Everyone has heard the word "canon". But few people know what it means, what is the history of its origin. In the West Semitic languages, the canon is reeds, reeds. This has nothing to do with the current meaning of the word, does it? Although in fact the connection can be traced the most direct.
In the ancient world, a reed pole of a certain length served as a standard for measuring land. And in modern times there is also a device that sets the rhythm and musical intervals. It is called monochord, or canon.
Gradually the meaning of the term expanded. From a standard for measuring length, the canon turned into a set of some well-established rules. They can relate to different areas of life and spheres of human activity. For example, in art, a canon is a set of certain rules for constructing a composition, image, etc. Another thing is that modernist art often departs from forms, protests against them, and breaks the established framework. The same applies to other areas: science, religion, ethics, aesthetics. We can say that this set of rules is traditional, non-negotiable. But nevertheless underpressure of innovators, it changes from time to time. A vivid example of this is the development of the canon of iconographic art.
In Christianity, especially in Orthodoxy, the term has acquired a particularly broad meaning. The most expansive is a set of church rules and dogmas. There is also the Biblical canon - these are the books of the Old and New Testaments that the Church recognized as divinely inspired. And those Gospels and other texts that are not included in this list are called Apocrypha. There is also the Eucharistic canon, also called the anaphora - clearly written rules for conducting the liturgy. The list of priests and monks of a particular diocese is also called a canon. It is assumed that these people share the teachings of the faith and follow the prescribed rules. Therefore, such ministers of the Church are also called canons.
But in Orthodoxy there is another meaning of this term, which is absent in other Christian denominations. Canon is a genre of church poetry, a form of hymnography. It appeared in the 7th century. It was at that time that such Church Fathers as John of Damascus and Andrew of Crete created the first canons. Since then, such chants and performances
hymns have firmly entered the liturgy of Orthodoxy. They are read at Matins, Compline, Midnight Office, and also in prayer services. The laity is instructed to read the canon of repentance to Jesus Christ, as well as to the Mother of God and their Guardian Angel, before taking communion the day before. These hymns are read at home before going to bed. After they are pronounced, nothing should be eaten, since the sacrament musttaken on an empty stomach.
Another canon to the Lord Jesus Christ and the Most Holy Theotokos is spoken by a priest on behalf of a dying believer. This wording expresses the call of a seriously ill patient to his loved ones to pray for his soul. This is not a prayer for the healing of the body, but a request to God and the saints to help the soul of the dying person overcome the posthumous trials, forgive all sins and open the way to the gates of heaven.
