It is possible to pray for relatives and friends at home, but if the clergy and parishioners of the temple join in the prayer, the benefit will be even greater. This can be done with the help of church notes, which are read by priests and sextons during the service.
Instructions
Step 1
In every temple, at the entrance or near the shop, a table is usually set up for writing notes. There are pens, letterheads, or just blank pieces of paper. If there are no ready-made forms, you need to fill in the sheet yourself: draw an Orthodox cross in the upper part of it in the center, write "On health" below, and then write down the names in legible handwriting. According to the church charter, it is customary to write no more than 10 names.
Step 2
Specify names in genitive and without abbreviations. Leave a small margin on the left for notes: "young." baby, "neg." youth, "not idle," that is, pregnant. They write about a sick person "sick." (sick), about the traveler - "travel." (traveling). Sometimes not all family members are listed, but only the heads of the family, for example, Vladimir with relatives. A mother with a child is recorded as follows: "(mother's name) with a child."
Step 3
Before remembering someone, you should make sure that the person is baptized, and write the name that was given to him at baptism. For example, not Yegor, but Georgy, not Svetlana, but Fotinia.
Step 4
Notes are served in the church shop. You may be asked what kind of note you are submitting: for a proskomedia or a regular one. To be remembered at the proskomedia is considered a special grace, since during this part of the Liturgy, the priest, after each name, takes out particles from the prosphora, and then immerses them in the Cup with the Blood of Christ. This action symbolizes sanctification and cleansing from sins.
Step 5
Simple notes are also read in the altar, but without dipping particles into the Chalice. This usually happens in the second half of the service, when each petition is accompanied by exclamations of the choir "Lord have mercy." At this moment, the priest reads notes about health, and each of those present in the temple prays for himself and his loved ones.
Step 6
Some churches accept customized notes. They differ from those submitted to the proskomedia in that they are read not only before the throne and at litanies (prayer petitions), but also during the prayer service. When performing this service, parishioners ask the Lord, the Mother of God and the saints for the bestowal of mercy, and also thank God for all the blessings He has sent down. Notes for the prayer service can be left on the bench or given to one of the ministers before the start of the congregational prayer.
Step 7
For seriously ill patients, as well as for people in difficult life situations, they submit a petition for a magpie. The church will commemorate them at every service for forty days. In this case, a special note is not required, the person's name will be entered in a special notebook on the bench.
Step 8
The amount of donation for all types of petitions varies depending on the desire and ability of the Christian. But in order to avoid uncertainty, it became necessary to charge a fixed fee. Customized notes and those read on proskomedia are usually more expensive than simple ones, and a magpie may include the cost of several registered notes.
