Confession and communion are ordinances that help connect with God. In Confession, we apologize for our sins. And the sacrament is the acceptance of the Lord within oneself. Under the guise of bread and wine in the Cup, we receive the body and blood of Christ.
These sacraments require some preparation. In the article, we will consider information about what prayers to read before confession and communion.
How and where to pray?
There is a home and church rite. On the eve of communion, it is extremely important to attend the evening service. Do not forget that the church day begins in the evening.
At home, certain prayers are read:
- Canon to the Lord.
- Canon to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
- Canon to the Guardian Angel.
- Follow up to Holy Communion.
At the end of the article, you are presented with a video with the text of the Combined Canon. Such texts are very long and require perseverance, endurance and maximum concentration. It is worth knowing that they are easy enough to find. One has only to buy an Orthodox prayer book, the necessary texts are presented in it.
Before confession
What prayer for confession and communion must be read? They are different, actually. Before confession, the prayer of Simeon the New Theologian is read. We publish its text here:
O Lord and Lord of all, every breath and soul and power, one to heal the might of all! Hear the praying of me, a cursed one, and nesting in me with the veneer of the blessing of the Sacred and Life-Giving Spirit, I have consumed the dead. And me, the beggar and the sire, all virtues are pure, at the feet of my holy father (spiritual) with tears to bring mercy, and his holy soul to mercy, even merciful to me, attractors. And may, Lord, in my heart my humility and thoughts of goodness befitting a sinner who agreed to repent of you; and let not at the end leave the soul of the one who combined You and confessed Ty, and, together with the world, chose and preferred Ty. Vesi bo, Lord, as I want to be saved, more often, and my wicked one, there is usually an obstacle: but You, Vladyka, are possible; in essence, the whole tree is impossible from a man. Amen.
What text to read before communion, consider below.
For general development
The prayers in the article for communion and confession are not read by the laity. They are pronounced only by priests before the sacrament. At the end of it, a permissive prayer is also read . With its help, the priest absolves the penitent.
We emphasize once again that these prayers are for guidance only. Texts that the priest reads during confession:
Prayer number 1
O God, our Savior, Who prophet in thy Nathan repentant David about his transgressions leaving darovavy, and Manasseh in repentance prayer reception, he, and thy servant (name), kayuschagosya of nihzhe sodela trespasses, receive ordinary Thy love for mankind, prezirayay him all the evidence, the ostavlyayay unrighteousness and transcendent lawlessness. Thou hast escaped, Lord: by desire I do not want to die a sinner, but I must also turn to him and live, and as many as seventy-seven years to forgive sins. Later, Your Majesty is uncorrupted and Your mercy is immeasurable. More often than lawlessness, whoever stands still? For you are the God of repentance and the glory of you, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and ever. Amen.
Prayer number 2
Hail, a bit, Christ stood invisibly, taking your confession, do not overwhelm yourself, lower yourself to fear, and do not hide anything from me, but you didn’t get too much to eat, and you should take a little rest His Son and His Icon are before us, but there is also one witness to him, but I testify before Him all, let me say a little more: have you hidden anything from me, having committed sin of imash. He heeded: a little later he came to the doctor, but he is not healed from the end.
Permission Prayer
Our Lord and God, Jesus Christ, through the grace and bounties of His love of mankind, forgive this sin (part) of all your transgression. And he, the unworthy priest, to His authority that I have given, forgiving and permitting you from all your sins, in the Name of the Father and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Preparation for Communion
Before the Sacrament, fasting is necessary. Ideally, it lasts three days. At this time, a person refuses any gastronomic dishes. In addition, abstention from recreational activities is prescribed.
If a person who wants to receive communion has not been in the church for a long time, does not observe one-day and many-day fasts, the priest has the right to extend his fasting time before communion.
Keep in mind that on the eve of the Sacrament, you must fast from midnight. Fasting is strict, you cannot eat and drink after this time. In the morning before Communion it is forbidden to eat food and drink water.
Before the Sacrament, you must attend a confession. To cleanse your soul, pull out of it all that is vile and shameful. Shy priest is not necessary. He is a witness to confession, a connecting thread between God and man.
The beginning of prayers
Prayers read before confession and communion are not always possible to see firsthand. In this case, you can pray by listening to the Rule. But this is an exception for sick people who cannot read it. Healthy adult Christians themselves choose an hour of time in order to read the Rule for Communion.
Any prayer rule begins with the following texts:
Prayers of saints our father, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us. Amen.
The King of Heaven, the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, Even this whole thing and do all, Treasure of the good and life to the Giver, come and dwell in us, and cleanse us from all filth, and save, Better, our soul.
Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us. (Thrice)
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever and forever and ever. Amen.
Blessed Trinity, have mercy on us; Lord, cleanse our sins; Lord, forgive our iniquities; Saint, visit and heal our weaknesses, for thy name’s sake.
Lord have mercy. (Thrice)
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever and forever and ever. Amen.
Our Father Is Thou in Heaven! Hallowed be Thy name, may Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, as in heaven and on earth. Give us our daily bread today; and leave our debts to us, as well as we leave our debtor; and do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
Lord have mercy. (12 times)
Come, worship the Tsar’s God. (Bow)
Come, worship and Christ will have to reign, our God. (Bow)
Come, we will bow and Christ Himself, the Tsar and our God, will have to. (Bow)
When we approach the Chalice
At the Liturgy after Our Father, the Royal Gates are closed. And the preparation for communion begins. While prayers are being read for the laity, priests take communion at the altar. At this time, you do not need to walk around the temple, applying to the icons. It is advisable to stand and listen to prayers.
The Royal Gates opened, the priest comes out with the Chalice. He gives an exclamation: "Proceed with the fear of God and faith."
People in the temple bow to the earth. And the priest begins to read the prayer. Every pious person should know its text.
I believe, Lord, and confess, for Thou art truly Christ, the Son of the God of Zhivago, who has come into the world a sinner to save. From them, however, I am the first. I still believe that this is Your Most Pure Body. And this eats your most honest blood. I pray to you: have mercy on me. And forgive me all my sins. In a word, in deed, in knowledge or ignorance. And allow me to consecrate unashamedly your Most Holy Mysteries. For the remission of sins and in eternal life. Amen.
And the second prayer recited by the priest. And believers repeat it mentally:
Thy Supper Thy Secret, this day the Son of God, partaker / participant in my reception. Do not be an enemy of Your secret. Do not give kisses to Dam, like Judas. But as a robber I confess to you: remember me, Lord, in your kingdom.
After reading the prayers, a person folds his hands crosswise on his chest. The right wrist is placed on the left. Approaching the Chalice, do not be baptized. There is a risk of hitting her or knocking over. Before the Chalice they give their full Christian name. They open their mouth wide, take communion. Then they kiss the edge of the Chalice and go to the table with a drink. Be sure to eat a piece of prosphora and drink warm water. Sometimes water comes with jam. This is to ensure that no communion is left in the mouth.
After the sacrament
What prayers before confession and communion are read, we found out. After communion, they also pray. They thank God for allowing us to begin the Sacrament. Thanksgiving prayers are read in the temple. But you can read them at home.
There are these prayers in every prayer book. But it is advisable to listen to them in the temple. Prayers are read as people approach the cross after the service.
An example of a thank-you text is presented below:
I thank you, my God, that you have not rejected me, a sinner, but have honored me to partake of your holy places. I thank you that you unworthy to partake of your pure and heavenly Gifts you have honored.
But, Vladyka the Humanitarian, who died for us and resurrected, and bestowed upon us these terrible and life-giving Thy Sacraments for the blessing and sanctification of our souls and bodies, make them also be for me to heal the soul and body, to repel every enemy, to enlighten in the eyes of my heart, in the world of my spiritual strengths, in firm faith, in non-hypocritical love, in the fulfillment of wisdom, in the observance of Your commandments, in the multiplication of Your divine grace and Your Kingdom.
So that, preserved by them in Your sanctification, I always remember Your mercy and live no longer for myself, but for You, our Lord and Benefactor. And thus, having left this life in the hope of eternal life, I reached a place of eternal rest, where the ceaseless voice of those who celebrate and the endless pleasure of looking at the unspeakable beauty of Your face.
For You are the true goal of striving and the inexplicable joy of those who love You, Christ our God, and You sing the whole creation forever. Amen.
Why read prayers?
Why do we read prayers for communion and confession? Is it not only that we maintain fasting, bodily and sincere?
Of course, this is not enough. Fasting is more necessary for us than for God. When we abstain from anything, we turn to ourselves. We begin to open the long-dried sinful abscesses in our souls. It hurts to pick them, but it is necessary.
And in prayer we ask God to allow us to partake. The sacrament can be in court and in condemnation, as we see in one of the prayers. When we are poorly prepared or not prepared at all, we proceed to the Sacrament with carelessness. Accordingly, we partake not in eternal life, but in condemnation. That is why it is necessary to prepare, read prayers.
How to prepare for confession?
Reading prayers for communion and confession is clear. With preparation for the sacrament of Communion, too. How to prepare for a confession?
Only introspection. Rummage through your own thoughts and soul. Is there anything that presses on my conscience? So deep-rooted, which you don’t want to remember? And write it down on a piece of paper. We get rid of old sins in the first place.
For penitents there are special books - tips. More precisely, brochures are hints. They are small, rather thin. A very good book, The Experience of Confession Building. It was composed by Father John Krestyankin, who died in 2006. The text is written in easy language and makes you think about your life.
To summarize
We sorted out a prayer for communion and confession. As promised above, we are publishing a combined canon for Holy Communion.
Now our readers know how to prepare for confession and communion. What prayers need to be deducted, we have examined. The rules of conduct in front of the Chalice were described in detail.