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301. Blessing for the work for the benefit of the church of the addressee and her husband. Exemplary Compliance prayer rule. How to treat guests. Whether to remember the strangled man. Instruction to the son. Information about health. About the akathist to St. Ignatius the God-bearer God's mercy be with you! Got

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1268. Consolation about the death of a young daughter. When you can sit in the church God's mercy be with you! Goodness came naturally. May the Lord grant you communion with St. Chr. Mystery. It will be to the rescue. Send you, Lord, every consolation! That your daughter was taken by the Lord in advance, this, in truth, is the mercy of God.

Last Sunday, October 9, we celebrated the day of remembrance of the apostle of love - the holy evangelist and closest disciple of Christ, John the Theologian, who wrote such great words as "God is love" (1 John 4:8).

And the question posed in the title of the article, which is burning and acute for many of us (after all, we were born and raised in an atheistic Soviet state), directly concerns love.

And therefore, of course, you can pray for all people, including heretics, schismatics, and the unbaptized. But only in private prayer at home.

It seems to me that the Lord himself gives us examples of prayer for the unbaptized, schismatics and heretics.

Let us recall the gospel verses: “But I say to you: love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who despitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:44). And who persecuted and tortured Christians in the 1st century? Jews, Romans, pagans of various cults.

Let us also remember the sufferings of the Savior: “And when they came to the place called Skull, there they crucified Him and the evildoers, one on the right, and the other on the left. Jesus said: Father! forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:32-34). For whom was our Lord Jesus Christ praying at that moment? About Roman pagan soldiers who did not know that He is the Messiah.

The Pauline Epistles are also important: “So, first of all, I ask you to make prayers, petitions, intercessions, thanksgiving for all people, for kings and for all those in authority, so that we can lead a quiet and serene life in all piety and purity, for this is good and pleasing to our Savior God who wants all people to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:1-4). Moreover, we note, dear brothers and sisters, that this was a Epistle written by the holy apostle-God-seeer to the bishop (Paul ordained the holy Apostle Timothy as bishop of the Ephesian Church) as a guide to action. Who were, for example, the kings or rulers mentioned here? If the entire ecumene (Greek: “inhabited land”) was 99 percent pagan, including kings and rulers. In addition, the holy supreme apostle Paul deduces in the First Epistle to Timothy a truly Divine, merciful idea that we Christians need to pray for all people, “that all ... be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.” This means that we can and should pray for the admonition of heretics, theomachists, schismatics, the unbaptized, so that with the help of our love, our intensified prayer in our cells, our Lord Jesus Christ will admonish them and lead them to Orthodox faith.

After all, in the morning prayers, in the expanded commemoration book there are the following words: “Those who have departed from the Orthodox faith and blinded by fatal heresies, enlighten with the light of Your knowledge, and honor Your Holy Apostles of the Catholic Church.”

Let us also remember some of the lives of the saints. For example, the Monk Macarius of Egypt. When one day a skull of a pagan Egyptian priest spoke to him in the desert, who thanked the saint of God for praying for them in hell. His prayer by the grace of God eases their torment. In this example, we see the effectiveness and graceful help to people of such a prayer.

In the life of an older contemporary of the Monk Kuksha of Odessa, who is already close to us, there is such a case, recorded from the lips of the saint himself: “On the road, I had absolutely nothing to eat (Father Kuksha went for deportation after a camp imprisonment. - Approx. Aut.). A young Jewish woman was traveling with me in the same compartment - God save her darling, with a 3-year-old son. She asked where I was going and if I was a priest, she said that her father, the rabbi, was also imprisoned. She fed me for three days all the way to Solikamsk and gave me some money with her. In the memoirs of the saint, we see a clear example of a prayer for the salvation of a young woman, quite possibly of the Jewish faith.

Also, St. Theodore the Studite says that one can pray at home for the above categories of people: “Unless everyone in his soul prays for such and does alms for them.”

His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia, in his report at the diocesan meeting of Moscow in 2003, said: “During the time of militant atheism in our country, many people grew up and died unbaptized, and their believing relatives want to pray for their repose. Such private prayer has never been forbidden. But in church prayer, at the service, we commemorate only the children of the Church who have joined her through the Sacrament of Holy Baptism. That is, in cell (home) prayer, you can pray for unbaptized people.

Following the quote of His Holiness, we, with God's help, move on to the next question: "Is it possible to pray for the unbaptized, heretics and schismatics in the temple?" Answer: No.

Let us recall the definition of the Sacrament of Baptism... Baptism is the Sacrament in which the believer, when the body is immersed three times in water with the invocation of God the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, dies to a carnal, sinful life and is reborn from the Holy Spirit into a spiritual life. That is, Baptism is the spiritual birth of a person.

The Savior also tells us about this in a conversation with the holy righteous Nicodemus: “Jesus answered: Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:5, 6). An unbaptized person is still an old carnal person who has not been grafted into the vine of Christ, who has not become a part of His body - the Church of Christ. It is also the beginning of the Kingdom of God on earth. Therefore, of course, prayer in church for the unbaptized is impossible in any form. They are not part of the church body. In addition, the heart of church life is the Eucharist. But let us remember the ministry of the ancient apostolic Church of the first centuries. Even catechumens (i.e., unbaptized people who wish to be baptized) could not attend the Liturgy of the Faithful, where the transubstantiation of bread, wine, and water into the Body and Blood of Christ takes place. And near the doors they placed special church servants - paranomarius gatekeepers, so that no one except the faithful (baptized Orthodox) could enter the temple during the Sacrament of Communion.

The prohibition of church commemoration of the unbaptized, heretics, schismatics, pagans during church services is reflected in the canonical consciousness of the Church. First of all, these are several rules of the Local Council of Laodicea (c. 360): “It is not appropriate to pray with a heretic or a renegade” (Rule 33), “You should not accept holiday gifts sent from Jews or heretics, below celebrate with them” (Rule 37), “To the cemeteries of all heretics, or to martyr places so called by them, let it not be allowed for the church to go for prayer, or for healing. But those who walk, if they are faithful, be deprived of the fellowship of the Church for some time” (Rule 9).

And also the 5th Canon of the VII Ecumenical Council: “There is a sin unto death, when some, sinning, remain uncorrected, and ... cruelly rise up for piety and truth ... in such people there is no Lord God, unless they humble themselves and become sober from their fall” .

In addition, from purely worldly considerations, I would like to say that an adult unbaptized person in our Orthodox country was not baptized either out of a firm atheistic, heretical, schismatic or pagan conviction, or out of special lazy negligence, neglect of his soul. Therefore, of course, he of his own free will excommunicated himself from the Eucharistic Cup and from fellowship in the bosom of the Church of Christ.

As for the babies who died unbaptized ... Parents of such want to express sincere and deep condolences. And I would like to say, with God's help, that you, dear ones, do not despair and perceive this mournful, very difficult, no doubt, event of the loss of a beloved child as the will of God. After all, remember the popular saying "God gave, God took." And the people are wise in their hearts. And if the Lord took your child to Himself, then He had His mysterious plans for this to arrange our salvation. Bow down under His great and holy will. “For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:30). And if you accept this burden as the will of God, not despairing, but completely trusting in His inexpressible mercy, then it will indeed turn out to be light and will lead you to salvation. For your own children, who died unbaptized, pray in your home prayer, give alms for them (only so that you remember them, and not someone else). And believe that the All-Merciful Lord will arrange and arrange everything in the best possible way.

There is a special mother's prayer for stillborn babies: “Lord, have mercy on my children who died in my womb, for my faith and my tears, for the sake of Your mercy. Lord, do not deprive them of Your Divine Light!”

I would also like to turn to obstetricians who take birth. If you believe in God and see, according to medical experience, already at birth, that a baby who has seen the world is still breathing, but will not live according to all signs, bring a bath or any other container of water, pour it three times on his head and say: “The servant of God (servant of God) (name) is baptized in the name of the Father, amen. And the Son, amen. And the Holy Spirit, amen. Now and forever, and forever and ever, amen.” If possible, then at each proclamation, lower the child three times when pouring and raise him after. This is a symbol of the death of the old man and the resurrection-renewal of the new - spiritual. This ceremony will take you less than a minute, and the human soul will be saved and prepared for eternal life. If such a child dies, then he will be considered baptized Orthodox Christian for which you can pray in the temple. If he survives, then you need to call the priest, and he will make up for everything necessary at Baptism, perform the Sacrament of Confirmation, etc. In addition, clergy often take care of maternity hospitals. And they can be contacted through doctors in order to baptize him for the sake of fear of a mortal (that is, in a serious illness of a newborn baby).

As for heretics, schismatics and pagans, you can also pray for them at home, in private, so that the Lord will lead them to salvation. In the church, on the basis of the above council rules, it is impossible. Moreover, God does not want to violate the free will of man. If he is a heretic and a schismatic or a pagan in the Orthodox country of Ukraine (unless he is a child brought up in this), then he himself voluntarily excommunicated himself from the Orthodox Church and, according to his convictions, does not want to belong to It. Do we have the right to forcibly drag him to the temple? You won't be forced to be nice. He himself had already sinned grievously in his heart and excommunicated himself from the Church by not believing in Her dogmas or deliberately distorting them. Let us remember the many healings of the Lord and God and our Savior Jesus Christ. What did He require of people as the only condition for healing? Faith. "Do you believe that I can do it?" the Lord asks. And in Nazareth, Christ did not work many miracles and healings because of their unbelief, as it is said in the Gospel (Matthew 13:53-58).

No faith, no salvation. At least not yet for these people.

Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, let us not lead either ourselves or the priest into sin. If such a person is already inscribed in your memorial book, then put in front of his name (for example, nekr., i.e. "unbaptized", or "went into a sect", "went into schism", "baptized in Catholicism" etc.), so that the priest knows what to do in such cases.

Notes on the repose of suicides are also not worth applying for service in the temple. These people voluntarily took their own life - the most precious gift of God to us - and thereby voluntarily rejected the Lord. In addition, in the rite of prayerful consolation of relatives who voluntarily died his stomach, approved by the decision of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church of July 27, 2011, there are the following words: communication with God. The validity of this rule is confirmed by the spiritual experience of the ascetics, who, daring to pray for suicides, experienced irresistible heaviness and demonic temptations.

You can ask the priest in the temple to perform the aforementioned service not for a suicide, but for the comfort of relatives. It should not be confused with the Order of the Orthodox burial. It's more like a prayer for the living.

If there is information (certificate from a doctor) about the mental illness of a suicide, then you can go to the Ruling Bishop of your diocese and ask him for blessings on absentee funeral service. But even after him, it is impossible to commemorate a suicide in temples.

But in home prayer, you can pray for a person who has committed suicide. Only for this, as, indeed, for prayer for the unbaptized, heretics, pagans, schismatics, you need to take a blessing from the confessor or from another priest.

That's pretty short prayer Rev. Leo of Optina: “Search, Lord, for the lost soul of Your servant (name): if it is possible to eat, have mercy. Your destinies are unsearchable. Do not put me in sin with this prayer of mine, but may Thy holy will be done. Or the spiritual work of Metropolitan Veniamin (Fedchenkov) "The Canon of the Unauthorized Life of Those Who Died Their Lives."

Separately, I would like to say about the holy martyr Uare, whose memory the Church celebrates on November 1 according to the new style. There was an opinion in society that he could pray for unbaptized people. Perhaps it arose on the basis of that place from the life, when the pious woman Cleopatra from Palestine laid his holy relics in the tomb with her ancestors. But nowhere in the life is it said that these ancestors were not Christians or were pagans. But in Russia there is still a tradition to pray to the holy martyr Uar for unbaptized people. It does not quite correspond to the church canonical. Here is how His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia speaks of this in his report mentioned in this article: “People with few churches have the impression that it is not necessary to accept Holy Baptism or to be a member of the Church, it is enough just to pray to the martyr Huar. Such an attitude towards the veneration of the holy martyr Uar is unacceptable and contradicts our church doctrine.”

Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, let us carefully study the Scriptures, the canons of the Church and, with God's help, fill our hearts with love for all people and obedience to the Mother Church, Whose Head is Christ. This is the only saving path for us.

Many clergy say that any person deserves the attention and protection of the Almighty, whether he is a deeply believing Christian, or not a baptized person at all.

Usually in the church they will not let you pray or order a liturgy for a non-believer or a suicide. But you can pray outside the holy temple for the deceased. Saying a prayer for your deceased loved one You alleviate his suffering and yours.

You can pray for the dead not only to the Saints, but also to the Lord himself, you will be heard in any case. Most often, such prayers are offered to the Holy Martyr Uar.

During his lifetime, Ouar was a cowardly person, he was afraid of pain, he sinned, but secretly believed in the Almighty. He secretly penetrated to the martyrs, who were tortured because of Christ, and helped them.

He even wanted to join their ranks and accept the same torments that they did, but cowardice did not allow him to do this. But at one point he still dared to accept the torment. He died from grievous wounds, in torment, and his body was given over to be torn to pieces.

He was buried by the widow Cleopatra, and began to offer prayers to him every day, then many people began to do the same. Asking for help from the Saint, they received healing, some said that he appeared to them in reality. Many asked him to protect their deceased loved ones who were not Christians, and after dreams of the dead relatives came to these people and thanked them.

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Prayer for the Unbaptized

We all know that it is impossible to pray for people who have not accepted Christ, Orthodoxy, and are not related to the church. It is forbidden to do this in a church, you cannot order a memorial service, you cannot bury the deceased, but you yourself can ask the Almighty, through Saint War, to save the soul of the deceased.

Suicides, as well as unbaptized people, are not buried in church. Suicide is considered a great sin, and it is believed that the person who committed this act went against the Lord.
The text of this prayer is the same as that of the prayer for the unbaptized.

Origin of prayer

His disciple turned to the priest, he asked if he could pray and ask for repose for the soul of his late father, who himself took his own life. To which they answered that he, as a son, should ask for help to his father, he should try to make sure that the soul of his father does not suffer and does not wander around the land that is not at peace.

How to read a prayer correctly?

The soul of a person who during his lifetime was not connected with the Almighty, did not belong to Orthodox Church, renounced the faith or committed suicide, there is no place in Heaven. You cannot send to heaven the soul of someone who during his lifetime was not a believer and did not respect the laws of the church.

But, nevertheless, their relatives and friends pray for these people, who respect the laws of the church and believe in the Lord, will the soul find peace in this case? Simple people may not know the answer to this complex question. Everything is decided by the Almighty, but no one knows what he will do with the soul.

Praying for the deceased, one should only hope that the Almighty will have mercy on him, repose his soul and save him from eternal torment.

Offer your prayers, ask the Almighty to save your soul from torment, you can use your own words, you can read special prayers, but the most important thing is that your prayers and requests come from the heart, so that you really want to help the deceased.

Before you start reading prayers, it’s best to go to church and talk to the priest, tell him about what kind of person he was during his lifetime, tell him about his sins, about his good deeds, if it’s a suicide, then tell him why the person decided take your own life. Father will help you and tell you how it will be better, tell you how difficult it will be for you, tell you how to do everything right.

The tradition of the Church brings to us many testimonies of the efficacy of prayer for unbaptized people who do not belong to the Church.

Once Rev. Macarius of Egypt was walking through the desert and saw a human skull lying on the ground. When the reverend touched it with a palm stick, the skull gave a voice. The elder asked: "Who are you?" The skull replied, "I was a pagan priest of the idolaters who lived in this place." He also said that when St. Macarius, having mercy on those who are in eternal torment prays for them, they get some comfort. “How far the sky is from the earth, how much fire is under our feet and over our heads,” the skull said again, “We stand in the middle of the fire, and none of us is placed so as to see our neighbor. But when you pray for us, each sees the face of the other somewhat. That is our joy." After the conversation, the elder buried the skull in the ground.

For people who died without holy baptism or belonged to another denomination or faith, we cannot pray for Divine Liturgy and perform funeral services for them in the Church, but no one forbids us to pray for them in our personal home prayers. Those. during the Liturgy it is generally impossible to pray for the unbaptized, neither out loud, nor even to oneself, because at this time the bloodless Eucharistic Sacrifice is offered, and it is offered only for members of the Church. Such commemoration is allowed only during a memorial service, to oneself, and never at the Liturgy.

The Monk Lev of Optina, consoling his spiritual son Pavel Tambovtsev, whose father tragically died outside the Church, said: You shouldn't be overly sad. God without comparison more than you loved and loves him. So, it remains for you to leave the eternal fate of your parent to the goodness and mercy of God, who, if he deigns to have mercy, then who can resist Him". The great elder gave Pavel Tambovtsev a prayer, which, with a few changes, can also be said for the unbaptized:

“Have mercy, Lord, on the soul of Your servant (name), who departed into eternal life without Holy Baptism. Your destinies are unsearchable. Do not put me in the sin of this prayer of mine. But Thy holy will be done."

This prayer may well be used when reading the Psalter for the departed, reading it at each "Glory".

Sedlec Ossuary in Kutná Hora (Czech Republic)

Another holy Optina elder, the Monk Joseph, later said that there is evidence of the fruits of this prayer. It can be read at any time (during the day repeatedly). Mentally, you can create it in the temple. Helps feasible alms given for the deceased to those in need. It is good to pray to the Mother of God, reading the rosary "Virgin Mary, rejoice ..." (how much strength allows: from 30 to 150 times a day). At the beginning and at the end of this rule, one must ask the Mother of God to help the soul of the deceased.

The Orthodox Church testifies that there is a Christian saint who has a special grace to pray for those who have died unbaptized. This is a victim in the III century. St. martyr War. There is a canon to this saint, in which the main content is a request to St. the martyr to pray for the unbaptized. This canon and the prayer of St. Martyr Uar is read instead of those funeral prayers that the Church offers for the baptized.

Relatives of the deceased (especially children and grandchildren - direct descendants) have great opportunity affect the afterlife of the deceased. Namely: to show the fruits of spiritual life (to live in the prayerful experience of the Church, to participate in the Holy Sacraments, to live according to the commandments of Christ). Although the one who departed unbaptized did not manifest these fruits himself, but his children and grandchildren, he also participates in them as a root or a stem.

And I also want to say: loved ones should not lose heart, but do everything possible to help, remembering the mercy of the Lord and knowing that everything will be finally determined at the Judgment of God.

Priest Pavel Gumerov

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It is a great tragedy if a person dies without being baptized. This can't be fixed anymore. And according to church laws, it is impossible to bury him in the temple, to commemorate him at the Liturgy. But relatives always have the right to personal prayer for the unbaptized dead. What is the best way to do this?

What happens after death

If a person completely rejected the Lord during his lifetime, there is no need to pray too hard for him. There were times when the dead appeared and asked not to pray for them. In any case, talk to the priest, he will advise what to do in a particular situation. But it happens that people respect the faith, show a desire to be baptized, but simply do not have time to do it. Then you can and should pray.

Each soul after death goes to a private judgment, which will take place on the 40th day after death. It is believed that prayers for the unbaptized dead help the soul of the deceased to go through air trials and ways to even alleviate his plight. On the very day of death, you can:

• read 17 kathisma - psalms and the necessary prayers for repose;
• to perform the secular rite of lithium in the cemetery;
• put a candle in the temple and pray.

It is impossible to order a memorial service and church commemoration. This is done because the person himself during his lifetime did not express a desire to belong to the Church, he rejected God.

What other prayers can be read

There is a veneration of the martyr Uar, who supposedly had the grace to pray for the unbaptized. Even a service was composed for him, only it is non-canonical, that is, it is not officially recognized by the church. Church prayer for the unbaptized dead, although now allowed by some priests (for a fee), violates all the canons. Whether or not to read the canon for the dead to the martyr Uar is a personal matter for everyone.

The Holy Fathers also advise giving alms for those who died without repentance, without accepting Christ.

If a baby died

Great grief is the loss of a small child. But the Holy Church believes that all babies go to heaven. This is written in the Gospel. Prayer for unbaptized babies is also performed privately, as well as for other people who have not become members of the Church. Children, although they do not have conscious bad deeds, still bear the stamp of the original sin of Adam and Eve. That is why the Church considers it necessary to baptize young children.

It may seem unfair that a child should not know life. But we don't know how his fate would have turned out. It is believed that the Lord takes to Himself in order to save a person from a more terrible misfortune, this also applies to children. We must believe in the goodness of God, do not despair and give thanks for everything, although this can be difficult.

Prayer of Lev Optina for those who died unbaptized

“Have mercy, Lord, on the soul of Your servant (name), who departed into eternal life without Holy Baptism. Your destinies are unsearchable. Do not put me in the sin of this prayer of mine. But Thy holy will be done."

It is good to pray to the Mother of God, reading the rosary“Virgin Mother of God, rejoice ...” (how much strength allows: from 30 to 150 times a day). At the beginning and at the end of this rule, one must ask the Mother of God to help the soul of the deceased.

Prayer for the unbaptized dead was last modified: July 7th, 2017 by Bogolub

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