Good afternoon
I came across some somewhat outdated news here - “Zolotukhin’s son may be excommunicated from the church because of his father”

Brief quote:
"Father Dionysius (Denis), Valery Zolotukhin's own son, did something for which he could be excommunicated from the church. The fact is that he himself gave communion and performed the ceremony of blessing his own father. Alone and on behalf of the church, he absolved the sins of the dying actor, o which he forgot. But this ritual is forbidden to perform if a person is unconscious."

I searched the Internet - on many church resources there is a mention of this situation - regarding the failure to perform the Sacrament on an unconscious patient.
True, there are no references to the Canons on this matter.
Maybe someone came across the provisions of official church documents on this matter, ancient and modern?

Although I will say right away that this norm leaves me personally very deeply bewildered.
I understand that a person who is in a coma cannot let go of his sins at Confession - he cannot repent of them.
It is impossible to give him Communion - since he does not have his expressed free consent to receive Communion at this very moment.
Although, again, this point is far from indisputable.

But during the Unction of Oil, by definition, sins that a person cannot remember are healed - and the Sacrament itself is carried out for the healing of soul and body.
It turns out that the Church, in relation to patients in a coma, is less merciful than official medicine?
The latter immediately undertakes to save the patient after a traumatic brain injury, stroke, poisoning, or other serious pathologies - without asking him for formal consent, assuming his buy-default.
And for some reason the Church believes that a person baptized in the Christian faith, who was previously a more or less tolerable parishioner of an Orthodox church, after losing consciousness by default becomes an apostate? ;)

And what then to do with the church’s position on euthanasia?
It turns out that a person without consciousness for the Church is no longer a person in the proper sense of the word - he cannot participate in the Sacraments (saving ones, at least).
Thank God, at least the funeral service was not prohibited on the grounds that the dead man could not confirm his consent to an Orthodox burial;)
Therefore, fighting for the life of an unconscious patient, and even with the help of medical science (essentially the same magic) is pointless from a church point of view?
You just have to rely on the Will of God - and if the Lord doesn’t work a miracle, turn off the life support equipment and stop pouring liters of medicine into the patient’s veins in intensive care and quickly call the priest for the funeral service?

I wonder how this practice relates to the fundamental principle of the Sacrament of Unction - the parable of the Good Samaritan?
Should it be understood in the light of the above-cited practice of holding the Sacrament in such a way that this “Samaritan,” if he had been beaten unconscious by robbers, would not have poured oil and wine on his wounds? ;)
At best, would he have waited a little, and if the victim had not regained consciousness, would he have left after the Old Testament priest and Levite? ;)

Unction is a sacrament that heals soul and body. It belongs to the seven Sacraments in the Christian church and is performed to save the believer from spiritual and physical illnesses. Unction allows you to forgive sins that a person himself has forgotten or committed through a misunderstanding, that is, “involuntary.” In the sacred books this sacrament is usually called consecration of oil.

Since the sacrament is often performed by a “cathedral” - several priests, the name “unction” is used in Orthodoxy. Every believer should know what this is and why it is carried out.

Several priests, usually seven, perform the sacrament, but increasingly, one clergyman performs the consecration of anointing.

Unction takes place in certain cases. Here is how the church rules explain who needs to undergo unction and when it can be done:

• in case of illness (at any time);
• before death (also throughout the year);
• before Great and Christmas

Who can receive unction

The essence of the sacrament explains why unction is necessary - this is the complete healing of the believer from sins, sorrow and illness. Wherein bodily recovery becomes the result of spiritual healing after repentance and a sincere promise to lead a life in accordance with God after the forgiveness of all sins. Requests for this are repeatedly repeated in prayers that are read during unction.

Therefore, first of all, unction is given to people who are spiritually sick, those who are in grief or depression, those who have lost faith, and those who also have physical illnesses. If the illness is severe and protracted, then the sacrament can be performed until the patient recovers. According to the testimony of those on whom it was carried out, relief in most cases came immediately after the ceremony. Often the sick were even completely healed after unction. Moreover, we are talking not only about physical illnesses, but also about mental illnesses, severe grief, loss of faith in God and in oneself, and other spiritual sorrows that do not go away after confession.

The unction of a dying Christian, together with the last confession, prepares the soul for departure to the afterlife.

To undergo this rite, you need to know who can receive unction. To do this you need:

• be a baptized Christian believer over 7 years of age;
• be conscious (not be in agony, coma, mental confusion, alcohol intoxication).

Women are not given unction during menstruation.

There is no consensus on whether it is possible to administer unction to healthy people. However, it is believed that in modern life it is difficult to avoid spiritual illnesses - lack of faith, worldly sorrows, sins, etc. Therefore, the Church recommends taking unction during the Nativity or Great Lent.

Preparation for the sacrament

You need to prepare for the sacrament of unction and know how the unction takes place. It is not carried out spontaneously, so it is necessary make an appointment in advance for a ceremony in church or invite priests home (especially if we are talking about a seriously ill or dying Christian).

There is no need to specifically observe fasting before unction, if it is not performed during Lent or Nativity, when compliance with the restrictions of fasting goes without saying for a true believer Christian.

For unction, you need to ask for a blessing from the clergyman. It is advisable to confess before the event. But you can go to confession after the sacrament. Also after unction you need to take communion.

How does the ritual take place?

Anointing is performed with oil - vegetable oil consecrated in the church, preferably olive oil. This oil is the oldest Christian symbol; since ancient times it has not only been consumed as food, but was also considered a medicinal and even cosmetic product, and was also used in lamps.

If there was a lot of oil, it was perceived as God's blessing. Before serving and reigning, priests, prophets, and kings were anointed with it. It is known that the holy apostles used oil when praying for their healing. Abundance of oil was perceived as a sign of God's blessing. They rubbed the body with oil and anointed the hair. Prophets, priests and kings were anointed with oil.

The rite of unction itself begins with a blessing by the clergyman. Currently, in the Orthodox Church, the sacrament is most often performed by one priest; several (seven) are invited, including to the home, on special occasions, for example, to a dying person.

After this, the canon (prayer hymn) and litany (prayer petition) are read. During the priestly prayer, the oil is consecrated.

Then the priest reads seven passages from the Gospel and the Apostle. After each of them a litany is read and secret prayer, during the reading of which a cross-shaped anointing with oil dissolved in wine occurs on parts of the body of the congregation:

• nostrils;
• cheeks;
• lips;
• breast;
• hands.

The whole ritual is repeated seven times.

After the last anointing, the clergyman places the Gospel on the head of the congregation and reads a prayer of absolution, thereby receiving from God the power to forgive the forgotten and involuntary sins of the believer when the unction is performed.

The Catholic Church also performs the Blessing of Oil, which has slight differences from the Orthodox rite.

Of course, unction does not guarantee complete healing if the person himself does not believe or does not sincerely repent of his sins. Prayers for Healing begin with a request for forgiveness of sins, which comes from the soul. If the sins are too serious, and these include, for example:

• fornication, adultery;
• renunciation of faith, including turning to occult sciences and other religions;
• murder, etc.

Then first you need to resort to the sacrament of repentance. A true believer knows what unction is and how it is carried out, therefore has no right to “forget” some sins in time in the hope that they will be forgiven through the rite of consecration of oil. Repentance for one’s sins must be sincere, coming from the heart, then a Christian can be healed by the will of God.

History of the Blessing of Anointing

The sacrament of the consecration of oil is mentioned in the apostolic epistles, which speak of the sick who can no longer come to church. But from the 4th century, the practice of unction began not in a Christian’s home, but in a church. In the 10th century it has become customary to commit the ritual not only over the patient, but also over his household and even his home. Such general unction came to Rus' from the Greek Church in the 17th century. Initially it was performed on Maundy Thursday and Maundy Saturday.

Cost of the sacrament

As for the cost of the sacrament, we must remember the ancient truth that the church is not a market. But we must also remember that work, including that of a clergyman, must be paid, because it requires not only physical, but also moral costs. Usually the temple itself establishes, how much does unction cost, but in most churches it is tacitly customary to charge as much as a person can pay. If a believer is in extreme need or in another exceptional situation, then the priest may decide to perform unction without payment, for the glory of God. Be that as it may, the issue of price can always be discussed with the priest of your church.

No matter how unfortunate this event may be, I am inclined to perceive it in my experience as a kind of stop, a respite from work and home responsibilities, a time to think about my whole life, reassess priorities, rethink myself. A person who finds himself in a hospital bed is not only physically weak, but also feels weak spiritually. Often, without sufficient spiritual experience, he is unable to analyze the reasons that led him to illness, sometimes blaming God Himself.

– Why do I have cirrhosis of the liver?! - exclaims a person who did not always drink alcohol in doses recommended by St. John Chrysostom. – Why did the Lord punish me like this?

– Where do I get gastritis, nervous exhaustion and diabetes mellitus? - another asks the priest, whom he currently regards as God’s advocate.

And then during the conversation it becomes clear that it was not Christ who first persuaded people to abuse wine; and it was not He who insisted on the second’s violation of the diet and his disobedience before his superiors. Absent from the Sermon on the Mount is the commandment to uphold personal ambitions before your neighbors.

Everyone knows that poor hygiene, neglect of disease prevention, and generally an unhealthy lifestyle, at a minimum, do not bring anything good. Who, tell me, should I blame for the fact that, not having the habit of watching my step, I stepped on a banana peel, fell and was seriously hurt? Is it really the Lord Jesus?

This is when the sick person needs special grace-filled help, because it is precisely this that can lead a person to faith and reconcile him with God. And it is the job of the priest and his assistants - sisters of mercy - to provide just such help.

Not only patients and their relatives, but also doctors and all hospital medical staff need spiritual support, because they take responsibility for the physical health of patients. But it is impossible to help a person heal physically without spiritual recovery. The most important task for the priest and sisters of mercy in working with doctors should be to change the consciousness of doctors, to set their priorities differently.

Many of the doctors and health workers at various levels show themselves as true Christians, regularly visiting churches, receiving church Sacraments, observing fasts, trying not to violate God’s commandments, and in prayers asking God for forgiveness for themselves, their loved ones and friends. Many of them, fulfilling their medical duty, also pray for each patient, having once heard a sermon about this. You, father, have not yet had time to preach such a sermon? Hurry, because the fields are already white!

It is necessary to take into account that the celebration of the Sacraments does not coincide in time with hospital rounds

Moving on to practical recommendations (sorry), I would like to note that in hospital service as a sister of mercy, it is necessary to take into account that the celebration of the Sacraments does not coincide in time with hospital rounds. Imagine: the time has come for the doctor to personally talk with the patient, perform some medical manipulations or examination, and here in the room there is a priest with a sister of mercy. In such cases, conflicts may arise, and this should be avoided in every possible way for the benefit of the entire ministry of the Church in the hospital. The sister and the priest also need to know the characteristics of diseases. There is plenty of popular science literature on this topic.

Particularly close attention should be paid to conducting theoretical and practical classes for sisters of mercy, since without well-trained personnel who are fully proficient in the skills of catechetical work, having the necessary level of spiritual knowledge and knowledge in the field of Orthodox psychology, hospital ministry is impossible. After all, if you begin to sow wheat along with thistles, do not expect a good harvest at harvest. Therefore, it is advisable for every sister to have a good knowledge of the Law of God, Sacred History, Church History, Catechism, Dogmatics and Liturgics.

Sisters of mercy must have a full working day. Dropping into the hospital for a couple of hours is not a good idea.

Sisters of mercy should preferably have a full working day. Dropping into the hospital for a couple of hours is not a good idea, believe me. After all, the main task of a sister of mercy is preparation for Baptism, Confession, Communion, conversations with relatives, patients, and doctors. All this takes a lot of time. Were the apostles in a hurry to tell the Law of Christ in five minutes? Of course not!

It is very useful to hold charity events with concerts in different departments of the hospital. In children's departments, you can distribute gifts using funds specially donated for this purpose, and arrange meetings with orphans. Try advertising in your church that you are collecting gifts for sick children to brighten up their stay away from their parents and friends. Many will respond!

Where can you get so many employees? - any priest will ask me. To some extent, I would recommend filling this gap with volunteers, although they will not go regularly and, as a rule, have an insufficient level of professionalism. They have no practice yet, and they work with a mentor who has to constantly monitor the volunteer, teach, and sometimes be responsible for his wrong actions and words. Most often, volunteers help patients read the prayer rule for Communion. However, volunteers often cannot stand working in the hospital, seeing the suffering of the dying. They begin to be frightened by the mere thought of going to the wards, as well as by false shame and fear. Therefore, most volunteers often begin to look for themselves in a different field. Not all of them are ready to stay in the hospital. But even from this small number, many will then have to be weeded out...

A catechist sister must not only be a person of deep faith, regularly go to confession and receive communion, but also be reasonable, prudent, mentally healthy (please pay special attention to this), balanced, cultured, ethical, attentive, kind, knowing the fundamentals of that teaching, in which she was instructed. She must speak and teach about faith correctly. Remember the parable of the tares.

Another way to recruit staff is from hospital patients themselves. Some former patients become so attached to one or another hospital priest or sister of mercy that over time, when they are established in the faith, they come to work in this field. The main thing is not to alienate every such person. A smart priest once said that the most important thing in a hospital is not to interfere with the patient’s coming to Christ.

Another problem in counseling is the requirement for the priesthood. Not everyone will be able to go to the hospital. If any priest is squeamish, or has a fear of blood (what if?), or has an impressionable disposition, then may he never cross the threshold of a hospital room with the Holy Sacraments forever!

But seriously, a hospital patient who wants to be baptized, confess, receive communion or receive unction may end up smelling bad (here you have pus, unwashed clothes, blood, sweat, diaper rash, etc.). He may look like a mummy, covered in bandages and burns dripping with ichor. He can lie with an enamel duck, he can have a colostomy bag or a urine bag. He may find himself completely naked, barely covered with a sheet, if this is intensive care. He may be missing a cranial plate, arms, legs, and a loop of intestine may fall out of a cut in the abdomen. After all, he tends to have increased irritability due to illness and stress. And the main thing here is not to answer the person in the same tone.

I knew one priest who couldn’t even enter the burn department without a scented mask. It was very difficult for him to provide spiritual care to hospitals. As soon as possible, he achieved a transfer to a regular parish.

It goes without saying that a hospital chaplain must be clean. His clothes, face, hands, and his whole body must always be immaculately clean. If you look like a car mechanic after a hard day at work, don’t complain that the “harmful” doctor doesn’t want to let you into the patient’s bedside. Remember: the doctor probably knows microbiology, even if he missed a couple of lectures for a glass of beer in the next bar.

The service of a priest in a hospital church differs from the service of an ordinary parish priest. In such a church, everything is focused on the sick and hospital patients; there are practically no permanent parishioners. People come here only for a short period of time and then leave. The overwhelming majority of those who turn to the Church for spiritual help have never gone to confession before and have no idea about spiritual life. They will all have to be taught from scratch. Everything in the church is done for them: they are met by the catechist sister, for their sake the Liturgy is served, for their sake an unusually long confession is performed. Forget forever the conciliar practice of confessing to 200 people in an hour and a half!

It is in this particular hospital that everything depends on how the shepherd and the sisters of mercy behave

And finally, the last problem is related to the different understanding between the physician and the priest of what the Church does in and what its place is there. Yes, the patient’s right to “admission to a clergyman” is spelled out today in the Fundamentals of the Legislation of the Russian Federation. Based on this law, various cooperation agreements are even drawn up. However, it should be remembered: in this particular hospital, everything depends on how the shepherd and the sisters of mercy behave. Good relations with doctors will always be to the benefit of the Church. Good pastoral work among doctors and nurses will necessarily lead to the fact that doctors will not look at church service in the hospital only as an allowance or condescension. Remember this, father, and never rush to get home early, because you need not only to sow the seed, like Paul, but also remember to tie the sprouts to sticks, like Apollos.

Let us return to the patient who is having a hard time experiencing his frail situation. A doctor does not always have time to pay enough attention to his patients and find out their internal suffering. And perhaps they are the cause of many diseases. A sister of mercy must be ready to listen to the patient, understand his family and life problems, answer pressing questions, and simply pray with the patient. You look - and the patient already finds the joy of life, understands the meaning of suffering, he has a desire to live. A terminally ill person learns that life is not limited to death, feels that he is not forgotten by everyone, feels care and attention, and this is the most important thing for him. Relatives of the sick at such a moment also need the support of the Church. We can’t forget about them either. Let the sister of mercy advise them to confess if they have not done so for a long time.

Any illness needs healing. The church is always considered by people as a doctor for the soul, and the work of a priest who forgives sins is compared with the work of a doctor, with the only difference being that the priest heals the soul of the patient, and the doctor heals his body. And our duty with you, my dear readers, is not to let down either people or Christ, Who expects us to preserve for Him everyone whom He has called to inherit the Kingdom of truth.

Ksenia, not specified

Is it possible to perform unction in the intensive care unit?

Is it possible to administer unction in the intensive care unit of the hospital to my mother, who constantly went to church, confessed and received communion before emergency hospitalization? She is in a coma, unconscious. They say that such people cannot be given unction. She was going to receive unction in the next Lent. And if you unction it, then you won’t be able to wipe it with napkins for bedsores.

Answered by Fr. Vadim Korovin, Saratov

If your mother went to church and went to confession, you can receive unction in a comatose state while she is still alive. After all, she testified with her confessions and intention to receive unction in Lent that she wanted to receive this sacrament.

If someone has never gone to church, has not confessed and has not expressed such a desire, only in this case it is impossible to perform the sacraments on him without his will, in an unconscious state. And don’t worry about wiping the body, it can be done.

The oil must be removed from the body immediately after unction with wet wipes. Then burn the napkins. We also wash the myrrh out of need immediately after baptism. So it is here. This will not diminish the holiness of the sacrament.