Communion is what kind of rite? How to prepare for Communion?

Communion is the great Sacrament of the Orthodox Church. How important is this rite of Christianity? How to prepare for it? And how often can we take communion? The answers to these questions and many others you will learn from this article.

What is the communion?

The Eucharist is Communion, in other words, the most important rite of Christianity, through which bread and wine are sanctified and served as the Body and Blood of the Lord. Thanks to the communion, the Orthodox joins with God. The necessity of this Sacrament in the life of a believer can not be overestimated. It occupies the most important, if not the central place in the Church. In this Sacrament comes to an end and consists all: prayers, church hymns, rites, bows, preaching of the Word of God.

Prehistory of the Sacrament

If we turn to the prehistory, the sacrament of communion was established by Jesus at the Last Supper before the death on the cross. He gathered his disciples, blessed the bread and, breaking it, distributed it to the apostles with the words that it was His Body. After this, he took a bowl of wine and gave it to them, saying that it was His Blood. The Savior commanded the disciples to always perform the sacrament of communion in His remembrance. And the Orthodox Church follows the commandments of the Lord. The sacrament of Holy Communion is performed daily at the central liturgy of the Liturgy.

The history of the Church confirming the importance of communion is well known. In one of the deserts of Egypt, in the ancient city of Diolka lived a lot of monks. Presbyter Ammon, who stood out among all the outstanding holiness, during one of the services saw an angel who was writing something near the sacrificial bowl. As it turned out, the angel recorded the names of the monks present in the service, and the names of those who were absent from the Eucharist, deleted. In three days all those whom the angel has crossed out, have died. So is this story untrue? Perhaps a lot of people die prematurely precisely because of their unwillingness to make communion? After all, even the Apostle Paul said that many people are sick, weak because of unworthy communion.

Necessity of Holy Communion

Communion is a necessary rite for the believer. A Christian who neglects the Sacrament voluntarily turns away from Jesus. And thereby deprives himself of the possibility of eternal life. Regularly communing, on the contrary, unites with God, strengthens in faith, becomes a partaker of eternal life. Hence it can be concluded that communion for the church person is, undoubtedly, an important event in life.

Sometimes after the adoption of the Holy Mysteries of Christ, even serious diseases recede, will power grows, the spirit strengthens. It is easier for a believer to struggle with his passions. But it is worth retreating from the sacrament for a long time, as in life everything starts to go awry. Misfortunes come back, the soul begins to be tormented, it seemed, retreated passions, irritability appears. And this is not a complete list. It follows that a believer, a church person, tries to commune at least once a month.

Preparing for Holy Communion

To the Mystery of Holy Communion should be properly prepared, namely:

• Prayer. Before communion, it is necessary to pray more and more diligently. Do not miss a few days of prayer rule. To him, by the way, the rule is added to the Holy Communion. There is also a pious tradition of reading the canon for communion: a canon penitential to the Lord, a canon of prayer to the Blessed Virgin, a canon to the Angel of the Guardian. On the eve of Communion, attend the evening service.

• Fasting. It must be not only carnal, but spiritual. We must reconcile with everyone with whom we were in litter, pray more, read the Word of God, refrain from viewing entertaining programs and listening to secular music. Spouses need to give up bodily caresses. Strict fasting begins on the eve of Communion, from 12 o'clock in the morning you can neither eat nor drink. However, the confessor (priest) can establish an additional post for 3-7 days. Such a post is usually prescribed for the novice and those who did not observe one-day and multi-day fasts.

• Confession. It is necessary to confess our sins to the priest.

Repentance (confession)

Confession and Communion play an important role in the fulfillment of the Sacrament. An indispensable condition of Communion is the recognition of its absolute sinfulness. It is necessary to understand your sin and sincerely repent of it with a firm conviction never to commit it again. The believer must realize that sin is incompatible with Christ. In committing sin, a man as it were tells Jesus that His death was in vain. Of course, this is possible only through faith. Because it is faith in the Holy God that illuminates the dark spots of sins. Before repentance one should reconcile with the offenders and the offended, read the penitential penance to the Lord, pray harder, if necessary, then take a fast. Sins for your own convenience are best written on paper so that during confession you can not forget anything. On particularly hard sins, which torture the conscience, it is necessary to tell the priest specifically. Also, the believer needs to remember that when he reveals his sins to the priest, he first opens them to God, because God is invisibly present at confession. Therefore, in no case can we withhold any sins. The priest faithfully keeps the secret of confession. In general, both confession and communion are separate ordinances. However, they are closely related, since, without receiving the remission of their sins, a Christian can not proceed to the Holy Chalice.

There are cases when a seriously ill patient sincerely repents of his sins, promises to go to church regularly, so long as there is healing. The priest lets go of his sins, allows communion. The Lord bestows healing. But the man subsequently does not keep his promise. Why is this happening? Perhaps, the human weakness of the soul does not allow it to cross itself, through its pride. After lying on your deathbed you can promise anything. But in no case must we forget the promises made to the Lord Himself.

Communion. rules

In the Russian Orthodox Church, there are rules that should be followed before approaching the Holy Chalice. First, you need to come to the temple to start the divine service, without being late. Before the cup, an earthly bow is made. If there are many who wish to receive Communion, then one can bow beforehand. When the gates are opened, you should cross yourself with the sign of the cross: hands cross on the chest, right top on the left. So take communion, depart, without taking away your hands. Approach from the right side, and leave the left free. Ministers of the altar must first receive communion, then monks, after them children, then all the rest. You need to keep courtesy with each other, letting forward the people of the elderly and the infirm. Women can not start communion with painted lips. The head must be covered with a handkerchief. Not a hat, a bandage, but a kerchief. In general, dressing in the temple of God should always be orderly, not provocative and not vulgar, so as not to attract attention and not to distract other believers.

Approaching the Cup, you must name your name loud and clear, accept chewing and immediately swallow the Holy Gifts. Attach to the bottom edge of the Bowl. It is forbidden to touch the Cup. Also, you can not make the sign of the cross near the Cup. At a table with zapivkoy, you need to eat an antidor and drink warmth. Only then you can talk and kiss the icons. You can not take communion twice a day.

At home it is necessary to read thanksgiving prayers for the Communion. Their texts can be found in prayer books. If you have any doubts as to which prayers to read, then it should be clarified by the clergy.

Communion of patients

At the First Ecumenical Council it was determined that a seriously ill person not be deprived of communion. If a person is not able to receive communion in the church, this is easily solved, because the church allows communicating sick people at home.
The priest is ready at any time to come to the patient, except the time from the Cherubic song to the end of the liturgy. In any other divine service the priest is obliged to stop the service for the suffering and hurry to it. In the church at that time they read psalms for the edification of believers.

Patients are allowed to admit to the adoption of the Holy Mysteries without any preparation, prayer, fasting. But they still need to confess their sins. Also seriously ill patients are allowed to receive communion after eating.

Often miracles happen when, it would seem, incurable people get up on their feet after the communion. Priests often go to the hospital to support the seriously ill, take confession, and commune them. But many refuse. Some because of disgust, others do not want to call disaster in the ward. However, those who have not succumbed to any doubts and superstitions may be granted miraculous healing.

Communion of children

When a child meets God, this is a very important event in the life of the child and his parents. Communion from an early age is also recommended because the baby is accustomed to the Church. It is necessary to partake of the child. With faith. Regularly. This plays a crucial role in his spiritual development, and the Holy Gifts have a beneficial effect on health and well-being. And sometimes even serious diseases recede. So how should the children be communicated? Children under the age of seven before the Eucharist are not specially trained and do not confess, because they can not realize the approach to Communion.

They also take communion only with the Blood (wine), since infants can not eat solid food. If the child is able to eat solid food, then he can also partake of the Body (bread). Children who have been christened receive the Holy Gifts on the same day or the next day.

After the adoption of the Holy Gifts

The day when the Sacrament of Communion is accomplished is certainly a significant time for every believer. And you need to hold it especially, as a great holiday of the soul and spirit. During the Mystery, the Holy Communion receives the grace of God, which should be treasured and try not to sin. If possible, it is better to refrain from worldly affairs and spend a day in peace, quiet and prayer. Pay attention to the spiritual side of your life, pray, and honor the Word of God. These prayers after communion are of great importance - they are joyful and energetic. They are also able to multiply gratitude to the Lord, initiate in the praying desire to take communion more often. It is not accepted after the communion took place in the church to kneel. Exceptions are devotions before the Shroud and kneeling prayers on the day of the Holy Trinity. There is unreasonable reasoning that, supposedly, after the Communion it is forbidden to apply to the icons and kiss. However, the priests themselves after the Holy Mysteries are blessed by the bishop, kissing his hand.

How often can we partake of communion?

Every believer is interested in the question of how often it is possible to make communions in the church. And there is no single answer to this question. Someone believes that abusing Communion is not necessary, while others, on the contrary, recommend starting to receive the Holy Gifts as often as possible, but no more than once a day. What do the holy fathers of the church say about this? John of Kronstadt called to recall the practice of the first Christians, who were supposed to excommunicate those who did not take communion for more than three weeks. Seraphim of Sarov bequeathed the sisters from Diveevo to communion as often as possible. And for those who consider themselves unworthy of Communion, but have repentance in their hearts, in no case should they refuse to receive the Holy Mysteries of Christ. Because, by communion, cleansed and brightens, and the more often we partake, the greater the probability of salvation.

It is very favorable to receive communion on the name day and birthdays, the spouses on their anniversary.

At the same time, how can we explain the eternal controversy about how often we can receive communion? There is an opinion that both monks and ordinary lay people can not commune more often than once a month. Once a week - it's already a sin, the so-called "charm", coming from the evil one. Is it true? Priest Daniil Sysoev in his book gave a detailed explanation of this. He argues that the number of people who commune more than once a month is negligible, they are church people, or those who have a spiritual mentor over themselves. Many clergymen agree that if a person in the depths of his heart is ready for this, he can take communion every day, there is nothing wrong with that. The whole sin is if a person without proper repentance comes to the cup, not having prepared for it properly, without forgiving all their offenders.

Of course, everyone decides for himself and his confessor, how often he should start the Holy Chalice. This depends primarily on the preparedness of the soul, love of the Lord and the power of repentance. In any case, for a churched, righteous life it is worth communion at least once a month. Someone from the Christian faith is blessed to receive Holy Communion and more often.

Instead of an afterword

There are a lot of books, manuals and just advice, how to accept Communion, the rules for preparing the soul and body. This information may differ in some ways, different approaches to the frequency of communion and strictness in preparation can be determined, but such information exists. And it is plentiful. However, you will not find literature that will teach a person how to behave after the adoption of the Holy Mysteries, how to preserve this gift and how to use it. Both worldly and spiritual experience suggests that it is much easier to accept than to retain. And this is really true. Andrei Tkachev, archpriest of the Orthodox Church, says that inept use of the Holy Gifts can turn into a curse for the person who accepted them. He sets an example of the history of Israel. On the one hand there is a huge number of miracles that are happening, a wonderful relationship of God with the people, His patronage. Another side of the medal is heavy punishments and even executions of people who behave unworthily after communion. And the apostles spoke about the diseases of the communicants, behaving in an inappropriate way. Therefore, observance of the rules after Holy Communion is extremely important for a person.