Why does the church have a special attitude towards women?
For women, the church has its own rules of attendance. The reasons must be sought in the depths of centuries. Everyone knows the myth that Eve seduced Adam and led him into sin. No one knows for sure how it happened, but no one dispelled the myth, so since then the woman has been considered an accomplice of Satan.
It is believed that because of the woman's sinful behavior, God punished all of humanity. It turns out that Adam had nothing to do with it, it was Eve who crossed the boundaries of what was permitted. Even the Apostle Paul defends Adam, because he did not know what was on Eve’s mind. But she knew what she was getting into.
One of the ancient writers Tertullian (160-c.220), who first recognized the Trinity, said about women that they are “the gates of the devil.”
You can laugh all you want, but until 585 the priests were in doubt: whether a woman has a soul or its likeness!
Who can enter the altar
The altar is the shrine of a temple, it doesn’t matter which one, Catholic or Orthodox, since entry into it has been restricted since ancient times. It is located in the eastern part of the temple, where the main sacrament of Christianity is celebrated - the Eucharist.
A great sacrament takes place in the altar, so an atmosphere of a certain order and reverence should be maintained here. In the event of a large crowd of people, and even if everyone has access to the altar, there can be no talk of any reverence.
Church rules say that only men who have received a blessing from the abbots of the temple can be in the altar. The altar usually includes all the ministers of the church: readers, altar servers, priests.
Without receiving a blessing from the priest, no one has the right to enter the altar. Those who have received a blessing from priests or bishops are required to enter the altar from the side doors. In Soviet times, older women, nuns who received a blessing from the priest, could serve as altar attendants. In ancient times, women had access to the altar to prepare other women for the sacrament of baptism.
Church rules for women
- When going to church, a woman should dress modestly.
She must wear a long dress or floor-length skirt. The jacket must have long sleeves. No temptation! And she shouldn’t speak in church. You need to ask your husband about everything, and at home.
- They may not allow you to wear trousers at all.
Trousers are considered men's clothing, so ladies should not wear trousers to church. Why is this attitude towards these clothes? In ancient times, only barbarians wore trousers, so they are considered barbarian, not Christian clothing.
The religious roots of this attire also go back centuries and are associated with pagan buffoonery. In paganism, on holidays, women dressed in men's clothing, and men dressed in women's clothing. But with the advent of Christianity, this disguise stopped.
It is curious that the cassock of the church ministers is women’s clothing, and even wraps around the left side.
- You cannot enter the temple without a headscarf.
Moreover, the scarf should hide the ears and hair. This rule also has an interesting interpretation:
- A husband should not wear a hat because he is answerable to God. He is the image and glory of God;
- The wife is the glory of the husband: for man is not from woman, but woman is from man;
- The husband was not created for the wife, but the wife for the husband.
bobot 10/21/201508/22/2021 Category CultureTags prohibitions, rules, Orthodoxy, advice, temples, church Comment.
According to various surveys, in Russia from 60 to 80 percent of the population consider themselves Orthodox. Of these, only 6-7 percent are churchgoers. Many Russians, unfortunately, do not even know how to behave in an Orthodox church.
In the photo: Russian Orthodox Church in Antarctica
1. Men are not allowed to enter church wearing a hat.
Apostle Paul 1 Corinthians 11:4-5: “Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered disgraces his own head.”
2. A woman, on the contrary, should not enter the temple with her head uncovered, and the headscarf should completely cover her hair and cover her ears.
The Apostle Paul's 1st Epistle to the Corinthians, 11:4-5: “And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered shames her head, for it is as if she had had her head shaved.”
3. A woman should not come to the temple with bright makeup. It is better not to use cosmetics at all before visiting the temple. The church should maintain attention to service and prayer.
Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov wrote: “Just as a body without a soul is dead, so prayer without attention is dead. A prayer pronounced without attention turns into idle talk, and the one praying is thus counted among those who take the name of God in vain.”
4. You should not enter the temple in shorts and short skirts. For a woman, it is enough to cover her knees and wear any clothing that will cover her arms, shoulders and chest. A man must wear long trousers. It is not appropriate for women to come in men's clothing and vice versa.
Deuteronomy 22:5: “A woman must not wear men’s clothing, and a man must not dress in women’s clothing, for anyone who does this is an abomination to the Lord God.”
5. Most priests allow a woman into the temple during her period, but she does not have the right to participate in the sacraments. In rare cases, a woman may be allowed to attend the sacrament, but will not be allowed to venerate holy relics.
6. In Orthodox churches you cannot cross yourself from left to right.
In the book “Psalms” it is said in a “short statement”: “... I believe: the first is on our forehead (on the forehead), the upper horn of the cross touches it, the second is on our belly (on the stomach), the lower horn of the cross reaches it, the third on our right frame (shoulder), the fourth is on the left, they also mark the ends of the cross stretched transversely, on it our Lord Jesus Christ, crucified for us, has a long hand, all the tongues are scattered at the ends into one assembly.”
In Catholicism people cross from left to right. The norm of the Catholic blessing of the cross was approved in 1570 by Pope Pius V: “He who blesses himself... makes a cross from his forehead to his chest and from his left shoulder to his right.”
7. Cell phones or bells should be turned off in church. The temple is a place for solitude, and nothing should interfere with communication with God. If the phone rings during the service, you will be ashamed, and those around you will be unpleasant.
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8. You cannot make noise, laugh or talk loudly in church. Churches have strong acoustics and this can seriously interfere with worship.
9. Children often do not yet know how to behave correctly in church. If children are hyperactive, then it is better to refrain from taking them to work with you. Screaming or crying children in church distract from prayer. If your child begins to cry, calmly leave the temple with him.
10. Women in the temple cannot perform the functions of a clergyman. This is deeply enshrined in the Orthodox tradition.
Deacon Andrey Kuraev: “The priest at the liturgy is the liturgical icon of Christ, and the altar is the room of the Last Supper. At this supper, it was Christ who took the cup and said: drink, this is My Blood. …We partake of the Blood of Christ, which He Himself gave, which is why the priest must be the liturgical icon of Christ. ...Therefore, the priestly archetype (prototype) is male, not female.”
11. It is not recommended to sit in an Orthodox church. The exception is for sick people who are physically unable to stand for the entire service.
Isaac the Syrian wrote: “Every prayer in which the body does not become weary and the heart does not fall into contrition is considered unripe fruit, because such prayer is without a soul.”
12. If you need to go to another part of the temple, do not walk past the priest, but go around the altar.
13. During worship, it is not recommended to idly walk around the church and say hello to friends; this prevents parishioners from concentrating on prayers. When greeting familiar people, you should silently nod your head. Holding hands in the temple is also not customary.
St. Lawrence: “If you need to leave the Liturgy, then leave after the “Our Father... And if you have already left with the Communion of the Body and Blood, then stand with fear and pray in place, because the Lord himself is present here with the Archangels and Angels. And if you can, shed at least a small tear about your unworthiness.”
14. You cannot demonstratively turn your back to the altar during services and prayers.
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15. Do not go into the altar area, even if you are very interested. Only temple servants can be there. Representatives of the authorities are occasionally allowed there.
The Sixth Ecumenical Council decreed: “None of all those belonging to the category of laity will be allowed to enter the sacred altar, but, according to some ancient tradition, this is by no means forbidden to the power and dignity of the king when he desires to bring gifts to the Creator.”
16. If someone next to you behaves inappropriately to the situation, it is better to remain silent or speak about it quietly and delicately. However, the best choice is to focus on prayer and not make any comments in the temple.
John Chrysostom: “Whoever strictly investigates the misdeeds of others will not receive any leniency towards his own.”
17. You cannot eat or drink anything in the temple, much less enter the temple while intoxicated. According to the rules, it is not customary to come to the morning service on a full stomach. Relapses are possible due to weakness, with self-reproach.
18. If you are in a hurry somewhere, it is better not to go to church. Going to the temple does not tolerate fuss, so constantly checking the clock or asking someone else the time is considered disrespectful.
Isaac the Syrian: “Forbid yourself from distracted thoughts during prayer, hate daydreaming, reject worries with the power of faith, strike your heart with the fear of God - and you will comfortably learn to pay attention. The praying mind must be in a completely true state. A dream, no matter how tempting and plausible, being its own, arbitrary creation of the mind, takes the mind out of the state of divine truth, leads it into a state of self-delusion and deception, and therefore it is rejected in prayer.”
19. In church you should not cross your arms behind your back. No one remembers where this ban came from, but it is better not to provoke others. Crossing of arms, as well as the “fig behind the back” are the most ancient symbols of protection and rejection of something. When communicating with God, you should be completely open and sincere.
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20. In health and death notes, there is no need to write surnames and patronymics, as well as non-church names. It is also not customary to include the unbaptized, people of other faiths and suicides on the list.
21. Do not take out burnt out candles and insert your own in their place. This can only be done by temple employees after completion of the rituals.
22. You cannot go to the temple with animals, especially dogs. In the Bible, a dog is considered an unclean animal; among the Jews it was considered the embodiment of everything despicable.
23. The opinions of church ministers vary greatly regarding the non-wearing of a cross in church. Some believe that this is a great sin, others call to be more tolerant of people. Without a cross you may be allowed into church, but you will not be allowed to participate in the sacraments.
24. When venerating the icon, do not kiss the faces of Christ, the Mother of God and the saints. You cannot kiss the frame of an icon, since this custom is an echo of a heretical tradition. Those who kiss the frame unwittingly support the heresy of iconoclasm.
25. Smoking is prohibited in the church and in the church yard.
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Is it possible to go to temple after the birth of a child?
According to the laws of the church, after giving birth, a woman is also not allowed to visit the temple. She is considered unclean. Forty days the young mother is cleansed from the impurity of birth. Then the woman in labor must come to the temple so that the priest will read a special prayer over her.
In the prayer, the priest asks the Almighty to cleanse the young mother “from bodily defilement and spiritual defilement.” Only after this can the mother in labor again visit the temple and undergo all the Church Sacraments.
You are not allowed to go to church while you are on your period. This ban is due to the fact that previously, when there was no underwear, women could dirty the floor in the temple.
Today everything is fine with clothes, but is there a ban on visiting the temple? There is no consensus. The ban appeared during the Old Testament, but no one canceled it. Priests allow you to enter the temple, but it is better to begin performing some church rituals after the end of menstruation.
No one will judge a pregnant woman if she comes to church. She can touch icons, undergo the rites of confession and communion.
Is it possible to go to church while on your period, New Testament
In the New Testament there are the words of the Apostle Paul, who was convinced that everything that the Lord created was beautiful. All processes that occur in the human body are natural. Menstruation is a very important period of time for the female body. Their role is quite large, so it makes no sense to prohibit people from entering the temple with them.
Saint George Dvoeslov had the same opinion. He argued that such a woman was created by nature and she should be allowed to enter the church in any state of her body. After all, the main thing is the soul, the spiritual state.
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What is an altar?
Photo: Cyrillitsa.ru
The altar is the eastern part of an Orthodox church, separated from the main part by an iconostasis or simply a partition, where the main sacred act of our Church is performed, left to us by Jesus Christ himself - the acquisition of the Body and Blood of Christ, the Eucharist, which crowns the Divine Liturgy.
In the altar there is a throne on which there is a Gospel, an antimension and a cross. These items are necessary during worship.
So, a woman, from the point of view of the Church, is not at all something unclean
As some liberal-minded individuals suspect. Otherwise, the Church would not have extolled the Most Pure Mother of God so much! I would not honor the host of holy wives and virgins.
Moreover, in the concept of Moral Theology there is no significant difference between a man and a woman, a layman and a priest. Theology sees us as people! People who go to salvation, or people who doom themselves to death. Only such a division.
Interpreting the 15th Rule of the Council of Chalcedon, Balsamon writes: “What is said in this rule has completely fallen out of use; for now deaconesses are not ordained, although some ascetics are not in the proper sense called deaconesses; because there is a rule that women should not enter the holy altar. So, she who cannot enter the holy altar, how will she fulfill the duties of a deacon?” So we stumbled! It turns out that there is a rule stipulating that women should not enter the altar... So, it seems, discrimination begins...
