Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Congratulations with the feast of the Resurrection of the Lord, the after-feast of Theophany, and the day of the memory of the Holy Martyr Tatiana!

More often than not, sermons focus on the Gospel reading and sometimes on the Epistle reading, the saint’s lives, the feastdays, or some text, be it from Holy Scripture or something composed especially for the divine services. Today, let’s not talk about a text that we hear at the service, but instead, about a liturgical action.

Not long after the beginning of each Divine Liturgy, the Small Entrance is performed, during which the altar servers bring out of the altar candles and liturgical fans and the deacons carry out the censor and the Holy Gospel. The priest follows after them. As soon as they exit the sanctuary, the priest blesses the main doorway into the altar (the Royal Gates) by making the sign of the cross with his hand and the deacon exclaims, “Wisdom, aright!” which means, “Everyone stand up straight and pay attention to that which is about to take place!” All those who had just left the altar return to the place which they had left only moments ago. Why is there such an ‘entrance’? Is there a practical reason for why it is preformed? How should we understand this liturgical procession in a spiritual or allegorical way? Today let’s try to answer these questions.

Many years ago, the Divine Liturgy began with the Small Entrance. The laity would gather on the porch or square in front of the church, where they would wait for the arrival of the clergy. The clergy would first gather in a separate building, the vestry, where the church vestments and everything else necessary for the services was kept for safekeeping. Here they would vest and gather everything needed for the first part of the Liturgy, especially the Gospel and Epistle books. Once ready, they processed to the porch of the church. Here the priests and the laity would meet and with singing would triumphantly enter the church together. The people would take their places in the nave, while the clergy continued into the altar. As you can see, originally the Small Entrance really was an entrance for everyone into the church. With time, the vestments, together with the liturgical books and objects, began to be kept not in a separate building, but in the altar. Various rites and hymns were added to the beginning of the service.

In our time, there are already no practical reasons for performing the Small Entrance, but there is a spiritual or allegorical understanding of this liturgical action and therefore it persists up to our own time. The whole of the Liturgy can be understood as a retelling of the life of our Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ in images and actions. The psalms sung at the beginning of the Liturgy remind us of the Old Testament and the preaching of the prophets. The Small Entrance represents the beginning of the earthly ministry of the Lord. The candle or candles which first come out of the altar for the entrance symbolize John the Forerunner. The Liturgical Gospel (that is, the book that contains within itself the teaching of Christ) as well as the singing of this teaching, i. e. the Beautitudes, of course represent Christ.

While the entrance is being performed, the priest silently says a short but beautiful prayer in which he prays that the angels would enter into the church with us and would pray with us. Without a doubt, the angels are always glorifying their Creator. There is even an understanding or a tradition that when we miss a church service without a reasonable excuse, our guardian angel leaves us without his protection and comes to church alone to glorify Christ. It is we, sinful people, who through our evil habits turn away from the Lord and forget to approach Him with praises. If it is important for us that this prayer of the priest during the Small Entrance be heard and that the angels always be with us, let each of us keep God’s commandments. If we live in such a manner, our guardian angel and other angles will of course come to us not only at the Small Entrance of the Divine Liturgy, but at all times when we are in need of their spiritual protection.

priest Alexis