Hello, dear readers!
How to prepare for confession and communion? Preparing for confession and communion, especially for the first time, raises many, many questions. I remember my first communion. How difficult it was for me to figure everything out. In this article you will get answers to the questions: what to say in confession to a priest - an example? How to take communion and confession correctly? rules for communion in church? How to confess for the first time? how to prepare for communion? The answer to these questions is given by the modern Greek preacher Archimandrite Andrei (Konanos) and other priests. Other useful articles: What is communion in church and why is it needed?
Rules for communion in church. How to prepare for communion?
Communion was instituted by Jesus Christ Himself at His last meal with the Apostles. The modern Greek preacher and theologian Archimandrite Andrei (Konanos) says , if people realized what a gift of unity with God they receive during communion, because now the blood of Christ flows in their veins... if they realized this fully, their lives would be very has changed!
But, unfortunately, most people during communion are like children playing with precious stones and not understanding their value.
Rules for communion can be found in any Temple. They are usually presented in a small book called “HOW TO PREPARATE FOR HOLY COMMUNION.” These are the simple rules:
- Before communion, you need to fast for 3 days - eat only plant foods (refuse meat, dairy products and eggs).
- You need to be at the evening service the day before the day of communion.
- You need to confess either at the evening service or on the day of communion at the very beginning of the liturgy (the morning service, during which communion takes place).
- pray more diligently for several days - to do this, read the morning and evening prayers and read the canons: Canon of repentance to our Lord Jesus Christ , Canon of prayer to the Most Holy Theotokos , Canon to the Guardian Angel , Following to Holy Communion* . * If you have never read the Canons (in Church Slavonic), you can listen to the audio (available on prayer book sites using the links provided).
- You need to take communion on an empty stomach (do not eat or drink anything in the morning). An exception is made for sick people, such as diabetics, for whom food and medicine are vital.
If you begin to receive communion at every liturgy, every Sunday, your confessor will be able to allow you to fast less and not read all the indicated prayers. Don’t be afraid to ask the priest and consult with him.
How to confess for the first time?
The first confession, like all subsequent times when you decide to confess in church, requires some preparation .
First, you need to prepare yourself mentally . It would be right if you spend some time alone with yourself, turn to the Lord in prayer. It is also recommended to fast on the eve of confession. Confession is like a medicine that heals both body and soul. A person is spiritually reborn and comes to the Lord through forgiveness. You can start confession without communion, but your faith in the Lord must be unshakable.
Secondly, it is best to agree on the holding of the Sacrament of Confession in advance . On the appointed day, come to the church for the Divine service, and at the end of it, go to the lectern, where confession usually takes place.
How is communion celebrated in church?
Suppose you decide to take communion on Sunday. This means that the night before (Saturday) you need to come to the evening service. Usually the evening service in Temples begins at 17:00. Find out what time the liturgy (morning service) begins on Sunday, at which the communion itself will take place. Usually, the morning service in Temples begins at 9:00. If there was no confession at the evening service, then you confess at the beginning of the morning service.
About halfway through the service, the Priest will remove the Chalice from the altar. Everyone who was preparing for communion gathers near the chalice and folds their hands on their chest, right over left. They approach the bowl carefully so as not to tip it over. The priest gives the communicants the Holy Gifts with a spoon - a piece of the body and blood of Christ under the guise of bread and wine.
After this, you need to go to the end of the Temple, where you will be given a drink. This is water diluted with wine. You need to drink it down so that not a single drop or crumb of the Eucharist is wasted. Only after this can you cross yourself. At the end of the service, prayers of thanksgiving should be heard.
PORTAL CONTACTS
Communion is the most important and incomprehensible Sacrament of the Orthodox Church, in which the believer receives the Body and Blood of the Savior under the guise of bread and wine.
The Lord says this about His Holy Gifts in the Holy Gospel: Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink His Blood, you will not have life in you. He who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day (John 6:56).
The Sacrament of Communion gives a person strength for a grace-filled life in Christ. By receiving Communion, we ourselves become part of His Body as members of His Church.
Believers who want to receive communion at the liturgy must first confess. In the Sacrament of Repentance, the person confessing receives forgiveness from the Lord. Apparently, the priest gives absolution during confession: such power was given by the Savior Himself to the holy apostles, and through them to their successors: Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive, they will be forgiven; on whomever you leave it, it will remain on him (John 20:22-23).
Does everyone need repentance?
After the fall of the forefathers, human nature was damaged by sin. Repentance is necessary for any Christian: sins alienate a person from God, the source of all good, and make him a stranger to Christ, Who is the Head of the Church.
Sin is a wound for the human soul, and hidden and unconfessed sins inevitably lead to mental and physical illness. A person who is accustomed to maintaining the purity of his heart and the neatness of his soul cannot live without repentance.
Even those whom we today reverence as the greatest saints repented and confessed their sins with tears: the closer a person is to God, the more clearly he realizes his unworthiness before Him. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, then He, being faithful and righteous, will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:8-9), writes the holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian.
What is true repentance?
The essence of repentance is not only in recognizing oneself as a sinner - that would be too simple - but also in leaving sin, in changing the very way of life that leads to sin.
How detailed should confession of sins be?
Sins must be named clearly, without hiding behind general phrases (“I have sinned in everything…”, “I have sinned against the seventh commandment”). But it’s even more important not to try to justify yourself, no matter how much you want to. Accusations made against other people during confession are also incompatible with a feeling of repentance.
How and when is the Sacrament of Repentance performed?
Usually confession is performed in churches in the morning before the Divine Liturgy. You can also confess in the evening: during or after the all-night vigil. However, it is necessary to remember that you must come to church at the beginning of confession in order to participate in the general prayer, when the priest prays for all the penitents. At the end of these prayers, he pronounces the following parting word: Behold, child, Christ stands invisibly, accepting your confession... In Russian, this instruction sounds like this: “My child! Christ stands invisibly before you, accepting your confession. Do not be ashamed and do not be afraid, without hiding anything from me, but tell everything you have sinned without being embarrassed, in order to accept remission (of sins) from our Lord Jesus Christ. Here is His image before us: I am only a witness, to testify before Him everything that you tell me. If you hide anything from me, you will have a double sin. You came to the hospital - don’t leave here unhealed.”
How to prepare for confession?
The penitent asks God for grace-filled help: the ability to see his sins, the courage to openly confess them, the determination to forgive the sins of his neighbors against himself. Prayerfully he begins to examine his conscience. Examples of prayers imbued with a deep feeling of repentance were left to us by the great ascetics of the Church.
How to prepare to receive the Holy Mysteries of Christ?
It is necessary to prepare for Communion by fasting, usually three days (only eating plant foods is allowed, unless, of course, the person has serious illnesses), special intense prayer, almsgiving, doing good deeds, abstaining from sinful acts and even thoughts, various types of entertainment and pleasures.
On the eve of Communion, you should be in church during the evening service, since, in accordance with tradition dating back to the Old Testament, the church day begins in the evening.
In the evening, after the service, the canons to the Savior, the Mother of God and the Guardian Angel, which are placed in the prayer book, are read. After midnight you cannot eat, drink, much less smoke (smoking is generally a sinful habit that is condemned by the Church). The morning begins with morning prayers and the rule for Holy Communion, also included in the prayer book (you can read the rule the day before). According to pious custom, believers try to approach Communion with not only spiritual, but also physical neatness.
How to behave on the day of Communion?
When taking out the Chalice, you need to bow to the ground, and, folding your arms crosswise on your chest (right to left), approach the Holy Gifts one by one, no longer bowing and generally avoiding unnecessary movements. In this case, you need to clearly tell the priest your full Christian name and open your mouth to receive the Holy Mysteries. After communion, you should kiss the edge of the Chalice and move away without bowing or making the sign of the cross to the table where warmth and prosphora are prepared for those receiving communion.
In church or at home, communicants read prayers of thanksgiving for Holy Communion.
On the day of Communion, you must try to maintain inner silence within yourself.
How often should a Christian receive communion?
It is impossible to establish a single rule in this regard for everyone, but if we rely on the advice of the most famous modern confessors (in particular, Archimandrite John (Krestyankin), then it is advisable for an adult to receive communion every two to three weeks.
Why is it necessary to give Holy Communion to infants? How?
We all need God's gracious help. But it is especially necessary for children just entering this life - during the period when the foundation of their personality is being laid, when it is still in the stage of its formation. A small child cannot yet pray on his own, he is defenseless, his protection is the prayers of his parents and the prayers of the Church. And he, like a young plant, needs sun and moisture, feels the need for grace, taught through the Church Sacraments. And, first of all, through the Sacrament of Communion. Young children can (and should) be given communion as often as possible, according to the diligence of the parents. It is advisable to feed the child 1.5–3 hours before the liturgy (depending on how long he can go without food; older adults do not eat or drink after 12 o’clock at night). Infants receive communion while they are still unable to receive a piece of the Body, only with the Blood of Christ. At the same time, parents are required to be especially attentive and careful so that their child does not touch the Holy Chalice with an awkward movement. Until the age of 7, children receive communion without confession.
What to do if it seems that the priest is not able to devote enough time to all the penitents?
Indeed, today more and more people come to church, realizing the need for repentance, and in almost every church on the eve of holidays and Sundays there are queues of people wanting to confess. What to do? It is advisable to come to confession on a weekday, when the priest can pay more attention to you. You can, after examining your conscience, write down your sins. You can approach the priest in advance, warn him that you want to confess for the first time, and ask him to set up a special time for you to confess. A queue at the temple is not a reason to postpone a vital step!
How to prepare for confession? What to say to a priest in confession - an example? List of sins
The main rule in confession, which priests always remind us of, is not to recount sins. Because if you start retelling the story of how you committed a sin, then you will unwittingly begin to justify yourself and blame others. Therefore, in confession, sins are simply named. For example: pride, envy, foul language, etc. And in order not to forget anything, use the list of sins against God, against your neighbors, against yourself (usually such a list is in the book “HOW TO PREPARE FOR HOLY COMMUNION.”
Write down your sins on a piece of paper so you don’t forget anything. Come to the Temple early in the morning so as not to be late for confession and the general prayer before confession. Before confession, go to the priest, cross yourself, venerate the Gospel and the cross, and begin listing your pre-recorded sins. After confession, the priest will read a prayer of permission and tell you whether you are allowed to receive communion.
It very rarely happens when a priest, for your correction, does not allow you to take communion. This is also a test of your pride.
It is important during confession, naming a sin, to promise yourself not to repeat it. It is very important on the eve of communion to reconcile with your enemies and forgive your offenders.
How to confess correctly?
Before you go to church, try to understand a few important points . Especially if you decide to confess for the first time. So, what questions most often arise in a person on the eve of confession?
When can I go to confession?
Confession means a sincere conversation with God through the mediation of a priest. According to church canons, people are invited to confession from childhood, starting at the age of seven . Believers confess after the main service, near the lectern. People who decide to be baptized or get married also begin confession before God.
How often should you go to confession?
It depends on a person’s true desire and his personal willingness to talk openly about his sins. When a Christian came to confess for the first time, this does not mean that after that he became sinless. We all sin every day. Therefore, the awareness of our actions lies with us. Some people confess every month, some before major holidays, and some during Orthodox fasts and before their birthday. here is why I need this , what positive lesson this can teach me in the future.
How to confess, what to say?
Here it is important to address the priest sincerely, without false shame. What does this statement mean? A person who has decided to sincerely repent must not just list what sins he has committed in recent times, and even more so, immediately seek justification for them.
Remember, you came to church not in order to hide your bad deeds, but in order to receive the blessing of the holy father and begin your new, spiritual life .
If you have been wanting to confess for a long time, you can calmly think about what to say to the priest at home in advance. Better yet, write it down on paper. Place the “10 Commandments” in front of you, remember the 7 deadly sins.
Don't forget that anger, adultery, pride, envy, and gluttony are also on this list. This also includes visiting fortune tellers and clairvoyants, watching television programs with inappropriate content.
How should you dress for confession?
The robe should be simple, meeting all the laws of Christianity. For women - a closed blouse, a skirt or dress no higher than the knee, and a headscarf is required. For men - trousers, shirt. Be sure to remove your headdress.
Is it possible to confess at home?
Of course, God hears our prayers everywhere and, as a rule, forgives us in case of true repentance. However, in the church we can receive that very grace-filled power that will help us fight temptations in subsequent situations. We are embarking on the path of our spiritual rebirth. And this happens precisely during the Sacrament called confession.
