Priest Sergiy Tishkun. Ilya Kabanov. “People of the Greek Church”.
Hieromonk Ephimius (Jafarov) tells the story:
Our elder [Archimandrite Parthenius Murelatos] told such a story. As a
young monk, he had the obedience of a forester, lived in the forest.
There is a church, there are cells, and he watched the forest, who cuts
it down, what is taken out. And there he fell into a kind of strange
despondency and negligence, completely stopped praying and reading his
monastic prayer rule. In this state, he spent a whole year.
He once walked and wandered through the woods, returned to his cell and
lay down on the bed disheartened. His eyes fell on the icon of the
Mother of God ... And suddenly it dawned on him, and he prayed with
tears: "Mother of God, help me, I can’t do anything! Help me to overcome
this condition." As soon as he said this, he immediately felt warmth in
his heart and felt a surge of spiritual strength. He said: "I jumped up
and made four hundred bows to the ground at once without concealing
anything. I began to pray, and everything went away at once. The state
of sloth - everything disappeared."
On the Prayer of Jesus. From the ascetic essays of Bishop Ignatius Brianchaninov.
The Danger of Delusion
St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov)
I offer fathers and brothers my poor advice, begging them not to reject my poor advice. Do not force
yourself prematurely to the discovery within yourself of the action of the Prayer of the Heart. Prudent
caution is most necessary, especially in our time when it is almost impossible to find a satisfactory
guide in these matters, when the ascetic must himself force his way gropingly by the direction of the
writings of the Holy Fathers to the treasury of spiritual knowledge, and also must gropingly select for
himself what is suited to his needs. While living according to the commandments of the Gospel,
attentively practice the Prayer of Jesus according to the method of St. John Climacus, combining
prayer with weeping, having as the beginning and end of prayer repentance. In its own time, known to
God, the action of the Prayer of the Heart will be revealed of itself. Such action, revealed by the
touch of the finger of God, is more excellent than that which is acquired by vigorously forcing oneself
by means of material aids. It is more excellent in many respects. It is far more extensive and
voluminous, far more abundant. It is quite safe from delusion and other dangers. He who receives in
this way sees in what he receives only the mercy of God, a gift of God, while he who attains by the
vigorous use of material aids, though seeing the gift of God, cannot fail to see his own effort and
labor, he cannot fail to see his own mechanical aid which he has used, he cannot fail to ascribe to it
special importance. This in the subtle way of the spirit is a considerable defect, a considerable
obstacle, a considerable hindrance to the development of spiritual proficiency. For the development
of spiritual proficiency there is no end, no limit. An insignificant, unnoticed hope or trust in something
outside God can stop the advance of progress and proficiency, in which faith in God is leader, guide,
legs and wings. “Christ for the believer is all,” said St. Mark. (Mark the Ascetic, “On the Spiritual Law” 4, Philokalia 1, p. 110)
Psychologist Vyacheslav Borovsky speaking of pride as the cause of neurosis (TV program “First Nature”).
Vyacheslav Borovsky
Part 1.
Hello. This is again the mental health program. So we are talking about pride. What kind of problem is this and how do we recognize it?
As a doctor, I have recently been most often visited by people suffering from neuroses. Neuroses are such a mental pathology that few people now know in psychiatry. This includes various kinds of fears, anxiety, obsessive states, obsessive thoughts, obsessive actions. This includes astheno-depressive disorders, when a person gets tired very quickly, and his mood drops, and he becomes indifferent, he falls into apathy. Neuroses are the most common mental pathology for today. However, not understanding the true cause of these neuroses, psychiatry is trying to make itself distant from them. They are called “neuroses” - in my opinion, quite unsuitably, and this name suggests that the nervous system is unsound. It is unsound, of course, but secondarily. And this whole group of diseases itself was referred to the so-called borderline pathology, artificially separated from psychiatry, because there are no psychoses, there is no psycho-production, the person thinks critically, he understands that some kind of trouble is happening to him, but he cannot do anything – the man has lost his composure; he is not his own master. And the newly emerging science of psychotherapy has actively taken up this pathology and is trying to help these people. But as far as we can see, the secular approach of psychotherapy is also ineffective. It can temporarily relieve the condition of a neurotic. But no psychotherapy based on a rational approach to a person can save him from this problem, heal, replenish this deficiency, which was formed in the human will and in human feelings.
So, the whole problem is pride as the initial spiritual state of a person. This is our main pathology. And the whole diverse palette of the so-called neuroses is the manifestation of pride. Well, how can it be otherwise? After all, what is a neurosis? Here in all these manifestations that I have listed. Yes, this is a person’s loss of self-control. Yes, man ceases to be his own master. He really has no power over his thoughts, nor over his desires, nor over his actions. Moreover, with a healthy rest of his mind, he adequately reflects over the situation and understands that he is sick, that something terrible is happening to him, something destructive, but he cannot resist it. And why did this happen?
Saint Theophan the Recluse. "What is spiritual life and how to tune into it?"
St. Theophan the Recluse
Be afraid of self-conceit, it is the first enemy. Our diligence before God, even only intentional, already gives rise to the thought of a certain difference from others and even from ourselves – the ones who we were in the past, especially when we manage to do something on this path. As soon as we stand for a while in this condition, it seems to be something marvelous, and we begin to dream of ourselves as perfect persons, doing wonderful things. And this is the enemy who tempts us in order to give rise to conceit. Whoever succumbs and falls into this conceit, is immediately abandoned by the grace, it leaves him alone. Then the enemy seizes him as a helpless prey.
From the life of the venerable Ambrose of Optina (compiled by Archimandrite Agapit Belovidov).
St. Ambrose of Optina
“For five years,” said the late elder himself, “I had the intention to go to Kiev to visit my homeland on the way in order to tonsure my old mother to the Lesser Schema secretly, but I didn’t have a chance to go.”
Let us add to this that the elder Ambrose during his entire residence in the monastery because of pain did not go anywhere far from it. He was only once in Belyov (40 miles from Optina) and it was for obedience, as assigned by the elder Makarius.
“My mother”, the late elder continued his story, “was always weak, sick. I remember that in summer she sat on the stove, but she lived longer than the father, despite the fact that he had good health. Father died at 60, and mother at 75. She lived a godly life and went by her own way to salvation. But if I had tonsured her, then she could have become confused and would not have got anywhere (neither with the laymen, nor with the nuns). And I thank God that I was not able to do this. ”
Saint Theophan the Recluse. Letters. Issue 4. From the letter 322.
No need to be afraid of delusion. It happens with the proud people only... who begin to think that as the warmth has entered their hearts, this is already the end of perfection. And here is just the beginning, and, perhaps, it is not durable. For both warmth and peace of heart are natural, the fruit of concentration. But you have to work tooth and nail, and wait until the natural is replaced by the grace. Anyway, the best of all is never to consider yourself to have achieved something, but always see yourself as a beggar, naked, blind and worthless.
Letters of St. Macarius of Optina. Volume VI. Letter 109.
St. Macarius of Optina
...We find it worth to offer a remark for consideration for you, mother: the honorable A. has come to your convent with a very good disposition and desire to “seek Jesus,” that is, to attain His love. This her expression often reached us. This thing is very good and virtuous, but it needs to have a solid foundation, for love is tempted by the enemy. Due to her ardor and purity of soul, she will soon see comforting and sweet feelings in herself - this will give hope to her in finding Jesus and His love. But this feeling is very dangerous and close to delusion: not yet having a struggle with passions, not knowing own weakness and not yet getting humbled, comforting feelings are not reliable. Although they come, but in order to be careful to get them and not to be under the delusion with them, but to consider herself unworthy of that... Thus, we suggest that you take care to warn her if she has any sweet feelings so that she does not rely on them and does not consider them to be great; they will leave her soon. Otherwise, being under the delusion and having accepted them at the wrong time, she will soon lose them; and when there is already time, he will not receive them, like a careless and stupid farmer who, when he saw growth, would consider it a fruit and pick it: he will never receive the fruit in this case. Many people suffered, going this way, and went astray; instead of humility, having too high opinion of themselves, they attained arrogance... Remind her that the love of God is tempted by the enemy: various passions will arise, and it is necessary to struggle with them, and whoever has humility and wisdom, will have relief in the struggle; but he who has a sense of grandeur about himself, or who reassures himself of comforting feelings, faces a tougher struggle, so that, learning his weakness, he would humble himself. But for them defeat is unbearable and leads to cowardice: and this is a sign of their pride. One must be afraid of the delusion, which is diverse: either, having seduced with imaginary holiness, it will blind one’s spiritual eyes, or, by a flash of joyful and comforting actions, having lost them, it will fall into various passions; and when you lead her in a moderate and constant way, engaging with her attentively, then something good can be developed out of her over time ... and she should reveal all her words, deeds, thoughts and actions to you, for whatsoever doth make manifest is light, and everything hidden is darkness (Eph. 5, 13)
From the life of St. Niphon of Athos, who lived in the XIV century
Another monk living in a separate cell relied on himself and on his own knowledge, and therefore decided not to disclose his thoughts to a more experienced spiritual father. So he lived in the way as his thought prompted him. As a result, the unfortunate monk fell into delusion and mistook an angel of darkness for an Angel of light. The monk was taught by him to do many improper deeds, fell into pride and thought that he excels all people with his virtues. Once he came to St. Niphon. When asked why he came, he answered:
“To look at you, the one who is famous for his virtue.”
The saint remarked on this:
“How is it that you, so great and magnificent, have condescended to coming to me, insignificant and wretched?
“God gave me benefaction, and the gift that I have is from God.”
“Brother, the gift of God is the humility of mind. The thought from God is to think of yourself that you are the last of all; the thought from God is to achieve great virtues and think that you are the worst of all. And what you imagined about yourself is the delusion from Satan being the one who taught you everything.”
After such words of the saint, the monk seemed to come to his senses and said:
- Father, if my pride comes from the evil one, then, I ask you, drive it away with your prayer and save me from arrogance.
Raising the eyes of his soul to heaven, blessed Niphon said:
- Lord Jesus Christ, who sought and found a lost sheep and counted it as being among other non-lost sheep, who banished the mental wolf who intended to kill it, and showed us the way of salvation. Thou, Lord, deliver from the arrogance of demons this servant of yours, who has fallen into delusion through his simplicity and the treachery of the deceitful devil, let him know Thou, the true God, who suffered the cross and death for the sake of us, so he may glorify Thy holy name forever and ever. Amen.
So the saint prayed, and immediately a veil fell from the brother’s eyes, and he clearly saw what evil he, miserable, fell into. Since then, having gotten rid of satanic arrogance, he began to lead a pious life with prudence and humility.
Last winter, after worshiping the relics of the Saint Blessed Matrona of Moscow, miraculously, sin which I could not overcome for many years left me. Do I need to confess this sin, if it is in the past?
Answer of the priest Dimitry Vasiliev, the clergyman of the church of Saint Princess Olga Equal-to-the-Apostles in Kalininsk.
Even if you have forsaken the sin through the prayers of St. Matrona, this does not mean that you do not need to confess it. If the sin included, for example, accidental killing? Even if not a single person was killed after that one for decades, does this mean that confession is superfluous? However, concealing the sin in confession, we fall under the words that we hear every time before we are covered with the epitrachilion: "If you conceal something from me, you will have a double sin." Find the strength in yourself to open up to the confessor, because even when you come to the doctor whom you know, you will not be embarrassed by the fact that your illness is very personal in nature – here the situation is the same.
"The Great Watch". From the cell notes of Hieromonk Jerome.
One of devoted people, wishing to retire to the monastery, asked the hegumen to accept him to the cenoby. After many of his desires expressed before the hegumen, he was asked to live a little as he lives and go to obedience, which was then assigned to him. From the very moment he received obedience, he showed a spirit of defiance by the fact that he did not like obedience or the cell. When the hegumen made a remark to him, he was very alarmed, but, however, he went on convinced by an older one, who told him about the power of obedience, he apparently set to work. And when he just got down to it, a demon suddenly appeared in the middle of the day and said to him: “And you dared to leave me! Didn’t I console you, giving you various pleasures at the request of your heart? ”Of course, the newcomer was very scared, because after that wriggling snakes and other reptiles appeared, he began to cry and scream hysterically.
Then they told the confessor, who instructed him not to cry and not to be afraid of anything. When asked why this happened, he spoke out that he concealed his weaknesses in confession, not wanting to be ashamed of the confessor. Then the first days he felt a great fear, but when he made the sign of the Cross, then everything stopped. This novice, however, lived in the monastery for only about three months and, embarrassed more and more, left for his homeland.
A woman, let’s suppose, comes up to me, and says: now I haven’t taken Communion for a year already. I say: why? She says: I don’t know. I say: what sin did you commit a year ago? “I betrayed my husband, (well, for example), but I repented of it.” “What does it mean you have repented?” – “Well, I said about it in the Confession.” “Do you consider yourself wrong that you cheated on your husband?” – “No, you know, father, this betrayal has given me a lot”. I say: “What did it give you?” – “Well, such a spiritual, moral development, something else, something else. It’s even hard for me to consider this a sin.” “That's why you don’t go to the church.” The only thing that separates us from God is sin. Sin separates us from God. And when a person formally mentioned his sin in Confession - well, some, I mentioned one for example, maybe the other one, but he didn’t repent of it heartily with the contrition of the heart, he didn’t reject it internally, he kept the form of repentance, but there was no repentance, - this led him inevitably to cooling. Therefore, you just need to find out what sin lies at the basis of this cooling, or maybe it is a mortal sin, or maybe it is like when I said that football is more interesting than the Liturgy, and begin to repent of this sin, struggle, and force yourself to do the opposite.
Hello! The situation is such that I committed one sin. I repent of it, but I can’t confess to the priest - I’m embarrassed and ashamed. I can’t tell him that. Before God, I repented of everything long ago. Is it necessary to confess to the priest?
Katia
Katia, it is a must to confess to the priest. Sin is destroyed, it loses its strength only when we expose (reveal) it. The devil is afraid when he is exposed, when his deeds are revealed, and he runs away. You feel false shame – you should be ashamed to sin. Until sin is revealed in confession, it is not forgiven, and this sin will be with you until you repent in it during the confession to the priest.
Hieromonk Victorin (Aseev)
March 29, 2013
Hello, Hegumen Nikon (Golovko)! Thank you very much for your advice! I have one more question. But what if, during confession, you cannot confess of some sin? If you are ashamed, scary and uncomfortable talking about it? I very much repent of my sins and dream of confessing. But I’m scared, I don’t know why. Please tell me what is to be done. Thank you.
Marina
Marina, you need to imagine that you are standing before God Himself, who has known everything for a long time already, He knows everything. And now, just like a father in front of a child, He is already ready to forgive and not punish, waiting for acknowledgment - please forgive me, yes, it was I who did it.
Schema-archimandrite Abraham (Reidman). Unworthy communion as an aspect of spiritual life.
Report at the conference "Life of the Eucharistic Community".
Schema-archimandrite Abraham (Reidman)
I hesitated for a long time which topic of the report I should choose. Today it is no longer necessary to insist on the benefits of frequent communion, because it is becoming a tradition of our Church. At the latest Bishops’ Council, decisions were made both about proper preparation for communion and about the need to receive communion often. For example, by the decisions of this Council, believers are allowed to take daily communion at the Bright Week, which at the time of my youth seemed completely impossible. Reflecting on what may be interesting and important for all of us, I decided to raise a question, perhaps reflecting the negative aspects of the Eucharistic life, however, relevant and useful. This is a question of unworthy communion.
First of all, I want to remind you of the famous words of the Apostle Paul from the First Epistle to the Corinthians about how the sacrament of the Eucharist was established and with what feelings and thoughts we should receive it.
This is what the apostle Paul says: For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, this cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come. [1 Cor. 11, 23–26].
St. John of Sinai. "The Ladder of Divine Ascent". Step 26.
On discernment of thoughts, passions and virtues
1. Discernment in beginners is true knowledge of themselves; in intermediate souls it is a spiritual sense that faultlessly distinguishes what is truly good from what is of nature and opposed to it; and in the perfect it is the knowledge which they possess by divine illumination, and which can enlighten with its lamp what is dark in others. Or perhaps, generally speaking, discernment is, and is recognized as, the assured understanding of the divine will on all occasions, in every place and in all matters; and it is only found in those who are pure in heart, and in body and in mouth.
2. He who has piously destroyed within him the three passions [gluttony, cupidity, vainglory] has destroyed the five [lust, anger, despair, despondency, pride (St. Gregory of Sinai, ch. 91)] too; but he who has been negligent about the former will not conquer even one passion.
3. Discernment is undefiled conscience and purity of feeling.
4. Let no one on seeing or hearing something supernatural in the monastic way of life fall into unbelief out of ignorance; for where the supernatural God dwells, much that is supernatural happens.
5. Every satanic conflict in us comes from these three generic causes: either from negligence, or from pride, or from the envy of the demons. The first is pitiable, the second is disastrous, but the third is blessed.
6. After God, let us have our conscience as our aim and rule in all things, so that we may know which way the wind is blowing and set our sails accordingly.
The enemy confuses you with various perplexities. The Holy Fathers advise not to be afraid, when calling the name of God, especially since you started this work not on your own, but with the blessing. And do not assign special significance to things you do not understand, not rejecting and not accepting them, as the venerable Mark the Ascetic advised to spiritual babes, such as the fact that you saw Christ crucified inside the heart, and the Savior sitting in prison in red clothes, and some strange light. Leave this, and everything similar to this to the will of God, telling yourself: "Only God knows what is good and salutary." Read all places about delusion in the Philokalia and beware of the indicated signs of delusion. Leave the rest to the will of God. You write that when you pray, you look at the heart. The Holy Fathers advise, during prayer, to look inside the heart, and not from above, and not from the side, and especially if the attention of the mind descends below the heart, then lusts of the flesh arise. You write that on the feast of St. John the Evangelist you was exhausted, left the church and went to the cell and, lying on your bed, saw a running enemy, in all its disgrace. Henceforth, if you are exhausted in the church, sit or lie down, but do not leave. In general, know as you yourself read in the books of the Holy Fathers that the enemy does not rebel against anything as much as against the prayer of Jesus. Therefore, as you have begun to keep the Jesus prayer, then do not leave it, but continue, trusting in the mercy and help of God. The Lord and the Queen of Heaven are strong to save us from the evils and troubles inflicted by spiritual enemies.
You also write that some of your sisters refer to the Athos elders. But you do not know them, and they do not know you. Therefore, such a referral cannot be convenient. In addition, in your letter it was said that you had three days of strong excitement of the flesh... Probably, you judged someone, or you were subjected to it for humility and trial.
Question to Archpriest Dimitry Smirnov in the Radonezh radio studio. October 29, 2006.
Archpriest Dimitry Smirnov
Question.
The servant of God Sergius asks: In the life of the elder Paisios of Mount Athos there are examples of how the enemy can lead a person into delusion with false visions. The elder, of course, coped with it. But how can we, Orthodox Christians, avoid falling into this delusion? May the Lord save you.
Archpriest Dimitry answers.
There is nothing easier. All visions must be rejected. And that’s all. Because you and I are not elders, we are not of Mount Athos, we are not the men of fervent prayer, we are not saints, we are ordinary sinful people. Therefore, all visions to us - if any - come from the evil. Very simple. And there is no need to philosophize here somehow for a long time. Because a person is blessed with some kind of spiritual vision only in one case - when he can bear it. That’s it. However, an ordinary average person immediately becomes arrogant. Therefore, from God, who knows everything, there can be no such visions that put a person into such terrible conditions. http://oprelesti.ru/index.php/how-to-avoid-or-get-rid-of-spiritual-delusion/784-an-ordinary-person-cannot-bear-true-visions-from-god
Hegumen Nikon (Vorobiev). "How to live today. Letters on the spiritual life".
Hegumen Nikon (Vorobiev)
* * *
1949
Peace to you, worthy mother Mary!
I have received your letter. You recognize yourself wrong in many ways. I am glad about that. A person who stubbornly justifies himself and blames others is on the wrong track: he will either fail to make any success in spiritual life, or he will inevitably fall into the nets of delusion. Our salvation is not in feats, but in the consciousness, deep, sincere, heartfelt consciousness of our sinfulness, corruption, powerlessness to improve ourselves. This consciousness will result in contrition, crying and some humility, etc.
If there is no such consciousness, and moreover (God save us!), there is self-justification – then all the attempts will be in vain and even arrogance and pride will arise. So, in small and big things, in everyday and spiritual affairs, with yourself and in relations with other people, try to put yourself in the lowest place (according to the Gospel: do not sit in the highest place) - and then you will receive peace for your soul and everything described above, and with them or through them, you will get salvation.
My regards and blessings of God to you, Katya and to everyone you know.
Forgive me for offending you and the rest. Ours give their regards to you. God will forgive you for everything, and I forgive you.
Archpriest Dimitry Smirnov answers, the host is Archpriest Alexander Berezovsky.
Archpriest Dimitry Smirnov and Archpriest Alexander Berezovsky
Question: In the writings of the holy fathers and in your sermons, sobriety is often mentioned as an extremely desirable condition for success in the Christian life. Define this term as applied to modern laity, if possible, with examples.
Archpriest Dimitry answers:
Sobriety is a derivative of discernment. Besides, sobriety can be considered as a certain step. Discernment is a very high virtue, which many Holy Fathers put even higher than love, because everyone can achieve love, while discernment can not be achieved by everyone. But the first stage of reasoning is sobriety, and every Christian must somehow succeed in this. Because, unfortunately, very often, especially in the beginning of the Christian life, a person falls into some kind of euphoria. It is simply explained. Because, firstly, a person discovers a new world, and this always happens. He experiences a certain fascination - quite legitimate - since he plunges into the two-thousand-year-old tradition. He begins to meaningfully read the Holy Scriptures, because for a person far from tradition, this is generally a closed book. Thirdly, he immediately encounters new, one might say, objects: a church, a priest, vestments, a choir, and icons. And to research everything, dozens of books are needed. He begins to plunge into it, and, of course, he becomes overwhelmed. Many people, when facing churchliness like that, even stop reading secular books - everything seems tasteless. And one more aspect. This is a contact with the church world, and yet there is also the grace-filled life. And the grace of God affects not only our spirit, but also the soul and body. Man is also transformed externally - he is radiant, dozens of miracles happen every day in his life, and he almost flies. And he still does not know how to fly. And much of what he perceives as the direct action of the grace of God is not really this - it is a spiritual perception of his real contact with the grace-filled life. That is, indirectly. Therefore, there is always a danger to take one thing for another.
“Received a call from Voronezh: “Your Grace, how to get rid of delusion? Is it possible to get rid of it? And what is needed to be done for this? ”
Archbishop Vikenty (Morar')
The questions are answered by Vikenty, the Archbishop of Yekaterinburg and Verkhoturye.
“It is better not to fall into delusion than to get rid of it. Of course, getting rid of delusion is very difficult. This is a serious spiritual illness. And we know that some ascetics in monasteries, who fell into a state of delusion were engaged in prayer and abstinence, strict fasting. They fell into delusion, and to get themselves out of this state, they needed a very big work of prayer of the whole monastery, of all the monastery dwellers, so that the Lord would help to get out of the delusion. Therefore, the holy fathers warn us that we should be attentive to ourselves, so as not to get into this serious spiritual illness. What is delusion? This is flattery, a deception of the highest degree - when we are deceived by our consciousness or demonic obsessions that we are on the right path, that we are going the right way of life and leading the right spiritual life. Therefore, we need to always be self-critical, always acknowledge and see our mistakes. There are words of some holy fathers that we should see, notice our sins, like sand on the seashore. Now, when we recognize ourselves as sinners and see our sins, we constantly notice - this is a sign that we are on the right path, not deluded. And when we do not notice this, but only praise ourselves that we are great ascetics, do the right things and do everything right, that’s pride. And pride is the cause of all our spiritual illnesses; and the most terrible disease is deceit, a grand deceit, which brings us to the spiritual death. Therefore, one must be very careful in one’s spiritual life so as not to fall into enemy nets.”
Monk John (Adlivankin) and Hegumen Ephraim (Vinogradov). "Pastoral care of the people coming from sects and the occult. The canonical practice of accession and renunciation rites as an instrument of spiritual struggle. The strategies of demonic forces".
Monk John: To continue the conversation that took place on February 22 in the Monastery of Optina and dealt with the problems of pastoral care, the practice of accession rites, the problems of the boundary of the Church and the contemporary attitude towards modern children of the Church fallen away from the Church, we asked the famous contemporary writer to participate in our conversation. He is well-known to Orthodox audience as a confessor, it is father Ephraim (Vinogradov) known to the Orthodox public and readers as Hegumen N.
Thank you, farther, that you agreed to take part in this conversation. It seems to us extremely relevant. Those questions that have arisen in this conversation on the part of the clergy, on the part of the Optina brotherhood, and on the part of the priests, require more detailed study and clarification. Therefore, in today's talk, we will be able to give some answers to emerging questions.
Father Ephraim, this is a rather difficult topic: the pastoral care of people who come from sects, or damaged by sects and the occult. The topic, in general, is not so new in the Church, but nowadays, it becomes extremely relevant. You are well-acquainted with the work of the pastoral care center, you are familiar with the materials, documents, we closely cooperate in discussing some problems, developing solutions, and I know that recently you have been often using the canonical approach of accession and renunciation rites for people who for one reason or another were harmed or even fell away from the Church. Undoubtedly, in the vast experience of your pastoral work ... How long have you been a priest, how much have you been doing spiritual work?
Hegumen Ephraim: Well, almost 30 years.
Monk John: Well, in 30 years, probably, many things have come before your eyes. How do you feel about this approach? I know that you, too, have received the blessing to perform the accession rite with regard to people who have fallen away from the Church. It is such a difficult act; it needs a special blessing of the archbishop, the bishop. And, probably, you see from your experience that it gives really positive results. People who for many years for one reason or another could not be healed, did not come to senses and had completely obvious, and sometimes some hidden diseases that can be seen by the confessor, in general, after such an approach, after the implementation of such a practice, they obviously came to their senses. It is true, isn’t it?
I believe that we can start the second semester with a topic that is both urgent, and useful, and necessary for us both in personal terms and in the terms of our communication with other people. I am referring to mysticism. This word is very often used, we hear it, we read about it, we observe different attitudes towards it, but it is very important to get acquainted a little with what it is, and especially with what mysticism relating to the Christian sphere of life is. Well, the word mysticos is more or less clear to you, it is connected with mysteries, with mysteriousness that goes beyond the boundaries of the empirical world, not just with the secrets of nature which physicists and chemists discover to us, as well as astronomers do, but which go beyond the boundaries of the natural world, i.e. it is connected in some way with the spiritual world. Mankind, if we turn to its history, always knew that the other world exists, and not just anywhere, but here, namely in this place. At what point? At any point. If some skillful person managed to pull apart our space, we would see that there was another world. Paul the apostle in one place writes so that now we see it through a glass — that world, through a glass, darkly, i.e. divinatory, and you know that since ancient times people were telling fortunes, and fortune-telling was often associated with mirrors. So, through a glass, darkly, conjecturally, he says face to face that when we throw off these coats of skins, this is our body, our flesh, then, without this barrier, the soul begins to see that world, as it is. Now, these coats of skins do not allow us to see it. Sometimes there are some glimpses, they are very interesting. People have always wondered: what is there? The more so, as numerous facts testified that this world is amazing. In this world, both the past and the future already exist. It is that world where one can see what was in the past. In that world, if you suddenly get there, you can find out what will happen - with a single person, or with people, with someone’s family, tribe, with the world in general, after all. It turns out to have everything already. At least, everything can be seen. How can this be seen? How to understand this? Whole theories were formed about this. Whole religious doctrines tried to make it clear. But the fact itself that the penetration into that world reveals to a person what is not visible here remained for granted during the whole history of the human mind. I say ‘the whole history’, because I will tell you that even this age of the Enlightenment, I say this is the 18th century, the century of subsequent atheism, it itself inflicted a purely intellectual, maybe, blow to this belief, but the vast majority of the world population preserved their belief in the mystical world. The only question that arose was how to get there, in that world, because it was very interesting. Not just interesting but sometimes even important - after all, having learned what would happen, one might take the appropriate steps.
Priest George Maximov. "A question that the Protestants never ask."
Priest George Maximov
When we – Orthodox Christians – talk
about the faith with a Protestant, we can hear a variety of questions
from him. Those about icons, about the baptism of babies, about the
veneration of saints and so on. But there is one question that they will
never touch themselves. But it is this question that is the most
important, where a fundamental difference between us lies. This question
is the teaching about the Church.
What is the Church of Christ? Any
Protestant will immediately say that the denomination, to which he
currently belongs, is the Church of Christ. Then the question is: when
did your denomination appear? The range of answers will vary from the
last year to the beginning of the Reformation. Well, where had the
church of Christ been before that time?
Many Protestants look at the church
history like this: there were apostolic times, and then there was the
apostolic Church. And then, allegedly already from the II century, there
were distortions in the teachings of the Church. Many bluntly say that
the Church lost its apostolic creed because it brought all sorts of
false practices and ideas into its purity. It may even be said that "the
true Church was destroyed by paganism"[1]. So, starting from the XVI
century, from the time of the Reformation, it was them, the Protestants,
that allegedly returned the pure apostolic teaching. Well, from the XVI
century – if we talk about the "old" Protestants: Lutherans,
Calvinists. And “new” Protestants, such as the Baptists, Adventists, and
Pentecostals, for example, appeared later. Since Protestants are known
for being fond of speaking that it is them and their denomination that
faithfully follow the Bible in their faith, we will consider their views
on the Church precisely through the prism of the Holy Scripture. Let's
see if this Protestant idea about the disappeared Church is consistent
with the Bible.
From the book of Hieromonk Joachim (Sabelnikov) "The Great Watch".
Own cell notes of hieromonk Jerome Solomentsov. The events before the death of the monk Claudius.
Monk Claudius was a native of the
Kherson Governorate, Nikolayevsky district, a son of an Orthodox
peasant; his secular name was Kodrat Ivanovich Moshkov. When he was 20
years old, he asked his parents for allowing him to become a monk, and
after receiving their blessing, he went to Jerusalem in 1864 and lived
there at the Russian mission for three years, performing the duties of a
church reader in the mission’s church. Tired of the local rumor, he
left Jerusalem and went to Athos, where he decided to join the Russian
monastery of St. Panteleimon, and there he performed various obediences:
he was an archondar (the monk helping to accommodate guests of the
monastery), sang in the choir, wrote commemorative lists. Later, he was
sent to Constantinople, where he stayed at the metochion. Tested with
monastic obediences carried out by him well and flawlessly, he was
tonsured to the lesser schema and named Claudius during the Great Lent
of 1871 before his departure to Constantinople. At the end of 1873, he
was transferred from Constantinople to a monastery, where he began as
usual, with the blessing of the elders, to go to the choir, where he was
an assistant to the senior choir singer, and during his free time from
worship services, he continued to record names in commemoration lists.
Thus, he lived quietly and calmly, continuing to perform the monastic
obediences assigned to him until the beginning of 1876, and at the
beginning of that year, he fell into great temptation from the lack of
advice and concealing his thoughts, and this happened in the way
described below.
