Prayer before Holy Communion: history, meaning and the strongest texts
Preparation for Holy Communion occupies a special place in the spiritual life of an Orthodox Christian. Since ancient times, participation in the Eucharist has been perceived not only as the greatest joy and grace, but also as a responsibility requiring inner purity and humility. That is why the Church has established a special prayer rule that accompanies the approach to this sacrament. The most powerful prayers before Communion are in the material of Izvestia.
The history of prayer before Holy Communion
The practice of prayer preparation for the Eucharist has its roots in the first centuries of Christianity and gradually took shape along with the development of the liturgical tradition of Byzantium.
The monastic typicons and service books of the early Church also contain instructions on the penitential preparation of those who are about to receive communion: fasting, confession, prayer, and special petitions before the Most Pure Gifts.
Over time, these elements received a clearer canonical and liturgical design — stable canons and prayer texts designed specifically for preparing for communion appeared in the breviaries and horologues.
In the Russian church community, the rule of preparation for Communion was formed under the influence of the synodal period and local pastoral practice. Documents and pastoral decrees of the 20th and 21st centuries record the mandatory and recommended elements of preparation: repentance in confession, pre–liturgical or three-day fasting, reading the canons and prayerful following for Holy Communion.
At the same time, a certain amount of freedom remains in the local churches: the exact scope of the prayer rule and the duration of the service vary depending on the parish charter and the recommendations of the confessor.
Historically, the four-part rule included the canons of penance, prayers to the Mother of God and the Guardian Angel, the Trisagion, psalms (including the 50th), the Creed, and the canon of saints (for example, compositions attributed to St. Basil the Great and St. Basil the Great). To John Chrysostom). These texts have become publicly available and are printed in modern prayer books and sequences for Holy Communion.
The meaning and spiritual significance of prayer before Communion
Prayer before Communion plays several interrelated roles in the spiritual life of a believer. Firstly, it performs the function of repentance and inner purification: the believer realizes his sinfulness, asks for forgiveness and strives to raise his heart to the mercy of God, so that the Body and Blood of Christ would not become a judgment for him, but a source of life.
Secondly, private prayers set you up for prayerful concentration.: they help to get away from everyday worries and get closer to experiencing a mysterious encounter with God.
The social and pastoral aspect of the prayer rule is also important: the requirements for prayer, confession, and abstinence from quarrels are designed to ensure not only the personal but also the social sanctity of the communicants. As modern church authors and official documents of the Russian Orthodox Church emphasize, preparation for Communion is not limited to formal reading of texts — it involves changes in lifestyle, strengthening indefinite repentance and living according to the Gospel.
From the point of view of the theology of the Eucharist, prayer before Communion is an act of humility and recognition that communion is a union with Christ and at the same time a test of the soul.
Hence the strict instructions: to be pure of heart, to come to the Liturgy no later than its beginning, to take food and water in accordance with the fast, and to receive spiritual help through confession. Such preparation reduces the risk of spiritual unreason and helps the believer experience the Eucharist as communion with the Kingdom of God.
The strongest prayer before Communion
On the eve of communion and in the morning hours of the same day, the believer reads the prescribed sequence (or its abbreviated version), communes after a positive confession and in the absence of obstacles, observing fasting and the spiritual instructions of the rector.
At the same time, many priests advise not to limit oneself to one prayer, but to consider the four—part rule as a system - repentance, petitions, reading of penitential Psalms and a brief solitary prayer before entering the temple.
Modern pastoral guidelines emphasize the flexibility of the approach: for beginners and those who rarely receive communion, simplified rules are allowed (a short rule in the evening and in the morning, mandatory confession), while for those who constantly receive communion, the requirement for more serious preparation remains.
Prayer before the Communion of Basil the Great:
"O Master Lord Jesus Christ, our God, the Fountain of life and immortality, the Creator of all creatures visible and invisible, the co-existent Son of the Father without beginning, and the co-beginning, who, for the sake of His goodness, clothed himself in flesh in the last days, and crucified, and buried for us ungrateful and wicked, and by thy Blood renewing our nature corrupted by sin, Himself, Immortal King, accept also my sinful repentance, and incline thine ear to me, and hear my words. For I have sinned, O Lord, I have sinned into heaven and before You, and I am not worthy to look up to the height of your glory: I have angered Your goodness, having transgressed your commandments, and not obeying Your commands. But You, O Lord, who are merciful, long-suffering, and full of mercy, did not betray me to perish with my iniquities, waiting in every way for my conversion. For Thou hast become, O Lover of mankind, Thy prophet: For I do not want the sinner to die, but I will be converted and live for him. For, O Master, do not wish to destroy creatures by Your hand, and do not wish for the destruction of mankind, but rather for all to be saved, and to enter into the understanding of truth. Even though I am unworthy of heaven and earth, and of this temporal life, having subjected myself to sin, enslaved Your sweetmeats, and defiled Your image; but having been Your creation and creation, I do not despair of my salvation, cursed one, and I dare to come to Your immeasurable benevolence. Accept me also, O Lord, Who loves mankind, as a harlot, as a robber, as a publican, and as a prodigal, and lift up my heavy burden of sins, take away the sin of the world, and heal human infirmities, calling those who labor and are burdened to Yourself and giving rest, not coming to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. And cleanse me from all defilement of the flesh and spirit, and teach me to perfect holiness in Your passion.: That by the pure knowledge of my conscience I may receive a part of Your holy things, I may be united to Your holy Body and Blood, and have You living and abiding in me, with the Father and Your Holy Spirit. To her, Lord Jesus Christ, my God, and may the communion of Your most pure and life-giving Mysteries not be in my judgment, but may I be weak in body and soul, from which I am unworthy to receive communion, but grant me, even until my final breath, to receive without condemnation a part of Your holy things, into the Holy Spirit communion, into the parting of the eternal belly, and in a favorable response to Your Last judgment: For I will be a companion with all Your chosen ones of Your incorruptible blessings, which you have prepared for those who love You, O Lord, in whom you are most glorified forever. Amen to that.";
The Prayer of St. John Chrysostom:
"O Lord my God, we know that I am not worthy, that I am content below, that you may enter under the roof of the temple of my soul, which is all empty and fallen down, and that you have no place in me worthy to lay your head down: but as you humbled yourself from on high for our sake, humble yourself even now to my humility; and as you have accepted in the nativity scene and in the manger of the wordless, embrace and receive my soul into the manger of the wordless, and enter into my defiled body. And just as you were not unwilling to enter and join sinners in the house of Simon the leper, so be pleased to enter the house of my humble soul, leprous and sinful; and just as you did not reject a harlot and sinner like me, who came and touched You, have mercy on me, a sinner, who comes and touches You; and Just as you did not abhor her foul lips and the unclean ones that kiss You, abhor her foul lips and the unclean ones below me, abhor my vile and unclean mouths, and my filthy and unclean tongue. But may the coal of Your most holy Body, and Your honest Roof, be for the sanctification, enlightenment, and health of my humbler soul and body, for the lightening of the burdens of my many sins, for the observance of all diabolical actions, for the banishment and prohibition of my evil and evil custom, for the mortification of passions, for the observance of Your commandments, for the protection of the Holy Spirit, for the protection of the Holy Spirit, for the protection of the Holy Spirit, for the protection of the Holy Spirit, for the protection of the Holy Spirit, for the protection of the Holy Spirit, for the protection of the Holy Spirit, for the protection of the Holy Spirit, for the protection of the Holy Spirit, for the protection of the Holy Spirit, for the protection of the Holy Spirit, for the protection of the Holy Spirit, for the protection of the Holy Spirit, for the protection of the Holy Spirit, for the protection of the Holy Spirit, for the protection of the Holy Spirit. the application of Thy divine grace, and the appropriation of Thy kingdom. For I come to You, O Christ God, not despising You, but daring of Your ineffable goodness, and may I not depart from Your fellowship in many ways, for I will be hunted by the mental wolf. In the meantime, I pray to You: for you alone are Holy, O Master, sanctify my soul and body, mind and heart, womb and womb, and renew me throughout, and root Your fear into my bosom, and create Your sanctification inseparably from me; and be my helper and intercessor, nurturing my life in peace, making me worthy I stand at Your right hand with Your saints, through the prayers and supplications of Your Most Pure Mother, Your immaterial servants and Your most pure powers, and all the saints who have been pleasing You from time immemorial. Amen to that."
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