Likewise, St. Cyprian of Carthage asserts that there is no life outside the Church, and therefore there is no salvation. But if our immortal soul and the well-being of temporal earthly life are dear to us, we must immediately become a living member of the holy Church of Christ.

After all, our Lord Jesus Christ established a church on earth so that it would lead all people to salvation and eternal life. And if you become a member of this holy society, you are obliged to lovingly obey the holy church and fulfill its statutes and instructions. If you love Christ not in words, but in deeds, then you cannot but love His church, which He Himself built and said: "I will build My church, and no powers of evil will prevail against it," as we who live at the end of the second millennium after the birth of Christ are witnesses. Thus, it is clear that outside the church and without the church there can be no Christian life. Without the church, there is no true Christianity. But Christian teaching alone cannot give salvation to man.

In ancient times, to believe in Christ, to become a Christian, meant to join the church, which is confirmed by the book of the Acts of the Apostles: "The Lord added daily to the church those who were being saved." Therefore, whoever departs from the church departs from Christ; in order to be closer to Him, go to His house, to the Temple of the Lord. There you will hear Christ Himself, who, as if warning everyone, says through the Holy Gospel the following words: "If anyone does not listen to the Church, let him be to you as a heathen and a publican." That is, such a person will be deprived of His saving grace, and therefore of the inheritance of eternal life. The question may arise: what is grace? St. Righteous John of Kronstadt answers this question as follows: "This is a gift of God, given to man for the sake of faith in Christ, for the salvation of man - a Christian; grace is the power that intercedes, has mercy, enlightens, saves, disposes to every virtue."

This great gift of God's grace can be received by everyone who is aware of his sinfulness through heartfelt faith in God, through the celebration of the three holy sacraments: Baptism, Repentance, and Communion of the Holy Body and Blood of Christ. And all this is given in the Church of Christ by His clergy, who have received the sacrament of the Priesthood, i.e. through sacred ordination, inseparably coming from the Holy Apostles and remaining to this day.

The enemy of our salvation, the devil, knowing all the salvific nature of our presence in the bosom of the Mother Church, is trying with all his strength and cunning to break this bond. He has only one goal - to distance man from God, i.e. to destroy him. His means for this are manifold: to lead a person into sin, into temptations through carnal passions, through lies and temptations through worldly addictions.

Therefore, we must hold fast to the Orthodox Church as an anchor of salvation, and then we will not be afraid of the devil's tricks, because, being always within the fence of the church, we will really feel a living connection with God, His protection and help. Understanding how important the church is in our lives, how important its beneficial influence is, many believers, especially those who have been newly baptized, come to the Temple of God, but they feel as if they are shy and not very comfortable there. There are always a lot of people in the church, everything is not clear there: where you can stand up to pray so as not to disturb others, in front of which icon you need to put a candle, especially since there are many of them there. It is often difficult to understand what is being read, what is being sung. In addition, you can't go to church without money: you have to buy a candle, pay for a prosphora, for a memorial service, for a prayer service, put it on a plate as a sacrifice for the church, and so on. Indeed, everything taken together to some extent frightens away people who, although they were baptized, for various reasons were unable to accept churching, i.e. did not pass through the minimum knowledge of church life that contains the rule of behavior of a Christian in church, at home or in society.

How to behave in the Temple

Over the many centuries of the existence of the Orthodox Church, certain rules, customs, and rites have been developed and established, guided by which both church ministers and laity created a harmonious spiritual life of believers. Here it is appropriate to recall the most ancient Apostolic canons, the canons of the Ecumenical and Local Councils, the canons of St. Basil the Great and other outstanding hierarchs of Orthodoxy, who created the Rule of Divine Services. The Nomocanon, the Informative Teaching and many other things by which the Church of Christ has lived and lives to this day, constantly being enlivened by the grace of the Holy Spirit and thereby illuminating everyone who enters it.

Let us also enter the doors of the Temple of God, but first to some extent we will tune ourselves to this entry.

When we go to visit, we think in advance about how and what to wear, what hairstyle to do in order to look decent in front of people. Moreover, when we go to the Temple of God, we must take care that we look decent both in our clothes and in our behavior.

An expensive and luxurious dress will not be appropriate there, as well as uncovered bare shoulders and arms. As a trouser suit is alien to a woman, so it is indecent for her to wear a dress that is too short.

It is desirable that a woman's head is always covered with a scarf or other modest headdress. It is inadmissible to paint her face and lips, with which she touches holy icons and the cross, and even more so it is not permissible for a woman to touch any shrine at all during the period of monthly purification. The aroma of fashionable perfume and cologne is better left for the home. In general, you need to do everything in such a way as not to attract attention to yourself.

We open the doors of the Temple and, making the sign of the cross, enter it with the words: "I will enter into Thy house, O Lord, I will worship Thy holy Temple..."