If communion is on Sunday. How to properly prepare for the sacrament of communion in church

The Orthodox faith teaches Christians how to confess correctly. This ritual is associated with ancient events, when the Apostle Peter left the bishop’s house and retired into seclusion after realizing his sin before Christ. He denied the Lord and repented for it.

Likewise, each of us needs to realize our sins before the Lord and be able to present them to the priest in order to sincerely repent and receive forgiveness.

To learn how to confess correctly in church, it is necessary to prepare the soul and body, and then we will tell you how to do it.

Before you go to church, try to understand a few important points. Especially if you decide to confess for the first time. So, what questions most often arise in a person on the eve of confession?

When can I go to confession?

Confession means a sincere conversation with God through the mediation of a priest. According to church canons, people are attracted to confession from childhood, from the age of seven. Believers confess after the main service, near the lectern. People who decide to be baptized or get married also begin confession before God.

How often should you go to confession?

It depends on a person’s true desire and his personal willingness to talk openly about his sins. When a Christian came to confess for the first time, this does not mean that after that he became sinless. We all sin every day. Therefore, the awareness of our actions lies with us. Some people confess every month, some before major holidays, and some during Orthodox fasts and before their birthday. Here The main thing is to understand why I need this, what positive lesson this can teach me in the future.

How to confess, what to say?

Here it is important to address the priest sincerely, without false shame. What does this statement mean? A person who has decided to sincerely repent must not just list what sins he has committed in recent times, and even more so, immediately seek justification for them.

Remember, you came to church not to hide your bad deeds, but to to receive the blessing of the holy father and begin your new, spiritual life.

If you have been wanting to confess for a long time, you can calmly think about what to say to the priest at home in advance. Better yet, write it down on paper. Place the “10 Commandments” in front of you, remember the 7 deadly sins.

Don't forget that anger, adultery, pride, envy, and gluttony are also on this list. This also includes visiting fortune tellers and clairvoyants, watching television programs with inappropriate content.

How should you dress for confession?

The robe should be simple, meeting all the laws of Christianity. For women - a closed blouse, a skirt or dress no higher than the knee, and a headscarf is required. For men - trousers, shirt. Be sure to remove your headdress.

Is it possible to confess at home?

Of course, God hears our prayers everywhere and, as a rule, forgives us in case of true repentance. However in church we can receive that very grace-filled power, which will help us fight temptations in subsequent situations. We are embarking on the path of our spiritual rebirth. And this happens precisely during the Sacrament called confession.

How to confess for the first time?

The first confession, like all subsequent times when you decide to confess in church, requires some preparation.

First, you need to prepare yourself mentally. It would be right if you spend some time alone with yourself, turn to the Lord in prayer. It is also recommended to fast on the eve of confession. Confession is like a medicine that heals both body and soul. A person is spiritually reborn and comes to the Lord through forgiveness. You can start confession without communion, but your faith in the Lord must be unshakable.

Secondly, it is best to agree on the holding of the Sacrament of Confession in advance. On the appointed day, come to the church for the Divine service, and at the end of it, go to the lectern, where confession usually takes place.

1. Warn the priest that you will be making confession for the first time.
2. The priest will read opening prayers, which serve as some preparation for the personal repentance of each of those present (there may be several of them).
3. Next, everyone approaches the lectern where the icon or crucifix is ​​located and bows to the ground.
4. After this, a personal conversation between the priest and the confessor takes place.
5. When your turn comes, tell about your sins with sincere repentance, without going into unnecessary details and details.
6. You can write down on a piece of paper what you would like to say.
7. Do not be afraid and do not be embarrassed - Confession is given in order to gain God's grace, repent for what you have done and never repeat it again.
8. At the end of the conversation, the confessor kneels down, and the priest covers his head with an epitrachelion - a special fabric - and reads a prayer of permission.
9. After this, you must kiss the Holy Cross and the Gospel as a sign of love for the Lord.

How to take communion in church?

It is also very important for a modern person to know how to take communion in church, since the Sacrament of Communion in the Holy Chalice connects a Christian with God and strengthens true faith in Him. Communion was established by the Son of God himself. The Bible says that Jesus Christ blessed and divided the bread among His disciples. The apostles accepted the bread as the body of the Lord. Then Jesus divided the wine among the apostles, and they drank it as the blood of the Lord shed for the sins of mankind.

When going to church on the eve of a big holiday or before your name day, you need to know how to properly confess and receive communion. This spiritual sacrament plays the same important role in a person’s life as the rite of wedding or baptism. You are not supposed to take communion without confession because their relationship is very strong. Repentance or confession clears the conscience and makes our soul bright before the eyes of the Lord. That's why communion follows confession.

During confession, it is necessary to sincerely repent and decide to begin a humble, pious life in accordance with all Christian laws and rules. Communion, in turn, sends God's Grace to a person, revives his soul, strengthens his faith and heals his body.

How to prepare for the sacrament of communion?

1. Before communion it is necessary to pray fervently, read spiritual literature and keep a three-day fast.
2. The night before, it is recommended to attend the evening service, where you can also make confession.
3. On the day of communion, you must come to the morning Liturgy.
4. After singing the Lord's Prayer, the Holy Chalice is brought to the altar.
5. Children receive communion first, then adults.
6. You must approach the Chalice very carefully, crossing your arms over your chest (right over left).
7. Then the believer pronounces his Orthodox name and reverently accepts the Holy Gifts - drinks water or wine from the Chalice.
8. After which the bottom of the Cup should be kissed.

Living in modern society, every Orthodox person who wants to cleanse his soul and draw closer to the Lord should confess and receive communion from time to time.

Confession (repentance) is one of the seven Christian Sacraments, in which the penitent, confessing his sins to the priest, with visible forgiveness of sins (reading a prayer of absolution), is invisibly absolved from them. By the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. This sacrament was established by the Savior, who said to His disciples: “Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose (untie) on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Gospel of Matthew, chapter 18, verse 18). And in another place: “Receive the Holy Spirit: whose sins you forgive, their sins are forgiven; on whomever you leave it, it will remain on him” (Gospel of John, chapter 20, verses 22-23). The apostles transferred the power to “bind and loose” to their successors - the bishops, who in turn, when performing the Sacrament of ordination (priesthood), transfer this power to the priests.

The Holy Fathers call repentance the second baptism: if at baptism a person is cleansed from the power of original sin, transmitted to him at birth from our first parents Adam and Eve, then repentance washes him from the filth of his own sins, committed by him after the Sacrament of Baptism.

In order for the Sacrament of Repentance to be accomplished, the following are necessary on the part of the penitent: awareness of his sinfulness, sincere heartfelt repentance for his sins, the desire to leave the sin and not repeat it, faith in Jesus Christ and hope in His mercy, faith that the Sacrament of Confession has the power to cleanse and wash away, through the prayer of the priest, sincerely confessed sins.

The Apostle John says: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1st Epistle of John, chapter 1, verse 7). At the same time, you hear from many: “I don’t kill, I don’t steal, I don’t

I commit adultery, so what should I repent of?” But if we carefully study God’s commandments, we will discover that we sin against many of them. Conventionally, all sins committed by a person can be divided into three groups: sins against God, sins against neighbors and sins against oneself.

Ingratitude to God.

Disbelief. Doubt in faith. Justifying one's disbelief through an atheistic upbringing.

Apostasy, cowardly silence when the faith of Christ is blasphemed, not wearing a cross, visiting various sects.

Taking the name of God in vain (when the name of God is mentioned not in prayer or in pious conversation about Him).

Oath in the name of the Lord.

Fortune telling, treatment with whispering grandmothers, turning to psychics, reading books on black, white and other magic, reading and distributing occult literature and various false teachings.

Thoughts about suicide.

Playing cards and other gambling games.

Failure to comply with morning and evening prayer rules.

Failure to visit the temple of God on Sundays and holidays.

Failure to observe fasts on Wednesday and Friday, violation of other fasts established by the Church.

Careless (non-daily) reading of the Holy Scriptures and soul-helping literature.

Breaking vows made to God.

Despair in difficult situations and disbelief in God's Providence, fear of old age, poverty, illness.

Absent-mindedness during prayer, thoughts about everyday things during worship.

Condemnation of the Church and its ministers.

Addiction to various earthly things and pleasures.

Continuation of a sinful life in the sole hope of God’s mercy, that is, excessive trust in God.

It’s a waste of time watching TV shows and reading entertaining books to the detriment of time for prayer, reading the Gospel and spiritual literature.

Concealing sins during confession and unworthy communion of the Holy Mysteries.

Arrogance, self-reliance, i.e. excessive hope in one’s own strength and in someone else’s help, without trusting that everything is in God’s hands.

Raising children outside the Christian faith.

Hot temper, anger, irritability.

Arrogance.

Perjury.

Mockery.

Stinginess.

Non-repayment of debts.

Failure to pay money earned for work.

Failure to provide assistance to those in need.

Disrespect for parents, irritation with their old age.

Disrespect for elders.

Lack of diligence in your work.

Condemnation.

Appropriation of someone else's property is theft.

Quarrels with neighbors and neighbors.

Killing your child in the womb (abortion), inducing others to commit murder (abortion).

Murder with words is bringing a person through slander or condemnation to a painful state and even to death.

Drinking alcohol at funerals for the dead instead of intense prayer for them.

Verbosity, gossip, idle talk. ,

Reasonless laughter.

Foul language.

Self-love.

Doing good deeds for show.

Vanity.

The desire to get rich.

Love of money.

Envy.

Drunkenness, drug use.

Gluttony.

Fornication - inciting lustful thoughts, unclean desires, lustful touching, watching erotic films and reading such books.

Fornication is the physical intimacy of persons not related by marriage.

Adultery is a violation of marital fidelity.

Unnatural fornication - physical intimacy between persons of the same sex, masturbation.

Incest is physical intimacy with relatives or nepotism.

Although the above sins are conditionally divided into three parts, ultimately they are all sins both against God (since they violate His commandments and thereby offend Him) and against their neighbors (since they do not allow true Christian relationships and love to be revealed ), and against themselves (because they interfere with the salvific dispensation of the soul).

Anyone who wants to repent before God for their sins must prepare for the Sacrament of Confession. You need to prepare for confession in advance: it is advisable to read literature on the Sacraments of Confession and Communion, remember all your sins, you can write them down on

a separate piece of paper to look through before confession. Sometimes a piece of paper with the listed sins is given to the confessor to read, but the sins that especially burden the soul must be told out loud. There is no need to tell the confessor long stories; it is enough to state the sin itself. For example, if you are at enmity with relatives or neighbors, you do not need to tell what caused this enmity - you need to repent of the very sin of judging your relatives or neighbors. What is important to God and the confessor is not the list of sins, but the repentant feeling of the person being confessed, not detailed stories, but a contrite heart. We must remember that confession is not only an awareness of one’s own shortcomings, but, above all, a thirst to be cleansed of them.

In no case is it acceptable to justify yourself - this is no longer repentance! Elder Silouan of Athos explains what real repentance is: “This is a sign of the forgiveness of sins: if you hated sin, then the Lord forgave you your sins.”

It is good to develop the habit of analyzing the past day every evening and bringing daily repentance before God, writing down serious sins for future confession with your confessor.

Children under seven years of age (in the Church they are called babies) begin the Sacrament of Communion without prior confession, but it is necessary from early childhood to develop in children a sense of reverence for this great

Sacrament. Frequent communion without proper preparation can develop in children an undesirable sense of the ordinariness of what is happening. It is advisable to prepare infants 2-3 days in advance for the upcoming Communion: read the Gospel, lives of saints, and other soul-helping books with them, reduce, or better yet completely eliminate, television viewing (but this must be done very tactfully, without developing negative associations in the child with preparation for Communion ), follow their prayer in the morning and before bed, talk with the child about the past days and lead him to a feeling of shame for his own misdeeds. The main thing to remember is that there is nothing more effective for a child than the personal example of parents.

Starting from the age of seven, children (adolescents) begin the Sacrament of Communion, like adults, only after first performing the Sacrament of Confession. In many ways, the sins listed in the previous sections are also inherent in children, but still, children's confession has its own characteristics.

To motivate children to sincere repentance, you can pray for them to read the following list of possible sins:

Did you lie in bed in the morning and therefore skip the morning prayer rule?

Did you not sit down at the table without praying and did you not go to bed without praying?

Do you know by heart the most important Orthodox prayers: “Our Father”, “Jesus Prayer”, “Rejoice to the Virgin Mary”, a prayer to your Heavenly patron, whose name you bear?

Did you go to church every Sunday?

Have you been carried away by various amusements on church holidays instead of visiting the temple of God?

Did you behave properly at church services, did you not run around the church, did you not have empty conversations with your peers, thereby leading them into temptation?

Did you pronounce the name of God unnecessarily?

Are you performing the sign of the cross correctly, are you not in a hurry, are you not distorting the sign of the cross?

Were you distracted by extraneous thoughts while praying?

Do you read the Gospel and other spiritual books?

Do you wear a pectoral cross and are you not embarrassed by it?

Aren't you using a cross as a decoration, which is sinful?

Do you wear various amulets, for example, zodiac signs?

Didn’t you tell fortunes, didn’t you tell fortunes?

Were you not proud of yourself and others of your successes and abilities?

Have you ever argued with someone just to gain the upper hand in the argument?

Did you deceive your parents for fear of being punished?

During Lent, did you eat something like ice cream without your parents’ permission?

Did you listen to your parents, didn’t you argue with them, didn’t you demand an expensive purchase from them?

Have you ever beaten anyone? Did he incite others to do this?

Did you offend the younger ones?

Did you torture animals?

Did you gossip about anyone, did you snitch on anyone?

Have you ever laughed at people with any physical disabilities?

Have you tried smoking, drinking, sniffing glue or using drugs?

Didn't he use foul language?

Didn't you play cards?

Have you ever engaged in handjobs?

Did you appropriate someone else's property for yourself?

Have you ever had the habit of taking without asking what does not belong to you?

Weren't you too lazy to help your parents around the house?

Was he pretending to be sick to evade his responsibilities?

Were you jealous of others?

The above list is only a general outline of possible sins. Each child may have his own, individual experiences associated with specific cases. The task of parents is to prepare the child for repentant feelings before the Sacrament of Confession. You can advise him to remember his misdeeds committed after the last confession, write his sins on a piece of paper, but you should not do this for him. The main thing: the child must understand that the Sacrament of Confession is a Sacrament that cleanses the soul from sins, subject to sincere, sincere repentance and the desire not to repeat them again.

Confession is performed in churches either in the evening after the evening service, or in the morning before the start of the liturgy. Under no circumstances should you be late for the start of confession, since the Sacrament begins with the reading of the rite, in which everyone who wishes to confess must prayerfully participate. When reading the rite, the priest turns to the penitents so that they say their names - everyone answers in an undertone. Those who are late for the start of confession are not allowed to the Sacrament; the priest, if there is such an opportunity, at the end of confession reads the rite for them again and accepts confession, or schedules it for another day. Women cannot begin the Sacrament of Repentance during the period of monthly cleansing.

Confession usually takes place in a church with a crowd of people, so you need to respect the secret of confession, not crowd next to the priest receiving confession, and not embarrass the person confessing, revealing his sins to the priest.

Confession must be complete. You cannot confess some sins first and leave others for next time. Those sins that the penitent confessed in pre-

previous confessions and those that were already released to him are not mentioned again. If possible, you should confess to the same confessor. You should not, having a permanent confessor, look for another to confess your sins, which a feeling of false shame prevents your familiar confessor from revealing.

Those who do this by their actions try to deceive God Himself: in confession we confess our sins not to our confessor, but together with him to the Savior Himself.

In large churches, due to the large number of penitents and the impossibility of the priest to accept confession from everyone, a “general confession” is usually practiced, when the priest lists out loud the most common sins and the confessors standing in front of him repent of them, after which everyone, in turn, comes up for a prayer of absolution . Those who have never been to confession or have not gone to confession for several years should avoid general confession. Such people must undergo private confession - for which they need to choose either a weekday, when there are not many people confessing in the church, or find a parish where only private confession is performed.

In some cases, the priest may impose penance on the penitent - spiritual exercises intended to deepen repentance and eradicate sinful habits. Penance must be treated as the will of God, expressed through the priest, requiring mandatory fulfillment for the healing of the soul of the penitent. If it is impossible for various reasons to perform penance, you should contact the priest who imposed it to resolve the difficulties that have arisen.

Those who wish not only to confess, but also to receive communion, must prepare worthily and in accordance with the requirements of the Church for the Sacrament of Communion.

This preparation is called fasting.

The days of fasting usually last a week, in extreme cases - three days. Fasting is prescribed on these days. Meal food is excluded from the diet - meat, dairy products, eggs, and on days of strict fasting - fish. Spouses refrain from physical intimacy. The family refuses entertainment and watching television. If circumstances permit, you should attend church services on these days. The morning and evening prayer rules are followed more diligently, with the addition of the reading of the Penitential Canon.

Regardless of when the Sacrament of Confession is celebrated in the church - in the evening or in the morning, it is necessary to attend the evening service on the eve of communion.

In the evening, before reading prayers for bedtime, three canons are read: Repentance to our Lord Jesus Christ, Mother of God, Guardian Angel. You can read each canon separately, or use prayer books where these three canons are combined. Then the canon for Holy Communion is read before the prayers for Holy Communion, which are read in the morning. For those who find it difficult to perform such a prayer rule in

For some, it is very difficult to read the necessary canons and prayers. For this reason, others do not confess or receive communion for years.

Many people confuse preparation for confession (which does not require such a large volume of prayers read) and preparation for communion. Such people can be recommended to begin the Sacraments of Confession and Communion in stages. First, you need to properly prepare for confession and, when confessing your sins, ask your confessor for advice. We need to pray to the Lord to help us overcome difficulties and give us strength to adequately prepare for the Sacrament of Communion.

Since it is customary to begin the Sacrament of Communion on an empty stomach, from twelve o'clock at night they no longer eat or drink (smokers do not smoke). The exception is infants (children under seven years of age).

But children from a certain age (starting from 5-6 years, and if possible earlier) must be accustomed to the existing rule.

In the morning, they also don’t eat or drink anything and, of course, don’t smoke, you can only brush your teeth. After reading the morning prayers, prayers for Holy Communion are read. If reading prayers for Holy Communion in the morning is difficult, then you need to take a blessing from the priest to read them the evening before. If confession is performed in the church in the morning, you must arrive on time, before confession begins. If confession was made the night before, then the person confessing comes to the beginning of the service and prays with everyone.

Communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ is necessary to enter eternal life.

The Savior Himself speaks about this: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink His Blood, you will not have life in you.

He who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day...” (Gospel of John, chapter 6, verses 53 - 54).

The Sacrament of Communion is incomprehensibly great, and therefore requires preliminary cleansing by the Sacrament of Repentance; the only exception is infants under seven years of age, who receive communion without the preparation required for the laity. Women need to wipe off lipstick from their lips. Women should not receive communion during the period of monthly cleansing. Women after childbirth are allowed to take communion only after the cleansing prayer of the fortieth day is read over them.

After receiving the warmth, the communicants do not leave the church and pray with everyone until the end of the service. After the emptiness (the final words of the service), the communicants approach the Cross and listen carefully to the prayers of thanksgiving after Holy Communion. After listening to the prayers, the communicants ceremoniously disperse, trying to preserve the purity of their souls, cleansed of sins, for as long as possible, without wasting time on empty talk and deeds that are not good for the soul. On the day after communion of the Holy Mysteries, bows to the ground are not made, and when the priest gives a blessing, they are not applied to the hand.

You can only venerate icons, the Cross and the Gospel. The rest of the day must be spent piously: avoid verbosity (it is better to remain silent in general), watch TV, exclude marital intimacy, it is advisable for smokers to abstain from smoking.

It is advisable to read prayers of thanksgiving at home after Holy Communion. It is a prejudice that you cannot shake hands on the day of communion. Under no circumstances should you receive communion several times in one day.

In cases of illness and infirmity, you can receive communion at home. For this purpose, a priest is invited to the house. Depending

Based on his condition, the sick person is adequately prepared for confession and communion. In any case, he can receive communion only on an empty stomach (with the exception of dying people). Children under seven years of age do not receive communion at home, since they, unlike adults, can only receive communion with the Blood of Christ, and the reserve Gifts with which the priest administers communion at home contain only particles of the Body of Christ, saturated with His Blood. For the same reason, infants do not receive communion at the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, celebrated on weekdays during Great Lent.

But just as we are constrained in body and surrounded by external affairs and relationships in which we must take part for a long time, the spiritual taste of the Lord, due to the splitting of our attention and feelings, is weakened day by day, obscured and hidden...

Therefore, zealots, sensing its impoverishment, hasten to restore it in strength, and when they restore it, they feel that they are tasting the Lord again.”

Published by the Orthodox parish in the name of St. Seraphim of Sarov, Novosibirsk.

Sacrament Participles established by the Lord Himself last supper- the last meal with the disciples on Easter night before His capture and crucifixion.

“And while they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat: this is My body. And, taking the cup and giving thanks, he gave it to them and said: drink from it, all of you, for this is My Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins" (Matthew 26:26-28), "... do this in remembrance of Me" (Luke 22:19). In the Sacrament of the Flesh and Blood of the Lord ( Eucharist - Greek. “thanksgiving”) there is a restoration of that unity between the nature of the Creator and the creation that existed before the Fall; this is our return to paradise lost. We can say that in Communion we receive, as it were, the embryos of future life in the Kingdom of Heaven. The mystical mystery of the Eucharist is rooted in the Savior's Sacrifice on the Cross. Having crucified His Flesh on the cross and shed His Blood, the God-man Jesus offered the Sacrifice of Love for us to the Creator and restored fallen human nature. Thus, the communion of the Body and Blood of the Savior becomes our participation in this restoration. « Christ is risen from the dead, death by death trampled down, and gave life to those in the tombs; and giving us eternal life...”

Eating the Flesh and Blood of Christ in the Sacrament of the Eucharist is not a symbolic action (as Protestants believe), but quite real. Not everyone can accommodate this secret.

« Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.”

He who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.

For My Flesh is truly food, and My Blood is truly drink.

He who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood abides in Me, and I in him.

Just as the living Father sent Me, and I live through the Father, so he who eats Me will also live through Me.

This is the bread that came down from heaven. Not as your fathers ate manna and died: whoever eats this bread will live forever.

…………………………………………

Many of His disciples, hearing this, said: What strange words! who can listen to this?

…………………………………………

From that time on, many of His disciples departed from Him and no longer walked with Him” (John 6:53–58, 60, 66).

Rationalists try to “bypass” the mystery, reducing mysticism to a symbol. The proud perceive what is inaccessible to their reason as an insult: Leo Tolstoy blasphemously called the sacrament “cannibalism.” For others it is a wild superstition, for others it is an anachronism. But the children of the Church of Christ know that in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, under the guise of bread and wine, they truly partake of the Body and Blood of Christ in Their essence. Indeed, it is not human nature to eat raw flesh and blood, and therefore at Communion the Gifts of Christ are hidden under the image of bread and wine. Nevertheless, hidden under the outer shell of perishable matter is the incorruptible substance of the Divine nature. Sometimes, by special permission, the Lord lifts this veil of mystery and allows those in doubt to see the true nature of the Holy Gifts. In particular, in my personal practice there were two cases when the Lord wanted to allow those who were communing to see His Body and Blood in their authentic form. Both times were first communions; in one case, a person was sent to the Church by psychics for their own reasons. In another, the reason for coming to the temple was very superficial curiosity. After such a wonderful event, both became faithful children of the Orthodox Church.

How can we at least approximately understand the meaning of what is happening in the Sacrament of Communion? The nature of creation was created by the Creator akin to Himself: not only permeable, but also, as it were, inseparable from the Creator. This is natural given the holiness of created nature - its original state of free unity and submission to the Creator. The angelic worlds are in this state. However, nature our the world is distorted and perverted by the fall of its guardian and leader - man. Nevertheless, she did not lose the opportunity to reunite with the nature of the Creator: the clearest evidence of this is the incarnation of the Savior. But man fell away from God voluntarily, and he can also reunite with Him only through free will (even the incarnation of Christ required the consent of a person - the Virgin Mary!). In the same time deification inanimate, without free will, nature, God can do it naturally, without permission . Thus, in the divinely established Sacrament of Communion, the grace of the Holy Spirit at the established moment of the service (and also at the request of a person!) descends on the substance of bread and wine and offers them into a substance of a different, higher nature: the Body and Blood of Christ. And now a person can accept these highest Gifts of Life only by showing his free will! The Lord gives Himself to everyone, but those who believe Him and love Him—the children of His Church—accept Him.

So, Communion is the grace-filled communion of the soul with the highest nature and in it with eternal life. Reducing this greatest mystery to the realm of an everyday image, we can compare Communion with the “nutrition” of the soul, which it should receive after its “birth” in the Sacrament of Baptism. And just as a person is born into the world by flesh once, and then feeds for the rest of his life, so Baptism is a one-time event, and we must resort to Communion regularly, preferably at least once a month, possibly more often. Communion once a year is the minimum acceptable, but such a “hungry” regime can bring the soul to the brink of survival.

How is Communion celebrated in the Church?

It is necessary to properly prepare for participation in the Eucharist. A meeting with God is an event that shakes the soul and transforms the body. Worthy communion requires a conscious and reverent attitude towards this event. There must be sincere faith in Christ and an understanding of the meaning of the Sacrament. We must have reverence for the Savior’s Sacrifice and an awareness of our unworthiness to accept this great Gift (we accept It not as a well-deserved reward, but as a manifestation of the mercy of a loving Father). There must be reconciliation of the soul: you need to sincerely forgive in your heart everyone who has “saddened us” in one way or another (remembering the words of the Lord’s Prayer: “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors”) and try, if possible, to reconcile with them ; This applies even more to those who, for one reason or another, consider themselves offended by us. Before Communion, one should read the prayers defined by the Church and compiled by the holy fathers, which are called: “Following to Holy Communion”; These prayer texts are present, as a rule, in all editions of Orthodox prayer books (collections of prayers). It is advisable to discuss the exact amount of reading of these texts with the priest to whom you turn for advice and who knows the specifics of your life. After the Sacrament of Communion is performed, it is necessary to read “Prayers of Thanksgiving for Holy Communion.” Finally, preparing to accept into yourself - into your flesh and into your soul - the Mysteries of the Body and Blood of Christ, terrible in their greatness, you must cleanse yourself with body and soul. Fasting and Confession serve this purpose.

Corporal fasting involves abstaining from eating savory food. The duration of fasting before Communion is usually up to three days. Directly on the eve of Communion one must abstain from marital relations and from midnight one must not eat any food (in fact, one must not eat or drink anything in the morning before the service). However, in specific cases, significant deviations from these norms are possible; They should, again, be discussed individually.

Communion in Church

The Sacrament of Communion itself takes place in the Church at a service called liturgy . As a rule, the liturgy is celebrated in the first half of the day; The exact start time of services and the days they take place should be found out directly in the temple you are going to go to. Services usually begin between seven and ten o'clock in the morning; The duration of the liturgy, depending on the nature of the service and partly on the number of communicants, is from one and a half to four to five hours. In cathedrals and monasteries, liturgies are served daily; in parish churches on Sundays and church holidays. It is advisable for those preparing for Communion to attend the service from the beginning (for this is a single spiritual action), and also to attend the evening service the day before, which is prayerful preparation for the Liturgy and the Eucharist.

During the liturgy, you need to remain in the church without going out, prayerfully participating in the service until the priest comes out of the altar with a cup and proclaims: “Pray approach with the fear of God and faith.” Then the communicants line up one after another in front of the pulpit (first children and the infirm, then men and then women). Hands should be folded crosswise on the chest; You are not supposed to be baptized in front of the cup. When your turn comes, you need to stand in front of the priest, say your name and open your mouth so that you can put in a spoon with a particle of the Body and Blood of Christ. The liar must be thoroughly licked with his lips, and after wiping his lips with the cloth, reverently kiss the edge of the bowl. Then, without venerating the icons or talking, you need to move away from the pulpit and take a drink - St. water with wine and a particle of prosphora (in this way, it is as if the oral cavity is washed, so that the smallest particles of the Gifts are not accidentally expelled from oneself, for example, when sneezing). After communion, you need to read (or listen in Church) prayers of thanksgiving and in the future carefully guard your soul from sins and passions.

Communion is one of the most important and significant rites in Christianity. At this moment there is unity with Jesus Christ - the Son of God. Preparing for the sacrament is a difficult process that takes a long time. For a believer making first communion, it is important to know how communion takes place in church, what needs to be done before and after the ceremony. This is necessary not only in order to avoid mistakes, but also to gain awareness of the future union with Christ.

What is a participle

Jesus Christ performed the first sacrament of communion, dividing bread and wine among his disciples. He commanded his followers to repeat this. The ritual was first performed at the Last Supper, shortly before the crucifixion of the Son of God.

Before the ceremony, the Divine Liturgy is performed, also called the Eucharist, which translated from Greek means “thanksgiving.” Preparation for the rite of communion must necessarily include the memory of this great ancient event. This will allow you to experience the mystery deeply and touch your soul and mind.

Communion frequency

How often should you take communion? Accepting the sacrament is a purely individual matter; you cannot force yourself to do it just because the ritual seems necessary. It is very important to take communion according to the call of your heart. If in doubt, it is better to talk to the Holy Father. Priests advise proceeding to the sacrament only in case of complete internal readiness.

Orthodox Christians, in whose hearts love and faith for God live, are allowed to perform the ritual without any restrictions. If there are doubts in your heart, then you can take communion no more than once a week or once a month. As a last resort, during the periods of each major post. The main thing is regularity.

Ancient literature indicates that it is good to perform communion daily on weekdays and weekends, but performing the ritual 4 times a week (Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday) also brings benefits.

The only day when communion is obligatory is Maundy Thursday. This is a manifestation of respect for the ancient tradition that stands at the origins.

Some priests argue that taking communion too often is wrong. In truth, according to the laws of the canon, this opinion is incorrect. However, you need to see and feel the person well in order to understand whether he needs to perform this action or not.

Communion should not happen by inertia. Therefore, when it is performed frequently, a Christian must constantly be ready to accept the Gifts and maintain the right attitude. Few are capable of this. Especially considering the training that must take place on a regular basis. It is not so easy to keep all the fasts, constantly confess and pray. The priest sees what kind of life a layman leads; this cannot be hidden.

Prayer rule for Communion

Home prayer is of great importance in preparing for communion. In the Orthodox prayer book there is a sequence that is involved in sacred rites. It is read on the eve of the Sacrament.

The preparation includes not only prayer read at home, but also church prayers. Immediately before the ceremony, you must attend a service. Also you need to read three canons: the Mother of God and the Guardian Angel.

This preparation will allow you to consciously approach confession and communion and feel the value of the Sacrament.

Necessity of fasting

Fasting is a mandatory and indisputable condition before communion.

Christians who regularly observe single-day and multi-day fasts should only perform liturgical fasting. This means that you cannot eat or drink from midnight before the ceremony. The fast continues immediately until the moment of the Sacrament.

Parishioners who have recently joined the church and are not observing any fasts are required to undergo a three-day or seven-day fast. The duration of abstinence must be set by the priest. Such points need to be discussed in the temple; you should not be afraid to ask questions.

Internal state before the Eucharist

You need to fully realize your sins before communion. What needs to be done besides this? To prevent sins from multiplying, you should abstain from entertainment. Husband and wife must avoid close physical contact one day before communion and on the day of communion.

You need to pay attention to the birth of your thoughts and control them. There should be no anger, envy, or condemnation.

Personal time is best spent alone, studying the Holy Scriptures and the lives of saints, or in prayer.

The most important thing for accepting the Holy Gifts is repentance. A layman must absolutely sincerely repent of his sinful acts. This is what all the preparation is for. Fasting, reading the Bible, prayer are ways to achieve the desired state.

Actions before confession

Confession before the ceremony is very important. You must ask the priest of the church in which the Sacrament will take place about this.

Preparing for the rites of communion and confession is a process of examining one’s behavior and thoughts, getting rid of sinful actions. Everything that has been noticed and consciously needs to be confessed. But you shouldn’t just list your sins like a list. The main thing is to be sincere. Otherwise, why was such serious preparation carried out?

It is worth understanding that the priest is just an intermediary between God and people. You should speak without hesitation. Everything said will remain only between the person, the priest and the Lord. This is necessary in order to feel freedom in life and achieve purity.

Day of Reception of the Holy Gifts

On the day of the Sacrament, certain rules must be followed. You can only accept gifts on an empty stomach. A person who smokes must abstain from his habit until the body and blood of Christ are received.

During the removal of the Chalice, you need to approach the altar. If children come, you should let them go first; they always receive communion first.

There is no need to cross yourself near the chalice, you need to bow with your arms crossed over your chest. Before accepting the Gifts, you need to say your Christian name, and then immediately taste them.

Actions after communion

You should also know what needs to be done after the sacred rite has been completed. You need to kiss the edge of the Cup and go to the table to eat a piece. There is no need to rush to leave the church, you still need to kiss the altar cross in the hands of the priest. More prayers of gratitude are read in the church, which also need to be listened to. In case of extreme lack of time, you can read prayers at home. But this must be done.

Communion of children and the sick

There are the following points regarding the communion of children and sick people:

• Children under seven years of age do not need to undergo preparation (confession, fasting, prayer, repentance).
• Infants who have been baptized receive communion on the same day or during the next liturgy.
• Seriously ill people may also not prepare, however, if possible, it is worth going to confession. If the patient is unable to do this, the priest must say the phrase “I believe, Lord, and I confess.” Then immediately take communion.
• Those people who are temporarily excommunicated from communion, but are in a state of death or in a state of danger, are not denied sacred rites. But in case of recovery, the ban will come into force again.

Not all people can accept the gifts of Christ. Who can't do this:

• Those who did not come to confession (except for small children and seriously ill people);
• Parishioners who are prohibited from receiving the Holy Sacraments;
• Insane, if they blaspheme while in a fit. If they do not have such an inclination, they are allowed to receive communion, but not every day;
• Spouses who had intimate contact shortly before the Sacrament;
• Women who are currently menstruating.

In order not to forget anything, you should read the memo compiled on the basis of all of the above:

About what behavior should be in church during communion:

1. Arrive at the liturgy on time.
2. When the Royal Doors open, cross yourself, then fold your hands crosswise. Approach the Chalice and move away from it in the same way.
3. You need to approach from the right, and the left side should be free. Do not push other parishioners.
4. Observe the order of communion: bishop, presbyters, deacons, subdeacons, readers, children, adults.
5. Women are not allowed to come to the temple with lipstick.
6. Before accepting the Sacred Gifts, you must say your name given at baptism.
7. There is no need to be baptized in front of the Chalice.
8. If the Holy Gifts will be placed in two or more bowls, only one of them must be chosen. Communion more than once a day is a sin.
9. If prayers of thanks were not heard in church, you need to read them at home.

Preparing for communion is a very serious sequence. All advice must be strictly followed in order to be ready to receive the Sacred Gifts. Prayer is needed for awareness, fasting for bodily cleansing, and confession for spiritual cleansing.

Meaningful preparation will help you discern the deep meaning of the Sacrament. This is truly contact with God, after which the life of a believer changes. But it should be remembered that those who have recently embarked on the path of religion will not be able to take communion and radically correct everything at once. This is natural, because sins accumulate over the years, and you also need to get rid of them consistently. Communion is the first step on this difficult path.

The conversation about the parish practice of communion is continued by Abbot Agafangel (Belykh), rector of the Bishop's Compound of St. Nicholas Cathedral in Valuiki.

– Father Agafangel, how often should you take communion, in your opinion?

– I think we make a big mistake when we talk about the frequency or rarity of communion. This is an imposed term. It is necessary to say not that one should take communion more often or less often, but that it should be done regularly, whenever possible.

There are canonical rules that require us to attend services every Sunday. We also know about the canon according to which anyone who misses the Sunday Liturgy three times is excommunicated from the Church.

If a person has the opportunity to receive communion every Sunday and receives communion, it is not often, not rarely, but as needed.

It is clear that in real parish life everything happens differently. In cases where it is possible to form a parish literally from scratch, where there were no traditions that appeared in the Synodal period or later in the Soviet period, people have no doubt that if you come to the Sunday liturgy, you receive communion.

In parishes that have existed for many years, it is often necessary to explain why it is desirable to receive communion every week and that a week of fasting preparation is not at all necessary for this. Because people were a little scared: “Father, if you take communion every Sunday, it turns out that your whole life is just fasting.”

There are no special instructions about fasting before communion by a priest, who is no different from a layman. The priest fasts on the prescribed days - Wednesday and Friday, and receives communion on Sunday, and sometimes more often, but he does not have any special grace different from the laity for this.

In our Tiksi parish, people try to begin the sacrament at every service, in St. Nicholas Cathedral, in Valuyki, where I now serve - regular parishioners receive communion two or three times a month.

– There is a wonderful experience, which is reflected in the document “On the Participation of the Faithful in the Eucharist”: Follow-up to Holy Communion, consisting of a canon, prayers, and there is also a pious tradition of adding, if possible, other canons and akathists.

Therefore, if a person reads evening and morning prayers, then adding one canon and ten prayers to them is not difficult. If you have the strength and desire to pray more, then you can add other traditional canons.

Another thing is confessional discipline. Because for some it is easier to torture oneself through insignificant disciplinary mistakes on a weekly basis in order to approach communion more “prepared” than to deeply understand oneself one day.

We know that there are sins that really tear us away from God, separate us from the Chalice of Christ, and they must be confessed before communion. But we are not talking about little things, which, of course, are also not good and require correction, but they are not an obstacle to receiving communion for an adult.

Communion is not an “A” for behavior, but a healing medicine that the Lord provides. Mysterious participation in the sacrifice and resurrection of Christ. Therefore, it is understandable that people approach communion burdened with their imperfections. But why strain out a mosquito?

There is a saying: “You won’t go to hell for food.” But from 90% of those who confess, you hear: “I ate candy on the wrong day, I’m a sinner, I need confession” - despite the fact that a person may be in many years of unrepentant unpeace with his neighbors or in some other spiritual situation.

As for fasting preparation, if a person receives communion every Sunday, then observing the prescribed fast on Wednesday and Friday and some reasonable restriction in food on Saturday is quite enough.

– And in cases where people receive communion almost every day - on Holy Week, on Easter Week? Do they need the same prayer preparation?

– Yes, of course, “Following” is a must. The priest, who receives communion every day on such days and who is no different, as has already been said, from the parishioners, reads the Rule daily.

As for fast preparation before communion on Svetlaya: breaking the fast does not mean overeating and getting drunk. If you want to eat three cutlets, eat two. That's the preparation. And if a person ate a cauldron of pilaf the day before, or drank a barrel of wine, such breaking the fast is harmful.

– Is there a difference in preparation for communion in central Russia and, say, in Yakutia?

– Our parishioners in the north of Yakutia still try to fast, including on the eve of communion, with vegetables and fruits, as is customary in the central and southern regions of Russia. Although the prices for all this are prohibitive, and it would be much cheaper to eat local fish.

But it is difficult to break an established stereotype. Lomonosov also wrote about this, if I’m not mistaken, complaining about the Palestinian and Greek fathers that they imposed their fast regulations on us, the northerners.

But prayer preparation definitely does not depend on the region: the main thing is the Follow-up to Holy Communion - prayers and the canon, and then - according to one’s strength and desire.

– If a person comes to you who is about to take communion for the first time...

– This happens rarely. Usually, those who are going to be baptized come for the first time and undergo special training: they participate in conversations, read recommended books, attend services, communicate with parishioners... So when they approach communion, there is no need to specifically talk to them about it.

In those rare cases when a person comes literally “from the street” and says that he has been baptized and would like to receive communion, but does not know how, we conduct a short catechetical conversation, tell him how to prepare, and explain the meaning of the sacrament. To such a person, most likely, I will offer prayers not in Church Slavonic, but in Russian.

– If a person, for various reasons, receives communion irregularly, it means that he needs intensive preparation. Lent – ​​a week of worship, if possible. In a week you can have time to read the Sequence and additional canons, and not all at once - this is difficult, but distributed by day of the week.

– According to the Apostle Paul: abstinence is prescribed by spouses by mutual consent. I do not take upon myself such insolence to climb into someone else’s bed and regulate the relationship between husband and wife. But as a priest, of course, I am obliged to outline some general evangelical framework. And they must make the decision on what to do themselves.

– Do you allow any of your parishioners to take communion without confession?

– Yes, without confession before each communion, I admit those parishioners whom I have known for a long time, I know their spiritual life. I ask first: “Is there any sin over the past week that would not allow you to come to the Chalice?”

If I don’t know a person well, I will definitely ask him to come to confession.

– Whom can you not allow to take communion?

– I never forbid anyone to come to communion. I can give you some advice: “You know, it’s better for you to abstain from communion today; it seems to me that you are not quite ready.”

If I see a person for the first time, he came to confession, about to take communion (this happens more often in Valuiki, in Tiksi - a small parish, everyone knows each other), and I see that he simply does not know why and how, then I understand, that taking communion in this state would be mentally harmful for him.

I suggest that such a person definitely meet after the service, when I can explain everything. I explain: “And now I see that it will not be useful for you to receive communion.” In most cases, people stay, listen and come back after some time.

– Have there been cases in your parish practice when people still did not understand why they should receive communion?

– I’ll tell you about one of my missionary failures in Tiksi. The unbaptized husband and wife went to church for a long time for public conversations and prepared for baptism. We usually conduct the first part of the conversations first, then the rite of announcement, and after that we talk about the sacraments. The spouses went to all services, participated in conversations, and shared meals.

Finally, the baptism was completed (and we try to perform the sacrament before the liturgy, so that the newly baptized can receive communion), the spouses received Communion and... the woman said: “What is this? Is this the same thing you told us about?! I don’t like this at all!”

They never crossed the threshold of the temple again. A small village, we meet constantly, and only a few years later they began to respond to my greetings. This is a story without a positive ending yet.

But often the majority of parishioners in Central Russia do not fully understand the meaning of the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ, the importance of common participation in the Eucharist. It’s good that there is now such an abundance of Orthodox websites, newspapers, and TV shows talking about this. Overall, however, this is a big problem that will take time to resolve.

Oksana Golovko