Reviews of the book “The Soul after Death” by Seraphim Hieromonk

Soul after death

Everything said here about the experience of being “out of the body” is enough to put the modern “post-mortem” experience into perspective. Let's summarize our results:

1. This in its purest form is simply an “out-of-body” state, well known, especially in occult literature, and occurring in recent years with increasing frequency to ordinary people not associated with the occult. But in fact, these states tell us almost nothing about what happens to the soul after death, except that it continues to live and has consciousness.

2. The realm into which the soul enters immediately when it leaves the body and begins to lose contact with what we know as material reality (whether after death or simply upon leaving the body) is neither heaven nor hell, but the region close to the earth, which is called variously: “otherworldly” or “Bardo plane” (Tibetan Book of the Dead), “spirit world” (Swedenborg and spiritualists), “astral plane” (theosophy and most occultists), “Place 2" (Monroe), - and in Orthodox language - the celestial air space where fallen spirits live, who diligently try to deceive people in order to lead them to destruction. This is not the “other world” that awaits a person after death, but only the invisible part of this world through which a person must pass in order to reach a truly “other” world - heavenly or hellish. For those who have actually died and whom Angels take away from this earthly life, this is the area where private judgment begins in the aerial ordeals, where the aerial spirits reveal their true nature and hostility towards the human race; for everyone else, this is an area of ​​​​deception on the part of the same spirits.

3. Creatures encountered in this area are always (or almost always) imps

, whether they are caused by mediums or occult means, or encountered while "out of the body." These are not Angels, for Angels live in heaven and only pass through this area as God's messengers. These are not the souls of the dead, for they live in heaven or hell and only immediately after death pass through this area on the way to judgment for what they have done in this life. Even the most experienced people in out-of-body exits cannot remain in this area for long without exposing themselves to the danger of being separated from their body forever (death), and even in occult literature one can rarely find descriptions of aerial encounters of such people.

4. Experimenters in this field cannot be trusted and, of course, they cannot be judged “by appearance.”

Even those firmly rooted in Orthodox Christian teaching can easily be deceived by fallen airy spirits through all sorts of visions, and those entering this area, having no idea about it and accepting its “revelations” with confidence, become pitiful victims of fallen spirits.

One might ask: “But what about the sensations of calm and pleasure, which seem almost universal for the “out-of-body” state? But what about the light that many see? Is this also a deception?

In a certain sense, these states may be natural for the soul when it is separated from the body. In this fallen world, our physical bodies are bodies of suffering, destruction and death. When separated from such a body, the soul immediately finds itself in a more natural state for it, closer to the one intended for it by God, for the “resurrected” “spiritual” body in which a person will dwell in the Kingdom of Heaven has more in common with the soul than with the earthly body known to us. Even the body with which Adam was first created was of a different nature from the body of Adam after the fall, being more subtle, not subject to suffering and not intended for hard work. In this sense, the peace and pleasantness of being outside the body can be considered real and not false. However, deception is right there as soon as these natural sensations begin to be interpreted as something “spiritual” - as if this “peace” was the true peace of reconciliation with God, and “pleasantness” was the true spiritual pleasure of heaven. This is how many actually interpret their “out-of-body” and “after-death” experiences due to a lack of genuine spiritual experience and sobriety. That this is a mistake can be seen from the fact that even the most inveterate atheists experience the same pleasures upon “death.” We have already met with this in one of the previous chapters in the case of the Hindu, the atheist and the suicide. Another remarkable example is the agnostic British novelist Somerset Maugham, who, during a brief "death" at the age of 80 shortly before his actual death, first saw an ever-increasing light and "then experienced the most exquisite sense of liberation," as he described in his own words (see: Allen Spraget. The Case for Immortality. New York, 1974). This was in no way a spiritual experience, but just another natural experience in life that never led Maugham to faith.

Therefore, death, as a sensory or “natural” experience, might well seem pleasant. This pleasure could be experienced equally by those whose conscience is clear before God, and by those who generally do not have deep faith in God or eternal life and therefore do not realize how much they may have offended God during their life. As one writer so well said, “those who know that there is a God have a bad death, and yet live as if He did not exist” (D. Winter. “The Future: What Happens After Death?”, Harold Shaw Publishers, Wheaton , Ill., 1977, p. 90.) - that is, those who are tormented by their own conscience, which overcomes with this suffering the natural “pleasure” of physical death. The difference between believers and unbelievers does not appear at the moment of death itself, but later, at a private trial. The pleasure of death may be real enough, but it has no connection with the eternal fate of the soul, which may well be doomed to torment.

This is especially true with regard to seeing light. It could also simply be something natural - a reflection of the true state of light for which man was created. If this is the case, then to attach a “spiritual” meaning to it, as spiritually inexperienced people invariably do, would be a serious mistake. Orthodox ascetic literature is full of warnings against trusting any kind of light that may appear to a person; and when such a light begins to be mistaken for an Angel or even for Christ, it is clear that a person has fallen into delusion, creating reality from his own imagination even before the fallen spirits began their temptations.

When separated from the body, it is also natural for the soul to have a heightened sense of reality and experience what is now called “extrasensory perception.” The fact that the soul after death (and often immediately before death) sees what those standing nearby do not see, knows when someone dies at a distance, etc. is an obvious fact, known both from Orthodox literature and according to modern scientific research. A reflection of this can be seen in that experience which Dr. Moody calls the "vision of knowledge," when the soul seems to have an "enlightenment" and sees before it "all knowledge" (Reflections on Life After Life, pp. 9-14) . St. Boniface describes the experience of the monk of Wenlock immediately after death as follows: “He felt like a man seeing and awake, as if his eyes were covered with a thick veil, and then suddenly it was removed, and everything that was previously invisible was hidden. , unknown. When, in his case, the curtain of flesh was thrown back, the whole universe appeared before his sight, so that he saw at once all the ends of the world, and all the seas, and all the people" (Emerton, Letters of St. Boniface, p. 25).

Some souls seem to be naturally sensitive to such states, even while still in the body. St. Gregory the Great about (Conversations, IV, 26, p. 30). But such “mediums” inevitably fall into delusion when they begin to interpret and develop this talent, which can only be correctly used by people of great holiness and, of course, the Orthodox faith. A good example of such erroneous “extrasensory perception” is the American medium Edgar Cayce. One day he discovered that he had the ability to make accurate medical diagnoses while in a trance state; then he began to trust all messages received in this state, and ended up posing as a prophet (sometimes he failed spectacularly, as was the case with the failed cataclysm promised to the West Coast in 1969), offering astrological interpretations and tracing “past lives” of people in Atlantis, ancient Egypt and other places.

The natural experiences of the soul when separated from the body - be they experiences of peace and pleasantness, light or "extra-sensory perception" - are therefore only a consequence of its increased receptivity, but give (we must say it again) very little positive information about the state of the soul after death and too often lead to arbitrary interpretations of another world, as well as to direct communication with fallen spirits, to whose kingdom all this belongs. Such experiences belong entirely to the “astral” world and in themselves have nothing spiritual or heavenly; even when the experience itself is real, its interpretations cannot be trusted.

5. By the very nature of things, true knowledge of the airy kingdom of spirits and its manifestations cannot be acquired by experience alone.

The claim of occultism of all stripes that its knowledge is truly correct because it is based on “experience” is precisely the fatal flaw of occult “knowledge”. On the contrary, the experience gained in this environment, precisely because it is obtained in the air and is often caused by demons, whose ultimate goal is to seduce and destroy human souls, by its very nature is associated with deception, not to mention the fact that being a stranger in this sphere, a person will never be able to fully navigate there and be confident in its reality, as he is confident in the reality of the material world. Of course, the Buddhist teaching (as set forth in the Tibetan Book of the Dead) is right when it speaks of the illusory nature of the phenomena of the “Bardo plane,” but it is mistaken when, on the basis of experience alone, it concludes that there is no objective reality behind these phenomena at all . The true reality of this invisible world cannot be known unless it is revealed by a source standing outside and above it.

Therefore, for the same reasons, the modern approach to this area through personal (or “scientific”) experimentation must inevitably lead to incorrect, false conclusions. Almost all modern investigators accept the occult teaching in this field, or at least are very sympathetic to it, for the sole reason that it is based on experience, which is also the basis of science. But “experience” in the material world and “experience” in the airy kingdom are completely different things. The raw material experimented with and studied is, in one case, morally neutral and can be objectively studied and tested by others. But in another case, the “raw material” is hidden, it is difficult to catch and often it has its own will - the will to deceive the observer. That is why the work of serious researchers like Dr. Moody, Crookal, Osis and Haraldson, Kubler-Ross, after all, almost always serves the purpose of disseminating occult ideas which "naturally" come from the study of the occult airy kingdom. Only by armed with the thought (which has now become rare) that there is a revealed truth which is above all experience, can this occult kingdom be illuminated, its true nature be known, and a distinction be made between this lower kingdom and the higher Heavenly Kingdom.

It was necessary to devote this long chapter to “out-of-body” states in order to define as accurately as possible the nature of what many ordinary people experience, not just mediums and occultists. (In the conclusion of this book we will try to explain why such states have now become so common.) It is clear that these states are real and cannot be dismissed as hallucinations. But it is equally clear that this experience is not spiritual, and the attempts of researchers to interpret it as a “spiritual experience” revealing the true nature of the afterlife and the final state of the soul only serve to increase the spiritual confusion of modern man and show how far they are from true spiritual knowledge and experience.

To see this better, we will now turn to the study of several cases of genuine experience of another world - the eternal world of heaven, which is revealed to man by God's will and is completely different from the airy kingdom that we have studied here and which is part of this world that will have end.

NOTES ON TRANSFORMATION

Among the occult ideas that are now widely discussed and sometimes accepted by those who have had "out-of-body" or "after-death" experiences, and even by some scientists, is the idea of ​​reincarnation. It consists in the fact that the soul after death is not subject to private judgment, does not then remain in heaven or hell, awaiting the resurrection of the body and the Last Judgment, but (obviously, after being in the “astral plane”) returns back to earth and enters a new body, whether that of an animal or another person.

This idea was widespread in the West during pagan antiquity before Christian ideas took over, but its current spread is mainly due to the influence of Hinduism and Buddhism, where it is widely accepted. Today this idea is usually "humanized" in the sense that people believe that their "previous existences" were in human form, while the common idea of ​​both the Hindus and Buddhists and the ancient Greeks and Romans is that it is rarely possible to achieve embodiment in humans and that most modern incarnations are animals, insects and even plants.

Believers in this idea say that it explains many of the injustices of earthly life, as well as the seemingly inexplicable fear that if someone is born blind or in poverty, then this is retribution for his actions in a previous life (or, as Hindus and Buddhists, a consequence of his “bad karma”), if someone is afraid of water, it is because in a previous existence he drowned.

Those who believe in reincarnation have no complete doctrine of the origin and purpose of the soul, or any convincing evidence to support their theory; its main attractions are superficial - supposedly providing "justice" on earth, explaining some psychic mysteries, and providing some semblance of "immortality" for those who do not accept it from a Christian perspective.

On mature reflection, however, the reincarnation theory provides no explanation of injustice at all. If a person suffers in this life for the sins and mistakes of a life which he cannot remember and for which (if previously he was an animal) he cannot be held responsible, and if (according to the teachings of Buddhism) there is not even a “I” that persists from one “incarnation” to another, and a person’s previous mistakes were literally other people’s mistakes - then there is no obvious justice at all, but only blind suffering from evil, whose origin cannot be traced. The Christian teaching about the fall of Adam as the source of all the world’s evil provides a much better explanation of the world’s “injustice,” and the Christian revelation about the perfect justice of God and the judgment of God over people sent to eternal life in heaven or hell makes the idea of ​​gaining “unnecessary and trivial.” justice" through successive "incarnations" in this world.

The idea of ​​reincarnation has gained great popularity in the West in recent decades, and there have been many cases suggestive of “past life recollection”; many people also believe, after being “out of body,” that these experiences inspire or instill the idea of ​​reincarnation. What should we think about these cases?

It must be said that in very few cases are there facts stronger than vague and random "evidence" - facts that could not be explained simply as a figment of the imagination: a child appears with a spot on his neck, and subsequently "remembers" that " in a previous life” he was hanged as a horse thief; a person is afraid of heights and then “remembers” that “in a past life” he fell to death, and the like. The natural human tendency towards fantasy makes such cases useless as evidence of reincarnation.

However, in many cases such "previous lives" have been discovered through a hypnotic technique known as "regressive hypnosis", which has often produced astonishing results in the recollection of events long forgotten by the conscious mind - even back to infancy. The hypnotist takes the patient back to infancy and then asks, “What about that?” In such cases, a person often “remembers” his death or even a whole “other life.” What should we think about such memory?

Well-trained hypnotists themselves will agree that there are pitfalls in “regressive hypnosis.” Californian Dr. Arthur Hastings, a specialist in communication psychology, about (J. Allen Hynek and Jacques Vallee, “The Edge of Reality,” Henry Regnery Co., Chicago, 1975, p. 107.).

Chicago hypnotist Dr. Larry Gareth, who has conducted nearly 500 hypnotic regressions himself, notes that these regressions are often inaccurate even when it comes to remembering past events in this life. “Very often people make things up either because they wish for reality, or because they have fantasies, dreams, etc. Anyone doing hypnosis and regression of any type would find that people have such a vivid imagination that they will do anything. , as long as the hypnotist is satisfied” (The Edge of Reality, pp. 91–92).

Another researcher on this issue writes: “This method is fraught with risk, its main danger is the unconscious tendency to vivid fantasies. What emerges during hypnosis might, in essence, be a dream about a previous life that the patient would like to live; sometimes he believes - rightly or wrongly - that he has lived it... One psychologist encouraged hypnotized patients to remember a past existence, and all of them, without exception, remembered it. Some of these stories were full of vivid detail and seemed convincing... However, when this psychologist again hypnotized them, they could, in a state of trance, trace any element of their story about their previous existence back to some normal source of it, the story of a person they knew in childhood , scenes from a novel read or a film seen several years ago, etc.” (Allen Spraggertt, “The Case for Immortality,” New American Library, New York, 1974, pp. 137–138.)

But what about those recent well-publicized cases where there is "objective evidence of a previous life" - where a person "remembers" details of a time and place that he probably could not have known on his own and which can be verified by historical records? documents?

Such cases seem very convincing to those who are already inclined to believe in reincarnation, but this type of “evidence” is no different from the standard information presented by “spirits” at seances (and which can also be quite surprising); there is no reason to believe that they have another source. If it is quite obvious that the “spirits” at seances are essentially demons, then information about “previous lives” can also be given by demons. In both cases, they have the same goal - to confuse people with a brilliant display of supposedly "supernatural" knowledge and thereby deceive them about the true nature of the afterlife, leaving them spiritually unprepared for it.

Even occultists, who are generally sympathetic to the idea of ​​reincarnation, agree that the “evidence” of reincarnation can be interpreted in different ways. One American popularizer of occult ideas believes that “most of the recorded cases indicating reincarnation could well be cases of possession” [4.15]. According to these occultists, possession occurs when a “dead” person takes possession of a living body, the personality and very individuality of the latter appearing to be changed, thereby creating the impression that some aspect of a “previous life” is acting on it. Those creatures that possess people are, of course, demons, no matter how they hide under the mask of the souls of the dead. Dr. Ian Stevenson's recent acclaimed book, Twenty Cases That Make You Think of Reincarnation, does seem to be a collection of cases of such obsession.

The early Christian Church struggled with the idea of ​​reincarnation, which entered the Christian world through Eastern teachings such as Manichaeism. Closely connected with these teachings was Origen’s false teaching about the “pre-existence of souls,” which was strictly condemned at the Fifth Ecumenical Council in Constantinople in 553, and his followers were anathematized. Many individual Church Fathers wrote against him, especially St. Ambrose of Milan in the West (“On Faith in the Resurrection,” Book II), St. Gregory of Nyssa in the East (“On the Soul and Resurrection”) and others.

For a modern Orthodox Christian who is tempted by this idea or who ponders the supposed “evidence” of it, it may be enough to reflect on the three main Christian dogmas, which decisively refute the very possibility of reincarnation.

1. Resurrection of the body.

Christ rose from the dead in the same body that died the death of all men. It was the first among all human bodies that will be resurrected on the last day and reunited with souls to live forever in heaven or hell in accordance with the righteous judgment of God about their earthly life. This resurrected body, like the body of Christ Himself, will differ from our earthly bodies in that it will be more subtle and closer to the angelic nature, without which it could not reside in the Kingdom of Heaven, where there is neither death nor corruption; but it will be the same body, miraculously restored by God to eternal life, as was shown to Ezekiel in his vision of the “dry bones.” (Ezek. 37:1-14). The redeemed will recognize each other in heaven. Therefore, the body is an integral part of the entire person, which will live forever, and the idea that one person owns many bodies denies the very nature of the Kingdom of Heaven, prepared by God for those who love Him.

2. Our redemption is through Jesus Christ.

God took on flesh and through His life, suffering and death on the Cross redeemed us from the dominion of sin and death. Through His Church we are saved, made fit for the Kingdom of Heaven and, united in faith and repentance with Christ, we do not bear punishment for our past sins. But according to the idea of ​​reincarnation, if someone is “saved,” it will only be after many lives devoted to working to overcome the consequences of their sins. This cold and joyless legalism of pagan religions is completely abolished by the Sacrifice of Christ on the Cross; the prudent thief instantly received salvation through faith in the Son of God, and the “bad karma” of his evil deeds was erased by God’s grace.

3. Court.

It is appointed for men to die once, and after this the judgment (Heb. 9:27). Human life is the only definite period of testing, after which there is no “second chance,” but only God’s judgment (righteous and merciful) over a person in accordance with the state of his soul at the end of life.

These three doctrines contain the Christian Revelation. It is precise and definite, in contrast to pagan religions, which do not contain belief in resurrection or atonement and do not say anything definite about judgment or the future life. The only answer to all supposed experiences or memories of "previous lives" is the precise teaching of Christianity about the nature of human life and God's relationship with people.

This book has a twofold purpose: first, from the point of view of Orthodox Christian teaching about the afterlife, to provide an explanation of modern “posthumous” experiences that have aroused such interest in some religious and scientific circles; secondly, cite the main sources and texts containing Orthodox teaching about the afterlife. If this teaching is now so poorly understood, it is largely a consequence of the fact that in our “enlightened” times these texts are in oblivion and have completely gone out of fashion. We tried to make these texts more understandable and accessible to the modern reader. Needless to say, they are infinitely more profound and useful reading than the currently popular books about “after-death” experiences, in which, even if they are not just mere sensationalism, there can still be nothing more than superficial showiness , because they do not contain a complete and true teaching about the afterlife.

The Orthodox teaching presented in this book will undoubtedly be criticized by some people as too simple and naive for a person of the twentieth century to believe in. Therefore, it should be emphasized that this teaching is not the teaching of a few isolated or atypical teachers of the Orthodox Church, but the teaching that the Orthodox Church of Christ has proposed from the very beginning, which is set forth in countless patristic works, in the lives of saints and the services of the Orthodox Church, and which the Church continuously transmits right up to the present day. The “simplicity” of this teaching is the simplicity of truth itself, which, whether expressed in any teaching of the Church, is a refreshing source of clarity amidst the confusion caused in modern minds by the various errors and idle speculations of recent centuries. Each chapter of this book attempts to point to the patristic and hagiographical sources containing this teaching.

The main source of inspiration in writing this book was the works of Bishop Ignatius (Brianchaninov), who was perhaps the first major Russian Orthodox theologian to directly deal with precisely the problem that has become so acute in our days: how to preserve genuine Christian tradition and teaching in the world, who has become completely alien to Orthodoxy and strives either to refute and discard it, or to reinterpret it in such a way that it becomes compatible with the worldly way of life and thinking. Acutely aware of the Roman Catholic and other Western influences that sought to modernize Orthodoxy even in his day, the Right Reverend Ignatius prepared for the defense of Orthodoxy both through an in-depth study of Orthodox primary sources (whose teaching he absorbed in a number of the best Orthodox monasteries of his time) and through familiarization with science and literature of his time (he studied at a military engineering school, and not at a theological seminary). Armed, therefore, with a knowledge of both Orthodox theology and secular sciences, he devoted his life to defending the purity of Orthodoxy and exposing modern deviations from it. It would not be an exaggeration to say that in none of the Orthodox countries of the 19th century was there such a defender of Orthodoxy from the temptations and errors of modern times; his only rival was his compatriot Bishop Theophan the Recluse, who, in general, did the same thing, but at a lower level.

One volume of the collected works of Bishop Ignatius (Volume 3) is specifically devoted to the Church's teaching on the afterlife, which he defended against Roman Catholic and other modern distortions. It is from this volume that we have mainly taken for our book the discussion of such issues as ordeals and the appearance of spirits - teachings which, for a number of reasons, the modern mind cannot accept, but insists on their reinterpretation or complete rejection. His Eminence Theophan, of course, taught the same thing, and we also took advantage of his words; and in our century, another outstanding Russian Orthodox theologian, Archbishop John (Maximovich) of blessed memory, repeated this teaching so clearly and simply that we used his words as the basis for the final chapter of this book. The fact that the Orthodox teaching about the afterlife has been so clearly and clearly set out by outstanding modern teachers of Orthodoxy right up to the present day is of great benefit to us, who today strive to preserve the Orthodoxy of our fathers not simply through the correct transmission of words, but moreover, through a truly Orthodox interpretation of these words.

In the book, in addition to the Orthodox sources and interpretations mentioned above, we made extensive use of modern non-Orthodox literature on “posthumous” phenomena, as well as a number of occult texts on this issue. In this we followed the example of Vladyka Ignatius - to present false teachings as completely and impartially as necessary to expose their falsity, so that Orthodox Christians would not be tempted by them; Like him, we have found that non-Orthodox texts, when it comes to describing actual experience (rather than opinions and interpretations), often provide stunning confirmation of the truths of Orthodoxy. Our main goal in this book was to give as detailed a contrast as necessary to show the complete difference between Orthodox teaching and the experience of Orthodox saints, on the one hand, and occult teaching and modern experiences, on the other. If we simply presented the Orthodox teaching without this opposition, it would be convincing only to a few, not counting those who already held these beliefs; but now perhaps even some of those involved in modern experiences are aware of the vast difference between them and truly spiritual experience.

However, the very fact that a significant part of this book is devoted to the discussion of experiences, both Christian and non-Christian, means that not everything here is a simple presentation of church teaching about life after death, but that the author’s interpretation of these various experiences is also given. And as far as the interpretations themselves are concerned, of course, there is room for legitimate differences of opinion among Orthodox Christians. We have tried, as far as possible, to give these interpretations in a conditional form, without attempting to define these aspects of experience in the same way as one can define the general teaching of the Church about the afterlife. In particular, with regard to occult experiences “out of the body” and in the “astral plane”, we have simply presented them as they were presented by the participants themselves, and compared them with similar cases in Orthodox literature, without attempting to determine the exact nature these experiences; but we accept them as real experiences in which contact with demonic forces actually takes place, and not as mere hallucinations. Let the reader judge for himself how fair this approach is.

It should be clear that this book in no way claims to be an exhaustive presentation of Orthodox teaching about the afterlife, it is only an introduction to it. However, in reality there is no complete teaching on this issue, and there are no Orthodox experts in this area. We who live on earth can hardly even begin to comprehend the reality of the spiritual world until we ourselves live there. This is a process that begins now, in this life, and ends in eternity, where we are face to face

let us contemplate what we now see
through a glass darkly
(1 Cor. XIII, 12). But the Orthodox sources to which we have referred in this book give us the basic outline of this teaching, sufficient to motivate us not to acquire exact knowledge of what is ultimately outside us, but to begin the struggle to achieve the goal of Christian life is the Kingdom of Heaven, and to avoid the demonic traps that the enemy of our salvation places on the path of the Christian struggle. The other world is more real and closer than we usually think, and the path to it opens to us through a life of spiritual struggle and prayer, which the Church gave us as a means of salvation. This book is dedicated and addressed to those who want to lead such a life.

From the translator.

And this book was translated into Russian for those who sincerely strive to lead the spiritual life of an Orthodox Christian. With God’s help, I managed to complete the translation in just a month and a half, and in this work I was always strengthened by the thought of our wonderful Orthodox youth, who so need such “simple” books that talk about “the only thing needed” and teach them to live with the thought of death, to enter into life, while the maddened world lives an increasingly carnal life, eating and drinking, for it knows that tomorrow it will die (1 Cor. XV, 32). From the bottom of my heart I would like to wish all serious readers to accept this paternal faith with all the sincerity and simplicity with which Christians have preserved it from the first to the present day.

My heartfelt boundless gratitude to all friends whose interest in this work and help - prayerful and effective - was so necessary and dear. Basically, we managed to find almost all Russian primary sources quoted by Fr. Seraphim, but some excerpts have to be given in reverse translation. Given the limited availability of a number of useful books, I found it necessary to make a few additions to the appendix in order to more clearly illustrate the material in the book. I apologize in advance for any possible inaccuracies and errors.

I ask all Orthodox readers to prayerfully honor the bright memory of the monk-ascetic of our time, a man of amazing faith and love, the ever-memorable Hieromonk Seraphim - may the Lord rest him in a place of light, greenness and peace. Amen.

Moscow, January 1984

A certain man was rich, dressed in purple and fine linen, and feasted brilliantly every day.

There was also a certain beggar named Lazarus, who lay at his gate covered with scabs and wanted to feed on the crumbs falling from the rich man’s table, and the dogs came and licked his scabs.

The beggar died and was carried by the Angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man died and was buried.

And in hell, being in torment, he raised his eyes, saw Abraham in the distance and Lazarus in his bosom and, crying out, said: Father Abraham! have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame.

But Abraham said: child! remember that you have already received your good in your life, and Lazarus received your evil; now he is comforted here, and you suffer; and on top of all this, a great gulf has been established between us and you, so that those who want to cross from here to you cannot, nor can they cross from there to us.

Then he said: So I ask you, father, send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers; let him testify to them, so that they too do not come to this place of torment.

Abraham said to him: They have Moses and the prophets; let them listen to them.

He said: no, Father Abraham, but if someone from the dead comes to them, they will repent.

Then Abraham said to him: if they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, then even if someone were raised from the dead, they would not believe (Luke XVI, 19-31).
CONTENTS
Chapter One.
SOME ASPECTS OF MODERN EXPERIENCES Chapter Two. ORTHODOX TEACHING ABOUT ANGELS Chapter Three. APPEARANCES OF ANGELS AND DEMONS AT THE HOUR OF DEATH Chapter Four. VISION OF HEAVEN Chapter Five. AIR KINGDOM OF SPIRITS Chapter Six. AIR TRIALS Chapter Seven. EXIT FROM THE BODY IN OCCULT LITERATURE Chapter Eight. THE MEANING OF MODERN “POST-DEATH” EXPERIMENTS Chapter Nine. THE MEANING OF MODERN “POST-DEATH” EXPERIMENTS Chapter Ten.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE ORTHODOX TEACHING ABOUT THE POST-MATCH FATE OF THE SOUL Appendix 1. RESPONSE TO THE CRITIC.
Appendix 2. PRAYERS FOR THE NON-ORTHODOX.

Symbol of faith

In the first nine chapters of this book we have attempted to set out some of the basic aspects of the Orthodox Christian view of life after death, contrasting them with the widely held modern view, as well as with views emerging in the West which in some respects departed from ancient Christian teaching. In the West, the true Christian teaching about Angels, the aerial kingdom of fallen spirits, the nature of human communication with spirits, heaven and hell has been lost or distorted, with the result that the “post-mortem” experiences currently taking place are completely misinterpreted. The only satisfactory answer to This false interpretation is Orthodox Christian teaching.

This book is too limited in scope to present fully the Orthodox teaching on the other world and the afterlife; our task was much more narrow - to present this teaching to the extent that would be sufficient to answer the questions raised by modern “posthumous” experiences, and to point the reader to those Orthodox texts where this teaching is contained. In conclusion, we specifically give a brief summary of Orthodox teaching about the fate of the soul after death. This presentation consists of an article written by one of the last outstanding theologians of our time, Archbishop John (Maximovich) a year before his death. His words are printed in a narrower column, and explanations of his text, comments and comparisons are printed as usual.

Archbishop John (Maksimovich) Life after death

Our grief for our dying loved ones would have been boundless and inconsolable if the Lord had not given us eternal life. Our life would be pointless if it ended in death. What benefit would then be from virtue and good deeds? Then those who say would be right: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we will die” (1 Cor. 15:32). But man was created for immortality, and Christ, by His resurrection, opened the gates of the Kingdom of Heaven, eternal bliss for those who believed in Him and lived righteously. Our earthly life is a preparation for the future life, and this preparation ends with death. It is appointed for men to die once, and after this the judgment (Heb. 9:27). Then a person leaves all his earthly cares; his body disintegrates to rise again at the General Resurrection. But his soul continues to live, without ceasing its existence for a single moment. Through many manifestations of the dead we have been given partial knowledge of what happens to the soul when it leaves the body. When vision with the physical eyes ceases, spiritual vision begins. Addressing his dying sister in a letter, Bishop Theophan the Recluse writes: “After all, you will not die. Your body will die, and you will move to another world, alive, remembering yourself and recognizing the whole world around you” (“Soulful Reading,” August 1894). After death, the soul is alive, and its feelings are heightened, not weakened. St. Ambrose of Milan teaches: “Since the soul continues to live after death, good remains, which is not lost with death, but increases. The soul is not restrained by any obstacles posed by death, but is more active because it acts in its own sphere without any connection with the body, which is rather a burden than a benefit to it” (St. Ambrose “Death as a Good”). Rev. Abba Dorotheus, the Father of Gaza of the 6th century, summarizes the teaching of the early Fathers on this issue: “For souls remember everything that was here, as the Fathers say, and words, and deeds, and thoughts, and they cannot forget any of this then. And it is said in the psalm: On that day [all] his thoughts disappear (Ps. 145:4); this is said about the thoughts of this age, that is, about the structure, property, parents, children and every act and teaching. All this about how the soul leaves the body perishes... And what it did regarding virtue or passion, it remembers everything, and none of this perishes for it... And, as I said, the soul does not forget anything that it did in this world, but remembers everything after leaving the body, and, moreover, better and more clearly, as one freed from this earthly body” (Abba Dorotheus. Teaching 12). The great ascetic of the 5th century, Rev. John Cassian clearly articulates the active state of the soul after death in a response to heretics who believed that the soul after death is unconscious: “Souls after separation from the body are not idle, they do not remain without any feeling; this is proven by the Gospel parable about the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:22-28) ... The souls of the dead not only do not lose their feelings, but do not lose their dispositions, that is, hope and fear, joy and sorrow, and some of that They are already beginning to anticipate what they expect for themselves at the general judgment... they become even more alive and cleave more zealously to the glorification of God. And indeed, if, having considered the evidence of the Holy Scriptures about the nature of the soul itself according to the extent of our understanding, we reflect somewhat, then would it not be, I do not say, extreme stupidity, but madness - to even slightly suspect that the most precious part of man (i.e. the soul) , in which, according to the blessed Apostle, lies the image of God and likeness (1 Cor. 11, 7; Col. 3, 10), after the deposition of this bodily plumpness, in which it is in real life, as if it becomes insensible - that which contains in to itself all the power of reason, by its communion makes even the dumb and insensible substance of the flesh sensitive? It follows from this, and the property of the mind itself, requires that the spirit, after the addition of this carnal plumpness, which is now weakening, brings its rational powers to a better state, restores them purer and more subtle, and does not lose them” (1). Modern "post-mortem" experiences have made people incredibly aware of the consciousness of the soul after death, of the greater sharpness and speed of its mental abilities. But this awareness in itself is not enough to protect someone in such a state from manifestations of the out-of-body sphere; one should be familiar with all Christian teaching on this subject. The Beginning of Spiritual Vision Often this spiritual vision begins for dying people even before death, and while still seeing others and even talking with them, they see what others do not see. This experience of dying people has been observed for centuries, and today similar cases of dying people are not new. However, what was said above should be repeated here - in Chap. 1, part 2: only in the grace-filled visits of the righteous, when saints and angels appear, can we be sure that these really were beings from another world. In ordinary cases, when a dying person begins to see deceased friends and relatives, this can only be a natural acquaintance with the invisible world into which he must enter; the true nature of the images of the deceased appearing at this moment is known, perhaps, only to God - and we do not need to delve into this. It is clear that God gives this experience as the most obvious way to communicate to the dying person that the other world is not a completely unfamiliar place, that life there is also characterized by the love that a person has for his loved ones. His Grace Theophan touchingly expresses this thought in words addressed to his dying sister: “Father and mother, brothers and sisters will meet you there. Bow to them and convey our greetings, and ask them to take care of us. Your children will surround you with their joyful greetings. You will be better off there than here.” Meeting with spirits But after leaving the body, the soul finds itself among other spirits, good and evil. Usually she is drawn to those who are closer to her in spirit, and if, while in the body, she was influenced by some of them, then she will remain dependent on them even after leaving the body, no matter how disgusting they turned out to be upon meeting. Here we are again seriously reminded that the other world, although it will not be completely alien to us, will not turn out to be just a pleasant meeting with loved ones “at the resort” of happiness, but will be a spiritual encounter that tests the disposition of our soul during life - whether it was inclined more to the Angels and saints through a virtuous life and obedience to the commandments of God, or, through negligence and unbelief, she made herself more suitable for the society of fallen spirits. The Most Reverend Theophan the Recluse said well (see the end of Chapter VI above) that even a test in aerial ordeals can turn out to be more of a test of temptations than an accusation. Although the very fact of judgment in the afterlife is beyond any doubt - both a private judgment immediately after death and the Last Judgment at the end of the world - the external judgment of God will only be a response to the internal disposition that the soul has created in itself in relation to God and spiritual beings . The first two days after death During the first two days, the soul enjoys relative freedom and can visit those places on earth that are dear to it, but on the third day it moves to other spheres. Here Archbishop John is simply repeating the teaching known to the Church since the 4th century. Tradition says that the Angel who accompanied St. Macarius of Alexandria, said, explaining the church commemoration of the dead on the third day after death: “When on the third day there is an offering in the church, the soul of the deceased receives from the Angel guarding it relief in the grief that it feels from separation from the body, it receives because the doxology and the offering in the Church of God was made for her, which is why good hope is born in her. For for two days the soul, together with the Angels who are with it, is allowed to walk on the earth wherever it wants. Therefore, the soul that loves the body sometimes wanders near the house in which it was separated from the body, sometimes near the coffin in which the body is laid; and thus spends two days like a bird, looking for nests for itself. And a virtuous soul walks through those places in which it used to do the truth. On the third day, He who rose from the dead commands, in imitation of His resurrection, every Christian soul to ascend into heaven to worship the God of all” (2). In the Orthodox rite of burial of the departed, St. John of Damascus vividly describes the state of the soul, parted from the body, but still on earth, powerless to communicate with loved ones whom it can see: “Woe is me, such a feat must be accomplished by a soul separated from the body! Alas, then there will be so many tears, and there will be no mercy! lifting up his eyes to the Angels, he prays idlely; stretching out his hands to men, he has no one to help. In the same way, my beloved brethren, having considered our short life, we ask for the departed repose of Christ, and great mercy for our souls” (Sequence of the burial of worldly people, stichera self-concordant, tone 2). In a letter to the husband of her dying sister mentioned above, St. Feofan writes: “After all, the sister herself will not die; the body dies, but the face of the dying remains. It only moves into other orders of life. It is not in the body that lies under the saints and is then taken out, and it is not hidden in the grave. She's in a different place. Just as alive as now. In the first hours and days she will be near you. “And she just won’t say it, but you can’t see her, otherwise here... Keep this in mind.” We who remain cry for those who have departed, but they immediately feel better: it is a joyful state. Those who died and were then introduced into the body found it a very uncomfortable place to live. My sister will feel the same. She’s better there, but we’re freaking out, as if something bad has happened to her. She looks and is probably amazed at it” (“Soulful Reading”, August 1894). It should be borne in mind that this description of the first two days after death provides a general rule that by no means covers all situations. Indeed, most of the passages from Orthodox literature quoted in this book do not fit this rule - and for a very obvious reason: the saints who were not at all attached to worldly things, lived in constant anticipation of the transition to another world, are not even attracted to places where they did good deeds, but immediately begin their ascent to heaven. Others, like K. Iskul, begin their ascent earlier than two days by the special permission of God's Providence. On the other hand, all modern “posthumous” experiences, no matter how fragmentary they are, do not fit this rule: the out-of-body state is only the beginning of the first period of the disembodied journey of the soul to the places of its earthly attachments, but none of these people spent time in a state of death long enough to even meet the two Angels who were to accompany them. Some critics of Orthodox teaching about the afterlife find that such deviations from the general rule of “posthumous” experience are evidence of contradictions in Orthodox teaching, but such critics take everything too literally. The description of the first two days (and also the subsequent ones) is by no means some kind of dogma; it is simply a model that only formulates the most general order of the post-mortem experience of the soul. Many cases, both in Orthodox literature and in accounts of modern experiences, where the dead instantly appeared alive on the first day or two after death (sometimes in a dream), serve as examples of the truth that the soul does remain near the earth for some short time. (Genuine apparitions of the dead after this brief period of freedom of the soul are much more rare and always happen by God's Will for some special purpose, and not by someone's own will. But by the third day, and often earlier, this period comes to an end .) Ordeal At this time (on the third day) the soul passes through legions of evil spirits who block its path and accuse it of various sins into which they themselves have drawn it. According to various revelations, there are twenty such obstacles, the so-called “ordeals,” at each of which one or another sin is tortured; Having gone through one ordeal, the soul comes to the next. And only after successfully passing through all of them can the soul continue its journey without being immediately thrown into Gehenna. How terrible these demons and ordeals are can be seen from the fact that the Mother of God Herself, when Archangel Gabriel informed Her of the approach of death, prayed to His Son to deliver Her soul from these demons, and in response to Her prayers the Lord Jesus Christ Himself appeared from heaven accept the soul of His Most Pure Mother and take Her to heaven. (This is visibly depicted on the traditional Orthodox icon of the Assumption.) The third day is truly terrible for the soul of the deceased, and for this reason it especially needs prayers. The sixth chapter contains a number of patristic and hagiographical texts about ordeals, and there is no need to add anything else here. However, here too we can note that the descriptions of the ordeals correspond to the model of torture to which the soul is subjected after death, and individual experience may differ significantly. Minor details such as the number of ordeals, of course, are secondary in comparison with the main fact that soon after death the soul is indeed subjected to a trial (private trial), where the result of the “invisible war” that it waged (or did not wage) on earth against fallen spirits is summed up . Continuing the letter to the husband of his dying sister, Bishop Theophan the Recluse writes: Those who have departed soon begin the feat of crossing through the ordeal. She needs help there! “Then stand in this thought, and you will hear it cry out to you: “Help!” “This is where you should direct all your attention and all your love for her.” I think the most real testimony of love will be if, from the moment your soul departs, you, leaving the worries about the body to others, step away yourself and, secluded where possible, immerse yourself in prayer for it in its new state, for its unexpected needs. Having started this way, be in a constant cry to God for help, for six weeks - and beyond. In Theodora’s story, the bag from which the Angels took to get rid of publicans—these were the prayers of her elder. Your prayers will be the same... Don’t forget to do this... Behold love!” Critics of Orthodox teaching often misunderstand the “bag of gold” from which at the ordeals the Angels “paid for the debts” of Blessed Theodora; it is sometimes mistakenly compared to the Latin concept of the “extraordinary merit” of saints. Here too, such critics read Orthodox texts too literally. What is meant here is nothing more than the prayers for the departed of the Church, in particular, the prayers of the holy and spiritual father. The form in which this is described - there is hardly even a need to talk about it - is metaphorical. The Orthodox Church considers the doctrine of ordeals so important that it mentions them in many services (see some quotes in the chapter on ordeals). In particular, the Church especially expounds this teaching to all its dying children. In the “Canon for the Exodus of the Soul,” read by a priest at the bedside of a dying member of the Church, there are the following troparia: “O Aerial Prince, rapist, tormentor, fearful path-maker, and vain examiner of these words, grant me permission to pass without restraint, departing from the earth” (canto 4). “Holy Angels commend me to sacred and honorable hands, O Lady, for having covered myself with those wings, I do not see the dishonorable and stinking and gloomy image of demons” (canto 6). “Having given birth to the Lord Almighty, I have cast away the bitter ordeals of the ruler of the world far from me, I want to die forever, and I glorify You forever, Holy Mother of God” (canto 8). Thus, a dying Orthodox Christian is prepared by the words of the Church for the upcoming trials. Forty days Then, having successfully gone through the ordeal and worshiped God, the soul visits the heavenly abodes and hellish abysses for another thirty-seven days, not yet knowing where it will remain, and only on the fortieth day is it assigned a place until the resurrection of the dead. Of course, there is nothing strange in the fact that, having gone through the ordeal and done away with earthly things forever, the soul must become acquainted with the real other world, in one part of which it will dwell forever. According to the revelation of the Angel, St. Macarius of Alexandria, the special church commemoration of the departed on the ninth day after death (in addition to the general symbolism of the nine ranks of angels) is due to the fact that until now the soul was shown the beauties of paradise and only after that, during the rest of the forty-day period, it is shown the torment and horrors of hell, before on the fortieth day she is assigned a place where she will await the resurrection of the dead and the Last Judgment. And here, too, these numbers give a general rule or model of post-mortem reality and, undoubtedly, not all the dead complete their journey in accordance with this rule. We know that Theodora actually completed her visit to hell precisely on the fortieth day - by earthly standards of time. State of the soul before the Last Judgment Some souls, after forty days, find themselves in a state of anticipation of eternal joy and bliss, while others are in fear of eternal torment, which will fully begin after the Last Judgment. Before this, changes in the state of souls are still possible, especially thanks to the offering of the Bloodless Sacrifice for them (commemoration at the Liturgy) and other prayers. The teaching of the Church about the state of souls in heaven and hell before the Last Judgment is set out in more detail in the words of St. Mark of Ephesus. The benefits of prayer, both public and private, for souls in hell are described in the lives of holy ascetics and in the patristic writings. In the life of the martyrs of Perpetui (III century), for example, the fate of her brother was opened to her in the image of a water -filled reservoir, which was located so high that he could not reach him from the dirty, unbearably hot place where he was concluded. Thanks to her diligent prayer throughout the day and night, he was able to reach the reservoir, and she saw him in a bright place. From this, she realized that he was delivered from punishment (3). A similar story is in the life of the ascetic, who had already late in our 20th century, the nuns of Athanasius (Anastasia Logacheva): “At one time, she undertook a prayer feat for her brother Paul, who was drunk. Initially, I went to Pelagia Ivanovna Blessed (4), who lived in the Diveyevsky monastery, to consult, to make her to facilitate the afterlife of her brother, who was unhappy and wickedly completed. It was decided on the council like this: to clog Anastasia in his cell, to fast and pray for his brother, to read the prayer 150 times every day: the Virgin, Virgin, rejoice ... after forty days, she had a vision: a deep abyss, at the bottom of which the bloody stone lay as it were , and on it - two people with iron chains around the neck and one of them was her brother. When she announced this vision of blessed Pelagia, the latter advised her to repeat the feat. After the second was 40 days, she saw the same abyss, the same stone on which there were the same two faces with chains around her neck, but only her brother stood up, walked around the stone, fell on a stone again, and the chain was on his neck. In the transfer of this vision, Pelagey Ivanovna, the latter advised the same feat for the third time. After 40 new days, Anastasia saw the same abyss and the same stone on which there was only one person unknown to her, and her brother left the stone and disappeared; The remaining on the stone said: "It is good for you, you have strong intercessors on the ground." After this, the blessed Pelagia said: “Your brother was freed from torment, but did not receive bliss” (5). There are many similar cases in the lives of Orthodox saints and ascetics. If someone is inclined to excessive letters of letter in relation to these visions, then it should probably be said that of course, the forms that take these visions (usually in a dream) are not necessarily “photography” in which the soul is in a different way The world, but rather, the images that convey the spiritual truth about the improvement of the state of the soul by the prayers of those who remained on Earth. The prayer for the deceased is important to commemorate the liturgy, can be seen from the following cases. Even before the glorification of St. Theodosius of Chernigov (1896), Hieromonk (the famous elder Alexy from the Goloseevsky monastery of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, who died in 1916), reassembled relics, tired, sitting at the relics, dozed off and saw a saint in front of him, who said to him: he said: “Thank you for your work for me. I also ask you when you serve the liturgy, mention my parents ”; and he gave their names (priest Nikita and Maria). (These names were unknown before vision. A few years after the canonization in the monastery, where St. Theodosius was the hegumen, his own mempleth was found, who confirmed these names, confirmed the truth of the vision.) “How can you, the saint, ask for my prayers, to ask for my prayers. When you yourself stand in front of a heavenly throne and give the people of God grace? " Hieromonk asked. “Yes, that's right,” answered St. Theodosius, - but the offering at the liturgy is stronger than my prayers. " Therefore, the memorial service and the home prayer for the deceased are useful, as well as good deeds created in their memory, alms or a donation to the church. But they are especially useful for them to commemorate the Divine Liturgy. There were many phenomena of the dead and other events confirming how useful the commemoration of the deceased is. Many who died in repentance, but failed to show him during his lifetime, were freed from torment and received a rest. Prayers are constantly losed in the church for the repose of the deceased, and in kneeling prayer on the evening on the day of the descent of the Holy Spirit there is a special petition "about the people in hell." St. Gregory the Great, answering in his “interviews” to the question: “Is there something that could be useful to souls after death”, teaches: “The holy sacrifice of Christ, our saving sacrifice, gives great benefit to souls even after death, subject to death, provided that their sins can be forgiven in a future life. Therefore, the souls of the departed sometimes ask that the Liturgy be served for them... Naturally, it is safer to do for ourselves during our lifetime what we hope others will do for us after death. It is better to exodus free than to seek freedom while being in chains. Therefore we must despise this world with all our hearts, as if its glory had passed away, and daily offer to God the sacrifice of our tears as we offer up His sacred Flesh and Blood. Only this sacrifice has the power to save the soul from eternal death, for it mysteriously represents us the death of the only begotten son ”(IV; 57.60). St. Gregory gives several examples of the phenomenon of the deceased alive with a request to serve the liturgy about their repose or thanks to it; Once there is also one prisoner, whom his wife considered deceased and for whom she ordered a liturgy on certain days, returned from captivity and told her how he freed him from chains on some days - precisely in those days when the liturgy was performed (IV; 57, 57, 59). Protestants usually believe that church prayers for the deceased are incompatible with the need to find salvation primarily in this life; “If you can be saved by the Church after death, then why bother yourself with a struggle or seeking faith in this life? We will eat, drink and have fun ”... Of course, none of the adhering such views never reached salvation on church prayers, and it is obvious that such an argument is very superficial and even hypocritical. The prayer of the Church cannot save someone who does not want salvation or who has never made any efforts for this during his lifetime. In a certain sense, we can say that the prayer of the Church or individual Christians about the deceased is another result of the life of this person: they would not pray for him if he had done nothing that could inspire such a prayer after his death. St. Mark Ephesus also discusses the issue of church prayer for the deceased and the relief that she gives them, citing the prayer of St. Grigory Dvoestrov about the Roman emperor Trajan is a prayer inspired by the good deed of this pagan emperor. What can we do for the dead? Everyone who wants to show his love for the dead and give them real help can best make it a prayer for them and especially commemoration of the liturgy, when particles seized for the living and dead are plunged into the blood of the Lord with the words: “Owl, Lord, sins Remembering the blood with their honest blood, the prayers of your saints. " We cannot do anything better or more for the deceased than to pray for them, removing them at the liturgy. They always need this, especially in those forty days when the soul of the deceased follows the path to eternal settlements. The body then feels nothing: it does not see the gathered loved ones, does not smell the smell of flowers, does not hear funeral speeches. But the soul feels the prayers brought for it, is grateful to those who elevate them, and is spiritually close to them. Oh, relatives and friends of the deceased! Do what you need for them and what is in your power, use your money not on the external decoration of the coffin and graves, but to help those who need, in the memory of your dead loved ones, on the churches, where prayers are offered for them. Be merciful to the deceased, take care of their soul. The same path lies in front of you, and how then we want to be remembered in prayer! Let us ourselves be merciful to the departed. As soon as anyone died, immediately call the priest or tell him that he can read the “Prayers for the Exodus of the Soul” that is supposed to read over all Orthodox Christians after their death. Try, as far as possible, that the funeral service is in the church and that the psalter be read over the deceased before the funeral service. The funeral service should not be carefully furnished, but it is absolutely necessary that it be complete, without reduction; Think not about your convenience, but about the deceased, with whom you are forever parting. If there are several dead in the church at the same time, do not refuse if you are offered to be the funeral service for everyone. It is better that the funeral service should be served simultaneously about two or more deceased, when the prayer of the gathered loved ones will be more hot than that several clunks and services were seriously served, due to lack of time and effort, they were reduced because every word of prayers for the deceased is like that A drop of water for the thirsty. Immediately take care of the magpie, that is, daily commemoration at the liturgy for forty days. Usually in the churches where the service is performed daily, the deceased, which were so buried, are remembered for forty days or more. But if the funeral service was in the temple where there are no daily services, relatives themselves must take care and order a magpie where there is a daily service. It is also good to send a donation in memory of the deceased to the monasteries, as well as to Jerusalem, where unceasing prayer is offered in holy places. But forty -day commemoration should begin immediately by death, when the soul is especially needed for prayer help, and therefore commemoration should be started in the next place where there is a daily service. We will take care of those who have gone into another world to us to do everything that we can, remembering that the blessings of merciful, as if Tii have mercy (Matthew 5, 7). The resurrection of the body once this whole world will come to an end and the eternal kingdom of heaven will come, where the souls of redeemed, reunited with their resurrected bodies, immortal and imperishable, will forever stay with Christ. Then partial joy and glory, which even now know the souls in the sky, will be replaced by the fullness of the joy of the new creation for which a person was created; But those who did not accept the salvation brought to earth Christ will suffer forever - along with their resurrected bodies - in hell. In the final chapter of the "exact presentation of the Orthodox faith" of Rev. John Damaskin describes this final state of soul after death: “We believe in the resurrection of the dead. For it will be truly, the resurrection of the dead will be. But, speaking of the resurrection, we imagine the resurrection of bodies. For the resurrection is a secondary exhibition of the fallen; Souls, being immortal, how will they resurrect? For, if death is defined as the separation of the soul from the body, then the resurrection is, of course, the secondary connection of the soul and body, and the secondary exhortation of the permitted and dead living creature. So, the body itself, which is expired and resolved, it itself will rise imperishable. For the one who at the beginning made him from the dust of the earth may resurrect him again, after it, according to the saying of the Creator, was allowed and returned back to the ground from which it was taken ... Of course, if only one soul practiced in the exploits of virtue , then she will be crowned alone. And if she alone was constantly in pleasure, then in fairness she would only be punished. But since the soul did not strive separately from the body either for virtue, nor the vice, in fairness they will receive retribution together ... So, we will resurrect, since the souls will again combine with bodies that make the immortal and compliance with the smell, and will appear to the terrible judicial of Christ the sculpture; And the devil, and his demons, and his man, that is, the antichrist, and wicked people, and sinners will be devoted to the eternal, not material, what is the fire with us, but the one that God can know about. And the good -good, as the Sun, shine along with the angels in the eternal life, along with our Lord Jesus Christ, always looking at Him and being visible to Him, and enjoying the continuously stinging from Him, glorifying him with his father and the Holy Spirit in the endless centuries of centuries . Amen ”(pp. 267-272).

[1] First conversation, ch. 14 in the Works of John Cassian the Roman, Russian translation by Bishop Peter, Moscow, 1892, p. 178-179. [2] “Words of St. Macarius of Alexandria on the exodus of the souls of the righteous and sinners", "Christ. reading,” August 1831. [3] “Lives of the Saints,” February 1. [4] her full biography can be read in the book: “Diveevo Chronicle”, St. Seraphim (Chichagov), Brotherhood of St. Herman, 1978, p. 530. [5] “Soulful Reading,” June 1902, p. 281.

"The soul after death."

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