Глава II. Учебно-воспитательная служба

“The most effective means for cultivating true taste in the heart is churchliness, in which raised children must always be kept.” “Love your children and they will love you.” “Here is the program of rulers of all kinds: dissolve the severity of power with meekness, try to earn love through love, and be afraid of being a monster to others. True kindness does not shy away from strict words where it must, but in its mouth it never has the bitterness of reproach and reproach.” Practical educational activities From the first eighteen years of public service, Rev. Theophanes spent most of his time teaching, with some breaks in our foreign missions in Palestine and Constantinople. He served in several places and in all types of theological schools from the lowest to the highest, and held administrative positions in them, starting from the head of the theological school to the rector of the Academy. From the caretaker of the Kiev-Sophia School in December 1842, he was appointed inspector and teacher of logic and psychology at the Novgorod Seminary, two years later he was transferred to the St. Petersburg Academy to the position of bachelor of moral theology. In 1855, he was appointed rector of the Olonets Seminary and, finally, on June 13, 1857, he took the highest educational post - rector of the St. Petersburg Academy. There is little positive information about the educational service of Rev. Feofan, but judging by this information, and most importantly by his pedagogical views and writings, it is clearly visible how high and fruitful she was. In his educational activities, the saint is a true Christian idealist teacher, with the most lofty views on the matter, with the broadest requirements for his duty. He considered Christian love to be the main principle of educational measures, and the church of God and worship as the best environment and means of good education. The monk-teacher was not a supporter of formal, mechanical measures; he believed only in the power of love, and attached importance only to the moral influence of the teacher on the pet. “Love children and they will love you,” he said in response to everyone who asked about the best ways to educate. “This is the program of rulers of all kinds - dissolve the severity of power with meekness, try to earn love through love, and be afraid of being a monster to others. True kindness does not shy away from strict words where it should, but in its mouth it never has the bitterness of reproach and reproach” 15. Pedagogical views. A look at the tasks of Christian education and the personality of the educator Of course, according to the teachings of the saint, only religious and moral education should be considered correct, corresponding to human nature, and the development of the spirit of churchliness is the best means to this. “The most effective means for cultivating true taste in the heart is churchliness, in which raised children must always be kept. Sympathy for everything sacred, the sweetness of being among it, for the sake of silence and warmth, cannot be better imprinted on the heart. Church, spiritual singing, icons are the first, most elegant objects in terms of content and power” 16. With similar lofty views, Rev. Feofan was guided in his teaching practice. According to the recollections of people who knew his inspectorate service at the Novgorod seminary, the latter appears in the following form. The young monk, convinced that the Orthodox Church, with its sublime and touching sacred rites, is the best educator, tried to keep spiritual youth close to the Church and under its gracious influence. He was unmissably present at the home prayers of his disciples, performed divine services on holidays, and with his fervent prayer and preaching of the word of God, he attracted them to the church and cultivated a love for divine service. He often talked with young men about the proper satisfaction of bodily needs, and most often about the soul, how to put it in communion with God and maintain purity of conscience and heart. For spiritual development, I strongly recommended reading moral and religious books, especially the word of God and the works of the saints. Fathers with edifying biographies of them. From secular literature he pointed only to books with a good moral direction, not contrary to Christianity. In order to reasonably fill the pupils’ leisure time and protect them from idleness, the inspector assigned them to physical labor - carpentry and bookbinding, as well as painting. He himself especially loved the latter and was quite a skilled artist. In the summer, he sometimes took long country walks with the young men for the purpose of physical refreshment from tedious mental activities and to provide them with healthy and innocent entertainment 17 . As a teacher of moral theology at the capital's Academy, the Right Reverend was an outstanding professor of his time. Having freed this science from the old scholastic method and given a new direction in life, he thereby placed it from the then secondary subjects in the circle of theological knowledge to a prominent place corresponding to its important significance. Instead of the previous dry collection of rules of Christian behavior, moral theology from the time of Theophan became a real guide to spiritual life. A striking expression of his brilliant professorial activity is “The Outline of Christian Moral Teaching,” which is a collection of academic readings and was first published under the title “Letters on Christian Life.” Written on the one hand on the basis of a deep knowledge of spiritual phenomena and the author’s own inner experience, and on the other hand on the basis of an equally deep study of the word of God and patristic writings, the book created an entire era in the development of Russian theological thought and once and for all put an end to the dominance of scholasticism in the field of Christian moral teaching. Rev. Theophan was the first of the Orthodox theologians to give moral phenomena a psychological basis and derived the laws of the moral order from the structure of human nature. Since the science of Christian psychology does not exist in our country to this day, the author, when compiling his work, necessarily had to use his own observations of the spiritual world. How broad and fruitful these observations were was shown by the subsequent fate of the book. We personally have repeatedly heard from seminary teachers of theology that the “Inscription” for them is by far the best, irreplaceable guide. For the reader getting acquainted with the book for the first time, a whole world of new ideas opens up, and well-known phenomena are illuminated from such angles as you would not expect and with an understanding that you will not find anywhere else. All the author’s positions and the evidence in their favor have a remarkable power of persuasiveness, for they are not only the fruit of abstract mental work, but also clearly bear the stamp of a deeply feeling heart and experienced internal spiritual experience. Even more important for us than the personal teaching and educational activities of the saint are his pedagogical views on issues of Christian upbringing and education, found in many of his works and grouped mainly in the essay “The Path to Salvation.” Rev. Feofan represents a rare, exceptional personality of a truly Christian, Orthodox teacher. He left us a whole science of education, in which all the most important issues of Christian pedagogy are revealed with an amazing depth of psychological observation and a remarkable breadth of life experience. It depicts with vivid features the true ideal of upbringing and education and, in accordance with it, the requirements from the individual teacher and educator are indicated; From the point of view of this ideal, our modern upbringing is examined, its significant shortcomings are noted and means for improvement, both general and specific, are indicated in relation to the age and development of the pet; finally, the fruits of good upbringing are depicted, etc. These views are so lofty and expedient that they must be assimilated and accepted as guidance by everyone who wants to raise their children and students in the spirit of Christian faith and piety. To get acquainted with them, we consider it best to write out the most important and more significant points in original words, so as not to lose the depth of content, the remarkable simplicity and, at the same time, the artistry of their external expression. The saint-teacher highly values ​​the great cause of Christian education of children and in this important subject he attaches paramount importance to clarifying the question of its tasks and goals. “Education of all holy affairs,” he says, “is the most sacred... It is necessary to position the spirit of the students in such a way that their conviction does not go out that our main task is pleasing God, and scientificity is an additional quality, an accident, suitable only for the time of real life. It must be an immutable law that every science taught to a Christian should be imbued with Christian principles, and, moreover, Orthodox ones... Our most dangerous delusion is that science is taught without any attention to true faith, allowing oneself liberties or lies, on the assumption that faith and science are two areas that are decisively separated. We have one spirit. He accepts the sciences and is imbued with their principles, just as he accepts faith and is imbued with it. How is it possible that they do not come into favorable or unpleasant contact here?.. If education is conducted in such an order that faith and life in the spirit of faith rise above everything in the attention of the students, both in the manner of study and in the spirit of teaching, then there is no doubt that the principles laid down in childhood will not only be preserved, but will also be elevated, strengthened and come to a commensurate maturity. How beneficial this is” 18! In accordance with the sublime view of the tasks of education, the demands placed on the personality of a Christian educator are great. “The educator must go through all the degrees of Christian perfection in order to subsequently be able to control himself in his activities, be able to notice the direction of those being educated, and then act on them with patience, successfully, strongly, and fruitfully. This should be a class of persons of the purest, God’s chosen and saints” 19. Turning to our modern education, Rev. Theophan finds many significant shortcomings in him, the most important source of which he recognizes as the following reasons: “a) distance from the Church and its grace-filled means. This kills the sprout of Christian life, disconnecting it from its sources and it fades, like a flower placed in a dark place fades. b) Inattention to bodily functions. They think that the body can develop in every possible way without harm to the soul: meanwhile, in its functions are the seats of passions, which, together with its development, develop, take root and take possession of the soul. Penetrating bodily functions, passions gain a settled place in them, or build an impregnable fortress out of them, and thereby strengthen their power for all subsequent time. c) Ugly development of the forces of the soul, not directed towards one goal. They don’t see the goal ahead, they don’t see the way to it. Hence, despite all the concern for modern education, they do nothing more than inflate inquisitiveness, self-will and thirst for pleasure. d) Complete oblivion of the spirit 20. Prayer, fear of God, and conscience are rarely taken into account. There would be visible serviceability, but those internal states are always presupposed and therefore always left to themselves. e) During training, the main task is covered up with side issues, this one thing is obscured by many others” 21. In order to improve modern Christian education, it is necessary to take into account the following general pedagogical measures: 1) “It is good to understand and assimilate the principles of true Christian education and act on them, first of all, at home. Home education is the root and foundation of everything that follows. A well-bred and well-trained person at home will not be so easily led astray by a perverse school upbringing. 2) Then, rebuild school education according to new, true principles, introduce Christian elements into it, and correct what is faulty; The main thing is to keep the child being brought up under the abundant influence of St. throughout his education. The Church, which with its entire structure acts savingly on the creation of the spirit. 3) It is most necessary to educate educators under the guidance of such persons who know true education not from theory, but from experience. Having been educated under the supervision of the most experienced educators, they will again pass on their art to others, subsequent ones, etc.” 22. Initial upbringing of a child in a Christian family The sooner we begin the practical application of these general educational means, the better. Family education is possible and necessary to begin from early infancy. The churchliness and piety of parents are the best and irreplaceable ways to influence a child in this period. To create a Christian atmosphere around the cradle of a baby, to surround it with sacred objects and, through the example of the life of piously-minded parents, to open access to religious impressions to his soul, means unconsciously but firmly laying the foundations of a truly Christian life. “Here, first of all, attention is focused on the baby in the cradle, before any abilities awaken in him. The baby lives, therefore you can influence his life. Here we apply St. secrets, behind them all the churchliness, and with them the faith and piety of the parents. All this, taken together, will create a saving atmosphere around the baby. To all this, the grace-filled life conceived in the baby is mysteriously received. "Frequent Communion of St. The Mysteries of Christ lively and effectively unite His new member with the Lord, through His most pure body and blood, sanctify it, pacify it within itself and make it impregnable to dark forces. Those who do this notice that on the day when the child receives communion, he is immersed in deep peace, without strong movements of all natural needs, even those that are more active in children. Sometimes it is filled with joy and playfulness of the spirit, in which it is ready to embrace everyone as if it were one of its own. Often St. Communion is also accompanied by miracles. St. Andrew of Crete did not speak for a long time as a child. When the contrite parents turned to prayer and grace-filled means, then during communion the Lord, by His grace, resolved the bonds of the tongue, after which he filled the Church with streams of sweet speech and wisdom. One doctor, based on his observations, testified that in most cases of childhood illnesses, children should be taken to St. communion, and very rarely had the need to use medical benefits afterwards.” “Frequently wearing it to church and holding it to St. has a great influence on children. the cross, the Gospel, icons, covering with air; also at home - frequent offerings under icons, frequent making of the sign of the cross, sprinkling of St. water, burning incense, making the sign of the cross over the cradle, food and everything that touches them, blessing the priest, bringing icons from the church and prayer services to homes; in general, everything church miraculously warms and nourishes the grace-filled life of a child, and there is always the safest and most impenetrable fence from the attack of invisible dark forces that are ready to penetrate everywhere into the developing soul in order to infect it with their breath! “Under this visible protection there is something invisible: the Guardian Angel, assigned by the Lord to the baby from the very minute of baptism. He watches over him, invisibly influences him with his presence and, in necessary cases, inspires parents with what needs to be done with their child in extreme distress.” “But all these very strong fences, these strong and real inspirations can be ruined and deprived of the fruit by unbelief, negligence, wickedness and the unkind life of parents. There is an incomprehensible connection between the souls of parents and the souls of children, and we cannot determine to what extent the influence of the former extends on the latter. The spirit of faith and piety of parents should be considered the most powerful means for preserving, nurturing and strengthening a grace-filled life in children.” “The spirit of a baby still seems to have no movement in the first days, months, even years. It is impossible to convey anything to him for assimilation in the usual way. But you can act on him mediocrely.” “There is a certain special way of communication between souls through the heart. One spirit influences another by feeling. Such an influence on the baby’s soul is all the more convenient the more fully and deeply the parents turn their hearts towards the baby. The father and mother disappear into the child and, as they say, dote on the soul. And if their spirit is imbued with piety, then it cannot be that, by its nature, it will not have an effect on the soul of the child. The best external guide in this case is the gaze. While in other senses the soul remains hidden, the eye reveals it to the gaze of others. This is the meeting point of one soul with another. Let the children of the soul of the mother and father pass through this hole to the soul with holy feelings. They cannot help but anoint her with this holy oil. It is necessary that their gaze should shine not only with love, which is so natural, but also with faith that they have more than a simple child in their hands, and hope that He who gave them this treasure under their supervision, like a vessel of grace, will provide them with sufficient strength to preserve it.” “When parents thus protect the cradle of their child with the spirit of sincere piety, then a spiritual atmosphere akin to it will be formed around the beginning life, which will pour its character into it, just as blood, the beginning of animal life, depends a lot in its properties on the surrounding air. They say that a newly constructed vessel retains for a long time, if not always, the smell of the substance that is poured into it at that time. The same should be said about the shown arrangement around the children. It will gracefully and salutarily penetrate into the established forms of life of the child and will put its stamp on them. Here is an impenetrable barrier to the influence of the spirits of evil.” “Having begun such a structure from the cradle, it must continue later and throughout the entire period of upbringing: in childhood, and in adolescence, and in adolescence” 23. As the child ages and develops his spiritual powers, parents must systematically and comprehensively develop his abilities. A truly good and moral mood in children must be created through a positive effect on all their powers: mind, will and heart. On the mind. “The main thing that should be kept in mind is sound concepts and judgments based on Christian principles about everything that occurs or is subject to the attention of children, what is good and evil, what is good and bad. This is very easy to do through conversations and surveys. The parents themselves talk to each other; children listen and almost always internalize not only their thoughts, but even their turns of speech and mannerisms. Let parents, when speaking, call things by their proper names. For example: what real life means, how it will end, from whom everything comes, what are pleasures, what dignity do certain customs have, etc. In a short time, this simple means can convey sound principles for judgments about things, which will not be erased for a long time, if not for a lifetime. Thus, worldly wisdom and evil, insatiable inquisitiveness will be suppressed at the very root. The truth is accessible to everyone. Experience has shown that a small Christian child is wiser than philosophers. It still repeats itself, but before it was everywhere. For example: during martyrdom, small children reasoned rationally about the Lord the Savior, about the madness of idolatry, about the future life; this is because their mother or father explained this to them in a simple conversation.” To freedom. “A child has many desires: everything occupies him, everything attracts him and gives rise to desires. Unable to distinguish between good and evil, it desires everything and is ready to fulfill everything it desires. A child left to his own devices becomes indomitably willful. Therefore, parents must strictly observe this branch of mental activity. The simplest means of keeping it within proper limits is to instruct children not to do anything without permission. Let them run to their parents with every desire and ask: is it possible to do this or that? The natural consequence of such a mood will be complete obedience and submission in everything to the will of the parents, in defiance of one’s own, the disposition to deny oneself in many ways and the skill for this, or skill; and most importantly, the experienced conviction that one should not listen to oneself in everything. This is most clear to children from their own experiences, that they desire a lot, and yet this desire is harmful to their body and soul. When weaning oneself from one’s will, one must teach the child to do good. To do this, let the parents themselves present a true example of a good life and introduce their children to those whose main concerns are not about pleasures and distinctions, but about the salvation of the soul. Children are inquisitive. How early they can copy their mother and father! At the same time, the children themselves must be called upon to do good deeds, and first ordered to do them, and then instructed to do them themselves. The most common deeds in this regard are: almsgiving, compassion, mercy, compliance and patience. All this is not very difficult to learn. Cases are constant, worth taking on. From here will come the will with the mood for various good deeds and, in general, with an inclination towards goodness. And good deeds must be taught, like everything else.” On the heart: “Under such action of the mind, will and lower forces, the heart itself will naturally tune in to have healthy, true feelings, acquire the skill of enjoying what truly delights, and not at all sympathize with what, under the guise of sweetness, pours poison into the soul and body. The heart is the ability to taste and feel full. The most effective means of cultivating true taste in the heart is churchliness.” Parents must be especially vigilant when revealing in a child the highest human abilities - the manifestations of his spirit, which include the fear of God, conscience and prayer. “The fear of God gives birth to prayer and refreshes the conscience. There is no need that all this refers to another, invisible world. Children have a predisposition to this, and they soon internalize these feelings. Especially prayer is instilled very easily and works not with the tongue, but with the heart. That is why they willingly and tirelessly participate and are happy about it. Therefore, we should not deprive them of this part of education, but little by little introduce them into this sanctuary of our being. The sooner the fear of God is imprinted and prayer is aroused, the stronger piety will be in all subsequent times. Conscience requires immediate guidance. Sound concepts, with the good example of parents and other ways of teaching goodness, and prayer will sanctify it and imprint sufficient grounds for subsequent good activity. But most importantly, they should develop a mood of conscientiousness and consciousness. Consciousness is a matter of extreme importance in life; but just as it is difficult to form it, it is so easy to suppress it in children. The will of parents for small children is the law of conscience and God. As much as parents have prudence, let them manage their commands in such a way as not to force their children to be criminals of their will; and if they have already become like this, how long can they be disposed to repentance. What frost is to flowers, so is deviation from parental will for a child; it does not dare to look into the eyes, does not want to use affection, wants to run away and be alone, and meanwhile the soul becomes coarser, the child begins to run wild. How good it is to first dispose him to repentance, to make him come without fear, with trust and with tears and say: “I did this and that badly.” It goes without saying that all this will concern only ordinary objects; but it is also good that here the foundation will be laid for the future permanent true religious character - to immediately rise after a fall, the ability to quickly repent and cleanse oneself or be renewed through tears is formed" 24 . Not only the mental and spiritual, but also the physical strength of the child requires careful care and development. The Eminence-teacher examines the main functions of the human body - nutrition, movement and sensitivity or the activity of nerves and gives guidance on developing good habits in relation to each of them. Children should be taught - in diet - moderation and abstinence, in movements - to work, liveliness and sedateness, in relation to sensitivity - to fearlessly endure changes in temperature - water, air, bruises and pain, etc. The natural purpose of the body is to serve as an instrument of the spirit, and therefore from an early age it must be raised in such a way that it contributes and helps, and does not slow down and hinder the development of our spiritual activity. Everything that excites our sensuality and feeds our passions must be persistently eliminated from a child’s life. “Whoever has acquired such a skill is the happiest person in the world. The soul in such a person is the mistress of the body, on the other hand, the entrance to it is blocked by an indecent potion of sensual pleasures, self-will, body love or self-pity. And this is very important in the Christian life, which by its very essence is detached from sensuality and all pleasures of the flesh. So, the development of the child’s body should not be left to chance, but must be kept under strict discipline from the very beginning, so that it can then be transferred into the hands of the person being brought up, already adapted to Christian life, and not hostile to it. Christian parents who truly love children should not spare anything, not even their parental heart, in order to deliver this benefit to their children; for otherwise all subsequent deeds of their love and care will be either unfruitful or even fruitless. The body is the seat of passions, and for the most part the most ferocious ones, such as lust and anger. It is also the organ through which demons penetrate the soul” 25. Moving from the upbringing of children to the upbringing of a young man, it is essential to establish the requirement that the latter, whether it be in the family or outside it, invariably be conducted in full accordance with the first, that is, have a religious and moral character. Otherwise, everything that was built with such difficulty in the beginning will be ruined. Since with the development of children their individual spiritual abilities begin to noticeably affect, as well as characteristics of age, which are important in educational terms, mentors and leaders must carefully study these phenomena and be in accordance with them in their activities. Wanting to give guidance on this subject, Rev. Feofan first of all depicts the typical features of the periods of training and education. He dwells in particular detail on the characterization of youth, as an age more susceptible to danger than others and therefore more difficult than others for educational influence. Youth is primarily an uneven, undulating period of human life, when all the needs of nature are in living, strong excitement and each requires its own satisfaction. The mere impetuosity and disorder of movements is dangerous in itself, for it can easily lead one beyond the limits of what is permissible and useful. This danger increases significantly from the presence of certain moral qualities specifically characteristic of youth, such as a thirst for impressions, a tendency to communicate, a desire to criticize everything, etc. The first in external behavior is characterized by a certain impetuosity and a wide variety of actions of a young man. He is usually looking for more and more new experiences. Not content with his existing spiritual content, he often expresses the intention to re-experience and experience objects and phenomena of the life experience of others. To satisfy this need, the young man pounces on books, which he reads greedily, with enthusiasm and often indiscriminately. From here, a morally harmful tendency to easy, superficial and disorderly reading can easily arise. Often, too, a young man is not satisfied with the reality around him and persistently strives to penetrate and open the veil of the future. And so he endlessly begins to fantasize and make extensive, unrealistic plans for a better future, for his outstanding role in it, etc. Often repeated, such moods can easily develop into painful daydreaming and fantasizing. A wonderful trait in itself - the tendency to communicate sometimes becomes a source of important life difficulties and even great troubles for a young man. She usually attracts a young man to the environment of his peers and comrades. Of course, everyone strives to find a better society, but often, due to inexperience and ignorance of life, a person ends up in circles that unconsciously, or even intentionally, have created the wrong direction and pursue bad goals. Such partnerships greatly infect, and sometimes directly corrupt, a pure young man; in the words of the Word of God, they corrupt customs, good conversations, and evil. Especially dangerous for the Christian faith is the inherent desire in youth to question everything and criticize it. Then a person begins to use his own awakened powers for the first time. He usually exaggerates their importance, becomes arrogant and inclined to deny any outside supervision, any authority, even generally recognized. The young man creates his own ideals of life or reads them from book theories, which sometimes not only do not correspond to the truth, but are also contrary to common sense. Let us reproduce the highly artistic image of Rev. Theophan of youth and its dangers. “The river of our life is cut short by the wavy strip of youth. This is the time of effervescence of bodily and spiritual life. The child and the youth live quietly, the husband has few quick impulses, the venerable gray hairs bow in peace; Youth alone is full of life. You need to have very solid support to resist the pressure of the waves at this time. The very disorder and impetuosity of movements is dangerous. His first own movements begin - the beginnings of the awakening of his forces, and have all the charm for him: by the power of their influence they displace everything that was previously placed on the mind and heart. The former will become a dream and a prejudice for him. Only real feelings are true, only they have reality and meaning.” “A young man lives by himself, and who examines all the movements and deviations of his heart? It's the same as exploring the path of a bird in the air or the course of a ship in the water! Like the fermentation of a fermenting liquid, like the movement of the elements in their heterogeneous mixture, this is the heart of a young man. All the needs of so-called nature are in living excitement, each one gives voice, seeks satisfaction. Just as our nature is characterized by disorder, so the totality of these voices is the same as the disorderly cries of a noisy crowd.” “And youth itself is dangerous; but to this are added two more attractions characteristic of this age, from which youthful excitement flares up more strongly and acquires greater strength and danger. This is: a) a thirst for impressions, and b) a tendency to communicate.” "The thirst for impressions imparts a certain swiftness, continuity and variety to the actions of a young man. He wants to experience everything for himself, see everything, hear everything, go everywhere. Look for him where there is sparkle for the eyes, harmony for the ears, space for movement. He wants to be under a continuous stream of impressions, always new and therefore varied. He does not sit at home, does not stand in one place, does not pay attention to one subject. His element is entertainment. But this is not enough for him; he does not is content with an actual, personal test, but wants to assimilate and, as it were, transfer to himself the impressions of others, to experience what others felt, how others acted on their own, or in similar circumstances. Then he rushes to books and begins to read one book after another, often without analyzing their content; his main thing is to find the so-called effect, no matter what kind of thing it is and no matter what it concerns. Here a tendency towards easy reading is discovered and formed - the same thirst for impressions, only in a different form. But that's not all. A young man is often bored with reality because it seems to be imposed on him from the outside: it binds him and confines him too much within certain boundaries, while he seeks some freedom. Then he often breaks away from reality, goes into his created world and there begins to act for glory. Fantasy constructs entire stories for him, where for the most part the hero is his own person. The young man is just entering life. Before him is a seductive, tempting future. Over time, he too needs to be like this: what will he be? Is it possible to lift this veil and look? Fantasy, very active these summers, does not hesitate to satisfy. This is where daydreaming is revealed and fostered in this kind of action. Dreams, light reading, entertainment, all this is almost the same in spirit - children are thirsty for impressions, thirst for something new and varied. And the harm from them is the same. There is nothing better to kill the good seeds that were previously placed in the heart of a young man than with them.” “Adolescence is a time of living feelings. They are near his heart - like the ebb and flow of the sea. Everything occupies him, everything surprises him. Nature and society revealed their treasures to him. But feelings do not like to be hidden within themselves, and the young man wants to share them. The need is noble, but it can also be dangerous! To whom you entrust your feelings, you give in some way power over yourself. How careful you must be in choosing a loved one! You will meet someone who can lead you far, far away from the straight path. It goes without saying that a good person naturally strives for the good and deviates from the bad. The heart has some taste for this. But, again, how often does it happen that the simple-hearted is lured by cunning! However, there is not so much danger in friendship as in comradeship. We rarely see friends, but more acquaintances and friends. And here, how much is possible and how much evil can there be? There are friendly circles with very unkind rules. By bending towards them, you will not notice how you unite with them in spirit, just as you are imperceptibly filled with stench in a stinking place. They themselves often lose consciousness of the obscenity of their behavior, and calmly become rude in it. Even if this consciousness awakens in someone, he does not have the strength to lag behind. Everyone is afraid to announce it, expecting that he will be persecuted everywhere afterwards with barbs, and says: “so be it, maybe it will pass.” Customs are corrupted by good conversations and evil. “The highest danger for a young man comes from being treated by someone of the opposite sex. While in the first temptations the young man strays from the straight path, here he also loses himself.” “In addition to these dangers arising from the properties of adolescence, there are two more: firstly, the mood in which rational knowledge, or personal comprehension, rises to the skies. The young man considers it an advantage to cast a shadow of doubt on everything, and to put aside everything that does not coincide with the standard of his understanding. With this alone he cuts off from the heart the entire mood of faith and the Church, therefore, he falls away from it and remains alone. Looking for a replacement for what was left behind, he rushes to theories constructed without consideration of the revealed truth, entangles himself in them, and expels all the truths of faith from his mind. There is even more trouble if the reason for this is the teaching of science in schools and if such a spirit becomes predominant there. They think they have the truth, but they accumulate vague ideas, empty, dreamy, mostly contrary even to common sense, which, however, captivate the inexperienced and become an idol for the inquisitive young man. Secondly, secularism. Even though it may represent something useful, its predominance in a young man is harmful. It is marked by living according to the impressions of the senses, a state in which a person spends little time within himself, and almost everything is outside, either in action or in dreams. With such a mood they hate the inner life and those who talk about it and live it. True Christians for them are mystics, confused in concepts, or hypocrites, etc. What prevents them from understanding the truth is the spirit of the world, which exists in the circle of secular life, which young men are freely allowed and even advised to come into contact with. By this contact, the world, with all its corrupted concepts and customs, is forced into the receptive soul of a young man, not pre-empted, not disposed against it, but just accepting the mood, and is imprinted on it, like on wax, and he involuntarily becomes his child. And this childishness is contrary to the childishness of God in Christ Jesus. These are the dangers for young men from youth. And how difficult it is to resist! 26 The teacher must keep all these features of adolescence and its dangers in mind, thoroughly study them, and organize their activities accordingly. Without going into a detailed consideration of educational measures and rules, Rev. Feofan, for his part, recommends strict discipline and the authority of the teacher as the most reliable general leadership principle. “Truly it is good for a husband to bear the yoke in his youth,” he repeats repeatedly. “How good it is to subject yourself in this case (talking about the mental fermentation of a young man) to strict and strict discipline and to be under guidance throughout your youth. Those young men who are not allowed to control their own behavior until adulthood can be called happy. And every young man should rejoice if he is placed in such circumstances. The young man himself, obviously, can hardly achieve this; but he will show a lot of intelligence if he believes the advice to be more at home doing business, not to dream and not to read empty things. Let him reject entertainment with hard work, daydreaming with serious studies under guidance, to which reading should especially be subordinated, both in the choice of books and in the manner of reading. However, no matter how anyone does it, just let him do it. Passions, doubts, hobbies flare up precisely in this, so to speak, shaky fermentation of the young man’s mind” 27. The success and influence of educational measures on a young man is largely determined by the nature of his initial family upbringing. How a person emerges from adolescence most often depends on how he enters it. “What can we say about someone who not only does not love Christian life and truth, but has never even heard of them”? “In this case, it is a house without a fence, devoted to plunder, or dry brushwood, devoted to burning in the fire. When the self-will of a youth’s thought casts a shadow of doubt on everything, when the excitement of passions greatly disturbs him, when the whole soul is filled with tempting thoughts and movements, the youth is on fire. Who will give him a drop of dew for coolness, or give him a helping hand, if a voice for truth, for goodness and purity does not come out of his heart? And he will not come out if love for them is not established first. Even advice in this case will not help. Then there is nothing to graft them onto. Advice and persuasion are powerful if, going through the ear into the heart, they awaken there feelings that exist and have value for us, but are only currently removed by others, and we ourselves cannot figure out how to release them and impart their inherent strength. In this case, advice is a precious gift to the young man from the adviser. But if there are no beginnings of pure life in the heart, it is useless.” “What will happen to a young man if he is not accustomed in advance to put his movements into a certain order and has not imposed on himself the obligation to keep them in strict subordination to certain higher requirements. If these principles are deeply imprinted in the heart, then all the disturbances will occur as if on the surface transitionally, without shifting the foundation, without shaking the soul” 28. A look at schooling Along with the teaching on home and family education, we find in the writings of Rev. Feofan has a lot of instructions on the organization of our school education, and in this regard he is an innovative teacher, far ahead of his time. It is known that the last word of modern pedagogy is the idea of ​​educational education, the desire that the school not only provide knowledge and enrich the mind, but also harmoniously develop all the spiritual abilities of the student, morally educate and ennoble him. This idea was first expressed by the best representatives of our pedagogical world in the second half of the last century and was especially developed in detail in the last quarter of it, meanwhile, the Most Reverend. Feofan, back in the forties of the same 19th century, persistently pursued the same idea in his lectures at the department of a professor at the capital's academy. His entire pedagogical system is rooted precisely in the idea of ​​morally educational education. He recognizes as fruitful only that education that develops not only the mind, but also mainly ennobles the heart. This idea runs like a red thread through all his works that touch on pedagogical issues. The author repeats it several times, develops it in detail and proves it authoritatively. Apparently, this idea is dear and close to his heart and he passionately strives to implement it in life. Characterizing the state of our modern school education, which in practice is almost exclusively occupied with the enrichment and training of one mind, Rev. Feofan sadly and wittily notes that the person who received it is like a soulless and cold statue with a huge head sitting on a short, skinny torso and microscopic, fragile legs. In order to paralyze this one-sidedness, the saint persistently recommended raising and strengthening the importance of the moral and educational element and, in particular, Christian principles in schools. According to his deep conviction, any healthy Russian school, no matter what type it belongs to and no matter what sciences are taught in it, must invariably be based on the principles of religion and morality. This does not mean that all sciences, even mathematics, must be taught from a religious point of view, as was demanded in their passion by the zealots and leaders of national education during the reign of our mysticism - the Magnitskys, Runichs, etc. No, the saint only wanted to note that along with, and even better before imparting any scientific knowledge to a young man, it is essential to give him sound concepts about the most important Christian truths - about God, the world, man, etc. First, you need to firmly imprint the basic moral truths in your mind and heart, and only then, on such a strong foundation, build the entire system of scientific education, and with the gradual, progressive development of the latter, moral ideas should have the significance of higher, guiding principles. Speaking in particular about what a school can do for the spiritual good of its pupil, Rev. Feofan dwells with his guidance on the enlightenment of the mind and the education of the heart, this true center of a person’s spiritual life. “What do educators want? - he said in one secondary school 29 for the edification of its teachers and educators. – Do they want to enlighten the mind and form the heart? Where can we find solid foundations and real tools for both? Nowhere else than in our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave us wisdom from God, righteousness, sanctification and deliverance (1 Cor. 1:30); that is, in the holy faith, bestowed by Him with all its saving institutions. For. What does it mean to enlighten the mind? Does it mean to imprint in it sound concepts about everything that exists and happens, namely, the concept of what God is, what His properties are, in what relationship He deigned to place Himself in the world and in us? What is this world, where does it come from, what holds it together and where does it come from? What are we ourselves; Why are we here - on this earth, what awaits us in the future, etc.? The totality of such concepts constitutes the wisdom that man has always so actively sought and is seeking. And whoever knows all this truly is not unjustly called enlightened, as seeing everything in a clear light. It should be noted that these concepts are the answer to questions that trouble our minds. There is no person who is not troubled by these questions, and there is no one who does not solve them in one way or another. But their real solution - the most reassuring and the most correct - is contained in the revelation of I. Christ, and is taught by St. Church. Here God is the all-perfect Spirit, one in essence and threefold in persons, the Creator of the world and the Provider of all; the world is a creation of God, called into being by the single word of the Almighty, and by the word of power His contents, bound in everything by unchangeable laws, by the good will of God at every moment ready to submit, and those who submit; man is a rational creature, full of perfections at the beginning, then fallen and upset, now restored by the Lord Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit. Church by the grace of the Holy Spirit, and finally having to appear in a new glory - in the next century, for faith and work of good deeds, and so on.” “What bright, sublime and fruitful concepts! After this, it is in vain that the mind begins to solve them on its own. The experiences of his decisions, before the coming of Christ the Savior, and now in the West, among those who have overthrown the good yoke of obedience to the word of a false God, tangibly convinces how weak he is in this regard, and how it is more akin to him here, as in many other things, to remain forever a student and not dare to ascend to the teaching chair. What remains for the enlighteners of the mind? Not to invent, but to take ready-made Divine truths and imprint them on the minds of children, and then on them, as on the foundations of building the entire building of knowledge, or the entire body of sciences. What firmness and courage a mind thus enlightened acquires! How strong is the whole sum of knowledge in him, being imbued with a single spirit and common principles! “What does it mean to form a heart? It means to arouse the demands hidden in our nature, transform them into feelings and dispositions, elevate them into the principles and rules of life, so that then one can say about everyone who possesses them: here is a perfect person. The question is, “how to do this”? “Many people think that development is enough for this. Develop, they say, nature. As from a seed that has vegetated and opened, a tree or a flower emerges, perfect in its own way; This is how a person will come out perfect if he develops everything hidden in his nature. It seems that such a situation could be more reasonable and more thorough? But what turns out is not at all what is expected. For example, when developing the aesthetic side, they surround the pet with elegant objects and teach them to practice the arts. The taste develops little by little; but at the same time various kinds of lust are expressed, and, moreover, in completely inelegant forms. Also: in order to teach oneself to behave with dignity, one is introduced into society and all the methods of decent mutual treatment are taught. The goal is achieved to some extent; but at the same time pride, arrogance, self-will, inaccessibility, and contempt for inferiors are introduced. This is how they become accustomed to various types of enterprise and activity: there is success in this too; But don’t self-interest, interest and ruthless pretentiousness grow more successfully? So it is in everything. What does this mean? Isn't good seed being sown? and why are there tares? - Because the seed of our nature was damaged by the fall, and much that was unnatural and unnatural was grafted into it, which, however, along with the natural, shows the right to satisfaction, hiding behind the guise of naturalness. That is why, where they indiscriminately develop everything that is found in a person, along with what is akin to us, they also develop what is not akin to us - and in our nature there are many parasites that often choke and dry up the natural branches. So, not everything needs to be developed in us; and develop some, and suppress and eradicate others. And this is the whole difficulty of upbringing and education. We do not have eyes or visual instruments to distinguish between the thin, intertwined threads of the natural and the unnatural. And even if it were possible to distinguish, there is no tool or anatomical knife to separate one from the other. Even if this were the case, there would be no strength to reinforce and revive what is akin to us and suppress what is not akin to us. So, while we are alone, with our own means, we cannot expect lasting success in the formation of the heart. And here the prudent educator fully feels the extreme need for supernatural help. And it is ready - in the Church of God, in its holy sacraments and all sanctifying institutions. Divine grace, communicated and warmed by them, penetrating inside us, separates what is akin to us from what is not, and uniting with the former, strengthens it and revitalizes it, and by cutting off the latter, it dries up and destroys it. Therefore, whoever grows under the influence of them, without special efforts on the part of parents or educators, except for the inevitable warnings, appears, upon entering the field of activity, with feelings and dispositions that are purely human (or what is the same as truly Christian), without an admixture of ugly unnaturalities that humiliate humanity. Thus, if they wish to have strong, effective means for the formation of the heart, let them keep those educated under the influence of the saving sacraments of the Church and all its sanctifying rites: and their work will be crowned with complete success... Let them not alienate children from the Church and churchliness, from prayers, fasting, fasting, confession and communion, observing holidays and visiting shrines, etc. and you can be sure that upon completion of the course of education, the soul of the pets, like a pure virgin, will be presented to Christ prepared for every good deed” 30 . The fruits of true Christian education are abundant and invaluable. Observations show that some special, unearthly moral purity and innocence, as if completely ignorant of evil, combined with strong stability in virtue, characterize the entire life of people who received a good, religious upbringing in their youth. “The fruit of a good upbringing is the preservation of the grace of holy baptism. The latter abundantly rewards all the efforts of the former. For certain high advantages belong to the one who has retained the grace of baptism and from the first years devoted himself to God.” “The one who never fell is always young. The traits of his moral character reflect the feelings of the child, before he has yet become guilty before his father. Here is the first feeling of innocence - childhood in Christ, as if ignorance of evil. How much it cuts off his thoughts and tormenting emotions of his heart! Then extraordinary cordiality, sincere kindness, quietness of disposition. In it, the fruits of the spirit indicated by the Apostle are revealed in all their strength: love, joy, peace, long-suffering, goodness, mercy, faith, meekness, self-control” (Gal. 5:22). “The most important moral perfection, which belongs to someone who has remained intact in the years of youth, is a certain steadfastness of virtue throughout life. Samuel remains firm in the face of all the temptations of temptation in the house of Elijah and amid the unrest of the people in society. Joseph, among unkind brothers, in the house of Pentephry, in prison and in glory, equally preserved his soul immaculate. The first mood turns, as it were, into nature, and if sometimes it is somewhat disturbed, it soon returns to the first order. Therefore, in Chet-Minea we find saints for the most part those who retained moral purity and the grace of baptism in their youth” 31. This is the teaching of Rev. Feofan about family education and school education. But school is only a necessary preparatory stage for life. The education received in the days of youth must be continued and expanded by self-education in mature years. The character and direction of the latter for each person is determined by those general and basic views that he was able to develop for himself. This important aspect of our spiritual life did not escape the saint’s careful observation and was not left without a thorough examination and guided explanation. His views from a Christian point of view on the tasks of our enlightenment are expressed in a wonderful word about progress, uttered at the time of the greatest enthusiasm of Russian society for the ideas of progress in the late 50s and early 60s of the last century. In it, the preacher, on the one hand, establishes a truly Christian concept of progress, and on the other hand, dismantles the wrong views on it. Having divided all phenomena of human life and activity into two types, of which some serve to satisfy the lower needs of the body, and others to the highest aspirations of our spirit, the saint allows progress only for the latter. He values ​​only moral success and, according to his teaching, the true enlightenment of all Christian peoples must invariably be based on the principles of religion and morality. However, everything that undermines and cools faith, alienates from the Church and forces one to violate its statutes, should not be considered a sign of true improvement, no matter what external plausible title it is covered with, but a decline and return back. It is impossible to recognize as complete and perfect the circle of human knowledge in which the theoretical truths of the Christian doctrine are absent and denied; It is equally impossible to achieve perfection in life without fulfilling the basic commandments and requirements of Christian morality. This situation does not mean that such subjects should be dealt with exclusively. They only claim that they are the initial, basic and guiding ones. It is necessary to work on expanding knowledge, but on the basis of the Christian teaching about God, the world and man, and not in opposition to it. It is necessary to improve and ennoble the order of public and private life, but only under the guidance of evangelical moral teaching, for there is and cannot be anything purer and more sublime than Christian morality. The entire modern higher European culture has historically formed and developed mainly under the influence of the humane, educational ideas of Christianity; the moral principles of the Gospel lie in its depth and foundation. Applying a similar point of view to the modern doctrine of progress, Rev. Theophan finds many things in him inappropriate, and sometimes directly contrary to Christian views. Progress here relies mainly on the development and improvement of the external forms and comforts of life, in the accumulation of material wealth, while moral, especially religious success is not only often ignored, but sometimes outright deliberately denied. Many members of modern educated society, carried away by wrong ideas, often allow completely non-Christian practices in their lives - not only do they not fast themselves, but they also mock fasting and those who fast; they are ashamed to confess their sins; in society they consider it indecent to talk about religious subjects, they run away from churches, they place no value on the sanctity of marriage and family relationships, etc. And all this is done not so much out of weakness and frivolity, but out of the conscious conviction that it is better and more modern to do so, that the previous beliefs of the Church are outdated and need to be updated. Progressives sometimes attack and demand changes not only in the external forms of church life, but also in the most basic points of Christian doctrine - dogmas. Rev. Feofan dwells in particular detail on the analysis of such false teachings and exposes their complete inconsistency. According to his deep conviction, the revealed truths of Christian doctrine and moral teaching, as objects of unearthly origin, should not be subject to any change, this common destiny of all earthly things and phenomena, not only in their basic and essential provisions, but also in particulars and details. Holy faith, as a moral force that heals our spiritual infirmities, is powerful precisely because of its integrity and integrity. Just as a medicine is only effective when it contains all the necessary elements, so religion saves only if it uses all the spiritual powers and sanctifying means inherent in it. History testifies that all attempts to change one or another point of Christian teaching, expressed in the appearance of various heresies and schisms within the Church, had the most sad consequences. In modern times this has had a particularly pronounced effect in the life of Protestantism. Having started with the denial of appearance and ritual, it gradually reached more significant points, leaving, for example, only two of the seven sacraments established by God and approved by the Ecumenical Councils, and has recently broken up into such a mass of sects and opinions (of which some border on atheism) that it is now becoming difficult to talk about Protestantism as a separate independent Church and Christian faith. “Our forces are excited, we strive for improvements, we go, as they say, forward, we develop. But not every movement forward, not every development is a sign of true improvement and improvement. Thorns and thistles grow and develop in the same way as wheat; but the wheat is gathered into the granary, and the thistles are doomed to be burned. - Let's move forward, but let's not forget that there is a path that leads to the bottom of hell! The same can happen with our improvements, with our so-called improvements: with our - let's use the accepted word - progress. And here's why! We can develop and improve only what is in ourselves, as a seed. But there are two principles at work in us, according to our dual origin - from the first Adam earthly and from the second Adam, who is the Lord from heaven. We are born into the world in the image of earthy Adam and at the beginning we are the same as he - earthy; but then, in the font of St. baptism, we are graciously grafted into the new Adam - heavenly and receive the power and obligation to be like Him - heavenly. Here we are reborn, receive new life in our Lord Jesus Christ; but the elements of the old man also remain in us, act, and captivate us. Behold, from these two springs flow all the streams of our deeds! Look around the entire field of human affairs and you will see that they are all divided into two halves: some are imprinted with a heavenly character, others with an earthly character; some are the fruit of the old, others of the new; some satisfy the flesh, others satisfy the spirit. True perfection belongs only to new life. Living according to the elements of the old man is the source of all imperfections, the distortion of our nature, the decline and suppression of our spiritual powers. The only way to true perfection and improvement is for us, according to the first life, to put aside the old man, which is decaying in the lusts of deceitful desires, and to put on the new man, created according to God - in righteousness and in the excellence of the truth (Eph. 4:22-23). Now bring under this division and under this assessment new methods for improving and ennobling us and you will agree that in this way of thinking, and in these rules, and in these mutual relationships, in this spirit and direction of enlightenment, in this way of spending time with taste, which are considered a sign and fruit of the highest development and perfection, if not all, there can be a lot of things that feed in us only earthly, carnal, sinful things, and therefore not improves, but upsets, suppresses, destroys. Therefore, we cannot indiscriminately grab onto everything, adopt and assimilate it simply because others do it and consider it good. To us, who have pledged ourselves to St. In baptism, to work for the Lord Jesus Christ and mortify our flesh with passions and lusts, we must choose from everything only that which is in accordance with His spirit, and do this not somehow, but with fear and every apprehension, lest we make a mistake and creep into something inconsistent with the seal with which we are sealed in the Holy Spirit. baptism, and do not harm yourself." “The question is, how can we avoid such a mistake when we are surrounded by such attractive, such brilliant and so much praised forms of life?! Here are the simplest rules that are accessible to everyone: firstly, do not consider as improvement and success (progress) that which cools one’s faith and alienates one from the Church.” “Our Lord Jesus Christ, our only Restorer and Perfecter, for the education of true life in us, established St. His Church - he outlined a wise confession, indicated the path of life, bestowed the sanctifying sacraments and the entire order of church prayers. This is the only true school of education, combining all the elements to stimulate, develop and strengthen the spiritual life inherent in us. The seeker of perfection must live with mind and heart in this divine institution. And only those who wholeheartedly submit to this guidance can achieve the desired height. Therefore, as soon as they offer you new ways for your improvement and ennoblement and captivate you with the seeming fruits of it - and you do not want to fall into error and run the risk of harming yourself - test everything according to the rule given by the Apostle Paul: the flesh lusts for the spirit, and the spirit for the flesh: these are opposed to each other (Gal. 5:17), i.e. what one wants, the other turns away - and vice versa. So, if, having touched something like this (progressive), you feel a cooling of faith and alienation from the Church, know that it is not a beneficent spirit that is at work in it, but a destructive delusion. Whether you are going through some sciences in a new direction, or are exposed to the influence of new enlightenment and all writing - and you see that they arouse doubts in your faith - do not consider success in this as true movement forward. No - this is a return back, from light to darkness, from which the Lord brought us into His wonderful light. If you come across new customs that are considered the fruit of higher education - and you see that they alienate you from the Church and force you to violate its rules without fear - do not consider their adoption as an improvement and ennoblement. No, this is a return from the realm of God to the realm of Satan; you will fall from true nobility into wild flesh, albeit tinted and refined. Are you forced to submit to new conditions of mutual relations - a new tone, and find that they bind you so much that you are unable to live according to the demands of the spirit of the Gospel - do not consider entering into such an order of life an acquisition - liberation from the bonds of ignorance. No, this is the loss of freedom of the children of God and the willful binding of oneself by the bonds of vanity and opinion, which is worse than extreme ignorance. So judge everything that is even slightly contrary to the spirit of faith and the Church - and you will not be mistaken! Just don’t get carried away by no matter how many people from your own circle follow this. It is not others who will be responsible for you. Let them boast of higher education. There will be a day when all deeds will be tested by fire. Then it will turn out who has gold and who has dry courage!” “Secondly, do not consider as improvement and success that which can lead you not only to violations of the statutes of faith and the Church, but also to the desire and demand for changes and abolitions in them.” “We are developing. The property of development is such that, leaving behind the old, it forces us to accept the new: the old frames are insufficient for new, developed forms of life. This is how it happens in everything earthly and in all human affairs: but not so in faith, which, being of unearthly origin, cannot be subject to the fate of earthly changes. Nothing in it can be canceled or changed: neither in confession, nor in the rules of life, nor in the manner of performing the sacraments, nor in the order and structure of the church. Our Holy Faith in all its composition is our physician, containing all kinds of medicine for all our infirmities. But just as real medicines are only strong when they contain all the compounds required by the prescription, so is St. Our faith is only healing for us when we keep it in its entirety, without any cancellations or changes. Take away any compound from a medicine or replace it with another, it will lose all its healing power. Take away something from the composition of faith and the Church, or add, or change and transform, - it will no longer be healing and saving for you. Without its integrity we have no salvation. That’s why the Lord Himself protects her like the apple of his eye. Let everything in the world move and change, but our Holy Faith abides and will remain unchanged. It is the same among these changes as a calm strip among the agitated sea. Imagine a sea raised by the wind: the waves rush in different directions, one after another and one against the other, and represent the amazing struggle of the water element - this is an image of earthly changes! Then imagine, in the midst of these disturbances, one stripe of calmly flowing water, calmly cutting through all the waves - this is an image of faith! She flows calmly from the beginning to her foundation and will be like this until the end of the world, giving peace to everyone who takes refuge in her bosom from the worldly cycle.” “The enemy of our salvation knows that all the power and healing of faith depends on its immutability or this decisive immobility, and therefore he tries in every possible way to introduce it into the flow of human changes: he stirs up heresies, irritates superstition, raises the sword, scatters seductive charm - he uses everything to introduce some changes in its divine structure, and thereby destroy its power. In other countries, under the deceptive pretext of civilization, humanity, common humanity, he has already persuaded people to change their faith. In the form of imaginary improvement, some things were canceled, others were added, and thereby ruined the healing power of faith. The enemy rejoices in success and reaps the fruits of unbelief, depravity, disturbances and all kinds of disorder.” “Judge, therefore, what spirit is at work in that development (progress), for the sake of which it is possible to change something in our faith, as if it is time for us to abandon one or another of its institutions and replace them with new ones, in accordance with new education and taste. This is a spirit hostile to the truth and harmful to us. Therefore, do not consider as beneficial the improvement and ennoblement that results in such demands, do not adopt them and do not internalize them! Those who, carried away by the spirit of the new education, have reached the point where they are embarrassed by fasting, ashamed to confess sins, prefer to go to other places instead of the Church of God, consider it indecent to conduct a spiritual conversation in society and are afraid to remember the worshiped name of God, avoid sacred prayers, place the sanctity of marriage and family relationships at nothing, and so on. and so on, and he allows himself to do all this not out of weakness, but out of a spirit of superstition, with a wayward desire and demand - to improve, as it seems to him, the composition of the faith and the church, i.e. to forge it to suit his own corrupt taste and subordinate it to his own desires and pleasures - let him not boast and lie about the truth! This wisdom is not from above, but earthly, spiritual, demonic" (James 3:15). “No one would think that by speaking in this way, we are rebelling against any improvement and any change for the better. Oh no! May God bless every good improvement, and may He bless the efforts of those who devote themselves to this. We only want to say that the true measure of the beneficence of improvements should be their conformity with the spirit of faith, and that everything that cools one’s faith and alienates one from the Church, everything that forces one to violate its statutes and demand changes in them, everything that leads to oblivion of the divine order of things should not be considered a sign and fruit of true improvement and prosperity (progress), but a return back (regression), decline and harmful. Judge for yourself, brothers! The Lord came to earth and planted saving faith in it precisely in order to heal our infirmities and lead us to primitive perfection; For this reason he gave us a holy confession - this is a reduction of all truths, he spoke the commandments - this is the outline of the most perfect life, established St. The Church and the Holy Sacraments are sources of revival and sanctification. Do you want perfection (true progress), believe and, having received the powers of grace through the Holy Sacraments, live according to the demands of faith. There is no other way. It is impossible to achieve perfection in knowledge without containing St. confessions; one cannot achieve the perfection of life without fulfilling the commandments; one cannot heal one’s infirmities without the assistance of the Holy Sacraments and submission to the entire rite of sanctifying prayers of the Church. “We don’t want to say that it’s only this and nothing else, but that it is the main thing, the source, the guiding one, so that if this is not there, everything else is worthless.” Work to expand your circle of knowledge; but not otherwise than under the guidance of confession and according to its instructions, and not in opposition to it; otherwise all your wisdom will be nothing more than the dream of a dream. Improve the order of mutual relations, but without violating the Gospel instructions: otherwise all your civilization and humanity will be nothing more than the beauty of a fallen tomb. Improve the external conditions of life and well-being, but without forgetting the eternal order of God; otherwise all your splendor and all your pomp will be nothing more than a deceptive ghost.” “Everything is a test – an experience! But look, has this vaunted progress brought anyone to the promised perfection, has it given them peace, has it made anyone happy? - Nobody! And of those who unswervingly follow the path of God’s faith, you have a whole cloud of witnesses - a host of saints of God who have truly perfected themselves and who have shown by their deeds that this and not another path leads to perfection. These are examples of true progress! And all who imitate them, strengthened by Divine grace, go from strength to strength, until they reach the measure of the age of the fulfillment of Christ (Eph. 4:13)" 32. Ep. Feofan. "Thoughts for every day of the year." "The Path to Salvation." Rev. Feofan. Page 48. Krutikov. “Reverend. Feofan." Page 50–51. "The Path to Salvation." Page 51–52. Rev. Theophan divides all our internal phenomena into two types - spiritual - lower and spiritual - higher. (For details on this, see page 181). "The Path to Salvation." Page 29–33. Tambov Cadet Corps. “Words to the Tambov flock.” Book 1, pp. 21–23. "The Path to Salvation." Page 73–75. “Words by the Rector of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy, Archimandrite Feofan.” Page 30–42.