There are seven major church ordinances. These include baptism, anointing, confession, communion, marriage, priesthood, and unction. The most regular, which are available to Christians constantly, include confession and communion.
What is the sacrament? What is it for? What hides confession? How to prepare for both sacraments? Necessary prayers before the sacrament, are they? And if so, where and how to find them, how to read them correctly? What needs to be done after all preparations? How to prepare a child for confession and communion? These questions are often asked by people who rarely attend church. And the one who has just started to go to the temple, still does not know everything. The article will help to get answers to the most important questions. Perhaps it’s worth starting from the distant Old Testament times and telling about how the sacrament arose and who its creator was.
A brief excursion into the history of the sacrament
Evening. Thursday. The eve of the festival of the Old Testament Easter. And the Lord is surrounded by his disciples - the apostles. The apostles eat Easter, not yet knowing what awaits their Divine Teacher. The teacher knows what is destined for him, so he tries to prepare the apostles for the upcoming terrible events. He tells that the son of man will be one of his disciples. This disciple was Judas Iscariot.
During the Last Supper - the very last meal with his disciples - Jesus Christ approved the Eucharist, i.e., the sacrament. He broke bread and handed it to the apostles with the words: "Come, eat. This is My Body."
Then, taking a cup of wine, he also gave it to his disciples, saying: "Drink everything from Her. For this is My Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."
After the first communion in history was completed, the Lord commanded the apostles around Him that the Eucharist should be performed constantly, from age to century: “Do this in remembrance of me.”
Since then, the Orthodox Church has strictly observed the will of the Savior. Communion is performed each time at the Divine Liturgy.
What is the sacrament and what is its meaning?
Communion is the union of man with God. For, proceeding to the Divine Mysteries, a person under the guise of bread and wine takes in himself a piece of the Body and Blood of the Lord.
The meaning of the sacrament in the union of man and God. The partaker is considered sinless, angel-like after the acceptance of the sacrament until he defiles himself with sin.
History of confession
Confession, or the sacrament of repentance, originates from Old Testament times. Then she was public. Repentance was public, that is, in front of a large number of people. They prayed intensely that the Lord would grant the sinner the remission of his sins.
Times have changed, what used to be considered the norm, became unacceptable. In the end, if a woman had to bring remorse for treason, then her husband could hear it. And then the days of the traitor were numbered. The husband had the right to kill her for this sin. And not only the husband could kill the unfaithful wife. Lynching could very well be applied to the criminal after his confession. High state officials could also incur the righteous anger of the people for the commission of certain deeds. Therefore, in the 4th century, such a thing as secret penance was introduced (punishment from a priest for especially grave sins). Penance was imposed by the priest; she did not carry any physical violence, let alone murder.
The confession that exists today appeared only in the 17th century. A person confesses individually, before the clergyman, and receives permission from sins from him.
What is confession and what is its meaning?
Confession - repentance of your sins. Its meaning is to purify the soul and conscience from the sinful burden, to receive forgiveness from the Lord. The repentant “blurs” sins from himself by sincere repentance and subsequent correction. The "guide" between the Savior and the penitent is the priest. He is endowed with special grace when he is ordained a priest, and he gives a prayer that is permissive from sins.
How to prepare for confession
First of all, you need to delve into the depths of memory and remember your sins. If a person believes that he lived like everyone else, and didn’t sin in anything, then we can recall those acts for which conscience torments. For example, an adult man cannot forget that one day, in distant childhood, he kicked a homeless puppy. This childish act weighs him, and if conscience exposes, it means that it needs to be cleansed. Or a woman lives with her husband in years, raised children. And she spread her own son with his wife. Now the son is drinking, the ex-daughter-in-law does not allow to see the only grandson, and the grandmother is very worried about her act. This vital moment cannot be removed, but it is possible and necessary to repent of it.
For those who seem to know that they are sinners, but have no idea how to talk about their sins, there are special books - “helpers”. These small books are called "To help the penitent. List of sins." You can buy a book in any church shop. It is suitable for those who cannot find sins in themselves, because it contains the most common misconduct committed by people.
If small and large sins were found in the bowels of the memory, it is necessary to do so in order not to forget them. How? Write down. And with this note go to the temple.
Confession to those who wish to receive communion is better on Saturday night. Firstly, because according to church canons, the day begins in the evening. Secondly, as a rule, the priest will have more time than Sunday morning. Thirdly, it is better for future participants to attend both Sunday morning service and Saturday evening. You can find out the schedule of services for the nearest church on its website or by calling there. Arriving at the temple, you should take a turn for confession, going up to the priest, say hello and give him a sheet with a list of your sins. If shyness does not prevail, verbal repentance can be brought. Particularly serious sins are stated orally.
After confessing and reading the permissive prayer, you should take a blessing, that is, permission for the sacrament. The priest, on the basis of the spiritual condition of the confessor, admits or does not admit the sacrament to the sacrament. In the latter case, the priest will explain the reason for the refusal and, possibly, give penance for any sins.
If the priest blessed communion, then on Sunday, before the service, you need to read the necessary morning prayer before communion.
What does preparation for the sacrament include?
Mandatory fast, both bodily - abstinence from food of animal origin, and spiritual - refusal to attend various entertainment events, refusal from a TV, computer and listening to music, reading inappropriate literature (for example, 18+ magazines). Fasting before the sacrament is necessary for three days, if there is a desire and opportunity, it can be longer.
Refusal of marital proximity during fasting.
A visit to the Saturday evening service and repentance to the priest.
Obtaining permissive prayers and blessings for the sacrament.
Prayer at home before communion.
What is a post
This is a voluntary abstinence from food of animal origin: milk and dairy products, meat and offal, as well as eggs.
Compliance with the fast is an integral rule for the participant. Only a priest can allow to weaken the post or expel for a number of serious reasons, for example, due to a serious illness. In addition, fasting is possible for pregnant women, people of very advanced age and small children.
The most important point is the rule of communion
What prayers to read before the sacrament? The main ones are the penitential canon to the Lord Jesus Christ, the canon of the Most Holy Theotokos, the canon to the Guardian Angel and the Following to Holy Communion.
The main prayers include:
- Prayer to the Virgin before communion.
- Prayer to the Guardian Angel before the sacrament.
These prayers are in the canons of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Guardian Angel, respectively. You can find prayers before the sacrament in Russian in the Orthodox prayer book.
Additional Required Prayers
What prayers should be read before the sacrament, except for the above? These are the prayers of Basil the Great, John Chrysostom and John Damascene. A total of eight. They are morning prayers before the sacrament, so it is advisable to read them before Sunday service.
How to behave in the morning liturgy
After the preparation is completed, including the reading of prayers before the sacrament, the penitent goes to the Sunday service - Mass. It is advisable to come to the service ten to fifteen minutes before its start, so as to slowly put candles and attach to the icons. In the event that it was not possible to confess on Saturday night, it is necessary to come to the beginning of Sunday's confession. But it should be borne in mind that the priest does not have much time, therefore, to talk about sins quickly and clearly, do not stretch the confession. The liturgy must be defended throughout, from beginning to end. Women should be in headscarves and skirts below the knee or in closed dresses. Men - without a hat, in trousers. Shorts, bare shoulders, a neckline, beach shoes - these things are unacceptable in the temple. If for some reason the required skirt was not in the wardrobe and there was no scarf either, in the temples there are always special places where you can take the scarf and skirt. You can ask about the availability of this place behind a candle box.
Communion happens at the end of the liturgy. After the prayer “Our Father” is sung, the priest closes the Royal Gates. The most crucial moment is coming - preparation for the sacrament of communion. At this moment, canons and prayers are read before the sacrament. Parishioners can both listen to readers and read on their own, not aloud. Then the Royal Doors open, the priest enters the pulpit with a cup in his hands.
"Proceed with the fear of God and faith." At this exclamation, the faithful bow down to the earth, that is, having crossed themselves, they kneel down and touch the forehead of the floor. Then they rise, fold their arms on their chests crosswise - the left palm touches the right shoulder, and the right palm touches the left shoulder. The right hand rests on the left. Parishioners line up in front of the chalice and listen to the priest's prayer before the sacrament.
Participants, one by one, approach the chalice, loudly and distinctly call the name given in baptism, and receive from the lie (the long gilded spoon with which the priest takes the Divine Gifts from the cup) the sacrament. It is not necessary to baptize and bow. Then they kiss the bottom of the bowl, depart and go to take a drink. Zapivka is warm wine diluted with water, or just warm water with jam. Participants are encouraged to listen to a thanksgiving prayer after the sacrament. It reads for about ten minutes, a short one, so you won’t have to stay long after the service. Those who are in a hurry should read prayers of thanks on their own. This can be done at home.
What prayers does the priest say
There are only two of them. Prayer before the sacrament of John Chrysostom begins with the words "I believe, Lord, and confess, for Thou art truly Christ ...". He who approaches the Divine Mysteries testifies to the fact that he recognizes Christ as the Savior, who came to the world to save sinners and, first of all, the partaker himself. A partaker asks the Lord for mercy, forgiveness of his sins and worthy communion.
The second prayer is "Thy Supper Today, the Son of God ...". Here the promise is made that the partaker will never betray the Lord, will not become Judas. He believes in Christ and asks Him to remember the sinner in the kingdom of heaven.
What is sung during the sacrament
The choir sings special Orthodox prayers before the sacrament. In these short prayers, it is said that the partaker takes the Body of Christ, eats the source of eternal life.
Preparing the child for confession and communion
Until the age of seven, special training for children is not required. According to church canons, such a child is considered an infant, and infants are creatures sinless. From the age of seven, the child enters the phase of adolescence. From this moment, admission to the bowl already requires preparation. Of course, that it does not compare with how an adult prepares. But there are still some nuances.
First of all, you need to explain to your son or daughter what sin is. How to explain this to a child? Sin is a bad deed. For example, he was rude to his mother, a teacher, and had a fight with a friend. And sins are recorded by angels and left to God. For God to erase them, one must repent and no longer do so. Therefore, you need to go to confession to the priest. A priest is a vehicle between the child and God. He should not be shy or afraid, the priest will not tell anyone. Yes, there is such a thing as the secret of confession. And the priest does not have the right to violate this secret.
As for spiritual preparation. There are no special prayers for children before the sacrament. However, there are "shortened" versions of the rule specifically for children. It will be good if the child honors, for example, the prayer of the Most Holy Theotokos, the Guardian Angel and the prayer after the penitential canon to the Savior. It all depends on the capabilities of the child, his spiritual condition. One will be able to subtract almost the entire "adult" rule, and the second will hardly read one prayer, will be distracted. Parents know their children, so they can choose a feasible rule for them. If you want, you can always get a prayer book for a child. Such prayer books are published by the Moscow Patriarchate, they contain all the necessary penitential prayers before the sacrament for children.
Rejection of your favorite cartoons for at least one evening (on the eve of the sacrament), from a computer or a fun walk will become sufficient spiritual abstinence for the child.
Body training is again individual. Given the state of health and psychological capabilities of the child, mom or dad can adjust bodily fasting. Other children will survive a three-day rejection of meat and dairy products. And for someone it would be quite enough to give up sweets for one day. Everything is selected individually.
How to prepare a teenager for communion
Perhaps adolescents are the most interesting part of humanity. Their emotional instability, constant inconsistency and a pronounced self deserve a separate topic. What to do with such an individual? Is it possible to give him communion?
It all depends on the mood of the teenager. Of course, the story that angels record human sins and give their notes to God will not help here. A teenager will simply make the narrator laugh. If the younger generation is drawn to faith, is interested in everything related to it, you can offer to go to church, to confess and partake, together to read the evening prayer before communion and confession, to prepare. Although modern teens are not particularly drawn to God. They have different interests. And all the arguments that “you should”, “so necessary” and “through I do not want to” will break into the wall “I should not”, “I will not”, “I do not want and will not do this.” Alas, the puberty comrade will be right.
Indeed, no one owes anything to anyone. Everyone decides for himself whether to be with God or not. It is impossible to receive communion through “I do not want to”, and it is unlikely to succeed - not to drag a malicious teenager to church by force. Perhaps among relatives and friends there is a believer or an Orthodox family with children. You can consult with them, and it is best to talk with the priest on this topic and leave the growing child alone for a while.
How to prepare for the sacrament of pregnant women and women during lactation
Regarding the spiritual component of fasting, there are no indulgences. Without the permission of the priest, of course. How to read prayers before the sacrament of a pregnant woman? Usually the prayer rule is subtracted while standing. However, for the "non-forbidden" long standing is hard. You can read the rule while sitting.
As for eating prohibited foods, you need to look here for health reasons. The future mother will be able to completely exclude them for three days - very well. Only meat can be eliminated by eating dairy products, which is also good. He can’t refrain from meat and milk, so what can you do. Only communion without preparation is possible when it is really necessary and a pregnant woman should not refrain from any products even for a short time due to health reasons.
You can read prayers before the sacrament in Russian or in Church Slavonic.
During lactation, you can also refuse meat. It is unlikely to abstain from dairy products, and meat can be replaced with seafood, for example. . .
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Where can I find prayers before the sacrament? In the Orthodox prayer book. They are sold everywhere, even in bookstores. But it is better to buy in a church or in a church shop, there are certainly prayer books - Orthodox, without altered and missing prayers.
For those who do not have the opportunity to read prayers, there are videos and discs with the necessary recordings. God sees the desire and opportunities of everyone and will certainly help those who sincerely seek Him.