› ›

Can Abouna...?

Coptic21Coptic21
edited December 1969 in Faith Issues
Hey all...its been agggeess since i've been here, i just finished my final exams and i graduated from high school...so now I'M FREE!!! anywayz...my questions is....can Abouna ban someone from having Holy Communion? and if he can...wat r sum reasons why he would do that...? and also i need someone to explain to me wat EXACTLY "Worship to the Ground" is and wat is the purpose of it???
Thanx

God Bless
Coptic21

Comments

  • Marianne87Marianne87
    Yes. Abouna can ban someone from having Holy Communion. Some of the reasons that he might do that is if he knows that this certain person has committed a great sin that wouldn't allow them to take communion...and there are a lot of sins that can't allow you to take communion at least for a period of time. I think also if he knows that a certain person hasn't confessed for a period of time, he is able to ban them from communion...since they are going to be taking communion without repentance..and the obvious one...all people who are taking communion should be orthodox so if he saw someone who is going to take communion without baptism, he is able to ban that as well.
    I am not really sure what you mean by "Worshop to the Ground" means, so I don't really know.

    God Bless and Congrats on your gradutation. :)
  • RonyRony
    I know of a friend who was banned from Holy Communion for a month because he brought drugs to a convention. He is now studying to be a doctor and a very learned Deacon (and drug-free).
  • Youstina SYoustina S
    but that doesnt make sense...why would we get banned from communion for committing a big sin when we have repentence and confession? After all, the whole purpose of repentence and confession is so that we renew our relationship with God and ask for forgiveness because we dont want to commit an old sinful habit....

    if a person committed a great sin they must be sorry and guilty for their wrongdoings when they go for confession- then why add to their misery and ban them from communion? I dont know...i see how banning them from communion can teach them a lesson, but isn't it more effective if the person willingly confesses and repents instead of banning them from communion? R + C will cause the person to have a feeling of guilt and remorse for their sin, wheras banning them from communion would leave emotional scars.

    NOP+
    Youstina S
  • mnc_hnnmnc_hnn
    hey i know that verse... it says "kol ma tarbotonoh 3ala el ard yakoon marbootan...." i dunno where exactly it is to get the english verse probably it's in new testament, acts or one of the epstles.

    GBU
  • Coptic21Coptic21
    hey youstina...i totally agree with u, i don't understand why a priest would do that...it doesn't make sense as u sed...i would imagine that banning someone from having holy communion would make one feel very un-welcome in the house of the Lord... which isn't right!!!
    so u guys have no idea what it means to "Worship to the Ground" ???? hope u guys can help me out...

    p.s: mnc_hnn...thats a nice verse, its very meaningfull!!

    God Bless
    Coptic21
  • andrewgandrewg
    I think that if a person is consistently behaving in an unchristian like manner that abouna can ban them from communion. In order to increase in our relationship with God by reading the bible, praying, fasting. We should always be trying to grow spiritually and not become complacent. This varies from priest to priest. This is done for the spiritual benefit of the person to bring them back to christ. This banning is usually but not limited to something that envolves more than one person.
  • Marianne87Marianne87
    Well one of the examples that I saw abouna do that was someone who divorced and got married again...and since that's wrong...abouna banned that person from communion. The other example was someone who committed abortion, and I think she was banned from the whole church for a whole year...so that's kinda of big sins that u can't repair what you have done...I am not saying that you can't repent...but it kinda not fair to just giving them the reward after they sinned...I mean communion and taking the body and blood of our Lord is something of a value...so whoever is going to take communion should be of a pure heart that goes for all of us...but I don't know..it kinda make sense to me why abouna can do that.
  • mnc_hnnmnc_hnn
    but what if that woman died during this period of banning? she might hv not confessed and so lost eternity
  • Marianne87Marianne87
    that's not abouna's problem whether she confessed or not...confession is something and taking communion is something else...if she confessed and truly repented than there is no problem here exept that she can't take communion...and if God saw that she had a repented heart and she died at that time...then she will win the kingdom of heaven
    If she didn't confess then this is something else
    Communion and Confession are related but they are not the same.
  • whywhy
    ok i know some1 that was banned from holy communion for i think a year AND he just got seperated n not divorced!!!!!

    ok i think if he repents from the sin...n the confession father thinks its a good confesssion...then he might be more leanient with the 'sentence' should i say...can any1 bak me up?
  • Coptic21Coptic21
    why...wat do u mean?
    i guess every one gets "sentenced" in their own way depending on their sin....it has nothing to do with how good the confession is....their are certain things that ppl do...that causes abouna to ban them from communion...and not everyone will be punished by being banned from having holy communion...others can sometimes be banned from CHURCH ALTOGETHER for a period of time....

    God Bless
    COptic21
  • PopeKyrillosPopeKyrillos
    Wasn't there some story in the synexarium when St. Sarabamon banned a person of taking communion because he stole?
  • Christ4LifeChrist4Life
    ohh yess thats right... he saw in his heart all that he had done and refused to give him communion...
  • RonyRony
    ok im bout to spill it out holy spirit style...

    in the name of the father son and the holy spirit amen

    Jesus teaches us to always be together, one in the same and he always says "when more than one gather in my name...I am there" or something along those lines.

    However, by being together we are subject to help each other and learn from each other. We are also subject to different idealogies, thinkings, and motives other than ourselves. Whatever these idealogies, thinkings or motives may be, we are subject to make an impact in someone else's life. There are people who don't know how to find their true self, and as such they copy others or copy what they do. Because of this, the Church is almost (IMHO) like a copier machine. You get one deacon who sounds real good, all the deacons want to sound like him. You get sunday school servants doing excellent jobs in sunday school, so others want to follow. WHAT ABOUNAS DO NOT NEED ARE COPIERS OF FILTH. We don't want our beautiful coptic children learning how to smoke, how to shoot up, or how to do anything that is unchristian. IF abouna finds a reason to ban someone from taking communion he will definitely use it, not only to save the purity of the youth in general, but to offer time for the person who has committed the sin to think deeply and hard what it is he wants to do. If the person comes back and is allowed communion, his heart has changed. If the person does not come back, his heart is set on doing whatever it is he was doing that made him get caught.

    Abouna is not trying to harm anyone, or hurt anyone's feelings. But if you think about our God as a real and human father, you can see quite clearly what the problem is. Imagine that God is a real and human father of Abouna. and imagine you have done something that Abouna's father did NOT want you to do. If you go and do it, of COURSE Abouna will get mad and not let you partake of the service of his Father. Only because you didn't comply with God, the Father.

    So ends our short lesson. For Bible verses to back anything I just said here please message me as I don't like to spend a long time looking for what exact verse or chapter it is, I just know from reading the bible many times.

    Thanks all and God BLESS

    0000000amen0000000000000
  • love4alllove4all
    From my knowledge, abouna can ban a person from recieving communion, but on the grounds that the person committed or is committing a pretty big sin or a problem and the person is not or does not want to repent, confess, or fix the sin or problem.

    If you do confess, repent and fix the problem or sin, you are allowed to recieve communion because you a renewed and deserving of communion. If not, and you go down the road of sin and accept it, then are you truly deserving of communion?

    I've seen this happen with someone very close to me, and "ban" is a pretty tough word, i've discussed this with an abouna and he said its more like the abouna is trying to give the person a period of reflection and is also making the person understand the power of communion and the Holy Spirit, and to recieve them they must be pure of heart and clean of sin.

    Once this person confessed and acknowledged their wrong doings/sin, that person was automatically allowed to recieve communion :) yay!

    hope that helped, and if i repeated someone else's comments, then sorry! lol

    take care,

    Samar
  • Unknown
    I would have to say that the most problem that occured and the consequences were being banned from Communion, is that eating instead of fasting for 9 or more hours to take Communion, lots of people ask Abouna, I accidently ate something, and of course Abouna asks was it in the limited time, like I mean you need to fast before the time becomes 12:00 A.M. that is another possiblity that Abouna can ban someone from taking Communion!

    Forever,
    Coptic Servent
  • Christ4LifeChrist4Life
    yes copticservent but that is also temporary, its only for one day. abouna didnt do it because the person did something wrong, only because they forgot to fast and ate/drank.
  • [Deleted User]
    before communion abouna says "the holies for the holy"
    this speaks for itself!
  • whywhy
    [quote author=Coptic21 link=board=1;threadid=2883;start=15#msg44538 date=1134791412]
    why...wat do u mean?
    i guess every one gets "sentenced" in their own way depending on their sin....it has nothing to do with how good the confession is....their are certain things that ppl do...that causes abouna to ban them from communion...and not everyone will be punished by being banned from having holy communion...others can sometimes be banned from CHURCH ALTOGETHER for a period of time....

    God Bless
    COptic21


    sorry bout that coptic 21....

    R u sure that they can be banned from church altogether???


    example st Mary the egyption was as bad as it gets and she wasnt BANNED from the church she just couldnt enter it...do i make sense??? does any1 get what im saying.....

    u can be banned by an abouna only God will stop you from entering....thats betta...does any1 get what i mean now??
  • Coptic21Coptic21
    well....i dunno if u can call it banning but...one time...a lady in our church had a baby...WITHOUT being married...abouna told her not to come to church for about a month or so...
  • Christ4LifeChrist4Life
    and last week at our youth meeting abouna said anyone that aborts a baby isnt allowed to enter the church for two years...
  • mikeslmikesl
    St. Paul puts it very simply in his epistle to the Corinthians:

    1 Corinthians 11:23-29
    Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.

    Abouna is actually helping out a person when they tell them they are not allowed to take communion for a period of time.
Sign In or Register to comment.