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About intimate relationships in an Orthodox family. What is the attitude of the Orthodox Church towards the Gospel of Thomas? read a book online, read for free
From that moment on, the following reasons can be considered sufficient grounds for debunking after an ordinary divorce:
- Alcoholism, drug addiction or AIDS infection, which were confirmed by a special medical report.
- An abortion without the consent of the husband. In this case, exceptions are situations when there were medical indications for this, or the pregnancy could in the future pose a threat to the life of the expectant mother.
At its core, church divorce and the process of debunking itself is fundamentally different from the secular counterpart, in which case no one will stop you from getting a divorce. Dethronement in the church and its main goal is to bless the second marriage in view of the recognition of the previous non-Christian or graceless. Sometimes a third marriage is allowed in the church, however, all subsequent unions and debunkings in the church will be considered a rather grave sin.
Rules for debunking in the Orthodox Church after a divorce
Only the spouse who is not guilty of the dissolution of the previous marriage can get married a second time. The one who was guilty of this can enter into a new union only after repentance and penance, which the priest imposes in accordance with the canons.
Attention
The wedding itself is no longer as solemn as the first time. For those who are going to marry for the third time, a longer and stricter penance is established.
Conclusion As you can see, the debunking of a church marriage is not at all a complicated procedure. However, before deciding to take this step, you should ask yourself the question: have you done everything to save your union? After all, marriage should not be a toy, you cannot first live with one person, and then suddenly decide that he does not suit you.
store family values, keep your word given before the altar.
Rite of dethronement of church marriage
Info
It should be noted that the wedding is not performed during fasts, Christmas time, Easter week, on Tuesday and Thursday (Wednesday and Friday are considered fast days). In what cases can you ask for the dissolution of a church marriage? You need a good reason to end an alliance.
The dissolution of a church marriage is possible in the following cases:
- betrayal of one of the spouses;
- marriage of one of the spouses;
- excommunication from Orthodoxy of one of the spouses;
- inability to have children in marriage;
- long absence of a spouse without news;
- mental illness of one of the spouses;
- danger or already committed violence in marriage against any of the spouses or children;
- strong addiction or dependence on alcohol or drugs, etc.
In general, this small list can be further supplemented, as situations are different.
How to get married in a church?
If this is not possible, they turn to the church, which is located in the immediate vicinity. The rector communicates with the husband and wife, who conducts a private conversation, finds out the reasons for making such a decision and talks about the consequences.
Further, the initiators of the procedure write a petition addressed to the Administrator of the Diocese. The document must indicate the date of the wedding and the place where the spouses got married, tell the full story family life.
After that, you need to name the reasons that served as the basis for the debunking. Everything needs to be confirmed official documents and legally certified certificates. In addition, the rector attaches his report to the petition, in which he sets out his personal attitude to the case.
The rite of dethronement in the Orthodox Church: is it possible or not
A second wedding can be scheduled only after the marriage between husband and wife is registered in the registry office. The spouses submit a petition to the regional Diocese, since an ordinary priest does not have the right to conduct a second ceremony without the permission of the bishop.
But even in this case, the Diocese will only give a blessing for the second sacrament of the wedding. The clergy do not issue any document to confirm the right to dissolve a church marriage.
The repeated wedding ceremony differs from the original one when both spouses get married a second time. According to church rules, crowns are not put on the newlyweds and the ceremony takes place in the “second rank”.
You can only get married in a church three times, no more. But for the third time, only a widowed husband or wife is married, in the presence of small children who have not reached the age of majority.
The debunking of church marriage: is it possible or not
Reader question: Hello, I don't know who to contact, so I apologize in advance. I have a question about the debunking. Divorced from his wife for a long time, the reason for this was a huge craving on her part for alcohol.
I stayed with my son, and now I met a girl with whom we are suitable for each other, but since I am a pious person, I cannot marry her because I have not been married. Tell me what should I do? Archpriest Andrey Efanov answers: Good afternoon! The fundamentals of the social concept of the Russian Orthodox Church (you can find this document at the link) states that the alcoholism of one of the spouses is recognized as the basis for divorce.
You can’t “get married” in the Church, you can get a blessing for a second marriage.
The procedure for debunking a church marriage in the Orthodox Church: basic rules
Spouses who have decided to inform the church of a divorce should know that if they wish to resume marital relations, a wedding between them is impossible. According to the laws of the Orthodox Russian Church, you can only go down the aisle twice in your life.
A second wedding after the submission of divorce papers, strong evidence of non-Christian behavior of the other half, is possible with the permission of the head of the diocese. The bishop can give permission for a new union, while canceling the first wedding.
Is it possible to re-marry Divorce and re-marriage, what is needed for this Although in the Church Charter there is no concept of breaking the bonds consecrated by the church, the Priesthood is sympathetic to the fact that different situations occur in life. The priest conducts the ceremony of a new wedding, constantly reminding that throwing between choosing a spouse is not welcomed by the Church Charter.
Debunking in the Orthodox Church, rules
The church only allows re-entry into a church marriage. In order to conduct the Sacrament of the wedding again, you must obtain permission from the relevant diocese.
First, the marriage union is registered in official government bodies, and then, after receiving a positive response to the petition, you can contact the chosen temple and get married again. When the ceremony is repeated, there is one point: if both spouses remarry, then crowns are not assigned to them during the ceremony, but if at least one of them enters into an alliance for the first time, then the crowning takes place as usual.
Who Can Receive the Blessing for Remarriage Not everyone is allowed to dethrone a church marriage.
Dissolution of Church Marriage: Causes and Procedure
In spite of negative attitude churches to divorce, priests periodically allow their adherents to re-marry. If the reasons mentioned above are present, it is possible to get married after a divorce even without the consent of the husband or wife. In all other circumstances, each specific case is considered individually. It is likely to be refused if the priests consider insufficient grounds.
In what order it is necessary to act After the married husband and wife officially divorced, it is necessary to contact the church and go through the procedure for dissolving the already church marriage. The Russian Orthodox Church has determined the established procedure for dethronement, which can be completed within 2-3 weeks.
First of all, in order to get married, you need to visit the parish where the wedding took place, you need to try to communicate with the priest who performed the sacrament.
Dissolution of Church Marriage: Procedure and Causes
The church allows only three weddings, all subsequent marriages cannot be approved by the Orthodox Church. What is needed to receive the blessing of the second wedding ceremony, in addition to asking?
- Certificate of dissolution of a previous marriage.
- Passport or identity document.
- A document confirming the conclusion of a new marriage.
- The absence of reasons why the church may refuse to repeat the wedding ceremony (marriage between spiritual and blood relatives and other reasons).
One of the spouses can apply.
In the event that you receive a blessing for the second wedding, you can go to any temple and get married. If the reason for the marriage was treason, then in this case the blessing for re-marriage is given only to the spouse who is not the culprit of the divorce.
Is it possible to get divorced?
Only the head of the diocese, the bishop, the bishop can give permission to remarry after hearing all the reasons for the collapse of the previous family. Of course, with a very strong desire to remarry, those guilty of the destruction of the previous marriage can hide the true guilt, deceiving not the bishop, but God himself, taking all the blame for this.
The sacrament of the wedding is not just a beautiful ceremony, it is an action performed in Heaven and continued on earth. The priest who crowned such a couple is not responsible before God for hidden or false information, the sin falls on the newly created couple.
Whether the new union will become successful, if it began with deceit and sin, is up to the couple going down the aisle to decide. The merciful Lord never closes His doors to repentance and confession.
How does it apply Orthodox Church to the Gospel of Thomas?
The text known as the Gospel of Thomas does not belong to one of the 12 apostles. EP arose, no doubt, in one of the Gnostic sects. According to authoritative researcher Bruce M. Metzger, “the compiler of the Gospel of Thomas, who probably wrote it down in Syria around 140, also used the Gospel of the Egyptians and the Gospel of the Jews” (Canon of the New Testament, M., 1998, p. 86). It contains neither a story about the earthly life of the Savior of the world (Christmas, preaching the Kingdom of Heaven, Redemptive death, Resurrection and Ascension), nor stories about His miracles. It contains 118 logias (sayings). Gnostic delusions are clearly present in their content. Representatives of these heretical sects taught about "secret knowledge". The author of the text under consideration, in full accordance with this, writes: “These are the secret words that the living Jesus spoke…” (1). Such an understanding of the Savior's teaching is completely at odds with the spirit of the gospel, which is open to all. Jesus himself testifies: “I spoke openly to the world; I always taught in the synagogue and in the temple, where the Jews always converge, and secretly did not say anything ”(John 18:20). The Gnostics were characterized by docetism (Greek dokeo - to think, to seem) - the denial of the Incarnation. Representatives of this heresy claimed that the body of Jesus was ghostly. Docetism is present in EP. We know from the testimonies of the evangelist that the Lord said: “Why are you troubled, and why do such thoughts enter your hearts? Look at my hands and at my feet; it is I myself; touch me and see; for a spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see with me. And having said this, he showed them his hands and feet” (Luke 24:39).
One can cite from EP quite a few tales that are completely alien to the spirit of Christ's radiant love. For example: “The kingdom of the Father is like a man who wants to kill strong man. He drew a sword in his house, he plunged it into the wall to see if his hand would be strong. Then he killed the strong one” (102).
There are quite a few people who are drawn to reading the Apocrypha. There are clear signs of spiritual ill health in this. They naively think to find something else "unknown" there. The Holy Fathers tried to keep Christians from reading the Apocrypha. “Why take up something that the Church does not accept,” wrote Blessed. Augustine. EP well confirms this idea of the saint. What can teach, for example, the 15th logic: "If you fast, you will engender sin in yourself, and if you pray, you will be condemned, and if you give alms, you will harm your spirit." Here, blasphemously, under the guise of "the gospel", what the Savior denounced is served. “Experience proves how disastrous are the consequences of indiscriminate reading. How many concepts about Christianity can be found among the children of the Eastern Church, the most confused, incorrect, contrary to the teachings of the Church, discrediting this holy teaching - concepts learned by reading heretical books ”(St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov). Complete collection of creations, vol. 1, M., 2001 , p.108).
In what language were the laws written on the tablets?
priest Afanasy Gumerov, resident Sretensky Monastery
The Ten Commandments were written on stone tablets in Hebrew.
Is it possible to tell others what the priest said in confession?
priest Afanasy Gumerov, resident of the Sretensky Monastery
Tell me, please, how to explain to a child who an angel is?
Hegumen Ambrose (Ermakov)
I will try to fulfill your request by contacting the child directly:
Dear friend! Angel is a Greek word (there is such a language) and it means the one who brings news, news - a messenger. After all, you know that your dad at work, at your school and all people have bosses. And in order to convey something to their subordinates, these bosses send a special person, a messenger. And our main Head and Creator is the Lord. And the messengers He sends are called angels. Angels bring thoughts of goodness, peace and love from God, encourage people to fulfill the commandments of God, protect a person from evil. And although we do not see angels, we must turn to them with prayer, knowing that angels see us and hear and help when it is necessary and useful for us.
What do the cross and the rite of baptism symbolize in Christianity?
priest Afanasy Gumerov, resident of the Sretensky Monastery The incarnated God Jesus Christ, out of immeasurable love for us, took upon Himself the sins of the entire human race and, having accepted death on the Cross, offered an atoning Sacrifice for us. Since sins lead a person to spiritual death and make him a prisoner of the devil, after the death of Christ at Calvary, the Cross became an instrument of victory over sin, death and the devil. In the sacrament of baptism, the rebirth of fallen man takes place. By the grace of the Holy Spirit, he is born into spiritual life. You can be born only when our old man dies. The Savior said in a conversation with Nicodemus: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:5-6). In baptism we are crucified with Christ and resurrected with Him. " Therefore we were buried with Him by baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life” (Rom. 6:4).
How to understand the definition of "Catholic Greek-Russian Church"?
Hieromonk Job (Gumerov)
This is one of the names of the Russian Orthodox Church, which is often found before 1917. In May 1823, St. Philaret of Moscow published a catechism, which had the following title: "The Christian Catechism of the Orthodox Catholic Eastern Greco-Russian Church."
Catholic (from Greek καθ - by and όλη - whole; όικουμένη - universe) means universal.
compound word Greek-Russian indicates the grace-filled and canonical continuity of the Russian Church in relation to the Byzantine one.
What will happen to the souls of sinners?
priest Afanasy Gumerov, resident of the Sretensky Monastery
Today two Jehovah's Witnesses came to see me and we started a discussion. The conversation turned to the soul, or to be more precise, about its death. I believe (based on "Revelations") that the souls of sinners, along with Satan, will be thrown into hell and they will be tormented there forever (as it is actually written in the Bible), but they insist that the above-mentioned personalities will be destroyed in this lake, that is deleted like files from a computer. My arguments were not enough for them, tell me, please, what should they answer?
Answer: The human soul is immortal and indestructible. Therefore, there will be not only eternal bliss for the righteous, but also eternal torment for unrepentant sinners. This is revealed to us in the holy Gospel. “Then he will also say to those on the left side: Depart from me, cursed, into eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matt. 25:41); “And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life” (Mt. 25:46); “Truly I say to you, all sins and blasphemy will be forgiven the sons of men, no matter how they blaspheme; but whoever blasphemes the Holy Spirit, there will be no forgiveness forever, but he is subject to eternal condemnation” (Mark 3:28-29). Seer's words “both alive were thrown into the lake of fire” (Rev. 19:20) mean that the Antichrist and the false prophet, as the most malicious and stubborn opponents of God, will be punished even before the Judgment, that is, they will not go through the usual order that St. Apostle Paul: “men are supposed to die once, and then judgment”(Heb. 9:27). Elsewhere, St. the apostle writes: “I tell you a secret: we will not all die, but we will all be changed” (1 Cor. 15:51).
If there was nothing before God, then where did evil come from?
priest Afanasy Gumerov, resident of the Sretensky Monastery
God did not create evil. The world that came out of the hands of the Creator was perfect. “And God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good” (Gen. 1:31). Evil by its nature is nothing but a violation of the Divine order and harmony. It arose from the abuse of the freedom that the Creator gave to His creations - angels and man. At first, a part of the angels fell away from the will of God out of pride. They turned into demons. Their damaged nature has become a constant source of evil. Then the man could not resist in goodness. Openly violating the commandment given to him, he opposed the will of the Creator. Having lost the beneficial connection with the bearer of Life, man has lost his original perfection. His nature has been corrupted. Sin was born and entered the world. Its bitter fruits were sickness, suffering and death. Man is no longer completely free (Rom. 7:15-21), but a slave of sin. The Incarnation took place to save people. “For this reason the Son of God appeared, to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8). By His death on the cross and Resurrection, Jesus Christ spiritually and morally defeated evil, which no longer has complete power over man. But real evil remains as long as the present world is preserved. Everyone is required to struggle with sin (primarily in themselves). With the grace of God, this struggle can bring victory to everyone. Evil will be finally defeated at the end of time by Jesus Christ. " He must reign until He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death” (1 Cor. 15:25–26).
What is the attitude of the Orthodox Church towards classical music?
Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov)
If you were to ask me, I would be of two minds about her. On the one hand, since a person, according to the teachings of the Church, consists of a spirit, soul and body, then the soul, the spiritual, non-spiritual needs, of course, must find food. At a certain time in the formation of an Orthodox person, of course, it is better to listen to classical music than the soul-destroying or empty works of some modern authors. But as a person gets to know the spiritual world, he notices with surprise that once loved by him and undoubtedly great works of musical art become less and less interesting for him.
Is it true that a person who has not confessed or taken communion within a year is automatically excommunicated from the Church?
priest Afanasy Gumerov, resident of the Sretensky Monastery
No. We must prepare for confession and proceed to this sacrament.
Why is the Orthodox Church so sharply negative about homosexuality? I'm not talking about gay parades, I don't understand it myself, although I live with a woman. How are we different? Why are we more sinful than everyone else? We are the same people as everyone else. Why are we treated like this? Thank you.
Hieromonk Job (Gumerov) answers:
The Holy Fathers teach us to distinguish between sin and a person whose soul is sick and needs treatment from a serious illness. Such a person evokes compassion. However, it is impossible to heal the one who is in blindness and does not see his disastrous state.
Holy Scripture calls any violation of the Divine law a sin (see 1 John 3:4). The Lord the Creator endowed a man and a woman with spiritual and bodily features so that they complement each other and thus form a unity. The Holy Bible testifies that marriage as a permanent life union between a man and a woman was established by God at the very beginning of human existence. According to the Creator's plan, the meaning and purpose of marriage is in joint salvation, in common work, mutual assistance and bodily union for the birth of children and their upbringing. Of all earthly unions, marriage is the closest: will be one flesh(Gen. 2:24). When people have sexual life outside of marriage, they pervert the Divine plan for a blessed life union, reducing everything to a sensual-physiological principle and discarding spiritual and social goals. Therefore, the holy Bible defines any cohabitation outside of family ties as a mortal sin, for the Divine institution is violated. An even more serious sin is the satisfaction of sensual needs in an unnatural way: “Do not lie with a man as with a woman: this is an abomination” (Lev.18: 22). This applies equally to women. The Apostle Paul calls this a shameful passion, shame, lasciviousness: “Their women replaced natural use with unnatural; likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the female sex, were inflamed with lust against one another, men doing shame against men and receiving in themselves the due punishment for their error ”(Rom. 1: 26-27). People living in Sodomite sin are deprived of salvation: “Do not be deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor malacia, nor homosexuals nor thieves, nor covetous men, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor predators, shall inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10).
There is a sad repetition in history. Societies that go through periods of decline are afflicted, like metastases, by some especially dangerous sins. Most often, sick societies are engulfed in mass self-interest and depravity. The offspring of the latter is the sin of Sodom. Mass depravity corroded Roman society like acid and crushed the power of the empire.
In order to justify the sin of Sodom, they try to bring "scientific" arguments and convince that there is an innate predisposition to this attraction. But this is a typical myth. A helpless attempt to justify evil. There is absolutely no evidence that homosexuals are genetically different from other people. We are talking only about a spiritual and moral illness and the inevitable deformation in the field of the psyche. Sometimes the cause may be childish depraved games that a person forgot, but they left a painful trace in the subconscious. The poison of unnatural sin that has entered a person can manifest itself much later if a person does not lead a correct spiritual life.
The Word of God, sensitive to all manifestations human life, not only says nothing about innateness, but calls this sin an abomination. If it depended on certain neuroendocrine characteristics and sex hormones, which are associated with the physiological regulation of the reproductive function of a person, then the Holy Scripture would not speak of the unnaturalness of this passion, it would not be called shame. Isn't it blasphemous to think that God can create some people with a physiological disposition to mortal sin and thereby doom them to death? The facts of mass distribution of this type of debauchery in some periods of history testify against the attempt to use science as an excuse. The Canaanites, the inhabitants of Sodom, Gomorrah and other cities of Pentagrad (Adma, Seboim and Sigor) were infected with this filth without exception. Defenders of Sodomy dispute the notion that the inhabitants of these cities had this shameful passion. However, the New Testament directly says: “As Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around, like them, committed fornication and who went after other flesh having undergone the punishment of eternal fire, set as an example, so it will be with these dreamers who defile the flesh ”(Jude 1: 7-8). This is also evident from the text: “They called Lot and said to him: Where are the people who came to you at night? bring them to us; we shall know them” (Gen. 19:5). The words “let us know them” have a very definite character in the Bible and indicate carnal relationships. And since the angels who came had the appearance of men (see: Gen. 19: 10), this shows what disgusting depravity all (“from young to old, all the people”; Gen. 19: 4) inhabitants of Sodom were infected with. The righteous Lot, fulfilling the ancient law of hospitality, offers his two daughters, “who did not know a man” (Gen. 19: 8), but the perverts, inflamed with vile lust, tried to rape Lot himself: “Now we will deal worse with you than with them "(Gen. 19: 9).
Modern Western society, having lost its Christian roots, is trying to be "humane" in relation to homosexuals, calling them the morally neutral word "sex minority" (by analogy with the national minority). In fact, this is a very cruel attitude. If a doctor, wanting to be "kind", inspired a seriously ill patient that he was healthy, only by nature he was not like others, then he would not differ much from a murderer. Holy Scripture indicates that God “condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, having condemned them to destruction, turned them into ashes, setting an example for the future wicked” (2 Pet. 2: 6). It speaks not only of the danger of losing eternal life, but also about the possibility of being healed of any, even the most serious and rooted spiritual illness. The Apostle Paul not only severely rebuked the Corinthians for shameful sins, but also strengthened their hope with examples from their own midst: “And such were some of you; but they were washed, but they were sanctified, but they were justified by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:11).
The Holy Fathers point out that the center of gravity of all passions (including carnal ones) is in the realm of the human spirit - in its damage. The passions are the result of man's separation from God and the resulting sinful depravity. Therefore, the starting point of healing must be the determination to “leave Sodom” forever. When the angels were leading Lot's family out of this city of vile debauchery, one of them said: “Save your soul; do not look back” (Gen. 19:17). These words were a moral test. A parting glance at the corrupted city, to which God's judgment had already been pronounced, would testify to sympathy for him. Lot's wife looked back, because her soul had not parted from Sodom. We find confirmation of this idea in the book of wisdom of Solomon. Speaking of wisdom, the author writes: “At the time of the destruction of the wicked, she saved the righteous, who escaped the fire that descended on five cities, from which, as evidence of wickedness, there remained a smoking empty earth and plants that did not bear fruit in due time, and a monument wrong souls - a standing pillar of salt (Wisdom 10: 6-7). Lot's wife is called an unfaithful soul. Our Lord Jesus Christ warns his disciples: “On the day Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all… Remember Lot’s wife” (Luke 17:29, 32). Not only those who have looked into the abyss with their experience, but also all those who justify this vice, one must constantly remember Lot's wife. The path to a real fall begins with the moral justification of sin. One must be horrified by the eternal fire, and then all liberal speeches about the “right” to what the Lord said through the lips of the sacred writers will seem false: “The depraved one is an abomination before the Lord, but with the righteous he has fellowship” (Prov. 3: 32).
It is necessary to enter into the fertile experience of the Church. First of all, it is necessary (without delay) to prepare for the general confession and go through it. From this day on, we must begin to fulfill what the Holy Church has prescribed for its members for centuries: regularly participate in the sacraments of confession and communion, go to feast and Sunday services, read morning and evening prayers, observe holy fasts, be attentive to yourself in order to evade sin). Then the all-powerful help of God will come and heal you completely from a serious illness. “He who knows his weakness from many temptations, from bodily and spiritual passions, also knows the infinite power of God, delivering those who cry out to Him with prayer from the bottom of their hearts. And his prayer is already sweet. Seeing that without God he can do nothing, and fearing a fall, he tries to be relentless with God. He is surprised, thinking about how God delivered him from so many temptations and passions, and thanks the Redeemer, and with thanksgiving receives humility and love, and no longer dares to despise anyone, knowing that as God helped him, so He can help everyone, whenever he wants” (St. Peter of Damascus).
Some time ago, Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad held the first ever Internet conference for Protestants. It was held on the site Luther.ru, which was then headed by the editor of our portal. Today, after the election of Metropolitan Kirill as Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, it seems useful to know his opinion on the relationship between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Protestant community. Answer: Orthodoxy is not only the participation of the Church through participation in the Sacraments, the truth of which is confirmed by the continuity of the chain of ordinations from the time of the apostles, but no less - the integrity of faith, way of thinking and life. And if a person lives in harmony with his conscience, follows the path of repentance, strives with all his heart to realize the truth of the Gospel, then for such a person the door of salvation cannot be closed. Both Holy Scripture (Eph. 5:23, Col. 1:24) and the faith of ancient Christians testify that the Lord was pleased to do the work of saving people in the Body of Christ, in His Church, which is an unshakable "pillar and the establishment of the truth" (1 Tim. 3:15). But how can a person be saved outside the Church, and whether he can be saved - this is the great mystery of God, incomprehensible to man. Answer: Let's define what it means to be saved. Does the word imply some kind of action that is superficially different from other human activities? In my opinion, the following idea is very clearly expressed in Holy Scripture: the accomplishment of the salvation of one's soul is a way of life, that is, a way of arranging human existence with all its needs on the basis of the Christian faith. The Apostle Paul in the 1st Epistle to the Corinthians emphasizes that it is not a change in a person’s occupation that is pleasing to God, but a change in his attitude towards his occupation and towards the people with whom a person communicates. All those areas that you have listed are of vital importance for a person. And their existence is justified not only by concern for daily bread, but also by the need to develop creative abilities given to man by God. But how can one develop God-given talents without God? Indeed, morning and evening prayers, church attendance, participation in the Sacraments are important parts of the life of a believer. But why can't another part of a person's life be a stand before the Lord? After all, the apostle Paul called on believers to pray "with every prayer and petition" at all times (Eph. 6:8). This means that we can turn to God for admonishment on how to act at work, in family life, and so on. When, for example, a believing physician receives a patient, beginning with an inner prayer for this person, then, I believe, he turns his profession into the work of his salvation. Answer: Using earthly riches, we often forget that they are God's. God is the true Owner of heaven and earth. Based on the words of the book of Genesis, St. John Chrysostom calls a person only a steward to whom the wealth of the earthly world is entrusted. The Lord gave the commandment to the first people to cultivate and keep the world (Genesis 2:15). Therefore, man is responsible for it and will have to give an account to God about the treatment of the world He created. Answer: Do you think that in the Russian Orthodox Church everyone should obey army discipline, and conflicts arise exclusively on command? The question you raise is a complex one. Each conflict requires careful consideration to establish its true cause. You, apparently, want to say that the Orthodox in the capital show greater religious tolerance. Maybe you are right. But this is not a question of "controllability", but a question, firstly, of spiritual enlightenment, since over the course of 70 years of domination by an atheistic regime, people have forgotten how to distinguish Christians from sectarians. And, secondly, active proselytism on the part of some Protestant groups prevents peaceful coexistence and cooperation, which causes a strong protest on the part of the Orthodox. For many of our believers, for example, the massive inviting of people baptized in the Orthodox Church to "healing" sessions accompanied by extreme emotional excitement is unacceptable. So, in order to resolve complex and sometimes conflict situations, dialogue and a desire to solve problems peacefully, in a Christian way, are necessary, and not an order from Moscow. Answer: The visit to Moscow of the Chairman of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, Cardinal Walter Kasper, in February 2004, again drew the attention of Russian and foreign media to serious problems in the relationship between the Russian Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches. Pavel Parfentiev's article "We are not guests in Russia" is one of the most harsh and unambiguously negative publications in relation to the Russian Orthodox Church. The author of this material, who attributes himself to the so-called Russian Greek Catholic Church, criticizes not only the official position of the Russian Orthodox Church, but also the actions of the representatives of the Vatican. The "Russian Greek Catholic Church" is a small group of intellectuals who, through their conversion to Catholicism, expressed their painful desire to "reform" Orthodoxy, and then played a controversial role in the Catholic Church. This group considers itself the successor of the Russian Greek Catholic Church, which was created by the Vatican after the February Revolution of 1917 and was conceived as a tool for the catholicization of Russia. For the same purpose, after the Bolsheviks came to power, the Vatican actively tried to establish contacts with them, sought their patronage at a time when they were conducting the most severe persecution of the Russian Orthodox Church. The argument given by P. Parfentiev regarding the history and current state of Orthodox-Catholic relations in our country, in my opinion, is more than controversial, as it is a very one-sided and too emotional interpretation of various facts. Therefore, I would not consider this article to be either clear or reasoned. Moreover, as far as I know, the views expressed in it do not reflect the position of all Russian Catholics. The author conducts polemics in a non-appeal manner, which cannot contribute to a calm, objective consideration of the situation in the relationship between the Churches. I am convinced that such speeches are capable of harming the Orthodox-Catholic dialogue and in no way contribute to the improvement of relations between the Russian Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches. Answer: The tradition of using visible characters the presence of God dates back to ancient times. In the Bible, such signs were the altars built by the patriarchs, the Ark of the Covenant, the Jerusalem Temple. Moses who wrote the very first lines Holy Scripture, received a command from God to make images of cherubim, which were to serve as a reminder to the Israelites of the presence of the invisible God. Actually, the Bible itself is also an icon, the image of God, written in words, not paints. Symbolic language is not some artificial invention. The need for it is rooted in the most dual spiritual and bodily nature of man - that nature, which God Himself sanctified by incarnation. People perceive the world around them with the help of all five senses, and not just hearing, therefore, in the practice of the Christian Church, the use of symbols and images has been found since apostolic times. Wall paintings of biblical scenes and a cross were found during the excavations of Pompeii, and the use of lamps by Christians for religious purposes dates back to synagogue practice. Among other symbols, one can mention, for example, oil, which was used to anoint the sick: "Is any of you sick, let him call for the elders of the Church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord" (James 5. fourteen). The great theologians of the first centuries of Christianity gave sacred images an important place in the life of the Church. Thus, St. Basil the Great (4th century) wrote: “I recognize the image of the Son of God in the flesh and the Holy Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, who gave birth to Him in the flesh. I also recognize the image of the holy apostles, prophets and martyrs. I read and I kiss their images with reverence, for they were handed down to us by the holy apostles; they are not forbidden; on the contrary, we see them in all our churches. During the iconoclastic disputes of the 8th-9th centuries, the veneration of sacred images received a serious theological understanding. Council of Nicaea(787) explained that when venerating icons, "the honor given to the image passes to the prototype", that is, veneration (which in itself should be distinguished from worship intended for God alone) is paid not to the material of the icon, but to the one depicted on it personality. Thus, the rich symbolism that exists in the Orthodox Church not only meets the needs of human nature, serving as a guide to thinking about God, but also has deep roots dating back to the era of early Christianity and even further - to the very first pages of biblical history. Answer: Such phenomena as divination, sorcery, divination are by no means "Orthodox folklore". On the contrary, the Church has severely condemned such activities since ancient times. In answer to your question, I assure you that the Orthodox clergy incessantly instructs the flock with the right teaching. Enough to go to any Orthodox church to make sure. However, those people who practice various forms of magic using Orthodox paraphernalia, as a rule, are not churched Orthodox believers. Moreover, their very activity is contrary to the teachings of the Church. Their use of prayers and church objects is nothing more than a cover and a means of attracting people, for the majority of whom the authority of the Church is very high. Answer: We are not going to intrusively "convert" anyone. Our Church constantly bears witness to the truth of Christ. But man, having God-given freedom, is always free to make his own choice. The very term "conversion" implies a specific strategy for attracting people who already belong to a different religious tradition. We call proselytism the enticement of believers of one denomination into another. Therefore, the conversion to Protestantism of people baptized in the Russian Orthodox Church, but not yet fully churched, is proselytism, since they are converted not to some abstract Christianity, but to a specific denomination. If pro-Testant missionaries really cared about whether unchurched people were genuine Christians, they might as well advise them to attend an Orthodox church. However, as a rule, they make every effort to literally "drag" a person into their community. Cases of conversion of Protestants to Orthodoxy are almost always the result of their personal choice, and not the obsessive efforts of the Orthodox. Answer: The Russian Orthodox Church does not forbid its children to join various kinds of public organizations, but they should not be in the nature of secret societies. Often such organizations involve exclusive subordination to their leaders, a conscious refusal to disclose the essence of the organization's activities to the church authorities and even at confession. The Church cannot approve the participation in societies of this kind of Orthodox laity, and even more so of clergy, since by their very nature they reject a person from total devotion to the Church of God and its canonical order. Answer: Orthodox Christians should treat all people, regardless of their religious beliefs, with respect and love, as if they were their neighbors. Even in those cases when a good approach encounters a barrier of alienation and misunderstanding, we should be guided by the words of the Savior: “If you love those who love you, what reward will you have? your brethren, what special thing are you doing? Don't the Gentiles do the same thing?" (Matthew 5:46-47). Those of our neighbors and fellow citizens who bear the name of Christians are especially dear to us, even if they do not share the fullness of the faith of the Orthodox Church. We are united with Evangelical Christians-Baptists by our common faith in the Triune God, in the incarnation of the Son of God for our salvation, in the inspiration of Holy Scripture. However, there are many things that separate us. As I have already said, the Russian Orthodox Church has a negative attitude towards activities deliberately aimed at converting those who have been baptized in it to another faith. At the same time, we acknowledge that Baptism does not relieve a person of the obligation to comprehend his place in the Church, to take an active part in her life. The Russian Orthodox Church cannot by force keep its members who have consciously and by personal choice decided to leave it. At the same time, we look at baptized, but not churched people, not as external to Orthodoxy and in need of conversion, but as those who especially need pastoral care and support precisely within the Church. When such people, often taking advantage of their religious ignorance, are addressed with an appeal to abandon Orthodox faith, which is presented to them in a distorted, caricatured form - we consider such actions unacceptable and contrary to fundamentals evangelical ethics. All this does not mean that cooperation between the Russian Orthodox Church and communities of Evangelical Christian Baptists is impossible in various areas of public life, such as social service, patriotic activity, concern for the preservation of moral standards in the life of the people. We have experience of such cooperation, and we continue to actively develop it. Thus, on April 15, 2004, representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Russian Union of Evangelical Christian Baptists held a joint conference on the topic "The Role of a Christian in Modern Russian Society", during which Orthodox and Baptists revealed the coincidence of positions on many issues discussed. There is reason to hope that examples of such interaction will take place in the future. Answer: War is a physical manifestation of the hidden spiritual disease of mankind - fratricidal hatred, which is described at the very beginning of the Bible. Unfortunately, wars accompanied the entire history of mankind after the fall and, according to the word of the Gospel, will continue to accompany it: “When you hear about wars and rumors of war, do not be horrified: for this must be” (Mark 13:7) . Recognizing war as evil, the Church still does not forbid its children to participate in hostilities when it comes to protecting their neighbors and restoring violated justice. Then war is considered, although undesirable, but a forced means. Orthodoxy at all times treated with the deepest reverence the soldiers who, at the cost of their own lives, preserved the lives and safety of their neighbors. The Holy Church has numbered many soldiers among the saints, taking into account their Christian virtues and referring to them the words of Christ: “There is no greater love than if a man lays down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). Answer: Saint Ignatius (Bryanchaninov) wrote a great deal about the reading of the Holy Fathers. In the first volume of his "Ascetic Experiences" there is a whole chapter devoted to how one should read the works of holy ascetics. The phrase you quoted is somewhat taken out of context. Saint Ignatius had in mind that "from reading the writings of the Fathers we learn the true understanding of Holy Scripture, the right faith, living according to the commandments of the Gospel, the deep respect that we must have for the Gospel commandments, in a word, salvation and Christian perfection." Answer: Indeed, there are discrepancies in the interpretation of the Holy Bible between different Christian denominations. However, it is vitally important for a believing Christian to use not those interpretations that would be pleasant and interesting to him personally, but those that authentically convey the teaching of Christ accepted by the Apostles. History of Christianity and state of the art testify that it is precisely Orthodoxy that in its entirety possesses the tradition of the apostolic reading of the Holy Scriptures. As you know, the Orthodox Church adds to its faith the definition of "apostolic", because it still bases its teaching and life on the same principles as the first disciples of Jesus Christ. This point is fundamental, since the Apostles put into practice the commandments of Christ, and then passed on the learned way of life to subsequent generations of Christians. But it is wrong to think that the Christian teaching is transmitted by human means, for example, in writing. The Lord told His disciples that they would be guided in faith not only by their memory and their abilities, but also by the Holy Spirit: “But the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you everything and remind you of everything, what I told you" (John 14:16). Therefore, it would be a lack of faith to believe that at some historical stage human errors overcame the action of God and clouded the gospel truth. It is easy for an unprejudiced person to discover that through the entire history of the Church of Christ, as well as through the entire history of the ancient Jewish people, there is an uninterrupted thread of cooperation between God and believing people. In the Orthodox Church, the totality of the spiritual experience of Christians is called Holy Tradition. It is the preservation and adherence to it that makes it possible to interpret Holy Scripture in accordance with the apostolic spirit. Answer: The relations of the Russian Orthodox Church with the traditional Protestant denominations have always been distinguished by mutual tolerance and openness to dialogue. Today, however, Protestantism in our country is a heterogeneous phenomenon. Very often under the name of Protestants there are not Lutherans or Baptists, but neo-charismatic groups, many of which have a destructive, totalitarian character. Such associations, exploiting the inner weakness of people, have a negative impact on the mental health of their adherents, whose entire spiritual life is replaced by a set of uncontrolled emotional reactions. It is equally clear to both Orthodox and traditional Protestants that such false spirituality is in conflict with biblical teaching. Answer: The position of the Russian Orthodox Church in relation to Protestant denominations is set forth in the document "Basic Principles of the Russian Orthodox Church's Attitude towards Non-Orthodox", adopted at the 2000 Jubilee Bishops' Council. “The Orthodox Church,” the document says, “draws a clear distinction between heterodox confessions that recognize faith in the Holy Trinity, the God-manhood of Jesus Christ, and sects that reject the fundamental Christian dogmas. Recognizing the right of non-Orthodox Christians to bear witness and religious education among the population groups that traditionally belong to them, the Orthodox Church opposes any destructive missionary activity of sects. As you know, Pentecostals fully share the listed foundations of the Christian faith. However, as has already been said, among the groups called "Pentecostal" or "charismatic" there are many who, in their religious practices, have departed very far from the biblical and church tradition communion with God. We have to deal with situations where being in such communities affects the spiritual appearance and even the mental health of a person in a completely destructive way. It seems to me that both Orthodox and traditional Protestants should jointly testify before society that the manifestations of pseudo-spirituality that take place in some religious communities, including those who call themselves "charismatic", have nothing to do with either the Bible or the Christianity. Answer: There are several interpretations of this symbol. The first interpretation suggests that the semicircular detail is a stylized image of the lower part of the anchor. Even in the ancient catacombs, Christians used the symbol of an anchor with a vertical bar at the top end to reveal the meaning of the Savior's death on the cross. The cross was presented as an anchor "thrown" by God into the world in order to lift a person to the spiritual sky. The second interpretation sees in this combination of the cross and the semicircle the ancient symbol of the Church - a ship with a mast in the form of a cross, on which believers in Christ are saved. Finally, the third meaning: the crescent symbolizes the Mother of God, from whose womb our salvation shone - Christ crucified on the cross. Answer: The Russian Orthodox Church is ready to contact and cooperate with all Christian denominations that are disposed to an open, mutually respectful dialogue with her. In our Church there is no tradition of joint prayers with representatives of other confessions, but cooperation in the public sphere, in the field of charity is possible and necessary. And it is already taking place. As an example, I would like to point out that the Smolensk diocese, entrusted to my archpastoral care, carries out a number of events and social projects with the direct participation of representatives of various Christian denominations operating in the region. In September 2003, on the initiative of our diocese, the All-Russian anti-drug action "Train to the Future" was held. The event was attended by representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation, the Smolensk Regional Administration and various religious organizations, including Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Baptists, and Pentecostals. Representatives of many Christian communities highly appreciate the level of interaction with the Russian Orthodox Church. For example, at the already mentioned seminar of representatives of our Church and the Russian Union of Evangelical Christian Baptists, held at the Department for External Church Relations, Yu.K. Sipko especially noted the good relations that developed between his co-religionists and the leadership of the Smolensk diocese. I hope that our cooperation in the region will continue in the future. Answer: The theological dialogue with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland has been going on for almost 35 years. During this time, purely theological topics were also discussed, such as the Eucharist and the nature of the Church, problems of understanding salvation and holiness, and topics dictated by the social tasks of a particular time. An absolute achievement can be considered the destruction of some prejudices and stereotypes in assessing each other, which was facilitated by frank and scientifically based discussions. At times Soviet Union dialogue was important political significance. Thanks to the contacts of the Russian Orthodox Church with foreign religious organizations, the atheistic authorities were forced to put up with the very existence of the Church. It can be said directly that dialogues with representatives of Western Christians helped the survival of our Church at that time. In the late 1980s, when religious freedom came to our country, the situation changed dramatically. Many Western Christian denominations, which for decades maintained friendly relations with our Church, instead of the expected help in the revival of normal church life in Russia, engaged in active proselytism. For example, the United Methodist Church in the United States began to do so. At the same time, our Church has maintained strong and truly partnership relations with the Lutherans: with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Finland and the Evangelical Church in Germany. We continue our theological discussions with these churches. The next theological dialogue with Finnish Lutherans will take place next September. In addition, our Churches have a scholarship exchange program in which students from the Russian Orthodox Church studied in Helsinki and Turku, and Finnish theologians studied at the St. Petersburg Theological Academy. In 2001, the first agreements on sister parishes were signed between the communities of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. What awaits us in the future? It seems to me that over time, Christians have more and more common tasks. In addition, in an era when the countries and peoples of Europe and the world are becoming increasingly interdependent, we need to strive to resolve the problems we face together, using the accumulated experience of dialogue. For example, secularism, spiritual nihilism, betrayal of evangelical ideals within some Christian communities become a serious challenge to Christians. I mean, first of all, the introduction of the practice of ordination of homosexuals and the "blessing" of same-sex marriages. I repeat, there are more and more common Christian tasks. Answer: In 2002, after the completion of the work of the Special Commission on the Participation of the Orthodox in the WCC, there was hope for significant changes in the work of this international Christian organization. The discussion itself, which was held at the commission, in many respects brought the positions of the Orthodox and Protestant participants closer, or at least helped to better understand the Orthodox point of view. Now that about two years remain until the final approval of the decisions of the Special Commission at the next Assembly of the WCC, we see signs of positive development: draft amendments to the Constitution and rules of the WCC have already been prepared, thanks to which most of the decisions will be made not by a simple majority of votes, but by consensus. This is especially important when it comes to questions of dogma or tradition of our Church, its ecclesiological self-awareness. The criteria for membership in the Council are also becoming tougher: if before it was enough to agree with the doctrine of the Trinity and the God-manhood of the Lord Jesus Christ, now confession of the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed is also assumed. A positive factor is also the fact that many small Protestant churches one direction will now be represented by a single delegate. This will reduce the excessive confessional imbalance in the Council, when the Orthodox have always found themselves in a minority, despite the large number of believers they represent. As for joint prayers, the attitude towards this issue among the Local Orthodox Churches is different. At this stage, after the decisions taken at the inter-Orthodox meeting in Thessaloniki, representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church do not actively participate in such prayers, but this does not mean that they cannot attend meetings of heterodox Christians, where prayer is performed in forms acceptable to them or a sermon is delivered. An important contribution to resolving the problems associated with joint prayer was made by the Special Commission I have already mentioned, which proposed a strict distinction between "confessional" and "inter-confessional" prayers. This differentiation made it possible for participants who, for one reason or another, find it impossible to take part in "ecumenical" prayer at WCC meetings, to choose the worship service inherent in their own church tradition. Answer: I think there are at least four reasons for this. First, the formation of the WCC took place in the post-war period, when issues of international peacekeeping were of paramount importance. Then the threat of Nazism, fascism and communism was replaced by the threat of atomic and thermonuclear weapons, dramas cold war, apartheid, racism and poverty in Asia and Africa and, finally, globalization. Each time, with the help of the WCC, the Churches sought to make a positive contribution to the strengthening of peace, to alleviate the suffering of people in different parts of the world. The aim was also to weaken and destroy the prevailing anti-Christian ideologies. Secondly, the WCC itself is a kind of fusion of two differently directed movements that originated at the beginning of the 20th century: Faith and Church Organization and Life and Activity. This connection has never been organic enough, in view of the fact that the latter movement did not attach much importance to theology, but at the same time aroused the greatest interest in non-church circles and from donors. Thirdly, there is a growing disillusionment with the course of theological discussions, which turned out to be ineffective. Finally, it must be admitted that among the current members of the "Faith and Church Organization" commission, and indeed in the WCC in general, there are still no theologians capable of making a significant breakthrough in the course of dialogue. Answer: Such a dialogue is very possible. And today it should be socially oriented. This is our Russian reality: believers must overcome the consequences of the atheistic era. In addition, we have many common problems connected, for example, with the improvement of legislation on religious organizations, with charity, youth patriotic work. And in these areas we can and should cooperate. Answer: The principle of canonical territory has a very long history. Even the apostle Paul wrote: "I tried not to preach the gospel where the name of Christ was already known, so as not to build on someone else's foundation" (Rom. 15:20). Behind this was by no means an ordinary desire "not to beat someone else's bread", especially since the apostle himself preferred to live by the labor of his own hands. From his pastoral experience, Paul knew how easily divisions into "Cythians" and "Apollos" penetrate into the church milieu; he also knew how important it is for successful evangelism to take into account local national and cultural characteristics. Thus, a deliberate refusal to preach the Gospel where this sermon has already been sounded is not only a requirement of Christian ethics, but also a necessary condition for effective evangelism. In the era immediately following the apostolic age, when the number of Christians increased, this principle was enshrined in a canonical collection known as the Apostolic Canons. In particular, it says: “It is fitting for the bishops of every nation to know the first among them and recognize him as the head, and not to do anything that exceeds their power without reasoning: let the bishop not dare outside the boundaries of his diocese to perform ordinations in cities and in villages not subject to him" (Rules 34, 35). The canonical tradition of the undivided Church formulated a very important principle: in one city there is one bishop, that is, in one city, or more broadly, in one place, there is one Church. There cannot be several local Churches in one place. The latter is nonsense from the point of view of the tradition of the undivided Church. We do not believe that the subsequent tragic division of the Church and the emergence of so-called confessions are capable of abolishing this principle, which dates back to early Christian times, on the ontological level. That is why Russia, where the word of God was preached by the Orthodox Church, and where it originally existed as a Local Church, that is, the Church of a given place, is considered, according to the norms of canon law, the canonical territory of the Moscow Patriarchate. Protestant religious organizations are free to accept or not accept this given as much as they recognize the canonical norms of the Undivided Church. But no one has the right to demand that we renounce what constitutes the most important part of Church Tradition. From the time of the Baptism of Russia, Russian Orthodox missionaries became enlighteners and pioneers who played a key role in the Christianization of the country, in the development of the national identity of the peoples to whom they carried the word of God. All this led to the emergence and development of a unique Orthodox culture, which absorbed all the best from previous eras and became the main wealth of many peoples of Russia. Responsibility for evangelical preaching, pastoral work, spiritual upbringing and enlightenment of people living on this earth fell precisely on the Russian Orthodox Church, which in its canonical territory represents the fullness of the universal Church of Christ. Our Church feels this great responsibility for all its members, that is, for those who have received from us the Sacrament of Baptism, which, we believe, makes a person a member of the Church. The peoples of Russia with Orthodox cultural heritage, it is from the Russian Orthodox Church that they expect the gospel word, it is in her that they see a spiritual guide. Here there is no notorious "identification" by the Russian Church of all Russians with their flock. The data of statistical surveys show that the vast majority of the inhabitants of our country, to one degree or another, associate themselves with Orthodoxy. This is their free personal choice. Of course, the fact of belonging to the Church by Baptism does not negate the need for churching, for an individual understanding of one's place in the church community. At present, attracting believers to a more active church life is one of the main tasks of our pastoral work. Thus, when the Russian Orthodox Church speaks of its canonical territory, it also means an awareness of the responsibility for the spiritual destiny of our people, which is the heir to a thousand-year-old Christian culture, which gave the world a host of martyrs and other saints. The service that the Russian Orthodox Church has carried out in our country for many centuries is unique, and its role cannot be replaced for the same reason that history cannot be changed. Answer: Of course, the teaching of religious subjects at school is necessary, but these disciplines must be closely related to the culture of the particular religion that dominates in a particular region. You can often hear that the introduction of the subject "Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture" will violate the freedom of conscience of people of other faiths. However, in places where Lutherans are densely populated - as well as in all other places where it is possible to create schools with an ethno-cultural component of education - children from Lutheran families can study their faith. And we need to work together to ensure that the state actually realizes the right of all children to receive knowledge about religion in the spirit of precisely the beliefs that are held in their families. Answer: Orthodox and Lutherans have a very rich history of relationships that began in the 16th century, at the height of the European Reformation, and has always flowed in line with mutual respect, understanding, and tolerance. It can be said with certainty that in our time, of all the Protestant denominations, the most constructive relations in our Church are formed precisely with the Lutherans. Much has already been said about our connections with the Lutheran Churches in Germany and Finland. Undoubtedly, we should use the experience of this cooperation in Russia as well, especially since our relations with Russian Lutherans are developing very well. Social work, religious education, Christian social thought are the primary field for our interaction. Strictly speaking, such activity will be our joint contribution to the evangelization of all Russians, including children and youth. Answer: The question of the Anglican priesthood has been repeatedly discussed by the Orthodox Churches. In the first half of the 20th century, some of them, such as the Patriarchates of Constantinople and Romania, recognized the apostolic succession for the Anglican clergy. The Conference of the Heads and Representatives of the Local Orthodox Churches, held in Moscow in 1948, adopted a resolution on the question "On the Anglican Hierarchy", which, in particular, stated: "The question of recognizing the validity of the Anglican hierarchy can be considered only in connection with the question of the unity of faith and confessions with the Orthodox Church, in the presence of an authoritative act of the Anglican Church on this, emanating from the cathedral, or the congress of the clergy of the Anglican faith, with its subsequent approval by the Head of the Anglican Church: In this regard, we express the wish that the Anglican Church change its dogmatic , canonical and ecclesiological, and in particular its true understanding of the holy sacraments and more specifically - the sacrament of ordination: We determine that the modern Anglican hierarchy can receive from the Orthodox Church recognition of the grace of her priesthood, if between the Orthodox and Anglican Churches previously the formally expressed unity of faith and confession will be established. When such a longed-for unity is established, the recognition of the validity of Anglican ordinations can be carried out according to the principle of economy, the only authoritative for us conciliar decision of the entire Holy Orthodox Church. "The Orthodox Church was guided by the same principles in relation to the Scandinavian Lutherans. For Orthodoxy, the decisive condition for recognizing the grace and validity of the Sacrament of the Priesthood is not only the presence of a formal succession from the apostles (without which, of course, there can be no question of any recognition), but a single faith in this Sacrament and uniform canonical principles regarding priesthood and hierarchy.Meanwhile, today many of the Anglican Churches and Lutheran Churches of the Scandinavian region have the practice of ordination of women and ordination by women. There are also attempts to revise Christian ethical norms, when open homosexuals are admitted to the priesthood and their relationship is blessed. In connection with these phenomena, which are completely incompatible with the Orthodox idea of the priesthood, the question of the recognition of Anglican and Lutheran ordinations is losing its former relevance. Answer: First of all, I would like to clarify: the language used today by the Russian Orthodox Church in liturgical practice cannot be called "Old Church Slavonic" in a strictly philological sense. Old Church Slavonic is the language spoken by our distant ancestors in Russia. The modern liturgical language is Church Slavonic, which has seriously evolved since the adoption of Christianity by Russia. It should be noted that already Ancient Russia oral and liturgical forms of the Slavic language differed markedly. The liturgical language was saturated with theological and moral concepts that were unknown before the adoption of Christianity, and therefore were not used in colloquial speech. Many grammatical constructions were borrowed from Greek. Therefore, from the very beginning, the Church Slavonic language had a certain conceptual and grammatical autonomy from spoken language. In general, I think that it is wrong to talk about reforming the liturgical language. This is wrong, because any reform is revolutionary in nature. A revolution always divides people into its supporters and opponents. The use of this or that language during worship is not dogmatic, and therefore should not cause any divisions within the Church. The history of church reforms in the 17th century has shown us what tragic consequences this can lead to. It is another matter if we are talking about the activation of the work on the development of the Church Slavonic language, which has always been in the Church. I mean the adaptation of individual words and grammatical forms to the modern literary language. For example, take the phrase from Psalm 90: ": And my sin before me is taken out." Modern man, even if he knows the meaning of the Slavic word "take out", corresponding to the Russian word "always", voluntarily or involuntarily associates it with the verb "take out". In such cases, I fully admit the possibility of replacement. However, with regard to commonly used prayers, the content of which is known to the majority, this should not be done. It is much easier to use literary language for reading the Holy Scriptures in churches. After all, at home, the vast majority of people read the Bible in Russian, and not in Church Slavonic. In my opinion, today, wittingly or unwittingly, we are replacing the problem of using the Church Slavonic language in worship for another more serious problem, which I would call a misunderstanding of the language of Christianity. After all, for example, such words as "love" and "humility", which are familiar to us and purely linguistically understandable, have a completely different meaning in the Christian understanding than in the secular world. Therefore, it is so necessary to strengthen catechism work among believers. Answer: It is impossible to form a clear idea of what exactly happened in Alma-Ata from the description you have given. It seems extremely unlikely that a young man would not be admitted to Communion solely because of his diagnosis. The Church lovingly welcomes all who come to her. But at the same time, in Orthodoxy there is a quite definite penitential discipline. If a person comes to the Church who has lived in sin for many years, regardless of whether he is sick or healthy, then the clergyman, as a rule, having in mind the spiritual state of this person, his determination to live according to the commandments of God and be in unity with the Church, appoints him a certain time for repentance and prayer. AT Orthodox tradition such a spiritual exercise is called penance. Its fulfillment is a condition for further admission to communion. This is not a punitive, but an educational measure. Perhaps it was the spiritual condition of the young man you mentioned, and not at all the presence of an illness, that was the reason why the clergyman found it impossible to immediately admit him to communion. Another question is whether the young man himself was ready to accept the penance assigned to him? Perhaps he took it as a kind of "punishment" for the diagnosis, as a sign of rejection. Unfortunately, there are times when a person living with HIV does not seem to find understanding in the Church. This is partly due to the following: a stable stereotype has developed in society that HIV-infected people are a particularly dangerous and hostile group of people leading an exceptionally immoral life. In addition, there is also an idea of the extreme contagiousness of such patients. Knowing this, many HIV-infected people react very sensitively to the attitude of others around them and sometimes tend to unreasonably interpret those actions with which they do not agree as a manifestation of discrimination. It is sometimes difficult for a priest who provides spiritual support to an HIV-infected person to understand his internal state. After all, after learning about their positive HIV status, many people experience severe stress and depression. Spiritual support of a person in such a state requires special knowledge and training. The hierarchy of the Russian Orthodox Church takes the problem of pastoral care of people living with HIV/AIDS very seriously. For several years now, Russia, Belarus and Ukraine have been implementing a church-wide program to combat the spread of the HIV epidemic and work with HIV-infected people. In particular, special seminars are held at which clergy and students of theological schools study the specifics of pastoral and parish diaconal work with the infected. You are talking about a scandal that broke out and that this story became known to the media. In this case, it seems unlikely that a clergyman could become a source of public scandal: he is obliged to keep what he said in confession in secret. Without being able to personally understand this case, I would not make any categorical judgments on such a delicate issue. Answer: We must take into account the contribution that this or that Church, representing the majority of the population in a particular country, has made to the creation of faith, morality and culture. Thus, when we talk about pastoral responsibility in a particular territory, we do not mean the dogmatic side of the matter and do not make judgments about the degree of grace of this or that local Christian community, but, recognizing the fact of its long-term existence as a "people's church" or church majority, we declare the inadmissibility of offensive and inappropriate proselytism. Orthodox ecclesiology presupposes the existence of "a single holy, catholic and apostolic church"(Una Sancta). The One Church continues to exist in communities that have preserved apostolic succession. The Orthodox Church is such a community, but realizing this, she does not pass judgment on other communities (except for sectarian and schismatic ones), for the judge of all is God. Moreover, we are convinced that even with communities separated from Orthodoxy, “despite the break in unity, there remains a certain incomplete communion that serves as a guarantee of the possibility of returning to unity in the Church, to catholic fullness and unity” (paragraph 1.15 of the Basic Principles of the Russian Orthodox Church’s attitude towards heterodoxy ).
If there is a category of people who are able to love to the point of self-sacrifice of some of the elect, then there are much more numerous people who love no one but themselves, do not strive for anyone, do not yearn for anyone and resolutely do not want to lift a finger for anyone.
The category of people who really love their neighbors look at every decisive person as if they were their neighbor, as the merciful Samaritan looked at a Jew beaten by robbers - the category of such people is extremely small.
Meanwhile, the Lord, wanting to affirm this view of people on each other, wanting to spread this all-encompassing love among people, spoke a word that reveals the greatest meaning of this love, giving it such a meaning, such a height that would make people educate it in themselves in every possible way.
Describing the Last Judgment, the Lord speaks of the conversation that will take place there between the formidable Judge and the human race.
Calling to Himself the good part of humanity, those who actually embodied this all-forgiving, tender, warm, caring love for people, the Lord will say to them:
“Come, bless my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Get hungry, and give Me food, get thirsty, and drink Me; strange beh, and introduce Mene. Naked and clothed Me, sick and visiting Me, in prison beh and come to Me.
They will ask when they saw the Lord in such a position and served Him. And He will answer: “Amen, I say to you: inasmuch as you create one of these my least brethren, do it to me.”
So, the Lord says that He Himself accepts everything that we do for people, thus putting Himself in the place of every unfortunate, sick, prisoner, weak, suffering, offended and sinful person, in the place of every person whom we pity with the impulse of our hearts and to whom we will help. It is impossible not to pay attention to the fact that the Lord did not say: “Because you did it to one of these little ones in My name, you did it to Me.” He says only one thing: that everything done for man, He accepts as done directly for Him.
Such an all-encompassing height He gives to the feat of love, mutual human help and favor ... This is how He facilitates this feat by prompting us, as it were: “When you have a person in front of you who needs help, no matter how little you are attracted to him, no matter how no matter how unpleasant and disgusting he seemed to you, say to yourself: “Before me lies Christ, helpless, unhappy, requiring help; may I not give this help to Christ.”
And if we force ourselves to look at every person we approach in this way, then, firstly, the world, overflowing with people with their endless shortcomings, will seem to us inhabited by Angels and our heart will always be full of quiet, concentrated happiness in that feeling, that at every step of our life we serve, help, console, relieve suffering directly to Christ.
One could see that the commandment that one must love one's neighbor as oneself caused outbursts of discontent.
I love individual people, many say, but I cannot love and I do not understand love for humanity. I love by choice, by indefinite inclinations, by a commonality of views, by those qualities that conquer me in people, by their nobility ... but how can I love such a many-sided huge being as humanity? Can I look like a brother, treat me like a personally dear being, someone who arouses in me disgust, a disgusting feeling that I can only despise and hate ... not to mention the fact that more some people didn't even exist for me. I love a few, I hate others, I am completely indifferent to the rest, and more cannot be demanded of me.
But let a person who thinks like this ask himself, are there such traits in his character that he would be as pleasing to God as some of the people he has chosen are pleasing to him personally? What would happen if the Lord would reason towards him the way he reasoned towards the majority of people, what would happen if the Lord treated him with hatred that he deserved, perhaps, or only with indifference?
The Lord, whatever he is, showed towards him an equally great work of His immortal love.
The Lord, who equalized everyone in this love of His, the Lord, illuminating with the rays of His sun, sending His gifts to both the good and the graceless, the Lord, commanding us to seek those perfections with which He Himself shines - the Lord expects us to look at other people just as He looks at them Himself.
There is some kind of wild horror in the fact that we, sinful, disgusting creatures, cannot treat people with at least a small fraction of the indulgence with which he treats us and all of them. He is the source of perfection, the most radiant Holy ...
* * *
And above all, the wrongness of our relationship to people lies in our constant condemnation. This is perhaps the most common and the worst of the flaws in human relationships.
The horror of condemnation lies primarily in the fact that we appropriate new rights that do not belong to us, that we, as it were, are heaped up on that throne of the Supreme Judge, which belongs only to the Lord - “Vengeance is mine and I will repay.”
And let there not be a single judge in the world, except for the terrible, but also the merciful Judge - the Lord God! .. How can we judge, who do not see anything, do not know and do not understand? How can we judge a person when we do not know with what heredity he was born, how he was brought up, in what conditions he grew up, with what unfavorable circumstances he was surrounded? We don’t know how his spiritual life developed, how the conditions of his life embittered him, what temptations his circumstances tempted him, what speeches the human enemy whispered to him, what examples acted on him - we don’t know anything, we don’t know anything, but we undertake to judge!
Examples of such persons as Mary of Egypt, the mother and source of debauchery, as repentant thieves, starting with the one who hung at the right hand of Christ on the cross and before whom the doors of paradise were first opened wide, and ending with those numerous thieves who now shine in the crowns of holiness: all these people show that it is terrible to pronounce your premature and blind erroneous judgment on people.
He who condemns people shows his disbelief in Divine grace. The Lord, perhaps, for this reason allows people to sin, who will later be great righteous people and His great glorifiers, in order to protect them from the worst evil - spiritual pride.
There is a story about a quarrel between two monastery elders. Both are already frail, having lived a life close to seclusion, they could not squabble in person, and, having quarreled over something, one sent his cell-attendant to the other. The attendant, despite his youth, was full of wisdom and meekness.
It happened that an elder would send him with an order: “Tell that elder that he is a demon.”
The cell-attendant will come and say: “The elder greets you and ordered me to tell you that he considers you an Angel.”
Irritated by such a soft and affectionate greeting, that elder will say: “And you tell your elder that he is a donkey.”
The cell-attendant will go and say: “The elder is grateful to you for your greetings, mutually greets you and calls you a great sage.”
Thus, replacing the words of scolding and condemnation with words of meekness, peace and love, the young sage finally achieved that the malice of the elders completely disappeared, as if melted away, scattered, and they reconciled with each other and began to live in exemplary love.
So it is with us: by condemnation, abuse, ridicule, rude treatment of people, we will not do anything, but only harden them, while quiet, kind words, treating the sinner as a great righteous man, will soon bring the most inveterate person to repentance, will cause a saving coup.
There was such a person who breathed love, indulgence, forgiveness - the Sarov elder Seraphim. He was so affectionate that when he saw people approaching him, he first beckoned them to him with words, then suddenly, not mastering the pressure of the holy love that overwhelmed his soul, he quickly went towards them with a cry: “Come to me, come.”
He saw in every person the Son of God standing behind him, honored, perhaps, barely smoldering, but still invariably present in every person a spark of the Divine, and when he bowed to everyone who came at the feet, kissed the hands of those who came to him, he bowed to them as children of God, for whom the Lord shed His blood, as for the great purpose of the Lord's sacrifice...
Without judging people himself, Father Seraphim did not tolerate condemnation in others either. And when, for example, he heard that children began to condemn their parents, he immediately closed the mouth of these condemners with his hand.
Ah, if only we could adhere to the same holy rules of love and indulgence in mutual relations!
Why is this not so? Look at our manners.
Here is someone sitting there. They are friendly, affectionate with him, trying in every possible way to show him that he is pleasant and even necessary for these people. They say that they miss him and ask him to return as soon as possible. And as soon as he went out the door, his most severe condemnation begins. They often invent, slander him with various fables, which they themselves do not believe, drag others in here, and when one of these others appears, they will exclaim:
Oh how we are glad to see you! Just ask Ivan Petrovich - now they remembered you! ..
But as they recalled, this, of course, they will not say.
A person enters into some large society: how many suspicions about him, how many sidelong glances directed at him! Does anyone succeed in life: "This man takes his impudence, an amazing climber." Does anyone in life sit in his place, not moving and not rising: “What a mediocre person. It is clear that he is unlucky, who needs such people!
Wait, you who kill people with the word - "Who needs him?" He is needed by God, Who suffered for him and shed His blood for him. You need it so that, avoiding a terrible sentence for the mortal sin of your condemnation, you can show other feelings on him and, instead of condemning, pity him and help him.
It is needed in the general plan of God's economy. The Lord created him, and it is not your business to condemn the One who called him to life and who endures him, just as He endures you, perhaps a thousand times more worthy of condemnation than this man.
The heart boils with indignation when you see how distorted our mutual relations are, how we can do nothing in the simplicity of thought and in the nobility of Christian love.
Look at how many different measures this person has for meeting, talking and addressing people, how many different tones, ranging from sugary, searching, as if he is crawling in front of who he is talking to, to arrogant, rude and imperative.
I was told about one official, who considered himself a liberal, that he said to his boss, to whom he owed a lot: “You know, because you got me to this place, I owe you so much that I am ready to do anything you want. I assure you - if you asked me to clean your boots, I would do it with pleasure.
To the faces he was looking for, he was surprisingly sweet, flattering them as best he could; he treated people he did not need with boorish self-confidence; to persons who needed him, he was rude and arrogant.
Meanwhile, we should have only two tones, two attitudes: a filial-slave, enthusiastic, reverent attitude towards Christ and an even, gentle, alien to flattering, on the one hand, arrogance and arrogance, on the other, indifferent to all people.
There is a lofty concept in England, which in Russia is understood in a completely different way than in this country of remarkable development of character. This is the term "gentleman". In English, "gentleman" is a person who deliberately does not do anything to another that could hurt this other, cause him any harm or trouble. On the contrary, this is a man who will do everything he can to everyone, and to the extent that he can.
It is in this concept of gentlemanship that, of course, lies true Christian attitudes towards people. To meet with a person in order to give him, at least embarrassing himself, help and sympathy; and if you do not do him a favor, then at least look at him kindly and with disposition - this is an act that is truly a gentleman.
And the Englishman will return, hurrying somewhere, from his road, to show the way to you, a visiting foreigner; he will stand for a long time and give you the explanations that you ask him, take on the trouble of checking in the baggage of the lady you meet - in a word, as they say, he will be torn to pieces in order to serve you.
And whether you are rich, noble, beautiful and interesting, or whether you are bad, poor, no one needs - his treatment of you will be equally even and pleasant.
* * *
Often the good that we do to people requires a feat from us, requires the exertion of our strength, requires that we deprive ourselves of something for these people. But a good person, besides this hard-to-fulfill goodness, will find many cases to apply his kindness where this kindness, having brought a very significant benefit to a person, does not require any work from him, any hardships.
We heard about some very profitable enterprise, which we ourselves, perhaps, could not enter into, and we told about this enterprise to a person who has sufficient funds for it - so we helped the person without bothering at all.
Is there any merit in such a thing? Yes, of course there is. This merit lies in that good will, in the care with which we treated a person, in our determination to be useful to him.
Imagine that a person has entered a large, unfamiliar society of people who are higher than him. If this person is also shy, he goes through extremely unpleasant moments for him. And there will be someone who will notice how he is constrained, how uneasy he is, and will approach him, speak affectionately to him - and then the constraint of the person disappears, and he is no longer so afraid.
After the first one, the second one will come up to him - and the ice that he felt in this society seemed to crack. It may be the other way around. There may not be a single sympathetic person, and a newcomer to this society will feel unpleasant, embarrassed and false until the end of his stay in it.
Often even one kind look, an approving smile, a casually thrown word is extremely helpful to a person who is embarrassed by something. But not all people understand the importance of mutual assistance, mutual favors and approval. And some people, who consider themselves almost righteous, snap when they need to render even the slightest service to another.
I once had to be present at a quarrel between two spouses of different spiritual moods, who did not suit each other at all and who soon had to disperse.
It was in the huge Pavlovsk park, where it is so easy for the unknowing to get lost. The couple were walking when a panting lady came up to them and asked:
How can I get to the train station? I only have twenty minutes before the train. I'm terribly afraid of being late.
The young husband, who knew the park perfectly, realized that if you start explaining to her in words, she will certainly go astray and you have to walk with her for about five minutes to lead her to a place where a straight and clear road lies. He immediately said to the lady:
Allow me to accompany you, - and quickly went with her.
His wife, who constantly made scenes for him, indignantly raised her eyes to the sky, and when he returned five minutes later, having led the lady to the right place, she began to reproach him for leaving her, having treated her extremely impolitely and disrespectfully.
She saw her husband twenty-four hours a day and found that spending five minutes with a person in trouble meant treating her with disrespect... a peculiar and certainly wrong look.
* * *
It is strange that in childhood there are some manifestations of senseless, sophisticated cruelty. How much they take out, for example, from comrades, the so-called "newcomers." Indelicate questions, all sorts of injections, kicks, pinches on the hand under the guise of trying matter with questions “how much did they buy it”, and the same anger of the tormentors, whether the boy answers the swearing with swearing or timidly presses against the wall, not daring to resist his tormentors.
But even in this environment of little villains, there are children with a noble natural character who have managed to make themselves a position in the class and who stand up for the unjustly persecuted beginners.
Of course, such noble boys will continue to show the same nobility in life.
There are still such characters who are cruelly offended and excited by any violence of a person against a person. These people were worried about the injustices and abuses of the landlords over the peasants in the days of serfdom. These people, with weapons in their hands, will rush to defend the rights of an entire people, trampled on by another, stronger people. Such was the attitude of Russia towards the Slavs of the Balkan Peninsula for several centuries, since the Balkan states grew up, one might say, on the Russian blood shed for their freedom.
In the very power of man over man there is something deeply dangerous for the soul of the man who has this power.
not without reason the best people For all ages this power has been feared and often abandoned. Those Christians who set their slaves free when imbued with Christ's covenants, of course, realized how wrong it was to command other people, and themselves, like the great merciful Peacock, Bishop of Noland, themselves preferred to become slaves than to keep others in slavery. .
In the days of serfdom, many flagrant iniquities were committed. Many unheard-of, most cruel insults were suffered by the peasants from other landlords, who, intoxicated with their power, reached some kind of bestiality and often even (the height of sinful depravity) found pleasure in torturing and torturing their serfs.
Blessed be the name of that tsar who, with a warm heart, understood the terrible torments of the Russian peasantry and, freeing them from serfdom, at the same time freed the landowners from the terrible temptation - power over human souls, the right to use free labor.
The easiest way is to feel sorry for those people whose sufferings are happening before us with our own eyes. If we see a person who is trembling in the cold, barely covered with rags; if we hear a voice escaping with difficulty from this stiff body; if timid, hopeless eyes are directed at us, it will be strange that our heart is not touched by this voice, that we do not try to help this person in some way ... But a higher mercy consists in foreseeing such grief, which we do not we see, to go towards such suffering, which still does not climb into our eyes.
This is precisely the feeling inspired by the actions of people who found hospitals, shelters, almshouses; after all, these people have not yet seen those suffering and in need of their help, who will use the houses of mercy founded by them, and, so to speak, pity them in advance.
Frosty. Deep evening over quiet Ukraine. In the city of Belgorod, everything was hidden from the cold in the houses. Trees with mangy branches shine, drenched in the silvery rays of the moon. In the frosty air, the quiet tread of a man dressed as a commoner is heard. But when the moon shines on his face, one can immediately guess that this person is of high birth. He approaches the poor huts, carefully looks around to see if anyone sees him, and then, quickly placing on the windowsill or a bundle of linen, or something from provisions, or money wrapped in paper, knocks to attract the attention of people inside , and quickly disappears.
This is Bishop Joasaph of Belgorod, the future great miracle worker of the Russian land, makes a secret tour of the poor before the feast of the Nativity of Christ, so that they meet this holiday in joy and satiety.
And the next day, firewood will be brought to some poor people from the market - this saint secretly sends heating to those who are freezing from poverty from the cold in unheated huts.
* * *
Great mercy towards people, a caring attitude towards them does not in the least exclude wise firmness and the application of punishment measures where a person sins. Some researchers of the life of the same great saint Joasaph are at a dead end before the fact that, despite the extremely developed mercy in him, with the most tender and touching manifestations of it, he, on the other hand, was severe with the guilty. But there is nothing strange and inexplicable in this. The saint preferred that a person suffer punishment better on earth than in heaven, so that the sufferings suffered in the form of punishment would purify his soul and relieve him of responsibility in eternity.
How much wiser was the view of the saint in this regard than the modern view of crime, which is now expressed very often by judges of conscience.
Recently, crimes have become extremely frequent - among other things, because retribution for them has become extremely insignificant, and because proven crimes very often remain without any punishment.
That person with common sense, who recently had to be a juror, was simply horrified at the sight of the extent to which we reach leniency towards a criminal. There are absolutely outrageous cases, by which the jury definitely pushes the people they justify to new crimes.
I had to be present at a hearing in a case where several healthy guys were accused of having robbed an old woman under seventy, attacking her in her room, and cutting out of her skirt one and a half thousand rubles, accumulated by her life's work and representing the only the source of her existence.
A whole gang was organized here, which tried to move her from the house where she used to live and where it was not so convenient to commit a crime, to a den where an attack could promise good luck. The attackers were wearing masks. All the crime was led by a scoundrel, who was in connection with the robbers.
The sight of this helpless ancient old woman, dressed in an old-fashioned way, with a tattered reticule in her hands, inspired the most ardent, burning regret. And you can imagine that, despite the proven crime, the villains were acquitted.
The sacred name of love was ruffled there, and the eloquent lawyer argued that the robbers were hypnotized by a woman who, by the way, was not found, and acted in a frenzy of love.
In general, this is one of the tricks of modern advocacy - to say that a person acted under the influence of love and therefore irresponsible. In the same session of the jury, another egregious case began, but was postponed due to the lack of the necessary important witness.
One artel worker, who worked in a large bank, appropriated and squandered something about ten thousand rubles. An artel worker, a capable man, who was in military service, about forty years old, was married in the village and had children. In the city, he was in connection with a person who was present at the case as a spectator in an elegant dress and an incredibly large hat. There were rumors that the spent money was used by him to buy this lady a dacha at one of the stations along the Finnish Railway.
As always happens with embezzlement in artels, the amount spent was supplemented by contributions from all other artels, all married and multi-family people. You can imagine that among the jury voices were heard that he could hardly be found guilty, since he also acted under the influence of love for this person.
* * *
The question of retribution belongs to one of the main questions. Christianity does not know forgiveness without the guilt being mitigated by appropriate punishment. When the first man fell, God could have forgiven his guilt before Himself, but He did not.
Having established the unshakable truth, His indisputable laws, the Lord did not want to violate this truth. And in order for a person to be forgiven, it was necessary to make a sacrifice, outlined, perhaps, before the creation of the worlds. The incarnate God, our Lord Jesus Christ, had to make a sacrifice on the cross in order to remove from a person the curse under which he brought himself into sin. Understand only the full power of these words, that Almighty God could not violate the law of retribution established by Him. And since the fall into sin was so great that by no measure, by any suffering, a person could make amends for the crime he had committed, in order to make amends for this crime, the sufferings of the Divine were needed. The weight of the scales of justice could not rise upward without the greatest burden, the burden of earthly life, humiliation, the burden of suffering and the death of the Son of God, being placed on another cup.
It seems terrible and incredible, the following phrase seems unpronounceable: the Lord could not forgive a person without demanding an appropriate reward for this, but it is true: he could not.
When a certain crime is committed, an appropriate retribution must be brought for it. This is the establishment of God's law, against which one cannot go, which cannot be violated. And the punishment must be in accordance with the suffering that this crime inflicts on another person.
Imagine that some scoundrel encroached on the honor of a young girl or a child who has not yet developed: crimes that, precisely because of their low punishability, are currently encountered with amazing frequency.
In the morning, the mother let go of her cheerful, joyful, healthy child, and a few hours later, at the whim of a scoundrel, a tormented half-corpse returns to her, with a crumpled, wounded soul, with an indelible shame on herself, with a painful memory until the end of her days.
How can you cry out for mercy to such a person? How can a mother’s feeling, in comparison with the destruction of her daughter’s fate, come to terms with the fact that this person, politely put in the dock, will be politely interrogated and then, perhaps, announced that he acted in the heat of passion, especially if he was intoxicated .
I think that kind but just people would demand the most severe punishment for such a person, from whom, as they say, the blood would freeze in the veins, so that the person who made the unfortunate girl and her loved ones suffer so madly would suffer even worse.
I think that there would be fair, virtuous, but severe in their truth people who would gladly drive nails into the body of a scoundrel with their own hands, so that, as they say, it would be disrespectful to others, in order to protect other girls from such horrors with the horror of punishment. assassination attempts and other villains from such violence.
Nowadays, the crimes of dousing with sulfuric acid are terribly common. That is a young student, the only son of a millionaire engineer, doused in the face with sulfuric acid by an old chorus girl, who bothered him with her harassment, and the unfortunate man was left mutilated, with an eye barely and half saved, and with another dead. That interested groom, who was refused by a rich bride after she exposed his low soul, pours her over to blindness. Then the clerk, who serves at a rich merchant and made a marriage proposal to his daughter, a young student, and was refused, douses this girl with sulfuric acid, and at the same time, along with her, her sister.
Let us now see whether the petty modern punishments for such horrendous crimes are proportionate to the misfortune they cause.
Personally, I would rather be executed than doused with sulfuric acid. Just imagine: a girl at the best time of her life, rich in hopes, striving for knowledge - suddenly blind, helpless, unnecessary to anyone, with a face that a few days ago shone with beauty, and now is a solid ulcer, which the nearest people cannot look at without a shudder .
And he, after a polite judgment with him, will serve several years in prison: five - six - ten, - and will again return to life full of strength, with the opportunity to create a happy existence for himself.
Where is the justice? And this easy responsibility only encourages others to engage in the same abominations. And it would seem that the way to appease these incredible crimes would be very simple.
It suffices to establish a law that a person who pours sulfuric acid on another person is subjected to the same operation in the same parts of the body. Do you really think that this law will have to be applied? Once or twice, and this crime will be uprooted, because no matter how vicious such scoundrels are, they tremble above all for their own skin, and the prospect of being left without eyes or mutilated will undoubtedly take away their ferocity.
When we go crazy with such crimes, we commit the greatest evil by spreading crimes. As was the case with the robbery of an old woman by hefty robbers, we deliberately forget about the helpless victim of the crime, the honest, working victim, pitying the frantic scoundrels, parasites and dirty tricks.
* * *
There is a good that must be given the strange name of "harmful good."
This is the kind of good that we agree to out of pity for a person, and we are not able to subordinate this regret to the voice of reason, and it only brings harm to a person.
First of all, the pampering of people belongs to the category of such goodness - whether it will be the pampering of a small child, a teenager, an adult man, an empty lady who begs her husband for money, which he cannot give according to his means, for those excessive outfits that she demands from empty and dangerous female swagger.
In one family, a two-year-old girl was over-indulged. She had a lot of elegant dresses, all kinds of shoes, an innumerable number of hats, umbrellas, not to mention toys. They did not know at home how and with what to please her, they fulfilled her every whim.
Several times a day, the girl was capricious and cried - this happened neatly with every dressing - after sleep, as well as when going to bed in the evening.
She was not relieved otherwise than if she was given sweets or something was given to her. Looking at this madness, I was involuntarily horrified that her parents were spoiling her in the future. Firstly, they undermined her nervous system with these repeated cries and whims a day, with which she earned, so to speak, the constant fulfillment of her fantasies. And most importantly, they prepared for her the saddest fate in the future.
Already now, in these infantile years, she was the manager of the whole house, in the morning she prescribed what dress she would wear in the morning and what she would change into later. She got absolutely everything she wanted. And in such pampering she had to spend all the years of her life in her parents' house, not knowing anything was denied.
But then that was to come real life which is rather too cruel than soft, which gives nothing for free, in which everything comes from the fight and which in most cases destroys our best dreams one by one.
What terrible sufferings later threatened the life of this utterly spoiled creature! How could one hope that her fantasies would all be fulfilled in life just as exactly as their unreasonable parents fulfilled? How could one be sure that everything she wanted in life would come true? How could one guarantee that she would be given everything to which she stretched her hands? And who could promise that if she loved someone, she would be answered with the same love?
This one circumstance, so important in a woman's life, threatened her with the greatest complication.
In general, it was crazy on the part of the parents to indulge her in everything, instead of affirming her in the thought of everyday struggle, of the trials ahead of her, of how rarely fate delivers to a person what he dreams of, no matter how sometimes these dreams may seem simple, easily attainable, legal.
To accustom a child to struggle, to accustom him to refuse what he wants from higher considerations, and from the same considerations to be able to do what he does not want and what is extremely unpleasant for him, is the main task of correct education.
Breaking character, helping to make everything later in life seem shrouded in dark clouds, and all people seem to be personal enemies - this is what the reckless pampering of children and indulging them in everything leads to ...
And here is another example of how dangerous it is without reasoning to fulfill all sorts of requests from people.
It is well known that the Russian youth has lately taken on a disgusting habit of living above their means.
Before an officer has time to serve in the regiment for several months on a salary quite sufficient to keep himself in line with his rank, he already has large debts.
In the regiments of the guards, where expenses are higher, parents usually give young people a monthly allowance in addition to the salary they receive. But, sufficient for a prudent life, it is negligible for the expenses that young people begin to afford.
Do you know, - says one of these officers, - how much was the last time I had dinner in a good restaurant with my friend, they charged me for a small bowl of fruit? Twenty-five rubles, and the whole bill came out at sixty.
Meanwhile, this young man received from his father, who had no other means than seven or eight thousand salaries, fifty rubles a month in allowance, which was already hard for the father, since he had three more adult children in his arms and all of them. helped.
With such an inappropriate expense, the son fell into debt, which the family paid off for him twice - something about three and a half thousand.
In addition, he borrowed right and left from his acquaintances, from richer comrades. At the same time, he was very dishonest.
Some acquaintance, who lives by his own labor and has nothing superfluous, will give him thirty or forty rubles against his sworn promise that tomorrow he will receive pay and that he will return everything from this pay tomorrow evening. Or he will beg a friend, when he does not have money, to borrow for him.
It will take a day, but you will have to pay yourself.
To the horror of his family, he became friends with one of those ladies who live at the expense of others, and this increased his expenses. He was not embarrassed with government sums and once arrived early in the morning to a comrade with the pleasant news that he had squandered the money of recruits entrusted to him, that his immediate superior had already asked him several times to present this money and that he finally ordered him to present them that same morning, in nine o'clock. If he had not done this, then there would have been a major service scandal.
At that time, the comrade did not have money at home, he had to borrow from several people at such an early hour in order to cover this crime.
Several close acquaintances, after a few days, were discussing this, and one of them, an elderly man, distinguished by a big heart, but also by strict definite views, said:
I don’t know, maybe I’m wrong, but it seems to me that you shouldn’t have helped him out ... According to everything that I know about him, he is an incorrigible person, and those constant services that all his acquaintances render to their own detriment , only give him the opportunity to burrow deeper and deeper. A great catastrophe in the form of expulsion from the service, in which, however, he is completely useless, alone could bring him to reason. He would have realized at last that it was no longer possible to live like this and that he had to make a sharp turn. As a capable person, able to work well, if he doesn't run wild, he could still get on his feet.
In the end, this officer had to leave military service and take a humble place in the civil service. He broke with his family when his lady forced him to marry her, and went completely out of the circle in which he was born.
Fate, as they say, told fortune to a man. He bore a good, honest name, had good abilities, influential kinship and acquaintances, was pleasant in conversation and, prominent in himself, had sufficient support for service in the guard, for his simple disposition he was loved by the comrades of the privileged institution where he was brought up ... And what did all this serve? I am sure that the first extra ruble that his parents gave him when he began to beg from them against the monthly money due to him, the first piece of paper borrowed by him from acquaintances, while he always had enough, had a fatal significance in his life. to support yourself with dignity.
It is in Russia that parents should be especially strict about themselves in the matter of pampering children. It happens that all the children are hard-working and modest, and one was on a binge, and before they have time to look back, he has already made debts. And then, in order to save, as they say, family honor, to pay off these debts, shamelessly increased by usurers, the family property goes, the sisters' dowry is spent, the whole life of the family changes ... Why? Why should many suffer because of the madness of one?
As if, in a Christian way, they took pity on one, but at the same time offended many and, in essence, crowned vice and shamelessness, punishing virtue.
* * *
In the broad question of our relationship to our neighbors, an important side is our relationship to the lower ones.
There is nothing more disgusting than if a person is seriously convinced that he, being nobler and richer than another, is much higher than this other person; can be impolite with him, can command and dispose of them.
First, these people are digging themselves, so to speak, a hole. For if I make such a distinction between myself and below me standing man how should I expect another person to make the same difference between me and myself, standing above me as much as I consider myself above that other person whom I despise.
Thus, I must inspire myself in advance that people who are much higher than me should already consider me for the most complete scum and insignificance ...
How flattering this is for me!
In our country, especially in Russia, as a relic of serfdom, some kind of attitude towards the lower people has been preserved, which can only be called boorish.
In foreign lands, the servant does not allow you to talk to yourself the way we talk to her. There is no such custom to speak with the lower people on "you".
Let us recall here, by the way, the remarkable opinion of the elder Seraphim of Sarov on this important issue. In general, he found that it was impossible and unnecessary for people to say “you” to each other, that this was a violation of the Christian simplicity of human relations. But after all, Elder Seraphim assumed and considered it natural that all people would begin to speak “you” - and the servant would say “you” to the master, and the commoner would say “you” to the nobleman ... But with us it is just the opposite.
A foreigner who came to America allowed himself to speak rudely to a servant he had hired and received a firm rebuke from him.
Let me advise you, - said the servant, - since you do not know American customs, do not treat servants in America in this way. Otherwise, you will not find anyone who would agree to serve you for a long time ... If you do not know or do not want to do what you invited me to help you with, if I agree to this help for you, then I think you should just be grateful for this and treat me with care... It's a pity that you in Europe look at it differently.
This lesson of the American servant would not hurt us all to kill on our noses.
Indeed, what a service all these cooks, maids, lackeys render us, and the extent of this service is visible with your own eyes when suddenly you, even if for a day, will be left without them: then everything goes topsy-turvy, and you are helpless.
Meanwhile, how do we treat them!
Their personality does not exist for us - a sad remnant of the views of those times when people were considered tens, hundreds and thousands of "souls".
Nowhere, as in Russia, people are not so badly placed. In Europe, not a single servant will fit in the kitchen. There is no custom in large houses to set aside cellars for servants. In England, in rich mansions, the upper floor is allotted for them. They have, like gentlemen, their own baths, they do not eat on the go, in the meantime, but strictly fixed hours are set for their meals. They sit down decorously at a table covered with a white tablecloth, with crockery not scattered, and it would not occur to any of the masters to disturb them during this meal, just as the masters themselves do not have the custom of disturbing their guests during their meal.
In addition to holidays, they have the right to go out in the evenings.
It seems to be insignificant. But this is a brilliant example of the Christianization of human relations.
In general, our attitude towards people subordinate to us cannot but cause bitterness in the souls of those just people who are witnesses of such treatment. These compassionate and just people firmly remember the words of Christ that the Angels of these humiliated people always see the face of the Heavenly Father. Let us add from ourselves that, probably, these Angels retell to God about the grievances that these lower ones suffer because of the cruelties of these higher ones.
Elder Seraphim of Sarov, a contemporary of the abuses of serfdom, deeply mourned the grief of serfs. Knowing that one general had bad managers and abandoned peasants, the elder persuaded the same Manturov, who had become impoverished to build the Diveevo Church, to go to this estate as a manager. And Manturov in a short time raised the welfare of the peasants.
The elder reprimanded the landowners for their heartless and rude attitude towards the peasants, and on purpose, in the presence of the gentlemen who came to him with their servants, he treated the serfs with tenderness, affection, sometimes turning away from the masters themselves for this.
In today's disagreements between masters and servants, the servants are also to blame. The fragrant type of the former devoted faithful servants, who love the family they serve and live in the interests of this family, disappears almost without a trace.
Remember Savelich, the good nurse and friend of Grinev's mischievous youth, the groom " captain's daughter»; Evseich - the glorious tutor Bagrov-grandson of S. T. Aksakov, Natalya Savishna from "Childhood" of Count L. N. Tolstoy, the nanny of Tatyana Larina from "Eugene Onegin"; the ascetic nanny Agafya from Turgenev's "Noble Nest", who formed in her pet, Lisa Kalitina, her noble, harmonious, integral worldview.
How far these fragrant images are from contemporary Russian reality!
What an abyss separates this nanny Agafya with her important thoughts about eternity, with her stories about how the martyrs of Christ shed their blood for the faith and how wonderful flowers grew on this blood of theirs: what an abyss separates these Agafies, Savelyichs, Yevseichs from the current brunchy, irritable and unhappy servants.
What a plague it is - this dishonesty of theirs, with which the owners must be in constant struggle, be constantly on their guard. They cheat in the most blatant way. When they are convicted of theft, they swear by such oaths that it’s just scary to listen: “Yes, God break me, but don’t leave this place if I was self-interested in your penny ... so that I don’t see the light of God ... they swear on their heads relatives” - and obviously lie at the same time.
The servant does not value his place at all, not at all taking root in the family - not taking root in the house, as even the most crafty, ungrateful and vile of domestic animals - cats take root.
They change jobs not because they are dissatisfied, not because the work was unbearable or the owners are unbearably demanding and capricious, but simply because they lived a long time.
What! Healed: that's the whole explanation for you.
For people with common sense it would seem certain that if you have lived in one place for a long time, you should live like that ... But no.
Again, you need to look at foreign lands. There, the servants value places so much - especially in France - that they often consider changing a place not only a misfortune, but also a disgrace. There, people very often live in the same family for decades and die in the same families where they began their service.
With a patriarchal life, a healthy and modest life, devoid of any frills, the servants generally feel much happier: the difference between their way of life and the life of masters is not particularly sharp.
But where life has been turned into a continuous frantic holiday, incredibly expensive, where a woman spends thousands and tens of thousands of rubles on her outfits alone, where many thousands are thrown away on any one evening to throw dust in the eyes of society, where they eat on gold and the master's car for the departure is daily decorated with fresh flowers - there this way of life, this sinful and criminal luxury fills the lower ones with great envy. The servants begin to foolishly imitate the masters in their squandering, and the secondary servant, whose monthly salary does not exceed twelve rubles, begins to sew silk dresses with tails.
I once heard a conversation, on the one hand - funny, but on the other hand - tragic in its senselessness, in the perversion of people of sound concepts.
An ugly village girl lived with one lady, asking her for a salary in advance during the sixth week of Great Lent, and at the same time constantly asking her to "go to the dressmaker."
What is it, Dunya, - asked the lady, - you have such big business with the dressmaker?
But what about: I’m sewing a dress for myself for communion, I’ll go to fast.
Yes, you have a light dress, and a very good one.
Yes, is it possible to join in a worn dress! After all, I will hang out with my friends. There will be our fellow guys who live here locally. They will laugh if one of us in an old dress appears.
And the dress was sewn: some kind of awkward, with a long train, while Easter was early, and there was nowhere to go from the sticky mud on the streets.
The fuss with the dressmaker is all that this poor girl will take out of her shit, and even a new dress with a long tail.
But if this seems wild to you, then after all, why are the ladies themselves better, with the only difference being that their dresses are more luxurious, more expensive and there is more fuss, but the same attitude towards that Sacrament that requires complete concentration of the spirit.
The gentlemen are scouring the cars - now give the servants a car. Many maids now make it a condition for their fiancés that there must be a taxi for the bride - otherwise she won’t go to church.
And so it is in everything: the masters set a bad example, and the servants follow this example.
If servants steal, it is mainly because their old age is not at all secured.
Some positions, like that of a cook, have a devastating effect on health, as they stand by a hot stove for several hours in cold air blowing through an open window, because otherwise it is difficult for her to breathe - this has a devastating effect on health, shortens life, causes incurable rheumatism .
And what should a servant who has no relatives do when she grows old - how not to beg!
It would be fair for families who use the work of servants to be subject to at least a light tribute - for example, one ruble per month and more or less, depending on the salary paid to the servants, and thus constituted an inviolable capital, from which the person who lost her ability to work servants could receive a pension or be kept in an almshouse.
Sometimes people seem decent and well-mannered to you, just as a sudden dash of them in relation to the servants breaks your assumption.
A company was sitting in one rich house, talking about various interesting issues ... They were drinking tea. The landlady's son, who had recently arrived, an officer of a smart regiment stationed in the vicinity of the capital, rudely interrupted a young lackey, who gave him something not as he wished.
Donkey, bastard, - he angrily missed under his sleek mustache.
I noticed how one very well-mannered man, who had great influence, grimaced with displeasure. An hour later, we simultaneously descended the stairs with him.
That's how he was brought up, - he said thoughtfully. - I thought that Marya Petrovna's children were brought up differently.
This young officer later had to serve under the command of this gentleman. They said that he somehow does not give him a move. At the same time, I had occasion to recall more than once that fleeting scene in which this influential man with a subtle soul noticed an unbearable rudeness for him in this seemingly polished, but in essence rude and impudent young fellow. And since this gentleman equally hated both rudeness and servility - and these two traits are almost always inseparable from one another - he looked with understandable distrust, as an unreliable person, at this two-faced one - polite before some and impudent before those. who could not resist him - a man ...
* * *
In the question of the relationship between superiors and inferiors, the question of workers and employers cannot be bypassed.
Human nature pushes a person who is looking for work to ask for this work as expensive as possible, just as it pushes a person who hires another for work to offer him this work at the lowest possible price. and is usually set average figure, beneficial for both.
But the force, in most cases, is on the side of the employer, and it is easy for him, as they say, to "squeeze" the employee.
In the village, these people are called "kulaks".
A "fist" is a person who takes advantage of a person's unfortunate circumstances to enslave him.
Someone needs grain for sowing: he will lend him grain, but with the fact that he returns this grain to him from the harvest in double quantity. For these loans, the money will be forced to work twice and three times against the prices existing in that area.
To the category of these people belong those worthless individuals who take advantage of social disasters for their own gain: anticipating an imminent famine, they stealthily buy up stocks of grain in order to resell it later at a terribly high price.
Of course, such abuses, such use of human calamity for one's own gain, is the gravest of crimes. About these people, we can say that they drink human blood.
Against all such people, the apostle James thunders with terrible threats, and horror penetrates the soul when you think about these threats:
“Listen, you rich people: weep and wail for your calamities that come upon you.
Your wealth is rotten, and your clothes are moth-eaten.
Your gold and silver have corroded, and their rust will be a testimony against you and will eat your flesh like fire: you have stored up for yourselves treasure in the last days.
Behold, the wages you withheld from the laborers who reaped your fields cry out; and the cries of the reapers reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.
You lived in luxury on earth and enjoyed; nourished your hearts as if for the day of the slaughter.”
"Let others live" - this is the motto that Christianity gives for the relationship - the owner and the worker.
One cannot live looking at the labor force of living people as some kind of impersonal mechanical force. No matter how great the enterprise, a Christian employer must see a living soul in each of his many thousands of workers, must treat them with sympathy and shame.
In one French novel, I happened to see the perfectly noticed movement of the soul of one rich man. A young millionaire from Paris takes an overnight train to the seaside city of Le Havre, where he must board his own yacht for an extended voyage across the seas with the woman he loves.
He doesn't sleep well. In the early morning, long before dawn, crossing the area with coal mines, he sees many black figures of miners heading to the mines to work, and when he compares his life, full of all kinds of pleasures, carefree, beautiful, with the limited, working life of these people, who are in constant danger of being crushed and suffocated by collapses of coal and gas developing in mines, this, in essence, not bad, a person becomes uneasy ...
Some kind of remorse gnaws at him. He feels that at that moment he would have been ready to do a lot for these people, but the impulse passes, and his life flows in the same selfishness.
And there are, however, people who put into effect - in varying degrees - active assistance to the workers who depend on them.
Of course, you have heard of various auxiliary institutions, superbly equipped in various factories, which arose from the idea of the owners of the factories and were carefully maintained by them. There is also a magnificent hospital, a nursery for children, where working mothers can rent out their little children for the whole working day, demanding a prize, and artel shops, where you can get everything at a cheaper price and best quality, and reading rooms with light pictures, which can provide such healthy entertainment to the workers and contribute to replenishing their meager knowledge, and an almshouse for lonely workers who have lost the opportunity to work, and free schools that prepare from the children of workers knowledgeable specialist workers with a high price for their work and the funeral fund, which relieves the worker's family in difficult days when the head of the family dies, and various other institutions that the warm heart and the resourceful mind of a person who seeks to alleviate the situation of a working brother can devise for the benefit of the working people.
To establish a sobriety society in the working environment, to help an outstanding, inventive boy with a living spark of talent in him to receive a higher technical education, to build his own church for a factory remote from the villages: how many innumerable ways can there be for a hearty entrepreneur to serve his workers.
There are bosses whom the workers call "fathers"... What a lofty name, what happiness for the owner to earn this title from his workers!
But, unfortunately, such a humane attitude of the owner towards the workers is far from being the rule, but a rare exception. And we see such cases of the attitude of entrepreneurs towards workers, from which the blood runs cold.
Thus, it is impossible without a shudder to recall the history of Lena, where the Lena Gold Industrial Association, bathed in gold, forced the workers to go on strike with their heartless attitude, which ended in the beating of innocent workers to death.
The attitude of this association towards the workers is one of the greatest, most insolent mockeries of human rights that has ever been seen. And to this partnership, more than to anyone else, a terrible curse is attached, which the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of the apostle, brings down on ruthless and unscrupulous owners.
In the eyes of the partnership, which received fabulous incomes, the workers were some kind of cattle, not people, and they were treated worse than cattle.
They lived in incredible conditions, in disgusting damp dugouts. This area is a lost corner, cut off from the rest of the world for a significant part of the year. The workers were forced to buy provisions at a price set by the partnership from the shops of the partnership, which also profited from this and bought for a pittance obviously rotten, rotten and spoiled goods, so that for a high price, as they say - with a knife at the throat, to force the workers who are in in a hopeless situation, since nowhere, as in the shops of the partnership, you can not get anything there.
In the eyes of feeling and thinking people, this comradeship will forever remain spattered with the blood of the Russian worker, an immortal monument to human abomination and criminal greed.
And if our society were Christian, it would make the life of the criminal leaders of this society impossible. Everyone would turn their backs on them, in spite of, or rather, precisely because of this money they stole, this work sweat and blood turned into gold. They would not have been given a hand, they would have been spit in their eyes, they would have been loudly called thieves and murderers.
The terrible power of man over man. Once it was the unlimited power of the master over the worker. Now it is no less heavy economic dependence; its forms are endless, just as the abuses of this heavy power are endless.
The exhaustion of strength from the worker during unemployed time, the fall of a woman into severe poverty, bought by a rich voluptuary, they said that the wives and daughters of Lena workers had to satisfy the whims of local employees - all sorts of rudeness, insults, injustices: all this merges into one terrible ocean of tears, violence , bullying, in which the working people choke. And terrible will be the hour of reckoning. Terrible is the moment when the Last Judgment these offended, driven, humiliated people, in the crown of their suffering and their patience, will point to their oppressors, robbers, offenders and murderers - to that all-seeing Judge, before Whom all excuses and those miserable excuses will be in vain, by which these enemies of the people were justified before the personable judges of men.
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