Search results for \"spiritual impoverishment\". The impoverishment of the bearers of blessed spiritual experience

I'm not preaching now, I'm prophesying...
David Wilkerson

Moral decay.

Woe to those who dwell on earth and on the sea, because the devil came down to them in great rage to deceive, if possible, even those chosen by God.

How will the devil try to deceive and deceive even God's chosen ones? I saw that he would try to make sin very attractive to the world, and thus lead the world to moral decay. He will open the gates of hell and will try to flood the world with erotic dirt, vulgarity, lust. This moral decay will not be stopped by human power. The satanic spirit of lust has already gripped many nations, bringing with it nakedness, perversion, and a flood of uncleanness.

Impurity.

The world will be so overwhelmed by a powerful current of impurity that it will oppress the most pious people. The Scripture says that Lot in Sodom was tormented day and night seeing and hearing about what was happening there. Christians will soon have to face such a violent tide of impurity and sensuality that if a believer wants to remain faithful and obedient to God, he will need to maintain a very close fellowship with God.

Those who do not have such close contact with God will fall prey to these unclean spirits.

Television Nudity.

The major television stations will be taken over by this moral corruption. I predict that in the not too distant future you will see television shows of semi-nude women. This will be the new whim of those who seek to liberalize the media. After the decline of the first negative reaction to this, the display of a completely naked body will follow. At first, all this will be done with “taste”. But as soon as people involved in art exalt this phenomenon as a “step forward” to liberation, the gates for vulgarity will open, and anything will get away with it. Applaud this kind of television programs will be partly even people clothed in the clergy, calling this kind of film a health event.

In fact, almost nothing will be done to stop this vile phenomenon. And, oddly enough, it will not be ministers of the church and sincere Christians who will oppose this, but Hollywood stars and well-known television workers.

Post-midnight pornographic television broadcasts.

I warn you, in the not too distant future, the most selective and vile pornographic films will be transmitted over special television cables after midnight. Cable television has already become a favorite target of porn pushers.

Porn films are already being transmitted over special cables in major cities in the US, Canada and Europe. They are produced by pornographic enterprises in Sweden, Denmark and the United States. These vile films feature stark nakedness, sexual acts, homosexual acts, animal acts and sadism.

People will pay big money to watch these erotic films in their apartments. If no precautions are taken, children will be able to change the TV channel and see disgusting forms of sexual perversion. These porn films will become so perverted that the most "free-thinking atheists" will resent them. In addition to sexual acts, special attention will be paid to bloodshed, violence, witchcraft. They will praise Satan, evil spirits, and witchcraft. The newest heinousness will be sexual acts with demons. These dramatic performances will portray Satan as the father of sexuality and fornication.

Sex and murder; sex and blood; sex and sadism; sex and violence are the main themes of upcoming porn movies.

We are not far from the time when porn films will be shown at the usual time for a TV show. Movies shown through sex channels will be so popular that many major TV stations will sort of compete with each other to show more and more movies with as much sex and violence as legally possible.

Pleasure places.

More and more "motels" will be advertised as "pleasure palaces". There, for an additional fee of a few dollars, visitors will be able to order the transfer of the most fashionable porn films to their room through the sex channel. Then “decent” people will no longer need to go to the outskirts of the city to vulgar cinemas to watch the latest porn films - they will go to beautiful motels and watch these films in their room there. These places will be especially popular among students of secondary schools and colleges, where they will gather in separate rooms for parties in groups.

Video recordings of these films can be viewed if you have special electronic set-top boxes for your TV at home. The inhabitants of the suburbs and urban outskirts will become fashionable pornographic parties.

Sex magazines.

Thousands of newsstands across the country will soon sell sex magazines that make Playboy look puritanical. They will depict nudity and sex in all forms. Even children can buy them.

Special magazines for women featuring naked men will appear in abundance. And even the most ordinary respected magazines will acquire an “erotic flavor” in design and content.
Most of the most notorious pornographic magazines will be characterized by a mixture of sexual perversions with the occult, with the aim of attracting those who have "seen things". Some of these magazines, which will be sold in local newsstands, will even glorify rape, child abuse and murder.

Almost every major city in the US and Europe already has newsstands and porn shops with this kind of product. But soon it will become so widespread that it can be purchased at any store.

Pornographers, seducers and malicious people will express their contempt for the law and local authorities in every possible way. They shamelessly advertise this filth. They will open numerous massage parlors and live model studios. They will be forced to close the trade, but they will reopen it again and again and sell even more obscene literature than before.

Introduction to sexual intercourse through cinema.

Sex education classes in high schools and colleges will introduce sexual intercourse through movies. The diagrams currently used will be replaced by driving models and real films, which experts will evaluate as made with "great taste".

Students will be taught that homosexual love is natural and that sexual intercourse between unmarried people is pleasant “if both parties value each other highly.” Sex cartoons, which, like the next “flood”, will be included in the program of schools for sex education, at first will seem quite innocent, but over time they will become more and more frank and erotic.

Temporary regression of obscenity.

Prior to this complete corruption, there will be a momentary movement against pornography and obscenity. It will be almost a national movement that will involve lawyers, individuals, churches, and government leaders who will unite in an attempt to stop moral decay, even passing several laws to restore morality. There will be a lot of talk about “cleansing” TV shows and newsstands of porn products. Very often newspapers and magazines will feature articles that are militantly opposed to sex and obscenity. There will be some temporary victories in some places, but it won't be for long. Also, several radio preachers will start a campaign against obscenity in society, but the enthusiasm and support for this campaign will soon fade.

Professional suppliers of "dirty" goods and pornographers will not calm down, but, on the contrary, will rebel against it. They will check the whole law and still find a loophole through which they will push their products. The campaign against these traffickers in America and other countries will not be successful. It will be a short campaign, followed by a new raging tide of abomination and uncleanness.

Many will indifferently say that in spite of nakedness, dirt and obscenity, the nation will stand and life will go on as before. I would like it to continue like this. But I am sure that the stream of abomination that I saw approaching will be the same as it was said by the prophet Nahum:
“Behold, I am against you,” says the Lord of hosts. And I will lift up the hem of your garment on your face, and show your nakedness to the nations and your shame to the kingdoms. And I will pelt you with abominations, I will make you despicable, and I will put you to shame.” (Nahum 3:5-6).

The sin of Sodom will return.

The sin of Sodom will come alive in our age. Sodom was guilty of all sins, but the most terrible of them was the attack on innocent people by a crowd of inflamed homosexual sodomists.

Massacres will become commonplace in our time. We have already witnessed the massacre at Olympus shown on television news. The revelry of massacres began to be repeated so often that they almost got used to it. Now people are not shocked in the face of these tragedies as they were in the past.

The Bible said, "As it was in the days of Lot, so shall it be in the days of the Son of Man." In my vision, I saw things that make me fear for the future of our children. I'm talking about wild wandering gangs of homosexuals openly attacking innocent people in parks, on the streets and in gloomy places. The atrocities of these Sodomite gangs must surely come. And, although they may not be reported openly, law enforcement officers will be fully aware of what is going on.

An epidemic of homosexuality.

There are only two obstacles that prevent homosexuals from openly indulging in their sin - this is their rejection by society and their rejection by the church, according to its teachings. When society no longer criticizes their sin as unnatural, but fully accepts and indulges them in their perversity, and when the church no longer denounces homosexuality as a sin, but begins to bless their sex life, then there will be no restraining forces left. The floodgates will open and encouraged homosexuals will be confirmed in their sin. In my vision, I saw that these two obstacles in their path were swept away. If you remove what holds - chaos will follow.

Believe me when I tell you that the time is not far off when you will pick up your local newspaper and read about the dirty events, about innocent children being attacked by unbridled gay gangs in the parks and on the streets of the city. Mass abuse will become a reality of tomorrow, as the Bible says. And that day is near.

Twenty-seven boys were killed in Houston, Texas, by a small gang of homosexuals. The press release of this dastardly murder is the start of many similar homosexual outbursts.

More than one homosexual scandal will break out in very high circles. The homosexual community will become so active and shameless that it will very soon expose its shame in the broadcasts of demonstration talks on television.

I have seen very clearly that homosexuality is becoming a mass phenomenon and sexual crimes are becoming more numerous and horrendous.

Spiritual cooling.

The decline of morality does not pass by many members of the church. The exchanges of husbands and wives among them will become more and more numerous, and many young people will simply cohabit without marrying.

A continuous barrage of sex and nudity from all sides will attack the minds and souls of the most devoted disciples of Christ. For this reason, love will grow cold in many, which will lead to carelessness and unbelief. This will be the main cause of cooling towards God. Those who resist this flood of filth will be few, and they will be looked upon as “out of step” with the “enlightened society” and the church that has adapted to it.

Easy abortions, contraceptives, and growing sexual freedom will contribute to an explosion of immorality, which will eventually culminate in such a general immersion in depravity that the human mind will no longer be aware of what is happening.

Lovers of sense pleasures will far outnumber those who love God. Be aware and beware, for this is an all-out war against the elect of God.

Decline of morals among the clergy.

Divorce and immorality will more and more permeate the milieu of the clergy. More and more clergy will enter into illegal relationships and leave their ministry. Others will continue to serve but will live in secret relationships. An increasing number of Protestant pastors will fall into sexual sin, most of it done in secret.

I believe that even some evangelical denominations will allow divorced pastors to serve in the near future. Divorce among pastors will no longer be seen as a disgrace. Church denominations will continue to rethink their intransigence towards divorce and become more lenient with each new meeting and conference. There comes a "softening" in relation to divorces in the church and in the clergy. This is a trend that will not be stopped, although changes in this area are happening very slowly.

I saw, as it were, a parted veil and behind it the spectacle of what is happening in secret with thousands of ministers and very respectable people. Under the veils and behind the facades of piety, things are secretly going on, hidden from human eyes. Among these people there are the most respectable and very famous. Some very "religious" men and women cheat and indulge in secret sexual sins. They condemn their sin, they know that it can never be reconciled, but they seem powerless to resist their own moral fall. If a miracle does not bring them out of this situation, this will lead to disaster and the destruction of many houses and churches.

I see the day coming when every true priest and preacher of the gospel will face his greatest hour of temptation. Those who thought they were immune to temptation will be tempted more severely. God will preserve and deliver those who turn to Him with all their hearts. Those who continue to flirt and indulge the flesh will experience a terrible hour of despair and bankruptcy. God will soon fall upon secret sins with such wrath that His forces will begin to overtake from everywhere those who persist in sin. Those who leave their secret sins will be renewed and healed.

I saw and heard the command quickly sent from the throne of God, "There is sin in the camp, and it must be cleansed." The hour is coming when God will put the ax at the root of the trees. He will cleanse His house and sanctify His vessels for service at this midnight hour.

Last desperate attempt to deceive the elect of God.

I have seen that the people of this generation who believe in Jesus Christ are "end-time Christians." Satan intends to come disguised as an angel of light, so skillfully, innocently, and imperceptibly, that few realize what is happening to them. He is going to disguise his activities and try to deceive Christians through such temptations that the abuse of something that is not in itself a sin will lead to death.

The temptation for end-time Christians will be a high standard of living. The Bible warns that end-time Christians will be indifferent, prosperous, rich and will not need anything. There is no evil in prosperity and well-being in and of themselves. Most of the biblical patriarchs were rich people.

Abraham was very rich in cattle, silver and gold. Job was extremely rich: he had 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 pairs of oxen and 500 donkeys, many servants and a large house. Of course, God has nothing against wealth and prosperity, because the Bible says that He is pleased with the welfare of His servants (Ps. 34:27). However, I see millions of end-time Christians being seduced by prosperity. End-time Christians will suffer because of their prosperity and will be tested by it more than by poverty.

In my vision, I saw Satan appear before God in the last days, just like he did, according to the Bible, to speak against Job. But this time he comes to ask permission to test end-time Christians.

Here is what I saw:

And the Lord said to Satan: “Where did you come from?” - Satan replied: "I wandered the earth and watched the last Christians." And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you noticed the Christians of the last days, how devoted and how honest they are, how they fear God and love Christ? How do they try to avoid your wicked nets?” Then Satan answered the Lord, “Yes, it is, but take away from them the fence with which You have fenced them. Job did not leave You being poor, but give all end-time Christians blessings and prosperity, much more than Job, and then you will see what happens. Make them all rich like Job. Build them new luxurious houses, give them great cars, as much money and technology as they need. Shower them with cottages, motor boats, world travel, fine clothes, exotic food, land holdings, and savings in the bank. See what will happen to Your last Christians when they become satiated, rich, surrounded by all blessings and needing nothing. They will leave God and become selfish.”

I see how cars, motorcycles, clothes, and all kinds of material goods become a greater obstacle for Christians than drugs, sex, or alcohol. I see thousands of Christians bound and under the control of things. They are so immersed in practical materialism that they become indifferent, blind, weak-willed and spiritually naked. Also, in the midst of their prosperity, they are unhappy and completely dissatisfied.

In my vision, I see Satan backing away laughing merrily, “Look at those money-crazed Christians, those dressed-up pigs! Stung by the security bug! Making loads of money! Buying all new furniture! Buying more and more cars - two, three! Buying, planting, selling, marrying and divorcing! This ruined the generation of Lot. It will befall them too!

Look at all the well-paid, comfortable, well-fed Christians, how lazy and indifferent they become easy prey. Pour it all on them! May many of them stumble upon this. It will make my job easier!”

The God who owns "all the cattle on a thousand mountains" does not want anything that man owns - not his house, not his car, not his clothes, not a speedboat. He only wants to take first place in the hearts of those who call themselves by His name.

Enemies of the Holy Spirit.

I see many end-time Christians who once loved God and who are perishing because the love of pleasure has taken possession of them. Those who love God take no pleasure in drugs, illicit sex, alcohol, tobacco, or obscenity. Satan knows this, many of these pleasures of the flesh are offensive and disgusting to Christians. I see thousands of believers sitting in theaters and being subjected to harmful influences that they themselves used to condemn. They do not commit any particular sin, but they have become very calm about their indulgence in obscene films, frequent parties, feasts with wine. True, they love God, but carnal pleasures are greater. They are not sinners before God, but they have become strangers to Him. They became very hesitant in trying to live a free Christian life, which changed them so dramatically that they didn't realize who they had become.

The sudden rapture of true Christians from the earth will take many of them by surprise. These "free-thinking" Christians, having become restless, cannot devote at least an hour a day to talking with God in solitary prayer.

I see that one of the major sins of the end times is the misuse of free time. This does not apply to the time allotted to us for rest. We are not talking about traveling around Europe or the Holy Land. This is not the time we devote to hunting or fishing, horseback riding, water skiing or motorboating. These are all good and legitimate things in and of themselves. I mean wasted time. Time, which a person has the power to dispose of himself, choosing what to use it for. The time he could use to read the Bible. The time he could spend alone with God talking with his Heavenly Father.

I see Satan appear again with accusations against end-time Christians: “Look at this end-time Christian TV slave. Look how much time he spends on serial films, comedies, sports, but he does not have enough time to talk with God! God does not fit into the plan of his day. He hunts, fishes, travels, plays tennis and basketball. He goes to movies and parties and has become idly staggering, but he doesn't have time to read the Bible and pray. Is this the end-time Christian who is supposed to walk by faith? Is this the Christian whose faith will conquer the world? Is it he who is preparing for the coming day of persecution and chaos? Are these playboys the same Christians who will be hated by everyone for Your name?”

The greatest sin against God in the future is not indulging the flesh and lust, and not even blasphemy. The greatest sin in our time is not to respond to His call. Do not answer His call in the day and age when His call is so strong. I see that, as if by an “irony of fate”, end-time Christians, to whom the coming of Christ is closer than to the first Christians, spend so little time in His presence.

The news of the coming Judgment and the coming of Christ will not be heard by very many Christians for the same reason that the news of the coming flood and Noah's trumpet call to repentance was not heard by his contemporaries, because they were too immersed in their pleasures, buying, selling, building, planting and making love.

War through slander.

I now know that Satan has declared war on every Christian who is a true servant of Jesus Christ. He has used every means to discredit and harm every child of God who is determined to stand for the truth. Those ministers and priests who refuse to deceive their wives, who refuse to indulge in the new "easy morality", will be the target of the most vicious gossip ever spread.

Satan is going to raise a whole "army of gossipers" to bully, slander and lie against them. I think that Billy Graham and other great ministers of the gospel around the world will soon face an increasing tide of ridicule, gossip and misunderstanding from the press and the "free-thinking" public. The motive of each of their actions will be called into question and will begin to arouse suspicion. Each of their statements will be carefully examined.

Ministers who thought they had no enemies in the world will one day be surprised to find someone talking about them. Church pastors will face the most vicious gossip. Hints, lies and slander that will fill the air will come from the underworld itself.

This will be a supernatural manifestation of demonic forces. No true minister of the gospel will escape it. The wives of ministers will also be attacked.

Legions of lying spirits will be unleashed into the world for the sole purpose of working against Christians through gossip and slander. This war of slander will be unleashed not only against the ministers of the Gospel, but also against all true believers in Jesus Christ, regardless of their confessional affiliation.

Multiplication of false teachings.

People will prefer false teachings and new ideas to the truth of God's Holy Word. They will crowd around teachers who will give out "new thoughts and revelations." Men and women will turn to the prophecies and teachings of men much more than to the teaching of the truth. They will give heed to seducing spirits and teachings of demons.

We live on the eve of gospel extremes, when people, in search of what would be flattering to the ear, will follow ministers who will appear to be "angels of light" but in reality preach and teach heresy. The new teachings will make extensive use of the name of Jesus and be draped in garb of asceticism, self-denial and willpower.

Many sincere believing Christians will be overcome by the fear of being possessed by unclean spirits. They will turn to teachers who talk more about the power of Satan than the power of God. However, I saw that this wave of fear of Satan within the church would soon pass. Those who continue to emphasize satanic power over believers will return to the ancient law and justification by works. At the same time, an increasing number of sincere Christians will sell everything and unite in communes, such as Christian communities, reminiscent of monastic ones in their way of life and laws, in order to approach God in this way.
False "movement" of Jesus.

There will be a false movement of "Jesus people" who will emphasize casting out demons. They will claim to heal the sick and apparently do miracles. They will feed the poor by drawing them to them and preaching great love. But among them are false prophets who have never fully given themselves to Christ. These are those who preach love in His name, but continue to abide in their old sins and rebelliousness. These are the "workers of iniquity" who are the tools of Satan in the work of discrediting the true movement of Jesus.

The Bible predicts that many of these false followers of Jesus will stand before the throne of God, saying, “Lord! God! Have we not prophesied in Your name? And was it not in Your name that demons were cast out? And didn’t they work many miracles in Your name?” (Mat. 7:22). But the Lord will say to them, "I never knew you; get away from Me, you workers of iniquity."

I believe this refers to those false followers of Jesus who went around preaching in His name, feeding the poor and clothing the naked, all in the name of Christ's love, but did not live the life of Jesus crucified on the cross, died and rose again. They gladly dropped everything and ran after Jesus, but they had never been to Calvary where their sins would be washed away by His Blood.

When the hour of persecution comes, they will return to their sex and drugs and their old way of life. Only those who have given themselves completely to Jesus Christ and been washed by His blood will stand the test of persecution.
The revival of the true movement of Jesus.

As they endure persecution and recognize the signs of the times, the army of true followers of Jesus will grow in strength. They will form part of the underground church preaching the Coming of Christ and the end of the world! They will be like a sting for the prostituting church, hurting and disturbing people's consciences with their zeal and spiritual strength. Devil worshipers will declare open war on the true followers of Jesus. Only those who live by true faith will be able to discern "spiritual wickedness" in higher circles.

The article by Gennady Rogov, a Russian journalist, raised many problems of modern society. Among them, in my opinion, the most urgent is the spiritual impoverishment of the nation.

The author writes that today more and more often one can hear talk about a saving national idea that could unite Russians. To attract our attention, the author recalls that there were attempts to implement this idea: for example, the introduction of secular ethics in schools and the teaching of the foundations of religious culture. He also compares the past of our country and the current situation in Russia. Previously, there were salons - a storehouse for those seeking "national ideas". In our time, TV shows have replaced the salons, some of which do not carry anything intellectual and informative.

Gennady Rogov has a bad attitude towards this problem. After all, there are no fewer people who do not want enlightenment. In his opinion, it is these people who create various Internet projects and TV shows like "Dom-2". The "spiritual idea" is necessary for our society, and it is not difficult to find examples of a meaningful life in the glorious past of our country.

I support the position of the author. The absence of a national idea will not lead to anything good. People will become obsessed with satisfying personal needs and gaining personal gain, which will lead to indifference and cruelty in society.

Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy also reflected on this problem in his epic novel "War and Peace".

Even in times of war, when the whole nation unites, there are people who hide behind imaginary patriotism and continue to live their daily lives. In his work, Tolstoy emphasizes that Russia survived not only thanks to Kutuzov, Bagration, but also thanks to the common people, who were united by love for their homeland and the desire to liberate it from the invaders. Inspired by the popular mood, the main characters: Andrei Bolkonsky and Pierre Bezukhov found the meaning of their lives.

I would like to note that people who really care about the future of the country are not sitting idly by. They create articles, websites, as well as TV channels and museums, for example, "Russia - Culture", "Star", which talk about our culture and our traditions. Thanks to these people, who store and transmit the experience of the past, and do everything to educate the people, they do not allow society to fall apart.

In conclusion, I would like to emphasize that modern society needs a spirit-uplifting, unifying idea, because spiritual impoverishment will only lead to the destruction of society, the destruction of the country. We should all remember Russia's glorious past and look up to it.

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Updated: 2018-09-05

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ORTHODOX ST. TIKHONOV HUMANITARIAN UNIVERSITY

Department of Philosophy of Religion and Religious Aspects of Culture

Direction 031800.62 Religious studies

SUMMARY On the topic: Spiritual and moral impoverishment of the people in the second half of the XIII century

Introduction

The period of the Tatar-Mongol invasion, of course, was one of the most difficult periods for Russia, not only materially, but also morally. However, I am not sure that it was these events that contributed to the spiritual and moral impoverishment of the people, because, in fact, the Russian people, even before the arrival of the Tatars, were far from the Christian ideal of evangelical love. For more than two and a half centuries that have passed since the time of the baptism of Russia, our people have not fully become churched. There were also dual faith and remnants of paganism (especially in rural areas), in the common people there were still rituals of the so-called. "Kupala night", "Rusalia" and other immoral customs; the princes did not fulfill their destiny, they acted in direct opposition to the gospel commandments.

In my work, I would like to understand why this particular period is considered special and stands out in history as a period of spiritual and moral impoverishment of the Russian people. To answer this question, I used the works of Kartashev A.V., Talberg N., Petrushko V.I., Professor Znamensky P.V., and also got acquainted with the definitions of the Vladimir Cathedral of 1274.

1. The attitude of the Tatars to the ROC

As already mentioned, the Russian people did not shine with piety and did not value their faith, since, for example, the Greeks valued it, since they (the people) received the Orthodox Church and Christian enlightenment in finished form. Glorified as saints, unfortunately, they make up only a very small fraction of the entire mass of Russian princes. They (princes) were called to preach and establish Christianity among their subjects, but they did not fulfill their mission. Instead, the princes fought with each other, and committed such acts that were directly opposite to the gospel commandments. Enormous forces, energy, funds were wasted on internecine strife. If all this had been aimed at the Christian enlightenment of the Russian people, the country would have been completely different. As I already mentioned, the Russian people were not united, a number of evidence can be cited to prove this fact: firstly, in the sources of that time, we everywhere meet the name “Russian Land” and nowhere do we find the expression “Russian people”. From this it follows that there was a sense of the unity of the land rather than the integrity of the people; secondly, if the Russian people were united, then it would not be so easy for the Tatars to capture Russia and establish their locks for 2 centuries.

All these factors largely determined the tragedy that broke out on Russian soil in the middle of the 13th century, when the hordes of Batu swept Kievan Rus off the face of the earth in a short time.

Speaking of the so-called. "Mongolian" period of Russian church history, it should be noted that the Mongols sowed death and ruin only during the period of the conquest of Russia. Subsequently, everything had already been conquered, they (the Mongols) sought to somehow streamline everything: they gave labels for reigning, that is, according to the logic of things, internecine wars should have stopped, but Petrushko says that the Tatars willingly supported the internecine struggle of the princes, so that Russia would not grow stronger and could not fight back. I have found nothing to support this view. Politics is politics, but now we are more interested in the spiritual, moral, religious aspects of that period. After all, no one forbade us to grow spiritually and improve in our faith, since one of the principles of Genghis Khan, and then the subsequent khans, was a tolerant attitude towards a foreign religion. It is clear that this was one of the conditions under which Genghis could hope to create a world empire. The main legislative collection that guided the successors of Genghis Khan was his "Book of Prohibitions", or "Yassa", which, in particular, prescribed a respectful attitude towards all religions. Batu's attitude towards the Russian Orthodox Church naturally followed from the well-established Mongolian tradition of tolerance and even patronage of Christians. Of course, no one argues that the Church and the clergy suffered in Batu's invasion in the same way as the entire Russian people. Temples and monasteries were plundered and set on fire. Many clergy were killed. The Greek Metropolitan Joseph died or, as is believed, fled to Greece (we will return to him later). However, as soon as the Mongols left, having established the dependence of Russia on the Golden Horde, the patronizing attitude of the Mongols towards the Russian Church, based on the "Yass" of Genghis Khan, was immediately established in the Russian lands. The church was exempted from paying tribute, and the church court remained inviolable. This was one of the reasons for the significant growth of church land ownership: the more land became the property of the Church, the more people were exempted from paying tribute to the Horde. But the Tatars did not limit themselves to this, and in 1262 an Orthodox episcopal department was established in Sarai, the capital of the Horde. There are several opinions about who was the initiator of the opening of the Orthodox department in the camp of the enemy. Many believe that this was an initiative of the Hierarchy of the Russian Orthodox Church. But, there is also an opinion that the khan himself, for his own reasons of prestige, decided to open a Sarai bishopric in his Horde. Kartashev also adheres to this point of view. Why the khan needed to establish an episcopal see in his Sarai can only be guessed at. But in this context, a number of provisions can be made: perhaps he did this for the simple reason that he wanted to replenish his collection, or because Orthodox priests were perceived by the pagan Mongols in part as their own shamans, whom, it was believed, it was better not to offend.

This diocese in the very center of the Golden Horde was supposed to spiritually nourish Russian prisoners, slaves, princes who arrived in the Horde. She probably also performed some kind of diplomatic trick in relations between the Horde, Russia and Byzantium.

Khan Mengu-Timur (1266 - 1281) initiated another tradition in relations between the Horde and the Russian Orthodox Church. For the first time, he issued a label to the Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Russia, Kirill II, the first after the Batu invasion, to rule the Russian Church, just as it was done in relation to Russian princes. According to Kartashev, the appearance of labels was not a constituent measure, but a protective one, in order to save the clergy from the encroachments of the khan's officials who abused their powers. From this we can conclude that the Tatars not only allowed the Orthodox Church to exist, but also tried to protect it in every possible way.

. Internal church policy during the Mongol-Tatar invasion

In the pre-Mongolian period, we see very few outstanding metropolitans of Kyiv and, on the contrary, such great princes-statesmen as Yaroslav the Wise, Vladimir Monomakh, St. Mstislav the Great, St. Andrey Bogolyubsky, Vsevolod the Big Nest. In the XIII - XIV centuries. the picture changes: on the contrary, it is the time of the great saints of the Russian Church Cyril II (whose reign we will talk about a little later), Maximus, Peter, Theognost and Alexy. Among the Primates of the Russian Church, we already meet Russians much more often by origin, who legally occupy the metropolitan see, in contrast to the cases with Hilarion and Kliment Smolyatich. And even the Greek metropolitans of that time bear little resemblance to the First Hierarchs of the former time, who were removed and stayed in Kyiv without a break, as a rule, did not even know the Russian language. The lords of the Greeks Maxim and Theognost behave no less zealously and patriotically than the Russian Cyril or Peter. Metropolitan Cyril II must be called the first among the great saints. Sometimes he is called Cyril III, although the reality of the existence of the 11th century metropolitan Cyril I, placed between Theopempt and Hilarion, has not been proven. The predecessor of Cyril II - the Greek Joseph - arrived in Russia in 1237, just before the invasion of Batu. Chronicles are unanimously silent about his subsequent fate. If he had died as a martyr, then, most likely, the memory of this would have been preserved. Most likely, he simply left Russia. Perhaps it was cowardice or unwillingness to lay down their lives for a foreign Russian flock, or perhaps it was done at the political demand of the Nicaean emperors, who sought peace and alliance with the Mongols for the sake of joint struggle with the Latin crusaders. Be that as it may, the Greeks considered it more convenient for themselves to leave the Russian metropolis in Russian hands as an experience. As a result, the Russian Church was beheaded at the most tragic time. Bishop Ioasaph of Ugry tried to take advantage of this, but nothing came of it. Since the Greeks and the princes of North-Eastern Russia were silent, Prince Daniel of Galicia takes drastic measures. He decided to promote his candidate to the metropolis. They just became Cyril. Who he was before his name is not known. There is a version that at the court of Daniil Galitsky, some boyar - the keeper of the seal named Cyril - served. Perhaps this was the future Primate.

In 1243, Cyril was named the appointed metropolitan, but he still could not dispose of all the lands (not only southern, but also northeastern) of Russia. This became possible only after the appointment of Cyril to the metropolitans in Nicaea by Patriarch Manuel II himself. Cyril ruled the Russian Church for quite a long time, until 1281. Metropolitan Kirill had a characteristic trait that helped him learn first hand all the problems in the dioceses. This characteristic feature was the non-settledness of Metropolitan Kirill II in the cathedral Kyiv. There were reasons for this.

Kyiv was ravaged to the ground and it was difficult for the metropolitan to stay in it

Sophia Cathedral lay in ruins

the city turned into a provincial village with a negligible number of inhabitants

it was necessary to arrange church life after the ruin

It was the arrangement of church life in the country that became one of the main tasks of Cyril II.

One of the main events in this direction was the Cathedral in Vladimir, convened in 1274. The Council was attended by bishops: Dalmat of Novgorod, Ignatius of Rostov, Theognost of Sarai and Simeon of Polotsk. And at the same cathedral, Archimandrite Serapion from the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery was appointed Bishop of Vladimir. Opening the Council and addressing the assembled bishops, clergy and laity, Metropolitan Kirill II said: “What profit have we received by leaving God’s rules, has not God scattered us over the face of the whole earth, have not our cities been taken, have our strong princes perished from the edge of the sword, have not our children been taken captive, have not the holy churches of God been desolate, have we not been tormented every day by ungodly and godless pagans? “All this happened to us because we do not keep the rules of our saints and venerable fathers.”

Perhaps the main subject of discussion at the Council was the disorganization that took place in the Russian Church. The result of the work of the Vladimir Cathedral was the “Rule of Metropolitan Kirill II”, which summed up everything that the Council determined in order to heal morals.

The "rule" adopted by the Council contains eight separate decrees, set out in the following order:

Appointment to the dignity “for a bribe” is prohibited and the qualities of those who are going to become a clergyman are stipulated;

It is indicated to perform baptism in only three immersions and it is forbidden to mix myrrh and oil during chrismation;

It is said about the spread of the custom of fisticuffs on holidays;

The violations in the rank of proskomidia that take place in some churches are listed;

It is said about the drunkenness of clerics and laity in the period "from Holy Week of Palm to All Saints";

It is forbidden to consecrate the "cup for the dead" to deacons or ordinary servants;

It is a pagan custom to lead brides to the water;

About the spread of the “Dionus holiday”, or “Rusalia” on Great Saturday.

Let's take a closer look at the Rules adopted by the Vladimir Cathedral:

The first rule concerns the issue of simony, that is, the acquisition of church positions and even holy orders for money. “Come in our ear, as if from our brethren, dared to sell the holy dignity,” the Rule says. Metropolitan Kiril falls with all severity on this terrible evil - the appointment of clergy for a bribe, a bribe. The saint considered this especially unacceptable at the time of the trials that befell Russia, for he saw in this the root of many evils. As soon as an unworthy shepherd is placed for a bribe, then what can be expected from his flock? Who can he educate in this case, if he himself is unspiritual?

The second rule speaks of violations of a liturgical nature. Particularly strong distortions were noted when it came to the practice of performing the sacraments of baptism and chrismation. The Vladimir Cathedral condemned baptism by incomplete immersion, which happened in Russia at that time due to pastoral neglect. Metropolitan Cyril II considered such baptism acceptable only in case of the most extreme need, with the complete impossibility of immersion. The Council also noted that due to the ignorance of the clergy, anointing with oil during the reading and chrismation after baptism were often mixed. In part, this could also happen because there were not enough Trebniks: fires, the death of scribes, and a lack of materials for writing led to this. Yes, and in the clergy, in view of the death of many clergy during the days of the Batu invasion, it was often necessary to accept people who were not very suitable for priestly service, who did not speak letters. Apparently, illiterate priests memorized something from the voice, not particularly understanding the meaning of the sacred rites performed, and hence large errors arose.

The third canon of the Vladimir Council resolutely condemns the monstrous pagan custom. It's about fistfights for the holidays. Almost always they ended in a murder and the subsequent removal of clothes from the victim. In the Kievan period of the history of Russia, this barbaric pagan custom was practically obsolete. For such fanaticism, the legislation of Yaroslav the Wise provided for the most severe punishments. But at the time of the Tatars, when human life has incredibly depreciated, when death is accustomed to as a common occurrence, these crazy pagan "tournaments" are reborn. Metropolitan Cyril II strongly protested against this manifestation of hardening of souls.

The following rule is directed against such a liturgical violation as the commission of proskomedia by deacons. Metropolitan Kirill II, during his travels to the Novgorod land, discovered that there the deacons easily prepare the Lamb before the Liturgy. This custom dates back to the thirteenth century. disappeared in Russia, then reappeared due to the illiteracy of the clergy and the lack of liturgical literature.

The fifth rule speaks of a wild violation of the church charter that arose in a number of places - the custom to start the celebration of Easter already on the day of Palm Sunday. As a result, during Holy Week, instead of the most important services leading up to Easter, there were mass celebrations and drunkenness.

The last two rules of the Council dealt specifically with such a difficult problem as the resumption of pagan holidays among the people. The Church resolutely took up the fight against these recurrences of pagan cults, which unexpectedly reared their heads in the years of anarchy and devastation. In particular, the Vladimir Cathedral condemns the feast of the "Rusalia", which looked especially blasphemous, since it took place on Easter night or on the night of the Nativity of John the Baptist. Participated in the "Rusal" youth. These were extremely unbridled orgies, accompanied by ritual pagan dances and mass fornication.

Metropolitan Kirill II was not only the head of the Russian Church in one of the most difficult periods of its history, but also one of the recreators of the Russian statehood, having shown through his ministry the commonality of tasks of the Russian Church and the state.

It took enormous spiritual efforts by Metropolitan Kirill and his successors before, with the help of God, they managed to bring up a truly Orthodox people. Although many argue that the Tatar-Mongol yoke that fell on Russia is to blame for everything, it still seems to me that, having overcome all the hardships associated with this time, the Russian people learned to value their faith and it became possible to begin the process of rebirth and unification of Russian lands.

Conclusion

I hope in my work I managed to prove that the Tatar-Mongolian invasion was not only negative for Russia, but also contributed to the spiritual development and self-determination of the Russian people. After all, who knows, if not for the Horde, the Russian people would have fallen under the onslaught of the Catholic West and perhaps our country would no longer be a stronghold of Orthodoxy.

Bibliography

1.Kartashev A.V. History of the Russian Church, M., "EXMO-PRESS", 2000, v.1, pp. 299 - 362.

2.Talberg N. History of the Russian Church, M., Ed. Sretensky Monastery, 2004, pp. 89 - 108.

.Petrushko V.I. History of the Russian Church, M., PSTGU, 2005, pp. 74 - 105.

.Professor Znamensky P. V. Znamensky, M., Ed. Krutitsy Compound Society of Church History Lovers, 2002, 71 - 81.

Application

orthodox church tatars vladimirsky cathedral

Definitions of the Vladimir Cathedral of 1274

The rule of Kyuril, Metropolitan of Russia, who has gone bishop: Dalmat of Noo-Ugorod, Ignatius of Rostov, Theognost of Pereyaslav, Simeon of Polotsk, for the appointment of Bishop Serapion of Volodymyr.

Our God is very good, for all providence works for our salvation, and according to His unknown destinies and according to all the arrangement and trickery of His Most Holy and Most Pure Spirit, introducing everything into a well-organized thing, worthy and bestowed by His power, hierarchical honor to all who are more dangerous to receive cleansing, with all it is more dangerous to keep the holy rules of the most holy Apostle and after those former reverends of our father, having a word of life, with their most pure statutes, as if with some miraculous walls protecting the Church of God and the stone of hardness in the foundation, which Christ swears to be undestroyed by her being from hell itself, as I hope the imam hedgehog spoken to us from our Savior: go for it, I have conquered the world. Moreover, Az Kyuril, the humble and Metropolitan of all Russia, has seen and heard a lot of disorganization in churches, owing to this, ovo otherwise, disagreement of a lot and graveness, or pastoral disorganization, or the custom of foolishness, or the bishop’s non-adventure, or from the unreasonable rules of the church. Darkening more beahou before this cloud of wisdom of the Elin language, now oblistasha, more interpreted by the former and by the grace of God shine clearly, driving away ignorance and all that enlightens the light of reason and delivers from sin. By the same ignorance of the rest, may God save us, and may forgive sin, and may God enlighten us about other holy rules and enlighten us, no more transgressively fatherly commandments, we inherit grief. Kyi oubo the profit of the heir to the left of God's rules? Has not God scattered us over the face of the whole earth? Will you not take our city? Have not our princes fallen mighty with the edge of the sword? Is it not the behavior of our child that was captured? Do not the saints of Bolgia zapoustesha churches? Do not we languish every day from the godless and unclean filth? All these things happen to us, we do not keep the rules of our saints and the reverend Father. Now, I have thought with the holy Council and with the venerable bishops, it is known to do some testing about church things.

Come to our slouchy, as if from our brethren, foolish ears, sell the holy dignity, and lament to the churches, and take from them some lessons of the verb. And forgetting the rules of the speech of the holy Apostles and our reverend Fathers. Let everyone hear clearly: set on a bribe, let it erupt, and setting it up - this is the rule of the saints. where, in his degree, he will accept the bedou, and he will be cast out, and those who intercede for such an appointment, if they are a clerk, will be thrown out of their degree; if the worldly people, or imagine, let them be cursed. No one sells the grace of God: bo, speech, pryaste, and give it to the ton. See how indignant Peter is with Simon the sorcerer; Bo speech: let your silver be with you in pagoubou, as if you hope to acquire the grace of God with wealth. Elisha's speech to Gehazi: Thou hast taken Neoman's silver and robes, and his leprosy shall cleave to you and cleave to your seed forever. It’s like it’s impossible for Bogo to work and mammon; and worse there are Macedonian heresies. Macedonian bo and other Dukhobortsy, the servant of Bogou howling the Holy Spirit, the verb; and the servant, who creates for himself, cocoons and sells, is compared with Judas, has a part with him, and may he be rejected and all the priestly services are cast out and cursed. For the rest, brethren, we hear everything and do not disobey the divine rules, but not when we fall away; as if not with gold, nor with silver, the expiation was from a life of covetousness, and with the precious blood of the Lamb of God, she is immaculate, pure of Christ. Likewise, teach us how to be sacred; but we follow the evangelical and apostolic and fatherly commandments, we believe and speak; other things from this time on, if someone appears from our holy Gathering, or the abbot into abbotcy, taking from him something, sanctifying on a bribe, the recommended "posh", or tonsuring a worldly priest on a bribe into abbotcy, or delivers the priest to the church, holding on to him that yea boodoot curse. Bishops, when they want to appoint a priest or a deacon, let them spend his life, as he would have had a life before his appointment, let his neighbors call for loans, they know him from children, as the seventh rule says Theophilus, Archbishop of Alksandrsky: , and then let the bishop test, and to those who came testifying about him, let him be appointed. Ordinance does not take place in secret. But all of us will know when a stranger enters another country and, hiding sin, steals the sacred. “We don’t know anything to sanctify,” like the 4th Assembly, the 6th rule says; not from another place in the city, if from his limit he bows, he does not even promise; not bring a slave to the priesthood, if not before his master will leave the obedience to many with a letter, and he will leave, if he wants, and upon appointment, let him not assign to himself. If they want to establish life, let them test them potonkou, if their life cleanly chooses them, keep their virginity, bring the girl according to the law, and legally remove the former, if they bring the letter to good; and then don’t supply them soon, otherwise the bowdot is not a koshyunnitsy, nor a swindler, nor a drunkard, nor a rotnitsa, nor a grumpy one. Then it is fitting to test them about sinful things, food in fornication sodomy were bowed out, whether with cattle, or in sin in roukou, or in tatba, unless it’s childish, whether before the conception of his wife corrupts virginity, whether he was bowed with many, or from his own wives of lawful bloodshed were done by a bowdet, and either in a false land there was a bowdet, or a murder was committed by a bowdet, by will or by a knife, or a rabble-rouser, or a servant of a drouch with hunger and nakedness, creating violence by suffering, or running tribute, or a sorcerer. If anyone from these wines that have been cherished, although they will drink only one, such a priest cannot be, neither a deacon, nor an clerk. Yes, who is free from all these wines by the instruction of the spiritual father, so that he may be vouched for 7 priests and other good witnesses, and they will put it. The first will give him euchia, if there is an anagnostic prayer for the shearing of the clergy, a short phelonion; then let him sergeant in the cathedral church and read, until he understands everything, let the bishop also betray the elder of the church for teaching. For many days, the deacon will not be my half 30 years old, but the priest will not be 30 years old. Do not take nothing from them, unless I leave them in the metropolis, let it be in all the bishoprics: let the clergy take 7 hryvnias from priesthood and from deaconship from both. Is there anyone, according to our charter, more than this land from a deacon, or from a priest, or from an abbot, or from an arsehole and from the beggars, violence is active, or at the harvest, or senasechi, or the transport of work, or some other kind of “prefabricated” property, or the governors supplying a bribe, or a tithe, or when collecting divine fees, then they collect some collection from the rulers of the church, or they excommunicate some from the church, not dividing the law of God, for their own sake, or the land of some deed, such we excommunicate.

After knowing about divine baptism, it’s somehow smoot and unreasonably mixing the divine mure with oil, and so they smear on the body of the person being baptized, the worst of all is foolishness, and do not remember the rule of speech in Laodicea: , and a partaker of the life of the kingdom of Christ ": - myuro is an individual, and oil is an individual. According to the announcement, they also smear with wood oil, saying: “Smear the servant of God with the oil of joy in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and forever and ever, amen,” at all times; then let them be baptized and, plunging into three immersions in the name of the Father, such as the Son, such as the Holy Spirit and invite "amen." They also smear it with murum by feeling, saying: "the seal and the gift of the Holy Spirit." In a different place, they don’t smear anywhere, except on the forehead, on the eye, on the ear, on the nostril, on the ear, as if it was written in the saints of our father Kyuril in his announced words; speech bo: even if we are anointed with oil, there is first joy, speech, betrothal, by whom we call the peasants into the truth, God will anoint us in the adoption of His glory. So, after baptism, we smear our feelings with mure only, blocking the first entrance of flattery, and incorruptibly created by the most pure Spirit of God, and keep us forever from the evil enemy, but in no way will our feelings be moved to evil: we are deaf to evil hearing, but our eyes are to evil sight, and we are oustnama to evil ears, nostrils for a bad smell, fragrant and saved forever, as the churches of God have been cleansed, guarded by the Holy Spirit. Let everyone, after baptism, be vouchsafed with the most pure Body of God and the honorable Blood, either in cities or in villages, where the baptized will not be. They don’t pour more water on anyone, but let them immerse: there’s no pouring written anywhere, but immersion in the sourse is not well-trained. Without communion, let no one be baptized (baptized).

Packs, ouvedehom, the demonic custom of the accursed elins, on divine holidays some demonic shames do, with whistling and with a cry and spit, calling some stingy drunkard, and beating with a dracole to the very death, and taking off from the killed ports. On reproach, it happens to be God's feast and to annoy God's churches. More than this, they annoy our Spasou and Zastoupou, even deliver us from the leprosy of death and from the touga of the devil, and rejoice our hearts with holy honorable holidays, let us know and remember His saved sacraments, let us honor Him in the holy churches of God, in praise and song of the one who created us, and so on according to our law. But we will follow the holy and reverend of our father: if anyone is invented according to these rules, creating the devils, let them banish the gods from the holy churches of God, kill and curse the gods in this age and in the gods. If we oppose our law, then accept no offerings from them, more prosphora and koutya, or candles. If they die, then the priests do not go over them and let them not do services for them, nor put them near God's churches. If any priest dares to do something to them, let him be a stranger to his dignity.

Packs found within the limits of Novgorod the deacons holding the divine Lamb, and before the priests did the proskourmisaniye, and then came the priest, after the proskourmisati. And forgetting the rule of rechenago in Frugia 55: "Do not enter the holy altar as a deacon before calling it, nor as a priest before a bishop." Canon 18 of the Nicene Collection is written more like this: “I hear, I speak, about certain people, as if a bishop had previously touched a deacon with thanksgiving. We command the deacon from here to take communion in haste.” Tomou, we will follow the holy Gathering, henceforth we do not command the deacon to take out the Lamb, and the priest. If someone turns around according to our commandments, doing this, let the bishop of that place erupt with indignation, if he knows; if not the news, boudet is forgiven. If it’s not submissive, they say in defiance, but bow out all the eruption; if people say they start to create, but bowdot curse.

After all, in the same countries, non-kinship is creating, the hierarchical beshchina, drunken without measure on the holy, most pure days of fasting, from the bright week of faith to all the saints, as if there were no divine offering, nor divine baptism to all the saints: we follow the divine rule; they say more: "priest drunk, let it stay, let it erupt." But we command the venerable bishop: if you do not repent, we command you to pervert everyone. Louche is the only worthy slouch, more than a thousand lawless. Is it possible to appear a spiral creating peoples, not obeying this rule, a curse and a bowdot.

But packs ovedekham in the same countries, as if non-sanctification sanctify the fruit-bearing brought to the church, rekshe kropy or koutya for the dead, we command from now on such a non-existence, nor from the deacons let it be consecrated. It is written more in canon 18 of the Nice Collection; the packs of the Gathering in Laodicea canon 15: “neither Petya is unsanctified, nor clean on anbon, or the divine word is honored by people, if not to have priestly tonsure on the head, nor a blessing from his shepherd, according to the holy rule, did not receive a bowdet; if he received a boudet, then even so, there is no other way to carry Petya or clean on an anbon, if not to put on a white vestment. The small vestry is spoken in Greek as differa or phelonion. We command from the village in all the churches neither to clean the Apostle, nor to sing the prokimen, nor to enter the altar unconsecrated. The clerk is already consecrated, but he should not touch the consecrated ones, nor the holy shackle, in any way, he dares to bring, unless he is not a deacon or a priest, nor himself tomou great podiakou. But the sacristan to all the churches from the pure let them sanctify, let not everyone simply enter the holy altar of God. Let nothing spring into God's altar, neither koutya, nor anything else. Priest, neither a deacon, let them enter into idleness, nor laziness, let them not annoy the most pure place, entering the beast.

And now I hear: within the limits of Novgorod, the brides are led to the water. And now we do not command that such being; if not, then we command to curse.

And behold, I hear: on Saturday evening, men and women gather together, and they play and dance incessantly, and they act filthy on the night of the holy resurrection, as if the Dionus feast is celebrated by wicked firs, together men and wives, as if horses visibly neigh and neigh, and filthy deeds. And now let them remain; if not, then they will fall into the previously spoken judgment.

They write about the cross, on the ground and on the ice. Let no one write the cross on the ground and on the ice, when water is baptized, let our victorious weapon not be stupefied. After baptism, people, horses and all cattle and dogs trample underfoot, then the ports are washed and watered with filth. It is not with the same cross that the water is consecrated, foamed on ice, held by priestly hands. And the nations say that I have consecrated the cross three times and four times. And many crosses that bind, baptize water, and carry it up to ten days, and then resolve the crosses - what is more woeful than this nonsense? Reader and do not understand: yes, we are tempted by sotons and many sins are bound, we are looking for a resolution to the cross. For the cross was sanctified by the blood of Christ and sanctifies everything - people and water, but no one sanctifies the cross: how do we sanctify, bind and loosen the cross? From now on, don't wake up tacos; if not, then we command to curse.

"O times! Oh manners! - every day, from century to century, this exclamation sounds more tragic and truer. Sometimes it seems that the revival of spirituality is yet to come, sometimes, according to St. Seraphim Rose - which is already much later than it seems. From the news we learn about events so chilling to the heart that it is difficult to believe in them, and in everyday life we ​​are faced with even stronger cynicism, indifference and crime of both the laws of God and the laws of the state. Why is this happening? We asked Priest Maxim Pervozvansky about this, the head of one of the largest youth associations in Russia - the Orthodox organization Young Russia, the editor-in-chief of the Naslednik magazine, the father of 8 children.

– Father Maxim, what is the reason for the impoverishment of faith in Russia and the world, why are there so few believers?

– In general, this is a long story that cannot only be understood from today, but its root is very simple, the same as that of the fall of Adam in paradise. The Lord invites a person to follow the path, which He Himself calls narrow and cramped. A narrow path, narrow gates lead to the Kingdom of God and few find them. What is its crampedness - it is best to explain with some example. The simplest is family life. In order to build a normal family, you need to make a lot of effort. And in order to live a prodigal life, efforts are practically not needed. At the same time, the second option immediately brings quick results in the form of thrills, strong emotional experiences, bright as candy wrappers, sparkles. This is very attractive to a person and much easier than the long and difficult time of creating a family. Loving your wife, raising children is a constant work.

For example, when a new school year begins, and my children have been going to school for ten years, I think - I can’t anymore, I’m already tired. Get up every day to take the child to school, braid a pigtail - one, two, three. fifth, bring the younger ones to school, then meet, something else. Despite the fact that my youngest child is only two years old, and he will go to school only in five years. It's difficult. This is constant, uninterrupted labor, like the labor of a farmer, when one must constantly plow, sow, and milk; something doesn't add up, something doesn't work. It is much easier to give up all this and go along some easy path. This is the first most simple reason, I can’t even call it especially spiritual, when a person cannot withstand the stress of the level of life that the Lord offers him. But if this tension is not sustained, then a person ceases to be not only a Christian, but in general ceases to be a person, everything comes to destruction. That is, in order to move and create, you need to work. And work hard.

The second point is that religious faith limits the rights of a rationally thinking mind. Not reason in general, namely rationalistic thinking. It is impossible to measure such feelings as love with simple logic; loyalty and duty do not lend themselves to logic. A simple rational explanation does not comprehend many things. And at the same time, rational thinking has great advantages. And in due time, when, in the period after the Renaissance in Europe, with the help of rational thinking, powerful and impressive results were achieved in explaining this world, the attractiveness of the religious worldview faded for some.

Why, for example, in the novel by Herbert Wales "The War of the Worlds" did the Martians die? They powerfully took over the earth, but were destroyed by a virus like the flu. They did not have protective immunity. So before the October Revolution, the Russian peasants in their mass, being very religious, deeply truly religious, were tempted by such rationalistic thinking and were not ready.

Rationalistic thinking is characterized by the fact that it is ready to oppose a counterargument to any argument. But then, when the invasion of the atheistic worldview began, no counterarguments were formed. Now it is clear that one can quite calmly and convincingly oppose one's own arguments to all these arguments, and then these atheistic arguments had the effect of an exploding bomb on an unprepared person. The hardships were hard to bear. For example, you are sitting in the trenches from 1914 to 1916. World War I. It is very difficult, bad with shells, it is not known what is at home there, and I am a simple peasant, I have to sow, and for a long time already - the third year. It is not known what is there with his wife, what is there with the children. And then red agitators come and say - the bourgeois are to blame for everything, leave the front, this is an imperialist war. We will give the land to you, peace to the peoples, land to the peasants, disband the army. Life very quickly showed the peasant that this was a lie. But how easy it is, sitting in the trenches for two years, to succumb to propaganda. How easy it was in the early 90s to succumb to the propaganda of the Western way of life: we will all be happy, now we will all be given a voucher and everyone will finally receive a piece of public property. So everyone got robbed. People who are in cramped circumstances, but not being armed and including intellectually, who do not understand the situation, can easily succumb to completely transparent propaganda: “There is no God! Plunder this barin! Let's socialize women now. Sin can be very tempting.

The third point is, of course, the triumph of civilization. Civilization, as a way of arranging life, makes life simple, convenient, understandable, tasty, well-fed, aimed at consumption, at the impression, while being respectable. For example, if I go somewhere to a brothel, I understand that I am doing something bad. And if I live the life of a simple city dweller, then I don’t seem to do anything bad, I don’t commit any terrible sins. But at the same time, I spend my life in convenience, comfort, and most importantly, in the absence of meaning and purpose. When goals are substituted, when building a comfortable, calm, well-fed life becomes the meaning, this is also very attractive. The religious worldview always, one way or another, calls for a feat, for self-restraint, for asceticism. Without this, religious life is impossible. A well-fed belly, as you know, is deaf to learning. Moreover, it is deaf to some higher manifestations of spirituality. By a full belly, I do not mean overeating, but in general a well-fed, contented life that dulls the desire for self-development, search. Even in the Old Testament, it was written about the Jewish people, who were called by the collective name Jacob after the name of the forefather Jacob: “And Jacob ate, and grew fat, and grew fat, and forgot God, beloved by him.” That is, God loved the people of Israel, but a well-fed life led to the fact that people forgot God. This law applies to a person, to any society.

Why did monasticism arise? It arose as an attempt to abandon a quiet, well-fed life, realizing that this is not yet Christianity. Another thing is the Middle Ages. After all, it is still unknown where and in what nations there were many truly believing people. But it just so happened, in general, all societies until the new time, they were traditional, based on the way, on the fact that it was so customary from our parents. The form, of course, was Christian. What really happened there is very difficult to judge now. Believers, truly believers, have always been not in the majority, even when everyone was baptized, when everyone went to church. And now it has become so that a person can choose any form of worldview

- Returning to the first reason, namely, the unwillingness to go the narrow path, please tell me why it is necessary to go the narrow path, why should a person look for difficulties in life?

We are created that way. The Lord created us for love, that is, for us to love. But love requires effort, it is itself a bestowal. Love is not when something exists for me. That is, my car, my house, my desk, my armchair can exist for me, but my beloved wife cannot be in this row. Because if I use all this list, then the wife is not what I use, this is not an element of comfort, not an element of the situation, not something that exists for me. If I truly love, then I exist for her. And she exists in her mind for me. Then love arises. One of the most shocking experiences when I became a priest 10 years ago was when a young man told me that he left his wife after she had an appendicitis scar. That is, my beloved Mercedes is scratched, and I change it to a BMW. Here is the logic of the person using it, only brought to an extreme. Most people do, of course. does not, but if my wife has grown old before me, or her figure has deteriorated after she gave birth to my child - one, second, third, or suddenly I met someone who I now like better, then I can just leave her . According to the logic of the consumer society, this is how it should happen. We live together as long as we like together. But realistically, I hope this doesn't require explanation, although it may now require why it's wrong.

- And yet explain why, because the principle of consumption is widespread in society much wider than Christianity?

- Everything that exists in the world exists, obeying certain laws, for example, the law of universal gravitation. No matter how much you want to fly in your mind, you cannot fly just like that, for this you need wings, engines, you cannot fly just like that, we are not created for flying. When you buy, for example, a washing machine, you first of all read the instruction manual. A person has an instruction manual - these are the commandments of God. That is, it was not just that God said: do not kill, do not steal, do not fornicate, honor your father and mother. When he gave these commandments through Moses to the people of Israel, he said: “I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing, choose life, so that you and your descendants live after you.” And in another place it says: "Fulfill the commandments, because this is your life." Violation of the operating instructions, that is, God's commandments, is called sin. When we sin, we break. That is, if I left my wife, then it became worse not for my wife, but for me. According to outward signs, now, at this very second, my wife is crying, and I am happy, I live there now with someone else, but I really need to cry, because I suffered damage. And not in the sense that somewhere, sometime, according to heavenly legislation, they will put me behind some kind of heavenly bars. No, I'm here in this life getting a wound in the soul. Very serious. I generally lose the ability to love

For example, a high school student comes to a disco, and at this disco he experiences euphoria, arousal of feelings, he likes it. Very loud music provokes an adrenaline rush, next to the girls with whom he comes into close contact in the dance, he returns happy after this disco. It seems that everything is fine, nothing terrible has happened, nothing bad has been done. But after half a year, the disco ceases to please me. I don't get the emotions I expect. Ask any person who goes to discos for half a year. What is required next to get emotions? Next, you need to drink beer. Just music, just disco is not enough for me, and I start to come to the disco drunk. But then even this becomes not enough for me, and after a while “wheels” appear.

The need for strong emotions or even just to keep emotions at the same level, emotions not related to love, with difficulty, with effort, leads a person, firstly, to some kind of addiction: alcohol, drugs, etc. Secondly, an easy way to get pleasure never saturates a person, his soul is empty. A hole is formed in the soul and very quickly.

In principle, pleasure is not forbidden to us, no one requires us to go into the desert or wear a hair shirt. But keep in mind, getting pleasure, enjoying the world cannot be the goal. That's what's fundamentally important. The goal should be something else. A person is defined by what he lives for. If he lives for consumption, he will end up in his own misery. This consumption will very quickly cease to please him. I know a lot of people who went through this path of the “golden toilet” in the early 90s and were completely disillusioned with it. It cannot satisfy a person, a person cannot live with it. He definitely needs something more serious, deeper. And this is more serious and deeper requires effort. This is how we are.

– And what is “this” serious and deep?

- It's God. Man must strive towards God. Seek God and find him and live with God. This is the main goal from which all other goals are built. What is my next goal? The good of the Church, as the Body of Christ, where the Head of the Church is Christ. This does not mean that I must go to the priesthood, but I must take care of the house of God. Not in the sense of taking care of the church like stones, but as a community of people united by one faith, one sacrament, one hierarchy. This is my first and main family. In a real incarnation, I must love His Holiness the Patriarch as my first father and ruler here on earth. I have to take care of my church, parish, parish priest. All this naturally turns out when a person finds God. Then I must take care of my country, I must wish her well. For me, her whole story takes on meaning, which becomes sacred. All historical events are seen differently. If I simply consume, then I don’t care about Sergius of Radonezh, or Dimitry Donskoy, or the Great Patriotic War, or Yuri Gagarin, and I don’t care about anyone. I don't care where I live, it's much calmer to live somewhere in Australia, for example. And if I believe in God, then I become a patriot, as a result. Moreover, not some kind of patriot, at the level of a skinhead, but a meaningful patriot: I understand correctly and see the history of my country. Next is the family: my wife or my husband, my children. I mean, I live for them.

But what exactly I should do at each of the stages of these goals, it’s not really me who decides, it’s the Lord who offers me something in life. I will become a president or a patriarch, or I will be the father of as many children as the Lord sends me, or I will do programming at my work. One way or another, I will choose the type of activity, based on the goals and meanings that are in me.

This is very difficult, as it turns out, for a modern person. It is much easier to think about how to have fun. As a last resort, how to feed my family, so that not me, but the three of us would enjoy it. That is, not such personal egoism, but family egoism. All these goals, one way or another, turn out to be false, and a person will definitely be disappointed in them sooner or later. They will not be enough. They have no life in themselves, because one of the main points in the instruction manual is plugging into the socket. Because without being plugged into a power outlet, the washing machine will be just a stand on which dirty laundry is dumped. So, for a person such a rosette is the Lord. If you are not connected to this outlet, then there is no life in you. You can imagine something, you can even have batteries, only these batteries will last for two hours.

It is difficult for a person who has already been brought up and born on other principles, and if this is perceived by the mind, it is not realized in practice, therefore a gap is formed between consciousness and life. After all, faith is not just a way of thinking, it is both a way of thinking and a way of life. They must match. If they do not match, then a contradiction arises. But it, of course, is in every person, there is no person who would live and not sin. But at least it should not be conscious. That is, if I understand how I should live, I try to live like that, but I fail, I fall. This is normal, that is, of course, it is not normal, but conditionally, let's say in quotation marks "normal". And if you're not going to live like this, that's terrible, it's a disaster. This is a catastrophe for man, it is a catastrophe for society and humanity in general.

How do you move from that life to this life? For this, after all, one does not need to approach with the mind, for this one needs to see God. And how to see it like this just like that?

– Meeting with God is a very personal meeting, like meeting with your future wife. This is exactly the meeting. I can tell you how much I love my wife, but this does not mean that as a result of our conversation you will immediately get married. But, in principle, you can understand what love is and want it. Let's say people see and hear what marriage should be like and it inspires them. Although the meeting itself can not be organized in writing or in an interview, of course. But what can I say? As a rule, for such an encounter with God in life to take place, something must happen in life. These can be very different things.

The most difficult thing is just those people whom we call the middle class. Because poor people understand how they depend on external circumstances, they understand that not everything belongs to them. People who are strong, rich or in power also understand how precarious their situation is. Middle-class people seem to have already solved all everyday problems, but more serious problems do not seem to concern them. And they think that they have everything under control here now, and they respond with great difficulty to any religious influence. That is why the Lord most often subjected to any beating, pardon the word, it is the middle class. Poor people already understand that they depend on God, rich people also understand, but these need to be shaken up somehow. It can be sorrows, illnesses, upheavals, some people come to this intellectually, someone sincerely. I had a friend who woke up in love, but could not figure out who. That is, there is a feeling of love, but there is no object. And then, suddenly, a day later, in this state, he met a man who gave him the Gospel, he read it and realized that it was God who had touched him in a dream. And nothing like that happened to him in his life, he just really understood that there is a God. At first he had a feeling that he could not understand with his mind what it was, and then, after reading it, he understood - yes, it was God who visited him.

If you have never seen good painting or heard good music in your life, you may not be aware of its existence. Someone says - I was at the Philharmonic, listening to Beethoven. And it doesn't tell you anything. You think that, they say, only fools now go to listen to Beethoven, I listen to something completely different. Here Dima Bilan is another matter. And I never think about it, but if suddenly fate brought me and I still have an ear for music, then I will understand that this is real music. The same thing happens when a person who comes to a church and starts praying for some external reason suddenly discovers a whole world for himself. Someone comes to God through literature, someone through a priest, in whom he sees manifestations of God, someone through a friend, through a wife or husband. But these are all reasons.

During the Soviet era, everything was done to exclude the possibility of this meeting. Even such an example can be given of how subtly the special services acted in the later Soviet period. No one has closed the temples, they were already almost all closed. The priests were no longer arrested. But simple meetings of the clergy with people were impossible. For example, Patriarch Pimen traveled to Astrakhan by boat. He was in different cities, but he was not allowed to organize any meetings with people. That is, the figure of a patriarch or a priest evoked in a person associations such as "there was a pop-oatmeal forehead." Any communication was difficult. Now it is easier, but still difficult. It's not easy for a person to make contact just like that. Here it is the main thing. The need to turn to God is not brought up. And so now people come to God individually, and not in an organized system.

Decadence as a theoretical phenomenon and artistic practice in modern literature

graduate work

2.2 God is dead: the spiritual impoverishment of society. The motif of God-forsakenness and emptiness

But it’s hard to live with anxiety for the posthumous self, so the soul begins to demand certainty already here, to actively search for “light in the darkness” and vice versa: “And in search of a roof, the soul flies, / Now to the very bottom, then to the very top” (“Hali Gali Krishna ""). In such wanderings, you cease to understand whether you are dying or being saved, whose voice leads you: the devil or the angel? In a dream you meet the Winged Seraphim, you tell him:

"We fly, we fly, we fly,

I know there is and waiting for me

My desired pier

Grant me the way, tell me the password

I dreamed about him so much

And you hear in response from someone close to God:

"The Last War is coming,

There is a war on those who are pure,

Damn Satan.

Fly with me, fly with me

With you, we will win.

You will die for God, our hero,

And we will give you

Ausweiss Ausweiss Ausweiss to the sky"

("Ausweiss")

It becomes scary in your own fairy tales. The confident and bold “and I’m flying up” is immediately replaced by the obvious “or I’m going to the bottom.” "Take them to heaven" or "send to hell"? With this question, Gleb Samoilov is trying to break through the heavens and call on the sacred dialogue of God or the one “who is there instead of him”, but “our God has gone on an honorable vacation / The priests are conducting a worldwide search” (“No one survived”). The sky is empty, "the sky is lonely and dark", therefore - "I throw ashes into this sky" ("Grey Sky"). But this gesture is more tragic than blasphemous, and without Nietzsche, the harbinger of decadence, it is true not to understand. God died because he did not find a place for himself either in man or next to him, and therefore in the sky, instead of a savior, “a black beast lurked / In his eyes I feel trouble” (“Black Moon”), the sky is no longer sacred and it is capable of now only for punishment and revenge. It turns out that a person is deprived of everything: heaven, God, Love, earth, history - the era of simulacra has come, the evidence of which is increasingly being talked about by modern philosophers. For example, Jean Baudrillard's "Transparency of Evil", articles and monographs by Alexander Dugin, etc.

It must be night

But not dark

Everything in this movie city

Sparkles with purchased fire ...

("In taxi")

We all got into the circus

And I am one of you.

("One of you")

We didn’t deserve anything else: “A pure soul will not return / To the body where emptiness dances” (“Sing about sex”). A favorite theme of the modern French writer and poet Michel Houellebecq: "we are empty, the sky is empty too" [M.U.]. Both are "active pessimists" Gleb Samoilov, with his usual irony, calls himself a "cheerful pessimist" or "an optimist who is in eternal depression", says that he is probably "the only decadent in the country who loves life" - and I must say that he fully justifies these words with his work and his life. Both stand, in our opinion, on the border of decadence and existentialism, and from this position they look at the world captured by the “merry dregs” of postmodernism. “The world is like a discotheque”, in which there is neither God nor love - and therefore life is called into question by both: there is nothing to justify it, there is nothing to give it away for.

Bitter complaints are carried to the sky

Funeral bells.

The monks weep, the monks weep,

They have lost love.

They jump in a dance, pulling up their cassocks,

From end to end of dawn.

Look at the sky and look through the books

Traces of true love.

("Eternal love")

The sky is silent and does not send signs, because the world answered a psychedelic YES to obscurantism and emptiness:

psychedelic disco

Surrender to the sky and die.

And the singer from Norilsk is waiting

To whom to surrender for love

psychedelic disco

Remix of money and love

A singer from Norilsk sings

That there is no sky, just as there is no earth.

("Psychedelic Disco")

The existential motif of God-forsakenness is realized in contexts convenient for falls. These contexts are dictated to the poet by reality, but the feeling of hopelessness and despair does not give rise to him: first, Gleb Samoilov will offer to drink glasses of blood for the charm of the struggle, and then he will call himself and us kings and say that “the king is the king to the end, And the end is all only a word, / Guillotine - the beginning of the sleep of the Other ... "and that we will always live in the eternal spring in cold December, deadly and everywhere ("We will live forever"). A very dubious optimism, rather, a bitter irony, but, believe me, it is in this way that he most often finds expression in Gleb Samoilov.

Thus, the traditions of decadence merge with the traditions of existentialism and give rise to a powerful and at the same time ironic response to postmodernism, which, in our opinion, should no longer be called a "rest of culture", not a "walk in the rain", but rather a real "sunset" of the world. --- "restless dead" A. G. Dugin - Russian philosopher, political scientist, sociologist, publicist .. Let all the moves be recorded in the sky, at home all the affairs are finished, all love is paid, all accounts are closed, all tickets to heaven are sold, but we will adequately meet the final at our joyful show ("Tickets are sold").

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