Instructions

When preparing to visit the temple, think about what you want to tell God, what to pray about, what to repent of.

For service you should dress modestly, cleanly and neatly. It is advisable for women to wear long skirt with a blouse or dress that hides the shoulders, chest and legs above the knees, and cover the head with a scarf. Makeup should be minimal, and it is better not to paint your lips. Men must wear trousers and a shirt; shorts and T-shirts are not allowed, and headwear must be removed when entering the temple.

To light candles, give notes, and pray at the images of saints, come to the church in advance, 15-20 minutes before the start of the service. When entering the temple, cross yourself three times right hand and bow down. Turn off your mobile phone, get rid of extraneous thoughts.

Upon entering the church, submit notes about the health and repose of relatives, friends, and acquaintances. Place candles: for repose - on the eve with a small crucifix, which differs from others in its rectangular shape, and for health - on any candlestick. Venerate the images of saints, touching the lower part of the icon with your lips.

Try to find a place where you can see and hear everything. If it is difficult to stand throughout the service, sit down on the bench for a while, but be sure to stand when the royal doors open and during the reading of the Gospel. Don't turn your back to the altar.

During the service, do not look around, do not look at the parishioners, do not talk, and do not be distracted from prayers and chants. You cannot walk around the temple and pass candles. If you come to the temple with children, explain to them that they need to be quiet, not make noise and not run around.

When the clergy make the sign of the cross, the Gospel, the holy cup or icon, cross yourself and bow your head, and when making the sign of the cross, censer or candles, you only need to bow. When praising the Holy Trinity or Jesus, at the beginning and end of each prayer, as well as on the words “Lord, have mercy” and “Give, Lord,” one should be baptized.

You can remember the entire order of worship with experience, but if you don’t have that, then just do the same as the others: cross yourself, make bows or bows to the ground, bow your head, sing, etc.

It is advisable to defend the entire service, perceiving it not as a duty, but as a sacrifice to God. If for some reason you need to leave before it ends, try to do it in such a way as not to disturb other parishioners.

Any person, even an atheist, may have a situation when he needs to go to church and attend service. In order not to offend the feelings of believers and not to show yourself as a person of low culture, you will need to follow the rules and meet the requirements that apply to appearance and the behavior of parishioners.

Instructions

Special rules exist for women who are going to attend a church service. All of them must enter an Orthodox church with their heads covered with scarves or scarves and in skirts below the knees. Hands should also be covered. Men, on the other hand, are required to remove their hats when entering the church. If you are on the road and cannot change clothes, then when entering many churches you will find boxes containing scarves and wraparound skirts. Put them on and, when leaving, take them off and carefully fold them and put them back. When you are about to go to work, take off your makeup; some strict priests may make a remark when they see bright nail polish.

In churches, services take place three times a day. You can freely enter and go to pray, light candles to any icon, only if there is no service. When you specifically intend to attend a service, arrive early, enter the church before it begins, and take an empty seat. Before doing this, do not forget to turn off your mobile phone. You should not get ahead of those who have already gathered in anticipation of her. Stand calmly, do not move from place to place, do not turn your head, looking for friends. Be prepared to stand for two to three hours.

Often new Christian The question arises: how often should you go to church? Is only Saturday and Sunday enough? What should you do if your friends start looking askance and calling you a fanatic who goes to church whenever possible? What if you don’t want to go to church because you don’t trust the priest? Do you need to go to church if you don’t feel the need to do so? Why can’t you pray at home, but you must go to church? What if I meet your “Orthodox grandmothers” again? Nothing is clear in the temple, why do they serve in an incomprehensible language?

Below are answers to these and other questions:

“I believe in God, but I don’t believe in priests, and therefore I won’t go to church.”

But no one asks a parishioner to believe the priest. We believe in God, and priests are only His servants and instruments for carrying out His will. Someone said: “current flows through a rusty wire.” Likewise, grace is transmitted through the unworthy. According to the true thought of St. John Chrysostom, “we ourselves, sitting in the pulpit and teaching, are intertwined with sins. Nevertheless, we do not despair of God’s love for mankind and do not attribute hardness of heart to Him. This is why God allowed the priests themselves to be slaves to passions, so that from their own experience they would learn to treat others condescendingly.” Let's imagine that it is not a sinful priest who will serve in the temple, but Archangel Michael. After the very first conversation with us, he would have flared up with righteous anger, and all that would be left of us would be a pile of ashes.

In general, this statement is comparable to refusal of medical care due to the greed of modern medicine. The financial interest of individual doctors is much more obvious, as everyone who ends up in the hospital is convinced of this. But for some reason people don’t give up medicine because of this. And when we talk about something much more important - the health of the soul, then everyone remembers stories and fables, just to avoid going to church. There was such a case. One monk lived in the desert, and a priest came to him to give him communion. And then one day he heard that the priest giving him communion was fornicating. And then he refused to take communion with him. And that same night he saw a revelation that there was a golden well with crystal water and from it, a leper was drawing water with a golden bucket. And the voice of God said: “You see how the water remains pure, even though a leper gives it, so grace does not depend on the person through whom it is given.” And after this, the hermit again began to receive communion from the priest, without considering whether he was righteous or sinful.

But if you think about it, all these excuses are completely insignificant. After all, is it possible to ignore the direct will of the Lord God, referring to the sins of the priest? “Who are you, judging another man’s slave? Before his Lord he stands, or he falls. And he will be restored; for God is able to raise him up"(Rom. 14:4).

“Nothing is clear in your church.” They serve in an unknown language.

Let's rephrase this objection. A first-grader comes to school and, having overheard an algebra lesson in the 11th grade, refuses to go to class, saying: “Nothing is clear there.” Stupid? But it is also unwise to refuse to teach Divine Science, citing incomprehensibility.

On the contrary, if everything were clear, then learning would be meaningless. You already know everything the experts are talking about. Believe that the science of living with God is no less complex and elegant than mathematics, so let it have its own terminology and its own language.

I think that we should not give up on temple education, but try to understand what exactly is incomprehensible. It should be taken into account that the service is not intended for missionary work among non-believers, but for the believers themselves. To us, thank God, if we pray carefully, everything becomes clear after a month or a month and a half of constant going to church. But the depths of worship can unfold years later. This is truly an amazing secret of the Lord. We do not have a flat Protestant sermon, but, if you like, an eternal university, in which liturgical texts are teaching aids, and the Teacher is the Lord Himself.

Church Slavonic is not Latin or Sanskrit. This is a sacred form of the Russian language. You just need to work a little: buy a dictionary, a few books, learn fifty words - and the language will reveal its secrets. And God will reward this work a hundredfold. – During prayer it will be easier to gather thoughts on the Divine mystery. According to the laws of association, thoughts will not slip away into the distance. Thus, the Slavic language improves the conditions for communication with God, and this is precisely why we come to church. As for obtaining knowledge, it is transmitted in the temple in Russian. It is difficult to find at least one preacher who would speak sermons in Slavic. In the Church, everything is wisely connected - both the ancient language of prayer and the modern language of preaching.

And, finally, for the Orthodox themselves, the Slavic language is dear because it gives us the opportunity to hear the Word of God as accurately as possible. We can literally hear the letter of the Gospel, because the grammar of the Slavic language is almost identical to the grammar of Greek, in which Revelation was given to us. Believe me, both in poetry and jurisprudence, and in theology, shades of meaning often change the essence of the matter. I think that anyone who is interested in literature understands this. And in a detective story, a random match can change the course of the investigation. Likewise, the opportunity to hear the words of Christ as accurately as possible is priceless for us.

Of course, the Slavic language is not a dogma. In the Ecumenical Orthodox Church services are performed in more than eighty languages. And even in Russia it is theoretically possible to abandon the Slavic language. But this can only happen when for believers it becomes as distant as Latin is for Italians. I think for now the question is not even worth it. But if this happens, then the Church will create a new sacred language that will translate the Bible as accurately as possible and will not allow our minds to escape to a distant country. The Church is still alive and has the power to revive anyone who enters Her. So begin the course of divine Wisdom, and the Creator will lead you into the depths of His mind.

I visit church for prayer and confession only when I feel a spiritual need for it, believing that visiting church without such a need is an empty formality. Am I doing the right thing?

Think about this: the Church is not a psychological service for helping with mental discomfort, but a Divine-human organism, through participation in which humanity is freed from enslavement by the devil and inherits the blessed promises of God. The lack of need for God in the language of the Bible is called “spiritual death”; Read the Gospels carefully and you will understand why this death is worse than physical death. A Christian is constantly with God, and does not wait for some abstract inspiration or an annoying need to communicate with Him. In the end, all the “overdue needs to go to Church” are not so much a desire to hear and listen to God, but rather an ordinary human need to speak out.

The Path of Salvation does not provide for episodic participation, but requires constant conscious progress along the stages of improvement. In some ways, you are right: it is better not to come to the Temple at all than to turn prayer into hypocrisy and a profane formality. But, if you have already come to the Temple, then after telling God about yourself and asking for help, open your ears and start doing what He tells you, and don’t run away until the next “necessity”.

— Many of my friends condemn me for often going to church. Calls me a fanatic. They say something like this - well, you believe in God, well, believe, why run to the temple at every opportunity?

– To answer briefly, we can say that if the Creator says so, then the creation must unquestioningly respond with obedience. The Lord of all times has given us all the days of our lives. Can’t He really demand that we give Him 4 out of 168 hours of the week? And at the same time, the time spent in the temple is for our benefit. If a doctor prescribes procedures for us, then don’t we try to strictly follow his recommendations, wanting to be healed of body diseases? Why do we ignore the words of the Great Physician of souls and bodies? Is the fulfillment of the supreme Will fanaticism? According to the dictionary, “fanaticism - (from the Latin fanaticus - frantic) is a commitment to any beliefs or views taken to the extreme, intolerance to any other views (for example, religious fanaticism).” This raises the question of what “extreme degree” is. If we understand by this the original term “frenzy,” then it is unlikely that the majority of those who visit the temple weekly attack everyone in a frenzied delight or rage. But often ordinary decency is an extreme degree for people. If not stealing and not killing is fanaticism, then we, of course, are fanatics. If we admit that there is only one path to the One God - fanaticism, then we are fanatics. But with this understanding of fanaticism, only “fanatics” will get the Kingdom of Heaven. Eternal darkness awaits all “moderate” and “sane” people. As God said: “I know your works; you are neither cold nor hot: oh, that you were cold or hot! But because you are warm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth” (Rev. 3:15-1b).

“The church is not made of logs, but in ribs,” others say, “so you can pray at home.”

This again relates to the question - “How often and why should you go to church?” This saying, supposedly Russian, actually goes back to our home-grown sectarians who, contrary to the word of God, separated from the Church. God truly dwells in the bodies of Christians. But He enters them through Holy Communion, served in temples. Moreover, prayer in church is higher than prayer in homes. Saint John Chrysostom says: “You are mistaken, man; You can, of course, pray at home, but it is impossible to pray at home the way you do in church, where there are so many fathers, where songs are unanimously sent up to God. You will not be heard as quickly when you pray to the Lord at home as when you pray with your brothers. There is something more here, such as unanimity and agreement, the union of love and prayer of the priests. This is why the priests stand, so that the prayers of the people, as the weakest, uniting with their strongest prayers, ascend to heaven together... If the prayer of the church helped Peter and brought this pillar of the church out of prison (Acts 12:5), then how about you, tell me me, you neglect her strength and what excuse can you have? Listen to God Himself, Who says that He is appeased by the reverent prayers of many (Jon. 3:10-11) ... It is not only people who cry out terribly here, but also the angels fall to the Lord and the archangels pray. The very time favors them, the very sacrifice promotes them. How people, taking olive branches, shake them in front of kings, reminding them with these branches of mercy and philanthropy; in the same way, the angels, presenting the very Body of the Lord instead of olive branches, beseech the Lord for the human race, and seem to say: we pray for those whom You Yourself once honored with such Your love that You gave Your soul for them; we pour out prayers for those for whom You shed your blood; we ask for those for whom You sacrificed Your Body” (Word 3 against the Anomeans).

So this objection is completely unfounded. After all, how much more holy is the house of God than your home, how much higher is the prayer offered in the temple, the prayers at home.

– Sunday is the only day off, you need to sleep, be with your family, do your homework, and then you have to get up and go to church.

But no one forces a person to go to early service. In cities they almost always serve early and late Liturgy, but in the villages no one sleeps long on Sunday. As for the metropolis, no one bothers you to come from evening service on Saturday, talk with your family, read an interesting book and then evening prayers go to bed around 11 - 12 o'clock at night, and in the morning get up at half past nine and go to the Liturgy. Nine hours of sleep can restore strength to almost everyone, and if this does not happen, then we can “get” what is missing with a daytime nap. All our problems are not related to the church, but to the fact that the rhythm of our life does not correspond to God's will and therefore exhausts us. And communication with God, the Source of all the forces of the Universe, is, of course, the only thing that can give a person both spiritual and physical strength. It has long been noted that if you have worked yourself out internally by Saturday, then the Sunday service fills you with inner strength. And this strength is also physical. It is no coincidence that the ascetics who lived in inhuman desert conditions lived to be 120-130 years old, while we barely reach 70-80. God strengthens those who trust in Him and serve Him. Before the revolution, an analysis was carried out that showed that the longest life expectancy was not among nobles or merchants, but among priests, although they lived in much worst conditions. This is a visible confirmation of the benefits of going to the house of the Lord weekly.

As for communication with family, who is stopping us from going to church in full? If the children are small, then the wife can come to church later, and after the end of the Liturgy, we can all take a walk together, go to a cafe, and talk. Is this comparable to that “communication” when the whole family drowns together in a black box? Often those who do not go to church because of their family do not exchange ten words a day with their loved ones.

As for household chores, the word of God does not allow doing those tasks that are not essential. You cannot organize general cleaning or a washing day, or stock up on canned food for the year. The quiet time lasts from Saturday evening to Sunday evening. All heavy work should be postponed to Sunday evening. The only kind of hard work that we can and should do on Sundays and holidays is works of mercy. Organizing general cleaning for a sick or old person, helping in the temple, preparing food for an orphan and a large family - this is a true rule of observing the holiday, pleasing to the Creator.

– I can’t go to the temple because it’s cold or hot, rain or snow. I better at home I'll pray.

But lo and behold! The same person is ready to go to the stadium and cheer for his team in the open air in the rain, dig in the garden until he drops, dance all night at the disco, and only does not have the strength to reach the house of God! The weather is always just an excuse for your reluctance. Can we really think that God will hear the prayer of a person who does not want to sacrifice even a small thing for Him?

- I won’t go to the temple, because you don’t have benches, it’s hot. Not like Catholics!

Of course, this objection cannot be called serious, but for many reasons of comfort more important than the issue eternal salvation. However, God does not want the outcast to perish, and Christ will not break a bruised rod or quench the smoking flax. As for the benches, this is not a fundamental question at all. Orthodox Greeks have seats throughout the entire church, Russians do not. Even now, if a person is sick, no one stops him from sitting on the benches located at the back in almost every temple. Moreover, according to the liturgical Charter of the Russian Church, parishioners can sit seven times at a festive evening service. In the end, if it’s hard to stand throughout the service, and all the benches are occupied, then no one bothers you to bring a folding stool with you. It is unlikely that anyone will blame him for this. You just need to get up for the reading of the Gospel, the Cherubic Hymn, the Eucharistic Canon and about a dozen other important moments of the service. I don't think this will be a problem for anyone. These rules do not apply to disabled people at all.

I repeat once again that all these objections are not at all serious and cannot be the reason for violating God’s commandments.

“Everyone in your church is so angry and angry.” Grandmothers hiss and swear. And also Christians! I don’t want to be like that and that’s why I won’t go to church.

But no one demands to be angry and angry. Does anyone in the temple force you to be like this? Are you required to wear boxing gloves when entering a temple? Don’t hiss and don’t swear yourself and then you can correct others too. As the Apostle Paul says: “Who are you, judging another man’s servant? Does he stand before his Lord, or does he fall? (Rom. 14:4).

It would be fair if priests taught to swear and quarrel. But this is not so. Neither the Bible, nor the Church, nor Her servants ever taught this. On the contrary, in every sermon and in hymns we are called upon to be meek and merciful. So this is not a reason for not going to church.

We must understand that people come to the temple not from Mars, but from the surrounding world. And there it’s just customary to swear so much that sometimes you won’t hear even a Russian word from the men. One mat. And in the temple it’s just not there. We can say that the church is the only place closed to swearing.

It is in the world that it is common to be angry and pour out your irritation on others, calling it a fight for justice. Isn’t that what old women do in clinics, washing the bones of everyone, from the president to the nurse? And is it really possible that these people, upon entering the temple, as if by magic, instantly change and become meek, like sheep? No, God gave us free will, and without our effort nothing can change.

We are always in the Church only partly. Sometimes this part is very large - and then the person is called a saint, sometimes it is smaller. Sometimes a person clings to God with only his little finger. But we are not the Judge and Appraiser of everything, but the Lord. While there is time, there is hope. And before the painting is finished, how can one judge it, except by the completed parts. Such parts are holy. The Church must be judged by them, and not by those who have not yet completed their earthly journey. No wonder they say that “the end crowns the deed.”

The Church itself calls itself a hospital (the Confession says “thou hast come to the hospital, lest thou depart unhealed”), so is it reasonable to expect that it will be filled with healthy people? There are healthy ones, but they are in Heaven. When everyone who wants to be healed takes advantage of the help of the Church, then it will appear in all its glory. The saints are the ones who clearly show the power of God acting in the Church.

So in church you need to look not at others, but at God. After all, we come not to people, but to the Creator. How often and why should you go to church?

– I am ready to go to church every week, but my wife or husband, parents or children do not let me.

Here it is worth remembering the terrible words of Christ, which are often forgotten: “Whoever loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.”(Matt. 10:37). This terrible choice must always be made. – The choice between God and man. Yes, it's hard. Yes, it can hurt. But if you choose a person, even in what you consider small, then God will reject you on the day of Judgment. And will your loved one help you with this terrible answer? Will your love for your family justify you when the Gospel says the opposite? Will you not remember with longing and bitter disappointment the day when you rejected God for the sake of imaginary love?

And practice shows that the one who chose someone instead of the Creator will be betrayed to them.

– I won’t go to this church because there bad energy. I feel sick in the temple, especially from the incense.

In fact, any temple has the same energy - God's grace. All churches are consecrated by the Holy Spirit. Christ the Savior dwells in all churches with His Body and Blood. Angels of God stand at the entrance to any temple. It's just about the person. It happens that this effect has a natural explanation. On holidays, when “parishioners” visit churches, they are jam-packed with people. After all, in fact, there are very few sacred places for so many Christians. And that’s why many people really feel stuffy. Sometimes it happens that in poor churches they burn low-quality incense. But these reasons are not the main ones. It often happens that people feel bad even in a completely empty church. Christians are well aware of the spiritual reasons for this phenomenon.

Evil deeds, which a person does not want to repent of, drive away the grace of God. It is this resistance of man’s evil will to the power of God that is perceived by him as “bad energy.” But not only does man turn away from the Lord, but God Himself does not accept the egoist. After all, it is said that “God opposes the proud” (James 4:6). Similar cases are known in ancient times. So Mary of Egypt, who was a harlot, tried to enter the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem and venerate the Life-Giving Cross. But an invisible force threw her away from the church gates. And only after she repented and promised never to repeat her sin again, God allowed her into His house.

Also, even now there are cases where hired killers and prostitutes could not stand the smell of incense and fainted. This happens especially often to those who practice magic, astrology, extrasensory perception and other devilry. Some force twisted them at the most important moments of the service, and they were taken from the temple in an ambulance. Here we are faced with another reason for the rejection of the temple.

Not only man, but also those who stand behind his sinful habits do not want to meet the Creator. These creatures are rebel angels, demons. It is these unclean entities that prevent a person from entering the temple. They take away the strength of those standing in the church. It happens that the same person can sit in a “rocking chair” for hours and is not able to spend ten minutes in the presence of the Creator. Only God can help someone who is captured by the devil. But He helps only those who repent and want to live according to the will of the Lord Almighty. As it is, all these arguments are just an ill-considered repetition of satanic propaganda. It is no coincidence that the very terminology of this objection is taken from psychics (and the Church knows that they all serve the devil), who are very fond of talking about certain energies that can be “recharged”, as if we are talking about a battery, and not about a child of God .

The symptoms of spiritual illness are visible here. Instead of love, people try to manipulate the Creator. This is precisely a sign of demonism.

The last objection, related to the previous ones, occurs most often:

“I have God in my soul, so I don’t need your rituals.” I already do only good. Will God really send me to hell just because I don’t go to church?

But what do we mean by the word “God”? If we are talking simply about conscience, then, of course, this voice of God sounds in every person’s heart. There are no exceptions here. Neither Hitler nor Chikatilo were deprived of it. All villains knew that there is good and evil. The voice of God tried to keep them from committing iniquities. But is it really just because they heard this voice that they are already saints? And conscience is not God, but only His speech. After all, if you hear the president’s voice on a tape recorder or on the radio, does that mean that he is in your apartment? Also, having a conscience does not mean that God is in your soul.

But if you think about this expression, then Who is God? This is the Almighty, Infinite, Omniscient, Righteous, Good Spirit, Creator of the universe, Whom heaven and the heavens of heavens cannot contain. So how can your soul contain Him, His Face, Whose Face the angels are afraid to see?

Does the speaker really think so sincerely that this Immeasurable Power is with him? Give us the benefit of the doubt. Let him show Her manifestation. The expression “God is in the soul” is stronger than trying to hide a nuclear explosion within yourself. Is it possible to hide Hiroshima or a volcanic eruption in secret? So we demand such evidence from the speaker. Let him perform a miracle (for example, raise the dead) or show God's love by turning the other cheek to the one who hit him? Will he be able to love his enemies - even a hundredth part of the way our Lord, Who prayed for them before the crucifixion? After all, only a saint can truly say: “God is in my soul.” We demand holiness from the one who says this, otherwise it will be a lie whose father is the devil.

They say: “I do only good, will God really send me to hell?” But let me doubt your righteousness. What is considered the criterion of good and evil, by which one can determine that you or I are doing good or evil? If we consider ourselves as a criterion (as they often say: “I determine for myself what good and evil are”), then these concepts are simply deprived of any value and meaning. After all, Beria, Goebbels, and Pol Pot considered themselves absolutely right, so why do you yourself think that their deeds deserve censure? If we have the right to determine for ourselves the measure of good and evil, then all murderers, perverts and rapists should be allowed the same. Yes, by the way, let God also disagree with your criteria, and judge you not by yours, but by His standards. Otherwise, it turns out somehow unfairly - we choose our own standard, and we forbid the Almighty and Free God to judge ourselves according to our own laws. But according to them, without repentance before God and Holy Communion, a person will end up in hell.

To be honest, what are our standards of good and evil worth in the face of God, if we don’t even have the right to legislative activity? After all, we have not created for ourselves either body, soul, mind, will, or feelings. Everything you have is a gift (and not even a gift, but property temporarily entrusted for safekeeping), but for some reason we decide that we can dispose of it at will with impunity. And we deny the One who created us the right to demand an account of how we used His gift. Doesn't this demand seem a little impertinent? Why do we think that the Lord of the Universe will fulfill our will, damaged by sin? Have we broken the Fourth Commandment and yet believe that He owes us something? Isn't this stupid?

After all, instead of dedicating Sunday to God, it is given over to the devil. On this day, people often get drunk, swear, debauch, and if not, then they have fun in a far from decent way: they watch dubious TV shows, films where sins and passions overflow, etc. And only the Creator turns out to be superfluous on His Own Day. But doesn’t God, who gave us everything, including times, have the right to demand from us just a few hours?

So hell awaits those despisers who ignore the will of God. And the reason for this is not God's cruelty, but the fact that they, having abandoned the sources of the water of Life, began to try to dig empty wells of their justifications. They have refused the sacred Chalice of Communion, deprived themselves of the word of God, and therefore wander in the darkness of this evil age. Moving away from the Light, they find darkness; leaving love, they find hatred; abandoning life, they rush into the arms of eternal death. How can we not mourn their stubbornness and wish that they would return to the house of our heavenly Father?

Together with King David we will say: “according to the abundance of Your mercy, I will enter Your house, I will worship Your holy temple in Your fear”(Ps. 5:8). After all “We entered fire and water, and You brought us to freedom. I will enter Your house with burnt offerings; I will pay You my vows which my mouth uttered and my tongue spoke in my tribulation.”(Ps. 65:12-14).

The questions were answered:
priest Anthony Merculo
priest Yaroslav Fateev
priest Daniil Sysoev
and others

We all know that there are certain rules on how to behave in church. You need to know not only the conventions of etiquette, but also how, when and where to light candles, how to cross yourself correctly and, in general, what you should never do in church under any circumstances, so as not to put yourself in an awkward position and not inadvertently offend the parishioners.

They usually go to church on weekends (they are usually closed on Mondays), to a service that starts at 8 am and lasts from an hour to four hours, depending on what kind of prayer it is - just a Sunday prayer or a thanksgiving service. On Saturdays, you can undergo a special cleansing ritual, in which parishioners are anointed with oil. The priest places crosses in oil on the foreheads of those who want to heal their soul and body.

The second service begins at three o'clock in the afternoon and is called Vespers. It lasts until 5-7 pm. An hour before going to church, you must refrain from eating and even drinking. Women are required to wear a headscarf, which can be put on immediately upon entering the church territory, i.e. passing through the gate. And here a man, on the contrary, must remove his headdress.

As for clothing and the entire appearance in general, one should not forget that the temple is a place of purity and is intended for sublime thoughts and feelings. That's why Clothing should be clean, neat and modest with a minimum of exposed areas.

Lipstick is excluded not only for reasons of decency, but also for reasons of hygiene - no traces should remain on icons that are displayed for kissing. The smell of perfume and cologne, and even more so, fumes, should not be present in the temple.

It is not customary to talk in church. Mobile phones must be turned off.

Immediately after passing through the church gates, you should look at the crosses and cross yourself. This is done from right to left. This is followed by a bow. They also cross themselves in front of the doors. In the church premises, the left half is reserved for women, the right - for men. During the service, parishioners make the sign of the cross every time God, the Mother of God, Christ, and the Holy Trinity are mentioned. Having left the temple, you need to turn to face it and cross yourself again.

What to do with candles? At the entrance there is usually a shop where they sell various symbols of faith. Buy some candles. You can go up to the icon, near which candles are already burning in a special candlestick and put your own there, crossing yourself and mentally praying for someone, or you can order Chrysostom (a special prayer for those who need help), a prayer service "About health" And “For the rest”. This is done in a specially designated corner, where you need to put a note with the name and a candle.

Now you know how to go to church correctly.

According to various surveys, in Russia from 60 to 80 percent of the population consider themselves Orthodox. Of these, only 6-7 percent are churchgoers. Many Russians, unfortunately, do not even know how to behave in an Orthodox church.

1. Men are not allowed to enter church wearing a hat.

“Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his own head.”

2. A woman, on the contrary, should not enter the temple with her head uncovered, and the headscarf should completely cover her hair and cover her ears.

Apostle Paul's 1st Epistle to the Corinthians, 11:4-5:

« And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered disgraces her head, for it is as if she had been shaven.”

3. A woman should not come to the temple with bright makeup. It is better not to use cosmetics at all before visiting the temple. The church should maintain attention to service and prayer.

Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov wrote: “Just as a body without a soul is dead, so prayer without attention is dead. A prayer pronounced without attention turns into idle talk, and the one praying is thus counted among those who take the name of God in vain.”.

4. You should not enter the temple in shorts and short skirts. For a woman, it is enough to cover her knees and wear any clothing that will cover her arms, shoulders and chest. A man must wear long trousers. It is not appropriate for women to come in men's clothing and vice versa.

Deuteronomy 22:5: “A woman must not wear men’s clothing, and a man must not dress in women’s clothing, for whoever does this is an abomination to the Lord God.”

5. Most priests allow a woman into the temple during her period, but she does not have the right to participate in the sacraments. In rare cases, a woman may be allowed to attend the sacrament, but will not be allowed to venerate holy relics.

6. In Orthodox churches you cannot cross yourself from left to right.

In the book of Psalms it is said in a “short statement”: “ ...I believe: the first is on our forehead (on our forehead), the upper horn of the cross touches it, the second is on our belly (on our belly), the lower horn of the cross reaches it, the third is on our right frame (shoulder), the fourth is on on the left, they also mark the ends of the cross stretched transversely, on it our Lord Jesus Christ, crucified for us, has a long hand, all the tongues are scattered at the ends into one assembly«.

In Catholicism people cross from left to right. The norm for the Catholic blessing of the cross was approved in 1570 by Pope Pius V: “He who blesses himself... makes a cross from his forehead to his chest and from his left shoulder to his right.”

7. You should switch off in church. Cell phones or the sound of a bell. The temple is a place for solitude, and nothing should interfere with communication with God. If the phone rings during the service, you will be ashamed, and those around you will be unpleasant. And even more so, an Orthodox church is not a place for mobile games, like Pokemon Go.

8. You cannot make noise, laugh or talk loudly in church. Churches have strong acoustics and this can seriously interfere with worship.

9. Children often do not yet know how to behave correctly in church. If children are hyperactive, then it is better to refrain from taking them to work with you. Screaming or crying children in church distract from prayer. If your child begins to cry, calmly leave the temple with him.

10. Women in the temple cannot perform the functions of a clergyman. This is deeply enshrined in the Orthodox tradition.

Deacon Andrey Kuraev: “The priest at the liturgy is the liturgical icon of Christ, and the altar is the room of the Last Supper. At this supper, it was Christ who took the cup and said: drink, this is My Blood. …We partake of the Blood of Christ, which He Himself gave, which is why the priest must be the liturgical icon of Christ. ...Therefore, the priestly archetype (prototype) is male, not female”.

Isaac the Syrian wrote: “Every prayer in which the body does not become weary and the heart does not become contrite is considered unripe fruit, because such prayer is without a soul.”

12. If you need to go to another part of the temple, do not pass between the priest and the altar.

13. During worship, it is not recommended to idly walk around the church and say hello to friends; this prevents parishioners from concentrating on prayers. When greeting familiar people, you should silently nod your head. Holding hands in the temple is also not customary.

Rev. Lawrence: “If you need to leave the Liturgy, then leave after the Our Father... And if you have already left with the Communion of the Body and Blood, then stand with fear and pray in place, because the Lord himself is present here with the Archangels and Angels. And if you can, shed at least a small tear about your unworthiness.”

14. You cannot demonstratively turn your back to the altar during services and prayers.

15. Do not go into the altar area, even if you are very interested. Only temple servants can be there. Representatives of the authorities are occasionally allowed there.

Sixth Ecumenical Council decided: “None of all those belonging to the category of laity will be allowed to enter the sacred altar, but, according to some ancient tradition, this is by no means forbidden to the power and dignity of the king when he desires to bring gifts to the Creator.”

16. If someone next to you behaves inappropriately to the situation, it is better to remain silent or speak about it quietly and delicately. However, the best choice is to focus on prayer and not make any comments in the temple.

John Chrysostom: “Whoever strictly investigates the misdeeds of others will not receive any leniency towards his own.”

17. You cannot eat or drink anything in the temple, much less enter the temple while intoxicated. According to the rules, it is not customary to come to the morning service on a full stomach. Relapses are possible due to weakness, with self-reproach.

18. If you are in a hurry somewhere, it is better not to go to church. Going to the temple does not tolerate fuss, so constantly checking the clock or asking someone else the time is considered disrespectful.

Isaac the Syrian: “Forbid yourself from distracted thoughts during prayer, hate daydreaming, reject worries with the power of faith, strike your heart with the fear of God - and you will comfortably learn to pay attention. The praying mind must be in a completely true state. A dream, no matter how tempting and plausible, being its own, arbitrary creation of the mind, takes the mind out of the state of divine truth, leads it into a state of self-delusion and deception, and therefore it is rejected in prayer.”

19. In church you should not cross your arms behind your back. No one remembers where this ban came from, but it is better not to provoke others. Crossing of arms, as well as the “fig behind the back” are the most ancient symbols of protection and rejection of something. When communicating with God, you should be completely open and sincere.

20. In health and death notes, there is no need to write last and patronymic names, as well as non-church names. It is also not customary to include the unbaptized, people of other faiths and suicides on the list.

21. Do not take out burnt out candles and insert your own in their place. This can only be done by temple employees after completion of the rituals.

22. You cannot go to the temple with animals, especially dogs. In the Bible, a dog is considered an unclean animal; among the Jews it was considered the embodiment of everything despicable.

23. The opinions of church ministers vary greatly regarding non-wearing pectoral cross in the church. Some people think that this is great sin, others call to be more tolerant of people. Without a cross you may be allowed into church, but you will not be allowed to participate in the sacraments.

24. When venerating the icon, do not kiss the face of Christ, Mother of God and saints. You cannot kiss the frame of an icon, since this custom is an echo of a heretical tradition. Those who kiss the frame unwittingly support the heresy of iconoclasm.

25. Smoking is prohibited in the church and in the church yard.

How to start going to church?

editor

Many may be concerned about the question “How to start going to church?” A man wanted to come there, but it was somehow awkward. Everything is new, nothing is clear, it’s scary to do something wrong. Therefore, this article was written to answer this question. I do not have the blessing to teach people the correct understanding of church life, but I can simply tell you from my own experience what problems arose during my first visits to the temple and what questions tormented my soul. Maybe this will help someone.

So, I wanted to visit the church. Where to go? If you have the Internet, it is better to look on the map where the nearest Orthodox churches are located. It doesn’t make much difference where exactly to go, to a cathedral or a simple church. It is better that it be close to home, since driving across the entire city will be long and inconvenient. Therefore, we boldly choose a temple, find the road and stomp there.

You can come at almost any time, but it is better before 19:00-20:00, since at this time services in churches usually end. You can dress however you like, but without thematic inclinations ala a metalhead, a washed-up punk, a club girl on stilts, or a guy “just from the beach.” You can wear regular pants or jeans, a T-shirt or shirt, a jacket, a blazer, etc. In short, as normal people walking along ordinary normal streets. If someone wants, they can dress in a suit. In principle, people sometimes come to emphasize their respect for the Church and God; there is nothing unusual in this. Women need to put something on their heads. A scarf is better, but if you don’t have one, then you can use a hat or even a hood if everything is really bad. You don't have to wear skirts; you can wear trousers and jeans. It is better to wear jeans that are not too tight, so as not to distract men from prayer. In this regard, it is better for women to dress more modestly; they need to have respect for God and others.

If you entered the church and there are no singing there and everything is quite quiet, then the service is not going on now. Then you can stand quietly, talk with God, and ease your soul. If you want to light a candle for your family or friends, we are looking for a saleswoman. Usually candles are sold at the entrance to the temple. “Where to put candles for health, and where for repose?” - an eternal question. I think this was my first question asked to a living person inside the temple. You can light a candle for the living anywhere and in front of any icon. No special rituals are needed. Pray quietly, ask for the person and light a candle. For repose, candles are usually placed on special tables on which a crucifix is ​​installed.

What should you do if you walk in and there’s a service in full swing? Well, for starters, don't run away. It’s better to take a more modest place and repeat after everyone. It is customary for women to stand on the left side of the temple, and men on the right. But if you didn’t manage to get where you were supposed to, you shouldn’t think about it at all. Just stand calmly and pray about your own. I doubt that the first time you attend a service, you will understand any of what is being sung. For example, for the first 2-3 months I understood practically nothing, I just stood silently and repeated after everyone when they were baptized (usually this is done when the words “Father, Son and Holy Spirit” are heard at a service). Therefore, at first it is better to just try to get used to it. Join the general flow, so to speak.

And you need to understand something right away. If you come to the temple, at first there may be a lot of unfounded fears and a feeling that you are not at ease. It's OK. You are taking the path of a warrior, this is your first battle. Get ready to go all the way.

Standing at the service, it may seem endless. I remember at first I generally thought that they were going on in the temple around the clock, and there was no end to them. It is difficult for an unprepared person to stand for 2-3 hours (this is how long a service lasts on average). But I assure you, someday the end will come and the singing will subside, and it will not be one in the morning, but about seven o’clock in the evening. So if you don’t urgently need to run somewhere, wait until the end.

You can often see people coming up and kissing the icons. Feel free to do this. Once upon a time I was very shy to come up and kiss an icon. But now it has become so familiar that I kiss everything. So let us boldly cross ourselves and kiss the icon, there is nothing to be afraid of. Often there are handkerchiefs near the icons so that you can wipe the glass of the frame after yourself.

If suddenly during the service everyone began to kneel, it’s okay if you are shy and didn’t do it. But it would be even better to do it together with everyone. Although in practice there are usually fewer of those who kneel at certain moments of the service than those who remain on their feet.

Don't be afraid to ask people about the time of services. If, for example, you want to go specifically to the beginning of an evening or morning service, then under no circumstances should you be afraid to ask about its start time. You can ask the candle seller at the entrance to the temple. Don't worry about causing her trouble with your question. They are being pulled, be healthy, you are not the first and you are not the last. And in general, organizational questions like “where is what” and “when and how” always need to be asked. This is more than normal.

I want to make a small digression and say a few words about internal state a person who suddenly found himself in a temple after a long (sometimes life-long) period of unbelief. It is likely that you will have a lot of seemingly natural fears and logical reasons to leave the temple and not go there again. Don't be fooled by them. Maybe they'll get into your head blasphemous thoughts, even insulting saints and God. Don't worry about such thoughts, just try to switch your attention. Sometimes even going to temple can seem like a stupid idea. You shouldn't pay attention to this either. The main thing is to follow a pre-planned good goal and everything will be as it should.

For those who suddenly wanted to confess, we can say this. You can confess to a priest in any church. Confession is free, you don’t need to sign up for it in advance, and no one charges money for it. As a rule, it goes away during evening service or at Liturgy in the morning. Usually there is a table on which there is a cross and a Gospel and at which there is a priest. Where exactly it will be located and when confession will take place, you can ask the candle saleswoman or the parishioners. If a lot of people visit the temple, you can most likely determine where confession is taking place by taking turns to the priest standing to the side. The man approaches, the priest listens to him, covers his head with an epitrachelion (part of the vestment looks like a towel) and absolves his sins.

Approach the priest, place two fingers on the Gospel and name what you repent of, indicate the sins that hurt your soul. Behind standing people You will most likely not be heard for everything. At least, there was never a time when I could figure out what the person in front of me was repenting about. This also happens because confession often takes place during the service and singing from the choir drowns out the voices, unless, of course, the penitent screams at the top of his lungs. If this is your first time at confession, be sure to say so and ask “what to do next?” Father will tell you what steps to take at first. When you have repented, you kiss the cross, the Gospel, and go on to finish the service. That's all. One more thing. There is no need to be afraid to confess some sins, because it is supposedly shameful. This is stupid and deadly. It’s stupid because priests have heard enough of this throughout their lives that you won’t tell them anything new. And if you say it, it will take place of honor in the list of what is “new and incredibly shameful”, which the priest has already heard many times and which he has probably already learned to perceive adequately. And it is dangerous because “there is no worse sin than unrepentant sin.”

So, I hope this article has made it a little clearer on how to start going to church. And today it turns out that everyone seems to know everything about the Church, but how it gets to the point, nothing is clear. So, if you want to visit the temple, you should do it as soon as possible.