Baptism is only the first step on the path of a Christian. The most important sacrament of the Orthodox Church is communion. How to give communion to children, and especially infants? What rules and concessions exist for this? How not to overdo it when introducing your child to the Church and its sacraments? Read about this in today's story from the mother of an already baptized child.
My husband and I are Orthodox parents, and therefore our decision to baptize our baby was mutual. His godparents are responsible for the spiritual education of the child. We understood this, so we paid special attention to choosing future godmothers and fathers for our child. And so, our baby is an Orthodox Christian.
As it turns out, the most important part of a child’s spiritual education is communion. It is necessary not only so that the child is closer to God, but also so that the Guardian Angel, in whose honor the baby is baptized, will guard and protect him from various troubles.
Father told us that we need to come to communion for the first time two weeks after the child’s baptism. And it doesn’t matter at all that we, parents, rarely receive communion ourselves or don’t receive communion at all. After all, a child can know much more in his soul than adults. Children under seven years old receive communion without confession, and after that, like adults: first they must confess, and only then go to communion.
Another important point is that communion usually takes place on an empty stomach. Of course, babies are allowed to have breakfast. Just feed the baby at least half an hour before communion so that he does not burp. After three years, you should try not to feed the child, but there are no strict limits as such until the age of seven. Father told me that children from the age of three can easily withstand without food in the evening. The main thing is to introduce this gradually and as a kind of sacrament - the sooner the child gets used to it, the easier it will be for him later. A little later, you can teach your children to fast, but not strictly. For example, give up games, cartoons, meat or something especially tasty.
To the question of how often a child should be given communion, everyone must answer for themselves. Infants can be taken every day, older children - once a week. We try to give the baby communion once every two weeks and on major holidays. Communion takes place at liturgies - it is better to find out in advance the start and end times of the service in the church. Children receive communion first, then women and men.
You are allowed to come directly to communion with your infant. With older children, you can arrive early, depending on how long the child can stand it. As a rule, children do not like to stay in church for a long time, I remember this from myself. It always seemed to me that it was very stuffy there; you had to stand for a very long time without moving. It should be understood that children have less patience, but on the contrary, more energy. Everything needs to be approached with understanding - if the baby cannot stand still for a long time, do not force him, instilling a dislike for this ritual from childhood.
And now, the time has come for the sacrament of communion. The priest takes the Chalice from the altar and reads a prayer, the words of which must be repeated and prayed for your child with all your heart. Since we go to communion exclusively with the baby’s godfather or mother, one of them is holding the baby at this time. They do not make the sign of the cross in front of the Chalice, older children fold their arms crosswise on their chest, and hold very young ones on their right hand. The priest approaches each child and says loudly: “The Servant of God is taking communion...”, after which his name is called. Ours is still small, and therefore his godparents say his name for him. When the child grows up, he will have to call himself by name. Then they give a little Cahors on a spoon, and holy water for small children. At the very end of the service the baby is placed on the cross.
Vera, Moscow
What must be observed before and after the infant's Communion?
Good health! With the arrival of the baby, several questions arose about what is needed before and after the baby’s Communion. Until what age can you feed him before Communion? Do you need to serve Dora and warmth? Is it necessary to bow down for him after eating Dora? Who is better to take to Communion, mother or godmother? If the baby burps after the Sacrament, what should you do with the napkin? If burned, where should the ashes be scattered? How many days after the Sacrament should these instructions be observed? What to do with the pacifier and nipple on the bottle on this day? Save Christ!
Hello! About the age of feeding before Communion. I’ll probably disappoint you: although the terms are not limited by the rules, the meaning suggests that the sooner the better. It is necessary to decide practically, perhaps by teaching the child gradually.
Priests have a concept of “closing their lips,” i.e. after Communion and the consumption of the Holy Gifts remaining in the Chalice after the Liturgy, the priest prayerfully washes his lips in a special place, so that a particle of Communion does not disappear or be neglected. So the laity, out of awareness of the Greatness of the accomplished Sacrament of Communion, both adults and children, accepting a particle of Antidor and warmth, wash their lips. If they eat during Communion, then the dishes (spoons, forks, cups and plates, pacifiers and bottles) that were used before the communicant sleeps are washed separately from other dishes and the water is poured into a place “not common”, where no people, neither cats nor dogs run around (that is, a “not trampled place” according to the rules).
Until the child is able to pray on his own, it is probably better for the adult who leads the little Christian to Communion to pray for the acceptance of the Holy Place. The identity of godparents as those leading to Communion is most likely preferable, because and in all prayers the recipients bear the joyful duty of prayer for the godchildren.
If the baby burps after Communion (which almost never happens on an empty stomach), then, carefully collecting what came out, you can bring it to the temple. Every church has a well where water is poured after the Sacrament of Baptism is performed - this is where it will go.
The priests, having received communion, observe themselves until bedtime. When they wake up, they eat freely. I think the same applies to the laity, although in some parishes communicants observe themselves for up to three days. I think that for a baby the “priestly” rule of preserving the Shrine is enough. God help you, grow up big and Christian, the whole family!
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Date: 10/15/2016 18:50:13
Julia, Volodarsk
My daughter ate candy after communion and vomited. Is this a bad omen?
answers priest Evgeny Stupitsky
My four-year-old daughter ate candy (given at church) after communion and vomited. Father raised such a scandal because of this, and we left without understanding what happened!? Is this a bad omen or what?
Hello Julia! With all due respect to you, we must state that you are far from Christianity. The Christian Church is the Most Pure Body and Blood of our God Jesus Christ! There is no higher and more terrible shrine in the entire universe than the Body and Blood of Christ! In order to partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ, we Christians cleanse our body with many days of strict fasting, then cleanse our souls with repentance in the sacrament of confession, be sure to attend the evening service the day before, read special canons and akathists, and only then, having arrived on an empty stomach, we receive communion at the Divine Liturgy! If we do not prepare so carefully, then unworthy communion will lead to condemnation for us, for some it will lead to illness, and for some even to death, according to the Apostle Paul. You, out of ignorance, did not prepare in this way, and did not prepare your child, and thus exposed him to mortal danger by sending him to communion without reverence. Perhaps the child did not even know that he had to take inside the Body and Blood of God Himself. Therefore, the Lord, in His mercy, corrected your mistake and did not allow the child to receive communion to his condemnation, and the communion came out of him. The most terrible Shrine in the universe was desecrated by vomiting along with food onto the ground. There is no sin on the child for this. But you must urgently go to confession, and with tears ask God that you allowed such a blasphemously irresponsible attitude towards the Sacrament of Communion. The sin of spewing communion from a child also lies with the priest from whose hands the child received communion. He may face a ban from further ministry. The place where the communion, which had not had time to digest, fell should be burned with coal, then thoroughly washed, and everything that touched the communion should be burned in a special church oven. Do you understand how serious the blasphemy against the shrine was? We hope that the question about the omen is a joke? The Orthodox have no signs. We believe in God and our King, Savior Jesus Christ. We wish you to realize that you cannot joke with God in this way, and to prepare both the child and yourself for communion with all responsibility. God bless you!
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