Over whom do demons have power?

Today we publish sayingsHoly Fathers about the machinations of demonsand how to counter them.

These collected sayings and published them in a collection"The Evil Elder" of blessed memoryPskov Archpriest ValentinMordasov, author of many otherssoulful books.

Types of demonic possession

Spirits are not corporeal, therefore they do not fill or occupy places with themselves, like bodies. This explains the physical possibility of many spirits being in one person. The possession of demons is not always visible, and is not always revealed by the known actions of the possessed. There is an undetectable, secretive presence of spirits; there is also the power of spirits over minds, in addition to the body, when they lead them as they wish through the passions operating in them; people think that they all act on their own, being the laughingstock of the devil cool strength How to be ? Be a true Christian, and no hostile force will defeat you. ( Saint Feofan Gate nickname).

Power of darkness

The holy martyr Tryphon at a young age healed illnesses and cast out demons. The Roman Emperor Gordian, from whose daughter the saint had exorcised a demon, wished to see the exorcised demon with his own eyes. The martyr Tryphon really summoned a demon, and everyone saw him in the form of a black dog with fiery eyes. The holy martyr Tryphon asked the demon:

-Who sent you to become a maiden? The demon answered:

– Father, the ruler of all evil, who is in hell.

– Over whom do demons have power?

– We have no power over those who know God and believe in the Only Begotten Son of God; Only by God's permission do we inflict light temptations; and over those we have complete power who do not believe in God, walk in their own lusts and do what pleases us; the things that are pleasing to us are: idolatry, blasphemy, adultery, envy, murder, pride, etc. These people are entangled in sins like nets; They are our friends; they share the same fate with us.

Unwitting instrument of salvation

God allows the devil to settle in a person for no other reason than so that a person in his unrepentant sins does not perish for all eternity, but so that, tormented by a demon, he repents and turns to God, that is, the devil becomes an involuntary instrument of salvation. This is exactly what the devil confessed to the Monk Pachomius: “Your strength has increased against me.” humanization God the Word, who has given the power to attack all our strength, therefore I cannot approach you, and when I overcome you, I am the cause of your benefit.”

Demons have hatred for all people, but it is strongest towards Christians, and the strongest is towards monks and those who devote themselves to God. Spiritual warfare against the spirits of evil must be waged through humility, frequent confession of one’s sins, and prayer. Demons feed on our evil deeds and gain strength to fight against us, and when we move away from evil, they are filled with greed and become weak.

Why don’t you “want” to go to church?

As soon as someone begins to come to his senses (to repent) and plans to start a new life according to the will of God, the entire satanic region immediately comes into motion: who, with what, is in a hurry to dispel the good thoughts and undertakings of the repentant. If they don’t have time to reject it, they try to interfere with good repentance and confession; here they don’t have time - they manage to sow tares among the fruits of repentance and labors in cleansing the heart; They don’t have time to inspire the spirit - they try to misrepresent the good; They are internally repulsed - externally they attack. And so on until the end of my life... How can it be - it’s ugly and scary? For a believer there is nothing terrible here, because demons only fuss around a God-fearing person, but have no power. The sober man of prayer shoots arrows at them, and they stay far away from him, not daring to approach and fearing the defeat they have experienced. If they succeed in anything, it is because of our oversight. (St. Theophan the Recluse).

Nothing takes so much strength from Satan as revealing the secrets of our unclean thoughts to our confessors... When enemy thoughts attack and I am unable to fight, then I must say: “Lord, You see my weakness, I am unable to fight, help me ! (Reverend Ambrose of Optina).

The Holy Fathers say that the enemy of man especially hates mercy. No one is more afraid of demons than the humble. Saint Philaret, Metropolitan of Moscow, advises, without getting out of bed, to immediately read several short prayers to sanctify the day. With such prayers we immediately drive away that evil spirit that always guards our awakening.

The devil attacks the dangerously sick more strongly, knowing that he has little time.

Advice from Elder Adrian of Yuga

The proud person learns the existence of God through troubles. We will tremble before death, but we will be late. A chatty tongue means that a person has no virtues within him.

Question: I think I’m doing everything well, I don’t notice anything bad?

Answer: All the blind chicken needs is wheat.

Question: I don’t fast, I don’t pray?

Answer: And it’s like a bird without wings.

Vile actions of "grandmothers"

Fear evil skills more than demons. (Reverend Isaac the Syrian).

Apostasy from God, the source of life, begins through the unreasonable actions of parents: often immediately after the baby’s baptism, after denying Satan and expelling any unclean spirit nesting in his heart, he is taken straight to the grandmothers, who supposedly know how to cure illnesses, to be washed. The holy myrrh is washed off from him, and he is subjected to other vile actions that offend the Spirit of God; Because of shame, the cross is often removed from a child, and this is the beginning for him, even if unconscious on his part, of falling away from God. When a child is ill, parents do not seek help from God; they do not resort to reasonable means permitted and approved by the Church, but to various superstitious customs. And is it surprising that, having gained access to the baby through such whispering, washing and the like pagan rituals, or rather, through the parents’ apostasy from God, the devil receives the power to act painfully on the baby; the child often suffers from various diseases that are incomprehensible to doctors.

Intrigues enemies

Remember your main passions with which the enemy attacks you, and do not indulge them, and vice versa, return in your soul the virtue opposite to each passion, and this will defeat the demon. So, against coldness, love sympathy for your neighbors, etc.

The enemy of salvation blasphemes the deeds of others, so that we may become vain and proud of them, and thus destroy our due reward in heaven. Sometimes the enemy approaches us from the other side: he praises what is foreign and blasphemes what is ours. Here he has a different goal: through failures in business, to lead us to negligence, negligence, impatience and complete frustration, and also to envy of the success of our neighbors. (Reverend Silouan of Athos).

The demon has one goal: so that not a single person passes life path safely. (Holy Righteous John of Kronstadt).

Prepared by V. NIKOLAEV.

B№43(454)2008

Angels and demons in spiritual life

In this article I will try to give a general idea about the role in the spiritual life of angels of light and spirits of darkness according to the works of the most significant ascetic and mystical writers of Eastern Christianity. Lack of space forces me to limit myself almost exclusively to the ancient period (fourth-fifth centuries). This does not mean, however, that I attach any less interest or value to the later development of their teaching. The theological side of the issue is not directly included in my topic, which is primarily of a spiritual nature, although it is often impossible to separate spiritual issues from theology.

I'll start with preliminary remarks. Anyone who would collect material from the writings of the ascetic fathers on the role of angels and demons in spiritual life would be struck by the discrepancy between the extensive space given to descriptions of the manifold activities of Satan and the few, scattered and rather restrained remarks on the role of angels. There are very few exceptions to this rule: Pseudo- with his doctrine of enlightenment through the hierarchies of heavenly powers and, to a certain extent, the great Syrian mystic of the seventh and eighth centuries, St. Isaac of Nineveh. However, the writings of Pseudo-Dionysius are more theoretical in nature than based on experience, and I will not analyze them in this article. They stand somewhat apart from the main currents of Eastern spiritual life. The very fact of greater attention paid to demonic forces is, of course, not accidental, and can be explained by various reasons. The same feature can be found in Holy Scripture, especially in the Gospels, where there are so many stories about demoniacs and their healings by Christ. It is quite natural that ascetic writers, always so faithful to the spirit of the New Testament, also follow the example of the evangelists in this matter.

Practical ascetic considerations also played a role here. Demons are our enemies, and therefore it is vital for us to know their ways of fighting and distinguish between them, while angels help us, even if we do not know about it. “You need to know the differences between demons and mark the times of their attacks,” writes Evagrius very characteristically. “It is necessary to know this, so that when thoughts begin to move in us what is contained in them, we might say something to them and notice who is present in them, before we are completely thrown out of our spiritual state. Thus, we ourselves could easily succeed with God’s help, and we would make them (demons) fly away with pain and surprise towards us.” “Better is the one who was honored to see himself,” says St. Isaac of Nineveh - who was honored to see angels. The latter is characteristic of the bodily eyes, and the former is characteristic of the soul’s eyes.” The fear of false visions, based on the text of St. Paul about the transformation of Satan into an angel of light (), also contributed to the fact that the ascetic fathers did not particularly trust angelic phenomena and did not attach much importance to them in spiritual life. It is very remarkable that our spiritual struggle is very rarely depicted by them as a battle between angels and demons, but usually as a war between man and Satan. Angels, of course, help and protect us in this battle, but it is not angels who are opposed to Satan, but Christ Himself and the grace of the Holy Spirit, Who by His presence destroys demonic temptations and enlightens the satanic darkness in our souls. So, for example, St. , having spoken in one of his “Acts” about the darkness brought by unclean demons into our minds, immediately after this speaks of the Holy Spirit, Who intervenes in the struggle and enlightens us and fills us with fragrance. However, the most important reason for the limited and, as it were, “hidden” place given to angels in spiritual life can be found in the pronounced Christocentric and theocentric direction of Eastern spiritual life, where the highest mystical states are always thought of as a direct union of the mind and heart with Christ or as knowledge Holy Trinity. At this stage of spiritual life, any deviation of attention towards angels is considered, if not outright false, then at least as having less value. Even Pseudo-Dionysius no longer mentions angels when he moves on to Mystical Theology. The wonderful story preserved by Evagrius in his “Chapters on Prayer” perfectly illustrates this understanding. “Another time,” says Evagrius, “two angels appeared to one lover of God, busy with prayer and walking in the desert. They placed him in their midst and accompanied him on his journey. But he did not pay any attention to them, so as not to suffer damage to the best. For he recalled the apostolic saying that says: “Neither angels, nor principalities, nor powers will be able to separate us from the love of Christ.”

It would, however, be completely wrong to conclude from the extensive space devoted to demonic temptations and phenomena in the Life of St. Anthony that the monks of his time were frightened by the power of dark forces. They, of course, had a vivid sense of their reality, based on personal experience, but at the same time they firmly believed that the power of Satan was destroyed in the incarnation and on the Cross, so that Christians were able, with the help of God, to defeat them. This idea is re-emphasized in the “Life of St. Anthony”: “Since the Lord visited the earth, the enemy has fallen and his strength has weakened. Therefore, although he is powerless to do anything, but, like a fallen tyrant, he cannot calm down and continues to threaten at least with words alone. Let each of you think about this, and he will be able to despise demons." Not fear, but contempt is a truly Christian attitude towards demons. “One should not be completely afraid of them, for all their enterprises are reduced to nothing by the grace of Christ.” We have many weapons at our disposal to fight them: faith in God, a good life, memory of eternal torment, prayers and, especially, the sign of the cross. “The demons,” says St. Anthony, “are very afraid of the sign of the Cross of the Lord, for on it the Savior exposed and put them to shame.” Christ himself comes to our aid, as happened with St. Anthony. And if we always remember that the Lord is with us, the demons will disappear like smoke.

However, this inability of demons to openly attack Christians forces them to use other cunning, “roundabout” techniques. Thus, they appear in the form of angels of light and deceive us with false visions. Etc. Anthony turns here to the question of discernment of spirits. This is one of the most interesting parts of his spiritual teaching. She gives him a reason to talk about the role of good angels in spiritual life, in order to distinguish them from evil spirits. Demons, as St. Anthony explains to his disciples, often appear in the form of angels. They even assure us: “We are angels.” Christians, however, with God's help, easily distinguish a good phenomenon from an evil one by its effect on the soul. “It is easy and possible,” says St. Anthony, “to distinguish the presence of good and evil forces when it gives us this. The vision... of the saints (powers) is alien to embarrassment... it happens so quietly and meekly that joy and jubilation and courage immediately arise in the soul. For in the midst of them is the Lord, who is our joy and the Power of God the Father. Soul thoughts remain undisturbed and without excitement, so that the soul sees those who appear to it, illuminated by them. For a strong desire for divine and future things enters the soul with them, and it wants in every possible way to unite with them.” Even if a phenomenon frightens us with its Divine grandeur, this feeling is immediately dispelled by those who are. “When... you see someone and are afraid, if fear is immediately taken away and in its place comes indescribable joy, complacency and boldness... and serenity in thoughts... courage and love for God, be bold and pray. Joy and state of mind indicate the holiness of Him who is present." The action of dark forces is completely opposite. Their appearance is accompanied by noise, confusion and fear. It produces bad feelings, disordered thoughts and disdain for virtue. And the feeling of fear does not go away, as with a good event. However, we must never lose our courage when we see a vision. “When any vision is imagined, do not fall in fear of it, but whoever it is, ask first of all with courage: “Who are you?” And where?" And if this was a vision of holy powers, they notify you about this and turn your fear into joy. If it was something of the devil, it immediately weakens when it sees you strengthened mentally. For simply asking is already proof of lack of confusion.”

The vision of the Divine Light and its distinction from satanic imitations does not occupy a significant place in the Life of St. Anthony. Indications of this can, however, be found therein. Thus, St. Anthony tells how the demons “came one day in the dark, having with them the appearance of light, and said: “We have come to shine on you, Anthony!” But I closed my eyes and prayed. And the light of the wicked went out immediately." The circumstance that Anthony closed his eyes in order to avoid seeing the demonic light allows us to conclude that this light was apparently material. The same “Life” tells us, however, how the Lord once Himself came to the aid of Anthony during one terrible struggle with demons. Anthony “looked up... saw the roof as if it was opening and a certain ray of light descending towards him.” This description strikingly reminds us of some of the visions of the Divine Light of the great eleventh-century mystic St. Simeon the New Theologian: “The demons suddenly disappeared, the bodily pain immediately stopped... Anthony, feeling help... prayed to the vision that appeared, saying: “Where were you? Why didn’t You appear to me first to stop my pain?” And a voice came to him: “Antony, I was here, but I waited to see your struggle.”

We must not, however, assume that discerning spirits is such a simple matter. It is easy and possible “when it gives it to us,” as we have already mentioned. In other words, it is not a purely natural ability, but primarily a gift from God. Anthony himself says: “We must pray... to receive the gift of discerning spirits, so that, as it is written, we would not believe every spirit.” The question may arise, how can evil spirits harm us if their power was broken by the Lord on the Cross? Of course, only with God's permission can they tempt us for our own benefit. And if they succeed in harming us, it is always our fault. We give them strength through our negligence. Satan himself admits this in his Life. He appears to Anthony and admits his weakness. But he protests against the accusation that it is he who tempts the monks. “It is not I,” he says, “who causes them difficulties, but they themselves confuse themselves, for I have become powerless.”

This, in brief, is the teaching of Athanasiev’s “Life of St. Anthony” about the participation of invisible forces in our spiritual life. Anthony has a vivid sense of the reality of dark forces and their constant interference in our lives. They tempt a person rather from the outside, through various phenomena, etc., although they are capable of inspiring bad thoughts and sinful feelings. Nevertheless, their power was decisively crushed on the Cross, so that the Christian should not fear them at all. In this early writing of victorious Christianity there is much of a youthful optimism which could not always be shared by later Christian generations. Good angels are mentioned only in passing in the Life.

Another remarkable monument on the history of monasticism and spiritual life dates back to the fourth century - “The Life of St. Pachomius” in its various editions. It gives us rich and interesting material about demonic forces. In general terms, however, it differs little from the data that we find in the “Life of St. Anthony.” Therefore, we will cite here only one passage from it that gives instructions for distinguishing between true and false visions. According to St. Pachomius, true visions completely captivate the consciousness with their holiness, so that no doubt can arise in us. The slightest doubt is already a sign that the phenomenon is of a demonic nature. “The demon,” the “Life” narrates, “one day appeared to him (Pachomius) in the form of Christ, and saying that he was Christ... But since the saint possessed the discernment of spirits, so that he could distinguish between evil spirits and saints, ... he immediately thought: “When seeing the holy powers, the thoughts of the one who sees the vision completely disappear. And they consider nothing but the holiness of that which is; but I see it, I think and think. Clearly the vision is lying. This is not a vision of holy powers." And while he was thinking this way, the false vision disappeared. An interesting point here is the vision of the demon in the image of Christ.

II. Evagrius of Pontus (346–399)

Of greater importance for our topic are the writings of Evagrius of Pontus, the first major theorist and taxonomist of contemplative life and one of the founders of the spiritual teaching of the Eastern Church. It is interesting to note what an extensive place the fight against demons occupies in the spiritual teachings of this era. highest degree cultural and intellectual person. His descriptions of the activities of various kinds of demons associated with our main passions (for example, the spirit of despondency or spiritual relaxation) are well known. Evagrius reveals deep knowledge here human soul and the activities of demons. For us, however, more interesting are his observations on the participation taken by angels and demons in mental prayer and contemplation. According to Evagrius, here is the main object of the demonic struggle. “The whole war,” says Evagrius, “which we and the demons wage among ourselves, is waged regarding the contemplation of essences and the knowledge of the Holy Trinity. They want to prevent us from acquiring knowledge, but we are trying to learn.” Demons especially hate mental prayer. “If you take care to pray, prepare for an attack by demons,” he says in his “Chapters on Prayer.” “For they will rush at you like wild animals, and will cause suffering to your entire body." “The demon is very angry with the praying person and uses all means to harm his goal... in order to prevent his (spiritual) departure to God. “The whole war that is waged between us and unclean spirits is not due to anything other than spiritual prayer.”

Demons use many means to hinder us in our prayers. During prayer, they instill in us various thoughts about objects, passions, carnal feelings, etc., in order to weaken our mind and make it unable to pray properly. More more dangerous images and phenomena produced in our minds by demons during prayer, since they have the consequence of some limitation of the Divine in space. “Beware of the enemy’s traps,” warns Evagrius, “for it happens that when you pray purely and without embarrassment, a strange and alien image suddenly appears to you in order to entice you into conceit, placing the Divinity there in space in order to convince you that what has suddenly been revealed to you quantity is something Divine. But the Divine has neither quantity nor form." This kind of imagination always has something sensual in it and is connected with the body... “When an envious demon cannot set the memory in motion during prayer, then he puts pressure on the composition of our body in order to produce some strange imagination in the mind and give it an image. He who is not accustomed to thoughts easily succumbs to this, and he who strives for immaterial and formless knowledge is deceived, having smoke instead of light.” Such temptations occur especially during mental prayer. “When the mind prays purely, without delusion and truly, then the demons no longer approach from the left side, but from the right. They present to him the glory of God and a certain mark that is pleasant to the senses, so that it seems to him that he has completely achieved the goal of prayer.” Demons strive by these means to subjugate the mind to the passion of vanity.

It is very interesting, however, to note that mental images are produced, according to Evagrius, by demons through the bodily senses. Evagrius gives a very interesting explanation of how evil spirits, in order to achieve such a result, touch one part of our brain, “where the blood vessels pulsate.” “I think,” he says, “that the demon, touching the above-mentioned place, turns at will the light located near our mind, and thus the passion of vanity is set in motion towards thought, giving an image to the mind, deprived of control for reproducing the Divine and essential knowledge. Such a (mind), not disturbed by carnal and impure passions, but as if standing pure (in prayer), believes that no hostile action is no longer taking place in it. Therefore, he forms the opinion that the phenomenon that occurs in him from the demon and gives him an image is a Divine phenomenon.” During contemplation, demons also seek to confuse us. “Like darkness, a cloud stands before thinking and pushes contemplation away from the mind.” How can we fight these demonic temptations? We must be careful and ask God for guidance. “Be careful that the crafty demons do not deceive you through some vision. But be concentrated in your mind, turning to prayer, and ask God that, if what you think comes from Him, He Himself would enlighten you; and if not from Him, so that you quickly drive the deceiver away from you.” Humility also protects us from the insults of demons." “The dispassion of a rational soul is a spiritual wall that protects it from demons.” is, however, one of the most effective weapons against demons, especially short intense prayer. She burns them like fire. “During such temptations,” says Evagrius, “use short and intense prayer.” Our mind should never be distracted from prayer by demonic activity. This idea is explained using the example of some hermits. All the attacks of demons “could in no way reduce their minds from fiery prayer.”

Evagrius does not omit to talk about the help provided to us by angels during this spiritual struggle. “The angel of God,” he says, “appearing, with just one word stops all the action of the enemy in us and sets in motion the light of the mind so that it acts without delusion.” Angels help us in our prayers. The grace of prayer is communicated to us by an angel. He gives us the knowledge of true prayer, so that after this we stand without any disorderly movement, despondency or neglect of mind. “Know,” he says in another place, “that the holy angels encourage us to prayer and stand at it with us, at the same time rejoicing and praying for us. Therefore, if we become careless and accept nasty thoughts, we will irritate them greatly. After all, they fight so much for us, and we don’t even want to beg God for ourselves, but, despising their service and abandoning their God and Master, we encounter unclean demons.” Angels also help us in contemplation. They enlighten us in such a way that we become capable of perceiving the ideal foundations of created beings, which are grounded in God. This is one of the stages of contemplation in the spiritual teaching of Evagrius. “If you pray truly,” he says, “you will find complete confidence, and the angels will come to you and illuminate for you the ideal foundations (“logoi”) of creatures.” “In contemplation of religious life related to the commandments of God (i.e. in active life), holy powers cleanse us from vice and make us dispassionate,” he says in another place, “and in contemplation of natures and “logoi” (ideal foundations) ), which are near God, they free us from ignorance and make us wise and capable of knowledge."

Nevertheless, the angels themselves do not constitute an object of contemplation for Evagrius. At the highest level it is always the Divinity, the Holy Trinity, which is the object of contemplation. Divine actions, such as providence, wisdom, judgment, as well as the reflection of the Divine in creation, in the ideal foundations of created beings, all constitute lower stages of contemplation. Therefore, the contemplation of the “incorporeal”, so characteristic of the spiritual teaching of Evagrius, should be understood as part of such contemplation of the immaterial structure of the universe, and not as a vision of angels. This kind of vision is not, however, completely rejected. Evagrius gives many examples of genuine angelic apparitions. We should not, however, desire to see angels, just as, in general, we should not desire to have any vision in a sensory form, even a vision of Christ. This is dangerous, because demons can take on the appearance of angels. “Do not strongly desire,” says Evagrius, “to see sensually angels or powers or Christ, lest you become completely crazy, accepting a wolf instead of a shepherd and worshiping enemies, demons.” We must always have in our minds this foundation of mental prayer, which excludes all imagination and leads to the direct union of the mind with the Divine, in order to correctly evaluate everything that Evagrius says about the role of angels and demons in spiritual life. For all his intellectualism, Evagrius was undoubtedly a man of great spiritual experience. This allows him to speak with authority and knowledge about the actions of dark forces and about the help provided to us in prayer by the angels of light. His physiological explanations, although not entirely devoid of value, are to a certain extent influenced scientific ideas his time.

III. "Spiritual Conversations"

I now turn to another, extremely important monument of ancient spirituality - the “Spiritual Conversations”, traditionally attributed to St. Macarius of Egypt. Some modern scholars dispute the authenticity of the authorship of St. Macarius. They may be right on this particular point. But they are undoubtedly mistaken when they deny the ecclesiastical and Orthodox character of the “Spiritual Conversations” and seek to discover in them the condemned spiritual teaching of the “Messalians” (a well-known spiritual heresy of the fourth to eighth centuries). The Orthodox character of “Spiritual Conversations” cannot be denied by any objective researcher; they may contain some theological inaccuracies, since they were written before the final formulation of their teaching, but they undoubtedly represent the ancient church direction of spiritual life and express a genuine and deeply Christian religious experience. Less theoretical in nature than the writings of Evagrius, they surpass them in the vivacity of religious feeling, a more inward attitude towards Christ and a greater understanding of human nature, and an experiential knowledge of the operation of grace and demonic activity.

I'll start with the last point. The Monk Macarius vividly depicts the enslavement of human nature by Satan after the fall of Adam. “The kingdom of darkness, the evil ruler,” he says, “having captivated man from the beginning, he has surrounded and clothed the soul with the power of darkness, just as a man is clothed with clothes.” Etc. Macarius often uses the image of the night wind in his descriptions of the action of dark forces. “Just as in a gloomy and black night some wild wind blows and moves, explores, and shakes all the plants and crops, so man, having fallen under the power of the night of the devil’s darkness and being in the night and darkness, is shaken by the terrible blowing wind of sin and is shaken by it and moves." Or: “Just as one wind is enough to shake and shake all the plants and grains, or as one darkness of the night spreads throughout the entire universe, so the chief of evil, being some kind of mental darkness of evil and death and being some kind of hidden and wild wind, agitates the entire human race on earth and leads it around with unstable thoughts, seducing the hearts of people with worldly desires, and fills every soul with the darkness of ignorance, blindness and oblivion.” Etc. Macarius also speaks about “the darkness of passions through which the soul is exposed to the action (of demons)”, and, summarizing all this, about “the leaven of evil, which is sin” and which “imperceptibly entered into man after the fall, being some kind of mental and spiritual the power of Satan." And he adds other striking images of this enslavement of sinful man by the forces of darkness. “Your heart is a tomb and a coffin. For when the chief of evil and his angels make their dwelling there and when they walk there and come out from there, when the powers of Satan walk freely in your mind and in your thoughts, are you not hell and not a tomb and not a tombstone and are not dead to God?” Satan is even depicted by St. Macarius as a kind of serpent crawling into our soul: “The terrible serpent of sin is with the soul, exciting it and prompting it to sin. And if she agrees with him, then the incorporeal soul communicates with the incorporeal evil of the spirit, that is, the spirit communicates with the spirit, and he who agrees with the evil thought and accepts it commits adultery in his heart.”

All these images should not, however, be understood in the sense that some kind of invincible power was attributed to the forces of darkness. This kind of idea, like Manichaean dualism in general in its different manifestations, are completely alien to the spiritual teaching of St. Macarius. In accordance with all patristic tradition, he denies the substantiality of evil. “Those who say that evil is something existing in itself (enypostaton) know nothing. For God there is no evil existing within itself, but in us it acts with all its strength and perceptibly, suggesting to us all the dirty desires.” “For us, however,” he writes in another place, “evil exists as capable of acting in the heart and inspiring bad and dirty thoughts and as not allowing pure prayer, but enslaving the mind to this world.” Nevertheless, it depends on our will whether to accept or reject these suggestions of evil. “The human mind, when it seeks Divine help, is no weaker than Satan, so that their struggle is not unequal.” And even when the soul mixes with Satan in great sin, it does not lose its identity. “Evil,” says St. Macarius, “has not mixed with us in the same way that wine and water are mixed, but as in one field the wheat is on its own and the tares are on their own.” The dominance of evil is not permanent: “The soul, when confused, mixes with evil... However, at other times the soul is on its own as a special entity, repenting of what it has done, and crying and praying, and remembering God. If the soul were always immersed in evil, how could it do this?

Therefore, every Christian must fight against Satan. He has the freedom to do so, although the final victory comes only from God. And, first of all, we must understand that we must fight not only against our natural inclinations, but also against actual demonic forces. “The sin that came,” explains St. Macarius, “being a kind of satanic mental force and essence, sowed all evil. For he acts secretly in inner man both in the mind and struggling with thoughts. And people do not know that they are doing this, being persecuted by some alien force, but they think that all this is natural, and that they do it from their mental state. But those who have the peace of Christ in their minds and His enlightenment know where this comes from. We must begin the fight against Satan in our hearts with the greatest determination: “The most decisive weapon of a fighter and ascetic is to enter the heart and wage war there against Satan, and hate yourself, and renounce your soul, and be angry with it and blame it, resist the desires that coexist with it and resist the thoughts, and fight with yourself.” Etc. Macarius, as usual, very vividly describes this struggle in the heart: “As people harness horses and drive chariots, and rush one against the other... so in the heart of those who strive there is, as it were, a spectacle of evil spirits fighting against the soul, and the angels look at the competition ... For the mind is the ruler of the chariot and it harnesses the chariot of the soul, holding the harness of thoughts in its hands; and now she rushes against the chariot of Satan, which he also harnessed against the soul.” This struggle requires unceasing vigilance and unceasing self-examination... “Consider your mind, brothers, with whom are you associated, angels or demons? Who are you temple to? Are you the dwelling place of God or the devil? What treasure is your heart filled with - grace or Satan? Like a house filled with stench and dung, it needs to be completely cleansed and decorated, and filled with all kinds of fragrance and treasures, so that the Holy Spirit would come instead of Satan and rest in the souls of Christians.” This fight against evil is not only moral, but a real spiritual battle with Satan. This is not only abstinence from evil, but uprooting evil from its roots. “Abstinence from evil,” says St. Macarius, “is not yet perfection. But if you entered your powerless mind and killed the serpent nesting below the mind and deeper than thoughts, in the so-called storerooms and warehouses of the soul, killing you and making a nest for itself there, and threw out all the impurity that is in you (this is perfection )".

Man alone cannot achieve this radical uprooting of the evil forces that lurk so deeply in our nature. Only Christ and the grace of the Holy Spirit sent by Christ give us victory. This idea is constantly emphasized by St. Macarius in “Spiritual Conversations”. This is one of the main parts of his teaching. “We must examine,” he writes, “how and by what means purity of heart can be achieved.” And he answers: “Nowhere, in no case, except through the One who was crucified for us. For He is the way, the life, the truth, the door, the pearl, the living and heavenly bread." - “It is impossible to separate the soul from sin unless the evil wind that lives in the soul and body stops and ceases... For although a person wants to fly into the Divine air and into the freedom of the Holy Spirit, he cannot unless he receives wings.” “The soul,” he writes in another place, “immersed and suffocated in the depths of death, is dead in relation to God in the midst of terrible beasts. And who can descend into these hidden places and depths of hell and death, except the Master Himself, who built the body?” Christ Himself sends His holy angels and destroys the kingdom of darkness. “King Christ sends them to take revenge on the city and binds the rapists, and settles the heavenly army and the militia of the holy spirits there, as in His fatherland. And from now on the sun shines in the heart, and its rays penetrate all members.”

We must firmly believe that Christ is always near us, ready to help us if we only ask for help. “As close as the body is to the soul, so the Lord is ready to come even closer and open the locked doors of the heart and give us heavenly wealth. For He is good and loving to mankind, and His promises are not deceptive, only so that we may have patience to seek Him to the end.” And along with Christ the grace of the Holy Spirit comes and drives away all darkness from the soul. “Since man violated the commandment,” writes St. Macarius, “the devil covered his entire soul with a dark veil. But then grace comes and removes all the covering, so that from now on the soul, having become pure and having perceived its own nature... always with purely pure eyes sees the glory of the true Light and the true Sun of Truth, shining in its heart.

Two important points regarding the action of grace should be noted in the teaching of St. Macarius. The first is that grace can always retreat and hide its effect, so that we are again subject to attacks by dark forces. We sometimes feel this as the simultaneous action of grace and the enemy in our soul. We must therefore have discernment of spirits in order to be able to distinguish between true and false enlightenment. Etc. Macarius insists on this mixed nature of many spiritual states. A person who has not yet achieved perfection “is still waging war within himself,” he says, “at one time he rests in prayer, and at another time he stands in sorrow and is at war... Both “persons” are in abundance in him, light and darkness, peace and sorrow." There is some gradualness in the communication of grace, so that our free will can be tested. “So, when the action of Divine grace overshadows the soul in accordance with the measure of everyone’s faith, ... the grace overshadowed only partially. Let no one think that he has been enlightened with all his soul. There is still much pasture for evil within him, and man still needs much labor and effort consistent with the grace given to him.” It may even seem that grace has been temporarily withdrawn, even after great revelations, and has given way to the work of an enemy power. “Grace is constantly with us and is rooted in us,” says St. Macarius, “... but it arranges a person in various ways, as it wants, for his benefit. Sometimes it flares up more, and the fire ignites, sometimes it manifests itself more softly and meekly... At other times, the light itself, shining in the heart, reveals a more internal and deeper and hidden light, so that the whole person, absorbed in this sweetness and contemplation, no longer controls himself, but is mad and barbaric in relation to this world because of all-surpassing love and sweetness, because of hidden secrets... but after that grace recedes, and a veil of opposing power has come. Grace becomes visible, as it were, partially.”

The distinction between the action of grace and the action of Satan is based mainly on their consequences: “In view of the fact that he is transformed into an angel of light and becomes completely like grace, how can a person understand the tricks of the devil? And how will he receive and discern the effects of grace? Answer: In the operations of grace there is joy, there is love, there is truth. The truth itself forces a person to seek the truth. But types of sin are characterized by confusion, and they do not contain the love and joy of God.” And he adds: “Chicory is like lettuce, but the first is bitter and the other is sweet.” Nevertheless, the surest sign that distinguishes Divine grace from any demonic action is the feeling of humility it produces. “If someone says: “I am rich, enough, I have already acquired, I don’t need more,” he is not a Christian,” writes St. Macarius, “but a vessel of error and the devil. For the pleasure of God is insatiable, and the more one tastes and eats of Him, the more hungry one becomes. And such people have an uncontrollable passion and love for God. The more they try to succeed and move forward, the more they consider themselves poor, as needy and possessing nothing. This is what they say: “I am not worthy for this sun to shine on me.” This is the sign of Christianity, this is humility. And if anyone says: “I have enough, I am filled,” he is a deceiver and a liar.”

Another important point to remember is that as long as a person lives, he can always fall. No state of holiness, no wealth protects him from the return of temptations, passions and even sin, if only he becomes careless, self-righteous or proud. Even “dispassion,” freedom from passions, can be lost again through our own fault. This is one of the main differences between the “Spiritual Conversations” and the heretical Messalian teaching, which asserted that in a state of “dispassion” a person can no longer fall. St. Macarius has many vivid descriptions of this kind of fall from a state of grace. “One of the brothers,” he says, “who was praying with the other, was captured by Divine power. Being delighted, he saw the high city of Jerusalem and bright images and endless Light. And he heard a voice saying: “This is the resting place of the righteous.” And a little later, having become arrogant and thinking that what he saw related to him, it happened to him that he fell into the most secret and deepest sins, into countless evils.” Human freedom is preserved even in the highest states of grace. “Bound by the Holy Spirit and intoxicated with heavenly things has the power to turn to evil... even those who have tasted the grace of God and become partakers of the Spirit, if they are not careful, are extinguished and become worse than when they were worldly.”

In another place, however, St. Macarius seems to admit that a person who has achieved perfect love is no longer subject to temptation. He says: “If anyone has achieved perfect love, he is henceforth bound and captivated by grace.” But he immediately adds that this is a completely exceptional state and that it is very easy to make a mistake in assessing its worth. “But if anyone comes very close to the measure of love, but does not reach to be bound by love itself, he is still under fear and in war, and in danger of falling, and if he does not take precautions, Satan throws him to the ground.” Etc. Macarius says that he has never met a perfect person. “I have not yet seen a perfect man, a Christian and a free man,” he says, “but even if someone rests in grace and enters into mysteries and revelations, and into the many sweetness of grace, he is nevertheless co-present with him from the inside.” Therefore, while we are alive, we must be ready to fight against the dark forces. “Satan never calms down so as not to fight. As long as anyone lives in this age and wears flesh, war is waged against him.” Even “when someone tastes the goodness of the Lord and enjoys the fruits of the Spirit, and the veil of darkness is taken away from him and the light of Christ shines... in unspeakable joy... he still has struggle and fear of robbers and spirits of evil, so that, having relaxed, he would not lose his work until will not be worthy to enter the Kingdom of Heaven."

We need good spiritual vision to see this entire invisible world of hostile or friendly spirits surrounding us and interfering with our inner life. He can only be seen with spiritual eyes. “There is a satanic earth and fatherland, where dark forces and spirits of evil live and walk on it and rest. There is also a bright land of the Divine, where militias of angels and holy spirits walk and rest. Neither the dark earth can be seen with the eyes of this body or be tangible, nor the light earth of the Divine can be touched or visible with carnal eyes, but among spiritual persons it is visible with the eye of the heart, both the satanic dark and the light of the Divinity.” Man is free and capable of entering into relations with both kingdoms, the kingdom of light and the kingdom of darkness. “The same soul is a fellow and sister of demons or of God and angels. And if she commits adultery with the devil, she becomes unfit for the Heavenly Bridegroom.”

This is, in its main outline, the teaching of “Spiritual Conversations” about the role of invisible forces in spiritual life. Summing up what has been said, we can note that although their author is not silent about the actions of angels (they are sent by God to fight demons, they are present during our struggle, help us, enter into communication with our soul, etc.), nevertheless mentions them, so to speak, in passing. Etc. Macarius does not differ in this respect from his predecessors, however, he dwells in more detail on the actions of dark forces. He avoids talking about their physical actions or their visible appearances and speaks mainly about the hidden satanic spiritual force operating within us, in the soul - not even in the mind or heart, but somewhere much deeper, “below the mind and deeper than the thoughts,” as he speaks himself, or in our subconscious, as we might perhaps put it in the language of modern psychology. This satanic force takes on in the writings of St. Macarius the striking image of a spiritual serpent, “nesting in the so-called storerooms and warehouses of the soul.” We undoubtedly encounter here a significant deepening of the existing teaching, even in comparison with Evagrius, who tried to explain temptations by the physical pressure of demons on the brain. At the same time, St. Macarius usually connects and sometimes identifies satanic action with the power of sin or with the “old man” who “put on” after the fall. Grace and Christ are opposed to this “satanic leaven” at work in us. Our liberation from dark enslavement is always thought of in Christological images. Christ on the Cross destroys the power of Satan. Christ descends into the hell of our souls and frees us from demonic captivity. Christ raises us to new life and sends us the Holy Spirit. Therefore, for St. Macarius, our struggle against evil is not just a moral struggle, but has as its basis the existence of a real “satanic world of darkness,” perceived by spiritual eyes, and the opposite light “world of the Divine.”

There are many antinomies in the teachings of Spiritual Conversations, which sometimes make their true understanding very difficult. Human freedom and the power of Satan; grace and dark forces operating simultaneously in the soul; our liberation by Christ and the possibility of falling again; captivity by perfect love (not dispassion) and the impermanence of even the highest states of holiness; all this constitutes undeniable data of genuine and deep spiritual experience and penetrating knowledge of human nature, although their theological expression is not always easy. In any case, “Spiritual Conversations” rejects the main Messalian errors, such as the essentiality of evil, the personal unity of the soul with Satan, the impossibility of falling from a state of “dispassion,” etc. . “Spiritual Conversations” can rightly be considered as the greatest work of ancient Eastern Christian spiritual writing. They contain invaluable material on the spiritual struggle of Christians against dark forces.

IV. St. Diadochos of Photius

A further development of these teachings towards a more subtle distinction of spiritual states and greater accuracy of their theological expression can be found in the writings of the fifth century bishop, St. Diadoche of Photiki. Two questions are considered in particular detail by St. Diadochos in his main work “One Hundred Gnostic Chapters on Spiritual Perfection”: the first is about the difference between the action of grace and the action of Satan; the second is a theological description of the way in which both of them operate in a Christian as opposed to their operation in an unbaptized person. St. Diadochos in the following words describes the satanic action that tries to counterfeit the sensation produced by grace in order to deceive us with a false sweetness: “When our mind begins to feel the consolation of the Holy Spirit, then Satan also consoles the soul with some sweet-looking feeling in the silence of the night, when a person leans toward some subtle sleep. So, if the mind turns out to be firmly holding in warm memory the holy name of the Lord Jesus and, as a weapon, uses this holy and glorious name against deception, then the cunning deceiver leaves, it is true, but from this time he is kindled against the soul in a war that takes on a personal character. Therefore, the mind, recognizing the deception of the evil one, is more successful in the experience of discernment.”

We pay special attention to the instruction about the “memory of the holy name of the Lord Jesus,” considered as a powerful weapon against satanic temptations. Chronologically, this is the first mention of the “Jesus Prayer” known to us in Eastern spiritual writing. St. Diadochos, in the next chapter, again advises using it: “If the mind... will carefully remember the Lord Jesus, it will dispel this seemingly sweet breath of the enemy.” St. Diadochos contrasts false consolation with the true consolation produced by the Holy Spirit. Such consolation arouses in us an ardent love for God. It has the confidence of its authenticity. It comes openly, not stealthily,” like a satanic consolation that always acts in a thievish manner. “If the soul is inflamed to the love of God in an undoubted and ugly movement... thinking nothing else at that time except the very thing where it is set in motion, it must know that this is the action of the Holy Spirit. For, completely delighted by this indescribable sweetness, she cannot think of anything else, since she rejoices with a joy that is incomparable to anything. But if, as a result of this action on him, any doubt or any dirty thought is formed in the mind... one must think that this consolation, under the appearance of joy, comes from the deceiver. Such joy is without quality and is completely unsettled, as if it comes from someone who wants to commit adultery with the soul. For when he sees that the mind boasts of the experience of its feeling, then it calls on the soul with certain consolations... good in appearance, so that when it becomes as if forked from this relaxing and slightly moist sweetness, the deceptive admixture would become unrecognizable to it. So, from this we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error."

Oxford (“Bulletin of the Russian Western European Patriarchal Exarchate”, 1955. No. 22. pp. 132–157)

In memory of Archbishop Basil of Brussels

Archbishop Basil of Brussels and Belgium (in the world Vsevolod Krivoshein) was called to the Lord on September 22 of this year. in his hometown of St. Petersburg, where he was born on June 19, 1900 and where he spent his entire youth until the First World War. His father A.V. Krivoshein was the Minister of Agriculture and Land Management during the reign of Emperor Nicholas II.

The February Revolution found him a student at the Faculty of Philology of Petrograd University. Having soon moved to Moscow, Vsevolod decided to move south and join the ranks of the Volunteer Army. As a result of military operations, Vsevolod was taken from Novorossiysk to Cairo at the end of 1919. In 1920, he found himself in Paris with all the surviving members of his family. He entered the Sorbonne and at the same time took part in congresses of Orthodox youth.

In 1924, he enrolled as a student at the St. Sergius Theological Institute in Paris, which had just been founded by Metropolitan Eulogius, but almost immediately, after taking part in an excursion to Mount Athos, he decided to stay there forever.

Vsevolod took monastic vows in the Russian St. Panteleimon Monastery: as a monk he was given the name Vasily. Gradually, along with the usual monastic obediences, having mastered Greek, O. Vasily began to conduct the clerical work of the monastery and was admitted to the most valuable book depository of the monastery, where ancient Greek manuscripts and archives are located. From that time on, his passion for patristic writing began.

Already in 1936, Fr. Basil gained fame for his remarkable work on the then little-known Saint Gregory Palamas (“The Ascetic and Theological Teachings of St. Gregory Palamas”).

In the 50s Fr. Vasily had to leave his native monastery. Then I met him in Athens, where we often met either in the Russian Church of St. Nicodemus, or at the National Library, where we both worked in the department of Greek ancient manuscripts.

In 1951, thanks to the petition of Metropolitan Germanos of Fiotira, Fr. Basil managed to receive an invitation to Oxford University to participate in the compilation of the “Greek Patristic Dictionary”. Since then it has expanded scientific work according to the holy fathers of the Church and, mainly, according to the publication of the scientific Greek original of the works of St. Simeon the New Theologian, in the French collection "Sources Chretiennes". His publishing work culminated in the publication of a brilliant monograph about St. Simeone, published simultaneously in Russian and French in 1980.

I must, of course, mention his frequent presence and active participation in the liturgical annual conventions of the Theological Institute in Paris. We rejoiced at his speeches at the general meetings of these scientific congresses.

Already upon his arrival in Oxford, Fr. Vasily accepted the priesthood; and in 1959, his episcopal consecration for the Belgian See of the Moscow Patriarchate took place in London. From 1960 until his death, Vladyka Vasily lived in a house at a Russian church in Brussels.

During these 25 years of his bishopric, Vl. Vasily took an active part in inter-Christian and pan-Orthodox congresses and meetings as a representative of the Moscow Patriarchate.

Being deeply devoted to the Russian Church, Vl. Vasily mourned her state of servitude in relation to the Soviet state. His voice was one of the few voiced during the meetings of the Moscow Council in 1971, when he spoke in favor of a secret ballot in electing the future Moscow Patriarch.

Then Vl. Basil publicly and repeatedly opposed the so-called 1961 parish regulations. He challenged these decrees as contrary to the canons, violating the unity of church government, transferring all power in parishes to the laity, in a word, harmful to the Church.

“Why were you all silent?” – he asked one bishop. “We are overwhelmed, we cannot speak, but you spoke on behalf of everyone. Thank you. All the bishops listened to you and agreed with what you said. All the bishops kissed your lips.”

Stories and instructions of the holy fathers about the action of the devil on the human race

As an appendix, we decided to give interesting stories or teachings about the devil that were left to us by ascetics of the Orthodox faith.

Here are the words of the ancient hermits who labored in Egypt in the 4th century, the fathers belonging to the “golden age” of Byzantine theology - the 4th–8th centuries, and practically our contemporaries, the fathers of the 19th–20th centuries. But you will find that although all these elders lived at different times and belonged to completely different cultures, they talk about one thing: that man has an enemy who wants to destroy the soul of man.

That this enemy is extremely aggressive.

And that a Christian, with the help of God, will defeat Satan and all his onion demonic army.

From the sayings of Egyptian ascetics:

“Apa Macarius lived in the great desert, and he was the only hermit in that place. Below him was another desert, in which there were many brothers. The elder watched the road and saw Satan walking in the clothes of a man. And he passed by him, and it was as if he was wearing a surplice, and his clothes were all full of holes, and in each hole hung a vessel. The great elder said to him: “Where are you going?” He said: “I’m going to visit the brothers.” The elder said to him: “What are you doing with these vessels?” He said: “These are tests so that the brothers try them, so that if they don’t like one, I’ll give another, if they don’t like this other, so that I’ll give another one, maybe one of them will like it.” Having said these words, he left. The elder watched the road until he returned. (And when the elder saw him, he said to him “Be healthy”). He said: “What is my health!” The elder said to him: “Why?” He said: “Because everyone was angry with me and no one tolerated me.” The elder said to him: “Don’t you have a single friend?” He said: “Yes, I have one brother from them. He obeys me and when he sees me, he comes like a servant.” The elder said to him: “What is his name?” He said: “Theopempt.” When he had said these (words), he left. Apa Macarius stood up and went into the outer desert. When the brothers heard, they took palm branches and went out to meet him. And everyone got ready, saying: “Perhaps the old man will come in and live with me?” He asked: “Who is called Theopemptus in this mountain?” And when he found him, he entered his cell. He accepted it, rejoicing. When they began to talk to each other, the elder said to him: “How are you, brother?” He said: “Successful are your prayers.” The elder said: “Doesn’t your thought fight with you?” He said: “Now everything is successful with me,” for he was ashamed to say. He said to him: “For many years now I have been struggling, and everyone praises me, but I, an old man, am tormented by the spirit of fornication.” Theopemptus answered: “Believe me, my father, that he is torturing me too.” The elder used (thus) a trick and also spoke about other thoughts. Then he said to him: “How do you fast?” He said, “I will fast until the ninth hour.” The elder said to him: “Fast until evening and strive, and recite those passages that you know by heart from the Gospels and other Scriptures, and if a thought comes to you, do not look down, but always look up, and immediately God will help you.” The elder instructed his brother and went into his desert. And again, watching, he saw that devil. He said to him: “Where are you going?” He said: “I’m going to visit the brothers.” And he left. When he returned, the saint said to him: “How are the brothers doing?” He said, “It’s bad.” The elder said to him: “Why?” He said: “They are all furious, and an even greater evil is that one, who was obedient to me, being my friend, I don’t know how, hated me, and this one also does not obey me, but was furious with me more than anyone else.” . And I swore that I would not approach them again, unless after some time.” And when he said these (words), he went away and left the elder, and the saint entered his cell.”

“Apa Moses was once attacked by fornication in Petrograd and was greatly tormented, so that he could not endure it and remain in his cell. He went and told Apa Isidore. And the elder persuaded him to return to his cell, but he did not want to, saying: “I cannot, my father.” He took him, went up to the roof with him and said to him: “Look to the west.” And he looked and saw a host of demons, worried, restless, as if fighting. Apa Isidore also told him: “Look to the east.” And he looked and saw countless, glorious hosts (of angels). Apa Isidore said: “These are sent to the saints from the Lord to help them. Those in the west are fighting against us. Numerous are those who are with us.” And thus Apa Moses thanked God, took courage and returned to his cell.”

“One day, some people, having with them someone possessed by a demon, came to the elder so that he could heal him. The elder, whom they begged very much, said to the demon: “Get out of God’s creation!” The demon said to the elder: “I will go out, but I will ask you one word: who are the goats and who are the sheep?” The elder said: “I am the goats, but God knows the sheep.” When the demon heard these (words), he said: “For the sake of your humility, I will go out.”

“The devil took the form of an angel of light, appeared to one of the brothers and said to him: “I am Gabriel, I have been sent to you.” He said to him: “Obviously, you were sent to another of the brothers, for I am unworthy.” He immediately became invisible.”

Ancient Patericon:

“Abba Daniel said: in Babylon, a nobleman had a daughter possessed by a demon. Her father loved a certain monk. And this one says to him: no one can heal your daughter except the hermits whom I know; and if you ask them, they will not want to do this out of humility. And we will do this: when they come to the market, you will act as if you want to buy something from them. When they come to receive money for the vessels, we will tell them to say a prayer, and I believe that she will heal. And when they went to the market, they found one disciple of the elders sitting to sell their vessels, and they took him with the baskets, as if he should receive money for them. When the monk entered the house, the demoniac came and slapped the monk in the face. But the monk, according to the commandment, also turned the other cheek. The demon, struck by this, cried out, saying: O compelling force! The commandment of Jesus casts me out, and the demon immediately left, and the woman was healed. When the elders came, they announced to them what had happened, and they glorified God and said: the pride of the devil is usually brought down by Christ’s humility.”

“A man, possessed by a demon and emitting foam, hit a certain old hermit monk on the cheek. The elder gave him another cheek instead. The demon, unable to bear the burning sensation of humility, immediately retreated from him.”

“One day, some people, having with them a man possessed by a demon, came to Thebaid to a certain old man so that he would heal him. The elder, after many petitions, says to the demon: get out of God’s creation! The demon said to the old man: I am going out; but I will ask you one word, and tell me: who are the goats in the Gospel, and who are the lambs? The elder said: I am the goats, but God knows the lambs. And the demon, having heard it, cried out in a great voice: “Behold, I am coming according to your humility,” and he went out at that hour.”

“The saint also said: “Let us be sober; for through our feelings, although we do not want, thieves come. How can a house not become smoky when smoke comes in from outside and when the windows are open?”

“She also said: “We must arm ourselves against demons, for they come from without, and create disturbances from within. And the soul, like a ship, either sinks from external disturbances, or sinks to the bottom from the internal accumulation of water. Likewise, we either perish through sins committed externally, or become defiled by internal thoughts. So, one must both beware of external battles of spirits and scoop out the impurities of internal thoughts.”

“Some of the fathers said that there was a certain great elder who was awarded gifts from God and became famous for his virtue. His name even reached the king. In order to be worthy of his prayers, the king called him to his place. Having seen him and received a lot of benefit, he gave him gold. The elder accepted and, returning to himself, fell in love with the field and other acquisitions. One of the demons came to him as usual. And the elder says to the demon: get away from God’s creation. The demon answers: I’m not listening to you. The elder says: why? The demon answers: because you have become like one of us, having left the care of God, you began to occupy yourself with earthly concerns, so I do not listen to you and do not leave.”

“The elder said to a certain brother: the devil is the enemy, and you are the home. He does not stop throwing whatever he wants at you, pouring all kinds of uncleanness on you; It’s your business to accept or not to accept. And if you are not careless, your house will be filled with uncleanness, and you will not have the strength to go there. But the first thing he throws in, you throw away little by little, and your house will remain clean by the grace of God.”

St. Ephraim the Syrian:

“The devil is a cunning man: in different ways he has poured his poisons into each of us and with his machinations he stumbles everyone. He observes another fast, but gives himself over to the power of rivalry and envy. Another again refrained from making obscene wishes, but was bound by vanity. Another succeeded in vigil, but became entangled in the net of slander. Others avoid slander, but are filled with insubordination and contradiction. Another abstains from food, but drowns in pride and arrogance. Others are tireless in prayer, but give way to irritability and anger. Someone has succeeded in something small - and already exalts himself over those who are more careless than him... Outwardly we are humble, but in our hearts we strive for honors; apparently we are not acquisitive, but in fact, covetousness prevails among us; In words we are not acquisitive, but mentally we are busy with a lot of acquisitions.”

“If the enemy,” I will say as an example, “incites gluttony, we will attack him with fasting. If lust for a woman is annoying, let’s use patience and overcome the feeling. If it prompts us to anger, let us arm ourselves with peace. If it brings us to irritation, let us take up gentleness. If hatred comes to mind in us, let us cleave to love. If it incites us to seek honor, we will show humiliation. If it incites us to seek glory, let us embrace our insignificance. If we dreamily lead us to heights, let us write before us the humility of the Lord. If it prompts us to compete with our brother, let us think about the fall of Cain, and if it leads us to envy, let us think about the death of Esau. If we are inclined to slander, we will protect ourselves by silence.”

St. Isaac the Syrian:

“The most powerful means of driving away demons is as pure as possible, from a pure heart and zeal, communion of the Holy Life-giving Mysteries of Christ.”

St. John of Damascus:

“Devils have neither power nor strength against anyone, unless this is allowed according to the will of God, as happened with righteous Job and as it is written in the Gospel about the Gadarene pigs. But with God's permission, they are strong, accept and change the dreamy image they want. Therefore, the popular belief that sorcerers spoil people, that is, they place devils in any people they want, is absurd and completely unfounded. Therefore, one should not attribute special powers to them and fear them. The devil takes up residence in people by God’s permission, therefore, on his own, no outsider or sorcerer can have any participation or mediation in this disaster. The devil takes up residence in demon-possessed people because these people have attracted evil spirits to themselves: they themselves have prepared a dwelling for the devils - swept and tidied up; by their unrepentant sins, instead of the dwelling place of God, they become a receptacle for the unclean spirit; Our Savior speaks about this: When the unclean spirit comes out of a person (expelled out at our baptism), it walks through waterless places, seeking rest, and does not find it. Then he says: I will return to my house from where I came. And here he comes. And if, having arrived, he finds him not occupied with God (when he loses the Holy Spirit for his unrepentant sinful life), then the unclean spirit goes and takes with him seven other spirits, more evil than himself, and having entered, they live there; and for that person the last thing is worse than the first (Matthew 12:43-45). Thus, people possessed by evil spirits should complain in their temporary and eternal torment not to sorcerers, but only to themselves.”

St. John Climacus:

“Every demonic warfare is carried out in us in three main ways: either through negligence, or through pride, or through the envy of demons. The 1st battle is regrettable, the 2nd is very disastrous, and the 3rd is most blessed.”

St. Barsanuphius the Great:

“We must consider everything bad, including the passions that fight us, not as our own, but as from the enemy - the devil. This is very true. Only then can you defeat passion when you don’t consider it yours.”

St. Simeon the New Theologian:

“In a sinner the devil produces many evil thoughts, as in Judas...

What are demons afraid of? - Be deep within yourself, don’t like to show off, shut yourself up in your heart. Demons are afraid of self-absorption, like thieves of dogs...

Why do demons fight against us? “All the warfare that the demons raise against us in the end happens to remove the grace of the Holy Spirit from us.”

The Monk Simeon the New Theologian was often visited by demoniacs, who are usually called corrupted by the people, probably because they, at the instigation of the enemy who prevailed over them, claim that they were corrupted by such and such. Realizing that with such cunning the enemy maintains his control over the sick, hiding under the roof of the malice and self-justification nourished in the patient’s thoughts, Simeon began treating such patients by exposing them to the machinations of the enemy, pointing out the real cause of the disease, sins, and again leading to consciousness and remorse for your sins. If the person to whom the sick testify is alive, then Simeon ordered to immediately ask for his forgiveness, and if the damage falls on the deceased, then to reconcile with him by serving a requiem mass at his grave, and then to repent before the priest and initiate good life. For some of the women who came to him, the initial cause of the illness was pretense, which later turned into a habit and enslaved them to the enemy; for others it was superstition, for others it was a natural illness, which they ignorantly attributed to corruption.

The case of Rev. Seraphim of Sarov:

“...Although my wife has received some relief from the disease of possession since the time we met Fr. Seraphim, but still suffered from an evil spirit from time to time, and therefore we still decided to resort to the elder for help. Upon arrival in Sarov, we found Fr. Seraphim in his nearby desert, engaged in labor. He met us very graciously and, in response to our request to pray for the expulsion of a demon, he told us the following parable: “There was a perspicacious old man in the country of Palestine who prayed for one possessed by a demon, but his prayer was not heard by God; The demon still did not leave the sufferer, so the elder turned to the Lord a second time with a special petition for the sufferer. At the same time, he prayed to the Lord to reveal to him the reason why the Spirit of evil does not come out of this man, to reveal whether his prayers are ineffective or what sins stop the demon in him. God heard the prayer of this elder, and it was revealed to him that the one for whom he was praying had leprosy on his forehead, which prevented the evil spirit from being expelled from him.” Having said this, Fr. Seraphim first turned to me and began to write with his finger on my forehead the leprosy of my wife’s sins, and then, turning to her, he also wrote my sinful scabs on her forehead. Then we, looking at each other with horror, clearly understood that the elder, through his handwriting, had exposed our own sins.”

St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov):

“Spiritually, madness and demonization as God’s punishment do not at all serve as a bad testimony about a person. A sacred work of the 4th century describes that a certain Egyptian elder was unusually gifted with the gift of miracles. Noticing the beginnings of pride in himself, the elder began to pray to God to send him a demon, which the Lord fulfilled. The elder spent eight whole months in a terrible situation, even eating his own eruptions. The worldly people were tempted, but the elder, having got rid of the demon, worked for the Lord in obscurity and peace and came to much better prosperity.”

St. Theophan the Recluse:

“Satan entered Judas and taught him how to betray the Lord; he agreed and betrayed. Satan entered because the door was open for him. Our inner being is always contained; The Lord Himself stands outside and knocks for it to be opened. How does it open? Sympathy, predisposition, consent. Whoever has all this leaning towards Satan, he enters into him; Whoever, on the contrary, has all this leaning towards the Lord, the Lord enters into him. That Satan enters, and not the Lord, man himself is to blame. Do not allow thoughts pleasing to Satan, do not sympathize with them, do not be influenced by them and do not agree to them - Satan walks around, walks around, and goes away: after all, he has not been given power over anyone. If he takes possession of someone, it is because he gives himself into slavery. The beginning of all this evil is thoughts. Do not allow evil thoughts, and you will forever close the door of your soul to Satan. And if unkind thoughts come - what can you do: without this there is no one in the world; and there is no sin here. Drive them away - and it’s all over; If they come again, drive them away again; and so on all my life. When you accept thoughts and begin to engage with them, it is not surprising that sympathy for them will appear; then they will become even more persistent. Sympathy will be followed by bad intentions, now for one or another bad deed. Vague intentions will then be determined by disposition towards one; choice, agreement and determination begin - that’s the sin inside! The door of the heart is wide open; and as soon as agreement is formed, Satan jumps in and begins to tyrannize. Then the poor soul, like a slave or like a beast of burden, is driven and exhausted in doing indecent things. If she hadn’t allowed bad thoughts, nothing like this would have happened.”

Rev. Anatoly Optinsky:

“Father Leonid (spiritual teacher of St. Anatoly, holy ascetic and elder. - priest K.P.) placed an epitrachelion and read over them a short incantatory prayer from the Trebnik, and in addition he anointed them with oil from the Vladimir icon or gave them to drink, and there were a lot of healings... Victory over demons, of course, was won by Fr. Leonid after conquering his passions. No one saw him indignant with passionate anger and irritation. In the most difficult days of his life, no one heard a voice of impatience or grumbling from him, no one saw him in despondency. It was impossible not to be amazed at his constant gaiety."

“As for the children’s fear of being in the power of the devil through some witch, then by this you only prove that your concepts about a Christian, about God, about the devil are the concepts of a village woman. If demons did not dare to enter pigs without the will of Jesus Christ, how will they enter people?”

St. John of Kronstadt:

“There is no doubt that the devil in the hearts of very many people sits with some kind of heartfelt lethargy, relaxation and laziness towards every good and useful deed, especially the deed of faith and piety, which requires heartfelt attention and sobriety, and spiritual labor in general. Thus he strikes the heart with lethargy and the mind with dullness during prayer; Thus, he strikes the heart with coldness and inaction of the heart when it is necessary to do good, for example: to sympathize with the suffering, to help those in trouble, to console the sad, to teach the ignorant, to guide the erring and vicious on the path of truth. We must constantly listen to our heart, drive away from it the darkness of laziness and petrified insensibility, see that it always burns with faith and love for God and neighbor and is ready for all labors and self-sacrifice for the glory of God and for the salvation of our neighbor. Do not be lazy with diligence, fervent in spirit, working for the Lord (Rom. 12:11). The devil sits in our hearts with unusually strong irritability; We sometimes become so sick with pride that we do not tolerate the slightest contradiction, material or spiritual obstacle, we do not tolerate a single unsmooth, rude word. But then we must endure when the waters of anger and impatience reach our soul. Through your patience gain your souls (Luke 21:19). The rivers came, and the winds blew, and they questioned that temple (Matthew 7:27). What will happen to her, what will happen to a person, when the devil unleashes the river of his temptations on him and blows the wind of his wiles on him? If a Christian stands firmly on the rock - Christ, then he does not fall, but if he stands on the sand of his wisdom and passions, then he falls greatly.”

“The devil usually enters us through one false thought or false thought and sinful lust and then acts in us and bothers us: he is so simple. Doesn’t the Lord God of spirits dwell in us through one thought and true and holy love, and is with us, and acts in us, and is everything to us?”

Valaam Elder Father John:

“I’ll tell you briefly about the existence of demons from my experience... I had a brother who lived in Petrograd, ran a tavern, and at that time I lived there in the courtyard Valaam Monastery. One day my brother comes to me. When he arrived at the cell, for some reason he became very worried. I sat him on a chair, and at the top there were icons with the relics of the Holy Saints, suddenly, the brother jumped up from the chair and screamed: disgusting, disgusting icons, and ran out of the cell. I was left bewildered and thought, what happened to him? Really possessed? It turned out that he really was possessed. The next day I went to them; His wife says to me: “When he came home very excited, he began to shout that he would never go to his brother again: he has disgusting icons there.” And it happened that if I told him anything from the Holy Gospel, he would become alarmed and tell me: “Don’t tell me that.” If I sprinkle food with St. water, he will no longer eat, even though he didn’t see what was sprinkled.”

Greek ascetic, Father Jacob:

“...Once, another time,” said the Elder, “I was at the entrance to the monastery and I saw that an old woman was entering. I greeted her and told her:

Go, grandmother, we will give you something to eat and we will give you food with you, and we will help you with whatever you need. Go and bow in the church first and wait here in the evening, we will give you a room to spend the night.

Then this apparent old woman says to me:

Bah, I won’t stay here, I can’t stay, because you often ring the bells. I just came to look at you and will leave. I will go to such and such a convent (and I named which one), there they will give me a great reception and I will live for a week.

“I thought,” says the Elder, “grandmother, as a woman, would rather rest in peace.” convent, because he doesn’t want to stay here. Talking like this, we moved towards the entrance of the church. Grandmother continued to say:

As soon as I arrive at the monastery, I start doing it to the nuns (and she showed me with her finger that she was piercing them), and they immediately start having scandals among themselves, and the holiday begins.

Then, surprised by these words, I looked better at her face and saw that she had some very small eyes and makeup, wore large earrings, and from her nose there was a thread that was connected to the earrings. I immediately crossed myself, saying:

Lord have mercy, who is this old woman?

Then she immediately began to dissolve and disappeared like smoke. It was the devil.

Then I go and tell the fathers that I just saw the devil and spoke to him, thinking that it was an old woman, and she told me such and such.

The elder explained how much the day and night prayers and the daily Divine Liturgy drive away the tempter. The devil himself confessed that he could not stay in the monastery, since the bells often “dun-dun,” and, on the contrary, how much he rejoices in scandals and misunderstandings: this is a holiday for him. “Constantly,” said the Elder, “he comes to us, walks around, to see if he can find someone unguarded so that he can do his work.”

“Another time,” said the Elder, “it was evening and we were celebrating Compline with the fathers, when one of the brothers wanted to go to his cell and take some book. Opening the door of my cell to go out, I see the tempter outside in the form of a woman who obscenely showed me her butt, speaking shameless words. I took the icon of Panagia in my hands and went out, saying: “We take refuge under your mercy, Mother of God,” etc., and then, like a whistling projectile, the tempter darted, flew over the roof of the monastery and exploded on the nearby mountain with a deafening noise.

“The next morning, at dawn,” said the Elder, “I left my cell to go to church, and I saw a large black dog standing at my door. Before leaving the door, of course, as always, I crossed myself; When he saw the dog, he nudged it with his foot, saying: “Did you sleep here last night?”

Having walked forward, saying: “Lord Jesus Christ” and crossing myself again, I turn around and see that the dog has disappeared.

It was the tempter who was waiting to throw me down the stairs, but the power of the Honorable Cross saved me,” said the Elder.”

Archimandrite Ephraim Svyatogorets

“When I was in the New Skete and my elder Joseph was alive, one demon-possessed young man came to us.

The elder, out of his mercy, accepted these unfortunate people. They lived with us as long as they wanted, and then left on their own. They cannot stay in one place for a long time. Those deprived of inner Divine consolation seek it by changing places and people.

In that young man there was a demon of a street woman. When he mastered it, his voice changed to the voice of a “public” woman and said things that, according to the Apostle, were shameful to even talk about (Eph. 5:12). By profession he was a cooper. We are omitting his name. He lived in our brotherhood for quite a long time and during working hours he came and, as best he could, helped us with handicrafts. On the third day he tells me:

Father, won't you teach me how to make seals? Making barrels is hard work. Besides, the one inside me constantly disgraces me.

I will teach you, brother, be blessed! Here, do this. The tools are here, the blanks are there, and the samples are in front of you. This is the table you will work at. Just one more thing: in our brotherhood the fathers do not talk, but always say prayer.

In saying this, I wanted to avoid, as far as possible, idle talk and distraction during my prayer. And at that very moment the following thought was born in my mind: “So, the possessed can say prayer?” So, we set to work and prayer. Not even a few minutes had passed before the demon rose within him. His voice changed and he began shouting, swearing, threatening and swearing.

“Shut up, brat! - screamed from inside. - Shut up! Stop this mumbling! Why do you say the same words all the time? Drop these words, you're driving me crazy. I feel good inside you, why do you bother me?”

He said something like this. The demon tortured him and left him.

See what he does to me? - the unfortunate man tells me. - And this happens to me all the time.

Patience, brother, I tell him, patience! Don't attach any importance to it, because it's not yours. Don’t grieve, but take care of prayer.

Having finished work, we went to the Elder. On the way he tells me:

Father, maybe I should also pray for the one who is in me, so that God will have mercy on him too?

And why did he just say that, poor fellow! Immediately the demon took possession of him, picked him up and slammed him to the ground. Everything shook around. The demon changes his voice and begins:

“Shut up, you brat! Shut up, I said! What are you talking about? What other mercy? I don't need mercy, I don't need it! No! What did I do to ask for mercy? It is God who is unfair! For one small sin, for pride, he deprived me of glory. We are innocent, it is He who is to blame. Let Him Himself repent, not us! Mercy away!”

The demon tormented him greatly and, having completely exhausted him, left him. I was horrified by his words. In a few minutes I understood from my own experience what I would not have been able to understand if I had read thousands of books about demons. We continued our way to the Elder. The elder always accepted him and spoke to him with great love. And the demoniac next to him always remained calm. The elder prayed a lot for those possessed by demons, because he knew what torment they suffered from demons, and he told us:

If we, having demons outside, are tormented by thoughts and passions, then what torment these unfortunates experience, in which the demons are present day and night! - And, sadly shaking his head, he added: “They are probably experiencing their torment here.” But woe to those who do not repent, so that God will mercifully punish them one way or another here in this life!

And he quoted the word of one saint, who said this: “If you see a person who clearly sins and does not repent and until the hour of death nothing sorrowful happens to him, know that at the hour of Judgment the conviction of this person will be without mercy.”

After such words from the Elder, we sympathized more and more with the tempted brother.

During services, he did not enter the church with the fathers, but walked with his rosary outside on the rocks and constantly said loudly the prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me! Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me! Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me! His prayer echoed among the rocks.

He experienced how prayer burns a demon. And so, when he was walking around the rock and constantly saying a prayer, his voice suddenly changes, and the demon begins:

“Shut up, I said shut up! You tortured me! Why are you walking among the rocks outside the church and muttering? Go inside with the others and stop your mumbling. Why do you talk and repeat the same thing day and night and don’t let me calm down for a minute? You fooled me, scalded me! You’re burning me, isn’t it clear?”

And when the temptation passed, he again began praying the rosary: ​​Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me. He understood very well what the demon thought he did not understand. It was both pain of the soul and hope when you saw how he endured everything, struggled and endured. He lived with us for a long time, and when he felt much better, he left. We didn't see him again. God knows how it all ended.

Do you see the power of prayer and the unrepentance of demons? They set themselves on fire, but shout: “No mercy!” - and constantly condemn God. Oh, the pride of the morning star! Therefore, what is the difference between an egoist and a completely unrepentant person from a demon - one who does not want to confess Christ as God and Man and ask for His mercy and mercy?

Do you now understand the deepest meaning of prayer? How does it identify people who are close to Christ and who are far from Him?