You can attend church on critical days. Going to church during menstruation: you can or cannot

For the support of your faith, ask your loved ones for help from the Almighty or thank him, perform the sacrament of baptism or wedding. There are no strict restrictions on church attendance. But women often have the question, is it possible to go to church during menstruation? To get an answer, you need to turn to the Old and New Testaments.

Can I go to church during my period?

In the Old Testament there are definitions of purity and impurity of the body. You can’t go to church with certain diseases and outflows from the genitals. Therefore, during menstruation, it is better for women to refuse to attend church. But if we recall the New Testament, then one of the women touched the clothes of the Savior, and this was not considered a sin.

The answer to the question can be the words of Gregory Dvoeslov, who wrote that a woman during menstruation can attend church. She was created by God, and all the processes taking place in her body are natural, it does not depend on her soul and will in any way. Menstruation is a cleansing of the body, it cannot be compared with something unclean.

Priest Nicodemus the Holy Mountaineer also believed that a woman should not be forbidden to attend church on critical days, during this period it is possible. And the Monk Nikodim the Holy Mountaineer said that women are unclean during menstruation, so during this period copulation with a man is forbidden and procreation is impossible.

Modern clerics answer this question in different ways. Some are against going to church during menstruation, others do not see anything sinful in this, and still others allow attending church on critical days, but forbid participating in religious rites and touching shrines.

Why is a woman considered unclean during her period?

During the period of menstruation, a woman is considered unclean for two reasons: firstly, this is due to hygiene and blood leakage. When there were no reliable means of protection, blood could leak onto the floor of the church, and the Temple of God is not a place for bloodshed. Secondly, impurity is associated with the death of the egg and its release during bleeding.

Now many clergy limit the participation of a woman with discharge in church life. The abbots do not forbid them to attend church, they can go in and pray, but not to take part in religious rituals (chrismation, confession, baptism, weddings, etc.) and not to touch the shrines. And this is not due to the fact that the woman is unclean, but to the fact that with any bleeding, you can not touch the shrines. For example, this restriction applies even to those who injured their hand.

Usually people go to church when they need support for their faith in God, they want to pray for their own and the health of their loved ones, to perform the ritual of baptism, wedding, ask for advice and just be closer to the Almighty. The Orthodox religion, unlike Islam, does not impose strict restrictions on women visiting the temple of the Lord, but still recommends refraining from visiting church during menstruation. Therefore, the planning of Orthodox rituals by Christians should take into account the days of the woman's cycle.

Is it possible and why not to go to church during menstruation? - the answers to these questions lie in the origins and traditions of the Orthodox faith and are associated with the physical "impurity" of a woman during this period.

Why shouldn't a woman go to church when she's on her period?

The Old Testament forbids attending church in the following cases: leprosy, purulent discharge, ejaculation, the time of purification of women in childbirth (40 days for a boy and 80 days for a girl, Lev. 12), female bleeding (monthly and pathological), touching a decaying body ( corpse). This is due to the fact that these manifestations are indirectly connected with sin, although they are not sinful in themselves.

But, since the moral purity of believers is important for religion, the lists of prohibitions when compiling the New Testament were revised and left only 2 restrictions on visiting the temple:

• for women after childbirth (up to 40 days, during postpartum discharge);
• for women during menstruation.

First, the reason is purely hygienic. Indeed, in itself, the phenomenon of such secretions is associated with leakage of blood from the genital tract. This has always been the case, and in times of lack of reliable hygiene products from leakage. And the temple, in turn, cannot be a place of bloodshed. If you stick to this explanation, then today, using tampons or pads, you can prevent the occurrence of such an incident, and visit the church.

Secondly, the reason for “impurity” is explained by the fact that these secretions of a woman are associated with the rejection of the endometrium due to delivery (which indirectly implies the commission of original sin by a baby born), or purification due to the death of the egg and its release along with blood.

Can I go to church with my period?

Depending on what opinion the rector of a particular church has about the reason for the ban, a decision is made on the question “is it possible to go to church during menstruation?”. There are those clergy who do not see anything wrong with a woman visiting church during critical days, and there are those who are categorically against such a phenomenon.

In fact, appearing in the period of postpartum or monthly discharge, a woman will not commit any sin. After all, for God, first of all, the inner purity of a person, his thoughts and actions are important. Rather, it will look like disrespect for the observance of the rules of the temple and its life. Therefore, this restriction should be waived only in cases of extreme necessity, so that such actions do not become a reason for a woman to feel guilty in the future.

To date, almost all clergy converge in resolving this issue to the fact that it is possible to go to church and pray to a woman with bloody secretions, but you should refrain from participating in religious rituals (confession, communion, chrismation, baptism, etc.) and touching to the shrines.

On the eve of the great religious holiday of Holy Pascha, conversations arise with renewed vigor on the topic: is it possible to go to church on time. No one source can find a single clear answer. It is not written in books, there is no confirmation, record or other memo indicating the existence of such a ban, but behind the scenes it exists almost everywhere. Even the ministers of the church cannot give accurate information. There are many interpretations on this matter with different opinions.

Without knowing the essence of the root cause of the appearance of a belief, it is difficult for a woman to consciously decide how important it is to observe it.

It is believed that God's temple can be defiled by three things:

• dead body;
• fatal disease;
• expiration.

Read in this article

So why can't you go to church during your period?

Where did the controversy come from?

In the Old Testament, an unambiguous attitude is expressed, which echoes the traditions of paganism - a woman during menstruation is unclean and she should not be in the temple. This was explained by three reasons, the most common of which is hygiene standards.

But the other two are purely spiritual, philosophical. According to the Old Testament, Adam and Eve fell into sin and lost the immortality that God had prepared for them. Since that time human nature has become damaged, women's menstruation is a confirmation and a reminder of this fact. Priests, strictly adhering to the norm that nothing in God's temple should testify to mortality, human sinfulness, forbade women with menstruation to go to church.

The theme of death is also reflected in the third reason, according to which a dead body cannot defile the church. And menstruation in a woman is regarded as the rejection of a dead egg, a miscarriage of a failed human embryo.

In the days of the New Testament, the understanding of the divine belonging of man is changing. Jesus Christ, having accepted death for all human sins and resurrected again, denies the importance of the physical body in man's striving for unity with God. In religious perception, only the concepts of the soul, spirituality, the Holy Spirit remain. Therefore, the natural physical condition of a woman, as they say, “the Lord created her like that,” cannot be an obstacle to prayer or church attendance. This is confirmed by the words from the teaching of the Apostle Paul, who affirms that in man, created by the Lord, there is nothing unclean and "every creature of God is good." But the lack of a specific explanation on the topic of the menstruating woman does not allow us to put an end to the disclosure of this topic in the New Testament.

So, at the junction of two directions of religious views, this dispute arose.

All for and against

It is believed that the belief that one cannot go to church during menstruation has been preserved by inertia from the past Old Believers. Like, according to the teaching of the older generation, young women also preferred to adhere to this tradition.

But after all, disputes about whether it is possible for a woman to visit the temple on critical days have been going on throughout the entire time of the existence of Christianity, tying it to the term "impurities." By the way, this concept is used in other cases. It is believed that the mother should cleanse herself after childbirth. If a boy was born, then this period is 40 days, and if a girl - at 60. In addition, a man is also considered “unclean” during ejaculation.

In the Holy Books one can find statements supporting this prohibition. For example, St. Dionysius of Alexandria in the second rule says that women during purification cannot enter the holy temple and take communion.

And St. George the Dialogist argued that women should be allowed to attend church during menstruation, since they are so created by nature and are not to blame for this.

There is considerable controversy surrounding the story of the bleeding woman in the New Testament. It is said that she touched Jesus' clothes while he was healing others on the street, and was healed from it. In addition, the Savior himself did not reject her, noticing this touch, but, on the contrary, encouraged her with the words “Be braver, daughter!” This can be cited as evidence that a woman can turn to the Lord for help and blessing. But this opinion is opposed by the argument that it concerned only the clothes of Jesus, and not his body. This means that not everything that is usual is allowed to an “unclean” woman.

Some clarity was introduced quite recently at the Bishops' Conference, which took place on February 2-3 of this year. On it, relying on a number of church canons, the generally accepted practice was fixed, which prescribes to refrain from communion "in a state of female impurity."

And this is no longer superstition, not an ancient tradition, but a clearly written rule adopted by the assembly of bishops of Orthodox Russia, which any pious woman must adhere to. It is worth noting that it is forbidden to perform only the most intimate rites, but it is not indicated that one cannot attend church.

Now almost everyone agrees that women should be allowed to visit the temple on critical days, but if she, out of reverence, tries to avoid such situations herself, then she can be blamed for her personal decision.

What is allowed to a woman on "critical" days

Having received some clarity on the question of whether it is possible to go to church with menstruation, an open discussion remains: what can be done in a holy temple in such a situation.

Many are inclined to believe that almost nothing. It is forbidden to touch icons, holy books, light candles. It is believed that the temple, where only the Bloodless Sacrifice of the Savior is performed, cannot be defiled by the outflow of blood.

Modern hygiene products practically exclude the possibility of a woman's blood getting outside. Thus, some clergy recognize the opportunity to behave in church during menstruation, as usual. In any case, it is always better to seek blessings from your mentor and follow his advice.

People often ask: “Is it possible to read prayers during menstruation?”. There are no restrictions here, on the contrary. Churchmen argue that if a woman does not pray on “critical” days, then, against her will, she admits an unclean spirit to herself. So nothing can stop prayer.

Is it worth it to perform the sacraments and rituals

The Church has a stricter attitude towards the performance of such rites:

According to various polls, in Russia from 60 to 80 percent of the population consider themselves Orthodox. Of these, only 6-7 percent are churched. Many Russians, unfortunately, do not even know how to behave in an Orthodox church.

1. Men are not allowed to enter the church in a headdress.

“Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered shames his head.”

2. A woman, on the contrary, should not enter the temple with her head uncovered, and the scarf should completely and completely cover her hair and cover her ears.

Apostle Paul 1 Corinthians 11:4-5:

« And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered puts her head to shame, for it is the same as if she were shaved.”

3. A woman should not come to the temple with bright makeup. It is better not to use cosmetics at all before visiting the temple. In the church, attention must be paid to service and prayer.

Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov wrote: “Just as a body without a soul is dead, so prayer without attention is dead. Without attention, a prayer that is uttered turns into idle talk, and the one who prays is thus counted among those who take the name of God in vain..

4. Do not enter the temple in shorts and short skirts. For a woman, it is enough to cover her knees and put on any clothes that will cover her arms, shoulders and chest. The man must wear long trousers. It is not appropriate for women to come in men's clothing and vice versa.

Deuteronomy 22:5: "A woman should not wear men's clothes, and a man should not dress in a woman's dress, for everyone who does this is abominable before the Lord God."

5. Most priests allow a woman to enter the temple during critical days, but she does not have the right to participate in the sacraments. In rare cases, a woman may be admitted to the sacrament, they will not be allowed to venerate holy relics.

6. In Orthodox churches, one cannot be baptized from left to right.

In the book "Psalter" it is said in a "short statement": " ... I suppose: the first is on our forehead (forehead), it is also touched by the upper horn of the cross, the second is on our stomach (on the stomach), the lower horn of the cross reaches it, the third is on our right frame (shoulder), the fourth is on left, they also signify the cross-stretching ends of the cross, on it our Lord Jesus Christ crucified for us with a simple hand, all tongues bored at the ends in one gathering«.

In Catholicism, people are baptized from left to right. The norm of the Catholic cross blessing was approved in 1570 by Pope Pius V "He who blesses himself ... makes a cross from his forehead to his chest and from his left shoulder to his right."

7. Cell phones or bells should be turned off in church. The temple is a place for solitude, and nothing should interfere with communication with God. If the phone rings during the service, you will be ashamed, and others will be unpleasant. And even more so, an Orthodox church is not a place for mobile games like Pokemon Go.

8. It is forbidden to make noise, laugh and talk loudly in the church. Temples have strong acoustics and this can seriously interfere with worship.

9. Children often do not yet know how to behave properly in the temple. If children are hyperactive, it is better to refrain from taking them with you to work. Screaming or crying children in church distract from prayer. If your child is crying, calmly leave the temple with him.

10. Women in the temple cannot perform the functions of a clergyman. This is deeply enshrined in the Orthodox tradition.

Deacon Andrei Kuraev: “The priest at the liturgy is the liturgical icon of Christ, and the altar is the room of the Last Supper. At this supper, it was Christ who took the cup and said, Drink, this is My Blood. ... We partake of the Blood of Christ, which He Himself gave, which is why the priest must be a liturgical icon of Christ. ... Therefore, the priestly archetype (prototype) is masculine, not feminine”.

Isaac Sirin wrote: “Any prayer, in which the body does not become weary, and the heart does not come into contrition, is recognized as an unripe fruit, because such a prayer is without a soul.”

12. If you need to move to another part of the temple - do not pass between the priest and the altar.

13. During worship, it is not recommended to idly walk around the temple and greet acquaintances, this prevents parishioners from concentrating on prayers. To greet familiar people is silently with a slight nod of the head. Holding hands in the temple is also not accepted.

Reverend Lawrence: “If you need to leave the Liturgy, then leave after “Our Father ... And if you have already left with the Communion of the Body and Blood, then stand with fear and pray on the spot, because the Lord himself is present here with the Archangels and Angels. And if you can, shed at least a small tear for your unworthiness.”

14. You can not defiantly turn your back to the altar during the service and prayer.

15. Do not enter the altar, even if you are very interested. Only the servants of the temple can be there. Occasionally, representatives of the authorities are allowed there.

The Sixth Ecumenical Council decided: “None of all those belonging to the category of the laity should be allowed to enter the sacred altar, but, according to some ancient tradition, this power and dignity of the king is by no means forbidden when he wishes to bring gifts to the Creator.”

16. If someone next to you behaves inappropriately for the situation, it is better to remain silent or say it quietly and delicately. However, the best choice is to focus on prayer and not make any remarks in the temple.

John Chrysostom: "He who strictly investigates the misdeeds of others will not receive any indulgence for his own."

17. It is forbidden to eat or drink anything in the temple, and even more so to enter the temple in a state of intoxication. According to the charter, it is not customary to come to the morning service on a full stomach. Deviations are possible due to weakness, with self-reproach.

18. If you are in a hurry somewhere, it is better not to go to church. Going to the temple does not tolerate fuss, so constantly looking at the clock or asking someone else for the time is considered disrespectful.

Isaac Sirin: “Forbid yourself distraction of thoughts during prayer, hate daydreaming, reject worries with the power of faith, strike your heart with the fear of God - and you will conveniently accustom yourself to attention. The praying mind must be in a completely true state. Dreaming, no matter how alluring and plausible, being one’s own, arbitrary composition of the mind, leads the mind out of the state of divine truth, leads it into a state of self-deception and deceit, and therefore it is rejected in prayer.

19. In church, do not cross your arms behind your back. No one remembers where this ban came from, but it’s better not to provoke others. Crossing the arms, as well as the “fig behind the back”, are the oldest symbols of protection and rejection of something. In communion with God, one should be completely open and sincere.

20. In notes on health and for the repose, you do not need to write last names and patronymics, as well as non-church names. It is also not customary to list the unbaptized, non-Christians and suicides.

21. Do not take out burnt out candles and put your own in their place. This can only be done by temple employees after the completion of the rites.

22. It is forbidden to go to the temple with animals, especially with dogs. In the Bible, a dog is considered an unclean animal, among the Jews it was considered the embodiment of all that is despicable.

23. The opinion of the ministers of the church varies greatly regarding the non-wearing of the pectoral cross in the church. Some believe that this is a great sin, others call to be more tolerant of a person. Without a cross, you can be allowed into the church, but you will not be allowed to the sacraments.

24. When kissing the icon, do not kiss the faces of Christ, the Mother of God and the saints. You can not kiss the frame of the icon, as this custom is an echo of the heretical tradition. Kissing the frame unwittingly support the heresy of iconoclasm.

25. It is forbidden to smoke in the church and in the courtyard of the church.

“Is it possible or not to go to church with menstruation?” is an important question that does not have a clear answer. He has both ardent supporters who defend church-historical rules and concepts, and active opponents who defend women's impotence in front of the natural processes of the body. Both are right, but what is a woman to do at this time?

Old Testament Prohibition

The history of questions and answers on the topic of attending church on critical days is rooted deep in ancient times - in the era of the Old Testament. This Holy Scripture united two religions - Christianity and Judaism, and was a kind of constitution of the Christian faith.

The Old Testament singled out a certain group of "unclean" people who did not have the right to take communion, confess, pray within the walls of a holy place, that is, they were strictly forbidden to enter the temple. The category of "unclean" included:

• leper people;
• people with purulent-inflammatory infections in the body;
• men during ejaculation and with prostate dysfunction;
• people who touched the corpse, thereby defiling themselves;
• women during bleeding from the vagina (menstruation, postpartum suckers, and the like);
• men and women with any kind of bleeding.

Why can't women go to church on critical days, when menstruation is considered a natural process that is directly involved in childbearing? The answer of the church is this: menstruation is the rejection by the female body of human life, which could be born and develop in her womb. The "impurity" of people in the Old Testament is associated with death. That is, roughly speaking, the main purpose of a woman is the birth of offspring. She must be in a constantly pregnant state, since menstruation is the death of an unborn embryo and, accordingly, a sin. The answer is unfair, but it is a fact.

This attitude of the church towards women is somewhat reminiscent of discrimination. Gender harassment is observed even in the terms allotted for cleansing after childbirth: if a boy was born - 40 days, if a girl - 80. At this time, a woman should sit at home and wait for the days strictly allotted by the church for bleeding to end.

Seriously ill and dying women were considered an exception - faith turned a blind eye to their menstrual flow.

Correction of the prohibition by the New Testament

During the reign of the New Testament, the understanding of a person’s church affiliation changed and the list of “unclean” was subject to adjustment. The church began to treat women more condescendingly, and the topic of menstruation could only be considered from the point of view of hygiene.

After Jesus Christ accepted death, thereby taking upon himself all the sins committed by man, and again returned to life (resurrected), his understanding of divine belonging became different - the physical body is nothing compared to the spiritual power of a person striving for unity with God . That is, religion does not look at how a person looks and in what state his body is now. For religion, one important concept remains - the soul. Thus, women's menstruation is not a prohibitive reason to visit the temple.

The Church did not forbid a woman on "these" days to go to church, take communion, confess, pray. But still, she welcomed the woman's decision to stay at home on her menstrual days, and not go to God's house.

Modern view of the church

The points of view of modern clergy, as in ancient times, do not coincide. Why can you walk? Why can't you walk? When is it possible and when is it not? The answers to these questions hung in time. Some believe that a woman is forbidden to go to church, others are allowed to pray within the walls of the church, confess, take communion, despite the "red" days of the calendar.

None of the others can convincingly defend their point of view without any arguments in defense or accusation.

Proponents of the forbidden ritual

The “defenders” of the ban explain why it is impossible to go to church, take communion and confess on “these” days, relying on the traditions of the Old Testament and the fact that during menstruation a woman’s body is freed from an unfertilized and dead egg. But they cannot unambiguously answer what relation the physiology of processes has to spiritual strength.

In their opinion, absolutely everything is forbidden for a woman in the walls of the temple of God on critical days: to enter the temple, touch holy icons and books, put candles, take communion, confess. To desecrate a holy place with any bleeding is a great sin. Even a wounded priest is not allowed to enter the church.

Arguments against the forbidden ritual

The other side of Orthodox Christianity considers the ban on women visiting church on critical days morally untenable. Even St. John Chrysostom (4th century) considered the propaganda of the "forbidden ritual" superstition and called such behavior of the church unworthy of faith.

It is also worth noting that, according to the opponents of the "menstrual taboo", the ban was created back in the days of paganism, and this religion has no points of intersection with Orthodoxy and cannot dictate its own rules and laws.

One can unequivocally answer that for God, the inner purity of thoughts is more important, and the behavior of the body is secondary. If a woman came to God during menstruation, but at the same time with a pure soul and sincere faith, then no menstrual flow can prevent her from doing this. Man was created by God, and what he consists of is valuable for God. It is impossible to be ashamed of menstruation invented by him, and even more so to consider them a sin.

If we touch on the aesthetic side, then modern methods of hygiene reliably protect the woman and the temple from accidental bloodshed. In ancient times, such "incidents" were very afraid, because any bloodshed within the walls of the church was considered a sin, and women did not follow hygiene properly.

What is allowed on critical days?

It is very upsetting that the church does not have common and unified views. If there is only one faith - Orthodoxy - then the laws should be the same. Why then does a dispute arise on the question “is it possible or not to go to the House of God during menstruation, is it possible to take communion and, if not, then why?”

Today, God's house is open to all women, regardless of their personal menstrual calendar. It is believed that for God it is not the physiological manifestations of the body that are important, but spiritual purity and thoughts with which a woman addresses the saint in confession or prayer.

In most temples, religious women adhere to the laws of critical days and do not visit the holy place until menstruation ends. For them, it is a tribute to a centuries-old sacred tradition.

So, in our time there are two completely opposite truths of one faith: the answer of the first places a complete taboo on attending church, the opportunity to receive communion and pray to women on critical days; the second answer is that all the prohibitions applied to women during menstruation are outdated church prejudices. You can visit the temple if your soul and faith require it.