The Orthodox Church has established a tradition of performing many rituals that affect the life of a believer in different ways, but at the same time always establish his connection with God. Some of them came to us from biblical times and are mentioned in Holy Scripture, others are of later origin, but all of them, together with the holy sacraments, are integral parts of the common spiritual foundation of our faith.
The difference between rituals and sacraments
Before starting a conversation about what church rites are in Orthodoxy, it is necessary to emphasize their fundamental difference from other forms of sacred rites, which are called sacraments, and with which they are often confused. The Lord gave us 7 sacraments - these are baptism, repentance, chrismation, marriage, communion, anointing, priesthood. When they are performed, the believers are invisibly communicated the grace of God.
At the same time, the church rite is only a part of earthly reality, elevating the human spirit to the acceptance of the sacrament and directing his consciousness to the feat of faith. It should be remembered that all ritual forms receive their sacred significance solely due to the accompanyingprayer. It is only thanks to her that an action can become a sacrament, and an external process can turn into a ritual.
Types of Orthodox rites
With a high degree of conventionality, all Orthodox rites can be divided into three categories. The first includes liturgical rites, which are part of the general order of liturgical church life. Among them, the removal of the holy shroud, performed on Good Friday, the year-round blessing of water, as well as the blessing of artos (leavened bread) on Easter week, the church rite of anointing with oil, performed at matins, and a number of others.
The so-called worldly rites belong to the next category. These include the consecration of the home, various products, including seeds and seedlings. Then should be called the consecration of good undertakings, such as the beginning of fasting, traveling or building a house. This should also include church ceremonies for the deceased, which include a wide range of ceremonial and ritual actions.
And finally, the third category is the symbolic rites established in Orthodoxy to express certain religious ideas and are a symbol of the unity of man with God. In this case, a striking example is the sign of the cross. This is also a church rite, symbolizing the memory of the suffering suffered by the Savior, and at the same time serving as a reliable fence against the action of demonic forces.
Anointing of the Unction
Let's dwell on some common rituals. Anyone who has ever been to church at matins (the service held in the morning)became a witness, and perhaps a participant in the ceremony, in which the priest performs a cruciform anointing of the forehead of the believer with consecrated oil, called oil.
This church rite is called anointing with oil. It symbolizes God's mercy poured out on a person, and he came to us from the Old Testament times, when Moses bequeathed to anoint Aaron and all his descendants, the servants of the Jerusalem temple, with sacred oil. In the New Testament, the Apostle James, in his conciliar epistle, mentions his healing effect and says that this is a very important church rite.
Unction - what is it?
In order to prevent a possible mistake in understanding two sacred rites that have common features - the rite of anointing with oil and the sacrament of unction - some explanation is required. The fact is that each of them uses consecrated oil - oil. But if in the first case the priest's actions are purely symbolic, in the second they are aimed at calling God's grace.
According to this, the sacrament of unction is a more complex sacred action and is performed, according to church canons, by seven priests. Only in extreme cases is it allowed to be performed by one priest. The anointing with oil is performed seven times, while passages from the Gospel, chapters from the Epistle of the Apostles and special prayers intended for this occasion are read. At the same time, the church rite of chrismation, as mentioned above, consists only in the fact that the priest, blessing, applies the sign of the cross on the forehead with oil.believer.
Rites associated with the end of human life on earth
An important place is also occupied by the church rite of burial and subsequent commemoration of the dead. In Orthodoxy, this is of particular importance because of the importance of the moment when the human soul, having parted with mortal flesh, passes into eternity. Without touching on all its aspects, we will dwell only on the most significant points, among which the funeral service deserves special attention.
This funeral service can be performed over the deceased only once, in contrast to the memorial service, lithium, commemoration, etc. It consists in reading (singing) the established liturgical texts, and for lay people, monks, priests and their babies the order is different. The purpose of the funeral is to ask the Lord for forgiveness of sins to His newly-departed slave (slave) and to give peace to the soul that left the body.
In addition to the funeral service, the Orthodox tradition also provides for such an important ceremony as a memorial service. It is also a prayer chant, but it is much shorter in duration than the funeral service. It is customary to perform a memorial service on the 3rd, 9th and 40th day after the death, as well as on its anniversary, namesake and birthday of the deceased. When the body is taken out of the house, as well as during the church commemoration of the deceased, another rite of the funeral service is performed - lithium. It is somewhat shorter than the memorial service and also takes place in accordance with the established rules.
Consecration of dwellings, food and good undertakings
Consecration inOrthodox tradition refers to rituals, as a result of which God's blessing descends on a person and on everything that accompanies him in this earthly life. According to the teachings of the church, until the second coming of Christ, the enemy of the human race, the devil, will invisibly do his black work in the world around us. We are doomed to see the external manifestations of his activity everywhere. A person cannot resist him without the help of Heavenly forces.
That is why it is so important to cleanse our homes from the presence of dark forces with church rites, to prevent the evil one from entering us along with the food we eat, or to put invisible obstacles in the way of our good undertakings. However, it should be remembered that any rite, as well as a sacrament, acquires grace-filled power only under the condition of unswerving faith. To consecrate something, while doubting the effectiveness and strength of the rite, is an empty and even sinful act, to which the same enemy of the human race is invisibly pushing us.
Blessing of waters
It is impossible not to mention the rite of consecration of water. According to the established tradition, water blessing (water blessing) can be small and great. In the first case, it is performed many times during the year during prayers and at the sacrament of Baptism. In the second, this rite is performed once a year - during the feast of the Epiphany.
It was installed in memory of the greatest event described in the Gospel - the immersion of Jesus Christ in the waters of the Jordan, which became a prototype of the washing of all human sins, taking place in the holy font, opening to peoplethe path to the bosom of the Church of Christ.
How to confess to receive absolution?
Church repentance for sins, regardless of whether they were committed intentionally or out of ignorance, is called confession. Being a sacrament and not a rite, confession is not directly related to the topic of this article, and yet we will briefly dwell on it because of its extreme importance.
The Holy Church teaches that everyone going to confession must first of all be reconciled with his neighbors, if he had any strife with them. In addition, he must sincerely regret what he has done, otherwise how can he confess without feeling guilty? But even this is not enough. It is also important to have a firm intention to improve and continue to strive for a righteous life. The main foundation on which confession is built is faith in God's mercy and hope for His forgiveness.
Without this last and most important element, repentance itself is useless. An example of this is the gospel Judas, who repented that he had betrayed Jesus Christ, but strangled himself due to a lack of faith in His boundless mercy.
