Вопросы другого ученика (Антония Бочкова) и ответы старца

1. What is condemnation and why do the fathers apply condemnation to the Antichrist? “There is condemnation when you, seeing or knowing your brother’s sins or vices, say from your heart: “He, in my opinion, is worthy of torture, or execution, or illness.” Then you allegedly become a judge of your neighbor, and want to sit on the throne of the only Judge - Christ; Therefore, because of your proud madness, you are applied to the Antichrist. Otherwise there is slander and slander, but this is not condemnation. Otherwise, there is a temptation when, involuntarily, by natural feeling, the soul is tempted into a shameful deed or word. The silence of the fathers, engaged in internal work, did not know the sins of their neighbors, but saw only their own fall. 2. Can I talk in confession about someone who has sinned with me in word or deed? - Do you really want to repent for him? If he does not want to confess his sin, speak only about his own: those who sinned by slander or passionate ranting, or anything from such. 3. Can I invite the brother to bring repentance to the elder for the verbal sin he has committed together? (The elder smiled) - Your zeal for the salvation of your brother is too great. I think it’s better to pray, so that the Lord Himself will inspire him. 4. The Fathers say that a detailed explanation of prodigal thoughts and deeds is in vain, that it is enough to explain them in a short general word, that the memory of them defiles the mouth and thoughts. Is this true? - That's true. The fathers were more experienced than us in spiritual matters. But each person has a different rule. Another elder can listen to your confession dispassionately and harmlessly; Yes, and you, suppose, can not very passionately and with contrition confess in detail, and to your humility you can shame yourself: therefore, detailed confession (albeit rarely) is beneficial. But apparently the elders knew the great mercy of God, which does not want our extreme shame; That’s why they decided to reduce the confession of evil thoughts. Sometimes the devil will inspire them in you: and you will show not your thoughts, but his inspiration, and he will mock you for your good. Sometimes even an old man, who is not very firm, will not quickly remove your thoughts from the ear of his heart. 5. Therefore, it is better to keep silent about evil and blasphemous thoughts against the elder, his life and weaknesses? - What an old man. It is better to remain silent about the details of your thoughts, and just say in general that there were blasphemous thoughts against you. The devil sometimes wants to scold and blaspheme the elder through your lips, and you amuse the devil by becoming his transmitter. If the elder is experienced, then he will explain this to you without getting angry; and if you are weak in strength, you will be indignant, especially if your battle continues for a long time. The elder may reject you for your and his inexperience. The Lord rarely allows a younger person to reprove an elder, although we must love those who reprove us. 6. How can we find out which thoughts are actually ours and which are from the contrary? – One Konevsky hermit told me that, being engaged in mental attention for a considerable time, he could not distinguish his thoughts from those of the enemy. The enemy, captivating your thoughts on something, does not say to you: “Go, do this and that,” but as if he thinks for you, and says to you with your thoughts: “I want to do this and that; I believe that this is useful, and this is harmful; I decided on this and that.” And all this is often not yours, but the enemy’s thoughts, covered by yours or his self. You think these are your thoughts; no, you are only listening to the enemy's suggestions. 7. Do some priest-theologians require the most subtle confession to cleanse the soul? - Let's leave them, it's their business. But can they fulfill their rules, for example, if another has 500 confessors in three hours? 8. Is mental prayer given to everyone? “Whoever the Lord visits with a difficult trial, sorrow, or the deprivation of a loved one from his neighbors, he will involuntarily pray with all his heart and with all his thoughts, with all his mind. Consequently, everyone has a source of prayer; but it opens either by gradual deepening into itself, according to the teachings of the fathers, or instantly, by God’s drill. 9. Some fathers I know have great love for the Mother of God, and boast about it; I doubt they have such zeal? - Yes! Those who pretend to be pleased are doubtful. Sometimes we boast about our prayers, and yet we are far from the Queen of Heaven. Let us praise the Mother of God with her virtues - purity, humility, and not with our commanding praise. 10. Which books of the holy fathers are better to read: Climacus, Isaac the Syrian or Abba Barsanuphius? - Read the words of the saints by deeds. 11. What can you say about the akathists with which others fill their rules? - He who understands the words of the akathist as their hymnist does, and delves into every word, prays or praises in the akathist not without mind; If only he would not attribute to himself and his own mind other people’s works and other people’s words, psalms or hymns: we are only their readers. Not all Davids have read the Psalter, and not all Damascus have read the canons. Better is a simple publican prayer, close to all of us. 12. What is the easiest way to escape? Which way? I'm only asking about myself. – Imagine that the Lord Jesus Christ walks the earth with all His human and gospel simplicity. Walking with Him, would you be better than you are now? After thinking, I answered the elder: I believe that I would have remained as before without the special grace of God; Were there not many who followed Christ and fell away? The elder’s question: “What is most attractive to the grace of God?” Student: “I don’t know, father.” Elder: “If you were, like the apostles, simple-hearted, would not hide your human shortcomings, would not pretend to be especially reverent, would walk without hypocrisy, then this path, although it seems easy, is not given to everyone, not understandable to everyone; and this path is closest to salvation and attracts the grace of God. Unpretentiousness, innocence, frankness of the soul - this is what pleases the humble-hearted Lord. Unless you are like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of God.” 13. Why am I annoyed at those who come to you, at their stupidity, at their ignorance, although I know that many take advantage of you? - Because your heart is not broken. He who is sick with love for his neighbor notices little of their stupidity; but he prays to the Lord with fear, so that he may be inspired with what to say for the benefit of his neighbor, and carries out the work of advice reverently, as the work of God. Sometimes even after prayer you do not find a useful answer: here you are ashamed and condemn yourself. With such a feeling of one’s own unworthiness, there is no time for human stupidity; I’m ready to say to everyone: pray for me, God’s servant. 14. Why do I sometimes love you so much: like now (at the same time I had tears in my eyes and my voice trembled), and sometimes I am annoyed with you because of the many people who come to you and complain to you? -Will you understand me? - Because you are not yet a monk, but a passing one, not yet torn away from the world. You want to grab my words on the fly, to escape in passing, to quickly learn. That’s why there is delight, kissing the priest’s shoulder or hand. Under Father Theodore, I was towards him without fanaticism (the elder’s often used word - Author’s note), but mentally I was ready to bow at his feet with filial respect. Look at Mother Superior Anatolia and M. Arkadia: they do not envy those who come to me, they are ready to give up their time and place to everyone, and yet they love me more than you, because they fulfill my words with deeds (Anatoly Borisovskaya is a woman of extraordinary kindness and a warm heart; Arkadia Sevskaya, whom both in appearance and in dignity the elder jokingly called the queen. Approx. author). Someday the Lord will completely free you from the world. Maybe you will love your neighbor as you love yourself. I don’t wish for you even after that Tabithin dispensation. (M. Tabitha, mentioned here, lived in the Borisov maiden hermitage and was not only a strict nun in life, but also a lively old woman: she took part in others and mentored many. But she herself was in an enthusiastic mood of spirit and was looking for something high in spiritual life, not yet completely despising human glory and not having cleansed herself of other passions; she judged the shortcomings of others strictly, probably due to a lack of her own humility. Although she was admonished a lot by the elders, she did not abandon her wrong aspirations and enthusiastic mood; through which she fell into the delusion of the enemy, and died in insanity or semi-insanity. – Approx. auto ). The elder’s words to Father Anthony, that perhaps he would love his neighbor as himself, came true more than 30 years after the death of Father. Leonida. Father Anthony (Bochkov), having abandoned his abbotship in the Cheremenets Monastery, in 1871 settled in the skete of the Nikolo-Ugresh Monastery near Moscow. This year, cholera began to intensify in Moscow, and therefore they asked the Ugreshsky abbot to send hieromonks to Moscow to help Moscow priests to give farewell to the sick and dying and to perform funeral services for the dead. Then Fr. Anthony himself expressed a desire to devote himself to this cause of philanthropy, and at the beginning of 1872 he moved to the Moscow Chernorabochy Hospital, where a special cell was set up for him; and for two months the seventy-year-old elder abbot confessed and communed many sick people daily, and himself received communion every day; He also unctioned three people a day, and it happened that six people a day buried the dead, in winter, in a cold chapel. While doing all this, Father Anthony said about himself that in all his life he had never enjoyed such health and was not so calm in spirit as at this time. Finally, on March 17, on the day of his former name, in memory of Alexy the man of God, he fell ill with typhus, and died on April 5. 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