Family traditions as an opportunity for self-expression. My Orthodox family

10.08.2015

1. History of the topic, history of the problem

The theme of legend and religious traditions in modern Russia contains a problem. This problem has a strong impact on the development of relations between various branches of the Church of Christ. But the problem lies not within tradition or tradition, but between Holy Tradition (tradition) and Holy Scripture. It sounds like this: what is the authority for a Christian - only Holy Scripture or the entire church tradition, i.e. Holy Tradition.

The topic is relevant for the development of relations between Orthodox and Protestants in Russia, but it arose a very long time ago, practically it was incorporated into Russian Christianity when it appeared in Rus', since Christianity came, accompanied by a written source in Russian language. The written source was the Cyril and Methodius translation of the Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, the Psalms, the book of Proverbs, and the experienced practice of spiritual life was the tradition of Byzantium.

The Russians, who adopted a new religion by decision of Prince Vladimir, had to master both the system of spiritual culture of Byzantium and the way of thinking of Christianity. The image of thoughts is best recorded in texts. The Russian princes had no intention of being vassals of Byzantium; for this reason, they themselves read the original source and encouraged Russian theological thought.

Noteworthy in this regard is the statement of Metropolitan Hilarion in his “Sermon on Law and Grace”: “Faith is from God, not from the Greeks!” He starts his thinking from the ideas of a written text, which is natural when mastering a new spiritual culture. But, of course, in general, Russian spirituality has followed the path of mastering the Byzantine model.

The further complex development of Russian spirituality led to the establishment, first of all, of ritual belief, which was natural for Rus', which was “spiritual” in its inner essence. When Christianity, spiritual in its essence, came to the spiritual soil of Rus', Rus' accepted in Christianity what it was ready for - its spiritual side.

The process of “growing up” into the spirit of Christ’s Gospel began, but continued in a way that was natural for the culture of Russian society - through the gradual experience of communication with God along the paths of one’s own spiritual choice, and unevenly. If the south-eastern part of Rus', which was under the Tatar yoke, was based on the ascetic contemplation of monks, then in the north-west, where there were no Tatars, and natural development continued, based on the assimilation of book teaching, criticism arose of the Russian system religious life, and in such areas as the denial of the church hierarchy, ritual belief, and money-grubbing.

These ideas could be obtained in a simple and natural way - through reading the Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles. Thus, the movement of bookish Orthodox Christians of the 14th century (“Strigolniki”) was destroyed physically, but continued to influence the spirit of Orthodox Christians in Northwestern Rus', since ideas can only be overcome by higher spirituality, and not by prohibition.

For this reason, in the 15th century they “resurrected” in the movement of “Judaizers” during the annexation of Novgorod to the Moscow state of Ivan the Third. The basis was the same “bookishness” of the faith of the Novgorodians and Pskovians, passed down from century to century.

Surprisingly, the main line of criticism from the official church against these “heretics” was that they were using the Old Testament. Indeed, they knew it, since translations in Old Church Slavonic form already existed.

Archbishop Gennady decided the issue on the merits! He began to collect biblical translations from all over Russia, which were then published in the Gennady Bible 1. And a deeper study of it began within the framework of the official church, although, of course, the forced nature of these actions, the tradition of a different way of church life caused a passive attitude towards the Bible among large quantity priestly ministers. However, for the Russian people it was important that texts from the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles were included in the circle of church readings 2.

A little later, a clash between the positions of official Orthodoxy and “book” Christianity took place in Moscow, now right at the court of Ivan the Third. The leader of this pseudo-heresy was the clerk-diplomat Fyodor Kuritsyn (a record of whose clan was included in the Velvet Book of the Higher Clan of Russia). From the mouth of Fyodor came criticism of Tradition, but based on Scripture. Joseph Volotsky at the council of 1504 achieved the rejection of the position of heretics.

It is important to note that the evangelical movement in Russia followed its own path, but a path parallel to the conciliar movement in Western Europe. Both in the West and in Russia, initiatives to reform the Church from within were unsuccessful. But in currently it is important to show that the approach of the evangelical movement, oriented towards the authority of Holy Scripture as opposed to Sacred Tradition, for Russia is a natural and original one.

The evangelical tradition is called evangelical because it found a very important idea for revitalizing Christian life, an idea that several centuries later formed the basis of the Reformation, namely, a return to the model of the 1st century, to the word of Christ and the apostles through the text of the Holy Scriptures.

The history of the evangelical movement in Russia later (two centuries after the Strigolniks) included the influence of Protestantism itself (Lutheranism, Reformation and even Anglicanism). But the main issue in the theological discussion between Evangelical and Orthodox Christianity in our country continued to be the opposition to adherence either to the total church practice (Tradition, Tradition), or exclusively to the Holy Scriptures.

As can be seen from the examples given, the opposition between Tradition and Scripture is of a general Christian nature. It was born as an attempt to solve the problem of the adequacy of the practice of the Church of Christ with the teachings of its Founder, Jesus Christ.

The issue remains relevant in the 21st century, as it has not been resolved. The opposition between the Orthodox and Evangelical approaches continues, causing serious damage to the fulfillment of the will of God in our country.

2. Current state of the problem

The root of the problem lies in the fact that the paradigms that have developed historically have their basis in the movements of human hearts (in the language of science - passions), that is, in the historical aspirations of feelings. This idea was first expressed by Eugen Rosenstock-Hüssy 3 . Passions are sometimes caused by unique combinations of factors that influenced the worldview of people in a particular era.

One of the discussed paradigms, the Orthodox (in essence, “Old Christian”, having its beginning in apostolic times, but revealed in full, starting from the end of the 1st century), was based on the idea of ​​​​life with God, with Christ, in the Holy Spirit, emanating from assimilation of the Gospel as an idea, and not a letter (“And now I commend you, brethren, to God and to the Word of His grace, which is able to edify you more and to give you an inheritance among all who are sanctified” - Acts 20:32). For her, the New Testament Scriptures of the apostles and disciples of Christ were only brief, partial and often ad hoc records of the basic values ​​of the new life in Christ.

The essence of the movement of hearts in this direction can be framed as follows: “Life, not a letter.” But for Christians of the first centuries, recordings were also important (they re-read them), which became part of the tradition of treating them - the recordings recorded the common opinion of listeners about their spiritual experience; they could be the arbiter of the controversy. This was the feeling of life in those distant times, and, of course, it corresponded to it.

Another, the evangelical (often “Protestant”, as many perceive it), paradigm emerged during times of criticism of historical church practice. Practice, as a result of people’s creativity, has gone so far from written sources, which, of course, limitedly recorded reality, but preserved relatively unchanged the ideas and values ​​of the New Testament and the apostolic time, that the question involuntarily arose: what is practiced by modern Christians of the XIV-XVI centuries (or later), is it Christianity at all?

And the written Word said: there was a departure from the original spirit and letter of the Gospel. The bearers of these beliefs were people who knew how to read and think based on what they read. The movement of their hearts was fidelity to the original gospel. Of course, this is also a passion, although it adequately corresponded to the time, but, in turn, has boundaries of life scope.

So, two paradigms collided: the paradigm of the fullness of life in God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, which embraced all Christian existence, and the paradigm of fidelity to God’s Word as opposed to human customs. Opponents saw each other's weak points and pointed them out publicly. Old Church theologians spoke of the limitations of relying only on Scripture as the main weakness of the evangelical position; evangelical theologians - about the fundamental defect of man in assimilation and fulfillment of God's will, which inevitably leads to distortions and even a turn towards “man-theism” as a result historical development Legends.

The modernity of the 21st century testifies to the intensified conflict of global ideological systems (atheism, theism, pantheism) and various faiths that grew up within these systems, but have become very strong and are trying to win in order to dominate even on a global scale. Christianity, attracted by the ruling elite of the world to justify its activities, was largely reduced to the interests of the ruling elite, revealing in this form of its existence significant flaws in its worldview, which led to direct contradiction to the will of God.

But according to the conditions of God's Revelation, Christians are strong only when they are faithful to the truth that comes from the Lord Himself. Thus, internal church reason the need to explore the nature of the crisis in the practice of the Church of Christ is complemented by an external one. Critics of Christianity succeed when they “hit” the real weaknesses of the Church, which has consolidated in its practice, custom, and tradition that which was close to the hearts of people in ancient times, but is now blatantly dissonant with the Gospel.

The Scripture-Tradition problem is very important, its solution either destroys or strengthens the foundation of the modern Christian worldview. It must be examined so that the solution found, like the decision of the Council of Jerusalem of the 1st century (Acts 15), satisfies the aspirations of Christians, calms their conscience in the Lord, corresponds to the will of God and thereby ensures the victory of the Kingdom of God (naturally, not in the physical, but in spiritual sense victory of truth over lies).

3. Scientific and theological approaches

The concepts of Tradition and Tradition are deeply developed in Orthodox theology (due to the need to protect the theological position of the Orthodox Church) and in sociological science/sciences that explore all areas of the transmission of human experience to new generations. The basis for the theological attraction of scientific data is the position that everything discovered by people is intended for them on behalf of God Himself. This is His General Revelation.

Christian theology takes God's special revelation as methodological basis to approach the discoveries made by people regarding God's general revelation. The data of General Revelation is absorbed by Christians into the world they create. complete picture the world intended by God for human knowledge. Knowledge is followed by the process of ruling the earth (Gen. 1:26: “And God said: Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness, and let them rule... over all the earth..."), which is natural as a transition of the theory into practice.

Involving scientific data with Christian theology allows us to have some kind of mediator so that a way out can be found in the acute opposition of the traditions of theological thought of the Old Church and Evangelical movements. Let us note that the term “Old Church” seems more useful for discussion than the term “Orthodox,” since the term “Orthodox” contains a large amount of evaluativeness, which in theological research is not only not useful, but also harmful.

In this article there is no need to present the old church, evangelical and scientific definitions of tradition and tradition. Many articles and books have been written on this issue. But there is a need to propose some other approach that would allow us to respect the achievements of Orthodox thought regarding Tradition and, at the same time, would open a way out of vicious circle reasoning only in the paradigm of Orthodoxy (or Old Church). It seems that the evangelical discovery and the independent approach of science can be fruitfully combined with the achievements of Orthodox theologians.

4. Suggestions for a new approach to the analysis of Christian legends and traditions

4.1. About Revelation and Discovery

So, all the evidence of the opposing parties comes from the practice of applying two paradigmatic settings:

1. life, not letters;

2. fidelity to Scripture.

Their rapprochement turned out to be impossible in practice. The reason is the incorrect methodological approach. The parties use artifacts of established theological cultures that fundamentally “do not hear” each other. In fact, this is not about searching for the truth of God, but about establishing dominance of one of the already formed positions. But the Lord said through the mouth of the Apostle Paul that we must “know what the good, acceptable and perfect will of God is” (Rom. 12:2). It is this, the will of God, that should become the “common denominator” in the dialogue.

How does this or that culture of church practice relate to the will of God?

It seems necessary to clarify the concept of “the will of God.” The Will of God is the Revelation of God (General and Special), but passed through the perception of man - the Discovery. Revelation to people cannot be expressed in any other way than through their perception. This perception gives rise to a Discovery regarding Revelation by imposing a “frame” of human hypothesis on the perceived phenomenon (in this case Revelation).

All the weaknesses of human nature are revealed in this act. God's Revelation is always distorted in human Revelation. But historical process The development of humanity takes place in such a way that the Discovery, being applied in practice, receives approbation, in which the Discovery relative to the Revelation is clarified. Human discovery is always dynamic, exponential.

God also expands Revelation, but in a special way when He wants it.

There are two logics of human knowledge of God's will:

1. Revelation is constant for a long, albeit limited period. Under these conditions, the Discovery only clarifies its perception (for example, the Law of Moses as the Discovery that conveyed the Revelation was only learned and experienced with the help of the Discovery for a long time (i.e., before the coming of Jesus Christ);

2. Revelation is expanding, and Revelation must take into account both this circumstance and the imperfection of human nature, which cognizes Revelation (a person needs to overcome two difficulties at the same time; an example is the time of the New Testament for Israel, when there is a sharp leap in God's Revelation, and it had to be mastered through cognition and experience in the form of Discovery).

The Church of Christ in the post-apostolic period again found itself in a situation of constant Revelation of God. She can clarify its understanding and practice its application, but there has been no new Revelation since the time of the last apostle.

Thus, we can speak, comparing the ideas of Israel and the Church as a whole, as differences having the basis of a revolutionary expansion of Revelation (produced by Jesus Christ), and differences within the ideas of the Church - as having the nature of clarifying the Revelation regarding the constant Revelation given by the Messiah.

4.2. About Discovery and culture

Discovery is always a step of faith, but faith in the general psychological sense of the word. The nature of human thinking requires the establishment of axioms, foundations, which are simply observations that are preferred after some mental work and which are not subsequently changed. The discovery regarding Revelation forms Dogma (ancient Greek dogma - opinion, teaching, decision) 4. This action is similar to the action of a judge choosing the most appropriate decision for the situation. It is a decision of faith in a general psychological sense. Faith accepts something as truth (i.e. an adequate reflection of reality), but the difference between faith and superstition is that true faith there are sufficient grounds, but superstition does not.

The concept of Dogma is narrower than the concept of Discovery, since it fixes the decision specific people in a specific situation. The discovery appears in the form of Dogma. For human practice, thinkers develop many Dogmas. Dogmas appear in various ways, for example, through the reflections of the most gifted people, which are accepted by the community as being fully consistent with the practice of the community. Dogmas are often more movements of the heart (passions) than arguments of the mind, but they begin to work as unchangeable foundations. A practice repeated many times - a custom - can become a dogma. In turn, the decisions of a judge or public leader, etc., become dogmas.

In large centralized systems Dogmas are coordinated.

Dogmas are the pillars of culture, its framework. The actions of people in a community are cultural creativity (individuals or subcommunities). Many factors of historical reality influence people, and they, guided by customs, decisions of judges, rulers, tenets of faith and other factors of this series, live, making many decisions secondary to the framework of culture.

Naturally, when they arise problematic situations within culture, there is an appeal to authorities at the dogmatic level (in the broad sense of the word, relating not only to religious life, but to the entire practice of the community).

However, the correlation of arguments from different cultures with different dogmatic foundations and, moreover, different experiences cannot be productive. This is precisely the process that occurs in the discussion between Orthodox, Catholics and Protestants.

The matter is further complicated by the fact that all of these religious cultures focus on God's will, Revelation, but are unable to recognize the right of Christians from other cultures to hear God in their original way, as well as to act in accordance with the Discoveries made.

4.3. Dynamics of life of church cultures and their changes

Church cultures are in most cases tied to and part of broader human cultures. It cannot be otherwise, since relationships with God are a property of man as a being.

For this reason, it is necessary to take into account the influence on a person of all factors of life reality, which are then reflected in religious practice itself.

Naturally, the cultures of countries (or groups of countries) in which Orthodoxy, Catholicism, and Protestantism developed predominantly were each significantly influenced by these forms of Christianity. But the sad fact is that the emerging churches value their cultural identity more than the general spiritual basis of the Gospel.

What matters is how the cultural forms of Christianity are formed. They, as connected with the culture of the country, are necessarily influenced by all factors influencing the development of peoples - economic, geographical, political, social. Each time, historical situations provide not only different sets of factors and their contributions to the culture of the historical moment, but also a spiritual reaction to them (new passions). Established national cultures “feel” the new situation in accordance with the spiritual paradigm underlying the spiritual genotype of the people and only correct the idea of ​​life on its basis (correct the Discovery). However, it is also possible for new cultures to emerge, which most often are sprouts, shoots from old ones, but adopting a new paradigm of the time. A gap arises, new grounds for Discovery, new Dogmas, new cultural creativity.

In humanity, there are cultures that go back thousands of years (for example, Chinese, Indian, Jewish), and there are cultures that are not simply derived from them, but are revolutionary in opposition to them. Revolutions were carried out under the influence of changes in geography, type of economic activity, and ideological updates.

In Christianity, all these events affected national church cultures. If in imperial-type cultures, old and modern, the state itself was interested in the unity of worldview and social culture, then Christian cultures also sought to unify doctrine and church practice. When, within the framework of political alliances, the interaction of already established Christian cultures took place (for example, Orthodoxy and Catholicism, expressed in the resulting form of Uniatism; or Catholicism and Protestantism in the USA), then the Discoveries and Dogmas regarding God's will and Revelation began to include new influences from other Discoveries and Dogmatov.

Let us recall that the subject of this article is not so much the study of unique historical practices-cultures, but the question “What are the possibilities for fruitful coexistence and interaction of various church practices, traditions, and legends?”

A historical fact of our time is the rapidly increasing diversity of ideological reactions to life. All together, to one degree or another, they strive to give the right response to the global situation. Under these conditions, Christians cannot feel more at ease within the framework of their personal, family, community, denominational, confessional, church (mega-confessional) worldview. Challenges to Christianity are challenges to alternative worldview systems, which in other cases generally reject the existence of God, and in others remove the task of responsibility before Him. The struggle of ideological paradigms accompanies the struggle of cultural communities for dominance. And for opponents, what is important is not so much the victory of truth as political self-affirmation.

But Christianity recognizes itself as faithful to God's purpose for humanity in its history, rushing into the future, into the Kingdom of God. This is not only fidelity to God, it is fidelity to the project of the Great Commission of Jesus Christ (Matt. 28:18-20), it is fidelity to the preparation of the Bride Church for the heavenly marriage of the Lamb of Christ.

In other words, the Church cannot simply follow the struggle of national or global elites; it must, recognizing God’s will, human society, directing him to implement God's command to Adam, the owner of the earth. Humanity must give an account to God for the stewardship of the earth in the time God has provided, and the Church is the leader in this process, for it is composed of people reconciled to God, filled with the Holy Spirit, and committed to fulfilling God's purpose.

The unity of difference is the principle for solving the modern problem of the Church.

5. Modern Russian spiritual Christian culture within itself and in the culture of society (what are the challenges, how to seek God’s revelation for modern Christian culture)

Modern Christian culture includes three main Christian churches - Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant. The dominant national branch, formed from the Byzantine impulse, is the Russian Orthodox Church. Its tradition is most directly connected with life Russian state, Russian people.

The tradition of the Russian Orthodox Church has absorbed not only the Byzantine approach to God's Revelation, but also the Old Church approach. At the same time, the Slavic origin itself, associated with the Cyril and Methodius Bible, and then the activities of the Moscow state and Russian Empire.

This example of Christian culture experienced its crises. Perhaps the most severe crisis was the communist period, as there was a massive departure of Russians from Christianity and religion in general. Adequacy new reality post-Soviet times, adequacy in accordance with God's will is a great challenge of the time. It can be assumed that traditional recipes from previous centuries can only provide partial help. But the search must, first of all, be initiated by the Russian Orthodox Church itself, since otherwise even good help from other Christian churches will be perceived by it as an attempt to dominate.

Catholic tradition in Russia (especially after the destruction Soviet Union) is more the presence of individual representatives of Catholicism on the territory of another religion than the functioning of real Russian Catholicism. After the departure of the Baltic states, Ukraine and Belarus, the active participation of Catholicism in Russian Federation No. But, naturally, Russian Catholics must develop the paradigm of national Russian catholic church, since otherwise it is difficult to expect not even growth, but simply the existence of the Catholic model of Christianity in Russia.

The Protestant tradition in our country could be in the position of the Catholic one, but its nature is more complex than the Catholic one. As mentioned above, Catholicism is a development of the same old Christian paradigm as Orthodoxy, and evangelicalism is an alternative to this paradigm.

Protestantism entered the evangelical tradition two centuries after its emergence in Rus'. In the evangelical tradition there is an answer to the burning challenge that is addressed to the Old Christian churches - a protest against the Church’s departure from the Gospel. The point is not the authority of tradition (Evangelical Christians have their own established and already outdated traditions), the point is that the human practice of Discovery, the process of dogmatization and culture must be constantly verified by Revelation. And the Holy Scriptures are closer than all the written sources used by the Church to God's revelation (especially revelation of the New Testament type).

In the Old Testament, the voice of the prophets was constantly heard so that there could be an assessment of the conformity of Israel's life with the Law of Moses. There is a principle of some deficiency in the authority of human practice, and this deficiency is overcome by the intervention of God's word, once fixed in an unchangeable form as a standard. Thus, Protestantism continues to be used to answer the essential question of the Church as an integral organism, “Is it faithful to the Revelation of Jesus Christ?” appeal to the Holy Scriptures.

But, as noted above, the Russian Christian Church cannot be satisfied only with the peaceful coexistence of its various mega-confessional forms. God included the members of the Church into society, and His will for human society was not canceled. Adam was called to be in charge of the whole earth; Russian Christians must be responsible for fulfilling God’s command to Adam on Russian territory.

The challenges of our time are that there cannot be a more mono-church country. There cannot be mono-religion. The Church of Christ is in a competitive relationship with other religions and worldviews. For this reason, the basic settings of its church paradigm should include as an object the entire Russian people (from an atheist and postmodernist to a shamanist, Buddhist, Muslim, Jew). The Church must show how man, created in the image of God, fulfills the will of the Lord on earth, that will that is unconsciously or consciously fulfilled by the entire population of Russia.

Fulfilling the will of God in contact with God is always more productive than through the efforts of the human person alone. The Church must, in getting to know God, set an example of God's attitude towards man (free to do good and evil). In the person of Christians, it must show that it is not the predatory attitude of the man-god towards the reality given to him by God, but the masterful, zealous, caring attitude of a being to whom God has entrusted responsibility for part of the world He created.

Methods of domination (state, ideological) have outlived their usefulness. People of the postmodern era want recognition of their right to choose their own path, and any other - only because of free conviction, and not violence. For this reason, it is necessary to preserve and develop everything that works in already established traditions, and to create a new answer based primarily on Revelation.

God’s promise of blessing to all who want to do God’s will is His support (“And this is the boldness we have towards Him, that when we ask anything according to His will, He listens to us. And when we know that He listens to us in everything, whatever we no matter what we asked, we also know that we receive what we ask from Him” - 1 John 5:15).

The call of the Lausanne Conference of 1974 is fair - “The whole Church brings the whole Gospel to the whole world” 5 - which can become a solution for the modern Russian Church.

1 The Gennadian Bible includes Cyril and Methodius translations of the Pentateuch, the book of Kings, Job, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, the Gospels, the Apostle, Judges, Joshua, Ruth and the Psalter. Some of the books could not be found (Chronicles, the books of Ezra, Maccabees, Tobit, Judith), and they were translated from the Latin Vulgate by the Croatian monk Benjamin.

2 Orthodox liturgy contains 98 quotations from Old Testament and 114 from the New Testament.

3 Rosenstock-Hussy O. Great Revolutions. Autobiography of a Westerner. BBI St. Apostle Andrew. M., 2002. P. 3.2

4 Dogma in Orthodox theology has a specific meaning.

5 Lausanne Manifesto. Lausanne. 1974.

Alexander Fedichkin

In ancient Rus' there was a close connection and interaction between the church and home life of our ancestors. Orthodox people paid great attention not only to What cooked for lunch, but also How preparing. They did this with constant prayer, in a peaceful state of mind and with good thoughts. And they also paid special attention church calendar- looked at what day it was - fasting or fasting.

The rules were observed especially strictly in monasteries.

The ancient Russian monasteries owned vast estates and lands, had the most comfortable farms, which gave them the means to make extensive food supplies, which in turn gave them abundant means for the wide hospitality bequeathed to the inhabitants by their holy founders.

But the matter of receiving strangers in monasteries was subordinated to both the general church and private statutes of each monastery, that is, one food was offered to the brethren, servants, wanderers and beggars on holidays and feeding days (commemorated for depositors and benefactors) days, another on weekdays; one - on fast days, the other - on fast days and on fasts: Great, Nativity, Assumption and Petrovka - all this was strictly determined by the statutes, which were also distinguished by place and means.

Nowadays, not all of the provisions of the church charter, which were aimed primarily at monasteries and clergy, can be applied in everyday life. However, an Orthodox person needs to learn some rules, which we have already mentioned above.

First of all, before you start preparing food, you must pray to God.

What does it mean to pray to God?
To pray to God means to glorify, thank and ask Him for the forgiveness of your sins and your needs. Prayer is the reverent striving of the human soul towards God.

Why do you need to pray to God?
God is our Creator and Father. He cares about us all more than any child-loving father and gives us all the blessings in life. By him we live, move and have our being; that is why we must pray to Him.

How do we pray?
We sometimes pray internally - with our mind and heart; but since each of us consists of soul and body, then for the most part we say the prayer out loud, and also accompany it with some visible signs and bodily actions: the sign of the cross, a bow to the waist, and for the strongest expression of our reverent feelings for God and deep humility before Him, we kneel and bow to the ground.

When should you pray?
You should pray at all times, without ceasing.

When is it especially appropriate to pray?
In the morning, upon awakening from sleep, to thank God for keeping us through the night and asking for His blessings on the coming day.
When starting a business - to ask God's help.
At the end of the case - to thank God for help and success in the case.
Before lunch - so that God will bless us with food for health.
After lunch - to thank God who feeds us.
In the evening, before going to bed, to thank God for the day and ask Him for forgiveness of our sins, for a peaceful and serene sleep.
For all cases, special prayers are prescribed by the Orthodox Church.

Prayer before lunch and dinner

Our Father... or:
The eyes of all trust in You, Lord, and You give them food in good season, You open Your generous hand and fulfill all animal blessings.

Na Cha- at you. They hope- addressed with hope. In good time- in my time. You open- you open it. Animal - Living being, everything living. Favor- good disposition towards someone, mercy.

What do we ask of God in this prayer?
In this prayer we ask that God bless us with food and drink for health.

What is meant by by the hand of the Lord?
The hand of the Lord is of course here giving us good things.

What do the words mean? having performed every kind of good pleasure on animals?
These words mean that the Lord cares not only about people, but also about animals, birds, fish, and in general about all living things.

Prayer after lunch and dinner

We thank Thee, Christ our God, for Thou hast filled us with Thy earthly blessings; Do not deprive us of Your Heavenly Kingdom, but as You came among Your disciples, Savior, give them peace, come to us and save us. Amen.

Creature comforts- everything necessary for earthly life, for example, food and drink.

What are we praying for in this prayer?
In this prayer, we thank God for satisfying us with food and drink, and we ask that He not deprive us of His Heavenly Kingdom.

If several people are sitting at the table, the oldest person reads the prayer out loud.

What can be said about someone who crosses himself incorrectly and carelessly during prayer or is ashamed to cross himself?

Such a person does not want to confess his faith in God; Jesus Christ Himself will be ashamed of this at His Last Judgment (Mark 8:38).

How should one be baptized?
To commit sign of the cross first three fingers right hand- thumb, index and middle - put together; We bend the last two fingers - the ring and little fingers - to the palm.
We place the fingers folded in this way on the forehead, on the stomach, on the right and left shoulder.

What do we express by folding our fingers like this?
By putting the first three fingers together we express the belief that God is One in Essence, but threefold in Persons.
The two bent fingers show our faith that in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, there are two natures: Divine and human.
By depicting a cross on ourselves with folded fingers, we show that we are saved by faith in Jesus Christ crucified on the Cross.

Why do we sign the cross on our forehead, stomach and shoulders?
To enlighten the mind, heart and strengthen strength.

Perhaps a modern person will find it strange or even fantastic to say that the taste of dinner can depend on prayer or mood. However, in the lives of the saints there is a very convincing story on this topic.

One day, Prince Izyaslav of Kiev came to the monastery to visit Saint Theodisius of Pechersk (who reposed in 1074) and stayed to dine. On the table there was only black bread, water and vegetables, but these simple dishes seemed sweeter to the prince than overseas dishes.

Izyaslav asked Theodosius why the monastery meal seemed so tasty. To which the monk replied:

“Prince, our brethren, when they cook food or bake bread, first they take a blessing from the abbot, then they make three bows in front of the altar, light a candle from a lamp in front of the icon of the Savior, and with this candle they light a fire in the kitchen and bakery.
When it is necessary to pour water into the cauldron, the minister also asks the elder for a blessing for this.
Thus, everything is done with blessing.
Your servants begin every task with grumbling and annoyance at each other. And where there is sin, there can be no pleasure. In addition, your courtyard managers often beat the servants for the slightest offense, and the tears of the offended add bitterness to the food, no matter how expensive they are.”

The Church does not give any special recommendations regarding food intake, but you cannot eat before the morning service, and even more so before communion. This prohibition exists so that the body, burdened with food, does not distract the soul from prayer and communion.

What is the sacrament of communion?
The fact is that a Christian accepts the true Body of Christ under the guise of bread, and the true Blood of Christ under the guise of wine for union with the Lord Jesus Christ and for eternal blissful life with Him (John 6:54-56).

How should one prepare for Holy Communion?
Anyone who wishes to partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ must first fast, i.e. fast, pray more in church and at home, make peace with everyone and then confess.

Should you take communion often?
One should receive communion as often as possible, at least once a month and necessarily during all fasts (Great, Nativity, Assumption and Petrov); otherwise it is unfair to be called an Orthodox Christian.

For what church service Is the sacrament of communion performed?
Behind Divine Liturgy, or mass, which is why this service is considered more important than other church services, for example, Vespers, Matins and others.

In liturgical practice, the Russian Orthodox Church uses the Typikon. Typicon, or Charter- a liturgical book containing detailed instructions: on what days and hours, at what divine services and in what order the prayers contained in the Service Book, Book of Hours, Octoechos and other liturgical books should be read or sung.

The Typikon also pays great attention to the food eaten by believers. However, a secular person should not literally follow all the instructions contained in the Charter, for it is aimed primarily at the monastic brethren.

In the First Epistle to the Corinthians, St. Apostle Paul says: “For an unbelieving husband is sanctified by a believing wife, and an unbelieving wife is sanctified by a believing husband. Otherwise your children would have been unclean, but now they are holy.” (1 Cor. 7:14)

What do these words mean? Children of unbelieving parents are not sanctified by the Word of God, the word is not sown in the hearts of children, because a child is like a blank sheet of paper and whatever you write on it is what happens! if you write pagan vanity and lies, they will be unclean, but if the word of God is holy, then they will be holy! For by unclean things you become defiled, but by the holy Word you are sanctified! For parents are commanded 6 “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7 And teach them to your children, and talk about them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up...”

I can’t say that our family is much different from other families in our country. There is nothing unusual or outstanding about it. However, for me she is the best.

Every person loves and values ​​his home and his family. After all, a house is considered its own fortress, where you can hide from any hardships in life, and the people who live in it, who will always understand and support Hard time- this is family. And its role for each of us is enormous. After all, all the first sensations and ideas of a person when he is just beginning to become aware of the world around him are associated with the family. And subsequently, it is in the family that such human concepts like love and care. It’s not for nothing that the family is called the unit of society, small homeland. It is formed human personality, the child is being raised. Therefore, usually what kind of family a person had depends on what he became. For me, my family is the most important thing in life. Family for everyone is the same beloved and dear people who have been with him since childhood.

Our parents are Orthodox people, they raised us in the faith.

I don’t know what and how our family would live from year to year, without faith in God, without observing Orthodox traditions.

What do they mean to our family? All.

It just so happened that we all, while still babies, received the rite of baptism, although in Soviet time visiting churches and baptizing children was not encouraged, so mainly elderly and elderly people went to church; there were few young people in churches.

I find it hard to believe now. After all, now I can openly tell you about the Orthodox traditions preserved in our family. Among these I include, first of all, the observance of fasts; we fast, confess and receive communion. On Forgiveness Sunday, we ask each other for forgiveness. At Christmas we glorify Christ, at Easter we shine Easter cakes and instead of greeting we say: “Christ is Risen!” At Epiphany, we collect blessed water and take a dip in the spring. At Candlemas we bless candles. On Radonitsa we visit the graves of the dead.

Those getting married are married, dead relatives are buried and pray for their salvation. All this has become so organically part of the life of our family that we simply cannot live any other way.

We observe a pious tradition - to light an unquenchable lamp in the house, which burns constantly. There is a special prayer read when the lamp is lit: “Light up, Lord, the extinguished lamp of my soul with the light of virtue and enlighten me, Your creation...” The burning lamp signifies that the Law of God is a lamp for man in his life, because our faith is light . The light of the lamp reminds us of the light with which the Savior illuminates our souls.

There are many icons in our house, there is a Bible and a prayer book, and an old Psalter was left over from my mother’s grandmother. Mom says that the Lord hears our prayers, protects us and helps us.

Orthodox traditions on holidaysmy family.

Each family has its own unusual traditions and customs. Our family celebrates many Orthodox holidays. Some of the main holidays are Christmas, Epiphany and Easter.

Christmas

Christmas is one of the most beautiful and mysterious holidays. On the night before Christmas, girls tell fortunes about their betrothed and make wishes. My mother also told fortunes with her friends when she was young. This day seems fabulous.

There is a Christmas tree in the house, and we are covering it festive table. Many guests come to us. We give gifts and accept them ourselves.

Baptism

Another holiday that is usually celebrated in our family is Epiphany. On this day, our family goes to a spring in the village of Gotovye. A lot of mysterious and interesting things happen on this day.

People talk about miraculous healings from illnesses. We collect holy water from a source and bring it home. Throughout the year, in the mornings we drink this holy water to cleanse our souls and for health.

Easter

Easter is considered the brightest holiday. It usually happens in the spring and therefore we are all already in a spring mood. A week before Easter, we pick the branches of camels, go to church and bless them. Then we touch everyone with a twig so that there is health and well-being in the family.
Ends Lent. We bake Easter cakes, paint eggs, put beautiful designs on them and exchange them with family and friends. Everyone tries to smile at each other. Your soul becomes so light, as if you hear the singing of angels.

Be sure to go up the bell tower on Easter night and ring the bells. This gives us a charge of vigor and joy for the whole year.

All holidays are good, each in its own way. But what unites them is that they carry the energy of goodness, beauty, Have a good mood and mutual understanding between people.

It is difficult to imagine our life without faith in God. Our mother knows and remembers everything Orthodox holidays and traditions, and I know that faith in God, adherence to Orthodox traditions elevates a person above everyday life, strengthens the spirit, and helps in various misfortunes.

Our family is very friendly. We love to get together not only on holidays, but also when someone needs help and support. Each of us has our own character, our own destiny, but we also have something in common - kindness and hard work. The commandments written in the Bible are passed down from generation to generation: to be diligent, meek, kind and merciful. Grandmother often told us parables. Explaining their meaning, she said that one should not be angry, think badly about people, one must always act according to one’s conscience.

We have grown older, we all already have our own families. But like our parents, we raise our children in Orthodoxy. The main example for our children, as well as for us, remains our mother, now grandmother. She instills in her grandchildren the love of God and we, as parents, only support her in this.

We try to bring our children to church for communion every Sunday, as well as on major holidays.

After the service they study at Sunday school, where they learn a lot of new things about the Christian Faith from mother.

They take an active part in Orthodox concerts and enjoy performing poems and songs glorifying the Lord.

Together with the children, we collect herbs and decorate the house on the feast of the Holy Trinity, dip them in the holy spring, and bake larks on the feast of the Holy Forty Martyrs.

I think this is very good for the younger generation of our family.

They say that every person has his own guardian angel. I'm happy because I have it. This is my large and friendly family, whose traditions I sacredly honor and respect,

One thing worries me: will it always be like this, will we be able to preserve the Orthodox traditions of our family and pass them on to our children and grandchildren. I hope we can with God's help.

So, I was only able to talk a little about my family and write about what foundations Christianity gives us and what traditions an Orthodox family should live by.

I think that we should strive for the continuity of faith across family generations. How I wish there were more and more families who observed Orthodox traditions.

Love is patient, merciful,
Love does not envy, love does not bring
rushes about, is not proud, does not riot,
does not seek his own, is not irritated, does not think evil, does not rejoice in untruth, but rejoices in the truth, bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things,
Love never betrays...

Trinity is one of the most significant and revered holidays by all Christians. It traditionally falls in the summer, in the month of June. Celebrated on Sunday, the fiftieth day from Easter. Therefore, another name for the holiday is Holy Pentecost. It is accompanied by various, very interesting rituals and traditions.

history of the holiday

Trinity has several other names. Firstly, this is the birthday of the Church of Christ. It is said that it was created not by the human mind, but by the grace of the Lord himself. And since the Divine essence is represented in three types- Father, Son and Spirit - that’s what this holiday is - the Trinity. Pentecost is also famous for the fact that on this day the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles, disciples of Christ, and all the holiness and grandeur of divine plans were revealed to people. And finally, the third name: people have long considered the day as the Green Saint. By the way, there is also a fourth thing: maiden Christmastide.

Traditions and customs

Many in Rus' (meaning historical, ancient Slavic Rus') were and are celebrated today on those days on which ancient pagan days also fall. Thus, there was an overlap of two egregors: a young one, associated with a new religion, and an ancient one, already “prayed.” This was especially important in the first centuries of Christianity. And even now it has not lost its relevance. Echoes of pagan rituals are clearly visible in many traditions. For example, on the day of the Holy Trinity, it is customary to decorate houses and churches with herbs, birch and lilac branches. The girls wove wreaths for themselves and their betrotheds and organized games. Families gathered in meadows and forests for meals. One of the obligatory dishes was scrambled eggs.

Ancient rituals

Trinity Day has always been celebrated outdoors. The main holiday tree was considered to be the birch. The girls threw wreaths of birch branches into the river, hoping to recognize their future fate. WITH early morning the sweet spirit of fresh kalachi walked through the villages, to which friends and neighbors were invited. Then the real fun began. Tablecloths were laid under the birch trees, treats and the same morning loaves, which were also decorated with wildflowers, were placed on them. The girls sang, danced around, showed off new outfits, flirted with the guys, and they were looking for someone to marry. It is worth noting that the bread, wreaths and tablecloths that were used on this holiday - the day of the Holy Trinity - had a special meaning and played a special role in a girl’s life. The loaf was dried, and when the girl got married, its crumbs were poured into the wedding bread, which was supposed to provide the young people with a friendly, happy life of prosperity and joy. According to the ritual, the Trinity tablecloth was spread on the table when the parents of the future groom came to the bride’s house for the bride’s viewing. The magical energy of Trinity Day was supposed to envelop the girl in an invisible flair and present her in the most favorable light. And they gave wreaths to their beloved as a sign of fidelity, confirming the sanctity of their vows. The herbs collected for the Green Holy Day were dried and fed to the sick. They were believed to have special great healing powers.

Girl's fortune telling

Trinity Day 2013 fell on June 23. Of course, now it’s the 21st century, the century of nanotechnology and general computerization. And two centuries ago, when they heard the cuckoo, the girls asked it how long they would have to trample on the threshold of their father’s house. And they counted with bated breath, because each “peek-a-boo” meant a year of unmarried life. And throwing wreaths into the river, they noticed: he was swimming steadily, calmly - life would be like that too, without shocks and problems. The waves throw him from side to side, whirlpools spin - the future does not promise anything good. And if the wreath drowns, expect trouble; the girl will not live to see the next Trinity Day.

A lot of mysterious, unusual, interesting things happened on this day. Based on the weather, they noted what summer and autumn would be like. They appeased and commemorated the spirits of deceased relatives. We went to churches and defended services. The special bright energy of the holiday is felt to this day.

God bless the family - the crown of creation.

The holy trinity of the earth is the Child. Mother. Father.

E. Yevtushenko.

Modern society is divided into people of believers and atheists, into true Christians who live according to the laws of the church and honor God and people who are far from the Faith and vegetate in the vanity of the world. Family spiritual values ​​are passed on from generation to generation, but many families are just starting their Orthodox path from the very beginning, having lost continuity due to almost a century of persecution of the Church. How to create Orthodox family V modern society and preserve the traditions of the Orthodox family, this question is asked by many true believers Christians who strive to create a Small Church out of the family.

Orthodox traditions that have developed since the Baptism of Rus', designed to make families friendly and strong, created an atmosphere of comfort and mutual understanding. For many centuries they have been the basis of family life in our country.

After the revolution of 1917 There was an overthrow of the autocracy in the Russian Empire and the abolition of Orthodoxy. Atheism has become government policy the new Soviet government, whose task was to destroy the value system of an Orthodox person. And this is natural, because a person without moral and spiritual values ​​is the best instrument of labor in the hands of godless authorities.

As a result, many of our Orthodox traditions (for example, observing fasts, regularly attending church on Sundays and holidays, pre-dinner prayers, etc.) either disappeared into oblivion or changed greatly and lost their deep meaning.

Family traditions are the usual family norms, behavior patterns, customs and views that are passed on from generation to generation. They distribute roles in all areas of family life, establish rules for intrafamily communication, including ways to resolve conflicts and overcome emerging problems.

In Orthodox culture, there is a clear hierarchy in the family, based on obedience to God and spiritual love. According to Christian doctrine, the family is an organism created in the image of the Church. The head of the family is the husband, and this is natural, because he is older than the wife according to Creation. Children are a gift from God, and both spouses must take care of their child, reveal his strengths and talents, and set an example of a virtuous Christian life.

The holy fathers and shepherds of the Church write about this:

Saint Theophan the Recluse: “The father and mother disappear into the child and, as they say, dote on the soul. And if their spirit is imbued with piety, then it cannot be that it will not have an effect on the child’s soul in its own way.”

Priest Alexander Elchaninov: “For raising children, the most important thing is that they see their parents living a great inner life.”

If a father does not listen to Christ and does not live according to God’s commandments, then he is a disobedient person. If a wife does not honor her husband, she also lacks obedience. How can such people raise an obedient child? The conclusion suggests itself.

According to historical evidence, when raising children, parents always combined severity with love. When discussing the actions of their children, parents always pointed to eternal life: a virtuous and God-obedient person goes to Heaven, and a sinner goes to Hell.

In order to instill in their children the skills of Christian life, parents constantly took them with them to worship services, visited the sick and prisoners in prison with them, observed fasts, and prayed.

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' emphasizes that “Human society cannot be created without a family; in the family, children receive the first inoculation of spiritual life, receive the first basics of upbringing and education. And how important it is for the family to become a warm, peaceful, joyful place, charging children with enormous energy, which would be enough for a lifetime, so that just the memory of childhood and family gives a joyful feeling and strength to overcome difficult life circumstances.

And if parents must help their children learn the basics of faith, then the children also have a huge responsibility: they must pray to the Lord for their dads and moms, for their grandparents, because the Lord hears the prayers of children like no one else. That is why He said: “Do not hinder the children from coming to Me, for to such is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 19:14).

An Orthodox family often has many children and every child is loved. Raising children in an Orthodox family is based on love and trust in each other. The elders help the parents raise the younger ones, while gaining experience for their future family life, and the younger ones take their example from them. Children who are baptized at an older age have a harder time accepting the Church than children baptized in infancy. Kids live and grow up with a sense of Faith instilled in them by their parents. Joint prayers support the traditions of the Russian Orthodox family, unite it and allow children to get used to the fact that it is impossible to live without talking with God. Children in an Orthodox family for the first time in their lives are faced with subordination to the authority of their father and mother, and this experience is the most important in difficult times. life path, softened by love for a person who rules and demands obedience. By following the instructions of the parents and observing the prohibitions, the child gains inner freedom, realizing that the authority of an older person is not intended to break his character, humiliate or enslave. By accepting punishment not as punishment, but as an instruction, the child learns to live correctly. In an Orthodox family, parents must learn to restrain and suppress their anger, not get irritated, and be able to punish with love. After all, according to the words of the Apostle Paul: “Love endures long, is kind, love does not envy, love does not boast, is not proud, does not act rudely, does not seek its own, is not irritated, does not think evil, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; covers all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love will never cease, although prophecy will cease, and tongues will be silent, and knowledge will be abolished.”

Seeing how his parents love him in a Christian way, the child adopts experience that will be useful to him in the future in the matter of how to create an Orthodox family, create in her an atmosphere of striving for God, i.e. affirm the statement “family is the Small Church.”

The Russian Orthodox family implies a union of a baptized man and woman, blessed by the Church, and living according to the laws Orthodox faith. The bride and groom, who are in love with each other, gradually come to mutual love in Christ. One of the most important goals of an Orthodox family is the goal of maintaining an honest, immaculate marriage, which is to avoid lust, carnal pleasures and adultery. The undeniable wisdom of a Christian marriage is that the husband and wife do not exert pressure and do not limit each other’s freedom of action, that is, such a marriage is built on the absolute trust of the husband and wife. And this trust and confidence in each other is secured by God’s blessing on marriage.

The ideal Orthodox family, representing a small Church, helps each of its members achieve the Kingdom of Heaven. Saint John Chrysostom spoke about this: “Where husband, wife and children are united by bonds of virtue, harmony and love, there is Christ among them.” It is appropriate to quote here the words of St. Theophan the Recluse: “Whoever lives in a family receives salvation from family virtues”; “Perfection can be achieved even in family life. We just need to extinguish and eradicate passions.”

However, family life brings not only joy, it is also associated with inevitable difficulties of both an internal (relationships between family members) and external (material support for the existence of the family) nature. This is how the Russian saints spoke about this side Orthodox Church: “The family is the life’s cross for the head! “Be patient, submitting to the Lord, and doing everything on your part, surrender everything to the will of God.” " Family hardships must be transferred as a share voluntarily chosen by us. Second thoughts here are more harmful than useful. The only saving thing is to pray to God for ourselves and for our family, that He may do good for us according to His holy will.”

One of the temptations of a family man is to forget about God while worrying about his relatives and to lose faith in the faith. Saint Nicholas of Serbia warns about this: “If a person devotes all his thoughts and all his zeal to his family and does not want to know anything except his family, then his family is a deity for him. And then this is a disease of the soul” and a violation of the commandment “thou shalt not make for yourself an idol.”

Family grows out of marriage. According to the Orthodox understanding, “marriage is a sacrament in which, with the free, before the priest and the Church, promise by the bride and groom of their mutual marital fidelity, their marital union is blessed in the image of the spiritual union of Christ with the Church and they ask for the grace of pure unanimity, for a blessed birth and Christian raising children."

The sacrament of marriage has existed in the Church since apostolic times, as evidenced, in particular, by the words of the disciple of the apostles, Hieromartyr Ignatius the God-Bearer, who wrote to Christians at the very beginning of the 2nd century: “Those who marry and are given in marriage must enter into a union with the consent of the bishop, so that the marriage was about the Lord, and not according to lust.”

St. John Chrysostom writes about the need for this sacrament for Orthodox Christians: “It is necessary to call on priests to strengthen the spouses in their life together with prayers and blessings, so that the love of the groom intensifies, and the chastity of the bride is strengthened, so that everything contributes to the establishment of virtue in their home, and the devil’s machinations scattered, and the spouses spent their lives in joy, united by God’s help.”

Wedding is one of the seven church Orthodox sacraments, to which believers can begin. Otherwise, a wedding is called a church marriage, in which the newlyweds testify their love before God.

Historically, the Sacrament of Wedding appeared quite late - in the form in which we know it. The early Christians did not have any special rite for blessing marriage: the Church recognized as legal the marriage that took place within the framework of the tradition that existed in that era. In the first Christian communities, the blessing of the newlyweds was performed by the very fact of the presence of a priest or bishop, the head of the church community, at the wedding feast.

The Orthodox Church gives special spiritual meaning The sacrament of the wedding. Not all are already established married couples and only those who are going to register the marriage decide to undergo the wedding ceremony. In former times, the wedding ceremony had legal force and was mandatory. Now a priest performs a wedding only if the marriage is registered in state institutions. On the one hand, we can conclude that the Sacrament of Wedding has lost its meaning; on the other hand, couples who decide to get married take this step quite consciously, trusting each other and understanding the spiritual power and significance of the ceremony. The sacrament of wedding means God's blessing on marriage, the birth and raising of children in the Christian faith.

It is deeply incorrect and dangerous to believe that an unmarried marriage is synonymous with fornication. A legal marriage - that is, not a secret one, announced to society and legally registered in a certain way - is fully recognized by the Church. And this is clearly stated in the Social Concept of the Russian Orthodox Church.

If an ordinary marriage cannot be considered wrong before God, then why is a wedding ceremony needed? The fact is that, without a church blessing, it will not be easy for Christians to build their marital relationships so that they become for them a ladder to the Kingdom of Heaven. More precisely, to build the Kingdom of Heaven in marriage now. And this is why the Sacrament exists.

The sacrament lies in the fact that Divine grace is called upon to transform the natural relationship between a man and a woman into a spiritual relationship. This desire transforms the natural attraction of the sexes towards each other into a step towards Christ - that's what happens. This is beautifully shown figuratively in the Gospel story about the miracle that Christ performs in Cana of Galilee: turning water into wine at a wedding. Any marriage is destined for such a transformation: the “water” of natural human relationships, by the power and action of the grace of the Holy Spirit, must become “wine” and acquire a completely different quality!

A wedding is not only a very beautiful and solemn service. This is not just one of the many rites of the Church. A wedding is called a sacrament, which means that during the ceremony a certain divine grace descends on people, which helps a person throughout his life.

The sacrament of wedding has a deep meaning. That is why church marriage must be approached consciously, and not out of motives of contemplating beautiful singing or other reasons not related to the essence of the sacrament. At the wedding, believers cement their marriage before God and receive a blessing from the Lord for a joint family life, the birth and raising of children. It is also necessary to remember that a wedding takes place for eternity. Believing, pious spouses can be together even after death.

During a wedding, Orthodox people make a vow to God to love, respect, and tolerate their spouse. These bonds should hold people together until death, because what is united by God should not be torn apart by man.

It turns out that the main meaning of the sacrament of wedding is the desire to create your own small Church - a family, and to testify to your love before God, as well as to make a promise to strive to fulfill the commandments, asking for blessings for family life together.

In church practice, there is an opinion that married couples during the Last Judgment will answer about their lives before God not separately, but together. At the same time, the husband, as the head of the family, will be responsible for family sins.

Keeping Orthodox family traditions, we become a part of the body of the Church and pass it on from generation to generation national characteristics Russian Orthodox Church. The behavior of each member of an Orthodox family in everyday life, at feasts, and on holidays should be of a religious nature while preserving spiritual values. It is difficult to imagine a Christian family without traditions and customs passed down by their great-grandfathers. The culture of patriotic loyalty and national feeling was brought up in the family, based on a special attitude towards the veneration of ancestors and paternal graves. The main goal The Orthodox family today, as at all times, remains to preserve and transmit from generation to generation spiritual and religious values.

As practice shows, pilgrimage trips to the holy places of our Motherland have a positive impact on families. These excursions provide new knowledge in the field of history and theology, architecture, art and simply Orthodox culture. And most importantly, they unite religious people, give them the opportunity to communicate and share life experiences.

Spiritual and religious traditions aim to awaken the child’s personality, to form feelings based on traditional primordial ideas about good and evil, the basic Christian commandments. They instill in children a sense of reverence for shrines, teach them to respect the world around them - the great creation.

Despite the events that took place in the twentieth century, generations living in beginning of XXI centuries, still retained faith in God and passed on the Orthodox traditions of our ancestors to the new generation. This is the undoubted merit of the Russian Orthodox Church.

But the traditions and knowledge about Orthodoxy that have been preserved are superficial. They have not yet entered our lives so firmly. And this must be promoted through education and enlightenment of people. Remember, the destruction of traditions occurred through the propaganda of atheism. The Soviet government pointed out the advantages of the socialist regime and turned to culture and science. This is how the current younger generation needs to act.

It is necessary to show people why it is so important to return the traditional Christian way of life to the family. To interest young people, for example, through the media. There are now a lot of programs about Orthodox culture, but they are lost in the flow of information. Perhaps this issue needs to be covered even more in cinema and in print media. So that a person can see the difference in the relationship between a religious family and their own, where perhaps there is a tense situation, there is no cohesion and unity, and they will want to change something in their life.

After all, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' repeatedly reminds us that “the only direct path to the revival of our people is creation strong family, spiritual and moral upbringing and education, return to historical roots, to genuine culture. It's time to raise in public consciousness the value of the family as a small Church and the Church as a large family.”

Official information resources:
mon.gov.ru- website of the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation
www.patriarchia.ru- official website of the Moscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church www.pravoslavie.ru- information and educational Orthodox portal

Orthodox libraries:
kraevs.ru, eleon.orthodox.ru (library Orthodox Christian, books; audio library; video library)
ni-ka.com.ua
www.manna-lib.com(library of spiritual poetry)
dimulik2009.narod2.ru (Apologetics; Dogmatics; Rhetoric; Holy Scripture; Comparative Theology; Lives of the Saints)
svn.wen.ru, www.slavoslovie.ru(library of Christian texts)
e-c-r.pravoverie.ru (collection of recordings of radio broadcasts on Orthodoxy)
www.obibl.com, skrigal.orthodox.ru (Orthodox Christian library)