When is the sacrament. What is confession and communion? Communion in church is the only hope
The meaning of the sacrament
First of all, in preparation for communion, there will be an awareness of the meaning of communion, so many go to church because it is fashionable and one could say that you took communion and confessed, but in fact such communion is a sin. When preparing for communion, you need to understand that you go to church to the priest, first of all, to draw closer to the Lord God and repent of your sins, and not to arrange a holiday and an extra reason to drink and eat. At the same time, go to communion only because you were forced to, it’s not good to go to this sacrament at will, cleansing your soul from sins.
So, anyone who wants to worthily partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ must prayerfully prepare himself for this in two or three days: pray at home in the morning and evening, attend church services. Before the day of communion, you must be at the evening service. The rule for Holy Communion is added to home evening prayers (from the prayer book).
The main thing is the living faith of the heart and the warmth of repentance for sins.
Prayer is combined with abstinence from fast food - meat, eggs, milk and dairy products, with strict fasting and from fish. In the rest of the food, moderation should be observed.
Those who wish to take communion should, best of all, on the eve, before or after the evening service, bring sincere repentance for their sins before the priest, sincerely opening their soul and not concealing a single sin. Before confession, one must certainly reconcile both with one's offenders and with those whom one has offended oneself. At confession, it is better not to wait for the priest's questions, but to tell him everything that is on your conscience, without justifying yourself in anything and without shifting the blame to others. In no case should you condemn someone in confession or talk about other people's sins. If it is not possible to confess in the evening, you need to do it before the start of the liturgy, in extreme cases - before the Cherubic Hymn. Without confession, no one, except for infants up to seven years of age, can be admitted to Holy Communion. After midnight, it is forbidden to eat and drink, you must come to Communion strictly on an empty stomach. Children should also be taught to abstain from food and drink before Holy Communion.
How to Prepare for Communion?
The days of fasting usually last a week, in extreme cases - three days. Fasting is prescribed on these days. Modest food is excluded from the diet - meat, dairy products, eggs, and on days of strict fasting - fish. Spouses abstain from physical intimacy. The family refuses entertainment and TV viewing. If circumstances permit, these days one should attend services in the temple. The morning and evening prayer rules are more diligently carried out, with the addition of reading the Penitential Canon to them.
Regardless of when the Sacrament of Confession is performed in the temple - in the evening or in the morning, it is necessary to attend the evening service on the eve of communion. In the evening, before reading the prayers for the future, three canons are read: Penitent to our Lord Jesus Christ, the Mother of God, Guardian Angel. You can read each canon separately, or use prayer books where these three canons are combined. Then the canon for Holy Communion is read until the prayers for Holy Communion, which are read in the morning. For those who find it difficult to perform such a prayer rule in one day, they take a blessing from the priest to read three canons in advance during the days of fasting.
It is quite difficult for children to follow all the prayer rules for preparing for the sacrament. Parents, together with the confessor, need to choose the optimal number of prayers that the child will be able to do, then gradually increase the number of necessary prayers needed to prepare for Communion, up to the full prayer rule for Holy Communion.
For some, it is very difficult to read the necessary canons and prayers. For this reason, some do not go to confession and do not receive communion for years. Many people confuse preparation for confession (which does not require such a large volume of prayers to be read) and preparation for communion. Such people can be recommended to approach the Sacraments of Confession and Communion in stages. First, you need to properly prepare for confession and, when confessing sins, ask your confessor for advice. It is necessary to pray to the Lord that He will help to overcome difficulties and give strength to adequately prepare for the Sacrament of Communion.
Since it is customary to start the Sacrament of Communion on an empty stomach, from twelve o'clock in the morning they no longer eat or drink (smokers do not smoke). The exception is infants (children under seven years of age). But also children with certain age(starting from 5-6 years, and if possible earlier) must be accustomed to the existing rule.
In the morning they also do not eat or drink anything and, of course, do not smoke, you can only brush your teeth. After reading morning prayers prayers for Holy Communion are read. If it is difficult to read the prayers for Holy Communion in the morning, then you need to take a blessing from the priest to read them the evening before. If confession is performed in the church in the morning, it is necessary to arrive on time, before the start of confession. If confession was made the night before, then the confessor comes to the beginning of the service and prays with everyone.
Fasting before confession
People who come to Communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ for the first time need to fast for a week, those who take Communion less than twice a month, or do not keep Wednesday and Friday fasts, or often do not observe fasts for many days, fast three days before Communion. Do not eat animal food, do not drink alcohol. Yes, and do not overeat with lean food, but eat as needed to saturate and nothing more. But who every Sunday (as befits a good Christian) resorts to the Sacraments, you can fast only Wednesday and Friday, as usual. Some also add - and at least on Saturday evening, or on Saturday - do not eat meat. Before communion, from 24 hours no longer eat, and do not drink anything. On the prescribed days of fasting, use only plant origin food.
It is also very important these days to keep yourself from anger, envy, condemnation, empty talk and bodily communication between spouses, as well as on the night after communion too. Children under 7 do not need to fast or go to confession.
Also, if for the first time a person goes to communion, you need to try to subtract the entire rule, read all the canons (you can buy a special booklet in the shop, called “The Rule for Holy Communion” or “Prayer Book with the Rule for Communion”, everything is clear there). To make it not so difficult, you can do this by dividing the reading of this rule into several days.
Clean body
Remember that it is not allowed to go to the temple dirty, unless of course it is required life situation. Therefore, preparing for communion implies that on the day when you go to the sacrament of communion, you must wash your body of physical dirt, that is, take a bath, shower or go to the bathhouse.
Preparation for confession
Before confession itself, which is a separate sacrament (not necessarily after it should be followed by Communion, but preferably), you can not keep a fast. A person can confess at any time when he feels in his heart that he needs to repent, confess sins, and as soon as possible so that the soul is not weighed down. And you can take communion, properly prepared, later. Ideally, if possible, it would be nice to attend the evening service, and especially before the holidays or the day of your angel.
It is absolutely unacceptable to keep fasting in food, but not change the course of your life in any way: continue to go to entertainment events, to the cinema for the next blockbuster, to visit, to sit all day for computer toys, etc. The main thing in the days of preparation for Communion is to live they are different from other days of everyday life, not much work for the Lord. Talk to your soul, feel why it spiritually missed you. And do what you have been putting off for a long time. Read the Gospel or spiritual book; visit loved ones, but forgotten by us people; ask for forgiveness from someone who was ashamed to ask for it and we put it off for later; try these days to give up numerous attachments and bad habits. Simply put, these days you have to be braver to be better than usual.
Communion in the Church
The Sacrament of Communion itself takes place in the Church at a divine service called liturgy . As a rule, the liturgy is performed in the first half of the day; the exact time of the beginning of the 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 temple without a way out, prayerfully participating in the service until the priest leaves the altar with a cup and proclaims: “Come with the fear of God and faith.” Then the communicants line up one by one in front of the pulpit (first the children and the infirm, then the men and then the women). Hands should be folded crosswise on the chest; it is not supposed to be baptized in front of the cup. When the turn comes, you need to stand in front of the priest, give your name and open your mouth so that you can put in a liar with a particle of the Body and Blood of Christ. The liar must be carefully licked with the lips, and after the lips are wet with the board, with reverence kiss the edge of the bowl. Then, without touching the icons and without talking, you need to move away from the pulpit and take a “drink” - St. water with wine and a particle of prosphora (in this way, the oral cavity is washed, so that the smallest particles of the Gifts are not accidentally expelled from oneself, for example, when sneezing). After communion, you need to read (or listen to in the Church) prayers of thanksgiving and in the future carefully keep your soul from sins and passions.
How to approach the Holy Chalice?
Each communicant needs to know well how to approach the Holy Chalice so that communion takes place sedately and without fuss.
Before approaching the Chalice, one must bow to the ground. If there are many communicants, then in order not to disturb others, you need to bow in advance. When the royal doors open, one must cross himself and fold his arms crosswise on his chest, right hand over the left, and with such a folded hands to take communion; you need to move away from the Chalice without separating your hands. 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 erase before communion lipstick. Women should approach communion with their heads covered.
Approaching the Chalice, you should loudly and distinctly say your name, accept the Holy Gifts, chew them (if necessary) and immediately swallow them, and kiss the lower edge of the Chalice like the rib of Christ. You can not touch the Chalice with your hands and kiss the priest's hand. It is forbidden to be baptized at the Chalice! Raising your hand for the sign of the cross, you can accidentally push the priest and spill the Holy Gifts. Going to the table with a drink, you need to eat antidor or prosphora to drink warmth. Only after that you can apply to the icons.
If the Holy Gifts are taught from several Chalices, they can only be received from one. You cannot take communion twice a day. On the day of Communion, it is not customary to kneel, with the exception of bows during Great Lent when reading the prayer of Ephraim the Syrian, bows before the Shroud of Christ on Great Saturday and kneeling prayers on the day of the Holy Trinity. When you come home, you should, first of all, read thanksgiving prayers for Holy Communion; if they are read in the temple at the end of the service, one must listen to the prayers there. After communion until the morning, one should also not spit anything out and rinse the mouth. Communicators should try to keep themselves from idle talk, especially from condemnation, and in order to avoid idle talk, one must read the Gospel, the Jesus Prayer, akathists, and Holy Scripture.
Communion is the most serious and important thing for which it is worth coming to the temple. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself said that only those who would eat His flesh and drink His blood would have eternal life. How to prepare yourself for this great Sacrament, in order to receive it for the healing of the soul and body, will be discussed in this short article.
The method by which Christians are united with the Lord Jesus Christ through the partaking of His Body and Blood under the guise of bread and wine is called the Sacrament of Communion (Communion), and the service at which this Sacrament is celebrated is the Eucharist, or Divine Liturgy.
According to the Gospel, Jesus Himself commanded His disciples to receive communion. The first Christians, according to the books of the New Testament, from the very beginning gathered weekly for the "breaking of bread" - this is how Communion was called in ancient times. This happened on the night from Saturday to the day on which the Lord Jesus rose from the dead. This first day of the week was later called Sunday in Christian tradition.
According to the interpretation of St. John Chrysostom, the Body of Christ that we receive in Holy Communion is the same body of Jesus Christ that suffered on the cross, rose again and was taken to Heaven, and the Blood of Christ is the same that was shed for the sake of salvation peace.
Why take communion?
In the Sacrament of Communion, a Christian really unites with God. In the sixth chapter of the Gospel of John, Jesus speaks of Himself as the bread of life: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; but the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. 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.”
According to St. John of Damascus, the Body and Blood of Christ cleanse a person from all filthiness and drive away all evil. We become “participants in the Divine,” as the holy Apostle Peter writes, “our own” for God, His people. At the same time, we are united with each other, “because all of us who partake of one bread become one Body of Christ, one blood and members of one another,” writes Damascene, paraphrasing the words of the Apostle Paul from the epistle to the Ephesians.
In the New Testament, the Church of God, that is, the assembly of all Christians, is called the Body of Christ. It is possible to be in the Church of Jesus Christ only through a real union with Him, that is, through Communion.
Communion is essential in order to be saved and inherit eternal life. After all, salvation in the Orthodox Christian worldview is not an external event in relation to a person (as if God were angry with us at first, and then had mercy), but an internal rebirth, a person’s ability to live in the fullness of love and grace through union with God Himself.
Worthy and unworthy
“Whoever eats this bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord. Let a man examine himself, and thus let him eat from this bread and drink from this cup. For whoever eats and drinks unworthily, he eats and drinks condemnation to himself, not considering the Body of the Lord. That is why many of you are weak and sick and many die,” writes the Apostle Paul in the 11th chapter of the First Epistle to the Corinthians. Communion should be approached consciously, understanding that not a single person in the world can be worthy to receive the Body and Blood of God himself.
According to Chrysostom, a worthy Communion is one that is accompanied by spiritual awe and ardent love, faith in the real presence of Christ in the Holy Gifts and awareness of the greatness of the shrine.
In order to test their conscience before Holy Communion, Christians confess their sins. You cannot approach the Chalice in a state of mortal sin, for example, after an abortion, visiting a fortune-teller, adultery, or living in a so-called "civil marriage." Such sins require sincere repentance and a change in life, and only then is communion possible. Confession before Communion is not only a pious tradition, but also real help man for the purification of the soul. In addition, this is an opportunity to directly communicate with the priest about the most important thing.
How often to take communion?
The rite of the Divine Liturgy itself, at which the Eucharist is celebrated, that is, bread and wine are consecrated, is performed so that everyone who takes part in this divine service can receive communion. Only participants can be in the liturgy, and there can be no spectators. Participation in the liturgy and communion have, unfortunately, become an “individual” matter for every Christian, while in essence it is a common matter, proceeding from the very essence of the Church.
Protopresbyter Nikolai Afanasiev, an outstanding theologian of the 20th century, wrote: To be a member of the Church meant to take part in the Eucharistic assembly. To be a participant in the Meal means to "eat" from it. There are no prayers in the Eucharistic canon that those who do not partake of can offer…».
The joint communion of all believers at the liturgy was so self-evident that deviation from this principle is considered in church canons as a falling away from the Church: “All the faithful who enter the church and listen to the writings, but do not remain in prayer and holy communion to the end, as outrage in the church those who produce, it is fitting to excommunicate from the communion of the Church,” says the 9th Apostolic Canon. And rule 80 of the Sixth Ecumenical Council says that those who are without good reason did not take communion 3 Sundays in a row, they actually excommunicated themselves from the Church.
It is worth striving to take communion every time we come to the Liturgy. Feelings of unworthiness are no reason to avoid Communion. Here is what St. John Cassian wrote about this: We must not shy away from Communion of the Lord because we recognize ourselves as sinners; but even more and more thirsty it is necessary to hasten to him for the healing of the soul and the purification of the spirit, however, with such humility of spirit and faith that, considering ourselves unworthy of receiving such grace, we would desire more healing for our wounds. Otherwise, even once a year, one cannot worthily receive communion, as some do, who evaluate the dignity, sanctification and beneficence of the heavenly Mysteries in such a way that they think that only saints, not vicious ones, should receive them; but it is better to think that these Sacraments, through the communication of grace, make us pure and holy. They truly show more pride than humility, because when they accept them, they consider themselves worthy of receiving them. And it would be much more correct for us, with that humility of heart, according to which we believe and confess that we can never worthily touch the Holy Mysteries, on each Lord's Day, receive them to heal our ailments, rather than, exalted by the vain conviction of the heart, believe that we, after a year, are worthy of receiving them...»
Indeed, there is such a false humility, which in fact is a kind of spiritual pride. The rare communion, Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann, a remarkable theologian of the 20th century, writes in his book Holy of Holies, arose, according to the unanimous testimony of the Fathers of the Church, out of neglect, but soon “began to be justified by pseudo-spiritual arguments and was gradually accepted as the norm.”
« Whom shall we praise? - asks John Chrysostom. - Those who take communion once a year, those who often take communion, or those who rarely? No, let's praise those who start with clear conscience, with a pure heart, with a blameless life. Let such people always approach; but never like that. Why? Because they bring upon themselves judgment, condemnation, punishment, and torment… Are you worthy of a spiritual meal, a royal meal, and then again defile your mouth with uncleanness? Are you anointed with the world, and then again filled with stench? Coming to communion in a year, do you really think that forty days is enough for you to cleanse your sins for all time? And then a week goes by and you do the same thing again? Tell me, then, if you were to recover for forty days from a long illness, and then again set to the same food that caused the illness, would you not lose your previous labor? Obviously so. You use forty days to restore the health of your soul, and perhaps not even forty - and you think to propitiate God? You're kidding, man. I say this not to forbid you to approach once a year, but rather desiring that you unceasingly approach the Holy Mysteries.».
How to prepare?
1. Understand the meaning and sincerely desire the Eucharist. Those who come to Communion must be aware of what it is and why. We partake, as already mentioned above, in order to unite with God Himself, to enter into communion with Him, to receive the Body and Blood of Christ for sanctification and cleansing from sins. It is necessary to have a sincere personal desire for this, and not forced by some kind of authority, “duty”, or the recommendation of a healer or “grandmother”.
2. Have peace with everyone. In order to take communion, it is necessary to be at peace with all people, at least not to have a desire to take revenge. It is impossible to receive the Sacrament in a state of enmity or hatred. The Lord Jesus said, “If you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go, first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” .
3. Don't commit deadly sins, weaning from Communion. This is, first of all, murder (including abortions), adultery, betrayal of God with various fortune-tellers, healers, psychics. In the event of apostasy, it is necessary first of all to be reunited with the Church through confession with a priest.
4. Live like a Christian every day. In order to receive communion, it is better not to invent special periods of preparation, but to live in such a way that everyday life was compatible with regular participation in the Lord's Supper. The essential content of such a life is daily personal prayer, reading and studying the Bible - the Word of God, the obligatory fulfillment of God's commandments and the constant internal struggle with the “old man” living inside us, with our nature damaged by sin, attracting to sin. Important components of the spiritual life are a daily test of conscience (for example, before going to bed) and regular confession. It is extremely important for a correct spiritual life to strive to live not for oneself, but for the sake of one's neighbor, inner honesty, truthfulness and humility in front of every person. It is also important, as far as possible, to balance your life rhythm and schedule with the liturgical rhythm, observing the generally accepted fasts (Wednesday and Friday, as well as multi-day fasts, of which the most important is the pre-Easter Great Lent) and, if possible, participating in festive services that do not occur every other day. only on Sundays.
5. Liturgical fast. It has long been customary in church tradition to approach Communion on an empty stomach. This disciplinary norm is called "liturgical fasting". As a rule, they abstain from food and drink from midnight before Communion. According to the definition of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church in 1969, the duration of the liturgical fast must be at least 6 hours. That is, if you drank water after midnight, and in the morning you are going to Liturgy by 9 o’clock, this is no reason to refuse Communion. In the same way, there is no reason to refuse Communion if in the morning you swallowed a little water while washing. It should be remembered that the disciplinary norm applies to physically healthy people. For those who, for example, suffer diabetes allowed to eat in the morning. In the same way, medicines necessary for health reasons can be taken before Communion. After all, both the Last Supper and the Eucharistic meals of the early Christians were celebrated in the evening, after the meal. And in preparation for Communion, the state of the heart and soul matters, and not the state of the stomach.
6. Confession. As a rule, before Communion in churches, a mandatory confession is required. It can be performed both immediately before the liturgy, and on the evening before or several days before. Those people whom the priest knows as conscientious Christians who live according to the faith and regularly take communion may be allowed to take communion without the obligatory confession - this practice is generally accepted in the Greek Church, and we consider this issue in more detail, for example, in the article: Confession: about important and frivolous .
7. Prayer preparation before Communion includes the reading of the canon and prayers for Holy Communion - in the evening or in the morning before the liturgy. healthy person It is recommended to come to the church the night before for the evening service. During the liturgy in the temple, you need to pray together with everyone, and not read your rule, which you did not have time to “subtract” at home. The reading of other prayers, such as the canons of the repentant, the Mother of God, the Guardian Angel, the akathist to Jesus the Sweetest, is left to the discretion of each believer.
8. Bodily abstinence. On the night before Communion, it is customary for spouses to refrain from bodily marital relations.
Archpriest Andrey Dudchenko
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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 receive communion, it is better to abstain 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, possessed and insane, who blaspheme 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 the Holy Gifts are carried out and at the end of the reading of the sacrament prayer by the priest, prostrations must be made. When opening the royal doors, the 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 from the right side of the temple, without pushing or 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 venerate 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. 
Must read upon returning home thanksgiving prayer(this rule is optional - you can listen to the thanksgiving prayer in the temple, at the end of the liturgy).
How to behave before Holy Communion? Can I brush my teeth and take medicine in the morning? What can not be done after the Eucharist? Should I continue to fast? Why not lay down prostrations? Is kissing icons allowed? Is there a ban on foods with bones? Read the answers to the questions in the article.
Mystery connecting man to God
Communion (Eucharist) is the central Sacrament of the Church. Thanks to him, a person on earth can unite with Christ. After all, approaching the cup, we do not eat bread and wine, but the Body and Blood of Christ, thus accepting the Savior in our hearts.
And this is not some symbolic action, but a reality. So that people are not literally afraid when they see Flesh and Blood in the cup, the Lord vouchsafes us to partake of the Holy Gifts under the guise of bread and wine. But in the history of Christianity one can find many cases when those who approached the cup with doubts at some point were horrified. They saw the bloody liquid with their own eyes and even tasted the flesh in their mouths. Anyone can get acquainted with such examples in Christian literature, many cases are described in the book of Archpriest Vyacheslav Tulupov "The Miracle of Holy Communion".
But we would like to draw the reader's attention to a slightly different topic - how to behave on the day of Communion - and talk about some myths.
We have already written about the preparation for the Eucharist in the article “Communion for the first time - how to prepare?” . Here you can learn in detail how to fast, what prayer rules to read, and in general how to behave the day before.
How to behave in the morning before the Sacrament of the Eucharist?
On the day of Communion, one should not just “subtract” morning rule and "finish" the sequence. First of all, it is worth praying carefully so that the Lord will vouchsafe us to take communion. We are all unworthy of the Body and Blood of the Savior, so we must gratefully accept this life-giving gift.
Do you brush your teeth?
The question is often asked: is it possible to brush your teeth in the morning? Some "orthodox" believe that it is impossible. But many priests answer: you can. Why?
If it is unpleasant for a person to go to work, communicate with people because of an uncomfortable smell from the mouth, then how can he approach the Chalice in such a form and with such a feeling? We must come to Christ with a pure heart and a pure mouth. In all senses.
Communion and medication
Another problematic issue: how to take communion if you have to take pills in the morning?
Bishop Mark Golovkov says that pills are not food, but medicine. If you have serious problems health and it is dangerous for you to interrupt the course of some drug, then you should not give up both pills and Holy Communion.
If you are taking any vitamins or nutritional supplements, and nothing serious will happen when you drink them not in the morning, but in the afternoon, then why panic? You can safely take communion, and when you come home, take vitamins or medicines.
If everything is more or less clear with behavior before Communion, then many questions remain about what is possible and impossible after receiving the Holy Gifts.
What is possible and what is not possible after Holy Communion?
Whether to beat earthly bows? Is it possible to spit? Is it possible to kiss on this day? Do you brush your teeth in the evening? Many of these questions will seem ridiculous, but nevertheless, they often worry the communicants.
You can't sin
If you ask a priest what not to do after Communion, he will surely answer with one word: "Sin."
Why? Because you have accepted Christ into your heart. And God is sinless. It cannot be combined with sin. Therefore, if we begin to transgress the commandments, then we literally drive the Savior out of our hearts.
That is why, after the Sacrament of the Eucharist, it is advised to be especially careful not to lose the grace received. It is believed that one should speak little, pray more, thank God, if possible, avoid empty conversations and companies.
After all, if the demon cannot tempt us directly, then he will try to do this through relatives and friends, or even random people.
Always give thanks
If a person does something good or pleasant for us, we just want to thank him. But how can we thank the Lord, who, for the sake of our salvation, accepted death on the cross and gave us the opportunity to unite with him in the sacrament of the Eucharist? No earthly words will suffice. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't even try.
To bow or not to bow?
It is believed that on the day of Holy Communion one should not bow to the ground. Why?
Kneeling is a sign of repentance, weeping for sins. And the person who takes communion rejoices, and does not cry and mourn. He received Christ into his heart.
Should I continue to fast?
Some confessors bless their spiritual children throughout the day to abstain from fast food and wine. Needless to say, there are no such rules. Where, then, did this custom come from?
After Holy Communion it is very easy to scatter grace. And a hearty meal can help. You had a good lunch, then you wanted to sleep. Thoughts about prayer and the meaning of the Sacrament receded into the background. Because of this, some priests do not bless eating heavy fatty foods and drinking wine.
But a moderate meal, even if it includes meat, dairy products and wine, does not hurt. So the main focus in this matter is moderation.
Is it possible to spit and eat berries with seeds?
Surely you have heard from believers or even priests that after the Sacrament of the Eucharist nothing should be spit out. How to understand this and is it worth adhering to this rule?
This prohibition is connected with pious fear, so as not to accidentally spit out a piece of the Holy Gifts. But in order to minimize this risk, after Communion we always take a drink - holy water or diluted wine and pieces of prosphora.
Moreover: during Holy Communion, it is advised to swallow a particle completely, without chewing it. Then you will not have fear - what if I accidentally spit out a particle along with food, while brushing my teeth in the evening.
Some priests, nevertheless, for insurance, advise not to use certain foods, because of which we will have to “spit”: fish with bones, berries with stones, and so on. If you had to use them, then it is often advised to carefully collect the bones and burn them.
In general, the opinions of the priests differ on this issue: some say that there is a point in such actions, while others urge not to strain the mosquito.
What should you do? Either consult with the priest you are confessing to, or act according to your conscience or avoid possible situations altogether. It is not necessary to eat foods with bones on the day of Holy Communion.
Is it possible to brush your teeth, kiss icons and relatives?
If you have taken Communion by swallowing a particle without chewing, then there is hardly any need to worry that you will inadvertently clean out a particle of the Holy Gifts. If there are still some fears, then it may be worth refraining from evening dental care.
And last question from this category: Is it possible to venerate icons and kiss relatives?
The ban on kissing the cross and icons looks like a manifestation of excessive piety. After the Sacrament of the Eucharist, one can and should venerate holy things.
There are no specific prohibitions on kissing relatives, marital kisses. But the one who takes communion should, as far as possible, refrain from sensual experiences and devote more time to prayer. In general, this is purely individual.
Priest Maxim Kaskun also talks about what not to do after Communion:
Take it, tell your friends!
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When the deceased needs to be taken on his last journey, his relatives quite often sin with all sorts of superstitions and absurdities. Modern representation about death for many is practically no different from the views of our distant ancestors - pagans.
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. It is not the wearing of a pectoral cross that makes us Orthodox people, 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 a large room prepared for the Passover meal according to the 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 Passover meal, put into it new meaning. 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 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. Waiting for the Redeemer, the Liberator from the power of the devil and sin - main topic of the entire 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 foundation of our faith.
Holy Communion Miracle
The sacrament of communion is the greatest miracle on earth, which is performed constantly. 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 manifestations of heavenly fire descending on the holy gifts, as described, for example, in the life 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 replied. “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 during Great Lent, when the pupils were approaching 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 chalice. When the holy mysteries were taught to him, he felt that he had meat in his mouth. Horror embraced 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 petition. 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 Eve); on the day of memory of St. Basil the Great on January 1/14; on the first five Sundays of Great Lent, Great Thursday and 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 the most ancient liturgy and it 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.