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Every religion has its own religious buildings. It happens that we are on a trip to another country and try to take excursions to various places. Then we are faced with the question of whether Orthodox Christians can visit mosques, synagogues or other places of worship.
Advantages of visiting mosques
– Getting a bigger reward
– for each prayer in a Muslim house of worship, believers receive a reward that is many times greater than the reward for prayer at home. One of the hadiths says that for collective prayer the Almighty has promised a reward that is 27 times higher than the barakat for individual prayer (Muslim).
– Unity of the Ummah
– by visiting mosques, we become closer to our brothers in faith, which, in turn, contributes to the unity of the Muslim Ummah.
– Visiting mosques
- guests of Allah. As has already been said, mosques are , which means those who visit them, those who respond to the invitation of the Lord, are His guests.
- The acquisition of knowledge
– a believer can gain new knowledge about religion during a sermon or during Islamic courses.
Many Orthodox believers wonder whether it is possible to visit churches belonging to other religions. This situation can be encountered on excursion programs in other countries; some other need may force one to visit the houses of God of other faiths.
Excursions to churches and other sacred places
Is it possible for a Muslim to go to church on a tour? In principle, the issue is closely related to that raised in the previous section. It’s interesting, but many believers confidently answer that a Christian cannot enter a mosque, and a Muslim cannot enter a temple. Therefore, when traveling, people often miss the opportunity to visit certain places because they are associated with the religious cult of other faiths.
But in fact, there are no prohibitions in this regard. Any true believer can visit Christian holy places for the purpose of familiarization. This is perceived as gaining new experience and knowledge, and a Muslim should strive to obtain it. After all, only an educated and knowledgeable person in various spheres of life can bring the light of faith to other people. We should not forget that this is one of the most important missions of Islam.
Based on the above, any true believer can go on a trip and, as part of an excursion program, visit Catholic churches in Europe and Orthodox churches in Russia. All these actions are not considered sins.
Is it possible for Orthodox Christians to visit Catholic churches?
The majority of Orthodox clergy express a positive opinion about the presence of Orthodox believers in a Catholic church.
There is nothing wrong with entering a Christian home of the Catholic denomination if the visit is not made for the purpose of prayer and confession, but is motivated by interest. In addition, many Catholic churches keep common Christian shrines among their walls, which you can worship and turn to for help, no matter where they are.
For information! The Catholic faith recognizes communion and apostolic succession with the Orthodox Church.
To broaden your horizons, you can visit churches of other faiths for excursion purposes, especially if they belong to Christian denominations.
As for the attitude of the Orthodox Churches to the prayer of Catholics in their churches, the position here is more complicated. ROC
The MP will most likely deny a Catholic the sacrament of communion due to the fact that communion means complete agreement with the church in everything, and the Orthodox are still in schism with Catholics.
But in the POC (Patriarchate of Constantinople) this is quite possible in extreme cases. Despite the fact that the Orthodox Churches recognize for Catholics their apostolic succession and the Sacraments (though in the case of a Catholic’s adoption of Orthodoxy), there is no clear position on the issue of prayers and the participation of an Orthodox person in the Catholic sacraments.
In most cases this is prohibited, but as an exception everything is possible.
Islam and Christianity: the point of view of theologians
Unfortunately, in modern society, Christians are often pitted against Muslims. Society has developed a clear understanding of the difference between these religious beliefs and their dissimilarity. If you conduct a social survey on the street with the participation of young people of both religions, then they will probably confidently talk about how impossible it is for people with such different worldviews to coexist.
But both Christian priests and Muslim imams argue that there is not such a big difference between our religions, and even give examples that are reflected in the hadiths and the Koran.
First of all, young people who clearly answer negatively to the question of whether Muslims can enter an Orthodox Church should turn to the Koran. It refers to Christians more than once as “people of the Book” and speaks of them with great respect.
For those for whom this information is not enough, we can recommend finding a line in the Koran that says that Christians of all religions are closest to Muslims. After all, they preach submission and humility before God. And this is what a devout Muslim should be.
In addition, it is known that the Prophet Muhammad sent his followers to Ethiopia so that it was Christians who would protect them from the pagans. They hid Muslims in their house for quite a long time, which saved their lives. And then they sent us on our way in peace.
Therefore, there is no need to focus too much on how different our religious beliefs are. It is better to live with the feeling that we all believe in one God, who expects us to follow certain rules. Now we have come close to the question of whether Muslims can enter church. Let's try to understand this rather difficult to understand issue by looking at it from all sides.
Rules for visiting a Catholic church
Staying in a Catholic church requires compliance with the traditions and rules of conduct accepted there.
It is important to know the customs of Catholics:
- The rules of appearance for women who are in the church building are not as strict as in the Orthodox faith. They are officially allowed to attend services with their heads uncovered and in trousers. Knowing this, you should not come to Catholic services in too revealing clothes;
- for men there is a strict rule about removing headwear in church;
- you can be baptized in a Catholic church according to Orthodox custom;
- near the entrance at the doors there are vessels with holy water; when Catholics enter the building, they dip their fingers into the holy water; an Orthodox person does not have to do this, he just shouldn’t linger at the door;
- Before performing the sacrament of communion, Catholics shake each other’s hands, saying: “Peace be with you.” This rule should not be ignored so as not to offend the feelings of believers.
Attention!
Instead of a church altar, Catholics have a presbytery. It is separated from the large hall by a partition, and ordinary believers cannot enter there. Catholics are allowed to sit during the entire service, so there are many benches there.
Confessional in a Catholic Church
During the service, you must maintain silence; despite the purpose of the visit, you cannot use a video camera or photo camera. After the service you will be able to talk with the priest if you wish. It's not nice to stand close to the booths where Catholics go to confession.
Are Muslims allowed to go into church and light candles?
This topic is most pressing in the modern world. The fact is that even the heads of some traditionally Muslim countries go into Orthodox churches and light candles. Let us remember the case of the head of Kazakhstan, Nazarbayev, six years ago. Then he visited the cathedral in Astana and lit a candle for Christmas. This drew harsh condemnation from the Islamic world. However, many true believers viewed this act as a tribute to Christianity and a symbol of the fact that representatives of different faiths can negotiate well with each other and live in peace.
So who is right in this dispute? Is it possible to unambiguously answer the question about lighting candles in churches? Let's approach the explanation from afar. Although there are many similarities between Christianity and Islam, there are certain differences in religious practices. However, most rituals were invented by people, not by God, although they are based on His covenants.
Based on the fundamentals of Islam, it prohibits the performance of rituals of other religious cults and singles out idolatry as a particularly serious sin. Since the Prophet Muhammad did not speak about the need to light candles, and such a tradition does not exist, then by lighting candles in the temple, you are committing a sin by performing a Christian ritual. Ignorance can be considered the only exception, but even this cannot completely cleanse the soul of sin.
Rules for visiting the mosque
Islam differs from Christianity in many ways, but people with a different faith are not prohibited from entering there. It is important to follow strict rules for visiting a Muslim temple:
- It is forbidden to attend prayer; it is better to choose the time to enter the mosque between prayers;
- shoulders and knees must be covered, women must cover their heads;
- go to mosques barefoot, you need to take off your shoes before entering;
- It is prohibited to drink or eat food inside the building;
- It is necessary to turn off the sound of phones;
- You can take photographs outside of prayer time;
- Donations are also not prohibited.
Women are prohibited from visiting the mosque during menstruation and prayer.
Important! Many mosques have two entrances: for women and for men. Most often, women are given a separate place on the balcony for prayer.
Video about whether Orthodox Christians can enter Catholic churches and mosques
“The important thing is why a person comes to the mosque,” says Deputy Mufti of Tatarstan Rustam Khairullin. “A person’s intentions must be good.”
First of all, a person planning to visit a temple must put his appearance in order: this also applies to clothing and cleanliness of the body.
Enter the mosque only with good intentions. Photo: AiF / Aliya Sharafutdinova
“Women dress so that only their hands, feet and face are visible,” says Rustam Khairullin. - At the same time, clothes should be loose and not very bright. Men also try to cover their bodies as much as possible; they put a skullcap on their heads.”
In his sayings of vice, Muhammad said that Muslims must be ritually pure, that is, they must perform a complete ablution.
Taharat - small ablution. Many rituals of worship of Allah cannot be performed without ritual ablution. For example, it is not allowed to perform namaz, tawaf - walking around the Kaaba (during Hajj and Umrah), or touching the Holy Quran with your hands. All mosques have ablution rooms.
Full ablution, called ghusul, is washing the entire body along with cleansing the mouth and nose. Complete ablution is performed in a shower or bath.
What is not clear, you can ask the imam. Photo: AiF / Aliya Sharafutdinova
You can only enter the mosque with your right foot with the words “O Almighty, open the gates of your mercy.” Once inside the room, a Muslim must greet everyone by saying As-salamu aleikum (translated from Arabic as “Peace be upon you”). A Muslim must greet even if he does not find anyone in the mosque, since it is believed that angels are always present in the temple.
Shoes are removed in the mosque. There are special cabinets where you can put your shoes so they don't get in the way. It is preferable for a Muslim to have socks and shoe covers.
How to pray in a mosque?
Five times a day, at a strictly defined time, the azan is heard from the minaret - the call to prayer. The muezzin proclaims it. All mosques are built in such a way that they are directed towards Mecca.
There is a recess inside the building - mihrab (translated from Arabic as “first line of the front”). There is a minbar - a pulpit or tribune in the cathedral mosque, from which the imam reads the Friday sermon. The minbar has several steps. Prophet Muhammad preached his sermon from the topmost of them. As a sign of his respect, all imams stand 2-3 steps below the top.
Minbar in the center of the hall. Photo: AiF / Aliya Sharafutdinova
All other Muslims stand behind him facing Mecca. On Friday, congregational prayers are held in mosques, the value of which is 27 times higher than those performed at home.
Every Muslim strives to stand behind the imam in the front row, as he will receive more rewards from Allah for this.
You cannot pass in front of a person who is saying namaz. In this case, his prayer is violated and is not accepted by Allah. Therefore, walk around the Muslim from behind.
Women and men read prayer in different rooms, sometimes the women's room is located on the balcony. If there are none, then the women stand in a row behind the men.
Men and women sit separately in the mosque. Photo: www.globallookpress.com
“If you don’t know how to pray, don’t hesitate to ask one of the mosque employees to explain it to you. In the temple there are always “cheat sheets” - books that briefly describe how to read the prayer. You can perform a ritual by looking at a book. Over time, you will be able to do it without any help,” says Rustam Khairullin.
How to give alms?
A Muslim who wants to give alms - sadaqa - must give it with his right hand and uttering the intention to himself. The person receiving the gift from him also accepts it with his right hand, saying to himself “Bismillah-Irahman-Irahim.”
Alms are given only to those who have no housing or food. Photo: www.russianlook.com
“In Islam, a person in need is considered to be someone who is deprived of food or shelter today. These are the people who are given sadaka. If a person is not one of these, but is given alms, then he, in turn, must give it to someone who fits these criteria,” says Rustam Khairullin.
