One priest said that a dog is an unclean animal and cannot be allowed into the temple, but a cat is allowed. Why is that? The priest answers a teenager's question

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The Ancient Greeks loved and cared for dogs. They were considered family and best friends. But this was not the case everywhere and not always. Previously, in Orthodoxy, a dog was considered an unclean animal. In the Old Testament, out of 30 mentions of this animal, only 2 were not of a negative nature. The hatred of the Jews for their enemies, the Egyptians and Romans, may have transferred to the animals they bred, loved, and used in battle.

What was a dog for Christians?

The Law of Moses says that this animal is unclean. There was nothing worse for a Jew than being compared to a dog. It was also forbidden to bring money from the sale of a dog to the Tabernacle. Mention in the Bible about a dog as a pet appeared quite late. And then, its main function was to protect the home.

In the Old Testament there was a certain list of animals that Jews were forbidden to eat. But over time, this list was abolished and revised in the New Testament. There is an opinion among Christians that a cat is a clean animal, but a dog is unclean.

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Why is a dog an unclean animal in Orthodoxy?

This can be attributed to the fact that a dog, like other animals, is considered hierarchically lower in position than a person. This animal is subordinate to man and the soul of animals according to the Bible is not immortal. Many priests say that there is no need to call animals after people, much less God’s saints, who have holy calendars.

According to Orthodoxy, keeping a dog in the house was not allowed. Unlike the domestic cat, which catches mice, the dog was kept in the yard, as it had a guard or herding function. Moses tried to protect his people from the worship of animals, thereby creating idols for themselves.

Where do dogs go after death? Orthodoxy does not give a clear answer to this question. There is no indication in church scriptures about where animals end up or what exactly happens to them. It is only written that the souls of animals are mortal. Regarding this, the animal does not go anywhere after death, since it does not have a soul.

Zoroastrianism

The only religion in the world that clearly distinguishes the dog from other animals is Zoroastrianism. From time immemorial, the ancient Iranian peoples considered dogs almost their equals, the best among animals, and treated them with care and reverence. There was no doubt whether dogs have a soul - they do, and not just a soul, but the soul of a deceased person, which, for special deeds in a past life, returned to earth as the embodiment of devotion, wisdom, fearlessness and endurance. Believing that the soul of a deceased person, perhaps an ancestor, existed inside a dog, relationships with these animals were built on the basis of only respect and reverence.

Contemporary attitudes of faith towards animals

Over time, a lot has changed. Now in Orthodoxy there is a slightly different attitude towards man’s four-legged friends:

• The clergy say that it is necessary to love all of God's creations, regardless of their hierarchical position.
• In addition, dogs used to be large and took up quite a lot of space if kept in the house. But now there are small breeds that take up little space.
• The Church says that by nature all animals are good enough.
• Nowadays, the threat of people creating idols from animals is no longer scary. That is why “discrimination” against these animals has no basis.
• The rules of the canonical Russian Church say that it is prohibited to take a dog with you to church. It is interpreted mostly by the fact that this animal has specific characteristics (smell, not always calm behavior, which can disturb the silence in the temple).

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But one should not immediately say that her presence in the church in any way desecrates the shrine or interferes with God’s grace.

The problems in our lives, as well as the lack of God's grace, we should blame not on the presence of a dog in our house, but on the sinful lifestyle that we lead. Many also say that it makes no sense to bless an apartment with a dog. These are just superstitions. The dog does not in any way act as an obstacle to this ritual.

Remember only one thing: we are responsible for those we have tamed and must love them. After all, if we offend those who cannot defend themselves from us, then by this we will also not give ourselves righteousness.

The Lord is always with you!

Islam

Any historian understands why Muslims do not like dogs. No matter how true Islamists feel about this fact, such obvious negativity is just a consequence of the long-forgotten enmity of two religions. At the very beginning of the development of Islam, Muslims did not distinguish dogs from other animals. A dog in Islam was an insignificant character: do not let it into the house, do not eat from the same plate, do not allow it to lick your hands - all prohibitions concerned only personal hygiene.

When Islam reached a certain development, severe oppression began, and then open hostility with the adherents of Zoroastrianism. In essence, it was a struggle for territory, a successful attempt to seize power. Today no one remembers why Muslims do not like dogs, but it all started with the persecution of these animals for the purpose of humiliation and demonstration of power. Followers of Zoroastrianism revered dogs and considered them vessels for the souls of their ancestors. What could offend an enemy more than humiliating and killing a dog? Islam has long and successfully supplanted Zoroastrianism, but due to tradition, some Muslims and dogs are still incompatible, like Jews and pork.

However, many modern Muslims do not share a negative attitude towards dogs. Today, more and more people are returning to the roots of religion, limiting communication with these animals only for reasons of purity - spiritual and physical. After all, the only reason why Muslims cannot touch dogs is because of the wickedness of these animals (according to historians, there is a misinterpretation or deliberate distortion of the term “ungodliness”, as is the case with “unclean” dogs in the Bible). Muftis openly condemn the negative attitude of Muslims towards dogs, recalling that the Koran prohibits hatred and cruelty to any animals.

What animals were considered unclean?

On what principle was the division carried out? What criteria “elevated” some animals and “degraded” others? In Leviticus it is said that any animal that has cloven hooves and a deep cut in the hooves and chews the cud is suitable for human food; of all the winged reptiles that walk on four legs, eat only those that have shins above the feet. to jump on the ground with them.

Of fish - those that have feathers and scales in the water. Of the birds, only the “bad” ones are listed. All four-legged animals “that walk on their paws” turned out to be unclean animals. As you can see, not only dogs, but also cats fall into this category.

What is the reason for this interesting division of God's creation? In addition to the argument already given regarding the Egyptian cult, there is also an allegorical understanding of these criteria. According to him, for example, cloven hooves “should remind of the good and evil consequences that can arise from any action” and so on. All those crawling on the ground and feeding on carrion obviously cannot be clean either.

Interestingly, recent scientific research confirms the wisdom of the Old Testament division of creatures into those suitable and unsuitable for food. Most of those called unclean animals in the Bible are carriers of many diseases and infections.

About the “devilish” mice and the “cat” monastery

One of the last Optina elders named Nektary, who died in 1928, told a legend according to which a cat saved Noah’s Ark during the Great Flood by gobbling up a mouse, which, at the instigation of the devil, was trying to gnaw a hole in the bottom.

There is a legend about Saint Helen Equal to the Apostles, mother of Emperor Constantine the Great, whose ship once landed on the island of Cyprus, where the empress learned that the inhabitants of the island were suffering terribly from an invasion of snakes.

To help them, the Empress ordered a thousand cats to be brought to the island from Egypt, and soon the snakes were done away with, and Helen founded the St. Nicholas Monastery on the Akrotiri peninsula, in which the monks took care of many cats. This “cat” monastery existed until the 16th century, when part of Cyprus was captured by the Turks. Now the monastery is being revived, however, instead of a men's monastery, they made a women's monastery here, but cats still live in it.

There is also a completely everyday justification for the fact that cats are even allowed into the altar - they hunt mice and do not allow them to gnaw on prosphora and wax candles, that is, they bring specific benefits to the temple and thereby serve God. And on Holy Mount Athos they also perform their service - they catch snakes.

Hadiths about dogs

There are several hadiths that warn of consequences for animal owners:

1. “Whoever keeps a dog, his good deeds will decrease every day by one kearaat (unit of measurement), only if it is not a dog for farming or cattle breeding.”
2. “Angels will not enter a house where there is a dog or a picture of animals.”
3. Other hadiths tell us that if we touch a dog, our ablution is invalid and we become unclean, and we need to wash ourselves seven times to cleanse this dirt, the eighth time with earth.

This seems inconsistent with the Qur'an, which says that you can eat what these animals catch in the hunt. It is also specifically mentioned that any prey caught by hunting dogs can be eaten without any need for further cleaning. Naturally, the kill of a game animal comes into contact with saliva, and this does not make the meat unclean.

What is necessary?

In order for a couple to get married, it is necessary to go a long way. First, the couple must come to the church for a conversation. This procedure will make it possible to clarify all organizational issues, as well as find out answers to questions about family relationships from a religious point of view.

As part of the conversation, a number of mandatory questions are asked about whether the newlyweds have an official document from the registry office or whether they are just about to tie the knot. If a couple only wants to get married, but does not want to put a stamp in their passport, then the clergyman may regard this as irresponsibility in creating a new family. If the newlyweds want to get married on the same day as registration, then a representative of the church will bless them with the sacred Sacrament.

The newlyweds will have to sincerely answer whether they both want to get married and whether they are not doing it under duress. If from the conversation it turns out that one of the spouses does not want to get married, but came to the temple only because of the desire of the other half, the sacrament will be denied.

We advise you to study Prayers to John of Kronstadt against drunkenness

Of course, all these questions are not asked by the priest out of idle curiosity; he must be confident in the conscious decision of the newlyweds to conduct the wedding ceremony. In turn, young people can also prepare questions for the church representative to clarify certain points. This is usually associated with questions about the content of the ceremony, the amount of time it will take to carry out it, what to wear, and whether it is possible to photograph and film the ceremony.

After setting the date and time of the wedding, you need to prepare all the attributes:

• official certificate from the registry office;
• rings;
• candles;
• crosses;
• large white towel;
• icons of the Savior and the Mother of God;
• towel

Shortly before the wedding ceremony, the newlyweds must fast, confess and take communion in order to enter into a spiritual marriage, cleansed of everything bad. One day before the sacrament, you cannot eat, smoke, drink strong drinks, or engage in sexual relations.

The bride's appearance at the wedding ceremony should be modest. A long white dress of a simple cut, a scarf or veil, comfortable shoes, no makeup.

The wedding itself is divided into 2 stages: betrothal and ceremony. Previously, these stages were held on different days, but today they have become parts of one ceremony. First, the newlyweds take their places. The priest brings the wedding rings on a special platter. The priest lights the prepared candles and stands in front of the young people.

The spouses must exchange rings three times. After this ritual, put on your own. The priest, holding the groom's crown in his hands, makes the sign of the cross over the latter, after which the groom must kiss the image of the Savior on his crown. The crown is placed on the head. The same procedure is carried out with the bride, only in the image on the bride’s crown is the Mother of God.

The crowns are held by witnesses throughout the ceremony. Although these sacred attributes are light, the hands quickly become numb.

The priest presents the young couple with a cup of wine, blessed with the sign of the cross. The bride and groom eat it three times in turn. The groom takes a sip first. The common cup is a symbol of a common destiny.

The priest takes the spouses by the hands and joins them, they walk around the lectern three times. Having reached the royal gates, the young people stop: the groom kisses the image of Jesus Christ, his wife kisses the image of the Mother of God, then the young people change places. Then everyone takes turns kissing the cross held out by the clergyman. The young are given icons of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary, which must be hung over the bed.

The priest pronounces many years for the young. Those present congratulate.

After the ceremony, the spouses receive a church certificate. This document has no legal force.

The union of the married is secured by the Lord God himself, so attempts by strangers to destroy the marriage will fail, and the people themselves will be subjected to a series of failures in life.

To find out whether it is possible to get married without registering a marriage at the registry office, see the following video.

The original role of dogs among Muslims

Many people are interested in the religion of Islam: is it possible to keep dogs at home? First, we need to tell you what the general role of dogs was in the ancient world.

Many Muslims kept large herds of sheep or goats, so they needed animals that could protect their flocks from predators. These animals were four-legged animals. They not only scared away wolves and other predators, but also prevented the herd from scattering.

Islam prohibits having a dog at home

A little history

Some people are interested in why dogs cannot be touched in Islam, although the Koran speaks well of them. In fact, the answer is simple: in addition to the function of hunting and protection, they also helped cities get rid of waste.

The four-legged animals ate scraps and kept city streets clean from Baghdad to Istanbul. Many butchers used them to control rats, and city officials built irrigation gutters for them.

Important! People who committed violence against four-legged animals were often persecuted, and decent Muslims lived in peace with them. They understood how useful these animals are.

However, interaction with waste and dirt is considered an extremely negative factor. Because of this, Muslims do not recognize pigs. The negativity has spread to the city's dogs.

Not hatred, but lack of knowledge

In many countries, dogs are not generally kept as pets. For some people, their only contact is with stray animals in packs wandering the streets or countryside. People who don't grow up around friendly dogs may have a natural fear. They are not familiar with dog behavior, so an animal that runs towards them is perceived as aggressive. Many Muslims who seem to “hate” dogs are simply afraid of them due to ignorance. They may make excuses (“I have allergies”) or emphasize the religious impurity of these animals simply to avoid interacting with them.

Is it possible to keep dangerous exotic animals at home?

The Apostle Paul said on this matter long ago: “Everything is permissible for me, but not everything is profitable” (1 Cor. 6:12). When I was a child, I kept a large spider at home. He fed him and took care of him. When he disappeared it was a tragedy. It turned out that his mother released him. Now I would like to have a python, but I understand that I have two small children at home, and therefore I am afraid for the health of the python. Seriously, I’ll say: you can’t risk the life of yourself or your loved ones. Dangerous animals can escape, bite, or harm in some way

But if your work involves studying the life of such animals, why not? I think this is acceptable, although we still shouldn’t forget about caution. If you bring your friends and say: “Look, I have a cobra, let me get it!” - and this cobra then gnaws at a friend’s nose, then this is definitely death, because in Ukraine there are no vaccines even for the venom of an ordinary viper

Having wild animals in the house is very difficult and responsible. Last year an eagle lived with me. My wife and I picked it up on the road. This is a dangerous animal. Those few months while we were nursing him, I was all scratched up, he pecked at my hands, I had to buy gloves for feeding. And one of my friends had piranhas in an aquarium. They seemed harmless, but one day one of them ate all the others. Here's a safe variety for you.

There is also such an aspect as pride, when a person acquires an exotic animal in order to attract attention that he cannot get in other ways. For example, I want a python

It seems to me that this is just a desire, but in fact, this is one of the manifestations of vanity: “I have a python! Let’s go, I’ll show you!” Who else has a python and not some ordinary dog? Therefore, I think python will not be useful for my spiritual life. In any case, you need to be very attentive to these kinds of desires and understand their reasons.

An ethical point is also important in this question: will a wild animal be happy in the conditions in which you place them? It’s one thing to release an injured animal, and another to deprive it of its freedom for the sake of your whim. I remember a story about the Kiev Zoo, in which a polar bear banged her head against the wall, clearly wanting to kill herself. How many animals exist in terrible conditions for the profit of their owners! Man is placed by God over animals in order to look after them, take care of them, and help them. Instead, some people take care of themselves and their well-being with the help of animals. Today we think little about the preservation of nature and fauna, but if you think about what kind of world we will leave for our children and especially our grandchildren, it becomes scary. If you want to show your children animals, show them those who live around them: in a reserve or on a farm, in the forest or outside the city.

Is it possible to touch a dog?

If a Muslim fundamentally adheres to the literal interpretation of hadiths, then despite this, most theologians are of the opinion about the purity of a dog's skin .

Although some scholars in Islam are not so unanimous in their opinion regarding the rest of the dog's body, its paws and fur. In the texts of the hadiths of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ there are no reservations about the fur and paws of the animal. The Shafiites believe that all parts of the body are najasa, since an animal cleanses its entire body and fur with its own saliva, which is unclean, which makes the entire animal unclean, including its fur and paws. Scientists believe that this fact indicates, albeit indirectly, that all parts of the dog’s body are unclean.

Hanafi Muslim scholars are of the opinion that the saliva of an animal, its oral cavity and tongue are canonically unclean, since this is explicitly stated in the hadith. The droppings of this animal, its excrement, are also unclean.

Even the stricter opinion of Shafi'i scholars does not clearly indicate that a person's clothing, when in contact with animal fur, is necessarily deprived of ritual purity. Only if there are traces left on a person’s clothes can we talk about a violation of ritual purity: if there is a trace of animal fur on the clothes, then it should be washed off accordingly and nothing more.