Orthodoxy. How historical myths appeared

Christianity is one of the world religions along with Buddhism and Judaism. Behind thousand-year history it underwent changes that led to branches from a single religion. The main ones are Orthodoxy, Protestantism and Catholicism. Christianity also has other movements, but usually they are classified as sectarian and are condemned by representatives of generally recognized movements.

Differences between Orthodoxy and Christianity

What is the difference between these two concepts? Everything is very simple. All Orthodox are Christians, but not all Christians are Orthodox. Followers, united by the confession of this world religion, are divided by belonging to a separate direction, one of which is Orthodoxy. To understand how Orthodoxy differs from Christianity, you need to turn to the history of the emergence of world religion.

Origins of religions

It is believed that Christianity arose in the 1st century. from the birth of Christ in Palestine, although some sources claim that it became known two centuries earlier. People who preached the faith were waiting for God to come to earth. The doctrine absorbed the foundations of Judaism and philosophical trends of that time; it was greatly influenced by the political situation.

The spread of this religion was greatly facilitated by the preaching of the apostles, especially Paul. Many pagans were converted to the new faith, and this process continued for a long time. IN currently Christianity has the most a large number of followers compared to other world religions.

Orthodox Christianity began to stand out only in Rome in the 10th century. AD, and was officially approved in 1054. Although its origins can be dated back to the 1st century. from the birth of Christ. Orthodox believe that the history of their religion began immediately after the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, when the apostles preached a new creed and attracted everyone to religion large quantity of people.

By the 2nd-3rd centuries. Orthodoxy opposed Gnosticism, which rejected the authenticity of the history of the Old Testament and interpreted the New Testament in a different way that did not correspond to the generally accepted one. Confrontation was also observed in relations with the followers of the presbyter Arius, who formed a new movement - Arianism. According to their ideas, Christ did not have a divine nature and was only a mediator between God and people.

On the doctrine of the emerging Orthodoxy The Ecumenical Councils had a great influence, supported by a number of Byzantine emperors. Seven Councils, convened over five centuries, established the basic axioms subsequently accepted in modern Orthodoxy, in particular, they confirmed the divine origin of Jesus, which was disputed in a number of teachings. This strengthened the Orthodox faith and allowed more and more people to join it.

In addition to Orthodoxy and small heretical teachings, which quickly faded in the process of developing stronger trends, Catholicism emerged from Christianity. This was facilitated by the split of the Roman Empire into Western and Eastern. Huge differences in social, political and religious views led to the collapse of a single religion into the Roman Catholic and Orthodox, which at first was called Eastern Catholic. The head of the first church was the Pope, the second - the patriarch. Their mutual separation of each other from the common faith led to a split in Christianity. The process began in 1054 and ended in 1204 with the fall of Constantinople.

Although Christianity was adopted in Rus' back in 988, it was not affected by the schism process. The official division of the church occurred only several decades later, but At the baptism of Rus', Orthodox customs were immediately introduced, formed in Byzantium and borrowed from there.

Strictly speaking, the term Orthodoxy was practically never found in ancient sources; instead, the word Orthodoxy was used. According to a number of researchers, these concepts were previously given different meaning(orthodoxy meant one of the Christian directions, and Orthodoxy was almost a pagan faith). Subsequently, they began to be given a similar meaning, made synonyms and replaced one with another.

Fundamentals of Orthodoxy

Faith in Orthodoxy is the essence of all divine teaching. The Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, compiled during the convening of the Second Ecumenical Council, is the basis of the doctrine. The ban on changing any provisions in this system of dogmas has been in effect since the Fourth Council.

Based on the Creed, Orthodoxy is based on the following dogmas:

The desire to earn eternal life in heaven after death is the main goal of those who profess the religion in question. True Orthodox Christian must throughout his life follow the commandments handed down to Moses and confirmed by Christ. According to them, you need to be kind and merciful, love God and your neighbors. The commandments indicate that all hardships and hardships must be endured resignedly and even joyfully; despondency is one of the deadly sins.

Differences from other Christian denominations

Compare Orthodoxy with Christianity possible by comparing its main directions. They are closely related to each other, since they are united in one world religion. However, there are huge differences between them on a number of issues:

Thus, the differences between directions are not always controversial nature. There are more similarities between Catholicism and Protestantism, since the latter emerged as a result of the schism of the Roman Catholic Church in the 16th century. If desired, the currents could be reconciled. But this has not happened for many years and is not expected in the future.

Attitudes towards other religions

Orthodoxy is tolerant of confessors of other religions. However, without condemning and peacefully coexisting with them, this movement recognizes them as heretical. It is believed that of all religions, only one is true; its confession leads to the inheritance of the Kingdom of God. This dogma is contained in the very name of the movement, indicating that this religion is correct and opposite to other movements. Nevertheless, Orthodoxy recognizes that Catholics and Protestants are also not deprived of the grace of God, since, although they glorify Him differently, the essence of their faith is the same.

By comparison, Catholics consider the only possibility of salvation to be the practice of their religion, while others, including Orthodoxy, are false. The task of this church is to convince all dissenters. The Pope is the head christian church, although in Orthodoxy this thesis is refuted.

The support of the Orthodox Church by secular authorities and their close cooperation led to an increase in the number of followers of the religion and its development. In a number of countries, Orthodoxy is practiced by the majority of the population. These include:

A large number of temples are being built in these countries, Sunday schools, in secular educational institutions Subjects dedicated to the study of Orthodoxy are introduced. Popularization also has a downside: often people who consider themselves Orthodox have a superficial attitude towards performing rituals and do not comply with the prescribed moral principles.

You can perform rituals and treat shrines differently, have different views on the purpose of your own stay on earth, but ultimately, everyone who professes Christianity, united by faith in one God. The concept of Christianity is not identical to Orthodoxy, but includes it. Maintain moral principles and be sincere in your relationships with By Higher Powers- the basis of any religion.

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

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

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

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

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

Substitution of concepts

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

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

Ortodoxy) is a Christian doctrine that developed in Byzantium as the Eastern Christian Church, in contrast to Catholicism that arose in the West. Historically, P. arose in 395 - with the division of the Roman Empire into Western and Eastern. Its theological foundations were determined in the 9th-11th centuries. in Byzantium. It finally emerged as an independent church in 1034 with the beginning of the division of the Christian Church into Catholic and Orthodox. It has existed in Rus' since the end of the 10th century. Since 1448 - Russian Orthodox Church.

Excellent definition

Incomplete definition ↓

ORTHODOXY

tracing paper from Greek orthodoxia, lit. “correct judgment”) is the most ancient movement in Christianity, which took shape in the east of the Roman Empire during the first millennium AD. e. under the leadership and with the leading role of the department of the Bishop of Constantinople - New Rome, which professes the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, the dogmas of the Seven Ecumenical Councils and the patristic tradition.

Goes back to the first Christian community, founded by Jesus Christ himself and consisting of the apostles. Orthodoxy, like Catholicism, which fell away from it at the turn of the first and second millennia, recognizes the Holy Scriptures (the Bible, which includes the Old and New Testaments) And Sacred Tradition, which represents living history the first centuries of the church: the works of the holy fathers and the decisions adopted by the seven Ecumenical Councils.

The Creed states:

1. Faith in God the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth.

2. Faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, born of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, crucified and risen and coming to judge both the living and the dead in the Kingdom of Heaven, which will have no end.

3. Faith in the Holy Spirit, who comes from God the Father, works miracles, and is sent to the prophets.

1. Faith in the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, created by Christ himself.

2. I believe in the resurrection of all the dead to eternal life.

The Creed was adopted at the Ecumenical Council in Nicaea in 325 AD. e. The most important dogmas of Orthodoxy also affirm the single divine nature of all three persons of God (the Holy Trinity) and, conversely, the difference between the two natures (divine and human) in the one person of Jesus Christ. Various deviations from these dogmas (namely: the assertion that God has “one person and three natures” or that Christ was “only God” or “only man” and many others) are recognized by Orthodoxy as heresies.

The contradictions between the Roman See and the See of Constantinople had been brewing for a long time, but resulted in open conflict during the reign of the bishop in Rome, Pope Nicholas. He, dissatisfied with the fact that in the Slavic countries of Moravia and Bulgaria, with the blessing of the Patriarch of Constantinople Photius, the word of God was preached in the language of the local population by the brothers Cyril and Methodius, expelled the priests from there Eastern Church and even declared the sacraments they performed, including baptism, invalid.

In 867, the patriarch convened a council in Constantinople, in which 3 bishops of the Western Church participated. This council, recognizing Pope Nicholas as unworthy of the episcopal title, excommunicated him from church communion. And then Photius wrote a letter to other eastern patriarchs - Antioch, Jerusalem and Alexandria, in which he drew their attention to the violations in the canons committed by the Western Church Christian faith. The main thing was the addition of the word “filioque” to the 8th member of the Creed, which formally meant the recognition that the Holy Spirit also comes from the Son.

When the Roman pontiffs began to claim leadership in the Universal Church, they turned the “filioque” into a dogma. The unity of churches was also not helped by the fact that in the Western world celibacy of priests and fasting on Saturday were established, which was originally apostolic church Orthodox Christians were rejected. In addition, the Orthodox deny the dogma of the “infallibility of the Pope” and his supremacy over all Christians, deny the dogma of purgatory, and recognize the rights of secular authorities (the concept of a symphony of spiritual and secular authorities).

In Catholicism, unlike Orthodoxy, there is a dogma about immaculate conception Virgin Mary.

A complete split between Orthodoxy and Catholicism occurred in 1054.

In contrast to what arose in the 16th century. Protestantism, Orthodoxy recognizes the possibility of depicting God and the saints, since Christ himself revealed the image of God by becoming incarnate (Judaism and Islam do not recognize the possibility of depicting), prayers for the dead, prayers to the Virgin Mary and the Saints, as well as monasticism, fasting, faith in saints, necessity infant baptism.

There is still no single center of government in Orthodoxy; the last Ecumenical Council took place in the 8th century.

All autocephalous Orthodox churches are characterized by a hierarchical principle of governance, providing not only for the unconditional subordination of the lower clergy to the higher, but the division of the clergy into the “white” clergy (priests and deacons, who had to be married) and the “black” monastic class, from which senior officials come out Orthodox Church, starting with the bishops.

Orthodoxy, in contrast to heterodox faiths, is characterized by special attention to the design of the place of worship and diligent observance of the ritual of worship. The Orthodox Church recognizes 7 sacraments - baptism, confirmation, communion, repentance (confession), wedding, ordination to the priesthood, unction (unction is a rite performed on the sick). Orthodox Christians attach considerable importance to the rituals of funeral services for the dead and their burial.

There are several autocephalous (independent, autonomous) Orthodox churches in the world, the largest of which is the Russian Orthodox Church (more than 150 million people). The oldest are the Constantinople (about 6 million people), Antioch (more than 2 million people), Jerusalem (about 200 thousand people) and Alexandria (about 5 million people) Orthodox churches. A considerable amount Other Orthodox churches also have parishioners - Hellas (Greek - about 8 million people), Cyprus (more than 600 thousand people), Serbian (more than 8.5 million people), Romanian (about 18.8 million people), Bulgarian (about 6.6 million people), Georgian (more than 3.7 million people), Albanian (about 600 thousand people), Polish (509.1 thousand people), Czechoslovakian (73.4 thousand) people) and American (about 1 million people).

Orthodoxy has traditionally been in unbreakable relationship with Russian statehood. Became the Baptist of Rus' Kyiv prince Vladimir Svyatoslavovich, canonized for this and received the title of Equal-to-the-Apostles. Latins and Muslims, Jews and Orthodox Greeks offered their faith to the prince. After much deliberation, in 988 Vladimir chose the Byzantine baptismal font for the Russian people.

Historical circumstances of adoption Eastern Slavs Orthodoxy were unique: by that time, the thousand-year-old Holy Catholic Apostolic Orthodox Church had accumulated colossal spiritual experience and absorbed cultural traditions many peoples of antiquity, including Hellenic culture.

The situation was favorable geopolitical situation: neighboring states - Byzantium, South Slavic countries were also Orthodox, there was Slavic writing And literary language, as well as the most advanced at that time in Christendom Byzantine aesthetics.

For the Russian state, the Church turned out to be not only a builder, but also a source of spiritual power. It was she who saved our country during the years of the most terrible upheavals and unrest. Thus, in 1380, St. Sergius of Radonezh blessed Prince Dmitry Donskoy for the Battle of Kulikovo.

After liberation from the Tatar-Mongol yoke Orthodox religion becomes state ideology. It was then that it became clear that Rus' would forever remain in Orthodoxy. She did not follow her leader, Byzantium, either, rejecting the Union of Florence, which united the Catholic and Orthodox churches.

In 1441 Grand Duke Vasily II expelled Metropolitan Isidore, who signed it, from the country, and since then the Russian Church has become autocephalous. According to the historian S. Solovyov, this was “one of those great decisions that determine the fate of peoples for many centuries to come. Loyalty to ancient piety made it impossible for the Polish prince to ascend the Moscow throne and brought about the union Little Russia with the Great, stipulated the power of Russia.”

After the capture of Constantinople, the residence of the Ecumenical Patriarch, by the Turks in 1453, Moscow inherited his throne and the Byzantine spiritual heritage.

During the reign of Ivan III, the Pskov monk Philotheus formulated the famous formula about Moscow as the “third Rome.” On January 26, 1589, the enthronement of the first Patriarch of Moscow, Job, took place in the Assumption Cathedral. The newly formed Russian Patriarchate became the largest patriarchate of Orthodoxy.

Mid-17th century was marked by one of the most dramatic events in the history of Orthodoxy - a split into supporters of national (Old Believers) and universal (Nikonians) Orthodoxy. Among the latter was Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. In 1652, Nikon became Moscow Patriarch; he publicly taught about the “fallibility of the Russian Church” and the need for its “correction” according to Greek models. In particular, Nikon prescribed replacing traditional bows to the ground with waist bows, making the sign of the cross with three fingers rather than two, writing not “Isus” but “Iesus”, religious processions should be carried out in the opposite direction (against the sun), and the exclamation “Hallelujah” during the service became say it not twice, but three times. All these innovations, consistent with Greek practice, were in conflict with the decrees of the Stoglavy Council (1551).

The majority of the Russian Church, including clergy and even bishops, objected to the reform of worship, but they quickly lost the ability to resist. In 1654, Nikon organized a council, at which he sought permission to hold a “book council.” In 1656, in the Assumption Cathedral, an anathema was solemnly proclaimed against those who cross themselves with two fingers.

Part of the hierarchy, led by Archpriest Avvakum, led the movement for the old faith (Old Believers). Subsequently, their followers began to be called schismatics and persecuted. Until the end of the 17th century. The Orthodox Church was the leading link in political system Russian society.

With the accession of Peter I to the throne, the situation began to change: the state was no longer going to share its role with the church. After the death of Patriarch Adrian (1700), a new patriarch was not elected. Peter I instructed Bishop Feofan Prokopovich of Pskov to prepare the Spiritual Regulations, which established the Synod and, in essence, turned the clergy into officials serving in the spiritual department. The formal head of the Russian Orthodox Church was the chief prosecutor - a secular official. The emperor himself united in himself the highest state and religious power in the country.

For 1721–1917 marks the synodal period of the Russian Orthodox Church. After February Revolution happened significant event- Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Tikhon was elected. However, after the October Revolution, the Bolshevik leaders drew up one of the first documents of the young republic - the Decree on Freedom of Conscience, the first paragraph of which prescribed the separation of Church and state. Thus began perhaps the most difficult period in the history of Russian Orthodoxy.

"Popovshchina" was recognized the most dangerous enemy new ideology. On the orders of V. Lenin and L. Trotsky, churches were blown up, church property was nationalized, and its ministers were killed on suspicion of organizing anti-Soviet riots. “We must suppress the resistance of the clergy with such cruelty that they will not forget this for several decades,” wrote V. Lenin in 1922.

In 1920, the Russian Orthodox Church abroad separated from the Church in the Fatherland. Organized by emigrants who fled abroad from the Bolsheviks, the ROCOR distanced itself from the Moscow Patriarchate in order to speak freely about the persecution of the Church in the USSR, which the hierarchs who remained in Soviet Russia, of course, they couldn’t do it. In turn, many of those who were unable or unwilling to leave their homeland, when some of the parishes began to be cared for by pastors in New York, developed a feeling of mistrust towards their overseas brethren as deserters.

During the years of struggle against religion in the USSR, more than one generation of atheists grew up. However, even before World War II, the population census showed that about two-thirds of the country's population considered themselves to be Orthodox.

During the war years, there was a long-awaited softening of the state's position regarding religion - primarily Orthodoxy. In dire need of maintaining the patriotic spirit, the Soviet government was forced to move to cooperation with the Church. In 1943, on the personal instructions of I. Stalin, the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' was elected, the Synod was restored, the restoration of churches began, the opening of theological schools, and the Council for the Affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church was created for communication between the government and the Church. Stalin lobbied for an Ecumenical Council to be held in Moscow, which would transfer the title of “Ecumenical Patriarch” from the Patriarch of Constantinople to the Moscow Patriarch.

During the time of N. Khrushchev, the senseless persecution of the Orthodox Church resumed, which was largely caused by the apparatus struggle against the “Stalinist” team in the CPSU Central Committee. In October 1958, the Central Committee adopted a resolution to launch a propaganda and administrative offensive against “religious relics.” One of the results was the massive closure (and destruction!) of churches and the abolition of monasteries. Of the 63 monasteries operating in 1958, only 44 remained in 1959, and only 18 in 1964.

The first steps towards restoring the role of the Russian Orthodox Church in society began during the period of perestroika. In 1988, the celebration of the 1000th anniversary of the baptism of Rus' took place. Church holidays were gradually legalized at the official level.

Today the Russian Orthodox Church has great influence both on public consciousness, and on public policy.

On May 17, 2007, in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow, the signing of the act of canonical unity of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad took place. It was signed by the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy II, and the head of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, Metropolitan Laurus. The two parts of the Russian Church again became one.

After the death of Alexy II on December 5, 2008, the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church on January 27, 2009 elected Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad (Vladimir Mikhailovich Gundyaev, born 1946) as Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'.

Excellent definition

Incomplete definition ↓

Correctly solve the question: “Why were we created? what should we strive for? - means to know the meaning of life. Unfortunately, some people do not ask such a fundamental question at all, but live as long as they live, eat in order to exist and exist in order to eat, and as whimsically as possible, in order to spend their days as carefree and cheerfully as possible: “live, They tell themselves, don’t worry, it won’t be a loss if you die!”... The life of such people in its value is not much different from the existence of four-legged animals. The menacing word of God applies to such careless people: “Woe to you who are now sated! Woe to you who laugh now!”... (Luke 6:25).

But there are other people who, understanding the baseness of animal existence and realizing the comparative value of intense feat (“I want to live so that I can think and suffer!”), still do not see anything beyond the grave, seek and do not find the highest meaning of existence, come to despair and perish under the weight of life... And this happens because they all the time proudly want to bear only with their own strength and strive to know the meaning of existence apart from the Creator of the universe. They are like those travelers who, walking through a waterless desert and dying of thirst, waste their energy in pursuit of deceptive mirages (ghosts) and pass by rocks with hundreds of times. living water... This rock or Stone is Christ (1 Cor. 10:4), Whom such builders of life despise, but Who speaks aloud to all, truth seekers and spiritual powers, to all who thirst for the highest meaning of existence: “if anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink” (John 7:37).

When creating man, the Lord God said: “Let us create man in Our image and in Our likeness” (Gen. 1:26). In the image and likeness of God, which are in the human soul, lies the whole meaning of our life, its highest goal: in our own image and likeness we must strive for the Prototype, that is, for God, in order to become more and more like Him and in unity find your bliss with the Lord; in short, the goal of human existence is “likeness to God.” This purpose of man is clearly stated in Old Testament: “Be holy, for I am holy” (Lev. 11:44; 19:2; 20:7), and in the New: “Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). “That they all may be one: just as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, so may they also be one in Us” (John 18:21).

Such blissful unity and likeness to God was achieved in paradise by the forefathers through obedience to the commandment of God (Gen. 2:16).

It is worthy of note that the strength of the temptation of the devil and sinful blindness lay in the fact that the devil promised the first parents the likeness to God that they already had (“you will be like gods” (Gen. 3:5), but only through the transgression of God’s commandment. So it is now “all the days” the devil tempts and destroys the souls of people by inclining people to find the meaning of existence and to build their lives apart from God, through the transgression of His law; but he tempts the body various types gluttony (Gen. 3:6). But if the devil tempts people, plunges them into sin and destruction, then the Lord Jesus Christ saves sinners (Matt. 9:13; Luke 5:32:1; Tim. 1:15), indicates the true path of life, gives the highest satisfaction to everyone powers of man: “I am the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:5). The Lord Jesus Christ the Savior is the “way”, therefore, only through Him will we understand the meaning of existence, through Him will we achieve salvation; He is the “truth”, therefore, only through Him will we be enlightened and achieve wisdom; He is “life”, therefore, through Him we will only achieve bliss, peace of soul, since without Him, like without the sun (Mal. 4:2), there is no life, spiritual joy, but only darkness and mortal darkness (Matthew 4, 16): He is “the light of the world” (John 8:12).

How is salvation achieved through the Lord Jesus Christ? By imitation of Him, by following Him (Matthew 10:38), by drawing closer to Him: through all this the soul receives true life, its spiritual food and drink, complete satisfaction (John 6:35). In other words, our salvation lies in “becoming like God,” and becoming like God is in walking the path of Christ, i.e. in fulfilling the law of the Gospel (Matthew 19:17), in fulfilling the will of the Heavenly Father (Matthew 12:50; John 15:10). Likeness to God cannot be understood in such a way that a person can ever become like God (this is unreasonable), but in such a way that a person, to the best of his ability, by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, must always strive to become like God, and indeed comes closer and closer to the image of God : in this eternal striving for Light, in the eternal approach to God lies the secret of the endless heavenly bliss of all the saved. Millions of millions of years will pass, those saved in paradise with each moment will achieve greater and greater likeness to God and bliss and yet, as in the beginning, they will never see its limits, because there is no longer time beyond the grave, the perfections of God are limitless and the Lord Himself blessed souls will appear as the never-quenchable Sun, exuding unceasing light and bliss forever and ever (Rev. 21:23).

This is the meaning and purpose of our life: they are so luminously great and beautiful that they exceed the strength and understanding of a weak person. Neither fully know true meaning we cannot achieve life or achieve salvation with our weak strength; this is impossible for man, but possible for God (Luke 18:27): “from His (Lord Jesus Christ) divine power has been given to us everything we need for life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3). His grace-filled powers are given only in His holy Church through St. Sacraments. “Without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5), i.e. to do what is truly good and beautiful. Why? Yes, because, no matter how close you plant a wild apple tree to a noble vine, it cannot bear good fruit until it is actually grafted onto the noble vine and takes its juice.

The Lord Jesus Christ is precisely the noble, fruitful Vine, and we are wild. If we are grafted into Him, then we will create beautiful and abundant fruit (John 15:4-5), being sanctified by His most pure juice, that is, His holy juice. Blood and other sacraments. True, there are quite a few fruits in the wild, sometimes beautiful, but only for one type: in fact, these fruits are bitter, strong and unfit for consumption. So are the “good deeds” of non-believers: in appearance they seem to be good, but in reality they are full of selfishness, bitterness of doubt, etc. Thus, the Lord is “everything” for us and we are “nothing” without Him, He is our life, light, strength and joy: “You are my strength, Lord, You are my strength, You are my God, You are my joy” (4th hymn of the resurrection canon, 8th chapter).

What do the mentioned organizers of life without Christ say to justify themselves? They say a lot, but most of all, that Christianity is behind the times and outdated. Who is saying this? Those, firstly, who have a completely false idea of ​​Christianity: they think that Christianity is nothing more or less than a doctrine, whereas it is precisely true life itself: “the words... which I speak to you are spirit and life.” (John 6:63) and Christ Himself is our life (Col. 3:4). So, if any life has lagged behind, it is, on the contrary, their life - the life of unbelievers has lagged behind the perfect life, from Christianity. We repeat, those who think that Christianity is something like philosophical teaching, Buddhism, Confucianism, etc.

Secondly, those who talk about Christianity at random and evaluate it are precisely those people who have not actually lived a Christian life and do not know it at all... Were they ever poor in spirit, or meek, or crying over sins, or hungry for justification, etc.? Nothing like this! They, ignorant of Christian life, want to measure it with their own petty yardstick, which is completely unsuitable, like beauty - in tops, or music - in pounds, forgetting that this is both unreasonable and deceitful: “ soulful person He does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, because he considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them, because they must be judged spiritually” (1 Cor. 2:14).

Only a righteous person can know and judge spiritual life - spiritual person. “The soul sees the truth of God by the power of life” (Isaac the Syrian). Carnal people, the enemies of Christianity, are mainly engaged in the fact that in daring blindness they build a “Tower of Babel” to heaven, call it “the last word of science,” supposedly overthrowing Christianity and do not want in their pride to see that their tower is falling apart and that the impartial History has already lost track of what was before." towers of babel“, and Christianity stands unshakable and will remain invincible throughout the century, despite all the militia of hell (Matthew 16:18).

After all, Christianity is nothing other than the strength of life, its justification is the beauty of life and holiness: “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, whatever is excellent, whatever is worthy of praise, think about these things.” (Phil. 4:8): So, Christianity is the light and holiness of life. How can one rebel against the truly beautiful? This is blinding. Those who do not want to understand this due to their stubbornness or pride - who claim that Christianity does not correspond to life, or is behind it, can be likened to those people who have sunk themselves into a deep dark ditch and assure others that the sun is no longer there, or that the sun has fallen behind them...

Those of them who want to be convinced of the opposite - the truth of Christianity - need to point out what was said above - namely: that the spiritual is known only through spiritual life, that the light of Christianity can only be illuminated gradually through one’s own life. personal experience a living and active member of the Church of Christ: “come and see” (John 1:46). “Taste and see that the Lord is good” (Ps. 33:9).

He who has tasted, albeit for a very short time, the sweetness of the Gospel of the Gospel will no longer desire to feed on the bitterness of unbelief, but on the contrary, sells and gives away everything he has, just to acquire one pearl precious for life - the faith of Christ (Matthew 13:46), through which we achieve the eternal salvation of the soul; and it is more valuable than all the treasures of the world (Matthew 16:20), since our soul is immortal, and the treasures of the world are all perishable and fleeting; they lose their value at the grave. Our soul will be completely satisfied only by that which does not die, that which is eternally young, that which is incorruptible... “to an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven,” we are all called (1 Peter 1:4), - young and old, wise and simple, rich and poor - everyone, everyone is obliged to seek first of all and most of all eternal salvation, the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33).

Let no one think that the Lord calls to Himself and saves only the righteous: He “came to save sinners” through repentance (1 Tim. 1:15).

Let no one think that in order to obtain salvation one must necessarily perform special feats of vigil, fasting, virginity, staying in monasteries, in deserts, etc. Special feats are the path of the elect: they are only for those who can bear them or accommodate them (Matthew 19:12).

We all the rest - ordinary people - can and must be saved in the world under ordinary living conditions: let us only do our work without laziness and with God's blessing(1 Cor. 10:31), we do not grumble about our lot, considering every blessed deed to be saving for ourselves, even if we have to darn old stockings all our lives; let us unswervingly fulfill our duty as a Christian in relation to the temple of God, confession and communion, and in relation to our neighbors “let us not do to others what we did not want to do to ourselves” (decree of the Council of the Apostles), and we will be saved by the grace of God. Let's say more than that: from the lives of the saints it is known that some worldly people, even in the marital state, achieved such spiritual perfection that the great ascetics and hermits did not achieve (see, for example, about the two daughters-in-law of Read Min. Jan. 19); why Rev. Macarius of Egypt wrote for the edification of all of us: “God does not look at whether someone is a virgin, or a spouse, a monk, or a layman, but seeks only the will of the heart for good deeds. Acquire such will, and salvation is near you, whoever you are and wherever you live.”

However, those who are able to endure special feats, or can embrace the holiness of virginity, are obliged to do this, for we are all called to the best, and not to the worst: “whoever can accommodate, let him accommodate” (Matthew 19:12), the Lord commands. The Lord bestows upon such His chosen ones the highest awards in heaven and crowns them with special honor. Thus, virgins will be numbered among the firstborn of God and the Lamb and will enjoy such bliss and sing such a wonderful song to the Lord, which no one else can learn except them (Rev. 14:34). St. were virgins. prophets Elijah and John the Baptist, St. Apostles John the Theologian, James, Paul and others. Following their example, many saints wished to remain virginity forever; and to preserve themselves from the temptations of the world, they retired to deserted places. This is where monasteries and monasticism originated. The basis of monasticism is the vows of virginity, non-covetousness and obedience.

Life according to these St. to the vows there is an angelic life, there is a constant sacrifice in which both soul and body are dedicated to God. For such self-sacrifice, a hundredfold reward is promised from the Lord: “Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or land, for My sake and the Gospel, and has not received Now in this time, in the midst of persecution, there will be a hundred times more houses, and brothers, and sisters, and fathers, and mothers, and children, and lands, and in the age to come eternal life” (Mark 10:29-30) .

To have an idea of ​​monastic vows, let’s talk about each of them separately in the words of St. Church Fathers: “virginity is such a great and wonderful thing that it surpasses all human virtues” (St. John Chrysostom).

“Virginity primarily makes the soul the bride of the Heavenly Bridegroom - Christ and the body the temple of St. Spirit" (Venerable Neil).

About the importance of non-covetousness, St. Peter of Damascus says this: “It is better for the weak to withdraw from everything, and non-covetousness is much better than alms. Whoever once distributed everything (which everyone who accepts monasticism is obliged to do), has fulfilled the duty of love and mercy to the poor more perfectly than whoever gives a small part of the entire estate, and most keeps it to himself. It is good for God’s sake to give alms, but no offering is more pleasing to God than to completely surrender your soul and will to Him.”

"Obedience better than sacrifice and more pleasing to God, for in sacrifices another’s flesh is tempered, and in obedience one’s own will is tempered” (St. Gregory the Great).

“Obedience eradicates all passions and implants every good thing, brings the Son of God to dwell in man, raises man to heaven and creates him like the Son of God, who was obedient to His Father, even to death on the cross” (Venerable Barsanuphius).

Much has been said by the Holy Fathers in defense and praise of monasticism. Anyone who wants to know in detail should read their writings, especially Basil the Great and John Chrysostom, Ephraim the Syrian, Abba Dorotheus and John Climacus, but we will take at least a little from the many.

St. Basil says: “monks are true imitators of the Savior and His life in the flesh. For just as He, having gathered the disciples, lived with them, having everything in common, so these, obeying the abbot, truly imitate the life of the Apostles and the Lord, if only they keep the rule of life.”

St. John Chrysostom, in his sermons to the people in Constantinople, not only praised monastic life, but also advised the laity to visit monasteries. Discussing the benefits of such visits, he says: “a poor person, having visited the monastery of monks, will leave the monastery with great consolation in his poverty. If a rich man visits the monks, he will return from them better and with sound ideas about things. When someone clothed with dignity comes to them, all arrogance especially disappears here. Here wolves are also turned into lambs. If the desire to lead such a wonderful life has been inflamed in anyone, then while this desire is ardent in you, go to these angels and be inflamed even more. For it is not so much my words that can ignite as my vision of the deed itself.”

One of the sermons of St. John Chrysostom on monasticism ends with the following call: “and so, go to them more often, so that, protected by their prayers and instructions from the defilements that constantly attack you, you can spend your present life as best as possible and be worthy of future blessings.”

This book was written on the basis of the Word of God, the teachings of the Holy Fathers - according to the mind of the Holy Orthodox Church with sole purpose: to promote your eternal salvation, dear reader. It was written by us on behalf of the Holy Trinity Ussuri Monastery in fulfillment of our pastoral duty (John 21:15). When the inhabitants of a house have fallen asleep, and the watchman at the house notices a fire, a fire starting, he raises the alarm, wakes up those who have fallen asleep and shouts loudly: save yourself, save yourself! The house is your mortal body, the inhabitant of the house is your soul, the fire is death, which creeps up unnoticed, followed by eternal torment for the careless; sleep is your carelessness, carelessness about your soul, and the watchman is the shepherd of the Church, obliged to wake up all the careless, unconcerned about their salvation... Woe to me if I do not preach the good news!” (1 Cor. 9:16).

So, I ask you and pray: save yourself! Do not put off the work of salvation until tomorrow, much less until old age... Start from now. “Do not hesitate to turn to the Lord and do not delay day by day” (Sirach 5:8). “Begin and do, the Lord will be with you” (1 Chron. 22:16). “Shun evil and do good” (1 Peter 3:11).

And the second request is this: if you see that this book has really benefited you, served you for good, and I, the compiler, have already found favor in your eyes, then I humbly pray: remember me in your home and church prayers.

“Pray for one another so that you may be healed” (James 5:16).

Prayer to Almighty God

Lord, save me, who is perishing! Behold, my ship is in distress from the temptation of the waves of life and is near drowning; but You, as a merciful and compassionate God of our weakness, by Your power omnipotently forbid the excitement of disasters that want to plunge me and bring me down into the depths of evil; and let there be silence, for the winds and the sea will listen to You. Amen.

Hello! Me in Lately I am tormented by the question “What is the meaning of life?”, “Why does a person live?” My thoughts do not allow me to live. I think constantly. I'm like a bundle of contradictions. Please answer my questions. Thank you very much in advance.

Hieromonk Job (Gumerov) answers:

Man has been thinking about the meaning and purpose of life since ancient times. The Greeks had a myth about Sisyphus, king of Ether (Corinth), who underground kingdom as punishment for his cunning, he had to forever roll a huge stone up the mountain: as soon as he reached the top, an invisible force rushed the stone down and the same aimless work began again. This is an impressive example of the meaninglessness of life. 20th century writer and philosopher Albert Camus applied this image to to modern man considering it absurd main feature of his existence: “In the inexorable moment when a man turns around and glances at the life he has lived, Sisyphus, returning to the stone, contemplates the incoherent sequence of actions that has become his fate. It was created by him, united into one whole by his memory and sealed by death. Convinced of the human origin of everything human, wanting to see and knowing that there will be no end to the night, the blind man continues on his way. And the stone rolls down again” (A. Camus. The Myth of Sisyphus). The conclusion he came to is inevitable for him and for millions of people who lived and live in unbelief. The only difference is that A. Camus strove to be logical to the end and was able to acutely realize that the life of a person, confined within the framework of only earthly existence, resembles Sisyphean labor. Most people try to live by illusions and find meaning in earthly life. But in the world of finite realities it is impossible to find it. Mathematicians know that any finite number divided by infinity is an infinitesimal quantity, i.e. its limit equal to zero. That is why the attempts of non-believers to explain the meaning of their lives are so naive. Some claim that they value life with its joys, and are completely satisfied with this. But earthly life disappears like water into sand, and nothing remains of joy. And if in a few decades everything disappears, can such a life have meaning? Others say that they see their purpose in leaving a mark on the earth with their deeds. Usually one hears such explanations from people who are not involved in serious creativity and do not leave a real trace. The outstanding creators themselves, with all their passion for their work, well understood and understand the incompleteness and limits of this activity. The great mathematician and physicist Blaise Pascal (1623 - 1662) two years before his death wrote to the mathematics of P. Fermat that he sees mathematics as nothing more than a craft. The real goal human existence, in his opinion, only true religion can reveal: “To make a person happy, it must show him that there is a God, that we are obliged to love Him, that our true good is to abide in Him and our only misfortune is to be separated from Him; that we are full of darkness that prevents us from knowing and loving Him, and that, therefore, we are completely wrong in not fulfilling our duty of love to God, but in submitting to the desires of the flesh. It [true religion] must explain to us the reason why we oppose God and our own good; show us the remedies for these infirmities and thus acquire these remedies. Test all the religions of the world in this regard, and you will not find one, except the Christian, that would satisfy these requirements” (Thoughts on Religion). In our age, everything remains the same. People who have a healthy moral sense, having achieved even the most outstanding results in creativity, perceive this as main goal they cannot live. Let me give you an example. Academician Sergei Pavlovich Korolev (1906 - 1966), being the general director of our space program, could not be satisfied with this, but thought about salvation, i.e. saw the meaning of his life beyond earthly life. In those years when the faith was persecuted, he found the opportunity to have a confessor, go on pilgrimages to the Pyukhtitsa Assumption Monastery, and show generous charity. There are stories about this wonderful person nun Siluana (Nadezhda Andreevna Soboleva): “I was in charge of the hotel at that time. One day a representative man in a leather jacket came to us. I gave him a room. She spoke to him kindly and brought him food - the same potatoes with mushroom gravy. He lived for two days, and I saw that he was becoming more and more amazed. Finally, we started talking. He said that he never expected to see such poverty here, even poverty... “I really want to help your monastery, my heart is breaking. When I saw how you live. I have very little money with me now, and I managed to get here by some miracle - I need to go back to work and I don’t know if I can come to you soon.” He left me his address and phone number and said that if I was in Moscow, I would definitely stop by to see him. I thanked him and gave him the address of one poor priest who lived with his wife on 250 rubles a month (this is old money), saying that if you can, then help. A month later I was released to Moscow with the blessing of the abbess. I arrived and found the address he had left for me. I see a huge fence, there is a gatekeeper at the fence. He asks me: “Who are you seeing?” I said my last name. He let me through and said: “They are waiting for you.” I walk and am more and more surprised. In the depths of the courtyard there is a mansion. I called - the owner answered - the same person who came to us. How happy I was! He took me upstairs to the second floor. I go into his office and see: on the table there is an open volume of the Philokalia, in the corner there is a cabinet with open doors, behind which there are images. He invited a woman (I think his sister) to prepare everything. In my sister’s room there is a walnut case with a wonderful image of St. Nicholas. Before leaving, he gave me an envelope and said: “There are five here.” I thought it was 500 rubles, but it turned out that it was 5 thousand rubles. What a help this was for us! A lot of time has passed, and now my friend comes again - and it was Academician Korolev - we sit in my cell and drink tea. He thanks me: “You know, thanks to you, I found a true friend and shepherd: that poor priest you talked about” (Three Meetings, M., 1997, 83 -85). I cited this story in detail to show that the conversion to Orthodoxy was not some kind of episode for Academician S.P. Korolev. He lived in it and risked his high position to satisfy spiritual needs. With his colossal busy schedule, the head of the space program found time to read the Philokalia - the works of the holy fathers of a purely ascetic direction.

Not only science, but also artistic creativity cannot make sense human life. A.S. Pushkin, already considered the first poet of Russia, wrote in 1827 Three keys- a poem that expressed a painful feeling of spiritual thirst:

In the worldly steppe, sad and boundless,
Three keys mysteriously broke through:
The key of youth, the key is fast and rebellious,
It boils, runs, sparkling and murmuring.
Castalian key with a wave of inspiration
In the worldly steppe he gives water to exiles.
The last key is the cold key of oblivion,
He is the sweetest heat of the heart tolit.

The soul of the 28-year-old poet does not find complete satisfaction in the joys of life, which boils, runs, sparkling and murmuring. The Kastalian spring (a spring on Mount Parnassus, near Delphi in Greece) is a symbol of poetic and musical inspiration. Water from this source also cannot satisfy a thirsty soul. For the poet, who at that time was just beginning to comprehend the vital significance and spiritual beauty of Christianity, the sweetest thing was the water from cold key of oblivion sorrows, sorrows, worldly vanity and worries. A few months before his death, A.S. Pushkin wrote: “There is a book in which every word is interpreted, explained, preached to all ends of the earth, applied to all circumstances of life and events of the world; from which it is impossible to repeat a single expression that everyone does not know by heart, which would not already be a proverb of peoples; it no longer contains anything unknown; but this book is called the Gospel, and such is its ever-new charm that if we, satiated with the world or depressed by despondency, accidentally open it, we are no longer able to resist its sweet enthusiasm and are immersed in spirit in its Divine eloquence” (PSS, L. , 1978, vol. 7, p. 322).

We have come to the answer to the question posed. The teaching about the meaning of life is contained in the Holy Gospel. The Word of God reveals to us the truth that life is precious, it more food(Matthew 6:25), preserving it is more important Saturday(Mark 3:4). The Son of God has Life from eternity (John 1:4). Jesus Christ, who died for us and rose again, is the Author of life (Acts 3:15). Only that life has true, and not illusory, meaning, which introduces us into the eternity of God and connects us with Him - the only Source of endless joys, light and blissful peace. “I am the resurrection and the life; He who believes in Me, even if he dies, will live. And everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die” (John 11:25). This entry begins on earth. The Church, as a creation of God, is the foreshadowing and beginning eternal life. New life already on earth becomes reality through faith in the One Who is the way and the truth and the life(John 14:6). The lives of the saints bear witness to this. But even one who has not risen to the level of holiness, but is only passing through his spiritual path honestly and responsibly, gradually gains inner world and knows what the meaning of his life is.

Dear Lyudmila! You need to enter into the thousand-year tradition of Christian life. You must not only believe in Christ, but also trust him in everything. Then doubts will pass and painful questions about the purpose of a person will begin to be resolved by themselves.