Three days a week, special services are held in one of the churches of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. The abbot of the monastery, Father Herman, begs, smears with myrrh and sprinkles the raging people. Curious and mentally ill people should not look here. Spiritual illnesses are treated here.
Unexplained symptoms
Quite often, the patients treated by Father Herman are people with unexplained illnesses. A person is melting before our eyes, losing strength, barely walking, but no doctor can determine the cause and make a diagnosis. Another case is constant melancholy, depression up to the desire to die against the backdrop of a completely prosperous fate. Or, conversely, unreasonable outbursts of rage and irritation, reaching a riot in a person who is usually calm and balanced. There may be attacks, seizures, symptoms of epilepsy or schizophrenia, but without any signs of an organic lesion of the psyche.
There is such a disease - obsession
The answer may be found in the church. A sharply negative reaction to all the attributes of a church service - incense, holy water, a cross, prayers, icons, relics - is evidence that a person is led by an alien force. An even greater shock can be experienced by someone who, having entered the temple, suddenly crows or begins to use foul language. All this happens against his will.
So the person is faced with the fact that some other force controls her soul, regardless of whether she believes in its existence or not. The report given by Father Herman shows with the utmost clarity the nature of this force. "Well, get away from me, pop!" - a thin girl can yell in a bass voice, and a kid of six years old is able to hit a priest sprinkled with holy water with such force that he is thrown three meters away. Low, vicious, aggressive - demons, demons - is the source of mysterious diseases of the human spirit, called possession.
How they become insane
The first reason that people find themselves in the power of demonic power is disbelief in the spiritual world: neither in God, nor in hell. Because of an atheistic upbringing, one generation of atheists was replaced by another, accumulating a baggage of sins, - this is how Father Herman explains the spread of obsession among the post-Soviet population. An unbaptized person initially lives according to passions, does not recognize the commandments of God, does not receive the protection of the Holy Spirit and falls into the power of an unclean spirit.
The believer knows the commandments and follows them. But under the influence of evil spirits, even baptized people depart from God and commit sinful acts. However, they have the opportunity to repent and reconnect with Him in the sacrament of the sacrament. The one who does not resist temptations, sins and does not repent, loses power over his soul, gives it to the power of demons. They inhabit the heart of such a person at the moment of consciously committing an unscrupulous act.
Archimandrite Herman names another set of reasons for possession. This is coding, appeal to psychics, witchcraft practices. In fact, this is "invasion evil spirits with the full consent of the patient and against his receipt.
But to drive the evil spirit out of the soul is no longer in the power of the sinner himself. Strong prayerful help from outside is needed here, and Father Herman provides it. Sergiev Posad is a place where thousands of unfortunates rush in the hope of regaining power over their souls.
Exorcism - exorcism
The Trinity-Sergius Lavra is one of the few places in Russia where those suffering from possession and possession can get help. The exorcism of demons in church practice is called exorcism. In gospel times, this was available only to Jesus Christ. The Savior taught his disciples: “This kind is driven out only by prayer and fasting” (Matthew 17:21). That is, only a person of strong faith and a holy life can help in freeing his neighbor from evil spirits.
From the first centuries of Christianity, a practice has been established: to expel unclean spirits, receive a blessing from a church hierarch, whose rank is not lower than that of a bishop. In Rus', since the 14th century, a prayer for the expulsion of demons from the liturgical book of the Kyiv Mohyla was widespread. Exorcism in Russia was called reprimands - this is a special worship service for Now the rite of reprimand is included in the big breviary Orthodox clergy, it is recognized by the Orthodox Church, but not everyone is given to engage in it. Far from everyone, it’s still good if one out of a thousand.
Do we need exorcists?
Opponents of the rite of exorcism in practice Orthodox Church set categorically: "The reprimand of Father Herman is a service that no one can attend." Numerous arguments are given, it is argued that the Russian Church never knew this rank. And what do opponents of reprimands offer to people in trouble? Those who are already here on earth saw themselves in hell and in the power of demons. Pray, fast, go to church, repent, take communion, visit holy places - in a word, correct and hope for the mercy of God.
Yes! Now he is obsessed and ready to do everything that he previously neglected, but the power that controls him will not allow him to get closer to God. Not every parish priest has the power to pray for the return of the prodigal son to the bosom of the church. We need a special service and people who are able to perform it without harm to themselves.
Where can they help
Father German Chesnokov is considered the leading exorcist in Russia, and the Trinity-Sergius Lavra is the most famous place where the spiritually ill receive help. Even in Soviet times, Abbot Adrian was reprimanding here. Thirty years ago Father Herman received a blessing for this service from the Patriarch. Lavra, however, is not the only place where spiritual healing is promoted. 100 kilometers from Moscow, in the village of Shugaevo, Fr. Panteleimon, in Bashkortostan, Fr. Simon, report back in Kaluga and Gornalsky-Kursk region; in the Nizhny Novgorod region, such services are held in the Oransky monastery, and in the Penza region - in Svyato-Rozhdestvensky, in the village of Treskino. In rural churches of the Vladimir region and Tatarstan there are priests who use the rite of reprimand to help people. In total, there are up to 25 priests in Russia who practice this service, which gathers a huge number of people. “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few” (Matthew 9:37). In the person of these priests, the Orthodox Church extends its hand to people who have fallen into enemy captivity. Why are there so few of them?
Did a good deed - get ready for temptation
In one popular Orthodox book the story of a priest who once ventured to heal a demon-possessed girl is given. Could not resist the requests of unfortunate parents. After a week of intensified, he held the rite of reprimand according to the breviary - and the unclean spirit left the child.
The feeling of joy was accompanied by an innocent thought: "And I'm not so simple, I can do something." The desire to dissipate and rest after the strain of spiritual forces is also quite understandable - and the priest, with a newspaper in his hands, delved into reading the city news. Looking up from the interesting article, he clearly saw who had come out of the girl. Bes, looking straight into his eyes, carefully studied him. Beside himself with horror, the priest rushed to the spiritual father, from whom he did not even ask for a blessing for this service. One must think that the confessor's prayers softened the reprisal: the priest was robbed, beaten, and lost all his teeth.
"Without Me you can't do anything"
Absolute humility, which excludes any thought of one's involvement in success - this is the condition for protection from the attack of evil spirits. Humility is an experienced knowledge of one's weakness, the minister is absolutely sure that only Christ heals. “I don't cast out demons, I read a prayer asking God to help,” Father Herman explains. Reviews of his service may be different, but everyone recognizes that he is a strong prayer book. He develops the idea further: the service of reprimand does not have a special philosophy and does not require supernatural abilities; he does it not out of vocation and personal attraction, but out of obedience. Father Simeon from Bashkiria has the same attitude to the rank of reprimand - this is just spiritual hygiene, because we wash our hands and brush our teeth.
Another component of security, protection from the attack of demons is the maximum distance from everything worldly. In a monastery, this is easier to do. People in the world need to be careful. "Television is a source of spiritual damage," says Father Herman, and includes it among the most common causes of possession.
Obedience, humility, renunciation of the world with its passions - it would seem, nothing supernatural, but there are so few ministers who can do it!
Alexandra Chesnokova
Divine providence exists in the life of every person, but not everyone can follow it. Father German saw a series of miracles in his life - his biography contains many seemingly incompatible facts.
Military service in Central Asia in a special border district. Times were turbulent - there was a war in Afghanistan. For military operations to detain scouts, Alexander Chesnokov (the worldly name of Herman's father) was even wanted to be nominated for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Why not start a successful military career? But the applicant was not a member of the CPSU and, apparently, was not going to join it. The next stage is studying at the Moscow Road Institute, a prestigious Soviet university. He studied at the Faculty of Economics. Cars, economics - an education that could provide an interesting job and a successful life in both Soviet and post-Soviet society. Unexpectedly for relatives and friends, it is interrupted.
"My life is a series of miracles"
By advice spiritual father Alexander becomes a student of the theological seminary, and then the academy. Professor of the MDA A. Osipov recalls that at his seminars Chesnokov did not stand out with special knowledge, he was a simple listener, he did not go into the subtleties of theology. And in Last year student Alexander becomes a novice of the Lavra, trying on a monastic life.
When the question arose about future life: to become a monk or priest in the world, there was an "episode with salt." It shows a direct indication of the will of God. Half an hour before giving the final answer, Alexander, sitting in his cell, thought: “If you stay in the Lavra, let someone ask me for something.” Immediately there was a knock on the door, and the familiar hieromonk asked him for salt. The issue was resolved, on the same day Alexander was tonsured. The familiar hieromonk only shrugged his shoulders: “I didn’t ask you for any salt!” Currently, the failed Hero of the Soviet Union is the exorcist Father German. Sergiev Posad is the place of his permanent residence and service.
Our service is both dangerous and difficult
Every week on Thursday, Friday and Saturday at noon in the Peter and Paul Church, next to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, the rite of exorcism is performed. It used to take place at the gate inside the monastery. Several hundred people are tensely waiting for the priest for 10-15 minutes. This delay is the beginning of preparation for a difficult service.
The appearance of a priest is accompanied by noise and murmuring in the crowd, in some places they cry, somewhere they threaten, growls, meows, crowing, barking are heard - everything reveals the presence of evil spirits. Father Herman's service begins with a long sermon. It lasts 1.5-2 hours, and some people leave already. The rest listen with bated breath, because everyone recognizes their life story in the denunciations of the priest.
The reading of prayers for the expulsion of unclean spirits begins. services, and the demons begin to rage: they howl, growl, swear, squeal. There are assistants to the priest in the temple, who, at his sign, lead out "simulators" - people playing for the audience. According to Fr. Herman, he knows after which prayer the demons come out.
This is followed by anointing with myrrh, sprinkling with holy water - unclean spirits physically resist these actions, considerable effort is required for the shrine to touch the body of a raging person. "Get out, get out, Satan... We cast you out in the name of God!" At the end of the prayer, Fr. Herman recalls that it is advisable to attend the reprimand three times, and then be sure to participate in the sacraments of unction, confession, and communion.
"Narrow is the way that leads to eternal life"
Possession and obsession is a lesson given by God a man who has gone too far down the wide path of sin. This is an opportunity already in earthly life to see whose will the sinner is fulfilling. Father Herman's reprimand is a chance to break free from demonic captivity and start living according to God. Repentance, confession, communion, prayers and following the commandments - this is the way of personal struggle for your salvation.
Where in Russia, in what temples and monasteries do they cast out demons, treat the corrupted and demon-possessed?exorcist
Now in our country, only in one temple is it allowed to engage in exorcism, that is, the expulsion of demons from a person, this is in the TRINITY-SERGIEV LAVRA. Exorcist Father Herman, casts out demons in his services.
In Orthodoxy, the rite of exorcism is called a reprimand. This ritual consists of reading a special prayer, making the sign of the cross, and smoking incense. Remember the saying "runs like hell from incense"? It's about the obsessed.
Only a priest who has received a special blessing from the bishop has the right to reprimand. The rest of the priests, if they want to help a person free themselves from demonic power, read the usual prayer for health. In some cases, it also helps.
During a pilgrimage trip to Optuna Hermitage, I had to ask the monks if anyone could reprimand the demoniac in the monastery. It turned out that there are exorcist monks, they used to scold those who came to them for help, but at present the church forbade them to do this, leaving permission for exorcism only to Father Herman in the Lavra.
Separately, it is worth mentioning the prayer itself, which casts out demons. It is the longest in the canon of the Orthodox Church - lasting about 20 minutes. They read it in Old Church Slavonic. The text of the prayer was developed and successfully tested as a sure remedy for demons many centuries ago. Since then, not a single word in the prayer has ever changed.
At the moment, the most famous place for the exorcism of demons in Russia is the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra, the Gate Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra.
Just starting to be interested in this issue, another question arose. Is it really possible to cure a demon-possessed person in such a service? Father Herman casts out demons en masse during the service. And in the Orthodox Christian literature, a brochure on the exorcism of demons, bought in one church, I read that demons must be cast out at an individual reception, i.e. one on one, and not with a large number of people, since demons can move into another person, etc.
***
On the exorcism of demons in the Lavra
... "In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit" ... The crucifix in the hands of the priest only touched the head of a woman of 40-45 years old. And suddenly… a terrible animal roar shook the reverent silence of the temple. The woman was literally thrown away from the cross by an unknown but terrible force. With all her might, her portly body collapsed to the floor and thrashed in terrible convulsions. The crowd, which had previously been so dense that it seemed there was nowhere for an apple to fall, dispersed almost instantly. People, clinging to each other, looked down with compassion and horror at the bending, beating, shaking, growling man ...
Believe me, this is not an excerpt from the script of another horror movie. Life, as it often happens, presents stories worse than any fantasy. The described event took place in a real dimension just a few months ago. The place of action is the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, where Father Herman, the hegumen of the monastic brethren of the monastery, held his next “reprimand”.
From the history of the issue
The word "exorcism" is probably not familiar to every modern person. In the old days in Rus', this tricky overseas term corresponded to a simpler, but no less terrible definition - "casting out demons"!
Almost every religion, including Christianity, recognizes the existence dark forces- evil spirits, demons that live in the astral world and obey the prince of darkness, who has fallen away from God. In various revelations, he is called differently - Ahriman, Iblis, Satan. However, everywhere its essence is defined in the same way - an enemy of the human race, an insidious liar and a theomachist.
The first mention of exorcism in Christianity we find already in the Gospel itself. Jesus Christ during His earthly life repeatedly cast out demons trembling before Him from people possessed by these infernal (i.e., hellish) entities. But perhaps the most impressive is the episode of the Holy Scriptures, which tells how our Lord forced a whole congregation of evil spirits (remember: “our name is legion!”) to move into a herd of pigs. Maddened by such an unexpected "neighborhood", the animals threw themselves off a cliff into the sea.
The most experienced in spiritual life adherents of Christianity sometimes received the power to cast out evil spirits, commanding them in the name and power of Christ the Savior. However, the practice of this kind is fraught with very serious consequences and at all times required from a person incredible moral purity, control of his physical instincts, ascetic exercises and an ascetic lifestyle. Far from everyone, even a warrior of Christ experienced in spiritual battles, dared to actually enter into an open battle with the forces of hell.
I know Jesus and I know Paul"
In the most difficult battles with demons, the unclean spirit "immigrated" into the caster himself.
So, in the “Acts of the Apostles” (19, 13-16) there is a story about some unfortunate exorcists: “Even some of the wandering Jewish exorcists began to use the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying: we conjure you by Jesus, whom Paul preaches. This was done by some seven sons of the Jewish high priest Skeva. But the evil spirit answered and said: I know Jesus, and I know Paul, but who are you? - and a man in whom there was an evil spirit rushed at them, and, having overcome them, took such power over them that they ran naked and beaten out of that house.
"strong pop"
... During another prayer service, a young woman of about thirty-five, turning her face away, suddenly began waving her hands in front of her like a dog - light clubs of incense burnt in the priest's censer reached her.
It is difficult to describe in words the intonation of her voice when she angrily shouted at Father Herman: “S-old fool-cancer,” and then, as if with regret in her voice: “U-u ... strong pop!” Accustomed to everything during his numerous “reprimands”, the elderly priest paused only for a moment and, standing at half a turn, in a strict voice only imperiously threw out to the one who, sitting inside the woman, boldly spewed blasphemy at him: “Well, shut up now!" More this someone did not express his thoughts about what was happening - he only grumbled muffledly and displeasedly inside the woman.
There were also much more serious cases. One possessed was brought to Troitse-Sergiev chained to a bed. When he was just being brought to the gates of the Lavra, he began to rage terribly and break out of his bonds. He reinforced his actions with the most selective mate. The verbal constructions, built from profanity, were so multi-storey that you can hear similar “pearls” far from every “diner”. Calmness came to him after several hours of Fr. Herman's prayer service in the church, where the demon-possessed man was brought straight to the bed.
Burns of a demoniac, or why the baby screamed in a male bass
Usually at the prayer services of Abbot Herman, performed in the church of St. the prophet John the Baptist, gathering up to a hundred people. Among them, as a rule, from three to five possessed.
However, they are by no means obligatory present at every worship service. If there are such people in the church, then “strangeness” begins almost with the first words of the prayer service: some unintelligible and frightened cries, groans, murmurs, incomprehensible movements. Children who have "something" in them begin to cry for no reason. At the mere approach of Father Herman, one such baby roared in a real masculine bass and began to rage, tearing himself out of the hands of his mother holding him. And this at a time when other children were happy to put their faces under the washing of holy water. Many of them outwardly even seemed to brighten, while smiling happily and listening to something mysterious that was happening inside them.
The obsessed behave quite differently. When they are splashed with holy water, they writhe and shrivel as from burns. In the process of the service, Abbot German several times goes around all those present, anointing the saints with chrism and sprinkling them with holy water - each individually. Those who have an “anomaly” of an infernal character in themselves usually, rolling their eyes with a roar, stagger back, sometimes fall. The woman mentioned at the beginning of the article, while the service was going on, fell to the floor four times. And every time - convulsions, convulsions, roars ...
The lady who slandered the priest (who came to the temple, as it turned out later, with a friend and son of 6-7 years old), at the end of the service, with difficulty approached the kissing of the Crucifix. The picture was heartbreaking: she herself - the image and likeness of God - was drawn to the Cross, and the one sitting inside her shied away from him with all his might. It is impossible to describe this scene. You must see it with your own eyes!
Despite the obvious tactlessness, I, unable to restrain my professional journalistic curiosity, approached this woman with questions: “What did you feel? Why did they shout like that? Tired eyes looked at me: “I don’t know. Everything happens against my will."
Revenge of the prince of darkness
Possession is not contagious, like tuberculosis or scarlet fever, for example. But one thing should be remembered: you cannot mock the forces of darkness, even if you are a convinced materialist and "Voltairian"! Satan, being a liar and a deceiver who does not recognize any divine laws, nevertheless knows them well and, like a chicane lawyer, always defends the rights of the “injured party” before God. His “cassation complaint” appeals to the original justice of the Creator, who established the Universal Law, before which everyone is equal and for the righteousness and immutability of which God is glorified by all living creatures. At the moment a person inflicts “offense” on Lucifer, it doesn’t matter that the latter rebelled against God (Satan has already received punishment for this - eternal excommunication from the Almighty with overthrow into Tartarus!). The prince of darkness hypocritically cries out to God, like a creature, for no reason on his part, “offended” by a specific “word or action” of an individual person.
According to the justice of the Law established by Him, the Creator is forced to grant any "offended" the right to repay the "offender" in the same measure. There is a so-called God's connivance to the forces of darkness. And the latter will not make you wait with revenge: generosity and nobility are not the lot of fallen angels, they take revenge cruelly and mercilessly!
Suggestion of suicidal thoughts, despondency, despair, hatred, anger, troubles in material life - the arsenal is great. The goal is the same - the enslavement of the human soul! The most optimal way is to move inside a person.
What the seers said about the end times
Why don’t they just reach out to the Lavra, to the relics St. Sergius Radonezh Orthodox. Judging by appearance, clothing, speech, for spiritual guidance in Sergiev Posad - the capital of all Russian Orthodoxy, people come from Moldova, and from Siberia, and from the Urals. A lot of visitors from Ukraine. Believers, often in families, travel hundreds of kilometers specifically to do only one thing - to venerate the holy relics of St. Sergius - the great miracle worker and abbot of the Russian land. To those relics that have been in incorruptibility for six hundred years already and to which our ancestors from time immemorial have venerated - just imagine! - John the Terrible and Peter the Great. But, as often happens, many of us, who have been living for decades just an hour's drive from Sergiev Posad, have never visited this great national shrine in our lives. How many of us are like this - mired in everyday fuss?!
From all over Russia, people come here, among other things, in order to get to the spiritual children and heirs of St. Sergius - to Father Naum, who has the gift of clairvoyance, or Father Herman, who casts out demons in his services.
And here's the thought that came to my mind. Almost exclusively believers come to the prayers of the latter, religious people, but even among them there are obsessed. How many of these, inconspicuously carrying an impure SOMETHING, exist among us, mere mortals, many of whom, living to whitish gray hair, never knew the way to the Temple - who, like St. Apostle Paul, on your way to Damascus?!
The ancient seers spoke of the last times as a terrible bacchanalia, when demons, before the coming of the Antichrist, escaped from hell, crowds will begin to inhabit people who have opened their souls to them with their godlessness, debauchery, vices, anger, hatred, envy, love of money, selfishness and dislike. Take a look around! Do not the mores of modern times ("O tempere, o mores!") correspond to these descriptions of sinful people, first given as the most important characteristic near the end of the world two thousand years ago, St. the apostle Paul in one of his epistles. The official church, which has always been very skeptical and wary of all kinds of homespun prophecies about the dates of the doomsday, today already openly claims that we all live in the last times. About the terrible coincidence of the signs of the impending End, Father Herman also speaks in his sermons. Perhaps it's time to seriously think about the perishability of being and the future of our immortal souls!..
P.S
For those who are interested in the article, I will add that Abbot Herman receives all the suffering in the church of St. the prophet John the Baptist, located above the arch of the entrance to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra (travel: to the station "Sergiev Posad", then three hundred meters on foot). Services begin every day at 13:00. No one will demand money from you, admission is free. However, if you take five to ten rubles with you for donations to the Lavra and alms for the poor, then, frankly, this will not be a sin.
Before the beginning of the service, it is necessary to venerate the relics of St. Sergius and ask in his soul for his blessing. You can bring children and sick people with you. And take a small container with you: the prayer service of Father Herman is blessed with water - pour some holy water into your home.
According to beliefs, human life has two beginnings, one of which is physical, and the other is spiritual. It cannot be said that one of them is more important, since one follows from the other. In case of poor physical condition, a person will not feel spiritual balance and peace of mind.
Everyone has long known that in case of poor physical condition, it is necessary to go to the hospital. Where people with special education, if possible, will put in order the state of a person. But the question is, if the spiritual state of a person is worsened, where can one turn in this case? They say that if the soul hurts, then there is damage on the person. They get rid of such an ailment only with the help of prayers.
Sergius Lavra, report
Always and everywhere, reprimands were treated differently, someone believes that damage as such does not exist, and these are all human inventions, and someone firmly believes that with the help of induced damage, evil spirits can " destroy" a person from the inside.
Reports in the monastery - Trinity-Sergius Lavra. It is in this place that the prayers are read by Father Herman, over those people in whom the demon, or evil spirits, has "settled". God's servant, Father Herman, is an Orthodox novice of the Lord, and in his essence a very kind, sympathetic person.
Father German Sergiev Posad, reprimand
Father Herman is a sincere follower of the Lord, who lives according to God's laws. Many cases in which he helped people for free, when it would seem that it was already impossible to help. With the help of him, a large number of people got rid of the demons living inside.
Father Herman performs the rite of exorcism in the church of John the Baptist every day, seven days a week.
Such an action is performed with the help of prayers, it is here, to Father Herman, that people come together both for the physical healing of the body and for the spiritual healing of the soul.
People come here for two reasons, physical illnesses, deviations, underdevelopment;
And also brought here possessed by evil spirits.
Opinions are divided on the account of obsession, some believe that it is simply a mental or psychological illness. Others are sure that possession has existed for centuries, and it can come to absolutely any person. Not a single doctor will help with demonic possession, this fact has been proven and verified.
Reading prayers over such a person gives him the opportunity to completely get rid of the disease. Every word uttered by Father Herman gives a person peace of mind and destroys the evil spirit. The rite can be performed only if the "sick" himself wants to be cured, and firmly believes that everything will work out. If the heart of the possessed is not pure, and his thoughts are evil, it will be more difficult to work with him, and in order for the reprimand to be effective, it is necessary to talk with him.
Reporting with Prayers
When the holy fathers want to exorcise demons from the possessed, they read prayers composed back in the 4th century.
After reading the prayers, the holy fathers are taken to conduct certain ceremonies.
anointing;
Sprinkling with holy water;
Carrying the cross near the possessed.
In the process of conducting such rituals, demons can show themselves in various manifestations:
growling, croaking;
possessed can tremble all over the body, or incomprehensible body movements.
There were situations when the “sick” were so severe that they were delivered to the holy father already bound.
exorcism
Before starting the reprimand, a sermon should be read, which will talk about the causes of the disease, as well as the condition of the person as a whole.
According to church concepts, Jesus uses the installation of evil demons in the human soul, for the purpose of punishment. Evil spirits can pass through a wall, through a person, and only by the will of the Lord can they settle in a human body. Evil spirits immediately infect human organs.
Spirits can deliver hellish torment to a person, provide hallucinations before his eyes, visions of which a healthy person will not actually see. Evil spirits manifest their will in the form of various visions and hallucinations.
Reprimand from damage and evil eye
Corruption affects a person in the most negative way, and makes it so that a person is worried about pain throughout the body, but along with the pain of the body, the soul also hurts. Prayers that are uttered in the process of exorcising demons, removing corruption, and other things, have tremendous power of the Lord, and influence and destroy all evil as much as possible.
In addition to getting rid of evil, prayer gives a person a sense of calm and tranquility.
It is humility and peace of mind. It can be a strong protection against the evil eye and damage. After all, when the soul and heart are with God, then they are under the protection of God.
Reporting with Psalms
Psalms also become a method of purification. Each of the existing ones is responsible for a certain area of life.
Against the demon - 45, 67;
With physical diseases - 29, 46, 69;
Protection from induced damage and witches - 49, 53, 58, 63, 139.
Reprimand a person in church the most faithful and effective way against demons, demons, and other things. After all God's power in a word. It is the word of God that is a guarantee of protection, because faith in God will protect and give peace.
The place where the reprimand is held by Father Herman
Father Herman helps in the Church of the Holy Prophet John the Baptist, which is located above the very arch of the entrance to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. The service takes place every day and starts at exactly one o'clock in the afternoon.
Before you begin the service, you must ask for the blessing of St. Sergius. It is allowed to bring children, relatives who are not able to come due to physical or mental ability. In order to ask your father for some holy water, you must have a small container with you.
Herman's father's report will help in any situation. When a person is desperate and does not know what to do in life, when no doctor takes up the matter, and no psychologist helps, do not despair, Father Herman will help all those who suffer, and restore peace to the soul and faith in the Lord. Do not rely on your own strengths and prejudices, do not hesitate to turn to the Lord. After all, it is not in vain that they say that we propose, and only God disposes!
Often, people turn to fortune-tellers, witches and sorcerers in order for them to remove damage or the evil eye, but this choice is not the right one! Open the door in your heart to the Lord, and with your faith, give him the opportunity to help you.
You can pray for your peace of mind on your own, however, it is better to entrust the exorcism of demons, the removal of damage to the holy father. You should not turn to fortune-tellers, because they are the same people as all of us, but God, he is higher, and only he knows what is best.
By believing with your soul and heart in the Lord's help, and the help of the holy father, the result will be guaranteed!
Exorcism is a fairly popular topic. People who suspect not only possession, but also damage, the evil eye, or suffering from a serious physical illness, seek to get on a reprimand - a special church rite for exorcising demons. Is this correct and what is an exorcism in Orthodox tradition- read the article.
In the article:
Casting out demons - the history of the rite of exorcism
Exorcism or exorcism is an important part of theological science. Nowadays, you can unlearn at a Catholic university and get a diploma as an exorcist. The rite of exorcism from a person is very ancient; it refers the person interested in the problem to the origins of Christianity.
The first exorcist, as stated in the Bible, was Jesus Christ. Most famous biblical story of those that relate to the theme of the rite, it says how Jesus Christ drove demons out of a man and instilled them into the bodies of pigs. Possessed animals rushed into the abyss, which emphasizes the danger of the state.
Initially, only Jesus Christ had the gift of casting out demons. Then the apostles received skills (after the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples of the Son of the Lord). The followers of the apostles are the clergy who received the gift. At all times, there were very few people capable of exorcising the Devil.
Reprimands from demons were popular in the Middle Ages. There are several real cases of exorcism in the last century, most with a tragic ending - the death of a priest or an obsessed one. In Rus', the first written source of exorcism was the instruction on the expulsion of the Devil, written by the Metropolitan of Kyiv Peter Mohyla, dating back to the 14th century. Over the centuries, the demand for exorcists has not decreased, and the problem of instilling evil spirits in people exists.
Where demons are cast out of a person in Russia and Ukraine
Trinity-Sergius Lavra in the city of Sergiev Posad.
Priests from ancient monasteries have a blessing for reprimands. Russia has one Holy place where reports are held - Trinity-Sergius Lavra in the city of Sergiev Posad. Previously, exorcisms were performed in Optina desert, but recently the monks received a ban on reprimanding. There are more such monasteries in Ukraine: Pochaev Lavra, Kiev-Pechersk Lavra and others.
Father German from the Trinity-Sergius Lavra- the most famous exorcist in Russia. At the moment, only he has permission to perform the ritual of exorcism. Reports from Father Herman are massive, which is why they are subject to harsh criticism from other priests.
There are known cases of healing during the service of Father Herman, but skeptics claim that hired actors played the part of the possessed. The opinion is confirmed by the fact that several are often required if the demon is strong enough, and on the reprimands of the clergyman, even bedridden obsessed ones are cured at a time.
Kiev-Pechersk Lavra.
In Ukraine, the most famous exorcist was Father Vasily Voronovsky from St. Michael's Church in Lvov. Unfortunately, the minister died a few years ago. Now exorcism sessions are held in many churches in Ukraine, including Kiev-Pechersk Lavra and in the Cathedral of St. George in Lviv. The monastery in the village is very popular Kolodievka, Ternopil region. Village exorcists work for free, considering exile as their duty, but questions about the rituals are not answered due to the ban.
TO Father Rector Varlaam from the Church of the Annunciation Holy Mother of God near Kyiv come not only from all over the country, but also from abroad. The clergyman has been conducting individual and group sessions for thirty years.
Father Varlaam claims to distinguish possession from physical and mental illness. The minister of the church agrees that a reprimand is needed only for those possessed by the Devil, and not for those suffering from corruption, curses and physical illnesses. According to a Ukrainian exorcist, even babies are possessed and pay for the sins of their parents.
How is the exorcism of demons from a person in the church
The rite of exorcism or exorcism is carried out on the model of the rite conducted by Jesus Christ. The ritual is described in religious literature in some detail and has never changed, like texts read many centuries ago to exorcise the unclean.
Jesus Christ was not only the first exorcist, but also the creator of the only true rite of exorcism in Orthodoxy and Catholicism.
The rite of exorcism in Orthodoxy is called reprimand. During the ceremony, a person or a group of people is overshadowed by the sign of the cross with the help of a crucifix, applied to the body, fumigated with incense, sprinkled with holy water, and a special prayer is read. An exorcist is a special rank, for which a priest must obtain permission, which is extremely rare.
Prayer, with the aim of reprimanding from demons, is the longest in the canon of the Orthodox Church. Reading the text usually takes about twenty minutes. The words have not changed for several centuries.
It is impossible to come to church and immediately go to a session of exorcism. A priest who is willing to take on a difficult and dangerous business must obtain permission from the bishop to conduct the rite. If there is no consent, you can only read a prayer for the health of a sick person. In some cases this helps.
The priest must make sure that the matter is in the machinations of Satan, and not in mental illness. Some confessors are able to feel the presence of evil spirits, others do tests with holy water and crucifixion, which demons are afraid of. This fear and disgust is always visible to others. An individual conversation of a priest with a suspected possession is an obligatory part of revealing evil spirits.
If the clergyman recognized the presence of a demon, and permission to reprimand was received, witnesses are selected from among close relatives, in whose presence ancient rite. Before the start of the ritual, observers confess and receive a blessing to be present at the exorcism session. There are strict rules for the selection of eyewitnesses: people should not become a weapon in the hands of a demon; even the faint of heart are not allowed to see a terrible spectacle. Witnesses observe the ceremony and continuously read prayers.
After the exorcism of the demon (more than one session may be required), one should fast, pray to both the patient and his relatives, order magpies and prayers. If the person from whom the demon was cast out does not change his lifestyle in accordance with Christian morality, the demon can return.
Casting out demons from a person - a double opinion of the priests
The opinion of representatives of the clergy about church reprimands was divided. Some clergy are convinced that they are doing a useful thing, expelling evil spirits from people during worship. Confessors see benefit in their actions, because at almost every session there are possessed people who pretend to be loud screams, convulsions and other signs of demon possession.
Most clergy believe that the importance of exorcism is exaggerated. The ministers of the church are convinced that reprimands are a tribute to the occult fashion for the fear of damage and the evil eye. Seances, they say, are rarely attended by real possessed. Rumor has it that the demoniacs in the churches are hired actors, but eyewitnesses to their appearance in public deny this.
Carrying out mass reprimands is a gross violation of the church order. An exorcism is only performed for one person by a priest with permission. The presence at the session as a witness requires the blessing of a clergyman: you cannot go into the temple and see. Not everyone can be an observer of an exorcism - a strong nervous system, good physical and mental health, lack of grave sins and belonging to close relatives of the demoniac.
Mass reprimands, according to opponents among the clergy, are harmful. Every person is possessed by demons to some extent, but only people need to be reprimanded, physical body who were possessed by evil spirits (at the extreme stage of possession). Many are trying to be cured of illnesses, the evil eye and damage with the help of a church rank, which is wrong. At the sessions, you can not only not get rid of your own negativity, but also "pick up" someone else's.
There is a lot of controversy these days about reporting. On the one hand, one can often hear (especially among the common people) a recommendation to be reprimanded in connection with a variety of problems: a person drinks, studies poorly, does not want to go to church, falls ill with a serious illness, experiences failures in his personal life, etc. - in everything, the intrigues of demons are seen, from which they offer to get rid of the presence at the reprimand. On the other hand, one can hear an extremely critical and skeptical attitude towards this ordination, which is perceived as absolutely unnecessary and alien to the Church.
What is a report? How to treat her? And who should attend?
With the advent of the Son of God into the world, demons lost their former power over people. From the Gospel we learn that not only the Savior cast out unclean spirits from people possessed by them, but also His disciples. "God! and the demons obey us in your name” (Luke 10:17), the apostles exclaimed in surprise, returning from the sermon. And after His Resurrection, Christ promised those who believe in Him as one of the signs: “In my name they will cast out demons” (Mark 16:17). According to the Monk Nilus of Sinai, "pronouncing the name of God puts the demons to flight." Moreover, the cross of Christ has become an unbearable torment for the demons. Therefore, the spell and exorcism of dark power in the name of Jesus Christ and the sign of the cross is a primordial phenomenon in the Church.
In the middle of the 2nd century, St. Justin the Philosopher addressed the pagans with the following testimony: the Savior “was born according to the will of God and the Father for the sake of people who believe in Him and for the destruction of demons. Now you can learn this from what is happening before your eyes. For many of our Christians have healed and are still healing many demon-possessed people all over the world and in your city, conjuring in the name of Jesus Christ, crucified under Pontius Pilate, while they were not healed by all other exorcists, conspirators and sorcerers - and thus they conquer and drive out the demons that have taken possession of the people.
As can be seen from the above words, even pagans knew about the existence among Christians of special persons who conjured those possessed by the name of Jesus Christ and thereby cast out evil spirits from them. In the early centuries of Christianity, this was one of the ministries of the Church. Exorcists, that is, spellcasters of evil spirits, received a special blessing from the bishop for this. It is not right to take up this matter on your own, since the 26th Canon of the Council of Laodicea says: "Those who are not made from bishops should not be conjured either in churches or in houses."
Over time, a special rank was formed, in which prayers are collected for the expulsion of demons by the power of the name of Jesus Christ. In the breviary, it is called “A prayer service for the weak, overwhelmed by unclean spirits,” and in the common people it is called a reprimand. This rite of passage brings real results. Here's a story that happened not too long ago. The young man Aleksey, for reasons incomprehensible to his relatives, became extremely aggressive towards his wife and little child now he was extremely intolerant, began to beat the baby, who was not even a year old. Although before that he had been quite supportive of Christianity, now Alexei met every word about faith with extreme hostility. Relatives were very upset by such a drastic change. One of his relatives maintained relations with the inhabitants of the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra, repeatedly talked with the monks about what had happened, and it was decided to invite the sufferer to reprimand. When they brought him, Alexei did not even want to get out of the car, reacting to every word with amazing aggression. Another time, the relatives went to the trick - they offered to attend some event together, which took place in the museum of the Lavra; This time, by special agreement, the car was allowed inside the monastery. The mother of the sufferer went to the temple, where the reprimand was taking place, ordered a commemoration with the name of her son, and after the event at the museum, Alexei was offered to go for his mother. When they went into the temple itself, Alexei managed to squeeze forward, from where it was already difficult to get out due to the crush itself. After involuntarily participating in prayer singing, the sufferer experienced severe weakness, and after a few days it was already a different person - there was no trace of the previous aggression, he even stopped smoking and drinking, he became attentive and affectionate towards his wife and child, now he treated the Church reverently .
It is obvious that in this case, church service with the intense prayer of loved ones helped the suffering person to get rid of real obsession. By the way, in a similar way, some psychics, having become interested in the phenomenon of scolding and deciding to experience it for themselves, successfully parted with their “miraculous” abilities - for someone, the scolding served as the first step towards life in the Church.
At the same time, it is worth saying a few words about the often wrong, almost magical attitude to a report. Nowadays, there is often an unhealthy heightened interest in this rank. They go on their own and bring with them relatives and friends, all those who at least in some way saw themselves and their prone evil force, damage or evil eye. One elderly woman I knew kept asking how to take her son, who was over twenty, to a reprimand, and when asked about the reason, she explained that he did not want to study, drinks beer, ignores the temple and gets annoyed when his mother offers him to drink holy water. But after all, all these symptoms can express the personal lack of spirituality of a person who at one time was not instilled with faith, and he himself is not interested in that. It is understandable that an unbeliever is irritated when he is forced to drink holy water or go to the temple - this can not always be identified with possession.
Some, on the advice of others, report "just in case", according to the principle "who knows, maybe someone has put a spell on me, and a report will help right away." Both old and young are in a hurry to remove all slander and evil eye from themselves in a simple and uncomplicated way - by being present at the reprimand. Here we meet an amazing situation - a person seems to want to avoid occult influence on himself, but he himself acts according to magical principles - he hopes for a ritual in itself, regardless of personal spiritual and moral correction. Sometimes it also happens that some frail sorcerer directs a patient who has turned to him to the priest, who is engaged in a reprimand: “He is stronger than me.” We repeat that the reprimand itself is often treated as a kind of magical action, which should in itself help the unfortunate.
Yes, the mentioned rank in necessary cases bears fruit. But often, unfortunately, we do not want to realize the truth that in order to improve the state of our own soul, it is important not only to endure some ancient church order, but to engage in significant correction of personal spiritual life. Blessed Theophylact Bolgarsky wrote: “Those who have been freed from demons become even worse later on if they do not correct themselves.” To do this, you need to seriously prepare for confession, remembering your life since childhood, make it a rule to regularly pray at home in the morning and evening, attend church services weekly, and partake of the holy mysteries of Christ as often as possible. Not only that, you need to constantly read spiritual literature, and not only Holy Bible, which, alas, many understand in their own way, but also the works of the holy fathers, and useful modern spiritual books, to communicate with churched people so that the very atmosphere of life completely changes. Only a significant change in both the internal disposition of one’s soul and the external structure of life, when God and the fulfillment of His commandments will come first, and everything else will come second, can lead to the complete liberation of the soul from the influence of dark power.
It is clear that it is impossible to solve the issue of churching a relative or acquaintance with one reprimand, thereby investing in him the habit of studying or making him take life more seriously, since it is impossible by any rank to change a person without his voluntary consent and effort. If this is a real obsession, then according to the faith of relatives and friends, an effect is possible. But if this is a freely chosen, personal position of a person, then the rank itself will not help. They read prayers over such a person, sprinkled them with holy water, signed them with a cross, but he remains the same inside, because he does not want to change.
Moreover, in many situations, even with obvious obsession, it is not a scolding that is required, but something else. Every demonic obsession has its own cause, which must be eliminated. To the apostles who failed to cast out the demon from the possessed youth, the Savior said: “This kind is driven out only by prayer and fasting” (Matt. 17:21). This means that victory over evil spirits is possible only through an ascetic life, thanks to which a Christian is freed from passions and receives grace-filled help from God. This victory is realized only with a decisive correction of one's life. Let us remember that the Lord instructed the person He healed with the commandment: “You have recovered; sin no more, lest something worse happen to you” (John 5:14).
Holy people, for example, the righteous John of Kronstadt, cast out the dark force with the shortest prayer phrases, without a special rank. This means that it is not so much the formally fulfilled rule as life according to the commandments of God, in communion with His grace, that is terrible for dark spirits. And therefore, the reprimand itself for those who really suffer from unclean spirits is only an auxiliary means, a kind of additional condition that helps with full inner determination to live in harmony with God.
To one nun who asked a question about counteracting demonic obsessions, St. Ignatius (Bryanchaninov) wrote: “No incantational prayers are needed: they are read over each of you at holy baptism. One must surrender to the will of God and recognize oneself as worthy of every human and demonic guidance: then insurance will pass by itself. It is not so destroyed by anything as by deep contrition of the heart. It is not the rites themselves that protect against demons, but the acquisition of virtues. The highest virtue is humility. If pride is pleasing to demons—it is precisely because of pride that misfortunes and spiritual calamities are allowed to a person—then humility, like fire, burns and drives away the devil.
As for possession itself, the direct infusion of an evil spirit into a person is possible only with the special permission of God and when the person himself disposes himself to this vicious and frivolous life. Once again recalling the words of the Gospel that “this kind is driven out only by prayer and fasting” (Matt. 17: 21), one can, arguing from the contrary, conclude that they enter a person for his extreme intemperance and aversion from God (the opposite of fasting and prayer). Reverend John Cassian the Roman said: “Unclean spirits enter the bodies of those possessed by them in no other way than by taking possession of their minds and thoughts in advance. Having bared their minds from the clothes of the fear of God, the memory of God, evil spirits attack them as if they were disarmed and deprived of God's help and God's fences, and therefore conveniently conquered, and finally arrange dwellings in them, as if in a possession presented to them.
People are frightened by possession, the apparent helplessness of a person who is in the power of evil spirits. However, few people pay attention to the inner subordination to the devil, to which we usually slide, accepting the enemy's thoughts and fulfilling his evil will.
St. Ignatius (Bryanchaninov) pointed to the possibility of a dual presence of Satan in a person: sensual and moral. Sensual stay is a well-known possession, when a demon takes possession of a person and torments his soul and body. Moral stay - when a person is an executor of the will of the devil, that is, he constantly and uncontrollably sins; the demon, without possessing a person sensually, takes possession of his mind and will, unites with him in his spiritual sphere. The reader will probably be surprised to learn that the second kind of sojourn is the most dangerous, because it draws a person to eternal torment of the soul, while the first kind can be allowed by God as a special sorrow for the salvation of a person’s soul. Saint Ignatius wrote: “In a spiritual sense, this is God’s punishment (sensual obsession. – V.D.) does not at all serve as a bad testimony about a person ... Possession is much more unimportant than the acceptance of any enemy thought that can forever destroy the soul. It is important to beware of conscious submission in your deeds, words and thoughts to the will of the devil, to become like him in your own moral life.
St. Simeon the New Theologian in one of his words stated a sad fact: people first lost the image of God (in their deeds and life), and now they are losing the image of man and becoming in the image of the devil. In this sense, an unclean spirit can forever take possession of a person and easily does this if a person does not resist the internal battles of an invisible enemy. Usually this happens imperceptibly to an external observer, without manifestations of possession that shock the eye. Thus, we read about Judas the traitor: “Satan entered into Judas, called Iscariot, one of the twelve” (Luke 22:3), and the former apostle went to betray Christ. It is in vain to think that Judas became demon-possessed in the full sense of the word. But as can be consistently traced from the Gospel of John, Judas admits the devil to himself with his passion for money (see: John 12: 6), then the devil takes fuller possession of his heart (see: John 13: 2) and, finally, resolutely dwells in him, making him a direct executor of his will (see: John 13:27). Such a disastrous situation was prepared by insatiable passions, in particular, avarice and impenitence.
Every sinful passion is essentially a submission to evil spirits. Uncontrollable outbursts of anger, self-importance with contempt for others, foul language, reaching the inner need for swear words, addiction to seductive images - this and much more is the subordination of the soul to dark forces.
Actually, the soul of every person is a receptacle that does not tolerate emptiness. If you do not create the temple of God in yourself, then you will become an abode of dark forces. We have no other choice - either build an altar to God in our heart, or it will turn into an abomination of desolation. And therefore, both the stability of his soul in the earthly world and his well-being in the eternal world directly depend on the spiritual activity of a person.
