The desire to go to the temple often arises spontaneously and can appear both in the early morning and late in the evening. But the doors of not all churches at this moment may be open.
To prevent such a nuisance from happening, you need to know in advance the opening hours of a particular church. Most Orthodox churches are open to the public every day from 8:00 to 19:00. At this time, anyone can go there, pray, light candles and submit notes of health or repose. But depending on the importance of the church, its location and the number of priests serving in it, this schedule may change. This is especially true for rural parishes.
How do the churches in the villages work, or Why is it a luxury to go to the temple?
In remote villages and hamlets, churches are open to the public only on Sundays and only for a few hours. At this time, the priest conducts the Divine Liturgy, and after its completion he almost immediately closes the room.
However, such a temple sometimes opens its doors on a weekday, if an important church or local holiday falls on it. In this case, the church receives believers during the celebration of the Liturgy.
If the building is located relatively conveniently and the priest lives near the temple or on its territory, there will be no difficulties with visiting - the temple will be open every day (while the service can be held only once or several times a week, depending on the capabilities of the prior).
But there are situations when the entrance to the temple is partially or completely restricted, despite the fact that the room itself is actually open. This, first of all, concerns the holding of the services - weddings, christenings or funeral services.
City parishes: always open, open to everyone
A completely different situation with the work of churches is developing in megacities. Here they receive believers almost around the clock, starting from early morning (on average from 8 o'clock) and ending in the evening (about 19 o'clock). And in the case when a shrine is brought to the temple, it can even be open until late at night.
If you want to concentrate in silence, then it is better to choose a time when the church service is already over - for example, morning or afternoon hours. In these minutes, no one will be distracted by requests to pass candles, by a loud cough or something similar.
But if it turned out that the visit to the temple coincided with the service, and the soul asks for solitude, there is nothing to worry about. You can gently step aside so as not to interfere with anyone and not stand in the aisle, and spend as much time in the temple as necessary. For this, in large cathedrals there are side-altars - additional extension spaces.
If the problem is the opposite, and it is necessary to get to the service, then you need to find out what schedule of services is in effect in this church. The schedule can be quite different from each other and depends not only on the status of the church (for example, if it is a monastery, then services are held daily), but also on the number of priests serving in it.
The church service, which takes place in absolutely any church every week and which cannot be missed, is the Sunday Liturgy. The time of its beginning is determined by the abbot of each temple individually and can vary: for example, somewhere it starts from 6.30 to 7.30, and in other places - not earlier than 8 in the morning.
The service itself and the Communion are preceded by confession. It can begin with the Liturgy, or it can go the night before. It is also better to find out such details in advance.
If the parish is large enough, and more than two priests serve in it, on Sunday two liturgies are held at once - early and late. The first one begins at about 7 am, the second - immediately after the early one, at about 9. In addition to Sunday services in some large churches, Liturgy is also held on Saturdays and weekdays.
If we are talking about a monastery or the main cathedral of the city, services are held there, most likely, every day.
Despite the general features, the schedule of services and the opening hours of specific temples still differ from each other. Therefore, in order not to waste time, you should find the site of the parish on the Internet in advance and get acquainted with its operating hours.
If the page of the church is not issued by a search engine, it does not matter either - on the website of the local diocese you can always find out the phone number of the church and clarify all the details on it.
