Often using the word “sin” in his vocabulary, he does not always fully understand its interpretation. As a result, the term is used for other purposes, gradually losing its true content. Nowadays, sin is perceived as something forbidden, but at the same time attractive. Having committed it, people boast, proud of their act in the “bad boy” style, gaining popularity and a scandalous reputation with its help. Such individuals do not realize: in fact, even the slightest sins in Orthodoxy are something for which each of us will suffer heavy and eternal punishment after death.

What is sin?

Religion interprets it differently. It is usually believed that sins in Orthodoxy are states of the human soul that are diametrically opposed to morality and honor. By committing them, he goes against his true nature. The famous theologian John of Damascus, who lived in Syria in the 7th century, for example, wrote that sin is always a voluntary deviation from spiritual rules. That is, it is almost impossible to force a person to do something immoral. Yes, of course, he can be threatened with weapons or reprisals against his loved ones. But the Bible says that even in the face of real danger, he always has the right to choose. Sin is a wound that a believer inflicts on his own soul.

According to another theologian, Alexei Osipov, any offense is a consequence of the fall of mankind. However, unlike original wickedness, in the modern world we take full responsibility for our mistakes. Each individual is obliged to fight the craving for the forbidden, to overcome it by all means, the best of which, as Orthodoxy claims, is confession. The list of sins, their immoral content and retribution for what they have done - teachers are required to talk about this even in elementary grades during theology lessons, so that children from an early age understand the essence of this evil and know how to fight it. In addition to sincere confession, another way to atone for one’s own immorality is sincere repentance, prayer and a complete change in the way of life. The Church believes that without the help of priests it is not always possible to overcome sinfulness, therefore a person should regularly visit the temple and communicate with his spiritual mentor.

Deadly sins

These are the most serious human vices, which can only be redeemed through repentance. Moreover, this must be done exclusively from the heart: if an individual doubts that he will be able to live in accordance with the new spiritual rules, then it is better to postpone this process until the moment when the soul is completely ready. In another case, confession is considered evil, and lying can be punished even more. The Bible states that for mortal sins the soul is deprived of the opportunity to go to heaven. If they are very heavy and terrible, then the only place that “shines” for a person after death is hell with its pitch darkness, hot frying pans, seething fiery cauldrons and other devilish paraphernalia. If the offenses are isolated and accompanied by repentance, the soul goes to purgatory, where it gets a chance to cleanse itself and reunite with God.

How many especially serious offenses does religion provide for? It is known that when analyzing mortal sins, Orthodoxy always gives a different list. In various versions of the Gospel you can find a list of 7, 8 or 10 points. But traditionally it is believed that there are only seven of them:

1. Pride is contempt for one's neighbor. Leads to darkening of the mind and heart, denial of God and loss of love for him.
2. Greed or love of money. This is the desire to acquire wealth in any way, which gives rise to theft and cruelty.
3. Fornication is adultery itself or thoughts about it.
4. Envy is the desire for luxury. Leads to hypocrisy and humiliation of one's neighbor.
5. Gluttony. Shows excessive self-love.
6. Anger - thoughts of revenge, anger and aggression, which can lead to murder.
7. Laziness, which gives rise to despondency, sadness, sorrow and murmuring.

These are the main mortal sins. Orthodoxy never modifies the list, since it believes that there is no greater evil than the above-described vices. After all, they are the starting point for all other sins, including murder, assault, theft, and so on.

Pride

This is too high a person's self-esteem. He begins to consider himself the best and most worthy. It is clear that it is necessary to develop individuality, unusual abilities and genius talents. But placing one’s “I” on an unjustified pedestal of honor is real pride. Sin leads to an inadequate assessment of oneself and making other fatal mistakes in life.

It differs from ordinary pride in that a person begins to boast of his qualities before God himself. He develops the confidence that he himself is capable of achieving heights without the help of the Almighty, and his talents are not a gift from Heaven, but exclusively personal merit. The individual becomes arrogant, ungrateful, arrogant, inattentive to others.

In many religions, sin is considered the mother of all other vices. And this is true. A person affected by this spiritual illness begins to adore himself, which leads to laziness and gluttony. In addition, he despises everyone around him, which invariably leads him to anger and greed. Why does pride arise? Sin, Orthodoxy claims, becomes a consequence of improper upbringing and limited development. It is difficult to rid a person of vice. Usually higher powers give him a test in the form of poverty or physical injury, after which he either becomes even more evil and proud, or is completely cleansed of the wicked state of the soul.

Greed

The second most serious sin. Vanity is a product of greed and pride, their common fruit. Therefore, these two vices are the foundation on which a whole bunch of immoral character traits grow. As for greed, it manifests itself in the form of an indomitable desire to receive a lot of money. The people whom she touched with her icy hand stop spending their finances even on what is necessary, they accumulate wealth contrary to common sense. Apart from a way to earn money, such individuals do not think about anything else. It is from the seeds of greed that such vices of the human soul as greed, self-interest and envy sprout. They are the reason that the entire history of mankind is drenched in the blood of innocent victims.

In our time, greed continues to occupy a leading position in the sinful hierarchy. The popularity of loans, financial pyramids and business trainings confirms the sad fact that the meaning of life for many people is enrichment and luxury. Greed is going crazy over money. Like any other insanity, it is destructive to the individual: the individual spends the best years of his life not on searching for himself, but on the endless accumulation and increase of capital. Often he decides to commit a crime: theft, fraud, corruption. To overcome greed, a person needs to understand that true happiness is within him, and it does not depend on material wealth. The counterbalance is generosity: give part of what you earn to those in need. This is the only way to cultivate the ability to share benefits with other people.

Envy

Considering the 7 deadly sins, Orthodoxy calls this vice one of the most terrible. Most of the crimes in the world are committed based on envy: people rob neighbors just because they are richer, kill acquaintances who are in power, plot against friends, angry at their popularity with the opposite sex... The list is endless. Even if envy does not become an impetus for misconduct, it will invariably provoke the destruction of a person’s personality. For example, an individual will drive himself into a premature grave, tormenting his soul with a distorted perception of reality and negative emotions.

Many people reassure themselves that their envy is white. They say that they appreciate the achievements of a loved one, which becomes an incentive for personal growth for them. But if you face the truth, no matter how you paint this vice, it will still be immoral. Black, white or multi-colored envy is a sin, because it involves your desire to conduct a financial inspection in someone else's pocket. And sometimes you take over something that doesn’t belong to you. To get rid of this unpleasant and spiritually devouring feeling, you need to realize: other people's benefits are always superfluous. You are a completely self-sufficient and strong person, so you can find your place in the sun.

Gluttony

The word is old and beautiful. It also directly points to the essence of the problem. Gluttony is serving one’s body, worshiping earthly desires and passions. Just think how disgusting a person looks, in whose life the main place is occupied by a primitive instinct: satiation of the body. The words “belly” and “animal” are related and similar in sound. They came from the Old Slavonic source code alive- “alive”. Of course, in order to exist, an individual must eat. But we should remember: we eat to live, and not vice versa.

Gluttony, greed for food, satiety, eating large quantities of food - all this is gluttony. Most people do not take this sin seriously, believing that the love of goodies is their slight weakness. But one has only to look at it on a more global scale, how the vice becomes ominous: millions of people on Earth are dying of hunger, while someone, without shame or conscience, stuffs their belly to the point of nausea. Overcoming gluttony is often difficult. You will need iron willpower to strangle the baser instincts within yourself and limit yourself in food to the necessary minimum. Strict fasting and giving up your favorite delicacies help to cope with gluttony.

Fornication

Sins in Orthodoxy are the base desires of a weak-willed person. The manifestation of sexual activity, which is not carried out in a marriage blessed by the church, is considered fornication. This can also include infidelity, various kinds of intimate perversions and promiscuity. The most important thing is that this is only the physical shell of what is actually gnawing at the brain. After all, it is the gray matter, its imagination and the ability to fantasize that sends impulses that push a person to an immoral act. Therefore, in Orthodoxy, fornication is also considered viewing pornographic materials, listening to obscene jokes, obscene remarks and thoughts - in a word, everything from which bodily sin itself is born.

Many people often confuse fornication with lust, considering them to be the same concept. But these are slightly different terms. Lust can also manifest itself in a legal marriage, when the husband rightfully desires his wife. And this is not considered a sin; on the contrary, it is encouraged by the church, which considers such a connection necessary for the continuation of the human race. Fornication is an invariable deviation from the rules preached by religion. When talking about it, they often use the expression “sin of Sodom.” In Orthodoxy, this term refers to an unnatural attraction to persons of the same sex. It is often impossible to get rid of a vice without the help of experienced psychologists, and also due to the lack of a strong inner core within a person.

Anger

It would seem that this is the natural state of a person... We get angry or indignant for various reasons, but the church condemns this. If you look at the 10 sins in Orthodoxy, this vice does not look like such a terrible offense. Moreover, the Bible even often uses such a concept as righteous anger - energy given by God aimed at solving problems. An example is the confrontation between Paul and Peter. The latter, by the way, gave the wrong example: the angry lamentation of David, who heard from the prophet about injustice, and even the indignation of Jesus, who learned about the desecration of the temple. But please note: none of the mentioned episodes refers to self-defense; on the contrary, they all imply the protection of other people, society, religion, and principles.

Anger becomes a sin only when it has selfish motives. In this case, Divine goals are distorted. It is also condemned when it is prolonged, so-called chronic. Instead of generating indignation into energy, we begin to enjoy it, allowing anger to subjugate us. Of course, in this case the most important thing is forgotten - the goal that needs to be achieved with the help of anger. Instead, we focus on the person and the uncontrollable aggression towards him. To cope with it, you must in any case respond with good to any evil. This is the key to transforming anger into true love.

Laziness

More than one page is devoted to this vice in the Bible. Parables are filled with wisdom and warnings, saying that idleness can destroy any individual. There should be no place for idleness in the life of a believer, because it violates God’s purpose - good deeds. Laziness is a sin, because a non-working person is not able to provide for his family, support the weak, or help the poor. Instead, work is a tool with which you can get closer to God and cleanse your soul. The main thing is to work for the benefit not only of yourself, but of all people, society, the state and the church.

Laziness can turn a full-fledged personality into a limited animal. Lying on the couch and living at the expense of others, a person becomes an ulcer on the body, a creature sucking blood and vitality. To free yourself from laziness, you need to realize: without effort you are a weakling, a universal laughing stock, a creature of low rank, not a person. Of course, we are not talking about those people who, due to certain circumstances, cannot work fully. This refers to vigorous, physically healthy individuals who have every opportunity to benefit society, but ignore them due to a morbid tendency to idleness.

Other terrible sins in Orthodoxy

They are divided into two large groups: vices that bring harm to one’s neighbor, and those that are directed against God. The first includes such atrocities as murder, beatings, slander, and humiliation. The Bible teaches us to love our neighbor as ourselves, and also to forgive the guilty, honor our elders, protect our younger ones, and help those in need. Always keep your promises on time, appreciate the work of others, raise children according to the canons of the Christian faith, protect plants and animals, do not judge for mistakes, forget about hypocrisy, slander, jealousy and ridicule.

Sins in Orthodoxy against God imply failure to fulfill the will of the Lord, ignoring the commandments, lack of gratitude, superstition, turning to magicians and fortune-tellers for help. Try not to pronounce the name of the Lord unless necessary, do not blaspheme or complain, learn not to sin. Instead, read the Holy Scriptures, go to temple, pray sincerely, become spiritually enriched and read everything

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Sin translated from Greek means “missing, missing the target.” But a person has one goal - the path to spiritual growth and insight, to higher spiritual values, the desire for God's perfection. What is sin in Orthodoxy? We are all sinners, we already appear like that to the world, only because our forefathers were sinners, accepting the sin of our relatives, we add our own and pass them on to our offspring. It is difficult to live a day without sin; we are all weak creatures, with our thoughts, words, and actions we move away from God’s essence.

What is a sin in general, which of them are stronger, which are forgiven and which are considered mortal sins?

« Sin is a voluntary deviation from what is in accordance with nature into what is unnatural (against nature)"(John of Damascus).

Everything that is a deviation from is a sin.

Seven deadly sins in Orthodoxy

In general, there is no strict hierarchy of sins in Orthodoxy; it is impossible to say which sin is worse, which is simpler, which is at the beginning of the list, which is at the end. Only the most basic ones, often inherent in all of us, are highlighted.

1. Anger, anger, revenge. This group includes actions that, as opposed to love, bring destruction.
2. Lust b, debauchery, fornication. This category carries actions that lead to an excessive desire for pleasure.
3. Laziness, idleness, despondency. This includes a reluctance to do both spiritual and physical work.
4. Pride, vanity, arrogance. Unbelief in the divine is considered arrogance, boasting, excessive self-confidence, which turns into boasting.
5. Envy, jealousy. This group includes dissatisfaction with what they have, confidence in the injustice of the world, desire for someone else's status, property, qualities.
6. Gluttony, gluttony. The need to consume more than necessary is also considered a passion. We are all mired in this sin. Fasting is a great salvation!
7. Love of money, greed, greed, stinginess. This does not mean that it is bad to strive for material wealth, it is important that the material does not overshadow the spiritual...

As we see from the diagram, (click on the picture to enlarge) all feelings that we show in excess are sin. And there is never too much love for your neighbor and your enemy, and only kindness, light and warmth. It is difficult to say which of all sins is the most terrible; it all depends on the circumstances.

The worst sin in Orthodoxy is suicide

Orthodoxy is strict for its pastors, calling them to strict obedience, observing not only the ten basic commandments of God, and not allowing excess in worldly life. All sins can be forgiven if a person realizes them and begs for forgiveness through communion, confession and prayer.

It is not a sin to be a sinner, but a sin not to repent - this is how the people interpret their entire earthly life. God will forgive everyone who comes to him with repentance!

What sin is considered the most terrible? There is only one sin that is not forgiven to a person - this is sin suicide. Why exactly this?

1. By killing himself, a person violates the biblical commandment: Thou shalt not kill!
2. A person cannot atone for his sins by voluntarily leaving life.

It is known that each of us has our own purpose on earth. With this we come into this world. After birth we acquire the nature of the Spirit of Christ in which we are to live. The one who voluntarily breaks this thread spits in the face of the Almighty. The worst sin is to voluntarily die.

Jesus gave his life for our salvation, which is why the whole life of any person is a priceless gift. We must appreciate it, take care of it, and no matter how difficult it is, bear our cross until the end of our days.

Why can the sin of murder be forgiven by God, but suicide cannot? Is the life of one person more valuable to God than the life of another? No, this needs to be understood a little differently. A murderer who interrupts the life of another, often innocent person, can repent and do good, but a suicide who takes his own life cannot.

After death, a person no longer has the opportunity to do good, bright, trustworthy deeds in this world. It turns out that the whole life of such a person who committed suicide was meaningless, just as God’s great plan was meaningless.

All sins are forgiven by God through repentance, communion, in the hope of purification and salvation of the soul.

That is why in the old days suicides were not only not buried in church, but were even buried outside the cemetery fence. No rituals or commemorations were carried out and to this day are not carried out in the church for the deceased. This alone and how difficult it will be for loved ones should stop the suicide. But, unfortunately, this is not the case and the number of victims—suicides—is not decreasing.

Russia occupies fourth place in the world In this sad statistics, after India, China and the USA, the number of voluntary deaths per year is more than 25,000 people. Millions of people around the world voluntarily take their own lives. Scary!!!

Our God will forgive us all other sins, provided that we not only repented of them, but also corrected them with our good deeds.

And remember that there are no small or large sins, even the smallest sin can kill our soul, it is like a tiny cut on the body that can cause gangrene and lead to death.

If a believer has repented of sin, realized it, and gone through confession, one can hope that the sin is forgiven. This is how the Orthodox Church sees it, this is how the Bible teaches. But it is important to understand that our every action, our words, thoughts, everything has its own weight and is deposited in our karma. So let’s live now, every day, so that we don’t have to beg for them when the time of reckoning comes...

Prayers for those who committed suicide

Is it possible to pray for people who have committed suicide? Yes, there are prayers that allow you to do this.

Master, Lord, Merciful and Lover of Mankind, we cry to You: we have sinned and committed lawlessness before You, we have transgressed Your saving commandments and the love of the Gospel has not been revealed to our despairing brother (our despairing sister). But do not reprove us with Your wrath, punish us with Your wrath, O Master who loves mankind, weaken, heal our heartfelt sorrow, may the multitude of Your bounties overcome the abyss of our sins, and may Your countless goodness cover the abyss of our bitter tears.

To her, Sweetest Jesus, we still pray, grant to Your servant, your relative who died without permission, consolation in their sorrow and firm hope in Your mercy.

For You are a Merciful and Lover of Mankind, and we send glory to You with Your Beginningless Father and Your Most Holy and Good and Life-Giving Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen

Prayer for those who have committed the most terrible sin (suicides)

Granted by the Optina Elder Leo Optina

“Seek, Lord, the lost soul (name); If possible, have mercy! Your destinies are unsearchable. Do not make this my prayer a sin for me. But Thy holy will be done!”

Take care of yourself and your loved ones!

In the old days in Rus', the favorite reading was always “The Philokalia”, “The Ladder” of St. John Climacus and other soul-helping books. Modern Orthodox Christians, unfortunately, rarely pick up these great books. What a pity! After all, they contain answers to questions that are often asked in confession today: “Father, how not to get irritated?”, “Father, how to deal with despondency and laziness?”, “How to live in peace with loved ones?”, “Why?” Do we keep returning to the same sins? Every priest has to hear these and other questions. These questions are answered by theological science, which is called asceticism. She talks about what passions and sins are, how to fight them, how to find peace of mind, how to acquire love for God and neighbors.

The word “asceticism” immediately evokes associations with ancient ascetics, Egyptian hermits, and monasteries. And in general, ascetic experiences and the struggle with passions are considered by many to be a purely monastic matter: we, they say, are weak people, we live in the world, that’s just how we are... This, of course, is a deep misconception. Every Orthodox Christian, without exception, is called to daily struggle, war against passions and sinful habits. The Apostle Paul tells us about this: “Those who are Christ’s (that is, all Christians. – Auth.) crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts” (Gal. 5:24). Just as soldiers take an oath and make a solemn promise - an oath - to defend the Fatherland and crush its enemies, so a Christian, as a warrior of Christ, in the sacrament of baptism swears allegiance to Christ and “renounces the devil and all his works,” that is, sin. This means there will be a battle with these fierce enemies of our salvation - fallen angels, passions and sins. A life-or-death battle, a difficult and daily, if not hourly, battle. Therefore, “we only dream of peace.”

I will take the liberty to say that asceticism can be called, in some way, Christian psychology. After all, the word “psychology” translated from Greek means “the science of the soul.” This is a science that studies the mechanisms of human behavior and thinking. Practical psychology helps a person cope with his bad tendencies, overcome depression, and learn to get along with himself and people. As we see, the objects of attention of asceticism and psychology are the same.

Saint Theophan the Recluse said that it was necessary to compile a textbook on Christian psychology, and he himself used psychological analogies in his instructions to questioners. The trouble is that psychology is not a single scientific discipline, such as physics, mathematics, chemistry or biology. There are many schools and areas that call themselves psychology. Psychology includes psychoanalysis by Freud and Jung, and new-fangled movements like neurolinguistic programming (NLP). Some trends in psychology are completely unacceptable for Orthodox Christians. Therefore, we have to collect some knowledge bit by bit, separating the wheat from the chaff.

I will try, using some knowledge from practical, applied psychology, to rethink them in accordance with the teaching of the Holy Fathers on the fight against passions.

Before we start talking about the main passions and methods of dealing with them, let's ask ourselves the question: “Why do we fight our sins and passions?” Recently I heard one famous Orthodox theologian, a professor at the Moscow Theological Academy (I will not name him, since I respect him very much; he was my teacher, but in this case I fundamentally disagree with him) said: “Divine services, prayer, fasting is all, so to speak, scaffolding, supports for the construction of the building of salvation, but not the goal of salvation, not the meaning of Christian life. And the goal is to get rid of passions.” I cannot agree with this, since deliverance from passions is also not an end in itself, but the Venerable Seraphim of Sarov speaks about the true goal: “Acquire a peaceful spirit - and thousands around you will be saved.” That is, the goal of a Christian’s life is to acquire love for God and neighbors. The Lord Himself speaks of only two commandments, on which the entire law and prophets are based. This “thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind." And “love your neighbor as yourself”(Matt. 22:37, 39). Christ did not say that these are just two of the ten, twenty other commandments, but said that “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets”(Matthew 22:40). These are the most important commandments, the fulfillment of which is the meaning and purpose of Christian life. And getting rid of passions is also only a means, like prayer, worship and fasting. If getting rid of passions were the goal of a Christian, then we would not be far from Buddhists, who also seek dispassion - nirvana.

It is impossible for a person to fulfill the two main commandments while passions dominate over him. A person subject to passions and sins loves himself and his passion. How can a vain, proud person love God and his neighbors? And the one who is in despondency, anger, serving the love of money? The questions are rhetorical.

Serving passions and sin does not allow a Christian to fulfill the most important, key commandment of the New Testament - the commandment of love.

Passions and suffering

From the Church Slavonic language the word “passion” is translated as “suffering.” Hence, for example, the word “passion-bearer,” that is, one who endures suffering and torment. And indeed, nothing torments people more: neither illnesses nor anything else, than their own passions, deep-rooted sins.

First, passions serve to satisfy the sinful needs of people, and then people themselves begin to serve them: “Everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin” (John 8:34).

Of course, in every passion there is an element of sinful pleasure for a person, but, nevertheless, passions torment, torment and enslave the sinner.

The most striking examples of passionate addiction are alcoholism and drug addiction. The need for alcohol or drugs not only enslaves a person’s soul, but alcohol and drugs become a necessary component of his metabolism, part of the biochemical processes in his body. Addiction to alcohol or drugs is a spiritual-physical addiction. And it needs to be treated in two ways, that is, by treating both the soul and the body. But at the core is sin, passion. An alcoholic or drug addict's family falls apart, he is kicked out of work, he loses friends, but he sacrifices all this to passion. A person addicted to alcohol or drugs is ready to commit any crime to satisfy his passion. No wonder 90% of crimes are committed under the influence of alcohol and drugs. That's how strong the demon of drunkenness is!

Other passions can enslave the soul no less. But with alcoholism and drug addiction, the enslavement of the soul is further intensified by bodily dependence.

People who are far from the Church and from spiritual life often see only prohibitions in Christianity. They say they came up with some taboos and restrictions to make life more difficult for people. But in Orthodoxy there is nothing accidental or superfluous, everything is very harmonious and natural. The spiritual world, as well as the physical world, has its own laws, which, like the laws of nature, cannot be violated, otherwise it will lead to damage and even disaster. Some of these laws are expressed in commandments that protect us from harm. Commandments and moral instructions can be compared to signs warning of danger: “Caution, high voltage!”, “Don’t get involved, it will kill you!”, “Stop! Radiation contamination zone" and the like, or with inscriptions on containers with toxic liquids: "Poisonous", "Toxic" and so on. We, of course, are given freedom of choice, but if we do not pay attention to the alarming signs, then we will only have to take offense at ourselves. Sin is a violation of very subtle and strict laws of spiritual nature, and it causes harm, first of all, to the sinner himself. And in the case of passions, the harm from sin increases many times over, because sin becomes permanent and takes on the character of a chronic disease.

The word "passion" has two meanings.

Firstly, as the Monk John of the Climacus says, “passion is the name given to the very vice that has been embedded in the soul for a long time and through habit has become, as it were, a natural property of it, so that the soul already voluntarily and by itself strives towards it” (Ladder. 15: 75). That is, passion is already something more than sin, it is sinful dependence, slavery to a certain type of vice.

Secondly, the word “passion” is a name that unites a whole group of sins. For example, in the book “The Eight Main Passions with Their Divisions and Branches,” compiled by St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov), eight passions are listed, and after each there is a whole list of sins united by this passion. For example, anger: hot temper, acceptance of angry thoughts, dreams of anger and revenge, indignation of the heart with rage, darkening of his mind, incessant shouting, arguing, swear words, stress, pushing, murder, memory malice, hatred, enmity, revenge, slander, condemnation, indignation and resentment of one's neighbor .

Most holy fathers speak of eight passions:

1. gluttony,
2. fornication,
3. love of money,
4. anger,
5. sadness,
6. despondency,
7. vanity,
8. pride.

Some, speaking about passions, combine sadness and despondency. Actually, these are somewhat different passions, but we will talk about this below.

Sometimes the eight passions are called mortal sins . Passions have this name because they can (if they completely take over a person) disrupt spiritual life, deprive them of salvation and lead to eternal death. According to the holy fathers, behind every passion there is a certain demon, dependence on which makes a person captive to a certain vice. This teaching is rooted in the Gospel: “When the unclean spirit leaves a person, he walks through dry places, seeking rest, and not finding it, he says: I will return to my house from where I came, and when he comes, he finds it swept and tidied up; then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more evil than himself, and they enter and live there, and the last thing for that person is worse than the first” (Luke 11: 24-26).

Western theologians, for example Thomas Aquinas, usually write about the seven passions. In the West, in general, the number “seven” is given special significance.

Passions are a perversion of natural human properties and needs. In human nature there is a need for food and drink, a desire for procreation. Anger can be righteous (for example, towards enemies of faith and the Fatherland), or it can lead to murder. Thrift can degenerate into love of money. We mourn the loss of loved ones, but this should not develop into despair. Purposefulness and perseverance should not lead to pride.

One Western theologian gives a very successful example. He compares passion to a dog. It’s very good when a dog sits on a chain and guards our house, but it’s a disaster when he climbs his paws onto the table and devours our lunch.

Saint John Cassian the Roman says that the passions are divided into sincere, that is, emanating from mental inclinations, for example: anger, despondency, pride, etc. They feed the soul. AND bodily: they originate in the body and nourish the body. But since a person is spiritual and physical, passions destroy both soul and body.

The same saint writes that the first six passions seem to arise from one another, and “the excess of the previous one gives rise to the next one.” For example, from excessive gluttony comes prodigal passion. From fornication - love of money, from love of money - anger, from anger - sadness, from sadness - despondency. And each of them is treated by expelling the previous one. For example, to overcome fornication, you need to bind gluttony. To overcome sadness, you need to suppress anger, etc.

Vanity and pride are especially important. But they are also interconnected. Vanity gives rise to pride, and you need to fight pride by defeating vanity. The Holy Fathers say that some passions are committed by the body, but they all originate in the soul, come out of the heart of a person, as the Gospel tells us: “From the heart of a person come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, blasphemy - this defiles a person "(Matthew 15: 18–20). The worst thing is that passions do not disappear with the death of the body. And the body, as the instrument with which a person most often commits sin, dies and disappears. And the inability to satisfy one’s passions is what will torment and burn a person after death.

And the holy fathers say that there passions will torment a person much more than on earth - without sleep and rest they will burn like fire. And not only bodily passions will torment people, not finding satisfaction, like fornication or drunkenness, but also spiritual ones: pride, vanity, anger; after all, there will also be no opportunity to satisfy them. And the main thing is that a person will also not be able to fight passions; this is possible only on earth, because earthly life is given for repentance and correction.

Truly, whatever and whom a person served in earthly life, he will be with in eternity. If he serves his passions and the devil, he will remain with them. For example, for a drug addict, hell will be an endless, never-ending “withdrawal”; for an alcoholic, it will be an eternal hangover, etc. But if a person served God and was with Him on earth, he can hope that he will be with Him there too.

Earthly life is given to us as preparation for eternity, and here on earth we decide what O What’s more important for us is that O constitutes the meaning and joy of our life - the satisfaction of passions or life with God. Paradise is a place of God’s special presence, an eternal sense of God, and God does not force anyone there.

Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin gives one example - an analogy that allows us to understand this: “On the second day of Easter 1990, Bishop Alexander of Kostroma served the first service since the persecution in the Ipatiev Monastery. Until the last moment, it was unclear whether the service would take place - such was the resistance of the museum workers... When the Bishop entered the temple, the museum workers, led by the headmistress, stood in the vestibule with angry faces, some with tears in their eyes: “The priests are desecrating the temple of art...” During the cross As I walked, I held a cup of holy water. And suddenly the bishop says to me: “Let’s go to the museum, let’s go into their offices!” Let's go. The Bishop says loudly: “Christ is risen!” – and sprinkles the museum workers with holy water. In response - faces distorted with anger. Probably, in the same way, those who fight against God, having crossed the line of eternity, will themselves refuse to enter heaven - it will be unbearably bad for them there.”

If you ask a person: “What do you think is the worst sin?” - one will call murder, another - theft, a third - meanness, a fourth - betrayal. In fact, the most terrible sin is unbelief, and it gives rise to meanness, betrayal, adultery, theft, murder, and anything else.

Sin is not a transgression; a transgression is a consequence of sin, just as a cough is not a disease, but its consequence. It very often happens that a person has not killed anyone, has not robbed, has not committed any meanness and therefore thinks well of himself, but he does not know that his sin is worse than murder and worse than theft, because he is in his own life passes by the most important thing.

Unbelief is a state of mind when a person does not feel God. It is associated with ingratitude to God, and it affects not only people who completely deny the existence of God, but also each of us. Like any mortal sin, unbelief blinds a person. If you ask someone, say, about higher mathematics, he will say: “This is not my topic, I don’t understand anything about it.” If you ask about cooking, he will say: “I don’t even know how to cook soup, it’s not in my competence.” But when it comes to faith, everyone has their own opinion.

One states: I think so; another: I think so. One says: there is no need to observe fasts. And another: my grandmother was a believer, and she did this, so we must do it this way. And everyone begins to judge and judge, although in most cases they understand nothing about it.

Why, when questions concern faith, does everyone always want to express their opinion? Why do people suddenly become experts in these matters? Why are they sure that everyone here understands, knows everything? Because everyone believes that he believes to the very degree to which it is necessary. In fact, this is not true at all, and it is very easy to verify. The Gospel says: “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed and say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it will move.” If this is not observed, then there is no faith even as small as a mustard seed. Since a person is blinded, he believes that he believes enough, but in fact he cannot do even such a trifle as moving a mountain, which can be moved even without faith. And all our troubles occur because of lack of faith.

When the Lord walked on the waters, Peter, who loved no one in the world as much as Christ, wanted to come to Him and said: “Command me, and I will go to You.” The Lord says: “Go.” And Peter also walked on the waters, but for a second he was frightened, doubted and began to drown and exclaimed: “Lord, save me, I am perishing!” First, he gathered all his faith, and as long as it was enough, he went through as much, and then, when the “reserve” ran out, he began to drown.

That's how we are too. Who among us does not know that God exists? Everyone knows. Who doesn't know that God hears our prayers? Everyone knows. God is Omniscient, and wherever we are, He hears all the words we speak. We know that the Lord is good. Even in today's Gospel there is confirmation of this, and our whole life shows how merciful He is to us. The Lord Jesus Christ says that if our child asks for bread, will we really give him a stone, or if he asks for fish, will we give him a snake. Which of us can do this? Nobody. But we are evil people. Can the Lord, Who is good, really do this?

Nevertheless, we grumble all the time, moan all the time, all the time we disagree with one thing or another. The Lord tells us that the path to the Kingdom of Heaven lies through much suffering, but we do not believe. We all want to be healthy, happy, we all want to get along well on earth. The Lord says that only the one who follows Him and takes up his cross will reach the Kingdom of Heaven, but this again does not suit us, we again insist on our own, although we consider ourselves believers. Purely theoretically, we know that the Gospel contains truth, but our whole life goes against it. And often we don’t have the fear of God, because we forget that the Lord is always there, always looking at us. That is why we sin so easily, easily condemn, we can easily wish evil upon a person, easily neglect him, offend him, offend him.

Theoretically, we know that there is an omnipresent God, but our heart is far from Him, we do not feel Him, it seems to us that God is somewhere out there, in endless space, and He does not see or know us. That’s why we sin, that’s why we don’t agree with His commandments, we claim the freedom of others, we want to redo everything in our own way, we want to change our whole life and make it the way we see fit. But this is completely wrong; we cannot control our lives to such an extent. We can only humble ourselves before what the Lord gives us, and rejoice in the good and the punishments that He sends, because through this He teaches us the Kingdom of Heaven.

But we don’t believe Him - we don’t believe that you can’t be rude, and therefore we are rude; We don’t believe that we shouldn’t be irritated, and we get irritated; We do not believe that we cannot be envious, and we often set our eyes on other people's things and envy other people's well-being. And some dare to envy spiritual gifts from God - this is generally a terrible sin, because everyone receives from God what he can bear.

Unbelief is not only the lot of people who deny God; it penetrates deeply into our lives. Therefore, we are often despondent, in panic, and do not know what to do; we are choked by tears, but these are not tears of repentance, they do not cleanse us from sin - these are tears of despair, because we forget that the Lord sees everything; we are angry, we grumble, we are indignant.

Why do we want to force all our loved ones to go to church, pray, and receive communion? From unbelief, because we forget that God wants the same thing. We forget that God wants every person to be saved and cares about everyone. It seems to us that there is no God, that something depends on us, on some of our efforts - and we begin to convince, tell, explain, but we only make things worse, because we can only be drawn to the Kingdom of Heaven by the Holy Spirit, and We are not there. Therefore, we only irritate people, cling to them, bore them, torment them, and under a good pretext we turn their lives into hell.

We violate the precious gift that is given to man - the gift of freedom. By our claims, by the fact that we want to remake everyone in our own image and likeness, and not in the image of God, we claim the freedom of others and try to force everyone to think the way we think ourselves, but this is impossible. The truth can be revealed to a person if he asks about it, if he wants to know it, but we constantly impose it. There is no humility in this act, and since there is no humility, it means there is no grace of the Holy Spirit. And without the grace of the Holy Spirit there will be no result, or rather, there will be, but the opposite.

And that’s how it is in everything. And the reason is disbelief in God, disbelief in God, in His good Providence, in the fact that God is love, that He wants to save everyone. Because if we believed Him, we would not do this, we would only ask. Why does a person go to some grandmother, to a healer? Because he does not believe in God or the Church, he does not believe in the power of grace. First, he will bypass all the sorcerers, sorcerers, psychics, and if nothing helps, well, then he turns to God: maybe he will help. And the most amazing thing is that it helps.

If some person neglected us all the time, and then began to ask us for something, we would say: you know, this is not good, you treated me so badly all my life, and now you come to ask me? But the Lord is merciful, the Lord is meek, the Lord is humble. Therefore, no matter what paths or roads a person walks, no matter what outrages he does, but if he turns to God from the heart, at the last, as they say, worst end - the Lord helps here too, because He is only waiting for our prayer .

The Lord said: “Whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give it to you,” but we do not believe. We do not believe in our prayer, nor in the fact that God hears us - we do not believe in anything. That’s why everything is empty for us, that’s why our prayer doesn’t seem to be fulfilled, it can’t not only move a mountain, but it can’t manage anything at all.

If we really believed in God, then we could guide any person to the true path. And it is possible to direct one to the true path through prayer, because it shows love to a person. Prayer before God is a mystery, and there is no violence in it, there is only a request: Lord, guide, help, heal, save.

If we acted this way, we would achieve greater success. And we all hope for conversations, for the fact that we will somehow manage ourselves, that we will save something like this for some rainy day. Those who wait for a rainy day will definitely have one. Without God, you still won’t achieve anything, so the Lord says: “Seek first of all the Kingdom of God, and everything else will be added to you.” But we don’t believe that either. Our life is not aimed at the Kingdom of God, it is more aimed at people, at human relationships, at how to improve everything here. We want to satisfy our own pride, our own vanity, our own ambition. If we were striving for the Kingdom of Heaven, we would rejoice when we are oppressed, when we are offended, because this contributes to our entry into the Kingdom of Heaven. We would rejoice at illness, but we grumble and are horrified. We are afraid of death, we all try to prolong our existence, but again not for the sake of the Lord, not for the sake of repentance, but out of our own lack of faith, out of fear.

The sin of lack of faith has penetrated very deeply into us, and we must fight it very hard. There is such an expression - “feat of faith”, because only faith can move a person to do something real. And if every time such a situation arises in our lives that we can act in a divine way and we can act in a human way, if each time we courageously act in accordance with our faith, then our faith will grow, it will be strengthened.

Serious sins

Our sins are numerous, but they can all be summed up in these eight: pride, vanity, love of money, fornication, anger, gluttony, envy and negligence. All of them are called mortals, because they kill our souls and are the head, root and foundation for other sins. Three mortal enemies fight us through the eight deadly sins: the flesh, the world and the devil. The flesh plunges us into fornication, gluttony and negligence. The world pushes us towards the love of money and the boundless thirst for acquiring material wealth. The devil instills in us pride, vanity, anger and envy. Of course, the evil one pushes us to commit all kinds of lawlessness, but the devil works on nothing else so much as to instill pride in us and through this make us his imitators and followers.

In addition to these eight deadly sins, which we will discuss in more detail later, there are six more equally serious ones generated by these eight, which will be discussed in this chapter.

The first and heaviest of all is the vile and thrice-cursed blasphemous

quality, generated by none other than the inventor of evil himself - the devil. Knowing that it is heavier than fornication, murder, debauchery and any kind of outrage and that it alone is enough to forever imprison a person in fiery Gehenna, the devil often resorts to it. A blasphemer is an enemy of God. Excited and enraged by the evil one, he, mad, in a fit of anger is ready to throw his fists at the Lord Himself or at the saint he blasphemes, if they happen to be in front of him at that moment. Saint Augustine says about this that those who slander Christ the Heavenly King sin many times more seriously than those who crucified Christ the Man on earth.

Men fall more into the sin of blasphemy. Women usually have another sin - cursing, which, however, is equivalent in nature to blasphemy. When misfortunes befall them, they indignantly rebel against the Providence and justice of God, lamenting, O fools, that God’s judgment is unjust. If, for example, one of their beloved relatives dies, becomes seriously ill or suffers in some way, then instead of glorifying the Almighty, they curse the day of their birth, call for death in despair and indulge in uncontrollable sobs. They do not skimp on complaints about God, who supposedly “sends them misfortune and grief.” Very often they are forgotten

and, having completely given themselves over to the power of the devil, they begin to spew out terrible, unheard-of satanic curses. All these are blasphemous verbs, worthy only of those tormented in hell. These words unite them, in them all those who blaspheme find agreement.

So, you, who are afraid of going to hell and have longed for a sweet paradise, humble yourself and meekly bow your head before the misfortunes that befall you through God’s allowance. Accept them from His Divine hand as a healing potion, as a balm prepared for your salvation by the Wise Physician. Believe without a shadow of a doubt that the Most Good Creator justly and wisely sends you misfortunes and sorrows and does this solely for the sake of your spiritual benefit. For by saying that the Lord treats you unfairly, you seem to be asserting that He is not the Lord at all. And if you say that your misfortune is great and that its unbearable severity forces you to spew blasphemy against God, then think wisely and understand that by your resistance to God you not only do not alleviate them, but only aggravate them.

So that your misfortunes do not seem so heavy to you, think about the following four things: 1) about the blessings and gifts sent down to you from the Lord, 2) about the countless sins you have committed against Him, 3) about the torment in hell, which you become worthy of by committing lawlessness , and 4) about the glory of paradise promised to you by the Lord, not

despite your unworthiness. When you realize all this, any sorrows and sorrows that befall you will seem small and insignificant to you.

The second grave sin is perjury, that is, a false oath on the Gospel or the Holy Cross in the name of the Lord God, the Most Holy Theotokos or a saint. Like blasphemy, this sin is directed directly against God and is more serious than sins directed against one's neighbor. Every oath-breaking is a mortal sin, because it is a desecration of Divine majesty.

The third grave sin is theft- appropriation of other people's things without the permission of their owner. The entire time you keep someone else’s thing with you, you are under mortal sin. The desire to return her is not enough. It is necessary not only to return this item, but also to compensate for the damage that was caused to its owner during the absence of the stolen item.

The fourth sin is crime any church commandment or canon of the holy apostles and church fathers, the observance of which should be unshakable for all Christians. These, for example, are going to church on Sundays and holidays, confession, communion, fasting on days established by the Church, and others.

The fifth grave sin is condemnation. By reproaching and denigrating your neighbor, you

you cause him great harm, push him to dangerous actions, because you stain his honor and dignity - something much more precious than any property and material treasure. Truly, how dare the shameless ones judge their neighbor when they don’t even know the nature of the things they undertake to judge? And even if they have such knowledge, have they never heard the words of the Lord: Do not judge your neighbors, lest God judge you too; do not condemn them, and God will not condemn you(cf. Matthew 7:1). You are obliged to fulfill this saving commandment, even if you see someone clearly sinning. Cover his actions as much as possible, and the Lord will cover your sins.

The sixth and final grave sin is lie. A small and insignificant lie that does not entail consequences, naturally, cannot be considered a grave sin. However, if a lie causes material or moral damage to one’s neighbor, then it becomes a grave sin. In this case, you, who are the direct cause of this harm, must correct it and compensate at any cost. This is the only way the Lord will forgive you for the harm caused by your lies.

These are the six grave sins generated by the eight mortals. Both of them must be carefully avoided, for they mortify our soul and lead it to eternal destruction.

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From the book Sect Studies author Dvorkin Alexander Leonidovich

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