On the Issue of the Сelebration of the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great on the Nativity of Christ and the Epiphany

Abstract

The liturgy of St. Basil the Great, according to the currently adopted Charter, is performed ten times a year in the Russian Orthodox Church. Two of them fall on the eve of two similar Holidays holidays — the Nativity of Christ and the Epiphany. However, in the case of coincidence of the reunion with Saturday or Sunday, the liturgy of St. Basil the Great is celebrated on the very day of the Feast. There is no direct answer to the question of why this happens in liturgical literature. The article gives an answer to this question from the standpoint of the logic of the liturgical charter. At the same time, the statutory status of liturgical ranks forming a difficult incident is considered. That is, the liturgical ranks of the Nativity of Christ and Epiphany are compared with the ranks of the Sabbath and Sunday. As a result of this comparison, it is concluded that, on the one hand, the reason for the transfer is the logic of the charter, which does not allow canceling the liturgical ranks of Saturdays and Sundays in favor of the holidays with lower statutes. And on the other hand, to completely abolish the liturgical features of the pre-celebrations of the Nativity of Christ and the Epiphany does not allow respect for the antiquity of these features.