You can go to church every day. The path to God: how to start going to church. Special time of worship

Often the priest is asked the question given in the title and begins to make excuses.

“We need to sleep, be with our family, do our homework, but then we have to get up and go to the . For what?

Of course, in order to justify your laziness, you can find other objections. But first we must understand what the point is in going to church every week, so that we can then compare our self-justifications with this. After all, this requirement was not invented by people, but was given in the Ten Commandments: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy; six days thou shalt work, and in them do all thy work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: on it thou shalt not do any work, neither thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy ox, neither your donkey, nor any of your livestock, nor the stranger who is within your gates; For in six days the Lord created heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them, and rested on the seventh day; Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and sanctified it.”(). Violation of this commandment in the Old Testament was punishable by the death penalty as for murder. In the New Testament, Sunday became a great holiday because Christ, having risen from the dead, sanctified this day. According to church rules, anyone who violates this commandment is subject to excommunication. According to canon 80 of the VI Ecumenical Council: “If anyone, a bishop, or a presbyter, or a deacon, or anyone ranked among the clergy, or a layman, does not have any pressing need or obstacle that would permanently remove him from his church, but while staying in the city, on three Sundays during three weeks, he does not come to a church meeting: then the cleric will be expelled from the clergy, and the layman will be excommunicated.”

It is unlikely that the Creator would give us absurd commands, and church rules were not written at all to torment people. What is the meaning of this commandment?

All Christianity grows out of the self-revelation of the God of the Trinity, revealed through the Lord Jesus Christ. Entering into His inner life, participating in the Divine glory, is the goal of our life. But since “God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.”, according to the word of the Apostle John (), then you can enter into communication with Him only through love.

According to the word of the Lord, the entire law of God comes down to two commandments: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind: this is the first and greatest commandment; the second is similar to it: love your neighbor as yourself; On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”(). But can these commandments be fulfilled without visiting the temple? If we love a person, don’t we strive to meet with him more often? Is it possible to imagine lovers avoiding meeting each other? Yes, you can talk over the phone, but it’s much better to talk in person. So is the man loving God, strives to meet Him. Let King David be an example for us. He, being the ruler of the people, waging countless wars with enemies, administering justice, said this: “How desirable are Your dwellings, O Lord of hosts! My soul is weary, longing for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh delight in the living God. And the bird finds a home for itself, and a swallow finds a nest for itself, where to lay its chicks, at Thy altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God! Blessed are those who dwell in Your house: they will praise You without ceasing. Blessed is the man whose strength is in You and whose heart is directed toward You. Passing through the valley of tears, they open springs in it, and the rain covers it with blessing; they come from strength to strength, they appear before God in Zion. Lord, God of strength! Hear my prayer, give ear, O God of Jacob! God, our protector! Come close and behold the face of Your anointed. For one day in Your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be at the threshold of the house of God than to live in the tents of wickedness.” ().

When he was in exile, he cried every day that he could not enter the house of God: “Remembering this, I pour out my soul, because I walked among the multitude, I entered with them into the house of God with the voice of joy and praise of the celebrating multitude.” ().

It is precisely this attitude that gives rise to the need to visit the temple of God and makes it internally necessary.

And this is not surprising! After all, the eyes of the Lord are constantly turned to the temple of God. Here He Himself abides with His Body and Blood. Here He regenerates us in baptism. So this is our small heavenly homeland. Here God forgives us our sins in the sacrament of Confession. Here He gives Himself to us in the most holy Communion. Is it possible to find such sources of incorruptible life anywhere else? According to the words of the ancient ascetic, those who fight the devil during the week strive to run to the sources of living water of Communion in church on Saturday and Sunday in order to quench the thirst of their hearts and wash themselves from the dirt of a defiled conscience. According to ancient legends, deer hunt snakes and devour them, but the poison begins to burn their insides, and they run to the spring. In the same way, we should strive to go to church in order to cool down the irritation of our hearts together. According to the word of the holy martyr, “Try to gather more often for the Eucharist and praise of God. For if you often gather together, then the forces of Satan are overthrown, and by the unanimity of your faith, his disastrous deeds are destroyed. There is nothing better than the world, for by it all warfare of heavenly and earthly spirits is destroyed"(Schmch. Ignatius the God-Bearer Epistle to the Ephesians. 13).

Many people are now afraid of the evil eye, damage, and witchcraft. Many stick needles into all the door frames, hang themselves like Christmas trees with amulets, smoke all the corners with candles and forget that church prayer alone can save a person from the violence of the devil. After all, he trembles at the power of God and is unable to harm anyone who abides in God’s love.

As King David sang: “If an army takes up arms against me, my heart will not fear; if war arises against me, then I will hope. I asked one thing from the Lord, that only I seek, that I might abide in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, contemplate the beauty of the Lord and visit His holy temple, for He would hide me in His tabernacle on the day of trouble, would hide me in the secret place of the village His own, would have carried me to the rock. Then my head would be lifted above the enemies surrounding me; and I would offer sacrifices of praise in His tabernacle, and would sing and make melody before the Lord.” ().

But not only does the Lord protect us and give us strength in the temple. He also teaches us. After all, all worship is a true school of God’s love. We hear His word, remember His wonderful deeds, learn about our future. Truly “In the temple of God everything proclaims His glory”(). The exploits of martyrs, the victories of ascetics, the courage of kings and priests pass before our eyes. We learn about His mysterious nature, about the salvation that Christ gave us. Here we rejoice in the light Christ's resurrection. It’s not for nothing that we call Sunday worship “little Easter.” It often seems to us that everything around us is terrible, scary and hopeless, but Sunday service tells us about our transcendental Hope. No wonder David says that “we have meditated, O God, on Your goodness in the midst of Your temple”(). Sunday service – the best remedy against those countless depressions and sorrows that live in “gray life”. This is the sparkling rainbow of God's covenant among the mists of universal vanity.

Our holiday service has at its heart prayer and meditation on the Holy Scriptures, the reading of which in church has special power. Thus, one ascetic saw tongues of fire rising from the lips of a deacon, who was reading the word of God at the Sunday Liturgy. They purified the souls of those praying and ascended to heaven. Those who say that they can read the Bible at home, as if they don’t need to go to church, are mistaken. Even if they do open the Book at home, their removal from the church meeting will prevent them from understanding the meaning of what they read. It has been verified that those who do not participate in Holy Communion are practically unable to assimilate the will of God. And no wonder! After all, Scripture is like “instructions” for receiving heavenly grace. But if you just read the instructions without trying, for example, to assemble a cabinet or program it, then it will remain incomprehensible and will quickly be forgotten. After all, it is known that our consciousness quickly filters out unused information. Therefore, Scripture is not separate from the church assembly, for it was given precisely to the Church.

On the contrary, those who attended the Sunday Liturgy and afterward took the Scripture at home will see in it meanings that they would never have noticed. It often happens that it is on holidays that people learn God’s will for themselves. After all, according to Rev. , “although God always rewards His servants with gifts, but most of all on annual and Lord’s holidays”(Word to the Shepherd. 3, 2). It is no coincidence that those who regularly go to church are somewhat different and appearance, and by state of mind. On the one hand, virtues become natural for them, and on the other hand, frequent confession prevents them from committing serious sins. Yes. Often the passions of Christians also become aggravated, for Satan does not want people, molded from dust, to rise to heaven, from where he was cast out. That is why Satan attacks us as his enemies. But we shouldn’t be afraid of him, but we should fight him and win. After all, only the one who overcomes will inherit everything, said the Lord ()!

If a person says that he is a Christian, but does not communicate in prayer with his brothers, then what kind of believer is he? According to the fair words of the greatest expert on church laws, Patriarch Theodore Balsamon of Antioch, “one of two things is revealed from this - either that he does not take any care in fulfilling the divine commands about prayer to God and hymns, or he is not faithful. For why did he not want to be in church with Christians and have fellowship with the faithful people of God for twenty days?”

It is no coincidence that those Christians whom we consider exemplary are Christians of the Apostolic Church in Jerusalem “they were together and had everything in common... And every day they remained with one accord in the temple and, breaking bread from house to house, ate their food with joy and simplicity of heart, praising God and being in love with all the people”(). It was from this unanimity that their inner strength flowed. They were in the life-giving power of the Holy Spirit, which was poured out upon them in response to their love.

It is no coincidence that New Testament expressly prohibits neglect of church meetings: “Let us not forsake meeting ourselves together, as is the custom of some; But let us encourage one another, and all the more as you see that day approaching.” ().

All that is best, thanks to which Rus' is called holy, thanks to which other Christian nations exist, is given to us by worship. In the church we get rid of the oppression of our vanity and break out of the snares of crises and wars into God's peace. And this is the only correct decision. Not curses and revolutions, not anger and hatred, but church prayer and virtues can change the world. “When the foundations are destroyed, what will the righteous do? The Lord is in His holy temple"(), and he runs to Him to find protection. This is not cowardice, but wisdom and courage. Only a fool will try to cope with the onslaught of universal evil on his own, be it terror or a natural disaster, revolution or war. Only Almighty God will protect His creation. It is no coincidence that the temple has always been considered a refuge.

Truly, the temple is a heavenly embassy on Earth, where we, wanderers seeking the heavenly City, receive support. “How precious is Your mercy, O God! The sons of men are at rest in the shadow of Your wings: they are satisfied from the fatness of Your house, and from the stream of Your sweets You give them to drink, for with You is the source of life; in Your light we see light" ().

I think it is clear that love for God requires resorting to the house of the Lord as often as possible. But this is also required by the second commandment – ​​love for one’s neighbor. After all, where can you turn to the most beautiful thing in a person - in a store, a cinema, a clinic? Of course not. Only in the house of our common Father can we meet with brothers. And our joint prayer will be more likely to be heard by God than the prayers of a proud loner. After all, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself said: “If two of you agree on earth to ask for anything, then whatever they ask will be done for them by My Father in Heaven, for where two or three are gathered in My name, there I am in the midst of them.” ().

Here we rise from vanity and can pray for our troubles and for the entire Universe. In the temple we ask God to heal the illnesses of our loved ones, free captives, save travelers, save the perishing. In church we also communicate with those who have left this world, but have not left Christ’s Church. The dead appear and beg to be prayed for in churches. They say that every memorial is like a birthday for them, but we often neglect this. Where is our love then? Let's imagine their condition. They are without a body, they cannot take communion, and they cannot do external good deeds (for example, alms). They expect support from their family and friends, but receive only excuses. It’s like saying to a hungry mother: “I’m sorry. I won't let you eat. I really want to sleep." But for the dead, church prayer is real food (and not vodka poured into a cemetery, which is not needed by anyone except demons and alcoholics).

But saints worthy of our glorification are also waiting for us in the temple. The saints make their images visible, their words are proclaimed at the service, and they themselves often visit the house of God, especially on their holidays. They pray to God with us, and their mighty praises, like eagle’s wings, lift church prayer straight to the Divine throne. And not only people, but also disembodied angels participate in our prayer. People sing their songs (for example, “The Trisagion”), and they sing along with our hymns (“It is worthy to eat”). According to church tradition, in every consecrated church there is always an Angel above the throne, offering the prayer of the Church to God, and also at the entrance to the temple there is a blessed spirit, watching the thoughts of those entering and leaving the church. This presence is felt quite tangible. It is not for nothing that many unrepentant sinners feel bad in church - it is the power of God that rejects their sinful will, and the angels punish them for their iniquities. They need not to ignore the church, but to repent and receive forgiveness in the sacrament of Confession and not forget to thank the Creator.

But many people say:

- Fine! We need to go to church, but why every Sunday? Why such fanaticism?

To answer briefly, we can say that since the Creator says so, then the creation must unquestioningly respond with obedience. The Lord of all times has given us all the days of our lives. Can't He really demand that we give Him four out of the 168 hours of the week? And at the same time, the time spent in the temple is for our benefit. If a doctor prescribes procedures for us, then don’t we try to strictly follow his recommendations, wanting to be healed of body diseases? Why do we ignore the words of the Great Physician of souls and bodies?

Here we need to think about the words that were given at the beginning of our thoughts:

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

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

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

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

Inextricably linked with the issue of homework on holidays is the problem of summer visits to temples. A lot of people say:

– We will not be able to withstand the winter without the products that we grow on our plots. How can we go to temple?

I think the answer is obvious. Nobody bothers you to go to the village church for a service, and to do the work in the garden either on Saturday or in the second half of Sunday. So our health will be preserved, and the will of God will be observed. Even if there is no temple anywhere nearby, we should devote Saturday evening and Sunday morning to prayer and Scripture. Those who do not want to do the will of God receive His punishment. The expected harvest is devoured by locusts, caterpillars, and diseases. When you need rain, there is a drought, when you need dryness, there is a flood. This is how God shows everyone who is the Master of the world. Often God punishes those who despise His will. Doctors I know told the author about the phenomenon of “Sunday death,” when a person plows all weekend without raising his eyes to the sky, and there, in the garden, dies of a stroke or heart attack, facing the ground.

On the contrary, He gives unprecedented harvests to those who fulfill God’s commandments. For example, in Optina Pustyn the yields were four times higher than those of its neighbors, although the same land use techniques were used.

Some people say:

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

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

Another frequently encountered objection is just as absurd:

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

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

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

The following objection also does not justify a person:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

So in church you need to look not at others, but at God. After all, we come not to people, but to the Creator.

They often refuse to go to church, saying:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Others say:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

But some say:

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

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

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

Others say:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Priests do not have a definite answer to the question of whether it is possible to go to church with menstruation. Some argue that you can attend church services without participating in the holy sacraments, others say that it is better to avoid visiting during critical days.

Why can’t you go to church while you’re on your period, where did this ban come from, and what is the right thing to do. To understand the question of whether it is possible to attend church while menstruating, we need to familiarize ourselves with the point of view of the Holy Fathers and Holy Scripture. These are two important authorities for an Orthodox Christian.

Reasons for the ban

In the Old Testament you can find precise reasons why parishioners should refrain from attending church.

Do not go to church if:

1. A person suffers from a serious illness.
2. The woman or man is not pure.
3. The person had touched the dead the day before.

Diseases for which it is not allowed to enter the church include infections, inflammation in the active phase, discharge from the urethra in men, and uterine bleeding in women.

Previously, such ailments included ulcers, leprosy, scabies, as well as all physical disorders associated with bleeding.

The ban on church attendance for young mothers who have given birth to a child remains in place to this day. Previously, when a boy was born, women did not enter the temple for 40 days after birth, and girls for 80 days. This period was required for purification.

The priest’s answer to why you can’t go to church while you’re on your period is usually based on the fact that you can’t shed blood in the shrine. Only one sacred blood can be present in the temple - the holy gifts, the Body and Blood of Christ.

If a person accidentally gets hurt, then he needs to go out and stop the bleeding outside the temple. If blood gets on the floor, icons or books, the Holy Monastery is considered desecrated, so it needs to be re-consecrated and certain prayers read.

The reason why people don’t go to church and monastery with menstruation is due to the opinion that this process was given to all women for the sinful fall of Eve, our ancestor, and, of course, there should be nothing sinful inside the temple.

According to other versions, during menstruation a dead egg is released, and this, to some extent, is considered death. The presence of deadly objects in the church is also not allowed.

Not only is it forbidden to go to church while you are on your period, it is forbidden for those people who have had physical contact with the deceased, for example, they prepared him for burial and washed him.

Interesting! Book of Leviticus Old Testament tells that during the period of bleeding, that is, during menstruation, not only wives are considered unclean, but also every person who dares to touch them.

Since ancient times, women were forbidden to go to church while bleeding, communicate with other people, or touch them.

New Testament

The coming of Jesus radically changed the opinion about whether it is possible to go to church with menstruation. In the Holy Scriptures there is evidence of a woman touching the Savior who had been bleeding for 12 years, which was considered unacceptable by the Jews.

After touching the clothing of Jesus Christ, as is known, it was healed, and the Lord felt healing power emanate from him.

Having learned that an “unclean” woman had touched him, He did not reproach her for what she had done, but, on the contrary, encouraged her and called on her to strengthen her faith.

Need to know! In his sermons, Jesus made it clear that people with sinful thoughts coming from the heart and evil intentions are considered defiled, and he did not consider bodily uncleanliness a sin.

The Holy Fathers, when asked whether it is possible to go to church with menstruation, gave a completely different answer. They considered the processes occurring during menstruation to be natural, given to women by the Almighty. This is a very important period for female body, associated with the possibility of prolonging the human race.

Georgy Dvoeslov also argued that spiritual purity plays a paramount role, so he did not consider it a sin to go to church while menstruating. The first Christian women, according to traditions and canons, independently made the decision to visit the temple.

Some of them, finding it difficult to answer whether it was possible to enter the church while menstruating, listened to the service in the vestibule, while others entered, but did not touch anything holy. There were Christian women who believed that, apart from sin, nothing could separate them from God. They were supported by many theologians, for example Gregory the Great, who called not to condemn wives and virgins who go to church during menstruation, confess, and receive communion.

It is important to know! What helps the Mother of God in Cyprus

This teaching lasted until the seventeenth century. After this, the question of whether women can attend church during menstruation again remained open.

Modern look

Nowadays, Christian believers are increasingly wondering whether it is possible to go to church, and also
Is it possible to confess and receive communion? The opinion of clergy may differ, so it is better to ask your spiritual mentor about this.

The priest's answer will help to finally resolve this dilemma. Some clergy allow you to come to a service, pray quietly and leave without touching anything.

Undoubtedly, when considering whether it is possible to go to church during critical days, confess and receive communion, it is better to be guided by your own spiritual aspirations and the opinion of the clergyman.

We must not forget that every person will still answer before God for all his sins. At the same time, there are situations when a person simply needs God’s help, then all conventions fade into the background. This applies to women suffering uterine bleeding who want to turn to God asking for healing.

Unfortunately, sometimes medicine is powerless, doctors are unable to stop the flow, and treatment remains ineffective. At this moment, patients decide to turn to the Almighty in prayer.

If a woman feels that she will soon give her soul to God, is she allowed to go to church while on her period? Of course yes! Every Orthodox Christian has the right to receive communion and confess before leaving.

If a woman is healthy and feels great, then during her menstrual period it is not advisable for her to do the following:

• baptism,
• communion,
• wedding.

The sacrament of these rituals lies in getting rid of sinful and unclean things. A person is born according to church rules, so it is better to approach these sacraments spiritually and physically cleansed. Of course, modern hygiene products can completely solve this problem and many women do not even doubt whether to go to the temple or not.

However, clergy advise, if possible, it is better to postpone this ritual until the woman becomes pure in both soul and body.

Useful video

Conclusion

We can talk about women’s “uncleanness” for a very long time, but we must not forget that Jesus Christ cleansed men and women with his blood. The Lord has given us eternal, spiritual life, independent of the flesh.

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The way the first Christians acted is an example for us. Christ also taught that Christians should gather together. Published on the web portal

To answer this question, we need to go to Scripture and see if it says anything about it. Apparently, some in the early apostolic church had the same question, because the author of Hebrews writes:

“Let us not forsake meeting ourselves together, as is the custom of some; But let us encourage one another, and all the more as you see that day approaching” (Heb. 10:25).

In this case, Paul (or someone else) is writing that we should not act like those who leave their local church. In addition, he says that this is relevant not only for the chief apostolic church, but also for subsequent generations. He writes that we must wait for “the approach of that day,” i.e., apparently, the second coming of Christ.

Among other things, Paul wrote that he was an example to follow. To help others do the right thing, he sent Timothy:

“Therefore I beseech you: imitate me, as I imitate Christ. For this purpose I have sent to you Timothy, my beloved and faithful son in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach everywhere in every church” (1 Corinthians 4:16-17).

What does Paul teach Timothy as elsewhere in every church? In 1 Timothy, Paul writes about bishops and their qualities, about deacons (1 Timothy 3:1-13), as well as about some other church foundations (1 Timothy 5:17-20). Therefore, a person who does not go to church probably simply does not read all these passages, because... They are “obsolete” for him, but there is no biblical reason to consider them as such.

Moreover, Paul himself said that these principles needed to be taught to others who could also become teachers:

“And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, commit these to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2).

Paul taught Timothy to establish a certain order among believers that we should still have today. This order and all the above ministries were created in order to build up the body of Christ, and there is not one hint in Scripture that this does not apply to Christians today. If you don't need to go to church, then many passages in the Bible simply become irrelevant. For example:

“If any of you is sick, let him call the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord” (James 5:14).

This command presupposes the existence of a local church. So, if it can be discarded at someone's will, why not do the same with anything else? The Bible is not a buffet.

Among other things, the first disciples gathered together:

“And they continued continually in the teaching of the apostles, in fellowship, and in the breaking of bread, and in much prayer” (Acts 2:42).

The way the first Christians acted is an example for us, unless somewhere in the Bible something contrary would be said, but we do not find anything like that. Christ also taught that Christians should gather together:

“For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20).

Isn't this already relevant? And if it is relevant, then won’t the place in which more than three gather be a place in which Christ will be in a special way? The Bible also teaches us that we, being one body, empathize and help each other:

“Therefore, if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; If one member is glorified, all the members rejoice with it” (1 Cor. 12:26).

This presupposes the existence of the church as a community, otherwise how will believers know what is happening in the lives of other brothers and sisters if they do not gather together? A person who believes that going to church is not necessary not only contradicts the clear teaching of Scripture (Heb. 10:25), but also, without any reason, is forced to classify many passages in the Bible as not relevant to us.

I BELIEVE IN MY SOUL SO I DON'T NEED TO GO TO CHURCH

If a person believes in God, then he will strive to do what God says. One priest, responding to this argument, said the following:

“I always suggest this exercise to everyone who believes in the soul: eat in the soul, drink in the soul, get married in the soul. I liked the girl, married her in my heart - and that’s it. And you can also go to the cash register in your soul to get your salary... Faith in the soul is the absence of faith at all.”

The Bible says:

“What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can this faith save him? … faith, if it does not have works, is dead in itself” (James 2:14-17).

To summarize, it is safe to say that the Bible teaches us that a Christian should go to church. A Christian who thinks he shouldn't go to church needs to examine his heart because he is not doing what God has commanded.

How to start going to church?

editor

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Why go to church if God is in your soul? Isn't it more important to be a good man? These questions can often be heard today. Can and should the Church make people good? What is the true meaning of church life? We talked about “good people” in and outside the church with the priest of the Moscow metochion of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, Sergius Feyzulin.

Today, many people, although they do not deny faith, although they recognize God, have nothing in common with church life, believing that God is in their soul, and they need to look for Him there, and not in a temple built by human hands.

One episode from my priestly practice immediately comes to mind. One man's wife decided to take him to church. She had already gone several times, been to confession, received communion, but her husband refused. And so she stands somehow upset - her husband is next to the temple, but does not enter. I suggested we go meet him. Very good, nice man, but refused to come in because he had “God in his soul.” I prayed to myself, I thought, well, what should I tell him now, and suddenly it dawned on me, I said: “Tell me, do you also have breakfast in the shower?” He was somehow so confused, lost in thought and so embarrassedly said: “No.” So, think about this, faith is something that must be carried out practically, faith cannot be theoretical, it must be living, confirmed by life, directly, by our actions.

But why can’t we exercise faith practically, simply by living according to our conscience, trying to fulfill the commandments and do good deeds? Many people believe that it is more important to be a good person than to go to church regularly.

What does it mean to be a good person? This is such a relative concept, all people are good. God created all of his creation good, and man is the crown of creation, its most perfect part. A person can be like God, he is the image of God - every person! Regardless of whether he knows about it or not, whether he is trying to find this image of God in himself and realize it, to get closer to God, to become like Him, to become family to Him. This is what the Lord expects from us - so that we become like Him. And in this sense, every person is good, and not just good, every person is beautiful, a person is perfection.

But in the ordinary sense, a good person, they also say “a decent person,” is a very relative thing, we are all good for some, but not very good for others. You can be, say, a wonderful doctor and a bad family man, unbearable in personal relationships. You can be ready to sacrifice yourself for the sake of your Motherland, and at the same time, cruel, merciless and have no mercy for the enemy. Is this a good person? Good for whom? The Church does not call us to be good; moreover, the desire to “be good” is very dangerous. The desire to be good with every person is not love for a person, but people-pleasing and hypocrisy. The Lord himself speaks about this in the Gospel: “Woe to you when all people speak well of you.” A person adapts to another in order to impress him, thus arousing a good opinion of himself, a lot of mental effort is spent on this, and this is a terrible thing. Christ in the Gospel calls such people dull hypocrites.

We are not called to be good, but we are called to be saints, this is a completely different dimension of the human spirit. Pascal, a French philosopher and scientist, says that all people can be conditionally divided into righteous and sinners. The righteous, says Pascal, are those who consider themselves sinners, and true sinners are those who consider themselves righteous, feel good people. That is why they do not see their shortcomings, do not feel how far they are from God, from love. Because there must always be little love, there must be great thirst. Love is when I always look for my own fault in everything, in some circumstances, in communicating with people, in family, in professional relationships. I feel like I never have enough love. We are called to “Be holy as I am holy.” And in this sense, a good person is one who constantly feels, relatively speaking, bad, insufficient, feels his shortcomings - lack of faith, hope, and of course, love, lack of piety, prayerfulness. In general, this is the case in any creative endeavor - as soon as a person begins to be satisfied, complacency arises, which limits his creative impulses, and the person freezes, cools down, his creative fire no longer illuminates his life.

This is just very scary thought and a very common idea that it is enough to be a good person. But, thank God, the Lord helps us to feel this insufficiency through some circumstances, when we see that we have no love for people, that we cannot resist some temptations, we fall - this is also the mercy of God, so In this way, the most important sin is revealed - this is complacency, this is selfishness. It is the opposite of love. Love is dissatisfaction with oneself, this consciousness of one’s own insignificance, smallness, and saints are people who live their entire lives in the consciousness of their own smallness, which is why the greatness of God becomes accessible to them. The Church does not call us to be good, this is the deepest misconception. The Church helps a person to feel precisely his own sinfulness, to feel a deep personality disorder, a deep personality illness. And the Church, at the same time detecting this disease, heals it.

Why can only the Church heal a person? Why can’t he be saved on his own, why does he have to be part of the Church?

We need to understand for ourselves what the Church is in general. . The question of a worldly person, for whom the Church is something incomprehensible, alien, abstract, far from him real life, that's why he doesn't enter it. The Apostle Paul answers it in a way that no one else has been able to answer in the entire history of mankind: “The Church is the body of Christ,” and adds “the pillar and ground of the truth.” And he further adds that we are all “part of us,” that is, members of this organism, particles, cells, one might say. Here you already feel some very deep secret, it can no longer be something abstract - the organism, the body, the blood, the soul, the work of the whole body and the subordination, co-organization of these cells. We are approaching the question of the attitude of a worldly person and a church person to faith in God. The Church is not so much a legal institution and a social organization, but, first of all, it is what the Apostle Paul speaks about - a certain mysterious phenomenon, a community of people, the Body of Christ.

A person cannot be alone. He must belong to some direction, philosophy, views, worldview, and if at some time the feeling of freedom, internal choice, it - especially in youth - is interesting for a person, then the experience of life shows that a person cannot achieve anything in life alone, he needs to have some kind of circle, some kind of social community. In my opinion, such a worldly approach to a “personal” God outside the church is purely individualistic, it is simply a human illusion, it is impossible. Man belongs to humanity. And that part of humanity that believes that Christ has risen and testifies to this is the Church. “You will be my witnesses,” Christ says to the apostles, “even to the ends of the earth.” Orthodox Church This testimony carries out its testimony, and during the persecution it carried out, and this tradition was preserved by generations of people in different circumstances.

In Orthodoxy, in the church, there is a very important thing - there is reality, there is sobriety. A person constantly looks into himself and does not explore something in himself and in the life around him with his own vision, but asks for help and participation in his life of the grace of God, which, as it were, shines through his whole life. And here the authority of tradition, the thousand-year experience of the church, becomes very important. Experience is living, active and acting in us through the grace of the Holy Spirit. This gives other fruits and other results.

However, how often do we see only external “churchliness”, but in reality – a lack of love and some kind of ossification. How many people regularly attend church, but do not live according to the Gospel at all. And their confession is often formal, and communion is “habitual.” And at the same time, there are amazing people who are completely far from the church, even convinced atheists, but who live - in deeds, not in words - a truly Christian life.

Yes, this is possible, but this is a misunderstanding, in both cases. That is, the person misunderstood something in his life. " By their fruits you will know them." “Not everyone who says to Me: “Lord! Lord!” will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of My Heavenly Father,” says Christ. When a person tries to become a church member, he, as it were, changes his shell, puts on a long skirt, grows a beard or something else, but his essence, his insides, remains in some kind of frozen state. He maintains selfishness, remains alienated from people.

If a person treats himself formally, he perceives it superficially and attaches little importance to his inner world (there are also many such people, unfortunately), then for him confession is formal - a listing, naming of sins. A person does not realize the most dangerous thing - he wants to be “good”. He wants to be good in his own eyes, to be in harmony with his conscience, in harmony with people. For him, this is a terrible disappointment - to turn out to be insignificant, empty, far from some great things. And a person internally unconsciously resists such terrible knowledge, he builds psychological defenses, he tries to hide from himself, from God, to go into some kind of shadow. Therefore, it is easier for him to name some sins than to try to understand what he is really guilty of.

Well, if a person came to church only because someone advised him - you’re not feeling well, you’re sick, just go and everything will get better in your life - this is deeply contrary to the Christian attitude towards life in general, such a model of perception yourself and your place in life. Perhaps, of course, he will remain with this, unfortunately.

And an atheist, who is essentially a Christian and inherently carries within himself love and joy, is also a misunderstanding, that is, a misunderstanding, some kind of lack of thought. This is the atheism of illusion, when a person does not understand what he is talking about. When you begin to communicate with such a person, you find out that he is a believer, and his life is essentially church-based, that is, he is connected with other people through love. But he didn't think through the most important idea. He lives, obeying not thoughts, but his heart, intuition. Such people often suffer greatly in life because they cannot accept many things, they try to separate light from darkness, wheat from chaff, love from hypocrisy and cannot do this, very often feeling the futility of everything they do. Communion with God is inaccessible to them, so they still do not have the fullness of being. They have love as an activity, but love as the fullness of life is inaccessible to them.

Is communion with God so accessible in church? After all, there we meet so many imperfect, incorrect, distracting things, many people, with all their shortcomings. To communicate with God, people seek solitude, so why is this diverse gathering of people needed?

The first church is Adam and Eve, and in general the first church is. After all, if we are talking about love, and God is love, as it is said in the Gospel, then love must someone pour out. Love is when I am ready to even give my life for someone, I am ready to die for this person. Therefore, a person, being alone, being alone, cannot realize the highest meaning. Of course, the desert ascetics are an exception in this sense. For ascetics, this is a special gift of God - being alone, or rather, in solitude, to realize the highest meaning. And the highest meaning is love. It is impossible to do alone. A person must go beyond his own shell to solve the problem of love. Love is when someone you like. Therefore, God is the Holy Trinity. As one theologian said, if we understand the Trinity, we understand what love is. And on the contrary, if we feel love, then the mystery of the Holy Trinity becomes obvious to us. Because love is when you strive to give something to someone. When you love yourself, it’s not love, it’s closing in on yourself, it’s almost a disease. Therefore, in our time, when many people think that they can live without the Church, we see, I think, such a pandemic of mental pathologies. Especially in countries where religion is clearly separated from the state, where people’s tradition of community life has been destroyed, where the existence of the people has been disrupted, and people are divided into islands of individual life. What’s interesting is that after the Reformation, when people stopped going to confession in Protestant churches, after some time psychology became an independent science, and psychoanalysis emerged as an attempt at at least some kind of healing. The pagan attitude towards man as the measure of all things returns. First, anthropocentrism arises - the universe begins to revolve around a person, and then after some time this leads to various pathologies in the field of mental life.

A person must have responsibility for himself and for others. To be responsible for yourself only to yourself is tragic, because sooner or later we feel our limitations and insufficiency, our infirmity and some kind of weakness. And any person feels the need for forgiveness, because everyone, no matter how wonderful he may be, still has some thoughts in the recesses of his soul; no person can be ideal. And we are called to holiness: “Be perfect like your Father in heaven,” says Christ. Therefore, holiness certainly includes a feeling of one’s insufficiency, a deep consciousness of one’s sinfulness, but it is also the belief that the great God, the Ruler of the world, nevertheless loves me just the way I am. This is reconciling. I am not my own judge, but God is my judge. God crucified on the cross for me - this is God’s judgment. Take my sin upon yourself, take my pain, die for me. When you feel it, when the innocent God takes our guilt upon himself, what can be other than gratitude? Love is when a person is ashamed of himself and of other people, he feels the evil they commit as his own. Feels that another person has done something, but it concerns me because I am also a person. This is the fullness of churchliness, this is life in the Church.