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What is a church rite in Orthodoxy. Church sacraments and rituals

Last way

about the Orthodox burial ritepriest Vladislav Bibikov

The law of death is immutable. Death comes, and a person's soul is separated from his body. It is impossible to understand and fully understand the phenomenon of death. Just as the union of soul and body in the womb occurs mysteriously and incomprehensibly to the mind, so their separation is equally mysterious.

The burial of a person has always been accompanied by rituals appropriate to this event. Through funeral rites, the living hoped to ease the deceased’s transition to another world and make his stay there as happy as possible. Naturally, these rituals reflected the ideas about the afterlife that the people who performed them had.

The same goal is pursued by the burial rite of the Orthodox Church. In a short article it is not possible to sufficiently fully reveal all the details and deep meaning of the liturgical actions and prayers that comprise it. We will consider only the general rules of burial Orthodox Christian, and also pay attention to customs, nothing in common with the Christian idea of the afterlife not available, but, unfortunately, often encountered in everyday life.

Since ancient times, Orthodox Christians have paid special attention to the remains of the departed brethren of faith, for the human body is a temple of the spirit living in it, consecrated by the grace of the Sacraments (1 Cor. 6:19). After death, the body of the deceased is washed with clean water, clothed in clean clothes and placed in a coffin. Both the coffin and the remains themselves are first sprinkled with holy water. The deceased is covered with a white blanket - a shroud, a halo - a paper ribbon with the image of the Savior - is placed on his forehead, Mother of God and John the Baptist. The paper whisk symbolizes that unfading crown of glory (1 Pet. 5:4), which the Lord promised to those who love Him and those who fulfill His commandments. A small icon or cross is placed in the hands of the deceased.

The custom of placing scarves, glasses and other items that he used during his life in the coffin of the deceased is a pagan superstition and does not bring any benefit to his soul.

Before the funeral service, it is customary to continuously read the Psalter over the body of the deceased and perform funeral services. The Psalter can be read by any Christian who has the necessary skills. But it is more decent to invite a person who has a church blessing to perform this rite.

Before taking the deceased out of the house, his relatives, if they have enough zeal, can invite a priest who will perform a requiem mass at the coffin and, leading the funeral procession, conduct the remains to the temple, where the actual funeral service should take place.

During the procession, some stop at intersections. Previously, during such stops, the priest performed short litias - prayers for the repose of the soul of the deceased. They, in fact, were the reason for the stops.

The custom of throwing millet or other cereals at the feet of those walking is completely meaningless. There is no point in turning over the stools or benches on which the coffin stood. Throwing earth after a funeral procession, as is done in other places, is simply blasphemy. Did the deceased really not deserve anything more from us as a farewell than a lump of dirt!

All these pagan customs are dictated by superstitious fear: what if the dead man “comes back” and “takes” someone else. What a great delusion and what a great sin to think that a person’s life and death depend on a stool being turned over at the right time.

The funeral service must take place in a church, where for this purpose the coffin with the body of the deceased Christian is brought. The so-called funeral service in absentia“is permitted only as an exception (absence of a temple in the surrounding area, inability to find the remains of the deceased, etc.). In other cases, the relatives of the deceased, if they do not want to sin before him, must perform the funeral service according to the custom of the Church: in a church, or at least invite a priest to perform the funeral service at home.

People often ask: can the deceased’s closest relatives carry the coffin? Yes they can. Moreover, in some regions of Russia, children consider it their sacred duty to express their love for their deceased parents in this way, last time I will send them to live.

But wearing wreaths during a funeral procession is not an Orthodox custom. In our time, an abundance of flowers and wreaths during burial serves to honor the earthly life of the deceased, feeds vanity, pride, causes envy and other inappropriate feelings in others, but during the last journey of a Christian one should not think about his merits, but pray to God to forgive him sins that every person, voluntarily or unwittingly, commits during his lifetime.

Music is also completely inappropriate for a Christian burial. In an Orthodox church, music is not used during divine services; it is not needed during burial, which is a liturgical rite. “Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us!” - these words of angelic praise accompany the funeral procession. It seems to introduce the soul of the deceased into heaven. But what can a soul feel when its last earthly journey is announced by the piercing sounds of trumpets, so reminiscent of the roar of hellish flames!

If the church in which the funeral service took place is located next to a cemetery, then it is appropriate to say goodbye to the deceased in the church. The coffin is then closed with a lid, and the funeral procession moves to the burial place. A cross is carried in front, which will then be installed on the grave, followed by a priest with a censer, then a coffin is carried, followed by the relatives and friends of the deceased. At the grave, the priest performs a litiya, and to the sounds of church hymns, the body is interred. First, with the words: “The Lord’s earth and its fulfillment, the universe and everyone who lives on it,” the priest throws the earth, while depicting a cross on the lid of the coffin. In the absence of a priest, this can be done by one of the pious laity, using the land blessed by the priest in the temple.

Metal money should not be thrown into the grave - this is a pagan custom. It is a mistaken opinion that fresh flowers must be removed from the coffin. You can leave an icon with the deceased, although in some places it is customary to take this icon and bring it to the temple, where it remains for forty days after death.

After the burial it usually happens funeral meal. It begins with a prayer for the repose of the soul of the deceased, and ends with a prayer. IN fast days the table should be lean. Vodka and others alcoholic drinks are excluded completely. The meaning of the word “remember” is to remember the virtues that the deceased possessed and to pray for the forgiveness of his sins. In our country, unfortunately, the organizers of the “wake” try to surprise everyone with an abundance of food and drink, while an abundance of prayers for him is much more beneficial for the soul of the deceased.

In general, sometimes one has to be surprised at the scrupulousness with which people, far from faith and the Church, try to fulfill all the customs associated with burial known to them. They forget (or don’t know?) that the main thing is not to bury them “correctly,” but to properly prepare a person for death, to make sure that his death is Christian, so that he appears before the Lord with a soul cleansed of sinful dirt. The Church prays for “those who have died in faith and repentance,” which means that the most important thing is that before death a person repents of the sins he committed during his life and partakes of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. Only in this case Orthodox rite burial will make complete sense.

You should know that deliberate suicides are deprived of Christian burial. Suicide committed deliberately and consciously. The Church recognizes the same grave sin, like murder. Every person's life is a precious gift from God. Consequently, anyone who arbitrarily takes his own life blasphemously rejects this gift. This should be said especially about a Christian, whose life is doubly a gift from God - both by nature and by the grace of redemption. A Christian who lays a murderous hand on himself doubly insults God: both as Creator and as Redeemer. It goes without saying that such an act can only be the fruit of complete disbelief and despair in Divine Providence, without the will of which, according to the Gospel word, not a hair will fall from the head of a believer. And whoever is alien to faith in God and trust in Him is alien to the Church. She looks at the free suicide as a spiritual descendant of Judas the traitor, who, having renounced God and been rejected by God, “hanged himself.” Therefore, according to church canons, a conscious and free suicide is deprived of church burial and church commemoration.

If suicide is committed in a fit of madness, then the funeral service for such a person is performed in the usual manner.

It goes without saying that funeral services for unbaptized people are not performed in the Church. But you can pray for them - in the simplicity of your heart, entrusting the posthumous fate of those who died outside the knowledge of the true God to the infinite mercy of God, and ask the Lord that He, to Him alone famous destinies, showed them His mercy and, as much as He pleased, would grant them weakness and tranquility.

The Church’s concern for him does not end with the burial of the deceased. The church continues to offer prayers for the repose of his soul. In the Orthodox Church, this custom is as ancient as the very basis on which the remembrance of the dead is performed. The Apostolic decrees contain both prayers for the departed and indications of the days on which it is especially appropriate to remember the departed, namely: the third, ninth, and fortieth after death. The fathers and teachers of the Church, explaining the meaning of the remembrance of the dead and showing its true image, often testify that the remembrance of the dead is an apostolic institution, that it is observed throughout the Church and that Divine Liturgy for the dead, or offering a bloodless sacrifice to save them, is the most powerful and effective remedy to ask the departed for the mercy of God.

The end and glory to God!

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who followed Me has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. Truly, truly, I say to you, the time is coming, and has already come, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and having heard, they will live” (John 5:24-25).

“The time is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who have done good will come forth into the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil into the resurrection of condemnation” (John 5:28-29).

“This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I should lose nothing, but raise everything up at the last day. This is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have eternal life; and I will raise Him up at the last day” (John 6:39 - 40).

“I do not want to leave you, brothers, in ignorance about the dead, so that you do not grieve like others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, then God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus” (1 Thess. 4:13-14).

“Christ rose from the dead, the firstborn of those who died. For just as death is through man, so is the resurrection of your mortal remains through man. Just as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will live” (1 Cor. 15:20-22).

“None of us lives for ourselves, and none of us dies for ourselves; and whether we live, we live for the Lord; whether we die, we die for the Lord: and therefore, whether we live or die, we are always the Lord’s. For for this purpose Christ died, and rose again, and lived again, that he might be Lord both over the dead and over the living” (Rom. 14:7-9).

Venerable Ephraim the Syrian: “At the voice of the Son the graves will disintegrate, the dead will rise and sing praises. A new sun will shine over the dead, and from their graves they will offer praise to Christ. Christ, who condescended for our redemption, will also come for our resurrection.”

Saint Gregory of Nyssa : “The Lord, having become the ransom of our death, by His own resurrection destroyed the bonds of death and by His ascension paved the way for all flesh and, being co-throne and equal in honor with His Father, on the day of Judgment, according to the dignity of life, will pronounce judgment on the judged.”

Venerable Ephraim the Syrian: “Just as the sun dispels darkness with a strange light, so on the day of resurrection the righteous will be enlightened, their robe will be light, their cover will be radiance, and for themselves they will become shining stars.”

Venerable John of Damascus:“The Mysteries and Seers of the Word, who conquered the circle of the earth, the disciples and Divine Apostles of the Savior, for no reason, not in vain and without benefit, established during the terrible, most pure and life-giving Mysteries to commemorate the faithful departed, that from end to end of the earth the ruling Apostolic and Catholic Church Christ and God have been firmly and unquestioningly supported by the Devil from that time and even to this day, and will continue to be supported until the end of the world. For the Christian faith, alien to error, did not accept anything useless and would not inviolably maintain forever, but everything that is useful, pleasing to God and very saving.”

Venerable John Cassian the Roman: Any longevity real life seems insignificant when you look at the duration of the Future Glory, and all sorrows from the contemplation of Immeasurable Bliss are removed like smoke, exhausted to the point of insignificance, they will disappear and will never appear, like an extinguished spark.

Venerable Ephraim the Syrian: The sea of fire brings me into confusion and horror, and I tremble because of the evil deeds that I have committed. May Your Cross, Son of the Living God, serve as a bridge across it for me; May Gehenna retreat in shame before Your Body and Blood, and may I be saved by Your bounties.

Saint Athanasius the Great: The God-speaking apostles, sanctified teachers and spiritual fathers, according to their dignity, being filled with the Divine Spirit and, to the extent of their capacity, having received His power that filled them with delight, with God-inspired lips instituted Liturgies, prayers and psalmody and yearly remembrances of the departed, which is the custom by the grace of a man-loving God even to this day. intensifies and spreads from the east of the sun to the west, in the north and south, in honor and glory of the Lord of lords and the King of kings.

Saint Gregory of Nyssa: Nothing without reasoning, nothing useless is given away from Christ's preachers and disciples and is not accepted by the universal Church of God, but this is a very God-pleasing and useful thing to do in the Divine and Glorious Sacrament to commemorate those who have departed in the right faith.

Ritual is the outward expression of a person's beliefs. Man is a sensual-spiritual being, in whose nature the spiritual-ideal being is combined with the sensual and material. And as a result, in his imagination, a person tries to clothe the ideal in the visible, in order to make it accessible to himself through this. The subject of human religious beliefs, i.e. God, is highly spiritual and infinitely elevated above visible nature; therefore, a person is not able to imagine this object, nor to enter into a living relationship with it without any visible mediation. This is how the ritual serves.

The ritual has always and everywhere served for man as a symbol and confirmation of the reality of the presence and influence of God on man. The Orthodox Church believes that every rite performed in his name has a sanctifying, renewing and strengthening effect on a person.

In the New Testament books of the Holy Scriptures, the Greek words έυος, υρησκεια - rite, έυος, είυιςμένον - custom are designated as something that concerns the external side of religious life - the order of hierarchical administration (Luke I, 9), the rules of church deanery (1 Cor. XI, 16) , religious ceremonies (John XIX, 40), ritual having a symbolic meaning (Luke 11, 27; Acts of the Apostle XV, 1), external piety (James I, 26), and that which relates to orders civil life - popular desire (John XVIII, 39), judicial rule (Acts of the Apostle XXV, 16). In the first meaning, the words “rite” and “custom” are usually used in church language, i.e. the name of rite in the broad sense of the word refers to everything that relates to the external side of religious life: liturgical rites and statutes, objects and actions that have symbolic meaning.

The Slavic word “rite” itself means “outfit”, “clothing” (the verb “to dress”). The beauty, solemnity, and variety of church rituals attract many people. But Orthodox Church, in the words of St. John of Kronstadt, does not occupy anyone and does not engage in idle spectacles. Visible actions have invisible, but completely real and effective content. The Church believes (and this faith is confirmed by two thousand years of experience) that all the rituals it performs have a certain sanctifying, that is, beneficial, renewing and strengthening effect on a person. This is an act of God's grace.

Conventionally, all rituals are divided into three types:

1. Liturgical rites - sacred rites performed during church services: anointing of oil, great consecration of water, removal of the holy shroud to Good Friday and so on. These rituals are part of the temple, liturgical life of the Church.

2. Symbolic rituals express various religious ideas of the Church. These, for example, include the sign of the cross, which we repeatedly perform in remembrance of the sufferings on the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ and which, at the same time, is a real protection of a person from the influence of evil demonic forces and temptations on him.

3. Rituals that sanctify the everyday needs of Christians: commemoration of the dead, consecration of homes, products, things and various good undertakings: study, fasting, travel, construction, and the like.

“Rite (taken by itself),- says priest Pavel Florensky, - there is a realized orientation towards God, who came in the flesh, of our entire life.”

In such phenomena of life as the great consecration of water on the eve and the very feast of the Baptism of the Lord - Epiphany, the small consecration of water, monastic tonsure, the consecration of the temple and its accessories, the consecration of the house, the consecration of fruits and things - in all this and much more the Holy Church sees the same secret of life: God gives to man sacred content life by his approach to him, “by entering as into the house of Zacchaeus” (from the prayer for the consecration of the house).

These rituals, existing independently, are also manifestations of the mystery of salvation, where God and humanity are united together. As a result, the human, which was in itself, is included in the process of saving people by the Son of God, and holiness coming from God is introduced into the human.

Rituals are introduced into the church and personal life of a Christian so that through them God’s blessing descends on a person’s life and activity, strengthening his spiritual strength, as well as the entire environment of his life, with holiness and goodness.

About rituals in Holy Scripture little is said. The order and order of external worship was not established either by Christ or by His apostles. Church rituals developed along with the development of the church itself, and it either reduced or supplemented them, or replaced them with new ones. This attitude of the church towards rituals clearly indicates that it considered itself to have the right to change, abolish and introduce new rituals, while maintaining its faith unchanged. The apostles also expressed their view of rituals in this sense when at the Council of Jerusalem they decided not to follow the Old Testament rite of circumcision and generally not to burden pagan Christians with fulfilling the Mosaic Law. This decision of the apostles served as a solid foundation for the practice of the church in subsequent times. So, for example, according to the first rule of the apostles Peter and Paul, it was necessary to do 5 days, and celebrate Saturday and Sunday; The Council of Laodicea, by rule 29, abolished the rule of the apostles and decided to celebrate only Sunday. The rite of the liturgy in the first centuries of Christianity was performed differently: in the Jerusalem church, the liturgy was performed according to tradition from the Apostle James; in Caesarea, this liturgy, being very long, was significantly shortened by Basil the Great. The Liturgy of Basil the Great, in turn, was shortened by John Chrysostom to facilitate the laity. Over time, the rite of the liturgy was reduced in the composition of prayers and increased with certain prayers, chants and rituals that life itself required. Thus, the songs “Cherubim” and “Only Begotten Son” appeared and were included in the liturgy later (VI century). Some liturgical rites have completely left church practice. In Church rituals the truth and spirit of faith are expressed in a visual way. So, for example, the ritual of folding fingers for sign of the cross figuratively represents the unity of God in essence and the trinity in persons. Truths and events presented under the guise of actions become understandable to people who live not so much with their minds as with their feelings. Take away from such people what attracts them externally, would mean depriving them of one of the sources of religious life.

The article is aimed at revealing the special meaning of many church rituals and sacred rites from the point of view of magic (the science of Magic) and is not anti-religious in nature, but only informs about the true mechanisms of what is happening in churches.

“One has only to read the breviary and follow those rituals that are continually performed by the Orthodox clergy and are considered Christian worship to see that all these rituals are nothing more than various methods of witchcraft, adapted to all possible cases of life. In order for a child, if he dies, to go to heaven, you need to have time to anoint him with oil and bathe him with the utterance famous words; in order for the parent to cease being unclean, you need to cast well-known spells; so that there is success in business or a quiet life in a new home, so that bread is born well, the drought ends, so that the journey is safe, in order to be cured of an illness, so that the position of the deceased in the next world is eased, for all this and thousands of other circumstances there are well-known spells that famous place and for certain offerings the priest pronounces.” L.N. Tolstoy from a letter to the Synod’s decision to excommunicate him from the church on April 4, 1901.

Most of the church rituals that take place in the church are based on magic. It's important to understand this.
Take for example the ritual of communion: a person is given a piece of bread - the flesh of Christ and red wine - his blood. And what matters is not what a person drinks and eats. The important thing is that he consciously sets himself up to eat the flesh of Christ and drink his blood.
In Voodoo magic - the most terrible of magics - this is the blackest rite: to eat the flesh of your defeated enemy and drink his blood in order to make his essence your slave forever.
The rite of communion uses the principle of identification. Identification means the transfer of astral-mental properties from one entity to another. That is, a person, identifying himself with Christ, takes on the properties of an already deceased person, thereby joining the world of the dead.
Baptism is a rite of blocking the development of a person’s essence, a rite of connecting the next donor to the egregor of the Orthodox Church.
This is a way to make a person blind so that he never understands what is happening in his life and in the world around him.
What is baptism?
Let's turn to the brochure “On the Sacrament of Baptism,” published by the Orthodox publishing house “Blagovest” in 2001 and analyze some aspects of this rite.

1. About sinfulness.
“...man is naturally born a sinner and guilty before the justice of God.”
The main task of the church is to awaken a sense of guilt in a person, force him to pray and repent, and keep him in fear.
If this is successful, a person becomes a “servant of God” (remember: “The servant of God is baptized in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit...”), a “slain sheep” and joins the “flock” of Christ, and becomes ideologically controlled. Added to this is the energy dependence that is placed on a person during the rite of baptism.

2. Baptism.

“If a newborn baby must be baptized, then the priest reads a special prayer over his mother on the fortieth day.”
From this, I think, it is already clear that in the rite of baptism there is a connection with the energy of death.

3. Confirmation.
When anointing is done, a person receives the “gifts of the Holy Spirit.” Otherwise, these gifts are called “seals of the gift of the Holy Spirit.” These seals are placed in a cross pattern on the forehead, eyes, nostrils, mouth, ears, chest, arms and legs.
Thus, the 2nd, 3rd and 4th energy centers, which are responsible for the integrity of the will, clairvoyance, creativity and human feelings, are closed), and the organs of information perception are also blocked.
Myrrh, by the way, is also used to anoint the dead.
“In the consecration of oil, just as in anointing, I see methods of crude witchcraft, as in the veneration of icons and relics, as in all those rituals, prayers, and spells with which the missal is filled. In communion I see the deification of the flesh and a perversion of Christian teaching. In the priesthood, in addition to obvious preparation for deception, I see a direct violation of the words of Christ, which directly prohibits calling anyone teachers, fathers, mentors (Matthew XXIII, 8-10).” L.N. Tolstoy, from a letter of April 4, 1901.

4. Tonsuring.
Small strands are cut crosswise on the back of the head, near the forehead, on the right and left sides of the head. Then the hair is rolled up in a piece of wax and thrown into the font.
In magic this is called envolting to death!
With the help of this ritual, a person becomes completely attached to the Christian egregor, and at the same time to the egregor of magic.

5. Churching.
The priest reads the prayer: “Now, O Master, you release Your servant in peace, according to Your word: for my eyes have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared before the face of all people, a light for the revelation of tongues, and the glory of Your people Israel” - everything is clear, comments are unnecessary.
In its early stages, the rite of baptism had no biblical basis.
Adolf Harnack, a famous theologian, writes about this:
“It is impossible to directly prove that Jesus instituted baptism, since the words quoted by Matthew (28:19) are not the saying of God.”
It is also interesting to note that baptism is carried out in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, which was not in any of the early manuscripts.
Adolf Harnack points out that “this trinitarian formula is alien to the mouth of Jesus and did not have the authority in the apostolic era that it should have had if it had come from Jesus himself.”
Another point is the inconstancy of the sacrament of baptism in general Christian theology.
Baptism, as it is now understood, means that the Holy Spirit, the third member of the Trinity, enters a person and takes away his sins. If we accept this, then it is not clear how, at a later stage in the life of the same person, Satan drives the Holy Spirit out of him and leads the person into sin through temptation.
The question arises: can the devil tempt a person filled and guarded by the Holy Spirit?
Thus, it is quite clear that baptism is not based at all on the teachings of Jesus.
And let's listen to what eniologists say about the rite of baptism.
Anastasia NATALICH, eniocorrector at the Research Center “ENIO”:
“It is believed that a baptized child is protected by divine power, while an unbaptized one is more vulnerable. The natural desire of parents - to protect their child from all sorts of harm - obliges them to follow traditions. Everyone does it, so it’s “right.”

Suddenly something happens, the thought immediately arises: “Maybe because I’m not baptized, and therefore not protected?” You need to understand that best protection the child is the parents. This is how nature works.
Conflicts, misunderstandings, and troubles between father and mother are reflected in the child.
As for the ritual, firstly, to carry it out at an unconscious age is a violation of a person’s will.
Christ was baptized at the age of 33. A person must decide for himself whether he needs it or not.
Secondly, the rite of baptism involves water - a universal information carrier that ideally preserves and structures information. What information does church water carry is another question...
It is not uncommon for a person to be given a middle name at baptism. During correction, eniologists, as a rule, see exactly the child’s middle name.
Another parallel channel opens in a person, giving a serious energy load to fate. The same burden arises if a person is named after someone else.
If a child has two names, he begins to live with two streamers, and the passage of fate is somewhat more complicated.”
Any ritual introduces a person into an altered state of awareness. Hypnosis, meditation, breathing exercises, contemplation, defocusing attention, prayer, etc. have the same effects.
But in an altered state of consciousness, a person cannot fully analyze what is happening and there is a very high probability of an alien influence on his consciousness, in other words - zombification.

6. Wedding.
A wedding is a ritual of a voluntary love spell - although almost all those being married have no idea about it. Wedding rings carry a symbol of the energy of the partner, strengthened by the will and energy of the Egregor of the Church and influencing the human biofield as a constant synchronizer of the energies of two people, uniting them and binding them for life. This ritual is enhanced by the newlyweds exchanging rings three times. In the classics, the groom is given a gold ring and the bride a silver one. This strengthens the wife's subordination to her husband. Although this tradition is becoming less and less known. Since ancient times, a long train of a wedding dress has been recommended for a bride - there is a sign that the longer it is, the longer the young people live. But from an esoteric point of view, a long train is the grounding of the bride and binding to the element of earth. Dressing (symbolically holding over the head) crowns (wreaths) strengthens the influence of the Church (its Egregor) on those being crowned, securing a love spell on behalf of the Church and its Power. Energies are cut off along the Sahasrara chakra and a block is imposed by the Egregor of the church. At the same time, there is a selection of energy into the Egregor of the Church - actually reducing the lifespan of the married couple. The Church is also called upon to circumambulate the lectern three times to strengthen the union. A sort of magical closure of the ritual circle.

7. Confession.
“In the periodic forgiveness of sins in confession, I see a harmful deception, which only encourages immorality and destroys the fear of sin.” From a letter from L.N. Tolstoy April 4, 1901
Confession is a psychotherapeutic option for relieving a person of his negative attitude towards his actions. The Church, through the priest, “forgives” sins before God, “cleansing” a person’s baggage. This is carried out through a prayer of absolution, a ritual of cleansing from Magic, while building a connection with the Supreme, God, before whom purification takes place, but without the energy component of the ritual, without burning negativity and working with the past, modeling the present and future. This is a ritual in a truncated form, adapted to the modern canonical activities of the Church. But this is a ritual.
It will not be a secret that magic and the church have common features. The main task of both sides is spiritual growth public. There are more than enough similarities between the church and magic. Take at least the representatives of both. Church ministers, just like shamans, sorcerers and healers, are trying to achieve communication with a higher power than themselves; they also create vibrations, which they teach to subsequent generations.

Rituals will not be an exception, because during magical rituals a spell is recited, which in essence is very similar to church prayer. That is, a person turns to something higher. A true representative of the church, like a true magician, has only one goal - they must help people and maintain universal harmony.

This church is considered one of the most esoteric in the city (Turin is considered the city of magic - together with Lyon and Prague it forms a triangle of white magic. In addition, Turin is the top of the “Triangle of Black Magic”, the sides of which stretch to London and San Francisco). In front of the church there are 2 sculptures - Statua della Fede and Statua della Religione. The statue of Faith holds in her left hand a cup associated with the Holy Grail. It is said that this relic is hidden somewhere in Turin, and the gaze of the statue indicates the direction in which to look for it.

Over the course of centuries, kingdoms, governments, laws, generations have changed, but the church and magic have gone side by side for many centuries without fail. Unfortunately, not all magicians and not all priests strive to give good to people and help evolution. The fact is that there are also representatives of these two representatives of the highest image who only hide behind a name, but basically they do it for their own benefit. But I hasten to please you that not everyone is like that, in fact the right people who are able to give light to the world and devote their lives to it.

But the former can basically only criticize both the church and magical forces, including psychics, love spells, and so on. In such cases, a person often wonders, since the church is so holy, why then is it against magical powers and everything connected with it, why the church pushes away magic when there is God’s commandment “do not judge.” Everything is extremely simple! A real church will not condemn magic or anything else, since according to the word of God we are all brothers, and we are all equal, and we are all created in his likeness. And only representatives of the false church condemn magic.

You can find it in various sources different interpretation the words "magic". You and I need to understand this concept and then everything will fall into place and it will be clear why we combined two things - magic and Christianity - that were always considered incompatible.
So, what do people used to call magic? We call magic what we cannot explain scientifically. Let's look at a simple example: casting treatment.
During this procedure, the healer changes his energy state by reading special prayers. He turns to the Supreme Consciousness, to the Supreme Mind and asks for help. So that through his hands God would help heal the sick. When contact with the Higher powers is established, they transmit several specific streams of energy that protect the magician and heal the person. All this, of course, happens if the healer is competent and conscientious. It turns out that nothing supernatural happened - the magician, as a guide, helped you get the necessary energy. You could, of course, just pray (this is not prohibited by the church), but the result would have to wait, and you would have to pray more than once or twice. (I know a case when one mother prayed every day for her drinking son. After 15 (fifteen) years, he stopped drinking. Yes, it’s possible, there won’t be a sin in it, maybe. And maybe there will be. After all, if you all these 15 years of swearing and lamenting about the same drinking, then fate will punish you for incontinence.) You don’t have to turn to magicians, then you yourself need to influence the situation deeper than just prayers.
Can you meekly endure everything and continue to pray? Then go ahead! You will definitely achieve results with strong and persistent faith.
The healer, unfortunately or fortunately, does not have an extra 15 years, and there are a lot of people asking for help, so there are rituals that help speed up the result and bring the desired goal closer. This is the same as medical treatment: they not only give you pills, but also prescribe injections - intramuscular, intravenous, they treat you with electric shock, with ultrasound. And we are already accustomed to this. Because scientists explained that tablets act this way, and injections act differently, and ultrasound has such and such capabilities. All this is called complex treatment. It’s the same with the sorcerer!
Have you ever seen an ultrasound? Did you hold it in your hands? Of course, you see the tablet and know what it is made of, what it will treat, although you can hardly imagine the processes that will occur in your body as a result of chemical reactions. Now try to understand how ultrasound works and you will understand how energy flow works. The same! Nothing supernatural!
Let us look at Christianity from the point of view of magic. This religion, in its essence, fully meets the requirements of Nature. Without revealing the secrets of nature, Christianity sets its followers up for the harmonious development of the soul, body, and relationships with the outside world: the commandments are aimed at spiritual development and harmonious interaction with others, fasting is aimed at cleansing the physical body.
There is nothing in religion that harms human nature. Any religion preaches fasting at certain times of the year; this is good for a person. From a physical point of view, the human body sometimes needs to unload.
In Christianity, there is the sign of the cross, which is imposed on the Orthodox. It is believed that it protects against external and internal evil spirits. Yes it is. But, from an energetic point of view, the sign of the cross regulates the biofield, restores it, and after it, after the correct distribution of energy, health is restored. But the fact is that it has long been known about the existence of meridians running along the physical and energy body. Meridians permeate the body and pass through the fingers. It is by closing certain meridians and mixing the action of individual flows that we obtain a certain energy state by touching ourselves with fingers folded in a special way.
In India, folding hands is called mudra. And these mudras heal people! We can get the same thing. During the application of the cross, there is a uniform distribution of energy. And what is it? This is the law of the Universe. This is a natural process. And isn't this the Magic of Nature? A person regularly performs passes on himself (in this case we mean the sign of the cross) and is healed! This is a miracle!
It turns out that magic has answers to all questions. Magic is a phenomenon of nature, the universe. These are processes occurring in living and inanimate objects. We are just used to calling magic what scientists have not yet been able to sort out. We call everything that the Church calls this word Magic.
To finally dot the i's, let's take examples from the Bible - there is no holier book.
The birth of Jesus Christ was predicted by the stars. Those. I already had some knowledge of astrology and it was not considered a sin to use it.
Moreover, as we all know from the Bible, the stars were also created by God. So they influence us according to God’s understanding. No one denies that our Sun has different activities that influence us. Everyone knows that loud events always happen during eclipses. Children born on the day of an eclipse differ in character and destiny from those born at the same time but in a different year. Other planets have the same effect. Again, not without God’s knowledge, because... It is said: “Thy will is both in heaven and on earth.”
Further, the Bible writes about the miraculous properties of water: “Everything that has been touched by something unclean, put it in water until evening and it will be clean again.” And we are not talking about natural, tangible dirt here. Then what? This means that the Bible still recognizes the presence of fluids and energy. And water really washes away not only dirt, but also foreign and negative vibrations. These are the properties of water. This is recognized in the Bible and it is not denied by magicians, but moreover, it is always used for the benefit of man.

The Church and magic go hand in hand as often as they often go apart. Magic itself is neutral. It is a collection of secret knowledge and techniques for its application. A person always has the right to choose. This right was given to him from above. He must decide for himself to use the help of magic in difficult times, or to act on his own. Magic can bring both good and evil, it all depends on the person who uses it. Magic is magic, it is a way with the help external forces achieve harmony and happiness. We also go to church to ask for a miracle, we wait for magic. Isn’t it a miracle that the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles and they spoke in all the languages of the world? Isn’t it a miracle that seriously ill people were cured from one of their touches in the name of God? Often priests are the main opponents of magic and extrasensory perception. But why? Is it not from God that psychics receive this gift - to heal people? Is it a sin to help others? The Church opposes magic only because it is often used for selfish purposes, to the detriment of others. When, with the help of magic, a person wants to deprive another person of their will, it affects his psyche and feelings, sending damage and curses. If a person uses magic for good purposes, to heal people, remove negativity, etc., then I think he does not commit a sin. If the priest claims that any psychic will be rejected by the church, I don’t believe it. I believe that God judges people by their deeds, and if a person helped people get rid of illness, then how can the church reject him? It is important what is in a person’s soul, whether he is a psychic, a magician or a simple person. In one of the Gospels banned by the church, the following words are said: “The Kingdom of God is within you, and all around you! Not in buildings made of stone and wood...” Therefore, it is important what is inside the psychic, the priest, and whether he performs his actions in the name of God or...

“About Christ, who drove the bulls, sheep and sellers out of the temple, they should have said that he was blasphemous. If he had come now and seen what was being done in his name in the church, then with even greater and more legitimate anger he would probably have thrown out all these terrible antimensions, and spears, and crosses, and bowls, and candles, and icons, and all that , whereby they, through sorcery, hide God and his teachings from people.” L.N. Tolstoy, from a letter of April 4, 1901.

Let's take a break for a while from the fact that Orthodox worship is a traditional practice that has come to us from the depths of centuries, and let's try to understand why it should be ritual?

In fact, if we created it based on some very general ideas, right now, would it be necessary to make our religion so strictly formal? Perhaps the free, improvisational form that Protestants adhere to also has a right to exist?

Declarative and real freedom

We should start, of course, with the fact that the notorious “freedom” of Protestantism is much more declarative than real. Our American university once decided to build a “chapel of all religions,” the building of which would be free of any traditional religious paraphernalia and could be used for worship and rituals by students of any religion.

And, indeed, formally the requirement was fulfilled - not a single element of the chapel’s decoration could be found fault with. But in the general architectural appearance and interior, Protestant forms were so unmistakably discernible that no one, except for representatives of various Protestant denominations, ever really used the chapel.

And it's very characteristic phenomenon: Even when Protestants sincerely think that they are free and guided only by the dictates of their hearts, in fact they are closely bound by the new traditions that have developed among them over the past few hundred years.

Our invisible rituals

Of course, it is not only Protestants who are deceived in this way. Majority modern people snorts arrogantly when faced with the “archaic and meaningless” rituals of Orthodoxy, but at the same time in his own life they follow many rituals, large and small, sometimes unconsciously borrowed from some tradition, sometimes invented independently.

For example, among Soviet students, ironically and critically inclined towards any and all traditions, both religious and secular, including the “new Soviet” ones imposed on them by the state, many rituals were born related to passing the exam. Let’s name just a few: “catching a freebie” with a student record book through the window, pulling out a ticket with your left hand, sleeping before an exam with a textbook under your pillow.

Similar examples can be found in almost every secular subculture, including those where, it would seem, functionality should be put at the forefront: in corporations, government agencies, and the army. Moreover, rituals necessarily exist, both “official” ones, imposed by the “tops,” and unofficial ones, which are created and “sacredly” observed (sometimes even despite the active opposition of the leadership!) in the “lower classes.”

Rigid rituals of secular people

Thus, if you look closely, it turns out that ritual is one of the most common and typical behavioral characteristics of a person, any person!

Moreover, secular people sometimes choose much more rigid forms and frameworks for their rituals than those with which they reproach followers of traditional religions. Suffice it to recall the army “hazing” or the no less humiliating and cruel rituals of “hazing”, widespread in American colleges and universities, of newly accepted members of “Greek” brotherhoods and sororities (“hazing” is an initiation ritual, often carried out in the form of orgies, ritual beatings (for example, flogging ) and other (sometimes very bizarre) bullying of newcomers).

Is ritual a legacy of paganism?

Without much difficulty one can draw a parallel between such traditions and primitive pagan rituals initiation, but it is unlikely to find any analogy in Christian rituals.

It is curious that when a person takes his first steps in the Church, he most often looks for more regulated norms of behavior than those actually given to Christians in accordance with. Whole volumes have already been written about the neophyte “candle rules”, their abuse of “statutory” fasts, “obedience”, asking for blessings for every little thing (even brushing your teeth and wearing underwear!).

The situation is completely paradoxical, even to some extent comical: given the prevailing belief in the world that the Church imposes on its members too many unnecessary rituals, from which unchurched people are free, in fact the Church frees their children from many vain rituals outside world, contrary to constant attempts to excessively “ritualize” church life in accordance with the secular norms they have perceived since childhood!

Rituals of the Church

But what about the rituals that the Church establishes?

What is their fundamental difference from most rituals in the outside world? The answer is simple: they are distinguished by “formal informality.” There are home rituals (morning hygiene procedures, breakfast, lunch and dinner at certain times and with certain dishes, etc.) that we do not think about because they do not burden us. They are natural, but not because they are useful for us (we are so accustomed to them that we don’t think about their benefits at all). Usually these very rituals from the very beginning early childhood our parents teach us.

The Church establishes the same natural rituals, but related to the “hygiene” of our soul. Morning and evening rule, for example, can be compared to brushing your teeth or taking a shower; By reading prayers before eating, we seem to “wash our soul.” The Church itself, in one of its prayers, compares confession with a visit to a doctor: “Hearken now: since you came to the doctor’s office, lest you leave unhealed.” The worship service will correspond to solemn family events where the whole family gathers. Of course, as with any analogy, this family comparison should not be overused. But it shows what the attitude should be towards “formality” and ritual in the Church

Ritual – order versus freedom?

There are various kinds of formalities and duties that humiliate us and limit the freedom of our personality (bureaucratic formalities, customs inspection, etc.). Family formalities and responsibilities (decorating the Christmas tree, opening the summer season, looking for gifts for relatives, seating festive table in a certain order, etc.) do not limit us at all. We perceive them as a manifestation of order in the house. Without them we would feel discomfort.

It's the same in the Church. One of our new friends once admitted: “In the Church everything is like in the army. That’s what I like.” But he has not yet felt that the order in the Church is not the artificial and impersonal order of the troops lined up on the parade ground, and the parishioners at the service are not soldiers on parade. This is a quiet and cozy order in the House of a loving Father, and the parishioners are joyful, obedient, kind children at a family holiday.

An example of such a free, informal “formality” in the Church is the absence of rows of benches in the central part of the church, the presence of which would artificially order the worshipers both in space and in time (as is customary among Catholics and Protestants).

In our Orthodox churches, worshipers are not tied to one fixed place throughout the entire Divine service. If we observe from the side, we will notice that parishioners move from one icon to another, light candles, and may come up and ask something behind the candle box; Not all worshipers arrive exactly at the beginning of the service and not all stand at the service until the end. Even if you are rushing somewhere on business, you can stop by the church for a few minutes to pray in a calm, solemn atmosphere.

Rituals of love

A very special position in the lives of people belonging to any culture is occupied by rituals that could conventionally be called “rituals of love.” This includes “courtship etiquette” in the search for a marriage partner, and various kinds of traditions surrounding pregnancy and childbirth, and “generally accepted” norms of communication between parents and children, as well as various relatives.

Each of us can easily name many examples of such rituals from the life of those cultures and subcultures with which he is familiar: sometimes intricate, sometimes quite simple, sometimes rooted in ancient times, sometimes born just a few years ago. Some of these rituals may be common to entire nations, while others may be limited to one family.

But what is common to all of them is that their observance has an absolute priority; sometimes people can do crazy things and even risk their lives to follow one of these rituals (remember the deadly fishing for the sake of satisfying the “tug” of a pregnant wife by the hero of “Stormy Station” Chingiz Aitmatov or the anecdotal escapades of “heroes-lovers” in order to obtain a treasured bouquet for their beloved).

Friendship, like communication with people we like in general, also has its own rituals. For example, one of our Moscow acquaintances told us that he and his institute comrades went skiing annually on December 5 for forty years - this tradition survived even Public Holiday, to which it originally owed its existence - Constitution Day. Of course, even here everyone can remember a lot of examples - traditional fishing, chess games, travel, walks, etc.

So, it turns out that in human behavior love, affection, and in general any close relationship with another person is carried out through constancy And predictability, that is, inevitably ritualized. Therefore, it is not strange at all, but, on the contrary, naturally the fact that Divine service, in which each of us seeks unification with God and the God-man Jesus Christ, turns out to be a ritual.

Are all rituals magical?

Here it is necessary to make one important reservation in order to dispel a common misconception, which, alas, seeps even into serious scientific works on issues religious rituals. This misconception lies in the fact that, supposedly, there is no difference between the ritual rituals of a native shaman and the reading of the litany by an Orthodox priest, between sprinkling water “charmed against the evil eye” in everyday witchcraft rituals and holy water in Orthodox rituals.

Magic rituals have accompanied humanity from the dawn of civilization to the present day. Here, for example, is one of the simplest Babylonian magical rituals, which have come down to us on cuneiform tablets, it is at least three thousand years old: “To cut off the source of evil from human habitation, collect, finely grind and mix a seed (seven plants are named) in mountain honey... divide the mixture into three parts, and bury them under threshold of the gate, and with right side, and on the left side. Then the disease headache, insomnia and pestilence will not come near this person and his house for one year.” (based on the classic work of Henry Suggs (H. W. F. Saggs) “The Greatness That Was Babylon”).

And here is a modern recipe for removing damage from a home, found on the Internet while writing this article: “Take a faceted glass, pour half a glass of boiled water into it and put a handful of earth mixed with salt. The glass is placed on left hand, A right hand hover over the glass with the words: “Evil people, here is your house, and here is the threshold,” (say three times), then you need to throw out the entire contents of the glass on the threshold of your house, break the glass and throw it away.”

It is easy to see that there is no fundamental difference between these rituals; they could easily fit into the same magical collection - both today and several thousand years ago. And the reason is that fundamental principles Ritual magic has always been and remains the same: you perform a certain fixed set of actions and get the expected result.

Despite the fact that it is declaratively supposedly connected with some supernatural forces, in its essence it is rational and prosaic to the point of banality, and it is worth comparing it with an ordinary cookbook: you do this and that operation, and you get jellied meat or a cake at the end. If the recipe is good, then the more accurately you follow its instructions, the better the desired result will be, and vice versa, if you mix it up or don’t do something, you can end up in complete failure. And most often it is aimed precisely at some purely everyday, everyday needs.

Church rituals, on the other hand, most often do not pursue any specific utilitarian goals. The exceptions are “required services,” various kinds of prayers: for the health of the sick, for rain in a drought and other agricultural needs, etc.

But even in them, guaranteed achievement of results is by no means assumed. As part of any Orthodox Divine Service The prayer “Our Father” must be read or sung, in which there is an appeal to God “Thy will be done.”

Also often used as part of various divine services is the troparion “Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy on us, bewildered by any answer, we offer this prayer to You as the Master of sin: have mercy on us.” Slavicism “bewildered by any answer” is translated as “without looking for any justification.” That is, when turning to God even with the most vital requests, we clearly realize that we cannot motivate or appease the Lord with ANYTHING, we do not have any “levers of pressure” on Him.

In addition, when Orthodox Christians conduct formal, bookish instructions, for one reason or another, they are almost never carried out literally, in their entirety. This is especially true for prayers: the same prayer service performed by different priests and in different circumstances can differ quite significantly. According to the logic of ritual magic, this is a complete absurdity: by deviating from the written instructions, the performer of the ritual dooms himself in advance to obvious failure.

Church ritual is NOT ritual magic, church ritual is not an attempt to “earn” salvation or some kind of favor from God. We are saving ourselves exclusively by the grace of God: almost every Orthodox prayer contains the petition “Lord, have mercy,” this is the most frequently repeated phrase both during church services and in private prayer.

Rituals of worship

In the Old Testament, God gave his people a traditional and ritual order of worship. New Testament did not make any special changes to the principle of its implementation, Jesus did not teach the apostles any special liturgical innovations; on the contrary, both He Himself and his disciples took an active part in temple services and synagogue prayer. But, having made the Saving Sacrifice on the Cross, Christ placed Himself at the center of the rituals of the Church. And today these rituals of love, transmitted to the Church by the Holy Spirit through the apostles, are alive and well.

So, we observe a ritual in a certain way not because it is “effective” in this way, but because we follow the church tradition, i.e., ultimately, we do so out of obedience Christ and His Church. And this is fundamentally important, because it turns out that God is worshiped in rituals, which He Himself established. It is these “correct” rituals, and not any others, that are given to us by God as a means for opening the doors of our hearts, for building bridges connecting us with Him and with each other.

Professionals and amateurs... in faith?

The traditionality and churchliness of Orthodox rituals automatically means that they must be performed in the community of the Church and in a continuous historical perspective. If someone tries to create an independent Apostolic Church community and perform Divine services in it, then he will liken himself to a football fan who, going into the yard to knock on the wall or kick a ball with friends, dresses in the uniform of his favorite team bought at an auction and imagines that he is thereby becoming a professional football player. However, unlike sectarians, anyone who does this football fan understands that this is nothing more than fantasy.

Rituals among Orthodox and Protestants

Now let us return briefly to the question of free, improvised forms of Protestant worship, which, in the opinion of Protestants themselves, are so superior to our “empty, anachronistic, legalistic religion.”

The purpose of the Protestant service is to find divine joy and inspiration through good music and sermon. They go to the temple to learn something new about God. Orthodox Christians, feeling God in their hearts, go to God, worship the One Whom they know directly personal experience. The focus of the Orthodox service is the altar, the Protestant service is the pulpit. What is a sanctuary or chapel for Orthodox Christians is an auditorium for Protestants, where people are listeners. This is confirmed by the terminology that English language, for example, is used in appropriate cases.

The Protestant wants to be moved by the service. It is clear to him that for new inspiration one must constantly hear something new. Therefore, the task of the pastor and the choir is to give the congregation this new experience. Depending on their talent and skills, sometimes they succeed, sometimes they don’t, which leads to countless disappointments and migration from one faith or sect to another. We became acquainted with this through personal experience in America, living in places where the nearest catholic church an hour's drive, and the nearest Orthodox church is 4 hours away.

In Orthodoxy, the perception of the Divine service does not depend on the skill of the preacher and the choir - precisely because of the ritualism and formality that we wrote about above. There is no concern whether the service will be meaningful. Of course, the perception of each of the individual parishioners is difficult to one degree or another due to inattention and sinfulness, but this is no longer a problem of the quality of the service as such. The Holy Spirit acts through the service itself, and not through those who perform it.

Of course, this is only true when the clergy and clergy follow established rules Orthodox worship. As long as the priest and choir follow the established order of service, they cannot, wittingly or unwittingly, do anything that would prevent the congregation from meeting God.

If they begin to deviate from this order, even for the most seemingly innocent and outwardly reasonable reasons, justifying the changes by concern for the convenience of parishioners, the inexperience of the choir and readers, the unsuitability of the premises, etc., the consequences can be the most catastrophic.

For example, in one of the Western European parishes, for decades there has been a practice of moving holidays, including even the most important ones, to Sunday, simplifying liturgical rites, changing texts, etc. and so on. The result that we were “lucky” to observe is this: they stopped attaching importance to the event of the Resurrection of Christ; the veneration of saints has completely disappeared (even such great ones as the apostles Peter and Paul, John the Baptist, etc.); parishioners, and some of them clergy, who regularly attend divine services every week for 5, 7 or more years during this time have not read a single line of the Gospel, do not know even the simplest prayers such as “Our Father”, “Virgin Mother of God”, “ to the Heavenly King,” they never confessed or received communion; Many parishioners do not even have a rudimentary understanding of Orthodoxy as a whole, as exemplified by the fact that they do not attend Liturgy for years, being sincerely convinced that instead it is enough to attend a shortened Vespers on Saturday evening.

Worship was not invented by men

Therefore, it is important not to forget that Church Worship is not an invention of people - and it is not for individuals to adjust it simply according to their whim. The liturgical services of the Church are the embodiment of Christ's instructions to His apostles regarding how we should worship Him. God Himself controls the acts of worship, God Himself proclaimed its order. He also established the words of prayers. The archimandrite in the book “Seeing God as He is” writes: “The Lord’s time to create, (Ps. 119:126) Master, bless.” These are the words the deacon addresses to the priest before the start of the Liturgy. The meaning of these words: “It is time for the Lord (Himself) to act.” So, LITURGY is first of all a Divine Act.” It is thanks to this that the Orthodox receive the inspiration that Protestants seek. The service is always good, the worship is always right, and whether we receive this inspiration depends only on ourselves.

Protestants, leaving church after a service, often ask themselves the question: “What did today’s service do for me personally, what did it give me?” The Orthodox are not concerned about such consumer issues at all. He feels the fullness of the Church within himself. Being professionals in the choir, for example, we know that at a certain service we made a lot of shortcomings, in some places the choir sang out of tune; the parishioners come up after the service and, full of happiness and joy, sincerely thank you for the service. In fact, they are not thanking us, but they themselves do not always realize it.

Purifying fire

We want to end this part with a quote from the book “Thirsting for God in a Land of Shallow Wells” by Matthew Gallatin, a former famous American evangelist who converted to Orthodoxy after more than 20 years of unsuccessful search for the true church in Protestantism:

“Liturgical worship as a cleansing fire. It never fades away. God shines brightly in him in all His glory. When I get to it [ to the Divine Service - approx. authors], I am obliged to surrender myself to God who appears in him. I speak the words commanded by Him. I sing the songs He calls. I pray the prayers He has placed in me. What He wants, I must firmly hold on to. Whatever He wants, I must do. There is no place for caring about yourself or your own desires. What is this Divine service if not an opportunity for me to become like Christ?”

The Slavic word “rite” itself means “outfit”, “clothing” (the verb “to dress”). The beauty, solemnity, and variety of church rituals attract many people. But the Orthodox Church, in the words of St. John of Kronstadt, does not occupy anyone and does not engage in idle spectacles. Visible actions have invisible, but completely real and effective content. The Church believes (and this faith is confirmed by two thousand years of experience) that all the rituals it performs have a certain sanctifying, that is, beneficial, renewing and strengthening effect on a person. This is an act of God's grace.

Conventionally, all rituals are divided into three types:

1. Liturgical rites - sacred rites performed during church services: anointing, great blessing of water, removal of the holy shroud on Good Friday, and so on. These rituals are part of the temple, liturgical life of the Church.

“Rite (taken by itself),- says priest Pavel Florensky, - there is a realized orientation towards God, who came in the flesh, of our entire life.”

In such phenomena of life as the great consecration of water on the eve and the very feast of the Baptism of the Lord - Epiphany, the small consecration of water, monastic tonsure, the consecration of the temple and its accessories, the consecration of the house, the consecration of fruits and things - in all this and much more the Holy Church sees the same mystery of life: God bestows on man the holy content of life by his approach to him, “by entering as into the house of Zacchaeus” (from the prayer for the consecration of the house).

The Holy Scriptures say little about rituals. The order and order of external worship was not established either by Christ or by His apostles. Church rituals developed along with the development of the church itself, and it either reduced or supplemented them, or replaced them with new ones. This attitude of the church towards rituals clearly indicates that it considered itself to have the right to change, abolish and introduce new rituals, while maintaining its faith unchanged. The apostles also expressed their view of rituals in this sense when at the Council of Jerusalem they decided not to follow the Old Testament rite of circumcision and generally not to burden pagan Christians with fulfilling the Mosaic Law. This decision of the apostles served as a solid foundation for the practice of the church in subsequent times. So, for example, according to the first rule of the apostles Peter and Paul, it was necessary to do 5 days, and celebrate Saturday and Sunday; The Council of Laodicea, by rule 29, abolished the rule of the apostles and decided to celebrate only Sunday. The rite of the liturgy in the first centuries of Christianity was performed differently: in the Jerusalem church, the liturgy was performed according to tradition from the Apostle James; in Caesarea, this liturgy, being very long, was significantly shortened by Basil the Great. The Liturgy of Basil the Great, in turn, was shortened by John Chrysostom to facilitate the laity. Over time, the rite of the liturgy was reduced in the composition of prayers and increased with certain prayers, chants and rituals that life itself required. Thus, the songs “Cherubim” and “Only Begotten Son” appeared and were included in the liturgy later (VI century). Some liturgical rites have completely left church practice. In Church rituals the truth and spirit of faith are expressed in a visual way. So, for example, the ritual of folding fingers for the sign of the cross figuratively represents the unity of God in essence and the trinity in persons. Truths and events presented under the guise of actions become understandable to people who live not so much with their minds as with their feelings. To take away from such people what attracts them externally would mean to deprive them of one of the sources of religious life.

A. Sokolovsky

Diagnostics and diseases. Medicines from A to Z

What is a church rite in Orthodoxy. Church sacraments and rituals