Can an unbaptized person overshadow himself with a cross. Can an unbaptized person go to church? Can the unbaptized pray? Does it have the right

The following question is often asked: is it possible for the unbaptized to be saved? After all, there are some very good people among them. Why doesn't God have mercy on them for their kindness? Many unbaptized people say this: God is in my soul, it is not necessary to be baptized; it is important not to do nasty things to your neighbor .... Of course, there is no need to do nasty things to your neighbor. But why are we baptized? Alas, the baptized also often cannot answer this question. The answers can be very different: so as not to get sick, so as not to jinx or conjure, so that there is good luck in life, because in Russia everyone has always been baptized and it is necessary to maintain the Russian tradition ... and psychics sent someone to be baptized ... Let's figure out why do you need to be baptized?

The curse of God weighs on the human race: dust you are to dust and you will return. We understand that the body is material and after death it becomes the earth. And what about the soul? The soul is immortal even among the unbaptized! And the soul also goes to the ground. Remember the beliefs of the ancient peoples? Where, according to their beliefs, was hell, tartar, hades ...? It's underground. The ideas of all peoples about the “kingdom of shadows” are the same: the souls are in a viscous eternal half-sleep. They are gray and roam underground. They are silent. In the "realm of shadows" there is no word and it is impossible to communicate either mentally or verbally. There are no sounds. The souls barely move - their movements are heavy, the souls seem to be chained in stone, in a stone shell. Eternal stay underground. And torment, regret for the lost bright life. What do we know about life in paradise? She's the opposite! Bright flowers, orchards with fruits, green grass, kind animals, songs of birds, angels and people... and the light is never-ending, inexhaustible light! And people are active: they can communicate, get to know God – and this is an endless process. They can engage in some kind of activity even on earth - they help the living: they can appear to living people, provide assistance.

These are the ideas about heaven and hell that exist among various peoples.

Now let's talk about Baptism. What is baptism? This is the adoption by God of us earthly people. We become His sons and daughters. Why is it not allowed to read the prayer "Our Father" to the unbaptized! They cannot say to God, "Father!" Undoubtedly, God cares about all people. But the mysterious transformation of our body and soul, which will later be able to live forever, is bestowed by the seal of the Holy Spirit only at the time of Baptism and then at Communion of the Mysteries of Christ. God is the Creator for the unbaptized – for everyone. But He is the Father only for those who want to become His child.

God is beyond the universe, He is beyond space and time. That is why God cannot be portrayed. The notion that God is an old man sitting on a cloud is not true. God does not have a body like a man. And no mortal has seen God. God has no past and no future. His Eternal Son is always born. But God is a Person. And the main characteristics of the Personality are mind, will, feelings. Therefore, in the Psalms, many psalms describe the feelings of God - His wrath or mercy ... We are all in the Divine mind, as in the air. And if God released us from His Hand, Palm, we would not just die, but would cease to exist. Everything lives, breathes, develops only thanks to God and His Divine energies. But God is greater than His energies.

When the Lord created His Body inside the womb of the Mother of God, He became both God and Man. And forever now the Son of God sits on the throne at the right hand of the Father in human flesh! Not as corruptible as ours, but purified, perfect, imperishable. But the main thing is that Man sits on God's throne! A person who endured torment and suffering, having wounds on his arms and legs - this is so that we do not say: “It is good for You, Lord, to reason and judge us! You didn’t see grief and didn’t suffer like we do!” Why do we call Jesus Christ more often Lord than God? The word Lord has Latin roots and means literally: Sacrifice. Hostia - Latin, redemptive sacrifice. The same root can be traced in the Greek language. That is, God is God in general. But the Lord is God who offered Himself as a Sacrifice. That is why we depict Christ on icons and will never agree with the iconoclasts! Our icons testify: God was a Man, God lived on earth, God offered Himself as an Expiatory, Substitutive Sacrifice. Every confessed and repentant sin is washed away by the Blood of Christ. Therefore, a person no longer bears punishment for him. Unrepentant sins are not washed away by the Blood of Christ and cry out to Heaven for vengeance. Every sin must be atoned for - such is the Law.

When we receive holy baptism, our body acquires the ability to resurrect, our soul acquires the ability to live next to God, it no longer goes into the earth. Now man has become partly celestial. The person has changed so that he can go to Heaven along the very road that the Lord has already laid out for us. Like attracts like. The unbaptized soul is pulled by the mortal earth. The baptized soul itself rushes up to Heaven. The baptized person becomes part of the Body of Christ. The body of Christ is a non-disappearing reality.

A baptized person is adopted by the Lord and quickened by the Holy Spirit. It is Baptism and then Communion that makes it possible for a previously corruptible person to live eternal life.

We are saved by the Power of God. This is the uncreated Power. We often call it Grace. When we say that we receive Grace in the Sacraments of the Church, it means that we receive the Power of God. A baptized person regularly falls to this source of Power - to Communion. And the human body really and qualitatively changes.

There are no evil things in the world. Think about how a surgeon can perform an operation without drugs? And how would we live if we did not have a mind? But where do some people's minds go? Someone is creating a cure for cancer, and someone is creating nuclear weapons. Both that and another cannot be created without reason.

And so, thanks to Baptism, we combine in ourselves the most created and uncreated, as far as it is possible for a person. And that is why we can live forever and participate in an active and intelligent life after our earthly death. Earthly days will end, but life will continue. It's like giving birth to a new life.

God created man not in a finished form. So that a person can improve both himself and his knowledge of God. The imprint of the image of God is the same on a man and on a woman. You need to know this and not humiliate half of God's Creation! The Holy Spirit nourishes each person not on the basis of gender, but to the extent that a person can accept Him.

Why is fornication considered one of the gravest sins for a Christian? Remember that a man and a woman in a pair form the whole person, the whole person. They are literally united into one body as one, as the Lord said. What happens in fornication? A person becomes one body with a fornicator or a harlot who up to this point has become one body with other fornicators. Such an ugly monster body is formed. This body, because of its ugliness, cannot be part of the Body of Christ. If Christians form one body - the Church, then fornicators form another body - the anti-church. It is from here that the expression "to set the horns" originates. That is, a wandering person also gives his half (even if the second half is innocent) - the horns of the devil. That is why the Church requires an immediate divorce from the priest, if his wife, God forbid, has changed. The priest can no longer live with his wife and be one body with her. Otherwise, he can no longer serve the Liturgy and will be deposed from the rank.

The body of a baptized person and the person of a baptized person are part of the Personality of Godhead. Therefore, they are to be saved. So baptism is not just some kind of rite or tradition. This is the only way of salvation for humanity that exists. For what is God's will be saved and will live forever.

But what about the man "from the monkey"? If a person thinks so, he is a stranger to God. This man himself chose his father and mother - a monkey. Simply put: let the monkey save him. God gave us the right to choose our own father.

A believing and baptized person becomes a god by grace. In a baptized person, the soul and body are united and acquire the property of incorruptibility. But the unbaptized soul is immortal, but the body is mortal. And therefore the soul and body of an unbaptized person are forever separated (of course, until the time of baptism). God became Man forever so that we become eternal sons of God, gods by grace forever too. After all, if the Father is God, then the son cannot be not God! Our degree of divinity is not the same as that of Christ. After all, Christ was born of God the Father, therefore also uncreated. And people and angels are creatures. We are God's creations. But God, by grace, gives us adoption and loves us. Now we can connect with God through Christ, get to know Him and communicate with Him. Why through Christ? Because He is also human.

Why does God forbid people to turn to astrologers, to read horoscopes? Because the sky and the luminaries are also creatures. This creature was created FOR MAN. When we turn to astrologers, we firstly worship the creature, not the creator. Secondly, we admit the idea that the creature that was created FOR us now dominates us and guides us, determines our destiny. What do we call the stars and the moon? Heavenly luminaries. That is, they shine. Shines and a lantern on a pole. Will you approach a street lamppost to bow to it and tell fortunes about your fate by its light? Of course, this is ridiculous and stupid. But those "lanterns" in the sky were placed by God Himself - for us, so that we could live more cheerfully and more beautifully. Therefore, our worship of them in the Eyes of God is vile.

The sacrament of the Eucharist will be performed for our own, for God's people until the end of the world. More than two thousand years ago, the era of Easter began. Taurus is fattened for everyone who wants to taste the Easter of the Lord. God is waiting for us with open arms. His hands crucified on the Cross are not a symbol of suffering. With them Christ embraces the world and each of us. Hurry into His arms! Do not deny yourself the joy of eternal life with God.

Number of entries: 81

Good afternoon. I have 2 questions (similar). 1) Is it possible to mention suicides in the morning home prayer? 2) Is it possible to mention in the morning home prayer those who may not have been baptized (no one knows if he was baptized, but he, they say, always liked to draw crosses and loved God, I did not know him, he died more than 20 years ago, as a young man, his wife took the liberty of singing it)?

Stanislav

Hello Stanislav. At home, you can commemorate anyone and in any way, but do not forget the warning of the Apostle - everything is permissible, but not everything is good. Pray for those you personally know or have known. Mostly for those who asked you about it, or you offered, and he agreed. Respect individual freedom.

Priest Alexander Beloslyudov

Hello! Mom says that I am a baptized Tatar. I did not accept the Muslim faith, I believe in God, but I was not baptized in the church. Can I become a godmother and what do I need to do? Thanks in advance.

Regina

Regina! If you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, then you need to be baptized. Only members of the Orthodox Church, that is, baptized ones, can become godparents. Resemble catechumens in the temple, learn the Orthodox faith and be baptized. Under these conditions, you will be able to help the baby with both prayer and acquired knowledge, because praying for godchildren and educating them in Orthodoxy is the main duty of godparents.

Priest Vladimir Shlykov

Is it possible for a child to put on a cross bought for baptism without a baptismal ritual, is it not a sin?

Korzhova Elena

Elena, baptism is not a ritual, but a Sacrament. If the child is baptized, then he can wear a cross bought outside the church (only such a cross needs to be consecrated in the temple). If the child is not baptized, then what is the point of wearing a cross? The priest puts on the cross only during the sacrament of baptism.

Hieromonk Viktorin (Aseev)

Hello, father! I am 22 years old and I am baptized. I have one question, please answer. Our family has an alcoholic father. He is unbaptized. I know that drinking is a sin. The father sins a lot. In their actions, conversations. He pretends to believe in God, but in fact he goes against him. I noticed: since he started drinking, we have been constantly in trouble, failures, money stopped going to the house and everything went wrong (and he has been drinking for 5 years, and heavily). Or simply something happens to us, but not to him. It turns out that he sins, and we, the family, are responsible for his sins. We get sick (just when he drinks for weeks), or something happens and we cry. And everything is fine with him. Please answer why is that? Why are we responsible for his sins?

albina

Hello Albina! No one is responsible for the sins of their parents, so you should not blame your father for your misfortunes. Start with yourself: go to confession, repent of your sins. And pray for your father that the Lord enlightens him with Holy Baptism. After the holy sacrament, by the action of God's grace, he can generally free himself from the passion of drinking wine.

Priest Vladimir Shlykov

Hello. How to deal with despondency? What prayers to read and how to read them so that God hears prayers? It’s very bad in my soul, bad thoughts come into my head, and not everything is good with health, I feel sorry for myself and my family, and this, probably, is despondency. I really want my family to be Orthodox and believers. Mom and dad, brothers and I would have guardian angels, we could light candles for health, pray to the saints for us and for the dead. And then the Lord would surely hear my prayers. And what about us and those who live without God? Such despair over the future, and what will happen to us after death? I am writing to you because I do not know who to turn to with such questions.

Marina

Marina, we must look for the roots of despondency, its causes. Here you need to consult with the priest, it will help. Perhaps not even one conversation, but several will be needed to understand yourself and understand the true reasons. But in general, whatever these reasons may be, they can all be called in one word - sin, it's just its various varieties. Therefore, a very effective remedy for despondency is repentance and confession.

hegumen Nikon (Golovko)

Good afternoon, tell me, please. I was taken as a godfather to baptize a girl. I want to buy a cross with a crucifix and the inscription "Save and Save" on the back. The mother of the child is categorically against it, she says that such a cross is not allowed for a girl, so that she does not carry the cross through life. The mother of the child wants a cross without a crucifix and an inscription, well, she is for it to be with stones, like a jewelry one. What would you advise in this situation? Thanks in advance for your reply.

Valentine

What a naive superstition! Each person carries his own cross in life, and this has nothing to do with the shape of the pectoral cross that we wear. On the contrary, we wear the image of the Cross of Christ so that it gives us strength in carrying our life cross, our pectoral cross reminds us that if we carry our cross with dignity, the Resurrection follows the Cross. I don’t understand why your friend then wants to baptize her daughter at all, because the Lord said: “He who does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me. He who saves his soul will lose it; but he who loses his life for my sake will save it” (Matthew 10:38-39).

Deacon Ilya Kokin

Hello I apologize for not too clever questions, and thanks in advance for the answer. Please tell me, is it allowed to write in a note on health the name of a person about whom you don’t know for sure whether he was baptized? If it is unacceptable, then what to do if this happened? The second question is a bit incorrect, and besides, most likely, you have already been asked in different variations, but still I would like to clarify. I, to my shame, do not go to church very often, but lately (for several months now), when I light candles in the church (and not in the same one, but in different ones), wax droplets flow from them all the time black. Since this is connected, as many priests have already answered, with the quality of the candles, once I tried to go to another church, but exactly the same thing happened there. I understand that this is connected with the quality of candles and the technology of their production, and that one should not get carried away with superstitions, but I am very worried, because this is not an isolated case, but happens every time.

Anastasia

Anastasia, personally, I never look at what droplets drip from candles, because I'm not interested, and I know that this is pure superstition. And I advise you - throw these thoughts out of your head. They put a candle - and that's it, and don't pay attention. The main thing is prayer and our life before God. There is a sin - you need to repent of it, and do no more. We must live in peace with God and keep His commandments. The Church prays only for Orthodox baptized people. It is advisable to clarify, if there is any doubt, whether he was baptized.

Hieromonk Viktorin (Aseev)

Hello! Thank you so much for the extremely useful advice, I found for myself a lot of things that I consider very important. I have this question: for quite a long time I submitted notes about the health of one person, believing that he was baptized. It was not possible to find out if this is so. This man was subsequently baptized. Is it a sin that he was commemorated in church prayer? Thanks in advance for your reply!

Anastasia

Anastasia, it's better to be sure that the person is baptized. Of course, if we unknowingly pray for an unbaptized person, this is not a sin, but it is better to always clarify and find out if there is any doubt.

Hieromonk Viktorin (Aseev)

Hello, I am not baptized, I have long wanted to be baptized myself and baptize my children, but the fact is that we live in a village and we do not have a Church. Can I pray for my children at home?

Aitalina

Aitalina, nevertheless, you need to contact the priest of the nearest temple and resolve the issue of baptism. In fact, this is not as difficult as it seems at first glance, but you need to show diligence and perseverance in this good and saving work.

Priest Vladimir Shlykov

Why do unbaptized babies go to hell if they have not broken a single commandment?

Hello Asya. Who told you such nonsense? In the entire history of the Church, only Blessed Augustine believed that all the unbaptized are doomed to eternal torment, including babies. But not one of the thousand Holy Fathers agreed with him. It is clear that the state of the soul of an unreasonable infant will differ significantly from the state of the soul of an ascetic who has fulfilled the Gospel throughout his life. However, there can be no question of any condemnation of unbaptized babies to hell. Among the holy martyrs revered by the Church are several thousand infants from Bethlehem who were killed on the orders of Herod, and not one of them was baptized. Please don't read any nonsense. Read the New Testament and a chosen one of the true saints. God help you.

Priest Alexander Beloslyudov

Hello! Can I be a godmother if I have my own unbaptized child, he is 3 months old. Or do you need to baptize yourself first?

Svetlana

Svetlana, your own son is unbaptized - baptize your child first, and as soon as possible. By the way, being a godmother is a great responsibility before God. You need to pray for the godson, to participate in his Orthodox upbringing. The godparents themselves must be practicing Orthodox Christians, go to church regularly, confess and receive communion.

Hieromonk Viktorin (Aseev)

Good afternoon. I am not baptized because my parents are unbelievers. I myself believe, and have long wanted to be baptized, but I can’t make up my mind, get together. Now friends have asked to be the godmother of their son. Can I be a godmother? If so, can we be baptized on the same day? Thank you.

Kseniya

Ksenia, only a believer and a person baptized in the Orthodox Church should become a godfather. You need to be like catechumens in the temple, be baptized yourself, and only then baptize the baby.

Priest Vladimir Shlykov

Bless, father! I asked a priest if I could pray for the unbaptized. He said that the unbaptized have no name, and it is better not to pray for them. There is a woman who is at odds with me right now, and I think she is an occultist. She is most likely unbaptized and I don't know whether to pray for her or not. The Gospel says that you need to pray for your enemies. And in some Orthodox newspaper they wrote that you can’t pray for occultists, sorcerers, psychics, that you need to love your enemies and hate the enemies of the Lord. Tell me, please, if an occultist is at enmity with me, should I pray for him (for example, when reading the Psalter), or simply ask the Lord to save me from him? And if my enemy is an alcoholic, a gopnik, a criminal, etc., then pray for such a person, or also just ask the Lord to protect him from him?

God's blessing on you! It is simply necessary to pray for the unbaptized and for the enemies, this is the essence of Christianity (only for the unbaptized - in your personal, and not church prayer). Especially since they have a name. There is no need to attach such supermystical, even occult significance to the name. If you follow the opinion you write about, then it turns out that if I drive along the highway, see an accident, pray for the wounded and the dead, then my prayer does not reach the Lord? The Lord is omniscient, He is everywhere, He commanded us to love our neighbors, and the neighbor is not only the one whom we love and who loves us, but first of all the one who is not loved by us and does not love us. The main enemy of the Lord is ourselves. We offend Him with our actions, crucify Him with our sins. You have to fight with yourself first. God bless you!

Archpriest Andrey Efanov

Hello. Tell me, please, is the marriage of a baptized with an unbaptized one allowed? And what if the husband refuses to be baptized? We have been living together for over 2 years. But only now I began to see the difference between a churched person and not.

Maria

Hello Maria. Church marriage, of course, is not allowed. It is simply impossible. And you need to go through state registration in order for the marriage to be legal, otherwise you cannot even be admitted to the sacraments. Only now, from your letter, I did not understand whether you are already married or cohabiting.

Priest Alexander Beloslyudov

Hello, father! At 18, I got married. I was pregnant. They began to live hard, the husband could not move away from the wedding, he drank everything with his friends, he was probably glad that he had left his mother. She had a very strong influence on him, and then freedom. He's 25, I'm 18, you don't have to report to me, freedom! His mother constantly blamed me for everything. I was studying medicine at the time. In short, I no longer wanted a child, sometimes I said that it would be better not to have this pregnancy, in my hearts, of course. She did nothing herself, did everything as expected, prepared for childbirth. I ate right, drank vitamins, did not drink a single pill. She cried only because of her husband and mother-in-law. At 30 weeks I had a premature birth, the boy lived for several hours and died. Tell me, is it my fault that this happened? I am now 31 years old, I have a daughter. But I still remember my baby. Is it necessary to go and repent of what happened after such a time? And is it necessary to put to rest? They didn’t show me the boy, they didn’t let me bury him, they said he weighed less than 1 kg. are not buried. I didn’t name him in any way, so I need to come up with a name if I put him to rest?

Marina

Marina, you poor woman! I can only sympathize with your long-standing grief ... There is no need to name the baby. Pray for his soul? Yes, such is the Kingdom of Heaven! Don't worry about him. God rested! What about sin? We must repent (if not repented) of an abnormal marriage. This is the cause of all evil.

Archpriest Maxim Khyzhiy

Hello. I have a friend. He is a Muslim. Now he is seriously ill. What prayers can I say for his health?

Olga

Hello Olga! You can only pray for a Muslim in your home prayer in your own words, because all church prayers are designed to pray for members of the Church.

Priest Vladimir Shlykov

Andrei writes: "Hello, I would like to know if a person who is not baptized can believe in God and have his support?"

Hello Andrey!

There are examples in Scripture of how God helped and healed people who had not been baptized. For example, you can read the story of the Syrian commander Naaman (see Chap.). The Bible also says how Jesus healed all people during his ministry on earth, regardless of whether the person was in the Covenant with God, that is, baptized, or not.

However, the best option is when a person is still baptized.
According to Scripture, a person receives water baptism as his faith in God grows stronger and matures. We read about a eunuch who, according to the apostle Philip, believed in Jesus as his Savior:

"36. Meanwhile, continuing on their way, they came to the water; and the eunuch said: here is the water; what prevents me from being baptized?"
(Acts of the Apostles 8:36)

Why get water baptized? This is a kind of covenant, like a marriage union between husband and wife, when a vow of fidelity is made. If a person is not yet ready to receive water baptism, then he can continue to communicate with God, since in Scripture God says: "For I want mercy, and not sacrifice, and theology more than burnt offerings" (). God invites us to enter into dialogue with Him, He wants us to know Him as a Person. If a person already loves God and wants to follow Him, then he should think about what prevents him from being baptized? Jesus once said:

"3. Jesus answered and said to him: Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God...
5. Jesus answered: Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit cannot enter the Kingdom of God.
6. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit."
(Holy Gospel of, 5, 6)

On the topic of Baptism, you can read about the benefits of it at the following link:
http://site/answers/r/11/

Sincerely,
Vitaly

Read more on the topic "God is love!":

You say that for a believer there are no accidents in life. And for the unbeliever they are? And what then is there in life if there is no chance?

O. Georgy Kochetkov. Yes, this is true: there are no accidents for a believer - after all, he is under the care of God's providence, God's plan, God's guidance. In the life of an unbelieving person, there are accidents, because he is not under this cover of grace. There are very many forces that shape a person's destiny; and for an unbeliever, it may be subject to the influence of sometimes happy, sometimes unfortunate chance. The evil of this world is aggressive, and it can affect any person with its senselessness.

Sometimes believers speak of their lives as fate, but having in mind something else - the uniqueness, the uniqueness of the real path, and this is not the same as the concept of fate in describing the life of an unbeliever.

When Christ came to the Jews, they rejected Him, did not recognize Him. And if Christ came to us now, would our priests, our church, accept Him?

O. George. This is a difficult question. Attempts to imagine this in the XIX and XX centuries were made more than once, they are described in the literature, starting with the Legend of the Grand Inquisitor. It directly says that the Grand Inquisitor not only does not accept Christ, but directly rejects him, takes the side of the Antichrist. There are also films that show how far the real life of Christians, even in so-called Christian countries, has moved away from true Christianity. To illustrate this, such a plot is often used - Christ comes, but no one recognizes and does not recognize Him, because people have forgotten what it means to live in the spirit of Christ's love and the spirit of Christ's life. Nominal Christianity is too much out of tune with apostolic Christianity, with the faith and life of Christ Himself. This is really a big problem. But it should rather be understood in terms of spiritual and moral. There are always people in the church who know Christ, and therefore recognize Him. And, unfortunately, there are always people who do not know Him and will not recognize Him. Both concern all aspects of church life, all members of the church, and not just church structure and hierarchy.

How do we know if God hears our prayers, if they reach Him?

O. George. There is internal evidence and external evidence. Inner testimony is first of all evidence of conscience, heart, mind, evidence of life. External evidence is evidence of deeds, events that take place, how circumstances develop. All this is very significant. It is important for us to be sure that the Lord hears our prayers - otherwise why bring them? We do not confuse Christian prayer with some kind of auto-training or psychotherapeutic influence on ourselves or others. Therefore, we understand that the main thing, of course, is not simply to receive as a result of prayer some feeling of spiritual compunction, satisfaction, even spiritual joy, or purification, catharsis. It is important for us to know that it is the Lord who gives grace to the one who prays, corrects the path of his life and creates such circumstances that allow him to reveal his Christian calling, to fulfill his Christian mission in this world.

The Bible says that after the murder of Abel, Cain took a wife. Where did he take it? So, besides Adam and Eve, there were other people on earth?

O. Georgy Kochetkov: The Bible is not a chronicle. And therefore, one should not treat her messages as messages from the registry office. As you know, Adam lived for a long time, more than one generation could change during this time. And his children lived a long time. Therefore, by default, it is assumed that a new era has come, a new page opens: when the children of Adam and Eve continue the race.

Why are godparents needed if an adult is baptized? He himself decided to be baptized.

O. George: Godparents were originally with adults. They had to testify that baptism is accepted sincerely, that the one who comes to baptism will not be a traitor to the community, a traitor to his brothers and sisters, his spiritual fathers. And such a guarantee was very important.

In addition, the godfather is always a prayer book for his godson. This matters for both children and adults. And if the educational function from the point of view of an adult may not be so important, then the function of mutual assistance, support, friendship is always important. After all, any person at any age wants to have real friends, and it is especially precious to have a friend not only less than or equal to you, but older in experience, in his inner state or position. So the institute of guarantee, the institute of godparents can and should be of great importance.

Another thing is how godparents are chosen, who really becomes them. This is a separate issue. This process should become more ecclesiastical, more responsible, more traditional, which Fr. Alexander Schmemann in his book "Water and Spirit". We have to continue to think about this in our time.

Why are people now being taken as godparents who themselves do not know anything about church life, so long as they are baptized? They can't teach godchildren anything.

O. George: This is a continuation of the previous question. Indeed, the nominal execution of the rule cannot lead to a good result. Therefore, often both godparents and baptism itself become formal, do not lead to the rebirth of a person, to his spiritualization, spiritual renewal.

Over the centuries, problems with baptism have accumulated a lot. They need to be solved somehow, and, of course, first of all, to demand greater preparation of the baptized themselves, their complete catechesis. Some system is needed to verify this in each specific case, if it was not the baptizing priest or bishop himself who conducted such a catechization. There are many new problems behind this. But these are already other problems.

Why do churches need priests? Do they only serve?

O. George: Elders are always needed in the church (by the way, every congregation has its own elder). A priest in a more correct, canonical language is called presbyter1 or bishop2. And in the normal case, these are not just people who professionally know worship and know how to conduct it, these are precisely the elders in the assembly, in the community, who are able to spiritually help the younger ones, grow them "to the fullness of the age of Christ." It is very important. And the church must, of course, take care that every ordained, called to serve presbyter, bishop is truly a priest, bringing spiritual sacrifices together with all the people of God whom he nourishes, i.e. directs towards the life of Christ in its fullness, holiness and perfection.

And what happens when we consecrate an apartment or a car?

O. George: Exactly the same as with the consecration of any thing. What difference does it make what we consecrate - an icon, an apartment, a car, a factory, a shop or something else?

Sanctification always means one thing: the fulfillment of the call of God. People are sanctified in baptism, in the sacraments, when reading the word of God, in prayer. Things are also sanctified by the word of God and prayer, but sometimes with the use of other means, holy water, for example. What then happens? Sanctification is always the transfer into the hands of God of that which is sanctified - in order for God to be the supreme director of the sanctified thing. God must be Lord and Master of all. And it is important to remember that those who dispose of the consecrated thing are entrusted with about greater responsibility than those who dispose of unsanctified things, and the consequences of a more honest or less honest attitude to these duties in both cases will be different.

I read in one Orthodox book that a confessor is needed, but how to find one?

O. George: This is a whole range of problems that cannot be solved quickly. Finding a spiritual father is not easy. This is not just a person who helps at confession. A priest who confesses regularly can become a confessor if he becomes related to a person, understands him and really helps him to follow Christ, if he does not impose his individual will, as if standing between a believing person and God. This is very important to understand for everyone who is looking for a confessor. A confessor in our time is, first of all, a spiritually senior person, sometimes a spiritual friend, sometimes a spiritual father, sometimes a spiritual brother. And there is no need to rush to call someone a confessor, even if there are very good, very close, good personal relationships with this or that priest. Spirituality in its purest form is almost impossible in our time. It was born in a monastic context, in a monastic environment, and originally meant the possibility of a person confessing his thoughts at any moment of his life. When a person lives in a community, he should be able to come to the elder, to his spiritual leader, to the spiritual father for advice or for prayerful help in the sacrament of repentance at any time of the day or night. Such relations cannot be formal and cannot be only official. So it requires reasoning, restraint, sobriety and experience.

I read your answer to my question about Baba Yaga. Unfortunately, the answers of all priests are the same. Many words, but essentially nothing. How do you know what animals think, and what makes you think that a person is something special? Practice shows just that man is the worst of animals. If we discard all verbiage, then a person lives only to enjoy and equip life. No belief in any god changes the human essence and instincts. You look at the priests. These are grabbers from grabbers. Sweetly verbiage, and they themselves drive around in foreign cars. And try to tell them something. Where is your god? It's not there anywhere. There is only a stupid animal struggle for survival. And if there was a God, then why is he needed? Possessing unlimited possibilities, not being able to create anything better than this miserable evil world. Yes, and punish the already persecuted people with eternal torment. This is a god-tyrant and a murderer.

O. George: Well, well, your remark is quite natural. You are indeed a hunted, unfortunate person. And your god really, apparently, is a killer god, i.e. Satan. This is the whole trouble, that a person in this case does not see anything but himself. And the question here is no longer in God, but in man: the whole point is whether he is capable of being a man in the difficult circumstances of his life, what he strives for, what he feels as his main calling. Each person speaks from the depths of his heart, his experience. One can only pity the one whose experience is exactly like this, one can only pray for him as the most unfortunate person who is not yet waiting for anything good, kind, joyful, happy on earth. God grant that you wake up, see clearly and see that this world is not limited to those things that you write about, that there are completely different things and completely different people in it. God grant that you see how grace and love change people. Apparently, you have never loved or have been completely disappointed in love, in freedom and in truth. May God open the abyss of divine Wisdom and reason, the power of God's humble Spirit, the power of sacrificial Love manifested by Christ, and through Christ come by the grace of the Holy Spirit to God and to the Church.

Notes

1. It is this word, in Greek meaning "elder", that sounds during the ordination - ed.

If the deceased was not baptized, is it possible to pray for the repose of his soul and light candles?

Holy Georgy Kochetkov: There is a certain procedure for commemorating the dead in the church: historically, the church has always brought its prayer primarily for the members of the church, for those who, according to church tradition, are called faithful. This is due to the fact that most often the commemoration in the church assembly was performed at the liturgy - both prayerful, and kutia, or a grain offering. And since only the faithful participate in the sacrament of the Eucharist, in the liturgy of the faithful - only believing Orthodox Christians, those who are called full members of the church - it is customary to commemorate only them in the church. Although, of course, one must understand that this limitation is not absolute. The Church, most likely, had certain pedagogical tasks in mind when it did not allow, say, to pray for suicides or people equated to them - for example, those who died from alcoholism or drug overdose, in general, in a clear sin, grave, mortal. Precisely in order to educate the people in resistance to these sins, the church said that only those deceased who remain faithful to God, remain full members of the church, can be commemorated. But in personal prayer, no one has ever forbidden anyone to pray for someone for whom the heart of a believer wants to pray. This can be any deceased, no exceptions are made here for the unbaptized or those of other faiths, heretics, etc., including suicides. We turn to the mercy of God, to our Lord, who sends rain to the righteous and unrighteous, and the sun to the good and the evil. And we hope for God's mercy, realizing that there is no person who would live and not sin. Of course, the Eucharistic prayer also knew its exceptions, there is a prayer “for everyone and for everything.” In the Eucharistic Prayer, in fact, a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving is offered, a sacrifice according to the power of Christ's love, and therefore this prayer is universal. It is not personal, not individual, but in general it involves the recollection of everyone who is only present in our memory, whoever it is. If our heart wants to pray for someone, then - even without mentioning individual names - such a prayer is possible. At the Eucharist there is a place for prayer for unbaptized catechumens, there is a place for prayer for the authorities, including pagan or non-Christian, or non-Orthodox, and therefore there can be prayer for the unbaptized dead. But, I repeat, usually, if a person wants to pray for a deceased unbaptized person who was not even announced, i.e. did not even prepare for baptism, did not consciously desire this baptism, this is best done in personal prayer anywhere, at any time.

If a person is a Catholic or Protestant, or not baptized, is it possible to pray for him in the Orthodox Church and light candles for health?

O. George: Actually, I've already started talking about it. Just as there is a place for prayer for the unbaptized or non-Orthodox dead, so there is a place for prayer for the living non-Orthodox and unbaptized people. Of course, it is one thing to pray for the catechumens of any level; for people, although not baptized, but having faith in the true God or even already in Christ and the Church, and another thing is prayer simply for unbelievers or non-Orthodox. At the liturgy, this is possible not personally, but in general, because the Eucharistic prayer is a prayer “for everyone and for everything”, for all brothers and sisters, for everyone who our heart can remember, commemorate. And in personal prayer there may be a prayer for a specific person.

A candle is a donation, and such a sacrifice associated with prayer can always be offered to God. So put a candle for the health and for the repose of any person, if it is at the level of personal prayer.

You answered my last question that the Lord forgives sins, and therefore one should not be afraid and prepare for confession. But how can I repent if I know that I will continue to sin? And I know that I can't help but sin. Where do you get the strength to stop sinning? For my repentance to be honest?

O. George: Great question. The fact is that every penitent person knows that after repentance he will not immediately turn into a pure angel. If he is a reasonable and spiritually wise, experienced person, he understands well that repentance is accepted by God not because we immediately turn into sinless people, but because we regret the sin we have committed, and want not to sin, and manifest that or some degree of determination not to repeat our sins because we ask God for forgiveness and want to accept the gift of forgiveness and correction. We know that there are sins that can and should be corrected immediately, but there are things that cannot be corrected immediately - they are corrected throughout a person's life. Of course, if we are talking about ethical sins, about specific facts, then it is especially important to understand that sins are different from sins. There are such sins that immediately lead a person out of the ranks of the Church, out of God's people. These are mortal sins - murder, adultery, blasphemy, etc. But there are sins, especially those of an ascetic, mystical nature, which are very difficult to define within their boundaries and which are very difficult to overcome to the very end. Therefore, you need to have humility, you need to accept God's help, you need to try not to sin, have the determination not to repeat your sins, but at the same time remember the words of Scripture and the holy fathers "fell - get up": if you fell under the blow of this or that temptation, get up immediately, don't lie in the mud. And go further, be sure to follow Christ, follow God with all humility, with all patience and obedience to God and His holy will.

How to celebrate a birthday, especially if it falls during Lent? The number 40 is a special date, a time for summing up, but how is it right for a believer to celebrate his fortieth birthday?

O. George: This is, of course, a very personal matter. The Church does not regulate how to celebrate your birthday, even if it falls on a round date (although it must be said that, according to a strictly church, biblical understanding, only a fiftieth anniversary can be considered a jubilee). But forty years is really a wonderful age, it is a period of full maturity of a person, the full flowering of his powers. And meeting him, first of all, you need to not just think about how to please your friends, acquaintances or colleagues, or even more so relatives, or yourself, but how to adequately thank God for the years lived, for all those good gifts that manifested themselves in a person’s life. So it is really important to sum up, draw conclusions from your life, correct it in accordance with the will of God; it is important to see how authentic this spiritual life is, how holistic it is, how good it is, how real it is, how much it is able to spread to the people around you. If you are able from the abundance of your heart to speak about God, about faith, about the happiness of the Christian life to people in such a way that they will listen to you and obey, then you have indeed reached maturity and are ready to enter the next decade of your life, i.e. move on to the next step.

If your birthday falls on a post, then you can simply celebrate it more modestly. Of course, fasting in this case is weakened, but not completely removed, except for those cases when, say, unbelieving people come to visit you. They may not understand the post. And you can offer them anything. And you yourself can eat from the festive table what you see fit - only lenten or something else, making some exceptions for the sake of the holiday, for the love of your unbelieving neighbors and loved ones. Here there is sometimes the possibility of certain compromises, indulgences, but, of course, one must know the measure in everything. It is necessary not only not to get drunk with wine, not only not to roam, not to wander and not to fornicate in sight or deed, but still remember that the main thing is your kind word, a word of gratitude to God and loved ones, as well as neighbors, those who play or played a significant role in your life. So fasting is just the best time to spend such an anniversary or your birthday, to direct people who have come to you out of love and respect for you, to the good path of faith.

I never ask God for something specific - for example, if I lost an important paper, then I don’t ask to find it, I’m looking for it myself. I just pray in the morning, for example: Lord, help Your poor servant in all my affairs. I know that often, especially Protestants, they pray about specific deeds down to the smallest detail. Is it possible to say that such a, so to speak, petty approach is not characteristic of Orthodoxy?

O. George: I think it's possible. In fact, it is important that we are with God, and God is with us. And praying about it is the most important thing. If this is so, then the papers will not be lost, and in general nothing important in life will ever be destroyed, lost, or disappear. Another thing is that the church does not forbid praying your own prayer, in your own simple words about any little thing. If for some reason you suddenly have such a thought in your heart, then it is not harmful, it is not evil. Just do everything for the glory of God. When you pray that God will help you in all your affairs, please add these words: “performed for Your glory, Lord. Amen".

Nowhere in the Holy Scriptures have I read about the myrrh-streaming of icons or the worship of relics. Where did these phenomena originate in Orthodoxy?

O. George: There are many different small or big miracles in the life of a Christian. The Lord gives us signs of His presence all the time, He always gladdens our hearts. If this is connected in one way or another with icons, it can also be myrrh-streaming. It is only important that people do not look for a miracle for the sake of a miracle, so that they understand that if God does something, He gives signs of the Kingdom of Heaven by this. Therefore, if a person approaches the Kingdom of Heaven, approaches God, if someone repents as a result of this or that miracle, then this is a real miracle. If not, then this is either magic, or simply an incomprehensible phenomenon of nature, or a figment of our imagination. And even if it is a miracle, then a miracle is within the framework of this world, a world lying in evil, a sinful world. So the point is not whether the icon streams myrrh or does not stream myrrh. A certain fragrance by Christians has always been revered as a sign of the presence of the Holy Spirit, the presence of God's grace. Read at least a wonderful, very simple and accessible to everyone description of the conversation between St. Seraphim of Sarov and Motovilov, where just as one of the signs of the gift of the Holy Spirit is called "extraordinary fragrance." If the Holy Spirit descends, then some people feel it as a special holiday, as a special joy and as a special fragrance. Indeed, the world becomes different, it becomes beautiful, and therefore fragrant. Maybe this needs to be understood more spiritually than physically, judge for yourself, see for yourself. But it's still the way it is.

Almost everything that I said about myrrh-streaming icons can also be attributed to the relics - with the only difference being that the relics stream or do not stream myrrh, they are fragrant, they heal or not, this is all connected with our faith, this is all connected with the manifestation of the grace of God , this is all connected with the aspiration of the human heart to God and His Kingdom, to strengthening in love for God and neighbor, i.e. with the most important values ​​of our life. If this is not so, I repeat, then it can turn into something dubious and unorthodox, even superstitious or pagan, if taken to the extreme, to the point of absurdity.

Should there be a sermon at every liturgy? So, with age, I began to hear much worse and therefore I go to church only on weekdays in order to approach the altar itself - then I hear everything. But there is no sermon these days, which I regret. Should she be?

O. George: Thanks for the great question. In fact, according to church canons, every time there is a reading of Scripture, there should be a sermon explaining the word of God. And now we hear many appeals from the church hierarchy, from reasonable and educated church people, demanding the restoration of the liturgical norm of our church life. And such a norm is just a sermon - moreover, immediately after reading the Scriptures, and not at the end of the service. Unfortunately, this has not yet become a generally accepted and universally recognized thing, and even church canons do not admonish people to act as church tradition requires. But let's hope that even during our lifetime this sermon will resound and gladden the heart of every person who comes to church prayers.

The first Christians were slaves. The slave mentality has ingrained itself into Christianity: “a servant of God”, “all power is from God”, “God endured and commanded us”, etc. Christianity is strong where the spirit of slavery is strong: Medieval Europe, Russia (serfs, serfs, temporarily liable), etc. Is the spirit of freedom hostile to Christianity?

Holy Georgy Kochetkov: Thanks for the very important question. It is built, of course, rather, on a misunderstanding, but a very common misunderstanding and in a sense imposed on people by the ideology that dominated our country before - perhaps deliberately distorting Christianity and in any case not knowing it. This is easy to prove from your question itself. So you say that Christianity is where the “servant of God”, “God endured and commanded us”, “all power is from God”, etc. etc. And you say that Christianity is strong where the spirit of slavery is strong. In connection with this, I must give you a little historical background. Firstly, “God endured and commanded us” is not a Christian expression, it is not found either in the holy fathers, or in Holy Scripture - nowhere. This is what was attributed to Christians by the ill-wishers of Christianity. It seemed to them that Christianity was like this, although they knew initially that they were simply mocking Christianity by saying such things. True, sometimes in the common people it was taken at face value. And therefore, some Christians could, say, in later times, in the 19th century, repeat these words, despite their fundamental dissonance with the Christian faith, Christian teaching and Christian spirit.

Something similar must be said about the expression "servant of God." Perhaps you do not know that even in such an important place as the formula for the sacrament of baptism, the words “servant of God” are a late insertion of the 12th-13th centuries. At that time, it really began to strengthen - partly under the influence of Islam, partly under the influence of the crisis into which Christianity itself fell at that time - just such a somewhat bifurcated and to some extent slavish consciousness. In ancient times, for many centuries, the formula of baptism sounded like this: "Such and such is baptized in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, amen." And, I repeat, only from the XII century in many places of church rites the words “servant of God” are inserted. So this is already a foreign insert, which arose, rather, under the influence of social circumstances that were completely unfavorable for Christianity. In any case b about For most of its history, Christianity has existed without it. Another thing is that the Gospel says: if you have done all the good that Christ expects from you, then do not be proud, say: I, like a worthless servant, did what I had to do. But this is said in the context of the fight against arrogance, with pride, and this is completely different.

Although literally the expression "all power is from God" belongs to the apostle Paul, but it has also been interpreted very differently in history. Only by the 20th century, in Soviet times, they began to abuse this expression in such a way that even the KGB men began to say to church people during their interrogations: “Well, you know that all power is from God, which means you must cooperate with us.” And, unfortunately, there have been cases when people who believe, in principle are good, honest, devoted to faith, the foundations of love, the foundations of the freedom of the Christian spirit, really could not answer and fell for this bait. And yet b about most of the Christians did not fall for it. They understood that the Apostle Paul spoke these words not in the sense of “be slaves, dumb in the face of authority”, but in the sense of “do not be anarchists, do not be self-sufficient, remember that you live in a society and that authority is needed to establish order among all people, and for that she deserves respect.” This motif was still in the Old Testament, and it is in this very good context that it is preserved in the New Testament.

Therefore, one cannot associate the spirit of Christianity with the spirit of slavery. Any desire to turn Christians into slaves is a worthless desire, if only because one of the central passages of the New Testament says: "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." And it also says: “You are called to freedom, brothers.” These are too serious things to be ignored. Christian faith everywhere and always affirms that Christ freed us from slavery to decay, lifelessness, lies, ugliness - from slavery to everything that, unfortunately, more and more takes possession of modern people. It is the departure from Christianity that brings them into real slavery. Remember the state the Soviet people were in from the very beginning to the end of their existence: many under duress, but the majority voluntarily surrendered into slavery to a completely inhuman, anti-human ideology and its punitive organs. This completely destroyed the personality of man and led our entire people to an anthropological catastrophe.

So the spirit of freedom is not only not hostile to Christianity, on the contrary, without this spirit there is no Spirit of the Lord, and without the Spirit of the Lord there can be no serious talk of any Christianity.

What do you think, is it an advantage or a disadvantage to have an opinion on any occasion and boldly express it? And should we strive to always have our own opinion?

Holy Georgy Kochetkov: Interestingly, the most important, central concepts in Christianity, such as the spirit of love and freedom, are associated with the most misunderstandings. Of course, if a person is free, he can have his own opinion. But just maybe, that doesn't mean it should. He can (although he is also not obliged to) express it when he considers it fundamentally important and internally justified, when he sees that this will not lead to enmity, quarrels, hatred, anger. But if you see that your free opinion is in fact only a pretext for pleasing yourself, for asserting yourself, then it is better to remain silent, even if you have your own free, independently developed opinion. Because the spirit of love and the spirit of freedom, the spirit of brotherly love, the spirit of faith, the spirit of unity are above private opinions, which are often very superficial, very one-sided, or even simply false. You must first work hard to check how good your opinion is. A very pitiful impression is made by people who express their opinions everywhere, and even worse - insist on them without checking their position, without checking it with the will of God, with the revelation of Truth and Love. Such people sow strife, discord, division - that which leads to the most terrible sins. God forbid we follow the example of these people!

Topic: “Is it possible for an unbaptized person to go to church?

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Can an unbaptized person go to church? (thirty)

I have unbaptized children 5.5 and 4 years old, my husband is against it. Tell me, those who know, can I take them with me to church? Bagabum + 07.04.11 13:42 Well, what's the problem?)) You can, of course)) only let them not participate in rituals. What bothers your husband? Cigarera V.I.P. 04/07/11 14:28 What do you mean by rituals? To be honest, I don't go to church very often myself. Is it possible to stand during the service, is it possible to be baptized or not, to light candles? The husband is not baptized and does not give his consent to the christening of children. But I think it will not be against our trips with children to church. Bagabum + 07.04.11 14:58 Children will not be allowed to take communion. Submit notes about their health. Anonymous 04/07/11 15:05 Thank you Bagabum + 04/07/11 15:10 I meant sacraments of course)) you can't take communion, confess and so on.
To be honest, I don’t understand why an unbaptized person should go to church to light candles and be baptized. Explain to me the meaning of these actions? Cigarera V.I.P. 04/07/11 23:08 God's temple is open to everyone. The Lord will not object. It's the first time we've all come in unbaptized, haven't we? There are prayers for the unbaptized. The author can pray for her children and husband. Priests, for the most part, are positive about the fact that an unbaptized person came to the Temple. According to them, he came to God. And this is good. If you have decided to go to the temple for the first time, and you have questions. Maybe you are now on the road that leads to the temple.

Is it possible to pray and light candles for the health or for the repose of unbaptized people?

Archpriest ANDREY EFANOV
Good day! Of course, no one can forbid such a prayer. And why ban it? If your heart aches for a person, then why not pray?
A candle is a symbol of sacrifice, and you should not attach more importance to this than it actually is. Putting up a slash and not praying is the same as screwing spark plugs into an engine, starting the engine and not going anywhere. It makes no sense.

The church does not serve notes for the Liturgy of the unbaptized living and does not pray for the unbaptized dead. But the reason is simple - you cannot force the Christian community to take on such prayer work. And private prayer for such is not forbidden. God bless you!

— Good afternoon, father. I really want my husband to be baptized. Is it possible to come to church with him, just to look, maybe he will think?

Hieromonk MACARY (MARKISH)
Of course, you can - and you should, if he does not mind. And at the same time, good books, magazines, talks and lectures should be offered to him for those who are looking for the way to the Lord. You will find them on this site. And read and listen to them together.

- I'm not going to be baptized. I treat the Orthodox religion with respect, as the religion of my ancestors and my people, but I myself am far from it.
And then recently I went to church (in a skirt, a scarf, I was not baptized). She stood, thought about the eternal and left. I do not rule out that in the future I will have to go.
Can I just go to church? And do I need to be baptized at the entrance?
+++In the church you can be baptized and not only at the entrance, if you have such a need. You can also attend the services, only at the Divine Liturgy at the Liturgy of the Catechumens, you cannot attend the Liturgy of the Faithful, and during the Divine Liturgy the priest will say “Catechumens, depart” and all unbaptized people need to leave the church, well, these are some rules of worship, but they should be respected You can attend the rest of the services from beginning to end.

Recently I was in the Pskov-Caves Monastery. And when I was there, people asked if it was possible for an unbaptized person to put candles, to pray - they unambiguously said that it was possible. And it is necessary. Because God loves everyone and is glad to everyone who comes to him. Maybe later this person will become a believer, maybe not, but he is still not deprived of fellowship with God if he goes to the Temple without unclean thoughts!

All requests are heard, since the Lord created us in His own image and likeness. And he did not turn away from us and does not hear, but we in our sins do not see and do not hear him. It’s just that in the temple they don’t order trebs for the unbaptized, but you need to pray at home, since our prayer, perhaps, is their only SALVATION.

Can unbaptized people go to church? Here is how the clergyman answered this question: - “Unbaptized people can visit the temple, listen to the gospel and its interpretation. Otherwise, how will they know about God? But after that, at a certain moment of the liturgy, they must leave the church. If they want the fullness of church life, then let them be baptized. Going to the temple helps us to become different, to become a new person. And without the church - it is impossible. All talk about goodness and truth without God is empty talk”…

God is Love, He is like the sun - it shines on everyone, both good and evil, both believers and non-believers, and everyone is precious to Him, He wants salvation for everyone.

Read more here Anonymous 08.04.11 09:15 What do you need me for? Where did I write that the unbaptized cannot go to church? Cigarera V.I.P. 08.04.11 13:19 “What do you need me for?”
“To this: “To be honest, I don’t understand why an unbaptized person should go to church to light candles, to be baptized. Explain to me the meaning of these actions? Anonymous 04/08/11 13:39 the question was to the author. Moreover, your link is generally about something else. I didn’t write a word that it’s not necessary to go to church unbaptized. Learn to understand what you read Cigarera V.I.P. 04/08/11 14:58 Learn to express your thoughts so that you are understood. And for this, it is necessary to correctly place punctuation marks. Until you get something like: “Execution cannot be pardoned.” Anonymous 09.04.11 01:13 is that all? Anonymous 09.04.11 13:22 you wanted to teach someone? Well, everyone prepares for Easter in different ways… Sigarerа V.I.P. 04/09/11 13:23 Learning is light, ignorance is darkness. Anonymous 04/09/11 15:19 “in much wisdom there is much sorrow; and whoever increases knowledge, increases sorrow” [Eccl. 1, 18] Sigarera V.I.P. 04/09/11 22:29 “I don’t understand why an unbaptized person should go to church”
“light candles, be baptized” - Is that all you wrote?
“Explain to me the meaning of these actions? ”- And this? I think you have been answered. veraya * 04/09/11 15:28 no, not me! This is what YOU wrote! And I wrote “To be honest, I don’t understand why an unbaptized person should GO to church TO light candles, be baptized. Explain to me the meaning of these actions? ”
If you don’t see the difference (by the way, pay attention to the CORRECT punctuation, this is very important!) So if you don’t see the difference between “why should an unbaptized go to church” and “why should an unbaptized go to be baptized and light candles”, then I’ll tell you I can’t help you)) Sigarera V.I.P. 04/09/11 18:36 You are replying to this post, thereby showing that you do not see the point in these actions of an unbaptized person. This answer shows you are wrong. And this is the answer both to the author's question and to yours Anonymous 04/09/11 19:19 The fact is that in this collection of quotes there is no answer to my question. There is - to go to church for the unbaptized, there is - to pray for the unbaptized. And so on. But why should the most unbaptized put candles, be baptized, etc.? - No. I understand that you have done some great work for you in selecting these links. But they are absolutely meaningless to me and the author of Cigarer V.I.P. 04/09/11 22:20 no need. But if the soul asks, then you can. The author is baptized. And taking children to church before they are baptized, she can introduce them, show them: what and how, explain. Moreover, as an Orthodox mother, she must introduce her children to Orthodoxy.
A candle is this sacrifice to God, and the sign of the cross is a confirmation of faith in God, his trinity. That is, an adult, if he has ALREADY believed and consciously wants to be baptized (even not yet baptized), before baptism he can already light candles and make the sign of the cross. Anonymous 12.04.11 17:40 Have the author's children come to believe and consciously want to be baptized? Or do you suggest that the author baptize them against the will of their father?
PS Well, at least they admitted that your links are meaningless, since there is no need for Sigarera V.I.P. 04/12/11 22:54 - Against my will, I do not recommend, you need to convince.
-Children are baptized by parents, they do not wait for them to grow up and believe. (What goes around comes around)
-Links are useful to the author if not to you. You, I understand, they will not bring benefits.
P.S. The author is baptized. As an Orthodox mother, she must by all means convince her husband, baptize her children and bring them to Orthodoxy. An unmarried marriage is also a sin. And since the husband is not baptized, then of course the marriage is not married. Including she herself needs to constantly confess about it. Sins - like a snowball accumulate one after another.

I get the impression that you did not even read the post that started the whole commotion.
- Why put candles on someone who is not baptized - Because God loves everyone and is glad to everyone who comes to him. Maybe later this person will become a believer, maybe not, but he is still not deprived of fellowship with God.
-Why make the sign of the cross to the unbaptized - If the soul asks, why not. A mother who is about to baptize her children, and they are no longer babies, should start learning from the basics, especially if the baptism itself is delayed, as in this case, by the will of the father. Anonymous 13.04.11 09:27 you haven't read this))) the author is not going to baptize her children, because her husband is against it. Such issues are resolved BEFORE marriage.
Why is it a sin to live unmarried? Where is that written?
And if you wrote something to the author, then you had to answer under HER post. You threw all your strength into arguing with me)) Sigarera V.I.P. 04/13/11 15:21 To express our faith in Jesus Christ, our Savior, we wear a cross on our body, and during prayer we depict the sign of the cross on ourselves with our right hand, or we overshadow ourselves with the sign of the cross (we are baptized). For the sign of the cross, we fold the fingers of the right hand like this: we put the first three fingers (thumb, index and middle) together with the ends exactly, and bend the last two (ring and little fingers) to the palm.

The first three fingers folded together express our faith in God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, as the Consubstantial and indivisible Trinity, and the two fingers bent to the palm mean that the Son of God, after His descent to earth, being God, became a man , that is, they mean His two natures - Divine and human.

Overshadowing ourselves with the sign of the cross, we put our fingers folded like this on our forehead - to sanctify our mind, on the womb (stomach) - to sanctify our inner feelings, then on the right and left shoulders - to sanctify our bodily forces.

The sign of the cross gives us great power to drive away and defeat evil and do good, but we must only remember that the cross must be placed correctly and slowly, otherwise there will be no image of the cross, but a simple waving of the hand, which only demons rejoice at. By negligently making the sign of the cross, we show our disrespect for God - we sin, this sin is called blasphemy.