From henceforth ye shall see heaven opened (John 1:51), He Himself said, "only from the time of His coming to earth, of His suffering, death and resurrection. Yes, Jesus Christ – He alone opened the entrance to the Kingdom of Heaven for us – and what a free, one might say, spacious entrance! It includes not only the righteous, but also tax collectors, prostitutes, and repentant robbers. So great is the Lord in His mercy to the human race.

We know that just as in the Church on the days of the feast of the Resurrection of Christ the royal doors are opened, so during the entire time of God's grace, from the very moment of Christ's resurrection from the tomb, the doors of the glorious Kingdom of God are opened to us, the entrance to heaven itself is open to us, we know and thank our Benefactor God, we thank and pay attention to ourselves.

The entrance to the Kingdom of God is open, but only the worthy enter, those who diligently and with living faith receive the saving grace of God, who do not only look into the open gates of paradise, but also struggle, go to paradise, go to the fulfillment of the holy law of Christ, by good works, and by a corresponding Christian life. We do not rely on the fact that we are called Christians, that we are among the believers. Let us remember what the Lord said: Not everyone who says to Me, Lord! God! shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven (Matt. 7:21). Let us not lose our precious time for salvation, in which we can deserve and receive the Kingdom of Heaven that is given to us. After all, the celebration of the feast of Pascha does not always continue. Bright Week will pass, and the royal doors will be shut. So are the doors of the Kingdom of Heaven. Now they are open to us, and there will be a time when both the doors of repentance and the doors of God's mercy will be closed, they will be closed with the glorious coming of our Savior to earth, or with each of us' own death.

What does artos signify?

Among some of the rites and rites associated with the celebration of Pascha in the Orthodox Church is the use of artos. Artos, literally translated from Greek, means bread, and according to the church rule - a complete prosphora. The symbolic meaning of the artos is clearly revealed from the prayers that are supposed to be read for the blessing and breaking of the artos.

Invoking God's blessing on the consecrated artos, the priest in a prayerful appeal asks the Lord to heal every ailment and illness and to grant health to all who partake of this artos.

According to the current statute of the Orthodox Greek-Russian Church, the ecclesiastical use of the artos consists of the following. In accordance with the sign of Pascha, which unites the event of the death and resurrection of the Lord, either a cross crowned with thorns is inscribed on the artos, as a sign of Christ's victory over death, or an image of the Resurrection of Christ. Prepared in this way, it is brought to the altar on the very first day of Passover, and here on the altar it is placed in a special vessel called "panagiar". On the same day, after the ambo prayer, it is consecrated with the reading of the established prayer and sprinkling with holy water. Throughout Bright Week, the artos lies either in the altar or in the church on an analogion, specially built for this purpose, together with the icon of the Resurrection of Christ. During the procession of the cross, which is supposed to be held every day of Bright Week after Matins, but in parish churches it usually takes place after the Liturgy, with banners, images of the Resurrection of the Lord, the Mother of God, and the artos are carried around the church. In the monasteries, every day of Bright Week, in addition, the artos is brought in a solemn procession, with the icon of the Resurrection of Christ, lampadas, while all the bells are ringing and while singing "Christ is Risen", to the fraternal meal and is placed here on a specially prepared analogion. After the meal, there is the so-called elevation of the artos. During the elevation of the artos, the cellar says "Christ is risen" once; Then, making the sign of the artos in the form of a cross, he says: "We worship His Resurrection on the three days," and places the artos on the panagiar. Then everyone comes to the lectern on which the artos was placed and kisses the last one. After that, the artos, with the same solemnity with which it was brought to the refectory, is carried back to the church. On the last day of Bright Week, Saturday, the artos is solemnly broken after the Liturgy. In monasteries, this fragmentation is usually carried out in the following order: after the Liturgy, the artos is brought to the refectory, here they sing three times: "Christ is risen!", the Lord's Prayer is read, and then the priest pronounces a special prayer, and the broken artos is eaten by the brethren before the meal. "But," says the additional service book, "the priest can break the artos at the Liturgy according to the prayer before the ambo and distribute it to the faithful instead of the antidoron. Artos should not be kept all year round for any superstition." As for the historical origin of the rite with the artos in the Orthodox Church, it is necessary to mention this in connection with the history of the so-called "rite of the panagia". Panagia from Greek means "all-holy" or "most holy", which name is usually attached to the name of the Mother of God. The "rite of the panagia" is understood as the rite of exalting a special bread in the monastery refectory, after the table, in honor of the Mother of God. About the origin of this rite this is what our following psalter says. The Lord Jesus Christ, before His sufferings, had a meal with His disciples at the Last Supper, when He instituted the sacrament of the Eucharist, and after His resurrection He appeared more than once to bless their meal and even ate food with them. In remembrance of this, the Apostles had the custom of leaving the middle place at the table for the idle and placing a portion of the bread before it, as if for the Lord present among them. After the meal, they lifted up this bread with prayer and thanksgiving, saying: "Glory to Thee, O our God, glory to Thee! Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit! Great is the name of the Holy Trinity! After the day of the Ascension of the Lord, they said: "Great is the name of the Holy Trinity! Lord Jesus Christ, help us!" On the third day after the dormition of the Mother of God, when they, having been miraculously gathered together in one place for Her burial, began after the meal to make the usual offering of bread in honor of the Lord, and just now said: "Great is the name..." - suddenly the Mother of God appeared on a cloud with angels and said: "Rejoice, I am with you always." The disciples were amazed at such a miracle and instead of "Lord Jesus Christ...", they cried out: "Most Holy Mother of God, help us!" Then they went to the tomb, and not finding Her all-pure body in it, they were convinced of Her taking Her body with Her body to heaven. In remembrance of this, the "rite of the panagia" is usually performed at meals in monasteries; during Paschal Week, this rite receives its changes and is the rite of exaltation of the artos.

Why are there greenery and flowers in churches and in the hands of believers on the day of Pentecost?

Remembering the event of the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles, we have the custom of decorating the churches of God and our homes with verdant herbs and flowers. And we ourselves stand in the temple of God, having in our hands verdant branches of trees and fragrant flowers. And everywhere in the streets, squares and houses, we see the same decoration with flowers and tree branches. Where does this custom come from? Is it possible that this custom has been established and observed to this day in our Church without reason? No, nothing is done in our Orthodox Church without a reason. If you think about it and delve deeper into this pious custom, it has a deep meaning and significance. It is not without reason that it has been established for a long time and has been conducted in our Church since ancient times, because in our Church there is no custom that would not have any meaning and significance.

The custom of adorning our churches and dwellings on the feast of Pentecost is taken from the example of the patriarchal Church. For example, Abraham at the oak of Mamre, seeing three strangers, invites them to rest and offers them a hearty treat. According to the understanding of the divinely wise fathers, in the person of the three pilgrims the Lord Himself appeared to Abraham in three persons. Hence the ancient custom of depicting the three faces of the Holy Trinity on icons in the form of three pilgrims treated by Abraham under the shade of one of the trees of the oak grove of Mamre. As a result, the custom of decorating houses and churches with leafy branches and flowers on the feast of Pentecost was a remembrance of the appearance of the Most Holy Trinity to Abraham at the oak of Mamre. The churches and dwellings of Orthodox Christians, therefore, serve as an image of the tabernacle of Abraham, at which the three divine Travelers rested under the canopy of the oak of Mamre. Thus, looking at the plants and herbs that surround you on this feast in the temple and in your homes, transfer your thoughts to the appearance of the Triune God to Abraham. Reverently give thanks to the Lord God, Who appears to us in images accessible to our senses and so clearly approaches us, sinners, with such condescension that a person like us converses with God face to face.

We see the custom of decorating churches and houses with verdant herbs and flowers on the feast of Pentecost in another example of the Old Testament Church. On the feast of Pentecost, the Jews decorated their synagogues and houses with tree branches, herbs, and flowers, in remembrance of the fact that the law given by God on Mount Sinai was given at a time of the year when everything was green in nature. Moreover, during the wanderings of the Jews in the wilderness, they lived in tents made of tree branches. The Ten Commandments of the Sinai legislation are obligatory and necessary for us, Christians. Therefore, the pious custom of the Old Testament Church to decorate homes and synagogues with plants can easily be retained in our Christian Church, especially since the Upper Room, in which the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles on the day of Pentecost, according to the Old Testament custom, was also decorated with tree branches and flowers. Therefore, the apostles and the first Christians retained this custom in the Christian Church. This custom has come down to us in the same form as it was in the time of the apostles in the early Church.

The custom of decorating our homes with herbs and flowers on the feast of Pentecost is also found in the new example of the Church of the Old Testament. In it, on the feast of Pentecost, it was prescribed by law, as a sign of gratitude to God, to bring Him the first fruits of the harvest, which was ending in Palestine by that time. In the same way, in the Christian Church, the custom of bringing the first products of the vegetable kingdom to the temple at the beginning of spring has been preserved. This beautiful custom testifies to our desire to offer the Lord God a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving for the spring renewal of nature. In our church rule there is no prescription for the establishment of a special celebration on the occasion of the spring renewal of visible nature. But now the feast of Pentecost is approaching, so to speak, that time of the year when plant life in nature is in full force and freshness. And therefore the thought of the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles, which is commemorated on the present feast, will very clearly indicate to us the actions of the same Spirit of God in the realm of visible nature. As in the beginning, at the creation of the visible world, the Spirit of God hovered over the waters (Gen. 1:2), Who poured His life-giving power into the unformed substance of creation, so in the already created nature, everything that vegetates and lives vegetates and lives by the power of the same All-Holy Spirit: "After Thy Spirit, and they shall be built, and renew the face of the earth" (Psalm 103:30), says the Psalmist. Therefore, the custom of decorating churches and dwellings with verdant branches and flowers on the day of Pentecost expresses more eloquently than words the feelings of our praise and thanksgiving to the Spirit of God, Who renews the face of the earth. Thus, looking at the branches and flowers of the trees, let us always imagine that with these flowers and branches we offer as it were a sacrifice of thanksgiving, worthy of God, who renews the spring nature after a long winter sleep.