A visit to the church and church services imposes certain rules of conduct on parishioners. But you need to be able to distinguish church statutes from simple superstitions and false interpretations of scripture.
When temple attendance is not permitted
A temple visit for many people is an opportunity for repentance, prayer, prayers and strength-building. But such a grace, in turn, requires a person to know and observe church canons and rules of conduct in the church. The Orthodox traditions established by our ancestors are not intended to limit, but to streamline the actions of a parishioner in the church. This does not mean that other visitors to the temple have the right to make harsh remarks to a person who is just beginning to begin to church. Unfortunately, such cases are not rare. But one must treat them as suppressing one's own pride.
In order to avoid such situations, it is better to read special literature before the first trip to the temple, and contact the priest with the most difficult and controversial questions. Because around church life, rites and sacraments there are always many myths and errors. For example, women and girls are very concerned about the question of whether it is possible to attend the temple during critical days. It is believed that a woman in this period is “unclean” and her presence will only desecrate the holy place.
Let's figure it out. For God there are no “unclean” people; he loves all fatherly. And a person is most often “unclean” in soul rather than body. And he came to the temple precisely for purification. All stereotypes associated with the prohibition of women visiting the temple during menstruation come from the Middle Ages. When hygiene was still bad and a drop of blood falling on the floor could desecrate God's house.
Now, when personal hygiene is more than normal, this rule has become formal. It is possible for a woman to go to church, but one cannot participate in church ordinances. Women and girls may confess, but they will not be allowed to take Communion. On such days, you can’t apply to icons, crosses, holy relics, get married and baptize children.
