The struggle between good and evil, as a person grows up, passes from children's fairy tales into real life. This choice is made daily, even in the most insignificant trifles. The book "Wise Thoughts", which was published in , contains statements, dialogues and stories of holy ascetics of the first centuries of Christianity - the golden age of monasticism.
Foreword
Our ideas about the world around us in childhood are formed through the concepts of "good" and "bad", "good" and "evil". Each of us has an inner judge. This is conscience. No wonder conscience is called the voice of God. Without sensitivity to the voice of conscience, the soul of a person comes into a deplorable state and is struck by a craving for various vices. And conscience tends to become silent if a person constantly neglects it. And then there are distorted ideas about good and evil.
A Christian missionary asked an African Hottentot, "What is bad?" The Hottentot replied, "That's when my neighbor beats me, steals my cattle, and kidnaps my wife." "What is good?" the missionary asked. "And this is when I beat my neighbor, steal his cattle and kidnap his wife." Are we not becoming like a Hottentot in the pursuit of pleasure and material goods?
The Lord Jesus Christ, pouring out his love and mercy on repentant sinners, harshly denounced the spiritual leaders of the people, who knew the Scriptures thoroughly and zealously carried out hundreds of religious prescriptions. The Hottentot and the Pharisee, oddly enough, have a common platform - these are distorted ideas about good and evil. And the fault of this distortion is always selfishness. After all, the basis of Divine teaching and human conscience is the opposite of selfish sacrifice: love is determined by the willingness to sacrifice, because Christ also ascended the cross for our salvation.
Sacrifice and purity of conscience have always found their fullest expression in monastic service. The holy fathers of the golden period of monasticism labored in the deserts, fleeing from the well-fed privilege that entered the external life of the Christian Church along with the status of the official religion of the Great Empire. The thoughts of these ancient fathers about good and evil, the thoughts of the gospel - deep and wise, but childishly accessible and simple - can help each of us apply them to our conscience and our lives.
***
One of the fathers saw a certain sinner. Then the elder wept bitterly and said:
This one has fallen today, and I will tomorrow.
A certain brother asked Abba Anthony:
- Pray for me.
The old man replied:
“Neither I nor God will have mercy on you if you don’t have mercy on yourself and please Him.”
Abba Joseph was glorified by people as a great ascetic. Somehow one of the brothers came to him for advice. Lamenting, he asked the question that tormented him:
What should I do, father? I cannot endure sorrows, nor work, nor give alms.
“If you can’t do any of this, then at least keep your conscience in relation to your neighbor. Move away from all evil - and you will be saved, - the elder answered him.
Once upon a time there lived an old man, to whom many came to find out the means to gain the meaning of life and purity of heart.
- Abba, tell me how to be saved? one of the visitors asked him a question.
The old man replied:
- If you want to be saved, then when you come to someone, do not start talking until they ask you.
Struck by this word, the traveler bowed to the elder and said:
“Truly, I read a lot of books, but I didn’t know such instruction yet. - And he went, having received great benefits.
Abba Palladius said to his spiritual children:
The soul that loves God must either learn with faith what it does not know, or clearly teach what it knows. If she does not want to do either one or the other, then she suffers from insanity. For the beginning of apostasy is satiety with doctrine and word, that is, with that which the soul of the God-lover craves.
A brother who sincerely wanted to change asked Abba Sisoya:
- Why do passions not leave me?
Because their vessels are inside you, answered the wise old man. Give back what is theirs and they will leave.
Instructing the monks, a certain elder said:
- If the soul has only a word, and does not have a deed, then it is likened to a tree that has flowers, but no fruit.
How to find God as soon as possible - by fasting, labor, vigil, or alms? They asked the old man about it.
Christ-loving and compassionate, with a smile on his lips, he answered the monks:
“Many have worn out their flesh recklessly—and have not received any benefit from it. Our mouths breathe with fasting, we have studied the Scriptures by heart, but what God is looking for in us, we do not have: the fear of God, love and humility.
One of the holy fathers, who was a spirit-bearing mentor for his children, said that it is equally necessary to beware of both praise addressed to oneself and condemnation of one's neighbor.
- Why is that? - asked his children.
- Nobody knows anything. The thief was on the cross and was justified in one word. was numbered with the apostles, and in one night he destroyed all his work, and descended from heaven into hell. Therefore, let no one who does good boast: all who trusted in themselves fell in an instant of time.
The elder never looked into the inner cell of a monk. But one day I saw him eating food in violation of the fast. Then the abba said:
- It's a wonderful thing! We make prayers, representing God as being everywhere and listening to our words; and when we sin, we do it as if He did not see us.
Saint Ignatius (Bryanchaninov):
The Lord forbade vengeance, which was established by the Mosaic Law and which for evil was repaid with equal evil. The weapon given by the Lord against evil is humility.
The head and prince of the kingdom of darkness, composed of fallen spirits, is the fallen cherub, he is the beginning, the source, the fullness of evil.
Saint Basil the Great:
The devil fell of his own free will, because he had a free life and he was given the power to either abide with God, or move away from the Good. Gabriel is an angel and always stands before God. Satan is an angel and has completely fallen from his own rank. And the former was preserved in the heavenly will, and the latter was overthrown by free will. And the first could become an apostate, and the last could not fall away. But one was saved by an insatiable love for God, while the other was made outcast by a distance from God. And this alienation from God is evil.
Of the angelic forces, the head of the supermundane world, to whom God entrusted the care of the earth, was not created evil by nature, but was good and created for good and did not have the slightest trace of evil in himself from the Creator. But he could not endure the illumination and the honor that the Creator bestowed upon him, but by free will he turned from the natural to the unnatural and ascended against God, his Creator, wished to rebel against Him and was the first, departing from the good, fell into evil. The Creator created him with light and goodness, but by his free will he became darkness. He was rejected, he was followed, and with him descended an innumerable number of angels subordinate to him. Thus, having the same nature as the angels, they became evil at will, arbitrarily deviating from good to evil.
Rational nature was granted freedom and united with the power that invents the desired, so that arbitrariness takes place.
Good was not something forced, but was imputed to the merit of free will. And since this free movement allows you to exercise your will, there was someone (Dennitsa - the highest angel) who used freedom for evil and, in the words of the apostle, became "inventive for evil" ( Rome. 1, 30). He, since he himself was created by God, is our brother, and since he autocratically refused to be involved in goodness, he opened the entrance to evil and, becoming the father of lies, placed himself among our enemies in everything in which only our freedom desires good. Therefore, for others, a reason arose for the loss of goods, which later happened to human nature.Saint Gregory the Theologian:
The very first light-bearer, exalted high—when, distinguished by preeminent glory, dreamed of the royal honor of the great God—destroyed his luminosity, descended here with dishonor, and, wanting to be a god, became all darkness. Thus, for exaltation, he is cast down from his heavenly circle.
Saint John Chrysostom:
If someone says: why did God not destroy the ancient art, then (we answer that) He did so here, taking care of us ... If the evil one took possession of us by force, then this question would have some solidity. But since he has no such power, but only tries to incline us (while we may not incline), then why remove the occasion for merit and reject the means to achieve crowns? God left the devil for this, so that those who were already defeated by him would depose him.
Saint Anthony the Great:
Demons are also not created in such a state, because of which they are called demons. For God did not create anything evil. They were also created good, but, falling down from heavenly wisdom and living near the earth, they deceived the pagans with ghosts; but we Christians, out of jealousy, hinder our ascent to Heaven, so that we do not ascend to where they fell from. Therefore, one must both pray a lot and strive so that, having received from the Spirit the gift of “discernment of spirits” ( 1 Cor. 12, 10), you could find out ... how each of them can be deposed and exiled.
Saint John Cassian the Roman:
Such a multitude of evil spirits fill this air, which spreads between heaven and earth, and in which they fly in restlessness and not idle, that the Providence of God, for its own good, hid and removed them from the eyes of men. Otherwise, from fear of an attack or fear of the guises into which they voluntarily, when they want, transform and turn, people would be stricken with unbearable horror to the point of exhaustion, being unable to see them with bodily eyes, and would become daily angrier, corrupted by their constant examples. and imitation. There would be some harmful interaction and a disastrous alliance between the people and the impure air powers. Those crimes that are now committed between people are hidden or protected by a wall, or distance, or modesty. And if people constantly saw them, they would be aroused to greater recklessness, the frenzy of passions, because there would be no interval of time in which they would be seen refraining from these atrocities, since neither fatigue, nor household chores, nor concern for daily food do not hold them back, as sometimes they make us even involuntarily refrain from bad intentions.
Saint Basil the Great:
Evil is not a living and animate essence, but a state of mind opposite to virtue, which occurs in the careless as a result of falling away from good. Therefore, do not look for evil outside, do not imagine that there is some kind of original evil nature, but let each one recognize himself as the culprit of his own malevolence.
Saint Athanasius the Great:
Evil is not from God and not in God, it did not exist in the beginning and it does not have any essence, but people themselves, with the loss of the concept of good, began to imagine and imagine the non-existent according to their arbitrariness.
Saint Gregory the Theologian:
Believe that evil has neither a special essence nor a kingdom, that it is not without beginning, not original, not created by God, but is our work, and an evil work, and has come about in us from our negligence, and not from the Creator. There is evil in relation to our perception and in nature itself. Evil by nature depends on ourselves: injustice, ignorance, laziness, envy, murders, poisons, deceptions and similar vices that defile the soul created in the image of the Creator, darken its beauty. We also call evil what is painful and unpleasant for us, such as illness and bodily ulcers, lack of what is necessary, dishonor, loss of property, deprivation of relatives, which the good Lord sends for our benefit. Wealth He takes away from those who use it badly, subjected to other vices. He sends sickness to those for whom it is more useful to have bonds than to freely strive for sin. Death comes when the term of life ends, which from the beginning was assigned to everyone according to the righteous judgment of God, Who foresees what is beneficial for everyone. Famine, drought, and excessive rains are common calamities for cities and nations, punishing excessive corruption. Just as a doctor is good in spite of the fact that he hurts the body, because he fights with the disease, and not with the sick, so God is good when salvation in general is arranged by private punishments.
Saint John Chrysostom:
Many, in their erroneous opinions, consider various things to be harm (and evil) for our dignity: some - poverty, others - illness, or loss of property, or slander, or death, and they constantly lament and cry about it. But no one weeps for those who live wickedly, and, worst of all, they often even call them happy, and this is the cause of all evil.
Saint Theophan the Recluse:
"From within, from the heart of man, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, malice, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness" (Mark 7:21-22). Walking sins are listed here, but all others, large and small, come from the heart, and the form in which they come is an evil thought. The first seed of evil - comes to the idea to do this and that. Why and how does it come? Some of these thoughts can be explained by the known laws of combinations and linkages of ideas and images, but only a part. Another significant part comes from the involuntary irritation of the passions. When passion lives in the heart, it cannot but demand satisfaction. This demand is revealed by the urge for both; with the urge, however, an object of one kind or another is connected. Hence the thought: "Ah, that's what needs to be done!" Here the same thing happens as, for example, during hunger: the one who feels hunger feels the urge to eat; with the urge comes the thought and the food itself; hence the decision is to get this or that and eat it. The third, perhaps even larger part comes from impure forces. The air is filled with them, and they dart in flocks around people, and every one of his kind disperses around him the effect on the people with whom he comes into contact. Evil flies from them like sparks from red-hot iron. Where there is readiness to accept it, there a spark takes root, and with it the thought of an evil deed. This, and nothing else, can explain, for some unknown reason, the emerging evil thoughts among occupations that are decidedly not related to them. But this difference in reasons does not make a difference in how to deal with evil thoughts. There is only one law: an evil thought has come - discard it, and the matter is over. You won’t throw it away in the first minute, it will be more difficult in the second, even more difficult in the third; and here you will not notice how sympathy, desire, and a solution, and means will be born ... Here is sin at hand. The first resistance to evil thoughts is sobriety and vigilance with prayer.
Evil, being a lack of good, can only apply to limited rational creatures in which good is limited... God is infinite, and His goodness is infinite.
Venerable Pimen the Great:
Evil does not destroy evil. But if someone does evil to you, do good to him, so that you can destroy malice with a good deed.
Saint John Chrysostom:
If someone begins to plot and do evil to you, be above these arrows, because not to endure evil, but to do evil - this is what it really means to suffer from evil.
God's dispensation is such that what harms us, the very thing is for our benefit.
Have you suffered any evil? But if you want it, it won't be evil at all. Give thanks to God, and evil will turn into good.
Abba Zosima:
Demons are afraid if they see that someone, being subjected to insult, dishonor, damage, all sorts of other troubles, mourns not that he was subjected to this, but that he did not endure it courageously, for they understand that he has entered the true way and has a strong desire to walk in the commandments of God.
Saint Anthony the Great:
Be wise: silence the lips of those who slander you. Do not be offended if someone speaks badly about you - this is the action of unclean spirits, trying to create obstacles for a person to receive spiritual intelligence.
Rev. Abba Isaiah:
The mind, if it does not acquire health and does not become a stranger to malice, cannot become a spectator of the Divine Light. Evil, like a wall, stands before the mind and makes the soul barren.
Whoever fears Gehenna, let him spew all kinds of malice from his heart, so that the terrible definition of rejection does not fall on him from the Lord! Brother! Pay attention to your heart, watch over it, because the incredible malice of the enemies is combined with incredible deceit...
Saint Isidore Pelusiot:
The legislator of both testaments is one. But the Law to the Jews, as unbridled, forbade only deeds. And the Gospel, teaching us the doctrine as wise, blocks even the very thoughts from which actions are born, as a source of evil, not only severely punishing the sins committed, but also placing reliable barriers to their fulfillment ... The Lord says: "You heard what was said an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, but I say to you, resist not evil" (Matthew 5:38-40). The law considers equality of suffering as a measure of punishment, allowing the offended to do as much evil as they themselves suffered, in order to prevent an evil deed by fear of suffering the same thing ... And the gospel, by the meekness of the afflicted, prevents vice from spreading further ... (Vengeance) was not the cessation of previous bad deeds but by calling new, more terrible ones, when one got irritated and did evil again, while the other intensified to avenge the old and knew no limit in evil. Vengeance was not the end, but the beginning of great troubles, when the offender and the avenger fell into irreconcilable contention, and what was wise in the law, that the legislator established to prevent the fall, was forced to become an occasion for sin. So much evil was born that the Gospel, quenching it like fire in the beginning, stopped this growth of evil.
Saint Theophan the Recluse:
"But I say to you: do not resist evil" (Matt. 5:39), otherwise, give yourself up as a sacrifice to the willfulness and malice of people. But you can't live like this? Don't worry. Who gave this commandment, the same is our Provider and Guardian. When with complete faith, with all your heart, you wish to live in such a way that you do not resist any evil, then the Lord himself will arrange for you a way of life that is not only tolerable, but also happy. In addition, in reality, it happens that resistance irritates the enemy more and encourages him to invent new troubles, while concession disarms him and humbles him. It happens that if you endure only the first onslaught of malice, people will take pity and leave you alone. And resistance and revenge kindle anger, which passes from one person to the family, and then from generation to generation.
Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk:
Our true enemy is the devil, who teaches people to persecute us. And therefore, for the most part, he is the cause of our embitterment, and not people. He drives us through people and embitters us, and we must hate him, and condole with people for listening to him.
For thieves, murderers, fornicators, tax collectors and all penitent sinners, the doors of God's mercy are opened, and for the evil ones they are closed, for there is no true repentance in them, without which there is no access to the throne of grace. Malice is the great sin that possesses them and invalidates their repentance. For repentance is not true, but feigned, false, and nothing else than the seduction or softening of a gnawing conscience, if the repentant sincerely does not want to lag behind sin.
Anger is such that if someone does not stop it at the very beginning, then it intensifies immeasurably, like a fire that has found dry materials, says Chrysostom.
Vile and laughable sin is malice. Other sins either bring some self-interest or sweetness to the sinner. A thief steals to satisfy the soul, a fornicator commits fornication to please the flesh; malicious without all this is angry. He sins and suffers, transgresses and is tormented, takes revenge and suffers vengeance. So to the evil one his very malice is a punishment and a scourge. If one could look into the heart of an evil person, then nothing else would appear there but hellish torment. Therefore, it happens that evil people turn dark and dry up: malice, like poison, eats away their flesh.
Saint Ignatius (Bryanchaninov):
The Lord forbade vengeance, which was established by the Mosaic Law and which for evil was repaid with equal evil. The weapon given by the Lord against evil is humility.
The head and prince of the kingdom of darkness, composed of fallen spirits, is the fallen cherub, he is the beginning, the source, the fullness of evil.
Saint Basil the Great:
The devil fell of his own free will, because he had a free life and he was given the power to either abide with God, or move away from the Good. Gabriel is an angel and always stands before God. Satan is an angel and has completely fallen from his own rank. And the former was preserved in the heavenly will, and the latter was overthrown by free will. And the first could become an apostate, and the last could not fall away. But one was saved by an insatiable love for God, while the other was made outcast by a distance from God. And this alienation from God is evil.
Saint John of Damascus:
Of the angelic forces, the head of the supermundane world, to whom God entrusted the care of the earth, was not created evil by nature, but was good and created for good and did not have the slightest trace of evil in himself from the Creator. But he could not endure the illumination and the honor that the Creator bestowed upon him, but by free will he turned from the natural to the unnatural and ascended against God, his Creator, wished to rebel against Him and was the first, departing from the good, fell into evil. The Creator created him with light and goodness, but by his free will he became darkness. He was rejected, he was followed, and with him descended an innumerable number of angels subordinate to him. Thus, having the same nature as the angels, they became evil at will, arbitrarily deviating from good to evil.
Saint Gregory of Nyssa:
Rational nature was granted freedom and united with the power that invents the desired, so that arbitrariness takes place. Good was not something forced, but was imputed to the merit of free will. And since this free movement allows one to carry out one's will, there was someone (Dennitsa - the highest angel) who used freedom for evil and, in the words of the apostle, became "inventive for evil" (Rom. 1, 30). He, since he himself was created by God, is our brother, and since he autocratically refused to be involved in goodness, he opened the entrance to evil and, becoming the father of lies, placed himself among our enemies in everything in which only our freedom desires good. Therefore, for others, a reason arose for the loss of goods, which later happened to human nature.
Saint Gregory the Theologian:
The very first light-bearer, having exalted himself highly, when, distinguished by predominant glory, dreamed of the royal honor of the great God, he destroyed his luminosity, fell here with dishonor and, wanting to be a god, became all darkness. Thus, for exaltation, he is cast down from his heavenly circle.
Saint John Chrysostom:
If someone says: why did God not destroy the ancient art, then (we answer that) He did so here, taking care of us ... If the evil one took possession of us by force, then this question would have some solidity. But since he has no such power, but only tries to incline us (while we may not incline), then why remove the occasion for merit and reject the means to achieve crowns? God left the devil for this, so that those who were already defeated by him would depose him.
Saint Anthony the Great:
Demons are also not created in such a state, because of which they are called demons. For God did not create anything evil. They were also created good, but, falling down from heavenly wisdom and living near the earth, they deceived the pagans with ghosts; but we Christians, out of jealousy, hinder our ascent to Heaven, so that we do not ascend to where they fell from. Therefore, one must both pray a lot and strive, so that, having received from the Spirit the gift of "discerning spirits" (1 Cor. 12:10), one could learn ... how each of them can be cast down and cast out.
Saint John Cassian the Roman:
Such a multitude of evil spirits fill this air, which spreads between heaven and earth, and in which they fly in restlessness and not idle, that the Providence of God, for its own good, hid and removed them from the eyes of men. Otherwise, from fear of an attack or fear of the guises into which they voluntarily, when they want, transform and turn, people would be stricken with unbearable horror to the point of exhaustion, being unable to see them with bodily eyes, and would become daily angrier, corrupted by their constant examples. and imitation. There would be some harmful interaction and a disastrous alliance between the people and the impure air powers. Those crimes that are now committed between people are hidden or protected by a wall, or distance, or modesty. And if people constantly saw them, they would be aroused to greater recklessness, the frenzy of passions, because there would be no interval of time in which they would be seen refraining from these atrocities, since neither fatigue, nor household chores, nor concern for daily food do not hold them back, as sometimes they make us even involuntarily refrain from bad intentions.
Philaret, Metropolitan of Moscow:
Before the visible and rational creature, that is, man. God created an invisible creature of spirits called angels. One of these bright spirits, with some spirits subordinate to him, had the audacity to go out of obedience to the all-good will of God, his Creator, and thus lost the light and bliss bestowed upon him, and became an evil spirit.
They are so rooted in evil that they are completely incapable of loving the good and repenting of sin.
Any evil is a mental illness... (St. Basil the Great, 5, 143).
Those who avoid evil deserve praise not when they evade sin once or twice, but when they can forever avoid temptation in evil (St. Basil the Great, 5, 160).
It is not proper for one who is perfect to abstain from evil, but only for a beginner it is necessary to refrain from striving for evil (St. Basil the Great, 5, 262).
Many approve of bad deeds: a playful person is called funny; foul language - those who know how to get around; through a measure of exacting and wrathful, they are called a person who does not deserve contempt; the stingy and uncommunicative are praised for their prudence; wasteful - for generosity, fornicator and dissolute - for the ability to enjoy and for swagger; In general, every vice is embellished with the name of a contiguous virtue. Such people bless with their lips, but curse with their hearts; because with their praises they bring a curse on the lives of those who are praised, exposing them to eternal condemnation for the very thing for which they are approved (St. Basil the Great, 5, 332).
It is utter wickedness to sin both in thought and in deed... (St. Basil the Great, 6, 128).
Whoever has the opportunity to heal evil, but voluntarily and out of covetousness puts it off, that one, in justice, can be condemned on an equal footing with murderers (St. Basil the Great, 8, 119).
It is not God who causes evil in hell, but we ourselves; because the beginning and root of sin that depends on us is our freedom (St. Basil the Great, 8, 125).
Evil is deprivation of good (St. Basil the Great, 8, 132).
Evil does not exist in itself, but appears behind the damage of the soul (St. Basil the Great, 8, 132).
If someone does evil under the guise of goodness, then he is worthy of severe punishment... (St. Basil the Great, 10, 124).
Be slow to an evil deed, but soon to salvation... For both readiness for the worst and slowness for the best are equally bad (St. Gregory the Theologian, 14, 296).
Whoever has done an evil deed has a dubious helper - eloquence (St. Gregory the Theologian, 15, 361).
Of evils, manifest evil is less dangerous; more harmful is that which is not recognized as evil (St. Gregory the Theologian, 16, 159).
If in one and the same thing that serves one for evil, and not another, the difference of volition shows both in opposition, then it is clear that no evil can take place without our arbitrariness (St. Gregory of Nyssa, 18, 287).
The inclination to evil does not come from outside, according to some compelling necessity, but along with the consent to evil, evil itself is formed, then coming into being when we choose it; in and of itself, in its own independence, outside of arbitrariness, evil is nowhere found to exist. From this, a self-righteous and free power is clearly revealed, which the Lord of nature has arranged in human nature so that everything, both good and bad, depends on our will (St. Gregory of Nyssa, 19, 426-427).
Those who have departed from intercourse with the good, and who have perpetrated evil by departing from the best... make every effort, and in every possible way think of how to join others to communion in evil (St. Gregory of Nyssa, 20, 49).
Outside of free will there is no inherent evil; but evil is called evil because it is not good... (St. Gregory of Nyssa, 21, 27).
As well as health and illness, so goodness and malice have consistency in mutual negation, so that the absence of one becomes the realization of the other (St. Gregory of Nyssa, 23, 206).
We understand evil not as something independent in our nature, but we look at it as the absence of only good (St. Gregory of Nyssa, 25, 467).
Even if someone did a thousand good deeds, but did something bad, there will be retribution for this bad thing (St. John Chrysostom, 44, 365).
Such is the evil of not remaining within the limits that God has assigned us from the beginning! (St. John Chrysostom, 44, 487).
To endure evil is not evil, but to do evil is evil (St. John Chrysostom, 45, 415).
...<Надо>weep most of all for those who do evil, and not for those who suffer evil (St. John Chrysostom, 45, 426).
In real life there is no evil, except ... only depravity, and craftiness, and spiritual depravity ... (St. John Chrysostom, 45, 800).
The more evil the enemy does to us, the more good deeds he will render (St. John Chrysostom, 46, 179).
Doing work<отклоняет>the soul of one who works from all evil (St. John Chrysostom, 46, 188).
This is the reason for all evils, that we examine the sins of others with great accuracy, while we pass our own with great negligence (St. John Chrysostom, 46, 376).
So strong is virtue, and so powerless is malice; the first - even in the midst of suffering wins, and the last, even in what she does, shows only her own impotence (St. John Chrysostom, 47, 555).
Whoever intends to do harm to his neighbor does not harm him in the least, and if he harms him in any way, then only in the present life, and he prepares endless executions, unbearable torments for himself (St. John Chrysostom, 47, 660).
Let us take care not that we do not suffer anything evil from our enemies, but only that we do not do any harm ourselves. Then we really will not tolerate any evil, even though we have been exposed to countless dangers... (St. John Chrysostom, 47, 859).
When you plot intrigues, do not think that you are plotting them for another; you weave webs for yourself (St. John Chrysostom, 48, 124).
Whoever does evil must condemn himself, because this is the way to escaping from evil... (St. John Chrysostom, 48, 266).
All evil people are worse and more insane than wild beasts (St. John Chrysostom, 48, 469).
If you want to be safe, stop doing evil, and you will enjoy great peace (St. John Chrysostom, 48, 475).
Where there is love for God, all evil flees from there... (St. John Chrysostom, 48, 477).
Not strong and not rooted in evil, preserving the remnants of goodness, as weaker in his malice, will hide his sins and, feeling pricks of conscience, can repent and find a cure for his malice in confession (sins) and sincere repentance ... ( St. John Chrysostom, 48, 668).
The power of beneficence is food for the malice of the beneficent person<злого>(St. John Chrysostom, 48, 830).
Demons are driven away by the sign of the cross, and an evil person opposes the Lord himself;<апостол>Paul cast out demons with a single word, but he could not overcome the malice of Alexander Kovacs... (St. John Chrysostom, 48, 830).
It is an extreme evil when they not only sin, and not only sin boldly, but also cast out those who could correct it (St. John Chrysostom, 49, 47).
Greater punishment is not worthy of those who do evil, but those who incite them to sin (St. John Chrysostom, 49, 118).
Evil comes not from nature, but from freedom, which thinks wrong (St. John Chrysostom, 49, 216).
He who accumulates malice within himself, which is bitterer than any bile, will suffer the most severe harm and cause himself a fierce illness (St. John Chrysostom, 50, 446).
Evil is nothing but disobedience to God (St. John Chrysostom, 50, 608).
Do not ask where evil comes from, and do not doubt it, but, having learned that it comes from sheer carelessness, move away from it (St. John Chrysostom, 50, 609).
Evil<происходит>... from carelessness, from idleness, from dealing with the evil and from contempt for virtue (St. John Chrysostom, 50, 609).
Anyone who does evil deserves punishment; who, having taken on the image of piety, uses it to cover up his evil deeds, he is subject to a much more severe punishment (St. John Chrysostom, 50, 735).
It is necessary to repel evil in the beginning; even if the first crimes did not entail further ones, and then they cannot be neglected; meanwhile, they reach even more, when the soul becomes neglectful (St. John Chrysostom, 50, 856).
All evil comes from will and free intentions (St. John Chrysostom, 51, 21).
Nothing makes people so stupid as malice (St. John Chrysostom, 51, 275).
Anger is shameless and daring. Whenever it is necessary to be ashamed, then it becomes even more hardened (St. John Chrysostom, 51, 352).
Nothing pleases God so much as when we do not repay evil for evil. But what am I saying when we do not repay evil for evil? After all, we are commanded to repay the opposite - with good deeds and prayers (St. John Chrysostom, 51, 476).
Such is the property of malice: it does not look at anything, but causes confusion everywhere (St. John Chrysostom, 52, 102).
We harm ourselves even when we do evil to another, and most of our sins come precisely from the fact that we do not wish good for ourselves (St. John Chrysostom, 52, 443).
It always depends on us not to endure evil, and not on those who do evil to us. Or, more correctly, we ourselves have the power not only not to endure evil, but even to experience good.<при этом>(St. John Chrysostom, 52, 634).
If a person does not want evil, then the soul is free, and if he does not do evil, then the body is free: everything depends only on one evil will (St. John Chrysostom, 52, 639).
From frequent committing, evil becomes difficult to overcome, just as a drawing, being easily drawn on a blackboard, is erased without difficulty, and depicted with deep lines is erased with difficulty (St. John Chrysostom, 52, 880).
Pride, and then carelessness and voluptuousness are the sources of ... evil (St. John Chrysostom, 53, 229).
One should always have the Judgment of God before one's eyes - and all evil will fade away (St. John Chrysostom, 53, 519).
The one who eats the flesh of a person causes harm not so much as the one who gnaws at his soul, because the more precious the soul is than the body, the more painful the evil inflicted on it (St. John Chrysostom, 53, 803).
There is nothing more powerful than malice: it makes (a person) senseless and insane (St. John Chrysostom, 54, 131).
Just as the dead are ugly and stinking, so the souls of those who are mired in evil are filled with great impurity (St. John Chrysostom, 54, 551).
It is impossible for a person who fights evil not to experience sorrows (St. John Chrysostom, 54, 814).
Evil is so obvious that everyone condemns it, even those who do it; and virtue is such that even those who do not follow it are surprised by it (St. John Chrysostom, 55, 197).
Do not be children in your mind, but belittle yourself in evil (St. John Chrysostom, 55, 771).
Malice usually inflicts wounds on itself... (St. John Chrysostom, 55, 1017).
Not<только>in the face, but also in the heart receive evil blows<от своей злобы>; that can be cured, but that cannot, because it is in the inside (St. John Chrysostom, 55, 1129).
Evil is so great that it affects not only people, but also inanimate objects; sin surpasses every word, all the power of thought (St. John Chrysostom, 55, 1150).
Most recently, my article “On the Heresy of Neo-Tolstoyism” was published, which denounced the erroneous views of Count L. N. Tolstoy and his modern followers regarding the inadmissibility of using force in protecting one’s neighbor and the inadmissibility of military service on the basis of the Gospel. This work was mainly a detailed analysis of the texts of the New Testament and, using their example, proved that the humanistic sentimental ideology of non-resistance to evil by force does not go back to the Gospel! Since the representatives of modern Tolstoyans, like their predecessors a century ago, are extremely skeptical about the interpretation of the Gospel by the patristic tradition, while demonstrating typical Protestant thinking, I did not find it necessary to quote numerous quotations from the holy fathers regarding this issue, although I did give some. All attention was directed to the gospel. This time I suppose to make up for this omission and present numerous testimonies of the holy fathers about the permissibility of resisting evil by force, about war and military service. use of force in all possible cases or something like that. We, Orthodox Christians, in accordance with Holy Scripture and the Tradition of the Church, consider it possible to use force only in those exceptional cases when it is not possible to protect loved ones and goodness in any other way. In the Fundamentals of the Social Concept of the Russian Orthodox Church, it is said about this " P recognizing war as evil, the Church still does not forbid her children to participate in hostilities when it comes to protecting their neighbors and restoring trampled justice. Then war is considered, although undesirable, but a forced means » (VIII, 2).
It is absolutely inappropriate to interpret my work as an accusation against anyone! The main task of these works is to dispel the still prevailing opinion in society and the near-church environment that Christianity disapproves of military service. It is important to emphasize that in the ancient world, soldiers were assigned not only purely military duties, but also functions that are currently assigned to the law enforcement system: arrest, escort and detention of criminals, execution, regulation of the movement of people and vehicles at the entrance to settlements (city) and departure from them. In this regard, the words spoken by the holy fathers can be fully attributed to the employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, traffic police, FSB, GUFSIN, FSSP, etc.
Recall that the New Testament in no way condemns military service and the profession of a warrior. At the beginning of the Gospel of Luke Saint John the Baptist indicates the general principles necessary for the pious life of warriors - “The soldiers also asked him: what should we do? And he said to them: do not offend anyone, do not slander, and be content with your salary ”(Luke 3: 14). In the ancient church monument “Apostolic Decrees” we find a tradition that goes back to the Apostle Paul “If a soldier comes, then let him learn not to offend, not to slander, but be content with the salary given; if he obeys, let him be accepted, but if he contradicts, let him be rejected” ( Apostolic ordinances through Clement, Bishop and Citizen of Rome, 32). Without a doubt, the principles of attitude to military service, set out by St. John the Baptist are characteristic of the entire Early Church - they condemn looting and extortion of bribes, but not the very fact of military service or the profession of a warrior.
In the epistles of the Apostle Paul, various aspects of military service are used as a metaphor for the spiritual struggle to which every follower of Jesus Christ is called: above all, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God” (Eph. 6:14-17). The example of the Apostle Paul was followed by the early Christian apologist holy martyr Justin the Philosopher(165) and 3rd century Christian teacher holy martyr Cyprian of Carthage(258) - hereinafter the dates of the blessed death of the saints are indicated. In their spiritual teachings, we will find many different military analogies and images, in particular: all Christians are called soldiers of Christ, Christ Himself is a commander, the Sacrament of Baptism is an oath, the Church is the military camp of the Lord. Of course, these are allegories used for pedagogical purposes, but it is unlikely that a teacher will cite realities that are contrary to the purpose and meaning of education as analogies.
Moreover, a very important point is fixed 3rd canon of the Local of Arles Council of 314, which, condemning desertion from the army, reads in part: “Those who throw down their weapons in peacetime, it is decided not to be allowed to take communion” ( Taube M.A.Christianity and the international world. S. 43). And although the decisions of the Council of Arles were not included by the Church in the obligatory code of canons, nevertheless they quite clearly expressed the negative attitude of the Church towards desertion (for no particular reason), because such a thing harms both the army that protects civilians and the deserter himself. who committed an act of cowardice and apostasy.
Regarding the moral and ethical aspects of the conduct of a defensive war, as well as the heroic deeds of the warrior-defenders, he spoke Saint Athanasius the Great(373). In his Epistle to Monk Amun, the saint said the following tough words: “It is not permissible to kill, but to exterminate the enemy in war is both legal and worthy of praise; therefore, those who distinguished themselves in battles are awarded great honors, and monuments are erected to them, announcing their merits " (Athanasius the Great,saint. Creations. M., 1994. T. 3. S. 369). It should be noted that this epistle of St. Athanasius was approved as a general church teaching at the VI and VII Ecumenical Councils.
Saint Basil the Great(379), speaking about the providential significance of wars, in particular, he noted that “God in wars sends executions to those who deserve punishment” ( Basil the Great,saint. Conversation 9. About the fact that God is not the culprit of evil (http://www.pagez.ru/lsn/0082.php). The same saint, defending the profession of a warrior and focusing on the texts of the New Testament, exclaims: “Is the military rank devoid of hope of salvation? Is there not a single pious centurion? I recall the first centurion, who, standing at the cross of Christ and realizing his strength by miracles, when the insolence of the Jews had not yet cooled down, was not afraid of their fury and did not refuse to proclaim the truth, but confessed and did not deny that was truly the Son of God(Matthew 27:54). I also know another centurion who, when he was still in the flesh, knew about the Lord that He is God and the King of hosts, and that one command is enough for Him to send benefits to those in need through ministering spirits. About his faith, the Lord also confirmed that it is greater than the faith of all Israel (see: Matt. 8: 10). But Cornelius, being a centurion, didn’t he merit to see an angel and, finally, through Peter, didn’t he receive salvation? (Basil the Great, saint. Conversation 18. On the day of the holy martyr Gordius (http://www.pagez.ru/lsn/0289.php). In the same way, St. Basil writes a letter to a Christian soldier, in which there are the following wonderful words: “I recognized in you a person who proves by himself that even in military life it is possible to preserve the perfection of love for God and that a Christian should be distinguished not by the cut of his dress, but by his spiritual disposition. » ( Basil the Great, saint . Creations. SPb., 1911. T. 3. S. 133).
On the other hand, St. Basil the Great speaks of the spiritual and spiritual dangers with which the activity of the defender of the Motherland is inextricably linked. The 13th canon of the saint reads: “Our fathers did not charge murder in war for murder, it seems to me, out of condescension towards the defenders of chastity and piety. But perhaps it would not be bad to advise them, as having unclean hands, to refrain from communion of the holy mysteries for three years. Basil the Great,saint. Take my word. M., 2006. S. 204). It is impossible to fight without hatred, without blood. It is impossible to fight without killing! And even when murder is a necessary measure, the lesser of evils, it still injures a person’s nature, inflicts wounds on his soul. Sin is sin! But here the defender of the Motherland can be compared to a firefighter who, rushing into a burning house, saves an insensible child, but he himself gets burned and requires medical attention. And the 3 years appointed by St. Basil are nothing but the time of rehabilitation, the stay of a person who returned from the war in intense fasting and prayer, so that those spiritual wounds that he received, laying down his life for his friends, could heal, heal! And this is a very important pastoral care of the saint for the Christian soldiers who returned from the war, in order to prevent such sad phenomena known in our time as the “Afghan syndrome”, “Chechen syndrome”, etc. For comparison, it is necessary to point out that a real conscious killer was excommunicated from the Holy Mysteries, according to the rules of St. Basil the Great, for 20 years!
Authoritative canonist of the 13th century Matthew Vlastar this is how he spoke about the decrees of St. Basil the Great: “Thus, this divine father also considers praise worthy of those who go against opponents and defend the Christian race, for what can be more worthy of praise than being champions of chastity and piety? But since this holy father had the intention to purify the defilements, sometimes combined with good deeds, he subjects these (soldiers) to moderate penance ... it is necessary that those who spend their lives in battles and stain their hands in the blood of foreigners first be cleansed by the medicine of repentance and its fire the filth connected with such an occupation was burnt down and thus proceeded to the sacraments of the new Adam ... And under the emperor Nicephorus Fokas, this rule benefited the Church, for when he began to force the Church to establish a law so that those who died in the war were honored on a par with the holy martyrs ... the then primates of the Church, when many arguments did not convince the emperor that his demand was impious, they finally took advantage of this rule, saying: how can one count those who died in the war as martyrs, when Basil the Great excommunicated them for three years from the sacraments as "having unclean hands", and thus averted the emperor's violence » (Matthew (Vlastar), hieromonk. Alphabetical syntagma. M., 1996. S. 428).
Perhaps this rule was said by St. Basil the Great rather in a recommendatory way, and not in a categorical one, because in practice it was almost never fully implemented - the period of repentance for soldiers before communion, as a rule, was reduced. This is indirectly evidenced by such authoritative canonists as Zonara and Valsamon- "this advice did not seem to be carried out" ( Nicodemus (Milash),bishop. Rules of the Orthodox Church with interpretations. M., 1996. T. 2. S. 386). There was a pious custom in our country - the soldiers who returned from the war lived for some time in the monastery as laborers, where they put their state of mind in order. The holy noble princes also had a well-known custom - before death, they took monastic vows.
To this it should be added that already in those days there were categories of persons who were exempted from military service. We are talking about people who have dedicated themselves to the direct service of God and the Church. In particular, Saint Gregory the Theologian(389) in a letter to his friend, the commander Elevih, asked for the dismissal of the reader Mamant he needed from military service: “Give him a written dismissal; thus you will give yourself successful hopes in the war and the military leadership ”( Gregory the Theologian,saint. Creations. Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra, 1994. T. 2. S. 549). The reader is the first stage of the priesthood, and according to the canons of the Church, readers are on the list of the clergy.
The brother of St. Gregory the Theologian also talks about the war as a great calamity - Saint Gregory of Nyssa(394). In particular, he writes: “Whatever you talk about pleasantness in life, in order for it to be pleasant, peace is needed ... War stops the enjoyment of all blessings. If even during the time of peace we endure some calamity for humanity, then evil, mixed with good, becomes easy for those who suffer. True, when life is constrained by war, we are also insensitive to such mournful cases; because the general calamity with its sorrows exceeds the private calamities ... But if the soul, stricken by the general calamities of war, is numb even to feel its own evils, then how can it have a pleasant sensation? Where are weapons, spears, sophisticated iron, sounding trumpets, rattling cymbals of the squad, closed shields, clashes, crowds, fights, battles, massacres, flights, pursuits, groans, screams, earth moistened with blood, trampled dead, the wounded left without help and all that in war one can see and hear ... can anyone find time there to bend the thought to the remembrance of the amusing one? If the memory of something pleasant comes into the soul, will it not serve to increase grief? ( Gregory Nyssky,saint. About blessings. Word 1 (http://www.pagez.ru/lsn/0556.php). It is not surprising that St. Gregory of Nyssa calls the prevention of war the greatest blessing, for which the Lord grants a double reward, “for it is said: blessed are the peacemakers, and the peacemaker is he who gives peace to others” ( there).
Another saint of the 4th century - Blessed Ambrose of Milan(397) in his treatise “On the Duties of the Priests”, in particular, he says that “it is not a sin to be a warrior, but to fight for theft is lawlessness” ( Cit. Quoted from: Nikolai Goncharov, priest. Military rank before the court of the Word of God and the mind of the Holy Orthodox Church // Bulletin of the military and naval clergy. 1914. No. 19. S. 670). Here St. Ambrose, in fact, follows the principles of attitude towards military service and soldiers expressed by St. John the Baptist. Developing this thought, the saint urges to show mercy and indulgence towards unarmed, obedient and asking for mercy enemies - “for military force is not for evil, not for offense and self-will, but for protection and goodness” ( there). Saint Ambrose condemns the use of martial law in wartime for the purpose of robbery and violence against civilians. These actions the saint calls sin and lawlessness.
The next great saint and teacher John Chrysostom ( 407) said the following about the causes of ongoing wars: “wars constantly grow from the root of sins” ( Creations like in the saints of our father John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople. SPb., 1900. T. 6. S. 41). At the same time, the saint refuted the opinion that military service is incompatible with the Christian way of life and allegedly hinders salvation. In particular, he writes: “You put forward military service as a pretext and say: I am a warrior and cannot be pious. But wasn't the centurion a warrior? And he tells Jesus that I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed (Matt. 8:8). And, surprised, Jesus says: Truly I say to you, even in Israel I did not find such faith (Matt. 8:10). Military service did not in the least serve as an obstacle for him ”( John Chrysostom,saint. To Jews, and Hellenes, and heretics; and in words: Jesus was called to marriage (http://www.ispovednik.ru/zlatoust/Z02_2/Z02_2_63.htm).
It is necessary to add that St. John Chrysostom taught his flock to pray for God's help to the soldiers in the war: “Wouldn't it be inconsistent with anything if, while others go on a campaign and put on weapons with the aim that we stay in security, we ourselves did not even pray for those who are in danger and bear the burden of military friendship. Thus, this does not constitute flattery at all, but is done at the request of justice ... They constitute, as it were, a kind of stronghold, placed in front, which guards the tranquility of those who are inside ”( Cit. by: Georgy Yastremsky, priest. Military rank according to the works of the ecumenical fathers of the Church // Bulletin of the military and naval clergy. 1914. No. 20. P. 710).
In its turn, Blessed Augustine of Hippo(430) believed that to some extent war can even be beneficial, since it destroys or weakens the arbitrariness of malevolent people. The saint also believed that the condemnation of military service by some people “actually arises not from religious motives, but from cowardice” ( Cit. by: Nikolsky V. Christianity, patriotism and war // Orthodox interlocutor. Kazan, 1904. Vol. 2. Part 2. S. 76). Such harsh words of Augustine Aurelius are also known that the commandment " don't kill by no means transgress those who wage wars under the authority of God or, being by virtue of His laws (that is, in view of the most reasonable and just order) representatives of public authority, punish the villains with death ”( Augustine Aurelius,blissful. About the city of God. M., 1994. T. 1. S. 39).
There is a rather erroneous opinion that supposedly Saint Peacock the Merciful, Bishop of Nolan“considered it possible to threaten fiery hell for service to Caesar with weapons in hand” ( Taube M.A.Christianity and the international world. M.. 1905. P.48) and thus the saint is presented as a consistent opponent of military service as a whole. However, statements of this kind are a deliberate distortion of the words of St. Paulinus the Merciful. At one time, the saint wrote in poetic form the life of St. Felix of Nolan, where in particular he mentioned the warrior Hermia, the brother of St. Felix, who “persistently sought earthly blessings” and “living by his own sword and carrying out the fruitless labor of an insignificant military service, subordinated himself to the arms of Caesar without serving Christ" ( Cit. by: Trouble Venerable. Life of Blessed Felix // History through personality: Historical biography today. M., 2005). However, as we can see, here we are not talking about warriors in general and not about military service, but about a specific warrior man who, again, is reprimanded not for military service, but for the fact that he preferred earthly goods obtained by weapons godly Christian life. And although Saint Peacock calls military service insignificant, he does not claim that it in itself hinders the salvation of a person. Saint Bede Venerable, commenting on the life of St. Felix written by St. Peacock, in particular, emphasizes that: “His brother differed from Felix in his customs and therefore became unworthy of eternal bliss. For Hermias zealously strove only for earthly goods and preferred to be a soldier of Caesar rather than of Christ ”( there), once again emphasizing that such a negative characterization was awarded to a single warrior, and not warriors in general.
The same situation arose around the words Reverend Isidore Pelusiot(449) available in a message to one person who wanted to send his son, who had the ability for scientific work, to be sent to the army. In particular, the Monk Isidore wrote: “Some say that you were so distraught and upset in your mind that you intend to give this youth, to whom God gave the ability to learn everything, a weapon and assign him to military service, not highly valued, even despised and making people playthings of death. Therefore, if your mind is not completely damaged, leave a reckless intention: do not extinguish the lamp, which is trying to kindle for glory; let a reasonable man continue to study the sciences. And save this honor, or, rather, this punishment, for others, some vagabonds who are decent for the ignorance of the crowd. Isidore Pelusiot,reverend. Letters. Book. 1. Letter 390 (http://www.pagez.ru/lsn/0369.php). However, from the context of the letter, it is quite clear that this is not about condemning military service as such, but about the care on the part of the Monk Isidore in relation to a young man he knew, who had a vocation for scientific activity. The wise monk understood that military service, as a choice of life path, would not benefit this young man. Therefore, the Monk Isidore, in harsh terms, dissuades the father from determining the life of his son along the military line.
Elsewhere, St. Isidore Pelusiot speaks of the need to distinguish between just and unjust wars, offensive and defensive: But one should not blame all those waging war; those who initiated either the infliction of offense or theft are justly called destructive demons; those who avenge moderately should not be reproached as having acted unjustly, because they are doing a lawful deed ”( Isidore Peluciot, St. Creations. M., 1860. Part 3: Letters. pp. 382–383). Just like St. Basil the Great, St. Isidore, without equating murder in war with ordinary robbery, nevertheless believes that “although the killing of enemies in wars seems to be a legal matter and monuments are erected to the victors proclaiming their merits, however, if we analyze the close affinity between all people, then it is not innocent; therefore, Moses ordered the one who killed a man in the war to use cleansing and sprinkling ”(Isidore Pelusiot, saint. Creations. Part 3: Letters. P. 111).
Speaking of Saint Isidore Pelusiote, one cannot ignore another very important thought expressed by the monk. In particular, he condemns such a phenomenon as “parquet officers”, when some people, having achieved high military ranks, prefer to stay in the rear over the hardships of real army service, while vainly showing off their military ranks to civilians. In the Epistle to the Warrior Tuva, the Monk Isidore writes the following: “It is not in time of peace that one should be in full armor, not in the middle of the marketplace to appear in a militant form, and not to walk around the city with a sword in hand, but in war, one should do such experiments on opponents and intimidate them. Therefore, if you like a warlike appearance and wish yourself victorious proclamations and monuments, then go to the camp of those fighting the barbarians, and not here, having bought for money the right to flee from there and live at home, imagine what you should do there ”( Isidore Pelusiot,reverend. Letters. Book. I Letter 40).
In the same way, Saint Isidore Pelusiot touches on a problem that is of particular relevance today. We are talking about those officers who, having extensive experience in combat operations and personal courage, put all these skills on the path of crime, turning their talents against civilians of their own country! In the “Epistle to the Warrior Isaiah”, who apparently succumbed to this temptation, the Monk Isidore writes the following: “If, in your opinion, the sharpness of weapons, a helmet and armor are a reliable means of living comfortably, indulging in robbery and devastating high roads, then know that many, having protected themselves even more reliably, underwent a disastrous death, since justice did not accompany their strength. These are among us, according to the Scriptures, Oreb, Zevey, Salman, Abimelech, Goliath, Absalom, and others like them, and among the outsiders, hectors, ajaxes, and the Lacedaemonians, who thought above all about their strength. Therefore, if you want to be not a useless warrior, then turn to spiritual warfare as soon as possible and fight more against your outrage" ( Isidore Pelusiot,reverend. Letters. Book. I Letter 79).
In another letter to the soldier John, the monk writes: “Finally stop your insolence, John; look at the great and unspeakable depravity of your deeds. Either, as a rightfully armed and lawful warrior, go out to fight with the barbarians, or behave in the city like a good citizen and observe decency ... You make, as I learned, invasions of monastic huts and steal the reaped sheaves of farmers in order to appropriate them to yourself ... See that you do not experience any storm and do not suffer a just removal of members, so that here you will be punished with blindness, and there you will be prepared for fire ”( Isidore Pelusiot,reverend. Letters. Book. I. Letters 326–327). It should be noted that in these letters St. Isidore Pelusiot does not say something fundamentally original and new - he only sufficiently pedagogically reveals that attitude towards soldiers, which St. John the Baptist explains in a few words.
The military craft is a sphere of extreme emotional tension, and hence there is a great danger of self-intoxication with one's own courage and exploits, which in turn give rise to the arrogance of warriors in relation to the civilian population. And in order to sober up a certain militaristic vehemence of the eras of permanent wars, it is useful not to idealize military service as such, to read these letters of St. Isidore Pelusiot. It will also be useful to recall the fact that, according to the teachings of the Church, military service is impossible for those who have dedicated themselves to the priesthood or monasticism. " 7th canon of the IV Ecumenical Council(451) commands that once ranked among the clergy or monks, they should not enter either military service or the secular rank, taking off their sacred robes and changing clothes according to the custom of those; otherwise, those who dare to do this and do not repent and do not again accept the clothing characteristic of the sacred life, which they previously chose for the sake of God, he commands to be anathematized: for he who dares to do something of this kind is no longer subject to eruption, since he himself sentenced himself to this before condemnation, laying down taking off his priestly clothes and becoming a layman" ( See: Matthew (Vlastar), hieromonk. Alphabetical syntagma. M., 1996).
Blessed Theodoret of Kirsky(457), speaking about the discipline of life, he teaches “Since there are many different kinds of pious life: monastic and cenobitic life, desert and city life, civil and military life ... in every kind of life you can please God, it is not without reason that it is said:“ who is the man who fears the Lord? He will establish a law for him on the path that he has chosen, that is, in the kind of life that a person has decided to lead, he will give him decent and consistent laws. So St. John the Baptist advised the publicans who questioned not to take more than what was prescribed, and the soldiers - not to offend anyone, be content with quitrents, that is, certain food, cf. OK. 3:12–14" ( Theodoret of Kirsky,blissful. Explanation of the Psalms. M., 2004. S. 89). Renowned teacher of monasticism reverend Barsanuphius the Great(563) repeats the thought of St. John the Baptist about the condemnation of looting: “Some came to us, asking about military service; we answered them that there are grievances in it, and God does not help grievances ”( The Venerable Fathers Barsanuphius the Great and John a guide to spiritual life in response to the questions of the disciples. M., 2001. S. 502).
The lives of the saints give us numerous examples of the miraculous help of Orthodox soldiers from God during wars. So Saint John Mosch(619) told the following story: “One of the fathers gave me the following story of a warrior, a former dracanary: “During the war in Africa with the Mauritanians, we were defeated by the barbarians and were persecuted, during which many of ours were killed. One of the enemies overtook me and already raised his spear to hit me. Seeing this, I began to call on God: "Lord God, who appeared to Your servant Thekla and delivered her from the hands of the wicked, deliver me from this misfortune and save me from evil death. I will retire to the desert and spend the rest of my life in solitude." And turning around, I no longer saw any of the barbarians. I immediately withdrew to this lavra of Koprata. And by the grace of God he lived in this cave for 35 years. John Mosch,blissful. Limonar, 20 (http://utoli-pechali.ru/content/books/lug.htm).
Similarly, Saint John Moschus cites the story of Abba Palladius about a warrior who, in his spare time from army service, indulged in such ascetic deeds that he was set as an example even to monks! The story goes like this: “In Alexandria there was a warrior named John. He led the following way of life: every day from morning until nine o'clock he sat in a monastery near the entrance to the church of St. Peter. He was dressed in sackcloth and weaving baskets, he was silent all the time and did not talk to anyone at all. Sitting at the temple, he was busy with his work and only one thing proclaimed with tenderness: "Lord, cleanse me from my secrets (Ps. 18: 13), so that I will not be ashamed in prayer." Having uttered these words, he again plunged into a long silence ... And then again, after an hour or more, he repeated the same exclamation. Thus he proclaimed seven times during the day, without speaking a word to anyone. At the ninth hour, he took off his sackcloth and put on military clothes and went to his place of service. I stayed with him for about eight years and found a lot of edification both in his silence and in his way of life. John Mosch,blissful. Limonar, 73).
At the Monk John of the Ladder(646) we also find a very interesting comparison of warriors with monks: “Let us explain in this word the very image of the militancy of these courageous warriors: how they hold the shield of faith to God and their mentor, averting them every thought of unbelief and passing (to another place), and, always raising the spiritual sword, they kill with it any of their own will that approaches them, and, being dressed in iron armor of meekness and patience, they reflect with it any insult, wounding and arrows; they also have a helmet of salvation - the prayer cover of their mentor "( John of the Ladder,reverend. Ladder, 4. 2 (http://www.pagez.ru/lsn/0086.php). Saint Nicholas Cabasila Hamaet(1398) writes: “And there is no obstacle to any occupation, and the commander can command the troops, and the farmer can cultivate the land, and the applicant will manage affairs and will not need anything because of this.” ( Nicholas Cavasila, St . Seven words about life in Christ. M., 1874. S. 136).
Supporters of the pacifist interpretation of the Gospel often refer to the words of the Lord about love for enemies. The Holy Fathers repeatedly gave clarifications regarding this. We find a very interesting episode concerning the question under consideration in the life of Saint Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril, Enlightener of the Slavs. When the Muslim Saracens asked St. Cyril why Christians participate in wars while Christ commanded them to love their enemies, he replied: “Christ our God commanded us to pray for those who offend us and favor them; but he commanded us: there is no greater love than if a man lays down his life for his friends(John 15:13). Therefore, we endure the insults that you inflict on each of us separately, but in society we defend each other and lay down our lives for our brothers, so that you, dragging them into captivity, do not captivate their souls along with their bodies, inclining the pious to your evil and ungodly affairs" ( Cit. Quoted from: Barsov M.V. Collection of articles on interpretive and instructive reading of the Four Gospels. SPb., 1893. T. 1. C. 574).
At the same time, it should be emphasized that the 7th canon of the IV Ecumenical Council, which forbids clergy (clerics) to take up arms, was not always properly observed. True, the clergy themselves (perhaps, having embarked on the path of earthly warfare by extreme necessity), did not assess such a situation as worthy and due! An example from the “Sufferings of the 42 Martyrs of Amoria” (IX century) is worthy of attention, when Muslims who captured Byzantine officers led the latter to execution, and they reached the Euphrates River, the Sharia judge called one of them, the holy Crater, and said to him: “You were once a cleric, belonging to the rank of the so-called priests, but, having rejected such a degree, he then took up a spear and weapons, killed people; Why are you pretending to be a Christian by denying Christ? Shouldn’t you better turn to the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad and seek help and salvation from him when you no longer have any hope of boldness before Christ, whom you voluntarily renounced? To this, Saint Crater replied that it was precisely for this reason that he was all the more obliged to shed his blood for Christ in order to obtain redemption for his sins. (Maksimov Yu.V. Feat of the 42 Martyrs of Amor in the context of the Orthodox controversy with Islam (http://www.pravoslavie.ru/put/080319171635). It is also worth mentioning that Metropolitan Georgy of Kyiv, in his essay “Contest with Latins”, among the delusions of Roman Catholics, in particular, indicates that the Latins allow “bishops and priests to go to war and defile their hands with blood, which Christ did not command” ( Cit. by: Macarius (Bulgakov), Metropolitan. History of the Russian Church. M., 1995. Book. 2).
However, the Church has always supported the warriors who drew their swords in order to defend, protect the weak and restore trampled justice. One of the forms of such support is the institution of regimental priests (chaplains), whose duties included the spiritual, moral and patriotic education of soldiers. Among them were famous saints, for example, the organizer of cenobitic monasticism on Mount Athos Saint Athanasius of Athos who accompanied Emperor Nicephorus Phocas during his victorious campaign against Crete. Athos Emperor Nikephoros after death, he was revered as a saint, and in his essay "Strategic" he devotes a particularly significant place to the issue of spiritual and moral education of soldiers, including through the establishment of mandatory regular prayers. In particular, he writes “The commander should decide in advance ... that in the camp in which the entire army is stationed, during the doxology and at evening and morning prayers, army priests make fervent prayers, and the whole army exclaims: “Lord, have mercy!” - up to a hundred times with the attention and fear of God and with tears; so that no one dares in the hour of prayer by some kind of labor ”( Nikephoros II Phocas. Strategy. SPb., 2005. S. 38–39).
It is also reliably known about the Monk Athanasius of Athos that, at the request of Empress Zoya, he blessed his tonsured commander Tornikios to return for a short time to the military command in order to save the country from the invasion of the Arabs. In subsequent eras, mass cases of the participation of the Greek clergy in the armed struggle against the Turks during the liberation uprisings are also known. In memory of this, a kind of monument was even erected in Crete, depicting a priest with a gun in his hands. Montenegrin priests and even the metropolitans themselves took part in the bloody struggle against the Turks even more actively! However, it should be repeated that all these were exceptions caused by the special circumstances of the time.
The history of our state also knows cases when, in exceptional cases, saints violated the 7th canon of the IV Ecumenical Council, when the military skills of one or another tonsurer were so in demand in matters of state security that strict adherence to the canons (acrivia) gave way to practical and saving house-building (savings). So St. Sergius of Radonezh at the request of the holy noble prince Dimitry Donskoy, he blessed two schemamonks, formerly valiant warriors, saints Alexander Peresvet and Andrey Oslyabya, to participate in the Battle of Kulikovo.
For any reasonable person, it is obvious that a lot in the army depends not only on the policy and position of the state, but also on the personality of each specific military leader, commander. According to the combined arms regulations, the commander should, in particular, “be an example of moral purity, honesty, modesty and justice” ( http://www.studfiles.ru/dir/cat20/subj241/file8656/view92403.html). The holy fathers were well aware that a believing and pious commander would help the Church fulfill its duty of preaching and spiritual nourishment of the soldiers, and by personal example would help strengthen piety and a healthy moral climate among the personnel. And therefore, among the works of the saints, we will find, among other things, messages to military leaders with explanations of what an Orthodox warrior should be like. For example , Saint Macarius of Moscow(1563) wrote in 1552 a pastoral letter to Tsar Ivan the Terrible and his troops, who at that time were on a campaign against Kazan. In it, the saint, in particular, calls on the tsar “with all his Christ-loving army to fight well, bravely and courageously with God's help for the holy churches of God and for all Orthodox Christians - against your adversaries ... your traitors and apostates, who always shed Christian blood and defile and destroying the holy churches" ( Cit. Quoted from: Pushkarev S.G. The role of the Orthodox Church in the history of Russian culture and statehood. Seal of St. Job of Pochaev, 1938). In the same epistle, Saint Macarius writes that the one who guards himself from transgressions of soul and body and strives “in purity and repentance and in other virtues” is worthy of God’s help in battles. The saint also writes: “If it happens that one of the Orthodox Christians in that battle suffers to the point of bloodshed for the holy churches and for the holy Christian faith and for a multitude of Orthodox people and then be alive, and they will truly cleanse their former sins by the shedding of their blood” ( Cit. Quoted from: Dimitry Polokhov, priest. Moral and patriotic education in the armed forces on the basis of the Orthodox Christian faith. Diss. Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra, 2000).
By the way, the much-loved rumors of the pacifists regarding the words of the Sermon on the Mount about love for enemies are denounced by St. Demetrius of Rostov (1709). Here is what he writes: “Do not think, my listener, that I repeat these words about those enemies who are at war with our Christian fatherland and are at enmity against our pious faith ... They not only cannot be loved, but it is even necessary to make war against them, laying down the soul his own for the Christian kingdom and the integrity of the Church" (Dimitri Rostovsky, saint. Creations. SPb., b.g. S. 482).
At the same time, the holy fathers also consider those cases when certain orders imply a direct violation of the commandments of God, for example, the killing of civilians or unarmed people; killing of prisoners, etc. Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk(1783) writes: “What is not contrary to the law of God is commanded, listen and do: otherwise do not listen, as it is more fitting to obey God than men (cf. Acts 5:29.) Thus did the holy martyrs ... if [ commander] orders to lie, offend, steal, lie, etc. - do not obey. If he threatens punishment for this - do not be afraid ( Tikhon Zadonsky,saint. Creations. M., 1875. T. 3. S. 345). The lives of the saints tell us about numerous cases of the first three centuries of Christianity, when pagan commanders ordered Christian soldiers to sacrifice to idols or execute Christians who did not want to sacrifice to idols - and Christians disobeyed such orders, remaining faithful to God until martyrdom. Saint Innocent of Kherson(1857) believed that the Orthodox faith is the main thing that a Christian warrior should hold on to. The saint writes: “The true warrior of Christ is the one who, in addition to earthly weapons, also has the weapons of God - living faith, firm hope, unfeigned love for the truth and Christian humility” ( Innokenty (Borisov),archbishop. Works. T. 3: Words and speeches. SPb., 1908. S. 407).
This work would not be complete if it did not mention one person who, according to the logic of things (outside the intervention of God's providence), was waiting for a brilliant military career as an outstanding officer, and perhaps even a general of the army of the Russian Empire. We are talking about a student of the Military Engineering School - Dmitry Alexandrovich, who is known to all of us as Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov(1861). About the positive qualities of a warrior, St. Ignatius wrote: “Fortitude is one of the first virtues of the army, both earthly and spiritual. Warriors experienced in battle consider a brave attack on an enemy formation as a sign of courage, but incomparably greater - silently standing with gloomy firmness under the cannonballs and buckshot of enemy batteries, when the general plan of the commander requires it. It is on such warriors that he can rely the most, on such warriors our ascetic Jesus Christ relies most and crowns them with spiritual crowns ”( Ignatius (Bryanchaninov),saint. Letters to the monks, 78 (http://www.anb.nnov.ru/letters/letter.php?id=78).
Moreover, St. Ignatius did not limit himself exclusively to spiritual advice, but, having a military education and striving to bring as much benefit to the Motherland as possible, he considered it possible to give even recommendations of a strategic nature in matters of war! In a letter to his friend N.N. To Muravyov, who during the Crimean War commanded the Russian army advancing on Turkey, St. Ignatius wrote: “In the current war, brilliant actions are not needed, essentially useful actions are needed. Others enthusiastically say that after taking Erzurum you will go to Gallipoli or Scutari in order to lock up the enemy fleets and troops and deprive them of the opportunity to receive reinforcements; others say that from Erzurum you will go to Trebizond. And I allow myself to give my opinion, because indulgent people listen to it. I recognize a campaign to the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles as impossible until the events determine: whether the allies will make a landing for action against Georgia; I consider a trip to Trebizond, as well as to any other seaside place, of little use, if not completely fruitless in a war with an enemy who has all the advantages at sea; only a demonstration of such a campaign can be useful in the event that the enemy detaches significant forces to guard coastal places; such a demonstration may keep the enemy troops guarding the coast inactive. In my opinion, for the campaign of this summer, we mean actions of incomparably greater importance: this is preparation for the campaign of next year, the results of which can be much stronger and more decisive, and actions in all directions from Erzurum Patalik to the population of Asia Minor, which will be electrified by the spirit of hostility. to the dominion of the Turks, especially to dominion in the Western European way, and thus the fall of the Turkish Empire will become inevitable, if not in the current campaign, then in subsequent ones. The main thing is not to rush to make peace here, without waiting for the fruit after such donations and efforts ... God willing, you will take both Kars and Erzurum ”( Cit. Quoted from: Shafranova O.I. Letters of St. Ignatius (Bryanchaninov) N.N. Muravyov-Karsky // Journal of the Moscow Patriarchy. 1996. No. 4–5).
It is absurd to believe that the saint gave such advice, as if in exchange for spiritual instructions. On the contrary, in each of his letters the bishop pledged his prayers, gave spiritual advice, and sent blessings. The Russian-Turkish war had as its goal the liberation of our fellow Christian Slavs from the Turkish yoke, and in this context St. Ignatius, in addition to his fervent prayer support, dared to give practical advice in the field of military affairs.
Our other outstanding St. Philaret of Moscow(1867), speaking about the war of 1812, emphasized that it was the Orthodox faith that gave strength and courage to fight even to inexperienced recruits, and the sacrilege and blasphemous actions of the French soldiers gave the Russian soldiers the determination to defeat the enemy to the end! In particular, the Metropolitan of Moscow wrote: “When the government was forced to put inexperienced citizens against an excessive number of enemy hordes, faith sealed them with its own sign, confirmed them with its blessing, and these inexperienced warriors reinforced, delighted, and surprised the old warriors. And when the frantic crowds of the wicked did not leave unarmed faith in the world, when, especially in the capital rich in ancient piety, they filled their hands with sacrilege, defiled the temples of the living God and cursed his shrine, zeal for faith turned into a fiery, tireless zeal to punish detractors and even encouraging hope that the enemy of God will not long be our happy enemy" ( Collection of opinions and opinions of Filaret, Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna, on educational and church-state issues. SPb., 1887. Add. t.s. 9).
The following words of St. Philaret of Moscow are devoted to the doctrine of war as a forced necessity in a fallen world: “God loves a good-natured world, and God blesses righteous warfare. For since there are non-peaceful people on earth, it is impossible to have peace without military help. An honest and trustworthy world, for the most part, must be won. And in order to preserve the acquired peace, it is necessary that the victor himself does not allow his weapons to rust. Filaret (Drozdov),saint. Words and speeches. M., 1882. T. 4. S. 272). “War,” wrote the saint, “is a terrible thing for those who undertake it needlessly, without truth, with a thirst for self-interest or dominance, which has turned into a thirst for blood. They bear a heavy responsibility for the blood and disasters of their own and others. But war is a sacred cause for those who accept it out of necessity - in defense of truth, faith, fatherland" ( Filaret (Drozdov), saint. Selected works, letters, memoirs. M., 2003. S. 481).
During the Crimean War, St. Philaret especially emphasized deep respect for the highest manifestations of military service and, in particular, wrote: enemies, our compatriots, close to the disgrace of war. But with these sad memories, a comforting and majestic thing is connected. Our warriors of the sea, having begun their exploits by destroying the Turkish fleet, when they had to evade the excessive superiority of the naval power of several powers, not only did not yield their ships, but also made them an underwater fortification to protect the harbor and the city. Then, for eleven months, the united warriors of sea and land victoriously resisted in Sevastopol the most numerous troops of the four powers and hitherto unprecedented destructive weapons. Finally, although the enemies are allowed to work on the ruins left by them in order to multiply the ruins, the Russian army stands in Sevastopol to this day (until the conclusion of the Paris Peace). In the Far East, a small fortification with a handful of people repulsed the sea and land attacks of incomparably strongest enemies, who, according to the confession, participated in it more by prayer than by force. In the west, the two strongest fleets were uselessly exhausting their efforts against one fortress, while looking at the other only from a distance. In the north there was a strange confrontation: on the one hand, warships and firearms, on the other, clergy and monastics, walking along the wall with a shrine and prayer, and several people with weak and faulty weapons: both the monastery remained undefeated and the shrine inviolable. The troops of four powers acted against Russia, and among them were the strongest in the world ... And despite all this, in Europe we are not defeated, but in Asia we are winners. Glory to the Russian army! Blessed be the memory of the ascetics of the fatherland, who sacrificed their courage, art and life!” ( Cit. Quoted from: The State Teaching of Filaret, Metropolitan of Moscow // Orthodox Life. 1997. No. 9–10).
Another lamp of the Russian land of the XIX century - Saint Theophan the Recluse(1894), criticizing the pacifist teaching of the Tolstoyans, writes that “in warriors and wars, God, often visible, showed a blessing both in the Old and in the New Testament. And we have how many princes glorified by the relics, which, however, fought. In the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra in the caves there are the relics of warriors. They fight out of love for their own, so that they are not subjected to captivity and violence by the enemy. What did the French do in Russia? And how was it not to fight with them? (Collected letters of St. Theophan. M., 1899. Issue 5. C. 208). At the same time, the saint also carries out another very important idea that no matter how high a military feat in itself, however, without Christian humility, it does not give holiness and does not lead a person to paradise! So, retelling in one of his instructions a fantastic story-parable by V.A. Zhukovsky’s “Peri and the Angel” and calling it “instructive,” St. Theophan writes: “Peri, the spirit, one of those carried away to falling away from God, came to his senses and returned to paradise. But, having flown to its doors, he finds them locked. An angel, their guardian, tells him: "There is hope that you will enter, but bring a worthy gift." Peri flew to the ground. Sees: war. A valiant warrior dies and in dying tears prays to God for the fatherland. Peri picked up this tear and carries it. Brought, but the door did not open. The angel tells him: “A gift is good, but it is not strong enough to open the doors of paradise for you.” This expresses that all civil virtues are good, but some do not lead to paradise. Theophan the Recluse,saint. What is spiritual life and how to tune in to it? Ch. 66: Instruction to the pilgrims). The story ends with the fact that only when Peri brought a tear of a repentant sinner, he was allowed into paradise. At the same time, in another place, St. Theophan the Recluse spoke very commendably about military service and, in particular, wrote that “the military path is the best - pure, honest, selfless” ( Collection of letters of St. Theophan. M., 1899. Issue. 8.C.95). In another letter, the saint also exclaims: “You are a future warrior! The business of a warrior is to stand cheerfully and always be ready to engage in a fight with the enemy, not sparing himself and not indulging the enemy ”( Collection of letters of St. Theophan. M., 1899. Issue. 5. C. 118).
Holy Righteous John of Kronstadt(1908), discussing the reasons for the defeat in the Russo-Japanese War, directly points to the teaching of Leo Tolstoy that corrupts and leads a person away from understanding truly Christian values. The All-Russian priest writes: “Why could we not now defeat the pagan enemies with our brave army? We will say without hesitation: from disbelief in God, a decline in morality and from Tolstoy's senseless teaching "do not resist evil", following which Port Arthur surrendered to capitulation, and military ships - into shameful captivity with all equipment. What a glorious teacher for the entire Russian army and for all military and other authorities, the holy noble Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky! But which of the intelligentsia now reads about his exploits and who believes the miracles said? It is from this disbelief and from our proud, arrogant mind and arrogance of our military strength that we suffer all sorts of defeats and became a laughingstock for the whole world!” ( New formidable words of Father John of Kronstadt. Part 2. Word IX (http://www.rus-sky.com/gosudarstvo/i_kron/new-wrd2.htm#9). In another place, the presbyter of Kronstadt testifies: “In order to deserve heavenly help in the difficult circumstances of the Fatherland, one needs firm faith in divine help, and most importantly, repentance for the sins that caused God’s wrath on Russia, correction of morals. The war was caused by the godlessness and immorality of the Russian all-estate world, and the war gives it a bitter lesson. John of Kronstadt, St. Golden words (http://www.orthlib.ru/other/inkrpokrov.html). And Hieromartyr John Vostorgov(1918) during the war with Japan, he spoke of the need to “be imbued with grateful love for our warrior heroes who die for us on the battlefields, for the wounded, sick and come to them with all possible help” (And oann Delights, archpriest. Regarding the war with the pagans // Full. coll. op. SPb., 1995. T. 2, S. 422).
We read a very interesting story about the help of God to the soldiers who believe in Christ in Saint Nicholas of Serbia(1956) in “Letter to Soldier John N.”: “You write about a miraculous incident that happened to you in the war. Someone before the start of the battle handed out the gospel to the soldiers ... you caustically remarked: “Steel and lead are required here, not books. If steel won't save us, books won't save us!" This is the remark you made then, because until that day you considered the faith of God for nothing ... But nevertheless you took the little book and put it in your inner pocket on the left side. And what happened? You yourself say: a miracle of God, and I confirm it. The wounded fell around you; Finally, you were defeated. You got a grain of steel. You grabbed your heart with your hand, waiting for the blood to rush. Later, when you undressed, you found a bullet stuck in the hardcover of the book: it aimed right at the heart. You were shaking like you were in a fever. Finger of God! The holy book saved your life from deadly lead. That day you consider your spiritual birth. From that day on, you began to fear God and carefully study the dogma... The Lord, by His grace, opened your eyes... Some in the war destroyed the body, and others - the soul. The first lost less. And some have found their souls, and they are the true winners. There were those who went to war like wolves and returned like lambs. I know many of them. These are those who, like you, due to some miraculous event felt that the invisible Lord was walking beside them” (Nikolai Serbsky, Saint. Missionary Letters, 23 (http://www.pravbeseda.ru/library/index. php?page=book&id=907).
Another story of St. Nicholas: “During the war they sent one timid soldier to reconnaissance. Everyone knew his timidity and laughed when they found out where the foreman was sending him. Only one soldier did not laugh. He approached his comrade to support and encourage him. But he answered him: “I will die, the enemy is very close!” "Do not be afraid, brother: the Lord is still closer," the good comrade answered him. And these words, like a big bell, rang in the soul of that soldier and rang until the end of the war. And now, the once timid soldier returned from the war, awarded many orders for bravery. So his good word transformed him: “Do not be afraid: the Lord is even closer!” ( Nikolai Serbian,saint. Missionary letters, 23). Indicative in this regard is the metaphor that Saint Nicholas cites in terms of service in the army and the life of a Christian: “True Christians have always considered their life military service. And just as soldiers count the days of their service and happily think about returning home, so Christians constantly remember the end of their lives and their return to their Heavenly Fatherland. Nikolai Serbian,saint. Thoughts on Good and Evil, 3–4 (http://www.wco.ru/biblio/books/nikserb1/).
All these thoughts of the Holy Fathers convincingly show that the Church has never adhered to Tolstoy's views regarding non-resistance to evil by force. In the Gospel we do not find a single word condemning military service itself, on which the neo-Tolstoyans insist. We do not see this mainly in the era of the early Church - we see the opposite - excommunication for desertion. War is seen as a necessary necessity in a fallen world. Honoring the war as a great disaster, the holy fathers, however, believed that a defensive war or military actions aimed at restoring trampled justice are obligatory remedy to curb the greater evil. Protecting your compatriots and fellow believers (including weak people - women, the elderly and children) from an intruder and enemy is an undeniable virtue, and not a sin. The violence used in this case is a forced and necessary measure.
The Holy Fathers consistently and thoroughly refute the opinion that military service is incompatible with the Christian way of life and allegedly hinders salvation! Very indicative in this respect are the words of St. Augustine that the condemnation of military service by some people “actually arises not from religious motives, but from cowardice”! This is eloquently confirmed by our saints of the 19th century - St. Theophan the Recluse, holy righteous John of Kronstadt, who give a derogatory assessment of the philosophical teachings of Leo Tolstoy, as spiritually corrupting and untenable! The following thought runs through the entire patristic heritage - the profession of a warrior is one of the most noble, but the facts of abuse of the capabilities of an armed man are a shameful thing! However, the same can be said about any profession - a doctor, a teacher, a clergyman!
Holy Tradition testifies that there were many warriors who pleased God precisely with their feat of arms. Murder in war cannot be equated with malicious murder in peacetime, however, it is also wrong to consider this forced action absolutely harmless. In this regard, church pedagogy provides wonderful spiritual guidance in relation to those who were forced to burn their souls with this deed. The holy fathers with great wisdom approached such a complex phenomenon as military service, on the one hand setting as an example the courage, steadfastness, heroism and selflessness of soldiers, using even well-known metaphors in relation to spiritual life. But, on the other hand, the saints insisted that faith and piety are indispensable and irreplaceable qualities of a Christian warrior!
The entire history of the Orthodox Church shows that at all times, Orthodox warriors who have true faith and an example of pious life, always before a campaign or an outbreak of war, took a blessing from the Church in the person of a bishop or priest to defend the Fatherland and restore outraged justice. And such a blessing was always given - the Church prayed for "authorities and hosts" and spiritually supported our defenders. And our task today is to sufficiently revive the spiritual nourishment of the Russian army (as well as other power structures) - the core and support of the Russian statehood, which, without a doubt, is the guarantor of "times of peace, quiet and silent life." And here it is extremely appropriate to recall the words of blessed memory His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy II: “The Church desires that a person wearing a military uniform be enlightened by the light of the Truth of Christ, so that the Lord Himself guides this person both in peacetime and in wartime. The Church believes that if a soldier gives his heart to Christ and is led by the Lord, then he will not go astray, but will sincerely and sacrificially defend his neighbors, honorably fulfill his military duties.