Holy Communion

If your spiritual father has barred you from Communion for some time, you should obediently follow his blessing and not look for another spiritual father who, in your opinion, will receive you more easily.

Sins you have once repented of and have not repeated since (abortion, fortune-telling, perjury) you do not repeat at confession. You may refrain from sins, but you will always have an inclination to them; so we must constantly repent of them and often prepare for Holy Communion. Only in the Church, in the house of God, can true healing take place.

In general, how often a Christian receives Communion depends on the blessing of his spiritual father. Some receive Communion very rarely on the ground that they consider themselves unworthy. This is a wrong position: however hard a person tries to purify himself before God, he still cannot be worthy of Communion by himself. The Lord has granted us the holy Mystery of Christ not because we deserved it, but out of His mercy and love for His fallen creation.

A Christian should receive Communion of the Holy Mysteries not as a payment earned for spiritual effort, but as a gift given in advance by the loving heavenly Father, which he must justify and receive as a means of purifying soul and body.

“The servant of God… partakes of the precious and holy Body and Blood of our Lord and God and Saviour Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins and unto life everlasting.”

The priest says this prayer when he gives a Christian Communion of the Holy Mysteries, and if the communicant has diligently prepared to meet this greatest grace, it transforms the person's whole being and makes him worthy of eternal life.

To “be ready” for Communion, a Christian should fast for several days and read special prayers. Preparation means that he must look back over his past life — recall every sin he has not yet repented of, forgive everyone and ask forgiveness of everyone himself, go to confession immediately before Communion, and only after that receive Communion. Remember that if a person goes to Communion with an impure heart, if he has not put away envy, resentment and other defilements of soul, then, as one who insults the holy Blood and Body, Communion will bring him not salvation but eternal torment as punishment.

Preparation for Communion can be divided, roughly, into 4 stages:

1. Making one's confession to one's spiritual father;

2. Attending the evening service on the eve of Communion;

3. Reading the special prayers before Communion, after the evening service and before the Divine Liturgy;

4. From the evening before Communion we stop taking food, drink and medicines.

After Communion we read the prayer of thanksgiving.