What should a true Christian be like? How are the feasts of the Lord and His saints celebrated? Pray at home every day
Prayer Creed and its explanation (from the book The Law of God)
Symbol of faith
in Church Slavonic
1. I believe (I acknowledge) in one God the Father, the Almighty, (Who holds everything in his power), the Creator of heaven and earth, visible to everyone and invisible (visible and invisible - the Angelic world).
2. And in the one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Only Begotten, (the only one) Who (who) is born from the Father before all ages (before all times) Light from Light, God is true from God is true, born, not created, consubstantial (of the same nature with God the Father) to the Father, by Him (Which) all things were (everything was created).
3. For the sake of man and ours for the sake of salvation, he descended from Heaven and incarnated (received a body) from the Holy Spirit and Mary the Virgin, and became human (became a man).
4. He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered, and was buried.
5. And resurrected on the third day according to the Scriptures (as was foretold in the Holy Scriptures).
6. And ascended (raised from the flesh) into Heaven, and sitting at the right hand (sitting on the right side) of the Father.
7. And packs (again) of the coming (going) with glory to judge (to judge) the living and the dead, His Kingdom will have no end.
8. And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, (reviving) Who (who) proceeds from the Father, (comes from the Father) Who with the Father and the Son we worship and glorify, (We bow to Him and glorify Him together with the Father and the Son) who spoke the prophets (The Holy Spirit spoke through the prophets.)
9. Into one, holy, catholic (universal) and apostolic Church.
10. I confess (recognize) one baptism for the remission (forgiveness) of sins.
11. I tea (expect) the resurrection of the dead.
12. And the life of the future age (future life in Paradise). Amen. (true so).
Symbol of faith
In Russian
1. I believe in one God, Father, Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, everything visible and invisible.
2. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Only Begotten, begotten of the Father before all ages: Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not created, one being with the Father, by Him all things were created.
3. For the sake of us people and for the sake of our salvation, he descended from Heaven, and took flesh from the Holy Spirit and Mary the Virgin, and became a man.
4. He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered, and was buried,
5. And rose again on the third day, according to the Scriptures.
6. And ascended into Heaven, and sitting on the right side of the Father.
7. And again coming with glory to judge the living and the dead, His kingdom will have no end.
8. And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord who gives life, who proceeds from the Father, who together with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, who spoke through the prophets.
9. Into one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.
10. I acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
11. I look forward to the resurrection of the dead,
12. And the life of the next century. Amen (that's right).
What is the Creed?
The creed is a prayer that briefly and accurately sets out the most important truths of the Christian faith. Every Orthodox Christian must believe as the Creed teaches. The Creed should be known by heart and read with morning prayers.
The Creed, which we will explain here, was compiled by the Fathers of the First and Second Ecumenical Councils. At the First Ecumenical Council, the first seven members of the Symbol were written, at the Second, the remaining five. The first Ecumenical Council was held in the city of Nicaea in the year 325 after the birth of Christ to confirm the apostolic teaching about the Son of God and against the incorrect teaching of Arius. Arius taught that the Son of God was created by God the Father and is not the true God. The Second Ecumenical Council was held in Constantinople in 381 to establish the apostolic teaching about the Holy Spirit against the false teaching of Macedonia, who denied the Divine dignity of the Holy Spirit. For the two cities where these Ecumenical Councils, The Creed bears the name of Niceo-Tsaregrad.
The creed consists of 12 members (parts). The 1st member speaks of God the Father, the 2nd to 7th members speak of God the Son, the 8th - of God the Holy Spirit, the 9th - of the Church, the 10th - of baptism, the 11th and 12 th - about the resurrection of the dead and about eternal life.
First member of the Creed
I believe in one God the Father, Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, visible to all and invisible
To believe in God means to be firmly convinced that God exists, that He cares for us, and to accept with all our heart what He told us through His Son, through the prophets and apostles.
Faith should not be limited only by our reason, like an abstract science, but it should warm our hearts with love for God and for people. In other words, it is not enough just to admit that God exists, but one must also live the way God wants.
A true Christian is one who believes correctly and lives according to the commandments of God.
It is necessary that our faith in God be so strong that no temptations, dangers, sufferings, and death itself could force us to renounce God or violate His holy will. Only living and strong faith saves our souls, as Holy Scripture teaches: "We believe with our heart for righteousness, but with our mouth we confess for salvation" (Rom. 10:10).
Examples of firm faith are the holy martyrs. For the sake of faith in God and the fulfillment of His Commandments, they refused all the blessings of earthly life, were subjected to persecution, terrible torment, and even death.
The words of the Creed: "into one God" teach that a Christian should recognize only ONE true God. There is no other god in the universe besides Him - the only, great and almighty one. Wild and superstitious people who recognize many gods and serve idols are called pagans.
God is a higher, transcendental, supernatural Being. To fully know the essence of God is impossible. It is higher than knowledge, not only for people, but also for angels.
However, we can and must know God. We are taught about God by the nature that He created, as well as the Holy Scriptures, in which God revealed Himself to people through His prophets and apostles. Considering the world around us, its beauty and harmony, as well as reading the Holy Scriptures, we come to know the following properties of God.
God is the Creator. Everything that exists: visible and invisible - the whole vast universe was created by God. At the same time, God can do everything, in an instant and without difficulty. Therefore we call Him omnipotent.
God is the Almighty, because He holds everything in His power. Nothing can happen without His will.
God is Spirit. He is not material and simple in His essence.
God is inexhaustible Life. All living things: plants, animals, people, angels and other creatures - everything has received and receives its life from God.
God has always existed and always will exist - He is eternal.
God is everywhere and penetrates everything by Himself, although He does not mix with anything. He is omnipresent.
God knows everything: everything that was, that is, and that will be - the thoughts and desires of all beings. Nothing can be hidden from Him; He is omniscient.
God is infinitely wise. No one can invent or do anything better than Him. He is wise.
God is infinitely kind. He pities and loves everyone, takes care of everyone, like a Father. He is Love.
God is supremely just. Each person will sooner or later get what he deserves. God is omnipotent.
God is in eternal bliss and gives joy and bliss to those who love Him. He is omnipotent.
God doesn't change. He is always the same. Everything else in the world is either born and grows, or dies and falls apart.
God is one, but not alone, because God is one in His essence, but trinity in Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the Trinity is consubstantial and indivisible. Unity of Three, infinitely loving each other Persons.
Mutual relationship between Persons Holy Trinity consists in the fact that God the Father is not born and does not proceed from another person; The Son of God was born of God the Father before all ages; and the Holy Spirit proceeds from God the Father before all ages. All three Persons of the Most Holy Trinity, in essence and properties, are completely equal to each other. As God the Father is true God, and the Son of God is true God, so God the Holy Spirit is true God, but all three Persons are one Deity - one God.
How one God exists in three Persons is a mystery incomprehensible to our mind. We believe in it because the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, taught us to believe this way. Sending the apostles to preach, He said: "Go, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit" (Matt. 28:19). The apostle and evangelist John explains that the Persons in God have one essence: "Three testify in heaven (of the divinity of the Son of God): the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one" (John 5:7). The Apostle Paul writes: "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all" (2 Cor. 13:13).
To clarify the mystery of the Holy Trinity, we can point to the following examples. The speech of all the peoples of the earth has three faces: I (we), you (you) and he (they); time has: past, present and future; state of matter: solid, liquid and gaseous; all the variety of colors in the world is made up of three primary colors: red, blue and yellow; a person manifests himself through: thought, word and action; action, in turn, has: a beginning, a middle and an end; the sun has a circle, heat and light; salvation of the soul is achieved through the three virtues: faith, hope and love.
We can understand the mystery of the Holy Trinity more with our hearts than with our minds. If we love God and live according to His commandments, then our heart will feel the truth of the mystery of the Holy Trinity and all that the Lord Jesus Christ taught.
God created first the invisible, and then the visible world. To the invisible or spiritual world belong angels - spirits, incorporeal (therefore invisible) and immortal beings, gifted with mind, will and power.
The word "angel" is Greek and means "messenger" in Russian. God sends angels to proclaim His will to people. Every Christian has his own guardian angel, who invisibly helps him in the work of salvation and protects him from all evil. There are also evil spirits- fallen angels: demons or demons. God created them good, but they became evil because of their pride and disobedience. Good angels live in Heaven, and demons live in hell.
The visible world is the world in which we live. God created it from nothing many millions of years ago. Man is a complex being. His soul is invisible and immortal. It was created in the image and likeness of God. The human body is made of earth, just like the bodies of animals.
The Second Member of the Creed
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Only Begotten, Who was born of the Father before all ages. Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, uncreated, consubstantial with the Father, Whom all was.
The Lord Jesus Christ is the Only Begotten Son of God, that is, the only Son of God the Father, born from the being of the Father. As light is born from light, so from the true God the Father was born the true God the Son. Therefore, the Son of God has the same divine essence as God the Father, or, as the Creed says, He is "consubstantial with the Father." Jesus Christ Himself said, "I and the Father are one" (John 10:30).
The Son of God was born from God the Father before all ages, that is, before the beginning of time - initially. As God the Father eternally exists, so the Son of God eternally exists, and the Holy Spirit eternally exists.
If, however, angels and holy men can be called "sons of God," then not according to their own nature, but by the grace of God. God the Father adopted us to Himself - for the sake of His Only Begotten Son, Who died for us, in order to cleanse us from sins and make us saints.
To the word "begotten," in the Creed is added the word "uncreated." This addition was made to refute the false teaching of Arius, who claimed that the Son of God was not begotten, but created.
The words by Him, all bysha, mean that by Him, the Son of God, everything was created: both the visible and the invisible world. "Without Him (the Son of God) nothing began to be that began to be," - it is written in the Gospel (John 1:3).
The Son of God, when he was born on earth, received the name Jesus Christ. The name Jesus is the Greek translation of the Hebrew name Yeshua, which means Savior. This name was indicated twice by God through an Angel before the Nativity of Christ, because the eternal Son of God came down to earth precisely for the salvation of people.
The name Christos is Greek and means the Anointed One. On Hebrew the word "Messiah" corresponded to it. IN Old Testament anointed were prophets, high priests and kings, who, upon entering their office, were anointed with oil and through this received the gifts of the Holy Spirit necessary for the performance of their duties.
The Son of God is called the Anointed One (Christ) in His human nature because He received all the gifts of the Holy Spirit: prophetic knowledge, the holiness of a high priest, and the power of a king.
The Third Article of the Creed
For us for the sake of man and for our sake of salvation, he descended from Heaven and became incarnate from the Holy Spirit and Mary the Virgin, and became human.
The third member of the Creed speaks of the incarnation of the Son of God. Being a perfect God, the Son of God descended from Heaven into our world and became man, that is, he became perfect man without ceasing to be the omnipotent and omnipresent God.
As a man, Jesus Christ had a soul and a body and became like us in every way, except for sin. His human nature was pure, like that of Adam before the fall. Since Jesus Christ had and continues to have two natures - Divine and human, He is the God-Man.
The Son of God came into our world to save us: to deliver people from the power of the devil, sin and eternal death and make us righteous people.
All people are born sinful. Sin appeared in people from the devil, who, even in paradise, seduced Eve, and through her Adam, and persuaded them to violate the commandment of God, that is, to sin. This sin corrupted the nature of Adam and Eve. Since then, all their descendants are born corrupted by sin. Sin has deprived people of the grace of God, clouded their minds, weakened their will, brought sickness and death into their bodies. People began to suffer and die, and by their own strength they could no longer overcome sin within themselves.
Seeing the impotence of people in the fight against sin, the merciful Lord promised Adam and Eve that the Savior of the world would come to earth, Who would deliver people from sin and from the power of the devil.
Then, for many generations, God, through His prophets, prepared people for the coming of the Son of God to earth and indicated the signs of His coming into the world. Here are some of the most important predictions about the Savior:
The prophet Isaiah predicted that the Savior would be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14) and predicted His suffering and resurrection with amazing clarity (Isaiah 53rd chapter).
The prophet Micah predicted that the Savior would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2; Matt. 2:4-6).
The prophet Malachi predicted that the Savior would come to the newly created Temple in Jerusalem and that a Forerunner (John the Baptist) similar to the prophet Elijah would be sent before Him (Malach 3:1-15).
The prophet Zechariah predicted the solemn entrance of the Savior into Jerusalem on a donkey (Zechariah 9:9).
King David in the 21st psalm depicted the sufferings of the Savior on the Cross with such accuracy, as if he himself had seen them at the Cross.
Prophet Daniel for 490 years predicted the time of the appearance of the Savior, His death on the Cross, predicted the subsequent destruction of the temple, Jerusalem and the spread of the Christian faith (Dan. 9 chapter).
When the time for salvation came, the Son of God dwelt in the immaculate Virgin Mary and, by the action of the Holy Spirit, took on human nature from Her. The further development of the infant Christ in the womb of the Virgin Mary proceeded naturally until, nine months after conception, He was born from Her in the city of Bethlehem.
Many righteous people learned about the birth of the Savior in Bethlehem. So, for example, the eastern wise men (magi) recognized Him by the star that appeared in the east before the birth of the Savior. The Bethlehem shepherds learned about Him from the angels. Elder Simeon and the prophetess Anna recognized Him by the revelation of the Holy Spirit when He was brought to the temple. John the Baptist recognized Him on the Jordan River during baptism, when the Holy Spirit descended on the Lord in the form of a dove and God the Father said: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matt. 3:17). Many recognized Him by the sublimity of His teachings and especially by the miracles He performed.
Honoring the Savior, we also honor His most pure Mother. Holy Virgin Mary came from the family of Abraham and King David and was the daughter of righteous Joachim and Anna. Out of love for God, She promised not to marry, that is, to remain a virgin. She remained a virgin even after the birth of the Savior, therefore She is called the Ever-Virgin (“always a virgin.”) We also call the Virgin Mary the Mother of God, because She gave birth to the true Son of God according to the flesh. We revere Her above all created beings, not only humans, but also angels: "Most honorable than cherubim and most glorious without comparison of seraphim."
Everything that the Lord Jesus Christ did was directed towards the salvation of the sinful human race: His teaching, the example of His life, His death and resurrection from the dead.
The teaching of Jesus Christ saves us when we accept it wholeheartedly and act in imitation of the life of the Savior. Just as the false word of the devil, accepted by the first people, became in people the seed of sin and death, so the true word of Christ, accepted with sincerity by Christians, becomes in them the seed of holy and immortal life.
Fourth Article of the Creed
Crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered, and was buried.
This member of the Creed speaks of the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ during the time of Pontius Pilate, the ruler of Judea. Jesus Christ, as almighty God, could have avoided suffering, but He voluntarily suffered and died on the cross to wash away our sins with His blood. Out of His infinite love for us, He took upon Himself our sins and endured all the suffering that would have awaited us for sins.
The execution on the cross was the most shameful and cruel thing that people could come up with. The Romans crucified the most dangerous criminals on the crosses. The Lord voluntarily accepted this terrible execution out of His infinite love for us.
The Lord Jesus Christ was crucified the Friday before Jewish Passover at a place called Golgotha (place of execution), near Jerusalem. The Savior suffered not by His Divine nature, which cannot suffer, but as a man. After the death of the Savior, Joseph of Arimathea buried His body in a stone cave near Golgotha. The chief priests, on the other hand, assigned a Roman guard to the cave, and put their seal on the stone, which was rolled up to the cave.
After the Savior died on the cross, He descended with His soul into hell, and from there brought the souls of all believing and virtuous people, beginning with Adam and Eve. Hell is a place of suffering, remote from God and devoid of light. Satan reigns there. Since all people were sinners, before the death of the Savior on the cross, no one could enter paradise, even righteous people.
On the cross, the Lord accomplished a great victory over evil. He washed away the sins of the whole world, took away the power of the devil over people and conquered death. The Lord sanctified the cross with His pure blood and gave it spiritual power, with the help of which we overcome the devil's temptations. Thanks to the sufferings of the Savior on the Cross, even the most desperate sinner has hope through repentance and faith in the Savior to receive the forgiveness of his sins and the Kingdom of Heaven. The thief who repented on the cross was the first to enter Paradise.
We Christians must always remember at what a terrible price the Lord Jesus Christ washed away our sins. Therefore, we must make every effort not to sin and live righteously.
If the Lord loved us so much that He gave His life for us, then we must love Him with all our hearts.
Note:
1. The words in the Creed "suffering and buried" are spoken against the ancient heretics who falsely taught that the Lord did not suffer on the cross, but only pretended to suffer.
2. As the Evangelists write, during the hours of the Savior's suffering on the Cross, "darkness fell over all the earth" (Luke 23:44). Pagan writers also testify to this darkness: the Roman astronomer Phlegon, Phallus, Julius Africanus. One of them exclaimed: "One of the gods has died!" The famous philosopher from Athens, Dionysius the Areopagite, was at that time in Egypt, in the city of Haliopolis. Observing the sudden darkness, he said: "Either the Creator suffers, or the world is destroyed." Subsequently, after the preaching of the Apostle Paul, Dionysius converted to Christianity and was the first Bishop of Athens.
The Fifth Article of the Creed
And resurrected on the third day according to the Scriptures.
The fifth article of the Creed says that Jesus Christ conquered death by His death and on the third day resurrected: He came to life and came out of the tomb with His renewed flesh. The Resurrection of the Savior is the greatest miracle that opened the way for people to renewal and eternal joy.
The Old Testament prophets predicted the death, burial and resurrection of the Savior, and therefore it is said in the Symbol: "according to the Scriptures" - that is, all this happened as it is written in the Holy Scriptures. Jesus Christ died on Friday, the eve of Jewish Passover, at about three o'clock in the afternoon, and rose again at night after Saturday. Since then, the first day after Saturday has been called "Resurrection" or "Lord's Day." On this day Christians gathered for thanksgiving prayer God and for communion.
The State of Jesus Christ After His Death and Before His Resurrection Orthodox Church depicts as follows: "In the tomb You were with the body, in hell - with the soul as God, in Paradise You were with the robber, and on the Throne You were, Christ, with the Father and the Spirit, filling everything with Yourself, Incomprehensible."
The resurrection of Christ is different from the resurrection of other people. The divine power of the Lord Jesus Christ resurrected the son of the widow of Nain, the maiden Tabitha, Lazarus and others. Those were temporary resurrections, as the souls of the dead returned to their former earthly and perishable bodies. After some time, these resurrected people died again.
Jesus Christ rose from the dead in His completely transfigured and renewed body. At the resurrection, His body became spiritualized and heavenly. Therefore, Christ came out of the cave where He was buried, without rolling off the stone and without breaking the seal. He was invisible to the soldiers guarding the coffin.
The Lord revealed to the apostles about His resurrection first through an angel who rolled away the stone from the door of the tomb. Then the angels announced the resurrection of Jesus Christ to the myrrh-bearing women. Finally, Jesus Christ Himself appeared to all the apostles in the evening on the first day of His resurrection. Then, over the course of forty days, the Savior repeatedly appeared to His disciples, with many faithful proofs of His resurrection: He allowed the disciples to touch His wounds from nails and from a spear, ate in front of them and talked with them about the Kingdom of God.
The day of the Resurrection of Christ is also called Easter and is the most joyful holiday for us. This is because by His death the Lord defeated the devil, death and all evil and initiated our resurrection. Therefore, at Easter we sing: "Christ is risen from the dead, trampling death (overcoming) by death, and bestowing life (life) on those who are (being) in the tombs."
Now the Lord abides forever in Heaven in this new resurrected body. At the general resurrection, we will rise from the dead with a renewed and spiritualized body, similar to the body of the resurrected Savior.
Then the ancient prediction of the prophet Hosea will be fulfilled: "I will redeem (save) them from the power of hell, I will deliver them from death. Death, where is your sting? Hell, where is your victory ?!" (Hosea 13:14).
The sixth article of the Creed
And ascended into Heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father.
This member of the Creed speaks of the ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ into Heaven, where He sat at the right hand (on the right side of) God the Father.
The Ascension of the Savior took place forty days after His resurrection. He ascended to Heaven in His flesh and soul, as a man, and in His divinity He always abode with the Father, as the Son of God the Father.
Sitting "on the right side of the Father" means that Jesus Christ, having ascended to Heaven, received Divine power for us in the world together with God the Father.
By His ascension, our Lord Jesus Christ united the earthly with the heavenly and indicated to us that our thoughts and desires should be directed to Heaven.
The Lord Jesus Christ promised: "To Him who overcomes (evil, sin) I will give to sit with Me on My throne, just as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne" (Rev. 3:21).
The Seventh Article of the Creed
And the packs of the future with glory to judge the living and the dead, His Kingdom will have no end.
The seventh article of the Creed speaks of the second coming of the Savior, when he returns to Earth to judge all living and dead people. After that, His Kingdom will begin, which will have no end.
The second coming of the Savior is foretold in the Holy Scriptures. So, for example, when Jesus Christ was ascending into heaven, the angels appeared to the apostles and said: "This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come again in the same way as you saw Him ascend into heaven" (Acts 1:11).
The second coming of Christ will not be the same as the first. The first time He came in the humble form of a man, to suffer for us and thereby save us. He was born in a cattle den, lived in poverty, overworked, hungry and thirsty, endured insults from sinners, and died in the midst of villains on the cross. The second time He will come in all His majesty - the King of the universe surrounded by angels. "As lightning comes from the east and is visible even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man" (Matt. 24:27).
The second coming of Christ the Savior will be extraordinary: Then "the sun will grow dim, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven will be shaken; then the sign of the Son of Man (the Cross) will appear in heaven; and all the tribes of the earth will weep when they see the Son Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send angels with a loud trumpet, and they will gather His chosen ones" from all ends of the world (Matt. 24:29-30).
"Then He will sit on the throne of His glory, and all nations will be gathered before Him (who lived on earth from the foundation of the world)," and He will judge all people: the righteous and sinners (Matt. 25:31-46).
This judgment is called "Terrible," because then the inner state of each person will be revealed and not only all his deeds, but also all his words, secret desires and thoughts will be revealed to everyone.
According to the judgment of Christ, the righteous will go to eternal life, and sinners to eternal torment - because they did evil deeds, which they did not repent of and which they did not make amends for good deeds and fixing life. People who have never heard of God (pagans) will be judged by the voice of their conscience: whoever did as his conscience told him will be justified, and who acted contrary to the voice of conscience will be condemned.
“The time will come,” says the Lord, “in which all who are in the tombs will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who have done good will come out to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment” (John 5:28-29).
When exactly the Lord will come to earth a second time is hidden from everyone. This is a secret that no one knows, even the angels of God do not know, but only the Heavenly Father. Therefore, we must always be ready to stand before the judgment of God.
Although the day of the coming of Christ is unknown, however, in the Holy Scriptures, some signs of the approach of the coming of the Lord are revealed.
1. Before that, the gospel will be preached throughout the world.
2. Jews in multitudes will turn to Christ and become Christians.
3. Before the end of the world, people will become extremely corrupt, their faith will completely weaken, they will hate each other and do evil; some will cast spells and worship demons.
4. Many false prophets will appear who will deceive people with their invented teachings and false miracles.
5. Disagreements and bloody wars will intensify in the world; there will be famine, disease, great earthquakes and storms.
6. Finally, when the evil is extremely intensified, the Antichrist will appear among the people.
The word Antichrist means an opponent of Christ. He will appear before the end of the world and will reign for three and a half years. People will hope for him as a wise ruler, but he will try by all means to destroy the Christian faith. In his time, Christians will be strongly persecuted, demanding from them the recognition of the Antichrist. Christians who are faithful to Christ will then be unable to get a job, sell or buy. Then many people will be tempted, deny Christ and betray each other. All who renounced Christ and submitted to the Antichrist will perish in hell, while Christians will be saved, remaining faithful to Christ to the end.
Christ will come, and the dominion of the Antichrist will end with the terrible death of himself, his followers and the devil himself.
After that, there will be the resurrection of the dead, the Last Judgment, and the eternal Kingdom of Christ will come.
The Eighth Article of the Creed
(I believe) And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, Who proceeds from the Father, Who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, who spoke the prophets.
The eighth member of the Creed speaks of the Third Person of the Holy Trinity - the Holy Spirit, namely, that He is the same true God as God the Father and God the Son. Therefore, we must praise Him and bow down to Him equally with the Father and the Son.
The Holy Spirit is called Life-Giving, because He, together with the Father and the Son, gives life to everyone - especially spiritual life to angels and people. He is the Creator of the world, on a par with the Father and the Son. That is why it is said at the creation of the world that "the Spirit of God hovered over the waters" (the abyss, Gen. 1:2).
Jesus Christ said about the need for a person to be reborn by the Holy Spirit: "Unless a man is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God" (John 3:5).
The words: "Who proceeds from the Father" - Who proceeds from the Father - point to the personal property of the Holy Spirit, by which He differs from God the Father and from God the Son, namely, that He proceeds from God the Father. The Lord Jesus Christ told His disciples about this: “When the Comforter comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me” (John 15:26). The Holy Spirit is called the "Comforter" because He gives us such great joy that we forget our sorrows.
The words "who spoke the prophets" mean that the Holy Spirit spoke through righteous people: prophets and apostles. They predicted the future and wrote holy books not by choice or by natural human inspiration, but by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, their Scriptures - books in the Bible - are called God-inspired and contain pure Divine truth. All books of the Bible are the word of God.
The Holy Spirit, from the day of His descent upon the apostles on the day of Pentecost, continuously abides in the Church of Christ. He keeps her teaching intact and gives Christians His Divine Gifts. The Holy Spirit enlightens believers with light Christ's teachings, cleanses them from sinful filth, warms their hearts with love for God and neighbor, gives zeal and strength to live righteously in order to make us saints. Everything good that we have or want to receive is given to us by the Holy Spirit.
Jesus Christ warned: "Every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven" (Matt. 12:31). "Blame on the Holy Spirit" is a conscious and bitter opposition to Christ's truth, "because the Spirit is Truth" (John 5:6). Stubborn resistance to the truth leads a person away from humility and repentance, and without repentance there can be no forgiveness. That is why the sin of "blasphemy against the Spirit" is not forgiven.
The Holy Spirit revealed itself to people in a visible way: at the baptism of the Lord in the form of a Dove, and on the day of Pentecost He descended on the apostles in the form of fiery tongues. When the Holy Spirit works in us, we are calm, kind, obedient, courageous, we strongly believe in God, we want to love everyone.
Therefore, a Christian should try with all his might to receive and keep within himself the grace of the Holy Spirit. There is nothing more valuable in the world. We receive this grace in the holy sacraments, in divine services, in fervent prayer at home, from reading Holy Scripture and from good deeds.
The ninth article of the Creed
(I believe) In one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.
The ninth article of the Creed speaks of the Church of Christ, which Jesus Christ founded for the sanctification and salvation of people.
The Church is all Orthodox Christians - living and dead. The Church is a big family, a universal organization. The Church is the Kingdom of God, which descended from Heaven, spread over the earth and consists of millions of people and angels.
Sometimes a church is a building (temple) in which we pray. But here we are not talking about a building, but about the unity of all true believers.
We, the children of the Church of Christ, are united by one faith, one commandment of God, mutual love and the grace of the Holy Spirit. Every Orthodox Christian, if he believes and lives as the Lord Jesus Christ and His apostles taught, is a member of the Church of Christ.
Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church, and the Church is the spiritual body of Christ. Through Communion, Christ dwells invisibly in believers.
The Lord Jesus Christ entrusted the visible organization and management of the Church to the holy apostles and their successors - bishops, pastors of the Church, and through them He invisibly governs the Church.
Whoever obeys the Church obeys Christ Himself, and whoever disobeys and rejects her rejects the Lord Himself. If anyone "does not listen to the Church, let him be to you as a pagan and a tax collector," said the Lord (Matt. 19:17).
The Church of Christ is invincible and will exist forever, as the Lord promised: "I will build My Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it ... I am with you all the days until the end of the age" (Matt. 16:18; Matt. 28:20) .
The truth of God is kept in its purity only in the Church of Christ, as the apostle Paul wrote: "The Church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth" (Tim. 3:15). Jesus Christ promised the apostles: "The Comforter, the Holy Spirit (the Spirit of truth), whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of everything that I have told you." He "will be with you forever" (John 14:26 and 14:16). Other non-Orthodox churches in more or less lesser degree departed from the truth.
We believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.
1. The Church of Christ is one, because it is one spiritual body, has one head - Christ, and is animated by one Spirit of God (Eph. 4:4-6). It also has one purpose - to sanctify people; one Divine teaching, one sacrament. Just as a living body cannot be divided, so the Church cannot fall apart or be divided into parts. Heretics and schismatics may separate from it, but when they fall away, they cease to be members of the Church. The Church remains one. Just as the body is made up of many members, so the Church of Christ is made up of many local or national churches: Greek, Russian, Serbian, Romanian, Bulgarian, Jerusalem, Constantinople, Antioch, Alexandria, America, and others. All these local churches believe and teach the same way, all have bishops ascending to the apostles. Only the language of each church is different.
2. The Church of Christ is holy because it is sanctified by the Lord Jesus Christ: by His sufferings, by His Divine teaching, and by the holy sacraments established by Him, in which the believers are given the grace of the Holy Spirit.
Like an entity precious stone does not change from the dust gathered on it, so the Church does not lose its holiness from the sinfulness of people. All Christians must cleanse themselves from sins by repentance, confession and communion of the Holy Mysteries. If any of them remains an unrepentant sinner, he falls away from the Church, like a dry branch from a tree.
3. The Church of Christ is catholic, because it gathers all true believers into itself - regardless of their nationality, education or social status. The Church is not limited by space, time, or people. Therefore, the Church is also called universal (catholic). All important issues in the Church are decided not by one person, but by a council of bishops. Councils of bishops from all local churches are called Ecumenical Councils.
4. The Church of Christ is also called apostolic because it preserves the apostolic teaching and the apostolic grace. The Holy Apostles, having received the gifts of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, passed them on through sacred ordination to the pastors of the Church. Thus, continuously from the apostles to the present day, the grace of God is transmitted successively from bishop to bishop.
The one holy, catholic and apostolic Church is also called Orthodox (ortho-doceo in Greek) because it thinks correctly and teaches correctly.
Tenth Article of the Creed
I confess one baptism for the remission of sins.
The tenth article of the Creed speaks of the sacrament of baptism. A sacrament is a divine service in which the grace of the Holy Spirit is given to a person in an invisible way (“secretly”). There are seven sacraments: baptism, chrismation, repentance (confession), communion, marriage, priesthood, and unction.
In the Creed, only baptism is mentioned because it is the first sacrament that gives a person access to the other sacraments of the Church.
sacrament of baptism
The sacrament of baptism is a sacred act in which the believer in Christ, through threefold immersion in water, with the invocation of the name of the Most Holy Trinity - the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, is washed from all sins, is born spiritually and becomes a member of the Church.
The sacrament of baptism was established by our Lord Jesus Christ. First, He sanctified baptism by His own example by being baptized in the Jordan. Then, after His resurrection, He commanded the apostles: "Go, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit" (Matt. 28:19).
Baptism is necessary for everyone who wants to be saved. "Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God," said the Lord (John 3:5).
Since apostolic times, it has become a custom to baptize not only adults, but also their children, with the condition that parents and sponsors then take care of the Christian upbringing of baptized children. The fact is that children, although they do not have personal sins, are born damaged by the original sin of Adam and Eve, which was inherited from their parents. If someone dies before baptism, then original sin prevents him from entering the Kingdom of Heaven. That is why parents, concerned about the salvation of their children, try to baptize them early.
Since baptism is a spiritual birth, and a person is born once, then the sacrament of baptism over a person is performed once in a lifetime.
Mystery of Chrismation
Confirmation is the sacrament in which the newly baptized is given the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which guide and strengthen him in the Christian life.
Initially, the holy apostles performed the sacrament of chrismation by the laying on of hands. But since the number of Christians was increasing, and the apostles and their closest disciples did not have time to lay hands on all the baptized, they began to consecrate the oil, which they gave to their assistant priests so that they would anoint the newly baptized with this oil on their behalf and serve them in this way. the grace of the Holy Spirit. This specially consecrated oil is called "miro."
Holy chrism for the sacrament of Chrismation is prepared from olive oil with special fragrant substances and is consecrated by bishops on Maundy Thursday. It is given to priests as needed and kept in the altar on the throne.
When the sacrament is performed, the following parts of the body are smeared crosswise with the believer: forehead, eyes, ears, mouth, chest, arms and legs - with the words: "The seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit, amen."
sacrament of repentance
Repentance is a sacrament in which the believer confesses (orally reveals) his sins to God in the presence of a priest and receives forgiveness of sins from the Lord through the priest.
The Lord told the apostles: "Receive the Holy Spirit. To whom you forgive sins, they will be forgiven; on whom you leave them, they will remain" (John 20:23).
To receive forgiveness (permission) of sins, the confessing (repentant) requires: reconciliation with all neighbors, sincere regret for the sins made and their oral recognition (confession) and a firm intention to correct one's life.
In special cases, a "penance" (translated from Greek - prohibition) is imposed on the penitent, consisting of pious deeds and some hardships aimed at overcoming sinful habits.
Sins, like dust, little by little collect in our soul. They must be cleansed by confession so that the soul is pure and that the Holy Spirit dwells in us.
sacrament of communion
Communion is a sacrament in which the believer, under the guise of bread and wine, receives the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Through this sacrament, a believing person is united with Christ and becomes a partaker of eternal life.
The sacrament of communion was established by the Lord Jesus Christ during the Last Supper, on the eve of His suffering on the Cross. The Gospel tells that the Lord “taking bread and giving thanks (to God the Father for all His mercies to the human race), broke it and gave it to the disciples, saying: “Take, eat (eat): This is My Body, which is given for you; do this in remembrance of me." Taking the cup and giving thanks, he gave it to them, saying: "Drink all of it; For this is My Blood of the New Testament, shed for you and for many for the remission (forgiveness) of sins."
Having established the sacrament of Communion, Jesus Christ commanded His disciples: "Do this in remembrance of Me," that is, perform this sacrament, remembering everything that I have done for the salvation of people.
According to Christ's commandment, since the apostolic time the sacrament of communion has been constantly performed in the Church of Christ and will be performed until the end of the world. The service at which it is performed is called the Liturgy.
During the Liturgy, bread and wine are changed by the action of the Holy Spirit into the true Body and true Blood of Christ.
Christians of the first centuries took communion every Sunday.
We should try to take communion more often, at least once a month and on the day of our angel (name day) and at least once a year during Great Lent.
In communion we are united with the God-man Christ. This is why communion gives us joy and great spiritual strength. Having taken communion, we must thank God for His mercy to us and try to live righteously, as Jesus Christ lived.
Sacrament of marriage
Marriage is a sacrament in which, with the promise of mutual fidelity to each other, the marital union of the bride and groom is blessed, and the grace of God is given to them for mutual love, unanimity, for the birth and Christian upbringing of children.
Marriage brings a lot of joy when spouses live like Christians, love and help each other. Husband and wife are obliged to keep mutual love and respect, mutual devotion and fidelity. The Lord does not allow divorce. When you get married, you need to God's help overcome all family difficulties and correct themselves.
Before marriage, a man and a woman must live a pure and chaste life.
sacrament of the priesthood
Priesthood is a sacrament in which a person, through the laying on of bishops, receives the grace of the Holy Spirit for the sacred service of the Church of Christ.
This sacrament is performed only on persons who sincerely desire to serve God and people who are blameless in their personal lives and have received the necessary training. There are three degrees of priesthood: deacon, presbyter (priest) and bishop (bishop).
The ordained deacon receives the grace to concelebrate at divine services and help the priest.
The ordained priest (presbyter) receives the grace to lead believers to salvation and to perform divine services and sacraments.
The ordained bishop (hierarch) receives the grace to govern the church, lead the divine services, perform all the sacraments, and consecrate others to perform the sacraments. Bishops bear the fullness of apostolic grace.
The sacrament of unction
Unction is a sacrament in which, during the anointing of a sick person with consecrated oil, the grace of God is called upon him to heal him from bodily and spiritual illnesses.
The Sacrament of Unction is also called the Unction, because several priests gather to perform it, although, if necessary, one priest can also perform it.
Eleventh Article of the Creed
Tea of the resurrection of the dead.
This part of the Creed speaks of the general resurrection of the dead.
The resurrection of the dead, which we "tea," that is, we expect, will take place at the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. By His Divine word, the souls of all the dead will return to their restored bodies, and all people will rise alive.
Faith in the resurrection of the dead was expressed by Job during his suffering: “But I know that my Redeemer lives, and on the last day He will raise this decaying skin of mine from the dust, and I will see (see) God in my flesh” (Job 19: 25-26). The prophet Isaiah predicted: "Thy dead shall live, dead bodies shall rise! Arise and rejoice, cast down in the dust: for thy dew is the dew of plants, and the earth shall vomit up the dead" (Isaiah 26:19).
Saint Ezekiel in a prophetic vision saw the very resurrection of the dead, when many dry bones scattered over the field, by the power of the Spirit of God, began to unite with one another, become covered with body and skin, and, finally, rose up as living people (Ezek. ch. 37).
Jesus Christ spoke of the resurrection of the dead: "The time is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear the voice of the Son of God, and when they hear, they will live. And those who have done good will come out into the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil into the resurrection of judgment" (John 5:25). -29).
Answering the unbelieving Sadducees to their question about the resurrection of the dead, Jesus Christ said: There is god of the dead but alive" (Matt. 22:29, 31, 32).
The Apostle Paul says: "Christ is risen from the dead, the firstborn of those who have died. For as death is through a man (Adam), so through a man (Christ) and the resurrection of the dead. Just as in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive" (1 Cor. 15 :20-22).
At the moment of the general resurrection, the bodies of the dead people will change. In essence they will be the same as we now have, but in quality they will be different: they will become spiritual and immortal. At the moment of the general resurrection, the bodies of those people who will still be alive at the time of the second coming of the Savior will also change. The Apostle Paul says: "A spiritual body is sown, a spiritual body is raised... we will not all die, but we will all be changed, suddenly, in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet: for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will rise incorruptible, but we (the survivors) will be changed" (1 Cor. 15:44-52).
The resurrected people will not have the same appearance. The righteous will shine like the sun, and the sinners will look gloomy and ugly. Then the inner state of each person will be revealed in his outward appearance.
Then the earth and all the works on it will burn. The whole world will change: from perishable it will turn into incorruptible and spiritual - it will become a new heaven and a new earth.
The state of the souls of people who died before the general resurrection is not the same. So, the souls of the righteous are in Heaven in anticipation of eternal bliss, and the souls of sinners in hell are in anticipation of eternal torment. This state of the souls of the dead is determined by God immediately after the death of each person.
Death is the limit that ends earthly life and eternity begins. What a man sows in this life, that he will reap in the Hereafter. But the judgment immediately after death is not final, because the universal Last Judgment is yet to come. Therefore, the souls of believers, but sinful people, can receive relief in the afterlife suffering and even completely get rid of them through the prayers of their loved ones and the Church, and also through good deeds done for them by the living. To help the dead in their afterlife in the Orthodox Church, it is established to pray for them at funerals, requiems and liturgies, when believers serve commemoratives with prosphora.
The twelfth article of the Creed
(I expect) and the life of the next century. Amen.
The last member of the Creed speaks of the future eternal life, which will come after the general resurrection of the dead, the renewal of the world and the universal judgment of Christ.
For righteous people immortal life will be so joyful and blissful that in the present state we cannot even imagine or depict it. The Apostle Paul says, "Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man, the things that God has prepared for those who love Him" (1 Corinthians 2:9).
Such bliss of the righteous will come from the contemplation of God in the light and from union with Him. In the bliss of the soul of the righteous, the body will also participate, which will be glorified by the light of God, like the body of the Lord Jesus Christ during His Transfiguration on Mount Tabor. "Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father," said the Savior.
Now "the body is sown in humiliation, it is raised in glory, it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power," explains the apostle Paul (1 Cor. 15:43). The righteous will receive different degrees of blessedness, according to the moral dignity of each: "The glory of the sun is different, the glory of the moon is different, the stars are different; and the star differs from the star in glory. So it is at the resurrection of the dead" (1 Cor. 15:41-42).
For unbelievers and unrepentant sinners, that life will be eternal torment. The Lord will say to them: "Depart from me, you cursed ones, into eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. And they will go into eternal punishment" (Mat. 25:41-46).
Sinners will be away from God and from paradise life. They will suffer the pangs of their conscience and the shame of their crimes. They will suffer from the proximity of evil spirits and sinners like them, from eternal fire and darkness.
Thus, sinners will be punished not because God wanted them to perish, but they themselves "perish because they did not receive the love of the truth for their salvation," that is, they did not believe the word of Christ and did not correct themselves (2 Thess. 2:10).
The creed ends with the word amen, which means "true" or "so be it." By saying these words, we testify that we believe in the truth of everything that is said in the Creed.
Questions and answers frequently asked by beginning Christians.
35 short FAQs for beginner Christians about the temple, candles, notes, etc.
1. How should a person prepare to go to the temple?
To prepare for the morning visit, you need to prepare as follows:
Rising from bed, give thanks to the Lord, who gave you the opportunity to spend the night in peace and extended your days for repentance. Wash yourself, stand in front of the icon, light the lamp (from a candle) so that it evokes a prayerful spirit in you, put your thoughts in order, forgive everyone, and only then proceed to reading the prayer rule ( morning prayers from the Prayer Book). Then subtract one chapter from the Gospel, one from the Apostle, and one kathisma from the Psalter, or one psalm if time is short. At the same time, it must be remembered that it is better to read one prayer with sincere contrition of the heart than the whole rule with the thought of how to finish it all as soon as possible. Beginners can use an abbreviated prayer book, gradually adding one prayer at a time.
Before leaving, say:
I deny you, Satan, your pride and your service, and unite with you, Christ Jesus our God, in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Cross yourself and calmly go to the temple, not being afraid of what a person will do to you.
Walking down the street, cross the road in front of you, saying to yourself:
Lord, bless my ways and keep me from all evil.
On the way to the temple, read a prayer to yourself:
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.
2. How should a person who decides to go to church dress?
Women should not come to church in trousers, short skirts, with bright makeup on their faces, lipstick on their lips is unacceptable. The head must be covered with a headscarf or scarf. Men must remove their hats before entering the church.
3. Can I eat before visiting the temple in the morning?
According to the charter it is impossible, it is done on an empty stomach. Retreats are possible due to weakness, with self-reproach.
4. Is it possible to enter the temple with bags?
If there is a need, you can. Only when a believer approaches Communion should the bag be put aside, since during Communion the hands are folded crosswise on the chest.
5. How many prostrations should be made before entering the temple and how to behave in the temple?
Before entering the temple, having previously crossed yourself, bow three times, looking at the image of the Savior, and pray for the first bow:
God, be merciful to me, a sinner.
To the second bow:
God, cleanse my sins and have mercy on me.
To the third:
I have sinned without number, Lord, forgive me.
Then do the same, entering the doors of the temple, bow on both sides, saying to yourself:
Forgive me, brothers and sisters, stand reverently in one place, without pushing anyone, and listen to the words of prayer.
If a person came to the temple for the first time, then he needs to look around, notice what more experienced believers are doing, where their eyes are directed, in what places of worship and in what way they make the sign of the cross and bow down.
It is unacceptable during the service to behave as if in a theater or a museum, that is, with your head up, look at the icons and clergy.
During prayer, one must stand reverently, with a repentant feeling, slightly lowering his shoulders and head, as the guilty stand before the king.
If you do not understand the words of the prayer, then say the Jesus Prayer to yourself with contrition of heart:
Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.
Try to make the sign of the cross and prostrations with everyone at the same time. Remember that the Church is the earthly Heaven. Praying to your Creator, do not think of anything earthly, but only sigh and pray for your sins.
6. How long do you have to be on duty?
Service must be upheld from beginning to end. Service is not a duty, but a sacrifice to God. Will it be pleasant for the owner of the house, to whom guests have come, if they leave before the end of the holiday?
7. Is it possible to sit in the service if there is no strength to stand?
To this question St. Philaret of Moscow answered: "It is better to think about God while sitting than about standing feet." However, while reading the Gospel it is necessary to stand.
8. What is important in bowing and prayer?
Remember that the matter is not in words and bows, but in the raising of the mind and heart to God. You can say all the prayers and put down all the aforementioned bows, but not remember God at all. And, therefore, without praying - to fulfill prayer rule. Such prayer is a sin before God.
9. How to kiss the icons?
Lobyzaya St. the icon of the Savior, you should kiss the feet, the Mother of God and the saints - the hand, and the Image Not Made by Hands of the Savior and the head of John the Baptist - in the sacks.
10. What does the candle placed in front of the image symbolize?
A candle, like prosphora, is a bloodless sacrifice. Candle fire symbolizes eternity. In ancient times, in the Old Testament Church, a person who came to God sacrificed to him the inner fat and wool of a slain (killed) animal, which were placed on the altar of burnt offering. Now, when we come to the temple, we sacrifice not an animal, but a candle symbolically replacing it (preferably a wax one).
11. Does it matter what size candle you put in front of the image?
Everything depends not on the size of the candle, but on the sincerity of your heart and your capabilities. Of course, if a wealthy person puts cheap candles, then this indicates his stinginess. But if a person is poor, and his heart burns with love for God and compassion for his neighbor, then his reverent standing and fervent prayer is more pleasing to God than the most expensive candle, set with a cold heart.
12. Who and how many candles should be placed?
First of all, a candle is placed for the Feast or a revered temple icon, then for the relics of the saint, if any, in the temple, and only then for health or for peace.
For the dead, candles are placed on the eve at the Crucifixion, mentally saying:
Remember, Lord, your deceased servant (name) and forgive his sins, voluntary and involuntary, and grant him the Kingdom of Heaven.
About health or in what need, candles are usually placed on the Savior, the Mother of God, the holy great martyr and healer Panteleimon, as well as those saints to whom the Lord has given special grace to heal illnesses and give help in various needs.
Putting a candle in front of your chosen saint of God, mentally say:
Holy Pleaser of God (name), pray to God for me, a sinner (oh) (or the name for whom you ask).
Then you need to come up and kiss the icon.
We must remember: in order for prayers to succeed, the saints of God must pray with faith in the power of their intercession before God, with words coming from the heart.
If you put a candle to the image of All Saints, turn your mind to the entire host of saints and the entire host of Heaven and pray:
All saints, pray to God for us.
All the saints always pray to God for us. He alone is merciful to everyone, and He is always indulgent to the requests of His saints.
13. What prayers should be done before the images of the Savior, the Mother of God and the Life-Giving Cross?
Before the image of the Savior, pray to yourself:
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner (s) or I have sinned without number, Lord, have mercy on me.
Before the icon of the Mother of God, say briefly:
Holy Mother of God, save us.
Before the image of the Life-Giving Cross of Christ, say the following prayer:
We worship Your Cross, Master, and Holy Sunday We praise yours.
And after that bow to the Holy Cross. And if you stand before the image of Christ our Savior or the Mother of God, or the saints of God with humility and warm faith, then you will receive what you ask.
For where there is an image, there is the archetypal grace.
14. Why is it customary to put candles for the repose at the Crucifixion?
The cross with the Crucifix stands on the eve, that is, on the table for commemoration of the dead. Christ took upon Himself the sins of the whole world, the original sin - Adam's sin - and through His death, through the Blood that was shed innocently on the Cross (since Christ had no sin), reconciled the world with God the Father. Beyond this, Christ is the bridge between being and non-being. You can see on the eve, in addition to burning candles, also food. This is a very old Christian tradition. In ancient times, there were so-called agapies - meals of love, when Christians who came to worship, after it ended, all together consumed what they brought with them.
15. For what purpose and what products can be put on the eve?
Usually on the eve they put bread, biscuits, sugar, everything that does not contradict fasting (as there may be a fast day). You can also donate lamp oil, Cahors, on the eve, which will then go for the communion of believers. All this is brought and left for the same purpose with which a candle is placed on the eve - to commemorate their dead relatives, acquaintances, friends, not yet glorified ascetics of piety.
For the same purpose, a note of commemoration is also submitted.
It must be firmly remembered that the offering must come from pure heart and a sincere desire to make a sacrifice to God for the repose of the soul of the commemorated person and should be obtained from one’s labor, and not stolen or acquired by deceit or other cunning.
16. What is the most important commemoration for the departed?
The most important thing is the commemoration of the dead on the proskomedia, for the particles taken out of the prosphora are immersed in the Blood of Christ and cleansed by this great sacrifice.
17. How to submit a note of commemoration at the proskomedia? Is it possible to commemorate the sick at the proskomedia?
Before the start of the service, you need to go to the candle counter, take a piece of paper and write as follows:
About repose
Andrew
Mary
Nicholas
Custom
Thus, the completed note will be submitted for proskomedia.
About health
B. Andrey
ml. Nicholas
Nina
Custom
In the same way, a note on health is submitted, including those who are sick.
A note can be submitted in the evening, indicating the date on which the commemoration is expected.
At the top of the note, do not forget to draw an eight-pointed cross, and at the bottom it is desirable to attribute: "and all Orthodox Christians." If you want to commemorate a spiritual person, then his name is put first.
18. What should I do if, while standing at a prayer service or other divine service, I did not hear the name that I filed for commemoration?
It happens that the clergy are reproached: they say, not all the notes were read or not all the candles were lit. And they don't know what to do. Judge not lest ye be judged. You came, you brought it - that's it, your duty is done. And as the priest does, so it will be asked of him!
19. What is the commemoration of the dead for?
The thing is that the dead cannot pray for themselves. It must be done for them by someone else alive today. Thus, the souls of people who repented before death, but did not have time to bear the fruits of repentance, can only be delivered by intercession for them before the Lord from living relatives or friends and by virtue of the prayers of the Church.
The Holy Fathers and teachers of the Church agree that it is possible for sinners to be freed from torment and that prayers and almsgiving are beneficial in this respect, especially church prayers, and predominantly a bloodless sacrifice, that is, commemoration at the Liturgy (proskomedia).
“When all the people and the Holy Council,” asks St. John Chrysostom, - stand with outstretched hands to heaven, and when a terrible sacrifice is presented, how can we not propitiate God, praying for them (the dead)? But this is only about those who died in the faith” (St. John Chrysostom. Conversation on the last to Philp. 3, 4).
20. Is it possible to enter the name of a suicide or an unbaptized person in a memorial note?
It is impossible, since persons deprived of a Christian burial are usually deprived of church prayers.
21. How should you behave when you incense?
When burning, you need to bow your head, as if you are receiving the Spirit of Life, and say the Jesus Prayer. At the same time, one should not turn one's back to the altar - this is the mistake of many parishioners. You just need to turn around a little.
22. What moment is considered the end of the morning service?
The end, or completion, of the morning service is the exit of the priest with the Cross. This moment is called a break. During the holidays, believers approach the Cross, kiss it and the priestly hand holding the Cross as its footstool. Moving away, you need to bow to the priest. Pray to the Cross:
I believe, Lord, and worship the Honest and Life-Giving Cross Yours, as on Him did ecu salvation in the midst of the Earth.
23. What do you need to know about the use of prosphora and holy water?
At the end of the Divine Liturgy, when you come home, prepare a meal of prosphora and holy water on a clean tablecloth.
Before eating a meal, say a prayer:
Lord my God, may Your holy gift and Your holy water be for the remission of my sins, for the enlightenment of my mind, for the strengthening of my spiritual and bodily strength, for the health of my soul and body, for the subjugation of my passions and infirmities through Your infinite mercy through the prayers of the Most Pure Your Mother and all Your saints. Amen.
Prosphora is taken over a plate or a blank sheet of paper so that the holy crumbs do not fall to the floor and are not trampled on, for prosphora is the holy bread of Heaven. And it must be accepted with the fear of God and humility.
24. How are the feasts of the Lord and His saints celebrated?
The feasts of the Lord and His saints are celebrated spiritually, with a pure soul and an undefiled conscience, obligatory attendance at church. At will, believers order thanksgiving prayers in honor of the Feast, bring flowers to the icon of the Feast, distribute alms, confess and take communion.
25. How to order a memorial and thanksgiving service?
A prayer service is ordered by submitting a note, drawn up accordingly. The rules for designing a custom prayer service are posted at the candle counter.
In different churches there are certain days when prayers are performed, including blessings of water.
At the prayer service for water, you can consecrate a cross, an icon, candles. At the end of the prayer service for water, believers with reverence and prayer take holy water and take it daily on an empty stomach.
26. What is the sacrament of repentance and how to prepare for confession?
The Lord Jesus Christ said, addressing His disciples: Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven (Matt. 18:18). And in another place the Savior breathed and said to the apostles: Receive the Holy Spirit. To whom you forgive sins, they will be forgiven, on whom you leave, they will remain (John 20, 22-23).
The apostles, fulfilling the will of the Lord, transferred this power to their successors - the pastors of the Church of Christ, and to this day everyone who believes in Orthodoxy and confesses sincerely before Orthodox priest his sins can receive permission, forgiveness, their complete remission through his prayer.
This is the essence of the sacrament of repentance.
A person who is accustomed to watch over the purity of his heart and the neatness of his soul cannot live without repentance. He is waiting and longing for the next confession, like a parched earth waiting for life-giving moisture.
Imagine for a moment a man who has been washing off the bodily dirt all his life! So the soul requires washing, and what would happen if there were no sacrament of repentance, this healing and cleansing “second baptism”. The accumulated sins and sins that have not been removed from the conscience (not only major ones, but many minor ones as well) burden it so that a person begins to feel some kind of unusual fear, it begins to seem to him that something bad is about to happen to him; then suddenly he falls into some kind of nervous breakdown, irritation, feels general anxiety, does not have internal firmness, ceases to control himself. Often he himself does not understand the reasons for everything that happens, and it is that there are unconfessed sins on the conscience of a person. By the grace of God, these mournful sensations remind us of them, so that we, puzzled by such a plight of our soul, come to the realization of the need to expel all the poison from it, that is, we turn to St. the sacrament of repentance, and this would get rid of all those torments that await after Doomsday God's every sinner who is not cleansed here in this life.
It is very useful to read a detailed life before confession Saint Theodora Tsaregradskaya (commemorated December 30 according to the old style). She became a monk and went through her feat under the guidance of St. Basil the New (Comm. 26 March). She died in 940. The student of St. Basil, Gregory, after the death of Theodora, with a prayer, asked the elder to open to him the afterlife of the old woman. And through the holy prayers of the holy father, his disciple had a wonderful vision: he talked with the Monk Theodora, and she told Gregory about what happened to her at the moment of death and after, when her soul went through terrible trials. (For the story of the ordeals of St. Theodora, see Section IV of this book.)
Almost the entire sacrament of repentance is performed as follows: first, the priest prays with everyone who wants to confess. Then he makes a brief reminder of the most common sins, talks about the meaning of confession, about the responsibility of the confessor and that he stands before the Lord Himself, and the priest is only a witness to his mysterious conversation with God, and that the deliberate concealment of any sins aggravates the guilt. penitent.
Then those already confessing, one at a time, approach the lectern, on which they lie holy gospel and the Cross, bow to the Cross and the Gospel, stand in front of the lectern, bowing their heads or kneeling (the latter is not necessary), and begin to confess. It is useful at the same time to draw up a rough plan for yourself - what sins to confess, so as not to forget later in confession; but it will be necessary not just to read from a piece of paper about your ulcers, but with a sense of guilt and repentance to open them before God, take them out of your soul, like some nasty snakes, and get rid of them with a feeling of disgust. (Compare this list of sins with those lists that evil spirits will keep in the ordeals, and notice: the more carefully you expose yourself, the fewer pages will be found in those demonic writings.) At the same time, of course, each extraction of such abomination and bringing it to the light will be accompanied by a certain feeling of shame, but you know for sure: the Lord Himself and His servant, the priest who confesses you, no matter how disgusting your inner sinful world may be, only rejoice when you resolutely renounce it; in the soul of a priest there is only joy for the repentant. Any priest after a sincere confession is even more disposed to the confessor, much closer and more caring begins to relate to him.
27. Does repentance erase the memory of past sins?
The answer to this question is given in the essay on the Gospel theme - "The Prodigal Son".
“... He got up and went to his father. And when he was still far away, his father saw him and took pity; and, running, fell on his neck and kissed him.
The son said to him: “Father! I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” And the father said to his servants: “Bring the best clothes and dress him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet; and bring a fattened calf and slaughter it; let us eat and be merry!” (Luke 15:20-23.)
The feast ends in the house of a good, merciful father. The sounds of jubilation subside, the invited guests disperse. Yesterday's prodigal son leaves the hall of the feast, still full of the sweet feeling of love and forgiveness of his father.
Outside the door, he meets with his older brother standing outside. In his eyes - condemnation, almost indignation.
The heart of the younger brother sank; joy disappeared, the sounds of the feast died out, the recent, difficult past rose before the eyes ...
What can he say to his brother in justification?
Isn't his indignation justified? Did he deserve this feast, this new clothes, this golden ring, these kisses and forgiveness of his father? After all, quite recently, quite recently...
And the head of the younger brother bows low before the stern, condemning gaze of the elder: the still quite fresh wounds of the soul ache, ache...
With a look begging for mercy, the prodigal son falls on his knees before his elder brother.
“Brother... Forgive me... I didn’t make this feast... And I didn’t ask my father for these new clothes, and shoes, and this ring... I didn’t even call myself a son anymore, I only asked to accept me into mercenaries ... Your condemnation of me is just, and there is no excuse for me. But listen to me, and perhaps you will understand the mercy of our father...
What does this one cover now? new clothes?
Here, look, the traces of these terrible (mental) wounds. You see: there was no healthy place on my body; there were continuous ulcers, spots, festering wounds (Is. 1, 6).
They are now closed and “softened by the oil” of the father’s mercy, but they still hurt excruciatingly when touched and, it seems to me, they will always hurt ...
They will constantly remind me of that fateful day when, with a callous soul, full of conceit and proud self-confidence, I broke with my father, demanding my part of the estate, and went to that terrible country of unbelief and sin ...
How happy you are, brother, that you have no memories of her, that you do not know that stench and corruption, that evil and sin that reign there. You did not experience spiritual hunger and did not know the taste of those horns that in that country have to be stolen from pigs.
Here you have preserved your strength and health. But I no longer have them ... Only the remains of them I brought back to my father's house. And it's breaking my heart right now.
Who did I work for? Who did I serve? But all the forces could be given to serve the father ...
You see this precious ring on my sinful, already weak hand. But what I wouldn’t give for the fact that these hands did not have traces of the dirty work that they did in the land of sin, for the knowledge that they always worked only for their father ...
Ah, brother! You always live in the light and you will never know the bitterness of darkness. You don't know the things that go on there. You have not met closely with those who have to deal with there, you have not touched the dirt that those who live there cannot avoid.
You do not know, brother, the bitterness of regrets: what did the strength of my youth go to? What are the days of my youth dedicated to? Who will return them to me? Oh, if life could be started all over again!
Do not envy, brother, this new garment of the father's mercy, without it the torments of memories and fruitless regrets would be unbearable ...
And do you envy me? After all, you are rich in wealth, which you may not notice, and happy with happiness, which you may not feel. You don't know what irretrievable loss is, the consciousness of wasted wealth and ruined talents. Oh, if it were possible to return all this and bring it back to the father!
But the estate and talents are given out only once in a lifetime, and you can’t get your strength back, and time has gone irrevocably ...
Do not be surprised, brother, at the mercy of the father, his indulgence towards the prodigal son, his desire to cover the miserable rags of the sinful soul with new clothes, his hugs and kisses, reviving the soul devastated by sin.
Now the feast is over. Tomorrow I will return to work and work in father's house next to you. You, as the elder and blameless, will rule and guide me. I like the work of a junior. I need her. These dishonored hands deserve no other.
This new clothes, these shoes and this ring will also be removed before the time: in them it will be indecent to do my menial work.
During the day we will work together, then you can relax and have fun with your friends with a calm heart and a clear conscience. And I?..
Where will I go from my memories, from regrets about wasted wealth, ruined youth, lost strength, scattered talents, soiled clothes, about yesterday's insult and rejection of my father, from thoughts about gone to eternity and forever lost opportunities? .. "
28. What does Communion of the Holy Mysteries of the Body and Blood of Christ mean?
If you do not eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink His Blood, you will not have life in you (John 6:53).
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me and I in him (John 6:56).
With these words, the Lord pointed out the absolute necessity for all Christians to participate in the sacrament of the Eucharist. The sacrament itself was instituted by the Lord at the Last Supper.
“... Jesus took bread and, having blessed, broke it and, distributing it to the disciples, said:
Take, eat, this is My Body. And he took the cup and, giving thanks, gave it to them and said: Drink all of you from it, for this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Matthew 26:26-28).
As the Holy Church teaches, a Christian, accepting St. Communion is mysteriously united with Christ, for in every particle of the fragmented Lamb the Whole Christ is contained.
Immeasurable is the significance of the sacrament of the Eucharist, the comprehension of which surpasses our reason.
It ignites the love of Christ in us, elevates the heart to God, gives rise to virtues in it, restrains the attack of the dark force on us, grants strength against temptations, revitalizes the soul and body, heals them, gives them strength, returns virtues - restores that purity of soul in us. which was with the original Adam before the fall.
In his reflections on the Divine Liturgy, ep. Seraphim Zvezdinsky, there is a description of the vision of an ascetic elder, which vividly characterizes the significance for the Christian of Communion of the Holy Mysteries. The ascetic saw “... a sea of fire, the waves of which rose and churned, presenting a terrible sight. On the opposite bank stood a beautiful garden. From there came the singing of birds, the fragrance of flowers spilled.
The ascetic hears a voice: "Cross this sea." But there was no way to go. For a long time he stood thinking about how to cross, and again he hears a voice: “Take the two wings that the Divine Eucharist gave: one wing is the Divine Flesh of Christ, the second wing is His Life-Giving Blood. Without them, no matter how great the feat, it is impossible to reach the Kingdom of Heaven.
As writes about. Valentin Sventsitsky: “The Eucharist is the basis of that real unity that we tea in the universal Resurrection, for both in the transubstantiation of the Gifts and in our Communion is the guarantee of our salvation and Resurrection, not only spiritual, but also bodily.”
Elder Parthenius of Kiev once, in a reverent feeling of fiery love for the Lord, repeated the prayer in himself for a long time: “Lord Jesus, live in me and let me live in You,” and he heard a quiet, sweet voice: Eating My Flesh and drinking My Blood abides in Me and Az in it.
So, if repentance cleanses us from the filthiness of our soul, then the Communion of the Body and Blood of the Lord will infuse us with grace and prevent the return of the evil spirit, expelled by repentance, into our soul.
But it should be firmly remembered that, no matter how necessary the Communion of the Body and Blood of Christ is for us, we should not proceed to it without first cleansing ourselves with confession.
The Apostle Paul writes: “Whoever eats this Bread or drinks the Cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord.
Let a man examine himself, and thus let him eat from this Bread and drink from this Cup.
For whoever eats and drinks unworthily, he eats and drinks condemnation to himself, not considering the Body of the Lord. That is why many of you are weak and sick, and many die” (1 Cor. 11:27-30).
29. How many times a year should one take communion?
Reverend Seraphim Sarovsky commanded the Diveevsky sisters:
“It is inadmissible to confess and commune at all fasts and, in addition, the twelfth and major holidays: the more often, the better - without tormenting yourself with the thought that you are unworthy, and you should not miss the opportunity to use the grace bestowed by the communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ as often as possible.
The grace bestowed by communion is so great that no matter how unworthy and no matter how sinful a person is, but only in a humble consciousness of his great sinfulness will he come to the Lord, who redeems all of us, even if from head to toe covered with ulcers of sins, then he will be cleansed by the grace of Christ, become more and more bright, completely enlightened and saved.
It is very good to receive communion both on the days of your name day and on birthdays, and for spouses on the day of their marriage.
30. What is unction?
No matter how carefully we try to remember and write down our sins, it may happen that a significant part of them will not be said at confession, some will be forgotten, and some are simply not realized and not noticed, due to our spiritual blindness.
In this case, the Church comes to the aid of the penitent with the sacrament of Unction, or, as it is often called, "unction." This sacrament is based on the instructions of the Apostle James, the head of the first Jerusalem Church:
“Is any of you sick, let him call for the elders of the Church and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him” (James 5:14-15).
Thus, in the sacrament of the Unction of the Unction, sins are forgiven us that are not said at confession due to ignorance or forgetfulness. And since sickness is a consequence of our sinful state, liberation from sin often leads to healing of the body.
At present, during Great Lent, all Christians zealous for salvation take part in three sacraments at once: Confession, Consecration of the Unction, and Communion of the Holy Mysteries.
For those Christians who, for whatever reason, could not take part in the sacrament of the Unction of the Unction, the Optina elders Barsanuphius and John are given the following advice:
“What creditor can you find rather than God, who knows even that which was not?
So, lay on Him the account of the sins you have forgotten and say to Him:
“Lord, since it is a sin to forget one’s sins, I have sinned in everything to You, the One Who Knows the Heart. Forgive me for everything according to Your loving-kindness, for it is there that the splendor of Your glory is manifested, when You do not repay sinners according to sins, for You are glorified forever. Amen".
31. How often should I go to the temple?
The duties of a Christian include attending the temple on Saturdays and Sundays, and always on holidays.
The establishment and observance of holidays is necessary for our salvation, they teach us the true Christian faith, excite and nourish in us, in our hearts, love, reverence and obedience to God. But they also go to church to perform rites, rituals, in order to simply pray, when time and opportunities allow.
32. What does attending the temple mean for a believer?
Every visit to the temple for a Christian is a holiday, if the person is truly a believer. According to the teachings of the Church, when visiting the temple of God, there is a special blessing and success in all the good undertakings of a Christian. Therefore, it should be done so that at this moment there is peace in the soul and order in clothes. We don't just go to church. Having humbled ourselves, our soul and heart, we come to Christ. Precisely to Christ, who gives us the good in relation to us, which we must earn by our behavior and inner disposition.
33. What divine services are performed daily in the Church?
In the name of the Most Holy Trinity - Father and Son and Holy Spirit - Holy Orthodox Christian church every day he performs evening, morning and afternoon services in the temples of God, following the example of the holy Psalmist, testifying about himself: “Evening and morning and at noon I will implore and cry, and He (the Lord) will hear my voice” (Ps. 54, 17-18 ). Each of these three services is composed, in turn, of three parts: the evening service - it consists of the Ninth Hour, Vespers and Compline; morning - from the Midnight Office, Matins and the First Hour; daytime - from the Third Hour, the Sixth Hour and the Divine Liturgy. Thus, nine services are formed from the evening, morning and afternoon services of the Church: Ninth Hour, Vespers, Compline, Midnight Office, Matins, First Hour, Third Hour, Sixth Hour and Divine Liturgy, just as, according to the teachings of St. Dionysius the Areopagite, nine faces are formed from the three ranks of the Angels, day and night glorifying the Lord.
34. What is fasting?
Fasting is not only some changes in the composition of food, that is, the rejection of fast food, but mainly repentance, bodily and spiritual abstinence, purification of the heart through fervent prayer.
Saint Barsanuphius the Great says:
“Bodily fasting means nothing without the spiritual fasting of the inner man, which consists of protecting oneself from passions. This fast is pleasing to God and will reward for you the lack of bodily fasting (if you are weak in body).
The same is said of St. John Chrysostom:
“Whoever limits fasting to one abstinence from food, he greatly dishonors him. Not only the mouth should fast - no, let the eye, and hearing, and hands, and feet, and our whole body fast.
As writes about. Alexander Elchaninov: “There is a fundamental misunderstanding of fasting in hostels. It is not fasting in itself that is important as not eating this or that or as depriving oneself of something in the form of punishment - fasting is only a proven way to achieve the desired results - through exhaustion of the body to reach the refinement of spiritual mystical abilities darkened by the flesh, and thus facilitate your approach to God.
Fasting is not hunger. A diabetic, a fakir, a yogi, a prisoner, and just a beggar are starving. Nowhere in the services of Great Lent is Lent isolated in our usual sense, that is, as non-eating of meat, etc. Everywhere there is one call: “Let us fast, brethren, bodily; let us fast also spiritually.” Consequently, fasting only then has a religious meaning when it is combined with spiritual exercises. Fasting equals refinement. A normal zoologically prosperous person is inaccessible to the influences of external forces. Fasting shakes this physical well-being of a person, and then he becomes more accessible to the influences of another world, his spiritual filling goes on.
According to ep. Herman, “fasting is pure abstinence in order to restore the lost balance between body and spirit, in order to restore to our spirit its supremacy over the body and its passions.”
35. What prayers are performed before and after eating food?
Prayers before eating food:
Our Father, Who is ecu in heaven! Hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, as in heaven and on earth. Give us our daily bread today; and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
Virgin Mother of God, rejoice, Blessed Mary, the Lord is with you; Blessed are You in women and blessed is the fruit of Your womb, as the Savior gave birth to the ecu of our souls.
Lord have mercy. Lord have mercy. Lord have mercy. bless.
Through the prayers of our holy fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us. Amen.
Prayers after eating food:
We thank Thee, Christ our God, O sated ecu us of Thy earthly blessings; do not deprive us of Your Heavenly Kingdom, but as if in the midst of Your disciples came ecu, Savior, give them peace, come to us and save us.
It is worthy to eat as if truly blessed Theotokos, Blessed and Immaculate and Mother of our God. The most honest Cherubim and the most glorious without comparison Seraphim, without the corruption of God the Word, who gave birth to the real Mother of God, we magnify Thee.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and forever and ever. Amen.
Lord have mercy. Lord have mercy. Lord have mercy.
Through the prayers of our holy fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us. Amen.
36. Why is the death of the body necessary?
As Metropolitan Anthony Blum writes: “In a world that human sin has made monstrous, death is the only way out.
If our world of sin were fixed as unchanging and eternal, it would be hell. Death is the only thing that allows the earth, along with suffering, to escape from this hell.”
Bishop Arkady Lubyansky says: “Death for many is a means of salvation from spiritual death. So, for example, children who die at an early age do not know sin.
Death reduces the amount of total evil on earth. What would life be like if there were eternally murderers - Cains, betrayers of the Lord - Judas, people-beasts - Nero and others?
Therefore, the death of the body is not “absurd”, as the people of the world say about it, but is necessary and expedient.
See where you will find answers to many questions.
Deacon Alexy (Shchurov), Sanin Evgeny. From gate to royal doors(advice for going to church).
We seem to live in a civilized society. And we even more or less observe the 10 commandments: we don’t kill, we don’t steal, we don’t ... well, so on. But society, for some reason, is still irreconcilable in relation to many things. Let's say, not so long ago in St. Petersburg they adopted a law on the "prohibition of propaganda of homosexuality." They accepted it with very incomprehensible wording, after which it is just right to ban Boris Moiseev's concerts and withdraw Elton John's CDs from sale. The guardians for “morality” also referred to the Bible: “If anyone lies with a man as with a woman, then both of them have committed an abomination: let them be put to death, their blood is on them” (Bible, Leviticus 20:13). But in the Bible, written the devil knows when, there are still a bunch of prohibitions, for the violation of which it is just right to stone half the world to death. For example, under the death ban are ...
1. TATTOO
Yes, yes, death is also due for this. In general, a good half of civilized and not so civilized society has been sentenced for many years. Do you think that such a cute butterfly on the pope, or a formidable dragon on the shoulder? It’s just a beautiful picture, and you can always appeal to the fact that “look at the samurai”, but the Japanese Shintoists are generally different for them, and it’s said: “Do not make cuts on your body and do not prick letters on yourself. I am the Lord.” (Leviticus 19:28)
2. SHUTTERING OF MUSTACHES AND BEARDS (AND ALSO MODEL HAIRCUTS)
Tremble hipsters and rockers of all ages. Well, at the same time, and all male fashionistas. Being a true Christian is basically being a caveman, because the Bible often tells us that we should not care about the appearance, but about the soul. In the end, the same Leviticus, a book stern and generous with all sorts of prohibitions, says: “Do not cut your head around, and do not spoil the edges of your beard.” (Leviticus 19:27)
3. Fortunetellers and horoscopes
Well, just don't say that you never went to a fortune teller, or, okay, you didn't read a horoscope on the last page of a newspaper/magazine. Even if you don’t believe it, there isn’t a single person on earth who wouldn’t take a glimpse - and what will happen there on next week Aries/Gemini/Leo. However, Leviticus has its own rule for this: “Do not turn to those who call the dead, and do not go to magicians, and do not bring yourself to defilement from them. I am the Lord your God." (Leviticus 19:31)
4. DISABLED
Well, not all, but only with specific problems, similar to what happened to the hero of Hemingway's novel "Fiesta". This happens infrequently, but if suddenly some veteran of some war was torn off by an explosion of his manhood (or part of it), then he can no longer hope for the Kingdom of Heaven: “Whoever has a yatra crushed or a genital member cut off cannot enter into the company of the Lord." (Deuteronomy 23:1)
5. A WIFE HELPING A HUSBAND DURING A FIGHT
We know how women fight - they use all methods to win for sure: they grab hair, gouge out their eyes, beat them in the balls. Oops, but this is just - God forbid. If the next time you, inadvertently, fight in front of your missus, and she rushes to help you, keep her away from the causal places of your rival, for it is said: “When men fight among themselves, and the wife of one will come up to take her husband from the hand of the one who strikes him, and stretching out his hand, seizes him by the shameful ud: Then cut off her hand: let not your eye spare her. (Deuteronomy 25:11-12)
6. HAM, RABBIT (AND MUCH MORE)
What did you think? True Christians, like Muslims and Jews, should not eat pork and rabbit meat. Never! Firstly, it is delicious, and secondly: “Only do not eat these of those who chew the cud and have cloven hooves: a camel, because he chews the cud, but his hooves are not cloven, he is unclean for you; ... and a hare, because that he chews the cud, but his hooves are not cloven, he is unclean for you; and pigs, because her hooves are cloven and the cut on her hooves is deep, but she does not chew the cud, she is unclean for you; do not eat their meat and do not touch their corpses; they are unclean to you.” (Leviticus 11:3-8)
7. AND ALL SEAFOOD INCLUDING OYSTER, SHRIMP AND LOBSTER
Do you live in France/Spain/Italy/Portugal, in Sochi/Evpatoria, after all? Are you going to relax in Thailand, on the islands or in India? Congratulations! You will stay hungry! Actually, the same applies to those who are used to wrapping shrimp with garlic under a misted glass of beer, because: “all those who do not have feathers and scales, whether in the seas or rivers, from all those floating in the waters and from all living in waters, filth for you; they must be filthy to you: eat not their flesh, and abhor their corpses” (Leviticus 11:10-11) Instead, Leviticus suggests eating locusts. Well, frankly, this is very amateurish.
8. SECOND MARRY / GET MARRIED
Do you think an official marriage ever saved the day? Nevermind. In the Bible, in general, everything related to relations between the sexes is under a mass of strange prohibitions. Now, after several unsuccessful attempts at relationships, having finally met your one / only, and flying on the wings of love to propose, think carefully about whether you need it: “He said to them: whoever divorces his wife and marries another, he commits adultery from her; and if a wife divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.” (Gospel of Mark 10:11-12) Well, you already know about adultery - a mortal sin.
9. MARRY A NON-VIRGIN
In fact, it's almost impossible to find a virgin bride these days. And who, to be honest, does she need such a thing? Marrying a “girl” is like playing roulette: lucky or unlucky. And, if suddenly, you are not lucky, then read the commandments of Moses, especially regarding adultery. And you, young ladies, be afraid, because: “If what has been said is true, and there is no virginity among the maiden, Then let the maiden be brought to the door of her father’s house, and the inhabitants of her city will stone her to death, for she has done a shameful deed in the midst of Israel, having committed fornication in his father's house; and [thus] cut off the evil from among you.” (Deuteronomy 22:21-22)
10. WORK ON SATURDAYS
Another law that Christians share equally with Jews. On Saturdays, that is, on Shabbat, work is prohibited. But is it realistic in our society, where everything is built on workaholism and a sincere desire not to lose a job? That is, do you seriously think that there are people somewhere who work only from Monday to Friday from 9 to 5? Now, if your boss is holding you back on a Friday night (yep, Sabbath comes at sunset on Friday) or, God forbid, on a Saturday to finish a burning project, you can safely declare that you want to live longer, because: “And keep the Sabbath, for it is holy to you: whoever defiles it, let him be betrayed.
How to be a Christian in the most ordinary everyday situations? This time we have selected questions from our mail about a person's attitude to himself and to his neighbors and asked them to the Metropolitan of Saratov and Volsky Longin.
“Vladyka, communication with other people is important for any person. We can say that in communication - both with people close to us and with people who are not very close and pleasant - we learn Christianity in practice. There is a question in the mail of our column “A Question to a Priest” that is quite typical for many of those who are just entering the Church or are still “looking closely” at it. The question is this: “The Gospel says that you need to love your neighbor as yourself. And elsewhere, that one must deny oneself. So is it necessary to love yourself and how to do it? Take care of your health, oh good rest, about different pleasures - is this love for yourself? After all, only a person who is satisfied with life and himself can bring good to others, and an angry and twitchy one brings only trouble. Maria".- A very good question indeed - in the sense that it, like a drop of water, reflects the worldview modern man not yet close to the Church and Christianity. Yes, the Scripture says: love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:39). This idea is also revealed in other gospel words: in everything you want people to do to you, do the same to them (Matt. 7:12). These words - Golden Rule human morality. For a Christian, this is the main principle of his relationship with other people. But in another place the Lord Jesus Christ says: if anyone wants to follow Me, deny himself, and take up your cross, and follow Me (Matt. 16:24). Here we are talking about something completely different - about the following of a person after God, the hierarchy of values \u200b\u200bis affirmed in the life of a Christian.
Self love is a natural human feeling. Therefore, the Lord also speaks about love for neighbors simply and clearly, so that everyone can understand: just as you love yourself, so love the person who is nearby. Do you want prosperity? Wish well-being to another person. Do you want wealth and happiness? Wish them to another and help him to achieve this. Here we are talking about ordinary earthly things.
But the one who wants to literally follow the Lord must deny himself, that is, stop putting his own interests in the first place, push them aside, take up his cross (everything that is prepared for a person in this life - both good and unpleasant ) and patiently follow Christ. Therefore, the two gospel passages quoted in the question are talking about different things.
Taking care of your health, good rest, various pleasures - maybe this is not so much self-love as self-love. There is a difference between these concepts. I do not want to say that these things are shameful, sinful, unnecessary - no, of course not. And you need to take care of the rest, and about health. Concerning pleasures, one must treat with reason. Yes, there are pleasures that are not reprehensible, but it often happens that an abundance of various pleasures simply erases everything human in a person. In such self-care, there is only a part of self-love, and an insignificant, simple one at that. For a Christian, self-love is a striving for salvation, for life with God, striving for higher ideals. Not just to eat well, drink well, sleep and have fun, but to become a real person. One Soviet author wrote a book that was very famous in his time, which contains words that it is useful for a Christian to remember: “One must live in such a way that later it would not be excruciatingly painful for the aimlessly lived years.” In a person there should be a desire for the highest, for what after his death will remain in eternity. This is true self love.
From my point of view, the statement that only a person who is satisfied with himself can bring good to others sounds absolutely monstrous. This is absolutely false. A person who is satisfied with himself and his life is a terrible creature that is better to bypass a kilometer. In order to understand this, it is enough to read classical literature, where all self-satisfied people are anti-heroes.
If a person is angry and twitchy - yes, these are really bad qualities, and they say that he is not used to and has never even tried to learn to endure any trials in his life with patience. After all, there is no problem-free life, otherwise rich and famous people would not have hung themselves and shot themselves, they would not have left their wealth in such a terrible way. The human soul is an abyss. It cannot be filled with all the riches and pleasures of the world, because it was created by God and for God, and only in God can it rest.
A truly accomplished person is one who has learned with gratitude to God and with patience to overcome everything difficult and unpleasant, who lives with hope in God, with love for Him and for the people around him. You really want to be with such a person.
- Yes, dear author of the question, both right and wrong. All people are different in nature, but I do not agree that they are born with such sharp differences. A lot depends on upbringing, on what a person received in the family. Let me remind you that there is a wonderful example in the book of Abba Dorotheus "Emotional Teachings", in the chapter "On not judging your neighbor". Two girls were sold at the slave market. A pious woman bought one, made her a member of her family, raised her to be virtuous. And the harlot bought another and raised accordingly. And Abba Dorotheos asks: when these girls grow up, if they sin with the same sin, will the Lord judge them with the same judgment? Of course not. This must be kept in mind. The Lord will evaluate the actions of a person, taking into account the circumstances of life in which he was brought up.
In general, this is a difficult question, one of those that have always come to people's minds (they are also called "damned"). Recall that such questions Saint Anthony Great (“Lord, why do some people live long and others short? Why do the good suffer, and the evil prosper? ..”) God gave the answer: “Antony, then the fate of God, but you pay attention to yourself and you will be saved.” There are things that we will receive an answer to in eternity. But we ourselves need to improve ourselves - try to be kind, never judge anyone. If you see that something did not work out for you in your youth, in your youth, you need to re-educate yourself. It is difficult, but, with God's help, it is possible. Strictly speaking, Christianity is a long, until death, the process of educating a person of himself.
– By tradition, we have a lot of questions about sin, which almost all of us have to repent of at every confession. “There is always something: and in a conversation with loved ones you learn something about someone against your will, and you yourself share if something unpleasant happened at work,” our reader notices and asks: how to distinguish condemnation from statements of fact and how to “swallow” the unpleasant things that other people say about you or do about you?
- What we call here a statement of fact is most likely also a condemnation. We cannot turn a blind eye to some obvious injustice or wrongness. They need to be recognized, but it is not at all necessary to hear about it from others or tell someone yourself. In this case, this is a condemnation of the purest water, and no other definitions for this phenomenon exist.
In order not to judge others, a person must be very honest and attentive to himself. When he is aware of his own state - and it is very unimportant for all of us - then it will not occur to him to condemn those around him. You need to constantly make an effort not to judge, this is the main thing. Then something will start to happen. In fact, everything that concerns the spiritual life requires constant effort: the Kingdom Heavenly power is taken, and those who use force delight it (Mt. 11, 12).
As for how to "swallow the unpleasant" - skill is also needed here. But what? Again, Abba Dorotheus has a good example. He talks about one monk who was constantly scolded, and he seemed to take it quite calmly. Surprised by such dispensation, Abba Dorotheos asked: Brother, tell me, how did you achieve dispassion? He replied contemptuously: “Should I pay attention to their shortcomings or accept insults from them as from people? These are barking dogs." And Abba Dorotheos remarks here with mournful irony: “This brother has found the way…”. Under no circumstances should this path be chosen. You need to be able to set yourself up to see your shortcomings. See, we're back to it again. Then nothing that other people say about us will seem completely wrong to us. “I accept what is worthy according to my deeds” - this is a normal attitude.
You need to cultivate humility. According to one of the Optina elders, humility does not get angry with anyone and does not anger anyone (this is very often forgotten!). Not to be angry with anyone is the first stage, very difficult, it can take a person years. The second is not to anger anyone ... Then you just grab your head and say: "We need one more life in order to achieve this." But you have to try.
How can you learn to get along with people? “How to learn a sense of tact and diplomacy? Because of this, sometimes I push people away and cannot build harmonious relationships. Are there spiritual methods for this?” our reader asks.
- You see, what's the matter: there are no "spiritual methods" in order to achieve some positive results in self-education. A person must live a Christian life in all its fullness - strive for God, try to fulfill the commandments of God, be attentive to oneself and to others. And if, thanks to this, he is “reformatted” into an internally collected, attentive to his own movements of the soul, to actions, to words, then he also acquires the ability to improve his relations with people. This is not tact and diplomacy - in the spiritual life it is called differently. Then a person becomes both a helper and a pleasant companion, in general, those who can be relied upon in life. A Christian is an integral person in whom it is impossible to single out any individual virtues. Therefore, you need to educate a Christian in yourself, review your life, completely reconfigure it in accordance with the Gospel - then everything will work out. Otherwise, self-training. Of course, with an effort of will, you can force yourself to be diplomatic or just learn good manners. But, you see, when there is no religious motivation and real internal restructuring, all this is very unreliable and fragile. Therefore, I think you just need to change your whole life.
Prepared by Natalia Gorenok
Memo to the Orthodox from the teacher of the Kyiv Theological Academy and Seminary Andrey Muzolf.
– Andrei, what words of the Holy Scripture and prayers should an Orthodox Christian know by heart or very close to the text?
– In the Orthodox Church there is no strict instruction for the study of certain prayers or texts of Holy Scripture. Orthodox Christians should not memorize prayers in the same way that followers of Hindu cults memorize the mantra. The Holy Fathers repeatedly insist that prayer is not an end in itself, but only a means to achieve the highest goal - communion with God. Therefore, the goal of a Christian is not at all to learn as many church prayers as possible, but to strive for unity with God, communication with Whom becomes possible precisely through prayer. According to St. John Chrysostom, during prayer we truly speak with God, and also enter into communion with His Holy Angels. If a person performs (the word “read” is inappropriate here) a prayer rule every day in the morning and evening, he will sooner or later, even without noticing it, learn the basic prayers. The same thing happens with the reading of the Holy Scriptures: if, according to the recommendation of many ascetics, you read at least one chapter from the Old and New Testaments every day, these texts will also be “at your hearing”.
What do you need to know about the Sacraments?
– The main thing is to understand that in the Sacraments we invisibly partake of the grace of the Holy Spirit. According to St. John Chrysostom, a person should treat the Sacraments with reverence, since God Himself acts through them in this world. Thus, the Sacraments are those sacred rites, thanks to which a person, already in this earthly life, can feel himself a partaker of eternal life. Saint Nicholas Cabasilas, an ascetic of the 14th century, writes that the Sacraments are the door that Christ has opened for us and through which He Himself returns to us every time. Therefore, we must be especially attentive to how we participate in the Sacraments, to do this not purely mechanically, only because it is necessary, because such an acceptance of the Sacraments, according to the word of the holy Apostle Paul, will only lead to judgment and condemnation: “For who eats and drinks unworthily, he eats and drinks condemnation to himself, not considering the body of the Lord” (see 1 Cor. 11:29).
– What are the main rules of conduct in the temple?
– St. John Chrysostom says: “A temple is a dwelling that belongs only to God; here dwell love and peace, faith and chastity.” And if God Himself invisibly abides in the temple, then our behavior in it must correspond to this. The Holy Fathers warn: when entering a temple, a person should always remember what kind of Sacrifice is being performed in it, and, thinking about the greatness of this Sacrifice, we should reverently treat the very place of its performance. In the temple, God Himself, in the words of one liturgical prayer, "is taught as food to the faithful." Therefore, there can be nothing in the world higher than the Sacrament that is performed in the temple - the Sacrament of the Eucharist - because in the Eucharist we become partakers of the Body and Blood of the Lord, "companions" of Christ and gods by grace, as St. Athanasius the Great says about this. Based on this, any of our movements in the temple, including the performance sign of the cross and bows, should be meaningful, unhurried, it must be performed with reverence and the fear of God.
– What are the most important holidays for the Orthodox?
- the main holiday for Orthodox Christian is Easter. It is thanks to the Resurrection from the dead of our Lord Jesus Christ that each of us again received the opportunity to fellowship with God, the chance to inherit eternal life in Christ. Saint John Chrysostom writes that what is given to us in the Resurrection is much more more important than that that we have lost in paradise, because the Risen Christ opened Heaven itself to us. Therefore, Easter is the greatest holiday for a Christian, higher than which there can be nothing.
In addition to Easter, the Holy Orthodox Church especially honors 12 more big (so-called Twelve) holidays: Christmas Holy Mother of God, Her Entry into the Temple, the Annunciation, the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Meeting, the Baptism of the Lord, the Transfiguration, the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem, the Ascension of the Lord, the Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles (Pentecost, or the day of the Holy Trinity), the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos, as well as the Exaltation Cross of the Lord. These holidays are especially revered by Christians, as they are dedicated to one or another major events from the earthly life of the Savior and Mother of God of direct importance in the matter of human salvation.
What do you need to know about fasting and fasting days?
- Fasting is the best time to improve oneself in virtues, because fasting, according to St. John Chrysostom, is the best medicine against sin. Lent is a period that we should devote in a special way to ourselves, to our salvation. Reverend Ephraim Sirin calls fasting a chariot that lifts a person to Heaven. Fasting is the healing of the soul, the refusal to recognize sin as the norm of human life.
The main task of fasting is to rethink your own life: who am I? how do I live? what am I living for? Self-esteem is a very important factor in the life of every person, and it is fasting that helps to properly set it up and get us out of a state of self-delusion. In order to begin the Divine life, a person must renounce himself, be born again (see John 3:3), that is, go through a certain pain of inner rebirth and cutting off from himself everything unnecessary and superfluous, everything that prevents us from growing spiritually.
Many people think that fasting is basically a kind of abstinence. Yes, it is true. But abstinence is meant not only bodily. Our fast should not consist so much in the removal from this or that food, but in the abstinence of the "inner man": control over thoughts, desires, words and deeds.
In addition, true fasting is unthinkable without participation in the Sacraments of the Church, in particular the Sacraments of Confession and Communion. Only in the Eucharist can a person “fix” in his heart all those feats that he imposes on himself by fasting. Therefore, we will be able to see the result from fasting only when we learn to sincerely approach the Church Sacraments, and not formally, to put a tick.
According to one ascetic, fasting is a certain determinant of our “Orthodoxy”: if we love fasting, if we strive for it, then we are on the right road; if fasting is a burden for us, if we look at the calendar and only do what we count the days until the end of fasting, something is going wrong in our spiritual life.
Interviewed by Natalya Goroshkova
