How to take a blessing from the priest. “God bless”, or Why take a blessing from a priest? In the convent
Every Orthodox Christian tries to receive a blessing from the priest, sometimes without thinking about the action itself and its grace. Blessing from a clergyman - anointing, help and protection from God for the life of a Christian or some specific situation.
What is a blessing
During their stay in the temple, when reading home prayers or meeting with a priest, Christians ask for a blessing, meaning something good by this word or action.
As Christians, we say "bless" all the time without going deep into the meaning. Already in the first chapter of the Bible we read that God blessed Adam and Eve for a fruitful life, for power over all earthly creation.
We receive a blessing not from the priest, but from the Creator himself, these are:
- God's strength;
- His protection;
- anointing;
- God's cover.
The Lord blessed Abraham, who lived childless until the age of 90, with numerous offspring, including Jacob. The grandson of Abraham and the son of Isaac, he became the ancestor of 12 tribes, from one of them, Judah, Jesus was born, the Son of God sent to earth. God blesses not only parents, but also children. Through the laying on of hands, Jacob received his first place in the race. Jesus blessed the food and the apostles, His successors later also blessed the people through the laying on of hands, thus transferring Divine power.
Important! Blessing a Christian, the priest reveals the grace of God over him, recognizing the supremacy in this or that situation of God himself.
Blessing - prayer, unity with the Almighty and the Holy Trinity, the call of Divine power into the life of an Orthodox believer. Believers can bless each other, investing in the meaning of this action, the call of God's help into the life of another person, while emphasizing that without God's help all our thoughts and aspirations are in vain.
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The Creator tells us through Holy Scripture that His Word is filled with power that brings victory to all situations in the life of Christians. In the 28th chapter of Deuteronomy, the Lord outlined the types of blessings and the conditions for receiving them point by point, and a warning is also written there so that curses do not come into our lives.
The anointing for business, health, family life received from God has great potential to grow and multiply. This can be observed in Orthodox families leading a truly correct way of life. Blessing God grants us the anointing through His servants, priests, who are not mediators between God and people, they are the ones who stand closest to the Creator and know how to communicate with Him better than others.
A Christian who has received a blessing should spread it, giving praise to the Lord.
Blessing through the priest
The priest who blesses the Christian symbolically performs a prayer, a petition before God for the granting of anointing for what is asked for.
When addressing a priest with the words “Bless”, you should specify your request. Batiushka blesses for various situations in life, for travel or study, for an operation and other situations.
Advice! When setting out on a journey, before making an important decision, turn to the priest for a blessing that will be the key to a successful solution to your problem.
The church rite is held only in the temple, and at the same time the clergyman is necessarily dressed in a cassock.
You can approach the priest for blessing only in the temple
The blessing of the cross, according to the definition of the holy righteous John of Kronstadt, has priestly power. It is an invocation of God's grace upon the one who asks. Divine grace replenishes and renews everything around, its fruits can be seen in various areas:
- the fertility of the earth;
- the abundance of life;
- health;
- the world;
- rest;
- multiplication of faith;
- justice and many other areas.
Blessing prayers are not magic, you cannot ask for blessings:
- to a wedding without a bride or groom;
- to work without having an invitation to it;
- for the birth of a child, until conception has occurred;
- to study at the institute, while there is no enrollment.
All unresolved problems are brought before the Lord in constant prayers, fasting, with deep repentance and repentance.
The priest, having learned all the details about your future work, may not give Divine permission or anointing, foreseeing problems. Accept any decision of the priest with gratitude and humility, and not with irritation and misunderstanding. Sometimes God Himself protects His children from mistakes.
The early Christians did not start any business without a blessing prayer, believing that without this rite, a person’s life is in danger during the journey, and the undertakings will not be successful.
Important! The blessing prayer from the priest is the strongest protection that works anywhere at any time.
Before turning to the priest for a blessing for a wedding, military service, a journey, or starting a new business, Christians first ask their parents to bless them, regardless of age and well-being.
In monasteries, it is not customary to say “permit”, in a petition they always say “bless”, thereby emphasizing that every matter is submitted to the judgment of God, and only the Lord decides who to give grace and protection, and who must be warned against making a mistake.
How to ask for a blessing from a priest
The best place to receive a blessing is a temple. After the service, you can go to the priest, if he is not busy with other parishioners or clergy, and ask for a blessing prayer. At the same time, open palms are superimposed on one another and stretched towards the priest.
Father's open palms for blessing
Open palms show loyalty and humility, security and honesty. As a sign of respect for the dignity of the clergyman, a slight half-bow is made in front of him.
Depending on the situation, the priest can say “God bless” and call on the Holy Trinity, saying “In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit”, or briefly pray another prayer, applying the sign of the cross to the one asking. After receiving the blessing prayer, the one who asks with his open palms takes the father's hand and lightly applies his lips to it.
Kissing the hand is a symbol of obedience and gratitude to the Most High God through His servant. A simple chain, after a bow, a request is made, for the solution of which the priest asks for grace from God, after which the hand is kissed with a bow, as a sign of thanksgiving.
Not all priests give their hand for kissing, guided by their personal relationship with God, but they always put their palm on the head of the one asking, symbolizing the descent of God's grace.
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An interesting fact that few people pay attention to is that the priest's fingers are folded in a special way in the form of the name of the Savior, Jesus Christ, IC XC. This letter combination shows that everything that happens is subject to the will of God.
In the church hierarchy, they first take a blessing from the senior clergyman, and then from everyone else, if there are several priests. You can receive the blessing of the priest when you meet him on the street, even if he is not dressed in church attire. "Bless" can sound like a greeting or goodbye.
Attention! It is important to remember that a priest, first of all, is a person who should have a personal life and should not approach the blessing prayer several times a day, waiting for the priest at any time in various places.
How to take a blessing from a priest
Blessing is an external sign of the giving of the grace of the Holy Spirit, either by God Himself (cf. Gen. 1:22; Mark 10:16), or by people acting according to the will of God. It is accomplished by the word, by the hand, by the cross, by the Gospel, by the icon. Blessing is a gift and expression of Divine love. It can refer not only to the person who receives it, but also to his family, descendants.The very desire to receive a blessing and the external symbolic expression of this desire (the open palms of the hands) is already a prayerful appeal to God. Therefore, it is enough to say to the clergyman: “Bless.” If the blessing is taken for special matters (operation, travel, marriage, etc.), then you need to tell the clergyman from whom the blessing is taken.
What does it mean to take a blessing from a priest for some work? Theoretically, having conceived something good, a person asks the priest to call on God's grace to accomplish his plan. In fact, the Lord Himself, with a blessing, descends to the very heart of a person, correcting him for the better.
In practice, this custom sometimes undergoes various mutations. Someone is inclined to perceive the blessing as magic: received - everything came true, did not receive - went to dust. As if on cue. Only now you need to chase the pike, and the priest is easier to catch.
- Father, bless the dacha to sell!
- A? What? God bless! the shepherd rushed by, rustling his cassock.
And more was not needed. The blessing will “work”, they will buy a dacha, which means that this priest is strong, you can still approach him with the necessary things. Well, if it doesn’t “work”, knowing has neither the power nor the proper boldness before God. However, this does not mean that the priest is useless. It can also be used for those cases when a positive outcome is not planned.
"Like this?" - you ask. That's how:
- Bless, father, make peace with your mother-in-law!
But in fact, that mother-in-law did not give up for nothing, neither evil nor kind. The world did not happen due to the lack of human efforts. But the conscience does not torment. God did not listen to the priest - there is no fault of mine. If he had prayed better and let his beard grow longer, then the result would have been completely different.
But priests are different. Who distributes blessings to the right and left without listening to the end, and who can take out his whole soul, torturing, what and why. Yes, he will take it and not bless. And what? It doesn't happen like that either. So you have to look closely and find out who, how and when it is better to approach.
So my sister asked me to look after the children for a day, while she needs to take care of her husband after the operation. Reluctance, oh, how reluctant. If you refuse, you will be bad. So, wait, sister, I must first take the blessing on this. And not any priest is suitable for this case, but certainly a monk. Best of all, hegumen or archimandrite. With glory. So that the first half of the day does not get through to him, and the other half of the day so that he prays and thinks about the answer, well, then the sister herself will find another nurse for her offspring.
And it happens like this:
“Dear you, our church benefactor and owner of steamships! Our deacon composes such spiritual songs - you will listen! He would record them, but there is no decent guitar. Help, huh? It's not difficult for you.
And the philanthropist replies:
“You need to ask your spiritual father. If he blesses, so be it, I will buy your deacon a guitar.
But the spiritual father did not bless. Several years passed, the deacon saved up money and bought himself a six-stringed lyre. Only by that time he had lost his voice, without writing down his compositions.
- But tell me, father, what should I do: my granddaughter asks to register and live while studying at the institute. The unbelieving girl, of course. With character. Bless or not?
“I mean, you want to say,” I am amazed, “that if I don’t bless you, then you will refuse your granddaughter with a pure heart?”
The woman hesitates, catching my displeasure.
- Why do you think that I have a moral right to decide what to do with your granddaughter?
Some people give the right to decide what to do to the priest - in order to relieve themselves of responsibility
And a person gave a moral right to a priest in order to relieve himself of responsibility. Fifty-fifty is the probability of getting the preferred answer. And you don’t have to bother running around to the passport officers. And don't feed your mouth too much. Or you can manipulate the priest, summing up the desired answer.
- Father, but they asked me to pray for a woman alone, but I doubt whether to pray or not. How will you bless?
"Oh, woe to me!" - I think, and ask aloud:
What does the apostle Paul say about this?
Fortunately, the parishioner reads the Holy Scripture and understands what I mean.
“He says pray for one another,” she replies.
– Were there any amendments there: they say, but don’t pray for such and such a woman?
- No, father.
- And why did you decide to rely on my opinion then? What if I go crazy and forbid you to pray, going against the apostle? Which one of us will you listen to?
And the woman leaves before she has yet learned to live according to the Gospel without human promptings or instructions from the elders.
- Bless, father, I took a box of fresh apples to the orphanage!
- God bless!
- Bless me, I decided to make peace with my wife and save my family!
- Blessed be the Lord!
- Bless the day ahead!
- God help!
And God enters into someone's heart, from the heart of another He did not leave anywhere, but He is glad to enter into another heart, but it has already been busy for a long time, although there is a beautiful sign hanging: “You are welcome!”
Priests (that is, people who have received the grace of the Holy Spirit for the sacred service of the Church of Christ through the Sacrament of the Priesthood) - bishops (bishops) and priests (priests) overshadow us with the sign of the cross. This fall is called a blessing.
When a priest or bishop blesses us with his hand, he folds his fingers so that they represent the letters IC XC, that is, Jesus Christ. This means that our Lord Jesus Christ Himself blesses us through the priest. Therefore, we must accept the blessing of the clergyman with reverence.
When in the temple the clergymen overshadow the people with a cross or the Gospel, an image or a cup, then everyone is baptized and bows from the waist, and when they overshadow with candles, bless with their hands or burn incense, pronounce the words of the general blessing “Peace to all” and others, then it is necessary to bow to the waist without a cross signs; at the same time, you should not fold your hands, as is done with a personal blessing, especially after bringing them to your mouth or chest.
To receive a personal blessing from a priest or bishop, you need to fold your hands in a cross: right to left, palms up, saying the words: “Bless, father (or lord).” Having received a blessing, we kiss the hand that blesses us - we kiss, as it were, the invisible hand of Christ the Savior Himself. As St. John Chrysostom says, “it is not a man who blesses, but God blesses him with his hand and tongue.” This is clear from the words of the priest - "God bless!" Invoke the blessing of God not only in important and dangerous undertakings, but also in all your ordinary everyday activities: on your food, to eat it for health; to your honest work and in general to your good undertakings, so that they are successful; on your way, so that it may be prosperous; on their children, so that they grow up in faith and piety; to all your wealth, so that it may be multiplied for the good of you and your neighbors.
Accepting a blessing
A familiar picture of our days: the priest, standing on the salt, proclaims: "The blessing of the Lord upon you" - and overshadows the parishioners with the sign of the cross. Praying grandmothers prayerfully fold their palms and for some reason press them to their chest, performing an unknown ritual. There is a clear misunderstanding here of how a clergyman should be treated and what a priestly blessing is. Every believer considers it indispensable when meeting with a priest to ask him for a pastoral blessing, but many do it wrong. Of course, there are no strict canons on this issue, but the traditions of the Church and simple common sense suggest how to behave.
The blessing has many meanings. The first one is a greeting. Only an equal in rank has the right to greet a priest by the hand; all the rest, even deacons, receive a blessing from him when they meet with the priest. To do this, you need to put your palms together, right over the left, in order to take a blessing hand in them and kiss it as a sign of respect for the holy dignity. And for nothing more! The addition of palms has no mysterious meaning, grace does not "fall" into them, as some old women teach. You can be blessed by a priest not only when he is in church clothes, but also in civilian clothes; not only in the temple, but also on the street, in a public place. It is not necessary, however, to approach for a blessing outside the temple to an unclothed priest who is not familiar with you.
In the same way, every layman says goodbye to a priest. If several priests are standing side by side, and you want to be blessed by everyone, then first you need to approach the senior in rank.
The second meaning of the priestly blessing is permission, permission, parting words. Before starting any responsible business, before traveling, and also in any difficult circumstances, we can ask the priest for advice and blessings and kiss his hand.
Finally, there are blessings in the course of a church service. The priest, saying: "Peace to all," "The blessing of the Lord upon you," "The grace of our Lord," overshadows those praying with the sign of the cross. In response, we humbly bow our heads, without folding our hands - after all, it is impossible to kiss the blessing right hand. If the priest overshadows us with sacred objects: the Cross, the Gospel, the Cup, the icon, we are first baptized, and then we bow.
You should not approach the blessing at an inopportune moment: when the priest takes communion, burns the temple, anoints with oil. But you can do this at the end of confession and at the end of the Liturgy, while kissing the Cross. It is not worth it to abuse the blessing by approaching the same priest several times a day. The words "bless, father" should always sound joyful and solemn to a layman, and there is no need to turn them into a proverb.
Without the blessing of God, no business can be successful. That is why our pious ancestors tried to start every business after prayer and having received a blessing from the priest
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Many people think that a blessing is a "good word". But if you look deeper, then the blessing is rather a "word of grace." I think that everyone knows that grace is some kind of energy (divine), giving strength, energy and good luck in good deeds. Blessing is a powerful spiritual action taught in a prayer-verbal form (often with ritual actions with hands) that gives grace, help and protection from God. The one who asks for a blessing from God or His mediator thereby shows his humility, hope and hope for God's help and need for it.
So, there are “several kinds” of blessings.
- Blessing for something.
Take a blessing from the priest for this or that action. In ancient times, people did not start any good deed without receiving a blessing from a priest. From the conception of a child to the very death, all stages of a person's life were accompanied by a priestly blessing. For example: Dmitry Donskoy went for the Blessing to Sergei Radonezh before the Battle of Kulikovo, many travelers take a blessing for the road, the laity take a blessing for building a house, etc. In Orthodox Christian practice, each person should take a blessing for almost any business that does not negatively affect on the spiritual life: on a long journey, on a prayer rule, on a job, on building/repairing a house, on an operation in a hospital, on a wedding, on conceiving a child….i.e. at all important life events.
Why is it necessary to take a blessing for one thing or another?
Answer: so that the grace given from God through the priest drove away failures and helped in a good deed. But remember that according to your faith it will be for you. Taking a blessing is not some kind of ritual-amulet, but help and strengthening of the strength of a believer. That is, if a person does not believe in God, then. Automatically and does not believe in the Blessing - in this case, it makes little sense to take the blessing (although there are times when a person gains / strengthens faith through the Blessing and success in business).
How to take a blessing from the priest?
Come to the church and in the candle shop ask how and when you can find the priest. When you meet with the priest, just say, “Father, I want to take a blessing for such a thing.” Briefly tell the essence of the matter (keep in mind that taking a blessing for a bad deed is a sin that leads to failure), say “Batiushka, bless” and, bowing your head, fold your right palms to your left palms up.
The priest will read a short prayer, cross you and either give you a hand (it must be kissed) or simply touch your head. It is believed that with the blessing of God, the Holy Spirit descends on a person, who performs a certain work, depending on what we ask for blessing.
By the way, a priest can bless a person at any time, regardless of whether the priest is in the temple or not, while dressing a priest or bishop in spiritual clothes also does not apply to the act of blessing.
- Receive a blessing at the sight of the priest, without voicing your business.
You probably saw that when the priest enters the temple, some parishioners approach him with the words "bless the father." The priest says: “In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit!”
In this case, parishioners take a common blessing to strengthen their spiritual strength, which helps them fight temptations and lead an Orthodox lifestyle. Of course, this blessing also helps in good deeds, that is, in this case, you receive a piece of grace for your humility.
You can also ask “Father, bless the child”, that is, give grace from the Lord to the child.
Having received a blessing from the priest, we kiss the hand that blesses us. Thus, we kiss the invisible hand of Christ the Savior Himself. Saint John Chrysostom: Not a man blesses, but God blesses him with his hand and mouth.. So from the priest you can hear " God bless!».
Conclusion on 1,2,3 points. The power of the Blessing descends upon the one who asks for the blessing through words, and sometimes through the laying on of hands of the blesser. The priest overshadows the sign of the cross asking for a blessing, after which he places his hand in the palm of the believer. The Christian must receive this blessing as from the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Therefore, the Orthodox believer kisses the hand of the priest (as if applied to the hand of the Savior). Some clergy do not allow their hand to be kissed, but after the blessing they lay it on the head of the one who asks.
- God bless.
We resort to these words before starting any business or making a decision, when we could not or for some other reason did not ask the blessing of the priest. In this case, "according to your faith, be it to you." As you believe in God, you will receive such an increase in strength and good luck through the blessing. I recommend, nevertheless, for a blessing, to go to church to the priest.
You can also ask for a blessing from God with the words “Lord, bless” before less important things, such as eating.
Conclusion: To ask for a blessing is to ask for grace!
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