all heard the word "canon".But few know what it means, what is the history of its origin.In West Semitic canon - a reed, cane.This has nothing to do with the present meaning of the word, is not it?Although in reality the most direct link can be traced.In the ancient world a certain length cane pole served as a benchmark measurement of land.And in modern times there is also a device that sets the rhythm and musical intervals.It is called the monochord, or canon.
gradually expanded meaning.Because the standard length measurements Canon has become a set of some well-established rules.They may relate to different areas of life and activities of people.For example, in the art canon - a set of specific rules of composition, image and so on. D. Another thing is that modernist art often departs from the form, protesting against them, breaks the established framework.The same applies to other areas: science, religion, ethics, aesthetics.We can say that this set of rules - the traditional nonnegotiable.Nevertheless, under the pressure of the innovators he occasionally changes.This is a prime example - the development of the canon of iconographic art.
In Christianity, especially in the Orthodox Church, the term acquired a much broader meaning.The most expansive - is a set of rules and dogmas of the church.There are Biblical canon - these are the books of the Old and New Testaments that the Church recognized the divinely inspired.And those of the gospel and other texts which are not included in this list are called apocrypha.There is also a Eucharistic canon, also called anaphora - clearly painted the rules of the liturgy.List of priests and monks of the Diocese also called a certain canon.The implication is that these people share the teachings of the faith and follow prescribed rules.Therefore, these servants of the Church has called canons.
But in Orthodoxy there is another meaning of the term, is absent in other Christian denominations.Canon - a genre of church poetry form hymnography.She appeared in the VII century.It was at that time the Church Fathers, such as St. John of Damascus, and Andrew of Crete, created the first canons.Since then, such chants and anthems become part of the liturgy Orthodox.They are read at Matins, Compline, Midnight Office, as well as church services.Laity prescribed before taking Communion to read on the eve of the canon of repentance to Jesus Christ and to the Mother of God and his angels.These hymns are read at home before going to bed.After pronouncing them can not eat anything because of the sacrament should be taken on an empty stomach.
Another canon of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary says, the priest faces the dying believer.This wording expresses the call to their seriously ill relatives to pray for his soul.This is not a prayer to heal the body, but a request to God and the saints to help overcome the soul dying posthumous ordeal, to forgive sins and to open the way to the gates of paradise.
