Before communion, be sure to attend the evening service. What is confession and the sacrament? Do I need to observe a three-day fast, subtract the canons and the order in order to receive Holy Communion on Bright Week

Why come to the all-night vigil? Can I skip this service? What should those who do not have time to do?

Every Christian tries to get to church every Sunday. And if he does not succeed for some reason, he realizes that this is not in the order of things. And what about the all-night vigil?

Is it obligatory to attend the evening service? You can confess right during the liturgy. Or should attendance at the all-night vigil be as obligatory for believers as attending the liturgy?

Our sacrifice to God

Archpriest Igor Fomin

Archpriest Igor Fomin, rector of the Church of St. Alexander Nevsky at MGIMO (Moscow):

The liturgical day is the totality of all the services of the daily cycle, the crown of which is the liturgy.

Why is it so difficult to pray at the all-night vigil and so easy at the liturgy? Because the all-night vigil is our sacrifice to God, when we sacrifice our time to Him, some external circumstances. And the liturgy is God's sacrifice to us. And it is often much easier to take. But oddly enough, the degree of acceptance of this sacrifice from God depends on how much we are willing to sacrifice to Him.

The all-night vigil is formally a compulsory divine service before the sacrament.

The entire system of worship reminds us of the events of the divine world order, it should make us better, attune us to the sacrifice that Christ prepares for us during Holy Communion.

But there are different circumstances in which a person cannot get to the all-night vigil: a grumpy wife, a jealous husband, urgent work, and so on. And these are the reasons that can justify a person. But if he is not present at the all-night vigil because he is watching the football championship or his favorite TV series (note, I am not talking about guests here - after all, this is a little different), then, probably, the person is sinning internally. And not before the church charter, not even before God. He's just robbing himself.

In general, it is impossible to rob the Church, the temple, even if you take out all the icons and some material values ​​from there. The spirit world is not a bank or a store. You will not harm the Church with your unworthy behavior. But for you, the inner consequences of this are disastrous.

Everyone should think for himself. If he has the opportunity to attend the all-night vigil, then he must do so. If there is no such possibility, then it is worth considering: how can I worthily spend this evening before communion in order to prepare for the reception of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. Maybe you shouldn't watch TV, but should focus on spiritual reflection?

If a person wants to receive communion every Sunday and worries if he will be in church every Saturday and will remain without days off, without rest, the question arises - why should he receive communion every Sunday?

The Lord says, “where your treasure is, there your heart will also be” (Matt. 6:21). If your treasure is in the cinema, in front of the TV, at the stadium, put off the sacrament until better times: for a week, for a month, for a year.

The motivation that drives a person is very important here. If you are used to taking communion every Sunday, and this does not change you spiritually, does not transform you, then why do you need it?

Maybe then take the measure of frequency that is in the church charter: the sacrament - once every three weeks. The time of preparation for communion in the statutes is defined as follows: a week - you prepare, fast with dry food, read prayers. Then - you receive communion, you internally keep what you received for a week, you rest for a week and then you get ready again. There is an option when everyone discusses the form of preparation for the sacrament with his spiritual father.

If a person sets himself a specific schedule for the sacrament, that is good. Only then should he treat this sacrament accordingly.

Not only debt ...

Archpriest Alexander Ilyashenko

Archpriest Alexander Ilyashenko, rector of the Church of the All-Merciful Savior in the former Sorrowful Monastery (Moscow):

First of all, it is necessary to say about the beauty of the all-night vigil, its content, its spiritual and actual saturation: the history of the holiday, and its meaning, and meaning are revealed in the service.

But since, as a rule, people do not understand what is being read and sung in the church, they simply do not perceive much.

It is surprising that the Russian Orthodox Church has preserved in its entirety a very complex, well-thought-out divine service. For example, there is no such thing in parishes in Greece anymore. They have adjusted to modern life and this is justified in its own way. There is no evening service, Vespers is not served, the morning begins with Matins.

We serve both Vespers and Matins in the evening. This is a kind of convention, but it is thought out, and those who made the decision about this particular course of worship understood the charter better than we did and decided that it would be more correct to remain faithful to tradition.

Greece made a different decision. Matins are served there, as a rule, in one type. We have an all-night vigil - solemn, bright, colorful, during which many hymns are sung. In Greece, it is more monotonous, but fast. The entire service, together with the liturgy, takes two hours. But this is precisely in parish churches.

In monasteries, and even more so on Mount Athos, the charter is preserved in all severity. The all-night vigil is really going on all night.

We do not, and this is also a kind of convention, a kind of reduction. But those who developed this, made the decision to reduce it based on certain circumstances, nevertheless, they wanted to preserve the beauty of Orthodox worship for the laity.

But here a difficulty arises - we live in the 21st century: we are busy, the distances are long, people get tired, the ecology is terrible, health, or better to say, ill health, corresponds to it. Although I think that the peasants who worked tirelessly in the summer from morning to evening, physically tired more than ours. But still, they had enough strength to finish their working day earlier on Saturday, wash in the bathhouse and go to church for the All-Night Vigil, and in the morning for the Liturgy.

It may be that it is more difficult for us than for our recent ancestors, physically we are much weaker. But, nevertheless, we urge not to hide behind our weaknesses, but to find strength and go to the all-night vigil, especially those who want to receive communion. So that they could confess on the eve of the Liturgy, without taking up the time of the Sunday service.

But if people have small children who have no one to leave with, or if there are some other objective reasons, you cannot tell them: "If you were not at the all-night vigil, then you will not receive communion." Although it is possible for someone to say so: if a person has shown precisely sloppiness, laziness, relaxation ...

It is important to strive to ensure that our parishioners love the divine service of our Church and consider it not only a duty, but also a joy to be present in the church.

B without "social protection"

Archpriest Alexy Uminsky

Archpriest Alexy Uminsky, rector of the Church of the Life-Giving Trinity in Khokhly (Moscow):

There is a certain range of services, and the all-night vigil is a necessary part of the Sunday service. But there are life circumstances of a certain level when a person is not able to go to the all-night vigil. But he can go to the liturgy and partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ.

It is a completely common practice of divine services in our Russian Orthodox churches abroad that the majority of parishioners living in different cities come only for Sunday services. Therefore, in most cases, there is only Sunday liturgy in churches.

This is also due to the fact that if the priest will serve not only the liturgy, but also add to it, say, matins, then the service will be performed for about four hours. This is not only difficult to perceive, but also related to the transport schedule, parking fees ...

But the fact that only the Liturgy is served is not an obstacle for the parishioners who come to receive communion from accepting the Holy Mysteries of Christ.

But if a person has the opportunity to attend the all-night vigil, and he simply does not want to go out of laziness, out of carelessness, then this can become an obstacle to communion.

Yes, it turns out that the temple “occupies” both days off of an ordinary person working five days a week. But only those living in the XX, XXI centuries are used to such things as two days off. Previously, people did not have such a "social protection". They worked for six days, and dedicated the seventh to the Lord God.

The question is not whether it is possible to lie on the couch instead of the all-night vigil. Here the answer is unequivocal. Another thing is that people can have quite justified family concerns. In the end, it is at this time that the ordered furniture from the store should be brought. Or - they invited a person dear to the whole family to the anniversary. If we spent this jubilee godly, why could it be an obstacle to communion?

But all this does not happen every Saturday. And just to decide that the all-night vigil is an optional thing, and I will not go to it, is wrong.

Oksana Golovko

Should I come to the All-Night Vigil on the eve of communion?

The question is provocative, I would say. If you want to substitute a priest who admits to communion those who have not "defended" the all-night vigil beforehand, ask him this question publicly.

Archpriest Igor Prekup

For some reason, I remembered an old Catholic anecdote. A Jesuit and a Franciscan argue about smoking. The Franciscan is categorically against, the Jesuit is for. Then the Franciscan puts forward the following argument: “The criterion of good and evil is prayer. Is smoking compatible with prayer? " - "Why not"? - the Jesuit smiles.

"Good. Let's ask this question to the Pope, ”the Franciscan proposes and calls the Servant of God's servants. After waiting for the connection, he asks: "Your Holiness, is it allowed to smoke during prayer?" Having received a negative answer, accompanied by an indignant chain of interjections, he looked with satisfaction at the Jesuit, who was not in the least embarrassed, asked for the phone and asked the Pope if it was possible to pray while smoking. To which I heard: “It is said in the Scripture: pray incessantly(1 Thess. 5; 17) ".

Show me a priest who will tell you: “No, no, why? Stay at home. In general, every Sunday some religious fanatics go to church, don't be like them, don't ... ”.

First, if it comes to that, the question is posed logically incorrectly, but this incorrectness is justified precisely by the fact that it reflects a flawed approach to communion as a individual act carried out in company with other people, by chance simultaneously who came to the liturgy.

Secondly, it is also put twice incorrectly, again due to the fact that it is impossible to answer it without seducing some and depriving others. Indeed, dare only to declare that there is no need to go to the All-night Vigil on the eve of the Liturgy. In addition to the fact that such an attitude is simply false and vicious in itself, there are many "zealots" who will write you down in the category of church liberals, brand you as "the fifth column", or even "Judaizing" (it is not clear from which side, and it does not matter; the main thing is to "expose" and "qualify").

You can then kick yourself in the chest with a heel as much as you like, proving that you wanted to say something wrong and you were misunderstood; consider that you have already seduced "these little ones" - go, try on the millstone ...

But let's return to inferiority, which, like any other inferiority, is not recognized, as a rule, by its carriers - to inferiority of the Eucharist... After all, in fact, in the main, because of what the statement about the uselessness of attending the all-night vigil before communion can cause indignation? Due to the fact that this is an element of fasting, and before communion it is necessary to fast. The key word is "should." By whom and where it should be - it does not matter. We are supposed to. What for? This, they say, is not of our mind, our business is to execute. Everything. The circle is complete.

"It is ordained" ... Along with a three-day fast, "reading out" the succession to Holy Communion is one of the elements of the fact that need to do, one of our duties, having fulfilled which it will be possible, while continuing to call oneself unworthy, to console one's conscience with the consciousness that “we have received the Holy Communion”, thus transferring dignity from the formal fulfillment of the “assigned” to the idea of ​​the quality of one's soul (i.e. We will continue to call ourselves “unworthy,” since “this is the way it should be,” but thanks to the good fellows we are, we will do this, as if winking at ourselves: because we know something…).

Anyone who dares to question the obligation to “defend” the All-night Vigil on the eve of Communion is viewed by the “Orthodox people” as a troublemaker-renovator precisely because he breaks the harmonious structure of this vicious pseudo-ecclesiastical consciousness that surrounds communion with a kind of strip of obstacles that must be worked hard to overcome , and overcoming, to suffer in order to receive the sacrament, as it were, as a reward for the "mournful work and thoughts of high aspiration."

Thus, it turns out that initially faithful idea of ​​importance participation participator in daily circle worship profaned by the "zealots" themselves, as a result of which participation in public worship degenerates into “defending the service”, into “listening to it” (they say, for example, “listening to mass”).

It turns out that a person has come to a "public place" (which a temple, if you understand it in the spirit of the church, is not), where a session of religious worship takes place.

The session is conducted by authorized persons (clerics). The rest are present each on its own (not even on session, but as if only at its fulfillment), without any claim to participate in it - so, by himself, everyone can individually pray about something, about his own; Well, also, when the choir sings: "Lord, have mercy!" you can cross yourself with others (fortunately, even though these two words are understandable), but the text of the litany pronounced by the priest is not always available to the ear. And to pray together with the choir, or at least with the reader, is a downright impermissible luxury, considering the amount of attention we usually pay to the intelligibility of singing and reading.

How to be? And so that you need to understand a few important things. Vigil is not a duty, for the performance of which a reward is given in the form of admission to the sacrament. This is a complex worship of the daily cycle, enriching us with both grace and theological knowledge. Liturgy, unlike Vespers, Compline, Midnight Office, Matins, 1st, 3rd, 6th and 9th hours, is not one of services of the daily circle. It is built into one or another of its sections, depending on the instructions of the Charter, but in itself is not an integral part of it.

Thirdly, the liturgy, regardless of what it is (St. John Chrysostom, St. Basil the Great, Presanctified or the Holy Apostle James, etc.), is still served in the space of the daily circle, therefore a person is called to participate in the liturgy, plunging into the richness of meanings, contained in the services preceding it.

All of the above applies to any daily cycle service performed the night before, and not only to the all-night vigil, which in practice has long been no longer any “all-night vigil”. Today, this is a type of especially solemn evening service performed, according to the Charter, on important church holidays, incl. and on Sundays, for every Sunday is a little Easter. Not the day before holidays, please note, namely v holidays, because the liturgical day (and therefore the holiday itself, including the Sunday service) begins in the evening.

The conversation started about the all-night vigil, because basically people receive communion on Sundays, and on the eve of Sunday, on Saturday evening, an all-night vigil is served.

So what is important: this should not be just a visit to the temple, because it is supposed go to church on holidays, or because this is(whether it is a holiday, whether it is ordinary to the memory of the saints) required on the eve of communion.

Participation(not "defending" and not "listening", namely participation ) in the evening service - this is immersion into eternity by means of unity with the Church - the Kingdom of God on earth - through a service dedicated to some significant event or saint, and the immersion is not from some intermediate stage or into the "tenth hour", but from the very beginning daily circle.

Calling us to come to church not only on the day of communion, but already on the eve, the Church invites to the beginning liturgical cycle, within the framework of which we hope to partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. It is better to complete any deed completely, and therefore it is good to devote not a few minutes to communion with God on the day of communion, and not even a couple of hours, not counting the time “killed” on the road, and not even some time there, but ... the whole God's day give away- the same day that "there was evening and there was morning ...", at least in the amount of one day, one liturgical cycle, one - but whole.

It's not just good. It's fine. Does everyone, is there always an opportunity to be at the service in the evening? Especially when the temple is not within walking distance? The question is rhetorical, leading to sadness, longing and despondency with despair. Now what happens? There is no opportunity to participate in the divine service in the evening, so do not even think about regular communion? Returning to the pre-revolutionary vicious practice of communion once a year, at most - four?

In response to this cry from my heart, I suggest recalling the parable of the workers in the vineyard (Matthew 20; 1-16). The owner goes out early in the morning to hire workers and negotiates with each of them for one denarius. During the day, he repeatedly went out and hired new workers, until the evening. However, if he first promised a denarius, he promises to give to the rest only that he will "follow" them, but nothing concrete. As a result, everyone receives a denarius: both those who worked only an hour, and those who “endured the hardships of the day and the heat” (Matthew 20; 12).

Let us also recall the word of St. John Chrysostom on Easter, in which he, referring to the feat of fasting, says: “If anyone has missed the ninth hour, let him come up without embarrassment, fearing nothing. If someone arrived in time by the eleventh hour, let him not be embarrassed by being late: for the Lord is generous and loves to give, and accepts the latter as the first; and he who comes at the eleventh hour is released to rest, just like the one who worked from the first hour: he has mercy on the last one, and the first one pleases, and he rewards him, and he bestows this, and he accepts what he has done, and he welcomes his intentions, honors his deeds, and praises his intentions ”(translation Olga Sedakova).

Yes, it would be better "from the first hour", i.e. to work hard from the very beginning of the service day, but if, for example, this is impossible without conflict or other senseless complications of life, then we will try not to lose sight of the fact that the Lord is calling us to His Meal, as the owner called from the parable of people to his vineyard, including and those whom I found completely by the evening, when there was no need for them.

He calls us to give; to refuse ... it's not even disgusting - it's much worse. Therefore, it is better to come even “at the tenth hour” than to refuse Him. Only now, at what time this “tenth hour” begins, where is the limit, after which there is nothing to “resort to communion”: the beginning of confession, the clock, the exclamation “Blessed be the Kingdom! ..”, the Cherubic hymn, the Eucharistic canon, the beginning of communion - when already “ all late "? - Let's leave it each to the discretion of his spiritual father.

Archpriest Alexander Ageikin, rector of the Epiphany Cathedral in Yelokhov

- Holy images, chants and readings - the entire structure of worship in the church cannot be reproduced simply by turning on the audio or video of the liturgy at home. Especially if we do this not because we are seriously ill and unable to reach the church, but only because of our own negligence.

If a person does not participate in temple prayer, avoids the company of his fellow Christians, he avoids communion with Christ. We are not able to comprehend how God's grace works. We should not compare, which is more important, oppose unity in the Sacrament of the Eucharist and the grace that visits the soul during temple prayer. Otherwise, we will begin to serve the letter, not the spirit.

If we talk about preparing for communion, then in practice it usually turns out like this: if a person lives in the Church, prays, fulfills the prayer rule, then this is already enough to prepare for communion, and the confessor, who observes the spiritual life of the flock, blesses him. In this case, the acceptance of the Holy Mysteries of Christ becomes absolutely natural and natural: this is already an integral part of life. The priest himself should be an example of such a life in the Church for his parishioners.

But often we pray very irregularly, and we still don't want to learn this. Then, of course, the rules of three-day fasting and intense prayer are necessary before accepting the Holy Mysteries of Christ.

The main thing is that there should not be an ordinary attitude to the Eucharist, “getting used to it”, when reverence, that is, the memory of God, is lost. This is a dangerous spiritual state. Therefore, the most difficult thing is to constantly maintain attention to yourself, to your spiritual world, to every step of your life. After all, we all go everywhere and everywhere before God.

Priest Alexander Starodubtsev, cleric of the temple on Krasnopresnenskaya embankment at the EXPO Center Priest Alexander Starodubtsev, cleric of the Seraphim of Sarov temple on Krasnopresnenskaya embankment:

- To be at the Liturgy, if for some reason on this day you do not receive Communion is not only not reprehensible, but important and soulful. The fourth commandment tells us to dedicate the seventh day to God. Not meditating on God, lying on the couch waiting or preparing dinner, we should spend this day. And already in the morning they should be in the temple of God. Even if we don't take communion. Prayer in the church is important because temple prayer is a conciliar prayer: “Where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20). It turns out that every real meeting of Christians is accompanied by the personal presence of Jesus Christ. The Lord promises to give to us or to those to whom we ask something, if it is good.

The temple is a place of special stay of the grace of God. Prayer during the service where the Bloodless Sacrifice is offered is an extremely important event for a person. Of course, it is commendable if a person takes communion regularly, once every two to three weeks. But we will say again and again that even if a person does not receive Communion, prayer during the Liturgy is a special prayer, and its presence in life is very important. It is no accident that we know from the ancient rules that those who did not attend more than three Sunday liturgies received excommunication. In fact, he testified about himself that he was a Christian only occasionally.

Holy Righteous John of Kronstadt says: "Having listened to the Divine Liturgy, fall on your face and give thanks to the Lord, who has made you such great happiness."

This is how Metropolitan Benjamin (Fedchenkov) writes about our question: “My friends, remember the rule of the holy fathers: a person who has not attended the liturgy for three Sundays in a row; is deprived of a Christian burial. Do not miss these meals of the Lord, consider that feast day on which you did not hear the Divine Liturgy was lost. Let me tell you a parable: one peasant had a hundred poods of grain and exchanged it for rags. Tell me, did he act wisely? - No, not reasonable. How even more foolish is he who changes the Bread of Heavenly life for the rags of earthly life! The Lord calls to the Secret Supper, and he answers: "You have to go to the bargaining, the vegetable garden is not cleaned, the strip is not planted." He does not know, the unfortunate one, that the grain that he throws into the ground during the liturgy will come out sick, stunted, and will not bear fruit. My friends, let us pray with me: "Lord, we thank You for Your gift, we thank You for allowing us to listen to the Divine Liturgy and taste Your Most Pure Body and Your Life-giving Blood. We pray to You and for those who have left Your Holy Chalice. , do not want to find consolation in Thy saving Mysteries. Thou shalt give reason and bring them to Thyself, so that they too may be with us in Thy Church. "

You can listen to chants at home, but here's how to hear a priest and a deacon calling and speaking, a priest explaining the Scriptures of the day? How to appear before the prayed images, how can we especially feel ourselves as a part of the earthly Church, as we feel it in the temple? Returning to the Old Testament and the events of the appearance of the first temple - the Tabernacle - let us remember that God said to create it. And God said to visit her too. And we have to either listen to God or ourselves.

For the same, in order to receive communion often, it would be necessary to take the blessing of a priest who knows you, preferably a confessor. He, as a rule, knows how seriously the preparation usually goes, how a person's life is subordinated to spiritual striving. If the blessing is given, then it is clear that the preparation should be as serious as possible. The time between the sacraments should be spent in sobriety and concentration on how I live. It is strange to partake of communion often, and to spend the time between receiving the sacraments in idle and worthless pursuits.

Those who often receive communion can talk about such a sinful phenomenon as getting used to the sacred thing. This is one of the most dangerous sins. This is partly why, on average, people receive communion once every two or three weeks, some even once a month. Of course, the scope of fasting and prayer rules must be agreed with the confessor. From the service book, we know that for a priest, regardless of the frequency of his ministry, it is not proposed to shorten the rule, therefore, in terms of prayer, the canons and the Succession are seen as obligatory to read in any case for those who have decided to often approach the Chalice. The question of frequent communion is very, very individual, often the time when the Sacrament of Communion becomes more frequent is Great Lent. This is the case for special grace-filled help to a person in fasting. For example, a person begins to receive communion weekly, and in the last week of Lent - also on Maundy Thursday and Easter.

Archpriest Alexander Abramov, rector of the church in Krapivniki

- Our church consciousness in its regression has already gone very far. It is clear that the tradition of church life was interrupted, that today we have to create it anew, people have been deprived of full-fledged spiritual discipline for decades, and our knowledge of this discipline is mainly from books, and not from our own living experience. But sometimes it is worth remembering that such a discipline exists. The canons of the Church reprimanded those who did not attend the liturgy on three Sundays in a row.

This is evidenced by the 80th rule of the Trull Cathedral. It prescribes to attend divine services on Sundays, leaving the question of participation in the Sacrament of the Eucharist at the discretion of everyone: “If anyone, a bishop, or a presbyter, or a deacon, or any one of the clergy, or a layman, having no urgent need or obstacle, who would have been removed from his church for a long time, but staying in the city, on three Sundays in the course of three weeks, will not come to the church meeting: then the cleric will be expelled from the clergy, and the layman will be removed from communion. "

In our parish, in practice, it so happened that members of the community, that is, those who regularly go to church, pray and fast, try to confess often. At least this happens once a week or every two weeks. Many of them try to take communion more often. These people already live a church life, they have an experience of prayer, therefore preparation for partaking of the Sacrament is also a natural part of their life for them. The confessor sometimes, for one or another important reason, can bless them to receive communion, even if for some reason they did not read the full prayer rule or in some way weakened their fast. The absolute minimum in this case is adherence to Holy Communion. But this, nevertheless, is an exception - it is advisable to never shorten the prayer rule.

There is a common misconception: some people who are preparing for Communion, with strict fulfillment of the food side of the fast, for some reason consider it possible to skip the evening service and come only to the liturgy. This is just unacceptable. The main theological content of the events remembered during the service is precisely set forth in the altered hymns of the all-night vigil. It is bad if a person strives for the Chalice, wants to receive communion, but at the same time does not want to participate in divine services more meaningfully and understand their meaning.

From experience I can say that recently the number of those who begin the Sacrament of Communion is growing. In our parish, usually at least half of those who attended the Liturgy, when it comes to Sunday, receive communion.

In any case, just as if you made a commitment to pray in the morning and in the evening, even if the prayer “doesn’t go”, you do not give up everything, but you still read the rule and, despite forcing yourself, you receive spiritual benefits. So is the prayer during the liturgy: even if for some reason you do not receive communion on this day, this is not a reason to exclude yourself from communion with God. By coming to the Liturgy, you testify of your faithfulness to Christ, that you belong to his flock, that you confess Him. The Savior said: “Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father in Heaven; but whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father in Heaven ”(Matthew 10: 32-33).

Archpriest Gleb Grozovsky, confessor of FC Zenit Priest Gleb Grozovsky, deputy head of the department for youth affairs of the St. Petersburg Metropolitanate, confessor of the football club Zenit:

- The answer is very simple and unambiguous, voiced long enough by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself: "Take, eat ..." (Mark 14, 22). He did not say once a year or once a week, but "Drink from her all ..." (Mark 14, 24). And so it was every time our Savior's disciples gathered together to break bread (Acts 2:42). Everytime. And they met at least once a week, and sometimes every day. In monasteries of the 4th-5th centuries, monks, even fleeing in the wilderness, once a week necessarily gathered for a general liturgy, at which everyone was bound to unite with God in the Sacrament of the Sacrament.

Periods of Eucharistic decline and rise have been observed at different times throughout history. In the 19th century, it sometimes reached the point of absurdity when officers sent lists of soldiers who received communion once a year to the Diocesan Administration.

How often should you receive communion? This question is discussed both in Optina Hermitage and in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, but an unambiguous answer can be found only in the New Testament or Holy Tradition.

So that there are no disputes and disagreements, it will be useful for all Orthodox to read the works of the Monk Nikodim the Holy Mountain and the Monk Macarius of Corinth, "The most helpful book about the unceasing communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ." Whoever cannot find time for this, let him be familiar with the statement of the holy Apostle Paul: "... Every time you eat this bread and drink from this cup, you testify of the death of the Lord. Do this until He comes" ( 1 Cor. 11:26). Well, so that there are no doubts at all, I recall the words from the 9th apostolic canon: "All the faithful who enter the church and listen to the scriptures, but who do not abide in prayer and Holy Communion to the end, as those who produce disorder in the church, should be excommunicated from the communion of the Church." ... That is, all those believers who come to church and listen to the Scriptures, but do not remain in prayer and do not partake of Holy Communion, must be excommunicated from the Church, because they are causing disorder in the church.

Of course, "a person should check himself before eating bread and drinking from a cup," (1 Cor. 11:28), but look for the reason in "godly" excuses such as "I am not worthy" or "I am not ready" , not very soul-saving!

This is the practice in our parish. I urge and exhort in different ways: if you come to the liturgy, then do not be like a person who was invited to a birthday, cooked, tried, laid the table, but he refuses the meal ... Is there really no desire to share the Meal of Love? Christ did everything for us, we only have to accept His Gift with gratitude, and instead of looking for opportunities, we are looking for the reason for our non-participation in the Savior. For whom did Christ die and for whom was He resurrected? For whom is the service performed? For the sake of the righteous or for the sinners? The priest before Communion says: "Holy to the saints." To whom? Saints? Who are they? And the choir answers: "One is Holy, One is Lord Jesus Christ ...". Then to whom are the words "Holy to the saints" addressed? To us, to everyone who came to the liturgy! “Saint” in translation from the Hebrew means “the chosen one”, and not at all sinless. Yes, these words are addressed to us sinners, but to the elect! And then the necessary condition for union with the Lord is called: "Come with the fear of God, faith and love!" And at the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts the words are heard: "Let us approach by faith and love, so we will be partakers of eternal life." The Liturgy is served for the faithful (baptized), so that at the end of it, everyone may commune of the Body and Blood of our Lord.

Archpriest Andrei Sommer, Department for Youth Affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia Protopriest Andrei Sommer, Deputy Chairman of the Department for Youth Affairs at the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, dean of the Cathedral of the Kursk Root Icon of the Mother of God of the Sign in New York:

- Unfortunately, the practice of parish life in the Church Abroad took shape after the first wave of emigration. And she was such that the parishioners rarely received communion. Now this is changing, and it is normal for us to receive communion on all twelve feasts or when conscience prompts - maybe even almost every Sunday.

At the same time, everyone: both old school parishioners, who receive Communion, as a rule, only during Great Lent, and young people, in the days of Holy Week, they always try to start the Sacraments of Confession and Communion.

But even among our Orthodox Christians who are not very churchgoing abroad, the thought does not arise that there is no need to be at the Liturgy if you do not receive Communion. The temple is a vessel of grace, every time if the liturgy is celebrated, then grace is added to this vessel. The temple itself, when consecrated, is anointed with myrrh. This is already the beginning of the accumulation of grace "in the vessel." Attending the liturgy, we touch this grace. But then the pastor needs to explain to the parishioners that not only need to touch Divine grace, but also need to accept it, and completely change your mind and your life. And this is impossible without the Sacraments of Confession and Communion.

We try to emphasize in sermons the importance of more frequent communion. And the preparation for the reception of the Holy Mysteries is confession. For this I have compiled a small brochure on confession: we give it to everyone who comes to our church, including those who are waiting for their turn to confess. At least while they are in line, they will have the opportunity to reflect on how serious the ordinances they are about to begin are.

Morozov.jpg Hegumen Nektariy (Morozov), rector of the church "Satisfy my sorrows" in the city of Saratov, editor-in-chief of the magazine "Orthodoxy and Modernity":

Unfortunately, for quite objective reasons, the overwhelming majority of modern Christians cannot receive communion as often as the Christians of the first centuries of the Church's existence. Not because it is "forbidden" or "forbidden". No, just frequent communion, several times within one week (and I remember that St. Basil the Great wrote that in his time in Cappadocia it was customary for the laity to partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ four times in a week) requires a certain structure of all life, and more strictness to oneself, and more attentiveness, seriousness. And not everyone is ready for this ...

As for visiting the Divine Liturgy on those days when a person was not going to receive Communion, then, of course, there is nothing reprehensible in this - it is enough to turn to the example of monastic monasteries, in which the Liturgy is served daily and the brethren are daily at all services. Although they do not participate every day. Experience itself testifies that the more often a person is in church when the Eucharist is celebrated, the better: the action of the grace of God is like the action of the sun, under the rays of which a person is warmed up, revives. And during the liturgy, the soul warms up and revives.

It is necessary to decide: what does it mean "to receive communion often"? There are very different points of view on this score. For me personally, the closest thing to the opinion of Archimandrite John (Krestyankin), who advised to receive communion on average once every two weeks. Therefore, "to take communion often", it seems to me, means to receive communion more often than with such frequency. Man is a creature that quickly gets used to both good and bad - to everything, and even to the great and terrible. And getting used to a shrine is known to be an unsafe thing. Therefore, if a person wants to receive communion more often, then he needs the blessing of a confessor, who will confirm that it will be personally beneficial to him, and not harmful. Such a person needs more intense prayer work, more sobriety of life.
The well-known Athonite ascetic, Hieroschemamonk Ephraim of Katunak, advised, for example, to read the Akathist to the Mother of God on the eve of communion and to turn to Her throughout the day, asking Her to grant us communion without condemnation. I think this is a wonderful instruction. But the time of fasting before communion can probably be shortened if a person takes communion, say, weekly and observes fast on Wednesday and Friday. But this, too, is at the discretion of the confessor.

Eremeev.jpg Hegumen Peter (Eremeev), abbot of the stauropegic male Vysoko-Petrovsky monastery in Moscow, rector of the Russian Orthodox University:

The issue of communion at each Liturgy cannot be viewed in terms of church discipline. Rather, it is a question of a person's inner readiness to partake of the Body and Blood of the Lord. And it is decided in the heart of a person and in confession.

When I was a layman, a student of theological schools, I did not think about it. After all, in the seminary and academy we received Communion, though not at every liturgy, but quite often. The very rhythm of life of the theological school, the prayer atmosphere in the Lavra disposed to this.

Then, when I already became a priest, it often happened that in a series of daily affairs, especially when traveling and traveling, you do not come to the service at the very beginning, you pray in the altar, and at the end you taste the antidor with holy water - and this is yours. participation in the liturgy. And, having already had the experience of taking communion at each liturgy served, I began to feel that my spiritual thirst in such a prayerful liturgical presence was not completely satisfied. After all, prayer appeals to God during the Liturgy prepares us precisely for the reception of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. Therefore, taking communion at the Liturgy is as natural as starting the meal, for which he sat down at the dinner table.

But, of course, it cannot be said that without the obligatory communion, the participation of a Christian in the liturgy is an unnecessary or undesirable prayer experience. Each of us knows that there are moments of contrition about sins when we do not fully feel ready to receive the Body and Blood. This, for example, can be attributed to cases of penance, when the soul needs more repentance. After all, according to the Apostle Paul, “Let a man test himself, and in this way let him eat of this bread and drink from this cup. For whoever eats and drinks unworthily eats and drinks condemnation to himself, not considering the Body of the Lord ”(1 Cor. 11: 28-29).

prepared by Antonina Maga,

correspondent for the Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate

Fasting and Prayers Before Communion

Until this year, I confessed and received Communion only once in my life, in my adolescence. Recently I decided to take communion again, but forgot about fasting, prayers, confession ... What should I do now?

According to the canons of the Church, before communion, abstinence from intimate life and communion on an empty stomach are mandatory. All canons, prayers, fasting are just means to tune oneself to prayer, repentance and the desire to correct. Even confession, strictly speaking, is not obligatory before communion, but this is if a person regularly confesses with one priest, if he does not have canonical obstacles to communion (abortion, murder, going to fortune-tellers and psychics ...) the blessing of the confessor is not always necessary to confess before the sacrament (for example, Bright Week). So in your case, nothing particularly terrible happened, but for the future you can use all these means of preparation for the sacrament.

How much to fast before the sacrament?

Strictly speaking, the Typikon (charter) says that those who wish to receive the Holy Communion must fast for a week. But, firstly, this is a monastery charter, and the Book of Rules (canons) contains only two necessary conditions for those wishing to receive communion: 1) the absence of intimate marital relations (not to mention prodigal) on the eve of communion; 2) the sacrament must be taken on an empty stomach. Thus, it turns out that fasting before the sacrament, reading the canons and prayers, and confession are recommended for those preparing for the sacrament in order to more fully evoke a repentant mood. Nowadays, at round tables devoted to the subject of the sacrament, priests came to the conclusion that if a person observes all four large fasts throughout the year, fasts on Wednesday and Friday (and this time takes at least six months a year), then for such a person it is enough eucharistic fast, that is, to receive communion on an empty stomach. But if a person did not go to church for 10 years and decided to take communion, then he will need a completely different format of preparation for communion. All these nuances must be coordinated with your confessor.

Can I continue to prepare for the sacrament if I had to break my fast on Friday: they asked me to remember a person and gave me non-fast food?

You can say this in confession, but this should not be an obstacle to communion. For breaking the fast was forced and justified in this situation.

Why are kakons written in Church Slavonic? After all, they are so hard to read. My husband does not understand anything he reads and is angry. Should I read aloud?

It is customary in the Church to conduct services in the Church Slavonic language. We pray in the same language at home. This is not Russian, Ukrainian or any other language. This is the language of the Church. In this language there are no swear words, swear words, and in fact, you can learn to understand it in just a few days. After all, he has Slavic roots. This is the question why we use this particular language. If your husband is more comfortable listening when you read, you can do so. The main thing is that he listens carefully. I advise you in your free time to sit down and sort through the text with the Church Slavonic dictionary in order to better understand the meaning of the prayers.

My husband believes in God, but in his own way. He believes that it is not necessary to read prayers before confession and communion, it is enough to realize sins in oneself and repent. Isn't this a sin?

If a person considers himself so perfect, almost holy, that he does not need any help in preparing for the sacrament, and prayers are such help, then let him take communion. But he remembers the words of the Holy Fathers that we then partake worthily when we consider ourselves unworthy. And if a person denies the need for prayers before communion, it turns out that he already considers himself worthy. Let your husband think about all this and with heartfelt attention, reading the communion prayers, prepare to receive the Holy Mysteries of Christ.

Is it possible to be at the evening service in one church, and in the morning for communion in another?

There are no canonical prohibitions on this practice.

Can you read the canons and follow the sacrament during the week?

It is better to attentively, pondering the meaning of what is being read, so that it really is a prayer, to distribute the recommended rule for communion for a week, starting with the canons and ending with prayers for communion on the eve of accepting the Mysteries of Christ, than to read mindlessly in one day.

How to fast and prepare for the sacrament while living in a 1-room apartment with unbelievers?

The Holy Fathers teach that one can live in the wilderness and have a bustling city in his heart. Or you can live in a noisy city, but there will be peace and quiet in your heart. So, if we want to pray, we will pray in any conditions. People prayed both in sinking ships and in trenches under bombardment, and this was the most pleasing prayer to God. He who seeks finds opportunities.

Communion of children

When to give communion to a baby?

If the Blood of Christ is left in a special Chalice in churches, then such babies can be given communion at any time, at any time, as long as there is a priest. This is especially practiced in big cities. If there is no such practice, then the child can only be communed when the liturgy is performed in the church, as a rule, on Sunday and on major holidays. With infants, you can come to the end of the service and commune it in the general order. If you come with babies at the beginning of the service, they will start crying and this will interfere with the prayer of the rest of the believers, who will grumble and resent unreasonable parents. Small amounts can be given to babies of any age. Antidor, prosphochka is given when the child is able to use it. As a rule, infants are not given communion on an empty stomach until 3-4 years old, and then they are taught to take communion on an empty stomach. But if a 5-6-year-old child, out of forgetfulness, drank or ate something, then he can also be given the Holy Communion.

The daughter has been partaking of the Body and Blood of Christ for a year. Now she is almost three, we have moved, and in the new church the priest gives her only Blood. At my request to give her a piece, he remarked about the lack of humility. Accept?

At the level of custom, indeed, in our Church, an infant under 7 years of age is given communion only with the Blood of Christ. But if the child is taught to take communion from the very cradle, the priest, seeing the adequacy of the infant when he grows up, can already give the Body of Christ. But you need to be very careful and control that the child does not spit out a particle. Usually, infants are given full communion when the priest and the infant get used to each other, and the priest is confident that the child will fully consume the sacrament. Try to talk once with the priest on this topic, motivating your request by the fact that the child is already accustomed to partaking of both the Body and Blood of Christ, and then humbly accept any reaction of the priest.

What to do with the clothes that the child burp on after the sacrament?

A piece of clothing that has gotten the sacrament is cut out and burned. We patch the hole with some kind of decorative patch.

The daughter was seven years old, before the sacrament she will have a confession. How can I prepare her for this? What prayers to read before communion, what to do with a three-day fast?

The main rule in preparation for the reception of the Holy Sacraments for young children can be summed up in two words: do no harm. Therefore, the parents, especially the mother, must explain to the child why to confess, for what purpose to receive communion. And the prescribed prayers and canons gradually, not immediately, maybe even read with the child. To begin with one prayer, so that the child does not overwork, so that it is not a burden for him, so that this coercion does not push him away. Likewise, with regard to fasting, limit both the time and the list of prohibited foods, for example, refuse only meat. In general, in the beginning it is necessary that the mother understands the meaning of the preparation, and then, without fanaticism, gradually, step by step, teach her child.

The child is prescribed a course of vaccinations against rabies. He is not allowed to contain alcohol for a whole year. What to do with the sacrament?

Believing that the sacrament is the best medicine in the universe, when we approach it, we forget about all the limitations. And according to our faith, we will heal both soul and body.

The child was prescribed a gluten-free diet (no bread). I understand that we eat the Blood and the Body of Christ, but the physical characteristics of the food remain wine and bread. Is the sacrament possible without partaking of the body? What's in a wine?

Again, the sacrament is the best medicine in the world. But, given the age of your child, you can, of course, ask to receive communion only with the Blood of Christ. The wine used for the sacrament can be real wine made from grapes with added sugar for strength, or it can be a wine product made from grapes with added ethyl alcohol. What wine is used in the church where you receive communion, you can ask the priest.

Every Sunday the child received Communion, but the last time he approached the Chalice, he had a terrible hysteria. The next time, in another church, everything was repeated. I'm desperate.

In order not to aggravate the child's negative reaction to the sacrament, you can try to simply go to the temple without taking communion. You can try to introduce the child to the priest, so that this communication will smooth out the child's fear, and over time he again begins to partake of the Body and Blood of Christ.

Communion on Easter, on Bright Week, syllabic weeks

Do I need to observe a three-day fast, deduct the canons and the order in order to receive Holy Communion on Bright Week?

Starting from the night liturgy and throughout all the days of Bright Week, the sacrament is not only allowed, but also commanded by the 66th rule of the sixth Ecumenical Council. Preparation these days consists in reading the Easter Canon and following to Holy Communion. Starting from the week of Antipascha, they prepare for the sacrament, as throughout the year (three canons and succession).

How to prepare for communion in continuous weeks?

The Church, as a loving mother, cares not only about our soul, but also about our body. Therefore, on the eve of, for example, a rather difficult Great Lent, it gives us a kind of relaxation in food through a continuous week. But this does not mean that we are forced to eat more fast food these days. That is, we have a right, but not an obligation. So as you want to prepare for the sacrament, get ready. But remember the main thing: first of all, we prepare our soul and heart, purifying them with repentance, prayer, reconciliation, and the stomach is in last place.

I heard that it is possible to receive Holy Communion on Easter, even if he did not observe the fast. Is it true?

There is no special rule allowing communion on Easter specifically without fasting and without preparation. On this question, the answer must be given by the priest after direct communication with the person.

I want to receive Holy Communion on Easter, but I ate soup in non-fasting broth. Now I am afraid that I cannot receive communion. What do you think?

Remembering the words of John Chrysostom, which are read on Easter night, that those who fast do not condemn those who have not fasted, but that we all rejoice, you can boldly proceed to the sacrament of the sacrament on Easter night, deeply and sincerely realizing your unworthiness. And most importantly - bring God not the contents of your stomach, but the contents of your heart. And for the future, of course, we must strive to fulfill the commandments of the Church, including fasting.

During the communion, the priest in our church scolded me for not coming on the days of fasting for communion, but on Easter. What is the difference between the sacrament at Easter service and “simple” Sunday?

This should be asked from your father. For even the canons of the Church welcome the sacrament not only on Easter, but throughout the entire Bright Week. No priest has the right to prohibit a person from receiving communion at any liturgy, if there are no canonical obstacles to this.

Communion for the elderly and sick people, pregnant women, nursing mothers

How to properly approach the communion of an elderly person at home?

It is advisable to invite a priest to sick people at least during Great Lent. It will not hurt in other posts. It is mandatory during an exacerbation of the disease, especially if it is clear that things are going to death, without waiting for the patient to fall into unconsciousness, his swallowing reflex will disappear or he will vomit. He must be in a sober mind and memory.

My mother-in-law has recently taken to her bed. I offered to invite the priest home for confession and communion. Something was stopping her. She is not always conscious now. Advise what to do.

The Church accepts a conscious choice of a person without forcing his will. If a person, being in memory, wished to proceed to the sacraments of the Church, but for some reason did not do this, then in case of a clouded mind, remembering his desire and consent, you can still make such a compromise as communion and unction (this is how we partake infants or insane). But if a person, being in his sound mind, did not want to accept the sacraments of the church, then even in the event of a loss of consciousness, the Church does not force the choice of this person and cannot receive communion or unction. Alas, this is his choice. Such cases are considered by the confessor, directly communicating with the patient and his relatives, after which the final decision is made. In general, of course, it is best to clarify your relationship with God in a conscious and adequate state.

I am diabetic. Can I receive Holy Communion if I took a pill and ate in the morning?

In principle, it is possible, but if you wish, you can limit yourself to a pill, take communion at the first services, which end early in the morning. Then eat to your health. If it is impossible without food for health reasons, then stipulate this in confession and receive communion.

I have a thyroid disease and cannot go to church without drinking water and having a snack. If I go on an empty stomach, it will become bad. I live in the provinces, the priests are strict. It turns out that I cannot receive communion?

If it is required for medical reasons, there are no prohibitions. In the end, the Lord looks not into the stomach, but into the heart of a person, and any competent, sane priest should understand this perfectly.

For several weeks now I have been unable to receive the Holy Communion due to bloody discharge. What to do?

Such a period can no longer be called an ordinary female cycle. Therefore, it is already a disease. And there are women who have such phenomena for months. In addition, and not necessarily for this reason, but for some other reason, during such a phenomenon, the death of a woman may occur. Therefore, even the rule of Timothy of Alexandria, forbidding a woman to take the sacrament during "women's days," nevertheless, for the fear of a mortal (a threat to life), allows the sacrament. There is such an episode in the Gospel when a woman suffering from bleeding for 12 years, desiring healing, touched the robe of Christ. The Lord did not condemn her, but on the contrary, she received recovery. Considering all of the above, a wise confessor will bless you to receive Holy Communion. It is quite possible that after such a Medicine your bodily ailment will be healed.

Is preparation for confession and communion different for pregnant women?

The service life of military people participating in hostilities is considered as a year for three. And during the Great Patriotic War in the Soviet army, soldiers were even given front-line 100 grams, although in peacetime vodka and the army were incompatible. For a pregnant woman, the time of bearing a child is also "wartime", and this was perfectly understood by the Holy Fathers when they allowed for pregnant and lactating women to relax in fasting and prayer. Pregnant women can still be compared with sick women - toxicosis, etc. And the rules of the church (canon 29 of the holy apostles) for the sick are also allowed to weaken the fast until it is completely abolished. In general, each pregnant woman, according to her conscience, based on the state of her health, herself determines the measure of fasting and prayer. I would recommend taking Communion as often as possible during pregnancy. The prayer rule for communion can be performed while sitting. You can also sit in the church, you can not come at the beginning of the service.

Common questions about the sacrament

In recent years, after the Sunday liturgy, I have had severe headaches, especially on the days of the sacrament. With what it can be connected?

Similar cases in various variations are quite common. To look at all this as a temptation in a good deed and, naturally, continue to go to church for services, not succumbing to these temptations.

How often can you receive Holy Communion? Do I need to read all the canons before the sacrament, observe fasting and confess?

The purpose of the Divine Liturgy is the communion of believers, that is, bread and wine are transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ so that they can be eaten by people, and not only by the ministering priest. In ancient times, a person who attended the liturgy and did not receive Holy Communion was then obliged to give an explanation to the priest why he did not. At the end of each liturgy, the priest, appearing at the Royal Doors with the Chalice, says: "Come with the fear of God and faith." If a person takes communion once a year, then he needs a preliminary weekly fast in food, and canons with prayers, and if a person observes all four large fasts, fasts every Wednesday and Friday, then he can receive communion without additional fasting, fasting the so-called Eucharistic fast , that is, to receive communion on an empty stomach. As for the rule for communion, we must be aware that it was given in order to evoke feelings of repentance in us. If we often partake of Communion and we have this repentant feeling and it is difficult for us to read the rule before each communion, then we can omit the canons, but it is still advisable to read the prayers for the sacrament. At the same time, one must remember the words of the Monk Ephraim the Syrian: "I am afraid to receive communion, realizing my unworthiness, but even more - to remain without communion."

Is it possible to receive communion on Sunday if you were not at the All-night Vigil on Saturday because of obedience to your parents? Is it a sin not to go to the service on Sunday if your family needs help?

To such a question, the best answer will be given by a person's conscience: was there really no other way out not to go to the service, or is this a reason to skip prayer on Sunday? In general, of course, it is desirable for an Orthodox person, according to God's commandment, to attend a service every Sunday. It is generally advisable to attend Saturday evening services before Sunday afternoon, and especially before communion. But if for some reason it was not possible to be at the service, and the soul longs for communion, then, realizing its unworthiness, with the blessing of the confessor, one can commune.

Is it possible to take communion on a weekday, that is, after the sacrament, go to work?

You can, at the same time, preserve the purity of your heart as much as possible.

How many days after the sacrament do not bow and bow down?

If the liturgical charter (during Great Lent) prescribes bows to the ground, then already starting from the evening service they can and should be laid. And if the charter does not provide for bows, then on the day of communion, only bows in the bow are performed.

I want to receive communion, but on the day of communion it is the Pope's jubilee. How to congratulate your father so as not to offend?

For the sake of peace and love, you can congratulate your father, but do not linger on the holiday for a long time, so as not to "splash" the grace of the sacrament.

Father refused to give me Communion because my eyes were tinted. Is he right?

Probably, the priest thought that you are already a mature enough Christian to realize that they go to church without emphasizing the beauty of their body, but to heal the soul. But if a beginner has come, then under such a pretext it is impossible to deprive him of the sacrament, so as not to forever scare him away from the Church.

Is it possible, having received the sacrament, to receive a blessing from God for some business? Successful job interview, IVF procedure ...

People receive communion for the healing of soul and body, assuming through the sacrament to receive some kind of help and God's blessing in good deeds. And ECO, according to church teaching, is a sinful and unacceptable business. Therefore, you can take communion, but this does not mean at all that this sacrament will help in the non-pleasing matter you have conceived. The sacrament cannot automatically guarantee that our requests will be fulfilled. But if we try to lead a Christian lifestyle at all, then, of course, the Lord will help us, including in earthly matters.

My husband and I go to confession and communion in different churches. How important is it for spouses to partake of the same Cup?

In whatever Orthodox canonical church we receive communion, still, by and large, we all partake from one Chalice, consuming the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. It follows from this that it is absolutely unimportant whether spouses partake in the same church or in different ones, for the Body and Blood of the Savior are the same everywhere.

Prohibitions for Communion

Can I go to the sacrament without reconciliation, for which I have neither the strength nor the desire?

In the prayers before communion there is a kind of announcement: "Although it is, human, the Body of the Lord, first reconcile thee to those who grieve." That is, without reconciliation, the priest cannot admit a person to communion, and if a person has decided to arbitrarily take communion, then he will receive communion for himself in condemnation.

Is it possible to partake of the sacrament after desecration?

You cannot, you are only allowed to taste the prosphora.

Is it possible for me to receive communion if I live in an unmarried civil marriage and on the eve of communion I confessed my sins? I intend to continue such a relationship, I'm afraid, otherwise my beloved will not understand me.

It is important for a believer to be understood by God. And God will not understand us, seeing that the opinion of people is more important to us. God wrote to us that fornicators will not inherit the Kingdom of God, and according to the canons of the Church, such a sin excommunicates a person from the sacrament for many years, even if he is corrected. And the cohabitation of a man and a woman without a registration in the registry office is called fornication, this is not a marriage. People who live in such "marriages" and take advantage of the condescension and kindness of their confessor, in fact, very expose them to God, because the priest has to take upon himself their sin if he allows them to participate in the sacrament. Unfortunately, such a promiscuous sex life has become the norm of our time, and pastors no longer know where to go, what to do with such flock. Therefore, take pity on your priests (this is an appeal to all such prodigal roommates) and legitimize your relationship at least in the registry office, and if you mature, then receive a blessing for marriage and through the sacrament of wedding. You have to make a choice what is more important to you: the eternal destiny of your soul or temporary bodily consolations. After all, even a confession without the intention of correcting in advance is hypocritical and resembles a trip to the hospital without a desire to be treated. Whether to admit you to communion or not, let your confessor decide.

The priest imposed a penance on me and excommunicated me from the sacrament for three months, because I had a relationship with a man. Can I confess to another priest and, with his permission, take the Holy Communion?

For fornication (sex outside marriage), according to the rules of the Church, a person can be excommunicated from the sacrament not for three months, but for several years. You have no right to revoke the imposed penance with another priest.

My aunt read fortunes on a nut, then confessed. The priest forbade her to receive communion for three years! How should she be?

According to the canons of the Church, for such actions (in fact, engaging in occultism), a person is excommunicated from the sacrament for several years. So everything that the priest you indicated has done is within his competence. But, seeing sincere repentance and a desire not to repeat anything like that, he has the right to shorten the term of penance (punishment).

I have not yet completely got rid of my sympathy for Baptism, but I want to go to confession and receive communion. Or wait until I am completely sure of the truth of Orthodoxy?

Whoever doubts the truth of Orthodoxy cannot proceed to the sacraments. So try to fully establish yourself. For the Gospel says that "according to your faith it will be given to you," and not according to formal participation in the sacraments and rites of the church.

The sacrament and other ordinances of the Church

I was invited to be the godmother of the child. How long before baptism should I receive the Holy Communion?

They are not related ordinances. In principle, you must take communion constantly. And before baptism, think more about how to be a worthy godmother, taking care of the Orthodox upbringing of the baptized person.

Is it obligatory to confess and receive communion before unction?

In principle, these are unrelated sacraments. But since it is believed that forgotten and unconscious sins, which are the cause of human illnesses, are forgiven in unction, there is a tradition that consists in us repenting of those sins that we remember and know, and then unction.

Superstitions about the sacrament of the sacrament

Is meat allowed on the day of the sacrament?

When a person is going to see a doctor, he takes a shower, changes his underwear ... Similarly, an Orthodox Christian, preparing for the sacrament, fasts, reads the rules, comes to services more often, and after communion, if it is not a fast day, you can eat any food , including meat.

I heard that on the day of communion, nothing should be spat out and no one should be kissed.

On the day of the sacrament, any person takes food and makes it with a spoon. That is, in fact, and, oddly enough, licking a spoon many times while eating, a person does not eat it with food :). Many are afraid to kiss the cross or icons after the sacrament, but they “kiss” the spoon. I think you already understand that all the actions that you mentioned can be performed after washing the sacrament.

Not long ago, in one of the churches, before communion, the priest admonished those who confessed: "Do not dare to come to the sacrament those who brushed their teeth or chewed gum this morning."

I also brush my teeth before the service. And you really don't need to chew gum. When we brush our teeth, we take care not only of ourselves, but also that those around us do not hear an unpleasant smell from our breath.

I always go to the sacrament with a bag. The temple worker told to leave her. I got irritated, left the bag and in a state of anger took communion. Can I go to the Cup with a bag?

The demon must have sent that grandmother. After all, the Lord has nothing to do with what is in our hands when we come to the Holy Chalice, for He looks into the heart of a person. But, nevertheless, there was no need to be angry. Repent of this in confession.

Is it possible to get infected with some kind of disease after the sacrament? In the temple where I went, it was required not to lick a spoon, the priest himself threw a particle into his wide open mouth. In another temple, I was corrected that I was not taking the sacrament correctly. But this is very dangerous!

At the end of the service, the priest or deacon uses (eats up) the sacrament remaining in the Chalice. And this despite the fact that in the vast majority of cases (about what you wrote, I first hear a priest "load" the sacrament into his mouth, like an excavator) people take communion by taking the sacrament with their lips and touching the liar (spoon). I myself have been using the remaining Gifts for more than 30 years, and neither I nor any of the other priests have ever suffered from any infectious diseases after that. Going to the Chalice, we must understand that this is a Sacrament, and not an ordinary plate of food, from which many people eat. The sacrament is not an ordinary meal, it is the Body and Blood of Christ, which in fact cannot initially be sources of infection, just as they cannot be the same source of icons and holy relics.

My relative says that the sacrament on the day of the feast of St. Sergius of Radonezh is equal to 40 communions. Can the Sacrament of the Sacrament be stronger on some day than on another?

The sacrament at any Divine Liturgy has the same power and meaning. And in this matter there can be no arithmetic. He who accepts the Mysteries of Christ must always be equally aware of his unworthiness and be grateful to God for allowing him to take the sacrament.

Is it obligatory to attend the evening service? You can confess right during the liturgy. Or should attendance at the all-night vigil be as obligatory for believers as attending the liturgy?

Our sacrifice to God

Archpriest Igor Fomin, rector of the Church of St. Alexander Nevsky at MGIMO (Moscow):

The liturgical day is the totality of all the services of the daily cycle, the crown of which is the liturgy.

Why is it so difficult to pray at the all-night vigil and so easy at the liturgy? Because the all-night vigil is our sacrifice to God, when we sacrifice our time to Him, some external circumstances. And the liturgy is God's sacrifice to us. And it is often much easier to take. But oddly enough, the degree of acceptance of this sacrifice from God depends on how much we are willing to sacrifice to Him.

The all-night vigil is formally a compulsory divine service before the sacrament.

The entire system of worship reminds us of the events of the divine world order, it should make us better, attune us to the sacrifice that Christ prepares for us during Holy Communion.

But there are different circumstances in which a person cannot get to the all-night vigil: a grumpy wife, a jealous husband, urgent work, and so on. And these are the reasons that can justify a person. But if he is not present at the all-night vigil because he is watching the football championship or his favorite TV series (note, I am not talking about guests here - after all, this is a little different), then, probably, the person is sinning internally. And not before the church charter, not even before God. He's just robbing himself.

In general, it is impossible to rob the Church, the temple, even if you take out all the icons and some material values ​​from there. The spirit world is not a bank or a store. You will not harm the Church with your unworthy behavior. But for you, the inner consequences of this are disastrous.

Everyone should think for himself. If he has the opportunity to attend the all-night vigil, then he needs to do it. If there is no such possibility, then it is worth considering: how can I worthily spend this evening before communion in order to prepare for the reception of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. Maybe you shouldn't watch TV, but should focus on spiritual reflection?

If a person wants to receive communion every Sunday and worries if he will be in church every Saturday and will remain without days off, without rest, the question arises - why should he receive communion every Sunday?

The Lord says, “where your treasure is, there your heart will also be” (Matt. 6:21). If your treasure is in the cinema, in front of the TV, at the stadium, put off the sacrament until better times: for a week, for a month, for a year.

The motivation that drives a person is very important here. If you are used to taking communion every Sunday, and this does not change you spiritually, does not transform you, then why do you need it?

Maybe then take the measure of frequency that is in the church charter: the sacrament - once every three weeks. The time of preparation for communion in the statutes is defined as follows: a week - you prepare, fast with dry food, read prayers. Then - you receive communion, you internally keep what you received for a week, you rest for a week and then you get ready again. There is an option when everyone discusses the form of preparation for the sacrament with his spiritual father.

If a person sets himself a specific schedule for the sacrament, that is good. Only then should he treat this sacrament accordingly.

Not only debt ...

Archpriest Alexander Ilyashenko, rector of the Church of the All-Merciful Savior in the former Sorrowful Monastery (Moscow):

First of all, it is necessary to say about the beauty of the all-night vigil, its content, its spiritual and actual saturation: the history of the holiday, and its meaning, and meaning are revealed in the service.

But since, as a rule, people do not understand what is being read and sung in the church, they simply do not perceive much.

It is surprising that the Russian Orthodox Church has preserved in its entirety a very complex, well-thought-out divine service. For example, there is no such thing in parishes in Greece anymore. They have adjusted to modern life, and this is justified in its own way. There is no evening service, Vespers is not served, the morning begins with Matins.

We serve both Vespers and Matins in the evening. This is a kind of convention, but it is thought out, and those who made the decision about this particular course of worship understood the charter better than we did and decided that it would be more correct to remain faithful to tradition.

Greece made a different decision. Matins are served there, as a rule, in one type. We have an all-night vigil - solemn, bright, colorful, during which many hymns are sung. In Greece, it is more monotonous, but fast. The entire service, together with the liturgy, takes two hours. But this is precisely in parish churches.

In monasteries, and even more so on Mount Athos, the charter is preserved in all severity. The all-night vigil is really going on all night.

We do not, and this is also a kind of convention, a kind of reduction. But those who developed this, made the decision to reduce it based on certain circumstances, nevertheless, they wanted to preserve the beauty of Orthodox worship for the laity.

But here a difficulty arises - we live in the 21st century: we are busy, the distances are long, people get tired, the ecology is terrible, health, or better to say, ill health, corresponds to it. Although I think that the peasants who worked tirelessly in the summer from morning to evening, physically tired more than ours. But still, they had enough strength to finish their working day earlier on Saturday, wash in the bathhouse and go to church for the All-Night Vigil, and in the morning for the Liturgy.

It may be that it is more difficult for us than for our recent ancestors, physically we are much weaker. But, nevertheless, we urge not to hide behind our weaknesses, but to find strength and go to the all-night vigil, especially those who want to receive communion. So that they could confess on the eve of the Liturgy, without taking up the time of the Sunday service.

But if people have small children who have no one to leave with, or if there are some other objective reasons, you cannot tell them: "If you were not at the all-night vigil, then you will not receive communion." Although it is possible for someone to say so: if a person has shown precisely sloppiness, laziness, relaxation ...

It is important to strive to ensure that our parishioners love the divine service of our Church and consider it not only a duty, but also a joy to be present in the church.

Without "social protection"

Archpriest Alexy Uminsky, rector of the Church of the Life-Giving Trinity in Khokhly (Moscow):

There is a certain range of services, and the all-night vigil is a necessary part of the Sunday service. But there are life circumstances of a certain level when a person is not able to go to the all-night vigil. But he can go to the liturgy and partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ.

It is a completely common practice of divine services in our Russian Orthodox churches abroad that the majority of parishioners living in different cities come only for Sunday services. Therefore, in most cases, there is only Sunday liturgy in churches.

This is also due to the fact that if the priest will serve not only the liturgy, but also add to it, say, matins, then the service will be performed for about four hours. This is not only difficult to perceive, but also related to the transport schedule, parking fees ...

But the fact that only the Liturgy is served is not an obstacle for the parishioners who come to receive communion from accepting the Holy Mysteries of Christ.

But if a person has the opportunity to attend the all-night vigil, and he simply does not want to go out of laziness, out of carelessness, then this can become an obstacle to communion.

Yes, it turns out that the temple “occupies” both days off of an ordinary person working five days a week. But only those living in the XX, XXI centuries are used to such things as two days off. Previously, people did not have such a "social protection". They worked for six days, and dedicated the seventh to the Lord God.

The question is not whether it is possible to lie on the couch instead of the all-night vigil. Here the answer is unequivocal. Another thing is that people can have quite justified family concerns. In the end, it is at this time that the ordered furniture from the store should be brought. Or - they invited a person dear to the whole family to the anniversary. If we spent this jubilee godly, why could it be an obstacle to communion?

But all this does not happen every Saturday. And just to decide that the all-night vigil is an optional thing, and I will not go to it, is wrong.