What is the canon? Penitential canon before communion

Communion and confession carry with them the purification of the soul of man, the forgiveness of his sins. Sincerity, truthfulness, the desire to reform make these sacraments so simple and complex at the same time.

Simplicity consists in simple actions that most people can do. The difficulty is in avoiding a formal approach, in realizing one's sins, in wanting to receive forgiveness. This is a difficult internal work.

Prayer, canon before the Sacrament They are called upon to set up a person for spiritual work. The ability to forgive, understand and accept their mistakes, shame for them, the desire to change is not an easy path, at the end of which grace will condescend to the soul. And do not want to lie, anger, malice, envy anymore. Gradual purification of the soul will entail a change in life. There will be inner peace, pacification, a desire to understand and forgive other people.

What is the canon

The canon in Greek means "norm, rule". Has 2 meanings.

First. The canon is a set of rules of the Orthodox Church.

The second. Canon - a kind of poem, a hymn, which is pronounced for the glory of any holiday or saint. He came to replace kontakion in the VIII century. Contains 9 songs.

The canons are large and small. Devoted to the prophets, saints, martyrs. In addition, there is a canon before the Sacrament, canon On the sick, on the deceased.

There is a book "The Right Canons." It was written for the monks of the Old Believer monasteries in 1908. It has notes that will help you correctly read the canons at home. In the clues it is prescribed in which canon what song to read, with what chorus and how many times to alternate, when to bow.

How is the canon

The canon consists of 9 songs. The very first verse of each song is called irmos. All the following are called troparia. Before each of them, the chant corresponding to the canon is read. Depending on the gender of the reader, you should change the endings (for example, the sinner is a sinner).

Each canon contains 4 to 7 troparia. The second song is usually absent. It is pronounced only on certain holidays. At certain moments of reading, one should lay down earthly, belt-like obeisances or make throwings. The latter means that you should cross yourself and touch with the right hand of the floor.

Depending on the day of the week, the presence or absence of a church holiday in additions to the canon has its own notes. So, belt bows can be replaced with throwing. In the church calendar you can find the Charter of the bows for every day.

The Sacrament of Communion

Communion is the communion with God, the most important sacrament in the life of a Christian. This ritual can be performed once a year or more often. It is not the number of perfect Communions that is important here, but their sincerity.

For laymen, there are several rules before taking Communion.

• Observe the post.
• Read the prayers and canons before the communion.
• Obtain remission of sins on confession.
• Abstain from carnal relations.
• To do business of mercy.

The entire preparatory process takes 7 days. You should know that the same should be done. If the state of health does not allow you to fast for a week, then it can be limited to 3-5 days. In rare cases, a day is allowed.

The Canon before the Sacrament Read every evening. After him - prayers. In days of shit you should visit church services.

Who is not allowed to Communion

1. Women during menstruation.
2. Excommunicated from the Holy Mysteries.
3. Not going to confession.
4. Spouses who had sexual relations on the eve of the Sacrament.
5. Dead, insane, unconscious.

Children under 7 years are admitted to Communion without confession and fasting. In this case, a different, more simplified preparation is required. The behavior of parents is reflected in children. The child reproduces the attitude to the church, prayers, bad and good behavior in himself. Therefore, each family individually finds an approach in the preparation for the Sacrament.

Preparing for the Sacrament

Before the sacrament of Communion, one must pass through repentance. Recognizing your sins, comprehending them, receiving forgiveness is the first step to purifying the soul. Be sure to ask forgiveness from relatives before confession, they are familiar. Mentally remember all those who were offended.

Before confession, you can read the penitential canon. Prayer preparation will set the person to repentance. This is the ability to see, understand, recognize your sins and imperfections. Repentance cleanses a person from sins and filth. It is necessary sincere repentance of a man in all his unseemly deeds. And then the deliverance from these sins, the prevention of them in their lives, the struggle with them.

Canons before confession and Communion Carry with them only a temporary purification of the soul. The rest of the work a man must himself. Honesty before oneself, understanding of the slightest movements of the soul, awareness of mistakes, shame for them - this is the true essence of repentance.

Sacrament of Confession

Confession is not a lengthy discussion of one's sins. It does not lead to self-justification. This sincere repentance in their unworthy thoughts, feelings, actions. Therefore, confession is required before Communion. She prepares the soul with prayers, awareness of sinfulness, the need for forgiveness.

The Canon Before Communion Should also be read before confession. This is not a mechanical sounding of the text, but a purposeful preparation of the soul. That the confession did not become a formal ritual, but carried purification and forgiveness.

You do not need to conceal your sins before a clergyman. Only truth should sound in confession. Then the torments of conscience, remorse, shame will lead to a full awareness and desire to fight with their sins, to eradicate them.

Prayer preparation for confession will help to reconcile with relatives, acquaintances. He will eradicate callousness, narcissism. A person will want to change, become kinder.

The path to God can be long. One confession, one Communion will not make an indifferent person immediately attentive and positive. Most likely, through these sacraments will have to go through many times before the understanding of the essence of Orthodox rituals will come.

Canons before the sacrament

Communion is a personal affair of a person, his relationship with the Lord. Therefore, to read or not to read home prayers, canons - everyone decides independently. First of all, there must be a purification of the soul from sinful thoughts. You should not allow yourself to display signs of anger or aggression. Learn peace, patience, understanding.

During the prayer preparation for Communion, you can read three canons. They reflect the whole essence of the rite. It is the preparation of the body and soul for the acceptance of the Holy Mysteries. Therefore, one should purify the body by fasting. Soul - with prayers.

1. Penitential canon before communion To our Lord Jesus Christ.
2. Molebny canon on the Most Holy Theotokos.
3. Canon to the Angel of the Guardian before the communion.

The practice of reading canons before the Sacrament is not mandatory. Therefore, you should consult your confessor.

After three canons before the communion Will be announced, should be read Follow-up to Holy Communion. All this is read on the eve of the rite, after attending the evening service. Prayers for Holy Communion can be postponed in the morning. Read them right before the ritual.

The prayer rule before the Sacrament

The number of prayers, canons, akathists does not have clear limitations. In different cities, churches, monasteries, there are own rules. Therefore, one should turn to his confessor for guidance. It is obligatory to read the penitential canon and the Follow-up to Communion.

The prayer rule is not a violent decision. Each person individually decides what to read at home and how many times to go to church. However, a Christian should have a daily prayer rule. It can be changed in accordance with health, state of affairs, internal mood.

Before the communion one should get rid of temptation and read the canons and prayers every day. This should go down in tradition, but not become a formal template. Personal prayer preparation remains on the person's conscience. Do not overstrain yourself with countless repetition of canons. They carry enlightenment to the soul, when they are read sincerely, consciously. Monotonous repetition leads to a scholastic understanding of church rules.

The ability to delve into the essence of the Sacraments will allow you to consciously treat your transformation. If a person understands what he should change in himself, what to work on, then repentance and Communion will not become an empty sound and a standard ritual for him.

Looking for utility for the soul and body - that's what the prayer rule is for. Canons are easy to remember by heart. Therefore, they can be read and on the way to the temple, standing in traffic jams. The main thing is that they go from the heart.

At what time should you read the canons

There are no exact laws when one should read canons and prayers. At home, a person himself determines what time should be devoted to prayers, and what - to worldly affairs.

Canons before the sacrament You can read every night, but you can limit yourself to prayers alone. If a Christian genuinely wants to repent of his sins, then his preparation will be appropriate.

Canon before the communion, text It creates a certain state of mind. Makes a person more focused, collected. The canon concentrates on inner, mental work. The words uttered fill the heart with glee and the mind with sorrow for all human imperfections.

It is best to read the canons and subsequent prayers before going to bed. This will adjust the mind and soul to communicate with God. When all worldly affairs are finished, one should devote some time before bedtime prayers, summarizing the day. For some - to ask God's forgiveness, for others - to thank.

The penitential canon before communion will allow us to comprehend our thoughts, feelings, actions for the whole day. Only in the conditions of concentration on the desire to purify oneself, to be introduced to the Holy Mysteries, it is possible to receive the Highest Grace.

Combined canons before the sacrament

In the days of shit, prayers should be read more diligently than on ordinary days. This is the preparation of the soul for the meeting with the Holy Mysteries.

The canons are allowed to be read one by one each evening. Such prayer preparation must enter into the ritual of every Christian. On the eve of Communion, before midnight, it is recommended to voice the necessary three canons. They can be read one after another. And you can combine.

Connect 3 canons before the sacrament in this way:

• Irmos 1 song of the penitential canon;
• Troparion of the penitential canon;
• Troparia 1 song of the canon of the Theotokos, without the ismos;
• The troparion of the canon to the Angel of the Guardian, without the ismos.

You can read all the songs that follow, but in this case you should omit the troparia before the canons of the Theotokos and the Angel of the Guardian and the stichera after the canon of the Theotokos. In the Orthodox prayer book, you can find more detailed information on how it is possible to combine the canons.

How to read canons

During the shit, it is necessary to utter morning and evening prayers, canons. They create a calming mood. After reading the holy texts, negative emotions are pacified. A person is set up to communicate with God.

The right canons before the sacrament Read according to a certain scheme. It can be found in the Charter about reading the right canons. Daily humility, the utterance of prayers, prepares a Christian for the reception of the Sacrament, when in the form of wine and bread the Lord penetrates into the human body. By the arrival of such an expensive guest it is necessary to prepare. The body and soul must be cleansed of sinful thoughts and earthly excesses.

The canons read before the communion are not a formal prescription. Therefore, they should be read in a certain emotional state. Without anger and irritation, without extraneous thoughts and conversations. Only concentration, solitude and understanding of the text of prayers, canons will allow us to prepare competently for the Sacrament.

Behavior before the Sacrament

Before the Sacrament one should pacify greed, envy, renounce excesses, bad habits. Forget evil thoughts, greed, anger, rage. Try to forgive those who offended. Do not remember and do not keep negative manifestations in yourself. Ask forgiveness from friends and relatives. Feel within oneself humility, readiness for repentance.

More often to remain in solitude. Concentrate on prayers, fellowship with the Lord. Communion heals the souls of people. Hot-tempered and irritable people become kind and calm. Stubborn and indifferent become complaisant and attentive. Rough - polite. Lazy people are hardworking. People stop taking offense, swearing. Passes apathy and depression. The soul is filled with kindness and joy.

It is obligatory after the sacrament to thank the Lord, the Mother of God, the Guardian Angel. Ask to keep the gift of the Sacrament. This is done so that the pacification of the soul does not leave. After leaving the church, do not talk to anyone, just go home. Before going to sleep again, say thankful prayer. Try not to quarrel with anyone, not to swear, to keep silent, not to watch TV.

The value of the canon

The canons before the confession and the Sacrament are a request to the Lord and the Mother of God that they give health and the opportunity to confess, that they give strength to go to the Communion and cleanse their souls, so that the Guardian Angel will guard the whole way to the church and not allow temptations.

It happens that a person will forget about confession and Communion. Or he will get tired and refuse to be introduced to the Sacraments. The canon before communion will help to set the mind, soul and heart to communicate with the Lord. Give strength and health to go to confession, cleanse oneself of sins, fight with them. In no case should you justify yourself, give concessions, or blame other people for your problems. Experience and shame for their actions should be sincere.

Health of the soul will give strength and physical body to man. Will pass anger and anger. Do not want to argue anymore and quarrel. There will be a good mood and a desire to share it with people. There are facts when, after confession and Communion, people got rid of deadly diseases, abandoned their bad habits. Peace and tranquility appear in the soul after an honest and sincere conversion to God.