The sacrament of communion in the Orthodox Church: why do you need communion, how to prepare for it, how does communion take place in the church, what time does it start on Saturday and Sunday and how long does it last.

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The meaning of the sacrament

First of all, in preparation for communion, there will be an awareness of the meaning of communion, so many go to church because it is fashionable and it could be said that you took communion and confessed, but in fact such communion is a sin. When preparing for communion, you need to understand that you go to church to the priest, first of all, to draw closer to the Lord God and repent of your sins, and not to arrange a holiday and an extra reason to drink and eat. At the same time, go to communion only because you were forced to, it’s not good to go to this sacrament at will, cleansing your soul from sins.

So, anyone who wants to worthily partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ must prayerfully prepare himself for this in two or three days: pray at home in the morning and evening, visit church services. Before the day of communion, you must be at the evening service. The rule for Holy Communion is added to home evening prayers (from the prayer book).

The main thing is the living faith of the heart and the warmth of repentance for sins.

Prayer is combined with abstinence from fast food - meat, eggs, milk and dairy products, with strict fasting and from fish. In the rest of the food, moderation should be observed.

Those who wish to take communion should, best of all, on the eve, before or after the evening service, bring sincere repentance for their sins before the priest, sincerely opening their soul and not concealing a single sin. Before confession, one must certainly reconcile both with one's offenders and with those whom one has offended oneself. At confession, it is better not to wait for the priest's questions, but to tell him everything that is on your conscience, without justifying yourself in anything and without shifting the blame to others. In no case should you condemn someone in confession or talk about other people's sins. If it is not possible to confess in the evening, you need to do it before the start of the liturgy, in extreme cases - before the Cherubic Hymn. Without confession, no one, except for infants up to seven years of age, can be admitted to Holy Communion. After midnight, it is forbidden to eat and drink, you must come to Communion strictly on an empty stomach. Children should also be taught to abstain from food and drink before Holy Communion.

How to Prepare for Communion?

The days of fasting usually last a week, in extreme cases - three days. Fasting is prescribed on these days. Modest food is excluded from the diet - meat, dairy products, eggs, and on days of strict fasting - fish. Spouses abstain from physical intimacy. The family refuses entertainment and TV viewing. If circumstances permit, these days one should attend services in the temple. The morning and evening prayer rules are more diligently fulfilled, with the addition of reading to them. penitential canon.

Regardless of when the Sacrament of Confession is performed in the temple - in the evening or in the morning, it is necessary to attend the evening service on the eve of communion. In the evening, before reading the prayers for the future, three canons are read: Penitent to our Lord Jesus Christ, the Mother of God, Guardian Angel. You can read each canon separately, or use prayer books where these three canons are combined. Then the canon for Holy Communion is read until the prayers for Holy Communion, which are read in the morning. For those who find it difficult to perform such a prayer rule in one day, they take a blessing from the priest to read three canons in advance during the days of fasting.

It is quite difficult for children to follow all the prayer rules for preparing for the sacrament. Parents, together with the confessor, need to choose the optimal number of prayers that the child will be able to do, then gradually increase the number the right prayers necessary to prepare for the sacrament, up to the full prayer rule to Holy Communion.

For some, it is very difficult to read the necessary canons and prayers. For this reason, some do not go to confession and do not receive communion for years. Many people confuse preparation for confession (which does not require such a large volume of prayers to be read) and preparation for communion. Such people can be recommended to approach the Sacraments of Confession and Communion in stages. First, you need to properly prepare for confession and, when confessing sins, ask your confessor for advice. It is necessary to pray to the Lord that He will help to overcome difficulties and give strength to adequately prepare for the Sacrament of Communion.

Since it is customary to start the Sacrament of Communion on an empty stomach, from twelve o'clock in the morning they no longer eat or drink (smokers do not smoke). The exception is infants (children under seven years of age). But children from a certain age (starting from 5–6 years old, and if possible even earlier) must be taught to the existing rule.

In the morning they also do not eat or drink anything and, of course, do not smoke, you can only brush your teeth. After reading morning prayers prayers for Holy Communion are read. If it is difficult to read the prayers for Holy Communion in the morning, then you need to take a blessing from the priest to read them the evening before. If confession is performed in the church in the morning, it is necessary to arrive on time, before the start of confession. If confession was made the night before, then the confessor comes to the beginning of the service and prays with everyone.

Fasting before confession

People who come to Communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ for the first time need to fast for a week, those who commune less than twice a month, or do not observe Wednesday and Friday fasts, or often do not observe many days of fasting, fast three days before Communion. Do not eat animal food, do not drink alcohol. Yes, and do not overeat with lean food, but eat as needed to saturate and nothing more. But who every Sunday (as befits a good Christian) resorts to the Sacraments, you can fast only Wednesday and Friday, as usual. Some also add - and at least on Saturday evening, or on Saturday - do not eat meat. Before communion, from 24 hours no longer eat, and do not drink anything. On the prescribed days of fasting, eat only plant foods.

It is also very important these days to keep yourself from anger, envy, condemnation, empty talk and bodily communication between spouses, as well as on the night after communion too. Children under 7 do not need to fast or go to confession.

Also, if a person goes to communion for the first time, you need to try to subtract the entire rule, read all the canons (you can buy a special booklet in the shop, called “The Rule for Holy Communion” or “Prayer Book with the Rule for Communion”, everything is clear there). To make it not so difficult, you can do this by dividing the reading of this rule into several days.

Clean body

Remember that it is not allowed to go to the temple dirty, unless of course it is required life situation. Therefore, preparing for communion implies that on the day when you go to the sacrament of communion, you must wash your body of physical dirt, that is, take a bath, shower or go to the bathhouse.

Preparation for confession

Before confession itself, which is a separate sacrament (not necessarily after it should be followed by Communion, but preferably), you can not keep a post. A person can confess at any time when he feels in his heart that he needs to repent, confess sins, and as quickly as possible so that the soul is not weighed down. And you can take communion, properly prepared, later. Ideally, if possible, it would be nice to attend the evening service, and especially before the holidays or the day of your angel.

It is absolutely unacceptable to keep fasting in food, but not change the course of your life in any way: continue to go to entertainment events, to the cinema for the next blockbuster, to visit, to sit all day at computer toys, etc. The main thing in the days of preparation for Communion is to live they are different from other days of everyday life, not much work for the Lord. Talk to your soul, feel why it spiritually missed you. And do what you have been putting off for a long time. Read the Gospel or spiritual book; visit loved ones, but forgotten by us people; ask for forgiveness from someone who was ashamed to ask for it and we put it off for later; try these days to give up numerous attachments and bad habits. Simply put, these days you have to be braver to be better than usual.

Communion in the Church

The Sacrament of Communion itself takes place in the Church at a divine service called liturgy . As a rule, the liturgy is performed in the first half of the day; exact time the beginning of services and the days of their performance should be found out directly in the temple where you are going to go. Services usually begin between seven and ten in the morning; the duration of the liturgy, depending on the nature of the service and partly on the number of communicants, is from one and a half to four to five hours. In cathedrals and monasteries, liturgies are served daily; in parish churches on Sundays and church holidays. It is advisable for those preparing for Communion to be present at the service from its beginning (for this is a single spiritual act), and also to be at the evening service the day before, which is a prayerful preparation for the Liturgy and the Eucharist.

During the liturgy, you need to stay in the temple without a way out, prayerfully participating in the service until the priest leaves the altar with a cup and proclaims: “Come with the fear of God and faith.” Then the communicants line up one by one in front of the pulpit (first the children and the infirm, then the men and then the women). Hands should be folded crosswise on the chest; it is not supposed to be baptized in front of the cup. When the turn comes, you need to stand in front of the priest, give your name and open your mouth so that you can put in a liar with a particle of the Body and Blood of Christ. The liar must be carefully licked with the lips, and after the lips are wet with the board, with reverence kiss the edge of the bowl. Then, without touching the icons and without talking, you need to move away from the pulpit and take a “drink” - St. water with wine and a particle of prosphora (in this way, the oral cavity is washed, so that the smallest particles of the Gifts are not accidentally expelled from oneself, for example, when sneezing). After communion, you need to read (or listen to in the Church) prayers of thanksgiving and in the future carefully keep your soul from sins and passions.

How to approach the Holy Chalice?

Each communicant needs to know well how to approach the Holy Chalice so that communion takes place sedately and without fuss.

Before approaching the Chalice, one must bow to the ground. If there are many communicants, then in order not to disturb others, you need to bow in advance. When the royal doors open, one must cross himself and fold his arms crosswise on his chest, right hand over the left, and with such a folded hands to take communion; you need to move away from the Chalice without separating your hands. It is necessary to approach from the right side of the temple, and leave the left free. Altar attendants receive communion first, then monks, children, and only then everyone else. It is necessary to give way to neighbors, in no case do not push. Women need to erase before communion lipstick. Women should approach communion with their heads covered.

Approaching the Chalice, you should loudly and distinctly say your name, accept the Holy Gifts, chew them (if necessary) and immediately swallow them, and kiss the lower edge of the Chalice like the rib of Christ. You can not touch the Chalice with your hands and kiss the priest's hand. It is forbidden to be baptized at the Chalice! Raising your hand for the sign of the cross, you can accidentally push the priest and spill the Holy Gifts. Going to the table with a drink, you need to eat antidor or prosphora to drink warmth. Only after that you can apply to the icons.

If the Holy Gifts are taught from several Chalices, they can only be received from one. You cannot take communion twice a day. On the day of Communion, it is not customary to kneel, with the exception of bows during Great Lent when reading the prayer of Ephraim the Syrian, bows before the Shroud of Christ in Great Saturday and kneeling prayers on the day of the Holy Trinity. When you come home, you should, first of all, read thanksgiving prayers for Holy Communion; if they are read in the temple at the end of the service, one must listen to the prayers there. After communion until the morning, one should also not spit anything out and rinse the mouth. Communicators should try to keep themselves from idle talk, especially from condemnation, and in order to avoid idle talk, one must read the Gospel, the Jesus Prayer, akathists, and Holy Scripture.

- Father Vadim, let's discuss a very important topic - the meaning of the sacrament of Repentance or Confession in the spiritual life of modern Orthodox Christian. Sometimes, even in the church media, opinions begin to be expressed that the modern practice of Confession is flawed, one should confess only when inner need, and you need to take communion more often, preferably at every liturgy, every time you visit the temple. There are calls not to link the celebration of these Sacraments in church practice. What can you say, Father Vadim, about the meaning of the sacrament of Confession?

– I can only say what the Church has been testifying to for centuries: Repentance is one of the seven most important Sacraments that ensure the fullness of a person’s spiritual life and his salvation. Salvation is impossible without repentance. This is the foundation of the spiritual life. The Holy Fathers call the sacrament of Penance the second Baptism, for in it the human soul is cleansed and reborn and becomes capable of receiving the grace-filled gifts of other Church Sacraments, including the Eucharist. Whoever ignores this Sacrament to some extent or neglects it, and such trends have begun to appear in our time, runs the risk of turning his entire spiritual life into a hypocritical farce.

I think that these aspirations to belittle the significance of Confession for the spiritual life of a Christian arose in the Orthodox milieu under the influence of Protestantism on church consciousness. Unfortunately, Protestantism in the West deformed the consciousness of Catholicism, and now it has reached Orthodoxy. Confession  — necessary condition in order to bring the soul into a state pleasing to God. We read from the Holy Fathers that all The spiritual life of a person is based on Repentance. Confession is the main means for deep repentance. Saint Ignatius Bryanchaninov noted in his writings that the importance of Confession in the life of an Orthodox Christian is growing and will continue to grow, as people less and less use other spiritual means. We do not know how to pray and we do not show diligence, we do not show zeal for fasting, we easily succumb to sinful temptations. If we still push Confession to the periphery of our spiritual life, then we can be taken with bare hands.

– But here the question immediately arises: I can repent at home during personal prayer, why is Confession necessary in the church?

– Let’s immediately separate these concepts – personal repentance, which the Lord undoubtedly hears, and Church Confession as a sacrament. Yes, the Lord hears and often forgives a person many sins that he mourned in his personal prayer. And when we say in the Church: “Lord, have mercy,” the Lord forgives us a lot. Nevertheless, this does not replace the sacrament of Confession, because a person needs not only to receive the forgiveness of sins, but also grace is required to heal a sinful wound, and grace-filled power is also needed so that the sin committed is no longer repeated. These gifts are given in the Church Confession, in this greatest Sacrament of spiritual rebirth, therefore it is extremely necessary in the life of a Christian. I’ll tell you from my own experience: when I studied at the seminary, I had the opportunity to confess every week at the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, and I remember my inner state then, how deeply and subtly everything sinful was experienced in personal life and it was easier to resist it. Then came another period in my life, when I began to go to confession less often, maybe once every two or three weeks. And it was already a different state. It was as if all my senses were hardened and dulled. Consciousness fixes sin, and there are fewer internal forces for resistance. To a person who doubts the truth, effectiveness and usefulness of the Confession, I suggest trying it from personal experience, what it is, approaching it with the utmost responsibility and seriousness.

—But, Father Vadim, how do they say that in some other Local Orthodox Churches, say in Greece, it happens that believers receive communion regularly, but confess not so often. Although at the same time it must be admitted that in the Greek monasteries much attention is paid to frequent regular Confession. In this regard, I am reminded of the work of the Serbian professor Vladeta Jerotic, who writes that in order to receive a worthy Communion, one must resort to regular Confession, so that Confession necessarily precedes Communion. But what to do when we are given as an example the practice of other Churches, where they do not necessarily confess before communion. So maybe we don't need to confess?

– In the Russian Orthodox Church, there is a wonderful tradition of confessing before every Communion, and God forbid that it be preserved for a long, long time. Of course, this issue has its own nuances. There can be no formal approach here. But generally speaking, Confession before Communion is a very important and useful spiritual principle. Yes, indeed, in some Local Churches this practice looks a little different than in ours. Sometimes the Russian tradition is compared with the Greek one, where people go to Confession when they feel the need for it. It should be noted that the history of the emergence of this tradition in Greece is a separate special and controversial issue. For example, in the XIV century. St. Gregory Palamas in his sermon “On the Holy and Terrible Mysteries of Christ” directly points to the need for Confession before Communion: God, before we correct ourselves according to the rule of piety, we proceed [to the Holy Mysteries], then, of course, we do this to our own judgment and to eternal torment, pushing away from ourselves both God’s bounties and His patience towards us.” A detailed discussion of the history of the emergence of the divided practice of Confession and Communion in the Greek-speaking environment is beyond the scope of our conversation. Let's agree that it really exists now. But why is this tradition, in my opinion, not applicable to modern church life in Russia? First of all, because the Greek people did not survive such a period of godlessness that we got. Modern Greeks grow up in Orthodox families. For the most part, they know what sin is and what virtue is. Orthodoxy is their state religion. They are brought up in Orthodox traditions for several generations, and this tradition has not been interrupted. Therefore, in their minds, many important principles spiritual life rooted from childhood. Without special instructions, they understand that if I have sinned today, then I cannot take communion today, I must go to the confessor for Confession.

In our Fatherland, which has gone through a terrible period of persecution of the Church, people sincerely reached out to the temple. It is wonderful. But due to their spiritual ignorance, most of them do not understand the gravity of the sins they commit, most often they do not see them at all. A lot of Orthodox literature is being published now, which is great, but how much of it is read by those people who are taking their first steps towards the church? Modern man reads very little, so the educational opportunities of printed materials should not be overestimated. In such a situation without mandatory Confession before Communion is indispensable. Any priest has repeatedly come across such examples: a person comes to Confession, repents of the recently committed sin of fornication, adultery or abortion, and immediately says: father, bless me to take communion, I haven’t eaten anything since morning. A person says this sincerely, he does not intend to partake in condemnation or deliberately neglect the principles of spiritual life, he simply does not know them. Or another, even more common example: a person does not see a single sin in himself or formally calls some general phrase without the slightest contrition or self-reproach and strives for the Holy Chalice. If we did not have the tradition of confessing before Communion, then who, when and where would help such people? Let us remember the formidable words of the Apostle Paul about unworthy communion: “Whoever eats this Bread or drinks the Cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord. Let a man examine himself, and thus let him eat from this Bread and drink from this Cup. For whoever eats and drinks unworthily, he eats and drinks condemnation to himself, not considering the Body of the Lord. That is why many of you are weak and sick and many die.”(1 Corinthians 11:27-30). If we give even a little thought to these apostolic words, where do they lead us? To Confession. If now we reject the principle of the relationship between Confession and Communion and give everyone the opportunity to decide the issue of Confession based on personal considerations, then we will become like an unreasonable mother who gave birth to a child, and then took him out into the street, laid him down at a crossroads and, leaving him, said: hands, you have legs, you have a head, there is a temple, here is a house, behind a hillock there is a garden - go work, eat and live pleasing to God.

Of course, the principle of the relationship between Confession and Communion must be used with reason, as it is said in the Gospel: "the Sabbath is for man, not man for the Sabbath". There are periods in church life when the relationship between Confession and Communion may not be so unambiguous. For example, during the period Holy Week when there are long intense services and many parishioners zealously attend them. At this time, in many churches, it is prudently invited to parishioners to confess during Holy Week and then take communion both on Great Thursday and Holy Easter, it is also invited to take communion on Bright Week. However, it seems to me that it would be thoughtless and wrong to mechanically transfer this practice to the entire church year.

“Sometimes you just hear such voices that no matter how many times you come to the church, to the liturgy, take communion as many times. And to confess - well, maybe twice a year or even less often. And they also say: but priests, when they serve the Liturgy, they rarely go to confession before it, don't they?

— The question of the frequency of communion is very important and purely personal. There can be no simple stamped answers here. In the church tradition there are some general rules, but they are not a strict pattern for all without exception. This issue must be resolved individually at Confession. St. John Chrysostom clearly expressed the main condition for the periodicity of Communion: “The only time for approaching the Mysteries and Communion is a clear conscience,” and Confession is the main means for cleansing the conscience. In church life one has to face the most different examples. There are people who once a year prepare, go to confession and take communion. This, of course, is not enough, but one should also rejoice and pray for this spark so that the flame of love for the Lord ignites from this spark. It is clear that for such people there can be no Communion without careful Confession. There are those who show diligence in every multi-day fast - also, thank God, strengthen them, Lord, and for them Confession is necessary before Communion. There are those who prepare and take communion once a month, or on every twelfth feast day, or at least once every three weeks—great, may their zeal not weaken, but without regular Confession before Communion, it will hardly last. Some Christians are especially zealous and strive to receive communion even every Sunday. If this is done not as a tribute to the liturgical "fashion", not as a kind of "renovation duty", not as a habit, but with the blessing of the confessor "with the fear of God and faith ...", then, undoubtedly, they will reap their good fruit. If a parishioner is in regular contact with his confessor, slightly different forms of the relationship between Confession and Communion are possible, but there is no doubt that Confession should be frequent. However, the last example concerns sufficiently experienced Christians, "whose senses have been accustomed by skill to distinguish between good and evil"(Heb. 5:14).

Priests are, in theory, people from the category of experienced Christians. In addition, the specifics of priestly service are often such that he does not have the opportunity to confess before each liturgy, for example, if he is alone in the parish. In such situations, priests confess at every other opportunity. The laity often do not see how the clergy confess to each other in the altar before Communion, and therefore they think that the priests do this very rarely. Let us not forget that priests in the Sacrament of Ordination are granted the grace of “… the infirm healer and replenisher of the impoverished…”, which the laity do not have and by virtue of which the priest has the opportunity to celebrate the Liturgy, and, accordingly, to receive communion more often than the laity. For these gifts and opportunities, he bears an incomparably greater responsibility before God than any of the laity - “From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required, and to whom much has been entrusted, more will be exacted from him”(Luke 12:48). Therefore, the spiritual life of a layman and a priest has never been considered in the Church in exactly the same way.

— Thank you, father Vadim, for the answer. There were deeply informative articles about this in the magazine " Holy Fire". But let's consider this situation. Suppose, when people want to take communion, they first go to Confession, stand in line, wait for them to come to the priest, tell everything, then accept the absolution of sins. Doesn't Confession, in this case, serve as an obstacle to a deeper assimilation of the Liturgy, when one has to stand still and delve into the prayers? What do you say? Such opinions are expressed today.

— The problem you have outlined is not doctrinal, not canonical, not liturgical, but purely organizational. You just need to streamline parish life in the church, including Confession, find a place and time for this. His Holiness the Patriarch gave his blessing that there should be clergymen on duty in every church, it is necessary to announce this to people, to say that on such and such days we have a priest on duty, come and confess. It is not necessary to make Confession only during the Vespers or before the Liturgy, and it is highly undesirable during the Liturgy. In addition, priests can instruct penitents so that when they confess, they express the essence of a sinful act and really bring repentance for what they have done, and not just retell their lives, leaving no time for others to confess. In this case, confession will be meaningful, effective, beneficial and will not take a lot of time.

“But how it happens that from this purely organizational problem sometimes conclusions of a different nature are drawn, they say: let's abolish Confession altogether, the main thing is to take communion more often, and Confession is something of secondary importance; Let's separate these two Sacraments. Although we know that the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation inseparably follow one after the other, and in general in the Church the Sacraments are connected with each other. It seems to me that here it is impossible to break so easily. Sometimes they say this: take communion more often, and only Confession ... if necessary. Although in the letters of Archimandrite John (Krestyankin) we read: "It is impossible to take communion without confession." What can you say in this regard?

- If you separate Confession and Communion, then, without a doubt, people will confess less. I doubt that this will benefit them, but it will be most convenient for us, the priests, because Confession is the heaviest Sacrament in the Church for the clergy. Why? Imagine that for several hours people express their sins and pains to you, and this is done several days a week. They do not just repent, but need your compassion and advice. Without the grace of God, this cannot be endured. It's very hard. Therefore, it is clear that in solving this issue, someone humanly tries to find easier ways. I confess that sometimes such thoughts come to me myself, but at the same time I immediately recall a phrase from Holy Scripture: “Woe to the shepherds who shepherd themselves! Shouldn't shepherds tend the flock?(Ezek. 34, 2).

It should be noted that this problem was already outlined by His Holiness Patriarch Alexy at two Diocesan meetings that took place in Moscow. He drew attention to a strange practice that arose in some Moscow parishes. In particular, at the Diocesan meeting in 2005, he said: “In addition, parishioners are required to take communion as often as possible, at least once a week. To the timid objections of believers that it is difficult to adequately prepare for the reception of the Holy Mysteries on a weekly basis, such priests claim that they take full responsibility. As a result, the inherent Orthodox people reverence and fear of God before Holy Communion. It becomes something familiar, ordinary and everyday. At the next diocesan meeting in 2006, His Holiness the Patriarch again turned to this topic. In one of the notes, he was asked the following question: “At the last Diocesan meeting, Your Holiness, you warned about the danger of losing reverence for the Holy Mysteries with very frequent communion, for example, once a week. The same concern is expressed in the Orthodox Catechism of St. Philaret of Moscow, which recommends that the laity take communion no more than once a month. The same fears can be found in the writings of St. Theophan the Recluse and the last Glinsk Elders. Why is it that in some Moscow churches, despite your warnings, weekly and even more frequent communion of the laity is still practiced, as a result of which the parishioners lose their reverence and fear of the Holy Sacrament? His Holiness the Patriarch replied: “Apparently, those who allow such a practice are unfamiliar with the Orthodox Catechism of St. Philaret, as well as with the works of St. Theophan the Recluse, and do not show any desire to get acquainted with them.” It seems to me that reformers in this area need to heed the words of His Holiness Patriarch.

In conclusion, I will say that the Orthodox Church is the great heir of Christ and the Apostles, and Orthodoxy is an invaluable treasure in which we, by the grace of God, have become partakers. However, the significance of the spiritual experience of Orthodoxy is realized not so much through abstract reasoning and theologizing, but through personal experience life. If we have questions or doubts about this or that church statement or tradition, then we need to enter into it, get used to it, start living in accordance with this teaching. Only then will it be revealed how deep and spiritual the practice of Orthodox life is, and all questions will be removed by themselves.

With Priest Vadim Leonov
interviewed by Valery Dukhanin

There is a purely technical exclusion from communion, if a person is really not prepared. That is, this is one situation when, in principle, it is not forbidden for a person to take communion due to his spiritual state and for some canonical reasons, and the priest can say: “Listen, you are not ready now and therefore do not take communion.”

And the actual non-admission to communion, the ban on communion - this is already a situation when a person is in a state of sin or has committed some serious sin that forbids him to receive communion for a certain time.

From the point of view of the application of the canons, a priest is not allowed for a long time, more than a year, to excommunicate a person from communion. Although canonical norms sometimes prescribe a very long excommunication from communion.

change the situation

Most often, in modern practice, it is necessary to excommunicate from communion either for fornication or adultery, or for abortion.

It is necessary to distinguish: if a person continues to be in sin, then we are not talking about excommunication from communion for a certain period. If, for example, a person lives in fornication and understands that this is wrong, he comes to confession, repents of this, but does not change the situation. That is, repentance as a change not only of the mind, but also of the situation, does not occur. The priest, as a rule, does not allow such a person to receive communion. And this is not excommunication from communion for a certain period, but until repentance. And it can be long - a person can stay in sin for years.

There are also difficult situations, when, for example, people live unscheduled for many years, perhaps they already have a child, and now, let's say, the wife has come to faith, is ready to enter into an official marriage, but her husband does not want to. It is clear that in general the situation is not normal, but it is no coincidence that, according to the census, married women much more than men.

But how the priest will act in each specific such situation depends on the nuances. And there are a lot of them - the nuances of feelings, relationships. Very often people completely misunderstand themselves, and their feelings, and the situation in which they themselves find themselves. By by and large, the task of the priest is not to excommunicate them from communion, but to try to help people get out of these wrong circumstances.

But if it doesn’t work out, it seems to me that in most cases for the party that is ready to both sign and get married, there will be no excommunication from communion. Although everything is possible. Sometimes, even in this situation, excommunication from communion is possible.

In general, the acting fornicator or adulterer is excommunicated from communion not for a certain period, but until correction. Although it is possible to set a trial period. For example, two months. If a person could not stand it, then he could not stand it, which means that he will not take communion for the time being. If he breaks down regularly, he won't take communion.

If the sin is old

If an elderly woman takes her first steps in the Church and repents that she once had an abortion in her youth, she will not be excommunicated from communion. It's hard for me to even imagine it. If the fact of coming to the Church speaks in itself about the repentance suffered, not only in these sins, but in general in life, then no one will excommunicate her from communion.

The most common penance in this situation is the reading of the Penitential Canon or bows with a prayer: "God, be merciful to me, a sinner." And bows - also not three hundred or three thousand, but five or ten. That is, now such sparing penances are prescribed ... But this kind of penance can be for life, and not for a certain period. The priest says: "You know, mother, since you had five abortions, here's three bows a day for your whole life."

A means of enlightenment

Excommunication from communion as a penance is often chosen by the priest as a measure not of punishment, but of feeling, admonishing that a person has committed a serious sin.

For example, a woman comes and says that she recently had an abortion. Unfortunately, often women do not understand that they have committed a serious sin, and are very surprised when they are excommunicated for this. It happens. In order for a person to understand this, to feel it, he may be prescribed abstinence from communion and something else additionally. For example, reading the Penitential Canon or additional fasting, or something else, prostrations maybe extra prayers.

There are no formal "methods" for excommunication from communion. A person confesses, at confession the priest says to him: “You know what, brother, I forbid you to take communion within the next month.” In some situations, if there is no repentance of a person, then the priest does not read permissive prayers.

In order for the prohibition to be lifted, the person must again come to confession and receive this permission to receive communion. To remove the prohibition, a special prayer is read.

Who will remove the penance?

If a person at confession received a prohibition to take communion, no other priest has the right to allow this person to receive communion until the penance is lifted. A ban can only be lifted by the person who imposed it. Or a bishop.

Sometimes there are difficulties of a different kind. For example, a person went on a pilgrimage trip, confessed in another city, the priest said to him: “Come on, you now repent, do not take communion, but come to me in half a year, I will read a prayer that lifts the prohibition on taking communion.” Six months later, a person arrives, but this priest is no longer there. Then - either look for this priest, or contact the bishop. Because it’s just not possible – one priest forbade it, another allowed it – this is generally nonsense from the point of view of organizing a normal spiritual life.

So it is more correct to confess to one priest. Even if a person does not have any serious sins, the confessor in one way or another helps him build his spiritual life in a certain way. And the serious intervention of another priest, who will offer other ways, other medicines, other methods, can complicate a person's spiritual life. Therefore, I always say that if you are not going to specifically consult with the elder, but simply go on a pilgrimage trip, then you need to confess there like this: “Forgive me, Lord, I have sinned in deed, word, thought.” And to the question of the priest: “What other serious sins do you have?” - gently and carefully, so as not to offend the questioner, say: “You know, I told my confessor everything a long time ago.”

And then, it happens, a person comes somewhere and gets hit on the head so that then he does not know how to live on. And at home, the confessor needs great and serious work to return a person to a normal spiritual channel.

Let's see the document

Right now, work is underway on the document of the Inter-Council Presence on clergy. An appropriate questionnaire was sent to the dioceses, which should record the existing spiritual practice in this matter. And then to determine, among other things, regarding excommunication from communion - what, how and when, in what situations.

Especially now some new sins have appeared that are not in traditional questionnaires. And it just seems to me that the nuances associated with “civil marriage” can be determined there.

About sorcerers

So, such sins can excommunicate from communion - murder, fornication or adultery, turning to sorcerers, psychics, witchcraft, all divination, and so on. A person, again, may not understand how bad it is that he was with the "grandmother". Excommunication from communion for a while makes it possible to feel this.

For what we call passions, such as the love of money, gluttony and pride - only in some very rare individual cases of pastoral practice, when some highly experienced priest, well knowing man, maybe such a surgical measure to some of his flock, probably apply.

Prepared by Oksana Golovko

The Orthodoxy and the World portal and the independent service Sreda are holding a series of discussions about parish life. Every week a new theme! We will ask all relevant questions to different priests. If you want to talk about the sore points of Orthodoxy, your experience or vision of problems, write to the editor at

What is the best way to prepare for receiving the Holy Mysteries of Christ?

Only Orthodox people come to the Sacrament of Holy Communion, those who constantly go to church, strictly observe all fasts, are married, pray, live in peace with everyone, repent of sins - such people, with the permission of the confessor, proceed to the Chalice.

It is necessary to prepare in advance both the soul and the body in order to unite with the Lord. Fast for 3-4 days, do not eat fast food, abstain from dinner the day before, replace it with the rule: read two akathist - to the Savior and Mother of God, four canons - the Savior, the Mother of God, the Guardian Angel and the canon for Holy Communion. Who does not have such an opportunity - 500 prayers of Jesus and 150 times "Virgin Mother of God, rejoice ..." But even after reading this rule, even if we have been preparing for a thousand years, we cannot think that we are worthy to receive the Body of Christ. We must hope only in the mercy of God and in His great love for mankind.

Before Communion, it is necessary to sincerely repent in the presence of a priest. Be sure to have a cross on your chest. In no case should you approach the Chalice if the confessor forbids or if you conceal a sin. In bodily and monthly impurity, it is also impossible to proceed to the Sacrament of Communion. Before and after Communion, one must abstain from marital relations.

We must remember that before Communion or after it there is always a temptation. After Communion until morning, prostrations are not made, the mouth is not rinsed, nothing can be spit out. It is necessary to keep oneself from idle talk, especially from condemnation, to read the Gospel, the Jesus Prayer, akathists, Divine books.

How often should you take communion? How do you know that you have received communion worthily, not in condemnation?

If a person is married, observes fasts, Wednesday, Friday, reads morning and evening prayers, lives with everyone in peace, if he reads the whole rule before Communion and considers himself unworthy, approaching Communion with faith and fear, then he partakes of Christ's Mysteries with dignity. The soul does not immediately, suddenly feel worthy of communion. Maybe the next day or the third the soul will feel peace, joy. It all depends on our preparation. If we pray hard, try to get every word of prayer into our hearts, fast and consider ourselves sinful and unworthy, then we can immediately feel the presence of the Lord in us. After Communion there will be peace and joy in us. Temptation may come at once. One must be ready for him, having met him, not to be tempted and not to sin. So the devil knows that we are prepared. But the most important thing is to consider yourself sinful and unworthy. Of course, if we live in such a way that we will be forced to read the canons, morning and evening rule, and we will do it carelessly, in our souls this feeling of sinfulness will not be born. We have enough time to chat, run around, see what lies where, who does what. We have enough energy for this. Or we will hold out, drive the time: "Oh, there are three minutes left until midnight! We must go to eat!" This is not an Orthodox spirit. This is the spirit of Satan. It should not be. The Orthodox must do everything with reverence and the fear of God. The soul of an Orthodox Christian feels God both after communion and between communions. The Lord is near, stands at the door of our heart and knocks: what if they open it, hear His knock? The holy fathers honored reverence and fear in their souls and supported this grace with prayer. They, feeling that prayer was weakening, confessed and approached the Chalice, and the Lord strengthened! Again the soul was on fire. Communion is the only sacrament of the Church where the soul of a person can ignite with the flame of divine love; because in Communion we receive into ourselves the Living Fire, the Creator of the universe Himself.

Is the infection transmitted through a cross, a spoon for communion, an icon?

In the church we are already dealing with Heaven. Here we are no longer on earth. The Church is a small piece of Heaven on earth. When we cross the threshold of a temple, we must forget about everything earthly, including squeamishness (squeamish people are usually lecherous, say the holy fathers). The infection is transmitted only by sinful means. Many people work in infectious diseases departments, in tuberculosis hospitals, but do not suffer from these diseases. Priests also come there - they give communion. And no one has ever been infected. People become infected only through sin.

When they approach the Chalice, they take from one small spoon - a spoon - the Creator of the Universe, the Living Christ, the Body and Blood of Christ. Here Themselves Cleanliness and Sterility. Here everything is so pure that believers do not even have the thought of infection. Through the hands of the priest, Christ Himself enters into man. Not a part of His Flesh and Blood, but as a whole, the Lord enters into each one who takes communion. Angels in awe, in fear are present. And what can we say about some kind of infection. There was a time, in the 62-63s, atheists came to church and taught that after each communicant, the liar should be lowered into a special solution. Well, this is for them... They don't understand anything. And the fact that their soul has already become a vessel of Satan is normal, it's okay!

When Righteous John of Kronstadt was serving in the cathedral, two young men came to see him. They were about to take communion. One subtracted the rule, and the second, very tired, could not. And both came to church. The one who read it calmly approached Communion, and the righteous John of Kronstadt did not allow him. And the other, with a contrite heart, said to himself like this: “Lord, I so want to receive You; but I didn’t read the rule, I’m so vile, so vile ...” Condemning himself, he approached the Chalice, and the righteous John of Kronstadt gave him communion. The most important thing for the Lord is our contrite heart, the awareness of our unworthiness. St. John Chrysostom says: "If we prepare for a thousand years, we will never be worthy - we must hope for the mercy of God. If the Lord does not help, we will not be able to partake worthily."

When you take communion, you feel light in your soul, but after a while (on the same day) this state passes, and your soul feels heavy again. You feel the absence of God. The same passions rise up again. What do we have to do?

You have to prepare yourself the day before. It is necessary to fast well - "this kind of demons is expelled only by prayer and fasting" (Matt. 17:21), therefore, one must pray well the day before, warm up one's soul, fast - the passions will depart. After Communion, one must try to remain in prayer, to maintain peace of mind. Those who love to be self-willed, to rebel, do not appreciate Communion. They took communion - and immediately they have resentment, and hysteria, and rebellion next to them. This is because it is not their will that everything happens. It is necessary for them to exist, to break everything to the end, all relations. There are still many such people, they are called butovschiki. They value nothing, they value nothing. The most important thing is that everything should be according to their desire. And if (God forbid) something is against them, everyone around them becomes enemies, and there will never be peace in the soul, until death. This is the most terrible state of the human soul. A person lives according to his will and no one has the right to say anything to him. And so they are doing well, just do not touch them - they will sting ...

Why then, when you take communion, do the Holy Mysteries sometimes taste like bread, and sometimes like Flesh? Does this mean that at one time you partake of eternal life, and at another - in condemnation?

If a person feels that he is taking on the Flesh, then the Lord gives it to strengthen faith. But it is right to feel the taste of bread. The Lord Himself says: "I am the bread of Life" (John 6:35).

Many people have told me about this. Quite recently, a woman called from Kiev, saying: “Father, my faith is weak. When I went to Communion today, I was poorly prepared. Father gave me a small particle, and at the Chalice I thought: “What kind of Flesh can be here? When I don’t even feel with my tongue that he put something in my mouth? ”He gave me a little, a little bit. And I just couldn’t eat that piece. It stayed in my mouth like that. I came home - my mouth was full of meat. For several hours I sobbed, cried, asked the Lord - it's a pity to throw it away, but I can't swallow it! Then the Lord freed me - I swallowed it and now I'm calling. What, have I sinned terribly?" “Repent that you doubted it,” I tell her.

We know that the Lord performed the first miracle when He turned wine from water. It costs him nothing to transform His blood from wine, and from bread - Flesh. A person does not receive a part of the flesh, but the Living Christ enters into each communion in its entirety.

We know the word of the Apostle Paul about receiving the Holy Gifts "without reasoning". I would like to know if it is possible to give such recommendations to a person who does not believe in God?

Only believing people can approach the Chalice and receive communion, those who believe in the crucified Jesus Christ as the Son of God, sincerely confess their sins. And to the “raw material” that doesn’t go to church, doesn’t pray to God, doesn’t keep fasts and strives to take communion “just in case”, we usually say: “It’s too early for you to take communion. You have to get ready.” Some defend such "parishioners", they say: "If they are not allowed, then who is to be allowed?" God doesn't want quantity, God wants quality. It is better for one person to partake worthily than twenty unworthily. Saint Gregory the Theologian says: “I would rather give my body to be torn to pieces by dogs than the body of Christ to the unworthy.”

You have to have a discussion. We know from experience that everyone who came to church to be baptized and did not prepare remains outside the Church. Therefore, we ask you to seriously prepare your soul for this Sacrament, go to church services, and pray. When such a prepared person is baptized, he will become a faithful member of the Church, he will constantly be in the temple. This is what real Orthodox people are. In a day Doomsday on left side Our Judge will be very many baptized, "Orthodox". They will prove that they are believers, but the Lord will say: "Depart from me, cursed, into eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels" (Mt. 25:41).

After communion, I almost got hit by a car. I escaped with a bruise ... I want to understand why this happened?

There may be various reasons for this. The holy fathers say that before or after communion, the enemy will certainly arrange a temptation: he will try to prevent him from taking communion, or after communion he will take revenge. He seeks to create an obstacle with all demonic intrigues so that a person cannot worthily receive communion. A Christian prepares, prays, reads the rule for Holy Communion, and suddenly ... someone met him on the way, scolded him or his neighbors made a scandal at home, all so that the person sinned and lost heart. These are obstacles from the devil.

It also happens differently. The person is at enmity, has not reconciled, has not asked for forgiveness and goes to the Chalice. Or He has secret unrepentant sins in his soul.

If a person went through a formal confession, did not repent of anything and approached the Chalice more than once, he took communion unworthily, to his own condemnation. Of such, the apostle Paul in his epistle to the Corinthians says that "... many of them die" (1 Cor. 11:30).

If, however, we have repented of everything, concealed nothing, left nothing on our conscience, then we are under the special protection of God. Then even if a car knocks us to death, it’s not scary: on the day of communion, all Orthodox Christians would like to die, because for the sake of the Holy Gifts, the soul immediately admires the Angels in Heaven and it does not go through ordeal. The soul will not go to hell on the day of communion.

And if such a nuisance happened, but the person "got off with a fright", remained alive, then this can be regarded as a reminder of God about the inevitable death that may come today or tomorrow. Life is short. This means that it is necessary to strengthen the exploits, pay more attention to the spiritual side of your life. Any illness, any such case is news from the other world. The Lord constantly reminds us that our earthly refuge is temporary, that we do not live here forever and will leave for another world.

No matter how well a person lives on earth, he will not build a kingdom here. Only once was he given the opportunity to live in paradise under the protection of God's grace. Man could not resist, fell into sin, and sin shortened the days of man's life. Along with sin, death entered the life of a person. The devil has perverted consciousness to such an extent that sin has become the norm, and virtue is trampled on.

But we have the hope of entering the Kingdom of Heaven through a righteous life in Christ and the purification of the soul through repentance. And in the Kingdom of Heaven there is no despondency, no sickness, no despair, no sorrows. There is fullness of life, fullness of joy, And for this we must constantly prepare, remember every second: our whole life is only preparation for eternity. How many billions of people were on earth, all moved into the world of the majority. And now we stand on the threshold of that world.

Can the unmarried receive communion?

This issue is very complex, and it should be resolved with the confessor. An unmarried marriage is not blessed by God. For example, a woman lives in Moscow. She has an apartment. From the other end of Moscow, a man comes to her and cohabits with her. Well, and how: can such people be allowed to receive communion?" Many will exclaim: "Father, this is fornication. They live illegally."

Okay. Then this man collects his things and moves to her, thinks: "What am I going to go back and forth." He came, began to live, registered with her. We registered at the registry office, in case of a divorce, in order to divide the little things acquired together. Was the marriage legal then? Nothing like that, it's just as illegal. They just got together.

This marriage will be legal when they have strong faith, give God a promise to observe purity in marriage, that is, not to indulge infantry desires during fasting, not to commit adultery on the side and get married. That's when this marriage will be "registered" in Heaven. This marriage is blessed by God.

Now many people get married at the insistence of their parents. A mother says to her son or daughter: "You must definitely get married!" And children, to please their parents, get married in the church. The mother is calm and comforted. And they lived for two or three months, a scandal, and fled. Soon they find themselves another couple and begin to live new family. Thus they commit adultery and trample on the holy bonds of a crowned, God-blessed marriage.

By law given by God, these people are bound by marriage as long as one of the spouses is alive. The husband dies, the wife can get married, and vice versa. But with both spouses alive, none of them can live with another person. And no priest has the right to marry them.

What God has joined together, let no man separate. "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery with her husband" (Luke 1b, 18). "To those who are married, I do not command, but the Lord: A woman shall not divorce her husband, and a husband shall not leave his wife" (1 Cor. 7:10).

If it became unbearable to live with your spouse, and you separated, then you need to keep yourself clean; but it is better to be reconciled with the one whom the Lord has given you.

We give communion to an infant, but for some reason he becomes irritable after communion.

Much depends on the parents. The child is sinless, holy, and the parents are often unrepentant, and their inner state is reflected in the child. It is mentioned in the life of the righteous John of Kronstadt: when babies were brought to him to receive communion, some of them did not want to accept the Holy Gifts - they waved their arms, twisted, spun. And the righteous prophetically said: "These are the future persecutors of the Church." From birth they were opponents of God.

Grandmother secretly from parents takes communion small child, she is embarrassed that it is a secret.

There is nothing wrong here. On the contrary, it is very good that someone was found in the family, doing a good deed for the soul of this child. The child must live a spiritual life. If he does not receive communion, his soul may die and the little man will grow up with a dead soul. Subsequently, they can take over evil force even to mental illness, to demonic possession. And if this, by the grace of God, does not happen, a person with an evil character will simply grow up.

A small planted flower requires care and attention. It needs watering, loosening and freeing from weeds. So the child must be communed with the Holy Mysteries - the Blood and Body of Christ. Then his soul lives and develops. She falls under the special protection of the Lord's grace.

Questions about the Sacrament of Communion

Hwhat is communion?

This is the Sacrament in which, under the guise of bread and wine, an Orthodox Christian partakes (participates) of the very Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and eternal life, and through this is mysteriously united with Him, becoming a communicant. eternal life. The comprehension of this Mystery surpasses human understanding.

This Mystery is calledEvharistia, which means thanksgiving.

TOHow and why was the Sacrament of Communion established?

The Sacrament of Communion was instituted by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself at the Last Supper with the Apostles on the eve of His sufferings. He took bread into His most pure hands, blessed it, broke it and divided it to His disciples, saying: “Send, eat: this is My body” (Matt. 26:26). Then he took a cup of wine, blessed it and, giving it to the disciples, said: “Drink everything from it, for this is My Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Matthew 26:27-28). At the same time, the Savior gave the commandment to the apostles, and in their person and to all believers, to perform this Sacrament until the end of the world in remembrance of His suffering, death and Resurrection for the believers to unite with Him. He said, "Do this in remembrance of Me" (Luke 22:19).

Pwhy do you need to partake?

The Lord Himself speaks of the obligation of communion for all who believe in Him: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink His Blood, you will not have life in you. Whoever eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My Flesh is truly food, and My Blood is truly drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him” (John 6:53-56).

He who does not partake of the Holy Mysteries deprives himself of the source of life - Christ, places himself outside of Him. A person who seeks in his life to connect with God can hope that he will be with Him in eternity.

TOhow to prepare for communion?

Whoever wants to take communion must have heartfelt repentance, humility, and a firm intention to improve. They prepare for the Sacrament of Communion for several days. On these days, they prepare for Confession, try to pray more and more fervently at home, refrain from amusements and idle pastime. Fasting is combined with prayer - bodily abstinence from fast food and marital relations.

On the eve of the day of Communion or in the morning before the Liturgy, one must confess, be at the evening service. Do not eat or drink after midnight.

The duration of preparation, the measure of fasting and the prayer rule are negotiated with the priest. However, no matter how much we prepare for Communion, we cannot adequately prepare. And only looking at a contrite and humble heart, the Lord, in His love, accepts us into His fellowship.

TOWhat prayers should be used to prepare for Communion?

For prayerful preparation for Communion, there is a common rule that is found in Orthodox prayer books. It consists of reading three canons: the canon of repentance to the Lord Jesus Christ, the canon of prayer to the Most Holy Theotokos, the canon to the Guardian Angel, and the Follow-up to Holy Communion, which consists of a canon and prayers. In the evening it is also necessary to read prayers for a dream to come, and in the morning - morning prayers.

With the blessing of the confessor, this prayer rule before Communion can be reduced, increased, or replaced by another.

TOhow to approach communion?

Before the beginning of Communion, the communicants come closer to the pulpit in advance, so that later they do not rush and do not create inconvenience to other worshipers. At the same time, it is necessary to skip ahead the children who receive communion first. When open royal doors and the deacon comes out with the Holy Chalice with an exclamation: “Come with the fear of God and faith”, you must, if possible, bow to the ground and fold your arms crosswise on your chest (right over left). Approaching the Holy Chalice and in front of the Chalice itself, do not cross yourself, so as not to accidentally push Her. It is necessary to approach the Holy Chalice with the fear of God and reverence. Approaching the Cup, you should clearly pronounce your Christian name given at Baptism, open your mouth wide, reverently, with the consciousness of the holiness of the Great Sacrament, accept the Holy Gifts and immediately swallow. Then kiss the base of the Chalice as the rib of Christ Himself. You can not touch the Chalice with your hands and kiss the priest's hand. Then you should go to the table with warmth, drink Communion so that the shrine does not remain in your mouth.

TOHow often do you need to take communion?

Many holy fathers call for communion as often as possible.

Usually, believers confess and receive communion during all four multi-day fasts of the church year, on the Twelfth, Great and Temple Feasts, on Sundays, on the days of their name day and birth, spouses on their wedding day.

The frequency of a Christian's participation in the Sacrament of Communion is set individually with the blessing of the confessor. More common - at least twice a month.

D Are we sinners worthy to take communion often?

Some Christians commune extremely rarely, citing their unworthiness. There is not a single person on earth who is worthy of Communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. No matter how much a person tries to purify himself before God, he will still not be worthy of accepting such a great Shrine as the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. God gave people the Holy Mysteries of Christ not according to their dignity, but according to His great mercy and love for His fallen creation. “The healthy do not need a doctor, but the sick” (Luke 5:31). A Christian should accept the Holy Gifts not as a reward for his spiritual exploits, but as a Gift from the Loving Heavenly Father, as a saving means of sanctifying the soul and body.

Is it possible to take communion several times on the same day?

No one should take Holy Communion twice on the same day. If the Holy Gifts are taught from several Chalices, they can only be received from one.

Everyone is communed with one spoon, is it possible to get sick?

There has never been a single case of someone becoming infected through Communion: even when people take communion in hospital churches, no one ever gets sick. After the Communion of the faithful, the remaining Holy Gifts are used by the priest or deacon, but even during epidemics they do not fall ill. This is the greatest Sacrament of the Church, given, including for the healing of the soul and body.

Is it possible to kiss the cross after Communion?

After the Liturgy, all the worshipers venerate the cross: both those who took communion and those who did not.

Is it possible to kiss icons and the priest's hand after Communion, to make prostrations?

After Communion, before drinking, you should refrain from kissing the icons and the priest's hand, but there is no such rule that those who take communion should not kiss icons or the priest's hand that day and not bow to the ground. It is important to keep the tongue, thoughts and heart from all evil.

How to behave on the day of Communion?

The day of Communion is a special day in the life of a Christian, when he is mysteriously united with Christ. On the day of Holy Communion, one should behave reverently and decently, so as not to offend the shrine with one's actions. Thank the Lord for a great blessing. These days should be spent as great holidays, dedicating them as much as possible to concentration and spiritual work.

Is it possible to take communion on any day?

Communion is always given on Sunday morning, as well as on other days when the Divine Liturgy is served. See the schedule of services in your church. In our church, the Liturgy is served every day, except for the period of Great Lent.

During Great Lent on some weekdays, as well as on Wednesday and Friday at Maslenitsa, Liturgy is not allowed

Is Communion paid?

No, in all churches the Sacrament of Communion is always performed free of charge.

Is it possible to take communion after the Unction without Confession?

Unction does not cancel Confession. Confession is needed. Sins that a person is aware of must be confessed.

Is it possible to replace Communion by partaking of Epiphany water with artos (or antidoron)?

This is an erroneous opinion about the possibility of replacing the Communion Epiphany water with artos (or antidoron) arose, perhaps due to the fact that people who have canonical or other obstacles to Communion of the Holy Mysteries are allowed to use baptismal water with an antidoron. However, this cannot be understood as an equivalent replacement. Communion cannot be replaced by anything.

Can an Orthodox Christian take communion in any non-Orthodox church?

No, only in the Orthodox Church.

How to give communion to a one-year-old child?

If the child is not able to calmly stay in the temple for the entire service, then he can be brought at the time of Communion.

Can a child under 7 eat before Communion? Is it possible to take communion when the sick are not on an empty stomach?

This issue is resolved individually in consultation with the priest.

Before Communion, small children are given food and drink as needed, so as not to harm their nervous system and bodily health. Older children, from the age of 4-5, are gradually taught to take communion on an empty stomach. Children from the age of 7 are taught, in addition to taking communion on an empty stomach, also to preparee to communion through prayer, fasting and confession, but of course in a very light version.

In some exceptional cases, adults are blessed to take communion not on an empty stomach.

Can children under 14 receive communion without Confession?

Without Confession, only children under 7 years of age can receive communion. From the age of 7, children receive communion after Confession.

Can a pregnant woman take communion?

Can. It is desirable for pregnant women to partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ more often, preparing for Communion by repentance, confession, prayer and fasting, which is weakened for pregnant women.

It is advisable to start the churching of a child from the moment the parents found out that they would have a child. Even in the womb, the child perceives everything that happens to the mother and around her. At this time, participation in the Sacraments and the prayer of parents is very important.

How to take Communion to a sick person at home?

The patient's relatives must first agree with the priest on the time of Communion and consult on how to prepare the patient for this Sacrament.

When can I take communion during the week of Great Lent?

During Lent, children receive communion on Saturdays and Sundays. Adults, in addition to Saturday and Sunday, may receive communion on Wednesdays and Fridays, when the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is served. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday at great post Liturgy is not required, with the exception of the days of great church holidays.

Why are babies not given communion at the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts?

At the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, the Chalice contains only blessed wine, and the particles of the Lamb (the Bread that was changed into the Body of Christ) are soaked in advance with the Blood of Christ. Since babies, due to their physiology, cannot be communed with a particle of the Body, and there is no Blood in the Chalice, they are not communed at the Presanctified Liturgy.

Can the laity take communion during the whole week? How can they prepare for communion at this time? Can a priest forbid communion on Easter?

In preparation for communion in a continuous week, it is allowed to eat fast food. At this time, preparation for communion consists in repentance, reconciliation with neighbors and reading the prayer rule for Communion.

Communion at Easter is the goal and joy for every Orthodox Christian. The whole Holy Forty Day prepares us for communion on Easter night: “Let us ascend to repentance, and cleanse our feelings, scold them, the entrance of fasting: the hope of grace is known to the heart, not brushy, not using them. And the Lamb of God will be dreamed of by us, in the sacred and luminous night of the Resurrection, for the sake of us, the slaughter was brought, joined by the disciple in the evening of the sacrament, and the darkness devastating ignorance with the light of his resurrection ”(stichera on the apostle, in the meat-fare week in the evening).

Rev. Nicodemus the Holy Mountaineer says: “Those who, although they fast before Easter, do not take communion on Easter, such people do not celebrate Easter ... because these people do not have in themselves the reason and reason for the holiday, which is the Sweetest Jesus Christ, and do not have that spiritual joy that is born from Divine Communion.

When Christians began to evade communion at Bright Week, the fathers of the Trulli Council (the so-called Fifth-Sixth Council) testified to the original tradition with the 66th canon: “from the holy day of the Resurrection of Christ our God until the new week, throughout the whole week, the faithful must the holy churches to unceasingly exercise in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, rejoicing and triumphing in Christ, and listening to the reading of the Divine Scriptures, and enjoying the holy mysteries. For in this way let us resurrect with Christ and be exalted.”

Thus, communion on Pascha, on the days of Bright Week, and in general on continuous weeks, is not forbidden to any of the Orthodox Christians who can be admitted to Holy Communion on other days of the church year.

What are the rules for prayer preparation for communion?

The volume of the prayer rule before communion is not regulated by the canons of the Church. For the children of the Russian Orthodox Church, it should be no less than the Rule for Holy Communion in our prayer books, which includes three psalms, a canon and prayers before communion.

There is, in addition, a pious tradition of reading three canons and an akathist before accepting the Holy Mysteries of Christ: the canon of repentance to our Lord Jesus Christ, the canon to the Mother of God, the canon to the Guardian Angel.

Is confession necessary before each communion?

Obligatory confession before communion is not regulated by the canons of the Church. Confession before each communion is a Russian tradition, caused by the extremely rare communion of Christians during the synodal period in the history of the Russian Church.

For those who came for the first time or with grave sins, for novice Christians, confession before communion is obligatory, since for them frequent confession and the instructions of the priest are of great catechetical and pastoral significance.

At present, “regular confession should be encouraged, but not every believer should be required to confess without fail before each communion. By agreement with the confessor for persons who regularly confess and take communion, who observe church rules and the fasts established by the Church, an individual rhythm of confession and communion can be established” (Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeev)).