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Is suicide a renunciation of God? Is there only hell for them?translated

September 24, 2026 · 1 min read

Reader question:

Is suicide considered a renunciation of God, and where do people who commit suicide go: can they go to heaven or only to hell?

Nikita

Priest's answer:

Priest Victor NIKISHOV

God bless you!

From the point of view of Orthodox doctrine, suicide is a grave sin for several reasons. Life is a gift from God, and man is not its absolute master, but only its manager. The Apostle Paul writes: “None of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself; and whether we live, we live for the Lord; Whether we die, we die to the Lord” (Rom. 14:7-8). By deliberately interrupting his life, a person actually refuses this gift and encroaches on something that does not belong to him.

In addition, suicide is seen as other sins. This is both a violation of the commandment “thou shalt not kill” (in relation to oneself), and, most importantly, a sin of despair and disbelief in God’s Providence. By committing such an act, a person refuses to bear his life’s cross, ceases to hope for God’s help and, in fact, pronounces a sentence that there is no salvation for him, God is allegedly powerless or does not want to help him. In this sense, suicide is close to a sin against the Holy Spirit - rejection...

Source: Журнал ФОМА  ·  Read the full story →
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