'The doors! The doors!'

[Marie-Duquette]

Peace of Christ be with all of us this day, dear members of MONACHOS!

Each time I am blessed to attend the Divine Liturgy, there are certain "words" which touch my heart and mind. Often I ponder these in prayer, search our the Writings of the Holy Fathers, the Scriptures, etc.

Today, I just simply wonder about the words that a pronounced or proclaimed by the Deacon before the CREED:

"The Doors! The Doors! Let us be attentive!"

We also pray: "Open to us the Gates of Salvation Oh Holy Mother of God!"

Are these to be the same "DOORS" or "GATES"?
Do any of the Fathers speak of these "Doors" and "Gates"?

Thank you for your responses,
marei_duquette

[Fr Raphael Vereshack]

Dear Marie,
Originally many of the deacons' exclamations were practical directions. In this case the direction was for the cathecumens to exit either the main part of the church for the narthex or to exit the church altogether.

The Fathers also gave a mystical interpretation to the exclamation so that the doors become the doors of the heart which should be sealed against all sinful or earthly thoughts.

In Christ- Fr Raphael

[Alex Haig]

"The Doors! The Doors! Let us be attentive!"

Before the Great Entrance the catechumens are dismissed. In earlier centuries they would have had to have left the Church and the doors would have been shut. This is an instruction to keep the doors shut so that only the faithful partake in the Anaphora (the prayers after the Creed asking for the bread and wine to be made into the Body and Blood of Christ) and Communion.

"Open to us the Gates of Salvation ..."

This is figurative. It is asking that Christ (or the Mother of God) "takes from us the spirit of laziness, despondancy, lust of power and idle talk" (Prayer of St Ephrem the Syrian) so that we may enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

With love in Christ

Alex

[Olga]

There was another practical reason for the exclamation "The doors, the doors!", which dates from the very earliest centuries when worship would be conducted in homes and other buildings. Not only, as Fr Raphael states, was it the means to "finalise" the exit of the catechumens, but also to prevent the forcible entry of non-believers into the house of worship at the most sacred part of the Liturgy. Often "hit squads" of persecutors would turn up, to desecrate or kill, so it was imperative that the place of worship be properly secured.

[Marie-Duquette]

Thank you all for your informative responses. I appreciate the practical aspects of putting a watch at the door of the Church at the most sacred parts of the Divine Liturgy, especially to stop the un-initiated, the persecutors, or the "roaring lion", our enemy to enter in.

In today's world where people come and go freely through "the doors", and at almost any time of the service, I appreciate the deeper understanding and the "mystical" aspect of the meaning for "the doors! the doors"; that is, like the Psalmist says, "put a watch over my lips" over the "door and opening of my heart." For, me this is certainly not only a disciplinary measure of vigilance and watchfulness in every day living, but one of true ascesis for growth in the Christian life.
I'm especially thinking of the Gospel Word concerning PRAYER: "when you pray, go into your inner room, or closet, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret."

marie_duquette

[M.C. Steenberg]

Earlier in this thread, Olga wrote:


There was another practical reason for the exclamation "The doors, the doors!", which dates from the very earliest centuries when worship would be conducted in homes and other buildings. Not only, as Fr Raphael states, was it the means to "finalise" the exit of the catechumens, but also to prevent the forcible entry of non-believers into the house of worship at the most sacred part of the Liturgy. Often "hit squads" of persecutors would turn up, to desecrate or kill, so it was imperative that the place of worship be properly secured.

I would be curious to know the dating of this introduction of this phrase into the liturgy. Do we know the century in which it became formally part of the standard liturgical text? And where?

I ask because, although the above reading sounds iteresting, on first consideration it seems improbable to me that the 'The doors! The doors!' phrase was standard in liturgical celebration until the fifth century or so, at which time the persecutions in a general sense had largely subsided; so I wonder if it did indeed have this meaning?

INXC, Matthew