Sick and Healthy Mysticism

Archimandrite Seraphim (Aleksiev) (+1993)

WHAT IS MYSTICISM?

The word "mysticism" is Greek and derives from the verb μυῶ, which means "to close the eyes." From this, mysticism means: seeing the beyond with closed eyes, experiencing what is hidden in religion, or a mysterious spiritual communion with the immaterial world, regardless of the physical conditions in which we are placed.

Since the invisible world consists of the luminous paradise of God and the dark infernal kingdom of demons, mysticism, according to the worthiness of its object and the quality and nature of the mystical experience, can be either divine or demonic. Communion with God, with the angels, and with the saints glorified by God, who, after their brief earthly life, have passed into the life of paradise, is healthy mysticism. It always has a grace-filled effect on the believing soul. On the other hand, communion with demons, in whatever form it may occur, is diabolical, demonic, and sick mysticism. Its consequences for the soul are utterly ruinous.

 

HEALTHY MYSTICISM

Healthy mysticism is based on a correct faith in God and firm evangelical morality. At the foundation of both correct faith in God and firm evangelical morality lies humility.

What does correct faith in God mean? – It means renouncing proud "personal opinions" on eternal and insoluble questions that cannot be resolved by human reason alone. It means humbly accepting divinely revealed truths, submitting the proud human mind to the mind of Christ, who proclaimed to us the truth about God the Father, since He is in the bosom of the Father (John 1:18). It means also trusting the holy apostles, who had the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16) and who received from God grace and apostleship, so that in His name they might bring all nations to the obedience of faith (Rom. 1:5).

Just as correct faith always contains humility, that is, submission to the Gospel of Christ (2 Cor. 9:13) or obedience to the faith (Rom. 16:19), according to the expressions of St. Apostle Paul, so too, in deviations from correct faith, there is always pride, that is, disobedience to the Divine truths and to the Church of Christ, which has been established to safeguard these truths as the pillar and foundation of the truth (1 Tim. 3:15). Therefore, it is rightly asserted that pride gives birth to religious delusions and sustains the stubbornly defended sects and heresies.

God is the absolute Truth. Whoever desires to draw near to Him must have a correct orientation toward religious truth, guided by humility—that is, he must strive to believe in God correctly, be willing to submit to divinely revealed truth if he has not yet fully attained it, and desire to correct himself if, in any point of faith, he errs either out of ignorance or human weakness. Otherwise, if he displays proud disobedience toward divinely revealed truth and the admonitions of the Church, he will not have communion with God, the absolute Truth, but with the devil, who is the embodiment of falsehood and the father of lies (John 8:44).

The Word of God calls disobedience to the truth carnal wisdom. And "carnal wisdom" is enmity against God; to the law of God "it does not submit, nor indeed can it" (Rom. 8:7). And if it does not submit to the law of God but is at enmity with God, how can it enter into mystical communion with God? It is alien to the truth and to communion with it. Therefore, St. Apostle Peter says: "What will be the end of those who do not obey the Gospel of God?" (1 Pet. 4:17). And St. Apostle Paul adds: "Indignation and wrath upon those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth" (Rom. 2:8).

Healthy mysticism is also founded on firm evangelical morality, that is, on holiness. And holiness can be built upon only one foundation—the grace-filled foundation of humility. An ethic that excludes humility as the basis of a virtuous life can be neither firm nor evangelical. It is an ethic of pride, that is, a God-opposing, diabolical ethic.

God is holy (see Isa. 6:3). Whoever desires to draw near to Him must resemble Him in holiness. Therefore, it is said: "Be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy" (Lev. 19:2). Can a person, immersed in various sins, see in mystical experiences Jesus Christ, the Holy Theotokos, the heavenly angels, and God’s saints? What communion can there be between good and evil, between holiness and sin, between Christ and Belial (2 Cor. 6:19)? "The defiled soul does not enter the pure kingdom and does not unite with the spirits of the saints," says St. Isaac the Syrian. [1]

But then, who can enter into communion with God?

God is love (see 1 John 4:8). He cares for the sinful person. Although it has become impossible for the sinner to enter into visible communion with God, he has been given the opportunity to enter into invisible communion with Him—communion through faith and prayer, for after the fall, "we walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Cor. 5:7). And this mystical communion through faith and prayer, when accompanied by the fulfillment of God’s commandments, proves to be entirely sufficient for the salvation of the sinner.

The path of healthy mysticism is very long—just as long as the endless path of perfection and assimilation to God. Healthy mysticism begins for all rightly oriented religious people with natural-mystical experiences and ends, for rare chosen ones of God, with supernatural miraculous phenomena. It builds the salvation of the soul slowly, systematically, and wisely. Naturally grace-filled experiences—repentance, prayerful communion with God, and the like—are most characteristic of it. Supernatural phenomena are not a necessary consequence: in healthy mysticism, as is normal, the process begins with laying deep foundations. And there is no deeper foundation for the proper spiritual life than repentance, with which the Savior began His preaching (Matt. 4:17), and humility, for which He promised the Kingdom of Heaven (Matt. 5:3). Repentance and humility alone attract upon the soul the grace of God, which regenerates, sanctifies, and saves us.

Almost never, in healthy mysticism, do we have visions and lights, or communion with angels and heavenly beings at the very beginning of the spiritual life. The vision of hidden things in the spiritual world is a gift given to the perfect, bestowed by God's providence upon rare chosen ones. How could such a gift manifest in beginners? It is like expecting a seven-year-old child, who has just begun learning how to hold a pencil in its weak little hand, to suddenly start drawing perfect pictures or writing profound compositions. Just as a building cannot be constructed starting from the roof, so too the spiritual life cannot begin with the highest mystical experiences, such as visions of angels, saints, and the like. Healthy mysticism never seeks visions and revelations; it knows that they are not the fruit of prayerful efforts but a gift from God.

From the considerations made thus far, it is evident that healthy mysticism is most often naturally grace-filled, [2] and in rare cases, supernaturally miraculous. [3]

 

SICK MYSTICISM

It is entirely opposed to healthy mysticism because its source is opposite. While healthy mysticism comes from God, sick mysticism comes from the devil. However, despite this opposition, it is not at all easy to distinguish which mysticism is divine and which is demonic. For Satan is very cunning—in order to deceive and lead into delusion, he does not appear in his dreadful form but in an attractive guise: as a radiant angel, as an instigator of the soul toward good, as a benefactor, as a messenger of God. Saint Apostle Paul, the great knower of the spiritual life, clearly testifies that "Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light" (2 Cor. 11:14).

When someone has visions, they must possess great spiritual and grace-filled experience and perfect purity of heart in order to discern whether their supernatural mystical experiences are divine or satanic.

Praying before icons, making the sign of the cross, receiving the best moral advice for a virtuous life and prayerful struggle through "heavenly" voices—none of these are a guarantee that one is communing with good spirits. For many well-known satanists have used and continue to use such pious forms to conceal their impiety. The most tragic aspect of the spiritual state of careless spirit-communicators is that precisely when they believe they are serving God, they are in bondage to the devil.

It would be easy to distinguish a grace-filled visitation from a satanic one if, just as the former teaches goodness and fills with joy, the latter clearly pushed us toward evil and brought sorrow. But this is not always the case. The demons are exceedingly cunning! They manage to imitate divine manifestations so skillfully that even experienced hermits, filled with grace, have at times mistaken demonic deceptions for divine revelations. [4]

What trap is not disguised with branches and leaves? What fishing hook is not covered with a worm or some other bait? The demons, as cunning hunters of human souls, know how to conceal their snares. Appearing as light, like angels, they usually make the best suggestions to their victim: "Pray! Fast! Go to church!" and so on. If they were to say, "Commit fornication! Steal! Get drunk!" who would follow them? The devil knows very well that even his servants, until they are completely possessed by him, are inspired by good intentions. He takes advantage of this disposition of their souls to achieve his infernal goals.

Here is a characteristic example of a demonic deception.[5]

A certain young monk lived in silence in his cell. The demons, having taken on the appearance of angels, sought to deceive him: they would come to him, wake him, show him a light, and invite him to a divine service. The monk went to an elder and said to him, "Father, angels come to me and invite me to a divine service." The elder said to him, "Do not listen to them, child! These are demons. When they come to wake you, say to them: 'I will rise when I wish!'" Having received this instruction, the monk returned to his cell.

The next night, the demons came again, as was their custom, to wake him. But he answered them, "I will rise when I wish, and I will not listen to you!" They replied, "That elder, the hypocrite, has corrupted you, which is why you do not want to listen to us. But you should know that a brother once came to him and asked to borrow money. The elder had money, but he lied to the brother, saying he had none, and gave him nothing. From this, you should understand that he is a hypocrite."

The monk rose early in the morning, went to the elder, and told him everything he had heard from the demons. The elder replied, "It is true that I had money. And as for not giving it to the brother who asked for it, I did so because I knew well that if I gave it to him, it would harm his soul. For this reason, I preferred to break one commandment rather than, by fulfilling it, break ten others. From this transgression, great turmoil could have arisen, and the cause of it would have been the money I might have given him. But you, do not listen to the demons who seek to deceive you."

By following the elder’s advice, the monk was saved. But what would have happened to this disciple if he had given in to the demons' suggestions? At first, they would have told him, "Rise for the divine service!" then, "Now stop praying, for you have already attained perfection!" and finally, they would have led him to perform "miracles" with their help. Thus, little by little, they would have brought him under their control and instilled in him such satanic pride that it would have utterly destroyed him.

One should not think that cases like the one just recounted are mere legends, passed down to us from ancient times through tales and folklore. Even in our days, many similar phenomena occur. All the widely discussed mystical experiences of today, which are based either on an unhealthy Orthodox faith or on an unstable evangelical morality, bear the mark of subtle diabolic deception.

In our ecclesiastical reality, there are many people who do not have disturbed nerves to be considered pathological cases, who lead a completely normal life, yet when they give themselves over to religious experiences, they see "angels" and communicate with spirits, summon the souls of the dead, and receive all kinds of "heavenly" revelations… They believe they are in contact with the luminous spiritual world because the suggestions they receive seem good to them. But how can Satan teach what is good!

Naïve, shallow logic! As if the evil spirits, eager to gain the trust of gullible Christians, would appear to them with their “horns”! That would only drive them away! The devil is not as simple-minded as his victims. His deceptions cannot be grasped at a glance, nor can his schemes be exposed with a single argument. In the Revelation of St. John the Theologian, it is not Satan’s foolishness that is spoken of, but the "depths of Satan" (Rev. 2:24)!

Fear grips a person when they contemplate these depths of Satan. Under the pretext of piety, Satan leads his victims to the greatest impiety. Under the pretext of holiness and perfection, he grants them visions and fills them with pride. Under the pretext of advancement in the spiritual life, he drives them to mental disorders, sinking into the mire of religious delusions, moral corruption, and complete destruction.

Many people who have fallen into sick mysticism live virtuously, chastely, prayerfully, and almost ascetically. But even this is not proof that their visions and gifts are of divine origin. For within this outwardly impeccable morality lies another deep satanic deception. According to the teaching of the Holy Fathers, behind every passion hides a demon, an instigator of the corresponding sin. [6] There are demons of fornication, anger, pride, envy, avarice, malice, and so on. All these demons are subordinate to their supreme leader—Satan. When he firmly seizes a victim in his grasp by sending them visions and revelations, thereby filling them with pride, he sees that the assistance of the other demons is no longer necessary. Thus, he tells them: "Withdraw from this person! Do not trouble them! Let them have no temptations with gluttony, avarice, fornication, or anger! Let them have no struggles with their sinful inclinations! Let them live outwardly in complete order and tranquility! Let them consider themselves a saint! Let their life serve as an example to others so that they, too, may be drawn in by their visions! I hold them well in my power through the subtle pride hidden within them! No other sin is needed for their destruction."

And indeed, such a person, receiving visions without undergoing any spiritual temptations, appears to people as a saint. He does not even suspect that he is in the service of the evil one. His visions are "beautiful." He is neither selfish nor reclusive but helps everyone with his supernatural gifts. No one even considers the possibility that all this could be from Satan.

The seemingly impeccable "holy" person can only reveal his connection with the devil to a spiritually experienced observer when his pride and vanity are touched. Accuse him of the slightest thing! He will immediately react as if stung and begin to defend himself. His pride will manifest itself. Even though he may not visibly have any other vices, pride alone is enough to make him a slave of the devil.

That Satan uses such cunning to enslave human souls is evident from the following thought of St. John Climacus: "No one doubts that demons and passions sometimes leave the soul... but few know for what reasons they depart. From some people—not only believers but also unbelievers—all passions have departed except for one—pride. They have left it as the fundamental evil, to take the place of all the others. For it is so destructive that it can cast one down even from heaven itself." [7]

St. John Chrysostom very rightly observes: "The devil always adds some falsehood to the truth."

 

PRIDE – THE FOUNDATION OF SICK MYSTICISM

Sick mysticism always has pride as its foundation. Satan, who seeks to gain power over man, uses all his cunning to achieve one thing—to lead him to arrogance. He approaches man through many dark paths, but his favorite path, the one he himself unwaveringly follows and strives to lead man upon, is pride. For he knows well that even if a person outwardly fulfills all of God's commandments, he can still be ruined by pride alone. Satan himself, without having any other sins, fell away from God through his arrogance. From that moment, pride became the very essence of the devil. It is his universal tool, through which he carries out all his wicked schemes.

Pride is not expressed only in outward arrogance, contempt for others, and judgment of those who are unpleasant to us. Pride has many subtle and barely perceptible manifestations. When someone looks at us slightly askew or speaks a hurtful word, and we feel offended, we reveal our pride. When we do not receive the expected attention and are passed by in silence, and we feel resentment in our soul, we again manifest pride. When we thirst to hear praise for some action of ours or for one of our qualities, we are again driven by pride. When the Lord humbles us through misfortunes that befall us, and we are discontent with our fate and murmur against God, we are once more burdened by pride, for we consider ourselves worthy of a better lot.

And if we are so proud yet have visions, how can we imagine that they are from God?

Anyone who judges honestly will admit that we are woven entirely from vanity, self-love, and pride. We cannot bear to hear anything bad said about us, let alone, God forbid, to be openly insulted to our face. On the contrary, we thirst for honor and respect. In everything, we seek to shine; from all sides, we expect admiration and praise.

They asked St. Barsanuphius: "When a sinner has visions, should he not believe that they are from God?" He replied: "When this happens to a sinner, it is clearly the work of the deceitful demons, who seek to deceive the wretched soul and lead it to destruction. Therefore, one should not believe them, but rather recognize one's sins and weakness and always remain in fear and trembling… Divine manifestations occur only to saints… Sinners should never believe in such manifestations, knowing their own unworthiness." [8]

And how do our visionaries, inclined toward unhealthy mysticism, especially women, behave?—All day long, they engage in gossip and slander, judge one another, harbor hatred, harm each other, or are filled with vanity, pride, fornication, avarice, cruelty, and hypocrisy. Yet, when they go to church, they give themselves over to sickly mystical experiences—seeing that the vigil lamps sway, lights appear, icons come to life, voices are heard, and so on. Despite being immersed in various moral weaknesses, they do not hesitate to boast: "I saw St. Paraskeva and St. George!" or "This and that was revealed to me!” or “In a dream, I was told to act in such and such a way."

And what do these frequent visions and revelations mean?—They mean that our presumptuous spirit-communicators claim that heaven is constantly open to them, so that at any moment, they can receive answers from there. But is heaven so easily opened, and for such often trivial reasons? We know that for the pure, angel-like St. Archdeacon Stephen, the first martyr of Christ, heaven was opened only once—at the hour of his death, when he was being cruelly stoned, dying, and praying for his murderers! How then can heaven open every night for women afflicted with sickly mysticism?! From this comparison alone, it becomes clear what an immense difference there is between the vision of St. Archdeacon Stephen and the revelations so frequently received by the victims of unhealthy mysticism!

St. John Climacus warns: "When the demon of pride takes firm hold of his servants, he then appears to them as a radiant angel, either in visions or openly, revealing to them supposed mysteries or granting them alleged gifts of grace, so that these wretched souls, being deceived, may completely lose their minds." [9]

Let all who are drawn to visions and revelations remember the following words of St. Bishop Ignatius (Bryanchaninov): "Whoever perceives spirits with the senses can easily be deceived to his own harm and destruction. If, upon seeing spirits, he places his trust in them, he will inevitably be deceived, inevitably be led astray, inevitably be sealed with the mark of deception—an imprint incomprehensible to the inexperienced—the mark of a dreadful spiritual corruption, which often results in the loss of any possibility for correction and salvation. This has happened to many, to very many..."

The sense of healthy mysticism advises: Stay far away from every vision and revelation! Believe in these things when you encounter them in the saints! Believe in them when you read about them in the Bible or in the lives of God’s righteous ones! But do not believe in them when they happen to you—a sinful and impure person! For behind your visions and revelations lurks a demon, deceiving you and seeking to ensnare you in his traps.

 

CONCLUSIONS

Let us remember that the strongest weapon against demons is humble-mindedness! The one who is truly humble stands higher than the one who works miracles! "Many have attained salvation without possessing the gift of prophecy and clairvoyance, of signs and wonderworking," writes St. John Climacus, "but without humility, no one will enter the heavenly palace." [10] And in the Patericon of St. Ignatius (Bryanchaninov), we read: "An elder was told that some had been deemed worthy to see angels. The elder replied: 'Blessed are those who constantly see their own sins!'" [11]

Let us be spiritually sober! Let us embrace the salvific, healthy, and grace-filled mysticism, which, as we have seen, does not consist in seeing doubtful visions, but in seeing our own sins and repenting for them! Let us commune with God and the heavenly dwellers in prayer, without striving to perceive various images with our senses! Let us purify our hearts from passions and vices, constantly humbling ourselves and growing in the grace of God, so that we may attain the fruits of the Holy Spirit, which are "love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, self-control" (Gal. 5:22–23). For it is far better for our souls to acquire humility—the foundation of all virtues—than to have visions that may become a cause for pride and lead to our destruction.

On the Day of Judgment, many wonderworkers will say to the righteous Judge: "Lord, Lord! Did we not prophesy in Your name? And in Your name cast out demons? And in Your name perform many miracles?" But they will hear the condemning voice of God, for they lacked humility and took pride in their supernatural gifts: "Depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!" (Matt. 7:22–23).

But before the poor in spirit, that is, the humble, the gates of the Kingdom of Heaven will be widely opened (Matt. 5:3). They will be allowed to enter and dwell forever with the Prince of humility, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen!

 

REFERENCES

1. Venerable Isaac the Syrian. Ascetical Homilies. Moscow, 1858, p. 530.

2. Healthy naturally grace-filled mysticism is expressed in daily repentant and prayerful communion with the Ineffable and Incomprehensible God, with the Holy Theotokos, with the holy guardian angel, and with the saints, to whom the great Spirit-bearing men have composed so many numerous and beautiful prayers. This is the healthy and salvific mysticism that the Holy Church offers to all her children. For along the religious-mystical path outlined thus far—through deep immersion in the Orthodox faith, through the attainment of a high and pure evangelical morality, and through daily prayerful dialogue with God and the saints—everyone can reach Heaven, where they will eternally behold the beauties of Paradise and be in direct communion with the heavenly dwellers.

3. It is a rare gift of God for the perfect. We call it supernatural because it manifests in the highest mystical experiences: in prayerful ecstasy, illumination from above, clairvoyance, contemplation of spiritual mysteries hidden from physical sight, prophetic inspiration, grace-filled rapture, hearing heavenly voices, seeing angels, saints, the Holy Theotokos, and even the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, as well as in all forms of miracle-working.

The lives of the saints, those wondrous biographies of the most perfect followers of Christ, are filled with examples of healthy supernatural mysticism.

4. See the life of St. Symeon the Stylite – September 1 (Old Style); of Venerable Nikita of the Kiev Caves – January 31, and others.

5. Bishop Ignatius (Bryanchaninov). Patericon. St. Petersburg, 1880, pp. 501–502.

6. Philokalia, Vol. I, St. Petersburg, 1877, p. 549; Philokalia, Vol. II, p. 104; Bishop Ignatius (Bryanchaninov), Patericon, p. 108.

7. St. John Climacus. The Ladder of Divine Ascent, p. 186.

8. Venerable Fathers Barsanuphius the Great and John, Guidance for Spiritual Life, Moscow, 1855, pp. 366–367.

9. St. John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent, p. 152.

10. St. John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent, p. 171.

11. Bishop Ignatius (Bryanchaninov), Patericon, p. 401.

 

Bulgarian source: https://bulgarian-orthodox-church.org/rr/life/o_Seraphim_Alexsiev/o_Seraphim_mystico.html