In the old days, reading the Lives of the Saints was one of the favorite activities of all sections of the Russian people. At the same time, the reader was interested not only in historical facts from the life of Christian ascetics, but also in a deep edifying and moral meaning. Today, the Lives of the Saints have receded into the background. Christians prefer to sit in Internet forums and social networks. However, is this normal? Journalists think about it Marina Voloskova, teacher Anna Kuznetsova and old believer writer Dmitry Urushev.

How created hagiographic literature

The study of Russian holiness in its history and its religious phenomenology has always been relevant. Today, the study of hagiographic literature is managed by a separate direction in philology, called hagiography . It should be noted that hagiographic literature for a medieval Russian was not just an actual type of reading, but a cultural and religious component of his life.

The Lives of the Saints are essentially biographies of clergy and secular persons glorified for veneration by the Christian Church or its individual communities. From the first days of its existence, the Christian Church carefully collected information about the life and work of its ascetics and communicated them to its children as an instructive example.

The Lives of the Saints constitute perhaps the most extensive section of Christian literature. They were the favorite reading of our ancestors. Many monks and even laymen were engaged in rewriting of lives, richer people ordered collections of lives for themselves. Since the 16th century, in connection with the growth of the Moscow national consciousness, collections of purely Russian hagiographies have appeared.

Eg, Metropolitan Macarius under Tsar John IV, he created a whole staff of scribes and clerks who, for more than twenty years, accumulated ancient Russian writing into an extensive literary collection Great Fourth Menaion. In it, the Lives of the Saints took pride of place. In ancient times, in general, the reading of hagiographic literature was treated, one might say, with the same reverence as the reading of Holy Scripture.

Over the centuries of its existence, Russian hagiography has gone through different forms, known different styles. The lives of the first Russian saints are the works of " The Tale of Boris and Gleb", life Vladimir Svyatoslavich, Princess Olga, Theodosius of the Caves, Abbot of the Kiev Caves Monastery, and others. Among the best writers of Ancient Rus', who devoted their pen to the glorification of the saints, Nestor the Chronicler, Epiphanius the Wise and Pachomius Logofet stand out. The first in the time of the Lives of the Saints were the stories about the martyrs.

Even Saint Clement, Bishop of Rome, during the first persecution of Christianity, appointed seven notaries in various districts of Rome to record daily what happened to Christians in places of execution, as well as in dungeons and courts. Despite the fact that the pagan government threatened the recorders with the death penalty, the records continued throughout the persecution of Christianity.

In the pre-Mongolian period, the Russian church had a complete set of menaias, prologues and synoxaries corresponding to the liturgical circle. Of great importance in Russian literature were patericons - special collections of the lives of saints.

Finally, the last common source for the memory of the saints of the Church is calendars and monastics. The origin of calendars dates back to the earliest times of the Church. From the testimony of Asterius of Amasia it can be seen that in the IV century. they were so full that they contained names for all the days of the year.

From the beginning of the 15th century, Epiphanius and the Serb Pachomius created a new school in northern Rus' - a school of artificially decorated, extensive life. This is how a stable literary canon is created, a magnificent “weaving of words”, which Russian scribes strive to imitate until the end of the 17th century. In the era of Metropolitan Macarius, when many ancient unskillful hagiographic records were being rewritten, the works of Pachomius were entered into the Cheti-Minei intact. The vast majority of these hagiographic monuments are strictly dependent on their models.

There are lives that are almost entirely written off from the most ancient ones; others use the established literary etiquette, refraining from accurate biographical data. Hagiographers involuntarily do this, separated from the saint by a long period of time - sometimes centuries, when even folk tradition dries up. But here, too, the general law of hagiographic style, similar to the law of icon painting, operates. It requires the subordination of the particular to the general, the dissolution of the human face in the heavenly glorified face.

Valuable That, What modern?

At present, the classical hagiographic literature is fading into the background. In its place come news feeds social media, at best, reports from the printed church media. The question arises: have we chosen the right path of church informational life? Is it true that we only occasionally recall the deeds of glorified saints, but pay more attention to the events of the modern day - loud, and tomorrow already forgotten?

Christians are less and less interested not only in lives, but also in other ancient literary monuments. Moreover, in the Old Believers this problem is felt more acutely than even in the Russian Orthodox Church. On the shelves of the bookstores of the Moscow Patriarchate, there is a lot of hagiographic literature, just have time to buy and read it. Some Old Believers express the idea that everything can be bought there. Their bookshops are full of various church literature, biographies of Sergius of Radonezh, Stefan of Perm, Dionysius of Radonezh and many others.

But are we really so weak that we ourselves cannot (or do not want to) publish a collection of lives or publish in the parish newspaper a brief review of the life of this or that saint? Moreover, literary monuments published by non-Orthodox church publishing houses are full of inaccurate translations, and sometimes even deliberate historical or theological falsifications. So, for example, today it is not difficult to stumble upon the publication of Domostroy, where in the chapter on church customs all ancient customs are replaced by modern ones.

Now the periodicals of the Old Believers are filled with news materials, but there is practically no educational information. And if there is none, then people will not have sufficient knowledge. And it is not surprising that many traditions are forgotten, once the most important names, symbols and images are erased from memory.

It is no coincidence that, for example, in the Russian Orthodox Old Believer Church and other Old Believer agreements there is not a single church dedicated to holy noble princes Boris and Gleb. Although these princes were the most revered Russian saints before the church schism, today, apart from an entry in the calendar and a rare service (and even then, if the day of remembrance falls on Sunday), they are not revered in any way. What then to say about other, less well-known saints? They are completely forgotten.

Therefore, we must do everything possible for spiritual enlightenment. Hagiographic literature is a faithful assistant in this matter. Even a five-minute reading of the Life sets a person up for a good pastime, strengthens in faith.

By publishing, even if abbreviated, the Lives of the Saints, teachings, sermons, and possibly collections of church rules, apologetics, we will thereby help a person to learn more about his faith. This can save many believers from superstitions, false rumors and dubious customs, including those borrowed from heterodox confessions, which are rapidly spreading and turning into a "new church tradition." Even if elderly, experienced people often become hostages of ideas received from dubious sources, then young people can become a victim of harmful information even faster.

There is a request for ancient literary works, including the Lives of the Saints. For example, the parishioners of the Rzhev Church of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos have repeatedly expressed the opinion that they would like to see interesting hagiographic stories about local, Tver saints in the parish newspaper Pokrovsky Vestnik. Perhaps it is worth thinking about this and other Old Believer publications.

returning To Old Russian traditions enlightenment

Today, many Old Believer authors and journalists consider it important to publish hagiographic literature, to revive the reader's sense of reverence for the names of ancient ascetics. They raise the question of the need for more educational work within the Old Believers themselves.

Anna Kuznetsova - journalist, member joint venture Russia, teacher additional education V G. Rzhev

It is not only possible, but also necessary, to publish the lives of the saints, only in a convenient and not very expensive format. We also have saints canonized after the schism of the 17th century. And in the bulk, people remember only Archpriest Avvakum and the noblewoman Morozova, and therefore associate only them with the Old Faith.

And judging by the way our leading hagiographers are engaged in research on these issues about people who lived one and a half or two centuries ago, it turns out that we are “behind” by just two centuries. In this sense, there is no intelligible bookish church policy, therefore, apart from the archpriest and "those who suffered like him", we do not know anyone ...

Dmitry Alexandrovich Urushev - historian, member of the Union of Journalists of Russia

The Apostle Paul writes: “Remember your leaders, who have spoken the word of God to you, theirs, looking to the end of their residence, imitate their faith” (Heb. 13:7).

Christians should honor their mentors - the saints of God, imitate their faith and life. Therefore, the Orthodox Church from ancient times established the veneration of saints, dedicating every day of the year to one or another righteous person - a martyr, ascetic, apostle, saint or prophet.

Just as a loving mother takes care of her children, so the Church took care of her children, for their benefit and edification, writing down the lives of the saints in the Prologue. This book consists of four volumes, one for each season. In the Prologue, short lives are arranged daily, in addition, one or more teachings of the holy fathers are given for each day. A more extensive collection of lives and teachings is called the Fourth Menaion and consists of twelve menaion - monthly volumes.

The cumbersome Cheti-Minei are rare and inaccessible books. And the compact Prologue, on the contrary, was very popular in Ancient Rus'. It was often rewritten and reprinted many times. Earlier, the Old Believers read the Prologue with pleasure, receiving great benefit and correct instruction in a righteous life.

Reading the lives of God's saints and spiritual teachings, Christians of the past had before them the example of holy martyrs and ascetics, they were always ready to courageously stand for Orthodoxy and piety, they were ready to fearlessly confess their faith before the enemies of the Church, without fear of executions and tortures.

But the Prologue is written in Old Church Slavonic. And during the years of Soviet power among Christians, his knowledge has significantly decreased, and the very circle of reading Slavic books has narrowed exclusively to liturgical books. Now the sad fact noted by V.G. Belinsky in the middle of the 19th century: “Slavic and ancient books in general can be a subject of study, but by no means of enjoyment; they can only be dealt with by learned people, not society.”

What to do? Alas, we will have to set aside the Prologue, Chet'i-Minei and other soul-beneficial reading in the Old Slavonic language on the shelf. Let's be realistic, now only a few experts can penetrate this ancient source of wisdom and draw from it the water of life. The ordinary parishioner is deprived of this pleasure. But we cannot allow modernity to rob and impoverish him!

It is impossible to force all Christians to study the language of ancient Russian literature. Therefore, instead of Old Slavonic books, books in Russian should appear. Of course, creating a complete translation of the Prolog is a difficult and time-consuming task. Yes, probably unnecessary. After all, since the middle of the 17th century, since the time of the schism, new saints appeared in the Church, new teachings were written. But they are not reflected in the printed Prologue. We must work to create a new corpus of soulful reading for Christians.

It will no longer be the Prologue and not the Cheti-Minei. These will be new compositions, written simply and entertainingly, designed for the widest possible audience. Suppose it will be a selection of educational literature, including publicly available books on the Holy Scriptures, on church history, on Christian theology, on the lives of saints, textbooks of Orthodox worship and the Old Church Slavonic language.

It is these publications that should stand on the bookshelf in the home of every Old Believer. For many, they will be the first rung on the ladder of God's wisdom. Then, by reading more difficult books, the Christian will be able to rise higher and grow spiritually. After all, what to hide, many Old Believers do not understand anything in their old faith.

I was unpleasantly surprised when I came across such a phenomenon: a person lives a Christian life, prays and fasts, regularly attends divine services, but knows nothing about the teachings of the Church and its history. Meanwhile, the Soviet times, when it was enough for going to church that “my grandmother went there,” have gone into the irrevocable past. New times ask us new questions and require new answers about our faith.

What can we say when we don't know anything? Therefore, we must not forget that Christianity has always been based on books. Without them, our faith and history seem inexplicable.

There is such a tradition among Orthodox people: whoever prays to St. Dmitry of Rostov, all the saints pray for him, for he worked for many years on describing their lives and compiled a multi-volume work - “The Book of the Lives of the Saints”, another name: Chet'i Menaia.

Many generations of the Russian people were brought up on this book. Until now, the works of St. Dmitry are republished and read with interest by contemporaries.

A.S. Pushkin called this book "eternally alive", "an inexhaustible treasury for an inspired artist."

Saint Demetrius, the future Saint of Rostov, was born in 1651 in the village of Makarov, a few versts from Kyiv. He received his education at the Kiev-Mohyla Collegium, and then at the St. Cyril Monastery. At the age of 23 (he took monastic vows at 18), the future saint becomes a famous preacher. In 1684, the cathedral of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra blessed him to compose the lives of the saints. To write the book, St. Demetrius used the first collection of lives, which was compiled by St. Macarius (mid-16th century). From the first centuries, Christians recorded events from the life of holy ascetics. These stories began to be collected in collections, where they were located according to the days of their church veneration.

A collection of the lives of Saint Macarius was sent to Saint Demetrius from Moscow by Patriarch Joachim. The first book of Lives was completed four years later - in 1688 (September and November). In 1695, the second book was written (December, February) and five years later - the third (March, May). St. Demetrius completed his work in the Spaso-Jakovlevsky Monastery in Rostov the Great.

The lives of the saints are also called Cheti-Minei in a different way - books for reading (not liturgical), where the lives of the saints are set out sequentially for each day and month of the whole year (“Minei” in Greek means “lasting month”). The Lives of the Saints of St. Dmitry of Rostov, in addition to the biographies themselves, included descriptions of the holidays and instructive words on the events of the life of the saint.

The main hagiographic work of the saint was published in 1711-1718. In 1745, the Holy Synod instructed Archimandrite Timothy Shcherbatsky of Kiev-Pechersk to correct and supplement the books of St. Dmitry.

Subsequently, Archimandrite Joseph Mitkevich and Hierodeacon Nikodim also worked on this. The collection of lives of the saints of God was republished in 1759. For the work done, St. Dmitry began to be called the "Russian Chrysostom." Saint Dmitry continued to collect new materials on the lives of the saints until his death.

Secular readers considered the collection of lives as a historical source (for example, V. Tatishchev, A. Schlozer, N. Karamzin used them in their books).

In 1900, the Lives of the Saints began to be published in Russian. These books are printed according to the 1904 edition of the Moscow Synodal Printing House.

BUY:

As you know, priests most often recommend reading the biographies of the saints of the Orthodox Church to beginners, and not only Christians. Why is it so important?

Because, reading the lives of the Orthodox holy fathers of the church, we directly see the impact of the grace of God on those who believe in Jesus Christ. Besides, the lives of the saints are the best example of the Christian life. Even taking into account the fact that few people today are able to repeat their exploits, all the same, reading introduces us to the grace of the saints of God, sets us up for repentance and self-improvement.

The Holy Fathers teach how to approach the Gospel, how to read it, how it is understood correctly. Through communion with the saints, seeing their impeccable life, which they led according to the commandments of Christ, we gradually become capable of understanding the Gospel Truth. In addition, we have the opportunity to find out what real Orthodox believers should be, because, like none other than the saints of God, they have reached unspeakable heights in this and are a living and clear example for us in this work. A person always strives to be like his ideal, and if the saints become our ideal, then, seeing their immaculate living in accordance with the gospel commandments, then we ourselves will gradually accustom ourselves to follow the same path.

For a long time, the saints themselves testified that it is rather difficult to find spiritual mentors, therefore the main leaders for those who want to be saved should be the ascetics of the true Orthodox faith, whom we can get to know only by reading their lives.

Looking at the pure and immaculate life of the holy fathers, our souls, as if in an unclouded mirror, will see their dirt. But besides the fact that the ascetics of piety will help us examine our sins, they can also offer saving medicine. Here is what the Optina elder, hieromonk Nikon Vorobyov, wrote: “When a person begins to fight with himself, strives to follow the path of the Gospel, then the holy fathers will become necessary for him and his relatives. The Holy Father is already a native teacher who speaks to your soul, and she perceives this with joy, is consoled. Just as these philosophies and all sorts of sectarian filth caused melancholy, despondency, vomiting, so, on the contrary, as to my own mother, I came to my fathers. They comforted me, enlightened me, nourished me.”

However, there is a certain condition in this soul-saving reading: everyone should choose the narrative about the life of those fathers that best suits his way of life. For example, a hermit should read the fathers who wrote about silence; monks living in a hostel - the fathers who wrote instructions for monastic hostels; Christians living in the middle of the world - the holy fathers who delivered their teachings in general for all of Christianity.

“You definitely need reading that fits your lifestyle. Otherwise, you will be filled with thoughts, although holy, but impracticable by the deed itself, stimulating fruitless activity only in the imagination and desire; the deeds of godliness that befit your way of life will slip out of your hands. Not only will you become a fruitless dreamer, your thoughts, being in constant contradiction with the circle of actions, will certainly give rise to confusion in your heart, and uncertainty in your behavior, painful, harmful to you and your neighbors. With an incorrect reading of the Holy Scriptures and the holy fathers, one can easily deviate from the saving path into impenetrable jungles and deep abysses, which happened to many. Amen,” said St. Ignatius (Bryanchaninov). And again: “From now on, during a short earthly life, which Scripture did not even call life, but wandering, get acquainted with the saints. Do you want to belong in heaven to their society, do you want to be a participant in their bliss? from now on enter into communion with them. When you leave the temple of the body, they will accept you as their friend, as their friend (Luke 16:9).

Thus, while reading the lives of the holy fathers, we also clearly see from their example how they achieved life purpose- salvation, and if we have a similar life and thinking, then, too, by the grace of God, we will receive salvation and the Kingdom of Heaven.

In conclusion, I would like to cite a few more statements of St. Barsanuphius (Optinsky) on the topic of how important it is to get acquainted with the lives of the Holy Fathers and, thus, how to become accomplices in their earthly journey:

... Read the Holy Scriptures, as well as the Lives of the saints, especially the holy Great Martyrs Catherine, Barbara, Irina, Evdokia, because each saint gives a particle of his fortress to those who read his Life with faith and will help with the passage of ordeals.

When we read, at least the life of St. vmchts. Catherine, then the Saint begins to pray for such a person before the throne of God, and the prayer of the saints, of course, is important. Maybe some soul was on the verge of perdition, but by reading the Lives of the saints, she attracted their prayer for herself and was saved. Get these books: they are not so expensive, others get more, and by reading them we gain great benefit.

… Do not go into difficult reading, it is not useful at all. The most instructive reading is the Lives of the Saints; theoretical knowledge is not given here, but living examples of imitation of Christ the Savior are presented. Let the saints be your teachers, have no other teachers, so as not to be troubled in spirit, especially those who try to distract from Orthodox Church run away from such mentors.

… Learning to deal with your passions is very important and even necessary. The best guide in this is for you to read the Lives of the Saints. The world has long since abandoned it, but do not be conformed to the world, and this reading will give you much comfort. In the Lives of the Saints you will find instructions on how to fight the spirit of malice and remain victorious. May the Lord help you.

... I have always advised and advise you to read the Lives of the Saints, and you will find great consolation in this reading. Your sorrows will seem insignificant to you compared to those that the saints endured. Reading the Lives of the Saints, you will have a desire, if possible, to imitate them. You will want to pray and ask the Lord for help, and the Lord will help.

In the world, reading the Lives of the Saints, and especially in the Slavic language, has been completely abandoned; but do not conform to the customs of this age, but engage in this saving reading.

… If you don’t enter a monastery yourself, then at least read the descriptions of the life of holy monks and reverends. They can teach us a lot.

The world of evil spirits is now looking at us and is already forging fetters, wanting to destroy the words of the sinful Barsanuphius, but do not be afraid! The Lord will save us from their evil power. Read the Holy Scriptures, the Gospel, the Epistles, as well as the Lives of the Saints. This reading is of great importance, but here's what's sad: The lives of the saints are printed, perhaps acquired by some, but the majority do not read them. In the meantime, what benefit can be derived from this reading! In it we will find answers to many of our questions, they will teach us how to get out of a difficult situation, how to resist when darkness envelops the soul from all sides, so that it seems as if God has abandoned us.

Some time ago I told you about my high school friend. He studied badly. Somehow I look, he ran his little hands through his hair and went deep into reading. With the curiosity characteristic of boys, I began to look at what he was reading. Recording on one side, on the other the table of contents is not visible. Finally, I ask:

READING THE LIVES OF THE SAINTS

Do not go into difficult reading, it is not useful at all. The most instructive reading is the Lives of the Saints; theoretical knowledge is not given here, but living examples of imitation of Christ the Savior are presented. Let the saints be your mentors, do not have other teachers so as not to be embarrassed in spirit, especially those who try to distract from the Orthodox Church, run away from such mentors.

For example, reading the Lives of the Saints. When we read them, even the life of St. vmchts. Catherine, then the Saint begins to pray for such a person before the throne of God, and the prayer of the saints, of course, is important. Maybe some soul was on the verge of perdition, but by reading the Lives of the saints, she attracted their prayer for herself and was saved. Get these books: they are not so expensive, others get more, and by reading them we gain great benefit.

Learning to deal with your passions is very important and even necessary. The best guide in this is for you to read the Lives of the Saints. The world has long since abandoned it, but do not be conformed to the world, and this reading will give you much comfort. In the Lives of the Saints you will find instructions on how to fight the spirit of malice and remain victorious. May the Lord help you.

I have always advised and advise you to read the Lives of the Saints, and you will find great consolation in this reading. Your sorrows will seem insignificant to you compared to those that the saints endured. Reading the Lives of the Saints, you will have a desire, if possible, to imitate them. You will want to pray and ask the Lord for help, and the Lord will help.

In the world, reading the Lives of the Saints, and especially in the Slavic language, has been completely abandoned; but do not conform to the customs of this age, but engage in this saving reading.

Monasticism... how many times have we talked about it, but I always advise, if you don't join a monastery yourself, then at least read the descriptions of the life of holy monks and reverends. They can teach us a lot.

The world of evil spirits is now looking at us and is already forging fetters, wanting to destroy the words of the sinful Barsanuphius, but do not be afraid! The Lord will save us from their evil power. Read the Holy Scriptures, the Gospel, the Epistles, as well as the Lives of the Saints. This reading is of great importance, but here's what's sad: The lives of the saints are printed, perhaps acquired by some, but the majority do not read them. In the meantime, what benefit can be derived from this reading! In it we will find answers to many of our questions, they will teach us how to get out of a difficult situation, how to resist when darkness envelops the soul from all sides, so that it seems as if God has abandoned us.

What empty little books are given to children to read and destroy young souls. Reading the Lives of the saints fills their pure souls with light. After all, the word "holy" comes from the word "light", since the saints pour the Light of Christ around them. Reading the Lives of the Saints, you will not get knowledge of physics, chemistry, but you will learn to go deep into yourself, how to know yourself. There are the most learned people who seem to be fully educated, but without faith, they do not know their soul at all.

I remember my childhood. We lived in the village. My parents were believers. On holidays, my father usually read aloud the life of some saint before dinner. I remember that I was not even 7 years old, but I listened with enthusiasm to my father. I used to put my hands in blond curls and I'm afraid to utter a word from what my father reads.

“Papa,” I tell him, “I want to be a saint. Only now it hurts to go into the furnace or into the cauldron with tin.

“You can become a saint in other ways.

“I don’t have time to talk to you,” the father answers and continues reading.

I remember how my soul lit up from this reading. I was still small then, and my soul was pure. Reading had great importance for my later life. Now, though unworthy, I am still a monk. Our family was Orthodox: we kept fasting and went to church. It is a pity that now all the ordinances of the Church are being violated, which is why children deteriorate so much and often grow up completely useless.

When I was already an officer, the writings of Shpilhagen were in vogue. Once I was persuaded to read From Darkness to Light. I started reading and was disappointed. Everything there is only darkness, the heroes and heroines are also filled with darkness; when the light appears, I thought, but I read, read, and did not read until the light, everything was only darkness. I left this book unread. One day I went into the batman's room to give him some instructions: I saw that he was sleeping, and on the table, next to him, was a little book about Philaret the Merciful. I became interested in her, woke up the batman so that he would open the doors if anyone came, and he took the little book and went out into the garden. From the very first pages I could not refrain from tears, and with great eagerness I read (I generally read soon) the whole story. I gave the book to the orderly. He smiles:

- Did you like the book?

- I liked it very much, - I answer, - I read it with pleasure.

— Shpilhagen? Well, did you like it?

“Wherever I like it, I read one page, didn’t understand anything, I read another, too, well, I quit.

- Yes, and I do not like it, yours is better.

So why are you reading?

“Yes,” my orderly concluded thoughtfully, “there is only emptiness there.

And he was right.

I have read many secular and books, and, for the most part, there is, indeed, one emptiness in them. True, sometimes something flashes, as if a distant lightning, and disappears, and again darkness. The current literature of all the Andreevs and Artsybashevs gives absolutely nothing useful and comforting to either the mind or the heart. It becomes terrible for the younger generation, which is brought up on such literary scum. Both poetry and art have a strong influence on the human soul and ennoble it. For example, a talentedly executed picture, especially if it has something lofty as a subject, even happens to regenerate a person's soul, of course, by the grace of God.

patristic creations

Ep. Ignatius (Bryanchaninov) are necessary, they are, so to speak, the alphabet, syllables. The writings of Ep. Theophan Vyshensky - the essence is already grammar, they are deeper. Even the Successful read them with some difficulty...

Today, while signing the book of one of my spiritual daughters, under the title "Invisible Scolding" and putting the date on January 6, I remembered that this is exactly the day of the death of Bishop Theophan, who translated this book from Greek into Russian.

Bishop Feofan did not translate it verbatim, but conveyed the spirit of this book, like Zhukovsky, who, translating Schiller, was so imbued with the spirit of this poet that it was difficult to distinguish the translation from the original.

5th volume of Bishop's works. Ignatius, contains the teachings of Sts. fathers in relation to modern monasticism and teaches how to read the writings of Sts. fathers. Very deeply looked ep. Ignatius and even, perhaps, deeper in this regard, Bishop. Feofan. His word has a powerful effect on the soul, for it comes from experience...

"Father" ep. Ignatia (Bryanchaninova)

It's a good thing you did that you began to read this book. It is composed as follows: Ignatius wrote out what answered the exciting monastic questions. From this side, this work is irreplaceable. Many perplexities are immediately destroyed by some kind of statement. D.N.

Creations of St. Peter of Damascus

This book is deeper than Abba Dorotheus. Still, Abba Dorotheos is the ABC of monastic life, although reading it, you can discover everything new and new, and for everyone it is in accordance with his condition. It has a shore, and from the shore you can walk first knee-deep, then deeper and deeper. Another - immediately in depth.

This book contains incomprehensible mysterious places. There you will see how the saints began to know the meaning of visible nature. They do not care about the visible mechanism of things, but they understand their meaning. Just as we use watches, we don't care about the arrangement of the mechanism and their chemical composition. Or, we taste an apple, taste good and don't care what its chemical composition is... Saints really begin to know the meaning of visible nature.

The description of the invisible world must be understood spiritually, not literally.

All this must be spiritually understood, this is only a hint at reality itself, and some, not understanding that everything here is in the highest spiritual sense said, tempted. For example, there is a veil in heaven before the Throne of God, which was parted when the blessed Theodora approached her... Of course, this must be understood in a spiritual sense. Just as they say that the Jews had a veil over their eyes, this does not mean that there really was some kind of material veil over them. Or they also say about seraphim that they covered their faces with wings. What kind of wings do they have? This means that they cannot see all the glory of God...

MIRACLES

Once, when I was six years old, there was such a case: we lived in a dacha on our estate near Orenburg. Our house stood in a huge garden - a park and was guarded by a watchman and dogs, so it was impossible for an outsider to get into the park unnoticed.

One day my father and I were walking in the park, and suddenly, out of nowhere, some old man appeared in front of us. Approaching my father, he said: “Remember, father, that this child will in due time carry souls from hell.”

A year before my admission to the Skete, on the second day of the Nativity of Christ, I was returning from an early Mass. It was still dark, and the city was just beginning to wake up. Suddenly, an old man came up to me, begging for alms. I realized that I had not taken my purse with me, and there were only twenty kopecks in my pocket. I gave them to the old man with the words: "I'm sorry, I'm no longer with me." He thanked me and gave me a prosphora. I took it, put it in my pocket, and only wanted to say something to the beggar, as he was already gone. In vain I looked everywhere, he disappeared without a trace. The next year, on this day, I was already in the Skete.

If you look at life carefully, then all of it is full of miracles, only we often do not notice and indifferently pass them by. May the Lord give us the mind to carefully spend the days of our lives, working out our salvation with fear and trembling.

The former hegumen of the Meshchovsky Monastery, Fr. Mark, who now lives in retirement in Optina Pustyn: - “I remember that it was, it seems, in 1867. I was very ill and did not expect that I would get up. At that time I lived in Optina. I see once, as if in a thin dream, as if I were standing in a clearing near Kozelsk, and in front of three Churches. The sun is rising. On the right and on the left side, some creatures are standing next to me. I notice that the sun that I see is an icon standing in the attic of the Ascension Church. To my question to the one who was standing near me on the left side, he answered: “I am George! The icon you see is the icon of the Mother of God of Akhtyrka.” When he woke up, he told Fr. Ambrose. Searches began in all the churches of the city of Kozelsk, but the icons of the Akhtyrskaya Mother of God were not found anywhere. They also searched in the Ascension Church. After a long and unsuccessful search, the priest of that Church, Fr. Demetrius opened this icon in the attic of the Church, lying in dust and debris. The holy icon was then solemnly brought to Optina, and I, kissing it after the prayer service, received relief from the illness and soon recovered completely.

Many were after this miracles from this icon with faith who came to her. Until now, St. This icon is located in the Ascension Church in Kozelsk and is revered by the inhabitants as miraculous.

When I was returning from Manchuria by rail, I wanted to retire at night - whether I felt sad or something else, I don’t remember. I went into the vestibule of the carriage, so to speak, I mean that small room, of which there are usually two in each carriage: in front and behind; there are 4 doors in them: one leads to the car, the other to the platform in the next car, and two to the right and left for passengers to exit. I went out and leaned on one door and thought: “Glory to Thee, Lord. I'm going again to dear Optina. And I wanted to go to the opposite side door, I was going and suddenly, as if by some force, I was pushed away. I stopped in the middle and, peering, I saw that the door was moved to the side (there are doors of such a device), which I did not notice in the dark, but wanted to lean on it. And what would happen... The Lord saved...

Holy fools, blissful

Skete cassock monk Fr. Athanasius told me about a certain servant of God Christ for the sake of foolishness, the following. His name was Sergei Nikolaevich. He acted as a fool in the city of Livny, Oryol Province. Came from peasants. He died at the age of 70. He always walked in rags and led a wandering life. Living in the world, oh One day Athanasius busied himself with piling up bread. The business was profitable. He somehow brings bread to Livny on Sunday morning and sells it to a merchant. Bargained and finished the job. At that time, Sergei Nikolaevich, who was with the merchant, came to them and at the words of Fr. Athanasius to say something to him, says: “It’s a sin to take a merchant’s hands!” He did not understand these words at the time. The Livny monks later explained their meaning - that is, that it is a sin to trade on holidays.

The same holy fool went to a Livny merchant and shat in his front corner. Soon after this, a great misfortune happened to the merchant - two peasants fell asleep in his well with a collapsed log house. The court ran over and the merchant had to fork out.

They also saw Sergei Nikolaevich, how once he crossed the river along its bottom, hiding under water. He also said to one girl, the daughter of a poor bourgeois widow in Livny: “You and I will die together!” And so it happened. When this girl died, the holy fool came to the widow, sat down on the right side of her coffin, and died. They were buried together on the same day. They took them out at 8 o'clock in the morning from the city Church, and brought them to the cemetery in the evening. Panikhidas were served all the time on the way. There were many people, almost the entire city gathered to bury the righteous.

Today, January 22, 1896, Fr. Dimitri, an artist, a skete monk, who recently came to Shamordino living in the village of Khlopov, 30 versts from Shamordin, holy fool John. He came to the cell of the nun Olga, whose daughter is ill with consumption. He showed with signs that she needed to fight and prepare for death. Then he demanded the key to the locked box, and when it was unlocked at his request, he took out the icon lying there, a blessing of the sick woman from Fr. Ambrose. The image was placed on the goddess and ordered to warm before him an inextinguishable lamp. Then he left.

Blessed. Blessed Annushka

When I entered, she began to quickly undress, even began to take off her shirt, so that even her breasts became visible: I turned away. She says, "Give me that green coat." I gave her a caftan hanging on the wall. Putting it on, she began to say: “Do you see how beautiful I have become, do you see?” For me, it was completely incomprehensible ... And this meant that I had to renew my soul. Finally, I asked her: “How will it all end for me?” She took it and wrapped her head in a caftan and sat down like that. I left her while she was still in that state. I did not understand and asked about it. I was told it meant monasticism. And then I still did not think to go to the monastery. At first I was afraid to go to her, thinking that maybe this was the charm of demons. But spiritual people assured me that this was indeed a truly blissful soul. When I visited her, she had been lying on her bed of three pieces covered with felt for 40 years: she had paralysis of her legs.

She was an orphan, and some old woman followed her. Poor to the last degree, but all the furnishings of her little room were clean.

Blessed Ivanushka

His family considered him a fool, but the people respected and loved him. One day he ran to the hayfield. They ask him: “What do you need, Ivanushka?” And he immediately ran in the direction of the Zhizdra River. In this very place there was a steep drop and one of the deepest parts of the river. Look - it's gone. Everyone thought he drowned. What to do? And he, passing under the water to the other side, came out of the water, bowed to everyone and left. In the summer they let him go, and in the winter they tied him by the leg.

I was still in the military then, although not in uniform. I enter, and Ivanushka says:

- Father has come.

They tell him:

- This is not Father, - thinking that he was mistaken. And Ivanushka again:

- Father has come.

Then he ordered me to take a whip and whip the "kitten".

Do you see her running after you? Come on her so, well her, so.

I whipped through the air, I did not understand anything. He continued:

- Oh, she ran away. What? Oh, she's a kitten.

Then it was 3 o'clock in the afternoon, dawn began. I began to say goodbye to him. He turned to the window directly to Optina Pustyn at dawn, and began to look. I don't know what he saw, he didn't tell me, of course. But it was clear that he was seeing a wondrous vision. So I left him.

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Foreword

In the edition offered to the reader, the lives of the saints are presented in chronological order. The first volume tells about the Old Testament righteous and prophets, the subsequent volumes will reveal the history of the New Testament Church up to the ascetics of our time.

As a rule, collections of the lives of the saints are built according to the calendar principle. In such editions, the biographies of the ascetics are given in the order in which the memory of the saints is celebrated in the Orthodox liturgical circle. Such a presentation has a deep meaning, for the church's remembrance of this or that moment of sacred history is not a story about the past, but a living experience of participation in the event. From year to year we honor the memory of the saints on the same days, we return to the same stories and lives, for this experience of participation is inexhaustible and eternal.

However, the temporal sequence of sacred history must not be left unattended by the Christian. Christianity is a religion that recognizes the value of history, its purposefulness, professing its deep meaning and the action of God's Providence in it. In the temporal perspective, God's plan for humanity is revealed, that "children's guidance" ("pedagogy"), thanks to which the possibility of salvation is open to everyone. It is this attitude to history that determines the logic of the publication offered to the reader.

On the second Sunday before the feast of the Nativity of Christ, the week of the holy forefathers, the Holy Church prayerfully remembers those who “prepared the way for the Lord” (cf. Is. 40:3) in His earthly service, who preserved the true faith in the darkness of human ignorance, as a precious gift to Christ who came save the lost(Mt. 18, I). These are people who lived in hope, these are the souls by which the world, doomed to submission to vanity, was kept (see: Rom. 8, 20), - the righteous of the Old Testament.

The word "Old Testament" has in our minds a significant echo of the concept of "old [man]" (cf.: Rom. 6, 6) and is associated with impermanence, proximity to destruction. This is largely due to the fact that the very word "old" in our eyes has become unambiguous, having lost the diversity of its original meanings. The related Latin word "vetus" speaks of antiquity and old age. These two dimensions set the space of holiness before Christ unknown to us: exemplary, "paradigmatic", immutability, determined by antiquity and originality, and youth - beautiful, inexperienced and transient, which has become old age in the face of the New Testament. Both dimensions exist simultaneously, and it is no coincidence that we read the hymn of the Apostle Paul dedicated to the Old Testament ascetics (see Heb. 11:4-40) on All Saints' Day, speaking of holiness in general. It is no coincidence that many of the actions of the ancient righteous have to be specially explained, and we have no right to repeat them. We cannot imitate the actions of the saints, wholly connected with the customs of spiritually immature, young humanity, their polygamy and sometimes their attitude towards children (see: Gen. 25, 6). Nor can we follow their boldness, like the strength of blossoming youth, and together with Moses ask for the appearance of the face of God (see: Exodus 33:18), which St. Athanasius the Great warned about in his preface to the psalms.

In the "antiquity" and "old age" of the Old Testament - its strength and its own weakness, which make up all the tension of waiting for the Redeemer - the strength of infinite hope from the multiplication of insurmountable weakness.

The Old Testament saints give us an example of faithfulness to the promise. They can be called true Christians in the sense that their whole life was filled with the expectation of Christ. Among the harsh laws of the Old Testament, which protected human nature that was not yet perfect, not perfected by Christ, from sin, we gain insights into the coming spirituality of the New Testament. Among the brief remarks of the Old Testament, we find the light of deep, intense spiritual experiences.

We know the righteous Abraham, to whom the Lord, in order to show the world the fullness of his faith, commanded to sacrifice his son. Scripture says that Abraham unquestioningly decided to fulfill the commandment, but is silent about the experiences of the righteous. However, the narrative does not miss one detail, insignificant at first glance: it was three days' journey to Mount Moriah (see: Gen. 22, 3-4). How should the father feel, leading to the slaughter of the dearest person in his life? But this did not happen immediately: day followed day, and the morning brought the righteous not the joy of a new light, but a heavy reminder that a terrible sacrifice lay ahead. And could sleep bring peace to Abraham? Rather, his condition can be described by the words of Job: When I think: my bed will comfort me, my bed will take away my sorrow, dreams frighten me and visions frighten me (cf. Job 7:13-14). Three days of travel, when fatigue brought not rest, but the inevitable outcome. Three days of tormenting thought - and at any moment Abraham could refuse. Three days of travel - behind a brief biblical remark lies the strength of faith and the severity of the suffering of the righteous.

Aaron, brother of Moses. His name is lost among the many biblical righteous known to us, obscured by the image of his illustrious brother, with whom no Old Testament prophet can be compared (see: Deut. 34, 10). We are hardly able to say much about him, and this applies not only to us, but also to the people of the Old Testament antiquity: Aaron himself in the eyes of the people always retreated before Moses, and the people themselves did not treat him with love and respect, with which they addressed their teacher . To abide in the shadow of a great brother, to humbly carry out one's service, although great, but not so noticeable to others, to serve the righteous without envying his glory - is this not a Christian feat, already revealed in the Old Testament?

From childhood, this righteous man learned humility. His younger brother, saved from death, was taken to the palace of the pharaoh and received a royal education, surrounded by all the honors of the Egyptian court. When Moses is called by God to serve, Aaron must retell his words to the people; Scripture itself says that Moses was like a god to Aaron, and Aaron was a prophet to Moses (see Ex. 7:1). Yet we can imagine what great advantages an older brother must have had in biblical times. And here - a complete renunciation of all advantages, complete submission to the younger brother for the sake of the will of God.

His obedience to the will of the Lord was so great that even sorrow for his beloved sons receded before her. When the fire of God scorched the two sons of Aaron for carelessness in worship, Aaron accepts instruction and humbly agrees with everything; he was even forbidden to mourn for his sons (Lev. 10:1-7). Scripture conveys to us only one small detail, from which the heart is filled with tenderness and sorrow: Aaron was silent(Lev. 10:3).

We have heard about Job, endowed with all the blessings of the earth. Can we appreciate the fullness of his suffering? Fortunately, we do not know by experience what leprosy is, but in the eyes of superstitious pagans it meant much more than just a disease: leprosy was considered a sign that God had abandoned a person. And we see Job alone, abandoned by his people (after all, Tradition says that Job was a king): we are afraid to lose one friend - can we imagine what it means to lose a people?

But the worst thing is that Job did not understand why he was suffering. A person who suffers for Christ or even for the Motherland gains strength in his suffering; he knows its meaning reaching eternity. Job suffered more than any martyr, but he was unable to understand the meaning of his own suffering. This is his greatest sorrow, this is his unbearable cry, which Scripture does not hide from us, does not soften, does not smooth, does not bury under the arguments of Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar, who, at first glance, are quite pious. The answer is given only at the end, and this is the answer of the humility of Job, who bows before the incomprehensibility of God's judgments. And only Job could appreciate the sweetness of this humility. This infinite sweetness was contained in one phrase, which for us became the prerequisite for genuine theology: I have heard about You by ear; now my eyes see you; so I repent and repent in dust and ashes(Job 42:5-6).

So, in every story told by Scripture, many details are hidden, testifying to the depth of suffering and the height of hope of the ancient righteous.

The Old Testament has become far away from us with its ritual prescriptions, which have lost their force in the Church of Christ; he frightens us with the severity of punishments and the severity of prohibitions. But he is also infinitely close to us by the beauty of inspired prayer, the power of immutable hope and unswerving striving for God - despite all the falls that even the righteous were subjected to, despite the inclination to sin of a person who has not yet been healed by Christ. The light of the Old Testament is the light from the depth(Ps. 129:1).

The grace-filled spiritual experience of one of the most famous Old Testament saints, the king and prophet David, has become for us an enduring model of any spiritual experience. These are psalms, the wondrous prayers of David, in every word of which the fathers of the Church of the New Testament found the light of Christ. Saint Athanasius of Alexandria has an amazing idea: if the Psalter shows the most perfect human feelings, and the most perfect Man is Christ, then the Psalter is the perfect image of Christ before His incarnation. This image is revealed in the spiritual experience of the Church.

The apostle Paul says that we are co-heirs of the Old Testament saints, and they did not reach perfection without us(Heb. I, 39-40). This is the great mystery of God's economy, and this reveals our mysterious relationship with the ancient righteous. The Church preserves their experience as an ancient treasure, and invites us to partake of the sacred traditions that tell about the life of the Old Testament saints. We hope that the proposed book, compiled on the basis of the “Cell Chronicler” and “Lives of the Saints, set forth according to the guidance of the Chetikh-Menaias” by St. Demetrius of Rostov, will serve the Church in her holy work of teaching and reveal to the reader the majestic and laborious path of the saints to Christ, saved by Christ .

Maxim Kalinin

Lives of the Saints. Old Testament forefathers

Sunday of the Holy Forefathers happens within the numbers from 11 to 17 December. All the ancestors of the people of God are remembered - the patriarchs who lived before the law given in Sinai and under the law, from Adam to Joseph the Betrothed. Together with them, the prophets who preached Christ, all the Old Testament righteous who were justified by faith in the coming Messiah, and the pious youths are remembered.

ADAM and EVE

After arranging and putting in order all the visible creation above and below and the planting of Paradise, God the Trinity, Father, Son, Holy Spirit, in His Divine council of rivers: Let us make man in Our image and likeness; let him possess the fish of the sea, and the birds of the air, and the wild beasts, and the cattle, and all the earth, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. And God made man(Gen. 1:26-27).

The image of God and likeness is not created in the human body, but in the soul, for God does not have a body. God is an incorporeal Spirit, and He created the human soul incorporeal, similar to Himself, free, reasonable, immortal, participating in eternity and united it with the flesh, as Saint Damascene says to God: having created” (Funeral songs). The Holy Fathers make a distinction between the image and likeness of God in the human soul. St. Basil the Great in the conversation of the 10th Shestodnev, Chrysostom in the interpretation of the book of Genesis in the conversation of the 9th and Jerome in the interpretation of the prophecy of Ezekiel, chapter 28, establish the following difference: the soul receives the image of God from God during its creation, and the likeness of God in her is created in baptism.

The image is in the mind, and the likeness is in the will; image in freedom, autocracy, likeness in virtues.

And God called the name of the first man Adam(Gen. 5:2).

From the Hebrew language, Adam is translated - a man of earth or red, since he was created from red earth. 1
This etymology is based on the consonance of the words ’ādām – “man”,’adōm – “red”,’ădāmā – “earth” and dām – “blood”. - Ed.

This name is also interpreted as a “microcosm”, that is, a small world, for it received its name from the four ends of the great world: from the east, west, north and noon (south). In Greek, these four ends of the universe are referred to as follows: "Anatoli" - east; "disis" - west; "arktos" - north or midnight; "mesimvria" - noon (south). Take away the first letters from these Greek names, and it will be "Adam". And just as the four-pointed world was depicted in the name of Adam, which Adam was to inhabit by the human race, so the four-pointed cross of Christ was also represented in the same name, through which later the new Adam - Christ our God - was to deliver the human race, inhabited at four ends, from death and hell. universe.

The day on which God created Adam, as already mentioned, was the sixth, which we call Friday. On the same day that God created the beasts and cattle, He also created man, who shares feelings with animals. Man with all creation - visible and invisible, material, I say, and spiritual - has something in common. With insensible things he has in common in being, with beasts, cattle and every animal - in feeling, with angels in mind. And the Lord God took the created man and brought him into Paradise, beautiful, filled with indescribable blessings and sweets, irrigated with four rivers of the purest waters; in the midst of it was the tree of life, and he who eats the fruit of it never dies. There was also another tree, called the tree of understanding, or the knowledge of good and evil; it was the tree of death. God, commanding Adam to eat the fruit of every tree, commanded not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil: On the same day, take it down, - he said, - die the death(Gen. 2:17). The tree of life is attention to yourself, for you will not destroy salvation, you will not lose eternal life when you are attentive to yourself. And the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is curiosity, examining the deeds of others, followed by condemnation of the neighbor; condemnation entails the punishment of eternal death in hell: Judge your brother, the Antichrist is(James 4:11-12; 1 John 3:15; Rom. 14:10) 2
This interesting interpretation cannot be applied to the biblical narrative itself, if only because Adam and Eve were the only people on earth. But the very idea that the tree of knowledge is connected with a person's moral choice, and not with some special property of its fruits, has become widespread in patristic interpretations. Having fulfilled the commandment of God not to eat from the tree, a person would know good by experience; by breaking the commandment, Adam and Eve experienced evil and its consequences. - Ed.

Holy forefather ADAM and holy foremother EVE

God made Adam king and ruler over all His creatures, and subjected everything to his power - all the sheep and oxen, and livestock, and the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, so that he would possess them all. And he brought to him every livestock and every bird and beast, meek and submissive, for then the wolf was still like a lamb, and the hawk like a hen, in its own way, without harming one another. And Adam gave them all names such as were appropriate and proper for each animal, coordinating the name of each animal with its true nature and the character that would subsequently arise. For Adam was very wise of God and had the mind of an angel. The wise and good Creator, having created Adam as such, wanted to give him a concubine and loving companionship, so that he would have with whom to enjoy such great blessings, and said: It is not good for man alone, let us make him a helper(Gen. 2:18).

And God brought upon Adam a deep sleep, so that he could see with his spirit what was happening and understand the forthcoming sacrament of matrimony, and especially the union of Christ Himself with the Church; for the mystery of the incarnation of Christ was revealed to him (I speak according to the theologians), since the knowledge of the Holy Trinity was given to him, and he knew about the former angelic fall and about the forthcoming reproduction of the human race from him, and also through God's revelation then comprehended many others sacraments, except for his fall, which by the fate of God was hidden from him. During such a wonderful dream or, better, delight 3
In the Septuagint, Adam's dream is denoted by the word §ta aig-"frenzy, delight." - Ed.

The Lord took one of Adam's ribs and created for him a helper wife, whom Adam, waking up from his sleep, recognized and said: This is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh(Gen. 2:23). Both in the creation of Adam from the earth, and in the creation of Eve from the rib, there was a prototype of Christ's incarnation from the Most Pure Virgin, which St. Chrysostom beautifully explains, saying the following: husbands duty; Adam remained whole after the removal of the fleshly rib, and the Virgin also remained incorruptible after the birth of the Child from Her ”(Word for the Nativity of Christ). In the same creation of Eve from Adam's rib, there was a prototype of the Church of Christ, which was to arise from the perforation of His rib on the Cross. About this Augustine says the following: “Adam sleeps so that Eve can be created; Christ dies, let there be a Church. When Adam slept, Eve was created from a rib; when Christ died, the ribs are pierced with a spear, so that the mysteries by which the Church will be organized will flow out.

Adam and Eve were both created by God in ordinary human growth, as John of Damascus testifies, saying: in the great, another angel, a joint worshiper, bowing to God together with the Angels, the overseer of a visible creature, thinking about secrets, the king of those existing on earth, earthly and heavenly, temporary and immortal, visible and mental, middle majesty (in growth) and humility, and also spiritual and carnal" (John of Damascus. Exact presentation of the Orthodox faith. Book. 2, ch. XII).

Having thus created on the sixth day a husband and wife to stay in Paradise, handing over to them dominion over all creatures of the earth, commanding them to use all the sweets of paradise, except for the fruits from the reserved tree, and blessing their marriage, which later had to be a union of the flesh, for he said: Grow and multiply(Gen. 1:28), the Lord God rested from all His work on the seventh day. But He did not rest as one weary, for God is a Spirit, and how can He be weary? He rested in order to give rest to people from their external affairs and worries on the seventh day, which in the Old Testament was the Sabbath (which means rest), and in the new grace a weekly day (Sunday) was consecrated for this, for the sake of what was on this day Resurrection of Christ.

God rested from works in order not to produce new creations, more perfect than those created, for there was no need for more, since every creature was created, above and below. But God Himself did not rest, and does not rest, and will not rest, containing and governing all creation, which is why Christ in the Gospel said: My Father is doing hitherto, and I am doing(John 5:17). God acts, guiding the heavenly currents, arranging beneficial changes of time, establishing the immovable earth on nothing, and producing from it rivers and sweet water springs for the drinking of every living creature. God acts for the benefit of all not only verbal, but also dumb animals, providing for, preserving, nourishing and multiplying them. God acts, preserving the life and being of every person, faithful and unfaithful, righteous and sinful. About Him, as the Apostle says, we live and move and we(Acts 17:28). And if the Lord God took away His almighty hand from all His creation and from us, then we would immediately perish, and the whole creation would be destroyed. Nevertheless, the Lord does this, without bothering at all, as one of the theologians (Augustine) says: “When he rests, he does, and while he rests.”

The Sabbath day, or the day of God's rest from works, foreshadowed that coming Sabbath on which our Lord Christ rested in the Tomb after the labors of His free suffering for us and the fulfillment of our salvation on the Cross.

But Adam and his wife were both naked in Paradise and were not ashamed (just as little babies are not ashamed today), for they did not yet feel in themselves carnal lust, which is the beginning of shame and about which they still knew nothing at that time, and this is their very thing. dispassion and innocence were like a beautiful garment to them. And what clothing could be more beautiful for them than their pure, virginal, undefiled flesh itself, delighted with heavenly bliss, nourished by heavenly food and overshadowed by the grace of God?

The devil envied such a blessed stay in Paradise and in the form of a serpent deceived them so that they would eat from the fruit from the reserved tree; and Eve tasted first, and then Adam, and both sinned grievously, transgressing the commandment of God. Immediately, having angered their Creator God, they lost the grace of God, recognized their nakedness and understood the enemy's deception, for [the devil] said to them: You will be like Bosi(Gen. 3:5) and lied, being the father of lies(cf. John 8:44). Not only did they not receive a deity, but they also destroyed what they had, for they both lost the inexpressible gifts of God. Unless in this the devil turned out to be, as it were, telling the truth when he said: You will be the leader of good and evil(Gen. 3, 5). Indeed, at that time our first parents only knew how good Paradise and being in it were, when they became unworthy of it and were expelled from it. Truly, good is not so well known that it is good when a person has it in himself, but at the time when he destroys it. Both of them also knew evil, which they did not know before. For they have known nakedness, famine, winter, heat, labor, sickness, passions, sickness, death, and hell; they knew all this when they transgressed the commandment of God.

When their eyes were opened to see and know their nakedness, they immediately began to be ashamed of each other. In the same hour in which they ate the forbidden fruit, immediately from this food they ate, carnal lust was born in them; both of them felt passionate desire in their limbs, and shame and fear seized them, and they began to cover the shame of their bodies with fig leaves. And when they heard the Lord God walking in Paradise at noon, they hid from Him under a tree, for they no longer dared to appear before their Creator, whose commandments they had not kept, and hid from His face, being seized both by shame and great trembling.

God, calling them with His voice and presenting them before His face, after being tested in sin, pronounced His righteous judgment on them, so that they would be expelled from Paradise and feed on the labor of their hands and the sweat of their face: Eve, so that she would give birth to children in illnesses; Adam, so that he cultivates the land that gives birth to thorns and thistles, and to both, so that after long sufferings in this life they die and turn their bodies into the earth, and descend into hellish dungeons in their souls.

Only in that God consoled them greatly, that he revealed to them at the same time about the coming, after a certain time, the Redemption of their human race through the incarnation of Christ. For the Lord, speaking to the serpent about the woman, that her Seed would wipe out his head, predicted to Adam and Eve that the Most Pure Virgin, the consumer of their punishment, would be born from their seed, and Christ would be born from the Virgin, Who would redeem them and the whole human race from slavery with His blood. He will bring the enemy out of hellish bonds and again vouchsafe Paradise and Heavenly villages, but he will trample the head of the devil and erase it completely.

And God drove Adam and Eve out of Paradise and settled him directly opposite Paradise, so that he would cultivate the land from which he was taken. He assigned Cherubim with weapons to guard Paradise, so that no man, beast or devil would enter it.

We begin to count the years of the universe from the time of Adam's expulsion from Paradise, because we do not know at all how long the time during which Adam enjoyed the blessings of Paradise lasted. The time became known to us at which he began to suffer after the exile, and from here the summers got their beginning - when the human race saw evil. Truly, Adam knew good and evil at the time when he lost good, fell into unexpected disasters that he had not experienced before. For, being at first in Paradise, he was like a son in his father's house, without sorrow and labor, being saturated with a ready and rich meal; outside of Paradise, as if expelled from the fatherland, he began to eat bread with tears and sighs in the sweat of his face. His assistant Eve, the mother of all living, began to give birth to children in illnesses.

Most likely, after the expulsion from Paradise, our forefathers, if not immediately, then not in a long time, knew each other carnally and began to give birth to children: this is partly because both of them were created at a perfect age, capable of matrimony, and partly because that natural lust and desire for carnal confusion increased in them after the former grace of God was taken away from them for the transgression of the commandment. In addition, seeing in this world only themselves and knowing, however, that they were created and intended by God in order to give birth and multiply the human race, they wished to see as soon as possible a similar fruit and reproduction of mankind, and therefore they soon came to know themselves carnally. and started giving birth.

When Adam was expelled from Paradise, at first he was not far from Paradise; looking constantly at him with his helper, he wept unceasingly, sighing heavily from the depths of his heart at the memory of the inexpressible heavenly blessings that he had lost and fell into such great suffering for the sake of a small tasting of the reserved fruit.

Although our first parents Adam and Eve sinned before the Lord God and lost their former grace, they did not lose faith in God: they were both filled with the fear of the Lord and love and had the hope of their deliverance given to them in revelation.

God was pleased with their repentance, incessant tears and fasting, with which they humbled their souls for their intemperance in Paradise. And the Lord looked upon them mercifully, listening to their prayers, made out of contrition of heart, and prepared for them forgiveness from Himself, freeing them from sinful guilt, which is clearly seen from the words of the book of Wisdom: Sia(wisdom of God) preserve the original father of the world, and bring him out of his sin, and give him strength to contain all kinds(Win. 10, 1-2).

Our forefathers Adam and Eve, not despairing of the mercy of God, but trusting in His philanthropic kindness, began in their repentance to invent ways of serving God; they began to bow to the east, where Paradise was planted, and pray to their Creator, and also offer sacrifices to God: or from the flocks of sheep, which, according to God, was a type of the sacrifice of the Son of God, who was to be slain, like a lamb, for deliverance the human race; or they offered from the harvest of the field, which was a foreshadowing of the Sacrament in the new grace, when the Son of God, under the guise of bread, had to be offered as a favorable Sacrifice to God His Father for the remission of human sins.

By doing so themselves, they also taught their children to honor God and offer sacrifices to Him, and told them with weeping about the blessings of Paradise, exciting them to achieve the salvation promised to them from God and instructing them in a godly life.

After six hundred years from the creation of the world, when the forefather Adam pleased God with true and deep repentance, he was (according to the testimony of Georgy Kedrin) by God's will from the Archangel Uriel, the prince and guardian of repentant people and intercessor for them before God, a well-known revelation about the incarnation of God from the Most Pure, Unmarried and Ever-Virgin Virgin. If it was revealed about the incarnation, then other mysteries of our salvation were revealed to him, that is, about the free suffering and death of Christ, about the descent into hell and the liberation of the righteous from there, about His three-day stay in the Tomb and the resurrection, and about many other God's mysteries, and also about many things that later had to be, like the corruption of the sons of God of the Sethian tribe, the flood, the future Judgment, and the general resurrection of all. And Adam was filled with a great prophetic gift, and he began to predict the future, raising sinners to the path of repentance, and comforting the righteous with the hope of salvation. 4
Wed: Georgy Kedrin. Synopsis. 17, 18 - 18, 7 (in references to Kedrin's chronicle, the first digit indicates the page number of the critical edition, the second - the line number. References are given by edition: Georgius Cedrenus / Ed. Immanuel Beckerus. T. 1. Bonnae, 1838). This opinion of George Kedrin raises doubts from the point of view of the theological and liturgical Tradition of the Church. The liturgical poetry of the Church emphasizes the fact that the Incarnation is a sacrament “hidden from the ages” and “unknown by an angel” (Theotokion on “God is the Lord” of the 4th tone). St. John Chrysostom said that the Angels fully realized the God-manhood of Christ only during the ascension. The assertion that all the mysteries of Divine Redemption were revealed to Adam contradicts the idea of ​​a gradual communication of Divine revelation to mankind. The mystery of salvation could only be fully revealed by Christ. - Ed.

The holy forefather Adam, who set the first example of both falling and repentance and tearful sobbing, pleasing God with many deeds and labors, when he reached the age of 930, by God's revelation knew his approaching death. Calling his helper Eve, sons and daughters, as well as calling his grandchildren and great-grandchildren, he instructed them to live virtuously, doing the will of the Lord and trying in every possible way to please Him. As the first prophet on earth, he announced the future to them. Having then taught peace and blessings to all, he died the death to which he was condemned by God for the transgression of the commandment. His death befell him on Friday (according to the testimony of St. Irenaeus), on which he had previously transgressed the commandment of God in Paradise, and on the same sixth hour of the day on which he ate the commanded food given to him from the hands of Evin. Leaving behind him many sons and daughters, Adam did good all the days of his life to the entire human race.

How many children were born to Adam, historians speak differently about this. George Kedrin writes that Adam left behind 33 sons and 27 daughters; Cyrus Dorotheus of Monemvasia also affirms the same. The Holy Martyr Methodius, Bishop of Tyre, during the reign of Diocletian in Chalcis (not in Chalcedon, but in Chalcis, for the city of Chalcedon is different, and the city of Chalcis is different, see about it in the Onomasticon), a Greek city that suffered for Christ, in the Roman Martyrology ("Martyr") on the 18th of the month of September, revered (not found in our Saints), tells that Adam had one hundred sons and the same number of daughters born together with his sons, for twins were born, male and female 5
Georgy Kedrin. Synopsis. 18:9-10. - Ed.

The whole human tribe mourned Adam, and they buried him (according to Egisippus) in a marble tomb in Hebron, where the Damascus field, and then the Mamre oak also grew there. There was also that double cave, which Abraham later acquired for the burial of Sarah and himself, having bought it from Ephron during the sons of the Hittites. So, Adam, created from the earth, again returned to the earth, according to the word of the Lord.

Others wrote that Adam was buried where Golgotha ​​is, near Jerusalem; but it is fitting to know that the head of Adam was brought there after the flood. There is a probable account of James of Ephesus, who was Saint Ephraim's teacher. He says that Noah, entering the ship before the flood, took the honest relics of Adam from the tomb and carried them with him to the ship, hoping to be saved by his prayers during the flood. After the flood, he divided the relics between his three sons: he gave the eldest son Shem the most honest part - Adam's forehead - and indicated that he would live in that part of the earth where Jerusalem would later be created. By this, according to God's care and according to the prophetic gift given to him by God, he buried Adam's forehead in a high place, not far from the place where Jerusalem was supposed to arise. Having poured a great grave over his forehead, he called it a “place of the forehead” from the forehead of Adam, buried where later, by His will, our Lord Christ was crucified.

After the death of the forefather Adam, the foremother Eve was still alive; having lived ten years after Adam, she died in 940 from the beginning of the existence of the world and was buried near her husband, from whose rib she was created.