👉🏾👉🏾👉🏾#Holy #Liturgy
(Part 1)
Dear followers of the Orthodox teachings on John's Repentance website .we greet you with the peace of the Lord. Today, based on the topic mentioned above, we present to you the following important lesson. We encourage everyone to read it carefully and learn from it.
✍🏾The Church’s rules regarding what should and should not be done during the Holy Mass are as follows:
👉🏾 If a person who laughs during the Holy Mass is a priest, he is still required to receive Holy Communion. After receiving the Holy Body, he must leave the church and perform repentance through prayer and fasting for one week.
👉🏾 If the person who laughs is a layperson, he must leave the church immediately without receiving Holy Communion.
👉🏾 Why did the Church judge that the priest should receive and then leave to be disciplined?
✍🏾 Why was the priest allowed to continue serving and distributing Holy Communion after laughing? Because from inside the sanctuary no one can see that the priest laughed, and if he were sent out without receiving Holy Communion, it could cause confusion and doubt among the faithful.
✍🏾When the faithful see a priest leaving the Mass in the middle of the Holy Liturgy, they may begin to question the Holy Sacrifice, saying,“What did the priest see in the sacrifice?”This can cause confusion and doubt among the faithful.
✍🏾 But a believer should not say or do anything that is not acceptable in the holy temple. Since everyone can see him when he laughs, it may become a source of distraction and irritation to others.. Therefore, to preserve reverence in the church, he must leave immediately so that nothing inappropriate is said or done in the holy temple.
✍🏾No one should spit in the church. If a person is suffering from illness or discomfort, he should quietly receive the saliva in his handkerchief, without making any sound, and discreetly wipe it away.
✍🏾Let no one speak foolish or meaningless words in the church or during the Holy Liturgy.
✍🏾 Since the church is a house of prayer, where the faithful stand before God in fear and reverence, it is not permissible to leave before the Holy Liturgy is completed.
✍🏾However, if there is a very serious reason or illness, one may leave after the reading of the Holy Gospel.
✍🏾 The vestments worn by priests during the Holy Liturgy should be white, because white garments are pleasing and symbolize purity and divine glory.
✍🏾 When our Lord Jesus Christ revealed His divine nature, His garments became white as snow.
✍🏾 The angels were seen wearing white garments at the Nativity, Resurrection, and Ascension, proclaiming:“Greetings, peace, and joy.”
✍🏾 Let no one enter the holy temple wearing shoes, for God said to Moses:
“Take off your sandals, for the place where you stand is holy ground.”
(Exodus 3:5)
👉🏾 During the Holy Liturgy, every believer must guard his heart and conscience, so that his mind is not drawn to worldly thoughts, but remains focused on prayer, remembrance, and the fear of God, with a pure heart and a clear conscience
✍🏾After the Holy Gospel is read, the priest should interpret it for the people and teach them.
✍🏾When he washes his hands, he admonishes the faithful, saying:
“If you have not reconciled with those you have wronged,
if you have not returned the property you have taken,and if you have not repented and accepted correction,holy body will become fire and the blood will become a sea that will drown you.”
✍🏾 But if you return what you have wronged, repent sincerely, and accept correction, Holy Communion will be salvation for your body and salvation for your soul.
Order of Receiving Holy Communion
Continues 👇🏾