What is the Orthodox religion. Orthodoxy

Orthodoxy means - Rule and Glorify. Christians are NOT Orthodox, originally they were "Orthodox Church of the Greek Rite". In 1054 A.D. the Christian church was divided into two - Western and Eastern; the western declared itself universal (that is, Catholic), and the eastern declared itself orthodox, i.e. true believer (standing on the foundations of the original Christian). It was Nikon in the 17th century who ordered the rewriting of liturgical books and changing the words in them “ orthodox faith christian" on " Orthodox faith”, so that all the victories of Orthodoxy can be attributed to Christianity. But they didn’t want this, because they said - we should not become like, i.e. Gentiles, those who kept their fathers.

And note, even in the Spiritual Regulations of Peter I of 1718 (1721) it is called "Christian Sovereign, orthodoxy and the guardian of every deanery in the Church of the Holy Ones". This was republished in 1898 under Nicholas II, and no one forwarded it to “Orthodoxy.”

The Russian Orthodox Church began to be called Orthodox only under Nicholas II and then with the postscript “Orthodox Christianity”, because there was a decree of Nicholas II “On those who were forcibly baptized into the Orthodox, everyone should be given the green light to return to the Faith of their Ancestors,” i.e. leaving Christianity and returning to the Ancestral roots.
Therefore, the Christian Church was not Orthodox.

The fact that the Moscow Patriarchate is now in Moscow has nothing to do with Christianity and Orthodoxy at all; it is a state structure created by decree of Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin, and the first patriarch was a colonel general of state security. Therefore it is a political organization. The Christian church that was in Russian Empire, all its devotees left overseas, and what do they call the Moscow Patriarchate? They call it a cooperative for extorting money from the poor.
But these are their inter-Christian affairs.

I explain - Rus' was Orthodox even before the birth of Christ, because all the people glorified, but they say “it’s right to glorify”... but do Catholics glorify Jesus incorrectly? Or are Protestants glorifying incorrectly? Or are the Arians wrong, and others? They have the same Bibles, the same prayers, what does it mean - these glorify correctly, and these praise incorrectly?

Substitution of concepts

You see, there have been substitutions, a distortion of the language. Let's say everyone has probably heard the saying: "Every family has its black sheep"- what is this saying about? They say there is a degenerate in the family. Nothing like that, or do you think that there were degenerates in every family? This is an insult to our peoples. The first child in the family is called the firstborn, he is under the protection of the Family, which is why they said: “There is a black mark in the family,” i.e. Every family has a firstborn child. Therefore in Polish, Czech: uroda– this is beauty, i.e. the most beautiful child. And what fell out of the Family (Rod rejected) was always “”. What the Christian Church did was that it replaced the concepts of “freak” and “fool”; the holy fools became good, and the freaks became bad, i.e. white became black, and black became white. But this is our language, why should we use a distorted interpretation? The same with Orthodoxy.

Another example: Christians call Old Believers sedition (sedition for them is a ban, something illegal, reprehensible). And in Slavic " sedition"means - to raise the word to RA (to pure light). A seditious person is a sun worshiper, a sun worshiper. What's bad about the Sun? The sun gives life, warms. Is it bad that a person gets up in the morning and greets the Sun with open arms and sings a hymn to him? According to Christian concepts, this is bad, but the right thing is to kneel during the all-night liturgy and bang your head on the floor.

Professor Alexey Ilyich Osipov

The problem of the meaning of life.

The problem of the meaning of life is the problem of the sought-after ideal or truth.

Its understanding determines the purpose, direction and nature of all human activity. However, the very solution to the issue, speaking essentially, is determined by the existential-personal attitude of a person: his freedom, his spiritual and moral state.

In the historical arena, three main forces claim to resolve this issue: religion, philosophy and science. Briefly, their answers could be expressed as follows.

Religion, by which we mean such a complete system of beliefs where the ideas of God and eternal life are central, sees the meaning of life in unity with God.

Philosophy, ultimately, is about the rational comprehension of truth.

Science is about maximizing knowledge of the world.

Naturally, each of these answers requires broad interpretation.

What's special Orthodox understanding this question?

It sees the meaning of life in eternal life in God, otherwise called salvation. This means, firstly, the conviction that God exists, and that He is not only the source of being, but also being itself, in which only the good of existence of everything that exists is possible, a full comprehension of the Truth and knowledge of the created world in its essence is possible. Secondly, this presupposes an understanding that real (earthly) life is not a self-sufficient value, but a necessary condition, a transitory form of being of a person for his achievement of perfect life in God. Therefore, the atheistic call is unnatural for the Christian consciousness: “Believe, man, eternal death awaits you!” - because it does not leave the most important thing for meaning - life, in which only meaning can be and is realized.

The essence of the Christian faith can be expressed in two words: “CHRIST IS RISEN!” - since they contain the entire endless and at the same time very concrete perspective of life. Its meaning is in likeness to Christ and unity with Him, otherwise - deification, theosis. What does it mean? To answer briefly, this is perfection in kenotic (Greek - self-abasement, sacrificial humility) love, which constitutes the very essence of God, for “God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God and God in him” (; 16).

The Apostle Paul writes in some detail about this state in his letter to the Galatians, when he lists the fruits of God's action in man. He characterizes it as love, joy, peace, long-suffering, mercy, meekness, self-control (). In another message, he describes this state in the following words: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man what God has prepared for those who love Him” (9).

The Apostle, as we see, writes that a person who has been spiritually cleansed, healed of passions, that is, spiritually healthy, is in deep joy, love and peace of soul - speaking in modern language- in happiness, but not fleeting, accidental, caused by the action of nerves and psyche, but which has become a property of the soul of a “new” person, and therefore integral, eternal. It should be noted, however, that this state in itself is not the goal and meaning of a person’s life. Christian teaching. It is only one of the consequences of achieving the goal - salvation, deification, unity with God, in which a person’s personality reaches the fullness of its disclosure, God-likeness.

But perfection in love is not only the moral and emotional good of a person. Love is no less a perfect “tool” for knowing the Truth and the created world. It is no coincidence that those whom, due to their special spiritual purity, are called venerables, called spiritual life true philosophy, the art of the arts, the science of the sciences. They called it that because correct asceticism, restoring the unity of the soul with God, opens to man both the knowledge of the Truth, and the contemplation of Its imperishable Beauty, and the knowledge of the essence of all creations. The experience of the Church clearly demonstrates that the spiritual perfection of man, to which the Gospel calls, is not the fantasy of heated dreamers, but a reality, a fact, practically verified an infinite number of times in the history of the life of the world, and to this day offered to the seeking person as the only reasonable goal of existence. .

Naturally, such a meaning of life is unacceptable to the pagan world, the essence of which was expressed by the first Theologian of the Church in the following words: “... everything in the world: the lust of the flesh (thirst for pleasures: sensual, aesthetic, intellectual), the lust of the eyes (thirst for wealth) and the pride of life ( the search for power, glory), is not from the Father, but from this world” (16). The psychological basis of the world is the “ostrich syndrome” - the refusal to see the only indisputable and inevitable reality of this life - death. Therefore, he devotes all his strength to acquiring these “benefits.” And although it is quite obvious how ruthlessly they are all taken away from the simple touch of death, nevertheless for the world an ideal that goes beyond the interests of this life, an IDEAL crucified in this life, is, in the words of the Apostle Paul, temptation and madness ().

The Christian meaning of life, which consists in the acquisition by a person here on earth of God-like spiritual values ​​and faith in the real resurrection of the body for endless life in God, thus becomes in irreconcilable contradiction with the ideal of the so-called. atheistic humanism.

It would be extremely interesting and important to analyze the spiritual sources from which the denial of the Christian ideal occurs. There is no doubt that these origins are purely spiritual and not rational. This is confirmed by at least the following considerations.

First. Every correct theory must at least satisfy two basic requirements: have evidence to support it, and be verifiable (it goes without saying that it must be consistent). That Christianity satisfies these conditions is obvious, and that atheism does not have (and cannot in principle have) either facts confirming the non-existence of God, or an answer to its main question: “What should a person do to be convinced of the non-existence of God?” - no less obvious. More precisely, atheism must admit its complete agreement with religion in that for a person, searching for meaning life, there is only one way to find (or not find) it - religious.

Second. Christianity offers man an ideal, greater or equal to which no other religion in the world has known - pure, selfless love. This love, in the image of Christ, is the highest state of good (to use Plato’s terminology), happiness (to use the terminology of the world), the bliss of a spiritual person, and at the same time a means of true knowledge of God and all created existence. That this ideal of perfect love is realistically achievable, and not the fruit of someone’s imagination, is evidenced quite eloquently by the history of the Church and the lives of its saints. Why, in this case, is it not only denied by the world, but also often “cleansed” from human consciousness with bitterness, fire and sword? Isn’t this very bitterness an indicator of the true source of the world’s denial of the Christian ideal of life?

Third - the well-known so-called. "Pascal's Wager". Indeed, the recognition of Christ, without taking away anything useful and reasonable from a person in this life, at the same time gives him complete hope for prosperity in eternity, if Christ is God and Savior. On the contrary, rejecting Him as the ideal and meaning of life, without enriching man’s earthly existence in any way, deprives him of everything in eternity, if there is a God. Consequently, being a Christian is “profitable,” but rejecting the Christian meaning of life is unreasonable. But in this case, why is this meaning rejected?

Christianity is rejected, of course, not due to any of its fundamental contradictions human nature and life. The reason is completely different. It is rejected because of its complete opposition to the goals and character of life of the pagan world.

For the world, pleasures, wealth and fame are the essence of life, but for Christianity they are passions that inevitably entail suffering, disappointment and inevitable physical and spiritual death. For paganism, the meaning of life is earthly blessings, for Christianity - spiritual blessings: love, peace of soul, joy, purity of conscience, generosity, that is, what a person can possess forever. Finally, for paganism Christian holiness itself is unbearable; for it it is like a reproach of conscience in an unrepentant soul, like the ringing of a bell, reminiscent of eternal truth. By the way, it is no coincidence that the revolution of 1917 in Russia threw down and destroyed bells with such hatred...

About the most important thing

Father Sergius said that I would give lectures. Don't believe me - I forgot my glasses. We'll have to talk!
You know, our age is of such a kind that when we come into contact with something or something is offered to us, we, sometimes consciously, sometimes subconsciously, ask ourselves - what will this give us? The West teaches us a little bit like this to look at things pragmatically. Stop having your head in the clouds.
So, you can often encounter exactly the same approach when we talk about Orthodoxy. But really, what can it give me? What does it give to a person? There are many worldviews. And, you know, we look at them as something applied. This is life - this is our life. These are our worries, these are our troubles, if you like, sorrows, joys. It is our life. We know our work, we know what we live for, what we strive for. But worldview and religion are just an appendage. I'm trying to talk about what I think a lot of people feel. Religion has become an appendage to life! Life is one thing, religion is another! The most that one strives for modern man, is to go to mass on Sunday or on holidays. At the Academy, I quite often say that the priests perform services during the service, the professors are present at the service, the students sing during the service, but I don’t know who prays. What is this anyway? And why do we need to pray?
The fact is that any worldview, a worldview in essence and religion in particular, is not an appendage to our practical life, and this, it turns out, is what determines our life, determines it in the most important things. And what is most important for us is probably something we all know. The most important thing for us is that our souls feel good. You know, in a hut - yes, to your liking! Or you can live in palaces and be an unhappy person.

The abbot, whom you may have heard of, told me a story from his life. He himself was from an Orthodox family, a believer, but then he went to school, and from school to a real school. There he was completely convinced that there was no God, that these were just empty fantasies that meant nothing. And that the meaning of life lies precisely in exploring this world. As much as possible. To achieve dominance in this world and acquire all the benefits that this world can give. We were all, he said, infected with materialism.
And one day, he said, we were all deeply shocked. Suddenly a message appeared in the newspapers, in large print, as they say, “with exclamation marks”: “A millionaire committed suicide!” – we were all shocked. “We were already,” he says, “raised in a materialistic worldview.” Yes, yes, this was before the revolution, mind you, before the revolution! Don’t think that this is now, somewhere, in Soviet times. No, this was the 1900s. "We were all materialists." “I remember,” he says, “I go into the dining room and do not take off my hat, as is customary in Orthodoxy, demonstrating my atheistic conviction.” A millionaire committed suicide... So what is the most important thing in life? He had everything! It turns out that love failed - and everything is lost.

The Greeks have a very interesting myth; they generally have a lot of interesting myths. Deep myths that sometimes really reveal very strongly certain aspects of human life, psychology, sometimes even affect the very being of a person. The myth of the Sword of Damocles. Remember how one of the nobles envied the king that he lived in luxury. The king noticed this and decided to have a feast. He seated the nobleman in his place, but hung a sword over his head on a thin hair. And then he asked: “Well, how are you feeling? Why don't you eat or drink? Why are you so sad? Why are you so sad? This idea of ​​the Sword of Damocles is a great idea, I’ll tell you. Every person who has been born, let alone born, is already sitting under the Sword of Damocles. No one knows when this hair will break. That is, we hear, of course, we hear - it broke off over something, over another, over a third, over a tenth. This is how wars begin - this thin hair breaks over millions.

And so a person involuntarily asks himself the question, if he wants to break away at least a little from everyday life, from the bustle, which, by the way, clutters the most, you know, like dust in the eyes or something: what am I living for? A person sees, there seems to be vision, but the dust can cover his eyes so much that he sees nothing, everything seems to be there, but he sees nothing. So this one is ours everyday life, these are our worries, problems, torments, bewilderments, disputes, etc. Our lives are sometimes so closed that we don’t even have time to think: why am I living? What am I living for? What's the point in this life of mine? What is the point of all this activity of mine? What is the point? Okay, I've done everything, now what? Did. Well, I did. What next? True, there are different attempts to answer this question. But in reality, these are half measures. “I do this to live!” - but very often we do a lot of things not at all in order to live. In order to live, we need much less. “We do it for others!” – but we need to think: what can we do for others? In general, the question of the value of what we do is one of the most important. Meaning and value are the content of all our activities. This meaning and value can only be assessed from the point of view of one or another worldview. Only a worldview can answer the question: is this good or bad? Am I engaging in activities that will truly benefit me and other people?! Or it just won’t do anything, I work like a squirrel in a wheel: I make things with one hand and ruin them with the other!

So, the first question that, it seems to me, should arise before a person, and indeed it does, no matter how much we sometimes suppress it. This, in the end, is the question of: “I, as an individual, live for how many years - and that’s it? Or do I, as a person, continue to live, will I continue to live?” Here, if you like, are two statements that cannot be reconciled and reconciled. This is an alternative. Or: believe, man, eternal death awaits you - this is what atheism says. Or: believe, man, eternal life awaits you. And this [earthly] life is only, if you like, an exam, an opportunity to reveal oneself as a person, as a moral being striving for one thing or another.

Who is this person? A man is his faith! What does he strive for, what does he want, what is he looking for. The belief that there is no God, no eternity, no soul, is magnificently shown by Dostoevsky in The Brothers Karamazov. I remember when I watched the film, I simply said in my heart, even in delight: “Now apologists have nothing to do!” There is a wonderful conversation between Ivan Karamazov and a hanger-on, i.e. demon: “But if there is no God, then everything is allowed?! If there is no God, then why live?” A healthy person can reason well, everything is fine with him, everything is fine now. Is the person sick? Did he start having problems? Isn’t it the same in the family?! Etc. What is the meaning of life there, tell me? Only from the point of view of our worldview can all our activities and our entire lives be correctly assessed. So, in connection with this, a very important question arises, with which I began: “What does Orthodoxy give to a person? What does the Christian faith as such give us? I am not now touching upon the question of the relationship between Orthodoxy and other religions, or the relationship of Orthodoxy with other faiths. These questions, you know, are very interesting. Now I want to say literally about the main thing - what Orthodoxy really gives to a person.

Now we are talking about the fact that our position, the position of each of us, is really a position under a hanging sword. We never know whether we are healthy or already sick, who knows? How will things turn out for us tomorrow, what will we have in our family, what will we have at work, what will we have in the state, what will we have in the world? We don't know anything! All our assumptions for the most part They are very approximate in nature, and then, these are assumptions and nothing more. What do we know? We don't know anything.
And now, pay attention: a person believes, I especially emphasize this word - believes that there is no God. Because it’s impossible to know, you understand. It is impossible to know that there is no God. From a scientific point of view, our cognitive activity what? The knowable world is infinite, and, therefore, all our knowledge at any moment in time is only a drop from the ocean, therefore, from the point of view of science, it will never, in any future, be possible to say that there is no God, even if He really does not exist. was. Science will never be able to tell. The most she can say is: yes, perhaps He exists! See what the likelihood of this is.

But maybe we can talk about this later. Now let's talk about something else. That in the absence of faith in God, in the conviction that our life is only earthly life, connected exclusively with the body, and a person has no soul, a person’s consciousness disappears, personality disappears, there is no God - then all our What is life built on? To calculate everything, each of us knows this, we cannot do anything. We are counting on a very small range of issues that we can count on. I say again: we cannot know anything about any global, state, social, or natural shocks! And we can’t do anything, even if we knew something.
Or health, family matters…. A person who does not believe in God is always in a state: “No matter what happens!..”. As if the person on whom I depend did not change his attitude towards me. As if someone would drop something like that on me. No matter where they set me up, etc. Such a person has no solid ground under his feet. We see how revolutions are carried out: in the blink of an eye. Someone was SOMEONE, became NOBODY, etc.

What does Orthodoxy give? The Orthodox faith and a person’s conviction that God exists and that God is Love, and not something else, completely changes a person’s perception of everything that happens in his life. How worried was the millionaire who committed suicide! And how many people commit suicide for other reasons - deprived of their post, deprived of their position... How much stress, strokes, heart attacks we have, how much despair. Where? Because we don’t have solid ground under our feet. This solid ground is faith in God, Who is Love. I know that nothing will happen to me, nothing will happen without the will of God! Only an alien can look and say: “Oh... this man in a white coat is cutting him with a scalpel. What horrors, what is happening to him, what are they doing to him?” Because he doesn't know anything. And the person who knows will say: “Well, this is a surgeon, the best surgeon in the world, who saves a person from cancer.” What happens to me, with the Christian faith, is perceived as the loving and wise Providence of God towards me. I know this for sure, because I believe. I believe that this is not a random phenomenon. That this is not a conspiracy of some people, that this is not the hatred of some person. No one and nothing can touch me unless God allows it. I draw attention to this as the most important thing that concerns our lives.

Faith in God gives extraordinary courage in relation to all sorrows that happen to a person. People who do me harm - and I see how they do it - from a Christian point of view are only blind - hear, blind! - instruments in the hands of God. The scalpel doesn't understand anything! From the outside, you might think that he is tormenting my skin, my organs. In reality, what is happening? A loving and wise operation, without which I cannot live. Just think what Christianity says! Faith in God gives me a solid foundation in this life. What gives me courage, I repeat again, gives me the opportunity to have a completely different attitude towards other people. I don’t need to ingratiate myself - I need to treat the person truthfully. I don’t need to hate - I need to truly treat a person, the way I want to be treated. Christianity establishes the highest principle, the central principle, under which only man can truly have happiness here on earth.

I’m not saying anything about the future now, because very often one hears and reads that Christianity supposedly promises only pie in the sky. That only after death you will receive something, there will be eternal benefits for you. But here there is nothing. Nothing like this. Nothing like this!!! It is here that Christianity gives a person something that nothing else can give. Look, now they are running to psychologists, psychics, sorcerers, I don’t know who they are running to, in order to somehow relieve this burden. “I can’t do this anymore, what should I do, I’m sad...” You can’t imagine, at one of the meetings in Finland they cited statistics: now more than half of the people - Western, wealthy people - more than half of the people have lost the meaning of life and are turning to psychiatrists. The cause of suicide and terrible stress is the loss of the meaning of life. They don't know what's next. Now everything is there – and then what? What's next? Christianity gives a person a perspective of life, does not close him in this narrow circle, in these tens of years. He says no, you are not an animal, you are a human. Your personality is indestructible. So I draw attention to this. How important it is for a person to choose a worldview! A person must be reasonable. One must be able to intelligently approach where it is, the correct faith. Is this faith in eternal life personality - or is it a belief in the eternal death of the personality, its disappearance. Let me tell you, our entire future life depends on this.

Pascal is a famous physicist, we all know him as a physicist, but we don’t know anyone else - that he is a man who spent almost his entire adult life in a monastery. He left us with wonderful thoughts. He did not have time to write the book that he planned to write as a response to atheism; he died very early. But his notes remained. They were published after Pascal's death, when they were found. His “Thoughts on Religion” have not yet lost their relevance. Anyone interested can read it. And, in particular, there he has one interesting thought, which remained in the history of human thought as “Pascal’s Wager”, a bet - that is, a dispute. So what is this bet? He says that a person who does not believe in God wins nothing here, wins absolutely nothing here, but if there is a God, he will lose everything there. A person who believes in God loses nothing here, he does not have two stomachs and ten shoulders, but he gains everything there - if there is a God. The first question, therefore, is there a God or not? Without this, a person’s worldview is not a worldview. Of course, you don’t have to look for anything, you can slide down to a level of life where a person doesn’t need anything in the world. Well, we know what kind of standard of living this is - so to speak, animal, biological, plant, whatever you want, at least not human. A person cannot refuse the question - why do I live and what is the meaning of my activity? Christianity answers what meaning this activity has, any one: economic, economic, creative, state - it doesn’t matter. What meaning does it have? If God is Love, and I want to tell you again, God is not a being that is somewhere in the constellation Alpha Centauri, sits there and controls from there, presses levers or buttons. God is Spirit. That is, it is not a material something. This is not the law of gravity, this is not some kind of ether that permeates, this is something completely immaterial, something that we, naturally, cannot describe, but something else is important: God is fundamentally different from everything material.
If God is Love, that is, the essence of our entire existence, our entire existence, existence, both cosmic and human, then the Christian faith has as its focus a principle or, let’s say, “law number one”, on which all other laws are built, from which all other laws flow. This is the law of love, you see, here it is, the eternal principle. Because God is that eternal Being who permeates our entire existence and man, first of all. This is the principle of love. Christianity hence says that the entire basic thought, the entire basic content of human activity should be activity that corresponds to this principle. Everything that does not correspond to this principle of love is incorrect activity. What does unfaithful mean? We know what doing the wrong thing is in any matter: we do something wrong, and then we scratch our heads - what to do now? Wrong activity is what is called sin in Christianity, and what is called error in production.

What is sin? Christianity speaks about one amazing thing, which, unfortunately, is little known to people. It says something like this: Did you steal? You stole from yourself! But not his. Did you hurt him? You have done harm to yourself! Not him. Do you have something? You only have what you gave to another! In Christianity, sin is everything that harms a person’s soul. This is a very important point. Harm, no matter who I bring it to: to myself, to another, or to nature, is a sin. And from here, every sin is a wound inflicted on me. Every sin I commit. Only for the most short-sighted eye is murder, great theft, terrible betrayal, etc. called sin. But Christianity looks a little deeper and calls on people to put on glasses. No, all these great sins are a consequence, and not an independent act. The consequence of what happens in the human soul. Nobody ever killed outright. He hated this man, he spun this reel a thousand times in his soul, he committed murder a thousand times in his soul before he actually did it. That is why Christianity says that the first and most important sin is committed in the human soul. You know, when a person is on a mountain and there is a sled there, it’s very interesting to go down the hill. But they tell him that, at some stage, there is an abyss there. They say it's better not to get on the sleigh. If you sit down, you won't stop in the middle. Christianity therefore pays attention to the so-called spiritual side of man. So we talk a lot - spiritual, spiritual! Soon you start touching yourself - am I a ghost?! What is spiritual? But that’s what’s spiritual! This is what happens in me, inside, what no one sees or hears. I can hate a person inside, and this hatred can then lead to terrible consequences, and these consequences, since they are already taking place not only in the soul, but also in the material plane, they turn out to be the most severe wounds for me.

Here we are talking about Divine Revelation, we say that New Testament- this is a revelation. Old Testament, New Testament, Gospel - revelation of Who? The revelation of the One we call God. Who is this God? – Love, What does He reveal? Human! don't harm yourself! How? And like this! At first there were rough commandments; if you take the Old Testament, then there were the roughest commandments. You know, don't kill, don't steal, etc. The rudest commandments that stick out in your eyes. Christ came and pointed out the reason for these things and said that a person harms himself, upsets his life, ruins his life, debauchery begins in his thoughts! It never happens right away! So Christ just warns about this: man, pay attention to your soul! To your thoughts, to your feelings, to your desires. Just think about the purity of man that Christianity talks about. It speaks about his very soul. What a shrine he is calling him to! Think about how wonderful this is. This is the beauty that Chekhov spoke about: Everything in a person should be beautiful - the soul, the body, the hands, and the face. Man is called to be a royal being. In what sense? In a holy sense. By the way, only those who know how to manage themselves can manage others well. He who does not know how to manage himself will never be able to properly manage others. This is the law. This is the law that the ancient sages, pre-Christian, spoke about. Christianity only confirms this. And he says that the hardest battle a person has to fight is the battle with himself. And victory of victories is victory over yourself!

Will you notice: in Christianity who is most glorified? Devotees. What are they doing there in the desert, you say, saving themselves?! Well, egoists and nothing more. He climbed into the desert somewhere and sits there, saving himself. You might think so! In fact, what we are talking about: no one has ever achieved anything without giving up everything that hinders him. They say that someone was writing an etymological dictionary, so he completely abandoned friends, acquaintances, everything. He went into complete seclusion, literally. Very for a long time, almost for several years. But then he really gave out what was needed. What a dictionary it was! And what do desert ascetics do? The most important thing! An attempt to cleanse ourselves of everything that hurts us, that hurts us, that kills us. That's why we glorify them this way. These are truly pure soul people.

Unfortunately, we talk very, very little about this. In our lives, of course, very little is said about this. Now life is becoming more and more materialistic. The materialism by which the West lived or is now living, and for which materialism is the only goal in life, literally dominates there. Now it strikes, of course, our consciousness. But we still have, I would say, a soul. In general, in Russia, this is an amazing phenomenon, after so many years of atheism, where there are so many people, it seems, brought up in the spirit of atheism, who have just been given freedom - look what an explosion has occurred! Where?! In general, this is a phenomenon that scientists would probably take up if humanity still existed for a long time, but, unfortunately, it will not last long, because the same scientists say so. This is an amazing fact: as soon as the ban was lifted, people flocked to the temple. Moreover, what’s most interesting is that you’ve probably noticed: parents bring their children, even in the literal sense of the word, children. Children - ten, fifteen, twenty years old - bring their parents to. There is still a voice in our soul, this spark of seeking truth, a feeling of sacredness, the understanding that I am not just an animal, I am a human being, and I cannot believe that I will never exist, that with the death of my body I will cease to exist. exist.

By the way, I don’t know whether this is interesting for you or not, but I want to say that atheism as a worldview does not stand up to criticism, not only from the point of view of the scientific view that I spoke about: that science can never say that there is no God. Atheism, it does not stand up to criticism from the other side. He can't answer the most important question. And the most important question for him is: what should I do to make sure that there is no God? He also claims that there is no God. I want to make sure of this. Do you want to make me believe? Sorry. I want to be convinced, not believe. Tell me, what should I do to make sure that there is no God? Do science? How many scientists do you need to count? The greatest scientists who believed and believe in God. Do you want to study art, literature, philosophy? It is clear that these spheres do not say that there is no God. So what should I do to make sure that there is no God, that there is no soul, that there is no eternity for me? Atheism is silent. No answer. There is no answer to this question. Christianity only knows, on the contrary, what it says: for the sake of God, for the sake of all that is holy, try to live like this, try, and you will see that God exists. Points directly to a specific path. By the way, many people of different eras, different social status, different educational levels, even different intellects - from the lowest to the highest - when they took the path indicated by Christianity, they came to this faith, or better yet, to direct, personal knowledge of the Divine . It turns out that Christianity shows this practical path to everyone who really sincerely wants to be convinced of this. I'm not even talking about the fact that Christianity has a whole series of arguments, both negative in relation to atheism and positive, confirming its truth. After all, every theory, if you like, is confirmed by what? Remember, the neutrino: when it was discovered, discovered theoretically, then for thirty years they wondered whether it actually existed or not. All the data that there should be a neutrino is there, but in reality – is it there or not? There are an incredible number of people in Christianity who believe not simply because they were raised in a Christian environment. This faith doesn't cost much, I tell you. So many people who were brought up in the Muslim faith would be Muslims, and those who were brought up in the Buddhist faith would be Buddhists. I wasn't talking about these people. I don’t want to talk about these people, there are many such people everywhere. In any religion. I’m talking about other people, I’m talking about those people who, figuratively speaking, went through this life “with a bow and a sword”, really sought God and found Him.

If we pay attention to at least one thing, just one fact: the history of the origin and formation of Christianity, then we will certainly be convinced of what kind of religion it is. As you know, Christ was crucified, i.e. They were given the most severe punishment of that time. His disciples, the apostles, sat in fear, as it is written: “fear for the sake of the Jews,” locked in the room. Why? Because they knew: as soon as they were discovered, they would be executed immediately. They will also be crucified or stoned. This is where Christianity began, just think! The Jewish Sanhedrin gave an order - everyone who preaches about this name should be brought to him. And many of Christ’s disciples, as we know, suffered. Stephen, who is called the first martyr, was stoned, Jacob was thrown from the temple. The most severe persecution and real terror began. This is a word that will be very useful to us now. This is the era in which Christianity began its life. This turned out to be not enough. There turned out to be very good connections with Rome, with the royal house, and we see that already in the 60s, maybe even at the end of the 50s of the first century, a law was passed according to which everyone who is recognized as a Christian, whether he himself says, If they report him, he must be executed. Christians - to the lions. Can you imagine the situation in which Christianity was born? Now, if we really imagined it this way, really, in life, we would then understand that Christianity should not have existed. It must be destroyed at the very root, at the very beginning, this is precisely what was intended. That is why they killed Christ, that is why they killed His disciples. By the way, every single one of them, except John the Evangelist. All were executed. All their followers. Execution after execution. Christians to the lions. Circuses were filled with spectacles. In Nero's Gardens, Christians were tied up, tarred, and set on fire at nightfall as torches. Tell me, what religion could exist here? And all this continued until 317, with some interruptions. I ask myself: how could Christianity exist, how could it exist, how could it even remain?

I point to this fact as one of the striking arguments indicating that Christianity is not just, you know, some kind of religious philosophy or some kind of sect that arose and you can’t get rid of it. A lot of sects arise, and so they remain these sects. And then they disappear. And this is a religion that later spread throughout the world. Under what conditions!!! It seems to me that this fact alone is enough to believe in God. Only by recognizing this can one understand the existence of Christianity up to the present time. And it could have been destroyed for what reason? Because of apostasy from God. Only for this reason.
This, at least, is a consideration, this historical fact speaks volumes. That Christianity is not the invention of some visionary, dreamer, etc. And then, when we read the Gospel, we see the image of Christ. He is an amazingly sober, let's say, Man. Sober. There are no dreams. Moreover, a Man Who is not eager for power or glory is not an ambitious person. Having resurrected Jairus's twelve-year-old daughter, the first thing He does is order not to tell anyone about it. He heals one leper, another - and orders not to tell anyone about it. Man did not strive for anything earthly. Neither power, nor wealth, nor glory interested Him.

So, I want to say that Christianity has very strong arguments confirming that God really exists and this God is precisely the idea that Christianity gives. In this case, we are entering the sphere of “Christianity and other religions”. Each religion represents God in its own way. Just like Ivan Petrovich over there. Who do you think he is? "Wrongful man." And you? - “Oh, wonderful man.” Do you think so? - “Oh, weak-minded.” And you? - “So this is a genius!” Ask ten people about another person, and sometimes we will hear ten opinions. People felt that God existed. All peoples believed. By the way, this is very interesting fact: that all peoples have always believed in God. And so far not a single atheistic tribe has been found among the so-called wild peoples. No one. Never. This is a most curious thing. Everyone believed. But it’s one thing to believe that He exists, and another thing to believe who He is! There were, in different nations, strong personalities, or thinkers, or strong “charismatics” who said: “This is who He is. He is such and such.” This is how the Doctrine of God was formed, from bottom to top. There is a feeling of God, there is an idea of ​​God, and who He is has already been proposed by one or another “active creator of religion.”

This is how many ideas about God arose, this is how many religions arose. It got to the point that religions had already appeared that claimed that many Gods existed. Not one God, but many. And this arose, by the way, very simply. I think you and I will also come to this soon. At least there is a tendency towards this. You know that the Greeks had a God of Trade, a God of War, and a God of Love. How did this come about? Well, of course, there is only one God. But then it began to arise in consciousness that there are those who especially patronize this or that type of human activity. This is how degradation began: from the “awareness of one God” came the awareness of the multitude of those who are in charge of each of their areas. It started in Catholicism, and then it began to come to us and, I think, it will really, really take root. This or that saint is in charge of this or that area. In churches now, you often have someone come up to you and ask who to pray to, so that... And that’s it, neither the Lord God nor any other saint - only this saint and no one else is needed. If, for example, the husband is a drunkard, then who needs to pray? No one! And it is necessary in front of the “Inexhaustible Chalice” icon. If you simply pray to the Mother of God, it will not give anything. An icon of the “Inexhaustible Chalice” is definitely needed. This image of the Mother of God, then it will help. The Mother of God herself was divided! I remember once, back in the 70s, Kremlin doctors came to us, and we took them around our museum. And there, in particular, there is an icon Mother of God"Increasing your mind." So, you know what the discussion was like. One doctor yelled: “My son is studying, give me such an icon!” And the second: “And I have a daughter. Give it to me too." You feel? Now this is at the level of such an easy thought, almost even anecdotal. But in reality this is not a joke at all. It is a very rare occurrence when they come to a priest and ask to serve a prayer service to the Mother of God in order to get rid of the disease of drunkenness. Rather, they will come and ask to serve a prayer service in front of the “Inexhaustible Chalice” icon, and there will be a queue of them. Hear what's happening. No longer the Mother of God, but an icon. I’m just psychologically depicting how it can happen that people, having once believed in one God, began to believe in many gods. We even excel in this: believing in the Mother of God, we share Her with icons. I remember one old woman gave me a very strong response to my statement that the Mother of God is alone. “Like one Mother of God? And Vladimirskaya? And Iverskaya? And Kazanskaya? Is this what they teach you in seminary?” And I had a blast! Of course, I immediately gave up, there’s nothing to say. This was the process by which faith in one God was disintegrated, even into many gods.

So, how were ideas about God created in people? Each religion believes in its own God, that is, in its own image of God. It turns out that this is how religions differ. In fact, there is, of course, one God. And these ideas about God sometimes reached such distortions that it simply became scary. To the point of complete depravity. To the point of complete Satanism. And here the gods were. So, how is Christianity different from such religions? Let's just think about it. If there is God, if He is Love, He cannot, in the end, not reveal himself to people. He can't help but open up. It opens. That is, there is a path not only from bottom to top, but there is a path from top to bottom. This is what we call Divine revelation. Christianity, unlike other religions, claims to be a revealed religion. In this sense, it is a true religion. I gave you only one argument, a historical argument, showing the conditions under which Christianity developed, how terrible persecutions, tortures and executions the first Christians were subjected to. But the religion remained, spread and became worldwide. This alone suggests that Christianity is not just a product of our fantasies. And this is the religion that was constantly, constantly supported by the power of God. You will not find any explanations, you just have to talk objectively with historians - there are no human reasons to explain the fact of the preservation of Christianity in history. This is where I would like to end the lecture. Now let's talk.

Answers on questions

Now, of course, the situation in our country is such that we are among many religions, or rather, not religions, but worldviews. There are many sects, many representatives of other religions. Catholicism is becoming very active now. This tendency of his is called “eternal”. He has already raised the rank of his dioceses here, or more precisely, of his formations here in Russia. Now several dioceses have arisen, bishops have been appointed, and there is now a metropolitan. And, in general, as you see, the situation in this regard is becoming more and more complex. Moreover, all the calls of our Church and even our Ministry of Foreign Affairs to somehow correlate their activities with the state of affairs that has always taken place in our country, and to take into account Orthodoxy, all these statements of ours remained, in fact, unanswered. Catholicism has finally reached Russia. There’s no way Dad will come to Russia yet. This, of course, is his cherished dream. But he has already been around us. And in Ukraine, and in Armenia, and in Georgia, so we, so to speak, are in a certain Catholic aura, which is now trying to permeate our Church as much as possible. I think that, of course, there are real prerequisites for this.

– Alexey Ilyich, here’s a question: “Is a person who believes in his soul, but does not attend church and does not fast, considered a believer?”

You know, it’s difficult to answer this question in such a general form. Formally speaking, of course not. According to the formal ones. Because if I believe that now someone will run in here and say: “We’re on fire, there’s a fire!” If I believe, they will immediately carry me out either through the door or through the window. And if I don’t believe it, I won’t budge. It's true?
So, how can I say that I believe in my soul, and do not go to a place where only I can come to my senses at least a little? Pray a little. Where can I hear the Gospel, its explanation. If I believe, how can I not go there! If I believe, then I must confess, cleanse my soul, at least a little. What am I, a sinless being, or what? I believe, I'm an angel. So I need to confess, I need to take communion. I need to pray. It’s impossible without this.
Therefore, I will tell you: faith is always effective. If I believe, I will definitely do it. If I don’t do it, it means I don’t believe, it means I just have some idea in my head that doesn’t give any concrete impetus to my life. This remains an abstract idea. Like a point in geometry, without size. Yes, any point, no matter what it is, has dimensions, take any point, on any paper. No! Geometric point has no dimensions. That's how it is here too.
So I very much doubt that such a belief can benefit that person. But I can’t say this completely. Because faith is like a grain, a seed that we plant and which can then sprout, then can grow more, and can become a tree. And even bear fruit.
Therefore, everything depends in this case on the person. If it is a nascent faith, perhaps yes, while he is at this stage. But if a person has believed in God for decades and does not recognize any temple or anything, then I very, very doubt it. I think that this is no longer faith. It’s simple, as Khomyakov, one of our geniuses, said: “not faith, but belief.” Still, it is necessary to somehow distinguish between these two concepts, and in this case I would call it that.

– I have the next question. We are worldly people, we live in the world, and the Savior showed us the way, but I have a wife and children. Where is the line that I should find in this matter? It is clear, saints, they could go into the desert and be saved through this. What about us? How can we find that line so as not to offend our family and friends and not forget ourselves, our salvation.

That's a good question. I will remind you a little of the text, and then perhaps you will see part of the answer. The young man asked Him: what should I do to be saved? Jesus said: Do you know the commandments? - I know. And lists them to him. “I did all this,” says the young man. Then go further, he says, if you want to be perfect, then go and sell your property and give it to the poor. Listen, if you want to be saved, then yes, give up everything, says Jesus. There, in the Gospel, it is written so directly. You see, there are two fundamentally different steps here.
Therefore, regarding us, worldly people, what would I say? We must live according to our conscience. Actually, this is what it all comes down to. All the commandments. If something like this doesn’t work out, then at least sincerely repent. In that they violated. But if someone really wants to achieve more, then we understand that being in our bustle, constantly communicating with people, we are constantly literally sinning. Condemnation alone never leaves our lips. Condemnation alone does what, but envy, jealousy, what not, and hostility? We are spinning here, hitting each other, stabbing each other continuously, straining ourselves every moment, so it is impossible to achieve much here. I told you about a scientist who, in order to write an etymological dictionary, closed himself for literally a year or two. Only then could he do something. And in general, I’ll tell you, no one could do anything great if he did not devote all his strength only to this task and did not renounce everything else. So, if a person wants to be perfect, then yes. Then he really needs to renounce everything that he can really renounce. To the extent that he renounces, to that extent he gains the ability to improve in this matter. That's why they went into the desert, into seclusion, solitude. Do you know what to call them? Greenhouse flowers. Look how lush the flowers are in the greenhouses; such flowers will never grow in fresh air. So, they were greenhouse flowers. They created exceptional, ideal conditions for spiritual life. And therefore they could achieve more. Something we just can't achieve. We cannot reach a state where we love everyone equally. We can never achieve the goal of loving our enemies. I say love, in the sense of feeling with your heart. We can feel with our minds, we can treat the enemy fairly, but in order to love him - excuse me. I can't do this. They achieved this.
You say - what does this give to a person? The answer to this question is very simple. Anyone who has ever fallen in love knows what it is. So they did: they acquired love, and not falling in love with everything and everyone, and this was their state of mind. This is the state of mind of a lover who is ready to give everything, ready to be walled up, this is what love is. This is the state for which a person is ready to give everything. So, it turns out that the correct Christian life and the perfection that is achieved by a person under special conditions brings amazing results to that person. Yesterday, if anyone was in church, you probably heard the life of Mary of Egypt. I will tell you that what happened to her is a completely unique case in history, and it is humanly impossible to explain it to anyone. So that she, immediately leaving her stormy life, went into the desert and then was there alone for 47 years! This alone is either just a complete fantasy or a fact. And if it’s a fact, then we must understand what was in her soul that she paid everyone for. Neither hunger, nor fears from animals, nor cold, nor complete loneliness, nothing could drive her out of there - such was her condition. That's what perfection is.
Perfection is the maximum approach to God, Who is Love. The Apostle Paul says that spiritual fruit is love and joy. You remember the things he lists. But, unfortunately, we hardly know what it is. We have forgotten about these things. We don't feel it. Therefore, it is now incomprehensible to us how Mary of Egypt could have stayed there. After all, how can one explain the suffering of a martyr? After all, tens, hundreds, thousands died during these 300 years of persecution. Well, how was this possible when I know for sure that every Christian will be given to beasts or crucified or something else will be done to him, and I will accept Christianity? Are you laughing? Why do I need this, what religion is it, why do I need to accept it? And how is it possible to declare oneself a Christian? Or when they offer me to throw a handful of grains into a hot frying pan in front of an idol standing - that’s it, and you’re free. Just everything. And thousands and thousands of people went to a wild, terrible death, but did not renounce. The Great Martyr Eustratius said on this occasion: “This torment is the joy of Thy servants.” We have forgotten these categories. In general, these categories: love, joy – these are real things. And just the right Christian life cleanses human soul from dirty, unclean, crazy and all other thoughts, feelings and desires. Makes the soul capable of perceiving God, feeling God, experiencing God, and then this soul is filled with truly inexplicable joy, love, etc. This is what excellence brings. But for this you need to free your soul. The soul has certain dimensions: the more it is filled with rubbish, the less useful it is, the more ballast, the less useful cargo. This is what our soul is.
So, what do we beat her with? So, I constantly fill my soul with all sorts of dreams and thoughts. All sorts of films. All sorts of rubbish, hostility. The more I fill my soul with this, the less there is left that can nourish me. And that’s why we don’t worry. There is no joy, no love, the soul dies. What a problem. Therefore, in our worldly life, I believe, we should, as far as possible, strive to live according to our conscience, according to the Gospel. And then, what is also very important: at least with your soul, don’t get attached to anything. Yes, we know: we must do this and that, this is our job, this is our business, we are obliged to do it. But don’t get attached with your soul. Because you know who a rich man is, in the bad sense of the word: one who is attached to his wealth. And this rich man may be the last beggar. Who is the rich man? One who is attached to his possessions, who lives by it, who longs for it, for whom this is the goal of life. That's who the rich man is. And at the same time, a rich person can be a person who does not acquire, he is not attached to it. By the way, I want to say: the more of these ties to the earth, the more difficult it is for a person to die. We need to know this. Because you will have to cut off too thick ropes. You need to not be internally attached to anything. And I will say that it is a great blessing when a person is not attached. And when we: “Oh, my God, what will Princess Marya Alekseevna say!” When we are disturbed by human opinion, when we are disturbed by all sorts of other things, it is difficult for a person, very difficult. Therefore, our task is to fight this tether as much as possible, then we can achieve some kind of freedom.

– By the Providence of God, we can all turn out to be blind instruments in the hands of the Almighty.

There is no need to mix two completely different things here. Human freedom is one thing. I am faced with a choice: I can do good or evil. Because my freedom decides this. And here I am responsible and, accordingly, bear the results of this choice. That's one thing. What do I want to do and what am I already doing within myself? And it’s a completely different matter what I will be allowed to do in relation to other people, the world around me, etc. I can hate someone with fierce hatred and am ready to kill him. But I can’t kill him in any way. I would kill him, but it just doesn’t work. This is where God's Providence operates. But not in my freedom. My freedom remains. That’s why we say that a person can sometimes be outwardly morally pure. That is, what does it mean to be morally pure? Maybe he behaves impeccably in human society and no one will say anything bad about him. Yes, he doesn't steal. He performs his deeds religiously. Everything is fine in his family. In general, everything is fine. Good man. This is the moral side. But inside, this is the spiritual side, he can be completely defeated. We don't know, what does he want? What is he aiming for? What is he dreaming about? moral person? What can he dream about? About Slava. If I live entirely by this, waiting for human glory, - this feeling alone, this search for glory already crosses out my entire spiritual life. So inside a person can be proud, and vain, and love-loving, etc. But on the outside he can be a completely moral person.
So, in relation to Cain, for example. The fact that Cain wanted to kill his brother and hated him is a matter of his freedom. His personality. His sin. And the fact that he was allowed to kill Abel is a matter of God’s Providence. Of course, a counter question arises: why was this necessary? Why was Abel killed? He could have lived another 900 years! I think that you and I will not find a final answer to this question, but there is a fundamental answer. I can’t say specifically, but there is a principled answer. There is no glory without achievement. I believe that martyrdom is always one of those moments for a person that brings him special benefit. Either they are atoning for his sins, or they even bring him eternal glory. Not earthly, but eternal. But we look exactly the opposite. Someone was killed somewhere or something happened to someone, we say - it serves him right! He was like this, like this and like this. What does Christianity say? God is Love, He allowed this man to suffer, maybe even repent, we don’t know what other moments, minutes and hours he was alive. Letting one suffer is the great mercy of God. You hear, if you look from the point of view of eternity, our assessments take on a completely different character. In particular, the exact opposite of those to which we are accustomed in this life. We are what he needs, he deserves it. But it turns out that the One who cuts with a knife, with a scalpel, performs the operation. The Savior performs the operation. A completely different understanding of the facts. The fact that God gave Cain to do this is possible, and for him this later served as a subject of repentance. We don't know his future life. And for Abel this served as a crown of glory. This, I think, is how this fact and similar ones can be understood.

– We, Russians, bearers of Orthodoxy, are under the protection of the Mother of God. On the one hand, it takes pride in this, on the other hand, it smacks a little of self-exaltation. How to draw the line here? We, the bearers of Orthodoxy, are sort of like an “Aryan nation,” and the whole world is kind of like nothing.

I think that you have already answered yourself and anticipated my answer. Wherever there is exaltation, know that there is untruth there. This happens all the time: “We are under the protection of the Mother of God.” What it is? What does this mean: that I can do anything, and the Mother of God covers me? Is this what? Again the same reason. Because who says that? These are people who, it seems, accepted Orthodoxy without knowing anything about it, and introduce their worldly, that is, passionate, principles into consciousness. It's just a disaster. I just now told you to serve a prayer service for drunkenness in front of the “Inexhaustible Chalice” icon and no other. If it’s in front of Vladimirskaya, then there won’t be any case. The same is true in front of the “Sovereign” icon, and if not in front of the “Sovereign” icon, then there will be no use. You see, this is no longer the Mother of God, but an icon. This way we will soon come to paganism. It is very dangerous. Icons are images of someone we believe in. Who do we pray to? This is an image. And there are many of these images. There are about 700 images of the Mother of God. Various images, before whom we pray. Just like there can be as many photographs of you and me as you like. That's the problem. It was the pagans who thought that their images, painted or sculpted, were gods. For this Christianity denounced them.
And it’s the same with Russia. Well, what is it: “We are the third Rome.” Well, Elder Philotheus had such an idea, but he had a completely different idea. What a thought: Rome has fallen, Byzantium has fallen, where else is that center, that state, where Orthodoxy would be the state religion and would have every opportunity to exist, spread and live. Yes, in Russia. Yes, in Moscow. That's just the idea - that's all. Then. But to say that this is forever and will always be so is the same as saying: our ancestors saved Rome. About the same.
The same applies to the cover of the Mother of God. The Protection of the Mother of God is not unconditional. Were the Jewish people the chosen ones? Was. If they rejected Christ, their chosenness was taken away. Nothing and no one can be forever. Everything depends on our will. Well, I will blaspheme God, and the Mother of God will cover me! I will insult Her Son, and she will cover for me? Think for yourself. And Athos says: “No, we are under the protection of the Mother of God.” Greece says: "No, we." Russia: “No, we.” Let's fight. Well, what is this? The protection of God, the saints and the Mother of God is used only by those who really sincerely want to follow the commandments of God. He who rejects these commandments himself rejects this covering. This is the law of life.
You know, in one article I read how Nicholas II was canonized and the author of the article writes, a year after that: “Now for a whole year the royal family has been enjoying heavenly blessings.” Just think, it writes new theologian, I know him, he is an engineer by training, a mathematician, and suddenly - this is all his knowledge of theology. It turns out that before this, before canonization, it didn’t matter, even if they were saints, they didn’t enjoy it, but after canonization, they enjoyed it. And if they decanonize him, ask him, then what will happen? Then back to the underworld, right? Well, what kind of logic is this!
It is from such views, from such an understanding of things, that such views are formed. It's very sad, I tell you. Christianity says one thing: until a person humbles himself, God cannot approach him. And he can’t do anything to him. “Go away,” he says, “Lord, I will do it myself.” Until he humbles himself, no one can begin to approach him, but God Himself. Do you understand now why pride is the most terrible thing? This is vanity, this pride, this is I - this is We. These are the surest means of breaking away from God. God opposes no one more than the proud. God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. This is how I understand this situation.

In 1054, it became widespread mainly in Eastern Europe and in the Middle East.

Features of Orthodoxy

The formation of religious organizations is closely related to social and political life society. Christianity is no exception, which is especially evident in the differences between its main directions - and Orthodoxy. At the beginning of the 5th century. The Roman Empire split into Eastern and Western. The Eastern was a single state, while the Western was a fragmented conglomerate of principalities. In conditions of strong centralization of power in Byzantium, the church immediately turned out to be an appendage of the state, and the emperor actually became its head. The stagnation of the social life of Byzantium and the control of the church by the despotic state determined the conservatism of the Orthodox Church in dogma and ritual, as well as a tendency towards mysticism and irrationalism in its ideology. In the West, the church gradually took center stage and became an organization seeking dominance in all spheres of society, including politics.

Difference between Eastern and Western was also due to developmental characteristics. Greek Christianity focused its attention on ontological, philosophical problems, Western - on political and legal.

Since the Orthodox Church was under the protection of the state, its history is connected not so much with external events as with the formation of religious doctrine. The basis of the Orthodox dogma is the Holy Scripture (the Bible - the Old and New Testaments) and the Holy Tradition (decrees of the first seven Ecumenical and local councils, the works of the church fathers and canonical theologians). At the first two Ecumenical Councils - Nicaea (325) and Constantinople (381) the so-called Symbol of faith, briefly outlining the essence of Christian doctrine. It recognizes the trinity of God - the creator and ruler of the Universe, the existence of the afterlife, posthumous retribution, the redemptive mission of Jesus Christ, who opened the possibility for the salvation of humanity, which bears the stamp of original sin.

Fundamentals of Orthodoxy

The Orthodox Church declares the fundamental provisions of faith to be absolutely true, eternal and unchangeable, communicated to man by God himself and incomprehensible to reason. Keeping them intact is the primary responsibility of the church. It is impossible to add anything or remove any provisions, therefore, the later dogmas established by the Catholic Church are about the descent of the Holy Spirit not only from the Father, but also from the Son (filioque), about the immaculate conception of not only Christ, but also the Virgin Mary, about the infallibility of the Pope, about purgatory - Orthodoxy regards it as heresy.

Personal salvation of believers is made dependent on the zealous fulfillment of the rituals and instructions of the church, due to which there is an introduction to Divine grace transmitted to man through the sacraments: baptism in infancy, confirmation, communion, repentance (confession), marriage, priesthood, unction (unction). The sacraments are accompanied by rituals, which, together with divine services, prayers and religious holidays form a religious cult of Christianity. Orthodoxy attaches great importance to holidays and fasting.

Orthodoxy teaches observance of moral commandments, given to man by God through the prophet Moses, as well as the fulfillment of the covenants and sermons of Jesus Christ set out in the Gospels. Their main content is adherence to universal human standards of living and love for one’s neighbor, manifestations of mercy and compassion, as well as refusal to resist evil through violence. Orthodoxy places emphasis on the uncomplaining enduring of suffering, sent by God to test the strength of faith and cleansing from sin, on special veneration of sufferers - the blessed, the beggars, holy fools, hermits and hermits. In Orthodoxy, only monks and the highest ranks of clergy take a vow of celibacy.

Organization of the Orthodox Church

Georgian Orthodox Church. Christianity began to spread in Georgia in the first centuries AD. Received autocephaly in the 8th century. In 1811, Georgia became part of the Russian Empire, and the church became part of the Russian Orthodox Church as an exarchate. In 1917, at the meeting of Georgian priests, a decision was made to restore autocephaly, which remained under Soviet rule. The Russian Orthodox Church recognized autocephaly only in 1943.

The head of the Georgian Church bears the title Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, Archbishop of Mtskheta and Tbilisi with residence in Tbilisi.

Serbian Orthodox Church. Autocephaly was recognized in 1219. The head of the church bears the title Archbishop of Pecs, Metropolitan of Belgrade-Karlovakia, Patriarch of Serbia with residence in Belgrade.

Romanian Orthodox Church. Christianity penetrated into the territory of Romania in the 2nd-3rd centuries. AD In 1865, the autocephaly of the Romanian Orthodox Church was proclaimed, but without the consent of the Church of Constantinople; in 1885 such consent was obtained. The head of the church bears the title Archbishop of Bucharest, Metropolitan of Ungro-Vlahia, Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church with residence in Bucharest.

Bulgarian Orthodox Church. Christianity appeared on the territory of Bulgaria in the first centuries of our era. In 870 the Bulgarian Church received autonomy. The status of the church has changed over the centuries depending on the political situation. The autocephaly of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church was recognized by Constantinople only in 1953, and the patriarchate only in 1961.

The head of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church bears the title Metropolitan of Sofia, Patriarch of All Bulgaria with residence in Sofia.

Cypriot Orthodox Church. The first Christian communities on the island were founded at the beginning of our era by St. the apostles Paul and Barnabas. Widespread Christianization of the population began in the 5th century. Autocephaly was recognized at III Ecumenical Council in Ephesus.

The head of the Church of Cyprus bears the title Archbishop of New Justiniana and all Cyprus, his residence is in Nicosia.

E.yada (Greek) Orthodox Church. According to legend, the Christian faith was brought by the Apostle Paul, who founded and established Christian communities in a number of cities, and St. John the Theologian wrote Revelation on the island of Patmos. The autocephaly of the Greek Church was recognized in 1850. In 1924 it switched to Gregorian calendar, which caused a split. The head of the church bears the title Archbishop of Athens and all Hellas, with residence in Athens.

Athens Orthodox Church. Autocephaly was recognized in 1937. However, due to political reasons, contradictions arose, and the final position of the church was determined only in 1998. The head of the church bears the title of Archbishop of Tirana and all Albania with his residence in Tirana. The peculiarities of this church include the election of the clergy with the participation of the laity. The service is performed in Albanian and Greek.

Polish Orthodox Church. Orthodox dioceses have existed on the territory of Poland since the 13th century. However, for a long time they were under the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate. After Poland gained independence, they left the subordination of the Russian Orthodox Church and formed the Polish Orthodox Church, which in 1925 was recognized as autocephalous. Russia accepted the autocephaly of the Polish Church only in 1948.

Worship is held at Church Slavonic language. However, in Lately Polish is increasingly used. The head of the Polish Orthodox Church bears the title of Metropolitan of Warsaw and all Wormwood with his residence in Warsaw.

Czechoslovakian Orthodox Church. The mass baptism of the people on the territory of modern Czech Republic and Slovakia began in the second half of the 9th century, when the Slavic enlighteners Cyril and Methodius arrived in Moravia. For a long time, these lands were under the jurisdiction of the Catholic Church. Orthodoxy was preserved only in Eastern Slovakia. After the formation of the Czechoslovak Republic in 1918, an Orthodox community was organized. Further developments led to division within the country's Orthodoxy. In 1951, the Czechoslovak Orthodox Church asked the Russian Orthodox Church to accept it under its jurisdiction. In November 1951, the Russian Orthodox Church granted it autocephaly, which the Church of Constantinople approved only in 1998. After the division of Czechoslovakia into two independent states, the church formed two metropolitan provinces. The head of the Czechoslovak Orthodox Church bears the title Metropolitan of Prague and Archbishop of the Czech and Slovak Republics with residence in Prague.

American Orthodox Church. Orthodoxy came to America from Alaska, where late XVIII V. The Orthodox community began to operate. In 1924, a diocese was formed. After the sale of Alaska to the United States Orthodox churches And land remains the property of the Russian Orthodox Church. In 1905, the center of the diocese was transferred to New York, and its head Tikhon Belavin elevated to the rank of archbishop. In 1906, he raised the question of the possibility of autocephaly for the American Church, but in 1907 Tikhon was recalled, and the issue remained unresolved.

In 1970, the Moscow Patriarchate gave autocephalous status to the metropolis, which was named Orthodox Church in America. The head of the church has the title Archbishop of Washington, Metropolitan of All America and Canada with residence in Syosset, near New York.

Many people are interested in the question: what is the meaning of life in Christianity? Trying to find an answer to a question is depriving you of peace. Religion helps every believer find the path to a life full of meaning. Undoubtedly, this is a philosophical question, however, faith and sincere prayer to God will help you find a clear answer to it. A religious response to the tossing of the soul will become a bright ray of light and show the path to peace and harmony. Let's turn to three world religions and try to figure out what the meaning of human life is.

Christian understanding of the meaning of life

Many holy fathers in their sermons and teachings devote Special attention the question of finding the true path of life and oneself. Man began to think about the eternal and the most important in the distant past. Remember the legend of King Sisyphus; as punishment, he was doomed to forever roll a stone to the top of the highest mountain. Having reached the top, the king again found himself at the foot and began a meaningless ascent. This myth is the clearest example of the meaninglessness of human existence.

Thinkers about the true meaning of existence

The philosopher Albert Camus, reflecting on the meaning of life in Christianity, applied the image of Sisyphus to the image of a man - his contemporary. The philosopher’s main idea was the following: the life of every creature, limited by the boundaries of existence, resembles Sisyphean labor, full of absurdity and meaningless actions.

It is important! Often a person who has reached a respectable age remembers life and understands that there were many incoherent events in it that turned into an endless chain of meaningless actions and actions. So that earthly existence does not resemble Sisyphean labor, it is important to find the meaning of life, to clearly see the road - your own, the only path to harmony and happiness.

Unfortunately, many people live in an illusory world and follow pseudo-goals. However, in the world of specifics and realities, it is impossible to find the true meaning of a Christian’s life. This idea is best confirmed by exact science - mathematics. A number divided by infinity is zero. It is not surprising that all attempts of people far from faith to explain the meaning of existence look naive.

Great creators and philosophers understand the incompleteness of earthly existence. Blaise Pascal realized only two years before his death that science is just work, a craft, and the true meaning of Christian life is rooted in religion. In his letters, the scientist often thought a lot about the meaning of existence. He wrote that a person can become truly happy only by realizing that there is a God. The true good is to love Him and abide in Him, and the great misfortune is to be separated from Him and to be filled with darkness. True religion clearly and clearly explains to man the reason why he resists God, and therefore the greatest good. True faith shows how to gain the necessary strength to overcome one’s own delusions, how to accept God, and find oneself.

Great scientist and Orthodoxy

In the modern world the situation has not changed radically. A deeply moral person, having achieved certain heights and results, clearly understands that this is not the true goal. Great people are constantly understanding what its true meaning is. A striking example is the life of Academician Korolev. Managing the greatest space program, he understood that the meaning of existence is in the salvation of the soul, that is, it rushes far beyond the boundaries of earthly existence. In those days, Orthodoxy and faith were subject to serious persecution, but even then Korolev had a mentor, he attended pilgrimages and donated large sums to charity.

The nun Silouana, who worked in a hotel at the monastery, wrote about this amazing person. In her stories, she describes Korolev as a respectable man in a leather jacket. She was amazed by the fact that the academician, having lived for several days in a hotel at the temple, was sincerely surprised by poverty and misery. His heart was breaking from what he saw, and Korolev wanted to help the monastery. The academician lamented that he had little money with him, but left his address and telephone number and asked the nun to definitely stop by when he arrived in Moscow. The nun gave Korolev the address of a priest who found himself in a difficult situation and asked him to provide all possible assistance. Some time later, Silvana arrived in Moscow and was visited by the Queen. To her surprise, the man lived in a luxurious mansion, was very happy to see the nun, and invited her to visit. In Korolev’s office there were icons, and on the table lay an open book of the Philokalia. The academician donated 5 thousand rubles to the monastery. By the way, mentor and good friend The queen became a priest, whose address the nun gave and asked for help.

It is important! For Korolev, turning to religion was not a short episode; in it, the academician learned the meaning of a Christian’s life. The scientist lived by Orthodoxy, risked his own high position, and found time to read the works of the holy fathers.

Pushkin on the Gospel

Great poets in their work raised the eternal question of the meaning of birth and existence. At the beginning of the 19th century, Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin wrote the poem “Three Keys,” where he expressed the endless feeling of thirst for the soul. At that time, the poet was only 28 years old, but even then he wanted to understand the meaning of the presence of living beings on earth and their birth. And 3 months before his tragic death, Pushkin will write about the Gospel - the only book where every word is interpreted. The poet said that only this great book is applicable to any circumstance and event in life, its eloquence captivates and has eternal charm.

The answer to the question - where to look for the meaning of birth and what can change your life? The most accurate teaching will be revealed by the Holy Gospel. It says here - life is more important than food, it is more important than the Sabbath. In accordance with the Gospel, Jesus died for everyone, and after being resurrected, he became the Author of life. The real meaning of life lies in union with Jesus, this is the true source of happiness and light. The Gospel says that a true believer will certainly be resurrected after death.

It is important! Entry into eternal life begins on earth, through the church. If a person could not step on the feet of holiness, but lives his path with spiritual honesty, he gains knowledge of the meaning of his existence. Prayer helps with this, which is an appeal to God, a conversation with him. One of the most powerful is the prayer of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, which changes a person and opens the path to eternal life.

The meaning of life in Buddhism

Buddhist practice says that an integral part of every person’s life is suffering, and the highest goal is to end this suffering. Buddhism puts a specific meaning into the word “suffering” - the desire to obtain material benefits, desires that a person who has not achieved nirvana indulges. The only way to get rid of suffering is by achieving a special state - enlightenment or nirvana. In this state, a person gives up all his desires, and accordingly, he gets rid of suffering.

The purpose of existence in Buddhism of the southern tradition is the awareness of personal consciousness, the achievement of such a state when a person is deprived of any earthly desires and ceases to be in the generally accepted sense of the word.

If we talk about Buddhism of the northern tradition, here they are persecuted highest goals. Man cannot achieve nirvana until sentient beings reach the state of enlightenment.

It is important! Nirvana can be achieved not only through practice, but also as a result of a sinless, righteous life.

The meaning of life in Islam

The meaning of life in Islam presupposes a special relationship between God and man. the main objective followers of Islam - submission to God, surrendering oneself to Him. This is why the followers of this religion are called devotees. There are words in the Koran that God created man not for the specific benefit of God, but to worship Him. It is in worship that there is the highest benefit.

According to the main Islamic tenets, Allah is supreme over everything, He is merciful and merciful. All believers must surrender themselves to Allah, submit and humble themselves. At the same time, all people are responsible for their own actions, for which the Lord will reward at the Supreme Court. After the Judgment, the righteous will find themselves in Paradise, and sinners will face eternal punishment in Hell.

Lecture by professor of the Moscow Theological Academy and Seminary A.I. Osipov.