1. The historical-archaeological method of the science of Liturgics deals with the firmly established forms and structure of worship, which Liturgics must explain. The historical approach tries to indicate whence a certain form originates, how it changed, and when it was finally established. Using the historical-archaeological method, it is easier for us to understand the inner meaning of liturgical forms, which are confirmed by the authority of antiquity. Further, this approach highlights the gradual development and change of liturgical rites and hymns, church utensils, vestments, various styles of church building, icon painting, etc.

Although in some textbooks on Liturgics we encounter the view that church rites are equated with dogmas, since this or that form of worship, or this or that rite, became generally used as a result of a conciliar institution. But, nevertheless, we must bear in mind that church rites in general were created by history and they are subject to the laws of historical development. The internal life of the Holy Church was evoked by this or that custom, or rite, which, in the end, received ecclesiastical recognition.

For example, let us cite the explanation of the "Little Entrance" at the Liturgy, as we now interpret it. The Little Water signifies the procession of the Lord Jesus Christ to preach, and the lamp symbolizes the Holy Spirit. John the Baptist. In reality, however, the rite appeared first, and then its explanation. How did the small entrance appear? The Little Entrance is a historical phenomenon and was caused by the needs of the church life of that time. In ancient times, during the Little Entrance, the sacred vessels were transferred from the vessel, or deacon, to the church, for from this moment the most important part of the Liturgy actually began. Over time, this custom of need became a rite and then acquired a symbolic meaning.

2. The second approach, the statutory or ritualistic one, aims to study our Orthodox worship exclusively within the framework of the current church rule or Typikon, with the application of those rules and rites that we use and are guided by for the splendid, statutory and prayerful performance of divine services. It often happens that this is limited, and at the same time, if possible, it is also necessary to pay attention here to the history of the development of the Ustav itself, the Typicon, how it was gradually formed, enriched, and finally, how it was formed and established in its present form.

3. The theological approach to the science of Liturgics consists in considering Liturgics not only as a subject of historical or archaeological origin and content, and even not only as a set of rules governing the celebration of divine services at the direction of the Typikon, but in order to perceive the teaching on our worship and to treat it as a theological discipline. Why exactly should Liturgics be perceived in this way? Because the liturgical texts, especially the "Trinitarian" canons, vividly and figuratively tell us about the great truth of the "Triune Unity" of the Triune Divine Being; and the "Theotokos," among which the "dogmatics" stand out, tell us about the great mystery of the incarnation of the Son of God from the Bride and Most-Pure Virgin Mary, they speak of the dogma of the "ever-virginity" of the Most Holy Theotokos confessed by the Church, and contain other theological truths.

It should be noted that the liturgical texts contain a wealth of theological thought, especially on dogmatics, but also on moral theology, and on the basis of this material it would be possible to create an entire discipline called Liturgical Theology. Unfortunately, the liturgical material has been little studied and little developed in this direction. True, there are some works on this issue, for example, "Readings on Liturgical Theology" by Bishop Benjamin (Milov), Brussels 1977, "In the World of Prayer" by Protopresbyter Michael Pomazansky. Jordanville, N. I. 1957 and others.

Note: In 1961, the YMCA Press published the work of Fr. Archpriest. A. Schmemann: "Introduction to Liturgical Theology", Paris. The book is an "introduction" to the author's special course of liturgical theology. The author looks at this book as the initial stage in the creation of a special branch of Orthodox theological science, "Liturgical Theology."

Fr. A. Schmemann's work was given a detailed answer by Fr. Protopresbyter Michael Pomazansky in his article: "Ecumenics against the Background of Orthodox Liturgics." 1963. Jordanville, N.I.

Fr. M. Pomazansky writes: "We have dwelt on Fr. A. Schmemann's book in too much detail because in the future, the Orthodox reader will be given liturgical dogmatics, based on the views presented in this book. But if the foundations are so doubtful, can we be sure that the constructions will be made on them?... If we speak of divine services as members of the Orthodox Church, we must have inherent in the understanding of the history of our divine services and its external status quo, as the Church herself lives. This principle is fundamentally at odds with Western Protestant views... And if we keep the Orthodox Creed, if we confess that we are on the right dogmatic path, we must not doubt that both the direction of church life and the liturgical order that have been created on the basis of our Orthodox confession of faith are infallible and correct" (see page 18 of the said work).

The Subject and Task of the Liturgics

The task of liturgics is the scientific explanation of the external forms of worship established in Christianity. Liturgical forms can be considered: 1. from the side of dogmatic, symbolic, and moral; 2. from the practical point of view, to what extent certain forms of worship are applicable to life, and 3. from a historical point of view.

In Western Christianity, in Roman Catholic liturgy, a practical approach to the study of worship has been adopted. This is explained by the nature of Catholicism as a "religion of form". Until recently, Catholic liturgists did not give a complete idea of the liturgy and history. True, at the beginning of the century, some scholars began to systematize liturgical material on the basis of historical data. However, now the Catholic Church has embarked on a path of reform, after the 2nd Vatican Council, starting in the 60s of the twentieth century. Therefore, their divine services were reformed, new customs were introduced, the altar was moved to the middle of the church, the worshippers sit around, and the clergy stand or sit with their backs to the altar, facing the people. At such a service, not only the organ is used, but the use of the guitar and other instruments is allowed, and there are also vocal performances. Thus, Roman Catholicism followed the path of Protestantism. Roman Catholics can now disrupt worship at any time, depending on the circumstances. We know of the meetings of the Pope of Rome with various representatives of other faiths, he participated in prayers even with non-Christians, for example, with pagans, Jews and Mohammedans.

The theoretical approach is more accepted in Protestant liturgics. Protestantism has arrogated to itself the right to create different systems of worship, which are supposed to be in accordance with what is established by Christ and the Apostles, but they reject tradition and discard forms, considering them as ballast. Therefore, their services are expressed in meetings, in the reading of the Holy Scriptures, in sermons and in the singing of cantatas of spiritual verses. And in recent times, since Protestantism is inclined to unite with various denominations, their divine services have acquired the character of ecumenical prayers, where not only Christian confessions, but also non-Christian ones often participate in prayers. The so-called "ecumenical meetings" organized by the "World Council of Churches" lead to the organization of ecumenical prayers, in which, unfortunately, not only Protestants, sectarians and all sorts of other non-Christian religions often take part, but also some Orthodox participants in these meetings.

The main task of Orthodox Liturgics is to explain the liturgy of the Orthodox Church, i.e., to explain the composition and content of all types of worship. As Archimandrite Gabriel correctly points out: "In the explanations of the divine services, the idea must be clearly indicated that visible actions, things connected in order with the performance of this or that sacrament, are signs or instruments and conductors into our soul of the invisible grace of the Holy Spirit; whether the Liturgics will explain the composition and content of various kinds of prayers, the various hours of public worship, it should show that all these church services, in spite of their application to the various needs and circumstances of the earthly life of a Christian, have one main meaning, one essential goal, to detach us as often as possible from earthly vanity and to calm our mind and heart in God, to tear our spirit away from all earthly and worldly things as often as possible and to direct it to the heavenly and divine" (see Archimandrite Gabriel's "Guide to Liturgy," p. 14, Tver, 1886).