To those who wish to receive Communion:
Anyone who wishes to receive communion must adequately prepare for this Holy Sacrament. This preparation (in church practice it is called fasting) lasts several days and concerns both the physical and spiritual life of a person. The body is prescribed abstinence, i.e. bodily cleanliness and food restriction (fasting) .
On fasting days, food of animal origin is excluded - meat, milk, eggs and, during strict fasting, fish. Bread, vegetables, fruits are consumed in moderation. The mind should not be distracted by the trifles of everyday life and have fun. On the days of fasting, one should attend divine services in church, if circumstances permit, and more diligently follow the household prayer rule: whoever usually does not read all morning and evening prayers, let him read everything in full; whoever does not read the canons, let him read at least one on these days canon. On the eve of communion, you must be at the evening service and read at home, in addition to the usual prayers for the future, the canon of repentance, the canon to the Mother of God and the Guardian Angel.
The canons are read either one after the other in full, or combined in this way: the irmos of the first hymn of the penitential canon (“Like on dry ground...”) and the troparia are read, then the troparia of the first hymn of the canon to the Mother of God (“Containing many...”), omitting the irmos “Water passed through.” , and the troparia of the canon to the Guardian Angel, also without the irmos “Let us drink to the Lord...”. The following songs are read in the same way. The troparia before the canon of the Theotokos and the Guardian Angel, as well as the stichera after the canon of the Theotokos, are omitted in this case.
The canon for communion is also read and, for those who wish, an akathist to the Sweetest Jesus. After midnight they no longer eat or drink, for it is customary to begin the Sacrament of Communion on an empty stomach. In the morning, morning prayers are read and the entire sequence for Holy Communion is read, except for the canon read the day before.
Before communion, confession is necessary - either in the evening or in the morning, before the liturgy.
Sacrament of Confession
Confession is repentance - one of the seven Orthodox Christian sacraments, during which the one who confesses repents of all his sins before the minister of the church and thus receives forgiveness of all sins.
Church ministers call confession a second baptism. During baptism, a child is cleansed of original sin, and during confession, a person is cleansed of sins he has already committed during his life’s journey. For confession to take place, you need to:
- - understand and realize your sins;
- - repent of your sins;
- - the desire to leave the sin and not repeat it again;
- - faith in Jesus and hope in his mercy;
- - the belief that the Sacrament of Confession will wash away all sins.
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Following to Holy Communion
Through the prayers of the saints, our fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us. Amen.
Heavenly King, Comforter, Soul of truth, Who is everywhere and fulfills everything, Treasure of good things and Giver of life, come and dwell in us, and cleanse us from all filth, and save, O Good One, our souls.
Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us. (Thrice)
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Most Holy Trinity, have mercy on us; Lord, cleanse our sins; Master, forgive our iniquities; Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities, for Thy name's sake.
Lord have mercy. (Thrice)
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Our Father, who art in heaven! Hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, as it is in heaven and on earth. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors, and do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
Lord have mercy. (12 times)
Come, let us worship our King God. (Bow)
Come, let us worship and fall down before Christ, our King God. (Bow)
Come, let us bow and fall down to Christ Himself, the King and our God. (Bow)
Psalm 22
The Lord shepherds me and will deprive me of nothing. In a green place, there they settled me, on the calm water they raised me. Convert my soul, guide me on the paths of righteousness, for Your name’s sake. Even if I walk in the midst of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me, Your rod and Your club will comfort me. Thou hast prepared a table before me to resist those who are cold, Thou hast anointed my head with oil, and Thy cup makes me drunken, like a mighty one. And Thy mercy will marry me all the days of my life, and make me dwell in the house of the Lord for the length of days.
Psalm 23
The earth is the Lord's, and its fulfillment, the universe and all who live on it. He founded food on the seas, and prepared food on the rivers. Who will ascend the mountain of the Lord? Or who will stand in His holy place? He is innocent in his hands and pure in heart, who does not take his soul in vain, and does not swear by his sincere flattery. This one will receive blessings from the Lord, and alms from God, his Savior. This is the generation of those who seek the Lord, who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Lift up your gates, O princes, and lift up the everlasting gates, and the King of glory will come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord is strong and strong, the Lord is strong in battle. Lift up your gates, O princes, and lift up the everlasting gates, and the King of glory will come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory.
Psalm 115
I believed, I said the same words, and I was greatly humbled. I died in my frenzy: every man is a lie. What shall I repay to the Lord for all that I have repaid? I will accept the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord, I will offer my prayers to the Lord before all His people. The death of His saints is honorable before the Lord. O Lord, I am Your servant, I am Your servant and the son of Your handmaid; You have torn apart my bonds. I will devour a sacrifice of praise for you, and in the name of the Lord I will call. I will offer my prayers to the Lord before all His people, in the courts of the house of the Lord, in the midst of you, Jerusalem.
Glory even now: Alleluia.
(Three times with three bows)
Troparion, tone 8
Despise my iniquities, O Lord, be born of a Virgin, and cleanse my heart, creating a temple to Your most pure Body and Blood, lower me from Your face, having great mercy without number.
Glory: In the communion of Your holy things, how dare I (below), unworthy? Even if I dare to approach You with the worthy, the robe denounces me as if it were not the evening, and I intercede for condemnation of my many-sinful soul. Cleanse, Lord, the filth of my soul, and save me, as a Lover of Mankind.
And now: My many and many sins, Mother of God, I have come running to You, O Pure One, demanding salvation: visit my weak soul, and pray to Your Son and our God to grant me forgiveness for the evil deeds, O Blessed One.
(On Holy Pentecost:
When the glorious disciple is enlightened at the thought of the supper, then the evil Judas, sickened by the love of money, becomes darkened, and betrays Your righteous Judge to the lawless judges. See, the steward of the property, who used strangulation for these sakes: flee the unsatiated soul, such a daring Teacher. O Lord of all, glory to Thee.)
Psalm 50
Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your great mercy, and according to the multitude of Your mercies, cleanse my iniquity. Above all, wash me from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my iniquity, and I will take away my sin before me. I have sinned and committed evil before You, the only One, so that You may be justified in Your glory, and triumph over the judgment of You. Behold, I was conceived in iniquities, and my mother gave birth to me in sins. You have loved the truth; you have revealed to me the unknown and secret wisdom of Yours. Sprinkle me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Give joy and gladness to my hearing; humble bones will rejoice. Turn Your face away from my sins and cleanse all my iniquities. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a right spirit in my womb. Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Reward me with the joy of Your salvation, and strengthen me with the Lord’s Spirit. I will teach the wicked Your way, and the wicked will turn to You. Deliver me from bloodshed, O God, God of my salvation; my tongue will rejoice in Your righteousness. Lord, open my mouth, and my mouth will declare Your praise. As if you had desired sacrifices, you would have given them: you do not favor burnt offerings. The sacrifice to God is a broken spirit: a contrite and humble heart God will not despise. Bless Zion, O Lord, with Your favor, and may the walls of Jerusalem be built. Then you will be pleased with the sacrifice of righteousness, the wave offering and the burnt offering: then they will lay the bullocks on Your altar.
How to prepare before confession
How do you still prepare for confession? What prayers should be read before confession? Of course, the necessary procedures must be done the day before going to church. First of all, you need to prepare mentally, tune in spiritually, and know that you are ready for this hike. You also need to read the relevant literature about the Sacrament of Confession, various canons about sins, write your own on a piece of paper in order to clearly understand where you sinned and for what you want to ask for forgiveness. The preparation can be lengthy, but the main thing is that you do it consciously! In addition, you need to read what Orthodox prayers are needed before communion and confession. You can also give a piece of paper with your sins to the priest, who will read them, or you can tell yourself out loud about the sins you have committed, but you should not make a long story out of it, just briefly and clearly state your problem. According to Orthodox canons, justifying oneself is under no circumstances allowed - this is a new sin, because repentance is awareness of sins.
A very good habit is self-analysis every day and at the end repentance to yourself, so every evening you will analyze where you sinned and who you need to ask for forgiveness from. It’s also very useful to read the Penitential Canon for yourself. Then preparing for confession will not take much time, since it will be easy for you to assess what you are guilty of and what you want to repent of.
What prayers to read before confession
One of the prayers read before confession and communion:
Prayer of Simeon the New Theologian
God and Lord of all, who has the power of every breath and soul, is the only one who can heal me! Hear the prayer of me, the accursed one, and the serpent nesting in me, consume by the influx of the All-Holy and Life-Giving Spirit. And grant me, poor and naked, all virtues, to fall at the feet of my holy (spiritual) father with tears, and draw his holy soul to mercy, to have mercy on me. And grant, Lord, in my heart humility and good thoughts, befitting a sinner who has agreed to repent to You; and may not completely abandon the one soul that united with You and confessed You, and instead of the world chose and preferred You. Be aware, Lord, that I want to be saved, even if my evil custom is an obstacle: but what is possible for You, O Lord, is all that is possible; what is impossible is from man. Amen.
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Sacrament of Communion
It is believed that the bread and wine that all parishioners partake of in God's temple are the blood and body of Christ. Thus, a person can touch that intimate, sacred thing that is incomprehensible on earth; he unites both body and spirit with the Lord God himself.
The Sacrament of Communion in itself is great, therefore it requires the necessary preparations and the Sacrament of Confession, which has its own sequence: without the Sacrament of Confession, the Sacrament of Communion will not take place.
Only children under 7 years old can receive communion without confession. Also, women should not receive communion during their menstrual cycle. And women after childbirth are allowed into church for communion only after the priest reads a special prayer over them.
How to prepare before communion
Of course, the question of what to do before confession and communion has not been fully answered, since we still have to discuss communion itself, and these are two components, one might say, of one process.
There are special Orthodox prayers before communion, as well as prayers of thanksgiving after communion. It is important to know where to use which prayer. It is worth noting that it is also important to prepare mentally for communion and you need to fast for about a week or at least 3 days. This is a kind of cleansing process that makes not only the body cleaner, but also the spirit. Retreat is a kind of fasting. You should not eat certain foods; spouses should also refrain from physical contact, visit various places of entertainment, and rejoice excessively. It is necessary to read the Canon of Repentance and prayers of thanks in the morning and evening.
