Holy fathers about evil spirits. Holy fathers about dark forces. Angels and Demons in the Spiritual Life

Sometimes some people claim that they had a vision of saints, the Virgin or Angels. The Holy Fathers advise to treat such phenomena with caution so as not to fall into spiritual delusion, since demons can also come in this form. We have collected the sayings of Athos saints that will help you understand which visions are true - from God, and which are false, from the evil one.

1. “It is better to advise such people (ed. - who talk about their visions) to be careful, restrained. Such an attitude towards visions is more reliable, because not all people are able to distinguish whether the vision was from God or from the devil.

2. “A person becomes a laughing stock for demons. And then they mock him with the help of pictures and visions, phenomena and revelations, symbols and numbers, prejudices and divination and a whole bunch of superstitions. May God save us from such perversion!”

(Rev. Joseph the Hesychast)

3. “Twice I was delusional, twice I was wrong. Once the enemy showed me the light, and the thought told me: "Accept, this is grace." Another time I received a vision and suffered a lot for it.”

(Reverend Silouan of Athos)

4. “If the Saint who appeared to a person was really a Saint, and the person did not accept this vision, then God knows how to inform the soul of this person and lead it where He wants. Attention is needed, because (instead of the Saint) a Tangalashka may come, who will turn on the (demonic) “TV” and start his transmission ... ”.

(Reverend Paisios the Holy Mountaineer)

5. “Once at the end of the vigil, when they sang “Let every breath praise the Lord ...”, I heard King David in the sky sing a praise to God. I stood in the choir stalls, and it seemed to me that there was neither a roof nor a dome, and that I saw an open sky. I told four spiritual men about this, but no one told me that the enemy had laughed at me, and I myself thought that demons could not praise God and that, therefore, this vision was not from the enemy. But the charm of vanity overcame me, and I began to see demons again. Then I realized that I had been deceived, and I revealed everything to the confessor, and asked for his prayers; and because of his prayers I am now saved, and I always pray the Lord to grant me the spirit of humility.

(Reverend Silouan of Athos)

6. “One saw the Blessed One, the other angels, when his soul departed. And now this is happening. That before death they see visions, so that God takes them in peace. And since I heard this, I fled when they were dying with a thirst to see, to hear what they were saying.

(Reverend Joseph the Hesychast about the hermit elders)

7. “Even if the vision is from God, from the first time a person should not accept it. God, seeing how His creation - man - does not accept the vision (does not get upset, but vice versa), in some way, comes to tenderness. After all, such an attitude towards vision shows that a person has humility.”

(Reverend Paisios the Holy Mountaineer)

8. “What does the Lord say? “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8). He does not say: “Blessed are those who see manifestations, visions, revelations.”

(Rev. Joseph the Hesychast)

9. “I remember one woman who did not receive any help from people and therefore had the right to Divine help. God, wanting to help this woman, gave her a vision. However, after this vision, the devil inspired her with the following thought: “Who knows, maybe God has honored you with such a vision, because He predestinates you for some higher mission!” From the moment she began to believe in such diabolical suggestions, the devil began his work and she fell under his power. However, in the end, God again had mercy on her. She had a vision, and she heard a voice telling her: "Write a letter to Father Paisios and describe all the visions that you had." She wrote me a letter and told me about all the visions she had. The wicked one ripped it off properly. Yes, all her visions were real, but almost all of them were from the tempter. Of all the visions she had, only the first and last were from God. Wanting to bring her to her senses and help her free herself from delusion, God allowed this last vision to happen. In the end, the unfortunate woman listened to my advice and managed to get out (from the network) of those diabolical visions that she had.

(Reverend Paisios the Holy Mountaineer)

10. “When we weep and humble our souls, then the grace of God preserves us, and if we leave weeping and humility, we can be carried away by thoughts or visions. A humble soul does not have visions and does not desire them, but prays to God with a pure mind, while a conceited mind is not pure of thoughts and imagination and can even go so far as to see demons and talk to them.”

(Reverend Silouan of Athos)

11. “... so that the devil does not deceive us with the help of fantasies, imagination. Imagination is a good thing, and if used properly, it has great power. People who are deluded imagine what they see or read as they please. And then they believe that the picture drawn by their imagination is real. In order for these unfortunates to receive help, they should be under constant [spiritual] supervision, because the devil is constantly fooling them.”

(Reverend Paisios the Holy Mountaineer)

12. “The Fathers say that when seeing an enemy, the soul will feel embarrassment. But this is only a humble soul, which does not consider itself worthy of vision, will feel either embarrassment or fear at the enemy’s action, while the vain one may not experience either fear or even embarrassment, because he wants visions and considers himself worthy, and therefore the enemy easily deceives his. Fight your enemies with humility. When you see that another mind is fighting with your mind, then humble yourself, and the scolding will stop.

(Reverend Silouan of Athos)

The devil is a creature that God created good, kind, luminous ( Greek word"Eosphoros" and the Latin "Lucifer" mean "light-bearer"). As a result of opposition to God, divine will and divine Providence, the light-bearer fell away from God. Ever since the fall of the light-bearer and some of the angels from God, evil has appeared in the world. It was not created by God, but was introduced by the free will of the devil and demons.

People often ask: Why did God allow evil? Isn't it at least indirectly God's fault that evil was introduced into the world? It is difficult to answer this question. The Church offers us a doctrine that we must accept on faith, but which the human mind is not able to comprehend. The only thing that can be said in explaining this teaching is, let's look at ourselves and judge by ourselves. Each of us is a being created in the image and likeness of God. We are aware of this, we are also aware of what our religious calling consists in. Nevertheless, we often find ourselves not on the side of God, but on the side of the devil, and we make our choice not in favor of good, but in favor of evil. Something similar happened to the devil himself: created good and luminous, he voluntarily chose evil and became an enemy of God.

Having fallen away from God, the devil and demons became carriers of evil. Does this mean that the connection between them and God has been broken? No. There was a personal relationship between God and the devil that continues to this day. We can see this from the opening pages of the Book of Job, which says that the devil appeared before God along with the angels, among other "sons of God", and the Lord said to him: "Have you paid your attention to My servant Job?" (Job 1:8). If I may say so, with this question God provokes the devil to some actions in relation to Job. And Satan says, "Yes, indeed, Job is righteous, faithful to You, but this is because You created such conditions for him; change these conditions, and he will fall, as other people fall." To this the Lord answered him that he was giving Job's body to him, but forbidding him to touch his soul. Some understand this story as a parable, others as a real story, but the bottom line is that, according to the Bible, the devil, firstly, is dependent on God and is not free in his actions, and secondly, he acts only in to the extent that God allows it.

What should be the attitude of a Christian towards the devil? Today we see two extremes. On the one hand, among modern Christians there are many who do not believe in the reality of the devil at all, who do not believe in his ability to influence their lives. Some people think that the devil is a mythical creature in which the evil of the world is personified. On the other hand, there are many people who attach exaggerated importance to the devil, who are convinced that the devil influences all aspects of a person's life, and see his presence everywhere. Such believers are constantly afraid that the forces of the devil will affect them one way or another.

On this basis, there are many superstitions, from which church people are not free. Many "folk remedies" have been invented that would prevent Satan from penetrating a person. For example, some people, yawning, cross their mouths so that the devil does not enter through it. Others manage to cross their mouth three times in one yawn. I have heard talk about an angel sitting on our right shoulder, and a demon on our left: making the sign of the cross, we are baptized from right to left, throwing the angel from the right shoulder to the left, so that he would fight the demon and defeat him (accordingly, Catholics who are baptized from left to right throw the demon onto the angel). This may seem ridiculous and absurd to some, but there are people who believe in it. And, unfortunately, these are not jokes, but real conversations that can be heard in some monasteries, theological seminaries, and parishes. People who think this way live in the belief that their whole life is permeated with the presence of the devil. I once heard how a hieromonk, a graduate of a theological academy, taught believers: when you get up in the morning, before putting your feet into your slippers, cross your slippers, because a demon sits in each of them. With such an attitude, all life turns into torture, because it is all riddled with fear, constant fear that a person will be “spoiled”, jinxed, that evil spirits will be brought on him, etc. All this has nothing to do with the Christian attitude towards the devil .

In order to understand what a truly Christian attitude towards the devil should be, we must turn, firstly, to our worship, to the sacraments, and, secondly, to the teaching of the Holy Fathers. The Sacrament of Baptism begins with spells addressed to the devil: the meaning of these spells is to drive out the devil nesting in a person's heart. Then the newly baptized, together with the priest and the recipients, turns to the west. The priest asks: "Do you renounce Satan, and all his works, and all his army, and all his pride?", He answers three times: "I renounce." The priest says, "Blow and spit on him." This is a symbol that contains a very deep meaning. "Blow and spit on him" means "treat the devil with contempt, pay no attention to him, he deserves nothing more."

In patristic, in particular monastic, literature, the attitude towards the devil and demons is characterized by calm fearlessness - sometimes even with a touch of humor. One can recall the story of St. John of Novgorod, who saddled a demon and forced him to take him to Jerusalem. I also remember the story from the life of Anthony the Great. Travelers came to him, who walked for a long time through the desert, and on the way, their donkey died of thirst. They come to Anthony, and he says to them: "Why didn't you save the donkey?" They ask with surprise: "Abba, how do you know?", - to which he calmly replies: "The demons told me." All these stories reflect a truly Christian attitude towards the devil: on the one hand, we recognize that the devil is a real being, the bearer of evil, but, on the other hand, we understand that the devil acts only within the limits set by God, and can never transgress these limits; moreover, a person can take the devil under control and control him.

In the prayers of the Church, in liturgical texts, and in the writings of the Holy Fathers, it is emphasized that the power of the devil is illusory. In the arsenal of the devil, of course, there are various means and methods by which he can influence a person, he has vast experience in all kinds of actions aimed at harming a person, but he can use it only if the person allows him to do so. . It is important to remember that the devil cannot do anything to us if we ourselves do not open an entrance for him - a door, a window, or at least a crack through which he will penetrate.

One has to regret that books and pamphlets, in which the role of the devil is exaggerated in every possible way, are published and sold in church shops. This comes from ignorance, from spiritual insensitivity, from ignorance of the teachings of the Holy Fathers. Orthodox teaching about the devil is expressed by the Monk John of Damascus in thirty lines. And our home-grown theologians write book after book about the devil and demons, intimidate the people of God, ruin people's lives.

The entrance to the devil into the soul of a person is opened by magic, sorcery, treatment by psychics and sorcerers. We do not claim that all psychics and so-called " traditional healers"act solely under the influence of demonic forces. But in the vast majority these are people in whose hands forces and energies are concentrated, the nature of which they themselves do not know. Often, healing one, they damage another. There were cases when a person got rid of headaches with their help pain, but at the same time became mentally ill. And the worst thing is that these "healers" make a person dependent on themselves, and any form of dependence is the very door through which the devil can penetrate. Narcotic, alcoholic, sexual, mental and other forms Addictions represent a great spiritual danger.Christians should take every possible care not to be dependent on anything in this life, in order to be as free spiritually and bodily as possible.A person who controls his mind, his heart, his actions, can always resist Satan The one who turns out to be a slave of some passion or vice becomes unable to repel the onslaught of the devil.

You may ask: to what extent is the devil able to influence our thought at all? How much does he even know what is going on in our thoughts and in our hearts? How competent is he in matters of spiritual life? There was a belief that the devil has no direct knowledge of our internal processes. At the same time, being very experienced - after all, throughout history he dealt with billions of people and "worked" with each individually - he uses these skills and recognizes by external signs what is happening inside a person. And looking for the most vulnerable places. For example, when a person is depressed, it is very easy for the devil to influence him. But the only thing the devil is capable of is to give a person some kind of sinful thought, for example, the thought of suicide. And he does this not because the inner world of a person, his heart, is open to him, but only focusing on external signs. Having inspired a person with some thoughts, the devil is not able to control what will happen to them next. And if a person knows how to distinguish which thought came from God, which from his own human nature, and which from the devil, and to reject sinful thoughts at their very appearance, the devil will not be able to do anything. The devil becomes stronger as the sinful or passionate thought enters the human mind.

The Holy Fathers have a teaching about the gradual and gradual penetration of a sinful thought into a person's soul. You can get acquainted with this teaching by reading the "Philokalia" or "The Ladder" of St. John of Sinai. The essence of this teaching is that a sinful or passionate thought at first appears only somewhere on the horizon of the human mind. And if a person, as the Church Fathers say, "stands guard over his mind," he can reject this thought, "blow and spit" on it, and it will disappear. If a person becomes interested in a thought, begins to consider it, talks with it, it conquers more and more new territories in the mind of a person - until it covers all of his nature - soul, heart, body - and does not inspire him to commit sin. .

The path for the devil and demons to the soul and heart of a person is opened by various superstitions. I would like to emphasize that faith is the exact opposite of superstition. The Church has always waged a tough fight against superstitions - precisely because superstition is a surrogate, a substitution of the true faith. A truly believing person realizes that there is a God, but there are also dark forces; he intelligently and consciously builds his life, is not afraid of anything, placing all his hope in God. A superstitious person - out of weakness, or stupidity, or under the influence of some people or circumstances - replaces faith with a set of beliefs, signs, fears, from which some kind of mosaic is formed, which he takes for religious faith. We Christians must abhor superstition in every possible way. It is necessary to treat every superstition with the contempt with which we treat the devil: "Duni and spit on him."

The entrance to the devil into the human soul is also opened through sins. Of course, we all sin. But there are sins and sins. There are human weaknesses that we struggle with - what we call petty sins and try to overcome. But there are sins that, even if committed once, open the door through which the devil enters the human mind. Any deliberate violation of the moral norms of Christianity can lead to this. If a person systematically violates, for example, the norms of married life, he loses spiritual vigilance, loses sobriety, chastity, that is, holistic wisdom that protects him from the attacks of the devil.

Dangerous, moreover, any duality. When a person, like Judas, begins to cling to other values ​​in addition to the basic value that makes up the religious core of life, and his conscience, his mind and heart split in two, the person becomes very vulnerable to the actions of the devil.

I would also like to dwell a little more on the phenomenon of "reprimanding", which has deep historical roots. In the Ancient Church, as you know, there were exorcists - people who were instructed by the Church to cast out demons from the possessed. The Church has never perceived possession as a mental illness. We know from the Gospel many cases when a demon, several demons, or even a whole legion settled in a person, and the Lord cast them out by His power. Then the work of exorcism was continued by the apostles, and later by the very exorcists to whom the Church entrusted this mission. In the following centuries, the ministry of exorcists as a special ministry within the Church practically disappeared, but still there were (and still are) people who exorcise demons from the possessed, either on behalf of the Church or on their own initiative.

You need to know that, on the one hand, the possessed are a reality that the Church faces in everyday life. Indeed, there are people in whom a demon lives, which has penetrated into them, as a rule, through their fault - because in one way or another they opened access for him to inside themselves. And there are people who cast out demons with prayer and special spells, similar to those that the priest reads before performing the sacrament of Baptism. But on the basis of "reprimanding" there are many abuses.

There are cases when priests arbitrarily take on the role of exorcists, begin to attract possessed people and create entire communities around themselves. I have no doubt that there are priests who possess divine healing power and are really capable of casting demons out of people. But such clergy must have the official sanction of the Church for this. If a person assumes such a mission on his own initiative, it is fraught with great dangers.

Once, in a private conversation, one fairly well-known exorcist, an Orthodox clergyman, around whom crowds of people gather, admitted: "I don't know how this happens." He said to one of the visitors: "If you are not sure that you are really possessed, it is better not to come there, otherwise the demon can come out of another person and enter you." As you can see, even this well-known and respected exorcist did not fully master the processes that occur on the basis of "reprimanding", and did not fully understand the "mechanics" of expelling demons from one person and entering them into another.

It also happens that a person shows signs of mental illness, and relatives see this as the influence of demons. Of course, a mentally ill person is more vulnerable to the action of demons than a spiritually and mentally healthy person, but this does not mean that he needs to be reprimanded. It takes a psychiatrist to treat the mentally ill, not a priest. But it is very important that the priest be able to distinguish between spiritual and mental phenomena, so that he does not mistake mental illness for demonic possession. If he tries to heal mental defects by reprimanding, the result may be the opposite, just the opposite of what was expected. A person with an unbalanced psyche, getting into a situation where people scream, squeal, etc., can cause irreparable harm to his spiritual, mental and mental health.

In conclusion, I would like to say that the action, power and strength of the devil are temporary. For a while, the devil won back a certain spiritual territory from God, a certain space on which he acts as if he were the master there. At least he tries to create the illusion that there is an area in spiritual world where he rules. Believers consider hell to be such a place, where people find themselves mired in sins, who have not repented, who have not embarked on the path of spiritual perfection, who have not found God. On Great Saturday, we will hear wonderful and very profound words that "hell reigns, but does not last forever over the human race," and that Christ, by His redemptive feat, His death on the cross and descent into hell, has already won the victory over the devil - the very victory that will be final after His Second Coming. And hell, and death, and evil continue to exist, as they existed before Christ, but the death sentence has already been signed for them, the devil knows that his days are numbered (I'm not talking about his days as a living being, but about the power that he temporarily disposes).

"Hell reigns, but does not live forever over the human race." This means that humanity will not always be in the position it is in now. And even the one who ended up in the kingdom of the devil, in hell, does not lose the love of God, because God is also present in hell. Saint Isaac the Syrian called blasphemous the opinion that sinners in hell are deprived of the love of God. The love of God is present everywhere, but it acts in two ways: for those who are in the Kingdom of Heaven, it acts as a source of bliss, joy, inspiration, for those who are in the kingdom of Satan, it is a scourge, a source of torment.

We must also remember what is said in the Revelation of St. John the Theologian: the final victory of Christ over Antichrist, good over evil, God over the devil, will be won. In the Liturgy of Basil the Great, we hear that Christ descended into hell with the Cross in order to destroy the kingdom of the devil and bring all people to God, that is, by His presence and thanks to His death on the Cross, He permeated everything that we subjectively perceive as the kingdom of the devil. And in the stichera dedicated to the Cross of Christ, we hear: "Lord, Thy Cross has given us a weapon against the devil"; it also says that the Cross is "the glory of angels and the plague of demons", it is an instrument before which the demons tremble, the devil "trembles and trembles".

This means that we are not defenseless before the devil. On the contrary, God does everything to protect us as much as possible from the influence of Satan, He gives us His Cross, the Church, the sacraments, the Gospel, Christian moral teaching, the possibility of constant spiritual improvement. He gives us times like Lent when we can pay special attention to the spiritual life. And in this our spiritual struggle, in the struggle for ourselves, for our spiritual survival, God Himself is next to us, and He will be with us all the days until the end of time.

The devil does not know what is in our thoughts, because this exclusively belongs to the one power of God, who alone created our hearts; but by bodily movements he catches spiritual thoughts. Will he see, for example, that someone else looks inquisitively and saturates his eyes with other people's beauties? Taking advantage of his aspiration, he immediately excites such a person either to adultery or fornication. Will he see the angry and irritable? Immediately sharpens the sword and directs to kill. Will he see the greedy? Encourages robbery and unrighteous acquisition. Will he see one overcome by gluttony? Immediately vividly presents to him the passions generated by gluttony, and delivers the servant to bring his intention into action. For why does not everyone get drawn into the same passions? Because everyone chooses for himself, one this, and the other another, and one likes this, and the other another. So, by bodily movements, the devil guesses spiritual weaknesses, and thus weaves nets.

Isidore Peluciot

Just as iron is made inviolable from being penetrated by its fire, so frequent prayers make the mind most powerful in battle with the enemy; why the demons do their best and try by laziness to relax us into a patient stay in prayer, knowing that it is hostile to them, and the mind is conciliatory in battle.

John of Karpathy

When the devil sees that someone does not want to sin, then he is not so unskilled in doing evil that he begins to inspire him with any obvious sins, and does not say to him: go, commit fornication or go, steal, for he knows that we do not want this, and he does not consider it necessary to inspire us with what we do not want, but finds in us ... one wish or one self-justification, and thus, under the guise of good, harms us.

Abba Dorotheos

How many nets for my heart! I see coarse networks and thin networks. Which of them can be called more dangerous?.. I'm perplexed. The catcher is skillful - and whoever escapes from coarse nets, he catches him in thin nets. The end of fishing is one: death. The nets are covered in every possible way, with excellent art.

Ignaty Brianchaninov

How many myriads of evil demons, and how countless are the types of their wiles! Even after they saw that we, having come to the knowledge of our passions and our shame, are already trying to avoid the evil deeds that they lead us to, and we do not incline our ears to the evil advice that they suggest to us, they did not lag behind, but set to work with a desperate effort, knowing that their fate was already finally decided and that their legacy is hell, for their extreme malice and disgust<от Бога>. May the Lord open the eyes of your hearts so that you can see how numerous the wiles of the demons are and how much evil they cause us every day - and may he grant you a heart of courage and a spirit of discernment, so that you can offer yourselves to God as a living and blameless sacrifice, beingware of envy of demons at all times and their evil advice, their hidden intrigues and covert malice, their deceptive lies and blasphemous thoughts, their subtle suggestions that they put every day in their hearts, anger and slander, which they incite us so that we they slandered each other, only justifying themselves, while condemning others, so that they slandered each other or, in sweet language, hid bitterness in our hearts, so that they condemned the appearance of their neighbor, having a predator inside themselves, so that they argued among themselves and went against each other in desire put on your own and seem honest. Every person who delights in sinful thoughts falls voluntarily when he is happy.<сочувствует>to what is put into it from enemies, and when he thinks to justify himself only by apparently done deeds, being inside the dwelling place of an evil spirit that teaches him all evil. The body of such a person will be filled with shameful disgrace, for whoever is like that is seized by demonic passions, which he does not drive away from himself. Demons are not visible bodies; but we are bodies for them when our souls receive dark thoughts from them, for having received these thoughts, we receive the demons themselves and make them manifest in the body.

Anthony the Great

scary phenomena are sometimes in the cells of monks. We live in separate cells, but there must be at least two people in a separate room, so that in case of any demonic obsessions, you can knock on a neighbor’s cell and ask for help.
We had an outbuilding where one monk lived, but now they don't let you live there alone. It happened to him once. After the evening rule, the monk saw that some man, already advanced in years, was sitting in his cell, and he said to him:
Why are you only smoking the sky here! Return to your former occupations, you will bring much more benefit there and, receiving good maintenance, you will live in your own pleasure.
But how do you get out of here? The doors of the skete are well locked.
Don't worry about it, just wish, and I will transfer you instantly. Three of them are already at the gate.
But who are you? Right, demon?
Yes.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner! the terrified monk exclaimed, and the evil spirit disappeared.
It was about twelve o'clock at night when the monk ran to Father Fr. Ambrose and told him what had happened.
Yes, you had a terrible vision, - said the elder, - you had an eight-legged demon, and to whom he appears, he almost always kills him.
How did I get saved?
The Lord has informed me that you are in danger,” replied Fr. Ambrose, - and I stood up for prayer, and the Lord reminded you of His terrible and glorious name, which the forces of hell tremble.
Yes, terrible things happen to us sometimes, but in a monastery it is easier to defeat the devil, but in the world it is incomparably more difficult, and an eight-legged demon, having appeared, kills. And he appears to people who have not yet begun to live, but only think about correcting their lives.

Varsonofy Optinsky (Plikhankov)

The devil can produce nothing for our destruction: neither the will of the contrary, nor exhaustion, nor involuntary ignorance, nor anything else to compel a person, but puts only a reminder of evil.

Peter of Damascus

The devil, as an immaterial spirit, from the time of Adam's transgression of the commandment of God, acquired a certain power and audacity to act on human nature, and became very experienced in warfare against people, for the people he fights, dying, pass generation after generation, but he still lives and lives one and the same for six thousand six hundred and more years, and a skill. He is always a hidden enemy of people, he always works evil and raises battles against them, and especially against those of them who are now being born, because the present not only have no experience in the fight against the devil, but they have absolutely no idea about the battle of the devil and about the skill of the devil in it. Why and when he obviously beats them, they do not see it, and when he secretly shoots them, they do not feel it; he is an angel of light, but covers them with darkness. So he became ... very skillful in the fight against man. The end and the goal for which he wages this battle with man is great and terrible. Having first separated and distanced the human race from God, he now exerts himself in every possible way and fusses about not allowing him to return to God again, but always keeping him at a distance from Him. And if it happens that someone is called to be Jesus Christ and return to God, he, skillful and experienced in doing evil, tries in every possible way to alienate him from God again. For this reason, the devil has become very skillful in warfare with people and fights with them with five wiles: Hellenism, Judaism, heresies, an anti-Orthodox way of life, and<неразумными>deeds of good deeds. Hellenism seduces people who love the so-called external wisdom; Judaism seduces the Jews, convincing them to think that they believe well, because they honor the One God, by which he also seduces the Hagarites; with heresies he seduces superstitious god-readers, moving them away from Orthodoxy; the Orthodox are removed from God by bad deeds and a life contrary to Orthodoxy, namely: the love of money, voluptuousness, love of glory; again, by feats of good deeds and self-willing deprivation of self-mortification, he plunges ascetics into pride, which is the root of all evil, as well as into addiction to human glory and honor. With this charm of pride, which is the destroyer of all virtues, he turns and overthrows the souls of poor ascetics who live in reverence and truth into an abyss, and persuades some of them to show God's zeal not according to reason and the severity of life unreasonable. Through this, he makes them tyrants of themselves, and they torment themselves with all sorts of hardships and sufferings, may they be glorified by people: what is worthy of extreme tears, because they are deprived of both present and future blessings. The perniciousness suffered by all other people, of whom we have spoken, is nothing in comparison with the losses which these people bear. How great and incomparable is our misery! Why should we seek in every possible way, in what way we could avoid the slanders of the devil. But in no way can we get rid of it, except if we resort to the God-man Jesus Christ, with all humility of soul and extreme contrition of heart. Then Christ Himself will fight for us through us, and we will calm down: for there is no other way to confront and overcome this enemy of ours, except by the one and only Christ the Lord.

Simeon the New Theologian

The devil, as an enemy of the world, a hater of harmony and the father of malice, rejoices and triumphs when we indulge in anger, quarrel and attack each other, and grieves and sorrows just as much when we maintain peace and harmony and curb anger.

John Chrysostom

Praying, let us weep from the depths of our hearts to drive our enemy into the depths of the hellish furnace. For when you groan, he is struck; when you hit yourself in the chest, he gets hurt; when you take hits, he gets executed.

John Chrysostom

Someone hit you - have evil against the devil and never stop enmity with him. If you didn’t strike, in that case, be angry with the devil because he rebelled against your Lord, offended Him, and also because he harms your brothers and fights against them. Always be an enemy, always be angry, always be intransigent with him. From this he will become humble, harmless, such that he can be overcome. If we become strongly enraged against him, he will not be afraid of us. And when we become supportive, then he will become cruel, - not so<мы должны обращаться с ним>like our brothers. He is the enemy and persecutor of life and our salvation and his own. If he does not love himself, how can he love us? Therefore, let us take up arms and overthrow him, having as an ally the great Lord Jesus Christ, who will be able to make us elusive for his nets and worthy of eternal blessings ...

John Chrysostom

When the devil holds someone in bondage to sin, he primarily takes care to darken him more and more with spiritual blindness, driving away from him every good thought that could lead him to the consciousness of the perniciousness of his life. And not only does he drive away good thoughts from him that could move him to repentance and turn him to the path of virtue, but instead of them he puts in evil and perverse thoughts, and immediately adjusts improvised occasions to his usual sin and entices him often to fall into it or into it. other more serious sins. This makes the poor sinner more and more darkened and blinded. This blindness instills in him the habit and the incessant urge to sin and sin all the time, so that he, unfortunate, drawn from sinful deeds to greater blindness and from blindness to greater sins, whirls like in a whirlpool, and will whirl like this all his life until his death, if the special grace of God will not be brought in for his salvation.
Whoever is in such a distressed condition, if he wishes to get rid of it, it is necessary immediately, as soon as a good thought comes to him, or, rather, a suggestion, calling him from darkness into light and from sin to virtue, immediately accept him with everything. attention and desire; immediately diligently get down to business, crying out from the depths of the heart to the generous Giver of all good: "Help me, Lord my God, help me soon, and do not leave me anymore in this sinful darkness." Let him not know fatigue, crying out with this or that word; but at the same time, let him seek earthly help, turning to those who know the matter for advice and guidance, how to more successfully free himself from the enemy bonds of sinful slavery that torment him. If it is impossible to do this immediately, let him do it as soon as the opportunity opens up, without ceasing to resort to the Lord Jesus, who has blossomed for us, and to His Most Pure Mother, the Virgin Mary, to have compassion on him and not to deprive him of prompt, appropriate help. Yes, he knows that in this urgency and quick readiness to follow a good suggestion - his victory and overcoming the enemy.

Who do demons have power over?

Today we publish sayingsholy fathers about the intrigues of demonsand how to resist them.

These sayings collected and published in a collection"Cunning old man" ever-memorablePskov Archpriest ValentinMordasov, author of many otherssoulful books.

Types of demonic possession

Spirits are not corporeal , therefore they do not fill and occupy places with themselves , like bodies . This explains the physical possibility of the presence of many spirits in one person. The possession of demons is not always visible, it is not always revealed by the known actions of the possessed. There is an infiltration of spirits that is undetectable, hidden; there is also the power of spirits over minds, besides the body, when they lead them as they please through the passions that act in them; people think that they all act on their own, being the laughing stock of nechi silence forces . How to be ? Be a true Christian and no hostile force will overcome you. ( saint Feofan Gate nickname).

The power of darkness

Holy Martyr Tryphon young age He healed sickness and cast out demons. The Roman emperor Gordian, from whose daughter the saint cast out a demon, wished to see with his own eyes the exiled demon. 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 the girl? Bes replied:

“Father, the head of all wickedness, who is in hell.”

Whom do demons have power over?

- We have no power over those who know God and believe in the Only Begotten Son of God; only by the permission of God do we inflict light temptations; but over those we have full power, who do not believe in God, walk in their lusts and do what is pleasing to us; but the things that are pleasing to us are: idolatry, blasphemy, adultery, envy, murder, pride, and so on. These people are entangled in sins like nets; they are our friends, the same fate awaits them with us.

Involuntary instrument of salvation

For nothing else does God allow the devil to settle in a person, so that a person does not perish for all eternity in his unrepentant sins, but so that, tormented by a demon, he repents and turns to God, that is, the devil becomes an involuntary instrument of salvation. It was precisely this that the devil confessed to the Monk Pachomius: “Your strength has increased on me incarnation God the Word, who gave the power to attack all our strength, therefore I cannot approach you, and when I overcome you, I am the author of your benefit.

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

Why you don't want to go to church

As soon as someone begins to come to his senses (to repent) and thinks to start new life by the will of God, the whole satanic realm immediately sets in motion: who, with what, is in a hurry to disperse the good thoughts and undertakings of the penitent. They do not have time to reject it - they try to interfere with good repentance and confession; here they will not 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 attempt to twist the good; are internally repulsed - externally attacked. And so on until the end of life ... How is it - it's ugly and scary? For the believer, there is nothing terrible here, because the demons only fuss around the God-fearing one, but they have no power. The sober prayer book shoots arrows from himself at them, and they keep far away from him, not daring to approach and fearing the experienced defeat. If they succeed in anything, it is due to our oversight. (St. Theophan the Recluse).

Nothing takes away so much strength from Satan as revealing the secret of our impure thoughts to our confessors... !" (Reverend Ambrose of Optina).

The Holy Fathers say that the human enemy especially hates mercy. No one is so terrible to demons as a humble one. St. Philaret, Metropolitan of Moscow, advises, before getting out of bed, to immediately read a few 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 Yugsky

The proud through adversity cognizes the existence of God. We will shudder before death, but we will be late. The loquacity of the tongue means that a person does not have virtues within himself.

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

Answer: The blind chicken is all wheat.

Question: I don't fast, I don't pray?

Answer: It's like a bird without wings.

Vile actions of "grandmothers"

Fear evil habits more than demons. (Rev. Isaac the Syrian).

Apostasy from God, the source of life, begins through the unreasonable actions of parents: often immediately after the baptism of an infant, after the denial of Satan and the expulsion of any unclean spirit nestling in his heart, he is carried directly to grandmothers, who supposedly know how to cure diseases, for washing. The holy myrrh is washed away 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 the child, and this is the beginning for him, even if unconscious on his part, of falling away from God. When a child falls ill, parents do not seek help from God, they resort not to reasonable means permitted and approved by the Church, but to various superstitious customs. And is it any wonder that, having gained access to the baby through such whisperings, washings, and similar pagan rites, or rather, through apostasy from the God of the parents, the devil gains the power to painfully act on the baby, the child often suffers in various diseases, incomprehensible to doctors.

Intrigues enemy

Remember your main passions, with which the enemy takes 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 participation in your neighbors, etc.

The enemy of salvation blasphemes other people's deeds so that we can be conceited and proud of them and thus destroy the due reward in heaven. Sometimes the enemy approaches us from the other side: he praises someone else's and blasphemes ours. Here he has a different goal: by failure in business to lead us to negligence, neglect, impatience and complete frustration, and also to envy of the success of our neighbors. (Reverend Silouan of Athos).

The purpose of the demon is one: so that not a single person passes life path safely. (Holy righteous John of Kronstadt).

Prepared by V. NIKOLAEV.

B№43(454)2008

"Be sober, be awake,because your adversary the devil walks,like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.Resist him with firm faith."(1 Peter 5:8-9).

“But alas! and Satan immediately, ready to devour me at every step, disputes me with the Lord.

Holy Righteous John of Kronstadt

“The black forces of darkness are powerless. People themselves, moving away from God, make them strong, because, moving away from God, people give the devil rights over themselves.

Elder Paisios the Holy Mountaineer

Dark forces. Spiritual scolding. About the impotence of demons. Distinguish between the Spirit of God and the evil spirit.

Rev. Barsanuphius of Optina (1845-1913) said that in the world the majority of even believing people do not believe in the existence of demons, but here it is the truth. Here is a story my father once told me:

- Father Ambrose showed the demons to Father Benedict (Orlov) in this way. He covered him with a mantle, then led him to the window and said:

— See?

“Yes, I see, father, I see that many prisoners are coming, dirty, tattered, with terrible brutal faces. Father, why so many of them? They go, they go, and there is no end, and who let them into the skete alone? Probably the whole skete was cordoned off by the Cossacks? And these prisoners all go, go, disperse to the right, to the left, behind the church.

“Well, do you see Father Benedict?

“Yes, father, what is it?”

- These are demons. Do you see how much should be for each of the brethren?

- Father, is it?

- Well, now look.

Father Benedict looked again, and saw nothing more, everything was quiet as before.

You see how many we have to fight against, but, of course, God allows the fight according to the strength of each ...

S. A. Nilus in the book “The Servant of the Mother of God and the Seraphim” about Nikolai Alexandrovich Motovilov describes such a case:

"Once in a conversation with Reverend Seraphim touched upon a conversation about enemy attacks on a person. The secularly educated Motovilov, of course, did not fail to doubt the reality of the manifestations of this misanthropic force. Then the monk told him about his terrible struggle for 1001 nights and 1001 days with demons and the power of his word, the authority of his holiness, in which there could not be a shadow of lies or exaggeration, convinced Motovilov of the existence of demons not in ghosts or dreams, but in the real bitter reality.

Ardent Motovilov was so inspired by the story of the old man that he exclaimed from the bottom of his heart:

- Father! How I wish I could fight demons!

Father Seraphim interrupted him in fear:

- What are you, what are you, your love of God! You don't know what you're talking about. If you knew that the smallest of them can turn the whole earth with its claw, you would not have volunteered to fight them!

“But, father, do demons have claws?”

“Oh, your love of God, your love of God, and what do they teach you at the university?! Don't know that demons don't have claws. They are depicted with hooves, claws, horns, tails, because it is impossible for the human imagination to come up with a more vile kind of this kind. Such, in their vileness, they are, for their arbitrary falling away from God and their voluntary opposition to Divine grace from the angels of light, as they were before falling away, made them angels of such darkness and abomination that they cannot be portrayed by any human likeness, but a likeness is needed - Here they are depicted as black and ugly. But, being created with the power and properties of angels, they have such an irresistible power for man and for everything earthly that, as I told you, the smallest of them with his claw can turn the whole earth. One Divine grace of the All-Holy Spirit, bestowed on us, Orthodox Christians, for the divine merits of the God-man, our Lord Jesus Christ, it alone makes all the intrigues and mischief of the enemy insignificant!”

Archpriest Valentin Sventsitsky (1882-1931) in conversations on selected places of the creations of St. John of the Ladder he writes:

“We must speak more about demons. The holy fathers often mention them. This word confuses the worldly man. He is told that only illiterate people can believe in the existence of demons. That this is a sign of ignorance, that this is a simple superstition inherited by an ignorant people from their ancestors along with faith in brownies, mermaids, witches and sorcerers.

So think those for whom there is no other world than the one that surrounds us, which we see and touch. For them there is no God, no devil, no angels, no immortal human souls, no hell, no heaven, no eternal life: for them man is a part of this material world. Die, rot, and that's it. For them, matter is a random combination of some " atoms", and life, therefore, is nothing but a series of pleasant or unpleasant accidents. Nobody invisible, according to their understanding, stands behind the visible world.

For us believers, the substance itself has an invisible spiritual basis. And the world is not an accident, but something that has great meaning, for it is guided by the Providence of God. For us there is the Lord Almighty. For us, besides this world, there is another world, in which there is its own existence, its own laws. For us, this world contains a multitude of Angels, some of which have fallen away from the Lord and are waging war with Him, seeking to tear them away from salvation. human souls. That spiritual, invisible world is in some contact with the earthly world. Our inner life is also influenced by our guardian angels, and the dark demonic forces also influence us, drawing us to destruction.

Demons are not an abstract concept, not a symbol, not an allegory, and, even more so, not a product of ignorance. They are the undoubted, active and personal beginning of the other world. That is how the Holy Church always treated them, that is how the holy fathers always treated them.

To many saints who have reached spiritual heights, the Lord gave them eyes to see.

Our Reverend and God-bearing Father Seraphim of Sarov says that "their appearance is vile."

How can one trust the slanders of demons? How can you listen to them? How can you obey?

Do not believe him, when he will torment your soul, striving to take the path of spiritual life, with doubts. Do not believe when he, having mastered your sleep, will disturb you "prophetic dreams" and, most importantly, do not believe when he slanders life, presenting it to you as a meaningless path to the grave.

A person, whether he is a believer or an unbeliever, cannot live on his own. He works either for God or for the devil.

Here is how he writes about it Hieromartyr Seraphim, Bishop of Dmitrov, (1871-1937):“The human heart is never empty: either the Lord or the devil lives in it. There can be no void. A person works either for the Lord or for the devil. When you have to meet a person working for a demon, you feel that someone is visible near him, someone looks into his eyes. Especially among the demoniac."

Venerable Anthony the Great (251-356) said: “A pure soul, being good, is sanctified and illuminated by God, and then the mind thinks about good and gives birth to God-loving intentions and deeds. But when the soul is defiled by sin, then God turns away from it, or better, the soul itself separates itself from God, and the crafty demons, having entered into thought, inspire the soul with unsimilar deeds: adultery, murder, theft, and similar demonic evil deeds.

Archimandrite Boris Kholchev (1895-1971) writes that “if the soul has broken its connection with God, if it is not in union with the Heavenly Father, if it is not likened to the Heavenly Father… The devil reigns in such a soul; the soul is likened to the devil, and not to the Heavenly Father.

In the soul there can be either the Kingdom of God or the kingdom of the devil.

If you pay attention to the life of the saints, to their labors and deeds, you will see that they strived to ensure that the Kingdom of God was in their souls, that the devil, sin, was expelled from their souls, that their souls were god-like, that the Kingdom of Heaven was in their souls. The life of the saints of God is a struggle for the Kingdom of God; they fought to drive evil out of their souls—sin—and to have God reign in their souls.”

“A person will be paid by the owner for whom he works,” says and Elder Paisius Svyatogorets (1924-1994), - if you work for a black master, then already here he will make your life black. If you work for sin, then the devil will pay you back. If you cultivate virtue, then Christ will pay you. And the more you work for Christ, the more enlightened and joyful you become.”

Venerable Macarius the Great (4th century) writes: “The evil spirits bind the (fallen) soul with chains of darkness Why can’t she desire to love the Lord as much as she wants to believe, or as much as she wants to pray, because since the time of the first man’s transgression, opposition both openly and secretly has taken possession of us in everything.

Saint John of the Ladder (649) writes: " All demons try to darken our minds first, and then they inspire what they want; for if the mind does not close its eyes, then our treasure will not be stolen; but the prodigal demon uses this remedy far more than anyone else. Often, darkening the mind, this lord, it induces and compels us to do before people what only madmen do. When, after some time, the mind becomes sober, then we are ashamed not only of those who saw our disorderly actions, but also of ourselves for our obscene actions, conversations and movements, and we are horrified at our former blindness; why some, reasoning about this, often lagged behind this evil (Lestv.15, 82).

Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk (1724-1783) writes about the devil and the people working for him: “The head and inventor of sin is the devil, the first apostate with his evil angels from God and his Creator: that rebel and opponent of God is followed by people who were created in the image of God and so with great honor, in the image ... of God , - respectable from God, and retreat from God, their Creator, Father and Provider, who by their own will sin, and so from God's children become the sons of the devil, and instead God's image, in a diabolical way, as some kind of terrible monster, are imprinted on the soul; whence, from this evil seed of the devil, ungodly fruits and fruits are born and come into the world. For just as those who bear the image of God, true Christians, to God, their Father, from whom they were born by water and the Spirit, are conformed to love, patience, mercy, truth and other virtues, so those who have the image of Satan in themselves are likened to it by evil deeds: hatred, malice, envy, cunning and others. Disgusting before God is the head and leader of sin, disgusting are his followers, poor and accursed people.

It is very disastrous and terrible to be the son of the devil. But sin, the evil and devilish seed, leads a person to this terrible calamity. For a sinner who commits sin and does not want to repent of this prince of darkness, like the son of his father, repeats in his temper and in practice shows that he is from this bad father, since he creates the evil fruits of his evil seed, that is, sins. For by the fruit the seed is known, and as the seed is, such is its fruit. The devil resists and does not submit to God, and the unrepentant sinner remains in the same disobedience. Listen to this, everyone, and consider whose son you are, even though you bear the name of Christ. True and true is the word of the apostles: everyone who commits sin is from the devil; And every tree is known by its fruit(Luke 6:44), as the Lord says about it.”

Saint Theophan the Recluse (1815-1894) writes: “If our intelligent eyes were opened, what would we see around and around us? On the one hand - the bright world of God, angels and saints, on the other - hordes of dark forces and dead sinners carried away by them. Among them are living people, one part of which leaned towards the light side, the other towards the dark side; middle lane as if left for a struggle in which some win, others are defeated. Some demons drag, already beaten, into their dark region; others stand and fight, accept and give defeat: blood from wounds and wounds after wounds, and all stand. They bow down to the ground from the force of blows and exhaustion of strength, and again straighten up and shoot arrows at enemies again. Who sees their work? God is one. With them, guardian angels relentlessly, above them from above is a descending ray of grace-filled light.

Any help to the struggling one is ready, but it must be accepted willingly. The inclination of the will is the condition of its strength. As soon as a person with consciousness and freedom stands on the side of good, then both the light of grace and the angels are with him. But as soon as his autocracy inclines to the side of sin, the ray of grace departs from him, and the angel retreats. Then dark forces surround the person, and the fall is ready. They bind him with captives (chains) of darkness and take him to a dark area. Will he be saved, and who will save him? He will be saved, and the same angel of God and the same grace will save him. The sinner sighs - and they approach and teach his fingers to curse with darkness. If it gets up, it will get up and again begin to hit the enemies, driven away and already throwing arrows from afar. If he cheers, he will fall again; if he wakes up, he will be raised again. How long? Until then, until death comes and finds him either in a fall or in rebellion.

Hieroschemamonk Alexander (1810-1878), a recluse elder of the Gethsemane Skete told the student: “If anyone knew what efforts the enemy makes to turn a person away from prayer (and from virtue in general), that he is ready to give a person all the treasures of the world for this,” the student asked the elder: “Father, is such an enemy has power and authority? The elder replied: “Power is not taken away from the enemy, as we see from the life of St. Eudoxia (March 1, old style). When the Archangel Michael lifted up the soul of the Monk Eudokia into the air, then he appeared in a terrible way and said to the Archangel: “Leave your rage and loosen a little the bonds with which I am bound. You will see that in the twinkling of an eye I will destroy the human race from the earth and I will not leave its heritage.” You see that he has power, only he has no power, even over pigs, as can be seen from the Holy Gospel (Mark 5, 12-13).

came to the old man Ambrose of Optina (1812-1891) some gentleman who does not believe in the existence of demons. The father told him the following: “A gentleman came to the village to visit his friends and chose a room for himself for the night. They tell him: don't lie down here - it's unfavorable in this room. But he didn't believe it and just laughed at it. He lay down, but suddenly he hears at night that someone is blowing right into his bald head. He covered his head with a blanket. Then this someone went to his feet and sat on the bed. The guest was frightened and rushed to run away from there as fast as he could, convinced by his own experience in the existence of a dark force. But even after this story, the master said: “Your will, father, I don’t even understand what kind of demons they are.” To this, the elder replied: “After all, not everyone understands mathematics, but it exists.” And he added: “How can demons not exist when we know from the Gospel that the Lord Himself commanded demons to enter a herd of pigs?” The master objected: “But isn’t this allegorical?” “So,” the old man continued to convince, “both pigs are allegorical, and pigs do not exist. But if there are pigs, then there are demons.”

Holy Righteous John of Kronstadt (1829-1908) writes: “The phenomena of demons so occupied the minds of some ascetics that they even attempt to explain the psychology and properties of these phenomena.

Simeon the New Theologian about demons he says: “There are other mental forces, demons that mentally approach the soul and tempt it, perturbing its natural movements, for it is always in motion, being by nature ever-moving.

According to Anthony the Great, demons are not visible bodies, but we are bodies for them when our souls receive dark thoughts from them, for, having accepted these thoughts, we accept the demons themselves and make them manifest in the body.

The ascetics considered prayer to be the main and most important means of getting rid of the manifestations of demons.

I wonder how the ascetic imagined Ilya Ekdik attitude of demons to prayer. Here are his true words about this: “He who threatens with a stick at dogs irritates them against him, and the demon is irritated by the one who forces (forces) himself to pray.”

... The kingdom of life and the kingdom of death go side by side, I say they go, because they are spiritual. Head of the first, i.e. The kingdom of life is Jesus Christ, and whoever is with Christ is undoubtedly in the realm of life; head of the second, i.e. The kingdoms of death, there is the prince of the power of the air - the devil with the spirits of evil subordinate to him, of which there are so many that far exceed the number of all people living on earth. These children of death, subjects of the prince of the air, are in a constant stubborn war with the sons of life, i.e. with faithful Christians, and by all means of cunning they try to win them over to their side, through the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, because sin, crime is their element, and through sins, if we do not repent of them, we go over to their side .

Those for whom sins are, as it were, a daily need, who drink iniquity like water, they do not bother, because they are their property, as long as they live carelessly about their souls; but if they only turn to God, acknowledge their sins, voluntary and involuntary, and ... the war will flare up, the hordes of Satan will rise up and lead a continuous battle.

From this you see how necessary it is to seek Christ as the ruler of life, the conqueror of hell and death.

Every sorrow and distress comes from lack of faith, or from some kind of passion, hidden inside, or from any other impurity visible to the All-Seeing, and, therefore, from the fact that the devil is in the heart, but Christ is not in the heart.

Christ is peace, freedom of the soul, and inexpressible light.

Oh, how carefully the devil and the world sow with their tares the field of Christ, which is the church of God! Instead of the word of God, the word of the world, the word of vanity, is zealously sown. Instead of temples, the world has invented its own temples - temples of the vanity of the world: theaters, circuses, meetings. Instead of holy icons, which peace lovers do not accept, there are picturesque, photographic portraits, illustrations and various other types in the world; instead of God and saints, the world reveres the adoration of its celebrities - writers, actors, singers, painters, who own public trust and respect to the point of reverence.

Poor Christians! Completely fallen away from Christ! Instead of spiritual attire, all the attention in the world is paid to perishable clothes, to fashionable dresses and various exquisite ornaments, reeking of brilliance and high cost. In illness, and in bodily weakness in general, as well as in sorrow, a person at first cannot burn for God with faith and love, because in sorrow and illness the heart hurts, and faith and love require a healthy heart, a calm heart, and therefore there is no need grieve very much that in sickness and sorrow we cannot, as we should, believe in God, love Him and pray fervently to Him. Everything has its time. Sometimes praying is an inauspicious time.

God is life. He gave life and existence to everything. He is the Existing and Almighty, for everything is from Him and everything is supported by Him: we know His One Existing One. The devil is death, because he voluntarily evaded the belly - God, and just as God is the Existing, so he, the devil, due to the complete falling away from the Existing, is the culprit of the bearing, the culprit of dreams, delusions, for truly he cannot bring anything into being by the word, he is a lie like God is the truth! False thoughts in faith immediately expose themselves, kill the life of the heart, a sign that they come from a liar, a dreamer who has the power of death - the devil. True thoughts show their truth in practice: they enliven the heart - a sign that they come from the life-giving Spirit of God, the belly: the same way, from their fruit you will know them. Do not be indignant and do not stagnate in embarrassment and bewilderment when murderous thoughts will crowd in your head and oppress your heart, your soul. They are false, they are from the devil - murderers. Drive them away and don't ask where they came from, these uninvited guests; you will instantly recognize them by their fruits. Do not enter into competition with them, they will lead you into such a labyrinth that you will not get out, you will get confused and exhausted.

... The devil is such an evil knitting needle that at any time and everywhere climbs into your heart eyes, eclipsing and suppressing them, it is such a poisonous dust that constantly rushes about in our mental atmosphere and sits caustically on the heart, eating away and boring it. When the enemy fails to occupy a Christian on the path of salvation with sorrows and hardships, poverty and various other deprivations, illnesses and various misfortunes, he rushes to the other extreme: he takes him with health, peace, softness, relaxation, heart and soul insensibility of spiritual blessings or the richness of life external. Oh, how dangerous is that last state! It more dangerous than the first states of sorrow and tightness, states of illness, etc. Here we easily forget God, stop feeling His mercy, doze off and sleep spiritually.

…Because in the Kingdom of the All-Good and All-Powerful God there are fallen evil spirits, and it is air and earth that have their place, and since man from the very beginning was drawn to evil by them, as they have always been and now are, and will be together with the human race until the end of time, then they constitute, so to speak, the environment in which we are surrounded and in which we live. People, beings free and, moreover, fallen, although restored by the Son of God and standing in this grace freely by faith, good disposition towards God and good deeds, must be protected by constant prayer to God from the opposing forces that are fighting against our soul, wanting to trap us in their captivity. and make them like them in spirit. Everyone must be extremely careful, so that in our spirit and in our deeds we do not become accustomed to the spirits of wickedness in high places; lest they become the breath of our soul instead of God, lest the evil that is their nature become our evil. However, we must always keep in mind that there is pain, who is in us, rather than who is in the world(1 John 4, 4) that the Lord also contains them in His full power and only allows, as much as His truth, goodness and wisdom allows, to act in the world, to admonish and correct people. But there are people who have the devil in their clothing, food, and drink, just as true Christians put on Christ, feed on His Body and Blood. Everywhere in the world there is duality - one against the other: spirit and body, good and evil. Satan has his slanderers and helpers to spread his dominion among people; God has angels, whom he gives to every Christian to protect him and to guide him to the blessed Kingdom of Christ.

When the devil is in our heart, then an extraordinary, killing heaviness and fire in the chest and heart; the soul is extremely shy and darkened; everything irritates her; feels disgust for every good deed; he interprets the words and deeds of others in relation to himself crookedly and sees in them a malice against himself, against his honor, and therefore feels a deep, murderous hatred for them, rages and breaks for revenge: from his fruit you shall know him(Matthew 7:20)."

Archpriest Grigory Lebedev in one of the sermons he talks about what you need to know about the devil: “Today I will talk about the devil. Astonishment? I understand you. In the twentieth century, during the victorious march scientific knowledge, in the largest city of the country - the center of scientific research, from where every day the radio carries around the world the cry of the triumph of science and materialism - and suddenly ... in such an environment, we are talking about the devil! What an anachronism! What a relic! After all, this is the Middle Ages! Who believes in the devil now? Even people who believe and consider themselves reasonable believers, or understand the gospel and patristic reasoning about the devil allegorically, i.e. by the devil they mean sin and the power of sin, indicating that the Savior speaks of the devil, adapting to folk beliefs, or, in embarrassment at the naivety of the Gospel, they simply shrug their shoulders, not daring to say their main idea: "This is outdated for our time", or they belittle the church teaching about the devil and, not knowing how to connect it with life, share this teaching superficially, having the most vague ideas about Satan.

Let people think what they want about the devil, and the devil is, and Christ in today's gospel story says more than that: he not only exists - he controls people's lives. The Lord healed a woman who had suffered from an illness for 18 years, and when the scribes asked Christ a tempting question why He healed on Saturday, the Lord answered: “Will you untie the donkey on Saturday to give it water? So, I untied the woman that Satan had kept bound for 18 years.” See? Satan not only exists, but acts as if he is the master of life. Let us not, however, delve into the question of the existence of the devil... This would lead us to research that is inappropriate for liturgical teaching, but let us take the most clear evidence of this existence, both theoretical - from our mind, and practical - from life.

Here is proof from the mind. Do you believe in the immortality of the soul? Believe. Does that mean the soul lives on after death? Yes. So, an evil soul, corrupted, gloomy, dark, is this how it passes? Clear. So such a black soul is the spirit of darkness. And he goes to the world of evil spirits like himself. Since this world is the world of rational beings, it must have and has its own organization, its own ideals, tasks and goals, its own modes of action, ways of life. The Holy Church believes that at the head of this world are its founders, the first spirits of evil that fell away from God, permeated with lies, soldered with malice, wise by thousands of years of experience. Their task is to fight the Light. Their leadership of the entire world of evil spirits tends towards waging a final struggle against the realm of Truth, i.e. kingdom of Christ. Hence, the whole life of the world is a struggle with good, the planting of evil or sin, because evil and sin are identical concepts.

And the world of good is saturated with invisible spirits of evil, the whole existence of which pursues one goal: to extinguish the Light, to destroy good, to plant hell everywhere, so that darkness and hell would triumph everywhere. Here are the most basic concepts about the kingdom of evil and its inhabitants. This is a completely real kingdom! Now, at least with one stroke, let us approach his being practically, i.e. from life experience. Again, avoiding lengthy references to experience, let us dwell on two phenomena of life. You have observed in yourself, in those around you—if only, of course, you know how to peer into life—forces acting in a person, in spite of his will and even in addition to his consciousness! Such states occur at every turn. These are all states of passion, states of lust, carnal sensuality, states of anger, passions for wine, games, etc. Their name is legion! Conditions when a person does not belong to himself, but is drawn, as bound, powerless and weak-willed, as a slave, obedient to someone else's will. Science, of course, will not call this force evil and Satan, it will call it physical and mental heredity, pathology, psychosis, and so on. But this is a superficial explanation! When a person is “drawn” against his will, against consciousness, when he suffers, suffers, struggles and is still powerless, when this force is completely objective in a person, like a second “I”, when it is recognized as something alien and hostile to me, then the scientific explanation is of little use. No! The Church, guided by the word of God, speaks shorter and simpler: here is a strange power in a person, here is the power of destruction and evil, here a person is no longer free, he is bound by the devil, here is Satan. And besides passions, the power of evil and darkness sometimes manifests itself in people, apparently quite usually. It manifests itself when evil cannot bear the Light it has to face. For example, why can't a dissolute woman endure the presence of the greatest modesty and chastity? Now she's getting angry. Why are there cases when a mother or a father vilifies, persecutes his daughter or son, if they have embarked on God's path? It seems that if the daughter goes “for a walk”, it is easier for them than she will be in the temple all the time. Why is this? Why do people wake up with a spirit of malice when meeting with a clergyman or even with a secular church person? It would seem that the person is meek and decent in appearance and does not behave provocatively, humbly, but they rage against him. Why? Yes, these are all manifestations of possession under the influence of the forces of evil. Darkness cannot bear the world that denies it, and raises the malice of hell.

So, dark spirits of evil exist, and they invade our lives. And if you don't consider this reality of evil invading your life, you are committing two of the greatest mistakes. The first mistake: a person destroys Christianity, makes it meaningless, takes out its soul, makes Christianity dead, unnecessary. So in our time, Christianity has become a void for so many who call themselves Christians. What is the meaning of Christianity? In the rebirth of man through the destruction of evil in man. What is the meaning of the coming of Christ? In the fight against evil, in the destruction of evil, in the victory over Satan, the liberation of man from the power of evil and his salvation. The apostle says so: “To deprive by death of power that which has the power of death, that is, the devil.” (Heb. 2:14). And if you, by virtue of your lack of faith and rationality, exclude the struggle with the devil and victory over him from the work of Christ, then you destroy the power of Christianity. You then reduce Christ to the role of an exalted moralist who taught good, and nothing more. And if in your life, as Christians, you do not enter the fight against the devil, then you are dead in Christianity. It gives you nothing, and you will be cold, empty, sleepy, boring, receiving nothing from Christ and the Church. It is so indeed! Aren't most Christians like that? Aren't the majority lifeless? That's how it should be!

The second greatest mistake is made when the thought of the devil and the need to fight him disappears from the life of a Christian. Then the person himself gives himself to the elements of evil, gives freely and voluntarily. The following happens: a person thinks that everything around is calm, there is no enemy, and he is carefree, lives without looking back, the forces of the soul are asleep, all spiritual movements are accepted as their own, as natural. This state of human carelessness is used by the power of evil, because there are no obstacles for it. Souls are calm, souls are carefree, souls are open... Take a person with bare hands without resistance. Tragic picture! The man assured himself that there is no enemy - everything happens according to natural laws. And the enemy is laughing… He comes freely when everything is open and takes care of it.

One French writer (Huysmans) said amazing words: "The greatest victory of the devil was to convince people that he does not exist". Do you hear? Yes, this is Satan's greatest victory. He instilled this. What devil?! Yes, he never was, and no! It's a stupid old prejudice! And the devil stepped aside. And now he's laughing evilly. He is not there, there is no enemy ... Down with attention, precaution! He will host. Everything is open before him, come into the person and do with him what you want. It happened just as if thieves and bandits assured people that they did not exist, that there was no theft. People would open doors wide open, indulge in carelessness. Oh, how theft and crime would then flourish!

Yes, in material matters, people cleverly lock themselves with ten locks, guard the good, but they don’t think of saving the good of the soul. The soul is a passageway. All wide open. You are afraid of thieves, but you are not afraid of a spiritual bandit! And no excuses will help people. There is a corrupter and a thief of their lives, their irreconcilable, terrible enemy. He tirelessly does his job. People are bound by him, they are his obedient slaves.

Don't say, "Oh, if only we could see it and make sure that it exists!" It's easy to see him. Learn to look. You don't know how to look! You are blind. You do not see yourself, but how do you want to see the devil? Here you will first learn to see yourself and then, believe me, you will see the devil. Pray that the Lord will send you a good mind, a sober conscience, open your inner eyes so that you never forget your primordial enemy, always be ready to fight him, guard the entrances to your soul, and then the power of God will be at your right hand, and your soul will not be bound by Satan, as the gospel woman was bound by him. May the Lord grant you, through the prayers of your bright spirit - your guardian angel, to avoid the devil's slavery and be free children of God, building up your salvation in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory, honor and worship forever and ever.

Spiritual warfare

Saint Anthony the Great (251-356) about the fight against dark forces says (from the life of the saint):

“God Himself has commanded us to always watch with unflagging attention what is happening in our souls, because we have very cunning enemies in the fight - I mean demons- and we, according to the apostle, will have an unceasing struggle with them. Countless numbers of them rush in the air, whole hordes of enemies surround us from all sides.. I could not explain to you all the differences between them; I will only briefly describe the ways in which they try to deceive us, which I know. First of all, we must firmly remember that God is not the author of evil and that the demons did not become evil by His will: such a change in them did not occur by nature, but depended on their own will. As created by a good God, they were originally good spirits, but for their very exaltation they were cast down from heaven to earth, where, stagnant in evil, they deceived the peoples with false dreams and taught them idolatry; but for us Christians, they are immensely envious and incessantly raise all kinds of evil against us, fearing that we will inherit their former glory in heaven.

The degrees of their immersion in evil are different and varied: some of them have reached an extreme fall into the abyss of wickedness, others seem less malicious, but all of them, to the best of their ability, fight in different ways against every virtue. Therefore, we need intense prayers and feats of abstinence in order to receive from God the gift of reasoning, to comprehend the differences between evil spirits, to recognize in each individual case their various kinds of cunning and deceit and reflect everything with the same Christian sign - the Cross of the Lord. Having received this gift, the holy Apostle Paul inspired: Let us not be offended by Satan: let us not be unreasonable for his intentions(2 Cor. 2:11). It is necessary that we also imitate the apostle and warn others about what we ourselves suffered, and in general - instruct each other mutually.

For my part, I have seen many insidious deceptions from demons, and I tell you about this as children, so that, having a warning, you can save yourself in the midst of the same temptations. Great is the malice of the demons against all Christians, and especially against the monks and virgins of Christ. Everywhere they place temptations in their lives, they try to corrupt their hearts with ungodly and impure thoughts. But let none of you be afraid of this, for with fervent prayers to God and fasting, demons are immediately driven away. However, if they stop attacking for a while, do not think that you have completely won; for after a defeat, demons usually attack later with even greater force. Cunningly changing the methods of struggle, if they cannot seduce a person with thoughts, then they try to seduce or intimidate him with ghosts, taking the form of a woman, then a scorpion, then turning into some giant as tall as a temple, into entire regiments of warriors or into any other ghosts that all disappear at the very first sign of the cross. If they recognize their deceit in this, then they are soothsayers and strive, like the prophets, to predict future events. If even in this case they suffer disgrace, then they call on their prince himself, the root and focus of all evil, to help themselves in the struggle.

Many times reverend father Our Anthony the Great also spoke about exactly the same diabolical image that appeared to him, which was presented to the God-enlightened gaze of Job: his eyes are a vision of a daylight. From his mouth come out like burning candles, and like sparks of fire are placed: from his nostrils comes the smoke of a furnace burning with coal fire: his soul is like coal, and like a flame comes out of his mouth(Job 41:9-12). In such a terrible form, the prince of demons appeared. He would like to instantly destroy the whole world, but in reality he has no power: the omnipotence of God tames him, just as an animal controls the bridle, or as the freedom of a captive is destroyed by his fetters. He is afraid of the sign of the cross, and the virtuous life of the righteous, and St. Anthony says this about it:

— Great power, beloved brethren, has a pure life and undefiled faith in God against the devil.. Believe my experience - for Satan, the vigilance of people living according to the will of God, their prayers and fasts, meekness, voluntary poverty, modesty, humility, love, restraint are terrible, but most of all - their sincere love for Christ. The highly exalted serpent himself knows well that he is condemned to be trampled underfoot by the righteous., according to the Word of God: Behold, I give you power to tread on the serpent and scorpion and on all the power of the enemy(Luke 10:19).

The Monk Anthony told for the spiritual benefit of the listeners, and this is what else:

“How many times demons attacked me under the guise of armed warriors and, taking the forms of scorpions, horses, animals and various snakes, surrounded me and filled the room in which I was. When I started to sing against them: These are in chariots, and these are on horses: but we will call on the name of the Lord our God(Ps. 19:8), then, driven away by God's grace-filled help, they fled. Once they appeared even in a very bright form and began to say:

“We have come, Antony, to give you light.

But I screwed up my eyes so as not to see the devil's light, I began to pray to God in my soul, and their ungodly light went out. After a little while, they appeared again and began to sing before me and argue with each other about the Scriptures, but I was like a deaf man and did not listen to them. It happened that they shook my very monastery, but I prayed to the Lord with a fearless heart. Often around me there were shouts, dances and ringing; but when I began to sing, their cries turned into mournful cries, and I praised the Lord who destroyed their strength and put an end to their fury.

“Believe me, my children,” continued Antony, “that I will tell you: once I saw the devil in the form of an extraordinary giant who dared to say about himself:

“I am God’s power and wisdom,” and he turned to me with these words: “Ask me, Anthony, for whatever you want, and I will give it to you.”

- I, in response, spat in his mouth and, armed with the name of Christ, completely rushed at him, and this giant, in appearance, immediately melted and disappeared in my hands. When I was fasting, he again appeared to me under the guise of a black man who brought bread and persuaded me to eat.

“You,” he said, “are human and not free from human weakness; make some indulgence to your body, otherwise you may get sick.”

But I realized that this was the insidious seduction of the crafty serpent, and when I turned to my ordinary weapon - the sign of the Cross of Christ, it immediately turned into a stream of smoke, which, stretching towards the window, disappeared through it. Demons often tried to seduce me in the desert by suddenly appearing as a ghost of gold, hoping to seduce me either by looking at it or by touching it. I will not hide the fact that the demons began to beat me many times. But I patiently endured the beatings and only exclaimed:

“No one can separate me from the love of Christ!”

From these words they came into mutual fury against each other and, finally, they were driven out not according to me, but according to God's command, according to the words of Christ: I saw Satan like lightning from heaven falling down(Luke 10, 18)…

How many myriads of evil demons, and how countless are the types of their wiles! Even after they saw that we, having come to the knowledge of our passions and our shame, are already trying to avoid the evil deeds to which they lead us, and we do not incline our ears to the evil advice that they suggest to us, they did not lag behind, but set to work with a desperate effort, knowing that their fate has already been finally decided and that their legacy is hell, for their extreme malice and disgust (from God).

May the Lord open the eyes of your hearts so that you can see how numerous are the wiles of demons and how much evil they cause us every day - and may grant you a heart of courage and a spirit of discernment, so that you can offer yourselves to God as a living and blameless sacrifice, beingware of envy of demons at all times and their evil advice, their secret machinations and covert malice, their deceptive lies and blasphemous thoughts, their subtle suggestions that they put every day in the heart, anger and slander, which they incite us to, so that we slander each other, only justifying ourselves, condemning others, so that we slander each other, or in sweet language, they hid bitterness in our hearts, so that they would condemn the appearance of their neighbor, having a predator inside themselves, so that they would argue among themselves, and go against each other, in the desire to put on their own I seem honest.

Every person who delights in sinful thoughts falls voluntarily, when he is happy (sympathizes) with what is invested in him from enemies and when he thinks to justify himself only by apparently done deeds, being inside the dwelling place of an evil spirit who teaches him all evil. The body of such a person will be filled with shameful shames - for whoever is such, demonic passions take possession of them, which he does not drive away from himself. Demons are not visible bodies; but we are bodies for them when our souls receive dark thoughts from them; for, having received these thoughts, we receive the demons themselves, and we make them manifest in the body.

... Resist the devil and try to recognize his wiles. He usually hides his bitterness under the guise of sweetness, so as not to be open, and arranges various ghosts, red in appearance - which, however, in fact, are not at all the essence - in order to deceive your hearts with a cunning imitation of the truth, which is worthy of attraction: to all his art is directed to this, in order to oppose with all his might every soul that works well for God. He puts many and different passions into the soul, in order to extinguish the Divine fire in it, in which all power; especially takes the peace of the body and what is connected with it. When he finally sees that they are wary of everything of this kind and do not accept anything from him, and do not give any hope that they will ever listen to him, he retreats from them with shame. Then the Spirit of God dwells in them.

dying Saint Anthony the Great admonished his disciples with these words: “I beg you, my dear children, do not lose the fruits of your many years of abstinence, but zealously and successfully continue what you have begun you feats. You know how many different obstacles demons put up for us, but do not be afraid of their insignificant power. Trust in Jesus Christ, firmly believe in Him with all your heart, and all demons will flee from you. ... Try to lead a godly life - and you will surely receive a reward in heaven. Avoid all communication with schismatics, heretics and Arians; you know that I never had a friendly conversation with them because of their evil designs and Christ-born heresy. Most of all, try to fulfill the commandments of the Lord, so that the saints would accept you after your death into eternal monasteries, as relatives and friends. Remember, meditate, and always reason about it.”

Saint John Cassian the Roman (350-435) about the influence of dark forces on us writes: “Dark forces predominantly act on us through thoughts., and of course we it would be easier to deal with them if we were not constantly and not in small numbers surrounded by these unfriendly enemies- but this is nothing to be afraid of. These enemies are sure to constantly slander us,but they only sow and arouse evil in us, and do not force it. If they were given the power not to inspire only evil, but also to forcibly draw to it, then no matter what sinful desire they wanted to kindle in our hearts, not a single person could avoid sin because of it. But we see that just as they have been given permission to incite us, so we have been given both the power to cut off such incitements and the freedom to consent to them. Why be afraid? - However, if anyone is afraid of their violence and attacks, we, on the other hand, offer God's protection and God's help, which is more powerful than those, as they say:there is pain who is in you, rather than who is in the world(1 John 4, 4), - Whose intercession with incomparably greater force will fight against us than with what the enemy side rises against us. For God not only inspires good deeds, but also patronizes them and brings them to the end; so that sometimes, without our will and our knowledge, it draws us to salvation.

So it's decided that no one can be deceived by the devil, except for one who himself desires to give him his will consent. What Ecclesiastes clearly expressed in these words: as if there is no arguing of the one who creates the evil one soon: for this sake, the heart of the sons of men is convinced in them, hedgehog to create evil(Eccl. 8:11). It is obvious, therefore, that everyone sins because when evil thoughts attack him, he does not immediately repulse them with contradiction. For it is said: resist the devil and flee from you(James 4:7).

Other bewilderment may be born, how these evil spirits enter into communion with the soul They talk to her insensitively, instill whatever they want into her, see her thoughts and movements and use them to her detriment. “But there is nothing surprising in this. The spirit can enter into communion with the spirit, and secretly influence it, instilling what it desires.. For between them, as between people, there is a certain similarity and affinity by nature. But for them to mutually enter into each other and master each other, this is absolutely impossible. This can only truly be attributed to the Deity.

…But how do unclean spirits know our thoughts? – They do not read them directly in their souls, but cognize them from the discovery of them in external sensory signs, i.e. from our words and actions. But they cannot in any way penetrate those thoughts that have not yet come out of the soul. Even that, whether and how the thoughts inspired by them are accepted, they learn not from the soul itself, and not from the inner, in it, as a result, secretly occurring movements, but from the manifestations of it outside the soul. So, for example, if, with the omnipresence of the thought of gluttony, they see that a monk began to look out the window and at the sun, or inquire what time it is, then they will know from the fact that he has perceived gluttony lust. And it is not surprising that the air forces recognize this and similar things in such a way when we see that smart people also manage to recognize the state of affairs by their eyes, face and other external signs. inner man. Those who, like spirits, are undoubtedly much finer and more penetrating than people, can recognize this the more surely.

It is necessary to know that not all demons kindle all passions in people, but certain spirits are associated with each passion; for some of them delight in unclean and shameful lusts, some love blasphemy, some anger and rage, some are comforted by sorrow, some by vanity and pride, and each one sows that passion in human hearts, which he himself especially enjoys; but not all arouse their passions together, but alternately, according to the time, place, and acceptability of the tempted one.

And then you should know that not all of them are equally evil and equally strong. The weakest spirits are attacked by the new beginnings and the weak, and when these are defeated, then the strongest are sent - and thus, gradually, a warrior of Christ must endure more and more strong battles, in proportion to his own prosperity and the increase of his spiritual strength. And none of the Saints could have endured the anger of such and so many enemies, or resisted their slander and ferocious fury, if, during our slavery, the most merciful intercessor and ascetic Christ was not always inherent in us, did not equalize the forces of the fighters, did not reflect and curb indiscriminate raids of enemies, and did not create with temptation and abundance, as if you were able to bear us(1 Corinthians 10:13).

Saint John of the Ladder (649): “If you constantly pray to the Heavenly King against your enemies in all their attacks, then be trustworthy: you will work a little. For they themselves will soon depart from you, because impure these they do not want to see you receive crowns by prayer for your war with them, and moreover, scorched by prayer like fire, they are forced to flee. Drive away these dogs that come to you with the weapon of prayer, and no matter how much they continue to be shameless, do not yield to them.

Saint John Chrysostom (347-407) writes that “the devil is shameless and insolent; moreover, it attacks from below, however, and in this way wins. And the reason for this is that we ourselves do not try to be above his blows: for he cannot rise high, but grovels on the earth, and therefore the serpent is his image. …What does it mean to attack from below? To overcome by means of earthly things, by means of pleasures, wealth and all worldly things. Therefore, if the devil sees that someone is soaring towards heaven, then, firstly, he cannot jump on him, and secondly, if he decides, he will quickly fall himself: after all, he has no legs - do not be afraid , has no wings - do not be afraid, he crawls only on the ground and grovels among earthly affairs. Let you have nothing in common with the earth, then you will not need labor. The devil does not know how to fight openly, but, like a serpent, hides in thorns often lurking in the charms of wealth. If you cut these thorns, then he, immediately becoming timid, will run away, and if you know how to speak him with Divine spells, then you will immediately wound him. We have spiritual spells - the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and the power of the Cross. This spell not only drives the dragon out of its lair and throws it into the fire, but even heals wounds.

If many, although they pronounced (this spell), but were not healed, then this happened from their lack of faith, and not from the impotence of what was said; in the same way, many touched Jesus and pressed him, but did not receive any benefit, and the bleeding woman, touching not the body, but the edge of his garment, stopped the long-term blood flows. The name of Jesus Christ is terrible for demons, passions and diseases. So, let us adorn ourselves with Him, be protected by Him.

Hieroschemamonk Nikolai (Tsarikovskiy), confessor of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra (1829-1899):“Know that our struggle with the devil for the Kingdom of Heaven will continue until the end of our lives. The devil, as a spirit cast down from heaven for pride and disobedience to God, envied our forefathers, Adam and Eve, and, having deceived them, led them into pride and disobedience to God, and thereby deprived them of paradise. He also now persecutes people, and especially the Orthodox.

With his flattery, he tries in every possible way to enter the soul (head) of a person. With the help of pretense, hiding so that a person does not even suspect him, he presents to him various charms, various faces, stinginess, in accordance with which one is most infected with passion. Whoever delights in one or another of the passions aroused in this way, then the devil enters with this delight to the person, as to his friend, unites with his soul, defiles it, then settles on his heart and kindles it to all sorts of bad, sinful deeds.

If bad, unkind thoughts appear in your mind, this is the devil's coming, an attack. Then you say to the devil: "I do not agree with you" - and do not allow yourself to be delighted by those thoughts. Then your Guardian Angel will drive away the devil from you, and God, for such resistance to the enemy - the devil, will send you the remission of sins as a reward: an unfading crown of glory will be woven for you. Therefore, try in every possible way not to allow the devil to reach the soul, for it is the bride of Christ. God created her so that she would praise Him forever and rejoice before Him forever. The devil uses all his strength to defile her, so that through this she is deprived of the Kingdom of Heaven and Divine joy. And during temptations, one must remember (and not lose heart) that for the thoughts planted by the enemy in the soul, there is still no condemnation of a person, for this is enemy abuse. Only for the pleasure of thoughts and the consent with the argument for sin do judgment from God and His righteous wrath come upon a person.

Reverend Elder Lev of Optina (1768-1841):« ... It is impossible to do without a struggle, in which we sometimes win, and sometimes we are defeated.What is not in your will, leave it as it is,want to keep or put on your own, you can only do yourself harm and apply illness to illness.

Rev. Macarius of Optina (1788-1860) writes about the spiritual warfare waged by the enemy of the human race with all Christians who want to live piously and pleasing to God, and about humility as a victory over him (from letters to worldly persons): “ Our life is a spiritual war with invisible spirits of malice. They revolt us with our pledged passions andencourage to transgress the commandments of God.When we delve into and consider carefully, we find thatfor every passion there is a cure - a commandment opposite to it,and therefore the enemies are trying to prevent us from reaching this salutary cure... In your letter you mention the minutes of a difficult battle with the hater of our salvation. Exactlydifficult without God's help, and when we rely on our mind and strength or give ourselves over to negligence,but even the very falls of every kind are an allowance for exaltation. Saint John of the Ladder writes:Where there is a fall, there was a foreshadowing of pride". Therefore, we should try our best to acquirehumility, because we have a fight withprouddemons, and humility is an easy victory for them ... How can we acquire this treasure - humility? One must learn from the writings of the holy fathers about this virtue andhave self-reproach in everything,but to see your neighbors as the best of yourself: do not reproach or condemn them in anything,and accept reproach from them as sent from God to heal our mental illnesses.

It is impossible not to have a battle, but it depends on us whether to win or be defeated. With strong impulses, it is necessary to have abstinence both from food and from seeing, hearing and speaking, and to have moderate sleep, and moreover, the heart is contrite and humble. Without this last first help little. When you are overcome, then know that you are punished for exalting and for condemning others.. Humble yourself and the Lord will save you!

In the war of the senses, many are wounded and suffer illnesses: much more so, in this spiritual warfare, many wounds are acceptable from the spirits of malice, and moreover, when we rely on our strength and reason, then we are overcome until we humble ourselves, knowing our weakness.

In battle, resist with humility, as it is written and shown to us from the father, and if it happens to graze, get up again; and know that for your pride you are tempted by them. Run to self-reproach and humility, and not from your cell. Until the monk is erased by various temptations and sorrows, he cannot recognize his weakness and humble himself.

…The main reason for such a strong scolding against you is the poverty of your humility., and when it is impoverished, pride clearly takes its place, and where the fall, although mental, was preceded by pride, and you, apparently, do not try to resist it and do not overthrow it, so it overthrows you. To get rid of it, have yourself the last neck and the worst of all, as if conquered by passions, then you yourself will see the fruit of this deed, and you, on the contrary, you consider yourself better than others, and you reproach and condemn them; who gave you this power? For this, the enemy strongly rises up against you and confuses you with sleepy (prodigal) dreams. Humble yourself and you will receive God's help.

... Whatever way of life we ​​go through, spiritual warfare is everywhere before us from the spirits of malice, disturbing our passions and forcing us to sinful action, which tests our will and love for God - in our struggle. And if we do not have this struggle, then we will not learn art, and we will not recognize our weakness, and we will not acquire humility, and it is so great that it can save us apart from works, as Saint Isaac writes in the 46th Word.

A Christian who spends his life according to the commandments of God must be tested by various temptations: 1) because the enemy, envious of our salvation, tries with all sorts of wiles to hinder us from fulfilling the will of God, and 2) because virtue cannot be firm and true when not she will be tested by an obstacle that is contrary to her and will remain unshakable. Why is there constant spiritual warfare in our life.

…N. say, when he humbles himself, then the scolding will subside: sleep less, eat less, beware of idle talk, condemnation and not like to adorn yourself with a good dress, keep your eyes and ears. All these means are protective; not yet allow thoughts to enter the heart, but when they begin to come, rise up and ask for help from God.

Saint Philaret, Metropolitan of Moscow (1783-1867):“The enemy is angry at the good. When they stand in goodness with strength and purity, the arrows of a baby are his ulcers (see: Ps. 63, 8). The admixture of imperfection, wrongness, inattention, laziness, passion in thoughts and motives gives access to the walker on impure paths, and he becomes impudent and impudent.

... Truly, this is one of the slanders of the father of lies, that he sometimes says a bad word in the ear of the soul and tries to attribute this crime to her.

This is one of the errors of mental warfare. It is not necessary to become timid, because this would be harmful in repelling an attack.

It is necessary to hastily and firmly take up the weapons of prayer and the word of God. For example: get away from me, Satan. Or: let their sword enter into their hearts (see: Matt. 4:10; Ps. 36:15). One should cry out to God: Save me, O God, as you bring water to my soul(Ps. 62:8).

Those who go inward meet this battle, but those who strive unremittingly so deepen inward and draw near to the light of God that the arrows of darkness do not reach them. Access to the enemy is given either by those who consider themselves to be something, or condemn others, And so on. His own impure thought becomes the path along which he comes and sows his hellish weeds. Humility, condemnation of oneself and sincere repentance crush the bridge of the enemy, and he falls into the abyss.…»

WITHhierarch Theophan the Recluse (1815-1894): “This is what you should do when internal evil movements that confuse you come: immediately descend with attention to your heart and stand there, pushing away the attacking evil movements and by exertion of will, and more so by prayer to the Lord. That there are attacks, there is no fault in this; but when you don't push them away and take care of them and allow sympathy, then it's your fault.The heart becomes impure from this and loses boldness before the Lord. watch your heart».

writes about spiritual warfare (from letters to spiritual children):

“This world is subject to the devil. Here he finds his tools, with which he persecutes and persecutes the disciple of Christ, wishing to destroy him. But the Lord conquered the world, conquered the devil. By force, against the will of man, the devil cannot harm anyone. Only he falls under the power of the devil, who himself consciously gives him a hand. And whoever resists him, who calls on the help of the Lord Jesus Christ, he is safe, the temptations of demons can even benefit him, or rather, they benefit him.

You need to use your falls and your dilapidation as a means to acquire humility. A person who has acquired humility has a special inner state in which all the attacks of the devil are repelled. Man no longer trusts in himself, but in the Lord. And the Lord is omnipotent and defeated the devil and defeats him in our soul, when we fight not with our strength, but by invoking the Lord and surrendering ourselves to His will ...

There is an "senile" expression: every good deed is either preceded or followed by temptation. And such good deeds as prayer from the heart, and especially communion, cannot remain without the revenge of the devil. He uses all his strength to prevent him from praying properly and from taking communion. And if he could not do this, then he tries to play dirty tricks so that there is no trace left of the benefits received. This is very well known to everyone involved in the spiritual life. That is why it is necessary, with humility and contrition of heart, if possible, to ask the Lord to protect from the wiles of the enemy, acting either directly on the soul, or through people subject to him.

Don't be surprised by this. This scolding is cruel, and unless the Lord builds the house, the builders toil in vain, and unless the Lord preserves the city, in vain there are strenuous. We must surrender ourselves into the merciful hands of God, recognizing before Him our weakness and powerlessness to protect ourselves from enemies visible and invisible ...

The enemy will not leave anyone who wants salvation alone and, therefore, the fight against him to death will not stop. No one can overcome him with his strength. Destroy the work of the devil and the Lord came to earth. He fights against the devil and sin with those who always call on Him for help. A person must also resist sin and the devil with all his strength, using as a weapon the means indicated by the Lord, the Apostles and the Holy Fathers. For the Orthodox, the weapons against the devil are: fasting, prayer, sobriety, humility. Without humility, no means will help, and the Lord does not help the presumptuous and proud, and he will inevitably fall into various networks of the enemy.

Whoever wants to overcome the enemy, to get rid of passions, and does not fight him with the given weapon, he, obviously, will not win. The more humble and humble a person is, the sooner he will get rid of the enemy. To this it must be added that rancor destroys the power of prayer, for the Lord does not accept prayers from a person who is at enmity with his neighbors or has rancor, and sends him first to be reconciled. And without a prayer accepted by God, a person will be alone, and, consequently, the enemy will completely overcome him.. Yes, and the one who fights correctly does not immediately overcome the enemy. This takes time and patience. Fight right, try to be at peace with everyone, accustom yourself to sobriety and unceasing prayer. Humble yourself before God and people, then you will depose the giants one by one and be freed from the captivity of sin.

Endure all reproaches and abuse and slander, right and wrong, for they are useful, purify the soul from sins and contribute to the growth of humility, if you do not object. Talk like a robber “Worthy according to our deeds is acceptable, remember me, Lord, in Your kingdom.”

“We notice in ourselves the struggle of faith with unbelief, good forces with evil, and in the light - the spirit of churchness with the spirit of the world.. There, in spirit, you clearly distinguish two opposite sides: the side of light and the side of darkness, good and evil, churchness, religiosity and secularism, unbelief. Do you know why this is? - from the struggle of two opposing forces: the power of God and the power of the devil.The Lord works in sons who are obedient to Himself, but the devil works in sons of disobedience — the spirit which is now working in the sons of disobedience(Eph. 2, 2). And I often feel in myself the struggle of two opposing forces. When I begin to pray, sometimes an evil force presses painfully and submerges my heart so that it cannot ascend to God.

The more true and stronger the means that unites us with God (prayer and repentance), the more destructive actions are directed against it by the enemy of God and ours, who uses everything for this: our body disposed to laziness, and the weakness of the soul, its attachment to earthly goods. and worries, doubt so close to everyone, lack of faith, unbelief, filthy, crafty and blasphemous thoughts, heaviness of the heart, clouding of thought - by the action of the enemy, everything is directed by the inattentive to stumble in prayer, on this ladder that leads us to God. That is why there are very few sincere, zealous prayer books; that is why they very rarely fast - Christians repent and take communion ...

Satan often enters through the unworthy communion of the Holy Mysteries, and he tries in every possible way to plant his lie, that is, unbelief, in our hearts, because unbelief is the same as a lie. A murderer from time immemorial, he is trying in every possible way even now to kill a person with his lies and various thoughts, and, having crept into the heart in the form of unbelief or some kind of passion, then he shows himself worthy of himself, more - impatience and malice. And you see that it is in you, but not all of a sudden, you will often get rid of it, because you usually try to block in your heart all the ways to get out of it with unbelief, bitterness and other generations of yours.

The thought of self-praise has come, of self-gratification - say: "All good in me is done by the grace of God." If the thought of humiliation by any member of your neighbor or yours comes, say: “The whole person is a wonderful work of God's hands; everything in it is well arranged. Pride is a demon; malice is the same demon; envy is the same demon; prodigal abomination - the same demon; violent blasphemy is the same demon; forced conceit in truth is a demon; despondency is a demon; various passions, but one Satan acts in all, and together the barking of Satan in various ways, and a person is one, one spirit, with Satan. Subjected to the vicious and furious violence of various passions and the gnaw of the devil when performing various deeds of God, accept these sufferings for the name of Christ and rejoice in your sufferings, giving thanks to God, for the devil is preparing for you, without knowing it, the most brilliant crowns from the Lord.

Resist the devil urgently. The day is a symbol of the transience of earthly life.

Morning comes, then afternoon, then evening, and with the onset of night and the whole day has passed. And so life will pass. First, infancy, like early morning, then adolescence and courage, like full dawn and noon, and then old age, like evening, God willing, and then inevitable death.

…The enemy is only trying to extinguish faith in the heart and bring into oblivion all the truths of Christianity. That is why we see people who are Christians by name only, but by their deeds they are perfect pagans.

Two forces, completely opposite to each other, influence me: a good force and an evil force, a vital force and a deadly force. As spirit forces, they are both invisible. The good power, through my free and sincere prayer, always drives away the evil power, and the evil power is strong only by the evil that is hidden in me. In order not to endure the continuous throbbing of the evil spirit, one must constantly have the Jesus prayer in one's heart: Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me. Against the invisible (devil) - the invisible God, against the strong - the Strongest.

The devil, as a spirit, as a simple being, can stumble and wound the soul with one instantaneous movement of an evil thought, doubt, blasphemy, impatience, irritation, anger, an instantaneous movement of the heart’s passion for something earthly, a movement of contemplation of fornication and other passions, can inflate the spark of sin, with his characteristic cunning and malice, into a flame raging with hellish power in the insides of a person. We must hold on and with all our might strengthen ourselves in the truth of God, rejecting the lies of dreams and malice at their very beginning. Here the whole person should be attentive, the whole eye, the whole adamant, indestructible in all its parts, solid and invulnerable. ABOUT! Glory, glory to Your victory, Lord! So let me conquer in the power of Thy fortress the enemies invisible and visible, all the days of my stomach, until my last breath. Amen".

Saint Silouan of Athos (1866-1938) O spiritual warfare writes: “All who have followed our Lord Jesus Christ are waging spiritual warfare. This war the saints learned by long experience from the grace of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit instructed them and admonished them, and gave them the strength to defeat their enemies, and without the Holy Spirit the soul cannot even start this war, because it does not know and does not understand who and where its enemies are.

Blessed are we, Orthodox Christians, because we live under the grace of God. It is easy for us to fight: the Lord took pity on us and gave us the Holy Spirit Who lives in our Church. We only have the sorrow that people do not know God and how much He loves us. This love is heard in the soul of the one who prays, and the Spirit of God bears witness to the soul's salvation.

Our battle goes on every day and hour.

If he reproached his brother, or condemned, or saddened him, then he lost his world. If he was conceited or exalted over his brother, then he lost grace. If a lustful thought comes, and you do not immediately drive it away, then your soul will lose the love of God and boldness in prayer. If you love power or money, you will never know the love of God. If you have fulfilled your will, then you are defeated by the enemy, and despondency will come into your soul.

If you hate your brother, then you have fallen away from God, and an evil spirit has taken possession of you.

If you do good to your brother, you will find peace of conscience.

If you cut off your will, you will drive away your enemies and you will receive peace in your soul.

If you forgive your brother offenses and love your enemies, then you will receive the forgiveness of your sins, and the Lord will let you know the love of the Holy Spirit.

And when you completely humble yourself, then you will find perfect rest in God.

One unskillful monk suffered from demons, and when they attacked him, he ran away from them, and they chased him.

If this happens to you, then do not be afraid and do not run, but become courageous, humble yourself and say: “Lord, have mercy on me, a great sinner,” and the demons will disappear; and if you run cowardly, they will drive you into the abyss. Remember that in the hour when demons attack you, the Lord also looks at you, how do you trust in Him?

If you clearly see Satan, and he will scorch you with his fire and wants to capture your mind, then again do not be afraid, but firmly trust in the Lord and say: “I am worse than everyone,” and the enemy will depart from you.

If you feel that an evil spirit is working within you, then do not be shy, but confess purely and diligently ask the Lord for a humble spirit, and the Lord will certainly give, and then, as you humble yourself, you will feel grace in yourself, and when you completely humble yourself your soul, then you will find perfect rest.

And a man wages such a war all his life.

The soul that has known the Lord by the Holy Spirit, if after that it falls into delusion, is not afraid, but, remembering the love of God and knowing that fighting with enemies is allowed for vanity and pride, humbles itself and asks the Lord for healing and the Lord heals the soul, sometimes soon, and sometimes slowly, little by little. The obedient one who believes in the confessor and does not believe in himself will soon be healed of all the harm inflicted on him by his enemies, but the disobedient one will not be corrected.

War in the soul with the enemy to the grave. And if in an ordinary war only the body is killed, then our war is more difficult and more dangerous, because the soul can also die.

For my pride, the Lord allowed the enemy to make war twice with my soul so that my soul stood in hell, and I can say that if the soul is courageous, it will stand, and if not, it can perish forever. To all who, like me, will be in such trouble, I write: stand courageously and firmly hope in God, and the enemies will not stand, for the Lord has defeated them. By the grace of God I know that The Lord mercifully takes care of us, and not a single prayer, not a single good thought will be lost before God.”

Venerable Elder Parthenius (Krasnopevtsev) (1790-1855):“The enemy is vigilantly fighting us. First, he fights us from the side, that is, he tempts us with our own passions and lusts; and when he does not have time to overcome the shuia, he fights us with the gum,that is, in our most good deeds he sets up snares for us to fall.

The closer you get to God, the stronger the enemy will grab you. Because If you begin to work for the Lord, prepare your soul for temptation.

The enemy sows his tares in all our good things.

Elder John (Alekseev) (1873-1958) in one of his letters he writes: “You still have not learned how to fight the enemy of the human race. He came to you with his cunning machinations, and you almost fall into despair. Calm down and don't be embarrassed; it is the enemy that inflicts on you memories of past errors; you don’t have to accept them, just don’t pay attention, this is what St. Mark the ascetic writes: “Former sins, being remembered in appearance, harm the trustworthy. For if they bring sadness with them, they remove them from hope, and if they present themselves without sadness, they put the former filth inside.

…When the enemy brings in thoughts of self-praise, then one only needs to remember past sins in order to humble oneself. As it is said in the Fatherland: one ascetic, when the enemy begins to fight him with thoughts of self-praise, then he says to himself: “Old man! Look at your fornication." And in your previous encroachments, God will forgive you, child, be calm.

Elder Michael (Pitkevich) (1877-1962):“When the enemy annoys, wants to irritate, anger, steal the peace of the heart with trifles, annoyances, just say:“Christ is Risen. Christ is Risen. Christ is Risen".He fears these words the most, they burn him like fire, and he will run away from you.

Sorrow from demons cannot be avoided: if they themselves cannot, they send people for that. Here one must always be in suspense, in attention to those who follow the path of self-reproach and repentance. Even if there is a lot of suffering, the Lord will help to endure, seeing his firm faith, determination and humility.

Elder Schemagumen Savva (1898-1980):“After the received spiritual joy and warmth of the heart, one must be ready for some kind of enemy temptation.

The Lord sends such sweet moments of heartfelt impulse to Him, so that by such consolation, by the sweetness of communion with God, to keep the soul of a person with Himself. At the moment of temptation, we must make every effort and ask the Lord for help in order to overcome sin, to abandon it, to show that we really love the Lord, not in words, but in deeds. And for the victory over sin, the Lord sends such mercies! The fight against sin is imputed to martyrdom. If you want to work for the Lord, then get ready for trials, for the dark force will seek to upset your good beginning. Do not succumb to it - and the grace of God will help you conquer everything.

Holy Blessed Matrona of Moscow (1881-1952), healing the sick, she demanded from them faith in God and the correction of a sinful life. So, she asks one visitor if she believes that the Lord is able to heal her. The other, who fell ill with epilepsy, orders not to miss a single Sunday service, at each to confess and partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. She blesses those living in a civil marriage to be sure to get married in the Church, everyone is required to wear a pectoral cross.

She emphasized that it was not herself who helped, but God through her prayers: “What, Matronushka is God, or what? God help!”.

... Often Matrona put her hands on her head and said: “Oh, oh, now I’ll cut your wings, fight, fight bye!” "Who are you?" - he will ask, and in a person he will suddenly buzz. Mother will say again: “Who are you?” - and buzz even more, and then she will pray and say: “Well, the mosquito fought, now that’s enough!” And the man leaves healed.

The help that Matrona gave to the sick, not only had nothing to do with conspiracies, divination, the so-called folk healing, extrasensory perception, magic and other witchcraft actions, during which the “healer” is associated with dark force, but had a fundamentally different, Christian nature. That is why the righteous Matrona was so hated by sorcerers and various occultists, as evidenced by people who knew her closely during the Moscow period of her life. First of all, Matrona prayed for people. Being a servant of God, richly endowed from above with spiritual gifts, she asked the Lord for miraculous help to those who were ill. The history of the Orthodox Church knows many examples when not only clergy or ascetic monks, but also the righteous who lived in the world healed those in need of help with prayer.

The matron read a prayer over the water and gave it to those who came to her. Those who drank water and sprinkled it got rid of various misfortunes. The content of these prayers is unknown, but, of course, there could be no question of the consecration of water according to the order established by the Church, to which only clergy have a canonical right. But it is also known that not only holy water has beneficial healing properties, but also the water of some reservoirs, springs, wells, marked by the presence and prayer life near them of holy people, the appearance of miraculous icons.

Matronushka did not allow to attach importance to dreams: "Do not pay attention to them, dreams come from the evil one - upset a person, entangle them with thoughts."

Here are her words: "The world lies in evil and charm, and charm - the seduction of souls - will be obvious, beware."

Matronushka said: “The enemy is approaching - you must definitely pray. Sudden death happens if you live without prayer. The enemy sits on our left shoulder, and an angel sits on our right, and everyone has their own book: our sins are written in one, good deeds in the other. Get baptized more often! The cross is the same lock as on the door. She instructed not to forget to baptize food. “By the power of the Honorable and Life-Giving Cross, save yourself and defend yourself!”

About sorcerers, mother said: “For someone who has voluntarily entered into an alliance with the power of evil, engaged in sorcery, there is no way out. You can’t turn to grandmothers, they will cure one thing, but hurt the soul. ”

Matushka often told her relatives that she was fighting with sorcerers, with evil power, invisibly fighting with them. Once a handsome old man came to her, with a beard, sedate, fell on his knees in front of her in tears and said: "My only son is dying." And mother leaned over to him and quietly asked: “And what did you do to him? To death or not? He replied: "To death." And mother says: "Go, go away from me, there is no need for you to come to me." After he left, she said: “Sorcerers know God! If only you would pray as they do when they beg forgiveness from God for their evil!”

The mass falling away of people from the Church, militant theomachism, the growth of alienation and malice between people, the rejection of the traditional faith by millions and the sinful life without repentance have led many to grave spiritual consequences. Matrona understood and felt this well.

During the days of demonstrations, mother asked everyone not to go out, to close windows, vents, doors - hordes of demons occupy all the space, all the air and cover all people.

Z. V. Zhdanova asked mother: “How did the Lord allow so many temples to be closed and destroyed?” (She meant the years after the revolution). And mother answered: “It is the will of God, the number of churches has been reduced because there will be few believers and there will be no one to serve.” Why isn't anyone fighting? She: “The people are under hypnosis, they are not themselves, horrible power entered into action... This force exists in the air, penetrates everywhere. Previously, swamps and dense forests were the habitat of this force, because people went to temples, wore a cross, and houses were protected by images, lamps and consecration. Demons flew past such houses, and now people are inhabited by demons due to their unbelief and rejection of God.

The Matrona of Moscow taught to surrender oneself to the will of God. Live with prayer. Often make the sign of the cross on yourself and surrounding objects, thereby protecting yourself from evil forces. She advised me to partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ more often. "Protect yourself with the cross, prayer, holy water, frequent communion ... Let lamps burn before the icons."

Blessed Matrona was an Orthodox person in the deep, traditional sense of the word. Compassion for people, coming from the fullness of a loving heart, prayer, the sign of the cross, fidelity to the holy statutes of the Orthodox Church - that was the focus of her intense spiritual life. The nature of her feat is rooted in the centuries-old traditions of folk piety. Therefore, the help that people receive when they turn to the righteous in prayer brings spiritual fruits: people are affirmed in the Orthodox faith, become churched externally and internally, and join the daily life of prayer.

Matrona is known to tens of thousands of Orthodox people. "Matronushka" is the affectionate name given to her by many. She, just as during her earthly life, helps people. This is felt by all those who, with faith and love, ask her for intercession and intercession before the Lord, to whom the blessed old woman has great boldness ...

Elder Paisius Svyatogorets (1924-1994) said: " When turning to God, a person receives from Him the strength, enlightenment and comfort necessary at the beginning of the path.But as soon as a person begins a spiritual struggle, the enemy raises a cruel battle against him. That's when you need to show a little bit of endurance. Otherwise, how will passions be eradicated? How will the old man be put off? How will pride go? And so a person understands that he, on his own, cannot do anything. He humbly asks for the mercy of God, and humility comes to him. The same thing happens when a person wants to get away from a bad habit - for example, from smoking, drugs, drunkenness. At first, he feels joy and quits this habit. Then he sees that others smoke, do drugs, drink, and endure strong language. If a person overcomes this battle, then later it will not be difficult for him to give up this passion, to turn his back on it. We need to get back a little and work hard, fight. Tangalashka does her job - so why don't we do ours?

… Good God created angels. However, out of pride, some of them fell and became demons. God created a perfect creation - man - in order for him to replace the fallen angelic rank. Therefore, the devil is very jealous of man - the creation of God. Demons bawl: "We committed one offense, and You tyrannize us, and people who have so many faults on their account - You forgive." Yes, it forgives, but people repent, and the former angels fell so low that they became demons, and instead of repenting, they become more and more crafty, more and more evil. With fury they rushed to the destruction of the creatures of God. Dennitsa was the brightest angelic rank! And what did he come to… Out of pride, the demons moved away from God thousands of years ago, and out of pride they continue to move away from Him and remain impenitent. If they only said one thing: "Lord have mercy", then God would come up with something (for their salvation). If only they would say "sinned" but they don't say that. Having said "sinned" the devil would become an angel again. The love of God is boundless. But the devil has a stubborn will, stubbornness, selfishness. He doesn't want to give in, he doesn't want to be saved. This is scary. After all, he was once an angel!

... He (all) is fire and fury, because he does not want others to become angels, those who take his former place. And the longer it goes on, the worse it gets. It develops in malice and envy. Oh, that a person would feel the state in which the devil is! He would cry day and night. Even when any a kind person changes for the worse, becomes a criminal, he is very sorry. And what to say if you see the fall of an angel!

…God is ready to accept demons, if only they would repent. But they do not want their own salvation. Look - the fall of Adam was healed by the coming of God to earth, the Incarnation. But the fall of the devil cannot be cured by anything other than his own humility. The devil is not corrected because he does not want it himself. Do you know how glad Christ would be if the devil wanted to correct himself! And a person is not corrected only if he does not want it himself.

- Geronda, so what - the devil knows that God is Love, knows that He loves him, and, despite this, continues his own?

How does he not know? But will his pride allow him to humble himself? And besides that, he is also cunning. Now he is trying to acquire the whole world. “If I have more followers,” he says, “then, eventually, God will be forced to spare all His creatures, and I will be included in this plan too!” So he thinks. Therefore, he wants to win over as many people as possible to his side. See where he's headed? “On my side,” he says, “there are so many people! God will be forced to show mercy to me too!” He wants to be saved without repentance!

The devil, who is at the head of egoism, does not say, have sinned”, but endlessly struggling to win over as many people as possible to its side ...

- Geronda, why is the devil called the "world ruler"? Is he really rules the world?

“That was still not enough for the devil to rule the world!” Talking about the devil prince of this world"(John 16:11), Christ did not mean that he was a ruler of the world, but that he ruled with vanity, with lies. Is it possible! Would God allow the devil to rule the world? However, those whose hearts are given to the vain, worldly, live under the power of "ruler of this world"(Eph. 6:12). That is the devil rules over vanity and those who are enslaved to vanity, the world. What does the word "peace" mean? Ornaments, vain trinkets, isn't it? So, under the power of the devil is the one who is enslaved by vanity. The heart, captivated by the vain world, keeps the soul in a state of non-developing, and the mind in darkness. And then a person only seems to be a person, in fact he is a spiritual imbecile.

The greatest enemy of our soul, an enemy greater than even the devil, is the worldly spirit. He sweetly draws us in and leaves us bitterly forever. Whereas if they saw the devil himself, then we would be seized with horror, we would be forced to resort to God and without a doubt go to paradise. In our era, much worldly things have entered the world, much of the spirit of this world. This "worldly" destroys the world. Having taken this world into themselves (becoming “worldly” from within), people expelled Christ from themselves.

... The devil has gone wild, because today's people have given him many rights. People are exposed to terrible demonic influences. One person explained it very correctly. “Earlier,” he says, “the devil dealt with people, but now he doesn’t deal with them. He leads them to (his) path and admonishes: “Well, no fluff, no feather!” And people wander along this road themselves. This is scary.

“Some people say there is no devil.

- Yes, one person also advised me to remove from the French translation of the book "Reverend Arsenius of Cappadocia" those places that speak of demoniacs. “Europeans,” he says, “will not understand this. They do not believe that the devil exists. You see how: they explain everything in psychology. If gospel demoniacs fell into the hands of psychiatrists, they would subject them to electric shock treatment! Christ deprived the devil of the right to do evil. He can do evil only if the person himself gives him the right to do so. By not participating in the Sacraments of the Church, a person gives these rights to the evil one and becomes vulnerable to demonic influence.

How else can a person give the devil such rights?

Logic, contradiction, stubbornness, self-will, disobedience, shamelessness - all these are the hallmarks of the devil. A person becomes vulnerable to demonic influence to the extent that he has in himself the properties listed above. However, when a person's soul is cleansed, the Holy Spirit instills in him, and the person is filled with Grace. If a person stains himself with mortal sins, an unclean spirit enters into him. If the sins with which a person has soiled himself are not mortal, then he is under the influence of an evil spirit from outside.

Unfortunately, in our era, people do not want to cut off their passions, their own self-will. They do not take advice from others. After that, they begin to speak with shamelessness and drive away the Grace of God from themselves. And then man, no matter where you step, cannot succeed because he has become vulnerable to demonic influences. A person is no longer in himself, because from the outside he is commanded by the devil. The devil is not inside him - God forbid! But even from the outside, he can command a person.

A person abandoned by Grace becomes worse than the devil. Because the devil does not do everything himself, but incites people to evil. For example, he does not commit crimes, but incites people to do so. And that makes people crazy...

... In the event that the devil has acquired great rights over a person, has prevailed over him, the reason for what happened must be found so that the devil is deprived of these rights. Otherwise, no matter how much others pray for this person, the enemy does not leave. He hurts a person. his priests they scold and scold, and in the end, the unfortunate becomes even worse, because the devil torments him more than before. A person must repent, confess, deprive the devil of the rights that he himself gave him. Only the field of this devil leaves, otherwise the person will be tormented. Yes, even for a whole day, even for two days, reprimand him, even for weeks, months and years - the devil has rights over the unfortunate and does not leave.

... A person is enslaved by passions, giving the devil rights over himself. ...Usually we humans through inattention or proud thoughts, we ourselves allow the enemy to do us harm. If a person deviates from the commandments of God, then passions struggle with him. And if a person left passion to fight him, then the devil is not needed for this. After all, demons also have a “specialization”. They tap a person, find out where he "hurts", seek to reveal his weakness and, thus, overcome him. We must be attentive, close windows and doors - that is, our feelings. It is necessary not to leave open cracks for the evil one, not to let him crawl through them inside. In these cracks and holes, our weak spots. If you leave the enemy even a small crack, then he can squeeze in and harm you. The devil enters a person who has dirt in his heart. The devil does not approach the pure creation of God. If a person's heart is cleansed of dirt, then the enemy flees and Christ comes again. Just as a pig, finding no dirt, grunts and leaves, so the devil does not approach a heart that has no uncleanness. And what did he forget in a pure and humble heart? So, if we see that our house - the heart - has become an enemy dwelling - a hut on chicken legs, then we must immediately destroy it so that the tangalashka (tempter demon) - our evil tenant - leaves. After all, if sin lives in a person for a long time, then, naturally, the devil acquires great rights over this person.

... Once the witchcraft worked, it means that the person gave the devil rights over himself. That is, he gave the devil some serious reason and then did not put himself in order with the help of repentance and confession. If a person confesses, then damage - even if it is raked under him with a shovel - does not harm him. This happens because when a person confesses and has a pure heart, sorcerers cannot "work together" with the devil in order to harm this person.

One man told me that his wife is possessed by an unclean spirit, she makes terrible scandals at home, jumps up at night, wakes up the whole family and turns everything upside down. "Are you confessing?" I asked him. "No," he answered me. “It must be,” I told him, “you have given the devil rights over you. These things don't happen out of the blue." This man began to tell me about himself, and finally we found the reason for what was happening with his wife. It turns out that he visited one Khoja, who "for luck" gave him some water to sprinkle his house. This man did not attach any importance to this demonic sprinkling. And then the devil went wild in his house in earnest.

How can witchcraft be destroyed?

You can get rid of witchcraft with the help of repentance and confession. Because first of all, the reason why witchcraft affected a person must be found. He must admit his sin, repent and confess. How many people, tormented by the damage brought on them, come to me in Kaliva and ask: “Pray for me so that I can be freed from this torment!” They ask for my help, but at the same time they do not look into themselves, they do not try to understand how the evil that is happening to them began, in order to eliminate this cause. That is, these people must understand what was their fault and why witchcraft had power over them. They must repent and confess in order for their torment to end.

— Geronda, what if the person who has been corrupted reaches such a state that he can no longer help himself? That is, if he can no longer go to confession, talk with a priest? Can others help him?

- His relatives can invite a priest to the house to perform the Sacrament of Unction over the unfortunate person or serve a prayer service for the blessing of water. A person in such a state should be given holy water to drink so that the evil recedes at least a little and Christ enters at least a little ... "

About the impotence of demons

Holy Saint Anthony the Great (251-356) there was a vision in which Jesus Christ Himself spoke of the impotence of demons to do anything against the will of the person himself. Here is how St. Anthony (from the life of the saint):

“I prayed to God to show me what kind of cover surrounds and protects the monk? And I saw a monk surrounded by fiery lamps, and many angels guarded him like the apple of their eye, shielding him with their swords. Then I sighed and said, “This is what a monk has been given! And in spite of this, however, the devil overcomes him and he falls. And a voice came to me from the merciful Lord and said: “The devil cannot depose anyone; he no longer has any power after I, having assumed human nature, crushed his power. But a person falls from himself when he indulges in negligence and indulges his lusts and passions. I asked: “Is every monk given such a cover?” And I was shown many monks protected by such protection. Then I called out: “Blessed is the human race, and especially the host of monks, which has a Lord so merciful and philanthropic!”

Holy Apostle Hermas asked the Angel of the Lord who appeared to him: “Who does not ask God for strength to fulfill His holy commandments? But the enemy is strong: he tempts the servants of God and keeps them in his power.

No, the angel answered me, the enemy has no power over the servants of God. Those who believe in God with all their heart, he can tempt, but not rule over them. Resist him with courage and he will flee from you.”

Rev. Ambrose of Optina (1812-1891) in one of his letters about the impotence of demons he writes: Be of good cheer and let your heart be strong(Ps. 26:14). In the midst of the annoying and sometimes frightening temptations of the enemy, console yourself with the Apostolic words:God is faithful, Who will not leave you, be tempted more than you can, but with temptation He will create an abundance(1 Cor. 10:13), and repeat this word often to strengthen yourself. Also despise the vain but evil suggestions of the enemy who threatens you with death. His very threats show you the hope that he cannot do anything to you, covered by the grace of God.If he could do anything, he wouldn't threaten.The angel of repentance said to Saint Hermas that the enemy the devil is completely powerless and cannot do anything to a person unless this person voluntarily agrees first to some kind of sin . Therefore, when the enemy bothers you with cold and bad thoughts, resort to the Lord…”

“The temptations of the devil are like cobwebs; that it is only worth blowing on it - and it is destroyed; something like that against the enemy-devil, one has only to protect oneself with the sign of the cross - and all his machinations disappear completely", - said the holy elder Seraphim of Sarov (1759-1833).

And he also taught: No need to give in to fear which the devil leads on young men, and then it is necessary to be especially vigilant in spirit and, casting aside cowardice, remember that although we are sinners, we are all under the grace of our Redeemer, without whose will not a single hair will fall from our head».

Reverend Elder Lev of Optina (1768-1841) writes: “You ask for guidance on how to get rid of the thoughts that find you, the charms and deceit of demons. Truly, the devil’s battle is great: he has strong bows, fiery arrows, many different nets, countless tricks and weapons, through which he seeks to harm the human soul in every possible way, but you want to completely and soon join the army of the King of Heaven, do not be afraid of the enemy who opposes everything good . ... But when we follow the path of virtue, God Himself accompanies us, promising to establish us in the exploits of virtue until the end of time:and behold, I am with you all the days until the end of the age ...(Matthew 28:20). So you, not at all afraid of enemy attacks, “take up the shield of faith, in it you will be able to extinguish all the arrows of the evil one, kindled, and take up the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

From letters Saint Theophan the Recluse (1815-1894): “Now have you understood what the intrigues of the enemy are?!They have nothing to fear. They don't have any power. Muddy, excite, but do not define.Our business, as soon as we notice it, is to immediately beat them off;they will come again - again beat them off and under no circumstances agree to them.Watch yourself and learn how to deal with them. You are doing good by throwing yourself on your knees with a prayer when attacked. Get used to the Jesus Prayer, it alone can disperse all the hordes of the enemy!”

Holy Righteous John of Kronstadt (1829-1908):“When on the way to God you encounter obstacles set up by the devil: doubt and unbelief of the heart, also heartfelt malice, sometimes towards persons who deserve unconditional respect and love, as well as other passions, do not be indignant at them, butknow that they are the smoke and stench of the enemy, who will pass from the single mania of the Lord Jesus Christ.

In vain you work in me, fallen archangel. I am a servant of my Lord Jesus Christ. You, exalted pride, humiliate yourself, so strenuously fighting with me weak. Repent better"- so mentally speak to the evil spirit, which lies a heavy burden on your heart and forces you to evil of various kinds. These words are like a fiery scourge to a proud spirit, and he, put to shame by your firmness and spiritual wisdom, will flee from you. You will see it yourself, touch it and be surprised at the wonderful change in yourself. There will be no heavy, murderous burden for the soul in the heart, it will become so easy, easy, and you will be convinced by the touch that there are spirits of malice in heaven, constantly looking for our death, poisoning our heart with the poison of gloomy and evil thoughts, intensifying to destroy love for people and sociability with them."

Hegumen Nikon (Vorobiev) (1894-1963): "…Do not be afraid. The devil does not do what he would like, but only what the Lord allows him ... "

Elder Paisios the Holy Mountaineer (1924-1994) says that we ourselves, with our sins, give the devil rights over ourselves: « The black forces of darkness are powerless. People themselves, moving away from God, make them strong, because, moving away from God, people give the devil rights over themselves.

Distinguish between the Spirit of God and the evil spirit

Holy Righteous John of Kronstadt (1829-1908):“From the action in our heart of two opposite forces, of which one strongly opposes the other and forcibly, treacherously invades our heart, always killing it, while the other is chastely offended by every impurity and quietly moves away from the slightest impurity of the heart (and when it acts in us, then pacifies, delights, enlivens and gladdens our hearts), that is, two personal opposing forces — it is easy to see that there is undoubtedly both the devil, as the eternal killer of men (John 8:44), and Christ, as the eternal Giver of Life and Savior.

Distinguish within yourself the life-giving Spirit and the deadening spirit that kills your soul. When there are good thoughts in your soul, it’s good for you, it’s easy; when there is peace and joy in the heart, then the good spirit, the Holy Spirit, is in you; and when you have unkind thoughts or unkind heart movements, then it’s bad, hard; when you are inwardly confused, then there is an evil spirit in you, an evil spirit. When there is an evil spirit in us, then, in the midst of heartache and confusion, we usually feel the difficulty of reaching the Lord with our hearts, because an evil spirit binds the soul and does not allow it to ascend to God. The evil spirit is the spirit of doubt, unbelief, passions, tightness, sorrow, confusion; and the good spirit is the spirit of undoubted faith, the spirit of virtues, the spirit of spiritual freedom and breadth, the spirit of peace and joy. By these signs, know when the Spirit of God is in you and when the spirit is evil, and as often as possible rise with a grateful heart to the All-Holy Spirit, who gives life and sanctification to you, and with all your might, flee doubts, unbelief and passions with which the spiritual spirit creeps into our soul. the serpent is a thief and the killer of our souls.

You will not experience the actions of the evil wiles of the evil spirit on yourself - you will not recognize and honor, as you should, the benefits bestowed on you by the Good Spirit; If you do not recognize the Spirit that kills, you will not recognize the Life-Giving Spirit. Only because of the direct opposites: good and evil, life and death, do we clearly recognize one and the other; without being exposed to the troubles and dangers of bodily or spiritual death, you will not heartily recognize the Savior, the Giver of Life, delivering from these troubles and from spiritual death ...

It is pleasing to God that a person notices His actions in the heart, because He is light and Truth, while the devil fears this in every possible way, because he is darkness, a lie; but darkness does not come to light, lest its works be revealed. The devil is only strong through darkness, through deceit and lies: expose his lie, bring it to light - and everything will disappear.. He deceives a person into all passions, through deception he puts people to sleep and does not allow them to see things in their true form. The devil's veil lies on very many things.

Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk:“Let us be here with Christ, and in the age to come we will be with Him”

“Every person is either with Christ or with His adversary the devil at the same time. What and whose spirit a person has, with that he is at the same time; with whom he has unanimity, harmony and peace, with that and at the same time. Who truly and sincerely believes in Christ the Son of God ... and sincerely strives for Him, in need ... resorts to Him with prayer, and recognizes and has His protector and helper in everything; He loves him alone, and every man, according to His word; fights against every sin...; he thinks about the heavenly, and not about the earthly; He thanks God for everything, and does His holy will; leaves insults to his neighbor and does not take revenge on him; he sympathizes with the heart of the distressed and suffering; ... and the cross, sent to him by the Heavenly Father, meekly bears ... - he is truly one with Christ at the same time, has unanimity, agreement and peace with Him. He who unites with the Lord is one spirit with the Lord(1 Cor. 6:17). Who loves me - says the Lord, he keeps my word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. You are My friends if you do what I command you(John 14, 23; 15, 14)…

Let us be so here with Christ — and in the age to come we will be with Him…

But let's see what kind of saving Christians ... broke this union and fell into their former disaster. The Lord says: (Matthew 12:30). This word is terrible, but true. The devil is the master and inventor of sin...

Christians who all-perniciously obey his advice and agree with him, and deviate after him, are at one with him, although they do not understand it, for he darkens their mind and eyes of the heart and deafens their spiritual ears so that they no longer heed the word of God. and did not see their calamity and destruction ...

He who lives in pride and splendor is at one with the devil, for the devil is a proud spirit.

Those who hope for themselves and their strength are at one with the devil, for the devil hopes for himself, his strength and cunning.

The fornicator, the adulterer, and the one who loves uncleanness are at one with the devil, for the devil is an unclean spirit.

Anyone who gossips, eavesdrops, slanders and does other dirty tricks and offends a person is at the same time with the devil, for the devil is an adversary and an intruder.

The slanderer is at one with the devil, for the devil is a slanderer, and from this he has his name (the devil is a Greek word and in our language means “slanderer”).

A slanderer, a scoffer and a slanderer are at one with the devil, for the devil is a slanderer and a scolder.

Envious and spiteful - with the devil at the same time, for the devil is the spirit of envy and hatred ...

The lover of power and glory is at one with the devil, for the devil always seeks glory and worship from people.

The sorcerer and those who call him to themselves are at one with the devil, for they give themselves to him and ask him for help.

In a word, everyone who lives contrary to the word of God, and does the devil's will, and sins from the will, - at the same time with the devil. For whoever does whose will and agrees with whom, he is at one with it.

This is also shown by the apostolic teaching: Whoever commits sin also commits iniquity; and sin is lawlessness. And you know that He came to take away our sins, and that there is no sin in Him. Whoever abides in Him does not sin; everyone who sins has not seen Him and has not known Him. Children! Let no one deceive you. Whoever does what is right is righteous, just as He is righteous. Whoever commits sin is from the devil, because the devil sinned first. For this, the Son of God appeared, to destroy the works of the devil.Whoever is born of God commits no sin, because his seed abides in him; and he cannot sin because he is born of God. The children of God and the children of the devil are known in this way(1 John 3:4-10)…

1. In what a poor state has man come, Man is made in the image of God and in the likeness: with the devil, the enemy of God, at the same time became. He listened to his evil advice and agreed with him, and lagged behind God, and became one with His adversary. We cannot lament enough for this. You, Lord, have truth, and we have shame on our faces(Dan. 9, 7). Lord, spare us!
2. Every person is either with Christ or with the devil; certainly belongs either to one or the opposite part. He who is not with me is against me(Matthew 12:30). Think about it, Christian, and see which part you belong to.
3. Christians who transgress the law sin grievously before God, and more so than the pagans. For, having renounced the devil in baptism, they adhered to Christ, and again, lagging behind Christ, they turned away in the footsteps of the devil. The latter is worse for them than the former.. It would be better for them not to know the path of righteousness, than, having known it, to turn back from the holy commandment given to them(2 Pet.2, 20-21).
4. Demon does not rise against demon and stands for each other. But poor man on similar and related man rises. Man must help man in every way, and all men must stand together against the demons and fight, and help each other and protect each other, but the opposite is done by devilish cunning. Man rebels against man, and offends, and persecutes him, which is a great delusion and a terrible clouding of the mind.
5. These people, who rise up against people and offend and persecute them, have a devilish spirit in themselves and are possessed by the devil. Therefore, it is necessary to regret them - so that they will not be his eternal captives.
6. True Christians follow from the devil temptation and struggle, for they oppose him, and do not deign to his evil advice, therefore he rises up against them and fights with them.
7. The devil, what he himself cannot do to a true Christian, he does through evil people, his servants. From here we see various intrigues of evil people against a pious soul.
8. From here, the pious should live carefully and be prudent, so as not to be caught by the devil's nets and the evil intentions of evil people, his servants. Be sober, stay awake, because your adversary, the devil walks like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour(1 Peter 5:8).
9. Hence the pious will be persecuted. The devil, when he cannot seduce a pious soul and seduce him after himself, raises persecution against him through evil people in order to seduce her from a good path, and excommunicate her from Christ, and attract her to his part ...
10. A Christian who has gone astray after Satan! Remember your vows given at baptism, and repent, with regret and contrition, resort to Christ, who died and suffered for you and will accept you as good and philanthropic. He is waiting for you - so you will return to Him ... There is no salvation and bliss, except for Him and without Him (see Acts 4, 12). Woe to the soul that is not with Christ! Eternal misfortune and death will befall her ... To be with Him is life, to be without Him is obvious death.
11. When you stumble and sin in something, do not delay in your sin - so that you do not deviate to the opposite part. But immediately, admitting your sin, repent and pray to the Lord: I have sinned, Lord, have mercy on me!(Ps.40, 5), and your sin will be forgiven. But henceforth beware of sin, like a snake's sting:the sting of death is sin(1 Cor. 15:56). Beware of this sting - but you will not die.To sin is a human matter, but to be and to lie in sin is a devilish matter.The devil, as he sinned, since that time has been unceasingly in sin and bitterness, and will remain in that forever. Be careful not to add sin to sin - so that you will not be with the devil.

Compiled by L. Ochai

08.12.2013

Update 03/26/2019