Why kiss the hand of the priest. On clergy and spiritual leadership

Explains by Priest Valentin Makarov.

The Lord created man in such a way that every organ or part of his body has, as a rule, two functions: practical and sacred. The head contains the brain, as the main organ of vital activity of the whole organism, and all the senses, but the head is also the highest part of the body from the earth, and it is commanded to be covered or open during prayer, otherwise a person will put his head to shame.

For a cardiologist, the heart is a muscle pump that should work flawlessly like the engine of a German car or like a Swiss watch. But we also mention the heart as the center of the sensual side of human life, which can cry and ache, be stony and cold, contrite and humble, moreover, the language of Scripture speaks of the possibility of having a “circumcised” heart. The eye can water from dust or an injury inflicted, but it can also tempt the whole person to death or be a bearer of a log. The legs, arms and all parts of the body also have their own dual characteristics. The great prophet Elijah, denouncing all the people, uses the image of spiritual limp, and on both knees at once.

Likewise, lips have a sacred function - to kiss, or in modern language - to kiss. Through the mouth of one of the disciples, the Teacher was betrayed to death, by whose wounds we were healed. Another great prophet, Isaiah, was once purified by the touch of the mouth of a hot coal, for the sake of the same struggle with idols. With our lips we express love for our loved ones, with our lips we touch the mother of her sick child, believing that this touch will alleviate his ailment. From the touch of the lips under the cover of marriage, a new life can arise.

In our church, before the beginning of the chanting of the Creed, all those praying give each other a “Holy kiss”. Indeed, how mysterious and quivering it all is. Is there really no room left in our church life in order to give a kiss to Christ Himself? And not as Judas, whom we always mention before Communion, so as not to repeat that treacherous kissing, but as faithful followers of the rest of the disciples, who were once gathered at one meal. Since the priest, first of all, is called to repeat this meal that once took place with his own hands and lips, then he too is worthy of a kiss. And honor is given not so much to him personally as to the most sacred dignity, together with the prefix "father" or "father". As far as I know, this problem does not exist within the Church. It is more inherent in the novice. Therefore, it is not necessary to kiss the hand, but the hand is a part of the priestly clothing that is worn on the wrist.

And the last thing that can be said about kissing is the "decoration" of the lips with all sorts of lipsticks. In addition to the practical smearing of icons, clothing, and other sacred objects with animal tallow included in their composition, there is also an allegorical meaning. Applying lipstick symbolizes the covering of your lips with something external. This is a screen, a mask that hides your true intentions. And it turns out that you touch with crafty and deceitful lips, and do not communicate a holy kiss with an open heart.

Explains by Priest Valentin Makarov.

The Lord created man in such a way that every organ or part of his body has, as a rule, two functions: practical and sacred. The head contains the brain, as the main organ of vital activity of the whole organism, and all the senses, but the head is also the highest part of the body from the earth, and it is commanded to be covered or open during prayer, otherwise a person will put his head to shame.

For a cardiologist, the heart is a muscle pump that should work flawlessly like the engine of a German car or like a Swiss watch. But we also mention the heart as the center of the sensual side of human life, which can cry and ache, be stony and cold, contrite and humble, moreover, the language of Scripture speaks of the possibility of having a “circumcised” heart. The eye can water from dust or an injury inflicted, but it can also tempt the whole person to death or be a bearer of a log. The legs, arms and all parts of the body also have their own dual characteristics. The great prophet Elijah, denouncing all the people, uses the image of spiritual limp, and on both knees at once.

Likewise, lips have a sacred function - to kiss, or in modern language - to kiss. Through the mouth of one of the disciples, the Teacher was betrayed to death, by whose wounds we were healed. Another great prophet, Isaiah, was once purified by the touch of the mouth of a hot coal, for the sake of the same struggle with idols. With our lips we express love for our loved ones, with our lips we touch the mother of her sick child, believing that this touch will alleviate his ailment. From the touch of the lips under the cover of marriage, a new life can arise.

In our church, before the beginning of the chanting of the Creed, all those praying give each other a “Holy kiss”. Indeed, how mysterious and quivering it all is. Is there really no room left in our church life in order to give a kiss to Christ Himself? And not as Judas, whom we always mention before Communion, so as not to repeat that treacherous kissing, but as faithful followers of the rest of the disciples, who were once gathered at one meal. Since the priest, first of all, is called to repeat this meal that once took place with his own hands and lips, then he too is worthy of a kiss. And honor is given not so much to him personally as to the most sacred dignity, together with the prefix "father" or "father". As far as I know, this problem does not exist within the Church. It is more inherent in the novice. Therefore, it is not necessary to kiss the hand, but the hand is a part of the priestly clothing that is worn on the wrist.

And the last thing that can be said about kissing is the "decoration" of the lips with all sorts of lipsticks. In addition to the practical smearing of icons, clothing, and other sacred objects with animal tallow included in their composition, there is also an allegorical meaning. Applying lipstick symbolizes the covering of your lips with something external. This is a screen, a mask that hides your true intentions. And it turns out that you touch with crafty and deceitful lips, and do not communicate a holy kiss with an open heart.

Kissing the hand as such does not mean humiliation - it all depends on the feelings we experience. Negative feelings based on distrust prohibit showing the signs of respect that are common in other cases.

Can we kiss mom's hand. There are many people who respect their parents, who, in a fit of feelings, are able to sincerely kiss the hand and father to express their gratitude, respect and love. In the old days, when people were intelligent and educated, they did this without hesitation. Nowadays, we are able to kiss our father's hand only if he is probably dying. If the example with the father seems completely unrealistic to the reader, you probably should not continue reading. You just have to keep in mind that kissing the priest's hand is optional. There are no such rules. This is a personal matter for everyone.

For those who have overcome the previous lines, we have something to say.

First of all, let us pay attention to the fact that not everyone kisses the priest's hand and not always. When do they usually kiss? After the end of the service, when the faithful, according to the established tradition, come to the priest to kiss the cross - the instrument of our salvation. All other cases are unusual.

However, in the usual case, not everyone kisses the hand. Some kiss the cross and hand. Some cross and arms, on which, again, the cross is embroidered. Some only cross. Why? Because it is unpleasant for a man to kiss a man's hand (for a woman, there is no such barrier) and this requires additional motivation. It is available, but only for believers. During the service, the priest symbolizes Christ. The cross in the hands of the priest symbolizes the Cross on which the Lord was crucified. When kissing the hand of the priest, a person simply kisses the hand of Christ, who stretches out the cross to us, that is, the hand of God who offers us salvation. That's all.

Moreover, a number of priests object to kissing their hands, holding the cross with the fingers of both hands by the long bar so that their hands are far from the cross, and immediately after kissing the cross they move their hands to the side. Why? Ask these priests.

Of course, there are cases of excess feelings when we understand what this priest is doing for us, and we are not ashamed and want to kiss his hand. The description of these feelings is hardly possible, they are so far from the mentality of the unbeliever. The closest analogy is gratitude.

Unfortunately, there are cases of servility. They must be avoided. Even more regretfully, there are times when the priest literally pokes his hand in the face, demanding a kiss. Thank God, these cases are rare in the entire Russian Orthodox Church. Then simply move away from such a priest, and the Lord will judge as He Himself sees fit.

Answers to some questions asked by parishioners ...

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The most useful thing for me (and I think that for any person who speaks Russian) is simply a thoughtful reading of texts in Church Slavonic. In any case, you need to start with this: just take the Gospel or a prayer book in Church Slavonic and regularly read it thoughtfully — very soon a lot will begin to become clear. Of course, there are words and grammatical constructions that will eventually need to be parsed with the help of a dictionary, reference book or textbook. There are several textbooks, but, in my opinion, they are all very similar, and you can use any of them — the one that is easiest for you to acquire.

God help you in learning the Church Slavonic language!

“Why kiss the priest's hand?

I really like the answer of Hieromonk Job (Gumerov), so I quote it in full:

In biblical times, kissing was a common form of respectful greeting, especially hand kissing. To do this, you had to bend over to the other person's hand, kiss it and run it over your forehead. Kissing as a symbol of love and respect was also adopted by early Christians: “Greet all brothers with a holy kiss” (1 Thess. 5:26).

Kissing the priest's hand, which occurs when he gives the cross or blesses, in contrast to a simple greeting, has a special spiritual and moral significance. Receiving grace from God through the cross or priestly blessing, a person mentally kisses the invisible right hand of God, which gives him this grace. At the same time, the one who kisses the hand of the priest expresses respect for the rank as well. Saint Nicholas (Velimirovich) wrote about this to the printer Yu. K.: “To the former priest, you gladly kissed the hand with a blessing, but kissing the hand of a priest who is much younger than you seems uncomfortable to you. Don't you know the story of Prince Milos and the young priest? This story is as follows: a young priest served the liturgy in Kragujevets in the presence of Prince Milos. The old prince was very pious, he came to church long before the beginning of the service, until the end of the service he stood rooted to the spot and prayed to God in contrition. When the young priest finished the service, he left the altar with the cross and antidorus. The prince approached to kiss the cross and kiss the priest's hand. But the young man withdrew his hand, as if ashamed that the elderly man, the prince, wanted to kiss his hand. Prince Milos looked at him and said: "Let me kiss your hand, for I do not kiss your hand, but your dignity, which is older than me and you!" I think that explains everything. The old prince spoke in the church the words of the Holy Spirit Himself. Think for yourself, if your priest is 25 years old, then his rank is 1900 years old. And when you kiss his hand, you kiss the dignity, which has passed from the apostles of Christ to the multitude of ministers of the altar of God. And when kissing the priestly dignity, you kiss all the great hierarchs and confessors who wore this dignity, from the apostles to the present. You kiss Saint Ignatius, Saint Nicholas, Saint Basil, Saint Sava, Saint Arseny and many others who served as an adornment of the earth and became an adornment of heaven and who are called “earthly angels and heavenly people”. The kissing of a priest's hand is not an ordinary kiss, but, according to the words of the Apostle Paul, a holy kiss (cf. 1 Cor. 16:20). Kiss the blessing hand and the dignity that is blessed with the Holy Spirit without embarrassment ”(Missionary Letters. Letter 157). - http://www.pravoslavie.ru/answers/7431.htm

—They say that after partaking of the Sacrament it is forbidden to kiss the hand of a priest. Is it so?

Immediately after Communion, you need to kiss only the edge of the Chalice, as it were, the rib of the Savior, from which His life-giving Blood flows, and besides this, you don't need to kiss anything at all - neither the hand of the priest, nor the icon, nor the cross, because there may still be small particles on the lips or drops of the Holy Gifts. After Communion, you must immediately go to the drinking table, eat a piece of prosphora and wash it down with wine mixed with water, so that no part of the Communion remains on the lips or in the mouth. After that, there is no reason to avoid kissing the holy icons, the cross or the priest's hand.

M ir to you, dear visitors of the Orthodox island "Family and Faith"!

Have whether to address the priest locally: "Holy Father?"

H Is it necessary to kiss the hand of a priest after anointing with anointing?

WITH Is it necessary to kiss the cross and the priest's hand on the day of the sacrament?

H Is it necessary for little girls to cover their heads with headscarves when they go to the Temple?

Archpriest Sergiy Nikolaev answers:

« O the appeal to the clergyman "Holy Father" is accepted in the Catholic Church, as well as among the Orthodox in some western regions of Ukraine. In the Russian tradition, the official address is your reverend or your reverend... In other cases - father such and such (name), or father.

Sometimes, instead of the name of the priest, his obedience or position is called: Father Rector, Father Governor, Father Dean, Father Economist. Addressing the bishop, they say: Lord... To the deacon: father is a deacon or father is such and such (name).

However, sometimes we can hear an appeal: "Holy father" where the word "Holy" does not mean the sanctity of the person, but the dignity of the priest. So, the Russian translation of this Slavic address is rather unusual than incorrect.

- Is it necessary to kiss the hand of a priest after anointing with oil?

- The custom of kissing the hand is very ancient. In a secular society today, only the tradition of kissing the hands of women has survived. However, such a tradition arose in Europe only in the Middle Ages, at the time of the fascination with the cult of the Beautiful Lady. Before that, in most societies, men were kissed by the hand. Kissed the hand giving or able to give... And the owners, the owners were mostly men. The vassal kissed the master's hand. The slave and the servant are the master's hand. The wife is the husband's hand.

There was a deep meaning in this action: by kissing the hand, a person expressed gratitude for real or possible favors emanating from this hand. By the way, the custom, when receiving a gift, to kiss the donor's hand, was preserved in many Christian countries until very recently.

The priest is also bearer of mercy- blessings, therefore, having received a blessing, people kiss his hand. In addition, every priest is a servant of God, he gives us not his own, but what he received from the Lord, and, kissing the priest's hand, we express gratitude not to him, but to the True Giver of Mercy - the Lord. Confusion in this case can only be experienced by a very proud person.

Holy oil is a symbol of God's mercy. The priest, not from himself, but from the Lord, teaches us it. And we, thanks to God, kiss the hand through which He showed us this mercy.

Sometimes, in this case, they are applied to the cross on the order of the priest. Handrail- this is a part of the priestly vestment, a ribbon with a cross that tightens the wrist, as a sign that the priest does not perform actions with his own hands, but the Lord Himself acts through him.

- Should you kiss the cross and the priest's hand on the day of communion?

- On the day of communion, at the end of the service, we kiss the cross, but we no longer kiss the priest's hand. On this day, it is also not customary to kiss icons and other shrines. In the sacrament, we already have the greatest relic, and it is pointless to look for something else. As if someone, having received help from the king himself, then turned to his nobleman and thereby humiliated the king with disbelief in his power.

- Do little girls need to cover their heads with headscarves when they go to the Temple?

- Cover on the head of a woman - sign of obedience; A handkerchief on a baby's head is also a sign of obedience. And children must be taught to obey from a very early age.

A handkerchief in service is the first difference for a child special space of the temple from the space of the house and the street, the difference between the time of communion with God and everyday time. A light handkerchief is the first and lightest burden of Christ placed on a girl. Because of her age, she still cannot fast, does not know prayers, but already, through a handkerchief, she is familiar with piety. The Apostle Paul, among the instructions for spiritual life, wrote about the veil on the head of a woman. What care the great apostle showed for you! Why not respond with obedience to his love? "