Communion in the church: how to prepare for the ceremony. Orthodox Faith - Eucharist

There are no more or less important sacraments in the Orthodox Church. But one of them - the divine Eucharist - can be called central, since it is the culmination of each liturgy. Another name for the sacrament is communion. What is communion in the Church? It is eating under the guise of wine and bread of the blood and body of the Lord.

What is presented to us as simple earthly products has unusual properties. Many believers note that after the Eucharist they feel extraordinary joy and peace in their souls. What is communion in the Church? This is spiritual help to a Christian, which makes him able to deal with the negative aspects of his nature (passions) and overcome sin.

For the sake of communion

Everything that is done in the church is done specifically for the Sacrament of the Eucharist. Without it, writing icons, building churches, and embroidering vestments are meaningless. What is communion in the Church? It is an act of uniting believers into one whole. In different time zones, in different states, all Orthodox Christians partake of the same Jesus Christ, which makes them true brothers and sisters.

Carefully! The dangers of life without the Eucharist

If, for any reason, regular communion stops in a person’s life, but without falling away from the Church, something else, always undesirable, comes to this place - “ church magic”(this is when they are looking for“ prayer for money ”,“ prayer for cellulite ”, etc.), pseudo-asceticism (at the same time, a deceived person feels like a holy“ doer of exploits ”, pride usually stands behind this), the desire for“ mentorship ”without education, blessings and sufficient knowledge. Therefore, it is impossible for any particular person to leave the Eucharist. If he does not fall into one of the three described traps, then he may leave the Church altogether for a while or forever. One can repent of sins, but falling away from God is tragic and dangerous.

After cleansing

To become one with Christ, it is enough, after repentance, fasting and prayerful preparation, to accept His blood and body after the Liturgy. Communion and confession in the Church often take place separately. That is, the second in the evening, and the first in the morning. However, in small churches everything often happens in one morning, since the priest serves only on Sundays. If a believer was unable to attend the divine service in the evening for a good reason, he is allowed to confess right before communion. But it is impossible to approach the bowl without it. Of course, people may not tell you anything, but in the eyes of God, such behavior will look bad.

How does this happen

How is communion in church? After the liturgy, the priest and ministers bring out to the people a chalice containing the Holy Gifts (that is, the blood and body of Christ). Usually, parishioners let small children go ahead, who, under the age of 7, can take communion without confession at least at every liturgy. Adult believers fold their hands on their chests in a special way and reverently swallow a small particle of the Gifts and kiss the edge of the cup. After that, they move aside, where they are given prosphora and heated water.

What is communion in the Church? This is a means of uniting believers and a way of obtaining strength for spiritual struggle. The Christian cannot ignore this.

Prepared, three days before it, fast food should be abandoned, i.e. observe fasting, and after twelve at night do not take it at all and do not drink. Also refrain from marital relations. You can not cross the threshold of women during cycles. Observe these simple rules and thus you will achieve physical purification. In order for your soul to be ready to perform this sacred act, try not to commit any unseemly deeds for three days, do not swear, do not swear and do not kiss anyone. To keep your thoughts pure, sincerely forgive all your enemies and reconcile with those with whom you are in a quarrel. Participle often called "the communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ." Therefore, communion is very important for every believing Christian. However, the frequency of performing this rite depends on the spiritual state of the person. If this is the first time you have decided to go through the process of communion, contact the priest with whom you are going to confess. He will “evaluate” the degree of your church commitment and tell you about the timing and methods of preparing for communion. Church services are performed only on Sundays and public holidays. Of course, these are not secular, but those days that are determined by. The Sacrament of Communion is performed at the morning Divine Liturgy. If you really feel the need for confession and further communion, visit the evening service on the eve of this action, and read three canons at home: penitential canon, canons of the Most Holy Theotokos and the Guardian Angel. Before you go to church, read the canon "Following Holy Communion". Of course, if you do not have church literature, you can skip this "step" of preparation for the sacrament of the sacrament. But without confession, you will not be admitted to the rite of communion, because according to Orthodox customs this is a big sin. Children under the age of seven, who according to church canons are considered infants at this age, are allowed to receive communion without confession. You can also go through the rite of communion without confession if you were baptized no more than a week ago. The rite itself looks like this: during the service, they take out a bowl with small pieces of consecrated wine and diluted with water. Above it are prayers, invoking the holy spirit of Jesus Christ. Orthodox fold their hands on their chests and take turns approaching the cup. Having named their name given at baptism, they receive holy gifts, swallow them, wipe their mouths with a prepared towel and kiss the cup. After partaking of the “flesh and blood of Christ,” the believer receives the blessing of the clergyman, kisses his hand and leaves, making way for others. At the end of the service, you should once again approach the cross and kiss it.

The sacrament of communion, or the Eucharist (translated from Greek as "thanksgiving"), occupies the main - central - place in the church liturgical circle and in the life of the Orthodox Church. Orthodox people what makes us not wearing pectoral cross and not even what was once done to us holy baptism(especially since in our time this is not a special feat; now, thank God, you can freely confess your faith), but we become Orthodox Christians when we begin to live in Christ and participate in the life of the Church, in its sacraments.

All seven sacraments are divine, not human, and are mentioned in Holy Scripture. The Sacrament of Communion was first performed by our Lord Jesus Christ.

The establishment of the sacrament of communion

This happened on the eve of the Savior's suffering on the Cross, before the betrayal of Judas and the betrayal of Christ to torment was committed. The Savior and His disciples gathered in big room, prepared in order to make the Passover meal according to Jewish custom. This traditional dinner was hosted by every Jewish family as an annual commemoration of the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt under the leadership of Moses. The Old Testament Passover was a holiday of deliverance, liberation from Egyptian slavery.

But the Lord, having gathered with His disciples for the Paschal meal, put a new meaning into it. This event is described by all four evangelists and is called the Last Supper. The Lord establishes the sacrament of Holy Communion at this farewell supper. Christ goes to suffering and the cross, gives His most pure body and honest blood for the sins of all mankind. And the eternal reminder to all Christians of the sacrifice brought by the Savior should be the communion of His Body and Blood in the sacrament of the Eucharist.

The Lord took the bread, blessed it and, having distributed it to the apostles, said: “Take, eat: this is My Body.” Then he took a cup of wine and, giving it to the apostles, said: “Drink all of you from it, for this is My Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Matthew 26:26-28).

The Lord changed bread and wine into His Body and Blood and commanded the apostles, and through them their successors, the bishops and presbyters, to perform this sacrament.

The reality of the sacrament

The Eucharist is not simply a remembrance of what happened sometime more than two thousand years ago. This is a real repetition of the Last Supper. And at every Eucharist - both in the time of the apostles and in our 21st century - our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, through a canonically ordained bishop or priest, transforms the prepared bread and wine into His most pure Body and Blood.

The Orthodox Catechism of St. Philaret (Drozdov) says: “Communion is a sacrament in which the believer, under the guise of bread and wine, partakes (participates) of the very Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and eternal life.”

The Lord tells us about 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).

The need for communion for Orthodox Christians

He who does not partake of the holy mysteries tears himself away from the source of life - Christ, places himself outside of Him. And vice versa, Orthodox Christians, who regularly approach the sacrament of communion with reverence and due preparation, according to the Lord's word, "abide in Him." And in communion, which animates and inspires our soul and body, we are united with Christ Himself as in no other sacrament. This is what the holy righteous John of Kronstadt says in his teaching on the feast of the Presentation, when the Church recalls how the elder Simeon received the forty-day-old Infant Christ in his arms in the Jerusalem temple: “We are not jealous of you, righteous elder! We ourselves have your happiness - to raise not only the Divine Jesus in our arms, but with our lips and hearts, just as you always carried Him in your heart, not yet seeing, but His tea; and not once in a lifetime, not ten, but as much as we want. Who will not understand, beloved brethren, what I am saying about the communion of the life-giving mysteries of the Body and Blood of Christ? yes we have b about greater happiness than Saint Simeon; and the righteous old man, one might say, embraced the Life-Giver Jesus in his arms as a foreshadowing of how those who believe in Christ later on in all days until the end of the age will receive and carry Him not only in their arms, but in their very hearts.

That is why the sacrament of communion must constantly accompany the life of an Orthodox person. After all, here on earth we must unite with God, Christ must enter into our soul and heart.

A person who seeks union with God in his earthly life can hope that he will be with Him in eternity.

The Eucharist and the Sacrifice of Christ

The Eucharist is also the most important of the seven sacraments because it depicts the sacrifice of Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ offered a sacrifice for us at Calvary. He did it once, having suffered for the sins of the world, resurrected and ascended into heaven, where he sat at the right hand of God the Father. The sacrifice of Christ was offered once and will not be repeated again.

The Lord establishes the sacrament of the Eucharist, because “now on earth in a different form there must be His sacrifice, in which He would always offer Himself, as on the cross.” With the establishment of the New Testament, the Old Testament sacrifices ceased, and now Christians make a sacrifice in remembrance of Christ's sacrifice and for the communion of His Body and Blood.

The Old Testament sacrifices, when sacrificial animals were slaughtered, were only a shadow, a prototype of the Divine sacrifice. The expectation of the Redeemer, the Liberator from the power of the devil and sin is the main theme of everything Old Testament, and for us, the people of the New Testament, the sacrifice of Christ, the atonement by the Savior of the sins of the world, is the basis of our faith.

Holy Communion Miracle

The sacrament of communion is greatest miracle on earth, which is constantly taking place. Just as the once incomprehensible God descended to earth and dwelt among people, so now the entire fullness of the Divinity is contained in the holy gifts, and we can partake of this greatest grace. After all, the Lord said: “I am with you all the days until the end of time. Amen" (Matthew 28:20).

Holy gifts are a fire that burns every sin and every defilement, if a person partakes worthily. And we, approaching communion, need to do it with reverence and awe, realizing our weakness and unworthiness. “Although eat (eat), man, Body of the Lady, approach with fear, but do not be scorched: there is fire,” says the prayers for Holy Communion.

Often, spiritual people, ascetics, during the celebration of the Eucharist, there were phenomena of heavenly fire descending on the holy gifts, as described, for example, in the life St. Sergius Radonezhsky: “Once, when the holy hegumen Sergius performed Divine Liturgy, Simon (student of St. - about. P.G.) saw how heavenly fire descended on the holy mysteries at the moment of their consecration, how this fire moved along the holy altar, illuminating the entire altar, it seemed to curl around the holy meal, surrounding the priest Sergius. And when the monk wanted to partake of the holy mysteries, the Divine fire curled up “like some kind of wondrous veil” and entered the holy chalice. Thus, the saint of God partook of this fire "non-disappointingly, like a bush of ancient times that burned unfailingly ...". Simon was horrified by such a vision and was silent in trembling, but did not hide from the monk that his disciple was worthy of a vision. Having communed the holy mysteries of Christ, he departed from the holy throne and asked Simon: “Why is your spirit so afraid, my child?” “I have seen the grace of the Holy Spirit working with you, Father,” he answered. “Look, don’t tell anyone about what you saw until the Lord calls me out of this life,” the humble abba commanded him.

Saint Basil the Great once visited a presbyter of a very virtuous life and saw how, during the celebration of the Liturgy, the Holy Spirit surrounded the priest and the holy altar in the form of fire. Such cases, when the descent of Divine fire on the holy gifts is revealed to especially worthy people, or the Body of Christ is visible on the throne in the form of a Baby, are repeatedly described in spiritual literature. The “Instructive Message (Instruction to Every Priest)” even tells how the clergy should behave when the holy gifts take on an unusual, miraculous appearance.

Those who doubt the miracle of turning bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ and dare to approach the holy chalice at the same time can be given a formidable admonition: “Dmitry Alexandrovich Shepelev told the rector of the Sergius Hermitage, Archimandrite Ignatius the First, the following about himself. He was brought up in the Corps of Pages. Once upon a time great post, when the pupils approached the holy mysteries, the young man Shepelev expressed to his comrade walking beside him his resolute disbelief that the Body and Blood of Christ was in the cup. When the holy mysteries were taught to him, he felt that he had meat in his mouth. Horror seized the young man, he was beside himself, did not find the strength to swallow a particle. The priest noticed the change that had taken place in him and ordered him to enter the altar. There, holding a particle in his mouth and confessing his sin, Shepelev came to his senses and swallowed the holy gifts given to him.

Yes, the sacrament of communion - the Eucharist - is the greatest miracle and mystery, as well as the greatest mercy to us sinners, and visible evidence that the Lord established the New Testament with people "in His blood" (see: Luke 22:20), bringing sacrificed for us on the cross, died and rose again, resurrecting all mankind by Himself. And we can now partake of His Body and Blood for the healing of soul and body, abiding in Christ, and He will "abide in us" (see John 6:56).

Origin of the liturgy

Since ancient times, the sacrament of communion has also received the name liturgy, which is translated from Greek as “common cause”, “common service”.

The holy apostles, disciples of Christ, having received from their Divine Teacher the commandment to celebrate the sacrament of communion in remembrance of Him, after His ascension began to celebrate the breaking of bread - the Eucharist. Christians “continued continually in the teaching of the apostles, in fellowship and the breaking of bread, and in prayers” (Acts 2:42).

The order of the liturgy was formed gradually. At first, the apostles celebrated the Eucharist in the same order that they saw with their Master. In apostolic times, the Eucharist was combined with the so-called agapamis, or meals of love. Christians ate food and were in prayer and fellowship. After supper, the breaking of bread and communion of the faithful took place. But then the liturgy was separated from the meal and began to be celebrated as an independent sacred rite. The Eucharist began to be celebrated inside sacred temples. In the I-II centuries, the order of the liturgy, apparently, was not written down and was transmitted orally.

Gradually, in different localities, their own liturgical rites began to take shape. The liturgy of the Apostle James was served in the Jerusalem community. The Liturgy of the Apostle Mark was celebrated in Alexandria and Egypt. In Antioch - Liturgies of Saints Basil the Great and John Chrysostom. These liturgies had much in common in their main sacramental part, but differed from each other in details.

Now in the practice of the Orthodox Church there are three rites of liturgies. These are the liturgies of St. John Chrysostom, St. Basil the Great and St. Gregory the Dialogist.

Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom

This liturgy is performed on all days of the year, except for the weekdays of Great Lent, and also except for the first five Sundays of Great Lent.

St. John Chrysostom composed the rite of his liturgy on the basis of the previously compiled liturgy of St. Basil the Great, but shortened some of the prayers. St. Proclus, a disciple of St. John Chrysostom, says that earlier the liturgy was served at a very lengthy level, and “St. Basil, condescending to ... human weakness, shortened it; and after him even more holy Chrysostom.

Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great

According to St. Amphilochius, Bishop of Lycaon Iconium, St. Basil the Great asked “God to give him the strength of spirit and mind to celebrate the Liturgy in his own words. After six days of fervent prayer, the Savior appeared to him miraculously and fulfilled his request. Soon afterwards, Vasily, being imbued with delight and divine awe, began to proclaim “Let my lips be filled with praise” and “Beware, Lord Jesus Christ our God, from Thy holy habitation” and other prayers of the liturgy.

The Liturgy of Saint Basil is celebrated ten times a year. On the eve of the twelfth feasts of the Nativity of Christ and Epiphany (on the so-called Christmas and Epiphany Christmas Eve); on the day of memory of St. Basil the Great on January 1/14; on the first five Sundays of Great Lent, on Great Thursday and on Great Saturday.

Liturgy of St. Gregory the Dialogist (or Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts)

During Holy Fortecost of Great Lent in weekdays the service of the full liturgy ceases. Lent is a time of repentance, weeping for sins, when all festivity and solemnity are excluded from worship. Blessed Simeon, Metropolitan of Thessaloniki, writes about this. And therefore, according to the rules of the Church, on Wednesday and Friday of Great Lent, the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is served. Holy gifts are consecrated at the liturgy on Sunday. And the faithful partake of them at the liturgy of the presanctified gifts.

In some Local Orthodox Churches on the feast day of the holy Apostle James, October 23/November 5, a liturgy is served according to his order. This is ancient liturgy and she is the work of all the apostles. The Holy Apostles, before they parted in different countries to preach the gospel, gathered together to celebrate the Eucharist. Later this rite was recorded in writing under the title of the Liturgy of the Apostle James.

Sacrament Communions established by the Lord Himself last supper- the last meal with the disciples on Easter night before His arrest and crucifixion.

“And while they were eating, Jesus took bread, and having blessed it, broke it, and giving it to the disciples, he said, Take, eat: this is my body. And taking the cup and giving thanks, he gave it to them and said: drink all of it from it, for this is My Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Matt. 26:26–28), “…do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19). In the Sacrament of the Flesh and Blood of the Lord ( Eucharist - Greek. “thanksgiving”), there is a restoration of that unity between the nature of the Creator and creation, which existed before the fall; this is our return to the lost paradise. It can be said that in Communion we receive, as it were, the germs of a future life in the Kingdom of Heaven. mystical secret The Eucharist is rooted in the Sacrifice of the Cross of the Savior. Crucifying His Flesh on the Cross and shedding His Blood, the God-man Jesus brought the Sacrifice of Love for us to the Creator and restored the fallen human nature. Thus, the communion of the Body and Blood of the Savior becomes our participation in this restoration. « Christ is risen from the dead, death by death correcting, and bestowing life on those in the tombs; and gave us eternal life..

The partaking of the Flesh and Blood of Christ in the Sacrament of the Eucharist is not a symbolic action (as Protestants believe), but quite real. Not everyone can accommodate this mystery.

« Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink His Blood, you 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.

As the living Father sent me, and I live by the Father, so the one who eats me will live by me.

This is the bread that came down from heaven. Not as your fathers ate manna and died: he who eats this bread will live forever.

…………………………………………

Many of His disciples, hearing this, said, What strange words! who can listen to it?

…………………………………………

From that time on, many of His disciples departed from Him and no longer walked with Him” (John 6:53-58, 60, 66).

Rationalists try to "get around" the mystery by reducing mysticism to a symbol. The proud perceive what is inaccessible to their minds as an insult: Leo Tolstoy blasphemously called the sacrament "cannibalism." For others, this is a wild superstition, for someone an anachronism. But the children of the Church of Christ know that in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, under the guise of bread and wine, they truly partake of the Body and Blood of Christ in Their essence. Indeed, it is not common for a person to eat raw flesh and blood, and therefore, at Communion, the Gifts of Christ are hidden under the image of bread and wine. Nevertheless, under the outer shell of corruptible matter, the imperishable substance of the Divine nature is hidden. Sometimes, by special permission, the Lord reveals this veil of mystery, and makes it possible for those who doubt to see the true nature of the Holy Gifts. In particular, in my personal practice there were two cases when the Lord wanted to let those who communicant see His Body and Blood in their true form. Both times these were first communions; in one case, psychics sent a person to the Church for their own reasons. In another, the reason for coming to the temple was a very superficial curiosity. After such a miraculous event, both became faithful children of the Orthodox Church.

How can we at least roughly understand the meaning of what is happening in the Sacrament of Communion? The nature of creation was created by the Creator to be related to Himself: not only permeable, but also, as it were, inseparable from the Creator. This is natural given the sanctity of the created nature - its initial state of free unity and submission to the Creator. In such a state are the angelic worlds. However, nature our of the world is distorted and perverted by the fall of its guardian and leader - man. Nevertheless, she did not lose the opportunity to reunite with the nature of the Creator: the clearest evidence of this is the incarnation of the Savior. But a person fell away from God voluntarily, and he can also reunite with Him only in free will (even the incarnation of Christ required the consent of a person - the Virgin Mary!). In the same time deification inanimate, free-willed nature, God can do in a natural way, arbitrarily . Thus, in the God-established Sacrament of Communion, the grace of the Holy Spirit at the established moment of worship (and also at the request of a person!) descends on the substance of bread and wine and proposes them into a substance of a different, higher nature: the Body and Blood of Christ. And now a person can accept these highest Gifts of Life only by demonstrating his free will! The Lord gives Himself to everyone, but those who believe in Him and love Him, the children of His Church, accept Him.

So, Communion is the gracious communion of the soul with the higher nature and in it to eternal life. Relegating this greatest mystery to the realm of an everyday image, we can compare the Communion with the "nourishment" of the soul, which it must receive after its "birth" in the Sacrament of Baptism. And just as a person is born in the flesh once into the world, and then eats until the end of his life, so Baptism is a one-time event, and we must resort to Communion regularly, preferably at least once a month, possibly more often. Communion once a year is the minimum acceptable, but such a “hungry” regimen can put the soul on the brink of survival.

How is Communion in the Church?

To participate in the Eucharist, it is necessary to properly prepare. Meeting with God is an event that shakes the soul and transforms the body. Worthy communion requires a conscious and reverent attitude to this event. There must be a sincere faith in Christ and an understanding of the meaning of the Sacrament. We must have reverence for the Sacrifice of the Savior and awareness of our unworthiness to accept this great Gift (we accept Him not as a well-deserved reward, but as a manifestation of the mercy of a loving Father). There must be pacification of the soul: you need to sincerely forgive everyone in your heart who in one way or another “saddened us” (remembering the words of the Our Father prayer: “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors”) and try to reconcile with them as much as possible ; even more so for those who, for one reason or another, consider themselves offended by us. Before Communion, one should read the prayers determined by the Church and compiled by the holy fathers, which are called: “Following to Holy Communion”; these prayer texts are present, as a rule, in all editions of Orthodox prayer books (collections of prayers). It is advisable to discuss the exact amount of reading of these texts with the priest to whom you turn for advice and who knows the specifics of your life. After the celebration of the Sacrament of Communion, it is necessary to read the "Prayers of Thanksgiving for Holy Communion." Finally, preparing to receive into oneself - into one's flesh and into one's soul - the Mysteries of the Body and Blood of Christ, terrible in their grandeur, must be cleansed in body and soul. Fasting and confession serve this purpose.

Bodily fasting involves abstaining from eating fast food. The duration of fasting before Communion is usually up to three days. Directly on the eve of Communion, one should refrain from marital relations and from midnight it is not supposed to eat any food (in fact, do not eat or drink anything in the morning before the service). However, in specific cases, significant deviations from these norms are possible; they should be discussed, again, individually.

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 action), 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 church 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.

One of the main and most ancient church sacraments - the sacrament - was established in memory of the Savior and the apostles and their last joint meal - the Last Supper.

On it, the apostles and Christ drank wine and ate bread, while the Savior said: “This is my blood and my body.” After the execution and ascension of Christ, the apostles made the sacrament of communion daily.

What is required for communion?

First of all, you need a chalice - a special church bowl on a high leg with a round stable base. The first chalices were made of wood, later bowls made of silver and gold appeared. The chalice is decorated with an ornament; bowls made of precious metals can be inlaid with decorative stones.

The extracted pieces are placed in the chalice and the wine diluted with water is poured. Prayers are read over the bowl. It is believed that during the liturgy, the holy spirit comes to the chalice, and, eating the particles of prosphora soaked in wine, people partake of the blood and flesh of Christ.

Preparing for Communion

On the eve of the day when you are preparing to take communion, it is better to refrain from carnal pleasures and keep fasting, at least in the afternoon (an exception is made for the weak and children, and only until midnight). In the morning you need to go to church, before that you can’t eat or drink.


Before communion, it is obligatory to receive absolution from the priest. Without confession, children under seven years of age and those who were baptized no more than a week ago can receive communion.

First, the bishop, presbyters, deacons, and readers receive communion. Babies and their parents, who hold the children in their arms, are the first to go to communion among those who pray. After that, children come to the bowl with the Holy Gifts, then old people, and only then young people.

How does the sacrament take place?

The chalice with the Holy Gifts is taken out to the faithful. You need to fold your hands on your chest, go to the bowl that the priest is holding, and give your baptized name. The priest, having scooped from the bowl, will give you a spoon with the Holy Gifts, which you need to swallow without chewing. Two more priests standing in front of the bowl will wipe your mouth with a special towel.

After that, you need to kiss the lower edge of the bowl, symbolizing the rib of Christ. In some churches, they do it differently: first, the person who takes communion kisses the cup, and then they wipe his mouth. Next, you need to drink holy water and take the prosphora from a special table. On this day, it is not supposed to behave obscenely, swear and indulge in carnal pleasures.

Who can't take communion?

In addition to adults who did not confess before the sacrament, those excommunicated from the Holy Mysteries, demon-possessed and insane, blaspheming in fits of insanity are not allowed to take communion.


A man and a woman who had marital intimacy the day before, and women during menstruation, are not allowed to take communion. You can't give communion to the dead.

Some rules of communion

You must not be late for the beginning of the liturgy. When taking out the Holy Gifts and at the end of the reading by the priest of the sacrament prayer, one must do prostrations. When opening royal doors hands are folded crosswise on the chest, placing the right palm on the left; this position of the hands is maintained during communion and moving away from the bowl after communion.

They approach the bowl with the Holy Gifts with right side temple, not pushing and not creating a crowd, observing order and sequence. Women should approach the bowl without lipstick on their lips. After you have wiped your lips, and before you have drunk the holy water, you cannot kiss the icons.

They don’t touch the cup with their hands, they don’t cross themselves near it, so as not to push the priest and spill the contents of the chalice. The priest's hand is not kissed during communion.

On the way from the bowl to the table with holy water, you need to bow to the icon of the Savior. You can't take communion twice a day. If during Communion the Holy Gifts are served from several bowls, you need to take only from one. You can kiss and talk with other parishioners only after you have washed your mouth with holy water (or berry juice) so that not a single particle of prosphora remains in your mouth.


Upon returning home, you need to read a prayer of thanks (this rule is optional - you can listen to a prayer of thanks in the temple, at the end of the liturgy).