Is it possible for women to attend church on critical days. In what cases can the canon on communion during menstruation be violated. Is it possible to drink holy water during menstruation

Communion during menstruation are issues that cause controversy among priests and excite every Christian woman.

Not knowing a clear answer, during the monthly days, the parishioners remain to listen to the service in the vestibule.

Where do the roots of prohibition come from? We are looking for the answer in the Old Testament

The church porch is located in the western part of the temple, it is a corridor between the temple entrance and the courtyard. The vestibule has long served as a place of hearing for unbaptized, catechumenized people, those who were forbidden to enter the temple for a certain time.

Whether there is a something insulting for a Christian to be out of church service for a while, participation in confession, communion?

Menstrual days are not a disease, a sin, but the natural state of a healthy woman, emphasizing her ability to give children to the world.

Why then the question arises - is it possible to confess during menstruation?

The Old Testament pays much attention to the concept of purity when entering before God.

The impurities included:

• diseases in the form of leprosy, scabies, ulcers;
• any expiration of both women and men;
• touching a dead body.

The Jews before the exit from Egypt were not a single people. In addition to worshiping the One God, they borrowed a lot from pagan cultures.

Judaism believed that impurity, a dead body, is one concept. Death is Adam and Eve's punishment for disobedience.

The first Christian women also faced the problem - is it possible to receive communion during menstruation, they had to make the decision themselves. Someone, following traditions, canons, did not touch anything sacred. Others felt that nothing could separate them from God's love except sin.

Many believing virgins confessed and took communion during menstruation, not finding a prohibition in the words, sermons of Jesus.

The attitude of the Orthodox Church towards:

The attitude of the early church and the holy fathers of that time to the question of menstruation

With the advent of a new belief, there were no clear concepts either in Christianity or in Judaism. The apostles separated themselves from the teachings of Moses, without denying the divine inspiration of the Old Testament. At the same time, ritual impurity was practically not put as an object of discussion.

The holy fathers of the early church, such as Methodius of Olympus, Origen, Martyr Justin, treated the issue of purity as a concept of sin. Unclean, according to their concepts, means sinful, this applied to women, the time of menstruation.

Origen attributed not only menstruation, but also sexual intercourse to impurities. He ignored the words of Jesus that two, when they copulate, are transformed into one body. (Mat. 19:5). His stoicism and asceticism were not confirmed in the New Testament.

The Antiochian teaching of the third century banned the teachings of the Levites. The Didascalia, on the other hand, denounces Christian women who have left the Holy Spirit during menstruation, separating the body from church services. The church fathers of that time consider the same bleeding patient to be the basis for their exhortation.

Clement of Rome gave an answer to the problem - is it possible to go to church during menstruation, arguing that if a person who stops attending the Liturgy or taking communion has left the Holy Spirit.

Christian, not crossing the threshold temple during menstruation, not related to the Bible, can die without the Holy Spirit, and what about then? St. Clement in the "Apostolic Decrees" argued that neither the birth of a child, nor critical days, nor wet dreams defile a person, cannot separate him from the Holy Spirit.

Important! Clement of Rome condemned Christian women for empty speeches, but he considered childbirth, bleeding, bodily defects to be natural things. He called prohibitions the invention of stupid people.

Saint Gregory the Dialogist also stood on the side of women, arguing that the natural, God-created processes in the human body cannot cause a ban on attending church services, confession, and communion.

Further, the issue of female impurity during menstruation was raised at the Gangra Cathedral. The priests assembled in 341 condemned eustathian who considered not only menstruation to be unclean, but also sexual intercourse, forbidding priests to marry. In their false teaching, the difference between the sexes was destroyed, or rather, a woman was equated with a man in clothes, manner of behavior. The Fathers of the Gangra Council condemned the Eustathian movement, defending the femininity of Christian women, recognizing all the processes in their body natural created by God.

In the sixth century, Gregory the Great, Pope of Rome, took the side of the faithful parishioners.

The Pope wrote to St. Augustine of Canterbury, who raised the issue of menstrual days, impurity, that there is no guilt of Christians in these days, she should not be forbidden to confess, to take communion.

Important! According to Gregory the Great, women who abstain from Communion out of reverence are worthy of praise, while those who received it during menstruation out of great love for Christ are not condemned.

The teaching of Gregory the Great lasted until the seventeenth century, when Christian women were again forbidden to enter the church during menstruation.

Russian church of the early period

The Russian Orthodox Church has always been characterized by strict laws regarding women's critical days, any kind of expiration. Here the question is not even raised - is it possible to go to church during menstruation. The answer is unambiguous and non-negotiable - no!

Moreover, according to Nifont of Novgorod, if childbirth begins right in the temple and the child is born there, then the whole church is considered defiled. She is sealed for 3 days, re-consecratedby reading a special prayer, which can be found by reading "Questioning Kirik".

All those present at the same time in the temple were considered unclean, they could leave it only after the cleansing prayer of the Treasury.

If a Christian woman came to the temple “clean”, and then she had bleeding, she urgently had to leave the church, otherwise a six-month penance awaited her.

The cleansing prayers of the Trebnik are still read in churches immediately after the birth of a baby.

This question causes a lot of controversy. The problem of touching an "unclean" woman in pre-Christian times is understandable. Why even today, when a child is born in a sacred marriage and is a gift from God, his birth makes the mother, everyone who touches her defiled?

Contemporary clashes in the Russian Church

Only after 40 days a Christian is allowed into the temple, subject to complete "purity". A rite of churching or introduction is performed over her.

The modern explanation for this phenomenon is the fatigue of the woman in labor, she allegedly needs to recover. How, then, to explain that seriously ill patients are encouraged to visit the temple more often, take the sacrament, being cleansed by the blood of Jesus?

The ministers of the present time understand that the laws of the Ribbon do not always find their confirmation in the Bible and the Holy Scriptures of the Church Fathers.

Marriage, procreation and impurity somehow hard to put together.

1997 made adjustments on this issue. The Holy Synod of Antioch, His Beatitude Patriarch Ignatius IV, issued a decision to change the texts of the Rib Book regarding the sanctity of marriage and the purity of Christian women who gave birth to a child in a union consecrated by the church.

Important! The Church, upon the introduction of the mother, blesses the birthday of the child, if the mother is physically strong.

After Crete, Orthodox churches received strong recommendations to convey to all parishioners that their desire to attend the temple, confess and take the sacrament is welcome, regardless of the critical days.

St. John Chrysostom was critical of adherents of the canons, who argue that visiting the temple on critical days is unacceptable.

Dionysius of Alexandria advocated the observance of the canons, however, life has shown that not all laws are observed by modern churches.

The canons should not govern the Church, for they were written for temple services.

Questions about critical days wear a mask of piety based on pre-Christian teachings.

The modern Patriarch Pavel of Serbia also does not consider a woman during critical days to be spiritually unclean or sinful. He claims that during menstruation, a Christian can confess, take communion.

His Holiness the Patriarch writes: “The monthly cleansing of a woman does not make her ritually, prayerfully unclean. This impurity is only physical, bodily, as well as excretions from other organs. In addition, since modern hygiene products can effectively prevent the accidental outflow of blood from making the temple unclean ... we believe that from this side there is no doubt that a woman during the monthly cleansing, with the necessary care and taking hygiene measures, can come to church , kiss icons, take antidoron and blessed water, as well as participate in singing.

Important! Jesus Himself cleansed women and men with His own blood. Christ became the Flesh of all Orthodox. He trampled down bodily death, giving people spiritual life, independent of the state of the body.

Watch a video about going to church during your period

With the advent of menstruation, many women attending the temple are concerned about the question of whether it is possible to take communion during menstruation, get married, baptize children, kiss icons or pray. Due to the lack of a clear answer in the Bible about the possibility of attending church on critical days, clergy interpret the postulates based on their own beliefs about women's "impurity" on certain days of the cycle. The Russian Orthodox Church forbade women to visit the temple during menstruation, observe fasts, and pray. However, the natural physiological processes in the female body are an inevitable phenomenon that does not indicate that the woman has become “unclean”. Only committing a sin defiles a person.

What is the reason for the ban on visiting the temple?

In addition to the ban on visiting the temple, the Orthodox Church believed that a woman during menstruation should not:

• take communion;
• get married;
• baptize a child
• confess;
• touch icons;
• be baptized unbaptized;
• take antidor (prosphora) and holy water;
• participate in singing;

In addition, you cannot enter the temple for 40 days after giving birth.

To explain why you should not go to church during menstruation and a few days after giving birth, you need to turn to the Old Testament. It says that "unclean" is considered a dead body, certain (venereal) diseases, exudates from the genitals of women and men.

The majority of modern priests do not limit the presence of a woman in the temple during critical days. They convince parishioners that the natural processes in the body should not affect their beliefs.

Theories of prohibition

Adherents of "ritual purity" give their reasons why a woman during menstruation is not worthy to visit the temple:

1. Starting from the Middle Ages and until the 18th century, a woman with menstruation was not allowed to visit shrines. It was also forbidden to enter the temple during menstruation.
2. Rigid requirements were put forward by the Russian Orthodox Church, starting from the 12th century. Women were forbidden to give birth in the house, so as not to defile the living quarters with their own secretions. For this, a bath was used. The first visitor after childbirth was a priest who read a special prayer, "cleansing" the woman in labor from filth. Within 80 days (at the birth of a girl) and 40 (if a boy was born), the woman in labor had no right to attend church, receive communion, or baptize her children. Only the clergyman could determine how many days the ban would last, and when one could receive communion.
3. According to the statements of Timothy of Alexandria, the ban on communion was associated with the physical ailment of women during and. At this time, they were supposed to be at home, reading prayers.
4. According to the Canons of Hippolytus, women in labor and midwives were not allowed to attend church during menstruation and after childbirth. They could only stand at the gate during the service until the term of restriction expired.
5. The sayings of Dionysius of Alexandria limited stay in the temple on certain days, thereby pointing to the spiritual and bodily "impurity" of women with menstruation. That is why a woman could not be a godmother or confess during menstruation.
6. The Gospel of James says that the Virgin Mary lived in the temple for up to 12 years (until the onset of menstruation), so as not to defile the holy place with menstrual blood.
7. Levitical laws forbade touching a menstruating woman out of concern for the health of unborn children, thereby restricting sexual intercourse. According to Moses, Tertullian, Lactantius, Origen, who were the founders of Christian theology, intercourse is justified only for the purpose of conceiving a new life.

Modern look

Today the attitude of the church towards the material world has changed. Each woman decides for herself whether it is possible to pray during menstruation, visit holy places, participate in the sacraments of baptism, weddings.

Modern clergy emphasize that any of God's creation is pure. If a woman feels the need to communicate with the Lord, no physiological changes in the body should prevent this.

Menstrual flow, like any other, does not affect the spiritual purity of a woman. There are many hygiene products with which women can not limit their physical and social activity. Women do not refuse to become a godmother or get married if a significant event coincides. Sometimes menstruation comes early or delayed, and it is not always possible to adjust the right moment.

Opponents of the ban for women to attend church when they are menstruating were well-known clergymen of past centuries: John Chrysostom, the Apostle Paul, Gregory the Dialogist, Patriarch Pavel of Serbia and others.

After the Crete Conference in 2000, the priests of Orthodox churches were advised not to forbid, but to welcome the presence of women in the church, regardless of critical days. It was also recommended to bring to the attention of parishioners that they can take the sacrament and confess on any day. But not all clergy agreed with this position.

Not every priest will allow a woman "during the bleeding" to be a godmother, to perform a wedding ceremony, but he will not be able to prevent this. Why is it impossible to baptize with menstruation, because it is impossible to reproach a parishioner for what is given to her by nature.

Some women doubt whether it is possible to go to the temple with existing gynecological diseases, when uterine bleeding is present, or whether they need to stay at home. In this case, the New Testament gives an example of how a woman suffering from bleeding touched the garment of the Lord and was healed of her illness. At the same time, she did not hear a reproach for her bodily "impurity." On the contrary, the Lord pointed out to the baptized woman the power of her faith, with the help of which she was healed.

Today it is difficult to imagine a situation where a clergyman would be interested in questions that confuse parishioners. If a woman independently decides not to attend church, not to take communion and fast during menstruation at home, she can be praised for her piety, but no one will interfere with her presence in the temple.

Menstrual blood is just a temporary physiological phenomenon that in no way affects spiritual purity and cannot defile the temple.

From generation to generation, a strict ban on women visiting the temple on menstruation days has been passed down. Some people believe in this and strictly enforce the rule. Others are indignant and indignant at the ban, thinking why not. Still others, not paying attention to critical days, come to church at the behest of the soul. So is it allowed to go to church during menstruation? Who, when and why forbade women to visit her on these special days for the female body?

Creation of man and woman

You can get acquainted with the moments of the creation of the Universe by the Lord in the Bible in the Old Testament. God created the first people on the sixth day in his own image and likeness and called the man Adam and the woman Eve. It follows from this that initially the woman was clean, she did not have menstruation. The conception of a child and his birth should not have been painful. In their world, filled with perfection, there was nothing impure. In purity was the body, thoughts, actions and soul. But the perfection was short-lived.

The devil incarnated in the form of a serpent and began to tempt Eve so that she would eat the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. He promised her power and knowledge. The woman tasted the fruit herself and treated her husband to it. This is how the fall into sin occurred on all mankind. Adam and Eve were expelled from Paradise. God condemned the woman to suffering. He said that from now on she would conceive and give birth in pain. From that moment on, a woman is considered unclean.

Old Testament Prohibitions

Rules and laws were important to the people of that period of time. All of them were written in the Old Testament. Temples were created to communicate with God and to offer sacrifices to him. The woman was not a full member of society, but was the complement of a man. Everyone remembered the sin of Eve, after which her menstruation began. Menstruation was a reminder of what the woman had done.

The Old Testament gave a clear answer to the question of who could, and who and why was forbidden to visit the Holy Temple. Didn't visit:

• with leprosy;
• with ejaculation;
• those who touched the corpses;
• with purulent discharge;
• women during menstruation;
• women who gave birth to a boy - 40 days, who gave birth to a girl - 80 days.

In Old Testament times, everything was viewed from a physical point of view. A dirty body was considered a sign of an unclean person. A woman during critical days was forbidden to visit the Temple as well as places with a lot of people. She was far from the gatherings of the people. Blood was not to be shed in holy places. This continued until the coming of Jesus Christ and the bringing of the New Testament by him.

Uncleanness is abolished by the New Testament

Jesus Christ focused on the spiritual, tried to reach out to the human soul. He came to atone for all human things, including the sin of Eve. If a person did not have faith, all his deeds were considered unspiritual. The black thoughts of a person turned him into an unclean one, even with the purity of his body. The Holy Temple did not become a specific place on Earth, but was transferred to human souls. Christ said that the soul is the Temple of God and His Church. Men and women became equal in rights.

Once a situation occurred that outraged all the clergy. While Christ was in the Temple, a woman who had been bleeding for many years passed through the crowd to him and touched his clothes. Christ, who felt her, turned around and said that her faith had saved her. Since that time, a split has occurred in the consciousness of mankind. Some remained faithful to physical purity and the Old Testament. They were of the opinion that a woman should never go to church during her period. And those who obeyed the teachings of Jesus Christ and followed faith in the New Testament and spiritual purity ceased to adhere to this rule. After his death, the New Testament came into force. The spilled blood was a sign of the beginning of a new life.

Answers of priests to the question about the ban

So can you go to church during your period?

Catholic priests have long decided for themselves the issue of a woman visiting church on critical days. They consider menstruation a natural phenomenon and do not see anything wrong with them. Blood has long ceased to spill on the floors of the church, thanks to modern hygiene products.

But Orthodox priests cannot come to a consensus. Some say that a woman should not go to church during her period. Others say that you can come if the soul requires it. Still others allow women to come to church during menstruation, but put a ban on some sacred sacraments:

1. wedding;
2. confession.

For the most part, prohibitions are related to physical moments.. For hygienic reasons, during menstruation, you can not go into the water. It's not very pleasant to look at blood mixing with water. The wedding takes a long time and the weakened body of a woman during menstruation may not be able to withstand it. Fainting often occurs, the woman experiences weakness and dizziness. During the confession, the psycho-emotional state of the woman is affected. And during the period of menstruation, she is a little in an inadequate state. Therefore, if a woman decides to confess, she can say something that she will regret for a long time. That's why you can't confess during your period.

Is it possible to go to church during menstruation or not

Modernity has mixed the sinful with the righteous. Nobody knows the origins of this ban. Priests have ceased to be the spiritual ministers that they were considered in the times of the Old and New Testaments. Everyone perceives information in a way that is more convenient for him. The church is a building, the same as it was under the Old Testament. It follows that everyone must adhere to the rules established at that time. You can't go to church during your period.

But the modern democratic world has made its own amendment. If we take into account that it was considered sinful to shed blood in the temple, then at the present time this problem has been completely solved. Hygiene products, such as tampons and pads, absorb blood well and prevent it from leaking onto the floor of a sacred place. The woman is not impure. But there is also a downside here. During menstruation, the female body cleanses itself. And this means that the woman is still unclean, and she cannot attend church during critical days.

But the New Testament and its purity of soul comes to her aid. And this means that if the soul feels the need to touch the shrine, to feel Divine support, then you can come to the temple. Even necessary! After all Jesus helps those who sincerely believe in him. And cleanliness of the body does not play a big role in this. For those who adhere to the rules of the New Testament, going to church during menstruation is not forbidden.

But even here there are amendments. Since the Church and the Holy Temple are in the soul of a person, then it is not at all necessary for him to come to a certain room for help. A woman can pray to God anywhere. And if the prayer comes from a pure heart, then it will be heard much faster than when visiting a temple.

Outcome

No one can say for sure whether it is possible to go to church during menstruation. Everyone has their own opinion on this matter. The woman must answer this question herself, decide why she wants to go to church.

The ban is either there or not. You need to look at what intentions a woman wants to go to church with..

If the purpose of the visit is to ask for forgiveness, repentance for sins, then you can go at any time and during menstruation too. The purity of the soul is the main thing.

During critical days, it is best to reflect on your actions. Sometimes during menstruation, you don’t want to leave the house anywhere. And during menstruation, you can go to the temple, but only if the soul requires it!

The Holy Spirit is removed, replaced by an unclean spirit.

This approach is associated with the Old Testament tradition, where the concept of purity and impurity occupied a large place. Everything connected with death, including bleeding, was considered unclean. Such an attitude towards bleeding, including menstruation, existed in paganism, but in the Old Testament religion it had a special meaning.

Death in the Bible is interpreted as a consequence of the fall of man. Therefore, any reminder of it, including monthly bleeding, is a reminder of human sinfulness, therefore it makes a person “impure”, forces him to stay away from religious life. In Old Testament times, Jewish women were indeed forbidden to take part in prayer during critical days, moreover, it was impossible to even touch a woman at that time, she was isolated.

In, which has as its basis the victory of the Savior over sinfulness and death, such an unambiguous approach could no longer be. Discussions about critical days have not stopped for centuries. Some theologians, seeing in bodily impurity an image of spiritual impurity, forbade women to take communion on these days (St. Dionysius, St. John the Faster, St. Nicodemus the Holy Mountaineer), while others considered female bleeding a natural process and did not see any obstacles to during critical days (St. Clement of Rome, St. Gregory the Dialogist).

The attitude of the modern Church to the critical days

In antiquity and the Middle Ages, there was another reason for restrictions on women during critical days: blood could get on the church floor, thereby desecrating the temple. Such strict rules apply to any blood - even if a person accidentally cuts his finger, he must immediately leave the temple to stop the blood.

Modern hygiene products can solve this problem, therefore, at present, women are not forbidden to visit the temple during critical days, pray, light candles, and venerate icons. At the same time, the ban on participation in the sacraments on these days remains. A woman in this state should neither receive communion nor be baptized if she is not baptized.
All these prohibitions are canceled if the woman is seriously ill and there is a danger to life.

Sources:

• Parkhomenko K. About the so-called female impurity

There is no exact answer to this question, is it possible to go to church during menstruation. Before entering the Temple of God, it is better for a woman to find out about this from the rector of the church, and to postpone all religious rites for another time.

People go to church to pray for their loved ones, for support of their faith, to ask for help from the Almighty or to thank him, to 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.

Visiting the temple and church services imposes certain rules of conduct on parishioners. But one must be able to distinguish between the church charter and simple superstitions and false interpretations of Holy Scripture.

When Temple Visits Are Not Allowed

Visiting the temple for many people is an opportunity for repentance, prayer, requests and strengthening of strength. But such grace, in turn, requires a person to know and observe church canons and rules of conduct in the church. Orthodox traditions, established by our ancestors, are designed not to limit, but to streamline the actions of a parishioner in the temple. This does not mean at all that other visitors to the temple have the right to make harsh remarks to a person who is just starting to become a church member. Unfortunately, such cases are not rare. But you need to treat them as the suppression of your own pride.

In order to avoid such situations, it is better to read special literature before the first trip to the temple, and turn to the priest with the most difficult and controversial issues. Because there are always many myths and misconceptions around church life, rituals and sacraments. For example, women and girls are very concerned about the question of whether it is possible to visit the temple during critical days. It is believed that a woman during this period is “unclean” and her presence will only defile the holy place.

Let's figure it out. For God, there are no "impure" people, he loves everyone in a paternal way. And a person is more often “unclean” in soul than in body. And he came to the temple just for purification. All the stereotypes associated with the ban on visiting the temple for women during menstruation come from the Middle Ages. When it was still bad with hygiene and a drop of blood that fell on the floor could defile God's house.

Now, when everything is more than normal with personal hygiene, such a rule has become formal. It is possible for a woman to go to church, but she cannot participate in church sacraments. Women and girls can confess, but they will not be allowed to take Communion. It is impossible on such days to venerate icons, the cross, holy relics, get married and baptize children.

Exception to the rule

But if we are talking about an illness or a dying state, then there is no time for rules and prejudices. The priest has the right to give communion or unction to such a woman.

According to church rules, a woman after giving birth does not have the right to visit the temple for 40 days. And after this period, the priest must read over her the permissive prayer "Prayers to the wife of the parent, forty days."

At the same time, one should not forget the gospel story, when a woman suffering from bleeding touched the edge of Christ's garment and received healing. All people have the right to the mercy of God, regardless of their physical condition.

The opinion passes from one generation to another that it is impossible for women to go to church during critical days. Someone blindly believes in it, adheres to the rules. For some, this causes indignation, bewilderment. And another third of women simply go to church at the request of the soul, and do not pay attention to anything. So is it possible or not? Where do bans come from, what is it connected with?

The step by step creation of the universe can be studied in the Bible in the Old Testament. God created man in his likeness on the 6th day - Adam the man and Eve the woman. This means that a woman was created clean from the beginning, without menstruation. The conception of a child and childbirth were supposed to take place without pain. There was nothing bad in a perfect world. Absolutely everything was clean: body, thoughts, thoughts, actions. However, this perfection did not last long.

The devil, in the form of a snake, tempted Eve to eat an apple. After which she was to become powerful, like God. The woman tasted the apple herself and gave it to her husband to taste. In the end, both sinned. And it fell on the shoulders of all mankind. Adam and Eve were expelled from the holy land. God was angry and predicted the woman to suffer. “From now on, you will conceive in pain, give birth in pain!” - he said. From that moment on, a woman is theoretically considered unclean.

Prohibited in the Old Testament

The life history of people of that time was based on rules, laws. Everything was written in the Old Testament. The Holy Temple was created to communicate with God, to offer sacrifices. A woman, in fact, was considered an addition to a man, and was not at all considered a full member of society. Eve's sin was well remembered, after which she began to menstruate. As an eternal reminder of what the woman has created.

In the Old Testament, it was clearly stated who should not visit the Holy Temple, and in what condition:

• with leprosy;
• ejaculation;
• touching a corpse;
• with purulent discharge;
• during menstruation;
• after childbirth - for women who gave birth to a boy 40 days, a girl - 80 days.

In the Old Testament period, everything was viewed from a physical point of view. If the body is dirty, then the person is unclean. Moreover, a woman during critical days could not only visit the Holy Temple, but also public places. She stayed away from the meeting, the gathering of people. Blood must not be shed in a holy place. But then came the era of change. Jesus Christ came to earth with his New Testament.

The abolition of uncleanness by the New Testament

Jesus Christ tried to reach out to the human soul, all attention is focused on the spiritual. He is sent to atone for the sins of mankind, including Eve. Works without faith were considered dead. That is, a person who is pure externally was considered impure spiritually because of his black thoughts. The Holy Temple has ceased to be a specific place on earth. He moved into the human soul. “Your soul is the Temple of God and His Church!” he said. Men and women became equal.

The situation, which happened at one moment, aroused the indignation of all the clergy. A woman who had suffered from severe bleeding for many years pushed her way through the crowd, touched Jesus' garments. Christ felt the energy leave him, turned to her, and said: “Your faith has saved you, woman!” From that moment on, everything was mixed up in the minds of people. Those who remained faithful to the physical and the Old Testament adhere to the old opinion - a woman should not go to church during menstruation. And those who followed Jesus Christ, follow the spiritual and the New Testament, this rule was canceled. The death of Jesus Christ became the starting point, after which the New Testament came into force. And the spilled blood gave rise to a new life.

The opinion of the priests about the ban

The Catholic Church has long resolved the issue of critical days. The priests considered that menstruation is a natural phenomenon, they do not see anything bad in it. Blood has not been spilled on the floor of the church for a long time thanks to hygiene products. Orthodox clergy still cannot agree. Some argue that it is absolutely forbidden for women to visit the temple during menstruation. Others are neutral about this - you can visit if there is such a need, do not limit yourself to anything. Still others shared the opinion that a woman during critical days can enter the church, but some sacraments cannot be performed:

• baptism;
• confession.

Like it or not, prohibitions are more related to physical moments. It is impossible to dive into the water during critical days for hygienic reasons. Blood in the water is not a very pleasant picture. The wedding lasts a very long time, the weakened body of a woman during menstruation may not be able to withstand this. Moreover, the blood can run strongly. There are dizziness, fainting, weakness. Confession affects more the psycho-emotional state of a woman. During the period of menstruation, she is vulnerable, vulnerable, and not herself. He may say things that he will later regret. In other words, during menstruation, a woman is insane.

So you can go to church or not with your period

In the modern world, both the sinful and the righteous are mixed up. Nobody really knows how it all began. Priests are far from being the spiritual ministers that were in the times of the Old or New Testament. Everyone hears and perceives what they want. Rather, what is more convenient for him. And this is how it goes. The church, as a building, has remained since the times of the Old Testament. This means that those who visit the holy temple should adhere to the rules that are associated with it. You can't go to church during your period.

However, the modern world of democracy makes another amendment. Since the shedding of blood in the temple was considered a defilement, the problem has now been completely resolved. Hygiene products - tampons, pads do not allow blood to flow onto the floor. Practically the woman has ceased to be unclean. But there is another side of the coin here. During menstruation, the female body is cleansed. New replenishment of blood makes it possible to function with new forces. So the woman is still unclean. You can't go to church during your period.

But there is a New Testament here, when the physical does not play a role. That is, if there is a need to touch the shrines for healing, to feel the support of God, you can visit the temple. Moreover, at such moments it is necessary. After all, Jesus only helps those who really need something. And he asks for it with a pure soul. And the cook looks like his body at this moment does not play a role. That is, for those who appreciate the spiritual and the New Testament more, it is possible to go to church during menstruation.

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There are corrections again. Since the Church and the Holy Temple are the soul of man. He does not need to go to a specific room to ask for help. It is enough for a woman to turn to God in any place. A request coming from a pure heart will be heard faster than when visiting a church, by the way.

Summing up

No one will give an exact answer to the question of whether it is possible to go to church during menstruation. Everyone has their own opinion on this. The decision must be made by the woman herself. There is a ban and there isn't. And it is worth paying more attention to the purpose for which it is necessary to visit the church. After all, it is no secret that women go to the holy temple to get rid of something, to attract something. In other words, they make strong lapels, love spells, drying, drying, even wish death to other people. So, during menstruation, the energy of a woman weakens. Sensitivity may increase, prophetic dreams will begin to occur. But there is no strength in words until she gets stronger in spirit.

If the purpose of going to church is to ask for forgiveness, repent of sins, you can walk in any form, menstruation is not a hindrance. The main thing is not an impure body, but a pure soul after that. Critical days are the best time for reflection. Another interesting fact is that during menstruation, you don’t want to go anywhere at all, neither to church, nor to visit, nor to go shopping. Everything is purely individual, depends on the state of health, state of mind, needs. You can go to church during critical days, if you really need to!