Attending divine services in the church is a moral need for a believing Orthodox person. During a church service, a Christian takes part in congregational prayer, makes his petitions to God both for himself and for his relatives and friends.
Orthodox worship is a conciliar prayer of a person to the Lord, the Mother of God, angels and saints. The priest, as the head of the flock, performs a church service, during which certain prayer petitions are pronounced in memory of people, both living and dead. This practice is called remembrance in the temple.
The Holy Fathers say that there is no prayer for a person stronger than the one offered during the main Christian service - the Divine Liturgy. It is at the service, during which the amazing miracle of the application of bread and wine to the true and real Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ is performed, that people are remembered. This takes place during the so-called liturgy of the catechumens at special augmented litanies. These prayers are for both health and repose. Sometimes the church charter provides for the omission of the funeral litany: this happens on great Orthodox holidays. Therefore, on such days, the deceased are not remembered in the temple.
In order to order a commemoration, you must enter the names of the people for whom you need to pray in special church notes. The latter are of two types: about health and about repose. You should know a few basic rules on how to properly submit memos to the temple.
The church makes a prayer commemoration in the temple of those people who have received holy baptism, thereby being members of the Church of Christ. In Orthodox churches, the names of those people who have not been baptized are not accepted for notes. It is worth writing down only those who have been enlightened by the great sacrament. You can pray for the unbaptized in the temple with your own words.
In the Orthodox tradition, it is customary to record people for commemoration with the names that were given to a person at holy baptism. However, there are situations when the name of the baptized person is not known. For example, if you need to order the commemoration of the deceased baptized person, who was called Lera in the world or by another name that is not displayed in the calendar. In this case, you can write down the worldly name, because the Lord knows the person for whom the prayer is being offered. Also, in a similar situation, you can consult with the priest about what to do. Sometimes the baptized Svetlana or Inn are recorded as Photinia and Nina, respectively.
Another rule for filing memorial notes should be considered the entry of the name in the genitive case. So, in the temple they pray for the health of "whom?": For example, Demetrius, or for the repose of Tatiana. Accordingly, the male name Alexander in the note should be written as "Alexandra", and a similar female name - "Alexandra".
It should also be noted that it is useful for a believer not only to order a commemoration in the church, but also to be present at the service itself and, together with the Church, pray for his neighbors.
The best time to submit notes in an Orthodox church is half an hour (10-15 minutes) before the start of the liturgy. You can order a commemoration for a specific day and in advance, for example, on the eve of the liturgy, or in advance for the next week.
It should also be remembered that you cannot submit notes about the repose of living people because of resentment and anger. This action is a sin to watch out for. Such an act has a negative impact on the human soul, because the very act of wanting death to one's neighbor is a violation of the commandment of love given by the Lord Jesus Christ.
