7 holy sacraments. Sacraments Orthodox

My little daughter came to church at the age of five and was very frightened of the new environment. I had to wait a couple of years for the child to perceive going to the temple calmly and kindly. It was my mistake, because I did not prepare the girl in advance and did not explain the meaning of the visit god's temple. When the daughter got used to and got used to the new environment, then she was baptized with confidence. After that, I explained to her what the Sacraments of the Orthodox Church are, and she took the sacrament with pleasure and went to the first confession. In the article I want to talk about the seven Church Sacraments, and what role they play in the life of a believer.

Some church rites are sacraments that are incomprehensible to the human mind. For example, during the Sacrament of Communion, bread is miraculously transformed into the body of Christ, and wine into blood. To accept this, one needs faith that such a thing is possible and permissible.

Consider in detail the 7 Sacraments of the Orthodox Church:

• baptism;
• chrismation;
• repentance (confession);
• communion;
• unction;
• wedding;
• priesthood.

These Sacraments were determined by the Lord Christ himself, he commanded his disciples to bring to people the light of the divine truth of the gospel. Through the Sacraments we receive the grace of the Holy Spirit, mercy and salvation. It is in the acquisition of grace that the Sacrament differs from other ceremonies and actions in the church.

If during a prayer service or memorial service we rely on the mercy of God and are not sure whether we will receive an answer. Then, during the Sacraments, the grace of God abides on the believers constantly. If during ritual actions we express our faith and reverence for God, then during the Sacrament grace descends on the flock.

Communion is the most important of all the Sacraments of the Church, when a believer is united in spirit with the flesh and blood of the Savior. It is through him that we receive the inheritance of eternal life. The word "eucharist" is translated from Greek as "thanksgiving". We thank Jesus for the gift of soul salvation.

The second most important is the Sacrament of the priesthood: ordination and consecration to the church rank. The ordination is performed by the bishop, passing on the gift of grace of the Holy Spirit.

Of the sacraments, baptism is also of particular importance; with the help of it, the number of Christians increases. The rest of the sacraments of the Church are necessary for the revelation of the Christian life and the holiness of the Church.

What gifts does a person acquire during the Sacrament:

• at baptism, a spiritual person is born;
• with chrismation, the Orthodox acquires strengthening grace;
• communion nourishes the believer with spiritual food;
• repentance cleanses the soul from sins;
• the priesthood gives grace to instruct the flock on the path of faith;
• the wedding sanctifies married life;
• unction frees from physical and mental ailments.

The Three Sacraments are unique, that is, they are performed only once in a lifetime. These include baptism, chrismation, and the priesthood. The rest of the Sacraments are repeated as the believers participate. For example, the sacrament of unction can be performed annually, while the sacrament of confession can be performed every week.

Baptism

This Sacrament was instituted by the Lord Christ himself when he was personally baptized in the Jordan. After his resurrection, the Savior commanded the apostles to baptize people in the name of the Holy Trinity. Baptism is carried out only once, because it is impossible to be born twice in a spiritual body.

Three times immersion in water symbolically washed away original sin. After baptism, the believer becomes churched and can partake of the Holy Gifts.

After baptism, the power of the devil over the soul is completely destroyed, now he can only tempt a Christian to sin by deceit. Why does the Orthodox Church baptize babies who do not understand what is happening to them? For this, they are given godparents who vouch for their godson and are obliged to educate him in the traditions of the faith. If godparents do not cope with their duty, this places a heavy burden of sin on their shoulders.

Chrismation

Through this Sacrament, a Christian receives special grace from the Holy Spirit to strengthen in faith and follow the path of truth. This is the seal of the Holy Spirit on a person. The apostles performed anointing with the laying on of hands, later this rite began to be carried out differently - with the help of anointing with holy chrism.

Miro is a specially prepared oil with fragrant substances (40 items), which was blessed by the apostles. Later, the myrrh began to be consecrated by their followers, the bishops. Today the world is sanctified by the bishop. With the help of the consecrated chrism, the seal of the Holy Spirit is placed. The first chrismation takes place immediately after a person's baptism.

For the confessor, it is necessary to admit his sins, sincerely repent and have a firm intention to improve. Jesus Christ took the sins of mankind upon himself voluntarily, suffered for each of us. It was a voluntary sacrifice, so a Christian should be aware of the greatness of the gift of the Savior and not be ungrateful. To admit one's sin is an acknowledgment of a redeeming sacrifice, and to make a decision to correct oneself is a gratitude for the gift of soul salvation.

The Holy Fathers say that repentance is the foundation of the Christian life. A person is weak and weak spiritually according to his nature, therefore he hopes only for the grace and mercy of God in salvation. However, one cannot turn the mercy of God into profanation and sin in an unscrupulous way. This is an expression of ingratitude to the Savior. Sins alienate the believer from God, but sincere repentance and correction brings them closer. Repentance is also called baptism with tears.

Recognition of one's sinful nature brings a person closer to God. He who does not see his sins is spiritually sick.

However, it should be remembered that God sees people's hearts, so formal repentance has no power and no forgiveness. If a person thinks about sin in his heart, having formally repented, this causes great harm to his soul. This is called spiritual sickness. The Orthodox must realize his sins, take a firm intention to get rid of passions and ask the Lord for help in correcting.

Sincere repentance prepares us for the Last Judgment. Whoever constantly confesses and strives to improve, he can not be afraid to answer to God. There is no need to be ashamed of the priest to whom you confess, because he was appointed for this purpose by God himself. One must be afraid and ashamed of unrepentant sin. If a person suffers from forgetfulness, you can write down your sins on paper and read to the priest. It is important not to forget anything.

First confession

When a child turns 7 years old, parents should prepare him for the first confession, on which his future life as a Christian depends. You can’t frighten a child with God’s punishment, you need to instill love for God and talk more often about his concern. Fear of punishment can lead the adult child to further abandon the faith.

It is necessary to help the child overcome shyness before confession, to help and approve his determination to tell about sins. Therefore, children are prepared for the first confession in advance, and are not confronted with a fact. The task of parents is to explain the meaning of repentance and the danger of sinful deeds for the soul. Danger should not appear to the child as something fatal, but as the chagrin of God, a loving father. It is necessary to instill in the child a trusting attitude towards the priest and confession, to explain the importance of repentance for his correct relationship with the heavenly father.

sacrament of communion

The Eucharist is one of the most important sacraments when a believer partakes of the Holy Gifts and becomes one with Jesus Christ. Without communion it is impossible to enter eternal life and gain the inheritance of the kingdom of heaven. The Eucharist was determined by the Lord Christ at the Last Supper, when he broke the bread and called it his Body. After giving the apostles wine, he called it his blood. Since then, believers have been constantly partaking of the Holy Gifts at divine services.

How can wine be transubstantiated into blood, and bread into a body? This cannot be explained logically, since we are talking about spiritual things. Wine and bread do not change their physical properties, but their spiritual component does.

At the same time, one should be aware that the wedding is not some kind of magical rite that unites husband and wife forever. Spouses should lead a pious life, take part in church life and raise children in Orthodox traditions. God sends his grace to those who are getting married, but they must live according to the gospel commandments. Unfortunately, not all couples fully understand this, but simply hope for a miracle or magic.

Everyone understands that they are often unable to influence circumstances: to get out of poverty on their own, change their lives, find a soul mate. That is why at all times in sorrows and troubles people called to God and were convinced of His existence and His mercy. The Church has left us many prayers so that we can ask God and the saints for mercy with words that have been tested over the centuries.
The most important thing is to remember that "the power of God is perfected in weakness (weakness)," as the apostle Paul says in the Epistle to the Corinthians. Human weakness is expressed in the fact that he gives himself into the hands of God, becoming flexible, allowing God to act and helping Him with human strength, but without being proud and hoping for God's help. A humble person acts, but does not grumble before difficulties, prays and waits for God's will for himself.

7 Sacraments of the Church

The Orthodox Church has seven Sacraments of grace. All of them are established by the Lord and have as their basis His words, preserved in the Gospel. The Sacrament of the Church is a sacrament, where with the help of external signs, rituals, invisibly, that is, mysteriously, hence the name, the grace of the Holy Spirit is given to people. The saving power of God is true, in contrast to the "energy" and magic of the spirits of darkness, which only promise help, but actually destroy souls.

In addition, the Tradition of the Church says that in the Sacraments, unlike home prayers, prayer services or memorial services, grace is promised by God Himself and enlightenment is given to a person who has prepared for the Sacraments faithfully, who comes with sincere faith and repentance, understanding his sinfulness before our Sinless Savior.

The Lord blessed the apostles to perform seven Sacraments, which are usually named in order from birth to death of a person: Baptism, Confirmation, Repentance (confession), Communion, Wedding (marriage), Priesthood, Consecration of the Unction (unction).

Baptism and Confirmation today are performed in succession, one after the other. That is, a person who has come to be baptized or a child who has been brought will be anointed with Holy Myrrh - a special mixture of oils, which is created many times a year, in the presence of the Patriarch.

Communion follows only after Confession. You need to repent at least of those sins that you still see in yourself - at confession, the priest, if possible, will ask you about other sins, and help you confess.

Before being ordained to the priesthood, a priest must marry or become a monk (it is interesting that tonsure is not a Sacrament, a person himself makes vows to God and then asks Him to help in their fulfillment). In the Sacrament of the Wedding, God gives His grace, uniting people into one whole. Only then can a person, as it were, in the integrity of his nature, accept the Sacrament of the Priesthood.

The sacrament of Unction should not be confused with the anointing with oil, which is performed after the All-Night Vigil (an evening service that takes place every Saturday and before church holidays) and is a symbolic blessing of the Church. They gather everyone, even those who are healthy in body, usually during Great Lent, and those who are seriously ill all year - if necessary, even at home. This is the Sacrament of healing the soul and body. It aims at cleansing from unconfessed sins (this is especially important to do before death) and healing the disease.

The most strong prayer- this is any commemoration and stay at the Liturgy. During the Sacrament of the Eucharist (Communion), the whole Church prays for a person. Every person needs to attend the Liturgy sometimes - to submit a note for themselves and loved ones, to partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ - the Body and Blood of the Lord. This is especially important to do in difficult moments of life, despite the lack of time.

Classification of the Sacraments of the Church

The Holy Sacraments of the Church are divided into

• Mandatory for every Orthodox Christian: Baptism, Confirmation, Communion, Confession (Repentance).
• Optional: Sacraments of Marriage (Wedding), Priesthood and Unction (unction). They are free will. Unction is performed over sick people, but a person during his life may not participate in the Unction.
• Single: Baptism, Confirmation, Priesthood.
• Repeatable: everyone else.

The classification and complete history of the formation of the sequence of the celebration of each Sacrament is in the book "Orthodox Teaching on Church Sacraments".

The sacrament of Baptism, features of the Baptism of the child and godparents

The patronage of the Lord and His saints is especially important for children. Orthodox Christians try to baptize children as soon as possible, approximately after forty days have passed from birth. On this day, the mother must visit the temple so that the priest reads a prayer of permissiveness over her after childbirth. You can baptize a child on any day, even a holiday or Lenten. It is better to arrange Baptism in the church in advance or find out the usual schedule of Baptisms - then several children are baptized.

The day of Epiphany is the day of the new birth in Christ. Therefore, on this day, a particularly appropriate gift for the newly baptized will be a gift with the image of the namesake patron saint. The icon will also be a wonderful christening gift from godparents.

At Baptism, it is not necessary to have both godparents, you can only have one - the same gender as the child. This person must be churched and a believer, during the Sacrament of Baptism, wear an Orthodox cross on his chest. Godmother during Epiphany should not be in a short skirt or trousers, heavily made up. Godparents can be relatives, such as a grandmother or sister. People who profess another faith or belong to another Christian denomination (Catholics, Protestants, sectarians) cannot be godparents.

Baptism is the entry of a person into the Church. It is done by dipping or dousing with holy water - after all, the Lord Himself received Baptism from John the Baptist in the Jordan River.

An adult who decides to be baptized consciously must at the same time

• Talk to the priest
• Learn "Our Father" and "Symbol of Faith" - confession of one's faith,
• To know and sincerely believe in the teachings of Christ - Orthodoxy, the Gospel,
• If you wish, attend catechesis courses to learn more about the Orthodox faith.

The same must be done to parents and godparents if a baby is being baptized.

Baptism is performed in a church, and if a person is sick, a priest can perform the Sacrament at home or in a hospital ward. Before Baptism, a baptismal shirt is put on a person. A person gets up (lies in illness) facing east and listens to prayers, and at a certain moment, at the direction of the priest, turning to the west, spits in that direction as a sign of renunciation of sins and the power of Satan.

Then the priest plunges the child into the font three times with a prayer. For adults, if possible, the Sacrament is performed in the temple by immersion in a small pool (it is called in Greek a baptistery, from the word baptistis - I dip) or by pouring from above. The water will be heated, so don't be afraid to catch a cold.

After pouring water or dipping, a person is baptized with water and invisibly - with the Holy Spirit, a pre-prepared cross is put on him (for a child - on a short rope, this is safer). It is customary to keep a baptismal shirt - it is put on during serious illnesses as a shrine.

Cross- the greatest shrine of an Orthodox person, a symbol of his faith in Christ and his protection. Choose a chain or leather cord long enough so that the cross can be hidden under clothing. In the Orthodox tradition, in the Slavic lands, it is not customary to wear a cross on a short chain so that it is noticeable. Only Orthodox priests wear crosses over their clothes - but these are not underwear, but pectoral (that is, “chest”, translated from Church Slavonic) crosses, which are given during ordination to the priesthood.

It is important to remember that if you acquire a cross outside the church, you need to consecrate it by bringing it to the church and asking the priest to consecrate it. It's free, or you can thank any amount for the consecration.

Pectoral crosses of various shapes and materials are worn by all Christians. Particles of the Life-Giving Cross, on which Christ Himself was crucified, are today found in many temples of the world. Perhaps in your city there is a particle of the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord, and you can venerate this great shrine. The cross is called Life-giving - creating and giving life, that is, having great power.

It doesn’t matter what the cross is made of, different traditions existed in different centuries, and today the cross can be made
- Metal or wood
- From threads or beads;
— To be enamel or glass;
- Most often they choose the one that is comfortable to wear, durable - usually these are silver or gold crosses;
- You can choose blackened silver crosses - they do not carry any special signs.

Out of necessity, a seriously ill newborn child is baptized right in the maternity hospital, a dying child who has expressed a desire to be baptized is baptized on the spot. This can be done even by a non-priest - it is enough to get water and pour it on a person, saying: “The servant of God (servant of God) (name) is baptized in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”
If a person recovers or feels a little better, invite a priest to complete the Sacrament of Baptism with Chrismation.

Sacrament of Confirmation and Sacrament of Baptism

Confirmation, as it were, completes the Sacrament of Baptism, taking place together with it and symbolizing the next stage in the churching of a person.

While Baptism cleanses a person from sins, he is born again, Chrismation gives the grace of God, visibly placing the seal of the Holy Spirit on his body, giving him strength for a righteous Christian life.

In Confirmation, the priest, repeating: “The Seal of the Gift of the Holy Spirit,” crosswise anoints the forehead, eyes, nostrils, ears, lips, hands and feet of a person. It is for this purpose that the person being baptized is dressed in a baptismal shirt that reveals these places.

Confirmation occurs only once in a lifetime - anointing with oil at evening services and at Unction is not anointing.

The Holy Chrism is consecrated once a year - in Maundy Thursday on Holy Week on the eve of Easter. In the ancient Church, this rite was established because the Baptism of new Christians was usually held on Holy Saturday and Easter. Today it is held as usual. In the Russian Orthodox Church, Her head, His Holiness Patriarch, consecrates olive oil with a blend of precious aromas as peace. It is brewed during the first weekdays of Holy Week according to a special ancient method, and after consecration it is sent to all parishes of the Church. Without chrism, the Sacrament of Baptism remains incomplete, united with the Sacrament of Chrismation — through the chrism, the newly baptized person receives the gifts of the grace of the Holy Spirit.

Sacrament of Confession

Confession, as we have said, precedes Communion, so we will talk about the Sacrament of Confession at the beginning.

During Confession, a person names his sins to the priest - but, as it is said in the prayer before confession, which the priest will read, this is a confession to Christ Himself, and the priest is only a servant of God who gives visibly His grace. We receive forgiveness from the Lord: His words are preserved in the Gospel, by which Christ gives to the apostles, and through them to the priests, their successors, the power to forgive sins: “Receive the Holy Spirit. To whom you forgive sins, they will be forgiven; on whom you leave, on that they will remain.”

In Confession we receive the forgiveness of all the sins that we have named and those that we have forgotten. Under no circumstances should sins be concealed! If you are ashamed, name the sins, among others, briefly.

Confession, despite the fact that many Orthodox people confess once or twice a week, that is, quite often, is called the second baptism. During Baptism, a person is cleansed from original sin by the grace of Christ, who accepted the Crucifixion for the sake of delivering all people from sins. And during repentance at confession, we get rid of new sins that we have committed throughout our life path.

How to Prepare for Confession - Rules

You can come to Confession without preparing for Communion. That is, Confession is necessary before Communion, but you can come to Confession separately. Preparing for confession is basically reflecting on your life and repentance, that is, admitting that certain things you have done are sins. Before Confession:

If you have never confessed, start remembering your life from the age of seven (it is at this time that a child growing up in an Orthodox family, according to church tradition, comes to the first confession, that is, he can be clearly responsible for his actions). Realize what misconducts cause you remorse, because conscience, according to the word of the Holy Fathers, is the voice of God in a person. Think about how you can call these actions, for example: taking sweets saved for a holiday without asking, getting angry and yelling at a friend, leaving a friend in trouble - this is theft, anger and anger, betrayal.

Write down all the sins that you remember, realizing your wrong and promising God not to repeat these mistakes.

Continue thinking as an adult. In confession, you cannot and should not tell the history of each sin, its name is enough. Remember that many encouraged modern world deeds are sins: an affair or relationship with a married woman is adultery, sex outside of marriage is fornication, a clever deal where you got a benefit and gave another low-quality thing - deceit and theft. All this also needs to be written down and promised to God not to sin again.

Read Orthodox literature on Confession. An example of such a book is The Experience of Building a Confession by Archimandrite John Krestyankin, a contemporary elder who died in 2006. He knew the sins and sorrows of modern people.

A good habit is to review your day on a daily basis. The same advice is usually given by psychologists in order to form an adequate self-esteem of a person. Remember, or rather write down your sins, made by accident or on purpose (mentally ask God to forgive them and promise not to commit again), and your successes - thank God and His help for them.

There is a Canon of repentance to the Lord, which you can read standing in front of the icon on the eve of confession. It is also included in the number of prayers that are preparatory to Communion. There are also several Orthodox prayers with a list of sins and words of repentance. With the help of such prayers and the Penitential Canon, you will prepare for confession sooner, because it will be easy for you to understand what actions are called sins and what you need to repent of.

You should not look for a special spiritual uplift, strong emotions before and during Confession.
Repentance is:

Reconciliation with relatives and friends if you have seriously offended or deceived someone;

Understanding that a number of actions you have done intentionally or carelessly and the constant preservation of certain feelings are unrighteous and are sins;

A firm intention not to sin anymore, not to repeat sins, for example, to legitimize fornication, stop adultery, recover from drunkenness and drug addiction;

Faith in the Lord, His mercy and His grace-filled help;

Faith that the Sacrament of Confession, by Christ's grace and the power of His death on the Cross, will destroy all your sins.

How does confession work in church?

Confession usually takes place half an hour before the start of each Liturgy (you need to find out about its time from the schedule) in any Orthodox church.

In the temple you need to be in appropriate clothes: men in trousers and shirts with at least short sleeves (not in shorts and T-shirts), without hats; women in a skirt below the knee and a scarf (kerchief, scarf) - by the way, skirts and scarves can be taken free of charge for the duration of your stay in the temple.

For confession, you only need to take a sheet with written down sins (it is needed so as not to forget to name the sins).

The priest will go to the place of confession - usually a group of confessors gather there, it is located on the left or right of the altar - and will read the prayers that begin the Sacrament. Then, in some temples, according to tradition, a list of sins is read - in case you have forgotten some sins - the priest calls for repentance for them (those that you have committed) and give your name. This is called a general confession.

Then, in turn, you go to the confessional table. The priest can (it depends on the practice) take the sheet of sins from your hands to read it yourself, or then you yourself read aloud. If you want to tell the situation and repent of it in more detail, or if you have a question about this situation, about spiritual life in general, ask it after listing the sins, before remission.
After you have completed the dialogue with the priest: simply listed the sins and said: “I repent,” or asked a question, received an answer to it and thanked you, state your name. Then the priest performs absolution: you bend a little lower (some people kneel), puts on your head an epitrachelion (a piece of embroidered fabric with a slit for the neck, means the pastor of a priest), reads a short prayer and baptizes your head over the stole.

When the priest removes the epitrachelion from your head, you must immediately cross yourself, kiss the Cross first, then the Gospel, which lie in front of you on the confessional lectern (high table).

If you are going to Communion, take a blessing from the priest: put your palms in front of him in a “boat”, right to left, say: “Bless to take communion, I was preparing (preparing).” In many churches, priests simply bless everyone after confession: therefore, after kissing the Gospel, look at the priest - whether he calls the next confessor or waits for you to finish kissing and take the blessing.

Sacrament of Communion

It is necessary to prepare oneself for the Sacrament of Holy Communion, this is called "repentance", "retreat". Preparation includes reading special prayers according to the prayer book, fasting and repentance:

Prepare by fasting for 2-3 days. You need to be moderate in food, give up meat, ideally - from meat, milk, eggs, if you are not sick and not pregnant.

Try during these days to read the morning and evening prayer rule with attention and diligence. Read spiritual literature, especially necessary for preparing for Confession.

Give up entertainment, visiting noisy places of rest.

In a few days (you can do it in one evening, but you will get tired) read the canon of repentance to the Lord Jesus Christ, the canons of the Mother of God and the Guardian Angel (find the text where they are combined), as well as the Rule for Communion (it also includes in a small canon, several psalms and prayers).

Reconcile with people with whom you are in a serious quarrel.

It is better to attend the evening service - the All-Night Vigil. You can confess during it, if Confession will be carried out in the temple, or come to the temple for the morning Confession.

Before the morning Liturgy, do not eat or drink anything after midnight and in the morning.

Confession before Communion is a necessary part of the preparation for it. No one is allowed to take Communion without confession, except for people in mortal danger and children under seven years of age. There are a number of testimonies of people who came to Communion without Confession - after all, priests, due to the crowd, sometimes cannot track this. Such an act is big sin. The Lord punished them for their boldness with difficulties, illnesses and sorrows.

Women should not receive communion during menstruation and immediately after childbirth: young mothers are allowed to take Communion only after the priest has read a prayer for cleansing over them.

After singing the prayer “Our Father” and closing the Royal Doors, you need to go to the altar (or stand in line that gathers at the altar). Let the children and parents with babies go ahead - they receive communion at the beginning; in some temples, men are also allowed to go ahead.

When the priest takes out the Chalice and reads two prayers (sometimes they are read by the whole church), cross yourself, fold your hands crosswise to your shoulders - right to left - and go without lowering your hands until you take communion.

Do not cross yourself at the Chalice, so as not to accidentally push it. Say your name in Baptism, open your mouth wide. The priest himself will put a spoonful of Body and Blood into your mouth. Try to swallow them right away. Kiss the bottom of the Chalice, move away and only then cross yourself. Go to the table with "warmth" to drink and eat Communion with a piece of prosphora. It must not remain in your mouth so that you do not accidentally spit it out.

Do not leave the church until the end of the service. After Communion, you can listen to thanksgiving prayers in church or read them at home.

On the day of Communion, it is better not to spit (parts of the Communion could remain in the mouth), try not to have a lot of fun right away and behave with piety. It is better to spend the day in joy, communicating with loved ones, reading spiritual books, calm walks.

Is it possible to start the Sacraments during menstruation?

This question is often asked by Orthodox girls and women. Yes, you can.
According to one of the strict traditions, it is impossible to kiss icons at this time. But the modern Church softens the requirements for people.
During menstruation, they put candles, venerate icons, and even begin all the Sacraments: Baptism, Wedding, Confirmation, Confession, except for Communion. But even in this case, the priest can give Communion to a seriously ill woman who is in danger.
We also note that different priests have different attitudes to the Sacraments that women receive during women's days. Therefore, before approaching the Sacraments, it is worth warning the priest. In any case, you can ask the blessing of the priest in any state.

Sacrament of Marriage

The Orthodox family begins with a wedding. This is the Sacrament of the Church, which seals the marital union with the blessing of God. This is the right start for a long and happy family life, blessing for childbearing. Remember that the Wedding, even though it is an extraordinarily beautiful external and even fashionable ceremony, is, first of all, a sacred ceremony. You take responsibility for each other before God.

If you have planned a wedding date and submitted an application to the registry office, but it turned out that the wedding is not taking place on that day, get engaged. This is not traditional, but the Sacrament of the Wedding today consists of two parts, historically separated: betrothal, when the newlyweds do not stand at the very altar, but closer to the middle or the doors of the temple and exchange rings. Priests rarely go for it, but they can agree.

The ceremony is very touching, because you already promise each other to be together. It is during the betrothal that the priest asks the people if there are among those gathered who are against the fact that the bride and groom are united forever in marriage.

You can get married if you have lived for several years in a civil marriage (this is what a marriage registered in the registry office is called). If you just lived together before the Wedding and painting, it is worth repenting of this sin in the Sacrament of Confession - sex before marriage is called fornication - and do not commit it again until the Wedding.

To perform this Sacrament, you will need
- Marriage certificate - only registered spouses are crowned;
- Wedding candles (sold in any temple);
- Towel (towel).

A wedding is God's blessing on marriage, the newlyweds must understand that this is both God's help and responsibility before Him. Note that you need to sign up for the Sacrament in advance.

The most important joint duty of the spouses, the purpose of marriage is the joint spiritual development, the improvement of oneself and the other in marriage, the realization of one's talents and assistance in the realization of the spouse's talents. And, of course, the husband and wife share joys and sorrows together, that is, it is unjustified to leave your spouse in danger, in serious illness, in poverty.

According to the apostle Paul, wives are to obey their husbands, and husbands are to take care of their wives. This means that the wife should trust her husband to make important decisions, and the husband should try to create spiritual and material comfort for his wife. Spouses should listen and hear each other, be able to find compromises.

Loyalty to each other is also a natural duty of a husband and wife in an Orthodox family. Note that there is a procedure for church divorce (not "debunking"). Treason is one of the cases when the Church allows a divorce and even another church marriage to a person who has been cheated on. Other reasons are alcoholism, drug addiction, mental illness, domestic violence.

Sacrament of the Priesthood

One of the institutions of the Church is the hierarchy of spiritual orders: from the reader to the Patriarch. In the structure of the Church, everything is subject to order, which is comparable to the army.

In fact, the word "priest" is a short name for all clergymen. They are also called by the words: clergy, clergy, clergy (you can specify - temple, parish, diocese).

The clergy is divided into white and black:

• married clergy, priests who have not taken monastic vows;
• black - monks, while only they can occupy the highest church positions.

There are three degrees of spiritual ranks to which they are consecrated by performing the Sacrament of ordination over people - the Sacraments of the Priesthood.

• Deacons - they can be both married people and monks (then they are called hierodeacons).
• Priests - also, a monastic priest is called a hieromonk (a combination of the words "priest" and "monk").
• Bishops - Bishops, Metropolitans, Exarchs (managers of Local small Churches subordinate to the Patriarchate, for example, the Belarusian Exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate), Patriarchs (this is the highest rank in the Church, but this person is also called "Bishop" or "Primate of the Church").

The priesthood of the Church has its foundation in the Old Testament. They go in ascending order and cannot be omitted, that is, the bishop must first be a deacon, then a priest. In all degrees of the priesthood, a bishop ordains (in other words, performs consecration) a bishop.

Deacons belong to the lowest level of the priesthood. Through ordination to the diaconate, a person acquires the grace necessary to participate in the Liturgy and other divine services. The deacon cannot conduct the Sacraments and divine services alone, he is only an assistant to the priest. People who serve well in the rank of deacon for a long time receive the titles:

• white priesthood - protodeacons,
• black priesthood - archdeacons, who most often accompany the bishop.

Often in poor, rural parishes there is no deacon, and the priest performs his functions. Also, if necessary, the duties of a deacon can be performed by a bishop.

A person in the spiritual dignity of a priest is also called a presbyter, a priest; in monasticism, a hieromonk. Priests perform all the Sacraments of the Church, except for ordination (ordination), the consecration of the world (it is performed by the Patriarch - the world is necessary for the completeness of the Sacrament of Baptism of each person) and the antimension (a handkerchief with a sewn piece of holy relics, which is placed on the throne of each church). The priest who leads the life of the parish is called the rector, and his subordinates, ordinary priests, are full-time clergy. In a village or town, a priest usually presides, and in a city, an archpriest.

Rectors of churches and monasteries report directly to the bishop.

The title of archpriest is usually a reward for long service and good service. A hieromonk is usually awarded the rank of hegumen. Also, the abbot of the monastery (priest-abbot) often receives the rank of hegumen. The abbot of the Lavra (a large, ancient monastery, of which there are not many in the world) receives an archimandrite. Most often, this rank is followed by the rank of bishop.

Bishop, translated from Greek - the head of the priests. They perform all the Sacraments without exception. Bishops ordain people as deacons and priests, however, only the Patriarch, co-served by several bishops, can ordain as bishops.

Bishops who have distinguished themselves in their ministry and have served for a long time are called archbishops. Also, for even greater merits, they are elevated to the rank of metropolitans. They have a higher rank for services to the Church, and only metropolitans can manage metropolitanates - large dioceses, which include several small ones. An analogy can be drawn: a diocese is a region, a metropolis is a city with a region (Petersburg and the Leningrad Region) or a whole Federal District.

Often other bishops are appointed to assist the metropolitan or archbishop, who are called vicar bishops or, in short, vicars.

The highest spiritual rank in the Orthodox Church is the Patriarch. This rank is elective, and is chosen by the Council of Bishops (a meeting of bishops of the entire regional Church). Most often, he leads the Church together with the Holy Synod (Kinod, in different transcriptions, in different Churches) leads the Church. The dignity of the Primate (Head) of the Church is for life, however, if grave sins are committed, the Bishops' Court may remove the Patriarch from service. Also, at the request of the Patriarch, he can be sent to rest due to illness or advanced age. Until the convening of the Council of Bishops, a Locum Tenens (temporarily acting as the head of the Church) is appointed.

Unction

The sacrament of the Unction or the Consecration of the Unction should not be confused with the anointing with oil, which is performed at the All-Night Vigil (an evening service that takes place every Saturday and before church holidays) and is a symbolic blessing of the Church. They gather everyone, even those who are healthy in body, usually during Great Lent, and those who are seriously ill all year - if necessary, even at home. This is the Sacrament of healing the soul and body. It aims at cleansing from unconfessed sins (this is especially important to do before death) and healing the disease.

The Sacrament received the name "Unction" from the word "sobor", a meeting, because it is usually performed by several clergy - according to the Charter, a family.

During the celebration of the Sacrament, the priests read seven texts from the New Testament. After each reading, oil is applied to the face, eyes, ears, lips, chest and hands of a person. Tradition believes that in this way all forgotten sins will be untangled to a person. After the Unction, one must proceed to the Sacrament of Communion, as well as Confession - before or after the Unction.

May the Lord keep you with the prayers of the Holy Church with His grace!

For many people, church life is limited to occasional trips to the temple in those cases when things are not going as well as we would like. We usually light a couple of candles and leave a donation. After that, we wait for some relief or serious positive changes in life, sincerely believing that we received some grace at the moment of attending church. But in fact, spiritual nourishment cannot be limited to superficial and often thoughtless actions. If you really want to feel the grace of the Holy Spirit, then you need special rituals - church sacraments. Our article will be devoted to them.

Church sacraments: definition and general characteristics

Every person who at least occasionally encountered the Christian religion must have heard such a phrase as "church sacrament". It is understood as a kind of sacred action, which should give a person grace from the Holy Spirit.

It is necessary to clearly understand the differences between ordinary church services and rites from the sacraments. The fact is that most of the rites were invented by people and only over time became mandatory for those who lead a spiritual life. But the mystery of the sacraments of the Church lies in the fact that they were established by Jesus Christ himself. Therefore, they have a special divine origin and act on a person at the psychophysical level.

Why is it necessary to participate in the sacraments?

This is a special act that guarantees a person grace from higher powers. Quite often, to ask for healing or well-being for our loved ones, we come to the temple and take part in the service. It is also quite common in Orthodoxy to transfer notes with names for clergy who pray for the people indicated in the paper. But all this may or may not work. Everything depends on the will of God and his plans for you.

But the sacraments of the Church in Orthodoxy make it possible to receive grace as a gift. If the sacrament itself is carried out correctly and a person is set to receive a blessing from God, then he falls under the influence of the grace of the Holy Spirit, and it depends on him how to use this gift.

The number of church sacraments

Now Orthodoxy has seven church sacraments, and initially there were only two. It is they who are mentioned in Christian texts, but over time, five more sacraments are added to them, which together formed the ritual basis of the Christian religion. Every clergyman can easily list the seven sacraments of the Church:

• Baptism.
• Chrismation.
• Eucharist (communion).
• Repentance.
• Unction.
• Mystery of Marriage.
• Sacrament of the Priesthood.

Theologians claim that Jesus Christ himself instituted baptism, chrismation, and communion. These sacraments were obligatory for any believer.

Classification of the sacraments

Church sacraments in Orthodoxy have their own classification, every Christian who takes the first steps on the path to God should know about this. Sacraments can be:

• mandatory;
• optional.

• baptism;
• chrismation;
• participle;
• repentance;
• unction.

The Sacrament of Marriage and the Priesthood are the free will of man and belong to the second category. But it should be borne in mind that in Christianity only the marriage that is consecrated by the church is recognized.

Also, all the sacraments can be divided into:

• single;
• repeatable.

A one-time church sacrament can be performed only once in a lifetime. This category fits:

• baptism;
• chrismation;
• sacrament of the priesthood.

The rest of the rituals can be repeated many times depending on the spiritual needs of the person. Some theologians also rank the Sacrament of Marriage as one-time rites, because a wedding in a church can be done once in a lifetime. Despite the fact that many are now talking about such a ceremony as dethronement, the official position of the Church on this issue has not changed for many years - a marriage entered into before God cannot be canceled.

Where are the sacraments of the Church taught?

If you do not plan to connect your life with serving God, then it is enough for you to have a general idea of ​​​​what the seven sacraments of the Orthodox Church are. But otherwise, you will need to carefully study each rite that takes place during training in the seminary.

Ten years ago as study guide The book "Orthodox Teaching on Church Sacraments" was published for seminarians. It reveals all the secrets of the rites, and also includes materials from various theological conferences. By the way, this information will be useful to anyone who is interested in religion and wants to penetrate deeply into the essence of Christianity in general and Orthodoxy in particular.

Sacraments for children and adults: is there a separation

Of course, there are no special church sacraments for children, because they have equal rights and obligations with adult members of the Christian community before God. Children take part in baptism, chrismation, communion and unction. But repentance causes certain difficulties for some theologians when we talk about a child. On the one hand, children are born practically sinless (with the exception of original sin) and have no deeds behind their backs for which they need to repent. But, on the other hand, even a small children's sin is a sin before God, therefore, it needs awareness and repentance. It is not worth waiting for a series of minor offenses to lead to the formation of a sinful consciousness.

Naturally, the Sacrament of Marriage and the Priesthood are inaccessible to children. Participation in such ceremonies can be taken by a person who, according to the laws of the country, is recognized as an adult.

Baptism

The Church Sacraments of Baptism literally become the gate through which a person enters the Church and becomes a member of it. To perform the sacrament, water is always needed, because Jesus Christ himself was baptized in the Jordan to set an example for all his followers and show them the shortest path to the atonement of sins.

Baptism is performed by a clergyman and requires some preparation. If we are talking about the sacrament of the Church for an adult who consciously came to God, then he needs to read the Gospel, as well as receive instructions from the clergyman. Sometimes, before baptism, people attend special classes during which they receive basic knowledge about the Christian religion, church rites, and God.

Baptism is performed in the temple (when it comes to a seriously ill person, the ceremony can be performed at home or in a hospital) by a priest. A person is placed facing east and listens to cleansing prayers, and then, turning to the west, renounces sin, Satan and his former life. Then he plunges into the font three times to the prayers of the priest. After that, the baptized person is considered born in God and, as a confirmation of his belonging to Christianity, receives a cross, which must be worn constantly. It is customary to keep a baptismal shirt for a lifetime; it is a kind of amulet for a person.

When the sacrament is performed over the baby, then all questions are answered by the parents and godparents. In some churches, participation in the rite of one godfather is allowed, but he must be of the same sex as the godson. Keep in mind that becoming a godfather is a very responsible mission. After all, from this moment you are responsible before God for the soul of the child. It is the godparents who should lead him along the path of Christianity, instruct and admonish. We can say that the recipients are spiritual teachers for a new member of the Christian community. Doing these duties improperly is a grave sin.

Chrismation

This sacrament is performed immediately after baptism, it is the next stage in the churching of a person. If baptism washes away all his sins from a person, then chrismation gives him the grace of God and the strength to live as a Christian, fulfilling all the commandments. Confirmation occurs only once in a lifetime.

For the ceremony, the priest uses myrrh - a special consecrated oil. In the process of the sacrament, myrrh is applied in the form of a cross on the forehead, eyes, nostrils, ears, lips, hands and feet of a person. The clergy call it the seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit. From that moment on, a person becomes a real member and is ready for life in Christ.

Repentance

The Sacrament of Repentance is not a simple confession of one's sins before a clergyman, but an awareness of the unrighteousness of one's path. Theologians argue that repentance is not words, but an act. If you come to the realization that you will do something sinful, then stop and change your life. And in order to be strengthened in your decision, you need repentance, which cleanses from all committed unrighteous deeds. After this sacrament, many people feel renewed and enlightened, it is easier for them to avoid temptations and adhere to certain rules.

Only a bishop or priest can receive confession, since it was they who received this right through the Sacrament of the Priesthood. During repentance, a person kneels and lists to the clergyman all his sins. He, in turn, reads cleansing prayers and overshadows the confessor with the banner of the cross. In some cases, when a person repents of any serious sins, penance is imposed on him - a special punishment.

Consider, if you have gone through repentance and are again committing the same sin, then think about the meaning of your actions. Perhaps you are not strong enough in the faith, and you need the help of a priest.

What is a sacrament?

The sacrament of the Church, which is considered one of the most important, is called "communion". This rite connects a person with God on an energetic level, it cleanses and heals a Christian spiritually and materially.

The church service at which the Sacrament of Communion is performed takes place on certain days. In addition, not all Christians are admitted to it, but only those who have undergone special training. You must first speak with the clergyman and declare your desire to take the sacrament. Usually a church minister appoints a post, after which it is necessary to undergo repentance. Only to those who have fulfilled all the conditions, the church service becomes available, at which the Sacrament of Communion is performed.

In the process of the sacrament, a person receives bread and wine, which are transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ. This enables the Christian to partake of divine energy and be cleansed of everything sinful. The ministers of the church claim that the sacrament heals a person in fact deep level. He is reborn spiritually, which always has a positive effect on human health.

Church Sacrament: Unction

This sacrament is also often called the consecration of oil, since in the process of the ceremony, oil is applied to the human body - oil (olive oil is most often used). The sacrament got its name from the word "cathedral", meaning that the ceremony should be carried out by several clergymen. Ideally, there should be seven.

The Sacrament of Unction is performed on seriously ill people who need healing. First of all, the rite is aimed at healing the soul, which directly affects our bodily shell. During the sacrament, the clergy read seven texts from various sacred sources. The oil is then applied to the person's face, eyes, ears, lips, chest and limbs. At the end of the ceremony, the gospel is placed on the head of the Christian, and the priest begins to pray for the remission of sins.

It is believed that it is best to conduct this sacrament after repentance, and then go through communion.

Sacrament of Marriage

Many newlyweds think about the wedding, but few of them realize the seriousness of this step. The Sacrament of Marriage is a very responsible one that unites two people forever before God. It is believed that from now on there are always three of them. Invisibly, Christ accompanies them everywhere, supporting them in difficult moments.

It is important to be aware that there are some obstacles to performing the sacrament. These include the following reasons:

• fourth and subsequent marriages;
• unbelief in God of one of the spouses;
• refusal of baptism by one or both spouses;
• the presence of spouses in kinship up to the fourth knee.

Keep in mind that it takes a long time to prepare for the wedding and approach it very thoroughly.

Sacrament of the Priesthood

The Sacrament Ordination to a church rank gives the priest the right to conduct services and independently perform church rites. This is a rather complicated procedure, which we will not describe. But its essence lies in the fact that through certain manipulations, the grace of the Holy Spirit descends on the minister of the church, which gives him special power. Moreover, according to church canons, the higher the rank of the church, the greater the power descends on the clergyman.

We hope that our article has given you some idea of ​​the sacraments of the Church, without which the life of a Christian in God is impossible.

sacrament of baptism

The Orthodox Catechism gives the following definition of this Sacrament: Baptism (Greek vaptisis - immersion) is a Sacrament in which the believer ...

Sacrament of Chrismation

The Orthodox Catechism gives the following definition of this Sacrament: Chrismation (Greek Myrrh - fragrant oil) is a Sacrament in which the believer ...

The Sacrament of Communion, or the Eucharist

The Orthodox Catechism gives the following definition of this Sacrament: Communion is a Sacrament in which the believer...

Sacrament of Repentance

The Orthodox Catechism gives the following definition of this Sacrament: Repentance is the Sacrament in which he who confesses his sins...

Sacrament of Priesthood (Ordination)

The Orthodox Catechism gives the following definition of this Sacrament: Priesthood is a Sacrament in which...

Sacrament of Marriage (Wedding)

The Orthodox Catechism gives the following definition of this Sacrament: Marriage is a Sacrament in which...

Sacrament of Unction (Unction)

The Orthodox Catechism gives the following definition of this Sacrament: The Anointing of the Sick is a Sacrament in which...

Sacrament (Greek. mysterion - secret, sacrament) - sacred actions in which, under a visible image, the invisible grace of God is communicated to believers.

The word "Mystery" has in Scripture several meanings.

1. A deep, intimate thought, thing, or action.
2. Divine economy for the salvation of the human race, which is depicted as a mystery, incomprehensible to anyone, even to the Angels.
3. Special action of God's Providence in relation to believers, by virtue of which the invisible grace of God in an incomprehensible way communicated to them in visible.

When applied to church rites, the word Sacrament embraces both the first, and the second, and the third concept.

In the broad sense of the word, everything performed in the Church is a Sacrament: "Everything in the Church is a holy sacrament. Every sacrament is a holy sacrament. - And even the most insignificant?" The "insignificant" sacred rite in the Divine-human organism of the Church is in organic, living connection with the entire mystery of the Church and with the Divine-Man the Lord Jesus Christ" (archim. Justin (Popovich)).

As noted by Prot. John Meyendorff: "In the patristic era, there was not even a special term for the designation of "sacraments" as a special category of church deeds: the term misterion was used at first in a broader and more general sense of the “mystery of salvation,” and only in the second auxiliary sense was it used to designate particular actions that bestow salvation,” that is, the Sacraments proper. Divine economy of our salvation.

But the tradition that began to take shape in Orthodox theological schools starting from the 15th century distinguishes seven Sacraments proper from the numerous blessed sacred services: Baptism, Chrismation, Communion, Repentance, Priesthood, Marriage, Unction ".

All seven Sacraments have the following necessary signs:

1. institution of God;
2. the invisible grace taught in the Sacrament;
3. visible image (following) of its commission.

External actions ("visible image") in the Sacraments do not have a meaning in and of themselves. They are intended for the person approaching the Sacrament, because by his nature he needs visible means to perceive the invisible power of God.

Directly The gospel mentions three sacraments(Baptism, Communion and Repentance). Indications about the divine origin of other Sacraments can be found in the book of Acts, in the Apostolic Epistles, as well as in the works of the apostolic men and teachers of the Church of the first centuries of Christianity (St. Justin Martyr, St. Irenaeus of Lyon, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Tertullian, St. Cyprian and etc.).

In each Sacrament, a believing Christian is given a certain gift of grace.

1. AT Sacrament of Baptism grace is given to man, freeing him from his former sins and sanctifying him.
2. AT Sacrament of Chrismation the believer, when parts of the body are anointed with the Holy Myrrh, grace is given, putting him on the path of spiritual life.
3. AT Sacrament of Repentance confessing his sins, with a visible expression of forgiveness from the priest, receives grace, freeing him from sins.
4. AT Sacrament of Communion (Eucharist) the believer receives the grace of deification through union with Christ.
5. AT Sacrament of Unction when the body is anointed with oil (oil), the grace of God is granted to the patient, healing the infirmities of the soul and body.
6. AT Sacrament of Marriage spouses are given grace that sanctifies their union (in the image of the spiritual union of Christ with the Church), as well as the birth and Christian upbringing of children.
7. AT Sacrament of the Priesthood through hierarchal ordination (ordination), the rightly chosen from among the believers is given grace to perform the Sacraments and shepherd the flock of Christ.

The sacraments of the Orthodox Church are divided into:

1. unique- Baptism, Confirmation, Priesthood;
2. repeatable- Repentance, Communion, Unction and, under certain conditions, Marriage.

In addition, the Sacraments are further divided into two categories:

1. obligatory for all Christians - Baptism, Chrismation, Repentance, Communion and Unction;
2. optional for all - Marriage and Priesthood.

Performers of the Mysteries. It is obvious from the very definition of the Sacrament that "the invisible grace of God" can only be given by the Lord. Therefore, speaking of all the Sacraments, it is necessary to recognize that their Performer is God. But the co-workers of the Lord, the people to whom He Himself has granted the right to perform the Sacraments, are the properly appointed bishops and priests of the Orthodox Church. We find the basis for this in the letter of the Apostle Paul: Therefore, everyone should understand us as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.(1 Cor. 4; 1).

On January 7, Bishop Seraphim of Belevsky and Aleksinsky took part in the celebration of the bright holiday of the Nativity of Christ, held at the Palace of Culture in the city of Aleksin. The holiday began with the singing of the troparion to the Nativity of Christ, after which His Grace Vladyka Seraphim and the head of the administration of the municipality of the city of Aleksin Fedorov Pavel Evgenievich addressed the guests. The solemn event included: performances by pupils of the House of Culture and pupils of the Sunday educational group at St. Nicholas Church in the city of Aleksin, as well as an instructive performance telling about the Christmas miracle. At the end of the festive program, a memorable photo was taken with Vladyka and the guests of the holiday. Then the clergy of the Aleksinsky deanery presented Christmas gifts to the children.

There are seven sacraments in the Orthodox Church: Baptism, Chrismation, Repentance, Communion, Marriage, Priesthood, Consecration of the Sick (unction).
The Sacrament of the Church is a sacrament in which the pronunciation of mysterious words (prayers) through visible actions accessible to human understanding, the grace of God invisibly acts.

Baptism

The sacrament of Baptism is such a sacred action in which a believer in Christ, with a triple immersion of the body in water, with the pronunciation of the words “the servant of God (the name of the rivers) is baptized in the name of the Father, amen, and the Son, amen, and the Holy Spirit, amen” - washed away from original sin.

The sacrament of Baptism has long been considered the door to the Church of Christ and the threshold for all other sacraments that help the believer in salvation.

“Baptism is a Sacrament in which the believer, when the body is immersed three times in water, with the invocation of God the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, dies to a carnal, sinful life, and is reborn from the Holy Spirit into a spiritual, holy life” - defines the Christian catechism.

In this Sacrament, the grace of God, for the first time mysteriously pouring out on a person called to the faith of Christ, completely cleanses him from the mud of sin, damnation and eternal death, sanctifying and recreating hitherto sinful human nature. The Savior Himself testified to the exceptional importance of this Sacrament in a conversation with Nicodemus, saying: “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God” (John 3:5).

The Sacrament of Baptism has a Divine establishment. Its establisher is Jesus Christ Himself, Who consecrated this Sacrament by His own example, having been baptized by John in the waters of the Jordan River. The baptism of John the Baptist, although it appeared “from heaven” (Mark 11:30), was only a type of the Baptism of Christ. According to the meaning of Holy Scripture, “John baptize with the baptism of repentance, speaking to people, that they may believe in the future after him, that is, in Christ Jesus” (Acts 19:4).

If the baptism of the Forerunner of the Lord, called "the baptism of repentance", was a baptism into the expected Messiah, "into the coming" and prepared only the Jews for grace-filled sanctification through the remission of the sins of the penitent, then the Baptism of Christ became Baptism into the Savior who came into the world. It itself performed “sanctification” by grace, being called Baptism by the “Holy Spirit” (Matt. 3:11), and became accessible to the pagans who believed in Christ, since after His suffering on the Cross, death and resurrection, the Lord Himself commanded the disciples and apostles about this, saying : “Go, therefore, teach all languages, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” (Matt. 28:19). It is generally accepted that from that moment it became such.

The Apostles of Christ, having been clothed with “power from above” (Lk. 24:49), constantly themselves began to perform the sacrament of Baptism, purifying and reviving believers in it by the grace of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Scriptures of the New Testament give many examples of how the apostles baptized those who had faith in Jesus Christ. So, for example, on the day of Pentecost, the apostle Peter immediately baptized about 3,000 believers (Acts 2:38-41); another apostle Philip baptized the eunuch of the queen of Ethiopia (Acts 8:38), the apostle Paul - Lydia (Acts 16:15), the apostle Peter also baptized Cornelius, a centurion from Caesarea (Acts 10:1, 47). The Holy Church, having received this sacrament from St. apostles, has always performed and continues to perform it on every person who desires salvation.

The main and fundamental in the order of the sacrament of baptism is the threefold immersion of the person being baptized in water, which must be “pure, natural”, and the pronunciation of the words: “The servant of God is baptized ... in the name of the Father, amen. And the Son, amen. And the Holy Spirit, amen." All this constitutes the visible side of the sacrament.

The use of three-time immersion in water during baptism expresses the burial of the baptized Christ, and three-time raising him out of the water - the three-day resurrection of Christ and the resurrection with Him of the baptized (Rom. 6: 4). Reverend Simeon New Theologian says: “What for Christ the Lord was the Cross and the tomb, then for those who are baptized there is Baptism; and just as Christ died in the flesh and rose again, so we also die to sin and are raised to goodness by the power of God.” /With. 421 words. 2nd ed. M., 1892. Issue. one/.

In this sacrament, the grace of God invisibly acts on the whole being of the person being baptized, regenerating him spiritually. At the same time, the baptized is cleansed of all sins, as:
a) ancestral or Adam's;
b) arbitrary, if baptism is performed on an adult (Acts 2:38: 1 Cor. 6:11); those. adopted by God (Gal. 3:26-28).

St. John Chrysostom speaks of the invisible, gracious side of the sacrament as follows: “Angels are also present at the performance of Baptism, but none of them can explain the method of this wondrous birth… as if we were born again, for it creates and forms us again. /With. 492, .g. Dyachenko, Rev. Lesson and examples of the Christian faith. SPb., 1900/.

Baptism is performed on both adults and infants. When it is performed on adults, repentance and faith are required from those who wish to receive Baptism. " Repent ap says. Peter to those who listened to his sermon on the day of the Descent of the Holy Spirit, - and let everyone be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins: and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit» (Acts 2:38). And Jesus Christ Himself said: Those who have faith and are baptized will be saved"(Mark 16:16).

In accordance with this, the apostles, before being baptized, taught the faith and disposed to the confession of faith: “What hinders me from being baptized? - asked the eunuch, announced by the apostolic sermon. Philip said to him: if you believe with all your heart, you can. He said in response: I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God ... And both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch; and baptized him” (Acts 8:36-38). Similar actions took place when St. Philip was in Samaria (Acts 8:12); Paul in relation to Lydia (Acts 16:13-15); Ap. Peter in Jerusalem (Acts 2:41); and in the house of the centurion Cornelius (Acts 10:34-48), etc. That is why the confession of faith or the reading of the Creed before Baptism, as well as the presence of guarantors of faith or recipients at Baptism, was introduced into the rite of Baptism.

Infants are baptized according to the faith of their parents and godparents, who are obliged to teach them the faith when they come of age. The Lord Jesus Christ clearly said about babies: For such is the Kingdom of God”(Luke 18:16), and not having been born of water and the Spirit, no one can enter the Kingdom of God.

In addition, the grounds for infant baptism are:
1. the fact that in the Old Testament church circumcision was performed on 8-day-old babies, and baptism in the New Testament took the place of circumcision: “Circumcision was faster by circumcision not made with hands, in putting off the body of sinful flesh, in circumcision of Christ, being buried with him by baptism” (Col. 2 :11-12), and therefore should be performed on infants.
2. the example of the Apostles who baptized entire houses (for example, the house of Cornelius, Lydia, Stephens), and in these houses there were undoubtedly babies (Acts 16:14, 33-38, 18, 81 Cor. 1: 16).

In addition, it should be noted that both adults and infants participate in original sin, from which they have the same need to be cleansed from it.

According to the charter of the Church, the recipients must be not only at the baptism of infants, but also of adults, and precisely in order to vouch for the faith of the person being baptized before the Church, and after Baptism to take him into his care, to confirm him in faith. On the baptism of infants, St. Fathers say the following: “St. Gregory the Theologian: “Do you have a baby? Don't give time to increase the damage; let it be consecrated in infancy and small nails dedicated to the Spirit ” / p. 489 Dyachenko, priest. Lessons and examples of the Christian faith. SPb., 1900/. Rev. Isidore Pelusiot: “Some, content with an incomplete understanding of the matter, say that babies are washed at Baptism from the filth imparted to human nature by the crime of Adam. And I believe that not only this one is accomplished, but that many other gifts are given, far surpassing our nature. For in Baptism, nature only received everything that was needed for healing from sin, but it was also adorned with Divine gifts ... and reborn from above by Divine, beyond reason ... still being; redeemed, sanctified, worthy of adoption, justified, made heir of the Only Begotten Son of God” / p. 229. Creations. part 2. M., 1860/.

When performing the sacrament of Baptism, certain rites are used that have their own special meaning. For example:

a) Spell: consists in the fact that the priest in recited prayers in the name of Jesus Christ and His sufferings he conjures the devil to depart from the baptized. The spell happens in order to drive away the devil, who, since the fall of Adam, has gained access to people and some power over them, as if over his captives and slaves. The Apostle Paul says that all people without grace (that is, those who have not yet received baptism) “walk in the age of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the Spirit, who is now working in the sons of disobedience” (Eph. 2: 2), or in Russian: “they live according to the custom of this world, according to the will of the prince, the power of the air, the spirit that is now acting in the sons of disobedience.”

The power of the spell lies in the name of Jesus Christ, invoked with prayer and faith. Jesus Christ Himself made this promise to believers: In my name the demons are cast out"(Mark 16:17). In this case, as well as in other cases, the sign of the cross is also used, made either by the movement of the hand, or represented in some other way (for example: by the breath of the mouth). The sign of the cross has the same power as pronouncing the name of Jesus Christ with faith. The use of the sign of the cross dates back to apostolic times and is of great importance in the life of every Christian. " Let us not be ashamed to confess the Crucified,- writes St. Cyril of Jerusalem, - with boldness let us depict with our hand the sign of the cross on the forehead, and on everything: on the bread that we eat, on the cups from which we drink; Yes, we portray him at the entrances, at the exits, when we go to bed and get up, when we are on the road and rest. He is a great protection given to the poor as a gift and to the weak without difficulty. For this is the grace of God, a sign for the faithful and a fear for evil spirits.” / Will announce the lesson. 13, 36/.

b) just before immersion in the water, the person being baptized is anointed with oil:
1. as a sign of his union with Christ, just as a wild branch is grafted into a fruitful olive tree;
2. as a sign that the one being baptized dies to sin. In ancient times, the dead were prepared for burial by anointing their bodies.
c) after immersion in water, white clothes are put on the person being baptized as a sign of the purity of the soul and the true Christian life, which he is obliged to observe and preserve; and a cross for a visible presentation and an unceasing reminder of the commandment of Christ: “ If anyone wants to follow Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross, and roar after Me.» (Matthew 16:24).
d) then (after Confirmation), the person being baptized three times walks around the font with lighted candles - as a sign of joy about spiritual enlightenment. At the same time, walking around the font indicates the eternal union of the baptized with Christ, since. the circle is the symbol of eternity.
e) the sacrament of baptism ends with the cruciform cutting of the hair of the newly baptized as a sign that he undertakes to obey Christ and fulfill His will as a slave to his master.

The Creed says "I confess one Baptism" in order to show that Baptism is not repeated; for baptism is a spiritual birth, and a person is born once, therefore he is baptized once. The “Epistle of the Eastern Patriarchs” speaks of this as follows: “Just as during natural birth each of us receives from nature a certain form, an image that remains with us forever, so also during our spiritual birth, the Sacrament of Baptism places an indelible seal on each, which remains on the baptized always, even if after Baptism he committed a thousand sins or even rejected the faith itself” (ch. 16), i.e. and according to the teaching of the Eastern Patriarchs, Baptism should not be repeated.

This, in addition, is evidenced by the Holy Scripture itself: “ one Lord, one faith, one Baptism» (Eph.4:5).

The meaning of the sacrament of Baptism is that the one who is baptized and believes will be saved, according to Christ, as “ washed, sanctified, justified"(1 Cor. 6:11) in Baptism, i.e. after accepting the sacrament, the moral state of a person is completely different: he is freed from sin, becomes righteous and holy, he has an enlightened mind, a new will and a renewed heart. If before Baptism sin lives in the heart, and grace acts from without, then, according to St. Fathers, after accepting the sacrament, "grace dwells in the heart, and sin attracts from the outside." / With. 50. Philokalia. v. 3. M., 1900/.

The essence of the rebirth and holiness of the baptized lies in the change of his life, in the change in the direction of his will for good. Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir experienced such a miraculous effect of the sacrament of Baptism when, leaving the font, he exclaimed: “Now I have seen the true God.” He changed after that, began to live righteously and virtuously.

However, as Bishop Theophan notes, Baptism posits only the “beginning” of salvation /ep. Feofan. The outline of Christian morality. M., 1891, p.119/, since a person still has to struggle with his sinful skills and habits in order to become like Christ in his life.

Undoubtedly, i.e. Christians who sin after Baptism are more guilty of their sins than those who are not baptized, because they had special grace and help from God and rejected it. Ap. Peter says: “For if the filthiness of the world has run away into the mind of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, by these same packs we will be overcome, the last being bitter to them the first” (2 Pet.2:20).

However, the Lord, in His mercy, granted another similar remedy for the resolution of sins, establishing the sacrament of Penance, which is therefore often called the second Baptism.

It should be noted that history knows special cases when the sacrament of Baptism was replaced by "another, extraordinary baptism - Baptism with blood or martyrdom." It happened that those who believed in Christ, not having had time to be baptized through the sacrament of Baptism, were persecuted for the Christian faith they professed and were martyred, being baptized “with the same baptism with which Christ was baptized” (Matt. 20: 22-23). /mitr. Macarius. Orthodox dogmatic theology. T. 2. St. Petersburg. 1868, p. 342/.

Blessed creations. John Moskha / “Spiritual Ray”, Sergiev Posad, 1915, p. 206-208/ speaks of the following exceptional case: Abba Andrew and 9 of his companions were forced to flee to Palestine. In the desert, one of the travelers, a Jew, weakened to the point of complete exhaustion: he had no strength left to be carried by others. The Jew began with tears to ask everyone to be baptized, let him die a Christian. After many exhortations, one of the travelers, having filled his hands with sand three times, sprinkled it on the Jew's head with the words: “The servant of God Theodore is baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit”, for each invocation all the others proclaimed “Amen”. After such a baptism, Christ healed and strengthened the weak in such a way that there was no sign of weakness left in him - he cheerfully walked ahead of everyone in the wilderness. This incident was told to the bishop of the city of Ascalon, Blessed. Dionysius, who was struck by an extraordinary sign.

In conclusion, it should be said that the sacrament of Baptism is a significant and solemn act not only in human life, but an extraordinary and important event in the history of an entire people. The Holy Russian Orthodox Church recently celebrated such a historic date in its life. More than 1000 years ago, in Kyiv, at the same time. book. Vladimir, our ancestors received Holy Baptism.

Chrismation

Just as during natural birth a person immediately needs air and light to maintain and strengthen his being, so at birth into spiritual life, a Christian needs and needs special grace-filled powers of the Holy Spirit, through which he could be strengthened and grow in spiritual life.

A baptized person acquires such grace-filled powers in Chrismation; so called because in it the main parts of the body of St. the world and say the words " seal of the gift of St. Spirit».

Confirmation is a Sacrament in which the believer, when the body parts are anointed with chrism, in the name of the Holy Spirit, the gifts of the Holy Spirit are given, which restore and strengthen in spiritual life.

The Sacrament of Confirmation was established by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. From the conversation delivered by Him in the Jerusalem temple during the Feast of Tabernacles, it is clear that under the image of living water Christ promised to send gifts of Divine grace to those who lie. " If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. Believe in me, as the scripture speaks, the rivers from his womb will flow out the waters of life» (John 7:37-38). According to the Evangelist John, the Lord spoke here about the Holy Spirit, which those who believed in Him could receive. When, after Pentecost, the apostles were clothed with “power from above,” they began to teach the gifts of the Holy Spirit to all believers.
Although Chrismation has been performed in the Orthodox Church since ancient times in connection with Baptism and immediately after it, however, Confirmation is a special God-established sacrament, separate from Baptism. St. Cyprian of Carthage says this about it: “Baptism and Chrismation are two separate acts of Baptism, although they are connected by the closest internal connection so that they form one whole, inseparable in relation to their performance” / p. 510. G. Dyachenko, priest Lessons and examples of the Christian faith. SPb., 1900/.

It is necessary to know that in the Old Testament there is an omen, a prototype of the sacrament of Chrismation. Moses, having communicated the Divine command to his brother Aaron and appointed him high priest, first washed him with water and then poured "anointing oil" on him (Lev.8:6-12). It was from this representative anointing that the high priest was called the anointed one.

Another example: while elevating Solomon to the kingdom, the high priest anointed him, first washing him in Gion (1 Kings 1:38-39). Concerning these Old Testament types, St. Cyril of Jerusalem says that over Aaron and Solomon “this was done figuratively, but in reality itself, because we are really anointed with the Holy Spirit” / p. 289-292. Creations. Secret word. Sergiev Posad, 1893/.

Cyril of Jerusalem also says that just as the descent or influx of the Holy Spirit took place on Jesus Christ after his Baptism in the Jordan, so we, who have come out of the font of “sacred waters”, are given chrismation, depicting the very thing with which Christ is anointed. And this is the Holy Spirit, about whom it is said in the prophecy of Isaiah on behalf of the Lord: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor» (Is.61:1).

The difference between our anointing and the one with which Christ was anointed is that Jesus was not anointed with man, and not with oil, or with the world, but the Father anointed Him with the Holy Spirit, predestinating Him to be the Savior of the whole world, about which the apostle Peter says: God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power"(Acts 10:38). Saint Cyril of Jerusalem therefore concludes regarding our Confirmation: “And just as Christ was truly crucified and buried and resurrected, and you were honored in Baptism to be likened to being crucified and buried and resurrected with Him, so it is necessary to understand about Confirmation. Christ is anointed with the spiritual oil of joy; the Holy Spirit, because He is the source of spiritual joy, and you, having communed with Christ and become His partakers, are anointed with the world. /p.289-292. Creation. Secret breeding. Word. Sergiev Posad, 1893/.

It was as a separate, special sacrament that Chrismation was understood by the Apostles of Christ. For example, app. Luke in the book of Acts tells that the Holy Spirit did not pour out his gifts on the Samaritans baptized by the deacon Philip until the Samaritans accepted the laying on of apostolic hands on them, but received these gifts of the Holy Spirit when the apostles prayerfully laid their hands on them (Acts 8 :15-17).

It is especially clear from this narrative that the apostles found it necessary to go to Samaria to those who received Baptism from the deacon Philip, not in order to perform, or complete, complete the image of the Baptism of the Samaritans: the Samaritans were already baptized and were Christians. The apostles, as follows from the story, went to Samaria solely for the sake of the Samaritans and had no one in mind. Further deepisator ap. Luke reports that the apostles prayed for all the baptized Samaritans that they would receive the Holy Spirit; after the laying on of hands, indeed, all the baptized received the Spirit of God (Acts 8:17).

From this passage of Holy Scripture it clearly follows:

1. It speaks clearly and definitely about the special action of the Holy Spirit on believers, which is different from the action in the sacrament of Baptism;
2. the gifts of the Holy Spirit, as in the sacrament of Baptism, are given through ministers of the Church;
3. The action of this special grace consists in the return and strengthening of the forces communicated to believers in Baptism.

The predominant, main difference between Baptism and Confirmation is that the sacrament of Baptism is the door to the Church of Christ, which, if someone does not want to enter, he will not enter the kingdom of God, while the newly baptized, if he died without Confirmation, remains alive for Christ.

About the invisible inside the sacraments of Chrismation say Sts. app. John and Paul: “And you have the anointing from the Holy One and know everything. And you have received the anointing from Him, abides in you, and do not demand, but who teaches you: but it is the anointing itself that teaches you about everything, and it is true, and it is not false; and as if he taught you, abide in it” (1 John 2:20, 27). Similarly, another apostle says: “Tell us to you in Christ, and God who has anointed us. Who also sealed us, and gave the betrothal of the Spirit into our hearts” (2 Cor. 1:21-22).

These texts indicate that in the sacrament of the "Anointing from the Holy" the believer receives strength to constantly, unswervingly stay in truth and piety, to repel and discern all lies, which means that the anointed one receives gifts that "grow and strengthen in spiritual life ".

It should be noted that on the basis of the above sayings of the apostles, the words included in the rite of Confirmation are taken: “ seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit", which, according to the "Orthodox Confession of the Eastern Patriarchs", have the following meaning: "Through chrismation with holy chrism, the gifts of the Holy Spirit are imprinted and affirmed on the baptized person, which he receives to strengthen his Christian faith" / Vopr. 104/.

In particular:

through the anointing of the chela, the sanctification of the mind or thoughts is communicated;
through the anointing of the eyes, nostrils, lips and ears - the sanctification of the senses;
through the anointing of Perseus - the sanctification of the heart or desires;
through the anointing of hands and feet - the sanctification of all deeds and all behavior of a Christian.

The Sacrament of Confirmation from its visible, external side was carried out in two ways:

a) laying on of hands
b) anointing.

From the book "Acts of the Apostles" it is known that in the early days of the existence of the Church of Christ, the apostles used the laying on of hands to communicate the gifts of the Holy Spirit to those being baptized (Acts 8:14-17:19, 6).

The successors of the apostles, instead of the laying on of hands, began to use anointing, an example of which was the anointing with chrism, which took place in the Old Testament, as a visible means for bringing down on people the gifts of the Holy Spirit (Ex. 30:25: 1 Kings 1:39).

It is even possible that the “laying on of hands” to bring down on the faithful the gifts of the Holy Spirit was replaced by “anointing with chrism” by the apostles themselves, to which, in part, the words of St. John: "And you have the anointing from the Holy One and know all" (1 John 2:20). It is quite natural that the apostles, when there were not yet many baptized, taught the believers the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands. When the number of those baptized increased significantly and the apostles could no longer have time to perform this sacrament themselves, they replaced the laying on of hands with chrismation, giving the right to perform it to the presbyters.

At the same time, it is important to note that Holy Scripture, pointing to the twofold way of performing the sacrament of anointing - by the laying on of hands or anointing with chrism - nowhere says that both of these sacred actions were performed at the same time, simultaneously. But he says that one way can be replaced by another.

The question may arise why the laying on of hands is not done in our Church, but the chrism is anointed at Baptism. Archbishop Philaret (Gumilevsky) of Chernigov speaks beautifully about this in his Dogmatic Theology: “The laying on of hands, expressing the ease with which a servant of Christ distributes a gift, should be called a completely apostolic sign of giving; Confirmation, on the one hand, without having this advantage, is quite appropriate for the humble successors of the apostolic authority, on the other hand, it expresses high, invisible grace more tangibly for us, and therefore more appropriate to our common weakness. 2., p. 238/.

The sacrament of Confirmation is performed only on those who have already been baptized. Confirmation of this can be seen in the example and in the teaching of the apostles: (Acts 8:14-17, 19, 5; Heb.6:2). Indeed, it is impossible to determine the time when a person would not need strengthening grace, therefore, entire families baptized by the apostles, following the sacrament of Baptism, received through the apostles the gifts of the Holy Spirit. This indicates that Chrismation can also be performed on infants, following Baptism. The history of the Church of the first centuries of Christianity also confirms this: for example, St. Gregory the Theologian writes: “If you protect yourself with a seal, you will secure your future in the best and most effective way, marking your soul and body with Chrismation and the Spirit, like ancient Israel by night and guarding the blood of the firstborn and anointing, then what can happen to you? "(Ex. 12:13) / G. Dyachenko, Rev. Lessons and examples of the Christian faith. SPb., 1900, p. 505/.

The Sacrament of Confirmation, like the Sacrament of Baptism, is not repeated. As for the anointing of St. peace of emperors, sovereigns at the wedding to their kingdom, then this was not a repetition of the sacrament of Confirmation, but was defined as a different, higher way of communicating the gifts of the Holy Spirit, as necessary for the great service to their Fatherland, which was indicated by God Himself back in the Old Testament ( Dan.4:22.29). For example, it is known that the Sacrament of the Priesthood is not repeated, however, it has its own degrees, and the new ordination supplies clergy for higher ministries. So the chrismation of kings to the kingdom is only a special, highest degree of the sacrament, bringing down the "deep spirit" on God's anointed ones.

Only over apostates and heretics, who have blotted out the seal of the Holy Spirit in themselves, is the sacrament of Chrismation repeated, as it was decided in the canons of the Church (Canon 7 of the Ecumenical Council of Constantinople).

About St. the world used in the performance of the sacrament of Confirmation, it should be noted that it can be consecrated by representatives of the highest hierarchy of the Church, the highest hierarchy in the person of the bishops, as the closest successors of the apostles. To perform the sacraments themselves, i.e. anoint St. the world of the newly baptized can also be presbyters.

St. Miro consists of oil, wine and a combination of various fragrant substances, which, after the consecration of St. water and prayers, they are boiled during the first three days of Passion Week in specially arranged cauldrons with constant reading of the Gospel. Then the holy chrism is poured into 12 vessels (according to the number of 12 Apostles), and on Maundy Thursday it is consecrated at the liturgy before the consecration of the Holy Gifts, while singing “We sing to you” / Take in the bib-ke “The order of chrismation”. /

Chrismation, both before 1917 and now, takes place in 2 places - Kyiv and Moscow, and then is sent to the dioceses to perform the sacrament of Chrismation.

There is a difference in the sacrament of Chrismation between the Catholic and Protestant Churches.
Distinction of the Catholic Church: (Confirmation)

a) Confirmation is performed only by bishops;
b) Confirmation is not given to infants;
c) When the sacrament is performed, there is anointing with chrism and also the laying on of hands; the words of the order are different: “I mark you with the sign of the cross and strengthen you with the world of salvation, in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen". At the same time, the anointed one lightly strikes his cheeks (on the cheeks) and it is said "peace be with you."
d) Of the parts of the body, only the forehead is anointed.

The difference of the Protestant Church:
Luther initially recognized Chrismation, but later rejected it as a sacrament. After Luther, in connection with the disputes of the Anabaptists, the Protestants reintroduced chrismation into practice, saying that their confirmation was performed "to revive the justifying faith." Their confirmation takes place after Pascha in front of the people. The rite is performed through the laying on of hands, which they do not have the power of the sacrament, because. there is no apostolic succession in the hierarchy.

Repentance

Repentance is a sacrament in which the one who confesses his sins, with a visible expression of forgiveness from the priest, is invisibly absolved from sins by Jesus Christ Himself.

The Sacrament of Penance was established by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. First, even before His resurrection, He promised the apostles to grant the power to forgive sins: “If you bind on earth, they will be bound in heaven: and if you loose on earth, they will be loosed in heaven” (Matt. 18:18).

Appearing after the Resurrection to His disciples, gathered together, except for one Apostle Thomas, the Savior really gave them this authority, saying: Receive the Holy Spirit: forgive them their sins, they will be forgiven them: and hold on to them, hold on"(John 20:22-23).
These words follow:

a) The Lord Himself gave the apostles and their successors the power to forgive sins, i.e. this sacrament can only be performed by a clergyman - presbyter or bishop;
b) sins are forgiven or kept by the Holy Spirit, i.e. Divine invisible power and action;
c) the clergyman expresses this power in a visible way: through a blessing, as a sacrament and pronunciation by him of a prayer for remission of sins.

It should be said that even before Christ, His Forerunner John the Baptist called for repentance, who “preached the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, and those who came to John the Baptist” confessed their sins» (Mark 1:4-5). In addition, John the Baptist preached repentance " by the word of God"(Luke 3:2), and was for this" sent by God"(John 1:33).

The visible side of the sacrament of Penance consists in the confession of sins, which the penitent makes before God in the presence of a priest, as well as in the resolution of sins, pronounced by the priest after confession.

The confession itself is performed as follows: before the Cross and the Gospel, lying on a lectern, as if before the Lord Himself, the penitent after preliminary prayers and exhortations from the priest, verbally confesses all his sins, hiding nothing, not making excuses, but accusing himself.

The priest, having listened to the whole confession, covers the head of the penitent with an epitrachelion and reads a prayer of absolution, in which and through which in the name of Jesus Christ, according to the authority given to him, he resolves the penitent from all confessed sins. If the sins turn out to be especially grave, then the priest, at his own discretion, may not allow, but keep them on the sinner.

The invisible effect of the grace of God consists in the fact that the true penitent, with a visible expression of forgiveness from the priest, is invisibly absolved from sins by Jesus Christ Himself. With this action, the penitent is reconciled with God, the Church and his own conscience and, being freed from eternal punishment for sins, receives hope for eternal salvation. " If we confess our sins, the apostle John says, is faithful and righteous (the Lord), may our sins be forgiven us, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness» (1 John 1:9).

In order for the person approaching the sacrament of Penance to actually receive the remission of sins, he is required to:
a) contrition for sins;
b) a firm intention to improve his life;
c) hope in the mercy of Christ and faith in the Savior.

Contrition for sins. This is required by the very essence of repentance. The one who truly repents cannot fail to realize the full gravity of his sins, of which there are many, “like the sand of the sea.” Such a person cannot but mourn in his heart and lament over his sins. Therefore, during the first preparatory week before Great Lent, the Church offers the parable of the publican and the Pharisee at the Sunday service, and then the gospel narrative (in the 2nd week) about the prodigal son.

The Apostle Paul also testifies to contrition for sins: Sorrow is more, even according to Bose, repentance unrepentantly does for salvation"(2 Cor. 7:10), i.e. sadness that we anger God with our sins leads a person to salvation. It is clear from this apostolic epistle that the contrition of the penitent should stem not from fear only of punishment for sins, not from the presentation of only disastrous consequences from sins, but mainly from love for God, whose will a person violated, thereby offending God, for he showed before Him his ingratitude, and therefore becoming unworthy of Him. St. John Chrysostom speaks about it this way: “When you sin, weep and wail not about the fact that you will be punished, this is not important yet; but that you offended your Master, who is so good, loves you so much, cares so much about your salvation, that he gave up his Son for you. This is what you must weep and weep for, and weep without ceasing. For this is confession.” In another place, the same Saint writes: “Just as fire, falling on matter, usually consumes everything, so the fire of love, wherever it falls, consumes and blots out everything ... Where there is love, all sins are consumed” / On 2 Tim. Conversations. VII. 3.

In other words, according to the teaching of St. John Chrysostom, love for God, not fear of punishment for sin.

Intention to fix your life. The prophet Ezekiel speaks of a firm intention to correct one's life as a necessary condition for receiving the forgiveness of sins: “And when the sinner returns from his iniquity and creates judgment and righteousness, he will live in them” (Ezek. 33:19).

Repentance in words alone, without even an inner desire to improve one's life, deserves even greater condemnation. A similar attitude to the sacrament of St. Paul compares it with the re-crucification of the Son of God by sinners: when they again crucify the Son of God to themselves” (Heb. 6:4-6).

St. Basil the Great discusses confession as follows: “It is not he who confesses his sin who says: I have sinned, and then remains in sin; but he who, according to the word of the psalm, "found his sin and hated it." Of what use is it to the sick care of a physician when the sufferer of illness clings fast to that which is destructive to life? So there is no benefit from forgiveness of iniquity to one who still does iniquity, and from an apology for debauchery to one who continues to live dissolutely ”/Creation. Holy fathers. VI, 58/.

Faith in Christ and hope in His mercy. Without faith and hope, the soul of a sinner is doomed to despondency, but faith in Jesus Christ and hope in His mercy are able to pacify the most indignant, tormented conscience of a sinner. An example of this is the threefold denial of Christ by the Apostle Peter, who himself later spoke to the centurion Cornelius and those who were with him about the hope of pardon from God as follows: He" (Acts 10:43).

From the Holy History of the New Testament, it is known, for example, that for sincere repentance the Lord pardoned a sinner who washed the Savior's feet with tears, anointed them with myrrh and wiped them with her hair (Luke 7:36-50). From the history Christian Church It is known that many of the greatest sinners, by repentance, switched to the path of a virtuous life and received salvation, such as St. mch. Evdokia (commemorated March 1), St. Mary of Egypt (Comm. 1 April).

To arouse the feelings required by sincere repentance, there are special means - fasting and prayer. According to the charter of the Church, one week is required to prepare for confession. While abstaining from food and drink at this time, each penitent should daily be present at the divine service in the temple, pray more often at home, read the Holy Scriptures, and move away from idle amusements, entertainment and pleasures. Remember during this period all your sins committed in the time after the previous confession.

The time of such preparation for the sacrament of Repentance is sometimes called fasting, i.e. a time of especially reverent Christian behavior.

It is known from the narration of the Holy Scriptures on the examples of Moses and Jesus Christ, who, taking on the sins of the people: Moses - Jewish, and the Savior - the sins of the whole world, spent 40 days in fasting and prayer.

Even from everyday life we ​​know. that when a person is seriously engaged in something, he often forgets about food. Moreover, when a person needs efforts in the most important work - over his soul, then with excessive food consumption it will simply be impossible to concentrate and prayerfully set himself up for spiritual wakefulness. Or, as the ancient sages said: You need to eat to live, not live to eat! St. John Chrysostom teaches: “He who prays with fasting has two wings, the lightest of the wind itself; he is faster than fire and higher than earth; that is why such a person is especially a doctor and a fighter against demons, since there is no stronger person who sincerely prays and fasts” / Titov G., priest. Part 2. With. 90 “Lessons on space. Christ. kat"/.

After confession, penance is sometimes imposed on the penitent, as a means to purify and appease the conscience of the already repentant sinner. The word "" means "punishment according to the laws", as well as "honor, good name." But more accurately and more in line with the meaning of penance, they translate it into Russian as a “prohibition” (see translation from Greek 2 Cor. 2:6).

Penance is imposed on the penitent not in order to satisfy the justice of God, since such satisfaction is for all times for all people, and for all sins, was given by Jesus Christ in His Atoning Sacrifice, but in order to help the penitent overcome the habit of sin and realize all the weight of their sins.

St. Gregory the Theologian talks about it this way: “Just as different bodies are given medicines and food, so souls are healed in different ways and ways. Witnesses of such healing are the sick themselves ... For some, a scourge is needed, and for others a bridle ... Some are corrected by exhortation, others by reprimand ... » /p.973. S.V. Bulgakov. Table book for the sacred-church-serves. 2nd ed. Kharkov, 1900/.

Depending on the nature of sins and the moral state of the sinner, penances are different. For example, a person who is intemperate is assigned a post in excess of what is due for everyone; to the miserly and greedy - the distribution of alms; absent-minded and carried away by worldly pleasures - more frequent going to church, reading the Holy Scriptures, intensified home prayer with prostrations, etc.

For some more serious sins, the sinner may even be excommunicated from the Church or from St. Communion for a certain time. Thus, penance is for punishment itself, but a special educational tool used in relation to a sinner.

St. John Chrysostom says this about the connection between Repentance and penance: “I call repentance not only to lag behind the previous bad deeds, but even more so to do good deeds. “Create,” says John (the Forerunner of Christ), “fruits worthy of repentance.” How can we create them? Acting opposite. For example, did you steal someone else's? - From now on, come on and yours. Have you been fornicating for a long time? Now refrain from intercourse with your wife on certain days and get used to abstinence. Insulted and even beat someone? Henceforth, bless those who offend you... For in order to heal ours, it is not enough just to take an arrow out of the body, but you still need to apply medicine to the wound. Have you ever indulged in voluptuousness and drunkenness? Now fast and drink only water, for it is said: “ turn away from evil and do good" (Ps. 33). / Bes. X to evang. Matt. With. 179 - 190.

It should only be remembered that when imposing a penance, it is important to pay attention to the state of the penitent, so that sometimes you do not assign such a penance that it will be impossible for a person to fulfill. It is forbidden, for example, to fast or prostrate to the sick and old, etc.

It is noteworthy that in the Old Testament, repentance was of great importance. For example, Noah preached repentance, and those who listened to him were saved (Gen. 7; 1 Pet. 3:20). Jonah announced destruction to the Ninevites, but they repented of their sins, propitiated God with their prayers, and received salvation, although they were far from God (Jon. 3 ch.).

Sometimes a priest is addressed with such a question or grumbling: I am ill with such and such an illness, but no matter how much I confessed or took communion, I did not receive healing from God. Once, a similar question was addressed to the Optina Elder, Hieromonk Ambrose, who answered this way: “Although the Lord sells sins to the penitent, every sin requires a cleansing punishment. For example, the Lord Himself said to the prudent thief: today you will be with me in paradise; meanwhile, after these words, his legs were broken; and what was it like to hang on the cross for three hours on one hand, with broken legs? So, he needed a purifying suffering. - For sinners who die immediately after repentance, the prayers of the Church and those who pray for them serve as purification: and those who are still alive must themselves be cleansed by the correction of life and almsgiving that covers sins " / p. 92-93. - Eternal. Collection No. 9. March. 1986 No. 345/.

If in the Orthodox Church penance has the meaning of healing for the penitent, then in the Catholic Church penance is not healing, but satisfaction for sin, or retribution, payment. Therefore, in the Catholic Church there is such a thing as an indulgence. Catholic theology teaches that the satisfaction brought by Jesus Christ frees the sinner from eternal punishment proper; but besides this, there are also temporary punishments for "temporary sins", and these temporary punishments constitute penance, as satisfaction for temporary sin. This satisfaction is accomplished in two ways: either by the sinner himself, or through others, by virtue of the overdue merits of Jesus Christ and the saints, whose merits are assimilated to the sinner. To acquire these merits, the sinner only needs to pay a certain amount in favor of the Church. Moreover, by means of different amounts of money, you can “buy” forgiveness in a particular sin in advance and avoid punishment.

As for the Protestants, they do not recognize repentance as a sacrament, there is no confession, it only takes place " general feeling mourn for sins."

communion

Communion is the Sacrament in which the believer, under the guise of bread and wine, partakes of the very Body and Blood of Christ for eternal life. The book "Orthodox Confession of Faith" says this about this sacrament: This Sacrament surpasses all others, and is more conducive to obtaining our salvation."(Part 1. Question 106). Otherwise, Communion is also called the Eucharist (Greek - “grateful sacrifice”) - this is “a sacrifice that is offered to God for all the living and the dead and propitiates Him” (Right Confessions, Part 1, Question 107).

The sacrament of Communion was established by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself during His last supper with the disciples. On the eve of His suffering, on Thursday morning, the Lord commanded the apostles Peter and John to go to Jerusalem and prepare there a special upper room and everything necessary for the celebration of the Old Testament Pascha.

When the Lord Himself came with the rest of the disciples, He first of all showed the apostles an example of humility and love, washing their feet, and then, lying down with them, celebrated the Old Testament Pascha.

Talking with the disciples, Christ predicted to them about His sufferings, and pointed out His betrayer Judas. Then the sacrament of Communion itself was established: when Christ, having thanked and glorified God the Father for all His inexpressible mercies to the human race, He took bread, blessed it, broke it and, serving it to the disciples, said: Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you". Then he took a cup of wine, blessed it, and, giving it to the disciples, said: Drink all of her from her: this is my blood of the New Testament, even for you, and for many, which is shed for the remission of sins.". Having communed the apostles, the Lord said to them: Do this in remembrance of me"(Mt.26:17-28; Mk.14:12-24; Lk.22:7-20 1 Cor.11:25). This is how this New Testament Sacrament was established, in which the Lord presented a living image of His saving suffering.

According to the commandment of Christ, the apostles performed this Sacrament "all the days." It is being done in the Church even now, and will be done until the end of the age (Acts 2:42:1 Cor. 1:26).

On what day was the sacrament of Communion established by the Savior?

The Law of Moses ordered to celebrate Passover on the 14th day of the month of Nisan (corresponds to our March), in memory of the deliverance of the Jews from Egyptian slavery (Ex. 12 ch.). Meanwhile, Jesus Christ celebrated Easter with His disciples on the day before the time established by the Mosaic law, i.e. 13 Nisan, for on the 14th day of Nisan Christ was already crucified. It should be immediately noted that there is no violation of the law by Jesus here, for at this time it was customary for the Jews to celebrate Passover on both Nisan 13 and 14. The reason was that one day was clearly not enough to slaughter the Passover animals - lambs (about 256,000 lambs were slaughtered in the Jerusalem Temple). Therefore, in accordance with the existing custom, Christ celebrated Pascha.

The visible side of the Sacrament of Communion is the substance of the Sacrament - bread, wine, as well as the sacrament of the Sacrament during which it is performed.

The bread used for the sacrament of Communion must be:

a) wheat, because Jesus Christ used such bread at the Last Supper. The Lord often compared Himself to a grain of wheat: the Apostles also used such bread.
b) pure, as required by the holiness of the Sacrament: the bread must be pure not only in substance, but also in the method of preparation and in the quality of the persons to whom this preparation is entrusted;
c) leavened, because such bread was also used at the Last Supper.

The wine used for the sacrament must be:

a) grape - following the example of Jesus Christ and the apostles (Matt. 26:27-29);
b) red - in appearance, resembling blood. (But some Orthodox peoples, for example, the Romanians, also use white wine).

The wine dissolves with water, because. all the sacred rites of the sacrament of Communion are arranged in the image of the suffering of Christ, and during His suffering, blood and water flowed from His perforated rib.

The rite during which the sacrament of Communion is celebrated is called the Liturgy, which means “public service” in translation. “Thanksgiving”: Sometimes the people call the Liturgy mass - according to the time it is performed in the pre-dinner time.

The liturgy, according to the importance of the Sacrament performed on it, constitutes the main and essential part of Christian worship, and all other daily church services only serve as a preparation for it.

The Liturgy must certainly be celebrated in a church, the throne of which, or sometimes the antimension used instead of the throne, on which the sacrament is performed, must be consecrated by the bishop. Usually the temple is called the church, because the believers who make up the Church gather in it for prayer and the Sacrament, and the meal is called the throne, because Jesus Christ, as the King, is mysteriously present on it.

The liturgy consists of 3 parts:

a) Proskomidia, behind which the substance for the Sacrament is prepared;
b) Liturgy of the catechumens, during which the faithful prepare for the sacrament;
c) Liturgy of the faithful, after which the sacrament itself is performed.

Proskomedia- (Greek "bringing") got its name from the custom of ancient Christians to bring bread and wine to the temple to perform the sacrament. That is why this brought bread was called prosphora, which means (Greek) “offering”.

The Proskomedia commemorates the Nativity and the sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ. The priest, remembering the prophecies and types, as well as themselves historical events, which were before the Nativity and the suffering of Jesus Christ, takes out from the prosphora the part that is needed to perform the Sacrament, puts it on the diskos, cuts it crosswise and perforates it. The part taken out of the prosphora is called the Lamb, because it represents the prototype of the suffering Jesus Christ, just as in the Old Testament the prototype of Christ was the Paschal Lamb, which the Jews, according to Divine command, slaughtered and ate, in memory of their deliverance from Egyptian slavery.

Then the priest takes the necessary part of the wine, combined with water, and pours it into the chalice (chalice). After that, the priest remembers the whole Church - glorifies the saints; prays for the living and the dead, for the authorities, for those who, according to their diligence and faith, brought prosphora or offerings.

Although 5 prosphora are used to celebrate the Liturgy at the Proskomidia (in remembrance miraculous satiety 5000 people with five loaves), but actually only one bread is used for the sacrament, which means, according to the Apostle Paul, that “ one bread, one body we are many: we all partake of the one bread"(1 Cor. 10:17), or in Russian:" One bread, and we many (compose) one body; for we all partake of the same bread».

Liturgy of the catechumens- so named because catechumens were also allowed to attend and pray at it, in addition to those who were baptized and who had the right to receive communion, i.e. preparing for baptism, as well as penitents who are not allowed to receive Communion.

The liturgy of the catechumens begins with the blessing or glorification of the kingdom of the Holy Trinity, and consists of litanies, prayers, hymns, readings of the Apostolic books and the Gospel. It ends with the command to the catechumens to leave the church.

Liturgy of the Faithful- is named because only one is true, i.e. those who have received Baptism have the opportunity to be at this divine service. The main rites of the liturgy of the faithful are as follows:

a) transferring gifts from the altar to the throne, or Great Entrance;
b) preparing believers for the consecration of gifts;
c) calling them to a worthy presence at the Eucharist and the beginning of the Eucharist;
d) the offering of gifts and their consecration;
e) commemoration of the members of the Church, heavenly and earthly;
f) communion of clergy, laity and thanksgiving after communion. Vacation

The invisible side of the sacrament of Communion:

The most important sacred action in the liturgy of the faithful is a special thanksgiving prayer read over bread and wine. After that, they are inexpressibly present on the throne already, as Body and Blood.

The salvific fruits received from worthy Communion consist in the fact that the one who partakes of the Body and Blood of Christ is most closely united with Jesus Christ Himself, and through this becomes a participant in eternal life: “ Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and Az in him"(John 6:56). " Eat my flesh and drink my blood, have eternal life"(John 6:54) - says Christ Himself.

In view of such saving and great fruits communicated in the sacrament of Communion, this sacrament is especially necessary for every Christian from the day of Baptism, throughout his life, until his death. The ancient Christians therefore took communion every Sunday.

Calling all Orthodox Christians to the sacrament of Communion, the Church, in the person of the church hierarchy, admits them to the Eucharist in no other way than after preliminary preparation. Such preparation consists in testing one's conscience before God and purifying it by repentance for sins at confession, which is especially facilitated by fasting and prayer. The Apostle Paul speaks of it this way: “Let a man tempt himself, and let him eat of bread, and let him drink from the cup; , 29), or in Russian: “Let a man examine himself, and thus let him eat from this bread and drink from this cup. For whoever eats and drinks unworthily, he eats and drinks condemnation to himself, not reasoning about the Body of the Lord" (i.e., not having due attention and respect for this great sacrament).

All the sacred services of the Liturgy are arranged in such order that they give us a clear remembrance of the Savior and His service to the human race. This is how the Nativity and the sufferings of Jesus Christ are commemorated at Proskomedia. The small entrance, performed with the Gospel at the liturgy of the catechumens, reminds us of the appearance of Jesus Christ for the sermon. The burning candle offered to the Gospel recalls the teaching of Jesus Christ, Who spoke of Himself: I am the light of the world”, and also symbolizes John the Baptist, who preceded Christ and is called in the Holy Scriptures“ a lamp that burns and shines". Therefore, while reading the Gospel, it is necessary to have such attention and reverence, as if we saw and heard the Savior Himself.

The procession of the clergy with prepared gifts to the altar - the Great Entrance - performed at the liturgy of the faithful, reminds the prayers of the procession of Christ to voluntary suffering and His death. In addition, the Great Entrance symbolizes the burial of the body of Jesus Christ. In this sense, the priest and deacon represent Joseph and Nicodemus; Holy Gifts - the most pure body of the Lord; covers - burial shrouds; censer - aromas; the closing of the gates is the closing of the tomb of the Lord and the leaving of guards at it.

The performance of the sacrament itself and the communion of the clergy in the altar are reminiscent of the Last Supper of Jesus Christ Himself with the Apostles, His suffering, death and burial; the lifting of the veil, the opening of the royal gates and the appearance of the Holy Gifts - the resurrection of the Savior and the appearance of His disciples and many other people; the last appearance of the Holy Gifts, after which they are taken to the altar, is the ascension of Jesus Christ to heaven.

The celebration of the Sacrament of Communion in the Church of Christ will always continue until the very 2nd Coming of Christ, as the Apostle Paul testifies: “ For as often as you eat this bread, and drink this cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord, until he comes"(1 Cor. 11:26).

Very often the priest is asked questions about how often it is necessary to partake of the Holy Mysteries. Here is what St. fathers:

St. John Chrysostom:"Who shall we approve? Is it those who commune once, or those who often, or those who rarely? Neither the one nor the other, nor the third, but those who partake with a clear conscience, with a pure heart, with an impeccable life” / Creations. 2nd ed. SPb., 1906, v. 12, p. 153

Rev. Seraphim of Sarov:“I command to partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ ... in all four fasts and the twelfth holidays, even I command and in great holidays; the more often, the better... Because the grace bestowed upon us by the Communion is so great that no matter how unworthy and sinful a person is, he will only come to the Lord, redeeming us all, even from head to toe, in a humble consciousness of his all-sinfulness. covered with sores of sins - and will be cleansed by the grace of Christ, more and more brightened, and completely enlightened and saved! » / Chronicle of the Seraphim-Diveevsky Monastery. SPb., 1903, p. 463/.

Marriage

Marriage is a sacrament with which, with a free promise before the Priest and the Church, by the bride and groom of their mutual fidelity, their marital union is blessed, in the image of the spiritual union of Christ with the Church, and they ask for the grace of pure unanimity for the blessed birth and Christian upbringing of children.

The Sacrament of Marriage has a Divine establishment. God Himself established and sanctified marriage in Paradise, when, having brought to Adam a wife created from his rib, he blessed them and said: Grow and multiply and fill the earth» (Gen. 1:28).

In the New Testament, the Divine establishment of the sacrament of Marriage was confirmed by the Savior when, with His personal presence, he honored and blessed the marriage in Cana of Galilee (John 2:1-11), and then in a conversation with the Pharisees, to their question, is it possible to divorce a wife for any fault, Christ finally established the law of marriage by saying: hedgehog God combines, let man not separate» (Matthew 19:4-6).

An indication of Marriage as a sacrament is found in the Apostle Paul: “A man will leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife, and they will be two in one flesh. This mystery is great: but I speak in Christ, and in the Church” (Eph. 5:31).

The visible side of the sacrament of Marriage consists of:

a) in the solemn witness of the bride and groom before the priest and the Church that they enter into a marriage union with mutual consent, that they will voluntarily and naturally and remain marital fidelity until the end of their lives;
b) in the blessing of their marriage union by the priest, when he, having placed crowns on the heads of the bride and groom, blesses them three times, exclaiming: “Lord our God, crown me with glory and honor.”

When performing the sacrament of Marriage, special rites are used that have their own deep meaning:

a) the spouses are given burning candles and rings as a sign of mutual love for each other and the continuity of their marriage;
b) crowns are placed on the couple as a reward for a chaste life and as a sign of their victory and dominance over their own passions;
c) it is given to drink from a cup of wine in remembrance of the ancient custom - to partake of the Holy Mysteries on the day of the sacrament of Marriage, and in remembrance of the miracle performed by the Lord in Cana of Galilee, and also as a sign that from now on a husband and wife should drink a common cup and joy and sorrow;
d) three times walking around the lectern is performed as a sign of spiritual triumph and joy, and together with the inseparability of the marriage union (the circle is a symbol of eternity).

The invisible effect of the grace of God, served in the sacrament of Marriage, is that at the time when the priest blesses the newlyweds with the words: Lord our God, crown me with glory and honor!– The Lord Himself invisibly combines them, blesses, sanctifies and affirms their marital union in the image of His union with the Church.

At the same time, Divine grace is granted, contributing to the preservation of the unanimity and love of husband and wife in mutual duties and relationships. This grace helps them in a truly Christian life, and also contributes to the blessed birth of children - the future children of the Church and their upbringing in the fear of God, in the knowledge of the faith and law of God.

The marriage union is not obligatory for each person separately. Virginity is revered better than marriage, if someone can keep it pure, because it is more convenient for the service of the Lord, as Christ himself testified like this: Not all contain this word; but it is given to him: able to contain, yes to contain(Matt. 19:11-12), or in Russian: “not everyone can accommodate this word, but to whom it has been given (i.e., to whom the ability for a celibate life has been given). Whoever can accommodate (i.e., fulfill the doctrine of celibacy), let him accommodate (let him fulfill it)."

For this very reason, many saints avoided marriage and kept their virginity. For example, John the Baptist, the Apostle Paul, the Apostles James and John.

The apostle Paul also speaks of the superiority of virginity over marriage: If they don’t hold back, they encroach. The unmarried one cares for the Lord's things in order to please the Lord; but the one who is married cares for the world's things, in order to please the wife. Give your maiden to marriage, she does good; and do not give in, he works better” (1 Cor. 7:8, 9, 32, 38).

The Holy Fathers said the following about the sacrament of Marriage:

Saint Gregory the Theologian:“If anyone, out of zeal for virtue, despises conjugal love, then let him know that virtue is not alien to this love. In ancient times, not only was marriage pleasing to all the pious, but the fruit of tender conjugal love was also the secret spectators of Christ's suffering - the prophets (Moses, Ezekiel), patriarchs (Abraham, Jacob), priests, victorious kings, adorned with all sorts of virtues, because it was not the earth that gave birth to the vigorous ... but all of them are the offspring and glory of matrimony »/c. 61. Creations. Part 5. M., 1847/.

St. John Chrysostom(on divorce): “To divorce is contrary to both nature and divine law. Nature - because one flesh is cut, to the law - because you try to divide what God has connected and ordered to separate " / p. 635: Creations 2nd ed. T.7. SPb., 1901/.

St. John Chrysostom(about childbearing and education): “The birth of children became the greatest consolation for people when they became mortal. Therefore, the philanthropic God, in order to immediately mitigate the punishment of the forefathers and ease the fear of death, granted the birth of children, showing in it ... the image of the Resurrection ” / c. 162. Creations. 2nd ed. T.4. SPb, 1898/.

“If the children born by you receive a proper upbringing and are instructed in virtue by your cares, this will be the beginning and foundation of your salvation, and, in addition to the reward for your own good deeds, you will receive a great reward for their upbringing” / p. 783. V.4./.

Sacrament of Marriage

"If you want to take a wife,
Four things must know:
First, from what family,
Second - is she good,
And her temper is meek, or cool,
Fourthly, what is given behind it.
If all four are good,
God help you - hurry down the aisle.

Priesthood

The sacraments discussed earlier are Baptism, Chrismation. The Eucharist and Penance are necessary for all people. The sacraments of the Priesthood, Marriage, and the Anointing of the Unction are not binding on all members of the Church. The priesthood is the sacraments in which the Holy Spirit, the rightly chosen one, through the laying on of hands as a bishop, ordains to perform the Sacraments and shepherd the flock of Christ.

The fact that the Priesthood is indeed a Sacrament, in which Divine grace, or the gift of the Holy Spirit, is communicated, is confirmed by Holy Scripture itself. For example, the Apostle Paul to his disciple Timothy, who was appointed Bishop of Ephesus, says: Neglect not the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the priesthood”(1 Tim. 4:14), and in another epistle he writes:“ I remind you to stir up the gift of God that is in you through my laying on of hands."(2 Tim. 1:6).

The book of Acts (Acts 14:23) says that the apostles Paul and Barnabas, when they preached through the cities of Lystra, Iconium, Antioch, “ordained presbyters to them in every Church.”

The priesthood, as a sacrament, has a divine institution. By choosing the apostles, Jesus Christ gave them authority to teach and administer the ordinances.

a) About the power to teach: “Go and teach…” (Matthew 28:19)
b) Celebrate the sacraments of: - baptism "Go and teach all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit."
c) Repentance: “Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 18:18).

After ascending to heaven, the Savior sent down on them the Holy Spirit, Who clothed them with the powers necessary for the apostolic service: (Acts 1:8, 2:4). " You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses».

Having become the highest hierarchs of the Church of Christ, the apostles, preaching the teachings of Christ and arranging arrangements in various places of the Church, chose special persons from among the believers, to whom they transferred the grace of the Priesthood through prayer and ordination.

Initially, they elected deacons (Acts 6:1-7), then presbyters (Acts 14:23) and bishops, to whom the apostles transferred their divine authority to ordain other specially chosen and prepared people (1 Tim. 4:14: 2 Tim. 2:2; Tit. 1:5-9).

From the given places Holy Scripture clearly and definitely follows:
a) the priesthood, as a sacrament, has an external, visible side - episcopal ordination;
b) through this sacred service, a special gift descends on the elect, different from the gifts of grace bestowed in other sacraments.

The apostle Paul points out what gifts are communicated to those who are ordained in the sacrament of the Priesthood: So let no man choke us, as the servants of Christ and the builders of the Mysteries of God"(1 Cor. 4:1), or in Russian:" So, everyone should understand us as servants of Christ and stewards of the Mysteries of God.».

In another place of Holy Scripture it says: “Pay attention to yourself and to all the suffering, in which the Holy Spirit set the Bishops, to feed the Church of the Lord and God, having acquired it with His own blood” (Acts 20:28). The last words indicate the direct duty of pastors - " Shepherd the Church of the Lord and God”, i.e. instruct people in faith, piety and good deeds.

The visible side of the sacrament of the Priesthood consists in the laying on of the consecrated bishop's hands, combined with prayer, from which this sacrament is also called otherwise ordination, i.e. ordination. The sacrament is always performed at the altar for Divine Liturgy. Initiation into each degree does not happen at the same time. Thus, a deacon is consecrated after the consecration of the Holy Gifts, a presbyter immediately after the great entrance before the consecration of the Gifts, and a bishop at the very beginning of the Liturgy, after entering with the Gospel.

A deacon and a presbyter are ordained by one bishop, and a bishop by a council of bishops, who, in extreme cases, must be at least two. During the performance of the episcopal consecration, not only the hands of the bishops are laid on the head of the ordained, but the Gospel is placed together with the inscriptions in them as a sign that the bishop invisibly accepts his consecration from Jesus Christ Himself, as the Chief Shepherd.

The invisible effect of the grace of the sacrament of the priesthood consists in the fact that the consecrated through the laying on of hands the hierarch is given according to his future service the grace of the priesthood from the Holy Spirit.

The apostles, guided by the Holy Spirit, instituted three degrees of Priesthood: deacon, presbytery, and episcopal. From that time until now, through episcopal ordination, the Holy Spirit appoints pastors to the Church of Christ (Acts 20:28), and this, according to the Savior Himself, will continue until the end of the age (Matt. 28:20).

The divine grace given in the sacrament of the Priesthood is one, but it is communicated to the initiates in varying degrees: to a lesser extent, to the deacon; more to the presbyter, and still more to the bishop, which indicates the difference in their ministry.

The deacon only serves at the sacraments; The presbyter performs the sacraments depending on the bishop; The bishop, however, not only celebrates the sacraments, but also has the power to teach others through the laying on of hands the gift of grace to celebrate them. The apostle Paul says that the episcopal degree, which is completely separate from the presbyter by grace and authority, is the highest degree of the Priesthood, says the Apostle Paul: For this sake, leave thee in Crete, but correct the unfinished one, and arrange presbyters in all the city"(Tit. 1:5).

« Don't lay hands on anyone soon"(1 Tim. 5:22). Here it should be noted that in the Church there are still special names or titles: metropolitan; exarch, archbishop, archimandrite, protopresbyter, archpriest, hieromonk, archdeacon, protodeacon - these are not separate degrees of priesthood, but only constitute various honorary titles assigned personally to a clergyman.

The Holy Fathers of the Church highly appreciated and understood the Priesthood as sacraments.
St. John Chrysostom(“six words about the priesthood” see v. 1. Desk book of a clergyman. M., 1977) writes: “The priesthood, although it is performed on earth, belongs to the order of heavenly institutions. Neither man, nor angel, nor archangel, nor any other created power, but the Comforter Himself established this ministry and urged those who were in the flesh to imitate the service of an angel.

Saint Gregory the Theologian:/ With. 620. Present. The book of the holy V.1 / “To rule a man, the most cunning and changeable animal, in my opinion, is really an art of arts and a science of sciences”, because our medical art is much more difficult, and therefore preferable to the art of healing the body, but it is even more difficult and because the latter looks little into the depths, but is more concerned with the visible, on the contrary, our healing and care all relate to the “hidden heart of man” (1 Peter 3:11).

Many holy fathers therefore refused to accept priestly service, because of its height, holiness and complexity. Some of them even fled (John Chrysostom, St. Gregory the Theologian, St. Basil the Great) when they were urged to accept the pastoral service.

Anointing of the Sick

Unction is a sacrament in which, when the body is anointed with oil, the grace of God is called upon the sick, healing the infirmities of the soul and body.

The Sacrament of the Unction of the Unction is otherwise called Unction, because according to ancient custom performed by a council of seven (7) priests. It should be noted, however, that if need be, it can be performed by one priest.

The Mystery of the Unction was established by Jesus Christ Himself. Sending His 12 disciples to preach in the cities and villages of the land of Judea, the Lord gave them the power to heal every sickness and every infirmity (Mt. 10:1). And the Apostles, according to the testimony of the Evangelist Mark, preaching the teachings of Christ, “ smeared with oil many who were ill, and healed"(Mark 6:13).

Then the Apostles conveyed this sacrament to the clergy of the Church, as evidenced by the Apostle James: “If anyone hurts in you, let the elders of the church call, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: and the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up : and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him ”(James 5:14-15).

The visible side of the sacrament of Unction includes:

a) sevenfold anointing with consecrated oil of the patient’s body parts (brow, nostrils, cheeks, mouth, chest and hands). The anointing is preceded by a sevenfold reading of the Apostle, the Gospel, a short litany and a prayer for the healing of the sick and the forgiveness of his sins;
b) the prayer of faith, uttered by the priest when anointing the sick;
c) laying the gospel on the head of the sick gospel with letters down and a permissive prayer from sins.

Wheat grains used during the sacrament of the Unction, in which 7 pods (tassels) wrapped in cotton or cotton paper, 7 candles and a vessel with oil are placed, serve as a sign of strengthening, rebirth and resurrection of the sick body. Seven candles are used as a sign of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit; red wine is poured into the oil in memory of how the merciful Samaritan, mentioned in the parable of the Lord, poured oil and wine on a man wounded by thieves (Luke 10:30-34). The patient and all those present at the celebration of the sacrament are given lighted candles into their hands as a sign of fervent prayer and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

The invisible effect of the grace of God given in the sacrament of Unction is that:

a) the patient receives healing and reinforcement to endure them;
b) forgiveness of sins.

In the Roman Catholic Church there are the following differences:

a) the oil must be consecrated by the bishop;
b) the sacrament of unction should be performed only on the dying.

Weaknesses of the body and soul have their origin in human nature. According to the Christian view, the source of bodily disease lies in sin.

The Savior Himself clearly points to this connection between bodily illness and sinfulness in the gospel: “And they came to Him with a paralytic, who was carried by four ... Jesus, seeing their faith, says to the paralytic: child! Your sins are forgiven you" (Mark 2:3-5). Then the paralytic was healed.

However, it should be noted that not all diseases without exception are a direct consequence of sin. There are illnesses and sorrows sent for the purpose of testing and improving the believing soul. Such was the disease of Job, and also of the blind man, about whom the Savior, before healing him, said: Neither he nor his parents sinned, but this was so that the works of God might appear on him."(John 9:3). And yet most of the diseases are recognized in Christianity as a consequence of sin, and this thought is imbued with the prayers of the sacrament of the Anointing of the Unction.

From a religious point of view, health and healing are considered as the grace of God, and real healing is the result of a miracle, even though it was accomplished through human participation. This miracle is performed by God, and not because physical health is the highest good, but because it is a manifestation of Divine power and omnipotence, which returns a person back to God.