Papism and Judaism

by Archimandrite Sergius (Aleksiev)

 

 

One of the most sinister symptoms of our apocalyptic age is the systematic and ever-increasing rapprochement between Papism and Judaism. In essence a monstrous perversion of Christianity, Papism is an anachronistic return from the New Testament to the Old, whereby the meaning of the Old Testament is understood in a perverted way, according to its interpretation by the scribes and Pharisees of the time of Christ (cf. St. Matthew 15:6) and according to the spirit of contemporary Judaism.

The very idea of Papism, with its earthly centralization of the Church and its desire for supremacy over the whole Christian world, brings to mind Judaism, with its globalist tendencies. The establishment in the Old Testament of a single Temple, headed by one High Priest after the order of Aaron (Hebrews 7:11) is to some extent a "personification" of the idea of earthly centralization. During the period of the Old Testament, this personification was merely a foreshadowing of Christ, the only High Priest of the New Testament after the order of Melchizedek (Hebrews 5:10; Psalm 109:4), "Who hath passed through the Heavens" (Hebrews 4:14). Through this act, our Lord Jesus Christ, "the Apostle and High Priest of our confession" (Hebrews 3:1), "a High Priest of the good things to come" (Hebrews 9:11), "a High Priest over the house of God" (Hebrews 10:21), that is, over the Church (I Timothy 3:15), by assuming Her together with Himself into the Heavens, abolished forever the earthly centralization of the Church. Thus, the Church of Christ has, here on earth, no abiding city, but seeks the City which is to come (Hebrews 13:14). Thus, it is evident that the idea of some "Vicar" of Christ on earth is unacceptable.

The Christian, that is, Orthodox Bishops here on earth are only multiple reflections, each in his own diocese, of the one and only High Priest and Head of the Church, our Lord Jesus Christ, "Who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things" (Ephesians 4:10). St. Ignatios the God-Bearer writes in precisely this sense in his Epistle to the Trallians (Chapter III): "Let us all reverence the Bishop as Jesus Christ, Who is the Son of God the Father!"

Papism, however, reverts to the earthly centralization of the Old Testament, for it is personified by a single High Priest, who claims to be the "Vicar of Christ," as if he were the sole reflection of Christ here on earth, a deus in terra ("God on earth"), such that the rest of the bishops are regarded as mere vicars or deputies of the Roman Pontiff. Under the pretense of being the "Vicar" of Christ, the Pope aspires to the gradual displacement of the only High Priest of the New Testament, the sole Head of the Church (i.e., Christ). In this way, Papism, as a legacy of Judaism, paves the way for the Antichrist, who will put himself in the place of Christ, since he is incompatible with Christ (I John 4:3).

This gradual process of replacing Christ with one earthly "head" of the Church started as early as the eleventh century, when Papism fell away from the Church of Christ, and has continued without interruption up to the present day, when the anti-Christian essence of Papism is being palpably revealed in its rapprochement with Judaism. Already on September 6,1938, the then Pope Pius XI, himself an Italian Jew, expressed on Vatican Radio the bizarre thought that all Christians are "spiritual Semites"! A rather strange racial assimilation, this assertion, through which the spiritual essence of the Christian Faith is sacrilegiously made materialistic!

A month prior to that event, the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, meeting in council in Belgrade, rang the alarm concerning a "Judaeo-Catholic Rapprochement," as is stated in the title of a report about the council made by M. Stepanov.

Subsequently, this rapprochement progressed steadily, until it reached a new phase at the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). The latter, through its Declaration "Nostra aetate" (October 28,1965), proclaimed, in Article IV, that "Judaism, despite its non-recognition of Jesus Christ as the Messiah, is still dear to the Lord," and also that "the Church is fed from the root of the olive tree, on which the branches of the wild olive were grafted" (cf. Romans 11:17-24)! In order to refute this absurd interpretation of the Holy Apostle Paul's words, it is sufficient to quote what he says about the Jews: although broken off from the olive tree, "God is able to graft them in again," as long as "they abide not still in unbelief [concerning Jesus Christ]" (Romans 11:23). However, Judaism is opposed precisely to this essential condition!

Renewing this Declaration of the Second Vatican Council eight years later, the French episcopate published in April, 1973, on the occasion of the Jewish Passover, a special Declaration consisting of "Pastoral Directions Concerning the Position of Christians in Relation to Judaism." Affirming "The Permanent Call of the Jewish Nation" (the title of the third article), despite its disbelief in Jesus Christ, this Declaration by the French episcopate asserts that "it is not possible to conclude, on the basis of the New Testament, that the Jewish nation is deprived of its elect status" (Article IV). However, at the end of His parable about the wicked husbandmen, the Lord makes the following inference, directed at the chief priests and the Pharisees: "Therefore I say unto you, The Kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof" (St. Matthew 21:43).

The French bishops dare to state, as well, that "the first Testament...was not abolished by the New" (Article V), despite St. Paul’s clear interpretation of Jeremiah's prophecy regarding the New Covenant [Testament] (Jeremiah 38:31-34), which he forcefully concludes with these words: "In that He saith, A new covenant, He hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away" (Hebrews 8:13).

Declaration of the French episcopate finishes with a false intimation concerning both Christians and Jews in the form of a rhetorical question: "Does not their common concern relate to the Messianic times?" (Article VII). In other words, the French bishops imply that the "messianic" expectation of the Jews encompasses the true Messianism of the Christians! This calls to mind the sacrilegious innuendo made by Cardinal Etchegaray, at that time Archbishop of Marseilles and one of the authors of the Declaration, as a member of the French episcopal committee for relations with Judaism. In an interview with the magazine La Documentation Catholique, under the heading "The Double Mission of the Church Towards the Jews," Etchegaray posits a rather strange "rivalry" between "one who expects a Messiah who is to come and another who expects his return." Thus, through an absurd mixing of concepts, the true Messiah, Who has come—our Lord Jesus Christ—, is united in His Second Coming with a false messiah, whose advent is being prepared by the Jews.

Meanwhile, in the newly published Catechism of the Catholic Church (French version), in Section 840, under the heading "The Church's Attitude Towards the Jewish Nation," we read that "insofar as the future is concerned, the people of God from the Old Testament and the new People of God aspire towards similar goals: the expectation of the advent (or return) of the Messiah."

The Great Rabbinate of France, however, understood very clearly the treacherous character of the Declaration of the French episcopate. That is why, a laudatory commentary following directly after the Declaration, hastens to stress that "the 'Pastoral Direchons' of the French episcopate coincide with the teaching of the most prominent Jewish theologians, according to whom the religions which came from Judaism have as their mission preparation for the advent of the Messianic age [sic] indicated in the Bible"!

After such a consummate betrayal by the French bishops, which is equivalent to denying Christ in favor of the Antichrist, we should not be amazed that these "bishops" subsequently received a primate worthy of them in the person of the Polish Jew Jean-Marie Lustiger, who was appointed Archbishop of Paris in 1981, and later promoted to Cardinal in 1983. Radio Israel made the following comment on his unexpected appointment: "The new Archbishop of Paris, who does not conceal his Jewish origins, is a Judaizer who will fulfill Judaism in Christianity!" This is why the French believers distrust such a "Cardinal Archbishop" and make a parody of his name: "Lustiger-Lucifer!"

In spite of all this, the Masons have put forth every effort to bend public opinion in favor of their candidate, so as to have him elected Pope. Several years ago, we heard on Radio Paris the following discussion about the ethnicity of the Popes: "If it is not written in stone that the next Pope should be Italian—since the present Pope is a Pole—, what would preclude the next Pope from being...a Jew?" In fact, a eulogizing article, "The Future of Mgr. Lustiger," was printed in the magazine Paris Match. The article contains a photograph of Pope John Paul II exchanging a kiss with Cardinal Lustiger. There follows an enumeration of the political "merits" of Lustiger, who had recently been appointed Minister of European Affairs for the Vatican. The piece ends with a readers' survey: "Do you think that one day Mgr. Lustiger can become Pope?" Such a survey, conducted while the present Pope is still alive, is unheard of! Incidentally, Pope John Paul II, himself, is responsible for Lustiger's appointment!

Indeed, this is not odd, since the present Pope is himself a Mason. In October, 1983, the Italian magazine Oggi published in one of its issues, which was to have been confiscated, a scandalous photograph showing Pope John Paul II clothed in black, in accordance with the strict rule of the Masonic lodges, and participating in a Masonic banquet with his arms folded in the "chain of brothers" made by the guest Masons around the table. A blackboard with a crowned monster depicted on it is visible behind him—obviously the Devil presiding over the meeting! A bit further down in the "chain of brothers," we see the Vicar of Rome, Ugo Cardinal Poletti, a famous Mason from the Vatican.

It is not by accident that Poletti was the one who accompanied the Pope in his official visit to the Chief Synagogue in Rome on April 13, 1986, when the Pope addressed the Jewish rabbis with the friendly words: "You are our elder brothers!" In a recent interview given to the American magazine Parade, the Pope emphatically states that "the attitude of the Church towards the people of God's Old Testament—the Jews—can only be that they are our elder brothers in the Faith." "In what Faith?" we ask.

So the Pope, who claims to be the head of all Christians, suddenly humbles himself in an unusual way; but before whom? Before the rabbis, who do not acknowledge the Lord Jesus Christ as the Messiah, but await their own “messiah," the “Antichrist," which means "to be in the place of Christ," or rather, "to replace" Christ!

Several months later, on November 6, 1986, the Pope delivered a speech before the participants in the Second International Judaeo-Christian Dialogue on "The Importance of Salvation and Redemption in the Jewish and Christian Traditions." Avoiding the principal issue of "the Messiah," which separates the Jews from the Christians, the Pope speaks about "the mutual connection between our respective heritages of faith" and about "the bonds that connect us in our understanding of salvation." Afterwards, commemorating the twentieth anniversary of the Declaration "Nostra aetate," the Pope quotes this phrase from Article IV concerning "the spiritual connection between the people of the New Testament and the seed of Abraham," and continues: "We have here a connection which, despite our differences, makes us brethren." Thus, the profound incompatibility between the true Messiah of Christians, Who has already come, and the false messiah, expected by the Jews to come in the future, is reduced by the Pope to certain "differences," which do not preclude the brotherhood of the former and the latter in Abraham.

St. John the Baptist, however, disdaining the self-conceit of the Jews, who bragged that they had Abraham for their father (cf. St. John 8:39), contrasts such conceit to the power of God, Who "is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham" (St. Matthew 3:9). The Holy Apostle Paul, as he speaks of "Abraham our father according to the flesh" (Romans 4:1), emphasizes that he has become "the father of us all" (Romans 4:16), namely of Christians, because of his prophetic faith in Christ. This is exactly Abraham's faith, as Christ points out when He tells the Jews: "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day; and he saw it and was glad" (St. John 8:56).

In violation of this unbroken link of Abraham to Christ, Pope John Paul II, during his visit to Mainz, Germany, in November, 1980, invited the local chief rabbi to the cathedral and greeted him in Hebrew with the words: "May the Jewish people be blessed by our common father Abraham"—without even the slightest mention of Christ!

During his fourth visit to Poland in June, 1991, the Pope had "a cordial meeting" with the rabbis of Warsaw, as can be seen from the photograph on the front cover of La Documentation Catholique. At the very beginning of his speech before the Jewish rabbis, the Pope himself points out that: "The meetings with representatives of the Jewish communities are a constant element cf my Apostolic journeys. This fact speaks for itself and emphasizes in its own way the unique confession of the faith which unifies the sons of Abraham, who confess the religion of Moses and the Prophets, with those who in an identical way [!] confess Abraham as their 'father in the faith' (St. John 8:39)."

Thus, without explicitly mentioning Christians, and without counting himself among them, the Pope ascribes to them "the same" confession of the faith as the Jews and calls Abraham their "father in the faith." Furthermore, the Pope quotes the Gospel text from St. John (8:39), which, however, as we have demonstrated above, concerns those Jews who boasted, "Abraham is our father." The ascription of these words to Christians is a malicious falsification on the part of the "infallible" Pope in favor of the Jews, especially because the expression cited by the Pope in single quotation marks is not contained in the actual text of the Gospel (St. John 8:39)!

Closing this brief review of the relationship between Papism and Judaism, we should emphasize its apocalyptic significance, as it is expressed by the Greek Orthodox Archimandrite Arsenios Kompougias in his article, "The Relationship of the Pope to the Antichrist." The author comments on the recent book by an American Jew, Benjamin Creme, The New Apparition of Christ and the Teachers of Wisdom. According to this book, published by the clergy of the future "messiah," namely the Antichrist, he will soon appear as head of a world government. Among the plans he is to put into effect, there is the abolition of the Christian religion and the establishment of a new universal religion through the mediation of the Masonic lodges. The author stresses the decisive role to be played by the present Pope's successor in the betrayal of Christianity, whereas the mission of the present Pope himself is to level off the ground among religions by "uniting all Christians."

Now it is clear why this present Pope appealed to the Jews, the Moslems, and the Christians in March, 1986, to unite under one "god," and why, on October 27 of the same year, he invited one hundred fifty representatives of different religions, including Orthodox, under his Papal aegis in Assisi. This is why the Pope has been accused of creating a new religion, whose head he proclaims himself to be!

In the light of all that we have said, we understand the analogy invoked by the ever-memorable Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow, who has already been proclaimed a Saint: "Papism resembles a fruit, whose peel of Christian ecclesiality, inherited from the past, cracks up more and more in order to reveal its anti-Christian core."

Similar to the "small horn" mentioned by the Holy Prophet Daniel (Daniel 7:8), the Vatican plays a predominant role among the European countries, anticipating a Common Europe, the "chief architect" (a Masonic term!) of which is supposedly the Pope! The Vatican also resembles the second apocalyptic beast, with two horns like a lamb, but which speaks like a "dragon" and "makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast" (Revelation 13:11-12).

Without anticipating the course of events, we can nevertheless ask ourselves: "Will not the Pope be the forerunner of the coming Antichrist?"

APPENDIX

The concerns and suppositions expressed above are to some extent confirmed in the Accord signed on December 30, 1993, between the Vatican and the State of Israel. The Preamble to this accord follows:

"The Holy See and the State of Israel, aware of the unique character and the universal significance of the Holy Land, conscious of the unique nature and the improving relations between the Catholic Church and the Jewish people; of the historical process of increasing reconciliation and understanding; of the growing mutual friendship between the Catholics and the Jews [emphasis ours], as they decided on July 29, 1992, to establish one working bilateral commission in order to examine and to define together the questions of common interest, and in order to normalize their relations, by acknowledging that the fruit of the work of this commission suffices to conclude a primary fundamental accord, by realizing that such an accord will be a solid and durable base for the continuous development of their present and future relations [emphasis ours] and for the progress of the work of the commission, agree to the following...."

The subsequent fifteen Articles of the Accord, by establishing the mutual obligations between the Vatican and Israel, emphasize that “the Church'' and “the State'' will consult one another and cooperate as circumstances dictate (Article V). In Article XIII, the terms utilized by both parties are specified: in section (a) “the Catholic Church'' is identified with “the Church'' in general; and in section (c), “the State of Israel" is identified with “the State" in general. This terminology implies that in the future, the two negotiating parties will turn into two absolute super-powers of a universal character!

 

About the author: The Very Reverend Sergius, a former assistant professor at the Theological Academy in Sofia, Bulgaria, is the spiritual Father of the Russian Convent of the Holy Protection in Sofia, which is under the omophorion of Bishop Photii of Triaditza. He was dismissed from his academic position when he refused to adopt the revised New, or Papal, Calendar, at its introduction into the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, and is considered a confessor of the Faith by the Bulgarian traditionalists. His important book, Orthodoxy and Ecumenism, co-authored with the late Archimandrite Dr. Seraphim, his longtime colleague, has recently appeared in Bulgarian and Russian editions.

 

Source: Orthodox Tradition, Vol. XII (1995), No. 3, pp. 11-18.

Faithfulness to Christ Will Save Us From the Mark of the Beast

From an Extemporaneous Sermon by Bishop Photii of Triaditza

 

 

Burdened with cares, immersed in the daily course of monotonous routines, exhausted from the rapid pace of the passing years, we rarely contemplate the Judgment Day of God, which we will all, without exception, face. Even the realization of our impending deaths and appearance before God for His judgment is vague and weak, struggling to find deep expression in our hearts. Living by the rhythm of this frenetic, transient world, we seldom understand that every passing moment shapes our eternal state. At the same time, many Christians are anxiously preoccupied, even to the point of unhealthy feverishness, with these questions: “When will this take place? When will Christ’s words be realized? When will God’s awesome and fearsome Day of Judgment come about? When is the Lord’s Second Coming?” Sadly, these concerns and questions seldom come forth from hearts standing in awe before Christ. So it is that we unfortunately become schizophrenic; we are of two minds. We live our lives according to the beat of the present world, constantly under the sway of its logic, and this even when contemplating things spiritual. We remain half-Christian and half-heathen in our hearts, involved in the world, yet eagerly inquiring and desiring to know when God’s words regarding the end of the world will come to fruition.

Our Lord Jesus Christ responded to this particular question, when it was posed to Him by His Apostles: “Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the world?” (St. Matthew 24:3). The Lord left the Apostles and us with but a hint and a single sign of His glorious Second Coming: the Cross. All human beings on earth will observe the Cross in the heavens—shining even brighter than the sun—at the Lord Jesus Christ’s Second Coming in all His Divine Glory, together with a countless multitude of bright Angels, so as to carry out His Judgment. Alarmed, we still ask ourselves: “When is its arrival, when will this happen?”

All of us are aware that the Saviour’s Second Coming will also be preceded by that of the Antichrist. Much is said, in this regard, about the Mark of the Beast (Antichrist), and there are countless theories concerning the secret meaning of the number “666.” But few are they who approach these issues with humility, profundity of thought and, indeed, spiritually! One who understands that the mark of the beast is, alas, inscribed on our hearts will not worry and be disquieted, waiting anxiously for its appearance, for example, in some new change in the official documents and passports that a government may issue. Instead, he will concentrate all of his attention on identifying this mark in the heart, where it is evilly inscribed.

Few Orthodox faithful, I suspect, realize that their feverish concerns and questions—“What will the mark look like? Will it not likely be the latest thing in technology, some sort of electronic microchip?”—have their provenance in Protestant texts and Protestant fundamentalistic theology. This kind of speculation cannot be found at the core of the Orthodox Church, and particularly in the theological consensus of the Holy Fathers. Indeed, the truth is that we do not know what form the Mark of the Beast will take. Will it perhaps be a technical process—or perhaps one of the rituals of the false religions of the future world? Perhaps a rite that will blasphemously imitate the Christian rite of Chrismation? We simply do not know. That of which we should be aware is one thing: no outward action and no outward safeguard can guarantee and ensure that we will remain faithful to our Lord. The effectiveness of this mark will be thwarted only by our conscience and by our will. It will be powerless to the extent that we are willing to live in a constant state of spiritual effort of conscience and indefatigable struggle against sin, continuously exercising our willpower in standing up for and maintaining our uninterrupted fidelity to Christ—even after falling over and over, or by betraying Him through our feelings, thoughts, words, and deeds.

No amount of protestation, no organizations and earthly resources directed against passports and the symbol “666”—which is purported, for example, to appear on Russian passports—will save us from the proliferation of this Mark of the Beast. Our sole aim should be the preservation of our fidelity to the Patristic spirit and to Orthodoxy’s Tradition. As I said, not one of the Holy Fathers ever provided a detailed assessment or some rash interpretation of the meaning of the symbol “666.” It is only that disturbed part of humanity, those who have distanced themselves in their hearts from Christ, that has succumbed to hysteria and made such determinations. To some, it is an avocation, while to others it is a burning issue, while to yet others it is a manifestation of their spiritual illness.

The most difficult thing for a person to achieve is the maintenance of spiritual stability. And the Evil One is fully aware of this. That is why he employs innumerable methods in his attempt to separate us from Christ, carefully attacking our inner fidelity to Christ, which fidelity we defile on a daily basis. If we are not able to serve our neighbor quietly and lovingly, if we are incapable of feeding the hungry, visiting the sick, quenching the thirst of those without drink, and comforting the imprisoned, then we are in no condition to serve Christ. If we lack love for our neighbor, we simply do not have Christ in us. It is on such concerns that we must focus our attention. Fidelity is a genuine, profound faithfulness to Orthodox Tradition, in all of its fullness, in word, spirit, life, and actions; in other words, fidelity to, and love for, Christ by fulfilling His commandments and acquiring the Holy Gospel’s appointed virtues in loving our fellow man. One should not have doubt or fear about the Antichrist, for those things that will remain firm on Christ’s Judgment Day are humility, truth, repentance and love. They will save us.

O Lord, rid us of everything that separates us from Thee! Amen.

 

Source: Orthodox Tradition, Vol. XXVII (2010), No. 1, pp. 11-13.

The Mystery of Confession: A Second Baptism

by Father Seraphim Johnson (+2009)

 

 

We all know that in Baptism God graciously forgives all the sins we have ever committed up until that time. But what happens when we sin again after Baptism? We cannot, in fact, be baptized again, so are we condemned to stay in our sin forever? Or has the Lord made some provision for us to renew our Baptism and to cleanse ourselves anew from our sins? When our Lord Jesus Christ washed His disciples’ feet at the Last Supper, He showed us that there is a way to be cleansed from our sins after Baptism. Let us review this event from the Gospel of Saint John:

Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under His power, and that He had come from God and was returning to God; so He got up from the meal, took off His outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around His waist. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash His disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around Him.

He came to Simon Peter, who said to Him, “Lord, art Thou going to wash my feet?”

Jesus replied, “Thou dost not realize now what I am doing, but later thou wilt understand.”

"No,” said Peter, “Thou shalt never wash my feet.”

Jesus answered, “Unless I wash thee, thou hast no part with Me.”

“Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”

Jesus answered, “A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” For He knew who was going to betray Him, and that was why He said not every one was clean.

(John 13:3-11)

Now, let us notice several things in this passage. First, this event took place right before the disciples received Holy Communion for the first time. They were purified by this washing before they received the Holy Mysteries of the Body and Blood of the Lord. When Saint Peter objected to the Lord’s washing his feet, the Lord said that if He did not wash Saint Peter’s feet, then Saint Peter would have no part in Him and His kingdom. That is, Saint Peter would not be able to receive the Lord’s Body and Blood and share in the new life. When Saint Peter heard this, he impulsively asked the Lord to wash all of him, not just his feet. But the Lord reminded him that he had already been washed—he had received Holy Baptism, which had cleansed his whole body. What Saint Peter needed now was to have his feet washed.

The feet are the part of the body which comes into contact with the world: as you walk around, especially if you are barefoot or in sandals, as the Lord and the disciples were, your feet get very dirty. The rest of you might stay clean after a bath, but you couldn’t walk anywhere without getting your feet all dusty and grimy. And that is how it is for us too: after being washed clean in Baptism, we still have to walk around in this fallen world, and when we do so, our spiritual feet get dirty. We cannot be baptized again, but before we can come to Holy Communion and share in the Lord’s Body and Blood, we need to be cleaned again. The means by which we are cleaned is Confession of our sins, which spiritually corresponds to the Washing of the Feet in this Gospel. In his commentary on this passage Blessed Theophylact says, “Thus through confession we can wash ourselves to commune worthily of the supper, and not eat and drink condemnation to ourselves.” [1]

Saint Cosmas of Aitolia, the great missionary of Greece and Albania in the eighteenth century, explains Confession quite clearly when he says: “We too should keep our Baptism as pure and immaculate as possible. If by chance we err, as human beings, may the gracious God be glorified, He Who has granted us a second Baptism, holy Confession, because it is impossible for a person to be saved who hasn’t been baptized and one who is unconfessed.” [2] Saint Cosmas also tells us: “The man who is unconfessed is similar to one who is unbaptized and is unable to be saved… If he has not confessed, let him commune as many times as he will, it does not help at all, but rather causes harm, since he communes unworthily, and woe to him… First we should wash and cleanse our vessel, and then place the most precious Thing inside.” [3]

The Origin of Confession

When the Lord appeared to His Apostles after His resurrection from the dead, He established the Mystery of Holy Confession. He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven” (John 20:22-23). In these words He granted His Apostles the power, through the working of the Holy Spirit, to release men from their sins, and also to bind them in their sins. The Church has used this power ever since. Initially, the bishops, as the direct successors of the Apostles, were the only ones to exercise it, but by the second century they allowed priests to act as their representatives in forgiving sins. The Mystery has two parts: the person who is repenting confesses his sins orally to a priest or bishop, and then, if he seems to have a true desire to stop sinning, the clergyman reads a prayer for God to forgive the sins confessed. After this prayer, the sins are forgiven, as if they had never been committed.

In the second and third centuries, the confession of sins was often done publicly, in front of the whole congregation, at least when major sins were being confessed—apostasy, betrayal of fellow Christians, heresy, and sins which were already public knowledge, like adultery. For such sins, a long period of special discipline and testing was necessary before a person could be readmitted to Holy Communion. In many ways this period paralleled the preparation for Baptism, and the person who had confessed a major sin was treated much like one coming for Baptism. He had to pass through a series of stages, including: (1) mourner—he stood outside the church and asked the forgiveness and prayers of the Christians going inside; (2) listener—he stood with the catechumens in the narthex of the church and listened to the first part of the Liturgy, through the Scriptures and sermon, but left before the Eucharist itself; (3) kneeler—he stood in the back of the church, knelt for special prayers and a blessing from the bishop, but left before Holy Communion; (4) stander—he stood with the faithful, but was not admitted to Holy Communion. During all this time, the penitent was given a special rule of extra prayer and fasting; and if he was willing to fast even more, the time he was excluded from Holy Communion might be reduced. In the case of particularly serious sins, the person might be cut off from Holy Communion for many years, or even until he was dying.

Public confession and the long periods of special discipline and testing began to be relaxed in the third century, starting in Africa, and gradually the Mystery of Confession became more as we know it today. [4] When we look at our own sins, we need to remember how seriously they were treated in the early Church, and we should think about how long we would have been cut off from Holy Communion had we lived then as we do now.

Who Needs Confession?

There is no one alive who does not sin. Saint Paul says, “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). The Holy Apostle Saint John reminds us: “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar and His word has no place in our lives” (I John 1:8-10). In fact, everyone sins “continually,” as Saint Symeon of Thessalonica says, and therefore everyone must repent: laymen, monks, priests, bishops—everyone. [5] Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself tells us, “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand” (Matt. 4:17).

Sometimes we think that we don’t have many sins, so we must be making real progress in the spiritual life. People might even say that they don’t need to confess, since they have not done anything wrong. But, unfortunately, this does not mean that they are already saints; on the contrary, it is a bad sign, since the saints are more aware of their sins than most of us are. Abba Poemen, the Desert Father, once told a story about Abba Dioscoros: One day Abba Dioscoros’s disciple was in his own cell when he heard the abba weeping. So the disciple went and asked Abba Dioscoros what was wrong. “I am weeping over my sins,” the elder answered. “But you do not have sins, Father,” the disciple replied. And the elder said, “Truly, if I were allowed to see my sins, three or four men would not be enough to weep for them.” [6] The closer we grow to God, the brighter His light shines in our souls, and the more clearly we see our sins and shortcomings. So if we are growing in love for God, we should also have a constantly growing awareness of our own sinfulness and unworthiness.

If we don’t confess to God, we make the Devil happy, and our spiritual state grows worse and worse. Abba John the Dwarf says, “The enemy rejoices over nothing so much as over those who do not confess their thoughts.” [7] And Saint Symeon the New Theologian explains how the Lord gave Adam a chance to confess after he disobeyed in the Garden of Eden. When the Lord came in the evening and found Adam hiding, He asked him, “Where are you?” “Who told you you are naked?”—hoping that Adam would confess his sin and ask for forgiveness. But, as we know, Adam did not confess. Instead, as the saying goes, “he took it like a man—he blamed his wife,” and by implication he also blamed God, saying that it was the woman God gave him who caused him to sin. Then the Lord turned to Eve to see if perhaps she would confess. But she blamed the serpent. Since neither one was willing to say, “I have sinned, forgive me,” they were cast out of Eden. [8] How different our lives would be if only our first parents had confessed their sin, instead of hiding it and blaming each other for it! When we come to the Last Judgment, we also will have to choose between two answers to the Lord for all the sins we have committed in our lives. We can either say, “Lord, have mercy on me a sinner,” or we can make excuses and blame others for our sins. What we must remember is that the Lord accepts those who confess their sins, as He accepted the publican, the prodigal son, the harlot, Zacchaeus, and the thief on the cross. But He rejects those, like the Pharisee, who deny their sins or blame others for them.

How Often Should We Confess?

The simplest answer is: as often as possible. Saint Cosmas advises us to confess every day if possible, but if not, then weekly or monthly, but at least four times a year. [9] You see, at the moment we sin, we open the way for Satan to enter into us and start crowding God out of our lives. The longer we wait to turn back to God and confess, the more deeply and firmly Satan digs in and takes over, and the stronger sin’s grip becomes on us. Abba Poemen declared, “At the moment when a man goes astray, if he says, I have sinned, immediately the sin ceases.” [10] Once a monk asked his elder why the people in the world live such bad lives, but have so few strong temptations, while the monks try so hard and have a great many temptations. It seemed unfair, he thought. The elder answered that when worldly people fall, they don’t confess and get back up again, so they can’t fall again, since they are already flat on the ground. The Devil does not waste his temptations on them anymore, since he already has them anyway. But when a monk falls, he immediately confesses his sin and gets up. Now he is standing up again, so he can also fall again. Sometimes the monk wins in his battle with Satan, and sometimes he loses, but he keeps on trying until finally he comes to peace with God. [11] Similarly, when one of the brothers fell, he asked Abba Sisoes what to do. “Get up again,” he answered. “I did, but I fell again,” the monk said. “Get up again and again.” “How many times?” the monk asked. “Until you are taken up either in virtue or in sin,” the abba told him. [12] So we see that we should confess every time we sin. And then, after confessing, we must fill our minds with thoughts of God so that the temptations and sins do not return and fill us again with their filth.

One way everyone can use to get rid of sin as soon as possible is to confess daily. Saint Isaiah the Solitary taught: “Examine yourself daily in the sight of God, and discover which of the passions is in your heart. Cast it out, and so escape His judgment.” [13] Now, obviously, you cannot go to a priest daily and tell him your temptations and sins, but you can go before God every night in your prayers and examine your life during the day which has just passed. Saint Maximos the Confessor teaches us that our daily confession should have two parts: first, we should thank God for all the blessings we have received from Him, especially the ones of that day; then we should bring to light and examine our sins, again especially the ones of that day. These two acts produce humility, says the Saint, since in our thanksgiving we see how unworthy we are of God’s goodness and blessings to us, while in our confession of sins we see how badly we have repaid Him for His love toward us and we ask for His forgiveness. [14] If we follow this rule, we never let the sun go down on our sins and do not give them a chance to put out deep roots in our souls.

How To Confess

You do not, perhaps, need any special instructions to make your daily confession as part of your prayers; but special preparation is needed for the Mystery of Confession. Saint Cosmas of Aitolia lived in a time of great spiritual decline, when the Moslem Ottoman Empire was oppressing Christians and when most priests were so poorly trained that they were not allowed to hear confessions. Wherever Saint Cosmas went, he preached to the people about the Faith and about repentance, and then he heard as many confessions as he could. But since there were always too many people, he told them he would take all their sins on his own shoulders if they would agree to take four hairs from his beard. These four hairs are the four steps to a good confession: (1) forgive your enemies; (2) find a good confessor and tell him all your sins; (3) accuse only yourself, no one else; and (4) leave confession firmly resolved that it is better to die than to sin again. [15] Let us look at each of these steps in detail.

Forgive Your Enemies

Our Lord Jesus Christ taught: “And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins” (Matt. 11:15). He also said, “If you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother: then come and offer your gift” (Matt. 5:23-24). Before you can do anything acceptable to God, you must forgive your neighbors, and above all, your enemies. The Apostle John says that, “anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him” (I John 2:9; 3:15).

Saint Cosmas told a story about two men who came to confession. One of them, Peter, had many good deeds and few sins, but he would not forgive men for their offenses against himself. The other, Paul, had many sins but he always forgave others. Because of this, Peter was sent to Hell, while Paul, because he forgave others, was granted Holy Communion. Saint Cosmas says that Peter was like 100 pounds of flour, and his hatred and refusal to forgive others was the yeast which changed it all into the devil’s poison. Paul, on the other hand, was like a pile of kindling, and his forgiving of others was the spark which ignited the whole pile and made it burn brightly for God. [15] So before you do anything else, think about those who have offended you, and then forgive them from the bottom of your heart. In the words of Abba Zeno, “If a man wants God to hear his prayer quickly, then before he prays for anything else, even his own soul, when he stands and stretches out his hands towards God, he must pray with all his heart for his enemies. Through this action, God will hear everything that he asks.” [17]

Actually, this is something you should do every day as part of your daily confession. Saint Epiphanius once met with Abba Hilarion and served him a fowl to eat. Abba Hilarion said, “Forgive me, but since I received the [monastic] habit, I have not eaten meat which has been killed.” Saint Epiphanius answered, “Since I took the [monastic] habit, I have not allowed anyone to go to sleep with a complaint against me, and I have not gone to rest with a complaint against anyone.” Abba Hilarion admitted that Saint Epiphanius’s way of life was better than his. [18] Let us follow Saint Epiphanius’s good example, and never go to bed in a state of enmity with anyone; rather, let us forgive everyone every night in our evening prayers.

Find a Good Confessor and Tell Him All Your Sins

Saint Symeon of Thessalonica says that you must confess all your sins with simplicity and sorrow, and you must promise to correct any injustices and from now on to behave in a godly way. [19] In order to confess all your sins you must review your life since your last confession and see what sorts of falls you have had. Daily confession will make this much easier, since you will remember far more and be aware of more of your sins if you consider them each day.

Your spiritual father may also help you to review your thoughts and actions and to examine yourself by asking you some questions. There are also various other aids that you can use in considering your sins. One approach is to go over the Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes to see how your life compares to their demands; you can also find lists of questions based on them to help in this examination. Another method is to consider the three parts of the soul and see what sorts of sins are characteristic of each: the intelligent part is prone to errors in faith, such as heresy or blasphemy; the incensive part often leads to anger and cursing of others; and the appetitive part produces greed, love of money, envy, jealousy, impurity. [20] There is, however, one special caution which must be observed when you examine yourself to see what your sins are. Saint Mark the Ascetic warns that you should be careful not to go over your sins in too much detail, either in preparing for confession or when confessing them, since dwelling on them too much may rekindle some of the old passions and cause you to fall again. [21] In any case, pray to God to enlighten you and show you your sins as far as you are able to bear this knowledge.

People sometimes get nervous when they hear they must confess all their sins. They think, “What if I forget something? Will God condemn me even more?” Once in a while, you really do forget a sin, and quite often you are ignorant of your real sins because of your spiritual immaturity, but do not let this frighten you. When the priest prays for your forgiveness in the prayer of absolution, he prays that you will also be forgiven for any sins you have not confessed, either because of ignorance or forgetfulness. Of course, if you later remember a sin you forgot to confess, or if you become aware that some past act was sinful, you should tell this to your spiritual father at your next confession.

After reviewing your life and determining your sins, you and your spiritual father should sit down together in a quiet place and talk over your sins. During this conversation, you should not just tell him about the actual sins you have committed, but also about ideas and temptations which have troubled you or about which you are in doubt. Unfortunately, it is not always possible to do this, especially if you come to confession only before Liturgy on Sunday morning. If this is your normal practice, you might try to find a time occasionally when you can have a longer conversation with your spiritual father.

Mention of your spiritual father brings us to the other part of this step. You should try to find an experienced spiritual father, and one for whom you feel trust. Abba Poemen warns us, “Do not lay open your conscience to anyone whom you do not trust in your heart.” [22] There was once a monk who was very tempted. He went to an elder and confessed his sinful thoughts. Before the elder had even heard of the monk’s sinful deeds, he said, “You have lost your soul.” So the monk decided that in that case, there was no point in his staying in the monastery and living such a difficult life. As he was leaving to go back to the world, however, he met Abba Silouan, who was spiritually very experienced and perceptive. He asked the monk what was wrong, so the monk confessed his sinful thoughts again. But Abba Silouan told him the Scriptures do not condemn a person only for thoughts. That encouraged the monk enough that he then told the abba about his sinful deeds. Abba Silouan taught the monk about repentance, and the monk went back to the monastery and became a lamp of virtue. [23] As you can see, that inexperienced elder nearly cost the monk his soul. By the way, being spiritually experienced is not the same thing as being well educated or old. It is possible for a young person to be more spiritually experienced than an old one, and it is actually somewhat more likely that a less highly educated confessor will be humbler and more experienced spiritually. Further, there are laymen who are far more experienced in things of the Spirit than are many priests. At times you will find that people confess their sins to a layman for advice and guidance, and then go to a priest for absolution.

Some cautious priests, knowing their own lack of spiritual experience, will hear confessions and read the prayer of absolution, but will not give any beyond the most general advice, lest they cause harm to the person confessing. If a spiritual father has some experience, however, he should try to help those who confess to him by advising them on how best to deal with their temptations and conquer their passions. In fact, receiving such advice is one of the advantages of confessing to a spiritual father.

You must be careful of a particular temptation which the evil one will often use against you. As Saint Theodorus puts it, “Do not judge the actions of your spiritual father, but obey his commands. For the demons are in the habit of showing you his defects, so that your ears may be deaf to what he tells you.” [24] Your spiritual father is also a human being, with his own sins and weaknesses. Even so, he may be able to see things—or God may show them to him—which will help you if you listen to him. Do not be critical of him or be put off by something he says or does, so that you refuse to listen to his good advice to you.

A spiritual father does not normally give actual “commands” or “obediences” to his spiritual children, but he can help them with advice if they ask for it. Saint Peter of Damascus teaches that “we can trust only him who has received from God the grace of discrimination and who, as Saint Maximos says, has acquired through great humility and long practice of the virtues an intellect blessed with spiritual insight. Such a man is in a position to advise, not everyone, but at least those who seek him out voluntarily and who question him by their own choice… It is because of his humility, and because his questioners seek him out voluntarily, that what he says is stamped on the soul of his listeners.” [25] Sadly enough, Saint Peter remarks that even in his day there was no one who had this discrimination, since no one had the humility that leads to it. [26] How much less likely that you will find such humility and true discrimination today! But do not despair. Rather, discuss your spiritual state with your spiritual father. He cannot and must not dictate to you, but it is very important to be open to his advice. The combination of his advice and your humility in receiving it is often the key to victory over your sins. Once two brothers went to confess to Abba Zeno. One of them had many tears and a great desire for instruction, while the other was indifferent and had no interest in anything the abba had to teach him. Later, when the two monks compared notes, the one who wanted guidance was healed of his sins, but the other was not. [27]

When you come to confession, be careful to avoid another temptation. It is easy to start talking about all sorts of exalted spiritual questions, the meaning of the Scriptures, and so forth, while you somehow neglect to mention your own sins. Once an elder who had heard about Abba Poemen made a long trip to see him. When he was admitted to the abba’s cell, the visitor began talking about all sorts of exalted spiritual matters; but Abba Poemen did not say a word to him. Finally, the visiting elder left and, in great disappointment, told Abba Poemen’s disciple that the abba had not spoken to him at all. When the disciple asked Abba Poemen why he had not talked with the visitor, the abba answered that the visitor knew about sublime spiritual topics, of which he was ignorant, so he had nothing to say. He only knew about the passions and how to struggle with them. The disciple advised the visitor to go again to see Abba Poemen and to ask him about the passions of the soul. When he did so, Abba Poemen replied that now this was something he knew about, and they then had a long talk which was very profitable for the visitor. [28] So when you come to confession, leave theology behind and stick to your passions.

Remember that when you come to confession, you are actually confessing to God; you should approach Him with reverence and godly fear, knowing how holy He is. So often today people are casual and unconcerned in their approach to anyone in authority, and this attitude sometimes carries over into their approach to God. But, when you come to Confession or Holy Communion, think how you would feel if you could actually see the Lord Jesus Christ standing there before you. Then remind yourself that He is in truth there, and approach Him with awe. In the Order of Confession, the priest is told to remind the person confessing, “Brother, inasmuch as thou hast come to me and to God, be not ashamed; for thou speakest not unto me, but unto God, before Whom thou standest.” [29] Now, some people may ask, “Why, then, do I need to have the priest there at all? Can’t I just confess to God?” But the Apostle James instructs us: “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed” (James 5:16). Your spiritual father is present in Confession as a witness so that you really will examine yourself, to give you advice, and also because your sins are also offenses against mankind, of which he is a representative. One of the important products of a full confession to another person is that it leads to humility, which is absolutely essential for any progress at all in the spiritual life. Always remember that your spiritual father has his own sins and trials. He will not judge and condemn you if you open your heart to him. You must not, then, be ashamed to open your life up to him and confess all your sins. The time to be ashamed is when you commit the sin, not when you come to confess it. Often it is the very act of humbling yourself and acknowledging your sin that leads to your triumph over it. There was once a father who had a terrible warfare with temptation for three years, but he was unable to confess it. In his pride and shame he said to himself, “Why reveal my secrets, when I already know what to do?” So, although he often visited his elder and talked to him about other things, he never mentioned this warfare. But since the warfare kept getting worse, he finally decided he had to go and confess it. On the way, he wavered, and he decided, “If no one is there, I will confess, but not otherwise.” When he arrived, the elder was alone, but still he did not confess. Finally, as he was about to leave again without confessing, the elder stopped him and encouraged him to confess. The elder could see he was in difficulty, so he told him, “I am a man of like passions to you. Tell me what is wrong.” At last, the monk confessed his sin, and immediately his heart was lightened and he was freed from that passion. [30]

Saint John Cassian likewise tells of a monk who was a great ascetic, but would not reveal his thoughts to anyone. He was troubled for a long time by dreams which showed him that Judaism was better than Christianity, but he told no one about the dreams, nor did he ask for advice. In the end, he abandoned Christ and became a Jew himself, having been led astray by his pride. True discernment comes only from true humility, which you show by being willing to reveal your thoughts and actions to your spiritual father, rather than trusting in your own wisdom. The very act of revealing them weakens and withers evil thoughts. [31]

Accuse Only Yourself, No One Else

Actually, there are two reasons why you should accuse only yourself at confession. In the first place, when you come to confession, you must not follow the bad example of Adam and Eve and try to blame someone else for your sins; rather, you must take responsibility yourself for your own weakness. Abba Or taught his disciples: “In all temptations, do not complain about anyone else, but say about yourself, ‘These things happen to me because of my sins.’” [32] Abba Moses likewise taught that if a person does not think in his own heart that he is a sinner, then God will not hear him. He said, “When someone is occupied with his own faults, he does not see those of his neighbor.” [33] As long as you are trying to blame someone else for your sins, you are not truly sorry for them—you have not yet acknowledged that you are responsible for them—so God cannot give you the strength to overcome them. It is only when you turn to God, admit your own weakness and sinfulness, and ask for His help, that you will begin to make progress against your sins.

The second reason for accusing only yourself during confession is that you must never reveal another person’s sins. Abba Poemen warns that if you reveal another person’s sins, God will reveal yours. [34] Many people know that a priest is not allowed to tell anyone what he has heard in confession, even at the threat of death. But many do not know that this same rule applies to everyone. If you happen to overhear what someone says in confession, you must never reveal that to anyone. You are bound just as much as the priest is to keep it secret. When Christians learn of someone else’s sins, they should pray for that person; but to reveal the sins and talk about them destroys your own soul. To keep silent about someone else’s sins is all part of not judging others. Saint Isaac the Theban once saw a brother sinning and condemned him in his heart. When the Saint got home, he found an angel blocking the door to his cell. The angel said, “God sent me to ask you where you want to throw the guilty brother you have condemned.” Saint Isaac repented, and the angel told him that he should not judge before God has done so. [35] Another time a group of monks was discussing the sins of one of the brothers. Abba Pior came with a big bag of sand on his back and a small bag of sand hanging down in front. The fathers asked the meaning of this, and he told them that we put our sins—the big bag—behind us so that we will not be troubled by them, and we put the little bag of our brother’s sins in front of us so we will be able to see and judge his sins. This is backwards. [36] Always remember that you are coming to confess your own sins, not to judge your brother. If you do reveal someone else’s sins during confession, you are actually committing another sin in the midst of confession, so how can you hope to be forgiven?

Leave Confession with a Firm Resolution that it is Better to Die than to Sin Again

It is easy to fall into the habit of going to confession without really thinking about what repentance means, but this makes confession worse than meaningless. Repentance is a firm desire and intention not to commit that sin again. Saint Symeon of Thessalonica even declares that if a priest is aware that someone is not really repentant when he comes to confession, he must send that person away without absolution. Otherwise, the priest himself shares in that person’s sin. [37]

“He who conceals his sins does not prosper,” say the Holy Scriptures, “but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy” (Prov. 28:13). Abba Poemen says that God will forgive one who converts from sin. [38] If you have really decided to turn away from your sins and commit them no more, then when the priest reads the prayer of absolution over you, God forgives all your sins and wipes out the very memory of them.

What we find so often is that, while we don’t really like our sins, we do love the things which lead to sin. We want to stop judging other people, but we still enjoy talking about them and hearing about things they do. As Saint Isaac the Syrian teaches, we become enslaved to our passions because we are attached to the causes of our sins. You cannot stop sinning, the Saint explains, unless you hate your sins, and you cannot be forgiven unless you confess them. [39] So you go to confession with a real desire to stop sinning, but you don’t want to give up the things which lead to the sins. A monk once came to his elder and asked for help against lustful thoughts. The monk was sincere in wanting the thoughts to stop, but they did not. When the elder then prayed for enlightenment, he was shown that an angel was waiting to help the monk, but the monk did not ask for help. On the contrary, when the thoughts came he welcomed them and enjoyed them. [40] This monk wanted his sin to go away, but he did not hate it. In fact, he enjoyed the sinful thoughts when they came, even though they were drawing him away from God. In such a case, confession is worthless, since there is no desire to stop sinning. In another case, a monk confessed his helplessness against impure thoughts and asked his elder to pray for his victory over them. After the elder had prayed for him for seven days, the monk said the thoughts were worse than ever. The elder was puzzled, so he prayed to God for an explanation. Satan appeared to him and said that from the first day of the elder’s prayers he had stopped tempting the monk, but the monk had then created his own temptation by eating and drinking too much. [41] If you come to confession and do not really intend to stop sinning, then you would do better to stay away. You are not receiving the forgiveness of your sins at all, but are just mocking God and making your state worse than before.

Now, do not misunderstand this. Sometimes people say, “But, I always have the same sins. Does that mean I should not come to confession?” It can be discouraging to find that you have the same sins each time you come to confession, but, as one priest says, “What do you want—new sins?” No matter how weak you are and no matter how many times you fall into the same sins, if you want help in overcoming your sins, then come and confess them, asking for this help. But be ready to work to overcome them. Do not just think that they will go away on their own while you continue to feed them and to enjoy the things that cause them. If, on the other hand, you have no desire to struggle and to avoid the situations, people, and things that have led you to sin in the past, then you might better stay away from confession, because in this case confession only adds more sins to your burden. For confession to produce forgiveness, you must hate your sin and want to conquer it by all the means at your disposal.

What To Do When You Have No Spiritual Father

For many Orthodox Christians, what they have read so far may be more frustrating than helpful. In our current circumstances many Orthodox Christians live far away from a church and may not see a priest more than once or twice a year. In other cases, while they may have a priest at hand, they may not feel able to approach him as a spiritual guide, or he himself may not be willing to provide such advice and direction. In the modern world there is a fearful shortage of priests with the experience and the discrimination to be spiritual fathers. Sometimes this problem can be solved by occasionally telephoning a spiritual father or writing to him, but that is frequently unsatisfactory too. This same situation has often arisen in the past, since there have never been enough discriminating spiritual fathers. Many centuries ago there was an ascetic who served as spiritual father to some monks; as a result of hearing one monk’s confession, he fell into sin himself. Where he was living, there was no one to whom he could open his thoughts, so he decided to go where he could find someone to whom he could confess, although that would leave no one to hear the thoughts of the monks where he was then living. As he was starting to leave, God sent him a vision in the form of a young virgin who advised him to stay where he was, to live with God’s grace, and to learn the truth from it. This is what he did, and he was healed from his sin. [42]

From this example, we learn that when you have no one to advise you, you can call on God to send you His grace to help you. Of course, you must be careful not to fall into the error of ignoring a guide when you have one available and saying that you will have only God for your director. God will not help in this special way when there is a guide at hand whom you choose to disregard. There is a story of a man who was trapped on the roof of his house in a flood. A boat came to rescue him, but he refused, saying that he was waiting for God to save him from the flood. Later a helicopter came, but he turned it down also, waiting for God to save him. Then the flood waters came up higher, and the man drowned. When he came to judgment, he asked the Lord why He had not saved him from the flood. The Lord replied, “Who do you think sent the boat and the helicopter?” If He gives you a guide, He expects you to listen to him. But if He does not give you one, then He will graciously be your guide if you approach Him in sincerity and humility.

Similarly, Saint Peter of Damascus says that if you have no advisor, you should take Christ as your counsellor. Ask Him with humility and heartfelt prayer about your every thought and action. If you are sincere and have as your only purpose the doing of God’s will, then God Himself will teach you what to do. He may do this in different ways: directly, through inspiration; by means of some person (sometimes this may be the priest to whom you go to confession); by circumstances; or by the Holy Scriptures. [43] As an example of how God can send you guidance, remember the Ethiopian eunuch who was riding in his chariot and reading the Prophet Isaiah. The Holy Spirit sent Saint Philip the Apostle to him to ask if he understood what he was reading. The eunuch said he did not, so Saint Philip explained to him how the Prophet was speaking about our Lord Jesus Christ. After this explanation, the eunuch asked to be baptized (Acts 8:26-39). In another instance, from the nineteenth century, a young man came to confess to the Russian Elder Amvrosy of Optina. While he was waiting, he was very upset and confused about how to confess his sin. Fr. Joseph, the elder’s cell attendant, gave him a book of essays, saying, “Here, this is a good book to read before confession.” The young man opened the book to a passage which was exactly what he needed, and he finished it just as he was called for confession. [44] When you ask the Lord Jesus Christ in this way for guidance, you must give up your own will and live in God. You must hope in faith for an answer from Him, and you must be patient for that answer to come. Do not assume that you are immediately going to receive a revelation in answer to your request. Saint Peter of Damascus says that it may take years for the answer to come, but it will come. In the meantime, be humble enough to admit that you do not know about the matter, so that you do not fall into either of the possible temptations: disbelieving an angel who is bringing you the answer, or trusting a devil who is trying to mislead you. [45] In words of great comfort, Saint Peter says that if you have no guide, but do try to act with dispassion, even things you may do that are not so good will be counted to your credit for two reasons: because you are perplexed about how best to follow God, and because you have God in mind and have the intention to follow Him to the best of your ability. [46]

If you have the sincere desire to conquer your sins, God is always ready and waiting to help you. If possible, take all four hairs from Saint Cosmas’s beard: forgive your enemies, confess all your sins to an experienced spiritual father, accuse no one but yourself for your falls, and have the firm intention to die rather than to sin again. But if you cannot grasp the second hair in full because you have no spiritual father, at least take the other three hairs and make a full confession of your sins to God Himself, asking Him to provide you with the guidance you need in the absence of a human spiritual father. In either case, God will see your humility and your sorrow for your sins and will grant you forgiveness and guidance in living with, in, and for Him in the future.

 

FOOTNOTES

1. Blessed Theophylact, Blagovestnik [in Russian], S. Pctersburg, p. 679.

2. Vaporis, N. M., Father Kosmas, The Apostle of the Poor, Brookline, Massachusctts, 1977, p. 111.

3. Menounou, I. V., Kosma tou Aitolou Didakhes [in Greek], Athens, 1979, p. 163.

4. Tal'berg, N., Istoriya Khristianskoy Tserkvi [in Russian], Jordanville, New York, 1964, pp. 98-99 gives a brief history of this period.

5. Saint Symeon of Thessalonica, Ta Apanta [in Greek], Thessalonica, 1882, pp. 205-206.

6. Ward, B., The Sayings of the Desert Fathers, London, 1975, p. 46.

7. Ibid., p. 152.

8. Symeon the New Theologian, The Discourses, New York, 1980, pp. 95-97.

9. Vaporis, op. cit., p. 66.

10. Ward, op. cit., p. 152.

11. Euergetinos [in Greek], Athens, 1983, Vol. I, pp. 428-429.

12. Ward, op. cit., p. 184.

13. Philokalia, London, 1979, 1981, 1984, Vol. I, p. 26.

14. Philokalia, Vol. 11, p. 226.

15. Menounou, op. cit., p. 229; Vaporis, op. cit., pp. 64-66.

16. Vaporis, op. cit., pp. 66-67.

17 Ward, op. cit., p. 57.

18. Ibid., p. 49.

19. Op. cit., p. 210.

20. Saint Symeon of Thessalonica, op. cit., p. 211.

21. Philokalia, Vol. I, p. 138.

22. Ward, op. cit., p. 163.

23. Euergetinos, Vol. 1, pp. 286-287.

24. Philokalia, Vol TI, p. 21.

25. Philokalia, Vol. III, p. 183.

26. Philokalia, Vol. III, p. 185.

27. Euergetinos, Vol. I, pp. 285-286.

28. Ward, op. cit., pp. 140-141.

29. Manual of Eastern Orthodox Prayers, London, 1945, p. 55.

30. Khampake, Th., Gerontikon [in Greek], Athens, 1962, pp. 343-344.

31. Philokalia, Vol. I, pp. 102-104.

32. Ward, op. cit., p. 207.

33. Ibid., p. 120.

34. Ibid., p. 147.

35. Ibid., p. 93.

36. Ibid., p. 168.

37. Op. cit., p. 209.

38. Ward, op. cit., p. 150.

39. The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian, Boston, 1984, p. 152.

40. Euergetinos, Vol. I, p. 309.

41. Ibid., pp. 309-310.

42. Euergetinos, Vol. 1, p. 310.

43. Philokalia, Vol. III, p. 149.

44. The Elder Joseph of Optina, Boston, 1984, p. 65.

45. Philokalia, Vol. III, pp. 269-270.

46. Ibid., p. 243.

 

Source: The True Vine, Number 1, Spring 1989, pp. 30-50. Footnote numbering adjusted.

The Way Out of the Modern Spiritual Crisis

Monk Moses the Athonite (+2014)

 

 

In our days, the question of the chief aim in life sounds like nonsense in a world where no one is any longer interested in the essence, truth, and value of everything. Unfortunately, many do not understand at all why they live.

We see the destruction of life’s values. This is a very serious crisis, not so much economic, social, and cultural as spiritual. What was acquired over the centuries is despised, ridiculed, and trampled upon. There is no reverence, no respect for what is holy any longer. A rapid and crude desacralization of everything and everyone. But I have come to you this evening not in order to pose as a teacher, catechist, preacher, or accuser, but to present to you my pain, love, and sincere reflections.

Thus, modern man has forgotten the meaning of his existence, having thought that he is immortal on earth, having bound himself to matter, money, property, and things. He has considered permissiveness to be freedom, disrespect to be progress, falsehood to be a true gift, sin to be liberation, and decency to be madness. Doubt, disputes, suspiciousness, and rejection have entered the life of modern people. The thirst for money, worship of the flesh, and boastful vainglory have become gods. Hypocrisy has become a virtue.

In such an atmosphere, the Church is considered an obstacle. Thus, the existing scandals involving her sinning members are exaggerated, carefully remembered, and constantly broadcast, so that people recoil at the mere sight of a cassock in their path. The Church is not a little shop. She existed before us and will certainly live after us. The soul also seeks another light besides the solar and the electric. Conscience also acts. The essence of every serious person strives toward pure springs of water, in order truly to quench its thirst. The various recipes for temporary enjoyment in reality offer unquenchable pain.

Many impressionable people today shut themselves up within themselves, are uncommunicative, and think only of themselves. A certain hopelessness reigns in discussions. The city greets one dimly and inhospitably. Villages are considered small and boring, the surrounding environment polluted, noisy, and abnormal, and people nervous individualists, always hurrying somewhere and quite superficial. There is degradation of politics and corruption among politicians. Some Church authorities shout and threaten, while others keep silent and hide. Artists are carried away by fashion, and scholars by self-satisfaction. The final and painful statement of fact is universal decay, which causes bitterness, sorrow, and intense pain.

Modern man has gone mad from the achievements of technology. As one wise journalist, Kostas Hatziantoniou, says, “modern man has thrown away the ideas and faith once necessary to him for certain self-interested needs and has shown his true face, that face there is no need to hide this which was created by this culture and which today is killing culture.” Both capitalism and socialism expressed many false opinions and promised much, that all would be equal, happy, and rich. But the world had to be quickly and cruelly disappointed. And it felt very vividly that it had been deceived. Political leaders are insincere.

Decay has become a universal phenomenon. No one expected such a rapid change in everything. The central place in the home has been taken by the spectacle—the television. It has taken the former place of the table and the icon corner. It is inextinguishable, like a lampada, in order to shine and to darken, to disfigure, to hypnotize, to suggest new ideas, a new morality, a new position in life. In order to rule, one need only be young, successful, and rich. We hear nothing more about morality, dignity, character, and the like. Announcers have become prosecutors and executioners. Television programs constantly say that freedom is homosexuality, fornicatory cohabitation, abortions, and so-called soft drugs. And unhappy man dreams that he is being completely liberated by means of this anarchy and permissiveness. He gags his conscience, darkens his reason, suffocates his feelings, and without brakes hurls himself into material pleasures, into some strange feast of debauchery.

This corruption came with man’s alienation from God and from his neighbor. The deep meaning of life was lost. Rivalry, immoral competition, boastful leadership have created a terrifying inner emptiness and fissures in man. Now is the judgment (John 12:31). Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation (2 Cor. 6:2). But sincerity, seriousness, courage, and immediate help are necessary. There is no time for justifications and delays. Accusations, shouting, reproaches will help nothing. The searchlights must be directed within oneself, in order to look oneself in the eyes, without averting one’s gaze and without making long introductions. The mass media always brightly illuminate others; they love easy criticism, not hard self-examination. And we too usually compare ourselves only with those still worse. Immorality broadcasts about morality, and the demon-possessed about the purification of the Church. Instructive orators tiresomely shout from television screens about corruption, in order to receive applause for their art of eloquence.

Dissoluteness nests in the depth of man’s soul. That is where the problem must be sought. There is no need to rummage somewhere far away when everything is within us. Christ insisted on inner sobriety, self-criticism, self-examination, self-knowledge, reproaching and accusing oneself. Freedom is when you do what you yourself want, and not what your flesh wants. Courage consists in conquering one’s passions. Man today, if you will allow me, is free only illusorily. He thinks that everything is wonderful for him, although this is absolutely not the case. And this is a terrible mistake. Such an all-knowing, free, and important man often tramples himself down and mocks himself. He is carried away by omens; he believes in fate, destiny, magic, horoscopes, and the predictions of astrologers.

Materialists long ago rejected every form of religiosity, but, as we have already said, they made gods of the flesh and money. Today man does not wish to have any obligations; he seeks only rights. And for these rights he suffers so terribly. And the sole and exclusive love of matter can never form a man who is not dissolute. Morality can be acquired only by loving the spirit. If Christ is not present in human relations, then these relations can collapse at any second. If man does not pass from his harsh “I” to the friendly “you,” then there will be no personal encounter with the living God and with another person, and he will suffer from loneliness. And life, despite all efforts, will not change. In the end, man will simply howl from anguish. And in this spiritual emptiness hypocrisy grows.

Such self-absorption in a kind of diabolical egocentrism, with the sole aim of pleasure and wealth, creates a contradictory atmosphere, which only deepens the crisis. Television also contributes to this. Happy, as we have already said, is only the young, beautiful, strong, and rich person. Not a single word about upbringing, faith, ideals, morality, and character. In homes now the number of televisions has increased, and the number of living conversations has decreased. The conscience must be awakened; childhood simplicity must be remembered; faith must be warmed again; the good struggle of repentance, conversion, and spiritual exertion must be begun. One must again find within oneself the fear of God, the profound meaning of man’s existence, the sacredness of the uniqueness of the human person. It is worthwhile to rediscover pure religiosity, mutual respect, mutual understanding, mutual help. The conscience cannot endure the praise of vice. It is called to rise up, to resist, and to speak its word of truth.

But we must not again stop only at a simple statement of facts, which leads only to despair. It is necessary to struggle with hope for the better. Let each person in this pitch darkness light his own candle, and the darkness will gradually disperse. The instruments for the transfiguration of the world are in the hands of each one of us. And this crisis must not make us monotonous and grumbling critics. Let us begin with self-criticism. From this begins the building of the house. Let tears wash away our lawless deeds.

The teaching of the Church of Christ has not ended and has not been destroyed. Listen to it attentively again, even if from our lips. And may the words of the Lord, of His saints, and the wisdom of the elders of the desert be heard again in a world of dissoluteness, suspiciousness, falsehood, flattery, and inhumanity. May no craftiness, laziness, desire to avoid difficulties, or putting things off indefinitely hinder us in this. Elder Paisios calls us to the courageous struggle of personal resistance, a mystical rebellion through the constant destruction of the passions and the gathering of virtues. The free man is called to choose what is good, worthy, sacred, and eternal, struggling bravely and humbly, and not blaming everything on fate and avoiding suffering and difficulties.

The power of wealth and theomachy shackle the man whom they possess. Such a life without freedom and moral principles brings only anguish, fear, boredom, and suffering of soul. The end never justifies the means. Good can come only by a righteous path. For the sake of some common good, one must not break the personal. F. M. Dostoevsky very wisely observed: “There can be no world founded on the shed blood of an innocent child!” Man can only be an end, and must never be a means.

Another cause of the serious crisis of our time is the endless pursuit of pleasure. And indeed, of a kind of mad pleasure which, according to Saint Maximus the Confessor, in the end becomes pain. Pleasure is found not only in the worship of the flesh, but also in vulgarity, disrespect, unbridled hedonism, and dissoluteness. And the very pain that appears after mad pleasure can become an alarm clock, a springboard for deliverance from this base life. Pain leads to self-healing. “That is it, we have arrived. There is nowhere further to go,” a man will say to himself at such a moment. Despair at the sight of one’s utterly destroyed self will give us hope, resolve, and strength. And the feeling of loneliness bestowed by the ceaseless hunt for pleasures will lead to rational courage for liberation from a vicious habit.

The monster of pleasure tears off its mask. The passions rejoice and celebrate their victory. On television shows a man disgraces himself, he is paid for it, and he rejoices in his nakedness before everyone. Hypocrites present themselves as the most sincere people. On the other hand, as Elder Aimilianos of Simonopetra said: “Usually the immoral speak much about morality and are very strict about it!” Indeed, moralizing is a kind of illness of the dissolute. The writer Angelos Terzakis said that modern people have achieved outstanding success in two areas: in technological progress and in the perfection of hypocrisy! But the purity of truly honest and sincere people still preserves this world. For this honesty, of course, one has to pay a certain price, but the benefit is also enormous: peace in the heart. A noble life very often makes victors out of the defeated. Perhaps it does not bring high positions, but it grants a calm conscience, and this, without any doubt, is a serious advantage.

Saint Maximus the Confessor, in his well-known Chapters on Love, says that according to how we use circumstances and things, we become either corrupt or righteous. There is incorrect use, excessive use; there is excess, satiety, and waste. Saint John Chrysostom notes that the sin is not in wine, but in drunkenness. The violation of every boundary is not yet true freedom. The man of the world, troubled by the presence of God, withdraws from Him, hoping that in this way he will enjoy complete freedom without any obstacles. Today, what interests man most of all is to obtain as much money as possible, in order to amuse himself, and so that no one will bother him. Thus it even reaches the point that man deadens his conscience. We have reached the height of technical development and the spiritual baseness of man.

And in the end, everything that “made our life easier” began to make it difficult. As we have already said, from all-embracing comfort we received extraordinary boredom. Much is said about “quality of life,” “raising the standard of living,” “increasing per capita income,” but nothing is heard about the lowering of the significance of spiritual values, the destruction of sacred institutions, the denial of life-giving truths. There is no longer a place for modest, honest, and noble people in an egocentric, cruel, shameless, competitive, and domineering world. But the lack of true joy in the life of so many gives an opportunity for the question to arise: where are we going? Earthly life is a place of trials for birth into eternal life. This must not be forgotten. We are not immortal in this world; we are guests on this earth, temporary settlers. On the wall of one monk’s cell, it was written: “Today it is mine, tomorrow another’s, and it will always be someone’s!” We are here only in order to come to know God. And the absence of true acquaintance with God is the greatest tragedy for man. But the encounter with Him gives full and absolute joy.

As you have already understood, we are speaking not so much about a crisis of the time and of society with its institutions, as about a crisis of man. Confusion, disorder, chaos, unrest, anxiety, and the absence of the fear of God greatly exhaust man. He moves swiftly across the field, seeing nothing. Clouds and fog do not allow him to distinguish the road; man cannot understand where the descent is. The world is rushing in order to reach its end. But life deprived of meaning may also end there. It is very hard to realize that mankind is moving toward self-destruction. Jealousy, envy, remembrance of wrongs, the desire to conquer, the absence of any compassion for another person reign undivided today. Populism works against mankind. The equality proclaimed by socialism created concentration camps for dissenters. The barbarity of capitalism tramples down the weak. And all this is because man without God is dangerous.

Decline comes with various counterfeits. Thoughts become crafty, and not good; morality becomes immoral; faith becomes a weapon; and piety becomes a mask. The consequences of all this are manifested in the absence of balance, in deficiencies, fears, and anxieties. Religiosity today is made an object of mockery and derision. But perhaps we ourselves give occasion for this? Perhaps we simply are not in reality true Christians ourselves, and falseness has filled our life? As Gandhi says, we do not resemble Christ, and therefore he loves Christ, but not Christians. It is true that we live in a difficult and crisis-ridden epoch. Decency is most often ridiculed; the most important values of honor, self-sacrifice, and patriotism become objects of mockery. Courage, heroism, frankness, and traditionalism are considered excessive conservatism. Of course, no one is speaking about fanaticism, nationalism, and racism. But modernism and secularization are already knocking even at the Church doors through translations of sacred texts, neo-Origenist opinions about universal salvation, denial of the true ascetic worldview, the gathering of all heresies into one—Ecumenism—and through a syncretism that is simply incomprehensible to the mind.

And in this disheartening situation, is it still possible to hope for anything? But everything is permitted to us except despondency. Despair is the state of demons and is suggested by demons themselves. We cannot fail to endure, fail to be persistent, fail to hope, and fail to look to the future with optimism. There are always sparks in the ashes. Even today virtue is still encountered, even if rarely. Holiness has always been the portion of the few. And decency has not yet died completely. True people of God live among us. One grandmother in Crete said: “In 86 years of life I have not met a bad person!” Since she herself was good, she also saw only those like herself. There have always been hidden lamps in the darkness. In the humus, flowers of paradise always bloom; therefore, one must meet the signs of the times calmly. One must not easily fall into panic and immediately collapse. For then this would be the victory of evil over us. Even the most insignificant resistance brings benefit. No “Lord, have mercy” passes without a trace. There is no sin that could not be forgiven by the mercy of God. Repentance has been given to all of us, to all without exception. On earth there are no sinless people. But since we ourselves are sinners, let us be compassionate, kind, and patient also toward our neighbors.

For it is true idle talk when one speaks beautifully and correctly, but in life acts in a completely opposite way. I do not want to say that there have never been crises in history. The distinctive feature of the present time is wearisome indifference, some coating of disrespect over everything, and simply a horrifying absence of repentance. We have reached the point where we play with decency, humility, and restraint. We have come to some terrible nihilism that rejects any value whatsoever. Our youth have simply fallen into and become stuck in the internet, fast food, evening serials, Coca-Cola, rock music, cheap little magazines, casual relationships, drugs, and cafés.

What example are we giving our children today? For even Christians fray one another’s nerves, bustle about, fear, become despondent, and pretend. Yet one does not need to go far for good examples: we have the living, powerful, centuries-old Orthodox Tradition, the holy faith, the great virtues—freedom and love.

Modernism, renovation, wants to free the contemporary Orthodox person from the bonds of what is holy. Many people are working toward this very patiently and deliberately, engaging in it with a kind of vengeful mania and pride, in order to divide the people, to make citizens lonely, isolated, and disappointed. The theology of the freedom, sacredness, and individuality of the human person is very timely now. Our world is interpersonal relations, society, communion, and not relations between things. The passage from “I” to “you,” the real approach to the one who is near, without any conditions or pretenses, will give joy and true lightness. The foundation of our existence has always been morality. Only the one who truly, disinterestedly, and sacrificially loves can be called truly free.

In order for a substantial change and the elimination of the crisis to take place, the Church must cast aside everything superfluous, in order to occupy herself with what is urgent: the re-creation of the family, of patriotism, and the establishment of society on firm foundations. The spat-upon triad of faith, fatherland, and family must again find its place, value, and honor, without extremes and fanaticism. We are called to struggle, vigilance, and watchfulness. We cannot lightly renounce our life-bearing Tradition, which speaks of communal life, mutual help, mutual support, and mutual understanding. Comradeship, brotherhood, and closeness to one another adorn our life, give strength and hope, and do not allow cold loneliness to triumph. Loneliness, however, gives rise to the soot of thoughts, sorrow, depression, melancholy, self-condemnation, and harsh isolation. One must leave room for the other, help him become joyful, so that he too may taste of your joy—this is a remarkable adventure, giving great joy to the soul. Such daily little things can change our life beyond recognition, dear friends.

Globalization leads to everything being dumped into one pot. The imperialists’ disregard for the particularities of peoples and their persistent denial of the inalienable right to difference is, as it seems to me, the basis of many conflicts. Peace can be attained only as a result of peaceful coexistence and cooperation. Loud words about love for the whole human race in general, and not for the concrete person, are falsehood and vanity. In the serious work The Brothers Karamazov, F. M. Dostoevsky describes how a certain lady came to Elder Zosima, in whose image Saint Ambrose of Optina is depicted, and says to him: “I love everyone, but I simply cannot love my maid!” The Elder answers her: “Then you do not love anyone!” Christian love cannot be vague. Contemporary cosmopolitans have such painless love for everyone, but only not for their neighbor. They are individualists, immoral cynics, and not people full of love. By loving our Fatherland, we also love the whole world. Our ancestors, parents, family, fatherland, faith, Tradition, and our culture are elements of our individuality. But today, unfortunately, universal significance is not attached to this, and this individuality is being erased.

Although everything we have spoken about is very simple and understandable, some may take offense at me and then speak badly of me. This, of course, does not frighten me. If someone does not consider this right, then let him not follow it. We all know the law of freedom and justice, and yet we continue to sin, following everything bad and not the good. This is a catastrophic rupture. Thus, today the number of skillful swindlers is constantly increasing; the unworthy rule everywhere; the covetous grow rich; tolerance is shown toward lawbreakers; the satiated arrange orgies; everyone admires those promoted by publicity, while the humble are in contempt again and again, and always.

Grayness supports itself. Pettiness, baseness, servility, and flattery flourish. Such a state is not easy to explain. What, then, is happening; what is the cause? And it is still harder to find an answer amid all the contradictions among which we live. Some lovers of antiquity want to bring back ancient Greek paganism, while on the other hand, one cannot find a shop with a sign in the native Greek language! It is urgently necessary to dig into this unknown space within us. We consider ourselves know-it-alls, and in the end, we do not understand what is happening inside us. It seems to us that we are absolutely free, and yet we can do nothing with ourselves. Without moral foundations and nobility, we are dragged toward self-advertisement, self-justification, self-assertion, and... self-isolation. We fear pollution of the environment and of food products, but not the filth in our heart, untruth, and hypocrisy. Our bodily health is an order of magnitude more important than that of the soul.

Much has already been said about the contemporary crisis. Without values, ideals, faith, virtue, and decency, there can be no whole, secure, dignified, and responsible life. This crisis points to illness; illness brings unbelief in its train, and unbelief draws despair after it. But we, who hunger and thirst for holiness and beauty, must persistently resist these common currents and the disappointment that comes from where it was least expected. The time has come to unite ourselves with God in the closest possible way. We must not entrust ourselves to people who cannot save us. Let us not even touch with our hands the abundance of lawlessness and sin. We are called to experience another, holy solitude.

One ancient venerable Abba said that if a man does not say that he is alone, then even God cannot save him.

And who is to blame for the entire crisis we have described above? I think that each of us bears a share of responsibility. Naturally, the share of some is very great. But it is not our aim to distribute responsibility. The saints say that we are all guilty for the fact that evil exists. We have already spoken about the ways out of this crisis. But what must be acknowledged is that the spirit of ascetic struggle has grown weak in us. We are carried away by convenience, by the news stream of the evil box—the television, by fashion, modernity, nature, and public opinion. At the same time, we consider the dictatorship of television to be very dangerous. The civil wars pouring from the screens are needed by us in order to kill time and enjoy the spectacle, to console the passions and flatter the instincts. Of course, everyone can express his opinion, but all of them at the same time cannot possibly become correct, especially when they are set forth with abuse and falsehood.

There can be no subjective values. There has been a severe degradation of the concept of the common good and of anything holy. Eternal truths have become relative; amusements are defended everywhere; a mine has been laid under the family; and the Church has been torpedoed—thus a spiritual emptiness has been created, which they try to cover over with temporary entertainment, and not with true rest. Excesses become a way out for many. But modern man is mistaken when he thinks that by changing his apartment, car, job, spouse, and city, he will truly change his life. Advertising mocks the consumer, promising a better life with some device.

Today, high positions are not always occupied by the most worthy and educated, experienced and virtuous, but often simply by the lucky, flattering, cunning, and clever. The poet Andreas Kalvos says: “Freedom desires virtue and daring”; it is preserved by courage and sacrifices. Freedom must be accompanied by brotherhood, and then unity of spirit is also given. Freedom is a generous gift of God. Our relations with God are built on freedom, and when they are destroyed, sin comes. The result of sin is enslavement to the passions, and the passionate man is no longer free, although he himself may think the opposite. But holiness does not reign in his heart. Modern man, as it seems to him, has no need of redemption and salvation, and in this lies his tragedy, which, together with inner emptiness, leads, more quickly or more slowly, into a dead end and nihilism. One cannot have before one’s eyes only personal pleasure and continuous entertainment.

Unfortunately, Europe is united precisely for this. And the life of one person for the sake of another is perceived as a hopelessly outdated principle. Therefore, Europe does not wish to remember its Christian roots, nor Greece Orthodoxy. The worldliness of the papal Church led Nietzsche to the words “God is dead,” which many later repeated. Today it is wrongly considered that religiosity is everyone’s personal matter, and not a problem of the whole society that constitutes the basis of civilization. Naturally, no one forces anyone to believe in God, but society cannot fail to be built on religious principles. It would be a mistake right now to begin dividing everyone into sheep and goats. The Church has no enemies. But many consider the Church their enemy. Christ Himself taught patience, and this must be read again in the Gospel.

Without Christ life is completely joyless, colorless, and full of fear. I cannot say that in the Christian life there is no anxiety and no labors. We became Christians not in order simply to live peacefully. But to be a true Christian today means to be constantly exposed to danger. If we go to church only in order to thank God for our cloudless life, then we make our Orthodox faith simply a religion. But the aim of our life is not material progress and worldly success. Holiness very often blossoms in poverty, in sickness, under accusations and slander, even in exile. The saints were not especially progressive and successful people. And let us not forget this. We constantly speak about economic strategy and income. But when will we begin to speak about spiritual strategy? Or about the spiritual contribution to public life? For man lives to the extent that he loves.

Another question also arises: is it necessary to speak at all, or is it better to keep silent? What can you say if you are not heard? And what can you say if you think that you exist only when you speak? You speak in order to be acknowledged, respected, admired. In that case, it is better to keep silent. But why are you silent? Because you cannot say anything useful, or because you are afraid? There is a time for speech and a time for silence; both require wisdom, knowledge, attention, and preparation. Everything that has been said above is the fruit of long silence. A silence interrupted for conversation with the visitors of our kalyva of Saint John Chrysostom, the one who always knew what to speak about. Pilgrims on Athos often ask monks questions. They lack the ancient and significant word of the divine services. I fear that sometimes they try to find someone who will support their ideas, preferences, or some choice. They are not open to dialogue, not disposed to hear something different from their own desire. But we know many very moving stories of young people for whom pilgrimage to the Holy Mountain became an important turning point in life.

We absolutely must learn to listen to the silence of God. When He delays in answering us, something important is happening; the Lord is waiting for something from us, and there is certainly some reason for this. Saint Nikolai of Ohrid writes: “Begin your path with the fear of God and with complete trust in Him. Know that without God you will not be able to travel even the easiest path.”

All the components of the crisis of our time described above have been set forth not in order to disappoint us and cast us into despondency. I do not think that I have exaggerated anything in this description. Perhaps now you will feel more clearly these cracks of the crisis in the world. Do not be afraid that we are few; there is no need to feel like a shameful minority. On the contrary, this war must make us still more courageous. Let the pain and bitterness from what we see and hear around us warm our prayer. And those who mock what is holy punish themselves, having an utterly joyless life. Even if we do not always answer the challenges, there is no need to enter into sharp confrontation with temptation. Elder Paisios used to say that temptations help him, since they make him struggle more. We must not fear these storms of the age; we must not be carried away by thoughts of unbelief. Let us thank God that we are together with Him, that He strengthens, comforts, and blesses us. Let us finally love even our enemies as our benefactors; then we shall acquire wondrous peace in our hearts. Let us remember more often both the Cross of Christ and eternal life—then we shall find balance and peace that cannot even be imagined. Down with despondency! There have been times worse than ours, but the Lord does not sleep, and the Church does not sink. The crisis makes us more mature and wise. The great flower of virtue has not withered even today, hidden from sight in monasteries and in the world.

We sincerely regret the unbelief of many; we grieve because of our love and compassion; we pray for enlightenment and the swift return to evangelical truth. Perhaps we have become the cause of their apostasy? Our destinies are in the hands of God; let us entrust ourselves to Him. But let us also work selflessly together with Him. The crisis makes one wise: we must remember what we have managed to forget, pass again from matter to spirit, and understand that man shall not live by bread alone. The crisis awakens: it has been given for our repentance, weeping, and prayer. The crisis has been given for healthy and sincere humility. The crisis has been given so that we may reject the spirit that opposes ascesis and receive the true ascetic disposition of Mother Church, through the intercessions of all the saints and of the Most Pure Theotokos, Protectress of the Holy Mountain and of all Greece.

The crisis has been given for the humbling of us Athonites. The crisis judges us. The crisis condemns us. It is precisely this that compels us to accept what is necessary and to reject what is superfluous. The crisis has been given so that we may worship the one, true, Triune God, to Whom honor and worship are due from all of us, now and ever, and unto the endless ages. Amen.

 

Translated from the Russian edition of How to Kill the Passions, Sretensky Monastery Publishing House, Moscow, 2016.

Online: https://azbyka.ru/otechnik/Moisej-Agiorit/kak-ubit-strasti/#0_6