Worship of God is very common in almost all religions known to us. Both modern and pagan, which today are almost forgotten. In order to properly worship, each religion has developed special rites and rituals.
Christian worship
It is worth noting that worship of God is very common in our country, where most believers profess Christianity. The very word "worship" came to us from the Greek language. It is actively used in the pages of the Old Testament. Especially in the sense of "falling or bowing to someone or something."
The worship of God, in the broad sense of the term, is a person’s expression of his inner feelings, spiritual condition. This is a purely individual action that a Christian can perform anywhere. For this, he does not even have to go to the temple.
But at the same time, there are obligatory forms of worship of God for believers during church holidays. Then it is necessary to gather together in the temple, to pray and ask the Almighty for help.
But even during church holidays, individual praise and worship of God is at the forefront. Ultimately, everyone prays and turns to God on their own.
The qualities of Christian worship
Even in the New Testament, the prophets noted that Christian worship must necessarily come from within a person. And to have two essential important qualities.
First, worship is necessary in truth. This has nothing to do with your physical condition and position. But exclusively with the inner essence. In order to carry out worship, it is necessary to be born again, to believe that without the Holy Spirit abiding in every person, offering prayer makes no sense.
The second important quality is that the mind of a believing person should be fully focused on God. It is necessary to forget about ordinary worldly things, completely disconnect from them. Only then will the power of worship of God be sufficient.
Also, do not forget that you can worship only with a clean and repentant heart, that is, only after confession and forgiveness of all sins. Glorification and worship of God initially comes from the heart itself, therefore, there can be no absent sin.
Worship in truth means that a person must first determine for himself who God is for him. To do this, you must carefully and carefully study the Bible. This is the only reliable source in which the Lord fully appears before man.
External behavior
It is worth noting that external behavior in matters of worship plays practically no role. In Christianity, it does not matter in what position a person is when he prays or speaks to the Almighty. He can sit, stand, lie. No strict order.
There are certain rules when visiting a temple. But they are easy to do. So, a girl at the entrance to the Christian sanctuary should cover her head with a scarf or any other headdress. A man, on the contrary, is obliged to take off his cap before the threshold of the cathedral.
At the same time, there are no requirements for a person who decided to pray and turn to God at home.
Prayer
One of the most common ways is prayer. Worship of God is made in the form of repeated repetition of the same sacred text. Prayer is a very important part of the life of a believer. With its help, he can directly contact the Creator, Orthodox Christians say.
Prayers are not only held on holidays or when a person urgently needs help. Prayers are also public, which are regularly pronounced at a general meeting of the flock or on religious holidays.
So, in the Orthodox tradition, regular prayers are often performed without universal worship. Moreover, they are recognized by collective prayers.
Kinds of Prayer
Prayers can be divided into several varieties that are clearly visible even to a person of little faith.
One of the most common prayers is laudatory. There are also thankful ones (when what a person asked for in the church came true), penitents, when a believer needs to receive absolution or beg forgiveness for his deed. As well as petitioners and intercessors. When God is asked for health and longevity, or addressed with a specific request.
Prayer of praise
Perhaps the very first prayer that has come down to us is laudatory. It has been well known to our ancestors since ancient times. Praise is not always directed directly to God. There are many texts that praise Jesus Christ or the Mother of God.
Penitential prayers
A classic example of penitential prayer is the 50th psalm of the New Testament. Also included in this variety are the prayer of the publican (this is an ancient collector of taxes and taxes), prayers that are read after confession for the remission of sins, or the famous Great Penitent Canon of St. Andrew the Crete.
Intercessory and intercessory prayers are fundamentally different from one another. If in the first case the believer asks directly for himself, then in the second case he asks for another person. Usually your relative or friend.
Prayer order
In order to properly complete the prayer, it is necessary to observe a number of simple rules.
The custom of standing prayers came to us from the Jews, however, if for some reason you cannot stand (for example, you are ill and feel bad), then you can sit during church service.
From this same people, a kneeling before the Almighty was borrowed.
In early Christianity, it was also customary to raise hands to heaven during prayer, as Moses did. However, over time, this custom has disappeared. In modern Christian rites, only the priest raises his hands when he leads the liturgy.
The custom of praying, and indeed being in the temple with an uncovered head, came to Christianity from pagan practices. At the same time, he changed somewhat. Women, on the contrary, were strictly forbidden to take off their headgear in the temple or during prayer.
Temple
The place of worship of the gods in ancient times was a temple. In the broad sense of the word, it is a pagan temple. This is a cult place for the Gentiles, in which the idols worshiped were established.
Moreover, if there is information about western pagan temples, there is no evidence that pagan temples were among the Eastern Slavs. It could be a sacred place, not a concrete structure.
Directly into the pagan temple itself, entrance was allowed only to the priest and his close associates, who help to conduct the sacred rite. The place of worship of pagan gods was often sacred.
In modern Russia, most Orthodox Christians go to the temple to perform a rite of worship to God there. The temple is a religious building that is specifically designed to conduct religious rites and services.
As a rule, in the architectural symbolism of the temple, as well as in the interior decoration, one can trace the idea of believers about how the world appeared. In former times, primarily in the Middle Ages, the temple was also an important public place. This was often the only non-open-air platform on which a large number of people could gather to solve their pressing issues.
At the same time, the temples were of a memorial character, and in some countries were a refuge. Neither the police nor the military could enter the holy building without the special permission of the abbot. Therefore, the walls of the temple often managed to hide for a long time to political opponents of the current government or unjustly accused of crimes citizens.
In the Orthodox tradition, the main sanctuary is the church. There is an altar in it, which only a limited number of persons can enter. This building status belongs to both Catholics and Christians. At the altar, such a sacred act as the Eucharist takes place. It is a sanctification in a special way of bread and wine. In the Catholic and Orthodox worldview, believers are thus introduced to the body of Christ (bread) and his blood (guilt).
But in Protestantism there is no such reverent attitude to this rite. Therefore, their temple often acts as a place for a general meeting and prayer, but not in any way sacred. Some modern Protestants have completely abandoned temples, preferring to rent small rooms for meetings and prayers, calling them houses of worship. According to their convictions, this is exactly how the first Christians behaved, from whom it is worth taking an example to modern generations of believers.
The largest churches
For the worship of God in almost all religions at all times sought to build the most beautiful high and majestic religious buildings. Christianity in this sense was no exception.
Several buildings that appeared during the period of the existence of Orthodoxy and Catholicism immediately claim the title of the largest. But if we turn to the Guinness Book of Records, we will meet two of the most magnificent. Moreover, it is interesting that both are in Africa, where missionaries have actively planted Christianity not so long ago. Now most of the inhabitants of this continent are Christians.
One of them is this Notre Dame de la Paix Catholic Church. It is considered the largest in the world in area. Its territory occupies 30 thousand square meters. The temple is located in Yamoussoukro. It is the capital of the state of Côte d'Ivoire .
The second is the Pentecostal Evangelical Church, which is located in Nigerian Lagos. It can simultaneously accommodate 50,000 people. And this is a record. Moreover, another similar church is being built in the neighboring Nigerian city. It may become even larger and more spacious and will replenish the list of the most magnificent structures for worshiping God.