In the Chersonesse Monastery of St. Vladimir, Sebastopol, March 8, 2025
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Great Lent is a time of intensified prayer. You probably now feel just what prayer can be imparted to us by holy people and people of lofty ascetic life.
We have just now sung the fiftieth psalm. Perhaps many of you have just heard this chant for the first time. This music was written specifically for this psalm. Of course, we strive to pray deeply and sincerely to the Lord, reading in Church recitative1 or simply with our hearts this great prayer of repentance composed by King David. But the psalmist wrote specifically for singing—both the holy psalmist and the great choirmaster, the great church composer Archimandrite Matfey (Mormyl).
I thank the Lord that I was vouchsafed the opportunity to be acquainted with him. He was an absolutely amazing man. He lived in the “St. Sergius is Always Ready to Guide us, Even Today”The source of this spiritual power is here, on Makovets Hill. After all, it is no coincidence that many key events in our history were associated with the Holy Trinity–St. Sergius Lavra, with St. Sergius and with the power that has been poured out through him on our world and the people who come to him.
“>Holy Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra. He was a Cossack, enormous, strong, and with an amazing soul. He was a true monk—wise, discerning, humble, counting himself as nothing. He once said, “We strut around proudly—we’re priests! But who are we? Whited sepulchers (Matt. 23:27).” He was recalling the very Savior’s words regarding the Pharisees: outward comeliness, but inward filth! Sepulchers that are beautifully painted, as was customary with the Jews, but with rotting corpses inside.
Besides his lofty monastic life, Fr. Matfey brought to God and the Church his amazing hymnography. We all recall “O Russian Land”—that beautiful psalm of our own time, composed for the words of the holy 
St. Afanasy (Athanasius) Sakharov, Bishop of Kovrov, Confessor and HymnographerThe holy hierarch’s first arrest took place on March 30, 1922. This was the beginning of many years of prison trials for Vladyka Afanasy. Vladyka’s path from prison to prison and exile was endless and excruciating. Of the prisons, there were: Vladimir, Taganka in Moscow, Zyryansk, and Turukhansk. Of the camps, there were: Solovki, Belomor-Baltisk, Onega, Marii in Kemerovo province, Temnikov in Mordovia…
“>Hiero-Confessor Afanasy Sakharov.
From the artistic perspective, Fr. Matfey was a true genius—this absolutely self-deprecating man who lived many years in the Holy Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra. I was amazed at how in the hymn, “The fool has said in his heart, there is no God,” he deprived the fool’s words “there is no God” of musical harmony. That is, he left a gap in the sheet music under these words. And he left a footnote saying, “It is not appropriate to put the words of a fool to music.” That is how deeply he experienced and felt his faith!
But let’s return to theme of the tradition of psalm singing. Apostle Paul says, Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (Eph. 5:19–20). Isn’t it true today, as we hear not reading but wondrous singing of the psalm, we discover new facets of the profound, personal perception of King David’s penitent words?
And about yet another tradition—I invite all of us to return together to the tradition of observing the rubrics of the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts. I am talking about serving the The Liturgy of the Presanctified GiftsAmong the church services held during Lent, the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, performed on Wednesdays and Fridays, holds an important place.
“>Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts in the evening.
We have gotten used to serving all Liturgies in the morning—those of St. Basil the Great, St. John Chrysostom, and also the Presanctified Gifts of St. Gregory the Dialogist. This last liturgy was created precisely for evening services. It’s no accident that it is joined to the service that is called, “Vespers” (evening services). For the sake of someone’s convenience, the Vespers preceding the Presanctified Liturgy at one time began to be served in the morning. And so it went on.
But what if we start serving it as it is supposed to be served—in the evening? I remember how in Sretensky Monastery we first proposed serving the Presanctified Liturgy on Wednesday evenings. Everyone was displeased and skeptical!
But when I entered the church that evening, I was stunned! First of all, if before, at the Presanctified Liturgy served at 11:00 a.m. there were no more than a dozen or so worshippers—mainly retirees who didn’t work—then this time there were not only them but also two hundred of our young people and middle-aged parishioners who had come on a work day!
And we all received a reward: There was such a strong, prayerful atmosphere from the beginning to the end of the service!
Just as the fiftieth psalm, which received harmony combined with words and music as its creator King David has intended it, and became a real key to our hearts, opening up new feelings of stronger repentance, so also was the till now little-known Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, served as it was originally intended—in the evening—experienced in a completely different way! “O Gentle Light of the holy Glory of the Immortal Heavenly Father, Holy Blessed Jesus Christ, having come to the setting of the sun, having beheld the evening light, we praise the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, God. Meet it is at all times to be hymned with reverent voices, O Son of God, Giver of Life, wherefore the world doth glorify Thee.” The sun is setting, the day is past; we are weary; much of our earthly work is done. In the morning we were pressed by unresolved problems and cares, but now we can lay them all aside… We should definitely open to ourselves this door to a new spiritual experience!
But why only on Wednesday? What about Friday? On Friday evening we serve a parastas—a service for the dead. The service would be too long, and people would get tired. And why 6:00 p.m.? After all, our evening service usually starts at 5:00 p.m., even 4:00, and in some places even at 3:00.
I know all about it. That is the long tradition in this location. But not all traditions are the same! And what about all the thousands of people who work on the days that the Presanctified Liturgy is served in the morning? After all, many of our people here complain that they have NOT ONCE been able to come to the Presanctified Liturgy! Not once! “Tradition” deprived them of this astounding Church service, created and preserved by the Orthodox Church for their salvation!
This also applies to the Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete… In some churches it is begun at three, four, or five o’clock! Now, how many college students or working people among our brothers and sisters could make it to that service? Precious few! Again, a person may have lived twenty or thirty years of conscious church life and yet never attended the Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete—due to this reason. Or was never at the Presanctified Liturgy! Most people work till five o’clock. It is physically impossible for them to come to the service.
Thus, on Wednesdays we’re going to serve the Presanctified Liturgy in the evening, and on Fridays, in the morning. Come without fail after work. You simply cannot imagine the spiritual power of this prayerful service! But if you don’t experience it yourselves, you will never know.
As for receiving Communion: The rubrics call for a fast from 12:00 midnight. But for those who, due to poor health, cannot fast that long, from midnight to 6:00 p.m.: By special decision of the Synod of 1968, under Patriarch Alexiy I, it was allowed to fast from noon that day. Six hours of fasting is not such a terrible trial for us. But I repeat, for those who have strong physical health—from midnight. Those for whom this poses a problem—from noon.
Dear brothers and sisters! Fasting gives us a new personal and saving spiritual experience of prayer in our lives. May God preserve you all!
