When visiting a temple, many parishioners not only place candles in front of the images of the Savior and the saints, but also draw up church notes on health and repose. This is a special form of petition for people before the Lord. Such notes are read by the priest during the liturgy, so they have such a blessed power. A church health note (a sample is presented in the article) is written according to certain canons.
Secret meaning
Permanent parishioners of churches know that for a prayer service or proskomidia (consecration of the Gifts) you can submit notes on health. A sample for their writing can be requested from the ministers of the church or to get acquainted with it first. During the proskomedia, which is the first part of the liturgy, the clergyman removes 9 particles from the great prosphora in memory of the Lamb, the Blessed Virgin, prophets, apostles, all saints, as well as the deceased and the living. During this ritual, the priest also reads out the names of people imprinted in a note on health. After that, the priest puts the consecrated particles in a chalice (a special cup for communion) with wine, symbolizing the blood of Christ. For this reason, health notes filed for prosquidium have special prayer power.
Similar petitions for the granting of health to family and friends can also be submitted to a moleben. Names of people are pronounced loudly during prayers.
At the same time, the sample of health notes submitted for the proskimid does not differ from those that the priest reads during the service.
It is better to file health notes before the liturgy so that church attendants can pass it on to the priest. If this did not work out, they will pray for the people you love at the next service.
Orthodox try to regularly submit notes on the health of those who are sick and need help. For such people, you can file a note at Magpie - pray for a sick person for 40 days.
Prayer for the departed
No less important are the notes of repose. To some extent, people who have left this world need more prayerful help than all those who are now living. After all, no one knows what it feels like in another, heavenly world. Few manage to confess and partake, having died from sudden death. Notes on the repose is an opportunity to make life easier for the newly-deceased in another world completely unknown to us.
"Where there are two, there I am."
Prayer in itself has amazing life-giving power. And where two or more people pray, the Lord himself abides. Therefore, it is so important to file notes of repose for church services. As in the case of health notes, a parishioner can order a magpie, especially for a newly-departed Christian.
In many temples there is the possibility of constantly praying for the deceased. This is the so-called eternal memorial note.
Who is the church praying for?
The Orthodox Church prays for all sinners, including those who lived in serious sins - fornication, adultery, drunkenness. For unbaptized, now living, you can also submit notes on individual prayers (for example, the martyr of Uuar). It is impossible to write such a petition to proskimidia - notes are only given with the names of those baptized, faithful to the Lord, for the consecration of gifts. History testifies that St. John of Kronstadt prayed even for non-Roman Catholics, Muslims, as a result of which they were healed.
It is forbidden to submit notes on unbaptized deceased. After all, this is a kind of violence against the soul of a person who decided to live outside of Christ. About babies who died before they were christened, it is also impossible to submit notes. You can pray for them in front of the icon, mention to yourself the name of the child during the service. But this does not mean that in another world they will be worse. They are angels who have not committed sin, therefore even unbaptized babies have a special place in Paradise.
Who can’t write notes for?
The exception is suicides - those who have refused the gift of God - their life. Unfortunately, the church does not mourn such people and does not pray for them.
Many are outraged by the fact that for the souls of those who took the life of others, the church prays and even funerals, while suicides find themselves outside the grace of God. We need to try to look at this situation from a different, purely Orthodox side: what pushes people to such a truly brave deed (after all, the feeling of self-preservation is inherent in all living on earth)? Usually a person wants to die at the moment when he no longer sees the meaning of his existence. In other words, he is deeply depressed, or discouraged, that there is a great sin before the Lord. Disheartened are those who do not believe in His miraculous power and omnipotence, who rely only on themselves. Thus, man contrasts his essentially insignificant essence with the image of the Eternal Lord, who created everything in this world. And since he contrasts, it means that he puts himself on a par with Him whom he simply is not worthy because of his sinfulness. And if a person after a perfect murder has the opportunity to repent of such a grave sin and suffer many years of penance (obedience to the priest), then a suicide is doomed to eternal torment without repentance and humility.
Therefore, it is so important to be “poor in spirit”, i.e. trust in the Lord and His Divine Providence, and not just your strength. Man is essentially powerless, and only in the hands of God is his life. Therefore, all the life obstacles and hardships that we encounter on our way must be overcome with humility and gratitude. The Lord will never give a person more than what he is able to endure and endure. It’s not for nothing that people say that “everything that is done is for the better” and “there would be no happiness, but misfortune would help.”
Sample Health Note
Arriving at the temple, in the church shop you need to ask for a sheet for a note. In individual churches, these are pre-made health note forms with empty name fields. In some churches (for example, rural), a parishioner will have to completely fill out the sheet himself. A sample health note can be requested from church ministers if you are in doubt about the correct spelling.
At the very top, in the center, you need to draw an Orthodox, eight-pointed cross of 3 crossbars. Then the name “On Health” is written. The line below begins to enter the names in the genitive case. The sample health notes should only contain the names these people were baptized with. For example, they will pray for Ivan as for John, for Julia - as Juliana, etc. If a person is currently ill, you can mention this in a note "sick Matthew." Children under 7 years old are referred to as infants (up to this age they receive communion without confession, as they are considered sinless).
Health notes (sample below) containing names
clergy must also contain the priesthood, for example, "Priest Peter." Moreover, the names of the clergy should be at the very beginning of the note.
On this note should be no more than 10 names. If you want to pray for the health of more people, write their names on different pages.
Keep your name
It is necessary to correctly indicate the name of the one for whom the clergy and their flocks will pray. This should be the name that the person was called at baptism. Usually it coincides with that which we call relatives and friends in everyday life - Alexander, Irina, Vasily, Varvara, etc. But there are names that, under the influence of certain historical events, acquired a slightly different sound. It is sometimes difficult to know their original appearance - John from John, Pauline from Appolinaria. Separate names do not appear at all in the Orthodox calendar. In such cases, a person is usually given a name similar in sound, for example, Ruslan will be christened as Roman, Arina will be called Irina in baptism, etc. It is best to ask your family and relatives about their Orthodox name in advance in order to correctly fill out a sample of health notes.
How to write a note of repose?
The repose is written in the same pattern with the corresponding name. Mention people who passed away no later than 40 days, you can use the word "newly deceased." Those who are victims are referred to as "slain."
After all the names they write “with deceased relatives”, which means “with other deceased relatives”.
Family Book
In those families where the issue of faith and spiritual salvation is especially reverent, special books are often kept called memorial books. They contain the names of the living and deceased relatives and relatives, the days of remembrance of the saints in whose honor they were baptized. Such books are served during worship. You can buy it at any church store. It is necessary to keep the commemoration on the lower shelves of the iconostasis - behind images or next to candles and liturgical books.
Thus, a note on health and repose is an important point in a Christian's concern for his neighbor. Prayer for the near and dear ones will be heard, for the Lord always stays where two or more people pray for the same. And you can take samples of notes about health and repose from the ministers of the temple.