Misconceptions about Orthodoxy. What do we know about Orthodoxy

The “direct wire” announced by us earlier took place with the dean of the Vygonichsky church district, rector of the Church in the name of St. Nicholas, Priest John. What interested the citizens, what the clergyman talked about with the parishioners and those who were simply interested, we offer material about the Orthodox and the secular.

Father John, before our meeting, the editorial office received a number of calls. That's what the first caller was interested in - "What does the expression "do not remember the Lord in vain" mean?" After all, we often, sometimes several times a day, pronounce the name of the Almighty.

They did the job - “Glory to you, Lord!”, A dear person sets off on the road - “Go with God!” or “Save and save him, Lord!”, the window slammed “Oh, Lord, I frightened!” ... Should we or should we not say so?

The expression “do not remember the Lord in vain” means do not mention God in ordinary conversation, to connect words, sentences. For example, “Lord, how tired I am of you, calm down already!”, “Lord, why are you doing this?”, “Oh, Lord, who is this coming?” and so on. It is quite another thing when we thank God for help and assistance in our affairs and solving our problems.

The second question sounds like this: “I found a cross, is it worth raising it?”

“Take up the cross and follow me,” says the Lord. Those who find the shrine immediately think that since it belonged to someone, I am taking over the fate of the former owner of the cross. This is an element of superstition. The cross must be raised so that it is not defiled by stepping or kicking with shuffling feet. If the finder still cannot take the shrine for himself, it must be taken to the Church.

Here is the first call. “Father John, please answer the question “Is it considered a sin to work on a holiday due to ignorance that it is celebrated today? Thank you!".

- "Work six days - give the seventh to God" - says one of the commandments of the Lord. In general, a real Christian lives by observing the Orthodox canons and holidays. Everyone, I think, should know at least those of them who are called the Great. Is it a sin to work? ... Sin can be different. Helping someone is a good thing. If it happened as it was asked in the question, then ask God for forgiveness and pray. And to forgive or punish is the will of the Almighty.

“Tell me, father John, what is the sin of the presence of a woman in the Temple with her head uncovered?” - immediately after the first was followed by a second call.

In short, the hair is an adornment of a woman, and we must come to church modestly. In the old days, a woman always walked with a scarf covering her head. She thus recognized the supremacy of a man, a husband, showing a sign of humility, meekness. In Greece, for example, women enter the Temple with their heads uncovered. But there is another case. This country has been under the Muslim yoke for a long time and with its openness it seems to show a protest against the dominance of other faiths. This has survived to this day.

One more call. “Is it possible to light a house and other property without a priest, by lighting a candle and sprinkling it with holy water yourself?”

No. Consecration is one of the sacraments that only a clergyman performs. The Lord acts through him, giving at the same time a guardian angel. The same applies to things that should serve later for good deeds. You can also sprinkle a layman with holy water. This will only be evidence of his faith in the Lord's support and protection. But higher than the holiness of a Christian is the holiness of a priest.

I'm listening to you, Father John answers the phone again. - You don't have to introduce yourself. What are you interested in?

“Dear Father John! Here we are, turning to the Lord, say "Forgive me, Lord, for our sins free and not free." What sins are considered not free?

This is when behavior is a manifestation of our feelings. We get angry for no reason, we overeat. Yes, yes, this is also not a free sin. We enjoy something excessively, we condemn someone or something, we speak verbosely, and even worse, we use swear words, we use foul language. I note that there is no person who lives a day without sins, but one must try to suppress such manifestations in oneself, or allow them as little as possible.

Listen, speak.

“Father John, please tell me what, if I may say so, is the set of obligatory prayers”?

Ideally, it is necessary to observe the morning and evening prayer rules for turning to God. There is a Prayer Book where you need to look and read.

Speak, I'm listening.

“What Orthodox holidays are still waiting for us in August”?

August 28 - Assumption of the Blessed Virgin.
- August 29 - the feast of the miraculous image of the Savior. After the liturgy in the Church of St. Nicholas, a prayer service will be held for the beginning of the teaching of the youths. 30 - Feast of the Icon of the Mother of God "Svenskaya". The liturgy on this occasion, which will be led by Metropolitan Alexander, will begin at 9 am in the Svensky Monastery. Then there will be a procession to the Cathedral in Bryansk.

Thank you, Father John, for supporting our initiative. Thanks for answers.

Thank you for inviting me, and I was able to talk to the Orthodox through the local newspaper.

I take this opportunity to invite you to visit the Temples, turn to the clergy with all your questions and needs, and, most importantly, pray and receive the holy sacraments in the church. Thus, we will find grace, peace and rest in our souls with the assistance of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

On the Week of the Publican and the Pharisee, the Church Charter offers for reflection an excerpt from the Epistle of the Apostle Paul to Timothy. Among other things, Paul tells his disciple: “Abide in what you have been taught and in what you have been entrusted, knowing by whom you have been taught. Moreover, from childhood you have known the sacred scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Tim. 3:14, 15).

According to the apostle's thought, a Christian must be taught Christian dogmas. The words that a Christian in the Church needs to learn surprise many people in our time. Alas, in our church consciousness, faith has long been accustomed to coexist peacefully with "pious ignorance." Who do we call a church person? The one who goes to services confesses and takes communion. As a rule, it is completely overlooked that such a person may have a non-evangelical worldview.

But the Bible speaks of the need to study Christian dogmas. The apostles devoted much time and attention to the catechesis of new converts. For example, Paul and Barnabas taught the first Christian community in Antioch for a whole year (see Acts 11:26). In a conversation with the elders of Ephesus, Paul testified: “For three years, night and day, I continually taught each of you with tears” (Acts 20:31). And in the present passage we see how the supreme apostle reminds Timothy that he was taught the truths of the faith of Christ personally from him.

We know from history that in the ancient Church the catechesis of catechumens lasted up to three years! Only those who had firmly mastered the content of church dogmas were admitted to the Sacrament of Baptism. In the case of the baptism of children, godparents before God undertook to teach the child the correct faith.

Thanks to this practice, the level of enlightenment of Christians of the first millennium was very high (at least in the cities). For example, let us recall the history of the establishment of the feast of the Cathedral of the Three Hierarchs. In the 11th century, a violent dispute broke out in Constantinople, because of which the capital was divided into three parties. The first party read the books of Chrysostom, the second extolled Gregory the Theologian, and the third admired the works of Basil the Great. People calmed down only when the saints appeared in a dream to one of the bishops and testified that they were equal before God. The surprise here is not so much the miraculous denouement of the dispute, but the love of ordinary citizens in theology of such a level of complexity, which today is lifting only for a graduate of a theological academy.

Holy Scripture and church experience testify to us: it is good to have a simple faith, but it is better to protect it with reliable protection and strengthening - knowledge. With such protection, a reasonable faith will be much stronger than a simple, intuitive one.

“Stay in what you have learned,” Paul advises Timothy. The Greek word "meno", which is translated here as "abide", is also used in the text of the New Testament with the meaning "to live", "to be". “To abide in what you have learned” means to build your life according to Christian teaching. And here it becomes extremely important what you are taught and whether you are taught at all. The quality of your Christian life will directly depend on the quality of your knowledge.

“And what you have been entrusted with,” Paul adds. The exact translation of this passage is: "And you were made faithful." Then the meaning of the phrase takes on a different connotation: "Abide in what you have been taught and made true." Let us remember, brothers and sisters, that our Church admits only “faithful,” that is, baptized people, to the Sacraments. However, in the ancient Church, as we can see, not only a baptized, but also a person trained in the truths of Christianity was called “faithful”.

"Knowing who taught you." Paul has in mind first of all himself. But the apostle does not teach from himself - Christ Himself stands behind him. So we have been taught by the Holy Church, and behind it stand the holy fathers, the apostles and Christ the Lord. He, Jesus, is our only Teacher and Mentor, and the saints only show us in life and explain Christ's teaching. A person needs to learn through imitation of other Christians, more experienced, life in Christ. As Paul says, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ” (1 Cor. 4:16).

“Besides, you know the sacred writings from childhood,” the apostle continues. How good, how beautiful, when the sweetness of the divine Scriptures touches the heart of a person from the earliest years! This is a rarity these days. A child interested in the Scriptures would look foolish today in the eyes of others. And we, adults, did not read the Bible as children. Today we face the challenge of making up for lost time. Daily analysis of at least one chapter from the Book of Life should be a constant rule for us.

Speaking of "sacred writings", Paul means the books of the Old Testament, since the New Testament texts by that time had not yet been written, had not acquired the status of sacred scriptures, and were not collected in one collection. Here we see a remarkable instance of the New Testament's testimony to the Old Testament. The preacher reports that these books "are able to make wise ... for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus." And the apostle is not alone in his testimony. Peter writes the same: “We have the surest word of prophecy; and you do well to turn to him as to a lamp” (2 Pet. 1:19). Christ Himself commands: “Search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; but they testify of me” (John 5:39).

The New Testament books clearly call us to the study of the Old Testament. They are able to "become wise unto salvation", they "testify" of Christ, they are likened to "a lamp shining in a dark place". Strange, but in our church piety for some reason there is no "count" about the need to study the Bible of the Old Testament. It is widely believed that these books are not very important, one can do without them, their knowledge does not affect salvation, etc. As we have already seen, such a point of view directly contradicts the view of the apostles and Christ Himself. If we reckon ourselves among the Church of Christ, and call our faith apostolic, then we must also look at the Old Testament through the eyes of Christ and the apostles. This is what the ancient Christians did. For them, all Scripture was a single text that aroused interest and love. The division of the text into Old Testament and New Testament was only formal: all books were studied with equal diligence. The Church of the first millennium was well aware of what many today no longer realize: the New Testament cannot be understood without the Old.

Let us once again pay attention to the words of Paul that the Bible is able to "make wise" a Christian "for salvation." The fact is that faith may not be "in salvation." For example, a person goes to church, puts candles, prays for something... But it may well turn out that he believes the meaning of Christian life is in the fight against the TIN or the Masons. And he only thinks about this, and prays, and lights candles. This is where it is necessary for Scripture to make such faith wise, to make it biblical. If faith is not tested by Scripture, it can become unsaving.

It is no coincidence that the Church starts talking about the study of the Bible on the eve of the Holy Forty Day. In ancient times, catechumens were baptized on the occasion of great holidays - Theophany, Easter, so that they could receive communion with the faithful on the very day of the holiday. The time of Great Lent was a period of intense preparation for the Sacrament. Therefore, the Lenten Rule commands a particularly diligent study of the Scriptures in these days. Before Palm Sunday in the temple should be read: the Book of Genesis, the Proverbs of Solomon, the Book of Isaiah; on Holy Week, almost all of the Four Gospels; the Psalter is reread twice every week... Not only by fasting and prayer, but also by deepening into the truths of the sacred texts, the Church prepared the new believers for the baptism.

There is no need to think, brothers and sisters, that since we have been baptized, this side of the Church Charter does not concern us. We know the Bible very poorly, not only in comparison with Christians of antiquity, but even in comparison with modern Protestants. How wonderful that before the start of Great Lent, the Church gives us a blessing to study a number of Bible books. It will be very good if fasting and prayer, the main occupations of Holy Fortecost, will take into their blessed neighborhood the work of studying the Holy Scriptures. Then our faith will become reasonable, prayer meaningful, and fasting will be filled with biblical meaning, which is very different from the current attitude to fasting as fasting.

May today's apostolic reading equip us with the most powerful weapon - true thoughts and make us wise for salvation with the light of the gospel faith - reasonable, biblical, Orthodox. The faith we are to learn and in which we are commanded to abide.

- Father John, before our meeting, the editorial office received a number of calls. That's what the first caller was interested in - "What does the expression "do not remember the Lord in vain" mean?" After all, we often, sometimes several times a day, pronounce the name of the Almighty. They did the job - “Glory to you, Lord!”, A dear person sets off on the road - “Go with God!” or “Save and save him, Lord!”, the window slammed “Oh, Lord, I frightened!” ... Should we or should we not say so?

— The expression “do not remember the Lord in vain” means do not mention God in an ordinary conversation, to connect words, sentences. For example, “Lord, how tired I am of you, calm down already!”, “Lord, why are you doing this?”, “Oh, Lord, who is this coming?” and so on. It is quite another thing when we thank God for help and assistance in our affairs and solving our problems.

- The second question is: “I found a cross, is it worth raising it?”

Here is the first call. “Father John, please answer the question “Is it considered a sin to work on a holiday due to ignorance that it is celebrated today? Thank you!".

- "Work six days - give the seventh to God" - one of the commandments of the Lord says. In general, a real Christian lives by observing the Orthodox canons and holidays. Everyone, I think, should know at least those of them who are called the Great. Is it a sin to work? ... Sin can be different. Helping someone is a good thing. If it happened as it was asked in the question, then ask God for forgiveness and pray. And to forgive or punish is the will of the Almighty.

“Tell me, father John, what is the sin of the presence of a woman in the Temple with her head uncovered?” The first call was immediately followed by a second call.

- In short, the hair is an adornment of a woman, and we must come to church modestly. In the old days, a woman always walked with a scarf covering her head. She thus recognized the supremacy of a man, a husband, showing a sign of humility, meekness. In Greece, for example, women enter the Temple with their heads uncovered. But there is another case. This country has been under the Muslim yoke for a long time and with its openness it seems to show a protest against the dominance of other faiths. This has survived to this day.

One more call. “Is it possible to light a house and other property without a priest, by lighting a candle and sprinkling it with holy water yourself?”

- No. Consecration is one of the sacraments that only a clergyman performs. The Lord acts through him, giving at the same time a guardian angel. The same applies to things that should serve later for good deeds. You can also sprinkle a layman with holy water. This will only be evidence of his faith in the Lord's support and protection. But higher than the holiness of a Christian is the holiness of a priest.

“I am listening to you,” Father John answers the phone again. - You don't have to introduce yourself. What are you interested in?

“Dear Father John! Here we are, turning to the Lord, say "Forgive me, Lord, for our sins free and not free." What sins are considered not free?

- This is when behavior is a manifestation of our feelings. We get angry for no reason, we overeat. Yes, yes, this is also not a free sin. We enjoy something excessively, we condemn someone or something, we speak verbosely, and even worse, we use swear words, we use foul language. I note that there is no person who lives a day without sins, but one must try to suppress such manifestations in oneself, or allow them as little as possible.

— Listen, speak.

“Father John, please tell me what, if I may say so, is the set of obligatory prayers”?

- Ideally, one should observe the morning and evening prayer rules for turning to God. There is a Prayer Book where you need to look and read.

- Speak, I'm listening.

“What Orthodox holidays are still waiting for us in August”?

- August 28 - Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
- August 29 - the feast of the miraculous image of the Savior. After the liturgy in the Church of St. Nicholas, a prayer service will be held for the beginning of the teaching of the youths. 30 - Feast of the Icon of the Mother of God "Svenskaya". The liturgy on this occasion, which will be led by Metropolitan Alexander, will begin at 9 am in the Svensky Monastery. Then there will be a procession to the Cathedral in Bryansk.

“Thank you, Father John, for supporting our initiative. Thanks for answers.

— Thank you for inviting me, and I was able to talk to the Orthodox through the local newspaper.

Orthodoxy(from the Greek "correct service", "correct teaching") - one of the main world religions, represents the direction in Christianity. Orthodoxy took shape in the first millennium from R. X. under the leadership of the bishop's chair Constantinople capital of the Eastern Roman Empire. Orthodoxy is currently professed 225-300 million person all over the world. In addition to Russia, the Orthodox faith has become widespread in Balkans and Eastern Europe. Interestingly, along with the traditionally Orthodox countries, adherents of this direction of Christianity are found in Japan, Thailand, South Korea and other Asian countries (and not only people with Slavic roots, but also the local population).

Orthodox believe in God the Trinity, into the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is believed that all three divine hypostases are in inseparable unity. God is the creator of the world that he created from the beginning sinless. Evil and sin while being understood as distortion world ordained by God. The original sin of Adam and Eve's disobedience to God was redeemed through incarnation, earthly life and suffering on the cross God the Son Jesus Christ.

In the understanding of the Orthodox Church- it is one divine-human organism led by the Lord Jesus Christ, uniting the society of people Holy Spirit, Orthodox Faith, Law of God, hierarchy and Sacraments.

The highest level of the hierarchy priests in Orthodoxy is the rank bishop. He leads church community on its territory (eparchy), performs the sacrament ordination of clergy(consecrations), including other bishops. succession of ordinations continuously ascends to the apostles. More elder bishops are called archbishops and metropolitans, and the supreme one is patriarch. Lower rank of the church hierarchy, after the bishops, - presbyters(priests) who can perform all Orthodox sacraments except for ordination. Next come deacons who themselves do not commit sacraments, but help in this to the presbyter or bishop.

Clergy subdivided into White and black. Priests and deacons related to white clergy, have families. Black the clergy is monks who make a vow celibacy. The rank of a deacon in monasticism is called a hierodeacon, and that of a priest is called a hieromonk. Bishop can be only representative black clergy.

Hierarchical structure Orthodox Church accepts certain democratic procedures management, in particular encouraged criticism any clergyman, if he retreats from the Orthodox faith.

Freedom of the individual refers to essential principles Orthodoxy. It is believed that meaning of spiritual life man in finding the original true freedom from the sins and passions by which he is enslaved. The rescue possible only under grace of God, given that free will believer their efforts on the spiritual path.

For gaining there are two ways to save. First - monastic, consisting in solitude and renunciation of the world. This is the way special ministry God, the Church and neighbors, associated with the intense struggle of man with his sins. The second way of salvation- This service to the world, first of all family. The family in Orthodoxy plays a huge role and is called small church or house church.

Source of domestic law Orthodox Church - the main document - is sacred tradition, which contains the Holy Scriptures, the interpretation of the Holy Scriptures compiled by the Holy Fathers, theological writings of the Holy Fathers (their dogmatic works), dogmatic definitions and acts of the Holy Ecumenical and Local Councils of the Orthodox Church, liturgical texts, iconography, spiritual succession expressed in the works of ascetic writers , their instructions about the spiritual life.

Attitude Orthodoxy to statehood builds on the assertion that all power is from God. Even during the persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire, the Apostle Paul commands Christians to pray for power and honor the king not only for the sake of fear, but also for the sake of conscience, knowing that power is the establishment of God.

To the Orthodox sacraments include: Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Repentance, Priesthood, Honorable Marriage and Unction. Sacrament eucharist or communion, is the most important, it contributes bringing man closer to God. Sacrament baptism- This man's entry into the Church, deliverance from sin and the opportunity to start a new life. Confirmation (usually follows immediately after baptism) consists in giving the believer blessings and gifts of the Holy Spirit which strengthen a person in spiritual life. During Unction the human body anointed those sanctified with oil, which makes it possible to get rid of bodily ailments, gives remission of sins. Unction- associated with forgiveness of all sins committed by a person, a petition for liberation from diseases. Repentance- forgiveness of sin sincere remorse. Confession- gives fertile opportunity, strength and support to cleansing from sin.

Prayers in Orthodoxy can be both home and general- church. In the first case, a person before God opens his heart, and in the second - the power of prayer increases many times, since the saints and angels who are also members of the Church.

The Orthodox Church believes that the history of Christianity before the great split(separation of Orthodoxy and Catholicism) is the history of Orthodoxy. In general, relations between the two main branches of Christianity have always developed It's hard enough, sometimes reaching open confrontation. Moreover, even in the 21st century early speak about complete reconciliation. Orthodoxy believes that salvation can only be found in Christianity: at the same time non-Orthodox Christian communities considered partially(but not completely) deprived of God's grace. IN difference from Catholics Orthodox do not recognize the dogma of papal infallibility and his supremacy over all Christians, the dogma of Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, the doctrine of purgatory, dogma about bodily ascension of the Mother of God. An important difference between Orthodoxy and Catholicism, which had a serious impact on political history, is the thesis about symphonies of spiritual and secular authorities. Roman Church stands for full ecclesiastical immunity and, in the person of his High Priest, possesses sovereign temporal power.

The Orthodox Church is organizationally community of local churches, each of which uses full autonomy and independence on its territory. There are currently 14 Autocephalous Churches, for example, Constantinople, Russian, Greek, Bulgarian, etc.

Churches of the Russian tradition adhering to old rites, generally accepted up to Nikonian reform, are called Old Believers. Old Believers were subjected to persecution and oppression, which was one of the reasons that forced them to lead secluded lifestyle. Old Believer settlements existed in Siberia, on North European part Russia, by now the Old Believers have settled Worldwide. Along with performance features Orthodox rituals, other than requirements Russian Orthodox Church (for example, the number of fingers with which they are baptized), Old Believers have special way of life, For example, do not drink alcohol, do not smoke.

In recent years, due to globalization of spiritual life(the spread of religions around the world, regardless of the territories of their initial origin and development), it was believed that orthodoxy like a religion loses the competition Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Catholicism, insufficiently adapted for the modern world. But probably, preservation of true deep religiosity, inextricably linked with Russian culture, and there is the main mission of orthodoxy, which will allow in the future to acquire salvation for the Russian people.

Between readers of the article "Why is religion so convenient for power harmful?" There was an interesting dispute at KONT. The direction of this dispute was set by a certain "Warrior of Light", who wrote : "Orthodoxy and Christianity have nothing in common with each other! Orthodoxy was in Rus' long before Christianity and before the baptism of Rus'. Orthodoxy - from the words "Glorify Rule" (World of the Gods). And Christianity originated in the Middle East long before Jesus. John the Baptist forced the Jews to wash in the Jordan and be baptized. Jesus came to the Jews to tell them that they live wrong and worship the wrong God! That's why they killed him!"

Another comment was written on this comment, and then it started!

Ivanych→ Light warrior: in Greek Orthodoxy is expressed by the word "orthodoxy". In Greek it is not only "Orthodoxy", but also "right-thinking". We must learn to think correctly! Only those who have a connection with God, who is the Truth, can think correctly. A holistic approach is an important feature, a condition of legal thinking.

Perchik Perchik→ Ivanych: not right thinking, but orthodoxy! The very word "orthodoxy" means - "direct opinion", "direct teaching", "orthodoxy". How do you think a Greek Christian can say about himself: "I am Orthodox"? Orthodox? Let's say. And how then to translate into Russian the expression "Orthodox Jew" or "Orthodox Islam"? "Orthodox Jew" or "Orthodox Islam"?!

Anton Blagin→ Ivanych: do you think that the current "Orthodoxy" is the religion of the sages? I have not noticed this quality in most of our believers.

Ivanych→ Anton Blagin: "they didn't notice", because God's gift was again deliberately confused with scrambled eggs, because this is a characteristic of a phenomenon, not a person. Unlike you, I know many great Russian Orthodox scientists, philosophers, artists, poets, writers, musicians, and even generals. All of them make up the great history and culture of our people. But I don't know a single "great" Russian pagan and barbarian. However, you don't know either...

Perchik Perchik→ Ivanych: why not? You can name a lot of generals of the times of the Great Patriotic War - atheists, who, of course, cannot be called barbarians (for what reason?), but it is quite possible to call Orthodox, but not in the Christian sense. Because true Orthodoxy is not a religion! Rather, a philosophical doctrine, worldview. Like Confucianism.

Ivanych→ Perchik Perchikc: "Orthodoxy" is "tracing paper", that is, the most accurate translation of the Greek word "ὀρθοδοξία" (orthodoxy). The word "orthodoxy" consists of two parts: "ὀρθός" (orthos) - "correct, right” and “δόξα” (doxa), which literally means “opinion, judgment, teaching”, although it can also be translated as “ glory, honor".

The word "orthodoxy" entered the Christian lexicon in the era of the Ecumenical Councils and was used by the Fathers of the Church as an antonym for various heretical teachings - "heterodoxy" (in literal translation - "different opinions, judgments"). The word "Orthodoxy" also has two roots. The root of “rights” does not raise questions, its unambiguous semantics is “correct, true”. The second part - "glory" - has the same root as the word "glory", one of the meanings of which is also "opinion, judgment, doctrine", For example: "these people are notorious". Thus, the phrase "Orthodox Christianity" means "Correct Christian Teaching". Source: pravoslavie.ru/77663.html

It seems that you do not look like a victim of the Bologna system of education, but for some reason you reason in the same way ... Religion (from lat. religion- "piety, piety, shrine, object of worship") - worldview and attitude, as well as appropriate behavior and specific actions (cult), which are based on the belief in the existence of (one or more) gods, "sacred", i.e. some kind of supernatural."

Thus, any religion has five main features:

1) worldview;
2) attitude;
3) appropriate behavior;
4) specific actions (cult);
5) belief in the existence of gods (one or more) and the supernatural ("sacred") - faith, which is the basis of the first four signs.

Perchik Perchik→ Ivanych: words "glory" And "opinion" or "teaching" And "judgment" completely different in meaning and are not synonymous! To glorify something, to glorify - absolutely not equal in meaning- to have an opinion about something. In any case, you you can not correctly translate into Russian the expressions "orthodox Islam", "orthodox Judaism" or the same "orthodox communism".

Ivanych→ Perchik Perchik: that is why for me there are such concepts as standard, starting point, truth, dogma. Only by trying to strictly follow them can one build logic, and other methods of thinking are a "quagmire" of sheer relativism, fraught with a very common diagnosis...

Perchik Perchik→ Ivanych: This is sophistry! Translation is a problem, isn't it? Maybe something is wrong with your reporting point?

Ivanych→ Perchik: where did you get the idea that I decided to shine here as a philological "talent"? The first translation is from a professor at MGIMO, and the second is from the official Orthodox website, to which I provided a link...

Perchik Perchik→ Ivanych: if you are a reasonable person, you should at least think about the reliability of your sources. With the advent of Christianity, the Russian language acquired several words of foreign origin of religious and ecclesiastical content: church, gospel, synod, catholic etc. But the word "orthodoxy" did not acquire Russian. This is only a Russian word! Do you want to say that the Russians did not know him before the advent of Christianity?! Didn't the Slavs have to praise the gods before? Did the Slavs not consider their gods correct? Is Right was it strange for a Slav to praise God?

I am trying to hint to you that there is nothing illogical in the fact that Orthodoxy is by no means a novelty for a pre-Christian Slav!

A Muslim can say about himself - "I am Orthodox"! A Jew can say that! A Christian can say so! But a Muslim cannot say "I am an Orthodox Muslim". A Jew can't either! BECAUSE IT'S NOT THE SAME!

Ivanych→ Perchik Perchik: unlike you, as I have already shown, my sources are fundamental, i.e. underlying a specific worldview. In what way are attempts to give a different meaning to words, or their interpretation, contradict what I have said? Therefore, I repeat, for me Russian = Orthodox. "Russian" is the only nationality that is indicated by an adjective. All other nationalities answer the question "who?": German, English, French. And only Russian is “what”. Because Russianness is a quality of the human Soul. Russian is an adjective. And a Russian person is always attached to God. The one who is attached to God is that Russian. (N. Berdyaev)

Perchik Perchik→ Ivanych: "Russian people are Orthodox". I can agree. All Russian material culture testifies to this. Only Christianity has nothing to do with it! Christianity was first of all imposed on the princely elite! The peasantry, despite the Christianity imposed from above, remained Orthodox! Shrovetide, carols, Christmas time are Orthodox holidays. Even Christmas (December 25) falls on the beginning of the Sun's rise above the horizon. Christmas is a pagan holiday.

Anton Blagin: I will add to this: earlier in Rus', the Slavs celebrated a holiday on December 25 "Christmas Sun", and after the reform of Peter I, which he arranged 317 years ago, cutting off as many as 5508 years from the Slavic calendar, on December 25 they began to celebrate "The Nativity of Christ", which the Jews circumcised on the 8th day and made for the Slavs the New God ( gott ohm) exactly by January 1st. (Count! December 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31 + January 1 = on the eighth day!).

By the way, congratulations "Happy New Year!" Probably came up with Peter I himself, who put a mockery of the Slavs into this phrase - "Happy New God!". The word "God" that appeared in Russian is a remake formed from the German word "Gott" (God) or the English word "God" (God).

As for the origin of the word ORTHODOXY and its true meaning, I support the point of view of the reader with the nickname "Warrior of Light", who said that "Orthodoxy was in Rus' long before Christianity and the baptism of Rus'", and the point of view of "Perchik Perchik", who said , What "Orthodox" and "Orthodox" are not the same thing!" And what "with the advent of Christianity, the Russian language acquired several words of foreign origin of religious and ecclesiastical content: church, gospels, synod, catholic, etc. But the Russian language did not acquire the word "Orthodoxy". It is only a Russian word!"

It really consists of two roots "right" and "praise", the meaning of which, it seems, is extremely clear. But this meaning is fully revealed only if we turn our attention to the ancient Slavic tradition - to celebrate in the Russian North on December 25 the winter holiday of the Sun ("Christmas of Kolyada").

Reader Perchik Perchik wrote above: "Christmas falls at the beginning of the sun's rise above the horizon". I will clarify: our distant ancestors celebrated the Christmas of the Sun on the third day after the onset of the shortest day of the year, which falls annually on December 22. On this day in the Arctic (beyond the line of the Arctic Circle) the old, autumn-winter Sun "died", which had its own name among the ancient Slavs - Horse or Horst. And on December 25, three days later, a new Sun was born, the Baby Sun, to which the Slavs gave a name - Kolyada. They called him a baby because this "newly born" Sun gave light, but there was still little heat coming from it. And the spring Sun, which had already gained strength, which awakened nature after hibernation, was christened by the ancient Slavs Yaril. Ardent means strong.

So, the Slavs in ancient times used three different names for the Sun during the year, indicating its "different age" and different strength:

Here it is - the most ancient "pagan faith" of the Slavs! And if we translate into modern Russian the ancient Slavic word "languages" (which means "peoples"), then the negative meaning introduced into the mass consciousness by Christian priests will completely disappear from the phrase "pagan faith", because we will get as a result - "folk faith" Slavs! What is wrong here?

Folk - among other things, it means - simple in meaning.

Whom glorified our distant Orthodox ancestors, what kind of God?

Of course, they praised the Sun, without whose heat and light there would be no life on Earth! In winter, with the onset of cold weather, you understand this especially clearly, especially if the central heating is turned off in the house!

On December 25, on the Christmas of the Sun, in Rus' there was a tradition to build a large fire imitating the fire of the Sun, and arrange a round dance around it - movement in a circle.

This movement around the fire was necessarily arranged, as they say now, "clockwise." That is, the people made a "right rotation" around the fire. That was it orthodoxy!

Why did our ancestors choose this particular direction of movement around the fire? And why not the opposite?

The explanation for this is also simple.

If you live in the Northern Hemisphere of the Earth, in Russia or another European country, or in England, or in North America, watch for yourself how the Sun moves across the sky. In the Northern Hemisphere of the earth, the movement of the Sun seen by the eyes across the sky occurs from left to right, and in the Southern Hemisphere of the earth - in the opposite direction, from right to left. This is due to celestial mechanics, which this figure below explains. In fact, this planet Earth revolves around the Sun, and counterclockwise, and since we do not feel the movement of our planet, it seems to us that this Sun is moving relative to the Earth.

In the summer, when the summer solstice comes after June 22, and the Polar day begins beyond the line of the Arctic Circle, the inhabitants of the Arctic have the opportunity to observe a unique phenomenon - the Sun does not set beyond the horizon all day long and simply walks across the sky according to the principle of a round dance. It is clearly seen that it moves from left to right.

To repeat this movement of the Sun, moving in a round dance around a festive fire, was in the tradition of the ancient Slavs. As I said, this was traditional ORTHODOXY. And this very direction of movement of people in a round dance was called POSOLON, which means "according to the Sun."

The ancient Slavs even had a sign, a symbol, identical to the word POSOLON, here it is:

This is not a swastika! This is Salting! This sign symbolizes rotation and indicates the direction of rotation - clockwise.

The sign POSOLON and ORTHODOXY had an inextricable semantic connection with each other!

Our people had all this in ancient times, but over the centuries it has all been perverted by the biblical "enemies of the human race"!

The latest perversion of RUSSIAN ORTHODOXY tried to make Nazis who, at the beginning of the 20th century, out of meanness and deceit, decided to ride this "Aryan", Nordic theme in order to further denigrate our past.

Look at these two historical photos. This is Berlin, 1936, the Olympic stadium. The decoration of the sports festival was the "swastika procession" around the traditional "Aryan" fire, which has not yet been lit in the photo. Notice which way the Nazis are marching.

To the left! Against the movement of the sun!

This is LEVOSLAVIA, alien to the ancient Slavic, so-called "Aryan" culture! In other words, this perversion Aryan cult!

Why this was done, I told in a separate article: "Nazism was born by the Jews, who called themselves "Aryans" to disguise themselves!"

It was I who spoke about the latest, most famous case of the perversion of RUSSIAN ORTHODOXY, and earlier such a perversion of the "pagan faith" was done by the Christianizers of Rus'.

Not only did these Christianizers of Rus' begin to replace the ancient Slavic holidays with church Judeo-Christian holidays, such as the holiday "Christmas Sun" they changed to "The Nativity of Christ", so they are still within false"Christianities" have changed ORTHODOXY to LEFTODOXY!

At the same time, their "institution of God" is still called in Russia "Russian Orthodox Church", despite the tradition of LEVOSLAVIA, already established over the centuries!

How was the substitution of the "folk Slavic faith" for pseudo-Christian, said the famous Soviet and Russian philologist, semiotician, historian of language and culture Boris Andreevich Uspensky.

"... It must be recalled that a number of rites and symbols of the Christian Church have a completely obvious and, undoubtedly, pagan origin..."

According to the modern historian of the Church, Christianity adopted and made its own many forms of "pagan religion", because the whole idea of Christianity is not to replace all forms in this world with new ones, but to fill them with new ... content!

"Baptism with water, a religious meal, anointing with oil - all these fundamental religious acts the Church did not invent, did not create, all of them already existed in the religious everyday life of mankind. The Church turned to the service of Christianity many forms of religion that were common for "paganism."

Just as the pagans celebrated the birth of the invincible Sun on December 25, so the Christians dated the celebration of the Nativity of Christ to this day, which taught people to worship the "Sun of Truth." The same date became the date of the Epiphany. The church cult of the unmercenaries, as is known, has much in common with the pagan cult of the Dioscuri.

Speaking about the adaptation of Christian holidays to pagan ones, one can further point out that the holiday The Beheading of John the Baptist under August 29 established by the Alexandrian Church in opposition to the festivities Alexandrian New Year.

Holidays Nativity of the Virgin, September 8, and the Conception of the Virgin, January 12, were installed in Asia against the Olympics.

Holiday Transfiguration of the Lord, August 6, - Armenian-Cappadocian origin, installed in Armenia as opposed to the pagan holiday of Ross.

The Day of the Archangel Michael, November 8, - of Alexandrian origin, replaced the ancient feast of the Baptism of the Lord, established by the Egyptian Church as a counterweight to the celebrations in honor of the Egyptian goddess.

Thus, the Church, as it were, gave Christian coverage to folk festivities, naturally, while certain pagan rites had to be preserved, which, however, received new content, being rethought in terms of Christian ideas.

And in exactly the same way, the Churches were placed in the place of "pagan temples", and pagan priests, as Christianity spread, became (replaced) by Christian clergy.

The practice of "churching paganism", dating back, as we have seen, to the first centuries of Christianity, was preserved in the Byzantine, and then in the Russian Church. Accordingly, a whole series of rites, both general and local, and in general a whole series of moments of cult behavior, reveals an undoubted pagan origin in Christianity ... ".

The practice of "churching paganism", as history has shown, was reduced by Christianizers to the fact that they distorted all the folk Slavic traditions and beliefs, filled them not with true (as they convinced everyone), but with unnatural (opposite) meaning.

And the most obvious example of this perversions popular ("pagan") beliefs - the change of ORTHODOXY to LEFTODOXY!

Here is a story that has been included in many encyclopedias.

"On August 12, 1479, Metropolitan Geronty of Moscow consecrated the main cathedral church of the Russian Church - the Assumption Cathedral in the city of Moscow. During its consecration, the metropolitan made a procession anti-salt, that is, he led the people around the cathedral against the movement of the sun.

(In 1936, the Nazis also walked at the stadium in Berlin, posing as "Aryans"! - Comment by A.B.)

When the Grand Duke Ivan III found out about this, he remained dissatisfied with this and was angry with the metropolitan. Naturally, a dispute began between the prince and the metropolitan. To resolve the dispute, the priests-scribes began to look in their books for a record, how to move correctly during worship however, they found nothing in them. Then the archimandrites and abbots spoke in defense of the metropolitan. One hegumen, justifying the metropolitan, said that he had seen the procession of the anti-sun on Mount Athos in Greece.

To support his opinion, the prince called Vassian, Archbishop of Rostov, and Gennady, Archimandrite of the Chudov Monastery, for both were Russian origin. In contrast to their opinion, Metropolitan Gerontius cited the fact that the deacon performs "censing" around the throne "against the Sun." Invited by Prince Ivan III, the archbishop and archimandrite, in support of their point of view, said the following: “The righteous sun is Christ, come to death and bind hell, and free souls, and for this, they say, they come at Easter, they also represent at Matins.”

So, with the support of two priests, the prince remained unconvinced and forbade Metropolitan Gennady to consecrate the newly built churches, which by that time were quite numerous in Moscow.

After the invasion of Akhmat in 1480, the religious dispute was resumed in 1481, on July 22. There were only two people on the side of the Grand Duke: Archbishop Joasaph of Rostov (Vassian had already died) and Archimandrite Gennady. All the rest were on the side of the metropolitan.

The prince stubbornly stood his ground, because of which the metropolitan left for the Simonov Monastery and announced to the prince that he would completely leave the metropolitan see if the prince did not submit ...

Further, according to the narration given in the encyclopedia, "Prince Ivan III resigned himself, sent his son to the metropolitan with a request to return to his throne. The metropolitan did not return. Then the prince himself went to the metropolitan, declared himself guilty of everything, promised to obey the metropolitan in everything, and as for the direction of movement, he gave it to the will of the metropolitan, as he orders, and as it was in the old days ... "

In the middle of the 17th century, the church reform undertaken by Patriarch Nikon affected all the churches in Rus' and unified all the rites "according to Greek patterns." However, Nikon's innovations were not accepted by part of the Russian people. There was a schism in the church. Those who continued to honor the old Russian ("pagan" or "Aryan") traditions and walk during the "processions" in the direction of the Sun ("salting") and remained in this way Russian Orthodox, those began to be called "Old Believers". And the "new believers" began to obediently follow the priests during the "processions of the cross" against the movement of the sun, that is, counterclockwise, and thus became...Left-Orthodox Christians.

Why do you need to walk against the sun? Who are they this way glorify? - believing people, fooled by Judeo-Christian priests, no longer understand, but, as they say, they are told to walk, so they follow them ... without knowing why!

What is the value for us, the Slavs, of a new supposedly "Christian" tradition, about which not a word is said in the Christian Gospels?

Obviously, it is "valuable" only because our people now follow the lead of Jewish priests, who, in order to deceive believers, called themselves "followers of Christ the Savior" and dressed in a uniform invented by them, while they themselves are in their souls haters of everything Russian, Slavic, like the same Kirill Gundyaev, the current head of the "ROC", who said in 2012: https://youtu.be/VYvPHTYGwVs

"And who were the Slavs? They were barbarians! Barbarians! People who say incomprehensible things. These are second-class people! They are almost animals! And enlightened men went to them ..."

And they came. And everything that could be perverted, perverted!