Ratings
Metropolitan Macarius (Bulgakov) (+ 1882):
“The Orthodox Confession truly constitutes an epoch in... the history (of Orthodox theology). Until now, the sons of the Eastern Church did not have a special symbolic book in which they could find for themselves the most detailed guidance given on behalf of the Church itself, guidance in the matter of faith. The Orthodox Confession of Peter Mogila... was the first symbolic book of the Eastern Church. Here, for the first time, all the dogmas are set out on her behalf as accurately as possible... Here, therefore, the most detailed and at the same time the most reliable guidance in the matter of faith is given, both to all Orthodox, and, in particular, to Orthodox theologians in a thorough disclosure of dogmas” [1].
Prot. Georgy Florovsky (+ 1979):
“Mogila was not alone in his crypto-romance. Rather, he expressed the spirit of the times. “Orthodox Confession” is the main and most expressive monument of the Mogilyan era. It is difficult to say exactly who was the author or compiler of this “Catechism”: Mogila himself is usually named, although it may be the collective work of several of his associates. The Confession was originally written in Latin, and in this first version there is much more Roman influence than in the final version, which underwent critical revision at the councils of Kyiv (1640) and Iasi (1642). However, what is important for us is not so much individual deviations into Catholicism - they can be explained by chance - but rather the fact that the entire “Confessio Orthodoxa” is built on Catholic materials. Its connection with the Roman Catholic writings is deeper and more direct than with the spiritual life of Orthodoxy and the Tradition of the Eastern Fathers. Individual Roman dogmas - for example, the doctrine of papal primacy - are rejected, but the general style remains Roman" [2].
Archbishop Vasily (Krivoshein) (+ 1985):
“[The Confession is] the Orthodox symbolic monument of its era and in all controversial issues dividing the Orthodox with the Roman Catholics, such as the Filioque, the papal primacy, or with the Protestants, such as the veneration of Sts. icons and relics, invocation of saints, sacraments, etc., it always adheres to Orthodox teaching, but this does not prevent it from being a clearly Latin document in form, and sometimes in content and spirit. Following in its presentation the well-known Roman Catholic catechism of Peter Canisius, and almost literally borrowing entire pages from him, especially in its moral part, the Orthodox Confession completely assimilates Latin scholastic terminology, such as, for example, the matter and form of the sacrament, the intention (intentio) of the one performing the sacrament as a condition of its reality, transubstantiation, the Aristotelian doctrine of substance and accidents to explain transubstantiation, the doctrine of the performance of the sacraments ex ore orerato, etc.. The Orthodox Confession tries to put Orthodox content into Latin forms. With a few exceptions (Basily the Great, Pseudo-Dionysius, Pseudo-Athanasius, Augustine), the Orthodox Confession is almost completely devoid of references to the holy fathers - a characteristic sign of the break from the patristic tradition that is felt in the entire theology of this symbolic monument. One can also say that what is most characteristic of it is not the presence in it of certain inaccuracies or deviations from Orthodox theology..., but rather the absence of any theology, the poverty of theological thought...”
“Although we do not have sufficient grounds to reject the Orthodox Confession as a historical monument that played a positive role in the defense of Orthodoxy from its enemies in the 17th century, we cannot see in it an authoritative symbolic text and a source of Orthodox theological teaching” [3].
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ORDER - OF THE HOLY METROPOLITAN PETER GRAVE. Commemoration of deceased relatives.
Metropolitan Peter 1596 - Bishop of the Orthodox Church of Constantinople, Metropolitan of Kiev, Galicia and All Rus'.
Thanks to the work of Mogila, Orthodox life was resumed in ancient Kyiv churches, including St. Sophia Cathedral.
Pavel Florensky wrote:
“The genus is a single organism and has a single holistic image.”
In this single generic organism, the grace of the Holy Spirit CAN ACCUMULATE from generation to generation. Strengthening each member of this Family in enduring illnesses and life circumstances and promoting their salvation, TRANSFERING to them a strong faith in God. Or it can be wasteful, accumulating UNREPENTED SINS, which will affect subsequent generations with a heap of misfortunes and misfortunes, and even RESULTS in the weakening of the Family (Sick and Mentally Retarded children are born) and to the suppression of the Family. Grace in the Family is ACCUMULATED by prayer, church sacraments and good selfless deeds, pious life. It is very good when there is a priest or monk in the Family - this is a GREAT benefit for all members of the Family! And the entire Family must HELP and protect them and their loved ones.
They are BEGGING - everyone, both living and dead!
And the benefit goes to the whole family! A young woman who came to church for the first time complained in confession about the misfortunes that befell her: her husband died in an accident two years ago, a year ago her son crashed on a motorcycle, but survived. And a year later, in the summer, my 12-year-old daughter drowned in the lake... And the reason turned out to be her grandmother. It turned out that she LOVED to take SOMEONE ELSE'S STUFF and even stole from a family with a disabled child. The sins of theft, murder, violence and mockery of people, betrayal, fornication, debauchery and adultery, pederasty and sex perversion, witchcraft and fortune telling, fall with a terrible curse on descendants up to the fourth generation.
One woman came to the monastery with a load of misfortunes, sorrows and bewilderments:
“My mother died of uterine cancer, I don’t want to follow her path.”
She was told that children are born either into the clan of the father or into the clan of the mother, and therefore in whose clan children are born, they inherit that clan and carry problems in their lives.
“You carry dad’s problems, you won’t get that kind of uterine cancer.
Do you have a brother?
The woman was surprised:
“I had two brothers. I'm average, I had an older brother. He was a banker and in the wild 90s he was killed by a killer; he had no children. And the younger brother died from a stray bullet, since he was a schoolboy, he also had no children left, the CONTINUATION of the family line was stopped. Mom, having buried her two sons, due to nervousness due to stress, received oncology and passed away very difficult, and this lineage along this branch was INTERRUPTED.”
She was asked:
“Who was your grandfather?”
“And my grandfather was the head of the NKVD.”
It is clear that he is GUILTY - of shooting people and, possibly, priests. For healing from the burden of Hereditary diseases, there is a CHIN for reading the Psalms according to St. Petra (Mogila).
Saint Peter Mogila, Metropolitan of Kiev - the founder of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra is known and glorified as a saint. Saint Peter Mogila, after death, when he came to the Other World and saw how the souls of the departed were suffering, he asked the Lord to resurrect him and return him to earth for a short time, so that he, Peter, would write this TEACHING - a command to those still living on earth. And so that we, who live here, hurry up and KNOW how to save our parents and relatives. The priests had a dream that they would dig up the coffin with the body of St. Peter.
They gathered and, after praying, decided to do so.
And he was revealed on the 40th day after his death to the fathers of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra. Having received the blessing, they dug it up. Saint Peter, RISING from the grave, wrote this ORDER - a teaching on how we NEED to pray for our family, our relatives in the flesh.
And, returning to the tomb, he again went to the Kingdom of Heaven.
Amen.
That is, the usual psalter: all three glories for the repose are read, the names of our deceased relatives are remembered as MOST as possible, and this psalter is read 20 times. After reading the psalter 20 times, like St. Peter said that the Lord FORGIVES with his mercy, REMOVES any sin, and our relatives are RELEASED from those places where they suffer.
Dear children, help your loved ones, DELIVER them from Eternal Fire and the torments of hell. Whoever SERVES commemoration of the dead at forty masses has NO relatives in the hellish abyss.
The Lord FORGIVES all the dead and REMOVES all sins from the Family. Then for everyone living on earth, life will BECOME better and easier.
FAMILIES are strong, and smart and healthy children are born.
The Lord said: “Whoever SAVES will also BE saved.” Lord, give us understanding and save us! Most Holy Theotokos save us!
TESTAMENT OF PETER GRAVE how to remember deceased parents. When reading the Psalter, at all 3 “Glories” we must pray for repose, remember the names of our departed ancestors as much as possible and read the Psalter 20 times. Now, after reading 20 times, as Metropolitan Peter (Grave) said, the Lord FORGIVES the SINS of our ancestors with His mercy.
But, most importantly, when these SINS ARE FORGIVEN, then many problems are REMOVED from us and, first of all, physical, physiological, problems associated with illnesses. Moreover, these diseases often do not go away gradually, but it turns out that a person suddenly wakes up in the morning completely healthy. This is how IMPORTANT it is to pray for your family, how closely it is connected with our physical health. But it is very IMPORTANT that you PAY for your family and friends - out of LOVE for them, worrying about them, out of a desire to help their souls - RECEIVE forgiveness of your sins and go to Paradise with God. Only, such prayers of yours with love are ACCEPTED by the Lord! If you read prayers only to get relief from your illnesses and make your life easier, then God will not accept such selfish prayers.
For it is said:
Prayer without love is NOT accepted by the Lord!
There are 3 types of sins:
1. There are original SINS from Adam and Eve, but they are REMOVED by the sacrament during baptism. Baptism removes these sins. 2. There are our own SINS, which are again REMOVED by the sacrament of Confession and Communion. If a person does not repeat them. 3. And the third type of sins is Ancestral SINS. The Lord is long-suffering, abundantly merciful, forgiving any crime, if it is REPENTANT, any guilt and sin.
If they are REPENTANT, he does not leave it unpunished and punishes the iniquity of the fathers on the children and children's children up to the fourth generation.
The priests have the seventh generation, as the elders added. If this factor is not taken into account, then we will never be completely healed. And we will not be able to give birth and give birth to healthy offspring.
An example from life.
My mother has a girl with cerebral palsy and is a wheelchair user. A daughter was born, her husband left her, and her mother was left alone with this girl. But thanks to this, she came to church, she came to God. The mother herself fell ill with bladder cancer, but there was no one to leave the girl with. The mother’s parents died, her husband was gone, and the girl was completely helpless in her arms.
Mom kept saying:
“But why is her daughter so sick? Why is this for me?
It is clear that the girl was BORN with this problem and this problem is hereditary.
Not hers, not the girl’s problem, the girl was born into her mother’s family and inherited all the problems of her mother’s family.
We know that some children are born into the father's clan, others into the mother's clan. And therefore, they CARRY life’s problems and illnesses of the Clan into which they were born.
Mommy was sent to a monastery.
She was told:
“Go with a girl, it’s true there’s a long line there, but they let people like that through without a line.”
When she arrived there, the novice ushered her out of line.
She drives in with a stroller and asks the priest:
"For what"?
He says:
“Conceived in the Holy Week of Easter Lent.” Mom found out her Sin, which she didn’t even suspect. When she confessed her sins and repented, you have no idea what a leap this girl took. It seemed that she would get up and walk.
She was in a monastery at age 12. Now she is 14, 15 years old.
She has regained all her functions and writes and draws. Here they are - miracles, manifesting themselves before our eyes. But again because the sin for which this child suffered was EXPLAINED.
The mother repented of this sin and her child STARTED to recover.
In spiritual literature we found in Elder Samuel’s little book:
“Yes, the Lord bless those who read and hear this grace.”
Starce died in the 80s. He writes: “We must know the names of ALL our ancestors. As many generations back as possible. Learn more about them: who we were born from, where they are, how to help them. And this is our duty.
This is not just some historical interest. No. This is our debt to God. For if they remain in hell. Salvation is difficult for their generations. For this is precisely why God gave us life, so that in addition to our salvation, we, PRAYING for our ancestors, DOING good deeds and giving alms, would BRING our grandfathers and great-grandfathers from hell to heaven. But someone will tell us: it’s not our fault that they sinned and went to hell. Yes, it is true that we are not to blame for them, but they are suffering fiercely in hell. Therefore, people, do not be angry with those who have gone to hell and do not be curious about how they suffer in hell and why they got there.
Our job is to be kind and help them all. Better yet, explore God’s mercy and you will learn the truth that there is no such sin on people that would not overcome God’s mercy, and that through the grace of Christ, whoever multiplies the grace of Christ in himself can take from hell not only close relatives, but also distant generations.
Even those who had no idea about God at all. Suicides, robbers, infidels. Not excluding everyone who comes into our world. And so, aren’t you, human, happy that God Himself DOESN’T WANT anyone to STAY to suffer in hell. But so that everyone who comes into the world BE saved. But this salvation comes only THROUGH people living on earth.
Just as we received salvation through God Jesus Christ and the Lord said:
“I lay down my life for my enemies. And now, lay down your lives for your relatives, for your friends in Christ our Lord.”
THE LIFE AND TORMENT OF UNRETENTENT SINNERS.
Question: “Is it possible to deliver a soul from eternal torment with one mass (liturgy)?” Answer: “Sometimes by one, and sometimes by many - according to the quality and severity of sins.” Q: “Will the righteous regret sinners in the next century?” A: “No, even if they were the closest wombs.” Q: “How great are the torments of hell?” A: “The smallest torments of hell are greater than a thousand times the greatest torments on earth.” Q: “Do the condemned know each other?” A: “They know, although they have not seen each other in this world.” Q: “Do they regret each other in the next world?” A: “No, but they curse each other terribly.” Q: “Will sinners get used to torment?” A: “No, but the further, the more severe torment they will be plunged into.” According to the church charter, from Maundy Thursday of Holy Week until the Ascension of the Lord, there are souls in the Holy Place, and from that day, again, souls return to their places . And they should be remembered on all days except the day of the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ. And also, since the soul is very sinful, and when it is remembered and brought from a dark place to a bright place, then to that person who remembers his parents, the Lord SENDS abundance and will live in prosperity for many years, and will be delivered from many troubles and misfortunes, and in the next century he will inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. When they remember the departed, they have joy that is inexpressible, and they exclaim: “Oh woe to us, that we DIDN’T LIVE - we according to the Holy Scriptures and according to Divine teaching. We did not do good deeds, we did not devote time to obedience to God, to prayer, to church. And they did not try for our souls. Oh, our friends! We cannot return to you on earth and repent of our sins. Oh, if it were possible, we would pray day and night in our cells, even if they were filled with stinking worms, just so as not to be in eternal torment! But for us there is no remission of sins here... O our children! And relatives! Who would get out of our family and correct the year - for all seven tribes and for their parents! Waiting for you! What gives us light and joy? When you serve prosphora in church, there is light and joy for us from Friday evening to Monday, a shining light for our souls all day and night. You are our beloved relatives! We ask your prayers, not for various decorations, but for heartfelt remembrance. If anyone from our family could be found, he would recognize the Holy Scripture and try for us. O our friends and relatives! If there is no learned person in our clan, then look in another clan or country who could explain this to you. The Lord says: “I will write your entire trace in gold and forgive you your sins, if YOU search for the Holy Scripture and try to pray for the souls of your parents.” So, for this mercy YOU WILL RECEIVE - remission of sins in this century and DELIVERED - you will be from troubles and misfortunes, and in the next century you will be heirs - the Kingdom of God in Heaven. Whoever does not care about their deceased parents, know that they are unhappy, lying face down, underground and shedding bloody tears. They cry and ask their relatives: “You are our beloved sisters and brothers, our dear children! Try - for our souls and for all sinners, until the future Last Judgment, do not leave us, while it is still POSSIBLE - to receive God's forgiveness for our souls, while there is still an opportunity - to beg the Lord for forgiveness and liberation from eternal torment, do not leave us! If someone DOES NOT REMEMBER their parents, then, being in severe torment, they ask the Lord: “Lord! Send to our family - PUNISHMENT, if they have a field with grain, then beat them with a thunderstorm, if they have livestock, then burn them with fire, if they have wealth, then take it away - send a dashing man.” So that they would come to their senses and repent, and turn to God! All Orthodox Christians who live in faith - understand that the dead do not stand at our gates, but will take what is theirs. If a Christian REMEMBERS his relatives, then his parents pray to the Lord there and exclaim: “Lord! God! Give them joy and EXTEND their life, and grant them all prosperity in sevenfold, send them a hundredfold with your mercy and bless them, Lord!” A Christian who celebrates - annually, on Saturdays REMEMBERS - his deceased parents and relatives and twenty (20) psalms, and twenty (20) funeral canons - reads a year, then his parents and all seven of his tribes will stand - before the Lord, and praying with zeal, and they will say about those who taught their relatives living on earth, who showed them mercy: “Lord! God! How they remembered us! Who taught them, who read the Holy Scripture to them! Lord, GIVE them zeal for salvation, and the truth of faith for the deliverance of our souls.” Relatives who live in abundance and DO NOT CARE about helping their departed ones are possessed by demonic stinginess. Such people will mourn and receive punishment. And their deceased relatives will turn to God in prayer. Where can we now find intercessors for the Heavenly King? Who can beg the Lord to save us from terrible torment? Who would fulfill this annual? If anyone from our family were to be found and would celebrate this annual celebration, then all of us seven tribes would pray to God for him. Whoever remembers his parents in this way, the Lord GIVES him deliverance from sorrows, troubles and misfortunes, and in the next century delivers him from eternal torment. O our children, remember the eternal torment! How fierce they are! We expect alms from you, and if someone teaches you to pray, we will say: “Lord! Who taught our relatives to strive so hard for our souls? Lord, reward that man, prolong his life and send him health and prosperity on earth!” And those who DO NOT REMEMBER their deceased relatives, then if they are there, in torment, they pray like this: “Lord! Take from them the very thing - their beloved child, so that, remembering their dear child, they would remember us.” A person who DOESN’T KNOW the Holy Scripture itself, DOESN’T WANT to hear about it and turns away with hatred - from those who remind him of this - woe to that person, misfortune. It would have been better for him not to have been born. And whoever fulfills twenty (20) psalms, twenty (20) canons of repose during the year, and every Saturday, at mass, GIVES a prosphora in the Church - for the repose of the souls of his parents, then no matter how sinful the soul WAS - will be DELIVERED from darkness and torment , and will be taken - to the Land of God's light. A person who does not forget his parents, by the grace of God, with his mercy and the prayers of our Holy Orthodox Church, who has delivered their suffering souls - from the wrath of hell, already here, in this life - will not have any need and at the end of his earthly journey will inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. Amen.
MYSTERIOUS MEANING—REMEMBERING THE DEAD.
One Athonite monk was once given the opportunity to see how the commemoration of the dead was happening: it was parental Saturday, the Liturgy ended. Some of those present were already leaving the church, while others remained and began to approach the general eve (standing, as usual, in the middle of the church). I was standing on the choir. The priest and deacon came out of the altar. The priest declared: “Blessed be our God, always, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen". The deacon lit candles and began distributing them to those present. And at that time I saw that a lot of people began to enter the door of the temple from the street, and then PENETRATE through the walls and windows. The temple was filled with many transparent SHADOWS. In this mass I saw women, men, youths and children. I identified by their appearance priests, emperors, bishops, and between them the simple laborer, the decrepit soldier-villager, the poor woman, and beggars in general. After the exclamation of the priest, they silently, but extremely quickly FILLED the entire temple with themselves, becoming close to each other. They all seemed to be striving for the eve, but for some reason they could not approach it. I could not take my eyes off this amazing picture. Finally there were so many of them that the real worshipers seemed to me like figures brightly drawn against the background of these amazing shadows. They (the shadows), approaching in silence, stood at the sacred altar. Some of them seemed to kneel, others bowed their heads, as if awaiting the pronouncement of a sentence. The children stretched out their hands to the candles burning on the eve, and to the hands of the living praying. But then the deacon took out the notes and began to read the names written on them. My surprise knew no end when I noticed that with an impetuous, joyful movement, first one figure, then another, stood out. They approached those who remembered them, stood next to them, looked at them with eyes full of love, joyful peace. It even seemed to me that some kind of spiritual burning candle appeared in the hands of the spirits and they themselves, praying along with those praying for them, shone with unusually joyful rays. As each name was read, joyful figures stood out more and more from the crowd of shadows. They walked silently and merged with the living worshipers. Finally, when the notes were read, there were many unnamed left - sad, as if they had come to some common holiday, but FORGOTTEN - by those who could have invited them to this great celebration for them. Some of the souls looked anxiously at the door, as if expecting that perhaps another person close to them would come and call them in turn. But no, no new faces appeared, and the unnamed could only rejoice in the joy of those who were called by those who came to unite with them. I began to observe the general group of worshipers, which seemed to be mixed with ghosts from the other world trembling in the light rays, and I saw an even more wonderful picture. At the time when the words “Blessed art thou, O Lord, teach me Thy justifications” or the words “Thou Himself, O Lord, give rest to the souls of the departed Thy servants” were uttered, one could see how the faces of the living were illuminated with light along with the faces of those who had departed, like tears not of despondency, but joy flowed from the eyes of those who wore a bodily shell, and at the same time, with what ardent love and boundless devotion the eyes of those mentioned burned. With a cloud of smoke from the censer, with streams of smoke from the burning candles, a wondrous prayer call was heard: “Rest with the saints...”, and I saw that the whole church, as one person, knelt down and the spirits, whose names were mentioned, were praying both for those present and for themselves, and those who were FORGOTTEN prayed only for themselves. When the prayer chant ended, the candles went out and the priest read the last exclamation, and the deacon ended with a general commemoration of those who had departed, the shadows standing in front of me began to disappear, and only people remained who wished to serve a private requiem for their departed. Then, I saw such peace on their faces, such satisfaction, such renewal that I cannot convey. Great, holy and joyful for the departed is the rite of remembrance by the Orthodox Church! And how sad it is for those who are BETRAYED - to oblivion, depriving them not only of the joy of seeing themselves not forgotten, but also slowing down their spiritual - renewal and receipt - FORGIVENESS of their sins from the Lord - both during the memorial service, and even more so during the Liturgy . Because every time the priest takes out particles for the repose of souls, these souls RECEIVE mercy, approaching the Kingdom of God. This thirst for the dead - to be REMEMBERED - is experienced by each of us. That is why they often REMIND themselves - of themselves in our dreams on the eve of their birthdays or deaths, on the eve of parental Saturdays. Our every word, thought, memory of the deceased instantly responds to him, and the memory of GOOD is joyful, while the memory of evil is TORMENTING, because it causes remorse in him. You can imagine how TERRIBLE the torment of the afterlife is for people who are difficult to remember with goodness. That is why the laws of popular charity require NOT TO SAY anything bad about the deceased, so as not to irritate their spiritual wounds. All this should serve us as a warning: to act in life in such a way that, after your death, you DO NOT DESERVE a feeling of contempt for us, reproach and hatred, or, even worse, a curse, and this would LOSE the prayers of our loved ones.
That is why tireless, fervent parental prayer in this DANGEROUS period of adolescence and youth for their children is so especially IMPORTANT.
Therefore, those children whose parents PRAY for their children, if the parents have TAUGHT their children Orthodoxy and prayer, pass through their young years SAFELY. And if the parents are UNBELIEVERS or INDIFFERENT towards God, busy with their careers and building their own well-being, then they often LOSE their children and BURY them young. - Geronda, then why does our Church pray “for the Hedgehog to preserve us” from SUDDEN death? - This is a different matter. The Church asks God so that death DOES NOT CAUGHT us unprepared. - Geronda, one mother comes here and grieves inconsolably because she sent her child on business, and he was hit by a car to death. “I asked her: “Did the driver hit your child out of spite?” No. You sent him on business just to get hit by a car? No. So, say “Glory to Thee, God,” because if the car had not hit him, he could have walked along a crooked path and died for eternity. God took him to Himself on time. Now he is in Heaven. Why are you crying? Don’t you know that you are TORTUREING a child with your crying? What do you want: for your child to suffer or for him to be happy? It’s better to TAKE CARE of helping your other children, whom you HAVE NOT TAUGHT – faith and piety, and therefore they live far away – from God and DO NOT HAVE – God’s protection over them. You should cry about them, and not about the one who killed himself.” Yes, just yesterday a tearful mother came here. “God took my only son,” she cried, and she blamed God for it. “If you really think about what happened to you,” I told her, “you will come to the conclusion that God has honored you. He took the little Angel to Himself, took the child baptized, not allowing him to ACQUISE sins and passions. God took an Angel to Himself, and you still scold Him for this? Very soon you will feel how your deceased son is praying to God for you.” Do you know how many mothers pray and ask that their children live with God! “I don’t know what You will do, my God,” these women say, “I want my child to be saved, so that he can be with You.” However, if God sees that the child WILL go astray - from the right path, that he is rolling towards destruction and there is no other way to save him, He takes him - to Himself by unexpected death. There is only one reason for this - the parents themselves live a worldly, sinful life and do not bring their children to God. And they don't even think about it. And so, in order to save the child from eternal destruction, and by his death - to AWAKEN the parents to Spiritual life, to Repentance - the Lord allows this misfortune. For example, He allows a drunk driver to hit a child and takes him to Himself. If there had been an opportunity for the child to become better, then God would have prevented the accident from happening. Then the hops disappear from the head of the one who knocked down the child. A person comes to his senses and for the rest of his life he is tormented by his conscience. “I committed a crime,” says such a person and REPENTS, constantly asking God to forgive him. Thus, this person is also saved. And the mother of the deceased child, suffering from mental pain, STARTS to live - more SPIRITUALLY, collectedly, thinks about death and PREPARE - for another life, prays, goes to church, confesses sins, takes communion. This is how she is saved. Do you see how God, through the prayers of a mother, arranges so that human souls are SAVED? However, if mothers do not understand this, then they START - blaming God! What does God not have to hear from us! If a person STOPS treating things in a worldly way, then his soul finds peace. How can a person find consolation if he does not believe in God - in life after death? When I was in the Stomion monastery, there lived a widow nearby in Konin who constantly went to the cemetery and sobbed bitterly there for a long time. She hit her head on the gravestone! She gave vent to all her pain in the cemetery. This went on for years. This woman's husband was killed by the Germans, and her daughter died of heart disease a few years after her father's death, when she was barely nineteen. So this unfortunate woman was left alone. If someone looks at what happened to her outwardly, they will say: “Why did God allow this?” And the woman herself, treating the incident this way, could not be comforted. One day, when I also came to the cemetery to see what was happening, she began to tell me: “Why did God do everything like this? My husband was killed in the war. I had a daughter. God took her from me too...” She kept talking and blaming God. After letting her talk, I said, “I’ll tell you something too. I knew your husband. He was a good man. He died in the war for the Fatherland, fulfilling his duty, and such people go to Heaven. Then, after the death of your husband, God left you a daughter for several years. She lived with you, and you had some consolation. However, then, God seeing that the girl is NOT accustomed to faith, no one is PRAYING for her, which means that there is NO God's protection over her, and therefore this girl COULD commit many sins in life, she would have gone astray from the RIGHT path, so the Lord took her in the Good dispensation in which she was. He did it to save her." This widow, although her husband was a quiet man, WAS herself - a little WORLDLY and indifferent to God. It is for this reason that children DIE from illnesses or DIE from accidents from such worldly, INDIFFERENT parents towards God. If parents DO NOT PRAY for their children and do not teach them to believe, how will the Lord KEEP them? Of course, I didn’t tell her about this, I didn’t tell her “you were a worldly person,” but I asked her: “What are you thinking about now? Do you love peace? “I don’t want to see anyone or anything,” she answered. “You see,” I told her, “the world is dead for you too, and nothing worldly interests you. Thus, soon you will all be in Paradise together. Who else has God honored as much as you? Do you understand this? After this conversation, the unfortunate woman STOPPED going to the cemetery every day. She began to PRAY, began to go to church MORE FREQUENTLY. As soon as - with the help of others - she was able to grasp the deepest meaning of life, she immediately calmed down. - Geronda, I heard that if a person dies a violent death, then he pays for his sins, because the murderer takes upon himself his sins. — The person killed, so to speak, has mitigating circumstances. He can tell God this: “I would have repented, but he killed me.” Thus, the weight of [his sins] FALLS—on the murderer. However, some who lack reason say: “If there was a God, He would not allow so many crimes to be committed. He would punish criminals." Such people do not understand that God leaves criminals to live so that on the Day of Judgment they will have NOTHING to justify in the fact that they have NOT REPENTED of their evil, although He gave them years of life for this. And God will not abandon those whom criminals kill.
Used materials
- Archbishop Vasily (Krivoshein) “Symbolic texts in the Orthodox Church”
- Complete Orthodox Theological Encyclopedic Dictionary. In two volumes. - St. Petersburg: P. P. Soykin Publishing House. P. P. Soykin. 1913.
[1] Quoted. according to the book by the archbishop. Vasily (Krivoshein) “Symbolic texts in the Orthodox Church” -
[2] Archpriest Georgy Florovsky. "Western influences in Russian theology." Translation from English by N. Kholmogorova -
[3] Archbishop. Vasily (Krivoshein) “Symbolic texts in the Orthodox Church” -
Origin and family
On December 21, 1596, a son, Petru, was born into the family of Moldavian boyars Movile; his name was given in honor of the Moscow Metropolitan Peter.
- 1596 is the year of the adoption of the Union of Brest, according to which the Western Ukrainian part of Orthodoxy came under the rule of the Roman Catholics.
- 1596 - the time of accession to the Moldavian throne of Simeon Movile or Mogila.
- Boyar Simeon, the father of the future Metropolitan of Kyiv, ruled Wallachia for seven years at the beginning of the 17th century, and then in 1607 became the ruler of Moldova.
- In 1612, Cantemir Murza conquered Moldova, the boyars of Movile fled to relatives in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, under the tutelage of Mikhail Vishnevetsky, the ruler of the left bank of Ukraine.
Saint Peter Mohyla
Peter graduated from the Lviv fraternal school, which taught the basics of Orthodoxy, and to continue his education he went abroad, visiting various universities, studied Latin, and as a result chose a military career.
He was a participant in the Battle of Khotyn between the Poles and Ottomans. For the handsome, rich man, warrior and intellectual, 1624 was a turning point. He renounces the world and becomes a resident of the Holy Dormition Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, where, together with the monks, he endures all the persecution from the Polish authorities.
Death and veneration
On January 1, 1647, in the full bloom of his strength, Saint Mogila suddenly went to the Lord, was buried in the Kiev Pechersk Lavra, and on March 22, it was decided to transfer the remains of the saint to the Sophia monastery. For three months, the relics of the metropolitan remained incorrupt; the place of his burial became the Great Pechersk Cathedral Church, the place indicated in the will of the saint.
Metropolitan Peter Mohyla canonized as a Local Saint
In November 1941, Kyiv was captured by the Germans, who blew up the Great Lavra Church, and along with it the grave of the saint was blown up.
In 1982, during excavations, silver plates were found, but which depict the family coat of arms of the Movile family and the epitaph.
The Holy Fathers, the saints, through their life example, are the guides of the Orthodox Christians remaining on earth to Heaven. Reflecting on the events of today, you understand that history develops in turns, in each of which the hearts of people are the battlefield of the devil with the Creator.
On December 8, 2005, Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy II blessed January 13 as a day of honoring the memory of St. Peter Mohyla, who stood up for the defense of Orthodoxy in the 17th century, when Orthodox Ukraine was squeezed by the Muslim Porte and the Catholic Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
Taking Holy Orders
Personal communication with the Kyiv Metropolitan Job Boretsky influenced the further fate of Peter Mogila, who decided to devote his life to the Orthodox Church by taking holy orders.
Having been the archimandrite of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra since 1627, he is subordinate to the Patriarch of Constantinople and bears the title of great archimandrite. After the death of Vladyka Job, he is the executor of the entire spiritual inheritance of the Vladyka, including the richest library.
The new archbishop decided to found a new educational Orthodox center in Kyiv, which caused opposition from Isaiah Kopinsky, who defended the primacy of the Kyiv fraternal school. In 1632, the Polish king Sigismund III dies, Archbishop Mohyla is invited as part of a delegation from Kyiv to a meeting of the Sejm to elect a new king, Vladislav the Fourth.
Icon of Peter Mohyla, Metropolitan of Kyiv
Father Peter justified the mission entrusted to him, he managed to convince the new king to recognize the Orthodox dioceses and metropolises as legitimate, to stop all prohibitions and oppression against Orthodox believers, having received a diploma, according to which it was allowed:
- freely to profess the Orthodox faith;
- perform the Sacraments;
- carry out restoration of temples and build new churches;
- create fraternities;
- open schools and colleges;
- set up almshouses.
The Orthodox people and clergy received the right to elect a metropolitan, into whose jurisdiction all monasteries and churches were transferred.
Important! On November 1, 1632, thanks to the prince’s upbringing and the subtle diplomatic gift of Peter Mohyla, an official decree was issued approving the independence of Orthodoxy in Ukraine.
In 1633, the priest was ordained metropolitan, gathering around him all those who were not indifferent to the fate of Orthodoxy in Ukraine.
In 1635, with the blessing of Father Mogila, the restoration of the Tithe Church, the reorganization of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra school, and the construction of an educational institution in Vinnitsa began.
In 1634, a Moscow school was founded, where monks of the Kyiv Lavra taught. Thanks to the efforts of Metropolitan Peter Juliana, Princess Olshanskaya was glorified among the righteous; he made great efforts to perpetuate the names of the Pechersk saints in the created Patericon of Pechersk.
Read about Orthodox saints:
- Gregory Sinait
- Boniface of Tarsus
- Zacchaeus the Righteous
