The serving of the liturgy with open holy doors according to modern documents of the Russian Orthodox Church

The purpose of the article is to consider the issue of regulation by modern normative documents of the Russian Orthodox Church of the practice of serving the liturgy with the Holy Doors open. The relevance of the topic is due to the lack of research on this issue. The methodology of historical research and comparative analysis of documents is used. The novelty of the article lies in the comprehensive historical and practical coverage of this issue, in the possibility of its use in the development of amendments to existing church documents. The process of development of the regulation of service with open Holy Doors according to different editions of the Regulations on Awards of the Russian Orthodox Church in relation to persons in the rank of presbyter and to individual churches is considered. The content of other modern church documents on the application of such practice to certain persons and to certain holidays is revealed. Conclusions are drawn about the need to harmonize the Regulations on Church Awards with other documents, to eliminate some of its shortcomings, to expand the practice of serving the liturgy with open Holy Doors in relation to theological schools and individual holidays, and also about the trend of its gradual transformation into a generally accepted practice.