Birthday is a special holiday, which each of us so eagerly awaited in childhood. On this day, you could invite friends to your house, eat sweets and, of course, take gifts from parents, relatives and friends. Over time, growing up, we already have a different attitude to the day of our birth. But gifts - remain an integral attribute of this day. Priests are ordinary people like us, and they also celebrate their birthday, although in a different way than most of us. What to give a priest for a birthday? Find the answer to this difficult question, we suggest to you in the following material.
The tradition of celebrating birthdays is a custom from the Soviet past. Before the Revolution, as ordinary citizens of our country, and the more so the clergy celebrated only the day of their heavenly patron or the Day of the Angel. After 1917, when religion, and in particular Orthodox Christianity, was declared an open war, this feast was attempted as soon as possible to eradicate. Therefore, instead of his saint's day, the custom was introduced to celebrate the day of his birth in a stormy and solemn manner. Gradually, this tradition also entered the Orthodox environment, because the Church could not separate itself from society.
Despite this, to celebrate their birthday, most clergy are rather reserved. Therefore, if you are going to congratulate one or another cleric, it is not superfluous to know in advance his personal attitude to this holiday. So you can avoid embarrassments and unpleasant situations, because there are priests who are categorically against any commemoration of the day of their birth. Usually the priests meet their birthday at the throne for the Divine Liturgy, after which they receive congratulations from their parishioners and fellow servants.
Selection of a gift for a priest on the birthday is a very individual matter, because there are no strict laws here. Of course, your gift should be of a decent character and correlated with the birthday of the birthday person. A good gift for a clergyman will be the icon of his beloved saint, or, for example, a necessary thing for him to serve or a book. Especially, it will be pleasant and useful for young priests, who often do not have all the necessary items of worship. A perfect gift for the presbyter will be a set of necessary divine services for him. Headgear, miter or kamilavka, will also be a worthy present for the priest. Because it will be useful for you to find out what the clergyman you want to congratulate needs. Books of Christian content or new editions of the works of famous modern theologians and preachers are a good gift option if your priest is interested in theological science and constantly raises his educational level. For a monk in a sacred place, one of the most pleasant and expensive gifts is a beautiful and comfortable rosary for prayer.
Of course, a gift may or may not necessarily be related to the cleric's activities. At home, he and his family also need all the same items that lay people need. If you communicate well with my mother, then it will be easier for her to find out what the priest needs in his everyday life. In case you want to give the priest flowers, then you know that many of them can not take them with them home, but leave them at the icons in the temple. This does not need to be offended, just for the priest the main thing is beauty in the church - his spiritual home and the place of communication with the Lord.
Nowadays, ordinary people and various media accuse clergymen of receiving expensive gifts from wealthy people. You should not be led to such provocative materials, the main purpose of which is to frustrate the sensation of human envy and raise your rating. Each person makes a gift to the best of his abilities. In this situation, it is appropriate to recall the gospel story: two mites that the widow has donated to God, for which she was exalted by Christ before the apostles. The main thing is not the gift itself, but with what inner feeling we bring it as a gift. For the heart, in which the love and grace of God lives - there is no difference in the cost of the presentation.
And, of course, do not forget about prayer, because this is our main and most important gift that we bring to God for our dear people. Pure and sincere prayer is the gift that every Orthodox clergyman needs and for whom there is no need for specific dates in the calendar.
