НЕДЕЛЯ 5-Я ПО ПЯТИДЕСЯТНИЦЕ

Healing of two demoniacs One day, Jesus Christ and His disciples arrived in the country of the Gadarenes. When they got out of the boat, two demoniacs ran out to meet them. They were very fierce, so that no one dared to pass along the path where they could be met. The unclean spirit drove them into the mountains, desert and caves. One of the demoniacs was often shackled with shackles and chains, but he broke the shackles and broke the chains. He was always in the coffins, day and night, screaming and hitting the stones. Now he had become so wild that everyone was afraid to approach him and no one was able to tame him. When the demoniacs saw Jesus, they ran and worshiped Him. Jesus commanded the unclean spirits to come out of them. Then they shouted: What have you to do with us, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? (Mark 5:7). Unclean spirits bow before His majesty, they know that He can bind them with the bonds of hellish darkness and is keeping them in the judgment seat of punishment (cf. 2 Pet. 2:4), hence their fear and their request. Jesus asks the evil spirit who spoke on behalf of others: what is your name? The unclean spirit boldly answers: My name is legion, because we are many (Mark 5:9). Then the demons begin to ask the Lord not to drive them out of this country, but to allow them to enter the herd of pigs that grazed on the mountains here. Jesus allowed them. They then entered the pigs, and the whole herd (two thousand heads) rushed into the sea. The shepherds informed the residents of the city and nearby villages about the incident. When the inhabitants arrived, they saw that the demoniac was sitting at the feet of Jesus Christ, already dressed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. Eyewitnesses told them how the demoniacs were healed. But they had little interest in saving the suffering people. They were afraid that through Jesus they would have to suffer an even greater loss in their property. Therefore, they began to ask Him to leave their country. Jesus went to the boat to cross to the other side, but the healed man began to ask Jesus to allow him to accompany Him. He felt so good with the Lord that he no longer wanted to leave Him, but Jesus did not allow him, but said: go home to your people and tell them what the Lord has done to you and how he has had mercy on you (Mark 5:19). The Lord wanted to make him a witness of His deeds among the people who neglected Him and alienated Him from themselves. And this man went and began to preach in the Decapolis what Jesus had done to him, and everyone was amazed (cf. Mark 5:20). When the Lord Jesus Christ entered the country of Gergesin, two unfortunate people possessed by demons met on His way. The demoniacs, perhaps, tried to frighten Jesus Christ just as they frightened everyone who passed that way, but, having met the Son of God, they themselves were frightened. And behold, she cried out, saying: What is it to us and to You, Jesus the Son of God? Thou hast come before the time to torment us (Matthew 8:29). In these words, a true Christian believer clearly sees evidence of the existence of evil spirits, both because it is contained in the Gospel, which constitutes an immutable testimony of the truth, and because the demoniacs themselves could not speak like that, partly out of ignorance of Jesus Christ, about whom, of course, they had not heard, but, mainly, to turn to Him with such words. Is it natural for people who saw Jesus Christ for the first time and had no idea about Him to say that He came ahead of time to torment them? In the mouths of people, no matter what they are, such words have no meaning. So, in the unfortunate demoniacs, evil spirits were obviously speaking, whose power over people the Savior came to destroy. However, in the Word of God, both the Old and New Testaments, there are so many direct and clear indications of the existence of evil spirits that it would be extremely strange for Christians to doubt it. However, some Christians say that the demoniacs mentioned in the Gospel must mean people possessed by a special nervous disease, a physical one, the name of which the Jews could not come up with, and not by evil spirits. But if it was a natural disease, then why is it not named that way, while the Gospel directly speaks of other diseases? And could the Savior - the incarnate Truth, the Son of God - speak, adapting only to the concepts of the Jews? Could He, who denounced the superstitions of the Pharisees, remain silent about such an important superstition? On the contrary, the Word of God says that Jesus Christ healed all those possessed by the devil (cf. Acts 10:38), that the Son of God came for this purpose to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8), who through the fall of his first parents received power over sinners. This power was destroyed by Jesus Christ by His atonement and by giving the redeemed the means to defeat the machinations of the ancient spiritual enemy of men in the true Christian faith with its Sacraments and rules of piety. But a Christian, through his unbelief and sins, again opens up access to evil spirits, who now act more cunningly, as weaker against pre-Christian times, but nevertheless harmful, disastrous for the salvation of believers. Evil spirits try to adapt to our passions and inclinations; Using them, they hide their intrigues from us as if with some kind of veil. But Christians, attentive to themselves, trying to acquire righteousness, fighting against evil inclinations, clearly notice the tricks of evil spirits, see their intrigues and temptations and not without effort, but defeat them by faith in the Lord, prayer, fasting and vigilance over themselves. They also say: by evil spirits we must understand personifications of our sins and passions. But this, firstly, is completely contrary to the Word of God, and secondly, it clearly contradicts experience. We do not approve of evil, we condemn sin both in ourselves and in others; The most inveterate villains very often suddenly change their lives and look with disgust at their previous deeds. What does this mean? The fact that evil and sin did not originally originate from humans, as Holy Scripture asserts, that evil entered our nature from the outside, precisely through temptation from the devil. Of course, sin is strengthened by the inclinations of our damaged nature, created good - otherwise we would not love evil. After this, it would be strange to understand our passions under the name of evil spirits. One day, a demon, coming at night to the cell of the Monk Macarius of Alexandria, said to him: “Get up, Abba Macarius, and let’s go to church for divine services.” Macarius, being filled with the grace of God, understood the temptation of the devil and answered him: “Oh, liar and hater of goodness! What kind of participation can you have in the divine service and what can you have in common with the council of saints?” The devil said: “Don’t you know, Macarius, that without us there is not a single church service and not a single monastic meeting; come and see our deeds.” The elder answered: “May the Lord forbid you, you unclean demon.” And, turning to prayer, he asked the Lord to show him whether what the devil said while boasting was true. When the time came for the midnight service, he went to church, asking God to reveal and show him whether what the devil had said was true. And then he sees throughout the church, as it were, some small youths in the form of Ethiopians, quickly walking around the church and flying. In that monastery there was a custom: one brother read psalms, and the others sat and listened - and next to each of the brethren those Ethiopians sat and laughed at them. Those who touched their eyes with their fingers now began to doze off, and those who placed their fingers on their lips immediately woke up; before others they walked in the likeness of women, and before others they did something else. And what they presented before someone, he reflected on that within himself. But for some, as soon as they began to do something like that, they were immediately driven away and removed by some force and could no longer stand in front of them or even pass by. And some weak brothers, who did not listen to prayer, sat on their necks and shoulders, mocking them. The Monk Macarius, seeing this, sighed from the depths of his heart and said: “Look, Lord, and do not remain silent, rise up, O God, so that your enemies may disperse and flee from Your presence, for our soul is full of reproach.” At the end of the service, the Monk Macarius, calling each brother one by one, asked what he was thinking about during the service, and each one revealed his thoughts. It turned out that everyone was thinking about what the demon represented before him, mocking him. Violation of a vow due to temptation from the devil To understand how powerful and seductive the temptations of the enemy of our salvation can be, let us listen to the following story. “One young monk, working in a monastery, wanted to live as a hermit and asked the abbot for a blessing to go to a remote place in the desert for a hopeless life. God blessed the monk's intention and showed him a special sign that showed him the very place of such residence: when on the way the future hermit, exhausted, fell asleep together with the monks accompanying him, an eagle flew in and, striking its wings, woke them up; then the eagle flew away from them and sat down on the ground. The accompanying monks said to the young monk: “Here is your angel, get up and follow him.” He stood up, said goodbye to the brothers, followed the eagle and walked to the place where the eagle was sitting. Then the eagle rose again, flew further and sat down again, and the monk followed him; and again the eagle rose and flew away not far away, and the brother followed him. This went on for three hours. Finally, the eagle turned to the right and did not appear again. The monk came there and saw three palm trees, a source of water and a small cave. He said to himself: “This is the place that the Lord has prepared for me.” And the young monk began to remain silent here, eating dates and drinking water from the source; He lived here for six years as a hermit, not seeing anyone. But then the devil comes to him in the form of a worldly young man and begins to examine him from head to toe. The monk asked him: “Why are you looking at me?” He replied: “Don’t you recognize me? I am your father’s neighbor,” and named the name of the hermit’s father, mother, and sister. Then he said: “Your mother and sister died more than three years ago, and your father died only recently, making you his heir; before his death, the father asked everyone to find you, so that you would come home, take the property and distribute it to the poor for your soul and your father; many went to look for you, but did not find you, but I, having come here on my own business, recognized you. Do not delay, go and do the will of your father.” The hermit answered: “I should not return to the world.” But the devil, through various seductive suggestions, persuaded the hermit to leave his cell, escorted him to the city where his father lived, and only then left him. The monk came to his parents' house with the confidence that his father was no longer alive; and then the father himself comes out to meet him, alive and well. At first, the father could not recognize his son, and the son was ashamed and could not explain the true reason why he left the cell; and said that he returned because of his love and affection for his father... So he remained in the world, finally betraying his monastic vows. Our main enemy is the devil The famous ascetic St. Anthony the Great once saw nets spread throughout the earth. Amazed by the multitude of these nets, he exclaimed: “Oh, Lord! Who is able to avoid them? - And the voice of God came to him: “Humility!” But what are these networks that are placed everywhere for us? Networks are temptations and seductions that pursue us at almost every step and with which, as our enemies, every Christian must fight. Our first and most important enemy is the devil; he is the first adversary in time, strength, and malice. The Savior calls him the father of lies, a murderer from time immemorial (cf. John 8:44), from the beginning of the century. He laid the foundation for sin by deceiving our first parents in paradise and making them transgressors of God’s commandments. Since then, he has been walking around like a lion, looking for which people to draw into his destructive networks (see: 1 Pet. 5:8). What can we say about people! The sinless Lord Jesus Christ himself was subjected to temptations from the devil. For what? Of course, for us sinners, so that He, being Himself tempted, could help us, the tempted ones (cf. Heb. 2:18). And how often we sinners are subjected to temptations from the devil! True, the devil now rarely acts on people in a visible way, but he constantly tempts us in a secret, imperceptible way. In open struggle, perfect Christians, great ascetics who have completely dedicated themselves to Christ, fight against him. And how difficult this struggle with the devil is can be understood from the lives of the saints of God. The Monk Sergius, the Wonderworker of Radonezh, at the beginning of his desert feat, suffered from demons a lot of sorrows and temptations. They often took on the forms of terrible animals and disgusting reptiles in order to frighten the saint, but he courageously drove away all their temptations with prayer and the sign of the cross. Once the monk sang Matins in his church at night. Suddenly, a wall parted before his eyes, and a whole demonic regiment entered through it dressed as Lithuanians, who at that time were causing a lot of harm to Russia. The demons rushed in with noise and wild screams, as if intending to ruin the church and threatening the monk with death. “Run away from here quickly,” they shouted, gnashing their teeth. “If you don’t leave, we will tear you apart.” But, courageous and strong in spirit, the ascetic was not afraid of demonic threats: he turned to God with fiery prayer, and the fallen spirits instantly disappeared. At another time, demons, taking the form of disgusting reptiles, filled the entire cell, so that not even the floor was visible. Often, in the thicket of the forest and around the cell of St. Sergius, frantic cries of demonic hordes were heard: “Get out of here! Why did you come here? Don't expect to live here any longer, we won't leave you alone. Death to you and destruction from our hands!” But all the efforts, all the fierce stubbornness of the primordial enemy of man, all his anger against St. Sergius remained in vain and were completely crushed by the great ascetic, filled with the grace of Christ. Another famous ascetic, St. Anthony the Great, also suffered many temptations from the devil. The life tells that one night the demons beat him so badly that the next day a pious husband, who was bringing him food, found him unconscious and brought him, like a dead man, to the nearest village church. But he, having come to his senses, begged his friend to take him back to the cave, where, unable to stand, he lay, without ceasing to pray and fight against invisible enemies. The saint’s courage only ignited rage: the demons made noise and knocking, as if wanting to shake the building at its foundation, and then approached him in the form of lions, tigers, bears and other predatory animals. Intending to frighten him with roars and whistles, they rushed at him with their mouths open to devour him, and even struck him several blows. But Saint Anthony, despite the pain, maintained patience and firmness of soul and reproached them for weakness. “If you had power over me,” he said, “it would be easy for one of you to destroy me; but since the Lord has taken away your strength, you are trying to frighten me with multitudes; It even serves as a sign of your weakness that you turn into animals. If you can and have power over me, then do not hesitate and attack, and if you cannot, then why are you fussing in vain? The sign of the cross and faith in my Savior serve as my indestructible shield.” So he spoke to them, and the demons, irritated by his contempt for them, gnashed their teeth in despair. These are the obvious and open actions of the enemy of our salvation - the devil! But these open actions are directed mainly against pious people, and with us, sinners and careless ones, he will not enter into an open fight. One desert elder, getting up at night, as usual, to pray, heard the sound of a military trumpet calling for battle, and was surprised: where could there be troops in such a deserted desert? Then a demon appeared to him and said: “Yes, these are, of course, troops, because you are standing in prayer. Lie down and sleep if you don’t want us to fight; We fight only with those who arm themselves against us with prayer, and we do not fight with the lazy.” A case from priestly practice The story of priest John Baronov In 1856, on Tuesday of the sixth week of Lent, I was called to impart the Holy Mysteries to a woman of about thirty. At first glance, it seemed to me that the patient was not in great danger. She sat quietly and talked with those around her. To my question, how long had she been unwell and what was her illness, this woman answered firmly and clearly that something had happened to her that night and she felt sick, and therefore wanted to communicate in advance. The reading of prayers began. At first the patient crossed herself twice. But then the hand refused to serve her; she tried to raise her hand, but could not. A few minutes later, the woman helping her crossed her with the same hand, but the servant was no longer able to repeat this, because the hand had stopped bending. It was clear from the patient’s eyes and face that there was a sharp deterioration in her condition. At the end of the prayers and after leaving the room of strangers, I began confession. In response to my first question, the patient uttered several incomprehensible words, then she became completely numb and only gave affirmative or negative signs with her hand or with a movement of her head, and finally lost all movement and looked at me senselessly. No matter how hard I tried to evoke on her part at least some sign of consciousness and understanding, nothing helped. I called my family. After about five minutes she seemed to wake up, made a sign with her hand and wanted to say something, but could not. Wanting to take advantage of the moments of consciousness, I prepared the Holy Mysteries. But as soon as he approached her with the Holy Gifts, she suddenly began to have severe convulsions. Her hands dropped, her head fell back, her eyes rolled under her forehead, her teeth clenched and gnashed, and she became completely dead. I stepped back in fear. A few minutes later the patient woke up again. I approached her a second time with the Holy Gifts, but the same attack began again. Three times I approached the sick woman with the Holy Gifts in order to commune her, but to no avail. Each time she fell into numbness, but when I left, she came to her senses a little. Having entrusted the sick woman to the will of God, I was forced to leave without any success, asking her family to inform me about the patient’s condition. A few days later I received news that Tatyana (that was the patient’s name) was screaming like a cry, that is, she was going crazy, and that since the day I was with her, she had not come to her senses for one minute. I felt sorry for her and their poor family, in which, with four adult men and four young children, there was only one Tatyana, a worthy, modest, hardworking and God-fearing woman. I had the opportunity to see the patient in person during Bright Week. Along with other parishioners, we served a prayer service in their home. During the prayer service, the patient screamed loudly and fought so hard that two people could barely hold her. Despite the demonic possession, I, however, put the sick cross to my lips and sprinkled her with holy water. After several convulsions that seemed to have occurred, the patient became calmer. When the icons were taken out of the room, and after them all the household went out into the courtyard to venerate the icons while singing the Easter stichera, I remained in the room with only one woman who was looking after the sick woman. In my presence, Tatyana began to scold me with various insulting words; but I, not paying attention to her words, looked intently into her face. At the same time, I was especially struck by the fact that while the words were pronounced by her with particular fervor and significant emphasis, not the slightest expression was revealed in her face - she lay with her eyes closed, as if half dead, and only slightly moved her lips. Moreover, speaking about herself, she expressed herself in the masculine gender. When the flow of words stopped somewhat, I said: “Tatyana! What a wonderful woman you were! You used to greet me with joy and fervently pray with me, but now how cruelly you offend me! Aren’t you ashamed and sinful?” “Yes, I’m not Tatyana at all,” came the answer. - “Why not Tatyana? I see Tatiana." - “You see Tatyana, but it’s not Tatyana who speaks, but me.” - “Who are you?” - “You yourself know who I am, and if I tell you, you won’t have time to escape from here.” - “But if you are not Tatyana, then why did you come here?” “I didn’t come on my own, but I received such a determination from my boss. However, there is no need to spread the word, get out of here, your comrades have already left, no one called you, and I can’t stand you.” - “But if you are not Tatyana, then you have come to the wrong place and, fearing the name of the now Risen Lord Jesus Christ, you must leave here.” “Yes, I’ll leave, but not now. And now I still don’t have a determination from my boss.” - “When will this be?” - “Then, as these Great days pass. These days I can’t appear anywhere, and I must stay where I’m ordered.” At these words, the household began to enter the hut, and I, stopping the conversation and crossing the sign of the cross over the sick woman, left. But the words I heard excited me, I thought a lot about this conversation and waited to see if any change would really happen to the patient. And so it happened. On Monday, during St. Thomas Week, I was asked to attend to the patient, explaining that last night she felt better and came to her senses. Indeed, I found the patient recovered - she walked and stood without assistance, spoke well and freely. Her face and eyes expressed some kind of special liveliness and intelligence, which was not present even in her healthy state. During the prayers for communion, she prayed so earnestly, with such fervor, that she surprised me. During confession, she revealed such sincerity and sincerity, such strong faith and love for the Redeemer, such a reasonable understanding of the Holy Sacrament, which I have never encountered among villagers and which cannot be imagined in an uneducated woman and a narrow-minded woman. Everything proved that she was under the special shadow of God’s grace. Having received the Holy Mysteries with the greatest reverence, she, in spiritual, gracious delight, thanked the Lord with a long bow to the ground. After communion, Tatyana asked me for forgiveness and blessings, as if before her death. Wanting to calm her down, I tried to arouse in her hope for recovery. But in response to my words, she said with complete confidence that she did not have long to live. About three hours after this, I was informed that Tatyana had died... The circumstances that accompanied her illness, such as: initial seizures that prevented her from teaching the Holy Mysteries, tormenting her and beating herself, uttering blasphemous words incompatible with her spiritual mood, and the manifestation of thoughts that exceeded her mental abilities, the cessation of the demonic possession, which happened, as was predicted, by after the great days of Bright Week have passed, there is no doubt about the nature of her illness. The patient was under the influence of an evil spirit. And the beneficial change that happened to her just before her death speaks intelligibly about the grace of God, which, having allowed suffering and exhaustion of the body, through this achieved higher and beneficial goals, namely: cleansed, enlightened and saved the spirit. About spiritual means of combating evil spirits We have been given by Jesus Christ, our Savior, all the means to defeat the devil. The grace of Christ cuts off the sin that lives in us (see: Col. 2:11–12). The Lord destroyed the power of Satan and his hordes of demons, taking away from them all power over us. Having taken away the strength of the principalities and authorities, he powerfully subjected them to shame, having triumphed over them with Himself (cf. Col. 2:15). Only through sin and passions do demons cling to the soul, and while it is in sin, it is blinded by them and appears, as it were, dressed in them. Leeches cling to a living body and suck living blood from it, but if you pour salt water over the body, the leeches will immediately disappear. So the Lord salted our nature with the salt of the grace of the Holy Spirit. And the demons all had to jump away from him, struck by the Divine Power and the light of faith with the love of holiness. The holy fathers of the Church testify to the possibility of deliverance from demons with the help of God’s grace and by using God-given means for this. Saint John Chrysostom says: “If the devil is a predator, then it is up to us not to let him plunder.” Saint Gregory of Nyssa says: “When our nature fell into sin, God did not leave our fall by His Providence, but to help everyone’s life he assigns a certain Angel from those who have assumed an incorporeal nature, but, on the other hand, the corrupter of nature contrives to do the same through an evil and malicious demon who would harm human life. A person, being among an Angel and a demon, himself makes one stronger than the other, choosing a teacher from the two with his free will. The Good Angel shows the thoughts of the blessings of virtue, which are revealed to those who succeed in hope, and the other shows material pleasures, from which there is no hope for good. Therefore, if someone shuns what attracts him to evil, directing his thoughts towards the better and putting vice behind him, as it were, and turning his soul, like a kind of mirror, to the hope of good things, so that in the purity of his own soul all the images and representations of the virtue indicated to him will be imprinted, then his brother takes him down and helps him, for by the gift of speech and the rationality of the human soul, an Angel in some way is a brother to man.” “A powerful weapon against demons is a right life and faith in God. The evil spirits are afraid of ascetic fasting, vigil, prayer, meekness, silence, lack of money, lack of vanity, humility, love of poverty, almsgiving, lack of anger, and mainly of pious faith in Christ. St. John Cassian says: the enemy lies in wait in a hidden place, like a lion in a den (Ps. 9:30), hiding for us the snares and traps of unclean and wicked thoughts. But we, if we do not sleep, can set up even larger and more dangerous nets, snares and ambushes for him, for prayer and psalm, vigil (spiritual) and humility, service to others and mercy, thanksgiving and listening to Divine words - this is an ambush for the enemy, and a snare, and a pit. And whips, and snares, and strangulation.” Let no one be left without armor, which, according to the Apostle, is served by good faith, no one without a shield, which is humility, no one without a sword, which is Divine prayer, no one without a helmet, which is obedience, and so on. The Lord, mighty in battle, who with the weapon of the cross defeated the principles and powers of the world ruler of this age, gave us the power to step on the serpent and scorpions, and on all the power of the enemy (cf. Luke 10:19). Resist the devil, and he will flee from you, says the Apostle James (James 4:7). You just need to not weaken in the fight against the enemy and wage the war with patience, remembering the covenant of the Lord: with your patience save your souls (Luke 21:19). For our victory over the devil, an eternal reward awaits us in the Kingdom of Heaven. If the devil attacks us especially strongly, then this is the first sign of his weakness, for if we were defeated by him, he would have no reason to enter into a fight with us. Saint John Climacus says: “No one can so testify to the defeat of the devil and demons as their cruel attack on us.” The God of peace will crush Satan under your feet (Rom. 16:20). “If Christ ascends into heaven, you too ascend with Him, be among the angels accompanying or meeting Him.” The Holy Fathers and teachers of the Church indicate the following means to fight the devil: faith, the word of God, calling on the name of Christ our Savior, fear of God, humility, sobriety, prayer, the sign of the cross. We ourselves can use these means in the struggle, but there are also those that can be used through the clergy - this is repentance with communion and an incantation. 1) Faith. – An immaterial shield against an invisible enemy. Above all, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the arrows of the evil one (Eph. 6:16). The devil often throws a kindling arrow of lust for shameful pleasures, but faith, recalling Judgment and cooling the mind, quenches this arrow. If we believe in God, then we are not afraid of demons, for the Lord sends us His help. The destroyer will not find a place for himself in us if we are protected by the shield of faith. 2) The Word of God. - “The spiritual sword for fighting the devil is the word of God.” “Oppose him (the tempter) with the word of Life, which is Bread sent from heaven and giving Life to the world,” says St. Gregory the Theologian. The Destroyer will never find a place in us if we repel it with the sword of the Word of God. Demons must be driven out, following the example of Christ, with the words of Holy Scripture. 3) Calling on the name of Christ our Savior. “In My name they will cast out demons (Mark 16:17), said the Savior. The Fathers of the Church and teachers testify to the fulfillment of the promise of Christ. The Holy Martyr Justin says: “We always pray to God through Jesus Christ to preserve us from demons who are alien to the reverence of God and whom we once worshiped, so that after turning to God through Christ we may be blameless. For we call Him Helper and Savior, from the power of whose name the demons tremble, and now, when we conjure in the name of Jesus Christ, Crucified under Pontius Pilate, they obey us; from here it is obvious to everyone that His Father gave Him such great power that even the demons submit to the name and dispensation of His former suffering.” “And to this day the demons tremble at the name of Christ; The power of His name is not weakened by our vices. But we are not ashamed to insult the venerable name of Christ and Christ Himself,” we are not ashamed to hear how Christianity is rejected, as if ashamed to be His believing sons... Saint Theodore of Edessa says: “None of us can escape the wiles of the evil one by our own strength, but only by the invincible power of Christ.” The Prologue contains the following story about the power of invoking the name of God. There was a sorcerer in Constantinople who wanted to attract a youth to serve demons. To show the strength and greatness of the demonic prince, the sorcerer took the youth outside the city to an uninhabited place. And so the seduced youth imagined a big city with iron gates. The sorcerer enters with the youth into an imaginary city and leads him into the church standing in the middle. At the entrance, the youth sees many burning lamps and sitting on a high throne, like a king, and surrounded by numerous servants - it was the prince of demons, who joyfully greeted the sorcerer, seated him next to him and asked why he had brought the youth? The sorcerer replies: “We are your servants, and he wants to be yours.” Satan asks the boy: “Are you my servant?” The youth exclaimed: “I am a servant of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” From this exclamation, Satan suddenly fell from his throne, the sorcerer died, and all the ghosts of the city and the church disappeared. 4) Fear of God. - The one who, out of love, is afraid of offending his Creator and constantly carries in his heart the gracious memory of God’s mercies and the fear of being ungrateful for them, is not afraid of either the devil or man, for he is not afraid of death, trusting in Eternal Life given by God. Saint Ephraim the Syrian says: “The fear of God is a strong pillar in the face of the enemy: do not destroy this pillar and you will not be taken captive.” Saint Simeon the New Theologian says: “He who fears God is not afraid of the demons rushing against him.” 5) Humility. - No one is afraid of the humble, for no hand is raised against the humble; he is not afraid of deprivation and torment, for humility does not allow him to feel wounded by the persecution of the enemy; All evil will be broken against the wall of humility. Saint Simeon the New Theologian says: “What is more courageous than a contrite and humble heart, which without difficulty puts to flight the armies of demons and completely drives them away?” The Monk Abba Dorotheos says: “When Saint Anthony saw all the snares of the devil spread out and, sighing, asked God: “Who can escape them?” - then God answered him: “Humility avoids them” - and added: “They don’t even touch him,” that is, to humility. 6) Sobriety, spiritual wakefulness. – St. John Chrysostom says: “It’s scary, scary, beloved, to be caught by the machinations of the devil, for then the soul, as it were, becomes entangled in a net and, like an unclean animal, wallowing in the mud, enjoys it, so it, having indulged in a sinful habit, no longer feels the stench of sins - therefore you need to be vigilant and watchful, so as not to give the evil demon any access from the very beginning. us, so that he, having darkened our minds and blinded the eye of the soul, does not force us, who cannot look at the light of the Sun of Truth, like those deprived of visible sunlight, to strive into the abyss.” “If we manage our actions with caution, we will receive great mercy from the Lord and avoid the wiles of the devil. When the devil sees that we are vigilant and careful, then, knowing that his attempts (on us, to tempt us) will be useless, he leaves in shame.” 7) Prayer. – Prayer is the means of our communication with God: through prayer we ascend to heaven. Faith is gained from prayer, for in prayer a person feels the happiness of grace coming from God, and can no longer doubt the existence of God. Through prayer a person is cleansed, protected, saved. In prayer a person feels his soul; recognizes himself as a spirit independent of the body, capable of ascending to his Creator Himself and seeing Him with spiritual eyes. (We are talking about real prayer, and not about just pronouncing words of prayer, learned by heart, when they do not delve into what is being said, do not understand what is being said, do not feel what is being said due to the lack of thought, occupied with earthly thoughts extraneous to prayer.) St. Basil the Great says: “Even if during prayers he (the devil) began to entertain evil dreams, let the soul not cease to pray and let it not count as its own growths these evil influences of the enemy, these dreams of a miracle worker inexhaustible in the machinations, but, having judged that the appearance of dissimilar thoughts happens in us due to the persistence of the inventor of evil, let us fall all the more earnestly to God and pray He must scatter the crafty barrier of obscene (for a prayerful state) thoughts remaining in the memory, so that with the desire of his mind he can unhindered, without any delay and instantly, ascend to God; then the invasion of evil thoughts will not in the least block the path to prayer, but if such an uprising of thoughts continues due to the persistence of the one at war with us, then in this case we should not fall into despair and leave the feat halfway through, but endure, continuing to pray until God, seeing our perseverance, illuminates us with the grace of the Holy Spirit, which puts the accuser to flight, cleanses and fills Our mind gives divine light that our thought in silence serves God with joy.” St. Anthony the Great testifies that prayer is one of the most powerful weapons against the human enemy. Saint Simeon the New Theologian says: “A Christian who performs prayer as if it were some kind of labor and feels (during prayer) that he is, as if against his will, enduring violence, coercion and torment, let him not think that he has freed himself from the hand of the devil, let him know that he is mentally (i.e., with his thoughts) still held by the yoke of the evil tormentor.” Therefore, to communicate with God, we need free, unconstrained prayer, which would constitute the life of the soul. Saint Gregory of Nyssa says: “We must pray, for the consequence of prayer is that we are with God, and whoever is with God is far from the enemy,” and again: “He who fears the attack of the evil one, let him pray, so as not to be in the power of the evil one.” So, let us pray, for in prayer we come into communion with God and come to know Him. 8) Sign of the Cross. - According to the expression of the church song: “The cross is a destroyer of demons,” “a demon driver,” “The cross is erected - and the spirits of soulless ranks fall.” The Right Reverend Theophan the Recluse speaks about the meaning and power of the Cross of the Lord as follows: “By the Cross heaven has been reconciled to earth, the Spirit of grace has been brought down to sanctify everyone, and to expose everyone with the power to attack (by the power of the cross) all the power of the enemy; why demons cannot look at the cross: they run away from the mere sight of it. The sign of the cross is a protection for believers and a victorious weapon against invisible enemies.” St. John Chrysostom says: “You should not just depict a cross with a finger, but this should be preceded by a heartfelt disposition and complete faith. If you depict him on your face like this, then not one of the unclean spirits will be able to approach you, seeing the sword with which he was wounded, seeing the weapon from which he received a mortal wound. After all, if we look with trepidation at those places where criminals are executed, then imagine how horrified the demons are when they see the weapon with which Christ destroyed all their power and cut off the head of the serpent. So, imprint the cross on your mind and both (mentally) the saving sign of our souls. When we have the cross with us, then demons are no longer scary and dangerous.” The demon confessed to the sorcerer Cyprian that the sign of the cross drives away the devil, on whose instructions he thought to defeat the maiden Justina, but did not have time to do so. To Cyprian’s question: “Tell me, with what weapon does she resist?” - he answered: “We cannot look at the sign of the cross, but we run from it.” 9) Repentance and communion. – Saint Ephraim the Syrian says: “Blessed are those who, having fallen into the enemy’s net, managed to break his bonds and disappeared, fleeing from him, like a fish escaping from a net. While the fish is still in the water, if, when caught, it breaks the net and disappears into the depths, it is saved; and when brought to land, she can no longer help herself. So we, while still in this life, have from God the power to break the bonds of the enemy’s will and, through repentance, throw off the burden of sins and be saved. And if this terrible command overtakes us, and the soul leaves, and the body is consigned to the earth, then we will no longer be able to help ourselves, just as a fish, taken out of the water and enclosed in a vessel, can no longer help itself.” The monks Callistus and Ignatius say: “John of Vostra, a holy man and having power over unclean spirits, asked the demons who lived in some demon-possessed girls and acted evilly in them, saying: “What things are you afraid of in Christians?” They answered: “You truly have three great things (that drive away demons): the first is that which you wear around your neck; the second is the one that you wash in the Church; the third is what you eat in the congregation.” Then he asked them: “Of these three, which are you most afraid of?” They answered: “If you kept well what you partake of, then none of us would be able to offend a Christian.” These things that our furious enemies fear most of all are: the Cross, Baptism and Communion.” Indeed, what could be a greater proof of faith in the Savior than His fulfillment of the bequeathed communion with Him through Communion, and what greater merit is sincere repentance before God? We, people, even cannot resist anger at a person who repents to us of his misdeeds against us. We are always ready to forgive a sincerely repentant person; Isn’t this proof that there is salvation in sincere repentance?.. So, the salvation of our souls from the afterlife slavery of the devil lies in communion with Christ our Savior according to the commandment He bequeathed to us at the Last Supper and in sincere repentance to Him for our sins, while trying not to repeat what we have realized by sin; only in this last case can we prove the sincerity of repentance. Repentance is an expression of the knowledge of one’s sin, and once a person has learned that there is a sin, will he repeat this sin if he has sincerely repented of it? And if he repeats it, it means his repentance was not sincere. 10) Spell. – According to the definition of St. Gregory the Theologian, “a spell is the expulsion of demons.” Saint Justin the Martyr says: “We who believe in the crucified Jesus our Lord conjure all demons and evil spirits and keep them in our power.” And again: “Every demon is conquered and subdued through a spell in the name of the Son of God.” Indeed, the spell turns out to be a powerful weapon for Christians against the devil. Patients who are considered hopeless by doctors often receive healing. And where can we look for more healings, if not in the church of God, where people are gathered in the name of the Lord?.. Who else should we turn to for help, if not the Lord God and His saints, the Mother of God?.. Who, besides the Lord, can heal us from our sins, who, besides the Lord, can heal our soul, what physical doctors can heal these human ulcers? The Lord, in His goodness, heals mental illnesses, which are associated with bodily torment, by the forgiveness of sins that gave rise to these torments. True, the sick are not always healed immediately, but this is because sometimes the Lord punishes people, seeing the insincerity of their appeal to Him, and along with the punishment teaches patience. The main reason for God's punishment is our lack of faith. That is why non-believers do not receive healing for a long time, because the Lord wants to test us and teach us faith, setting an example for others. Be bold and God will help you Abba Anthony, the founder and rector of the Lavra of Iliot, told us about Abba Theodosius the Silent One what he heard from himself. “Before retiring into the desert,” said Abba Theodosius, “in a state of spiritual delight, I saw a young man whose face shone brighter than the sun. Taking me by the hand, he said: “Come on, you have a competition ahead of you,” and led me to a theater whose vastness I cannot describe. The entire theater was filled with spectators. Some of them were in white clothes, others were in black, like the Ethiopians. The young man led me to the middle of the theater. Here I saw an Ethiopian of extraordinary height: his head touched the clouds. He was ugly and had a defiant appearance. The young man who appeared to me said: “You have to fight with him.” At the sight of the giant, I was horrified and trembled... “Which of the people, with only human strength, can fight him?!” – I exclaimed, turning pleading glances at the young man who brought me. “But you still go out cheerfully against him: I will be at the competition... I myself will be the judge and hand you the victorious crown.” My opponent also stepped into the middle, and we began to fight. An angel quickly appeared and handed me a crown. And then all the multitude of Ethiopians suddenly disappeared with a cry. The other part of the people, dressed in white robes, sent praise to the Lord, who through His Angel helped and brought me a glorious victory.” You might be interested in: