The prayer of purification, read by a clergyman over a person after any rite has been performed, is called permissive. It is believed in the Orthodox faith that permissive prayer cleanses the human soul, removes the burden of one's own sins, and delivers from "impurity". What does "uncleanness" mean in the church concept, we will explain below.
When is the permissive prayer read?
God, through the priest, forgives human sins through the "formula" of purification. This "formula" is the permissive prayer. It should be pronounced only in those cases when a believing Christian really realized his committed sins, mistakes and hated them. Only in that case a person cannot repent if this prayer is read at the funeral service. So when is the permissive prayer read?
In the Orthodox Church, there are only three cases when the forgiveness of sins occurs using permissive prayer:
- at the funeral service;
- afterchildbirth;
- after confession.
Permissive prayer at the funeral service
Everyone who considers himself a Christian must fulfill his religious duty and see his loved ones on his last journey with dignity. The church prays for the forgiveness of the sins of the dead not only at funeral services, memorial services. When a person is sent to eternity, the clergyman performs the funeral ceremony, then the burial takes place.
At the end of the funeral, the priest reads a permissive prayer. Its text is written on a sheet, which must be included in any burial set. After the prayer is read, it must be put into the right hand of the deceased.
In the text of such a prayer, petitions from all those who pray and on behalf of the priest for forgiveness of the deceased for his sins. This expresses the hope that the Lord will free, forgive a person from earthly sins and accept the deceased into paradise. In addition, the prayer asks to save the deceased from various curses that could be imposed on him by ill-wishers in life.
Thus, during the funeral ceremony, permissive prayer is a very important part of it. Priests call this prayer the main one for those who have departed to the other world. In the church, the permissive prayer is also called "roadway".
Pregnancy and childbirth
In the modern world, as before, a pregnant woman is treated with awe and love. They protect her, strive not to enter into conflicts, yield in everything. But herefor the temple and religion, a woman waiting for her child, and a young mother is a ban. To visit the church, a cleansing or permissive prayer of the mother after childbirth is necessarily read, a certain ritual is performed. Surprised? But it is so. Even when baptizing her baby, before going to the temple, a woman goes through a similar ceremony. Young Christian women who respect the laws of the church should not only use permissive prayer, but also perform a rite, which in modern times often contains various errors. To avoid them, contact the priest, he will explain what a woman needs to do after childbirth and what to do before the baby is baptized.
The impurity of a woman
According to the New Testament, a person can be defiled only by the soul, he cannot have physical impurity. But, unfortunately, this applies to men. A woman in Orthodoxy is subject to ritual physical impurity. We need to thank our progenitor Eve for this, who nevertheless succumbed to the tempting snake, and then “stealed” the forbidden apple to Adam.
- Impurity is "cyclic". On critical days, a woman is not allowed into the church. At this time, she is forbidden to touch the holy icons and take communion. As an exception, this is allowed to those who lie on their deathbed during such days.
- Ancestral impurity. For forty days after the release from the burden (that is, after childbirth), women are considered unclean. They should refrain from going to church. As in the first case, they are also forbidden to receive communion and touch the sacreditems.
Where did the concept of impurity come from in Christianity when it is necessary to read a permissive prayer after childbirth?
Orthodoxy borrowed the concept from Judaism. The book of Leviticus explains that a woman is unclean during her period and also for 40 days after giving birth. Prejudice against women in this matter is also evidenced by the fact that after the birth of a boy, a woman is unclean for 40 days, and if a girl is born, all 80. Due to the original sin of Eve, such discrimination persecutes women in Christianity.
The laws of temple attendance
Most young women cannot come to terms and understand why it is forbidden to enter the temple "unclean", as well as with a baby after childbirth. There are religious laws and reasons for this, which true Christians must observe. The bans go in the following order:
- Firstly, a woman after childbirth with bloody discharge is unclean. At this moment, her body and she herself are cleansed of the consequences of the dirt of sexual contacts, the Bible says so.
- Secondly, the great law - in the church it is a sin to shed blood in any form. Previously, there were no modern hygiene products, and there was a ban on visiting the temple.
- Thirdly, the he alth of a mother and her baby can be adversely affected by the accumulation of people in the church. This is especially true of epidemiological periods.
As can be seen from the above, not only religious reasons forbid attending church on such days. It is better to heed the advice to avoid problems.
Permissive prayer at confession
The sacrament of repentance is a church ritual in which a person confesses his sins before a priest and asks him to let them go. After the one-sided monologue of the penitent, the priest forgives all sins, an invisible forgiveness from God occurs. At its core, confession is hard spiritual work. A man bares his soul before a priest - "the servant of the Lord." How does repentance work?
- The priest says certain prayers that encourage the penitent to sincerely confess his sins.
- A person, kneeling before the lectern, where the Gospel lies, voices his sins as before the Lord.
- At the end of confession, the priest covers the head of the repentant with an epitrachelion (embroidered cloth).
- The permissive prayer of the sacrament of confession is read, thanks to which the priest in the name of Christ frees the repentant from his sins.
Repentance for sins helps to cleanse the soul of a person, due to this there is a rapprochement and reconciliation with the Lord.
