Why can we still - we can and should give preference to Orthodoxy? Once again I say - not because we were born here - too this is a weak argument. No, we must "have a firm basis of our faith," as the Apostle Peter writes. We must have a solid foundation, and not as children who said that I do not believe. Because we are now in such an environment, in such a surrounding reality, when we need to know what to respond to each questioning. Must know!

In this case, when we touch other confessions, the first thing I want to say - tell me who your friends and I will tell you who you are. Do you know such wisdom? True, sometimes you have to make sure: here is a person you see him. It seems everything is a normal and good person. But you look - what friends are ... Strange - he is good, and friends-passing. After a while you are convinced - a crazy person. Under the larger of simplicity, immediacy, sociability is a crazy person. This is the folk wisdom - that is, the wisdom is not some person, and the wisdom of the centuries: "Tell me who are your friends, and I will tell you who you are."

I rephrase it and I will tell you the thought that deserves full attention. Tell me who your saints, and I will say, what is your church. Why should canonization be highly careful? According to the Saints, we can judge the church, about her saving, because the task of the church is only alone. You hear - only one. This is not the descriptiveness of theological creed, not all these religious and philosophical ideas and so on - no, no! The church is installed only with one goal - hear! The only goal set by the Church, with one - to indicate a person a way and give means to salvation. That's all. That is why we speak, in the saint we can talk about the church itself, about its truth or falsity. For saints - who are these? These are those whose church calls - that is the ideal to which you should strive. Clear what? Why should she strive, each on his field. A worldly man - please, here you have an ideal, a monk - that's what ideal, some kind of person - like this. See, you see - Ideal, why? - The ideal of spiritual life. So, it turns out that we should strive for what can be achieved and need to achieve. That's who are holy.

Now, if from this point of view, we turn to the two main branches of Christianity. But now the main idea is tolerance, now they must say "everything is fine." Twice two four - well, three with half-past one - even better. All is well, do not let go talk about truth! We are tolerant. And evil, and good - two ways, behave both both, and still, where to go. How do you like it? And anyway, where to go ... Therefore, the fact that now I will tell you - silent and hide in the middle of my soul, in the middle, you can outward anything.

So, touching the main branch, on the scale of the main thing - Catholicism, what can I say? What has become known as Roman Catholicism, the Roman Church, which was in the split from the XI century from Orthodoxy - how it is characterized in this regard. The fact that is worth paying the most serious attention is now especially right now. Another when we were in the Soviet Union, it was not very important for us, and before that. Now - which is of great importance what I want to tell you! Just listen. Come in the Catholic monasteries, ask how you have a library? Like holy fathers - please, here they are standing, the ancient fathers. What are guided in your spiritual life? What and who? Ignatia Loyola "Spiritual Exercises", Francis of Assisi. In female - Catalina Siena, Teresa Avilskaya and so on. Yes ... and who is it? We begin to watch, who are these. And with amazement raise the eyes on them - how? .. The holy fathers of the ancient church inener stand on the shelves, stand. Sleep, sleep. For the Catholic Church in his life, Rimocatolics, monasteries - not the ancient fathers are guided, but new, which are already generated in the split and who preach the principles of spiritual life, are directly opposite to those who were allegedly allegedly, the millennial experience of holy fathers. Reversed opposite.

What is the opposite? The fact that the ancient fathers called the charm, prohibited categorically to do it, warned in every possible way - it is extolled here like a shrine. What exactly?

What exactly? All - and modern Catholic monasteries, the desktop book have "spiritual exercises" of Ignatia Loiol. Ignatius Loyola - the founder of the Orden of Jesuitis, the XVI century. What is there, the main idea? The main idea - you just listen! "The one who wants to achieve something in spiritual life must daily, for a certain time there, every day to perform mental exercises, I'm not talking about external, physical. Mind exercises that consist in? They are expressed, more precisely, all these two words are "imagination", "imagine." I close my eyes and imagine. What, imagine? A young girl sits, reads the Holy Scripture, and suddenly Archangel is, says: "Rejoice, gracious!" Imagine what happens to her? How, in what it is frightened, how is the conversation going next, how does she behave? Imagine yourself, imagine it! How next is the conversation, repeat!

Cinema! .. Cinema! ... Imagine, as she then goes to Elizabeth, imagine mountain trails, landscapes surrounding, birds singing, herbs fragrances. Imagine how it enters Elizabeth, as they meet, kiss, as says: "Oh, my God, what is fine!" And I live in the world of my fantasies. This is called "spiritual exercises."

Pimen is great says: "If you do not want to go crazy, then you never imagine nothing." No pictures, no ideas, no imagination! Absolutely forbidden! Because then we begin to contact God no longer towards the truth, but to their fantasies. I could bring you a lot of examples of these saints, some of them are simply ugly. Some Teresa Avilskaya speaks "Beloved", that is, Christ, calls such a whistle that it is impossible not to hear this: "And the soul extends from the desire." It is her so-called Christ and says: "Before that, I was your God, from now on I was your spouse." And it falls in exhaustion. And what comes up - in general, I do not want to list even, it often comes from, and it's just unpleasant even.

I want to tell you: the image of the prayer that Orthodoxy tells is "without mind, that is, the mind should be insidency, hear? The mind must be insidency, no pictures, no ideas. The mind must be concluded in the words of prayer, and the prayer must be performed with repentance, with awe, with the crushing of the heart, with attention, says Orthodoxy, warns strictly about it.

Here you have a theater with acting persons. Unprecedented phenomenon with the same Francis of Assisi. None of the great saints before him had no stigmatics (wounds on hands and legs - bloody wounds, non-heaven). It seems that the greatest states achieved, the Macarius of the Great is called the earthly God - called his ancient fathers. At Sisoy the Great Person, like the sun, glowed before his death. No one ever - well, what are you, where is the nerves, what's the psyche? Grace and nerves are completely different reality. And suddenly, in the XIII century, Francis Assisian appears, in whom the Spirit before the empower is a seraphim of the winged, and strikes it arrows at the places of Jesus ulcers, and begin to begin the bloody wounds.

There it is considered as a sign of the greatest holiness, he is equalized with Christ, he himself repeats in everything - he elects twelve students, makes a secret his evening, when he dies - his life writer writes: "God-father is confused - to whom the preference is prefeed - the Son of Nature , or son in grace of Francis. " But you will think and say - if anyone will write there what. True, I agree. But it became the actual faith! ..

The doctrine of merits is the Catholic teaching that the gospel is contradictory and the entire St. Heritage. "If all you have done," says Christ, be sure and know that you are inconsistent slaves. He says: "If all do". I wonder - who can all this be created? The same Macarium is the great thing that wrote: "God (prayer Morning, the prayer that you all know perfectly) Cleaning My sinner, Yako Nikolizh (never) Having created the good before you." You hear? This is he, the great devotee, "Never get a good before you"? ..

And there - what is the teaching? I can do not only good acts who will be my merits, but I can do over due. You hear - over due! What is the proper? If you reject from marriage, from property, and so on - these are ultra-voltage merit. You imagine, in what consciousness already a person takes this monasticism - already with what? With a high opinion about yourself.

Teresa is small, which was recently glorified, came to the monastery and straightened - I came to the monastery to pray for sinners, and especially for the clergy. Not about yourself, however, praying? About me - nothing is needed, she has already done over proper merit, enrolling in the monastery.

They say - what is the connection between the creed and the spiritual life? But what. The creed says that you can make merits, and you can buy over due merit. Like this?

I am with ultra-voltage merit - hear who I am? Do not think to approach me. I am not talking about other versal things - about pappy and other things. Christ said that "my kingdom is not from this world," and Padism says - no, sorry, - and from this world.

That is why I can't take a Catholic teaching. I can't recognize Catholicism with true teachings. Unfortunately, according to these fundamental issues, I participated in many dialogues with Catholics - never these questions are not set. We are talking about idle abstractions, but not about what is a creature of human life. This, I will tell you, very sorry.

Regarding Protestantism - here it is even easier, my friends. And easier, I do not know - worse or not - already completely to the handle, which is called, reached. The thing is what. Protestantism argues that faith in Christ frees a person from all sins. Not only past - but also from real and future. You hear - I'm talking to you with full responsibility it. This is not an essay, not a collapse, not slander, such is the doctrine: Faith in Christ frees from all sins - all, and future, including. Therefore, they are already saved there. About salvation there is not talking there. Therefore, there are no feats there, nothing needs. You are a Christian - do good deeds, that's all. And for salvation you do not need it. And things are not at all for salvation, it is simply the consequence of the adoption of Christianity. Nothing needs to save.

I ask one priest that he answered - there, in the West. They say - here we know that we are saved, and you, Orthodox? He says - what should I answer? Straight, says, at all, publicly asked. I say - answer him that we hope that if we live in Christian, then the Lord naises us. But to argue that I know, for us - Orthodox, this is a sign of pride and complete delusion.

They already know that they are saved, so very simply turn: "Go to me, you are already saved, now the Holy Spirit will come to you!" As everything is simple ... what to shift - forgive me if they were here, I would not use such a word. How to humiliate Christianity! Christ says: "The Kingdom of God is nudies." Nudeshadow - only rejoicing. We must fight our sins - in order to be given the commandments. Why do they need if I believed - and everything is in order? What is the point then in the commandments? What is the point in repentance? Everything is discarded, there is no spiritual life.

Therefore, if in Catholicism, for example, there are saints and there are sinners, then in Protestantism - all the saints. By the way, it is very interesting: one of the surveys in the United States gave very curious results. In particular, 21% of respondents said they were saints. Like this. I'm not surprised at all.

Now you understand why I can't accept any other. Although I often communicated with them, had a discussion, now I will go again to read at the university for Lutheran lecture, by the way. I tell them directly: you know what kind of principle is in life? They say - what? Very simple you - "Look for, first of all, what to drink, what is and what to dress, and the kingdom of God will attract you." They are delighted - you are right, professor! - They agree.

This is the situation with which we are dealing with. This, of course, briefly, I suggest you, without a variety of illustrations that would be very important to you.

Alexey Ilyich Osipov.

My friends, now we are all in such a vital situation, when in no way we cannot separate themselves with any walls from the world around them. True, trying, and especially trying to do it in those communities who want to conduct a monastic lifestyle. But, alas, even with all efforts, we cannot finally get angry from the world. The question arises: is it possible to do it now? What is the situation around us?

One of those reality that is close to us is, that is, you, listeners of the spiritual school, is such that we are now in the sea of \u200b\u200breligious pluralism. Once Peter struck the window to Europe - it was the entire window. Now, - everyone knows - who, - destroyed the wall. Now just the house is open, now last and non-crumbling guests, driven and bedal, fill our land.

We were in front of the face of such a variety of people, each of which offers us their ideals, the norms of life, religious views that, perhaps, the previous generation, even my generation - does not envy you - we had easier. There were different religions, but everything was muffled. The main problem that stood before our generation was the problem of religion and atheism. You have something much more and complicated.

This is only the first step - there is God or not God. Well, a man was convinced that there is God. So what is next? And who should he be? Why does he need to be a Christian? Why not Muslim? Why not Buddhist or Krishna? Now there are many of them - you know better than me. Well, okay: passing through the jungle and the debris of this religious forest, he becomes a Christian: "I understood: Christianity is the best religion, right." And here, to his amazement, when, it seems, he found a true refuge, a pier of salvation, suddenly sees: and what Christianity is? Who can I be? Orthodox, Catholic, Pentecostal, Lutheranin? Again - bump numbers.

That is what the situation turned out to be our modern youth. Of course, it was always, but the degree is not at that. If once it was so simple, under the cross, now it is with full strength. Each of the representatives of old and new religions, from representatives of non-relocated denominations, much more pipes about themselves and has much more opportunities, thanks to the media than even we, Orthodox.

So, the first, before we stop - before this pluralism. Let's try briefly, it is conducive to walk along this ladder, which is before every person, and see the most common, but fundamental features, why, after all, a person, if he is reasonable, should become not only a Christian, but also Orthodox. The question is very important.

Let me remind you that we have for discipline. The main theology aims to substantiate the main religious truths. Of course, if you can - and do not most, depending on how much time is given. The main thing is the rationale for Christian Truths, Orthodox. There is also a whole step row here. Before what we stand now?

First problem: the most, it seems simple for our time, but not so simple for the previous generation: between religion and atheism. You have to meet at conferences of significant with people who really educated, not on the surface they slipped, people scientists, not a top furry, and have to face everything with the same question: who is God, why do you think he is? Even: Why is it needed? If there is God, then why doesn't he speak from the Tribunes of the United Nations and will not announce itself? .. Even such things are offered now.

What can be said for such a question? This is not a subtle question - fat, with him easier, nevertheless, but he himself deserves attention. This is a question that cannot be given an unambiguous answer: so and only so. It will be more or less reasonable points of view, opinions - get used to it. Do not consider that all questions have absolute solutions. There are many opinions that set a positive point of view, but at the same time do not cover all the issues of this issue.

What should be paid attention to when the question is about faith in God or into the existence of God?

This question is best solved from the position of the modern main philosophical thought, which is the easiest to express the concept existentiality. The existence of a person, the meaning of humanity - think what he can be? Of course, only in life, and what else? If something ends with me: what's the point of my case, if, ultimately, I can't take advantage of this, get the fruits of my case? The meaning of life can only be in life, no one has ever argued that the meaning of life can be in the eternal and final death.

And what do atheism and Christianity say? Two, mutually exclusive, thesis: Christianity says: A person, you are waiting for eternal life, get ready, this life is a condition and means of preparation for eternity - that's what you need to do for this, which is how to be to enter there.

What does atheism affirm? - Believe, man, you are waiting for eternal death.

How, frost on the skin does not pass? Horrible! What pessimism, what despair. What substantiations are given? If one thing does this approval makes the soul: Get rid of this worldview! When a person got lost in the forest, looking for a way home and suddenly, having met someone, asks: "Is there a way out?" - And he says: "There is no way out, and do not look for! Everything, stay here and arrange as you can. " Will he believed him? Doubtful. When he finds another person, and he tells him: "Yes, there is a way out, and I will give you signs, signs that you can get out of here." Who will he believe? Absolutely clear.

As long as a person persists the spark of the quest for truth, the spark of the search for the meaning of life, until then, he cannot psychologically accept the concepts that argue that a person as a person, all people expects eternal death.

I pointed to you on one side, a psychological, very significant, sufficient for every person with a living soul to understand that there is no reason here and speech. It is clear that only with a religious worldview, which takes care of the basis and the meaning of life, and the one we call God, only at the same time I can talk about the meaning of life, and about understanding and solid goal of life to which I can go .

So let's close this question: everything, I believe in God. We will assume that the first room passed.

Thinking in God, I enter the second - to whom to believe? The people are full, and everyone screams: I am truth. Here is the task: both Muslims, Confuciana, and Buddhists, and Jews, who are only not. One journalist somehow took care of religion in the world: counted a thousand no less. I do not know, I never thought. There is a difficult thing: for what classification is to distribute. Well, let the thousand, it does not matter. I think less, significantly less. It is usually branching from religions, and, as a rule, these branches make up all the essence of this root: the branches are many, and the root, the essence is preserved.

If you are engaged in a comparative historical and comparative-theological analysis of religions in their variations, then bring them to very few. This is Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism - He is very diverse, of course, but keeps one idea that imposes a print for all these options - these are Chinese religions; It may be possible to allocate in a separate category of shaman, magical religions that have an identity essentially. But the point is not in this, we see that there are many of them.

The Christian preacher is among others. And I'm looking for: who is right, who is to blame. There are two approaches (there may be greater): one of these paths, which will give a man the opportunity to choose, make sure that Christianity is the right religion, true - that is, what she claims objectively corresponds to human nature, quest, understanding The meaning of life.

There is a method of comparative-theological analysis - quite a long way, it is important to study every religion well here. Father Seraphim (Rose) passed this way - I hope you read it, a wonderful person of our time, a wonderful devotee, the rarest man. From the state of disbelief, the agnosticism he came to Christianity, and then to Orthodoxy. But not everyone can go through this way - it takes a lot of time, forces, abilities in order to study all this, - and even more so learn in the original, as it tried to make Father Seraphim, he studied. Having plunged there, soon and get out, you can get confused. But this method is quite real, this method is scientific, it is acceptable.

The hook here is: every religion, in the end, addressed to a person, she claims to be the truth. The creature of every religion, all religions, even all worldviews is the idea of \u200b\u200bsalvation. All religions and worldviews argue one simple thing: what is happening now - it does not suit me. Even if I personally suits me - it does not suit a lot of people, they are looking for something else, more, strive somewhere.

This state of affairs does not suit anyone. Students energetally scold the rector, professors, the administration - there was no institute or university, where it would not be. Always everything is wrong. Time passes, they say: Eh, the golden years were! .. The area in gold is drawn.

So, the being of every religion is the idea of \u200b\u200bsalvation. Christianity, in contrast to all other religions, claims something that other religions simply do not know, even with indignation they reject it. This statement is the concept of sin.

All religions, worldviews, even ideologies talk about sin. It is called differently, but it does not matter. Christianity claims that the condition in which we are in which we are: in which they were born, we grow up, we are tearing, we have fun, we study, we make discoveries and so on, this is a state of deep disease, deep damage. We are sick. We are not about influenza or bronchitis, not about mental illness, but we are sick. Our human state is an abnormal state, the deepest retreat from the norm.

What is this abnormality? There was some strange, the tragic splitting of a single human being on opposing (very often), autonomously existing mind, heart and body. Pike, cancer yes swan. What absurd! Everyone is indignant: "I'm abnormal?! Around me - maybe, but not me! " This is the feeling of its integrity, its health care is the deepest feeling inherent in every person.

Christianity says that the root is here, that source, because of which human life, both individually, and in an all-day plan develops in such a way that we come to one tragedy after another. Especially bright illustration is, of course, humanity as a whole.

Other religions do not recognize this, reject: Yes, a person is seed, but healthy, it can develop normally, may be abnormal - right. This development may be due to a social medium, economic, psychological factors, therefore a person can be good or bad, but a person himself is in nature - this is what is. Here is - and there. This is the main thesis of non-Christian consciousness, not only non-religious, - there is nothing to say, there - "a person - it sounds proudly."

Only Christianity says that our condition is a state of deep damage, and such damage that no one is in an individual, personal plan can heal it. On this statement, the greatest Christian dogma is being built - dogmat about Christ as the Savior. This is the understanding of sin and Christ - that is the watershed, which separates Christianity from all other religions. Here we can see: which side is mistaken, and what is the right.

I will try now to show that Christianity rightly says that there is such a sin that we are really abnormal, sick, and therefore God needs the Savior, - and if so, then Christianity is the right, and not any other religions.

Let's turn with you to the history of mankind, let's see what it, humanity, lives the whole story available to our gaze, what purposes? Of course, everyone wants to build the kingdom of God on Earth, to build a paradise. Everyone understands that this paradise is impossible, this is a kingdom without elementary things: without peace (war is hell); Without justice, it is clear, otherwise what is this kingdom without justice? - Without respect for each other. It is impossible. Everyone is perfectly understood that without these fundamental moral values, without their implementation it is impossible to achieve any blessing on earth. Everyone is understandable? - All. All smart people? - All smart. What do we do the whole history of mankind? "Erich Fromm said well:" The history of mankind is filled with blood. " For sure.

Military historians best only to illustrate us than this story: war, bloodshed, violence, cruelty, is all that contradicts the idea of \u200b\u200bthat purpose, the thought, which seems to be sent to all: when it, the kingdom, will be? Everything is done exactly on the contrary.

The twentieth century - a century of such a humanism, whom the Humanists themselves did not assume could not wait. Everything seems to be - we have come to the top of human perfection. And showed this top. If the previous humanity could look at what happened in the twentieth century, so they would shudder, probably. What is the scale of everything: and quantitative, and qualitative of that injustice, that cruelty, that deception, the policy has become a deception - which is going on in the world.

Maybe this is a smart creature? Is this mind? When does he cut and ruin himself? If humanity really was cleverly, sensible, reasonably - they would have done everything possible so that there were never any wars. Destroy all trap, all hook for injustice. The story refutes our mind, mocks him, itchizes: Look, people, are you smart? Sound? You are not mentally ill, so you create worse and more than in crazy houses.

This is a very strong fact from which no one can leave anywhere. It shows that there are no units of humanity in humanity - no, it is a massive madness, it is a permanent abnormality.

If we turn in terms of personal, if a person has enough honesty to contact him, take a mirror and look at yourself - the truth is very difficult to look at yourself. Let's see for a neighbor - here is easy, there is such a space! Beauty, just wonderful - I see me around me: All bad, from the top to the bottom, one I am good!

No wonder the Apostle Paul said Golden words: "Poor I am a man, I do not do that, what I want, but the evil that I hate." Everyone who at least a little comes in touch with himself, will see what is the action of passion. I know that it is bad - and do. And what are you, dove, do you do? Why do you cut yourself something, chuck yourself, have a wheel? You know - it is harmful, it is bad - bad to you, bad others.

What does personal experience show? Indeed, we are in some enslavement. Here, in the depths of the soul, everyone will see what happens to him and what he does. If a person carefully look at himself, he will see that not around me all the bad, and I'm bad. How does the psychology of a person can change? Please note: the holy fathers, devotees, those who have acquired special giving the Holy Spirit, were cleared, - in the sacrats we have a lot of martyrs and others who have not achieved this degenial detention, - who have tied the Holy Spirit, - what did they come to? They saw everyone better. And yourself - the worst of all. Paradoxical thing. Strange: They who were afraid even in thoughts to sin, - and suddenly declare that they are worse, the sinner of everyone.

What is it - a hypocrisy for some? Smithnication is some kind of nasty? God will save God. Even we, sinners, will begin to spit, if we see that a person will begin to humble, and himself will be afraid of himself. And here are people who even in thought were afraid to allow a lie, could not say that. When Pimen's Great said that, "Believe me, the brotherhood, where Satan will be injected, I will be injected there," he did not teach, but he spoke from the very essence of his soul, said what he really saw.

When Sisa is the great died, and his face enlightened as the sun, it was impossible to look at him, and he begged God to give him at least a little time to repent. Amazing. It was not hypocritical man, but spoke from his whole soul.

What is this with a person going on? We seem to be filled with all mud, but feel good people. I am a good person, if I do something bad, then only for the reason that he is to blame, she is to blame, they are all around to blame, one I am good. Here the saints say: no one is to blame - I am guilty. It is even guilty that he seems to not do: according to my negligence, in my absence of prayer, in my sins this spiritual atmosphere establishes that even people are in sinners. Amazing.

What I pay attention to: a person in his present state is deeply damaged, this is damage, unfortunately we do not see. The most terrible blindness in us is the invisibility of his illness. The most terrible disease - when a person does not see his illness. When a person sees - he goes to be treated, he goes to doctors, looking for help: Help me! And when do I see myself healthy? - I will send you there.

That's what Christianity indicates. Here is the root of this damage in us, and what it is, this damage is - about this with all the strength and brightness indicate both the history of mankind and the history of the life of every person individually.

The approval of Christianity on the damage of our nature is not some metaphysical truth - the philosopher somewhere from the finger suited, - no, it is an objective proof. Only Christianity speaks about it. It indicates the reason: not outside us - we are always looking for a reason: bad politicians, bad kings and veelmes-like, bad patriarchs and bishops are all bad. Forgot only an elephant - their own soul.

Christian truths express, reflect the genuine state of a person. The statement of one of this fact, this statement of Christianity already shows me what religion I have to appeal. To one that reveals my diseases and indicates the means of their cure. And not to the one that smells them, says: nothing like that, everything is healthy and good, you have nothing to be treated. Only create the best conditions: economic, social, political, cultural, and everything will be Okay: Tomorrow will die, you will take you to the cemetery. Here is an argument why I have to elect Christianity, not other religions.

So, we have passed two steps: religion and atheism. There is a nonsense - and here is the meaning. Christianity: It is referred to here that a person has and with which it is necessary to deal with, funds are offered. Other religions at best offer ethics, and somehow it is said: Ethics is hygiene, and not therapy of the soul. Therapy is a asceticism.

Do you know what the most important thing for the doctor? - Find the disease and its reason. As long as we revealed the proper cause of the disease and the disease itself, we cannot apply any right funds. Christianity indicates the basis of the disease, indicates the paths of her healing, so I choose Christianity, and not those religions that are flattered by my pride, say: you are good, the best of all in the world.

Well, well, reached Christianity. We enter the next room, and there again is full. Here is the temptation: Catholic shouts: the best faith! The best in the world, if you do not believe, look at how much it cost me. And Orthodox, you see how much costs? Just one hundred seventy millions of some. Protestants - 350 million. And us, Catholics, a billion forty five million. This is already the strongest evidence that we are - the most truest Christianity. Someone says that the truth is not in quantity, but, in general, the situation is serious.

Where is it, True Christianity? There are also several analysis methods here too. In our academic theology - I studied at the seminary, at the Academy, as well as you, we always offered a method of comparative study of dogmatic systems: Catholicism, Protestantism and Orthodoxy. This is a method that deserves attention, confidence, but it seems to me not good and accurate.

Take what we argue about Catholic, well, here are the Primat Pope Take. We gathered, Orthodox, and say: yes, yes, it is not good. And you try when Catholic theologians are sitting in front of you, there are more difficult discussions. There just so you do not throw the caps, but you need to speak in essence: you need to know the story well, the actual side. Is this primacy is really an expression of a Christian consciousness or is it a disease that originated on the tree of Christianity?

Philocove - really reflects the faith of the church, is the permissible version of faith or is it there is a lie? The same regarding all other dogmatic Catholic allegations that distinguish it from Orthodoxy is the same purification, impairment conception and so on.

Not so simple. We have repeatedly conducted such meetings: the Russian Orthodox Church has led a dialogue with Catholics for a long time, I participated in many meetings, and by the Roman Catholic Church, the Delegation of the Vatican was always. Not any local, national, French, German, Italian, - No, no, it is the Vatican.

For a person who does not have good education, sufficient knowledge will be difficult to figure out who is right to blame. There are sometimes such psychological strong methods that you can not imagine.

Here I am in the Vatican. I am Jesuit, without blinking the eye, says: "Dad? Oh, such a nonsense This primacy dad, such a nonsense! What do you! It's like your patriarch! " - They say so in cases where they feel that it is very difficult to prove. Here is such an atmosphere.

Therefore, the comparative method of dogmatic studies is very difficult. Especially when you are delivered in the face of people not only knowing, but also - let's call the old Russian word, - cunning. Our Russian history herself shows how people who are not familiar with Orthodoxy, not approved in it, stumbled and even moved to Catholicism. If not switched, it was very sympathetic. Take at least the book of Vladimir Solovyov: "Russia and the Universal Church" - the person reads and is not known what will begin to think. Will not run to Pope Roman. It would seem: Solovyov - the strongest thinker, a talented, educated person, and see what only wrote.

A comparative method suffers from this flaw: it requires a very careful, good study, good knowledge before a person can not believe someone, some professors and so on, and make sure: yes, here I see - mistaken, mistaken.

There is another option, another path that definitely suggests that Catholicism is really a religion of delusion. The wrong Catholicism, leads a person not there. This method is a study, study of Catholic spirituality and its comparison with Orthodox spirituality. Here, with all the brightness, sometimes a murderous, all the madness is found, expressing ascetic language, all the charming (not charming) of Catholic spirituality, which is fraught with tremendous damage for a person who has stuck in this way of life.

I often read public lectures, and different people come there: well, who will come - he comes. And there sometimes ask the question: what is the difference between Catholicism, how to find out that it is incorrect? And I was convinced that it was enough to bring a few statements by Catholic mystics, a few facts, then they immediately say: thanks, we are all clear.

Indeed: Church is evaluated by holy. Tell me - who are your saints, and I will tell you - who is your church. Saints are an ideal, this is the norm of life to which we need to navigate. This is not a rank and not the title, but the norm of life. These are the people who implemented and showed that, of course, under the holiness in this church.

I will brief: here are facts blatant, we can show them. Take, for example, a bookmark: "Revelations of Blessed Angela". Is there a library? And it is necessary - it is worth enlightening students. Take this book: What is happening there with this blissful Angela! What things it comes to which dialogues leads with Christ and with the Holy Spirit! What love is given to her by the Holy Trinity! "We love the apostles, and everyone, but do not love anyone like you! There were also in the apostles, and in all, but not as in you. "

And she sees himself in the darkness of the Holy Trinity, in the middle of the middle. What is there only not: then she sees herself to Christ and drinking blood to the edge; When Christ leaves, she begins to scream and scream, her other nuns are enough for their hands, for their feet, they carry out the souls. The nun - and yells: "Where did you go, Christ, when I have not enjoyed with you!" What horrors are!

Alexei Fedorovich Losev has a brilliant page where he sums up his study - actually he did not specifically studied, "gives his final look at the Catholic mystics. Wonderful, strong lines, where he opposes the strict Moscow-Byzantine spirituality of Catholic sweetness, will express the modern language, sexuality.

Take only this great Teresa - what is happening there. There is an interesting book of Dmitry Meriazhkovsky "Spanish mystics", I would advise you to see, there are a lot of nonsense, of course, but what to do. And many facts that he tells there from the life of the Catholic saints, they are simply striking. When Christ is Teresa and says, after many phenomena: "Before that I was your God, from now on I and your spouse." And Teresa rolls his eyes and faints from delight.

Do you know, this is some nightmare and frost on the skin, when she exclaims: "Oh, my God, my husband!" - what it is? When she says about Christ: "Beloved", calling a piercing whistle that it is impossible not to hear this, and "my soul is exhausted from the desire," you don't know where to go. When she, Igumenia Teresa loves to sing and dance with the kastagnets - I appeal to our igumen: why are you behind, in the end?

These facts are many. This Great Teresa Pope Paul Vi was erected into the dignity of the church teacher. The teacher of the church is the highest level of canonization in the Catholic Church. That is, she is equal to Vasily Great, John Zlatoust, Gregory Theologian - those whom we call the great.

The same Catarina Siena, she is 20 years old, she feels that something should happen to her, walks through a garden path, talking with Jesus for hours, which explains and interprets her the psalter and other things. What would we do with this poor girl, which one walks and is talking about the clock with Jesus? Which incessantly creates a prayer ... You, I suppose, do you think Prayer Jesusov? - backward people! There is, it turns out that the prayer is better, learn from the Great Catarina - also a teacher of the church, also built by Pavel VI in this dignity: "Connect with my marriage in faith." Nothing more needs.

When you look at these saints - what they live, - then you will immediately understand, with what religion we are in contact. Pope John Paul II raised the teacher of the Church Teresa little. Frenchwoman, because when he was in Paris in the previous year, the youth screamed: "Teresu, Teresa!" Everything, next year, he builds her church teachers. Who? - I lived from the family of 22 years. What were you doing? - He decorated with the flowers of the baby Jesus, and she loved him most of all in the world, she became famous. And however, there are pearls in her book: it is her Jesus-baby: "We looked at each other and understood everything."

You think about how the right was the landowner about whom the saint of Ignatius (Bryanchaninov) writes, who saw the book "Imitation of Christ" in his daughter's hand, pulled out from her hands and said: "Stop playing with the God of novels!" Unfulfilled natural tendencies by surrogate can manifest themselves, go through sideways. This is the outlook of sideways and manifests itself there.

Catholic mysticism is a huge topic, here you can talk a lot and long. When we get in touch with Catholic spirituality and with the Orthodox, then you need to be either a person who does not understand anything or not wanting to see not to be awailed in horror from this Catholic mysticism.

I sometimes climb on the Rogger - such a property of nature, - I tried to sometimes make such things on the Russian-Catholic dialogues. In Minsk 2 years ago I specifically in my report put a sharp quotation from St. Ignatius (Bryanchaninova), where he calls these Catholic saints with madmen, no more. The delegation was headed by Cardinal, everything is as expected - bishops, theologian. I thought, now we will be rented and pounce on me, but I just need it. And what do you think? I was amazed: he just argued - they leave this question.

And I understood - they sneak against the truth. Seeing the lie of this, can not answer this, understand that it is charm, and go from it. And this is already trouble, this is a conscious step, not just a delusion, each of us can be wrong. This is what concerns Catholicism.

With Protestantism, it seems to me, it's even easier, there is enough dogmatic, without moving to mysticism. One statement is enough, one thought to immediately see what Protestantism: "The believer is not imputed in sin." I always cry: everything, I turn into Protestantism. What's the beautiful! A man is saved only by faith. When they say to them: Well, sorry: and the demons believe and tremble, writes the apostle about it. What are you talking about?

Then the question they confused. They called the tenth floor first or vice versa. We went to the first and shout: we are already on the tenth, but in fact still on the Barnish Earth. They forgot what faith saves a person. Not a faith in the fact that Christ came two thousand years ago and did everything for us, and now, if I believe, then it is automatically imputed to me. Confused.

Orthodoxy states decisively: yes, man saves faith, but what? Not faith is a worker, as Saint Feofan says, not faith in the fact that something was either there, or will, and this is the state of a person who is acquired correct - I emphasize, - a Christian life, thanks to which a person is convinced that One passion he cannot eradicate himself. With God, you can, myself can not.

The fundamental Christian truth is synergy. Not an idea of \u200b\u200bpredestination, when God is doing everything, - what he wants, it does. Do not human pelagianism when I can do everything. Synergy: Normal human condition is a CO-Deity, God-humanity - this is a normal condition. With God, I defeat, without God - I can not do anything.

That's when the person sees this truth, then he begins with his saving faith. Only when I tone - I need a savior, and when I am on the shore - no one needs me. Orthodox - Right Christian - Life detects, shows a person those diseases that are present in each of us. Shows that he himself, without God, cannot heal them. Seeing herself sinking, he turns to Christ. Christ comes, helps him - that's where the living saving faith begins. So for a person begins Christianity already, and not just a religion, not just faith in God.

I told you everything, I don't know anything else. Thank you.

Questions to the audience:

- A wonderful question, I am glad that there is such an atmosphere. My spiritual father, Igumen Nikon (Sparrow), inscribed to me the first volume at one time: "Now, nowadays, when they squeezed such spiritual mentors who saw the soul of man and could not say what a person needs, no better spiritual leader than the creations of St. Ignatius (Bryanchaninova). He shifted the ancient fathers as applied (as important!) For our time, for our state, for our understanding. Therefore, its writings are guided by studying them. " That's what he wrote to me.

Thanks for this question, I really think that the saint of Ignatius is an invaluable treasure for our time. Thank you for the publication of him, waiting when letters come out.

- Catholic spirituality and Orthodox: You spoke about this comparison method, but in the Orthodox, the saint Dimitri Rostovsky, also have any gear, apocryphas just ... or some kind of censorship?

- The right question is very faithful. Regarding Life Dimitri Rostovsky: It's not a secret, - and you will learn, and learn more detail - that the saint Dimitri, unfortunately, took Catholic materials and without sufficient censorship, used them uncritically.

The era Dimitri Rostovsky - it was the era of the Catholic Zasil. Kiev-Mogilyanskaya Academy - the beginning of the XVII century, Moscow Spiritual Academy - the end of the XVII century - see what was there. You can not even imagine, under what the strongest influence - Catholic, and then Protestant, - all our theological thought developed, our spiritual institutions. Why do they wear such a scholasticity? Schools must be all in the monastery, through the monastery to pass to at least to get acquainted with a spiritual life, and not deal with only this external, workshop, workmanship.

Therefore, indeed, Dimitri Rostovsky uncritically used Catholic materials, but if Catholics had specified on it now, I would answer that we are now rejected from these things, and you donate from what Teresa did or not? And I - no, I do not accept. If they say that the Matronushka said that the sacrament should be spoiled so that the demon would come out, "I think everyone says: I'm sorry, no, it's either false, or she attributed something, or something is wrong with her, if you didn't attribute. That's how we say. For us, truth is more expensive than just, and there is no.

Regarding this, the Father Seraphim (Rose) wrote well that everything, unfortunately, Catholic sources of life, the agiographic turned out to be extremely damaged and spoiled, which after the XI century. We will say: and we have crazy who imagines themselves and the Holy Trinity, but we call them crazy, and you are a teacher of the church. That is what the difference between us and them.

– There are many religions, you said that the main difference of Christianity is the concept of sin ...

- We are talking, of course, about original sin, yes.

– But in Buddhism, the octal path, cleansing - they have the main one? Are you healthy - only to be cleaned? ..

- Yes, they have such illusions are present, they must be discarded. In Vedanta, this main orthodox system of Vishnuism, when the student reaches a sufficient measure of spiritual development, the teacher comes to him and says: you are Brahman. He listens, for several years he walks, returns to the teacher: Yes, I am Brahman. True, great? Feel what root lies there? - You will be like gods. This is where the path of Buddhist, Hindu asceticism leads: to the cult of his I, the cult of pride.

And if you won the lines, as a Buddha writes about yourself: Learn from me, I didn't have a teacher, I myself did a teacher myself, I myself reached, I myself understood everything, I am. One such phrase is enough so that we can say impassively, without any condemnation of his spiritual state.

"Do you agree with the statement that in the Russian person, in the Russian people genetically laid the Orthodox faith?

- Here it is necessary to decipher what "genetically laid" means. I would otherwise put it: the Russian man in nature is most consistent with the assimilation of Orthodox faith. Each people are similar to their breeds of flowers, for example, animals, birds, whatever. Each people have their own specifics, their peculiarity. In the Russian people, even more wider - the Slavs - nature most appropriate to the deep perception of Christianity.

Christ is born among the Jewish people. Who is he, Christ? - Savior. If you translate to medical language is the greatest doctor. And where does the greatest doctor come? When someone covered his finger - he will assign and spare. When the head hurts very much - he will go to the nurse, take a tablet. When Appendix inflamed - you need to go to the surgeon, the operation is simple. When with a heart something: oh, we need a conceptivity. The harder the disease, the higher the level of knowledge, specialization, experience requires a doctor. Christ came there - it is an obvious fact that there turned out to be the most sore place in humanity. He is love, and the mother to whom it shows more attention? To the sick child, completely obvious.

Saint Ignatius (Bryanchaninov) expresses an interesting thought that is becoming increasingly important for us: the antichrist should be born in Russia. So, here the people are most susceptible to the right attitude towards God, the most healthy mind, integrity. The antichrist in its function should make the exact opposite of what Christ did. This thought that the antichrist should be born in Russia, I somehow close. For here it is necessary to destroy the most holy, how the most patient is healing there. So, we will wait for the king in Russia. Just be careful not to make a mistake.

- Somewhere in the 60-70 years, when I had to work in Latin America, I observed the elements of the split among the highest Catholic clergy - they have a smooth, uniform church. I had to meet with catholic bishops to understand the essence of their views. And one of the main postulates to which they indicated was an attempt to converge, to move together the doctrine of socialism and the teaching of Christian. Choosing from the Gospel to very many positions, they compared them with a socialist doctrine, saying that this is the same. Are such views of prelates were legitimate or was it another mystic and delusion?

- You are talking about things that are now, and then referred to as the "theology of liberation", the "theology of the revolution". This idea is very old who has their roots in the idea of \u200b\u200bHiliam. Hiliam (from the word hilio - Millennium) - this is such a significant belief that arose in the middle of the first Christians, due to the apocalyptic aspirations, that Christ comes and arrange a thousand-year kingdom on earth. This prosperity will not necessarily be a thousand astronomical years, maybe ten or a hundred thousand, as much as you like.

The idea is such that Christ is not the one who came to heal a person from all spiritual, spiritual and, naturally, then bodily passions and death itself, and the one who brought the new ideology, gave a new morality, new principles, thanks to which we can here On the ground, arrange the kingdom of God.

This is this idea of \u200b\u200bthe Kingdom of God on Earth in the state in which we are located - even though it will, of course, and the righteous, - but here, in this struck body, to arrange the kingdom of God. This is what is the socialist idea. She is very lively. In our Russian theology, for example, Vladimir Solovyov is developing very much. The Archpriest Pavel Svetlova, this is a professor of the Kiev Academy, University, he has even a whole study on this topic, where he is trying to protect this idea.

In Latin America, as you know, these are people who are oriented, with all their Catholic worldview, it is for this life, first of all. This is best suggested when they occur football and other battles: here and God, and no one needs: Only who will win - and that's it! It is a hot people, which is covered by the earth and only earthly interests. Some spirituality, some humility, meekness, love, some silence, internal joy and experience - what are you talking about? Some kind of "God's kingdom inside you are" is impossible.

Good theologians are skillful people. You need - they will prove that the elephant occurred from the nail. They are still taught. And here it was easy to show that only by liberation, including a revolution, including violence, murder and blood, you can create a society of justice on Earth. Forgot that the source of injustice is not outside of us, but in my soul. In all these revolutions, Tiran replaces the one who wants to be Tyran himself. And begins to be such - almost no exception.

Shafarevich so greatly shown in his book about socialism is a phenomenon, a wonderful material illustrating this idea. All these uprisings, revolutions occur at all from the deep idea of \u200b\u200bpeace, justice and love, but from envy, hatred and desire to become the same rich, to acquire power itself. A heart that is not cleared of passions, it will definitely come to this by having received power. Here is a normal person, and suddenly he gives a liking - the corporal: everything, there was a man - became a cattle. It is impossible to increase a person - begins to go crazy, he rose one step.

Theologian revolution and liberation forgot about the goal of Christianity. Forgot about the Great Truth that the Spirit creates forms. The crude heart, in which passions are not defeated, it cannot create justice or the world.

– Is it possible to call a monasticness in a special way, because there are many saints, but we only call the monks to the presence? ..

- This is a deep misconception when they think that Christianity is only for monks. All commandments are given for all Christians. Monk or layman, Patriarch or Deacon - the commandments of the same. There are no monasticism from non-rotation by living conditions that a person takes to better exercise the commandments. Monasticism is a special living condition when the monks are rented from some things to make themselves more time, more souls for the correct, more accurate execution of the Gospel Commandments.

After all, when it is more convenient to pray? When a worldly man around so many bustle is more convenient for a monk. Here are monks and free yourself as possible from extra. These best conditions allow a person to achieve greater cleansing of the soul. The fact that in the ascetic language is called - to achieve Christian perfection, to achieve impassivity.

Only this monasticism is different, why is it referred to reverend - There, according to the Word of St. Ignatia (Bryanchaninova), Orangery. Monasticism is a greenhouse in which you can grow gorgeous flowers, which in the usual environment will not grow. Therefore, reverend. And here - righteous.And who is higher? Who was the great Macarius? - To two women, married, learn. To whom the Great Anthony was sent? - To the shoemaker. And in that, and in another case, both went with the great edification.

What conclusion do all the ancient fathers? It turns out, the measure of humility is measured grace, and not the measure of exploits. Why did they send them there: to these wives, to the shoemaker? Because they had the idea that they were devotees. And there, in the world? .. Here are these thoughts, these shadows appeared in their soul, and the Lord sent and taught them, and for them it was an excellent tool for a higher spiritual development. Everyone must fulfill, not only one monks. This is a big trouble when they think that only the monks should be praying, work, and others do not need anything. This is a complete distortion of Christianity.

- We are now publishing the "Life of the Saints" Archbishop Filaret (Gumilyovsky) - What is your attitude to this author?

"It's the most positive attitude towards him, but Dimitri Rostovsky - it should be shifted.

Photo by Vladimir Khodakov

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Indeed, there are no benefit in the world of being.
How to spend it and she will go ...

Atheism or religion?

It is necessary to meet at conferences, very significant, with people who are really educated, really scientists, not topographer, and have to be encountered constantly with the same issues. Who is God? Is it? Even: Why is it needed? Or, if God is, why he will not speak from the Tribunes of the United Nations and will not announce itself? And such things can be heard. What can be said to this? This question, as it seems to us, is solved from the position of the central modern philosophical thought, which is the easiest to express the concept of existentiality.
The existence of a person, the meaning of human life - what is the main content? Well, of course, first of all in life. How else? What is the point I worry when I sleep? The meaning of life can only be in the awareness, "taste" the fruits of his life and activity. And no one could ever ever think and say that the final meaning of a person's life can be in death. Here and is an impassable watershed between religion and atheism. Christianity claims: "A person, this earthly life is only the beginning, a condition and means of preparation for eternity, get ready, the eternal life awaits you." It says: That's what you need to do this, which one must be to enter there. And what does atheism affirm? There is no God, there is no soul, there is no eternity and therefore believe, a person, you are waiting for eternal death. What a horror, what pessimism, what despair is frost on the skin from these terrible words: "Man, you are waiting for eternal death." We are not talking about those, let's say soft, strange justifications that are given. One this statement makes you shudder the human soul. No, get rid of me from such faith.

When a person gets lost in the forest, looking for a way, looking for a way home and suddenly, finding someone, asks: "Is there a way out?" And he answers him: "No and do not look for, get it here, as you can," whether he will believe him? Doubtful. Will it start to look next? And finding another person who will say to him: "Yes, there is a way out, and I will give you signs, signs that you can get out of here," then does he not believe him? The same thing happens in the field of ideological choice, when a person finds itself in the face of religion and atheism.

You ask why atheism is faith, not a scientific worldview? Because to the question: "What I need to do to make sure that there is no God," atheism does not know what to answer.

As long, the person still persists the spark of the quest, the spark of the search for the meaning of life, until then he cannot, psychologically cannot accept the concepts that he is as a person, and, therefore, all people expect eternal death for "achievement" It turns out that it is necessary to create the best economic, social, political, cultural conditions of life. And then everything will be about "Kay - tomorrow you will die and take you to the cemetery.

We now indicated only one side, psychologically very substantial, which, as we think, is already enough for every person with a living soul to understand that only a religious worldview, only the worldview, which takes care of the basis of which we call God allows talk about the meaning of life. So, I believe in God. We assume that we passed the first room. And, believing in God, I enter the second ...

ENERGY

My God, what can I see and hear? The people are full, and everyone shouts: "I only have truth." Here is the task of ... and Muslims, Confucian, and Buddhists, and Jews, and who are not. Many those among which are now Christianity. It is worth it, the Christian preacher, in the middle of others, and I'm looking for, who is right here, to whom to believe?

There are two approaches here, it may be more and more, but we will call two. One of them, which can give a man the opportunity to make sure which religion is true (that is, objectively corresponds to human nature, human searches, the human understanding of the meaning of life) is in the method of comparative-theological analysis. Pretty long way, here you need to study every religion well. But not everyone can go through this way, you need a great time, great forces, if you want, the corresponding abilities in order to study all this - all the more so it takes so much the soul strength ... and laziness, in the end .. . Are such labor costs accumulate? But there is another method.

In the end, every religion is facing a person, she says to him: the truth is like that, and not something else. At the same time, all worldviews and all religions argue one simple thing: what is now, in which political, social, economic, on the one hand, and spiritual, moral, cultural, etc. Conditions - On the other hand, a person lives - it is abnormal, it cannot arrange it and even if someone personally satisfies it, then the overwhelming number of people in one degree or another suffers from this. It does not suit humanity as a whole, it is looking for something else, more. She strives somewhere in the uncharted future, is waiting for the "Golden Age" - this state of things does not suit anyone. From here it becomes clear why the creature of every religion, all worldviews comes down to the teachings on salvation. And here we are faced with the fact that it already gives you the opportunity, as it seems to us, make a reasonable choice when we find ourselves in the face of a religious manifold.

Christianity, in contrast to all other religions, claims something that other religions (and even more so the worldview of non-religious) simply do not know. And not only do not know, but when they are faced with this, they reject with indignation.

This statement lies in the concept of so-called. Original sin. All religions, if you even want, all the worldviews, all ideologies speak of sin. Calling, however, it is different, but it does not matter. But none of them believes that the nature of a person in the present state is sick. Christianity argues that the condition in which we all, people, were born, we grow up, bring up, tearing, ripen, - the state in which we enjoy, having fun, learn, make discovery and so on - this is a state of deep illness Deep damage.

We are sick. It's not about the flu and not about bronchitis and not about mental illness. No, no, we are mentally healthy, and physically healthy - we can task and fly into space - we are deeply sick on the other side. At the beginning of the human being, there was some strange tragic splitting of a single human being on as if autonomously existing and often opposing mind, heart and body - "Pike, Cancer and Swan" ...

What an absurdity does Christianity approve, is not it? Everyone is indignant: "I'm abnormal? Sorry, others can be, but not me. " And here, if Christianity is right, and the very root is concluded, the source of the fact that human life is both individually and in an all-life scale leads to one tragedy after another. For if a person is seriously ill, and the disease does not see and therefore he does not treat it, she will destroy him. Other religions do not recognize this disease in man. Reject her. They believe that a person is a healthy seed, but which can develop and normally and abnormally. Its development is due to the social environment, economic conditions, psychological factors, due to many things. Therefore, a person can be both good and bad, but he himself is good in nature. Here is the main antithesis of non-Christian consciousness. We do not say nonreligious, there is nothing to say, there is generally: "A person - it sounds proudly." Only Christianity claims that currently our condition is a state of deep damage, and such damage that a person himself cannot heal it in personal plan. This statement builds the greatest Christian dogma about Christ as the Savior. This idea is a fundamental watershed between Christianity and all other religions.

Now we will try to show that Christianity, in contrast to other religions, has an objective confirmation of this approval. Let's turn to the history of mankind. Let's see what it lives all the history available to our human eye? What goals?

Of course, it wants to build the kingdom of God on Earth, to create a paradise. Some with God. And in this case, it is considered no more as a means of good on earth, but not as the highest goal of life. Others - in general without God. But another thing is important. Everyone understands that it is impossible that the kingdom on earth without such elementary things like: the world, justice, love (it is necessary, what can be the paradise where the war goes, injustice, anger, etc.?), If you want, Respect for each other, deprecate and before. That is, everyone perfectly understood that without such fundamental moral values, without their implementation it is impossible to achieve any prosperity on Earth.

Everyone is understandable? All.

And what makes humanity the whole story? What do you do? Erich Fromm said well: "The history of mankind is written by blood. This is a story never stopping violence. " For sure. Historians, especially the military, could, I think, perfectly illustrate us, than filled with the whole history of mankind: war, bloodshed, violence, cruelty. The twentieth century - in the idea, the age of the highest humanism. And he showed this top of "perfection", surpassing all the previous centuries of mankind to spilled blood together. If our ancestors could look at what happened in the twentieth century, they would shudder from the scale of cruelty, injustice, deception. A certain incomprehensible paradox is that mankind as its history develops everything exactly on the contrary, the main idea, goals and thoughts, to which all his efforts were directed. Let us ask a rhetorical question: "Can a smart creature behave?" The story simply mocks us, ironizes: "Humanity, truly, clever and sensible. It is not mentally ill, no, no. It just creates a little more and a little bit worse than doing it in crazy houses. " Alas, this is a fact from which you can not leave anywhere. And it shows that non-individual units in humanity are mistaken, no and no (unfortunately, only units are not mistaken), and this is some kind of paradoxical all-in-law. If we look at now on a separate person, more precisely, if a person has enough moral forces to "turn around", to see himself, then he will see the picture no less impressive. The Apostle Paul accurately described it: "I am a poor man, I do not do that, what I want, but the evil that I hate."

And indeed, everyone who although a little pay attention to what is happening in his soul, contacts himself, it can not not see how spiritually ill is ill, as far as the action of various passions is enslaved. It is pointless to ask: "Why are you, a poor man, commemorad with, you break, lie, envy, wander, etc.? You kill them yourself, destroy the family, kalable your children, poison the whole atmosphere around yourself. Why beat yourself, relax, kid, why do you go under your nerves, psyche, body itself? Do you understand that it is destructive to you? " Yes, I understand, but I can not do it. Vasily Great somehow exclaimed: "And he was not born in the souls of human more detrimental passion than envy." And, as a rule, a person, suffering, cannot cope with him. Here, in the depths of my soul, every reasonable person comprehends what Christianity says: "I do not know what I want, but the evil that I hate." Is it health or illness?!

At the same time, for comparison, see how a person can change with proper Christian life. Those who were cleared of passions acquired humility, "talked, - according to the word of the St. Seraphim of Sarovsky, the Holy Spirit," came to a curious thing from a psychological point of view: they began to see themselves worse. Pimen's Great said: "Believe me, the brotherhood, where Satan will be injected, I will be injected there." Sisoy the great died, and his face enlightened, like the sun, so it was impossible to look at him, and he begged God to give him some more time to repentance. What is it? Have a hypocrisy some, humble? God will save God. They, even thoughts were afraid to sin, because they spoke from all their souls, they said what they really worried.

We do not feel this at all. I am filled with all the mud, and I see and feel a very good person. I am a good person! But if something and I do a bad, then who is without sin, others are not better than me, and not so much as much as I, how much, other, others. We do not see our souls and therefore so good in their eyes. As the spiritual vision of the holy person from our spiritual vision is distinguished!

So, we repeat. Christianity argues that a person is in nature, in its present, so-called normal condition, is deeply damaged. This damage, unfortunately, we almost do not see. Strange blindness, the most terrible, the most important, which is present in us, is the unremark of his illness. This is really the most dangerous, because when a person sees his illness, he is treated, goes to doctors, looking for help. And when he sees herself healthy, he will send them someone who tells him that he is sick. Here is the hardest symptom of the damage that is present in us. And what it is, it is definitely about this with all strength and brightness indicates both the history of mankind and the history of the life of every person individually, and first of all, his personal life is his personal life. This is what Christianity indicates

Objective confirmation of only one of this fact, one of this truth of the Christian faith - about the damage of human nature - already shows, tells me what religion I have to appeal. To the one that reveals my diseases and indicates the means of their cure, or to a religion that shifts them, nourishes human pride, says: everything is fine, everything is fine, you need not to be treated, but to treat the world around us, you need to develop and improve? Historical experience has shown what it means not to be treated. Well, well, reached Christianity. Thank you, Lord, found a true faith, finally.

Christianity

I enter the next room, and there again the people are full and again screams: my Christian faith is the best! Catholic calls on: see how much it costs me - $ 1 billion 45 million. Protestants of various denominations indicate that they are 350 million. Orthodox less than all, only 170 million. True, someone suggests: the truth is not in quantity, but in quality. But the question is extremely serious: "Where is it, True Christianity?"

unknown, Public Domain

To solve this issue, different approaches are also possible. Usually it comes to mind, first of all, the method of comparative study of dogmatic systems of Catholicism and Protestantism with Orthodoxy. This is a method that deserves attention and trust, but it is still not good to us and not complete enough, because a person who does not have good education, sufficient knowledge, is not easy to understand the wilds of dogmatic discussions and decide who is right, and who is to blame. In addition, sometimes such strong psychological techniques are used, which can easily knock down a person.

unknown, CC BY-SA 3.0

Here, for example, when discussing Catholics, the problem of the Pope Primali, they are not embarrassed saying: "Dad? Oh, such a nonsense is these primates and the infallibility of the dad, what are you!? This is the same as you have the authority of the Patriarch. The infallibility and power of the Pope, practically, are no different from the authority of the statements and the authorities of any charter of the Orthodox Local Church. " Although in reality here are fundamentally different dogmatic and canonical levels! So the relatively dogma method is not very simple. Especially when you stand in the face of people not only knowing, but also seeking to convince you of anything.

Catholics

But there is another way, which will clearly show that there are Catholicism and where he leads a person. This method is also a comparative study, but research is already a spiritual field of life, visually manifesting itself in the life of saints. It is here that in all strength and brightness is found all, expressing the ascetic language, the "charming" of Catholic spirituality, is the charming, which is fraught with the most severe consequences for Askta, who has become in this way of life.

Indeed, anyone's local Orthodox Church or nonsense is estimated in Holy Saints. Tell me who your saints, and I will tell you, what is your church. In any church, the church announces the saints only those who embodied the Christian ideal in their lives, as he sees this church. Therefore, the glorification of someone is not only evidence of the church of the Christian, who, according to its judgment, is worthy of glory and is offered by it as an example for imitation, but, above all, evidence of the church about himself. By holy we can best judge the actual or imaginary holiness of the church itself.

Let's see the illustrations indicating the understanding of holiness in the Catholic Church. So what is their holiness? One of the great Catholic saints is Francis Assisi (XIII century). His spiritual self-consciousness opens well from the following facts. Once, Francis prayed for a long time (extremely indicative of the subject of prayer) "On two milks": "The first is that I can survive all those suffering that you, the sweet Jesus experienced in your painful passions. And the second grace - so that I could feel the unlimited love, who you burned, the Son of God. " As you can see, not feelings of his sinfulness were disturbed by Francis, but frank claims for equality with Christ! During this prayer, Francis "felt completely turned into Jesus", which he immediately saw in the image of a six-square Seraphim, who struck him with fiery arrows at the place of the godfather of Jesus Christ of Christ (hands, legs and right side). After this vision, Francis appeared painful bleeding wounds (stigma) - traces of "Jesus suffering" (1).

Very significant and the purpose of the life that Francis put in front of him: "I worked and I want to work because it brings the honor" (2). Francis wishes to suffer for others and redeem other sins (3). Not because at the end of his life, he frankly said: "I am not aware of any simpler, which would not have redeemed confession and repentance" (4). All this testifies to the invisibility of their sins, his fall, that is, about full spiritual blindness.

For comparison, we give a suicide episode from the life of the Rev. Sisoy the Great (V century). "Surrounded at the moment of his death of Brother, at that moment, when he sought with invisible persons, SISA to the question of brethren:" Father, tell us who you are talking to a conversation? " - I answered: "This angels came to take me, but I pray to them, so that they leave me for a short time to repent." When it's a brethren, knowing that Sisoy is perfect in virtues, led him: "You do not need in repentance , Father, "that Sisoy answered like this:" Truly I don't know if I created at least the beginning of the repentance of my "(5) is a deep understanding, the vision of its imperfection is the main distinguishing feature of all true saints.

The most honored and revealed Catholic saints of their "ascetic" exploits are experiencing fighters of voluptuous ecstasy, often painful, and their written heritage is beyond perplexity: Blessed Angela († 1309); Katharina Siena († 1380); Teresa Avilskaya († 1582); Teresa from Lizieu, or Teresa small, or Teresa Baby Jesus († 1897).

Famous American psychologist William James, appreciating the mystical experience of Teresa Avilskaya, wrote that "her ideas about religion were reduced if I could say so, to an infinite love flirt between the fan and his deity" (6).
On the methodical development of imagination, the mystical experience of one of the pillars of Catholic Mysticism, the Rodonarchist of the Order of Jesuit Ignatia Loyola (XVI century). His book "Spiritual Exercises", using a huge authority in Catholicism, continuously calls on Christian to imagine, imagine, contemplate and holy Trinity, and Christ, and the Virgin, and Angels, etc. From our point of view, we are seeing here Specific genus autotraining.

All this fundamentally contradicts the basics of the spiritual feat of the Saints of the Universal Church, as it leads the believer to a complete spiritual and mental disorder. The authoritative collection of ascetic writings of the ancient Church of the "Dobryolivo" decisively prohibits this kind of "spiritual exercises." Here are some statements from there. Rev. Nile Sinai (V.) Warns: "Do not wish to see sensually angels or power, or Christ, so that you can not get away crazy, take a wolf for a shepherd, and bowing to the enemies-demons" (7). Rev. Simeon New Theologian (XI century), arguing about those who imagine the benefits of the heavenly, the ranks of the angels and the monastery of the saints, "right says that" it is a challenge sign. " "On this path, standing, and those who see the light of bodily arts with their own, smell incense with the smell of their own, hear the eyes of their ears and the like" (8). Rev. Gregory Sinait (XIV century) reminds: "Never take if you see a sensual or spiritual, outside or inside, at least there was the image of Christ, or an angel, or a saint what ... accepting then ... Easily addicted. .. God is not industoming on someone who carefully makesone to themselves, if he does not make a fear of indisposition that it is from him, but pucha praises him as wise "(9). As the right was the landowner (Svt writes. Ignatius Bryanchaninov), who, who saw the Catholic book "Imitation of Jesus Christ" the Catholic book (XV century), snatched her from her hands, and said: "Stop playing with God in the novel. " The above examples do not leave doubts in the justice of these words. To the great regret, in the Catholic Church, it was already ceased, apparently distinguishing the spiritual from spiritual and holiness from the dreamability, and therefore Christianity from paganism. This concerns Catholicism.

Protestants

Protestantism seems to be sufficient and dogmatics. To see his being, we will restrict ourselves now only by one and the main statement of Protestantism: "The person is saved only by faith, and not affairs, because the believer sin is not imputed in sin." Here is the main question in which Protestants are confused. They begin to build a house of salvation from the tenth floor, forgetting (if I remembered?) The teachings of an ancient church about what faith saves a person. Do not believe in the fact that Christ is 2000 years ago came and did everything for us?! What is the difference in the understanding of faith in Orthodoxy from Protestantism? Orthodoxy also says that man saves faith, but the believer sin is charged in sin. What is this faith? - Not "mind", in SVT. Feofhan, that is, reasonable, but then the condition that is purchased with the right, emphasize the correct Christian life of a person, thanks to which he is convinced that only Christ can save it from slavery and tormenting passions. How is this faith-condition achieved? Forwarding to the fulfillment of the commandments of the Gospel and sincere repentance. Prep. Simeon New Theologian says: "Thorough fulfillment of the commandments of Christ will learn the person of his absolutes," that is, opens his powerlessness to himself without the help of God to eradicate passion. Himself, one person can not - with God, "together", it turns out, everything can. The right Christian life is just opening a person, firstly, his passion and illness, secondly, that the Lord near each of us is, finally, that he is ready for any moment to help and save from sin. But he saves us not without us, not without our efforts and struggle. We need a feat that makes us capable of adopting Christ, for it shows us that they themselves cannot heal themselves without God. Only when I tone, I am convinced that I need a savior, and when I am on the shore - no one needs me. Only seeing herself sinking in tormenting passions, I appeal to Christ. And he comes, helps. From here and the lively saving faith begins. Orthodoxy teaches about the freedom and dignity of a person as a co-worker of God in his salvation, and not as a "salt pillar", according to Luther, who can not. From here it becomes clear the importance of all the commandments of the Gospel, and not only the faith in the save of the Christian, becomes the obvious truth of Orthodoxy.

• All religions, in principle, talk about the same, calling God with different names. And Orthodoxy is just one of many religions, isn't it? Of course, it should be clear to any educated person.
• Wrong. The person should, not only can, but really should be on reasonable grounds to become not just a Christian, but Christian Orthodox.

Fundamentally different dogmatic levels ...

Here is the full title of His Holiness Patriarch

Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia. It means this title that his carrier is the head of the Orthodox Church in Russia with the Center in Moscow, and thus reflects the leading of the church organization in accordance with the administrative division, which has developed on the planet and in the state.

The only and internally single body of the Catolytic Church has a united chapter - Jesus Christ (Ephesus. 5:23; Colossus. 1:18). Orthodox doctrine does not know other than the Lord, the chapter of the Church; This does not mean, however, that the earthly universal church does not have the power carried out by the human authority, that the highest power in the church lies outside, available to canonical characteristics. The History of the Church, as well as Orthodox Ecclesiology, is irrefutable: the universal bishopath is the proportion of such power - the successor of the apostolic host. Having heading church communities, the bishops are in constant canonical communication among themselves, thereby communicating between local churches that are storing the unity of Orthodox faith and life by faith.

Catholic ecclesiology proceeds from completely different ideas about the highest power in the Ecumenical Church than those preserved in Orthodoxy. In the Latin theology, the authority of the church, its infallibility is personified in the face of the Roman bishop, referred to as the Supreme High Priest and the governor, the vicar of Christ.

Here is the full title of dad

Bishop Rome, the governor of Jesus Christ, the successor to Prince Apostles, the Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church, the Patriarch of the West, Primas Italy, Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Roman Province, Monarch Vatican, the slaves of God's slaves.

Please note that this title is nothing more than self-setting. Compare with the title of Urphine Jys - the invader of the fairy-tale emerald city and the lord of the Dababolov: Urphin the first, powerful king of the emerald city and neighboring countries, the lord, whose boots are trapped by the Universe, the defender of the subjects. The feeling that both titles were composed of the same spiritual state.

• Simplistic speaking, Orthodoxy believes that the head of the church is the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Patriarch is one of the bishops, which is also also to engage in administration. At the same time, the patriarch does not even have the right to dismiss the priest not to his diocese.
• The teachings of the Catholic Church says that the head of the church is the Roman dad. No more and no less. The administrative power of the Pope is limitless. And not only administrative.

Look at the main powers of Pope, self-satisfied with Catholicism in 1870 at the first Vatican Cathedral, convened by Fii IX, who were under the full influence of Jesuits, the true authors of the dogma of infallibility:

• dad infrequent, like God, and can do everything that God does;
• dad can change the nature of things;
• do out of anything;
• the rule of the truth (in Russian, the value of the word truth is both truth and justice at the same time);
• vlassen is without truth and, contrary to the truth, to do everything that he pleases;
• dad can object to the apostles and against the commandments transmitted by the apostles;
• vlassen is correcting everything that will find necessary;
• in the New Testament, the sacraments established by Jesus Christ may change;
• dad has such power in heaven, that from the dead people the power to erect into the saints whom she wants;
• if the dad is a sentence against the court of God, then the court of God must be corrected and changed.

Orthodoxy - to praise God

Where is a lot of faith in the world?

The enemy of our salvation devil gave rise to and generates credentials of false teachings, heresy, sects and splits, through which it is separated from forever from God (right. John Kronstadt).

How does our church refer to Catholics?

Our Orthodox Church considers Catholics heretics (Pre. Macarium Optina).

Is it possible to think that good unbelievers or magomethane will be saved?

It is mistaken to think and say that good people between Magometanians and unbelievers will be saved, that is, they will come into communication with God. The church has always recognized that one rescue means - the Redeemer, Savior (Svet. Ignatius Bryanchaninov).

Is it possible to think that Catholics will be saved?

Rev. Pafnuti Borovsky saw Prince Lithuanian Vitovt in Adu, who had fallen there for the sake of false Catholic faith.

How to show sectarians that their faith is not saving?

Ask sectarians: Where are their holy worships, the wonderworkers, Reverend? They don't have them and can not be: the sectarians do not recognize them and thus prove that their faith is not holy, if not being saints, do not sanctify people; Not miraculous, if he does not have his own wonderworkers; Not saving, since no one has happened to Rev.; Not Christ, because it is not founded on the cross. All these sectarian faiths appeared from opposing the Church of Christ, from the pride of the mind: People in the delusion of their own imagine what they understand and explain the Gospel of Christ more correctly and better than the Church of Christ itself.

Whether heretics will be saved, such as Catholics, Lutherans, Protestants?

The Ecumenical Orthodox Church recognized the heres of mortal sin, always recognized that the man infected with the terrible ailment of heresy, dead soul, alien grace and salvation, being in communicating with the devil and his death ... With the insufficient knowledge of Christianity, you can accept the thought of false, blasphemy for true , assimilate it, and with her to learn and eternal death! And therefore, there is now, more than ever, has emerged in the study of Christianity.

Does wine remove from apostates, heretics and splitters?

The apostates from the Church of Orthodox at least devoted themselves to death for the confession of the name of Christ, the sin does not wash them down and the blood itself: the indelible and grave of the division fault is not cleared by even suffering (Schchench. Irina Lyon).

I read that some Inactive (Muslims, Buddhists, etc.) had a gift to predict various events. Does this mean that their faith is correct?

The enemy partly knows future events, as it overhears the predictions of the holy people, but the deadlines for the execution of events does not know. Only Orthodox Vera is correct, because it is from the very Lord Jesus Christ, and other faiths have the beginning of human. Only in the Orthodox Church is the Holy Spirit, which we have many evidence.

Why did God immediately destroyed and so long does not destroy the devil? Why the weak people are such a hard life and on Earth in the body and soul on the outcome of the body? After all, if there was no evil (devil), then Eva would not be seduced. And people would all be good and chalky, everyone would have been easier and joyful, such a victim as suffering and death would not need (even then and the resurrection) of the Son of God.

Only God can fully answer this question. God really created angels and people, having endowed their freedom of will, which he cannot destroy. If this freedom was deprived of the choice of real, then it would not be needed. We would never know what day if they did not know what night was; We would never have learned what kind of good, if they knew what evil was. After all, the devil was "Dennica" - the first angel of God, but the choice is made in favor of evil. The destruction of the devil would not change anything. F. M. Dostoevsky has a story "Sleep of a funny person" on this topic, as a Satan is possible to seducing a person if the will is not brought up. In the beauty that the kingdom of God, his love man chooses voluntarily, although there are a lot of temptations around. All that is committed forcibly, deprived of genuine joy and happiness.

A person is not baptized, you can and do you need to do it? If not, what will happen?

In the Holy Scripture it is said: "Who is not born to water and the Spirit, cannot enter the kingdom of heaven." Baptism is a sacrament in which a person dies to the life of a carnal, sinful and born for the life of the eternal, spiritual. So, if a person believes in God and in eternal life after death, the baptism is simply necessary, and the eternal flour awaits unresolved.

How to get rid of eternal torment?

Who wants to get rid of eternal terrible torment, therefore with gratitude to undergo the local grief and cramped and all sorts of illustration, whatever the Lord who may have come to wisdom to their sake of our salvation.

About Catholicism and Protestantism. Alexey Ilyich Osipov

What is Orthodoxy?

FROM the nodentiary of Anastasius Sinait, one of the early fathers of the church, said: "Orthodoxy is a true idea of \u200b\u200bGod and creation," that is, Orthodoxy is the right faith, this is the truth itself. Jesus Christ said: I am the path and truth and life(John 14.6), he is the embodied truth. We can find and know the truth only in Christ, therefore, we can only be saved in Christ.

According to the foregoing, Orthodoxy - the truth is identified with Christ, which is eternal truth. The God of Trinity is the source of truth, and the way he expresses its existence - the fundamental and eternal Orthodoxy, to which people are called - is also the truth.

Salvation, which Christ gave us through her crucifixion on the Cross and Sunday, continues in the church. Therefore, Blessed Augustine called the Church "Christ, extending in the centuries." This means that the Church is Christ, who even after his resurrection and ascension continues to save the world in the Holy Spirit.

Christ, as the eternal truth - Orthodoxy, leads us to salvation through his church. Therefore, the church is the basis of truth.

The church, according to one of the holy fathers, is the "meeting of Orthodox people." The church lives in the centuries and lives as Orthodoxy and unthinkable without Orthodoxy.

"Orthodoxy and Mirage Protestantism." Priest Dimitri Beginner

Is the state of the Orthodox Church true?

( The word of righteous John Kronstadt)

Does the people who were former birth, baptism and education in the Church of Orthodox and leaving, or those who have left, in any uninosty religion or in sects, are all that they leave and how much to do, and what kind of deprivation do they reach?

What? Is the church and faith Orthodox there is one name only without historical significance and without the full strength of truth and vitality - or it is a solid and unshakable building of the heavenly, the eternal, the wisdom and the Almighty architect of God, as the Mountain of the Great and Wonderful, on which in which Lives and acts inener into the salvation of all the faithful Lord himself and the head of the church - Jesus Christ?

Is one name - the Orthodox church, is it without actual "Orthodoxy" and without the greatest, indescribable force, not defeated by any forces of hell? Is it not inherent in the unceasing triumph of all the goats of visible and invisible enemies and over human tricks and ridiculous bass?

Is the Orthodox church standing in the world, without glorious and loud witnesses of her truth and Orthodoxy, her wonderful life-life and savivity, even before our time?

Isn't it unwalked for us to be unwanted and the Almighty and Almighty head of the Church - Christ, who performs it with glory and salvation and invincible for his own power?

Is not with us always the Most Holy Mother of the Virgin Mary, excessing incessantly the miracles of the mercy of Orthodox believers and diligently praying?

Isn't it for us and not with us all the apostles and the prophets with their corrugated writings, the pure meaning of which we did not violate either the iota?

Isn't with us and not for us all the martyrs, the good faith who preserved and crowned from the metacter of Christ the crowns of glory and nonsense ...

Whether those who dangle out of Orthodoxy are known, and those lzhemudressers, who consider indifferent any faith, even Magometan and Buddhist, - whether they know what the pillars of Orthodoxy are, our blessed holy princes: equivalent to Vladimir, who has chosen from all Christian facilities, especially The same holy prince Alexander Nevsky, Latin accuser, Daniel and Roman Galitsky, Saint Mikhail Chernigovsky and Mikhail, Blessed Prince Tverskaya?

Didn't you have a glory from God and people who are notching St. Peter, Alexy, Ion, Philip and Ermogen, Moscow and All Russia, and the many famous Russian saint and wretched gods: Nikita, John, Moses and Evfimiy Novgorod, Dimitri Rostovsky, Mitrofan and Tikhon Voronezh and others? And Seraphim Sarovsky, famous for God, still at the lifetime of the phenomena of the Lord and the Mother of God, standing at the turn to the open glorification - isn't he a witness about the truth and saving of our faith and church?

Finally, I will say: isn't it for us the whole story of the church from the beginning and donyn? What other faith can boast so numerous witnesses of the truth? ..

Only one true and surpasizing faith faith - Faith Orthodox: it is as follows in history, according to its truth, by the very essentially, full of light and vitality, which is impossible to say about other religions: for in them the truth is mixed with false human wisers, establishments and Rules, nasty revelation and solving the salvation of souls. The sky and the earth will let that I will not let everything fail- Says the Lord (MK. 13, 31). Meanwhile, in the foreigners of religion, many words of the Lord are perverted (about the Holy Spirit; about both types of communion; about the primacy of the church)

Let us firmly hold onto our Orthodox faith. Only the Orthodox Church is a pillar and the approval of the truth, for it is already very spirit of truth, testifying incessantly and loudly to the world about the truth.

Sectology. Protestants, Jehovah's Witnesses, NSD

About violence

Is it possible to consider that Catholics, Lutherans and believers from among other nonsense confessions are also in the church? The question will receive an answer if another question is resolved - whether the Holy Spirit is breathing in the inners. According to the commandments of the Lord about the tree, it is necessary to judge the fruits. What are the "Fruits of the Holy Spirit" from the Inoverts?

Lutheran had no glorified saints, i.e. Christians who mastered the high gifts of the Holy Spirit of God. Neither in Catholicism, nor, of course, in Protestant, there is not the degree of purity in the knowledge of the truth and the path of salvation, which is in Orthodoxy.

To judge the Lord of them will be less strictly than Christians from Orthodox, for which the truth is more open and the more direct way to salvation is indicated. It must be remembered that "who is entrusted to a lot, with that more contribute" (Lux 12, 48).

In relation to the believers, the Christian should not be alienated from the Christian. These should be treated as brothers in Christ. This does not exclude, however, concerns before borrowing from them the wrong views and judgments in the creed.

A true Christian does not try to convince them alone disputes. He pourses his love on them, caress and attention and threw them through it. And after the last it can easily change their false views.

You can not condemn those who do not have at all faith in Christ, which is the gift of God's man. Amerator about. Alexey Zosimovsky speaks about the ability to faith: "It is impossible to judge anyone for the fact that he cannot believe in God, as it is often combs. Christ can make a miracle instantly. He can make one moment to make a zener's persecutor. "

Here is one of the examples of tolerance in this regard, which showed pre. Macarius Great.

He walked along the road with his student. The latter was much ahead of the presented. Representing the pagan priest, which carried a log, the student insulted him. Priest beat the student.

After that, the priest met Rev. Makaria. The latter came to him with the words: "Hello to you, a little worker." A similar attitude of a great Christian, famous priest, made such an impression on the latter that he fell in front of the old man and then became a Christian.

Warredness and love for true Christians from the foreigners should not, however, to close our eyes on delusion in non-relocated confessions.

Why does Orthodoxy have true faith

Currently, we all are in such a life situation, when in no way and no walls can separate themselves from the world. What is she? We live in the world of religious pluralism. We were in the face of such a variety of preachers, each of whom offers our ideals, their own standards of life, their religious views that the previous generation, or my generation, perhaps, will not envy you. We had easier. The main problem in front of which we stood was the problem of religion and atheism.

You, if you wish, there is something much more and much worse. There is God or not God is only the first step. Well, a man was convinced that there is God. So what is next? Less a lot who he should become? Christian, why not Muslim? Why not a Buddhist? Why not Krishnaitis? I do not want to list further, now so many religions, you know them better. Why, why, and why? Well, okay, having passed through the jungle and jungle of this multi-aneligious tree, the man became a Christian. Everything understood, Christianity is the best religion, correct.

But what christianity? It is so manyly. Who to be? Orthodox, Catholic, Pentecostal, Lutheranin? Again to bear numbers. That is what the situation was now modern youth. At the same time, representatives of new and old religions, representatives of non-erectible denominations, as a rule, are much more declare themselves, and have significantly greater opportunities for propaganda in the media than we, Orthodox.

So, the first, before the modern person stops, is a lot of faith, religions, worldviews. Therefore, today I would like to go in the ambulance, it is very constructive to walk through this Avtilade of the rooms, which opens in front of the many modern people looking for the truth, and see at least the most common, but fundamental traits, why still a person should, not only maybe, and Indeed, it should be on reasonable grounds to become not just a Christian, but Christian Orthodox.

So, the first problem: "Religion and atheism". It is necessary to meet at conferences, very significant, with people who are really educated, really scientists, not topographer, and have to be encountered constantly with the same issues. Who is God? Is it? Even: Why is it needed? Or, if God is, why he will not speak from the Tribunes of the United Nations and will not announce itself? And such things can be heard. What can be said to this?

This question, it seems to me, is solved from the position of the central modern philosophical thought, which is the easiest to express the concept of existentiality. The existence of a person, the meaning of human life - what is the main content? Well, of course, first of all in life. How else? What is the point I worry when I sleep? The meaning of life can only be in the awareness, "taste" fruits of his life and activity. And no one could ever ever think and say that the final meaning of a person's life can be in death. Here and is an impassable watershed between religion and atheism. Christianity argues: a person, this earthly life is only the beginning, a condition and means of preparation for eternity, get ready, you are waiting for eternal life. It says: That's what you need to do this, which one must be to enter there. And what does atheism affirm? There is no God, there is no soul, there is no eternity and therefore believe, the person is awaiting you eternal death! What a horror, what pessimism, what despair is frost on the skin from these terrible words: a person, you are waiting for eternal death. I'm not talking about those who will say softly, strange justifications that are given. One this statement makes you shudder the human soul. - No, get rid of me from such faith.

When a person gets lost in the forest, looking for a road, looking for a way home and suddenly, finding someone, asks: "Is there a way out of here?" And he answers him: "No and do not look for, get it here, as you can," will he believe him? Doubtful. Will it start to look next? And finding another person who will say to him: "Yes, there is a way out, and I will give you signs, signs that you can get out of here," then does he not believe him? The same thing happens in the field of ideological choice, when a person finds itself in the face of religion and atheism. While a person still persists the spark of the quest for truth, the spark of the selection of the meaning of life, until then he cannot, psychologically cannot accept the concepts that he is as a person, and, therefore, all people are waiting for eternal death for "achievement" It turns out that it is necessary to create the best economic, social, political, cultural conditions of life. And then everything will be oh, Kay - tomorrow you will die and take you to the cemetery. Just great"!

I now pointed to you only on one side, psychologically very substantial, which,, I think, is already enough for every person with a living soul to understand that only a religious worldview, only the worldview that takes care of the basis of which we call God , allows you to talk about the meaning of life.

So, I believe in God. We assume that we passed the first room. And, believes in God, I enter the second ... My God, what I see here and hear? The people are full, and everyone screams: "I just have truth." Here is the task of ... and Muslims, Confucian, and Buddhists, and the Jews and who are only not. Many those among which are now Christianity. It is worth it, the Christian preacher, in the middle of others, and I'm looking for, who is right here, to whom to believe?

There are two approaches, there may be more of them, but I will call two. One of them, which can give a man the opportunity to make sure which religion is true (that is, objectively corresponds to human nature, human searches, the human understanding of the meaning of life) is in the method of comparative-theological analysis. Pretty long way, here you need to study every religion well. But not everyone can go through this way, you need a great time, great forces, if you want, the corresponding abilities in order to study all this - all the more so it takes so much the soul strength ...

But there is another method. In the end, each religion is facing a person, she says to him: That's truth, and not something else. At the same time, all worldviews and all religions argue one simple thing: what is now, in which political, social, economic, on the one hand, and spiritual, moral, cultural, etc. Conditions - On the other hand, a person lives - it is abnormal, it cannot arrange it and even if someone personally satisfies it, then the overwhelming number of people in one degree or another suffers from this. It does not suit humanity as a whole, it is looking for something else, more. She strives somewhere in the uncharted future, is waiting for the "Golden Age" - this state of things does not suit anyone.

From here it becomes clear why the creature of every religion, all worldviews comes down to the teachings on salvation. And here we are faced with the fact that it already gives you the opportunity, as it seems to me, make a reasonable choice when we find ourselves in the face of a religious manifold. Christianity, in contrast to all other religions, claims something that other religions (and even more so the worldview of non-religious) simply do not know. And not only do not know, but when they are faced with this, they reject with indignation. This statement lies in the concept of so-called. Original sin. All religions, if you even want, all the worldviews, all ideologies speak of sin. Calling, however, it is different, but it does not matter. But none of them believes that the nature of a person in the present state is sick. Christianity argues that the condition in which we all, people, were born, we grow up, bring up, tearing, ripen, - the state in which we enjoy, having fun, learn, make discovery and so on - this is a state of deep illness Deep damage. We are sick. It's not about the flu and not about bronchitis and not about mental illness. No, no, we are mentally healthy, and physically healthy - we can task and fly into space - we are deeply sick on the other side. At the beginning of the human being, there was some strange tragic splitting of a single human being on as if autonomously existing and often opposing mind, heart and body - "Pike, Cancer and Swan" ... What an absurdity argues Christianity, isn't it? Everyone is indignant: "I'm abnormal? Sorry, others can be, but not me." And here, if Christianity is right, and the very root is concluded, the source is that human life is both individually and in an all-life scale leads to one tragedy after another. For if a person is seriously ill, and he does not see her and therefore he does not treat it, she will destroy him.

Other religions do not recognize this disease in man. Reject her. They believe that a person is a healthy seed, but which can develop and normally and abnormally. Its development is due to the social environment, economic conditions, psychological factors, due to many things. Therefore, a person can be both good and bad, but he himself is good in nature. Here is the main antithesis of non-Christian consciousness. I do not say nonreligious, there is nothing to say, there is generally: "Man - it sounds proudly." Only Christianity claims that currently our condition is a state of deep damage, and such damage that a person himself cannot heal it in personal plan. This statement builds the greatest Christian dogma about Christ as the Savior.

This idea is a fundamental watershed between Christianity and all other religions.

Now I will try to show that Christianity in contrast to other religions has an objective confirmation of this approval. Let's turn to the history of mankind. Let's see what it lives all the history available to our human eye? What goals? Of course, it wants to build the kingdom of God on Earth, to create a paradise. Some with God. And in this case, it is considered no more as a means of good on earth, but not as the highest goal of life. Others - in general without God. But another thing is important. Everyone understands that it is impossible that the kingdom on earth without such elementary things like: the world, justice, love (it is necessary, what can be the paradise where the war goes, injustice, anger, etc.?), If you want, Respect for each other, deprecate and before. That is, everyone perfectly understood that without such fundamental moral values, without their implementation it is impossible to achieve any prosperity on Earth. Everyone is understandable? All. And what makes humanity the whole story? What do you do? Erich Fromm said well: "The history of mankind is written by blood. This is a story never stopping violence." For sure.

Historians, especially the military, could, I think, perfectly illustrate us, than filled with the whole history of mankind: war, bloodshed, violence, cruelty. The twentieth century - in the idea, the age of the highest humanism. And he showed this top of "perfection", surpassing all the previous centuries of mankind with spilled blood together. If our ancestors could look at what happened in the twentieth century, they would shudder from the scale of cruelty, injustice, deception. A certain incomprehensible paradox is that mankind as its history develops everything exactly on the contrary, the main idea, goals and thoughts, to which all his efforts were directed.

I ask a rhetorical question: "Can a clever creature behave?" History just mocks us, itchs: "Humanity, truly, clever and sensible. It is not a mentally ill, no, no. It just creates a little more and a little bit worse than doing it in crazy houses."

Alas, this is a fact from which you can not leave anywhere. And it shows that non-individual units in humanity are mistaken, no and no (unfortunately, only units are not mistaken), and this is some kind of paradoxical all-in-law.

If we look now on a separate person, more precisely, if a person has enough moral forces to "turn around", to see himself, then he will see the picture no less impressive. The Apostle Paul accurately described it: "I am a poor man, I do not do that, what I want, but the evil that I hate." And indeed, everyone who although a little will pay attention to what is happening in his soul, contacts himself, it cannot not see how spiritually ill is ill, as far as the action of various passions is enslaved. It is pointless to ask: "Why are you, a poor man, commemorad with, you are lying, you envy, wander, etc. Are you killing yourself yourself, you destroy the family, kalace your children, poison the whole atmosphere around yourself. Why beat yourself, relax , King, why are you ruining your nerves, psyche, body itself? Do you understand that it is destructive for you? " Yes, I understand, but I can not do it. Vasily Great somehow exclaimed: "And he did not originate in the souls of human more detrimental passion than envy." And, as a rule, a person, suffering, cannot cope with him. Here, in the depths of my soul, every reasonable person comprehends what Christianity says: "I do not know what I want, but the evil that I hate." Is it health or illness?!

At the same time, for comparison, see how a person can change with proper Christian life. Those who have been cleared of passions acquired humility, "talked, - according to the word of the St. Seraphim of Sarov, - the Holy Spirit," came to a curious one of the psychological point of view: they began to see themselves worse. Pimen Great said: "Believe me, the brotherhood, where Satan will be injected, I will be injected there"; Sisoy the great died, and his face enlightened, like the sun, so it was impossible to look at him, and he begged God to give him some more time to repentance. What is it? Have a hypocrisy some, humble? God will save God. They, even thoughts were afraid to sin, because they spoke from all their souls, they said what they really worried. We do not feel this at all. I am filled with all the mud, and I see and feel a very good person. I am a good person! But if something and I do a bad, then who is without sin, others are not better than me, and not so much as much as I, how much, other, others. We do not see our souls and therefore so good in their eyes. As the spiritual vision of the holy person from our spiritual vision is distinguished!

So, I repeat. Christianity argues that a person is in nature, in its present, so-called normal, is deeply damaged. This damage, unfortunately, we almost do not see. Strange blindness, the most terrible, the most important, which is present in us, is the unremark of his illness. This is really the most dangerous, because when a person sees his illness, he is treated, goes to doctors, looking for help. And when he sees herself healthy, he will send them someone who tells him that he is sick. Here is the hardest symptom of the damage that is present in us. And what it is, it is definitely about this with all strength and brightness indicates both the history of mankind and the history of the life of every person individually, and first of all, his personal life is his personal life. This is what Christianity indicates.

I will say that an objective confirmation of only one of this fact, one of this truth of the Christian faith - about the damage of human nature - already shows me what religion I have to appeal. To the one that reveals my diseases and indicates the means of their cure, or to a religion that shifts them, nourishes human pride, says: everything is fine, everything is fine, you need not to be treated, but to treat the world around us, you need to develop and improve? Historic experience has shown what it means not treated.

Well, well, reached Christianity. Thank you, Lord, found a true faith, finally. In the next room, and there again the people are full and again screams: my Christian faith is the best. Catholic calls on: see how much it costs me - $ 1 billion 45 million. Protestants of various denominations indicate that they are 350 million. Orthodox less than all, only 170 million. True, someone suggests: the truth is not in quantity, but in quality. But the question is extremely serious: "Where is it, true Christianity?"

To solve this issue, different approaches are also possible. In the seminary, we always offered a method for comparative study of dogmatic systems of Catholicism and Protestantism with Orthodoxy. This is a method that deserves attention and confidence, but it is still not good for me to be not good enough, because a person who does not have good education, sufficient knowledge, is not easy to understand the wilds of dogmatic discussions and decide who is right, and who is to blame. In addition, sometimes such strong psychological techniques are used, which can easily knock down a person. Here, for example, discuss the problem of the Pope Primariya with Catholics, and they say: "Dad? Oh, such a nonsense is the primacy and the infallibility of the dad, what are you !? This is the same thing that you have the authority of the patriarch. Ignorance and power Pope Practically, they do not differ from the authority of statements and the authorities of any charter of the Orthodox Local Church. " Although in reality here are fundamentally different dogmatic and canonical levels. So the relatively dogma method is not very simple. Especially when you are delivered in the face of people not only knowing, but also seeking to convince you.

But there is another way, which will clearly show that there are Catholicism and where he leads a person. This method is also a comparative study, but research is already a spiritual field of life, visually manifesting itself in the life of saints. It is here that in all strength and brightness found all, expressing the ascetic language, the "charming" of Catholic spirituality, is the charming, which is fraught with the most severe consequences for Askta, who has become of life on this path. You know that sometimes I am speaking with public lectures, and different people are going to them. And often ask the question: "Well, what does Catholicism differ from Orthodoxy, what is his mistake? Is it just another way to Christ?" And many times I was convinced that it was enough to bring a few examples from the life of Catholic mystics so that the asking simply would say: "Thank you, now everything is clear. No more need."

Indeed, anyone's local Orthodox Church or nonsense is estimated in Holy Saints. Tell me who your saints, and I will tell you what your church is. For any church announces the saints only those who embodied the Christian ideal in their lives, as he sees this church. Therefore, the glorification of someone is not only evidence of the church of the Christian, who, according to its judgment, is worthy of glory and is offered by it as an example for imitation, but, above all, evidence of the church about himself. By holy we can best judge the actual or imaginary holiness of the church itself.

I will give some illustrations that testify to the understanding of holiness in the Catholic Church.

One of the great Catholic saints is Francis Assisi (XIII century). His spiritual self-consciousness opens well from the following facts. Once, Francis prayed for a long time (it is extremely indicative of the subject of prayer) "On two milost": "The first is that I can ... Could ... Survive all those suffering that you, the sweet Jesus, experienced in your painful passions. And The second grace ... is that ... I could feel ... that unlimited love, who you burned, the Son of God. " As you can see, not feelings of their sinfulness were disturbed by Francis, but frank claims on equality with Christ! During this prayer, Francis "felt yourself completely turned into Jesus", Which he immediately saw in the image of a six-square seraphim, striking his fiery arrow in the place of the godfather of Jesus Jesus Christ (hands, legs and right side). After this vision, Francis appeared painful bleeding wounds (stigma) - traces of" suffering of Jesus " (Logyjansky M.V. Light invisible. - GH. 1915. - P. 109.)

The nature of these stigs is well known in psychiatry: the continuous concentration of attention on the crosses of the suffering of Christ extremely excites the nerves and the human psyche and with long exercises can cause this phenomenon. There is nothing fellow here, for in such compassion (Compassio), Christ is not true love about the essence of which the Lord said right: who complies commandments mine tOT He loves me (in. 14; 21). Therefore, the substitution of the fight against his Old Man's dreamy experiences of "compassion" is one of the most severe mistakes in spiritual life, which led and leads many devotees to the Cordess, Gordin - the obvious charm, often associated with direct mental disorders (Wed "Preaching" Francis Birds, Wolf, robbery, snakes ... colors, his reverence in front of fire, stones, worms).

Very significant and the purpose of life that Francis set himself: "I worked and I want to work ... because it brings honor"(Saint Francis Assisi. Works. - M., ed. Franciscanians, 1995. - P.145). Francis wishes to suffer for others and test selfiece sins (P.20). Not because at the end of the life, he frankly said: "I am not aware of any simpler, which would not have redeemed confession and repentance" (Logyansky. - S. 129.). All this testifies to the invisibility of their sins, his fall, that is, about full spiritual blindness.

For comparison, we give a seerful moment from the life of the Sisoy of the Great (V century). "Surrounded at the moment of his death of Brother, at that moment, when he sought with invisible persons, asna to the question of brethren:" Father, tell us who you are talking to? "- answered:" This angels came to take me, but I pray to them so that they leave me for a short time to repent. "When it's a brethren, knowing that Sisoy perfectly in virtues, led him:" You do not need in repentance, Father, "that Sisoy answered like this:" Truly, I do not know if I created at least the beginning of the repentance of my "(Logyansky. - P. 133.) This is a deep understanding, the vision of its imperfection is the main distinglee line of all true saints.

But excerpt from the "Revelations of Blessed Angela" († 1309) (Revelations of Blessed Angela. - M., 1918.).

Holy Spirit, "she writes," says her: "My daughter, sweet my, .. I love you" (p. 95): "I was with the apostles, and they saw me by bodily eyes, but did not feel so How you feel "(p. 96). And this opens an Angela: "I see in the darkness of the Holy Trinity in the darkness, and in the very Trinity, which I see in the darkness, it seems to me that I stand and stay in the middle of it" (p. 117). She expresses his attitude towards Jesus Christ, for example, in such words: "I could introduce myself inside Jesus Christ" (p. 176). Or: "I screamed from his sweetness and from the grief about the collapse of him and wanted to die" (p. 101) - at the same time she began to beat himself in a rage that the nuns were forced to carry her out of the church (p. 83).

A sharp, but faithful assessment of "Revelations" Angela gives one of the largest Russian religious thinkers of the XX century AF. Elsev. He writes, in particular: "The seduction and interest of the flesh leads to the fact that the Holy Spirit is blissful Angela and it whispering it such in love:" My daughter, my sweet, my daughter, my temple, my daughter, is myself, love me, For I really love you, much more than you love me. "The holy is in the sweet Estimate, can not find a place from love thieves. And the beloved is everything and is and more and more incite her body, her heart, her blood. Cross Christ is represented by her marriage ... that it may be more opposite to Byzantine-Moscow harsh and chaste mobility, as not these permanent blasphemes: "My soul was accepted into the unreacted light and ascended," these passionate discretions on the Cross of Christ Christ and on separate members of his body, it is a violent calling of bloody spots on their own body, etc. etc.? In the top of all, Christ hugs Angela Hero, which is nodded to a cross, and she, all on From Tomny, Flour and Happiness, says: "Sometimes the soul appears from the closest embrace, which is included in the side of Christ. And the joy that she accepts is there, and the insight cannot be told. So they are great that sometimes I could not stand on my feet, but lay and took my tongue ... And I lay, and I had a language and members of the body "(Losev A.F. Essays of ancient symbolism and mythology. - M., 1930. - T. 1. - P. 867-868.).

A vivid evidence of Catholic Holiness is Catarina Siena (+1380), erected by Pap Paul VI to the highest discharge of the Saints - in the "Teachers of the Church". I read several extracts from the Catholic book Antonio Sicari "Portraits of Saints." Quotes, in my opinion, will not require a comment.

Catherine was about 20 years. "She felt that in her life the decisive fracture should happen in her life, and continued to pray to his Lord Jesus, repeating the beautiful, gentle formula that became familiar to her:" Combine with me marriage in faith! "(Antonio Sikari. Sainted portraits. T. II. - Milan, 1991. - C.11.).

"Once Catherine saw a vision: Her divine groom, hugging, attracted her to himself, but then he took a heart from her breast to give her another heart, more similar to his own" (p.12).

Once told she died. "She herself said later that her heart was confused by the strength of divine love and that she went through death," Nerre Paradise Gate ". But" Return, my child, "the Lord told me, you need to go back ... I will give you to princes And the rulers of the church. "" And a humble girl began to send their messages around the world, long letters, which she dictated with the striking speed, often three or four simultaneously and in different reasons, without confusing and ahead of secretaries. All these letters are completed by passionate formula: "Jesus the sweet, Jesus Love" and often begin with words ...: "I, Catherine, maid and a slave of slaves of Jesus, write to you in the precious blood of him ..." (12).

"In letters, Catherine rushes first of all the frequent and persistent repeat of words:" I want "(12).

"Some say that the decisive words" I want "it in the state of ecstasy even threw to Christ" (13).

From correspondence with Gregory X1, whom she convinced to return from Avignon to Rome: "I tell you on behalf of Christ ... I tell you, Father, in Jesus Christ ... Answer the call of the Holy Spirit, to you addressed" (13).

"And to the king of France, refers to the words:" Create the will of God and my "(14).

No less indicative of "Revelations" and erected by Pap Pavel VI in the "Teachers of the Church" Teresa Avilskaya (XVI century). Before his death, she exclaims: "Oh, my God, my spouse, finally I will see you!". This highly strange exclamation is not accidental. It is a natural consequence of the whole "spiritual" feat of Teresa, the creature of which opens at least in the next fact.

After numerous his phenomena, "Christ" says Teresa: "From that day you will be my wife ... I'm not only your Creator, God, but also spouse" (Merezhkovsky D.S. Spanish mystics. - Brussels, 1988. - With . 88.) "Lord, or suffer from you, or die for you!" - Teresa prays and falls in exhaustion under these caresses ... "- writes D. Merezhkovsky. It does not have to be surprised when Teresa is recognized:" The soul calls the beloved by such a piercing whistle that it is impossible not to hear it. This call acts on the soul so that she extends from the desire. "It is not by chance that a well-known American psychologist William James, assessing her mystical experience, wrote that" her ideas about religion were reduced, if you can put it, to an infinite love flirting between the fan and His deity "(James V. Diversity of Religious Experience. / Trans. from English - M., 1910. - P. 337).

Another illustration of the presentation of holiness in Catholicism is Teresa from Lizier (Teresa small, or Teresa baby Jesus), who, having lived 23 years old, in 1997, in connection with the century from the day of death, the "infallible" decision of Pope John Paul II Another teacher of the Universal Church was announced. Here are a few quotes from the spiritual autobiography of Teresa "Tale of one soul", eloquently testifying to her spiritual state (the story of one soul // Symbol. 1996. №36 - Paris. - p.151.)

"During the interview who added to MY TEST, I told about doing that intended to make in Carmel:" I came to save the souls and above all - pray for priests"(Not to save yourself, but others!).

Speaking about his unnecessary, she immediately writes: "I invariably storing the daring hope that I will become great saint... I thought it was born for glory and sought ways to achieve it. And here is God God ... opened me that my glory will not be revealed to the mortal eyes, and the essence of her is that i will become a great holy!!! "(Wed: Makariya's great, whom the associates for a rare altitude of life called" earthly god, "only prayed:" God, cleaning the sinful, Yako Nikolizh coordinates a good before you "). Later, Teresa will write even more frankly:" In my mother's heart, I will love ... then I will be all ... and through this my dream will come true !!! "

To the highest "wonderful" Teresa's teaching about spiritual love: "It was a lobsiesta of love. I felt my beloved and said:" I love you and insert yourself forever. "There was no statience, no struggle, nor victims; already a long time ago, Jesus And the little poor Teresa, looking at each other, understood everything ... This day brought no exchange of views, and the merger, when there was no two, and Teresa disappeared, like a drop of water lost in the ocean depths. " It is hardly necessary here what comments to this dreamy novel of the poor girl is a teacher of the Catholic Church.

On the methodical development of imagination, the mystical experience of one of the pillars of Catholic Mysticism, the Rodonarchist of the Order of Jesuit Ignatia Loyola (XVI century).

His book "Spiritual Exercises", using a huge authority in Catholicism, continuously calls on Christian to imagine to imagine Both the Holy Trinity, and Christ, and the Mother of God, and angels, etc. All this fundamentally contradicts the basics of the spiritual feat of the Saints of the Universal Church, as it leads the believer to a complete spiritual and spiritual disorder.

Rev. Nile Sinaisky (V c.) Warns: "Do not wish to see sensually angels or power, or Christ, so that you can not get away with the wolf, and bowing to the enemies-demons" (prep. Neil Sinai. 153 Heads of Prayer. Ch. 115 // Dobryologia: in 5 tons. T. 2. 2nd ed. - M., 1884. - P. 237).

Rev. Simeon New Theologian (XI century), arguing about those who are on prayer "imagine the benefits of heaven, the ranks of the angels and the monastery of the saints," says directly that "this is a sign of charms." "On this path, standing, and those who see the light of bodily masses with their own, smell incense with the smell of their own, hear the eyes of our ears and the like" (prep. Simeon New theologians. About three images of prayer // Dobryology. T. 5. M. , 1900. P. 463-464).

Rev. Gregory Sinait (XIV century) reminds: "Never take if you see a sensual or spiritual, out or inside, at least there was the image of Christ, or an angel, or a saint which ... accepting then ... Easily addicted. .. God does not indulge on the one who carefully makesone to themselves, if he does not accept the fact that there is, .. but pucha praises him like wise "(prep. Gregory Synait. Instruction is silent //. - P. 224).

As the right was the landowner (Svt writes. Ignatius Bryanchaninov), who, when saw in his daughter's hands, the Catholic book "Imitation Jesus Christ" of Thomas Kampiovsky (XV century), snatched her from her hands, and said: "Stop playing with God in the novel. " The above examples do not leave doubts in the justice of these words. To the great regret, in the Catholic Church, it was already ceased, apparently distinguishing the spiritual from spiritual and holiness from the dreamability, and therefore Christianity from paganism.

This concerns Catholicism.

With Protestantism, it seems to me enough and dogmatic. To see his being, I will restrict it now only by one and the main statement of Protestantism: "A person is saved only by faith, and not affairs, because the believer sin is not imputed in sin." Here is the main question in which Protestants are confused. They begin to build a house of salvation from the tenth floor, forgetting (if I remembered?) The teachings of an ancient church about what faith saves a person. Do not believe in the fact that Christ is 2000 years ago came and did everything for us?!

What is the difference in the understanding of faith in Orthodoxy from Protestantism? Orthodoxy also says that man saves faith, but the believer sin is charged in sin. What is this faith? - not "mind", in SVT. Fefan, that is, reasonable, but then stateThat is purchased with the right thing, I emphasize the correct Christian life of a person, thanks to which he is convinced that only Christ can save him from slavery and tormenting passions. How is this faith-condition achieved? Forwarding to the fulfillment of the commandments of the Gospel and sincere repentance. Prep. Simeon New Theologian says: "Thorough fulfillment of the commandments of Christ, he teaches a man of his immortality," that is, opens his powerlessness to himself without the help of God to eradicate passion. Himself, one person can not - with God, "together", it turns out, everything can. The right Christian life is just opening a person, firstly, his passion and illness, secondly, that the Lord near each of us is, finally, that he is ready for any moment to help and save from sin. But he saves us not without us, not without our efforts and struggle. It is necessary for a feat that makes us capable of adopting Christ, because they show us that they cannot heal themselves without God. Only when I tone, I am convinced that I need a Savior, and when I don't need anyone on the shore, just seeing myself with a sinking passion for passion, I appeal to Christ. And he comes, helps. From here and the lively saving faith begins. Orthodoxy teaches about the freedom and dignity of man as a co-worker of God in his salvation, and not as a "salt pillar", according to Luther, who can not. From here it becomes clear the importance of all the commandments of the Gospel, and not only the faith in the save of the Christian, becomes the obvious truth of Orthodoxy.

So for a person begins Orthodoxy, and not just Christianity, not just a religion, not just faith in God.

A.I. Osipov

Believe in God - it means to have live confidence in his being, properties and actions and all the heart to take a frank word of him about the salvation of human race. God is one of the essence, but three in the faces: Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, the Trinity is unique and inseparable. In the symbol of faith, God is called Almighty, because everything that neither is it contains in his strength and his will. The words of the Creator of the sky and the Earth, visible to everyone and invisible that everything is created by God and nothing can be without God. The word invisible indicates that God created the invisible, or spiritual, the world to which Angels belong.

Church's birthday - Holy Pentecost

The Son of God is called the second face of the Holy Trinity in his deity. He is named by the Lord, because he is a true God, for the name of the Lord has one of the names of God. The Son of God is named Jesus, that is, the Savior, this is named by the Archangel Gabriel himself. Christ, that is, the anointed, called his prophets - so long called the kings, high priests and prophets. Jesus, the Son of God, is named because all the gifts of the Holy Spirit are immensely reported immensely and, thus, to him in the highest degree belonging to the knowledge of the prophet, the holiness of the high priest and the power of the king. Jesus Christ is called the Son of God's only beerable, because he is only one there is a son of God, born from the creature of God Father, and therefore he is a single creature with God Father. The Faith symbol says that he is born from his father, and this is a personal property that he is different from other sacred trinity. Before all the century, so that no one thought that there was a time when he was not. The words of light from light in some way express the incomprehensible birth of the Son of God from the Father. God Father has eternal light, the Son of God is born, who also has eternal light; But God the Father and the Son of God is a single eternal light, inseparable, united divine nature. The words of God are truly true of God being taken from the Holy Scriptures: We also know that the Son of God came and gave us the light and the mind, and they will know the God of True and will be in the true son of his Jesus Christ. This is the true God and the life of the eternal (1 in. 5, 20). The words are born, unprecedented by the Holy Fathers of the Ecumenical Cathedral for the case of Aria, who did not carely taught that the Son of God is created. The words of the alike, father mean that the Son of God is the same Divine Being with God Father. Words left the whole bull show that God's father all created his son as an eternal wisdom of his own and eternal word his own. We for the sake of the person and our for the sake of salvation - the Son of God, according to his promise, came to Earth not for one people, but in general for the whole of human genus. Szedezago from heaven - how he himself says: no one went to heaven, as soon as the Son of the Son of Human, which is heaven from heaven (John 3, 13). The Son of God is omnipresent and therefore always in the sky and on Earth, but on Earth, he was previously invisible and became visible only when he appeared in the flesh, it was embodied, that is, he accepted the flesh of human, except for sin, and became a man, not ceasing to be God . The embodiment of Christ was accomplished by the promotion of the Holy Spirit, so that the Holy Deva, as a virgin, before conception, and in conception, and after conception, and in the birth of Virgin. The word in the same time is added so that no one thought that the Son of God accepted one flesh or body, but that a perfect person consistent with the body and soul recognized. Jesus Christ was crucified for us - he gave birth to my death from sin, curses and death. Words at Pilate Pilate point to the time when it was crucified. Pontius Pilate is the Roman ruler of Judea, which was conquered by the Romans. The word suffered is added to show that his crucifixion was not one type of suffering and death, as some false teachers said, but genuine suffering and death. He suffered and died not by the Divine, but mankind, and not because he could not avoid suffering, but because he climbed to suffer. The word Poginen certifies that he really died and risen, for his enemies even gave him to the coffin and sealed the coffin. And resistant on the third day of Scripture - the fifth member of the Faith symbol teaches that the Lord Our Jesus Christ is the power of God's deity rose from the dead, as written about him from the prophets and in Psalms, and that he was resurrected in the same body in which he was born and died . Words on Scripture mean that Jesus Christ died and risen exactly as the prophetically written in the books of the Old Testament.

And it is worthwhile to heaven, and the sacred father's seeds are borrowed from the Holy Scriptures: the lack of herself, he also has a launched above all heavens, in order to fill everything (Eph. 4, 10). We have such a high priest who has been squealing the scene of the grandeur in heaven (Heb. 8, 1). The words of the sedentary are on holiday, that is, sitting on the right side, you need to understand spiritually. They mean that Jesus Christ has the same power and glory with God by Father. And Paki Suddyko with Glevai Sudiuti Alive and Dead, the Eaggent of Kingdom will not be the end - the sacred Scripture speaks about the future of the coming of Christ: this Jesus, who ascended from you on the sky, will come in the same way as you have seen it ascending on the sky (Acts 1 , eleven).

The Holy Spirit is called the Lord, because he, like the Son of God, is a true God. The Holy Spirit is called life-giving, because he, together with God, father and son gives creatures, especially spiritual people: if anyone can not be born from the water and the Spirit, can not enter the kingdom of God (John 3, 5). The Holy Spirit comes from the Father, as Jesus Christ himself says: when the comforter will come, whom I will send you from my father, the spirit of truth, which comes from his father, he will testify to me (John 15, 26). The Spirit of Holy Enlobs the worship and the glorification, equal to the Father and the Son - for Jesus Christ himself commanded to baptize in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit (Matt. 28, 19). The Symbol of Faith says that the Holy Spirit verbal through the prophets is based on the words of the Apostle Peter: never prophecy has not been pronounced by the Will of Human, but His Holy People's Saints, being driven by the Holy Spirit (2 Pet 1,21). The sacred spirit of the saint can be done through the sacraments and a diligent prayer: if you, being evil, you know how to give our children to give your children, especially since the Heavenly Father will give the spirit of Haine asking him (Lux 11, 13).

The church is one, because it is one spiritual body, has one chapter of Christ, and animate in God's spirit. The Church is holy, because Christ loved the church and betrayed himself for her to sanctify it, clearing a water banya by word; To present it with a nice church, there is no spot, or vice, or anything like that, but in order for it, it was holy and impossible (Eph. 5, 25-27). Church of the Cathedral, or, that the same, cofolic, or universal, because it is not limited to any place, no time, nor the people, but includes truly believers of all places, times and peoples. The Church of the Apostolic, because it is continuously and invariably from the apostles preserves the teaching, and the succession of the gifts of the Holy Spirit through the sacred ordination. The True Church is also called Orthodox, or a referring.

Baptism is a sacrament in which the believer, with a three-time immersion of the body into the water, with the calling of God's father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit dies to the life of the carnal, sinful and reborn from the Holy Spirit to the spiritual, holy. Baptism is one, because it is spiritual birth, but a person will be born once, because he is baptized once.

Resurrection of the Dead is the action of the omnipotence of God, according to which all the bodies of dead people, having confused again with their souls, revive and will be spiritual and immortal.

The life of the future century is life that will be after the resurrection of the Dead and Universal Court of Christ.

The word Amen, the final symbol of faith, means "true so". The church keeps the symbol of faith with apostolic times and will keep it forever. No one can never refund nor add something to this symbol.

Professor MDA Alexey Osipov

Why do you think that only Orthodoxy is a true faith? Why do not you admit that different religions lead to one God, but their own ways?

The fact is that the truth of Orthodoxy is eliminated by the truth of other religions. In other words, it is impossible, while remaining Orthodox, worship Allah and Buddha or believe in the resettlement of souls. Either you are an Orthodox Christian, or - no, the third is not given. That is why all attempts to combine religions, create some kind of general world famous faith are a kind of deception. As a result of such an association with other religions, Orthodoxy will inevitably lose their entire essence. Yes, indeed, at first glance, all the religions of the world are similar and differ only in private, as they all teach the fact that there is a spiritual world that the soul is immortal that it is necessary to live according to certain moral laws. But Christianity does not exhaust this. His essence is that the Creator himself became the universe for the sake of the salvation of each of us, and, having accepted the godfather, resurrected by opening the way to the kingdom of heaven. And if we recognize that other religions are true, and that it is possible to achieve eternal life without Christ (for example, by certain self-control techniques and meditation), then for us, the crushes and the resurrection of Christ are just unnecessary, and we cease to be Christians. And it is no coincidence that the first Christians believed for themselves to die the faithful Christ, rather than recognize the truth of other gods and faults. After all, Christ himself says: I am a way and truth and life; No one comes to the father as soon as through me (In. 14, 6).

QUESTION:

Why a person should be exactly an Orthodox Christian - it seems to me that if a person is not Orthodox, and even more so no Christian - then it is often suspected of some inner uncleanness, dishonesty.

What arguments exist, the reasons for the only correct choice on their spiritual path to a person should do in favor of Orthodoxy?

I would like you to take into account the position of a person who is not Orthodox - i.e. Need arguments in favor of adoption of Orthodoxy. For example, this means that references to Christian Scriptures and the Orthodox Tradition in itself for him is not an authority or may not be.

ANSWER:

Everyone has their own way to Orthodoxy, the only true faith. I will try not to tire you by dogmatics, and I myself am not strong, but I will present my set of logical arguments.

1. You have the one set of recessive (unfortunately) genes, which had both grandfathers, great-grandfathers, etc. And all of them (at least 99%) were Orthodox. Consequently, for Russian it is quite due to historically.

2. Only our faith symbol legally and chronologically unshakable. Only he is legal. All other are heresy, not withstanding the elementary verification of legality.

3. Institute of Preview, i.e. Propaganda and marketing in Orthodoxy are not welcome because unable to advertise truth. All other heretics (Catholics, Protestants, and so on.) Only this and do it, for they know how historically and legally untenable they are, so they have disrupted poor blacks and the Indians.

4. Purely aesthetically. Well, look at the Orthodox Batyushka or Metropolitan. Static, with a beard, black, respectable, beautiful, and compare it with some Berlin vicar in a funny hat and in glasses. And the father's papina is - generally the laughter causes, and not respect for the san.

QUESTION:

Battyushka, please answer what the conceptual differences of our faith and the Catholic and their consequences in the Canon of Orthodox life, prayers and cases? Thank you!

ANSWER:

Dogmatic deviations of Roman Catholics:

a) The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit:

And in the Spirit of Saints, gentlemen, the Lord's life-waggnogo, izh, the Father is outgoing, - so he taught us, the Church of His, Christ himself, so the spellifers of the word, the apostles, approved the universal cathedrals.

Since the XI century, the Roman-Catholic Church confesses that the Holy Spirit "from the Father and Son comes": in the Niko-Tsareghad symbol of faith, without even discussing the issue on the Universal Cathedral, one-way, Roman bishop made additive "and from the Son".

b) the doctrine of original sin:

Revented by Roman Catholics and the doctrine of original sin. While the Orthodox Catolytic Church invoice Teaches that - "God created a man sinless According to the nature of I. free by will; It is not sinless because it was unavailable for sin, because only one thing can sinless; But because to sin dependent Not from his nature, but from his free will. With the assistance of the grace of God, he could be and succeed in good; With his free will, with God's siea, he could turn away from good and be in evil "(pred.Ioann Damaskin), and Roman Catholics teach that God, creating a person from two opposite and therefore not to confuse one other parts (from Souls and bodies, mind and sensuality), eliminated this dualism in that, specially from creation, the supernatural gift of "fertile righteousness", which, before the fall, held the soul and the body in their harmony, eliminating the natural discord between them.

c) Immaculate conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary:

The doctrine of the original sin, which I said in the pronounced by the progenitor and the whole mankind of the "supernatural gift of grace", led to the dogma of the "immaculate conception of the Virgin Mary." This dogmatic was proclaimed in the second half of the XIX century. RIMO Catholics are taught: - To be worthy to become the Mother of Christ the Savior, the Most Holy Deva Maria, in the form of an exception - "privileges," was released, when conceived by her, from the original sin: he received a supernatural gift of grace, the gift of "primitive righteousness", and was Those is likened to Eva before her sin. Being completely, and the soul and body, the Dustcher of Adam, remaining involved in primary sin, - for he is inseparable from the nature of man, - Virgo Maria made a first-part sin in himself personally fruitlessly than and sacrificed the devil. The possibility of reasons for the dogma "Immaculate conception" is rejected by the words of the Apostle Paul: - "One person in the world of Vnis and sin death, such a death in all people in him, in Him. It does not have the foundations of this dogma and in those places of the Holy Scripture, which are referred to by Roman Catholics.

d) Roman doctrine of dad and about the church:

Special emphasis is inserted by Roman theologians to the doctrine of dad and about the papal authorities. Here, with a special force, a printing of a legitimate understanding, an understanding of the legal, grace and essence of the Church was revealed. The perversion of Christ, Apostolic, Ecumenical Cathedrals and the patristic teachings about the Church, especially clearly and strongly separates Rome from the Orthodox creed.
The doctrine of the papal authorities, about the visible chapter of the Church, the "Deputy and Governor of Christ", sometimes obscured the invisible chapter - Christ, is the foundation of all the teachings, the whole dogmatics of Roman Catholicism. But this doctrine contradicts the basics of the evangelical and apostolic teaching and about the Church, and about her life, and about the knowledge of the truth. The Roman church of the retreat from an ancient tradition and in the commission of the sacraments, in particular: the baptism, minor formation, the Eucharist, the Impression.

(From the book of Archpriest Mitrofan Znosko-Borovsky "Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, Protestantism and a sectarianism" Edition of the St. Trinity Sergiyev Lavra 1992.)

Corollary or rather, the consequences were in the life of the wrong Orthodox church, but in Catholic, as the Orthodox Church retains the invariably sacred writing and the sacred legend. These consequences can be read in detail in the book of the Holy Archbishop of Hilarion (Troitsky) "without church there is no salvation" (edition of the Sretensky Monastery 1999) in the article "Repentance in the Church and repentance in Catholicism", where he for comparing the psychology of the Catholic and a member of the church, he chose repentance - The essence of christian life.

QUESTION:

And how should it be related to the holy recognizable in other religions?

ANSWER:

It seems that, first of all, we must deal with the term holiness. After all, for the Orthodox Saint is not just worthy, heroic man. Such can be a variety of people, not even belonging to any of the diverse religious denominations. Many examples of loyalty, heroism, love for the Fatherland, self-sacrifice gives us an antique civilization. It is not by chance that all these good moral experiments were adapted and perceived by the Christian world. And the Byzantine School, and later, and the Western, and then our Russian, starting from the XVIII century, did not have those high ethical samples, which are given to the world of pagan antiquity. But we do not call any pericles, nor Odyssey, no octaviana Augustus. Because the liveness is the involvement of man to the world of Morning, it is his churching, his entry into the being of God outside those obstacles that exist in the separation from the church, and with the full openness given to us through the baptism and subsequent church sacraments.

Saint is not the one who was better on moral qualities than the one who was outside the fence of the Church. This is the one who gained this endlessly heavy, infinitely happy and sublime path of life in Christ. And for us there is only one inquiry - Christ, and for her manifestation we call a person with melting as a partary of this light. Therefore, anyone who in his own sense does not have a church fence, it is impossible to refer to the saints.

QUESTION:

Many believe that the Orthodox Church usurped salvation, since with all categorical it claims that only Orthodox will be saved, and others, even sincere believers, no.

ANSWER:

Can the body cell live separately from the body? Can a tree branch that broke away from him, fruit and exist any long? Of course, if you put in the jar, the leaves can dismiss and break, but it will not live for a long time. We must not forget that the church is not a human institute and not a partnership that gives the exclusive right to salvation. This is the body of Christ, that is, the community of people connected in the Church invisible, mystical unity in Christ. The gospel testifies that the believer will be saved, and the wrongful - convicted that those who will participate in the Eucharist, the communion of the body and the blood of the Son of God, will be heirs of the kingdom of heaven. Those who claim that outside Orthodoxy there is no salvation, only indicate that Orthodox Christians are always believed everywhere and everywhere, members of an ancient unrequited church. Now the question arises about the boundaries of the church. The historical being of church Christianity brings us to the recognition of an important two-day truth: on the one hand, the church recognizes the source of salvation only itself and calls everyone to his fence; On the other hand, she does not look at the surrounding Christian world as something that is equally nourished in the darkness. About this for more than one and a half thousand years of church practice testifies to the presence of three reception officials to the church of the nonsense: 1) through baptism - for those recognized by falsely wearing the name of Christians (for example, for "Jehovah's Witnesses", "Church of Christ", etc.); 2) through the world-formation - for those who have the foundations of the ancient church faith, but much is lost, primarily the priesthood coming from the apostles (Lutherans, Calvinists and other traditional Protestants); 3) Through repentance - for those who have most of the church sacraments are recognized as really accomplished (Catholics and representatives of the ancient Eastern churches). So it is impossible to talk about Catholics, Armenian-Grigoryans, Copts, even about traditional Protestants as people, fully alien churches, and therefore, the path to salvation. However, their evidence of itself as a true church of Christ cannot be usually us.

QUESTION:

And if a person was born in an uninostable country, did not receive Orthodox education and died unresolved - what, there is no salvation for him?

ANSWER:
From our side, it would be unthinkable audacity to take on the role of that single proud, in the hand of which are the souls of all people. Therefore, we should remember the friend: that if one of us, Orthodox, will suddenly "go to the country of distant" and will begin to look for some kind of new spirituality or in the era of Aquarius, or in the next sectarianism, it will certainly leave the way to salvation. In the last century, the saint Feofan Relaimer to a question of one lady, whether Catholics will be saved, replied: "I don't know whether Catholics will be saved, I only know that I do not fit without Orthodoxy." And in our heart there should be no condemnation of others, but sincere desire, speaking words of one ancient church teacher, "the return of the brothers, separation from which torments us." And if there is no this desire, but there is some complacency that, they say, only we saved, and millions of people in this world lying in evil will die - this is the right sign of sectarian psychology.

QUESTION:

Why is the Orthodox Church today is intolerable against other religions?

ANSWER:

The church is not only today, but also preached about the usual one and warned from religious indifference. Now she has to explain why it is not easy to escape by one fee of humanitarian aid and the contribution of religious tax, as it happens in well-maintained European states. Jesus Christ said: Not everyone who speaks to me: "Lord! Lord!", Will be in the kingdom of Heaven, but the will of my Heavenly Father (Matt. 7, 21). I think, in order not to be embarrassed by the so-called religious intolerance of the Orthodox Church, first of all, it is necessary to honestly answer yourself, do you believe in the only path of salvation, and if so, do you relate your life with the initial experience of Christian church, and Then it is already to decide whether it is possible or can not be pinned to the soul to another kind of traditional or non-traditional religious views. Now loyalty in faith is announced intolerance. Most likely, this is due to the fact that in recent years, the public worldview in our country has increasingly focused on samples of Western secularized humanism, one of whose main postulates is that a person has no right to insist on any of his views and should not be To anyone confident. He can only seem to be that it is necessary to live, so it can not be done, but it would be nice to believe. But God forbid him to insist on this. Such erosion of the feeling of absolute and unified, characteristic of Western consciousness, is now beginning to be taken from us. And the church is opposed. It's right.

About Orthodoxy and Catholicism.

Whether you heard beloved, as people, careless and cold in the affairs of faith, love to repeat the walking and frivolous phrase that the differences of Christian confessions mean a little in the save, allegedly all believers in Christ have the same hope of salvation about Christ Jesus. What to say? True, that Christ the Savior is a single hope and the cause of salvation of all people who believe in it; But it is not true, as if anyway, whether to keep his teachings in all cleanliness and integrity or in incomplete, inaccurate and distorted form. Of course, and in gold-plated things there is something gold, but still she is not golden; And not a deprived diamond has its relative value, and in delusions and mistakes there is their own proportion of truth that people are not neglecting and noble people. But is it true to identify all these things and give them the same value? And if not, it turns out that you need to choose more valuable and better.

Not all Christian religions are equally owned by the truth and means not anyway, to this or that belongs to religion.

All Christians, as you know, believe in the Holy Trinity - Father and Son and Holy Spirit;but after our savior is so clear and definitely said about the Holy Spirit that he "comes from his father" (in. 15, 26), is it not true that it is unpleasant to somehow hurt for the veryil and direct distortion of these divine words The Savior Roman Christians, as if the Holy Spirit emanates from the Son?! Still the Lord constantly inspired his disciples and apostles that there should be no prevalence between them, as it happens in people worldly (Matt. 20, 25-27), which, not droming and not having resigned like children, can not be included in the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 18, 1-4), and Roman Christians claim, on the contrary, as if the Lord put the apostle Peter Prince and the head of all other apostles, and his mentor after herself. Sacred Scripture clearly and definitely says that for the church, as for the building of God, "no one can put another foundation, except for the laid, which is Jesus Christ" (1 Cor. 3, 11); And according to the teachings of Catholicism, the Lord founded his church, as Kameni is the cornerstone, at the Apostol Peter, from which the rights of supreme humans in the church would probably be fully in Roman bishops; And these bishops in their modernity reached the fact that they dare to proclaim themselves with infallible, i.e. Assigned personally to themselves what can belong to the promise of the Lord, only the entire universal church. Does this rude false fallen should mean anything for the Jesetter of the Christian Truth?

Or again: The Lord in the Gospel parable about rich and Lazar discovered us that an impassable abyss (Luke 16, 26) was approved between convicted sinners and saved chosen elections, on the weakening of the irregular position of sinners, on the teachings of the ancient Universal Church, the only merit of Jesus Christ, and in Catholic dogmatics, some mean state of the dead souls, some purification, where sinful souls, as a metal, are cleaned with fire.

Another example: Sacred Scripture clearly and definitely says that "Sin's one man entered the world, and death, death, and death moved in all men, because everything was sinned in it" (Rome 5, 12), and those gives us to notice that all of humanity without exception is subordinated to the original sin, except for the sinless and supernatural and born of Christ the Savior; And Catholics are self-observed supernaturality of conception and birth, and St. Mary's Mary, who experienced, however, Natural Death and His own Lirt calls the Lord God by His Savior (Lux. 1, 47) and that directly gives to notice its involvement of original sin in its Birth. Is it appropriate to the personifier in faith dogmas?

I commanded, for example, the Lord to make baptism through immersion in water, so the apostles directly call the baptism of the burial in Christ Jesus (Rome 6, 3-4); Why replacing the dive to replace the sprinkling, as is usually done in the Western Uninforcement World?

The Lord said about the Blood Blood of his New Testament: "Pie from DSI" (Matt. 26, 27), and Catholics say: No, not all, but only the clergymen, and let the laity, let them come up with only one body of the Lord. Is it not daring to be illegal? Authorized the Lord Shepherds of the Church to forgive people who have been betrayed by them sins, but only in the past time; And the Pope sacred and blasphemously assumes himself a divine power to forgive people and future sins: can I sympathize with this or indifferent to this?

In the Catholicism, the sacrament of the ice is called "last anointing" and is performed in the form of spending on that light. Does it mean to pervert the meaning of the sacrament and give it at all an apostolic character?

Priest Alexander Yelchaninov . Conversation about Catholicism and Orthodoxy (with Junior M. at the request of his father)

Understanding things is given to a purified heart, and this understanding grows as our spiritual growth. But now I will speak mainly about the Catholic official teaching in the church.

To begin, I want to say that, despite all the differences with our Orthodox Church, the great saints were in the Catholic Church, and there is a real faith and in the ministers of the Church, and in individuals. We, despite the completeness of the truth, who has our Orthodox Church, is largely unworthy and should learn from the same Catholics - their church and pedagogical work, at least.

It is not necessary to forget that, in the central very, mostly, which is the essence of Christianity, and the Catholics and I are united, despite all our differences. This is the main one - faith in the Holy Trinity and in Christ as the Godhead.

What is the distortion of truth in the Catholic Church, what did it come from the completeness of Christian creed?

Differences formal: FilioQue. Vatican Dogmat about the primacy and infallibility of the Pope, Immaculata Conceptio (dogma of the immaculate conception of the Mother of God), purgatory, indulgence, the doctrine of a person.

The roots of this difference: "Latin", inherited from formally and legally thinking ancient Rome, with his idea "Ordo" - first of all. This idea of \u200b\u200border, a single legal understanding of the structure of society, it was primarily on the fact that we are most shared with Catholics - on the teachings about the Church.

In Catholicity, the Church is mystically justified and experienced by believers primarily as an organization, and not as an organism. The organization led by the Pope is a monarch. This is a doctrine introduced in the III century, and dogmat about the primacy and infallibility of the Pope as a Vicar of Christ (approved at the Vatican Cathedral in 1870), absolutely alien to the letter and spirit of the Gospel. All gospel texts relate to the Al. Peter among the apostles. He was never bishop. And there is no connection between Peter's championship in the apostolic times and the championship and infallibility of the Pope in the Catholic Church in the next century.

Historically, the power of Pope arose due to the primary place of the Roman bishop as a bishop of the capital of the Roman Empire. This is the championship of honor, not the authorities. Roman bishop could be considered first among equal (Primus Inter Pares), i.e. Among other bishops. The same, with a great reason, could be the bishop of Jerusalem.

The power of power, the strength of the structure, rational clarity in theology, legal entity in the morality and church rules, the power of Rome - all this was created and created at the expense of the Cathedral nature of the Church, where internal freedom and love are the main creative forces of the Church.

Such a formal-legal understanding of the evangelical first-old and Orthodox teachings about the Church as a body, where the Cathedral beginning does not deny the hierarchical structure of the church, but gives this structure proper, and not a primary place.

Of course, in our Orthodox Church there are many "non-configurations", which are almost unthinkable in Catholicism, where the centralization of power in the hands of the Pope (through the head of the bishops) makes such "non-configuration" almost impossible.

But it is not necessary to forget that "non-triations" were in the ancient church and that they did not win through the subordination of the authority of the Roman high priest, but they broke and out from the inside. And such obedience is often an external submission that does not mean internal unity. It should be noted that many Catholics and even Catholic theologians are often internally accepting this formally - the legal subordination of the church.

The Catholic doctrine of the Immaculata Conceplio of the Mother of God, adopted by the Catholic Church in 1845, deprives it, as well as Christ himself the completeness of human nature. According to the Orthodox teaching, consonant with the Gospel, God's Mother had human nature in nature and birth, but did not have personal sin. Attributes the mother of the mother of the mother of the mother and the most of the human race with it. The Catholic Church does not recognize in Christ the Court of God, i.e. distorts the very essence of Christianity.

Filioque - was added in 589 to the symbol of faith in the local church in Toledo (Spain). Emperor Karl the Great to his authority introduced this increase in Rome - only in the XI century. This increase was introduced into the Catholic symbol of faith, without the convening of the Universal Cathedral, which contradicts all the rules of the church, because Any addition to the Symbol of Faith can be made only by the Ecumenical Cathedral.

This dogma of the Catholic Church against the Word of God, because Ap. John (15, 26) cites the words of Christ: "When a comforter comes, whom I will send you from my father, the spirit of truth, which comes from his father. He will testify to me."

Thus, we see, in the main features that it was the Orthodox Church that retained invariably and fully purity of Christ of exercises.

We also read:

Archpriest Mitrofan Znosko-Borovsky. Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, sectarianism. Comparative lawlogov

Why Orthodoxy is a true religion.

Religion is a kind of human activity. Any activity has its own special goals. The religion has two goals for two: overcoming the death and "organization" of human communication - already here in earthly life - with a downtown spiritual world (please note: these goals are under the limits of material life). In different religions, the idea of \u200b\u200bthe disappointment of an invisible spiritual world differ, but no one denies the reality of its existence. Even atheists, which today remains quite a bit. (A person who believes, for example, in horoscopes, an atheist is already difficult to consider). "Something there, of course, there is" with this thesis will agree most humanity. But it is unlikely that such an indefinite statement will somehow affect the daily life of a person.

The spiritual world, covering and permeating our earthly life, is definitely one. It cannot be its source at the same time be the impetus absolute of the religions of the East and the personal God of Christianity. And the God of Jews, personifying the law, "not sever" with the Orthodox God, which "is love." Of the several statements contrary to each other, only one can be truly, the rest are false.

Man, reflecting on his religious self-determination, you need to make a choice. It is the choice. Because the thesis of Ecumenists - all religions lead to one God, only by different paths - a false thesis.

We choose Orthodoxy. Why? World religions can be divided into two classes. The first - Eastern religion - Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, in which there is no God-Creator. The basis of the world is considered spiritual and space impersonal substance, "World Spirit", Brahman. The universe seems to be a huge mechanism acting on a rigidly specified (by whom?) The laws of karma. The laws work unconditionally, they are forced to obey even the "secondary" gods, "made" (by whom?) From Brahman.

Similar religious views ingeniously denied Newton. When his colleague defended the idea that the world could appear by himself, without the participation of the mind, Newton, instead of objections, showed him the elegant model of the solar system consisting of a light bulb in the center and balls on the wires around it. The colleague was fascinated and asked Newton to the Master's address made by the model. Newton replied: "Sorry, what master? What are you talking about? It happened happened, here I was lying on all the trash, and then randomly the balls rolled onto the wire, like that we cluttered, and this model was randomly. " The absurdity of the answer is clear to everyone. Even more ridiculous looks like a similar way to the solar system itself. Mind - the necessary condition for any creation, and the mind always belongs personality.

The second class of world religions - Avraamic, recognizing single personal god, The creator of the world and man is Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Yahwe Judaism and Allah Islam differ from an ordinary person only unlimited capabilities both in the world material and spiritual in the world. The God of Christianity is fundamentally different. It is three: Three Persons - God Father, God Son (Bogochlorian Jesus Christ) and God of the Holy Spirit - have a single divine nature. The trocherness of God is not available to a rational understanding of a person - and this means that a person could not "come up with" it. Only God himself could open to a person this knowledge about himself. The trocherness of the Christian God is a bogotrous truth.

The Christian world is today three denominations: Orthodoxy, Catholicism and Protestantism.

All Christian denominations are taken by the Troic Dogmat and the Godrifer of Jesus Christ. But God is incomprehensible in his essence, we see it "as if through the dim glass, gdessing" (1 Cor.13: 12), and therefore it is not surprising that in each confession is formed its own, other than others, the vision of the Lord.

Orthodoxy This incomprehensibility recognizes completely, the words: "My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor your paths - my paths, says the Lord" (IS.55: 8) regards as instruction on the path of God and does not try to independently imagine God. We remember that: "God is a spirit, and worshiping him must worship in spirit and truth (John 4: 24). Orthodox in prayer and repentance cleans his heart, because it is said: God is typical of the pure heart (MF.5: 8). We humbly expect divine visits and identify it in absolute novelty: "I have not seen that the eye, I did not hear the ear, and did not come to the heart of a person that I prepared God who had a loving" (1 Cor.2: 9).

Catholicism He chose the rational path of knowledge of God. Catholics seek to visibly imagine God - and only a person can serve as a prototype. And the building of thinking, and the actions they attribute to God are also peculiar to a person. Such God is severely punishable for the pregasses, the forgiveness of sins can be bought (indulgence), otherwise you will have to serve the "imprisonment" (purgatory). Very human god from Catholics.

Protestantism Even more simply simplified its creed. God has them - an automatic for distributing earthly goods and at the same time a guarantor of salvation. Inserted a card into the machine with the inscription: "God, I believe in you" - and the Lord is obliged to provide you with a successful earthly life and book a place in the heavenly monastery. Do not fight with sins, restore the fallen human nature in yourself, because once you believed - you are already saint.

Even the very idea of \u200b\u200bwho can enjoy the truth is fundamentally different in various Christian confessions. In Orthodoxy, the truth is given to the church, the cathedral unity of believers. The Catholic Church gives the truth to the deposit of dad, which himself will lead to the salvation of adepts. And in Protestant, the truth is open to any individual personality regardless of the church. This ideology, by the way, gave rise to a lot of Protestant denominations (Lutheranism, Calvinism, Anglication ...) and sects (Baptists, Pentecostals, Adventists ...) and fashionable individual beliefs in that God, which "I have in my shower."

For centuries, the question is heard:
Tell me, what is the truth?
I am truth, "said Christ,
And this word is truly!
Once walked in Pretoria Interrogation,
The people shouted frantically.
The voice hears mine, - said Christ,
He who is from the truth itself.
Such an answer seems to be simple
Pilate in it sees sincerity,
And yet asks the question:
What is truth?
So looking truth in the eyes
We drive her Eastovo,
Forgetting that Christ himself said:
I - Path and life and truth!

So there can be no religious tolerance. There is only one true religion - Orthodoxy. All others are false.