Teachings of St. Theophan the Recluse on Christian exploits

Contents Exercises recommended by St. Theophan, which contribute to the development of a person’s inner life and liberation from passions Sources and literature Annotation. Every Christian is called to asceticism. We have seen examples of ascetic life since the time of the first Christians. Saint Theophan the Recluse gave the first systematic exposition of the meaning of asceticism for man. His teaching about heroism is still relevant today. The article examines the saint's understanding of Christian asceticism, its purpose and stages, the meaning of the sacraments of Baptism and Repentance in human life. Particular attention is paid to the fundamentals of Christian asceticism, which, according to the teachings of St. Theophan, are: the fight against sins, surrender to the will of God, spiritual leadership, observance of the rules of Christian asceticism and repentant feeling. Revealing the foundations of Christian achievement, Saint Theophan deduces rules, the implementation of which requires self-coercion and self-resistance. Further, the article discusses exercises that contribute to the development of a person’s inner life, as well as the laws of combating passions recommended by St. Theophan. Abstract. Every Christian is called to the feat of asceticism. We see examples of ascetic life from the time of the first Christians. Saint Theophan the Recluse gave the first systematic exposition of the significance of asceticism for man. His teaching about the feat is still relevant today. The article examines the saint’s understanding of Christian asceticism, its purpose and stages, the significance of the sacraments of Baptism and Repentance in human life. Special attention is paid to the basics of Christian asceticism, which, according to the teachings of St. Theophan, are: the struggle against sins, surrender to the will of God, spiritual guidance, observance of the rules of Christian asceticism and penitential feeling. Revealing the foundations of the Christian feat, St. Theophan deduces the rules, the fulfillment of which requires self-compulsion and self-resistance. Further, the article discusses exercises that contribute to the development of the inner life of a person, as well as the laws recommended by St. Theophan, the struggle with passions. The ascetic feat is a special phenomenon in the Orthodox Church, and every Christian must perform it to one degree or another in order to reunite with his Savior and gain eternal life. The desire for unity with God was inherent in the primordial nature of man and is a property of the spirit [10, p. 189]. The task of being in unity with Himself was God's original plan for the first people before their Fall and the distortion of human nature. Man's violation of God's commandments has led to the fact that only through deep and largely hidden work can one return to unity with the Creator (Gen. 3:17–19). The understanding of the need for asceticism for a person existed already in the first centuries of Christianity. Outwardly during this period, it consisted in the fact that members of the early Christian community took a vow of celibacy and retired from the worldly field to serve God and their neighbor. At the same time, in their lives, the feat of struggle with passions, strict abstinence, improvement in Christian virtues and prayer was carried out, according to the testimony of the holy fathers of antiquity, by many members of the early Christian communities, including those who lived in the world. This internal structure and way of life is based on the words of Christ about the need for constant improvement (Matthew 5:48) and following Him. He who “for my name’s sake” leaves father and mother, wife and children, house and land, “will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life” (Matthew 19:29). The holy apostles also speak about the struggle with passions and the deeds necessary to achieve perfection, emphasizing that the crown of Christian achievement is exclusively the work and gift of God. The centuries-old ascetic tradition of Orthodoxy, existing in different forms, developing within the framework of various schools, testifies that without correctly performed feats (regardless of monasticism or in the world), it is impossible to organize a person’s life on the principles of the Gospel. By not daring to take the path of asceticism, even to the extent that is available in certain conditions, a person blocks his own path to salvation. And “the work of salvation,” as St. Theophan says, “is the first thing” [17, p. 187]. The exponents of the ascetic tradition of the Church were Orthodox ascetics, including those who labored in Rus' (Russia). Among the most prominent representatives of domestic asceticism of the 11th–19th centuries were the Monks Anthony (†1073) and Theodosius (†1074) of Kiev-Pechersk, Sergius of Radonezh (†1392), Zosima (†1478) and Savvatiy of Solovetsky (†1435), Nil Sorsky (†1508) and Joseph Volotsky (†1515), the Optina elders, Saints Theophan the Recluse (Govorov; †1894) and Ignatius (Brianchaninov; †1867), Saint Righteous John of Kronstadt (†1909), etc. All these saints embodied in their lives the principles and ideals of asceticism developed by Ecumenical Orthodoxy in the first millennium of its history, and gave their interpretation of the ascetic feat. Of particular importance in the study of Christian asceticism is the ascetic system of St. Theophan the Recluse. He gave the first exposition of Orthodox asceticism. A researcher of Russian patrolology, Archpriest Georgy Florovsky (†1979), notes that Saint Theophan in his works always speaks “about the soul standing before God, in contrition, and in repentance, or in prayer” [18, p. 391]. And according to his conclusion, he “did not build a system, neither dogmatic nor moralizing. He only wanted to outline the image of Christian life, to show the direction of the spiritual path. And this is its incomparable historical significance” [18, p. 192]. And Archimandrite Georgy (Tertyshnikov), who studied the legacy of the Vyshensky ascetic, notes that the works of St. Theophan “are filled with the grace of Christ, spiritual strength, deep faith, an ardent desire for salvation for every person” and “with psychological penetration” illuminate “the main stages of a person’s spiritual life” [1, p. 553–554]. Experienced knowledge of the Christian feat and methods of its accomplishment was fundamental in the theological creativity and the entire life of St. Theophan. The study and understanding of the ascetic system of St. Theophan is relevant in our days, and not only because of the peculiarities of his understanding of the feat, which in general, regardless of the nature of his works, is addressed to the state of the human soul and is devoted to a single range of issues related to salvation, but also because in our time it is very important to give modern society a presentation of the ascetic teaching of the Church in an accessible form. It was through his numerous works that “Saint Theophan opened for many Christians a forgotten treasury of church teaching in which the light of eternal Truth is invariably kept” [1, p. 551]. Indeed, the practical significance of the works of St. Theophan has always been and is to reveal for a person with a secular consciousness, cut off from church tradition, devoid of spiritual roots, the doctrine of salvation and to show the way of its implementation - from general features to the specifics of the spiritual experience of each person. In fulfilling this task, Saint Theophan goes from large works on asceticism, in which he points out and explains the general principles and principles of the work of salvation, to sermons and articles in which individual, albeit major, issues of spiritual life are considered, and then to numerous letters to his correspondents. In them, continuing the discussion of the topic, he highlights the individual characteristics of the saving path and gives practical advice. In accordance with the proposed hierarchy, the main ascetic works of the saint are “The Outline of Christian Moral Teaching” [10], “The Path to Salvation” [13], “Letters on Spiritual Life” [11], “Words of the St. Petersburg Academy Rector Archimandrite Theophan” [16], “Words spoken by the saint during his service in Tambov and Vladimir departments, published in separate volumes” [15; 14], “Thoughts for every day of the year according to church readings from the Word of God” [9], numerous articles and notes on spiritual and moral issues, partially published in magazines of the second half of the 19th century, and then a collection of letters, as well as works such as, for example, “Letters on Christian life” [12], “What is spiritual life and how to tune in to it” [17], which touches, only in a more systematized form, the same range of issues as in the letters to spiritual children. A separate topic is Saint Theophan’s generalization of the ascetic experience of the Universal Church, expressed in translations and adaptations of the Greek “Philokalia” [2], “Invisible Warfare” compiled by the Venerable Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain [7], “The Words of the Venerable Simeon the New Theologian” [8], “Miterikon” [6], “Ancient Patericon” [3], etc. Translations and adaptations of the works of the ancient fathers are of independent value and at the same time serve as rich material for further systematization, which was carried out in the original works of the saint. This material covers almost all of the ascetic teaching of the Church, represented by various directions. At the same time, the saint pays main attention to the views and experience of the Egyptian and Palestinian ascetics of the 4th–6th centuries, the Athonites and hesychasts. What is the teaching about Orthodox feat as presented by St. Theophan? First of all, the saint speaks about the necessary beginning and prerequisites, without which leading an ascetic life is impossible, while he “places special emphasis on human psychology, noting the significance of the various shades of his spiritual movements in the matter of salvation” [5, p. 7]. The main thing in the Christian feat is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the acceptance of the Gospel teaching preserved by the Church. But under these important conditions, it is also necessary that a person’s life correspond to the Gospel, and fulfilling the commandments is a feat. Consequently, asceticism, according to Saint Theophan, is the calling of every Christian, regardless of historical time and circumstances of life. The essence of Christian achievement lies in living according to God’s commandments and constantly striving for communion with God. The highest goal of the feat is the achievement, even in earthly conditions, of communion with God, which is understood by the saint in accordance with the patristic tradition, as a living union of man with God, as “the honor of His indwelling” in man [13, p. 175]. He notes that “the indwelling of God is not only mental, which happens in the thought of God 1 on behalf of man and in the favor of God, but is living, vital,” in which everything else in accomplishing the feat is “only a means.” The turning of a person’s mind and heart to God only “prepares a person to receive God in the truth,” and in this unity, “without absorbing the strength and face of man, God appears active in him... and man,” further citing the words of the Apostle Paul, the saint says not “he lives for himself, but Christ lives in him (Gal. 2:20)” [13, p. 176]. It follows from this that man, through the action of Christ, becomes “the church of the Trinitarian Divinity that fills him” [13, p. 177; 10, p. 194]. In such unity, spiritual life passes “from mental communication with God to real, living, felt, manifested” [13, p. 178]. The beginning of the feat consists in a person turning to God with all his heart and all his thoughts, while the obligatory condition is selfless love for Christ and constant inner aspiration towards Him. When this aspiration is born, then Christian life begins, and whoever has it strives to act like a Christian in everything, and such a person, like the prodigal son, says: “Rising, I go” [10, p. 62]. Inner aspiration towards God is good soil for the action of grace. As a result of the action of grace, a person gradually realizes his sinfulness. As Saint Theophan writes, “the seeding and development of Christian life” differs “from the seeding and development of natural life.” A person is not born a Christian, but becomes one after birth. But due to the damage of man as a result of the fall of the first people in paradise, “the beginning of a truly Christian life in man is a kind of re-creation, the granting of new life.” And although Baptism marked the beginning of eternal life, all the same, “the whole person, his soul and body remain unadapted to the new life... therefore, from this moment a person’s sweat begins - to form all of himself, all his powers in a Christian way” [13, p. VII]. Further, revealing this topic, the saint compares the spiritual development of a person with the growth of plants, which, after the seed is sown, begins to grow and there is a “gradual development of strength, easy, spontaneous.” For a Christian, development “is a difficult struggle with himself - intense and sorrowful,” and he, “like a warrior, every step of the land, although his own, must be taken away by war - with the double-edged sword of self-compulsion and self-resistance” [13, p. VIII]. Through the action of God's grace, man's labor and efforts aimed at self-correction, he rises to the determination to leave sin, hate it and devote himself and his life to God. Such determination in itself is of great importance, but it must necessarily lead to the reunification of a person with Christ and His Church, the connection with which is established in the sacrament of Baptism [17, p. 92], was torn apart by the sins committed. This reunion begins with sincere repentance of committed sins before God with the testimony of a priest and is carried out in the sacrament of Repentance. Then follows the communion of the Body and Blood of Christ, and the Lord Himself, dwelling in a person, burns his sins with immaterial fire, reunites him with the Church and opens for him the possibility of ascending to his Creator and Savior [10, p. 367]. Repentance and communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ is the final stage of turning from sin to God. In this way, the formation of spiritual life in a person occurs, which is the most important condition and the main prerequisite for achieving the feat. In the sacrament of Baptism, the grace of the Holy Spirit is infused into a person [17, p. 96]. Through this infusion, it enables a person, especially one who is firmly determined to leave a sinful life and retain the gift of grace, to touch the true bliss of communion with God. Then it remains hidden in him, but since he does not notice the action of grace, he often considers himself abandoned by God and perishing. This happens because the Lord gives the opportunity to manifest the will of man, waits for its action, growth in zeal and movement towards God. Thanks to this, the human will is trained in the feat of perfection. During this period, grace implicitly, hiddenly teaches a person who has taken the path of salvation and guides his life. Finally, when this period of God’s secret action in man ends, God appears in him in a special way and unites with him. This is real communication with God [17, p. 83–84]. The path of ascetic efforts on the part of a person must be accompanied by the desire for mental communion with God through prayer, reading the Holy Scriptures and the works of the holy fathers, and through this communion with God he moves on to real communion with God. After the first infusion of God’s grace into a person, full communication of the soul with God does not immediately begin. The reason for this is that even with the acceptance of Baptism, confession of sins in the sacrament of Repentance, all the powers of a person’s soul (mind, will and feelings) remain affected by sin, among which selfishness, self-love, self-indulgence and other deep-rooted vices born of pride have a special manifestation. A person must first prepare himself for the infusion of God's grace. This is done via: b) Assimilation of Christian virtues. Saint Theophan refers to deeds and spiritual struggle aimed at eradicating passions and mastering virtues as a Christian feat. Feats can be external (bodily) and internal (work of the soul). In general practice, a gradual ascent from external to internal feats should be observed, and then from these feats to contemplation, and not vice versa [13, p. 189; 12, p. 39–40, 56, 86]. The foundations of Christian achievement according to the teachings of St. Theophan are: 1) A person’s struggle with himself - with his sins (self-resistance and self-coercion) in order to regain the lost pristine purity. This struggle must be waged very intensively; it is always associated with great internal work on oneself and is very painful for the soul [13, p. 190; 17, p. 227; 12, p. 214]; 2) Surrendering oneself into the hands of God, that is, expecting spiritual fruits not from one’s labors (merits), but from the action of God’s grace, for the Lord Himself is the organizer and finisher of our salvation [17, p. 77–78]; Examining this question, Saint Theophan notes that someone who begins spiritual life is “the same as someone who has entered the ordinary path.” And since the path of spiritual life is unknown to us, we need a guide, because a person who walks “with himself is in extreme danger.” The main danger, the saint believes, comes from Satan, because, being “himself... self-witted, among people he loves more those who are guided by their own mind - this is where he mainly confuses and destroys.” The saint recommends that someone who begins an ascetic life “must have a leader... Under him he is safe, as if under a roof and a fence” [13, p. 194–196]. 3) Compliance with established rules when performing a Christian feat [17, p. 78]. The order of life of an ascetic must be clearly defined. He must know the order of reading books and how much time to devote to it. The same applies to prayer and other types of spiritual exercises. The rules must cover all forms of spiritual exercises that form the outer shell of the achievement. A system in exercises is necessary for mastering one or another spiritual activity, in order to learn how to perform it correctly and acquire skill in its implementation. This will allow a person to develop in feat evenly, harmoniously and so that all exercises are appropriate, and through this he will be able to curb his waywardness and self-thinking [13, p. 198]; 4) Considering the topic of a person’s awareness of his sinfulness and the need to have a constant sense of repentance, the Vyshensky Recluse points out that the achievement of perfection passes through the realization that the ascetic himself is “blind, poor, and naked” spiritually [13, p. 199]. Such awareness should cause in the soul “contrition of spirit, or illness and sorrow about one’s uncleanness, poured out before God.” The presence of a repentant feeling, the saint believes, is an indicator of “true asceticism.” And if a person does not experience such feelings, then he has “deviated from the path. Tears are a measure of prosperity, and incessant tears are a sign of speedy purification” [13, p. 199]. The more a Christian approaches God, the more he sees his sinfulness, which is a common property of human nature after the fall of our forefathers. He realizes that his sins are so many that they are like the sand of the sea before the Lord, and with a contrite heart he repents of them. Expanding on the theme of the foundations of ascetic life, Saint Theophan also deduces general rules for Christian asceticism. This is 1) preserving and increasing the original zeal for God, 2) renouncing passion that has grown into the forces of our nature, and 3) direct struggle with passions and counteracting them. Feats of self-coercion are based on the first two rules, and feats of human self-resistance are based on the third. Moreover, they all flow from one fundamental principle: keeping the “inner spirit of life” directed toward Christ intact. To maintain such a state, one needs “zeal and zeal... in activities or exercises, on the one hand, contributing to the revival of exhausted forces, and on the other, killing or drowning out passions” [13, p. 203]. Let us examine in more detail how Saint Theophan understands these rules. Keeping a spirit of jealousy. This requires special spiritual work, which the saint calls “staying within.” What does it mean? This is a state when a person is directed towards seeing another world, and his feelings and thoughts are determined to leave a sinful life. When a person is tuned to “stay within,” he encloses his consciousness in his heart and intensely collects all the forces of body and soul in this “inner repository.” Mental activities aimed at achieving this state are gathering the mind in the heart (attention), gathering the will in the heart (vigorance), gathering feelings in the heart (sobriety). “Attention, alertness, sobriety,” writes Saint Theophan, “three internal activities by which self-assembly is accomplished and inward abiding acts. Whoever has them, and all of them, goes inside; whoever doesn’t have it, and even just one, is outside” [13, p. 205–206]. Bodily activities aimed at staying inside are paying attention to the internal state of a person, concentrating all forces in the center of a person’s life - in the heart, suppressing pleasure and the desire for peace of the flesh. The result of these works is the collection of all spiritual and physical forces of a person and their control. This must be practiced until the consciousness is established inside the heart, as in its original place, until it becomes completely attached to it. Then you should be inside, without going anywhere with your consciousness, often repeating the act of self-gathering, because this state is also often disrupted. Abiding within is not at all the same as deep thinking. When self-deepening during reflection, only the human mind is involved, and it is accomplished only in the mind. When staying inside, all human powers are occupied, and it takes place much deeper - in the human heart, which is the source of all the impulses and actions of the individual [13, p. 246–247]. Staying inside is a condition for a person’s mastery over himself, and therefore for his freedom, rationality, and correct spiritual life. For this reason, a spiritual person leading an ascetic life is called an inner man. The vision of another world opens, as St. Theophan says, after entering “inside oneself” and is the result of a person’s inner work. To achieve this state it is necessary: a) The content in consciousness and sense of being and the structure of the spiritual world. The basic principle of the spiritual world: “The one God, worshiped in the Trinity, who created all things and contains all things, raises up, ... heads (Eph. 1:10) all things in our Lord Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit.” The Holy Spirit acts in the Church, and through it leads believers to eternal life. After the fulfillment of time at the end of the world, “after the resurrection and judgment, each will be rewarded according to his deeds: some will fall into hell, others will go to heaven” [13, p. 210]. b) Acquiring the spiritual world and staying in it. Entry into the spiritual world is always the result of achievement. It is achieved through the action of God's grace with the participation of the human will. Standing in the spiritual world, the root meaning of which is the inner feeling of a person being before God, is as follows: in relation to the omnipotence of God - being in such a state as a child in the arms of a mother; in relation to the all-spectacle of God - in the state of a subject before the King; in relation to the economy (that is, the organization of the work of our salvation) - in the state of a son in the father’s house; in relation to death and trial - in the state of a criminal, awaiting every minute verdict; in relation to heaven and hell - in the position of standing on a board, on one side of which there is an abyss of flame, and on the other - a beautiful garden. The highest limit of doing is a real feeling of oneself in the spiritual world [13, 212]. c) Very important in this work is consistent vision (experience) of the above stages of spiritual life. Such “vision” does not mean thinking, but rather a motionless state of mind in which faith in one or another phenomenon of the spiritual world is manifested. The movement of the mind towards reflection, as an involuntary accident, should be stopped immediately after a person becomes aware of such a movement. The strongest way to influence a person’s spirit is when he stands with his mind on these spiritual objects during prayer [13, 217–218]. It should be noted that in the understanding of Saint Theophan, both being inside and seeing another world are the only necessary conditions for preserving and increasing the spirit of zeal for God. The restoration of zeal and zeal is accomplished through affirmation in those feelings that led a person to the determination to spiritual life. The activities aimed at this are as follows: a) reproduction of feelings and thoughts through which it was possible to achieve initial zeal for God. Such feelings and thoughts constitute a person’s spiritual life; b) prayer, primarily in church during divine services, as well as reading the Holy Scriptures; c) ascent from the fear of God to complete surrender of oneself to the will of God. It must be emphasized that Saint Theophan points out that all the works described above are internal works, and by performing them, a person will maintain a spirit of jealousy within himself. At the same time, he says that this is “the most direct path” to a person achieving salvation. And if a person leaves everything and engages in “only this doing,” then he will have some success. And vice versa, if he does various exercises, “but without paying attention to this” doing, “we will not see the fruit.” The saint concludes these reasonings with these words: “Whoever turns not inwards and not to this spiritual work, only procrastinates” [13, p. 221–222]. Thus, inner work constitutes the essence of asceticism. A person’s external life depends on it, and not vice versa. Thus, it is through inward abiding that the sanctification of a person’s soul and body by the grace of God occurs, and external works serve as an aid for this, albeit a necessary one. But preparation for accepting grace occurs not through merely mastering the state of being inside and seeing the spiritual world, but through a break with passions, healing from them, which the Lord grants through the development and strengthening of the inner life in a person. Of no less importance is the appeal to God from the depths of a perfectly developed inner man. All this is completely consistent with the words of the Lord in the Gospel: The kingdom of God is within you (Luke 17:21). Based on the interpretations of the holy fathers, Saint Theophan says that these words express the idea of ​​the inner cell of the heart, into which it is necessary to enter to perform prayer. Exercises recommended by Saint Theophan, which contribute to the development of a person’s inner life and liberation from passions Saint Theophan in his writings considers a number of exercises that he considers necessary in Christian deeds. He includes: Feats of the soul. The human soul has a three-part structure [13, p. 226]. It consists of mind, will and heart. The feat of the mind - in its Christian understanding, is that true faith constitutes its entire being. Struggles of the mind include: reading and hearing the Word of God, patristic writings, and the lives of the saints of God. Saint Theophan advises beginners to read first of all the Lives, those of average spiritual age to read the writings of the Holy Fathers, and perfect people to pay the main attention to the Word of God. Next, it is necessary to study all the data in the Divine revelation of truths in brief provisions, that is, a careful study of the catechism. In addition, all issues of spiritual life should be agreed upon with a spiritual mentor and, if necessary and available, experienced ascetics, and also considered during mutual interviews and meetings. Feats of will include: 1) strict adherence to all ascetic rules; 2) submission to the church charter; 3) subordination to the laws and civil order established in accordance with the teachings of the Holy Orthodox Church (including duty and family), through which the will of God operates; 4) complete submission to the will of God and its actions in one’s life; 5) following the voice of conscience when performing all one’s actions; fulfillment of vows made to God. Feats of the heart are: 1) indispensable participation in worship, prayer (with the obligatory fulfillment of the home prayer rule); 2) veneration of the Holy Cross, holy icons and other sacred things; 3) compliance with the customs established by the Holy Church. Prayer is one of the most important feats of the soul, since it is a direct means of communication with God. A Christian must make prayer the main task of his life, devoting every free minute to it, but at the same time, “it should not be an end in itself” [4, 9]. It is necessary to learn prayer before learning any other spiritual exercise, and this process must be constant until the Lord gives the gift of prayer. Saint Theophan identifies four degrees of prayer: a) physical prayer, which consists of reading them while standing and bowing. At the same time, it often happens that attention wanders away, and the heart does not participate in prayer. Nevertheless, one should also perform such an active prayer; b) the second degree of prayer is attentive prayer. Gradually, the mind acquires the habit of not being distracted during prayer and pronounces it all with full consciousness. At the same time, the prayerful appeal of the soul is connected with what is written and ascends as its own; c) the third degree of prayer is the prayer of feeling. Mental appeals pronounced with attention generate similar feelings in the heart. In this way, there is a transition from a contrite word during attentive prayer to heartfelt contrition itself. He who has moved on to sensory conversion prays without words, for God is the God of the heart. With such prayer, the utterance of prayers can stop, as well as turning to God in thoughts, but one remains in the feeling of prayer. At the same time, even if someone has acquired the gift of such prayer, he still should not abandon the usual prayer rule, the saint recommends, and prayer should begin with bodily prayer, mental prayer should join it, and then heartfelt prayer will come; d) the fourth degree of prayer is spiritual prayer, which is a gift of the Holy Spirit. This is the highest degree of prayer, comprehended by all human consciousness. But there is, says Saint Theophan, referring to the Monk Isaac the Syrian, and prayer, incomprehensible to the mind, going beyond the limits of consciousness [13, p.241–242; 10, pp.543–544]. The best means of gaining continuity in prayer is the Jesus Prayer 2. This is an effective means of developing the spirit in all endeavors and ascetic life. Bodily feats. The body, if considered separately from the human soul, is pure in nature. Therefore, you only need to eliminate the unnatural needs of the body and strengthen yourself in its natural state, that is, return the body to its original nature. In addition, the body should be an assistant to the soul and not hinder, but, on the contrary, help it to accomplish the feat. To do this, for each physical need, a kind of exercise is prescribed as a means of healing the carnal state in which we find ourselves. Saint Theophan divides bodily feats into the following categories: toil (muscular), embitterment towards sinful acts - in the sense of their hostility, restriction (nervous) and exhaustion (abdominal) [13, p. 228]. The effort consists of maintaining the mouth and tongue, as well as bodily vigor, which is closely related to the physical labor of a Christian. Bitterness is the rigid storage of all senses, especially hearing and vision, in a collected, undistracted state. Exhaustion includes abstinence and fasting in the sense of restrictions on food and drink, strict adherence to measures of sleep and vigil, and bodily cleanliness. External activities (attitude to society, family, work, friends). The public, social sphere of activity is an area of ​​a person’s existence that also affects the inner person. Often it dominates and rules the individual. Therefore, this activity must certainly be changed. To do this, it is necessary to abandon sinful habits and customs, purify all connections and relationships, even friendly ones, while eliminating harmful ones that interfere with the work of salvation, determine the principles of behavior or treatment of people on the basis of the Gospel, distribute occupations according to a new order, and adapt family affairs to spiritual life. It is necessary to ensure that all external affairs, relationships with other persons, and work are subordinated to a person’s spiritual priorities. Following the above system should become continuous, and a person should strive to make it natural for himself, the norm of life. But first of all, it must be adhered to during the period of fasting, that is, during preparation for receiving the sacraments of Christ. Retreat is a time of heroism that is obligatory for every Orthodox Christian. It consists of going through all the indicated Christian feats to their highest degree. This is necessary in order to properly prepare for receiving the sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist. And it also includes the very participation in this sacrament as a means of spiritual strengthening of a person given by God [13, p. 229; 255–256; 17, p. 119]. Everything that has been said above is just general instructions about the forms of feat and exercises that help a person break with passions. Every Christian should go through this, applying them to each individual person, depending on the natural characteristics and inclinations of the person. Therefore, in themselves they are still only material for the formation of the rules of life for a Christian. The rules are built from the listed exercises through their application to time, place, person and circumstances of life. This is necessary for everyone preparing to take this path - independently, or better yet, under the guidance of a spiritually experienced mentor. Therefore, let us move on to consider Saint Theophan’s understanding of another very important aspect of ascetic life. The fight against passions (rooted evil sinful skills and habits of the body and soul) or the beginning of self-resistance. Continuing in the above-mentioned feats is a powerful means to destroy the passion of corrupt human nature, to cleanse and correct a person. However, you cannot limit yourself to this one activity. It is necessary not only to protect our good state, but also to eradicate evil, which at any moment threatens to take possession of a person’s soul. In addition, in order to do good without an admixture of evil, which is determined by the commandments of God, you must first free yourself from sinful habits in every internal and external matter. The way to free yourself from evil is a spiritual struggle with the passions and lusts of the flesh. In this case, the immediate goal is victory over this or that sin or even passion, its final eradication in oneself. Expanding on this topic, Saint Theophan emphasizes that “asceticism is unceasing victory” [13, p. 267]. And the basis and condition for “inner victories” is “the first victory over oneself - in breaking the will, in surrendering oneself to God,” while a person must reject everything sinful. Following this path, a Christian generates in himself “dislike for passion, hatred, hostility” to sin, “which is a military spiritual force, and alone replaces the entire army. The fulcrum for warfare is our restored spirit, while the victorious and destructive power for passions is grace. It creates one thing in us, and destroys another, but again through the spirit or consciousness and will... With all the opposition, its success or victory can never be ours, and if it is, it is always from God” [13, p. 267–268]. As a result of the Fall, man became a passionate being and remains in this state until he turns to God. Upon conversion, filled with zeal for God, his spirit achieves purification, and his soul and body remain struck by passion. When their purification and healing begins, passions persist and rebel against the aspirations of the spirit. They act through the mental and physical forces of a person and, if they do not find resistance, they infect the spirit, since the connection between them is close. But there are movements of passions directly to the spirit [13, p. 269]. In addition to the lusts of the flesh and soul, the world rises up against a person who is in an inward state as a secular society, distant from God. Demons also rise up as carriers of evil, who invisibly surround people and direct them to commit sin, while they actively use carnal feelings [13, p. 269]. Therefore, any sinful excitement can be attributed to their machinations. At the same time, there are passions in the sinful holder that can act independently, and which have no basis in human nature itself. These are thoughts of blasphemy against God - doubts, unbelief, extraordinary disgust, darkness, various kinds of incessant and unnatural passions for human nature, such as fornication, stubborn hatred [13, p. 270]. In addition to invisible internal attacks, those who strive through internal work also have visible attacks. These are various kinds of sinful addictions that strengthen the power of demons over the body [17, p. 28, 75, 190; 13, p. 271–273]. In what way do passions penetrate into a person who is in an inward state and has spiritual objects in his thoughts and spiritual deeds in his intentions, and who stands in the realm of light (spiritual)? Saint Theophan points out that the main way in which they penetrate the ascetic is through thought, that is, such a movement of the mind that suddenly occupies a person’s thought and is aimed at a specific goal - to persuade him to commit a sin [17, p. 203]. If you are not attentive to the thought, it is followed by pleasure, desire, attraction, decision, and then the act of sin itself. All thoughts of this kind, through the mind, tempt the spirit to commit sinful deeds, but this is not yet a sin as long as the mind is in dialogue with it and is fighting. The main thing for the enemy is to shake the inner standing of the ascetic, to persuade him to commit a sin [17, p. 204]. What methods exist for dealing with passions? According to the ascetic advice of Saint Theophan, one of the basic laws of the spiritual struggle against passions, regardless of where and how they are aroused, is as follows: a Christian must identify the source of sin, separate it from its derivatives and fight first of all with it. Compliance with this law will keep a person within himself, and therefore in strength and in relative safety. Therefore, for St. Theophan, the basis for the fight against passions is the fight against thoughts, and everything else is derivative. The attention of a Christian should be paid primarily to the development of thoughts, but the heart and will are not as mobile as thought and, therefore, passions and desires are mostly born from thoughts. Hence the general rule: cut off the thought and protect from sin. The conduct of spiritual warfare by Saint Theophan is divided into three stages that should be observed: before the battle, during the battle itself and after the battle [13, p. 276]. 1) Before fighting, the ascetic must bring all sinful movements into one place, where it will be easier to notice disturbances and fight them. Sin brought out from the depths of the heart often continues to remain in external relations with a person and casts its cloak over everything around him. In order to protect himself from the outside, a person must restructure his behavior. He needs to distribute his life so that there is no time for idleness. He can introduce physical feats into his routine in order to occupy his senses, and especially his sight, hearing and tongue. A lot happens in life: things, faces, incidents. All these visual (mental) encounters must be perceived as having a spiritual (non-spiritual) influence. If you protect yourself not only from the outside, but also in your inner life, that is, constantly avoid those feelings and dispositions that were revived after the first victory over sin, then sin will be deprived of the nutritional environment it needs and will weaken - to the point of complete exhaustion. After this, the battle with sin will turn into a battle with thoughts, for which one must have sobriety, which helps to recognize the emerging sinful impulses in the heart, and good consideration, with the assistance of which one can clearly see the movements arising in the heart due to external influence [13, p. 276–278]. 2) During a battle, one must first of all clearly separate the thoughts and vicious movements originating from demons, so to speak, “identify” the enemy. After realizing that such thoughts and desires are hostile to yourself, you need to tune your heart to hostility and disgust towards them. [13, p. 279–280]. This is a life-saving remedy that helps repel an attack. This remedy acts relatively easily on thoughts, more difficult on desires, and even more difficult on passionate impulses. If this method does not help, you need to join the fight, without allowing either confusion and despair, or arrogance. You should guard your heart, not allow emerging sinful movements to penetrate into the realm of feelings and try to reject them at the entrance to the soul. To do this, you need to arouse in your soul thoughts and ideas that are opposite to the sinful movement that has arisen. You cannot weaken and even in thought lean towards the side of the enemy. If, even after such actions, the desire to commit sin is still in the soul, then this is a clear sign that it is supported from the outside by evil spiritual entities. In this case, you need to turn to earthly and heavenly help - open up to your spiritual mentor, and also call on the Lord, the Mother of God and all the saints in fervent prayer. Devotion to God, as St. Theophan says, never remained ashamed [13, p. 281]. In addition, there are their own special methods of dealing with thoughts, others with desires, and others with passions. These techniques are first developed through reflection or taken from the experience of ascetics and the instructions of the holy fathers. However, in each individual case they are individual. Sinful attacks must be repelled until they cease completely [12, p. 224–229]. 3) After the battle, having thanked the Lord, one must not indulge in carelessness and weaken zeal, since the sinful attack can begin again, suddenly, in order to surprise the Christian with its surprise. Therefore, you must always be cheerful and vigilant. At the same time, you should carefully analyze the entire course of the past battle: its beginning, continuation, and especially its completion, in order to facilitate future victories over sin. This is how spiritual wisdom and experience gradually accumulates. Saint Theophan recommends not talking about the victory that took place, which can arouse vain thoughts in the soul [12, p. 230–236]. If you happen to be defeated, you should not move away from God, but you need to soften your heart and bring it to repentance. “You cannot help but fall, but you can and should, having fallen, rise up,” writes Saint Theophan and further points out that just like a mother who leads her child by the hand so that he does not fall, and if he stumbles and falls, then helps him to rise, so the Lord supports us and helps us to rise from sinful falls. And further the saint calls: “Instead of inactive despondency, be encouraged to new exploits, having learned from this fall a lesson in humility and prudence. Sin will prevail over you, and you will again need to start from the first battle; but God knows whether it will be possible. Perhaps, by now giving yourself over to sin, you will cross the line of conversion; Then, even here, you will belong to the number of those condemned to eternal torment” [13, p. 283]. And then St. Theophan concludes his presentation of the general principles of the fight against passions: the fight against passions is individual, incomprehensible and hidden, and there are no definite guidelines. The ways of struggle are varied, just as the people leading this struggle are different, and therefore it is impossible to establish uniform rules for everyone. “The best inventor of the rules of swearing is every person for himself. Experience will teach you everything, you just need to have a zealous desire to conquer yourself...” [13, p. 283–284]. It is only necessary to note that in an active struggle against passions, a certain order and order should be observed, in the construction of which one should pay attention to the quality of passion in general, to one’s own character and to good deeds. You need to pay attention to the passions that are most important to you, which arise during attacks, and fight them first. You should fight passions under the guidance of an experienced spiritual mentor. And most importantly, Saint Theophan emphasizes, the final cleansing of a person is accomplished by the Lord Himself, from the outside - through sorrows, from the inside - through tears, which intensify as the ascetic grows spiritually. This is baptism with water and fire, or, as it is depicted by St. Isaac the Syrian, the final crucifixion of the outer man [13, p. 294]. The highest result of warfare is purity of the mind from sinful thoughts, the heart from passions, and the will from sinful inclinations. When all this is formed, a person enters dispassion. His inner world becomes a pure mirror, reflecting spiritual objects [13, p. 289]. All the internal and external activities described above, the struggle with passions, are all just means to achieve the main goal of a Christian’s life. The main goal of a person, which he must always seek, is constancy in the aspiration to God as the source of life. When a person, with the help of exploits, purifies, improves, and revitalizes his soul for God, then his ascent to living communion with God only begins. [13, p. 298–300]. First, a person’s mind ascends to God. To do this he must: 1) develop the skill of constantly realizing with your mind that you are “walking with God,” that is, you need to teach and cultivate the feeling that God is nearby and He sees everything, and at the same time, you yourself must strive to see God with your spiritual eyes. Through this the mind opens to the Divine world; 2) do everything for the glory of God, do not see your own merit in anything. It is necessary to consider that both the external good and the internal good that is accomplished is done by God; 3) to perceive everything as happening and being done according to the will of God, that he lives in this will and obeys it in everything [13, p. 200]. Thus, a person gradually improves in the vision of God and the worship of God. Then the soul must break away from attachment to everything earthly and gradually finds within itself through the action of the Holy Spirit peace and joy (Rom. 14:17), which is the Kingdom of God. Such immersion within, or union within oneself with God, is called mental silence or admiration for God. It can be episodic, but it needs to be made permanent. This is the goal of Christian achievement: when God is in us, when our spirit is in God. This is not mental communication, but a real, silent, alienated from all earthly unity of the human spirit with God. The main condition for this is the cleansing of the heart from sin in order to accept the Grace of God [13, p. 303]. The decisive step in ascent to God, which is the beginning of such communion with God, is surrendering oneself to Divine guidance, after which the Lord Himself acts, and not the will of man. The condition on this path is the renunciation of one’s will [13, p. 303–304]. Saint Theophan points out that in the Kingdom of Christ “there should not be anyone acting on his own, but for God to act in everything.” And when the will of man ceases to stubbornly oppose the will of God and our “independent and personal activity” ceases, then “the power of God enters into the spirit of man and begins its all-effect. So, the condition for the indwelling of God in us is the most decisive surrender to Him” [13, p. 303–304]. “Surrendering oneself to God” is an internal, secret process of the spirit, and it does not happen immediately, but matures “gradually, long or briefly” and depends on the internal structure of a person. He who has given himself over to God begins to abide in Him. At the same time, a person’s freedom is not destroyed, but he possesses it, since self-surrender is not a final act. In earthly life it is constantly repeated. Man surrenders himself to God, and God acts in him and by him, that is, by his forces. This is the true life of our spirit. This is a living free union, that is, the life and affirmation of man with his whole being in God, that is, with thought, heart, and will. In such communion with God, the main thing is “smart spiritual prayer... The one who prays abides in God and, therefore, is very ready and capable for God to abide in him. But this prayer is not the same as other, lower degrees of prayer. In such prayer, one might say, is the final limit of the rules of asceticism.” When “this prayer is established and established, God is one with our spirit” [13, p. 306–307]. Discussing this state of man, St. Theophan notes: “Communion with God and the indwelling of God is the final goal of seeking the human spirit, when it is in God, and God is in it. The good will of the Lord and His prayer are finally fulfilled, that as He is in the Father and the Father in Him, so every believer may be one with Him (John 17:21). This state is marked by the flame of love... And love is the giver of prophecy, the cause of miracles, the abyss of enlightenment, the source of the Divine fire, which the more it flows, the more it inflames the thirsty... We do not know a higher apostolic state on earth” [13, p. 313–314]. From the presentation of Saint Theophan’s understanding of the foundations of Orthodox asceticism, one can see that the highest level of this feat is holiness. And every person living on earth is called to holiness, especially an Orthodox Christian, regardless of whether he is a monk or not, a representative of the clergy or a layman. It is important to understand that this covenant of holiness and the teaching of the Church on Christian asceticism, which St. Theophan sets out in detail, is the beginning of asceticism based on unshakable zeal and love for God. 1. Georgy (Tertyshnikov), archimandrite. Saint Theophan the Recluse and his teaching on salvation. M., Rule of Faith, 1999. – 570, 6 p. 2. Philokalia in Russian translation. T. 1. Ed. 3rd. – M.: Tipo-lithographic. I. Efimova, 1895. – 638, II p.; T. 2. – M.: Tipolit. Efimova. 1884 – 810 pp.; T. 3. – M.: Tipo-lit. Efimova. 1888 – 486 pp.; T. 4. – M.: Tipo-lit. Efimova. 1889 – 653 pp.; T. 5. – M.: Tipo-lit. Efimova. 1890 – 521 p. 3. The ancient Patericon, set out in chapters, translated from Greek. Publication of the Athos Russian Panteleimon Monastery. M. Typo-lithography by I. Efimov. 1899. P. 428, II. 4. Clement (Kapalin G.M.), Metropolitan of Kaluga and Borovsk. Saint Theophan the Recluse on the Jesus Prayer based on materials from his correspondence during his stay in the Vyshenskaya hermitage // Transactions on Russian patrolology. Vol. No. 4. Kaluga, 2019. pp. 5–11. 5. Clement, Metropolitan of Kaluga and Borovsk (G. M. Kapalin). The choice of the spiritual path (according to St. Theophan the Recluse) // Theological and historical collection. Kaluga Theological Seminary. Kaluga, 2014. No. 6. – P. 3–10. 6. Miterikon: Collection. Abba Isaiah's instructions to the honorable nun Theodora / Trans. from Greek Bishop Feofan. – M., 1891. – 199 p. 7. Invisible abuse. Translation from the Greek by Bishop Theophan. M. Typo-lithography by I. Efimov. 1912. P. 296, IV. 8. Words of St. Simeon the New Theologian. Translated into Russian by Bishop Feofan. M. University Printing House. 1882. Issue. I, p. 453, VI; Vol. II, p. 550, VI. 9 . Feofan, bishop. Thoughts for each day of the year based on church readings from the Word of God. St. Petersburg, Typo-lithography by M. P. Frolova. 1901. P. 367, II. 10. Feofan, bishop. Outline of Christian moral teaching" M., Typo-lithogr. I. Efimova. 1895. P. 330. 11. Feofan, bishop. Letters on spiritual life. M. Typolitography by I. Efimov. 1897, p. 253, II. 12. Feofan, bishop. Letters on the Christian Life. Ed. 3rd. M, Tipo-lit. I. Efimova, 1908. – 268, II p. 13. Feofan, bishop. The path to salvation. (A short sketch of asceticism). Third part. Outline of Christian moral teaching. M., Tipo-Lithogr. I. Efimova. 1908. P. 346, VIII, II. 14. Feofan, bishop. Words to the Vladimir flock of His Grace Theophan. – Vladimir: type. Gubernsky. board, 1869. – VIII, 684 p. 15. Feofan, bishop. Words to the Tambov flock of Feofan, Bishop of Tambov and Shatsky in 1859 and 1860. St. Petersburg: type. Military training headquarters institutions, 1861. – 326 p. 16. Feofan, bishop. Words of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy by the rector Archimandrite Feofan. – St. Petersburg, 1859. – 327 p. 17. Feofan, bishop. What is spiritual life and how to tune in to it? Ed. 6th. M., 1914. 280 (VII) p. 18. Florovsky G., prot. Paths of Russian theology. Minsk, 2006. 608 p. That is, in inseparable union with God with the mind and heart, especially this happens in prayer. “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”