About the right choice life path not only those who are just starting independent steps along the road of life, but also those who have already traveled a very significant segment of it, are thinking. Someone realized that he was going the wrong way, someone was beckoned by side paths, showing other opportunities for realizing their talents ... What to do? How to determine which path is right for you? How to understand what God's providence is for you? What should be done to open the road of life in a clear perspective? And who can help if you're at a crossroads? The shepherds of the Russian Orthodox Church
THE LORD REVEALS HIS WILL TO THOSE WHO LIVE BY HIS WILL
Not a single person is born just like that, as a result of a combination of some random circumstances. Each of us is called to be by the will of God.. We can say that even before the existence of the world, before the existence of this entire universe each of us was already present in God's plan. And therefore there was a divine plan for each of us. And, of course, the Lord wants us to fulfill this plan in our lives, so that each of us, as far as possible, lives a full life, a happy life. AND implemented everything those talents that the Lord has given us.
Hence, we just have to trust Him and ask Him to show us the way. Of course one can say: “Here, I pray to God, I ask Him to open this path for me, but I do not receive an answer. Why?" There is always an answer to this question, and the answer is very simple, which, nevertheless, is very difficult to understand. When a person strives to fulfill the will of God in everything in which it is obvious, the Lord reveals His will to him in those situations when it seems to be hidden. If a person does not fulfill the obvious will of God, then it is all the more hidden from him at certain moments when we especially need to know it. And the answer, indeed, turns out to be very clear: if you strive to do the will of God every day in your daily life, then the Lord will surely reveal it to you when you especially need to know it, including showing you your path.
And one more thing: when we ask God for something, we often hide the following thought in ourselves: “Here, Lord, I ask for this and that, but I really want it to be like this”. I ask the Lord to reveal His will to me, but at the same time I have a clear idea of what I myself want. And you have to give it up offer oneself to God as if completely naked from all desires and talk: "Lord, as You please, so be it." And at the same time, to understand that in fact what God pleases, we may not like at all, and that we give God the freedom to do with us what He wants, and this can be both difficult and unpleasant for us, and even painful, and painful.
But there is another thing to remember: if we understand all this and ask for it, The Lord not only reveals His will to us, but also helps us to fulfill it, and He Himself builds our whole life.. AND the path to this lies through trust- something that is so difficult and so necessary.
CHOOSE A PATH, YOU NEED TO HAVE AND THE DECISION TO FOLLOW IT
When choosing your good path, you must, first of all, take into account the determination of your will to stay on this path irreversibly! You need to pray for this so that the clarity of what the heart inclines to appears in the heart. This can be seen both from the past successful experiences of encounters with this ministry, and from the heartfelt inspiration when you study the possible prospects for your gradual ascent to perfection in it.
A PROFESSION MAY NOT MATCH WITH A VOCATION, BUT GIVE THE MEANS FOR ITS IMPLEMENTATION
I have no answer to this question, other than the general considerations that
profession should not be contrary to the commandments(killer, porn actor, etc. have nothing to do with what we can choose from). That is, before making a positive choice, it would be good to immediately cut off everything that is improper;
a profession may not coincide with a vocation, being a means for the realization of the latter. For example, a person can earn money as a businessman, but invest his soul in the creation of a gallery, which later became known as the Tretyakovskaya;
chance is a pseudonym for Providence, and if you have an unplanned opportunity to gain some skills, learn a language, take part in some good deed (not to the detriment of other deeds), better try. Because from these seemingly random options, a tree of life can grow that is very different from what we have designed for ourselves;
in some cases, our profession is given to us so that we step over it and move on. How this happens is told by Tolkien's deathbed and very small narration “Niggle's brush sheet”, or “Melkin's work sheet” - depending on the translation into Russian.
IT IS NECESSARY TO CONSULT WITH THE Confessor CORRECTLY
If we are talking about doubts about whether an existing profession has been chosen correctly, then remember what people say: “They don’t look for good from good”. You have a job, you are satisfied with it, well, thank God. As the saying goes: "Best the enemy of the good". If you have - and have and thank God.
If you are at the beginning of your journey, finished school, college, choose your path in life, then, of course, this is the most important and most difficult problem, but for a church person, it is resolved in some ways easier, because you can consult with a confessor. Of course you have to consult with parents. And pray, seek. The confessor also needs to be offered options, and not like this: “Tell me, father, what should I do?” - “What do you want to do, what is your soul for?” - “No, you tell me, father!” So, perhaps, you can apply if this is really a spirit-bearing elder, to whom the Lord reveals His will. But are there such elders now? Somehow the Lord hides them from us, or maybe we just don’t know these wonderful people, because the world is held together by the prayers of the righteous, and the righteous will never become scarce with the Lord. Another thing is how to find an old man ...
Well, if you yourself cannot lean towards something definite yet, then think, pray, consult, look for options, and if there are several options, choose the best one, the one that attracts you the most. Let's say there is more interesting work, but in another place they pay more. You must understand what is more important to you. And although, perhaps, an interesting job attracts you, you have a family, you have to support it, earnings are important, even at a “boring” job, what can you do ... Or, on the contrary, you see that the work is so interesting, you are so you burn with it, and there is a chance that after some time you will succeed and you will have material well-being... There are a lot of pros and cons, they need to be weighed and, of course, discussed with people who love you, know you, pray for you and help you. Then you will find the right solution.
A PERSON SHOULD DO WHAT HE LIKE
I am deeply convinced that a man should do what he likes. Earth life too short to spend it on uninteresting activities for us, unless, of course, you are the head of a large family and simply need to be able to feed it. But in this case, you can look for something to your liking.
People come to the conclusion that they need to do what they want when they find out that they have ... a fatal (or terrible) diagnosis. I had to deal with this many times. Only a person who has been told that he has, for example, oncology, suddenly says to himself: stop! Why am I selling sausage, if all my life I dreamed of taking up photography?! or all my life I wanted to sing, so why not learn now?!
And these people are doing what they love. And they often recover or receive support in illness, because the activity that they like is a huge potential and resource, thanks to which the whole human being is restored and feels better. And I think that it seems that a person in such circumstances intuitively feels what he needs to survive.
It is, of course, easier for a Christian than for an unbeliever to make the right choice..
And that's why.
First: we understand that there is eternity, therefore, the acquisition, earning cannot be an end in itself for us. Already one understanding of this is an incentive to do what you want, and not something more profitable.
Second: christian knows (from Holy Scripture), that God measured out his talents and gifts to each of us. And everyone can serve the Church in their own way. The apostle Paul said this beautifully:
“The gifts are different, but the Spirit is the same; and the ministries are different, but the Lord is one and the same; and the actions are different, but God is one and the same, working everything in everyone. But everyone is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the benefit. To one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom, to another the word of knowledge, by the same Spirit; faith to another, by the same Spirit; to another gifts of healings, by the same Spirit; miracles to another, prophecy to another, discernment of spirits to another, different languages, a different interpretation of tongues. All this is done by the same Spirit, dividing to each one individually, as He pleases.(1 Corinthians 12:4-11).
Just think: each of us has his own gifts, and this is from God! How amazing that we can realize the precious potential that God gave us, and all this is for the benefit of the Body of Christ - the Church and for our salvation!
Therefore, it is necessary listen to yourself and try to decide what you want to do, what your soul lies in. And try yourself. Even if you don’t guess right the first time, I don’t see anything wrong with that.
CHOOSE YOUR LIFE PATH, LOOK INTO YOUR HEART
Perhaps, choosing a path in life is one of the most difficult and painful. Even in the lower grades of the school, they are given to write an essay on the topic: "Who am I going to be?" But the soul, as a rule, rushes from one to another for many years. For example, for a long time I wanted to become an investigator, to solve crimes, but in the end I became a priest, and now, in a sense, crimes also have to be solved, or rather, people themselves reveal their sins at confession, and my task is not to imprison those who have fallen into spiritual crimes, but, on the contrary, to help them gain true freedom of heart.
The most important thing that I personally would advise is choose a profession not on the principle of “how much they pay”, but on the principle of “how much it inspires and pleases”. If you look for a job just for the sake of earning money, you will never be satisfied. In our spoiled soul there is no clear criterion of security. Experience shows that no matter how much a person strives to earn, he still wants more. In fact richer is the one who is less attached to money than others who are least dependent on their accumulation.
Work should be fun and enjoyable.. Therefore, I will offer the most elementary advice: think about what you, in fact, would like to do? So try to master it.
The choice of a profession should be approached in the same way as the choice of a life partner.. In order not to be mistaken, it is important to feel the kinship in your heart, that this is yours, corresponding to yours. inner world that is dear to your heart. Then you can avoid unnecessary mistakes in advance.
There is such a thing as calling. The Lord put some gifts into the soul of every person. After all, someone is called to become a surgeon, and someone is a teacher, someone is a military man, and someone is a chorister on the kliros of a parish church. We can recognize a vocation as a special inner call that tells us what to strive for and what to look for, and is accompanied by a special creative inspiration. This is a new understanding of life, when landmarks appear and you are trying to achieve a goal that has suddenly arisen for you. This is an inner voice that needs to be heard, and this requires sensitivity to what is happening inside.
Here it is important to look inside your own heart listen to his inner call. And let the choice of the life path correspond to the search of the heart, then this choice will not oppress, but nourish and strengthen the soul.
Sometimes a person is still lost and does not know what step to take. At least, we can pray that the Lord will enlighten, enlighten and has directed our lives for good. The Savior said:
"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you"(Matthew 7:7).
The main thing is not to sit idly by. Who seeks nothing will find nothing and whoever seeks will certainly find. The Lord hears the prayers of seeking people and always helps them.
A MAN DOES NOT KNOW GOD'S WILL IF IT DOES NOT ACT
One thing can be said the person does not know A is the will of God if, firstly, he does not seek with all his heart the fulfillment of God's will, and secondly, if he doesn't act. Mistakes are not terrible. These are mistakes, not conscious sins. Because when a person really seeks the fulfillment of the will of God and acts, the Lord finds an opportunity to reveal to a person what he is right about and what he is wrong about, what needs to grow and be affirmed, and what to leave. Moreover, perhaps there is no other way. And when a person looks for an experienced confessor to ask him God's will about himself, this is good, of course, and right, but even here much depends on the faith of the person himself, on the intensity of his prayer. Because if a person is serious and prays with faith, the Lord will surely reveal His will to him, and if he remains in carelessness and relaxation, then no elder, even a truly spirit-bearing one, will help him.
Life is a creative process, and the Lord wants us to live full, creative lives., using all his strength to avoid sin and to do consciously the commandments of God. Now, if there is such an attitude, then no matter what we do, the Lord will certainly help us find our place in life, go on our own path.
THE MAIN THING IS TO STAY A CHRISTIAN
Standing at a crossroads, you need first of all, to establish yourself in the decision that you will go along the chosen path as a Christian. First of all, you will be a Christian, secondly - a doctor, or a lawyer, or an athlete.. You need to carefully weigh and evaluate: can you withstand this prioritization? Will sports, or business, or something else swallow up your Christian beliefs? Will you not be forced in the framework of your professional activities to act contrary to the commandments, as do, say, doctors who perform abortions.
The main thing - after consulting, thinking, praying, make a decision on your own.
And there is also a lot of evidence when people went to a radical change in their lifestyle when they realized that something was going wrong. And they did it! Was a businessman - became an artist. Was a builder - became a livestock breeder. Was a livestock breeder - became a priest! Who doesn't make mistakes? That's right: the one who does nothing.
A born preacher who went through the school of smart work, a brotherly-loving shepherd, stubbornly seeking the diligence of his children, Fr. Ephraim has in his arsenal all the variety of Orthodox spirituality, his sermons and instructions permeated with warm care are replete with references to the Holy Scriptures, examples from the biography of ancient ascetics Orthodox faith, vivid judgments of the Fathers of the Church.
With all my heart I wish that the Grace of God will grant us salvation!
Winter brings snow, it covers the green grass, but it does not dry under the snow, but remains until spring. In the spring, the snow melts and the grass begins to turn green again. The same thing happens in the spiritual life. The winter of temptations and worldly cares comes and cools jealousy. Any gathering together for the purpose of planting the Word of God — which is what we, His insignificant servants, are doing by His grace — enlivens spiritual growth, that is, zeal for the achievement for the sake of salvation, for the sake of acquiring the Kingdom of God.
A seed is sown, and as the soil that receives it, such will be the plant, such will be the fruit. So the Word of God - depending on how our heart perceives it - such It will bear the fruit of Grace, leading into eternal life.
To be saved, you must submit your life to a certain order. After all, where there is order, there is peace, and where there is peace, there is God; but where there is confusion, there is confusion, and where there is confusion, there is the devil. In order for there to be order in life, it is necessary to follow the instructions of the spiritual father. Every sinful person who has been honored with the great blessing of free healing in the Sacrament of Penance must follow the instructions and advice of the confessor, if he is dear to him. mental health.
Just as a doctor examines a patient, makes a diagnosis, and on the basis of this diagnosis prescribes treatment, just as the patient, in order to be cured, must carefully take all medicines and follow the doctor’s recommendations exactly, and how the slightest deviation from the treatment regimen endangers the whole recovery - so, when a spiritual doctor prescribes spiritual therapy, the believer is obliged to follow his advice and follow the rules given to him. What are these rules? Prayer, prostration, reading of the New Testament and the entire Holy Scripture ( New Testament- this is the new Grace of Christ, all the Grace of the Holy Trinity, and the Old One is Her shadow). Then there is fasting and attention to thoughts. Thoughts should not be accepted, but immediately cut off at their very birth, because if they are neglected, they will produce many thorns, which are often very sharp, hit a person to the point of blood and often cause cancer.
By the grace of God we get up in the morning, some earlier, some later. The first thing we need to do, according to our Christian duty and obligation, out of spiritual necessity for the sake of salvation, is to kneel, raise our hands to God and pray. How beautiful church prayers! What words, they give life: " Rising from sleep, we fall down to Ty, Blessed, and cry out to the angelic song of Ty, Stronger» ! Waking up and falling into the goodness of Christ, you need, firstly, to thank Him for the night that passed safely.
Sleep is an image of death. We sleep and do not know where we are at this time, we do not feel time, and we rise again, we return to conscious life. Thanking God from the bottom of our hearts for deigning us to see the light of day again, let us ask Him to forgive our sins.
Let us also pray for our enemies, for those who slander us, who condemn us, persecute us, harm us. This is the first thing we must do, because if we do not forgive them, then God will not forgive us either.
Real love a neighbor is revealed when a person from the bottom of his heart - and not just because it is necessary, for God commands so - prays for enemies, forgives them and loves, because, in fact, our enemies are our benefactors. Whoever tempts us, who condemns us, who creates all sorts of unpleasant situations, is, on the one hand, an instrument of the devil, and on the other, Jesus. The Holy Fathers say that enemies are red-hot iron with which the Lord burns out our selfishness and pride, heals us. A person acts out of malice, but we graft a wild olive into a good one and get a fruit useful for life. That is why the actions of our enemies are so beneficial to us!Those who praise us - if, of course, they do it out of love - are themselves worthy of praise, because they have the love of Christ in themselves. However, Christ says: “If you love those who love you, what grace have you? The same is done by sinners and tax collectors... I tell you - love your enemies, those who do evil to you, who persecute you, build for you coves. After all, God, our Heavenly Father, illuminates with the sun and irrigates with rain the unrighteous and the righteous, the evil and the good. He is the same for everyone: He gives His blessings to those of the children who love Him with all their souls, and to those who blaspheme and remain in ungodliness - to all without exception, so that sinners do not appear at the Judgment unanswered. So we, praying for these people, on the one hand, justify ourselves before God, and, on the other hand, we contribute to their enlightenment. After all, perhaps these people do not even think about God, do not pray, do not even make the sign of the cross! Who will help them? So they absolutely need our prayer. Let us pray to God for their forgiveness and sanctification, and at the same time help them to come to repentance themselves. This is a great thing!
Do you want revenge on your enemy? The holy fathers say that you need to pray for him, and your prayer will force God to intervene. God will act according to His righteousness, and you will be justified for your love.
Let the wives pray for their husbands and children, and the husbands for their wives and children, and the children for their parents. Thus, mutually helping each other with prayers, we will move towards spiritual growth.
Let's pray in the morning, make obeisances (as determined by the confessor), and if health allows, then add more to them.
What is a bow? This is worship of God. We worship God, but our enemy the devil does not do this, he does not bow his head or knees. He does not worship God. Those who worship God are enemies of the devil, and, therefore, people of God. Therefore, bows are of great importance. Even one additional bow is already the work of asceticism, for which there will be a reward from God. Those few prostrations that we do are slowly accumulating with God in Heaven, and when we go to Gornyaya, we will find them there in large numbers. And this will help us to give a good answer in the terrible hour of Judgment.
So, we pray in the morning for a long time, because prayer gives us light, and this light shines throughout the day, and then we each go about our own business: some to work, some to school, some to travel. But even then we need not leave the memory of God, because for morning prayer we receive from God Grace, strength, blessing; An angel stands at our right hand, and we set to work. And wherever we are, we will not leave the remembrance of God.
What does remembrance of God mean? This is the prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me!» With the remembrance of forgiveness, which we ask for whenever we remember God, the Lord will grace us to return home in peace.
At work, we will be careful: a lot of people work nearby and say all sorts of things. They sometimes say very bad words, because they are in a passionate state and do not think about anything, only about temporary, vain, earthly pleasures. If a praying person is attentive, he will not follow them; he takes pity on such people and prays that God will enlighten them, that they will free themselves from such a suffocating spiritual state, come out into clean and free air. And in the evening before going to sleep, we will again kneel and bring our prayers to God. And in the middle of the day or in the evening we will open the New Testament and read at least one chapter from there. After all, Saint Chrysostom says that from the house where the Gospel is, the devil flees.Days, years, centuries pass like a shadow and we are all approaching our end. The life of any person is a book, and every day of life is one of its pages. Every book has an end, and so does human life. On the pages of this book there is both good and bad, both light and dark deeds of a person are recorded. And when life ends, then this book will be opened before God, and on the basis of what is written in it, a person will give an answer.
Let us pray according to our strength so that at the end of this life we will not have great grave sins, and if they remained, they were small and not heavy. Of course, then the prayers of the Church at the Liturgy, memorial services, alms, prayers of loved ones, so that for the smallest sins will be of great help to us - after all, who is without sin! to receive forgiveness from God. The greatest danger to salvation is mortal sins, and there are a lot of such sins.
However, if we lead a mindful life, we are free from such sins. So a person prone to illness, if he often visits a doctor and follows his recommendations, then he maintains his health. But if he neglects visits, he will harm his health. Therefore, often visiting a spiritual doctor, we keep the health of our soul, which is more valuable than the whole world. After all, the whole world is not worth one immortal soul! The world passes, but the soul never dies.
One church troparion speaks of sobriety. It is read every day at Midnight Office, especially in monasteries: Behold, the Bridegroom is coming at midnight and blessed is the servant, he will be found vigilantly, he is not worthy of the pack, he will be found ...“Blessed, it says, is the man whom the Bridegroom, when he comes, finds awake, unworthy is the one whom he finds despondent and careless.
A person is kept in sobriety by being awake. Who avoids injury? The one who is awake, sober, who is attentive, who looks after himself and the road, therefore he falls less often. Who gets injured? One who is inattentive on the way, and therefore falls easily. And often the reason for this is negligence. Negligence in the performance of our duties leads to dangerous consequences. Carelessness brings forth that which zeal has for a time moved away from us. One of the ascetics says that prayers, rosaries, bows, fasts, etc. are needed not by God, but by us, because if all this is not there, then evil enters the soul. If a person does not take the medicines prescribed by his doctor, then he again opens access to the disease, but in a more severe form. Not caring about the performance of spiritual duties, we open access to our lives to demons, allow them to hurt us, inflict wounds and plunge us into danger. Therefore, we definitely need zeal for salvation: it is impossible not to rejoice, because we do not know whether we will be alive tomorrow. We have no power over even the smallest second of time. Everything is unstable, impermanent: our life, the life of our parents, children, relatives, health, finances - everything that we have, it's all unreliable, and everything can be lost at any moment.
One thing is not subject to any doubt - the coming death. She follows us around. Not a single person on earth can pass that bridge over which we will cross to the opposite shore, to another life. We need to think hard about this. We seriously care about many things: about health, about money, about children, about parents and about many other things. We worry and worry. But much less do we care about the inevitable—death. But death will lead us directly to God!The Lord says: I died from the Father, and came into the world: and again I leave the world, and go to the Father» . The human soul will follow the same path. It is known that in man the soul and body are united into one hypostasis. The soul, created by God through the Son and the Holy Spirit, after death will temporarily separate from the body and go to God. After the Second Coming, the body will be resurrected, the soul will unite with it, and the whole person will appear before the Terrible Throne of Christ for Judgment.
Let us fight with all the strength of our souls in the heavenly light of the Gospel for the Kingdom of Heaven. We will fight so that in that terrible hour our<духовное>condition was the best it could be. We do not know by experience what death is; whoever knows can attest to how serious this all is. All of us will pass through this narrow gate and cross that heavy bridge, and we will feel the seriousness of the matter. Therefore, we need purification: our soul needs to acquire virtues, the characteristic signs of sonship, kinship Heavenly Father. Otherwise, if they are not there, then the soul will be imprinted with the signs of the devil. As far as possible, let us purify ourselves, put our thoughts in order, which are the reason for our falling away from the Grace of God.
The Lord said that one careless thought of impure desire makes us guilty. Many people have lost the Kingdom of Heaven because of their thoughts. The Lord, knowing our weakness, shed light and balm of healing on the very root of evil. And the root of evil is the five senses that nourish the mind and heart. The eyes feed the imagination, and so the devil induces the eyes of the soul to be directed to what he himself presents to them. Through this he makes the heart of man so impure that Christ cannot come and dwell in it.
The Lord said in the Beatitudes: Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God» . This means that an impure heart cannot see Christ. The Lord is not manifested in something sensual, He is manifested in His love, joy, silence, peace, "surpassing every mind." People think that the mind consists in the absence of thoughts. Such a state can also be called peace. But the Holy Fathers, when they speak of the spiritual world, mean the betrothal of the Heavenly Kingdom. A Christian who has tasted this Divine world becomes, as it were, beside himself. This peace is a foretaste, to the extent of human strength, of the Kingdom of Heaven, since, according to the teaching of the Holy Fathers, both the body and the soul of a person enjoy peace in the Kingdom of God.
With great heartache, I urge you to fight! Do not allow what you have now received to be scattered by the wind, do not lose it, keep it deep in your heart, put it into practice in order to benefit and taste the beauty of the Kingdom of God. When you gain spiritual health, the measure of your joy and gratitude to God will have no limits. Finally, once again I want to ask you to keep within yourself the little that the Grace of God has said here: to keep the benefit that you received for yourself in the sacred Sacrament of Penance, to fight to increase it for yourself and pass it on to others. So that when God deigns us to come together again, you will be in the best<духовном>condition. The seed we have sown is bad and poor, because we ourselves are worse and more unimportant than this seed. We wish you to increase what you have received and ask you to pray that the Grace of the Holy Spirit preserves us, the wretched souls and bodies, and honors us with salvation to the glory of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and forever, and forever and ever. Amen.
15 unpleasant facts about religion, Orthodoxy and Christianity in general
1. 99% of Orthodox do not even suspect that Christians, Jews and Muslims believe in the same God. His name is Elohim (Allah).
Despite the fact that this god has a name, he does not have a proper name. That is, the word Elohim (Allah) simply means "God".
2. Some Orthodox do not even realize that Christians include all people who believe that Jesus existed. And Catholics, and Protestants, and Orthodox.
But today there is not a single reliable confirmation of the existence of Jesus, but Mohammed was a historical figure.
3. The mythical Jesus was a Jew by faith and a Jew by nationality. Clever Jews, who were haunted by the fact that only the clans of Kogans and Levites rule the Jewish flock, decided to branch off and create their own office, which they later called "Christianity."
4. Any religion has only two things in mind for its existence. They should be remembered, no matter who hangs what noodles on your ears.
The first is enrichment.
The second is habit
Priests of one or another cult enrich themselves. The people are getting used to. Any state supports the main religion, because the church helps to turn people into a herd.
In Christianity, they say so - the flock, that is, the herd. A flock that a shepherd or shepherd tends. The shepherd cuts the wool from the lamb and admonishes before making a kebab out of it.
5. As soon as a person is driven into the herd with the help of religion, herd feelings and herd thoughts appear in him. He ceases to think logically and ceases to use the organs of perception. Everything he sees, hears and says is a set of stamps used in the herd.
6. In 1054 there was a division Christian Church in Roman catholic church in the West with a center in Rome and Orthodox - in the East with a center in Constantinople.
All the theories and justifications why this happened are not worth a damn (we will return to this later), the main problem was superiority. Who should rule - the pope or the patriarch.
As a result, everyone began to consider himself the main one.
The guys reasoned like this: friendship is friendship, and tobacco is apart. Money account love.
7. In 988, Prince Vladimir of Kiev decides to be baptized from Church of Constantinople. For many centuries, the church has been burning dissent and polytheism in Rus' with fire and sword.
Almost completely destroyed all the documents relating to the pre-Christian period.
A whole class of people, who in Rus' were called magi, sorcerers, witches, sorcerers, was almost completely destroyed.
That is, the layer of ancient knowledge and skills, the primordial language in which people communicated with nature and the gods, all the experience that the people accumulated over the centuries, was erased from people's memory.
8. It is believed that the veduns (from the Sanskrit word "know", "know") were a kind of conscience of the tribe, its moral and spiritual guide: "co-" + "-message", i.e. "common message", "common knowledge". Conscience is a way of a person's communication with God by comparing his moral standards with the standards of those around him and with the experience of his ancestors.
A people with a conscience did not need such instruments as the state, religion, propaganda, the death penalty.
There is an opinion that in view of the vast territory of the Eurasian continent, the remnants of conscience have been preserved somewhere in the outback of Russia.
Therefore, the genetic memory of Russians sacredly keeps faith in the existence of justice (the root of the "Vedas", by the way) of conscience and truth.
For their evil temper, greed and black cassocks, the priesthood in Rus' was nicknamed the "crow".
9. The destruction of "conscience" by Christianity in the West occurred much later, it was more total and technological.
The death camps began precisely with the European Inquisition, when sorcerers and witches throughout Europe were identified, recorded, sentenced and burned. All without a trace.
Truth and conscience in the West have been replaced by "law". Western man does not believe in any hypothetical justice, but he believes in the laws, and even adheres to them.
10. The first crusade began in 1096, and the last ended in 1444. For 350 years, peaceful Christianity, in the name of Jesus, destroyed countries, cities and entire nations. And this was done, as you probably understand, not only by Catholicism or some kind of Teutonic Order. Dozens of tribes that existed on the territory of Muscovy were also forcibly converted to Orthodoxy or wiped off the face of the earth.
11. In foreign sources, the "Orthodox" church is written as "orthodox". We are orthodox guys.
12. In the 1650s - 1660s, the so-called "split" took place in Muscovy. We will not go into too much detail, we will only say that the reason church reforms, held by Patriarch Nikon, there were only two things - a sharp difference between church orders in Muscovy and in the Greek church.
In fact, the Moscow church turned into an unauthorized religious organization, striking visiting Greek priests with its savagery. This became especially evident in view of the annexation of Little Russia. Little Russia separated from Poland, recognized Alexei Mikhailovich as its tsar and became part of the Muscovite state as its inseparable part, but the church and ritual practice of the South Russians converged with the then Greek and differed from the Moscow one.
It was necessary to urgently unify all this.
And the second. The main political aspect of the reform was the “Byzantine charm”, that is, the conquest of Constantinople and the revival of the Byzantine Empire with the help and expense of Russia. In this regard, Tsar Alexei wanted to eventually inherit the throne of the Byzantine emperors, and Patriarch Nikon wanted to become the Ecumenical Patriarch.
Like this. Thirst for power. Thirst for superiority.
Thanks to this, the Orthodox flock (remember what the flock means?), led by pastors, hunted schismatics who did not want to rebuild for another three hundred years.
So, perestroika is not only the subversion of Herr Peter and Mikhail Gorbachev.
13. If anyone does not know, I will let you know. The only thing that distinguishes the Catholic Church from the Orthodox is called the "filioque" (Latin filioque - "and the Son"), an addition to the Latin translation of the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed, adopted by the Western (Roman) Church in the XI century in the dogma of the Trinity: on the descent The Holy Spirit is not only from God the Father, but "from the Father and the Son."
That is, the Jewish Elohim in Orthodoxy is the only source of the holy spirit. But Catholics believe that the holy spirit also comes from the Jew Jesus of Nazareth.
Of course, these are formalities, everything always rests on money and power.
14. But here's the problem.
In 1438-1445, the XVII Ecumenical Council, called the Ferrara-Florence Cathedral, takes place. Such councils are called ecumenical because they are attended by representatives of all Christian churches.
Solutions ecumenical councils are binding on everyone (like the decisions of the Hague Court) for both Catholics and Orthodox.
At this council, the disagreements between the Western and Eastern churches were discussed for a long time, and in the end a decision was made to unite. The council ended with the signing of the union.
Guess who a few years later denied the decision of the cathedral?
That's right, Muscovy.
15. And what is the point of giving primacy? So we graze our own herd, we are our own bosses, and here the Pope will steer.
Total.
To the two main goals of any religion - the enrichment of the clergy, the obscenity (stupefaction) of the masses, we add a third, empirically identified - the thirst for power.
In Christianity, the most important of the mortal sins is "pride".
The lust for power is what pride is.
CHILDREN - THE WAY TO SALVATION
Human life, according to God's Providence, goes through three stages: in the mother's womb, from birth to death, and in the afterlife. If we know (or assume that we know) a lot about the second and third, then we know nothing about the first, except that "the Spirit of God created me, and the breath of the Almighty gave me life" (Job, 33, 4).
From the church point of view, human life begins after conception. In this, all the holy fathers who expressed their opinion on this subject (Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, John Chrysostom, Maximus the Confessor, Ephraim the Syrian, and others) are of one mind. In a microscopic cell formed from the fusion of maternal and paternal cells, the whole future of a person, his gender, blood type, even the color of his eyes and hair is already laid down - all this already exists and will only develop and be revealed in the future. All that is needed for the formation of an adult from this small cell is food and time. In it - from the moment of conception - an immortal soul, which, unlike the calf, the physical shell, no one has the power to dismember or kill. And which, like the souls of the parents, will appear before the Almighty on the Last Judgment. According to St. Ephraim the Syrian, “whoever died in the womb and did not enter into life, he (the Judge) will make of age at the same moment in which he restores life to the dead (in the universal Resurrection) ... Those who have not seen each other here will see each other there and the mother learns that it is her son, and the son learns that this is his mother..."
Children are a blessing of God, they are a parent's way to salvation. According to the Apostle Paul, "a woman... will be saved through childbearing if she continues in faith and love and holiness with chastity" (1 Tim. 2:15). But, even children are a gift of God, and like any of His gifts, they must be accepted with gratitude and worthily preserved (remember the parable of the talents). Raising children as Christians is our duty to the Creator. But on our own, without His help, without the Most Pure Mother of God and the saints of God, we are unlikely to be able to do this. Conscious of the fullness of parental responsibility for children, we want to help believing parents - with the advice of Orthodox saints and modern priests, on the basis of which we have compiled answers to the most exciting questions for parents.
About the causes of childlessness
In the Sacrament of Marriage, among other things, Christian spouses are given the grace of bearing and raising children. But by their sins people can deprive themselves of this grace. In this case, you need to confess to the priest, bringing sincere repentance, correct your life in accordance with the commandments of the Lord and hope for the mercy of God (remember the holy righteous Zacharias and Elizabeth, the parents of John the Baptist, and the holy Fathers of God Joachim and Anna). It is possible, with the blessing of the confessor, to make and fulfill a vow to the Lord, in the event of a successful birth of a child. Turning to sorcerers, "grandmothers", psychics is a great sin, which can only aggravate the situation. You can turn to doctors - with the blessing of the priest. "Through doctors, through medicine, You, Lord, help! Mother of God, heal!" (prayer of shiigumen Savva). Artificial conception in a test tube, "surrogate mother" and other similar methods, the Church does not bless. If it is impossible to have your own children, it is better, with the consent of the spouses, to adopt or take custody of strangers, take care of children from orphanages, from large families, help in raising relatives and godchildren.
About the birth of sick children
"Parental sin is reflected in children, they suffer and suffer. And we ourselves are to blame." Priest Alexy Grachev (+1998), who worked as a pediatrician in a Moscow maternity hospital before becoming ordained, suggests that perhaps this fallen world is still holding on only because there are children who, with their suffering, outweigh the scales of our godlessness and impenitence. The fate of these children will be revealed in eternity. Diseases and "abnormalities" are phenomena only of earthly life. If God did not create death, much less He did not create sickness. St. Theophan the Recluse said: “Idiots are idiots only for us, and not for themselves and not for God. Their spirit grows in its own way. It may turn out that we, the wise, will turn out to be worse than idiots. .
On fasting and the way of life of an Orthodox woman,
expecting a baby
In a Christian marriage, the husband and wife are blessed to become not just fathers and mothers to their children, "but co-workers with God in the creation of a new personality." "Christian parents can directly influence the spiritual well-being of their children, surrounding them with love and prayer from the very moment of conception" (nun Magdalene). During pregnancy, the mother should focus all her attention on loving her baby, on how to keep him in the womb, and pray about it. It is necessary to confess and partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ as often as possible (after all, in the Sacrament of Communion we are sanctified, uniting with the body and blood of Christ, and this is a guarantee of spiritual, mental and bodily health not only of the mother, but also of her unborn child. It is especially important to receive Holy Communion during the so-called "critical periods of pregnancy" (weeks 3-4, 12, 28, 36) and at the time when the child's internal organs and systems are being formed and formed, so that all his feelings are initially sanctified by the Grace of God. So, approximately on the 23rd day, the heart begins to beat in the fetus (this is described in detail in the medical literature)).
The impressions that a child receives during the intrauterine period greatly affect his physical, mental and spiritual state. All maternal thoughts and feelings are transmitted to him. If a pregnant woman drinks wine, smokes, leads an immoderate married life, then it can be assumed that, by God’s permission, her child can be born passionate, prone to these sins, with the beginnings of fornication, drunkenness, anger, all vices and passions.
The attitude of the father towards the unborn baby is very important. According to the observations of midwives, the newborn recognizes the voice of the father, because even before birth he heard him near his mother. It is also known that even in the mother's womb, children are able to feel the presence of God. Let us remember St. John the Baptist, who jumped in the womb when he felt the presence of the incarnated Lord. in life St. Sergius Radonezh we read that he proclaimed three times from the womb to the most important points Divine Liturgy, which, by the way, does not contradict the ideas of scientists. In the book "Life before birth" (M., "Knowledge", 1991), Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor, Head of the Department of Histology and Embryology of the Crimean Medical Institute A. Brusilovsky, on p. 109 we read: "Reports that the fetus is capable of making sounds may seem fantastic. In foreign literature, 82 cases of the cry of an unborn baby were cited. The reasons for this phenomenon are unknown. It is difficult to explain the mechanism of the occurrence of a cry ..."
We must not forget this strong remedy like the sign of the cross and the Jesus Prayer. So, one elder advised a mother preparing for childbirth to seal the newborn baby with a spiritual seal, constantly saying the Jesus prayer ("Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God (by the prayers of the Virgin) have mercy on me, a sinner") during the entire stay in the hospital, even during childbirth (by the way, it is known that in women who prayed during childbirth, they passed easily and almost without pain).
According to the canons of the Church for pregnant and lactating mothers strict fast No. In each case, the woman should talk to the priest and take his blessing. It must be remembered that fasting is not a rejection of fast food, but of sin, our intention to correct life and spend it pleasingly.
What to do when there is a threat of losing a child during pregnancy?
Hope for the mercy of the Lord, pray - to the Lord (there is a special "Prayerful sigh of a pregnant woman whom God blessed with the fruit of the womb"), Mother of God(“Prayerful sighing of a Christian spouse during pregnancy”), Her miraculous icons (“Mammary-giver”, “Helper in childbirth”, “Blessed womb”, Albazinskaya icon “The Word was flesh”, “Wicked listener”, “Healer”, “Sign” , "Feodorovskaya", etc.). The Monk Ambrose of Optina advised one spiritual daughter, who was afraid for the successful outcome of childbirth, to serve a moleben to the icon of the Mother of God of Feodorovskaya and read an akathist to her every day.
The book "Akathist repentant ..." describes the case "From the story of the Balashikha priest I.", when the child in the womb of the priest's wife died, and an abortion was necessary for medical reasons. The couple could not decide on it, and the priest went for advice to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. Returning, he told his wife: "... The Fathers said: do not have an abortion in any case, but rely on the will of God ... You need to drink holy water and often baptize the fetus in the womb with your hand." So mother did. He drinks holy water and baptizes the fruit with his hand. And the doctor, once again making a round of the patients, told her that the fetus was dead and there was nothing to hope for, she had to hurry with the abortion. When the second week of her stay in the hospital began, one day on a round the doctor approached her, listened and said, smiling wryly:
- Strange. The fruit is alive. But all the same, you need to do a "cleansing" (abortion), because a freak, sick will be born. And childbirth will be difficult, pathological.
"No," said mother firmly. - As God wills. And I will give birth.
And now it's time for her to give birth. And the birth was the easiest in her life. And the child was born healthy, contrary to all the doctor's predictions. There was only one oddity in these births: a girl was born, and before only boys were born. Trust God, not doctors. For those who trust in God will not perish, and those who trust in the Lord will not be put to shame."
Is artificial termination of pregnancy acceptable?
The murder of a child in the womb of the mother is a mortal sin, and the woman who wants to get rid of the child in this way sins (but his soul is eternal, and their meeting will still happen - how then will she be justified before him?), And the man who her sends to this, and the doctor whose hands the murder is committed (American doctor Bernard Nathanson, an abortion specialist, repented after filming an ultrasound image of what is happening in the womb with a 12-week-old baby during an abortion using the "vacuum" method -aspiration". His film, called "Silent Scream", is a documentary evidence of the child's experiences at the moment when he is - with the consent of the mother - killed. Feeling of anxiety, fear of an impending murder weapon, pain at the moment of death woman, but it does not affect the child).
“Those who intentionally destroy the fetus conceived in the womb are subject to condemnation, as for murder,” writes St. Basil the Great (canon 2). The consequences of this come already here, in this life: a feeling of unconscious fear, guilt, shame, deep despondency and longing, insomnia, nightmares, physical and mental disorders, sometimes leading to death; craving for alcohol, drugs; already born children do not obey, newly born - if born - sick; families break up... But "for the Lord there is no unforgivable sin, except unrepentant." A woman who has had an abortion must necessarily confess to a priest who will listen to her and assign her penance - the means necessary to calm her restless conscience. In addition, with the blessing of the priest, a woman can read "Akathist of the repentant women who have killed babies in their womb", "Prayer to the Merciful Lord for deliberately ruined souls in their womb", do good deeds, distribute alms.
How can the Church help childless spouses?
Through the Sacraments - marriage (if the spouses are not married), confession, Eucharist (Communion), unction; through prayer (you can order a magpie for the health of the spouses); a prayer service (there is also a special "Prayer of the spouses for the gift of children") - to the Lord, the Mother of God, the saints of God - the prophet Zechariah and the righteous Elizabeth, righteous Joachim and Anna, the Monk David of Gareji, the Monk Roman the Wonderworker, the Monk Hypatius of Rufiya, the Monk Euthymius the Great, the Infant Martyr John of the Kiev Caves, the Great Martyr Catherine, the Martyr Paraskeva-Pyatnitsa, the Monk Melania the Roman, the Monk Alexander of Svir (on the gift of a male baby), the saints To Tsar-Redeemer Nicholas, Tsarina-Martyr Alexandra, Tsesarevich Alexy, lad-schema-bearer Bogolep of Astrakhan, martyr-infant Gabriel of Bialystok. Spouses can go to worship the relics of the saints of God, miraculous icons, to monasteries for advice from experienced confessors.
But, expecting help, they must acquire it - by their faith, prayer, observance of fasts, purity of life, fidelity. For example, shiigumen Savva advised one woman who came to his monastery in May 1974: "Do you want to have a child? Let's pray together. You pray for me, and I - for you, and our common prayer will be heard by the Lord. Read every day troparion to the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God and St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. When you return to Moscow, be sure to go to the temple, order a prayer service with water blessing of the Mother of God of Tikhvin and Nicholas the Wonderworker, then bless the whole apartment and bed. If a daughter is born, you will call her Mary, and if a son "Nicholas. Just don't forget and do as I told you." On March 6, 1975, in Bratislava (Czechoslovakia), her daughter Maria was born. Having received such a gift from the Lord through the prayer of Sheikhumen Savva, she and her husband tried to raise their daughter in faith in God (Memoirs of L.A. Belovichova).
Another modern testimony is given in a book about Saint Theodosius, the Caucasian (Jerusalem) miracle worker: "My daughter could not get pregnant, she had miscarriages. Someone suggested to her that she ask Father Theodosius for a child. My daughter had a daughter." (Maria Kamynina, Mineralnye Vody, Levokumka village).
Learn more about these and other questions.
can be found in the following literature:
1. Prayer for children / Comp. S. Davydov. St. Petersburg: Svetloyar, 1996.
2. Prayers for help in family needs / Comp. G. Shcherbina. Moscow: Blagovest, 1997.
3. Priest A. Grachev. When children get sick: advice from a doctor-priest. M., 1996.
4. Why do children get sick. Moscow: Center BLAGO, 1996.
5. Priest Sergei Filimonov. To help the sick. St. Petersburg, 1998.
6. Shiigumen Savva. Experience in building a Christian worldview (The path to perfect joy). Perm, 1998.
7. Sister Magdalene. Thoughts on Children in the Orthodox Church Today. M., 1992.
8. Priest T.Alferov. A word to those who came to the christening. St. Petersburg, 1990.
9. Priest Al. Zakharov. A word about abortion. Perm, 1997.
10. Addition to the newspaper "Our Light". Љ 5, 17/30 October 1991
11. Life of St. Theodosius of Jerusalem (various editions).
12. Akathist repentance of women who killed babies in their wombs. M., 1995.
When I say “normal”, I do not mean “average”, I mean one who lives according to Orthodox canons.
And this, of course, is not full list, and the items in it are not in order of priority.
So, a normal Christian:
1. Goes to services as often as possible.
The minimum requirement is to go to the morning service every Sunday. But it often happens that this is not enough. And “going to the service” does not mean just being present at it, but it means being spiritually involved - either silently listening, or crossing yourself, singing along, and so on.
2. Pray at home every day
Ideally, you need to read the morning and evening rule and prayer before and after eating food. It is especially important that husbands and wives pray together, and that parents pray with their children. Include daily Bible readings here, especially the Psalter.
3. Participates in the sacraments
This means not only confessing and taking communion, but also taking unction if you get sick. It means to be baptized, to be married. It is even worth considering whether you or another man in your family should be ordained.
4. Avoid immorality in thought, word and deed
Everything we do with our body, soul, and words matters to our salvation. Let your body, soul and words serve for the benefit of you and your loved ones. Look for someone to help, not to be helped.
5. Observes fasts according to the church calendar
The priest you are confessing to will advise you on how to relate the fasts to the daily life of your family. Orthodox fasting on Wednesdays and Fridays and, of course, during the Great, Petrov, Assumption and Christmas fasts.
6. Goes to confession
The sacrament of confession is extremely important for the soul. You need to go to confession at least once during each fast. But also - simply, when it is necessary for your soul, when there is a sin that torments you.
And often finds them during confession. But the priest (or confessor, if you have one) will listen to you at any time. This is the source that you need to use constantly.
8. Gives a tenth of the income to the Church
Giving a tenth of your income to the Lord (after all, your income is His gift to you) is a biblical norm that Orthodox Christians must adhere to. If you can't give all 10 percent, choose a different amount, but give regularly, gradually moving towards giving 10 percent. And if you can give away more than 10 percent, give it back. And do it not only when it's hard for you, when something bad happens in life - donate when everything is good. The fact that to give a tenth of the income - namely Orthodox tradition, the Fathers of the Church pointed out many times.
9. Gives alms and does charity work
It means helping those in need. This help can also be monetary, but you can help with your own work, and moral support, and even just being close to those who are having a hard time, with those who are sick, etc.
10. Constantly improves the level of his education
It is necessary all the time to seek an ever deeper comprehension of faith - and not only in the sense of understanding what, in fact, it means to be a believer, pious, devout. This also means that our mind must be constantly in the power of the Lord, so that He heals and changes it. All our thoughts should be connected with God - whether we read spiritual literature, whether we attend courses in religious education, etc. The purpose of all our activities in the field of education is to get to know and understand the Holy Scripture as deeply as possible.
11. Shares faith with others
If you are grateful to the Lord for giving us Salvation, you will want to share your faith with other people.
12. Goes to religious processions, makes pilgrimage trips
That is, he travels to visit shrines. Usually these are monasteries, temples and other holy places.
Translation by Anna Barabash
