Fundamentals of spiritual struggle according to the teachings of the Orthodox Church. Spiritual struggle in the modern world

Lent is a time of especially focused spiritual life. And although we are called to fight our passions daily, if not every minute, in other, “non-Lenten” times, confused by the bustle and frantic rhythm of modern life, we find ourselves distracted from spiritual work. The post brings us back to her. That is why right now we turned to the pastors of the Russian Orthodox Church with a request to give advice on how to fight passions for us, Christians of the information age, what to pay attention to first of all, how to tune in, where to look for help and support - in the hope that this is spiritual the work will continue after the end of Lent.

Take care of yourself

– One of the most important points in the fight against passions is what is called attentive life. This is especially true now, because man has never been so overloaded with information, so overloaded with everything that enters him from the outside, and has never been so inattentive as he is now. This is why it is so difficult for us today to fight passions. Not only because we are very proud, not only because we are very weak, but also because our attention is constantly distracted.

You need not only the will to fight passions, but it is also very important to take care of attention. And when we lose this attention to ourselves, we must definitely acquire it again, because with the help of attention you can see what you are going to do, what you are going to say, what is happening in your heart.

Talking about the fight against passions today is a matter of attentive Christian life. It is most important.

Turn to the experience of the holy fathers and ascetics

– The experience of struggling with passions today is no different in any way from the experience of past centuries. Our century has brought little new to this struggle. But I can’t help but be amazed at the questioner’s courage. Who am I to give three or five pieces of advice?! In “Memorable Tales” we find absolutely amazing advice from the spiritually inspired fathers of antiquity with extraordinary brevity. And what a five! One or two sayings that contained their whole life and their entire feat. You read, and you are pierced by the burning intensity of meaning and spirit of the words of the holy ascetic. So what can an ordinary parish priest say in response to these questions? Of course, nothing!

Except for one thing – not statements, but simply observations. The habit of judging left and right comes from school, from student years. Before an exam or test, you need to read a lot of material and remember: this is good, and this is bad; this is black and this is white; this is good and this is evil. But time passes, and finally we must understand that there is no such thing as only good or only bad people. There is a constant struggle between the good and the bad in one person. And who are you that you easily draw a conclusion with lightning speed and sentence one person to the right, another to the left? Maybe it’s enough to hold on to “eternal youth”, to constantly being in a student state?! Maybe it's time to decisively discard this teenage perception?! Moreover, constantly looking younger is more common for women than for men.

Archimandrite John (Krestyankin) advised praying the Jesus Prayer 100 times a day

One more thing. Archimandrite John (Krestyankin) advised everyone - both laymen and lay priests - to pray the Jesus Prayer 100 times a day. This is a lot, considering that Father John advised not to rush, but to read slowly. But this prayer helps so much to collect the mind, not to have fun, to be aware and meaningfully read the prayers of the Liturgy, that it turns out to serve in a completely different way. And gradually the realization of many things comes, not only in the understanding of prayers, but also of one’s sins. This helps precisely in the fight against sinful thoughts, it helps precisely in the fight against passions.

– Your experience is such a thing... How can you broadcast it, because “do not call anyone blessed until death” (Sir. 11: 28). However, some things can be voiced. First: in order to fight passions, you need to want it - really want it. Saint Ignatius of the Caucasus says: “He who wills is able” - that is: whoever wants to, can. And you need to want to fight now. There is a wonderful recollection of Blessed Augustine in Confessions, where he repentantly speaks of his youth: “So I then asked God: “Lord, make me clean - just not now.” So if we want to fight passions, then we need to do it now and we need to pray that the Lord will send us help now. Third: we need to imagine that the fight against passions is not hocus pocus, which will immediately work out if you just ask us to wake up white, fluffy and passionless, or, as Professor Alexey Ilyich Osipov likes to say, “in a non-fallen state.” You won’t wake up in a non-falling state without your own efforts. This is probably enough for a start.

– How to deal with passions today? The book of Ecclesiastes says: “There is nothing new under the sun” (Eccl. 1:9). If we are told that this is something new, we should not trust it: it is simply a forgotten old thing. In fact, if the situation changed dramatically, a new revelation from God would be required. But we are not waiting for a new revelation; there is Holy Scripture, which teaches and guides us into all truth. There is the experience of the holy fathers who told us how to more correctly deal with certain passions.

So, for example, the Monk Macarius of Egypt identifies three main passions, which, in his understanding, give rise to all the others. This is the passion of love of fame, voluptuousness and love of money. What is the passion of popularity? This is when a person demands and achieves special treatment for himself, that is, he wants to stand out from the general mass of people, he develops a spirit of pride and the spirit of such gambling competition with other people. Such passion is very dangerous. Lust is a passionate feeling that dominates the present world, because people are infected with this passion not only due to the depravity of our nature as a result of the Fall, but also due to the fact that this passion is cultivated in the media, through books, through films, through speeches by various government officials, through the media, etc. The passion of the love of money is generally a very dangerous cult. Let us remember: when the Jews came out of Egyptian slavery, they did not have time to reach Holy Canaan, when in the desert the devil gave them the cult of the golden calf. Something similar is happening with modern Russian consciousness. We left communist “Egypt” and had not even reached Orthodox “Canaan” when, in the desert of some uncertainty, the devil gave us the cult of enrichment - the golden calf - as some kind of new national idea. So that everyone competes with each other, everyone against everyone, everyone for themselves. There is a serious danger in this. And if the desire for love of fame, voluptuousness, and love of money dominates, then we can hardly count on the revival of our people.

– Modern experience corresponds to patristic experience - from the first centuries of Christianity to the present day. Nothing changed. The most dangerous passions, according to the holy fathers, are pride and love of money. The love of money is a human passion, pride is satanic. From pride comes despondency, from despondency comes drunkenness and many other sins. It is scary that a person does not want to recognize any power over himself. “We are not slaves, slaves are not us” has been strongly ingrained in the consciousness of the people since some times. Humble yourself, proud man: God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

Fighting passions is long and hard work

– Nowadays, of course, passions are intensifying. Today the cult of passions dominates. Advertising is also geared towards this: many products are promoted through a certain passion that every person has. Most often it is a lustful passion, or a passion of pride, vanity, or gluttony. There are certain “buttons” that are pressed, forcing a person to buy some goods. So today the propaganda of passions is very serious.

What to do? Let's first figure out what passion is and how it differs from ordinary sin. Passion is a kind of chronic disease. There is an ordinary disease, and there is a disease that has become permanent for a person. This is an addiction, this is a sinful habit, a person becomes a slave to this habit, he can no longer live without it, he wants to break away from it, he suffers, but... this habit has become a part of his soul, a part of his life. This is the specialty of passion. It starts with committing an ordinary sin, then it becomes an addiction, a person plunges into this abyss... It’s very difficult to “jump off.”

Passion is suffering. It gives a person not only some “pleasant bonuses”, but also causes a person great suffering. Why does a person suffer? Chronic illness is always suffering.

How to deal with this? For this there is a science called asceticism. There are wonderful books about this: “The Ladder”, “The Philokalia”, the teachings of Abba Dorotheos... Also the works of St. Theophan the Recluse, St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov) - their advice is suitable not only for the people of that time, but also for modern laity. Of today's ascetics, we can recommend the wonderful teachings of St. Paisius of Athos.

What features of the fight against passions do the holy fathers write about? First: passion cannot be defeated if you don’t really want to fight it. Just trying to sluggishly drive her away is useless. Why? Because the degree of damage is very serious. A chronic disease cannot be cured if you occasionally take some pills. It must be very serious work. And you won’t be able to overcome passion quickly. After all, if passion has been acquired over the years, then you won’t cure it in two weeks. I repeat: this is serious work, it requires a very serious desire.

What needs to be done to make this desire appear? You need, firstly, to realize all your weakness. You need to understand that you don’t control your life, it’s passion that controls it. And you, like an obedient donkey, go wherever they lead you. When a person realizes that he, an adult, strong, has become a slave to some habit of his that is completely destroying him, destroying his life and relationships with loved ones, then, horrified by this, he begins to fight. He understands that this is not just some kind of attachment, but this is a serious addiction. And when he already knows that it is not he who controls passion, but his passion controls him, he begins to call on God for help, because without God it is impossible to defeat passion.

And second: having realized your weakness and turning to God for help, you need to begin serious spiritual work to replace this passion with the opposite virtue. What is this? A person should confess, take communion, repent of his sins as often as possible, work with a confessor, read ascetic literature - various methods of dealing with passions are indicated there. But the most important thing is not to forget that when he was able to connect his passion in his soul, to fight it with the help of God, he must - for a holy place is never empty - replace it with a virtue opposite to this passion. Saint Ignatius speaks about this in his works.

In order for virtue to take root in the soul, you need to seriously practice. Because one bad habit is replaced by the acquisition of a good, sustainable skill. And this also takes time. This is the work called asceticism. The work is very interesting, by the way, because you really see how your life changes, when passions leave it, it becomes easier for you to breathe, and completely new joys open up.

Be smart, but smart in a patristic way

– The modern experience of fighting passions exists thanks to what is called “asceticism”: this is the teaching of the Church Fathers about the fight against passions. And this amazing science begins in the New Testament with how the Lord says: not even the action itself can be sinful, but a thought or a look that a person must be able to cut off. Therefore, the fight against passions always begins with the deepest attention to oneself. And it’s absolutely wonderful if our modern Christians, planning to go through this path of struggle with passions, begin to no longer get carried away by books like, say, “One Hundred Thousand Advice from Father on Some Reasons,” but pick up, say, the first volume of “ Philokalia" and carefully read the teachings of St. Anthony the Great. Or they will read the teachings of John Cassian the Roman, who speaks very precisely, very clearly, very clearly and understandably to modern man about the fight against passions. And it is best if the reference book for modern Orthodox Christians is the book of the Venerable Abba Dorotheos, “Soulful Teachings.” It seems to me that in these teachings a modern person can find for himself a huge number of important, wonderful things that will put everything in its place.

For example, in the teachings of Anthony the Great such clear and beautiful things are said: “People are usually called smart when this word is used incorrectly. Not those who are smart are those who have studied the sayings and writings of the sages, but those whose souls are smart, who can judge what is good and what is evil. And they run away from evil, but care about what is good and beneficial to the soul and do it with great thanksgiving to God. These people alone should truly be called smart.” That's how simple it is! And today, by the word “mind”, humanity has come to mean intelligence. And intelligence became a kind of product for people. Intelligence is what makes a person successful. Intelligence is what makes a person rich. Intelligence is what allows a person to achieve career growth. And so on. And we see that in the spiritual sense, in the ascetic sense, intellect and mind are different things. The mind is connected with a person’s heart, the mind is connected with a person’s choice, with the moral content of a person.

And people today don’t want to be that smart. Moreover, they believe that those who choose good are fools compared to those who choose profit. And one of the absolutely wonderful teachings about spiritual life, including the fight against passions, says how a person must, first of all, make his choice correctly, distinguish good from evil, and give true meaning to every word. And these true values ​​and meanings are to be sought in the Holy Scriptures and in the experience of our Church. It seems to me that this is a very important lesson for modern man. After all, what is important to us in the modern world? How is the world today different from the world of past generations? Our words have lost their original meaning, but this meaning has changed very much. This is how Anthony says: already in those days the word “mind” changed its meaning, and he returns us to the original meaning of this word. The mind is not a cunning, resourceful intellect, the mind is a divine gift given to man to distinguish between good and evil. And the struggle with passions cannot begin without a person correctly determining what is what: what is love, what is freedom, what is good and what is evil. This distinction is the first step in the fight against passions.

The more a person forbids himself, the freer he is

– The methods of dealing with passions are the same at all times: this is repentance for one’s sins, which develop into passion. This is where we need to start, there is no other way: repentance in church, before a priest. Next is the manifestation of your personal will to fight passions. This is an obligatory moment, and necessary in the first place.

Self-prohibition skills must be cultivated in a person from childhood. A person is freer the more he can prohibit himself, and vice versa. K. Ushinsky, our brilliant teacher, devoted much of his writings to the child’s ability to forbid himself. The opposite of Ushinsky is Dr. Spock, for example, a famous American teacher, who said that a child should be allowed everything, that the more external freedom you give him, the better. But the opposite is true: the more a child knows how to prohibit himself, the freer he is. And the more he allows himself, the more he falls into passion and, accordingly, becomes a slave to passions.

Therefore, it is necessary to teach a child, and not only a child, the ability to forbid himself. And only then, when a person has done everything that he can do on his own, with his own will, if he no longer has enough strength, then we need to turn to God so that He strengthens our good will. You can’t start with this, it seems to me. When a person doesn’t want to do anything, but only “God, help me do this,” this is not entirely correct, I think. Try it yourself first! And when you no longer have enough strength, you begin to drown, then you say: “Lord, save!”, and He extends his hand to you, that is, when you yourself have worked hard. And some people think like this: we will only pray, ask God, and we will not do anything ourselves. Then you won’t be able to pray, by the way. It seems to me that in this case there should be such a sequence as I mentioned.

Patience, abstinence, obedience must be cultivated from childhood

Patience and abstinence must be cultivated in a child from the very beginning. And the most basic passions today are: first of all, of course, disobedience. Nobody wants to listen to anyone. Even in the Church we see sad examples of when church officials who have been removed from their posts begin to show not only disobedience, but simply unbridledness. Disobedience in the family - when the wife does not obey her husband, the children do not obey their parents. Disobedience is passion. Further: this is the monstrous impatience of people. People don't want to tolerate anything.

These are spiritual passions. To defeat them, you need to listen to the Church, first of all, you need to educate yourself, consciously subjugate yourself, learn to obey. It is not simple. Here both humility and patience are cultivated, and, as we remember, the beginning of all virtues is patience. Therefore, you need to learn patience. They told you: “Do this” - you don’t like it, but you have to do it, that is, you have to show your will in the right direction. And children need to be taught the ability to obey.

It is important to respect the hierarchy - any: church, state, family. Why do all revolutions happen? – People don’t want to tolerate and obey. “Everything is bad, we don’t want to endure it anymore!” - “On what basis do you want to live better? What have we done to deserve a better life? - you ask some revolutionaries today. “You deserve a better life, or what?” Thank God we have one like this now! We are not dying of hunger, we have a roof over our heads, there is no war - but they say: “Give more!” More and more - a person never wants to stop. And he blames all the authorities - state, church - for the lack of more, for his troubles. And it all ends in tragedy, a revolution that destroys everything and deprives a person of everything. Therefore, the most important thing is to teach children from a very early age to endure and obey. Then life will be stable, there will be no such terrible cataclysms, revolutions and terrible destruction, after which life cannot be restored.

Don't give in to provocations

Protect yourself from the flow of information

– Fighting passions... I can’t say that I, a sinner, have been very successful in this, but the experience here is as follows. In the modern world, the video sphere plays a huge role. And the Internet, television, and advertising products offer many temptations, especially carnal ones. As one hieromonk I know said, modern technology provides enormous opportunities, but only a moral person can truly use them. Therefore, advice: use the Internet for purely pragmatic purposes. You have a specific task: for example, write an article or abstract, watch the weather. Climb, look. All! Don't get carried away. And here we are talking not only about rough things, such as images of beautiful women, but you don’t even need to get carried away by information flows. Because they are cloudy, they have not been tested, they are tempting and are precisely designed to control society, to evoke appropriate feelings - most often feelings of fear, hatred, uncertainty and aggression. Or “drain” these feelings. The Internet plays the role of a valve, and at the same time plays the role of a certain kind of sewer. It infuses a person with aggression and unclean feelings, and at the same time, as it were, allows them to merge - a kind of “black confession”.

Tolkien has a stunning image of the Palantir - a crystal ball through which you can see the whole world, but through which you can also become a slave to evil. So, the Internet and television can easily become Palantir for you, which will suck you in and disfigure you. And he will burn spiritually, just as the hero of “The Lord of the Rings” Denethor burned because of the Palantir. It is in relation to video sequences and video products that one must be extremely careful. Nothing extra.

Second advice: in our world everything is at speed. At times it takes seconds to make a decision. So, during these seconds, still find time to pray. Advice from the Guardian Angel. Even in the most extreme situations, when, say, you are driving or in the operator's chair, take the time to do this.

Third: try to avoid rushing. We all have to hurry, but inside you still try to maintain noble slowness and balance. Do not join this terrible rhythm of haste, in the process of which you can become hardened, hardened and finally petrified in the deadening petrification of light. You could injure someone, possibly fatally. If you hurt someone, then they won’t forgive you, and, most importantly, you may not forgive.

And the next piece of advice: do not give in to provocations, whatever they may be. There are a lot of them around – both advertising and informational. Do not rush to believe every rumor. But check everything. There should be a noble distrust of everything you hear, especially from strangers.

Well, as for communication on the Internet: never talk to strangers - as a rule, they are provocateurs and scoundrels.

I feel sorry for looking at modern people... The globalization of the planet has led to the creation of the Internet and social networks. Millions of people have become creators of content that wanders around the world, controlling people's minds. By zombifying others, many turn into zombies themselves. All this is especially noticeable against the backdrop of hysteria against the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, Kirill. For once, an intelligent and active person has become the head of the church - this is what probably most irritates those who are raging... Nevertheless, I think that bravado with insults towards the patriarch, the church and even God himself can have the saddest consequences for many ... God is merciful, but not sentimental...
It's probably time to talk about God... Many people cannot understand the large number of religions and cults? There really aren’t many religions (just don’t confuse them with various kinds of sects). There are only four world religions: Buddhism (with many variations of the religions of the East and India), Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Some believe that science is the fifth form of manifestation of God. Each religion consists of a large number of movements created for a specific psychotype of people. All this is to help everyone find their own path and help keep their consciousness in harmony with God.
Penetration into the mystery of religion makes people more perfect, harmonious, and competitive. This allows one to move on to a second life in the spiritual realm after death, rather than being rejected and sent to hell to be melted down. The world's religions are perfect because they are transmitted by God directly or through prophets. Not a single world religion contradicts another - together they form an amazingly beautiful harmony. Some discrepancies in the texts are just a “perspective”. For example, Islam reflects a more feminine, eastern worldview, while Christianity reflects a masculine, western worldview. Therefore, in the Bible, Eve is the cause of expulsion from Paradise, and in the Koran, Adam and Eve share responsibility together.

Recently, the John Templeton Foundation Prize in the amount of one million pounds sterling went to the French theoretical physicist Bernard d'Espagnat, known for his work on the nature of reality. The 87-year-old scientist in his works studies in detail the points of contact between the classical and quantum models of the world. His discovery in the early 1980s s “nonlocal quantum entanglement” formed the basis of the entire quantum computing system and served as the fundamental basis for the theory of “quantum computers”.
Templeton's main philosophical doctrine is the concept of a "hypercosmic God" of an invisible realm outside of space and time, which, despite its immateriality, can be comprehended by the human mind. At the same time, knowledge cannot be absolute, and a “veiled” world will always remain outside the boundaries of scientific horizons. With the term “hypercosmic god” d'Espanyat explains some processes of quantum physics. The presence of this Beginning (or, as it is also called: “Independent Reality”) will be eternal, no matter how close a person gets to the clues of the universe. “Pluralism of opinions can never give the idea of ​​ultimate truth." wrote d'Espanat in 1979 in his book "Quantum Theory and Reality. “This is just a form of our self-expression to comprehend the details.”
Man is created in the likeness of God. And planet Earth was created in the likeness of God. At a minimum, this means that the structure of the planet resembles the structure of our consciousness. And in fact, it is obvious to the careful researcher that our brain and our planet are structured similarly. Moreover, they correlate with each other. That is why people living in different parts of the earth are so different. Therefore, the history of mankind is the history of the evolution of its consciousness in conditions of continuous climate change. Glaciers advance and melt. The ocean either rises 100 meters from the current level, or falls. The inland seas of Eurasia (Aral, Caspian, etc.) either merge to form the huge internal Eurasian Ocean, or almost dry up. All this influences our consciousness, and our collective consciousness influences earthly processes. This is how the world works - and we are part of it.
Periodically, the Earth cleanses itself. During the Permian period, dinosaurs suddenly disappeared. And people, too, periodically, under the influence of the great demiurge, go through a rite of purification. So 70 thousand years ago, according to research by geneticists, there were only no more than 2,000 people left on Earth. It is from them that all modern people descend. Their habitat was the tributaries of the modern Volga River in Eastern Europe. This small population acquired certain traits that allowed their descendants to dominate the planet. 28-30 thousand years ago something happens on Earth that leads to the disappearance of a competing type of people - Neanderthals. For the first time, our ancestors leave the boundaries of their primitive habitat and begin to populate the planet. Approximately 15 - 12 thousand years ago, Eurasia is covered with glaciers, and inland seas merge into a huge continental ocean. The water rises, in panic people run to the sources of the rivers, hoping for salvation. For the sake of salvation, human society is transformed into a social structure resembling an anthill or a beehive. All forces are aimed at saving the family. The sages at the sources of the rivers pray to the Roof (Krishna) for salvation... Warriors strengthen the banks and defend the borders of the inhabited world from the arriving population. They cannot let everyone into Noah’s Ark: only the smartest, strongest men and the most beautiful women. From this civilization, which the Bible calls Noah, a new humanity arose.
The breakthrough of water from the modern Black Sea through the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits occurred 11,640 years ago. What remained of the vast internal Eurasian Ocean were the Balaton Sea in Europe and the Turanian Sea in Central Asia, which also slowly dried up. The division of the Turanian Sea into the modern Caspian and Aral Seas occurred only 2-3 thousand years ago. After the melting of the Scandinavian glacier, waters broke into the lowland on the site of the modern Baltic and White Seas. This is how the modern landscape of Europe was formed.

Having scattered across the entire plain, from the Ural Mountains to the Danube, the surviving people begin a new life, the boundaries of the inhabited world have expanded sharply and opportunities have opened up for the development of new lands, roads have opened to a world of endless freedom. The priests are trying to preserve the way of life that arose in the time of Noah. But these attempts were doomed. Free will is a feature that distinguishes us from the previous version of man, but not everyone can bear this burden. Nevertheless, the priests manage to create the first proto-state of Arata in the vastness of Eastern Europe, which is organized on the principles of dividing people into varnas. The success of this event was also due to the fact that many people still found it difficult to get used to their new role as an atom man, forced to be independently responsible for their destiny and make their own decisions.
For the first time, the cities of this country (Trypillian culture) were discovered by archaeologist Vikenty Khvoika in 1893 near the village of Tripolye (hence the name of the culture). Later, similar discoveries were made in Romania and Moldova, where the Trypillian culture is known as the “Cucuteni culture.” The Trypillians were engaged in agriculture and cattle breeding, and achieved great success in pottery and weaving. In addition to grains and vegetables, they grew orchards. The first cherry trees in Ukraine and southern Russia were bred by the Trypillians. Trypillian villages were most often located near water. Their area reached several tens, and in some cases hundreds of hectares. They consisted of adobe dwellings. Some of the rooms were heated by stoves or open hearths, had round windows, and some were used as storage rooms. Tools and weapons were made from animal bones, flint and stone, and sometimes copper.

There are 3 stages in the development of Trypillian culture:

Early stage - before the 6th – 5th millennium BC. Dwellings are dugouts and small above-ground adobe houses. Tools made of flint, stone and bone; copper awls, fishhooks, jewelry. Kitchen ceramics have a rough surface and a pattern in the form of notches. There are many figurines depicting a seated woman.

Middle stage - up to 3200/3150. BC. Settlements are already being built on capes and fortified with ramparts and ditches, the area of ​​settlements has increased, sometimes dwellings were located in a circle. There are two-story houses. Weapons workshops appear. Copper mining and metal smelting begin. Copper axes, knives, daggers, and jewelry are everywhere. Painted ceramics appeared - with an admixture of crushed shells and a "pearl" ornament. According to the Aryan epic, exactly 3100 BC. there is a war between the five northern Pandava tribes and the seven southern Kauravas. The Pandavas won the war. They brought with them solar cults and male gods. The shape of the figurines is changing - along with female ones, there are now male images. Models of dwellings with a gable roof and round windows are known - this is the influence of the culture of the north, where they built wooden houses with a gable roof.

The late stage (3150 - 2650 BC) is the time of settlement. Caravans move east, south and west. And in Eastern Europe itself, the extinction of culture is felt: small settlements are located on fortified places, along with ground dwellings, there are dugouts. Lots of flint hatchets. Female figurines of elongated proportions with a schematized head and fused legs are common. Funeral inventory: flint sickles, stone battle axes-hammers, copper daggers, awls, knives, jewelry - bracelets, copper, stone and glass beads. The splendor of Trypillya is no longer there, although metal processing continues to develop. The extinction of this original civilization is probably due to the departure of a large number of passionaries. It is known that exactly 3100 BC. the civilizations of Sumer suddenly appear on the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates, followed by Egypt on the banks of the Nile. From Eastern Europe, many people go “across the three seas.” Such migrations are always associated with religious transformations or climate change.
What happened in Eastern Europe that gave impetus to modern history? Why did the centers of culture in other places fade away, and primitive people died or degraded almost to an animal state? What distinguished Trypillians from others?

All religions of the World originate through adaptation, transformation and simplification of the Tripoli religious system. It is not for nothing that Rus' is feminine, from here, as from the womb, all the peoples of civilization came out and settled all over the world. When planet Earth was explored, it was from Rus' that man went into space. The Russian language is full of mysticism. Gagarin is the name of the first cosmonaut. In the ancient proto-language of the Indo-Europeans, “Ga” means “road”. Compare “Vol-Ga” (road to Valdai). "In" or "An" means one God. Then “Gagarin” is “the road to the road to the one God.” Mystic!

The history of man is not the history of wars, as our official historical science usually sets out. The history of humanity is the history of the development of consciousness. Changes in the psyche, the way of perceiving space and time, a change in philosophical and religious views.

However, in order to understand the history of religions, and as a consequence the history of the evolution of our consciousness, one should know some laws of astronomy. The sun rotates around an axis - this is day. The sun revolves around the sun - this is a year. The axis of the Earth makes circular oscillations (precession) - this is Maha Yuga (about 25,765 years). Mahayuga is divided into 12 parts - these are astrological eras. Approximately every 2160 years, the sun rises on the day of the vernal equinox (March 21) against the background of a specific (one of 12) zodiac constellation. The name of this Zodiac gave the name in Rus' to the zodiac age of 2160 years. When the sun was in the constellation Taurus (Veles) for 2160 years, and the solar deity appeared during this period in the form of a Bull (Veles, Apis, Mitra). It was approximately 4320 - 2160 years before the birth of Christ.

According to the number of zodiac constellations, 12 tribes (tribes of Israel) of the original world were formed. At the head of each clan was a mime (priest), who controlled social and religious life. It was believed that God incarnated on Earth in the form of a mime from one of the 12 tribes. After the division of the original world into the North-West (5 patriarchal clans) and the South-East (seven matriarchal clans), matriarchal Sarmatia began to set religious life. From here appears the pantheon of the Seven Gods among the ancient Scythians, Greeks, Iranians and other Aryan peoples.

Modern humanity was renewed in the time of Noah, and has an age of about 12 thousand years. Little is known about the first centuries of life after the Flood due to the remoteness of the events.

Age of Capricorn. After the last glacier went north and the waters receded after the Flood, a sedentary lifestyle became possible.

Virgo era. Associated with a new wave of migration of people from the steppes of Eastern Europe. At this time, Divnogorye (modern Voronezh region) became the main place on earth. Here, on the site of today's chalk hills, in those days there were limestone rocks (remains of an ancient karal). It was easy to build underground castles, churches and dwellings in these rocks. This, by the way, is where the expression “cave people” comes from. It was here, apparently, that there was a priestly center in which astronomical observations, astrology, and mathematics were practiced. During the era of Virgo there was already a fairly developed civilization.

Era of LION (10-8 thousand years BC), The first extensive settlements on the territory of modern Ukraine and European Russia date back to this period. The so-called Trypillian culture begins to take shape.

The era of CANCER (7-6 thousand years BC) - a sign facing the world of the soul. At this time, temple-sanctuaries already existed, and in the paintings on their walls, next to the human gods, drawings of animals were found. Cattle breeding replaces hunting, and the role of the male god again fades into the background, giving way to the goddess. In the 6th millennium BC. people create a boat, which in myths is associated with the Moon, which rules Cancer, and with funeral rites that return the dead to the bosom of the great mother of waters. Lunar cults appear. Rafting along the rivers, the gangs of ancient people reach the Caucasus, Western Asia and even the banks of the Nile.

The era of GEMINI (6-4 thousand years BC). Settling all over the world, immigrants from Eastern Europe everywhere try to create civilizations in the likeness of their northern ancestral home, often even copying the names of cities and rivers.
The unity of religious views, established by the priests of Divnogorye, also ensures the unity of the language. In the Bible, the system of megalithic structures is called Babylon. The exchange of materials and achievements necessary for production (firing of ceramics, processing of copper) speeds up progress: it leads to the emergence of city-states. The era of Gemini is the period of the invention of the cryptography of priests, ancient myths and legends, for which the ruler of Gemini Mercury is responsible. From this moment the chronicle history begins.
In the earliest literary work that has come down to us - the epic of Gilgamesh - we meet the image of his twin Enkidu. In this epic, the hero thinks about death and remembers his ancestor Utnapishtim, who found immortality and entered the circle of the gods. Gilgamesh wants to know how he achieved this. Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh the story of the global flood, of which he was an eyewitness and after which he received eternal life from the hands of the gods. Nothing is known about the death of the hero Gilgamesh. How and where he died remains a mystery. But it is known that when a new wave of migrants arrived from the north around 3 thousand years BC. life on the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers was practically absent.

Era of TAURUS (4-2 thousand years BC). The era of the spread of writing is replaced by the Bronze Age. Then the plow appears, and the bull (calf) is increasingly used in agriculture. This is the era of the god Veles in Rus'. At this time, temples appeared in Valdai, the Volga River (the road to Veles) received its name. A new wave of migrants from the north to Sumer and Egypt in a short time again creates vast state-civilizations. At this time, the First World War happened, and the first ancient state was created. The era of veneration of the god Kryshen (Krishna) ends and is replaced by faith in the god Indra.

The era of ARIES (from 2 thousand BC to the beginning of AD) is the Iron Age, characterized by the manufacture of weapons and continuous wars. . Nations collide with each other like sheep during spring games. The cult of Yarila - Ra arises. Selfishness is growing in the public consciousness. In the depths of the era of Aries, which places emphasis on the absolute power of man, the names of the great prophets (Lao Tzu, Zarathustra, Odin, Abraham, Buddha, Moses) are born, who gave religious laws to the next era of PISCES, which we count from the Nativity of Christ. Remember that Jesus was born in a stable with sheep (rams). And the wise men from the east were the first to learn about his birth. By this the Bible speaks of the continuity of religions. God descends to earth in the form of Jesus Christ. The sign of Pisces becomes the symbol of the first Christians.
Now the era of AQUARIUS is coming, and many are expecting changes due to the acceleration of scientific and technological progress. The Demiurge of the Universe again called people to expand their spaces.

When studying the beliefs of the ancient Rus, the authors often admit that they do not understand the nature of many characters in the Slavic pantheon. Such characters include Veles, the “Bull or Bestial God,” as he is called. Nevertheless, this is the most important God of the ancient Rus. The VOLGA River is translated as the road to Vol on Valdai. And the name of the place itself, Valdai, from where the great rivers of Eurasia flow: the Dnieper, Volga and Western Dvina, also comes from the name of the god Veles (Vol). The most ancient deity of the Slavs is a direct correspondence to the Egyptian Apis and the Persian Mithra. Veles, Apis, Mithra are the names of the solar gods, whose symbol is the bull.

In the next 2160-year era (until the birth of Jesus Christ), the sign of Aries was already sacred. The symbol of the solar deity then was Aries (Amon-Ra, Ba-Ra-n, Yarilo, Ra). And in the era of Christianity, the sacred symbol was the sign of Pisces.

Veles the bull was the avatar of the Almighty in the era of Taurus. The doctrine of the avatara is that the Supreme descends from time to time into the material world from the spiritual world. Krishna is the first of the prophets to survive in written history. Krishna lived approximately 3100 BC. According to new research by Doctor of Historical Sciences Svetlana Zharnikova, Krishna lived in the northern Black Sea region.

Approximately 1500 years later, a new prophet, the high priest Melchisidek, appears in the Northern Black Sea region. At the same time, the prophets Abraham, Zoroaster and Odin preached monotheism in different parts of the planet. Krishna and Melchisidek are considered the forerunners of Jesus Christ. In such currents of modern Vaishnavism as Nimbarka Sampradaya, Pushtimarga and Gaudiya Vaishnavism, Krishna is revered as the original form of God and the source of all avatars. And this is probably fair, since Kryshen (Krishna) is the One God, to whom they prayed even during the time of the flood.

Veles is also mentioned in the New Testament. There Veles appears as the head of the demons - Beelzebub. The Golden Taurus, which the Jews worshiped, is also the ancient deity of Rus' Veles. With the development of human consciousness and the new manifestation of the Almighty, the old gods become rejected. This is a very important rule, without understanding which it is impossible to understand the entire system of the religious cycle given to us by God. It’s like in nature, new grass in the spring hides last year’s grass. The religious dogmas of our ancestors do not disappear anywhere - they descend to the level of the subconscious, determining many things in our lives and feeding new religions. Upon careful examination, we see the faces of our ancestors in the faces of new saints and new holidays.
In Rus' the continuity of religious knowledge has never been interrupted, and there has never been paganism in the form in which many of our contemporaries see it. Christianity became a logical continuation of the Slavic cult of Yarilo (Ra), and Islam - the cult of Mary among the Sarmatians.

The name of another Slavic god is Perun (in the Baltics he is called Perkunas, and in Scandinavia Odin). His later cult (before the introduction of Christianity) is identical to the Son of God in the Trinity (Svarog-Perun-Svetovit). In Rus', Perun is the second Person of the Trinity and is God the Son. God the Son is the Firstborn, Purusha, Reason, Logos, Jesus. The ancient Russians called Him the Firstborn of Humanity. In fact, he was the firstborn of the New Humanity. Thus, as religions develop, human society is renewed. Moreover, in any society people living in different historical times always coexist. They are all moving towards God, but each is on their own part of the path. The main thing is not to go astray.

After identifying the seven matriarchal tribes of Sarmatia in Eurasia, they created a pantheon of seven tribal gods. In response, the northern Pandan priests created a system of five churches. Makosh (north) is the oldest church; it is believed that it lies at the foundation of all cults on Earth. Yara (west) is a church personifying the solar masculine principle. Mary (east) is a church personifying the lunar feminine principle. Roda (south) – the unity of the feminine and masculine principles. The fifth church is the secret knowledge of Hermes. This church is the most incomprehensible and mysterious. From the fifth church come the Masonic orders and alchemy, which laid the foundation for modern science. In fact, the four world religions and science are five manifestations of the Almighty.

However, the main intrigue of the story is the struggle for unity. There has always been a religious movement for the unification of churches and the unity of Humanity. This is how the Temples of Solomon appear, common to all believers. The ancient architects usually tried to place these temples on the 35th meridian, the place where, according to astrologers, Europe and Asia, the masculine and feminine principles met. On this meridian today Jerusalem is located, where there are shrines of many churches.

God the father Svarog - according to the most common version, the Slavic blacksmith god, the father of Dazhdbog. The version about Svarog as a blacksmith god is an interpretation of a fragment given in the Tale of Bygone Years for the year 6622 (1114). There, the story begins about ticks falling from the sky in Egypt. The story stops in the middle.

A very important concept should be explained here, without which many ancient texts will not be understandable. In Rus', the Urals were called Egypt (the country of Egypt). At that time, the Sarmatian tribes lived here in matriarchal communes. It is also important to know that all people in ancient texts are divided into Egyptians and Jews. The Egyptians in the texts are old people, of old humanity. Jews are the people of Eve, the new humanity. This has nothing to do with the modern nationalities of Jews and Egyptians.

According to the PVL in Ural Egypt, “after the flood and after the division of languages, first Mestrom, from the clan of Ham, began to reign, after him Jeremiah, then Theosta, whom the Egyptians called Svarog.
During the reign of this Theostos in Egypt, pincers fell from the sky, and people began to forge weapons, and before that they fought with clubs and stones. The same Theosta issued a law that women should marry one man and lead an abstinent lifestyle.

In the Urals, the technology for the production of iron and cast iron was actually invented, which probably means: “pincers fell from the sky.” Tsar Theofast seems to have dissolved women's communes and introduced the institution of the family. The memory of this ancient prophet is preserved in Rus' as Svarog.

“If anyone breaks this law, let him be thrown into a fiery furnace,” says the PVL, “For this reason they called him Svarog, and the Egyptians honored him.”

After him, his son reigned, “named the Sun, who is called Dazhdbog,” under whom “immaculate life began throughout the land of Egypt, and everyone praised him.”

Apparently, the story about the Egyptian king-gods, borrowed from the ancient Russian “Chronograph,” goes back to the translation of the chronicle of the 6th century Byzantine writer John Malala. And John Malal, in turn, probably recounted a story he heard from ancient Russian storytellers.

The name Theost in Greece was distorted into Hephaestus, to which the ancient Russian chronicler put the Slavic Svarog in correspondence. Slavic philologist N.M. Galkovsky considered it undeniable that, according to the above text of PVL, Svarog, like Hephaestus (= Theosta), was the founder of marriage and the Slavic god of fire. And also the fact that Svarog had a son, the Sun Dazhdbog, who bore the patronymic Svarozhich. The religion of the Slavs has always been monotheistic. The dogma of the Holy Trinity was created during the Trypillian culture.

And if there is some kind of fornication, who will enumerate those gods, separating them from Svarog, he will be cast out from the family, because we have no gods except the Most High. And Svarog and others are many, because God is one and multiple. Let no one divide that multitude and say that we have many gods.

The ancient Slavic deity Triglav is one in three persons - the god Svarog, the god Perun and the god Sventovit. What corresponds to the Christian trinity: Father - Son - Holy Spirit.

In Greece, Svarog turned into Hermes, named in Rome as Mercury, the guide of the souls of the dead to the underground kingdom of Hades, who invented measures, numbers, the alphabet and taught people. To make his son Ephalis immortal, Hermes endowed him with limitless memory. As Apollonius of Rhodes wrote: “Even when he crossed the Acheron, the river in the kingdom of the dead, oblivion did not swallow his soul; and although he lives sometimes in the abode of shadows, sometimes in the earthly world, flooded with sunlight, he always retains the memory of what he saw.” Svarog (Hermes) received from Apollo a winged messenger staff capable of reconciling enemies. Hermes used his staff to convey a message from the gods to one of the mortals. Other attributes of Hermes include a wide-brimmed petas hat and winged sandals. But all these details appeared already in the ancient world.

The system of churches of the primitive world of Trypillians (as an understanding of the trinity of worlds “Reveal-Navi-Ravi”) determines the diversity of cults of all world religions.

The biblical story is known of how the Jews fled from Egypt. Few priests know what it is about. This story is about the birth of religion and human consciousness, which has undergone 10 transformations over the past few millennia.

According to the book of Exodus, Moses, in the name of God, demands that Pharaoh release his people from Egypt, promising otherwise that God will punish them. Pharaoh did not listen, and 10 disasters were brought upon Egypt.
The last 10th plague is the killing of the firstborn. This is a punishment for people for deifying kings while living on earth. We find this plot of the killing of infants by current kings who learned about the birth of a new king in the epic about Krishna and the birth of Jesus Christ.

Why do prophets come? Every time they, like psychotherapists, return people to a true understanding of God. But over time, people begin to worship phenomena and objects, moving further and further from the true understanding of the Almighty. The parable of the ten plagues of Egypt, on the one hand, is the story of the formation of modern religion and culture, but on the other, the story of the errors that humanity has overcome. All these stages were necessary for the formation of the modern consciousness of people, the modern culture of mankind.

The ten plagues were aimed at destroying the idols of the past. In human civilization, two principles are fighting: the feminine, which increases the desire to live in communities and preserve traditions, and the masculine eternal desire for “change.” This is a struggle between communists and egoistic democrats. When reading the story of the ten plagues, a recurring phrase is: “And ye shall know that I am the LORD your God” (Exodus 6:7; 7:5; 8:22; 10:2; 14:4). This phrase emphasizes the meaning of everything that is happening. The Lord wanted to show both the Egyptians (communists) and the Jews (democrats) that He is the true God - the God of heaven and earth, as well as the God of all the people (communists + democrats).

Exodus goes on to tell us that the Jewish families gathered at Rameses before leaving. A significant crowd of "multi-tribal people" joined them. The Jews reached Baal Zephon, where they stopped by the sea. Moses led the Jews through the sea like dry land: with a wave of his rod he divided the water. Then Pharaoh took six hundred chariots with him... and they chased the Jews. Pharaoh thought that this path was good for him too. He entered the “bottom of the sea” with his entire army. Moses struck again with his rod, and just at that moment when all the Egyptians were in the middle of the sea. “And the water returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen of all Pharaoh’s army that went into the sea after them; not one of them remained” (Exodus, chapter 14, verses 28).
This suggests that the gates to a new humanity are open to everyone, but you should hurry, otherwise you may not make it in time. After a while they will close for many.

The act of transition, transformation of consciousness, that is, return to God - in Orthodoxy is called Transfiguration. Among the Slavs, this phenomenon was called Semarg, and was depicted in the form of a winged dog. In Russian fairy tales, it is preserved in the form of a wolf carrying Ivan Tsarevich to the Thirtieth Kingdom. Semarg corresponds to the Aryan eagle Geruda, who eats snakes and on which God flies.
The ability for religious thinking and religious faith as a unique phenomenon of the human psyche is, of course, inherent in the very act of creating man. However, religious beliefs are highly dependent on cultural, social and geographical-climatic conditions.

The original beliefs of the Aryans, of course, did not reach our times, but their ideas were largely preserved in the teachings of Zoroastrianism, a religion preached by one of the first famous prophets, Zoroaster. The central place in the cult of Zoroastrianism is occupied by fire, which is considered the embodiment of divine justice - arta. The sacred fire is maintained in temples and homes. Water and earth are also considered sacred objects in Zoroastrianism. People should take care of the cleanliness of water and land. The mortal sins are theft, robbery, obstructing the movement of livestock and deception, and the virtues are truth, justice, fidelity, purity, hard work, peacefulness, humility and compassion.
The ancient Aryans practiced sacrifice, including human sacrifice. The Prophet Zarathushtra created his teachings in more humane times, therefore, in his religion, sacrifices were abolished. His theological system denies the existence of any other gods besides One, but at the same time recognizes the existence of a supernatural force antagonistic to God.

Zoroastrianism is close to Christianity and Islam, which arose much later. However, Zoroastrianism, according to researchers, remained rather a religion of a closed priestly class. After some time among the people, the ideas of Monotheism from Zoroastrianism disappear, and the religion itself becomes purely pagan. The same thing happens with all religions. Even the majority of modern Orthodox Christians do not understand the dogma of the Trinity and prefer to pray to fetishes like pagans. When the common people finally refuse to understand and believe in the One God, the enlightened part of the people begins to wait for the messiah or prophet... Which would restore people's sanity. If this does not happen, then humanity will end its history.

According to the teachings of Zarathushtra, the very first prophet on earth was Yima. Studying the myths that have come down to us, we come across such a fragment. God advises Yima, in order to avoid death from frost and flood, to build a communal clay settlement where people and livestock could spend the winter. Yima did not allow people with physical or moral defects into his settlement. Such selection, completely immoral from the point of view of modern man, was commonplace in those ancient times. Probably, over the centuries, this led to the fact that completely different people emerged from the icy cauldron of the north of Eastern Europe, with ideas about the world order that allowed them to continue the human race.
In the second half of the 8th century, the level of the Caspian rose again for some time. The peoples of the country of Khazaria, drowning in the Volga delta, are forced to move to the Black Sea region, squeezing out the Russians from their original bases at the mouth of the Don and Kuban. Pressed by the Khazars, the Black Sea dews migrate en masse to the north and the Baltic states. On the island of Rügen, a freemen appears, and the sanctuary of Svyatovid, where religious disputes take place.
Among the Russians and Goths, the first Christians arrive to the north. And then according to the chronicle. There was no prince in Novgorod. There was a republic here, which was governed by the council of one hundred wise men “Gostomysl”. The Council of Wise Men, consisting of one hundred (Gostomysl), is extremely concerned about the disunity of the tribes of Great Rus'. In 862, the Novgorodians sent an embassy to the island of Buyan (Rügen) to the monks with a request to send priests and teach them the faith. It is in this invitation that the phrase sounds: “Our land is great and abundant, but there is no order in it.” What does it mean? No order! Do we understand that there is no discipline, no common laws? But what did our ancestors understand by the word order? I was recently in Valdai. There, near Lake Seliger, on the very border of the Tver and Novgorod regions, there are two hills fused together, which in ancient times were clearly temple complexes. Moreover, these were probably especially revered shrines. And next to it is the village of Berezovsky Ryadok. Berezovsky may be “Berendeev” and then Ryadok is a Temple or God.
“Order” now sounds like this: “But (in the single world of Great Rus' (Great Scythia or Great Svidiod)) there is no Row (of a single faith). “There is no unity and a single faith in it,” the chronicler tells us.
After this, Rurik arrives from the island of Rügen to Novgorod. This is a faith spread from the island of Rügen, and it was brought to Novgorod by the monks Sineus and Truvor, who came along with the religion - “Rurik”. With the brothers Sineus and Truvor, the Varangians or “Rus” arrive, from whom the “Russian land” was nicknamed. That is, after accepting the faith of the Rus, the Slavs, as it were, took on the name of the clan that gave them religion.
True, some Novgorod Old Believers rebel against Rurik under the leadership of Vadim the Brave. The uprising is suppressed, and the rebel “men” flee to Kyiv. By this time, many Christians from the Don had arrived on the island of Buyan (Rügen). After disputes on Buyan, a syncretic religion is born, which retains elements of the northern philosophy of Odin and elements of Christianity. In any case, the Russians in these times begin to believe in Thor, the son of the god Odin. It is the monks of this belief who arrive in Novgorod. This religion became widespread from Iceland in the West to the cities of Torzhok and Toropets in Valdai. Chronicle Vadim are supporters of the traditional faith of the Normans Odin. But Thor's fans win, and Odin's fans flee to Kyiv. Following them, Prophetic Oleg sets off with an army and, after taking Kyiv, creates Kievan Rus. The fate of Kievan Rus is inextricably linked with the history of the emergence of Christianity in Eastern Europe. However, modern Europe is also a product of this process. After 150 years, under Prince Vladimir, Rus' became Orthodox. It is not difficult to discern in Orthodox rituals images of religions of bygone eras.
Therefore, there is really nothing to argue about. And the fight started on the Internet with Orthodoxy is an empty matter. Everything is God's will, it is important to be sensitive.

Gennady Klimov

Read more in the books of Gennady Klimov. Ordering books -

Bad. If some guy in the yard gets attached to his brother, he will not dodge the blows, he will receive beatings to the fullest. If there are three attackers, he will not be able to escape from them. After the game, I asked my brother to show me how he would fight back if some boy attacked him with his fists. My brother slowly and incorrectly folded his fist, made a serious face, and then I finally understood that I had to take him to the section. This matter cannot be left to chance any longer.

The future man must, if necessary, stand up for himself, protect his family, and stand up for the weak in a fight. Whether he is Orthodox or not, this circumstance does not change the essence in this matter.

“I need to help my brother, pick up a section,” I thought that spring, “although the sections are closed for the summer. There is little point in starting regular classes in May. In the summer we will decide where to go. We'll sign up starting in September. In the meantime, autumn is far away, let’s focus on general physical training, get in shape at home and outdoors.” Let's prepare... Guess whether we were preparing or not. That's right, they didn't. However, the topic of summer classes came up - unexpectedly for everyone. And it happened like this: we went to a scout camp for a week. Being in nature among Orthodox peers is useful for my brother and pleasant for me.

Long live the priests who were not afraid that others would misunderstand them.

These morning classes did not cultivate bloodthirstiness, they simply taught self-defense. They explained to the children how to make a fist so as not to injure their fingers when hitting, how to protect themselves from a direct blow to the head, and how to free themselves from a chokehold. The children were given game tasks: to break up in pairs, use their palms to deliver gentle slow blows to their partner, defend themselves from his blows, and at the same time try to step on his feet with their toes. Useful task. On this task, the guys stopped being tightly “glued” to the ground and began to actively move around the clearing. This is amazing. In real hand-to-hand combat, it is important not only to strike yourself and block the enemy’s blows, it is necessary to control the combat distance, not to stagnate in place, and not to turn into a stationary target.

What could Father Konstantin give the children in seven lessons? On the one hand, almost nothing. On the other hand, he gave not so little. He didn’t show them any basic technique, of course. But he taught how to warm up muscles and ligaments in the morning, develop joints with the help of movements, each of which is an element of self-defense - whether we like it or not, life sometimes puts us in conditions where we need to repel the aggressor. Father Konstantin's classes began with a warm-up. In a forest clearing, the push-ups familiar to the kids turned into practicing a straight punch, and leg swings turned into sweeps.

When I myself was 13 years old, I also attended the section. These were Shotokan style karate classes. Even under Soviet rule - in an underground position. I had not been to church at that time, knew practically nothing about Orthodoxy, and I was interested in karate not only in effective striking techniques, but also in spirituality. Karate, like other martial arts, originated in countries where Buddhism, Taoism, and Shinto are practiced. So martial arts bear the imprint of paganism. And sometimes martial arts are considered an integral part of non-Christian spiritual practice - let’s remember the Shaolin monks with their wushu training. My brother and I are Orthodox people, and the religiously colored practice of martial arts is categorically not suitable for us. We have a native spiritual practice - Orthodox. Nothing can replace it, and we will not confuse it with anything non-Christian.

Unfortunately, martial arts sections are sometimes led by convinced “gurus” who teach people fighting techniques and promote meditative exercises and work with mystical energies (ki, qi) - outright neo-paganism. Getting into such a section is like getting into a sect. We, Orthodox Christians, have to be careful and not compromise with our conscience in order to attend the section.

In the 1980s, I was lucky: our coach (sensei) was not interested in mysticism, he only taught the technique of striking, blocking and moving in stances. Maybe even now it’s enough for me to find a Shotokan section of the same non-religious direction? After searching, I found out that there are several Shotokan sections operating in our city. The first one discovered required that people come to classes without jewelry, including without crosses. As I understand it, the coach did not want to listen to complaints about gold chains broken in sparring. It was possible to come to an agreement with him and explain that crosses are not decorations for us, but a shrine of our faith. We will not remove the crosses, however, we will not have any claims against the coach and sparring partner for broken chains.

About the main results - in a nutshell. My brother attended about 50 training sessions in nine months. That's not a lot. Now my brother and I sometimes have one-on-one training matches. During sparring, it is not so easy to catch him in a deceptive movement. He dodges blows to the head well and knows how to free himself from grabs. His leg technique is still weak, and he doesn’t control the distance well. But there is no trace of the sad defenselessness that he had a year ago.

As for me, after a month of training I broke my finger. He blocked the kick incorrectly, and he paid for it. The finger that was not treated in time still hurts, but I don’t regret it. More importantly, the brother attends a normal men's section, although in his case it was not so easy to find a section. My brother has hemophilia - blood does not clot. Any injury for him can have serious consequences. My brother regularly takes medicine, controls blood clotting, treats extensive bruises and hematomas with special ointments. Medicines somewhat alleviate his condition, but disability cannot be avoided. When I signed up for the section, I honestly told the trainer about hemophilia. The coach asked me about all the features of the disease. And he assured that we can come to the training if the attending physician gives my brother a certificate allowing him to attend karate classes. Because of hemophilia, Shotokan, a non-contact style of karate, was suitable for us. In Shotokan, strikes are only indicated, they stop a couple of centimeters from a sparring partner. Of course, they are not always indicated, by mistake you can get hit in contact, but this is rare and only by mistake.

This is our story with the section. Despite the serious illness of his brother, it turned out that you can even pick up a section for him. He continues to study in it. I think at some stage he will leave her, but some self-defense skills will remain with him for life. A man sometimes needs them.

What is Orthodox hand-to-hand combat? How to perceive by ear the expression Orthodox martial arts or Orthodox wrestling? Can an Orthodox person engage in combat sports? These reflections were prompted by a lot of media reports about Orthodox squads, Cossack patrols, and the protection of Orthodox shrines. Can the Orthodox faith be associated with a direct blow to the head or a throw through the thigh?

At first glance, of course not! After all, the gospel commandments of love are above all. Love for God, love for neighbor and hand-to-hand combat are two different banks of the river that will never meet. The Lord tells us:

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; As I have loved you, so should you love one another; By this everyone will know that you are My disciples if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35)

And moreover, in the Sermon on the Mount we hear:

« But I tell you: do not resist evil. But whoever strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other to him as well. » (Matthew 5:38-39)

Well, what kind of struggle is there here, you will reasonably say and you will be absolutely right. Nikolai Berdyaev, for example, believed that by not responding to insult and evil, a person thereby rises above evil. Resistance to evil and aggression is a step up compared to cowardice, and non-resistance to evil in the gospel understanding is an even higher degree of courage.

But then what about the Russian saints - the defenders of the Russian land, such as Alexander Nevsky, Dmitry Donskoy, Alexander Peresvet and Andrey Oslyabya? Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir and Princess Olga? Ruthless to enemies, brave, strong warriors, wise commanders. We find the following words in the Gospel.

“There is no greater love than if a man lays down his life for his friends” (John 15:13)

Orthodox warriors. Church tradition.

So the Lord blesses us to protect our family, our home, our country and the Orthodox faith, if it is in danger. It is not for nothing that we treat the warriors-defenders of Rus' with such respect and honor their memory. Let's turn to church traditions:

When Saint Cyril Equal-to-the-Apostles was sent by the Patriarch of Constantinople to preach the gospel and arrived in the capital of the Saracens, the learned followers of Mohammed entered into a dispute with him about faith. Among other questions they asked him: “Christ is your God. He commanded you to pray for your enemies, to do good to those who hate and persecute you - to substitute the other for those who hit you on the cheek - and what are you doing? If someone offends you, you sharpen your weapons, go out to fight, and kill. Why don’t you listen to your Christ?”

Having heard this, Saint Cyril asked his co-questioners: “If two commandments are written in any law, which person will be the perfect fulfiller of the law - the one who fulfills one commandment, or the one who fulfills both commandments?” When the Hagarians said that the one who keeps both commandments will fulfill the law more perfectly, the holy preacher continued: “Christ our God, who commanded us to pray for those who offend us and do good to them, also said that none of us can show greater love in this life.” unless someone lays down his life for his friends (John 15:3). That is why we generously tolerate insults inflicted on us as private people, but in society we defend each other and put our souls in battle for our neighbors, so that you, having captured our fellow citizens, do not capture their souls along with their bodies, forcing them to renounce their faith and ungodly acts.

Our Christ-loving warriors, with weapons in their hands, guard the Holy Church, protect the sovereign, in whose sacred person they honor the image of the power of the Heavenly King, protect the fatherland, with the destruction of which the domestic power will inevitably fall and the faith of the Gospel will be shaken. These are precious pledges for which soldiers must fight until the last drop of blood, and if they lay down their souls on the battlefield, the Church canonizes them as holy martyrs and calls them prayer books before God.”

So, an Orthodox person is not necessarily a hunched bookworm with thick glasses or a grandmother with a candle box - defenseless, naive, kind. Martial arts clubs are now springing up at many churches, in which children and adults learn to resist aggression and protect their loved ones.

Martial arts and the Orthodox faith. Is it possible?

Our question rather relates to raising children. Indeed, now, when our security is guaranteed by the state very conditionally, we ourselves must learn to protect ourselves, our family, the temple, our Orthodox shrines. We must raise children who can stand up for themselves.

Our Orthodox boys should not turn into fearful children of the 21st century, having difficulty lifting anything heavier than a computer mouse. These are troubled times and real male education, the correct physical development of our boys will be the best addition to the Orthodox faith in which we raise them. Martial arts make their body strong and strengthen their spirit.

The fight between Christianity and paganism

After baptism in Rus', the struggle between Christianity and paganism (former mythological ideas) began and continued for several centuries. Orthodoxy requires the observance of four fasts dedicated to Christian holidays: Great (before Easter), Christmas (in winter), Peter's (until June 29 - Peter's day), Assumption (in September), as well as two fast days a week - Wednesday and Friday, when it is forbidden to eat meat. These days could have been pagan holidays, accompanied by ritual meat meals. The princes and their entourage loved to throw feasts. The Church fought against this, as well as against pagan rituals and ideas (since then the word “shame”, “shame”, which denoted such actions, began to be perceived with a negative connotation).

The very ideas about good and evil have changed dramatically. Everything pagan (“filthy”), called devilish, began to be considered evil. The opposition: winter - summer, day - night, was replaced by the opposition: God - the devil. The forces of good and evil become more otherworldly, and the sun from a higher rational being turns into one of the natural bodies.

The vanguard in the struggle between good and evil are the monks, as evidenced by their clothing. Monastic attire is a kind of mystical analogue of a military uniform. The belt is a sign of readiness for service, a special “paraman” dress is a symbol of the “plagues of Christ”, a black mantle is an excommunication from the world, a hood is a helmet. The monks fight an invisible enemy - the devil and his servants. Monastic virtues are their spiritual weapons. Their life is harsh, subject to regulations, as befits warriors. A monk who has found the meaning of existence is joyful and purposeful. Women nuns are the spiritual "brides of Christ", and the Rusals - girls who took part in pagan games, began to be called the brides of Satan.

In general, the struggle between Christianity and paganism ended in a compromise. This is clearly seen in the example of the pagan holidays that the church fought against. One of the main holidays - Kupala, which coincided with the feast of the Nativity of John the Baptist, turned into Ivan Kupala. The New Year was united with the Nativity of Christ and subsequently a Christmas tree appeared as a symbol of the paradise tree of life, on which golden apples and nuts grow. The carols have been preserved as Christmas carols. The holiday of Perun was modified on Elijah's day (July 20). The holiday of the end of the harvest is on Spas (August 6). The holiday of the "first shoots" was combined with the day of Boris and Gleb (May 2), the blessing of bread - with the Nativity of the Virgin.

The names of the former gods, transformed into angels and saints, have also been preserved. So, Veles became Saint Blaise, the patron saint of cattle. The pagan perception of nature was largely adopted by Christianity. “Trying to destroy the popular belief in the zoomorphic and anthropomorphic personification of forces, elements and natural phenomena,” wrote A.P. Shchapov in "Historical Essays on the People's Worldview and Superstition", - church teachers inspired the people, on the basis of the Greek-Eastern Christian worldview, that over every element, over every natural phenomenon, God placed special spirits, angels. Elijah the prophet, who rides across the sky in a fiery chariot and pours rain on the earth, is a good example of this.

“The Russian people,” writes Shchapov, “with their practical nature, looked at the saints for the most part from a natural-practical point of view. He imagined that the saints were appointed to be his assistants in the fight against the elements of nature, to support his physical, material well-being, and expected from them miracles of significant, material, everyday benefit.” “Belief in the miracles of saints, as in forces and actions that overcome and subjugate nature to man, replaced the pagan faith in sorcerers-magi.” Under the influence of Christianity, the character of heroes changes: their material strength fades into the background, and spiritual strength comes to the fore.

Christianity is especially closely connected with paganism in the apocryphal literature, which is very widespread in Rus'. In the verse about the “Dove Book” we read: “With us, a white free light was conceived from the judgment of God; the sun is red from the face of God, Christ the King of Heaven himself; The month is young and bright from his breasts; the stars are frequent from the garments of God; the nights are dark from the thoughts of the Lord; the morning dawns from the eyes of the Lord; violent winds from the Holy Spirit; we have the mind-mind of Christ Himself, Christ Himself, the King of Heaven; our thoughts are from the clouds of heaven; We have a world-people from Adamia; bones are strong as stone; our bodies are from damp earth; Our blood is our ore from the black sea.”

In the “Conversation of the Three Hierarchs”, St. Gregory “speech: from how many parts was Adam created? Vasily said: from eight parts: from the earth the body, from the sea the blood, from the sun the eyes, from the stone the bones, from the cloud of thought, from the fire warmth, from the wind breath, from the light... spirit.” Here is a combination of ancient Indian legends with Christian ideas.

Or Yegor the Brave from folk verse. This is Saint George the Victorious, on the coat of arms of Moscow slaying the serpent, and the personification of the ancient virtue - courage. His mother is Sophia, named after another ancient virtue - wisdom. The image of Sophia the Wisdom seems to combine the pagan idea of ​​wisdom with Christianity. In Russia, churches (otherwise mansions, as the princely houses were called from “horo” - circle) in honor of Sophia were the main ones in many cities (in Kyiv, Novgorod).

All natural phenomena (signs, etc.) retained their magical meaning, but began to be perceived most often as God's punishment. The pagan attitude towards nature as an active force has reached modern poetry.

Even church thinkers used pagan ideas for their own purposes. Thus, Kirill of Turov (c. IZO – 1182) wrote in the “Sermon on St. Thomas’s Week”: “Spring is the red faith of Christ... the stormy winds are sinful thoughts, such as by repentance to achieve virtue.” (Gromov M.N., Kozlov N.S. Russian philosophical thought of the X–XVII centuries. M., 1990. P. 79).

However, Christian concepts of virtue are very different from pagan ones. One of the main virtues is meekness, “for it is the mother of wisdom and reason and good thoughts and all good deeds” (ibid.). “Humility appears in the role of a meek mother, all other human virtues, including wisdom, are her children, and their father is the Lord himself. This “holy family” is opposed by the devil’s relatives, in which pride appears as the mother of human vices, and their father is Satan himself” (ibid.). About the same thing in “The Word of a Certain Father to His Son”: “Be low in head, but high in mind; having eyes in the earth, wiser (mind. - A.G.) in heaven” (Izbornik 1176, M., 1965, pp. 165–166).

In the famous work of the early 12th century. “The Teachings of Vladimir Monomakh” speaks of humanity, compassion, the desire to prevent evil, civil strife, and save people from bad deeds. “First of all, for the sake of God and your soul, have the fear of God in your heart and give generous alms - this is the beginning of all good... Do not kill the right or the guilty and do not order him to be killed. If you are guilty of death, then do not destroy any Christian soul... Above all, do not have pride in your heart and mind, but say: we are mortal; today alive, tomorrow in a coffin; all this that you gave us, not ours, but yours, entrusted it to us for a few days... Honor the old as fathers, and the young as brothers... Beware of lies and drunkenness, and fornication, because of this the soul and body perish... Visit the sick, see the deceased off, for we are all mortal, do not let a person pass without greeting him and say a kind word to him. Love your wife, but do not give her power over you... When you do good, do not be lazy about anything good... Do not be afraid of death, children, neither of war, nor of the beast, do the work of a man, as God sends you..."

Vladimir Monomakh advises getting rid of enemies with three good deeds: repentance, tears and alms. Reading his teachings, we remember the commandments of the thinkers of Ancient India, Ancient China, Ancient Greece and, of course, Christian ones.

A contemporary of Vladimir Monomakh, Metropolitan Nikifor, draws the following analogy: just as a prince commands his commanders and servants, so the mind should command the body.

Gradually, the cruel orders of pagan times (remember Princess Olga’s revenge on the Drevlyans) are changing under the influence of Christianity. In “The Life of Grand Duke Vladimir” (the Saint) there is such a remarkable dialogue. “And Saint Vladimir was so merciful and merciful that he was in no hurry to execute villains worthy of execution, even for great guilt, and because of this, robbers, thieves and other evil figures multiplied. And the Metropolitan and the elders said to Vladimir: “Why, Prince, don’t you execute the villains?” He replied: "I'm afraid of sin." The Metropolitan and the elders said: “You have been appointed by God as a ruler to punish evildoers and reward those who do good. So it is worthy for you to punish the evildoers, having considered their guilt, for know that if you do not execute the evil ones, then you yourself are committing evil towards the good ones, since because of your negligence the evil ones multiply to harm the good ones. So destroy the evil, so that the good can live in peace” (Biographies of memorable people of the Russian land. X-XX centuries. M., 1992. P. 21).

Christian ideas about good and evil, coming into contact with more ancient ones, strengthened in Rus', relegating pagan views to the realm of fairy tales and legends. The spread of Christian morality was helped by those people who followed it to the greatest extent and were subsequently declared saints by the church.