Why can not you go to church?

Many people have a woman during menstruationis considered to be "unclean". In some cultures, women are forced to leave their homes or even settlements for a period of a month. Echoes of these ancient traditions are reflected in the Orthodox culture. So, for example, among believing people there is an opinion that a woman in "these" days can not go to church. Why?

We offer you two interpretations of the prohibition, why it is impossible to walk the church during the month: pagan and Old Testament. We will also tell you how the modern Orthodox church treats this taboo.

The pagan roots of the prohibition

Slavs before the adoption of Christianity were pagans. Their beliefs and cultural traditions were largely preserved even after the baptism of Rus. So, for example, we still celebrate the pagan festival Shrovetide. The roots of the ban on going to church during menstruation go into paganism, and it is based on the perception of women "these days" as unclean and defiled people.

Slavs, pagans bleeding not just afraid! In their opinion, blood attracted impure forces, evil spirits and demons. Those, in turn, could bring on people all kinds of misfortunes, from drought to war. Therefore, the woman, from which the blood flows, became a potential threat to all those around her. It was considered dangerous even to touch such a woman or her clothes.

The Old Testament roots of the prohibition

The mention of the uncleanness of women on critical dayscan also be found in the Old Testament Scripture. It also says that anyone who touches an impure woman himself gets impure by touch. Interestingly, at the dawn of Christianity among the saints disagreements arose on this issue.

So, for example, St. Athanasius the Great in 365 said that a woman is clean at any time, since it belongs to the kind of God. Therefore, she can visit the church at any time.

In the New Testament the concept of human "uncleanness"has shifted solely to evil thoughts and uncleanness of the Soul. However, going to the temple during the months was still forbidden. This is largely due to the ban on watering the blood in the temple. After all, a couple of centuries ago, hygiene left much to be desired. Women did not use not only hygiene pads, but did not even wear underwear. Therefore, in critical days, menstrual blood simply could stain the floor with blood.

Modern look

Modern clergymen consider this prohibition to be an obsolete church canon. The women in the church work according to the schedule, which does not depend on their cycle.

Moreover, any parishioner at any timeis allowed before Communion. And no one will ask her if she's at the moment or not. However, unfortunately, adherents of the Old Testament canons are among modern clergy.

We bring to your attention also our other articles: