The Church does not recognize Vanga. How does the Church relate to Vanga and her predictions? Orthodox Church about Vanga

From the book by A.L. Dvorkin "Athos Stories":

“It seems to me that there are no “former Athonite monks.” If a person was a resident of the Athos monastery, if he took monastic vows there, he forever remains a Holy Mountain resident, wherever he carries out his obedience - in Thessaloniki, like St. Gregory Palamas, in distant Russia, as Venerable. Maxim Grek, in Moldova, as a reverend. Paisiy Velichkovsky, or in Bulgaria, as the hero of my next story - Metropolitan Nathanael of Nevrokop - a man of strict monastic life, an ascetic, an ascetic and a real shepherd who loves his sheep and is ready to lay down his life for them (by the way, he was the teacher - abba - of the Bishop of Saratov and Volsky Longinus).
Despite his high rank, the ruler is very easy to communicate with and is even ready to physically serve any person. I’ll never forget how he let me hold his bishop’s baton and climbed up the steep mountainside, collecting coltsfoot to brew them for my bronchitis.
So, the well-known “soothsayer and seer” Vanga lived on the territory of the Nevrokop diocese, the head of which is Bishop Nathanael. Until now, many consider Vanga to be Orthodox and claim that she acted with the blessing and consent of the clergy. It is for such people that this story is intended.
One day, shortly before Vanga’s death, envoys from her arrived to Metropolitan Nathanael and conveyed her request to come to her. Vanga informed the bishop that she really needed his advice and humbly asked him to condescend to her old age and illness and come to her. The Bishop, hoping that perhaps she wanted to repent, promised to come. This is a completely natural act for a good shepherd who cares for every sheep of his flock, especially the lost ones.
When the bishop arrived a few days later and entered the old woman’s room, he was holding in his hands a reliquary cross with a piece of the Honorable Cross of the Lord. There were a lot of people in the room, Vanga was sitting in the back, saying something and could not hear that another person had quietly entered the door. In any case, she could not know who it was. Suddenly she interrupted and in a changed - low, hoarse - voice said with effort: “Someone came here. Let him throw THIS on the floor immediately!” "What is this"?" — the stunned people around asked Vanga. And then she broke into a frantic cry: “THIS! He holds THIS in his hands! THIS is stopping me from speaking! Because of THIS I can't see anything! I don’t want THIS in my house!” - screamed the old woman, kicking her legs and swaying.
“Vladyka turned around, went out, got into the car and drove away.”

Hieromonk Job (Gumerov) answers

The literature about Wang is quite extensive. However, familiarization with numerous publications surprises with the monotony. It all comes down mainly to external events and emotional impressions. Any assessment presupposes a careful and strict attitude to the facts, as far as they are available. Unfortunately, even the most detailed books written by Vanga’s niece Krasimira Stoyanova are deliberately incomplete. “Some cases are so fantastic and go beyond common sense that I did not dare to include them in the book” (K. Stoyanova. Vanga the clairvoyant and healing, M., 1998, p. 9). But even despite such censorship, the memories of the niece who lived with Vanga reveal a lot.
Her parents - Pande Surchev and Paraskeva - were farmers. She was born in Strumica (Macedonia). The girl was born at seven months old and very weak. According to local tradition, the newborn was not given a name until it was firmly certain that the child would live. Therefore, the girl remained without a name for some time. The choice of name was determined by local folk custom: they went out into the street and asked the first person they met. The newborn’s grandmother left the house and heard the name Andromache from the first woman she met. Dissatisfied with him, she asked another woman. She told her - Vangelia.
His mother died when Vanga was three years old. Therefore, from early childhood she was taught hard work, which she retained until her death.
At the age of 12, an event occurred that changed her whole life. When Vanga was returning to the village with her cousins, a terrible hurricane lifted her into the air and carried her far into the field. They found it littered with branches and covered with sand. In addition to severe fright, there was pain in the eyes. Soon she went blind. In 1925, Vanga was taken to the city of Zemun to the home of the blind. She learned to knit, read, mastered Braille, and cook. These years were happy, but difficult life circumstances forced me to return home.
In 1942, she married Dimitar Gushterov. From that time on, she lived in Petrich, and at the end of her life in Rupta. She died on September 11, 1996.
Unusual abilities began to appear in her even in Strumica, when she lived in her father’s house. In 1941, she was visited for the second time by a “mysterious horseman”. From that time on, her supernatural abilities began to manifest themselves constantly. Many people came to her every day. She could tell a person's past. Reveal details that even your loved ones didn’t know. She often made forecasts and predictions. People left very impressed. It was clear that the invisible world was not closed from her.
A person limited by a physical body cannot experience the other world with his own strength. The Holy Scriptures and the Holy Fathers speak of two sources of our knowledge of the supersensible world: the revealed and the demonic. There is no third. Who gave Vanga information about the invisible world? Where did this amazing awareness come from? This answer can be found in the book of Vanga’s niece: “Question: Do you talk to spirits? – Answer: A lot come and everyone is different. I understand those who come and are constantly nearby” (The Truth about Wang, M., 1999, p. 187). The niece remembers. “I was 16 years old when Vanga spoke to me one day in our house in Petrich. Only it was not her voice, and she herself was not herself - it was some other person who spoke through her lips. The words I heard had nothing to do with what we had talked about before. It was as if some other person had intervened in our conversation. The voice said: “Here, we see you...”, and then I was told in detail about everything that I had done during the day up to that moment. I was simply petrified with horror. We were alone in the room. Soon after this, Vanga sighed and said: “Oh, my strength has left me,” and, as if nothing had happened, she returned to the previous conversation. I asked her why she suddenly started telling me what I did during the day, but she told me that she didn't say anything. I told her what I had heard, and she repeated: “Oh, these forces, small forces that are always near me. But there are also big ones, their bosses. When they decide to speak through my mouth, I feel bad, and then I feel like a wreck all day. Maybe you want to see them, are they ready to show themselves to you?” I was extremely shocked and screamed loudly that I didn’t want to” (Vanga the clairvoyant and healing, pp. 11-12). In the second book this story is told with slight differences. Vanga said: “When they begin to speak in me, or rather, through me, I lose a lot of energy, I feel bad, I remain depressed for a long time” (The Truth about Vanga, M., 1999, p. 9). According to the teachings of the holy fathers and the centuries-old spiritual experience of Christianity, the feelings of oppression and despondency that Vanga speaks about unmistakably indicate that these forces are fallen spirits.
Other demons, who were the source of Vanga’s phenomenal awareness of the past and present of his many visitors, appeared under the guise of their deceased relatives. Vanga admitted: “When a person stands in front of me, all his deceased loved ones gather around him. They ask me questions themselves and willingly answer mine. What I hear from them is what I pass on to the living” (The Truth about Vanga, p. 99). The appearance of fallen spirits under the guise of dead people has been known since ancient biblical times. The Word of God strongly prohibits such communication: Don't turn to the callers of the dead(Lev.19:31).

In addition to the spirits that appeared to Vanga under the guise of “small forces” and “big forces,” as well as deceased relatives, she communicated with another type of inhabitants of the other world. She called them the inhabitants of the “planet Vamfim.”

“Question: Do those alien ships that are so primitively called “flying saucers” really visit Earth?
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Answer: Yes, it is.
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Question: Where do they come from?
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Answer: From the planet, which in the language of its inhabitants is called Vamphim. That’s how, in any case, I hear this unusual word – Vamfim. This planet is the third from Earth.
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Question: Is it possible for earthlings to contact the inhabitants of the mysterious planet at their request? With the help of technical means or, perhaps, telepathically?
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Answer: Earthlings are powerless here. Our guests make contact in accordance with their desires” (ibid., pp. 13-14).
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When a person enters into communication with fallen spirits, he finds himself in a spiritually hypnotic state. He does not perceive even the simplest questions of common sense. Why couldn’t these cosmonauts, who were physical beings, be seen by Vanga’s relatives living with her? Where did they leave their spaceship, which was also supposed to be a physical object?
K. Stoyanova reports various details about how Vanga communicated with the other world. And here we see typical mediumistic experiences that have been known for many centuries. “Only sometimes we could not understand why our aunt turns pale, why she suddenly feels bad and suddenly a voice comes from her lips, striking us with its strength, unusual timbre, words and expressions that are not in Vanga’s usual dictionary” (Vanga is clairvoyant and healing , p. 11). And another testimony: “And suddenly she spoke to me in an unfamiliar voice, which sent shivers down my spine. She literally said the following: “I am the soul of Joan of Arc. I have come from afar and am heading to Angola. There is blood flowing profusely there now, and I must help establish peace there.” After a short pause, Vanga continued in the same voice: “Don’t blame this soul for anything. She's not yours. She's a draw. This is witnessed by the parent (our mother - Lyubka), who carried her in a trough when she carried her on her deathbed. Then, in an instant, her soul flew away, and another soul moved into her body. Your mother has recovered to continue her earthly life. But now her soul is no longer related to you, children, and cannot recognize you.” There is a short pause again, and Vanga continues: “Your parent must visit Notre Dame de Paris, where she must spend the night in prayer vigil - thus, secrets about the world around her will be revealed to you” (pp. 131-132). This whole speech is quite fantastic. What is clear is that she adhered to a view alien to Christian teaching about the possibility of instilling a soul in someone else’s body.
From Vanga’s experiences and her statements it is clear that she was close to such theosophists as E. Blavatsky and N. Roerich. In K. Stoyanova’s story about the arrival of the writer Leonid Leonov, there is the following detail: “Vanga was inspired then, and she talked about events that were fateful for his country. She made contact with a long-dead clairvoyant of Russian origin, Helena Blavatsky. We really heard amazing things” (p. 191). Theosophy of E. Blavatsky (her Buddhist name is Radda-bai) is hostile to Christianity. This fact is also very significant. When Svyatoslav Roerich visited Vanga, she told him: “Your father was not just an artist, but also an inspired prophet. All his paintings are insights, predictions. They are encrypted, but an attentive and sensitive heart will tell the viewer the code” (p. 30). It is known that the Council of Bishops in 2000 excommunicated N. Roerich, E. Blavatsky and others from the Church: “The Lord destined us to live in a time when “many false prophets appeared in the world (1 John 4:1), who come to us.” in sheep’s clothing, but inside they are ravenous wolves” (Matthew 7:15)… Old Gnostic cults are being revived and so-called “new religious movements” are emerging, which are revising the entire system of Christian values, trying to find a ideological basis in the reformed Eastern religions, and sometimes they turn to the occult and witchcraft. Paganism, astrology, theosophical and spiritualist societies, once founded by Helena Blavatsky, who claimed to possess some “ancient wisdom” hidden from the uninitiated, were revived. The “Teaching of Living Ethics”, introduced into circulation by the Roerich family and also called “Agni Yoga”, is being vigorously promoted.
Fortune telling using a magic crystal has been known since ancient times. In modern times, Cagliostro was engaged in prediction using a magic crystal. For Vanga, this was one of the main ways to find out secrets about the person who came. “Sugar is also one of the secrets of Vangin’s gift, since it requires everyone who visits her to bring a piece of sugar that has been in his house for at least a few days. When the visitor enters, she takes this piece. He holds it in his hands, feels it and begins to guess” (p. 189). Sugar was a type of crystal accessible to everyone that anyone could bring, keeping it under their pillow for 2-3 days.

All the above facts and evidence show that Vanga’s “phenomenon” completely fits into the classical framework of experiences of communication with fallen spirits. The inhabitants of the other world revealed to Vanga the present and past of people. The future, as the holy fathers teach, is unknown to demons. Demons do not know the future, known to the One God and those intelligent His creatures to whom God was pleased to reveal the future; but just as smart and experienced people, from events that have happened or are happening, foresee and predict events that are about to happen: so cunning, experienced crafty spirits can sometimes assume with certainty and predict the future (Vita sanct. Pachomii, cap. 49, Patrologiae, Tom 73). They are often wrong; very often they lie and with unclear messages lead to bewilderment and doubt. Sometimes they can foretell an event that is already intended in the world of spirits, but has not yet been carried out among people.(Saint Ignatius (Brianchaninov). A word on the sensual and spiritual vision of spirits). Therefore, Vanga’s predictions are not only vague, but also fantastic.

“In 1981, our planet was under very bad stars, but next year it will be populated by new “spirits.” They will bring goodness and hope” (p. 167).
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“We are witnessing fateful events. The world's two biggest leaders shook hands. But a lot of time will pass, a lot of water will flow away, until the Eighth comes - he will sign the final peace on the planet” (January 1988).
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– “The time of miracles will come, science will make major discoveries in the field of intangibles. In 1990, we will witness amazing archaeological discoveries that will radically change our understanding of the ancient worlds. All the hidden gold will come to the surface of the earth, but the water will be hidden” (p. 224).
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– “In 2018, trains will fly on wires from the sun. Oil production will stop, the Earth will rest.”
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– “Soon the most ancient teaching will come to the world. People ask me: “Will this time come soon?” No, not soon. Syria has not fallen yet!
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The revealed prophecies of holy people always had saving purposes. Through repentance and aversion from sinful life, through prayer, people were given the opportunity to avoid impending large and small disasters. So God commanded the prophet Jonah to proclaim: another forty days and Nineveh will be destroyed!(John 3:4). The prophet walked around the city for three days and called for repentance. And God saw their deeds, that they turned from their evil way, and God regretted the disaster that he said he would bring on them, but did not bring.(John 3:10).

There is some kind of fatal doom in Vanga’s predictions that she made. K. Stoyanova asked her aunt:

“Question: If it turns out that you see, with the inner vision given to you from above, an imminent misfortune or even the death of a person who has come to you, can you do anything to avoid the misfortune?
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Answer: No, neither I nor anyone else can do anything.
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Question: And if troubles, even catastrophic ones, threaten not just one person, but a group of people, an entire city, a state, is it possible to prepare anything in advance?
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Answer: It's useless.
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Question: Does a person’s fate depend on his inner moral strength and physical abilities? Is it possible to influence fate?
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Answer: Not possible. Everyone will go through their own. And only your own way” (The Truth about Vanga, p. 11).
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Vanga herself did not realize that she was communicating with the world of fallen spirits. Nor did her many visitors understand this. What saves us from being seduced by fallen spirits is life of grace in the centuries-old experience of Christianity, the spiritual nerve of which is the sincere and daily fulfillment of the commandments of the Holy Gospel. This attitude teaches spiritual sobriety and protects from harmful charm. Let us refrain from ignorant, harmful desires and strivings for sensory visions, outside the order established by God!... Let us reverently submit to the establishment of God, who covered our souls with thick curtains and shrouds of bodies during our earthly wanderings, who separated us from the spirits created by them, screened and protected them from fallen spirits. We do not need a sensual vision of spirits to complete our earthly, difficult journey. For this we need another lamp, and it is given to us: The lamp of my feet is Your law, and the light of my paths (Psalm 119, 105). Those who travel under the constant shining of the lamp - the Law of God - will not be deceived either by their passions or by fallen spirits, as Scripture testifies(Saint Ignatius (Brianchaninov). A word on the sensual and spiritual vision of spirits).

15 years have passed since the death of the Bulgarian clairvoyant Vanga. One could ignore the excitement around this date in the secular media, but in the NTV program “Russian Sensations” Vanga is shown surrounded by the clergy during a christening. Moreover, during her lifetime, she used her own money to build a church in honor of Saint Petka in Rupite, where she lived. Many non-church people compare her with the blessed Matrona of Moscow. What is the fundamental difference between them and how does the Bulgarian Orthodox Church relate to Vanga?

Alexander Dvorkin, head of the department of sectology at PSTGU:

I already wrote in “Athos Stories” about Metropolitan Nathanael of Nevrokop (Vanga lived on the territory of the Nevrokop diocese), how shortly before Vanga’s death, messengers from her came to Vladyka and said that Vanga needed his advice and asked to come to her. A few days later, Metropolitan Nathanael arrived and entered Vanga’s room. In his hands he held a reliquary cross with a piece of the Holy Cross of the Lord. There were a lot of people in the room, Vanga was sitting in the back, saying something and couldn’t hear that another person had quietly entered the door, and she certainly couldn’t know who it was. Suddenly she interrupted and in a changed - low, hoarse - voice said with effort: “Someone came here. Let him throw THIS on the floor immediately!” "What is this""? – the stunned people around asked Vanga. And then she broke into a frantic cry: “THIS! He holds THIS in his hands! THIS is stopping me from speaking! Because of THIS I can't see anything! I don’t want THIS in my house!” - the old woman screamed, kicking her legs and swaying. Vladyka turned around, went out, got into the car and drove away.
Vanga was a sorceress and was in contact with dark forces. During her lifetime, she, like any person, could repent, and this is exactly what Metropolitan Nathanael hoped for when he responded to her request. But, alas, she did not repent, and, naturally, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church has a negative attitude towards her. The witch herself really wanted to show her connection with Orthodoxy, since in this way she hoped to attract new “clients”. For this purpose, she built a temple on the territory of her estate, but if you look closely, it can hardly be called Orthodox. Some external forms are respected, but the icons are terrible, the architecture is monstrous, everything is rude, clumsy, and in general everything is built around Vanga. It was supported by schismatic or openly sectarian pseudo-Orthodox groups. Anyone can dress up in a cassock, but that will not make him a priest.
Well, as for the fact that she was someone’s godmother, everyday Orthodoxy, in which only some external forms are observed, without connection with the content, and sometimes in spite of it, is even more widespread in Bulgaria than in Russia. In our country, too, sometimes unbaptized people become godparents - non-church parents invite their friends to be godparents, without even asking whether they are baptized. The same thing often happens in Bulgaria.
But I don’t understand what Vanga and Blessed Matrona of Moscow have in common. Blindness? So Homer was blind. And the Venetian Doge Enrico Dondolo saw nothing either. Nevertheless, he managed to lead the 4th Crusade to the walls of Constantinople and led the treacherous capture of the Byzantine capital, unprecedented robbery and desecration of its shrines. Vanga openly practiced witchcraft, talked about a special gift that appeared to her after a traumatic brain injury, and took money for the reception. It was a well-organized and well-established business, from which a lot of people profited - everyone around the Bulgarian sorceress. Blessed Matrona lay paralyzed, humbly carried her cross and prayed to God for the people who asked her about it.

Recorded by Leonid VINOGRADOV

Disputes about who the great prophetess Vanga was did not subside after her centenary. Some of her fans are seeking canonization. On the contrary, some church hierarchs consider her a witch. But, interestingly, even they recognize her gift. I had to be in Bulgaria, I talked with Vanga’s relatives and close acquaintances. They said that Vanga regularly went to church, received communion and confession, and sent donations to monasteries. She called herself a “great sinner.”
Time will judge. It is clear to me that she was a great personality; the mechanism of her gift has not yet been solved by scientists. I am posting my article about Vanga, which was published in Life in September. This is a complete option. Vanga’s photo was given to me by her niece Krasimira. In color - Vanga in the Rozhen Monastery in 1992. In black and white - Vanga with relatives at the church in the Rila Monastery in 1970.

"The Church declared Vanga a witch

The Bulgarian Metropolitan Nicholas called the great prophetess a witch, and her gift - devilish.

43-year-old Metropolitan Nicholas of Plovdiv, one of the most authoritative theologians, a graduate of the Moscow Theological Academy, in his archpastoral message to the believers, declared the world-famous prophetess a witch.

This was done in response to appeals from Vanga’s fellow countrymen and the bishop’s vicar in Petrich, Angel Kochev, to the Patriarchate with a request for the canonization of Vangelia Pandeva-Gushcherova.

During the life of the great prophetess, the Bulgarian church considered Vanga its faithful child. She regularly visited monasteries, made large donations to them, confessed, and received communion. Even the temple built by Vanga in Rupite, which the church considered non-canonical in form and paintings, was nevertheless consecrated during her lifetime, in 1994.

Vanga was also buried in a Christian manner - several priests performed the funeral service, and a cross was placed on the grave. Why is it now, 16 years after his death, that the church is waging a massive attack on Vanga? The fact is that the popularity of the prophetess did not melt away after her death, but grew, becoming overgrown with legends. And on the eve of the end of the world promised by the Mayan calendar in 2012, the veneration of the blind prophetess turns into hysteria. And Vanga’s foundation, created in Bulgaria during her lifetime, turned, according to the church, into an occult organization.

The attack on Vanga began in the year of her centenary. First, a book by Hieromonk Vissarion from the Zograf Monastery on Mount Athos was presented in Sofia. He called her loudly and sharply: “Vanga is a portrait of a modern witch.” In the Russian edition, the word “witch” was softened, replacing it with the softer “sorceress”. The book, written as a scientific study, was initially certified by the church as the personal opinion of a theologian.

The book caused a storm - Vanga is revered in Bulgaria, there are several hundred of her godchildren there, and there are tens of thousands of people healed by this woman or those whom she helped with advice.

I happened to be in Bulgaria, I met Vanga’s relatives, neighbors and friends. People come to her grave in Rupite as if to a saint - with their prayers and requests. They say that they are being fulfilled - Vanga’s admirers are keeping a chronicle of posthumous miracles. Recently, national television conducted a survey, according to the results of which Vanga was named among the most popular personalities. She is a Bulgarian brand. And suddenly a theologian from Athos declared her a witch! Indignant letters poured into the Patriarchate. People called Vanga a saint and asked to be canonized.

Metropolitan

The Church responded firmly and harshly - through the mouth of Metropolitan Nicholas of Plovdiv. He is considered a bishop close to the Bulgarian Patriarch Maxim; it is no coincidence that the archpastoral message of Bishop Nicholas regarding Vanga is placed in the section of the official documents of the patriarchate. It was no longer a “test balloon”, like Vissarion’s book, but a shot from a large-caliber gun. Here are excerpts from the message of Metropolitan Nicholas:

“With regret I must say that the so-called “Vanga phenomenon” is becoming more dangerous and alarming, because Vanga and her followers have always acted and continue to act under the guise of the church. Vanga, under the guise of a pious Orthodox Christian, blasphemed the church, calling church canons “TV shows”... Not a single prophet of God dared to summon the souls of the dead, this is pure witchcraft, and Vanga did this hundreds of times throughout her life.”

Metropolitan Nicholas, in his message, accused Vanga of “robbing people, taking money and gifts for her services, involving people in her occult activities, forcing them to sleep on sugar.” (Let me remind you that Vanga asked each visitor to bring her a piece of refined sugar, which was supposed to be kept under the pillow the day before - author)

Vanga, according to the Metropolitan, “did not humble herself before the church and its prelates, placing herself above the church.” The Metropolitan, referring to the Holy Scriptures, compares the seer with the pagans and idolaters who have not repented. He states that “people who consider Vanga their idol persist in their delusion and separate themselves from the church.”

Vladyka Nicholas harshly issues an ultimatum to his flock: “Either abandon Vanga as an enemy, or take her as a prophet and saint, abandoning the Church.”

The next step of the church in the fight against the phenomenon and cult of the great prophetess may be to excommunicate her from the church. The message of Metropolitan Nicholas and the work of Hieromonk Vissarion are very similar to the theological justification for the need for extreme measures.

Vissarion

Hieromonk Vissarion, who in his youth before taking orders was himself fond of occult teachings, investigated the Vanga phenomenon with the meticulousness of an Inquisition investigator. It seems that if there was an opportunity, he would interrogate the prophetess herself with passion. But you can’t raise Vanga from the grave, you can’t call him back from the other world, and Vissarion used the memories of people who knew Vanga closely, documentaries, and interview recordings. After analyzing the words and actions of the seer, the Athonite theologian came to the conclusion that she really had the gift of prophecy, but not from God.

It was not easy for me to work on this topic, to delve into this poison for eight months,” says Vissarion. - It is enough to look at the forces with which Vanga communicated to understand that they are dark. There is much evidence that evil spirits tormented Vanga. They forced her to sweep away cobwebs at night, then undress and put on her clothes again. When Vanga tried to resist, they pushed her down the stairs, breaking her leg. Vanga fell into a trance under the influence of spirits who used her body as a soulless thing and forced her to speak in someone else's voice. Fan of Vanga Velichka Angelova describes the moment when she growled like a dog and threatened others. In fact, Vanga is an unhappy woman, tormented by evil forces. According to scripture, sorcerers who were engaged in summoning the dead, like Vanga, have a place not with God, but in hellfire.

The theologian Vissarion compared in detail the treatment used by the holy fathers with the healing of Vanga.

Vanga had many magical elements. Vanga advised someone suffering from neurosis to slaughter a rooster, take out the heart and put it in a bottle of wine, then eat it and wash it down with wine. Elder Paisios said that magicians treat people possessed by demons in this way, and whose illnesses were not due to natural factors, but due to dark forces. Because of her connection with demons, Vanga could “help,” but the souls of physically healed people turned out to be connected with demonic influence.

According to Vissarion, in order for the fruits of holiness to manifest themselves, a long period of purification is necessary, but Vanga did not have it at all:

In her youth, when she became blind and began to predict, according to her words, St. John Chrysostom appeared before her, who said that she would become the first fortune teller. This is a tragicomic moment - John Chrysostom always spoke of sorcerers as servants of the evil one. And Vanga, spiritually ignorant, took that lying demonic vision at face value. And in 1941 she begins to speak in a strange voice, as if possessed by a demon. She receives predictions from communication with demonic forces. They sometimes tell the truth, but only in order to subsequently deceive those who trust them. That is why we should not turn to fortune tellers - even if they say something true, a person’s soul will still be defiled by demonic influence. John Chrysostom advises us to be very careful, to hate sorcerers who call themselves Christians. I proved that Vanga is a witch who is very far from holiness.

In Petrich, where Vanga’s house stands, she is still revered as a saint. On the anniversary of his death, a memorial service was served at Vanga’s grave in Rupite. Priest Angel Kochev, who took the initiative to canonize Vanga, believes that he expressed the heartfelt desire of many people in Bulgaria. Unlike Hieromonk Vissarion, the author of the book casting the prophetess into hell, Kochev knew Vanga personally; since 1972, he regularly conducted the ritual of blessing of oil in her house.

Vanga was a martyr, with great joy I would agree that she be canonized, because this is not only my personal desire, but also that of many people in Bulgaria,” Father Angel outlined his position. – This right is granted to the Holy Synod of our Church. One of the conditions for the canonization of a saint is miracles. They were carried out during Vanga’s lifetime; she even helped the hopelessly ill. Isn't this a resurrection, isn't it a miracle when you bring a person back to life? So, God grant that visible signs appear after her death on her grave, where thousands of people come for help. There were skeptics who said that miracles would end after death, but they continue.

Vanga’s niece Krasimira Stoyanova told me in Bulgaria that Vanga is a witch and her gift is not from God. “They hurt my aunt the most...

According to relatives and people who knew Vanga closely, she really often spoke about voices that dictated prophecies to her. The seer seemed to be just a mouthpiece. But whose?

“Vanga was chosen by Heaven,” says Krasimira Stoyanova. “My aunt was a believer and a virtuous, highly moral and modest woman. She observed all the canons of the Orthodox faith, prayed a lot, and joyfully visited churches and monasteries. And she always and everywhere called people to believe in God! As for the church ministers, they then applied double standards towards Vanga. They did not officially recognize her, but priests, even metropolitans, came to my aunt and asked about their personal affairs. And she always told them the truth, even the hard-hitting one. She scolded them for the fact that their feuds led the Bulgarian Orthodox Church to a schism. (Now she has reunited again - author)

In Vanga’s house in Rupite, icons hang everywhere. On the wall is her favorite image of Saint Petka. In Russia they call her Paraskeva. Vanga’s mother bore the name of this great martyr. And the church that Vanga built with her own money was also consecrated in honor of Saint Petka. This temple was the dream of her whole life.

“In the fall of 1991, Vanga began to build a church at her own expense,” recalls Krasimira Stoyanova. “She chose the location and laid the foundation. But the people from the Vanga Foundation, who were then hovering around my aunt, ordered the temple to be moved to another place. They built a structure that the locals called the “Masonic Temple.” The countrymen did not destroy it only out of respect for Vanga - they brought their icons there so that at least something would be according to the canons. I regard this temple as a mockery of Aunt Vanga’s dream. She wanted to build a church for people, but a real one...

Metropolitan Nathanael of Nevrokop, who knew Vanga closely (it was he who consecrated the altar in the church built in Rupite), came to Vanga’s house shortly before her death. He quietly entered the patient’s room with a reliquary, in which there was a particle of the Holy Cross. There were a lot of people around, blind Vanga suddenly spoke in a low, hoarse voice: “Someone came here. Let him throw it on the floor immediately! He's holding it in his hands! It's stopping me from speaking! Because of this, I can’t see anything!” Vladyka left without saying a single bad word to Vanga. And now, in response to questions about her, he answers:

Pray for her soul!

The 97-year-old Patriarch of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, Maxim, refrains from participating in the theological debate about Vanga. His position is wise: “Time will judge!”

Russian Orthodox Church about Vanga

People often ask: “How does the Russian Orthodox Church relate to Vanga? How does her gift explain?

Priest Andrei Sokolov, clergyman of the Podolsk Annunciation Church, answers the question.

“The Holy Scripture strictly forbids a believer to turn to fortune-tellers and soothsayers of any kind, even if they explain their skill by the action of Divine grace. Predicting the future, as one of the types of magic, is an invasion into the realm of God's Providence, an attempt to question the omnipotence of the Creator and limit the freedom of human will. The Bible defines actions of this kind as a grave sin: “When you enter into the land that the Lord your God is giving you, then do not learn to do the abominations that these nations have done: you shall not have anyone among you who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or a soothsayer, fortuneteller, soothsayer, sorcerer, charmer, conjurer of spirits, magician and questioner of the dead; For everyone who does this is an abomination to the Lord, and for these abominations the Lord your God drives them out from before you” (Deut. 18:9-12).

The Apostle Paul warns: “Satan himself disguises himself as an angel of light, and therefore it is not a great thing if his servants also disguise themselves as ministers of righteousness; but their end will be according to their works” (2 Cor. 11:14-15). Demons do not risk appearing before a person in their real form, because they are disgusting, so they try to disguise themselves with imaginary piety and false virtue.

At the same time, the Orthodox Church does not deny that some prophecies uttered by such soothsayers can come true. But this does not happen because the Lord reveals His will to them, but solely due to the fact that demons, seeking to morally disorient the person who has trusted them, force him to act in accordance with their forecast.

The Bulgarian prophetess Vanga, who became famous throughout the world through the efforts of journalists who were unable to correctly determine the spiritual nature of her skill, called herself an Orthodox person and spoke a lot about the gracious power of the Orthodox faith. However, its activities do not in any way correspond to the way of church life and the moral values ​​of Christianity...

...A person, limited by a physical body, cannot cognize the other world with his own strength. The Holy Scriptures and the Holy Fathers speak of two sources of our knowledge of the supersensible world: the revealed and the demonic. There is no third. Who gave Vanga information about the invisible world? Where did this amazing awareness come from? This answer can be found in the book of Vanga’s niece: “Question: Do you talk to spirits? - Answer: A lot come and everyone is different. I understand those who come and are constantly nearby” (The Truth about Vanga - M., 1999, p. 187.)

The niece recalls: “I was 16 years old when Vanga spoke to me one day in our house in Petrich. Only it was not her voice, and she herself was not herself - it was some other person who spoke through her lips. The words I heard had nothing to do with what we had talked about before. It was as if some other person had intervened in our conversation. The voice said: “Here, we see you...”, and then I was told in detail about everything that I had done during the day up to that moment. I was simply petrified with horror. We were alone in the room. Soon after this, Vanga sighed and said: “Oh, my strength has let me go,” and, as if nothing had happened, she returned to the previous conversation again... The demons, who are the source of Vanga’s phenomenal awareness of the past and present of their many visitors, come to her under the guise of their deceased relatives. Vanga herself admits: “When a person stands in front of me, all his deceased loved ones gather around him. They ask me questions themselves and willingly answer mine. What I hear from them is what I pass on to the living” (The Truth about Vanga, p. 99.).

The appearance of fallen spirits under the guise of dead people has been known since ancient biblical times. The Word of God strongly prohibits such communication: Do not turn to those who call forth the dead (Lev. 19:31).

K. Stoyanova reports various details about how Vanga communicated with the other world. And here we see typical mediumistic experiences that have been known for many centuries. “Only sometimes we could not understand why our aunt turns pale, why she suddenly feels bad and suddenly a voice comes from her lips, striking us with its strength, unusual timbre, words and expressions that are not in Vanga’s usual dictionary” (Vanga is clairvoyant and healing , p. 11.).

And another testimony: “And suddenly she spoke to me in an unfamiliar voice, which sent shivers down my spine. She literally said the following: “I am the soul of Joan of Arc. I have come from afar and am heading to Angola. There is now blood flowing profusely, and I must help establish peace there”... From Vanga’s experiences and her statements it is clear that she was close to such theosophists as E. Blavatsky and N. Roerich. In K. Stoyanova’s story about the arrival of the writer Leonid Leonov, there is the following detail: “Vanga was inspired then, and she talked about events that were fateful for his country. She made contact with a long-dead clairvoyant of Russian origin, Helena Blavatsky. We really heard amazing things” (p. 191). Theosophy of E. Blavatsky (her Buddhist name is Radda-bai) is hostile to Christianity. This fact is also very significant. When Svyatoslav Roerich visited Vanga, she told him: “Your father was not just an artist, but also an inspired prophet. All his paintings are insights, predictions. They are encrypted, but an attentive and sensitive heart will tell the viewer the code” (p. 30)…

Fortune telling using a magic crystal has been known since ancient times. In modern times, Cagliostro was engaged in prediction using a magic crystal. For Vanga, this was one of the main ways to find out secrets about the person who came. “Sugar is also one of the secrets of Vangin’s gift, since it requires everyone who visits her to bring a piece of sugar that has been in his house for at least a few days. When the visitor enters, she takes this piece. He holds it in his hands, feels it and begins to guess” (p. 189). Sugar was a type of crystal available to everyone that anyone could bring, keeping it under their pillow for 2-3 days.

All the above facts and evidence show that Vanga’s “phenomenon” completely fits into the classical framework of experiences of communication with fallen spirits. The inhabitants of the other world revealed to Vanga the present and past of people. The future, as the holy fathers teach, is unknown to demons. Demons do not know the future, known to the One God and those intelligent His creatures to whom God was pleased to reveal the future; but just as smart and experienced people foresee and predict events that are about to happen from events that have happened or are happening, so cunning, experienced crafty spirits can sometimes assume with certainty and predict the future. They are often wrong; very often they lie and with unclear messages lead to bewilderment and doubt. Sometimes they can foretell an event that is already intended in the world of spirits, but has not yet been fulfilled among people (St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov). A word on the sensory and spiritual vision of spirits). Therefore, Vanga’s predictions are not only vague, but also fantastic...

Vanga herself did not realize that she was communicating with the world of fallen spirits. Nor did her many visitors understand this. What saves us from being seduced by fallen spirits is life of grace in the centuries-old experience of Christianity, the spiritual nerve of which is the sincere and daily fulfillment of the commandments of the Holy Gospel. This attitude teaches spiritual sobriety and protects from harmful charm. Let us refrain from ignorant, harmful desires and strivings for sensory visions, outside the order established by God!.. Let us reverently submit to the establishment of God, who covered our souls with thick curtains and shrouds of bodies during our earthly wanderings, who separated us from the spirits of creation, who obscured and protected us with them. from fallen spirits. We don’t need a sensual vision of spirits to complete our earthly, arduous journey!..”

However, the years go by. The Bulgarian church has finally reconciled with Vanga, with her gift; Bulgarian priests no longer call Vanga “the witch from Rulite.” I would like to hope and believe that the Russian church will one day recognize Vanga’s gift and will not judge her so categorically.