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What is faith?
“What is faith? - asks the holy righteous John of Kronstadt. “This is confidence in spiritual truth, in Being, or in God, in the existence of the spiritual world with its properties, just as we are confident in the existence of the material world and its accessories.” 1
A list of references is provided at the end of the book.
Saint Basil the Great teaches that “faith is undoubted consent to what is heard with confirmation of the truth of what is preached, by the grace of God.”
According to the definition of Saint Apostle Paul, faith is the hope of things unseen(Heb. 11:1). Hopeful notice - recognition that there certainly was and will be One in whom we trust; here is an internal confirmation, a secret notification, an undoubted confidence that this is so. Revelation of unseen things - although we do not see it, although it is not revealed in external experience, the invisible is revealed through internal experience - the experience of faith, the experience of prayer.
Thus, faith in God is based not on purely rational principles, not on evidence taken from reason or obtained from the experience of our external senses, but on an internal, higher conviction that has a moral basis.
Faith in God comes from the innermost recesses of the human soul and constitutes the core of the human personality. It is much broader than thought, more complex than a separate feeling, for it contains feelings of love for God, fear of God, reverence, humility before the greatness and wisdom of God; Thanks to faith and love for God, a Christian completely surrenders himself to the will of God, entrusts his life to the all-good Divine Providence. Faith is the abiding of the mind in Divine truths, the striving of the mind and heart towards God, the knowledge of God’s love. Faith opens access to the wealth of Divine treasures of life and eternity. All the holy fathers agree on this. Thus, the Monk Isaac the Syrian says: “By faith we know the power and wisdom of God, and the Providence, and the glory of God.” And St. John Chrysostom writes: “We are called faithful not only because we believe, but also because God entrusted us with secrets that even the Angels did not know before us.”
And Saint Gregory the Theologian testifies: “Faith is the free conviction of the soul in what is proclaimed from God.” In the Holy Apostle Paul we find on this matter: By faith we have access to grace(Rom. 5:2). Saint Theodore of Edessa states that “faith gives birth to the fear of God; the fear of God teaches us to keep the commandments; in keeping the commandments consists active virtue, which is the beginning of contemplation. The fruit of all this is dispassion; Through dispassion, love is established in us, and the beloved disciple of Christ speaks about love: God is loved, and abided, in love, abides in God, and God abides in him(1 John 4:16).”
The Apostle Peter calls faith most precious faith, and this is in accordance with the patristic statement that faith is a drawer, drawing from the Divine source, a drawer for drawing living water. Whoever believes in Me, out of his belly will flow rivers of living water - said the Lord (John 7:38). Living water is the grace of God. The prophet Isaiah prophesied about this living water, which those who believe in the Redeemer of the world will receive, even before the incarnation of the Son of God: You who are thirsty, come all of you to the waters, and in joy you will draw water from the fountains of salvation.(Isa. 55, 1; 12, 3).
In a conversation with a Samaritan woman, the Savior testified that these words of the ancient prophet were fulfilled, that “water from the source of salvation” is the grace of God, for He Himself is the Source of salvation. Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life(John 4:14). Just as natural water quenches bodily thirst, refreshes and strengthens us, so the grace of the Holy Spirit, given to believers in Christ, quenches the thirst for truth, strengthens the will for all good, sanctifies a person and brings the peace of Christ into the hearts.
In Christ is the fullness of grace, and it is given to everyone through faith in Him, according to His true promise to remain with believers all the days until the end of the age. Living water from sources of grace quenches spiritual thirst. That is why the Church prays to God to give the waters of salvation to drink from every soul thirsting for piety and calls out to everyone: “Come and draw the water of immortality.”
But even this is not enough. The water of grace of the Holy Spirit, given through Christ to believers, not only quenches their spiritual thirst, but through them it spreads its saving effect to others. Filling the entire being of true believers, it, like an unstoppable river, breaks through them and makes its way to the souls of other people - through some it quenches the spiritual thirst of others. Who believes in Me(and grace attracts by faith), says Christ, from the one as the Scripture says, from the womb(from the heart) rivers of living water will flow, that is, the waters of grace.
Where will these rivers of living water flow? On the souls of other people to quench spiritual thirst. The fulfillment of this promise is seen in the spirit-bearing apostles, who received the abundant gifts of the grace of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost and watered the entire universe with its life-giving streams; the fulfillment of the same promise - and in the holy confessors and martyrs, who, by the grace of patience and joy, among manifold and fierce torments, defeated the tormentors and attracted thousands of pagans to Christ, so that many of them, coming to the place of torment of Christ's servants as if for a spectacle, immediately declared themselves as Christians and from the ranks of spectators joined the ranks of martyrs; the fulfillment of the same promise is in the reverend men and women, who, by the grace of an equal-angelic life, aroused in many repentance of sins and turned to the path of truth and righteousness those who had until then been mired in the abyss of wickedness.
So when a person drinks living water the grace that Christ gives him becomes a source reaching from this world to the next. If a person with faith accepts Christ into himself with the fullness of His grace and truth, then Christ will be in him the true beginning of life; man is already in communion with God, and Christ lives in him (see: Gal. 2:20). All the good that he then does comes from this beginning, like a river from its source, and this good leads him to eternal life.
According to Saint Ignatius (Brianchaninov), “faith is a natural property of the human soul, planted in it by the merciful God at its creation.” Saint Theophan the Recluse speaks of the “principles of faith” innate to man. “The Lord, who holds all things in His right hand, also holds every human soul. And the soul responds to this by confessing that there is a God, on Whom both everything and itself depend in being. This confession can be called an innate feeling of God, implanted in us by the Creator... Natural faith, invested in the nature of the human soul by the Creator, is, as it were, the forerunner of faith in Christ the Savior. He has God as his father who believes with his heart in His providential care for himself, believing that everything is from Him in the beginning, in continuation, and in the end. This is what is called natural faith. Natural faith leads directly to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. How does this happen?
And he continues: “Natural faith confesses not only the existence of God, but also the truth that everything comes from Him and is sustained by Him, confesses its complete dependence on Him and imposes an obligation to please Him by fulfilling the demands of conscience in the hope of His favor and eternal reward. . The feeling of dependence on God excites one to please God; conscience indicates a way to satisfy its demands and for this promises God’s favor and eternal peace. When the conscience is satisfied, then a deep and sweet peace abides in it, but when the conscience is disturbed, then the feeling of dependence strikes with the fear of disfavour and rejection from above and takes away the hope of eternal peace. And since no one is able to keep his conscience so pure that it does not disturb, then none of those who have a living natural faith rest peacefully on their confession. In this case, everyone naturally seeks means to appease God. But you can't fool your conscience. Just as taste distinguishes food, so does it distinguish truth.”
Therefore, if a seeker hears a sermon about Christ the Savior, he joyfully accepts it and cleaves with all his soul to the Redeemer. The evidence of faith in the existence of God is found in man himself. And this is from God, says the saint, “who, during the creation of man, wished to put into him a natural feeling of God. It is the internal law inscribed by the Creator on the tablets of the human heart that immutably convinces of the existence of God. The internal law, given to us by God, shows us good and evil and rewards us for the good done with spiritual joy and peace, and punishes evil with internal torment, which serves as obvious proof of the infinite wisdom of our Creator, Who, although he gave us free will, at the same time instilled There is, as it were, a kind of leader within us who, with inner suggestions and sensations, encourages us to fulfill the will of God.”
However, natural faith seeks God and the Savior and finds Him in the Lord Jesus Christ only under certain conditions. The holy fathers say this about what these conditions are: the only way to know God (that is, to acquire faith) is kindness. This means that only a good life, moving away from sins and iniquities, can ignite in a person a living and saving faith in God. Wisdom will not enter the wicked soul and will not dwell in a body enslaved to sin, for the Holy Spirit of wisdom will move away from wickedness and shy away from foolish speculations, and will be ashamed of the approaching unrighteousness(Prem. 1, 4–5). All the holy fathers agree with this. Thus, Saint Ignatius (Brianchaninov), when asked in whom faith dwells, answers: “Only that soul is capable of such faith that has rejected sin and has directed all its will and strength towards Divine good.”
In order to comprehend the truth, it is necessary to lead a chaste, pure life. If the soul is mired in sins, then it will not be able to correctly reflect the bright, pure, revealed truths. Heresies, unbelief and atheism are born in unclean and vicious souls.
A person’s persistence in sins and devotion to evil destroys the love for God inherent in him and makes the soul dead to the perception of Divine grace - the grace of faith. “Faith appears in a person from the fulfillment of the Gospel commandments, grows as they are fulfilled, withers and is destroyed as they are neglected” (St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov)).
Without preliminary cleansing from sins, it is impossible to bear the fruit of good deeds and achieve faith. A person is “damaged by sin” and can only be healed by repentance. The Holy Scriptures directly say: He who has faith and is baptized will be saved, but he who does not have faith will be condemned(Mark 16:16). And the first commandment given by Christ the Savior to humanity is the commandment of repentance: Repent, the Kingdom of Heaven is approaching(Matt. 4:17).
Without repentance it is impossible to begin a virtuous life, and repentance inextricably accompanies faith in Christ. “It is impossible,” says St. Basil the Great, “for anyone to devote himself to a virtuous life without God’s forgiveness. Therefore, the Steward of our life wants the one who lived in sins to make a certain beginning, as if being renewed in life through repentance... He who has weakness within himself, but also finds faith in himself, is guided by his own faith through repentance to salvation.”
But faith is not only born, but also takes root and grows in us from the fulfillment of God’s commandments, from the constant striving for good. To be confirmed in the faith, it is necessary to resort to the active implementation of the institutions of Christ. As St. John Chrysostom says, “there is no benefit from sound faith in a corrupt life.” The same saint explains: “If we want to have firm faith, then we must lead a pure life, which disposes the Spirit to dwell in us and maintain the strength of faith. It is impossible, truly impossible, for someone who leads an unclean life not to waver in faith... Even though we have been in faith for at least a thousand years, we are still infants and remain unsteady in faith if we do not lead a life consistent with it.”
Deep, living and true faith is impossible without constant mental communication with God. Only a mind that is in conversation with the Lord can be established, as if on a rock, on true faith in Him. The “Frank Stories of a Wanderer to His Spiritual Father” describes the following case: a man who endured the hard labors of asceticism, but at the same time was not confirmed in his mind in God, lost faith in the truths of Orthodoxy. This man said about himself that when he heard about the resurrection of the dead, about the Last Judgment and about the reward thereof, then, fearing his wicked life, he abandoned his previous sinful activities and went to escape into the forest, into solitude.
“This is how I’ve been living for more than ten years, I eat only once a day, and then only bread and water, every night I get up with the first roosters and bow to the ground until daylight; When I pray, I light seven candles in front of the images. During the day I wear two pounds of chains on my naked body. At first I was more willing to live this way, but in the end persistent thoughts began to attack me. Can you forgive your sins, but life is hard? Have I heard the truth about the Last Judgment? How can a person be resurrected? And who knows whether there will be hell or not? And so on earth you live in toil and cannot be consoled by anything, and there will be nothing in the next world, so what of this? Wouldn't it be better to at least have a more fun life on earth? These thoughts struggle with me, and I wonder if I should return to my old life?”
To this, the godly pilgrim, who acquired the unceasing Jesus Prayer, answered the doubter: “The dark world is allowed to have access to everyone. We must become as wise as possible and strengthen ourselves against the enemy of the soul with the word of God.” To help the hesitant and support his faith, the wanderer quoted the words of the holy fathers from the Philokalia, who said: abstinence from sins, fear for the sake of torment, is not successful and fruitless, and it is impossible for the soul to free itself from mental sins by anything other than keeping the mind and purity of heart . All this is acquired through inner prayer. No matter how much you exhaust yourself, no matter what physical labors and feats you go through, but if you do not always have God in your mind and the unceasing Jesus Prayer in your heart, then you will never calm down from your thoughts and will always be inclined to sin and unbelief.
“Begin to say the Jesus Prayer unceasingly,” the wanderer advised the despondent ascetic, “and godless thoughts will not come to you, then faith and love for Jesus Christ will be revealed to you and you will know how the dead will be resurrected, and the Last Judgment will appear to you as it truly will be.” . And in your heart there will be such lightness and joy from prayer that you will no longer be bored and embarrassed by your saving life.”
Indeed, can faith be undoubted, unshakable, if it is not experimentally convinced of the existence of the One in Whom it believes? And such experience only comes from the incessant cry of the human spirit to the One who created it, and then the answer of the Lord is heard in the soul, and a living feeling of the presence of God is born, and the faith of such a soul becomes a contemplative faith, becomes, as it were, knowledge of Him Whom it seeks.
About this knowledge of God with the heart, Saint Ignatius (Brianchaninov) writes this way: “The soul changes when a spiritual sensation opens in it, through which the presence of God is felt and the Invisible is made Visible... When practicing the Jesus Prayer in due time, the grace of God reveals its tangible presence and action . Then there is a feeling of the presence of God... With some success comes a feeling of silence, humility, love for God and neighbors - without distinction between good and evil... When faith acts, then Heaven is opened, and the Son is seen at the right hand of the Father, seated everywhere in the Divine and fulfilling everything, indescribable "
The Monk Isaac the Syrian says: “Whoever is taught continually in God and who turns the vision of his mind inward, he sees the dawn of the Spirit within himself, he sees the Master in the inner cell of his heart. He who purifies his heart with the unceasing memory of God will behold the Lord with the eyes of the mind at every hour... Without unceasing prayer it is impossible to approach God... There is knowledge that precedes faith (natural), and there is knowledge generated by faith (spiritual)... Natural knowledge distinguishes good from evil. This faith produces fear in us, and fear compels us to repentance and action. This is how a person is given spiritual knowledge, or a sense of mysteries, which gives rise to the faith of true contemplation. Spiritual knowledge is a sense of the unseen. And when someone senses this invisible, then in his sensation another faith is born, not contrary to the first faith, but confirming that faith. They call it contemplative faith. Until then there was hearing, but now there is contemplation; contemplation is more certain than hearing.”
To these statements, Saint Ignatius (Brianchaninov) adds: “Spiritual intelligence consists in the knowledge of the Truth by faith. First, the knowledge of faith is acquired; faith, having been assimilated by a Christian, changes his mind by revealing to him the Truth, which is Christ... Those who believe in God enter into assimilation of Him and, having been lifted up by grace above all that is temporary, receive mysterious, experiential knowledge about Him.”
True faith does not consist only in our confessing its truths. It consists in the living conviction of our heart, which directs our thoughts, our feelings, our desires, and is the guiding force of our entire earthly life. It is necessary for faith to shine in the good deeds of our lives, for the light of faith to shine before people, as the Lord commands us: So let your light shine before people, so that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.(Matt. 5:16).
“What is the use of being pious by faith and ungodly by life? That is, what is the benefit of believing rightly and living lawlessly? What good is faith to the wicked if he has none of the godly deeds and none of the virtues? He who does not live according to the law of God does not have intelligent light in himself, does not have life in himself...” (prior to Simeon the New Theologian). Really, faith without works is dead(James 2:20).
Such faith is not faith, for demons believe and tremble(James 2:19) - they undoubtedly know that there is God, but they do not love God, but tremble from the consciousness of their guilt before God, from the fact that they constantly resist all God’s decrees, they tremble from the expectation of condemnation to fiery Gehenna for their evil deeds. Only saving faith working through love(Gal. 5:6) is faith, which is always active and living in love for Christ, for faith without love is ineffective.
“Faith and good works are two things that are inextricably linked. Without faith, no one can do truly good deeds and please God, because for the sake of faith the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ comes to those who believe in Him. As faith is given, grace is also given. He who has great faith is given great grace; Those who have little faith have little grace. But faith alone will not bring any benefit to those who believe without good works. The manifestation of faith is the power that comes from faith. The manifestation of power is the zealous doing of God’s commandments” (St. Simeon the New Theologian).
From true, living faith grows a whole tree of godly life. Such faith saves us, for it makes us heirs of eternal life. True faith leads us to the Kingdom of Heaven, illuminating every step of our lives, teaching us how to be pleasing to God - virtuous, merciful, meek, forgiving of offenses.
The faith of Christ, indwelling the hearts of people, changes them, transforms them, sanctifies them, turning them from children of wrath into children of God, as the Apostle Paul says: And you, dead in your trespasses and sins, in whom you once lived according to carnal lusts, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and thoughts, and were by nature children of wrath, God, out of His great love, quickened you with Christ, and raised you up with Him, and seated in heaven in Christ Jesus. By grace you are saved through faith(Eph. 2:1-8). For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus(Gal. 3:26).
The Christian faith is a special sacrament, thanks to which all the powers of the soul, mind, heart and will are sanctified. The effective power of faith is capable of dominating the entire mental life; being the beginning of everything, it revives, invigorates, guides a person’s entire life, striving and directing him to the knowledge of God, to union with Him. And this is the ultimate goal of human existence on earth, for the sake of which he was created by the all-good Creator. The main intention of God in the creation of man was that, just as the Angels serve Him in the Heavenly invisible, spiritual Kingdom, so man would serve Him in the earthly visible paradise and through this service would move into the rank of angels, into their spiritual service, to the very Throne of God , to perfect blissful union with Him. All external things were created for man, and man himself was wisely created and magnificently adorned by the omnipotent Word of God for the One God, for the one service to Him. “For,” says Saint Gregory the Theologian, “it was necessary that the worship of God should not be limited to the Heavenly Powers alone, but there should also be some worshipers on earth, and everything would be filled with the glory of God.”
Man's first purpose is the glory of God. Man is called to remain faithful to his union with God, to strive with his soul towards Him, to know his Creator, to glorify Him, to rejoice in unity with Him, to live in Him. I will fulfill the art of reason,- says the wise son of Sirach about God’s gifts to people. – He has placed His eye on their hearts, to show them the majesty of His deeds, so that they may praise the name of His holiness and let them know the majesty of His deeds.(Sir. 17, 6–8). For if all creations are called according to their ability to glorify the Creator (see: Ps. 148), then, of course, man, as the crown of creation, is appointed to be a conscious, intelligent, constant, most perfect instrument of the glory of God on earth.
Opening a book to read - holy gospel, - remember that she will decide your eternal fate. We will be judged by it and, depending on how we were here on earth in relation to it, we will receive either eternal bliss or eternal punishment. Do not be content with one fruitless reading of the Gospel; try to fulfill his commandments, read his deeds. This is the book of life, and one must read it with life.
When reading, observe moderation. Moderation maintains a constant desire to read, and satiety with reading produces aversion from it.
The Spirit spoke the Scriptures, and only the Spirit can interpret them. Inspired men, prophets and apostles wrote it; God-inspired men, the Holy Fathers, interpreted it. Therefore, anyone who wants to acquire true knowledge of the Holy Scriptures needs to read the Holy Fathers.
Many, all of them, who madly and arrogantly rejected the Holy Fathers, who approached the Gospel directly, with blind audacity, with an unclean mind and heart, fell into disastrous error. The Gospel rejected them: it admits only the humble...
The books of the Holy Fathers, as one of them put it, are like a mirror: looking at them carefully and often, the soul can see all its shortcomings. Saint Ignatius (Brianchaninov)
Reading only then will bring the desired benefits...
... when what you read will, to the best of your ability and ability, enter into life, become the rule of life, and not simple, bare, soulless and cold knowledge. What good can it be that a person knows that he needs to pray - and does not pray; knows that it is necessary to forgive insults - and does not forgive; knows that he needs to fast - and does not fast; you need to endure - and you don’t, etc. Such knowledge, according to the word of the Gospel, will even condemn a person. Therefore, you need to read with attention and try to live in the spirit of what you read. Of course, we cannot immediately become the executor of everything that is written - we need gradualism.
It is best, if possible, to receive the blessing of your spiritual father for each reading. In the absence of such an opportunity, you need to receive at least a general blessing on the order and choice of books to read.
The elders advise reading and re-reading the works of the Holy Fathers... There is no limit to spiritual growth, so rereading is of great importance. It is better to reread a small number of books with reverence and attention than to read a lot quickly. Venerable Nikon of Optina
Holy Fathers about reading. Reading the Holy Scriptures.
Constant spiritual singing and reading of Scripture is the food of the soul, this is its decoration, this is its protection. On the contrary, not listening to Scripture is hunger and destruction for the soul. If you don’t understand something, then accept it by simple faith; for God Himself said it. Saint John Chrysostom
When you read, read with diligence and diligence; dwell with great attention on each verse and just try to turn over the pages, but if necessary, do not be lazy and read the verse twice, three times, or several times in order to understand its power. And when you sit down to read or listen to someone reading, first pray to God, saying: “Lord Jesus Christ! Open the ears and eyes of my heart, so that I may hear Your words and understand them, and do Your will; because I am a stranger on earth; Hide not Thy commandments from me, O Lord, but open my eyes, and I will understand the wonders revealed by Thy law (Ps. 119:18-19). For I trust in You, my God, that You may enlighten my heart.” Venerable Ephraim the Syrian
The humble and spiritually active, reading the Divine Scripture, will relate everything to himself, and not to another. Venerable Mark the Ascetic
When reading spiritual books, apply what is written in them more to yourself than to others, otherwise, instead of applying a band-aid to your ulcers, you are applying harmful poison. Read not for the sake of curiosity, but for learning piety and knowledge of your weakness, and from this come to humility.
Read books with humility, and the Lord will enlighten your hearts.
Venerable Macarius of Optina
First pray to God to direct your mind to understand the Scripture. What is clear, try to do it, but what is not clear, skip it, as the Holy Fathers advise. The Holy Scriptures must be read not for knowledge, but in order to save one’s soul. And the study of the incomprehensible belongs to pride.
The Holy Fathers advise reading the Holy Gospel daily; If you are too lazy, read at least one of them. Read not so that you just read it, but inwardly pray to the Lord to open the eyes of your heart to understand the power of the holy gospel of Christ; read carefully, exactly according to the warehouses. You will experience the spiritual power that comes from such reading.
Schema-abbot Ioann (Alekseev)
If you only sharpen your mind from books, but do not correct your will, then from reading a book you will become even more evil than before, since the most evil are learned and intelligent fools, rather than simple ignoramuses.
Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk
Holy Fathers on reading spiritual books
St. Ignatiy Brianchaninov
“Try to read the books of the holy fathers that correspond to your way of life, so that you can not only admire and enjoy reading the patristic writings, but so that you can apply them to the work itself. A Christian living in the middle of the world must read the works of the great saints who wrote for the people, teaching Christian virtues for those who spend their lives among material pursuits. Another reading is for cenobitic monks: they should read the holy fathers who wrote instructions for this kind of life. And another reading for the silent and hermit! The study of virtues that do not correspond to the way of life produces daydreaming and leads a person into a false state. Practicing virtues that do not correspond to the way of life makes life fruitless. And life is exhausted in vain, and virtues disappear: the soul cannot keep them with itself for a long time, it must soon leave them, because they are beyond its power. Such exercise in lofty virtues, which exceeds one’s strength and ability, often damages the soul beyond healing, upsets it for a long time, sometimes for the rest of one’s life, and makes it incapable of deeds of piety. The Lord commanded “new wine,” i.e. sublime virtues and “pouring new wineskins,” i.e. to provide to ascetics, already matured in pious deeds, renewed and enlightened by grace. He forbade pouring new wine into old wineskins, and mending an old robe with a new patch. Do not think that a sublime feat for which your soul is not yet ripe will help you! No! He will upset you more: you will have to leave him, and despondency, hopelessness, gloom, and bitterness will appear in your soul. In such a disposition, you will allow yourself to make greater mistakes, greater violations of the law of God than you fell into before. “They don’t put a new patch on an old robe, because this will only make the hole bigger.” For monks in general, and for Christians living in the middle of the world, the most useful reading is the New Testament, especially the Gospel. But it must be read with humility, not allowing oneself to make one’s own interpretations, but being guided by the interpretation of the Church.”
“When reading the Gospel, do not seek pleasure, do not seek delight, do not seek brilliant thoughts: seek to see the infallibly holy Truth.
…Read the Gospel with extreme reverence and attention. Do not consider anything in it unimportant or unworthy of consideration. Every iota of it emits a ray of life. Neglect of life is death.
...Try to assimilate the Gospel to your mind and heart, so that your mind, so to speak, floats in it, lives in it: then your activity will conveniently become evangelical. This can be achieved by constant reverent reading and study of the Gospel.
...Do not dare to interpret the Gospel and other books of Holy Scripture yourself. Scripture was spoken by the holy Prophets and Apostles, not spoken arbitrarily, but by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (2 Pet. 1:21). How could it not be crazy to interpret it arbitrarily?
The Holy Spirit, who spoke the Word of God through the Prophets and Apostles, interpreted it through the Holy Fathers. Both the Word of God and its interpretation are the gift of the Holy Spirit. This is the only interpretation accepted by the Holy Orthodox Church! Only this one interpretation is accepted by her true children!
Whoever explains the Gospel and all Scripture arbitrarily: thereby rejects the interpretation of it by the holy fathers, the Holy Spirit. Who rejects the interpretation of Scripture by the Holy Spirit; he, without any doubt, rejects the Holy Scripture itself.
And the word of God, the word of salvation, comes to the bold interpreters of it as a stink of death, as a two-edged sword, with which they pierce themselves into eternal destruction (2 Pet. 3:16. 2 Cor. 2:15, 16). With it Arius, Nestorius, Eutyches and other heretics, who fell into blasphemy through an arbitrary and impudent interpretation of Scripture, killed themselves forever.”
“On whom will I look but to him who is meek and silent and trembles at My words” (Is. 66:2), says the Lord. Be this way regarding the Gospel and the Lord present in it.
Leave your sinful life, leave earthly passions and pleasures, renounce your soul, then the Gospel will become accessible and understandable to you.
... For one who loves his soul, for one who does not dare to self-sacrifice, the Gospel is closed: he reads the letter; but the word of life, like the Spirit, remains for him under an impenetrable veil.”
“Do not consider reading the Gospel alone sufficient for yourself, without reading the Holy Fathers! This is a proud, dangerous thought. It is better to let the holy fathers lead you to the Gospel, like their beloved child, who has received preliminary upbringing and education through their writings.
Many, all of them, who madly and arrogantly rejected the holy fathers, who approached the Gospel directly, with blind audacity, with an unclean mind and heart, fell into a disastrous error. The Gospel rejected them: it only admits the humble.”
The Apostle Peter says:
“No prophecy in Scripture can be resolved by itself. For prophecy was never made by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Pet. 1:20-21).
Canon 19 of the Sixth Ecumenical Council
The heads of the churches must, on all days, especially on Sundays, teach the entire clergy and people the words of piety, choosing from the Divine Scripture the understanding and reasoning of truth, and without transgressing the already established limits and traditions of the God-bearing fathers: and if the word of Scripture is examined, then Otherwise, let them explain it, unless they set it out as the luminaries and teachers of the church in their writings, and let them be more satisfied with these than with composing their own words, so that, if they lack skill in this, they do not deviate from what is proper. For, through the teaching of the above-mentioned fathers, people, receiving knowledge of what is good and worthy of election, and of what is unprofitable and worthy of disgust, correct their lives for the better, and do not suffer from the disease of ignorance, but by listening to the teaching, they encourage themselves to move away from evil, and, through fear threatening punishments, work out their salvation.
Bishop Nikodim (Milos) gives an interpretation of this Rule of the Church:
This rule has three requirements in mind: 1) that bishops, heads of churches, teach the clergy entrusted to them, i.e. they would preach constantly, especially on Sundays; 2) so that the sermon is based on Holy Scripture, and 3) so that the preacher in his sermons does not explain Holy Scripture differently than how the luminaries of the church, the saints, interpreted it in their writings. fathers.
…The second point follows from the very subject of the teaching that bishops are to preach. Holy Scripture is the word of God, revealing the will of God to people, and bishops are called upon in the first place to teach people to fulfill the will of God as the word of God requires. From this “it follows undeniably that we are the word of God, i.e. The books of the Old and New Testaments were the source, foundation and perfect rule of both the holy faith and good legal deeds. Why should we test the word of God (John 5:39; Matt. 13:44-46; 1 Tim. 6:3-4; Acts 17:11; Psalm 119:2), to draw Divine truths from it, and to teach the people (Deut. 6:6-7; Ezek. 2:7; 3:17), and to strengthen our word with the word of God.” Athanasius the Great, in his 39th epistle on the holidays, having listed all the books of Holy Scripture, notes: “This is the source of salvation; let the thirsty drink from the words of this source; only in these books is the science of piety preached.”
The third point, according to which the preacher must interpret Holy Scripture in the spirit of the Holy Spirit. fathers, i.e. universal church, this point is one of the main instructions of the Orthodox Church. “We believe,” says the 2nd part of the message of the Eastern Patriarchs, “that the Divine and Sacred Scripture is inspired by God, therefore we must believe it unquestioningly, and, moreover, not somehow in our own way, but exactly as the Catholic Church has explained and handed it down.” church. For even the superstition of heretics accepts the Divine Scripture, only misrepresents it, using allegorical and similar-meaning expressions and tricks of human wisdom, leaking what cannot be leaked, and childishly playing with such objects that are not subject to jokes. Otherwise, if everyone began to explain the Scriptures in their own way every day, then the Catholic Church would not, by the grace of Christ, remain to this day such a church, which, being like-minded in the faith, always believes equally and unshakably, but would be divided into countless parts, would be subjected to heresies, and at the same time it would cease to be the holy church, the pillar and affirmation of the truth, but would become the church of the wicked, that is, as one must assume without a doubt, the church of heretics, who are not ashamed to learn from the church, and then lawlessly reject it... Because the culprit both are one and the same Holy Spirit, it makes no difference whether one studies it from Scripture or from the universal church. A person who speaks from himself can sin, deceive and be deceived, but the universal church, since she has never spoken and does not speak from herself, but from the Spirit of God (Whom she continually has and will have as her Teacher until the century), in no way cannot sin, nor deceive, nor be deceived, but like Divine Scripture it is infallible and has eternal importance.” The teaching of the universal church, or the teaching of St. the fathers and teachers of the church have always served as a guide for preachers and should always serve as such a guide if they wish to be true exponents of the teachings of Holy Scripture; since the unanimous agreement of all the fathers and teachers of the church in the teaching about the subjects of Divine Revelation or the Christian faith, this is a valid sign of truth.
The need and necessity to follow the teachings of St. Fathers in sermons, when explaining the Holy Scriptures, appear by themselves due to the sublimity of the thoughts contained in the Holy Scriptures. “Since it is clear,” it is said in the answer to the 2nd question in addition to the mentioned message of the Eastern Patriarchs, “that Scripture contains the depth and height of thoughts, then experienced and God-enlightened people are required to test it, for true understanding, for knowledge of the right , in agreement with all Scripture and its Creator, the Holy Spirit. And although the regenerate know the teaching of faith about the Trinity, about the incarnation of the Son of God, about His suffering, resurrection and ascension into heaven, about rebirth and judgment, for which teaching many willingly suffered death, there is no need, or better yet, it is impossible for everyone to comprehend that which the Holy Spirit reveals only to those perfect in wisdom and holiness.”
The Holy Fathers warn against the temptation of attempts at theology on the part of Christians who are still in a state of struggle with passions.
St. Simeon the New Theologian:
“If you don’t feel that you have died to the world... if you haven’t gone outside the world (like Paul)... if... you haven’t become like a spirit through rejection of the flesh... then why aren’t you silent and don’t seek in repentance... to experience this, but want to talk about what you don’t know?”
“If, before fulfilling the commandments of Christ, you boldly attempt to talk about God, then we will turn away from you, as if you are out of your mind and possessed by a demon.”
“We must first pass from death to life, accept into ourselves the seed of the living God from above, be born of Him spiritually, become His children, receive into our souls the grace of the Holy Spirit, and then, under the influence of enlightenment from the Holy Spirit, begin to talk about about God."
“It is not permissible for one who has not seen the Divine Light and who has not become a god by adoption to theologize.” »
St. Macarius of Optina:
“You... are asking me about an interview about God... do you feel comfort with it, and is this feeling permissible? Everything that leads us to the love of God and humility is permissible; But We need to know our limits and not get carried away in heights, and even more so in our passionate dispensation. I think you remember how one brother told the elder that he always sees God, and he answered him: “Blessed is he who sees his sins.” And when his brother came to Pimen the Great, when he asked him about great, divine things or matters, he was silent and did not answer anything; and when he, having been brought to his senses, began to inquire about weaknesses and passions, then he opened his mouth and the grace of God was poured out; However, you cannot completely renounce this interview, but do not get carried away by consolations. After all, we read and sing, but we still learn about God, about His Providence and commandments. There is a need for humility everywhere!
Your opinion is wrong that... I advise you not to go into theology, our hearts are still passionate; Let us strive to cleanse ourselves from passions.
...It is not our business to theologize; and St. Climacus, and St. Isaac and St. Barsanuphius does not allow us to be curious and test about this, but to mourn our sins and purify our passions.”
Schema-abbot Ioann (Alekseev):
Here, friend, is how I advise you to read the Holy Scripture: first pray to God to open your mind to understand the Scripture: What is clear, try to do it, and skip what is not clear. This is what the holy fathers advise. Holy Scripture must be read not for knowledge, but in order to save one’s soul. And the study of the incomprehensible belongs to pride».
St. Theophan the Recluse:
“My beloved reader! Do you want me to show you something that is more honest than gold and silver, valuable beads and precious stones? You cannot find and buy the Kingdom of Heaven, future joys and eternal peace with anything other than with this thing. This is reading in private and listening with attention and diligence to the word of God, the writings of the fathers and other spiritual books. No one can be saved unless he reads or listens to the holy soul-saving writings. Just as a bird without wings cannot fly to a height, so a mind without holy books cannot figure out how to be saved.
Reading in private and listening with attention and diligence to holy books is the parent of all virtues and the teacher of every good deed. Reading in private and listening with attention and diligence to holy books, giving birth to all virtue and increasing good dispositions of the heart, drives away from us all evil sinful passion and all lust, desire and demonic action. Reading in private and listening with attention and diligence to the holy books over all studies and labors that those who are zealous for salvation undertake, the holy fathers appoint as an elder and a king. It arouses and guides man to all virtues and places him at the right hand of God.
But whoever does not read and listen with attention and diligence to the holy books, for the sake of this he falls into all sorts of passions, into sinful misfortunes, into demonic networks and into all kinds of evil. He forgets his death, and the coming of Christ, and the evil torments, and the joy of the Kingdom of Heaven and the blessed paradise. The vain and flattering short-lived life of this age is kind to such a person. He moves away from God through negligence and inattention, and the demons, like darkness, cover the mental memory, darken the mental brightness, make one forget about virtues, and constantly remind the mind of evil and renew evil thoughts in it.
Divine Scripture and soul-saving books show us the beginning, middle and end of the saving path, the entire staircase to the Kingdom of Heaven. Why should we diligently adhere to these books and to this Divine Scripture. Where they practice reading holy books, from there all demonic activity, all soul-destroying passions and sinful lusts are driven away; The commandments of the Lord and the virtues of the fathers receive all kinds of correction there. Why is it well established by the holy fathers that at morning services teachings from the holy books should be read many times, and that those who know how to read should also engage in such reading in their cells, to protect themselves from invisible spiritual thieves and robbers, thereby arranging, as it were, a guard around themselves of some of the saving graces? truths, against the intrigues, cunning and plans of fierce demons, against the oblivion and darkness caused by them.
Why should we carefully read the holy books every day in order to draw from them soul-saving instructions suitable for correcting our life? They expose the conscience, reveal passions and arouse hostility towards them, expose demonic networks, teach virtues, affirm the endurance of sorrows, remind of the end of death, announce the coming of Christ, depict the joys of the Kingdom of Heaven and the horrors of endless torment. Depicting to us all truth and all good, they present it to our eyes, as if they had scattered pure gold and silver and precious stones on a platter. What an experienced leader is for an army, what a skillful helmsman is for a ship, what a guide is for those walking along a confused road, then holy books are for Christians fighting in the army, for those sailing through the troubled sea of this life to the calm haven of the Kingdom of Heaven, for those marching to their Heavenly Fatherland according to obstinate the paths of this vain and seductive life.
The crafty demons have a lot of cunning and malice, intrigues and snares with which they trap us, the poor, into various passions, into sinful falls and spiritual destruction. The humane God, sparing our race, gave us holy books, written by His holy saints, in which we are offered the true science of how to avoid the snares of demons, sinful passions and the delights of this age. The holy fathers were taught spiritual wisdom by many sorrowful and many painful experiences of life and, having completed their path safely, they left us the fruit of their righteous labors, the word of the book, their holy scriptures, like a bright lamp illuminating the path of salvation for those who were jealous to enter it. The eyes are like a lamp to the body; so is the lamp of the soul the mind; The mirror of the mind is the holy books."
Hegumen Nikon (Vorobiev):
And only in the holy fathers and in the Gospel did I find something truly valuable. When a person begins to struggle with himself and strives to follow the path of the Gospel, then the holy fathers will become necessary for him and his relatives. The Holy Father is already a dear teacher who speaks to your soul, and it perceives it with joy and is comforted. Just as these philosophies and all sorts of sectarian nasty things caused melancholy, despondency, and vomiting, so, on the contrary, he came to his fathers as if he were visiting his own mother. They consoled me, admonished me, nourished me.
St. Macarius of Optina:
“...I sincerely rejoice that the Lord consoles you by reading the scriptures of your fathers and has given you some understanding of them; but we still cannot comprehend the depth of them, having done nothing good and not humbled ourselves; for “the mysteries are revealed to the humble.”
I cannot give an exact purpose for reading the books of the fathers; These are written not according to a scientific system, but simply about various passions and virtues, how to resist the former and acquire the latter. There are also high subjects for the perfect. When you read books, what is accessible to your mind and appropriate to your structure, then assimilate to yourself; and what exceeds your understanding, then, after reading, leave it as it is, without delving into the depth of your understanding: it may reveal itself over time; For babies, solid foods are inconvenient. Read books from the beginning, continue in a row, but not all one, but read one in the morning, another in the evening; read not for curiosity, but for learning piety and knowledge of your weakness, and from this come to humility.
You, reading the letter, do not understand the meaning of Scripture... but Do not try what you do not understand, but humble your mind and see poverty. The sacraments are revealed to humility.
The humble do not delve into the depths of the unknown, but humble their thoughts, and in time God will enlighten them.
You write that you don’t understand some passages from the book of John Climacus; be content with what you understand and strive for fulfillment, and then other things will be revealed.
That the holy teaching of the great man St. Isaac the Syrian seems incomprehensible to you, we are not at all surprised. If you write, read and carry out what you understand by doing as much as you can, then the spiritual mind that is found in it will clearly open to you and you will see the importance, greatness and beauty of its word, filled with ineffable spiritual benefit.
I send you St. John Climacus book, which you read with attention and learn how to fight passions; however, from reading alone you cannot understand as you should unless you go through experience.”
St. Ambrose Optinsky:
Copying from books is, perhaps, possible, you just need to assimilate it; what is clear, then read. You need to read less, but understand.”
Archim. John (Peasant):
“... Read one chapter of the Holy Gospel and two chapters of the Apostolic Epistles every day, starting with Acts, and ask the Lord for knowledge of the Truth.”
About reading
The most merciful Lord, who wants everyone to be saved and to come to the mind of truth, having foreseen the scarcity of mentors in our present disastrous times, left the God-inspired teaching of the holy and God-bearing fathers who lived an active life, so that those who want to receive salvation would adhere to the right mind.
A reliable means for maintaining faith and love is reading the holy fathers and lives of saints.
Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk
Learn good things from divine books.
Do not stop reading the holy book until you have learned some lesson or rules for life.
Saint Theophan the Recluse
The Glinsky elder Schema-Archimandrite Iliodor used to say: “Monasticism is weakening because it has given up reading the works of the saints.”
Reading the books of saints, we become imbued with their thoughts, their desires, and their prayers. From this our soul receives great consolation and rejoices in pure joy, heavenly joy.
The law regarding religious books is this: do not accept any writings and instructions on asceticism that do not have references to the holy fathers, no matter how eloquently they are written.
If you are attacked and worried, for example, by envy of your brother, then immediately look in the book of some holy father about envy. In the same way - about the spirit of fornication, if it bothers you - look at the appropriate reading, and do the same with other passions. This is how a person learns to defend himself and resist passions.
Anyone who is not interested in ascetic books is barren.
If you move away from reading the books of the fathers, then you will lose the peace of Christ and love.
Elder Paisiy Velichkovsky
When reading the lives of saints, it is good to borrow self-condemnation and humility.
Saint Theophan the Recluse
Without an example in life and without reading holy books, one cannot know Christian and monastic life.
Scripture was given to us from God as some guidance to prosperity, but it has its divisions; for example: what especially applies to the authorities, to middle and young age, what to monks, lay persons, spouses, virgins, etc.
In the elder’s cell, sheets of paper of various sizes with prayers and sayings from the sacred books were attached to the walls.
If you do not read the words of God for a day, two or more, all your thoughts will fall into great disorder. And then it’s difficult for you to put them in order.
Saint Theophan the Recluse
Ignorance of the Holy Scriptures and the writings of the Holy Fathers is a great rapids and a deep abyss.
And the most important path is the study of the inspired Scriptures... By studying the Scriptures, in it, as in a general physician’s office, we find a cure for our mental illness.
Saint Basil the Great
There is no better way than to banish evil remembrances with good remembrances.
How much help in this case memorizing passages of Scripture cannot be said.
Saint Theophan the Recluse
A great thing indeed is the reading of the Scriptures.
Saint John Chrysostom
The great gift from the Lover of Mankind given to man is book teaching... And as far as the soul of the body is higher, so far superior to all other gifts is the Holy Scripture.
Anyone who wants to acquire true knowledge of the Holy Scriptures needs to read the Holy Fathers.
Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov
Saint Basil the Great ordered the monks to dine only while reading the Holy Scriptures.
Memorize the words of the Gospel and the sayings of the holy blessed fathers and study their lives so that you can have all this as a subject for reflection.
Read the words of Divine Scripture with your actions.
Stop reading a divine book when the soul no longer wants to feed on reading - it means it’s full. If it hits any place, stand there and don’t read any more. The best time for the word of God is morning, the lives of the saints - after lunch, the holy fathers - shortly before bedtime. There are texts of Holy Scripture that warm the spirit, act on the heart and evoke tenderness and tears. Such passages should be written out and stored, in case of need, to excite the spirit (of course, before reading, read a prayer to God).
Saint Theophan the Recluse
The first living interpreter of Holy Scripture and apostolic tradition in the Church is the Ecumenical Councils.
One who is sleepy and inattentive to the word of God is incapable of anything spiritual and deprives himself of all knowledge, and, on the contrary, the most sin-loving and depraved, delving into the Holy Scriptures, changed from sinful defilements to sacred things.
When the mind is distracted, reading the Holy Scriptures is recommended.
So that we forget the Book of Life - the Holy Gospel, the corrupted mind and the world showered and showers us with its books, full of worldly vanity, talking only about earthly goods and events, or pleasures, often not at all nourishing the soul, but only arousing spiritual hunger.
Even if (when reading the Holy Scriptures) you did not understand what you were reading, nevertheless, from the reading itself, you will receive great sanctification.
Saint John Chrysostom
The Word of God disperses despondency - sleep of the soul and despondency of the mind.
Saint Theophan the Recluse
You read novels, magazines, newspapers, and in them you read a lot of empty speeches.
Are you with God at this time or not? Of course, not with God, for God does not exist in earthly vanity; it means you are against God, and this is a sin. Are you gathering God's grace by reading (or listening to) empty ranting? No, but you squander the grace that you have acquired, if you have only acquired it, in prayer, in contemplation of God, or in reading the word of God and soul-saving books, or in pious conversation, or in good deeds. And this is a sin.
Saint John of Kronstadt
With home rule, it is more decent to read the Gospel and Psalter while standing, but in illness or infirmity you can also sit.
It is good to devote midnight time to reading the Holy Gospel.
It is a great evil not to know the Scriptures, for countless evils are born from ignorance of the Scriptures.
The gift of speech is given to us for two purposes: to glorify the name of God and to communicate to each other instructive and saving thoughts and feelings.
If they ask for advice, then you can give, when someone demands it, and then not from your own mind, but from the holy fathers of the teachings, and offer the book itself, where the person himself can see the truth, but giving in this way is very harmful, since it leads to vanity and arrogance .
If you write, you should write something useful and edifying.
Venerable Theodore the Studite
Let each of us test himself every day to see whether he has received any benefit from the current reading of the word of God.
New scriptures, although spiritual, but they only feed the mind, and a cold emptiness remains in the heart.
Elder Joseph of Optina
When the soul's attention is occupied with reading and thinking about what it has read, it is not captivated by any networks of harmful thoughts.
Saint John Cassian the Roman
And those who do not adhere to the bookish teaching of God do not themselves have a spiritual mind, and cannot benefit others through advice and instructions about salvation.
Therefore, do not be lazy, read holy books and teach others, and you will receive a special reward from God.
What the saints say at the readings enlightens the mind, sanctifies the soul, and through it transmits sanctification to the body.
Saint Simeon the New Theologian
Do not speak when your soul is restless, but calm down in advance and then talk, pointing out how to do what. Do not charge every time, but on the third or fifth time.
If someone begins to slander another, he should change his speech to useful conversation.
Saint Barsanuphius the Great
When we talk from the word of God, so as not to fall into arrogance and self-praise of thoughts, let us keep in mind that if we fail to carry out what we say, we say it to condemn ourselves.
Saint Barsanuphius the Great
Holy solitude is a teacher of wisdom, a cradle of repentance, a palace of holiness. Fasting is the friend of solitude, prayer is the soul of solitude. Join the reading of the Holy Gospel, the Psalter, the books of the fathers: Ephraim the Syrian, Abba Dorotheus, John Chrysostom and the Philokalia.
Archbishop Jacob of Nizhny Novgorod
Worldly books that do not bring spiritual benefit, much less harmful, should not be read at all, nor should they even be kept in the room.
A reminder (by re-reading or conversation) of the divine is good because it always renews the soul.
Venerable Theodore the Studite
While lying on the bed one should engage in contemplation of God.
Everyone who knows the instructions and experiences of the Holy Fathers, tell the one who does not know, and what you do not know, borrow from the one who knows.
Saint Basil the Great
God gave you grace and the gift of speech not for your sake, but more for the benefit of others. This means that when they ask you for words of consolation and advice, it is a sin to refuse.
Elder Daniel of Athonite
Spiritual things should not be spoken about to those people who have no desire to listen.
Venerable Seraphim of Sarov
Engagement in sacred objects stimulates the mind to pious thoughts.
Venerable Silouan of Athos
Without reading holy books one cannot know Christian and monastic life.
By reading fatherly books, a person, as it were, gains strength.
Saint John Chrysostom
This patrolology introduces the Fathers of Orthodoxy, therefore its scope and goals differ from the usual seminar course on patrolology. Our purpose on these pages is twofold:
- present the Orthodox theological justification for spiritual life - the nature and purpose of spiritual warfare, the patristic view of human nature, the character and actions of Divine grace and human effort, and so on,
- give practical instructions on how to live a true spiritual life, describing the spiritual states - both good and bad - that a person can go through in the process of spiritual warfare.
Thus, strictly dogmatic questions concerning the nature of God, the Holy Trinity, the incarnation of the Son of God, the action of the Holy Spirit, etc., will be touched upon only in so far as they are involved in questions of spiritual life; and we will not talk about many holy Fathers, whose writings deal mainly with these dogmatic issues, and issues of spiritual life are secondary for them. In a word, this will be mainly a word about the fathers of the Philokalia, this collection of Orthodox spiritual writings, which was created at the dawn of our time, just before the deadly revolution broke out in France, the consequences of which we are now witnessing when in our days unbelief and self-will gained great strength.
However, in our time, interest in the Philokalia and the Holy Fathers has noticeably increased. In particular, they began to study the Fathers of the recent past, such as St. Simeon the New Theologian, St. Gregory of Sinai and St. Gregory Palamas, and many of their works are translated and published in different languages. One could even say that in some seminary and academic courses they have “come into fashion”, which has rarely happened since the days of the 19th century, when they were not at all “in fashion” in most Orthodox theological academies (this does not apply to monasteries of high spiritual life, who always revered them sacredly and lived according to their writings).
But this fact itself poses a great danger that needs to be mentioned here. The “coming into fashion” of the deepest spiritual scriptures is in no way a positive phenomenon. In fact, it would be better for the names of these Fathers to remain unknown than to become merely the subject of scientific rationalists or "enthusiastic neophytes" who derive no spiritual benefit from it, but only pointlessly pride themselves on knowing more about these Fathers everyone, or even worse, begin to follow the spiritual instructions in these scriptures without sufficient preparation and without any spiritual guidance. All this, of course, does not mean that those striving for the Truth should neglect reading the Holy Fathers, God forbid! But this means that all of us - scientists, monks and simply lay people - must approach these Fathers fearing God, with humility and distrust of our own minds and judgments. We are approaching them to study, and, above all, we must admit that we need a teacher to study. And teachers really exist: in our time, when there are no God-bearing elders nearby, our teachers should be those elders who, especially in times close to ours, told us how to read and how not to read Orthodox writings about spiritual life. If the blessed elder Paisius (Velichkovsky), the compiler of the first Slavic Philokalia, was “overwhelmed with fear” when he learned that such books were being prepared for publication, and that they would no longer circulate in handwritten form in a few monasteries, then with how much greater fear should they approach him We must understand the reason for this fear, so that the spiritual catastrophe that he feared does not befall us.
The Monk Paisius, in his letter to Father Theodosius, Archimandrite of the Sophronium Hermitage, wrote: “Thinking about the appearance in print of the books of the Holy Fathers in Greek and Slavic languages, I experience both joy and fear. Joy - because they will not be consigned to final oblivion, and it will be easier for their zealous admirers to acquire them; fear - because they can turn into easily accessible books, along with all other books, not only for monks, but also for all Orthodox Christians, and arrogant people will begin to misinterpret the holy teaching contained in it and engage in arbitrary mental prayer, without proper guidance and order ; they would not have fallen into conceit and delusion, and thus would not have given rise to the debasement of the shrine, the sanctity of which was confirmed by a great many great holy Fathers... and after that doubts would not have followed concerning the entire teaching of our God-bearing Fathers.” The practice of mental prayer, continued the Monk Paisius, is possible only under conditions of monastic obedience.
True, in our days, when ascetic warfare is not carried out with the same force, there are few people who strive for the heights of mental prayer (or at least imagine what it should be), but the warnings of St. Paisius and other holy Fathers remain effective for less abuse of many modern Orthodox Christians. Anyone who reads the Philokalia and other writings of the Holy Fathers and even many lives of saints will encounter information about mental prayer, Divine vision, deification and other sublime spiritual states, and it is important for Orthodox Christians to know what to think and feel in such a case. Let us therefore see what the Holy Fathers say about this, and think in general about our attitude towards the Holy Fathers.
The Venerable Elder Macarius of Optina (†1860) considered it necessary to write a special “Warning to those who read spiritual patristic books and want to practice the mental Jesus Prayer.” In it, this great Father, who lived so recently, clearly tells us how we should relate to these spiritual states: “The Holy and God-bearing Fathers wrote about great spiritual gifts, that everyone should not indiscriminately strive to acquire them, but it is necessary that those who do not have them and those who heard about such gifts and revelations given to those worthy of them would recognize their own weakness and immaturity and would involuntarily bow to humility, which is more important for those seeking salvation than all other works and virtues.” And this is what St. John Climacus wrote (VI century): “Just as the poor, seeing the royal treasures, recognize their poverty even more: so the soul, reading the stories about the great virtues of the Holy Fathers, becomes more humble in its thoughts” ( Word 26, 211). Thus, our first step on the path to the writings of the Holy Fathers should be humility.
And also from John Climacus: “To be amazed at the labors of these saints is a commendable thing; it is saving them to be jealous; and to suddenly want to become an imitator of their life is a reckless and impossible thing" ( Word 4, 42). The Monk Isaac the Syrian (7th century) taught: “Those who seek sweet spiritual sensations and anticipations in prayer, and especially those who prematurely strive for visions and spiritual contemplation, become victims of demonic deception and fall into the kingdom of darkness and become clouded in their minds, deprived of God’s help and subjected to ridicule demonic because of the proud desire to receive beyond measure and beyond honor.” Thus, we need to approach the holy fathers with a humble desire start your spiritual life at the lowest level and without even thinking about independently achieving those sublime spiritual states that are completely inaccessible to us. The Monk Nilus of Sorsky, who was closer to us in time, wrote: “What shall we say about those who in their mortal body tasted immortal food, who were honored in this transitory life to receive a part of those joys that await us in our heavenly home?.. We, burdened with many sins and victims of passions, are unworthy even to hear such words. And yet, trusting in the mercy of the Lord, let us dare to repeat in our minds the words of the holy scriptures, in order to at least confirm ourselves in the awareness of how low we have fallen.”
To strengthen our humble intention to read the Holy Fathers, we need to start with simple patristic books, with those that teach the alphabet. A novice from Gaza who lived in the 6th century once wrote to the great perspicacious elder Saint Barsanuphius, quite in the spirit of an inexperienced person studying Orthodoxy today: “I have books on dogma, and, reading them, I feel that my mind is moving from passionate thoughts to contemplation of dogmas." The Holy Elder answered this: “I would not like you to study these books, because they elevate the mind too much; it is better to study the words of the elders, which degrade the mind. I didn’t say this to downplay the importance of dogmatic books, but I’m just giving you advice, because food comes in different forms.” It will be important for us to determine which patristic books are more suitable for beginners, and which should be left for later.
And yet, for Orthodox Christians living in different conditions, different patristic books on spiritual life are suitable: what is especially needed for hermits is not entirely suitable for cenobitic monks; what is suitable for all monks cannot be used in the same form by lay people; and in any case, spiritual food for experienced people is inedible for infants. If someone has reached a certain level in spiritual life, then by keeping the commandments of God in the bosom of the Orthodox Church, usefully reading the simpler writings of the Holy Fathers, applying them to the conditions of one’s own life in order to receive greater spiritual benefit from this reading. Bishop Ignatius (Brianchaninov) wrote about this: “It has been noticed that the new monk cannot in any way apply the books to his position, but is certainly carried away by the direction of the book. If a book teaches advice about silence and shows the abundance of spiritual fruits gathered in the deep desert, then the novice will certainly have a strong desire to retire into solitude, into the deserted desert. If the book speaks of unconditional obedience under the leadership of the Spirit-bearing Elder, the desire for the strictest living in complete obedience to the Elder will certainly appear in the novice. God has not given our time either one or the other of these lives. But the books of the Holy Fathers, written about these residences, can affect the novice so strongly that he, due to his inexperience and ignorance, easily decides to leave his place of residence, in which he has every opportunity to be saved and to succeed spiritually by fulfilling the Gospel commandments, for the impossible dream of perfect residence , painted picturesquely and seductively in his imagination.” Therefore, he comes to the conclusion: “Do not trust, brethren, your thoughts, understandings, dreams, inclinations, even if they seem to you the best, even if they represent to you in a picturesque picture the most holy monastic life!” (“Advice regarding spiritual monastic practice,” ch. X.) What Bishop Ignatius says here about monks also applies to the laity, taking into account the difference in the living conditions of the laity and the monks.
The Monk Barsanuphius says something else very important for us, who are too academically approaching the Holy Fathers: “He who cares about his salvation should by no means ask (the elders, that is, when reading patristic books - o.S.) only about the acquisition of knowledge, " the mind is wretchedly boastful» ( 1 Cor. 8:1), as the Apostle says, but it is more appropriate to ask about the passions, about how to live your life, that is, how to be saved; it is necessary, it leads to salvation.” Thus, one should not read the Holy Fathers simply out of curiosity or as a textbook, without a firm intention to put into practice what they teach, in accordance with the spiritual level of each one. Modern academic “theologians” have shown quite clearly that one can have a lot of abstract information about the Holy Fathers and absolutely no spiritual knowledge. About such the Monk Macarius the Great said: “Just as a beggar dressed in rags can see himself rich in a dream, and upon awakening from sleep again sees himself poor and unclothed, so too those who talk about spiritual life seem to speak correctly, but somehow what they talk about is not strengthened in their minds by experience, effort, conviction, they remain as if in a world of dreams.”
The possibility of finding out whether we are reading the writings of the Holy Fathers as a textbook, or whether this reading is effective, was said by the Monk Barsanuphius in his answer to a convert who discovered that when speaking about the Holy Fathers, he was showing irreverence and pride: “When you talk about the lives of the Holy Fathers and about their instructions, you should say with self-reproach: “Oh, woe is me! How can I talk about the virtues of the Fathers when I myself have not acquired anything from them and have not moved forward at all?” And I live teaching others for their benefit; How can the word of the Apostle not be fulfilled in me: “When you teach others, do you not teach yourself” ( Rome. 2:21)". Thus, one must always treat the teaching of the Holy Fathers with self-reproach.
Finally, we should remember that the purpose of reading the Holy Fathers is not to give us some kind of “spiritual pleasure” or to confirm us in our righteousness or superior knowledge of the “contemplative” state, but solely to help us move forward along the path with effort virtues. Many Holy Fathers speak of the difference between the “active” and “contemplative” life, and here it should be said that this does not at all refer, as some may think, to some kind of artificial division between those who lead the “ordinary” life of “external Orthodoxy” ”or simply “good deeds” and an “inner” life, led only by monks or the intellectual elite. There is only one Orthodox life, and it is lived by everyone who strives in Orthodoxy, whether he is a monk or a layman, a beginner or an experienced one, who has taken more than one step on the spiritual path; "action" or "practice" is the path, and "vision" (theory) or "deification" is the peak of the path. Almost all patristic writings talk about life effective, not about life in visions; when the latter is mentioned, it is in order to remind us of the goal of our labors, our battle, which only some of the great saints achieve in this life, but in its fullness it is known only in the life to come. Even the most sublime writings of the Philokalia, as Bishop Theophan the Recluse wrote in the preface to the last volume of the Philokalia in Russian, “have in mind not mental, but almost exclusively active life.”
And despite this introduction, an Orthodox Christian living in our age of vain knowledge will certainly not escape the pitfalls that await those who wish to read the patristic writings in their full Orthodox meaning and context. Let us therefore now, before beginning to read the patrolology itself, pause and briefly analyze some of the mistakes made by modern readers of the Holy Fathers, with the intention of thus forming a clearer understanding of how Not read the Holy Fathers.
The Great Father of recent times in the tradition of St. Paisius (Velichkovsky), being a disciple of the Elder, Father Leonid (Leo) Optina broke through the boundaries of modern knowledge and acquired the highest knowledge of the patristic tradition, conveying its unchanging truths in a language understandable to modern people. With his writings, as well as his life, he inspired monasticism, struggling in our last times, and especially fought against false rationalistic Christianity and modern knowledge. After his death, he appeared in heavenly radiance, surrounded by other celestials and said: “Everything written in my books is true,” and performed healings for the sick.
The name of Hermogenes Ivanovich Shimansky (1915-1970) is well known to Orthodox readers from his book “Liturgics: Sacraments and Rites,” published in the Sretensky Monastery. In the preface to this work, Metropolitan Pitirim of Volokolamsk and Yuryev noted that Shimansky “stood out among everyone for his special composure, methodology, always friendly manner and unshakable firmness in his views.” He chose the doctrine of salvation from liturgical books as the topic of his candidate's research.
A continuation of this work was the now published manuscript of G.I. Shimansky for the first time, sent to the publishing house of the Sretensky Monastery from Kyiv.
Here is an excerpt from the book:
PREFACE
The goal of Christian life is to acquire the Holy Spirit and to communicate with God. Communion with God is the essence of our salvation in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The path to salvation is fulfilling the commandments of God, life in Christ, or, what is the same, a Christian pious, virtuous life.
The Christian virtuous life of every Christian has two essential aspects: the fight against tempting evil (the fight against sinful passions and vices) and the acquisition of Christian virtues.
This book is dedicated to these vital issues - the fight against the main sinful passions (vices) and the acquisition of basic Christian virtues.
This far from finished work arose on the basis of conversations that the author, as a mentor, conducted with students of the seminary. These conversations have been completed and expanded, brought into the system.
Many books have been written about the fight against passions and about Christian virtues by people experienced in spiritual life, under the guidance of St. fathers. There are also extensive scientific works in the field of asceticism.
This book is not a scientific treatise or study; it is, rather, a systematized collection of patristic thoughts on individual, most important, issues of active Christian life, having mainly a moral and edifying purpose. The author in his work sought to present the patristic teaching and experience in a form that is understandable and intelligible to the modern reader and to show their necessary applicability in the life of every Christian, for the commandments of God and the laws of spiritual life are common to all Christians, no matter what kind of life and deed they lead.
In particular, the author had in mind that the book would serve as a guide for seminary students and candidates for the priesthood, so that they could familiarize themselves with the patristic teaching on this issue in a collected form. Familiarization of the candidate for the priesthood with issues of Christian asceticism according to the teaching and experience of Sts. fathers and ascetics is of very great importance for their future pastoral activities.
The second and immediate purpose of writing this work was also for one’s own benefit: “to motivate oneself to correct, to expose one’s poor soul, so that, although ashamed of words,” as St. John Climacus says, “one who has not yet acquired any good deed, begins to do the work, but only words." And Rev. Neil of Sinai points out that “one who does not do good should speak about good things, so that, being ashamed of words, he can begin deeds.”
The book is divided into two parts. The first part gives general concepts about sin, sinful passions and self-love as the source of all sin and vice. Then a strategic teaching is presented about each of the main passions separately: about pride and vanity, about gluttony and fornication and the fight against them, about greed and anger, about envy, slander and condemnation, and, finally, about sinful sadness and despondency.
The second part is devoted to the study of the most important Christian virtues: love, humility, meekness, abstinence and chastity - those virtues that a Christian must acquire in the active eradication of the most important passions listed above.
Therefore, when studying the chapters, for example, on carnal passions (gluttony and fornication), it is useful to follow this (from the 2nd part) to learn the patristic teaching about the main eradicators of these passions - the virtues of abstinence and chastity. When studying the issue of combating self-love, pride, selfishness and envy, one should then study the patristic teaching on love and humility. Anger has its opposite in meekness, etc.
GENERAL CONCEPTS ABOUT SIN AND SINFUL PASSIONS
Chapter 1
SIN
From ancient times to the present day, people have been thinking about a vital question and trying to solve it: where does evil come from in the world? Where does anger, enmity, hatred, insults, theft, robbery, murder, various disasters, social unrest, etc. come from? Where do grief, illness, suffering, old age, death come from?
Many different guesses and solutions were proposed by people: philosophers, founders of natural (pagan) religions, legislators, political leaders... But their answers to these questions did not find general acceptance and did not stand the test of time, were not confirmed by experience and life. We find the only true answer about the cause of evil in the world and about the ways and means of combating it in the word of God.
Our Creator and God revealed to people in His Divine Revelation, recorded in the Holy Scriptures (the Bible), that the direct cause of all human disasters and all evil is sin. Apart from him there is no evil. Only sin, of all human evils, is truly evil. He alone is “the source and root and mother of all evil.” He gave birth to two fruits: sorrow and death. Sin in ancient times gave rise to murder and slavery and made power necessary to protect evil
§ 1. WHAT IS SIN?
Sin is a transgression (violation) of God’s commandments or, as the Apostle puts it, “sin is lawlessness” (1 John 3:4). Saint John Chrysostom says that “sin is nothing more than an action against the will of God.” Sin entered the world through the first people who sinned in paradise (Rom. 5, 12; Gen. 2–3). God, writes Rev. Abba Dorotheos, created man (Adam and Eve) in His own image and likeness, that is, immortal, autocratic and adorned with all virtue. But when, through temptation from the devil, he violated the commandment by eating the fruit of the tree, from which God commanded him not to eat, then he was expelled from paradise. For God saw that if a person does not experience misadventures and does not learn what grief is, then he will become even more confirmed in sinful self-love and pride and will completely perish. Therefore, God gave him what he deserved and expelled him from paradise (Gen. 3). Through sin, man fell from his natural state and fell into the unnatural, sinful and was already in sin: in self-love, in love of glory, in love for the pleasures of this age and in other sinful habits, and was possessed of them, for he himself became a slave of sin through crime .
So little by little evil began to increase and death reigned. Nowhere among people was there true worship of God, and everywhere there was ignorance of God. Only a few, prompted by natural law, knew God, who they were: Noah, Abraham, Isaac and other patriarchs. In short, very few and very rare people knew God. For the enemy (Satan) has poured out all his malice on people; and since sin reigned, idolatry, polytheism, witchcraft, murder and other devilish evil began.
And then the good God, having mercy on His creation, gave through Moses to the chosen Jewish people a written law, in which he forbade one thing and commanded another, as if saying: do this, and do not do that. He gave the commandment and first of all said: “The Lord our God, the Lord is one” (Deut. 4), in order to thereby distract their minds from polytheism. And again he says: “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength” (Deut. 6:5) And he forbade his neighbors to do evil, commanding him to love them as himself (Lev. 19:18 ).
So, the good God gave people law and help to turn from sin, to correct evil. However, the evil was not corrected. Sin embraced all the powers of the soul and body of man, everything became subject to sin, it began to possess everything. Through sin, people began to be slaves to the enemy - the devil. And man could not get rid of the “work of the enemy” on his own.
Then, finally, the most kind and loving God sent His Only Begotten Son to earth, for only God could heal such a disease. And when the times were fulfilled, our Lord came, becoming Man for our sake, so that, as St. Gregory the Theologian says, he could heal like like, soul soul, flesh flesh; for He became Man in everything except sin. The Lord Jesus Christ - the incarnate Son of God - took on our very nature, the firstfruits of our composition and became the new Adam, in the image of God, who created the first Adam; He renewed the natural state and made the feelings healthy again, as they were in the beginning. Having become Man, He restored fallen man, freed him, enslaved by sin and forcibly possessed by it. For the enemy controlled man with violence and torment, so that even those who did not want to sin sinned unwittingly (cf. Rom. 7:19).
So, God, having become Man for our sake, freed man from the torment of the enemy. For God has overthrown all the power of the enemy, crushed his very fortress and delivered us from his dominion, freed us from obedience and slavery to him, unless we ourselves want to sin arbitrarily. Because He gave us the power, as He Himself said, to step on snakes and scorpions and all the power of the enemy (Luke 10:19), cleansing us with holy baptism from all sin, for holy baptism takes away and destroys all sin. Moreover, the all-good God, knowing weakness and foreseeing that we would sin even after holy baptism, gave us, in His goodness, the holy commandments written in the Holy Gospel, cleansing us, so that we, if we wish, could again, by observing the commandments, be cleansed not only from our sinful ones deeds, but also from the passions themselves, from sinful habits, through which they would ascend to perfection and communion with God.
Every sin has two characteristics: abuse of freedom and contempt for the law of God, resistance to God. The Word of God reveals to us that sin arose as a result of the abuse by the first people of the freedom given to them, that it was not necessary, that the first people could not have sinned. So in all the descendants of Adam, “the beginning of sin,” says St. John Chrysostom, “is not in human nature, but in the spiritual disposition and in free will,” in conscious resistance to the will of God. It follows that there can be no excuses as if sin is a consequence of our shortcomings, imperfections, imprudence, etc. Sin is characterized by uncontrollability and corruption of the will and contempt for the law. Sin is always an unauthorized deviation from God and His holy law to please oneself. A Christian, although he carries within himself a tendency toward sin, inherited from his forefathers, is given through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ all the grace-filled powers to fight sin and overcome sin.
A person is usually tempted to sin by the flesh, the world and the devil, but it is his freedom to resist sinful temptation.
Each of us, descendants of Adam, by nature carries within us an inclination towards sin in the form of a sinful desire or “lust” - in the words of the Apostle Paul. This innate “lust” in man is the deepest and first source of temptation, from which all sin begins. “Everyone is tempted, being drawn away and enticed by his own lust,” says the Apostle James (James 1:14).
The second temptation to sin comes from the sinful world, from communication with sinful and corrupt people.
The third source of the Fall is the devil. He brings darkness to the soul and, keeping it, as it were, in some kind of intoxication, brings it to the point where it falls into sin, first within itself, and then outside. Therefore, the apostles exhort Christians to be vigilant and guarded from the temptations of the enemy: “Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil walks around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour; resist him with firm faith” (1 Pet. 5:8-9); “Be strong in the Lord and in the might of His might; put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil, for our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Eph. 6:10-12).
Sin is also caused by unkind upbringing of children. Such children, when they reach age, strive for all kinds of evil. All this comes from parental neglect.
Also, a person’s habit strongly leads to sin: for example, drunkards always strive for drunkenness, predators - for theft, fornicators and adulterers - for uncleanness, slanderers - for slander, etc. For habit pulls them like a rope towards sin, and they strive for it like a hungry person for bread and a thirsty person for water.
A Christian who wants to be saved must fight firmly and courageously against all these causes of sin. The feat against these opponents is difficult, but necessary and highly commendable. “Many strive and conquer people,” says St. Tikhon of Zadonsk, “but they become captives and slaves of their passions. There is no more glorious victory than defeating oneself and the sin. There is no crown and triumph without victory, and victory does not happen without feat against enemies ".
Sin, which seems so attractive and sweet to man, the rational creation of God, is great evil. And there is no evil, no misfortune, no disaster that would be more destructive than sin.
And what could be more disastrous than sin, from which all other disasters arise?
1. Every sin offends the majesty of God. When a person sins, he honors passion and his own lust more than the law of God, and therefore angers the infinite, most good, righteous and eternal God Himself. Sin, writes St. Tikhon of Zadonsk, there is a departure from the living and life-giving God; it is a betrayal of the vow made to God at baptism; he is the destruction of the holy, righteous and eternal law of God; it is resistance to the holy and good will of God; he is the grief of the eternal and infinite truth of God; an insult to the great, infinite, indescribable, terrible, holy, good and eternal God of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, before whom the blessed spirits, the holy angels, are in great reverence; he is spiritual leprosy, which emits its stench and infects others, and cannot be cleansed from anyone except Jesus Christ, the souls and bodies of the doctor; sin is “worse than the demon itself,” according to St. John Chrysostom, since sin made the Angel, created good by the Creator, a demon.
2. For the sake of the destruction of sin and “to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8), the Son of God came into the world, became incarnate and endured terrible suffering on the cross and death.
3. Sin separates a person from God, deprives him of God’s grace. To such a person God says that your house will be left empty (Matthew 23:38).
4. A soul that has lost God and His grace dies. For just as the body dies when the soul leaves it, so the soul dies spiritually when God leaves it. Woe to the soul that has lost God, for it is then possessed by the devil and therefore subject to all kinds of misfortune. From this we see how great evil sin is.
5. After committing a sin, the sinner is constantly tormented by his conscience, which is worse than any grave disaster. Inside, darkness, restlessness and a certain inner fear descend upon the soul, as happened with the first murderer and fratricide, Cain. Sin and sorrow are linked together in an unbreakable chain. “Tribulation and distress to every soul of a man who does evil” (Rom. 2:9).
6. Sin befalls people, as well as temporary punishments, and all kinds of disasters, such as: famine, fires, wars, illnesses, infirmities, sorrows, sorrows, natural disasters (floods, earthquakes), etc. (cf.: Sir. 40, 9).
7. Sin attracts with its temporary sweetness. Sin is sweet to man, but its fruits are bitter and heavy. Sin is the bitterest grape, the consumption of which can set your teeth on edge. And sin is sweet only for a short time, but hunger lasts for a long time. The pleasure of sin is temporary, but the torment for it is eternal. “Brief sin is sweetness,” says St. Tikhon of Zadonsk, “but eternal death will follow.”
8. The more a person sins and lives unrepentantly, the more he accumulates the wrath of God, just as the apostle says: “By your stubbornness and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath and the revelation of righteous judgment from God, who will reward everyone according to their deeds. him" (Rom. 2:5-6).
9. For unrepentant sinners, eternal torment is prepared for sin. “How great is the grief (sorrow) of sin, the dying will know when they must struggle against despair and the fear of God’s judgment, when they are sick, sad and tormented, consumed by their conscience, and even more (most of all they will know the grief of sin) by those dying an eternal death, when the great hope is cut short to deliverance from that disaster. Nowadays people are running away from death, but then they would want to die, but they will not be able: and behold, there is eternal death, that sinners will wish to die or turn into nothing from the unbearable torment of Gehenna, but they will not be able."
From all that has been said, we see that there is nothing worse than sin, that there is no greater evil than sin.
“Beloved Christians!” exhorts St. Tikhon of Zadonsk. “Let us recognize the destructiveness of sin, and let us turn away from sin; for everyone turns away from known evil. People know that poison harms, and they shy away from him; they know that the serpent kills with its sting, and they are careful of it ; they know that robbers expose and kill, and they avoid them. We, beloved, also recognize sin and the evil that comes from sin, and we will certainly avoid it. For sin harms more (more powerfully) than any poison, the most poisonous sin is more (more) than any serpent ", sin exposes us more than any thief and deprives us of temporary and eternal blessings, and kills body and soul. These are the fruits of the bitter seed of sin. Sin is anger, rage and malice; sin is pride, arrogance, arrogance, arrogance (exaltation, pompousness) and contempt of one's neighbor; sin is slander and condemnation; sin is obscene language and foul language, bullshit (reckless, stupid speech), blasphemy and every rotten word; sin is lies, cunning, deceit and hypocrisy; sin is drunkenness, gluttony and all intemperance; sin is theft, embezzlement, robbery, violence and any unrighteous appropriation of someone else's property; sin is adultery, fornication and all uncleanness; in a word, every crime is a sin and is an evil more harmful than any evil that somehow harms our body. For it is only our body that damages, but sin harms and kills both body and soul. Whoever does not recognize sin, as a great evil, and does not take care of it, will in the next century, through experience and practice, know and know, since evil is evil - sin, but it is already late and useless. For this reason, in the present age we must recognize that evil (sin) and be kept from it.”
The holy fathers and ascetics also indicate means to avoid sin. Here are some instructions from St. Tikhon of Zadonsky.
1. Great help in the struggle against sin comes from listening to and paying attention to the word of God. It indicates what sin is and what virtue is, leads away from sin and encourages to virtue. “All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16-17). For God’s word is a spiritual sword with which the enemy of the soul is cut off.
Everything is sin that is done in word or deed or thought against the holy and eternal law of God and His holy will. Read the following passages of Holy Scripture about sin: Mk. 7, 21 et seq.; Rome. 1, 29, etc.; 1 Cor. 6, 9 et seq.; Gal.8, 19–21; Eph. 6, 3 et seq.; Col. 4, 5 et seq.; 1 Tim. 1, 9 et seq.; 2 Tim. 4, 2, etc.; Open 21, 8; Ps. 49, 15 and other places of Holy Scripture.
The Apostle Paul in his letters to the Corinthians writes that the unrighteous will not inherit the Kingdom of God: neither fornicators, nor adulterers, nor those who fall into uncleanness and lasciviousness, nor idolaters, nor wickedness, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor covetous people, nor extortioners, nor envious people, neither murderers, nor heretics, nor drunkards, nor slanderers and haters will inherit the Kingdom of God (1 Cor. 6:9-10; see also: Gal. 5:19-21).
The sweet fruits of a virtuous life, given by the Holy Spirit, are the following: love, joy, peace, long-suffering, goodness, goodness, faith, meekness, self-control (cf. Gal. 5, 22-23; see also: 1 Cor. 13 ; Matthew 5–10). We must care and pray to God to give us these fruits to create through the grace of His Holy Spirit.
2. It is very useful to read the lives of the saints who labored against sin and imitate them.
3. We must remember that God is present in every place, and is persistently with us everywhere, and what we do and think - he sees everything clearly, and everything that we say - he hears, and is angry with every sin, and rewards everyone according to his deeds. Beware, Christian, of sinning before the face of God! It's scary to anger God. In sin itself, God can strike the sinner and send him to Gehenna.
When we bring to mind the punishments for sins, we will be convinced that God is a righteous rewarder: for sins a worldwide flood was brought upon ancient humanity, the completely corrupted inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah were burned by fire, the rebellious and murmuring Israelites were struck by death under Moses in the desert and so on. Let us remember in our lifetime the punishments for sins that happen to people.
4. Thinking about the fact that for our sins Christ the Son of God was tortured and died prevents us from sin. Christ suffered for our sins: how can we dare to commit those sins for which Christ the Son of God drank such a bitter cup of suffering? Should we do again what Christ endured such severe suffering for, should we crucify the Son of God a second time through the sins? This is scary and very unfortunate. And woe to Christians who sin and do not honor the suffering of Christ and Christ Himself!
5. We must remember the last four: death, the judgment of Christ, hell and the Kingdom of Heaven. The memory of them also greatly preserves from sin. “In all your deeds,” says the wise Sirach, “remember your end, and you will never sin” (Sir. 7:39).
6. The memory of the uncertainty of the hour of death can also keep you from sin. It is known that we will all die, but when and how we will die is unknown. Woe to those who are caught in sin by death! For whatever death finds us in, God will judge us in.
7. May the inevitable hour of Christ’s judgment keep us from sin. For the same Christ the Lord, Who suffered and was tormented for our sins, He will judge for every word, deed and Thinking about eternity, makes it easier for a Christian to have earthly sorrows, and great labor, and temporary punishments, such as: sorrow, bonds, prisons, exile, insults, wounds, dishonor, reproach, need and poverty, and death itself helps to accept with love and gratitude. Thinking about eternity (that awaits us) will not allow us to fall into the lawless nets of sin, will not allow us to wallow in fornication and carnal uncleanness, lie, steal, rob, deceive, be proud, be arrogant, condemn our neighbors, slander. Whoever thinks diligently about eternity will seek more to hear God’s words and instructions for salvation, the sweetness of sin will disgust him, and temporary sinful pleasures will lose their apparent charm and attractiveness.
10. It is necessary to keep in mind and in memory that even during the commission of the sin itself a person can die and perish, passing in this state into eternity. Thus, once in ancient times, Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, chased after the Israelites, wanting to do them harm, but in that very lawless act he died (Ex. 14:27-28). So Absalom, the son of David, rebelled against his holy father and sought to kill him, and at that time he died ingloriously (2 Sam. 18:14). We see the same thing today: we see that the fornicator and adulterer are sometimes struck down in the worst of deeds; blasphemers - in blasphemy, thieves and predators - in theft, and other lawless people receive according to their deeds. Thus, the righteous judgment of God strikes the wicked, so that we too will be afraid to sin and commit lawlessness.
11. One should avoid occasions and occasions that lead to sin: all kinds of feasts and drinks, friendships and corrupting conversations with people who are corrupt and have no fear of God, for “bad associations corrupt good morals” (1 Cor. 15:33); You need to protect your sight, hearing and be kept from temptations.
12. You should also be careful from the smallest sins, since it is easy to move from small sins to large ones.
13. One should never imitate and follow a bad example and not look at what people do, but pay attention to what the law of God teaches and is preached in the temple. If we love the law of God, then no temptations in the world will harm us (Ps. 119:165).
14. With every sin, the Trinitarian God, the great, holy, good, righteous, infinite and terrible God, the merciful and all-good Father, is offended and angry. It is pitiful and grievous to offend a father born in the flesh, all the more grievous to offend God, the Heavenly Father, Who created your father, feeds, clothes, preserves and provides other benefits and calls everyone to eternal bliss. It would be better to die a hundred times than to offend God, our most good Father and Creator. Keep yourself, Christian, from sin, as from great evil.
15. A sin committed torments the conscience until it is cleansed by repentance. Beware of sin, like the poison of snakes, if only to avoid remorse.
16. If you want your prayer to be heard, then avoid sin. For whoever sins and does not give up on sin, his prayer is not acceptable.
17. We must approach the communion of the holy, terrible and life-giving Mysteries of the Body and Blood of Christ with fear and trembling, fearing that communion will not lead to judgment and condemnation. Therefore, we must beware of sin, both before and after communion, like a serpent that devours the soul.
18. Our care and feat in the fight against sin are not strong without the help of God. Therefore, we must always take care and pray that the Lord will help us in this feat.
19. Prayer to God frequently, humbly, diligently, with contrition of heart is a very powerful aid in the fight against sin. “Watch and pray so that you do not fall into temptation,” said Christ (Matthew 26:41).
20. To the pious Christ will say at His Second Coming: “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 25:34). About the blessings prepared for the righteous, the prophet says: “For since the ages no one has heard, no ear has listened, and no eye has seen another god besides You, who would do so much for those who hope in him” (Is. 64:4).
The Lord will say to unrepentant sinners: “Depart from Me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41). And these will go into everlasting punishment; the righteous into eternal life. And everywhere in the word of God disaster is proclaimed to unrepentant sinners, and bliss to the pious. The Word of God is not false, it is true, what it says will be unchangeable. God cannot lie. Heed this, Christian, so that for the temporary sweetness of sin you do not lose eternal bliss and do not fall into eternal torment, which will have no end.
St. John Chrysostom. Creations. St. Petersburg, 1898. T. II. pp. 45, 70.
It's him. Creations. Ed. 5th. M., 1889. T. I. P. 242. Further, all footnotes, except for specially stated cases, are given according to this edition. See 1994 reprint.
Reading the scriptures of the fathers is the parent and king of all virtues.
St. Ignatius
With pain in his heart, Saint Ignatius noticed that Christians, his contemporaries, hardly studied the works of the holy fathers at all. “The writings of the holy fathers have been forgotten! The fact that from ancient times they have been recognized by the Holy Church as the only correct guide in ascetic life is not at all accepted with respect,” he wrote. Seeing that in his time there were very few spiritual mentors capable of correctly guiding the spiritual life of his flock, and noticing that every year true mentors were diminishing, the Bishop tirelessly reminded in his creations and letters that the only true guide in spiritual life is the creations of saints fathers. “The light in which spiritual vigil takes place is shed from… the writings of the holy fathers,” the Bishop reminds all Christians of this truth.
The writings of the holy fathers, according to the false conviction of St. Ignatius, were compiled by inspiration or under the influence of the Holy Spirit; they bear the stamp of anointing and wondrous unity. All of them are based on the Gospel and teach how to correctly fulfill the Gospel commandments. “Their source and end is the Holy Gospel.” Many holy fathers, in deep solitude, delved into the Gospel, implemented its teachings in their lives, and then in their writings set out how to fulfill the Gospel commandments. Saint Ignatius writes: “The Holy Fathers teach how to approach the Gospel, how to read it, how to understand it correctly, what helps and what hinders understanding it.”
To improve the perception and correct understanding of the Gospel, the Bishop even advised to first study the patristic works, learn from the Holy Fathers how to relate to the Gospel, and then only begin to read the Word of God.
Saint Ignatius bases the need to interpret Holy Scripture in the light of the works of the holy fathers on the words of the Apostle Peter: “No prophecy in Scripture can be resolved by oneself. For prophecy was never made by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Pet. 1:20-21). These apostolic words clearly prohibit arbitrary interpretation of the Word of God. The Holy Spirit spoke and the holy apostles wrote the Holy Scriptures, and only the Holy Spirit can interpret them correctly. God-inspired men - prophets and apostles - wrote the Holy Scripture, only God-inspired men - the holy fathers - can correctly interpret It. All who want to gain true knowledge of the Word of God must study the holy fathers and perceive their understanding of the Word of God. This is the only safe way. Arbitrary interpretation always leads to the path of error, because “No one knows the message of God, but the Spirit of God” (1 Cor. 2:11).
Just as knowledge of the holy fathers is necessary when interpreting the Word of God, it is also necessary for the correct completion of the Christian feat. “The distinctive feature of all the holy fathers,” writes St. Ignatius, “was the unwavering guidance of the moral tradition of the Church.” All the ascetics of ancient times went through the difficult feat of external and internal work, based on repentance, crying, humility, self-reproach and many other Christian virtues. Their creations are treasures from which everyone can draw the teaching of Christian virtues and walk along the path of salvation. “Assimilate into yourself the thoughts and spirit of the holy fathers by reading their writings,” suggests the archpastor-mentor, “the holy fathers achieved their goal: salvation. And you will achieve this goal in the natural course of things. The Holy Fathers expressed their thoughts, their hearts, their way of acting in their writings. This means: what a true guide to heaven...” Under the guidance of the holy fathers, according to the conviction of St. Ignatius, one can not only be saved, but even achieve Christian perfection.
In the patristic traditions one can find the answer to any question of spiritual life. Saint Ignatius compares the books of the holy fathers with a rich collection of medicinal remedies; the soul of a Christian can find in this collection a cure for its sinful ulcers.
Bishop Ignatius advises reading both the Gospel and the works of the holy fathers constantly, with attention, observing prudent moderation, which preserves the “taste” for the scriptures for a long time and increases the heart’s thirst for the divine truth contained in the scriptures. Knowing how easily an inexperienced soul can lose the path of salvation, a wise mentor warns that everyone should choose to read the works of the fathers according to his lifestyle, so that he can not only admire and enjoy reading the scriptures, but also practically apply them to his life . Studying deeds and virtues that do not correspond to one’s way of life can lead to daydreaming and make life fruitless. “If you incorrectly read the Holy Scriptures and the Holy Fathers, you can easily deviate from the path of salvation into impassable jungles and deep abysses, which is what happened to many,” the saint warns.
A layman living among the world should not read books written for monastics. This reading will distract the layman from the virtues that are characteristic of him to do, with a dream of higher spiritual achievements. This dreaminess can at times delight his imagination, but at times plunge his soul into despair and despondency. Even if a layman succeeds temporarily in a feat that is unusual for his way of life, which is usually achieved by inflaming his flesh and blood, he still will not be able to remain in it for a long time, and will soon abandon the feat that exceeds his capabilities. However, temporary exercise in sublime feats can make him incapable of the feats of piety characteristic of his lifestyle for the rest of his life.
For Christians whose feat takes place in the conditions of worldly life, Saint Ignatius recommends reading the works of the holy fathers, who wrote for all Christians in general. These include: St. John Chrysostom, St. Demetrius of Rostov, Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk, Nicephorus of Astrakhan and George the Recluse.
It would seem that the bishop offers few spiritual writers to the layman, but, as he himself notes, the works of these writers are “an abundant field for reading! Abundant spiritual pasture, on which the verbal sheep of Christ can feed until they are full and fat!”
Having advised one “statesman” to engage in a “deep” reading of all the works of St. John Chrysostom, the Right Reverend Ignatius wrote to him: “I offer you that church writer who, with his extraordinary purity, clarity, and power of Christian teaching, lifts the reader above all earthly things; the eagle and from there shows the land to its pet.”
Although Saint Ignatius recommends reading the works of Saint Demetrius as a writer who bears the seal of the anointing of grace and communicates this anointing to the readers, he warns that his works “are not entirely pure, not entirely of an Eastern character... This is a significant flaw in the writings of St. Dmitry." Some deviations from the spirit of the Eastern Church in the writings of St. Saint Ignatius explains Demetrius by saying that the Rostov saint lived for a long time in western Russia and received his education there. Western Russia at that time was under the strong influence of Latinism. Of all the works of St. Demetrius, Bishop Ignatius liked most of all the “maturity of the spirit” in the 4th part of the appendix to St. stories. He suggests that this was the last work of Saint Demetrius. “The fourth part of the works of St. Demetrius,” wrote St. Ignatius, “is especially good; here you can glean a lot of very necessary and very useful information.” Saint Ignatius valued the works of Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk very highly. He even placed excerpts from his works in the Fatherland along with the ancient ascetics. Bishop Ignatius treated the personality of the Zadonsk ascetic with special reverence, and it seems that it is no coincidence that both saints have some similarities in the direction of their feat, teaching and even the external events of their lives. (Abbotage of the monastery, short-lived administration of the diocese, retired literary activity, death on the day of the week).
Archbishop Nikifor of Astrakhan (1731-1800) wrote a Commentary on the Sunday Gospels. According to Saint Ignatius, he was a “very thorough and anointed” writer. He was Greek by nationality. He received his education at European universities, then became a monk and was invited to Russia, where he eventually became the Archbishop of Astrakhan. Recommending Sister Elizabeth Alexandrovna to read the Interpretation of the Sunday Gospels by Archbishop Nicephorus, Archimandrite Ignatius wrote: “He stands incomparably above all our church writers (i.e. Russians), combining in himself thorough scholarship with spiritual anointing. There are signs that indicate that his body is incorruptible. You will see for yourself how excellent his book is, and therefore what spiritual dignity the writer has.”
The Zadonsk recluse Georgy (1789-1836) was a contemporary of St. Ignatius. In his youth he was a warrior, then he entered the monastery and spent 17 years in a seclusion. He died relatively early, at the age of 47, but, as St. Ignatius says, “he had replaced many years with spiritual success.” The recluse Georgy conducted a large correspondence with many people. After his death, many of his letters were collected and printed. Saint Ignatius highly appreciated the dignity of these letters. He said that the book by George the Recluse became one of his “desktop books”. Inviting his friends to read this book, Vladyka testified that George is a spiritual writer who surpasses everyone, all the spiritual writers of his time, “streams of grace flow from his pen.” True, the bishop noted the writer’s lack of external education, but this deficiency was replaced by abundant spiritual dignity. Saint Ignatius called the letters of St. George the Recluse a “precious book” filled with comforting instructions, especially for the suffering.
A Christian who studies the works of the holy fathers feeds his soul with heavenly blessings. “Resort more to reading the holy fathers, let them guide you, remind you of virtue, and guide you on the path of God. This way of living belongs to our times: it was commanded, handed down to us by the holy fathers of later centuries. Complaining about the extreme lack of God-enlightened mentors and advisers, he commands the zealot of piety to be guided in his life by the writings of his fathers. “The counsel of the saints is understanding” (Prov. 9, 10) - this is the instruction of St. Ignatius, which every Christian should, to the best of his ability, be guided in his spiritual life.
From the work of Ig. Mark (Lozinsky) “The spiritual life of a layman and a monk according to the works and letters of Bishop. Ignatius (Brianchaninov)."
