Answered by Alexander Serkov, 09/12/2014
Ilya writes:
What does this scripture mean: Soulful man does not accept what is from the Spirit of God, because he considers it foolishness and cannot understand, because it must be judged spiritually??? What does it mean: soulful and spiritual?? What's the difference between them?? What does it mean to judge spiritually???
Peace be with you, Ilya. Let's look at this question:
A soulful person is one who does not think spiritually; he listens more to the dictates of his soul, his feelings. This person is not regenerated, his interests are within the things of this life, and he puts material interests first in his priorities. Such a person relies on human wisdom to resolve all issues. He lives to please himself and the desires of his unregenerate heart. Therefore, he is unable to appreciate and understand the things of God.
The plan of salvation, the wonderful revelation of God's love, is madness in his eyes. He cannot distinguish between secular philosophy and spiritual truth, since the wisdom of God is understandable only by those who allow themselves to be taught by the Holy Spirit.
What are the characteristics of a spiritual person? This is a regenerated person, enlightened by the Holy Spirit, as opposed to an unenlightened person.
What is the difference?
A soulful person cannot understand the depth of God's wisdom. This is the lot of the spiritual. A spiritual person checks, sifts and carefully weighs everything that comes into his field of vision. Being guided by the Spirit of God, he makes everything correct conclusions. The natural man cannot understand the principles, feelings, thoughts of hope and joy of the spiritual man, for the unregenerate heart is not able to appreciate what comes from the Spirit of God.
Therefore, the actions of a spiritual person are weighed, coordinated, balanced, and no one can condemn him for his deeds.
Best regards, Alexander Serkov
Read more on the topic “Interpretation of Scripture”:
IN modern world It has become fashionable to strive for spirituality. Popular poets, politicians, scientists, artists, and cultural figures are equated with spiritually rich individuals. But they can also be immoral people, far from the concept of spirituality.
Who can be called spiritual
A spiritual person has high moral qualities. He is kind, impartial, honest. His actions always match his words. He only says what he really believes. Often those who preach equality consider themselves superior to others. They call to lead simple life, but they themselves live in luxurious houses, wear expensive clothes and jewelry. A spiritual person will not say anything that does not coincide with his actions. He demonstrates his principles in practice by following what is said.
There is a difference between a scientist and a spiritual person. Any person with a well-developed memory can remember words Holy Scripture and prove something using logic. The scientist argues his theses by referring to other studies. But moral people are self-realized individuals whose knowledge came from within. They themselves become knowledge because they are united with God.
Being Spiritual: What Does It Mean?
In order to become highly moral, it is not enough to simply follow ethical and moral laws and imitate someone. To develop, to strive for the highest truth - this is what it means to be spiritual. The spiritual qualities of a person help him to develop himself.
Spirituality complements materialism just as the spirit complements the body. One who is focused only on the body is unable to think about the spirit. Morally developed people indifferent to the physical appearance of both themselves and those around them. They don't identify people by appearance, identifying them with your soul. There is little chance of becoming spiritual for one who is too great importance Gives designer clothes physical attractiveness. It's no wonder that many moral people wear beards to hide their physical attractiveness.
Love is the most important characteristic of such people. They do not hate anyone, including criminals and terrorists, although for most this is strange and impossible. They do not distinguish between interlocutors:
- by religion;
- caste;
- economic status;
- position in society.
To be a spiritual person means to see God in everyone and to consider every being as an extension of one's own Self. Such a person will never become proud. An example of humility was demonstrated by Jesus himself when he washed the feet of his disciple.
Who is a cultured person
No one is born immediately cultured. Culture is instilled through education and upbringing. Its objective and symbolic forms are not introduced by themselves. They are offered to us as a subject of study, and we study throughout our lives.
We learn the first cultural concepts back in at a young age. Relatives teach the child the basic concepts of good and evil. By their example, they demonstrate a model of behavior that the baby adopts.
As a person grows up, he acquires new cultural values: education, art; learns to observe moral and ethical standards. You cannot call someone uncultured. The level of culture consists of many features. In order to draw conclusions about him, you need to get to know the person better and evaluate his actions.
Signs of a cultural personality:
- politeness;
- education;
- tolerance;
- restraint;
- responsibility;
- respect for oneself, others, work, nature;
- grammatically correct speech;
- cleanliness and neat appearance;
- self confidence;
- self-development;
- devotion to the homeland.
Culturally developed people will not be rude, rude, or insult others, even if they are wrong. In order to develop such qualities in yourself, you will need long work over your education. Books, works of great philosophers, fiction and scientific literature will help with this.
What factors make a person human?
Humanity and behavior patterns are not passed on to us genetically. Children who grew up among animals never became people with psychological point vision. A person is shaped by the environment in which he lives.
People differ from animals:
- abstract thinking;
- developed spiritual world;
- restraint.
These factors are formed gradually over the years. Compassion, mercy, understanding and kindness make a person human.
Modern society is chasing material wealth, which is accompanied by aggression and greed. Having forgotten about spiritual morality, people become akin to predators looking for their prey.
The soul is one of the factors influencing human behavior. This is matter that cannot be seen or felt physically.
The study of personality, its actions and feelings has always been of interest to society. Throughout history, the soul has been viewed as a separate entity - something separate from the body and at the same time connected with it. There are numerous interpretations of the concept of “soul”, different points of view on this matter. One thing is clear: the soul is something incomprehensible to science and human consciousness. One can only guess about its essence and purpose.
What does it mean to be decent?
Decency implies doing good deeds, the ability to follow divine commandments. Decent people act honestly and fairly in any situation, even unfavorable ones. They help others, but do not expect gratitude in return.
Signs of decent people:
- Politeness with others. They show respect to everyone, regardless of age, social status and wealth. This is not an attempt to appear perfect, but a sincere desire to be polite.
- Kindness and responsiveness. Decent people do selfless things.
- Caring for others. It's easy to be selfish and do everything only for yourself. Good citizens care about others. They think about the consequences of their actions and how they will affect others.
- Compliance with ethical and moral standards. You won't hear from decent people curse words, insults towards others or gossip. They hide irritation, suppress aggression and resolve conflicts peacefully.
- Sincerity. Having integrity means expressing your thoughts sincerely, being open and honest.
- Admitting your mistakes. Such people do not look for excuses for mistakes; they admit they are wrong.
Become better, enrich your inner world, strive to be highly moral using the guidelines reflected in the article.
Prot. Dimitry Smirnov: Maybe, but this is one case, maybe in a hundred years. And so a spiritual person is one who has acquired the fruits of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, mercy, faith, meekness, self-control. (see Gal. 5:22). There is no law against such people - he is a spiritual person. Such a person never asks what is possible, what is not, what is ridiculous, what is absurd. Because he absolutely doesn’t care whether a person wears rosaries or chains, he only cares about the salvation of his soul, exclusively. He even sees the salvation of his neighbors through the salvation of his soul, only through this prism. He looks through his soul the world. Therefore, everything loves, believes everything, hopes for everything, endures everything. And the love that is in him is no longer becoming scarce (see 1 Cor. 13:7-8).
Prot. Alexander Berezovsky: This, as some say, “obsession” with one’s salvation is considered by many to be selfishness.
Prot. Dimitry Smirnov: Yes, because they don't understand anything. Selfishness is what they have, and not what spiritual people have. Spiritual people have pity for the whole world and even every creature of God.
Prot. Alexander Berezovsky: Father, it means that we are all unspiritual, because we have not achieved the fruits that you have just listed.
Prot. Dimitry Smirnov: Certainly. The Apostle says: “If you are spiritual, you should walk in the Spirit” (Gal. 5:25). If we do not walk in the spirit, how spiritual are we?
Prot. Alexander Berezovsky: What then motivates us?
Prot. Dimitry Smirnov: Passion.
Prot. Alexander Berezovsky: After all, it is impossible to love God without the grace of the Holy Spirit.
Prot. Dimitry Smirnov: No impossible.
Prot. Alexander Berezovsky: We love God, which means we still have...
Prot. Dimitry Smirnov: There are all sorts of dreams. Let’s say a person read some good book and begins to dream. And then he starts daydreaming: he, they say, loves everyone. And when they turn to him, asking if you could take out a bucket of trash, he says: “Wait, I don’t have time, I’ll take it out tomorrow.” That's it, that's all spirituality, evaporated with the bucket. Most people, unfortunately, are in all sorts of illusions about themselves. [They] have nervous tears, and they think that it is the grace of God that has descended on them. Such people usually always determine: here it is graceful, and here it is ungraceful.
Prot. Alexander Berezovsky: Temples are divided like this.
Prot. Dimitry Smirnov: Well, they share because they don’t feel or understand anything.
Prot. Alexander Berezovsky: What then do they feel? In one church, they say, there is grace, but in this one, it’s somehow not so much.
Prot. Dimitry Smirnov: Because these are purely dreams.
Prot. Alexander Berezovsky: But does a person feel something in a “blessed” temple?
Prot. Dimitry Smirnov: Feels it. Run up and kick him with all your might and say: “What do you feel?” If a person is spiritual, this will not affect him in any way, his inner feelings. And then your behavior and facial expression will immediately change, spasms in your throat [will appear]...
Prot. Alexander Berezovsky: Father, there are only a few people in history who, as you say, will not change in this situation. Christian Church.
Prot. Dimitry Smirnov: “Fear not, little flock” (Luke 12:32). There is a big difference between a person who says to himself that I am only a student and strives, and one who imagines himself to be a spiritual person and who is ready to kill his offender with every kick, as if he had not read the nineteenth chapter of the Gospel of John. As if he hadn’t read it, as if it didn’t apply to him at all.
Prot. Alexander Berezovsky: Forgotten.
Prot. Dimitry Smirnov: Here you go. Nobody hammered nails into it. Why is he so nervous? Well, just think, they gave me a kick. A spiritual person understands that, of course, he is invited to the temple, Christ calls him, but the temple is Heaven on earth, and he is not yet worthy to stand here. It was by the grace of God that he was allowed there as a publican. You must always remember that you are a publican. As soon as you forgot that you are a tax collector, get out, you Pharisee face.
...........................................
Answer: Father Dimitry Smirnov (6 votes: 4.83 out of 5)
Clergy and laity answer questions
Archpriest Andrei Lobashinsky,
dean of the Maloyaroslavets district
– Father Andrey, how can a person in our busy world acquire “peace and spiritual silence in the heart”?
– To answer this question means to try to convey in a few words the entire experience of spirit bearers Orthodox Church... Everyone probably remembers the call of the reverend father to the need to acquire a peaceful spirit; we are talking about acquiring the Holy Spirit, which in fact is the goal of the conscious Christian life... However, only a few achieve this goal, because if the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ does not become “the only one needed,” i.e. unique Revelation about the world and man and the only guiding principle of the life of a believer, his main concern, pain and love, then his whole life still belongs only to himself, and not to His Creator, Savior and Provider, and man remains in the same closed, vicious circle of earthly life - dying. Therefore, a peaceful spirit in the heart of a Christian is the result and result of life in Christ and for the sake of Christ, as St. Apostle Paul: “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And what I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” () For us, the matter is often presented in such a way that these words of the Apostle in no way relate to our Christian life, but this is absolutely not the case , after all, the same apostle said: “Therefore I beg you: imitate me, as I imitate Christ” (). Peace and silence in the heart are born after storms and anxieties, doubts and temptations, the hardships of a Christian’s suffering and the path of the cross, when he calmly and unshakably feels the presence of the Son of God in his heart, giving the peace of God, surpassing all anxiety and doubt. It's worth fighting for...
– Actually, entire libraries of books have been written on this topic... And this question can be answered very in different ways, depending on what content we will put into this term. You can talk about Orthodox spirituality as about the collective spiritual experience of the holy fathers of the Orthodox Church, and then this will become the topic of an entire book, you can also talk about some methodology of Orthodox asceticism, which is inherent in the spiritual instructions of the holy fathers, it would be appropriate to dwell on external stable signs, noticeable in the spiritual appearance of the saints of Orthodoxy - and in each case, speaking or writing on any of these topics will be difficult, because the right to speak about it with dignity means having the spiritual right to such testimony. Therefore, I want to say in advance that my notes are in the nature of observations and reflections on what I read...
First of all, it must be said with all certainty that the first condition for the authenticity of spirituality that we are talking about is purity of faith. Not at all by chance Orthodox Symbol faith is included not only in following Divine Liturgy, but also in every cell prayer rule, as a reminder that our prayer and spiritual effort are only pleasing to God when they are performed on the solid foundation of the Orthodox faith.
Briefly summarizing the instructions and spiritual advice of the spirit-bearing fathers, we note in their spiritual experience the role of sobriety, that is, a very careful and attentive approach to meeting the spiritual world, providing for a fair amount of self-criticism and distrust of the data of human sensations and moods, as well as the desire to “ the royal way"Ascetic feat, i.e. feat without extremes and, to put it bluntly, modern language", without extremism, and, of course, the presence of such a worldview that Rev. called “a merciful heart,” when the entire created world and all of humanity is perceived by the ascetic as the object of heartfelt, compassionate prayer for his salvation and bringing him to the knowledge of a loving God. And we also note that the entire path of spiritual achievement of an Orthodox Christian must take place in an atmosphere of deep repentance, which can lead to divine humility.
In the modern world, this modest, humble image of Orthodox spirituality, unfortunately, finds fewer and fewer connoisseurs, and even less followers, since our contemporaries persistently seek the most intense sensations and impressions, vivid images in all areas of life without exception, not excluding the religious sphere, being under the influence of a new culture that orients a person to completely concentrate on the external, carnal, sensual aspect of existence, and people inevitably become infected with this mentality, this mood, this destructive spirit. In general, observing spiritual processes in the modern world, you involuntarily recall the brilliant image of two cities of blessedness. Augustine, the city of God and the city of earth - two civilizational projects that have been fighting in the human community from the very beginning of the historical path of the world. The inhabitants of one of them - God's - are distinguished, according to Augustine, by love for God to the point of self-hatred, and the other - earthly - by self-love to the point of hatred of God.
And precisely in the loss of the sense of the otherworldliness of the Christian path, the belonging of all Christianity to another citizenship - the heavenly one, its aspiration towards the heavenly Jerusalem, lies the internal reason that prevents our contemporaries from returning to the path of genuine comprehension of the spirit and experience of the Orthodox saints. As an example, I will say that we tend to get carried away, in particular, by the personalities of saints who chose the feat of foolishness for Christ’s sake, not because we see in it a way to hide from an indifferent gaze a heart flaming with love for God and people, but due to interest in an eccentric image that excites the imagination holiness, before which we have an almost pagan reverence. And we should always remember that the Christian path is not a way of publicly presenting one’s own or even other people’s spiritual achievements, but, on the contrary, a narrow road of self-restraint and unostentatious humility.
It is also important that we can truly talk about Orthodox spirituality only if we keep in mind the experience of the true carriers of the Holy Spirit, which only allows us to talk about spirituality as the area of action-energies of the Holy Spirit, “ Who art everywhere and fulfill all things,” introducing a person into the mystery of another, spiritual world, into the beginning of that state of deification, which is prepared for all the saved. For us, modern people For the Church, this experience has become almost immediately inaccessible, both due to the carnal way of thinking and action that has gripped so many Christians, and the tragic loss of continuity of spiritual asceticism that followed decades of domination by the godless regime, as well as the dominance of all-encompassing self-love, a terrible spiritual threshold over which the majority stumbles. modern people, even those seeking a conscious Christian life and achievement. In this regard, I do not see as entirely appropriate those ongoing discussions about obedience and spiritual leadership in modern church life among Orthodox Christians, the vast majority of whom do not need such leadership, while they are able to perceive the necessary and accessible spiritual help from the instructions of their conscience, the advice of worldly experienced reverent Christians and the Word of God. We are simply unworthy of this higher level now. Unfortunately, most of us have forgotten how to be both students and teachers in spiritual life, and have become unable to maintain the level of spiritual relationships necessary for these relationships to be mutually salutary and fruitful.
But the problem still exists... And although, according to the precious testimony of Rev. , brought to us by the widow N.V. Motovilov, there are very few Christians in the world who can be called spiritual; some of the most selfless Christians capable of loving God still seek perfection. And then, when a person on this path to perfect communion with God gracefully and selflessly crosses all the infinitely difficult thresholds of pride, self-pity, temptations of the spirit of the time and begins to strive spiritually, then the help of an experienced spiritual leader becomes absolutely necessary for him, because “warfare against... spirits the evil in heavenly places" (), which he begins to lead, is extremely dangerous, and there is a high probability of falling into the abyss of delusion without the protecting hand of a spiritual mentor, "for not only does the evil one hate the very instruction, but even the very voice that pronounces it hates" (, teaching 5) – the role of the spiritual father is so great and lofty. And I firmly believe that the Lord will always find a way to help a person selflessly and humbly strive to find such a leader, whom it will be natural to trust completely and to the end and justified in every possible way by experience, and who will be able to help “go through fire and water” (q.v.) and find that blessed peace, which is silence and peace about the Holy Spirit... And then a person who has already experienced the grace of the Holy Spirit becomes truly spiritual.
To this I would like to add one more, I think, important consideration. If an Orthodox person comes to the inner need not to be content with simply following the formal rules of Orthodox church life, then he will be faced with the urgent need for personal inner achievement, without which in the modern world it is almost impossible to remain a Christian, not in name, but in content. And then he will have to get acquainted with the basics of Orthodox spirituality, which begins with a repentant struggle with passions, and ends, in the words of the Rev. , the “Christification” of a person. And this path is Orthodox spirituality, which is “the light of the world” ().
All of the above should not be understood in such a way that the path of spiritual life is practically closed for us. This is, of course, not true. The entire spiritual experience of the Church suggests that all who believe in the saving name of Jesus Christ and who wish to inherit salvation are faced with the greatest feat of life, and we are called to walk this path to the end, or better yet, to the beginning of that life that never ends and never diminishes. . But you must have both firm determination and the boldness of faith in order to embark on this path.
Archpriest Sergius Vishnyakov,
dean of Obninsk district
The center of Orthodox spirituality is the God-man,
while other religions focus on man.
Metropolitan
– Father Sergius, what is Orthodox spirituality in your understanding?
– It is necessary to clarify what spirituality is, because sometimes even Orthodox Christians understand it incorrectly. Secular people by spirituality often mean proper aesthetic education. They mistakenly call worldly poets, writers, artists, and cultural figures spiritual people.
So, what is Orthodox spirituality? The word "spirituality" comes from the word "spirit". As you know, a person consists of spirit, soul and body. The Spirit is what leads a person to God. This means that when we talk about spirituality, we, first of all, mean the Spirit of God, which makes us God’s. In other words, spirituality is a path whose ultimate goal is to achieve O marriage. That is, connection with God precisely in the Holy Spirit. As A.I. said Osipov: “Spirituality is God-likeness. A person’s spirituality is determined by the degree of Godlikeness.” Therefore, by “Orthodox spirituality” we will understand that which leads us to unity with God.
Orthodox spirituality must be distinguished from soulfulness. Unfortunately, the problem with our modern Church is that many people do not discern exactly this. What does this mean? You can often hear from parishioners: I like church singing, the interior of the church, I like such and such a monastery, I like the priest... Please note: “I like...”! And when you start talking with such believers about more serious concepts, it turns out that they go to church for the following reasons: to assert themselves - usually these are people of crisis age; so as not to just sit at home (for example, pensioners), and for some, going to church is even equated to a hobby, a hobby, akin to the fact that someone goes to the Veterans Club to sing songs, and someone does embroidery. There are such “believers” and it’s no secret. But the worst thing is that they don’t even want to admit it to themselves. That is, they confuse soulfulness with spirituality.
– In fact, the first question echoes the second: how to acquire peace of mind and silence in the heart, that is, what needs to be done to acquire Orthodox spirituality. And this doesn’t require much. We actually have everything: the Gospel, the prayer book, where at the end Evening prayers a daily confession of sins is written, and so on. Therefore, to be spiritual, Orthodox Christian, I need to check myself daily, every second - whether my spirit corresponds to the Spirit of God, whether my lifestyle contributes to the cleansing of my heart from passions, whether there is repentance in my heart. Analyzing our behavior every day, we realize that we have done good and bad, what we could have done good, but did not do, and what we have done bad, but could have refrained from doing. If a person tests himself this way every day, then gradually he begins to transform from a nominal believer into an Orthodox one... If a believer lives by this, and not just lives, but, seeing his sins, tries with all his might to correct himself, then this is already the first step to spirituality. After all, since there is a struggle with sin, then this is already repentance - a change of consciousness. That's it... But again, how to acquire spirituality? Of course, spirituality is not acquired by theoretical knowledge. says that the Gospel is the book of Life, therefore it must be read with life. In other words, no theory can replace practical knowledge. As noted by Professor A.I. Osipov, demons know the Scripture much better than us, however, in a demonic way. It is not for nothing that the Apostle taught: “Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies.” Something else is required of us - simplicity and sincerity, to live according to our conscience.
How to acquire peace and spiritual silence in the heart?.. Peace is acquired very simply: as a result of living according to the Gospel and from the understanding that everything happens according to the will of God. Without the will of God, as you know, not a single hair will fall from your head, no problem will happen. But unfortunately, people usually forget that sorrows and prosperity are actions of the same God’s Love for man. If we think that everything in life happens by chance or that God is punishing us, then these beliefs will be erroneous. Because thinking like that can take you far. A spiritual person believes that the Lord even allows us sorrow out of His love for our own good, and this is necessarily God’s providence. This view of life is the salt that protects the world from rotting and is otherwise called Christian humility. Through repentance, a person is also adorned with humility, which is trust in God’s Providence and is called peace in the soul. A humble person no longer worries about anything vain. However, there are extremes, such as carelessness: why worry here, God Himself arranges everything... No, no, no! There must be a golden mean - on the one hand, trust in God, and don’t make a mistake yourself; on the other hand, without God you can’t reach the threshold. That is, the collaboration of God and man is necessary. And silence in the heart is absolute silence, when the heart does not make noise from passions. For there is restlessness in the heart when there are passions in it. For example, they got angry with someone, and then couldn’t sleep all night - everything was seething inside; or you had a fight with someone and don’t know how to atone for the blame - again, anxiety... In principle, the questions are simple, but they are eternal and relevant.
– Of course, living like a Christian, striving for God. Are there such people? Yes, of course... A spiritual person is not one who talks about God, but who lives by God and goes to Him. People I met on my life path and about whom I could say that they were spiritual, had amazing simplicity. They had wisdom...
– As the Scripture says: “Do not depart from the simplicity of Christ...”
- Yes. One respected priest said: “You think that now the world is being saved by the prayers of priests and bishops - no. He is saved by the prayers of old men and women, inconspicuous to the world.” By the grace of God I meet such old men and women in my life. They are very simple and unnoticeable. Therefore, I am afraid to talk about anyone, whether he is a spiritual person or not. God looks not at the face, but at the heart... True spirituality is felt... Therefore, I would leave this question unanswered...
I will only note: thank God, there are many people striving to live spiritually. But I repeat once again: these strong Orthodox believers do not try to be visible and impose their understanding of faith and spirituality on anyone. They are invisible to others because they work on themselves and lead a real spiritual life: they fight their passions and lusts “until they bleed” and do not notice the sins of others. On the other hand, now there are many people who consider themselves Orthodox, for whom all their faith lies only in words, and not in deeds. The “spirituality” of other “believers” consists only in external activities, and not in internal ones. But, with what pressure and obsession they propagate their “true” faith! But dig deeper - they have neither faith nor the love of Christ... A spiritual person is one who lives like a Christian. It is clear that the Spirit of God is present in him. After a while, such people were called venerables, that is, those who became like God.
Previously, those who lived spiritually were called servants of God, because they worked in God and for God, and sought to completely surrender to His holy will. Nowadays, due to our spirituality, the concept of “servant of God” has been devalued (depreciated) and lost its significance. And you know what word people who think more or less correctly have now begun to use: “adequate.” What does this mean? Give a correct assessment of the current event or the state of your soul. That is, without going to extremes - to the right and to the left - to stick to the middle path, maybe limping along it, but knowing exactly this path...
St. Seraphim of Sarov taught: we lack determination. If there was determination, everything would happen. But we are of little faith and fearful. And here another difficulty arises. Do you know what we are afraid of? We are afraid to disturb our imaginary peace: what if we fail, or something happens to us. Pay attention to the question we ask ourselves: “What if something happens to us?” That is, we immediately fall out of the flow of God’s will, thinking that it is not God’s Providence, but some chance that is at work in our lives... And we begin to play it safe, that is, instead of humbly trusting in God, relying on own strength. That's the problem.
Every person has a conscience and the ability to justify himself. I have to justify my cowardice - I’m considered a believer. And another problem arises: many people begin to normalize sin. This is called worldliness: what is offered not by God, but by a world lying in evil, becomes normal. The same “warm-cool” peace, the same inner comfort: well, you can walk a little, unwind, a little this, a little that... But for some reason, reasoning in this way, the choice is often made not in favor of God, but in favor of the world. That is, we have not yet gone beyond what is permitted, but at the same time, modern man bliss, relaxation, condemnation, slander, love of things prevail...
There is a golden mean - everything is permissible, but not everything is useful, and this should be firmly adhered to. A spiritual person never forgets: “whoever wants to be a friend to the world becomes an enemy of God” ().
Hegumen Ignatius (Dushein),
Dean of the VIII district of the Kaluga Diocese
– How can a person in our bustling world acquire “peace and spiritual silence in the heart” (priest Andrei Posternak wished “that joy Christmas Nativity, peace and spiritual silence were in every person’s heart”)?
“I have overcome the world,” said the Lord. These words refer specifically to the world of sin. Now the violence of sin, its power over man is not unshakable.
Elsewhere in the Gospel we read: “My peace I leave with you.” Now every person can become a participant in this gift - spiritual peace.
The Apostle Paul says that there is nothing that can separate a person from the Love of God. That is, no external reasons: temptations, vanity, natural disasters, social upheavals, defaults and re-elections can interfere with our spiritual and moral self-determination. Only our own behavior can either bring us closer or further away from God. And the commandments can be fulfilled everywhere.
Actually, we can avoid a lot of fuss ourselves. Well, for example: who forces us to watch TV, listen to the radio? After all, we know that absolutely nothing spiritually useful can be found there, and picking up dirt is easy and simple. But, nevertheless, it is very rare, even among the Orthodox, that there is a person who at least gives up this by fasting...
I tell my parishioners directly: giving up TV through fasting is higher than not drinking milk or eating meat, since God looks in the heart, not the stomach.
So a lot depends on ourselves. After all, we ourselves allow small reasons for big problems of the spirit into ourselves - we do not preserve ourselves, our feelings and thoughts.
As for what we are unable to reject... I am sure that for those who voluntarily sweep away all dirt and do not consciously accept it into themselves, the Lord will help them not to get dirty in it even involuntarily.
– What is Orthodox spirituality in your understanding?
– This is a must – participation in the Holy Spirit. This is not culture or even morality, not education or erudition. All of the above can be in any religion and even without it. Spirituality in the Orthodox understanding is participation in God, conscious movement towards Him, closeness to Him, Communion with Him.
– What should a person be like to be called spiritual?
– A true Orthodox person is a spiritual person! Since all Orthodoxy is aimed, in the words of St. Seraphim, at “acquiring the Holy Spirit.” Another thing is that not everyone who declares themselves Orthodox has anything to do with this Spirit. We cannot see the degree of a person’s involvement with the Spirit of God, but there are criteria by which we can make some judgments about this.
“A tree is known by its fruits,” said the Lord, and the holy Apostle Paul listed these fruits: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, meekness, self-control...”
How often do we see such fruits in others? Not very often. So now we are all not yet spiritual people, we are, at best, wars of spiritual warfare, at worst, we are its disabled people. We would like some basic humility...
Let us remember the final words of the Great Penitential Canon Rev.: “Do not extract from me the fruits worthy of repentance, for my strength within me has become impoverished; Grant me an ever-contrite heart, and spiritual poverty: that I may offer this to You as a pleasant sacrifice, O Alone Savior.”
Priest Sergius Balakhonov
– Father Sergius, how can a person in our busy world acquire “peace and spiritual silence in the heart”?
– By living according to the commandments of the Gospel, guarding your conscience. “Peace be unto them that love Thy law, and there shall be no temptation for them” ().
– What is Orthodox spirituality?
– In my understanding, this is, first of all, true spirituality, in the sense of a person’s connection to the Truth, that is, to Christ. And this, in turn, implies a lot - complete obedience to the Mother Church, and communion with Christ in Her Sacraments, and spiritual activity in accordance with the teachings of the Holy Fathers of the Orthodox Church, and much more. Everything that the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church teaches.
– What should a person be like to be called spiritual?
– A spiritual person, in my opinion, is a person in whom the Holy Spirit dwells and acts, so that the human will will always obediently work with Him. As the Apostle Paul wrote about himself: “And it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me” (). And you can find out about a person whether he is spiritual or not by the fruits of the Spirit: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, mercy, faith, meekness, self-control” ().
Priest of the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery
– Tell me, please, what is Orthodox spirituality in your understanding and what kind of person should be in order to be called spiritual?
– If you want to have the image of a perfect person, then his image is well known to you: this is the God-man Jesus Christ. In Him the Perfect God and the Perfect Man were united inseparably and inseparably. "Perfect" in literally this word. For when He suffered in His flesh on the Cross, at the moment of dying He said: “It is finished” (). And Orthodox spirituality is realized in the Church of Christ, lives in its Sacraments and rituals, in its prayers and its teaching, for according to Scripture, “The Church is the Body of Christ” (). And every Christian, baptized in the Orthodox Church, living according to the Gospel commandments of Christ, feeding himself with the grace of God in the Sacraments of the Church, becomes like Christ, according to the measure of his faith and his zeal. The Church considers such a Christian to be truly spiritual and canonize him as a saint. Therefore, in order to gain a substantive understanding of Orthodox spirituality and the way of life of a spiritual person, one must read the lives of saints, such as St. Nicholas or Venerable Seraphim Sarovsky. And if, to the best of your ability, you imitate their lives, then they will help you to become like them with their holy prayers.
Archpriest Andrey Bolshanin,
rector of the church of St. , Pskov
– How can a person in our busy world acquire “peace and spiritual silence in the heart”?
– It is very difficult to acquire this because of lack of faith and much care. Christ is our Peace, so you need to acquire the Lord in your heart. And there is only one way to achieve this – purity of heart. Pray, take communion, protect your eyes from vanity, read spiritual books - that is, live by faith.
– Dear father, please tell me what Orthodox spirituality is in your understanding and what kind of person should be in order to be called spiritual?
–
“By love among you they will know that you are my disciples,” says our Lord, “that’s spirituality for you, so work hard.”
Vadim Balytnikov,
Candidate of Legal Sciences, Moscow
– How can a person acquire peace and spiritual silence in his heart? What is Orthodox spirituality? What should a person be like to be called spiritual?
– It seems to me that all these questions can, to some extent, be given a single answer.
The Holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian constantly repeated the great words “Love one another.” “Love one another as I have loved you”—with these words Christ addressed his disciples. “Thou shalt love thy God and thy neighbor”—these are the two commandments, the fulfillment of which consists of the entire Law of God.
Love, which, according to Orthodox teaching, represents the “being of one for another” and is the basis of all spiritual life. A spiritual person is first and foremost loving person. Genuine Orthodox spirituality is, first of all, Christian love for God and people. A truly spiritual person in our earthly life is a person who lives for God and his neighbors.
As for how a person in our busy world can acquire peace and spiritual silence in his heart, I remember the advice he gave in such cases. Of course, he gave this advice not only on his own behalf - he relied on the experience of thousands of saints who had carried it out in practice for centuries.
So he said that in order to find peace and inner silence, we must first try to listen to what the Lord tells us. Try to understand what Christ the Savior wants from each of us. To listen both from the outside and from the inside, that is, to seek this understanding simultaneously in Scripture, and in the life of the Church, and in self-awareness, and in prayers to God. And the main thing is to understand that this is not just a one-time action - it is a lifelong task.
After all, peace and spiritual silence are born in the heart from the presence of God in it... The Archimandrite loved to repeat the divine words addressed to all of us: “Son! Give me your heart! And I will give you everything else myself.”
If we, as owners, are always ready to accept the Heavenly Guest - Christ, in our hearts, we always strive to listen, and most importantly - to fulfill His word, then He will give us peace, spiritual silence, and countless other gifts.
Nina Izyumova,
Tbilisi
– How can a person acquire peace and spiritual silence in his heart?
– I’ll try to answer your questions, although I’m not at all sure that my level of spiritual maturity would give me the right to speak on such topics publicly. But the Lord has vouchsafed me to communicate closely with truly Orthodox people, and I, to the best of my ability, try to learn from them.
The joy of Christ's Nativity arises as a genuine personal experience if you love Him and if the conviction firmly lives in your mind and heart that no one has ever done or said anything that was better, truer and higher than what He did and said. Then the person, to the best of his ability, tries to fulfill the commandments of Christ, and peace and spiritual silence will descend into the soul of such a person, no matter what trials are sent to him. After all, the commandments simply indicate how one must behave in order to be able to enjoy life. It seems to me that many people occupy their lives with allegedly looking for a certain path (of course, by the method of charming trials and seductive errors!), Which should lead them to happiness, although deep down they know perfectly well that this path exists from eternity and is shown to us with all certainty. The trouble is that we don't want to go this way. After all, pleasure is here, here and now, and the reward for refusing it is somewhere in the distance, and will there even be one?! Blzh. Augustine described how he prayed to God to deliver him from prodigal sin, and some voice nearby squeaked: “But not now, but later.”
But at the same time, the commandments cannot be fulfilled, so to speak, mechanically. We must do this with humility, and by doing some, not violate others. Here's an example. I know one good family. The husband, let's call him Grisha, had a colleague at work, Boris, who changed many wives and mistresses and, from the height of his “rich” experience, loved to laugh at Grisha. No wonder Jung wrote that the high morality of some causes an explosion of immorality in others. And so it happened. One day they went on a business trip together, where they had to live in the same room at a hotel. And in the middle of the night Boris brought two ladies. Having introduced Grisha to one of them, he retired to the other, secretly spying on his comrade. At first, everything went in such a way that Boris was already celebrating his “victory.” Grisha politely and friendly received the “guest”, sat her down at the table, treated her to tea and sweets, talking with her. The snatches of quiet conversation that Boris was able to catch cast him, however, into doubt. Grisha talked about his family, simultaneously asking the woman about her life, with participation and interest. Suddenly Boris heard her sobs and then Grisha’s soothing voice. They stood at the window for half the night, and as soon as it was dawn, Grisha escorted the woman out and put her in a taxi. The incident was over... Boris told about what happened (or rather, about what didn’t happen), again with jokes and jokes. And then something terrible happened. Boris, a man still far from old, began to forget words and for several months was completely speechless. Then he left the house and did not return. The search undertaken by the family was unsuccessful. Did God punish Boris or did he destroy his soul? And daughters-in-law came to Grisha’s house, who became like his own daughters, and four grandchildren appeared. By the way, before the weddings of their sons, not only the young people confessed and received communion, but their parents. It goes without saying that the house was sanctified every time. They live as in the saying: “And the master of the house is like Adam in paradise, and the mistress of the house is like pancakes in honey.” I love visiting them. As soon as there is a guest, everyone is at the table. Homemade grape wine and bread are always available, father and sons sing folk and church songs, and icons from the walls bless the “small church.”
Grisha was not a believer since childhood, but began to fast simply at the request of his wife. Now he, smiling, says that it was not a fast, but a diet. Faith came later, I think, thanks to the fulfillment of the commandments. And recently the following happened. Grisha and his family were at the dacha and felt unwell. And suddenly he heard a voice inside himself telling him: “Get behind the wheel immediately and go home, otherwise you will never come back here.” He barely managed to get there when he lost consciousness - it turned out to be an illness that required immediate surgery. Thank God we made it. Grisha is convinced that God saved him.
– What is Orthodox spirituality?
– Orthodox spirituality is communion with God, and without exaltation, without losing oneself. For Orthodox man it is accomplished in a clear mind and solid memory, i.e. in such a state when a person is fully human, and not a medium, not a spirit, not possessed. In the latter cases, we are dealing with the occult, and the spirits with which a person communicates are completely infernal.
The higher the level of spirituality, the clearer the contact with God. If a need for prayer arises in the soul, this means that the soul desires Communion with God. I will never forget how many years ago, when my son was about four years old, my father entered the room with a solemn and joyful face and said: “Your son has become a man: he is praying.” I think that says it all!
– What should a person be like to be called spiritual?
– I admit, I don’t have an answer to this question. More precisely, theoretically it is possible to answer it, but practically I would not dare to say about this or that person whether he is spiritual or not. In my life I have had severe trials, and people whom I considered unspiritual showed miracles of mercy, tact and love. But if we talk in general, and not about specific person, it seems to me that the most important manifestation of spirituality is the gift, in spite of everything, to joyfully accept God's world. Let us remember that Ivan Karamazov’s path to crime and madness begins with rejection of God’s world, but it turns out that the hero is not very familiar with God’s institutions. After all, not agreeing to accept that final harmony where the mother embraces the tormentor of her son, he argues not at all with Jesus Christ, Who, as we know, did not promise such “harmony,” but with heresy (for example, Origen’s). So, due to ignorance of the basics of Orthodoxy, a rebellion begins in Ivan’s soul, ultimately destroying it. Therefore, it seems to me that Orthodoxy, by its very name, is a theological religion. First of all, you need to understand, study, comprehend what God’s world is in the Orthodox understanding, in order to finally reach a state where you can joyfully and, most importantly, very consciously, repeat after the Creator, “that this is good.” Maybe this perception is spirituality?..
I repeat: I tried to answer questions asked, without going beyond your own (alas, very insignificant) spiritual experience. I would be glad if someone can derive at least some benefit from what I have written...
Evgeniy Danilov,
poet, television and radio journalist, Moscow
– How can a person in our bustling world acquire peace and spiritual silence in his heart?
– This is very difficult to acquire in our secularized and anti-Christian world. But we must strive. Try to move away from the world and from the mundane. To be closer to Russian nature, to move to countryside, if possible. Or at least get out of the city more often into the wilderness and silence. Read spiritual literature, the works of the Fathers of the Church, read spiritual poetry and listen to spiritual chants. Be a church member, go to Church more often. The paths are all known, only they are narrow, these paths to Salvation, and it is not easy to walk them. And - to stand, no matter what...
-What is Orthodox spirituality in your understanding and what kind of person should be in order to be called spiritual?
– Confession of Christ, following the precepts of Orthodoxy. Observance of rituals, fasts and - most importantly - following the Gospel in life. The last one is the hardest. A person wears a cross on his chest, goes to services, and treats people, including those closest to him, in a far from Christian manner. The result is pure hypocrisy and pharisaism. And ostentatious pseudo-spirituality. It is not for nothing that in the Gospel Christ says so much specifically about the scribes and Pharisees. The former know the tradition perfectly well, the latter know the law perfectly well, but neither one nor the other, unfortunately, follows them. You need to be kinder, conforming your actions with the commandments of God. Do not be irritated, do not be angry with your neighbors. It is easier to relate to losses, primarily material ones. God gave, God took away, as they say. Again, in life this is not always easy. Not to seem, but to be. Don't show off, but be natural. It's difficult, but you have to strive for it.
Asked questions Andrey Sigutin
For thought:
“According to the Apostle Paul, a spiritual man is one who has become a son of God by grace... For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God (()... The saint, examining what the words mean: “man becomes the temple of the All-Holy Spirit,” teaches by inspiration , that the temple of the Holy Spirit is a person whose mind is not subject to confusion from temptations and from constant worries, but strives for God and communicates with Him. Thus, a spiritual person has the Holy Spirit within himself, which is confirmed by his constant remembrance of God... Communion with the All-Holy The Spirit transforms a person from the carnal into the spiritual, and therefore, according to Orthodox teaching, a spiritual person is primarily a saint... In this sense, Orthodox spirituality is not abstract, but is embodied in the personalities of saints. Consequently, saints are not just good, highly moral people in the strict sense words, these are not just those who have good character, but those in whom the All-Holy Spirit operates...
Thus, Orthodox spirituality is the experience of life in Christ, the atmosphere of a new person reborn by the grace of God. It's about not about an abstract emotional and psychological state, but about the unity of man with God.”
Metropolitan
First published in the Kaluga diocesan magazine “Orthodox Christian”