This word, like the word excommunication, shepherd... is not always used for its intended purpose. Or more precisely, anathema, like other words, was assigned a different meaning. Anathema became a punishment that was imposed on people who did not agree with the teachings of the church organization. The anathema “big” and “small” appeared...
I propose to understand this issue without starting from today’s interpretations, historically emerged, traditional ones. Without trying to refute them. Jesus called to know the Word, the truth that will set us free.
The essence of the anathema
Let's look at those places in Scripture where the word "anathema" is used.
Anathema (Greek) – votive offering, sworn (to God), curse, excommunication
Although the meaning of curse and excommunication is already the interpretation of the New Testament teachers. It is difficult to understand the true meaning of this word, since all dictionaries are trying to give NOT a TRANSLATION of this word, not how it was used at that time, but present an interpretation based on church history.
But we will go a different way. Based on how this word is used in the new testament, we can draw some conclusions.
Offering
The meaning of this word is to separate something. And for God. This applies to both material things and fasting, which we will discuss below. This implies LOSS, giving something up for God's sake. In other words, this is not just a sacrifice, not just a donation.
Paul uses this word to show his determination to sacrifice himself for the sake of his fellow tribesmen. You can donate from something of your own. OFFERING, ANATHEMA, you are tearing away from what has been given to you by God. You give to God. It already belongs to Him.
Spell
The following use of the word anathema is translated as "curse." And again we see the opportunity to sacrifice what is given by God (human life) for the sake of some action. This sacrifice is not dictated by God's will, but the person makes the decision to give his life.
There is an example in the Old Testament where Jephthah promised God what would come out of his gates. And he sacrificed his daughter. God didn't require this. Moreover, it is disgusting to God. In these cases, people could lose the life that God gave them. Not just $1,000 or a couple of days of fasting.
They swore not to eat or drink until they killed Paul. From history we know that they did not kill Paul. Fulfilling this spell was supposed to cost them starvation. But, apparently, this word no longer had the meaning it should have.
Previously, idols, peoples who were supposed to accept God's judgment, were called cursed. This also applied to animals and clothing. Destroying the cursed, people proclaimed God's judgment. By abandoning the accursed thing, like Saul, they resisted God.
Let him be anathema
Whoever does not love the Lord Jesus Christ ( let him be ) anathema, maranatha . (1 Cor. 16:22)
Let's take a closer look. There are no words and expressions that are used today - “anathematize”, “anathema someone”. So.
Whoever does not love Christ - let him be anathema , let him be realized, let him appear, let him be anathema.
It is very important that the expression “let it be” is a kind of prophecy into the life of a believer. That is, this is not a momentary action. But a prophetic word for the future. We will see this in other examples later.
This word is written to the Church. This has nothing to do with non-believers. Also, there is NO denominational affiliation here, no love for organizations and associations, their teachings. What does it mean to love Christ?
There is no hint of human emotion in the new covenant. Therefore, a conversation about love is a conversation about the actions of God within us. If we consider the word “anathema” as the separation of something of God from you to God, then we will notice what is repeatedly written in the Word. God has given us salvation in Christ. Love for God - observance of His Word, reverence for the son, for His Blood and sacrifice. If you DO NOT WANT to fulfill His Word, you will lose salvation. Anathema. Proclamation of the future for a believer without salvation.
You are losing the sin offering. Use the word anathema. Separating God's salvation and sacrifice from you and handing you over to God's terrible punishment.
Evangelizing is not what it was in the beginning
If you change the good news, the Word of God, you are a temptation to those who follow you. This is what false teachers do. And they do this for their own gain. They WILL have no part in salvation. And again the word “anathema”. The separation of God back to God. And again - “let it be” - a proclamation of judgment, a prophetic word.
Won't say "anathema Jesus"
If you use the word “anathema” as a curse, separation, offering, you get the following meaning. No one by the Spirit of God will say that Jesus is separated from God, that Jesus is not God, that He is a cursed thing.
History of curses in Christianity
The clergy say: it is necessary to remember that everything that happens - both joy and sadness - is the action of God's Providence, and not the will of other people or some coincidence of circumstances. Therefore, if a person had to suffer because of a “curse”, there is no need to feel doomed.
The Lord gives such tests in order to cleanse former sins and admonish a person to repentance and humility.
- The Book of Genesis speaks of the expulsion of the first people from the earthly paradise as punishment for obedience. From now on, the wife had to give birth to children in torment and be a servant of her husband, and the husband Adam became the one who infected the offspring with the sin of depravity and drank the full cup of labor thorns and the knowledge of his death.
Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise - Expulsion from heaven is a consequence of the fact that a person exchanged communication with the Lord for the imaginary power of individual possession of some temporary wealth. The Almighty made it clear that those who chose selfishness do not live with Him.
- In the Book of the Old Testament, people are always the initiators of God's curse, that is, life without the Creator. The merciful Lord gave the right to choose; an erroneous decision leads the soul to suffering. However, man has no power over the lives of those like himself.
- The New Testament says nothing about curses resulting from harmful witchcraft. Christ performed miraculous healings and cast out demons, but never removed the “evil eye” or “damage.” The Savior did not call for fear of “witchcraft” and “spells,” which are still known to the history of mankind. The great teacher instructed to live righteously, which brings deliverance from real evil - sinfulness, which is individual weakness.
- Christ asserted: faith and prayers bring true salvation, deviation from these canons leads to condemnation, accompanied by serious illnesses of the body and mind. No “curses” will harm a true Christian who has completely given his heart to the glory of the Great Creator, the Creator of all destiny.
More about superstitions:
- Is it possible to wear someone else's pectoral cross?
- Red thread from Israel
- Hand of Fatima or Hamsa among the Orthodox
Important!
The highest church punishment for schismatics, heresy and betrayal of religion is anathema (excommunication). Its influence extends to the person who has committed a grave sin and to the entire future generation. The anathema was accompanied by a “curse of the psalms,” which could destroy the body and property. This rite was performed by seven priests and was accompanied by specific actions. Liberation from anathema took place in a similar way, but with different attributes.
Anathema
Once again, I want to draw your attention to the fact that NOWHERE in the Word does it say about anathematizing someone now. This word shows prophetically what will happen to a person as a result of his actions. Grace now gives everyone the right to repent and be reconciled to God. But not for those who DENY God, who do not accept the love of the truth for their salvation. The trial is ready for them. Anathema.
What is a curse
A curse is a densely concentrated mental energy sent by a strong emotion. It destroys the weakened aura and is introduced into the body along with the dissonance that arises from the vibration of sound. This expression is used too often in one's life and pushes the non-believer away from connecting with the Merciful Protector.
A true believer does not acknowledge or pronounce curses
If the belief in “curses” is ingrained in the mind, people experience physical or mental suffering that may not end even after death.
In the Bible, God cursed Eve, Cain the fratricide, and all those who slandered Abraham. Curse meant deprivation of the Lord's blessing and condemnation to long suffering . Anyone who violates God’s commandments is subject to appropriate punishment, for only the Creator knows how to correct His child who succumbs to the madness of unbelief.
The coming of the Messiah changed the attitude towards evil. The Son of God wanted people to become true sons of the Most High, the Savior sought to cultivate in people love for enemies, slanderous envious people, and unbelievers, for rain is sent for everyone without exception. The Apostle James said: the tongue is difficult to tame; it blesses and curses. Christ atoned for all past sins that resulted from the interaction of weak will and satanic cunning.
Important! Those who are lucky enough to enter the Kingdom of God will not find curses, condemnations and sin there. Next to the Lord there is only the bliss of true knowledge.
Orthodox Life
THOMAS
The Church is forced to protect its members from communication with schismatics and heretics through excommunication - anathema.
Anathema is not a “church curse”, but the complete excommunication of a person from the Church for grave sins - a deliberate distortion of dogmas (heresy) or division within the Church (schism). In practice, it looks like this: a person can no longer participate in church sacraments, the main one of which is Communion.
According to the Orthodox Encyclopedia, the term “anathema” was originally Greek (ἀνάθεμα, ἀνάθημα) and meant among pagan authors “something dedicated to God; a gift, an offering to the temple” - that is, something separate, not used in everyday life. It was also used in the Greek translation of the Bible to convey the Hebrew term "herem" , which means something cursed and rejected. This is how the word “anathema” acquired its negative connotation.
The Church considers schism and heresy to be among the most serious sins: schismatics and heretics not only themselves retreat from the Church, encroach on the foundations of its teaching and unity, but also seduce other believers to do so. Therefore, the Church is forced to protect its members from communication with them through excommunication - anathema.
There are two types of excommunication from the Church: “minor excommunication” and anathema. “Minor excommunication” is the temporary exclusion of a person from the church community and a ban on participation in the sacraments. This type of church punishment is imposed for a certain time - from several months to several years for the most serious sins, such as fornication, theft and others, after the person has repented and stopped sinning. An anathema is proclaimed for an indefinite time, until a person repents of his actions, thereby not depriving him of hope for salvation, but indicating to everyone that he is sinning against the Church and everyone who follows him will also leave the Church and will be guilty of sin against her. Anathema is given only after repeated exhortations to a person to repent.
Only a member of the Church can be anathematized, that is, at least a baptized person who considers (or considered) himself Orthodox and participated in church sacraments. Therefore, an atheist or agnostic cannot be anathematized - such a person initially did not consider himself a Christian and was never a member of the Church.
The most famous “anathematized” person is Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy. The writer spoke out against the Church more than once, and then began to completely distort its teaching. His colossal authority and popularity were a source of great temptation for the intelligentsia of that era. The famous writer not only himself held anti-church, sometimes downright blasphemous religious views, but also claimed to be a kind of religious teacher. In 1901, for “the overthrow of all the dogmas of the Orthodox Church and the very essence of the Christian faith,” the Holy Synod decreed: “The Church does not consider him its member and cannot consider him until he repents and restores his communion with her.” Technically, the word “anathema” was not uttered, but the essence is the same.
One of the last to anathematize was the former Metropolitan of Kyiv Philaret (Denisenko) for a schism in the Church (the creation of the so-called Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate). The Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church in 1997 decided: “To excommunicate monk Philaret (Mikhail Antonovich Denisenko) from the Church of Christ. Let him be anathema before all the people." Before this, the schismatic was deprived of all degrees of the priesthood and was repeatedly called to repent.
In the Russian Orthodox Church, the current bishop in his diocese, the Patriarch and the Holy Synod can anathematize, but only after a decision of the Church Court.
Kirill Baglay
Ancestral curses
This occult concept is especially common in the practice of specific false teachings. Healers and magicians offer special techniques for getting rid of “hereditary curses.” The guilt of parents may result in divine punishment up to the seventh generation. Often the secret sins of fathers and mothers develop into obvious ones in the lives of their children.
The Orthodox Church criticizes the doctrine of generational curses
“Benecal curses” are carefully packaged occult teachings that are often given Christian authority. However, the Church criticizes such knowledge, calling it a myth and distorting the essence of Jesus’ descent to earth.
- The Bible nowhere speaks of a curse that comes immediately after birth. Suffering reaches only those who hate the Supreme Father.
- If the Lord forces a person to bear his heaviest cross, who is able to remove this yoke except the Creator himself? Magicians and healers cynically and blasphemously deceive people, showing that they can get rid of “ancestral curses” (which do not exist).
- Punishment of children for the transgression of their fathers rests only with unbelievers who are brought up in depravity. Sons who truly revere the Church are under the protection of the Heavenly Creator and cannot be infected with any “curses.”
So, Orthodox people need to believe only in orthodox Christianity and recognize the Omnipotence of God, getting rid of the darkness of ignorance that is spread by numerous false teachings.
Important! There are no so-called “curses”, evil eyes or damage, and one should not participate in magical rituals. A person is obliged to put this concept aside and give praise to the One who sends punishments to unbelievers for the sake of their correction.
