Quite often you can meet people who complain that they feel bad in the temple.
During service, for example. They feel dizzy and have a headache, their ears are stuffy and ringing, their vision is dark. They gasp and faint. Sometimes epileptic seizures even occur.
All of the above situations are not uncommon in churches. Some people attribute this to lack of preparation. For example, if a person visits a temple for the first time. Someone – with the sinfulness of man. Some priests claim that a person is driven by obsession. Someone says that they feel the strong energy of a prayer or an icon.
We propose to consider the question of why some people feel bad in church from two perspectives.
From the point of view of physiology and from the point of view of religious beliefs, let us consider the answers of the priests to the question of why it becomes bad in the church.
As we live, so we pray
As we pray, so we live. Quite a famous saying. But why is it here? Yes, so that you and I remember: how often we pray and go to church. Once a year, on Easter. Dedicate Easter cakes. And sometimes at Epiphany to collect holy water. And we also run to light candles and give notes. True, this rarely happens.
And then we ask the question: “Why do we feel bad in church?” We are not used to being there, these are the unclean forces that accompany us and prevent us from fully enjoying communication with God. What kind of prayer is there when we can’t breathe in church?
Reason 3: Impressionability and emotionality
Among the visitors to the Orthodox Church there are many impressionable and emotional people.
Reading a prayer, the low, soulful voice of a priest, an echo, images on icons, the emotions of other people, twilight and light from a fire - all this can affect the psycho-emotional state. And depending on the stability or instability of a person’s psyche, he may feel bad in the temple.
See also the article Why renovation movements arose in the church
Poor during service
Why do some people feel sick during church services? Are the demons to blame? No, it's the lack of oxygen that's to blame.
Imagine the situation: a man came to the temple. It's a Sunday or holiday service, there are a lot of people. The room is stuffy and hot. Some people's faces are red from the heat. The candles are burning, the smell of wax permeates the entire temple. It would seem, what a beauty. Stop and pray. Yeah, that's not true. Some comrades faint. And then they complain that “the cross on the body has begun to choke.”
The cross has nothing to do with it. There is not enough air, and the candles burn even the oxygen that is available. There are a lot of people, plus it’s hot. So the body can’t stand it, especially if it’s not used to it.
Legs ache
Why does it get bad at church services? My legs begin to buzz. The pain is such that it is impossible to stand. And if you sit down on a bench, the grannies will immediately start shushing you. Like, he’s still young, why did he sit down?
Again, pain appears in those who are not used to standing for a long time. Services in churches are quite long, and it is difficult for an unprepared person to survive. My legs start to go numb. And if the shoes are also uncomfortable, then at least shout “guard.”
There is no mystical background to this. Tired legs - sit on a bench. Grandmothers are swearing - explain to them why you sat down. Are they fighting again? Just don't mess with it. As they say, it is better to think about prayer while sitting than to think about your feet while standing.
Left hand hurts
Have you encountered this phenomenon? The shoulder and arm, namely the left ones, begin to lose weight.
Let's remember who lives on our left shoulder. We won't mention him here, but the angel's antagonist is not asleep. He really doesn’t want a person to go to God, so he begins to annoy him in every possible way. How can a newcomer be turned away from the church? It’s not appropriate to frighten him, as an “old-timer” of the temple. It is played on the left hand and on the shoulder. Otherwise it will start stabbing under the shoulder blade. When you leave the temple, it’s as if nothing happened. Once you come in again, it starts.
How to be in this case? Do not mention it. The more often a person goes to church, the faster this phenomenon will pass.
Trouble after going to church
People who attend church frequently may face certain troubles. There are several reasons.
Errors in worship
People who have just embarked on the path of faith may do something wrong. You can improve by observing fasts, repentance, and communicating with a priest.
Strengthening the Spirit
God hears everyone's prayers. However, people do not always understand everything. What seems bad to them is actually considered good.
Soul cleansing
After going to church, many people get sick. This is associated with cleansing the soul of negativity. Through suffering she approaches goodness. In this case, confession is required.
Short of breath
Why is it getting bad in the church? The answers to this question are varied. Others believe that this is connected with onions and curses. Others look at such things more logically, connecting them with the external environment.
For example, not everyone can stand the smell of incense. Especially cheap incense tends to smell not very good. The deacon walked by with the censer, and the man’s throat was sore and his breath was catching. This will pass soon. Sit down and catch your breath.
And if during the service the heart begins to beat wildly, the person suffocates, and the pulse rises to unimaginable heights? “These are demons, definitely!”
Calm down, this is VSD. Vegetovascular dystonia. A person may not even know about its presence. Does it happen that your heart beats strongly, your blood pressure and pulse rise, and “spots” fly before your eyes? It's definitely her. Demons have nothing to do with it.
The temperature is rising
Why does it feel bad after church? It often happens that newcomers develop a fever after communion. There is no need to be afraid of this. There may already be interference from certain forces. They don’t want to give the human soul to God, so they fight in every possible way. Like, you took communion and fell ill. Look, the temperature has risen. This is due to the fact that everyone receives communion from the same spoon. He probably caught the infection.
Such thoughts begin to overwhelm a person. You shouldn't listen to them. It is the onions who are trying to sow confusion in the soul of the communicant, so that he no longer goes to church and does not begin the sacraments.
Reason 6: Obsession
If it becomes bad while visiting church, the person is obsessed.
Many priests think so.
True, this does not mean that a person is hopeless. After all, every person is sinful and partly obsessed.
For example, fornication, drunkenness and pride are considered forms of obsession.
If a person is not ready to renounce them, they will control him and manifest themselves. In this case, you need to endure poor health and not stop visiting the temple.
Take communion, pray, think about God as often as possible. Then a piece of his grace will certainly settle in a person’s soul and deliver him from obsessions.
Communion is a way to get rid of obsessions and ill health in the church
Jitters before confession
A man complains to the priest that things have become bad in the church. What should the priest's response to this be? Especially when the action takes place in confession.
Imagine a person is standing in line for confession. He is just starting to go to church, he doesn’t know anything yet. I am firmly convinced that life must be changed, and we no longer make friends with sins. And those who are committed will repent.
And then it makes him feel hot, then goosebumps run down his skin. Sweat appears on the forehead, it seems that there is not enough breath. Although the temple is quite cool and the oxygen supply is fine.
What it is? This action cannot be called anything other than temptation. The evil spirits are trying with all their might to get the new Christian out of the church. So they begin to provoke him with incomprehensible attacks. There is no need to be afraid, God will not allow onions to offend someone who has just come to Him. You just need to ignore these physiological manifestations, that’s all.
AT WAR
Yes, it happens that after prayer the situation worsens.
For example, they begin to intensively pray for an alcoholic, but he begins to drink even more, before he was only rowdy and swearing, but then he began to let go. I have heard the opinion that such a situation is the “swan song” of demons: before moving away from a person for whom loved ones and the Church are praying, for whom the grace of God is poured out, they take up arms against him. The Lord allows this, because without His will not even a hair falls from our head. It turns out that demons can take up arms against a person? We must understand that every Christian lives as if in war. When we accept baptism, this is already a challenge to demons. Just think: at one of the moments of the Sacrament of Baptism, a person spits on Satan! Naturally, this intelligent creature, who was an angel and has enormous strength and power, perceives such an action as a personal insult. As a result, various temptations can occur to a person. This is generally normal and, of course, does not only happen after baptism. The Holy Fathers teach that a good deed either precedes temptation or follows it. If you are slandered after a good deed or scolded, it means you did everything right, keep it up.
Bad for the child
Why does a child feel bad in church? They brought the baby to be baptized, and he screams so hard that his ears are blocked. He squirms in the arms of his godfather/godmother, and when the priest takes him, he begins to squeal.
What is this connected with? If we are talking about an older baby, he may simply get scared. Some bearded stranger, my mother is not around, the situation is new. The baby is in panic, so he cries from fear.
Does your child already go to kindergarten or school? And he felt sick in the church, during the service? Nowadays, few people teach children to attend church. The services are long and there are a lot of people, especially on Sundays and holidays. The stuffiness played a role, the smell of incense and burning candles. The reasons are physiological in nature, as a rule.
It's bad in an empty temple
A man came into the temple to light a candle. There is no service, there is enough oxygen in the room. I bought candles, went up to the candlestick, and wanted to venerate the icon. And then your eyes will darken, your heart will pound. And I can’t breathe. He sat down on the bench and didn’t let go. Somehow I lit a candle and ran outside. And everything went by quickly there.
What was it? When asked why things are getting bad in the church, the answers of the priests are almost the same: because we are not parishioners, as it should be, but parishioners. If you look at those who regularly go to church, you can assure us that they hardly feel unwell there. It happens, of course, that during a service where there are a lot of people, things get worse. But the environment plays a role here; there is not enough air. What about in an empty church, and in front of an icon? This doesn't happen.
We need to go to church more often, and then we won’t feel bad around the candlesticks. And we can venerate the icons without incident.
WE ARE PROTECTED
Believers need to understand: we are always at war and waging an invisible battle.
Christians are called to confront the world of evil and darkness. On the other hand, let us remember the life of Job the Long-Suffering, whom the demon could not approach without God’s permission. And the Monk Macarius of Optina wrote in his letters: people who are afraid of damage and the like need to remember the Gospel, which describes how demons asked Christ for permission to enter a herd of pigs. If even a demon cannot enter a pig without permission, what can we say about people! Man is infinitely higher than any animal; God’s Providence acts in relation to each of us. If God doesn’t allow it, no one will do anything. Yes, it happens that after prayers and petitions the situation does not improve - well, that means we need this bitter medicine. If God allows something, He knows why He does it. His will is incomprehensible to the human mind, but, as one elder said, “when you die, you will understand everything.” Until then, don’t philosophize, but pray and always be with God. He cares for His children.
Archpriest Konstantin Lisnyak
I want to go to church, but sins don’t let me in
Why is it getting bad in the church? For our sins. Someone will be indignant and say that this is a delusion of religious fanatics. For what kind of sins?
As usual. Those that have been accumulating in our souls for more than one year, or two. We don’t repent of them, and that’s what puts pressure on our souls.
Imagine a plate. We ate from it and washed it after eating. What happens if you don’t wash the plate at all? Put food in it, eat it and that’s it? Soon we risk finding worms in it, not to mention the smell and food residues on the walls and bottom.
So is sin. Have you sinned? Repent. Cleanse your soul. What about us? We sinned and forgot. We continue to live in sin. And most importantly, it is so unnoticeable in everyday life. What about me? I live well, like everyone else. He didn’t kill anyone, didn’t steal, didn’t cheat on his wife. I don't offend people.
This is not the only sin. At least the fact that we judge, talk on the phone for hours, gossip - this is already a sin. And such seemingly very small specks turn into mountains of sand. The soul is simply buried under this sand.
When a person enters the temple, his soul begins to tremble. But then the evil ones wake up. Like, where are you drawn? You’ve lived in our company for so many years, we’ve already had our eye on your darling. And you decided to go to God. Well, no, dear comrade, we won’t allow this.
And they begin to plot all sorts of intrigues. Then the woman behind the candle box will make a remark, and we will be offended. The candle doesn't want to light. You won't like the smell in the temple. We're not glad we came in anymore.
It is the evil ones who are trying to persecute us. And we obey willingly. Let's run and run out of the temple, next time we'd better not go, since it becomes so bad for us there.
Why doesn't God protect
It would seem that the man came to God. And then there are such attacks on him. Why doesn’t the Creator protect His creation?
When we are constantly offended by our own children and do not even want to apologize, our attitude towards them changes. They hardly stop loving, but some kind of indifference appears. Until the child asks for forgiveness, I don’t want to help him or do anything for a small and ungrateful creature.
God cannot be offended. He is Love. But why should He welcome with open arms the one who crucifies Him every day? What does crucify mean? Through our sins we hammer nails into the hands and feet of the Savior again and again. We crucify Him on the cross. One day He did this voluntarily, shedding His Blood for us. But it’s not enough for us, apparently.
What to do then? God doesn't want to accept us? He will accept it when we bring sincere repentance. As a loving Father, he will forgive everything.
What if there is no desire to repent? We do not see our sins; we believe that we do not have them. Then there is no need to complain and ask the priests why we feel bad in church. Since we serve Satan, we reap the “fruits” of our service.
WHY DOES THE LORD ALLOW DEMONS TO HARM US?
So that a person does not fall into pride, so that we humble ourselves after doing good deeds, so that we do not remain in arrogance - a false opinion about ourselves. Man is a damaged creature; it is very harmful for us to see the fruits of our labors, so sometimes we may not see them until our death. However, this does not mean that there are no fruits. It is very important to treat the results of prayer correctly. When some misfortunes happen and it seems to us that God does not hear our requests, this is not so. Yes, it happens that the situation clearly does not improve, but we need to realize that it could have been much worse if not for the prayer of the Church. Unfortunately, we all suffer from spiritual myopia and do not notice much. We also need to be able to correctly calculate our modest strengths and not take on more than we can bear. And, of course, trust in God’s help.
Briefly about repentance
What it is? This is grief for one’s sins, the desire to get rid of them, to reconsider one’s life.
A person who wants to repent must understand that if he comes to confession, honestly tells everything to the priest, receives forgiveness and goes to sin again, there will be no point in such repentance. Do you want to repent? You must desire with all your heart to change your life. Hate sin, stop committing it.
Confessed? Don't commit the sin you repented of again.
