Мистика в православии

Mysticism is the name given to internal (mystical) experience, which gives us contact with the spiritual, Divine world, as well as internal (and not just external) comprehension of our natural world. The possibility of mysticism presupposes that a person has a special ability of direct, super-rational and super-sensual, intuitive comprehension, which we call mystical, and it must be distinguished simply from the mood, which is limited to the obviously subjective area, psychologism. On the contrary, mystical experience has an objective character, it involves going out of oneself, a spiritual touch or encounter. Saul on the way to Damascus had not an illusion or hallucination, which had only a subjective meaning for him, but a real vision of Christ, which, however, remained inaccessible to his companions (although they heard His voice), because it was revealed to his inner feeling and had a mystical character. The entire life of Orthodoxy is filled with heavenly visions, and this is the most essential thing about it, which, however, is not seen by the “companions,” who therefore do not know it in its essence, but only in its coverings, which seem to them “petrified” or mummified. Mysticism is the air of Orthodoxy, surrounding it with an atmosphere of varying density, but always moving. This is clearly felt when compared: it is enough to compare the impression of a Protestant kirk and an Orthodox “praying” church in order to feel this cloud of God’s glory descending on it. (A similar feeling, although in different tones, is also experienced in old Catholic, Romanesque and Gothic churches). Life in Orthodoxy is connected with the vision of other worlds, and without it it simply does not exist. Worship, as already indicated, contains not only memory, but also the reality of the events remembered. The one who prays, to the extent of his spiritual age, participates in the life of the Lord, the Mother of God and the saints, and through this he becomes involved in the things of the invisible world. This mystical realism is the general premise of all Orthodox worship, without which it would lose all its power - to be the ongoing mystery of the incarnation. Therefore, Orthodox worship addresses, first of all, the mystical feeling, speaks to it and educates it. Of primary importance in this regard, along with all other sacraments and secrecy, is the Holy Eucharist, which is the center of Orthodox piety. The acceptance of the body and blood of Christ and the union in them with Christ has always been and remains such a fact, which is the source of prayers, reflections and, most importantly, the special Eucharistic knowledge of Christ. Like a mountain peak, it increases with approach to Him, external and internal. In the lives of the saints, as their lives testify, the communion of St. the secrets were of exceptional importance. They themselves changed and became enlightened at the same time (as is described in the life of St. Seraphim). In the life of Rev. Sergius is told that one brother saw him in the concelebration of an angel, and another saw him communing with fire, which, coiled, entered the holy chalice. But in general, in Christian life, the communion of the holy gifts is a spiritual triumph, and one must see during the days of Great Lent, when the whole church receives communion, with what light and tenderness all the communicants are enveloped, giving each other a fraternal kiss. Holy communion is an experienced miracle of the incarnation of God; it constantly puts a person before the face of God and gives him an encounter with Christ, shaking his being with mystical awe. A person stands before a higher reality, and it enters his life, and through this he becomes accessible to its influences. Saint Simeon, the New Theologian, explains that the Kingdom of God, which exists within us, is holy communion. Orthodox mysticism, developing in connection with holy communion, is alien to sensuality and is distinguished by sobriety. The cult of adoration of the holy gifts outside communion, which develops in Catholicism, remains alien to her, as well as the cult of the heart of Jesus, the heart of the Mother of God, the five wounds and the like. In general, in the mysticism of Orthodoxy, the imagination is not only not encouraged, but in every possible way is banished, with which a person tries to sensually imagine and experience the spiritual (a feature characteristic of the exercitia spiritualia of Ignatius of Loyola, as well as Catholic mysticism in general). The images that church prayer and icons provide, together with the Gospel images, are enough to spiritually enter into the power of the remembered events, but more that comes from the human imagination is burdened by its subjectivity and, what is much worse, sensuality, and therefore is not of any use. Orthodox mysticism is ugly and so is the path to it, i.e. both prayer and thought of God, which should not strive for human imagery of God, if God himself does not awaken an image in man. In accordance with this character of Orthodox mysticism, in the life of prayer the main means for it is the Name of God, invoked in prayer. The main emphasis is placed on this meaning of the Name by ascetics and prayer books, from the ancient hermits of Thebaid and the medieval “hesychasts” of Athos to Fr. John of Kronstadt, in our days. For all Orthodox Christians there is a private prayer rule, consisting of psalms and various prayers, which for monks, of course, increases enormously (in addition to church services). However, the most important thing in prayer, the heart of prayer, is the so-called Jesus Prayer: “Lord Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” This prayer, repeated dozens, hundreds of times and even without counting, is included as a necessary element in any monastic rule; if necessary, it can replace both divine services and any other prayer rule, such is its universal meaning 34. Moreover, the power of this prayer does not lie in its special content, which is simple and clear (the publican’s prayer), but in the sweetest Name of Jesus itself. According to the testimony of prayer ascetics, this Name has within itself the power of the presence of God. By him, God is not only called, but He is already present in this calling. This can be stated, of course, in relation to any Name of God, but in a special and exclusive sense it must be said in relation to the theanthropic Name of Jesus, which is the proper Name of God and man. Therefore, It was foreshadowed by the angel in the Annunciation, and such deliberate power is attributed to Him in the Gospel and New Testament books. This name, one for both the Divinity and humanity of Christ, has in itself the power of incarnation, in which Jesus is a single hypostasis for the divine and human nature. The action of the Name of Jesus contained in the Jesus Prayer is described by its practitioners in different manifestations. Monks of Athos in the 14th century, followers of St. Gregory Palamas, testified that the workers of the Jesus Prayer saw the light of Christ and revered this light as the light of the Transfiguration, Tabor (as was confirmed at the Councils of Constantinople in the 14th century). Others, and the whole world, all of creation, saw in this light, seeing the stamp of the Name of God on it, and experienced unearthly joy from it. In a word, the Name of Jesus, contained in the heart of a person, imparts to him the power of deification given to us by the Redeemer. The Jesus Prayer, according to the testimony of ascetics, has three images or steps. Firstly, oral or verbal prayer, when the ascetic makes an effort to constantly have the Jesus Prayer in his mouth and mind, of course, subject to the appropriate spiritual mood: in peace and love with everyone, in keeping the commandments, in chastity and humility. The long and, if possible, continuous Jesus Prayer at this stage is hard work and, as it were, an unrewarded effort. At the second stage, the Jesus Prayer is mental or spiritual. It differs from the first in that the human mind already enters into prayer that is constantly performed and is concentrated in the Name of Jesus, which reveals the power of Christ already hidden in Him. The mind is then freed from its incessant wandering and remains in the “inner cage,” in the thought of God. Here there is already a premonition of the sweetness of the Name of Jesus. Finally, the third and highest stage of “mental doing” (as the Jesus Prayer is called) is performed in the spirit or in the heart. Prayer penetrates the inner being of a person who sees himself in amazement in the Divine light. The Jesus Prayer then happens by itself in the heart continuously, without any effort, and the light of the Name of Jesus, through the heart, illuminates the entire universe. This state cannot be depicted in words, but it is already a preliminary to the time when “God will be all in all.” Of course, this distinction of three stages is only a diagram in order to outline the inner path in doing this prayer, which represents the main type of Orthodox mysticism. This path is not only difficult, but also dangerous, because there may be spiritual temptations and damage along it. Therefore, the rule here is that the personal guidance of the elder to the novice, the more experienced to the less experienced, is applied here, but in ordinary use this, of course, is not necessary. Therefore, “smart work” was concentrated mainly in monasteries 35. The practical application of the Jesus Prayer naturally led to a purely theological questioning about the Name of God and His power, about the meaning of His veneration and about His effectiveness. This question has not yet received a dogmatic resolution that has received church-wide force in theological literature; it is still far from sufficiently discussed. Currently, there are two different directions in understanding this issue. Some (who call themselves name-glorifiers) are generally supporters of realism in the veneration of the name: they believe that in the Name of God, invoked in prayer, there is already the presence of God (Fr. John of Kronstadt, etc.); others adhere to a more rationalistic and nominalistic understanding, according to which the Name of God is human, an instrumental means for expressing human thought and aspiration towards God. Practical practitioners of the Jesus Prayer and, in general, mystics hold the first opinion, as do some theologians and hierarchs; the second point of view characterizes school theology and Orthodox scholasticism, which reflected the influence of European rationalism. In any case, the theological teaching about the Name of God is currently one of the most immediate and significant tasks in the self-determination of Orthodoxy, which our time passes on to future centuries. This determines the main line of modern Orthodox theology (together with the teaching about Sophia, the Wisdom of God, which, due to its complexity, we do not touch here at all 36). Many mystical works of great religious and practical significance are devoted to prayer in general, and especially to the Jesus Prayer; first of all, an extensive collection of Φιλοκαλία - Philokalia (vol. IV) and a whole series of ascetic works: St. Ephraim the Syrian, Isaac the Syrian, John Climacus, the newest Russian spiritual writers: Bishop. Theophan the Recluse, bishop. Ignatius Brianchaninov, St. Ep. Tikhon, Rev. I. Kronstadtsky and others. Prayer, of course, has value in itself in that it turns the mind to God, it is a conversation with God. However, its main strength is that, in connection with Christian life, it leads to the main goal of a Christian, which is the acquisition of the Holy Spirit. This is not a goal other than union with Christ, which every Christian soul desires. This union is accomplished by the Holy Spirit resting on the Son, and he who lives in Christ knows this through the influx of the Holy Spirit, through the inspiration of new life. Therefore, those who live in Christ are spirit-bearing, as well as, vice versa: those who have the Spirit learn about themselves that “it is not I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” This spirituality cannot be accurately described, but it is felt when communicating with those who have it as a special spiritual force emanating from them, like a spiritual fragrance flowing from them, like another, higher life, revealing itself within them within the limits of our human life. They demonstrate that “the Kingdom of God is within you,” between us and in our lives. And the Orthodox soul most of all seeks and thirsts for this seal of the Spirit of God, this spirituality; it is what the Orthodox soul worships most of all. This spirituality, corresponding to the prophetic ministry in the Old Testament, in Christianity is associated with the prophetic ministry of Christ, as anointed with the Holy Spirit: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me” (Luke 4:18; Isaiah 61:1), and “spiritual” elders, generally spirit-bearing men in Orthodoxy, are, in this sense, Christian prophets (or prophetesses, because this is the ministry not confined to one male gender, like the priesthood). This spirituality is not at all connected with hierarchical rank, although in fact it can be connected with it. Images of great saints, such as St. Sergius or Rev. Seraphim, give us an idea of ​​these prophets in Christianity, and the disciples who surrounded them give us an idea of ​​the prophetic schools. (Of course, prophetic ministry, especially in the New Testament, is by no means connected with predicting the future, for “there are diversities of gifts and diversities of ministries, but the same Spirit.”) The Russian Church had a dazzling image of the great spirit-bearer at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries. in the saint of God Seraphim of Sarov. The story of his novice Motovilov has been preserved about how he showed him the Spirit of God living in him. The old man shone like the sun, surrounded by a dazzling radiance. Although it was among the snow in winter, Motovilov experienced a sweet warmth, smelled the fragrance, and felt heavenly joy. When this phenomenon ended, the elder appeared before him again in his usual form. Almost to this day, the elders of the Optina Hermitage (Fr. Ambrose and others) have shown themselves to be great images of spirituality, and thousands of people from all over Russia flocked to them, and Fr. John of Kronstadt. How pathetic and empty, next to these images, is the human self-exaltation that accompanies graceless false prophets, like Leo Tolstoy, with all his worldwide literary fame. In this spirituality, truly, the prophecy of St. Joel, relating to the Church of Christ, is fulfilled: “And your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams. And on My servants and on My handmaids in those days I will pour out My Spirit, and they will prophesy” (Joel 2:28-29). The face of Christ shines on the Christian soul, and it shows it the path of life. In Christianity there can be no other way, no other “ideal of life” than to become conformed to Christ, so that “Christ may be formed in you” (Gal. 4:19). But the face of Christ is universal and all-encompassing, in it every soul, in its own way, seeks its own face, and in this the difference in spiritual gifts is manifested. In this sense of their path, each person or people can be said to have their own Christ. The Catholic world received with the greatest strength the humanity of Christ, moreover, suffering, crucified. To crucify with Him, empathizing with His agony on the cross, is perhaps the most essential thing in the mysticism of Catholicism, with its stigmatization, the prayer cult of the five plagues, etc. Of course, for all Christianity the passion of Christ is sacred, and all of it bows before the cross. In Orthodoxy, Maundy Thursday, the reading of the twelve gospels about the passion of Christ, is one of the liturgical peaks of the church year, when the church quietly weeps, spiritually kissing the wounds of Christ, and every week on Wednesday and Friday afternoon services dedicated to the cross are held. However, it was not this image of Christ crucified that entered the soul of the Orthodox people and most of all took possession of it, but the image of the meek and humble Christ, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world and reduced Himself to a humble human image, who came into the world to serve everyone, but not to accept service for Himself, meekly accepting blasphemy, reproach and spitting and responding to them with love. The path of spiritual poverty, in which all other “beats” are already contained, has most of all opened up before the Orthodox soul. The holiness that she seeks (the Russian people expressed this aspiration in their name “Holy Rus'”) appeared before her in the image of the highest humility and selflessness. Therefore, for Orthodoxy, especially Russian, so-called “God’s people” are so characteristic, people not of this world, who do not have “a city that dwells here,” wanderers, homeless people, fools for Christ’s sake. These are those who abandoned their human mind, accepting the image of apparent madness, in order to freely endure reproach and humiliation “for Christ’s sake.” Of course, this does not exhaust Orthodox holiness, but here what is most intimate, and at the same time heroic, is revealed in it: all the power of religious will and achievement is directed towards putting off one’s natural image and putting on Christ. And these people of God are characterized by external helplessness and defenselessness, just as the Russian Church now faces its persecutors. Christ, during His Passion, after Gethsemane, no longer worked miracles, and in this His human defenselessness, which is not eliminated by either His Divine power or legions of angels from the Father, lies the stamp of the highest greatness: as if the Lord Himself is here demonstrating the fulfillment of His Beatitudes and calling to this all those who mourn and are burdened. In this image of holiness there is a stamp of otherworldliness, and there is no dispute that it can be completed and combined with work, also for the sake of Christ, but in this world. However, otherworldliness must exist in any image of holiness as its innermost, intimate aspiration, as a salting salt, for without it everything becomes worldly: “the pagans seek all this” (Matthew 6:32), who do not know, do not carry in their hearts the suffering, humble-hearted and meek Christ. It cannot be denied that Orthodoxy, not as the universal Church, which it recognizes itself and is, but as Eastern Christianity in comparison with Western Christianity, has a more unworldly face. The West is more practical, the East is more contemplative. Eastern Christianity recognizes as its chief apostle, the beloved disciple of Christ, adopted from the cross by the Mother of God, the apostle of love. Western Christianity is more imprinted with the spirit of both supreme apostles - Peter (in Catholicism) and Paul (in Protestantism). John's Christianity strives to adhere to the Persian Teacher, while Petrovo is concerned about both the two swords and the structure of the Church. This is how the different paths of Eastern and Western Christianity were outlined in the prototypes of the apostles. The contemplative character of Eastern monasticism is also connected with this. The latter does not know the diversity and differentiation of monastic life in its various orders, which is characteristic of Catholicism. Of course, in principle this diversity of monastic life, due to the circumstances of place and time, exists here too, within the same monastic type (or “order,” although this expression is generally not used in Orthodoxy). However, one thing prevails over everything, one work - prayer. In the dual formula that defines the character of Western monasticism: laborare et orare, in Orthodoxy the members are rearranged in the reverse order: orare et laborare. One might say that this is also acceptable for Western monasticism, but there remains a difference between active and contemplative Christianity. The latter in the West is characteristic only of individual orders, but in the East it is common. Monasticism here is “the adoption of an angelic image,” i.e. leaving the world and serving it through prayer and heroism, but not by fighting in the world ad majorem Dei gloriam. Of course, the case of Martha and Mary, two sisters equally beloved by the Lord, cannot be completely separated, much less opposed, but this difference in shades still remains. It is quite possible that Orthodoxy will turn its face to the world to a greater extent than it did; church history calls it to this. But his spiritual type will remain. Orthodoxy has a vision of intelligent beauty, to which the soul seeks ways to approach 37. This is the heavenly kingdom of ideas, which Plato contemplated in paganism - images of the angelic world, the spiritual “heaven” (Gen. 1:1), which looks into the earthly waters. This is not so much a religious-ethical ideal as a religious-aesthetic one, which lies beyond good and evil in their separation. This is the light that shines on the path of earthly wanderers. He calls beyond the boundaries of present life to its transformation. This prayer is performed using a rosary, which is given to monks at tonsure as a spiritual sword (but rosaries can also be used by non-monastics). The restorer of this activity, which once flourished on Mount Athos, for Russia at the end of the 18th century. is Elder Paisiy Velichkovsky, and from there it passed into the best monasteries, like Optina Pustyn and others. Those who wish can find material in my books in Russian: 1) - The Burning Bush, 2) - Friend of the Bridegroom, 3) - Jacob's Ladder, 4) - Lamb of God, 5) - Comforter, 6) - Bride of the Lamb, 7) - Never-Evening Light. Wed. also: priest P. Florensky, Pillar and statement of truth. The doctrine of Sophia by Vl. Solovyov (works Vol. Ill), “La Russie et 1'Eglise universelle”, has a Gnostic overtones. Ancient antiquity knew something similar in the ideal of καλοκαγαθία, in which goodness and beauty merge into unity.