Why We Resist Humility, and What Is Its Real Value. Holy fathers about humility

1. What is humility

Saint John Chrysostom:

The Lord endured everything so that you could learn humility in the best way.

Humility - when someone serves others to please God and humbles himself in order to do something great and praiseworthy.

We honor the saints because they, being superior to everyone, humbled themselves before everyone; therefore they still remain high, and even death did not destroy their greatness.

When someone, having the right to think highly of himself, thinks humbly, he is humble. If someone, not having such a right, thinks humbly, he is not yet humble of mind.

Do not treat one with meekness and with another insolently; maintain humility with everyone, whether he is your friend or enemy, noble or insignificant person, - this is humility.

If necessity compels one to humble oneself against one's will, then this is not a matter of mind and will, but of necessity; humility is called so because it is the pacification of thought.

Even if you are distinguished by fasting, prayer, alms, chastity or some other virtue, all this is destroyed and perishes without humility.

As pride is the source of all wickedness, so humility is the beginning of all piety. That is why Christ begins (the commandments) with humility, wanting to root out pride from the souls of those who listen to Him.

When God is glorified and blessed by people, then He usually gives His most abundant blessing to those for whom He Himself is blessed.

Rev. Isaac the Syrian:

The treasure of the humble-wise is within him; this treasure is the Lord.

Whoever humbles and belittles himself, the Lord will be wise.

Where humility grows, the glory of God flows out.

Humility is the robe of the Divine. The Word incarnate was clothed in him and through him spoke to us in our body.

Love humility in all your affairs, in order to get rid of inconspicuous snares, which are always outside the path of the humble.

Just as the soul is unknowable and invisible, so the humble-wise is not recognized among people.

The humble-wise is never faced with a need that would bring him into confusion or confusion.

Truly humble is he who has something secret that is worthy of pride, but is not proud and in his thought imputes it to dust.

The Lord will be wise to him who humbles and belittles himself. He who recognizes himself as wise falls away from the wisdom of God.

Venerable Ephraim the Syrian:

With great care one must ... humble oneself in order to purify the soul and not allow into it that which is hateful to God. For the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit dwells in the humble soul.

Blessed are those who willingly humiliate themselves, because they will be exalted in Heaven.

The apostles armed themselves with humility, the true believers conquered with it, it brought victory to both the ancients and the new. Gird yourself with this weapon, disciples of Christ, because with it you will gain victory and become heirs of the Kingdom ... Humility is the way to the Kingdom. This is the heavenly door, this is the ladder along which a person ascends to Heaven. Through them God descended from the heights to the abode of the earth-born, to them the descendants of Adam ascend from the depths to the mountain abodes. He acquires every good, he overcomes every misfortune.

Humility endows the blameless with blessings and makes them heirs of the bright palace in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Humility is the source of all blessings. Keep it firmly in your soul, disciple. It exudes everything beautiful to you, brings you closer to God, introduces you into fellowship with the Angels, reveals to you the most intimate secrets, fills you with all wisdom, reveals depths to you, shows you the unknown. It bows before your glory and conquers the arrogance of the proud, sows peace within you, pure thoughts in your heart and makes your face bright. Humility gives no place for irritability in your heart and eradicates anger in your soul, drives away hatred, envy and anger far away from you, but, on the contrary, fulfills you with love, peace and joy - not human joy, not the joy of the strong earth, but the joy of the spirit , the gaiety of wisdom.

Humility is the path to the Kingdom, the heavenly door, the Garden of Eden, a meal of sweets, the beginning of blessings, a source of blessings, a hope that does not shame anyone who flows to it.

Humility will draw you closer to God, and God will rejoice over you and you will rejoice, and you will become a worthy vessel for the glory of your Lord.

The humbled sinners are justified even without good deeds, but the righteous destroy many of their labors because of their pride. How much would a tax collector have to labor in fasting, in abstinence, in vigilance, in distributing property to the poor ... in order to have time to cleanse his sins. But, without doing anything like that, he atoned for all sins with just one word of reproach, and the insulting words with which the Pharisee thought to humiliate him brought him the crown of righteousness.

Blessed is the man who always looks to the Heavenly Master and His sufferings, who crucified himself for all passions and for everything earthly and became an imitator of his Master's humility.

A sign of humility is to satisfy your brother's need with both hands, as if you yourself would accept help.

A humble person is not stubborn and is not lazy, even if he was called to work at midnight.

If we are commanded to lay down our souls for one another, then all the more we are obliged to show each other obedience and submission in order to become imitators of the Lord.

An excellent and excellent acquisition is humility. Everyone knows about this, who shamelessly bore his yoke on themselves. It is better to prefer to walk naked and barefoot than to be naked from humility, because the Lord covers those who love him.

There is no humility in the fact that a sinner considers himself a sinner. It consists in not imagining anything great about oneself, being aware of a great deal and greatness in oneself.

This is humility - to be high on merit and to humiliate oneself in the mind.

The distinguishing features and attributes of a person who has true humility are as follows. Consider yourself the most sinful before God, reproach yourself at all times, in every place and for every deed. Do not blaspheme anyone and do not find a person on earth who would be more disgusting, or more sinful, or more careless than himself, but always praise and glorify everyone. Never condemn anyone, not humiliate, not slander anyone, be silent at all times and say nothing without an order or extreme need. When asked and there is an intention or extreme need makes one speak and answer, then speak quietly, calmly, rarely, as if under compulsion and with shame. Do not present yourself as a measure in anything, do not argue with anyone - not about faith, about anything else, but if someone speaks well, tell him: "Yes", and if it is bad, answer: "You yourself know." Be submissive and disdain your will as something harmful. Always look into the ground, have your death before your eyes. Never idle talk, do not gossip, do not lie, do not contradict the highest. With joy to endure resentment, humiliation and loss. Hate peace and love work. Do not grieve, do not hurt anyone's conscience. These are the signs of true humility; and blessed is he who has them, because here he is still beginning to be called the house and temple of God, and God appears in him, and he becomes the heir of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Who is more before the Lord? He who humbles himself before his brother in the fear of God.

The humble does not set his own will ... but obeys the truth.

The humble one does not despise in privation and poverty, and does not appear arrogant in prosperity and glory, but constantly abides in the same virtue.

The humble person does not envy the success of his neighbor, does not rejoice in his contrition, but, on the contrary, rejoices with those who rejoice and weeps with those who weep.

He is humble who preaches virtue by deeds.

The humble one does not slander his brother against his brother (this is a satanic matter), but serves as a peacemaker for them, without repaying evil for evil.

The humble person hates pride, therefore he does not seek primacy.

The humble one knows neither vexation nor guile, but with simplicity and integrity serves the Lord in holiness, in peace and in spiritual joy.

Do all your deeds in humility, in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ, and by this your fruit will be lifted up to Heaven.

Work under the yoke of humility, and your labor will be pleasing to God.

Humble your soul to dust, so that your dust may rise and rise.

Rev. Isidore Pelusiot:

If all the properties of the Divine nature exceed the measure of human nature, then the easiest way for us is to become like the Divine in the possible and consistent with our nature. What is it? Humility.

The Monk Philotheus of Sinai:

Our Lord Jesus Christ, the incomprehensible and ineffable God, was clothed with humility throughout His life in the flesh. So holy humility should be called righteously both Divine virtue and the Lord's commandment ...

Saint Gregory Palamas:

Why, having said: "blessed are the poor." The Lord added also: "by the spirit"? To show that the humility of the soul itself is worthy of gratification, and that although bodily poverty is blessed and leads to the Kingdom of Heaven, but only if it is accompanied by spiritual humility, if it is closely connected with it and receives a beginning from it. Thus, pleasing the poor in spirit. The Lord miraculously showed where the root and cause of the visible poverty of the saints, that is, in their spirit, is. The Spirit, having received the grace of the Gospel preaching into its depths, becomes a source of poverty, irrigating "the whole face of the earth" (Genesis 2, b), that is, our external man, and making it a paradise of virtues. Such poverty is worthy of God's pleasure. For someone else can be non-covetous and poor, and moreover arbitrarily, but for the sake of human glory. Such a person is not poor in spirit, but a hypocrite. Hypocrisy is born from conceit, which is contrary to spiritual poverty. He who has a broken and humble spirit cannot help but rejoice in apparent poverty and humility, for he considers himself unworthy of glory, contentment, consolation and all that. He who considers himself unworthy of all this is a beggar who is blessed by God ... And all such are from among those who heard and followed the Lord Jesus, the Son of God, for He said: "... learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls "(Matthew 11:29). Therefore, theirs is the Kingdom of God, for they are joint heirs with Christ.

Humility is a way of thinking, borrowed entirely from the Gospel, from Christ. Humility is a heartfelt feeling, there is a heartfelt pledge corresponding to humility.

True humility consists in obeying and following Christ (108, 535).

True humility is an evangelical character, an evangelical disposition, an evangelical way of thinking.

“If anyone wants to follow Me,” declares holy Humility, “deny yourself, and take up your cross, and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24). Otherwise, it is impossible to be a disciple and follower of the One who humbled himself to death, to the death of the godmother. He sat down at the right hand of the Father. He, the New Adam, the Founder of the holy tribe of the elect. Faith in Him enters into the number of the elect, election is accepted by holy humility, and is sealed with holy love.

Guided by humility, the richer he becomes in virtues and spiritual gifts, the poorer and insignificant he becomes before his own eyes.

Perfect obedience to God is acquired by a person when a person ascends to the highest degree of knowledge of God and the knowledge of his insignificance.

The spiritual place where only spiritual sacrifices are commanded is humility.

True humility is a Divine sacrament: it is inaccessible to the comprehension of the human. As the highest wisdom, it appears to be insanity to the carnal mind.

Humility does not see itself as humble. On the contrary, it sees in itself a lot of pride ...

Humility is heavenly life on earth.

The humble one surrenders himself entirely to the will of God.

Blessed is the soul that has realized that it is completely unworthy of God, that it has condemned itself as cursed and sinful. She is on the path of salvation: there is no self-delusion in her.

Humility is an incomprehensible action ... of the peace of God, incomprehensibly comprehensible by one blessed experience.

Humility is man's correct concept of humanity, therefore, it is man's correct concept of himself.

As pride is primarily an affliction of our spirit, the sin of the mind, so humility is a good and blissful state of mind, it is primarily a virtue of the mind.

Mental pursuits are able to distract a person from humility and God, to attract to self-conceit and worship of his "I".

The Lord, foreseeing everything and directing everything, delighted to humble you with the multitude of your iniquities.

The essence of repentance lies in humility and contrition of our spirit, when the spirit mourns because of humility.

(Humility) is an evangelical virtue that unites the forces of a person together by the peace of Christ, exceeding human comprehension.

Humility is the inexplicable grace of God, incomprehensibly comprehensible by one spiritual sensation of the soul.

The beginning of humility is the poverty of the spirit; the middle of success in it is the peace of Christ, which is beyond all intelligence and comprehension; end and perfection is the love of Christ.

The soul, rich in gospel virtues, plunges deeper and deeper into humility, and in the depths of this sea finds precious pearls: the gifts of the Spirit.

A person who wants to constantly be in tenderness and spiritual vision should take care of a constant stay in humility, expelling self-justification and condemnation of others from himself, introducing humility by self-reproach and the consciousness of his sinfulness before God and people.

It is good to be at the feet of your neighbors with the way of your thoughts, then the Gospel of Christ becomes available to man.

The gift of spiritual reasoning is sent down from God exclusively to monks who walk the path of humility and humility.

True monastic success lies in when a monk sees himself as the most sinful of all people.

We must humble ourselves without and within ourselves in order to become partakers of the glory of Christ in this and the next age.

The Lord leads us to the highest prosperity along the narrow path of selflessness and humility.

Rev. Pimen the Great:

The land on which the Lord commanded to offer sacrifices to Him is humility.

There are two main things in real life: one is the greatest good, and the other is the greatest evil. The first, as the supreme good, elevates a person to Heaven, and the other, as an extreme evil, brings him down to the underworld. The first is true and the second is false; the first is great repose, the second is immeasurable sorrow. The first is the height of rationality, the second is the edge of madness. The first is related and inherent in man, the second is hostile and alien. The first is all directness, the second is all curvature. The first is joy and joy, the second is sadness and longing. What are these things? Humility and pride.

Who has come down from the path of blissful humility and is not walking along it, walking to the right or to the left, and does not follow the Lord and our God Jesus Christ, how can he enter the bridal chamber of Christ with Him?

Where there is true humility, there is the depth of humility; where there is humility, there is the shining of the Holy Spirit. Where the shining of the Holy Spirit is, there is an abundant outpouring of the light of God and God with wisdom and knowledge of His mysteries. Where all this is, there is the Kingdom of Heaven, and the consciousness of the Kingdom, and the hidden treasures of the knowledge of God, and the manifestation of spiritual poverty, joyful crying and incessant tears that cleanse the soul from all attachments and addictions, and make it all light.

Mysterious (meetings) and communication with our Lord Jesus Christ, God the Most High, bear three effective fruits: life, immortality and humility. Life and immortality work through humility, and again, due to life and immortality, humility works. Humility is required both before life and immortality, and after that there is, therefore, both the first and the third: the first, because there is the cause of the other two, the third - as embracing and retaining them. So, whoever has not acquired the humility of Christ so that it constitutes, as it were, his natural quality, he will no longer receive anything from Christ, and Christ will not help him in any way. Such a person knows neither God nor himself, for if he knew that without Christ it is impossible to do anything truly good and salvific, then, of course, he would humble himself and, as in a royal garment, would put on the humility of Christ, through which Christians are made kings - reign over passions and demons by His power. To the extent of true and perfect humility, there is also a measure of salvation. The parent and father of humility is the mind, enlightened by the grace of Christ and in this Divine light clearly seeing its weakness. Conversely, the father of arrogance and pride is the mind covered with the darkness of ignorance. Oh, when would we all get rid of such darkness and, enlightened by the Divine light, come to humility by the grace and love of mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ.

When you have humble wisdom and exercise in the thoughts of humility, the Lord will immediately come to you, embrace you and kiss you, and give you the Right Spirit in your heart. The Spirit of deliverance and forgiveness of sins, will crown you with His gifts and glorify you with wisdom and knowledge. For what else is so kind and pleasing to God as a contrite and humble heart and self-deprecating wisdom? In such and such a humility of the soul God dwells and rests - and any slander of the enemy against her remains unsuccessful; all sinful passions disappear in her and, on the contrary, the fruits of the Holy Spirit multiply - love, joy, peace, longsuffering, mercy, faith, meekness, humility and abstinence from all passions. This is then followed by Divine knowledge, the wisdom of the word, the abyss of hidden thoughts and the mysteries of Christ. He who attains such a state and becomes such is changed by good change and is an earthly Angel; communicates with people in this world, and walks in Heaven in spirit and communicates with Angels. And from inexpressible joy he grows in the love of God, to which no one can ever come close, unless he first cleans his heart with repentance and many tears and reaches the depth of humility in order to receive the Holy Spirit into his soul.

Let us all try to acquire humility - the unspeakable beauty of our souls.

Repentance disperses the cloud of ignorance that covers the mind, and the veil that lies on it is removed. When the mind is enlightened, then we cognize ourselves and our state. We will see the wounds and defilements of our soul. And then we will begin not only to philosophize and speak humbly, but we will become ashamed of the sun, and the stars, and all the creatures of God created for us, ashamed of the fact that they angered God, who created all this for us, and sinned against Him, having transgressed more than one, and all His commandments. Therefore, we will not dare to raise our eyes ... and we will begin to consider ourselves unworthy of eating the fruits of the earth, passing judgment on ourselves that it would be more correct for us to die of hunger and thirst. We also dare not look at the icon of our Lord Jesus Christ and His saints, realizing that we are filthy, unclean and sinful. It will seem to us that the icons themselves are ashamed of us and our deeds. That is why we will not have the courage to approach them and venerate; we will be ashamed to touch the pure and holy with unclean and unclean lips. Even intending to enter the temple of God, we will feel how fear and trepidation overtakes us, because the unworthy enter, we will be afraid that the floor of the temple would not open and throw us alive into hell. This and even more humility will always teach us and, changing us, rebuilding and transforming, our whole nature penetrates so much that later we, even if we wanted, will not be able to think or say anything great and high about ourselves (even in great deeds). This holy humility will also assure us that without a teacher we will not be able to learn any good ... will teach us not to leave without a guide (an experienced mentor on the paths of virtue) ...

First, from crying for God, humility is born; then inexpressible joy and joy come from him; around humility according to God the hope of salvation grows. For the more sinful someone from the bottom of his heart considers himself to be, the more, together with humility, hope grows in him, like a flower inside his heart, and he will surely know that he will be saved.

Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk:

Humility is the most convenient way to communion with God.

The more a person cognizes his spiritual poverty and regret, the more he humbles himself: the knowledge of poverty humbles a person. The more "he humbles himself, the more he gains grace from God, who" gives grace to the humble. " temptation shows that this evil is hidden in their hearts.

He who does not have humility and does not try to have, he must be afraid lest he fall with the devil, the founder of pride, and not be forever rejected with him from the mercy of God. "God resists the proud" (James 4: 6; 1 Pet. 5: 5). As the low path of the humble leads to the high Fatherland - Heaven, so the proud, although they rise high and fly, but in the end are thrown into hell. Any highly intelligent person should be afraid of this overthrow.

Humility is not afraid of falling, for it lies on the ground and walks on the ground! Where does that fall, who walks on the ground? Pride rises high and ascends, but it is always in fear and trembling, so as not to fall; and although he is in confusion and with all his might protects himself from falling, yet he falls and is crushed.

Christ, the Son of God, although he is for us the image and mirror of all virtues, nevertheless commands us to learn from Him humility and meekness: "Learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart" (Matthew 11:29). Hence we see how great a virtue is humility, for it has its origin not from anyone else, but from Christ, the King of Heaven and Earth. “Learn from Me,” he says, “not to raise the dead and work other miracles, but to what? - "for I am meek and lowly in heart." .If the Lord of Heaven and earth Himself was "humble in heart", as he confesses, if "He humbled Himself ... even to death, and the death of the cross" (Phil. 2, 8); if he was not ashamed to wash the feet of the disciples (John 13: 5); if He Himself testifies of Himself that "the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve" (Matthew 20:28); if he says: "But I am in the midst of you, like a servant" (Luke 22:27), how much more should we, servants, following the example of our Lord, humble ourselves and not be ashamed to serve our brothers and with them, whatever they may be , be friendly. The holy apostles and all the saints gazed at this image, and learned from it, and in such a low way of humility entered the high Fatherland - Heaven.

"Do you know what I have done to you? You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you speak correctly, for I am exactly that. So, if I, the Lord and Teacher, washed your feet, then you must also wash each other's feet. For I have given an example for you, so that you also do what I have done to you "(John 13, 12-15). Let's look at this living example of humility and follow Him; look in this mirror and cleanse ourselves of our pride; Let us not be ashamed of people to people, and servants to slaves, and sinners to sinners to bow down and serve, when the Lord was not ashamed to serve His servants. Let us write, beloved, this image in our hearts in order to get rid of demonic pride.

The Christian exploit consists in humility.

Humility is inherent in spiritual wisdom.

The one who knows God more humbles himself the more.

In true humility, an incessant greed and thirst for God's grace is noticed "for humility does not look at what it has, but thinks about that and seeks what it does not have. As students, the more they learn and acquire the skill, the more they see their ignorance, therefore that they do not know much more than they have learned, so the students in the school of the wisdom of God, the more spiritually aware of themselves as poor, the more they partake of the gifts of God, for they see that they do not have much, which they seek with humility and sighing.

All contempt and dishonor must be tolerated without grumbling and willingly: there can be no humility without patience, and where there is true patience, there is humility. For whoever does not tolerate contempt, he loves reverence and praise, which is a sign of pride. Voluntarily and diligently obey and listen not only to those who are higher, but also those who are equal, and those who are less in their needs and requirements; humility inclines towards all, as does love.

A humble heart shuns all dignity, honor and glory; and if he needs to be honored and dignified, he accepts this with extreme reluctance and for the sake of obedience, for he sees his ignorance and unworthiness.

He who is humble in his heart to a higher one shows obedience, does not despise himself equal and lower, but treats everyone like brothers, even if he is more worthy of honor and has greater gifts than them. For he looks not at gifts, but at his poverty and realizes that the gifts are not his, but strangers, he is only a receptacle, and not their master, but poverty and insignificance are his own, like all people. For every man himself is poor and sinful.

Saint Theophan the Recluse:

Christianity fully satisfies our desire for primacy, but how? In a completely opposite way to what is used in the world. Do you want to be the first? Be a slave to everyone, that is, be the last one before everyone, and this is just as important as it is essential to adjust your life and your disposition following the example of the Lord Christ. The Lord says: "The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His soul for the ransom of many" (Matthew 20:28). The Lord serves, even washing the feet of the disciples; there is nothing, therefore, to be ashamed of serving anyone. Serve as and what you can, there are occasions at every step: feed the hungry, undressed, bring the wanderer into the house, visit the sick and even follow him and don’t refuse any other kind of help. And serve not only the body, but also the soul of another: give reason, give advice, point out a good book, comfort, support. And the word is a powerful means of help: in it the soul comes out and, combining with another, gives it strength.

"If you do not turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 18: 3). The children's structure of the heart is exemplary. Children, until egoistic aspirations are revealed in them, are an example of imitation. What do we see in children? Full faith, not reasoning, unquestioning obedience, sincere love, carelessness and peace under the shelter of parents, liveliness and freshness of life, with mobility and a desire to learn and improve. But the Savior especially notes one of their properties - humility: "... whoever becomes belittled, like this child, the same is more in the Kingdom of Heaven" (Matthew 18: 4). For as soon as there is real humility, then there are all virtues. It then appears in perfection when other virtues have already blossomed in the heart and come to maturity; it is their crown and cover. This is the secret of spiritual life about Christ Jesus our Lord. The higher one is, the more humble, for he sees more clearly and tangibly that it is not he who works in prosperity, but the grace that is in him (1 Cor. 15:10), and this is the measure of "the full age of Christ" (Eph. 4, 13). For the main thing in Christ Jesus is that He "humbled Himself, being obedient even to death" (Phil. 2, 8).

The Lord sees the mother weeping over the death of her son, and has mercy on her (Luke 7, 13); another time he was called to a marriage - and rejoiced in family joy (John 2, 2). By this He showed that it is not contrary to His spirit to share the ordinary joys and sorrows of life. This is what true, reverent Christians do, fearfully spending their lives. However, they distinguish between order and order in everyday life, for they contain a lot of things that cannot be favored by God. There are customs evoked by passions and invented to satisfy them; vanity alone feeds on others. Whoever has the spirit of Christ will be able to discern good from bad: he holds on to one, and rejects the other. He who does this with the fear of God is not alienated by others, although he does not act as they do, for he always acts in a spirit of love and condescension to the weaknesses of his brethren. Only the spirit of jealousy, transient to measure, pricks the eyes and produces discord and division. Such a spirit cannot resist in any way so as not to teach and denounce. And he only cares about arranging himself and his family in a Christian way, while he does not consider it permissible to interfere in the affairs of others, saying in himself: "Who made me a judge?" With such quietness, he disposes of everyone and instills respect for the order that he maintains. All the indexer makes himself unloved, and the good order, which he maintains, leads to disapproval. Humility in such cases is needed, Christian humility. It is the source of Christian prudence, which knows how to do well in these cases.

"I came to call not the righteous, but sinners to repentance" (Mark 2:17). With the lips of wisdom, the Lord called the insane to himself. He himself, wandering the earth, called upon sinners. He has no place for proud clever people or self-appointed righteous. May mental and moral weakness rejoice! Mental and business strength, go away! All-round weakness, conscious of itself and having resorted to the Lord with faith, the weak healer and the impoverished one who replenishes, grows stronger both in mind and in disposition, while continuing, however, to be aware of both his meagerness and his poor morals. The power of God under this nondescript cover, accomplished in weakness, creates an invisibly different personality, bright in mind and temper, which in due time becomes glorious sometimes still here, but always there. This is what is hidden from the wise and reasonable and is revealed only to babies.

The Lord told the disciples about His suffering, but they did not understand anything from what was said: "These words were hidden to them" (Luke 18:34). And after that the apostle "judged to be ignorant of you with nothing but Jesus Christ, and, moreover, crucified" (1 Cor. 2, 2). The time did not come, they did not understand anything in this secret, but it came - they understood and taught and explained to everyone. This happens to everyone, but not only in relation to this secret, but also to any other. The incomprehensible at first becomes clear over time, as if a ray of light enters consciousness and clarifies what was previously dark. Who explains this? The Lord Himself, the grace of the Spirit living in believers, the Guardian Angel - but certainly not the person himself. He is the receiver here, not the manufacturer. For all that, something else remains incomprehensible for a lifetime, and not only for individuals, but for all of humanity. A person is surrounded by the incomprehensible: something else is explained to him during his life, and something else is left until another life, there it will become apparent. And this is even for God-enlightened minds. Why isn't it opening now? Because something else is incompatible, therefore, there is no need to talk about it; otherwise it is not said for medical purposes, that is, it would be harmful to know prematurely. In another life, much will be explained, but other objects and other secrets will be revealed. The created mind will never have enough incomprehensible secrets. The mind revolts against these bonds, but do not revolt, and you cannot break the bonds of mystery. Humble yourself, proud mind, under the mighty hand of God and believe!

Saint Gregory of Nyssa:

Let no one think that it is easy to succeed in humility. On the contrary, such a deed is more difficult than any virtuous undertaking. Why is that? Because when a person, having taken good seeds into himself, fell asleep, then the enemy of our life sowed tares of pride in us. For by what he himself threw himself to the ground, thereby also the poor human race involved with him in a common fall. And for our nature there is no other such evil as this ailment of pride.

Venerable John Cassian the Roman (Abba Theona):

A purer gaze is greater and notices, a flawless life engenders greater sorrow of self-reproach; correction of morals and zeal for virtues multiplies weeping and sighing. For no one can be satisfied with the degree of perfection to which he has succeeded. And the purer in spirit, the more he sees himself as unclean, he finds more reasons for humility than for exaltation; and the sooner he strives for height, the better he sees that he still has more to strive for.

The elder said: I wish more to learn than to teach. Do not start teaching prematurely, otherwise you will remain insufficient in reason for the rest of your life.

When asked what humility consists in, the elder answered: "It is to forgive a brother who has sinned against you, before he asks for forgiveness."

The brother asked the elder: "What is humility?" The elder answered: "Humility consists in doing good to those who do us evil." The brother objected: "If a person has not reached such a measure, what should he do?" The elder said: "Let him avoid people, choosing silence for his exploit."

Better defeat with humility than victory with pride.

Rev. Abba Isaiah:

The humble man has no tongue to say about someone that he is negligent or negligent about his salvation. He has no eyes to see the faults of others. He does not have ears to hear words and conversations that are harmful to the soul. He does not care about anything temporary, only cares about his sins. He preserves peace with everyone for the sake of the commandment of God, and not out of human friendship. In vain are the labors of one who fasts a lot without humility and undertakes heavy labors.

Humility consists in the fact that a person considers himself a sinner who has not done anything good before God.

He is humble who keeps silence, who considers himself to be nothing, is not inclined to disputes, obeys everyone ... Who carefully thinks about death, keeps himself from lies, moves away from idle and unhelpful conversations, does not contradict elders ... Who does not insist in his opinion, he who endures insults, hates peace, willingly carries work and does not anger anyone.

Self-humiliation is the place where peace is found.

The fear of God grows and intensifies in the heart of that person who reflects human glory from himself with humility.

Do not rely on your strength, and God's help will always help you.

Rev. Pimen the Great:

Man always needs humility and the fear of God, like breathing.

Teaching a neighbor is just as repugnant to humility as it is to reprove him.

Stories from the life of the elders:

The true prosperity of the soul consists in daily becoming more submissive to God and saying to oneself: “Every“ man is better than me. ”Without this thought, if anyone works miracles and raises the dead, he is far from God.

Saint Basil the Great:

He who is alien to all arrogance, is not proud of anything human, is broken in heart and humbled in spirit.

He is great before God who humbly yields to his neighbor and, without shame, accepts even unjust accusations in order to grant the Church of God a great benefit - peace.

If someone humbles himself, he will be brilliantly and majestically lifted up, because God by his own power raises the humble one.

Venerable Macarius of Egypt:

Humility is great height, honor and dignity.

The humble never falls, and where should he fall when he is the lowest?

He who humbles himself before God and people can preserve the grace given to him.

Every Christian must acquire true humility of the heart, which consists not in pretending outwardly and in words, but in sincere humiliation of the spirit. It will be manifested by patience, not when someone himself takes pride in his vices, incredible for others, but when he is not offended, if others ascribe them to him, and with meekness of heart, will complacently endure the insults inflicted by others.

The virtue of humility alone is such that demons cannot imitate it.

The sacred couple is love and humility; the first raises, and the last, supports the ascended and does not allow them to fall.

A sign of deepest humility, when a person for the sake of humiliation, in some cases, takes on such guilt that he does not have.

If, in a true feeling of the soul, we think that every neighbor is superior to us, then God's mercy is not far from us ...

Rev. Abba Dorotheos:

Truly, there is nothing stronger than humility, nothing conquers it. If something sorrowful happens to a humble person, he immediately turns to himself, immediately condemns himself, considering himself worthy of it, and will not reproach anyone, will not place the blame on another, and thus will endure what happened without embarrassment, without sorrow, with perfect calmness. , and therefore he himself is not angry and does not anger anyone.

There are two humility. The first humility consists in considering your brother more reasonable than yourself and superior in everything, in a word, to consider yourself inferior to everyone. The second humility consists in ascribing to God our exploits, this is the perfect humility of the saints. It is clearly born in the soul from the fulfillment of the commandments. So the branches, when there are many fruits on them, with the fruits bend down, and the branch, on which there are no fruits, rises up and grows straight. There are some trees that do not bear fruit while their branches grow upward, but if you hang a stone from a branch and bend it, then it will bear fruit. So is the soul: when it is humbled, it bears fruit, and the more it bears fruit, the more it is humbled. So it is for the saints: the more they approach God, the more they see themselves as sinners.

Do not throw away the tools, without which it is impossible to cultivate fertile land. This instrument, made by the great God, is humility; it uproots all the tares from the field and gives grace to those who dwell in it.

Rev. Nilus of Sinai:

The prayer of the humble one bows down to God, but the prayer of the proud one offends Him.

Venerable Anthony the Great:

Pride and arrogance cast the devil from Heaven to hell, humility and meekness lift a person from earth to Heaven.

Rev. John Kolov:

The gate of God is humility. Our fathers, after many humiliations, entered, rejoicing, into the temple of God.

2. Humility is the mother of all virtues

Venerable Ephraim the Syrian:

All treasures are in humility. All blessings, all spiritual riches can be found in it. Count and list them if you can; because humility is everything.

Do you like cleanliness? by humility you will acquire a pure heart; do you long for holiness? it will make you holy; do you want to be perfect? it is the path of the perfect.

Our Lord calls love the height of all virtues, but who is rich in love if not the humble one? Both love and hope and faith are acquired by humility.

Humility makes fasting a true fast, it protects virgins, gives value to charity, makes sacrifice pleasing to God.

Do you wanna stand high? Love humility: it effortlessly makes a person righteous.

Saint John Chrysostom:

As darkness is removed when light comes, so humility casts out all anger and bitterness.

Venerable John Cassian the Roman (Abba Nesteroy):

Humility is the teacher of all virtues. It is the strongest foundation of a heavenly building. It is the Savior's own and great gift.

Rev. Isaac the Syrian:

Humility is followed by modesty and self-discipline, that is, chastity of the senses ... endless silence and blaming oneself for ignorance.

He who acquired humility in his heart became dead to the world and, dying to the world, died to the passions.

Venerable John Climacus:

Blessed and blissful is holy humility, for it gives both young and old alike firmness in repentance.

Rev. Abba Dorotheos:

Humility delivers a person from many evils and covers him from great temptations.

Venerable Simeon the New Theologian:

All the virtues around humility, the queen of virtues, are, as it were, guards, girlfriends and maids accompanying the mistress.

One is to speak humble words and another is to have humility of mind. One is humility, the other is the color of humility, and the third is its fruit. Something is the beauty of the fruit, the other is its sweetness, and the other is the actions that come from this fruit. From this, what is said about humility, something else is in our, and frost is not in our power. It is in our power to think about what disposes us to humility, to philosophize about how to reason, speak and do, but holy humility itself, with its essential properties, gifts and actions, is not in our power, but there is a gift of God, so that one does not try who even boast of that.

Reverend Theodore the Studite:

Humility is an all-embracing virtue: it drives away pride, tramples on popularity, stuns willfulness, introduces meekness, peace, love, and so on ...

Saint Ignatius (Brianchaninov):

Humility calms the nerves, tames the flow of blood, destroys daydreaming, deadens the life of falling, revives life in Christ Jesus.

The consciousness of one's sinfulness, the consciousness of one's weakness, one's own insignificance is a necessary condition for the prayer to be graciously accepted and heard by God.

Obedience, selflessness, and humility are the virtues on which prosperity and prayer are based.

Eating the holy food of humility, one can stay in the holy house of patience, but when this food is lacking, the soul proceeds from the house of patience.

Humility lifted the Lord to the Cross, and humility lifts the disciples of Christ to the cross, which is holy patience, incomprehensible to carnal minds ...

Humility never becomes angry, does not please people, does not indulge in sorrow, fears nothing.

From perfect humility and from perfect obedience to the will of God, the purest holy prayer is born.

Sobriety is true humility, which has concentrated its hope in God, renounced all arrogance and hope in people.

Faith is about being humble and doing mercy.

Humility is Christ's way of thinking and that hearty pledge by which all passions are mortified in the heart and ejected from it.

Rev. Abba Isaiah:

Without humility, even one who fasted a lot, or dejected himself with grievous deeds, or tried to fulfill the commandments, all works are in vain.

Rev. Isaac the Syrian:

As salt is to food, so is humility to all virtue.

Rev. Abba Dorotheos:

Neither the very fear of God, nor charity, nor faith, nor temperance, nor any other virtue can be perfect without humility.

Venerable Ephraim the Syrian:

He who does vigil and prayer without humility is no better than one who indulges in a long sleep, and the prayer of a humble one, even if he sleeps longer, is a fragrant censer before God.

Venerable Simeon the New Theologian:

The work that is done without humility and spiritual reason, whatever it may be, will not bring any benefit to the one who does it.

Saint Ignatius (Brianchaninov):

Lack of humility, from which the disease of Pharisaism, extremely hinders spiritual success.

Without obedience to the Church there is no humility, without humility there is no salvation.

Outside of unswerving obedience to the Church, there is neither true humility nor true spiritual reason; there is a vast area, a dark realm of lies and the self-delusion it produces.

Without the virtue of humility, all other virtues cannot be true and godly. In order for us to assimilate humility, various misfortunes are allowed to us: from demons, from people, from various deprivations, from our nature, perverted and poisoned by sin.

3. "Sinners are purified by humility"

Venerable Anthony the Great:

Love humility: it will cover you from your sins.

Saint Basil the Great:

Humility often saves one who has committed many great sins.

Venerable Ephraim the Syrian:

If we are in need of mercy, then we will resort to humility of mind, so that by humility of mind we may draw upon ourselves the bounties of the Lord.

The sinner, if he acquires humility, becomes righteous.

By humility, man pleases God more than by sacrifices and offerings. Through humility, the righteous attain perfection, God accepts the repentant, sinners are reconciled to Him, the guilty are justified.

Exercise zealously in humility, because with it you will pay all your debts, you will correct yourself from all errors.

By humility, sinners are purified, the guilty are justified, the lost return to the true path, the lost are saved.

Saint John Chrysostom:

If you bear on your conscience the great burden of sins and at the same time acknowledge yourself to be the last of all, you will have great boldness before God.

If a sinner (tax collector) has become righteous through humble prayer, then imagine how great a righteous man will be if he learns to offer such a prayer.

Venerable John Climacus:

If the power of the Lord is perfected in weakness, then the Lord will reject the reckless worker.

God does not close the doors of His mercy to those who knock with humility.

Venerable Simeon the New Theologian:

By this sacrifice (humility), all kings, nobles, noble, low-born were saved, are saved and will be saved. wise, uneducated, rich, poor, beggars, thieves, offenders, covetous people, libertines, murderers and every kind of sinners. The depth of humility - this saving sacrifice - should be measured by the measure of sins ... And alms, and faith, and withdrawal from the world, and the greatest feat of martyrdom, and all other sacrifices are kindled from the flame of this sacrifice, that is, the contrition of the heart. This is such a sacrifice for which there is no sin that overcomes the love of God. Only for the sake of this sacrifice (so that it may be and remain in us) diseases, sorrows, inconveniences, falls, spiritual passions and accompanying bodily passions are sent - all so that everyone who fears God would bring this sacrifice to God. He who attains this sacrifice - contrition with humility - has nowhere to fall, because he sees himself below everyone else. And God came down to earth and humbled Himself even to death for nothing else but in order to build up a broken and humble heart in those who believe in Him.

4. How to acquire humility

Saint Basil the Great:

In everything that we have done good, the soul should ascribe the reasons for success to God, not in the least thinking that it succeeded in anything good with its own strength, for such an attitude usually engenders humility in us.

Rev. Abba Isaiah:

Teach your tongue to pronounce words that serve the world, and humility will instill in you.

Saint John Chrysostom:

It is impossible to become humble in any other way than by love for the Divine and contempt for the present.

Venerable John Cassian the Roman:

Humility cannot be acquired without poverty (that is, without rejecting the world, all riches and unnecessary things, without non-covetousness). Without it, it is in no way possible to acquire either readiness for obedience, or the strength of patience, or the tranquility of meekness, or the perfection of love, without which our hearts cannot at all be the abode of the Holy Spirit.

Rev. Isaac the Syrian:

Humble yourself in everything before all people, and you will be exalted above the princes of this age.

The extent to which a person multiplies his prayers, to such an extent the heart is humbled.

Venerable John Climacus:

The path to humility is obedience and righteousness of heart, which naturally resist ascension.

Rev. Abba Dorotheos:

Everyone who prays to God: "Lord, give me humility" should know that he is asking God to send him someone who will offend him. So, when someone insults him, then he and. he must annoy himself and humiliate himself mentally, so that while the other humbles him from the outside, he humbles himself internally.

Venerable Nikodim Svyatorets:

In order to acquire humility, try to accept with love all displeasure and sorrow, like your own sisters, and in every possible way avoid glory and honor, wanting to be humiliated by everyone and not known to anyone and not to receive help and comfort from anyone, except God alone. Confirm in your heart, convinced of its goodness, the thought that God is your only good and your only refuge, and everything else is just thorns, which, if you put them in your heart, cause deadly harm. If you happen to suffer shame from someone, do not grieve about that, but bear it with joy, in the confidence that then God is with you. And do not desire another honor and do not look for anything else but to suffer for the love of God and for that which serves to the greatest glory for Him. (64, 260).

Venerable Anthony the Great:

Be ready to answer every word that you hear: "Forgive me", because humility destroys all the intrigues of enemies.

Love labor, poverty, wandering, suffering and silence, because they will make you humble. For humility, all sins are forgiven.

My son! First of all, do not impute anything to yourself; from this comes humility.

Saint Ignatius (Brianchaninov):

It is about not recognizing any virtue or dignity. Recognizing one's virtues and virtues is a destructive self-deception called ... opinion. Opinion alienates people infected with it from the Redeemer.

Venerable Anthony the Great:

Do not be jealous of the one who succeeds through falsehood, but consider all people above yourself, and God Himself will be with you.

Dishonored, do not hate the dishonor, tell yourself: I deserve to be showered with dishonor by all the brethren.

Remain silent when you are in the company of the brethren. If you need to tell them something, speak meekly and humbly.

Love dishonor more than honor, love bodily labors more than tranquility of the body, love damage in the acquisitions of this world more than gain.

Keep humility in everything: in appearance, in clothes, in sitting, standing, walking, lying, in the cell and in its accessories. In all your life, master the custom of poverty. Do not be vain, neither in speeches, nor in praise and hymns offered to God. When it happens to be with your neighbor, let your words not be diluted with cunning, deceit and deceit.

Know that humility means that you consider all people better than you and be certified in your soul that you are more burdened with sins than anyone else. Keep your head down, and let your tongue always be ready to say to the one who reproaches you: "Forgive me." Let death be the subject of your constant meditation.

Abba Alonius:

Once the elders were sitting at a meal, and Abba Alonius stood before them and served them. The elders praised him for this. He said nothing. One of them asked him: "Why didn't you answer the elders when they praised you?" Abba Alonius said: "If I answered them, it would mean that I accepted the praise."

Alexander, Patriarch of Antioch:

Once the deacon of the patriarch began to reproach him in front of all the clergy. The blessed one bowed to him, saying: "Forgive me, my lord and brother."

Rev. Abba Isaiah:

The main thing that we must look for is that we humble ourselves before the brethren.

He who considers himself to be nothing, admits his ignorance, he shows by this that he is trying to fulfill the will of God, and not his passionate desires.

Do not rely on yourself: everything good that is done in you is a consequence of the mercy and power of God. Do not be exalted by your faith, but be in fear until your last breath. Do not be arrogant, recognizing your life as worthy of approval, because your enemies still stand before your face. Do not rely on yourself while wandering in earthly life, until you have passed the dark air authorities.

Abba Joseph:

If you want to find peace in this and in the Future Age, then in any case say to yourself: "Who am I?" and don't judge anyone.

Venerable Macarius the Great:

Perfection is achieved by the fact that we do not condemn anyone in the slightest, but we condemn only ourselves, and that we endure annoyance (insults).

Abba Siluan:

Love the humility of Christ and try to keep the attention of your mind during prayer. Wherever you are, do not show yourself witty and teachable, but be humble and wise, and God will give you tenderness.

Abba Stratigius:

Let us not love praise and let us not blame ourselves.

Sayings of nameless elders:

If you are in charge of the brethren, then watch yourself so that, in commanding them, you do not ascend with your heart over them. Only outwardly show power, but in your soul consider yourself a slave, who is the worst of all.

He who patiently endures contempt, dishonor, and loss can be saved.

Who, humbly, says: "Forgive me", he scorches demons - tempters.

Stories from the lives of the elders:

If you get sick and ask someone for the necessary thing, but he does not give, then do not grieve for him in your heart, on the contrary, say: if I were worthy to receive. God would put in my brother's heart, and he would give to me.

Saint Ignatius (Brianchaninov):

The brother asked Abba Chronius: "How does a man attain humility?" The elder answered: "By the fear of God." The brother asked again: "How does a man come to fear God?" The elder replied: "In my opinion, one should renounce everything, entrust oneself with bodily labors and preserve the memory of the soul's departure from the body." Abba Cronius. With such a memory of death, bodily exploit acquires the meaning of actively expressed, and therefore very effective, repentance.

Venerable Gregory the Sinaite:

There are seven mutually conditioned deeds and dispositions, leading and directing to God-given humility: silence, humble thoughts about oneself, humble words, humble dress, contrition, self-abasement and the desire to see oneself as the last in everything. Silence gives rise to humble thoughts about yourself. From humble thoughts of oneself, three kinds of humility are born: humble words, humble and poor clothes, and self-abasement. These three types give birth to contrition, which comes from allowing temptations and is called providential ... Contrition easily makes the soul feel lower than everyone, the very last one, surpassed by everyone. These two types bring perfect and God-given humility, which is called the strength and perfection of virtues. It is this that ascribes good deeds to God ... Humility comes like this: when a person, left to himself, is defeated and enslaved by all passion and thought, and, conquered by an enemy spirit, finds no help either from deeds, or from God or from what else and is already ready to fall into despair, then he humbles himself in everything, laments, begins to consider himself worse and lower than everyone, even worse than the demons themselves, as subject to their power and conquered by them. This is providential humility ...

Saint Demetrius of Rostov:

Humbly thoughts, humbly speak, humbly philosophize, humbly do everything, so that you will not have stumbling blocks in all your ways. Remember where flesh and soul came from. Who created them and where will they go again? - Look at yourself from the outside and you will see that you are all ashes. Look inside and know that everything in you is vain; without the grace of the Lord, you are nothing but a dry stick, a barren tree, withered grass suitable only for burning, worn-out clothes, a barrel of sins, a repository of filth and animal passions, a vessel filled with all sorts of iniquity. You have nothing good of yourself, nothing pleasing, only sin and crime: none of you, being anxious, can “add even one cubit to your growth” (Matthew 6:27) and make a single hair white or black.

However, be humble, do not be reckless, but be humble in reason, do not humbly humble yourself before any folly, so as not to become like a dumb animal. For humility, like everything else, is accepted with reason, but without reason it is rejected. And dumb animals are often humble, but not in reason, and therefore they are not worthy of any praise. But in your mind, be humble, so as not to be deceived and ridiculed by the enemy.

Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk:

One must consider oneself more sinful than all others. Do not despise anyone, do not condemn anyone, but always listen to yourself. To avoid glory and honor, and if it is impossible to avoid, grieve about it. Courageously endure contempt. Treat people kindly; to be voluntarily obedient not only to the highest, but also to the lowest. Consider all your deeds obscene. Despise praise. Without needing not to speak, and that is peaceful and meek ... This is a low path, but it leads to a high Fatherland - Heaven. If you want to reach this Fatherland, go this way.

How can we seek humility? It is briefly said here. You need to try to know yourself, your poverty, weakness and curse, and this weakness is often viewed with the eyes of the soul. To reflect on the greatness of God and on our sinfulness, on the humility of Christ: both His love for us and His humility for us are so great that it is impossible to understand with the mind. Meditate diligently on what the Holy Gospel has to offer you. Do not look at what you have good, but what you don’t have yet. Remember past sins ... The good that you did, ascribe to God and thank Him, and not accept for your own.

Through temptations, the proud is led to humility.

Temptation is allowed by God for humility.

Saint Ignatius (Brianchaninov):

Whoever wants to acquire humility must carefully fulfill all the commandments of our Lord Jesus Christ. The doer of the Gospel commandments can come to know his own sinfulness and the sinfulness of all mankind ...

In the rejection of justification, in accusing oneself and in asking forgiveness in all those cases in which in ... worldly life they resort to justification ... lies the great mysterious purchase of humility.

Do not work on the analysis of who is right and who is wrong - you or your neighbor, try to blame yourself and keep peace with your neighbor through humility.

The Lord forbade vengeance, which was established by the Mosaic Law and which for evil was rewarded with equal evil. The weapon given by the Lord against evil is humility.

Do you want to acquire humility? Fulfill the Gospel commandments, together with them ... (you will gain) holy humility, that is, the property of our Lord Jesus Christ.

A deep and accurate knowledge of the fall of the human is very important for the ascetic of Christ; only from this knowledge, as if from hell itself, can he prayerfully, in true contrition of spirit, appeal to the Lord.

Humility means realizing your own fall, your sinfulness, due to which a person has become a rejected being, devoid of all dignity.

Let us deign ourselves to Hell, so that God will deign us to Heaven.

Conquer your mind to Christ. When the mind submits to Christ, it will not justify itself or the heart.

The demand from oneself to be immutable and infallible is an unrealizable demand in this transitory century! Immutability and infallibility are characteristic of man in the Future Age, but here we must generously endure the weaknesses of our neighbors and our own weaknesses.

Changeability (ours) teaches us self-knowledge, humility, teaches us to constantly resort to God's help ...

The remembrance of death accompanies the humble-wise on the path of earthly life, instructs him to act on earth for eternity and ... his very actions inspire him with special wholesomeness.

The Gospel commandments teach the monk humility, and the cross perfects him in humility.

Venerable John Cassian the Roman:

I will present one example of humility, which was shown not by a beginner, but by a perfect and abbot. And hearing about him, not only young people, but also elders can become more jealous of perfect humility. In one large Egyptian hostel, not far from the city of Panephis, there was Abba and Presbyter Pynuphius, whom everyone respected for his years, his good life and priesthood. Seeing that, with universal respect for him, he could not exercise the longed-for humility and obedience, he secretly withdrew to the extreme limits of Thebais. There, having folded a monastic image and dressed in secular clothes, he came to the cynovia of Tavena monks, knowing that she was stricter than everyone else and that due to the remoteness of the country, due to the vastness of the monastery and the multitude of brethren, he could easily remain unrecognized here. Here, staying at the gate for a very long time and bowing at the feet of all the brethren, he begged to be accepted as a novice. Finally, he was received with great contempt, thinking that he, already a deep old man, had spent his whole life in the world, and now he had taken it into his head to enter a monastery at an advanced age, when he could no longer cring to his pleasures. It was said that he went to the monastery not out of a sense of piety, but in order to have food; and as incapable of hard work, he was put to watch the garden and placed under the supervision of one of the younger brothers. Here he practiced longed for humility and obeyed his supervisor with such zeal that he not only looked after the garden diligently, but also did all the things in general that seemed difficult or low to everyone, or which they were afraid to take on. Moreover, he did a lot at night and secretly, so they did not know who was doing it. Thus, he hid for three years from his former brothers, who were looking for him throughout Egypt. Finally, one person who came to the Tavena monastery could barely recognize him by his humiliated appearance and by the low position he held ... The visitor, seeing the elder, did not immediately recognize him, and then fell at his feet. By this he led everyone into bewilderment ... But even more everyone was amazed when the name of the elder was revealed, which they also had in great glory. When all the brethren began to ask him for forgiveness ... he wept that, through the envy of the devil, he had lost the opportunity to exercise humility and end his life in obedience ... he somehow didn’t run away.

Rev. Abba Dorotheos:

One holy old man, to whom during his illness his brother poured linseed oil, which was very harmful to him, instead of honey, did not say anything to his brother, he ate in silence both the first and the second time. He did not in the least reproach the brother who served him, did not say that he was careless, did not sadden him with any word. When the brother learned that he had confused butter with honey, he began to grieve: "I killed you, Abba, and you laid this sin on me by not speaking." To this the elder answered with great meekness: "Do not grieve, child, if God were pleased that I should eat honey, you would have poured me honey."

Saint Ignatius (Brianchaninov). Puffiness:

Once blessed Anthony was praying in his cell, and there was a voice to him: "Anthony, you have not yet come to the measure of a tanner living in Alexandria." Hearing this, the elder got up early in the morning and, taking the staff, hurriedly went to Alexandria. When he came to the husband indicated to him, he was extremely surprised to see Antony with him. The elder said to the tanner: "Tell me your deeds, because for you I came here, leaving the wilderness." The tanner answered: "I do not know for myself that I have ever done anything good. For this reason, getting up early from my bed, before I go to work, I say to myself:" All the inhabitants of this city, from big to small, they will enter the Kingdom of God for their virtues, but I alone will go into eternal torment for my sins. "I repeat these words in my heart before I go to sleep." Hearing this, blessed Anthony replied: "Truly, my son, you, like a skillful jeweler, sitting quietly in your house, acquired the Kingdom of God. And although I spend my whole life in the wilderness, I did not acquire spiritual intelligence, did not achieve the measure of consciousness that you express with your words. "

Arriving at the skete, Saint Arsenius announced his intention to accept monasticism to the presbyters. They took him to an elder filled with the Holy Spirit, John Kolov. The elder wanted to put Arseny to the test. When they sat down to eat the bread, the elder did not invite Arseny, but left him standing. He stood with his eyes fixed on the ground and thinking that he was standing in the presence of God before His Angels. When they began to eat, the elder took a biscuit and threw it to Arseny. Arseny, seeing this, discussed the elder's deed as follows: "The elder, like the Angel of God, knew that I was like a dog, even worse than a dog, and therefore gave me bread as a dog is served; I will eat bread as dogs eat him." ... After this reflection, Arseny got up on his hands and feet, in this position he went to the biscuit, took it with his mouth, carried it to the corner and ate it there. The elder, seeing his great humility, said to the elders: "Out of him will be a skilled monk." Soon John gave him a cell near him and taught him to strive for his salvation.

Among the great fathers was an elder named Agathon, famous for the virtues of humility and patience. Some of the brethren visited him once. They heard about his great humility and wanted to test whether he really had humility and patience. To do this, they said to him: "Father, many are tempted by you because you are possessed to a strong degree by the passion of pride and you despise others so much that you consider them nothing; you also constantly shower the brethren with slander. Many people argue that the secret reason for this is your behavior is a prodigal passion with which you are embraced; in order to cover up your own vicious life, you are constantly engaged in slandering others. " To this the elder replied: "I am aware of all these vices in which you have exposed me, and I cannot allow denial in so many of my iniquities." With these words, he fell at the feet of the brothers and said to them: "I beg you, brothers, pray diligently to the Lord Jesus Christ for me, an unfortunate one, burdened with countless sins, that He would forgive me my grievous iniquities." But the brethren added the following to the previous words: "We will not hide from you the fact that many will recognize you as a heretic." The elder, hearing this, said to them: "Although I am burdened with many other vices, I am by no means a heretic; this vice is alien to my soul." Then the brethren who came to him fell at his feet and said: "Abba, please tell us why you were not in the least embarrassed when we accused you of such important vices and sins, and the accusation of heresy alarmed you? strongly rejected it. " The elder answered them: “I accepted the first accusations of sins in order to gain humility by this and wanting you to have an opinion of me as a sinner; we are assured that the great salvation of the soul is in maintaining the virtue of humility. the Jews showered him with many reproaches and slander, endured all this and provided us with His humility as a model for imitation. The false witnesses brought against Him spoke many falsehoods against Him, but He patiently endured the slander that raised Him to the Cross. The Apostle Peter, pointing to this, says : "Christ suffered for us, leaving us an example, so that we follow in His footsteps" (1 Pet. 2:21). It befits us patiently, with humility to endure everything unpleasant. But I could not accept the accusation of heresy, with great disgust for he rejected him, because heresy is alienation from God. The heretic is excommunicated from the Living and True God and communes with the devil and his angels. and in all respects is lost. "

There was in a certain monastery a monk named Euphrosynus, illiterate, but humble and God-fearing. He gave himself up with all obedience to obedience to the abbot and the brethren. They entrusted him with the ministry of the cook and left him in this ministry for many years. Euphrosynus never grumbled, did not contradict, carried out the task entrusted to him with all possible diligence, serving people as God, and not as people. Either he gathered greens, now he carried firewood from the forest on his shoulders, heated the stove with it and cooked it for the brethren. Being constantly engaged in obedience, he rarely came to church, but, constantly looking at the fire, he brought his soul into contrition, saying with tears: “Alas, sinful soul! You have not done anything pleasing to God! You do not know the law of God! I have not learned to read books by which they praise God incessantly! For this reason, you are unworthy to stand in church with the brethren, but you are condemned to stand here, before the fire. At death you will be bitterly tormented in the unquenchable fire. " Thus, the good confessor daily purified his soul and body.
The abbot of that monastery, Vlasiy, with the rank of priest, was adorned with all the virtues. From his youth, he entered into the service of God and pleased God with fasting and prayer. This abbot had an irresistible desire to find out where the souls of monks asceticised during their earthly life settled. Imposing fasting and vigil upon himself, he began to pray to God that God would reveal this to him. He spent three years in a cell vigil every night. The all-good God, who never despises those who pray to Him with faith, fulfilled the desire of the abbot. One night he was standing in an ordinary prayer and suddenly went into a frenzy. It seemed to him that he was walking in some great field; on the field - God's paradise.
What is paradise - it is impossible to convey in human language. Blessed Blasius, entering paradise, saw fragrant trees showered with various fruits, and was saturated with one fragrance of these fruits. In paradise, he saw the monk Euphrosynus sitting under one of the apple trees on a golden throne. Seeing him and knowing for certain that it was he, the abbot approached him and asked him: "My son Euphrosynus, what are you doing here?" Euphrosynus answered: "Vladyka, for your prayers, God made me the guardian of this place of the holy paradise." The abbot said: "If I ask you for something, do you have the power to give?" Euphrosynus answered: "Whatever you ask, you will receive." The hegumen, pointing to one of the apple trees, said: "Give me three apples from this apple tree." Euphrosynus carefully picked three apples and gave them to the abbot. The abbot accepted them into the mantle and immediately came to his senses.
He found himself in his cell, three apples were in his robes. The bell rang for matins. At the end of the service, the abbot ordered the brethren not to leave the church. Summoning Euphrosynus from the cookery, he asked him: "My son, where were you that night?" Euphrosynus, looking down at the ground, stood and was silent. But the elder did not stop interrogating him. Then Euphrosynus answered: "There, Abba, where you saw me." - "Where did I see you?" - "Where you asked me to give you something." - "What did I ask of you?" - "What I gave you: three apples, which you took." Then the abbot threw himself at his feet. Then he took apples out of his mantle, laid them on the holy diskos and said to the brethren: “These apples that you see are from the holy paradise. For three years I prayed to God in my cell, staying awake all nights, so that God would show me to what place after death the souls of piously ascetic monks go. On this night, by the grace of God, I was elevated to the holy paradise, saw its ineffable blessings and found in it our brother Euphrosynus, who gave me these three apples. I beg you: do not despise and do not dishonor uneducated. They, serving the brethren with faith, turn out to be above all with God. " While the abbot was speaking, Euphrosynus imperceptibly left the church and left the monastery forever, avoiding human glory. The hegumen divided the apples for a blessing to the brethren; the sick, having tasted the apples of heaven, recovered.

Once Abba Moses came to the well to draw water and saw the young monk Zacharias praying at the well. The Spirit of God, in the likeness of a dove, sat on his head. Abba Moses said to Zechariah: "Give me instruction for my living." Zechariah, hearing this, fell at the feet of the elder, saying: "Are you asking me, father?" The elder said to him: "Believe, my son Zacharias, that I saw the Holy Spirit descended on you, and I find it necessary for myself to question you." Then Zachariah took the doll off his head, put it under his feet and, having trampled it, said: "If a person is not trampled in this way, then he cannot become a monk."

During the reign of the emperor Theodosius, a certain monk lived near Constantinople in a small cell, outside the city, not far from the gates, from which emperors usually left the city for a walk. Theodosius, hearing that a recluse monk lived here, never leaving his cell, went for a walk to this place. He ordered the courtiers who followed him not to approach the monk's cell, rode up to it alone and knocked on the door. The monk got up, opened the door for him, but did not recognize that it was the emperor. After the usual prayer, they both sat down, and the emperor asked the monk: "How do the holy fathers live in Egypt?" The monk answered. Meanwhile, the emperor was carefully examining the cell. In it he saw nothing but a few dry loaves of bread in a basket that hung from a rope attached to the ceiling. The emperor said, "Abba, offer me food for blessing." The monk hastily put salt and crackers into the vessel, poured water, and they ate them together. Then the monk gave a cup of water to the emperor, who drank it. Then Theodosius said: "Do you know who I am?" The monk replied: "I do not know who you are, sir." Emperor: "I - Theodosius, the emperor, have come to you to ask for your prayers." The monk, hearing this, fell at his feet. The emperor continued: "Blessed are you, monks, free from worldly concerns! You enjoy a calm and silent life; your concern is only for the salvation of your souls, for achieving Eternal Life, for receiving heavenly rewards. Be sure of the truthfulness of my words: I was born of a king and I reign, but I have never tasted food with such pleasure as now. " After that, the emperor bowed to the monk with special respect and left him.
On the same night, the servant of God began to think: "It is no longer fitting for me to stay in this place: now, following the example of the emperor, not only many of the people will come to me, but also the courtiers and senators will not fail to honor me as a servant of God. Although they will do this for the sake of the name of God, I fear for myself, lest the wicked one deceive me in an inconspicuous way, so that I would not find pleasure in receiving noble persons, so that my heart would not delight in their praise and respect for me, so as not to lose me humility. " The man of God, having considered all this, fled from there that very night and arrived in Egypt, in the desert, to the holy fathers.

The two elders lived in one cell, and never the slightest displeasure arose between them. Seeing this, one said to the other: "We will quarrel too, at least once, as people quarrel." Another replied: "I do not know at all how a quarrel can arise." The first one said: "So I will put a pot of earthenware between us and say:" She is mine, "and you say:" She is not yours, but mine. " Having agreed so, they put the dishes between themselves, and one said: "She is mine." Another replied: "And I believe that she is mine." The first one again said: "She is not yours, but mine." Then the second answered: "And if it is yours, then take it." So they did not manage to quarrel. Puffiness. This is the fruit of living the gospel commandments and the habit of humility. The heart that has acquired this skill is incapable of quarrels and quarrels; it is ready to make any concessions to avoid a dispute.

A certain old man stayed in the desert as a hermit and thought in himself that he was perfect in virtues. He prayed to God: "Show me what the perfection of the soul is, and I will fulfill it." It pleased God to humble his thoughts, therefore it was told him: "Go to such and such an archimandrite and do whatever he ordered you." God also revealed to the archimandrite about the coming of a hermit to him before he came, and commanded: "Such and such a hermit will come to you; tell him to take a whip and go to feed the pigs." The hermit came to the monastery, knocked on the gate, he was led to the archimandrite. After greeting each other, they sat down. And the hermit said to the archimandrite: "Tell me, what should I do to be saved?" The archimandrite asked: "Will you obey whatever I order you?" The hermit answered: "I will." To this the archimandrite said: "Take a long whip and go graze the pigs." The hermit immediately complied with this. Those who knew him before and heard about him, when they saw that he was herding pigs, said among themselves: "Have you seen the great hermit about whom there was such a rumor? He has gone mad! He is herding pigs!" God, seeing his humility and that he patiently endures human dishonor, commanded him to return to his place again.

In the skete, one of the brethren fell into sin and was excommunicated by the abbot. When the brother was leaving the church, Abba Bessarion got up and went with him, saying: “And I am a sinner.

There were two monks, brothers in the flesh and brothers in spirit. The wicked one acted against them to separate them from each other in any way. One evening, according to their custom, the younger brother lit a lamp and placed it on a candlestick. By the action of the demon, the candlestick fell and the lamp went out: the wicked one was setting up a pretext for a quarrel. The older brother jumped up and hit the younger one. He fell at his feet: "Calm down, my lord, I will light the lamp again." He did not answer with angry words, and the wicked spirit, being put to shame, immediately departed from them.

Prologue in teachings:

The Monk John, whose memory the Holy Church celebrates on February 29, was from Palestine, was baptized at the age of eighteen and became a monk. During his holy life, he was once elevated to the rank of archbishop in Damascus. But, not tolerating human glory and being in the highest degree humble, he left his episcopal see, secretly from everyone went first to Alexandria, and from it to the Nitrian mountain. He came in beggarly clothes and began to ask one of the abbots to accept him as a novice to the monastery to serve the brethren. Of course, he concealed his bishopric. The abbot received him, and John lived in the monastery like this: he served the brethren during the day, and spent the nights in prayer without sleep. In the morning he took vessels for water in all the cells, went to the river, filled the vessels with water and then carried them to the cells. In the monastery, one poor-minded monk did him a lot of harm: he gave him mocking nicknames, poured slops on him. The igumen found out about this and wanted to expel this monk, but the Bishop of God doused the igumen's feet with tears and begged him to forgive his offender. Finally, one of the Nitrian monks learned that John was an archbishop, and told others about it ... John, in order not to endure human glory, went to Egypt. There, according to the testimony of the writer of his life, he received the gift of clairvoyance, freed the Church from heretics and wrote many psychic books.

Ancient Patericon:

Once, some people brought a demon-possessed person to Thebais to an elder, so that the elder would heal him. After many requests, the elder said to the demon: "Get out of the creation of God!" The demon replied: "I will go out if you answer one question: who in the Gospel is called a goat, and who is called a lamb?" The elder said: "The goat is me, but God knows the lambs." And the demon cried out: "I am leaving in your humility!" and immediately went out.

Once the demons attacked Abba Arseny in his cell and embarrassed him. The servants came to him and, standing outside the cell, heard him crying to God: "God, do not leave me; I have not done anything good in front of You, but grant me, according to Your goodness, a beginning."

Memorable legends:

Abba Evrenius, even at the beginning of his asceticism, came to an elder and said to him: "Abba, give me instruction, how can I be saved?" The elder answered him: "If you want to be saved, then when you come to someone, do not start talking until they ask you." Abba Evrenius, amazed by this word, bowed to the elder and said: "I have read a lot of books, but I did not know such instruction yet."

5. False humility

Saint Gregory the Theologian:

Humility is not so much learned in small things (for then it can only be for show and have a false appearance of virtue), as is experienced in important matters. The humble person is not the one who speaks little about himself, with few and rarely, and not the one who humiliates one who is lower than himself, but the one who speaks modestly about God; who knows what to say and what to be silent about, in what to admit his ignorance; who gives in to the one who has the power to speak and agrees that there are people who are more spiritual and more successful in knowledge. It is a shame to choose inexpensive clothing and food, to prove humility and consciousness of our weakness with calluses on our knees, torrents of tears, fasting, vigil, reclining on bare ground, labor and all sorts of signs of humiliation, but as far as the teaching about God is concerned, be self-confident and complacent, yielding to no one in anything ... whereas here humility is not only commendable, but also safe.

Venerable Simeon the New Theologian:

There is an imaginary humility that comes from negligence, laziness and from a strong condemnation of conscience. Those who have it often consider it sufficient for salvation, but it is not so in reality, because it does not have weeping that creates joy.

Venerable John Climacus:

It is not the one who shows humility who condemns himself ... but the one who, being reproached by another, does not diminish his love for him.

Rev. Abba Isaiah:

If a brother says: "Show love, teach me this business, I do not know it," then the one who knows should not be excused by ignorance. Such humility is not pleasing to God.

Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk:

Humility must not only be shown outside, one must especially try to have it inside. There are those who externally show humility, but do not have it on the inside. Many refuse ranks and titles of this world, but do not want to give up a high opinion of themselves, renounce honor and worldly dignity, but want to be honored because of holiness. Many are not ashamed to call themselves sinners in front of people, or even more, the most sinful, but they do not want to hear this from others and therefore they only call themselves such with their lips ... Many speak little and quietly, while others do not speak at all, but incessantly defame neighbors. Others cover their bodies with a black cassock and mantle, but they do not want to cover their hearts. So they show other signs of humility! .. All of them do not have such humility in their hearts. These signs may be signs of humility, but when what they mean is not, it is nothing more than hypocrisy. Such are like fur inflated with air, which seems to be filled with something, but when the air comes out, it will be found that it is empty ... Therefore, humility, like all piety, must be in the heart. For God judges by heart's intentions (1 Cor. 4: 5), and not by outward appearance, as we appear before people.

Saint Ignatius (Brianchaninov):

The world’s approval of humility already serves as a condemnation to it. The Lord commanded to perform all virtues in secret, and humility is the manifestation of humility for show to people.

Nothing is so hostile to the humility of Christ as willful humility, rejecting the yoke of obedience to Christ ... serving Satan.

There may be an arbitrary humility of mind: it is composed for itself by a vain soul ... deceived ... deceived by false teaching ... flattering itself ... seeking flattery from the world, wholly striving for earthly prosperity, forgetting about eternity, about God.

False humility sees itself as humble; ridiculously and pitifully comforted by this deceitful, soul-destroying spectacle.

Archpriest Vyacheslav Tulupov

The Holy Fathers often used the words "humility" and "humility" as synonyms, but nevertheless gave them different meanings. In the patristic understanding, humility is the correct way of thinking of a person about himself and the world around him. It is humility that gives rise to humility, which is nothing more than a state of inner peace of the heart. Therefore, if we wish to acquire humility, we first need to become humble-minded. What characterizes humility, and how can it be achieved? First of all, it must be said that humility is born in a person from the realization of his own weakness and his own insignificance.

The Monk Macarius of Optina, in a letter to one of his many spiritual children, wrote that he is full of pride and lies in sins, and if her eyes were opened and she saw only a small part of his evil deeds, then a monster would appear in her eyes. This was written by an elder who had attained spiritual perfection. However, such an opinion of the saint about himself is not surprising: in the light of the glory of God, the righteous man more clearly notices his human shortcomings, which gives him a reason for even greater humility.

The saints' consciousness of their own insignificance was very deep and all-embracing. We need to follow their example and constantly plant this feeling in our hearts. To do this, you need to think about your sinfulness as often as possible and mentally imagine yourself as an insignificant speck of dust in the vast Universe - a speck of dust lost among time and an event in human history.

True, it is necessary to think about this with some caution, so that thoughts about our insignificance and sinfulness do not lead us to cowardice. Remembering our weaknesses and sins, we must not forget about the great love of the Lord for us, who prepared for His humble servants an abode in the Kingdom of Heaven. Without expecting anything spiritually glorious from ourselves, we must place all hope for our salvation on God and in Him alone find spiritual strength and consolation.

How do you begin to recognize your weakness? A person is best aware of his own insignificance when he combines reflections on his sins and weaknesses with prayers of repentance before God. The well-known ascetic schema-nun Ardalion said that one night she read in her cell a canon of repentance with a prayer in which a person is compared to a worm and dust of the earth. Suddenly, a deep awareness of her insignificance arose in her soul. This sensation was so strong and at the same time gratifying that tears flowed profusely from the eyes of the ascetic. She spent the rest of the night in kneeling prayer.

However, one must remember that the realization of one's sinfulness, if it is from God, should always be accompanied by grace-filled joy, and not despondency. Hegumen Theodosius (Popov) lived in retirement in the skete of Optina Hermitage. He had already reached the heights of spiritual life, but the demons often attacked him through thoughts of despondency. During one of these temptations, Father Theodosius almost fell into despair. He came to the Monk Ambrose of Optina and said with a weeping:

Father, save me - I am dying! I am a pig, not a monk: for how many years I have been wearing the mantle, and there is nothing monastic in me. Only and my name is that - a pig!

Elder Ambrose smiled with his meek smile, put his hand on the shoulder of the hegumen who bowed before him and said:

Think so, and think of yourself, Father Superior, until your death. And the time will come when they will also write about you and me, pigs.

These words turned out to be prophetic: books were written about the life and spiritual exploits of the Monk Ambrose and Abbot Theodosius for the edification of posterity. This is how the Lord glorifies the righteous, who sincerely considered themselves to be great sinners.

Once the disciples of Abba Arsenius the Great approached his cell and heard him praying:

God don't leave me! I have not done anything good before You, but grant me, by Your grace, a beginning.

Thus, one of the most prominent saints of the Orthodox Church did not see his greatness and, moreover, prayed that the Lord would help him to begin the salvation of his soul. This attitude towards their own spiritual life was characteristic of many righteous people.

The Monk Macarius the Great was once sitting in his cell, and suddenly an angel, sent by God, appeared before him.

Macarius! - he turned to the monk. - Do not be afraid of the attack of invisible enemies, because our good Lord will not depart from you and will not cease to support you. Be courageous, be strong, bravely conquer opponents, but do not be exalted by your deeds, so that Divine help does not leave you and you do not fall into a wondrous fall.

Abba Macarius, hearing the words of the Angel, wept and said:

Why should I be exalted when my soul, like a depraved harlot, feeds on the stench of unclean thoughts brought by demons?

These words were spoken by a man who gained dispassion, accomplished many spiritual deeds and was honored to attain the highest degrees of holiness. However, no man can constantly remember his weakness, unless he is troubled by some temptation, from which he is exhausted. Since the great saints, having conquered all their passions, could no longer be tempted by anything material, the Lord allowed the demons to disturb His chosen ones with thoughts, allowing the righteous to gain even greater perfection through humility. Gradually, the saints attained such a conviction of their insignificance that no one could ever shake it.

Abba Dorotheos writes that the highest degree of humility consists in attributing all one's spiritual exploits to God. Just as the branches of a tree “bow to the ground under the weight of the fruit, so the righteous, the more they approach God, the more they humble themselves and see themselves as sinners.

Taking an example from the saints, we must always remember that we do not mean anything to ourselves, and explain our successes on the path of salvation with the help of God. We must have a firm conviction that without the constant protection of the Lord we cannot do anything good and useful for our soul.

The Monk Arsenius the Great, before his retirement into the Egyptian desert, spent many years at the court of the Byzantine emperor Theodosius the Great. He was a brilliant courtier and one of the most educated people of his time. The future emperors Arkady and Honorius were brought up under his leadership. After becoming a monk, Arseny achieved spiritual perfection. Possessing secular scholarship and vast ascetic experience, the monk could write invaluable books on many spiritual matters. However, no matter how they asked him, he never spoke out on any theological problem; even the monk wrote letters rarely and with great reluctance. Having realized his insignificance, the saint did not consider it possible to write anything or deliver public teachings. He opened his mouth to instruct only a few of his disciples.

An ascetic of the 20th century, the Karaganda elder Schema-Archimandrite Sevastian, by virtue of his service, was to teach the people from the ambo. However, during the sermon, he most often read the works of famous preachers from the book, without adding anything from himself. The elder explained this by the fact that he is an illiterate person, who, moreover, has neither the gift of speech, nor the corresponding voice. Meanwhile, among his many spiritual children there were many highly educated people, including Bishop Pitirim, professor of the Moscow Theological Academy. How can one fail to recall the words of the Monk John Climacus that the most excellent degree of humility is complete disbelief in one's good deeds and a constant desire to learn.

Each of us, to one degree or another, has some positive qualities. However, they must be forgotten so that they do not interfere with our seeing our insignificance. We must remember that our virtues, innate or acquired, are gifts of God. Their presence in us depends only on the will of God. Therefore, it is very useful for us to cover all our weaknesses, shortcomings and passions with our mind's eye as often as possible. Such contemplation will help us to consign dignity to oblivion and to realistically assess our capabilities. During his lifetime, the Monk Ambrose of Optina was revered by many contemporaries as a great saint, but he himself took this opinion with great irony. Once the Monk Ambrose was surrounded by a crowded crowd of pilgrims, and someone loudly, with admiration spoke of his righteousness and that everyone bowed down to her. To this, the elder with a smile related the following incident:

Once the late Tsar Nikolai Pavlovich was walking along the streets of Petersburg. Having met a military clerk, he asked: "Where are you from?" "From the depot, your imperial majesty," the clerk reported. "The word 'depot' is foreign," the emperor remarked, "it does not bow." The clerk replied: "Before your Majesty - everything bows."

The attitude of the Monk Avrosius to his own holiness was based on a deep understanding of human nature, which is in a fallen state.

When we vividly feel all the perniciousness of our moral fall, a striving for spiritual rebirth awakens in us. We begin to work hard to save the soul, but very quickly we become convinced of our powerlessness. Success on the path of salvation appears for us only when, rejecting arrogance, we pin all our hope on God's help.

Once the elder of Optina Nektariy, pointing with his hand at the surrounding nature, said to Archimandrite, in the future Metropolitan, Benjamin (Fedchenkov):

Look, what beauty - the sun, sky, trees, flowers ... But before there was nothing! Nothing! And God created such beauty out of nothing. So it is with a man: when he comes to the knowledge that he is nothing, then God will begin to create great things out of him.

If we, hoping for the mercy of God, constantly remember our insignificance and sinfulness, then our soul is humbled, and our heart comes to contrition. Then the Lord, looking at our humility, tames our pride and gives us the grace to behave modestly, despise earthly passions and laugh at the glory of the visible world.

How to deal with pride?

We need to know that the Lord gave us a body. Soul, abilities, talents are also from Him. Everything we do is done with the help of God. We have nothing of our own - what can we be proud of? I remember I was 47 years old. I then said: "I have already lived for 47 years, and I have never had a toothache." That night I did not fall asleep because of a toothache. I could hardly wait for the morning. So you can't rely on yourself. They will ask: "Do you have sick teeth?" It is necessary to answer: "The Lord keeps, has mercy for now."

One priest told me: "I served for 20 years. Others at Communion had occasions - they overturned the Cup, dropped the Body of Christ. Everything is always fine with me. Only I thought that, on the same day I shed the Blood of Christ on the antimension." keeps only the grace of God! You cannot put yourself forward anywhere. If the Lord gives you energy to do some kind of good deed, do not attribute anything to yourself! “Not I, but the Lord,” - so the Apostle Paul said. - "I labored more than all the apostles; not I, however, but the grace of God, which is with me" (1 Cor. 15.10). The Lord tells us: "Without Me you can do nothing" (John 15.5).

One pious old man, in order to be in a humble spirit, wrote words on the wall - hints. When the devil of flattery pestered him, whispering: “You are already perfect,” he looked at the wall and read: “Do you have perfect love for God and for your neighbor?” “Do you love your enemies?” And he began to denounce himself: “All this - a lie. You do not love with all your heart, with all your soul, neither God, nor your neighbor, nor your enemies. You do not have perfect love. " A thought comes to him and he reads: “Do you have a heartfelt prayer? Can you pray ceaselessly, as the Apostle Paul teaches?” And he says to himself: “Liar. You do not have a constant prayer. So he wrote many answers to thoughts that displace the soul from the enemy, and he denounced himself, humbled himself. People like him achieved humility in this way.

And a monk lived in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra; obedience carried in the kitchen. He humbled himself and said: "Lord, all will be saved, I alone will perish." He looked at the fire of the stove: "One of my accursed souls will burn in the fire." And he cried. His holy relics rest in caves ...

And one elder ordered his cell attendant to extinguish the fire in a large furnace. He climbed in there and put out it with a mantle, and did not burn himself in the least - for obedience.

There were such obedient people: the elder sent them to swim across the river teeming with crocodiles. The novice crossed himself and into the water! He sat on horseback on a crocodile and swam across to the other side of the river. They did not touch him - for obedience!

Sometimes the elder would give a dry grape stick and told him to go 5 km, stick it in the sand and water it every day; and when it comes to life, it blooms and gives fruit, bring it to him. The novice had to go back and forth every day, water the stick. For obedience, this dry grape branch blossomed and bore fruit ...

They gave cabbage seedlings to two novices. One was ordered to plant usually, and the other - with the roots up. Imagine if now such obedience was given to a modern novice! He would say: "The elder was completely mad. What nonsense is it to plant cabbage with its roots upside down!" saints and received eternal bliss in heaven.

How to get rid of resentment?

First of all, we need to understand for ourselves that our life is a school, and all that the Lord allows us - sorrows, temptations - are lessons, they are necessary to develop patience, humility, get rid of pride, resentment. And the Lord, when he allows them to us, looks at how we behave: will we be offended or keep peace in our souls. Why are they insulting us? It means that we deserve, we have sinned in some way ...

In order for there to be neither offense nor irritation, so that the soul in God would calm down, one must endure a lot from neighbors - both reproach, and insults, and all kinds of troubles. This must be able to meet without snapping at the offender. No need to speak taunts if you have been offended. Just think to yourself: "It was the Lord who gave me the opportunity to strengthen my patience, so that my soul would calm down." And our soul will calm down. And if we start: "Why is he slandering me, lying, insulting me? Me! .." And let's go peddling. It is the spirit of Satan that lives in a person.

We will never rest if we do not learn to endure. Let's get hysterical. If someone has offended us, offended, it is not necessary to collect information for a retaliatory attack, it is not necessary to obtain "compromising evidence" on this person in different corners: "Here, he is such and such ..."; no need to wait for the right moment to pour this slop on his head. A Christian, if he finds out that this one speaks badly about him, must immediately humble himself: "Lord, Your will! I need it for my sins! Nothing, we will survive. Everything will be fine-tuned, frayed!" We need to educate ourselves. Otherwise, someone said something, and we cannot calm down until we tell our neighbor everything that we think about him. And these "thoughts" are whispered in our ears by Satan, and we repeat all the dirt after him. A Christian should be a peacemaker, bring only peace and love to everyone. No nasty things - no offense, no irritation - should be in a person. Why are we discouraged? Not from holiness, of course! That is why we are discouraged, that we make a lot of fools, we take a lot into our heads, we see only the sins of our neighbor, but we do not notice our own. We sow the sins of others, but from idle talk, from condemnation, the grace of God departs from man, and he likens himself to speechless creatures. And here you can expect everything from a person. Such a soul will never receive peace and quiet. A Christian, if he sees any shortcomings around, tries to cover everything with love. Doesn't tell anyone, doesn't carry dirt anywhere. He smooths out and covers other people's sins so that a person does not become embittered, but corrects himself. The holy fathers said: "Cover your brother's sin, and the Lord will cover yours." And there is a kind of people who, if they notice something, immediately try to spread it to other people, to other souls. At this time, a person exalts himself: "How wise I am! I know everything and I don't do that." And this is the uncleanness of the soul. It is a dirty soul. Christians don't behave like that. They do not see other people's sins. The Lord said: "For the clean, everything is clean" (Tit. 1:15), and for the dirty - everything is dirty.

How to behave when offended?

When we are offended, we must immediately remember that it was not a person who offended us, but an evil spirit that acts through him. And therefore, one cannot be offended or angry in response. What should be done? Approach the icons, put a few bows to the ground, rejoice and say: "Lord, I thank You that You have provided me with such a lesson for my humility, for cleansing my soul from sins." Once the elder Nikon of Optina filled a letter with insults and abuse. The elder flashed the thought: “Who could have written that? From whom is the letter?” But he immediately pulled himself together: “Nikon, this is none of your business, no need to find out who wrote it. It means that you have sins for which you have to suffer. " If a person tunes himself in this way, everything in his life will fall into place. And that is, such "Christians" who can be so offended that they begin to be indignant, make noise, and then stop talking and can be silent for a week, or even a month - to conceal evil and resentment. It happens that you need to make a remark to a person, suggest something, but in this case you must always remember the words of the wise Solomon: "Reveal the reasonable - he will love you, do not denounce the insane - he will hate you."

One elder clergyman wrote about himself: "I am like a dog. It happens that a dog will be told:" Get out of here! "- he will walk away; he will walk away and sit - waiting for the owner to lead himself further. And if the owner calls again:" Come on, come here! "- he wagged his tail again and runs up to the owner with love, does not remember evil. When someone scolds me, drives me away, I leave him. But if a person comes to me and repents, asks for forgiveness, I again accept him with love and I am not offended by him. I am only glad that he came to me and repented. "

What to do when temptations come?

If temptations come to a person, then the Lord allows them. For what purpose? The Lord says: "By patience save your souls" (Luke 21, 19), "he who endures to the end will be saved" (Matthew 10:22) And when temptations come, and a person courageously endures everything, the Lord gives a reward for this the most important thing is that the rebirth of the soul begins within a person. And in order to make it easier to endure suffering during temptations, one must see in various temptations not attacks of people, but attacks of evil spirits. The devil acts through his neighbors, and one must remember this, and not blame people. If the one to whom this temptation is directed does not accept it into his soul - the demon is put to shame. But in order not to take any kind of temptation to heart, it is necessary to go a long way of training in repelling demonic attacks. As in sports, for example, in boxing, in order to win a fight, you have to work hard, train for more than one year. It happens that it already seems to you that you are dexterous, strong, you can do anything, but the competition will begin, you will meet with the enemy, he beat you, won. And it turns out that you are not that clever, not that strong. Therefore, you need to work and work on yourself until the skill of protection comes. Our soul should have exactly the same skill. A person must be able to defend against enemy attacks. It will be difficult at first, but if we constantly control the reality around us and our behavior, we will learn not to accept temptations. And then, if the blows fall from all sides, then we will develop immunity, the grace of God will keep us, and a person will freely pass all kinds of temptations. But we repeat: this must be learned. We all learn something, some business, in order to saturate, preserve the body; it is also necessary to learn how to preserve peace in the soul. And peace of mind is the main thing. The body can fade, but the soul becomes hardened and becomes stronger and more courageous. The Apostle Paul says: "The power of God is made perfect in weakness" (2 Cor. 12: 9).

The person who works on himself reaches such heights that if sorrows or illnesses overtake him, he begins to rejoice at them. The Lord says: "Those whom I love, I reprove and punish" (0tkr.3.19). It means that at this time the Lord paid attention to us and allowed us to be tempted to save our soul. If a person courageously endures everything, he purifies his soul in sorrow. There are people who have a lot of sorrows, illnesses, misfortunes, and they do not blame anyone for this, they do not grumble at God, they take offense at their neighbor, but rejoice at all the trials that have fallen to their lot. But if we are healthy, like bulls, we have no sorrows, there are no diseases, then we are uncontrollable, we cannot be curbed; that's when you have to sob and cry, that's the real trouble!

If we did not fall for the intrigues of the demon, we survived, we still have to be on the alert, he will start plotting new things, he begins to set up nets in a different place. For example, a person was not offended when he was insulted. The neighbor scolds him, but he does not care, he slanders, gossips, but he does not take into account. The demon begins to sneak up on the other side; he will come up to the person and begin to whisper to him: "Well, now, you have endured everything. What a fine fellow you are, you have already reached perfection." And pride begins to grow. And as soon as a person becomes proud, the fall begins. Therefore, humility is the main thing. When a person is not exalted, he thinks that he is dust, he has protection from God, the Lord covers him with His grace. “To whom shall I look? Only the meek and humble,” He says. - "Learn from Me, for you are meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls" (Matthew 11:29).

How to learn not to get annoyed?

Two women have lived in the world for fifty years and have never quarreled. One says:

Listen, you and I have never fought. Let's have a fight at least once!

Come on, how?

But we’ll do the washing, I’ll pour water and say: “Take it out,” but you don’t bear it. And we will fight.

And so, the washing began. The first one poured water and says:

Well, take it out quickly!

And the second ... grabbed a bucket and was already on the street. So they could not quarrel.

In one magazine it was written about a long-lived old man. The doctors came to him and asked:

"How did you live?"

Always calm. I never got annoyed, did not swear with anyone, did not argue ...

And they are all in chorus:

It cannot be that you have never argued!

Well, maybe it was ...

We believe. You didn't even argue with us.

How to get rid of discouragement?

Usually, if a person does not have prayer, he is constantly depressed. Especially among the proud, those who love to condemn their neighbor, to take it apart to the bone. You say to such a person that this should not be done, despondency will torment him, but he does not understand. He wants to be a boss, stick his nose into every hole, know everything, prove to everyone that he is right. Such a person places himself high. And when he meets with resistance, then scandals and insults occur - the grace of God leaves, and the person falls into despondency. Especially often in despondency is the one who is unrepentant of sins - his soul is not reconciled with God. Why does a person have no peace, rest and joy? Because there is no repentance. Many will say: “But I repent!” To repent in words, in one language is not enough. If you repented that you condemned, thought bad, then do not return to this anymore, just as, according to the words of the Apostle Peter, “the washed pig goes back to wallow in the mud” (2 Peter 2.22).

Do not return to this mud, and then the soul will always be calm. Let's say a neighbor came up and insulted us. Well, endure his infirmities. After all, you will not lose weight and grow old from this. Of course, it’s bad for that person who for a long time was filling himself with a high opinion of himself, and suddenly someone humbled him! He will definitely rebel, be displeased, offended. Well, this is the way of a proud man. The humble one believes that if something is said to him, then it must be so ...

Our Christian path is not to talk bad about anyone, not to outrage anyone, to endure everyone, to bring peace and tranquility to everyone. And constantly be in prayer. And to impose a penance on your evil tongue, tell him: “All your life you have been chatting - now that's enough!

If despondency has just come, has just begun - open the Gospel and read until the demon leaves you. Suppose an alcoholic wants to drink - if he understands that the demon has attacked, let him open the Gospel, read several chapters - and the demon will immediately leave. And so any passion that a person suffers from can be defeated. We begin to read the Gospel, call on the Lord for help - immediately the demons leave. As was the case with one monk. He was praying in his cells, and at this time the demons obviously approached him, grabbed his hands and dragged him out of the cells. He put his hands on the doorposts of the door and cried out: "Lord, to what the demons have become insolent - they are already being dragged out of the cells by force!" The demons instantly disappeared, and the monk again turned to God: “Lord, why are you not helping?” And the Lord says to him: “But you don’t turn to me. As soon as you turned, I immediately helped you.”

Many do not see the mercy of God. There were different cases. Man alone kept murmuring that the Mother of God, the Lord did not help him in anything. Once an Angel appeared to him and said: "Remember, when you were sailing on a boat with friends, the boat turned over and your friend drowned, but you remained alive. Then the Mother of God saved you; She heard and listened to your mother's prayers. Now remember, when you were riding in a chaise and the horse jerked to the side - the chaise turned over. A friend was sitting with you; he was killed, but you remained alive. " And the Angel began to give so many cases that were with this man in his life. How many times he was threatened with death or trouble, and everything carried by him ... We are just blind and think that all this is accidental, and therefore ungrateful to the Lord for saving us from troubles.

Which is higher: humility or obedience?

If a person does not have obedience, then this means that he does not have humility either. Humility breeds obedience. I had to see humble people - such a joy with them! Such grace! You say to such a person: "Come to me." And the person does not walk, but runs at a run: "Father, I am listening to you." You bless him some kind of obedience, and he: "Okay, now I will do everything." And when you say something to a proud person, he will still think: to approach you or not. If it does, he asks: "What did you want?" - "Well, I wanted you to go peel potatoes." - "What else was missing! I - and to peel potatoes!" - "Well, okay, go watch." - "I'm not going to be on duty." - "Well, let's go have some tea." - "A - tea? Tea is possible" ...

It's so nice with a humble person! You will never see this person irritated or offended, you will not hear him raise his voice, be indignant with something. Wherever this person is sent, he is satisfied everywhere, glad to everyone. He will fulfill any obedience, because he is humble. And the Lord gives such people health, and most importantly - peace of mind, joy, peace.

A child of five wants to learn humility. Is this possible at such an early age?

Humility must be learned from an early age. This is right. The main thing is to live not "as I want", but according to parental orders. What they said should be done, and not with dissatisfaction, but with joy, with readiness. Then not external, external humility will be brought up in order to be praised, but real, deep humility, which is pleasing to God. A humble soul is always light and joyful, it brings light and love to everyone.

When you learn humility, you shouldn't be irritated, indignant. You can't cry from resentment that you didn't take me somewhere, didn't let you go somewhere, didn't let you go somewhere. It should be understood as follows: "So, God did not bless me, it does not please Him, but it is not useful for me." And calmly sit down, study lessons, as my mother tells.

How to deal with troubles? How can a proud person come to terms?

It is not so difficult to recognize a proud person. If he is proud, he always makes a noise, a cry. A huge stream of impurity erupts from it.

If the Orthodox sincerely wants to get rid of anger, from shouting, to learn never to bang on the table with his fist, not to slam the door, not to drop the telephone receiver, dishes on the floor, he needs - as a basis - to understand: "I am nothing before God! Everything is in His power , and He allowed me this temptation. And why should I be mad? "

In order to achieve complete innocence, we must completely surrender ourselves into the hands of God, give way to God, remember everything that happens to us during the day, is allowed by the Providence of God, which cares about our salvation. The Lord wants us to be cleansed and enter the Heavenly palaces. And you can enter there only by becoming a saint. Holiness is gentleness, integrity, impassivity. There are no sinless people - there is only one Lord without sin. But the spirit of the soul for holiness and standing before God with a pure, unfaithful heart is a holy life.

Someone slandered you? We can take offense at slander, be offended ... Or at this moment we can remember how the sinless Lord bore slander and gossip, slander to atone for us from eternal death. Sinless Lord! And we are not without sin! In this they are innocent, in another they have sinned!

And if we remember in time that the Lord commanded us to love our neighbor as ourselves, then for the sake of our neighbor who offends us at this moment, we will endure. The Lord redeemed him, like us, with His Blood. This means that He loves him as much as he loves us. Our neighbor is dear to the Lord, can we really do any harm to the one whom God Himself cherishes? It's just that our neighbor has such a period when he is weakened in spirit - so it’s impossible to "finish off" the weak, we must forgive them for their weakness!

If we endured everything and thanked God for the temptations, then the soul is pacified. Believe me, it is pacified not so much by our efforts as by the grace of God. After all, He watched us and saw that we made an effort and suppressed our anger, our indignation. And for this effort He gives us His peace, His love. This is a great reward! Neither fasting, nor hours of prayer, nor vigilance can one receive this gift so quickly as patience and humility. Humility is a weapon that repels all attacks and intrigues of demons.

And the neighbor, who "went out" against us, but did not meet enmity, also begins to understand that he has become spiritually weakened. He will ask us for forgiveness, will go to confession. So we ourselves did not sin and by our example saved our neighbor from destruction. In repentance, the Lord will cleanse him from sin and will not remember this to him, and if he does not repent, it is on his conscience. Pray for your offenders, as the Lord Himself prayed on the Cross for those who crucified Him.

Any grief or trouble befell us. We must immediately pull ourselves together, not become limp, not despair and say: "So, it is so pleasing to God that I overcome this misfortune."

If a friend or girlfriend comes to us and they are in trouble, then we begin to look for words to console them. In the same way, we must console ourselves. Say to yourself: "Why are you worried? Will you be comforted that you are twitching? You yourself do not need to act, run somewhere, do something. The Lord looks at how you perceive this. You will start to fuss or wait until He Himself relieves you of trouble." After all, He knows everything better than you. " So let's put up with it and add: "Calm down, everything will pass. Everything will change and grind. Look how many troubles you have in your life - and everything somehow ended more or less happily. It's not fatal." So we persuade ourselves, and everything calms down in our souls. You don't need to look for a razor to cut your veins, or a rope.

It happens that the enemy instills: "Do not hold anger in yourself, otherwise you will get sick. Tell everything to your neighbor, let him see what you think of him!" This is a satanic spirit. He lives in a proud person, feeds on negative energy. If we have not “fed” him with our passions for a long time, have not been angry with anyone for a long time, he can arrange a temptation to make us lose our temper. And when we surrender to the will of God, he remains hungry. Once they endured it - he remained hungry, for the second, third, tenth - he completely wilted. He will not have the strength to anger, and he will leave us, because he will have nothing to profit from.

When the demon is so put to shame, when he does not come out to tempt someone to sin, to evil, he flies with a roar into the underworld. And there he is punished, given a spanking, tortured. And devils are sent to those who stand firm. Since a weak demon could not cope with a person, it means that a more skillful one in intrigues is sent to him. A person may not immediately defeat a stronger demon, and then he will learn to fight with him. This is how a person grows in humility.

Remember: God is with us, God's power of humility is with us! The Mother of God is with us! His holy saints are with us! His heavenly powers are with us! One Angel of the Lord is stronger than those demons that overwhelm us in clouds. Why? Because he is an Angel of God. And where God is, there is truth, there is victory! Otherwise it can not be!

Why is it so important for an Orthodox Christian to find humility? Is it really necessary in the matter of human salvation?

“Spiritual life should be simple, frank-hearted, meek, benevolent, and even more humble. Humility is salvation without labor. Heart humility is the first and most important foundation of the“ home of spiritual monastic life, ”says the Monk Theophan of Novoyezersk. And he quotes the words of the Gospel:“ Learn from Me, as meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. "

Humility is the foundation of our salvation. David the psalmist says: "Be humbled, and the Lord save me." All the deeds that a person performs in earthly life: fasting, prayer, vigilance, bodily labors, alms, are not an end, but a means to an end. And this goal is humility. When a person has resigned himself, then everything in his life falls into place.

When a person adjusts himself so that he is zero before God, nothing, then the Lord begins to create in his soul Paradise - the Kingdom of Heaven.

We have many desires. For example, a girl has a desire to get married, have a child. Another wants to have a lot of money. The third is to purchase a video. There are many desires, we must limit them and even cut them off if they interfere with our salvation.

Let's say someone says: "I want to get married." And there is no special need for this - a person is not ready to bear responsibility either for the strength of the marriage union, or for the children who may be born, or for their upbringing. We tell him: "This desire will pass from you. We must cut it off." This is where feat begins, humility is tested. Or someone wanted a Mercedes. So what, what "wanted"! It is necessary to cut off this desire, because he has not yet learned how to drive a car, he can kill someone, and only a third of the funds for the purchase. This means that you will have to borrow, get into debt. What if he crashed the car before he paid off his debts? Very bad ... In short - it is not useful for him to buy a car, there is no will of God. Others "wanted to be in the Duma," but there is no way to go there. We cut off such a desire. And so in every business you need to manage your desires, start small: you want to eat your fill, you need to cut off this desire - to eat a little. You need to eat so much that if you are invited to visit somewhere after dinner, you could eat so much more.

People, when they prepare themselves for an eternal, blissful life, already in this world live holy, trying to endure everything. There lived such a humble monk. Once he was walking along the road, and a demon-possessed woman, a harlot, came up to him and hit him on the cheek. He resigned himself and framed the other. She hit him on the other cheek too. He set up again. And the demon in this prodigal girl growled with anger, came out of her, and she recovered. Because the devil cannot stand humility.

Another interesting case comes to mind. Bishop Spyridon of Trimifuntsky once entered the king's palace. His clothes were so simple that the king's servant thought it was a beggar, some beggar, who had entered and hit him on the cheek. The saint did not say a word, looked at the servant with affection and offered him the other cheek. Seeing his humility, the servant fell at the feet of the saint: "Father, forgive me, I thought you were a man from the street, a stranger. And you are not at all an ordinary person." The servant saw him as a saint.

Many may be tempted and indignant: "So why should we turn our cheeks to everyone?" And then one such person read the Gospel, found the words of Christ "... hit pb with the left, turn your right cheek ..." He ran to the monastery. Met one monk, said: "Read what is written." - "Christ says that if you are hit on one cheek, you have to turn the other, not take revenge." - "Here you go!" - and he hit this monk on one cheek, on the other. So he ran up to one, to another, to a third. They all endured, they did not give change. He tempted the brothers in the monastery, beat everyone. I saw one novice, the new one, who did not yet know the humble monastic life. I went up to him and gave him the Gospel to read. Then he hit him and was about to go. And the novice stops him: “Wait. But in this place it is written:“ We will turn to you and be ruined, ”“ With whatever measure you measure, the same will be measured for you. ”He turned around and gave it to him. The poor man flew out of the monastery like a cork.

Humility is a great thing. All strife - family, state, national - is based on our pride. We think highly of ourselves, vain, proud. We want everyone to know about us, to say good things about us. So our pride grows even more. The demon of pride enters a person, lives in him, feeds on this passion.

And the person who thinks of himself that he is the last, humbles himself before everyone, is filled with the grace of God. I recall an example from the life of the Monk Theodosius, abbot of the Kiev Caves. He came to visit the Grand Duke Izyaslav. He received him with love, talked with him for a long time. The owner kept him until late, and it was very far for the monk to walk on foot. It was already night. And the prince asked the servant to take the monk in a princely carriage. The servant thought that the guest was a simple one, some kind of tax collector. And he says to him: "Come on, sit down, rule, and I'll sleep." The elder sat down instead of the coachman and ruled. And when in the morning the servant woke up, he saw something amazing: the nobles were on their way to Prince Izyaslav, and, meeting the Monk Theodosius, everyone bowed to him. The servant was still amazed, but did not understand what was the matter. When they entered the monastery courtyard, all the brethren went out to meet their abbot, bowed low to him and took his blessing. Of course, the elder did not think highly of himself. He humbly ruled the harness, carrying a sleeping servant. And humility conquers everything - the intrigues of the enemy, and the designs of the evil one, and the hostility of neighbors.

Why does the Lord expect humility from us? Because He created our body from the dust of the earth and breathed into our face the breath of life, a rational soul, immortal. And what talents the Lord has given us - all of them are not ours, but the Lord's. Our only sins are with us. And to be proud of sins, to boast is the highest madness.

The holy fathers say that if you want to acquire humility, ask God for reproaches and insults. But this path is not within the power of everyone. How can you achieve humility in practice?

Only those who have already achieved something, have risen to some spiritual level can ask the Lord for reproaches. And for greater achievement, they ask the Lord to send them humblers. When a person asks in prayer:

"Lord, give me humility, patience, obedience, which means that he asks the Lord for an opportunity to come to terms with something or with someone, so that someone would offend, offend, draw into some kind of trouble. Trouble has come? control yourself and stay calm.

Is it true that any obedience performed with humility is turned around by the Lord for the good of the novice?

We know from the holy fathers: if a novice, by agreement with a confessor, completely entrusts himself into his hands and does everything with humility, the Lord protects him from falls. But such a relationship can only exist in a monastery, this does not apply to the laity, they will not understand this. The main thing for them is to receive God's blessing for study, marriage, and get a job.

What is humility? Not everyone can answer this question unequivocally. Despite this, many consider humility to be the main virtue of the true Christian. It is this quality that the Lord primarily values ​​in a person.

Some may get the impression that human humility leads to poverty, oppression, depression, poverty, disease. They humbly tolerate their current situation and hope for a better life in God's Kingdom. In fact, all this is far from humility. The Lord sends us difficulties not at all in order for us to put up with them, but in order for us to overcome them. Dignity, stupid submission, oppression and depression are more likely signs of false humility.

Yet what is humility?

Biblical humility. An example of humility

The Bible Encyclopedia says that humility is pride. This virtue is considered one of the main ones in Christianity. The humility of a person consists in the fact that he relies on the mercy of the Lord in everything and clearly understands that without Him he cannot achieve anything. A humble person never puts himself above others, accepts with joy and gratitude only what the Lord gives him, does not demand more than he is supposed to. prescribe this virtue to all true followers of Christ. Jesus displayed the highest degree of humility by fully submitting. For the sake of all mankind, He endured terrible suffering, humiliation and acquisitions. He was crucified, but after his resurrection, He did not even have the slightest resentment against those who did it, since He realized that all this was the providence of God. In other words, the Christian humility of man is manifested in his complete dependence on the Lord and in a realistic view of his essence. As a result of this, a true understanding comes that one should not think highly of oneself.

What is the essence of humility?

What is humility? Spiritual leaders are constantly asked this question. They, in turn, give different understandings of this definition, but the essence is the same for all. Some argue that humility consists in the fact that a person immediately forgets about the good deeds he has done. In other words, he does not ascribe the result to himself. Others say that a humble person considers himself the ultimate sinner. Some say that humility is a mental recognition of one's own powerlessness. But these are far from complete definitions of the concept of "humility". More precisely, we can say that this is a blessed state of the soul, a real gift from the Lord. Some sources speak of humility as a Divine garment in which the human soul is clothed. Humility is the mysterious power of grace. There is another definition of humility, which says that it is a joyful, but at the same time, sad self-abasement of the soul before the Lord and other people. It is expressed by inner prayer and contemplation of one's sins, complete obedience to the Lord and zealous service to other people.

Humility in life endows a person with joy, happiness and instills confidence in divine support.

How is dependence on the Lord manifested?

Two components in a person's life give an understanding of the concept of "humility". The first meaning is dependence on God. How does it manifest itself? An example is given in the Scriptures when the Lord calls a rich man "a madman." Legend has it that once there was a rich man who had large supplies of grain and other goods. He strove to further expand his opportunities for greater accumulation, so that later only he could enjoy his riches. But the Lord called him "a madman," as he bound his soul into the slavery of his wealth. The Lord told him what he will do with this accumulated, if today he loses his soul? A bad lot awaits those who accumulate blessings for the sake of their enjoyment, and not for the Lord. The current position of wealthy people is such that they want to fully enjoy their riches, believing that they have achieved everything themselves, and that the Lord has nothing to do with it. These are real madmen. No amount of wealth can save a person from hardship, suffering and disease. such people are completely empty, and they completely forgot about God.

Biblical story

There is another story that teaches humility. Once the Lord invited a rich, pious young man to distribute all his wealth to the poor and go with Him in order to have real treasures in the Kingdom of Heaven. But the young man could not do this because of his attachment to property. And then Christ said that it is very difficult for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God. His disciples were amazed at this answer. After all, they sincerely believed that a person's wealth is, on the contrary, God's blessing. But Jesus said the opposite. The point is that material prosperity is indeed a sign of the Lord's approval. But a person should not become dependent on his wealth. This quality is the exact opposite of humility.

Truthfulness to oneself

The power of humility increases if a person adequately evaluates himself and puts himself in the right position. In one of the verses of the Holy Scriptures, the Lord calls on people not to think highly of themselves. It is necessary to think modestly about oneself, relying on the faith that the Lord has endowed all people with. In relation to others, one should not be arrogant and one should not dream of oneself.

Most often, a person looks at himself through the prism of his achievements, which automatically causes the manifestation of pride. Material measures such as the amount of money, education, position are not the means by which a person should evaluate himself. All this is far from talking about the spiritual position. You should know that it is pride that deprives a person of all divine graces.

The Apostle Peter compares humility and a modest attitude to oneself with beautiful clothes. He also says that the Lord does not recognize the proud, but bestows His grace on the humble. The Scriptures mention the word “humility” to emphasize humility in thinking. Those who exalt themselves and think that they represent something without associating it with the Lord are in the strongest delusion.

Take it as it is

Humility is the progenitor of responsibility. The heart of a humble person accepts any situation and tries to solve it with all responsibility. A person with humility is always aware of his Divine nature and remembers where and why he came to this planet. Humility of the soul means complete acceptance of the Lord in your heart and awareness of your mission, which is to continuously work on your qualities. Humility helps one sincerely serve the Lord and all living beings. A humble person sincerely believes that everything that happens in this world happens according to Divine will. This understanding helps a person to always maintain peace and tranquility in his soul.

In relation to other people, a humble person never evaluates, compares, denies or ignores the nature of another person. He accepts people as they are. Full acceptance is a conscious and considerate attitude towards another. It is necessary to take everything as it is not with the mind, but with the soul. The mind is constantly evaluating and analyzing, and the soul is the eye of the Lord himself.

Humility and patience are very close concepts, but they still have different interpretations.

What is patience?

Throughout his life, a person has to experience not only joyful experiences. Difficulties also come into his life, which must first be reconciled. It is not always possible to overcome these difficulties in a short time. This is what patience is needed for. Humility and patience are the true virtues that the Lord himself endows a person with. It is sometimes said that patience is necessary in order to contain negativity. But it's not right. A patient person does not hold back anything, he just accepts everything calmly and even in the most difficult situations maintains clarity of mind.

True patience was shown by Jesus Christ himself. Also Christ the Savior is a real example of true humility. For a higher purpose, He endured persecution and even crucifixion. Did he ever get angry, did he wish evil on anyone? No. Likewise, a person who follows the commandments of the Lord must resignedly endure all the difficulties in his life.

How is patience related to humility?

What is humility and patience has been described above. Are these two concepts related? There is an inextricable link between patience and humility. Their essence is the same. A person is in peace and inside he also feels peace and tranquility. This is not an external manifestation, but an internal one. It happens that outwardly a person seems calm and satisfied, but inside him resentment, discontent and anger are raging. In this case, we are not talking about any humility and patience. Rather, it is hypocrisy. A humble and patient person cannot be hindered by anything. Such a person overcomes even the greatest difficulties easily. Like two bird wings, humility and patience are linked. Without a humble state, difficulties cannot be endured.

Internal and external signs of humility

Best of all, the concept of "humility" is revealed in the writings of the Monk Isaac the Syrian. It is not easy to distinguish between the outer and inner aspects of humility. Since some follow from others. It all starts with inner life, peace within. External actions are only a reflection of the internal state. Of course, a lot of hypocrisy can be seen today. When outwardly a person seems calm, but inside he has raging passions. This is not about humility.

Internal Signs of Humility

1. Meekness.
2. Composure.
3. Mercy.
4. Chastity.
5. Obedience.
6. Patience.
7. Fearlessness.
8. Shyness.
9. Awe.
10. Inner peace.

The last point is considered the main sign of humility. Inner peace is expressed in the fact that a person has no fear of everyday difficulties, but there is confidence in God's grace, which will always protect him. A humble person does not know haste, confusion and confused thoughts. There is always peace within him. And even if the sky falls to earth, a humble person will not even be afraid.

An important sign of inner humility can be called the voice of a person's conscience, which tells him that the Lord and other people are not to blame for the failures and difficulties encountered on the path of life. When a person first of all makes claims to himself - this is real humility. Blaming others for your failures or even worse than the Lord is the highest degree of ignorance and hardness of heart.

Outward signs of humility

1. A truly humble person has no interest in various worldly comforts and amusements.
2. He seeks to quickly leave the noisy, bustling place.
3. A humble person is not interested in being in crowded places, at meetings, rallies, concerts and other public events.
4. Solitude and silence are the main signs of humility. Such a person never enters into disputes and conflicts, does not throw unnecessary words and does not enter into meaningless conversations.
5. Has no external wealth and large property.
6. Real humility is manifested in the fact that a person never talks about him or flaunts his position. He hides his wisdom from the whole world.
7. Simple speech, sublime thinking.
8. Does not notice the shortcomings of other people, but always sees the merits of everyone.
9. He is not inclined to listen to what his soul does not want.
10. Resignedly endures resentment and humiliation.

A humble person does not compare himself to anyone, but considers everyone to be better than himself.

Unlike children who talk about themselves all the time, adults are able to look humble thanks to their learned manners. But all this is often only external, while our heart is occupied by its own ego. How to ensure that our words about humility are not an empty phrase - this is the reflections of Archimandrite Andrey (Konanos).

Young children are more spontaneous. They say what they feel. And in elementary school they always write: “I, I ... I, mom and dad went to rest. I have a car! " And the teacher corrects their compositions with a red pen: "Do not constantly write" I, I ... "

On the other hand, moms and dads, being sure that their child – the best, they often say: "My son (or daughter) is the best!" They believe that their child is the most capable of both in the classroom and in the gym, and if the child is playing music, they will certainly say: “The piano teacher noted that my daughter is the best! I see!"

All parents say so. They inspire their child from childhood that he is the best, because if you do not be the best, then you can easily become the worst! This is how our selfishness is cultivated.

When the writer Nikos Kazandakis arrived on Mount Athos, he met there with one ascetic - Father Macarius (Spileot), who lived in a cave. At the end of the conversation, Father Macarius told him:

- Wake up before it's too late! Your selfishness is huge, your "I" will eat you!

Kazandakis answered him:

“Don't blame the ego, father! The ego has separated man from the animal.

And the ascetic answered:

- You're wrong. The ego has separated man from God. When a person lived in paradise, he was humble and was with God. God loved him, and man felt his oneness with the Lord. But as soon as a person said the word "I!", He separated from God and fled from Him. Escaped from paradise, fled from myself, fled from everyone.

Only in one case can we (and should) remember about our “I” - when we blame ourselves. Then we can say, “Yes, I am to blame. It was I who sinned, I was wrong, I did it of my own accord! " In this case, yes, but, unfortunately, this is the very case when we do not say "I".

There is even such a magazine - "Ego". And there psychoanalysts write that when a person is going to some event or party, then during the gathering (choosing a perfume, etc.), this word is clearly indicated in his soul - "I". How I am look what I am I will give the impression that both to me will say how appreciated my appearance, my clothes, my perfume ... The ego is constantly present in modern entertainment. A person constantly thinks about his "I", because he has placed him at the center of his life.

But in this way we are very far from the Truth! The Lord teaches us that even if a person fulfills all His commandments, he must still speak of himself as an obscene servant of God. And we often begin to consider ourselves great and important persons at the very beginning of the spiritual path, when nothing has been done yet.

Humility is not sadness, not longing. Some understand humility in this way - that it is some kind of depression, when a person feels weak, offended, sick introvert. This is not true. Humility is abiding in Truth, in truth. It means that a person knows who he is, knows his place in this world, recognizes his weakness and thanks God for all the benefits that He gives him, despite his weaknesses. Humility means living in truth, not in the deception that modern life creates around us.

I listened to a recording in which Elder Jacob (Tsalikis) reads incantatory prayers over one woman, and the voice of an evil spirit was clearly heard there. Of course, it is better not to listen to such things, but it happened, and this is what the demon said to the elder:

“Since you’re a saint, why don’t you talk about it?” Say you are a saint! Since you yourself know this and you managed to defeat me, tell me!

And it was heard how the elder Jacob humbly and firmly answered:

- You are lying! I am dust and ashes, and I worship the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit - the Trinity, Consubstantial and Indivisible!

You should have heard the demon screaming and screaming! And I thought about what we already know: the devil's most important goal is to make us selfish. He really wants us to become selfish and begin to consider ourselves important persons - while the Lord wants us to be humble and show this humility in our lives.

Humility is when a person accepts dishonor with joy, overwhelmed sorrows and difficulties - with open arms, with the thought that in this way the soul is healed from sins and diseases. When difficulties come and we are forced to humble ourselves, we need to remember this - that God cleanses our soul from past or present sins, or protects us from what may happen in the future.

One woman had an abortion and confessed this sin. But confession is not enough in this case. It is not enough to talk about sin. You need to humble yourself and repent of what you have done.

Humility is action, not words. Words taste sweet. The soul can be moved and moved by words, words give a feeling of sweetness. And the matter of humility tastes very bitter and pungent. It’s like this: hearing about humility is sweet, but doing it is bitter. And Father George (Karslidis), a famous confessor in Northern Greece, said to this woman who had an abortion (and she was a very beautiful, wealthy aristocrat):

- Here's what you have to do. You will dress in rags, you will not tell anyone who you are, and you will go to such and such a village. And for a whole week you will beg there for alms, not telling anyone about your past and present. You won't even mention your name. This humiliation will help your soul to truly humble itself and cleanse itself of the evil that you caused to another soul, your child, who died before being born.

The woman did everything and after that she felt what she did not feel during the confession - relief. And she was healed of her sin.

When we first embark on the path of humility, the first temptation that comes to us is vanity. As soon as you want to be humble, conceited thoughts immediately begin to appear in your head. What is vanity? This is when a person does a good deed, and secretly begins to be proud of it. For example, I fast, and then a thought comes to me, and I begin to think: “Well done! Since I'm fasting, I'm not like the others! I'm different, I'm better! "

Or, for example, you can dress modestly (which is good in itself), but vain thoughts about this appear, and arrogance and complacency follow them. And the person begins to think: “Do you see what's going on around? The world is dying, everyone dresses provocatively, and you are not like that. Well done!" This "Well done!", Which we say to ourselves after every good deed, is vanity. This is a temptation that we will always face when doing a good deed, because every time something inflates in us from within, and thoughts appear: “Well done! I did it in secret! " But the word "Well done!" said, and thus we are already proud. Least of all is it like humility.

Humility implies a desire to learn. When a person has humility, he does not say: "I know everything!" He asks questions - to his spouse, spouse, or even his child. At one time this made an impression on Saint John Climacus, when in one monastery he saw gray-haired elders asking questions to the priest who confessed them (and the priest was forty years old). These were elders, monks, tempered in prayer and spiritual warfare, and they humbly asked questions to a person younger than themselves.

And this happens today. On Athos there are abbots who are younger than many of the monks in the monastery. And such an abbot, in spite of his rank, goes to the elders and asks them for advice in order to humble himself, and not act at his own discretion. It is good for the soul.

We will not say: “I know everything! Don't tell me what to do! " After all, such an attitude is transmitted to all family members, to everyone around.

However, there are times when a Christian has the right to be indignant about what happened and thus demonstrate "selfishness" without harm to the soul. What are these cases? When it is necessary to stand up for the Orthodox faith, we not only can, but must also be categorical and strict. And this will not be selfishness, but a confession of faith. When they brought false accusations against Saint Agathon, they slandered him, he accepted everything. And he was called a sinner, a liar, an egoist ... But when he was called a heretic, he replied:

- Listen! With regard to all that you have told me before, I have hope to improve. But if I agree that I am a heretic, then I will lose hope of salvation! If I am a heretic, then I cannot be saved. Therefore, I disagree with your words.

The Holy Fathers explain the behavior of the Lord in the Jerusalem Temple in this way. Taking the whip and driving out the buyers and sellers, He did not feel anger at that moment. He was not angry with anyone and was in complete control of His behavior and actions. He turned over the benches, scattered the money, but when he was in front of the cages with pigeons, which were intended for sacrifice, he said: "Take this from here!" (John 2:16)

That is, if Christ had lost control over Himself, He would have overturned the cages with birds. And since the pigeons were innocent, He did not harm them. This is what the interpreters of the gospel speak about. Therefore, the Lord was not in a nervous state. He did all this not out of selfishness, but out of love - true love for the Law of God, wishing to protect the Temple. And a Christian who wants to become humble cannot be angry, cannot argue.

One novice of Elder Paisius (Svyatogorets) said:

- Whatever sins we confessed to Father Paisius, he accepted our confession with great humility, love, philanthropy, and told us: “Well, you are a man too. Nothing, we'll fix it! " And he never swore. Only in one case he was very upset - when we began to argue proudly, thereby showing our egoism. Only then did he say: "Now, my child, I cannot help you." When we behaved like this, his soul suffered. Because there was selfishness in our behavior. Sin is a property of man, and egoism is a property of the devil.

A humble person easily corrects his mistakes. And it's easy for him to help. I don’t know if you have asked yourself this question - why confession doesn’t change us. Unfortunately, I see it in myself, and in other people as well. We go to confession, but after it we do not really improve - at least, enough to say: "Over the past five years, I have changed a lot."

Why aren't we changing? Because we have no humility. We don't let other people shape our character. For example, a person is told: "From this day on you must fast!" And here humility is needed to answer: "Yes, I will fast, I will not eat meat." And the person instead says: “Wait a minute, are you telling me whether I should fast or not? And also - what time do I have to get up to go to church, to do this or that? .. ”The egoist does not allow anyone to control him, but nevertheless he is controlled by his own passions. And he cannot receive guidance and education from the hands of the Church.

One of the psalms says that “in our humility the Lord remembered us ... and delivered us from our enemies” (Ps. 135: 23-24). And the holy fathers add: He also delivered us from passions, impurities and infirmities. When God sees a humble person, He delivers him from all temptation. Humble people do not try to comprehend the Divine Truth, but simply live in It. They have simple thoughts - they think like children. And in a person who expresses his thoughts in a confused manner, reasoning in confusion, the soul is humbled, as a rule, with difficulty.

Some people, coming to the elder, begin to ask him strange questions. But the questions testify to the spiritual development of a person. And so, for example, when humble people came to Elder Porfiry, they asked him questions about salvation. Others, whose souls were filled with selfishness, asked whether to buy a motorcycle, whether their daughter would get married in the near future, etc. Someone even asked the elder to pray for winning the lottery. That is, people asked about what was not essential for their salvation.

Instead of looking into oneself, the egoist looks at others. And he also carefully calculates when the Antichrist will come, what numbers he will have, etc., etc. - instead of looking after your own soul. And what in ancient times did people ask the elders? The Patericon often tells how a person comes to an elder and says to him:

- Father, tell me how you can be saved! Tell me what you need to do to be saved, to love Christ, to overcome your weaknesses and passions!

We must ask these questions to ourselves, to our confessor, and to holy people (if such an opportunity arises). These questions do not contain simple curiosity, which hides a selfish desire to do anything, but not yourself. What I am talking about now is not abstract.

When the disciples asked Christ: “ Lord, are there really few who are saved?"(Luke 13:23), He did not answer this question directly, but said:" Strive to enter through the narrow gate"(Luke 13:24). Remember? That is, He was asked one thing, and He answered another. They asked how many people would be saved, and He replied: “Try to strive - that's what concerns you. And how many people will be saved - this does not concern you. " In this way, the Lord brings us back to earth, to humility.

He said the same thing to the apostle Peter. After the Resurrection, the Lord told him: “ Follow me"(John 21:19). And he began to ask Christ about St. John the Theologian, what will happen to him ("Lord, what is he?") (John 21:21). What did the Lord answer? " What do you care? You follow me"(John 21:22). That is, what will happen to John, his way of life, is Mine and his business. Look at yourself. By helping yourself, you will help others too.

And this is not selfishness. This is the only responsibility that we bear for developing our own soul in order to turn it to repentance and humility. As St. John of the Ladder says, the Lord will not condemn us for the fact that we were not theologians; or that they did not perform miracles; or that they were not preachers who converted whole tribes and nations to God. The Lord will condemn us for the fact that there was no humility in us, there was no repentance and contrition for our souls.

Translated by Elizaveta Terentyeva