All about communion in church. During Communion. Is Communion paid for?

Communion is one of the most important church rituals called sacraments. What is its essence? It is as follows. Man is considered by the church as not only a material, but also a spiritual being. Therefore, he also needs spiritual food. During Communion, a person receives the Holy Gifts - the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. In real life, this looks like eating bread and wine, through which a person is cleansed of sins and prepares to enter eternal life.

The Gospel of John says about this sacrament: whoever partakes of the flesh and blood of the Son of Man will receive eternal life and will be resurrected on the Day of Judgment. And also through it there will be a reunion with God.

Why is the sacrament performed?

Thus, to unite with God and gain eternal life, you need to receive communion. Similar to earthly healing for infection blood occurs by replacing it with a healthy one; a soul infected with sin needs the blood of Christ to flow to it. Just as a diseased organ is replaced with a healthy one, by consuming the body of Christ under the guise of bread, the soul is healed. The Holy Scripture says: after communion, Christ’s Blood “flows in our veins,” and we become “co-corporeal” with him.

By entering the human soul, Christ heals it of passions and “ulcers,” fills it with life-giving juices, calms it, and gives joy. Thereby spiritual improvement occurs and communion already during the earthly path to the heavenly, eternal path. That is, communion is a kind of path to the kingdom of heaven, a guarantee that a person will reach it at the end of the Last Judgment.

How it all began

Other names sacraments - Eucharist. ABOUT but came from the Greek language and translated as thanksgiving. The rite during which believers receive communion is called Liturgy - public service. It can be done both at night and in the morning. In the Orthodox Church this is the main sacrament, its basis and core. Without him the Church itself is impossible how it is impossible to build a building without a foundation. This action was established by the Son of God himself during the Last Supper with his disciples on the eve of the passion of the Lord - his suffering on the cross.

As Jesus and his disciples sat at the evening meal, he took the bread, performed a blessing on it, then broke it and distributed it to his followers. After this, he took the cup of wine, said a prayer of thanks to God for his mercy towards people, and also passed it on to the table diners. He accompanied these actions with the words that the bread is his body and the wine is his blood, you need to eat them, since they will be given in the name of forgiveness of humanity for its sins. Jesus also called for communion of the Holy Gifts in memory of him.

After Christ’s ascension into heaven, the disciples, “breaking bread” on the week, which was then the first day of the week, prayed, sang psalms, read the Holy Scriptures and confessed. At times the meal continued until the morning. Gradually, such actions were transformed into a church service, which today consists of two parts - an evening service and a morning service - which includes Communion.

Frequency and purity of communion

At the dawn of Christianity, Communion was celebrated every Sunday. Today, the church fathers recommend joining this sacrament at least once a month. For those who do not have such an opportunity - at least four times a year, coinciding Communion with fasting. The minimum frequency of participation in the Eucharist is annual Communion.

There are situations when people consider themselves as sinners unworthy to partake of the Blood and Body of the Lord. There is another extreme - frequent trips to Communion, performed in a formal manner, without the required preparation, without the necessary emotional mood, without the proper awe and awareness of the sanctity of the rite.

Both approaches are deeply flawed. In the first case, the mistake is that, by and large, each of us is sinful by virtue of human nature itself. And the sacrament of Communion exists to correct this sinfulness, cleanse us from it and introduce us to grace. And after each conscious and prepared participation in the ritual a person becomes better and purer. In the second case, when eating wine and bread “for show,” there will be no approach to eternal bliss.

In order for the Eucharist to correspond to its purpose, it must be carried out by believers as an integral part of the continuous process of spiritual improvement in combination with its inherent attributes - confession, prayers, good deeds. Here, direct communication with a confessor who will be able to guide the religious life of his “child” will help.

How to prepare to receive the Holy Gifts

Spiritual preparation

According to the figurative expression of the holy fathers, when preparing for the Eucharist, a person must prepare to meet the Son of God. After all, he partakes of his Blood and Flesh.

Of course, being a churchgoer, you need to follow religious rules: study the Holy Scriptures, turn to the Lord in prayer, confess your sins, and abstain from light food during Lent. But this alone is not enough. A person must carry out constant internal work aimed at cultivating in himself such qualities as love for people, conscientiousness, responsible attitude to duty, tolerance and peacefulness.

If you turn to the Gospel of Matthew, you can find the following lines. Having come to the altar, and remembering that he was in a quarrel with his brother, must first make peace with him, and then turn to God with gifts and prayers. That is, in order to correctly approach the rite of Communion, you need to settle your “worldly” affairs. Understand your relationships with loved ones, and if there is a conflict, grievances, or complaints, try to correct the situation by establishing peace in the family and among friends. And after that, go to, ease your soul and put your thoughts in order.

Who can receive communion? It is important to know that only those who baptized according to the Orthodox rite. Thus, he becomes one of the members of the Church and can be admitted to the Eucharist. It must be remembered that an obstacle to participation in the ritual is a grave sin. Its implementation requires special work on oneself and active repentance. One of the principles of the church is the motto: “Faith without works is dead.” It follows from it that it is not enough to atone for sins, you need to correct your mistakes and try not to commit them in the future, to do good deeds.

Thus, preparation for Communion consists of following the rules. It is necessary: ​​repentance of sins, fasting and prayer vigils - provided that this is done sincerely and heartfeltly.

As stated in First Epistle to the Corinthians Apostle Paul, going to Communion, a person tests himself. And if “anyone eats and drinks unworthily,” while “not considering the Body of the Lord,” “he eats and drinks judgment upon himself.” From these words we can conclude: when a believer picks up bread and a cup of wine, he must understand that this is not just food, but an introduction to the highest meaning of existence, to true faith, to its essence, to the divine essence. And this must be done with reverence and awe, since during the sacred act of the Eucharist God reveals himself to man, and man to God.

How to actually prepare

How the ritual is performed

First Communion

How do children receive Holy Communion for the first time? The first time a child receives communion is immediately after the baptismal ceremony. It is believed that after this he falls under the “care” of his guardian angel, who will be with him all his life.

It is advisable for his parents - biological and godparents - to participate in the sacrament together with the child. One of them brings the child to the Chalice. They must also prepare the day before by following the same rules as for an adult receiving communion: fasting, confessing, and saying prayers.

When a child is being prepared for communion, if he less than three years old, it can be fed immediately before the ceremony in the morning, but no later than half an hour. Otherwise, he may vomit while in church.

You need to make sure that he is not overexcited the night before, goes to bed early and gets a good night's sleep.

• participation in noisy games,
• watching a lot of cartoons,
• listening to loud music,
• eating chocolate.

Then during the service he will not be capricious. You also need to take care of comfortable clothes, which will not be small or large and should correspond to the season, since both hypothermia and overheating are especially harmful to the child’s body.

When bringing the child to the Holy Chalice, he is placed on his right hand and gently held, not allowing him to wave his arms or push the filled vessel or the priest’s hand holding it.

If a child is under seven years old, he is not confessed. When he is very young, his parents say his name; later he must do it on his own.

There are cases where unhealthy children immediately after their first Communion felt much better and even recovered completely. If it was not possible to give the baby communion during baptism, it is advisable to do this as soon as possible. As a rule, church ministers recommend giving communion to children regularly, for example, on Sundays. The Church views the first Eucharist as a step toward ascension to a full religious life.

After participating in the holy sacrament of Communion, if all the rules are followed, a person is overcome by a feeling of joy, gratitude to God for his mercy, and the desire for a pure and beautiful life in the bosom of the Christian Church.

The Orthodox Church was founded by Jesus Christ and since then has preserved everything destined by him. And the Son of God in his Gospel commanded communion in the church. He even argued that those who do not partake of this Holy Sacrament cannot inherit its Kingdom. Only the communicant can be saved and united with God.

Considering that the Eucharist in the church uses wine and bread, this requirement seems completely meaningless. Many even ask: “How can this piece bring me closer to God?”

Doubts

These doubts are understandable, because we are the heirs of the era of rationalism. But the Orthodox Church preaches a completely different approach to a person’s spiritual life. Many people believe that in order to be a good Christian, one must do good deeds and not do bad ones. This is a somewhat simplified scheme that is more typical of Catholicism. Orthodoxy demands much more from its followers.

This is impossible!!!

An Orthodox person who lives a spiritual life treats himself very carefully. Not only actions, but also words and thoughts can be sinful. If a person is able to refrain from bad actions for some time, then he has absolutely no control over his thoughts. Every mortal makes mistakes and slips almost every hour. The Lord said that even one who has sinned once cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. How can a person who sincerely wants to become better, to be saved?

It's really impossible

Even if a Christian makes every effort to improve himself, he will not reach the required height.

Besides God and man, there are angels in the world. These are special creatures. They are very smart, fast, almost magical, but still limited by time and space. Moreover, not all perfumes are kind and bright. There are a huge number of evil messengers who have fallen away from God and have been fighting man since the moment of the first temptation. Fallen angels are called demons (demons, devils). Offering people all sorts of nasty things and sins is their main job. They deceive people, try to tempt them. Demons can communicate with a person without his consent, non-verbally, so that the person does not even suspect that these are not his own thoughts. Since demons are much smarter than humans, no one can defeat them on their own.

Dangerous mistakes

If a person thinks that everything is going well, then there is a high probability that he is developing exorbitant arrogance. And since “God opposes the proud,” the matter of saving such a Christian is in a very deplorable state. You cannot rely on your own strength in this matter. If salvation had been possible without the intervention of the Son of God, He would not have come, would not have suffered, would not have died, and would not have commanded the sacrament to people.

Communion in church is the only hope

Bread and wine turn into the Body and Blood of Christ. Only by tasting the Blood and Body of Christ, uniting with Him in this way, can a person overcome all temptations and really take a step upward. There is no other way, and if there was, the Son of God would not become incarnate and give his life on the cross.

Sacrament tradition

Communion in church is the main thing that the first Christians preserved. Everyone took communion often then, almost every day. Nowadays spiritual life is rarely so active. Communion in church requires special preparation. It is performed at the end of the morning service, which is called the Liturgy. It is also traditional for Orthodox Christians to give communion to children in church, while Catholics and Protestants do not do this. Orthodox Christians introduce children to the Holy Sacraments from infancy. If you want to take communion in church, you must read the rules and make a confession first. Preparation for the Eucharist is a separate topic, very voluminous.

I regularly take communion in church to cleanse myself of accumulated negativity, feel even better connected to God and be filled with the amazing energy of the temple. I will tell you in detail about the meaning of communion and the features of the ritual that are important to know if you are going to perform it.

Communion or communion is the oldest church rite, the history of which began back at the time of the Last Supper. The rite and its “regulations” were established by the Son of God himself. Christ broke off the bread with his own hands and distributed it to the disciples-apostles, saying that this was his body, and the wine was his blood.

The sacrament of communion has its own deep religious and sacred meaning. The ritual symbolizes the restoration of unity and harmony between man and God, which existed in the Garden of Eden before the original sin committed by Eve and Adam.

The meaning of communion is to give the beginnings of a new life in the heavenly kingdom. The sacrament of communion is inseparable from the image of Jesus, who, at the cost of his own life and shed blood, saved the human race and atoned for all its sins. And in the name of this sacrifice, a person, agreeing to receive communion, helps restore the flesh and blood of God’s son.

It is noteworthy that it is during the sacrament of communion that in the Orthodox Church it is allowed to eat flesh (meat) and wine. It is believed that the killed body of an animal in this case symbolizes the incorruptible Divine nature. The meat nourishes the soul, which is then reborn during Baptism.

How to take communion in church

Almost everyone has heard the name of this rite, but few people understand how to properly receive communion in church. I'll tell you about the basic rules and give recommendations.

It is important to understand that communion in church is a rite that assumes that a person is ready to transform both his body and shake his soul.

What is important to observe when preparing for the ceremony, during and after it:

1. You must be as aware as possible of what you are getting into. Understand why you need it. Not out of curiosity, but for what? Answer this question honestly, and you will understand whether you need a ritual at all.
2. There is such energy in the temples that most people feel a certain awe, a feeling of sacred reverence. If you are completely indifferent, perhaps you should not think about how to take communion. Your soul is not ready - it does not feel connected to God.
3. Only a sincere believer should receive communion. Otherwise, what is the point of this action? The event will affect only those who feel, understand God, believe in him and want to enlist his support.
4. Before the ceremony, you need to understand the whole meaning of this great sacrament in order to fully understand what will happen.
5. Communion in church has its own rules - the state of a person’s soul must be peaceful and calm. It is better to clear yourself of negative emotions, grievances and claims in advance. Internal state and emotions are extremely important.

How to properly take communion in church: rules

So, how does communion take place in church?

The entire ceremony takes place in strictly regulated stages. It is important to know how to behave at any given moment. The recommendations are as follows:

1. On the eve of communion, special evening services are held in churches, during which the priest says prayers with special religious meaning.
2. On the day of communion, it is better to come to church early, before all the action begins.
3. When the ceremony begins, you must listen silently to the priest. Do not leave the temple until the end of the prayer. Stand and listen until the priest leaves the place at the altar and calls everyone to take communion.
4. As soon as the invitation follows, people in the temple line up in the following sequence: children, sick, disabled and old people, men, women.
5. While queuing, you need to keep your hands on your chest, folding them crosswise. Important: as soon as your turn comes to the cup, you do not need to cross yourself - this is not customary during communion.
6. When you are near the priest, introduce yourself and open your mouth. They will put a spoon in it, which you need to lick with your lips. Then blot them with a handkerchief and kiss the edge of the bowl.
7. It is very important to go through the ceremony in silence. Do not contact anyone, do not approach the icons. After receiving the sacrament, simply step away and take the wine and holy water.
8. After you find yourself at home and the ritual is completed, read prayers, turning to God or the saints with thanks.

Watch a video about what it means to take communion in church:

What then?

After you have received Holy Communion, it is important to follow certain recommendations. It is necessary to avoid negativity, not to let it into your soul. Follow the commandments and not commit sins. Repeat the sacrament periodically. It’s great if you have the opportunity to come to the temple for this at least once a month.

This will help your soul cleanse itself of all the bad and negative to make room for positive events and joyful emotions.

A long refusal to take communion is a real disaster for a person. Sins, passions, and negativity accumulate in his soul. The farther you go, the more there are. All this poisons life from the inside and corrodes the soul. That’s why it’s so important to visit the temple occasionally and cleanse yourself of all this.

But, of course, you need to come to church only consciously, and not because “it’s necessary.” Only a sincere desire and understanding of the process and its religious significance will make sense.

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Church life is filled with different rules and rituals. But there is one most important one - this is the Sacrament of Communion. However, you need to know exactly how to take communion in church. Otherwise, strict church orders can be violated. It is believed that this is an insult to God; such a sin should not be allowed. Therefore, this issue should be taken seriously.

What is Communion

Before taking communion in church, you need to devote several days to preparation. This is the most important Sacrament of the seven that exist in Orthodoxy. Catholics have similar sacraments. Protestant churches have different views on this issue.

During the Last Supper, Christ gave communion to his disciples for the first time and offered them bread and wine. Until the moment of the Savior’s death on the cross, people sacrificed animals as a prototype of future trials of the Son of God. After He was resurrected, there was no longer any need for other offerings. Therefore, prayers are now read over bread and wine. They also administer Communion.

Why do the churches demand that parishioners take communion and confess? How to do it right? This is a symbol of the unity of God with man. Christ Himself commanded that people do this. The sacrament transforms bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Jesus. By accepting them, the believer accepts the Lord into himself. He maintains his spiritual strength at the proper level.

Communion gives a great “charge” of spirituality. It is especially important that this Sacrament be performed on the sick and dying. The living should start it regularly. At least once during Lent, preferably on every major holiday.

How to prepare for communion

In the Orthodox Church, everyone is not allowed to participate in the sacrament. A number of conditions must be met:

• be an Orthodox Christian;

• maintain strict fasting (at least 3 days);

• read all the necessary prayers;

• go to confession after the All-Night Vigil;

• come to the Liturgy in the morning.

Only if all these conditions are fulfilled will a parishioner be able to properly receive communion in the Church. In some churches, confession is not accepted the night before, but in the morning during the service. But then it turns out that during the Divine service people are distracted by standing in lines. It is still better to confess when there is no need to rush and there is no crowd around.

The following are allowed to the Sacrament without confession:

• infants (children under 6 years old) - however, it is not advisable to feed them before the service;

• those who received Baptism the day before - but they also need to fast and also read prayers.

The fast must be strict - you must give up all animal food (meat, fish, all dairy, eggs). The church calendar will help you find your way. It indicates which products are allowed. On some days, vegetable oil may also be prohibited. For sick and elderly people, the priest can make an exception, but in general it is not customary to relax the fast. You should also not drink after 12 midnight until the very moment of Communion.

How to confess in church correctly

Many are also concerned about the question of how to properly confess in church - embarrassment and inexperience get in the way. But in order to prove to God your firm desire to improve, you will have to overcome your fears. The priest is only a witness, he has seen and heard a lot, so it is unlikely that he will be greatly surprised. But before you approach your confessor, you need to prepare.

Since many people feel nervous during confession, there is a tradition of writing down their sins on a piece of paper. At the end of confession, the priest takes this “list” and tears it up, as a sign that the Lord forgives everything. To compose a confession, you can use a special brochure, or simply take the 10 commandments and think about how you sinned against each.

• During confession, you should not blame others, thereby justifying your negative behavior. Example: a wife yelled at her husband and said that it was “himself to blame” because he came drunk. Let it be so, but in any situation you must restrain yourself, act with love, without insults. Just like confessing in church, it is necessary to talk only about yourself, and not about others.

• There is also no need to boast that there are no sins against some commandments. And is this so? Adultery is considered not only physical betrayal, but even thoughts about it. Smoking is a slow form of suicide, and this is the gravest sin. In addition, the smoker harms those around him, aggravating his guilt. It is necessary to repent of this sin, because a Christian must maintain order not only in the soul, but also monitor the health of the body.

• There is no need to argue with the priest. This is a serious sin, for which one can be excommunicated from communion altogether. Most likely, there are things that are still unclear to you. You should reflect on what has been said.

There are no strict rules governing what to say in church during confession. It is important to show a sincere desire to improve. Confessors usually help those who are experiencing difficulties by asking questions. There is no need to list every sin whose name is found in the books. Many have a common root - pride, greed, unwillingness to work on oneself, dislike for neighbors.

Prayers and Worship

After the sins are named, the priest will cover his head with an epitrachelion (part of the vestment, a long embroidered strip) and read a special prayer. During this you will have to say your name. After this, take the blessing from the priest, listen to the instructions, if any. Then you need to go home to prepare further.

Before taking communion, you should read the daily prayer rule and special sacramental canons. They are published in all prayer books. The canon is a type of church poetry that tunes the soul in the right way. You can read them in church before confessing.

The canons are followed by prayers; they can be read in the morning, if there is time, but not during the Liturgy, but before it. The participle rule is sometimes broken into several parts to be read over three days. But then the necessary mood is not achieved. If in doubt, you need to ask the priest for advice - he will tell you what is best to do.

We must try to maintain peace of mind during the days of fasting and not quarrel with anyone, or all preparation will be lost. Many holy fathers teach that abstaining from certain foods is not as important as abstaining from anger and bad deeds.

• You must come to the Liturgy without delay.

• Small children are usually brought to Communion later - the priest will tell you what time to come.

• Women should not put on much perfume and make-up - the Church is not a secular get-together, but the Temple of God.

• If someone makes a remark in church, it is better not to be offended, but to thank and step aside.

• If after confession you have committed some sin, you must try to find your confessor and tell him about it. Usually, before Communion, one of the clergy leaves the altar to maintain order.

• Before going to the Chalice, you need to fold your hands on your chest so that the right one is on top. Make prostrations in advance!

If a person has just received Baptism, he is obliged to come to the next Liturgy. He will be allowed to receive Communion without confession. Otherwise, the “Christian” demonstrates complete disregard for everything on which spiritual life is built. Baptism as a ritual does not guarantee salvation; for this it is necessary to constantly improve.

Now you know how to properly receive communion and confess in church. Over time, most of the questions disappear by themselves, yesterday's beginner becomes an experienced parishioner. May there be acceptance of the Holy Mysteries of Christ for the salvation of soul and body!

How to confess correctly for the first time

How to properly take communion and confess in church was last modified: July 8th, 2017 by Bogolub

We often hear questions: communion in the Orthodox Church - what it is, how to prepare for it, and why, in fact, it is needed. Since these questions are important and necessary, we decided to give a detailed explanation of this most important Sacrament to those interested in Orthodoxy and beginners, based on the Holy Scriptures.

To maintain the life of the human body, nutrition is necessary: ​​food, drink; as well as treatment if he is sick. The human soul, as a substance of a more subtle organization, needs to be reinforced with special – life-giving spiritual food. Like a loving mother, she never leaves her child, but cares and takes care of him; Moreover, the Lord does not abandon His creation, but provides for man, sends him an abundance of earthly fruits for food and feeds His faithful children with the most precious, immortal and incorruptible Food: with Himself - His Most Pure Body and Blood, taught to us in the sacrament of Communion.

Communion is a sacrament in which an Orthodox Christian, under the guise of bread and wine, partakes (partakes) of the true Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins and eternal life.

Through Communion, a person is most closely united with Christ, becomes involved in Christ for the renewal and strengthening of a person’s spiritual and physical strength and their inheritance of eternal life.

The Lord tells us about the sacrament of Communion :

“I am the Bread of Life. Your fathers ate manna in the wilderness and died; The bread that comes down from heaven is such that whoever eats it will not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this Bread will live forever; The bread that I will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world” (Gospel of John, chapter 6, v.: 48-51). “Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.” He who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For My true Flesh is Drink. He who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood abides in Me and I in him.” (Gospel of John: ch. 6, v.: 53-56).

Why do you need to take communion?

So, we see that in order to unite with God and have eternal life, we need to receive communion. If a person has blood poisoning, then the only way to save his life is to transfuse him with healthy blood. Likewise with the human soul, infected with sin, the only way to save it is a “transfusion” of healthy Blood, which only Christ Himself has. And, as the holy fathers of the church said, after partaking of Communion, “The Blood of Christ flows in our veins,” “we become co-corporeal with Christ.” After all, a diseased and destroyed organ in the human body is replaced through a transplant with a healthy one so that the person can live on.

So in the spiritual sense, the Body of Christ replaces with itself the part of the human soul that is sick with passions and sinful ulcers, nourishes it and gives life: “For we are members of His Body, of His Flesh and of His Bones” (Epistle of St. Paul to the Ephesians: ch. .5, art. 30). Through Holy Communion, the Lord Himself, in His Most Pure Flesh, enters a person, giving him peace, cleansing from sins, and joy from the close presence of the Lord. In the sacrament of Communion, a Christian tastes the “immortal source”, receives the ability to improve spiritually, to be one of the participants in a blissful and immortal life, which, for a person who reverently partakes of the Holy Mysteries of Christ, begins here on earth, and is the guarantee of his resurrection and eternal life.

The history of the appearance of the Eucharist

The Sacrament of Communion is also called the Eucharist, which translated from Greek means “thanksgiving.” The service at which the sacrament of Communion is celebrated is called the Liturgy (it is performed in the morning, and sometimes at night), which means “public service.” The Holy Eucharist (sacrament of Communion) in the Orthodox Church is the “Sacrament of Sacraments,” the heart of the Church, its basis and foundation, because without it the existence of the Church itself is unthinkable.

The Sacrament of the Eucharist was established by our Lord Jesus Christ Himself at His last supper with His disciples - the Last Supper, on the eve of the Savior's Passion on the Cross.

He Himself performed this Sacrament: “And while they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and broke it, and giving it to the disciples, said, Take, eat: this is My Body. And taking the Cup and thanking (God the Father for His mercy to the human race), he gave it to them (the disciples) and said: drink from it, all of you; for this is My Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Gospel of Matthew: ch. 26, v. 26-28)

The holy evangelist Luke complements the narrative of the evangelist Matthew - while teaching the disciples the Holy Bread, the Lord said to them: “... Do this in remembrance of me.” (Gospel of Luke: 22, v.:19-20); the same is said in the Gospel of Mark: chapter 14, v. 22-24, in the 1st Epistle to the Corinthians: ch. 11, v.: 23-26.

After the Resurrection of the Savior, the disciples of Christ gathered on the “day of the sun” (now this day is called Sunday and in the church, as before, it is the first day of the week (week)) for the “breaking of bread.” Initially, it was a meal during which the Holy Scriptures were read, psalms were sung, a sermon was preached, and prayer was carried out. Sometimes the meal lasted all night.

Gradually (over time, communities expanded), from the supper-dinner Eucharist was transformed into a divine service, which in our modern church also begins in the evening: the evening service is the first part of the Sunday (or holiday) service, and the morning - Liturgy - its second part, in during which the holy sacrament of the Eucharist is actually performed.

How often should you take communion?

The first Christians took communion every Sunday. Nowadays, unfortunately, not many people can approach this Sacrament so often due to various circumstances. On average, it is recommended to take communion at least once a month. Well, or at least every post, of which there are four in a calendar year, which means at least four times a year. But no less than once a year - this is, so to speak, the “very minimum”.

Some people rarely approach the sacrament of Communion, considering themselves unworthy of this holy Sacrament; for others, communion has generally turned into a formality: a tradition, “for show,” or something like that, when people without proper preparation, awareness of the great Sacred and feelings of reverence, or in general, running past, “running in” to take communion.

Actually, a person is not completely worthy, due to the sinfulness of his nature, of this great Sacrament, since all people are sinners, and the Eucharist was given to us by the Lord for this purpose, in order to make us purer in heart and soul and, accordingly, more worthy of this Divine gift. Based on the above, it is better to decide how often to receive communion individually with your confessor or with the priest to whom a person confesses, based on his spiritual age (level).

How to prepare for the sacrament of Communion?

The Holy Fathers of the Church emphasized that those who approach this holy sacrament must be ready to meet Christ Himself - but how could it be otherwise, since we eat the Body and Blood of the Lord Himself!

Preparation for communion should not be limited to just reading some prayers and abstaining from any food - first of all, readiness for communion is determined by purity of conscience, absence of enmity against neighbors or resentment towards anyone, peace in relations with people: “If you If you bring your gift to the altar and there you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar and go, first be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift” (Hebrews from Matt., : Chapter 5, Art. 23-24). An obstacle to communion is grave sins committed by a person, which must be repented of in confession.

Before receiving the Holy Mysteries, an Orthodox Christian tries to spiritually gather and concentrate. You need to prepare yourself for Communion by fasting, which consists of fasting, prayer, and doing good deeds (which, however, a Christian should always do, because “faith without works is dead”). Before receiving communion, a Christian must clear his conscience, and for this, according to the tradition of the Russian Church, he must come to confession to receive forgiveness for his sins.

Everyone who wishes to begin the Sacrament of Communion, firstly, must be baptized in the Orthodox faith, since through baptism a person becomes a member of the Church and receives the right to receive communion. Secondly, he must clear his conscience, which is facilitated by fasting and prayer. “Let a man examine himself, and in this way let him eat of this bread and drink of this cup. For whoever eats and drinks unworthily eats and drinks condemnation for himself, without considering the Body of the Lord.” (1st Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians: chapter 11, art.: 28-29).

That is, a person must realize that in front of him in the holy Chalice is not ordinary food, not ordinary bread and wine, but the immortal Table of the Lord - the Most Pure Body and Blood of the Lord Himself, the Lord Himself, which one must partake of with the fear of God, reverence and faith. A person’s irreverent attitude towards the Sacrament exposes him to judgment and condemnation. One of the teachers of the Orthodox Church wrote:

“Bread and wine are seen in the cup, and bread and wine are smelled, but the Holy Mysteries are revealed and revealed through their action. Thus, God, hidden by humanity, was revealed.”

This is because of the Lord’s immeasurable love for us, and his boundless mercy, because of his condescension towards
We feel bread and wine in weak human nature.

It must be said that when, feeling his sinfulness, a person does not approach Holy Communion by his own decision, this is an act of pride, since only a priest can deny access to Communion. Contrition from the awareness of one's sinfulness is not an obstacle for a Christian to perceive the Eucharist as a holiday and joy from union with the Lord, because the Divine Blood washes away our sins and heals our sinful ulcers.

And so, we examined what spiritual preparation for the Holy Sacrament consists of. Now let's look at the physical side of this preparation.

When we are expecting a visit from a person who is very important and authoritative for us, we clean our house: sweep, wash, polish. Similar to this, but only many times more carefully, we must prepare our home - the body - to receive the Lord Himself. The Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians says:

“...Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who dwells in you, which you have from God, and you are not your own?” (St. Paul, 1st epist. to Cor.: 6, 18-19)

The holy apostle likens the human body to a temple - how responsible is this and how can one not prepare one’s body for Communion?

Before communion you must:

1. . If this is not one of the four fasts of the calendar year, then it is recommended to fast for an average of three days, where seven days are recommended, and for some - at least one day. It is better to decide in advance individually with the priest. During fasting they do not eat food of animal origin, and during strict fasting they do not eat fish - this can also be discussed with the priest. During fasting, one abstains from marital intimate relations.
2. On the eve of Communion you are supposed to attend an evening service. Different churches have different starting times, usually it starts: where at 14.00 o'clock, where at 15.00 o'clock, at 16.00 o'clock, at 17.00 o'clock - you need to find out this in advance in the church where you plan to go to the evening service.
3. In the evening, on the eve of Communion, you need to read (in the sense of not just “reading” - as they sometimes say, but, while reading, delve into the meaning of what is being read - praying): evening prayers (“Prayers for those coming to bed”) and three canons: “Canon of Repentance to our Lord Jesus Christ”, “Canon of prayer to the Most Holy Theotokos” and “Canon of the Guardian Angel”. The Canon for Communion is also read (It is contained in the “Follow-up to Holy Communion”).
4. After midnight (after 24 hours) they no longer eat or drink anything, since it is customary to begin the Sacrament of Communion on an empty stomach.
5. In the morning, after the Morning Prayers, they finish reading that they didn’t have time in the evening. (It happens that in the evening they do not read the Canon from “Following to Holy Communion”, but in the morning, after the morning prayers, they read the entire “Following to Holy Communion”).
6. obligatory, which in some churches is held in the evening after (during) the evening service, in others - in the morning before (during) the liturgy. It is also advisable to clarify this in advance. In which part of the temple confession is held - you can also ask the temple servants.

During Communion

• After confession, all believers line up (in line to the Chalice you should not talk, but pray) to the solea (the elevation on which the iconostasis stands, protruding significantly forward), to the center of the solea - to the pulpit (at the level of the Royal Doors, with steps).
• When the Chalice with the Gifts is brought out, immediately make three prostrations in front of the Chalice (touching the forehead to the floor), but not in front of the Chalice itself, so as not to knock it over, but at a distance from it, stand in turn, fold your arms crosswise on your chest (right hand on top left) as a sign of his humility before the Lord.
• When it’s your turn, go up to the Chalice, no longer crossing yourself or bowing (so as not to catch the Chalice), say your full name (Ivan, not Vanya; Natalya, not Natasha, etc.), open your mouth wide and, Having taken Communion, immediately swallow it and kiss the edge of the cup.

• Then, without talking, go to the table on which there are cups of “warmth” (warm water for drinking Communion, to which a little wine can sometimes be added) and eat a piece of prosphora lying on a plate on the same table. Step aside so as not to disturb other participants.

• After communion, you need to be there until the end of the liturgy and, only in extremely urgent circumstances, leave the church before the end of the liturgy (venerate the cross brought out by the priest (kiss the cross) and leave the church after closing the Royal Doors.

After Communion

After communion you must:

1) Read “Prayers of Thanksgiving for Holy Communion” (all of the above prayers and canons are in almost any book of “Prayers”).
2) On the day of communion, abstain from marital intimate relations.

In the Eucharist, the Lord cleanses, sanctifies and deifies man. In this Holy Sacrament, the grace of the Holy Spirit transforms bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ and transforms the person receiving communion from one darkened by sins into one enlightened by the Divine light and free from the heavy burden of sins. Having accepted the Mysteries of Christ, we already carry Christ Himself within us. It’s as if we are carrying a cup filled to the brim with Divine grace - if we are careless, we will spill the contents of the cup, and if we stumble and fall, we will lose all its contents. From the moment of Communion, preparation for the next Eucharist should begin and you need to monitor your spiritual state and protect it from sin. And if, due to the weakness of human nature or because of our negligence, we stumbled, fell, sinned again, do not hesitate, rush to the doctor of our souls: repent and confess, receive the sacrament of Holy Communion for the salvation of the soul and eternal life.

It would be more correct if you, dear Masha, yourself approach the clergyman of the temple where you plan to go for Communion (or at least the clergyman of another Orthodox church) and as he blesses (i.e. says, allows) you to do so, you will do so . He will tell you how many prayers to read from the Rule for Communion - sometimes beginners are allowed to read only part of the rule, because... It is not short and may be difficult to read in its entirety at first. But it is better to do all this with the blessing of a clergyman.
After 24 hours on the night before Communion, you cannot eat or drink anything until you receive Communion.

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How to fast before communion, can you explain in more detail?

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