Instructions for the laity. What brief prayer rules did the saints offer?

About the prayer rule

The Holy Fathers, praising the rule of prayer and confessing the necessity of it, instruct to have it in moderation, commensurate with strength, with the state of spiritual prosperity and with the circumstances in which a person is placed by the Providence of God. The essence of fulfilling the prayer rule is that it is fulfilled with attention. From attention, our spirit comes into humility: from humility, repentance is born. In order to make a rule slowly, the rule must be moderate. The Holy Fathers, highly praising the moderate rule, advise us to fulfill it without neglect. The following rule may be useful for us and at first satisfactory: Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee; Heavenly King, Trisagion, Our Father, Lord have mercy 12. Come, let us worship. Psalm 50, Symbol of Faith, Virgin Mary, rejoice three times. After this, 20 prayers: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me”; bow to the ground at every prayer. Then another 20 of the same prayers, and with each one a bow from the waist. It is worthy to eat, as truly; Through the prayers of the saints, our Father, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us.

This prayer rule should be performed in the morning and evening. Bows should be made very slowly, with a feeling of repentance, as if standing before the Lord Himself, falling at His feet and begging for mercy, but not at all imagining the Lord, but only believing His presence and the fact that He looks at us and sees us. You have written instructions on prayer: try to borrow from it the direction for your spirit during prayer. Of all the other prayers, the akathist to the Lord Jesus is most useful for the novice. Read it once a week, standing or sitting, whichever is more convenient for you, but certainly with attention and not in a hurry. Also, do not allow yourself to read the Gospel and other holy books superficially and fluently: read them slowly and with attention. When reading, observe moderation. Moderation maintains a constant desire to read, and satiety with reading produces aversion from it.

The book of letters from the Transdonsk recluse George can be very useful for you. It is of the same spirit and direction as the writings of St. Tikhon of Voronezh. I allow myself to say that it is of the same spirit and with my sinful writings, which you can read all of: because they explain what is for the beginner and what is for the successful. Do not forget to constantly surrender yourself to the will of God and thank God for all His blessings done to you. We all must be sure that we do not deserve the blessings of God that we have, that we deserve incomparably greater troubles than those that we encounter. With such a view of himself, a Christian remains peaceful because of his submission to God and thanks God for everything that happens to him.

Regarding the rule, know that it is for you, and you are not for it, but for the Lord. Therefore, have freedom of reasoning.

(Letters to the laity).

“Go into your closet, and when you have shut your doors, pray to your Father who is in secret: and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you in reality."(Matthew 6:6). This is the Lord Himself’s establishment of solitary cell prayer.

The Lord, who commanded solitary prayer, very often Himself, during His earthly wanderings, as the Gospel narrates, remained in it. He had no place to lay his head, and therefore silent mountain peaks and shady hilltops often replaced His silent, calm cell.

Before His descent into suffering, which was to purchase the salvation of the human race, the Lord prayed in the secluded garden of Gethsemane. During prayer, the God-man knelt, and from the intense feat of prayer, profuse sweat rolled from His face in bloody drops to the ground. The Garden of Gethsemane consisted of centuries-old olive trees. And during the day, in the light of the sun's rays, a thick shadow lay in it, and then the dark night of Palestine lay on it. No one shared His prayers with the Lord: His disciples were sleeping in the distance, and sleeping nature was all around. A traitor came here with torches and an armed crowd: the traitor knew the favorite place and time of Jesus’ prayers.

The darkness of the night covers objects from prying eyes, the silence of silence does not entertain the ear. In silence and at night you can pray more attentively. The Lord chose primarily solitude and the night for His prayer; He chose them so that we would not only obey His commandment about prayer, but also follow His example. Did the Lord, for Himself, need prayer? While He was with us on earth as a man, He, together as God, was inseparable from the Father and the Spirit, and had one divine will and divine power with Them.

Go into your closet and, having shut your doors, pray to your Father who is in secret. Let no fool of yours know about your prayer! Neither your friend, nor your relative, nor the vanity itself that cohabits your heart and incites you to tell someone about your feat of prayer, to hint about it.

Shut the doors of your cell from people who come to talk idle talk and steal your prayers; close the doors of your mind from extraneous thoughts that appear to distract you from prayer; close the doors of your heart from sinful sensations that try to confuse and defile you, and pray.

Do not dare to bring to God multi-verbal and eloquent prayers composed by you, no matter how strong and touching they may seem to you: they are the product of a fallen mind and, being a desecrated victim, cannot be accepted on the spiritual altar of God. And you, admiring the elegant expressions of the prayers you have composed and recognizing the refined effect of vanity and voluptuousness as a consolation of conscience and even grace, will be carried away far from prayer. You will be carried away far from prayer at the very time when it seems to you that you are praying abundantly and have already achieved a certain degree of pleasing God.
The soul that begins the path of God is immersed in deep ignorance of everything divine and spiritual, even if it is rich in the wisdom of this world. Because of this ignorance, she does not know how and how much she should pray. To help the infant soul, the Holy Church established prayer rules. A prayer rule is a collection of several prayers composed by the divinely inspired Holy Fathers, adapted to a certain circumstance and time. The purpose of the rule is to provide the soul with the amount of prayerful thoughts and feelings it lacks, moreover, thoughts and feelings that are correct, holy, and truly pleasing to God. The grace-filled prayers of the holy fathers are filled with such thoughts and feelings.

For the prayer exercise in the morning there is a special collection of prayers called morning prayers or morning rule; for night prayer before going to bed - another collection of prayers, called prayers for bedtime, or the evening rule. A special collection of prayers is read by those preparing to receive the Holy Mysteries of Christ, and is called the rule for Holy Communion. Those who devote a large part of their time to pious exercises read at about 3 o'clock in the afternoon a special collection of prayers, called the daily or monastic rule. Others read several kathismas every day, several chapters from the New Testament, make several bows: all this is called the rule.

Rule! What an accurate name, borrowed from the very effect produced on a person by prayers called the rule! The prayer rule guides the soul correctly and holy, teaches it to worship God in Spirit and Truth (John 4:23), while the soul, left to itself, could not follow the correct path of prayer. Due to her damage and darkening by sin, she would constantly turn to the sides, often into the abyss: now into absent-mindedness, now into daydreaming, now into various empty and deceptive ghosts of high prayerful states, created by her vanity and self-love.

Prayer rules keep the person praying in a saving disposition of humility and repentance, teaching him constant self-condemnation, feeding him with tenderness, strengthening him with hope in the all-good and all-merciful God, delighting him with the peace of Christ, love for God and his neighbors.

How sublime and deep are the prayers for Holy Communion! What excellent preparation they provide to those approaching the holy Mysteries of Christ! They clean and decorate the house of the soul with wonderful thoughts and sensations that are so pleasing to the Lord. The greatest of the Christian sacraments is majestically depicted and explained in these prayers; In contrast to this height, man’s shortcomings are vividly and accurately calculated, his weakness and unworthiness are shown. From these prayers, the incomprehensible goodness of God shines like the sun from the sky, because of which He deigns to unite closely with man, despite the insignificance of man.

Morning prayers breathe vigor and freshness of the morning: he who has seen the light of the sensual sun and the light of the earthly day learns to desire the vision of the highest, spiritual Light and the endless day produced by the Sun of Truth - Christ.

The brief calm of sleep during the night is an image of a long sleep in the darkness of the grave. And they remind us of our sleep prayers for those who are to come, our migration into eternity, they review all our activities during the day, they teach us to bring to God confession of our sins and repentance for them.

The prayerful reading of the Akathist to the sweetest Jesus, in addition to its own dignity, serves as an excellent preparation for the exercise of the Jesus Prayer, which reads like this: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner. This prayer is almost the only exercise of successful ascetics who have achieved simplicity and purity, for whom all much thinking and verbosity serves as a burdensome entertainment. The Akathist shows what thoughts can be accompanied by the Jesus Prayer, which seems extremely dry for beginners. Throughout its entire space, it depicts one sinner’s request for mercy by the Lord Jesus Christ; but this petition is given various forms, in accordance with the infancy of the minds of the beginners. This is how babies are given food that has been previously softened.

The Akathist to the Mother of God glorifies the incarnation of God the Word and the greatness of the Mother of God, Who gave birth to God incarnate please everyone(Luke 1:48). As if in a vast picture, the great Mystery of the incarnation of God the Word is depicted in the Akathist with countless wondrous features, colors, and shades. Successful lighting enlivens every picture, and the Akathist to the Mother of God is illuminated with the extraordinary light of grace. This light acts purely: it enlightens the mind, from it the heart is filled with joy and information. The incomprehensible is accepted, as if completely comprehended, by the wonderful effect it has on the mind and heart.

Many reverent Christians, especially monks, perform the evening rule for a very long time, taking advantage of the silence and darkness of the night. To their bedtime prayers they add reading kathismas, reading the Gospel, the Apostle, reading akathists and bowing with the Jesus Prayer. In those hours in which the blind world indulges in riotous and noisy amusements, the servants of Christ weep in the silence of their cells, pouring out fervent prayers before the Lord. Having spent the night in a mad vigil, the sons of the world meet the coming day in gloom and despondency of spirit; in joy and good spirits, in the consciousness and feeling of an extraordinary ability for the thought of God and for all good deeds, the servants of God greet the day for which they spent the previous night in a feat of prayer.
The Lord knelt down during his prayer: and you should not neglect kneeling if you have enough strength to perform it. By worshiping to the face of the earth, according to the explanation of the fathers, our fall is depicted, and by rising from the earth our redemption. Before starting the evening rule, it is especially useful to make a feasible number of bows: from them the body will become somewhat tired and warm, and the heart will impart a feeling of pious sadness; Both will be prepared to read the rule diligently and attentively.
When performing the rules and bows, there should be no rush; must perform both the rules and bows with as much leisure and attention as possible. It is better to read fewer prayers and bow less, but with attention, than a lot without attention.

Choose for yourself a rule that corresponds to your strengths. What the Lord said about the Sabbath, that it is for man, and not man for it (Mark 2:27), can and should be applied to all pious deeds, and between them to the prayer rule. A prayer rule is for a person, and not a person for the rule: it should help a person achieve spiritual success, and not serve as an unbearable burden, crushing bodily strength and confusing the soul. Moreover, it should not serve as a reason for proud and harmful conceit, for harmful condemnation and humiliation of others.

A prudently chosen prayer rule, according to one’s strengths and type of life, serves as a great aid for one who strives for his salvation. Performing it at the prescribed hours turns into a skill, a necessary natural need. He who has acquired this blessed skill, barely approaches the usual place of performing the rules, when his soul is already filled with a prayerful mood: he has not yet had time to utter a single word of the prayers he reads, and already tenderness is pouring out of his heart, and his mind has gone completely deep into the inner cage.

“I prefer,” said a certain great father, “a rule that is not long-lasting, but is constantly followed, to a rule that is long-lasting, but is quickly abandoned.” And prayer rules that are disproportionate to their strength always have this fate: at the first impulse of ardor, the ascetic performs them for some time, of course paying more attention to quantity than to quality; then the exhaustion produced by a feat that surpasses his strength gradually forces him to reduce and reduce the rules.

And often ascetics, who have foolishly set a burdensome rule for themselves, move from the difficult rule straight to abandoning all rules. After leaving the rule, and even with one shortening of it, confusion will certainly attack the ascetic. From embarrassment, he begins to feel mental distress. From frustration comes despondency. Having intensified, it produces relaxation and frenzy, and from their action the reckless ascetic indulges in an idle, absent-minded life, and with indifference falls into the grossest sins.

Having chosen for yourself a prayer rule commensurate with your strengths and spiritual needs, try to fulfill it carefully and without fail: this is necessary to maintain the moral strength of your soul, just as sufficient consumption of healthy food at certain times of the day is necessary to maintain bodily strength.

“It is not for abandoning the psalms that God will condemn us on the day of His judgment,” says Saint Isaac the Syrian, “not for abandoning prayer, but for the subsequent abandonment of them, the entry of demons into us. Demons, when they find a place, will enter and close the doors of our eyes: then they will fulfill with us, their tools, violently and uncleanly, with the cruelest vengeance, everything forbidden by God. And because of the abandonment of small (rules), for which the intercession of Christ is honored, we become subject (to demons), as it is written by some wise men: “He who does not submit his will to God will submit to his opponent.” These (rules), which seem small to you, will become walls for you against those who try to captivate us. The implementation of these (rules) inside the cell was wisely established by the founders of the church charter, by revelation from above, for the preservation of our belly."

The great fathers, who remained in constant prayer from the abundant action of God's grace, did not abandon their rules, which they were accustomed to perform at certain hours of the night. We see many proofs of this in their lives: Anthony the Great, following the rules of the ninth hour - the church ninth hour corresponds to the third hour in the afternoon - was honored with Divine revelation; when the Monk Sergius of Radonezh was engaged in prayerful reading of the Akathist to the Mother of God, the Most Holy Virgin appeared to him, accompanied by the apostles Peter and John.

Dearest brother! Submit your freedom to the rule: it, having deprived you of your destructive freedom, will bind you only in order to give you spiritual freedom, freedom in Christ. The chains will seem burdensome at first; then they will become precious to those bound by them. All the saints of God took upon themselves and bore the good yoke of the prayer rule: by imitation of them, in this case, you too should follow our Lord Jesus Christ, Who, having become man and showing us the way of behavior, acted as His Father acted (John 5:19) , said what the Father commanded Him (John 12:49), had the goal of fulfilling the will of the Father in everything (John 5:30). The will of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit is one. In relation to people, it consists in saving people. All-Holy Trinity, our God! Glory to You. Amen.

1. Word of St. Theoliptus. Kindness. Part 2.
2. St. Matoi. Alphabetical Patericon of Skitsky, letter M.
3. St. Isaac the Syrian. Word 17.

(A word about the cell prayer rule)

« IN All people should on this day, once a year, on this Friday, stand before God and repent and ask. Whoever is in prison, who is on trial, whoever is sick - the Lord will help.”

Hegumen Gury (Chezlov)

«… ABOUT Once in the Temple you will pray “Lord, have mercy” and the Lord will hear, but at home you need 200-300 times.”

Hieromonk Anatoly (Kyiv)

C Good Friday - B thanksgiving prayers - Prayer. Night prayer - Remembrance of the departed - Help for those in hell from Archangel Michael - Visiting church, Liturgy, reading the Psalter - How to help the newly deceased?

And Humen Gury (Chezlov) (1934-2001):“On Good Friday, from 12.00 to 15.00 - stand at the Cross, (in church or at home), - list your sins, confessed and unconfessed, repent, ask God for forgiveness.

If you need to know something, read the Jesus Prayer, list your sins - when the Lord is on the Cross, from 12 to 3 - repent and make your petition. The Lord will definitely help. All people must on this day, once a year, on this Friday, stand before God and repent and ask. Whoever is in prison, who is on trial, whoever is sick - the Lord will help.”

“Russia will be lost without kneeling prayer. Despite holidays and Sundays, you can, and even need to, kneel down and repent of your sins before the Lord.”

Thanksgiving prayers

« Z Offer thanksgiving prayers, both in sorrow and in joy. It’s good to pray to the saints, but also Pantelemon and Ksenia, they all go to God...

When you order a prayer of thanks, on this day you are in the circle of the Holy Angels, the enemy has no power...”

“Father Gury said that we must always thank God for everything and often order thanksgiving prayers to Him so that the enemy does not push his horns into our lives. He said that everything should be done with the words “for the glory of God.”

“It is important...to thank God for everything, not only for joy, but also for sadness and illness. For each of his illnesses, the priest ordered a thanksgiving prayer - he thanked God. He said that “God gives us illness to correct the soul (cleanse from sin), and for this we must be grateful.”

Prayer. Night prayer

D spiritual daughter, who told the priest about her busyness with garden work, which created difficulties in visiting the temple, Fr. Gury said: “You will work so hard at your dachas that you will fall between the beds.”

“Father, can I atone for all my sins?” - his spiritual daughter asked. “It’s possible, but it’s very difficult. You must not eat or drink anything for three days and three nights and pray.”

““There is no prayer stronger than the akathist,” the words of Father Abbot. He blessed spiritual children to read various akathists: the Mother of God in honor of Her, the icons “Quick to Hear”, “Deliverer”, the Great Martyr Barbara, St. Sergius of Radonezh, Tsar Nicholas, the akathist “Glory to God for everything”, but especially two akathists - to the Holy Spirit and the Seven to the youths of Ephesus. He also advised his children to read prayers to Archangel Michael for deliverance from the devil and gave the texts of three prayers. “Without these prayers,” he instructed, “don’t leave the house.” He blessed me to read prayers to the holy archangels for every day of the week, and the fifth prayers, and the well-known prayer of detention.

For those children who needed Divine help with housing issues, Fr. Gury blessed the reading of troparia: to the Icon of the Mother of God “The Unbreakable Wall”, to Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker, to the Prophet and King David, to the Venerable Twelve Greeks, the builders of the Cathedral Assumption Church of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra.”

“Advised by Fr. Gury should ask his Guardian Angel for help more often: “You never know, you need to get up early or something else - you pray to him, he will help you.”

“Father always said: “Don’t be discouraged!”, He instructed us to turn to the Queen of Heaven for help. “Ask, beg: Lady, Most Holy Theotokos, help, do not leave me, a sinner!”

“Before you start praying in the morning, wash your face, comb your hair, get dressed and appear before the All-Seeing Lord in a proper form, so that the Lord will be pleased to look at you, and thereby you will show respect for Him.

If any difficulty or any sadness or sorrow arises, cry out to the Almighty Lord: “Lord, help me, resolve my bewilderment!” And the Lord, if it pleases Him, will help, and, most importantly, firmly believe that the All-Merciful Lord will not leave you.

If you ordered a prayer service for any need, firmly believe that the Lord, the Mother of God, the Angels and Saints will help you. Consider yourself the greatest sinner.

Before you take, say, buy anything... say: “Lord, bless!” It’s very good if you make 3 bows before starting the day, before leaving for work.”

Night prayer

« M you need to pour water especially at night, you can ask the Lord for everything at night, because a person takes time away from his sleep. And many more saints talk about this (“They got up in the middle of the night to pray, following the example of the psalmist (Ps. 119, 62) and the holy Apostle Paul when he was in prison after being beaten (Acts 16, 25) Saint Clement of Alexandria, ... Saint Cyprian... In general, this skill of prayer vigil is approved by all the fathers as very useful"). At night, the Divine Liturgy takes place in Heaven.”

Remembrance of the Dead

ABOUT very saving o. Gury considered the remembrance of the dead. When he took up this, the enemy attacked him strongly. He found most of the names of the victims in the Vologda museum. And when he came there to copy down the names and met with the head of the museum, he felt such a noise and whistle in his ears, like in the stadium at the most interesting moment. He saw the museum manager, but did not hear her. So the enemy tried to interfere. This once again confirms the salutary value of commemorating the dead.

There were about five notebooks and stationery books in which names were arranged in several columns on each page. Father Gury also instructed us to read them. He taught us: “When time is short, you can remember the first three names in a column and add “and all.” And so on, each column of names in order until the end of the notebook. Then the Angel will remember the rest.”

One can only guess how much effort and prayers these notebooks cost him. He said: “Get yourself more lists of the names of the deceased and remember them more often. It’s a cycle: you beg for the departed, and they beg for you.” The saving value of commemorating the dead is confirmed by many Saints, including those of Mount Athos. In this way we fulfill the main commandment of God: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” And, by delivering the departed from eternal torment, we also deliver ourselves from them. And it is especially important to remember them at lunch (before sweets)…

“...It is important to remember the dead, for this you need to collect more names and commemorate them more often, the names should not be just any random ones, but people of holy life and the parents of saints. You pray for them, and they pray for you.

It turns out to be a cycle (in the spiritual sense). Reading the “Fifth-Number Prayers” or the akathist “Glory to God for everything” daily is also saving.

It is also important to thank God for everything, not only for joy, but also for sadness and illness.”

Help for those in hell from Archangel Michael

« M We need to pray more for the departed. The deceased are only waiting for help from us - [prayers, alms for them, church commemoration (requiem service, bloodless sacrifice, magpie, indefatigable Psalter)].

Archangel Michael lowers his white wing into hell, and for whom relatives pray on this day - the Lord forgives sins, and souls are chosen along this wing from hell. Prayer - with prostrations. And everyone, on the wing of Archangel Michael, gets out of hell, some as much as they can, some by one step, some by two, and some get out of hell completely.”

Church visit, Liturgy, reading the Psalter

And eromonk Anatoly (Kyiv) (1957–2002).

Once, during a sermon after the Service, Father said that a woman recently came up to him and asked: “Why go to Church if you still don’t understand anything about what they read and sing there?” Father explained to us all by example that if you pour water into a basket, it will, of course, flow out, but the basket will remain wet. So a person, having attended the Service, leaves with God’s grace, and over time begins to listen more carefully to the words, gets used to the church language, and understands more.

When Father Anatoly served in the St. Cyril Church and later, we asked for his prayers and submitted notes with names. At the same time, everyone contributed as much as they could. Once I overheard Father’s conversation with a novice, to whom he said that you need to put 1 kopeck in the note because if it’s free, then the demons pay for it.

Father said that whoever misses the third Sunday Liturgy in a row for no reason will lose Grace. If the Liturgy has begun, there is no need to venerate the icons - the saints are standing nearby.

“Where two are gathered in My Name, there I stand third.” You will pray “Lord, have mercy” once in the Temple and the Lord will hear, but at home you need to pray 200-300 times.”

Father taught us never to be distracted before the Chalice or during the service - neither visually, nor by conversations, nor by thoughts. When worship takes place in the Temple, the Lord Himself and the Heavenly powers are invisibly present.

“There is nothing higher on earth than a custom-made Liturgy, when a piece is taken from the prosphora for the salvation of every human soul.”

Father said that you need to come to the service 1 - 0.5 hours in advance. Read the Holy Fathers and Holy Scripture in order to tune in to Prayer. When you enter the temple, read the “Symbol of Faith”, leave everything worldly and vain outside the doors of the temple. Temple and vanity are incompatible. Women stand on the left side, men on the right. Do not talk during the service, do not walk. Pray, eyes down, so as not to judge anyone, not to seduce, not to look around. Do not leave the temple until the service is over, only after dismissal. It is imperative to venerate icons with faith. Father said: “You don’t have to light candles. There is not always money for candles. You yourself need to be a candle before the Lord, to burn with Prayer before His eyes. And stand at the service like a candle. Infirm? Sit down, sit down. It is better to think about God while sitting than about your feet while standing. But don't overuse it. What kind of services did the Holy Fathers stand for, not what we stand for? Do you think you are on duty? The feet are here, but the soul is in another place, the mind is in the heavens. Only with your feet here, and how much work you need to put in for the soul to come. And then we’re standing in the church, and we’re thinking: “Did I turn off the TV at home? Will I have time to cook dinner for my husband? Why did she go to confession ahead of me?” And we come to the temple cold, but leave unrepentant. The world with its vanity and fashions also entered the Temple of God. This world has replaced the world that the Lord gave us: “Peace be with you.” And joy, silence, tranquility left our hearts. And it depends on us, dear ones, whether they will ever return back, or whether our home will be without fire, the table - without bread and salt, and in the corner there will be a family “deity” that we all worship - the TV.

“Despondency... This is not despondency, but frivolity. It's because you don't pray. You read and don’t understand anything about where everything is going. You should be wound up like springs, ready for anything, but you are asleep. If you had prayed, this would not have happened! Don't talk to me about despondency. Don’t pray, but water doesn’t flow under a lying stone! Despondency has come - bows, the Psalter - and there will be no more. 9th, 17th kathismas, 142nd psalm! Otherwise they will feel despondent... You will be so depressed that you won’t be able to find a place for yourself!..”

Father said: “Read the Psalter. Here you can find the answer to any question, spiritual need, pain, illness. This is a healer."

“Read the chapter from the Gospel every day, especially from Matthew 5 to 11, there is the essence of Christianity, the chapter from the Apostle, the kathisma from the Psalter, the Jesus Prayer 70 times - and the Lord will not abandon you. “Abba Dorotheus” and “Lives of the Saints” are reference books for Christians.

How to help the newly deceased?

« H What is most important to order for a newly departed soul?” - “40 custom Liturgies. There is nothing higher than the Liturgy. The soul sees everything, knows everything, easily overcomes distances, but cannot say anything. All prophecies are revealed to her, except the last day. Until 9 days, the soul is shown heaven, and until 40, hell. And on the fortieth day, the darling stands before the Lord and is dressed in white robes. And they give a belt: to some - gold, to others - silver, according to virtue. A very important fortieth day. Until that day, we can help her, since our alms can be counted as a virtue to her. They also serve the Psalter for the newly deceased for a year. At the Last Judgment, the bodies will rise bone by bone - everyone will be 30 years old.”

“The Lord wants to save everyone, tries to pull everyone out of hell. He said to one: do you want to endure the torments of hell for a little while, and then be with Me, in the villages of paradise? But no - to hell forever... And he agreed for the love of the Lord. Everyone must undergo purification. Maybe even there, in hell... A couple of years - and then to the Lord...

Read about Lazar, everything is written there. Abraham's bosom existed; all the righteous went to hell, but for them there was Abraham’s bosom... It’s not for nothing that there are memorial services in the church, services for the dead, prayers for them. They are slowly begging.

The Lord wants to save everyone. Even those communists are pulled out of hell... Not all of them, of course, but those twisted ones who didn’t know what they were doing.

Now the seal... And again the Lord will somehow save.”

“The relatives of the deceased must receive communion on the day of the deceased’s death, or on the day of the funeral.”

“Now you need to do as much alms as possible for his soul for up to 40 days, so that the soul goes through the ordeal. We need prayer for the soul. Thank God that the Lord still gives such time when you can bury the deceased according to the Orthodox rite, invite the priest to perform the funeral service. This is very good, but that's not all. During this period, relatives should confess and receive communion more often, and ask the Lord for forgiveness for them. Sins of parents on children. But children can also change the fate of their parents beyond the grave. Give away all his things, all his savings, everything he has acquired in his entire life. He saved, did not give alms, lived for books, or instruments, or something else. And now you give away everything to the bone, everything that he really valued. As if by his hand. Give the Psalter to the schema-nuns at Pokrovskoe. Now, more than ever, prayer for the soul is needed. When there were Soviet times and they were buried without funeral services, without priests, souls hung in ordeals for 50 years - neither here nor there. And the fate of the soul was determined when the first prayers for the soul began. When the grandchildren grew up and turned to God. Like this. It is good to die for those who live their whole lives for the sake of Christ, when they send all their treasures to Heaven, when they spend their whole lives as a wanderer in this deplorable vale, when they do good to people and endure evil with thanksgiving according to the Gospel.

But the Lord is Merciful and His Judgments are a Great Abyss. It saves some without any visible good deeds, while others need to work very hard. One will do one good deed, which will then cover all his sins. We know nothing about man, but the Lord knows everything. We knew him from one side, but the Lord sees everything, the hidden, too, that other side, which was closed from everyone.

Now go to Pavlovka, to Glevakha with alms, bake something with your own hands. The Lord likes it much better than the purchased one. Put your work, your hand into this. Feed, clothe, and put shoes on the poor. And the Lord will have mercy on your father.”

Almost every person - believer or not - is familiar with the main prayer of the elders “At the beginning of the day”; they are known under the general name Optina.

This appeal to the Lord is so powerful, effective, filling with bright faith, love, hope for the best, that it works real miracles in the lives of many people, regardless of religion.

Who are they - the authors of this and other prayers that have such supernatural, divine power, which through the centuries help and heal believers and even non-believers? What other prayers of the elders exist in the Orthodox Church? This is discussed in the article.

Story

According to sources about the lives of holy people, monks, the Optina elders were at one time inhabitants of the Stavropegial Monastery, or the Vvedenskaya Optina Monastery, which is 2 kilometers from Kozelsk (Kaluga region) on the Zhizdra River.

The monastery was built in the 19th century and its shape (top view) resembles a square. There is a fence built around the perimeter, which is also quadrangular in shape, and at each corner there is a temple tower. Behind the monastery there is a monastery, which the laity have no right to enter (only for monks).

In the very central part of the monastery there is the main temple - the cathedral in the name of the Entry of the Blessed Virgin Mary into the Temple. And near it - along the cross - there are more churches: the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God (in the south), the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God (in the east), the temple in the name of Mary of Egypt (in the north).

This monastery is the oldest in the desert. It was the Optina elders who are considered its founders. Here they worked, prayed, and performed great miracles. The main ones are the gifts of healing and predicting the future.

The monastery was constantly full of believers - from different parts of Russia and other countries. Pilgrims came to this holy land to receive bodies, to hear practical advice from the elders, to calm their minds, since not a single doctor of that time was able to heal and revive as well as the Optina elders.

There were real legends about them, some considered them the Sons of God, others accused them of interacting with evil spirits.

But the elders still continued to help people, pray, work for the good of the temple and fulfill the will of God.

Temple inhabitants

These great monks were considered the main wealth of the Optina Pustyn monastery; they were revered by many for their good deeds and assistance.

Here are the main ones:

• Hieroschemamonk Leo is the founder of the temple and the Optina eldership. He was famous for his enormous love for God and his neighbors. He worked selflessly for the good of the monastery.
• Hieroschemamonk Macarius is a follower of the Monk Leo. It was from him that the writing of holy works about the asceticism of the elders and the Optina monastery began. He also led other temples.
• Schema-Archimandrite Moses is known for his humility, wisdom and enormous charitable activities towards poor wanderers. Under him, new temple structures were built.
• Schema-abbot Anthony - led the monastery, was seriously ill, had the gift of teaching. Brother of Schema-Archimandrite Moses.
• Hieroschemamonk Hilarion, a follower of Elder Macarius, had the gift of preaching, and with him many who had departed from the faith returned to the monastery.
• Hieroschemamonk Ambrose was distinguished by his holiness and sincere reverence for God through his service. It is to him that believers most often turn in prayer.

• Schema-Archimandrite Isaac, the abbot of the monastery, guarded and affirmed the spiritual covenants of the elders in the Optina Hermitage.
• Hieroschemamonk Anatoly is the head of the monastery, a strong man of prayer, a comforter and ascetic, as well as a mentor to monks and parishioners of many monasteries and churches.
• Hieroschemamonk Joseph is a follower of Ambrose, a man of prayer, a humble elder, illuminated by divine light. The Mother of God appeared to him.
• Schema-Archimandrite Barsanuphius, a perspicacious elder, a former military man, saw the hidden things in the heart of every person.
• Hieroschemamonk Anatoly is a comforter, healer, humble and loving pastor.
• Hieroschemamonk Nektarios is the last elder who was elected conciliarly. He had insight and the gift of working miracles.
• Hieromonk Nikon, a student and follower of Elder Barsanuphius, showed the gift of asceticism in the Optina Hermitage after its closure.
• Archimandrite Isaac II was the last abbot of the monastery, under whom it was finally destroyed. He endured all adversity with courage, faith and love for God and people.

Prayers of the Optina Elders

Turning to each elder in prayer - with all your heart and with all sincerity - helps to heal from mental anxieties, anger, and aggression. And also ask the Lord for your family and children.

One of the most powerful and effective prayers is “At the beginning of the day.” It is she who most of all helps to tune in to a peaceful mood in the morning, to find harmony and calm.

Thanks to the power of the text itself, as well as the absolute faith of the recipient, the internal state gradually improves, stability in stressful situations increases, sleep improves, and communication with people is harmonized.

The most important condition for reading this and other prayers of the elders is sincerity and understanding of every word spoken. The state during treatment is important to be meditative and as calm as possible.

There is a full and abbreviated prayer of the elders “At the beginning of the day.”

Full text of the prayer

The recommended time to pronounce this appeal is the beginning of the day. The prayer of the elders can also be read along with other prayers. The main thing is to have clarity of consciousness, understanding of the essence of each word, faith, and sincerity.

The prayer call should always be a moment of triumph, holiness and goodness, without memorization and monotonous muttering. If the text is not memorized (partially or completely), you can read from a sheet or pronounce some passages in your own words. It is important to do this with pure thoughts and ardent faith in the Lord and his help.

The text of the complete prayer “At the Beginning of the Day” helps to fill the heart and soul with wisdom, harmony, joy, and the right attitude for the new day and all its events and deeds.

Brief text of the prayer of the elders

Every day it is better to say the full prayer, but sometimes you can replace it with an abbreviated version. The meaning does not change, it just takes less time to read.

This version, like the full version, brings into strong resonance the heart and soul of the worshiper with heavenly purity and holiness. It has a powerful power to harmonize and tune a person to a positive perception of everything that happens in the new day.

Optina Elders

Just like in the morning, turning to the Lord through the prayer of the elders “At the end of the day” will be effective. If for some reason it is not possible to read the words, you can turn on audio or video recording.

In any case, prayer fills a person’s soul and heart with pure energy and warmth, regardless of the form of address.

Many believers note that after regularly turning to God through this prayer of the elders, their worldview and attitude towards others improved, inner peace and confidence appeared, and a positive attitude towards life was formed.

This prayer helps everyone to respond correctly to daily difficulties and unpleasant situations that arise in the life path of any person.

For better effectiveness, before reading the prayer, it is recommended to go to the temple - repent and take communion, thus tuning into silence and holiness.

It is worth saying the appeal 3 times and completely alone. It is recommended to do this in a separate room so that no one disturbs you. And the result will not take long to arrive. The main thing is faith and sincerity.

Prayer for health

Also, the prayers of the elders help to heal not only spiritually, but also physically. If health problems arise, the person himself, his relatives or children can turn to the Lord in prayer and ask for physical healing.

The elders do not have a special prayer for this, but the full text or short text of the prayer “At the beginning of the day” will do.

Prayer for children

The miraculous appeal of the Optina elders in prayer for the children - St. Ambrose.

After all, it is known that a mother’s prayer is capable of many things: to revive, to get from the bottom of the sea, and to heal.

Parents also pray for their children to guide them on the right path, especially in difficult situations. Teach how to interact correctly with elders and honor God.

Children are a great joy for parents! And the task of praying for them is goodness and happiness.

and anger

There is a prayer for forgiveness of grievances, aggression, anger, which can settle unconsciously in a person’s heart and cause pain. This contributes to the fact that both health and life can deteriorate, which is unnatural for the Almighty, who encourages everyone to live in joy, happiness, and grace.

In this appeal to the Lord, at the very beginning there is a request to drive away all negative thoughts from a person, to have mercy, and also to help keep the mind clean - both the one asking and the one who was the cause of resentment and anger. For the Name of God is great to those who love Him.

Prayer of the elders for those who committed suicide

One of the serious prayers is to turn to the Lord for those people who took their own lives of their own free will. This is considered a great sin before life and the Almighty.

To ease the soul of such a person, his living relatives can pray for him, and also give alms to the poor.

The prayer begins with the words about the Lord’s recovery of the lost soul. Next comes a request for pardon.

Summary

The prayers of the Optina elders for every day and special ones are a great spiritual heritage for modern humanity, which has such a powerful and life-giving force that one cannot wish for anything better.

They help to heal - spiritually and physically, tune in to a new day or good night, and cleanse yourself of negative feelings and thoughts. And also ask for children and loved ones.

And whatever prayer is read, it is important that it be done with love, sincerity, and faith in the Lord.

In this article you will find advice from the Optina elders for Christians living in the world. For convenience, we have structured them point by point.

• Try to pay more attention to yourself, and not to analyze the deeds, actions and appeals of others to you, but if you do not see love in them, then this is because you yourself do not have love in yourself.
• Where there is humility, there is simplicity, and this branch of God does not experience the destinies of God.
• God does not despise prayers, but sometimes He does not fulfill their desires solely in order to arrange everything better according to His Divine intention. What would happen if God, the Omniscient, completely fulfilled our desires? I think, although I do not claim, that all earthly creatures perished.
• Those who live without attention to themselves will never receive a visit from grace.
• When you don’t have peace of mind, know that you don’t have humility in yourself. The Lord revealed this in the following words, which at the same time show where to look for peace. He said: Learn from Me that I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls (Matthew 11:29).

• If you ever show mercy to anyone, you will receive mercy for that.
• If you suffer with the sufferer (not much, it seems) - you are counted among the martyrs.
• If you forgive the offender, and for this not only will all your sins be forgiven, but you will become a daughter of the Heavenly Father.
• If you pray from your heart for salvation, even if it’s a little, you will be saved.
• If you reproach yourself, accuse and condemn yourself before God for the sins you feel in your conscience, then you will be justified.
• If you confess your sins before God, for this you will be forgiven and rewarded.
• If you grieve over your sins, or are touched, or shed a tear, or sigh, your sighing will not be hidden from Him: “It is not hidden from Him,” says St. Simeon, - a tear drop, there is a certain part below the drop.” And St. Chrysostom says: “If you complain about your sins, He will accept your salvation as guilt.”
• Check yourself every day: what did you sow for the next century, wheat or thorns? Having tested yourself, be prepared to do better the next day and spend your whole life in this way. If the present day was spent poorly, so that you did not offer a decent prayer to God, nor were you contrite in heart even once, nor humbled in thought, nor gave alms or alms to anyone, nor forgave the guilty, nor endured an insult, but on the contrary, did not abstain from anger, did not abstain in words, food, drink, or immersed your mind in unclean thoughts, having considered all this according to your conscience, judge yourself and trust yourself the next day to be more attentive in good and more careful in evil.

• To your question, what does a happy life consist of, in splendor, fame and wealth, or in a quiet, peaceful, family life, I will say that I agree with the latter, and will also add: a life lived with an impeccable conscience and humility brings world. peace and true happiness. But wealth, honor, glory and high dignity are often the cause of many sins, and this happiness is unreliable.
• People for the most part desire and seek prosperity in this life, and try to avoid sorrow. And it seems that this is very good and pleasant, but constant prosperity and happiness harms a person. He falls into various passions and sins and angers the Lord, and those who go through a sorrowful life come closer to the Lord and more easily receive salvation, which is why the Lord called the joyful life a long path: the wide gate and the wide path lead to destruction and many are those who walk through it(Matthew 7:13), and called the sorrowful life: the narrow path and the strait gate lead into the eternal belly, and there are few of them who find it(Matt. 7:14). So, out of His love for us, the Lord, foreseeing possible benefit for those who are worthy of it, leads many from the long path, and places them on a narrow and regrettable path, so that through the patience of illnesses and sorrows they can arrange their salvation and grant them eternal life.
• ...You want not only to be good and have nothing bad, but also to see yourself as such. Desire is commendable, but to see one’s good qualities is already food for self-love. Yes, even if we did everything we did, we should all consider ourselves to be perfect slaves, but we, even though we are faulty in everything, do not think of ourselves as such, and therefore we are embarrassed, instead of reconciling ourselves. That is why God does not give us strength to fulfill, so that we would not be exalted, but would humble ourselves and acquire the guarantee of humility. And when we have it, then our virtues will be strong and it will not allow us to ascend.
• We, weak-minded people, thinking of arranging our condition, become sad, fuss, deprive ourselves of peace, and fulfill the abandonment of the duty of faith behind vanities, in order to leave a good estate for our children. But do we know whether it will benefit them? Don’t we see children left with wealth, but wealth is of no help to a stupid son - and it only served as a reason for them to have bad morals. We must strive to leave our children a good example of our lives and raise them in the fear of God and in His commandments; this is their main wealth. When will we look the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, then what is here and everything we need will be added to us(Matt. 6:33). You will say: this cannot be done; Today the world demands not this, but something else! Fine; but did you give birth to children only for the light, and not for the hereafter? Comfort yourself with the word of God: If the world hates you, know that it hated Me before you(John 15, 18), and carnal wisdom - enmity against God: 6o does not submit to the law of God, lower than he can(Rom. 8:7). Do not want your children to be from the glorious people of the world, but to have good people, obedient children, and when God arranges it, good spouses, gentle parents, caring for those under their control, loving towards everyone and lenient towards their enemies.
• ...You have a desire to bring yourself closer to God and receive salvation. This is the entire duty of every Christian, but this is accomplished through the fulfillment of God’s commandments, which all consist of love for God and neighbor and extend to the falling in love of enemies. Read the Gospel, there you will find the way, the truth and life, preserve the Orthodox faith and the statutes of the Holy Church, study in the writings of church pastors and teachers and adapt your life to their teachings. But prayer rules alone cannot bring us any benefit... I advise you to try as much as possible to pay your attention to deeds of love for your neighbors: in relation to your mother, wife and children, taking care of raising them in the Orthodox faith and good morality, to the people subordinate to you and to everyone neighbors. St. Apostle Paul, counting different types of virtues and feats of self-sacrifice, says: “Even if I do this and that, I am not an imam of love, there is no benefit to me.”

• Many painters depict Christ in icons, but few catch the resemblance. Thus, Christians are animated images of Christ, and whoever is meek, humble in heart and obedient is the one most like Christ.
• One must beware of murmuring against God and fear it as if it were death, for the Lord is God. according to His great mercy. He patiently endures all our sins, but His mercy cannot bear our grumbling.
• Do not impose any vows or rules on yourself without the approval of your spiritual father, with whose advice one bow will bring you more benefit than a thousand self-made bows.
• The Pharisee prayed and fasted more than we do, but without humility all his work was nothing, and therefore be most jealous of the publican’s humility, which is usually born from obedience and is sufficient for you.
• In any grief: in sickness, in poverty, in cramped conditions, in bewilderment, and in all troubles - it is better to think and talk less with oneself, and more often with prayer, albeit short, turn to Christ God and to His Most Pure Mother , through which the spirit of bitter despondency will flee, and the heart will be filled with hope in God and joy.
• Meekness and humility of heart are virtues without which it is impossible not only to explore the Kingdom of Heaven, but also to be happy on earth or to feel peace of mind within oneself.
• Let us learn to mentally reproach and condemn ourselves for everything, and not others, for the more humble, the more profitable; God loves the humble and pours out His grace on them.
• Whatever grief befalls you, whatever trouble happens to you, say: “I will endure this for Jesus Christ!” Just say this and it will be easier for you. For the name of Jesus Christ is powerful. With him, all troubles subside, demons disappear. Your annoyance will also subside, your cowardice will also calm down when you repeat His sweetest name. Lord, let me see my sins; Lord, give me patience, generosity and meekness.

• Do not be ashamed to bare your scabs to your spiritual mentor and be ready to accept shame and shame from him for your sins, so that through him you can avoid eternal shame..
• The church is for us the earthly heaven, where God Himself is invisibly present and watches over those who are present, therefore in the church one should stand in order, with great reverence. Let us love the Church and be zealous for her; She is our joy and consolation in sorrows and joys.
• To encourage the mourners, the elder often said: If the Lord is for us, who is for us?(Rom. 8:31).
• Every task must be started by invoking the name of God for help.
• The elder often spoke about maintaining conscience, about carefully observing one’s thoughts, actions and words, and about repenting for them.
• He taught to bear the weaknesses and shortcomings of his subordinates complacently. “Make comments,” the elder instructed, “without giving food to your own pride, considering whether you yourself could bear what you demand from another.”
• If you feel like anger has taken over you. remain silent and do not say anything until your heart is calmed by unceasing prayer and self-reproach.
• It is more beneficial for the soul to recognize oneself as guilty of everything and the last of all, than to resort to self-justification, which comes from pride, and God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.
• The elder often cited the apostle’s saying: “True love is not irritated, does not think evil, and never falls away.”

• If we abandon our desires and understandings and strive to fulfill the desires and understandings of God, then we will be saved in every place and in every state. And if we adhere to our desires and understandings, then no place, no state will help us. Even in paradise, Eve transgressed the commandment of God, and for the unfortunate Judas, life under the Savior himself did not bring any benefit. Everywhere patience and compulsion to a pious life are needed, as we read in the Holy Gospel.
• ... In vain will we accuse that those who live with us and those around us interfere and hinder our salvation or spiritual perfection ... our mental and spiritual unsatisfactoriness comes from ourselves, from our lack of art and from an incorrectly formed opinion, which we do not want to part with. And it is this that brings upon us confusion, doubt, and various bewilderments; and all this torments us and burdens us, and leads us to a desolate state. It would be good if we could understand the simple patristic word: If we reconcile ourselves, then we will find peace in every place, without bypassing with our minds many other places where the same, if not worse, may happen to us.
• The main means to salvation is to endure many different sorrows, whichever is suitable for whom, according to what was said in the “Acts of the Apostles”: “Through many sorrows it is fitting for us to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven”...
• Anyone who wants to be saved must remember and not forget the apostolic commandment: “bear one another’s burdens, and thus fulfill the Law of Christ.” There are many other commandments, but not a single one has such an addition, that is, “so fulfill the Law of Christ.” This commandment is of great importance, and before others we must take care of its fulfillment.
• ...Many wish for a good spiritual life in the simplest form, but only a few and rare actually fulfill their good wishes - namely those who firmly adhere to the words of the Holy Scriptures, that “through many tribulations it is fitting for us to enter the Kingdom of Heaven,” and, calling God's help, they try to meekly endure the sorrows and illnesses and various inconveniences that befall them, always keeping in mind the words of the Lord Himself: “If you want to be taken into your stomach, keep the commandments.”
• And the main commandments of the Lord: “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, lest you be condemned; release and it will be forgiven to you.” In addition, those who wish to be saved should always keep in mind the words of St. Peter of Damascus, that creation is accomplished between fear and hope.
• The work of our salvation requires, in every place, wherever a person lives, the fulfillment of God’s commandments and submission to the will of God. This is the only way to gain peace of mind, and nothing else, as it is said in the psalms: “There is peace for many who love Your law, and there is no temptation for them.” And you are still looking for inner peace and peace of mind from external circumstances. Everything seems to you that you live in the wrong place, that you have settled with the wrong people, that you yourself have made the wrong decisions, and that others seem to have acted in the wrong way. The Holy Scripture says: “His dominion is in every place,” that is, God’s, and that for God the salvation of one Christian soul is more valuable than all the things of the whole world.
• The Lord is ready to help a person acquire humility, as in all good things, but it is necessary for the person himself to take care of himself. Said by St. Fathers: “Give blood and receive spirit.” This means - work until blood is shed and you will receive a spiritual gift. And you are looking for spiritual gifts and asking, but you are sorry to shed blood, that is, you want everything so that no one touches you, does not bother you. Is it possible to acquire humility in a quiet life? After all, humility consists in when a person sees himself as the worst of all, not only people, but also dumb animals and even the spirits of evil themselves. And so, when people disturb you, you see that you cannot tolerate this and are angry with people, then you will inevitably consider yourself bad... If at the same time you regret your badness and reproach yourself for the malfunction, and sincerely repent of this before God and the spiritual father, then you are already on the path of humility... And if no one touched you, and you remained alone, how could you recognize your thinness? How could you see your vices?.. If they try to humiliate you, it means they want to humble you; and you yourself ask God for humility. Why then grieve for people?
• To the question: “How to pay attention to yourself, where to start?”, the following answer followed: “You must first write down: how you go to church, how you stand, how you look, how proud you are, how vain you are, how angry you are, etc.”
• Anyone who has a bad heart should not despair, because with God's help a person can correct his heart. You just need to carefully monitor yourself and not miss the opportunity to be useful to your neighbors, often open up to the elder and give alms within your power. This, of course, cannot be done suddenly, but the Lord endures for a long time. He only ends a person’s life when he sees him ready for the transition to eternity or when he sees no hope for his correction.
• Teaching that in spiritual life one cannot neglect even unimportant circumstances, the elder sometimes said: “Moscow burned down from a penny candle.”
• Regarding judging and noticing other people’s sins and shortcomings, the priest said: “You need to pay attention to your inner life so as not to notice what is happening around you. Then you won’t judge.”
• Pointing out that a person has nothing to be proud of, the elder added: “And why should a person really be proud here? The ragged, plucked man asks for alms: have mercy, have mercy! But whether mercy will come, who knows.”
• When pride attacks, tell yourself: “There’s a weirdo walking around.”
• They asked the priest: “So-and-so doesn’t die for a long time, she always imagines cats and so on. Why is that?" Answer: “Every sin, no matter how small, must be written down as soon as you remember it, and then repented. That’s why some people don’t die for a long time, because some unrepentant sin is holding them back, but as soon as they repent, they are relieved... You definitely need to write down your sins as soon as you remember, otherwise we put it off: it’s a small sin, then it’s a shame to say it, or I’ll say it later, but we’ll come to repent and there’s nothing to do say".
• Three rings cling to each other: hatred from anger, anger from pride.
• “Why do people sin?” - the elder sometimes asked a question and answered it himself: “Or because they don’t know what to do and what to avoid; or, if they know, they forget; if they don’t forget, then they become lazy and despondent... These are three giants - despondency or laziness, oblivion and ignorance - from which the entire human race is bound by insoluble ties. And then comes negligence with all its host of evil passions. That is why we pray to the Queen of Heaven: “My Most Holy Lady Theotokos, with Your holy and all-powerful prayers, drive away from me, Your humble and accursed servant, despondency, oblivion, foolishness, negligence and all the nasty, evil and blasphemous thoughts.”
• Don’t be like a bothersome fly, which sometimes flies around uselessly, and sometimes bites, and annoys both of them; and be like the wise bee, which in the spring diligently began its work and by autumn finished the honeycomb, which is as good as correctly written notes. One is sweet, and the other is pleasant.
• When they wrote to the elder that it was hard in the world, he replied: “That is why it (the earth) is called the vale of tears; but some people cry, and others jump, but the latter will not feel well.”
• To the question: “What does it mean to live according to your heart?”, the priest answered: “Do not interfere in other people’s affairs and see all the good in others.”
• Father said: “We must live on earth as a wheel turns, only just one point touches the ground, and the rest constantly strives upward; but we, as soon as we lie down on the ground, cannot get up.”
• To the question: “How to live?”, the priest answered: “To live is not to bother, not to judge anyone, not to annoy anyone, and my respect to everyone.”
• We need to live unhypocritically and behave exemplarily, then our cause will be true, otherwise it will turn out badly.
• You need to force yourself, albeit against your will, to do some good to your enemies; and most importantly, do not take revenge on them and be careful not to somehow offend them with the appearance of contempt and humiliation.
• So that people would not remain careless and would not place their hope in outside prayerful help, the elder repeated the usual folk saying: “God help me, and the man himself does not lie.” And he added: “Remember, the twelve apostles asked the Savior for a Canaanite wife, but He did not hear them; and she began to ask and begged.”
• Father taught that salvation has three degrees. Said by St. John Chrysostom:

a) do not sin,
b) having sinned. repent,
c) whoever repents poorly must endure the sorrows that come.

• Once we started talking about sorrows, one of them said: “Better illness than sorrow.” Father answered: “No. in sorrows, you will pray to God and they will go away, but you cannot fight off the disease with a stick.”
• When the blues set in, don’t forget to reproach yourself: remember how guilty you are before the Lord and before yourself, and realize that you are unworthy of anything better, and you will immediately feel relief. It is said: “Many are the sorrows of the righteous,” and “Many are the wounds of sinners.” Such is our life here - all sorrows and sorrows; and it is through them that the Kingdom of Heaven is achieved. When you are restless, repeat more often: “Seek peace and get married.”
• After communion, one must ask the Lord to preserve the gift with dignity and that the Lord will give help not to return back, that is, to previous sins.
• When the priest was asked: “Why do you sometimes feel consolation after communion, and sometimes coldness?”, he answered: “He who seeks consolation from communion experiences coldness, but whoever considers himself unworthy, grace remains with him.”
• Humility is about giving in to others and considering yourself inferior to everyone else. It will be much more peaceful.
• “It’s always better to give in,” said the priest, “if you insist fairly, it’s the same as a ruble of banknotes, and if you give in, it’s a ruble in silver.”
• To the question “How to acquire the fear of God?”, the priest answered: “You must always have God before you. I will foresee the Lord before me.”
• When people annoy you, never ask “why” or “why.” This is not found anywhere in Scripture. It says on the contrary: “they will hit you on your right cheek, turn your left also,” and this is what it means: if they beat you for telling the truth, then do not complain and turn your left, that is, remember your wrong deeds and you will see that you are worthy of punishment. At the same time, the priest added: “I have endured the Lord, and have heeded me.”
• “Father! teach me patience.” - said one sister. “Learn,” the elder answered, “and start with patience when you find and encounter troubles.” “I can’t understand how you can not be indignant at insults and injustices.” The elder’s answer: “Be fair yourself and do not offend anyone.”
• Father used to say: “Moses endured, Elisha endured, Elijah endured, and I will endure.”
• The elder often cited a proverb: “If you run from a wolf, you will attack a bear.” There is only one thing left to do - be patient and wait, paying attention to yourself and not judging others, and praying to the Lord and the Queen of Heaven, may He arrange for you what is beneficial, as They please.

WITH advice of St. Anatoly (Zertsalov)

• It’s obvious that you are trying and want to be saved, but you just don’t know how, you don’t understand spiritual life. The whole secret here is to endure what God sends. And you will not see how you enter heaven.
• Consider yourself worse than everyone else, and you will be better than everyone else.
• ...Your patience should not be unreasonable, that is, joyless, but patience with reason - that the Lord looks into all your deeds, into your very soul, as we look into the face of a loved one... He sees and tests: what kind of person will you find yourself in sorrows? If you endure, you will be His beloved. And if you do not endure and grumble, but repent, you will still be His beloved.
• Every prayer to God is profitable. And what exactly - we don’t know about it. He is the One righteous Judge, and we can recognize lies as truth. Pray and believe.
• ...I’ll tell you a secret, I’m telling you the best way to find humility. This is what it is: every pain that pricks a proud heart, be patient. And wait day and night for mercy from the All-Merciful Savior. Those who wait so much will certainly receive it.
• Learn to be meek and silent, and you will be loved by everyone. And open feelings are the same as open gates: both the dog and the cat run there... and they shit.
• We are obliged to love everyone but to be loved, we do not dare demand.

• Sorrow is our path, we will go on until we reach our assigned fatherland of eternity, but only grief is that we care little about eternity and do not tolerate even the slightest reproach in a word. We ourselves increase our sorrows when we begin to grumble.
• He who has conquered passions and acquired spiritual intelligence has access to everyone’s heart without external education.
• An imposed rule is always difficult, but doing it with humility is even more difficult.
• What is acquired through labor is useful.
• If you see a mistake in your neighbor that you would like to correct, if it disturbs your peace of mind and irritates you, then you also sin and, therefore, you will not correct the mistake with an error - it is corrected with meekness.
• A person's conscience is like an alarm clock. If the alarm clock rang, and knowing that you need to go to obedience, you get up right away, then you will always hear it afterwards, and if you don’t get up immediately for several days in a row, saying: “I’ll lie down a little more,” then eventually you will wake up from its ringing you will not.
• What is easy for the body is not good for the soul, and what is good for the soul is difficult for the body.
• You ask: “What can I do to consider myself as nothing?” Thoughts of arrogance come, and it is impossible for them not to come. But they must be countered with thoughts of humility. As you do, remembering your sins and various shortcomings. Continue to do so and always remember that our entire earthly life must be spent in the fight against evil. In addition to considering your shortcomings, you can also be humble in this way: “I have nothing good... My body is not mine, it was created by God in my mother’s womb. The soul was given to me from the Lord. Therefore, all mental and physical abilities are gifts of God. And my property is only my countless sins, with which I have daily angered and anger the Merciful Lord. What should I be vain and proud of after this? Nothing.” And with such reflections, prayerfully ask for mercy from the Lord. In all sinful endeavors there is only one cure - sincere repentance and humility.
• There are many who cry, but not for what is needed, many who mourn, but not for sins, many who seem to be humble, but not truly. The example of the Lord Jesus Christ shows us with what meekness and patience we must endure human errors.

• There are different paths to salvation. The Lord saves some in the monastery, others in the world. Saint Nicholas of Myra went into the desert to labor there in fasting and prayer, but the Lord ordered him to go into the world. “This is not the field in which you will bear fruit for Me,” said the Savior. Saints Taisia, Mary of Egypt, and Evdokia also did not live in monasteries. You can be saved everywhere, just don’t leave the Savior. Cling to the robe of Christ - and Christ will not leave you.
• A sure sign of the death of the soul is avoidance of church services. A person who grows cold towards God first of all begins to avoid going to church, first tries to come to the service later, and then completely stops visiting the temple of God.
• Those who seek Christ find Him, according to the true gospel word: “Press and it will be opened to you, seek and you will find,” “In the house of My Father are many mansions.”
• And note that here the Lord speaks not only about heavenly, but also earthly abodes, and not only about internal, but also about external.
• The Lord puts each soul in such a position, surrounds it with such an environment that is most conducive to its prosperity. This is the outer abode, but the inner abode that the Lord prepares for those who love and seek Him fills the soul with peace and joy.
• Do not read godless books, remain faithful to Christ. If asked about faith, answer boldly. “You seem to go to church often?” - “Yes, because I find satisfaction in it.” - “Do you really want to be a saint?” - “Everyone wants this, but it does not depend on us, but on the Lord.” This way you will repel the enemy.
• You cannot learn to fulfill God’s commandments without labor, and this labor is threefold - prayer, fasting and sobriety.
• I hear complaints that we are now going through difficult times, that complete freedom has now been given to all heretical and godless teachings, that the Church is being attacked from all sides by enemies and it is becoming scary for it, that these muddy waves of unbelief and heresies will overcome it. I always answer: “Don't worry! Don't be afraid for the Church! She will not perish: the gates of hell will not prevail against her until the Last Judgment. Don’t be afraid for her, but you need to be afraid for yourself, and it’s true that our time is very difficult. From what? Yes, because now it is especially easy to fall away from Christ, and then - destruction.”
• Something dark and terrible is coming into the world... A person remains, as it were, defenseless, he is so possessed by this evil force, and he does not realize what he is doing... Suicide is even suggested... Why is this happening? Because they don’t take up arms - they don’t have the name of Jesus and the sign of the cross with them.
• Life is bliss... Life will become bliss for us when we learn to fulfill the commandments of Christ and love Christ. Then we will live joyfully, joyfully endure the sorrows that come our way, and ahead of us the Sun of Truth, the Lord, will shine with indescribable light... All the Gospel commandments begin with the words: Blessed - blessed are the meek, blessed are the merciful, blessed are the peacemakers... From this it follows as a truth that fulfilling the commandments brings people the highest happiness.
• Our whole life is the great mystery of God. All circumstances of life, no matter how insignificant they may seem, are of great importance. We will fully understand the meaning of real life in the next century. How carefully we need to treat it, but we turn over our lives like a book - sheet by sheet, without realizing what is written there. There is no chance in life, everything happens according to the will of the Creator.
• In order to become like God, we must fulfill His holy commandments, and if we look at it, it turns out that we have not truly fulfilled a single one. Let's go through them all, and it turns out that we barely touched on that commandment, another, perhaps, we also just began to fulfill a little, and, for example, we did not even begin to the commandment about love for enemies. What remains for us sinners to do? How to escape? The only way is through humility. “Lord, I am a sinner in everything, I have nothing good, I only hope for Your boundless mercy.” We are absolute bankrupts before the Lord, but He will not reject us for humility. And indeed, it is better, having sins, to consider oneself great sinners, than, having some good deeds, to be proud of them, considering oneself righteous. The Gospel depicts two such examples in the person of the Pharisee and the tax collector.
• We live in terrible times. People who profess Jesus Christ and attend the temple of God are subjected to ridicule and condemnation. These ridicule will turn into open persecution, and do not think that this will happen in a thousand years, no, it will come soon. I won't live to see it, but some of you will see it. And torture and torment will begin again, but good for those who remain faithful to Christ God.

• God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble, and the grace of God is everything... There you have the greatest wisdom. So, humble yourself and say to yourself: “Although I am a grain of sand on the earth, the Lord also cares about me, and may God’s will be done to me.” Now, if you say this not only with your mind, but also with your heart, and really boldly, as befits a true Christian, you rely on the Lord, with the firm intention of meekly submitting to the will of God, whatever it may be, then the clouds will dissipate before you, and the sun will come out and will illuminate you and warm you, and you will know true joy from the Lord, and everything will seem clear and transparent to you, and you will stop tormenting, and your soul will feel at ease.”
• So you are asking the fastest way to humility. Of course, first of all, we must recognize ourselves as the weakest worm, unable to do anything good without the gift of the Holy Spirit from our Lord Jesus Christ, given through the prayer of ours and our neighbors and by His mercy...
• They say the temple is boring. Boring because they don't understand the service! Need to study! He's boring because they don't care about him. So he seems not one of us, but a stranger. At least they brought flowers or greenery for decoration, if they took part in the efforts of decorating the temple - it wouldn’t be boring.
• Live simply, according to your conscience, always remember that the Lord sees, and don’t pay attention to the rest!

Prophecy about the fate of Russia

There will be a storm, and the Russian ship will be destroyed. Yes, it will happen, but people also save themselves on chips and debris. Not everyone, not everyone will perish... God will not forsake those who trust in Him. We must pray, we must all repent and pray fervently... And there will be calm (after the storm)... a great miracle of God will be revealed, yes. And all the chips and fragments, by the will of God and His power, will gather and unite, and the ship will be recreated in its beauty and will go on its course, intended by God. So it will be, a miracle revealed to everyone.

• Job's position is a law for every person. While he is rich, noble, and prosperous. God doesn't respond. When a person is in the pit, rejected by everyone, then God appears and Himself talks with the person, and the person only listens and cries out: “Lord, have mercy!” Only the degree of humiliation is different.
• The main thing is to beware of judgment from loved ones. Whenever condemnation comes to mind, immediately pay attention: “Lord, grant me to see my sins and not condemn my brother.”
• He spoke about the high gradualism of the spiritual path, that “everything requires compulsion. Now, if dinner is served, and you want to eat and smell a delicious smell, the spoon itself will not bring you the food. You need to force yourself to get up, come over, take a spoon and then eat. And nothing is done right away - waiting and patience are required everywhere.”
• Man is given life so that it serves him, not he, that is, man should not become a slave to his circumstances, should not sacrifice his inner to the outer. In serving life, a person loses proportionality, works without prudence and comes into very sad bewilderment; he doesn’t even know why he lives. This is a very harmful bewilderment and often happens: a person, like a horse, is lucky and lucky, and suddenly such ... spontaneous punctuation comes over him.”
• He asks which way to go to God. Walk the path of humility! By humbly bearing the difficult circumstances of life, by humble patience with illnesses sent by the Lord; humble hope that you will not be abandoned by the Lord, the Quick Helper and loving Heavenly Father; a humble prayer for help from above, for driving away despondency and feelings of hopelessness, with which the enemy of salvation tries to lead to despair, disastrous for a person, depriving him of grace and removing God’s mercy from him.
• The meaning of Christian life, according to the words of the holy Apostle Paul, who wrote to the Corinthians: “... glorify God both in your bodies and in your souls, which are God’s.” So, having inscribed these holy words in our souls and hearts, we should take care that our disposition and actions in life serve the glory of God and the edification of our neighbors.

• Let the prayer rule be small, but fulfilled constantly and carefully...
• Let us take as an example a saint suitable for our situation, and we will rely on his example. All the saints suffered because they followed the path of the Savior, Who suffered: was persecuted, mocked, slandered and crucified. And all who follow Him inevitably suffer. “You will be in a world of sorrow.” And everyone who wants to live piously will be persecuted. “When you begin to work for the Lord, prepare your soul for temptation.” In order to endure suffering more easily, one must have strong faith, ardent love for the Lord, not become attached to anything earthly, and completely surrender to the will of God.
• Those who blaspheme must be looked at as sick people from whom we demand that they not cough or spit...
• If it is not possible to fulfill the vow of obedience, there is no one to obey, one must be willing to do everything according to the will of God. There are two types of obedience: external and internal.
• With external obedience, complete obedience is required, the execution of every task without reasoning. Inner obedience refers to the inner, spiritual life and requires the guidance of a spiritual father. But the advice of a spiritual father should be verified by the Holy Scriptures... True obedience, which brings great benefit to the soul, is when, for obedience, you do something that does not agree with your desire, despite yourself. Then the Lord Himself takes you in His arms...
• The Lord created doctors and medicine. You can't refuse treatment.
• When you are weak and tired, you can sit in church: “Son, give Me your heart.” “It is better to think about God while sitting than to think about your feet while standing,” said St. Philaret of Moscow.
• There is no need to give vent to your feelings. We must force ourselves to be friendly with those we don’t like.
• You shouldn't believe omens. There are no signs. The Lord controls us by His Providence, and I do not depend on any bird or day, or anything else. Whoever believes in prejudices has a heavy heart, and whoever considers himself dependent on the Providence of God, on the contrary, has a joyful soul.
• The “Jesus Prayer” will replace the sign of the cross if for some reason it cannot be placed.
• You cannot work on holidays unless absolutely necessary. The holiday should be cherished and honored. This day should be dedicated to God: be in church, pray at home and read the Holy Scriptures and the works of St. fathers, do good deeds.
• We must love every person, seeing in him the image of God, despite his vices. You can’t push people away from you with coldness.
• What is better: to partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ rarely or often? - it’s hard to say. Zacchaeus joyfully accepted the dear Guest - the Lord - into his home, and did well. But the centurion, out of humility, realizing his own unworthiness, did not dare to accept, and also did well. Their actions, although opposite, have the same motivation. And they appeared before the Lord as equally worthy. The point is to adequately prepare yourself for the great Sacrament.
• When they asked St. Seraphim why at present there are no such ascetics as there were before, he answered: “Because there is no determination to undergo great feats, but the grace is the same; Christ is the same forever.”
• Persecution and oppression are good for us, for they strengthen our faith.
• We must consider everything bad, including the passions that fight us, not as our own, but as from the enemy - the devil. It is very important. Only then can you overcome passion when you don’t consider it yours...
• If you want to get rid of sadness, do not attach your heart to anything or anyone. Sadness comes from attachment to visible things.
• There has never been, is not and never will be a carefree place on earth. A sad place can only be in the heart when the Lord is in it.
• The Lord helps us in sorrows and temptations. He does not free us from them, but gives us the strength to easily endure them, not even to notice them.
• Silence prepares the soul for prayer. Silence, how beneficial it is to the soul!
• We Orthodox Christians should not support heresy. Even if we had to suffer, we would not betray Orthodoxy.
• You should not seek human truth. Seek only God's truth.
• The spiritual father, like a pillar, only shows the way, but you have to go yourself. If the spiritual father points, and his disciple himself does not move, then he will not go anywhere, but will rot near this pillar.
• When the priest, blessing, says the prayer: “In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit,” then a mystery is accomplished: the grace of the Holy Spirit descends on the person being blessed. And when any person, even just with his lips, utters a renunciation of God, grace departs from him, all his concepts change, he becomes completely different.
• Before asking the Lord for forgiveness, you must forgive yourself... This is what it says in the “Lord’s Prayer.”
• Silence is good for the soul. When we speak, then it is difficult to resist. from idle talk and condemnation. But there is bad silence, it is when someone is angry and therefore remains silent.
• Always remember the law of spiritual life: if you are embarrassed by any shortcoming of another person and condemn him, later you will suffer the same fate and you will suffer from the same shortcoming.
• Do not apply your hearts to the vanity of this world. Especially during prayer, leave all thoughts about worldly things. After prayer, at home or in church, in order to maintain a prayerful, tender mood, silence is necessary. Sometimes even a simple, insignificant word can disrupt and frighten away tenderness from our soul.
• Self-justification closes spiritual eyes, and then a person sees something other than what actually exists.
• If you say something bad about your brother or sister, even if it is true, then you will inflict an incurable wound on your soul. You can convey the mistakes of another only if the only intention in your heart is the benefit of the soul of the sinner.
• Patience is uninterrupted complacency.
• Your salvation and your destruction are in your neighbor. Your salvation depends on how you treat your neighbor. Do not forget to see the image of God in your neighbor.
• Do every task, no matter how insignificant it may seem to you, carefully, as if before the face of God. Remember that the Lord sees everything.

Athonite Elder Tikhon Before giving advice, he prayed, called on the Holy Spirit to come and enlighten him, so that his advice would be useful to the one who asks. He said: “The Lord left us the Holy Spirit so that we could be enlightened. He is our only leader. Therefore, our Church always begins its service with the invocation of the Holy Spirit: “Heavenly King, Comforter, Soul of Truth.”

“Praying is a very simple thing, but at the same time very difficult. You know how a child prays to his mother. It does not look for skillful words, but simply speaks and asks for help. This is how you ask God simply, without any art, and the Lord will hear your request. But at the same time be wise to remain focused on prayer.” (Holy Righteous John of Kronstadt)

“Oh, man, learn Christ’s humility, and the Lord will give you to taste the sweetness of prayer...

Pray simply like a child, and the Lord will hear your prayer, for our Lord is such a Merciful Father that we cannot understand or imagine it, and only the Holy Spirit reveals to us His great love.” (Reverend Silouan of Athos)

“Self-justification closes spiritual eyes, and then a person sees something other than what really is.

Your salvation and your destruction are in your neighbor. Your salvation depends on how you treat your neighbor. Do not forget to see the image of God in your neighbor.

Do every task, no matter how insignificant it may seem to you, carefully, as if before the face of God. Remember that the Lord sees everything.” (Reverend Nikon of Optina)

“You cannot overcome a single passion or a single sin without grace-filled help; always ask for help from Christ your Savior. This is why He came into the world, this is why He suffered, died and rose again, in order to help us in everything, to save us from sin and from the violence of passions, to cleanse our sins, to give us in the Holy Spirit strength to do good deeds, so that enlighten us, strengthen us, pacify us. You say: how can you be saved when there is sin at every step and you sin at every moment? The answer to this is simple: at every step, at every minute, call on the Savior, remember the Savior and you will be saved, and you will save others.” (Holy Righteous John of Kronstadt)

“Gently and non-violently place yourself in the hands of God, and He will come and bestow grace on your soul.” (Athos Elder Porfiry)

“Do not first begin any work, apparently the smallest and most insignificant, until you call on God to help you put it into action. The Lord said: “Without Me you cannot do anything,” i.e. lower to say, lower to think. In other words: without Me you have no right to do any good deed! And for this reason, one must call on God’s gracious help either in words or mentally: “Lord bless, Lord help!” with the assurance that without God’s help we cannot do anything useful or saving...” (Athos Elder Kirik (Russian Elder))

“...Have moderation and reasoning in everything.” (Athos Elder Joseph the Hesychast)

“Take care of your conscience, it is the voice of God - the voice of the Guardian Angel. Learn how to take care of your conscience from the elder Father Ambrose of Optina. He acquired the grace of the Holy Spirit. Wisdom without grace is madness.

Remember the words of Father Ambrose: “Where it’s simple, there are a hundred angels, but where it’s sophisticated, there’s not a single one.” Achieve the simplicity that only perfect humility gives. Achieve in humility love, simple, perfect, embracing prayer for everyone, everyone...

He is wise who has acquired the holy spirit, trying to fulfill all the commandments of Christ. And if he is wise, then he is humble.” (Elder Zechariah)

“Those who are sick, do not lose heart, for you are saved by illness; you who are poor, do not grumble, for through poverty you gain imperishable wealth; you who mourn, do not despair, for consolation awaits you from the Spirit who Comforts you.

Do not be angry, do not complain at each other, do not be angry, do not scold, do not be angry, but be angry only at sins, at the demon that leads to sin: be angry at heretics, do not make peace with them, but among yourself, faithful in peace, in love , live in harmony. Those who have, help the have-nots; the rich, give more; the poor, be merciful according to your strength...” (Hieromartyr Seraphim (Zvezdinsky))

“Our life is not about playing with cute toys, but about giving as much light and warmth to the people around us. And light and warmth are love for God and neighbors...

From a young age, you need to lead your life correctly, but by old age you can’t get time back. One wise man was asked: “What is most valuable?” - “Time,” answered the sage, “because with time you can buy everything, but you can buy time itself for nothing...

Take care of your precious, golden time, hurry to gain peace of mind.” (Reverend Confessor George, Danilovsky Wonderworker)

advised his spiritual children: “If you need to leave the Liturgy, then leave after the “Our Father... And if you have already left with the Communion of the Body and Blood, then stand with fear and pray in place, because the Lord himself is present here with the Archangels and Angels. And if you can, shed at least a small tear about your unworthiness.”

“Mental life is made up of daily, hourly, every minute thoughts, feelings, desires; all this - like small drops, merging, form a stream, rivers, sea - make up integral lives. And just as a river or lake is light or cloudy because the drops in them are light or cloudy, so life is joyful or sad, clean or dirty because such are the every-minute and daily thoughts and feelings. Such will be the endless future - happy or painful, glorious or shameful - what are our everyday thoughts and feelings that gave this or that appearance, character, property to our soul. It is extremely important to protect yourself every day, every minute from all pollution.” (St. Nicholas of Japan)

“All sciences and knowledge are nothing without the science of salvation... You must know that the path of salvation is the path of the Cross... In the matter of salvation, the most important role is played by the Holy Scripture and the writings of the Holy Fathers - this is the best guide to salvation... After reading the holy books Repentance also plays a significant role in saving the soul. Apart from repentance, there is no other way to salvation. Nowadays people are saved only through sorrow and repentance. Without repentance there is no forgiveness, there is no correction... Repentance is a ladder leading to heaven... The burden of our sins is removed by repentance and confession.

Salvation also lies in the fight against our passions... Those who are busy knowing themselves, their shortcomings, sins, passions, have no time to notice others. Remembering our own sins, we will never think about strangers... The one who judges harms three: himself, the one listening to him and the one he is talking about... Let us better notice virtues in others, and find sins in ourselves...

Knowing yourself is the most difficult and most useful knowledge... Knowing yourself, your sinfulness is the beginning of salvation... In order to accustom ourselves not to condemn anyone, we need to immediately pray for the sinner, so that the Lord will correct him, we need to sigh for our neighbor, in order to breathe for yourself at the same time. Do not judge your neighbor: you know his sin, but his repentance is unknown. In order not to judge, you must run from those who judge and keep your ears open. Let’s take one rule for ourselves: don’t believe those who judge; and another thing: never speak ill of those who are absent. Do not think evil about anyone, otherwise you yourself will become evil, for a good person thinks good, and an evil person thinks evil. Let us remember the old folk sayings: “What you condemn someone for, you yourself will be in”; “Know yourself - and it will be with you.” The short way to salvation is not to judge. This is the way - without fasting, without vigil and labor.

Not every deed is pleasing to God, but only what is done correctly with reasoning... For example, you can fast, but with grumbling about the fast, or about the food, or about the food preparer; You can fast, but condemn those who do not fast, fast and be vain about fasting, run around your neighbor with your tongue. You can endure illness or sorrow, but grumble against God or people, complain about your lot... Such “good deeds” are displeasing to the Lord, since they are done without prudence...” (Reverend Simeon (Zhelnin))

“You live more simply, like a little child. The Lord is so loving that you cannot even imagine. Even though we are sinners, still go to the Lord and ask for forgiveness. Just don’t be discouraged - be like a child. Even though he broke the most expensive vessel, he still goes to his father crying, and the father, seeing his child crying, forgets that expensive vessel. He takes this child in his arms, kisses it, presses it to himself and himself persuades his child so that it does not cry. So is the Lord, although it happens that we commit mortal sins, He still waits for us when we come to Him with repentance...

Without God - not to the threshold. If all your affairs are going well, smoothly, it means that the Lord has blessed them, and any planned work is being done, and if there are any obstacles in anything, then it is true that it is against God’s will; It’s better not to spin around - nothing will work out anyway, but submit to the will of God...

Whoever gives you a hat, and you thank him - that’s alms for you...

Live, don’t worry, don’t be afraid of anyone. If someone scolds you, be silent; and if you walk by when someone scolds or condemns someone, don’t listen.” (Archimandrite Afinogen (Agapov))

Schema-abbot Savva (Ostapenko) when resolving “perplexed” questions, he blessed his spiritual children to draw lots. Schema-abbot Savva said: “It is possible and even commendable to use lots in perplexed cases. Before this, you need to bow three times with the Jesus Prayer and read “To the Heavenly King”, three times “Our Father”, three times “Rejoice to the Virgin Mary” and “I Believe”. You just need to have living faith and trust in God.”

Schema-abbot Savva advised believers to read the following prayer daily at home: “In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and his suffering for the human race, depart, enemy of the human race, from this house for 24 hours. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen".

Reverend Seraphim Vyritsky advised his spiritual children to read the prayer of St. as often as possible. Ephraim the Syrian “Lord and Master of my life...”. He said that this prayer contains the whole essence of Orthodoxy, the whole Gospel: “By reading it, we ask the Lord for help in acquiring the properties of a new person.”

“There are no difficulties that have no solution in Christ. Surrender to Christ and He will find a solution for you.

Don't be afraid of difficulties. Love them, thank God for them. They have some purpose for your soul.

Gently and non-violently place yourself in the hands of God, and He will come and bestow grace on your soul.” (Athos Elder Porfiry)

“In everything, have moderation and reasoning...” (Athos Elder Joseph)

“Don’t seek comfort from people. And when you receive a little consolation from someone, expect double sorrow. Seek consolation and help from God alone.” (Elder Jerome of Aegina)

“A golden mean is needed in everything and moderation. But in relation to serving God and one’s salvation, constancy is needed. It is the main thing, not haste, not excessiveness... If you drive more quietly, you will go further. (Reverend Sebastian of Karaganda)

“To live as a Christian, stick to the Orthodox Church. Live a Christian life. Once a month you need to take communion, drink Epiphany water at home and part of the holy prosphora in the morning.

The Gospel says: “Your faith has saved you,” that is, the first Christians had great faith. The Lord reminded them to have a living faith and high Christian piety. So they tried to live for real. The Lord blessed them for their labors and exploits. They strongly confessed Christ, believed in Him and often gave their lives - like the holy healer Panteleimon, St. George the Victorious (Diocletian's first minister), Great Martyr Barbara, Great Martyr Paraskeva, Great Martyr Catherine and others... These are the lights of the first Christian people! Imitate them, read them, follow them.

May God grant you success in everything, and go from strength to strength, and achieve the highest spiritual perfection.” (Elder Theophilus (Rossokha))

“Never make any promises. As soon as you give it, the enemy will immediately begin to interfere. For example, regarding eating meat. Don’t make a vow, or at least don’t eat for the rest of your life.

Alms can be given not only for peace, but also for health, for this brings great benefit to the soul.” (Reverend Alexy (Soloviev))

Venerable Lavrentiy of Chernigov said: “You need to have peace in your soul. Salvation is difficult, but wise. At this time, you need to be wise, and you will be saved... Happy are those who are written in the “Book of Life”.

In order to be recorded in the “Book of Life”, you need to read the prayer of John Chrysostom “Lord, do not deprive me of Your heavenly blessings”..., talk with the Lord with your mind. Anyone who has an attraction to the church is written in the “Book of Life.”

“Do nothing of your own free will, feel the presence of God in every place, and therefore do everything as before God, and not before people.” (Glinsky Elder Andronik (Lukash))

“We must do everything within our power. All the energy is spent on the body, but only a few sleepy minutes are left for the soul. Is this possible? We must remember the words of the Savior: Seek first the kingdom of God... and so on. This commandment is like “thou shalt not kill,” “thou shalt not commit fornication,” etc. Violation of this commandment often harms the soul more than an accidental fall. It imperceptibly cools the soul, keeps it insensible, and often leads to spiritual death... We must at least once a day for a few minutes put ourselves on trial before the Lord, as if we had died and on the fortieth day we stand before the Lord and await the saying about us where the Lord will send us. Having presented ourselves mentally before the Lord in anticipation of judgment, we will cry and beg God’s mercy for mercy on us, for the release of our huge unpaid debt. I advise everyone to take this into constant practice until death. It’s better in the evening, or at any time, to concentrate with all your soul and beg the Lord to forgive us and have mercy; even better several times a day. This is the commandment of God and the Holy Fathers, take at least a little care of your soul. Everything passes, death is behind us, and we don’t think at all about what we will appear in court with and what the Righteous Judge, who knows and remembers our every movement - the most subtle - of soul and body from youth to death, will pronounce about us. How will we respond?

That is why the Holy Fathers cried here and begged the Lord for forgiveness, so as not to cry at the Judgment and in eternity. If they needed to cry, then why do we, the damned, consider ourselves good and live so carelessly and think only about everyday things. Forgive me, teaching and doing nothing.

May the Lord grant us patience for our infirmities, and to bear the burdens of those around us not only without grumbling, but also with gratitude to the Lord our Savior, who suffered all sorts of insults and suffering for our sake. May the Lord give you unfeigned, true love for your neighbors and for all people...

To him who loves the Lord, everything will speed to salvation,” and from the Lord a person’s feet are straightened. No one saved himself, but we all have one Savior. A person can only desire salvation, but he cannot save himself. One must desire salvation, recognizing oneself as perishing, unfit for the kingdom of God, and this desire for salvation must be shown to the Lord by prayer to Him and the feasible fulfillment of His will, and constant repentance...” (Hegumen Nikon (Vorobiev))

“You should always thank God. What we have, we don’t value, but when we lose it, we cry. Don’t forget to thank the Lord for everything: for waking up, for sending food, for seeing the beauty of the earth, for living through the day, for everything good, for His patience, for sending trials... » (Archbishop Gabriel (Ogorodnikov))

“Each one serve God in the place where you are called. If you are a priest, shepherd the flock diligently, like a good shepherd, laying down your soul for the sheep; if you are a monk - be an example of all moral qualities, an earthly angel - a heavenly person, and if you are a family member... - dear families, you are the basis of life, you are a small church (Archimandrite Tavrion (Batozsky))

“Pray when you have feelings and health, do not put off prayer until the last minute of your life until the last hour. It’s good to pray during the day, but night prayer is incomparable...” (Hieromonk Daniel (Fomin))

“Fight sin - know your business... Humiliation is good... You should always blame yourself... There should be no attachment to anyone or anything, only to God... We must strive for God, seek the Divine , what to become attached to a person.”

“Just as a bee collects honey from flowers, so a person must learn good things from every person... The Lord gave good talents to each person, and from these Lord’s talents you must take as much as you can, as much as circumstances allow. And throw away the bad, both your own and someone else’s: try to eradicate your own evil, and immediately discard someone else’s bad. And you should never gloat. The Lord has hidden many things from us; Much of our own is closed. Many great sinners became great righteous people when they realized their sins and repented. And many former righteous people died because of pride and conceit. Everyone must believe and firmly know that no one with his own strength and reason and good deeds can be saved without God. And we are all saved by a great sacrifice. This sacrifice is the Son of God, who suffered for us and shed His most pure blood for us.” (Elder Theodore (Sokolov))

“The consciousness that you are not moving forward spiritually will serve as self-reproach... Whatever happens to you, never blame anyone but yourself. Thank God for all your troubles and adversities. If you believe in God’s providence and trust Him, you will find great peace.” (Reverend Barnabas (Elder of Radonezh))

“... In everyday life, it is important not to let yourself be oppressed by thoughts about material things, not to tremble over them, but to maintain a certain indifference towards them. Possessing this quality, we will be able not only to be more free spiritually, but also to conduct all our affairs more easily...

The best way to prepare for the future is to live the present as best as possible... We need to live in the present... We should first of all be concerned with what we are in the present, with the state in which we can presently appear before Christ.” (Archimandrite Sergius (Shevich))

“We must cultivate in ourselves the spirit of meekness, humility, kindness, long-suffering and moderation in all actions. And in order to have such a disposition of spirit in oneself, one must remember the general weakness of man, the general tendency to sin, especially one’s great infirmities and sins, as well as the endless mercy of God towards us, which has forgiven and forgives us many and serious sins. our repentance and supplication.

The Lord said: “I want mercy, not sacrifice.” He, the much-merciful One, also wants from us mercy, mercy, kindness and patience towards our neighbors. He is always ready to help us in every good deed. If you have an evil heart, ask in repentance that He soften your heart, make you meek and long-suffering, and it will be so.” (Schiarchimandrite Theophilus (Rossokha))

“We must relieve each other when we see that a person is having a hard time; you need to approach him, take on his burden, lighten him, help in any way you can... By doing this,... living with them, you can completely renounce your self, completely forget about him. When we have this and prayer, then we will not be lost anywhere, no matter where we go and no matter who we meet.”

“We must fight against pride. Pray to God, asking for His help, and God will help you get rid of all passions... Don’t lose heart and don’t be discouraged. Pray to God with faith and complete trust in His mercy. For God, everything is possible, but we, for our part, should not think that we are worthy of special care from God. This is where pride lies. But God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Be attentive to yourself. All the trials that befall us, illnesses and sorrows, are not without a reason. But if you endure everything without complaint, then the Lord will not leave you without rewards. If not here on earth, then in every possible way in heaven.

Let us humble ourselves under the strong hand of God and completely surrender ourselves to the will of God and find peace of mind.” (Elder Stefan (Ignatenko))

“Achieve the simplicity that only perfect humility gives. This cannot be explained in words; it can only be learned through experience. And in God and for God one can live only in humility and simplicity. Achieve in humility love simple, holy, perfect, embracing prayer for everyone. And with mercy towards the weak, the sick, the incomprehensible, the unfortunate, those mired in sins, imitate your heavenly patrons - the saints. Try to acquire heavenly joy so that you can rejoice with the angel at the repentance of every lost person.” (Elder Zechariah)

“Evil does not destroy evil, but if someone does you evil, do good to him, so that with a good deed you can destroy evil.

If you want to receive the Kingdom of Heaven, hate all earthly possessions... Evil lust perverts the heart and changes the mind. Remove it from yourself so that the Holy Spirit does not grieve you.

Do nothing of your own free will, feel the presence of God in every place, and therefore do everything as before God, and not before people.” (Elder of Glinsk Schema-Archimandrite Andronik)

“If you don’t fall, you won’t know repentance. If you are slandered, if good is returned with evil, do not keep evil in your heart. Forgive and rejoice, because thanks to this you have moved several steps closer to God... Whoever prays to himself will rise... Realize your weakness... Conscience is a particle of God in your heart.

Don't worry about the flesh, think about the salvation of the soul. He who has conquered his tongue and belly is already on the right path... Without sorrows you will not be saved... The man who does not see his sins and thinks a lot about himself is daring. All those who are proud and conceited in heart are vile in the sight of the Lord.

Other people's sins are none of your business. You sit and cry about your sins... Breaking a promise is a great sin... You must have one fear - the fear of committing a sin.

Without knowing the spiritual state of your neighbor, do not give advice. Your advice could ruin him." (Archimandrite Gabriel (Urgebadze))

“...Beware of seeking gratitude. Never seek gratitude, but be grateful no matter how much someone receives. If you realize this, then you will have a great blessing from God... Because when God intends to help a person, for example, you, then He will send someone. This someone is random. Those. God sent him on occasion... Who am I, this random... The experience of my life has taught me that no one can help anyone with his problems until God's time comes. Then a solution will be given. Not as we want, but as He wants. This decision often hurts us, but as the years pass we will understand His wisdom.” (Schemonun Gabriel (Gerontissa Gabriel))

“You just have to eat food with the cross. When the time comes, everything will be poisoned. But if you cross with faith, you will live. And another person who drinks or eats the same thing without crossing himself will die.

Shut your mouth better, seven locks, as the holy fathers say, know your business: say the Jesus Prayer, how much good it brings in life. Silence is an angel's prayer. It cannot be compared with our human prayer... If we condemn our neighbor for some sin, it means that he still lives in us... When the soul is pure, it will never condemn. Because “judge not, lest ye be judged” (Matthew 7:1).” (Advice from Schema-nun Antonia)

“Food is a gift of God’s Love, a sacrifice of nature, and everyone should eat it with great reverence and prayer.” (Moscow Elder Olga)

“If you are married, what is the most important thing in marriage? Keep fasts. And if not, then live in purity and no lustful thoughts. Don't judge. Pray a lot. Loving God...Love covers a multitude of sins.”

To the spiritual daughter’s question: “Should I get married or not?” Schema-abbot Jerome answered like this: “Seek salvation. When a ship sinks at sea, sailors think about salvation, not about repairing the cabin. If marriage is salvation for you, then get married and don’t hesitate. And if this is a cabin on a sinking ship, then this is death. Seek salvation, and there the Lord will manage everything.

“Those who rise (to pray) at three o’clock in the morning receive gold, those who rise at five receive silver, and those who rise at six o’clock receive bronze.” (Sche-abbot Jerome (Verendyakin))

Elder Archimandrite Ippolit (Halin) in difficult situations he often advised his spiritual children: “Pray to St. Nicholas, and everything will work out.”

“You always need to blame yourself... There should be no attachment to anyone or anything, only to God... We must strive for God, seek the Divine, and become attached to a person... We must always remember the goal - salvation. This is the work of a lifetime... You have to take small steps, like a blind man. He lost his way - he knocks around with a stick, he can’t find it, suddenly he finds it - and again joyfully moves forward. The stick for us is prayer... Nothing comes quickly. And during life it may, and in the end it will not be given, but after death the virtues will surround you and lift you up.” (Elder of Glinsk Schema-Archimandrite John (Maslov))

When to Elder Leonty When people complained about everyday quarrels, he said: “Don’t take everything to heart, look past it.”

“What has been sent down is all from the Lord for healing, for correction. When they tell lies about you, thank them and ask for forgiveness. Only then will there be a reward when you are not to blame, but you are scolded..." (Elder Nicholas from Zalit Island)

Pyukhtitskaya Blessed Elder Catherine She advised me to live simply and not judge others. She said that pride is the absorber of all virtues, and the reason for condemnation is an inattentive spiritual life. The blessed old woman called on everyone to fight pride and humble themselves.

“Fast, pray, this is salvation...” (Blessed Elder Schema-Nun Makaria (Artemyeva))

“You must put your neighbor in the place where you yourself stand, which means you must first leave the place where you stand... Everywhere the self has seized everything for itself, does not want to give up anything to its neighbor, and how can the soul of a neighbor love when it feels that he takes everything away from her, having the same rights to everything as she does... You must take everything away from yourself in order to give everything up to your neighbor, and then, together with your neighbor, the soul will find the Lord... You must bear fruits worthy repentance, you need to work where you sinned, get up where you fell, correct what you ruined, save what you lost through your own negligence, your own passions. Salvation is possible in every place and in every matter... (Abbess Arsenia (Sebryakov))

Mother Arsenia said that, according to the advice of the holy fathers, one should not make any decision during times of mental confusion.

“By the power of the Life-giving Cross, save yourself and protect yourself. The enemy is advancing - we must definitely pray. Sudden death happens without prayer. The enemy is on the left shoulder, and the Angel is on the right. Cross yourself more often: the cross is the same lock as on the door... If old or sick people say something offensive to you, don’t listen to them, but help them...” (Blessed Matrona of Moscow)

“Don’t forget God, and God will not forget you.” (Balabanovsky Elder Ambrose)

“With tears, I ask and pray you, be the suns that warm those around you, if not everyone, then the family in which the Lord made you a member...

Be warmth and light for those around you; first try to warm your family with yourself, work on this, and then these works will attract you so much that for you the family circle will already be narrow, and these warm rays will over time capture more and more new people and the circle illuminated by you will gradually increase and increase; so be careful to keep your lamp burning brightly.” (Holy Righteous Alexy Mechev)