Communion, the sacrament of Holy Communion. What is a sacrament

It should be remembered that before Communion one cannot drink and eat (after midnight), and after Communion one cannot spit, kiss or eat something with a bone. For those who do not take communion, fasting is not obligatory. However, to take the dora or after the Liturgy, you need to go to the service on an empty stomach.

During the singing of the sacramental verse, the communicants approach the pulpit. After the exclamation Come with the fear of God and faith» For adult communicants, forgiveness is read. They bow to the ground (without the sign of the cross) and listen to forgiveness. Having risen, they fold their hands crosswise and listen with attention to the prayers read by the priest. Then they make a prostration to the Holy Mysteries and approach the Holy Chalice in order: babies, youths and maidens, maidens, men and women. Kryloshans (singers and readers standing on the krylos) are usually let forward.

Approaching the Chalice, the communicant shields himself with the sign of the cross with the Jesus prayer, folds his hands crosswise and with the fear of God and reverence accepts the Holy Gifts - the Body and Blood of Christ. Then the communicant makes the Sign of the Cross and kisses the foot of the Chalice. After Communion, they approach the table, on which there is warmth (wine diluted with boiling water) and prosphora. After the end of the Liturgy, all communicants listen attentively to prayers of thanksgiving.

In the event that a person, due to committed sins, is not worthy to partake of the Holy Mysteries (excommunicated from communion for a certain time), the spiritual father can commune him with Great Water, sanctified on the eve of Theophany, on Christmas Eve. Previously, this custom was more common, but even now in some parishes priests partake of the Great Water.

It is also worth noting that there are sins that excommunicate from communion, more serious ones - from shrines in general, that is, you cannot approach the Cross, icons, take prosphora, drink holy water. People excommunicated from the shrine do not enter the temple, but stand in the porch.

If you do not belong to the Old Believer Church, then, having come to the Liturgy, stand in the temple. You should not go further, approach the Cross, icons, take prosphora.

What is Communion? The word itself answers this question: at - part, i.e. approaching the whole, I become a part of the whole when I take it into myself. That's what Communion is!

Communion is the Body of Christ, Christ the Savior Himself said: Take, eat, this is My body.

And just as exactly: drink everything from her, this is My Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for you and for many.

It makes much more sense than just a symbol, as some Christians sometimes say. It is not only a symbol, it is the essence itself. We believe that we are indeed part of the very essence of God through the Body of Christ. Deification in Greek seosis. We become children of God in the full sense of the word, and this really turns out to be participation in the Divine life for us. In order to properly understand and penetrate this, we must remember what is said in the prayer at the very beginning of the Divine Liturgy in preparation for the Proskomedia, where Christ is called the Bread of Heaven, the Bread that comes to this earth in order to feed us all.

God, our God - this prayer says, Heavenly Bread, food for the whole world, our Lord and God Jesus Christ, sending the Savior and Deliverer and Benefactor, blessing and sanctifying us, bless these offerings yourself and accept them on your heavenly altar. Remember how good the Lover of mankind is, who brought it, and for their sake brought it: and we are not condemned in the sacred service of Your Divine Mysteries. As if holy and glorified, Thy most honorable and magnificent name, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever and ever. Amen.

Let's remember what we said in the conversation about the Uncreated Light - the Light of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and here now - the Heavenly Bread. The Heavenly one is precisely in that Heavenlyness about which we spoke then, i.e. Our Father, who art in Heaven, i.e. the uncreated sky, the Divine Sky, the Sky, which is the essence and essence of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit - Love, in which transparency and fullness are realized. And this fullness is what in us people becomes the fullness of the Body of Christ - .

I pray to Thee, now each of us personally comes to Christ, because in sins we are divided. And in our repentance, this is only my repentance, I am alone here now before You, Lord, I stand and repent and ask you to forgive me and accept me. And so everyone speaks all over the world, all communicants, no matter how many there are. This is one Divine Liturgy of this day and it embraces the whole world. And here we all find ourselves standing like this personally, but together. Together not only in this temple, but in the entire temple of the entire universe, for the entire universe is the main Divine Cathedral Cathedral - our common one, of all mankind. And here again I pray, asking and saying: have mercy on me and forgive me my sins, free and involuntary, even in word, even in deed, even in knowledge and ignorance, everything I know and everything I don’t know, maybe I forgot and don’t remember - Forgive me everything - and vouchsafe me to partake of Your Most Pure Mysteries without condemnation - give me the opportunity so that it would not be a condemnation of me. Because it can be in condemnation, if I approach without being prepared, if I approach without creating this feeling in myself that I am now approaching Christ the Savior, now, here, and I am approaching just like I do everything else, then it will be for me not for salvation, but for condemnation. If I have not repented properly, if I have not reconciled with everyone, at least in my soul and heart, this will be my condemnation. But here it is: to partake without condemnation of Your most pure Mysteries for the remission of sins and for eternal life. Amen.

And now I am transported there to Jerusalem, there to the Upper Room of Light, the very one where the Last Supper took place, and I say: Your Secret Supper is today - now, here - Son of God, take part in me: because the Last Supper then and the Last Supper now - same. Time, history and place are removed (disappears) - everything turns out to be together. Here is our amazing Russian word- together, jointly, in one place, although it would seem in different places far from each other. But no, together.

We will not tell the secret to your enemy, nor will I give you kisses like Judas, but like a robber I confess You: remember me, Lord, in Your Kingdom - because I will not betray You here now like Judas, I will not kiss You falsely, but I Like a thief I stand now before You, as he asked from the cross: Lord, remember me when you come into Your Kingdom. And he received the answer: Today you will be with Me in Paradise - that's how it is now. Lord, today, here now, accept me into Yours. To Your Heavenly Paradise, to Your non-evening Light, to Your uncreated. May the communion of Thy Saints be to me, not in judgment or in condemnation, O Lord, but for the healing of soul and body. Amen. This is the meaning and essence of Holy Communion!

The bottom line is that at this moment we become one, in the full sense of the word, we partake of one cup. This cup in the full sense of the word, carries the one and indivisible Blood of Christ. Our Church in all parts of the world, spread to all continents at this moment in this Divine Liturgy of today, a single Liturgy for the whole world, turns out to be a single community of Christ, a single community, a single Church, a single common life whole. So we really are the body of Christ, not only in the sense that we partake of the Body of Christ and carry it within ourselves in this Divine Communion, but also in the sense that we are the Body of Christ the Savior, as one Church, one communion in Greek. - a synaxis, a single communion, as they say in English, i.e. in other words, we are in complete communion with each other. This is what we call Eucharistic communion. And this Eucharistic communion is a sign of Orthodoxy. Orthodoxy is realized precisely in this communion. And that's the only way it's possible. We have no other unity except in Communion. But even in Communion, this is our one faith, which we confess during the Liturgy and which is a single whole in our belief. Therefore, there can be no separation between us in any sense. We are different local churches, we are different churches according to this or that language and culture, we are different in many earthly respects, but we are united in one Communion. This Eucharistic communion is a sign of our participation in the Holy and Orthodox Church and not a single non-Orthodox can, according to her teaching, come to Communion if he has not become Orthodox, and not one of us can not come here to Communion or go to any other community to take communion, who are not in communion with us, because it would then be a rupture of our Church, which God forbid. This is the sense in which our Eucharistic communion unites us all together in the one flock of Christ.

That is why Saint John Maksimovich II of Shanghai and San Francisco, our modern miracle worker, said that hallmark Orthodoxy is the fact that we have the Eucharist, that is, this Eucharistic communion is high above the life and earthly conditions in the Church, in particular, above our jurisdictions, i.e. this or that local church, this or that community; while some others, such as Catholics, do not. With them, at least before the Second Vatican Council, it was so determined that the jurisdiction of the Pope of Rome was over Eucharistic communion, i.e. only those could receive communion together who were under the jurisdiction of the Pope, as now, although they currently allow the Orthodox to come and receive communion, but this seems to be an exception. Nevertheless, here we have already yielded a little towards Orthodoxy. We do not have this, and we do not have this for the simple reason that we cannot commune with them, we cannot commune with Protestants, we cannot commune with any schismatics and heretics, because otherwise this is a distinctive property that we they just said that what unites us all, Eucharistic communion, is losing its power.

And this is what we cannot let it lose its power. The very participation in Communion, Communion itself, is a sign of our Orthodoxy. We do not judge anyone in this regard, and their Communion - this is the judgment of God - is not our business. But we cannot participate in what is called by the modern inter-communion, i.e. interparticiple. Communion has no between, because there is one, consubstantial, and not similarly existing, i.e. something like that - no! It is one, and if there is no this unity, this unity of faith, then there can be no unity of Communion. As for other Christians and their communion, this, I repeat, is the judgment of God and we do not know what and how the Lord accepts their hearts, their repentance, their feelings.

Unity can also take place, as it has already happened in many cases, such as, for example, a whole group of American Protestant evangelists, thousands of them wholly joined the Orthodox Church in full understanding of Orthodoxy, in full communion, and now we are one, and we take communion and can take communion with them and we have them. And if this happens in the entire universe with all other Christians, then thank God! Let us thank God and sing His praises and rejoice in this new fellowship. May it be so!

1997 conversation.

The Orthodox Church was founded by Jesus Christ and since then has kept everything that was ordained by him. And the Son of God in his Gospel commanded the sacrament in the church. He even asserted that one who does not partake of this Holy Sacrament cannot inherit his Kingdom. Only a communicant can be saved and united with God.

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

Doubts

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

It's impossible!!!

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

It's really impossible

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

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

Dangerous Mistakes

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

Communion in church is the only hope

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

sacrament tradition

Communion in the church is the main thing that the first Christians preserved. Everyone used to take communion often, almost every day. Now the spiritual life is rarely so active. Communion in church requires special preparation. It takes place at the end of the morning service, which is called the Liturgy. Communion of children in the church is also traditional among the Orthodox, while Catholics and Protestants do not. Orthodox from infancy introduce children to the Holy Mysteries. If there is a desire to take communion in the church, the rules are necessarily read, and a confession is made first. Preparation for the Eucharist is a separate topic, very voluminous.

Many of us are looking for signs and wonders, unaware that the greatest miracle in the world is happening every day, and feel it on own experience anyone can. This miracle is the most important, central Sacrament of the Church - Holy Communion. It is for the sake of him that temples are built, icons are painted and prayers are raised to God in churches. Having cleansed the soul with confession, Christians partake, uniting in this Sacrament with the Lord, healing souls and bodies, strengthening their strength in the spiritual struggle and receiving great grace.

Healing Sacrament

This story a few years ago shocked the parishioners of one of the churches near Moscow. 34-year-old Andrei B. was dying painfully, and the doctors were sure that the hours of his earthly life were numbered. A priest from a nearby church came to the hospital to see him. After communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ, the patient suddenly began to recover ...

The recovered Andrei became a permanent parishioner of this church. And six months later, the former "suicide bomber" came to marry his young wife.

A no less amazing case of healing after receiving the holy sacraments was told by my friend father. The newborn Irochka was diagnosed with a serious illness, and the doctors told the heartbroken parents: "The chances of recovery are minimal, we will do everything we can, but usually such children do not survive." The mother of the baby managed to persuade the doctors to allow the dying baby to be baptized with a small rank. Father Alexander, who baptized her in intensive care, came to the hospital several times to give communion to the baby. And every time she got better and better! Ira survived, now she is a healthy, cheerful 4-year-old child. Her hitherto unbelieving father was baptized and became a Christian.

This kind real cases healing can be remembered by any experienced priest. The history of the Church knows a great many miracles associated with this greatest Sacrament, the Holy I am saving the lives of believers.

Taking communion, a person takes God into himself on a spiritual level, becomes stronger in goodness and love, and is cleansed of evil. It becomes more sensitive and wiser, it is easier to cope with sorrows and devilish temptations that have haunted each of us all our lives. And, of course, it is strengthened in faith and finds peace and harmony in the soul.

History of the Eucharist

Holy Communion or the Eucharist (in Greek - "thanksgiving") was commanded by Jesus Christ. It was He who created the Sacrament of union with Him through bread and wine, which are transformed into the Body and Blood of the Lord. At the Last Supper, he blessed and broke bread, and served it to his disciples with the words: “Take, taste: this is my body, which is broken for you for the remission of sins!” Then he gave the cup: “Drink from it all: this is My Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for you and for many for the remission of sins!”

But why did the Savior choose this particular method of receiving the Holy Sacrament of union with God?

The answer to the question can be obtained by remembering the story. The custom of "tasting God" through ritual food or drink has existed among many pagan peoples since ancient times. Echoes of one of these traditions is our usual Russian pancake for Maslenitsa, which once symbolized the image of the “god of the sun”, which had to be baked and eaten.

Christ took advantage of the images and customs understandable to people. We eat the bread and wine sanctified by prayers, transfigured from Above - and not symbolically, but quite realistically, God penetrates us and unites with us on the spiritual and physical levels, beneficially influencing the soul and body. The human mind is not capable of fully understanding and appreciating the depth and majesty of this act of God, which surpasses all worldly understanding.

The very word "Communion" indicates joining the Whole, the communicant becomes part of the one Church and part of God. Christians of the first centuries took communion at every church service, sometimes almost every day. The strength of their faith was such that they easily and without hesitation went to any torment, so as not to betray Christ in times of persecution. They were so incredible examples of true holiness, the highest morality and decency, that modern Christians can only dream of such heights.

Over time, the strength of faith and the piety of people weakened and degenerated. Many believers have ceased to feel themselves as a single Church, and live communication and unity with God, in fact, has become for them some kind of familiar religious rites and rituals. Already in XVI century, the "norm" for most Christians has become a very rare communion. The substitution of a deep, full-fledged spiritual life for superficial external religiosity gave rise to a "magical" attitude towards the sacraments, breakdowns in grave sins and unjustified cruelty, which was especially famous for the Middle Ages.

And what was the situation in Russia? As usual in our country, even the most sacred cause, having fallen into the hands of the bureaucracy, is vulgarized and distorted. Look here: in the time of Peter I a decree was issued - all civil servants obliged take communion annually. Many understood it this way: once a year is enough! Yes, and Communion, performed out of duty, loses its meaning.

In the 19th century, churches also issued a certificate, like a technical inspection receipt: this confirms that this citizen passed the rite of Communion for such and such a year. It was a kind of certificate of trustworthiness. It was this ridiculous obligation that became one of the main reasons for the falling away of the majority of Russian people from Orthodoxy. When the obligatory communion was abolished in 1905, according to the memoirs of Metropolitan Veniamin Fedchenkov, only 2-5 percent of the military and officials began to go to church. And this is instead of the former 90 percent!

Only after the vicious practice of coercion, which brought a lot of poisonous fruits, was over, the Church Fathers began to explain to people the true deep essence of Christianity and the holy sacraments. Gradually, voluntary frequent communion began to revive.

Modern confessors recommend that believers approach the great Sacrament of Communion regularly and as often as possible. Whoever has the desire and opportunity can take communion weekly. Or at least not less than once every 1-2 months.

If a modern Christian takes communion very rarely, it means that something is wrong in his spiritual life. Worldly vanity obscures Heaven from him.

Miracle of transformation

The main church service - the liturgy - is traditionally held in the morning, and only on special holidays (Easter, Christmas, Epiphany) is it performed at night. The liturgy includes all the wealth of the Church - theological, aesthetic and cultural-historical.

According to the canons, for the preparation of Holy Communion, high-quality red grape wine is taken, which by its very appearance resembles blood. In the Serbian and some other Churches, dry wine is used, and in Russia - Cahors. When performing the Sacrament, whole wine is slightly diluted hot water(it is called “warmth”), because Christ Himself, according to Tradition, according to Eastern custom, used wine diluted with water at the Last Supper. In addition, the combination of wine with water has symbolic meaning, recalling that during the sufferings of the Savior, blood and water flowed from his chest pierced by a spear.

Eucharistic bread is made from leavened dough, for which the best wheat flour is taken without the addition of salt and sugar, consecrated water and sourdough (or yeast). From the largest prosphora, the priest cuts out the future Body of Christ. After the pronouncement "Holy to the saints", it is divided into parts and immersed in a cup of wine - the Blood of Christ.

During the liturgy, at the moment of the culminating prayers, the consecration of the Holy Gifts takes place. Bread and wine on a spiritual and mystical level are transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ. Many holy fathers believed that even at the physical level, bread and wine become the very real divine flesh and blood, however, so that people do not get embarrassed, according to external and gustatory signs, Holy Communion continues to seem like bread and wine to them.

In the final part of the church service, the Royal Doors of the iconostasis are opened and with the words “Come with the fear of God and faith!” the priest takes out the Chalice and communes people with a special spoon.

Fears of some people of little faith that through a common liar you can catch diseases - far-fetched and absolutely untenable. No pathogenic microbes are able to survive in Holy Communion! As thousands of years of practice shows, those who regularly take communion are much less vulnerable to diseases than those who avoid Communion, and are much more likely to survive even during the most terrible epidemics.

One of my friends, doctor Nikolai D. shared good example: his patient O. constantly caught a cold and was sick, and besides, she suffered from seizures that could not be cured. After, on the advice of a believing doctor, she began to regularly go to church, go to confession and take communion, the seizures disappeared, and the immunity of her body improved noticeably. Now O. rarely gets sick - no more often than any normal healthy person.

So that not a drop of the shrine is spoiled, at the end of the service, the priest or the deacon helping him drinks and finishes everything that is left in the bowl, and this happens a lot - on average, the volume of the vessel for communion is from one to several liters!

And here's what's interesting. Many priests and deacons sincerely believe that there is no alcohol in the transfigured wine, and after the service they calmly drive. More than once, such priests had a chance to get into strict traffic police officers and “breathe into the tube”. What is surprising, the devices did not show the presence of alcohol in the blood of the priests who consumed the Eucharistic wine! Unless, of course, they then washed down Communion with ordinary wine.

My acquaintance, a priest from the Urals, Father Peter, cannot stand alcohol. As soon as he drinks at least a glass of wine, he becomes ill. But he calmly eats the cup with the remnants of Holy Communion, and after that he feels only wondrous peace and grace in his soul.

I also know priests who in the past, before coming to the Church, were alcoholics, and forever tied up with a destructive passion. Even a glass of wine could provoke them to a breakdown. However, they calmly partake of Holy Communion, believing that this is precisely the Body and Blood of Christ, and in no way does this lead them to return to their former passion, but, on the contrary, only strengthens their will and spirit.

However, I cannot remain silent about those priests who believe that alcohol is still present in the bowl with the Holy Gifts. Some of them confessed to me that when they consumed the chalice with Communion on an empty stomach after the service, they felt a clear slight intoxication. One of them, fearing breakdowns into drunkenness, was even forced to specially hire a deacon in his small church - so that it would be he who ate and drank everything that was left in the cup after the Eucharist.

But how does it happen that some priests consumed Communion in large quantities intoxicate, while others do not? I think that both of them are right in their own way. It must be assumed that their examples are a clear confirmation of the gospel truth - "according to your faith - let it be to you!". After all, sincere strong faith and a special spiritual attitude can work real miracles ...

After the transformation of bread and wine in the sacrament of the Eucharist into Body and Blood, they forever retain a new nature. In each church, spare Holy Gifts are stored in consecrated vessels. With them, priests give communion to those who cannot come to the temple - the sick, the dying, prisoners, etc.

Real Christians try to take communion more often. By uniting with God, they acquire the highest meaning of life. Many saints called Communion the medicine of immortality, helping to overcome mundane sinfulness. human nature and gain Eternal Life

Retribution for blasphemy

Late XIX - early XX For centuries, blasphemous antics of atheists provoked by “compulsory Orthodoxy” happened in Russia. The future revolutionary, Bukharin, while studying at the gymnasium, more than once brought Holy Communion behind his cheek, spitting it out on his desk and mockingly declared to his classmates: “Look, this is not the Body of the Lord, this is ordinary bread. If it were the Body of God, the Lord would have punished me.”

You should never brag like that. The punishment was delayed for decades, but Bukharin's end was terrible. Transformed in Stalin's dungeons into a downtrodden trembling creature, he begged for his life and slandered himself and his relatives and friends. A similar unenviable fate befell most of the other blasphemers, some earlier, others later.

Sometimes retribution for desecration of a shrine comes pretty quickly. A familiar novice told me about the fate of five young Satanists, one of whom, having entered a large temple, fraudulently took communion and immediately fled, carrying Communion in his cheek. After that, five friends staged a blasphemous ritual of desecration of the shrine, which I will not describe for ethical reasons.

The next night, the thief of the Holy Gifts was hit by a car and died. Another satanist addicted to drugs died of an overdose soon after. The third - strangled himself, unable to cope with a terrible bout of hangover melancholy. The remaining two went to jail for selling drugs. One of them died in the “zone”, the other came to confession in the prison church and repented. After serving his term, he went to a monastery, where he now works as a humble novice, begging forgiveness from God and dreaming of becoming a monk.

When Blood and Flesh Become Visible

History knows and amazing cases the complete transformation of the shrine, turning into the real Body and Blood at a visible, tangible level.

In 1194, a resident of the city of Augsburg, without swallowing Holy Communion, brought it home, wrapped in a scarf. The shrine was laid and locked by her in the relic box. A few years later, she repented of her deed to the priest and gave him the ark. Having opened it in the temple, the priests were amazed to find in it a dried-up piece of human flesh!

Medieval radical Jews more than once made attempts to abuse the Christian Holy Gifts. In 1213 in France, the Jew Aaron bought a shrine from his Christian maid and threw it into a money mug filled with silver coins. Looking into the mug the next day, he was horrified to see a piece of bloody meat there. He was very frightened, repented of everything to the priest and converted to Christianity. And in 1591 in Prague, the Jew Levek stole the Holy Gifts in the church and sold them to his comrades. Mocking the shrine, they said: “If you are really God, then show your power!” Suddenly, droplets of blood came out of the Communion. Immediately, a severe thunderstorm broke out and lightning struck the house of the blasphemers, burning it to the ground. After that, all the perpetrators of sacrilege repented and were baptized.

And the most famous visible miracle of the transfiguration took place in the 8th century under quite peaceful circumstances in the Italian city of Lanciano. A priest from the church of San Legontius was tormented by doubts: are the Body and Blood of the Lord, hidden under the guise of bread and wine, true?! During the celebration of the Sacrament, a miracle happened: the Eucharistic bread suddenly turned into flesh, and the wine into real blood! The priest confessed to the brethren his doubts, resolved in such an incredible way. Since then, the Flesh and Blood that materialized during the Eucharist has been kept in a special ark in Lanciano.

In the period from 1970 to 1981, scientists repeatedly investigated this miracle. The body turned out to be a fragment of a human heart that did not have any traces of conservation, containing the myocardium, endocardium, left ventricle and vagus nerve. Incredibly preserved for 12 centuries without artificial protection and preservatives, Blood contains proteins and minerals in normal percentages for human blood. She curled up into five hardened balls, each of which individually weighs as much as ... all five together! This paradox, which contradicts the elementary laws of physics, scientists still cannot explain. Moreover, according to the conclusions of scientists, blood can be liquefied and used for transfusion, since it has all the properties of fresh blood. And at the Lanchan shrine there is a single group: AB - exactly the same as on the Shroud of Turin, in which the Savior was wrapped after the crucifixion.

Preparation and communion

A few years ago, my friend Anya, on the advice of her friends, came to take communion at the church, in fact, not really understanding why she needed it. She did not prepare in advance, but she knew that it was “useful” and hoped to receive some “magical help” from this sacrament. All this became clear in confession, in which the girl, instead of repentance, said that in general she was a positive lady, and she had nothing to repent of. Of course, her father did not allow her to take Communion, offering to talk after the service and presenting a book about the essence Orthodox sacraments. But Anya was a proud lady and left without waiting for the end of the service, and threw the book on the far shelf and did not begin to read.

Only a few years later, after having been pretty drunk and breaking a lot of wood, having survived a divorce, the death of loved ones and a serious illness, she suddenly realized that she was wrong then, and again came to the temple, worthily confessed, took communion and began new life- in Christ...

Anyone who wants to be baptized can take communion, but for this you need to work spiritually and physically. Only children under 7 years of age can proceed to this Sacrament without fasting and confession. It is advisable for adults to observe moderation in everything for three days, to abstain from animal products and from carnal relationships. If a person takes communion once a year, or even less often, and in ordinary life does not observe fasts - fasting before Communion increases to 5-7 days. For those who take communion weekly, a 1-2 day fast is sufficient. There is no need to fast during the Holy Easter week. In the morning before communion, one should (if health permits) not eat or drink anything.

The internal preparation for the Sacrament is very important. One must try to reconcile with everyone and forgive everyone, and expel bad thoughts from oneself in order to accept the shrine with a pure good soul. And if possible, create a peaceful mood in yourself, expecting communion as a great joy of communion and union with Christ.

In any prayer book there are Three canons (to Jesus Christ, the Mother of God and the Guardian Angel), as well as the Adherence to Holy Communion. It is advisable to subtract all these prayers the day before. Having attended the evening service, the next morning a person comes to the Liturgy and prays with everyone, confesses and takes communion, if the priest blessed at confession.

Those whose repentance is not sincere and formal, and those who are not going to break decisively with mortal sins in the future, may not be admitted to Holy Communion. For example, if a lover of a prodigal life plans to continue to indulge in his favorite sinful "fun", or, say, a thief and a robber does not want to give up his criminal profession.

Small children are usually given first communion, then men, then women. Approach should be in turn, without crowding, and without trying to get ahead of each other. After taking communion, the Orthodox come to a special table with a drink. It is customary to drink Communion with holy water, fruit drink or diluted wine, and seize with a piece of prosphora - so that the entire shrine is consumed to the drop and to the crumb.

Communion from a single Chalice, Christians are united not only with God, but also with each other, feeling like a single friendly family. Usually, after communion, the soul is filled with peace and spiritual joy. Having thanked the Lord for this with thanksgiving prayers, one should try to maintain a good mood in one's soul for as long as possible, and live with a clear conscience, bringing peace and love to others.

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

Our Lord Jesus Christ, before giving the Sacrament of Communion, said: “The bread that I will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world” (John 6:51). That is, the food that I want to give you is My Flesh, which I want to give for the revitalization of the whole world. This means that Divine Communion for believers is a necessary component spiritual and Christ-like life.

If you do not eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink His Blood, you will not have life in you.
In. 6:53

Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.
In. 6:56

With these words, the Lord pointed out the absolute necessity for all Christians to participate in the Sacrament of the Eucharist. The most was established by the Lord at the Last Supper. “Jesus took bread, blessed it, and 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 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). As the Holy Church teaches, a Christian, taking Holy Communion, is mysteriously united with Christ, for in every particle of the fragmented Lamb the whole Christ is contained. Immeasurable is the significance of the Sacrament of the Eucharist, the comprehension of which surpasses our reason. It kindles the love of Christ in us, lifts the heart to God, engenders virtues in it, and holds back the attack on us. dark force, gives strength against temptations, revitalizes the soul and body, heals them, gives them strength, cultivates virtues - restores in us that purity of the soul that the original Adam had before the fall.

In his reflections on the Divine Liturgy of St. Seraphim of Zvezdinsky, there is a description of the vision of one elder ascetic, which vividly characterizes the significance for a Christian of communion of the Holy Mysteries. The ascetic saw “a sea of ​​fire, the waves of which rose and churned, presenting a terrible sight. On the opposite bank stood a beautiful garden. From there came the singing of birds, the fragrance of flowers wafted. The ascetic hears the voice “Cross this sea!” But there was no way to go. For a long time he stood thinking about how to cross, and again he hears the voice, “Take the two wings that the Divine Eucharist gave: one wing is the Divine Flesh of Christ, the second wing is His Life-Giving Blood. Without them, no matter how great the feat, it is impossible to reach the Kingdom of Heaven. Elder Parthenius of Kiev once, in a reverent feeling of fiery love for the Lord, repeated the prayer in himself for a long time: “Lord Jesus, live in me and let me live in You,” and heard a quiet, sweet voice “Eating My Flesh and drinking My Blood abides in Me and I am in him” (John 6:56).

In some spiritual illnesses, the Sacrament of Communion is the most effective remedy: for example, when so-called “blasphemous thoughts” attack a person, the spiritual fathers offer to fight them by frequent communion of the Holy Mysteries.

Righteous John of Kronstadt writes about the significance of the Sacrament of the Eucharist in the fight against strong temptations: “If you feel the severity of the struggle and see that you cannot cope with evil alone, run to spiritual father yours and ask him to partake of the Holy Mysteries. This is a great and omnipotent weapon in the struggle. For one mentally ill, Father John recommended living at home and partaking of the Holy Mysteries more often as a means of healing.

According to the custom of the Church, the Sacraments of Repentance (confession) and Communion follow directly one after the other. Reverend Seraphim says that the rebirth of the soul is accomplished through two Sacraments: “through repentance and complete cleansing from all sinful filth by the Most Pure and Life-Giving Mysteries of the Body and Blood of Christ.”

Repentance alone is not enough to preserve the purity of our heart and strengthen our spirit in piety and virtue. The Lord said: “When an unclean spirit comes out of a person, he walks through dry places, seeking rest, and, not finding it, says: I will return to my house from where I came out; and when he comes, he finds it swept and tidied up; then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more evil than himself, and having entered they dwell there, and the last for that man is worse than the first” (Luke 11:24-26).

So, if repentance cleanses us from the filthiness of our soul, then the communion of the Body and Blood of the Lord will infuse us with grace and prevent the return of the evil spirit, expelled by repentance, into our soul. At the same time, no matter how necessary the communion of the Body and Blood of Christ may be for us, it cannot take place unless repentance precedes it. The Apostle Paul writes: “... whoever eats this bread and drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord. Let a man examine himself, and thus let him eat from this bread and drink from this cup. For whoever eats and drinks unworthily, he eats and drinks condemnation to himself, not considering the Body of the Lord. That is why many of you are weak and sick, and many die” (1 Cor. 11:27-30). As we see from the words of the Apostle Paul, the Sacrament of Communion will be effective only with proper preparation for it, with prior self-examination and repentance for sins. And if the latter was not, then the person is doomed to infirmity, illness, and even.

What could serve as an indicator for us that we have properly prepared for the Sacrament of Communion? Here is the opinion of the Monk Simeon the New Theologian on this matter: “Once, when the inspired words of our holy father Simeon of Studius were read: “Brother, never take communion without tears…” - then the listeners, hearing this, - and there were many of them not only laity, but also monks from famous and glorious in virtue, - they were surprised at this word and, looking at each other, smiling, they said unanimously, as if with one voice, “Therefore, we will never take communion, but we must all remain without communion ... ". Further, St. Simeon analyzes the features of an active life, full of labors of repentance, that those who go through such a life receive a tender, sensitive heart and tenderness, and their tears will always accompany communion. Those who spend their lives in self-pleasure, who are lazy, negligent, do not repent and do not humble themselves, they constantly remain with a callous, cruel heart and will not know what tears are at communion.

As Archbishop Arseniy (Chudovskoy) writes, “It is a great thing to receive the Holy Mysteries and the fruits of this are great: the renewal of our hearts by the Holy Spirit, the blissful mood of the spirit. And how great is this work, so careful it requires from us and preparation. Therefore, if you want to receive the grace of God from Holy Communion, do your best to correct your heart.” However, here we should also remember the words of St. Theophan the Recluse: “The action of the Sacraments is not always reflected in the feeling, but also acts secretly.”

How often should one partake of the Holy Mysteries?

In the fourth petition of the Lord's Prayer "Our Father" we ask for the daily granting of "daily bread" to us. According to the interpretation of many Church Fathers, these words most likely should not be understood as ordinary bread and food, which God gives us in abundance without our petition (see Matt. 6, 31-32). Thus, St. Cyprian writes: “We call Christ our bread, because He is the Bread of those who eat His Body… But we ask this bread to be given to us every day, who are in the temple and receive the Eucharist every day as food of salvation, in the sense that no grave sin occurred and we were not forbidden to partake of this Heavenly Bread... Therefore, we ask you to give us our Bread, i.e., Christ, so that we, abiding in Christ, never deviate from the sanctification of His Body.”

St. John Cassian the Roman writes on the same subject, “Give us our daily bread today.” “Daily”, i.e. “above-essential” - the highest of all essences, which can only be the Bread that came down from heaven. When it says “today”, it is shown that yesterday’s eating of it is not enough if it is not also given to us today, convincing us by such an everyday need for it to pour out this prayer at all times, since there is no day on which it would not be necessary to strengthen the heart of our inner man by accepting and eating this bread.” And here is the opinion of St. Basil the Great. In a letter to Caesarea, he writes: “It is good and beneficial to commune and receive the Holy Body and Blood of Christ every day. We commune four times a week: on Sunday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, as well as on those days when a saint is commemorated.” The Monk Nil of Sorsk communed the Holy Mysteries daily and said that this "apparently supports the strength of the soul and body." St. Ambrose of Milan thought the same way. In the book on the Sacraments, he writes: “If the Blood is poured out many times, which is poured out for the remission of our sins, then we must always accept it so that my sins are forgiven; and if I always sin, then medicine is always necessary for me ... Take every day that which can heal you. So live so that you will always be worthy of this acceptance (i.e., communion).

St. Theophan the Recluse also blessed one of the spiritual children to take communion every day from the reserve Holy Gifts. Righteous John of Kronstadt pointed to the forgotten apostolic rule to excommunicate those who had not been at Holy Communion for three weeks.

The Monk Seraphim of Sarov commanded the Diveyevo sisters to “unremittingly confess and commune on all and, in addition, the twelfth and major holidays: the more often, the better, without tormenting yourself with the thought that you are unworthy; and the opportunity should not be missed as often as possible to enjoy the grace bestowed by the communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. The grace bestowed by communion is so great that no matter how unworthy and no matter how sinful a person is, if only in a humble consciousness of his great sinfulness he comes to the Lord, who redeems all of us, even if from head to toe covered with ulcers of sins, then it will be cleansed by the grace of Christ, becomes more and more bright, completely enlightened, and saved.”

Of course, it is very good to receive communion on the days of your name day and birth, and for spouses on the day of their marriage. Rev. Alexy Zossimovsky recommended that his spiritual children take communion also on the memorable days of their deceased loved ones - on the days of their death and name days. This contributes to the unity in Christ of the living and those who have gone to another world.

If you wish to receive communion even more often (perhaps even every day), you need to follow this instruction of St. Simeon the New Theologian: “Who does not reveal the secrets of his heart every day, who in them and in what he has done through ignorance does not bring due repentance, who does not go weeping and lamenting always and what has been said before with care does not pass, he is truly unworthy [of daily communion]. And whoever does all this and in sighs and tears completes the course of his life, he is very worthy to be a partaker of the Divine Mysteries, and not only on a holiday, but every day, and even - although I boldly say - from the very beginning of his repentance and conversion. .

As Archbishop Arseniy (Chudovskoy) writes, “constant communion should be the ideal of all Christians. But the enemy of the human race immediately understood what power the Lord had given us in the Holy Mysteries. And he began the work of rejecting Christians from Holy Communion. From the history of Christianity, we know that at first Christians took communion daily, then four times a week, then on Sundays and holidays, and there - at all, that is, four times a year, finally, barely once a year, and others even less often." “A Christian must always be ready for both death and communion,” said one of the spiritual fathers. So, it is up to us to frequently participate in the Last Supper of Christ and receive the great grace of the Mysteries of the Body and Blood of Christ at it. And if the heart lives entirely by God - both in deeds, and in words, and in thoughts, if a Christian weeps in his soul about every sin and has the goal of his life to please God and acquire the Holy Spirit of God, then he has no obstacles for daily communion of the Holy Mysteries , as did the Christians of the first centuries and as Simeon the New Theologian writes about it. One of the wisest modern pastors, Fr. Valentin Sventsitsky writes: “Spiritual life is not an abstract theology, but a real and most undoubted life in Christ. But how can it begin if you do not receive in this terrible and great Sacrament the fullness of the Spirit of Christ? How, without having accepted the Flesh and Blood of Christ, will you be in Him? And here, as in repentance, the enemy will not leave you without attacks. And here he will build you all sorts of intrigues. He will erect a lot of both external and internal barriers, You will have no time, then you will feel unhealthy, then you will want to. set aside for a while, "to better prepare." Do not listen. Go. Confess. Communion. You don't know when the Lord will call you."

Let each soul sensitively listen in his heart and be afraid to listen to the knocking at his door of the hand of the High Guest; let her be afraid that her hearing will be hardened by worldly fuss and will not be able to hear the quiet and gentle calls coming from the Kingdom of Light. Let the soul be afraid to replace the experiences of the heavenly joy of unity with the Lord with the muddy entertainments of the world or the base consolations of the bodily nature. And when she is able to tear herself away from the world and everything sensual, when she yearns for the light of the heavenly world and reaches out to the Lord, let her dare to unite with Him in the great Mystery, dressing herself in the spiritual clothes of sincere repentance and the deepest humility and the unchanging fullness of spiritual poverty. Also, let not the soul be troubled because, with all its repentance, it is still unworthy of communion. That's what he says about it righteous Alexy Mechev: “Communion more often and do not say that you are unworthy. If you talk like that, you will never take communion, because you will never be worthy. Do you think that there is at least one person on earth who is worthy of communion of the Holy Mysteries? No one is worthy of this, and if we do receive communion, it is only through the special mercy of God. We are not created for Communion, but Communion is for us. It is we - sinful, unworthy, weak - more than anyone who need this saving source.

Why do we still not receive the blessings of our spiritual fathers for more frequent communion? Only due to our hardness of heart and negligence, because in our sinful life and the absence of constant repentance and sobriety, we would begin to receive the Body and Blood of the Lord unworthily.

If the Christians of the first centuries tried to partake of the Holy Chalice every day, then in the 19th century many Christians in Russia considered communion as a dying parting word. In our time, the desire to receive communion often has revived again. However, knowing that the Chalice must be approached after careful preparation - fasting, many cannot find the strength and time for fasting (which thereby turns into an end in itself).

At the heart of deciding how often we need to take communion lies the degree of preparedness of the soul, its jealousy, its love for the Lord, its strength of repentance. Therefore, the Church leaves this issue to the priests and confessors to decide. It is with the spiritual father that it is necessary to agree on how often to take communion, how long and how strictly to fast before this. Different priests bless in different ways, but to each according to his ability. Many modern pastors recommend that people who seek to church their lives take communion from one to two times a month. Sometimes priests bless even more frequent communion, but this is the exception rather than the rule. Of course, one cannot take communion “for show”, for the sake of fulfilling certain quantitative norms. The sacrament of the Eucharist must become Orthodox Christian a need of the soul, without the fulfillment of which one cannot live.

On the preparation for Communion of the Holy Mysteries

Those who wish to worthily partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ must prayerfully prepare themselves for this in two or three days: pray at home in the morning and evening, visit church services. Before the day of communion, you must be at the evening service. To home evening prayers a rule is added (from the prayer book) to Holy Communion. Its size is determined by the spiritual father. Usually it includes the canons: repentance to the Lord Jesus Christ, a prayer service to the Most Holy Theotokos, the Guardian Angel, as well as the Follow-up to Holy Communion.

At the same time, it is necessary to take into account the following instructions of the righteous John of Kronstadt: “some put all their well-being and service before God in reading all the prescribed prayers, not paying attention to the readiness of the heart for God - to their inner correction; for example, many read the rule for Communion in this way. Meanwhile, here, first of all, we must look at the correction of our lives and the readiness of the heart to receive the Holy Mysteries. If the right heart has become in your womb, by the grace of God, if it is ready to meet the Bridegroom, then glory to God, although you did not have time to subtract all the prayers. The kingdom of God is not in word, but in power” (1 Cor. 4:20). Good obedience in everything to the Mother Church, but with prudence; and, if possible, "he who can contain" a long prayer "may he contain". But “not all can bear this word” (Mt. 19:11; see also v. 12); if a long prayer is incompatible with the ardor of the spirit, it is better to make a short but fervent prayer. Remember that one word of the publican, spoken from a warm heart, justified him. God does not look at a lot of words, but at the disposition of the heart. The main thing is the living faith of the heart and the warmth of repentance for sins. Prayer is combined with abstinence from fast food - meat, eggs, milk and dairy products, with and from fish. In the rest of the food, moderation should be observed.

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

How to approach the Holy Chalice?

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

Here are the rules.
• Before the Chalice it is necessary to make an earthly bow. If there are many communicants, then in order not to disturb others, you need to bow in advance.
• When they open royal doors, you need to cross yourself and fold your arms crosswise on your chest, right hand over the left, and with such a folded hands to take communion; you need to move away from the Chalice without separating your hands
• Must come with right side temple, and leave the left free.
• Altar attendants receive communion first, then monks, children, and only then everyone else. It is necessary to give way to neighbors, in no case do not push.
• Women need to remove their lipstick before communion.
• Approaching the Chalice, one should loudly and clearly state one's name, accept the Holy Gifts, chew (if necessary) and immediately swallow Them, and kiss the lower edge of the Chalice like the rib of Christ.
• You can not touch the Chalice with your hands and kiss the priest's hand.
• It is forbidden to be baptized at the Chalice! Raising your hand for the sign of the cross, you can accidentally push the priest and spill the Holy Gifts.
• Going to the table with a drink, you need to eat the antidor and drink the warmth. Only after that you can apply to the icons and talk.
• If the Holy Gifts are taught from several Chalices, they can only be received from one. You cannot take communion twice a day.
• On the day of Communion, it is not customary to kneel, with the exception of bows during reading, bows before the Shroud of Christ in Great Saturday and kneeling prayers on the day of the Holy Trinity.
• When you come home, you should first of all read the thanksgiving prayers for Holy Communion; if they are read in the temple at the end of the service, one must listen to the prayers there. After communion until the morning, one should also not spit anything out and rinse the mouth. Communicators should try to keep themselves from idle talk, especially from condemnation, and in order to avoid idle talk, one must read the Gospel, the Jesus Prayer, akathists, and Holy Scripture.

Communion of the sick

This rite is a special kind of teaching the Sacrament of the Eucharist to people who, due to a serious illness, cannot be in church during the celebration of the Sacrament at the full Liturgy and participate in its reception. In that case already ancient church, condescending to the infirmities of the sick and looking at the Sacrament as the best and surest medicine of the soul and body, she sent the Holy Gifts to the faithful at home. The Church is doing the same now. According to the custom of the Orthodox Church, the Holy Gifts for the sick are prepared on Great Thursday, but they can be prepared at any other time at the full Liturgy. For this purpose, a second lamb is prepared, and in those churches where the liturgy is celebrated daily, only a part of the liturgical lamb is set aside. The whole lamb or part of the lamb is prepared for teaching to the sick in the same way as for the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, according to the instructions of the teaching message.

The very process of communion of the sick has this order: The priest takes a part of the Holy Mysteries, puts it into the chalice and pours in as much wine as the patient can comfortably take. After the usual beginning, they read: “Come, let us bow down” three times, the Symbol of Faith and prayers for Holy Communion. Then the patient prepared in this way confesses and receives permission from sins, if he has not been confessed, and otherwise receives direct communion. After communion, they read: Now you forgive, the Trisagion, Our Father, the troparion of the day, the Theotokos, and there is a dismissal of the present day.

Follow-up to Holy Communion

Through the prayers of our holy fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us. Amen.

Heavenly King, Comforter, Soul of Truth, Who is everywhere and fills everything, Treasury of the good and Giver of life, come and dwell in us, and cleanse us from all filth, and save, O Blessed, our souls.

Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us. (Thrice)

Holy Trinity, have mercy on us; Lord, cleanse our sins; Lord, forgive our iniquities; Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities, for Your name's sake.

Lord have mercy. (Three times)

Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and forever and ever. Amen.

Our Father, Who art in heaven! Hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, as in heaven and on earth. Give us our daily bread today; and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

Lord have mercy. (12 times)

Come, let us worship our King God. (Bow)

Come, let us bow down and bow down to Christ, our King God. (Bow)

Come, let us worship and bow down to Christ Himself, the King and our God. (Bow)