Disobedience. “He who disobeys in word, without a doubt, does not obey in deed, for whoever is unfaithful in word is unyielding in deed,” - this is how St. John Climacus connects disobedience with contradiction. In the Church everything is built on obedience; We must obey each and everyone whom the Lord has placed over us. Complete obedience in matters of spiritual life is necessary in relation to the spiritual father, in general to shepherds and spiritual teachers: Obey your mentors and be submissive, for they vigilantly watch over your souls, as they are obliged to give an answer; so that they do this with joy, and not with groaning, for this is not profitable for you (Heb. 13:17). But complete and unquestioning obedience (in everything that does not contradict faith and the Law of God: We must obey God more than men - Acts 5:29) must be shown by the wife to her husband, and children who have not yet created their own family - to their parents. The Apostle Paul speaks about obedience to those in authority: A ruler is God's servant, for your good... And therefore you must obey not only out of fear of punishment, but also out of conscience (Rom. 13:4-5).
Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh says that he was drafted into the army, having already taken monastic vows, but without taking monastic vows. When asked how he could exercise obedience in the army, the confessor replied: “Very simple: consider that everyone who gives you an order speaks in the name of God, and do it not only externally, but also with all your insides; consider that every sick person who requires help will call - your master; serve him like a bought slave.”
Slander is a direct violation of the 9th commandment of God’s Law (Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor – Ex. 20:16). Any slander, any gossip and gossip, any unfair reproach is slander. Judging your neighbor, which is directly forbidden by the Lord, almost certainly leads to slander: Judge not, lest ye be judged (Matthew 7:1). Therefore, you are inexcusable, every man who judges another, for by the same judgment with which you judge another you condemn yourself, because in judging another you do the same (Rom. 2:1).
“Just as fire is contrary to water, so it is not natural for a repentant person to judge. If you saw someone sinning even at the very departure of the soul from the body, then do not condemn him, for the judgment of God is unknown to people. Some openly fell into great sins, but performed great virtues in secret; and those who loved to ridicule them were deceived, chasing smoke and not seeing the sun.” “Experience has proven that for whatever sins, physical or mental, we condemn our neighbor, we ourselves fall into them.”
Venerable John Climacus
Negligence is the careless performance of the duties assigned to us by God or even neglect of them. Neglect at work, neglect of your home and family responsibilities, neglect of prayer...
Abba Dorotheos calls pride the root of all passions, and St. Ephraim the Syrian calls it the mother of all evil.
“Pride is a passionate, reckless love of the body. Its opposites are love and abstinence. It is obvious that he who has self-love has all the passions.”
Saint Maximus the Confessor
Multi-acquisition. Covetousness... is idolatry, says the Apostle Paul (Col. 3:5). In another letter he writes: The love of money is the root of all evil, to which some have abandoned the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows (Tim. 6:10). Covetousness is the passion of the love of money, one of the eight main passions in action: any accumulation, addiction to various objects, stinginess and, conversely, wastefulness.
“He who loves earthly things more than heavenly things will lose both heavenly and earthly things.”
Avva Eugene (Skete Patericon)
“The acquisitive man is entangled in cares and tied with a chain like a dog.”
Venerable Neil of Sinai
Covetousness is a lack of trust in God. So don’t worry and say, “What shall we eat?” or what to drink? or what to wear? because the pagans seek all this, and because your Heavenly Father knows that you need all this. Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you (Matthew 6:31-33).
“Why don’t we throw off all useless worries and lighten ourselves from the burden of earthly things? Do you not know that the door is narrow and straitened, and that the covetous cannot enter through it? Let us seek only that which satisfies our needs; for excess only entertains and does not bring any benefit.”
Venerable Ephraim the Syrian
Theft. This concept includes not only any theft, but also any use of something that is “badly lying”: for example, “reading a book in the library or from friends. A particularly serious type of theft is sacrilege - “the appropriation of what is dedicated to God and what belongs to the Church” (see “Orthodox Catechism”), that is, not only the direct theft of sacred objects, but also: taking, without asking the blessing of the priest, donated to the canon or brought to the church by benefactors for distribution, etc.
Untruthfulness is any lie in words. Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who speak the truth are pleasing to Him (Prov. 12:22). Therefore, putting away lies, speak the truth every one of you to your neighbor, for we are members of one another (Eph. 4:25).
We must remember that there is no “innocent” lie, every lie is not from God. “A lie, in which there is no intention to harm one’s neighbor, is impermissible, because it does not agree with love and respect for one’s neighbor and is not worthy of a person, and especially of a Christian created for truth and love,” says St. Philaret in his “Orthodox Catechism.”
Bad profitability - making profit, profit in a bad, unjust way. The concept can include any weight, measurement, deception, but also any income that brings evil to people - for example, based on satisfying or inciting sinful passions. Forgery of any documents and the use of counterfeit documents (for example, travel tickets), buying stolen goods cheaply is also bad profit. This also includes parasitism, “when they receive a salary for a position or payment for a task, but do not perform the position or task and, thus, steal both the salary or payment, and the benefit that their labor could bring to society or to the one for whom they should have worked” (see “Orthodox Catechism”).
Taking money is greed; taking money is greed. This includes all types of extortion and bribery. And, since this sin is included in the prayer of repentance for all Orthodox Christians, you should carefully examine your life and discover its manifestations in it.
Jealousy is jealousy of all kinds.
Envy. “Whoever envies his neighbor rebels against God, the giver of gifts.”
Saint John Chrysostom
“Whoever is wounded by envy and rivalry is pitiful, because he is an accomplice of the devil, through whose envy death entered the world (Wisdom 2:24)... envy and rivalry are a terrible poison: from them slander, hatred and murder are born.”
Venerable Ephraim the Syrian
Anger is one of the eight main passions.
“For whatever reason, the movement of anger flares up, it blinds the eyes of the heart and, placing a veil on the sharpness of mental vision, does not allow one to see the Sun of truth. It doesn’t matter whether the sheet is gold, or lead, or some other metal is placed on the eyes - the value of the metals does not make a difference in blinding.”
Venerable John Cassian the Roman
“Just as darkness is removed with the appearance of light, so with the fragrance of humility all grief and anger disappears.”
Venerable John Climacus
Remembrance “is the final limit of anger, storing in memory the sins of our neighbor against us, aversion to the image of justification (defined by God: “forgive and you will be forgiven” - cf. Luke 6:37), the destruction of all previous virtues, a soul-destroying poison, a worm gnawing at the heart, the shame of praying (as you say: “leave it, as we do ...”), stabbed into the soul a nail, unceasing sin, incessant lawlessness, hourly evil.”
Venerable John Climacus
“Just as the smoke from smoldering straw eats the eyes, so does the memory of malice eat the mind during prayer.”
Venerable Neil of Sinai
“If you have a grudge against someone, pray for him; and, by prayer, separating sadness from the memory of the evil that he caused you, you will stop the movement of passion; By becoming friendly and humane, you will completely drive passion out of your soul.”
Saint Maximus the Confessor