Is it possible to become a priest at 50? Profession Orthodox priest. Priest training

Taking the priesthood of a Catholic priest is a very serious decision. If you feel that this is the will of God, are ready to devote yourself righteous life and agree to celibacy, then perhaps you are destined to take the dignity. Remember, the life of a Catholic priest is subordinated to the service of God and neighbors.

Steps

Getting on the path

Compliance with basic requirements. Currently, in most dioceses, the priest must be single and never married. There are exceptions to both rules, but they are rare, and almost everywhere you need to comply with them.

Active participation in the life of the church parish. You need to start helping in the ward before you even think about going to university or seminary for the first time. Those wishing to become priests must be practicing Catholics in good standing for at least the past five years, in addition, they must actively participate in the life of the parish for at least two years. In addition, it would be better if a person who wants to become a priest learns how to celebrate Mass, special services, and other activities.

• Meet your favorite priest. Tell him about your desire to enter the seminary, find out if you could help him during services, when visiting sick parishioners, or organizing events in the ward.
• In addition to the altar service, help with singing and reading. Having thoroughly studied the books and psalms, you will greatly simplify the further path.

1. Think about your faith. The decision to accept the priesthood is not one that can be taken without hesitation - years will pass before the adoption of the priesthood, and this is not for those who are weak in spirit or faith. If you're sure, maybe san is yours.

   • Pray to God for help in recognizing the situation. Participate in Mass regularly, communicate with the clergy in your parish, and try to sort out your thoughts and feelings. Seek advice from church leaders or someone you trust in the clergy.

2. Think about your possibilities. In addition to being a priest, there are other posts in the church that will help you stay closer to God. In addition to deacons and monks, consider missionary work. Missionaries are primarily engaged in intercultural missions, living among the poor and the underprivileged.

   • Again, it's best to consult an expert. If you are already involved in the activities of the church, then you have a few acquaintances who can suggest the right path. Research the issue and make connections with the clergy, they can help.

   Getting an education

   1. Get into university. For bachelors, the time in the seminary is reduced to 4 years. Training will take 8 years anyway - the decision is yours. If you decide to enroll in a higher education institution (public or private), then it is better to get a degree in a related specialty, be it philosophy, theology, or even history.

      • At the university, participate in the activities of the church organization. Visit hermits, help other students, and integrate into the life of a new parish or diocese. In no case do not abandon your studies - the university will give you the knowledge you need for a future career.

   2. Apply for admission to the seminary. Apply to the seminary through your diocese or religious order. The process usually includes a few questions about you and your desire for ordinance. Find out in the parish where to start.

      In seminary, it is important to study very well. You will study philosophy, Latin, Greek, Gregorian chants, dogmatic and moral theology, exegesis, canon law, church history… for starters. One year will be devoted to an in-depth study of "religion" - so you will be poring over books almost all the time!

   Achieving Success After Seminary

   Obtaining an appointment to the post of deacon. It's almost the same as priesthood, but a little simpler. If you have completed 8 years of study/seminary, you have 180 days before you are ordained. Six months as a deacon and you're almost there.

   • Basically, it's a trial period. You will be able to experience what awaits you. This is the last obstacle, and only those who really want to devote themselves to the priesthood will overcome it. For your information, vows of celibacy and devotion to God are taken at this stage.

   1. Pass ordination to the dignity. The Bishop's call is the final "test" to see if the priesthood is truly your calling. If the bishop does not ordain you to the priesthood, then the priesthood is not your calling. Unless the bishop has some reason not to actually ordain you, all will be well. Take the dignity and you're in business!

   2. Obtain an appointment as a priest in a particular parish. After the bishop ordains you, you will first be assigned to a diocese. In some cases, you may be asked to move. We will help you with accommodation if possible.

      • At the end of the process, the most important thing is to remain obedient to God and celibate. This will not bring special financial benefits, but your soul will soar.
   • You can be ordained even if you are not a Catholic. Often people realize their vocation to the priesthood at the same time as the need to accept Catholicism.
   • Prayer is essential to the process of discernment. It is important to attend afternoon masses, go to confession often, read spiritual books and choose one of the saints as patrons.
   • Celibacy and sexual abuse scandals can make you less determined to recognize your calling to the priesthood. Understand, these fears are shared by many men in the process of obtaining the dignity, prayer will help overcome them. Understand, too, that sexual abuse represents the actions of only a few people in the church, but these people by no means represent either the church as a whole or the majority of priests.
   • Remember, going to seminary is not the same as being ordained. Many enter seminaries or become disciples in a religious congregation, but realize they are not called to the priesthood. So, if you are not completely sure of your vocation (and such, by the way, are the vast majority), you can still enter the seminary or the disciples.
   • Remember the two vows of a Catholic priest: obedience and celibacy. These vows are made by lay priests to their bishop. Priests of the order take vows of obedience, chastity and poverty.
   • You can go to www.gopriest.com and order a free copy of Father Brett A. Brannen's Save a Thousand Souls. This is perhaps one of the most powerful books on diligent recognition of one's confession, the book is free.
   • You can see the program of becoming a priest.
   • The terms "calling" and "knowledge" will come in handy. Everyone is called to be godly, but everyone is different -- callings include religious life, priesthood, loneliness and marriage. "Knowing" is a lifelong process of knowing God through prayer and faith. Knowledge requires tremendous patience.

In this article you will learn how to become a priest. The Kiev priest Grigory Kryzhanovsky told Pravmir about this. Read!

Petya jumped with a parachute, but Vasya did not jump, and Petya tells Vasya how great it is. But Vasya looks at Petya and thinks: you can break all the bones like that, and it happens!

Why quit a great job? Why work at a construction site with a higher education?

By the way, you don't have to change jobs. Wash the dishes, as before, but you can wash them and feel happiness. I discovered in my 30s that I don't like washing dishes, but love splashing in warm water. All my life I thought that I liked washing dishes, but my wife rebuked me.

It takes a lot of courage to admit it to yourself. You seem to look good, but in reality you like pleasure. You do good deeds - and you yourself love praise and attention.

In a large family, you need to compete for parental attention. You have to put your shoes on a shelf, make your bed, and for this they tell you that you are good - and you are the same as everyone else, although you realize this at 30.

No matter how good you are, no matter how many years you have been in the Church, over time you will know that you are the same as the rest, like believers and unbelievers, in terms of your distance from God. And God is everywhere and always, and the question is whether you let Him into you.

The feeling that Petya experienced while skydiving - how to convey it? The word grows thin, ceases to be weighty. Divine services, hymns, temple construction, murals, all this splendor is an attempt, an attempt.

Madness, deeds - that's what really strikes people. Someone's example convinces them that they need to change. And God changes a person. How and when this happens is a mystery. For someone during life, for someone right before death, at the moment of death or after it - but the Lord will give to everyone who asks.

It takes courage to be a believer. This is not just a ritual: go there, go here, light a candle, take a blessing. If a person really, beyond his strength, seeks God, who is merciful, forgiving, giving grace and energy - this is brave man he decides to live forever. This is a serious decision and responsibility.

I grew up in a closed large family with little contact with the world. For example, I did not know for a long time that there is such a thing as divorce. I had many uncles and aunts throughout the Union, we saw each other regularly, and everyone had full-fledged families. And already at school I learned that it happens like this: a boy without a dad, but not because his dad died.

My father and mother did not confess Jesus Christ, they were materialists, good people Soviet outlook. They didn't say to be kind, they were just kind to us. And kindness is even more important than decency.

I graduated from the physics and mathematics class with a gold medal, in 1995 I entered the KPI. I decided to study to be a programmer. I thought about law school, but did not go, because court cases repulsed me.

When, in my second year, a department head hired me to work in an organization associated with the Ministry of Justice, I worked there for a year and a half as a computer systems engineer and realized that I did not want to be a lawyer for moral and ethical reasons. In addition, the work of the programmer was more creative.

Then I worked for five years at Golden Telecom, working in the financial department with database and accounting systems. Here, over time, I became interested not in the applied aspect of programming, but in the aspect of database architecture development, systems analysis.

When I moved to Foxtrot, a completely Ukrainian company, I noticed a difference in mentality. Golden Telecom was a half American company, which means different approaches and principles. The most important thing here is the skills of a specialist. In a foreign company, you understand that the Minister of Economy cannot become the Minister of Health. A corporate spirit reigns here, you yourself value the opportunity to earn above all else.

In a Ukrainian company, you must be, first of all, a person - a cool guy, a friend, a countryman, in general, your own. Narrow specialization is not so important here: having worked in domestic business, you already fully admit that the Minister of Economy can become both the Minister of Internal Affairs and Health. Here they recruit a team rather than specialists.

Simultaneously with work, I studied at the hospital. My boss was a workaholic, from him I learned patience, the ability to surpass myself - when you can no longer, but still work.

After Foxtrot, he worked for a year at MTS. During that period, I spent a lot of time on my hobby: psychology, introspection, worldview concepts. These are apparently inborn tendencies: my older brother became a psychiatrist.

At the same time, I began to be interested in Christianity - after I got into the hands of Alexander Men's book "The Son of Man." I was no longer interested in making money. While I was helping my parents to support the family, it was important, but now the children have grown up, the elders are arranging their lives, the younger ones have finished school, I was no longer needed as a breadwinner and could devote more time to myself.

I planned family life. I had a sad experience with a girl - I liked her, but I did not marry her. I was in search, constantly thinking how to become happy. A person often associates happiness with something external. The present is not enough for him, he needs guarantees for the future, and he is extremely tormented by this.

At some point, I realized that I don’t like disappointments, I’m afraid of them. If I live to 70 and only then will I know the truth, it will mean that my whole life was a mistake. And I thought with youthful maximalism: it is better to know this truth tomorrow.

For some reason I remember this moment - it happened at night, about 2 o'clock. I liked to stay up late, look at the burning windows of high-rise buildings around: these are thousands and thousands of different destinies, which I don’t think about until I sit by the window. Happiness, unhappiness, everything is seething, or already sleeping, or already gone.

And I say to myself - why is this all? And at this moment I decide that for the truth I could pay the dearest - with my life. I made this decision and forgot about it, but my life from that moment began to change dramatically.

I started reading books about the soul, God - and once again changed jobs, moving to Philip Morris. It is a manufacturer of tobacco products. Now I changed jobs not in connection with earnings - I'm more interested in the team, relationships with people.

And the brother begins to go to the temple. I was a provocateur, I liked to scare, laugh at a person, and now I’m probably the same, I just got into the habit of doing it softer, so that it would be in favor, rather laugh at myself. So, my brother tells me about Jesus Christ, and I answer him: “Was there a boy?” He was very upset with me then.

So, when my boss returned from maternity leave to work at Philip Morris, I said that I was fed up with this smoking, that I was quitting. I went nowhere, went to live in the country.

It was a period when everything came naturally. It was difficult for me before. By this time I already fast, I live on the balcony for half a year, I sleep on the rug - such ascetic practices I had - and I go to the temple, to St. Cyril's Church.

Those around me were frightened by my behavior. Mom was told: "your son is crazy, but it's okay, you have five more normal children." Classmates - all capable mathematicians, materialists - shook their heads, saying that a person was missing.

I re-read the darkness of literature. Particularly struck by the book of Anthony Surozhsky "Man before God." I entered into a state of conversation with the author when I ask a question - and find the answer on the next page. I understand that this person is preaching to me. By this time, I was already in my second year of the evening catechetical school at the parish of St. Catherine on the street. Polupanov.

One and zero - what could be less? We know that zero can be approached from the right and from the left. What can you see when you can't see anything? Nothing, but you can feel. When you're sitting on a tricky math problem, you need insight. When you are looking for God, you can read the wisest mentor, sensei, guru a thousand times and you will not understand anything.

I had a moment of insight when I became an active parishioner. Fighting for my ideals, I fail. If before I aspired to worldly success, now this failure was my success. In what sense? My mother consoled me, and I told her: everything is the will of God. And she: do you really believe that?

And then I realize that this is just a familiar phrase. I do not know the will of God, I do not know God, and His will interests me only when it is combined with mine. It was a moment of horror: God forbid that God's will be for everything!

It was my insight, a new turning point in my life. All my dreams are starting to come true. I begin to feel God, to seek Him, to run after Him. After reading the books and lives of the saints, I begin to search God's people in the Church and outside of it - meetings, fellowship, disappointments... To experience and see miracles is terrible in its own way, because they will end at some point, and you will have to pay for them, like for any happiness.

In the church, I became familiar to people as a diligent parishioner thanks to some of my qualities instilled in childhood. My aunt once said: so, maybe you will become a priest? And then someone else: let's get ordained, you will serve the liturgy for the children.

For the first time, when I heard this, I was shattered: after all, I am a distant, unworthy person. And then the circle narrowed, and the time came when I prayed: “Lord, I want this. And you, Lord, do you want this? Let me know". Appeared thanksgiving prayer not only for what I have, but for what You are, Lord. I am insignificant, and the mercy of God is immeasurable. It is this feeling of gratitude that gives one the courage to ask, “What do You want, Lord?” In the phone call I was told "Axios!"

Although I did not have a job, I constantly found one for myself. I'm a workaholic - I just love to work. This is a model of behavior: it is impossible not to work in a large family, parents have never been idle.

At that moment, I rebuild the house, turning the dacha into a solid dwelling. I earn money in transportation and construction. I dreamed of a private house, a family - and now it all appeared: both the house and the woman who accepted my proposal. In the same year I enter the seminary, for which I take the blessing of my wife - she was exactly the person thanks to whom I, cowardly, decided.

By the time I was ordained, my relatives and their parents had already become church people, they all found in the Church a solution to their problems, which in principle are unsolvable in the world.

This year we celebrated the 9th anniversary of the community of the deaf at the Ioninsky Monastery. The deaf are, in fact, foreigners who are not able to learn our language. And only we can learn their language and help them.

Who doesn't want to learn the language of the deaf as a child? I lived in Vinogradar, not far from boarding school No. 6. You think: that would be great - and you forget about it. And when I entered the third grade of the seminary and they began to teach us sign language, it turned out that I was capable of it.

As a deacon, I was asked to come to Ioninsky, where services were held with the help of an interpreter. The deaf looked at me and decided: “This is the future father! We need him to learn - we need him." After all, there are things that a person wants to discuss with a priest directly, without an interpreter.

In general, I realized that this is an opportunity to serve people. And not ordinary, but deprived and at the same time the people of God, who fulfilled the commandment of God "be like children." They are active, trusting, open - but in their own environment.

Language is a cultural factor, so it is a separate nation. Sign language forms a national minority in the territory. In Europe, this is already formally spelled out. A foreigner is born in an ordinary family! If the parents do not learn the language of their child, the child will find people of his “nation” and will not fully return to the family.

Before the revolution, the Church had a translation of liturgical texts into sign language. There were almshouses and parochial schools for the deaf in St. Petersburg. In Kyiv, a priest also began to teach the deaf. He had two deaf daughters and had enough money to send one of them to school. She, having returned, taught her sister and father, and he began to teach children.

The revolution interrupted this undertaking, like many others. It got even worse when Stalin spoke in the sense that the deaf are inferior, and their language is also a manifestation of inferiority. Then the deaf were forbidden to communicate in their language, they were forced to keep their hands in their pockets. The tradition of liturgy for the deaf was completely lost, and only in the 1990s did the Orthodox Church in Kyiv begin translating.

Difficulties arose with the translation of some theological terms and texts, those in which the doctrine of Christ is concentrated - I had to start from scratch in many respects, creating gestures denoting these concepts.

Now almost all liturgical texts translated. After all, when a language is developed and there is a dictionary, the rest is a matter of technology. A video dictionary of sign language for liturgical terms has been created. We have collected all the accumulated and disseminate information.

Now is the age of rapid information development. God gives revelation to people, and they use it for good or for evil. Mobile phones - they seem to have been specially invented for the deaf so that they can dial text messages. The Internet is also for them.

There are a lot of us - 20 people at the service, and only about 60. Now we have six to eight translators - more than in the Minsk and St. Petersburg communities, which are older than us. Recently we have been to Lutsk, Chisinau, Moscow region, Zhytomyr, we are going to Kherson.

What are we preaching? There are already believers there. Only that it is possible and necessary to translate the service. We need to embrace these people. God has chosen them, and we can help to ensure that their faith is realized in a wide and full participation in the liturgy.

There is nothing special, special in my priestly service in this community. Only knowledge of sign language. Feelings, emotions, everyday questions of these people are the same as ours. The worship service itself, of course, has its own specifics. First, the translator must be a believer. Know the service, understand the content and meaning of prayers, dramaturgy. He must have feelings!

If I were deaf, a purely technical, unemotional translation would not suit me. I would like my brother or sister to translate, for example. Divine service flows, there are visible and audible parts of it. And the audible needs to be translated into the visual. Thus, the “video sequence” in the service for the deaf is more intense. And since this “channel” is overloaded, it is impossible to “throw” too much into it.

The father should speak simply, not abstrusely. The translator needs discreet, non-distracting clothing, the priest needs a trimmed mustache. I got lucky with my mustache.

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In John 15:16, Jesus says that it is not the people who choose Him, but He chooses the servants to bear fruit.

Becoming a priest is a life choice that is made according to God's calling and a voluntary renunciation of earthly joys. They can be a man who has a theological education and is ordained to the priesthood.

What does serving God mean?

A priest is not a profession or a job that lasts 8 hours and then live a personal life. Serving God is the complete dedication of oneself to people as a faithful servant of God, ready at the right time to become an assistant, mediator, spiritual mentor, shepherd.

Read about priesthood:

Every man can devote his life to serving the church

Perhaps someone dreams of becoming a priest because of wealth, so abundance comes with time, and not every parish can provide a worthy maintenance for a priest.

Fathers in everyday life have to do the same things as ordinary people, while they have constant force majeure circumstances:

• someone died and needs to be buried;
• another calls to pray at the bedside of a seriously ill person;
• the third must be united.

No one cares about how things are at home in the family of a clergyman at this time.

Most importantly, the priesthood is a great responsibility before God, Who entrusts the shepherd to a certain person, then it will be asked of him, of him and his descendants.

Who can become a priest

The desire to become a priest is born in a heart filled with the knowledge of God and mission on earth, as a Christian.

A true understanding of the depth of dedication to God and people is characteristic of men who have certain moral qualities:

• strong faith;
• the ability to hear God;
• fortitude;
• patience;
• love for people and desire to serve them.

A deep understanding of priestly service is available to church-going Christians; they are willing to give up many, even earthly, joys in order to fully accept the happiness of communion with God.

The future priest must cultivate high moral qualities with early youth

First of all, those who want to become a priest must understand that the life of a servant of God is dedicated to people, there are no hourly restrictions, but there are strict rules and routines. In the pastoral ministry, there is no vacation at will or at one's own expense; one cannot leave this position at one's own will or change one's job.

A priest is a subservient person, over whom there are superior ministers, obedience is unquestioning. This is called humility, which for God is the highest sacrifice.. Few Christians can become priests, not because of a lack of some deep knowledge, but because of a lack of Christian maturity and the ability to accept responsibility.

Prior to being educated as a theologian, men must prove themselves in the ministry, it must be a need and a pleasure, a priority in life. It is impossible to imagine in the role of a clergyman a person not churched, not living in the interests of the church, not observing fasts and prayer rules. A person who has low moral qualities, who does not know how to tame his sinful thoughts, cannot become a priest.

Important! A clergyman can become a Christian who has learned all the canons of the church through training in a seminary.

How to get a seminary education

A theological education opens the door to becoming a priest.

Basic requirements for everyone:

• age - 18-35 years;
• marital status - single or married once;
• secondary education;
• mentally healthy;
• recommendations from an Orthodox priest.

Education in the seminary

Upon admission to the seminary, those wishing to become clergy must be guided in the Bible, the Old and New Testaments, know the Catechism and the history of the Church, which is checked during the exam.

Before admission to the exam, you should be tested for knowledge of prayers, chants and possession of the basics of vocals. A prerequisite is the ability to Church Slavonic and reading psalms on it.

A person who failed at the interview to clearly state his intentions, motives, prove sincerity and desire to serve the Lord and people may not be allowed to take exams.

On a note! August - the time for passing exams, those who entered begin training from September 1.

Applicants should be prepared for a rigorous test of faith and strict discipline. I want to warn you right away that the most faithful and chosen by God reach the end.

Those living in other cities in the seminary are provided with a hostel, in which there are also strict rules, violation of them may threaten with expulsion from the seminary.

All seminarians are provided with a scholarship. At the end of the seminary, final exams are taken, confession takes place, and after that the most worthy can be ordained, become priests, but this is not a mandatory guarantee after graduating from a spiritual institution.

monk or priest

Being in the rank of a seminarian, future clergymen must decide on an important task that leaves a mark on their whole life.

Graduates, before graduating from the seminary, must decide which path they choose, monasticism or priesthood, black or white brotherhood.

When deciding to be a married person, to have a family, children, there is only one way - to become a priest, having married before consecration. At the same time, strict rules are put forward for both the future spouse and his wife.

A father can only have one wife

The future mother before marriage should not have previous family ties. She cannot be a widow or a divorcee. A father can only have one wife. Even if he remains a widower, he is forbidden to remarry.

Choosing a girl for his wife, the future priest must explain to her all the individual characteristics in the role of mother, and this is a ban on parties, certain requirements for clothing, behavior. As a rule, Christian girls who are preparing to become mothers are brought up in Orthodox churches. Christian families familiar with the canons of the church.

Attention! Without the permission of the rector of the theological institution, a seminarian cannot marry.

The bride of the future clergyman must be aware of the full responsibility of her rank, be ready:

• follow her husband to the very outback;
• be always in sight;
• become an example for other Christian women as a wife;
• accept that the spouse will be constantly busy with church problems and other people.

Another way is monasticism, in which marriage is forbidden, the young man voluntarily renounces the joy of the head of the family, fatherhood, entrusting life into God's hands.

Priest Attributes:

After graduating from a spiritual institution

Having received distribution to the parish, graduates must go through certain steps of the hierarchical ladder.

Those who have chosen the path of a clergyman first serve as deacons, after which they are ordained to the priesthood, the highest level is bishopric, archpriest, rector.

The Sacrament of Consecration - ordination involves the Holy Spirit, which fills the heart of the future mentor of the laity with special love for them and makes the priest a bearer of God's grace.

Sacrament of ordination

The ordination is performed by the bishop in the altar during the Liturgy.

Attention! Members of the black brotherhood, monks, can become bishops, metropolitans and heads of dioceses. The patriarch is chosen from among the monastic brethren; this path is closed to priests.

Theological education is a prerequisite for receiving the priesthood, although the head of the parish can take responsibility and perform the ceremony of consecration to the priesthood without special education.

This practice is inherent in few churches, and experience shows that it is difficult for a priest to do without a theological education.

Where can you get a spiritual education

In addition to Russia, spiritual education can be obtained in Belarus. Minsk is the capital, which has not only a school, a seminary, but also an academy.

The Belarusian State University is one of the few universities in the former CIS countries that has opened the Institute of Theology. Vitebsk, Slonim are ready to accept those wishing to receive a secondary theological education in a special school. Girls can also become students of schools.

Chance to become a priest in adulthood

The history of the Church preserves cases when men living in the world, like ordinary Christians, discovered in themselves the gift of serving people. At first they help, then they begin to serve in the church, and then they decide to become a priest.

At theological institutions it is offered distance learning, the age limit in which increases to 55 years.

On a note! Applicants who already carry church ministry having the recommendations of the priest and the dean, documented papers certified by the bishop.

Each issue of ordination to the priesthood is considered individually.

How to become a priest

Orthodox priest- in the common (non-terminological) meaning - a servant of a religious cult. The profession is suitable for those who are interested in religion (see the choice of profession for interest in school subjects).

Features of the profession

According to the teachings of the Church, priesthood one of the seven sacraments. This means that in order to become a priest, it is not enough to get a diploma, and even more so, it is impossible to declare oneself a priest.

A person becomes a priest after he is ordained, that is, consecrated by a bishop, who, according to church teaching, has special authority. This power the bishop, in turn, received from previous bishops. The chain of ordination stretches deep into the centuries and starts from Christ and the apostles, which is why it is called the Apostolic Succession. It makes it possible to receive spiritual gifts for the performance of the ordinances.

The priest performs six of the seven church sacraments: baptism, chrismation, communion, repentance (confession), marriage (wedding) and unction (unction). The Sacrament of Priesthood (ordination to the Holy Order) can only be performed by a Bishop. During divine services, the priest offers up a prayer for the whole world. Since one of the most important duties is confession, a priest needs to be able to deeply feel a person, his problems and peculiarities. In addition, the parish priest is called to be the organizer of parish life, he must be not only a mentor, but also a friend of his parishioners, ready to be with them in sorrow and joy.

The priesthood has three degrees: bishop (patriarch and metropolitan - varieties of episcopal ministry), priest, deacon (colloquially deacon). The clergy are divided into black (monks) and white. Only a monk can become a bishop, priests and deacons may or may not be monks (hieromonks and hierodeacons). Usually the white clergy are family, but you can only marry before ordination and only once. Women in Orthodox Church they do not ordain, but women occupy an important and prominent place in church life.

Important qualities

The profession of a priest is not ordinary, it should be called a ministry, it requires a special vocation. Like a doctor, a priest should be connected with people not only by professional knowledge, but also by personal qualities: benevolence, openness to needs and problems. Of course, first of all, it is necessary for the priest himself to have faith: to try to perform priestly functions mechanically, “not for the sake of Jesus, but for the sake of the bread of the cous” is not only dishonest, but also senseless and untenable even from a purely professional point of view. Therefore, marriage in the work of both a doctor and a priest is especially unacceptable: profanation in these ministries is more dangerous than in other professions.

Salary

Priest training

Usually priests become after studying in theological seminaries. True, at one time, due to a shortage of priests, it was necessary to ordain people who did not have a special education, but now there is no need for this: the number of seminaries and religious schools for last years increased.

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Many people are rather skeptical about priests, thinking that every person can acquire such a profession. In fact, this is far from the case. Yes, of course, on the one hand, every man who wishes can devote his life to serving the church. But at the same time, you need to understand that this path is quite difficult and requires deep faith and endurance. Even before a man receives a theological education, he must show a desire for service and cultivate high moral qualities in character from early youth. He must also tame all his sinful lusts and attend church often.

Theological Seminary

Those representatives of the male community who nevertheless resolutely want to go to serve in the church and are wondering how to do this, need to know some mandatory rules. First, you need to get a special education and enter a theological seminary. To enroll in training, you must meet the following criteria:

• Age must be between 18-35 years old.
• Single (if the man is married, then this should be the first marriage).
• Secondary education.
• There must be recommendations from a priest of the Orthodox faith.

After all the necessary documents are collected, the future student of the seminary undergoes an interview, at which the exact purpose and motives of his admission are clarified. At the entrance examinations, knowledge of the Old and New Testaments is carefully assessed.

Knowledge of the history of the Russian Orthodox Church is also assessed. The commission will definitely check the knowledge of basic prayers and chants. And another mandatory skill that is very important for admission is reading the Psalter in Church Slavonic.

Even before graduating from the seminary, a man must decide who he wants to be - a monk or a priest, since monks are forbidden to marry, but priests are allowed.

The Lord is always with you!