What sacraments are performed in the temple. Christian sacraments. Seven Sacraments. Seven sacraments of the Orthodox Church
My little daughter came to church at age five and was very frightened by the new environment. I had to wait a couple of years for the child to perceive the trip to the temple calmly and kindly. It was my mistake because I did not prepare the girl in advance and did not explain the meaning of visiting God’s temple. When my daughter got used to it and became comfortable in the new environment, she accepted baptism with confidence. Afterwards, I explained to her what the Sacraments of the Orthodox Church are, and she gladly took communion and went to her first confession. In the article I want to talk about the seven Church Sacraments, and what role they play in the life of a believer.
Some church rituals are Sacraments that are incomprehensible to the human mind. For example, during the Sacrament of Communion, bread is miraculously transformed into the body of Christ, and wine into blood. To accept this, you need faith that this is possible and acceptable.
Let us consider in detail the 7 Sacraments of the Orthodox Church:
- baptism;
- anointing;
- repentance (confession);
- communion;
- unction;
- wedding;
- priesthood.
These Sacraments were defined by the Lord Christ himself; he commanded his disciples to bring people the light of the divine truth of the gospel. Through the Sacraments we gain the grace of the Holy Spirit, mercy and salvation. It is in the acquisition of grace that the Sacrament differs from other ceremonies and actions in the church.
If during a prayer service or funeral service we rely on the mercy of God and are not sure whether we will receive an answer. Then, during the Sacraments, the grace of God remains on believers constantly. If during ritual actions we express our faith and reverence for God, then during the Sacrament grace descends upon the flock.
Communion is the most important of all the Church Sacraments, when a believer unites in spirit with the flesh and blood of the Savior. It is through him that we gain the inheritance of eternal life. The word "eucharist" is translated from Greek as "thanksgiving." We thank Jesus for the gift of soul salvation.
The second most important is the Sacrament of the priesthood: ordination and initiation into the church. The ordination is performed by the bishop, conveying the grace-filled gift of the Holy Spirit.
A particularly important sacrament is baptism, with its help the number of Christians increases. The remaining church Sacraments are necessary for the revelation of Christian life and the holiness of the church.
What gifts does a person acquire during the Sacrament:
- at baptism the birth of a spiritual person occurs;
- with confirmation, the Orthodox receives strengthening grace;
- Communion feeds the believer with spiritual food;
- repentance cleanses the soul from sins;
- the priesthood gives grace to instruct the flock on the path of faith;
- wedding sanctifies married life;
- Unction frees you from physical and mental illnesses.
The Three Sacraments are unique, that is, they are held only once in a lifetime. These include baptism, confirmation and priesthood. The remaining Sacraments are repeated as the believers participate. For example, the sacrament of unction can be performed annually, and the sacrament of confession - every week.
Baptism
This Sacrament was instituted by the Lord Christ himself when he was personally baptized in the Jordan. After his resurrection, the Savior commanded the apostles to baptize people in the name of the Holy Trinity. Baptism is carried out only once, because it is impossible to be born twice in a spiritual body.
By being immersed in water three times, original sin is symbolically washed away. After baptism, the believer becomes a church member and can partake of the Holy Gifts.
After baptism, the power of the devil over the soul is completely destroyed; now he can only tempt a Christian to sin by deception. Why does the Orthodox Church baptize infants who do not understand what is happening to them? For this purpose, they are given godparents who vouch for their godson and are obliged to raise him in the traditions of the faith. If godparents fail to fulfill their responsibility, this places a heavy burden of sin on their shoulders.
Confirmation
Through this Sacrament, a Christian receives special grace from the Holy Spirit to strengthen his faith and follow the path of truth. This is the seal of the Holy Spirit on a person. The apostles carried out chrismation by laying on of hands; later this rite began to be carried out differently - by anointing with sacred chrism.
Myrrh is a specially prepared oil with fragrant substances (40 names), which was blessed by the apostles. Later, their followers, the bishops, began to consecrate the myrrh. Nowadays, the myrrh is consecrated by the bishop. With the help of consecrated ointment, the seal of the Holy Spirit is placed. The first anointing occurs immediately after a person's baptism.
For a confessor, it is necessary to admit his sins, sincerely repent and have a firm intention to improve. Jesus Christ took upon himself the sins of humanity voluntarily and suffered for each of us. This was a voluntary sacrifice, so a Christian should realize the greatness of the Savior’s gift and not be ungrateful. Admitting your sin is recognizing the atoning sacrifice, and making a decision to correct yourself is gratitude for the gift of salvation of the soul.
The Holy Fathers say that repentance is the basis of Christian life. Man is weak and spiritually weak according to his nature, therefore he hopes only for the grace and mercy of God for salvation. However, one must not turn God’s mercy into profanation and sin unscrupulously. This is an expression of ingratitude to the Savior. Sins distance the believer from God, but sincere repentance and correction bring him closer. Repentance is also called baptism of tears.
Recognizing one's sinful nature brings a person closer to God. He who does not see his sins is spiritually sick.
However, it should be remembered that God sees the hearts of people, therefore formal repentance has no power and forgiveness. If a person thinks about sin in his heart, having formally repented, this causes great harm to his soul. This is called spiritual illness. An Orthodox Christian must realize his sins, make a firm intention to get rid of passions and ask the Lord for help in correction.
Sincere repentance prepares us for the Last Judgment. Those who constantly confess and strive to improve need not be afraid to answer to God. There is no need to be ashamed of the priest to whom you confess, because he was appointed for this purpose by God himself. One must be afraid and ashamed of unrepentant sin. If a person suffers from forgetfulness, you can write down your sins on paper and read them to the priest. It is important not to forget anything.
First confession
When a child turns 7 years old, parents must prepare him for his first confession, on which his future life as a Christian depends. You cannot frighten a child with God’s punishment; it is necessary to instill love for God and talk more often about his care. Fear of punishment can lead an adult child to further abandon his faith.
We need to help the child overcome shyness before confession, help and approve his determination to talk about his sins. Therefore, children are prepared for their first confession in advance, and not presented with a fact. The task of parents is to explain the meaning of repentance and the danger of sinful acts for the soul. Danger should not appear to the child as something fatal, but as an upset to God—a loving father. It is necessary to instill in the child a trusting attitude towards the priest and confession, and explain the importance of repentance for his correct relationship with his heavenly father.
Sacrament of Communion
The Eucharist is one of the important Sacraments, when the believer partakes of the Holy Gifts and becomes one with Jesus Christ. Without the sacrament it is impossible to enter eternal life and gain the inheritance of the kingdom of heaven. The Eucharist was determined by the Lord Christ at the Last Supper, when he broke bread and called it his Body. Having given wine to the apostles, he called it his Blood. Since then, believers have constantly received Holy Communion at services.
How can wine be transformed into blood, and bread into body? This cannot be explained logically, since we are talking about spiritual things. Wine and bread do not change their physical properties, but their spiritual component changes.
It should be understood that a wedding is not some kind of magical rite that forever unites husband and wife. Spouses must lead a pious life, take part in church life and raise children in Orthodox traditions. God sends His grace to those getting married, but they must live according to the Gospel commandments. Unfortunately, not all married couples fully understand this, but simply hope for a miracle or magic.
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Sending his disciples to preach, Jesus Christ told them: “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20). We are talking here, as the Holy Church teaches, about the Sacraments established by the Lord. A sacrament is a sacred action in which, through some external sign, the grace of the Holy Spirit is mysteriously and invisibly given to us, the saving power of God is certainly given. This is the difference between the Sacraments and other prayer actions. At prayer services or memorial services, we also ask for God’s help, but whether we receive what we ask for, or whether we will be given another mercy - everything is in the power of God. But in the Sacraments, the promised grace is given to us without fail, as long as the Sacrament is performed correctly. Perhaps this gift will be for us to judge or condemn, but the mercy of God is given to us!
The Lord was pleased to institute seven Sacraments: baptism, confirmation, repentance, communion, marriage, priesthood, and consecration of oil.
Baptism
It is like a door to the Church of Christ; only those who accept it can use other Sacraments. This is such a sacred act in which a believer in Christ, through triple immersion of the body in water, with the invocation of the name of the Holy Trinity - the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, is washed from original sin, as well as from all the sins committed by himself before Baptism, and is reborn by grace the Holy Spirit into a new, spiritual life.
The sacrament of Baptism was established by Jesus Christ Himself and sanctified by being baptized by John. And so, just as the Lord in the womb of the Holy Virgin put on human nature (excluding sin), so the one who is baptized in the font becomes a partaker of the divine nature: “As many as were baptized into Christ, they put on Christ” (Gal. 3:27). Accordingly, Satan loses power over a person: if before he ruled over him as over his slave, then after Baptism he can only act from the outside - through deception.
To receive Baptism, an adult requires a conscious desire to become a Christian, based on strong faith and heartfelt repentance. The Orthodox Church baptizes infants according to the faith of their parents and adoptive children. This is why godfathers and mothers are needed, to vouch for the faith of the person being baptized. When he grows up, the adoptive parents are obliged to teach the child and ensure that the godson becomes a true Christian. If they neglect this sacred duty, they will sin gravely. So, preparing a beautiful cross and a white shirt for this day, bringing a towel and slippers with you does not mean preparing for the Sacrament of Baptism, even if you are going to baptize an unintelligent baby. He must still have believing recipients who know the basics of Christian doctrine and are distinguished by piety. If an adult approaches the font, let him first read the New Testament, the Catechism and accept the teachings of Christ with all his heart and mind.
In the Sacrament of Confirmation, the believer is given the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which will henceforth strengthen him in the Christian life. Initially, the apostles of Christ called for the Holy Spirit to descend on those who turned to God through the laying on of hands. But already at the end of I, the Sacrament began to be performed through anointing with chrism, since the apostles simply did not have the opportunity to lay hands on everyone who joined the Church in different, often distant places.
Holy myrrh is a specially prepared and consecrated composition of oil and fragrant substances. It was consecrated by the apostles and their successors, the bishops. And now only bishops can consecrate the chrism. But the Sacrament itself can be performed by priests.
Usually Confirmation follows immediately after Baptism. With the words: “The seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit. Amen” - the priest anoints the believer’s forehead with a cross - to sanctify his thoughts, eyes - so that we walk along the path of salvation under the rays of gracious light, ears - so that a person will be sensitive to hearing the word of God, lips - so that they are capable of broadcasting Divine truth, hands - for sanctification for deeds pleasing to God, feet - for walking in the footsteps of the commandments of the Lord, chest - so that, having put on the whole armor of the Holy Spirit, we can do everything in Jesus Christ who strengthens us. Thus, through anointing different parts of the body, the whole person is sanctified - his flesh and soul.
Repentance ()
Repentance is a Sacrament in which a believer confesses his sins to God in the presence of a priest and through the priest receives forgiveness of his sins from the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. The Savior gave St. to the apostles, and through them to the priests, the power to forgive sins: “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive, they will be forgiven; on whomever you leave it, it will remain on him” (John 20:22-23).
To receive forgiveness of sins from the confessor, the following is required: reconciliation with all neighbors, sincere contrition for sins and true confession of them, a firm intention to correct one’s life, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and hope in his mercy. How important the latter is is clear from the example of Judas. He repented of his terrible sin - betraying the Lord, but in despair he hanged himself, since he had no faith and hope. But Christ took upon Himself all our sins and destroyed them with His Death on the Cross!
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In the Sacrament of Communion, an Orthodox Christian, under the guise of bread and wine, eats the very Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and through this mysteriously unites with Him, becoming a partaker of eternal life.
The Sacrament of Holy Communion was instituted by Christ Himself during the Last Supper, on the eve of His suffering and death: taking bread and thanking (God the Father for all His mercies), He broke it and gave it to the disciples, saying: Take and eat, this is My Body, which is for betrays you. Also taking the cup and giving thanks, he gave it to them, saying: drink from it, all of you, for this is My Blood, which is shed for you and for many for the remission of sins (Matthew 26:26-28; Mark 14:22-24; Luke 22 , 19-24; Cor. I, 23-25). Having established the Sacrament of Communion, Jesus Christ commanded his disciples to always perform it: “Do this in My remembrance.”
Not long before, in a conversation with the people, the Savior said: “Unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink His Blood, you will not have life in you. He who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For My Flesh is truly food, and My Blood is truly drink. He who walks on My Flesh and drinks My Blood abides in Me, and I in him” (John 6:53-56).
The Sacrament of Communion will be celebrated in the Church of Christ until the end of time during the Divine service called the Liturgy, during which bread and wine, by the power and action of the Holy Spirit, are transformed into the true Body and true Blood of Christ. In Greek, this Sacrament is called “Eucharist,” which means “thanksgiving.” The first Christians took communion every Sunday, but now not everyone has such purity of life. However, the Holy Church commands us to take communion every Lent and not less than once a year.
How to prepare for Holy Communion
You need to prepare yourself for the Sacrament of Holy Communion by fasting - prayer, fasting, humility and repentance. Without confession, no one can be admitted to Communion, except in cases of mortal danger.
Anyone who wants to receive communion worthily should begin to prepare for this at least a week in advance: pray more and more diligently at home, regularly attend Church. In any case, you must be at the evening service on the eve of the day of communion. Fasting is combined with prayer - abstinence from fast food - meat, milk, butter, eggs and, in general, moderation in food and drink.
Those preparing for Holy Communion must become aware of their sinfulness and protect themselves from anger, condemnation and indecent thoughts and conversations, and refuse to visit places of entertainment. The best time to spend is reading spiritual books. Before confession, you must certainly reconcile with both the offenders and the offended, humbly asking everyone for forgiveness. Anyone wishing to receive communion must come to the priest making confession at the lectern on which the Cross and the Gospel lie, and bring sincere repentance for the sins he has committed, without concealing any of them. Seeing sincere repentance, the priest places the end of the stole on the bowed head of the confessor and reads a prayer of permission, forgiving his sins in the name of Jesus Christ Himself. It is more correct to confess the evening before so that you can devote the morning to prayerful preparation for Holy Communion. As a last resort, you can confess in the morning, but before the start of the Divine Liturgy.
Having confessed, you must make a firm decision not to repeat previous sins. There is a good custom - after confession and before Holy Communion, do not eat, drink or smoke. This is definitely prohibited after midnight. Children should also be taught to abstain from food and drink from a very early age.
After singing “Our Father,” you need to approach the steps of the altar and wait for the Holy Gifts to be taken out. At the same time, let the children who receive communion go first. When approaching the Chalice, you must bow to the ground in advance, fold your arms crosswise on your chest and not cross yourself in front of the Chalice, so as not to accidentally push it. Clearly pronounce your Christian name, open your mouth wide, reverently accept the Body and Blood of Christ and immediately swallow. Having received the Holy Mystery, without crossing yourself, kiss the bottom of the Chalice and immediately go to the table with warmth to drink Communion. Do not leave the church until the end of the service; be sure to listen to prayers of thanks.
On the day of communion, do not spit, do not eat too much, do not get drunk on alcohol, and generally behave decently, in order to “honestly keep Christ received within you.” All this is mandatory for children from 7 years old. For prayerful preparation for Holy Communion, there is a special rule in more complete prayer books. It consists of reading three canons the evening before - the Penitential Canon to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Most Holy Theotokos, the Guardian Angel and prayers for the future, and in the morning - morning prayers, the canon and special prayers for Holy Communion.
Marriage
There is a Sacrament in which, with the bride and groom freely (before the priest and the church) promising mutual fidelity to each other, their marital union is blessed and the grace of God is asked for mutual help and the blessed birth and Christian upbringing of children.
Marriage was established by God Himself in heaven. After the creation of Adam and Eve, he blessed them and said: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it” (Gen. 1:28). Jesus Christ sanctified the Sacrament with his presence at the wedding in Cana of Galilee and confirmed its divine institution: “He who created in the beginning male and female... said: For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh, so that they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let no man separate” (Matthew 19:4-6).
“Husbands,” says the apostle. Paul, love your wives, just as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for her... Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord, because the husband is the head of the wife, just as Christ is the head of the Church, and He is the Savior of the body” (Eph. 5 , 22-23, 25). The sacrament of marriage is not obligatory for everyone, but those who remain celibate are required to lead a virgin life, which, according to the teachings of Christ, is higher than marriage - one of the greatest feats.
What else do those wishing to get married in the Church need to know?
That the Sacrament of Marriage is not performed during fasts: Great (48 days before Easter), Assumption (August 14-28), Rozhdestven (November 28 - January 7), Petrovsky (from Sunday after Trinity, until July 12), on Christmastide (between and Epiphany - from January 7 to 19) and on Bright (Easter) Week, as well as on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday and on some other days of the year.
That marriage is a great Sacrament, and not just a beautiful rite, therefore one should treat it with the fear of God, so as not to desecrate the shrine through divorce. That in our state civil marriage is recognized as the main thing, why is it desirable to have a marriage certificate issued by the registry office to perform a church sacrament. That one of the parts of the Sacrament is the betrothal of the bride and groom, for which they must have wedding rings.
In the Sacrament of the Priesthood, a correctly chosen person through episcopal ordination (ordination in Greek) receives the grace of the Holy Spirit for the sanctified service of the Church of Christ.
There are three degrees of priesthood: deacon, presbyter (priest) and bishop (bishop). There are also names that do not denote a new degree, but only the highest honor: for example, a bishop can be elevated to archbishop, metropolitan and patriarch, a priest (priest) to an archpriest, a deacon to a protodeacon.
He who is ordained a deacon receives the grace to serve in the performance of the Sacraments, he who is ordained a priest receives the grace to perform the Sacraments, and he who is ordained a bishop receives not only the grace to perform the Sacraments, but also to consecrate others to perform the Sacraments.
The sacrament of the priesthood is a divine institution. The Holy Apostle Paul testifies that the Lord Jesus Christ Himself “ordained... others to be shepherds and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the Body of Christ” (Eph. 4:1-12). The Apostles, performing this Sacrament, elevated them to deacons, presbyters and bishops through the laying on of hands. In turn, the bishops they appointed consecrated those destined for sacred service. Thus, like fire from candle to candle, a succession of correctly ordained clergy has come down to us from apostolic times.
For people who have recently entered the Church, there is a whole problem - what to call them? Clergymen in the rank of deacon and presbyter are usually called “fathers” - by name: Father Alexander, Father Vladimir - or by position: Father Protodeacon, Father Housekeeper (in a monastery). There is also a special, affectionate address in the Russian language: father. Accordingly, the spouse is called “mother”. It is customary to address the bishop as follows: “Vladyka!” or “Your Eminence!” The Patriarch is called “Your Holiness!” Well, what about the clergy and church workers, ordinary parishioners? It is customary to address them like this: “brother”, “sister”. However, if a person in front of you is much older than you, it would not be a sin to say to him: “father” or “mother”; the same is addressed to monastics.
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The sacrament of unction, in which, when anointing a sick person with consecrated oil (oil), the grace of God is invoked on him for healing from physical and mental illnesses and the remission of sins forgotten without malicious intent.
The sacrament of unction is also called unction, because seven priests gather to perform it, although, if necessary, one priest can perform it. Unction takes its origins from the Holy Apostles. Having received from the Lord Jesus Christ the power to heal every disease, they anointed the sick with oil and healed them” (Mark 6:13). The apostle speaks in detail about this Sacrament. James: “If any of you is sick, let him call the elders of the Church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And prayer will heal the sick, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him” (James 5:14 – 15). Infants are not given unction, because they cannot consciously commit sins.
Previously, the blessing of oil was performed at the bedside of the sick, now - more often - in church, for many people at once. A small vessel with oil is placed in a dish with wheat (or other grains) as a sign of God’s mercy, to which, in imitation of the Good Samaritan in the Gospel and as a reminder of the shed Blood of Christ, red wine is added. Around the vessel, seven candles and seven sticks with cotton wool at the end are placed in wheat. All those present are holding lit candles in their hands. After special prayers, seven selected passages from the epistles of the apostles and seven gospel narratives are read. After each of them, with a prayer to the Lord - the Physician of our souls and bodies, the priest anoints the sick person’s forehead, cheeks, chest, and hands with a cross. After the seventh reading, he places the opened Gospel, like the healing hand of the Savior Himself, on the head of the sick and prays to God for the forgiveness of all their sins.
In any case, grace acts through the consecrated oil, but this effect is revealed, according to God’s vision, differently: some are completely healed, others receive relief, and in others the strength is awakened to endure the illness complacently. Forgiveness of sins, forgotten or unconscious, is granted to the one receiving the unction.
Chapters from the book (abbreviated)
“Handbook of an Orthodox person. Sacraments of the Orthodox Church"
(Danilovsky Blagovestnik, Moscow, 2007)
A sacrament (Greek mysterion - mystery, sacrament) is a sacred action through which the grace of the Holy Spirit, or the saving power of God, is secretly, invisibly given to a person.
In the broad sense of the word, everything performed in the Church is a Sacrament: “Everything in the Church is a holy sacrament. Every sacred ceremony is a holy sacrament. - even the most insignificant is deep and saving, like the mystery of the Church itself, for even the most “insignificant” sacred action in the Theanthropic organism of the Church is in an organic, living connection with the entire mystery of the Church and the God-Man Himself, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Archim. Justin (Popovich) ).
The sacraments are of divine origin, as they were established by our Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
The Holy Orthodox Church contains seven Sacraments: Baptism, Confirmation, Repentance, Communion, Marriage, Priesthood and Blessing of Anointing.
Three Sacraments are mentioned directly in the Gospel (Baptism, Communion and Repentance). Indications about the divine origin of other Sacraments can be found in the book of Acts, in the Apostolic Epistles, as well as in the works of the apostolic men and teachers of the Church of the first centuries of Christianity (St. Justin Martyr, St. Irenaeus of Lyons, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Tertullian, St. Cyprian and etc.).
In each Sacrament, a certain gift of grace is communicated to the Christian believer.
1. In the Sacrament of Baptism, a person is given grace that frees him from his previous sins and sanctifies him.
2. In the Sacrament of Confirmation, the believer, when parts of the body are anointed with Holy Chrism, is given grace, putting him on the path of spiritual life.
3. In the Sacrament of Repentance, the one who confesses his sins, with a visible expression of forgiveness from the priest, receives grace that frees him from sins.
4. In the Sacrament of Communion (Eucharist), the believer receives the grace of deification through union with Christ.
5. In the Sacrament of the Blessing of Unction, when the body is anointed with oil (oil), the sick person is given the grace of God, healing mental and physical infirmities.
6. In the Sacrament of Marriage, spouses are given grace that sanctifies their union (in the image of the spiritual union of Christ with the Church), as well as the birth and Christian upbringing of children.
7. In the Sacrament of the Priesthood, through the laying on of a hierarch (ordination), the rightly chosen one from among the believers is given the grace to perform the Sacraments and shepherd the flock of Christ.
The sacraments of the Orthodox Church are divided into:
1) non-repeatable - Baptism, Confirmation, Priesthood;
2) repeatable - Repentance, Communion, Blessing of Unction and, under certain conditions, Marriage.
In addition, the Sacraments are divided into two more categories:
1) obligatory for all Christians - Baptism, Confirmation, Repentance, Communion and Blessing of Anointing;
2) optional for everyone - Marriage and Priesthood.
Performers of the Sacraments. It is obvious from the very definition of the Sacrament that the “invisible grace of God” can only be given by the Lord. Therefore, speaking of everyone
Sacraments, it is necessary to recognize that their Performer is God. But the co-workers of the Lord, the people to whom He Himself has granted the right to perform the Sacraments, are the bishops and priests of the Orthodox Church.
Sacrament of Baptism
The very first of the Christian sacraments, it marks the believer’s entry into the Church of Christ, cleansing from sins and rebirth to a spiritual, grace-filled life.
The sacrament of Baptism is such a sacred act in which a believer in Christ, through three times immersion of the body in water, with the invocation of the name of the Most Holy Trinity - the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, is washed from original sin, as well as from all the sins committed by him before Baptism , is reborn by the grace of the Holy Spirit into a new spiritual life (spiritually born) and becomes a member of the Church, i.e. blessed Kingdom of Christ.
The Sacrament of Baptism was established by our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. He sanctified Baptism by His own example, being baptized by John. Then, after His resurrection, He gave the apostles the command: “Go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19).
Baptism is necessary for everyone who wishes to be a member of the Church of Christ.
“Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God,” said the Lord Himself (John 3:5).
Faith and repentance are required to receive Baptism.
During the celebration of the Sacrament, the priest places the person being baptized facing east and says prayers that drive away the devil.
Turning to the west, the catechumen renounces Satan and all his works.
After renunciation, he again faces the east and three times expresses his desire to unite with Christ, to live according to the law of God, expressed in St. Gospel and other sacred Christian books, and pronounces the confession of faith (Creed).
The Creed only mentions Baptism, because it is, as it were, the door to the Church of Christ. Only those who have received Baptism can use other sacraments.
However, at the time of drawing up the Creed, there were disputes and doubts: whether some people, such as heretics, should not be baptized a second time when they return to the Church. The Ecumenical Council indicated that Baptism can be performed on a person only once. That is why it is said, “I confess one Baptism.”
In addition, Baptism is a spiritual birth, and if a person is born once, then the Sacrament of Baptism is performed on a person once. One Lord, one faith, one baptism (Eph. 4:4).
Then the priest censes the font with three lit candles, hands the candles to the recipients and blesses the water. After the blessing of the water, the oil is blessed. The sign of the cross is made with oil over the water, as a symbol of reconciliation with God. After which the priest depicts the sign of the cross on the forehead, ears, arms, legs, chest and shoulders of the person being baptized and immerses him three times in the font.
After the font, the baptized person dresses in white clothes, which are usually preserved throughout life as a relic. The white robe worn by the baptized person signifies the purity of his soul from sins received through holy baptism.
The cross placed by the priest on the baptized person indicates that he, as a follower of Christ, must patiently endure the sorrows that the Lord pleases to assign him to test faith, hope and love.
Circling the baptized person three times with a lighted candle around the font is done as a sign of the spiritual joy he feels from uniting with Christ for eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Cutting the hair of a newly baptized person means that from the time of baptism he has become a servant of Christ. This custom was taken from the custom in ancient times of cutting the hair of slaves as a sign of their slavery.
Infants, just like adults, are involved in original sin and need to be cleansed from it.
The Lord Himself said: “Let the children come to Me and do not forbid them, for to such is the Kingdom of God” (Luke 18:16).
The basis for Infant Baptism is that Baptism replaced the Old Testament circumcision, which was performed on eight-day-old infants (Christian Baptism is called circumcision without hands (Col. 2:11)); and the apostles performed baptism over entire families, which undoubtedly included children.
The Orthodox Church baptizes infants according to the faith of their parents and adopters. This is why there are recipients at Baptism, in order to vouch before the Church for the faith of the person being baptized. They are obliged to teach him faith and make sure that their godson becomes a true Christian. This is the sacred duty of the recipients, and they sin gravely if they neglect this duty.
The fact that gifts of grace are given through the faith of others is given to us in the Gospel during the healing of the paralytic: “Jesus, seeing the faith of them (who brought the sick man), says to the paralytic: child! Your sins are forgiven you” (Mark 2:5).
The traditions of the ancient church are preserved in Orthodoxy today. Baptism takes place in the temple (in special cases it is allowed to perform the ceremony in the house). Adults are baptized after instruction in the faith (civic conversations). The announcement is also made at the baptism of infants, and the recipients act as guarantors for their faith.
In case of mortal danger, the ritual is performed in a reduced order. If there is a danger of the baby's death, baptism is allowed to be performed by a layman. In this case, it consists of immersing the baby in water three times with the words “The servant of God is baptized in the name of the Father Amen, and the Son Amen, and the Holy Spirit Amen.”
The baby's name is left to his parents to choose, while adults choose it for themselves. If such a right is granted to a priest, then, as a rule, the name of the saint closest in time to the celebration after the birthday of the person being baptized is chosen.
Sacrament of Confirmation
Confirmation is a Sacrament in which the believer is given the gifts of the Holy Spirit, strengthening him in the spiritual Christian life. This sacrament is performed immediately after baptism. The right to perform confirmation belongs only to bishops and priests. Separately from baptism, it is performed during the anointing of kings as kings, as well as in cases when non-Christians who were baptized according to a rite corresponding to the rules of the Orthodox Church, but were not anointed, join Orthodoxy.
Confirmation after baptism occurs as follows.
After dressing the baptized person in white robes, the priest says a prayer in which he asks God to grant the new member of the church the seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit, and applies the signs of the cross with chrism on his forehead, eyes, nostrils, ears, chest, hands and feet, saying the words: “Seal of the gift Holy Spirit. Amen.” Then the presbyter and the newly baptized together walk around the font three times with candles in their hands while singing the verse: “As many as were baptized into Christ, put on Christ.” This ritual symbolizes the baptized person's entry into eternal union with Christ. This is followed by the reading of the Apostle and the Gospel, after which ablution occurs. Having soaked his lip in warm water, the priest wipes the places that were anointed with myrrh, with the words: “You were baptized, you were enlightened, you were anointed with myrrh...” When performing the Sacraments, the believer is anointed with a cross: the forehead, eyes, ears, mouth, chest, hands and feet of the saints peace -
Grace of the Saint. The Spirit imparted in the sacrament of anointing gives the Christian strength to perform good deeds and Christian deeds.
The Apostle Paul says: “He who established you and me in Christ and anointed us is God, who sealed us and gave the deposit of the Spirit into our hearts” (2 Cor. 1:21-22).
The gracious gifts of the Holy Spirit are necessary for every believer in Christ
At the end of the first century, the Sacrament of Confirmation began to be performed through anointing with holy chrism, following the example of the Old Testament church.
Holy myrrh is a specially prepared composition of several aromatic liquids mixed with fragrant substances, consecrated exclusively by bishops during the liturgy on Thursday of Holy Week: In Russia, Holy Myrrh is prepared in Moscow and Kyiv. From these two places it is sent to all Russian Orthodox churches.
This sacrament is not repeated over Christians. At the coronation, Russian kings and queens were anointed with holy myrrh not in the sense of repeating this sacrament, but in order to impart to them the deep grace of the Holy Spirit, necessary for carrying out the extremely important royal service to the fatherland and the Orthodox Church.
Some call the Sacrament of Confirmation “the Pentecost (descent of the Holy Spirit) of every Christian.”
In this sacrament, believers receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit, giving them the strength to be firm in the Orthodox faith and maintain the purity of their souls.
Sacrament of Penance
Repentance is a Sacrament in which the believer confesses (orally reveals) his sins to God in the presence of a priest and through the priest receives forgiveness of sins from the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
Jesus Christ gave to the holy apostles, and through them, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, to all priests the power to resolve (forgive) sins: “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive, they will be forgiven; on whomever you leave it, it will remain on him” (John 20:22-23).
Even John the Baptist, preparing people to accept the Savior, preached “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins... And everyone was baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins” (Mark 1:4-5).
The holy apostles, having received authority to do this from the Lord, performed the Sacrament of Repentance, “and many of those who believed came, confessing and revealing their deeds” (Acts 19:18).
The Sacrament of Repentance is performed at confession. To make it easier for someone who wants to repent during confession to remember his sins, the Church assigns him a fast, i.e. fasting, prayer and solitude. These tools help Christians think about and sincerely repent of all voluntary and involuntary sins.
To receive forgiveness (resolution) of sins from the confessor (repentant), the following is required: reconciliation with all neighbors, sincere contrition for sins and verbal confession of them before the priest, a firm intention to correct one’s life, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and hope in His mercy.
Christ, seeing that a person asks Him for mercy, grants him through the priest not only remission of sins, but justification and sanctification. Sin is completely erased and disappears.
In special cases, penance (the Greek word means “prohibition”) is imposed on the penitent, which prescribes certain deprivations aimed at overcoming sinful habits and the performance of certain pious deeds.
Confess before receiving the saints. The Mysteries of the Body and Blood of Christ are prescribed by the statutes of the Orthodox Church from the age of seven, when we develop consciousness and with it responsibility for our deeds before God.
The cross and the Gospel during confession signify the invisible presence of the Savior Himself. The placing of the epitrachelion on the penitent by the priest is the return of God’s mercy to the penitent. He is accepted under the grace-filled protection of the Church and joins the faithful children of Christ.
During his repentance, King David wrote a repentant prayer-song (Psalm 50), which is an example of repentance and begins with these words: “Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your great mercy, and according to the multitude of Your compassions blot out my iniquities. Wash Me from my iniquity many times, and cleanse me from my sin.”
God will not allow a repentant sinner to perish.
Sacrament of Communion
Communion is a Sacrament in which a believer (Orthodox Christian), under the guise of bread and wine, receives (eats) the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and through this is mysteriously united with Christ and becomes a partaker of eternal life.
The Sacrament of Holy Communion was established by our Lord Jesus Christ Himself during the Last Last Supper, on the eve of His suffering and death. He Himself performed this Sacrament: “Taking bread and thanking (God the Father for all His mercies to the human race), he broke it and gave it to the disciples, saying: Take, eat: this is My Body, which is given for you; Do this in remembrance of Me.” Also, taking the cup and giving thanks, he gave it to them, saying: “Drink from it, all of you; for this is My Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for you and for many for the remission of sins. Do this in remembrance of Me” (Matthew 26:26-28; Mark 14:22-24; Luke 22:19-24; 1 Cor. 11:23-25).
Thus, Jesus Christ, having established the Sacrament of Communion, commanded his disciples to always perform it: “Do this in remembrance of Me.”
In a conversation with the people, Jesus Christ said: “Unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink His Blood, you will not have life in you. He who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For My Flesh is truly food, and My Blood is truly drink. He who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood abides in Me, and I in him” (John 6:53-56).
According to the commandment of Christ, the Sacrament of Communion is constantly celebrated in the Church of Christ and will be celebrated until the end of the century during a divine service called the Liturgy, during which bread and wine, by the power and action of the Holy Spirit, are transformed or transubstantiated into the true body and true blood of Christ. Every liturgy is a repetition of the Last Supper
The bread for Communion is used alone, since all believers in Christ constitute one His body, the head of which is Christ Himself. “There is one bread, and we, many, are one body; for we all partake of one bread,” says the Apostle Paul (1 Cor. 10:17).
When the time comes for receiving the Holy Mysteries of Christ, a Christian must decently approach the Holy Chalice, bow one day to the ground to Christ, who is truly present in the mysteries under the guise of bread and wine, fold his hands crosswise on his chest, open his mouth expansively so as to freely accept the gifts and so as not to fall a piece of the Holy Body and a drop of the Pure Blood of the Lord.
Upon receiving the Holy Mysteries, the Church commands the communicant to kiss the edge of the Holy Chalice, like the very side of Christ, from which blood and water flowed. Following this, the communicants are not allowed to bow to the ground for the sake of protection and honor of the received Holy Mysteries until the holy antidoron, or part of the consecrated prosphora, is received and grateful prayers to the Lord are heard.
The first Christians took communion every Sunday, but now not everyone has such purity of life to take communion so often. However, the Holy Church commands us to take communion every fast and no less than once a year. [According to the canons of the Church, a person who, without a good reason, missed three Sundays in a row without participating in the Eucharist, i.e. without Communion, thereby placing himself outside the Church (21st canon of the Elvira, 12th canon of the Sardician and 80th canon of the Trullo Councils).]
Christians must prepare themselves for the Sacrament of Holy Communion by fasting, which consists of fasting, prayer, reconciliation with everyone, and then confession, i.e. cleansing your conscience in the Sacrament of Repentance.
The Sacrament of Holy Communion in Greek is called Eucharist, which means “thanksgiving.”
Sacrament of Marriage
Marriage is a Sacrament in which, with the free (before the priest and the Church) promise by the bride and groom of mutual fidelity to each other, their marital union is blessed, in the image of the spiritual union of Christ with the Church, and grace is asked and given
God for mutual help and unanimity and for the blessed birth and Christian upbringing of children.
Marriage was established by God Himself in heaven. After the creation of Adam and Eve, God blessed them, and God said to them: be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it (Gen. 1:28).
Jesus Christ sanctified Marriage by His presence at the wedding in Cana of Galilee and confirmed its divine institution, saying: He who created (God) in the beginning created man and woman (Gen. 1:27). And he said: For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh (Gen. 2:24), so that they are no longer two, but one flesh. So, what God has joined together, let no man separate (Matt. 19:6).
The Holy Apostle Paul says: This mystery is great; I speak in relation to Christ and to the Church (Eph. 5:32).
The union of Jesus Christ with the Church is based on the love of Christ for the Church and on the complete devotion of the Church to the will of Christ. Hence, the husband is obliged to selflessly love his wife, and the wife is obliged to voluntarily, i.e. lovingly, obey your husband.
Husbands, says the Apostle Paul, love your wives, just as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for her... he who loves his wife loves himself (Eph. 5:25, 28). Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord, because the husband is the head of the wife, just as Christ is the head of the Church, and He is the Savior of the body (Eph. 5:2223).
Therefore, spouses (husband and wife) are obliged to maintain mutual love and respect, mutual devotion and fidelity throughout their lives.
This sacrament is certainly performed in the temple of God. At the same time, the newlyweds are betrothed to each other three times with rings and are surrounded by the saints of the cross and the Gospel (based on analogies), as a sign of mutual, everlasting and inextricable love for each other.
Crowns are placed on the bride and groom both as a reward for their honest life before marriage, and as a sign that through marriage they become the ancestors of new offspring, according to the ancient name, princes of the future generation.
A common cup of red grape wine is served to the newlyweds as a sign that from the day they are blessed by the Holy Church they should have a common life, the same desires, joys and sorrows. Marriage should be entered into either by mutual consent of the bride and groom, or with the blessing of the parents, since the blessing of the father and mother, according to the teaching of the word of God, confirms the foundation of houses.
A good Christian family life is a source of personal and social good.
The family is the foundation of the Church of Christ.
Being in Marriage is not necessary for everyone, but persons who voluntarily remain single are obliged to lead a pure, immaculate and virginal life, which, according to the teaching of the Word of God, is one of the greatest feats (Matt. 19:11-12; 1 Cor. 7:8 , 9, 26, 32, 34, 37, 40, etc.). An example of this is John the Baptist, the Blessed Virgin Mary and other holy virgins.
Divorce between husband and wife is condemned by the teachings of the Savior.
Sacrament of Priesthood
The priesthood is a Sacrament in which, through episcopal ordination, an elected person (as a bishop, or presbyter, or deacon) receives the grace of the Holy Spirit for the sacred service of the Church of Christ.
This Sacrament is performed only on persons elected and ordained clergy. There are three degrees of priesthood: deacon, presbyter (priest) and bishop (bishop).
Anyone ordained as a deacon receives the grace to serve in the celebration of the sacraments.
Anyone ordained as a priest (presbyter) receives the grace to perform the sacraments.
He who is ordained a bishop (bishop) receives the grace not only to perform the sacraments, but also to consecrate others to perform the sacraments.
The Sacrament of the Priesthood is a divine institution. The Holy Apostle Paul testifies that the Lord Jesus Christ Himself made some apostles, others
prophets, some evangelists, others shepherds and teachers, for the equipping of the saints, for the work of ministry, for the building up of the Body of Christ (Eph. 4:11-12).
The Apostles, according to the instructions of the Holy Spirit, performing this Sacrament, through the laying on of hands, elevated them to deacons, presbyters and bishops.
The election and ordination of the first deacons by the holy apostles themselves is spoken of in the book of the Acts of the Apostles: they were placed before the apostles, and these (the apostles), having prayed, laid their hands on them (Acts 6:6).
About the ordination of elders it is said: having ordained elders for each church, they (the apostles Paul and Barnabas) prayed with fasting and commended them to the Lord in whom they believed (Acts 14:23).
In the letters to Timothy and Titus, whom the Apostle Paul appointed as bishops, it is said: I remind you (Bishop Timothy) to warm up the Gift of God, which is in you through my ordination (2 Tim. 1:6). For this reason I left you (Bishop Titus) in Crete, so that you would complete what was unfinished and install presbyters in all the cities, as I ordered you (Titus 1:5). Addressing Timothy, the Apostle Paul says: Lay your hands hastily on anyone, and do not become a participant in the sins of others. Keep yourself clean (1 Tim. 5:22). Accept no accusation against an elder except in the presence of two or three witnesses (Tim. 5:19).
From these letters we see that the apostles gave bishops the power to consecrate elders through the laying on of hands and to judge elders, deacons and clergy.
About the clergy, the Apostle Paul writes in his letter to Bishop Timothy: The bishop must be blameless... Deacons must also be honest (1 Tim. 3, 2, 8).
Sacrament of Anointing
Blessing of oil is a Sacrament in which, when anointing a sick person with consecrated oil (oil), the grace of God is called upon the sick person to heal him from bodily and mental illnesses (in all weeks, except the first and last, of Great Lent, and over all who wish to cleanse the soul from sin . - Ed.).
The Sacrament of Anointing is also called Unction, because several priests gather to perform it, although, if necessary, one priest can perform it.
This Sacrament originates from the apostles. Having received from the Lord Jesus Christ the power to heal all illness and disease during preaching, they anointed many sick people with oil and healed them (Mark 6:13).
The Apostle James speaks in particular detail about this Sacrament: Is any of you sick, let him call the elders of the Church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will heal the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, they will forgive him (James 5:14-15).
The holy apostles did not preach anything on their own, but taught only what the Lord commanded them and inspired them with the Holy Spirit. The Apostle Paul says: I declare to you, brethren, that the gospel which I preached is not that of men, for I also received it and learned it, not from man, but through the revelation of Jesus Christ (Gal. 1:11-12).
The Blessing of Unction is not performed on infants, because an infant cannot consciously commit sins.
The problem of the specificity of a woman in her social existence, opportunity and ability to self-realize in the social continuum has long been the object of consideration by representatives of various humanities and social sciences. Particular attention was paid to women's attitude to the sacred, to religion as a part of social life and individual experience of worldview. Sociological studies in recent years have repeatedly confirmed the thesis about the high religiosity of women (FOM 2004, ROMIR Monitoring 2004), which has traditionally been explained by its special psycho-emotional and physiological state. It is the high level of intensity of a woman’s religious experiences that is now the object of close attention of representatives of various scientific directions and schools.
The whole variety of perspectives, topics and approaches, in our opinion, should be divided initially into two groups - supporters of the feminist approach in the analysis of any problems related to gender, and, so to speak, gender-uninterested researchers.
Both of them recognize the specificity of the religious experience of the female half of humanity, but the first place emphasis directly on how much the feminine principle has been deformed under the influence of “patriarchal” religions. Accordingly, social strategies of behavior are considered as forcibly arising from a religious system that has a violent nature. This direction includes M. Dali, J. Plaskov, R. Shop, Y. Kristeva, S. Griffin, A. Rich, R. Ruscher, L. Irigaray and others.
It is noteworthy that the first supporters of the “new” feminine theology did not strive to go beyond the boundaries of the Christian worldview, if only because they were graduates of theological faculties of Catholic universities. K. Boressen, R. Ruether, L. Russell, R. Haughton argued that feminist theology “should reveal the true meaning of the Christian faith, to which a person strives, but is not able to penetrate it on his own, that is, help a person free himself from personal moral and social evil."
L. Russell proposes to reinterpret the Bible, focusing on the moral teachings of Christianity and the idea of universal equality it promotes. As a result, a “world commune” must be created in which “social, national-ethnic and sexist barriers will be destroyed, the isolation of religions will be overcome, and the openness of all people to God will be realized.” The more radical wing - T. Rozzak, I. Ilyich, M. Daly - are already proposing to abandon patriarchal religion as a whole as damaging to human culture.
A striking example of such an approach in the domestic feminist movement is the position of V. Sukovataya. The author’s above provisions are developed not only visually, but also emotionally. She writes that “traditional religions neutralize women’s experience of Faith and women’s needs for religious self-expression. In each of the world or national religions, to this day, a whole system of views is preserved that belittles the role of the Feminine: from menstrual taboos, according to which a woman is considered “unclean” on certain days (even to the point that she is expelled to a special hut - in archaic societies, or not allowed into the church - in Christianity) to verbal invective about the sinfulness and “secondary nature” of a woman (due to her “origin” from the rib of Adam), prohibitions on women studying sacred texts, teaching theology and conducting services. Interpretation of the Female Body as a “vessel of sin” carried out by as if in contrast to male “purity”, not only alienates a woman from the legal channels of spirituality, but also potentially justifies the unspoken policy of female “victimization” existing in society, which Mary. Dali, a classic of American feminism, called it a “sado-masochistic ritual.” The symbolism of such “ cultural“sado-masochism”, established on the basis of religious imperatives, was embodied for many centuries by Indian sati, African clitorectomy, Chinese foot mutilation, Japanese breast constriction, etc.”
Even a superficial reading of the text confirms that the researcher herself is not a qualified specialist in the field of religious teachings and practices. The article lacks a separation of mythological and religious systems, as well as attempts at a hermeneutic, understanding consideration of the described phenomena. A deep acquaintance with the theological tradition of world religions apparently also remains beyond the interests of the author. The idea of cult practices and their symbolic meaning for feminism is formed on the basis of popular ideas and purely external actions: “Hinduism clearly formulates the purpose of a woman, as a wife and mother, who does not even have the right to study the Vedas, whose main virtue is unconditional submission to her husband.”
The next premise is an indication of the fact that initially in many religious systems the function of women was no less significant than the strong half of humanity: “At the same time, religious history itself contains indications that among the first Christians women occupied a significant place, so in subjects of the Holy Scriptures included, for example, Mary Magdalene, who, as all four evangelists narrate, became one of the most devoted followers of Christ. It was to her that he first appeared after the resurrection (Mt 27:28; Mk 15:16; Lk 8:24; Jn 19:20). Another Mary, the wife of Cleopas and the mother of James, was present at the resurrection of Christ (Mt 27:28; Mk 15:16). And after being rescued from prison, Peter comes to Mary, the mother of John, and finds people praying for him, which is a description of one of the first prayer meetings recorded in the text (Luke 24; John 19; Acts 12). Another woman known from the Bible is Lydia, a merchant of scarlet garments, according to the concepts of that time, rich businesswoman, independently conducting trading business after the death of her husband. She is baptized by Paul and becomes the head of one of the first in Europe of Christian communities (Acts 16:40).
It is well known that women played an important role in the first stages of the formation of Islam, as evidenced by the creation of the cult of Muhammad’s closest companions: Amina, his mother and Fatima, his beloved daughter, and in classical Arabic literature the image of “ heroic women,” who participates in battles and the political life of the state on an equal basis with her husband and other men. However, modern Muslim women are deprived of the opportunity to participate in spiritual self-expression on an equal basis with men.
It is known how great the role of Jewish women was in the salvation of the Jewish people and the preservation of Jewish spirituality during the period of more than two thousand years of dispersal of Jews around the world. Miriam, who is mentioned in the Old Testament, is known for being at the forefront of the liberation of the Jews from four hundred years of Egyptian captivity, being a prophetess and leading women across the dry bottom during their passage through the Red Sea. She is also spoken of as a performer of the most ancient national anthems, for example, the hymn “Sing to the Lord!” (Ex. 15.2; Num. 12, 10, 20, 26; Deut. 24, Mic. 6).”
The author combines criticism of the “sexist policy” of traditional belief systems with a description of those alternatives that, precisely in the religious aspect, were put forward by representatives of the feminist movement in the West. Examples of the movement of the religious system towards the interests of women were, first of all, the modernization movement that unfolded in the industrial era in most traditional beliefs: “The theological reform movement reached its greatest scope in the Christian world, which can be explained by the greater activity of public leaders and organizations in Western countries . A great and undoubted achievement of this advancement was the admission of women into the church hierarchy, although the number of women priests is far from proportional to the number of men in leadership.”
Next to the rather trivial characteristics of reformist movements, in our opinion, the description of the doctrinal system constructed by feminists themselves seems very revealing and informative. The new teaching is noteworthy already because it tries to incorporate what the supporters of feminism themselves consider to be the integral characteristics of the female worldview: “Since the middle of the 20th century, some of the most radically minded feminists, considering “soft”, gradual reforms unpromising, put forward the idea of creating their own , a “feminist religion” based on women’s experiences of Faith and Spirituality. Among its qualitative characteristics, one should highlight Integrity, Unity, Eco-consciousness, which are opposed to patriarchal (Christian) Dichotomism (Spirit and Body), Hierarchy (Rational and Emotional), and Phallocentrism. The concept of “feminist spirituality” unites theorists of matriarchal futurism, lesbian radicals, “goddess worshipers,” supporters of shamanism, mystical and witchcraft practices, in other words, any form of faith that can be adequate to female spirituality and bring harmony to the world.”
If you pay attention to those values that the author deduces as the highest - integrity, unity and eco-consciousness (hence - unity with the surrounding world), it becomes obvious that as an alternative to “repressive” traditional religions, a new mythology is proposed, the novelty of which, however, lies only in its relatively late time of occurrence. The mention of magical practices and the cult of the Great Goddess serves only as additional confirmation of this fact. Feminist ideologists do not pay attention to the fact that the mythological system they promote almost does not take into account the specifics of women as an individual and a social being. If we assume that the proposed qualities of the system are especially dear to women, we will have to admit that the latter are not at all interested in freedom of choice, self-determination, individuality and independence, which clearly contradict the slogans of the new “religion”. The actual religious component here can only include the concepts of “Spirituality and relationships with the higher “I”, which for many centuries were considered the prerogative of exclusively “male” consciousness.”
The next step of the representatives of the feminist movement was the development of an appropriate theological system that addresses the problem of a woman’s presence in the religious space: “The subject of feminist theology is the category of the Feminine in the field of religion, public theology, spiritual practices and rituals. Feminist theology studies gender stereotypes, gender ideals, gender hierarchies of social roles, presented in the discourse of traditional beliefs and religious philosophies, and its goal is to deconstruct gender inequality in the focus of religions from the perspective of feminist criticism and theory of power. Thus, the methodology of feminist theology is based on modern concepts of post-structuralism, post-Lacanian psychoanalysis, “archeology of power”, linguistic criticism of meaning, post-feminist philosophies and revision of classical sources. Feminist authors consider what place sexuality and physicality occupy in the hierarchy of values of various religions, and to what extent this determines the categories of morality and standards of gender relations in everyday life.”
In part, such theology simultaneously acts as an ideology, but with its emphasis on the specifics of women’s worldview, it can serve as a source for the study of modern women’s religiosity. Here we can even talk about an unconventional version of the phenomenon under consideration as a concentrated expression of women’s religious experience, even if not related to well-known confessions. It is no coincidence that even the directions of this theology have varieties that make them similar to their Protestant counterparts:
“There are generally accepted four trends that are actively making themselves known in modern Western feminist theology. This: revisionist, reformist, revolutionary and rejectionist(“rejecting”, critical). Reformist feminist theology is based on a liberal critique of religious traditions and the structures of masculine-centered language used in the liturgy and other rituals of the church. The goal of the reformists is to eliminate the most odious images of sexism from church practices and correct interpretation of sacred texts from the standpoint of gender equality.
Reformist the direction in feminist theology tends to identify anti-patriarchal ideals, based on the foundations of the religions themselves; they demand a complete abandonment of sexist rituals and the removal of texts that contribute to the production and confirmation of stereotypes of gender inequality. Ideologists of this direction consider it necessary to include rituals in church services that reflect the “female” experience of spirituality, women’s ideas and practices of communication with the higher “I”. They focus on introducing women into the church hierarchy.
Representatives of Revolutionary Feminist Theology advocate limiting the influence of traditional religions and put forward the idea of building a “new, feminine spirituality,” which they often draw from a mixture of customs, which, in their opinion, most reflect the female experience of comprehending the Divine. For example, Charlene Spretnak characterizes “feminine spirituality” as “the internal unity of all forms of being.” Theorists of feminist religion oppose the Lord as a transcendental principle with feminine deities. According to Naomi Goldberg, classical Judaism and Christianity are not suitable for modern women, and therefore will be replaced by new images of religious expressiveness that reflect the specifics of female subjectivity. The ideas of “revolutionary feminist theology merge with the philosophy of ecofeminism, because The goddesses put forward to replace the historical forms of masculine deities do not oppose Nature, as an alternative member of the Nature-Culture binary, but seek to interact with “natural forces, recognizing them not as something to be conquered, but as another dimension of the self... Feminist spirituality is essentially an ecological form of worship.
"Rejecting" Feminist Theologians are the most radical in their views, as they believe that sexism, which permeates all religious practices of dress in the world, does not allow women to express their true spiritual self and therefore it is necessary to create completely new, alternative forms of faith and spiritual rituals, based on an understanding of the needs of the female spiritual development. The concept of “alternative religion” brings together “rejecting” theologians with utopian and lesbian philosophies of feminism, which also insist on the need to construct a special female space that opposes the metagalaxy of religious androcentrism. Ideologists of the “rejecting” variety of feminist theology practice the worship of unconventional, irrational creeds, among which rituals of revived witchcraft are widespread, in particular in its “northern” (runic) imagery, or the Afro-Caribbean (voodooist) tradition. Adherents of alternative religiosity believe that such forms of intuitive knowledge and spirituality as astrology, mantika, magic, mysticism, theosophy, anthroposophy, shamanism, are marginalized by official culture and, as it were, “erased” from the history of civilization as outdated “archaic” and “superstition” , in fact, embody the truly feminine essence, striving to preserve its own identity in the millstones of patriarchy. “Marginal” spheres of spirituality deconstruct the dichotomism inherent in male religions, including in their value system such priorities as Subjectivity, Intuition, Spontaneity, Corporality, etc.”
Such a lengthy quotation is given with the purpose of showing that the ideologists of feminism themselves, apparently without realizing it, confirm a return to the traditional version of the worldview. Theological constructs, like religious ones themselves, in feminism inherit archaic ways of perceiving the world, combining them with elements of a secular solution to the problem of the relationship to the sacred. It seems that such an approach in modern culture is not specifically feminine, but rather confirms the existence of certain universal cultural codes for the entire human community. The remythologization of mentality as a feature of culture at the present stage of development is in no way adjusted by gender parameters. Without wanting it themselves, feminists build a religious attitude similar to representatives of the male part of civilization.
However, representatives of feminist theology themselves, citing the opinion of the “revolutionary theologian” Charlotte Caron, identify ten main categories, which, in their opinion, describe the specifics of women’s religious experience and constitute the structure of theology itself:
- the use of women's cultural - social and biological experience of life as the central core of culture, as opposed to the male counterpart;
— consideration of patriarchy as the greatest evil in the civilizational aspect, repressing the feminine principle not only in the socio-cultural, but also in the spiritual sphere;
— criticism of the idea of a “general desire” that exists objectively, as a prejudice; emphasis on the individualistic basis in the formation of spiritual values and symbols of the subject; rejection of the hierarchical structure in the organization of society and the religious system, as well as the provisions on the presence in society of elite groups occupying a higher position in the soteriological aspect; development of the idea of the inseparable existence of all members of the human community;
- the idea of the equality of all individuals, regardless of gender, age, participation in government, ethnic and religious affiliation, sexual orientation, race, skin color and physical disabilities, with regard to free, full and public participation in the distribution of common goods and expressing one's own spiritual needs; here, a special emphasis - as opposed to patriarchal traditions - is placed on the fact that women also have the right to control their own lives, including the right to the integrity of the body and the autonomy of the spirit;
- the need to reform the church language, which should be used both during worship and in other types of pastoral practice, since the use of a “male” language as the language of God is absolutely unlawful, since perfect being has no gender, He is both “Creator”, “Father”, and “Mother” at the same time;
New theologians are confident that on the basis of the proposed provisions, various forms and ways of expressing female spirituality, traditionally rejected in the so-called “patriarchal” culture, will be fully realized. It is expected that such an approach will expand “the understanding of religiosity, putting forward religious tolerance and gender freedom as central concepts of public consciousness.” The antonym of expected religious tolerance is called the “sexist model”, which was formed as a result of the exaltation of the Christian ideal of the virgin conception and birth, “according to the condition” of which any physical, real, carnal conception and birth is declared “vicious” and “sinful”, thereby translating the ideal into the realm of male utopia and fantasy, and placing women in the position of “defilers of the ideal.”
Patriarchal religions are also credited with “imposing” on women the motive of suffering as the only possible path of redemption and reducing “the whole variety of female manifestations - destructive (Indian Durga) and creative (Egyptian Isis), mysterious and powerful (ancient Greek Hecate) and wise and fair (ancient Roman Minerva) , healing (Scandinavian Freya) and loving (African Oshun), virgin (Roman Vesta) and sensual (Asia Minor Ishtar) - only to two opposite principles: Eve (Lilith) and Mother – Theotokos.”
The proposed concept, in our opinion, is not so much a scientific judgment about female religiosity, but a source for the study of this phenomenon. Apart from protest statements and criticism of traditional religiosity in all its variants, feminist theology itself does not offer anything new in the development of theological concepts, including in the aspect of the role of women in the religious space. But thanks to such constructions, it is already possible to identify those features that relate directly to female religiosity as the subject of our research. The first feature that requires verification in sociological research can be considered a developed mythological worldview. Here it is worth adding emotionality, concrete thinking, and an ascriptive assessment of one’s own and the opposite sex.
The use of the feminist tradition in interpreting the peculiarities of a woman’s attitude to religion also makes sense because in domestic and foreign literature there is a relatively small amount of work devoted directly to gender religiosity, and even more so to its influence on the parameters of social behavior and attitudes. On the one hand, religious studies and the sociology of religion contain a significant array of texts that examine certain aspects of the position of women in the religious system, describing certain categories of believers (for example, iconographic female images, nuns, novices, representatives of communities of new religions, outstanding cultural figures, etc. or otherwise paying attention to matters of faith). Attention is also paid to those images and concepts that have developed within the framework of traditional and non-traditional religious systems and are devoted to gender issues. This kind of work is not always a text of a theoretical nature; often, instead of a scientific examination of the problem, interviews with pastors of individual faiths are offered, which somewhat affects the objectivity of the presentation.
Unfortunately, in Russian religious studies there is a certain predominance, however, quite understandable, in what specific phenomena are covered by the analysis. Thus, Orthodox themes are close to a very large group of scientists and theologians: Antonova O., Baidin V.V., Belova T.P., Bishop Vissarion, Father Vladimir, Velikanova T., Danilin Yu.I., Dobrotvorsky N.I., Korzun M.S., Elizarova T., Leshchenko V.Yu., Nadezhdin A., Nekhoroshkov M., Nosova G.A., Infantry G.I., Priklonsky I.I., Samarin D., Skachkova G.V. , Smolensky N., Snesareva S., Sokolov D., Strakhov N., Struve N.A., Tinyakova I.P., Flegontova S., Yakubovich V.S., Lebedev A.S. and Dolnakov P.I. There are works on the historical aspects of the image of a woman in religion - Dean E., Lentsevich O. Somewhat less attention is paid to the Old Believers, although currently ethnographic and sociological research is being conducted in the regions of their traditional residence: Vladyshevskaya T., Emelyanov A., Zenkovsky S., Nadezhdin A., Nikolsky I., Sadovaya O., Smirnov P., Shamaro A., Korovushkina I.
As for the so-called alternative religiosity and individual confessions, which are already considered to be rooted in tradition, here we have at our disposal not very numerous works by the bearers of the faith and scientists themselves (Inikova S.A. (Dukhobors), Klassen P.E (Mennonites) , Mitrokhin L.N., Balagushkin E.G., Gurevich P.S., Tkacheva A.A., Zabiyako A.Ya. (new religions)). In any case, most authors tend to pay attention to the peculiarities of the dogmatic side of the doctrine, the specifics of cult practice, and consideration of non-cult activities. To a greater extent, religiosity itself as a worldview parameter is paid attention to by specialists in new religions, since the fact of abandoning traditional faith is still a subject of quite acute interest among religious scholars and sociologists. However, in this aspect, religious attitudes are analyzed more often taking into account age rather than gender parameters, which also confirms the relevance of our research. The regional aspect is also rarely covered in scientific works.
However, it is worth noting that researchers in this area have covered and analyzed a significant amount of material, both narrative and obtained as a result of sociological surveys. The latter is especially valuable because it makes it possible to conduct diachronic research of a comparative nature. At the same time, the private nature of scientific works urgently requires further generalizations and reaching the fundamental level of socio-philosophical analysis of the phenomena under study. Combining a conscientious selection of facts with models verifiable in practice not only contributes to a deeper insight into the essence of the problem under study, but also makes it possible to predict the further development of the situation.
Recently, more and more monographs and articles have appeared devoted to the issues of the modern status of women in religious communities and the foundations on which the experience of relating to the sacred can be built. A small group of works by specialists in various fields - from psychologists to social philosophers - makes women's religiosity the subject of special research. It is worth noting that elements of this approach can be traced back in the domestic historiography of the Soviet period, despite the external dominance of ideologically based atheism, and, perhaps, thanks to the latter, since in the conditions of a totalitarian culture, external atheism compensated for some aspects of the secular worldview.
However, the presence of a number of works of this period devoted to the relationship between women and religion did not in any way determine their diversity, since the religious studies discourse itself was ideologically unified. The leading premise of all studies was the statement about the gradual elimination of religiosity in a socialist society, which is absolutely inconsistent with the current state of affairs. (The modification and transformation of attitudes towards the sacred in Soviet and post-Soviet societies will be discussed in the following chapters).
At the same time, Soviet researchers of this problem noted that women are much more likely than men to attend churches, belong to so-called sectarian communities and are subject to what for a long time in Russian religious studies was commonly called superstition - belief in witchcraft, fortune telling, and divination. , signs, fate, prophetic dreams, the evil eye, etc.. It is obvious that the presence of mythological thinking was present among the female part of the country's population, despite the developed system of public atheistic education. At the same time, the increased faith of Orthodox women in the magical power of rituals was also noted, which also confirms the thesis about the mythological nature of women’s attitude to religion: “In their opinion, going to church helps alleviate sorrows and endure adversity.” The confidence noted by the authors that religion brings happiness to family life - it makes the marriage stronger, the children healthier and happier - is also absolutely magical in nature. The conclusions obtained back in Soviet times that many believing women are attracted to the church by the aesthetic side of rituals are very valuable for us.
It is very important that the object of attention of Soviet specialists were also “sectarian” communities, and because of their alternative to Orthodoxy, which claims to be the status of a state religion, special attention was paid to the specificity of the faith and behavior of “sectarians”: “Among female sectarians... the faith is very widespread in the moral power of religion... This category of women believers is also characterized by blind faith in the holiness and infallibility of the Bible, the desire to be guided by it in any case...” Data of this kind make it possible to formulate studies that have chronological continuity and identify the dynamics of the religious consciousness of society.
In general, the religious concept of women is a priori regarded as incorrect, distorting the understanding of female nature (similar to the Orthodox teaching of John Chrysostom about “evil wives”). Only in relation to Catholicism is a reservation made that church leaders are ready to make minor concessions in understanding and realizing the status of women in religion. Religiosity itself was regarded as conditioned by the oppressed position of women in socio-economic terms, as well as by the presence of actual inequality in everyday life and at work. Coupled with personal dissatisfaction, all this together should give rise to a general feeling of inferiority, the impossibility of one’s own self-expression, which, provoked by the shortcomings of an atheistic upbringing, pushes one to turn to religion.
Currently, in the context of a religious renaissance, the situation has fundamentally changed. Religiosity is often referred to as an inherent human characteristic, traceable from the earliest stages of the history of civilization. In our opinion, two main tendencies and approaches to this phenomenon have emerged in the social sciences. One is the result of the active development of psychology as a relevant discipline for industrial and post-industrial societies. The emphasis, accordingly, is on the psychological characteristics of the female individual in combination with the processes of social adaptation and the formation of the axiological sphere. Within the boundaries of this approach, in our opinion, the religious as a phenomenon is subject to the specifics of the human psyche and is to some extent considered as its derivative. Without detracting from the merits of concepts of this kind, we note that religiosity as a phenomenon seems to us to have arisen and exist in the superposition of a number of ontological, individual-personal and sociological characteristics of a person.
Therefore, in terms of holistic perception of the phenomenon, a phenomenological approach with elements of gender analysis seems to be more preferable. We will return to the research methodology later, and here we will indicate some works that successfully illustrate the described principles of analysis. This is “Gender, Culture, Religion” by N.M. Gabrielyan, “Women’s religiosity: gender stereotypes, behavior patterns and communicative aspects” by L. A. Pautova, “Religious orientations of young Russians (Age and gender aspects of the problem)” by T. I. Varzanova.
In some ways, these texts inherit the traditions of the Soviet period of historiography, since they rely on rationally explainable reasons for the presence of the specificity of the female way of relating to the sacred, and again, psychological at the basis: “Increased female religiosity is due to the predominance in the consciousness of women of such qualities as intuition, imagery , emotionality, which makes them more receptive to religion, which reveals the sublime world of divine beings and phenomena, sacred history full of miracles. Men, to a greater extent than women, are characterized by rational logic and common sense, which cause distrust of religious information and promote a critical attitude towards symbols, images, and dogmas of religion.” Here we have a phenomenological approach, which considers the external side of the phenomenon in the context of the environment.
The main conclusions are drawn on the basis of quantitative methods of sociological analysis and also contain a statement about the greater mythological nature of women, as well as among researchers of the older generation. Most often, the following form of interpretation of the material is proposed: “As can be seen from the table, there are 1.5-2 times more girls who believe in witchcraft than boys, especially among 17-year-olds (61%:36%). We also note that almost two-thirds of girls (61%) declare faith in magic, witchcraft... Gender differences persist in relation to astrology. Thus, there were 1.5 times fewer boys who believed in predictions from the stars than girls, and in all age groups. There are 58% of 17-year-old girls who believe in horoscopes, which is 1.5 times more compared to adult girls and women, where their number is the same - 40% each.”
A detailed sociological survey, unfortunately, is rarely supplemented by qualitative and expert interviews, but, nevertheless, it allows one to draw interesting conclusions already at the level of primary data comparison: “it turned out that more than half of the girls believe in punishment for sins and almost equally in all age groups (54-57%), and boys - 1.5 times less than girls - only one third, and this belief decreases with age (from 38% among 17 and 24 year olds to 33% - among 31-year-olds). Thus, the gender factor has a greater influence on faith in God’s judgment than the age factor.” I would like to draw attention to the fact that religious terms here are not a guarantee of the presence of a religious attitude, but they clearly illustrate the gender specificity of ideological relations.
It is this kind of research that becomes the empirical and theoretical basis for the formation of not only the idea of religiosity as a phenomenon, but also the model of its changes in historical, gender and other aspects: “As a survey of young people showed, it is women who still constitute the “mass field of religiosity”, support and reserve of the church. Moreover, women have a special role in spreading religious experience. Often, without even realizing it, they are active conductors of religious knowledge and feelings at the level of interpersonal relationships, in the family, contributing to the preservation and transmission of religious traditions from generation to generation.”
The rest of the researchers announced as dealing with the problem of religiosity consider particular images or aspects of the question: Elizarova T., Meehan-Waters B., Smirnov A., Tregubov S., Trofimov A., Tultseva L.A., Shchapov Ya.N., therefore, their work can be used mainly as an empirical supplement or for verification.
Additional information about the problems associated with the study of female religiosity and the options for its manifestation is contained on the Internet, although in an insignificant amount. One of the attempts to create a Russian-language project dedicated to women’s religiosity was the portal “Woman in Religions” (http://woman.upelsinka.com), created in April 2003. In terms of the level of coverage of the problem and the degree of use of scientific materials, the resource stands out for the better in the Russian-language part of the network and may be of interest to researchers in various fields.
The materials described above, on the one hand, indicate the undoubted interest of researchers in the designated topic, and on the other hand, the presence of a significant number of gaps that require filling.
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For more details see: Vorobyova M.V. Women's religiosity on the Internet/ VI Congress of Ethnographers and Anthropologists of Russia, St. Petersburg, June 28-July 2, 2005: Abstracts of reports. – St. Petersburg, MAE RAS, 2005, pp. 391–392.
From the book: S. V. Ryazanova, A. V. Mikhaleva The phenomenon of female religiosity in post-Soviet society (regional cross-section). – Perm, 2011 (in print).
The study was carried out thanks to the financial support of the Russian Humanitarian Foundation, grant No. 07-03-82303 aU.