How to overcome fornication and porn addiction, and indeed any addiction. Prp

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1. Satisfaction of the belly is the mother of fornication, and oppression of the belly is the culprit of purity (14:5). [*]

2. When we are full, the spirit of gluttony departs and sends a prodigal spirit upon us, informing him in what state we are in, and saying: “Go and stir up such and such, his belly is full, and therefore you will work a little.” This one, having come, smiles and, having tied our hands and feet with sleep, does whatever he wants with us, desecrating the soul with dreams and the body with discharges (14, 27).

3. Let no one who has learned to maintain purity impute to himself the acquisition of it, for it is impossible for anyone to overcome his nature, and where nature is conquered, there the coming of the One who is above nature is recognized, for without any contradiction the lesser is abolished by the greater (15, 9).

4. The beginning of purity occurs when thoughts are not combined with prodigal excuses and without dreams, outflows occur from time to time in a dream; the middle of purity, when natural movements occur only from contentment with food and are free from dreams and exhaustion; The end of purity is the mortification of the body, preceded by the mortification of unclean thoughts (15, 10).

5. He who drives away a voluptuous dog with prayer is like one who fights a lion; whoever overthrows him by resistance is like one who puts his enemy to flight and pursues him; whoever has become completely free from the pretext itself, having once and forever made it impossible for him to have any access to himself, although he remains in the flesh, he has already risen from the grave (15, 13).

6. If a sign of purity is not to experience lustful movements even in sleepy dreams, then, of course, the extreme degree of lust will endure in reality even from thoughts and memories alone (15, 13).

7. Whoever wages war with this opponent with bodily labor and sweat is like one who tied his enemy with a rope; whoever fights against his enemy with abstinence and vigilance is like one who has surrounded his enemy with iron shackles; and whoever arms himself against him with humility, lack of anger and thirst is like one who killed his adversary and hid him in the sand (15, 14).

8. There is one who is bound by exploits, another by humility, and another who is bound to this tormentor by the presence of God within. The first is like a star, the second is like the full moon, and the third is like a brightly shining sun; but they all have their residence in heaven (15:15).

9. The fox pretends to be asleep, and the demon pretends to be chaste, this one to deceive the bird, and this one to destroy the soul. Do not trust this mortal body throughout your life and do not rely on it until we stand before Christ (15, 16, 17).

10. With beginners, falling into carnal sins usually happens due to the abundance of food; with average ones they happen from arrogance and for the same reason as with beginners; but with those approaching perfection, they happen only from the condemnation of their neighbors (15, 20).

11. Some please eunuchs by nature (from birth), as having been delivered from the torment of the flesh, but I please people who daily become eunuchs and are accustomed to circumcising themselves in thought, like a knife (15, 21).

12. Do not think to overthrow the demon of fornication with objections and evidence: he has blessed reasons on his side, since he fights with us with the help of our nature (15, 24).

13. Whoever hopes to fight his flesh or overcome it with his own strength struggles in vain, for if the Lord does not destroy the house of carnal lust and build the house of the soul, then he who tries to succeed in this himself watches and fasts in vain (15:25).

14. Submit the weakness of your nature before the Lord, realizing your powerlessness in everything, and you will imperceptibly receive the gift of chastity (15, 26).

15. Those who have slipped and fallen into the ditch of lust fall far from those ascending and descending along that ladder (seen by Jacob), and in order for them to begin such an ascent again, they require much sweat and extreme fasting (15:27).

16. There is fornication without knowing a woman, which, as unnatural, exposes you to greater torment. This is a kind of death and destruction that we always carry within ourselves, and most of all in our youth. But I do not dare to declare this destruction as writing, because my hand is held back by the one who said: She who was disgraced from them was eating and speaking and writing (Eph. 5:12) (15:30).

17. The inhuman enemy, the instigator of fornication, represents God as a lover of mankind, suggesting that He has great condescension towards this passion as natural. But watch this evil-doer and you will find that after committing this sin, he already imagines God differently, only as just and forgiving. He makes the first suggestion in order to draw us into sin, and the second in order to plunge us into despair (15, 33).

18. When, after committing a sin, we are tormented by heaviness and despair, then it is not usual for us to give ourselves over to falls; when they subside, then the evil enemy again begins to talk to us about God’s love for mankind (15, 84).

19. The Lord, as incorruptible and incorporeal, rejoices in the purity and incorruption of our body; demons do not rejoice over anything else so much as about evil fornication, and they do not love any passion as much as this, the desecrator of bodies (15, 35).

20. The mother of sweetness (fruits that bring comfort) is earth and dew, and the mother of purity is silence with obedience. Purity of the body, achieved through silence alone, when drawing closer to the world, often did not remain unshakable, but acquired through obedience, it is everywhere skillful and unshakable (15, 37).

21. Whoever tries to put an end to this war by abstinence alone is like a man who is trying to swim out of the depths of the sea, using only one hand. Pair humility with abstinence, because the former without the latter turns out to be useless (15, 40).

22. Whichever passion you see dominant in yourself, arm yourself against that one especially, especially against the natural enemy at home, for if you and I do not defeat this passion, then victory over others will not benefit us at all; having struck this Egyptian, of course, we too will see God in the bush of humility (15:41).

23. Being in temptation, I felt joy, tears and consolation and, in infancy, I thought that this was a spiritual fruit, but this was the charm of the enemy (15, 42).

24. Don’t fall into deception, young man! I saw some praying for the persons they loved, who, being prompted by lustful passion, nevertheless thought that they were fulfilling the duty of holy love (15, 40).

25. When we throw ourselves on the bed, then we must be sober most of all, because then the mind without a body fights with demons, and if it has not yet cut off sympathy for lustful pleasures, then it willingly becomes a traitor (15, 52).

26. Let the memory of death fall asleep and rise with you, and together with the Jesus Prayer, for nothing can provide you with such powerful intercession during sleep as these acts (15, 53).

27. Do not allow yourself during the day to think about the dreams that were in your sleep, for the demons have the intention of desecrating us who are awake with dreams (15, 55).

28. During the storm of temptation from lust, hair shirt, ashes, standing all night, hunger, scorching thirst, cooled by a few drops, stay in tombs, and most of all, humility of heart and, if possible, a spiritual father or a zealous brother who is quick to help and an old mind, for I consider it a miracle that someone could, alone, by himself, save his ship from this abyss (15, 57).

29. Someone, seeing an unusually beautiful woman, glorified the Creator about her. From looking at her, love for God kindled in him, and a source of tears flowed from his eyes. And it was marvelous to see how what for another would have been ruinous, for him, more than nature, became a crown (of victory). If such a person always has the same feeling and action in similar cases, then he has received incorruption before the general resurrection (15:59).

30. We should be guided by the same rule in relation to sweet singing and songs. Those who love God are usually aroused by both worldly and spiritual songs to holy joy, God’s love and tears, while sensualists are usually moved to the opposite (15:60).

31. Some say that after experiencing carnal sin it is impossible to be called pure, but I, refuting their opinion, say that it is possible and convenient for anyone who wants to turn a wild olive into a good one through grafting. If the keys of the Kingdom had been entrusted to the body of a virgin, then the opinion of these persons might have been fair. But let him who, having a mother-in-law, become pure and bear the keys of the Kingdom (15, 66) put them to shame.

32. The serpent of bodily lust is manifold: to those who have not tasted its sweetness, he inspires them to taste it once and stop, and to those who have tasted it, this insidious one induces them again to a new taste. Many of the former, out of ignorance of this evil, are free from abuse, while the latter, as having experienced this abomination, endure abuse and incitement. However, the opposite of this often happens (15, 67).

33. When we get up from sleep in a good and peaceful mood, this happens to us through the hidden influence of the Holy Spirit. angels, especially if they fell asleep with prayer and sobriety. But it happens that we get up in a gloomy and vexed mood, subjected to this due to evil dreams (15, 68).

34. It is not a wonder for an immaterial to fight against an immaterial, but it is a miracle (and a truly marvelous miracle) that one clothed with matter puts to flight immaterial enemies in the fight against this substance of its own, hostile and insidious (15, 71).

35. Prudent fathers believe that one thing is a pretext, another is a combination, another is a coupling, another is a captivity, another is a struggle, and another is the so-called passion in the soul. They define that a preposition is a simple word (thought) or an image of some object, again appearing to the mind and brought into the heart; combination is a conversation with the appeared image, with passion or dispassionately; complicity is the inclination of the soul towards what is seen, combined with pleasure; captivity is a violent and involuntary fascination of the heart with what is seen or its complete merging with it, ruining our good dispensation; struggle is called increased resistance to the fighter, ending either in victory or defeat, arbitrarily; and passion is called such a lustful disposition, which, having burrowed into the soul, is then made through long practice, as if by its natural property, so that the soul already voluntarily and by itself strives to satisfy it. Of all these, the first is sinless, the second is not entirely, the third is either sinful or sinless, judging by the disposition of the ascetic. The struggle brings guilt or crowns or torment. Captivity is subject to another judgment when it happens during prayer, and another when it happens at other times, another when thinking about indifferent things, and another when thinking about bad things. Passion, of course, is in any case condemned and, if it is not purified by equivalent repentance, is subject to eternal torment. But whoever treats the first, that is, the preposition, dispassionately (cuts it off without paying attention to it), at once cuts off everything that follows (15, 73).

36. The most enlightened and sensible of the fathers noticed another thought, which is more subtle than all of the above. It is called an attack of thought, which, without a specific time, without a word or image, with the speed of an arrow, inspires passion in the tempted one. There is nothing more fleeting in bodies, nothing faster and more instantaneous in spirits than how this thought, with one subtle reminder, timeless and unspeakable, and for others even unknown, suddenly manifests its presence in the soul, without prior conversation and association with it. Whoever through crying was able to comprehend (understand, understand) such a subtlety of this thought, he can explain to us how it happens that a soul, from one glance or the touch of a hand, or hearing a song, passionately fornicates (is defiled and corrupted by lust), without thinking about it. without intending it (15, 74).

37. Sometimes lust, having been born inside the soul, passes into the body, and sometimes it passes from the body into the soul. The latter usually happens to those living in the world, and the former to those going through monastic life, due to their poverty of substance (or lustful material) (15, 76).

38. When, after a long struggle with the demon, the ally of our mortal flesh, we finally drive him out of our hearts, with the stones of fasting and the swords of humility, then this accursed one, like a worm, creeping inside our body, intensifies to defile us, with some tickling arousing timeless and silent movements (15, 77).

39. This demon observes more carefully than all others the case when we cannot pray against him physically, and then this obscene one especially attempts to attack us (15, 79).

40. Those who have not yet acquired true heartfelt prayer are helped (in the fight against lustful passion) by exhausting themselves in bodily prayer; I mean: raising their hands, beating their chests, raising their eyes to heaven in a tender manner, sighing with groans and frequent bending of the knees, which, however, they often cannot do due to the presence of other persons. It is then that the demons especially try to attack them; and they, not yet having the strength to resist them with firmness of mind and the invisible action of prayer, out of necessity, perhaps sometimes give in to those who fight them. In this case, if possible, jump away from people as quickly as possible, hide somewhere unnoticed for a short time and there, raising your eye to grief - spiritual, if you can, and if not, at least bodily - and arms outstretched crosswise, to shame and conquering the mental Amalek in this way, cry out to the One who is able to save, not with exaggerated words, but with humble words, first and most of all crying out: Have mercy on me, for I am weak (Ps 6:8). Then by experience you will know the power of the Almighty and with invisible help you will put the invisible to flight. He who has learned to fight in this way will soon begin to drive away enemies with one soul, for this second is given from God to workers as a reward for the first (15, 80).

41. As the water of life, diligently drink the reproach of every person who wants to give you this medicine that cleanses you from fornication, for then deep purity will shine in your soul and the light of God will not become scarce in your heart (4, 85).

42. Do not stop imagining and remembering: the abyss of dark fire, unmerciful servants, the merciless and inexorable Judge, the endless depth of the underworld flame, close descents into underground places, terrible abysses and other things like that, so that with the fear born from these memories you can remove from oneself the feeling of fornication, to unite with imperishable purity and to accept in one’s soul the radiance of immaterial light, which is more brilliant than all lights (7, 10).

43. There is a demon who, as soon as we lie down on our bed, comes to us and shoots at us with evil and unclean thoughts, so that we, being too lazy to arm ourselves against them with prayer and falling asleep with bad thoughts, are overcome with sweat and bad dreams (26, 103 ).

44. What the eyes have not seen, the larynx, by hearing alone, is not very willing to taste; so those who are pure in body receive from their ignorance (the pleasures of fornication) great relief in the battle against fornication (26, 31).

45. Just as he who fights with a lion, if he turns his eyes away from him, immediately dies, so he who fights with his flesh, if he puts it to rest (26, 40).

46. ​​For those who struggle with bodily lust, silence is appropriate in due time, but with the permission of a mentor who knows them well (27:14).

47. I learned that the demon of despondency precedes the demon of fornication and prepares the way for it, so that by firmly relaxing and plunging the body into sleep, it will enable the demon of fornication to produce defilements in the sleeping person, as if in reality (27, 49).

48. Just as someone who stands before him and at the same time turns his face away from him and converses with his enemies is disgusting to an earthly king, so someone who stands in prayer and accepts unclean thoughts is disgusting to the Lord (28:54).

49. When he comes to you, drive away this dog (the prodigal demon) with the spiritual weapon of prayer and, no matter how much he continues to be shameless, do not yield to him (28, 55).

50. (Confession of fornication). The soul asks: “Tell me, my wife, my nature (for I don’t want to ask anyone else but you about what concerns you), tell me, how can I remain not vulnerable to you? How can I overcome your torment?” She, answering her soul, says: “I will not tell you what you do not know, but I will tell you what we both understand. I have my father in me - self-love (self-indulgence and self-pity). From afar, my kindling is being prepared for all kinds of pleasure and repose for me; from this repose of me and the deeds corresponding to it, a lustful burning then ignites within. And then, having conceived, I give birth to the Fall; They, having been born, in turn give birth to the death of the soul through despair. If you recognize my and your weakness, obvious and deep, then you will tie my hands. If you starve my larynx, you will tie my feet so that I will not go further. If you combine with obedience, you will break your union with me. And if you acquire humility, then you will cut off my head” (15, 86).

[*] In quotations, the first number indicates the word, and the second number indicates the clause of the word.

Saint Ephraim the Syrian. ABOUT THE FIGHT WITH PRODIGIOUS PASSION

49. Do not allow your eyes to wander here and there, and do not peer into the beauty of others, lest your enemy overthrow you with the help of your eyes (1, 153). [*]

50. A reproach to a monk is a wandering eye. The wandering eye causes much sorrow to those who follow it. If you do not refrain from wandering your eyes, you will not pave the straight paths of chastity (1, 157).

51. If you love abstinence, you will curb the demon of fornication (1, 163).

52. He who feeds the flesh of his body feeds evil lusts, and shameful thoughts will not become scarce in him (1, 168).

53. Whoever bridles his eyes will become light, and whoever’s gaze wanders will gather burdens upon himself, for it is said: The soaring of lust changes the mind to a gentle mind (Wis 4:12) (1, 170).

54. If, out of passion, you give your eyes free rein to look at vanity, then quickly stop them, so as not to fall into the shame of carnality.

55. When the flesh is inflamed, do not touch the body, so as not to cause severe decay.

56. Be attentive to yourself, monk; be careful when meeting women (1,179).

57. You run from a snake that bites your body; Flee more than a woman who gnaws at the soul (1, 183).

58. He who is occupied with the beauty of a woman instills in his soul the desire for her beauty, and whoever lingers at the door of her house is likened to one walking on ice, because creep is not far from him.

59. Like two fighters, a monk is in company with a woman. But the sober one will collect his gain, but he himself will not be robbed.

60. Do not incline your ears to shameful speech, lest your mind be defiled. Just as smoke is evil (Prov. 21:20), so a shameful word is harmful to the soul (1:187).

61. If the spirit of fornication troubles you, rebuke it, saying: “The Lord consume you, you full of stench, demon of uncleanness,” for we know him who said: The wisdom of the flesh is enmity against God (Rom. 8:7).

62. Anyone who loves purity and chastity becomes a temple of God (1:203).

63. Whoever corrupts the temple of God, God will corrupt him (1 Cor. 3:17), says the Divine Scripture. Like a dog, resist vigorously the demon of fornication; Do not agree to be carried away by such a thought, because from a spark there will be many coals and from a bad thought bad wishes will multiply. Try to destroy memories of them more than the stench of mud (1, 204).

64. Just as a fragrance delights the sense of smell, so the Holy Spirit delights in purity and dwells in man.

65. Just as a pig finds pleasure in wallowing in the mud, so demons find pleasure in fornication and uncleanness.

66. In purity dwells great light, and joy, and peace, and patience, but in fornication dwell sadness, despondency, insatiable sleep and thick darkness.

67. Love, monk, purity in the love of Christ; it is as fitting for your life as it is fitting for a carpenter to have a scraper.

68. One monk, suffering from fornication, forbade the demon, saying: “Go into the darkness, Satan! Don’t you know that although I am unworthy, I nevertheless bear the members of Christ?” And immediately the disintegration ceased instantly (as if someone, blowing, extinguishes a lamp); why he marveled at this within himself and glorified the Lord (1:205).

69. Why do you like to dress up with such fearlessness? Listen to what the apostle says: Run like the young (2 Tim 2:22). Don't you know what kind of enemy you are fighting? Don't you know how hard it is to be a snare for another soul? How can you not consider what rottenness and what corruption those who do such things inherit? It is advisable for me to make it known to you that even if the outer man is dressed up, but the dwelling of the soul is desecrated, then his beauty will not be slow to be damaged. And if you acquire spiritual beauty, then from this beauty and from this light something will pour out onto the outer person, and such beauty is permanent.

70. He who adorns his clothes and fills his belly will endure many battles, but he who is sober is terrible to his opponents.

71. If during your work the spirit of fornication disturbs you, do not be lazy to stretch out your hands in prayer, and the prayer of faith will resist for you (1:207).

72. Suppress lust in yourself before it suppresses you, because it leads those who submit to it to the bottom of hell (1, 208).

73. Love the world and holiness (purity), so that you may be worthy to see the face of the Lord God (1, 211).

74. Refrain, brother, from jokes, so that they do not make you shameless; shamelessness is the mother of lewdness.

75. Do not go to the cell of those who get drunk, so as not to suddenly destroy the wealth of chastity.

76. When lust is ignited in the body, bring to your mind an unquenchable fire and an unending worm, and the fermentation of the members will immediately fade away; otherwise, having weakened, you will be defeated and begin to repent, and the fire of sorrow of repentance will consume you, and you will get used to sinning, although you will repent. At the beginning, try to be strict with every movement of this desire, so as not to be overcome by it, and you will not get used to giving up victory over yourself in battle, for habit is second nature. The habit of relaxation will never allow you to acquire severity. She always creates and destroys, sins and repents. If you get used to relaxing when they attack you, then the inscription in your handwriting forever and ever will be: repentance. He who is accustomed to yielding victory over himself to desire is always convicted by his conscience; he is sad at all times, and although he shows a cheerful face in front of others, he is internally saddened due to the conviction of his conscience, for the usual property of lust is to convey painful sadness to those who fulfill it. Therefore, listen with all your soul, always having God within you (1:330).

77. Be attentive to yourself and try to keep yourself pure until death, so that you can meet the immortal Bridegroom with boldness and joy. Honor virginity, and it will lead you to the heavenly palace. Therefore the apostle said: I have committed you to one man, to present a pure virgin to Christ (2 Cor. 11:2) (1:374-375).

78. Protect the body from sin, so as not to lie before the Creator, because we offered ourselves as a gift to the Lord, and we no longer have power over our body, and we cannot take the gift back of our own free will. If someone, having made a vow to God, brought a gift to the Lord, and the priest, taking the gift, placed it in the temple, then, even if he brought this gift and repented afterward, he no longer has the power to take the gift back after bringing it to the Lord; and if he intends to steal it secretly, he will not be free from accusation and will be punished not as having taken his property, but as a blasphemer. Likewise, those who have dedicated their souls to God no longer have power over their own body (1, 397).

79. Beware of bad advice, for it happens that those who have fallen away from virtue intensify to ensnare others, so that they will not be the only ones to wallow in an indecent life. They speak pleasantly, so that those who obey them, distracting them from chastity, are plunged into sins. Having themselves fallen, they not only do not want to rise up, but they also intentionally tempt others into falling and corruption. And the devil uses them as bait on the bait. The grave was opened at the throat of them, betrayed in the passion of dishonor (Rom 3:13; 1:26). Beware of them, lest they burn you with their soft speeches (1, 898).

80. Blessed are those who observe holiness (purity) in humility! But let no one hope to achieve peace (in this matter) by submitting themselves to obedience to the suggestions of the enemy, for then this tormentor will hold them captive through lustful thoughts and pleasures, although without shameful deeds. In this situation, since they have not known a wife, the enemy instills in them the idea of ​​attributing virginity to themselves, while their whole body is filled with lustful filth. This is how the enemy makes them exalt themselves as free from sin, while he saturates them with a bunch of gall and a bunch of sorrow (Deut. 32:32) (1:409).

81. It is unnecessary to talk about not getting drunk on wine and not spending time with women, since everyone can clearly see how alien this is to virtue. And not only in this alone is it necessary to beware of the aspirations of demons, but also with men one should not conduct effeminate conversations that can arouse lustful pleasure and lead the soul to destruction. We refuse to meet with women not because we consider women to be evil, but because through dating and conversation with women, it is easy for the enemy to overthrow us and lead us to transgress the commandments of God. We need to beware of the attack of evil spirits in every way, placing our hope in the full armor and power of the Holy Spirit. He who locks one door from the enemy and opens two to him and thinks of himself that he is safe is deceived. No, you need to protect yourself from everywhere and not give an excuse to someone looking for an excuse (1, 424).

82. Do not be negligent about the virtue of chastity, but try with all your might to have holiness (purity) in yourself, since for this you have left the world. Acquire virginity for yourself so that the Holy Spirit may dwell in you. Do not listen to shameful wishes and vain caresses, keep yourself pure and, if a sinful flame begins to flare up in you, extinguish it with tears and prayer to the Lord, who loves those who seek holy things and work for Him in it. Precious acquisition is virginity in right thought. If you love her, you will be glorified by the Lord and prosper in everything (1, 435).

83. If carnal warfare arises in you, do not be afraid and do not lose heart. By doing this, you will embolden the enemy against you, and he will begin to plant tempting thoughts in you, instilling: “It is impossible to stop kindling the fire in you if you do not satisfy your lust.” But having endured the Lord, pour out your prayer with tears before His goodness, and He will hear you, and will lead you away from the pit of passions, that is, unclean thoughts, and from the clay of the mud, that is, shameful dreams, and will place your nose on the holy stones (purity) (Ps 39:1-3), and you will see help coming to you from Him. Just be patient, don’t relax your thoughts, don’t become exhausted, bailing water out of the boat, because the pier of life is close. Still speaking, he said to you: “Behold, I have come” (Isaiah 58:9). But He is waiting to see your feat, whether you are really ready to resist sin even to death. So, do not be faint-hearted: God will not leave you. He looks at your feat; look at it and the faces of St. angels and a crowd of demons. Angels are ready to give a crown to the winner, and demons are ready to cover the vanquished with shame. Be careful. Do not make your own (angels) sad and do not make strangers (demons) happy (1, 448).

84. There is no hidden place for the eyes of God. Let not the enemy deceive you, telling you that he will not see. You stand near the feet of God. Do not neglect this, for it is written: Heaven is My throne, but earth is My footstool (Acts 7:49) (1:449).

85. It’s not a disaster that passions fight us and we must fight them, but it’s a disaster if, having pleased ourselves, we fall before our opponents. Resist the lust that burns you, so as to avoid the flame that never goes out. If passion once defeats you, it will not retreat, but will attack you even more. Be attentive to yourself, so that you do not lose the glory of the face of God (1, 450).

86. Let us run away from drunkenness, let us run away from meeting women as much as possible, for the word of a woman is like a snare in the heart (Proverbs 7:21), and the one who hears it attracts to bad confusion (1:454).

87. Be careful not to be caught up in short-term pleasure, so as not to lose eternal life. You are called to be a merchant; Be completely sober, so that you don’t lose your pearls, so that the enemy doesn’t steal your treasure and sink your ship with its cargo, and so that you don’t return home with nothing. The enemy, knowing what glory he gains from God for keeping himself pure from the defilements of the flesh, strongly fights him with thoughts, wanting to entangle a person with them, so that, being carried away by them, he will not gain future glory. And if he finds a soul that rejects obscene thoughts, he does not often attack it, but does not completely retreat from it. Rather, he goes to a place where, as soon as he pushes, the door is immediately opened to him, and he defiles the body and soul with the most unclean wishes of those who do not resist him; finally, like a good adviser, he instills in him the following thought: “It is better for you to go into the world and take a partner than to crush your flesh in this way.” But nothing comes close to being sober. Therefore, be attentive to yourself so that nothing like this befalls you (1, 468-469).

88. Remember what you promised to God, and maintain holiness (purity), so that you may find grace before the Lord. Listen to him who said: Flee fornication (1 Cor. 6:18). Do you want to know what a grave sin is fornication? Look: those whom the serpents could not kill in the wilderness, fornication brought down in the land of Midian. If you have fallen into sin, then do not remain in the fall and do not neglect God’s long-suffering and God’s mercy. Remember that death will not delay (Sir. 14:12). Remember that it is impossible for you to escape God's hands. So, do not be negligent, but repent, cry, sigh that you are deceived, for even if we consign the fall to oblivion, then God, who created us, knows the deeds of everyone (1, 473).

89. Do not be careless, but courageously resist the enemy and block the trench through which the enemy usually enters to ruin you, so that, not finding a convenient entrance, he leaves with nothing. And to block the passage means to protect the senses with which both good and evil enter the soul, that is, sight, hearing, smell, touch, taste, and not allow thoughts to be carried away where they should not. Keep in mind the giants who corrupted the earth with their dominion, and how the Lord in one instant wiped them off the face of the earth with a flood and their power did not bring them any benefit. Judge about the land of Sodom and Gomorrah, how it was destroyed for the sins of its inhabitants, and how luxury and pride brought them no benefit. Let us take care of our salvation, so that death does not suddenly befall us and so that we do not leave here in great condemnation (1, 474).

90. Say to the one who inspires you with bad and unclean wishes: “O enemy of truth! Should I really shame myself so that you will fulfill your desire? Go to indecent people like you. You begged for a herd of pigs. Drown with them. And I will no longer be a slave, obedient to your wishes. The past tense is enough for me; From now on I will take care of the truth and pray to my God that He will completely deliver me from your deeds. He gave me the Holy Spirit, but I angered Him; gave me a clean soul and body, but I desecrated them.” So speak, beloved, to the one who inspires you with similar passions (1, 475).

91. One of the saints said: “Fornication is like a dog; if you caress it, it will not leave you, but if you chase it, it will run away.” Be attentive to yourself and do not neglect your life. Be careful not to destroy the fruit of your labors for a small pleasure, not to give up the rewards of your work for the sake of impurity, not to destroy the reward for silence, the reward for vigilance, for abstinence and for other virtues for the sake of impurity; Do not be like a man who puts the payment he received into a wallet with holes. Protect yourself with the fear of the Lord.

92. If you are talking with a blooming beauty, then watch your eye so that your mind is not disturbed by lust, and then you will begin to prolong your speeches, full of passionate movement, and it will turn out that with only the edges of your lips you are talking about chastity, but with your soul you indulge in lust and are completely occupied with it. Therefore, it is better, when you happen to have such a meeting, to quickly interrupt your speech and take up silence, for Scripture says: Deceive him with much conversation (Prov. 7:21). Frequent conversations of this kind cause significant harm to the soul (1.499).

93. A fornicator cannot love someone who abhors his passion, but a husband will cleave to someone like himself (1, 514).

94. Seek how to overcome your lust, because this is given to you to do (1, 515).

95. Refuge from sensuality is, firstly, to pray often and soberly, and secondly, to give dominion to the mind and pure thought, not to utter disorderly words incompatible with the reverent disposition of the spirit, in the confidence that the Lord is an infallible Judge. Attentiveness of the mind and expectation of judgment will destroy the internal tickling and dry up the increasing lust, and in such a soul there will be silence (lustful movements will subside).

96. If you are chaste, do not be proud of your abstinence, but in humility pray to the Lord to be your Guardian to the end, for often a sudden invasion of four-legged animals into the vineyard suddenly destroyed the fruit due to the negligence of the guardian (1, 517).

97. When you go to bed, do not cover yourself beyond what is necessary, because bliss can naturally inflame your body and strongly ignite the embers of voluptuousness (1, 522).

98. Blessed is he who keeps his body as a shrine to the Savior and has not disgraced his soul with alien deeds, but has remained pleasing to the Lord. Blessed is he who hated vile and shameful deeds and offered himself as a living sacrifice, acceptable to the Lord (1:530).

99. Blessed is he who by deed exposed the tormentor (the devil, the tyrant of souls) and did not fall into fear from the flame of voluptuousness, because his soul will be watered with the dew of the Holy Spirit (1, 533).

100. If you strive courageously against those who try to steal the labors of your work (vainglorious thoughts), then be careful that no one manages to sneak up from below and drop you (prodigal thoughts). But put your thoughts in order (pay attention), so as not to overlook the favorable wind and have the projectile ready, and save the ship, bringing it into the pier of life (1, 577).

101. Who, having planted a fig tree, leaves its fruit unattended? Moreover, one must observe purity and chastity. Or who, bitten by an asp, is not careful to approach its hole? If, out of remorse, he puts his hand into his hole and is bitten another time, who then is to blame for the death, a poisonous animal, or a person who did not take care of himself? And you understand what has been said (1, 578).

102. It is harmful for a monk to share company with a woman. And do not approach a virgin at all, if you still have carnal thoughts in you. A monk who spends time drinking wine with women is no different from someone who throws himself into the fire. Run from meeting them like a chamois runs from a snare (1, 597).

103. Protect the integrity of your body. If you preserve it out of love for Christ, you will be able to comfortably succeed in every virtue. The Holy Spirit dwelling in you will rejoice over you that you fill your temple of God with the fragrance of purity and right will, and will strengthen you for every good deed. And to excel in virtues and in divine purity you have the following three aids: abstinence of the belly and tongue, and bridling the eye. All three of them must be kept. If you preserve, let’s say, the first two, but do not preserve your eyes from wandering, then you will not acquire lasting purity. Just as a broken water pipe cannot retain water, so a scattered eye cannot retain a chaste mind. Do not look at alien beauty (Sir. 9:8), and let your mind be nailed to the fear of God (Ps. 119:120) (1:599).

104. A monk should not wash his body or feet with special care. Just as sensualists seek pleasure for themselves in the grace of body and clothing, so the ascetic of piety takes up arms against his opponents with the opposite of this (1, 600).

105. There is no small struggle between the sacred (purity) and the defilement. Those who help us in desecration instill the following thought: “No one sees you, why are you afraid?” And those who work for us in the shrine object to them: “God sees, and His angels are with you, so how can you say: who sees you?” The tempter continues: “Where are they? There’s no one here yet.” At this point, the collaborators of the shrine interrupt him: “Don’t you see?! You spoke the truth, for it is written: Blind them with malice (Wis. 2:21). Does not he who creates the eye look (Ps 93:9)? Where can you hide from God? (Ps. 139:1-12). This is what you put into your thoughts, and sin will not dominate you for long, and sinful sorrow will not overtake you, but joy and peace in the Holy Spirit will come to you (1:605).

106. Keep the purity of your body in the Lord, like a pearl of great price; do not flaunt your clothes; turn your gaze downward and your soul to grief; with a young man, do not go so far as to treat him freely, and with a woman it is unnecessary to talk; Do not talk with the boy and do not enter into company with drunkards and laughers, but abide entirely in the fear of God, remembering the commandment of the Apostle: Do not get drunk with wine, for there is fornication in it (Eph. 5:18) (2:127).

107. It happens that the evil one puts in such a tempting thought: “Every hour a lustful thought troubles you; how long will you bear this anxiety and endure it? Satisfy your lusts so as not to be in struggle, then you will repent, this matter is not important.” Answer him with sobriety: “Who will tell me that if I corrupt my flesh, I will find time to repent and will not be dragged along with those who practice iniquity, for our life is the shadow of the earth (Job 8:9)? If this happens, then would sinning be the same as taking a sword and killing myself? And how can you say that this matter is unimportant, for I see how highly those who do not succumb to this attraction are honored and how dishonest those who indulge it are? Joseph is praised from generation to generation both in heaven and on earth, and the Egyptian woman is ridiculed; The chaste Susanna is glorified, but the lustful elders have left behind a bad name for all generations. How else do you say: satisfy once and calm down? Don’t you know, devil, that if an animal is accustomed to carnivory, it more often satisfies this passion? And you want to assure me that if I satisfy my lust, it will no longer bother me. May the Lord forbid you, you crafty evildoer, who seeks, like a lion, to devour my soul. Your sweet is bitter, your suggestion is the depth of evil, your promises are full of death and destruction. You inspire me with sin, which will expose me from the grace of the Lord and offend the Holy Spirit, by Whom I was marked on the day of deliverance (Eph. 4:30); but you say that this is not an important matter. You will confuse me, so that I will create the hooks of Christ (1 Cor. 6:15), so that in an instant I will lose immortal wealth and destroy sanctification, without which no one will see the Lord. And this, in your opinion, means nothing? You are inciting me to anger the Lord, so that on that terrible day, before the terrible throne of judgment, I will hear from Him, the righteous Judge: “You evil servant, more lust-loving than God-loving, you have desecrated the earth with your uncleanness and your sins.” And it doesn't matter? Have you not yourself experienced the severity and immutability of the Last Judgment of the righteous God, Who did not show mercy to you and the angels who sinned with you, but, having bound you captives of darkness, handed you over to the judgment of the great day of the tormented to watch over? And you say: it doesn’t matter! - You are a lie, flattery and destruction. With lies and flattery you blind the eyes of the mind and manage to lure others into choosing this small pleasure over eternal life. But we, having surrendered ourselves to the Lord, are not afraid of you. The Lord is our strength; The Lord is our refuge; The Lord is our helper and protector” (2, 222-6).

108. The demon of fornication is brought into inaction not only by abstinence from food, but also by abstinence of the eyes, so as not to see vanity (Ps 119:37). In the eye, distractedly rotated, there is already fornication, which the Lord testified to: Everyone who looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart (Matthew 5:28). Such adultery is eradicated in oneself by one who turns his eye down and his soul to the Lord, and whoever has mastered the belly has also mastered the gaze. Our terrible traitor is the absent-minded eye (2, 231).

109. Warfare, excited by an absent-minded eye, both in the presence and absence of an object, inflames the soul with lust, even in a dream it presents the object to the heart, because demons picture the tempting thing in thought and occupy the mind, renewing the image of the tempting object previously seen by the eyes of man. For this reason the prophet prays: Turn away my eyes from seeing vanity (2, 232).

110. When the demon begins to draw a tempting object in you and writes in your mind the beauty of the woman you once saw, bring the fear of God inside and remember those sleeping in sins, think about the day of your exodus, when your soul will be separated from your body, imagine that terrible and a trembling voice, which will be heard by those who are careless about the truth and those who do not keep the commandments of Christ: Depart from Me, cursed into eternal fire, prepared for the devil and his angel (Matthew 25:41), imagine both the never-ending worm and endless torment. Think and remember this, and the lust for pleasure will dissipate in your thoughts, like wax melts before the fire, for demons cannot withstand the fear of God even for a moment.

111. He who does not resist lust, but allows his eyes to wander freely, has, of course, already bowed his mind to passions and, if not for human shame, would have repeatedly corrupted his body. Therefore, if he does not stay sober and constantly have the fear of God before his eyes, he will not hesitate to corrupt his body, for this demon, who teaches the eyes to be distracted, is followed by another demon, who materially commits sin in the flesh. If the second sees that the first has managed to entertain the soul and make it distracted, he immediately begins to advise that carnal sin should also be committed. To the one defeated by his eye, he begins to advise something similar to this: “You have sinned in intention and committed adultery in your heart, you have already broken the commandment, and the sin of breaking the commandment is already imputed to you. Therefore, satisfy your lusts now, for both to do and to lust are one and the same thing. At least enjoy your lust." But do not believe his inventions, according to the apostolic word: Let us not understand his thoughts (2 Cor. 2:11), for by this he wants to ensnare your soul. This demon, advising him to commit an unlawful sin, must be told: “Although I have fallen with my eyes and committed adultery in my heart, I crush my adulterous heart with repentant sighs and wash my fallen eye with tears, for God will not despise a contrite and humble heart (Ps. 50:19) ( 2, 233-234).

112. If the need comes to reach a village, then do not entertain yourself by talking with women, otherwise your soul will be carried away like a devoured oud. Then be sober, because the fall is not far from you. If you pay attention to yourself, you will be like in a pier. Fight temptation in reverence and fear of God. Shamelessness is the mother of fornication. Women, if they see that you are treating them freely and talking about empty things, then, inciting you to do even worse, they will bring you to a fall. But be careful that others, under the guise of contrition and reverence, do not weaken your mind with their speeches. One of the saints said: “They make speeches, trying to bend you to passion” (2, 270).

113. If you notice that some thought is drawing you to a date with a boy or a beautiful woman, then know that you are approaching the enemy’s snares. If, even after admonition (not to do this), you do not abandon your intention, then know that you are already entangled in nets, and it is not easy for you to overcome voluptuousness. Will you say: “I do not suffer harm from this?” But is it possible to walk on hot coals without burning your feet? (3, 87-88).

114. If you want to be chaste, maintain abstinence and interrupt harmful dates. To the extent that a person approaches what produces temptation, to that extent it is impossible for his heart to remain without confusion of thoughts and the inflaming of evil desires, because a visible face and speech excite him to passion. Just as a sponge, brought to something wet, swells and absorbs moisture, so a person, unsteady in thought, if he gets close or talks for a long time with those who reason carnally, absorbs harm, therefore, having drunk this, he becomes intoxicated even without wine and because of the fact that it is already filled with harmful things, it does not accept spiritual words (3, 88-89).

115. Anyone who wants to correct himself and establish himself in purity must firmly grasp a chaste thought, exhaust his flesh with good labors, and, through constant remembrance of God, cleanse his thought from everything bad and shameful. Through this our mind is filled with grace; the grace of God, which dwells in the mind and possesses it, blocks access to it for malicious enemies when they try to enter (3, 90).

116. When you see a beautiful woman who shines with beauty, has a bright gaze, shining cheeks and some kind of artificial expressiveness in her face, and she inflames your thoughts and intensifies your lusts, think that what surprises you is the earth, what inflames you - ashes, and your soul will stop raging. Rest your thoughts on the skin of her face, and then you will see all the little value of beauty, because you will find nothing but bones, veins and stench. Imagine also that she grows old, changes, dies, and all this color falls off. Consider what you marvel at, and be ashamed, and, having been ashamed, bring repentance (8:98).

117. Blessed is the man who cares to please God and keeps his body clean, so as to become the holy temple of Christ the King. Have you already become a temple of your own free will, man? Be attentive to yourself day and night, so that your temple does not become corrupted. If you keep it pure and useful to your Master, then the Spirit of God will dwell in you and sanctify you more and more (3:112).

118. Gird yourself with faith, hope and love and, like a strong man, stand on guard, protecting the temple of God from all unclean thoughts. Become an eye, constantly watching and looking out for the evil robbers; and these robbers, as soon as they find someone weakened and distracted, always rush at him in order to corrupt this pathetic person’s bodily temple, so that it is no longer useful to the Master. Be attentive to yourself, so that it does not turn out that you yourself are accepting these evil robbers into yourself, that is, unclean thoughts and bad wishes (3, 113).

119. The root of lust is shameless. If you cut it out every day, it vegetates every hour. Completely tear out the root of lust from your heart, so that it does not vegetate and grow hourly. If you cut it a thousand times, it will be protected twice as many times until you completely tear out its roots (3, 113-114).

120. Be attentive to yourself, so that instead of the Holy and Most Pure Lord you do not introduce a nasty enemy into your temple and so that your temple is not corrupted by the shamelessness of this enemy, a hater of good. He is shameless and stubborn in his intention: you repeatedly kick him out with reproach, but he shamelessly tries to enter. If you bring him into your temple, God will leave you, and your temple will be filled with all uncleanness, stench and darkness (3:114).

[*] Selections were made according to the edition of the writings of St. Ephraim among the works of St. fathers. The first number indicates the volume and the second number indicates the page. Text without a footnote refers to the previous chapter.

Venerable Neil of Sinai. ABOUT FORMINATION

1. Abstinence begets chastity; Gluttony is the mother of lust. [*]

2. Oil feeds the flame of the lamp; treatment of women kindles the fire of lustful pleasures.

3. An unladen ship is tossed hither and thither by the blows of waves, and an intemperate mind is tossed about by lustful thoughts.

4. Fornication takes over satiety, joins the ranks of the opponents of the mind and fights against it to the end along with its enemies.

5. He who loves silence is hardly vulnerable to the arrows of this enemy, and he who interferes with the crowd constantly receives wounds from him.

6. The gaze of a woman, a poisonous arrow, wounds the soul and pours poison into it, and the more old this ulcer becomes, the more damage it produces.

7. He who protects himself from these arrows does not go to crowded meetings, does not wander absentmindedly at festivals, for it is better to remain calmly at home and remain in prayer, rather than, thinking to honor the holidays, to become a quick prey for enemies.

8. Avoid treating women if you want to be chaste, and never give them the freedom to boldly treat you, because at first they either really have or hypocritically show timid modesty, and later they dare to do anything. And this becomes for you a fishing rod that snares you into death, a cunningly woven net that draws you into destruction. Let them not lead you into deception with modest speeches, because in them too the evil poison of the beast (the beast from the abyss) is hidden.

9. It is better to approach a burning fire than to a young woman when you are young yourself, for if you feel the pain from the fire when you approach it, you will immediately jump away, and having been softened by the woman’s speeches, you will not suddenly move away.

10. The grass that grows near water is sick, and the passion for lewdness is in company with women.

11. He who fills his belly and promises to be chaste is like one who claims that straw will stop the action of fire. Just as it is impossible to hold back the swiftness of a spreading fire with straw, so it is impossible to stop the burning desire of lewdness with satiety.

12. The pillar rests on its foundation, and the passion of fornication rests on satiety.

13. A stormed ship hurries to the pier, and a chaste soul seeks the desert. The ship runs away from sea waves that threaten danger, and the soul runs away from women’s faces that cause death.

14. The sight of an elegant woman drowns worse than waves. You can still swim out of the waves for the love of life; The sight of a woman, seducing, makes one neglect life itself.

15. A desert bush is safe from the flames of fire, and a chaste man far from women is safe from the ignition of the passion of lewdness, for just as the memory of fire does not burn up thoughts, so passion has no power when there is no food for it.

16. If you have mercy on an opponent, then you will have an enemy, and if you spare this passion, then it will rise up against you.

17. Looking at a woman in an intemperate manner arouses indecent passion, but disposes a chaste person to glorify God.

18. If lustful passion is calm when dealing with women, do not believe the dispassion it promises, for even a dog surrounded by a crowd wags its tail, but when it comes out of it, it immediately displays its characteristic ferocity.

19. When the memory of a woman becomes dispassionate, then conclude that you have entered the limits of chastity. When the image you imagine of her takes over your soul, then know that you are still alien to this virtue. But even in the first case, do not dwell on such thoughts and do not mentally talk for a long time with the female image, because this passion loves to return back, and the danger from it is close.

20. Just as melting in proportion purifies silver, and if continued in excess causes loss in it, so a chaste habit spoils the long-term image in a woman’s thoughts.

21. Do not talk for a long time with the person who appears to you, so that it does not ignite the flame of voluptuousness in you and set fire to the threshing floor of your soul.

22. Just as a spark left for a long time in straw produces a flame, so prolonged remembrance of a woman kindles lust.

23 [**]. If you pacify the flesh that lusts after the spirit through ascetic labors, then beyond this age you will have the glory promised by the sayings of the beatitudes, as one who has overcome in battle the one who in your body fights against the law of your mind and takes you captive by the law of sin that is in your world (Rom. 7.25) (1, 230).

24. Understand that separate types of fornication are combined together - physical fornication and spiritual fornication. When the lustful thought dissolves with your spirit, then your soul is combined with the seductive imprint in it (1, 247-248).

25. The demon takes on the face of a woman in order to seduce the soul into mixing with it. The appearance of the image (of the wife) is taken on by an incorporeal demon in order to lead the soul into fornication with lustful thoughts. Do not be carried away by a ghost that has no substance, so as not to do something similar in the flesh. All those who do not reflect internal adultery with the cross are deceived by the spirit of fornication.

26. Punish thoughts with poverty of food, so that they think not about fornication, but about hunger.

27. Combine your tears with your prayer vigil to receive help in the present battle.

28. During the time of prodigal warfare, refuse invitations to feasts.

29. The demon of lewdness and a zealous ascetic fighter attacks quickly, suddenly showering him with arrows of passionate lust, because he cannot endure for long the burning of the luminous fire emanating from his ascetic labors; and to the one who, from the seduction of lustful sweetness, has weakened in the severity of self-restraint, little by little he approaches for an interview with his heart, so that it, inflamed with evil lusts, indulges in conversation with them, is captivated by them and completely puts aside hatred of this sin (1, 252- 253).

30. It is most dangerous if the heart is mired in the habit of the sweets of lust, and it takes a lot of work to cut down this (passionate) pasture at the root.

31. Do not accustom your thoughts to enter into conversation with the sweets of lust, because in the host of passionate thoughts and movements a fire flares up (Ps. 105:18). They, heating you up, will make you think that it is difficult to restrain the fire of nature, that you are unable to continue to do violence to nature, and that, although today you will sin out of necessity, tomorrow you will repent according to the commandment, for the (Christian) law is humane and easily forgives sin to those who repent. At the same time, they will present you with an example of how some, after abstinence, fell and repented again, giving credibility to their seductive advice, so that, having crushed the firmness of opposition with this hope of easy conversion again through repentance, they would make the temple of chastity a house of fornication (1, 253-254).

32. See, man of abstinence, under the pretext of repentance, do not be deceived by unknown hopes, for many, having fallen, were immediately snatched away by death, while others were unable to rise (from the fall), bound by the habit of lustful pleasures, as if by law. Why do you know, man, whether you will live and whether you will repent for assigning years of life to yourself? Falling from this, you do not indulge your flesh, whereas you should rather indulge in the remembrance of death, so that in your heart you can more vividly imagine the terrible decree of judgment, and thereby extinguish the wisdom of your inflamed flesh.

33. The natural way of life is one and the same determined by the Creator both for us and for animals: Behold, God himself says to man, all the grass in the field will be food for himself and for the beasts. (Gen. 1:29-30). Therefore, having received food in common with the dumb and, through our own crafts, turning it into something more luxurious, shouldn’t we justly be recognized as more unreasonable than the dumb, if animals remain within the limits of nature, without violating what was set by God, and we, people gifted with reason, have completely retreated from ancient law? For what delicacies do the dumb have? What bakers and cooks, with a thousand arts, prepare delights for the poor belly? Don’t they love the ancient poverty, eating grass, being content with what happened, and drinking water, sometimes only rarely? Therefore, they indulge in carnal pleasures less often, without igniting their desires with any fattening food and not always knowing the difference between the male and female sexes, for this feeling gives them one time in the year in which the natural law, as a means of procreation, has invented to copulate them to sow others like themselves; at other times they are so alienated from each other that they completely forget about this wish. And in people, from expensive dishes, the insatiable lust of fornication instilled frantic desires, not allowing the passion to subside at any time (2.90).

[*] Quotations are indicated at the beginning or at the end of articles by indicating the volume and page of the publication of the saint’s works in Russian translation. Articles without citations are on the same page as above.

[**] From here on, from other writings by St. Nila

Saint John Cassian the Roman. FIGHTING THE SPIRIT OF FORMINATION

46. ​​According to the tradition of the fathers, the struggle against the spirit of fornication is a long and constant struggle, more than others, and completely defeated by very few, a fierce battle that begins to fight from the first age of maturity and does not cease before other passions are conquered. Since the uprising here is twofold, armed with two weapons for struggle, then it is also necessary to resist it with two weapons in hand. Physical fasting alone is not enough to achieve perfect purity of chastity; it must be surpassed by repentant contrition of spirit and persistent prayer against this unclean spirit; then constant teaching in the Scriptures in combination with mental work, also physical labor and handicrafts, which keeps the heart from wandering and returns it to itself, and most of all, deep, true humility, without which victory over any passion can never be achieved (- 1) . [*]

47. The overcoming of this passion is conditioned by the complete cleansing of the heart, from which, according to the word of the Lord, the poison of this disease also flows. “From the heart,” He says, “evil thoughts come... adultery, fornication, and so on. (Matt. 15:19). So, first you need to cleanse where the source of life and death comes from, as Solomon says: Guard your heart with all care: from these comes life (Prov. 4:23), for the flesh submits to its will and power. The law of fasting meager nutrition must of course be followed with all diligence, so that the flesh, saturated with an abundance of dishes, resisting the dictates of the soul, does not in a riot overthrow its ruler, the spirit. But, if we combine the whole essence of this matter in one exhaustion of the body, without at the same time fasting the soul from other passions and without occupying it with either teaching in the divine or other spiritual activities, we will in no way be able to ascend to the very height of true purity, because in this case, what is dominant in us will defile our body, even if it were clean. So, according to the instructions of the Lord, we must first clean the inside of the glass and dish, so that the outside of them may also be clean (Matthew 23:26) (- 2).

48. Other passions are usually purified, among other things, by dealing with people and by everyday activities and deeds with them, and are somehow cured by the very trouble and annoyance due to falling into them. So, for example, outbursts of anger, insult, and impatience, in addition to heartfelt instruction and cheerful attention, are cured by visiting the brethren and frequently evoking these passions. Since they, being irritated by this, are more often discovered, they are exposed more often and therefore are healed more quickly. But this illness, when the body is exhausted and the heart is contrite, also needs solitude and distance from people, so that, having thus rejected the reasons for its harmful feverish dilution, it can quickly come to a state of perfect recovery. Just as it is useful for those who are sick with any disease not to bring foods that are harmful to them even to their eyes, so that when looking at them a deadly desire is not born in them, so silence and solitude, so that the sick soul, without being called out by various persons and things, more freely ascends to the purest mental contemplation and through this can more conveniently root out the contagious excitement of lust (- 3).

49. It is another thing to be abstinent, that is, εγκρατη, and another thing to be pure, αγνον, having come to an unperturbed state of chaste purity and virgin innocence. Such virtue is attributed to only virgins and virgins in soul and body, as, for example, both John (the Baptist and the Evangelist) are recognized in the New Testament, and in the Old Testament - Elijah, Jeremiah, Daniel. It is not unfair to honor those who, after the fall, through long ascetic labors and zealous recovery of what was lost, have reached a similar state of purity and purity of soul and body, and feel the sting of the flesh not so much through the attack of shameful lust, but through the movement of only nature. And so, such and such a state, we say, is extremely difficult to achieve among a crowd of people - isn’t it even impossible? Which, however, let everyone hope to learn from our discussion, but let him find out for himself through the examination of his conscience. We have no doubt that there are very many abstinent people who drive away and suppress the attack of the flesh, which they experience rarely or every day, either with the fear of Gehenna or with the desire for the Kingdom of Heaven. Regarding them, the elders believe that although they may not be completely upset and overcome by passionate irritations, they cannot, however, be safe, for one who is in the position of a fighter, although he often defeats and overcomes the enemy, is inevitably sometimes himself to experience anxiety and wounding (- 4).

50. If it is lawful for the apostle and I to fight spiritual struggles (2 Tim. 2:5), then, not on our own strength (because human efforts are not strong enough to accomplish this), but hoping for the help of the Lord, let us strive with all our zeal to overcome this the most unclean spirit, for until then this passion will not cease to challenge the soul for victory, until it (the soul) realizes that it is beyond its strength to successfully conduct such a struggle and that with its labors and its effort it cannot in any way win victory unless it is supported with the help and intercession of the Lord (- 5).

51. And indeed, if every success in virtue is the work of the grace of the Lord and overcoming every passion is His victory, then primarily this work (that is, acquiring purity and overcoming lustful passion) is a special grace and gift, as is confirmed by the opinions of St. fathers and experiences of cleansing from this passion according to the testimony of those who were honored to acquire it, for not to feel the sting of the flesh is in some way the same as being in the body, coming out of the flesh and, putting on flesh, being outside of nature. And therefore, it is impossible for a person to fly on his own, so to speak, wings to such a heavenly height of perfection, if the grace of the Lord does not lift him out of the earthly mud with the gift of purity, for people of flesh are not so closely similar to the heavenly angels in imitation of their life by any virtue, as by the acquisition of the grace of purity , through which they, while still continuing to live on earth, have, according to the Apostle, residence in heaven (Phil. 3:20) and here, in mortal flesh, they already possess what is promised to the saints in the future life after the deposition of corruptible flesh (- 6 ).

52. Listen to what the apostle says: Whoever strives will abstain from everyone else (Cor. 9:25). He sets up the ascetic on the lists as a model for us in our spiritual asceticism. For success in competitions, he not only abstains from all forbidden food, drunkenness and inebriation, but also from inaction, idleness and laziness, trying to develop his strength and ability through constant exercise and delving into the matter; he abandons all care and sorrow about everyday and marital affairs, tormenting himself with one concern, how to achieve success and receive a victorious crown; He especially takes care to keep himself clean from carnal defilement, so that even in a dream he will not somehow be seduced by shameful dreams and thereby diminish the strength acquired over a long time and considerable care. Here you see everything that a spiritual ascetic should do; You also see that in order to succeed in your spiritual endeavors, it will be suggested to you primarily to maintain purity and chastity, for if there, in worldly external competitions for corruptible crowns, purity is so necessary, then how much more immeasurably necessary is it in our spiritual inner striving for heavenly crowns? We require not only external purity from carnal sin or involuntary defilement, but most importantly internal purity of thought and feeling. We must, in every way, keep the innermost parts of our hearts pure. What those (high-ranking competitors) desire to have only physically, we must possess in the depths of conscience, in which our Lord the Hero of God sees to the smallest features all the movements of our will. Therefore, we must not allow what we are afraid to do openly to arise inside with a careless thought, and what we are ashamed to reveal before people, not to be defiled by secret consent in the heart, for although this can be hidden from people, it cannot be hidden from the angels and Himself. almighty God, from whom no secrets are hidden (- 7, 8, 9 abbreviated).

53. It can be set as a sign and measure of the perfection of acquired purity if, when we are resting or relaxing in deep sleep, no seductive image arises, or if one arises, then it is not strong enough to arouse any lustful movements, for such a movement, although not imputed completely guilty of sin, however, it serves as a sure sign that the soul has not yet reached perfection, and shows that passion has not yet been completely expelled when dreamy images manage to produce this kind of desecration (- 10).

54. The quality of thoughts, which is not entirely carefully guarded among the entertainments of the day, is revealed during the night's rest, and therefore, when the said outrage happened, then it is not sleep that should be considered to blame for this, but the lack of attention in the previous time and see in this the discovery of what is hiding inside a disease that the hour of the night did not give birth to for the first time as it had not existed before, but only brought to the surface of the skin, hidden in the inner fibers of the soul, while the body was reinforced by sleep, revealing the internal feverish heat of passion, which we ourselves kindled, feeding on unkind thoughts throughout the day. Likewise, bodily illnesses are not generated at the time in which they are apparently discovered, but are acquired in the time preceding that time, when someone, without caution eating any food harmful to health, collects disease-causing juices (- 11).

55. Behold, God Himself, the Creator and Maker of the entire human race, knowing best of all the nature of His creation, directs healing there, from where the causes of this passionate illness mainly come, when He says: Whoever looks at a woman to lust after her will already committing adultery with her in her heart (Matthew 5:28). Making a remark about the voluptuousness of the eyes, He does not denounce them so much as the inner feeling that makes bad use of their service in looking. This heart, sick and wounded by the arrow of lusts, looks with lust at the blessing of sight, bestowed by the Creator for good, turning, in its passion, to the service of evil deeds, and bringing into reality the disease of voluptuousness hidden within itself regarding the view. Why is the saving commandment prescribed to the one whose passion causes evil injury through sight, for it does not say: guard your eyes with all guarding, but: guard your heart with all guarding (Prov. 4:23) (- 12).

56. Let our first and main action of maintaining purity of heart be that when, through a subtle plant of the devil’s malice, a memory of any female person creeps into our minds, be it mothers, sisters, relatives, or even holy wives, we We hurried to drive him out of our thoughts as quickly as possible, so that if we linger long in such thoughts, the enemy, our seducer, would not noticeably transfer our mind from these wives to those through whom he could instill harmful thoughts. Why, trying to fulfill the commandment: Guard your heart with every care, we must, according to the original command of God, carefully guard the poisonous head of the serpent (Gen. 3), that is, the beginnings of evil thoughts, through which the devil tries to creep into our soul, so that , if his head, through our negligence, penetrates into our heart, his whole body did not creep in there, that is, it was not born from unclean thoughts and consent to sinful pleasure. When the enemy is allowed inside, he will captivate the soul and will certainly kill it with his poisonous remorse. We must also beat the sinners who arise on our earth, that is, carnal feelings, on the morning of their birth (Ps. 100:8) and smash the sons of Babylon against a stone while they are still babies (Ps. 136:9), for if they do not they are beaten, while they are still tender and weak, then having grown up through our connivance, they will rise up against us with greater strength, and either destroy us, or, if they are defeated, then, of course, not without great sighs and labors, for when strong, then there is our spirit, armed, it guards its house, that is, it protects the chambers of our heart with the fear of God, then the essence of its possessions in the world (Luke 11:21), that is, the fruits of its labors and virtues, acquired over a long time. When the one who strengthens him has found and overcomes him, that is, the devil, through agreement with the thoughts inspired by him, then he will take all his weapons, relying on tenderness, that is, the remembrance of the scriptures, or the fear of God, and selfishness will distribute him (Luke 11, 22), that is, skills in virtues will be dispelled by all sorts of vices opposite to them (- 13).

57. This is, says St. Paul, “your holiness is the will of God” (1 Sol. 4:3). And so as not to leave us with doubt or a dark misunderstanding of what exactly he calls holiness—whether truth, or love, or humility, or patience—for with all these virtues holiness is acquired, he further directly designates what he actually wanted to call holiness: This This is the will of God, your holiness, to keep yourself from fornication, and to lead everyone from you to acquire his vessel for holiness and honor, and not in lustful passion, like the pagans who do not know God (1 Thess. 4:3-5). Look at the praises with which he extols chastity, calling it the honor of a vessel, that is, our body, and a shrine. Consequently, on the contrary, whoever is in lustful passion is in a state of dishonor and uncleanness and lives alien to holiness. A little below St. Paul further adds, again calling chastity holiness: For God did not call us to uncleanness, but to holiness. By the same token, they rejected (despised this) not a person, but God, who gave His Holy Spirit in you (1 Thessalonians 4:7-8). He gave inviolable strength and importance to his commandment when he said that whoever rejects this, that is, what I said, does not despise man, that is, me, who commands this, but God, who speaks in me, who speaks to the Spirit He has appointed our heart as his dwelling place. Do you see with what simple words of praise he extolled this virtue? Firstly, he actually ascribes holiness to it, and secondly, he claims that by it the vessel of our body is freed from all uncleanness; thirdly, that, having spewed out shameful uncleanness, this vessel will remain in honor, like a shrine; finally, that its highest advantage is that through it the Holy Spirit will be the inhabitant of our hearts (- 15).

58. I will give another testimony similar to this from the same apostle. Addressing the Jews, he says: Have peace with everyone and holiness, for by this no one else will see the Lord (Heb. 12:14). And here also he asserts that without holiness, which he usually calls chastity and purity of soul and body, it is completely impossible to see God (-16).

59. The higher and more heavenly the virtue of chastity is, the stronger it evokes enemy slander. Why should we all the more intensely observe not only the abstinence of the body, but also the contrition of the heart, with unceasing prayerful sighs, so that the furnace of our flesh, which the king of Babylon is constantly trying to set on fire with the arson of carnal decoys, is constantly quenched and cooled by the dew of the Holy Spirit descending into our hearts (— 17).

60. What kind of mood can we maintain constantly if we always remember that God is a night and day viewer and knower not only of our secret deeds, but also of all thoughts; and believe that we have to give Him an answer for everything that revolves in our hearts, as for all our deeds and actions (-21).

61. So that even during sleep unclean dreams do not defile us, for this it is always necessary to maintain an evenly moderate fast, for whoever violates a reasonable measure of severity in abstaining from food will certainly go beyond the proper measure of relaxation in this regard. With a change in the measure of reinforcing ourselves with food, the quality of our cleanliness must inevitably change. - But at the same time, we must have constant humility of heart and patience, as well as carefully protecting ourselves during the day from anger and other passions, for as soon as the fire of anger sinks into us, then the heat of lust will easily penetrate us. Most of all, it is necessary to watch oneself vigorously at night, for just as cleanliness and self-protection during the day prepares for purity at night, so vigilance at night preconditions the heart, as well as attention to oneself, strength and strength to resist everything unclean during the day (- 23).

62. Is it possible to completely extinguish the fire of lust, the heat of which our flesh feels as if innate in itself? “Let’s look ahead to what Blessed Paul thinks about this.” Put to death,” he says, “your lives that are on the earth” (Col. 3:5). What kind of ouds does he command to kill? Of course, not to cut off the hands and feet or any other parts, but to destroy the body of sin, about which he says elsewhere: Let the body of sin of the flesh be done away with (Rom. 6:6), and which, like every other body, has its own members . It is these who the apostle commands to put to death. And what exactly these are, he immediately enumerates, for, having said: Mortify your fruits that are on the earth, he continues: Fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil lust, and covetousness, which is idolatry. The first member is fornication: this is the sin of carnal illicit copulation; the second member is uncleanness, which sometimes occurs without any touching of a woman during sleep or while awake; the third member is passion, which, being in the hiddenness of the soul, can be ignited not by the action of lust in the body; the fourth member is evil lust, which can relate not only to the above-mentioned unclean passion, but in general to all harmful lusts and which is only a disease of a corrupted will; The apostle puts covetousness as the last member of the sinful body, instilling that one must not only abstain from other people’s things, but one must also generously despise one’s own, as indeed the first community of believers mentioned in the book of Acts did (Acts 4:32-35). From all that has been said, I draw the following conclusion: if many for the sake of Christ rejected their property so that not only the possession of money, but also the desire for it was cut off from their hearts, then it follows that in the same way it is possible to extinguish fornication, for the apostle would not have combined the impossible dealing with the possible. But, recognizing both as possible, he commanded that both should be put to death. And blessed Paul was so confident in the possibility of eradicating fornication from our members that he not only commanded to put it to death, but commanded that even its name should not be uttered among us, saying: Let fornication and all uncleanness and covetousness be called among you. , as befits saints: and foul language, and bad language, or blasphemy, which is not like that (Eph. 5:3-4). Therefore, there can be no doubt that the passion of fornication can be destroyed from our members, since the Apostle commanded that we cut them off in the same way as covetousness, vanity, and ridicule, the cutting off of which is convenient (Common 12: 1, 2, 3 abbreviated).

63. However, we must know that at least we observed all the strictness of abstinence, namely: hunger, thirst, vigil, constant work, and with unflagging diligence we read soul-saving books; However, we ourselves cannot, through these exploits, acquire continuous purity of chastity, unless the special grace of God comes to our aid. Let everyone know that he must tirelessly practice the above-mentioned feats only so that, by patiently enduring the sorrow of them, having inclined the mercy of God to himself, he will be honored with the Divine gift of liberation from the battle of the flesh and from the domination of prevailing passions, and not in the hope that he himself through them he can achieve the indestructible purity of bodily chastity, which he so desires and seeks (Community 12:4).

64. The desires of real things cannot be suppressed or rejected unless others, saving ones, are accepted instead. Therefore, if we want to destroy carnal desires from our hearts, then in their place we must quickly plant spiritual desires, so that our spirit, always striving for their objects, has neither the desire nor the time to pay attention to the delights of the transitory joys of earthly things. And when our spirit, through daily exercises in spiritual work, is established in such a mood of renunciation from everything, then it will experience and understand the power of the following verse, which we all often repeat, but the power of which only a few experienced people know: I have seen the Lord before me, for He is at my right hand. Let me not move (Ps. 15:8). Only he truly comprehends the power and meaning of this verse who, having achieved that purity of body and spirit that we are talking about, realizes that he is protected at every moment by the Lord, so that he does not again deviate from the former, and that his right hand, that is, holy actions , is constantly protected by Him, for the Lord is always present to His saints, not on the left side - because a holy man has nothing left, that is, bad - but on the right. But for sinners and the unclean He is invisible, because they do not have the right side, on which He is usually present (Ecclesiastes 12:5).

65. There are many degrees of chastity, which lead to unshakable purity. I divide the ladder of such improvement of chastity into six degrees, which, however, in reality are passed imperceptibly in the likeness of our bodies, which every day insensitively receive an increase and, without our knowledge, grow to their perfect form. The first degree of chastity exists if the monk is not subject to the disturbance of carnal lust while awake; the second - if the mind does not slow down in voluptuous thoughts; third - if at the sight of a woman he is not at all disturbed by lust; the fourth - if in the waking state it does not allow even simple carnal movement; fifth - if even the most subtle consent to a carnal action does not hurt the mind, when reasoning or reading brings to mind human birth; sixth - if even in a dream we are not outraged by seductive dreams of women (Community 12, 7).

66. Complete chaste purity from the beginnings of abstinence from lustful thoughts and movements is distinguished by the complete calming of carnal excitement and peace from them. Completely mature chastity always preserves the undisturbed and necessary and unshakable purity of body and soul and is nothing other than holiness. This happens when the flesh, having ceased to lust after the spirit, begins to agree with its desires and virtue and when they both unite with each other in a solid peace and, according to the saying of the Psalmist, like brothers, begin to live together (Ps. 133:1). Then God is with them, for it is said that His place is in the world (Ps. 75:3), that is, not in the noise of battle and struggle with passions, but in the world of chastity and in constant peace of the heart. Why is it that when someone, through the extinguishing of carnal passions, is worthy to acquire this place of peace, then at the same time he becomes the dwelling place of God (Comm. 12:11).

[*] The extracted articles are borrowed from books of regulations and from interviews. In quotations, the first will be signified by the book, and the second by the personal. Where all borrowing will be from one place, the book is placed at the title itself. or personal with a number indicating the number of the book or interview, and at the end of each borrowed article there is only a number indicating the chapter of the book or interview. When a new borrowing from another book or interview is added afterwards, then the book. and personal with their number are placed at the end of the article and with the number of the chapter.

Venerable Nil of Sorsky. THE THOUGHT OF FORMINATION

Our feat in the fight against the prodigal spirit is great and extremely difficult; for this struggle embraces both soul and body - our entire being; Therefore, we need to strive hard and unceasingly to cheerfully and vigilantly guard our hearts from lustful thoughts, and especially on holy holidays, when we are preparing to partake of the Holy Mysteries: at that time the enemy tries in every possible way to desecrate our conscience.

But when lustful thoughts strike us, then we need to revive the fear of God in ourselves, to bring to mind the fact that nothing can be hidden from God, not even the most subtle movement of the heart, and that the Lord is the Judge and the Executor for everything - even the most secret and the hidden. We must then revive in our memory the promise that we made before the Angels and men, the promise to remain in chastity and purity.

Chastity and purity do not only relate to external life, but the abode of chastity should be the hidden heart of a person, keeping himself from bad thoughts: this is valuable and omnipresent before God; “But whoever often gives himself over to lustful thoughts and defiles himself with them commits adultery in his heart,” said the fathers, “and if he does not observe himself, then from thoughts he comes to the deed itself.”

And how great the calamity is - this very thing - is evident from the fact that not a single sin is called by the same name as this sin is called by the Fathers: they call it fall; for having fallen into it he becomes reckless and is strongly drawn to despair.

During the battle against fornication, I think it is useful to reflect on ourselves, on the image and title in which we are, to reflect that we are clothed in the image of an angel: how can we dare to trample on our conscience and destroy the angelic image we wear with the abomination of prodigals? Let us also remember shame and disgrace before people; for even with this representation of shame and disgrace we can reflect a cold and vile intention. In fact, let us imagine that we are caught by someone in an act of depravity: would we not wish then to die rather than to find ourselves in such disgrace? So, we will try to cut off unclean thoughts in other ways.

The main, strong and victorious weapon against the spirit of uncleanness consists in diligent prayer to the Lord God, as St. fathers. St. Maximus the Confessor instructs us to arm ourselves against lustful thoughts with prayer, borrowing the words of prayer from the Psalmist David: those who drive me out now have destroyed me (Ps. 16:11); My joy, deliver me from those who have passed me by (Ps. 31:7). And St. John Climacus, speaking about the same subject, presents a witness who prayed for prodigal thoughts like this: God, come to my help (Ps. 63:1), etc.

At the same time, it is necessary to call for help those saints who are known for special exploits and labors in maintaining purity and chastity, such as. Daniel of Skitsky ordered one brother, confused by fornication, to pray and call for help the martyr Thomaida, who was killed for chastity, and say this: “God, for the prayers of the martyr Thomaida, help me!” And the struggling brother, having prayed like this at the tomb of the martyr, was immediately delivered from fornication. Having such evidence, let us also pray and call for help those about whom the Holy Scripture says that they strived for chastity and purity.

If the battle is intense, then, standing up and stretching out your eyes and hands to heaven, pray, as Gregory of Sinai commanded, and God will drive away your thoughts. Pray as St. says. Isaac: “Thou art strong, Lord, and Thine is the feat: Thou fight and conquer in this, O Lord, for us.” And as John Climacus teaches: “Cry out to Him who is able to save you, not with cunningly composed words, but with humble and simple speech—Lord, have mercy on me, for I am weak!”

And you will know the power of the Most High and you will invisibly defeat invisible enemies. Always defeat the warriors in the name of Jesus; for you will not find a stronger weapon than this, neither in heaven nor on earth.

According to the remark of John Climacus, the demon watches over us, and at the time when he notices that we cannot arm ourselves against him with bodily prayer, i.e. pray both externally and internally, then it especially attacks us. Pay attention vigilantly and do not weaken in prayer, especially at a time when bad thoughts trouble you, as we said. Raise your physical or mental eye, as it is more convenient for you in time and according to your strength; and if you do this, you will learn by experience that by the power of the Most High and invisible help they are firmly defeated. If you become lazy, then you will be ashamed, as if you were defeated by them and have a defiled conscience.

We also need to know that devil’s trick, the fathers said, with which he puts into our minds thoughts and memories of women’s and young, good-looking faces, in order to immediately cut them off, even if those faces were pious and apparently could not arouse passions; for if you slow down, then the evil charmer will conveniently transform and clothe these thoughts in nasty and vile lusts.

It sometimes happens that we ourselves are upset by lustful thoughts and, thinking about them, we despise ourselves in the fact that we desire such vileness, which is characteristic only of the dumb, we are even overwhelmed by the fact that being unnatural and alien to cattle... But in such feelings , especially beginners, you need to protect yourself so that, thinking for a long time about it, under the pretext of struggle, you do not end up fulfilling passion. Therefore, it is safer for us to cut off prepositions - the beginning of thoughts. It is typical for the strong to enter into warfare with them, who are accustomed to discriminate between these thoughts in a favorable manner.

Finally, keep yourself from talking to women and from looking at them; also avoid cohabitation with young, effeminate and beautiful faces, and refrain from looking at them; for this is the devil’s snare on the monks, as one of the fathers said. And, if possible, do not be alone with them, says St. Basil the Great, nor in necessary need: for there is nothing more necessary for you than your soul, for which Christ died and rose again... And do not want to listen to obscene conversations from anyone that arouse passions.

Devotees of piety and purity

John Climacus (commemorated on March 30/April 12), so nicknamed from his work “The Ladder of Paradise,” lived for forty years as a hermit at the foot of Mount Sinai. Elected abbot of the Sinai monastery, he returned to the people for a while, then again went into solitude. The monk lived in the 6th century.

Ephraim the Syrian (the Church remembers him on January 28/February 10) was born at the beginning of the 4th century in Nisibia, in Mesopotamia. His parents raised him in the fear of God, but in his youth his faith began to waver. He was healed from this mental disorder by an edifying lesson. He was accused of stealing sheep and put in prison. After seven days of imprisonment, St. Ephraim heard a suggestion in a dream: that although he was not guilty, he was suffering for previous sins.

Acquitted by the judge, he immediately left the world and retired to the surrounding mountains to live with hermits. From an angry and irritable youth, St. Ephraim turned into a humble and contrite hermit.

St. James of Nisibia became his teacher. Together with him, St. Ephraim was present at the First Ecumenical Council in Nicaea. After the death of the teacher, the monk traveled a lot and became acquainted with the exploits of the hermits. He labored in the mountains near Edessa. In Caesarea St. Basil the Great ordained him to the rank of deacon, but humbly refused the rank of bishop offered to him by the saint. The monk died in 373.

The penitential prayer of St. Ephraim (Lord and Master of my life...), read during the days of Great Lent, belongs to the pen.

Nile of Sinai (commemorated on November 12/25) was from Antioch. His noble origin and personal merit elevated him to the rank of prefect of Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire. But in 390, in agreement with his wife, with whom he already had two children, he left the world and, taking his son with him, retired to one of the Sinai monasteries. His wife and daughter found shelter in one of the Egyptian nunneries.

In the Sinai desert, St. Neil lived extremely strictly. Together with their son, they settled in a cave and ate wild bitter plants. Their time passed in prayer, study of Holy Scripture, contemplation of God and labors. Many people turned to him with their spiritual needs and no one was left unattended. St. Nilus died around 450.

John Cassian the Roman (his feast day is February 29/March 13) was born in the Gallic region around 350-369. The son of noble parents, who received a good education, from a young age he loved a godly life. He became a monk at the Bethlehem Monastery. He spent seven years among Egyptian hermits, learning the science of monastic life.

The monk was a disciple of St. John Chrysostom, who in 400 ordained him to the rank of deacon. Priesthood of St. John Cassian received him in his homeland, where he became one of the first founders of monasticism. The saint ended his ascetic life in 435 as a presbyter of Massilia (now the city of Marseille in France).

Venerable Nil of Sorsky: (commemorated on May 7/May 20). The great father of the Russian Church, teacher of monastic simplicity and contemplative life, the Monk Neil (Maikov) was born in 1433 and, although nothing is known about his place of birth and origin, judging by his extensive connections and education, he belonged to a boyar family. The beginning of monastic life and tonsure of St. Neil received St. Kirill of Belozersky at the monastery, then traveled to holy places in the East and lived for several years on Mount Athos.

The Holy Fathers distinguished eight basic sins or passions, as eight sources from which all our sins, mental and physical, flow in all their diversity. What is given here is, rather, not a theological, but an ascetic picture of our sinfulness.

The Holy Fathers identified specific sins in order to be able to point out the means to combat them. According to their teaching, in reality there is one main source of sin - our selfishness, that is, a person’s wrong love for himself, selfishness and self-centeredness. This is the beginning of all sins.

Some theologians pointed out three types of selfishness: love of glory, love of voluptuousness and love of money. But this diagram is quite general and abstract, so here it is difficult for us to see the face of sin itself.

And it was no longer theologians and theoreticians of Christianity, but monks and ascetics, whose main life goal was the purification of their souls, who identified eight main enemies of our salvation, eight initial passions. If a person does not fight them, then they will prevail over him and turn into mortal sins, that is, they will forever separate the human soul from God.

Here I would like to talk about one of the fiercest passions, which is especially difficult, which constantly rises up against a person. Fornication - it is, as it were, a concentrate of all vicious pleasures. The fight against fornication is the most difficult and cruel, a Christian wages it until death. The Holy Fathers say: “Do not trust your body until it lies in the coffin and the coffin is nailed.” Natural lust, natural attraction to the other sex is genetically embedded in every person. The fight against the sin of fornication, as the Holy Fathers say, is a fight against the enemy who sits inside us.

How does this passion usually develop? For its development, a certain image is needed. And that’s why most often it starts with an image. The first stage is when an unclean image appears in a person’s mind, like on a movie or television screen. But this is not yet a sin. This is only a reason for sin, an excuse, a temptation, a bait of the devil, which he puts in front of us. A person sets bait to destroy some harmful animal, say, a rat.

The rat rushes at her and dies. In the same way, the devil offers us a bait, a seductive image, introducing it into our consciousness. But we can internally reject this image, turn off our will from it. And then he will remain external and alien to us. It becomes ours only when we begin to feel sympathy for it and the desire to keep it in our consciousness. If a person rejects a passionate thought or image at the very beginning, he will emerge victorious from this spiritual battle.

The Holy Fathers developed a teaching about sobriety, control over your heart. This control is carried out through unceasing prayer, in the light of which a person sees the emergence of a thought or image at the very beginning. If a person does not have prayer, he cannot record the first stage of the emergence of a thought (image), he records only the subsequent stages, when, through an internal volitional effort, he already begins to hold this thought (image) in his consciousness, contemplate it, admire and enjoy it. Therefore, the Holy Fathers commanded to have in your heart an unceasing short prayer - the Jesus Prayer, which illuminates a person’s depths of heart. For continuous prayer, you can also choose at your discretion some words from the psalm, a short prayer "Lord have mercy!" or a prayer “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” But the Jesus Prayer is much deeper. It is truly comprehensive. According to the expression of the Holy Fathers, it is “the Gospel, abbreviated in eight words.”

Yes, the moment of origin of a thought (image) is the best time to fight it, to destroy it. A thought is like a plant: when it has just sprouted, it can be easily pulled out of the ground, but when it has taken root and the roots have grown deep into the ground, then great efforts are needed; if this sprout has turned into a tree, then it is almost impossible to pull it out, and a person can no longer fight sin on his own. He must resort to the help of others, the help of his mentors.

So, the best way to fight a voluptuous thought is to reject it at the very beginning, at the first stage - the pretext. However, in subsequent stages, a Christian must fight sin. Even if there are delays and mistakes in this struggle, we must continue the struggle and pray to God for forgiveness of the mental sin committed. In the fight against passionate thoughts, you need to use the natural forces of human anger, that is, be angry with the devil, the sinful thought and sin itself. Anger is given to man as a weapon, like a sword against the enemy. We used this sword against ourselves and our neighbors. But anger can be holy, righteous anger if we learn to be angry at the demon and sin that arises in our hearts. Anger has the power to destroy.

If we direct it at our brother, then we become, in a sense, murderers. If we are angry at sin, then anger destroys it and cleanses our soul. So, you need to learn to be angry at unclean thoughts. The Holy Fathers teach: “When an unclean thought appears before you, first be angry with it, as if it were a misfortune that could deprive you of eternal life, and then turn to God in prayer. Don't consider this thought. Don't engage in conversation with him. Do not refute with words what the demon will say. Drive the thought out of your heart with anger and then turn to God so that He cleanses your soul from defilement.”

What else is required to fight the demon of fornication? Abstinence. The Holy Fathers placed prodigal sin, this disease, immediately after gluttony, since the demon of fornication is closely connected with the demon of gluttony. Gluttony fuels lustful passion. The Holy Fathers said: “If you want to fight fornication without curbing your womb, then this is the same as trying to put out a fire by throwing tree branches into it.” How to determine your food norm? The Holy Fathers teach this: “Determine how much food you need to be satisfied, then eat two-thirds of this amount, and leave the rest; or get up from the table when you do not yet feel completely full, at a time when you want to eat a little more. This will be your measure."

From Saint John of the Climacus we read: “In taming the belly, let us use prudent gradualism: first of all, we cut off the fattening food, then the kindling food, and then the sweetening food.” You cannot immediately impose a strict fast on yourself; a person accustoms himself to abstinence gradually.

In addition, when fasting, it is generally necessary to observe moderation. The Monk John Cassian the Roman writes that sometimes excessive fasting does not subdue, but, on the contrary, arouses lustful passion. The general rule of moderation and abstinence is that everyone, in accordance with his strength, body condition and age, should eat as much food as is necessary to maintain the health of the body, and not as much as the desire for satiety requires.

Extremes on both sides are equally harmful - both the immoderate severity of fasting and the satiety of the belly. A monk should conduct the matter of fasting as wisely as if he had to remain in the body for a hundred years; and thus curb emotional movements - forget grievances, banish sadness, put sorrows and losses into nothing, as if someone could die every day. Therefore, when they talk about fasting, they mean reasonable abstinence, and not bringing oneself to a painful state, which is often accompanied by inner pride and delusion.

So, let us remember that moderate consumption of food serves as a means of curbing fornication. Also, during particularly strong sexual excitement, it is useful to drink a little water, because the feeling of thirst to some extent dulls and weakens this passion. The hermits not only took food in moderation, but also water.

The Holy Fathers say: “If you bind yourself by fasting, you will bind the demon of fornication with ropes, but in order to cast him to the ground, you need humility.” One of the ancient Egyptian ascetics, interpreting the biblical story of how the prophet and seer of God Moses killed an Egyptian and buried him in the sand, says that this is an image of the fight against the prodigal demon. Sand is a desert, a place where nothing grows. “To bury an Egyptian in the sand” means to defeat the demon of fornication through humility. During the struggle with prodigal passion, a Christian must deeply humble his spirit, realize that he is the focus of sin and without God’s help cannot fight this passion, but at the same time not lose heart, but hope for God’s help and remain in prayer. The demon of fornication is connected with the demon of pride. Sometimes a proud person is providentially allowed to engage in particularly strong fornication in order to cure a greater sin with a lesser sin, and a stronger one with a weaker disease. But if a person humbles himself in time, then he will not need this cruel healing.

The most effective means of combating fornication is confession to your spiritual father. Holy ascetics say that the demon of fornication does not tolerate reproof. He loves to hide, hide in our soul, like a scorpion in its hole. To expose a prodigal demon before your confessor and tell him about your battle means to immediately receive relief. However, this must be done with faith in the prayer of your confessor. In the Patericon there is a story about two monks who were overcome by the demon of fornication. They went to the elder and told him about their battle.

One got relief, the other didn't. And the first, in response to the complaint of the second, asked him: “How did you reveal your abuse to your father?” He replied: “I came, told him, bowed and left.” The questioner said: “And I came to him as I would have come to Christ the Savior Himself: with the faith that his prayers would drive away the prodigal demon from me. During the story about the temptation, I internally repented and cried, and when I came out of it, I felt as if I had been born again.” Therefore, if you reveal prodigal warfare to your spiritual mentor, then this should not be a simple dry story. You must internally mourn your sinfulness and believe that through the prayers of your confessor, the Lord is able to deliver you from this battle, reduce it, or make you a winner in it.

In order to successfully fight the demon of fornication, we must try not to judge anyone, especially those who suffer from the same passion. When we condemn others, at this time we mean that in their place we would not have done the same and, as if internally, we imagine ourselves as the conqueror of the demon. And therefore, for judging others, the Lord sometimes allows us the same abuse, and often we cannot stand it and fall. One of the most important rules of spiritual life is not to judge others. This means not justifying his sin, but sympathizing with him, as we sympathize with the sick. One of the saints said: “When I see someone sinning, or find out about him, I say to myself: “See, don’t do this yourself! Who knows what will happen to you tomorrow?!”

Another means of fighting the demon of fornication is reasonable solitude, solitude at a time when he fights us with special force. In addition, one must constantly work: the prodigal demon most fiercely attacks a person who is not busy with the necessary work.

The Holy Fathers say that you should not worry too much about your appearance. It is enough to be neat and cleanly dressed. The very thought of beautiful clothes that others will like contains secret fornication. The Holy Fathers do not advise treating each other freely. One ascetic said: “Liberty is the beginning of prodigal sin. Liberty in circulation is like a wind from the desert that burns and destroys the crops in the place where it sweeps.” The Scriptures of the Holy Fathers teach that fornication also lurks in laughter and jokes. From an ascetic point of view, laughter and jokes defile the human soul. They destroy reverence as a heartfelt disposition. Church Tradition tells us that no one saw Jesus Christ laughing or smiling, nor did His Most Pure Mother. And the demon is often depicted laughing. If we understood why the Lord gave us earthly life, and more often thought about what awaits us in eternity - heaven or hell, we would not joke, laugh or laugh. If we knew how much sin is concentrated in our soul, what a huge sea of ​​sin this world is, we would not be laughing. But this terrible picture is hidden from us...

The Holy Fathers command, if possible, to avoid communication with the other sex, since this communication will certainly arouse in us a lustful passion, open or secret. Some claim, “I talked to the woman and felt no harm at all.” The saints look at it differently: a person received harm, but he himself did not notice it.

One of the ascetics wrote: “A few days after talking with the woman, I experienced an attack of fornication, and her image appeared before me. When we talked, it seemed to me that I was emotionless. But her image was imprinted somewhere in the depths of the soul and then, during the battle, like a bait, it surfaced from the depths of the subconscious.” We don't know what's going on in our hearts.

All our conversations, meetings and impressions are seeds that fall into the depths of the heart, and then sprout. When communicating with any woman, we must be extremely careful, even if it seems to us that we do not have any unclean desires for her.

We also need to avoid excessive communication in every possible way, since often we want to be with women not for the sake of some important and urgent matter, but for the secret internal satisfaction of fornication. Saint John Chrysostom writes: “It is not necessary to fall with a woman: sometimes the very presence of a woman already gives a person hidden pleasure.”

In the book of St. John Climacus, the great abbot of Mount Sinai, we read: “The demon of carnal voluptuousness very often hides itself completely, brings extreme reverence to the monk and produces sources of tears in him when he sits or talks with women, and incites him to teach them mindfulness about death, about the Last Judgment and maintaining chastity, so that they, the damned, seduced by his words and feigned reverence, would resort to this wolf as a shepherd; but the most wretched one, having received boldness from close acquaintance, finally suffers a fall.” Therefore, in communicating with women, even when the priest instructs them and conducts a spiritual conversation, moderation is required. You should speak briefly and clearly. For those who want to fulfill the instructions and be saved, long conversations are not needed. They just need to know what to do.

Usually women who often turn to their spiritual fathers and talk with them for a long time, continuously repeating the same thing, as if chewing the same cud, actually internally satisfy their prodigal passion in this way. Someone who cares about cleanliness speaks collectedly and concisely. In communicating with a woman, according to the teachings of the Holy Fathers, despite all the goodwill and friendliness, it is necessary to observe strictness. A person should never think that he has conquered fornication. This is one of the demon's tricks.

Saint John Climacus says: “The fox pretends to be asleep, and the demon pretends to be chaste; she wants to deceive the bird, and this one wants to destroy the soul. Do not believe in this mortal body throughout your entire life and do not rely on it until you stand before Christ.” The prodigal demon may not bother us for some time, so that we think that we have already defeated the unclean passion and lose caution. After this, he unexpectedly attacks us as his victim, and finds us, as a rule, unarmed. Therefore, you should never trust yourself and consider yourself a winner in this battle.

The Venerable Mary of Egypt, who lived in the Jordan Desert, was tormented by the demon of fornication for many years through memories of her past sinful life. During enemy attacks, she fell to the ground and screamed at the top of her voice: “God, save me yourself!” Lord, I’m powerless!” And for this humility, the grace of God covered her. The ascetic defeated the enemy in this cruel, difficult struggle. So, we all must remember: victory over fornication is the victory of grace over the demon. Without true self-knowledge in the spirit of heartfelt contrition and deep humility, it is impossible to defeat prodigal passion!

Let's try to briefly summarize all of the above. The fight against prodigal passion is, first of all, sobriety of mind and heart, that is, timely detection and immediate cutting off of an unclean thought (image), which is possible only in the light of constant prayer; turning anger against unclean thoughts (images); constant work, confession and opening of thoughts to your spiritual father, mentor; the fight against gluttony, modesty in clothing and behavior, non-judgment, silence and reasonable solitude during especially strong attacks of the prodigal spirit and, most importantly, unfeigned, deep humility. The Holy Fathers say: “Chastity is the sum of all virtues.”

1. Patristic understanding of fornication

Speaking about fornication and its psychological aspects, we cannot help but touch on the Christian understanding of the meaning of the relationship between a man and a woman - the most important task that God has set before us. To answer this question, we turn to patristic anthropology (the science of man).

The Fathers of the Church consider the emergence of passions as a distortion of human nature after the act of the Fall committed by man.
According to their teaching, there is one main source of sin - our selfishness, that is wrong a person's love for himself. This is the reason and beginning of all passions.
Prodigal passion is no exception.
The words fornication, get lost, wander - all have the same root. Thus, falling into fornication, a person begins to wander away from the Truth. Submission to fornication inevitably leads him to spiritual fornication, to alienation from God.
The Lord in His parables reveals to us the hidden secrets of spiritual life and the Kingdom of Heaven. We all remember the parable of the prodigal son.
This parable is about physical fornication, spiritual fornication and repentance. In the literal and figurative sense, it reveals to us the essence of fornication (wandering away from oneself, from God, from true love).
Man was created by God endowed with many gifts. He has a word, he has a mind, he has high feelings. He has colossal capabilities and power.
But the question is, what does he spend all this on, what does he spend it on?
According to patristic anthropology, we have two options. One path is the path of adoption to God. The other is self-indulgence, one’s passions and whims. And this is the path to death.
This well-known parable tells of a younger son who walked away from God. It is said that he went to a far country and spent his property living fornication.
The first commandment given to us by God—thou shalt love thy God—has been broken. In its place passion developed. Love for God has been replaced by an attraction to carnal pleasure .
This choice did not pass without a trace for us.
A lot has been lost. The opportunity to see the spiritual world is closed for us. Thus, a person, moving away from God, ceases to be “sighted.” We become deaf to the voice of our conscience, to the voice of God, and we poorly distinguish between good and evil.
Why did the Lord in His parable choose fornication out of many passions? Why did He stop at this particular passion?

2. Relationships between men and women.

Let's return to the question of the appointment of a man and a woman.
This is what L.F. writes. Shekhovtsova in the article “The Sexual Revolution through Women’s Eyes.”
“Let us not forget that both culture and civilization are mainly the product of male activity. A woman’s contribution to the history of mankind is traditionally the family, the home.”
She further writes: “I.S. Cohn very accurately expressed the male mentality of sexual behavior: to master a woman as an object, to establish himself through her possession, conquest without regard to emotional intimacy. A woman for a man is an object that does not have her own experiences, thoughts, inner world, i.e. “Subjectivity” is, as a rule, denied to women. A man does not take into account a woman’s feelings; for him they are, as it were, put out of the picture, as something insignificant, completely unnecessary. For a woman, on the contrary, It is feelings that are most important in a relationship with a man and in sexual contact.”(It is clear that we are not talking about those women who have made it their profession to make money by satisfying male lust).
Further, Shekhovtsova compares the relationship between culture and civilization as the relationship between a woman and a man.
“Culture is the sphere of the human spirit, human relations, where the values ​​of mutual understanding and respect are expressed. This is the sphere of knowledge and understanding of science and art. Civilization is the technical sphere of ensuring human interaction with the world, the sphere of technical devices that make life easier for humans, but also require an expensive price for it (ecological deterioration, stress, and so on). Culture is the sphere of subjects, civilization is the object sphere.
Thus, a woman in a relationship with a man is a subject and enters into a subject relationship with a man. And a man treats a woman as an object. Thus, we can say that the relationship between a woman and a man symbolizes the relationship between culture and civilization: sincerity, subtlety, love, sacrifice, on the one hand. And possession, technique (dexterity, cunning - translation technology with Greek), pressure - on the other side."

Now I propose to return to the question that we outlined: who exactly is Eve to Adam?

To understand what we are really talking about, let us turn to the text of the Bible. The original Hebrew book of Genesis is not about a helper. The word “etzer” used here is much deeper in content than it appears at first glance.
Thus, the Orthodox theologian and historian professor (1878-1972) proposes to translate the Semitic ETZER as “REPLENIZING BEING.” “Eve is not just a helper, but the one who will stand face to face with him, with Adam.”

Such a translation fills the meaning of the union of a man and a woman with a completely different meaning. A husband and wife can stand face to face, as if contemplating each other, penetrating into the depths of each other, filling themselves with new content. They can see in each other all the beauty of the image of God.
Eternity itself opens before us, which through love connects two into a single whole. That is why, as the French existentialist philosopher Gabriel Marcel wrote, telling a person: I love you is the same as telling him: “You will live forever, you will never die.” We find the same expression in .
In other words, we are talking not so much about assistance in labor, in the function of giving birth to children, but about the replenishment of existence itself.
And then it turns out that assistance in labor, the birth and upbringing of offspring is thought rather as a consequence of this replenishment.
Above we considered the metaphorical purpose of women and men as the social purpose of culture and civilization.
The husband has what the wife lacks. And the wife has what the nature of a man lacks. She is the one through whom he can become something more. He is the one through whom she will grow to her full measure. This difference is not mutually repulsive, but complementary and mutually enriching.
They are together only because they are different. So, according to the Bible, in the joint life of Adam and Eve, a complete change in a person’s life occurs, an expansion of his personality, God thus leads a person to the fullness of being.

That's how it was intended.
But the Fall changed everything. Relations between the sexes have changed. In modern society there is no dialogue and cooperation between culture and civilization.

3. What are the sources of the emergence and development of fornication?

4. How does prodigal passion develop?

5. Fornication as a consequence of pride.

It has already been said that the emergence of passions is the result of the Fall. In other words, the moment a person decides to do without God, puts himself in His place, filled with pride, vanity and self-deception, our nature is distorted.
Thus, any human passion is a consequence of pride - a person’s arrogant intention to get along in this life independently, without God.
We also know that all passions are interconnected and influence one another.
Fornication is also a consequence of pride. How is this connected? The Holy Fathers believe that if the Lord had given the devil the opportunity to completely rule over us, then the demons would have torn us apart. But, by the grace of God, the Lord allows the action of the devil’s power within us to the extent that we can withstand resisting it. And when a person is in pride (and it blinds), he cannot see pride in himself - then the Lord, in order to humble him, allows the prodigal demon to attack him. And, seeing and enduring this destructive passion, always noticeable to him and always tormenting him, a person can determine that he is proud.
The Holy Fathers believe that the demon of fornication was allowed to act in us precisely for the purpose of to humble pride, because this passion is so disgusting that everyone tries to conceal it, hide it, is ashamed of it, does not stick it out. But even here our time is different in that fornication in its most varied manifestations is proud and exalted.
Thus, we see that the demon of fornication is connected with the demon of pride. The proud are providentially allowed to engage in particularly strong fornication, in order to cure a greater sin with a lesser sin, and a stronger one with a weaker disease. But if a person if he humbles himself in time, he will not need this cruel healing.
The Lord is sometimes in no hurry to allow a person to free himself from fornication, so that pride, the most dangerous passion, does not develop.
This helps us understand that the appearance of fornication is often the result of our pride or condemnation of another person.
Gives a good example. He talks about how at some point he was attacked by a strong temptation for fornication. He decided to cope with this temptation at all costs. He began to climb the mountain, reading prayers. But the abuse did not stop, but only intensified. At some point, he suddenly remembered that he had recently condemned a woman for her lustful passion. And he condemned him harshly. At that moment, he did not suspect the possible strength of this passion; apparently, in the depths of himself, he exalted himself above it. As soon as he remembered this episode and repented of his condemnation, his passion left him.
This is precisely an example of the fact that passion is sent to us to keep us from pride. She calls for humility and repentance. Calls for not judging your neighbor.

6. Prodigal passion and love.

Before our eyes, the predictions of the Holy Fathers are beginning to come true. It seems that in the history of mankind there has not been such an all-encompassing pressure of sexuality as in our days. There is not a single area of ​​social life left that is not involved in this process. Everything is used: literature, art, television, films, music, advertising, fashion, the Internet, computer games. Sex education in school, the way it is conducted, also serves to develop this passion. The idea is introduced into people's minds that abstinence is harmful for a person, and the satisfaction of lust is beneficial. The need to hold onto carnal desires is presented as “a dangerous matter that is traumatic for the psyche.” Chastity, modesty and modesty are declared an “inferiority complex.” A huge pornography industry has grown and is growing around sexuality, corrupting the hearts of young people and teenagers.
We are constantly exposed to a stream of sexual stimuli against our will.

At the same time, we need to remember that the Bible does not turn us away from carnal love. Sacred tradition has always been based on the Holy Scriptures.
We know that there is nothing random in the Bible. Let's turn to the Song of Songs. This book was included in the Holy Scriptures later than all the others. There was debate among Jewish theologians about the canonical merits of the Song of Songs. Some of them said that a book that does not even mention the name of God cannot be sacred. However, the book entered the canon and was accepted by the Christian Church.
When interpreted literally, we see in this book a depiction of earthly love. The main content of the book is the feelings of lovers. Priest G. Pavsky writes that two loving persons - a young man and a girl - express their tender and strong love to each other and extol each other to the skies, comparing them with everything that could be presented to them as the most beautiful and magnificent.
Meanwhile, there is also mystical-allegorical interpretation. This does not mean that the second interpretation excludes the first. Theologians believe that there is no reason to completely reject the literal interpretation, since the Bible, as a book addressed to all people, cannot ignore such an important aspect of human life as earthly love. It reveals the will of God for man. After all, love and marriage are commanded from above: “A man will leave his father and his mother and cleave to his wife; and the (two) will be one flesh” (). Love in the Song of Songs is depicted as a powerful force that overcomes all obstacles.
And love here is monogamous in nature. Because for the Groom the Bride "the only one" Both of them find their second self in the other person, without which they cannot live. In the joy of the union of two, God’s plan is realized, the ultimate goal of which is the unity and harmony of all. We can treat earthly love as a school that prepares us for the highest form of love - love for God.
Now about the mystical meaning.
The deep mystical meaning of the Song of Songs is that earthly love here becomes a symbol of the relationship between God and man. The Word of God teaches us about the high dignity of pure human love. And marriage in the Church is one of its sacraments. The Orthodox theologian S. noted that this is the only one of the seven sacraments, the foundation of which was laid by God from the beginning, back in the Old Testament.
He who does not know how to love people will not be able to love God. This is why love, true love, is so dangerous to the enemy. Loving people are always attacked by the enemy, always tempted. Love is strengthened by trials. And if it is destroyed, then something was no longer right in the person’s heart. Apparently, there were cunning thoughts there, and a desire to command, and to be arrogant over others. Perhaps something completely different was taken for love.
To distinguish love from another feeling, to preserve it, to carry it through your life is the path to God. This is a feat of spirit.

7. The essence of fornication in the context of the meaning and purpose of love, based on the New Testament.

In the sinful state in which we exist on earth, we cannot fully know God. It is only partially revealed to us. But we can move in this direction, continue this search throughout our lives.
In this regard, it turns out that leaving your love, betraying it, going into fornication is leaving Christ. It is probably no coincidence that it was Christianity - this complete Revelation of God the Trinity - that brought people the revelation of a monogamous marriage in which one can grow and develop spiritually. And marital crowns were equal to the crowns of martyrdom, because preserving love, carrying it through life is a feat of the spirit.
It is through love that a person can again return to his damaged integrity, gain the fullness of his being in the world. This is possible through loving communication with other people, the world and God. God has not been revealed to people in such completeness in any other religion. It was in Christianity that the great mystery and revelation of the God of the Trinity - the God of Love - appeared to us.

Where can we learn love, if not in our family, if not in a Christian marriage? It is no coincidence that for a Christian, family is small.
It is love that brings us closer to the knowledge of God, teaches us something that was not available to us before. Although somewhere deep down we always knew what it was. After all, every human soul, according to the word (who lived at the turn of the 2nd and 3rd centuries) is a Christian. We carry this memory, this knowledge of Christ from birth. It’s just that in our intellectual fornication we lose this knowledge.
“In the New Testament (the sin of fornication) received a new severity, because human bodies received a new dignity. They have become members of the Body of Christ, and the violator of purity already brings dishonor to Christ, breaks the unity with Him... The adulterer is executed by spiritual death, the Holy Spirit retreats [from him], the sinner is recognized as having fallen into mortal sin... a guarantee of inevitable death... if this sin is not cured in time by repentance " Bishop.
Any human relationship, any activity in which there is no presence of the Holy Spirit leads to demons settling in the soul. And God moves further and further away.
The Apostle Paul says: nothing should possess me... the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body... Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit living in you().
“If anyone destroys the temple of God, God will punish him” (), says the Holy Scriptures... Strengthen your resistance to the demon of fornication; do not agree to be carried away by a thought, because a spark ignites coals and a bad thought multiplies bad wishes. Try to destroy memories of them too.” Rev.
The Bible says a lot about love. This is what we find about her in the letters of the Apostle Paul:
“Let everything be done with love” ()
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, so love one another" ()
“...constantly love each other from the bottom of your heart” ()
“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved and gave Himself for her” (; )
And this is what he writes about love: “Love is an amazing feeling, but it is not only a feeling, it is state the whole being. Love begins at the moment when I see a person in front of me and see his depths, when I suddenly see his essence. Of course, when I say “I see,” I do not mean “I comprehend with my mind” or “I see with my eyes,” but “I perceive with my whole being.” If a comparison can be made, then in the same way I perceive beauty, for example, the beauty of music, the beauty of nature, the beauty of a work of art, when I stand in front of it in amazement, in silence, only perceiving what is in front of me, without being able to express it in any way. in a word, except the exclamation: “My God! How wonderful!” The secret of love for a person begins at the moment when we look at him without the desire to possess him, without the desire to rule over him, without the desire to take advantage of his gifts or his personality in any way - we just look and are amazed at the beauty that has been revealed to us "

8. About chastity.

Every passion has its opposite. Chastity is opposed to fornication.
However, it is a mistake to think that chastity is a concept that concerns only bodily relationships.
Chastity is about wisely preserving the integrity of your soul, and when entering into marriage, the soul of another person. Chastity transforms physical relationships in marriage into a reverent union of two. Such a union of two people through physical relations is, as it were, the completion of the unity that lives in their souls.
Unfortunately, neither school nor society is currently involved in instilling chastity in the modern child. This leads to sad results.
Desacralization of the intimate sphere, the removal of the veil of romantic secrets (no wonder - the sacrament of marriage!) from love relationships entails disturbances in the experience of love as something personal and concerning only two. As a result, these disorders lead to suppression of libido and a depletion of the repertoire of love experiences. Psychotherapists have recently noted youthful impotence among young healthy boys who know sexual techniques so well from erotic films. That. the ongoing processes in the mental structure of a young man deprive him of full-fledged love experiences in the future, including sexual ones. There are obstacles to creating a full-fledged family.
Those who are involved in raising children: parents, educators, teachers must remember that chastity is a feeling that is given to a person from birth, and in the future must be preserved, nurtured, and carefully nurtured. The difficulties of this process lie in the fact that chastity is directly influenced by the entire environment in which today’s person develops and is formed.
Like all the most valuable and pure things, chastity, first of all, is formed and developed in the family. At the very least, the family can lay that foundation of purity and strength, which will always help the child in difficult times to resist sin. And even if a person falls, then it is the foundations of love, fidelity, honor, instilled in childhood, that give him the strength to rise and turn to repentance.
Family begins with the right choice. How you want to make the right choice and not make a mistake. Make a choice for life!

9. The problem of adultery.

Extramarital relations (adultery) are a virtually unexplored area of ​​marital relations. Scientific study of them using surveys, even anonymous ones, is a difficult matter, since the information received is related to a phenomenon traditionally not approved in society, and, therefore, may be incomplete or distorted. With all the changes in sexual morality in recent decades towards greater tolerance, for example, towards premarital affairs, the attitude towards extramarital affairs is much less tolerant.
What pushes a person to extramarital relationships?
I would like to note that often the motive leading to infidelity is emotional dissatisfaction in the marriage of one or both spouses. What is it?
Emotional dissatisfaction, melancholy, despondency….
“I learned that the demon of despondency precedes the demon of fornication and prepares the way for him,” writes (Fl. 27, 49).
This statement is consistent with the fact that addiction, the feeling of loss of novelty from relationships - all this gives rise, in particular, to despondency. And people try to get rid of this condition not by deeply analyzing this condition, not by working to find the cause within themselves, but by solving this problem externally, through external objects or new relationships.
However, as you know, the inner emptiness cannot be filled with anything other than God. And therefore, many married couples initially doomed go through crises. A man and a woman can be in a marriage, but also experience melancholy, loneliness and the meaninglessness of existence.
Modern man is increasingly accustomed to running away from inner pain. The situation in the family can often lead to states where we are in pain. After all, it hurts from those closest to you. Internal psychological pain is interpreted by many secular psychologists as something foreign that needs to be quickly removed, made so that it becomes comfortable and easy. This is contrary to the Orthodox approach.
In a new relationship, a person tries to cope with the inner emptiness that exists in him through passionate experiences of the novelty of feelings and relationships. And often he does not understand that the deep reason for this emptiness is his isolation from God. Finding God within yourself is not an easy task. It requires spiritual courage and patience. Moreover, if such a temptation as passion is given.
Passion attracts, excites, beckons. There is an intoxicating joy in it and the expectation that now I will be happy.

However, if we want to grow spiritually, then we must face our internal and external crises, our pain, with respect. And look at what is happening to us with unconditional trust in God. And it is from Him that we can draw strength in order to cope with the situation. By enduring the situation and all the difficult feelings associated with it, we develop spiritually. At the same time, our relations have a chance to develop. If we simply avoid pain and drown it out with fornication (or any other form of addiction), then we we lose the opportunity for deep personal transformation in God.

10. Common misconceptions characteristic of adultery.

Returning to the vice of adultery, we can say that, in addition to the most passionate attraction, and sometimes simply lustful desire , is also based on several quite naive recurring misconceptions.
A spouse who allows himself infidelity in marriage convinces himself that “no one will know” his adventures. But the heart feels that mystically this is not only not hidden from anyone, but everyone knows about it: heaven, earth, children, wife or husband. And this is first on an unconscious level, and then it will be revealed with your own eyes. From patristic literature we know that the accompanying passions that support fornication and mutually reinforce each other are despondency, vanity, gluttony and drunkenness.
Another illusion is that there is supposedly no spiritual depravity in physical relationships. This is truly an illusion. Man, as a holistic being, cannot help but participate in every process entirely. Monogamous marriage requires a person (male or female) to be fully... holistic participation in marital relations. Participation of spirit, soul and body. And it is precisely the reluctance to participate fully (and this happens during adultery) that leads to increased internal splitting, and thereby to moving away from God.

11. The spiritual aspect of adultery.

We remember from the Gospel story that the integral structure of man (spirit-soul-body) was disrupted by the Fall. A person suffers painfully due to a violation of his integral structure. It is possible to come to integrity only by freeing yourself from passions. Prodigal passion (like any other passion), strengthens this splitting.
It destroys the personality structure. After all, a person has to hide, deceive, and take care that his husband or wife does not find out about it. And even if this passion is committed quite openly, it nevertheless internally devastates a person, weakens him spiritually. And this leads to the alienation of the soul from the body. As a result of frequent changes of partners, it becomes increasingly difficult for a person to feel love or even sympathy. At some point, he is surprised to note that he simply stops experiencing any feelings. What for? After all, they only interfere and lead to attachment. It's inconvenient, painful, uncomfortable .
Feelings begin to separate from the mind, from the body. If any feeling suddenly arises, it must be suppressed. This is unnecessary, it interferes, it will create unnecessary problems. Thus, a person learns to simply use another person sexually. And treat your body like a machine. A simple pursuit of sexual pleasure begins, which surprisingly dulls. After all, everything gets boring. And the fornicator needs more and more new relationships, new connections. But, unfortunately, they all cease to satisfy.
And indeed, it is always a kind of spiritual deadness, a frightening emptiness of loneliness. The fornicator is an image of spiritual wandering. It’s not for nothing that prodigal deeds are called adventures. Fornication, wandering, lost, lost, forsaken by God - all this is one semantic synonymous series.

12. Psychological approach to the problem of violation of marital fidelity.

We are now touching on important issues. They are so complex that by giving any schemes and strict rules, we risk making an irreparable mistake. One thing is clear: sexual relationships only in marriage are fully worthy, pure and beautiful. However, even there, if the desire for sexual pleasure is placed higher than the good relationship and devotion of the spouses to each other, then intimate relationships can turn into evil. In this case, the true spiritual essence of marriage is lost as an opportunity to grow together to its full extent in Christ.

When psychologically counseling a family, you can immediately notice that the concepts treason And loyalty are subjective. Each partner of a married couple and the married couple as a whole have their own ideas about fidelity and infidelity. It is clear that in Orthodox families this idea exists more definitely. And this point is a positive factor when it comes to counseling an Orthodox family.

Secular and Orthodox psychologists view family crises differently. Accordingly, different solutions are also offered.
The topic of relationships between men and women is inexhaustible. Here it is easy to slide both to one pole (hypocrisy and moralizing) and to the other - to follow the motto that the world is ruled by love, and, therefore, everything that we call love is allowed and justified.
And yet I would like to note that we are not calling for the need to maintain any relationship, no matter what. We all make mistakes. There are marriages that are inherently destructive. Perhaps the decision to get married was made without the proper degree of responsibility and without prayerfully coming before God. Then the development of relationships in marriage may not go in the direction of mutual growth in God, but creates a threat to the physical or psychological state of one of the spouses or children. With this option, a possible positive solution to resolve this situation would be divorce.
There are quite frequent cases in counseling practice when people come to us with the fact that they have lost the ability to love and are not capable of long-term relationships. They always have partners, but there is loneliness and pain in their souls. This applies to both men and women.
Unfortunately, the processes taking place in society to “legalize sex” cannot but affect all areas, including the principles of psychological counseling. In this context, as a consequence of spiritual and professional degradation, the advice of many secular psychologists now appears, calling for the fact that if, they say, you have sexual incompatibility with your husband (wife), or depression, or some other difficulties, then have a yourself a mistress (lover). This is not a way out of the situation. But it’s just a way to push the problem deeper.

We are mistaken if we think that the Church prohibits adultery simply from the principles of Christian morality. Not in this case. In marriage, husband and wife form a special unity, but fornication creates a crack, a schism, a black hole. If in the unity of the marriage union in the family the presence of the Holy Spirit was felt, and it was some kind of warm atmosphere of love and trust, joint activity and joy, inexpressible in words, then after the commission of adultery this internal atmosphere of the family is gradually destroyed.
Often children begin to immediately react to what happens between their parents. As the weakest link, they are the first to “take upon themselves” responsibility for the sins of their parents. The virus of sin is transmitted to them. Not always, but quite often children begin to study poorly, behavioral problems appear, and various kinds of addictions arise. In my consulting experience, you constantly come across the fact that children’s problems are the consequences of parents’ stupidity and pride.
There are families in which parents separate in a fairly civilized manner, doing everything possible to ensure that the divorce affects the children as little as possible. Fortunately, this also happens.

As mentioned above, only psychologically we are not able to cope with any passion. Man cannot do anything on his own. And only by turning to the Holy Spirit for help, we are able to change and move forward on the path of our healing.
But what should you do if people really have incompatibility? In this case, you need to understand each specific situation, but know for sure that moral decline does not provide either mental or physical comfort. On the contrary, such advice gives rise to a whole series of problems and worries.

13. Homosexuality.

There is no clear answer to the nature of homosexuality either in medicine or in psychotherapy. Apparently, as in all deviations (perversions), they occur due to the fact that the integrity of a person is violated; and in the hierarchy of spirit-soul-body, bodily pleasure occupies first place.
You can look at the problem of homosexuality in this way: these are two individuals, two human beings who initially “agreed” to settle on spiritual-carnal relationships. God created man and woman so that it was in their union, in their contact at all levels of existence, that they would do spiritual work in marriage that would bear fruit.
Living together in a normal marriage their differences, overcoming their limitations together, at the levels of body, soul and spirit, two people - a man and a woman - accomplish a feat in their spiritual development. Same-sex homosexual relationships cannot have a positive spiritual meaning; they are based on a negative, demonic spirituality and are severely condemned by the holy fathers.
Just as marriage has its own mystery, the mystery of piety, Truth and Righteousness, so in fornication and in homosexual relationships there is also a mystery, but the mystery of lawlessness and sin. The mystery of piety does not impose itself, but humbly and meekly rises above us. The mystery of fornication beckons, flirts, seduces, deceives, sticks.
In order to resist fornication psychologically, it is necessary to resist the development of “fornication consciousness” in oneself.
In the treatment of addictions, quite a lot of attention is paid to the psychological aspect. To find the right landmarks, you need to see what traps false psychological attitudes we get caught if we are inattentive to what is presented to us in the form of certain axioms.
Religious and moral normalization of sexual relations presupposed a person’s ability to control himself, his inclinations, desires (mastery of neuropsychic processes, the motor-motor system). It was possession spirit over flesh. Self-control begins with mastery of the word, of your consciousness. When a person “slides” from the spiritual level to the spiritual or carnal level, then the process of losing power over oneself begins. A person who does not control his own emotional-volitional processes loses himself.

14. Neurotic sexual addiction as fear of death.

Obsession with sex helps modern man to hide his fear of death. We, people of the 21st century, are practically not protected from this fear, since we have lost faith in the immortality of our souls, which was armed to generations based on Christian dogmas. And due to the loss of faith, a universally significant goal in life is lost. Death causes fear in a non-believer, and accordingly, thoughts about it are almost always suppressed.
It turns out that in order to prove his existence, his potency, a person strives to constantly prove to himself that he is alive. Psychotherapists of the existential direction believe that sexual activity is the most convenient way to drown out the internal horror of death, since death is a symbol of absolute impotence, complete powerlessness and finitude.
A person who has not yet entered into marriage tries to fill his inner emptiness, states of loneliness associated with the lack of spiritual life, with carnal emotional experiences. He doesn’t even understand that the problem of his condition lies on a different plane. And in this case, fornication becomes something akin to a drug. Indeed, sexual relationships without love can give peace for a while, and then everything returns with even greater force.
Thus, dependence on the sensations associated with fornication arises. It forms and develops, like other forms of addiction.
And, like any form of addiction, in its deepest version it is our unconscious, unbearable experience of the feeling of being abandoned by God.
In the practice of family counseling, there is a form of work when couples turn to a consultant before getting married. And together with him, the future spouses clarify the reasons for their decision, the presence of common values ​​and meanings, that is, the foundation on which the family will be built.
These consultations are carried out with the aim of helping young people make the right choice when starting a family, clarifying the discrepancy in values, in matters of raising future children - thereby identifying an area of ​​potential conflict.
It often happens that the basis, the main motive for creating a family, is sexual attraction. If this is the main reason, then there is no doubt that as this attraction subsides, people begin to experience dissatisfaction in marriage.

15. Psychological aspects of getting rid of lustful passion based on the ascetic teaching of the fight against thoughts.

A person captured by passion gradually destroys his personality.
The first step to liberation from passion-addiction is the realization that addiction has formed and that it already owns you. As long as a person thinks that he can cope on his own at any moment, he is in "charm", i.e. unable to truly assess reality and sinks deeper and deeper into addiction. Consciousness always finds a justification for any action.
If there is an awareness of the situation, an awareness of one’s powerlessness and a desire to get rid of passion, then it means that one will be given the strength and opportunity to cope with it. “My strength is made perfect in weakness” ().
The Lord begins to help a person when he, realizing his powerlessness, the futility of all his efforts, calls on Him for help.
A modern person, focused on external life and activity, needs to learn to pay attention to “his inner man,” that is, learn to carefully observe his thoughts and feelings. And also, without guile, to realize how our passionate desires are formed, how we indulge them, intellectually justify them. In a word, using patristic terminology, we should learn sobriety and “spiritual warfare.”
It must be remembered that man himself cannot cope with temptations without God’s help. But if you ask, you are given grace-filled strength to resist them.
Working with thoughts is an entire art. We start by observing ourselves.

16. How to carry out self-observation work.

When working with clients, I often recommend putting off captivity for a while. Telling myself that this will not get away from me. And devote five to ten minutes to describe the process of “capture by thought.” These stages are sometimes very difficult to track in consciousness. When we write down, we gradually begin to grasp what follows what. Our attention to the inner life, the “inner man” is trained. And after such training, a person is increasingly able to grasp the beginning - the preposition. All this begins to succeed only when it is possible to observe the process of internal warfare a little from the outside.
It is also important to remember that our psyche is very conservative and inert. It takes quite a lot of time to retrain yourself to think and feel differently. There will definitely be “falls”. However, you shouldn't give up. We must continue the fight again and again. Any experience of “falls” should be recognized as much as possible.
We must live our falls with contrition and repentance, but not lead to despair. To develop the process of observing thoughts, it is useful to keep a diary. Write down in your diary all the moments of falls and victories. You should describe as if from the outside, trying to be dispassionate. And then the skill of working with thoughts will develop, which will allow you to escape from the captivity of sin.
Based on the patristic teaching of the fight against passions, we recommend the “algorithm” for liberation from passions proposed by the saint.
However, we must remember that this is just a diagram. A specific living example of work is always more complex and multifaceted.
In this case, an example of working with prodigal passion is given - addiction to viewing porn sites.

17. To achieve success, you need to form a strong intention.

The first thing you need to do is clarify and strengthen your motivation. To do this, you need to answer (preferably in writing) a number of questions:

1. think about how good it will be when I overcome the passion for fornication(y my relationships with girls will improve, in the future I will be able to create a good family; anxiety and tension will go away; I will become happier, freer internally...)
2. why don't I want to fight passion (I don’t believe that I will succeed; I will have to devote time to this, I don’t have much of it, I need to pay attention to my inner life, but I don’t know how to do this....)
3. describe the consequences of passion (fear that this will entail loneliness, there will be no stable relationships, there will be no family, I am increasingly withdrawing from people, I am getting used to relieving stress and anxiety in this way and I don’t know how it can be done otherwise...)
4. Am I determined to fight?(see paragraph 1 Yes, I have to decide, but can I cope?)
5. mobilize your will and ask God for help (I can’t handle it on my own, but with God’s help I can handle it...)

Confirming your intention (motivation) is important, because this is where we will draw strength from failures and mistakes. We need strength in order not to give up under any circumstances, but to continue to work on ourselves further. Success will definitely come if you have patience and always remember that you cannot resist this struggle without God’s help.
Let us remember that passion is not born in a person’s soul right away. The Holy Fathers say that it begins with a prelog (attack). In Slavic, to be struck means to collide with something.

18. Stages of passion formation.

The process of passion formation is conventionally divided into four stages.
First stage- see the emergence in oneself adjective.
The pretext arises in a person’s mind from impressions of what he saw, for some other reason, or as an image imposed by the enemy - the devil. But the excuse comes against the will of a person, without his permission and participation. A person himself is free to accept the pretext in his heart or reject it.
Second stage– the pretext has been accepted, it is already being thought about, becoming one’s own. Fathers call it also combination or interview with intention.
Third stage- this is an inclination to a thought, or condolence, when a person’s will has already submitted to the influence of a sinful thought and the person is ready to move on to action. We remember the words of the Lord in the Gospel: “ Evil thoughts come from the heart...(). Sin begins “with an evil thought” about it. And the Apostle James writes: “But lust, having conceived, gives birth to sin, and committed sin gives birth to death” ().
Fourth stage–captivity by thought. A sinful thought turns into action (deed, words).

For a person inexperienced in spiritual warfare, infection with passionate thoughts occurs much faster. The initial stages of the development of thoughts (preposition-combination-addition) often go unnoticed at all, and only at the level of captivity, if the struggle with developing passions begins, do they come out.
We have already said that our thoughts are not always ours, but come from the “enemy”. Knowing this, the Holy Fathers suggest not to be afraid of them, and not to become discouraged by your own sinfulness. This is one of the moments of spiritual warfare. Pomyslov no need to be afraid, but also no need to talk to them. You should also protect yourself from temptations. After all, every person himself knows well what a situation of temptation is for him.
This is a very important point that ordinary psychologists do not pay attention to and do not even consider. We should take a closer look at it. What is said below is revealed to us only by patristic experience.
It is necessary to perceive thoughts as something external that has nothing to do with us. It is necessary to remember that you cannot cope with temptation on your own without God’s help. And a person who already has some spiritual experience and a consciousness purified by repentance can observe the development of thoughts internally calmly and soberly. In this case, he is given grace-filled strength to resist them.
So, those who want to free themselves from passions must learn to kill bad thoughts in the bud, to “break their babies against a stone” (see:). And the germ of a thought is (as already mentioned above) - a preposition.
It is necessary to begin the fight against thoughts with prayers to the Lord, saints and guardian angel. This is important so that we refrain from attributing the successes of spiritual warfare to our own efforts, and only to the help of God.

19. An example of work on self-observation with the thought of fornication.

The example is the same. A person is very tempted to enter a porn site….

Prilog
I’m very tired today, I’ll go turn on the computer and relax...
What needs to be done to prevent passion from developing further: I know that I will definitely go to a porn site. Lord, help me to hold on!

Combination
Nothing special, I’ll just turn it on and look at the mail, it doesn’t mean anything...
To prevent the thought from developing further, you need to shift your thoughts to something good.
Yes, but I know myself, it’s better if I try to relax differently. I’ll go and ride a bike... I know that it’s better for me to avoid temptations for now.

Pairing
It’s okay, everyone is on these sites. Nobody died from this. And in general, why today? After all, I’m tired now and what… do I even need a bike?
Here it is necessary to be able to look at yourself from the outside before the onset of captivity. See your spiritual weakness and how, in essence, communication and conversation with the demon occurs in internal dialogue. And then really ask yourself the question: do I choose Christ or the devil? (Lord, help me not to betray You!)

Captivity
And anyway, what does Christ have to do with it? I don't want to think about it...

The example given cannot serve as an ideal scheme in all cases. Of course, a person’s inner life cannot be limited by schemes and algorithms. But to better understand the essence of the process, we have to resort to this. Truly working with thoughts is the essence of Orthodox asceticism - the science of sciences.
In monasteries, monastics confessed their thoughts to the elder. Many of us lay people, deprived of spiritual guidance, need to not only get rid of sinful thoughts and not allow them into our soul, but also fill it with other thoughts - and master all this personal experience of spiritual warfare.
Ideally this work is part of ascetic practice, developed by Eastern Christianity. It leads to pure consciousness, inner silence, to constant prayerful standing before God - what is called in Orthodox asceticism. But this is a completely different topic for conversation. And we should stop here...

20. Conclusion.
In conclusion, I would like to say a few more words about the fact that passion (any passion, not just the passion of fornication) leads us to unfreedom, to internal slavery. In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul says: “You, brothers, are called to freedom!” ().
We do not know how to use it with dignity, poorly understanding what kind of feeling this is (it can cause anxiety) and we replace freedom with self-will, thereby falling into the slavery of sin. Christianity is the opportunity given to us to find freedom in Christ.
“And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” ()
If we want to get lasting results in the fight against passion, then we need to work towards developing our Christian worldview.
Without personal Rooted in the Christian consciousness, a person cannot cope with this problem due to the fact that society as a whole, as it now relates to sin, is a powerful factor generating temptations.
The process of building a Christian worldview is not quick, but at times difficult and painful, as is the process of any birth. And here the birth of a new personality in Christ takes place. The Orthodox Church gives us the opportunity to repent. And this is the only opportunity to reconsider your actions, thoughts and feelings in order to get away from the temptations of repetition, and at the same time not fall into a state of melancholy and despondency from the awareness of your sinfulness and spiritual poverty.
We always have a choice - to die of hunger in a foreign country, herding pigs, as the prodigal son did, or to return to the Father's house.

Petrovsky I. Was Eve a helper to Adam // Thomas. year 2008, №6

saint. What is spiritual life and how to tune in to it. M.: Lepta Book, 2007.

Shekhovtsova L.F. Sexual revolution through women's eyes // Pedagogy. 2005, No. 7.

The cunning of a hypocritical demon will not be able to reach its goal if a person has a strong will and doubts his faith in God. However, every person should understand the types of demons in order to understand how not to become a victim of evil spirits.

In the article:

Why are demons called evil?

The deceit of a hypocritical demon is deceit. That is why representatives of evil spirits are called crafty- this quality is really inherent in them. All demons are cunning, unpredictable, they almost always want to deceive a person with insufficiently strong faith.

In prayers, people often ask for protection from the evil one. Here we mean any evil spirit, not just demons. Devils, demons, demons - prayer can protect all these representatives of evil spirits from the wickedness.

Cunning, playfulness, pretense, deceit, cunning - all these qualities are from the demon. Many people have them. They are believed to be under the influence of evil spirits. It is she who pushes them to deception, revenge, and obtaining forbidden pleasures.

Luck is the name of the demon

Luck is the name of a demon who can bring good luck, but the price of such a gift is the immortal soul of a person. Many would agree to exchange their soul for luck, dooming themselves to a posthumous existence in hell, or even unlife as a role or ghoul.

Everyone knows that in modern society it is customary to wish good luck. You should be careful with such wishes, Orthodox priests say. Wishing good luck, you call upon evil spirits for your loved one. Demon Luck expects just this. His goal is to push people into sin, and the luck he gives him is a good gift for this opportunity.

“About luck” is often included in memorials. Most priests are outraged by this - it would seem that believers write the name of the demon into the memorials and still want to pray for him. There is an opinion that the real name of the demon Luck is. This is one of the greatest demons responsible for the death of a large number of people.

Archimandrite Cleopas states that Luck was the Roman, Carthaginian and Sumerian deity of happiness. His statues were cast in silver or copper and mounted on two-wheeled carts. Behind the statue stood a wood-burning stove into which the priests of Luck added fuel. In front was a frying pan, hot from the stove flame. The priests walked around the cities with carts with installed statues of Luck, holding sharpened axes in their hands. They accepted sacrifices to the deity of happiness, clapping their hands and inviting those wishing to receive his protection:

Who wants good luck, sacrifice to Luck!

Luck accepted sacrifices only from infants and only from the hands of mothers. There were always those willing to exchange a child for good luck. Mothers gave their children to the priests, who cut the babies into pieces, which were placed on a hot frying pan. Archimandrite Cleopas claims that in one “lucky” day the demon could sacrifice up to fifty small children.

The midday demon is the culprit of laziness

The clergy associate the midday demon with the sin of despondency. Despondency in the Orthodox tradition is laziness, bodily and spiritual relaxation. The midday demon is the one who tempts monks to prioritize afternoon naps over prayers. For a monk, noon is really half the day. In the old days, people in monasteries got up even earlier, and there were two meals - lunch and dinner. After eating, the monk, tired even after half a day, wanted to sleep, and the demon took advantage of the desire of his body.

This is how he described the influence of the noon devil Saint Theophan:

There is no desire to stand in church, or to pray to God at home, or to read, or to correct ordinary good deeds.

The main sign of the presence of a midday demon near a person is a crisis in spiritual life, cooling towards church and prayers, laziness. Every believer has periods when prayers and going to church do not bring peace to the soul, there is no desire to go to church, or simply laziness.

How to get rid of the influence of the midday demon? Only self-control and willpower will help. In any business, a person can achieve results if he forces himself to go towards the goal, performing certain daily actions for this. Is there something that forces you to go to work every weekday morning? There is a word known to every person - “must”. Be guided by it every time you are overcome by the midday demon.

The demon of fornication and lust

It is easy to guess that the demon of fornication is an unclean force that tempts a person with carnal pleasures. What is fornication? This is debauchery, adultery, fornication, lewd thoughts and conversations, licentiousness, as well as lewd compulsion. The latter refers to behavior that attracts the attention of the opposite sex, similar clothing preferences, and a love of flirting.

In general, most modern people fall under this definition, because fornication is making love for pleasure, and not conceiving children, as well as sexual relations between people who are not married. Almost all modern clothing is aimed at attracting the opposite sex. We can say that in our time, casting out the demon of fornication is not very relevant.

However, the demon of lust can tempt a person weak in will and faith to commit sexual crimes, various perversions, child molestation and other things that are not very pleasant and little discussed in decent society. An evil spirit can take possession of a person simultaneously with the commission of any sin - from smoking a cigarette to a feeling of envy. Children of sinful parents are automatically considered deprived of divine help, and this is the main reason for fornication in children.

He and his assistants tempt people with pure souls, turning them into inveterate sinners. Even after demons are cast out, they remain close to the person, constantly trying to get to him. Erotic dreams and fantasies are considered the first signs of their attempts to inhabit a person. Asmodeus's opponent is John the Baptist. Prayers addressed to this saint will help you get rid of the prodigal thoughts that frighten you.

In addition, the demon of fornication is the name given to evil spirits that lead travelers astray from the road - from the word “to get lost.” Its impact is described as the inability to recognize familiar places and navigate the area, even though the territory in which a person is unlucky enough to get lost is negligibly small. If you believe the legends, under the influence of such evil spirits a person can wander all night, only recognizing a familiar area at dawn. Sometimes she tries to lead her into a swamp, push her off a cliff, or kill her in other ways.

There are known anomalous zones in which many such representatives of evil spirits live. People often get lost or even go missing there. Sometimes fornication is the name given to a dead man taken as a hostage - an executed criminal who has not found peace, or a suicide who wishes harm to all the living. This is due to the fact that they often appear at death scenes. In the old days, the graves of suicides were located far from human habitation, but close to roads. When passing through them, they used to try to throw a handful of earth on such a grave in order to participate in the funeral rite, which the suicide was deprived of. In this way, it can be appeased so that the spirit that has not found peace will not be led into a swamp or dense thicket.

The sign of the cross or a prayer, for example, “Our Father” or a road prayer-amulet can save you from fornication:

I'm not going alone. Jesus Christ is in front, the Mother of God is behind, I am in the middle. What is for them is for me.

In order to protect against evil spirits on the road, in the old days they carried garlic and four-leaf clover with them. Sometimes the old people advised to lie down and sleep if they could not find the way. In the morning, the evil spirit will lose its powers and will no longer “drive.” In order for a relative taken away by evil spirits to return, prayers were ordered for him, his name was shouted into the chimney, and candles were lit for health in the temple.

The demon of drunkenness is the culprit of binge drinking

Priest Dmitry Fetisov claims that the deplorable situation with a large percentage of alcoholics in the CIS countries is associated with demons. Day of veneration of Saint Boniface, to whom it is customary to pray against alcohol and drug addiction. According to the new style, it falls on January 1 - a day when most people are busy doing the exact opposite, namely drinking alcohol.

This attitude towards the holidays is exactly what the demon of drunkenness needs. It is believed that such evil spirits accompany every binge alcoholic. When a person commits a sin, the demon of drunkenness gets the opportunity to get to him. Drunkenness is one of the most serious problems of our time, and judging by its size, it can be said that most people do not have sufficient willpower to resist evil spirits.

The demon of drunkenness is an evil spirit voluntarily summoned by every second person. The Church considers alcoholics to be people who drink alcohol at least once every twenty days. The vast majority of Russian residents fall under this definition. You can get rid of the influence of the demon of drunkenness through fasting and prayer.

What other types of demons are there?

There have been repeated attempts to classify demons and demons back in the Middle Ages. In most of them, of a religious nature, you can find information about what kind of demons there are, as well as other evil spirits. Demons, devils and demons are at different levels of the hierarchy. Some demonologists believe that their strength depends on the number of ruined souls. In other words, evil spirits are capable of moving up the “career ladder.”

Fornication is one of the seven deadly sins. We have collected the sayings of the saints and elders of Holy Mount Athos about why this sin is dangerous and how to fight it.

1. “The prodigal sphere is the force that moves the world. It determines almost all human motives. Just the slightest carelessness... and you're in a whirlpool! No one is immune from it: neither illness nor age will give any guarantee. This is generally an almost uncontrollable attraction. Real magic that works subconsciously. Fornication is a force that rules the whole world... For men it acts like a magnet of monstrous power, attracting all their spiritual strength, and for women it is simply uncontrollable magic that can cause almost unconscious gestures, elusive movements...” (Monk Simeon of Athos).

2. “The truth is recognized by all that from contemplation lust is born and vice versa: where there was no contemplation, there will not be concupiscence, as Sirach writes about this: “Women’s fornication is in the exaltation of the mind” (Sir. 26:11). That’s why the eye is surrounded by eyelids, so that, like a maiden (in Greek – pupil and maiden), it can hide from strangers in the inner chambers.” (Reverend Nicodemus the Holy Mountain).

3. “As in a fire, if someone who wants to extinguish it begins to somehow stop the flame from above, he will not have any time in extinguishing it. If the flammable substance is rejected, the fire will immediately diminish and subside. So in relation to prodigal passions, if you do not dry up the source of thoughts within with prayer and humility, but only arm yourself against them by fasting and mortification of the body, then you will work unsuccessfully. If you sanctify the source through humility and prayer, then you will impart sanctification to the external body.” (St. Gregory Palamas).

4. “Every person accepts lustful thoughts, receives wounds and wins the fight against them. If not, then it falls. This is the goal of demons: prodigal sin is their complete victory for decades! They receive special rewards and promotions for this. The fact is that falling into fornication affects the soul so strongly that this wound turns out to be almost incurable. It is the mind that is affected, it opens up to thoughts and becomes defenseless for decades... We can say that fornication completely kills the soul. If anger destroys for a while, then fornication simply destroys. Fornication paralyzes the soul - not forever, but for some long time...” (Monk Simeon of Athos).

5. “So, beware of gentle handshakes, since the feeling that arises from touching leads much more quickly to sin. Know that it is difficult to free yourself from passionate feelings that arise from touch, and listen to yourself with all your might. And the actions of other senses are significant, although sometimes it seems that they are far from sin; touch is already the beginning of sin. Be careful not to come close to the body of another, and especially a young one, with either your hand or your foot.” (Reverend Nicodemus the Holy Mountain).

6. “Listen to what Paul says: “To avoid fornication, each one should have his own wife.” He didn’t say “to get rid of poverty or to acquire wealth,” but what then? So that we avoid fornication, restrain lust, live abstinently and be pleasing to God, being content with our spouse. This is the gift of marriage, its fruit and benefit. So, leaving more, do not ask for less: because wealth is much less than self-control. Therefore, we alone need to get married in order to avoid sin and get rid of any fornication. Therefore, one should get married so that marriage will help one to practice abstinence.” (Elder Joseph of Vatopedi).

7. “When we are tempted by carnal lust, it is not always the flesh’s fault. After all, carnal warfare can also come from thoughts of condemnation and pride. First, we need to find the reason for the temptation that befalls us and then take appropriate action. There is no need to immediately, without understanding what is going on, counteract carnal warfare with fasting, vigils, and the like.” (Reverend Paisiy Svyatogorets).

8. “Because of fornication, this worldwide Flood came for those who were at first called “the sons of God,” and fire came down from heaven on the Sodomites, and troubles befell the Israelites who sinned with the Moabite women. Fornication was the cause of their destruction in great numbers, and for us now, I think, it is the cause of defeats from the barbarians and all kinds of internal and external evils and misfortunes.” (St. Horigorios Palamas).

9. “Civil marriage is nothing more than fornication. Only in the Sacrament of Wedding do spouses and their future offspring receive God’s blessing.” (Elder Ephraim, head of the Athonite monastery of St. Andrew the First-Called).

10. “Remember constantly, when there is an invasion of prodigal thoughts, a flood of them arises, especially when obsession arises, which means that secret exaltation has begun... They are like companions. If we correct ourselves in humility, our thoughts will go away... Chastity is a great protection. A person who has not known fornication is not accessible to demons. Their machinations are being destroyed. Demons can only use the evil that you have known. They will know by your reaction, but the main thing for them is to feel the person’s energies. And the purer his energy, the more inaccessible he is to attack. They can't even come close. It breaks them, it hits them like an electric shock from a distance.” (Monk Simeon of Athos).

11. “Whoever wallows in fornication is a common defilement for the Church, and therefore everyone should turn away from such a thing.” (St. Gregory Palamas).

12. “The freedom to commit fornication, or to eat intemperately and get drunk, or to bear a grudge, to rape and kill, or anything else of this kind, is not freedom at all, but as the Lord said: “Everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin.” We need to pray a lot to get rid of this slavery.” (Archimandrite Sophrony (Sakharov), student and biographer of St. Silouan of Athos).

13. “The most common sin in modern society is carnal sin. […] The demon of carnal sin is doing evil work throughout the world, and the world has long been turned into Sodom and Gomorrah. Of course, most sins are done secretly and not openly. If such terrible carnal sins are now clearly being committed, then imagine what more terrible sins are being committed secretly. Let him who understands understand.” (Elder Ephraim, head of the Athonite monastery of St. Andrew the First-Called).