Hegumen Agafangel (Belykh), rector of the Bishop's courtyard of St. Nicholas Cathedral in Valuiki, Valuisk and Alekseevsk diocese, employee of the Synodal Missionary Department, head of the Spassky missionary camp in Tiksi, Sakha Republic continues the conversation about the parish practice of communion.
– Father Agafangel, how often do you think one should receive communion?
- I think we are making a big mistake when we talk about the frequency or rarity of communion. This is an imposed term. We should not say that one should receive communion more often or less often, but that it should be done regularly, as far as possible.
Hegumen Agafangel (Belykh). Photo by Y. Nikitin
There are canonical rules that prescribe us to be at the service every Sunday. We also know about the canon according to which one who has missed Sunday liturgy three times is excommunicated from the Church.
If a person has the opportunity to take Communion every Sunday and receive Communion - this is not often, not rarely, but as needed.
It is clear that in real parish life everything happens in different ways. In cases where there is a possibility of forming a parish literally from scratch, where there were no traditions that appeared in the Synodal period or later in the Soviet period, people have no doubts that if you come to Sunday liturgy, you will receive Communion.
In parishes that have existed for many years, it is often necessary to explain why it is desirable to receive Holy Communion every week and that this does not require a weekly fasting preparation. Because people were a little scared: "Father, if you take communion every Sunday, it turns out that all life is just fasting."
There are no special instructions about fasting before the sacrament of a priest, who is no different from a layman. The priest fasts the prescribed days - on Wednesday and Friday, and takes communion on Sunday, and sometimes it happens more often, but he does not have any special grace, different from the laity, for this.
In our Tiksin parish, people try to start the sacrament at every service, in the Nicholas Cathedral, in Valuyki, where I now serve - regular parishioners receive communion two or three times a month.
- There is a wonderful experience, which is also reflected in: Following to Holy Communion, consisting of a canon, prayers, and there is also a pious tradition to add, if possible, other canons and akathists.
Therefore, if a person reads evening and morning prayers, then adding one canon and ten prayers to them is not difficult. If you have the strength and desire to pray more, then you can add other traditional canons.
Confessional discipline is another matter. Because it’s easier for someone to grind out minor disciplinary mistakes on a weekly basis in order to approach the sacrament more “prepared” than once deeply understand themselves.
We know that there are sins that really tear us away from God, separate us from the Chalice of Christ, and they need to be confessed before the sacrament. But we are not talking about little things, which, of course, are also not good and require correction, but they are not an obstacle to communion for an adult.
The sacrament is not a five for behavior, but a healing medicine that the Lord gives. Mysterious participation in the sacrifice and resurrection of Christ. Therefore, it is understandable that people who are burdened with their imperfection begin to take communion. But why strain out a mosquito?
There is a saying: "You won't go to hell for food." But from 90% of those who confess, you hear: "I ate candy on the wrong day, I am sinful, I need a confession" - despite the fact that a person may be in a long-term unrepentant non-peace with his neighbors or in some other spiritual situation.
As for fast preparation - if a person takes communion every Sunday, then observance of the prescribed fast on Wednesday and Friday and some reasonable restriction in food on Saturday is quite enough.
- And in cases when people receive Communion almost every day - on Holy Week, on Bright Week? Do they need the same prayer preparation?
- Yes, of course, "Follow-up" is a must. A priest who receives communion on such days every day and who, as already mentioned, is no different from the parishioners, reads the Rule every day.
As for the preparation of the guard before communion on Svetlaya: breaking the fast does not mean overeating and eating. If you want to eat three cutlets - eat two. Here's the preparation. And if a person ate a cauldron of pilaf the day before, drank a keg of wine - such a fasting is harmful.
– Is there a difference in preparation for communion in central Russia and, say, in Yakutia?
- Our parishioners in the north of Yakutia still try to fast, including on the eve of communion, with vegetables and fruits, as is customary in the central and southern regions of Russia. Although the prices for all this are prohibitive, and it would be much cheaper to eat local fish.
But the formed stereotype is difficult to break. If I am not mistaken, Lomonosov also wrote about this, complaining about the Palestinian and Greek fathers that they imposed their guard duty on us, the northerners.
But prayer preparation does not exactly depend on the region: the main thing is the Follow-up to Holy Communion - prayers and the canon, and then - according to your strength and desire.
– If a person comes to you who is going to receive communion for the first time….
“This is rare. Usually, those who are going to be baptized come for the first time, undergo special training: they participate in conversations, read recommended books, attend services, communicate with parishioners ... So when they come to the sacrament, there is no need to talk to them specifically about it.
In those rare cases when a person comes literally "from the street", says that he is baptized and that he would like to receive communion, but does not know how, we conduct a small catechist conversation, tell how to prepare, explain the meaning of the sacrament. To such a person, most likely, I will offer prayers not in Church Slavonic, but in Russian.
- If a person, for various reasons, receives Communion irregularly, it means that he needs intensive preparation. Fasting - a week, if possible, resemble divine services. In a week, you can have time to read the Follow-up and additional canons, and not everything at once - it's hard, but to distribute it according to the days of the week.
- According to the apostle Paul: abstinence is appointed by the spouses by mutual agreement. I do not take upon myself such impudence - to climb into someone else's bed and regulate the relationship between husband and wife. But as a priest, of course, I am obliged to define some general evangelical framework. And the decision how to be, they must make themselves.
– Do you admit any of your parishioners to the sacrament without confession?
- Yes, without confession before each communion, I admit those parishioners whom I have known for a long time, I know their spiritual life. Beforehand I ask: "Was there a sin during the past week that would not admit you to the Chalice?"
If I don't know a person well, I will definitely ask him to come to confession.
– Who can you prevent from participating in the sacrament?
- I never forbid going to the sacrament. Here's an advice - I can: "You know, today it is better for you to abstain from the sacrament, it seems to me that you are not quite ready."
If I see a person for the first time, he came to confession, intending to receive communion (this happens more often in Valuyki, in Tiksi - a small parish, everyone knows each other), and I see that he simply does not know why and how, then I understand, that it will be insane for him to take communion in this state.
I suggest that such a person must meet after the service, when I can explain everything. I explain: "And now I see that it will not be useful for you to receive communion." In most cases, people stay, listen, and come back after a while.
– Have there been times in your parish practice when people still did not understand why they should receive Holy Communion?
- I'll tell you about one of my missionary failures in Tiksi. The unbaptized husband and wife went to church for a long time for public talks, preparing for baptism. We usually first conduct the first part of the conversations, then - the rite of announcement, and after that we talk about the sacraments. The spouses attended all services, participated in conversations, in common meals.
Finally, the baptism was completed (and we are trying to perform the sacrament before the Liturgy, so that the newly baptized can receive Communion), the couple took Communion and ... the woman said: “What is this? Is this what you told us about ?! I don't like it at all! "
They never crossed the threshold of the temple again. A small village, we meet constantly, and only after a few years they began to respond to my greetings. Here's a story so far without a positive ending.
But often the majority of parishioners in Central Russia do not fully understand the meaning of the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ, the importance of common participation in the Eucharist. It is good that there is now such an abundance of Orthodox sites, newspapers, TV programs telling about this. Overall, however, this is a big problem and takes time to resolve.
1. About the Sacrament of Holy Communion.
The sacrament of communion
The Sacrament of Communion (Eucharist) is the most important of the Christian Sacraments, in which the believer, under the guise of bread and wine, receives (tastes) the very Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and through this mysteriously unites with God and becomes a partaker of eternal life.
The word "Communion" ("Communion") comes from the word "part" and means participation, participation, connection, communion, belonging to something.
The Sacrament of Communion is the greatest miracle on earth, which is constantly performed during the divine service, called the Liturgy, during which bread and wine, by the power and action of the Holy Spirit, become the true Body and true Blood of Christ.
His Holiness Patriarch Kirill:“We must remember that the most important thing that we do as a Church is the Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist. That is why it is important that believers often partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ.
In ancient times, when one of the baptized, being at the Liturgy, did not receive Communion, he had to publicly explain to the bishop why he avoids accepting the Holy Mysteries of Christ.
Today this tradition has left us because of our weak faith, because of our weak piety. But this tradition is sacred, and we should all strive to partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ as often as possible, first confessing our sins, preparing our souls for the Holy Mysteries of Christ. And let us believe that it is through this communion that the Lord will make up for our weaknesses, our weaknesses and heal our ailments. "
Holy Righteous Alexy Myochev: “ Partake often and do not say 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 who is worthy of the communion of the Holy Mysteries? No one is worthy of this, and if we do partake, it is only by the special mercy of God. We are not made for the sacrament, but the sacrament is for us. It is we, sinners, unworthy, weak, who more than anyone else need this saving source ... I partake you often, I proceed from the idea of joining you in the Lord, so that you feel how good it is to be with Christ. "
Every Sunday and every holiday, unconditionally partaking of the Holy Mysteries, Venerable Seraphim of Sarov when asked how often one should start Communion, he answered: "The more often the better." He said to the priest of the Diveyevo community Vasily Sadovsky: “The grace given to us by Communion is so great that no matter how unworthy and no matter how sinful a person is, but only in a humble consciousness of his sinfulness he approaches the Lord, who redeems all of us, even from head to toe covered with ulcers of sins, and it will be cleansed by the grace of Christ, brighten more and more, completely brighten and be saved. ”You need to prepare yourself for the sacrament of Holy Communion by prayer, fasting and repentance. In addition, it is very important to remember that preparation for Communion should be not only the fulfillment of certain prescriptions, but our whole life, built on the principles of the Gospel.
How to Prepare for the Sacrament of Holy Communion
Whoever wants to receive the Holy Mysteries of Christ must prayerfully prepare yourself for this: pray more and more diligently at home, attend church services. The time of preparation for the Sacrament is called fasting.
On the eve of communion, it is customary to attend the evening church service (if it is scheduled) or in the morning before the beginning of the morning service.
For prayer preparation for Holy Communion on the eve of Communion, you need to read on the home prayer rule:
three canons:
- canon of repentance to our Lord Jesus Christ
- canon of prayer to the Most Holy Theotokos
- canon to the Guardian Angel
- Follow-up to Holy Communion
All this is found in the Orthodox prayer book.
It is possible and even desirable to read the prayers mentioned above gradually, adding to the daily prayer rule (morning and evening prayers, reading the Gospel, Psalms and patristic works) according to the canon on the day, and on the eve of Communion itself the Follow-up to Holy Communion.
Fast
Before Communion is laid liturgical fast... For beginners who have fallen away and did not observe the multi-day and one-day (Wednesday and Friday) fasts established by the Church, a 7-day fast is prescribed before Communion. If certain conditions are met and necessary, with the blessing of the priest, one can fast before Communion and at other times.
Fasting, in addition to restrictions on food, also consists in eating and drinking less than usual, as well as refraining from going to the theater, watching entertaining films and broadcasts, and listening to secular music. Physical and mental purity must be observed. Spouses should refrain from bodily intercourse on the day before and after the sacrament.
On the eve of communion, a strict fast begins at 12 o'clock in the morning - complete abstinence from drinking and eating (in the morning, going to church for communion, it is not allowed to eat or drink anything; those suffering from tobacco addiction should also refrain from their passion).
Mood and behavior
One who is preparing for Holy Communion must reconcile with everyone and protect himself from feelings of anger and irritation, refrain from condemnation and all obscene thoughts, conversations, spending time, as much as possible, in solitude, in reading the Word of God (Gospel) and books of spiritual content.
Confession
Anyone who wants to receive communion should, on the eve, before or after the evening service, confess to God of his sins in the presence of a witness - a priest, open his soul sincerely and without hiding a single sin he has committed and have a sincere intention to correct himself.
Is it obligatory to receive communion at every service, is it possible to receive communion without confession? (Svetlana)
Hegumen Alexy (Ermolaev), abbot of the Holy Trinity Selenginsky Monastery, answers our reader's question:
- To your question, I would like to answer the following. I came to church 25 years ago and began to church. For about eight years I carried out various obediences in two parishes and for 16 years in two monasteries - Posolsky and Troitsky. I can answer you based on my personal spiritual experience and from the tradition of confession and Communion, which I saw at the beginning of my churching and which came out of the times of various degrees of persecution against the Church before perestroika. This tradition became close to me and determined my view on how to receive communion and to confess before the sacrament. Probably half of the most active parishioners of our region went to the temple in the town of Shilki, Chita region, where I carried out obedience at the beginning of my church life. In those days, at our church, before communion, they fasted even without vegetable oil and always for three days. Some are a little more. One of these fasting and always thoroughly confessed before Communion, already an old servant of God Lydia, recently rested in Bose on the second or third day of Easter, which confirms her righteousness, which we saw with our own eyes.
We usually took communion once every two or three weeks. No matter how difficult it was, they read all the rules and, having confessed the accumulated sins during this time, fasted and prayed accordingly and their repentance. My attitude to the preparation for Communion of that period remained as a kind of ideal in the sense of how one should approach this Sacrament. When I was already at the Posolsky monastery, Vladyka Eustathius of Chita and Zabaikalsky blessed all those living in the holy monastery - monks and non-monks - to receive communion usually once every two weeks, which we usually did. Thus, I bless my spiritual children to receive communion, although I am not saying that it is not allowed to receive communion more often on certain holidays and important days (name days, days of commemoration of the most revered saints, days of Bright Week). I give permission to receive communion sometimes 2 - 3 times a week.
The lack of confession before Communion is something unusual. Earlier I was surprised that in Orthodox churches in America, Greece, as well as in some other local Orthodox Churches, they approach the Holy Mysteries without confession and often without any fasting. This has already become the norm for them.
But in Greece, women have long walked without headscarves in churches, and parishioners sit on special chairs during divine services - like those of Catholics, sometimes getting up at especially important moments of the service. And, for example, their evening services last, as I saw in one of the temples in Greece, only about 30-40 minutes And in general, at least where I was, they do not have the order, as it seemed to me, that reverent attitude to service, to prayer, as in our churches. And somehow everything is very relaxed with them. Although with us, of course, not everything is as we would like it to be.
In Greece, some who approach the Holy Mysteries sometimes do not attend confession for more than a year. I don't think this is good. The example was striking for me when our guide, a Moldovan living in Greece for a long time, received the Holy Communion before our eyes. We were surprised when, in one of the Greek monasteries, without preparing for fasting on the previous days, without reading the prayers before Communion, without coming to confession, he went with everyone and took Communion. All members of our group, who arrived from Buryatia to Mount Athos, were very surprised by his frivolous attitude towards communion. And he said to our perplexed questions that his spiritual father, a Greek priest, blessed us to receive communion whenever possible, and he fulfills his obedience. But most of all we were amazed when we remembered that this guide of ours went out into the street during the service and, having got high, returned to the temple, and then approached the Chalice. And in general, for several days, while he took us around Athos, we did not notice any particular piety in him, i.e. did not notice the good fruits of such frivolous frequent communion. Here is an example of relaxation in spiritual life and communion without reverence and its fruits. Speaking about confession before communion, one cannot say that there are no problems here. Of course, there are situations when people sometimes speak in confession before Communion about something, just to say at least something. They don't see their sins. But when you explain to them that you need to repent not only at the level of deeds and words, but also the thoughts that nest in our souls, day and night defile our hearts, people begin to think. In general, people always have something to repent of when they begin to confess their inner agreements with these demonic mental admonitions in confession in order to clear their conscience before accepting the Holy Mysteries of Christ. And moreover, it must be said that during communion we are talking about a meeting with Christ, about the Great Meeting, and when we meet too often, as if out of need and anyhow, then the fruits of such meetings are appropriate.
Communion at each Liturgy, in my opinion, is not a useful thing for the modern stage of Christian life. Yes, theologians correctly assert that in some parts of the Liturgy there is an invocation of all the faithful who stand in this service to the Holy Mysteries, but already in ancient times the Apostle Paul said that “Whoever eats this bread or drinks the Lord’s cup unworthily will be guilty against the Body and Blood of the Lord. Let man test himself, and in this way let him eat of this bread and drink from this cup. For whoever eats and drinks unworthily eats and drinks condemnation to himself, not considering the Body of the Lord. That is why many of you are weak and sick, and many die " (1 Cor. 11: 27-30)... That is, you can partake unworthily, into your own sin, into your own sorrow, into your own misfortune.
To take communion more often, preparing accordingly, preparing the soul with repentance and prayer, in my opinion, is good. Thus, the priest Daniel Sysoev in his book "On the frequent communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ" writes that the holy fathers Ignatius the God-bearer (+107), Justin the Philosopher (~ 100-165), African martyrs, Cyprian of Carthage (? - 258), Athanasius the Great (298-373), Ambrose of Mediolan (~ 340-397), Basil the Great (330-379), Gregory the Theologian (329-389), Gregory of Nyssa (~ 335- ~ 394), John Chrysostom (347 –407), Gennady of Constantinople (~ 400–20 November 471), Cyril of Alexandria (~ 377–444), Onuphrius the Great (Egyptian hermit of the 4th century), Macarius the Great (~ 300–391), Anthony the Great (~ 251–356) , Barsanuphius the Great (died about 563), John the Prophet (lived in the 6th century), Hesychius of Jerusalem (+ ~ 432-434), Abba Apolonius (+ ~ 395), Jerome of Stridon (~ 347-419 / 20), Theodore the Studite (759-826), John Cassian the Roman (~ 360- ~ 435), Nicodemus Svyatorets (1749-1809), Macarius of Corinth (1731-1805), Nectarius of Aeginsky (1846-1920), John of Kronstadt (1829-1908), Alexei Mechev (1859-1923), Seraph them (Zvezdinsky) and countless others ”.
But all these saints spoke of the desirability of frequent communion, and only two fathers spoke of communion at each Liturgy, and even in the times of distant antiquity, they were Cyprian of Carthage and blessed Augustine. (See about this: Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeyev) of Volokolamsk. On the frequency of communion).
It should be said that for the first three centuries Christians did receive communion at almost every Liturgy, but this was a time of persecution, a time of danger of exile, torment, loss of neighbors and death itself. This means that it is the time of the most fervent prayer, the time of fervent desire for the Lord to be close to a person, so that He strengthens him in conditions of constant danger and, if necessary, helps to endure torment. And willy-nilly, people received communion in a reverent state of mind.
But if in those days - the first century of Christianity, when the apostles and the closest disciples of Christ were alive and the memory of the recent events of the earthly life of the God-man, His death on the cross and His Holy Resurrection, there was an unworthy communion, then what to say about our time, removed from those events for 2000 years? In our time, the obligatory Communion at each Liturgy can lead to the profanation of this Sacrament for a significant part of the faithful. Constantly and imperceptibly, the level of reverence for this great shrine will decrease, people will begin to “receive communion out of habit,” and without due reverence. And as I noticed, grace is not given to people who receive communion without due reverence.
As we remember, some saints, for example, Mary of Egypt, received Communion only a few times during their lives, but achieved holiness, while we, taking Communion often, gradually begin to look at the Communion as a kind of "vitamin", a spiritual pill, and then we are surprised that we don't really feel anything. I also noticed that many children, often taking Communion, but not preparing to reverently receive the Holy Gifts, at the age of 12-13 for a long time, and perhaps forever disappear from the church. And especially they are not seen returning to the temple in an older age. If the Sacrament acted automatically, without taking into account our will and the most reverent feelings necessary for this, then the children, who often receive Communion with some parents, would be like angels, and would not leave them at a transitional age. And adults, who often take Communion, “automatically” would become angelic beings, which, being with the Church for more than 20 years, I did not notice.
But those who receive communion rather rarely, but reverently, have in themselves considerable fruits of the grace of the Holy Spirit - and meekness, and patience, and humility, and love and the mother of all virtues - prayer.
Unfortunately, I noticed that in our time the process is expanding when young priests treat the issues of the Sacrament, Confession in a very modern way, but the opinion of the clergy should be based on the teachings of the holy fathers, and not on liberal theology. Not a single holy father gave me advice to take communion at every Liturgy, except for the two mentioned above, and even without confession. For example, Seraphim of Sarov advised to receive communion in all 4 fasting periods, on the twelve great feasts and on some other important days of the year. And if the will of God were to receive communion at each Liturgy, then it would surely have been revealed to him by the Lord or the Most Pure Mother, who appeared to him 12 times. In the apparition, the Mother of God said that the Monk Seraphim should remove from the monastic rule of the Diveyevo sisters the reading, if I am not mistaken, the Akathist, so as not to impose unnecessary sin on any of them if he could not read it. And such a matter of great importance for salvation as the obligatory communion at each Liturgy - if this were pleasing to God - could not remain without the admonition of the Monk Seraphim from the Mother of God. Neither Ignatius Brianchaninov, nor Theophan the Recluse and the teachers of the Church of the same scale in the times close to us, with a great many other spiritual teachings, do not teach about the need to take communion at every Liturgy. But they were very close to the Lord, and the Lord would spiritually reveal to them that such communion was pleasing to Him.
The saints spoke from God, but we, modern Christians, often speak from ourselves, and this with insufficient experience in the spiritual life. It is necessary to be based on the teachings of the holy fathers, so that there is spiritual benefit, and not a delightful delusion.
Based on the foregoing, I can say: I advise my spiritual children to confess regularly and - with a certain frequency, if there is an inner readiness, often enough, but without obligation at each service - to partake of the Holy Mysteries. And the best proof of my words is a short lesson from one of the wise Optina elders, the holy Venerable Confessor Nikon of Optina: "You can take Communion more often and less often, but you need to confess more often, so that your conscience is always pure and unblemished."
There are different measures of fasting before Communion; there is no single rule that would be established for everyone.
The practice of three to seven days of fasting before Communion arose in the 18-19th centuries, during the period of the Eucharistic cooling off, when people received Communion once or twice a year, and accordingly they fasted for about a week.
***
Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk:
There is no rule for fasting three days before the sacrament.
- The tradition of fasting three days or a week before Communion is also a local Russian custom. If we turn to the canons or definitions of the Ecumenical Councils, we will not find such a requirement. The canons talk about fasting on Wednesdays and Fridays, about four days of fasting throughout the year, in addition, in the liturgical books we find an indication of several more fasting days, for example, the day of the Beheading of John the Baptist or the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord. But the canons do not say anything about the need to fast for three days or a whole week before the sacrament. It seems to me that the requirement to confess before each communion and fast for a week or three days arose when Communion became very rare: once or three or four times a year. I consider it a decline. In the ancient Church, Christians used to receive communion every Sunday. I think that in those Churches where the sacrament has become rare, it would be wrong to abruptly change the tradition and demand to be sure to receive communion every Sunday. But I am sure that taking communion three or four times a year is not enough. In practice, it is very good to begin communion every Sunday. Therefore, I will say this: observe fasting on Wednesdays and Fridays, abstain also on Saturday nights, confess at least once a month, but take communion as often as possible. I recommend this practice to people whom I am preparing to join the Orthodox Church. If a person takes communion once a month or less, I say that this is too rare. If we look at the practice of the ancient Church and the teachings of the Holy Fathers, we will see that they testify to frequent communion. Not only the early, but also the later fathers, such as the saint or the monk who lived in the 18th century, the compiler of the Philosophy, speak in favor of frequent communion. And I think the frequent communion movement in the Greek Church is a good thing. I welcome it when people take communion often. I think the rules regarding confession and fasting before communion can be changed. But these issues, it seems to me, are within the competence of local Churches.
I remember when I first converted to Orthodoxy, about fifty years ago, the priest at the liturgy came out with the Chalice and said: “With the fear of God, with faith and love, approach,” but no one approached. Nobody took communion. And even then I felt: this cannot be right. Now in the West, in Orthodox churches, almost everyone takes communion. And I'm glad of that. Of course, we partake not because we are confident in our own righteousness, but because we believe in God's mercy. We come to the Chalice because we are called We call the Sacrament Saints Gifts... The sacrament is not something that can be earned or deserved, it is always a free gift of God's love.
- Before communion, the priest proclaims "The Holy One is for the saints", in the sense of "the Holy Gifts are for those who are holy", but then the choir answers: "One is Holy, one is Lord Jesus Christ ...". However, we, not being saints in this sense, nevertheless dare to receive communion ... On the other hand, we know that in the New Testament and in liturgical texts all Christians are called saints who are not excommunicated from the Church for especially grave sins. How, then, do holiness and personal moral perfection of a person compare?
- First of all, if we talk about the understanding of holiness, three words should be used: one, some, all. One is holy - Jesus Christ. Holiness belongs to God, only He is holy by nature. We can be holy only through the communion of the holiness of God. Further, we say that they are called to holiness all... When the Apostle Paul addresses his epistles to all the saints in Rome, Colossi, etc., he is addressing Christian communities. Likewise, the Apostle Peter writes about Christians as a "holy people." In this sense, all Christians are holy. Finally, we are talking about those saints who are glorified by the Church and who are marked on the church calendar. We can say the same about the priesthood. Only one High Priest - Jesus Christ, as stated in the Book of Hebrews. Then, through baptism, all Christians become priests, as the Apostle Peter writes, calling Christians not only a holy people, but also a "royal priesthood." Further, some become priests - whom she chose and assigned to this ministry through the laying on of hands. Thus, both holiness and priesthood have three levels.
We are all called to holiness. Therefore, if I approach Communion, I do it not because I am already holy, but because I am a sinner who requires God's help, which is given to me in Holy Communion.
Of course, some people cannot partake of the Sacrament because of their sins. But in the main, of course, the Communion is not a reward for the saints, but a help for sinners. In some lives we read that there were such saints who, after receiving communion, for a long time did not approach the Chalice again, such as, for example, St. Mary of Egypt. She received communion in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and then went into the wilderness, where for many years she did not receive the Holy Gifts, then she received communion only just before her death.
- But can this be a general rule?
Of course, this is not a general rule. This is a rule for saints who can live one Communion for many years. But we must take communion often. Not because we are saints, but because we are weak and need help, grace.
- What place does moral perfection take in preparation for communion? Many people here in Kiev confess and receive communion every week, and at the same time it happens that some of them, having confessed in the evening, in the morning again asks to accept confession, because in the evening or night they sinned with something - impious thoughts, movements hearts, etc. In addition, many Christians confess the same sins every time, week after week. How can I make a promise in confession not to repeat these so-called “everyday” sins if I know for sure that I will commit them?
- Going to confession too often can express a kind of superstition. It is worth remembering that the Sacrament is grace, and the devil does not want us to receive grace. And so he is looking for any ways to make us stop receiving communion. When it happens that we are visited by a sinful thought, which can happen even during the Divine Liturgy, we must simply repent of this within ourselves and proceed to Communion, since this is a devilish temptation.
The grace that is given in the sacrament of repentance is very important for each of us. But we must take responsibility and "play our part." You cannot turn confession into a mechanical enumeration of the same sins. It must be rare enough to be event, really disclosing your inner state. Every day in our evening prayers we ask for the forgiveness of sins. And if we sincerely pray for forgiveness, God forgives us at the same moment. This does not mean that you do not need to go to confession. Some of our transgressions prevent us from receiving communion until we confess them. But we must take seriously the prayers of repentance as part of our daily rule. Confession should not become too frequent. You should take a more responsible approach to this. Going to confession too often devalues it.
We must understand that we really need to confess the same sins over and over again. Confession should not be avoided because sins are repeated. Usually we don't become saints overnight. We need a struggle, a constant ascetic effort over ourselves. But God's grace brings about a change in us. We may not notice it, but it is happening. With the help of daily efforts, the grace of God, confession and, above all, communion, we can move forward - humbly and quietly.
- But it also happens that people are disappointed in their efforts, because they confess the same thing, take communion, but they do not observe any change for the better. This is especially felt in big cities with their bustle, when a person has practically no time for spiritual life. Work, a long exhausting road in traffic jams, family worries ... Not everyone finds time even for morning or evening prayers.
- In fact, we, clergy, and especially monks, who do not need to take care of their families and children, understand the conditions in which family Christians live. People have to work hard, take a long time to get to work and home, and in the evening at home there is also a lot to do ... We must understand these difficult conditions in which many lay people live. Despite this, every Christian can find at least a little time in the morning and evening to pray in front of the icon. Even five minutes in the morning and evening make a huge difference. These minutes give “direction” to the whole day and give that depth that cannot be reached otherwise. It should also be said about the short prayers that can be done during the day. We can pray when we shower, ride the subway, drive, or get stuck in traffic. We can use short prayers, for example, Jesus' prayers: “Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me,” or “Glory to Thee, Lord, glory to Thee,” or “Most Holy Theotokos, save us,” or other short prayers. So we can pray even during the busiest times, or, for example, when we are walking from one place to another. It is very important to see that in addition to the special time allotted for prayer in front of the icon (which each of us needs), there is an opportunity to freely pray throughout the day, at any place. But if we want to pray during the day, then we must choose the shortest and simplest prayers for this, such as Jesus' prayer. You can always say the Jesus Prayer: when we are waiting for something, when we travel, walk, when we change tasks at work, etc. The apostle Paul writes, "Pray incessantly." He talks about how difficult it is, but it starts very simple: with frequent short prayers throughout the day. Through such prayers, we can fill our entire day with the presence of Christ - and this is the way to true prayer. Look for Christ everywhere. The Jesus Prayer can be performed not only by monks or clerics, but also by lay people with families and worldly responsibilities. Do the Jesus Prayer - not when heightened concentration is required, but at all in between. We can combine prayer times and work. Learning this way of the Jesus Prayer is very important in our daily life. And also the Jesus Prayer is good to teach children. They can repeat the Jesus Prayer from time to time from a very young age because it is very simple.
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Mark, Bishop of Yegoryevsky, Deputy Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate:
The tradition of three days of fasting
The tradition of the three-day fast comes from the tradition of the synodal period, when one or two communions were received once a year. In this situation, it is normal and very good for a person to fast for 3 days before the sacrament. Today, as a rule, confessors and priests recommend communion much more often. It turns out to be a kind of contradiction: people who want to receive communion often doom themselves to an almost constant fast on Thursdays and Saturdays, which becomes an unbearable feat for many. If in the future we do not treat this issue with reasoning, then this will have a negative impact on the spiritual life of our Church.
interviewed by priest Andrey Dudchenko, Constantinople-Kiev
There is no obligatory law for how many days to fast before Holy Communion
Abbot of the Vatopedi Monastery Archimandrite Ephraim
- Tell me, father, how to properly prepare for Holy Communion? In our tradition, the laity must fast for three days, and the priests do not fast before Communion. What explains this difference?
- I know that in Russia some priests say that before Communion you have to fast for three days, and some - for five days. In fact, there is no obligatory law for how many days to fast before Holy Communion. Proof of this is the fact that priests do not fast without compulsory, and then not only receive Communion the next day, but also serve the Liturgy. After all, we observe certain fasts - four fasts a year and fasts on Wednesday and Friday, I think that these fasts are enough. If someone wants to fast before Communion even for a whole week for the sake of asceticism, for the sake of reverence, please, but for the confessors to legalize this - we have never heard of this anywhere. If this were a prerequisite for Communion, first, priests would have to fast always. It is sometimes said that Christians only need to receive communion once every two or three months - there is no such law either. When a Christian does not have deadly sins, he has the right to receive Holy Communion much more often.
fragment of the meeting with the laity in the Spiritual and Educational Center of the Yekaterinburg Metropolitanate
