Confession and communion are sacraments that help to connect with God. In confession, we ask forgiveness for our sins. And communion is the acceptance of the Lord within oneself. Under the guise of bread and wine in the Chalice, we receive the body and blood of Christ.
These ordinances require some preparation. In the article, we will consider information on what prayers to read before confession and communion.
How and where to pray?
There is a home and church rite. On the eve of communion, it is extremely important to attend the evening service. Do not forget that the church day begins in the evening.
Reciting certain prayers at home:
- Canon to the Lord.
- Canon to the Most Holy Theotokos.
- Canon to the Guardian Angel.
- Following Holy Communion.
At the end of the article, a video with the text of the Combined Canon is presented to your attention. Such texts are very long and require perseverance, endurance and maximum concentration. It is worth knowing that they are quite easy to find. One has only to buy an Orthodox prayer book, the necessarytexts are presented in it.
Before confession
What prayer for confession and communion should be read? They are different, in fact. Before confession, the prayer of Simeon the New Theologian is read. We publish its text here:
God and Lord of all, every breath and soul who has power, alone heal me! Hear the prayer of me, the accursed one, and the serpent nestling in me, by the influx of the All-Holy and Life-Giving Spirit, consume it. And me, poor and naked of all virtues, at the feet of my holy father (spiritual) with tears, make me fall, and his holy soul to mercy, even have mercy on me, attract. And give, O Lord, in my heart humility and good thoughts, befitting a sinner who has agreed to repent of You; and may not in the end leave the one soul that was united with Thee and confessed Thee, and instead of the world chose and preferred Thee. Weigh, Lord, as if I want to be saved, even if my crafty custom is an obstacle: but it is possible for You, Master, the essence of the whole, if it is impossible the essence of a man. Amen.
What text to read before communion, consider below.
For general development
The prayers given in the article for communion and confession are not read by the laity. They are pronounced only by priests before the sacrament. At the end of it, a permissive prayer is also read. With her help, the priest forgives the sins of the penitent.
We emphasize again that these prayers areintroductory character. Texts that the priest reads during confession:
Prayer 1
Ah, the saving saving, and also your prophec, who has gone to his sin, who was gone, who was gone, who was gone, and the manassion in the repentance of the prayer, sama and your slave, are in the widespreadness. all that you have done, leave unrighteousness and transcend iniquity. Please, like Your majesty without application and Your mercy is immeasurable. If you see iniquity, who will stand? For you are the God of the repentant and we send glory to you, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and forever and ever. Amen.
Prayer 2
Behold, child, Christ stands invisibly, accepting your confession, do not be put to shame, be afraid below, and do not hide anything from me, but do not be afraid of all the fir-tree, thou hast made, and accept the abandonment of our Lord Jesus Christ. Behold, and His icon is before us, but I am just a witness, that I testify before Him all, if you say to me: if you hide something from me, it’s a pure sin. Listen carefully: because you came to the doctor's clinic, but you will not go away unhealed.
Prayer of Permissiveness
The Lord and our God, Jesus Christ, with the grace and bounties of His love of mankind, may your child (name) forgive all your sins. And azunworthy priest, by His authority given to me, I forgive and forgive you from all your sins, in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Preparing for communion
Before the Sacrament, fasting must be observed. Ideally, it lasts three days. At this time, a person refuses any gastronomic dishes. In addition, refraining from recreational activities is prescribed.
If a person who wants to take communion has not been in the church for a long time, does not observe one-day and multi-day fasts, the priest has the right to extend his fasting time before communion.
It must be taken into account that on the eve of the Sacrament it is necessary to fast from midnight. Fasting is strict, eating and drinking after this time is not allowed. In the morning before Communion, it is forbidden to eat food and drink water.
Before the Sacrament, you must go to confession. Cleanse your soul, pull out of it all the vile and shameful. There is no need to be ashamed of a priest. He is a witness of confession, a connecting thread between God and man.
Start of prayers
Prayers read before confession and communion are not always possible to see with your own eyes. In this case, you can pray while listening to the Rule. But this is an exception for sick people who cannot read it. He althy adult Christians independently choose the hour of the time to read the Rule for Communion.
Any prayer rule begins with the following texts:
Prayers of our holy fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us. Amen.
To the KingHeavenly, Comforter, Spirit of Truth, Who is everywhere and fills everything, Treasury of good things and Giver of life, come and dwell in us, and cleanse us from all filth, and save, O Blessed, our souls.
Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us. (Three times)
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and forever and forever and ever. Amen.
Most Holy Trinity, have mercy on us; Lord, cleanse our sins; Lord, forgive our iniquities; Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities, for Your name's sake.
God have mercy. (Three times)
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and forever and forever and ever. Amen.
Our Father Who art in heaven! Hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, as in heaven and on earth. Give us our daily bread today; and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
God have mercy. (12 times)
Come, let us worship the King our God. (Bow)
Come, let us worship and have Christ, our King God. (Bow)
Come, let us worship and have Christ Himself, the King and our God. (Bow)
When we approach the Chalice
At the Liturgy after the "Our Father" the Royal Doors are closed. And the preparation for communion begins. While prayers are being read for the laity, the priests commune in the altar. At this time, you do not need to walk around the temple, kissing the icons. It is advisable to stand and listen to prayers.
The Royal Doors opened, the priest comes out with the Chalice. He gives a cry: "With the fear of God andcome by faith."
People in the temple bow to the ground. And the priest begins to read the prayer. Every pious person should know its text.
I believe, Lord, and I confess that You are truly the Christ, the Son of the Living God, who came into the sinful world to save. From them, the first is az. I also believe that this is Your Most Pure Body. And this eats Your Most Honorable Blood. I pray to Thee: have mercy on me. And forgive me all my sins. Even in word, even in deed, even in knowledge or ignorance. And vouchsafe me to partake of Your Most Pure Mysteries without condemnation. For the remission of sins and eternal life. Amen.
And the second prayer read by the priest. And believers repeat it mentally:
Your Secret Supper, today, Son of God, accept me as a communicant / communicant. We will not tell a secret to Your enemy. Do not kiss the ladies, like Judas. But like a thief I confess Thee: remember me, Lord, in Thy kingdom.
After reading the prayers, the person folds his arms crosswise on his chest. The right wrist is placed on the left. Approaching the Chalice, you do not need to be baptized. There is a risk of hitting it or knocking it over. Before the Chalice they call their full Christian name. Open your mouth wide, take communion. Then they kiss the edge of the Chalice and go to the table with a drink. Be sure to eat a piece of prosphora and drink warm water. Sometimes water comes with jam. This is done so that there is no sacrament left in the mouth.
After the Sacrament
What prayers are read before confession and communion, we found out. After communion, they also pray. Thank God for allowingstart the Mystery. Thanksgiving prayers are read in the temple. But you can also read them at home.
There are these prayers in every prayer book. But it is desirable to listen to them in the temple. Prayers are read as people approach the cross after the service.
An example of a thank you text is shown below:
I thank You, Lord my God, that You did not reject me, a sinner, but deigned me to partake of Your Holy Things. I thank You that You honored me, unworthy, to partake of Your most pure and heavenly Gifts.
But, Vladyka Lover of mankind, who died for us and rose again, and gave us these terrible and life-giving Your Sacraments for the good deed and sanctification of our souls and bodies, make them to me for the healing of soul and body, in reflection every enemy, into the enlightenment of the eyes of my heart, into the world of my spiritual strength, into firm faith, into unfeigned love, into the fulfillment of wisdom, into the observance of Thy commandments, into the multiplication of Thy divine grace and the acquisition of Thy Kingdom.
So that, preserved by them in Your sanctification, I always remember Your mercy and live no longer for myself, but for You, our Lord and Benefactor. And thus, leaving this life in the hope of eternal life, I reached the place of eternal rest, where the unceasing voice of those celebrating and the endless delight of those looking at the indescribable beauty of Your face.
For You are the true goal of striving and the inexplicable joy of those who love You, Christ our God, and all creation praises You forever. Amen.
Why pray?
Why do we say the communion prayer andconfessions? Is it really not enough that we keep fasting bodily and spiritually?
Of course, this is not enough. Fasting is more important to us than to God. When we abstain from something, we turn to ourselves. We begin to slightly open the long dried up sinful abscesses in our souls. It hurts to pick them open, but it's necessary.
And by prayer we ask God to allow us to take communion. The sacrament can be for judgment and condemnation, as we see in one of the prayers. When we are ill-prepared or not prepared at all, we approach the Sacrament with carelessness. Accordingly, we commune not into eternal life, but into condemnation. That is why it is necessary to prepare, to read prayers.
How to prepare for confession?
With the reading of the prayer for communion and confession, everything is clear. With preparation for the sacrament of Communion, too. How to prepare for confession?
Only introspection. Take a good look at your own thoughts and soul. Is there something pressing on the conscience? Such an inveterate thing that you don’t want to remember? Here it is and write it down on a piece of paper. Getting rid of old sins in the first place.
For penitents there are special books - hints. More precisely, brochures - tips. They are small and rather thin. Very good book "Experience of construction of a confession". It was compiled by Father John Krestyankin, who died in 2006. The text is written in easy language and makes you think about your life.
Summing up
We figured out the prayer for communion and confession. As promised above, we publish the combined canon koHoly Communion.
Now our readers know how to prepare for confession and communion. What prayers need to be subtracted, we examined. They also described in detail the rules of behavior in front of the Chalice.
