the day dedicated to the Mother of God Ruzhantsova (“Uspamin Matsi Bozhai Ruzhantsovai”). The holiday was established in 1573 in honor of the victory over the Turks at the Battle of Lepanto (1571). In the comments of the Catholic calendar, it is explained that this holiday has long been celebrated with the help of a prayer (rouge), in which they meditated on the sacraments of life, torment and the ascension of Jesus Christ. St. Dominic (XII-XIII centuries). Ruzhanets (lat. rosarium - “a wreath of roses”) is a way of praying with the help of a rosary (beads strung on a thread). It has such a name, since, while saying a prayer, believers “bring the wreaths of our prayers to the Mother of God, just as they brought wreaths of roses to Her.” Ruzhanets is also understood as a double prayer: heart and mind, reflection and oral prayer. Prayer consists of reflections on 15 events from the life of Jesus and Mary, which are called "tayamnits" and at the same time saying 1 time the prayer "Oycha ours", 10 times "Vitai, Mary", 1 time "Praise to Aytsu" during meditation on each of 15 "tayamnits". Usually, believers strive every day to take turns pronouncing one of the parts of the rouge.

In the Catholic calendar, there are days dedicated to the memory of saints who were "distinguished by their holy way of life." The Church prays to the saints that they be the intercessors of believers before God, and also that they "call upon the faithful to follow them in a virtuous way of life." In the calendar of the Catholics of Belarus, the days dedicated to the memory of St. Joseph (Yazepa, March 19), St. John the Baptist (Jan Chrystitzel, June 24), St. Apostles Peter and Paul (June 29) and patrons of the Church, such as St. Casimir, patron of the Catholics of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In 1521, Pope Leo X declared Prince Casimir a saint. In 1602, Pope Clement XVIII confirmed the canonization of St. Casimir and the liturgy for his feast. This holiday ("fest") is celebrated on March 4 and is still held in Vilnius (Lithuania) very solemnly. Catholics from Belarus also take part in the holiday. The main patron of the Roman Catholic Church in Belarus is St. archangel Michael.

On November 1, the Church celebrates the feast of All Saints in order to “commemorate all the saints on one day, for there would not be enough days in the year to establish a special holiday for each saint.” The day after All Saints is celebrated as the Day of the Soul (a feast of commemoration of the dead), during which a solemn service is held for the souls of the dead (czyscowyja). The Catholic tradition teaches that believers should remember those who have passed away, but have not yet reached heavenly bliss, are in purgatory, where they must be cleansed of sins in torment. Prayers, good deeds, donations, repentance and other good deeds of the living can reduce the time spent and the torment of the soul in purgatory. A solemn mourning imsha (agzekwji) and a mourning procession depart on the Asylum Day. Believers - participants in the procession with prayers and chants (plaintive) are sent to the cemetery (often not only during the holiday itself, but also on the eve of it). They tidy up the graves, put candles on them, lay wreaths and flowers, and in prayers show their sadness for the dead. The whole family go to the cemetery, light candles, pray. Participation in the Day of Remembrance of the Dead is considered by the church as an important religious duty of believers.

On December 8, the church celebrates one of the main feasts of the Theotokos - the feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary (“Urachystast Bezzagannaga Pachazzya Holy Mary Panna”). The holiday was established as a result of the announcement on December 8, 1854 by Pope Pius IX of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary. The dogma says that "The Most Holy Virgin Mary from the first minute of her existence ... was protected from all stains of original sin." According to Catholic doctrine, Mary, conceived without sin, was pure and holy from the first minute of her existence, being the chosen one of the Heavenly Father. During the holiday, a solemn divine service is arranged and the hymn "Ave, Maria Stella!" .

Each parish has its own celebration of the consecration of the church - a fest. It is celebrated especially solemnly. Before the start of the construction of the church, the bishop or priest consecrates the place intended for the temple, and the corner stone, which is placed in the foundation. After the construction is completed, the church is consecrated. According to the doctrine, when celebrating this holiday, every believer "should remember the time when there was no veneration in the House of God." Festivals are especially solemnly held in the villages. So, in the village of Kovaltsy, Minsk region, a holiday dedicated to St. Rohu - the patron saint of the village and the savior from epidemic diseases. All the details of the ancient ritual have been preserved in the holiday - and the tradition of dressing up festively, gathering with the whole family at the festive table, and receiving guests. During the holiday, the whole village is surrounded by the icon of St. Roch. All believers who donate money and things to the shrine take part in the festive procession.

In modern Belarus, the tradition of venerating the miraculous icons of the Mother of God, to which the holidays are dedicated, has been renewed. On June 7, 1999, Pope John Paul II issued a decree on the coronation of miraculous icons that are revered by the Catholics of Belarus: the Brest, Logishin and Budslav icons of the Mother of God, Trokel (in the village of Trokeli, Voronovsky district, Grodno region) and Congregate (Student). The coronation of miraculous icons was accompanied by festive events all over Belarus. So, on June 30, 1996, the coronation of the Brest Icon of the Mother of God, which was performed by Cardinal K. Sventak, was attended by about 4 thousand believers from all over Belarus, as well as 1860 pilgrims from Poland. The coronation of the icon of the Congregational (Student) Mother of God, which is located in the Farny Church in Grodno, took place on August 28, 2005. The coronation of the Logishin Icon of the Mother of God solemnly took place on May 10, 1997, the Budslav Icon of the Mother of God - on July 2, 1998.

The Budslav church, which houses the glorified icon, was officially recognized by the Vatican as the main Catholic shrine of Belarus, and it was given the status of a minor basilica. In 1998, Cardinal Kazimir Sventak, Archbishop of Minsk and Mogilev, adorned the icon with a special papal crown. This solemn event took place on July 2 on a holiday dedicated to the miraculous icon, which annually gathers many pilgrims from Polotsk, Vitebsk, Baranovichi, Borisov and other cities of near and far abroad.

Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz of Minsk and Mogilev, Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Martin Vidowicz and all Catholic bishops of the country, as well as spiritual choirs were invited to participate in the traditional patronal feast on July 1–2, 2008, dedicated to the 10th anniversary of the coronation of the icon of the Mother of God of Budslau. About 30 thousand pilgrims from Minsk, Naroch, Zhodino, Rakov, Radoshkovichi, Vileika, Mogilev, Vitebsk and other settlements of Belarus on the evening of July 1 took part in the evening mass in front of the Budslav Bernardine Church in the Myadel district of the Minsk region. The largest group of pilgrims - about 1500 people - arrived at the sanctuary of the Mother of God of Budslav from the Vitebsk diocese. In addition, a group of bikers from Poland came to pray for the Belarusian Catholics. The holiday program included solemn masses, Mary's neshparas (glorifications of Jesus Christ and the Mother of God, during which the psalms are performed), akathist, veneration of the Holy Gifts, presentation of Holy Communion, processions and litanies to the Mother of God. A special feature of the celebrations in 2008 is the new prayer "Under the cover", which sounded on the night of July 1-2. The text of the prayer was found in the book of Elivtari Zelenkevich - the first book about Budslav, written in the second half of the 18th century. The faithful of the Greek Catholic Church also took part in the celebration. In his address to the pilgrims, Metropolitan of Minsk-Mogilev Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz called on the participants in the celebrations in Budslau to pray for the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Belarus.

The old traditions of veneration of miraculous icons and pilgrimages have been preserved. Many modern pilgrims make the long walk to the relic. For example, on June 27, 1998, the Minsk participants of the pilgrimage (“piligrymki”) to the Budslav shrine gathered in the Cathedral in order to begin the walking pilgrimage after the service and blessing. In total, there were 160 people in the column, at the head of which, according to the canonical tradition, they carried crosses and banners. The oldest pilgrim was 65 years old, the youngest was 6. Along the pilgrimage, at the entrance to each village, the pilgrims greeted the inhabitants and “glorified God with sonorous psalms to the guitar and tambourine.” Almost everywhere pilgrims were hospitably greeted and received for the night. The pilgrims walked 150 km.

As in the past centuries, pilgrims go to the shrines that have long been revered by Belarusian Catholics - to the Vilna Ostrobramskaya, Zhirovichi, Budslav, and Czestochowa icons of the Mother of God. The pilgrimages of the Catholics of Belarus to the holy places in Rome and Jerusalem have resumed. So, in October 1998, the first mass pilgrimage (after a long break in the Soviet period) of the Catholics of Belarus to the Vatican and their meeting with the Pope took place. About a thousand believers from different cities and towns of the country were able to receive the blessing of the Pope, and some of them even met him personally. John Paul II first spoke to the pilgrims in Polish, and then in Belarusian. Belarusian pilgrims presented the Pope with a copy of the icon of the Mother of God of Budslav, the main relic of Belarusian Catholics.

In the Catholic calendar, there are also so-called jubilee (holy) years - specially designated years of the anniversary celebrations of the Catholic Church, which are celebrated periodically. The Holy Year was celebrated for the first time in 1300 by the decree of Pope Boniface VIII. In that historical period, the jubilee year was to be celebrated every 100 years at the beginning of a new century. The Church attached special importance to it, connected with the remission of sins and the deliverance of believers from punishment for them in this world. Later it was decided to celebrate jubilee years every 50 years, then every 33 years (in memory of the earthly life of Christ). As a result, in 1470, Pope Paul II decreed that an ecclesiastical jubilee should be celebrated every 25 years so that each generation would have the opportunity to take part in the ecclesiastical jubilee. Thus, the tradition of celebrating a jubilee year every quarter of a century arose, which continues to this day. This tradition is complemented by specially appointed dates in memory of events in church history, for example, 1983 - in memory of the 1950th anniversary of the death and resurrection of the Savior, or 2000 - the year of the birth of Jesus. During the jubilee celebrations, the influx of pilgrims increases, especially to Rome, where, after performing certain ritual actions (visiting shrines, etc.), believers are given full remission of sins.

Festive action and celebrations in the Catholic Church usually accompany the following rites. These are divine services, the most important of which are neshpary (niespary), litanies (litanii), supplications (suplikacii), novenas (nowenny) and hours (hadzinki). Neshparami is a divine service that takes place in the evening. Neshpars "begin with the Lord's Prayer and the Angelic Greeting, and then proceed to the five psalms, a hymn and a prayer, which change every holiday." On the main holidays, for greater solemnity during imsha and neshpar, the Most Holy Sacrament is placed on the altar in a monstrance (a liturgical vessel in which hosts are kept - payments). At the same time, a supplication is sung - a prayer in which the priest, in turn with the faithful, asks God for mercy and protection from misfortunes. Litany means a prayer that the priest says together with the people. There are many litanies, but only the following prayers are said in the festive service: to Jesus Christ, to the Heart of Jesus, to the Mother of God, to All Saints and St. Joseph (since the beginning of the twentieth century).

Novena are prayers that are said for nine days in order to ask for the help of the Blessed Virgin or some saint. There is a divine service dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, which is called hours and is sung both in churches and in the homes of believers. There are several types of services dedicated to Jesus Christ: forty hours, “in honor of the Most Holy Sacrament”, the Road of the Cross. During the forty-hour service, the Most Holy Sacrament is exhibited. At this time, believers can receive absolution of sins - “release” (wodpust), if every day they are in the church, confess, take communion and pray.

There are rituals associated with the veneration of the cross and included in the festive ritual - this is the wearing by believers of a cross with the image of the crucified Jesus. Crosses are made in a variety of wood, stone, metal and are placed in churches, in the cemetery and along the roads. In Belarus, this custom is so widespread that even during the reign of atheism, the Soviet authorities could not destroy it. So, among the rural population of the Grodno region in the first half of the 1970s. the old tradition of putting up crosses near the roads was renewed: the old ones were updated, new ones were built. In the Grodno region, the crosses were made of metal pipes on a cement foundation, surrounded by a metal fence. Passing near the cross and the church, each believer must take off his hat in order to “salute honor to God” in this way.

During the holidays, other rituals are also performed - for example, the consecration of houses and churches, temple clothes and utensils, crosses, icons, medallions; Easter food, bread on St. Agate (February 5), flowers and fruits on the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, wreaths of greenery and flowers on the feast of the Body of God, water in the vigil of the Three Kings, wine on St. John the Apostle and others.