Each person has their own path to God. A child baptized in infancy does not necessarily grow up in a churched family. That is why adults who feel the need to go to the temple may not know the answers to the simplest questions. How to start going to church?
How to start going to church?
How to Prepare for a Temple Visit
First of all, you need to drop the constraint. No one will look askance at a newcomer who does not know how to behave properly in the service, where to put a candle for the repose or health, how to take communion or confess. You can ask about everything from experienced parishioners directly in the church or from the seller in the church shop.
If in your environment there is a church person or a lay person who constantly attends church, it is worth talking to him. And yet the priests advise to start with the main thing: the Bible. And it is better to start with the New Testament, it is easier to understand and easier to read. First, read one gospel (from Matthew, Mark, Luke or John).
Be sure to read about the sacraments of the Church. For example, one of the most important is the sacrament of the sacrament. Ideally, communion should be every week. But before taking communion, a believer needs to go through the sacrament of confession and receive a blessing.
Priests take confession every day during the service. Special preparation for it is not required. But you need to prepare for the sacrament in three days:
Observe fasting, refusing meat, milk, fish, eggs;
On the eve of communion in the evening, come to the service;
From 12 o'clock in the morning before communion, you can not eat.
Understanding the meaning of this sacrament, the beginner will feel more confident.
How to behave in church
If a woman has started going to church, she should know the basic rules:
You can enter the temple only in a scarf (shawl, scarf are allowed);
Clothing should be modest: no miniskirts, ripped jeans, cleavage, etc.;
During critical days and within 40 days after childbirth, you cannot visit the temple.
If this is your first time on the job, don't be intimidated. The service runs for about an hour and a half. For starters, you can just stand, listen to what the priest is talking about, be baptized when the parishioners are baptized. It is not necessary to kneel, to kiss the icons too.
When you confess for the first time, be sure to tell the priest about it. He will tell you what to do. Do not be afraid to talk about your sins: the priest will not condemn, but will rejoice that a layman is looking for the salvation of his soul, and will forgive sins. The most terrible sin from the point of view of the church is not forgiven. What to talk about, think in advance. You can make a list of sins on a piece of paper so as not to get confused and not forget anything.
It is impossible to receive communion without confession. The priest must be sure to say that you are taking part in the sacrament for the first time.
As for candles, you can put them for health both in front of a specific icon (for example, St. Nicholas), and in front of any icon in general. Just light a candle, pray, turn to God with your request, or read a prayer to the saint from whom you are asking for help. Candles for the repose of the soul are placed in a certain part of the temple: to the left of the entrance, where a large crucifix is located.
Often a novice Christian has a question - how often do you need to go to church? Is just Saturday and Sunday sufficient? What to do if acquaintances start to look askance and call you a fanatic who goes to the temple at every opportunity? What if you don't feel like going to church because you don't trust the priest? Is it necessary to go to the temple if you do not feel the need for it? Why is it impossible to pray at home, but you must definitely go to the temple? And what if I meet your "Orthodox grandmothers" again? Nothing is clear in the temple, why serve in an incomprehensible language?
Below are the answers to these and other questions:
- I believe in God, but I don’t believe in priests, and therefore I won’t go to church.
But no one asks a parishioner to believe a priest. We believe in God, and the priests are only His servants and instruments for the fulfillment of His will. Someone said: "the current goes through a rusty wire." So also grace is transmitted through the unworthy. According to the true thought of St. John Chrysostom, “we ourselves, sitting on the pulpit and teaching, are intertwined with sins. Nevertheless, we do not despair of God's philanthropy and do not ascribe hardness of heart to Him. For this, God allowed the priests themselves to be slaves to the passions, so that from their own experience they would learn to treat others condescendingly.” Imagine that not a sinful priest, but the Archangel Michael, will serve in the temple. After the first conversation with us, he would have flared up with righteous anger, and only a pile of ashes would have remained of us.
In general, this statement is comparable to the refusal of medical care due to the greed of modern medicine. The financial interest of individual doctors is much more obvious, as everyone who has been admitted to the hospital is convinced of this. But for some reason, because of this, people do not refuse medicine. And when it comes to a much more important thing - the health of the soul, then everyone remembers there were fables, just not to go to church. There was such a case. One monk lived in the desert, and a priest went to him to give him communion. And then one day he heard that the priest who communed him was fornicating. And then he refused to take communion with him. And on the same night he saw a revelation that there was a golden well with crystal water and from it, a leper draws water with a golden bucket. And the voice of God said: “You see, how water remains pure, although it is given by a leper, so grace does not depend on who through whom it is supplied.” And after that, the hermit again began to take communion with the priest, not arguing whether he was righteous or sinful.
But if you think about it, then all these excuses are completely insignificant. After all, is it possible to ignore the direct will of the Lord God, referring to the sins of the priest? “Who are you, condemning another's slave? Before his Lord he stands, or he falls. And will be restored; for God is mighty to raise him up."(Rom. 14:4).
“You don’t understand anything in the temple. They serve in an incomprehensible language.
Let's rephrase this objection. A first-grader comes to school and, having overheard an algebra lesson in the 11th grade, refuses to go to classes, saying: "There's nothing clear there." Is it stupid? But it is also foolish to refuse to study the Divine science, referring to incomprehensibility.
On the contrary, if everything was clear, then learning is meaningless. You already know everything the experts are talking about. Believe that the science of living with God is no less complex and elegant than mathematics, so let it have its own terminology and language.
I think that we should not refuse temple education, try to understand what exactly is incomprehensible. At the same time, it should be taken into account that the service is intended not for missionary work among unbelievers, but for the believers themselves. For us, thank God, if we pray attentively, everything becomes clear after a month and a half of constant going to church. But the depths of worship may be revealed years later. This is truly an amazing mystery of the Lord. We do not have the flat preaching of Protestants, but, if you like, an eternal university in which liturgical texts are teaching aids, and the Teacher is the Lord Himself.
Church Slavonic is not Latin or Sanskrit. This is a sacred form of the Russian language. You just need to work a little: buy a dictionary, a few books, learn fifty words - and the language will reveal its secrets. And God will reward this work a hundredfold. – During prayer, it will be easier to collect thoughts on the Divine mystery. Thoughts will not, according to the laws of association, slip away somewhere into the distance. Thus, the Slavic language improves the conditions for communion with God, and this is precisely why we come to church. As for the acquisition of knowledge, it is transmitted in the temple in Russian. It is difficult to find at least one preacher who would preach in Slavonic. In the Church, everything is connected wisely - both the ancient language of prayer and the modern language of preaching.
And, finally, for the Orthodox themselves, the Slavic language is dear because it gives us the opportunity to hear the Word of God as accurately as possible. We literally can hear the letter of the Gospel, because the grammar of the Slavic language is almost identical to the grammar of the Greek, in which the Revelation was given to us. Believe me, as in poetry and jurisprudence, as in theology, shades of meaning often change the essence of the matter. I think that anyone who is fond of literature understands this. And in the detective, a random match can change the course of the investigation. So for us, the opportunity to hear the words of Christ as accurately as possible is priceless.
Of course, the Slavic language is not a dogma. Divine services are performed in more than eighty languages in the Ecumenical Orthodox Church. And even in Russia, it is theoretically possible to abandon the Slavic language. But this can happen only when it becomes as distant for believers as Latin is for Italians. I don't think it's even a question for now. But if this happens, then the Church will create a new sacred language that translates the Bible as accurately as possible and does not allow our minds to slip away to a far country. The Church is still alive and has the power to revive anyone who enters Her. So start the course of divine Wisdom, and the Creator will lead you into the depths of His mind.
I visit the temple for prayer and confession only when I feel a spiritual need for it, considering that visiting the temple without such a need is an empty formality. Am I doing the right thing?
Think about this: the Church is not a psychological help service in spiritual discomfort, but a Divine-human organism, through participation in which humanity is freed from enslavement by the devil and inherits the blessed promises of God. The lack of need for God is called “spiritual death” in the language of the Bible; read the Gospels carefully and you will understand why this death is more terrible than bodily death. The Christian is constantly with God, and does not wait for some abstract inspiration or importunate need to communicate with Him. In the end, all the “imminent need to go to Church” is not so much a desire to hear and listen to God, but a common human need to speak out.
The Path of Salvation does not provide for episodic participation, but requires constant conscious progress along the steps of perfection. Somewhere you are right: it is better not to come to the Temple at all than to turn prayer into hypocrisy and a profane formality. But, if you have already come to the Temple, then after telling God about yourself and asking for help, open your ears and start doing what He tells you, and do not run away until the next “necessity”.
— Many of my acquaintances condemn me for the fact that I often go to the temple. Calls me a fanatic. They say something like this - well, you believe in God, well, why do you run to the temple at every opportunity?
– Answering briefly, we can say that if the Creator says so, then the creation must unquestioningly respond with obedience. The Lord of all times gave us all the days of our lives. Can't He demand that we separate 4 out of 168 hours of the week? And at the same time, the time spent in the temple is good for us. If a doctor prescribes procedures for us, then don't we try to follow his recommendations exactly, wanting to be healed of the diseases of the body? Why do we ignore the words of the Great Physician of souls and bodies? Is the fulfillment of the supreme Will fanaticism? According to the dictionary, "fanaticism - (from lat. fanaticus - frenzied) - is an extreme adherence to any beliefs or views, intolerance to any other views (for example, religious fanaticism)". Here the question arises, what is the "extreme degree". If this is understood as the original term "frenzy", then it is unlikely that most of those who visit the temple weekly, lash out at everyone in a frenzy of delight or rage. But often ordinary decency is an extreme degree for people. If not stealing or killing is fanaticism, then we, of course, are fanatics. If we admit that there is only one way to the One God - fanaticism, then we are fanatics. But with such an understanding of fanaticism, only "fanatics" will get the Kingdom of Heaven. All the "moderate" and "sane" awaits eternal darkness. As God said: “I know your works; you are neither cold nor hot: oh that you were cold or hot! But since you are lukewarm, and not hot or cold, I will spew you out of my mouth” (Rev. 3:15-1b).
“The church is not made of logs, but in ribs,” others say, “that’s why you can pray at home.”
This again refers to the question - "How often and why should I go to the temple?". This proverb, supposedly Russian, actually goes back to our homegrown sectarians who, contrary to the word of God, separated from the Church. God does indeed dwell in the bodies of Christians. But He enters into them through Holy Communion given in churches. At the same time, prayer in church is higher than prayer in homes. St. John Chrysostom says: “You are mistaken, man; Of course, it is possible to pray at home, but it is impossible to pray as in a church, where there are so many fathers, where a song is unanimously lifted up to God, it is impossible at home. You will not be heard so soon, praying to the Lord at home, as praying with your brothers. There is something more here, like this: unanimity and harmony, the union of love and the prayers of the priests. For this, the priests are coming, so that the prayers of the people, as the weakest, uniting with their strongest prayers, ascend together to heaven ... If the prayer of the church helped Peter and brought this pillar of the church out of prison (Acts 12:5), then how are you, tell me, you neglect its power, and what excuse can you have? Listen to God Himself, Who says that the reverent prayers of many propitiate Him (Jon. 3:10-11) ... It’s not only people who cry terribly here, but the angels fall down to the Lord and the archangels pray. The very time favors them, the very sacrifice assists. How people, taking olive branches, shake them before kings, reminding them with these branches of mercy and philanthropy; so exactly the angels, presenting instead of olive branches the very Body of the Lord, implore the Lord for the human race, and as if they say: we pray for those whom You yourself once honored with such Your love that You gave up Your soul for them; we pour out prayers for those for whom You shed blood; we ask for those for whom you sacrificed your body” (Word 3 against the anomeans).
So this objection is completely unfounded. After all, how much holier the house of God is in your house, so much higher is the prayer offered in the temple, the prayer at home.
- Sunday is the only day off, you need to sleep, be with your family, do homework, and then you have to get up, go to church.
But no one forces a person to go to the early service. In the cities, early and late Liturgy is almost always served, and in the countryside, no one sleeps for a long time even on Sunday. As for the metropolis, no one bothers to come from the evening service on Saturday, talk with the family, read an interesting book and, after evening prayers, go to bed around 11-12 am, and get up at half past eight in the morning and go to the Liturgy. Nine hours of sleep can almost anyone restore strength, and if this does not happen, then we can "get" the missing daytime sleep. All our problems are not connected with the church, but with the fact that the rhythm of our life does not correspond to God's will and therefore exhausts us. And communication with God - the Source of all the forces of the Universe - of course, can only give a person both spiritual and physical strength. It has long been noticed that if you work out internally by Saturday, then the Sunday service fills you with inner strength. And this strength is also physical. It is no coincidence that the ascetics who lived in the inhuman conditions of the desert lived to be 120-130 years old, while we barely live up to 70-80. God strengthens those who trust in Him and serve Him. Before the revolution, an analysis was carried out that showed that the longest life expectancy was not among nobles or merchants, but among priests, although they lived in much worse conditions. This is a visible confirmation of the benefits of going weekly to the house of the Lord.
As for communication with the family, who prevents us from going to the temple with a full team? If the children are small, then the wife can come to church later, and after the end of the Liturgy, you can all take a walk together, go to a cafe, and talk. Can this be compared with that “communication” when the whole family is drowning together in a black box? Often those who do not go to the temple because of the family do not exchange even a dozen words a day with their loved ones.
As for household chores, the word of God does not permit the performance of those tasks that are not essential. You can not arrange a general cleaning or washing day, canned food for a year. Rest time lasts from Saturday evening to Sunday evening. All heavy work must be transferred to Sunday evening. The only kind of hard work that we can and should do on Sundays and holidays is works of mercy. To arrange a general cleaning for a sick or old person, to help in a temple, to prepare food for an orphan and a large family - this is a true and pleasing rule for the Creator to observe the holiday.
– I can’t go to the temple because it’s cold or hot, rain or snow. I'd rather pray at home.
But what a miracle! The same person is ready to go to the stadium and cheer for his team in the open air in the rain, dig in the garden until you drop, dance all night at the disco, and only he does not have the strength to reach the house of God! The weather is always just an excuse for your unwillingness. Is it really possible to believe that God will hear the prayer of a person who does not want to sacrifice something small for His sake?
- I won’t go to the temple, because you don’t have benches, it’s hot. Not like the Catholics!
Of course, this objection cannot be called serious, but for many, considerations of comfort are more important than the issue of eternal salvation. However, God does not want death and the outcast, and Christ will not break even a bruised rod and will not quench the smoking flax. As for the benches, this is not a matter of principle at all. Orthodox Greeks have seats all over the church, Russians don't. Even now, if a person is sick, then no one prevents him from sitting on the benches located at the back in almost every temple. Moreover, according to the liturgical Rule of the Russian Church, parishioners can sit seven times during the festive evening service. In the end, if it’s hard to stand the whole service, and all the benches are occupied, then no one bothers to bring a folding stool with you. It is unlikely that anyone will condemn for this. You just need to get up for the reading of the Gospel, the Cherubic Hymn, the Eucharistic Canon, and about a dozen more important moments of the service. I don't think this will be a problem for anyone. These rules do not apply to people with disabilities.
I repeat once again that all these objections are absolutely not serious and cannot be the reason for violating God's commandment.
– In your temple everyone is so angry, angry. Grandmothers hiss and swear. And also Christians! I don’t want to be like that, and therefore I won’t go to the temple.
But after all, no one requires to be angry and angry. Does anyone in the temple force you to be like that? Are you required to wear boxing gloves when entering the temple? Do not hiss and do not swear yourself and then you will be able to correct others. As the apostle Paul says: “Who are you who condemns another's servant? Does he stand before his Lord, or does he fall? (Rom. 14:4).
It would be fair if the priests taught to swear and quarrel. But it's not like that. Neither the Bible, nor the Church, nor Her servants have ever taught this. On the contrary, in every sermon and in hymns we are called to be meek, merciful. So that's not the reason for not going to church.
It must be understood that people come to the temple not from Mars, but from the outside world. And there it’s just customary to swear in such a way that sometimes you won’t hear a Russian word among peasants. One mat. But in the temple it just does not exist. We can say that the church is the only place closed to swearing.
It is in the world that it is customary to be angry and pour out your irritation on others, calling it a struggle for justice. Isn't that what the old women in the clinics do, washing the bones of everyone from the president to the nurse? And can these people, having entered the temple, as if by magic, instantly change and become meek, like sheep? No, God gave us free will, and nothing can change without our efforts.
We always remain in the Church only in part. Sometimes this part is very large - and then the person is called a saint, sometimes less. Sometimes a person clings to God only with his little finger. But we are not the Judge and Evaluator of everything, but the Lord. As long as there is time, there is hope. And before the end of the picture, how can you judge it, except for the finished parts. Such parts are sacred. It is by them that the Church must be judged, and not by those who have not yet completed their earthly journey. No wonder it is said that "the end crowns the deed."
The Church itself calls itself a hospital (the Confession says “because you have come to the doctor’s clinic, so that you will not be healed”), so is it reasonable to expect that it is filled with healthy people? There are healthy ones, but they are in Heaven. That's when everyone who wants to be healed will use the help of the Church, then she will appear in all her glory. The saints are the ones who clearly show the power of God at work in the Church.
So in the temple one should look not at others, but at God. After all, we do not come to people, but to the Creator. How often and why do you need to go to the temple?
“I am ready to go to church every week, but my wife or husband, parents or children won’t let me.
Here it is worth recalling the terrible words of Christ, which are often forgotten: “Whoever loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and whoever loves a son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.”(Matthew 10:37). This terrible choice must always be made. The choice is between God and man. Yes, it's hard. Yes, it can hurt. But if you have chosen a person, even in what you consider small, then God will reject you on the Day of Judgment. And will a loved one help you with this terrible answer? Does your love for your family justify you when the Gospel says otherwise? Will you not remember with longing and bitter disappointment the day when you rejected God for the sake of imaginary love?
And practice shows that the one who chose someone instead of the Creator will be betrayed by them.
– I will not go to this church because the energy is bad there. I feel bad in the temple, especially from incense.
In fact, any church has the same energy - God's grace. All churches are sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Christ the Savior abides in all churches with His Body and Blood. Angels of God stand at the entrance to any temple. It's just about the person. It happens that this effect has a natural explanation. On holidays, when "visitors" visit temples, they are packed with people. Indeed, there are very few sacred places for such a multitude of Christians. And so it really becomes stuffy for many. Sometimes it happens that poor-quality incense is burned in poor temples. But these reasons are not the main ones. It often happens that people feel bad even in a completely empty church. Christians are well aware of the spiritual causes of this phenomenon.
Evil deeds, in which a person does not want to repent, drive away the grace of God. This is the resistance of the evil will of man to the power of God and is perceived by him as "bad energy." But not only does man turn away from the Lord, but God Himself does not accept the egoist. After all, it is said that “God resists the proud” (James 4:6). Similar cases are known in antiquity. So Mary of Egypt, who was a harlot, tried to enter the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem and bow to the Life-Giving Cross. But an invisible force threw her away from the gates of the church. And only after she repented and promised never to repeat her sin again, God allowed her into His house.
Also now there are cases when hired killers and prostitutes could not bear the smell of incense and fainted. Especially often this happens to those who are engaged in magic, astrology, extrasensory perception and other devilry. Some force twisted them at the most important moments of the service, and they were taken from the church in an ambulance. Here we are faced with another reason for the rejection of the temple.
Not only man, but also those behind his sinful habits do not want to meet the Creator. These beings are rebellious angels, demons. It is these impure entities that prevent a person from entering the temple. They also take away strength from those standing in the church. It happens that one and the same person can sit in a “rocking chair” for hours and is not able to spend ten minutes in the presence of the Creator. Only God can help someone who is captured by the devil. But He helps only those who repent and wish to live according to the will of the Lord Almighty. Otherwise, all these arguments are just an ill-conceived repetition of satanic propaganda. It is no coincidence that the very terminology of this objection was taken from psychics (and the Church knows that they all serve the devil), who are very fond of talking about certain energies that can be “recharged”, as if it were a battery, and not a child of God. .
Here are the symptoms of spiritual illness. Instead of love, people try to manipulate the Creator. This is just a sign of demonism.
The last objection, related to the previous ones, is most often encountered:
“I have God in my soul, so I don’t need your rituals. I do only good things. Is God going to send me to hell just because I don't go to the temple?
But what is meant by the word "God"? If we are talking simply about conscience, then, of course, in any person this voice of God sounds in the heart. There are no exceptions here. Neither Hitler nor Chikatilo were deprived of it. All the villains knew that there is good and evil. The voice of God tried to keep them from iniquity. But is it really just because they heard this voice that they are already saints? Yes, and conscience is not God, but only His speech. After all, if you hear the voice of the President on a tape recorder or on a radio, does this mean that he is in your apartment? Also, having a conscience does not mean that God is in your soul.
But if you think about this expression, then Who is God? This is the Almighty, Infinite, Omniscient, Righteous, Good Spirit, Creator of the universe, Whom the heavens and the heavens of heaven cannot contain. So how can your soul contain Him – Him, Whose Face the angels fear to see?
Does the speaker so sincerely think that this Immeasurable Power is with him? Let us doubt. Let him show Her manifestation. The expression "God in the soul" is stronger than trying to hide a nuclear explosion in oneself. Is it possible to hide Hiroshima or a volcanic eruption in secret? So we demand such evidence from the speaker. Should he perform a miracle (like resurrecting the dead) or show God's love by turning the other cheek to the one who hit him? Will he be able to love his enemies - even a hundredth of that, as our Lord, Who prayed for them before the crucifixion? Indeed, to truly say: “God is in my soul,” only a saint can. We demand holiness from the one who speaks like this, otherwise it will be a lie, whose father is the devil.
They say: “I do only good, will God send me to hell?” But let me question your righteousness. What is considered the criterion of good and evil, by which it can be determined that you or I are doing good or evil? If you consider yourself as a criterion (as it is often said: “I determine for myself what good and evil are”), then these concepts simply lose any value and meaning. After all, Beria, and Goebbels, and Pol Pot considered themselves absolutely right, so why do you yourself think that their deeds deserve censure? If we have the right to determine for ourselves the measure of good and evil, then the same must be allowed for all murderers, perverts and rapists. Yes, by the way, let God also disagree with your criteria, and judge you not by yours, but by His standards. Otherwise, it turns out somehow unfairly - we choose the yardstick for ourselves, and we forbid the Almighty and Free God to judge ourselves according to our own laws. But according to them, without repentance before God and Holy Communion, a person will end up in hell.
To be honest, what do our standards of good and evil stand in the face of God, if we do not even have the right to legislative activity. After all, we have not created for ourselves either a body, or a soul, or a mind, or a will, or feelings. Everything that you have is a gift (and not even a gift, but property temporarily entrusted for preservation), but for some reason we decide that we can dispose of it with impunity at our will. And to the One who created us, we deny the right to demand an account of how we used His gift. Doesn't this requirement seem a bit daring? What makes us think that the Lord of the Universe will fulfill our sin-damaged will? Have we violated the Fourth Commandment and at the same time we believe that He owes us something? Isn't it stupid?
After all, instead of devoting Sunday to God, it is given to the devil. On this day, people often get drunk, swear, debauchery, and if not, then they have fun in a far from nice way: they watch dubious TV shows, films where sins and passions overflow, etc. And only the Creator turns out to be superfluous in His Own Day. But doesn't God, who gave us everything, including time, have the right to demand from us just a few hours?
So hell awaits those despisers who ignore the will of God. And the reason for this is not God's cruelty, but the fact that they, having left the fountains of the water of Life, began to try to dig empty wells of their excuses. They have refused the sacred Chalice of Communion, have deprived themselves of the word of God, and therefore wander in the darkness of this evil age. Moving away from the Light, they find darkness, leaving love, they gain hatred, leaving life, they throw themselves into the arms of eternal death. How can we not mourn their stubbornness and wish they would return to the house of our heavenly Father?
We, together with King David, will say: "According to the multitude of Thy mercy, I will enter Thy house; I will worship Thy holy temple in Thy fear"(Ps. 5:8). After all “We entered into fire and into water, and You brought us out to freedom. I will enter your house with burnt offerings; I will pay you my vows, which my mouth has spoken and my tongue has spoken in my affliction.”(Ps. 65:12-14).
The questions were answered:
priest Anthony Merculo
priest Yaroslav Fateev
priest Daniil Sysoev
other
During the revival of Orthodox traditions, a wide range of people show a desire to attend church. Parishioners have well-established habits of behavior that should not interfere in a holy place. A beginner should read simple tips on how to go to church the right way. These traditions have been observed since ancient times. This place needs to be treated with respect. The soul should be bright and joyful, ready for prayer.
Visiting church for the first time
Orthodox tradition long ago created simple rules explaining how to go to church. A beginner, while visiting the temple, needs to be aware of the presence of God and angels in this sacred place. Parishioners go to church with faith in their hearts and prayer on their lips. It is not difficult to go to church correctly, it is better to go with other people, watching them.
The first rule is not to offend the priests and laity present with your inappropriate behavior. Inside the temple there are often shrines, the value of which is measured for centuries. Even if a layman is not aware of the sanctity of an icon or relics, one should not publicly question their value. If the parishioners bow next to a valuable icon, then it will not be difficult to bow, following the example of others.
Few think about what precedes going to the temple. This is also of great importance. During the morning visit, it is better to refrain from eating. According to the religious canon, it is better to come to church hungry. A hearty breakfast is allowed only for a sick parishioner.
Before God, one must maintain a meek spirit, fully understand one's sinfulness, and show respect to those saints who have decided to be cleansed from sin in their worldly life.
The temple allows you to create a connection between the sinful earth and pure heaven, when a person enters with faith in a powerful patron and intercessor. The church is being built as a prayer house where they go to ask for the most secret.
Rules for women
The requirements for women refer only to the details of appearance and the place where one should stand during worship. Someone from the older generation in the family knows how to go to church for a woman. You can learn about this from your grandmother or mother. The main requirement of appearance is emphasized modesty. The beauty of the female body is a symbol of temptation, and therefore a woman should not wear clothes that expose any part of the body. You can not wear a short skirt, neckline and even a dress that exposes the shoulders.
Before visiting, it is advisable for a girl to wash off her makeup, as well as cover her head with a scarf. In a holy place, every parishioner should think about the eternal. Rejoice for the salvation of your soul, pray. On a good path, he should not be distracted by beauty and lust. Therefore, bright outfits are considered inappropriate. The church is not a place to draw attention to yourself.
During the service, women should stand on the left side. During communion, women stand at the end of the line.
Where to start
As soon as the church came into view, she needs to bow and make the sign of the cross, even if it is not planned to go inside.
Approaching the door, you need to stop, think about your goal, cross yourself again. When visiting a temple, one must imagine that one enters from the space of earthly sin into a small and clean house of God.
There is a single ritual for all parishioners, how to enter the church correctly. You should start with a bow as a symbol of the humility of your pride. Then you need to cross yourself and read the lines, addressing the face of Christ the Savior in the following order:
- Before the first bow, it says: "God, be merciful to me, a sinner."
- The second bow is accompanied by the words: "God, cleanse my sins and have mercy on me."
- The words “I have sinned without number, Lord, forgive me” complete the ritual.
It is desirable to remember this sequence and repeat during the exit.
When visiting, it is advisable not to take large bags, and if there is one, it must be left at the entrance. During the communion ritual, both hands must be free.
You can indicate your innermost goal in a note for the priest. Usually a request is transmitted to pray for oneself or for a neighbor.
At the entrance, you can go to the attendant to buy candles, while donating to the needs of the temple in a symbolic form. The burning candle is an important symbol in Christianity. The small light of God's spark burns in every eternal soul, so a candle is lit:
- Wishing good health to your neighbors.
- For the difficulties in fate that we managed to overcome. In this case, the candle is placed with gratitude to his Saint for the tests and help sent.
- On the eve of a key event in life. Before an important decision, turning to God, angels and saints for support and admonition.
- For the repose of those who have already passed into eternal life.
To commemorate the dead, each church has an eve - a special memorial table. On the eve, you can put bread, red wine and cookies.
In each temple, a “festive” icon occupies a central place. The visitor first of all is attached to it. This icon may be different for each day. The priest, according to the calendar known to him, selects the “festive” icon, placing it in the center, on the lectern.
Approaching the festive icon, you need to overshadow yourself with the sign of the cross, make bows to the ground and waist. When the parishioners move away from the icon, you need to bow to it for the third time.
In addition to the festive icon, a particularly valuable, ancient icon is exhibited in the temple. As a rule, there are several wonderful icons that travel from one temple to another. The arrival of a particularly revered icon is announced in advance.
When they approach the icon of a revered saint, their intercessor, they pronounce his name and ask: “Pray to God for a servant of God,” saying the name of a relative for whose recovery they came to ask.
The main charitable trait of behavior will be humility. No need to look around all around, as if on a tour. It is important to always remember the main purpose of your coming to the temple.
When a well-known friend appears in the church, it is not customary to shake hands inside the church. As a greeting, friends bow. It is important to remain silent, and to allocate another time for a friendly conversation.
Particular attention should be paid to the behavior of children. The child may want to have fun. It is necessary to explain to him in advance the importance of the temple as a special place of communion with God. The child should be taught to behave as modestly and quietly as possible.
Special time of worship
After the start of the service, it is advisable not to interfere with people and the priest himself, and therefore all prayers, the installation of candles and the transfer of notes should be completed before the start of the church service.
It is forbidden to disturb other people with your questions. The words of the priest should be listened to in silence and concentration, since at this moment the Word of God is being transmitted.
Demonstration of uncivilized behavior in the temple will turn into big trouble than in ordinary life. If parishioners look at a person with condemnation, he provokes them to sin.
When those around you begin to bow and be baptized, then you need to join them, performing the ritual along with everyone.
For those who would like to sit down during the service, it is worth remembering that worship is an act of spiritual labor and therefore is performed while standing. Standing for a long time strengthens the spirit of a person, and everyone can test himself: if it is hard to stand, there is a reason for this. Those who are full of faith do not notice difficulties. It is hard for him who cannot be filled with reverence. Attention to the words of the priest leads each listener to his moment of spiritual enlightenment and self-improvement. For the sake of these good goals, you need to forget about minor inconveniences.
A candle is held in hands only during a memorial service or on special occasions. On a typical day, a candle is placed in a candlestick. It is necessary to ensure that the wax does not drip onto the person in front.
Since a layman comes to visit God, it is advisable not to leave before the service ends. For the same reason, it should not be late. The period of worship is a personal sacrifice that we offer to God. Dedicating one's time to spirituality is a must for every believer. Leaving the service is allowed only for a very good reason. If a mother cannot calm her child, she is advised to leave the church for a while and return when the child is quiet.
Sitting is allowed only to those in whose body there is a disease, whose need for relief is undeniable.
During the liturgy and the reading of the Gospel, one must ask God to enlighten to the understanding of all the Truths. When the priest opens the Royal Doors, it is customary to let go of the bow. If words sound in an unknown language and it is impossible to speak, then you can replace these words with a well-known prayer.
When the Priest finishes the sermon, he goes out to the people with a cross in his hands. Parishioners traditionally kiss his hand and cross. During the procession, there is a traditional order:
- Parents with small children should come first.
- Second are minors.
- Then comes the turn of the men.
- Women complete the procession.
For each group, the priest has prepared his own prayer. If someone breaks the line, he will be prompted where to stand correctly.
Which day to choose
For an Orthodox Christian, it is charitable to visit the temple once a week. A regular visit is required in order for the layman to rest his soul from the sinful world, get out of the everyday bustle and turn to eternal questions.
The priest expects parishioners on Saturday and Sunday, as well as during church holidays. The exact day can be found from the Orthodox calendar. If there is a need to pray, you can go to church any day you wish.
Small churches due to the lack of priests may not work on weekdays. Monday is considered a time of rest after two consecutive days of worship. On Monday, the church devotes prayers to angels, therefore, it does not welcome the well-known superstition among the people about the severity of this day. Small name days are celebrated on Monday, because guardian angels are honored on this day.
What would you like to know
An acolyte works inside the church, who can tell you how to enter the church correctly and what not to do. Mobile phones can not be turned off, but be sure to switch to the "silent" mode. During the service, you cannot answer the phone, as this is not the time for talking.
In the evening, after the service, candles can be purchased again for the home. Even if there is not enough money, it is possible to ask for a candle for free. Refusing people in need is not accepted in a Christian environment.
If someone is sick at home, a candle lit in the temple is taken home and placed in the room where the sick person lies. You can light a candle for an unbaptized person, but you cannot ask for a note and order a prayer. It is not customary to ask for a suicide.
At the end of the service, you can return to individual prayer or ask the priest for a conversation, if there is a good reason for that. At this time, it is possible to order a prayer for another person who is sick, but cannot attend the Church on his own.
Thus, A believing Christian should attend church at least once a week observing simple rituals and rules of conduct in the temple. By regularly turning to eternal questions, to God, a person becomes purer and wiser. The sanctity of the temple is determined not only by age-old religion, but also by miraculous icons of saints, which can be addressed. Listening to the words of the priest during the divine service is useful for every person for the salvation of his eternal soul.
In our time, you can often hear the phrase: “Why go to the temple? I have God in my heart!” It would seem that such a person can only be envied. Indeed, if you have God in your heart, then visiting the temple looks like some kind of excess. But here the question arises: how justified is this confidence? Maybe God is in this person in some other part of the body, for example, in the stomach? Or maybe the stomach itself has become a god for a person, according to the words of the Apostle Paul: Their god is the womb(Philippians 3:19).
A person can be sure that he has become the temple of the Spirit of God, being the plaything of unclean spirits.
But if a person is right, and his heart has really become the abode of God, then how can you be sure that this is the true God, and not the one who tries to present himself as God, not being such? Here is what St. Theophan the Recluse says about this: “The demons sense the fasting and the prayer book from afar and run away from him so as not to receive a painful blow. Is it possible to think that where there is no fasting and prayer, there is already a demon? Can. Demons, moving into a person, do not always reveal their presence, but hide, stealthily teaching their master all evil. In other words, a person can be sure that he has become the temple of the Spirit of God, being the plaything of unclean spirits.
Someone will say: “Here, I fast and pray, but I don’t go to church.” To this one can reply that praying and fasting is a good and necessary thing, of course, but not sufficient in itself.
If a Christian, even without abandoning personal prayer, voluntarily withdraws from church worship, then, according to the holy fathers of the Church, this is an indicator of spiritual ill health. The Monk Barsanuphius of Optina offers the following discussion on this subject. One holy father was asked: “Are there any sure signs by which one can know whether the soul is approaching God or moving away from Him? After all, with respect to ordinary objects, there are certain signs - they are good or not. When, for example, cabbage, meat, and fish begin to rot, it is easy to notice this, because the spoiled products emit a bad smell, change color and taste, and their appearance indicates spoilage.
Well, what about the soul? After all, she is incorporeal and cannot emit a bad smell or change her appearance. To this question, the holy father replied that a sure sign of the mortification of the soul is evasion from church services. A person who grows cold towards God, first of all, begins to avoid going to church. At first, he tries to come to the service later, and then completely stops attending the temple of God.
A sign that God dwells in the heart is love for temple worship
Thus, the desire for church service is for a Christian that spiritual tuning fork with which we can always check the state of our soul. The sign that God dwells in the heart is love for temple worship.
It can be likened to human relationships. If we love someone, then we try to be close to him. If we say, for example, to our friend: “You are always with me, you are in my heart, so I didn’t come to wish you a happy birthday,” then we are unlikely to hear words of approval and understanding in response. So it is with God. If God is in our hearts, if we love Him or at least strive for this love, then how can we not honor the Birthday or Resurrection of Christ, the Son of God, who became the Son of Man, who endured humiliation, pain and death for our salvation, how can we forget about the memorable date of the Mother of God, through which we gained access to the incarnate God, or shall we neglect the days of celebration of the incorporeal and holy Heavenly Powers, standing before the throne of God and tirelessly praying for us, lazy, sinful and strong only in words of self-justification?
The Church is Christians united with Christ into a single divine-human organism.
At the center of the church service is the greatest Christian sacrament - the communion of the Body and Blood of Christ. The entire divine service is structured in such a way as to prepare us for this sacrament in the best possible way, and is in itself a prelude and anticipation of our eternal stay with God. In the church service, the doctrine of the Church as the Body of Christ is visibly manifested. The Church is Christians united with Christ into a single divine-human organism. Just as it is natural for the body to maintain unity, so it is natural for a Christian to strive for unity with the head of the Church, Christ, and with all Christians united in Christ into one body. Therefore, participation in worship is not a heavy duty for a Christian, not a severe punishment or sophisticated torture, but a kind of natural and vital aspiration. The absence of such should serve as a signal to us that we are spiritually ill and in serious danger, that our life requires a speedy correction.
Of course, it is not always easy for us to participate in public worship, we do not always feel like it. Everyone has states when you have to force yourself to go to the temple. But without this spiritual life is impossible.
Where does this heaviness, this unwillingness, come from? Everything comes from the same place - from our passions, which have entered our souls to such an extent that they have become for us, as it were, a second nature (“habit is second nature”), which you cannot get rid of without labor and without illness.
The effect of worship on the passions can be compared to the effect of light on the inhabitants of a dark cave. Animals and insects, accustomed to night and darkness, when light appears, set in motion and tend to fly away, run away, crawl away to familiar places, to dark, “safe” places, remote from the light.
So the passions in us, while we are far from the Church, from the temple, from worship, doze in the habitual and comfortable spiritual darkness. But as soon as we come to the temple for service, it is as if all the forces of hell rise up in our bodies and souls. My legs are wadded, my head is foggy, my back hurts ... Yes, and everything around me is outraged: the readers read incomprehensibly, the singers go astray and out of tune, the priest or not, or he is in a hurry somewhere, the deacon looks defiant, in the church shop they answer unkindly, everyone sometimes they are gloomy, and if they joke and smile, then this is also annoying (“in a holy place!”), etc. etc. And, of course, the background thought: “What am I doing here?”. And if you do not understand the need for temple prayer, then there is almost no chance to stay in the temple. Nevertheless, we will not receive true consolation anywhere except the temple.
Many are familiar with the state of despondency, or, as it is now customary to say, depression, when nothing pleases and everything loses its meaning. I also don't want to go to the temple in this state. But Orthodox people know that if you still force yourself and get to the temple and worship, then everything miraculously changes. It seems that he stood stupidly in the service, almost did not hear prayers, he himself did not pray so much as he tried to cope with a spiritual storm or with swarming thoughts, but you leave the temple, and there is peace in your heart. It seems that outwardly nothing has changed, the circumstances are still the same, but they no longer seem as insurmountable as before.
In the temple, our prayer receives fullness, uniting with the prayer of the entire Church of Christ
And this is not surprising. Indeed, in the temple, our imperfect prayer receives fullness, uniting with the prayer of the entire Church of Christ, in which The Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings inexpressible(Rom. 8:26). Therefore, in most cases, even the most profound and concentrated private prayer will not be as beneficial for the soul as even imperfect church prayer.
The Holy Fathers often call the temple "heaven on earth". In it we come into contact with the heavenly world, we enter, so to speak, into the space of eternity. Here we receive the pacification of passions and protection from the violent influence of evil spirits, becoming (at least for a time) inaccessible to them. Every time we enter the space of the temple, we make our personal small exodus from the world, which lies in evil(1 John 5:19), and avoid its deadly sting.
The action of public prayer is the reverse side of God's twofold commandment of love for God and for one's neighbor, since the personal prayer of every Christian praying in the temple is strengthened, on the one hand, by the prayers of other worshipers, and on the other, by Divine energy.
Here is what our ancient Russian saint Simon, Bishop of Vladimir and Suzdal, wrote about this: “Do not be deceitful, do not leave the church meeting under the pretext of bodily weakness: as rain grows the seed, so the church attracts the soul to good deeds. It doesn’t matter what you do in your cell: whether you read the Psalter, whether you sing twelve psalms, - all this cannot be compared with one cathedral: “Lord, have mercy!” Understand this, my brother: the chief apostle Peter himself was the church of the living God, and when he was captured by Herod and put in prison, was it not through the prayers of the Church that he was delivered from the hand of Herod? And David prays, saying: “One thing I ask of the Lord, and that only I seek, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, contemplate the beauty of the Lord, and visit his holy temple early.” The Lord Himself said: "My house will be called a house of prayer." “Where,” he says, “two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” But if such a cathedral is assembled, in which there will be more than a hundred brethren, then how can you not believe that the Lord our God is here.
Of course, sometimes there are objective circumstances that really prevent you from visiting the temple. But not everything that seems to us an obstacle is such in the eyes of God. In this regard, the case described in the life of the righteous Juliana of Murom is indicative: “One winter was so cold that the earth was cracked from frost. And she did not go to church for some time, but prayed to God at home. And then one day the priest of that church came alone to the church early in the morning, and there was a voice from the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, saying this: “Go, tell the merciful Uliya: why doesn’t she go to church to pray? Although her home prayer is pleasing to God, everything is not the same as church prayer.
For a person who has established himself on the divine path, attending a church service becomes a need no less, and sometimes even more, than bodily nourishment. Saints feel this need especially keenly. So, the righteous John of Kronstadt admitted: “I fade away, I die spiritually when I don’t serve in the temple for a whole week, and I kindle, I revive my soul and heart when I serve ...” .
However, today, probably, in every Orthodox church you can meet at least one parishioner, who, like the Gospel prophetess Anna (cf. Lk. 2, 36-37), almost constantly stays in the church. Despite the fact that the surrounding people usually do not contribute to this at all. And her relatives reproach her, and her own, the Orthodox, persuade her to moderate her ardor, and she, overcoming years and illnesses, almost crawling, but still strives for the “mass” that is dear to her sick heart.
In conclusion, I would like to give an amazing example of the invincible love for the Divine service of one of the Greek ascetics of piety of the 20th century: “God-loving Keti did not want to miss a single vespers and liturgy. She wanted to go to the service every day, so she looked for churches where the liturgy was celebrated on weekdays. She sacrificed her sleep, made many hours of foot crossings, just not to miss the Divine Liturgy.<...>
Keti tried to get acquainted with the priests of all the neighboring villages so that she could invite them to celebrate the liturgy. I often went to the temple of Pantanassa. At night, she crossed the Louros River on a rope bridge. Often in the winter it was covered with ice, and Keti always had several bags of products for the poor.
Once, when the bridge was swept away by water, an old shepherd helped her to cross to the other side. Sometimes she had to spend many hours on the road. One day Keti was attacked by dogs, another time she met a bear, but the animals did not harm her.
It is difficult to describe everything that happened to Katie. There were no telephones then. Once, none of the familiar priests warned her about the liturgy. After work, Katie still hit the road. First came the Philippiada. Then she visited the villages of Kambi, Pantanassa, St. George. But there was no service anywhere, and in the meantime it got dark. Keti (still on foot) went to Kerasovo, and from there to Vulista, where the father's sister joined her. On the way, they stumbled and fell into a hole. Women fell knee-deep into asbestos. They put themselves in order and went to the liturgy. In total, in the evening and night, Keti covered a distance of 30 kilometers. And so it often happened.
<...>Once in the temple, Keti fell from a chair, on which she climbed to light the lamps. She suffered a hip fracture. She was admitted to the hospital, where she was prescribed bed rest. But how would she then be able to attend services? Limping, she left the hospital, stopped the car and drove to the church of St. George in the village of Philippiada, where her friend, Father Vasily Zalakostas, served. There she lay down in the temple vestibule. She spent twenty days and nights in the church. Every day a priest came and celebrated the Divine Liturgy.
One winter there was a severe storm. The wind uprooted the trees. But this did not become an obstacle for Keti. Without a moment's hesitation, she went to the liturgy, but did not return for a long time. Colleagues were waiting for Keti in excitement. Finally she showed up. Her face beamed with joy, although all of her legs (as far as they were visible under her long dress) were covered in blood. She explained that the delay was due to the fact that she had to climb over the fallen trees that she met on the way.
So what did Keti feel during the Divine Liturgy? Probably, it was something inexplicable if she, overcoming all difficulties, did everything possible and impossible to get into the service. She herself sang, gave gifts to priests, carried heavy liturgical books with her.
Sometimes she went to the night service, and in the morning she hurried to another Divine Liturgy. And then, visiting her acquaintances and hearing how the service was broadcast on the radio, she stood up for prayer for the third time. She knelt down and made prostrations. No noise could distract her.<...>
Her love for worship was such that often, falling asleep, she whispered: "Church, Church ...".
It remains only to wish all of us to acquire at least a small fraction of that love for church worship, which is described in these lines!
From generation to generation, a strict ban on women visiting the temple on menstruation days has been passed down. Some people believe in this and strictly enforce the rule. Others are indignant and indignant at the ban, thinking why not. Still others, not paying attention to critical days, come to church at the behest of the soul. So is it allowed to go to church during menstruation? Who, when and why forbade women to visit her on these special days for the female body?
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Creation of man and woman
You can get acquainted with the moments of the creation of the Universe by the Lord in the Bible in the Old Testament. God created the first people on the sixth day in his own image and likeness and called the man Adam and the woman Eve. It follows from this that initially the woman was clean, she did not have menstruation. The conception of a child and his birth should not have been painful. In their world, filled with perfection, there was nothing impure. In purity was the body, thoughts, actions and soul. But the perfection was short-lived.
The devil incarnated in the form of a serpent and began to tempt Eve so that she would eat the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. He promised her power and knowledge. The woman tasted the fruit herself and treated her husband to it. This is how the fall into sin occurred on all mankind. Adam and Eve were expelled from Paradise. God condemned the woman to suffering. He said that from now on she would conceive and give birth in pain. From that moment on, a woman is considered unclean.
Old Testament Prohibitions
Rules and laws were important to the people of that period of time. All of them were written in the Old Testament. Temples were created to communicate with God and to offer sacrifices to him. The woman was not a full member of society, but was the complement of a man. Everyone remembered the sin of Eve, after which her menstruation began. Menstruation was a reminder of what the woman had done.
The Old Testament gave a clear answer to the question of who could, and who and why was forbidden to visit the Holy Temple. Didn't visit:
- with leprosy;
- with ejaculation;
- those who touched the corpses;
- with purulent discharge;
- women during menstruation;
- women who gave birth to a boy - 40 days, who gave birth to a girl - 80 days.
In Old Testament times, everything was viewed from a physical point of view. A dirty body was considered a sign of an unclean person. A woman during critical days was forbidden to visit the Temple as well as places with a lot of people. She was far from the gatherings of the people. Blood was not to be shed in holy places. This continued until the coming of Jesus Christ and the bringing of the New Testament by him.
Uncleanness is abolished by the New Testament
Jesus Christ focused on the spiritual, tried to reach out to the human soul. He came to atone for all human things, including the sin of Eve. If a person did not have faith, all his deeds were considered unspiritual. The black thoughts of a person turned him into an unclean one, even with the purity of his body. The Holy Temple did not become a specific place on Earth, but was transferred to human souls. Christ said that the soul is the Temple of God and His Church. Men and women became equal in rights.
Once a situation occurred that outraged all the clergy. While Christ was in the Temple, a woman who had been bleeding for many years passed through the crowd to him and touched his clothes. Christ, who felt her, turned around and said that her faith had saved her. Since that time, a split has occurred in the consciousness of mankind. Some remained faithful to physical purity and the Old Testament. They were of the opinion that a woman should never go to church during her period. And those who obeyed the teachings of Jesus Christ and followed faith in the New Testament and spiritual purity ceased to adhere to this rule. After his death, the New Testament came into force. The spilled blood was a sign of the beginning of a new life.
Answers of priests to the question about the ban
So can you go to church during your period?
Catholic priests have long decided for themselves the issue of a woman visiting church on critical days. They consider menstruation a natural phenomenon and do not see anything wrong with them. Blood has long ceased to spill on the floors of the church, thanks to modern hygiene products.
But Orthodox priests cannot come to a consensus. Some say that a woman should not go to church during her period. Others say that you can come if the soul requires it. Still others allow women to come to church during menstruation, but put a ban on some sacred sacraments:
- wedding;
- confession.
For the most part, prohibitions are related to physical moments.. For hygienic reasons, during menstruation, you can not go into the water. It's not very pleasant to look at blood mixing with water. The wedding takes a long time and the weakened body of a woman during menstruation may not be able to withstand it. Fainting often occurs, the woman experiences weakness and dizziness. During the confession, the psycho-emotional state of the woman is affected. And during the period of menstruation, she is a little in an inadequate state. Therefore, if a woman decides to confess, she can say something that she will regret for a long time. That's why you can't confess during your period.
Is it possible to go to church during menstruation or not
Modernity has mixed the sinful with the righteous. Nobody knows the origins of this ban. Priests have ceased to be the spiritual ministers that they were considered in the times of the Old and New Testaments. Everyone perceives information in a way that is more convenient for him. The church is a building, the same as it was under the Old Testament. It follows that everyone must adhere to the rules established at that time. You can't go to church during your period.
But the modern democratic world has made its own amendment. If we take into account that it was considered sinful to shed blood in the temple, then at the present time this problem has been completely solved. Hygiene products, such as tampons and pads, absorb blood well and prevent it from leaking onto the floor of a sacred place. The woman is not impure. But there is also a downside here. During menstruation, the female body cleanses itself. And this means that the woman is still unclean, and she cannot attend church during critical days.
But the New Testament and its purity of soul comes to her aid. And this means that if the soul feels the need to touch the shrine, to feel Divine support, then you can come to the temple. Even necessary! After all Jesus helps those who sincerely believe in him. And cleanliness of the body does not play a big role in this. For those who adhere to the rules of the New Testament, going to church during menstruation is not forbidden.
But even here there are amendments. Since the Church and the Holy Temple are in the soul of a person, then it is not at all necessary for him to come to a certain room for help. A woman can pray to God anywhere. And if the prayer comes from a pure heart, then it will be heard much faster than when visiting a temple.
Outcome
No one can say for sure whether it is possible to go to church during menstruation. Everyone has their own opinion on this matter. The woman must answer this question herself, decide why she wants to go to church.
The ban is either there or not. You need to look at what intentions a woman wants to go to church with..
If the purpose of the visit is to ask for forgiveness, repentance for sins, then you can go at any time and during menstruation too. The purity of the soul is the main thing.
During critical days, it is best to reflect on your actions. Sometimes during menstruation, you don’t want to leave the house anywhere. And during menstruation, you can go to the temple, but only if the soul requires it!