Elder Paisius Svyatogorets: Put question marks after thoughts of suspicion. Is all anger and suspicion a sin? How do superstitions appear and why do we believe in them?

One of the most serious problems of the spiritual life of a believer is the problem of faith. Most people who consider themselves believers have absolutely no faith at all. What drives them in spiritual life? Do they know about it?

Sometimes we do not even suspect how strong the power superstition has over a person in his sinful state. Many, and even, oddly enough, Christians who have been attending church for more than one year do not realize that in their spiritual life they are guided not by faith at all, but by pure superstition.
What is superstition and why modern people believe in them - about this in a conversation with the rector of the temple in honor of the icon of the Mother of God "Satisfy my sorrows" in Saratov, hegumen Nektariy (Morozov).

– Father Nectarios, what is the difference between faith and superstition?

- I would answer with a counter question: what, in fact, is there in common between the one and the other? Almost nothing. After all, faith - even if we are talking about a completely earthly faith, devoid of a religious dimension - in ideals, in principles, in a person, finally, this is what elevates a person, makes him better, fills his life with the necessary content. Belief in God, true faith, not only elevates, but allows a person even here on earth, in time, to be involved in eternal life, in fact, to enter into it. This faith is the key to salvation, unity with God, and the attainment of the Kingdom of Heaven.
And superstition... this is probably also faith... But in what and what kind? In some signs, signs. This faith is vain, that is, unfounded, empty, sometimes ridiculous and absurd, sometimes terrible. And if true faith is the connection of a person with his Creator, then vain faith is a barrier separating from Him.

- How do superstitions appear, and why do we believe in them?

– The reason for the emergence of superstitions is the impoverishment of true faith. A person forgets about God or directly rejects Him, but it turns out that he cannot do without faith at all - this is how the feeling of his own weakness, limitation, and in fact - creaturehood is manifested. And the one who declared his independence from the loving, merciful, but, moreover, omnipotent God, falls into some kind of humiliating dependence on meaningless things. He changes the road if a black cat runs across it, crosses himself when he sees a priest - after all, it’s also a bad omen, he is ready to kill a woman with empty buckets, spits over his left shoulder, knocks on the table so as not to jinx it ... But how many more such nonsense have been invented? Who invented? I think those who hate people the most and would be glad to destroy everyone and everyone, but gain power only over those who voluntarily turn away from the truth.

– Did the biblical man have any superstitions? Are there such examples in the Old or New Testament?

Superstition has been a constant companion of mankind throughout its history. As already mentioned, where there was no true faith, the resulting void of superstition is immediately filled. If we talk about the Old Testament times, then the clearest example of superstition is the worship of the golden calf. And in general, paganism as such is all superstition by its nature from beginning to end.

– Modern society distinguishes hard pragmatism and a fairly high level of education. Is it more or less superstitious today than before?

- I think more. There is less faith, and life is more and more stressful, more difficult, hence the fears, and from fears - the desire to close up, protect yourself from them. And hence - all sorts of superstitions. Hence the passion for all kinds of magicians, psychics and warlocks. Moreover, experience shows that both people with a minimum educational level and those with academic degrees can be equally subject to superstition. Because the point is not in education, but in whether a person lives an inner life, a spiritual life, whether he has sound and correct ideas about God, about temporal and eternal life, about this world, people and about himself.

“We know from history that superstitions have been fought for a long time. So, the Naval Charter of Peter I for religious superstition determined the death penalty, for simple delusion and belief - public church repentance. As you can see, our ancestors clearly realized that religious faith and superstition are completely different concepts. Why are these concepts mixed up today?

– I think that the decades of atheistic power, during which the Russian people were cut off from the Church, from faith as such, are primarily to blame for this. We have fallen into some kind of terrible abyss of spiritual ignorance, and if we get out of it today, then in very small steps, very gradually.

Thoughts off guard

Where did prejudice come from? And why are they so tenacious among the people?

What is the mechanism for spreading rumors? Do you know the famous expression - "one grandmother said"? Here it is the same: one grandmother said one thing, another authoritative grandfather another ... And it began to be passed on from mouth to mouth, gradually turning into a whole unwritten set of legends of old men and old women. But there is a well-known spiritual law: "what the wicked fears," then it will comprehend him. Someone befell, then someone else - and now the "omen" is ready.

“It’s rather strange to watch when a mature person believes in ridiculous things. Spilled salt and broken mirrors torment the lives of many people. And both old women and quite modern people are afraid to pass through the threshold. How to deal with it?

- I think that fighting superstitions as such is not the most promising occupation. It is necessary to fight against the unbelief that gives birth to them. Faith will take its place, and superstitions themselves will disappear. Although in each individual case it is necessary to explain, with patience and love, that a person’s life and the person himself do not depend on any formal and extremely frivolous external signs and will accept that we are all in the hands of God, and not even a hair from a person’s head falls without the will of the Lord to the ground.

- Many prejudices are connected with the magic of numbers: days, numbers and months. There are people who are upset to tears if they come across the 13th place, and if the 13th coincides with Friday, you can generally expect catastrophic things ...

- And yet, wars do not start on schedule, not on Fridays without fail, not on the 13th and not at 13 o'clock ... And crimes are committed on any day of the week and at any time of the day. And people die not according to the “schedule”. What can I say - if a person does not have the fear of God, then he will be afraid of everything - and every number, and every "threatening" set of circumstances, and every rustle, and every shadow ...

Unreasonable "piety"

– Many people who have been attending church for more than a year do not realize that in their spiritual life they are often guided not by faith at all, but by pure superstition. How do superstitions take root in the church environment?

—Unfortunately, not every person, even those who regularly visit the temple, seeks to truly deeply and thoroughly know their faith. Believe me: if a Christian often confesses and takes communion, does not bear the questions that arise in him, but seeks to resolve them with his confessor, if he reads the holy fathers - thoughtfully and seriously - then in his heart, in his life, superstitions will not find ground for themselves . And vice versa…

- Pass a candle in church only with your right hand and over your right shoulder, you cannot rearrange previously placed candles, the sacrament of unction can only be received before death, etc. What is this? Where do such superstitions come from?

- From the same source - "one grandmother said." From among those same “grandmothers” that people who come to the temple for the first time so often complain about. Why did she say? And just because she thought so, she thinks so. A person, who still does not know anything in the Church, often perceives such “revelations” as some kind of secret knowledge, which is very easily accepted by him on faith.

- Even the attitude towards church things (icons, holy water, candles) can become superstitious. A person thoughtlessly relies on some sacred object: a belt, incense, a pendant with the image of a saint, and does not remember God at the same time. Where is the logic?

– The logic is simple: there is no faith, there is hope for some kind of magical power of “special things”, “special prayers”, “real priests”, “correct temples”, etc. and so on.

– The Holy Fathers of the Church called prejudice “devilish pride”. Why were they so categorical?

– Because these very prejudices cripple the soul of a person, stand between him and God, like a wall. They are also an occasion for external critics of the Church to ridicule and slander. And sometimes - a dark dense forest, through which it is difficult for both a reasonable and well-intentioned person who is taking his first steps in church life to get through.

Dangerous games

- It happens that signs come true, and then it is difficult for people to explain that superstition is a delusion ...

- I do not think that the coincidences that happen from time to time should be understood in this way: "omens come true." If a person is attentive to himself, if he is not alien to logic and common sense, then he will definitely see those cause-and-effect relationships that caused this or that event or coincidence. And if there is neither logic nor common sense ... Then, of course, it is hard to convince a person that a black cat and a bad day are not connected in any way.

How to dissuade a superstitious person? And does it need to be done?

- It is definitely necessary to try to dissuade. But this is not always possible. Again, this is not so much a matter of superstition as lack of faith. How close a person is to acquiring true faith, how much it is possible to convince him not to believe in “omens”.

How dangerous are superstitions?

– In addition to the fact that superstition in itself is a rather serious sin - the sin of not only wrong faith, but also essentially distrust of God, it also makes a person make various mistakes. Refuse useful, even necessary, take on something risky, quarrel with loved ones - and all because of some worthless, empty reasons. And this is not enough. A superstitious person is always an easy prey for the devil, an obedient toy in his hands. It is very easy for the enemy of our salvation to confuse and confuse such a person, to fool his head, to destroy his soul. You can say this: superstitions are the strings that he pulls, bringing the one captivated by them to the edge of the abyss.

– Father Nectarios, thank you for the interesting conversation. We hope that our readers were able to find answers to many of their questions.

“A sense of proportion and wisdom should be in everything: in a family dispute, in a dispute between acquaintances about God, and even in religion, because an excessive attitude towards faith is already fanaticism,” says Stavropol priest Alexander Gomzyak.

Controversy about God

Anna Maksimenko, AiF-SK: An atheist is on trial in the region. In social networks, people argued whether there is a God? Viktor Krasnov spoke out against it, and he is accused of publicly insulting the feelings of believers. How does the church feel about this process?

Alexander Gomzyak: The Church has nothing to do with this court, we ourselves learned from the news about this case. None of the victims in the case turned to us for blessing to file a complaint. To believe or not to believe is everyone's business. I do not prove to anyone that God exists. In discussions, if any, on the example of the life of the holy fathers, on their own life examples I'm talking about the fact that there are times when faith in God saves and helps.

But above all, it is necessary to keep a human face in all disputes. Here you did not agree on some issue - argue with each other as much as you want, but you do not need to flaunt these disputes. And if you declare your opinion publicly, a sense of tact and correctness of statements still need to be observed. I think that the excitement in this case will soon pass, and, of course, it is not necessary to put people in jail for atheism.

Do you want my personal opinion? This is an attempt to gain some popularity. Maybe it's done on purpose. At first they “grumbled”, and then they put it all on public display - and now all the attention is only on them. They are the stars, and we give them too much attention, as if there were no other problems.

What do you think are the most pressing issues right now?

People are getting married less. Young people are now thinking something like this: we will first live like this, otherwise we will suddenly not get along in character. But people sin by not trusting each other from the very beginning. So, the relationship is already with a wormhole. It should be like this: I love, I marry, and we will go through all the sorrows together. And it turns out that I will live in such a way that it is convenient only for me. But there are no ideal characters. You have to be patient and give in.

Violence is not allowed. This often happens in families where children grew up in a dysfunctional atmosphere. They then repeat the sin of their parents. We need to talk about this, hold seminars, create programs to work with young people.

But there are also families that do not get divorced because of violence. Pride is to blame, plus there is not enough education. There is no family culture that should be formed in childhood. Parents should show by their good example what a real family is.

All divorced spouses claim that they married for love. And then they blame the character. So, everyone needs to work on themselves. I married for love, and this year we are 20 years old. And if a scandal suddenly ripens, I always say to my mother: “Let's have a fight tomorrow.” And the next day you already forget why you wanted to quarrel. Divorce and scandals hurt children.

Don't cross the line

Now much attention is paid to religious education. Once they forbade faith, but now it feels like it is being imposed ...

The introduction of a religious direction in educational institutions is a necessary measure. We are increasingly confronted with fanaticism. For example, the ISIS organization banned in our country. After all, young people just get there for three reasons: greed (they go because of money), pride (fanatics consider only themselves right) and ignorance (lack of knowledge about the true religion). Therefore, there must be sound thoughts so that this line is not crossed. Beyond this line - a cliff, loss of consciousness and death. Killing a person is not allowed in any religion. The exception is when we defend our Motherland and our family. But even these are extreme measures; with a wise word and a wise answer, entire states can be saved. So we try to work with young people from the school bench.

- They say that this year a priest was assigned to each school in Stavropol ...

Yes. They communicate with teachers, children, inspire them, advise. It's like psychologists. By the way, now many priests have a professional education in psychology.

When the foundations of Orthodox culture were introduced, we were given the opportunity, through priests, through specially trained teachers, to help us study the “pure”, primordial religion, without pseudo-concepts. Our goal is not to dedicate everyone to the faith, the goal is to convey historically reliable information. This is not a sermon, not the imposition of his opinion. In no case! You won't be forced to be nice. Excessive planting of religion can, on the contrary, repel a person.

good eye

Previously, people were happy to collect money for the construction of new temples. But more and more complaints are heard: there are too many churches, bell ringing can be heard in the apartments, and in some churches they even hung speakers ...

People are different, "the good eye sees everything as good, and the evil eye sees everything as evil." I know the story of complaining about bells and loud speaker sermons. We are talking about the temple on the territory of the 4th city hospital. It is located quite far from residential buildings, but the person complained anyway.

Although St. Andrew's Church in the city center is very close to residential buildings, but the residents do not complain. And such cases also happen, but rarely. Do not hang speakers outdoors in densely populated areas. But, for example, at the temple of Sergius of Radonezh on Kulakov Avenue - you can. Every 10 years there are more parishioners, by the way, they are also younger. Therefore, by 2020, 20 new churches will be built in Stavropol. And let there be better temples or schools than drinking establishments.

Talking about the love of money in our time is like describing the heat in summer. July hell torments everyone, you can’t hide from it. There is, of course, salvation from the heat - air conditioners and fans, shade and cold water. But few people love the sun, and love for the "silver" sometimes completely captures the heart. And this can happen even if the "silver" of this is not in the pockets of the lover ...

About what is the sin of love of money, we are talking today with Abbot Nektariy (Morozov).

In modern Russian society, there are many people who live on the verge of poverty. How, in such a situation, is it generally possible to speak of the sin of the love of money?

The sin of the love of money does not lie in the excessive possession of silver, gold, that is, material values, but in love for these very values.

In order to live on earth, a person needs many things: food, clothing, money with which it can be bought. Housing is needed because we cannot live on the street. It happens that expensive medical services and medicines are also needed. And that's not all...

Let's say a person needs surgery. Will there be love in the heart of the operated person for a needle that pricks him into a vein and injects some kind of pain blocking agent, for a scalpel that cuts the skin and allows the surgeon to remove the inflamed appendix? Most likely no. The patient will treat both the needle and the scalpel as necessary and endure. But it is not so at all - with material goods, with money, which can be used to purchase the necessities for life. Love for the material is very dangerous for a person. And very scary - especially since it can be experienced by both a person who has nothing, and vice versa, who has many treasures of this world.

What does "love" mean in this case? This means that in a situation where you are faced with a choice between what you love and duty, honor, mercy, compassion and, most importantly, the desire to be faithful to God, you will choose what you love, this very “silver ". You will not give it to someone who needs it, you will close your heart from someone who is ill, and in order to increase or keep what you have, you will commit this or that betrayal towards God. This is the main harm of the love of money.

Man, of course, is a multifaceted being, but when he is turned to something, it means that he turns away from something else. Appeal to the material necessarily turns away from the spiritual. How such an attitude can manifest itself in a rich person is probably understandable. He has many concerns: how to manage his wealth, how to protect it from those who want to plunder this wealth, how to spend it wisely so as not to completely deplete it, and how to attach something new to it. Naturally, when a person is busy with the process of acquiring or maintaining, he gradually understands that success in this is often associated with some immoral acts. When you have a lot of money, you can easily add more to it by taking it away from someone else who has less and who is unable to defend it. Of course, you can simply earn money, but it is much more difficult than taking it away. Therefore, when a person loves silver, he will most likely take it away. And even if he earns honestly, he will still face a situation of choice: pay or not pay taxes, pay or not a decent salary to the people who work for you, and so on. Of course, if a person loves God more than wealth, if he does not imagine his life without, if not God's laws, then at least the laws of human morality (although today this concept is very vague), he is more likely to be remembered as a kind and fair person. But more often than not, this is not the case. More often, a person who has achieved prosperity is guided in his actions, in his actions, not by love for God and not by moral laws, but by something else.

If a person has nothing, then his love for silver and gold will be similar to the love of a person who is secretly in love with someone, languishing with passion, but cannot approach the object of his desire. He is jealous of everyone who approaches the object of his adoration, suffers terribly from this, suffers, envies, gets angry - his heart turns black from this. And therefore, a person who loves money, but does not have them, may consider that his whole life has failed. He thinks he is unhappy. He just doesn’t know yet that no matter how much money you have, it’s still less than you would like. The thirst for money increases in direct proportion to their number. Therefore, when priests talk about the need to fight against the passion of the love of money, they are talking about exactly this - about the need to fight against the love of what should be just a means to achieve certain goals.

Personally, I am not familiar with rich people, so I will share my impression of those who, in your expression, are in love unrequitedly. It often resembles a disease, a pathology. From people who have been beaten by life, who have suffered severe hardships, from Leningrad blockade survivors - you can’t ask some of them for water on a rainy day ... But people who collect slippers without a pair are also sick with avarice, right?

As for slippers - yes, this is just love of money, like a love for material things that reaches irrationality. Only I do not agree that the painful manifestations of this passion are most often noticeable precisely in those who have experienced some kind of deprivation. On the contrary, often those who have experienced hunger and learned that you can be content with very little in life are more generous than people who lived in abundance. Sometimes it is these people who share not only what they have in abundance, but also what they themselves lack. Petersburg, including besieged Leningrad, has never been a city of greedy people. Although, of course, it also happens that the experienced hardships, suffering lead to a certain breakdown, mental illness, but this is a separate issue ...

There is such an amazing story in Otechnik. Once upon a time, the Monk Abba Daniel, while wandering, stopped in one village, where a man who did not look rich at all approached him and invited him to his house for the night. This man's name was Eulogy, he was a stone cutter - he earned money by hewing stones. He immediately spent what he earned during the day - he bought something he needed for himself, and distributed everything else to the poor, welcomed wanderers. And Evlogius liked the Monk Daniel so much, delighted him so much that the abba began to pray to God that He would grant the stonecutter great blessings that could allow a much larger number of people to do good. The Lord answered: "It is not necessary." But the abba persisted in his request, and then God again answered: “All right, I will fulfill your request, but what follows will fall entirely on your shoulders.” And so Evlogii found a treasure, left for another city, settled in expensive chambers, where not a single poor man and beggar was allowed to be shot at by a cannon. Abba Daniel, who came to visit his friend, was also expelled. Then the monk prayed again and began to ask for forgiveness for his foolish prayer. As a result, the stone cutter lost everything, returned to his village, began to do honest work again and take care of those in need, as before ...

The estate has tremendous power and authority. Here, it would seem, there is nothing - and okay. And something appears, and a person immediately clings to it. You need to be attentive to yourself, to be able to catch the moment when the heart begins to grow together with the estate, and cut this connection. The Lord Himself sends situations when a person can overcome this passion in a natural way, but it happens that this passion is so great that a person rejects everything that God sends ...

But the more you give, the more you get back! However, this should not be taken for granted...

Yes, if a person decides precisely from such motives and with such goals to give to someone what he has, he must be prepared for the fact that this goal may remain unattainable.

- And one more law: if you have 20 kopecks in your pocket, it is much easier to part with them than with twenty rubles.

Yes, because you are already starting to count on them, planning what you will buy with them, and suddenly someone asks you for them ... And it is very difficult to part with them. But! It is not always necessary to part, in fact. The question is who asks, why asks and why asks.

The apostle Paul said that our abundance should serve to make up for someone's lack (2 Cor. 8 , 14). We will be asked not for what we do not have, but for what we have. Yes, there were ascetics who neglected any property so much that, looking at them, it seems that they lived beyond the limits - not only of the universal, but even of the common Christian norm. Eg, righteous Philaret The merciful one distributed everything, and he had a fairly large family, which also needed food. And the members of his family were in the state that they already had to give something. In the end, the Lord returned everything to Saint Philaret a hundredfold: his daughter became the wife of the emperor. There was also such an amazing ascetic, Schema-Archimandrite Vitaly (Sidorenko) from Tbilisi, who constantly distributed everything that he had. At first he lived in a cell in the mountains, and it is clear that he had nothing there. And then he moved to the city, and they gave him a blanket, then shoes, then something else - he gave everything away and cried very much: “I tell them: give it out, give it out! They drag me…” But such feats are out of the ordinary. St. Barsanuphius the Great even has this advice: when someone comes to you and asks you for something, and you yourself need it, you have the right to refuse. Because if a person can part with something and not be tormented, part and not cause inconvenience to his loved ones, who together with him have the right to this property, then you can give it away. If you give the last, you must definitely think about those who are next to you, and about what you will do next. Because if you give the last and go yourself to someone to ask in turn, then this is unlikely to make sense.

But there are, of course, situations in life when it is necessary to give the last. A person with a lively conscience, as a rule, sees and knows this himself.

Many justify the sin of the love of money by the presence of a family and obligations to it. How can a family man, burdened with worries, distinguish where the norm is, and where he is already fond of providing material resources for his children and household?

If a person has a large family, he really must work hard, work hard to provide for it. And this will not be love of money, but the fulfillment of duty in relation to those who depend on this person materially. Another thing is when a person cannot earn as much as he would like, it doesn’t work out for some reason - and he shouldn’t have any sadness from this, you shouldn’t fall into despondency because of this, stop striving for God. Although if children cry from hunger, then you have to break into a cake, and earn money ...

And if the children and the wife want something beyond what is necessary, beyond the essential? Let's say roller skates or a new car? And the head of the family loves them and cannot refuse to satisfy these desires?

In any family, I would advise a husband and wife to decide what “loves” is, how it should be expressed: in acquiring material goods or in being together and experiencing happiness from this - even without skates and a car. Experience happiness from the fact that the spouses are close, understand each other, rejoice in what they have, and tolerate if they do not have something.

The criterion of the norm is the same here. If a person sees that what he would like to have captures and enslaves him, then something is wrong here. Suppose a person seeks the joy of owning something. The life devoted to achieving this turns out to be depleted of positive emotions, peace, and an elementary opportunity to rest. And when the goal is reached, there is no joy. It turns out that a person deceives himself. It's like hanging a carrot in front of the muzzle of a donkey - the faster he chases after it, the faster it will run away from him - as Archimandrite Raphael (Karelin) once very accurately put it in one of his sermons. The desire to possess is insatiable, it cannot be fully satisfied. First you want to have something you need, then you want something better than you have, then you want something better than others, and so on.

It is natural and not reprehensible for a person to wish that he had what he needed, and at the same time - of good quality. But the question is what price to pay for it. It is impossible that this price should be the whole life, the heart of a person, the whole person. Do we buy in order to live, or do we live in order to acquire. The answer puts everything in its place. If a person lives in order to acquire, a substitution has occurred in his heart. The means suddenly became the end, and the end became the means.

Today, the possession of something has become a matter of prestige or decency. If you don't have a cool phone, it's already indecent. And this begins from childhood - if at the time of my growing up we decided questions about the “fitness” of a person in children's competitions, now it all depends on the brand of tablet that dad bought you ... What are the reasons for this phenomenon?

There are many reasons, but the main one is one. Today, the notion of the human person is lost. And not only someone else's, but also their own. A person loses that depth that should be inherent in him, that fullness of life that he should have. In other words, modern man has too little in his soul. And therefore, having nothing to cherish within himself, he tries to make an impression of himself with the help of what he possesses in the material plane. And of course, the one who manages to possess something is conceited about it. And the one who has nothing - and for the soul too - suffers from this: he feels offended, oppressed and offended.

- How to instill in a child the right attitude to things?

It is necessary to give the child something that will be more important for him than property. Something that will allow him to feel like an accomplished person, regardless of whether he has the opportunity to buy a car for his wife or not.

We know people who live in difficult living conditions and who look with envy at the owner of a limousine who doused him with dirty water from a puddle. And these people are unaware that this owner of a limousine, having several million conventional units, suffers and suffers, looking at some oligarch with a football club, an airplane and a yacht. And he is tormented, looking at someone else in the same way ... Probably ...

We know that the mother of all sins is pride. And if we all learned to humbly trust God, then our life would be different ... It seems to me that the love of money is also a relative of many sins. For example, a greedy person cannot be kind. So is it or not?

Initially, a money-loving person can be kind, but gradually, with the development of passion, virtues fade away in him. After all, man is a creature dependent on skill. If we refused to help someone twice, three times, four times, then nothing will gradually remain of our kindness. At first, we suffer - we want to give, but we don’t want to give anymore. Man is so arranged - he tries to minimize his suffering. And so we learn not to give without suffering. To do this, you need to harden your heart, close it so that no one can get through to it. "No one" - not only people, but also God. Why does a person suffer? Because his conscience reproaches him. And this is not only conscience, but also the Guardian Angel, and the Lord Himself, Who knocks at the heart. And in order not to give something to someone, a person must learn not to hear God, not to respond to His call.

Love of money is the sin of not trusting God. Why does a person so feverishly want to acquire something? Because in this he believes hope for his well-being. As long as a person does not hope for an estate, but hopes for the Lord, he is guided by Him in life. And when a person puts property, property at the forefront, then everything changes dramatically, then he gradually becomes a stranger to God.

- And how to deal with greed? After all, to one degree or another, it lives in the heart of each of us ...

The Lord takes care of this, and in a variety of ways. Here we have lost a wallet with money - this is a means to overcome our love of money. Instead of rushing about and worrying about this, one should say: “Well, God teaches me to painlessly part with money.” If we have to give something that would be useful to us, it means that the Lord teaches us both love and the suppression of the passion of greed.

In general, when a person begins to give something, he gradually develops a skill for this, a very important one. St. John Chrysostom said that if it is hard to give what is needed, then one must begin to give at least what is not needed. And the skill will begin to be developed, you will gradually learn to share the latter. But it is important in this case, giving away the unnecessary, not to talk about yourself: how good I am, I’ll stop there, perhaps! There are among Russian officials people - I will not say that all - who are used to taking. And when they need to give something away, the unimaginable begins to happen to them - withdrawal, like a drug addict. I had to observe the feeling of the deepest bewilderment on their faces at such a moment: How so! Give away?! And not to give in order to receive, but just like that. And many are unable to do so. Truth: It's all about skill.

Journal "Orthodoxy and Modernity" No. 26 (42)

Interviewed by Natalya Volkova

LIST OF SINS WITH A DESCRIPTION OF THEIR SPIRITUAL ESSENCE

TABLE OF CONTENTS

About repentance

Sins against God and the Church

Sins towards neighbors

List of deadly sins

Special mortal sins - blasphemy against the Holy Spirit

About the eight main passions with their subdivisions and branches and about the virtues that oppose them (according to the works of St. Ignatius Brianchaninov).

General list of sins

edition
ZADONSK CHRISTMAS-BOGORODITSKY
MONASTERY
2005

About repentance

Our Lord Jesus Christ, who came to call not the righteous, but sinners to repentance (Matthew 9:13), Even in His earthly life He established the sacrament of the forgiveness of sins. The harlot, who washed His feet with tears of repentance, He let go with the words: “Your sins are forgiven… your faith has saved you, go in peace.” (Luke 7:48, 50). The paralytic, brought to Him on the bed, He healed, saying: “Your sins are forgiven ... but so that you know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins,” then he says to the paralytic, “arise, take up your bed and go to your house » (Mt. 9, 2, 6).

He gave this power to the apostles, and they to the priests of the Church of Christ, who have the right to resolve sinful bonds, that is, to free the soul from the sins committed and weighing upon it. If only a person came to confession with a sense of repentance, an awareness of their iniquities and a desire to cleanse the soul from the burden of sin...

This pamphlet is intended to help the penitent: it contains a list of sins compiled on the basis of the "general confession" of St. Demetrius of Rostov.

Sins against God and the Church
* Disobedience to the will of God. Obvious disagreement with the will of God, expressed in His commandments, Holy Scripture, the instructions of the spiritual father, the voice of conscience, reinterpreting the will of God in one’s own way, in a sense favorable to oneself with the aim of self-justification or condemnation of one’s neighbor, delivering one’s own will above the will of Christ, jealousy is not according to reason in ascetic exercises and forcing others to follow oneself, failure to fulfill the promises made to God in previous confessions.

* Murmur at God. This sin is a consequence of distrust of God, which can lead to a complete falling away from the Church, loss of faith, apostasy and theomachism. The opposite virtue to this sin is humility before God's providence for oneself.

* Ingratitude to God. A person often turns to God during periods of trials, sorrows and illnesses, asking to soften or even deliver them from them, on the contrary, during periods of external well-being, he forgets about Him, not realizing that he uses His good gift, does not thank for him. The opposite virtue is constant thanksgiving to the Heavenly Father for the trials, consolations, spiritual joys and earthly happiness He sends.

* Lack of faith, doubt in the truth of Holy Scripture and Tradition (that is, in the dogmas of the Church, its canons, the legitimacy and correctness of the hierarchy, the celebration of divine services, in the authority of the writings of the holy fathers). Renunciation of faith in God out of fear of people and concern for earthly well-being.

Lack of faith is the lack of complete, deep conviction in any Christian truth, or the acceptance of this truth only with the mind, but not with the heart. This sinful state arises on the basis of doubt or lack of zeal for true knowledge of God. Lack of faith is to the heart what doubt is to the mind. It relaxes the heart on the paths of fulfilling the will of God. Confession helps cast out lack of faith and strengthens the heart.

Doubt is a thought that violates (obviously and vaguely) the conviction of the truth of the teachings of Christ and His Church in general and in particular, for example, doubts in the gospel commandments, doubts in dogmas, that is, any member of the Creed, in the holiness of any recognized by the Church a saint or the events of Sacred history celebrated in the Church, in the inspiration of the Holy Fathers; doubt in the veneration of holy icons and the relics of saints, in the invisible Divine presence, in worship and in the sacraments.

In life, you need to learn to distinguish between "empty" doubts raised by demons, environment(the world) and one’s own mind darkened by sin — such doubts must be rejected by an act of will — and real spiritual problems that must be resolved based on complete trust in God and His Church, forcing oneself to complete self-disclosure before the Lord in the presence of a confessor. It is better to confess all doubts: both those that were rejected by the inner spiritual eye, and especially those that were accepted in the heart and gave rise to confusion and despondency there. Thus the mind is purified and enlightened, and faith strengthened.

Doubt may arise on the basis of excessive self-confidence, fascination with other people's opinions, little jealousy for the realization of one's faith. The fruit of doubt is relaxation in following the path of salvation, contradiction to the will of God.

* Passivity(little zeal, lack of diligence) in the knowledge of Christian truth, the teachings of Christ and His Church. Lack of desire (if possible) to read the Holy Scriptures, the works of the holy fathers, to ponder and comprehend the dogmas of faith with the heart, to understand the meaning of worship. This sin arises from mental laziness or an excessive fear of falling into any kind of doubt. As a result, the truths of faith are assimilated superficially, thoughtlessly, mechanically, and in the end, a person's ability to effectively-consciously fulfill the will of God in life is undermined.

* Heresies and superstitions. Heresy is a false doctrine relating to the spiritual world and communion with it, rejected by the Church as being in clear contradiction with Holy Scripture and Tradition. Heresy often leads to personal pride, excessive trust in one's own mind and personal spiritual experience. The reason for heretical opinions and judgments may also be insufficient knowledge of the teachings of the Church, theological ignorance.

* Ritual belief. Adherence to the letter of Scripture and Tradition, attaching importance only to the external side of church life while forgetting its meaning and purpose - these vices are united under the name of ritual belief. Belief in the saving value of only the exact execution of ritual actions in themselves, without regard to their internal spiritual meaning, testifies to the inferiority of faith and a decrease in reverence for God, forgetting that a Christian must "serve God in the renewal of the spirit, and not according to the old letter" (Rom. 7:6). Ritual belief arises from insufficient understanding of good news Christ, but "He gave us the ability to be ministers of the New Testament, not of the letter, but of the spirit, because the letter kills, but the spirit gives life" (2 Cor. 3, 6). Ritual belief testifies to an inadequate perception of the teachings of the Church, which does not correspond to its greatness, or to an unreasonable zeal for service, which does not correspond to the will of God. Ritual belief, quite common among the church people, entails superstition, legalism, pride, division.

* Distrust of God. This sin is expressed in the lack of confidence that the primary cause of all external and internal life circumstances is the Lord, who wants us to be truly good. Distrust of God is caused by the fact that a person has not sufficiently accustomed himself to the Gospel Revelation, has not felt its main knot: voluntary suffering, crucifixion, death and resurrection of the Son of God.

From distrust of God arise such sins as the lack of constant gratitude to Him, despondency, despair (especially in illnesses, sorrows), cowardice in circumstances, fear of the future, vain attempts to insure against suffering and avoid trials, and in case of failure - hidden or obvious grumbling on God and His Providence for oneself. The opposite virtue is the laying of one's hopes and hopes on God, the complete acceptance of His Providence for oneself.

* Lack of fear of God and reverence for Him. Careless, distracted prayer, irreverent behavior in the temple, in front of a shrine, disrespect for the holy dignity.

The lack of memory of a mortal in anticipation of the Last Judgment.

* Small jealousy(or its complete absence) to communion with God, spiritual life. Salvation is fellowship with God in Christ in the eternal future life. Earthly life for the acquisition of the grace of the Holy Spirit, the disclosure of the Kingdom of Heaven in oneself, divinity, divine sonship. The achievement of this goal depends on God, but God will not constantly be with a person if he does not show all his zeal, love, and intelligence in order to draw closer to Him. The whole life of a Christian is directed towards this goal. If you do not have love for prayer as a way of communion with God, for the temple, for participation in the sacraments, then this is a sign of a lack of zeal for communion with God.

In relation to prayer, this manifests itself in the fact that it happens only under compulsion, irregular, inattentive, relaxed, with a careless position of the body, mechanical, limited only by memorized or recited prayers. There is no constant memory of God, love and gratitude to Him as the background of all life.

Possible reasons: insensitivity of the heart, passivity of the mind, lack of proper preparation for prayer, unwillingness to think through and understand with the heart and mind the meaning of the forthcoming prayer work and the content of each forgiveness or doxology.

Another group of reasons: the attachment of the mind, heart and will to earthly things.

In relation to temple worship, this sin manifests itself in rare, irregular participation in public worship, absent-mindedness or conversations during the service, walking around the temple, distracting others from prayer with their requests or remarks, being late for the start of the service and leaving before the dismissal and blessing.

In general, this sin boils down to not feeling the special presence of God in the temple during public worship.

Causes of sin: unwillingness to enter into prayer unity with brothers and sisters in Christ due to the burden of earthly cares and immersion in the vain affairs of this world, powerlessness in the fight against internal temptations sent by spiritually hostile forces that hinder and hold us back from acquiring the grace of the Holy Spirit, and and, finally, pride, unfraternal, unloving attitude towards other parishioners, irritation and bitterness against them.

In relation to the Sacrament of Repentance, the sin of indifference manifests itself in rare confessions without proper preparation, in the preference for a general personal confession in order to go through it more painlessly, in the absence of a desire to deeply know oneself, in an unbroken and unhumble mental disposition, in the absence of determination to leave sin, to eradicate vicious inclinations , to overcome temptations, instead - the desire to belittle sin, justify oneself, keep silent about the most shameful actions and thoughts. Thus committing deceit in the face of the Lord Himself, who accepts confession, a person aggravates his sins.

The reasons for these phenomena are in the misunderstanding of the spiritual meaning of the Sacrament of repentance, in complacency, self-pity, vanity, in the unwillingness to overcome demonic resistance internally.

We sin especially grievously against the Most Holy and Life-Giving Mysteries of the Body and Blood of Christ, approaching Holy Communion rarely and without proper preparation, without first purifying the soul in the Sacrament of Penance; we do not feel the need to partake more often, we do not keep our purity after communion, but again we fall into vanity and indulge in vices.

The reasons for this are rooted in the fact that we do not ponder over the meaning of the highest sacrament of the Church, we do not realize its greatness and our sinful unworthiness, the need to heal the soul and body, we do not pay attention to insensitivity of the heart, we do not realize the influence of fallen spirits nesting in our souls, which they turn us away from communion, and therefore we do not resist, but succumb to their temptation, we do not enter into a fight with them, we do not experience reverence and fear of the presence of God in the Holy Gifts, we are not afraid to partake of the Holy “for judgment and condemnation”, we do not care about the constant fulfillment of the will God in life, inattentive to our hearts, prone to vanity, we approach the Holy Chalice with a hardened heart, not reconciled with our neighbors.

* Self-justification, complacency. Satisfaction with one's spiritual dispensation or state.

* Despair from the spectacle of one's spiritual state and impotence to fight sin. In general, self-assessment of one's own spiritual dispensation and state; the imposition of spiritual judgment on oneself, in contrast to what the Lord Jesus Christ said: “Vengeance is mine, I will repay” (Rom. 12:19).

* Lack of spiritual sobriety constant heartfelt attention, absent-mindedness, sinful oblivion, unreason.

* spiritual pride, attributing to oneself the gifts received from God, the desire for independent possession of any spiritual gifts and energies.

* spiritual fornication, attraction to spirits alien to Christ (occultism, Eastern mysticism, theosophy). True spiritual life is being in the Holy Spirit.

* Frivolous and sacrilegious attitude towards God and the Church: the use of the name of God in jokes, the frivolous mention of shrines, curses with the mention of His name, the pronunciation of the name of God without reverence.

* spiritual individualism, a tendency to isolate in prayer (even during Divine Liturgy), forgetting that we are members of the Catholic (Catholic) Church, members of one mystical Body of Christ, fellow members of each other.

* Spiritual selfishness, spiritual voluptuousness- prayer, participation in the sacraments only for the sake of receiving spiritual pleasures, consolations and experiences.

* Impatience in prayer and others spiritual exploits. This includes failure to fulfill the prayer rule, breaking fasts, eating at the wrong time, leaving the temple prematurely without a particularly good reason.

* Consumer attitude towards God and the Church, when there is no desire to give something to the Church, to work somehow for her. Prayer asking for worldly success, honors, satisfaction of selfish desires and material wealth.

* spiritual greed, lack of spiritual generosity, the need to convey to the neighbors the grace received from God with a word of consolation, sympathy, service to people.

* Lack of constant concern for the fulfillment of the will of God in life. This sin manifests itself when we do serious things without asking God's blessing, without consulting and asking for blessings from a spiritual father.

Sins towards neighbors

* Pride, exaltation over one's neighbor, arrogance, "demonic stronghold" (this most dangerous of sins is considered separately and in detail below).

* Condemnation. The tendency to notice, remember and name other people's shortcomings, to make a clear or internal judgment on one's neighbor. Under the influence of condemnation of one's neighbor, which is not always noticeable even for oneself, a distorted image of him is formed in the heart. This image then serves as an internal justification for dislike for this person, a scornfully evil attitude towards him. In the process of repentance, this false image must be crushed and, on the basis of love, the true image of each neighbor must be recreated in the heart.

* Anger, irritability, grumpiness. Can I control my outbursts of anger? Do I allow swear words, curses in quarrels with my neighbors, in raising children? Will I use foul language in normal conversation (to be "like everyone else")? Is there any rudeness, rudeness, arrogance, malicious mockery, hatred in my behavior?

* Unmercifulness, uncompassionateness. Am I responding to requests for help? Are you ready for self-sacrifice, almsgiving? Is it easy to lend things, money? Do I reproach my debtors? Am I rudely and persistently demanding the return of what I borrowed? Do I brag to people about my sacrifices, almsgiving, helping others, expecting approval and earthly rewards? Was he stingy, afraid of not getting what he asked for back?

Works of mercy should be done in secret, for we do them not for the sake of human glory, but for the love of God and neighbor.

* Resentment, unforgiveness of insults, vindictiveness. Excessive demands on others. These sins contradict both the spirit and the letter of the gospel of Christ. Our Lord teaches us to forgive our neighbor sins against us up to seventy times seven. Without forgiving others, taking revenge on them for their offense, keeping in mind the evil against another, we cannot hope for the forgiveness of our own sins by the Heavenly Father.

* self-isolation, alienation from other people.

* Disregard for others, indifference. This sin is especially terrible in relation to parents: ingratitude towards them, callousness. If parents have died, do we forget to remember them in prayer?

* Vanity, ambition. We fall into this sin when we are conceited, flaunting our talents, spiritual and bodily, mind, education, and when we demonstrate our superficial spirituality, ostentatious churchliness, imaginary piety.

How do we treat members of our family, people with whom we often meet or work? Can we tolerate their weaknesses? Are we often irritated? Are we arrogant, touchy, intolerant of other people's shortcomings, other people's opinions?

* curiosity, desire to be the first, to command. Do we love to be served? How do we treat people who depend on us at work and at home? Do we love to rule, to insist on doing our will? Don't we have a tendency to interfere in other people's affairs, in someone else's private life with persistent advice and instructions? Don't we tend to leave the last word for ourselves, just to disagree with the opinion of another, even if he is right?

* human-pleasing- this is the reverse side of the sin of arrogance. We fall into it, wanting to please another person, afraid of embarrassing ourselves in front of him. From human pleasing, we often do not expose the obvious sin, we participate in a lie. Have we not indulged in flattery, that is, a feigned, exaggerated admiration for a person, trying to get his goodwill? Have we not adapted to other people's opinions, tastes for our own benefit? Have you ever been deceitful, dishonest, two-faced, unscrupulous in your work? Didn't they betray people, saving themselves from trouble? Did they place their blame on others? Did they keep other people's secrets?

Pondering into his past, a Christian preparing for confession should remember all the evil that he voluntarily or involuntarily committed towards his neighbors.

Was it not the cause of grief, someone else's misfortune? Did he destroy the family? Is he guilty of adultery and did he push another to this sin by pandering? Did he take upon himself the sin of killing an unborn child, did he not contribute to this? These sins should be repented only in personal confession.

Was he not prone to obscene jokes, anecdotes, immoral allusions? Didn't he offend the shrine of human love with cynicism and abuse?

* Peace breaking. Do we know how to keep peace in the family, in communication with neighbors, co-workers? Do we allow ourselves slander, condemnation, evil ridicule? Are we able to curb our tongue, are we not chatty?

Are we not showing an idle, sinful curiosity about the lives of other people? Are we attentive to the needs and concerns of people? Do we close ourselves in, in our supposedly spiritual problems, turning away people?

* Envy, malevolence, malevolence. Didn't you envy someone else's success, position, dispensation? Didn't you secretly wish failure, failure, a sad outcome for other people's affairs? Didn't you openly or secretly rejoice at someone else's misfortune, failure? Have you incited others to evil deeds while remaining outwardly innocent? Have you ever been overly suspicious, seeing only the bad in everyone? Did he not point out to one person the vice (obvious or imaginary) of another person in order to quarrel them? Did he abuse the trust of his neighbor by revealing to others his shortcomings or sins? Did you spread gossip that defames the wife in front of her husband or the husband in front of his wife? Did his behavior cause jealousy of one of the spouses and anger against the other?

* Resist evil against yourself. This sin manifests itself in a clear resistance to the offender, in retribution with evil for evil, when our heart does not want to bear the pain inflicted on him.

* Failure to help the neighbor, offended, persecuted. We fall into this sin when, out of cowardice or misunderstood humility, we do not stand up for the offended, we do not expose the offender, we do not testify to the truth, we allow evil and injustice to triumph.

How do we endure the misfortune of our neighbor, do we remember the commandment: "Carry one another's burdens"? Are you always ready to help, sacrificing your peace and well-being? Are we leaving our neighbor in trouble?

Sins against oneself and other sinful inclinations contrary to the spirit of Christ

* Sadness, despair. Have you given in to despondency, despair? Have you thought about suicide?

* Bad faith. Do we force ourselves to serve others? Do we sin by dishonest performance of our duties in work, upbringing of children; whether we keep our promises to people; Do we not introduce people into temptations by being late to the meeting place or to the house where they are waiting for us, by forgetfulness, optionality, frivolity?

Are we careful at work, at home, in transport? Do we scatter in work: forgetting to finish one thing, we move on to another? Are we strengthening ourselves in the intention to serve others?

* bodily excesses. Didn't he destroy himself with excesses according to the flesh: overeating, eating sweets, gluttony, eating at the wrong time?

Have you abused your inclination to bodily peace and comfort, sleeping a lot, staying in bed after waking up? Have you indulged in laziness, immobility, lethargy, relaxation? Are you addicted to a certain way of life so that you do not want to change it for the sake of your neighbor?

Isn't he sinful of drunkenness, this most terrible of modern vices, destroying the soul and body, bringing evil and suffering to others? How do you deal with this vice? Do you help your neighbor to get away from him? Did he not seduce the non-drinker with wine, did he not give wine to the minor and the sick?

Is he not addicted to smoking, which also destroys health? Smoking distracts from spiritual life, a cigarette replaces prayer for a smoker, displaces the consciousness of sins, destroys spiritual chastity, serves as a temptation for others, harms their health, especially children and adolescents. Didn't use drugs?

* sensual thoughts and temptations. Have we struggled with sensual thoughts? Have you avoided the temptations of the flesh? Did they turn away from seductive spectacles, conversations, touches? Have they not sinned by intemperance of spiritual and bodily feelings, pleasure and slowness in impure thoughts, voluptuousness, immodest glance at persons of the opposite sex, self-desecration? Do we not recall with delight our former sins of the flesh?

* Peacefulness. Are we not sinning by catering to human passions, mindlessly following the way of life and behavior accepted among the people around us, including those that exist in the church environment, but not imbued with the spirit of love, pretending to portray piety, falling into hypocrisy, hypocrisy?

* Disobedience. Do we sin by disobedience to parents, elders in the family, bosses at work? Do we not follow the advice of our spiritual father, do we evade the penance imposed on us by him, this spiritual medicine that heals the soul? Do we suppress the pangs of conscience in ourselves by not fulfilling the law of love?

* Idleness, wastefulness, attachment to things. Are we wasting our time? Are we using our God-given talents for good? Are we wasting money for ourselves and others without benefit?

Are we not sinning with an addiction to the comforts of life, are we not attached to perishable material things, do we accumulate excessively, “for a rainy day”, food products, clothes, shoes, luxurious furniture, jewelry, thereby not trusting God and His Providence, forgetting that tomorrow we can stand before His judgment?

* money-grubbing. We fall into this sin when we are excessively carried away by the accumulation of perishable riches or by seeking human glory in work, in creativity; when, under the pretext of being busy, we refuse to pray and visit the temple even on Sundays and holidays, we indulge in much concern, vanity. This leads to captivity of the mind and petrification of the heart.

We sin in word, deed, thought, all five senses, knowledge and ignorance, willingly and unwillingly, in reason and unreason, and there is no way to enumerate all our sins according to their multitude. But we truly repent of them and ask for grace-filled help to remember all our sins, forgotten and therefore unrepentant. We promise to continue to guard ourselves with the help of God, to avoid sin and to do works of love. You, Lord, forgive us and forgive us from all sins by Your mercy and long-suffering, and bless us to partake of Your Holy and Life-Giving Mysteries not for judgment and condemnation, but for the healing of soul and body. Amen.

List of deadly sins

1. Pride, despising all, demanding servility from others, ready to ascend to heaven and become like the Most High; in a word, pride to the point of self-adoration.

2. Unsatisfied soul, or Judas's greed for money, connected for the most part with unrighteous acquisitions, which does not give a person even a minute to think about spiritual things.

3. Fornication, or the dissolute life of the prodigal son, who squandered all his father's estate on such a life.

4. Envy, leading to every possible evil deed to the neighbor.

5. Gluttony, or fleshly pleasure, not knowing any fasts, combined with a passionate attachment to various amusements, following the example of the gospel rich man, who rejoiced all day long.

6. Anger uncompromising and resolving on terrible destruction, following the example of Herod, who in his anger beat the Bethlehem babies.

7. Sloth, or perfect carelessness about the soul, negligence about repentance until the last days of life, as, for example, in the days of Noah.

Special mortal sins - blasphemy against the Holy Spirit

These sins include:

stubborn disbelief, not convinced by any evidence of the truth, even by obvious miracles, rejecting the most learned truth.

Despair, or the opposite of excessive hope in God, a feeling in relation to the mercy of God, which denies paternal goodness in God and leads to thoughts of suicide.

Over-reliance on God or the continuation of a gravely sinful life in the sole hope of God's mercy.

Deadly sins that cry out to heaven for vengeance

* In general, deliberate homicide (abortion), and in particular patricide (fratricide and regicide).

* Sodom sin.

* Vain oppression of a poor, defenseless person, a defenseless widow and young orphans.

* Withholding from the wretched worker his well-deserved wages.

* Taking away from a person in his extreme position the last piece of bread or the last mite, which he obtained with sweat and blood, as well as the forcible or secret appropriation of alms, food, warmth or clothing from those imprisoned in prison, which are determined by him, and generally their oppression.

* Grief and resentment to parents to their impudent beatings.

Of the eight major passions with their subdivisions
and branches and the virtues that oppose them
(according to the works of St. Ignatius Brianchaninov)

1. gluttony- gluttony, drunkenness, non-keeping and permission of fasts, secret eating, delicacy, generally violation of abstinence. Wrong and excessive love of the flesh, its belly and rest, from which self-love is made, from which comes the non-keeping of fidelity to God, the Church, virtue and people.

This passion must be resisted. abstinence - restraint from excessive consumption of food and food, especially from excessive consumption of wine, keeping the fasts established by the Church. One must bridle one's flesh with a moderate and constantly uniform use of food, which is why all passions begin to weaken in general, and especially self-love, which consists in wordless love of the flesh, life and its peace.

2. fornication- fornication kindling, fornication sensations and positions of the soul and heart. Prodigal dreams and captivity. Failure to keep the senses, especially the sense of touch, which is an insolence that destroys all virtues. Cursing and reading voluptuous books. Fornication sins are natural: fornication and adultery. Fornication sins are unnatural.

This passion is resisted chastity - avoidance of all kinds of fornication. Chastity is the avoidance of voluptuous conversations and reading, from the pronunciation of voluptuous, nasty and ambiguous words. The storage of the senses, especially sight and hearing, and even more touch. Alienation from TV and depraved films, depraved newspapers, books and magazines. Modesty. Rejection of thoughts and dreams of prodigal. The beginning of chastity is the mind that does not waver from lustful thoughts and dreams; the perfection of chastity is purity that sees God.

3. love of money- love of money, in general, love of property, movable and immovable. Desire to get rich. Reflection on the means to enrichment. Dream of wealth. Fears of old age, sudden poverty, sickness, exile. Avarice. Greed. Unbelief in God, distrust of His Providence. Addiction or painful excessive love for various perishable objects, depriving the soul of freedom. Passion for vain cares. Loving gifts. Appropriation of someone else. Likhva. Hardness of heart to the poor brethren and to all those in need. Theft. Robbery.

Fight this passion non-acquisitiveness - self-satisfaction with one necessary thing, hatred of luxury and bliss, mercy to the poor. Non-acquisitiveness is the love of gospel poverty. Trust in God's Providence. Following Christ's commandments. Calmness and freedom of spirit and carelessness. Softness of the heart.

4. Anger- temper, acceptance of angry thoughts: dreaming of anger and revenge, indignation of the heart with rage, clouding the mind with it; obscene shouting, argument, swearing, cruel and caustic words; hitting, pushing, killing. Remembrance, hatred, enmity, revenge, slander, condemnation, indignation and resentment of one's neighbor.

The passion of anger resists meekness — evasion from angry thoughts and from the indignation of the heart with rage. Patience. Following Christ, calling His disciple to the cross. Peace of the heart. Silence of the mind. Firmness and courage are Christian. Not feeling insulted. Kindness.

5. sadness- grief, longing, cutting off hope in God, doubt in the promises of God, ungratefulness to God for everything that happens, cowardice, impatience, not self-reproach, sorrow for one's neighbor, grumbling, renunciation of the cross, an attempt to get off it.

With this passion they fight, opposing it blissful lamentation — a feeling of a fall, common to all people, and of one's own spiritual poverty. Lamentation about them. Cry of the mind. Painful contusion of the heart. The lightness of conscience that vegetates from them, grace-filled consolation and joy. Hope for the mercy of God. Thanksgiving to God in sorrows, their humble bearing from the sight of many of their sins. Willingness to endure.

6. Despondency- laziness in every good deed, especially in prayer. Abandonment of church and private rules. Abandoning unceasing prayer and soulful reading. Inattention and haste in prayer. Neglect. Irreverence. Idleness. Excessive comfort with sleep, lying down and all kinds of languor. Idle talk. Jokes. Blasphemy. Leaving bows and other bodily feats. Forgetting your sins. Forgetfulness of the commandments of Christ. Negligence. Captivity. Deprivation of the fear of God. Bitterness. Insensibility. Despair.

Despondency resists sobriety — diligence in every good deed. Non-lazy correction of the church and private rules. Attention in prayer. Careful observation of all deeds, words, thoughts

and with your feelings. Extreme self-doubt. Unceasing stay in prayer and the Word of God. Awe. Constant vigilance over yourself. Keeping oneself from much sleep and effeminacy, idle talk, jokes and sharp words. Love of night vigils, bows and other feats that bring vigor to the soul. Remembrance of eternal blessings, desire and expectation of them.

7. Vanity— the search for the glory of man. Boasting. Desire and search for earthly and vain honors. Love of beautiful clothes. Attention to the beauty of your face, the pleasantness of your voice and other qualities of the body. Shame to confess your sins. Hiding them before people and the spiritual father. Craftiness. Self-justification. Envy. Humiliation of the neighbor. Change of temper. Indulgence. Unscrupulousness. The temper and life are demonic.

Fighting with vanity humility . This virtue includes the fear of God. Feeling it while praying. Fear that is born during especially pure prayer, when the presence and majesty of God are especially strongly felt, so as not to disappear and turn into nothing. Deep knowledge of your insignificance. A change in the outlook on neighbors, and they, without any coercion, seem to the resigned person to be superior to him in every respect. The manifestation of innocence from living faith. Knowledge of the sacrament hidden in the Cross of Christ. The desire to crucify oneself to the world and passions, the desire for this crucifixion. Rejection of earthly wisdom as indecent before God (Lk. 16:15). Silence before those who offend, studied in the Gospel. Putting aside all one's own thoughts and accepting the gospel mind. Deposition of every thought that rises against the mind of Christ. Humility or spiritual reasoning. Conscious obedience to the Church in everything.

8. Pride- contempt for others. Preferring yourself to everyone. audacity; obscuration, debility of the mind and heart. Nailing them to the earth. Hula. Disbelief. False mind. Disobedience to the Law of God and the Church. Follow your carnal will. Abandoning Christ-like humility and silence. Loss of simplicity. Loss of love for God and neighbor. False philosophy. Heresy. Irreligion. Ignorance. Death of the soul.

Pride Opposes Love . The virtue of love includes the change during prayer of the fear of God into the love of God. Loyalty to the Lord, proven by the constant rejection of every sinful thought and feeling, The indescribable, sweet attraction of the whole person to love for the Lord Jesus Christ and for the worshiped Holy Trinity. Vision, in the neighbors of the image of God and Christ; the preference for oneself of all one's neighbors arising from this spiritual vision, their reverent reverence for the Lord. Love for neighbors, brotherly, pure, equal to all, joyful, impartial, flaming equally towards friends and enemies. Rapture into prayer and love of the mind, heart and whole body. Inexpressible pleasure of the body with spiritual joy. Inactivity of bodily senses during prayer. Resolution from the silence of the heart tongue. Cessation of prayer from spiritual sweetness. Silence of the mind. Enlightenment of the mind and heart. Prayer power that overcomes sin. Peace of Christ. Retreat of all passions. The absorption of all minds by the superior mind of Christ. Theology. Knowledge of incorporeal beings. The weakness of sinful thoughts that cannot be depicted in the mind. Sweetness and abundant consolation during sorrows. Vision of human arrangements. The depth of humility and the most humble opinion of oneself ... The end is endless!

General list of sins

I confess, I am sinful (name) Lord God and Savior our Jesus Christ and you, honest father, all my sins and all my evil deeds, which I have done all the days of my life, which I have thought even to this day.

Sinned: He did not keep the vows of holy Baptism, but he lied in everything and made himself indecent before the face of God.