Communion of children up to 7 rules. Parish in the name of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Princess Olga - Communion of children

I think you have noticed more than once how by the end of the Liturgy there are more and more small children in the church. The air is filled with movement, sounds and an inexplicable sense of the importance of the upcoming Sacrament for the children - the communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. Remember, ten years ago, when they saw a 3-4-year-old child at a divine service, grandmothers caring for candlesticks said with tenderness: “How small, but already in the temple.” Now we are living in an amazing time - the time of the revival of Orthodoxy. Now more and more young people, having decided to start a family, go through the Sacrament of the Wedding, baptize their children in infancy, bring them to churches for the Anointing of the Sick and Communion.

If you ask a question: “How often do you need to bring a child to the temple and receive communion”? I think there will be no dispute with the answer: "As often as possible"! But do all young parents understand why babies should be given communion? According to the teaching Orthodox Church an infant is a child under seven years of age. During this period, the child, as a rule, has not yet formed a “conscious” concept of sin, and accordingly, there is no conscious confession. So why is it necessary to take communion, in fact, a baby that does not yet have sins?

Saint Theophan the Recluse wrote that Holy Communion “livingly and effectively unites with the Lord a new member of His, through His most pure Body and Blood, sanctifies him, pacifies him in himself and makes him impregnable for dark forces». On the basis of the words of the Saint, I will try to reveal two main provisions in the article: firstly, and most importantly, through the sacrament, the child is united with God, and secondly, he receives protection from God.
In the modern world, parents give a lot of effort and attention to caring for the material component of the child's life, he must be well fed, healthy, shod and dressed, but, unfortunately, they often miss the need for the formation and development of a spiritual life in an infant.

Holy righteous John of Kronstadt wrote: "The most important spiritual blessings given to us by God in the Church are faith, prayer, confession and communion of the Holy Mysteries". Of all the listed spiritual blessings, the communion of the Holy Mysteries is available to a baptized infant. After all, a child at any age is open to the grace of God, including the unconscious. Grace is perceived not by the mind (here even an adult does not know anything), but by some unknown to us, hidden sides of the human soul.

Again, the sacrament protects the baby. From what? Just like in adults, the soul of an infant, not nourished by communion, is constantly attacked by fallen angels. And the soul of an infant feels these attacks and suffers from them. Outwardly, this may manifest itself in the fact that the child becomes capricious and restless for no apparent reason. The child cannot yet explain what is happening to him. Therefore, parents should pay special attention to the regularity of communion.
I would like to draw your attention to another equally important aspect in the matter of the communion of infants. It is not enough just to bring the child to the temple and take communion, it is necessary to preserve the received grace. Try to spend the day after communion calmly, without getting irritated or quarreling, for example: not turning on the TV that day. Let the child feel the special mood of the day when he goes to the temple and takes into himself the Body and Blood of Christ. It is the example of the parents, the family way of life, the general atmosphere in the house that one can instill in his child a religious feeling.

It happens that the child refuses to approach the Cup or, even being in the arms of his parents, breaks out and cries. There can be several explanations for this: the baby is tired, he is hungry, which means he is naughty, he does not understand what is happening and is afraid, etc. Each parent has a special approach to his child. You need to try to interest him by telling at home about the Sacraments, the life of the Church, retelling hagiographic stories. Before going to the temple, create a festive atmosphere at home. In the temple, point to the children who take communion so that the child is not afraid. good example may be the communion of parents or acquaintances. After Communion, you can treat the baby to something delicious. If a child takes communion, be sure to praise him. And over time, he will get used to it and will look forward to Communion.

Although it is necessary to draw the attention of parents to such a very significant point: sometimes the reason for such a child's behavior in front of the Chalice is their own life. And therefore, when planning to give communion to a son or daughter, father and mother should, of course, think whether they themselves confessed and took communion too long ago.

How to get your child interested in going to church? It happens that he sees that there are a lot of people there and nothing, to walk and that's it, we go inside, crying.
My advice is to take your child to communion in weekdays when there are few people. And more often. Let him get used to the temple and the sacrament, he will already know what and how is happening. Gradually, he will love to take communion, kiss the icons, he will know the priests! Then, perhaps, a large crowd of people will not frighten. In our temple services on Wednesday and Saturday.

I would like to end the article with the words of Archimandrite Raphael (from his Sermons and Conversations). “Those who say that it is not necessary to give communion to children is the same as saying that it is not necessary to take care of a young, weak plant just at the time when it is necessary to protect it from thickets of weeds and weeds. I would say that infancy is the most important of all ages in human life: in the first two years the child receives as many impressions as then in the rest of his life. Therefore, take communion as often as possible.”

Deacon John Neger

Some parents believe that babies have no concept of sin, and what is the point of giving communion to a baby who does not have sins? However, St. Theophan the Recluse said that Communion effectively and vividly unites the infant with the Lord, as a new member of His Church. According to the teaching of the saint, Communion sanctifies him, pacifies him and protects him from the dark forces of God's grace.

Every person, even an unconscious infant, is open to receiving God's grace, which is perceived not by consciousness, but by the soul. In addition, there is evidence that children who receive communion often get sick less, sleep better, and do not act up. But not everyone knows the rules for the communion of children. We will try to answer the most popular questions.

What part of the service to come with children

Up to a year

With an infant, you can come to receive the Sacrament after the Liturgy. At the same time, babies can be fed before communion. Only this should be done at least half an hour before communion, so that the baby does not accidentally burp. Mothers who were preparing for Communion are allowed to partake of the Holy Mysteries together with their children, even if they came with them towards the end or the middle of the Liturgy.

Up to seven years

From the age of two or three, it is necessary to gradually accustom the child to be in the service, at least with a prayer preceding the end of the Liturgy, that is, with the church-wide singing of the Lord's Prayer.

After 3 years, you can try not to feed the child, but there are no strict rules about this. Some feed children before the service up to 6-7 years. Every parent should approach this issue with understanding. It is good to consult a priest about this. From the age of seven, it is customary to teach children to fast, but not strictly and gradually. For example, you can convince him for the sake of Christ to stop watching cartoons, or eating some food that is especially tasty for him.

Up to ten years

Children from 7 to 10 years old should be brought to the church to sing “Like Cherubim”.

It must be remembered that not every child, especially a small one, can withstand the entire service, and therefore parents can come to the temple later. With children who are over 10 years old, you should come to a full service, but if the parents notice that the child is tired, they can go outside with him, take a walk around the temple. You should know that not all children have the patience to endure the entire service, so do not force him to do this, as you can cause him to dislike worship.

What prayers to read to children before Communion

Priests recommend that parents read at least one prayer or several prayers aloud to their children in preparation for communion. Moms (unlike dads) do not have to read all the canons and all the rules. enough to read prayer rule to Holy Communion. At the same time, either dad, or godparents, or grandparents can read the canons and the rule for the child.

If, apart from the mother, no one can do this, then she should pray according to her abilities. But even if mom has absolutely no time for a large number prayers, it is enough to pray according to the rule of the reverend:

“Our Father - 3 times”, “Virgin Mary rejoice - 3 times”, “I believe - 1 time”

There is no need to fast for a child. However, before the Communion of the child, parents should refrain from marital relations. We must try to do everything possible so that coming to the temple to introduce the child to grace does not turn out to be useless. But we must do everything to the best of our ability, because God knows our strength, He does not expect anything impossible from us.

We must remember that it is not enough just to bring a child to the temple and give him communion. Parents should try to keep the grace received in the temple. On the day of communion, be peaceful, do not get annoyed, and even more so, do not quarrel. On the contrary, try to show special love for each other. Children - they are sensitive, and they will definitely understand that the day of Communion is a special day. Only by their example, by their kind-hearted attitude towards each other and towards their children, parents will be able to instill in their children a reverent religious feeling.

How to teach children to pray

The child must be taught to pray in his own words. For example, “Lord, save me, dad and mom, my godparents (names), grandparents (names)”. As you grow (from three to four years old), you can already teach the child main prayer "Our Father...". In this case, the child should explain each word so that he specifically understands the meaning of the prayer.

Gradually (from four to five years) the child can be given short rule from several prayers. “Our Father...”, “Virgin Mary, rejoice...”, “Holy angel of God, pray to God for me”, “Lord, save me and have mercy on me, dad and mom, my godparents, grandma and grandpa”. The rule for the child should not be difficult, and short (from 5 to 10 minutes in the morning and evening). The main thing is that he understands what to pray for and prays willingly.

How to Prepare for Confession

Children have different ideas about sin than adults. Therefore, the Church, as a rule, does not confess children under the age of 7 years. Children under this age are not confessed because although children can tell about their sins, they cannot bring repentance in order to completely correct themselves.

Parents of children from 7 years of age should find time for a little preparation for their first confession. If a child has committed an unseemly act, parents should explain to him why he acted badly and ask him to ask for forgiveness, first from God, and then from them. This is how the first skills of confession are instilled. Over time, parents need to have simple conversations with their child about confession, about the meaning of the Sacrament of Communion. To say in accessible words about God who loves everyone. God sees all the deeds, all the actions of people, including children, all their thoughts. And if the child has done something bad, he waits for him to confess this to his parents and tell the priest in confession, through whom God will forgive him bad deeds, that is, sins.

How often can children receive communion

When asked how many times children can take communion, every priest will probably answer: “As often as possible.” But there are certain, recommended periods of time. Babies can receive communion almost every day, and children from a year or more 2-3 times a week. Children after seven years, once a week or once every two weeks and on holidays. Note that these are just recommendations. It happens that due to employment, parents give communion to their children less often, so they should decide on this in accordance with their abilities.

According to the custom of the Church, infants after their baptism up to the age of seven can take communion very often, not only every week, but every day, moreover, without prior confession and fasting. Starting from the age of 5-6, and if possible from an earlier age, it is useful to teach children to take communion on an empty stomach.
You should come to church with babies not to the communion itself, but in advance, calculating the time so as not to be late for communion, but at the same time so that the child can attend the liturgy to the best of his ability and age. Of course, here everyone has their own measure, but children must be taught to pray in the Church. This should be done gradually so as not to tire the baby and not cause anxiety to those praying in the temple. Children 6-7 years old, if they are properly accustomed to the service, can be present at almost the entire liturgy.

Until the child is seven years old, he can receive communion without confession and fasting. From the age of three or four, babies are usually given communion on an empty stomach. From about the age of three, children, together with their parents, on the eve of communion, can read two or three prayers known to them.
Of course, much depends on what kind of life the parents themselves live, whether for them the temple is the home of a longed-for meeting with God, and prayer is a second wind. Many parents bring their children to the beginning of the service, pray together with them, take communion themselves and bring their children to the Cup of Life, and do not face the question of when to bring the child to communion. If the situation in the family is somewhat different, then small children can be brought to the beginning of the Eucharistic Canon or directly to the very moment of communion.

But it is necessary to accustom your child to the fertile church atmosphere, then it will be less problems with the behavior of a child at the Holy Chalice. The decision on what to do if the child cries and does not want to take communion should be made by the priest who at that moment himself sees the behavior of the child. The child must also be prepared for communion. Read over his bed a canon, an akathist, an excerpt from the Holy Scriptures. All this will contribute to the spiritual growth of your child.

Approaching the holy cup infants must be held horizontally, with the head on your right hand. Handles should be held so that the child does not accidentally push the bowl, or grab the liar (spoon). Babies should not be tightly fed before the liturgy, so that after communion they do not burp.

Parents, while giving communion to their children, should also try to approach the holy mysteries, thus setting an example for their children. Family is small church where people go to God together, are saved together and partake of the same cup.

Small children are usually communed under one kind (only the blood of Christ). But if an infant takes communion often and behaves calmly at the chalice, the priest can give the child (not a baby) a small particle.

At the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, infants who do not receive a particle are not given communion, because at this Liturgy the body of Christ, drunk with blood, is in the chalice, and wine is poured that has not been turned into the blood of the Savior.

Some parents, due to their unreason and lack of faith, are afraid to give communion to their children, thereby depriving them of saving and strengthening grace. They explain this by the fact that a child, taking communion from one spoon and cup with everyone else, can become infected with some kind of disease.

This fear is disbelief in the saving power of the sacrament. As a rule, non-church and little-church people, who know nothing about the life of the Church, argue in this way. Eucharist is greatest miracle on earth, performed constantly, and another proof of the truth of this miracle is that the liturgy was not interrupted even during terrible epidemics of plague, cholera and other contagious deadly diseases.

In Kyiv in the XVIII - early XIX century, a very famous archpriest John Levanda served in the city. He was famous for his gift as a preacher, people specially gathered to listen to his sermons. He served in the area called Podil. In 1770, an epidemic of plague began in the city, which was especially rampant in Podil. The bodies of the dead were taken away by whole convoys. Six thousand people died in the region in two months. And this priest did not interrupt his service. He confessed, communed, nourished, comforted his parishioners, and the disease did not touch him. And there are many such cases. The clergy - deacons and priests - after communion of the faithful consume the remaining holy gifts. They did it always, at all times, not being afraid to get infected during the terrible plagues.

Metropolitan Nestor (Anisimov; 1884–1962), a missionary, when he was Bishop of Kamchatka built a leper colony for lepers and consecrated a temple there. After all the lepers had communed, the clergy consumed the gifts, and none of them became infected.

One official submitted a report to St. Moscow Philaret (Drozdov), where he told about the courageous deed of one priest and asked him to present him for an award. This official witnessed how a priest came to one of his relatives, who was sick with cholera, for parting words with the holy mysteries. But the patient was so weak that he could not hold a particle of the body of Christ in his mouth and dropped it from his mouth onto the floor. And this clergyman, without hesitation, consumed the fallen particle himself.

Neither priests nor deacons, who consume the holy gifts and then wash the holy chalice while drinking water, get sick more often than any other people. Therefore, those who give communion to children and those who themselves begin to receive communion must leave behind all disgust, fear, and lack of faith.

about. Pavel Gumerov

(24 votes : 4.63 out of 5 )

Priest Oleg Netsvetaev

Parents do not always understand that not giving communion to their babies means not paying due attention to the words of the Lord Jesus Christ, Who “... said: let the children go and do not prevent them from coming to Me, for such is the Kingdom of Heaven” ().

“Infancy,” says the famous pastor of the Orthodox Church, archimandrite, “is the most important of all ages in human life: in the first two years, the child receives as many impressions as then in the rest of his life. Therefore, commune children as often as possible.

We will try to explain the direct vital necessity of the child's relationship with God through Holy Communion and all the danger of leaving a baby without Communion, and therefore outside of direct communion with Christ.

I.

A few years ago I visited a small Lithuanian town on the border with Poland. The town is like a town... However, this is what struck me there and remained in my memory, I think, for the rest of my life. It was a Sunday summer morning, and I was going to the local Orthodox Liturgy to pray. The church was small, wooden, very beautiful on the outside and splendid on the inside. And nearby was a Catholic church, a huge building made of red brick, a local architectural landmark. From the Catholic church the measured call of the church bell was heard.

I was struck by the abundance of people on the streets of a quiet town in the early hour of Sunday morning. Lithuanians, residents of this place, and visiting Poles went to the Catholic church. They were dressed up, festive, families were walking, adults were holding children's hands. The kids were also dressed up, dressed like adults, joyful. People flocked to the temple from all sides to meet the Lord. Let's make a reservation right away, it was not some kind of Catholic holiday, but just a Sunday. I continued on my way to ours. There were few parishioners inside, which is understandable - Lithuania after all. But with the exception of the son of the rector, who served him at the altar, there was not a single child in the church. Before, the small number of children in our churches attracted attention. But then the contrast involuntarily drew attention to itself: people went to one temple in families, to another - one by one, on the way to one temple there were many children, in another - not a single one. Needless to say, it was then that the question arose: why so? The question is relevant to this day. The answer is, in general, clear. But why does little change in our Orthodox life? Why, having baptized their children, do people not regularly bring them to churches for communion? “Some parents, especially young ones, look at the child for a long time as if they were a toy or a doll,” writes Innokenty, Bishop of Yekaterinburg and Irbit. - They feed him, put him to sleep, caress, play and play pranks with him, protect him in every possible way from colds, etc., but for the rest they allow him to run, walk and do what he wants, unless he disturbs them with his crying and roaring. And for a long time they do not notice that their beloved "angel" is in essence a stubborn, capricious, wayward, unbridled, disobedient, greedy, greedy, evil child.

How often one hears: “We weren’t taught this, we don’t know this, we don’t understand this, we were brought up that way, life is so complicated,” etc. etc. There are many reasons for self-justification, and our task is not to reproach readers, but to help them understand, in particular, the necessity and importance of communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ, especially for children.

If any believing Orthodox person is asked directly whether it is necessary to bring their children to the temple and partake of the Mysteries of Christ, then, of course, everyone will answer the same way: “Yes, it is necessary.” If you ask further how often you need to take communion, then again the majority will answer correctly: "Communion should be more often." Why in real life is everything going wrong? Here, we think whole line reasons, but we dare to assert that the main one, from which all the rest follow, is our lack of faith. And if so, then how will we be able to raise children in piety, in love for God and His Church? The Holy Passion-Bearer Empress Alexandra Feodorovna says: “Parents should be the way they want to see their children - not in words, but in deeds. They should teach their children by the example of their lives.”

Very often people who call themselves believers simply understand the Orthodox faith. Many understand faith as a simple recognition of the existence of God. However, this is clearly not enough to be Orthodox. The existence of God is recognized by the vast majority of the inhabitants of the Earth and not only by them: “You believe that God is one: you do well; and the demons believe and tremble" (). Very often I had to answer the question “Are you Orthodox?” hear: "Yes, I am baptized." People do not even pay attention and do not think about how the question is posed. And because of the confusion of the concepts of “being baptized in the Orthodox faith” and “being Orthodox”, many, calling themselves Orthodox, limit themselves to visiting churches on major holidays, being content in their spiritual practice common confession, consider it enough to casually go to the temple to light a candle and ask the Lord for something, and then plunge headlong into the affairs of life again. Naturally, such people do not commune their children and cannot, as their children grow, raise them in the Orthodox faith. The lack of their own faith does not allow them to do this. But it shouldn't be like that and you can't put up with it! After all, in the Church we are not just “present” - we actually participate in Divine services, i.e. ourselves, led by a priest, we serve God, we communicate with Him.

Lack of faith makes us spiritually weak. And it is this spiritual weakness that does not allow us to see ourselves as we really are. We call ourselves believers, and when we say so, there is no deceit in us. We really believe in what the Creed says. In this we are honest before God and people. But, unfortunately, very often our faith remains declarative. Our way of life, behavior, attachments, and much more that accompanies us in this life testifies to how far we are from the Orthodox faith. But “a child should recognize Christ not from a picture book, but from his mood, from the way of thinking, from the way of life, from the mutual relations of family members. If he thus recognizes Christ, Christ will become near and dear to his soul for life.”

Faith is the main Christian virtue! Without faith we will not have hope for salvation, nor will we have the love of Christ. Therefore, we need to think more often about what our Orthodox faith is. Not content with the fact that we believe in God. Let's repeat: the majority of people on the earth believes that there is a Higher creative Beginning. Only atheists reject Him, but there are not so many of them in the world. Do not be proud of the fact that, they say, how smart we are, we have realized that there is a God. Faith in the Lord is a gift of God: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you, it is a gift of God” (). Not to forget to thank the Lord for this is our Christian duty, a manifestation of our faith. And it is our duty to educate this faith in children, so that it enters them, as they say, with mother's milk.

Our deeds should testify to our faith: “But do you want to know, unfounded person, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham, our father, justified by works, when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith worked with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? And the word of Scripture was fulfilled: “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him for righteousness, and he was called the friend of God. Do you see that a man is justified by works, and not by faith alone? (). The act of faith performed by Abraham did not consist in the fact that the patriarch recognized the existence of God - he did not doubt this before, but in the fact that he trusted God, completely surrendered himself to His will. Trust in God, His commands and promises, and a person should be guided in his Everyday life. “Zeal (for the Lord, for salvation) is a work of grace and evidence that this grace is relentless in you and produces a grace-filled life ... As long as there is zeal, the grace of the Holy Spirit is also inherent ...” (St.). Otherwise, religious education will be limited to unconvincing and boring moralizing.

II.

The enemy of the human race "does not sleep" and tries in every possible way to confuse us and lead us astray from the path of salvation. Realizing this, how much more should we seek help from the Lord, Mother of God and saints: “Without Me, you can’t do anything” (). We need to strengthen our faith. People do not wonder why the Apostles, daily communicating with the Lord, directly learning from Him, being witnesses of His numerous miracles, nevertheless, asked the Lord: “Increase faith in us” (). “The waves of our faith are only the surf and the end to our spirit of the boundless sea of ​​divine life. And he is in the hands of God; his movements and strength obey the Lord's beckoning. He speeds up its pace, increases its height and proportions its strength ”(ep. . The Gospel constantly draws attention to the importance of faith, gives excellent inspiring examples of faith, the kind of faith we should strive for, “Truly I say to you: if you will, have faith the size of a mustard seed and say to this mountain: “move from here to there,” and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you "(),

“This is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day” (). We must make sure that our children can see the Son of God with the eyes of faith and believe in Him. The seeds of faith are sown in us by the Lord Himself. Our task, as co-workers with God, is to nurture these seeds, not to let them wither and perish. We must strengthen our faith, following the example of the Apostles, with the help of God. In the relationship between man and the Lord, the Creator’s love for his creation initially lies: “God is love” (). And one of the properties of God is His immutability. Therefore, the love of the Lord for man is primordial and unchanging. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Heb. 13:8). A person, conscious of the existence of God, but being at the lower levels of his spiritual development, can show trust in the Lord, the desire to obey the will of God, out of fear of punishment from the Almighty for his sins (disobedience to the will of God) or out of a desire to receive a “reward” (well-being personal and close ones, material wealth, etc.) However, as one grows spiritually, fear and selfish calculation are replaced by the love of creation for its Creator. And love is always fruitful, especially when it is mutual. Any spiritual quality of a person is manifested in his actions. A good person does good deeds, some scoundrel does dirty tricks. The criterion for evaluating our faith and love is our deeds, words, thoughts: “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (); “Whoever loves me will keep my word” (; 3). The Apostle teaches us the same thing: “What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says that he has faith, but does not have works? Can this faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and does not have food for the day, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, keep warm and eat,” but does not give them the necessities of the body: what is the use? So faith, if it does not have works, is dead in itself ”().

And so, if we say that we love our children, and we really love them, then by the very good deed, the highest manifestation of this love will be our desire to join the child to God, to unite with Him, to open our child to Divine love. Our love for children, like our whole life, must testify to our faith. If we believe, then we love God; if we love Him, we do His will. Whoever believes in the Lord believes the word of God; Whoever loves Him loves what He has left us for our good, moreover, for our salvation, namely: the Church, in which the Holy Spirit invariably dwells from the time of Pentecost, the disciples and apostles, and through apostolic succession uninterrupted in time - church hierarchy (bishops and priests), Church Sacraments. Unfortunately, many, not having strong faith, neglect this wealth and do not ask the Lord to increase faith in themselves. In such people, the seeds of faith sown by the Lord do not sprout and are not even felt by many people. Bringing in Orthodox church to christen their child, many explain their act by the pious tradition of the Russian people. Such people, living somewhere in Western Europe, may just as well come to a Catholic church or to a Protestant church. And living in America, in general, they could get lost among the many different sects. It is not surprising that with such faith, many, having baptized the baby, do not subsequently bring him to church and do not partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. " Modern world, modern life is very hard to question faith. It seems to me that only genuine, true faith can withstand this test, but any surrogates for faith, all superficial approaches to faith - thank God! - are crushed and destroyed "().

Lack of faith, false faith lead to people's lack of love for God. A loving person always strives for constant communication with the object of his love and is painfully separated from him. So, a young man in love does not want to part with his beloved; a loving child cannot imagine his life without mom and dad; a person who is in love with some business cannot imagine his life without it. So it should be in the relationship of a person with God, but this does not happen.

People get along “beautifully” without their Heavenly Father and remember the Lord when something has happened in life. And this indifference, lukewarmness, immersion in earthly affairs, worldly cares, of course, is reflected in children. But “for a Christian mother it should be a joy to teach her child even then, when his voice is still weak, and his tongue is still babbling, pronouncing the sweetest name of Jesus,” says the saint.

It may be objected that the state of a person when he constantly thinks about God, yearns for Him, longs to meet Him, is impossible in modern life, and if possible, it is more suitable for monastics or the elderly. The example of the saints testifies to the contrary. In order to better understand this state and the possibility of it in our daily life, I will cite the image that Metropolitan Nikolai (Yarushevich) cited in one of his sermons: “Imagine a young mother who is busy with some kind of work, work, service; she puts her soul into this work, into this service of hers. She gives herself to her entirely, without any flaw. But at home she has a little child, a baby, and in the midst of her work, the thought of what the child is doing now does not leave her: maybe she is crying, maybe she is asking for food, and there is no one to give her, maybe she has fallen out of the cradle ...

And who will say that these thoughts of a mother about a child left in the house are illegal, unnatural and undermine the quality of her work, if this mother does all her work from the first hour to the last, as she should do by virtue of her duty.

This is just a faint semblance of how we, busy with our earthly labor, giving everything that we have to give to labor for our earthly purpose, will never stop thinking that we have an immortal soul that we must water, feed, which we must protect from dirt. to be adorned with heavenly beauty. And this in no way and never prevents believers from being honest performers of their earthly duties ”(Metropolitan Nikolai (Yarushevich). Such a comparison can help a person imagine the worldview that an Orthodox person should have. Such a worldview gradually forms Orthodox religious consciousness when a person, seeing his created nature, his place in this world and his true destiny, performs specific actions, evaluating them not from the point of view of vain expediency, but according to whether they are pleasing to the Lord or conflict with the all-good will of God.

Such a worldview does not arise by itself, it must be formed in a person at the stage of infancy. Then his soul will develop, and all of him will be drawn to the True Light. We will cite here the words of the archimandrite, which may seem “bitter”, but they are true: “What does the Christmas holiday teach us Holy Mother of God? So that Christian parents remember to whom they dedicate their children, to whom they give their souls - to God or a demon.

The child already in the womb feels and perceives everything that happens around him. Especially - the state of mind of the mother, with whom he is connected, as it were, by thousands of threads. If parents live in a Christian way, pray, confess their sins, take communion, then by this they bring their unborn child to God. If, instead of prayer, abuse and curses are heard in the family, if wild quarrels occur between the parents, the child is, as it were, handed over to the demon, for his soul receives a lesson in cruelty.

It has been proven that when a person becomes furious, poison appears in his blood, and during quarrels and outbreaks of hatred in the family, the child is poisoned by poison in the literal and figurative sense of the word. His psyche is deformed and destroyed. A child perceives everything good and evil much more directly and deeper than adults, his subconscious mind keeps everything until his death. Many parents do not find an answer, complaining about the cruelty and depravity of their children, reproaching them for the blackest ingratitude; They ask who taught them this. And there is an answer: the parents themselves taught, without realizing it ... Nothing is closer to each other than the souls of parents and children. Therefore, in order to introduce a child to God, parents must dedicate their hearts to God.”

III.

Metropolitan Nikolai, in the above excerpt from the sermon, speaks of the soul. People have a poor idea of ​​what the soul is, and therefore do not think about it, do not care about it. But the baby is already endowed with the greatest, the whole world superior value - the human soul. The Gospel testifies to this: “... the baby jumped with joy in my womb” (). The saint discusses this as follows: “When is the soul united with the body? - At the moment of conception. - When did the Savior incarnate? - Immediately, as the Ever-Virgin said: behold the Servant of the Lord ... I found the Holy Spirit, and the Son of God took flesh, or human nature! in the bud…”

Of all the above, St. Righteous John of Kronstadt spiritual blessings, the only available to a baptized infant is communion of the Holy Mysteries. But this is the true spiritual food, which in its entirety brings one to Christ God! “He who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live by the Father, so the one who eats me will live by me. “The flesh and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, acceptable in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, nourishes, strengthens and gives life to our spirit” (Archbishop Demetrius of Kherson).

Archimandrite Raphael in his “Homilies and Conversations” notes: “Those who say that it is not necessary to give communion to children is the same as saying that it is not necessary to take care of a young, weak plant just at the time when it is necessary to protect it from thickets of weeds. and weeds. I would say that infancy is the most important of all ages in human life: in the first two years the child receives as many impressions as in the rest of his life. Therefore, commune children as often as possible.

If young parents understood that there is true faith, true union with God, then they would understand that their child is a gift of God, a creation of God, and not just the result of a combination of the physiological properties of dad and mom. “Your (God. - Comp.) hands worked on me and formed me all around, - and You are destroying me? Remember that You have molded me like clay, and are turning me into dust? Didn’t You pour me out like milk, and thicken me like cottage cheese, clothe me with skin and flesh, bind me with bones and sinews, give me life and mercy, and Your care guarded my spirit? ().

The religious worldview makes it possible to understand that the fate of their baby mainly depends not on the will of a person. Parents are co-workers with the Lord in the formation of a new person as a person. And it is living faith that allows parents to understand and accept the dominance of the soul of their child over his body. “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? (). Let us cite the words of the holy passion-bearer Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, who also tells us about the mutually sanctifying bond between us and children: “There is nothing stronger than that the feeling that comes to us when we hold children in our arms. Their helplessness touches noble strings in our hearts. For us, their innocence is a cleansing power. When a newborn is in the house, the marriage is, as it were, born anew. A child brings a couple closer together like never before. The previously silent strings come to life in the hearts. Young parents face new goals, new desires appear. Life immediately acquires a new and deeper meaning.

A holy burden has been placed on their hands, an immortal life that they must preserve, and this instills in parents a sense of responsibility, makes them think. "I" is no longer the center of the universe. They have a new purpose to live for, a purpose big enough to fill their whole life..?

Of course, with children, we have a lot of worries and troubles, and therefore there are people who look at the appearance of children as a misfortune. But only cold egoists look at children like that ...

It is a great thing to take responsibility for these young lives, who can enrich the world with beauty, joy, strength, but who can just as easily perish; it is a great thing to nurture them, to shape their character—that is what you need to think about when you arrange your home. This should be a home in which children will grow up for true and noble life, for God."

Such parents, taking care of their child, will concentrate their efforts primarily on the formation of a healthy and strong soul. However, such parents will also have sufficient care for the flesh, for the body is the receptacle of the soul. Moreover, the human body is meant to be a temple. “Don't you know that your bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit who lives in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your bodies and in your souls, which are God's.

But if the parents of the baby do not think about all this, then they will not rejoice about the nourishment of his soul, although, perhaps, they will come to church and order prayers and donate candles for the health of their child. We must certainly help these parents, tell them what their child needs in the first place, in the end, even insist that the parents not be lazy, but go to the temple in the near future and give the child communion. This is the most important duty godparents. It is a duty, otherwise many modern godparents perceive their title of “godparents” as a title and nothing more.

“The godfather” is, first of all, a set of duties in relation to his godson, and the godfather will answer to the Lord if his godson grows up indifferent or, God forbid, hostile Orthodox faith. But such a misfortune can happen and, unfortunately, often happens if the soul of the Little Man does not receive proper feeding and care. In this case, the soul does not develop, it languishes. The result is a terrible picture that we see every day, but not everyone understands what is really happening. And this is what actually happens.

Imagine that in childhood, for some reason, the development of one of the members of his body stopped in a person, for example, his hand stopped growing, dried up. One hand is healthy, strong, strong, and the other is thin, lifeless. Looking at such a person, we pity him. He is smart, educated, it is pleasant and interesting to communicate with him. But not all areas of human activity are available to him, he is a disabled person, or, as they say now, a person with disabilities. Society does not reject such people. They find for themselves or they find something useful for society and interesting for them. In general, the picture is clear and not everything is so gloomy. It is more difficult and daunting when a person has a strong and healthy body, but stopped in the development of the mind in infancy or childhood. There are also many examples in the world. A tragedy for the parents of such a person. He needs to be looked after until the end of his days, he will never create a family, he will not have a profession. He is like a foolish child, although in adulthood. Such a person is also a disabled person, but with even more limited capabilities. But this is not the worst.

The worst thing is that many people do not notice at all, but they experience all the consequences of this horror.

Here is another example. The man is strong, strong, handsome in body and face. He is smart and educated. Or maybe he is weak and ugly, maybe uneducated, and completely stupid. These external qualities will only affect to some extent his place in the social structure of society. Whether he will be a boss or a subordinate, a businessman or a tramp, a show business star or a mass entertainer in a remote province, a State Duma deputy or a prisoner - all this is unimportant. Something else is important. All these people we imagine have one serious flaw - their soul has frozen in its development, remained underdeveloped or completely undeveloped. And if, speaking of the underdeveloped mental abilities of a person, the term "dementia" is acceptable, if a serious physical defect is called deformity, then people cannot say anything about the undeveloped or underdeveloped human soul, because the very concept, or rather, understanding of what is soul, many simply do not know.

Seventy years of godless life in our country did not pass without consequences for the people. Over the years Soviet power most of the people were disfigured. The souls of people not only did not receive spiritual food in temples, but everything was done and continues to be done in order to make the souls of our people drunk with poison. The scourge of our age is unbelief. It is about unbelief that the ever-memorable Vladyka John (Snychev) says: “Unbelief devastates life and extinguishes its inspiration. People have become small, characters are weaker, in the service of people there is not noticeable that ideological spirit, in which it would be possible to tie it to the highest, infusing energy, principles ... We do not have principles that in former times were giants of thought and creativity, inspired by thoughts of the heavenly, colossi labor undertaken for the glory of God. And for the benefit of others, as beings created in the image and likeness of God.

However, the human soul cannot be killed; it was created by the Lord immortal, destined for eternal life. The soul of a person belongs to the Lord, and departs to Him at the death of a person: “All my souls: both the soul of the father and the soul of the son are mine” (). “In His hand is the soul of all living things and the spirit of all human flesh” (). And Satan is not given power over the human soul.

Many of us have weak, frail, sickly souls. There are a lot of spiritual invalids and spiritually unhealthy people in our people. And since when characterizing a person, the state of his soul is not taken into account, then spiritually unhealthy people who are a danger to others can occupy responsible positions and high positions. In our daily life, this manifests itself in the fact that a young, healthy guy can kill a person for a penny, the head of the country can order to sow an agricultural crop where it has never grown and will not grow; a military commander can give an order to shoot at unarmed civilians. Case Studies many can be cited.

IV.

All the vices of our modern society, such as: drunkenness, rampant violence, corruption in power structures, the spread of debauchery - the essence of the manifestation of the main disease of our people, each individually and all together - the disease of the human soul. We understand the disease of the soul not in the generally accepted understanding of mental illness, but as a disorder of the function of the brain. In our understanding, soul-sick people are people who, deliberately or due to spiritual underdevelopment, are the conductors of the will of demons in our lives. Underdevelopment, weakness of the soul does not allow to resist satanic attacks on a person. Illnesses of the soul are not cured by injections or electric shocks, they are cured by spiritual means: prayer, fasting, repentance, communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ, reading the Word of God and admonition in it with the help of the Holy Fathers. It is clear to each of us that it is easier to treat a disease in the initial stage than to deal with an already advanced disease. It's even better not to get sick at all. But after all, a child is already born with original sin, the baby’s soul is already stricken with mental illness: “God created man, created him in the likeness of God,” and “Adam lived for a hundred and thirty years and gave birth to a son in his own likeness, in his own image” (). That is why it is necessary to bring babies to the temples of God and partake them of the Holy Mysteries, because for the soul, especially for the soul of an infant, communion is the only and absolutely necessary spiritual food that contributes to strengthening and growth.

By the way, frequent regular communion of an infant can purify, free him (her) from some hereditary sinful inclinations. If an infant is not regularly given communion, his soul also suffers, just as the body suffers when it is deprived of mother's milk.

Each baptized person has his own guardian angel. But the soul of an infant, not nourished by Communion, is constantly attacked by fallen angels, and this, of course, negatively affects the soul of a little man. And without Holy Communion, his soul is deprived of its very strong protection. For demons, there is no concept of pity. They attack all people without distinction of age and Other human qualities. The guardian angel protects a person, but people are so mired in sins, sin has spread so much throughout the world that the guardian angel, although it protects a person, the soul suffers very much from demonic attacks. And the soul of an infant feels these attacks and suffers from them. Outwardly, this may manifest itself in the fact that the child becomes capricious and restless for no apparent external reason; otherwise he can, for some unknown reason, squeeze his fist with force and seem to threaten someone invisible with it; or maybe an evil grimace appears on the face of the baby, despite the fact that he is surrounded by care and affection. The child cannot explain what is happening to him. The more attentive and prudent adults should be.

Let us note that although the infant cannot yet consciously sin, the infection of sin is still present in him (besides, sins and sinful inclinations can be inherited) and the external environment has a significant influence on the development of this infection in the child. And as we said above, the spiritual climate in our society is, to put it mildly, unhealthy. Even the most pious, deeply believing parents are forced to communicate with people who are unspiritual, godless, in our understanding, unhealthy. We have all recently witnessed modern society was frightened by the outbreak of "SARS" and what strict measures were taken to prevent the spread of infection. As regards the spiritual health of the nation, the people and the authorities show amazing frivolity. The Lord said, “And do not be afraid of those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul; but fear more of Him Who can destroy both soul and body in hell ”().

v.

A child's soul is extremely tender and sensitive. You can watch children and compare how baptized and unbaptized children behave, compare the behavior of children who regularly partake of the Mysteries of Christ with those who do not receive communion or are not brought to church at all. The difference will be obvious. Some children are calm and obedient to their parents, while others, on the contrary, are spinning and spinning, striving to escape from the temple. And if a child is rarely communed, then often attempts to commune him are associated with some difficulties. I remember such a case.

A few years ago, a young man, being the godfather of a boy of about four years old, decided to give him communion. I must say that the parents of this boy are not church people, although they were baptized, but they rarely went to church, and they communed their son only once in infancy. And so the godfather decided to take the boy to the temple himself and give him communion. It was summer, in the country. The church was nearby. And so, in the morning, on a weekday, the godfather came to the godson, having warned his parents in advance that in the morning the boy would not be fed or watered. The parents showed understanding and prepared the boy as best they could, explaining to him where he would go tomorrow. The godfather and the godson came to the temple. There are two parishioners in the temple, and three grandmothers on the kliros. The priest began the liturgy. The boy is calm and obedient, looking at the church and the priest with curiosity. They explained to the boy that after some time the priest would come out, and he would take communion, that there was no need to be afraid, the good, good father, that after communion he would feel very good, very happy that after communion they would give him sweet, tasty water to drink, and at home everyone will look forward to it. Nothing foreshadowed the child's anxiety. They sang "Our Father", a young man with a godson in his arms is standing by the salt, everyone is waiting for the priest with the Chalice to come out. The child is calm, everything is in joyful and solemn expectation. The veil opens, the priest comes out with the Chalice and ... the child abruptly turns away from the Chalice, grabs his godfather's neck with both hands and sticks his nose into his shoulder, clearly making it clear that he does not intend to turn around. The father read a prayer, went to the edge of the salt, but all attempts to persuade the boy to turn him around to face the Chalice did not lead to anything. The child did not allow himself to take communion. The priest returned to the altar, asking the young man to try to take communion again after the service. The service came to an end, the child calmed down, again stood on his feet facing the altar, calmly stood next to his godfather. Batiushka went out to the salt, said a short sermon and dismissed the parishioners with God. There was no one left in the church. The priest asked to come back to the salt and again royal doors brought out the Holy Gifts. The same result, the boy did not allow himself to take communion. The priest finally took the Chalice to the altar and advised the young man to give the child at least a piece of prosphora and allowed him to drink church drink. Surprisingly, the child accepted all this without any resistance.

This case (by no means exceptional and not isolated) makes one think a lot. After all, a four-year-old child does not yet understand what the Church is, Communion, prosphora, drink, and so on. However, he did not want to accept the Holy Gifts, but accepted the prosphora and drink. Asking him why he did this is pointless, he is still too young to explain his actions. In this case, the demons had already so taken possession of the soul of this boy that they prevented him from receiving the Body and Blood of Christ into himself. This is already a very alarming symptom, and parents need to pay attention to it. If you continue to remain indifferent, then the soul of the child will become even more coarse and after some time it will be difficult for the child not only to receive communion, but in general to bring him to church. But when we partake, “we partake through materiality to Him Who the Lord Jesus Christ is and partake of God” ().

Protection from the attacks of the enemy of the human race are prayer and fasting. And it was not people who came up with it, but the Lord Himself said: “This kind is driven out only by prayer and fasting” (). And the words of the Lord are immutable. The truth of these words is confirmed by the centuries-old experience of Orthodox asceticism and the experience of our Orthodox contemporaries, who in our time live a full spiritual life.

And here's something else that's very important. By communion, the infant takes into himself the whole of Christ, but communion cannot be some kind of mechanical guarantor of worldly well-being, successful career, sheer luck, etc. It is not given to us to know which way the Lord will lead a person and which way a person himself will move. In his life there may be strongest temptations, dangers, bitter mistakes, painful falls. But the Lord Jesus Christ Himself will strengthen his heart, inspire good, reasonable aspirations, guide him to the right path. The soul can be carried away by sins and lusts, but the light of Christ, the incomparable warmth and sweetness of Communion, experienced by it in childhood, are capable, like no other power, to help return to God, to His holy temple, to wish for a pure life, to bring true repentance from the very heart, remember how to remember prodigal son. It is impossible to deprive the soul of such power!

VI.

So that the baby, when he grows up and comes to a sufficient age, can already pray and fast himself fully, he must be prepared for this. That is, his soul should not be hardened, but alive, capable of perceiving spiritual blessings. And if in infancy the nourishment of the soul is neglected, then its sensitivity inherent in babies will gradually be lost, and the infection of original sin will continue to corrode it, and under certain circumstances unfavorable for a person, such a soul will not only be unable to perceive spiritual food, but, on the contrary, will be extremely susceptible to sin, i.e. will be inclined towards evil. This is how a person can grow up, seemingly beautiful and strong, educated, able to achieve a lot in life, but with a muddy and dark soul, or even completely black. In worldly terms, an ordinary rascal will grow up. No mother wants her child to grow up like this.

For each of us individually, it is not important how our acquaintance looks outwardly, not what he is wearing, not what social position he occupies, but what his soul is like. Due to my priestly activity, I had to communicate with different people, different professions and ranks, different ages and different levels of education. And frankly, if a person is unspiritual, if his soul, having only once partake of the grace of the Holy Spirit in the sacrament of Baptism and Chrismation, is no longer kindled with love for the Lord in prayer, then communication with such people (and, alas, they are the majority) does not bring joy and satisfaction, such people are very sorry and I want to pray for them. We must ask the Lord to enlighten them, to help them revive their souls. But the person himself must live his soul, nourish it. “The blood of Christ ... will water the soul, and give it some special power. Worthy acceptable, it pursues the demons and drives them far away from us, attracts the Angels and the Lord of Angels Himself; for where the demons see the Blood of the Lord, they flee away, and the Angels flock there ... She is the salvation of our souls; it is delighted by it, it is adorned by it, our soul is enlightened by it; it makes our mind brighter than fire, our soul purer than gold. Through the shedding of Her heaven itself became easily accessible to us ”(St.).! Therefore, those Orthodox parents who either doubt the need for frequent communion of children, or are unreasonably afraid for the health of their children, or do not want to disturb the baby once again (you need to dress him, take him out into the street, maybe go by public transport, his regime will be violated). etc.), reveal the poverty of their faith, disobedience to the Church. Such parents themselves, without realizing it, cause great harm to their children and thereby commit sin. St. John Chrysostom: “Then we will give a terrible answer in what now seems unimportant; for the Judge, with equal severity, requires us to take care of the salvation of both ours and our neighbors ... Neglect of children is greater than all sins and reaches the very top of ungodliness ... only for this, they necessarily already neglect the children with their soul. Of such fathers I would say (and let no one ascribe these words to anger) that they are even worse than child murderers. Those separate the body from the soul, and these, both together, plunge into the fire of Gehenna.

“The Christian upbringing of a child should begin from the very first days of his birth, after Holy Baptism” (St. Metropolitan. For a baby, Christian upbringing consists precisely in bringing him to the temple of God and in communion with his Holy Mysteries. When a baby, this little living lump , bring them to the Chalice and partake of the Holy Blood of Christ, then, as practice shows, the child calmly accepts Them, does not resist Them. And this is natural, because according to the word "the soul is by nature a Christian" St. Theophan (the Hermit) writes: " it has been noticed that on the day when a child partakes of the Holy Mysteries, he is immersed in deep peace, without strong movements of all natural needs, even those that are stronger in children ... ”As the infant grows physically, subject to regular communion, grow and grow stronger spiritually, and the more successfully resist demonic attacks.When the child grows out of diapers and enters the age of rational perception of the world around him, then the temple for him it will already be close and dear, he will already willingly and consciously take communion. Prudent parents, as their child grows, explain in words and expressions that are accessible to him the names and meanings of objects in the temple, talk about the saints of God. But in no case should one stoop to a primitive simplification of sacred concepts, as unreasonable people often do. You can’t call an icon a picture, a priest - “uncle”, the Holy Gifts - “sweet water”, etc. It is necessary immediately, from childhood, to invest in the child the correct names and concepts. And if, due to their infancy, a child cannot understand something, then, as they say, everything has its time. If the child is already big enough, but still does not understand everything, and his behavior in the temple leaves much to be desired, then this is the fault of adults, who, due to their own insufficient culture (spiritual and secular), could not explain the necessary concepts to the child in time. If you often take a child to church, teach him to be attentive in church, follow how he behaves, where his attention is directed, correct his aspirations and mood in time, then the words of prayers will naturally enter his consciousness, without special memorization as homework. And when in this way from childhood there is a harmonious development of a person, when a person simultaneously develops both physically and mentally, and, most importantly, spiritual development he does not lag behind, then in such a person a spiritual worldview and an Orthodox religious worldview develop. Such a person will feel the presence of God everywhere, His good Providence for every human soul, His love for all the fallen human race. And he will strive to respond with his love to the immeasurable love of God and to fulfill His holy will. And although the attacks of the enemy of the human race will be especially strong on such a person, the maturity of his soul, constantly strengthened by faith and hope in God's help, will allow him to stand in this invisible battle. And although there will be falls in the life of such a person, the Orthodox worldview teaches a person not to despair, but to fall to the Lord again and again with a contrite heart and with tears of repentance, to correct himself and move on to the cherished goal of each Orthodox Christian which is the Kingdom of Heaven! Amen.

Girls, can anyone come in handy!!

I found a very useful article on the Internet)

Why do you take children to Communion?

The most important thing is the meeting of the child with God. In addition, the child gradually learns to go to the temple. Then you will never hear from a grown-up child: “My mother didn’t teach me to go to church…”

And one more thing... Many times the parents were convinced that after the sacrament the child did not get sick, although, according to tests or external signs, the disease seemed inevitable. Children with neurology behave much more calmly, children with any health problems eat and sleep better ...

Faith is a powerful source of peace and confidence for a person. And during the Sign of the Cross, the rhythm of the heartbeat improves and breathing evens out.

Later, when the child begins to confess, communion and a conversation with the priest may save the grown-up child from the feeling of impunity and permissiveness, alas, characteristic of adolescence.

It is imperative to give communion to a child - this is important for his spiritual and spiritual development, health, so that the Heavenly Patron, in whose honor the child was baptized, is close to the child, guards and protects him from all the troubles that lie in wait for the baby on his life path.

When to Communion a Child for the First Time

We allow children to receive communion from the moment of baptism, because in baptism they are, as it were, mysteriously immersed in Christ and begin to live His life. And our belonging to Christ does not depend on the amount of our knowledge. A child's soul can know more than his parents or adults. Therefore, the question is not that he does not know so much, does not understand, and therefore can he take communion ... His soul came to life by the grace of Christ, and he communicates with Him.

During the service, a Chalice is brought out, into which special consecrated bread cut into small pieces was first placed and wine diluted with water was poured. Prayers are read over this bowl, which you will naturally hear, the holy spirit of Jesus Christ is called, and thus the holy spirit descends into this bowl and it is believed that the blood and flesh of Christ are invisible in it.

Let's calm everyone down. Not a single person got sick from it. None of the babies got worse. On the contrary, children should receive communion as often as possible.

Turn the first visit to the temple into a real holiday! If the child is older, he will like to put candles, choose a commemorative icon. You can give an interesting Orthodox book, cassette; after church - somewhere to eat deliciously, or maybe take a walk in cheerful company kids, of which there are always many at the Temple.

How to explain the meaning of the Sacrament to a baby

It would be nice to explain the meaning of the Sacrament in a form accessible to every kid: explain to a two-year-old daughter or son that this is a meeting with God. Babies do not need to talk about the Body and Blood of the Savior - children are not ready for this realization due to their age and they will understand this over time, or you will be able to explain this to the child yourself in an accessible form over time. A Sunday school for children can help here, or a good conversation with Father, when the baby grows up a little and begins to understand more. But you should not tell your child about “delicious” when it comes to Communion. What to say? - It's Communion. So we say to our children: the sun, look, this is bread. This is porridge. This is sugar. Let's try. And the child assimilates the information received for the rest of his life.

Appearance, clothes of parents and children
For a mother, it is advisable to wear a long skirt, a scarf and a jacket with long sleeves to the temple (a three-quarter sleeve is also suitable in the heat). For the monastery, these conditions are strictly necessary. But clothes can be both beautiful and festive, according to the canons “in black” only widows go to the Temple of God.

For children - the girl should be in a hat or scarf, and the son - without a headdress. By the way, you should turn off the church cellular telephone. In winter, you need to take off your mittens in the temple. Outerwear can be removed or unbuttoned.

Is it possible to feed children before Communion

Up to 3 years of age there are no food restrictions. Babies can be safely fed, but preferably a little in advance (at least 30 minutes, although, if possible, it is better 1.5 hours before Communion), so that the baby does not burp after Communion.

After three years, children take communion on an empty stomach. You can’t even drink holy water (you can ask the Priest about taking medicine).

But after the Sacrament, you do not need to feed the children abundantly, especially if you get home by car.

When to come to Communion with children

It is best, of course, to know the schedule of services in advance. Most often, the liturgy (they take communion only at liturgies) begins on weekdays and on Saturdays at 8, and on Sundays and holidays at 7 and at 9 or 10 in the morning.

However, in some temples it may be a little different: at 7, 7.30 or 6.30 in the morning ...

When to bring children to Communion. Adults can look at the state of the child, if he behaves calmly, you can stand in the Service. Usually, small children are brought before Communion itself, which happens after the Our Father prayer, usually 50 minutes later, an hour after the start of the service, but you need to be prepared that the service will be longer. The schedule is always posted in advance. Children under 7 years old can attend the Service with adults or walk near the Temple.

Participle

Before going to the Chalice (to Communion), take the Blessing from the priest who confesses (no need to stand in line with children). If there is no priest, go to Communion and tell the Priest who Communion about it.

Communion is the greatest shrine, the Lord God Himself! By the way, that's why they don't cross themselves before the Chalice.

Older children fold their arms crosswise on their chests (the right one is on top of the left one). Adults put babies on their right (!) Hands, and put babies on right hand head. A pacifier is not given in front of the Chalice. This is done so that not a single drop of Communion is spilled on the clothes.

During communion, the altar servers hold a special red cloth - a kerchief, and the baby's mouth will definitely get wet.

And be sure to explain to the baby that the Particle must be swallowed. Better yet, see for yourself, especially the first time.

If a drop of Communion gets on your clothes or a child burps after Communion, go up to the Father and tell him about it.

First, the children are given communion. After the words of the priest: “A servant of God is taking communion ...” - you need to clearly state the church name of the child (the name with which the child was baptized). For babies, an adult calls the name, and older children call their names on their own.

After Communion, without talking yourself and not allowing the children to talk, lead them to a special table - drink the sacrament and take a piece of prosphora.

Then the baby can be attached to the Crucifixion, or you can wait until the end of the Service and kiss the Cross, which the priest will take out at the very end of the Service.

It is not necessary to wait for the end of the Service - look at the condition of the child.

Until the age of seven, children do not go to confession.

The article was prepared by the editors of the site "Children's"