Isaiah Abba, St. Rules and advice for new monks. Advice for beginners - Questions for the priest Advice for new Christians

Priest Mikhail Shpolyansky

My advice to a beginner: be persistent in achieving your goal on the path to God. Don't give up after the first disappointments and failures. Even if you fall a hundred times, get up a hundred times, the saints teach. It is through falls that the path to victory leads. The Kingdom of Heaven is taken by force, and those who use force take it away (Matthew 11:12).

Many beginners are tempted by the incomprehensibility of the Church Slavonic language for them. But why then, after living church life for several years, do the same people become staunch defenders of the preservation of this liturgical language? Yes, because over time something is revealed that is not visible at first glance - the wonderful beauty and spiritual richness of this pure, spirit-bearing language created by the Holy Fathers. It is unlikely that there will be a normal person who will advocate replacing the language of poetry with the language of the office, or the language of the office with the language of the bazaar. Also, the majority of members of our Church perceive the idea of completely replacing the sacred language of worship with everyday spoken language as an unjustified simplification. And if you don’t understand everything from church prayers yet, don’t grieve. The time will come, show patience and perseverance on the path to God - and everything will fall into place, and the wisdom of Orthodox worship will shine with infinite depth and beauty.

Priest Vladimir Vigilyansky

It is very important for the neophyte to soberly assess his true place in the coordinates of eternity. To do this, many experienced church pastors advise reading the Gospel again from beginning to end and finding yourself surrounded by Christ: are you with those who persecute Him, who betray Him, judge Him and crucify Him; or maybe you are with those who follow Him, seeing Him as a prophet and teacher, but then, when you need to recognize Him as the Son of God, you leave Him; or maybe you are among the sick, the blind, the demon-possessed, the paralyzed and the bleeding, waiting for healing from Christ; maybe you will find yourself in that Pharisee who fasts, gives tithes as alms, often prays and thanks the Lord that he is not like some sinners, robbers, adulterers and publicans, but, nevertheless, about whom Christ said that everyone who exalts himself will be humiliated (Luke 18:14). But most likely you will find yourself in that inconsolable father of a possessed boy who approached Christ with a request to heal his son, and in response Jesus said that if you can believe a little, all things are possible to him who believes. And immediately the boy’s father exclaimed with tears: I believe, Lord! help my unbelief (Mark 9, 23...24).

Such a reading of the Gospel helps to acquire a certain point of reference, and the path that one should follow in order to get closer to Christ becomes clearly visible.

Priest Artemy Vladimirov

New converts often make the following mistake in their attitude towards their neighbors. They strive to enlighten anyone and everyone that comes their way. A kind of spiritual “inquisition” begins. If a perfect Christian is characterized by caution, tact, sensitivity, and a reluctance to suppress someone else's freedom, the convert resembles a tank, running over and crushing his listeners. The best picture that characterizes a convert: he grabs a man waiting his turn in a public toilet, unscrews the buttons on his coat and preaches to him, ignoring not so much his moral as his physical condition. But tact, gentleness, and bright communication with a person are much more fruitful than such rigorism.

Deacon Andrey Kuraev

Many people, when they come to the Church, over the years of their neophyte, lose the taste for their worldly profession, and try to quit it. A person, if he sincerely experiences his faith, must experience the acquisition of faith as a crisis. Painters begin to dry out their brushes, poets abandon poetry, musicians abandon music. Everything becomes insipid, tasteless compared to the newfound meaning.

In general, if an Orthodox young man did not dream of entering a monastery, it means that there is something wrong with his church life. For at least six months, a church person must walk with this dream in his heart (otherwise he will never understand monasticism; and without understanding monasticism it is impossible to understand Orthodoxy). But the dream does not always have to turn into reality. The Lord kisses intentions too. But someone has to stay with the people. Therefore, your radical aspirations must be balanced with the word of the Apostle Paul: remain in the calling in which everyone is called to faith.

We have enough monks. The Church, perhaps most of all today, lacks people who are capable of working professionally in secular structures, but with Orthodox motivation.

When a child is just learning to walk, he very often stumbles and falls. The same thing happens in the Church. Beginners especially often stumble. We will talk about the main mistakes of beginners in this article. And although it is practically impossible to avoid them completely (you learn from mistakes, as they say), we believe that it would not be superfluous to understand their cause and warn against the greatest dangers at the beginning of the spiritual path.

Who is a neophyte?

Neophytes in Christianity are called converts, new people, that is, those who are just beginning to take their first steps in the Church. Translated from Greek, this word also means “newly planted.” This is new life, fresh shoots of the grapes of Christ, without which Christianity has no future, without which the planting will never bear fruit.

In other words, neophyteism can be called the first period of beginners’ churching. It is clear that this period has a number of its own characteristics, spiritual joys and pitfalls, but everyone who sooner or later begins to “work for the Lord” inevitably goes through it.

Very often, however, the name “neophyte” is used with a negative connotation, with the meaning of some kind of disease or dangerous syndrome. But in fact, there is nothing wrong with being a neophyte. This is a time of spiritual infancy or maturation, without which becoming an adult Christian is simply impossible.

As Protodeacon Andrei Kuraev wrote, “if neophyte is a disease, then it is a good disease.” It becomes bad only when a person gets stuck in this state for a long time, does not outgrow it at a certain moment, or even never at all.

The period of "free grace"

Before talking about the mistakes of beginners, it is important to understand the specifics of this time of the beginning of churching, the basic laws that operate in it. Then the reason for many of the “excesses” associated with the neophyte period will become clear.

When a newly converted person begins to take his first steps in the Church, he is always, by the great mercy of God, given the special grace of the Holy Spirit to help him. Moreover, you don’t need to put in any great effort or labor for this; it is given as if “in advance.” That is why Archimandrite Thaddeus Vitovnitsky also called it “free grace.”

At the initial stage of his churching, the Orthodox neophyte especially clearly feels that God is nearby, that He loves him very much, the person is literally inspired by this love, he feels like a beloved child of God. And that's true. At this stage of life, the Lord seems to be holding a person by both hands, like a baby, teaching him to walk. But at the same time, this state is as dangerous as the Apostle Peter’s walking on the waters.

The convert's faith is not yet as strong as he thinks, and he can easily drown after his first independent steps. Faith is tempered by time and work. And the neophyte often lives by euphoria, and not by faith. He is inexperienced, confuses one thing with another, mistakes insolence for insolence, and is mistaken. It’s good if he has enough consciousness to admit his mistakes, but this is very rare for beginners.

“Free grace” gives a person a reason to feel special, hence self-confidence, pride, and this is the root of all evil. It is almost impossible to convince a neophyte, which is why beginners’ mistakes are inevitable. This period can last for different amounts of time, for some five, for others ten years, until a certain spiritual crisis or turning point occurs. The once lost “first love” (Rev. 2:4), or “free grace,” as we said, the Christian will now have to earn through long, painstaking work.

The main mistakes of new converts

Although the Lord leads everyone to Himself in his own special way, it is possible to identify some typical mistakes that, perhaps, none of the beginners can avoid.

Imaginary righteousness

One of the most important and most difficult tasks for any person, especially a Christian, is correct self-identification. Many holy fathers considered it the basis, the guarantee of humility: real knowledge of oneself, one’s measure. For the Orthodox neophyte, there are always excesses here, now in one direction, now in the other. By mannerly beating himself on the chest and calling himself “a sinner of sinners,” the newcomer always considers himself better than others and loves his “phony” righteousness.

This is not yet pharisaism, but it is already on the way to it. The search for oneself, one’s identity is quite natural for a convert. A new world has unexpectedly opened up for him, he wants to find himself in it and present himself correctly to others. However, the external forms that he focuses on often do not correspond to the internal state.

On the one hand, he feels the obvious effect of grace on himself, but on the other hand, he does not notice that the passionate, sinful side of his nature is still alive. If a beginner follows the path of self-knowledge, he will succeed, but if he continues to externally imitate the behavior of the saints, he will perish.

Another popular mistake among beginners is “zeal not according to understanding,” or “zeal not according to understanding” (Rom. 10:2), as the Apostle Paul calls it. What does it mean? This is an exaggeration of one’s strengths, spiritual maximalism. And it all stems from the same place - from incorrect self-esteem. How can this jealousy manifest itself beyond reason? Yes, in anything! Or rather, for the neophyte it manifests itself in everything.

If a beginner wants to pray, then expect that he will do this all day and night, to the detriment of his family, work and other direct responsibilities. If he wants to fast, then he must do so according to the strictest monastic rules, which usually ends in ruined health for the rest of his life. If the question arises about choosing a path in life, then, despite all the obstacles, the neophyte will immediately rush to save himself and the whole world, no less to the monastery.

Only a sufficiently authoritative confessor can save beginners from such extremes of churching. Or the Lord Himself will enlighten him with certain life circumstances. The rule of the middle, the “royal path” is the most proven and safest path by which you can reach the end. This must always be remembered.

Condemnation of others

It is perhaps the most common type of sin for everyone without exception. But it manifests itself especially clearly, in all its unsightly severity, in beginners. With the maximalism characteristic of beginners, they, as a rule, begin to be very strict with themselves, but even more vigilantly notice the shortcomings of others.

For them there are no halftones, there is only “white” and “black”; everyone will certainly either die or be saved right now. For the same reason, an Orthodox neophyte is characterized by an arrogant attitude towards people outside the Church. He very quickly forgets that just recently he himself was the same.

Missionary fervor

He wants to talk about God always and everywhere, with believers and non-believers, and often such a “mission” has the opposite effect. People look at such an “abnormal” and, judging by him, they form the most unsightly image of the Church. Those closest to you, relatives and friends, are simply forced to heroically endure such “antics” of the neophyte.

This is one of the most common and sad mistakes beginners make. As Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh said, when a person becomes a church member, everyone around him who is forced to endure his “asceticism” is saved, except himself. Unfortunately, such missionary fervor often comes at a very high cost: because of it, you can lose many acquaintances and friends with whom it will be difficult or impossible to build bridges in the future.

Searching for Deep Experiences

Another serious mistake made by beginners is the search for sublime sensations, deep feelings and experiences. In no other period are people so inclined to look for miracles and signs, phenomena and signs from above at every step, as during the period of beginners becoming churchgoers. In this lies a great danger for the beginner, which can even end tragically - he can fall into spiritual delusion.

You need to understand that all these sensations relate to the sensory sphere, and not to the spiritual. The Holy Fathers strictly forbade seeing, feeling or imagining anything during prayer, or even wishing for it. Patericon cite many cases where, because of this, people fell into a “demonic trap” and died. This is why the holy fathers said:

If you see a young man ascending to heaven of his own free will, grab him by the leg and drag him to the ground, for this is not good for him.

A beginner can avoid this mistake only through humility. If he puts a true feeling of repentance at the center of his spiritual life and approaches himself critically, then he will not face such serious falls. No wonder the holy fathers said:

A person who is privileged to see his sins is higher than one who is privileged to see angels.

Keeping this in mind, the novice will be able to avoid many troubles throughout his entire spiritual life following churching.

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TIPS FOR NEW STARTERS

You came to the temple for the first time. You want to confess, pour out your soul, and partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. But how to do that? Everything is unfamiliar, new, mysterious and therefore even seems scary. To help you, we will provide some tips and recommendations that are the result of many years of priestly practice.

The first confession in life is an extremely important and responsible event for every person, after which a completely different, spiritual life should begin. Coming to confession means that a Christian has realized and understood a lot, has re-evaluated his past ideals and aspirations, that he has decided to start a new, spiritual life. In this case, a kind of internal revolution occurs, a breaking of many established stereotypes of thinking and behavior. This process is complex and often quite painful.

Therefore, a Christian does not immediately mature for church confession. It’s rare that when someone comes to church for the first time, they immediately go to confession. Usually, at first a person simply goes to church, stands, prays, thinks, watches those around him. Gradually he has a desire to come up, talk to the priest, and confess.

When such a desire arises, the convert simply needs to follow it, for this is the voice of the Guardian Angel calling to the sacrament of repentance. If you do not listen to this voice, then the desire for repentance, which arose under the influence of the calling grace of God, may go away, and it is unknown when the Holy Spirit will again begin to call the sinner to salvation. Therefore, when the need for confession arises, you need to immediately begin preparing for it.

What is needed for this? First of all, two important conditions must be met:

Find a place where you can confess calmly and fully.

Prepare properly for confession.

To fulfill the first condition, it is best to find a church that is not crowded and come to confession on a weekday, when there will be few confessors at the Liturgy. You should also strive to get to your first confession with a more experienced (most likely older) priest, having learned in advance on what weekday he will confess. Before receiving the sacrament, you should visit the chosen church several times, get used to it, and get comfortable in it. You should not look specifically for famous, illustrious confessors, because, as a rule, they are overloaded with numerous spiritual children and will not be able to pay proper attention to you. In addition, the search for the “famous” may indicate the presence of a certain pride in you: “If I go, it’s to something special.” Avoid such feelings from the very beginning. Remember that when you first go to confession, temptations will usually await you. A fallen spirit will not allow you to calmly escape from its power.

Temptations can be external, internal and after coming to the temple. When you start going to church and are about to go to confession, you may be unexpectedly attacked by those closest to you. For example, your father or mother will try in every possible way to dissuade you from going to church, saying that this is the work of ignorant, stupid people, asking you for the sake of them and their health not to do this. On the day of the first confession, an unimaginable number of urgent matters may arise, including household matters. The day before, long-forgotten friends may start calling you, inviting you to meet and have a drink. Your health may deteriorate and painful symptoms will appear. On the eve of confession, it is also possible to manifest disbelief, blasphemous thoughts, despair, someone’s voice may inspire you that your efforts are useless, that it is better to leave everything as it is. It is possible that strong irritation and especially lustful thoughts may appear. Don’t pay attention, know that the fight for your soul has begun!

When you come to church for confession, also be prepared for temptations. Firstly, you may feel that everyone is looking at you in a special way. Secondly, everything may start to irritate you. They said it wrong, they treated it wrong, they bowed wrong. Among other things, older women may actually start to “get at you”, to put it mildly. They will make comments, push, mutter. Be courageous! Remember who is behind all this, don’t give in and don’t leave the temple for anything!

When you overcome all these obstacles and approach confession, silently pray to the Lord and ask Him to open your soul to your confessor. So that the priest says everything that God wants to tell you today and know that according to your faith it will be done for you.

Direct preparation for confession

Since ancient times, preparation for communion has been called fasting. Preparing to unite with Christ in the sacrament of the Eucharist, an Orthodox Christian must prepare his soul and body for a worthy meeting with the Lord.

When preparing the body, a person for a week or three days (depending on the frequency of communion, age, health) abstains from fast food (meat, dairy, animals, fish products), eats vegetables, fruits, cereals, pasta, and also abstains from marital (intimate) life, from various kinds of entertainment and amusements.

To prepare his soul, a Christian these days often attends church, reads spiritual literature, and avoids watching TV. He himself does not go to visit or receive guests, so as not to get distracted by empty conversations.

Immediately on the eve of communion, the believer must attend an evening service, read the canons: the penitential one to Jesus Christ, the Most Holy Theotokos, the Guardian Angel, the canon from the follow-up to Holy Communion. Before going to bed, read evening prayers, do not eat or drink after midnight and in the morning. In the morning, read the morning prayers and prayers before communion from the sequence for Holy Communion.

And most importantly: be sure to analyze your entire life, starting from the age of seven. Take a pen and paper and write down all the sins that you have ever committed! Don’t be shy and don’t feel sorry for yourself, stay away from self-justification and hidden pride. God already knows you through and through. Don’t try to hide or hide anything, remember, confession is for you, not God. The Lord is an all-perfect and all-satisfied being, God is Love. It is love for his creation that prompts the Creator to do everything possible to save man. Man's sins and passions, like a dark cloud, hide him from God. A pure, complete confession cleanses our souls of darkness, allows God’s grace to more fully influence our personality, awakens pure bright sides in it, and destroys demonic pretexts.

Therefore, while preparing for confession, carefully study special penitential literature, read the Gospel again carefully, especially the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew ch. 5-7); compare how Christ teaches you to live and how you live. Write down all your sins on paper and analyze them. And don’t just mark your sins, but try to hate them with all your heart, as the darkness that removes you from God, as the chains that chain you to the devil.

Remember, as you are, it is impossible to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. “God is Light and in Him there is no darkness,” therefore everything that brings darkness is subject to destruction and has no future. Man was given life so that he could choose and apply himself to good or evil. No one limits human freedom in this regard. But you will have to answer for your choice with your eternal life. It is not for nothing that repentance, translated from Greek, means a change of mind, that is, a person who has repented must leave confession as a new creature, unwilling and morally incapable of continuing to sin.

Due to our spiritual weakness and stubbornness in sinful habits and passions, it can be very difficult to overcome sin. It takes a lot of effort and time to shake the spiritual weed of sin and remove it from our lives forever. This process is very painful and difficult. But isn’t this what Christ is talking about in the New Testament when he calls to “pluck out an eye or cut off a hand” if the latter offend you? Are our bodily organs meant here? No way. Here the Lord speaks of passions that have entered so deeply into the composition of our soul that they have become close to us, like parts of our body. But no matter how painful it may be, they must be cut off, otherwise eternal torment and suffering threaten the sinner. And not at all because God wants to punish for disobedience, no. “God,” according to the apostle, “desires every person to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” It’s just that a passionate person himself will not be able to stay close to God. Divine grace will burn and torment him, for it is alien to the sinner in its essence. In the same place where the saint will be in joy and spiritual joy, the fallen man will be bored and languish.

Here is a simple, albeit somewhat grotesque, example. Bring the drunkard to the temple of God, where the Divine Liturgy is taking place, church singing is sounding, and incense is fragrant. In a few minutes he will feel uneasy. He will want to return to his environment. For example, to a glass shop, where there is vodka, swearing, cigarette smoke and all sorts of obscenities, because this is native and natural to him.

While a person is alive, he can and must change himself with the help of God’s grace, becoming a new creature. And here, full confession and communion are necessary components of salvation. Therefore, confession should never be formal! You cannot dissuade the priest, trying at all costs to “break through” to communion. Confession is not a barrier between a Christian and the Chalice with the Holy Gifts, it is a sacrament given to us for salvation. It can be performed independently of the sacrament. You can, and often need to, confess, regardless of whether you receive communion or not.

Both formal confession and excessive self-examination in one’s soul are dangerous for spiritual life, when a person attaches excessive importance to any little thing, any empty thought, and begins to punish and torment himself over trifles.

Remember, we are not responsible for the thoughts that come to us. They are often brought against our will by unclean spirits in order to take possession of our soul. Therefore, do not delve into your thoughts, do not think about them, but simply cut them off and turn to God with a prayer for help. Don’t invent anything or make things up to yourself, remember the saying of Rev. Ambrose of Optina: “Where it’s simple, there are a hundred angels, but where it’s sophisticated, there’s not a single one.” This is especially true for our intelligentsia, about whose love of self-examination, sometimes reaching the point of spiritual masochism, F.M. brilliantly wrote. Dostoevsky.

About spiritual father

Over time, every Orthodox Christian should try to find a spiritual father for himself - a priest to whom he would constantly confess and receive spiritual advice. Don't rush into this matter. First, pray and ask the Lord to help you find the confessor that is right for you. Don’t chase after “celebrities”, don’t look for the so-called elders and seers. They are practically gone now. And if they are somewhere, then it is almost impossible to get through to them. Those who present themselves as “elders” are often in strong spiritual delusion. And, of course, it’s not worth giving yourself over to someone like that.

It is best to choose a priest who is already old and take a close look at him. Check the consistency of his advice with the evangelical spirit and patristic writings. Don’t look for a gentle person who would allow you everything and forgive you. This will be disastrous for you. Beware of excessive monastic severity. The advice of a monastic is not always suitable for lay people, especially beginners. Everyone must live within their own moderation, gradually increasing their ascetic and prayerful deeds. Living beyond one's strength is dangerous, because it often leads to delusion. It is not always possible for a monastic to understand the complexities of a layman’s family life.

It is better to find an elderly family priest with some spiritual experience. This is for worldly married people. For those who are lonely and want to pursue asceticism, it may be better to have a confessor from older monastics.

Do not under any circumstances idolize your confessor, do not make him a “saint.” Do not look at his every gesture and word as a revelation from above. Remember, we are all human beings, sinners to one degree or another. Respect, love, but do not become attached in a purely human way. Don't fall in love, even unconsciously, with him. Go to church to see God, not to the priest, no matter how good he is. This especially applies to single women, for whom a spiritual feeling often develops into a carnal, spiritual feeling - beware of this.

At the same time, try to avoid judging priests, and especially your confessor. When you begin to judge the clergy, involuntarily, even subconsciously, you consider yourself spiritually superior to them, which leads to pride, delusion and often to destruction.

Do not change confessors without exceptional motives, do not run from one to another. This is not saving. When choosing a confessor, remember the proverb: “Like the priest, so is the parish.” Try to feel the spirit that fills the community where your possible confessor serves. If you like this spirit and suits your inner content, you can make a choice. The spirit of community, as a rule, manifests itself in the relationships of spiritual children, their spiritual orientation, conversations, actions, and so on. If stories about the priest’s miracles and foresight reign in a parish and at the same time other priests are condemned, then run away from such a parish. Look for a place where sobriety reigns, without exaltation and condemnation.

General Confession

The scourge of the spiritual life of our time is general confession. On it, a Christian gets used to formally treating this sacrament, often begins to see in it some kind of external “magical” rite: “The priest put the epitrachelion on his head, read something - and ... all sins are forgiven.” Crazy delusion.

As we have already said, forgiveness of sins on the part of God is possible only in the case of sincere awareness, repentance and hatred of sin. This requires an intense inner life, constant attention to oneself and sobriety. Otherwise, a person leaves confession not only unforgiven, but even more condemned.

God looks not at appearance, not at form, but at the inner content of the human heart. Therefore, be in every possible way afraid of form alone, of ritual without proper content. When you approach confession, the cross and the Gospel, try to clearly and clearly name your specific sins, inappropriate feelings, annoying and unclean thoughts. Remember that everything you confess to your confessor makes the devil’s machinations obvious and deprives the evil one of his power over you.

It is appropriate to recall that sin is any accepted thought, feeling and action directed against the commandment of God and in its spirit alien to the spirit of the Gospel. So, if you have to participate in a general confession, still try to concisely and briefly name your main sins. If this fails, and you need communion, then repent intensely before God within your heart, and over time, be sure to confess these sins to your confessor. Remember that formal participation in general confession does not bring remission of sins and does not add grace to those participating in it.

Make it a rule to analyze the past day every day, repent of the sins you have committed during this time, and be sure to write down the most serious sins and eventually bring them to confession. Try to carefully think through the situation that led you to sin, and decide what the right, spiritual thing you should have done. Consult your spiritual father about this. Try to find time for spiritual conversations with him, not during confession, where only pure repentance should occur, but in your free time from service. But don’t bother your confessor, don’t bother him with all sorts of little things, talk only about the main thing, about the most essential.

The danger of charm

When a person decides to start a spiritual life, many obstacles and dangers may stand in his way. One of the greatest temptations is spiritual delusion. According to the definition of St. Ignatius Bryanchininov: “Prelest is the assimilation by a person of a lie that he accepts as the truth. Charm acts initially on the way of thinking; Having been accepted and perverting the way of thinking, it is immediately communicated to the heart, perverting the heart’s sensations; Having taken possession of a person’s being, it spills over all his activities, poisoning the body itself, as inextricably linked by the Creator with the soul. The state of delusion is a state of destruction or eternal death.”

This disastrous state, pointed out by the ascetic of piety of the 19th century, is primarily the result of pride, pride and conceit. The father of pride, like the father of lies, is the devil, therefore every person possessing this passion becomes a humble servant of the unclean spirit.

Pride and pride have become so ingrained in the soul of modern man that they are no longer considered a sin. On the contrary, in modern society this quality is regarded as a virtue, as a kind of positive psychological factor. Remember how we were taught at school: “A person sounds proud.”

A person brought up in this way, even coming to faith, practically does not change internally. His psychological attitudes and motives for his actions are still false. A beginner, as a rule, does not want to become different. A person wants to “drag” into the Orthodox faith the entire burden of the experience of his past life. He simply wants to incorporate the religious worldview into a number of established habits and patterns of thinking.

But this is impossible. The laws of spiritual life and the laws of the external world are diametrically opposed. It is not for nothing that our Lord Jesus Christ says directly: “Do not love the world and the things that are in the world. For love of the world is enmity towards God.” The laws of spiritual life, fully expressed in the Gospel, require humility, meekness, and love. The laws of worldly life require rigidity, violence, and pride. Anyone who comes to faith must first of all understand that his entire previous life was a lie. It was based on false attitudes, ideals, aspirations, and it must be changed radically. It is necessary to realize one’s spiritual emptiness and, on the new foundation of the Orthodox confession, begin to build a new building of a purely Christian worldview. Unfortunately, it happens differently. The beginner wants, with the help of prayer and certain ascetic actions, to quickly achieve high spiritual states, to have direct communication with God, to see visions, to experience high sensory states, to contemplate the mysteries of God that are inaccessible to other people. At the same time, passions and vices continue to overwhelm his soul. Thus, the beginner tries to combine the incompatible. As the Holy Fathers point out, in order to become a vessel for the Holy Spirit, it is necessary to first cleanse the soul with repentance, decorate it with humility, love and other virtues. And to acquire virtues, you must see and consider yourself a great sinner, unworthy of the visitation of the Holy Spirit. Do not desire lofty contemplations and visions, but fear them, recognizing your unworthiness and great sinfulness. Unfortunately, modern man often does exactly the opposite. The words of St. Gregory of Sinaite sound very relevant for our time: “If anyone, with arrogance based on conceit, dreams of achieving high states of prayer and has acquired not true zeal (based on repentance), but satanic (based on pride, vanity, conceit): then the devil conveniently entangles himself in his nets as if he were his servant.” As St. Ignatius Brianchaninov writes: “Everyone who strives to ascend to the marriage of the Son of God not in clean and bright clothes, arranged by repentance, but right in his rags, in a state of old age, sinfulness and self-delusion, is cast out into utter darkness, into demonic delusion.” .

Often people in spiritual delusion cover up their pride with false, verbal humility. Downcast eyes, a black handkerchief, outwardly repentant words often hide terrible spiritual pride. I remember one nun who loved to repeat that she was a sinner and with all her appearance showed embodied humility, while, “naturally,” those around her were supposed to admire her spirituality and convince her that she was almost a saint. When, to check her inner state, they told her: “Why is she so sinful? Has he really labored for so many years in vain? - the questioner was covered in such a storm of anger that he was not glad that he had asked such a question.

The state of people in demonic delusion can be very diverse, corresponding to the passion by which the person is seduced, and corresponding to the degree to which the person is enslaved by this passion.

Often delusion arises from the wrong way of praying. As St. Ignatius Brianchaninov writes: “The most dangerous incorrect form of prayer is when the person praying, by the power of imagination, creates his dreams or pictures, borrowing them, apparently, from the Holy Scriptures, but in essence - from his own condition, from his fall, out of his sinfulness, out of his self-delusion - with these pictures he flatters his conceit, his vanity, his arrogance, his pride, he deceives himself... The dreamer, from the first step on the path of prayer, comes from the realm of truth, enters the realm of lies, the realm of Satan, submits arbitrarily influenced by Satan."

Imagination, daydreaming, fantasy are always the field of activity of the fallen spirit. It is not for nothing that the name of the dreamer was first assigned to the devil. When a person begins to think and imagine something during prayer, he comes from the realm of Divine reality and falls into fantasy, into the unreal world of Satan, where he becomes completely dependent on the forces of evil. The Holy Fathers unanimously warned: do not imagine anything during prayer and do not accept any sensory or mental visions: “Do not accept in any way,” says St. Gregory of Sinaite, “if you see anything with your sensory eyes or mind outside or inside you, whether it will be the image of Christ, or an Angel, or some Saint, or if light appears to you... Be careful and careful!”

A new Christian who has recently turned to prayer should be especially attentive and careful. As Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov points out: “Our free will is inclined and drawn towards delusion: because all delusion flatters our conceit, our vanity, our pride. Demons are nearby and surround beginners and self-starters, spreading networks of thoughts and harmful dreams, creating abysses of falls.” We must always remember that the beginning of delusion is pride, and its end is even greater pride. For proud people there are no authorities, they never listen to advice, and when exposed, they become terribly irritated and angry. These are clear signs of a person in delusion. The search for high spiritual states and experiences during prayer is also considered a delight. A person does not seek repentance, does not ask for forgiveness of sins, but thirsts for experiences of pleasure and delight. The search for such states gradually becomes the goal of prayer. As a rule, a person who is in delusion of this kind is not only angry and irritable when his “visions and experiences” are criticized, but is also subject to the demon of voluptuousness and various secret prodigal sins.

For the second kind of delusion, called “opinion” by the holy fathers, it is characteristic, as St. Ignatius Brianchaninov writes, that: “Obsessed by this delusion, he thinks of himself, has created an “opinion” about himself, that he has many virtues and merits, even that abounds in the gifts of the Holy Spirit." Opinion itself is made up of false concepts and false sensations. The person praying, striving to reveal the sensations of a new person in his heart and not having any opportunity to do so, replaces them with sensations of his own creation, counterfeit ones, to which the action of fallen spirits is not slow to join. Having recognized incorrect sensations as true and blessed, the one who has fallen into delusion receives false concepts corresponding to the sensations. That is, he begins to feel, think and perform actions that are inadequate to environmental stimuli. Often he begins to imagine himself as the center of the entire universe, a factor that, of course, influences the entire world around him. Through his prayer, miracles are sure to happen, even if they are not actually performed. All animals certainly love him and are drawn to him, saints and angels often appear to him, demons tremble at his appearance. The seduced person begins to live in his own special world, which does not really exist and is not visible to anyone else. Moreover, it is almost impossible to convince him or explain the fatality of this condition. A priest who tries to do this is declared to be either less spiritual or an instrument of demons, putting pressure on the “saint” (meaning the deceived himself). Surprising and sad as it may be, there are often people who believe in the “holiness” of the seduced person, become his spiritual children and follow him along the path to certain death. Let me emphasize once again that our contemporary, brought up on the ideals of pride and conceit, often, even having come to faith, continues to look for what pleases his ego. And, of course, for such a person to be a child of a “saint” is very tempting. More than once I have seen how such young men and women were followed by hundreds of admirers and admirers, ready to deal with anyone who doubted the “holiness” of their idol.

Back in the 19th century, Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov wrote: “Opinions infected with the charms are very common. Anyone who does not have a contrite spirit, who recognizes any merit in himself, anyone who does not steadfastly adhere to the teachings of the Orthodox Church, but who argues about some dogma or tradition arbitrarily, at his own discretion or according to heterodox teaching, is in this delusion. The degree of evasion and persistence in evasion determines the degree of prelest.” Hence various heresies and schisms in Orthodoxy today. Hence the number of small groups that recognize the authority only of their “elders”. But the worst thing is that on this kind of believers the words of Christ come true: “If a blind man leads a blind man, will they not both fall into a pit?” And this pit has a specific name - hell.

People infected with the delusion of opinion are often outwardly humble in their wisdom, strictly adhere to Orthodox rites, and carry out a certain feat of prayer. But all this is external, ostentatious. More than once I have had to observe women who, having come to visit someone, suddenly jump up and begin to “chatter” some akathist that they have arbitrarily taken as a rule. Or, regardless of the general mood and the assembled public, they suggest immediately starting to pray, while being the first to raise their hands to the sky, sigh and let out a semblance of crying. From conversations with such people you often learn that their saints do not sit idle. Some help them find lost things, others solve family problems, and others treat illnesses. In general, everything is in order. For this, the “prayer book” periodically pays them with akathists and canons. It can be almost impossible to explain the madness and falsity of this approach to spiritual life to the deluded.

The main psychological types of people encountered in confession

To facilitate self-knowledge and better preparation for confession, we will present the main psychological types of repentant people, skipping thoughts about a person with a healthy conscience, and immediately moving on to the area of pathology.

A man with a self-righteous conscience. People of this type, regardless of their intellectual level, are characterized by spiritual lack of consciousness and, as a consequence, religious complacency, a false sense of their spiritual well-being. These people do not try to think about spiritual problems and, in general, little worries them other than daily worldly affairs. They come to the temple according to tradition, and not at the call of their hearts. Their moral horizon is very narrow. They have no need for spiritual life, and they usually focus all their attention on the external and, at that, secondary. For example, during the central place of the Liturgy, the Eucharistic canon, when the greatest prayerful concentration is required, people of this type, light or pass candles, strive to venerate the icons, pushing away and distracting other worshipers. In confession, such a person usually lists his imaginary virtues and good deeds; he easily “repents” of the sins of his neighbors, but most often insists that he has no special sins: “I didn’t steal, I didn’t kill, I didn’t steal, I live honestly, but many people offend me,” and this is followed by a list sins of all known. He responds to any denunciation of his confessor with self-justification, general formulas like: “I live like everyone else; The Lord is merciful, He will forgive everyone.” This state indicates complete spiritual ignorance and alienation to the gospel spirit.

People with suspicious consciences. This kind of believer is the complete opposite of the previous type. The owner of a painfully scrupulous conscience is literally crushed by the consciousness of his sinfulness, which makes him spiritually weak, cowardly, and fruitless. He imagines himself to be a bearer of all kinds of sins, a vessel of all wickedness, an obedient slave of the devil, and the like. A suspicious person considers himself a blasphemer and often thinks to himself: “I’m lost, I’ll still sin because I can’t fight my sinful habits.” He is afraid of responsibility for the sins of others, afraid of leading his neighbor into some kind of temptation, and as a result of this he often tries to avoid communicating with people altogether. He is haunted by the fear of defilement in his thoughts, imagination, and dreams (especially in the sexual sphere). This also includes the fear of breaking the fast (being insulted). Suspiciousness and fear give rise to even greater pettiness, suppressing any creativity, spiritual impulse, and often leads to hypocrisy. Gradually, a person with a suspicious conscience begins to doubt not only himself, but also the mercy of God and the possibility of salvation for himself. He often falls into despair and leaves the Church.

False mystics. This category of people most often includes Christians who were previously involved in the occult in all its manifestations, yoga or martial arts. Having come to the Orthodox faith, they retained spiritual corruption, an invisible connection with the world of fallen spirits with whom they came into contact in the pre-Christian period of their lives. In addition, previously learned occult techniques (meditation, concentration, etc.) have become so deeply ingrained in the individual’s consciousness that they constantly manifest themselves in his religious life. Some of the guru’s former students are trying to combine prayer with hatha yoga poses, use autogenic training skills to achieve prayerful states, and combine manic care of the body, “cleaning the energy meridians” with the Orthodox tradition of repentance. All this is impossible and disastrous: “Bitter and sweet water cannot flow from the same source”; “You cannot serve God and mammon.” What kind of communication can Christ have with the devil? In this regard, it is appropriate to quote the words of one famous confessor: “Yoga is like human excrement hidden under a heap of clothes, it is not immediately visible, but it smells terrible.”

This is the spiritual smell of death. Coming to Orthodoxy, such a person must necessarily undergo the rite of renunciation of the occult and never again, under any pretext, remember the old things. Often, false mystics, after coming to faith, continue to have false visions for several years, hear voices, and feel effects on the body. Sometimes night terrors appear, it seems to them that someone is strangling them, or vice versa, the unhappy ones feel a strong fragrance or even “angelic” singing. The convert must remember that all of these are not Divine gifts, which are the result of his supposed special chosenness, but the terrible consequences of previous errors. Only understanding of one’s sinfulness, repentance and humility, renunciation of all previous occult experience can save such a person. Otherwise, the latter quickly falls into “opinion” (a kind of delusion described above), goes crazy or commits suicide.

People with little church and non-church. It happens that people approach the lectern who were baptized in infancy, but at a conscious age have lost contact with the Church, or who were baptized as adults, but are still completely worldly. When confessing such people, the priest often encounters some kind of internal closeness, a reluctance to open his soul to the clergyman. It happens that a person (usually a young person) comes to confession at the request or advice of older people close to him, or according to some family tradition, or even personal desire, but without appropriate preparation and with a unclear idea of the meaning of what is happening and an internal unpreparedness for repentance. Such a person is characterized by distrust of the confessor, shyness, and secrecy. Such a person is experiencing a deep spiritual crisis at this moment, since all his previous life experience refuses to serve him. His reason resists such a sharp transition from the sphere of habitual everyday speculative schemes to the sphere of Divine Truth, incomprehensible to the carnal mind. But if the need for spiritual life has found a place in his heart, then over time he will definitely begin to become a church member.

But there is another type of non-church people. So, sometimes people approach the priest for confession and “calmly” admit that they, in fact, have nothing to say to the confessor, that they do not understand the meaning of the Sacrament of Repentance and do not believe in its gracious power. They often say that they don’t really believe in God, but came to the temple at the urgent request of relatives (for example, for infant baptism) or just in case. The spiritual life of such people has clearly not yet begun, and we must pray to God to lead them to faith and repentance.

Psychology of repentance

One of the most common shortcomings that penitents encounter during confession is the formalism of repentance. When the usual words “in deed, word, thought” are repeated and the very heart of the confessor is not touched. And this is scary, because it is known that immobility in spiritual life, as it were, begins to take revenge for itself. Overcoming the resistance of our fallen nature and the enemy of the human race, we must, at least little by little, always move forward from confession to confession. Otherwise, the waves of the sea of life will certainly throw us back. Let us read all the required prayers before confession and not offend our neighbor, but hasn’t pride quietly crept up on us, has vanity, pride, condemnation, selfishness taken possession of us? We repented of our pride, did not break the fast, but hasn’t our heart turned to stone towards the people around us, don’t we feel indifference to everything around us, don’t we see, instead of the faces and eyes turned to us, just the bustle of a boring crowd? The last temptation very often overtakes people who are completely ecclesiastical and overtakes them just in church while praying. Have we not seen how, in crowded worship services, some parishioners unceremoniously push aside others in order to listen to a sermon about loving one’s neighbor?

Of course, temptations may not be so obvious. But we must remember that in addition to actions, there are also words that can be sinful. There are also thoughts that most of all express the secret essence of a person. The main indicator of a person’s correct spiritual life, according to patristic teaching, is “the vision of one’s sins, as countless as the sand of the sea.” No wonder all the saints called themselves great sinners. And they were completely sincere in their confession. For all lies and hypocrisy are alien to the saint. Simply under the influence of grace, a person begins to clearly see himself through the eyes of God. See any speck of dust and impurity in your soul. But the sinner, who is in the darkness of ignorance, does not see or feel even gross sins. Therefore, an indicator of our spiritual health is the vision of our sins, hatred of them, and sincerity of repentance.

TIPS FOR NEW STARTERS

What is needed for this? First of all, two important conditions must be met:

Find a place where you can confess calmly and fully.

Prepare properly for confession.

Direct preparation for confession

About spiritual father

General Confession

The danger of charm

The main psychological types of people encountered in confession

Psychology of repentance

SINS ESPECIALLY SERIOUS AND GODDESS

mortal sins:

Pride

Love of money

Adultery

Gluttony

sins of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit:

Despair is a feeling that denies the fatherly goodness in God and leads to suicide.

Persistence in unbelief, denial of any evidence of the existence of God, even obvious miracles.

Excessive trust in God, or stagnation in a sinful life in the sole hope of God’s mercy.

sins crying out to heaven for vengeance:

Intentional homicide, especially parricide, fratricide or regicide.

Sin of Sodom, artificial gender reassignment (transsexuals).

Oppression of a poor person, a defenseless widow and young orphans.

Withholding from a low-income worker his honestly earned wages; deception and robbery of a beggar, appropriation of the property of a prisoner or sick person.

Upsetting parents and inflicting serious insults or even beatings on them.

MAIN SOURCES

St. John Chrysostom. Conversations about repentance (Published by St. Ignatius of Stavropol, M., 1999)

St. Ignatius Brianchaninov. Ascetic experience. (Ed. “Rule of Faith”, M., 1993)

Archm. John Krestyankin. The experience of constructing a confession (Published by the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery, 1993)

Archm. Lazarus. Sacrament of Confession. About obvious sins and secret illnesses of the soul (Publishing house "Rodnik", M., 1995)

Archm. Lazarus. About the secret ailments of the soul (Published by Sretensky Monastery, M., 1998)

Schema-abbot Savva. The fruits of true repentance (Publication "Great Lent", 1974)

Prot. Vladimir Vorobiev. Repentance, confession, spiritual guidance (Publishing house “Rodnik”, 2000)

Prot. Grigory Dyachenko. On the eve of confession (Published by Stupin, M., 1897)

Prot. Grigory Dyachenko. Self-examination of a Christian according to the plan of his duties to God, neighbors and himself (Published by Stupin, M., 1897)

Prot. Evgeny Popov. Moral Theology for the Laity (St. Petersburg, 1901)

N.D. Guryev. Passions and their embodiment in diseases (Moscow, 2000)

Retreat according to the charter of the church (Published by “St. Basil the Great”, St. Petersburg, 1997)

Confession in the order of twenty ordeals (Published by PS-TBI, M., 1997)

Handbook of a clergyman (volumes 3-8). (Moscow, 1983)

The Lament of a Penitent Sinner (Published by the Athos Panteleimon Monastery, M.)

Repentance and confession on the threshold of the 21st century (St. Petersburg, 2000)

Orthodox confession. List of sins (Published by the Tver diocese, 1998)

Companion to the Confessor and Participant of the Holy Mysteries of Christ (Blagovest Foundation, M., 1999)

The rite of confession (Publishing house "Bibliopolis", St. Petersburg, 1998)

The rite of Orthodox confession (Published by Optina of the Holy Vvedenskaya Hermitage, 1991)

Neophyte (from the Greek νεόφυτος) - in Orthodoxy, a converted Christian or newcomer.

But first about the terms. All those spiritual illnesses that will be discussed below will be called in one word: neophyte (neophyte). Perhaps it is wrong to combine ailments that have different origins and courses. It's probably unscientific. But my article is not a scientific treatise, but the reaction of a living organism to pain.

A tradition has developed in the Church according to which it is believed that a neophyte is a person who has not been in the Church for ten years. But it's not just a matter of time. You can remain a neophyte for life. This period can be shortened. Is it possible to bypass it? Don't know. Not sure. At least, all my friends, and myself first of all, went through this period of time, which seems so sublime and beautiful to you. Beautiful because the Lord gives a newly baptized, church-going person, according to Macarius the Great, a pledge of the Holy Spirit. But to the people around us in this period of our spiritual infancy, the sky seems like a sheepskin from pompous teachings, Pharisaic prayers and seductions into Orthodoxy.

You cannot call a person normal who declares: “It was the elders who prayed that we would not have television, because it corrupts the soul, and that’s why the Ostankino Tower burned down!” The fact that three people were burned alive was obviously the result of their good prayer. Or, for example, this passage. A woman who, perhaps, has not read the New Testament to the end, but has memorized the Philokalia, abandons her young children, her husband and all worldly filth and goes (often with the blessing of the young man) to escape to some monastery. Suffice it to recall the recent hysteria surrounding the notorious barcodes. A resolution of the Holy Synod was published on this issue. But the decision of the Synod is not a decree for our Orthodox Christians. The whisper immediately intensified (it, in fact, never ceased) that our bishops, as a matter of fact, are ecumenists, heretics, is it possible to listen to them? These sentiments are spread and supported in every possible way by the so-called “elders” throughout the monasteries and in the world.

Archimandrite John (Krestyankin), known to the entire Russian Orthodox people, who, I think, can rightfully be called a true elder, writes: “Now these documents in this form and with such presentation do not pose a danger to us. Remember and understand for yourself the will of God: Son, give Me your heart. Not a passport, not a pension card, not a tax card, but a heart! All that confusion, confusion and confusion enters so powerfully that there is no living faith, no trust in God.” But even the opinion of such a person as Father John is nothing for neophytes.

In general, neophyte exists, how much the Church is worth. One might even say that neophyteism is as old as the world. History tells us many facts about overly enthusiastic Christians causing harm to themselves and others. Let me give you a well-known example. A certain old man had a disciple who passionately desired martyrdom. In vain did the elder admonish him: “The time of martyrdom has passed. God calls you to other exploits. Just learn to understand Him.” He didn't want to listen. Bless for martyrdom, and that’s all! Having extracted a blessing from the elder, he went into the desert, came across the Saracens, and, unable to withstand the torture, renounced Christ.

Enthusiasm in itself is not bad. But in spiritual life it can be scary. Amazing thing! It would seem that enthusiasm should indicate the softness of a person’s soul. In my opinion, an enthusiastic person is a big child. The world is surprising and desirable for him, like a gift, which is why it delights him. But the soul of the neophyte is strong as granite and deaf as a tomb.

The English writer Gilbert Chesterton said about someone: “he was healthy in soul, for he knew sorrow.” The neophyte is sick in soul, for he knows no sorrows. He knows neither pity nor mercy. The same Chesterton wrote in another place: “it is not difficult to define a healthy soul: such a person has tragedy in his heart and comedy in his mind.” The neophyte not only does not have tragedy in his heart. He doesn't have a heart. He has common rules for all occasions, and truisms for any human pain. But his truth kills, and does not give life, leads into slavery, and does not make free. The neophyte himself is cheerful and optimistic. True, his optimism is at the expense of others. This is the optimism of a cannibal. He built a high castle out of rituals and law, and from there he looks at the swarming worms.

It is in vain that neophytes are sometimes compared with Pharisees. The Pharisees really didn’t deserve this. If you believe St. John Chrysostom, they are even capable of repentance. This is how he understands the coming of the Pharisees to John the Baptist. When a woman taken in adultery was brought to Christ, a crowd of Pharisees surrounded Him. And, I remember, not a single stone flew at the unfortunate woman. If Christ had been surrounded by neophytes, a whole hail of stones would have fallen on the woman. The Pharisees knew their secret sins, and the words of the Savior shamed them.

The neophyte has no sins. I don’t know what they spend hours repenting of in confession. The words never leave their lips: forgive me, a sinner, “I am the abyss of sin.” But when they find out that their neighbor is doing something that does not fit into their piety, they turn into the same debtor who was ready to strangle him for his hundred denarii. "How! Do you keep a dog at home? This is a nasty animal! You can’t receive communion!” If only His Holiness the Patriarch, who has not one, but two mongrels at home, knew that he was not allowed to receive communion! “You are constantly sick, it’s clear you have a lot of sins. You need to repent!” I am quite ready to assume that they did not read, and they did not hear about Job’s friends. But they should know about the Russian Orthodox saints who were sick all their lives and sometimes could not move their arms due to weakness. According to their logic, Ambrose of Optina and Ignatius Brianchaninov are the most notorious sinners. Saint John Chrysostom, in his first conversation about statues, gives eight (!) different reasons why Christians get sick. It wouldn't be a bad idea to get acquainted with them.

Whatever long-standing friendship you have with the neophyte, if only the neophyte is capable of friendship at all, everything collapses at one moment when he learns something about you. It can be anything. From wearing off-shoulder dresses to watching TV. Then nothing will save your friendship.

Is any sin capable of bringing a neophyte to a sense of repentance? Personal experience of communicating with people of this kind shows that, even falling into open, gross sins such as fornication, a person with a similar structure of the soul in some incomprehensible way manages to reserve the right to condemn others and even has a self-propelled Jesus Prayer. Such a person is cheerful and cheerful.

In the very first days of his Christianity, he masters pious slang, like “Angel at the table!”, or “God bless!”. I remember one girl at the table asked her neighbor: “Bless the kettle!” Many years later I heard a phrase that could serve as an excellent answer to her: “This teapot is blessed and sanctified!”

The neophyte is in love with himself. He loves his righteousness. On top of everything else, he is a prophet. Yes, yes, he knows the will of God! It was the saints who humbled their flesh so that the spirit would awaken; they humbled their will in order to know the will of God. For a neophyte, everything is much simpler. God's will is what he does. He will never say: I’m sorry, I let you down greatly because of my carelessness. No - it was God’s will for me to oversleep, that’s why I didn’t have time, that’s why I was late for a business date, that’s why I can’t help you. The person who is left in trouble thinks that it was God who abandoned him. It takes a lot of faith to understand that it was not God who abandoned you, but an indifferent neophyte. All others for the neophyte (if they are not priests) are creatures of a lower class. And if this other person is not a Christian, then he is not even a person at all, but dirt.

I remember a story from the Patericon about how Macarius the Great and his disciple once walked through the desert. The student got ahead of Macarius, and he met the priest of the local pagan temple with a bundle of brushwood on his shoulders. Everything was in perfect order in the student’s head, and so he turned to the priest accordingly: “Where are you going, demon?”, for which he was soundly beaten. When Macarius approached politely greeted the priest, he asked in surprise: “Why did you, being a Christian, greet me? One person passed by here before you, also a Christian. So he began to swear, and I beat him half to death.” “I see that you are a kind person and you work hard, but you don’t know why you are doing it,” answered Macarius the Great. After these words, the priest was baptized and became a Christian. In life, unfortunately, we more often come across students, not Macarius.

When a person is very good at doing something, it is easy for him to become proud. Even when a person simply knows a lot, he is not always free from the sin of exaltation. But what’s surprising is that the neophyte simply amazes with his illiteracy. And why should you know anything? The priests will tell you everything you need to know. “We are like blind kittens without our father,” says the neophyte, and is quite pleased with this.

As I said before, the neophyte loves to play obedience. All church trays are littered with monastic books on obedience. Excited by his rapid successes in church life, the Christian wants to fly “into the field of correspondence.” Having imbued himself with such literature, which in the past the elder confessor did not give to every monk in monasteries, the ascetic begins to organize his own Athos.

The abbot of one of the monasteries, then the abbot, Father N, told how he once noticed that young novices began to go crazy from reading the Philokalia. And then he advised them to read something else. That day, a printing artist he knew gave him her latest work: illustrations for “Winnie the Pooh.” Here, read this. The guys were taken aback. And to what point should I read? - they asked, thinking it was a joke. Before catching the Heffalump. This is quite enough. The remedy turned out to be correct - the roof fell into place. In this case, obedience played its good role. But not everyone is lucky with confessors. Unfortunately, neither a long white beard nor length of stay in the Church is a guarantee of spiritual security. But this is a topic for a separate conversation.

Church illnesses are serious. People who suffer from them cause a lot of grief to those around them and, first of all, to their family. They make it difficult for people who are far from the Church to get into it. A person who is sincerely interested in religious life, seeing such a saint, will draw a conclusion about the entire Church from him. Of course, you can explain to him at length (Deacon Andrei Kuraev does this very convincingly) that just as you cannot judge Music by pop hits, and Painting by comics, so we must judge Christianity by Christian saints, and not by the first parishioner we come across. You can tell him that the history of the Church is beautiful only in bad books. That in life everything is much more complicated. Or vice versa it’s easier. But there are such meetings with enthusiastic Christian pioneers, the wounds from which do not heal for a very long time.

One artist I knew told how at the age of twelve he painted a temple not far from his home. The pious grandmothers broke his sketchbook and pushed him out of the churchyard. The next time my friend went to church was only five years later - his fear was so great. But, thank God, the fear passed. And how many people, faced with the spiritual callousness (or even outright rudeness!) of Orthodox Christians, go to the Baptists, Jehovah's Witnesses, and Mother of God. Or they simply conclude that Christianity, and indeed all religions in general, are nothing but obscurantism. I would not want the reader to get this feeling from my article. Yes, I repeat, church illnesses are serious. But, probably, everyone needs to get over them.

I know one city where, thanks to the local dean, there is a very healthy spiritual climate. A person suffers a neophyte disease in a very mild form and recovers quickly. So, is this good or bad? I don't think it's very good. A Christian there is like an Antarctic penguin who has no immunity, since there are no viruses in Antarctica. What will happen to this person when he encounters the neophyte (and he cannot help but encounter it) in all its splendor? Christian grown in greenhouse conditions is not frost-resistant. It is important to go through the neophyte, but not to linger in it.

Chesterton gives a wonderful, downright patristic definition of a righteous person: a righteous person is strict with himself and lenient with others. At the time of spiritual infancy, we are not always able to understand this. And that is why neophyteism is so unattractive from the outside. But we all need to get over it. And there is no escape from this.

In past centuries, in some ways it was simpler. Church Tradition, living and active, protected man from excessive rigorism. Enthusiasm, for the most part, did not turn into sectarianism, and piety into fanaticism. But it just so happened in our tragic history that the thin mycelium of Church Tradition was torn out after the revolution. The threads, miraculously preserved, are restored very slowly and with difficulty.

In recent years, an unprecedented flow of people has poured into the Church. On the one hand, this is wonderful. Before our eyes, the persecuted Church is being reborn from the ruins. But on the other hand, the Church has been greatly diluted. Each person, entering it, brings his own passions, his own sinful vision of the world, not yet transformed by Grace. And when a church body, weakened by the communist dictatorship, finds itself with so many new members, the situation resembles a medical case. If the body's immunity is weakened, then any virus can easily penetrate it.

The Church is painfully ill with neophyteism. A huge number of excessively Orthodox, as St. Gregory the Theologian called them, rule the House of God as if it were their own. But we have something that strengthens our faith that the illness will pass: “And the Church is almost in the same position as my body: no good hope is visible; things are constantly taking a turn for the worse.” These words belong to Saint Basil the Great. That is, they are more than one and a half thousand years old. Yes, the disease is serious. Yes, the body is writhing in convulsions. But Christ is stronger than our sins. And He will heal us.

Georgy Dublinsky.