Quiz about basic knowledge of Christianity

God is the Infinite Omnipotent Spirit (John 4:24). Among other things, this means that He is not limited by the conditions of space. Filling everything with Himself, God is both everywhere (as absolutely nowhere absent) and nowhere (as absolutely not limited by any place). Form and visible appearance are characteristic only of spatially limited beings (form is the outer boundary for the enclosed body).

The manifestations of God to the Old Testament prophets under various visible images are the results of His actions or energies. As for the Incarnate Son of God, Jesus Christ, during His earthly ministry He was not seen by people according to His divine nature, but according to His human nature.

"For explanation, let us take an example from our earthly world. We do not see the air, but we see its actions and manifestations: the movement of the air (wind) has great power that can move large ships and complex machines, we feel and know that we breathe air and cannot live without it. In the same way we do not see God, but we see His actions and manifestations, His wisdom and power everywhere in the world and feel it in ourselves. But the invisible God, because of His love for us, sometimes appeared to some righteous people in a visible way - in likenesses, or as if in reflections of Him, that is, in such a form as they could see Him, otherwise they would have perished from His majesty and glory. God said to Moses, "You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live." (Ex.33:20). If the sun blinds us with its brilliance and we cannot look at this divine creation without being blinded, much less at the God who created it. For 'God is light, and there is no darkness in him' (John.1:5), and he dwells in unapproachable light (1Tim.6:16)."

Divine Law

Whoever does not love, does not know God, because God is love (1Jn.4:8).

And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. (1John.4:16).

Science answers the "why" and "how" question. Religion answers the question "why".

True religion, and that is Orthodoxy, is based on Divine Revelation and the graceful Divine assistance. As the Lord, being the Truth, never makes mistakes and does not lie, so the knowledge taught by Him to man is fully consistent with the truth.

Scientific knowledge can contradict religious knowledge when it is false (scientists themselves admit the possibility of scientific errors) or when we are talking about false religion.

In some cases, the discrepancy between scientific knowledge and religious knowledge is not due to a fundamental contradiction between science and religion, but to the limited scientific data, that are available for scientists. In addition, religious knowledge provides answers to those questions that exceed the capabilities of natural sciences (the question of God's creation of the world from nothing, the Kingdom of Heaven, the afterlife of the dead, etc.).

Despite the different tasks and approaches of science and faith, theology often resorts to scientific knowledge, for example, for missionary or apologetic purposes.

Faith in a broad sense is a personal union between God and man. As a union, it implies the existence of certain conditions and the obligation to fulfil them. To be a believer is to be a fulfiller of these conditions. Among other conditions we can highlight: inner conviction in the truth of doctrinal statements (as revealed to us by God Himself (Hebrews 11:1)); trust in the Lord as the Creator of the world, loving, good, caring, wise, merciful and just Father; observance of spiritual and moral commandments (James 2:26); obedience to the Church (Matthew 18:17).

Faith, like love, is not given immediately and easily; it must be sought, it must be achieved, and only in time, after intense spiritual work, faith takes possession of our entire inner being and becomes for us the vital nerve, the goal of our existence.

Holy Martyr Arseny (Zhadanovsky)

If you, Mr Director, want to find God by philosophy, you will labour in vain and will never find Him. Here is my advice on how to find God: start leading your life according to the Gospel. The Lord said: Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God. (Matthew 5:8). The heart is gradually purified, and the Kingdom of God will be within you (Luke 17:21).

hegumen John (Alekseev)

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” (Revelation of John the Evangelist, 3:20

"You created us for Yourself, and our heart knows no rest until it rests in You."

Blessed Aurelius Augustine. Confession.

God created man according to the overabundance of love, created in His image and likeness, - gave us reason, free will and immortal soul, so that knowing God and becoming like Him, we would be perfected in love, and inherit eternal blissful life with God. Therefore, man's existence on earth has a deep meaning, a great purpose and a high goal.

From all other commandments the Lord s has highlighted two ones, and both of them are about love: «You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,́ and «your neighbour as yourself. »́ (Luke 10:27).

The Holy Spirit is the name of one of the Persons of the Blessed Trinity. In addition, this name can also be used to the grace of the Holy Spirit - the work of God directed into the world, flowing from the Father through the Son and manifested in the Holy Spirit. But even in this second variant, the term "Holy Spirit" points to God, since the divine action (divine energy, grace) is inseparable from the divine essence and the name "God" is applicable to it.

"Scripture repeatedly teaches about God: "God is Spirit (Jn. 4:24); 'The Lord is the Spirit (2Cor.3:17)'." "Your incorruptible Spirit abides in all things" (Wis.12:1); "The Spirit of the Lord fills the universe and, as one who encompasses all things, knows every word (Wis.1:7)," Solomon instructs. David praises the Spirit of God: "Where shall I go from Thy Spirit, and from Thy face where shall I flee? Whether I ascend into heaven, You are there; whether I descend into the underworld, You are there (Psalm 138).

What does the word "Spirit" mean? Why does God reveal Himself as a wholly Spiritual Being? Explaining the reason why God Himself called Himself Spirit, the holy fathers point out that the name "Spirit" is called to distinguish between the uncreated and the created nature, to draw an impassable boundary between the nature of God and the nature of the world created by Him. If the nature of God is entirely incorporeal, immaterial, uncomplicated, simple, then the world He created, on the contrary, is corporeal, material and complex. If the nature of the world is subject to the properties of space and the substance invariably associated with it, the nature of God is entirely free from the bonds of space and substance."

S.V. Posadsky. The Doctrine of the Holy Trinity

Gospel of Mark: "... And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment." (Mark.12:30).

"It is not true that communion with God is man's last goal and that man will be able to enjoy it only after, at the end, for example, of all his labours. No, it must be an everlasting, uninterrupted state of man, so that if there is no communion with God, if it is not felt, man must confess that he stands outside his goal and his purpose.

St. Feofan the Recluse

Bible, Genesis, chapter 3:

11 And [God] said, ... Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?

12 Adam said, «The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.»

13 And the Lord God said to the wife, "Why have you done this? The wife said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate.

Having turned to the sinner Adam with the question whether he had eaten from the tree from which he was forbidden to eat (Gen. 3:11), God, of course, knowing about his crime, gave him the opportunity to repent. (Gen.3:11) God, who, of course, knew about his offence, gave him the opportunity to repent. In turn, Adam, instead of repenting, began to seek excuses for himself, accusing his wife that it was she who tempted him, and even God Himself - that He created and gave him such a wife (Genesis 3:12). Adam's impudent behaviour revealed the tremendous moral upheaval that had taken place in his (originally pure) soul, and the tremendous discord that had invaded his relationship with the Creator. Staying in Paradise under these conditions became absolutely impossible.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God (Matt.5:8).

Man was created for personal fellowship with God. Therefore, it is natural for all people to live in such fellowship. Meanwhile, sin turns away from God, and in some cases God becomes even hateful to the sinner.

Thus, in the Old Testament times the wicked defied God with boldness: " Depart from us, for we do not desire the knowledge of Your ways. " (Job.21:14). The Son of God, Christ, when He preached, caused irritation and hatred in many people, and in the end He was killed.

God appears to people when it is necessary, when they themselves seek Him wholeheartedly (actively and lovingly): "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. " (Rev.3:20).

About 200 fragments of papyri and uncial manuscripts survive from the first centuries. The 5,000 surviving manuscripts (uncial and minuscule) date from the 5th to 15th centuries.

No other document of antiquity was copied so often or so recognised. Compared to the New Testament, Homer's Iliad, the next most widely copied text, has survived in 643 manuscripts. The first complete text of Homer that has survived only dates back to the thirteenth century.

There are 10 Old Testament commandments and 9 commandments of the Beatitudes in the Bible, and, for the sake of brevity, all the commandments can be reduced to two: love God and love your neighbour. But it is impossible to calculate the exact number of the commandments, they are not in letter or number, but in spirit.

The whole Bible contains commandments on almost every page where the relationship between God and man is concerned. Since this relationship is a living relationship, because God Himself is a living God, the commandments are continuously explained by God in the Bible.

Therefore, a number of commandments can be highlighted for the sake of brevity, but it is important to mention that they are comprehensively explained and revealed in the text of the Holy Scriptures.

Divine Revelation cannot end in this or any other age, it will always be there, God will always reveal Himself to His Church. The communion, and therefore the theology, the word that the Church can get out of this communion, will never cease.

Priest Peter Zuev

You can distinguish in your spiritual experience: this one is the "presence of God" and this one is a manifestation of ordinary human qualities: a sense of beauty, harmony, a feeling of conscience, human friendliness...? You can't? So, you did not notice the moment when God, the Creator of the Universe, came into your life and into your soul? Is it possible not to notice this? So, maybe He did not enter?

Archdeacon Andrew

Baptism is a Sacrament in which the believer, by immersing the body three times in water with the invocation of God the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, dies to a carnal, sinful life and is reborn by the Holy Spirit into a spiritual, holy life. Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God (John 3:5).

Holy Baptism is like a door through which those being baptized enter the Church of God. Faith in Christ, the Son of God, is like the key that opens this door of salvation.

Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk

Through baptism, the grace of God is mysteriously given to a person and lives in him secretly; as the commandments are fulfilled, it is revealed in the believer. Baptism is also the washing away and destruction of original sin.

Baptism is the seed of eternal life, which can grow abundantly, may lie unclaimed, and may even perish. It depends on the person himself. The further life of a person consists in the development of that seed of eternal life, which is planted in baptism. A person is gradually cleansed of sin, gradually improved and strengthened in goodness, and rises to the age of a perfect man.

For the Christians, the emphasis is on the second word in the phrase “servant of God”. If I am a man of God, then I am of no one else. If I belong to the One in whose power all the destinies of the universe are, then no usurper has power over my heart. To become a servant of God means to gain incredible freedom.

“The goal to which the one who has turned should direct all his attention and all his efforts is the final goal of man and the economy of salvation, namely, communion with God, a living union with God, the worthy of His indwelling. Only then will the seeking and jealous spirit calm down when it has acquired God tastes him and gets enough. Therefore, the first law for him is: seek God, seek His face always... «I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people. » (2Cor.6:16) (2Cor.6:16). The Lord says about God the Father and Himself: to him (the believer and lover) we will come and make our abode with him (John.14:23). About Myself alone: ...I go down to him and dine with him (Rev.3:20); and even more clearly: I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you (John.14:20). The Apostle says about the Holy Spirit: the Spirit of God dwells in you (Rom.8:9). It should be noted that this indwelling of God is not only mental, which happens in the thought of God on behalf of man and in the favour of God, but is living, vital.”

Saint Theophan the Recluse.

Christianity fundamentally cannot be reduced to doctrine, to morality, to tradition, because in its essence it is initially faith not in doctrine, but in a Person, in the unique divine-human Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. And not only faith, but also the opportunity to unite with it in the closest inner union, to enter into direct living communication...

priest Oleg Davydenkov.

Without love for God, without love for one's neighbour as oneself, without fulfilling the Commandments of the Lord, our candles are not needed. Nobody demands them from us. God requires that we love Him with all our hearts, honor Him with all our souls, unswervingly fulfil His holy commandments and glorify Him with our whole lives.

According to the words of the holy righteous John of Kronstadt: “It is good to place candles in front of icons. But it is better if you sacrifice the fire of love for Him and your neighbour to God. It’s good if both happen together. If you light candles, but don’t have love for God and your neighbour in your heart: you are stingy, you don’t live peacefully, then your sacrifice to God is in vain.”

Church dogmas are truths revealed by God, belonging to the domain of doctrine, recognised, revealed and preached by the Ecumenical Orthodox Church in the name of Christ, generally binding on all Christians.

Dogmas should be distinguished from moral rules, disciplinary requirements (church canons), and historical provisions. As doctrinal truths, they delineate what we believe (the objects of our faith). As truths proclaimed by God, they have unquestioned and unquestionable authority.

The host of saints are not limited to those who have been canonised by the Church. Canonisation only indicates the holiness of a righteous person; but it has never been, nor is it, a necessary condition for entry into Paradise (a pass to the Kingdom of Heaven). There are far more saints who have reached the Paradise abodes than those who have received official canonisation. Only the Lord knows them all.

Apostle John: "if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us" (1Jn.1:8). Holiness implies the closest spiritual connection with God, which is not the case with law-abiding pagans, atheists, etc.

The continuers of the work of the holy apostles, the Teachers of the Church, taught by the Holy Spirit, instruct people in saving Christian truths. The Orthodox Church reverently preserves their names and honours their memory, calling them "holy fathers and teachers of the Church". In the words of Clement of Alexandria, "words are the productions of the soul. Therefore we call those who instruct us fathers."

This title was given to those who, in the opinion of the Church, did not deviate in their teaching from Divine truth. Who has spent his whole life striving to protect the Divine truth from errors and heresies. Who was able to convey the inexpressible Divine truth in limited human language and to confirm it in the dogmas preserved by the Church.

Holy Fathers in the strict sense of the word, are outstanding preachers of the faith of Christ, who have worked hard in the field of enlightening people with the light of the Gospel, including in the field of writing.

Unlike church writers and church teachers in general (such as Origen and Tertullian, for example), the holy fathers were characterised by a special holiness of life, fervent zeal for the Lord, and orthodoxy of religious thinking.

Christ is the Head of the Church in the truest, fullest sense of the word: both as its Founder and as the ever-present Lord.

Metaphorically speaking, believers are to Christ as the branches of the vine are to the vine itself; as the head is to the body.

Concerning the first image Christ said: "I am the vine, and ye are the branches: he that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: without me ye can do nothing" (John.15:5).

The idea of the second allegory is voiced by Apostle Paul: "And He is the head of the body of the Church" (Col.1:18).

"A Christian is one who, as much as is possible for man, imitates Christ in words, deeds, and thoughts, believing rightly and blamelessly in the Holy Trinity."

St. John Climacus

Believing and talking about one's faith are different things. Faith must be embodied in actions, in the entire life. It is impossible to believe in Christ the Saviour and not know His commandments, not to try to imitate Him in your actions, not to communicate with Him in prayer and the Sacraments.

If I do not receive Communion, I do not live.

Righteous Saint John of Kronstadt

For Christians always and everywhere, the essential difference is to participate in the Sunday Liturgy without inadmissibility, to receive frequent Communion of Christ's Sacraments, to understand and love the Divine Service, i.e. the Eucharistic dimension of life. The nature of the Church is eucharistic and liturgical.....

Archpriest Andrei Tkachev

Today, many people seem to have forgotten this fundamental truth that defines and identifies the Church: the Church is a gathering around the Eucharistic meal. Not an institution, not a religious institution, not a hierarchical administrative structure, not buildings and offices, but the people of God gathered for the Fraction and the blessing of the Сup - this is what the Church is.

Yannaras Christos

Catechesis (from the Greek word catechism - teaching, instruction) - teaching the truths of the Orthodox faith and the practices of church life. The purpose of catechesis is to bring people into the Christian God-pleasing life.  In former times catechesis before baptism could take up to 3 years.

"No one is allowed in Christianity to be unlearned at all and remain ignorant. Did the Lord Himself not called Himself a Teacher and His followers as disciples. Are these idle names not meaning anything? And why did the Lord send the apostles into the world? - First of all, to teach all nations: Come, teach all the nations.... If you do not want to teach and educate yourself in Christianity, then you are not a disciple and follower of Christ, - the Apostles were not sent for you, - you are not what all Christians were from the very beginning of Christianity; I do not know what you are and what will happen to you".

St. Philaret of Moscow.

The sacred hierarchy in the Church is usually understood as three degrees of priestly ministry of apostolic origin, namely the degrees of bishop, presbyter and deacon.  All three degrees are imparted through the gracious Sacrament of the priesthood, or ordination.

According to the teaching of the Church, in no way the efficacy of the Sacraments depends on the holiness or sinfulness of those who administer them. The doctrine stating that the Sacraments administered by unworthy ministers are invalid, belongs to the Donatist heresy. Donatism was condemned at the Church Councils of Rome (313) and Arles (314).

The efficacy of the Church's sacraments does not depend on the qualities of the concelebrant. I.e. if you come to confess your sins to a man who is close to holiness and righteousness, and he will forgive your sins, and if you come to a priest who is ten times more sinful than you, and this may well happen, and he reads a prayer over you and says that your sins are forgiven - they will be forgiven in the same way. You cannot say that this bishop has more forgiveness of sins than another bishop. It cannot be said that this bishop baptised the child for one hundred percent, and this bishop baptised the child only for fifty percent. The child will be baptised in both cases, the deceased will be buried in both cases. The bread and wine will become the Body and Blood of Christ, no matter how unworthy even the most unworthy priest administers the sacrament. Therefore, as far as worship and the administration of the sacraments are concerned, these criteria are irrelevant. Simply because it is not a human being who performs all this - God administers the sacraments. It is always an act of God. And the priest is used by God as an instrument that He uses.

Archpriest Igor Gagarin (How to evaluate a priest?)

The Divine Liturgy is the principle of the public services during which the main sacrament of the Church, the Sacrament of Communion or Eucharist (Greek for "thanksgiving"), is celebrated.

Reveration of Icons is the doctrine of the Orthodox Church on the honouring and worship of icons, introduced into dogma and enshrined at the VII Ecumenical Council.

Honouring the worship of icons refers not to the material of the icon itself (not to the wood and paint), but to the person who is depicted on the icon.

The basic idea of icon veneration is: "The honour given to the image is transferred to the original image".

There are two understandings of the Church. One understanding of the Church as a spiritual organism into which a person can enter only by righteous life. And the other is the Church as an external organisation into which he can enter by being baptised. There is no need to confuse these concepts.

Priest Konstantin Parkhomenko.

Glory to the grace of fasting! I owe the fact to it, that I pray with heartfelt devotion and felicity and sweetness; I owe the richness of holy and exalted thoughts to it ; I owe the comfortable union of the heart with the Lord through living faith to it .

Righteous Saint John of Kronstadt

True fasting must be undertaken for God, that is, in order to purify the soul from sins by possible mental and bodily feats, to dispose it to goodness.

Archpriest Valentin Amfiteatrov

Do you want to keep a true fast? Leave all the hatred, annoyance and bickering together with the food, become quiet, meek, humble, compassionate and loving in everything and to everyone. This is what the season of fasting itself requires. Do you want to fast a true fast? Remove all other passions and whims of the flesh, which are more harmful to the soul than the satiety of the body.

And finally, if you want to have a true fast that is pleasing to the Lord, do not forget to adorn your soul with deeds of charity. Help the poor according to your strength, comfort the unfortunate, visit the sick.

Archimandrite Kirill (Pavlov)

The Venerable Seraphim of Sarov said bluntly: "he who does not observe fasts is not a Christian, no matter who he calls himself...".

Fasting is certainly necessary for a person - from the external side it is a feat of unconditional, filial obedience to the Church, whose statutes should be sacred for him, and not something neglected and violated.

And from the inner side, fasting is a feat of abstinence and self-restraint. And this is its great value and meaning, because the strict observance of fasts hardens the will in a person and develops a character that is firm in its religious beliefs and actions.

Let us not forget that Christ Himself fasted and predicted that His apostles would also fast. And He also said about the struggle against evil, diabolical power: "This generation does not come out, only by prayer and fasting".

Mitropolite Philaret (Voznesensky)

Pray unceasingly (1Sol.5:17).

"Pray unceasingly," - labour in prayer, "and you will acquire unceasing prayer, which itself will become accomplished in the heart without much exertion. It is evident to everyone that the commandment of the holy Apostle is not fulfilled by the mere performance of the prescribed prayers at certain hours, but it requires always walking before God, dedicating all works to God, the all-seeing and omnipresent, by warming up the mind in the heart with a warm attitude towards heaven. All life, in all its manifestations, must be permeated with prayer."

Saint Theophan the Recluse.

Salvation is communion with the divine life as the ultimate goal. In God is the whole essence of human life and the source of it. Salvation is accomplished by God, but only if man wills and does everything possible to become godlike in his spiritual and moral attributes. This union with God transcends all values and ideals, all the sacred and noble aims of mankind. In obtaining Him we obtain everything.

The redemption accomplished by the Lord Jesus Christ through His ministry, sufferings on the Cross and death was directed to all men without exception. However, this does not mean that every person will be saved and brought into the Kingdom of Heaven automatically, regardless of their lifestyle, level of spiritual and moral perfection (or imperfection).

Despite the fact that the Source of Salvation is God (Jn.15:5), partaking of the fruits of Redemption implies free, conscious personal choice, desire and readiness to follow Christ (Lk.9:23).

The process of personal salvation is carried out in co-operation between man and God. God promotes the transformation of the saved person, protects him from evil, guides him to good; the saved person tries to observe the will of God and make every effort to achieve the goal (in Orthodox theology the image of such interaction is represented by the Greek word "synergy" - assistance, co-working, co-operation).

The Gospel of Luke, chapter 23:

Two evildoers were also led with Him to death. And when they came to the place called the Calvary, there they crucified Him and the evildoers, the one on the right side and the other on the left....

One of the hanged villains blasphemed Him and said, "If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.

But the other, on the contrary, restrained him and said, "Or do you not fear God, when you yourself are condemned to the same thing?

And we are justly condemned, because we have received the judgement due to our deeds, but He did nothing wrong.

And he said unto Jesus, Remember me, O Lord, when thou comest into thy kingdom.

And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.

The repentance of the prudent robber was accompanied by deep faith in the redemptive power of Christ's sufferings, humble hope for mercy, and God's love for the innocent sufferer. According to St. V.V.Shchukin, the robber took three decisive steps to salvation: the first was a step of uncomplaining patience in dire circumstances, the second was a humble consciousness of his guilt before the Just God, and the third was a humble plea for pardon and salvation. In an instant the Lord can forgive us and grant us eternal life if we take these three decisive steps and if we follow in the footsteps of the prudent robber in faith, hope and love for God and people.

Hegumen Savva.

St John Chrysostom draws attention to the fact that the pious robber, unlike other people, "saw neither the dead being raised, nor the demons being cast out, nor the sea obeying; Christ said nothing to him about the kingdom, nor about Gehenna", yet he "confessed Him before all".

God did not create death (Prem. 1:13)

By the fall both the soul and the body of man were changed.... The fall was for them together also death.... Death is only the separation of the soul from the body, which had already been killed by the departure of the True Life, God, from them.

By death a man is painfully cut and torn into two parts, his constituents, and after death there is no longer a man: separately there is his soul, and separately there is his body.

St. Ignatius (Bryanchaninov)

After leaving this place, no one can succeed: what you sow here, you will reap there. Here is work, there is recompense, here is exploit, there is crowns.

St. Barsonophius the Great and St. John.

Death is bliss to the saints, joy to the righteous, and sorrow to sinners, despair to the wicked.

St. Ephraim the Syrian.

In a broad sense, repentance refers to a fundamental change in one's life from arbitrary sinful, self-loving, and self-sufficient to living according to God's commandments, in love and seeking God.

One's thoughts often suggest to another: "You are still young, you will repent in your old age". And if he lives to old age, the thought will say, "Now you are old and in need of rest. It is necessary to work daily for the Lord with fear and trembling, for who told us we would live to be old? And even if we do live to old age, will we have a good thought if we are already negligent about our salvation from that time on?

St. Ephraim the Syrian

While the wound is still new and hot, it is easily healed, but old, neglected and neglected wounds are not easily healed and require much labor, cutting, covering and cauterizing to heal. Many wounds from time become unhealable, but with God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26). The later the repentance, the more grievous it is.

Venerable John Climacus

Many people, being entrenched in evil, flatter themselves with the hope that they can repent at death; but besides the fact that this hope is uncertain, the holy fathers believe that a man who has lived unrepentantly all his life can hardly have true repentance at death. For then it is no longer he who does bad deeds, but bad deeds forsake him.

Platon (Levshin), Metropolitan of Moscownd hot, it is easily healed, but old, neglected and neglected wounds are not easily healed and require much labor, cutting, covering and cauterizing to heal. Many wounds from time become unhealable, but with God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26). The later the repentance, the more grievous it is.

Venerable John Climacus.

Why doesn't God destroy the devil? Because the devil does not force anyone to follow his will: he proposes, people agree.

Priest Daniel Sysoyev

Someone will probably ask me, "In our enlightened times, don't you want to reintroduce us to our old buddy, the devil, with horns, hooves and all?" I don't know what enlightened times have to do with it, and I'm not particularly interested in such a detail as horns and hooves. But otherwise, I would answer, "Yes, that's exactly what I'm going to do."

I do not claim to know anything about his appearance. If someone really wants to get to know him better, to such a person I would say, "Don't bother. If you really want to get to know him, you will. Whether you like it is another matter."

Clive Lewis

Evil is a perverted action of the will of created beings that violates the Divine will and leads to falling away from God. Evil has no independent essence. Evil is only the absence of good, as darkness is the absence of light. The cause of evil is in the free will of man: evil always answers the question "who" and not "what".

God is not the Creator of evil. Evil has always been seen by the Church Fathers as opposition to the Good, a detriment to the good (just as darkness is the absence of light, and disease is a detriment, a lack of health).

The cause of evil is not rooted in God, but in the free will of reasonably free beings. Free will is the greatest Divine gift. Without this freedom, neither angel nor man would have the possibility of voluntary determination to the Good.

If man did not have the potentiality to sin, he would never become virtuous, for virtue implies precisely a free, not an unconditional, irresistible desire for the good.

By allowing His creatures to do evil, God allows them to realize the freedom with which He Himself gave them. However, this does not mean that God does not fight against evil at all. God the Father sent His Son into the world to deliver us from the influence of evil, who not only taught us how to live, but also suffered and died for us. God helps everyone who strives to do good by protecting him from evil influences both from outside and inside.

- In recent times it is very common to encounter the same, almost standard reaction of modern man to misfortune. When a great sorrow happens, a person asks: "Well, where have You been, Lord?".

- It is easier for a Christian to answer that question. If a person out of the depths of grief asks: "Where have You been, Lord?" - For the Christian the answer is obvious: In the depths of suffering He was before you. You were not there yet, but He was already on the Cross of Calvary.

Deacon Andrew

The Sixth Ecumenical Council explicitly defines sin as a disease of the soul.

That Christ is absolutely sinless is clearly and definitely taught by the Church: "He (Christ) did no sin, and there was no flattery in His mouth" (1Pet.2:22).

The saints who have attained the Kingdom of Heaven, like the light angels who abide in Heaven, also do not sin (the Kingdom of Heaven is not a kingdom of sin). However, during earthly life saints sin: "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us" (1Jn.1:8).

Pride through Lucifer ( Morning Star), who was cast down for it, crept afterwards into the original Adam, and produced weaknesses and occasions for all vices. For when he thought that he could acquire the glory of the Divine by free will and by his own endeavour, he lost also that which he had received by the grace of the Creator.

Venerable John Cassian of Rome

Pride is the beginning of sin. With it all sin begins and in it it finds its support.

St John Chrysostom

There is no other passion, which would so annihilate all virtues, deprive man of all righteousness and holiness and expose as pride, as the main what and all-destroying disease.

Venerable John Cassian of Rome

Pride is the rejection of God, demonic invention, the contempt of men, the mother of condemnation, the spawn of praise, a sign of the barrenness of the soul, driving away the help of God, the forerunner of the mind's descent, the perpetrator of falls, the cause of demonism, the source of anger, the door of hypocrisy, the stronghold of demons, the repository of sins, the cause of mercy.

The beginning of pride is the end of vainglory; the middle is humiliation of the neighbour, shameless preaching of one's works, self-glorification in the heart, hatred of rebuke; and the end is rejection of God's help, trust in one's own diligence, demonic temper.

Venerable John Climacus

In the "Word on the Gentiles" of St Athanasius the Great there is this passage: "Men have fallen into self-lust, preferring their own contemplation to the divine. This brief definition reveals the very essence of pride: man, for whom God was the centre and object of lust until now, has turned away from Him, has fallen into "self-devotion", has desired and loved himself more than God, has preferred contemplation of himself to divine contemplation.

Priest Alexander Yelchaninov

Ascetics is a section of Orthodox theology whose subject is the study of the process of regeneration of fallen human nature in the course of Christian asceticism. Ascetics can be called the science of the essence of Christian asceticism (asceticism, ascesis).

Do you not know that your bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit dwelling in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you have been bought with a high price. Therefore glorify God both in your bodies and in your souls, which are the work of God (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

Take care of your body as the temple of God. Take care of it! It must be resurrected, and you must give an account to God of what you have done with your body. Just as you take care to heal your body when it falls ill, so take care to prepare it for the Resurrection by cleansing it of all passions.

Venerable Abba Isaiah

Your body, Christian, is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who desires to dwell in you. Therefore have care for the temple, lest you offend Him who dwells in it.

Venerable Ephraim the Syrian

On the basis of the Bible, the Holy Fathers teach that the soul and body are not alien elements united in an individual only for a time, but are given simultaneously and forever in the very act of creation: the soul is "betrothed" to the body and inseparable from it.

Only the totality of soul and body is a complete person-hypostasis: neither soul nor body are such in themselves: "For what is man if not a rational living being composed of soul and body? - says St Justin the Philosopher. - So, is the soul in itself a man? No... And can the body be called a man? No... Only a being consisting of the union of both is called a man."

In all cases when Christian ascetic literature speaks of enmity between the flesh and the spirit (starting with the Apostle Paul: "the flesh desires what is contrary to the spirit, and the spirit what is contrary to the flesh"; Gal. 5:17), it refers to the sinful flesh as a collection of passions and vices, and not to the body in general. And when "mortification of the flesh" is spoken of, it means mortification of sinful inclinations and "carnal lusts," not contempt for the body as such. The Christian ideal is not to humiliate the flesh, but to purify it and free it from the consequences of the fall into sin, to return it to its original purity and make it worthy of being likened to God.

Hegumen Hilarion (Alfeyev)

The Epistle to the Ephesians of St Paul the Apostle, chapter 5:

28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. … (Eph.5:28)

25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; …(Eph.5:25)

33 Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; .... (Eph.5:33)

Not in itself material wealth is harmful (it is morally neutral), and not in itself poverty is useful for the elevation of the soul (poverty is also morally neutral). But lust, deification of wealth is a personal and social poison: when human sacrifices are made to wealth (and an unreasonable rich man sacrifices himself and all those around him); when immortal and great human dignity and the purpose of human life on earth are forgotten. The lust of riches, however, does not manifest itself only in the rich or richer, but just as often in the poor who envy a better material condition.

The essence of the Christian spirit is freedom from any addiction to corruptible wealth, and in Christ every man can be liberated regardless of his social status, free spiritually from both selfish avarice and selfish envy.

Archbishop John (Shakhovsky)

The divine and human natures in Christ are united in one Person inseparably (without forming something third, a half-god-half-man), invariably (without change of natures), inseparably (inseparable in the unity of the God-man), inseparably (forever).

The Apostle Paul tells us that the appearance of God in the flesh is "the great mystery of godliness". This image of union itself is beyond our comprehension, so we can only express this Mystery in negative terms, i.e. apophatically.

Eastern tradition has never drawn a sharp distinction between mysticism and theology, between personal experience of the knowledge of the Divine mysteries and the dogmas approved by the Church.... Theology and mysticism are opposed by no means; on the contrary, they support and complement each other. The one is impossible without the other: if mystical experience is a personal manifestation of a common faith, theology is a general expression of what can be experienced by everyone....

V.N. Lossky

The main characteristics of Christian love are defined by the apostle: "Love is longsuffering, merciful, love does not envy, love does not boast, is not proud, is not disorderly, does not seek its own, is not irritated, thinks no evil, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices in the truth; covers all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things" (1Corinthians 13:4-7). In short, Christian love is practical and sacrificial.

Despite the fact that God, by His divine nature, is completely independent of the conditions of time, within theological language both present, past, and future tense verbs are used in reference to God. For example, although as eternal, God has no age, the Holy Scriptures conditionally speak of the Divine years: "Thou art the same, and Thy years shall not end" (Psalm 101:28). When we speak not of God the Trinity, but of the Person of the Son of God who was made man, the expressions concerning the categories of time, usually applied to people who, as we know, depend on the conditions of time, are especially applicable to Him. Thus, the Church teaches that the Son of God was carried in the womb, then born, then grew up, became manly, taught, preached, died on the Cross, after which He rose again, ascended above the heavens, and sat down at the right hand of the Father. Since Christ is one hypostasis, containing two natures, the divine and the human, the names proper to God and the names proper to man are applicable to Him. We may say, Christ is God, and we may say, Christ is Man. We can say: Christ was, is and will be a man, and we can say: the Son of God, God incarnate, was, is and will be a man.

Theism (from Greek θεός - God) is a religious worldview based on the understanding of the Absolute as an infinite divine personality transcendent to the world, freely creating the world and freely operating with the world. Recognition of God's transcendence distinguishes theism from pantheism, and recognition of God's constant activity (Providence), often resulting in miracles, from deism.

All warfare is a manifestation of the sinfulness of the human race, but while condemning warfare generated by hatred and enmity, the Church does not forbid her children to participate in hostilities if it is a matter of defending their neighbours and restoring justice that has been violated - these actions are seen as aimed at limiting and curbing atrocities on the part of the enemy.

At the same time, as noted in the Fundamentals of the Social Concept of the Russian Orthodox Church, "there are areas in which clergy and canonical church structures cannot assist or co-operate with the state. These are: ... waging ... aggressive foreign warfare."

Note also that St Basil the Great has Rule 13, in which he recommends that soldiers who participated in war and killed people in the process should not be allowed to receive Holy Communion for three years. The reason is that warriors do not have clean hands (in blood). Here is this rule: "It seems to me that our fathers did not consider killing in war as murder out of leniency towards the defenders of chastity and piety. But it may not be wrong to advise that, as having unclean hands, they should be kept only from communion for a period of 3 years."