How to prepare for communion? Not everyone knows about this. Every Orthodox Christian understands that communion (or the Eucharist, as the priests say) is one of the most important church sacraments. The Almighty Lord not only rules the world, but also helps every Christian to join the Holy Church and Jesus Christ through the sacrament.

Usually, a reminder about preparation for this great sacrament hangs on the information stand in each church, along with the schedule of services and other necessary information. If there is no such reminder (for example, in a rural church), it is worth talking with the clergyman. Father will gladly talk about how you can prepare for the holy sacrament and how to worthily preserve the grace of God within yourself. However, every person who considers himself Orthodox is obliged to know the basic rules of preparation for the holy Sacrament of the Eucharist.

What is Communion or Eucharist

Communion is one of the most necessary and important sacraments of the Orthodox Church. This sacrament was established by Jesus Christ himself during the Last Supper - the last supper with the apostles - his disciples.

During dinner, Jesus Christ treated his disciples to bread and wine and said: “wine is my blood, and bread is my body, and through them you can become closer to me.” Speaking in simple language, the person who receives communion becomes a relative of Jesus Christ. And those who go to the liturgy but do not receive communion cannot be considered true Christians.

Previously, people who did not receive communion for more than two Sundays in a row were excommunicated from the church. A person is weak and weak, he cannot comprehend and understand some things, therefore the blood and body of Jesus Christ are given to him under the guise of ordinary products - bread and wine. But it is important to remember that in fact the communicant partakes of the body and blood of Christ. Communion occurs as follows:

How to prepare for Communion for children

How to properly receive communion for children and adolescents? What to do, if Small child asks to eat or drink water before performing the sacrament? Believing Christians know that communion is celebrated on an empty stomach. This is done in order not to desecrate one’s lips before receiving the Holy Sacraments. On the day of communion, you cannot drink or eat any food from midnight. However, there are some concessions for children. Here are the main features of communion for children:

Typically, young children approach communion accompanied by their parents. It is better to take a small child in your arms so that the priest with the chalice does not have to bend over. Infants who cannot walk are placed on right hand. The youths approach communion on their own. Before this, you need to remind the child to loudly and clearly tell the priest his full name (“Alexander”, not “Sasha”, “Anastasia”, not “Nastya”). There is no need to give your last name, although many children do this by mistake.

How to prepare for adults

Preparation for communion should begin several days before the expected event. Some priests believe that before communion it is necessary to fast for several days. However, there is another opinion. There are clergy who believe that fasting is necessary only on Wednesday and Friday, as well as on days of multi-day fasting and special memorable dates (for example, the day of the beheading of John the Baptist). Fasting on Saturday is blasphemous, therefore, if a person wants to take communion on Sunday, he can eat regular food (with the exception of meat) on Saturday.

The day before you need read the main canons for Holy Communion, as well as following prayers. After the service, prayers of thanksgiving should be heard(they are usually read by a sexton or a choir singer). In some churches, prayers of thanks are not read; in this case, you need to read them at home, on your own.

Here's how to prepare to receive the Holy Sacraments as an adult:

• On the eve of communion, abstain from marital relations;
• Do not eat meat for at least three days before the expected service;
• If there is a fast, it should be tightened as much as possible and all relaxations should be cancelled;
• Read the canon and prayer rule. If desired, you can read an akathist to Jesus Christ, the Mother of God, and individual saints.

On the day of communion, you must come to the temple shortly before the start of the service, light a candle and go to confession. If two priests serve in a church, one of the priests can take confession during the liturgy. If there is only one priest on staff, confession is usually performed before the liturgy or before communion. You need to find out about this in advance so as not to miss confession. Only those adults who have attended confession are allowed to receive communion.

During confession, you should clearly tell the priest about the main sins, without going into detail or describing the sins in detail. You cannot complain to the priest about other people, you can only talk about your own sins, of which every person has many. After confession, the priest blesses the Christian to receive communion.

How to prepare for communion for the sick, disabled and elderly

What prayers should the sick and infirm people read before confession and communion? If a person feels unwell or has poor eyesight, you can do without the canon and read only a short prayer rule. But you need to discuss this issue with a priest. You can invite a priest to your home to visit sick and elderly people. In this case, it is worth taking care of comfortable transport for the priest in advance (for example, ordering a taxi or taking the priest by car), because it is not worth transporting the Holy Gifts in public transport.

A priest invited to a home talks with a person and introduces the patient to the Holy Mysteries of Christ. The dying person, who is in an unconscious state, is confessed by the priest in the so-called “deaf confession.”

It happens that a person takes medications (for example, antibiotics) at a certain time. In this case, you must definitely talk about this with the priest before preparing to receive the Holy Mysteries of Christ. Perhaps the priest will bless you to take communion after taking the medicine, although purely formally this will no longer be considered communion “on an empty stomach”.

The sick, elderly, and pregnant and breastfeeding women may lighten their fast before communion. The same applies to travelers, as well as soldiers in the army who do not choose their own food. But you should, if possible, refrain from sweets and delicacies, delicacies, alcoholic beverages and cigarettes.

In order for the sacrament to help a person find Grace, it is necessary to properly prepare for this sacrament. If a person prepared incorrectly, but did it out of ignorance, the Lord, of course, will forgive him. If a Christian deliberately neglected the correct preparation for communion, such communion with the Holy Sacraments will not be for good, but for detriment. human soul, or, as they say in one of church prayers, "to condemnation."

Are you thinking about going to confession, but haven't decided to do it yet? Are you confused because you don't know how to properly prepare for this? With the following simple tips you can take your first steps.

HOW TO PREPARE FOR CONFESSION

Confession- the sacrament of reconciliation with God, when the penitent, in the presence of a witness-priest, reveals his sins to God and promises not to repeat them, and the priest prays for the forgiveness of the sins of the confessor. A confidential conversation with a priest, where you can discuss some details of your life and get answers to questions, should be distinguished from confession. Of course, some issues can be resolved during confession, but if there are a lot of questions or their discussion requires a long time, then it is better to ask the priest to set up a time for you to talk separately. Next, let's move directly to tips on preparing for confession.

1. Realize your sins. If you are thinking about confession, it means that you admit that in your life you did something wrong. It is with the awareness of one’s sins that repentance begins. What is sin and what is not? Sin is everything that contradicts God's will, or, in other words, God's plan for the world and man. God's plan for the world is revealed in the Holy Scriptures - the Bible. A partial, most “concise” expression of God’s plan for the practical life of man are the commandments - the famous Ten Commandments given to Moses at Sinai. Jesus Christ summarized the essence of these commandments as follows: “ Love the Lord God with all your heart" and "love your neighbor as yourself" Before preparing for the first confession, it is useful to re-read the Savior's Sermon on the Mount (chapters 5-7 of the Gospel of Matthew) and the parable of the Last Judgment, where Jesus Christ says that our life will be assessed based on how we treated our neighbors.

2. Don’t use “sin lists.” Recently, among believers (as they say, “churched”, that is, more familiar with church tradition, and in practice, with parachurch superstitions), various kinds of “lists of sins” have been distributed. They rather harm the preparation for confession, because they very successfully help turn confession into a formal listing of “what-is-sin.” In fact, confession should not be formal under any circumstances. In addition, among the “lists of sins” there are some completely curious examples, so it is better not to consider brochures of this kind seriously at all.

The only exception may be the most a brief “memo” of the main sins, which are often not recognized as such. An example of such a memo:

A. Sins against the Lord God:

- disbelief in God, recognition of any significance for other “spiritual forces”, religious doctrines, in addition to Christian faith; participation in other religious practices or rituals, even “for company,” as a joke, etc.;

- nominal faith, not expressed in any way in life, that is, practical atheism (you can recognize the existence of God with your mind, but live as if you were an unbeliever);

- the creation of “idols,” that is, placing something other than God in first place among life values. Anything that a person really “serves” can become an idol: money, power, career, health, knowledge, hobbies - all this can be good when it occupies the appropriate place in the personal “hierarchy of values”, but when it comes first , turns into an idol;

- turning to various kinds of fortune tellers, sorcerers, sorcerers, psychics, etc. - an attempt to “subdue” spiritual forces magically, without repentance and personal effort to change life in accordance with the commandments.

b. Sins against one's neighbor:

- neglect of people, resulting from pride and selfishness, inattention to the needs of one’s neighbor (a neighbor is not necessarily a relative or acquaintance, it is every person who happens to be next to us at the moment);

- condemnation and discussion of the shortcomings of others (“ You will be justified by your words and you will be condemned by your words", says the Lord);

— prodigal sins of various kinds, especially adultery (violation of marital fidelity) and unnatural sexual relations, which are incompatible with being in the Church. The so-called so-called, widespread today, also refers to prodigal cohabitation. “civil marriage”, that is, cohabitation without marriage registration. It should, however, be remembered that a registered but unmarried marriage cannot be regarded as fornication and is not an obstacle to remaining in the Church;

— Abortion is the taking of the life of a human being, essentially murder. One should repent even if the abortion was done for medical reasons. Inducing a woman to have an abortion (by her husband, for example) is also a serious sin. Repentance for this sin implies that the repentant will never knowingly repeat it again.

— appropriation of someone else’s property, refusal to pay other people’s labor (ticketless travel), withholding wages subordinates or hired workers;

— lies of various kinds, especially slandering one’s neighbor, spreading rumors (as a rule, we cannot be sure of the veracity of rumors), inability to keep one’s word.

This is an approximate list of the most common sins, but we emphasize once again that you should not get carried away with such “lists”. When further preparing for confession, it is best to use the Ten Commandments of God and listen to your own conscience.

3. Talk only about sins, and your own. In confession you need to talk about your sins, without trying to minimize them or show them as excusable. It would seem that this is obvious, but how often do priests, when accepting confession, hear, instead of confessing sins, everyday stories about all their relatives, neighbors and acquaintances. When in confession a person talks about the grievances caused to him, he evaluates and condemns his neighbors, essentially justifying himself. Often in such stories, personal sins are presented in such a light that it would seem completely impossible to avoid them. But sin is always the fruit of personal choice. It is extremely rare that we find ourselves in such conflicts when we are forced to choose between two types of sin.

4. Don’t invent a special language. When talking about your sins, you shouldn’t worry about how to call them “correctly” or “church wise”. We must call things by their proper names, in ordinary language. You are confessing to God, who knows even more about your sins than you do, and calling sin as it is will definitely not surprise God.

You won't surprise the priest either. Sometimes penitents are ashamed to tell the priest this or that sin, or there is a fear that the priest, having heard the sin, will condemn you. In fact, over the years of ministry, a priest has to listen to a lot of confessions, and it is not easy to surprise him. And besides, all sins are not original: they have practically not changed over thousands of years. Being a witness to sincere repentance of serious sins, the priest will never condemn, but will rejoice at the person’s conversion from sin to the path of righteousness.

5. Talk about serious things, not trifles. There is no need to start confession with such sins as breaking the fast, not going to church, working on holidays, watching TV, wearing/not wearing certain types of clothes, etc. First of all, these are definitely not your most serious sins. Secondly, this may not be a sin at all: if a person has not come to God for many years, then why repent of not keeping fasts if the very “vector” of life was directed in the wrong direction? Thirdly, who needs endless digging into everyday minutiae? The Lord expects from us love and giving of the heart, and we told him: “I ate fish on a fast day” and “embroidered on a holiday.”

The main focus should be on our relationship with God and our neighbors. Moreover, by neighbors, according to the Gospel, we mean not only people who are pleasant to us, but everyone who has met us in our lives. life path. And above all, our family members. Christian life for family people begins in the family and is tested by it. Here is the best field for cultivating Christian qualities: love, patience, forgiveness, acceptance.

6. Start changing your life even before confession. Repentance in Greek sounds like “metanoia,” literally “a change of mind.” It is not enough to admit that you have committed such and such offenses in life. God is not a prosecutor, and confession is not a confession. Repentance must be a change of life: the penitent intends not to return to sins and tries with all his might to keep himself from them. Such repentance begins some time before confession, and coming to church to see the priest already “captures” the change taking place in life. This is extremely important. If a person intends to continue sinning after confession, then maybe it’s worth postponing confession?

It is necessary to stipulate that when we talk about changing life and renouncing sin, we mean first of all the so-called “mortal” sins, according to the word of the Apostle John, that is, incompatible with being in the Church. Since ancient times, the Christian Church has considered renunciation of faith, murder and adultery to be such sins. Sins of this kind can also include the extreme degree of other human passions: anger towards one’s neighbor, theft, cruelty, etc., which can be stopped once and for all by an effort of will, combined with the help of God. As for small, so-called “everyday” sins, they will largely be repeated after confession. One must be prepared for this and accept it humbly as an inoculation against spiritual exaltation: there are no perfect people, only God alone is sinless.

7. Be at peace with everyone. « Forgive and you will be forgiven", says the Lord. - " By which court you judge, you will be judged" And even more powerfully: “ If you bring your gift to the altar and there you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift" If we ask God for forgiveness, then we ourselves must first forgive the offenders. Of course, there are situations when asking for forgiveness directly from a person is physically impossible, or this will lead to an aggravation of an already difficult relationship. Then it is important to at least forgive on your part and not have anything against your neighbor in your heart.

Some practical recommendations. Before you come to confession, it would be a good idea to find out when confession is usually held in the church. In many churches they serve not only on Sundays and holidays, but also on Saturdays, and in large churches and monasteries - on weekdays. The greatest influx of confessors occurs during Lent. Of course, the Lenten period is primarily a time of repentance, but for those who come for the first time or after a very long break, it is better to choose a time when the priest is not very busy. It may turn out that confession is held in the church on Friday evening or Saturday morning - on these days there will probably be fewer people than during Sunday services. It’s good if you have the opportunity to personally contact the priest and ask him to set a convenient time for you to confess.

Exist special prayers, expressing a repentant “mood”. It is good to read them the day before confession. Canon of repentance to the Lord Jesus Christ is printed in almost any prayer book, except the shortest ones.

During confession, the priest may assign you penance: abstaining from communion for a while, reading special prayers, prostrations or acts of mercy. This is not a punishment, but a means to overcome sin and receive complete forgiveness. Penance can be prescribed when the priest does not meet the proper attitude towards serious sins on the part of the penitent, or, conversely, when he sees that the person has a need to do something practically to “get rid of” the sin. Penance cannot be indefinite: it is appointed for a certain time, and then must be terminated.

As a rule, after confession, believers take communion. Although confession and communion are two different sacraments, it is better to combine preparation for confession with preparation for communion.

If these little tips helped you prepare for confession, thank God. Do not forget that this sacrament must be regular. Don't put off your next confession for many years. Confession at least once a month helps to always be “on our toes”, to be attentive and responsible in our daily life, in which, in fact, our Christian faith should be expressed.

HOW TO PREPARE FOR HOLY COMMUNION

A reminder to a Christian who wishes to approach the Holy Chalice to receive communion of the life-giving Body and Blood of Christ the Lord.

An Orthodox Christian who wishes to begin the Holy Sacrament of Communion must remember that in order for Communion to the Lord not to be “in court and condemnation,” a Christian must fulfill a number of essential and disciplinary conditions. Disciplinary conditions are not strictly mandatory, and in the event of extraordinary circumstances (for example, in the event of a serious illness of a person or his dying condition) are not enforced. However, Orthodox Christians should remember that the development of these disciplinary conditions was served by the extensive experience of the life of the Church, and, therefore, in ordinary circumstances this external preparation(attendance at worship services, fasting, home prayer, etc.) is also obligatory.

1. Awareness of meaning. A person must be absolutely aware of where and why he has come. He came to enter into Communion with God, to become a partaker of the Divine, to unite with Christ, to taste the Lord’s Supper for his sanctification and cleansing from sins, and not to perform a religious ritual, “drink compote” or have dinner. The Apostle Paul puts it this way: “ Next, you gather together in a way that does not mean eating the Lord's supper; for everyone hastens to eat his food before others, so that some are hungry, and others get drunk. Have you no houses to eat and drink? Or do you neglect the church of God and humiliate the poor? What should I tell you? Should I praise you for this? I won't praise you"(1 Cor. 11:20-22).

2. Sincere desire. A person must have a completely sincere desire to unite with Christ. This desire must be alien to all hypocrisy, and it must be combined with the Fear of God: “ The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord"(Prov. 9:10). A person must remember that “whoever eats this Bread or drinks this Cup of the Lord unworthily will be guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord"(1 Cor. 11:27).

3. Mental peace. A person approaching the Chalice must have peace of mind, that is, a state alien to malice, enmity or hatred against anyone. In such a state, it is impossible for a believer to approach the Sacrament. Our Lord Jesus Christ said: “ So, if you bring your gift to the altar and there you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift"(Matt. 5:23-24).

4. Churchness. And, finally, the last essential condition: a person must not violate the canons of the Church, excommunicating him from Communion and the Church, that is, be within the limits of faith and moral life permitted by the Church, since “ grace is given to those who do not violate the limits of faith and do not transgress the traditions of the fathers"(Message to Diognetus).

5. Confession. The tradition of the Russian Orthodox Church requires mandatory confession before Communion : « Let man test himself, and in this way let him eat from this Bread and drink from this Cup. For whoever eats and drinks unworthily eats and drinks condemnation for himself, without considering the Body of the Lord. That is why many of you are weak and sick, and many are dying."(1 Cor. 11:28-29). Confession before Communion can take place either the night before or in the morning before the Liturgy., and in necessary cases (holidays, priests’ workload due to large crowds of people, etc.), several days before Communion.

6. Liturgical fast. Before communion, according to the ancient tradition of the Church, a so-called liturgical fast, or fast before communion, is required, which consists of: from 24 o'clock on the night before communion they do not eat or drink anything, for it is customary to approach the Holy Chalice on an empty stomach . On holiday night services (Easter, Christmas, etc.), it should be remembered that the duration of liturgical fasting, as determined by the Holy Synod, cannot be less than 6 hours. The question arises: if someone, fasting for communion of the Holy Mysteries, while washing or being in the bathhouse, reluctantly swallowed a little water, should he receive communion? As St. Timothy of Alexandria answers in his canonical letter: “ Must. For otherwise Satan, having found an opportunity to remove him from Communion, will more often do the same"(answer 16). In doubtful cases, in the morning before the service, you should seek advice from the priest.

7. Body fasting. Anyone who wishes to receive communion must try to adequately prepare for this holy sacrament. The mind should not be overly distracted by the trifles of life and have fun. During the days of preparation, if circumstances permit, one should attend church services and more diligently follow the home prayer rule. The means to such a more focused spiritual life is fasting (in church practice it is called fasting): the body is prescribed abstinence and restriction in food (meat and dairy) . Physical fasting before Communion usually lasts for several days. And general rule here it is: the less often a person receives communion, the stricter and longer the physical fast should be, and vice versa. The amount of physical fasting is also determined by family and social circumstances (life in a non-church family, hard physical and intellectual work), and under these conditions it naturally decreases. Let us note that for Christians who observe one-day and multi-day fasts, during Bright Easter Week, physical fasting before communion is, as a rule, completely abolished.

8. Bodily cleanliness. There are certain requirements for bodily cleanliness for men and women. The first general requirement is renunciation of physical marital relations on the eve of Communion . The ancient ascetic tradition also prescribes, unless absolutely necessary, for men to abstain from Communion on the day after an overnight involuntary discharge, and for women during Women's Day and 40-day postpartum period : « It is not forbidden to pray, no matter what state someone is in and no matter how disposed they are, to remember the Lord and ask for help. But let him who is not entirely pure in soul and body be prohibited from approaching what is the Holy of Holies."(Second canonical rule of St. Dionysius of Alexandria).

9. Attendance at worship services and home prayer. Since temple worship allows you to better prepare for the liturgy (common cause - Greek), On the eve of Communion, a healthy person must come to church and pray with everyone else. evening worship .

Home prayer includes in addition to the usual morning and evening prayers, reading Follow-up to Holy Communion (following morning prayers in the morning).

The evening before Communion is also provided reading the three canons:

• Canon of repentance to the Lord,
• Prayer canon to the Most Holy Theotokos, And
• Canon to the Guardian Angel

Those who wish, according to their personal zeal, can also read other prayers, for example, the Akathist to the Sweetest Jesus.

Alexander Bozhenov
Patriarchal Center for the Spiritual Development of Children and Youth

Submit a church note (commemoration)

Brothers and sisters, now you can order requirements from the list offered to you right here on the website

Nowadays, the development of information technology makes it possible to submit memorial donations remotely. On the website of the Holy Resurrection Church (old) in Vichug, such an opportunity also appeared - submitting notes via the Internet. The process of submitting a note takes just a few minutes...

Viewed (30911) times

An integral part of fasting is confession, that is, repentance. This is one of the Orthodox sacraments, when a person tells a church minister about his sins that he committed during his life. It is important to know how to prepare for confession, since without this it will be impossible to begin communion.

How to prepare for confession and communion?

There are several requirements that clergy speak about to people who want to receive communion.

1. The person must be an Orthodox Christian who has been baptized by a legitimate priest. In addition, it is important to believe and accept the Holy Scriptures. There are various books through which a person can learn about faith, for example, the Catechism.
2. When figuring out what you need to know before confession and communion, it is worth pointing out that it is necessary to remember evil deeds starting from the age of seven or from the moment of baptism, if this happened in adulthood. It is important to point out that you cannot mention the sins of others to justify your own actions.
3. A believer must make a promise to the Lord that every effort will be made to no longer make mistakes and do good.
4. In a situation where sin has caused damage to loved ones, then before confession it is important to make every possible effort to make amends for the committed act.
5. It is equally important to forgive existing grievances to people yourself, otherwise you should not count on the Lord’s condescension.
6. It is recommended to develop a habit for yourself every day, for example, before going to bed, to analyze the past day, bringing repentance before the Lord.

Fasting before confession

There are no direct prohibitions regarding whether it is possible to eat food before the sacrament of confession, but it is recommended to abstain from food for 6-8 hours. If you are interested in how to fast before confession and communion, then you must adhere to a three-day fast, as permitted products include: vegetables and fruits, cereals, fish, baked goods, dried fruits and nuts.

Prayers before confession

One of the important stages of preparation is reading prayer texts, and this can be done both at home and in church. With their help, a person carries out spiritual cleansing and prepares for an important event. Many Orthodox believers assure that in order to prepare for confession, it is important to read prayers, the text of which is clear and known, thanks to which you can get rid of disturbing thoughts and gain understanding of the upcoming ritual. The clergy assure that you can even ask for your loved ones who are about to confess and receive communion.

How to write down sins before confession?

Many people misunderstand the need to list their own sins, even using “lists.” As a result, confession turns into a formal listing of one’s own mistakes. The clergy allow the use of notes, but these should only be reminders and only if a person is really afraid of forgetting something. When figuring out how to prepare for confession, it is worth pointing out that it is important to understand the term “sin” as an act that is contrary to the will of the Lord.

There are several tips on how to write sins before confession in order to fulfill everything according to the existing canons.

1. First, you need to remember the offenses that concern the Lord, for example, lack of faith, using superstitions in life, turning to fortune-tellers and creating idols for yourself.
2. Rules before confession include indicating sins committed against oneself and other people. This group includes condemnation of others, neglect, bad habits, envy, and so on.
3. It is important when talking with clergy to discuss only your own sins, without inventing special church language.
4. When confessing, a person should talk about really serious things, and not about trifles.
5. When figuring out how to properly prepare for confession and communion, it is worth pointing out that a believer should try to change his life before going to individual conversation in church. In addition, you need to try to live in peace with the people around you.

Is it possible to drink water before confession?

There are many prohibitions regarding such important and responsible events in the life of a believer, such as confession and. It is believed that, as a preparation, it is necessary to refrain from taking food and liquid for at least 6-8 hours. It is important to note that before confession, only people who need to wash down medications important for life are allowed to drink water. If a person drank water before communion, he should tell the clergyman about it.

Is it possible to smoke before communion and confession?

There are different opinions expressed by clergy on this topic.

1. Some people believe that if a person smokes long time, then it will be difficult for him to quit a bad habit, and there are cases when this is dangerous. In their opinion, cigarette addiction cannot be a reason for denial of confession and communion.
2. Other clergy, answering the question regarding whether it is possible to smoke before confession and communion, are categorical, arguing that if it is difficult for a person to abstain from tobacco before this important event, then it is difficult to talk about the triumph of the spirit over the body.

Is it possible to have sex before confession?

Many believers misunderstand it, considering it something dirty and sinful. In fact, sex is an integral part of a marital relationship. Many priests are of the opinion that husband and wife are free individuals, and no one has the right to enter their bedroom with their advice. Sex before confession is not strictly prohibited, but if possible, abstinence will be useful to maintain the purity of body and soul.

Before communion, you must undergo the Sacrament of Confession.

At St. John the Baptist Cathedral, confession begins with the beginning of the evening service at 17:00. If the priest is alone, then he makes confession at the end of the evening service.

Attendance at the evening service on the eve of communion is mandatory.

Before communion, you must fast, limiting yourself (at least three days) to meat, dairy and egg products.

CONFESSION AND HOLY COMMUNION
EXPLANATIONS

Based on the book by N. E. Pestov “Modern practice of Orthodox piety”

Every time the Divine Liturgy is celebrated in the church, a priest comes out of the altar before the service begins. He heads to the vestibule of the temple, where the people of God are already waiting for him. In his hands, the Cross is a sign of the sacrificial love of the Son of God for the human race, and the Gospel is the good news of salvation. The priest places the Cross and the Gospel on the lectern and, reverently bowing, proclaims: “Blessed is our God always, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.”

This is how the Sacrament of Confession begins. The name itself indicates that in this Sacrament something deeply hidden is accomplished, revealing layers of a person’s life that in ordinary times a person prefers not to touch. This is probably why the fear of confession is so strong among those who have never started it before. How long they have to overcome themselves to approach the confessional lectern!

Vain fear!

It comes from ignorance of what actually happens in this Sacrament. Confession is not a forcible “picking” of sins from the conscience, not an interrogation, and, especially, not a “guilty” verdict on the sinner. Confession is the great Sacrament of reconciliation between God and man; this is the joy of forgiveness of sin; This is a tear-touching manifestation of God’s love for man.

We all sin a lot before God. Vanity, hostility, idle talk, ridicule, intransigence, irritability, anger are constant companions of our lives. On the conscience of almost each of us lie more serious crimes: infanticide (abortion), adultery, turning to sorcerers and psychics, theft, enmity, revenge and much more, making us guilty of the wrath of God.

It should be remembered that sin is not a fact in biography that can be frivolously forgotten. Sin is a “black seal” that remains on the conscience until the end of days and is not washed away by anything other than the Sacrament of Repentance. Sin has a corrupting power that can cause a chain of subsequent, more serious sins.

One ascetic of piety figuratively likened sins... to bricks. He said this: the more unrepentant sins a person has on his conscience, the thicker the wall between him and God, made up of these bricks - sins. The wall can become so thick that a person becomes insensitive to the influence of God's grace, and then he experiences the mental and physical consequences of sins. Mental consequences include dislike for certain people or irritability, anger and nervousness, fears, attacks of anger, depression, the development of addictions in the individual, despondency, melancholy and despair, in extreme forms sometimes turning into a desire for suicide. This is not neurosis at all. This is how sin works.

Bodily consequences include illness. Almost all diseases of an adult, explicitly or implicitly, are associated with previously committed sins.

So, in the Sacrament of Confession, a great miracle of God’s mercy is performed towards the sinner. After sincere repentance of sins before God in the presence of a clergyman as a witness of repentance, when the priest reads a prayer of permission, the Lord himself, with His all-powerful right hand, breaks the wall of sin-bricks into dust, and the barrier between God and man collapses.”

When we come to confession, we repent in the presence of the priest, but not in front of the priest. The priest, being a man himself, is only a witness, a mediator in the Sacrament, and the true celebrant is the Lord God. Then why confess in church? Isn’t it easier to repent at home, alone before the Lord, because He hears us everywhere?

Yes, indeed, personal repentance before confession, leading to awareness of sin, heartfelt contrition and rejection of the crime committed, is necessary. But in itself it is not exhaustive. Final reconciliation with God, cleansing from sin is accomplished within the framework of the Sacrament of Confession, certainly through the mediation of a priest; this form of the Sacrament was established by the Lord Jesus Christ himself. Appearing to the apostles after his glorious resurrection. He blew and said to them: “...receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive, they will be forgiven; those whose sins you retain, will be retained” (John 20:22-23). Apostles, pillars ancient Church, the power was given to remove the veil of sin from the hearts of people; from them, this power was transferred to their successors - church leaders - bishops and priests.

In addition, the moral aspect of the Sacrament is important. It is not difficult to list your sins in private before the All-Knowing and Invisible God. But, discovering them in the presence of a third party - a priest, requires considerable effort to overcome shame, requires the crucifixion of one’s sinfulness, which leads to an incomparably deeper and more serious awareness of personal wrong.

The sacrament of confession and repentance is the great mercy of God towards weak and prone humanity; it is a means available to everyone, leading to the salvation of the soul, which constantly falls into sin.

Throughout our lives, our spiritual clothing is continually stained with sin. They can only be noticed when clothes are our problem, i.e. purified by repentance. On the clothes of an unrepentant sinner, dark with sinful dirt, stains of new and separate sins cannot be noticeable.

Therefore, we must not put off our repentance and allow our spiritual clothing to become completely soiled: this leads to dulling of conscience and to spiritual death.

And only an attentive life and timely cleansing of sinful stains in the Sacrament of Confession can preserve the purity of our soul and the presence of the Holy Spirit of God in it.

Holy Righteous John of Kronstadt writes:
“You need to confess your sins more often in order to amaze and scourge sins by openly recognizing them and in order to feel more disgust for them.”

As Fr. writes. Alexander Elchaninov, “insensibility, stonyness, deadness of the soul - from neglected and unconfessed sins in time. How the soul is relieved when you immediately, while it hurts, confess perfect sin. Delayed confession can cause insensitivity.

A person who often confesses and has no deposits of sins in his soul cannot help but be healthy. Confession is a blessed discharge of the soul. In this sense, the significance of confession and, in general, of life in general, is enormous, in connection with the grace-filled help of the Church. So don't put it off. Weak faith and doubts are not an obstacle. Be sure to confess, repent of weak faith and doubts, as of your own weakness and sin. “So it is: complete faith only of the strong in spirit and the righteous; where can we, the unclean and the cowardly, have their faith? If she were, we would be holy, strong, divine and would not need the help of the Church that She offers us. Don’t shy away from this help either.”
Hence, participation in the Sacrament of Confession should not be rare - once in a long period, as those who go to confession once a year or a little more may think.

The process of repentance is a continuous work to heal mental ulcers and cleanse every newly emerging sinful spot. Only in this case will the Christian not lose his “royal dignity” and will remain among the “holy nation” (1 Pet. 2:9).
If the Sacrament of Confession is neglected, sin will oppress the soul and at the same time, upon leaving it by the Holy Spirit, doors will be opened for entry into it dark force and the development of passions and addictions.

There may also come a period of hostility, enmity, quarrels, and even hatred towards others, which will poison the life of both the sinner and his neighbors.
Obsessive bad thoughts (“psychasthenia”) may appear, from which the sinner is unable to free himself and which will poison his life.
This will also include the so-called “persecution mania,” a strong wavering in faith, and such completely opposite feelings, but equally dangerous and painful: for some, an insurmountable fear of death, and for others, a desire for suicide.

Finally, mental and physical unhealthy manifestations may occur that are usually called “damage”: seizures of an epileptic nature and that series of ugly mental manifestations that are characterized as obsession and demonic possession.
Holy Scripture and the history of the Church testify that such severe consequences of unrepentant sins are healed by the power of God’s grace through the Sacrament of Confession and subsequent communion of the Holy Mysteries.

Spiritual experience is indicative in this regard. Elder Hilarion from Optina Pustyn.
Hilarion, in his senile service, proceeded from the position stated above, that every mental illness is a consequence of the presence of unrepentant sin in the soul.

Therefore, among such patients, the elder first of all tried, by questioning, to find out all the significant and serious sins that they had committed after the age of seven and were not expressed at the time in confession, either out of modesty, or out of ignorance, or out of oblivion.
After discovering such a sin (or sins), the elder tried to convince those who came to him for help of the need for deep and sincere repentance of sin.

If such repentance appeared, then the elder, like a priest, after confession, absolved sins. With the subsequent communion of the Holy Mysteries, complete deliverance usually occurred from the mental illness that tormented the sinful soul.
In those cases when the visitor was found to have severe and long-term enmity towards his neighbors, the elder commanded to immediately reconcile with them and ask their forgiveness for all previously inflicted insults, insults and injustices.

Such conversations and confessions sometimes required great patience, endurance and perseverance from the elder. So, for a long time he persuaded one possessed woman to first cross herself, then drink holy water, then tell him her life and her sins.
At first he had to endure many insults and manifestations of anger from her. However, he released her only when the patient humbled herself, became obedient and brought complete repentance in confession for the sins she had committed. This is how she received complete healing.
One patient came to the elder, suffering from a desire for suicide. The elder found out that he had previously made two attempts at suicide - at the age of 12 and in his youth.

At confession, the patient had not previously brought repentance to them. The elder achieved complete repentance from him - he confessed and gave him communion. Since then, the thoughts of suicide have stopped.

As can be seen from the above, sincere repentance and confession of sins brought to a Christian not only their forgiveness, but also the fullness of spiritual health only when the sinner returns to grace and the presence of the Holy Spirit with the Christian.
Since only through the permission of the priest is sin finally erased from our “book of life,” so that our memory does not fail us in this most important of our lives, it is necessary to write down our sins. The same note can be used in confession.

This is what the elder suggested to his spiritual children O. Alexy Mechev . Regarding confession, he gave the following instructions:
“When approaching confession, we need to remember everything and consider every sin from all sides, bring all the little things to memory, so that everything in our hearts burns out with shame. Then our sin will become disgusting and the confidence will be created that we will never return to it.
At the same time, we must feel all the goodness of God: the Lord shed His Blood for me, takes care of me, loves me, is ready to accept me like a mother, hugs me, comforts me, but I keep sinning and sinning.

And immediately, when you come to confession, you repent to the Lord crucified on the cross, like a child when he says with tears: “Mom, forgive me, I won’t do it again.”
And whether there is anyone here or not, it will not matter, because the priest is only a witness, and the Lord knows all our sins, sees all our thoughts. He only needs our consciousness of being guilty.

Thus, in the Gospel, He asked the father of the demon-possessed youth since when did this happen to him (Mark 9:21). He didn't need it. He knew everything, but he did it so that the father would acknowledge his guilt in his son’s illness.”
At confession, Fr. Alexy Mechev did not allow the confessor to speak in detail about sins of the flesh and touch on other persons and their actions.
He could only consider himself guilty. When talking about quarrels, you could only say what you said yourself (without softening or justifying) and not touch on what they answered you. He demanded that others be justified and that they blame themselves, even if it was not your fault. If you quarrel, it means you are to blame.

Once said in confession, sins are no longer repeated in confession; they are already forgiven.
But this does not mean that a Christian can completely erase from his memory the most serious sins of his life. The sinful wound on the body of the soul is healed, but the scar from sin remains forever, and a Christian must remember this and deeply humble himself, mourning his sinful falls.

As he writes Rev. Anthony the Great:
“The Lord is good and forgives the sins of all who turn to Him, no matter who they are, so that He will not remember them anymore.
However, He wants those (those who have been pardoned) to remember the forgiveness of their sins that they have committed so far, so that, having forgotten about this, they would not allow anything in their behavior that would force them to give an account of those sins that have already been committed. were forgiven - as happened with that slave to whom the master renewed the entire debt that had previously been remitted to him (Matthew 18:24-25).
Thus, when the Lord forgives us our sins, we must not forgive them to ourselves, but always remember them through (continuous) renewal of repentance for them.”

This is what he talks about Elder Silouan:
“Although sins are forgiven, you must remember and grieve about them all your life in order to maintain contrition.”
Here, however, we should warn that remembering one’s sins can be different and in some cases (for carnal sins) can even harm a Christian.

He writes about it like this Rev. Barsanuphius the Great . “I don’t mean remembering sins individually, so that sometimes even through their remembering the enemy does not lead us into the same captivity, but it is enough just to remember that we are guilty of sins.”

It should be mentioned at the same time that Elder Fr. Alexey Zosimovsky believed that although after confession there was remission of some sin, if it continues to torment and confuse the conscience, then it is necessary to confess it again.

For someone who sincerely repents of sins, the dignity of the priest accepting his confession does not matter. Fr. writes about it this way. Alexander Elchaninov:
“For a person who truly suffers from the ulcer of his sin, it makes no difference through whom he confesses this tormenting sin; as long as he confesses it as soon as possible and receives relief.
In confession, the most important state of the soul of the penitent, whatever the confessor may be. Our repentance is important. In our country, the personality of the confessor is often given primacy.”

When confessing your sins or asking your confessor for advice, it is very important to catch his first word. Elder Silouan gives the following instructions on this matter.
“In a few words, the confessor speaks his thoughts or the most essential things about his condition and then leaves the confessor free.
The confessor, praying from the first moment of the conversation, waits for admonition from God, and if he feels a “notification” in his soul, then he gives such an answer, which should be stopped at, because when the “first word” of the confessor is missed, then at the same time the effectiveness of the Sacrament is weakened , and confession can turn into a simple human discussion."
Perhaps some who repent of serious sins when confessing to a priest think that the latter will treat them with hostility after learning their sins. But that's not true.

As Archbishop Arseny (Chudovskoy) writes: “When a sinner sincerely, with tears, repents to his confessor, the latter involuntarily has a feeling of joy and consolation in his heart, and at the same time a feeling of love and respect for the penitent.
To the one who reveals sins, it may perhaps seem that the shepherd will not even look at him now, since he knows his filth and will treat him with contempt. Oh no! A sincerely repentant sinner becomes dear, dear, and as if dear to the shepherd.”
O. Alexander Elchaninov writes about the same thing:
“Why is the confessor not disgusted with the sinner, no matter how disgusting his sins are? - Because in the Sacrament of Repentance the priest contemplates the complete separation of the sinner and his sin.”

CONFESSION

(based on the works of Father Alexander Elchaninov)

Usually people inexperienced in spiritual life do not see the multiplicity of their sins.

“Nothing special”, “like everyone else”, “only minor sins - didn’t steal, didn’t kill” - this is usually the beginning of confession for many.
But self-love, intolerance of reproaches, callousness, people-pleasing, weakness of faith and love, cowardice, spiritual laziness - aren’t these important sins? How can we claim that we love God enough, that our faith is active and ardent? That we love every person as a brother in Christ? That we have achieved meekness, freedom from anger, humility?

If not, then what is our Christianity? How can we explain our self-confidence in confession if not by “petrified insensibility”, if not by “deadness”, the heart and soul death that precedes the body?
Why St. fathers who left us repentance prayers, considered themselves the first of sinners and with sincere conviction cried out to the Sweetest Jesus: “No one on earth has sinned as I have sinned, the accursed and the prodigal,” and we are convinced that everything is fine with us?
The brighter the light of Christ illuminates the hearts, the more clearly all shortcomings, ulcers and wounds are created. And, on the contrary, people immersed in the darkness of sin do not see anything in their hearts: and if they do, they are not horrified, since they have nothing to compare with.

Therefore, the direct path to the knowledge of one’s sins is to approach the Light and pray for this Light, which is the judgment of the world and everything “worldly” in ourselves (John 3:19). In the meantime, there is no such closeness to Christ in which a feeling of repentance is our usual state, we must, when preparing for confession, examine our conscience - according to the commandments, according to some prayers (for example, the 3rd Vespers, the 4th before Holy Communion), in some places of the Gospel and Epistles (for example, Matt. 5, Rom. 12, Eph. 4, James 3).

When understanding your soul, you must try to distinguish between basic sins and derivative ones, symptoms from deeper-lying causes.
For example, absent-mindedness during prayer, dozing and inattention in church, lack of interest in reading are very important. Holy Scripture. But don’t these sins stem from lack of faith and weak love for God? It is necessary to note in yourself self-will, disobedience, self-justification, impatience of reproaches, intransigence, stubbornness; but it is even more important to discover their connection with self-love and pride.
If we notice in ourselves a desire for society, talkativeness, laughter, increased concern for our appearance and not only our own, but our loved ones, then we must carefully examine whether this is not a form of “various vanity.”
If we take everyday failures too much to heart, endure separation hard, grieve inconsolably for those who have passed away, then in addition to the strength and depth of our feelings, doesn’t all this also testify to a lack of faith in God’s Providence?

There is another auxiliary means leading to the knowledge of our sins - to remember what other people, our enemies, and especially those who live side by side with us and loved ones usually accuse us of: almost always their accusations, reproaches, attacks are justified. You can even, having conquered your pride, ask them directly about it - you know better from the outside.
Before confession, it is necessary to ask for forgiveness from everyone to whom you are guilty, and to go to confession with an unburdened conscience.
During such a test of the heart, one must be careful not to fall into excessive suspiciousness and petty suspicion of any movement of the heart; Having taken this path, you can lose your sense of what is important and unimportant, and get confused in the little things.

In such cases, you must temporarily abandon the testing of your soul and, with prayer and good deeds, simplify and clarify your soul.
The point is to be able to fully remember and even write down our sins, and to achieve a state of concentration, seriousness and prayer in which our sins become clear as if by light.
But knowing your sins does not mean repenting of them. True, the Lord accepts confession - sincere, conscientious, when it is not accompanied by a strong feeling of repentance.

Still, “contrition of heart”—sorrow for our sins—is the most important thing we can bring to confession.
But what to do if “we have no tears, less than repentance, less than tenderness?” “What should we do if our heart, dried up by the flame of sin, is not watered by the life-giving waters of tears? What if “weakness of soul and weakness of the flesh are so great that we are not capable of sincere repentance?
This is still not a reason to postpone confession - God can touch our heart during confession itself: confession itself, the naming of our sins can soften our repentant heart, refine our spiritual vision, sharpen our feelings. Most of all, preparation for confession serves to overcome our spiritual lethargy - fasting, which, exhausting our body, disrupts our bodily well-being, which is disastrous for spiritual life. Prayer, night thoughts about death, reading the Gospel, the lives of saints, and the works of St. serve the same purpose. fathers, increased struggle with oneself, exercise in good deeds.

Our insensitivity in confession is mostly rooted in a lack of fear of God and hidden unbelief. This is where our efforts should be directed.
The third point in confession is the verbal confession of sins. There is no need to wait for questions, you need to make the effort yourself; Confession is a feat and self-compulsion. It is necessary to speak accurately, without obscuring the ugliness of sin general expressions(for example, “I have sinned against the 7th commandment”). When confessing, it is very difficult to avoid the temptation of self-justification, attempts to explain “mitigating circumstances” to the confessor, and references to third parties who led us into sin. All these are signs of pride, lack of deep repentance, and continued staleness in sin.

Confession is not a conversation about one’s shortcomings, it is not a confessor’s knowledge of you, and least of all a “pious custom.” Confession is an ardent repentance of the heart, a thirst for purification that comes from a sense of holiness, dying to sin and reviving for holiness...
I often notice in those confessing a desire to go through confession painlessly for themselves - or they get off in general phrases, or they talk about little things, keeping silent about what should really weigh on the conscience. There is also false shame before the confessor and general indecision, as before every important action, and especially - a cowardly fear of seriously starting to stir up one’s life, full of small and habitual weaknesses. A real confession, like a good shock to the soul, is terrifying in its decisiveness, the need to change something, or even just to at least think about oneself.

Sometimes in confession they refer to a weak memory, which does not seem to give the opportunity to remember sins. Indeed, it often happens that you easily forget your sins, but does this only happen because of a weak memory?
In confession, a weak memory is not an excuse; forgetfulness - from inattention, frivolity, callousness, insensitivity to sin. Sin that burdens the conscience will not be forgotten. After all, for example, cases that especially hurt our pride or, on the contrary, flattered our vanity, we remember praise addressed to us for many years. We remember everything that makes a strong impression on us for a long time and clearly, and if we forget our sins, doesn’t this mean that we simply do not attach serious importance to them?
A sign of completed repentance is a feeling of lightness, purity, inexplicable joy, when sin seems as difficult and impossible as this joy was just far away.

Our repentance will not be complete if, while repenting, we do not confirm internally in the determination not to return to the confessed sin.
But, they say, how is this possible? How can I promise myself and my confessor that I will not repeat my sin? Wouldn't the opposite be closer to the truth - the certainty that the sin will be repeated? After all, everyone knows from experience that after a while you inevitably return to the same sins. Watching yourself from year to year, you do not notice any improvement, “you jump and again remain in the same place.”
It would be terrible if that were the case. Fortunately, this is not the case. There is no case when, if there is a good desire to improve, successive confessions and Holy Communion do not produce beneficial changes in the soul.
But the fact is that, first of all, we are not our own judges. A person cannot correctly judge himself whether he has become worse or better, since both he, the judge, and what he judges are changing quantities.

Increased severity towards oneself, increased spiritual clarity, heightened fear of sin can give the illusion that sins have multiplied: they remained the same, maybe even weakened, but we did not notice them like that before.
Besides. God, in His special providence, often closes our eyes to our successes in order to protect us from our worst enemy - vanity and pride. It often happens that sin remains, but frequent confessions and the Communion of the Holy Mysteries shook and weakened its roots. And the very struggle with sin, suffering about one’s sins - isn’t it an acquisition?
“Do not be afraid,” says John Climacus , - even if you fall every day, and do not depart from the ways of God. Stand courageously and the angel protecting you will honor your patience."

If there is no this feeling of relief, rebirth, you must have the strength to return again to confession, to completely free your soul from impurity, to wash it with tears from blackness and filth. Those who strive for this will always achieve what they are looking for.
Just let us not take credit for our successes, count on our own strengths, rely on our own efforts - this would mean ruining everything we have acquired.

“Gather my scattered mind. Lord, cleanse my frozen heart: like Peter, give me repentance, like a publican - sighs, and like a harlot - tears.”

And here is the advice of Archbishop Arseny / Chudovsky / on preparing for confession:
“We come to confession with the intention of receiving forgiveness of sins from the Lord God through a priest. So know that your confession is empty, idle, invalid and even offensive to the Lord if you go to confession without any preparation, without testing your conscience, according to out of shame or for some other reason, you hide your sins, you confess without contrition and tenderness, formally, coldly, mechanically, without a firm intention to correct yourself in the future.

They often approach confession unprepared. What does it mean to prepare? Diligently test your conscience, recall and feel your sins in your heart, decide to tell all of them, without any concealment, to your confessor, repent of them, but avoid them in the future. And since our memory often fails us, those who write down remembered sins on paper do well. And about those sins that you, no matter how much you want, cannot remember, do not worry that they will not be forgiven you. Just have a sincere determination to repent of everything and with tears ask the Lord to forgive you all your sins, which you remember and which you do not remember.

In confession, say everything that bothers you, that hurts you, so don’t be shy to once again talk about your previous sins. This is good, it will testify that you constantly walk with a feeling of your damnation and overcome any shame from discovering your sinful ulcers.
There are so-called unconfessed sins that many live with for many years, and perhaps their entire lives. Sometimes I want to reveal them to my confessor, but it’s too embarrassing to talk about them, and so it goes by year after year; and yet they constantly burden the soul and prepare for it eternal condemnation. Some of these people are happy, the time comes. The Lord sends them a confessor, opens the mouths and hearts of these unrepentant sinners, and they confess all their sins. The abscess thus breaks through, and these people receive spiritual relief and, as it were, recovery. However, how one must be afraid of unrepentant sins!

Unconfessed sins are like our debt, which we constantly feel and constantly burden us. And what better way than to pay off the debt - then your soul will be at peace; It’s the same with sins - these spiritual debts of ours: you confess them to your confessor, and your heart will feel light, easy.
Repentance before confession is a victory over oneself, it is a victorious trophy, so that the one who has repented is worthy of all respect and honor.”

Preparing for Confession

As a sample for determining one’s internal spiritual state and for detecting one’s sins, a slightly modified version can be taken in relation to modern conditions"Confession" Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov .
* * *
I confess that I am a great sinner (name of rivers) to the Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ and to you, honorable father, all my sins and all my evil deeds, which I have done in all the days of my life, which I have thought even to this day.
I sinned: I did not keep the vows of Holy Baptism, I did not keep my monastic promise, but I lied about everything and created indecent things for myself before the Face of God.
Forgive us, Merciful Lord (for the people). Forgive me, honest father (for singles). I sinned: before the Lord by lack of faith and sluggishness in thoughts, all from the enemy against faith and the Holy. Churches; ingratitude for all His great and unceasing benefits, calling on the name of God without need - in vain.
Forgive me, honest father.
I sinned: lack of love for the Lord, lower than fear, failure to fulfill the holy. His will and St. commandments, careless depiction of the sign of the cross, irreverent veneration of St. icons; did not wear a cross, was ashamed to be baptized and confess the Lord.
Forgive me, honest father.
I sinned: I did not preserve love for my neighbor, did not feed the hungry and thirsty, did not clothe the naked, did not visit the sick and prisoners in prison; the law of God and St. I did not learn the traditions of my fathers out of laziness and negligence.
Forgive me, honest father.
I sinned: by not fulfilling church and cell rules, by going to the temple of God without diligence, with laziness and negligence; leaving morning, evening and other prayers; during church service- he sinned by idle talk, laughter, dozing, inattention to reading and singing, absent-mindedness, leaving the temple during the service and not going to the temple of God due to laziness and negligence.
Forgive me, honest father.
I sinned: by daring to go to the temple of God in uncleanness and touch all holy things.
Forgive me, honest father.
Sinned: by not honoring the feasts of God; violation of St. posts and non-storage fast days- Wednesdays and Fridays; intemperance in food and drink, polyeating, secret eating, disordered eating, drunkenness, dissatisfaction with food and drink, clothing, parasitism; one’s own will and reason through fulfillment, self-righteousness, self-indulgence and self-justification; not properly honoring parents, not raising children in Orthodox faith, cursing their children and neighbors.
Forgive me, honest father.
Sinned: by unbelief, superstition, doubt, despair, despondency, blasphemy, false religion, dancing, smoking, playing cards, gossip, remembering the living for their repose, eating the blood of animals (VI Ecumenical Council, 67th canon. Acts of the Holy Apostles, 15 ch.).
Forgive me, honest father.
I sinned: by seeking help from intermediaries of demonic power - occultists: psychics, bioenergeticists, non-contact massage therapists, hypnotists, “folk” healers, sorcerers, sorcerers, healers, fortune tellers, astrologers, parapsychologists; participation in coding sessions, removal of “damage and evil eye”, spiritualism; contacting UFOs and “higher intelligence”; connection to "cosmic energies".
Forgive me, honest father.
Sinned: by watching and listening to television and radio programs with the participation of psychics, healers, astrologers, fortune-tellers, healers.
Forgive me, honest father.
Sinned: by studying various occult teachings, theosophy, Eastern cults, the teaching of “living ethics”; doing yoga, meditation, dousing according to Porfiry Ivanov’s system.
Forgive me, honest father.
Sinned: by reading and storing occult literature.
Forgive me, honest father.
Sinned: by attending speeches by Protestant preachers, participating in meetings of Baptists, Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, Adventists, the "Virgin Center", "white brotherhood" and other sects, accepting heretical baptism, deviating into heresy and sectarian teaching.
Forgive me, honest father.
I sinned: pride, conceit, envy, conceit, suspicion, irritability.
Forgive me, honest father.
I sinned: by condemning all people - living and dead, by slander and anger, by memory, hatred, evil for evil by retribution, slander, reproach, wickedness, laziness, deception, hypocrisy, gossip, disputes, stubbornness, unwillingness to give in and serve one's neighbor; sinned with gloating, malice, slander, insult, ridicule, reproach and man-pleasing.
Forgive me, honest father.
Sinned: incontinence of mental and physical feelings; spiritual and physical impurity, pleasure and procrastination in unclean thoughts, addiction, voluptuousness, immodest views of wives and young men; in a dream, prodigal desecration at night, intemperance in married life.
Forgive me, honest father.
I sinned: by impatience with illnesses and sorrows, by loving the comforts of this life, by captivity of the mind and hardening of the heart, by not forcing myself to do any good deed.
Forgive me, honest father.
I sinned: by inattention to the promptings of my conscience, negligence, laziness in reading the word of God and negligence in acquiring the Jesus Prayer. I sinned through covetousness, love of money, unrighteous acquisition, embezzlement, theft, stinginess, attachment to various kinds of things and people.
Forgive me, honest father.
I sinned: by condemning bishops and priests, by disobeying spiritual fathers, by murmuring and resenting them and by not confessing my sins to them out of oblivion, negligence out of false shame.
Sinned: by unmercifulness, contempt and condemnation of the poor; going to the temple of God without fear and reverence.
Forgive me, honest father.
Sinned: laziness, relaxation, love of bodily rest, excessive sleeping, voluptuous dreams, biased views, shameless body movements, touching, fornication, adultery, corruption, fornication, unmarried marriages; (those who performed abortions on themselves or others, or inclined someone to this great sin - infanticide, sinned gravely).
Forgive me, honest father.
I sinned: by spending time in empty and idle activities, in empty conversations, in excessive watching of television.
I sinned: despondency, cowardice, impatience, murmuring, despair of salvation, lack of hope in God’s mercy, insensibility, ignorance, arrogance, shamelessness.
Forgive me, honest father.
I sinned: by slandering my neighbor, anger, insult, irritation and ridicule, non-reconciliation, enmity and hatred, dissent, spying on other people's sins and eavesdropping on other people's conversations.
Forgive me, honest father.
I sinned: by coldness and insensitivity in confession, by belittling sins, by blaming others rather than by condemning myself.
Forgive me, honest father.
I sinned: against the Life-giving and Holy Mysteries of Christ, approaching Them without proper preparation, without contrition and the fear of God.
Forgive me, honest father.
I have sinned: in word, in thought and with all my senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch - voluntarily or involuntarily, knowledge or ignorance, in reason or foolishness, and it is not possible to list all my sins according to their multitude. But in all of these, as well as in those unspeakable through oblivion, I repent and regret, and henceforth, with the help of God, I promise to take care.
You, honest father, forgive me and release me from all of this and pray for me, a sinner, and on that Day of Judgment testify before God about the sins I have confessed. Amen.

General Confession

As you know, the church practices not only separate, but also the so-called “general confession”, in which the priest absolves sins without hearing them from the penitents.
The replacement of a separate confession with a general one is due to the fact that now the priest often does not have the opportunity to accept confession from everyone. However, such a replacement is, of course, extremely undesirable and not everyone and not always can participate in general confession and after it go to Communion.
During general confession, the penitent does not have to reveal the dirt of his spiritual vestments, does not have to be ashamed of them in front of the priest, and his pride, pride and vanity will not be hurt. Thus, there will not be that punishment for sin, which, in addition to our repentance, would gain us God's mercy.

Secondly, general confession is fraught with the danger that such a sinner will approach Holy Communion who, during a separate confession, would not be allowed to come to Him by the priest.
Many serious sins require serious and lengthy repentance. And then the priest forbids communion on certain period and imposes penance (prayers of repentance, bows, abstinence in something). In other cases, the priest must receive a promise from the repentant not to repeat the sin again and only then be allowed to receive communion.
Therefore, general confession cannot be started in the following cases:

1) those who have not been to a separate confession for a long time - several years or many months;
2) those who have either a mortal sin or a sin that greatly hurts and torments his conscience.

In such cases, the confessor must, after all other participants in the confession, approach the priest and tell him the sins that lie on his conscience.
Participation in general confession can be considered acceptable (due to need) only for those who confess and receive communion quite often, check themselves from time to time in separate confession and are confident that the sins that they say in confession will not serve as a reason for prohibition for them Participles.
At the same time, it is also necessary that we participate in general confession either with our spiritual father or with a priest who knows us well.

Confession from Elder Zosima

The possibility in some cases of silent (i.e., without words) confession, and how one must prepare for it, is indicated by the following story from the biography of Elder Zosima from the Trinity-Sergius Lavra.
“There was a case with two ladies. They go to the elder’s cell, and one repents of her sins all the way - “Lord, how sinful I am, I did this and that wrong, I condemned this and that, etc..” .forgive me. Lord".... And the heart and mind seem to fall at the feet of the Lord.
“Forgive me, Lord, and give me strength not to insult You like this again.”

She tried to remember all her sins and repented and repented along the way.
The other one calmly walked towards the elder. “I’ll come, I’ll confess, I’m a sinner in everything, I’ll tell you, I’ll take communion tomorrow.” And then she thinks: “What kind of material should I buy for my daughter’s dress, and what style should I choose for her to suit her face...” and similar worldly thoughts occupied the heart and mind of the second lady.

Both of them entered Father Zosima’s cell together. Addressing the first one, the elder said:
- Get on your knees, I will now forgive you your sins.
- Why, father, I haven’t told you yet?..
“No need to say, you told the Lord all the time, you prayed to God all the way, so now I will allow you, and tomorrow I will bless you to take communion... And you,” he turned to another lady, “you go buy a dress for your daughter.” material, choose a style, sew what you have in mind.
And when your soul comes to repentance, come to confession. And now I won’t confess to you.”

About penances

In some cases, the priest may impose penance on the penitent - spiritual exercises prescribed with the aim of eradicating the habits of sin. In accordance with this goal, feats of prayer and good deeds are assigned, which must be directly opposite to the sin for which they are assigned: for example, works of mercy are assigned to the lover of money, fasting to the unchaste, kneeling prayers to those weakening in faith, etc. Sometimes, due to the persistent unrepentance of a person confessing to some sin, the confessor may excommunicate him for some period of time from participating in the Sacrament of Communion. Penance must be treated as the will of God, spoken through the priest about the penitent, and must be accepted for obligatory fulfillment. If it is impossible for one reason or another to perform penance, you should contact the priest who imposed it to resolve the difficulties that have arisen.

About the time of the Sacrament of Confession

According to existing church practice, the Sacrament of Confession is performed in churches in the morning on the day of the Divine Liturgy. In some churches, confession also happens the night before. In churches where the Liturgy is served every day, confession is daily. Under no circumstances should you be late for the beginning of Confession, since the Sacrament begins with the reading of the rite, in which everyone who wishes to confess must prayerfully participate.

Final actions at confession: after confessing sins and reading the prayer of absolution by the priest, the penitent kisses the Cross and Gospel lying on the lectern and takes a blessing from the confessor.

The connection of the Sacrament of Anointing with the forgiveness of sins
“The prayer of faith will heal the sick... and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him” (James 5:15)
No matter how carefully we try to remember and write down our sins, it may happen that a significant part of them will not be told in confession, some will be forgotten, and some will simply not be realized and not noticed due to spiritual blindness.
In this case, the church comes to the aid of the penitent with the Sacrament of Unction or, as it is often called, “unction.” This sacrament is based on the instructions of the Apostle James, the head of the Jerusalem Church.

“If any of you is sick, let him call the elders of the church and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will heal the sick man, and the Lord will restore him; and if he has committed sins, they will forgive him” (James 5:14 -15).

Thus, in the Sacrament of the Blessing of Anointing, we are forgiven of sins that were not said in confession due to ignorance or forgetfulness. And since illness is a consequence of our sinful state, liberation from sin often leads to healing of the body.
Some of the careless Christians neglect the Sacraments of the church, do not attend confession for several or even many years. And when they realize its necessity and come to confession, then, of course, it is difficult for them to remember all the sins they have committed over many years. In these cases, the Optina elders always recommended that such repentant Christians take part in three Sacraments at once: confession, Blessing of Anointing and Communion of the Holy Mysteries.
Some of the elders believe that in a few years not only the seriously ill, but also all those who are zealous for the salvation of their souls can participate in the Sacrament of Anointing.

At the same time, it should be pointed out that those Christians who do not neglect the fairly frequent Sacrament of Confession were not advised by the Optina elders to undergo unction unless they had a serious illness.
In modern church practice, the Sacrament of Anointing is performed in churches annually during Great Lent.
Those Christians who, for some reason, will not have the opportunity to take part in the Sacrament of Anointing, need to remember the instructions of the elders Barsanuphius and John, which were given to the disciple in response to the question - “oblivion destroys the remembrance of many sins - what should I do?” The answer was:
“What kind of lender can you find more faithful than God, who knows what has not yet happened?
So, lay the account of the sins you have forgotten on Him and tell him:
“Master, since forgetting one’s sins is a sin, then I have sinned in everything to You, the One Knower of the Heart. You forgive me for everything according to Your love for mankind, for there the splendor of Your glory is manifested, when You do not repay sinners for their sins, for You are blessed forever. Amen."

COMMUNION OF THE HOLY MYSTERIES OF THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST

The meaning of the Sacrament

“Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink His blood, you will not have life in you” (John 6:53)
“He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him” (John 6:56)
With these words, the Lord pointed out the absolute necessity for all Christians to participate in the Sacrament of the Eucharist. The Sacrament itself was established by the Lord at the Last Supper.

“Jesus took the bread and, having blessed it, broke it and, giving it to the disciples, said: Take, eat: this is My Body. And taking the cup and giving thanks, he gave it to them and said: Drink from it, all of you, for this is My Blood of the New Testament, poured out for many for the remission of sins" (Matthew 26:26-28).
As the Holy Church teaches, a Christian, accepting Holy Communion, is mysteriously united with Christ, for in every particle of the fragmented Lamb the whole Christ is contained.

The significance of the Sacrament of the Eucharist is immeasurable, the comprehension of which exceeds the capabilities of our mind.
This Sacrament ignites Christ's love in us, lifts the heart to God, gives rise to virtues in it, restrains the attack of dark forces on us, gives strength against temptations, revives the soul and body, heals them, gives them strength, returns virtues - restores that purity in us the soul that the first-born Adam had before the Fall.

Reflections on the Divine Liturgy Ep. Seraphim Zvezdinsky There is a description of the vision of one ascetic elder, which clearly characterizes the meaning for a Christian of the Communion of the Holy Mysteries.
The ascetic saw: “a fiery sea, the waves rose and seethed, presenting a terrible sight. On the opposite shore there was a beautiful garden. From there came the singing of birds, and the fragrance of flowers.
The ascetic hears a voice: “Cross this sea.” But there was no way to go. He stood for a long time, wondering how to cross, and heard the voice again.

“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 achieve the Kingdom of Heaven.”

O. Valentin Svenitsky writes:
“The Eucharist is the basis of that real unity that is expected in the general resurrection, for both in the transubstantiation of the Gifts and in our communion is the guarantee of our salvation and resurrection, not only spiritual, but also physical.”
Elder Parthenius of Kyiv Once, in a reverent feeling of fiery love for the Lord, I repeated the prayer for a long time: “Lord Jesus, live in me and give me life in You,” and I heard a quiet, sweet voice: “He who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood abides in Me and I in him ".
In some spiritual illnesses, the sacrament of Communion is the most effective healing: for example, when a person is attacked by so-called “blasphemous thoughts,” the spiritual fathers propose to fight them with frequent communion of the Holy Mysteries.
Holy Righteous Fr. John of Kronstadt writes about the significance of the Sacrament of the Eucharist in the fight against strong temptations:
"If you feel the weight of the struggle and see that you cannot cope with evil alone, run to spiritual father to yours and ask him to introduce you to the Holy Mysteries. This is a great and all-powerful weapon in the fight."

For one mentally ill person, Father John recommended, as a means of recovery, to live at home and partake of the Holy Mysteries more often.
Repentance alone is not enough to preserve the purity of our hearts and strengthen our spirit in piety and virtues. The Lord said: “When the unclean spirit leaves a person, he walks through waterless places, looking for rest and, not finding it, says: I will return to my house from where I came. And when he comes, he finds it swept and tidied up. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more evil than themselves, and having entered, they live there, and the last thing for that person is worse than the first (Luke 11:24-26).

So, if repentance cleanses us from the defilement of our soul, then the communion of the Body and Blood of the Lord will fill us with grace and block the return into our soul of the evil spirit expelled by repentance.
Therefore, according to the custom of the church, the Sacraments of Repentance (confession) and Communion follow directly one after the other. And Rev. Seraphim of Sarov 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.”
At the same time, no matter how necessary the communion of the Body and Blood of Christ is for us, it cannot take place if repentance does not precede it.

As Archbishop Arseny (Chudovskoy) writes:
“It is a great thing to receive the Holy Mysteries and great are the fruits from this: the renewal of our hearts by the Holy Spirit, the blissful mood of the spirit. And this is such a great thing, it requires such careful preparation from us. And therefore you want to receive the grace of God from Holy Communion,” try your best to correct your heart."

How often should you partake of the Holy Mysteries?

To the question: “how often should one partake of the Holy Mysteries?” St. John answers: “the more often, the better.” However, he sets an indispensable condition: to approach Holy Communion with sincere repentance of one’s sins and a clear conscience.
In the biography of Rev. Macarius the Great has his words to one woman who suffered cruelly from the spell of a sorcerer:
“You have come under attack because you have not received the Holy Mysteries for five weeks.”
Holy Righteous Fr. John of Kronstadt pointed to the forgotten apostolic rule - to excommunicate those who have not been to Holy Communion for three weeks.

Rev. Seraphim of Sarov commanded the Diveyevo sisters to unforgettably confess and receive communion on all fasts and, in addition, on the twelve feasts, without tormenting themselves with the thought that they are unworthy, “since one should not miss the opportunity to use the grace bestowed by the communion of the holy Mysteries of Christ as often as possible. Trying “, if possible, to concentrate in the humble consciousness of one’s complete sinfulness, with hope and firm faith in God’s ineffable mercy, one should proceed to the Holy Sacrament that redeems everything and everyone.”
Of course, it is very saving to receive communion on your name day and birthday, and for spouses on their wedding day.

Fr. Alexey Zosimovsky recommended that his spiritual children begin Communion also on memorable days of death and name days of deceased loved ones; this connects the souls of the living with the dead.
Archbishop Arseny (Chudovskoy) writes: “Continuous Communion should be the ideal of all Christians. But the enemy of the human race... immediately realized 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 received communion daily, then 4 times a week, then on Sundays and holidays, and then during all fasts, i.e. 4 times a year, finally, barely once a year, and now even less often" .

“A Christian must always be ready for death and for Communion,” said one of the spirit-bearing fathers.
So, it is up to us to frequently participate in the Last Supper of Christ and to receive at it the great grace of the Mysteries of the Body and Blood of Christ.
One of the spiritual daughters of the elder Fr. Alexia Mecheva once told him:
- Sometimes you yearn in your soul to unite with the Lord through Communion, but the thought that you recently received Communion holds you back.
“This means the Lord touches the heart,” the elder answered her, “so all these cold reasonings are no longer necessary and appropriate... I give you communion often, I proceed from the purpose of introducing you to the Lord, so that you feel how it feels.” It’s good to be with Christ.
One of the wise shepherds of the twentieth century, Fr. Valentin Svenitsky writes:
“Without frequent communion, spiritual life in the world is impossible. After all, your body dries out and becomes powerless when you do not give it food. And your soul requires its heavenly food. Otherwise, it will dry out and become weak.
Without communion, the spiritual fire in you will die out. It will be filled with worldly rubbish. To free ourselves from this rubbish we need a fire that burns the thorns of our sins.

Spiritual life is not abstract theology, but real and most undoubted life in Christ. But how can it begin if you do not accept the fullness of the Spirit of Christ in this terrible and great sacrament? How can you live in Him without accepting the Flesh and Blood of Christ?
And here, as in repentance, the enemy will not leave you without attacks. And here he will plot all sorts of intrigues for you. He will erect many external and internal barriers.

Either you will have no time, then you will feel unwell, or you will want to put it off for a while, “to better prepare.” Do not listen. Go. Confess, take communion. You don’t know when the Lord will call you.”
Let every soul listen sensitively to its heart and be afraid to listen to the hand of the Distinguished Guest knocking on its door; let her be afraid that her hearing will become coarse from the vanity of the world and will not be able to hear quiet and gentle calls coming from the kingdom of Light.
Let the soul be afraid of replacing the experience of heavenly joy of unity with the Lord with the muddy entertainments of the world or the base consolations of bodily nature.

And when she is able to tear herself away from the world and everything sensory, 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 Sacrament, while dressing herself in the spiritual clothes of sincere repentance and the deepest humility and the unchanging fullness of spiritual poverty.

Let the soul also not be embarrassed by the fact that, despite all its repentance, it is still unworthy of Communion.
Elder Fr. says this about it. Alexy Mechev:
“Take communion more often and don’t say that you are unworthy. If you say that, you will never receive communion, because you will never be worthy. Do you think that there is at least one person on Earth worthy of communion of the Holy Mysteries?
No one is worthy of this, and if we do receive communion, it is only by the special mercy of God.
We are not created for communion, but communion is for us. It is we, the sinners, the unworthy, the weak, who need this saving source more than anyone else.”

And here is what the famous Moscow pastor Fr. said about frequent communion of the Holy Mysteries. Valentin Amfitheatrov:
"... You need to be ready every day for communion, as if you were ready for death... Ancient Christians took communion every day.
We must approach the Holy Chalice and think that we are unworthy and cry out with humility: everything is here, in You, Lord - mother, father, husband - you are all, Lord, joy and consolation.”

Known throughout Orthodox Russia Elder of the Pskov-Pechersk Monastery schema-abbot Savva (1898-1980) in his book “On the Divine Liturgy” wrote this:

“The most pleasant confirmation of how much our Lord Jesus Christ Himself desires for us to begin the Lord’s Table is his appeal to the apostles: “I desire to eat this Passover with you, before I will not even accept torment” (Luke 22:15) .
He did not speak to them about the Old Testament Passover: it took place annually and was ordinary, but from now on it must stop completely. He ardently desired the Passover of the New Testament, that Passover in which He sacrifices Himself, offers Himself as food.
The words of Jesus Christ can be expressed this way: with the desire of love and mercy, “I longed to eat this Passover with you,” because it embodies all of My love for you, and all of your true life and bliss.

If the Lord, out of His ineffable love, so ardently desires her not for His own sake, but for his sake, then how ardently we should desire her, out of love and gratitude to Him, and for our own good and bliss!
Christ said: “Take, eat...” (Mark 14:22). He offered us His Body not for a one-time, or infrequent and occasional use, as medicine, but for constant and everlasting nourishment: eat, not taste. But if the Body of Christ were offered to us only as medicine, then even then we would have to ask permission to receive communion as often as possible, because We are weak in soul and body, and spiritual weaknesses especially affect us.

The Lord gave us the Holy Mysteries as our daily bread, according to His word: “The bread I will give, this is my flesh” (John 6:51).
From this it is clear that Christ not only allowed, but also commanded that we often begin to eat His meal. We do not leave ourselves for a long time without ordinary bread, knowing that otherwise our strength will weaken and bodily life will cease. How can we not be afraid to leave ourselves for a long time without heavenly, divine bread, without the Bread of Life?
Those who rarely approach the Holy Chalice usually say in their own defense: “We are unworthy, we are not ready.” And whoever is not ready, let him not be lazy and get ready.

Not a single person is worthy of communion with the all-holy Lord, because God alone is sinless, but we are given the right to believe, repent, correct, be forgiven and trust in the grace of the Savior of sinners and the Discoverer of the lost.
Whoever carelessly leaves himself unworthy of communion with Christ on earth will remain unworthy of communion with Him in Heaven. Is it wise to remove yourself from the source of life, power, light and grace? He is wise who, to the best of his ability, correcting his unworthiness, resorts to Jesus Christ in His Most Pure Mysteries, otherwise the humble consciousness of his unworthiness can turn into coldness towards faith and the work of his salvation. Deliver, Lord!"
In conclusion, we present the opinion of the official publication of the Russian Orthodox Church - the Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate (JMP No. 12, 1989, p. 76) regarding the frequency of communion:

“Following the example of Christians of the first centuries, when not only monks, but also ordinary laymen, at every opportunity, resorted to the Sacraments of Confession and Holy Communion, realizing the great significance they have, and we should, as often as possible, cleanse our conscience with repentance, strengthen our lives with confession faith in God and proceed to the Sacrament of Holy Communion, in order to thereby receive mercy and forgiveness of sins from God and unite more closely with Christ...
In modern practice, it is customary for all believers to receive communion at least once a month, and more often during fasting, two or three times per fast. They also receive communion on Angel's Day and birthdays. Believers clarify the order and frequency of communion of the Holy Mysteries with their confessor and, with his blessing, try to maintain the timing of communion and confession.”

How to prepare for Holy Communion

The basis of preparation for the Sacrament of Communion is repentance. Awareness of one's sinfulness reveals personal weaknesses and arouses the desire to become better through unity with Christ in His Most Pure Mysteries. Prayer and fasting set the soul in a repentant mood.
The “Orthodox Prayer Book” (ed. Moscow Patriarchate, 1980) indicates that “... preparation for Holy Communion (in church practice it is called persecution) lasts several days and concerns both the physical and spiritual life of a person. The body is prescribed abstinence , i.e. bodily purity and restriction in food (fasting). On fasting days, food of animal origin is excluded - meat, milk, butter, eggs and, with strict fasting, fish. Bread, vegetables, fruits are consumed in moderation. The mind should not be distracted by the trifles of everyday life and have fun.

On the days of fasting, one should attend divine services in the temple, if circumstances permit, and more diligently follow the home prayer rule: whoever usually does not read all the morning and evening prayers, let him read everything in full. On the eve of communion, you must be at the evening service and read at home, in addition to the usual prayers for the future, the canon of repentance, the canon to the Mother of God and the Guardian Angel. The canons are read either one after the other in full, or combined in this way: the Irmos of the first canto is read penitential canon(“Like on dry ground...”) and troparia, then the troparia of the first song of the canon to the Theotokos (“By many will we contain...”), omitting the irmos “The water has passed,” and the troparia of the canon to the Guardian Angel, also without the irmos “Let us drink to the Lord.” The following songs are read in the same way. The troparia before the canon to the Mother of God and the Guardian Angel are omitted in this case.
The canon for communion is also read and, for those who wish, an akathist to the Sweetest Jesus. After midnight they no longer eat or drink, for it is customary to begin the Sacrament of Communion on an empty stomach. In the morning, the morning prayers and the entire sequence for Holy Communion are read, except for the canon read the day before.

Before communion, confession is necessary - either in the evening or in the morning, before the liturgy."

It should be noted that many believers rarely receive communion, since they cannot find the time and energy for long fasting, which thereby turns into an end in itself. In addition, a significant, if not the majority of the modern flock consists of Christians who have recently entered the Church, and therefore have not yet acquired the proper prayer skills. As such, the specified preparation may be overwhelming.
The Church leaves the question of the frequency of Communion and the scope of preparation for It to priests and spiritual fathers to decide. It is with the spiritual father that one must agree on how often to take communion, how long to fast and what prayer rule to perform before this. Different priests bless differently depending on the co-. the state of health, age, degree of church membership and prayer experience of the fasting person.
Those who come to the Sacraments of Confession and Communion for the first time can be recommended to focus all their attention on preparing for the first confession in their lives.

It is very important to forgive all your offenders before Communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. In a state of anger or hostility towards someone, you should under no circumstances take communion.

According to the custom of the Church, after their baptism, up to the age of seven, infants can receive communion frequently, every Sunday, moreover, without prior confession, and starting from 5-6 years old, and if possible, from an earlier age, it is useful to teach children to receive communion on an empty stomach.

Customs of the Church for the Day of Communion of the Holy Mysteries

Having risen in the morning, the one preparing for Communion must brush his teeth so that no unpleasant odor is felt from him, which in some way offends the very sanctity of the Gifts.

You need to come to the temple at the beginning of the Liturgy without delay. When carrying out the Holy Gifts, all communicants bow to the ground. The prostration is repeated when the priest finishes reading the pre-communion prayer, “I believe, Lord, and I confess...”.
The communicants should approach the Holy Chalice gradually, without crowding, pushing, or trying to get ahead of each other. It is best to read the Jesus Prayer while approaching the Chalice: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner”; or prayerfully sing with everyone in the temple: “Receive the Body of Christ, taste the immortal source.”

When approaching the Holy Chalice, you do not need to cross yourself, but have your hands folded crosswise on your chest (right to left) for fear of touching the Chalice or the spoon.
Having received the Body and Blood of the Lord from the spoon into the mouth, the communicant must kiss the edge of the Holy Chalice, as if the very rib of the Savior, from which blood and water flowed. Women should not receive Communion with painted lips.
Moving away from the Holy Chalice, you need to make a bow in front of the icon of the Savior and go to the table with “warmth”, and while drinking it, wash your mouth so that no small particle remains in your mouth.

The day of communion is a special day for the Christian soul, when it is united with Christ in a special, mysterious way. Just as for the reception of the most honored guests the whole house is cleaned and put in order and all ordinary affairs are abandoned, so the day of communion should be celebrated as a great holiday, devoting them, as far as possible, to solitude, prayer, concentration and spiritual reading.
Elder Hieromonk Nilus of Sorsky, after communion of the Holy Mysteries, used to spend some time in deep silence “concentrating within himself and advised others the same, saying that “we need to give silence and silence the convenience of the Holy Mysteries to have a salutary effect on the soul that is sick with sins.”

Elder Fr. Alexy Zosimovsky, in addition, points out the need to especially protect oneself in the first two hours after communion; At this time, the human enemy is trying in every possible way so that a person insults the shrine, and it would cease to sanctify a person. She can be offended by sight, by careless words, by hearing, by verbosity, and by condemnation. He recommends on the day of Communion, be silent more.

“Therefore, it is necessary for those who want to begin Holy Communion to judge who is starting what, and for those who have received communion, what they have received. And before Communion, one needs reasoning about oneself and the great Gift, and after Communion, one needs reasoning and memory about the Heavenly Gift. Before Communion, one needs a heartfelt repentance, humility, putting aside malice, anger, the whims of the flesh, reconciliation with one's neighbor, a firm proposal and the will of a new and pious life in Christ Jesus. After Communion, correction is needed, evidence of love for God and neighbor, thanksgiving, diligent striving for the new, holy and immaculate life. In a word, before Communion, true repentance and heartfelt contrition are needed; after repentance, the fruits of repentance are needed, good deeds, without which there can be no true repentance. Consequently, Christians need to correct their lives and begin a new one, pleasing to God, so that Communion will not be a judgment or condemnation for them" (St. Tikhon of Zadonsk).
May the Lord help us all in this matter.

List of used literature
1) Ep. Ignatius Brianchaninov. "To help the penitent." St. Petersburg, "Satis" 1994.
2) St. rights. John of Kronstadt. "Thoughts of a Christian about Repentance and Holy Communion." M., Synodal Library. 1990.
3) Prot. Grigory Dyachenko. "Questions for children's confession." M., "Pilgrim". 1994.
4) Schema-abbot Savva. "On the Divine Liturgy". Manuscript.
5) Schema-abbot Parthenius. “The path to the only thing needed - Communion with God” Manuscript.
6) ZhMP. 1989, 12. p. 76.
7) N.E. Pestov. "Modern practice of Orthodox piety." T. 2. St. Petersburg, "Satis". 1994.

Christianity is not always clear not only to newcomers, but also to those who have been baptized for a long time and even regularly attend church with their loved ones. However, priests consider such an approach to serving Christ unacceptable, because having accepted faith, we, along with eternal life and blessing, receive a number of rules that we must fulfill. In Christianity it is impossible to classify the sacraments by degree of importance. All of them bring only benefit to the human soul, which means every believer should take part in them. If you ask a clergyman a question about the sacraments and their sequence, they will most likely answer you that the first step on the path to the Lord is baptism, but the second, which carries enormous cleansing power, can be considered communion. Preparing for it takes quite a long period of time and requires a serious approach. A believer who wishes to receive communion must perform a series of manipulations and rituals in order to be admitted to one of the great sacraments. Our article is entirely devoted to the issue of preparation for communion. For beginners this text can become a quality guide that will help you do everything on time and in accordance with church canons.

Communion: the essence of church rite

Preparing for communion includes several stages, but any church minister will advise you not to go through them thoughtlessly. In this case, the sacrament loses its importance and becomes a useless ritual, and such an attitude towards the sacrament is considered sinful. Therefore, those who are going to perform the ritual for the first time are recommended to learn in more detail about the very essence of the sacrament and its features before studying information about preparing for communion.

In general terms, communion is a special moment in the spiritual life of a believer when he can unite with the Creator, thus receiving assurance of his eternal life. We can say that during the ritual, a Christian eats the Body and Blood of Christ in order to get closer to him. This tradition was started by Jesus himself, saying goodbye to his disciples at the Last Supper.

The Gospel describes how he broke the bread and distributed it to those present, and then poured wine into cups, calling it his blood. Each of the disciples tasted the bread and wine, thus receiving communion for the first time. Today, believers who want to have eternal life must regularly perform this sacrament. Without it it is impossible to be saved. This moment especially noted by Jesus Christ himself.

A quick glance at the ritual we are describing will not allow us to understand its essence and depth. From the outside it seems that parishioners are simply eating bread and drinking wine, but in fact, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, these products are transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ. This is perceived as a real miracle that every true believer in God can touch.

The main meaning of the sacrament is that in the process a Christian receives spiritual food, as well as a guarantee of the immortality of his soul. IN sacred texts It is written that only those who managed to unite with Jesus during their lifetime can be sure of eternal life. Naturally, even after death the soul will be able to do this.

Preparation for communion necessarily includes reading the Gospel in order to remember the very first communion of believers in the history of Christianity.

Holy Communion: preparation

As noted earlier, it is necessary to prepare for the ceremony in several stages. Moreover, each of them must be carried out consciously and assessed from the point of view of the spiritual, and not the worldly. Unfortunately, not all believers approach the sacrament in this way, so even after joining the church they cannot always name all the items on the list of preparation for such an important Christian ritual.

We have compiled a list that includes all the manipulations and actions necessary to approach communion in full accordance with the rules prescribed by the church:

• home prayer (preparation for communion includes church prayers);
• fasting;
• acquiring and maintaining spiritual purity;
• confession;
• attending the liturgy.

In addition, there are features of the communion procedure itself, as well as behavior after it. We will definitely mention all this in the future.

Number of communions: how many times do you need to participate in the sacrament?

Preparation for communion and confession is very important, but usually those who have only recently acquired faith have a reasonable question about the possible frequency of participation in the ritual. Many people realize that the sacrament can be performed more than once, which significantly distinguishes it from baptism. But it still remains unclear how regular a ritual should be that requires such careful preparation.

The clergy advise doing this at least once a month. It’s even better if you begin to receive communion weekly. To some Christians, such a number seems excessive, but in fact it is difficult to imagine how the opportunity to unite with Christ and feel his closeness can be considered a burdensome duty. Of course, for beginners, preparing for communion and confession is not easy work, requiring the exertion of all spiritual strength and partly being a real test of faith. However, over time, the feeling of goodness that covers a person after the ritual becomes literally a necessity, without which it is difficult to exist in the world.

Therefore, beginners can perform the sacrament four times a year. It is recommended to do this during large fasts, when the soul is ordered to work and voluntarily undergo certain restrictions. Preparation for communion in church on the eve of Easter is especially important. On this great holiday, every believer must perform the sacrament. It is believed that without this ritual, a Christian cannot be fully imbued with the light that Jesus gave to all people on earth with his resurrection from the dead.

If you have just recently come to the temple, then know that in every action the regularity of its implementation is important. For example, many take communion for the first time after baptism, and then forget about this need for a long time, believing that they have already fulfilled everything prescribed for believers. However, such an attitude towards the sacrament is fundamentally wrong, so try not to lose the feeling of goodness, lightness and light received in the process of partaking of the Body and Blood of Christ. Keep in mind that the Lord sees not only our actions, but also our intentions, and therefore their purity must not be forgotten. IN modern world It’s very easy to get dirty about gossip, intrigue, anger and envy, for example. You can remove such a burden from yourself only through participation in the ritual we describe.

Prayer Rule

In the process of preparing for communion, prayers are a very important element that puts a person in the right mood and clearly characterizes his intentions. Let's say right away that they are secretly divided into home and church. Both have great strength, therefore, priests instruct parishioners in such a way that they must come to church, where the collective power of turning to the Lord increases several times, but at the same time devote time to home prayer.

The fact is that in the church every person feels the presence higher powers, and the vibrations caused by the words spoken at the service and the mental appeals of ordinary parishioners are a real energy flow. It is able to calm and heal mental wounds, and also literally “wash away” any negative energy from a person.

At home, prayer is structured a little differently. It naturally has some healing and cleansing power, but at the same time it requires more concentration. Indeed, among worldly affairs and worries, it is quite difficult for an ordinary person to abandon all matters and completely surrender to communication with the Lord.

If your goal is to prepare for communion, you should read the canons daily. Some believers read them only the day before the Sacrament, but it would still be correct to start doing this at least ten days before the ceremony. Three canons are important:

• to Jesus Christ;
• to the Mother of God;
• to your guardian angel.

The text of the listed prayers can be found in the prayer book or on the relevant information resources. But usually believers know them well by heart, although they are quite difficult for beginners to understand. For example, the canon to the Guardian Angel includes eight songs, three troparions and a prayer - and this is not all of its components. Therefore, at first it is allowed to read the canons from a sheet of paper during home prayer.

If you find it difficult to pronounce all the lyrics in their entirety, then try taking one song from each canon. They can be pronounced in any order, alternating with each other.

Among the prayers, it is customary to highlight Follow-up. It consists of psalms and directly prayer texts. The beginning of this appeal to the Lord is as follows:

In the process of preparing for communion, the canons and the Follow-up are read every day at any time convenient for the Christian. But it would still be better to do this in the evening hours just before going to bed, when there is an opportunity to analyze the past day.

Keeping the fast

At all stages of preparation for communion and confession, prayer, even daily, will not be enough. Therefore, fasting is a prerequisite for admission to the Sacrament. Both men and women must observe it, but children under seven years old can take part in the ritual without prior preparation. In addition, children are allowed to receive communion first.

Fasting is a conscious action necessary in order to understand the importance of the upcoming ritual. Priests always condemn mechanical adherence to rules, and they even recommend special fasting for some parishioners. In the original understanding of the word “fast” there is a limitation. For the sake of enlightenment and glorification of God, a person must give up what is necessary and important to him. In ancient times, food served as this value, so people fasted, limiting themselves to it. Today, church ministers recommend giving up what is very dear to you. For example, some should close all social networks for a certain period of time, while others should give up the Internet or shopping.

However, preparation for communion and confession includes a classic version of fasting. Three days before the Sacrament, dairy and meat products, as well as eggs and dishes using them, are prohibited. In order to support yourself, you can eat vegetables and fish. However, in the evening hours before communion, seafood also becomes forbidden. From midnight, believers must abstain from all food and liquid. It is believed that the Body and Blood of Christ purify a person and sanctify him only if the conditions described above are met.

A few words about spiritual purity

Preparing for confession and communion involves abstaining from all kinds of entertainment activities. The Church does not forbid its parishioners to have fun and be in a good mood, but, unfortunately, in the process of preparing for the sacrament, any such events do not contribute to the preservation of spiritual purity.

Believers should not only refrain from going to visit people, the theater, or the cinema, but also significantly limit their TV viewing. It is better if you can avoid television completely.

It is especially worth paying attention to your mood and state of mind. In the process of preparing for confession and communion, it is important to maintain purity of thoughts. Believers must control feelings such as envy, anger, blame, and so on. Avoid judging your loved ones and unfamiliar people, negative statements and swear words. Nothing should come from your mouth that could offend any other person. Controlling your mood is usually the hardest thing to do. Try to be in an even and calm mood, avoiding outbursts of emotions.

It is recommended to spend your free time praying and reading church books. How much effort to spend on this activity is decided by the person himself. There are no special regulations or rules in the church on this issue. Preparation for communion also implies the renunciation of intimacy between spouses on the eve of the ceremony. The ban does not apply to the time interval preceding this evening.

Confession

Repentance and awareness of one's imperfection are an indispensable condition for the performance of the Sacrament. In the process of preparing for communion, everyone who plans to take part in the ritual must voice their sins to the priest. Reconciliation with the Lord is possible only through the process of confession, which can be imagined as listing your sins before a priest. He, in turn, will pray for their redemption, which significantly distinguishes confession from an ordinary conversation with a church minister. If you have a lot of questions for a church minister, try to arrange a meeting and conversation in advance. Usually quite a lot of people gather for confession, and therefore a detailed conversation may not work out. Therefore, newcomers who are preparing for communion and confession for the first time remember the sins they have committed over the years of their lives in advance and come to church with full awareness of their bad deeds.

Any person who thinks about confession for the first time understands that he does not always do the right thing. The commandments given by the Lord to Moses list all aspects that a Christian must adhere to. If you do not comply with at least one of them, then you are close to sinful behavior, which means it is time to come to church with repentance.

It is interesting that many people, in the process of preparing for confession and communion, think about how to compose full list sins. However, church ministers strongly condemn this approach to the sacraments. The fact is that in the modern world of information technology it is customary to treat everything mechanically. Therefore, ready-made registers of sins are often used. In the process of preparing for confession and communion (many don’t even think about how to compile such a list on their own), such an attitude towards the great sacrament is condemned and cannot be a characteristic of a worthy Christian.

Keep in mind that during the confession process there is no need to be embarrassed and come up with the correct names of sins. Oddly enough, many try, even during confession, to “keep it up” and not lose face in front of the priest. However, you should not behave this way. From century to century, the list of sins practically does not change, and church ministers have heard about various sins, so it is difficult to surprise or amaze them with anything.

Even those who prepare for confession and communion more than once (prayers, fasting, awareness of sins, and so on) cannot always put together all the rules that will help them confess to the Lord with a full understanding of what they have done.

First of all, it is worth understanding that in the literal sense of the word, confession or repentance sounds like “a change of mind.” Therefore, you need to understand that changes in your life begin even before coming to the temple. If you are willing to take the time to recognize the unrighteousness of life, then by the time you meet the priest, change has already begun.

Do not forget that repentance mainly concerns mortal sins, such as adultery, theft, renunciation of one’s faith, and so on. Of course, during confession it is necessary to list the minor sins that we commit every day and do not even always realize that we are doing wrong. Rest assured that we will make such mistakes all the time, and we need to be prepared for this. Quite often, church ministers advise us to accept our sinfulness humbly, because only the Lord has no sin, and everyone else is more or less prone to mistakes.

Keep in mind that it is impossible to fully repent of sins if you are in a quarrel with someone. Of course, the priest will accept your repentance and you will be able to receive communion, but in reality the confession will be incomplete. Try to resolve all conflict situations before going to the temple. If this cannot be done due to the other person’s categorical refusal, then mentally ask him for forgiveness and forgive him for everything yourself.

Keep in mind that after confession, the priest may assign you penance. Many see it as a punishment, but in reality it is an opportunity to cleanse and prepare for the sacrament. Penance is prescribed for a certain period of time and can consist of abstinence, reading special prayers, or, for example, performing certain acts related to charity.

When we talk about communion, confession must take place on the eve of the sacrament. As a last resort, this can be done in the morning on the day of communion. But in this situation, you must know for sure that the clergyman will be able to devote time to you. Otherwise you will not take part in the sacrament.

Divine Liturgy

After fulfilling all the above conditions, believers must come to the liturgy. This service is held from the very early morning and those who plan to receive communion come to it with an empty stomach. You need to endure the service to the end and in its final part accept the gifts, which will symbolize the Blood and Body of Christ.

Rules of conduct during and after communion

Having defended the liturgy, the faithful accept the gifts with respect. At the same time, you should not cross yourself near the chalice, but it would be more convenient and correct to fold your hands on your chest in a cross. When accepting gifts, it is important to say your name. Moreover, keep in mind that it should be the same with which you were baptized.

After you move away from the bowl, approach the table with the prosphora. Take one and eat it right away. Then it is recommended to move away from the table so as not to interfere with the rest of the parishioners to bring the sacrament to its logical conclusion.

However, after all the manipulations have been completed, you cannot leave the church. No less important than accepting gifts is pronunciation prayers of thanksgiving, as well as kissing the cross. The priest walks around the flock with him at the very end of the service.

Only after all this can we consider that the sacrament has been completed. Church ministers recommend trying by any means possible to preserve the feeling received during the process of communion. Moreover, they claim that each successive communion makes it easier and easier to do this. In the future, the believer will be able to maintain spiritual purity and light after communion literally every day.

Prohibition of communion: we list the categories of Christians who will be denied participation in the sacrament

Not everyone will be able to take part in communion. And everyone who plans to begin preparing for the sacrament needs to know about these categories of persons. For example, believers who neglected confession will not be allowed to receive gifts. They are not given the opportunity to touch the great Christian sacrament.

Those who are in an insensitive state will also be denied the ritual. Also, spouses who had intimacy the day before will have to forget about communion. This interferes with the preservation of spiritual purity, and therefore cannot be considered a godly act.

Women with monthly menstrual bleeding should also wait to receive communion. The same applies to people recognized as possessed. If during seizures they fall into unconsciousness and blaspheme, then the clergy will ban their participation in the sacrament.

Preparing for Communion: a reminder

So, we think that you have already fully realized how difficult the process of preparing for communion is. Therefore, it is quite easy to get confused in the rules established by the church for those who plan to take part in the sacrament. To sum up our article, we have compiled a small reminder.

Before visiting the temple, work on understanding your sins and classifying them. Sincerely repent of what you have done and only then go to confession. Be sure to maintain spiritual purity before the sacrament through prayer and fasting, as well as after it with good deeds.

In church, never push or try to be the first to accept gifts. Women must carefully observe a certain style of clothing: covered shoulders, long skirts, and a head covered with a scarf. Do not wear bright makeup or lipstick.

Remember that communication with the Lord is a very valuable gift that every Christian can use. Communion can completely change your life, so don't waste time and take this important step towards light and spiritual rebirth.