Of course, during non-church worship, its perception will change somewhat. In church, we immerse ourselves in the prayerful and emotional perception of the spirit of the service, and for one reason or another we do not always delve into the textual and semantic meaning of the hymns performed—during home worship from books, it is easier to delve into the meaning of the words of the prayers and hymns being read. Therefore, it is useful for persons who are not members of the clergy to alternate attendance at church with the celebration of individual divine services at home to the best of their ability and ability. Such an alternation of church and home worship makes it possible to rise in religious prayerful knowledge on the wing of mystical feeling and on the wing of the mind.

In our time, when it is not always easy for one reason or another to regularly attend church services, it is very important to learn to be in the rhythm of church life with its feasts, liturgical circles, with its daily reading of the New Testament under any circumstances of life.

Place of worship

The Samaritan woman asked Christ, saying: "Our fathers worshipped on this mountain, but you (that is, the Jews – Auth.) say that the place where you should worship is in Jerusalem. Jesus said to her, "Believe me, the time is coming when you will not worship the Father < on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem... > The time will come, and has already come, when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such worshipers for Himself. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth" (John 4:20-24).

Ancient Christians gathered for worship in private homes, in caves and catacombs, later basilicas appeared, and the heyday of temple construction began in the era of Constantine.

In the decree of one of the local councils of the Russian Church it is said that "the community of Orthodox Christians unites around its pastor, who, with the permission of the diocesan bishop, can perform Divine services for it, not excluding the Liturgy, in a private house or other appropriate premises."

On the houses, the liturgy was celebrated by the Czech Orthodox Church, which was banned by the fascist occupiers [135]. You can conduct services in your home apartment, in the forest, in the field, in a cave and even in a hotel room.

In the preface to the Psalter, published with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Pimen of Moscow and All Russia (Moscow, 1973), it is said: "If a believer has not attended divine services in church, then he may include in his home rule either the psalms from the divine service, or in full, one or another daily service (except for the Divine Liturgy, which is celebrated only by a bishop or priest): matins and the first hour; the Third and Sixth Hours and the Pictorial Hours, the Ninth Hour and Vespers" (p. 7).

Any service is a meeting with God, so the room in which it is supposed to be celebrated should be cleaned as for the reception of a dear guest. If you don't have the strength to clean up the whole room, you need to clean up at least the corner in which the service is supposed to be held.

St. St. John Chrysostom in his discourse "On the Cross and the Thief" says: "... when Christ came <... > He cleansed the whole earth, made every place convenient for prayer; the whole earth has finally become a temple."

In family life, home worship helps to deepen the prayerful communion of spouses and include children in it. If there are children, a husband and wife often cannot go to church together. In this case, it would be good for the person who remains at home to read something from the divine service of the day, if he is not able to fulfill it completely. What to read depends on the books available at home, the time (children spinning under their feet, etc.), the strength and mood of the person praying.

Liturgical circles

Those who constantly go to church notice that the divine service consists of daily or weekly prayers and prayers repeated at regular intervals or read once a year. This is due to the fact that the divine service consists of several interconnected circles: daily, weekly, eight-voiced, annual movable and annual fixed.