When to go to church? Why go to church every Sunday? Is it possible to go to church.

Many may be concerned about the question "How to start going to church?".A person wanted to come there, but somehow it was awkward. Everything is new, nothing is clear, it's scary to do something wrong. That is why this article was written to answer this question. I do not have the blessing of teaching people the correct understanding of church life, but I can simply tell from my own experience what problems arose during the first visits to the temple and what questions tormented my soul. Maybe this will help someone.

So, I wanted to visit the church. Where to go? If you have the Internet, it is better to look at the map where the nearest Orthodox churches are located. There is no particular difference where exactly to go, to a cathedral or a simple church. It is better that it is not far from home, as it will be long and inconvenient to travel through the whole city. Therefore, we boldly choose the temple, find the road and stomp there.

You can come almost at any time, but it is better before 19:00-20:00, since services usually end in temples at this time. You can dress as you like, but without the thematic inclinations ala metalhead, shabby punk, club girl on stilts, or a guy "only from the beach." You can wear regular pants or jeans, a T-shirt or shirt, a jacket, a jacket, etc. In short, the way normal people walk along ordinary normal streets. If someone wants, you can dress in a suit. In principle, and so people sometimes come to emphasize their respect for the Church and God, there is nothing unusual in this. Women need to wear something on their heads. A scarf is better, but if not, then you can wear a hat or even a hood if everything is really bad. You don't have to wear skirts, you can wear trousers and jeans. Jeans are better not too tight, so as not to distract men from prayer. In this regard, it is better for women to dress more modestly, they need to have respect for God and others.

If you entered the temple and there is no singing there, and everything is rather quiet, then the service is not going on now. Then you can stand quietly, talk with God, ease your soul. If you want to light a candle for relatives or friends, we are looking for a saleswoman. Usually candles are sold at the entrance to the temple. “Where to put candles for health, and where for peace?” - the eternal question. I think this was my first question asked to a living person inside the temple. For the living, you can put a candle anywhere and in front of any icon. No special rituals are needed. Pray quietly, ask for a person and light a candle. For the dead, candles are usually placed on special tables on which a crucifix is ​​installed.

Here is a photo of a table on which candles are put to rest.

Stand for candles for health in the photo below.

That's why it's hard to confuse.

What to do if you enter, and there is a service going on in full? Well, for starters, don't run away. It is better to take a more modest place and repeat after everyone. It is customary for women to stand on the left side of the temple, and for men on the right. But if it didn’t work out to become where it should be, you shouldn’t think about it at all. Just stand still and pray for yours. I doubt that the first time you get to the service, you will understand at least something of what is sung on it. For example, for the first 2-3 months I practically didn’t understand anything, I just stood silently and repeated after everyone when they are baptized (usually they do this when the words “Father, Son and Holy Spirit” are heard at the service). Therefore, at first it is better to try to just get used to it. Join the general flow so to speak.

And you need to understand something right away. If you come to the temple, at first there may be many unfounded fears and feelings that you are not at ease. It's OK. You are on the path of a warrior, this is your first battle. Get ready to go all the way.

Standing in the service, it may seem that it is endless. I remember at first I thought that they go to the temple around the clock, and there is no end to them. It is difficult for an unprepared person to stand for 2-3 hours (this is how much the service lasts on average). But I assure you, someday the end will come and the singing will subside, and it will not be one in the morning, but around seven o'clock in the evening. So if you do not urgently need to run somewhere - stand to the end.

You can often see how people come up and kiss the icons. Feel free to do it. Once upon a time, I was very shy to approach and kiss the icon. But now it has become so familiar that I kiss everything in a row. So boldly we are baptized and kiss the icon, there is nothing to be afraid of. Often there are handkerchiefs near the icons so that you can wipe the glass of the frame after yourself.

If suddenly during the service everyone began to kneel - it's okay if you are shy and didn't do it. But it would be even better to do it together with everyone. Although in practice there are usually fewer of those who kneel at certain moments of the service than those who remain on their feet.

Do not be afraid to ask people the time of worship. If, for example, you wanted to get specifically to the beginning of the evening or morning service, then in no case should you be afraid to ask the time of its beginning. You can ask the seller of candles at the entrance to the temple. Don't worry about giving her trouble with your question. They are pulled be healthy, you are not the first, you are not the last. And in general, organizational questions like “where what” and “when and how” should always be asked. This is more than normal.

I want to make a small digression and say a few words about the internal state of a person who suddenly ended up in the temple after a long (sometimes life-long) period of disbelief. It is likely that you will have a lot of fears that are quite natural at first glance and logical reasons to leave the temple and not go there anymore. Don't rely on them. Perhaps blasphemous thoughts will come into your head, up to insults to the saints and God. Do not worry about such thoughts, just try to switch your attention. Sometimes even going to the temple can seem like a stupid idea. You should not pay attention to this either. The main thing is to follow a pre-planned good goal and everything will be as it should.

For those who suddenly wanted to confess, we can say this. You can confess to a priest in any church. Confession is free, you do not need to sign up for it in advance, and no one takes money for it. As a rule, it takes place during the evening service or at the Liturgy in the morning. Usually there is a table on which lies the cross and the Gospel, and at which the priest stands. Where exactly it will be located and when the confession will take place, you can ask the seller of candles, or the parishioners. If a lot of people visit the temple, most likely you can determine where the confession takes place in turn to the priest standing aside. A person approaches, the priest listens to him, covers his head with an epitrachilia (part of the vestment looks like a towel) and absolves sins.

Approach the priest, put two fingers on the Gospel and name what you repent of, indicate the sins about which the soul hurts. The people standing behind you are more likely to not hear you for everything. At least, it never happened that I made out what the person in front of me was repenting about. This also happens because confession often takes place during the service and singing from the kliros drowns out the voices, unless, of course, the penitent is yelling at the top of his lungs. If you are at confession for the first time, be sure to tell about it and ask “what to do next?”. Batiushka will tell you what steps to take at first. When you repent, kiss the cross, the Gospel and go on to reach the end of the service. That's all. One more thing. There is no need to be afraid to confess some sins, because it is supposedly shameful. It's stupid and deadly. It’s stupid because in their lives the priests manage to hear enough of this that you won’t tell them anything new. And if you do, it will take pride of place on the list of that “new and impossibly shameful” thing that the priest has heard many times already and that he has probably learned to perceive adequately. And it is dangerous because "there is no worse sin than the unrepentant."
In total, I hope this article has clarified a little how to start going to church. And today it turns out that everyone seems to know everything about the Church, but how the essence comes to the point, nothing is clear. So, if you have a desire to visit the temple, you should do it as soon as possible.

How to properly enter the church and how to behave in it.

Every day of life is a priceless gift from the Lord. And in what a fuss, sometimes, these days pass! We are in such a hurry to live that we forget about gratitude to God for the time given to us. Let's stop for a second, take a breather and go to the temple. How to enter the church correctly and how to behave in it is described in the article.

When to go to the temple?

There is a joke in church circles: do not wait for delivery to the temple, go there yourself. Delivery means a funeral service, and, as you know, it happens posthumously. Therefore, it is worth thinking about and visiting the church, while there is still strength and opportunity to go there on your own.

How to choose the time? In fact, everything is elementary. There are two options for visiting the temple: outside the service and coming to the service.

How to enter the church correctly if the first option is chosen?

1. Find out the opening hours of the nearest temple.
2. We choose the moment, we go to it.

Just one or two and you're done. The same goes for attending a church service. First, we find out when it starts, and then we just come to the temple at the appointed time.

We're going to church

The question of how to properly enter a church may seem outdated. All of us, more or less, but face Christian traditions. Women know that you need to go to the temple in a headscarf. And men, on the contrary, are supposed to enter under the vaults of the church without a headdress. You may not know about clothes and other additions, they say, they go to the temple to God, and He looks at our hearts, and not at jeans and T-shirts.

Let's look into this issue. The Lord said that a woman should not wear men's clothing. Our favorite trousers and jeans, although they have firmly entered the ladies' wardrobe, were not originally women's clothing. They were meant for men. Therefore, if you are going to visit the temple, just follow these rules:

• A woman must wear a skirt or dress. Moreover, the skirt should be long enough - knee-deep or lower.
• It is worth dressing modestly, as closed as possible. Leave T-shirts with short sleeves, sweaters with a neckline, transparent blouses for publication. The church is the house of God, it is more appropriate to wear a closed long-sleeved shirt here than a defiant blouse.
• Please refrain from using lipstick. If you decide to venerate the icons, but if you can’t, you will stain the image. Ideally, when visiting a temple, it is undesirable to use cosmetics at all.
• How to enter the church for men, what to wear? No shorts, T-shirts, wrestling shoes and other open clothes. Jeans or trousers, a long-sleeved shirt, in the cold season - a sweater or jumper. Modestly, simply and without any problems, because any man has the listed clothes.
• And again about women. During impurity (critical days) you can not go to the temple. Wait a week, as required by the church charter, and then boldly go to the house of God.
• When going to the service, come early, 15-20 minutes before the start. You will have time to calmly write and submit notes, buy candles, venerate the icons. If you are late for the service, then quietly stand in one place, do not walk around the temple, kissing the icons. This can be done after the service.

Learning to enter the temple

How can a woman, a man and a child enter the church? The rules are the same for everyone. Approach the temple and see the domes - cross yourself three times and make three waist bows. At this moment, it is necessary to pray internally or turn to the Lord in your own words. For example, thank Him for bringing you to church.

Opposite the entrance to the monastery is most often an altar. You can immediately recognize him by the beautiful gates and being on a hill. Cross yourself three times again, make three waist bows. After that, you can go to the church shop for candles.

Behavior during worship

How to enter the church, we found out. Now let's talk about how to behave during worship.

We have already pointed out that being late for it is disrespect for God. It pays to arrive early so that you can do everything you need to do. When lighting candles, pray in your own words. Make requests to God, the Mother of God and the saints, in front of whose images you put candles.

By the way, how do you set them up? First, lightly scorch the bottom of the candle, this is necessary so that the wax melts a little, and it stands evenly in the candlestick. Then light the wick itself, put a burning candle in a candlestick. Cross yourself twice, make two bows (half bows), kiss the image. Move away, again make the sign of the cross on yourself, make one bow and talk with the saint.

As soon as the priest at the altar pronounces the words: "Blessed be our God, always, now and forever, and forever and ever," know that the service has begun. And you can’t move around the temple until the end of the service. Choose a place for yourself, stand, listen to the singing, pray to God along with the rest of the people.

child in the temple

How to enter the church correctly, we have already told. How to behave in the service, also found out. But what about when you come to the temple with a child? If everything is clear with the baby - he sleeps in the arms of his mother or father, then a preschooler and a younger student will not behave so calmly.

First of all, it is necessary to ensure that the descendant does not run around the temple, uttering loud cries. Alas, but this is just a scourge in the modern church. Parents pray - children run and scream until one of the parishioners or ministers reprimands their parents. Moms and dads, watch your kids. If they are naughty, do not want to obey, violate the majesty of the service with their cries and distract the worshipers, it is necessary to take them out of the temple.

Conclusion

We figured out how to enter the church and exit it correctly - crossing ourselves three times, making three bows from the waist. There is nothing complicated in this science.

Sometimes it happens that the soul of a person reaches out to the temple, but many are not familiar with the basics of Orthodoxy, they do not know how to behave in church. But the temple of God is open to all.

An Orthodox Christian, first of all, needs precisely the desire for faith and the awareness of what a person receives through faith: the immutable true and perfect benefits of spiritual communion with God and eternal life. The essence of prayer is the filling of the mind and heart with the highest, which gives knowledge of God.

In addition to personal prayer, all Orthodox need to pray in the Temple during Divine Services.

How to behave in the Orthodox Church

A beginner who is just starting his spiritual path should feel free, watch the behavior of other people and do the same. In order not to unknowingly disturb the peace in the souls of other praying people and not to desecrate the greatness of the holy place, it is necessary to know and follow certain rules for finding a church.

Here are some highlights:

1. If a priest approaches, for example, while burning incense, you should not stand in his way, but you need to step aside.
2. You should not behave like in a museum, frankly consider others. As a rule, it is customary to stand with your head slightly bowed.
3. When you are in a small church, cathedral, or monastery, you should always conduct yourself with reverence.
4. If you want to attend a church service, then it is advisable to arrive a few minutes before the start of the service.
5. You can not enter the altar, as well as turn your back to the altar.
6. If there is a desire to sing along in prayer, then you need to do this in a quiet voice, making sure that your singing does not distract people standing nearby.
7. Sitting in the temple is allowed - in case of illness or with great fatigue, that is, in weakness. Sitting cross-legged is not allowed.
8. During kneeling prayers, which occur at various services, one should pray together with all the parishioners. At this moment, both the clergy in the altar and the parishioners kneel and unite in a single prayer (the priest reads special prayers aloud).
9. If you are on the territory of the temple, you can not smoke, and also take animals or birds with you.
10. If there is a reading of the Gospel, the Cherubic chants or the Eucharistic canon, you should just stand still and listen. You should not walk, talk, and also put candles at this time.
11. It is necessary to refrain from remarks to the neighbors so as not to cause them embarrassment, or to speak in a quiet and friendly voice. It is advisable to stay in place until the end of the service, you can leave if there is a need or if you feel unwell.

For beginners to get acquainted with Orthodoxy, it can be important in what order and which icons to approach in the church. In this case, there is no strict rule. Most often, at first they try to approach the icon, located on the lectern in the middle of the temple. This is an icon of the saint whose feast is celebrated on this day.

They cross themselves twice near it and apply it with their lips and forehead, and again they cross themselves. Then they approach the icons of the Savior, the Mother of God and those saints to whom there is a request or the soul has reached out.

How to go to church

Believing Christians go to church every Sunday - this is the commandment of God.

If you go to the morning service, it is not customary to have a hearty breakfast before this. A full stomach moves away from a prayerful mood, which is why many Christians do not have breakfast before going to church.

If you are going to confess and take communion, then you cannot have breakfast, drink water, smoke or take medicine. The shrine is taken on an empty stomach.

How to enter the church and what to say at the entrance

You need to enter with humility and meekness in your heart in order to bring justification out of the temple, like the gospel publican.

Entering the temple, you should cross yourself three times and bow at the waist. Each time you need to repeat to yourself the words of the Jesus Prayer: “Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner (sinner).”

Rules of Conduct for the Church

For women:

1. Female representatives, from little girls to elderly women, go to the temple of God with their heads covered - this is a pious tradition. For this, a scarf, shawl or cape is used, in winter some people wear hats - this is not prohibited, but it will be hot. It is not recommended to wear wide-brimmed hats, as this will interfere with others.
2. Clothing is chosen discreet, clean, while arms, shoulders and chest are not exposed even in summer (especially strictly in this regard in monasteries).
3. If a woman enters in trousers, you can tie yourself with a long scarf before entering, they usually hang outside the front door and are intended for everyone.
4. Lipstick must be wiped off so as not to leave marks when applied to icons and the cross. If you are going to church, do not wear bright makeup, it will look out of place.

For children:

1. If you brought a child to the temple, then you need to watch him. It is advisable to explain to him at home that you can’t run and play pranks in church.
2. If the child bursts into tears, you should try to calm him down or go outside with him so as not to interfere with the service and the parishioners.
3. If you want to give communion to a child, then you need to take into account that it can be difficult for him to endure the entire service, and therefore you can go outside with him or come later, closer to communion, so that the child does not get tired and starts to act up. As a rule, everyone brings children to the Cherubic Hymn - about 11 o'clock.

For men:

1. Men, entering the temple, take off their hats. In addition, they must not be in shorts or tracksuits. We are going to meet the Lord, this is a holiday of the soul, and therefore in the old days, going to church, we wore the most festive clothes.
2. For confession, communion, anointing with oil (performed at the evening service) - men, boys and women with male babies are the first to approach. This is a long tradition and in many temples they try to observe it.

Church etiquette of behavior in the temple

It is not allowed to behave loudly and noisily in the temple, to walk with hands in pockets, to chew, to interfere with other believers during their prayer. When meeting with acquaintances, you can greet each other with an Orthodox kiss, and postpone conversations until you leave the church.

Coming to church, we always want to join the Christian rite and make a small sacrifice - a candle. There is no specific order in which candles should be placed. You can put a candle to the icon of the Saint to whom you want to pray.

If you come to the candlestick and do not find a free place, you do not need to extinguish other people's candles, there are special employees for this. You need to wait a bit for the space to become available.

If you see that your candle has not yet burned out, and it has already been extinguished by a church minister, do not be embarrassed. Your sacrifice is accepted by God. You should not listen to various superstitions. The candle is symbolic.

How to pray in church

For all believers, prayer in the church is very important. Since it is common, such prayer is stronger and purer than home prayer. When a priest conducts a service, one should carefully listen to the words of the prayer, as if passing them through the heart.

It happens that the thought is scattered, and attention is lost. You can briefly ask God in prayer for strength, patience and understanding. If other parishioners distract you with their actions, try to move to another place in the temple without causing disturbance to others.

But, as a rule, believers come before the start of the service, have time to light candles and greet the parishioners, go to confession and take a seat as close to the altar as possible. Thus, all those who are late or just dropping in will not bother you - by that time they simply will not get to you because of the crowd of parishioners.

Conclusion

Any believer should know the church charters, and understand what happens during the service. Church shops sell books "Divine Liturgy" - it explains the main points, prayers and actions of priests at the Liturgy. This book is recommended for every Christian.

For those who go to God with a pure heart, strive for knowledge, everything is gradually revealed. The main thing is the desire and spiritual burning, our love for God and our neighbors.

Often the priest is asked the question given in the title, and they begin to make excuses.

- We need to get enough sleep, be with the family, do homework, and here we have to get up, go to. For what?

Of course, in order to justify your laziness, you can find not such objections. But first you need to understand what is the point of going to the temple weekly, so that then we can compare our self-justifications with this. After all, this requirement was not invented by people, but was given in the Ten Commandments: “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy; work for six days and do all your work in them, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God: do not do any work on it, neither you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your servant, nor your maidservant, nor your ox, neither your donkey, nor any of your livestock, nor the stranger that is in your dwellings; for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.”(). For the violation of this commandment in the Old Testament, the death penalty was due, as for murder. In the New Testament, Sunday became a great holiday, because Christ, having risen from the dead, sanctified this day. According to church rules, the violator of this commandment is subject to excommunication. According to canon 80 of the VI Ecumenical Council: “If anyone, a bishop, or a presbyter, or a deacon, or one of those numbered among the clergy, or a layman, without any urgent need or obstacle, by which he would be removed from his church for a long time, but staying in the city, on three Sundays for three weeks, does not come to the church meeting: then let the clergy be expelled from the clergy, and let the layman be excommunicated.

It is unlikely that the Creator would give us absurd commands, and church rules were not written at all in order to torment people. What is the meaning of this commandment?

All Christianity grows out of the self-revelation of God the Trinity, revealed through the Lord Jesus Christ. Entering into His inner life, participation in Divine glory is the goal of our life. But since “God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him”, according to the word of the apostle John (), then it is possible to enter into communion with Him only through love.

According to the Lord, the whole law of God comes down to two commandments: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind: this is the first and greatest commandment; the second is like it: love thy neighbor as thyself; on these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”(). But can these commandments be fulfilled without visiting the temple? If we love a person, don't we strive to meet him more often? Is it possible to imagine that lovers avoid meeting each other? Yes, you can talk on the phone, but it's much better to talk in person. Similarly, a person who loves God seeks to meet Him. Let King David be our example. He, being the ruler of the people, waging countless wars with enemies, exercising justice, spoke like this: “How lovely are your dwellings, O Lord of hosts! My soul is weary, longing for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh rejoice in the living God. And the bird finds a home for itself, and the swallow nests for itself, where to lay its chicks, at Your altars, Lord of hosts, my King and my God! Blessed are those who live in Your house: they will praise You without ceasing. Blessed is the man whose strength is in Thee and whose paths in the heart are directed to Thee. Passing through the valley of weeping, they open springs in it, and the rain covers it with blessing; come from strength to strength, appear before God in Zion. Lord God of strength! Hear my prayer, hearken, O God of Jacob! God, our protector! Lean down and look on the face of Your anointed one. For one day in Your courts is better than a thousand. I wish it were better to be at the threshold of the house of God than to live in the tents of wickedness.” ().

When he was in exile, he wept every day that he could not enter the house of God: “Remembering this, I pour out my soul, because I walked in the crowd, entered with them into the house of God with the voice of joy and praise of the celebrating host” ().

It is precisely this attitude that gives rise to the need to visit the temple of God and makes it internally necessary.

And this is not surprising! Indeed, the eyes of the Lord are constantly turned on the temple of God. Here He Himself dwells in His Body and Blood. Here He regenerates us in baptism. So - our small heavenly homeland. Here God forgives us sins in the sacrament of Confession. Here He gives us Himself in the most holy Communion. Is it possible to find such sources of imperishable life somewhere else? According to the words of the ancient ascetic, those who fight the devil for a week, strive on Saturday and Sunday to run to the sources of living water of Communion in the church in order to quench the thirst of the heart and wash themselves from the dirt of a defiled conscience. According to ancient legends, deer hunt snakes and devour them, but the poison begins to burn their insides, and they run to the spring. In the same way, we must strive to the temple in order to jointly cool the irritation of our hearts. According to the holy martyr, “Try to gather more often for the Eucharist and the glorification of God. For if you often gather together, then the forces of Satan are cast down, and by the unanimity of your faith his disastrous deeds are destroyed. There is nothing better than the world, for it destroys all warfare between heavenly and earthly spirits.(St. Martyr Ignatius the God-bearer Epistle to the Ephesians. 13).

Many are now afraid of the evil eye, damage, witchcraft. Many people stick needles in all the jambs, decorate themselves like Christmas trees with amulets, smoke all the corners with candles and forget that church prayer alone can save a person from the violence of the devil. After all, he trembles with the power of God and is unable to harm the one who is in God's love.

As King David sang: “If a regiment takes up arms against me, my heart will not be afraid; if war arises against me, and then I will hope. I asked the Lord for one thing, that I seek only, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, contemplate the beauty of the Lord and visit His holy temple, for He would hide me in His tabernacle in the day of distress, would hide me in the secret place of the village His, would lift me to the rock. Then my head would be lifted up above the enemies that surround me; and I would offer sacrifices of praise in His tabernacle, and I would sing and sing before the Lord.” ().

But it is not enough that in the temple the Lord protects us and gives us strength. He also teaches us. After all, all worship is a true school of God's love. We hear His word, remember His wonderful deeds, learn about our future. Truly “in the temple of God, everything proclaims his glory”(). Before our eyes pass the exploits of the martyrs, the victories of the ascetics, the courage of kings and priests. We learn about His mysterious nature, about the salvation that Christ gave us. Here we rejoice in the bright resurrection of Christ. It is not for nothing that we call the Sunday service “Little Pascha”. Often it seems to us that everything around is terrible, scary and hopeless, but the Sunday service tells us about our transcendent Hope. Indeed, David says that “we meditated, O God, on your goodness in the midst of your temple”(). Sunday service is the best remedy against those countless depressions and sorrows that live in the "gray life". This is a sparkling rainbow of God's covenant in the mists of general vanity.

Our holiday service has as its heart prayer and meditation on the Holy Scriptures, the reading of which in the church has a special power. So one ascetic saw how fiery tongues rose from the mouth of a deacon, who read the word of God at the Sunday Liturgy. They cleansed the souls of those who prayed and ascended to heaven. Those who say that they will be able to read the Bible at home, as if for this they do not need to go to the temple, are mistaken. Even if they do open the Book at home, their distance from the church meeting will prevent them from understanding the meaning of what they read. It has been verified that those who do not participate in Holy Communion are practically incapable of assimilating the will of God. And no wonder! After all, Scripture is like an “instruction” for receiving heavenly grace. But if you just read the instructions without trying, for example, to assemble a cabinet or do programming, then it will remain incomprehensible and quickly forgotten. After all, it is known that our consciousness quickly filters out unused information. Therefore, Scripture is inseparable from the church assembly, for it was given precisely to the Church.

On the contrary, those who attended the Sunday Liturgy and then took the Scripture at home will see in it those meanings that they would never have noticed. It often happens that it is on holidays that people learn the will of God about themselves. After all, according to Rev. , “although God always rewards His servants with gifts, but most of all on annual and Lord’s holidays”(Word to the Shepherd. 3, 2). It is no coincidence that those who regularly go to the temple are somewhat different both in appearance and in their state of mind. On the one hand, virtues become natural for them, and on the other hand, frequent confession prevents them from committing serious sins. Yes. Often the passions of Christians are also intensified, for Satan does not want people molded from dust to ascend to heaven, from where he was cast out. That is why Satan attacks us as his enemies. But we should not be afraid of him, but we must fight him and win. After all, only he who overcomes inherits everything, said the Lord ()!

If a person says that he is a Christian, but does not communicate in prayer with his brothers, then what kind of believer is he? According to the fair word of the greatest expert on church laws, Patriarch Theodore Balsamon of Antioch, “this reveals one of two things - either that he does not exert any care for the fulfillment of divine commands about prayer to God and hymns, or he is not faithful. For why, for twenty days, did he not want to be in church with Christians and have fellowship with the faithful people of God?

It is no coincidence that those Christians whom we consider exemplary are Christians of the Apostolic Church in Jerusalem “were together and had everything in common… And every day they dwelt with one accord in the temple and, breaking bread at home, ate food in joy and simplicity of heart, praising God and being in love with all the people”(). It was from this unanimity that their inner strength flowed. They were in the life-giving power of the Holy Spirit, which was poured out upon them in response to their love.

It is no coincidence that the New Testament explicitly forbids neglecting church meetings: “Let us not leave our assembly, as is the custom of some; but let us exhort one another, and all the more, the more you see that day approaching.” ().

All that is best, thanks to which Rus' is called holy, thanks to which other Christian peoples exist, gives us worship. In the church, we get rid of the oppression of our vanity and break out of the snares of crises and wars into God's peace. And this is the only right decision. Not curses and revolutions, not malice and hatred, but church prayer and virtues can change the world. “When the foundations are destroyed, what will the righteous do? The Lord is in His holy temple(), and to Him he runs away to find protection. This is not cowardice, but wisdom and courage. Only a fool will try to cope with the onslaught of world evil, whether it be terror or natural disaster, revolution or war. Only Almighty God will protect His creation. It is no coincidence that the temple has always been considered a refuge.

Indeed, the temple is a heavenly embassy on Earth, where we, wanderers looking for the heavenly City, receive support. “How precious is Your mercy, O God! The sons of men are at rest in the shade of Your wings: they are satisfied with the fatness of Your house, and from the stream of Your sweetness You will give them drink, for You have the source of life; in your light we see light" ().

I think it is clear that the love of God requires as often as possible to resort to the house of the Lord. But this is also required by the second commandment - love of one's neighbor. After all, where can one turn to the most beautiful thing in a person - in a store, cinema, clinic? Of course not. Only in the house of our common Father can we meet with brothers. And our joint prayer will be more likely to be heard by God than the prayers of a proud loner. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself said: “If two of you agree on earth to ask for any matter, then whatever they ask, it will be from My Father in Heaven, for where two or three are gathered in My name, there I am in the midst of them” ().

Here we rise from the hustle and bustle and can pray for our troubles and for the entire universe. In the temple, we ask God to heal the illnesses of relatives, to free the captives, to save travelers, to save the perishing. In the temple, we also communicate with those who left this world, but did not leave the Church of Christ. The dead, appearing, beg to pray for them in churches. They say that every commemoration is like a birthday for them, and we often neglect this. Where is our love then? Imagine their condition. Without a body, they cannot take communion, they cannot do external good deeds (for example, alms). They expect support from their relatives and friends, and receive only excuses. It's like saying to a hungry mother: “I'm sorry. I won't let you eat. It hurts to sleep." But for the dead, church prayer is real food (and not vodka poured in a cemetery, which is not needed by anyone except demons and alcoholics).

But the saints, worthy of our glorification, are waiting for us in the temple. Holy images make them visible, their words are proclaimed in the service, and they themselves often visit the house of God, especially on their holidays. Together with us they pray to God, and their mighty doxologies, like eagle wings, lift the church prayer directly to the Divine Altar. And not only people, but also incorporeal angels participate in our prayer. Their songs are sung by people (for example, "Trisagion"), and they sing along to our hymns ("It is worthy to eat"). According to church tradition, in every consecrated church, an angel always stands above the throne, lifting up the prayer of the Church to God, and also at the entrance to the temple there is a blessed spirit, watching the thoughts of those entering and leaving the church. This presence is quite palpable. It is not for nothing that many unrepentant sinners feel bad in the temple - it is the power of God that rejects their sinful will, and the angels punish them for iniquity. They should not ignore the church, but repent and receive forgiveness in the sacrament of Confession and do not forget to thank the Creator.

But many say:

- Fine! You have to go to church, but why every Sunday? Why such fanaticism?

Briefly answering, we can say that since the Creator says so, the creation must unquestioningly respond with obedience. The Lord of all times gave us all the days of our lives. Can't He demand that we separate four of the 168 hours of the week for Him? And at the same time, the time spent in the temple is good for us. If a doctor prescribes procedures for us, then don't we try to follow his recommendations exactly, wanting to be healed of the diseases of the body? Why do we ignore the words of the Great Physician of souls and bodies?

Here we need to think about the words that are given at the beginning of our reflections:

- Sunday is the only day off, you need to sleep, be with your family, do homework, and then you have to get up, go to church.

But no one forces a person to go to the early service. In the cities, early and late Liturgy is almost always served, and in the countryside, no one sleeps for a long time even on Sunday. As for the metropolis, no one bothers to come from the evening service on Saturday, talk with the family, read an interesting book and, after evening prayers, go to bed around 11-12 am, and get up at half past eight in the morning and go to the Liturgy. Nine hours of sleep can almost anyone restore strength, and if this does not happen, then we can "get" the missing daytime sleep. All our problems are not connected with the church, but with the fact that the rhythm of our life does not correspond to God's will and therefore exhausts us. And communication with God - the Source of all the forces of the Universe - of course, can only give a person both spiritual and physical strength. It has long been noticed that if you work out internally by Saturday, then the Sunday service fills you with inner strength. And this strength is also physical. It is no coincidence that the ascetics who lived in the inhuman conditions of the desert lived to be 120-130 years old, while we barely live up to 70-80. God strengthens those who trust in Him and serve Him. Before the revolution, an analysis was carried out that showed that the longest life expectancy was not among nobles or merchants, but among priests, although they lived in much worse conditions. This is a visible confirmation of the benefits of going weekly to the house of the Lord.

As for communication with the family, who prevents us from going to the temple with a full team? If the children are small, then the wife can come to church later, and after the end of the Liturgy, you can all take a walk together, go to a cafe, and talk. Can this be compared with that “communication” when the whole family is drowning together in a black box? Often those who do not go to the temple because of the family do not exchange even a dozen words a day with their loved ones.

As for household chores, the word of God does not permit the performance of those tasks that are not essential. You can not arrange a general cleaning or washing day, canned food for a year. Rest time lasts from Saturday evening to Sunday evening. All heavy work must be transferred to Sunday evening. The only kind of hard work that we can and should do on Sundays and holidays is works of mercy. To arrange a general cleaning for a sick or old person, to help in the temple, to prepare food for an orphan and a large family - this is a true and pleasing rule for the Creator to observe the holiday.

Inextricably linked with the issue of household chores on holidays is the problem of summer visits to temples. A lot of people say:

“We won't be able to survive the winter without the harvest we grow on our plots. How can we go to the temple?

I think the answer is obvious. No one bothers to go to the village church for a service, and do the work in the garden either on Saturday or in the second half of Sunday. So our health will be preserved, and the will of God will be observed. Even if there is no temple anywhere near, we must dedicate Saturday evening and Sunday morning to prayer and Scripture. Those who do not want to do the will of God receive His punishment. The expected harvest is devoured by locusts, caterpillars, diseases. When rain is needed, drought sets in; when dry land is needed, floods begin. So God shows everyone Who is the Master in the world. Often God punishes those who despise His will. Familiar doctors told the author about the phenomenon of “Sunday death”, when a person plows all weekend without raising his eyes to the sky, and in the same place, in the garden, he dies of a stroke or heart attack, facing the ground.

On the contrary, to those who fulfill the commandment of God, He gives unprecedented harvests. For example, in Optina Pustyn, yields were four times higher than those of neighbors, although the same land use technique was used.

Some people say:

– I can’t go to the temple because it’s cold or hot, rain or snow. I'd rather pray at home.

But what a miracle! The same person is ready to go to the stadium and cheer for his team in the open air in the rain, dig in the garden until you drop, dance all night at the disco, and only he does not have the strength to reach the house of God! The weather is always just an excuse for your unwillingness. Is it really possible to believe that God will hear the prayer of a person who does not want to sacrifice something small for His sake?

Just as absurd is another frequently encountered objection:

- I won’t go to the temple, because you don’t have benches, it’s hot. Not like the Catholics!

Of course, this objection cannot be called serious, but for many, considerations of comfort are more important than the issue of eternal salvation. However, God does not want death and the outcast, and Christ will not break even a bruised rod and will not quench the smoking flax. As for the benches, this is not a matter of principle at all. Orthodox Greeks have seats all over the church, Russians don't. Even now, if a person is sick, then no one prevents him from sitting on the benches located at the back in almost every temple. Moreover, according to the liturgical Rule of the Russian Church, parishioners can sit seven times during the festive evening service. In the end, if it’s hard to stand the whole service, and all the benches are occupied, then no one bothers to bring a folding stool with you. It is unlikely that anyone will condemn for this. You just need to get up for the reading of the Gospel, the Cherubic Hymn, the Eucharistic Canon, and about a dozen more important moments of the service. I don't think this will be a problem for anyone. These rules do not apply to people with disabilities.

I repeat once again that all these objections are absolutely not serious and cannot be the reason for violating God's commandment.

Also, the following objection does not justify a person:

– In your temple everyone is so angry, angry. Grandmothers hiss and swear. And also Christians! I don’t want to be like that, and therefore I won’t go to the temple.

But after all, no one requires to be angry and angry. Does anyone in the temple force you to be like that? Are you required to wear boxing gloves when entering the temple? Do not hiss and do not swear yourself and then you will be able to correct others. As the apostle Paul says: “Who are you who condemns another's servant? Does he stand before his Lord, or does he fall? ().

It would be fair if the priests taught to swear and quarrel. But it's not like that. Neither the Bible, nor the Church, nor Her servants have ever taught this. On the contrary, in every sermon and in hymns we are called to be meek, merciful. So that's not the reason for not going to church.

It must be understood that people come to the temple not from Mars, but from the outside world. And there it’s just customary to swear in such a way that sometimes you won’t hear a Russian word among peasants. One mat. But in the temple it just does not exist. We can say that the church is the only place closed to swearing.

It is in the world that it is customary to be angry and pour out your irritation on others, calling it a struggle for justice. Isn't that what the old women in the clinics do, washing the bones of everyone from the president to the nurse? And can these people, having entered the temple, as if by magic, instantly change and become meek, like sheep? No, God gave us free will, and nothing can change without our efforts.

We always remain in the Church only in part. Sometimes this part is very large - and then the person is called a saint, sometimes less. Sometimes a person clings to God only with his little finger. But we are not the Judge and Evaluator of everything, but the Lord. As long as there is time, there is hope. And before the end of the picture, how can you judge it, except for the finished parts. Such parts are sacred. It is by them that the Church must be judged, and not by those who have not yet completed their earthly journey. No wonder it is said that "the end crowns the deed."

The Church itself calls itself a hospital (the Confession says “because you have come to the doctor’s clinic, so that you will not be healed”), so is it reasonable to expect that it is filled with healthy people? There are healthy ones, but they are in Heaven. That's when everyone who wants to be healed will use the help of the Church, then she will appear in all her glory. The saints are the ones who clearly show the power of God at work in the Church.

So in the temple one should look not at others, but at God. After all, we do not come to people, but to the Creator.

Often they refuse to go to the temple, saying:

“You don’t understand anything in the temple. They serve in an incomprehensible language.

Let's rephrase this objection. A first-grader comes to school and, having overheard an algebra lesson in the 11th grade, refuses to go to classes, saying: "There's nothing clear there." Is it stupid? But it is also foolish to refuse to study the Divine science, referring to incomprehensibility.

On the contrary, if everything was clear, then learning is meaningless. You already know everything the experts are talking about. Believe that the science of living with God is no less complex and elegant than mathematics, so let it have its own terminology and language.

I think that we should not refuse temple education, try to understand what exactly is incomprehensible. At the same time, it should be taken into account that the service is intended not for missionary work among unbelievers, but for the believers themselves. For us, thank God, if we pray attentively, everything becomes clear after a month and a half of constant going to church. But the depths of worship may be revealed years later. This is truly an amazing mystery of the Lord. We do not have the flat preaching of Protestants, but, if you like, an eternal university in which liturgical texts are teaching aids, and the Teacher is the Lord Himself.

Church Slavonic is not Latin or Sanskrit. This is a sacred form of the Russian language. You just need to work a little: buy a dictionary, a few books, learn fifty words - and the language will reveal its secrets. And God will reward this work a hundredfold. – During prayer, it will be easier to collect thoughts on the Divine mystery. Thoughts will not, according to the laws of association, slip away somewhere into the distance. Thus, the Slavic language improves the conditions for communion with God, and this is precisely why we come to church. As for the acquisition of knowledge, it is transmitted in the temple in Russian. It is difficult to find at least one preacher who would preach in Slavonic. In the Church, everything is connected wisely - both the ancient language of prayer and the modern language of preaching.

And, finally, for the Orthodox themselves, the Slavic language is dear because it gives us the opportunity to hear the Word of God as accurately as possible. We literally can hear the letter of the Gospel, because the grammar of the Slavic language is almost identical to the grammar of the Greek, in which the Revelation was given to us. Believe me, as in poetry and jurisprudence, as in theology, shades of meaning often change the essence of the matter. I think that anyone who is fond of literature understands this. And in the detective, a random match can change the course of the investigation. So for us, the opportunity to hear the words of Christ as accurately as possible is priceless.

Of course, the Slavic language is not a dogma. Divine services are performed in more than eighty languages ​​in the Ecumenical Orthodox Church. And even in Russia, it is theoretically possible to abandon the Slavic language. But this can happen only when it becomes as distant for believers as Latin is for Italians. I don't think it's even a question for now. But if this happens, then the Church will create a new sacred language that translates the Bible as accurately as possible and does not allow our minds to slip away to a far country. The Church is still alive and has the power to revive anyone who enters Her. So start the course of divine Wisdom, and the Creator will lead you into the depths of His mind.

Others say:

- I believe in God, but I don’t believe in priests, and therefore I won’t go to church.

But no one asks a parishioner to believe a priest. We believe in God, and the priests are only His servants and instruments for the fulfillment of His will. Someone said: "the current goes through a rusty wire." So also grace is transmitted through the unworthy. According to the true thought of the saint, “we ourselves, sitting on the pulpit and teaching, are intertwined with sins. Nevertheless, we do not despair of God's philanthropy and do not ascribe hardness of heart to Him. For this, God allowed the priests themselves to be slaves to the passions, so that from their own experience they would learn to treat others condescendingly.” Imagine that not a sinful priest, but the Archangel Michael, will serve in the temple. After the first conversation with us, he would have flared up with righteous anger, and only a pile of ashes would have remained of us.

In general, this statement is comparable to the refusal of medical care due to the greed of modern medicine. The financial interest of individual doctors is much more obvious, as everyone who has been admitted to the hospital is convinced of this. But for some reason, because of this, people do not refuse medicine. And when it comes to a much more important thing - the health of the soul, then everyone remembers there were fables, just not to go to church. There was such a case. One monk lived in the desert, and a priest went to him to give him communion. And then one day he heard that the priest who communed him was fornicating. And then he refused to take communion with him. And on the same night he saw a revelation that there was a golden well with crystal water and from it, a leper draws water with a golden bucket. And the voice of God said: “You see, how water remains pure, although it is given by a leper, so grace does not depend on the one through whom it is supplied.” And after that, the hermit again began to take communion with the priest, not arguing whether he was righteous or sinful.

But if you think about it, then all these excuses are completely insignificant. After all, is it possible to ignore the direct will of the Lord God, referring to the sins of the priest? “Who are you, condemning another's slave? Before his Lord he stands, or he falls. And will be restored; for God is mighty to raise him up." ().

- The church is not in logs, but in ribs, - others say, - therefore, you can pray at home.

This proverb, supposedly Russian, actually goes back to our homegrown sectarians who, contrary to the word of God, separated from the Church. God does indeed dwell in the bodies of Christians. But He enters into them through Holy Communion given in churches. At the same time, prayer in church is higher than prayer in homes. The saint says: “You are mistaken, man; Of course, it is possible to pray at home, but it is impossible to pray as in a church, where there are so many fathers, where a song is unanimously lifted up to God, at home. You will not be heard so soon, praying to the Lord at home, as praying with your brothers. There is something more here, like this: unanimity and harmony, the union of love and the prayers of the priests. For this, the priests are coming, so that the prayers of the people, as the weakest, uniting with their strongest prayers, ascend to heaven together ... If the prayer of the church helped Peter and brought this pillar of the church out of prison (), then how do you, tell me, neglect its power And what excuse can you have? Listen to God Himself, Who says that He is propitiated by the reverent prayers of many () ... It’s not only people who cry terribly here, but the angels fall to the Lord and the archangels pray. The very time favors them, the very sacrifice assists. How people, taking olive branches, shake them before kings, reminding them with these branches of mercy and philanthropy; so exactly the angels, presenting instead of olive branches the very Body of the Lord, implore the Lord for the human race, and as if they say: we pray for those whom You yourself once honored with such Your love that You gave up Your soul for them; we pour out prayers for those for whom You shed blood; we ask for those for whom you sacrificed your body” (Word 3 against the anomeans).

So this objection is completely unfounded. After all, how much holier the house of God is in your house, so much higher is the prayer offered in the temple, the prayer at home.

But some say:

“I am ready to go to church every week, but my wife or husband, parents or children won’t let me.

Here it is worth recalling the terrible words of Christ, which are often forgotten: “Whoever loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and whoever loves a son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.”(). This terrible choice must always be made. The choice is between God and man. Yes, it's hard. Yes, it can hurt. But if you have chosen a person, even in what you consider small, then God will reject you on the Day of Judgment. And will a loved one help you with this terrible answer? Does your love for your family justify you when the Gospel says otherwise? Will you not remember with longing and bitter disappointment the day when you rejected God for the sake of imaginary love?

And practice shows that the one who chose someone instead of the Creator will be betrayed by them.

Others say:

– I will not go to this church because the energy is bad there. I feel bad in the temple, especially from incense.

In fact, any church has the same energy - God's grace. All churches are sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Christ the Savior abides in all churches with His Body and Blood. Angels of God stand at the entrance to any temple. It's just about the person. It happens that this effect has a natural explanation. On holidays, when "visitors" visit temples, they are packed with people. Indeed, there are very few sacred places for such a multitude of Christians. And so it really becomes stuffy for many. Sometimes it happens that poor-quality incense is burned in poor temples. But these reasons are not the main ones. It often happens that people feel bad even in a completely empty church. Christians are well aware of the spiritual causes of this phenomenon.

Evil deeds, in which a person does not want to repent, drive away the grace of God. This is the resistance of the evil will of man to the power of God and is perceived by him as "bad energy." But not only does man turn away from the Lord, but God Himself does not accept the egoist. After all, it is said that “God opposes the proud” (). Similar cases are known in antiquity. So Mary of Egypt, who was a harlot, tried to enter the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem and bow to the Life-Giving Cross. But an invisible force threw her away from the gates of the church. And only after she repented and promised never to repeat her sin again, God allowed her into His house.

Also now there are cases when hired killers and prostitutes could not bear the smell of incense and fainted. Especially often this happens to those who are engaged in magic, astrology, extrasensory perception and other devilry. Some force twisted them at the most important moments of the service, and they were taken from the church in an ambulance. Here we are faced with another reason for the rejection of the temple.

Not only man, but also those behind his sinful habits do not want to meet the Creator. These beings are rebellious angels, demons. It is these impure entities that prevent a person from entering the temple. They also take away strength from those standing in the church. It happens that one and the same person can sit in a “rocking chair” for hours and is not able to spend ten minutes in the presence of the Creator. Only God can help someone who is captured by the devil. But He helps only those who repent and wish to live according to the will of the Lord Almighty. Otherwise, all these arguments are just an ill-conceived repetition of satanic propaganda. It is no coincidence that the very terminology of this objection was taken from psychics (and the Church knows that they all serve the devil), who are very fond of talking about certain energies that can be “recharged”, as if it were a battery, and not a child of God. .

Here are the symptoms of spiritual illness. Instead of love, people try to manipulate the Creator. This is just a sign of demonism.

The last objection, related to the previous ones, is most often encountered:

“I have God in my soul, so I don’t need your rituals. I do only good things. Is God going to send me to hell just because I don't go to the temple?

But what is meant by the word "God"? If we are talking simply about conscience, then, of course, in any person this voice of God sounds in the heart. There are no exceptions here. Neither Hitler nor Chikatilo were deprived of it. All the villains knew that there is good and evil. The voice of God tried to keep them from iniquity. But is it really just because they heard this voice that they are already saints? Yes, and conscience is not God, but only His speech. After all, if you hear the voice of the President on a tape recorder or on a radio, does this mean that he is in your apartment? Also, having a conscience does not mean that God is in your soul.

But if you think about this expression, then Who is God? This is the Almighty, Infinite, Omniscient, Righteous, Good Spirit, Creator of the universe, Whom the heavens and the heavens of heaven cannot contain. So how can your soul contain Him – Him, Whose Face the angels fear to see?

Does the speaker so sincerely think that this Immeasurable Power is with him? Let us doubt. Let him show Her manifestation. The expression "God in the soul" is stronger than trying to hide a nuclear explosion in oneself. Is it possible to hide Hiroshima or a volcanic eruption in secret? So we demand such evidence from the speaker. Should he perform a miracle (like resurrecting the dead) or show God's love by turning the other cheek to the one who hit him? Will he be able to love his enemies - even a hundredth of that, as our Lord, Who prayed for them before the crucifixion? Indeed, to truly say: “God is in my soul,” only a saint can. We demand holiness from the one who speaks like this, otherwise it will be a lie, whose father is the devil.

They say: “I do only good, will God send me to hell?” But let me question your righteousness. What is considered the criterion of good and evil, by which it can be determined that you or I are doing good or evil? If you consider yourself as a criterion (as it is often said: “I determine for myself what good and evil are”), then these concepts simply lose any value and meaning. After all, Beria, and Goebbels, and Pol Pot considered themselves absolutely right, so why do you yourself think that their deeds deserve censure? If we have the right to determine for ourselves the measure of good and evil, then the same must be allowed for all murderers, perverts and rapists. Yes, by the way, let God also disagree with your criteria, and judge you not by yours, but by His standards. Otherwise, it turns out somehow unfairly - we choose the yardstick for ourselves, and we forbid the Almighty and Free God to judge ourselves according to our own laws. But according to them, without repentance before God and Holy Communion, a person will end up in hell.

To be honest, what are our standards of good and evil in the face of God, if we do not even have the right to legislative activity. After all, we have not created for ourselves either a body, or a soul, or a mind, or a will, or feelings. Everything that you have is a gift (and not even a gift, but property temporarily entrusted for preservation), but for some reason we decide that we can dispose of it with impunity at our will. And to the One who created us, we deny the right to demand an account of how we used His gift. Doesn't this requirement seem a bit daring? What makes us think that the Lord of the Universe will fulfill our sin-damaged will? Have we violated the Fourth Commandment and at the same time we believe that He owes us something? Isn't it stupid?

After all, instead of devoting Sunday to God, it is given to the devil. On this day, people often get drunk, swear, debauchery, and if not, then they have fun in a far from nice way: they watch dubious TV shows, films where sins and passions overflow, etc. And only the Creator turns out to be superfluous in His Own Day. But doesn't God, who gave us everything, including time, have the right to demand from us just a few hours?

So hell awaits those despisers who ignore the will of God. And the reason for this is not God's cruelty, but the fact that they, having left the fountains of the water of Life, began to try to dig empty wells of their excuses. They have refused the sacred Chalice of Communion, have deprived themselves of the word of God, and therefore wander in the darkness of this evil age. Moving away from the Light, they find darkness, leaving love, they gain hatred, leaving life, they throw themselves into the arms of eternal death. How can we not mourn their stubbornness and wish they would return to the house of our heavenly Father?

We, together with King David, will say: "According to the multitude of Thy mercy, I will enter Thy house; I will worship Thy holy temple in Thy fear"(). After all “We entered into fire and into water, and You brought us out to freedom. I will enter your house with burnt offerings; I will pay you my vows, which my mouth has spoken and my tongue has spoken in my affliction.” ().

Modern society has given people enough freedom, including the choice of religion. From general atheism, people are increasingly turning to the church. But, the knowledge of the church way of life in the Soviet era was very hard knocked out of people, so now many people have questions - when to go to church, what to wear, how to behave in church? Priests answer these questions unequivocally: you must come to church with all your heart, and you will learn the rest of the rules over time.

What days do you go to church

It is generally accepted that you can go to church on Saturdays and Sundays, when there are big services. Completely wrong opinion. The church is open to people every day. Churchmen say that turning to God happens better in a common prayer, when the choir sings it, and the parishioner sings along. Another reason for this lies in the fact that the bulk of the parishioners are busy with work on weekdays, and go to church in their free time, on weekends. Therefore, almost all major holidays fall on weekends, so it’s not difficult to go and join the universal prayer on this day.

When not to go to church

The question of when one should not go to church is of interest mainly to women. There is an opinion that during menstruation, a woman should not cross the threshold of the temple. The ministers of the church confirm this rule. And, they explain it, in accordance with the teachings of Christ. According to church canons, when taking communion, a person partakes of the flesh and blood of Christ, and becomes sacred at the moment of connection with the shrines. And, in a woman, this holy blood immediately follows, the priests consider this unacceptable. Therefore, it is forbidden for a woman to take communion during menstruation. And, at the same time, it is not recommended to come to the temple.

Another question that interests women is when you can go to church during pregnancy. The Church considers pregnancy and the child, inside the mother, blessed by God, a sacred miracle, and does not impose any ban on prayers and presence in the temple. On the contrary, it calls on pregnant women to pray to the Mother of God, and to the saints who protect the mother and child.

What time do you come to church

In the church, there are absolutely no prohibitions on the time of visiting temples. The church is open from morning, from the moment the morning service begins, until the evening. At night, temple visits are discouraged because a temple is an institution like any other. You need to understand the difference between communication with God, which you can have all the time, and visiting the temple, there are certain hours for visiting. At night, the temples are open on holidays, for example, at Christmas, at Epiphany. Any time you can go to church, you will come to pray and do whatever is necessary. And, at night, the ministers of the church sleep, just like any person.