We often talk about blessing without thinking about the meaning of the word. Seeing off a person on a long journey, we give him parting words - “God bless you”, we introduce the chosen one to the parents - “we decided to get married, bless us.” For a Christian, the word "blessing" has a special meaning - it is approval, help and parting words from the Lord himself. Why do Christians ask for blessings? Is it possible to get married without the blessing of the parents? Who can we ask for a blessing?

The word "blessing" has several definitions. This is how it is customary to call, first of all, the action of the Lord, sending His grace to a person or an entire nation. But a blessing can also be considered:

• the call of the shepherd, the appeal with a request to send down Divine grace;
• the confessor's permission for this or that act;
• parental approval.

If we carefully read the word "blessing", we will see that it is made up of the parts "good" and "word". A word that bestows blessings and goodness on those who ask for it. A believer always longs for approval from God and in moments of doubt can seek advice, asking for blessings from his confessor. Sometimes we bless each other, say “God bless you,” wishing the best for a person, calling on God to help someone in a good deed, or begging for help to survive a difficult test.
This appeal for help testifies to the true faith, because a person will not ask for protection from someone he does not trust.

Forms of blessing

• the shepherd blesses the flock, overshadowing it with the sign of the cross;
• greeting a priest, we usually ask for a blessing;
• praise of God (eg Ps. 102);
• prayer for the health and well-being of another person;
• approval of the parents of the bride and groom for the wedding;
• the permission of the clergy to do something.

Blessing from the priest

Priests regularly receive requests for blessings and gladly respond to them. It is important to remember only that to receive a blessing from a confessor does not mean to relieve oneself of responsibility. In addition, the priest cannot make a decision for the person himself. It is right and good to ask for blessings, if you come to the temple, ask for blessings with a firm intention:

• Reconcile with loved ones;
• Do a good deed;
• Help someone;
• Deal with bad tendencies.

But in the temple you are unlikely to be given blessings for sinful deeds. In the movie "The Island" there is an episode where a young girl asks for blessings from a monk, without telling what exactly she needs to be blessed for. A shrewd monk interrupts her sternly as she asks for her blessing for an abortion.

If we talk about reconciliation, then God can bless a person, but not act for him. To reconcile with a loved one, you need to sincerely repent and ask for forgiveness, or find the strength to forgive the offender yourself.

The blessing is accepted with a special feeling of awe and reverence, because Christ Himself blesses us through the priest. Not without reason, for blessing, the hands are folded in a special way: the fingers depict the letters IC XC, that is, Jesus Christ.

To ask for blessings, you need to fold your hands in a cross: put your right hand on your left, palms up, saying the words: "Bless, father ... (name) (or Vladyka - to the bishop)." Having received a blessing, we must kiss the hand of the priest, so we kiss the invisible hand of Christ the Savior Himself. St. John Chrysostom wrote: “It is not a man who blesses, but God blesses him with his hand and mouth.” And the priest himself blesses with the words “God bless!”.

Blessing of parents

Parents traditionally bless the young before the sacrament of the wedding, overshadowing them with an icon. Blessing at the same time, of course, is not given by the parents themselves, but by the Lord.

Moscow has the functions of a capital city.

Modern Moscow is the capital Russian Federation.
This means that Moscow is the seat of the highest bodies of state power in our country. Now it is the President of Russia, the Federal Assembly is the highest legislative body, consisting of the Federation Council and the State Duma. The Federation Council consists of heads of administrations and heads of local elected bodies of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, elected locally. The State Duma consists of deputies elected by all the inhabitants of Russia according to party lists and majoritarian districts. The government of Russia and the Constitutional Court are located in Moscow. Thus, Moscow is the center of Russia's control, and this is one of its main functions.

But Moscow is not only a control center, it is also the largest cultural center in Russia. The editorial offices of the largest mass media - television, radio, newspapers, magazines - are located in Moscow. Television broadcasts from Moscow are watched by residents of all regions of Russia and the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States. Moscow has the largest concentration of art workers: writers, artists, actors, journalists, architects, composers, etc.

The largest scientific institutions of Russia are located here, as well as the Russian Academy of Sciences. Moscow has long been "crowded" with scientific institutions, and they have gone beyond its borders: there are more than two dozen specialized "cities of science" in the Moscow region.

The largest banks in Russia are located in Moscow, through which 70% of the total money turnover of our country passes. The largest enterprises in Russia prefer to keep money on their accounts in Moscow banks. Many banks became owners of enterprises in different regions of Russia.

As for the economy of Moscow and the Moscow region, we can say that they have already passed into the post-industrial stage of development. In Moscow, mechanical engineering occupies the first place, followed by the light and food industries, which are almost equal in terms of output, and the fourth largest is non-ferrous metallurgy. The Moscow region is more “textile” than “machine-building”. The predominance of the textile industry is obvious here, and mechanical engineering plays a more modest role than in Moscow.

Source: www.znanija.com

What is a blessing

Blessing is a compound word consisting of two words: “good” + “word”. This word contains the entire universe of God, not excluding God himself. The word "good" is one of the names of the One God. Only one God has the highest goodness (purity), and He is infinitely, eternally beyond the reach of anyone. God is inseparable from good, and everything comes from Him. He is the beginning of everything that exists. And the second part of the word blessing is “word”, and it can be understood as a creation (action) performed by God himself. The Highest created everything that exists with a word. In the Bible it is written about this: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”, “And God said: Let there be light, and there was light.” And this means that God is inseparable from the word, and that everything appeared, came from His word, He said: let there be light and light appeared. The “Word” can be understood not only as the action of God, but also everything that is the result of His creation (truth, law, gift, order, all the qualities of God, etc.).
If you combine these two parts, it turns out that the word blessing has an all-encompassing, to infinity, meaning. Blessing is Divine truth and the law of God. This is God's mercy and justice, Love and compassion. Blessing is the will of God the Father in the world and the instruction (guidance) of man by the Holy Spirit to righteousness. This is the response of God to human prayer, in which the grace of God descends (God - good + gives). Blessing is receiving from God a revelation, a message, or an answer to a question that concerns us. This is a special manifestation from Above of favor or attention to a person, a group of people or some people, for some merit before God. Such people or people in the world are called blessed, spoken from above. We can also understand blessing as God's approval, permission or permission for any actions, intentions.

Why you need to ask for blessings from God

At all times, for every undertaking, people asked for blessings from God, they knew a lot about it. People were afraid to depart from the Will of God, to sin, because apostasy led to disastrous consequences. In our time, not many of us understand what is blessed, and what it gives us. In our life it is very important for us and plays a big role in building our happiness. Blessing, like our conscience, redirects us to good deeds. It gives us protection and patronage, clarity in reflection and humility in prayer, helps us make the right choice and gives rise to sincerity in repentance. Asking for a blessing from God is also a prayer or a meeting with God, where we also stand before him one on one, and at this moment intimacy also happens.

With the blessing of God, it descends on a person who does a certain job, depending on what we ask for blessing.

When close to the Spirit of God, the following is felt: lightness appears in the soul, coolness envelops, peace sets in and quiet, calm joy appears; clarity and silence come to the mind; a surge of strength is felt in the body, the chest expands and breathes easily, the heart beats evenly and calmly. All these feelings are a sign that God approves of our undertaking. For everything that does not correspond to His Will and everything that is not good for us, not in favor, God does not give us His blessing (does not approve), while the Grace of God does not condescend. In the soul and body of a person it is felt: not calm, anxious, tense, unpleasant, heaviness, the chest is compressed, the heart beats unevenly, with a slight tension and breathing is lost.

To learn to recognize goodness from badness, for this you need to open up to His Grace and ask for a blessing on something, sit in silence for 20-30 minutes, listening to your feelings. If we do this work more often and regularly, then step by step we will learn to understand the language of vibrations, to determine what is false and what is truth, and to hear the silent voice of God.

In life, if we ask for a blessing at a meal or pray before eating, then the Holy Spirit descends and does such work: it sanctifies food, calms us down, prepares the gastrointestinal tract for work, the stomach shrinks and acquires normal volume, a sense of proportion in food comes, and therefore, we do not overeat, food is easily digested, the body is slagged to a small extent, even with an unreasonable approach to nutrition. If we ask for a blessing for prayer, then the Holy Spirit does such work: more peace appears in the soul, our memory wakes up to some extent; our indignations are manifested, clarity comes; we clearly understand what we need to ask God for in prayer, what needs have arisen in our soul, where sadness, resentment, irritation are hidden, which burden our soul.

Blessing lives on Earth for as many years as the person himself exists. Already at the creation of the world, God blessed his every action. This blessing accompanied the appearance first of the world itself, then of animals, and already further of man. The blessing has been active for thousands of years and can change the fate of each of us at any moment.

What is a blessing

Blessing is the blessing that the word itself brings. The most powerful spiritual action that is taught in verbal or prayer form. Often, ritual actions with hands are added to it. The words are addressed to the blessed, the corresponding grace, protection and help of God are called to him. The one who asks for a blessing recognizes his humility, does not rely on himself, waits for help and hope from God or his mediator. With the words “Bless, father,” the one who asks confirms that he recognizes the servant of God, recognizes him, honors him and asks for the opportunity to receive God's grace.

In second place in terms of its strength after the church blessing is parental. The Lord Himself commanded to honor one's parents. In order to consolidate the natural grace-filled power over children, God gave strength to parents (blessing or curse). On the example of the forefathers Abraham, Noah, Jacob and Isaac, we see this from Scripture. Often God controls people through their parents. Humble and intelligent people always honor their father and mother.

Blessing creates and bears fruit

Words of blessing certainly belong to the divine prerogative. But Jesus himself transferred these powers to Christians in the Sermon on the Mount, saying that we need to bless those who curse us, do good to those who hate us, and pray for those who persecute and offend us. In another way, we can say that Christ called us to speak words of blessing not only to those who deserve it, but also to those who curse and hate you. Our world is created God's word, and everything that happens in our world is also the result of our words. At the beginning of any actions, deeds, human accomplishments, there is a word. And the corresponding result depends on whether this word is good or evil.

All words in our world are divided into two fronts - curses or blessings. The Bible says that those who curse will be cursed and those who bless will be blessed. From evil person words of curses, accusations, murmurs come out, and, passing through him, through his mouth, these words, first of all, defile him. Sometimes it seems to us that the words do not mean anything, but from what kind of seed we drop, the fruit will also come out. Words of blessing carry kindness and light. Evil statements, condemnations, denials give place to the devil. The fruits will be appropriate - disappointment, tears, insults, losses. Humiliation and the like.

heals, thanks

We build our future with words. Blessing are those words that give us the opportunity to develop and move on. Blessing others, we give material in the form of words into the hands of God, and he will already prepare a perspective for us. Blessing as a medicine that resists the “viruses” that infect our body and our soul, restores our strength. You can’t slander yourself, claim that supposedly I can’t do anything, I don’t have the funds for this, and the like. Thank the Lord for what you have (health, children), and he will increase your wealth.

Gratitude is also a blessing, because it is a sign of humility. And grace descends on the humble. If you thank people for some kind of service, work, thereby acknowledging the fact that you needed them. Saying words of gratitude, you send them words of blessing. What passes through your mouth will come back to you a hundredfold.

Blessing of mother and father

So that the connection of generations never breaks and the tribal energies flow freely, from ancient times there is a rite of blessing. The elders in the family blessed the younger ones. The blessing before the wedding provided the newlyweds with the creation of a strong, friendly family, prosperity in the house, and spiritual compatibility. This rite was of great importance. It allowed access to those energies that ensure the entire existence of generations. The blessing of the mother at the same time is the power of life, the father is the meaning and reason. Those appeals that are addressed to the Father (both Heavenly and biological) have incredible cosmic power. Mother teaches us in life the emotional component - how to cope with losses or collapsed dreams. Do not forget, when opening a new page in your life, ask your mother for blessings. This will ensure your success, because every child is essentially an energetic continuation of his mother. Therefore, she can influence his fate. A father must endow his child with masculine strength and energy - determination, responsibility, determination, optimism, nobility. Generosity and self-discipline. If your relationship with your parents is violated, then all these components are violated in life.

Essence of Parental Blessing

A mother's blessing is a protective cocoon that does not allow the child to get into various unpleasant situations, directs his actions in the right direction. Even at great distances, the blessing works. A person who has received parental blessing becomes invulnerable. The rite of blessing helps to hold the thread that binds generations in the family. Parents and grandparents blessed the accomplishment of some deeds, the creation of a family, so the connection of generations was strengthened. If your parents are still alive, turn to them, ask for blessings for yourself, for your children, and you will see how your life will change. It is not necessary to resort to complex rituals. Parental words are enough: “I bless you!”. Immediately with these words there is a click, the connection of generations begins to work. If we lose touch with our roots, we begin to degrade and die. A person who does not have access to the roots of the family is more difficult to adapt in life, it is difficult for him to cope with certain difficult situations.

Priest's blessing

Often in churches you can hear the phrase "I ask for blessings" - this is how parishioners turn to the priest. The priest's blessing has several meanings:

• Greetings . Only those who are equal in rank have the right to shake hands with a priest, all the rest must receive a blessing from him. For this ceremony, it is necessary to fold the palms (the right over the left), accept the blessing hand and kiss it, paying respect to the holy dignity. Only for this! This ceremony has no other significance. A blessing from a priest can be received anywhere, even if he is not in church clothes and not in the temple. But you should not disturb an unclothed priest on the street if he does not know you.
• The second meaning of the blessing is parting words, permission, permission for some action. Before any important step, you can also ask the blessing of the priest and kiss his hand.

Other blessings are recited during the service. The priest with the words "Peace to all" or "The grace of our Lord" overshadows all parishioners with the sign of the cross. In response, you need to humbly bow your head. There is no need to fold your hands.

When overshadowing with sacred objects, you first need to cross yourself, then bow.

Blessing of Dmitry Donskoy for the Battle of Kulikovo

Words of blessing from the lips of holy people have always been of great importance in Rus'. This happened in 1380, before the Battle of Kulikovo, which turned the whole story upside down and became the starting point in the liberation of Russian lands from the Tatar-Mongol yoke. Everyone remembers from history the blessing of Dmitry Donskoy on the Battle of Kulikovo, which he received from the lips of St. Sergius of Radonezh. Before advancing to the battle, the prince went to the elder at the Trinity Monastery. After a meal, which was arranged in the monastery for those who arrived, the Monk blessed Dmitry for the battle, sprinkled him with holy water and sent him with the words “The Lord will be your intercessor. He will defeat the adversaries and glorify you." The Mother of God accompanied the soldiers throughout the battle, the icon inspired and protected the soldiers and their leader. The victory was not easy, but it glorified Dmitry Donskoy for all time.

The main work of a priest is confession and preaching, since it is these sacred activities that contribute to the penetration into the soul and heart of a Christian and give birth to good changes in the souls and hearts. But the priest begins with a blessing. Whether he hastily blessed or reverently, whether he called on the name of God or only drew a cross in the air - in all this one can already see the priest.

These simple and precise thoughts were read by me in the distant times of seminary studies and belong to the professor of the Kyiv pre-revolutionary Academy Pevnitsky. The priest begins with a blessing.

Everything sacred can degenerate and fizzle out if misused. The blessing of the clergy on the part of the laity receiving it (or in the mode from the bishop to the priest) can turn into an analogue of “Hello” when the lower meets the higher. They saw Vladyka, slightly bent at the back, and instead of greeting, “bless.” This is how it happens right away: we say “bless”, we mean - “Hello. How glad we are to see you!" And on the part of the one who gives the blessing, this is a kind of waving a pen in the air and then allowing her to kiss it. This is especially noticeable where there are many clergy and church people: in seminaries, in diocesan administrations, in church shops, in large monasteries, and so on. There occurs, more often than anywhere else, a harmful stylization of Orthodoxy due to haste, hustle and a mixture of familiarity with sycophancy. At the same time, with regard to blessings, there is no actual “good” + “Slovenia”, that is, no good and sacred words can be uttered at all. Everything is done at the level of manipulation and imitation of kisses. Meanwhile, Scripture initially suggests that one of the priesthood services is the blessing of the people, and the blessing itself is the utterance of sacred words aloud. "Bless the children of Israel, telling them: God bless you and keep you!

May the Lord look upon you with His bright face and have mercy on you!

May the Lord turn His face towards you and give you peace!

So let call on my name against the children of Israel, and I (the Lord) will bless them” (Numbers 6:23-27)

Blessing is associated with the transfer of real power. It can powerfully influence the lives of those who have received the blessing. Jacob and his mother knew this, having cunningly asked for blessings, as for the firstborn, from Isaac, who had weakened his eyesight. When the father gave the younger a full blessing, mentioning heaven and earth, bread and wine, the obedience of his brothers and so on, then Esau came - the real firstborn. Upon learning of the trick, Isaac "trembled with a very great trembling" (Gen. 27:33) and said that the one whom he had just blessed, "and shall be blessed" (!). Obviously, this is not about simple words, which can be pronounced, then discarded and repeated again to a different address. All participants in the event understand this very well, therefore not only Isaac trembles, but Esau also “lifted up a loud and very bitter cry” (Genesis 27:34). In response to Esau's request to bless him too, the father is silent, as if he had nothing more to say. And then he blesses the eldest son, as if with some remnants of the desired benefits, small crumbs. This whole picture tells us about the power of parental blessing, about the transfer of real power. So today, for example, we live under the shadow of Noah’s fulfilled blessing: “May God spread Japheth and let him dwell in the tents of Shem” (Gen. 9:27) It is obvious that the European has become a “world man” and has gained access to prayerful fellowship with the Living God in Christ, not because it is an accident or the fruit of technological progress, but because it is the fulfillment of a prediction that is at the same time a blessing.

An example of multiple blessings that can be pronounced together or separately is found in the rite of communion of the sick at home. It says, among other things:

“The Lord God, merciful, have mercy on you. May the Lord Jesus Christ give you every good petition. May the Lord Almighty deliver you from every misfortune. The Lord will teach you. May the Lord enlighten you. Lord help you. May the Lord save you. The Lord will protect you. The Lord cleanse you. May the Lord God Jesus Christ on the Day of Judgment have mercy on you and bless you all the days of your life.” As you can see, this is in spirit and form of blessing, identical to those set forth in the book of Numbers. It is precisely such invocations of God that befit the holy order.

The testimonies of the power of blessing are numerous, for the hand of the Lord has not been shortened or weakened to save. I have heard many stories of believers about how powerfully grace worked on them after wisely taken blessings. People asked for specific blessings for a long trip, for learning a foreign language, for keeping votive additional posts, for enduring life's troubles, and so on, and the blessing given in response to such a request became a source of strength and help.

The clergy themselves get tired of the usual "hand waving", and this is understandable. Leskov also noted that it is sometimes impossible for our bishops to walk down the street and appear in public - they torture them with blessings and come running from all sides. But if a layman comes up and says: “Bless in the name of the Lord, master,” and in response he hears the name of Christ pronounced reverently, then both will feel themselves participants in a certain Sacrament, namely, the sanctifying action of grace when invoking the Lord.

Lay people can also bless, especially if we are talking about the relationship between parents and children. And the most touching in the desert also tells us a lot. He asked her blessings, because he saw in her a living vessel of the Holy Spirit, and she asked his blessings, because he is a priest and a man. So they bowed lower and lower to the ground, repeating one thing: "Bless, bless." Finally, Mary pronounced her blessing, but did not say: “I bless you,” but blessed God, who wants everyone to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.

Finally, let's say that a priest is never in the temple, silently does not overshadow people with a cross with a special priestly signification. He always says “Peace to all,” or “God’s blessing upon you,” or other words, but it’s always exactly “blessing.” slovenia”, and not just sacred gestures.

Many years have passed since in the reading room of the library of the Kyiv Seminary I came across an old, with yellowed and fragile pages, Pevnitsky's book on pastoral theology. And the only thing I remember from it today is that confession and preaching are the most important pastoral activities, and a priest begins with the ability to teach a true blessing.