Correctly solve the question: “Why were we created? what should we strive for? - means to know the meaning of life. Unfortunately, some people do not ask such a fundamental question at all, but live as long as they live, eat in order to exist and exist in order to eat, and as whimsically as possible, in order to spend their days as carefree and cheerfully as possible: “live, They tell themselves, don’t worry, it won’t be a loss if you die!”... The life of such people in its value is not much different from the existence of four-legged animals. The menacing word of God applies to such careless people: “Woe to you who are now sated! Woe to you who laugh now!”... (Luke 6:25).
But there are other people who, understanding the baseness of animal existence and realizing the comparative value of intense feat (“I want to live so that I can think and suffer!”), still do not see anything beyond the grave, seek and do not find the highest meaning of existence, come to despair and perish under the weight of life... And this happens because they all the time proudly want to bear only with their own strength and strive to know the meaning of existence apart from the Creator of the universe. They are like those travelers who, walking through a waterless desert and dying of thirst, waste their energy in pursuit of deceptive mirages (ghosts) and pass by rocks with hundreds of times. living water... This rock, or Stone, is Christ (1 Cor. 10:4), Whom such builders of life neglect, but Who speaks loudly to all who seek truth and spiritual strength, to all who thirst for the highest meaning of existence: “If anyone thirsts, come to Me and drink” (John 7:37).
When creating man, the Lord God said: “Let us create man in Our image and in Our likeness” (Gen. 1:26). In the image and likeness of God, which are in the human soul, lies the whole meaning of our life, its highest goal: in our own image and likeness we must strive for the Prototype, that is, for God, in order to become more and more like Him and in unity find your bliss with the Lord; in short, the goal of human existence is “likeness to God.” This purpose of man is clearly stated both in the Old Testament: “Be holy, for I am holy” (Lev. 11:44; 19:2; 20:7), and in the New: “Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” ( Matthew 5:48). “That they all may be one: just as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, so may they also be one in Us” (John 18:21).
Such blissful unity and likeness to God was achieved in paradise by the forefathers through obedience to the commandment of God (Gen. 2:16).
It is worthy of note that the strength of the temptation of the devil and sinful blindness lay in the fact that the devil promised the first parents the likeness to God that they already had (“you will be like gods” (Gen. 3:5), but only through the transgression of God’s commandment. So it is now “all the days” the devil tempts and destroys the souls of people by inclining people to find the meaning of existence and to build their lives apart from God, through the transgression of His law; but he tempts the body various types gluttony (Gen. 3:6). But if the devil tempts people, plunges them into sin and destruction, then the Lord Jesus Christ saves sinners (Matt. 9:13; Luke 5:32:1; Tim. 1:15), indicates the true path of life, gives the highest satisfaction to everyone powers of man: “I am the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:5). The Lord Jesus Christ the Savior is the “way”, therefore, only through Him will we understand the meaning of existence, through Him will we achieve salvation; He is the “truth”, therefore, only through Him will we be enlightened and achieve wisdom; He is “life”, therefore, through Him we will only achieve bliss, peace of soul, since without Him, like without the sun (Mal. 4:2), there is no life, spiritual joy, but only darkness and mortal darkness (Matthew 4, 16): He is “the light of the world” (John 8:12).
How is salvation achieved through the Lord Jesus Christ? By imitation of Him, by following Him (Matthew 10:38), by drawing closer to Him: through all this the soul receives true life, its spiritual food and drink, complete satisfaction (John 6:35). In other words, our salvation lies in “becoming like God,” and becoming like God is in walking the path of Christ, i.e. in fulfilling the law of the Gospel (Matthew 19:17), in fulfilling the will of the Heavenly Father (Matthew 12:50; John 15:10). Likeness to God cannot be understood in such a way that a person can ever become like God (this is unreasonable), but in such a way that a person, to the best of his ability, by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, must always strive to become like God, and indeed comes closer and closer to the image of God : in this eternal striving for Light, in the eternal approach to God lies the secret of the endless heavenly bliss of all the saved. Millions of millions of years will pass, those saved in paradise with each moment will achieve greater and greater likeness to God and bliss and yet, as in the beginning, they will never see its limits, because there is no longer time beyond the grave, the perfections of God are limitless and the Lord Himself blessed souls will appear as the never-quenchable Sun, exuding unceasing light and bliss forever and ever (Rev. 21:23).
This is the meaning and purpose of our life: they are so luminously great and beautiful that they exceed the strength and understanding of a weak person. We cannot understand the completely true meaning of life, nor achieve salvation with our own weak forces; this is impossible for man, but possible for God (Luke 18:27): “from His (Lord Jesus Christ) divine power has been given to us everything we need for life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3). His grace-filled powers are given only in His holy Church through St. Sacraments. “Without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5), i.e. to do what is truly good and beautiful. Why? Yes, because, no matter how close you plant a wild apple tree to a noble vine, it cannot bear good fruit until it is actually grafted onto the noble vine and takes its juice.
The Lord Jesus Christ is precisely the noble, fruitful Vine, and we are wild. If we are grafted into Him, then we will create beautiful and abundant fruit (John 15:4-5), being sanctified by His most pure juice, that is, His holy juice. Blood and other sacraments. True, there are quite a few fruits in the wild, sometimes beautiful, but only for one type: in fact, these fruits are bitter, strong and unfit for consumption. So are the “good deeds” of non-believers: in appearance they seem to be good, but in reality they are full of selfishness, bitterness of doubt, etc. Thus, the Lord is “everything” for us and we are “nothing” without Him, He is our life, light, strength and joy: “You are my strength, Lord, You are my strength, You are my God, You are my joy” (4th hymn of the resurrection canon, 8th chapter).
What do the mentioned organizers of life without Christ say to justify themselves? They say a lot, but most of all, that Christianity is behind the times and outdated. Who is saying this? Those, firstly, who have a completely false idea of Christianity: they think that Christianity is nothing more or less than a doctrine, whereas it is precisely true life itself: “the words... which I speak to you are spirit and life.” (John 6:63) and Christ Himself is our life (Col. 3:4). So, if any life has lagged behind, it is, on the contrary, their life - the life of unbelievers has lagged behind the perfect life, from Christianity. We repeat, those who think that Christianity is something like a philosophical teaching, Buddhism, Confucianism, etc. are falsely blinded.
Secondly, those who talk about Christianity at random and evaluate it are precisely those people who have not actually lived a Christian life and do not know it at all... Were they ever poor in spirit, or meek, or crying over sins, or hungry for justification, etc.? Nothing like this! They, ignorant of Christian life, want to measure it with their own petty yardstick, which is completely unsuitable, like beauty - in tops, or music - in pounds, forgetting that this is both unreasonable and deceitful: “ soulful person He does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, because he considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them, because they must be judged spiritually” (1 Cor. 2:14).
Spiritual life can only be cognized and judged by a righteous person - a spiritual person. “The soul sees the truth of God by the power of life” (Isaac the Syrian). Carnal people, the enemies of Christianity, are mainly engaged in the fact that in daring blindness they build a “Tower of Babel” to heaven, calling it “ the last word sciences,” supposedly overthrowing Christianity, and in their pride do not want to see that their tower is falling apart and that impartial history has already lost count of the previous “Towers of Babel,” but Christianity stands unshakable and will remain invincible throughout the century, despite all the militia of hell (Matthew 16,18).
After all, Christianity is nothing other than the strength of life, its justification is the beauty of life and holiness: “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, whatever is excellent, whatever is worthy of praise, think about these things.” (Phil. 4:8): So, Christianity is the light and holiness of life. How can one rebel against the truly beautiful? This is blinding. Those who do not want to understand this due to their stubbornness or pride - who claim that Christianity does not correspond to life, or is behind it, can be likened to those people who have sunk themselves into a deep dark ditch and assure others that the sun is no longer there, or that the sun has fallen behind them...
Those of them who want to be convinced of the opposite - the truth of Christianity - need to point out what was said above - namely: that the spiritual is known only through spiritual life, that the light of Christianity can only be illuminated gradually through one’s own life. personal experience a living and active member of the Church of Christ: “come and see” (John 1:46). “Taste and see that the Lord is good” (Ps. 33:9).
Having tasted it, although at the most a short time, the sweetness of the Gospel of the Gospel no longer wants to feed on the bitterness of unbelief, but on the contrary, he sells and gives away everything he has, just to acquire one pearl precious for life - the faith of Christ (Matthew 13:46), through which we achieve the eternal salvation of the soul; and it is more valuable than all the treasures of the world (Matthew 16:20), since our soul is immortal, and the treasures of the world are all perishable and fleeting; they lose their value at the grave. Our soul will be completely satisfied only by that which does not die, that which is eternally young, that which is incorruptible... “to an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven,” we are all called (1 Peter 1:4), - young and old, wise and simple, rich and poor - everyone, everyone is obliged to seek first of all and most of all eternal salvation, the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33).
Let no one think that the Lord calls to Himself and saves only the righteous: He “came to save sinners” through repentance (1 Tim. 1:15).
Let no one think that in order to obtain salvation one must necessarily perform special feats of vigil, fasting, virginity, staying in monasteries, in deserts, etc. Special feats are the path of the elect: they are only for those who can bear them or accommodate them (Matthew 19:12).
The rest of us - ordinary people - can and must be saved in the world under ordinary living conditions: let us only do our work without laziness and with God's blessing (1 Cor. 10:31), do not grumble about our lot, honoring every blessed thing a saving thing for ourselves, even if we had to darn old stockings all our lives; let us unswervingly fulfill our duty as a Christian in relation to the temple of God, confession and communion, and in relation to our neighbors “let us not do to others what we did not want to do to ourselves” (decree of the Council of the Apostles), and we will be saved by the grace of God. Let's say more than that: from the lives of the saints it is known that some worldly people, even in the marital state, achieved such spiritual perfection that the great ascetics and hermits did not achieve (see, for example, about the two daughters-in-law of Read Min. Jan. 19); why Rev. Macarius of Egypt wrote for the edification of all of us: “God does not look at whether someone is a virgin, or a spouse, a monk, or a layman, but seeks only the will of the heart for good deeds. Acquire such will, and salvation is near you, whoever you are and wherever you live.”
However, those who are able to endure special feats, or can embrace the holiness of virginity, are obliged to do this, for we are all called to the best, and not to the worst: “whoever can accommodate, let him accommodate” (Matthew 19:12), the Lord commands. The Lord bestows upon such His chosen ones the highest awards in heaven and crowns them with special honor. Thus, virgins will be numbered among the firstborn of God and the Lamb and will enjoy such bliss and sing such a wonderful song to the Lord, which no one else can learn except them (Rev. 14:34). St. were virgins. prophets Elijah and John the Baptist, St. Apostles John the Theologian, James, Paul and others. Following their example, many saints wished to remain virginity forever; and to preserve themselves from the temptations of the world, they retired to deserted places. This is where monasteries and monasticism originated. The basis of monasticism is the vows of virginity, non-covetousness and obedience.
Life according to these St. to the vows there is an angelic life, there is a constant sacrifice in which both soul and body are dedicated to God. For such self-sacrifice, a hundredfold reward is promised from the Lord: “Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or land, for My sake and the Gospel, and has not received Now in this time, in the midst of persecution, there will be a hundred times more houses, and brothers, and sisters, and fathers, and mothers, and children, and lands, and in the age to come eternal life” (Mark 10:29-30) .
To have an idea of monastic vows, let’s talk about each of them separately in the words of St. Church Fathers: “virginity is such a great and wonderful thing that it surpasses all human virtues” (St. John Chrysostom).
“Virginity primarily makes the soul the bride of the Heavenly Bridegroom - Christ and the body the temple of St. Spirit" (Venerable Neil).
About the importance of non-covetousness, St. Peter of Damascus says this: “It is better for the weak to withdraw from everything, and non-covetousness is much better than alms. He who has once distributed everything (which everyone who accepts monasticism is obliged to do) has fulfilled his duty of love and mercy to the poor more perfectly than someone who gives a small part of his entire estate and keeps the larger part for himself. It is good for God’s sake to give alms, but no offering is more pleasing to God than to completely surrender your soul and will to Him.”
"Obedience better than sacrifice and more pleasing to God, for in sacrifices another’s flesh is tempered, and in obedience one’s own will is tempered” (St. Gregory the Great).
“Obedience eradicates all passions and implants every good thing, brings the Son of God to dwell in man, raises man to heaven and makes man like the Son of God, who was obedient to His Father, even before death on the cross"(Venerable Barsanuphius).
Much has been said by the Holy Fathers in defense and praise of monasticism. Anyone who wants to know in detail should read their writings, especially Basil the Great and John Chrysostom, Ephraim the Syrian, Abba Dorotheus and John Climacus, but we will take at least a little from the many.
St. Basil says: “monks are true imitators of the Savior and His life in the flesh. For just as He, having gathered the disciples, lived with them, having everything in common, so these, obeying the abbot, truly imitate the life of the Apostles and the Lord, if only they keep the rule of life.”
St. John Chrysostom, in his sermons to the people in Constantinople, not only praised monastic life, but also advised the laity to visit monasteries. Discussing the benefits of such visits, he says: “a poor person, having visited the monastery of monks, will leave the monastery with great consolation in his poverty. If a rich man visits the monks, he will return from them better and with sound ideas about things. When someone clothed with dignity comes to them, all arrogance especially disappears here. Here wolves are also turned into lambs. If the desire to lead such a wonderful life has been inflamed in anyone, then while this desire is ardent in you, go to these angels and be inflamed even more. For it is not so much my words that can ignite as my vision of the deed itself.”
One of the sermons of St. John Chrysostom on monasticism ends with the following call: “and so, go to them more often, so that, protected by their prayers and instructions from the defilements that constantly attack you, you can spend your present life as best as possible and be worthy of future blessings.”
This book was written on the basis of the Word of God, the teachings of the Holy Fathers - according to the mind of the Holy Orthodox Church with the sole purpose: to promote your eternal salvation, dear reader. It was written by us on behalf of the Holy Trinity Ussuri Monastery in fulfillment of our pastoral duty (John 21:15). When the inhabitants of a house have fallen asleep, and the watchman at the house notices a fire, a fire starting, he raises the alarm, wakes up those who have fallen asleep and shouts loudly: save yourself, save yourself! The house is your mortal body, the inhabitant of the house is your soul, the fire is death, which creeps up unnoticed, followed by eternal torment for the careless; sleep is your carelessness, carelessness about your soul, and the watchman is the shepherd of the Church, obliged to wake up all the careless, unconcerned about their salvation... Woe to me if I do not preach the good news!” (1 Cor. 9:16).
So, I ask you and pray: save yourself! Do not put off the work of salvation until tomorrow, much less until old age... Start from now. “Do not hesitate to turn to the Lord and do not delay day by day” (Sirach 5:8). “Begin and do, the Lord will be with you” (1 Chron. 22:16). “Shun evil and do good” (1 Peter 3:11).
And the second request is this: if you see that this book has really benefited you, served you for good, and I, the compiler, have already found favor in your eyes, then I humbly pray: remember me in your home and church prayers.
“Pray for one another so that you may be healed” (James 5:16).
Lord, save me, who is perishing! Behold, my ship is in distress from the temptation of the waves of life and is near drowning; but You, as a merciful and compassionate God of our weakness, by Your power omnipotently forbid the excitement of disasters that want to plunge me and bring me down into the depths of evil; and let there be silence, for the winds and the sea will listen to You. Amen.
Christianity is one of the world religions along with Buddhism and Judaism. Over a thousand-year history, it has undergone changes that led to branches from a single religion. The main ones are Orthodoxy, Protestantism and Catholicism. Christianity also has other movements, but usually they are classified as sectarian and are condemned by representatives of generally recognized movements.
What is the difference between these two concepts? Everything is very simple. All Orthodox are Christians, but not all Christians are Orthodox. Followers, united by the confession of this world religion, are divided by belonging to a separate direction, one of which is Orthodoxy. To understand how Orthodoxy differs from Christianity, you need to turn to the history of the emergence of world religion.
It is believed that Christianity arose in the 1st century. from the birth of Christ in Palestine, although some sources claim that it became known two centuries earlier. People who preached the faith were waiting for God to come to earth. The doctrine absorbed the foundations of Judaism and philosophical directions At that time, he was greatly influenced by the political situation.
The spread of this religion was greatly facilitated by the preaching of the apostles, especially Paul. Many pagans were converted to the new faith, and this process continued for a long time. At the moment, Christianity has the most a large number of followers compared to other world religions.
Orthodox Christianity began to stand out only in Rome in the 10th century. AD, and was officially approved in 1054. Although its origins can be dated back to the 1st century. from the birth of Christ. Orthodox believe that the history of their religion began immediately after the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, when the apostles preached a new creed and attracted everyone to religion large quantity of people.
By the 2nd-3rd centuries. Orthodoxy opposed Gnosticism, which rejected the authenticity of history Old Testament and interpreting the New Testament in a different way that does not correspond to the generally accepted one. Also, confrontation was observed in relations with the followers of the presbyter Arius, who formed a new movement - Arianism. According to their ideas, Christ did not have a divine nature and was only a mediator between God and people.
On the doctrine of the emerging Orthodoxy The Ecumenical Councils had a great influence, supported by a number of Byzantine emperors. Seven Councils, convened over five centuries, established the basic axioms subsequently accepted in modern Orthodoxy, in particular, they confirmed the divine origin of Jesus, which was disputed in a number of teachings. This strengthened the Orthodox faith and allowed more and more people to join it.
In addition to Orthodoxy and small heretical teachings, which quickly faded in the process of developing stronger trends, Catholicism emerged from Christianity. This was facilitated by the split of the Roman Empire into Western and Eastern. Huge differences in social, political and religious views led to the collapse of a single religion into the Roman Catholic and Orthodox, which at first was called Eastern Catholic. The head of the first church was the Pope, the second - the patriarch. Their mutual separation of each other from the common faith led to a split in Christianity. The process began in 1054 and ended in 1204 with the fall of Constantinople.
Although Christianity was adopted in Rus' back in 988, it was not affected by the schism process. The official division of the church occurred only several decades later, but At the baptism of Rus', Orthodox customs were immediately introduced, formed in Byzantium and borrowed from there.
Strictly speaking, the term Orthodoxy was practically never found in ancient sources; instead, the word Orthodoxy was used. According to a number of researchers, these concepts were previously given different meaning(orthodoxy meant one of the Christian directions, and Orthodoxy was almost a pagan faith). Subsequently, they began to be given a similar meaning, made synonyms and replaced one with another.
Faith in Orthodoxy is the essence of all divine teaching. The Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, compiled during the convening of the Second Ecumenical Council, is the basis of the doctrine. The ban on changing any provisions in this system of dogmas has been in effect since the Fourth Council.
Based on the Creed, Orthodoxy is based on the following dogmas:
The desire to earn eternal life in heaven after death is the main goal of those who profess the religion in question. True Orthodox Christian must throughout his life follow the commandments handed down to Moses and confirmed by Christ. According to them, you need to be kind and merciful, love God and your neighbors. The commandments indicate that all hardships and hardships must be endured resignedly and even joyfully; despondency is one of the deadly sins.
Compare Orthodoxy with Christianity possible by comparing its main directions. They are closely related to each other, since they are united in one world religion. However, there are huge differences between them on a number of issues:
Thus, the differences between the directions are not always contradictory. There are more similarities between Catholicism and Protestantism, since the latter appeared as a result of the schism of the Roman- catholic church in the 16th century. If desired, the currents could be reconciled. But this has not happened for many years and is not expected in the future.
Orthodoxy is tolerant of confessors of other religions. However, without condemning and peacefully coexisting with them, this movement recognizes them as heretical. It is believed that of all religions, only one is true; its confession leads to the inheritance of the Kingdom of God. This dogma is contained in the very name of the movement, indicating that this religion is correct and opposite to other movements. Nevertheless, Orthodoxy recognizes that Catholics and Protestants are also not deprived of the grace of God, since, although they glorify Him differently, the essence of their faith is the same.
By comparison, Catholics consider the only possibility of salvation to be the practice of their religion, while others, including Orthodoxy, are false. The task of this church is to convince all dissenters. The Pope is the head christian church, although in Orthodoxy this thesis is refuted.
The support of the Orthodox Church by secular authorities and their close cooperation led to an increase in the number of followers of the religion and its development. In a number of countries, Orthodoxy is practiced by the majority of the population. These include:
In these countries, a large number of churches and Sunday schools are being built, and subjects dedicated to the study of Orthodoxy are being introduced in secular educational institutions. Popularization has reverse side: Often people who consider themselves Orthodox have a superficial attitude towards performing rituals and do not comply with the prescribed moral principles.
You can perform rituals and treat shrines differently, have different views for the purpose of their own stay on earth, but ultimately everyone who professes Christianity united by faith in one God. The concept of Christianity is not identical to Orthodoxy, but includes it. Maintain moral principles and be sincere in your relationships with By Higher Powers- the basis of any religion.
Orthodoxy is a Christian doctrine that developed in Byzantium, one of the main world religions. Orthodoxy embodies the canons of the Eastern Christian Church, in contrast to Catholicism, which was formed as a Western direction of Christianity.
Name "Orthodoxy" comes from Greek "orthodoxy"
(оrtho – straight, correct, doxa – judgment, glory) and means “correct service.” Orthodoxy took shape in the first millennium in Constantinople, which at that time was the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire.
Today the number of Orthodox Christians in the world is about three hundred million people. Orthodoxy became most widespread in Russia, in the Balkan countries, in the countries of Eastern Europe. However, there are Orthodox communities in Asian countries - South Korea, Japan.
Orthodox are believers who adhere to the canons of Orthodoxy. They believe in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (God the Trinity) and believe that all three aspects of God are in indissoluble unity. They also believe that initially the Almighty created a sinless world, and original sin Adam and Eve did it. This sin was subsequently atoned for through earthly life and suffering by Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
From an organizational point of view Orthodox Church is a community of many local churches. On its territory, each such church enjoys independence and independence. Today there are fourteen churches called autocephalous - for example, Greek, Bulgarian, Constantinople.
The Orthodox perceive the Church as a kind of organism that unites believers with the Law of God, the Holy Spirit, and the Sacraments. A hierarchy has been established in the church: territories are divided into dioceses, each diocese is headed by a bishop who can ordain clergy (that is, ordain them). 
Higher in the hierarchy of Orthodoxy are archbishops and metropolitans. The highest hierarchical level is the patriarch. If you go, as if along steps, in the opposite direction, then below the bishops there will be presbyters. These are priests who are allowed to perform activities other than ordination. Another step lower are deacons, who do not perform the sacraments and only help bishops and presbyters in this.
All clergy in Orthodoxy are divided into black and white. Black clergy are represented by monks who have taken a vow of celibacy. Deacons in the black clergy are called “hierodeacons,” and priests are called “hieromonks.” It is representatives of the black clergy who become bishops. The white clergy are priests and deacons who can have families.
One of the basic principles of Orthodoxy is the acquisition of true freedom from passions and sins. It is believed that passions enslave a person, and he can find salvation under the influence of God's grace. To do this, it is necessary to make efforts on the spiritual path, for which you need to have the free consent of the believer.
A person can achieve salvation in two ways: either by devoting himself to serving his family and leading a godly lifestyle. Monks seclude themselves, renounce the world and take a special path of serving God. The family plays a very important role in the Orthodox value system; it is no coincidence that it is called the “small church.” 
Orthodox Christians try to live according to Holy Tradition, which includes Holy Scripture, interpretations of Scripture from the holy fathers, writings of the holy fathers, liturgical texts, works of ascetic writers dedicated to the spiritual life and deeds of saints. In addition, Orthodox Christians honor the commandments, the most popular of which are “Thou shalt not kill,” “Thou shalt not steal,” and “Thou shalt not commit adultery.”
The relationship between spiritual and secular power in Orthodoxy and Catholicism is structured differently: Catholics strictly advocate church immunity. The Pope, the head of the Catholic Church, has his own sovereign temporal power. In Orthodoxy there is no such strict distinction. The Orthodox, unlike Catholics, do not recognize the dogma of the infallibility of the Pope and his supremacy over all Christians.
Regarding power, Orthodoxy has always taken an unambiguous position: all power comes from God. And even in those times when the church was persecuted by the state, the Orthodox prayed for the health of the king and revered his power as given by God.
There are a number of sacraments in Orthodoxy. Among them, baptism is a ritual of introducing a person to the church, an opportunity to begin a pure, sinless life. People are usually baptized in infancy, but adults can also be baptized by consciously choosing godfathers and mother.
Baptism is followed by confirmation, during which the believer is given a blessing and the Holy Gifts. This should strengthen the baptized person in the spiritual life. The Eucharist, or Blessing, means the communion of a person with God. 
Another church sacrament is the consecration of oil, during which the body is anointed with consecrated oil (oil) to rid a person of ailments. Confession is a sacrament that allows you to cleanse the soul of sin; the sacrament of repentance is performed if a person sincerely repents of his sins.
The sacrament of unction is usually performed before death and means the forgiveness of all committed by man ever in life sins.
Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeev)Orthodoxy(Greek ὀρθοδοξία (orthodoxy) - correct judgment, correct teaching, correct glorification (from Greek ὀρθός - straight, standing straight, correct, + δοκέω - think) – 1) true religious teaching about, about His creation and His relationship to it creation, about vocation and destiny, about the ways of achievement by man, given through the Lord, revealed to man through, constantly abiding in the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Christ; 2) the only true direction.
“Orthodoxy is true and reverence for God; Orthodoxy is the worship of God in Spirit and Truth; Orthodoxy is the glorification of God by true knowledge of Him and worship of Him; Orthodoxy is God’s glorification of man, a true servant of God, by bestowing upon him grace. The Spirit is the glory of Christians (). Where there is no Spirit, there is no Orthodoxy" (St.
The concept of Orthodoxy includes three interconnected parts.
Firstly, the word Orthodoxy has a doctrinal meaning. By Orthodoxy we must understand pure, holistic and undistorted Christian teaching, revealed in church documents. In a dogmatic sense, Orthodox teaching opposes all heresies as distortions of Christianity and reflects the fullness of knowledge of God accessible to the human race. In this meaning, the term Orthodoxy is found already in the writings of apologists of the 2nd century (in particular,).
Secondly, the word Orthodoxy has an ecclesiastical or ecclesiological meaning. By Orthodoxy we must understand the community of Christians local Churches having communication with each other.
Third, the word Orthodoxy has a mystical meaning. By Orthodoxy we must understand the Christian spiritual practice (experience) of knowledge of God through the acquisition of the Divine Holy Spirit, which saves and transforms (deifies) man.
All three meanings of Orthodoxy are interconnected and one cannot be imagined without the other. Orthodox doctrine has its source and is taught in the Church of Christ. Orthodoxy presents one dogmatic doctrine based on one mystical experience. Orthodox mystical experience is expressed in the doctrine preserved by the Church.
The word Orthodoxy is a translation of the Greek word Orthodoxy. This word consists of two parts. The first part of Ortho (Ortho) translated from Greek means “straight”, “correct”. The second part of doxa (doxa) translated from Greek means “knowledge”, “judgment”, “opinion”, as well as “radiance”, “glory”, “honor”. These meanings complement each other, for correct opinion in religion presupposes correct glorification of God, and, as a consequence, participation in His glory. In the latter sense ("glory"), the word doxa occurs most often in the New Testament. For example, the Savior “received glory from God the Father (Greek. d oxa) and honor" (), was "crowned with glory (Greek. d oxa) and honor through suffering death" (), coming "on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory (Greek doxa)" (), a Christian must be transformed "into the same image from glory (Greek doxa) to glory" () , “for Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory (Greek doxa) forever” (). Therefore the word Orthodoxy translated as Orthodoxy.
Hello! Me in Lately I am tormented by the question “What is the meaning of life?”, “Why does a person live?” My thoughts do not allow me to live. I think constantly. I'm like a bundle of contradictions. Please answer my questions. Thank you very much in advance.
Man has been thinking about the meaning and purpose of life since ancient times. The Greeks had a myth about Sisyphus, the king of Ether (Corinth), who in the underworld, as punishment for cunning, had to forever roll a huge stone up a mountain: as soon as he reached the top, an invisible force rushed the stone down and the same aimless work began again. This is an impressive example of the meaninglessness of life. In the 20th century, writer and philosopher Albert Camus applied this image to to modern man, considering absurdity to be the main feature of his existence: “In the inexorable moment when a person turns around and glances at the life he has lived, Sisyphus, returning to the stone, contemplates the incoherent sequence of actions that has become his fate. It was created by him, united into one whole by his memory and sealed by death. Convinced of the human origin of everything human, wanting to see and knowing that there will be no end to the night, the blind man continues on his way. And the stone rolls down again” (A. Camus. The Myth of Sisyphus). The conclusion he came to is inevitable for him and for millions of people who lived and live in unbelief. The only difference is that A. Camus strove to be logical to the end and was able to acutely realize that the life of a person, confined within the framework of only earthly existence, resembles Sisyphean labor. Most people try to live by illusions and find meaning in earthly life. But in the world of finite realities it is impossible to find it. Mathematicians know that any finite number divided by infinity is an infinitesimal quantity, i.e. its limit is zero. That is why the attempts of non-believers to explain the meaning of their lives are so naive. Some claim that they value life with its joys, and are completely satisfied with this. But earthly life disappears like water into sand, and nothing remains of joy. And if in a few decades everything disappears, can such a life have meaning? Others say that they see their purpose in leaving a mark on the earth with their deeds. Usually one hears such explanations from people who are not involved in serious creativity and do not leave a real trace. The outstanding creators themselves, with all their passion for their work, well understood and understand the incompleteness and limits of this activity. Great mathematician and the physicist Blaise Pascal (1623 - 1662), two years before his death, wrote to the mathematics of P. Fermat that he saw mathematics as nothing more than a craft. The true purpose of human existence, in his opinion, can only be revealed by true religion: “To make a person happy, it must show him that there is God, that we are obliged to love Him, that our true good is to abide in Him and our only misfortune is to be separated from Him; that we are full of darkness that prevents us from knowing and loving Him, and that, therefore, we are completely wrong in not fulfilling our duty of love to God, but in submitting to the desires of the flesh. It [true religion] must explain to us the reason why we oppose God and our own good; show us the remedies for these infirmities and thus acquire these remedies. Test all the religions of the world in this regard, and you will not find one, except the Christian, that would satisfy these requirements” (Thoughts on Religion). In our age, everything remains the same. People who have a healthy moral sense, having achieved even the most outstanding results in creativity, cannot perceive this as the main goal of life. Let me give you an example. Academician Sergei Pavlovich Korolev (1906 - 1966), being the general director of our space program, could not be satisfied with this, but thought about salvation, i.e. saw the meaning of his life beyond earthly life. In those years when the faith was persecuted, he found the opportunity to have a confessor, go on pilgrimages to the Pyukhtitsa Assumption Monastery, and show generous charity. Stories about this wonderful person from the nun Siluana (Nadezhda Andreevna Soboleva) have been preserved: “I was in charge of the hotel at that time. One day a representative man in a leather jacket came to us. I gave him a room. She spoke to him kindly and brought him food - the same potatoes with mushroom gravy. He lived for two days, and I saw that he was becoming more and more amazed. Finally, we started talking. He said that he never expected to see such poverty here, even poverty... “I really want to help your monastery, my heart is breaking. When I saw how you live. I have very little money with me now, and I managed to get here by some miracle - I need to go back to work and I don’t know if I can come to you soon.” He left me his address and phone number and said that if I was in Moscow, I would definitely stop by to see him. I thanked him and gave him the address of one poor priest who lived with his wife on 250 rubles a month (this is old money), saying that if you can, then help. A month later I was released to Moscow with the blessing of the abbess. I arrived and found the address he had left for me. I see a huge fence, there is a gatekeeper at the fence. He asks me: “Who are you seeing?” I said my last name. He let me through and said: “They are waiting for you.” I walk and am more and more surprised. In the depths of the courtyard there is a mansion. I called - the owner answered - the same person who came to us. How happy I was! He took me upstairs to the second floor. I go into his office and see: lying on the table open volume Philokalia, in the corner there is a cabinet with open doors, behind which there are images. He invited a woman (I think his sister) to prepare everything. In my sister's room there is an icon case walnut with the wonderful image of St. Nicholas. Before leaving, he gave me an envelope and said: “There are five here.” I thought it was 500 rubles, but it turned out that it was 5 thousand rubles. What a help this was for us! A lot of time has passed, and now my friend comes again - and it was Academician Korolev - we sit in my cell and drink tea. He thanks me: “You know, thanks to you, I found a true friend and shepherd: that poor priest you talked about” (Three Meetings, M., 1997, 83 -85). I cited this story in detail to show that the conversion to Orthodoxy was not some kind of episode for Academician S.P. Korolev. He lived in it and risked his high position to satisfy spiritual needs. With his colossal busy schedule, the head of the space program found time to read the Philokalia - the works of the holy fathers of a purely ascetic direction.
Not only science, but also artistic creativity cannot make sense human life. A.S. Pushkin, already considered the first poet of Russia, wrote in 1827 Three keys- a poem that expressed a painful feeling of spiritual thirst:
In the worldly steppe, sad and boundless,
Three keys mysteriously broke through:
The key of youth, the key is fast and rebellious,
It boils, runs, sparkling and murmuring.
Castalian key with a wave of inspiration
In the worldly steppe he gives water to exiles.
The last key is the cold key of oblivion,
He is the sweetest heat of the heart tolit.
The soul of the 28-year-old poet does not find complete satisfaction in the joys of life, which boils, runs, sparkling and murmuring. The Kastalian spring (a spring on Mount Parnassus, near Delphi in Greece) is a symbol of poetic and musical inspiration. Water from this source also cannot satisfy a thirsty soul. For the poet, who at that time was just beginning to comprehend the vital significance and spiritual beauty of Christianity, the sweetest thing was the water from cold key of oblivion sorrows, sorrows, worldly vanity and worries. A few months before his death, A.S. Pushkin wrote: “There is a book in which every word is interpreted, explained, preached to all ends of the earth, applied to all circumstances of life and events of the world; from which it is impossible to repeat a single expression that everyone does not know by heart, which would not already be a proverb of peoples; it no longer contains anything unknown; but this book is called the Gospel, and such is its ever-new charm that if we, satiated with the world or depressed by despondency, accidentally open it, we are no longer able to resist its sweet enthusiasm and are immersed in spirit in its Divine eloquence” (PSS, L. , 1978, vol. 7, p. 322).
We have come to the answer to the question posed. The teaching about the meaning of life is contained in the Holy Gospel. The Word of God reveals to us the truth that life is precious, it more food(Matthew 6:25), preserving it is more important Saturday(Mark 3:4). The Son of God has Life from eternity (John 1:4). Jesus Christ, who died for us and rose again, is the Author of life (Acts 3:15). Only that life has true, and not illusory, meaning, which introduces us into the eternity of God and connects us with Him - the only Source of endless joys, light and blissful peace. “I am the resurrection and the life; He who believes in Me, even if he dies, will live. And everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die” (John 11:25). This entry begins on earth. The Church, as a creation of God, is the foreshadowing and beginning eternal life. New life already on earth becomes reality through faith in the One Who is the way and the truth and the life(John 14:6). The lives of the saints bear witness to this. But even one who has not risen to the level of holiness, but is only passing through his spiritual path honestly and responsibly, gradually gains inner world and knows what the meaning of his life is.
Dear Lyudmila! You need to enter into a thousand-year tradition Christian life. You must not only believe in Christ, but also trust him in everything. Then doubts will pass and painful questions about the purpose of a person will begin to be resolved by themselves.
