But the cat – to health. Why? Wday.ru turned to the priest for an explanation.
“Dogs are service animals that should be used by people for official purposes, such as guarding, herding, hunting, sledding, guide, search and search work, and so on,” explained Wday.ru father Oleg Molenko… – It is allowed to use animals in medical investigations and experiments for the sake of learning how to heal sick people, as well as for military purposes, as a replacement for people in case of their inevitable death. But the use of dogs and other animals in circus and similar performances by the church is condemned as sinful. Keeping dogs in living quarters with people is not approved (except in rare cases with blind people or lonely disabled people). “
Interestingly, dogs, according to the influence of the spirits of anger, are considered unclean animals. That is why it is forbidden to eat their meat by people, to introduce them to temples and holy places, etc. If a dog accidentally wanders into a temple, then according to the canons, the temple must be rededicated.
“Our home is our home temple. It must necessarily be sanctified by a priest or Epiphany water on the day of Baptism, as well as daily by our prayers of repentance and good deeds. Therefore, the presence of a dog in our home church is inappropriate and unacceptable, ”said the priest.
According to Father Oleg, dogs should be in kennels or on the street in booths, sheds and other facilities for animals.
“In the biography of the elder schema-abbot Alexy Penza we read:“ One day a priest came to the priest with his two sons. The elder foresaw that they had a dog in their apartment, and told him not to keep the dog in the house anymore. And you need to consecrate the dwelling after her. He repeated several times that it is impossible to keep dogs in the dwelling, but only near the house, ”added our interlocutor.
But about all the beloved cats, the Orthodox Church does not have any such prejudices. Keep it to your health, priests allow, but take care that the animal was nourishing and comfortable with you. Remember: depriving animal meat and milk is a sin, our charter about fasting does not apply to it.