Eight Steps of the New Christian

What holiday is it today?

July 24, 2021, Saturday

Today are holidays, events: Events that happened on July 24 in the world, in various years Tomorrow: Memorial Day of Vladimir Vysotsky Day of St. Christopher (patron saint of motorists and traffic police)
Today is an Orthodox holiday: Great Martyr Euphemia All-Praised. Equal to the Apostles Grand Duchess Olga of Russia, in holy baptism Helena. St. Arkady of Vyazemsky, Novotorzhsky... Tomorrow: Martyrs Proclus and Hilary. Reverend Mikhail Malein. Venerable Arseny of Novgorod. Venerable Martyr Simon of Volomsk...

Today is a national holiday: Efimya Stozharnitsa. Olga Stradnitsa... Tomorrow: Proclus the Mourner...

Seasons

Seasons, four periods of the year (spring, summer, autumn and winter) characterized by certain average temperatures. The period during which the Sun passes through one of these sectors is called the season. Spring in the Northern Hemisphere and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere begin when the Sun passes through the initial circle of declination and its right ascension is 0° (vernal equinox). Summer in the Northern Hemisphere and winter in the Southern Hemisphere occur when the sun's right ascension is 90° (summer solstice). Autumn in the Northern Hemisphere and spring in the Southern Hemisphere begin when the sun's right ascension is 180° (autumnal equinox). The beginning of winter in the Northern Hemisphere and summer in the Southern Hemisphere is considered to be the winter solstice, when the direct ascension of the Sun is 270°... Next: Seasons. Russian folk calendar. Monthly words...

Folk calendar about every day

Every day one season always replaces another and this determines a person’s way of life. In connection with this, a folk calendar was formed in which there were practically no nameless, unmarked days. Every day was special, had its own purpose. All this was determined by climate conditions and astrological phenomena.

A calendar is a system for counting periods of time. The first calendars arose a long time ago, in ancient times, because there was a need to measure time. The word calendar comes from the Latin words caleo - to proclaim and calendarium - debt book. This is due to the fact that in Ancient Rome the beginning of each month was especially proclaimed, and because it was customary to pay debts on the first day of the month. Different peoples counted time differently. Some calendars are based on the changing phases of the moon - lunar calendars; in others - the change of seasons - sunny; in others, the length of the year was coordinated with the change of seasons, and the counting of months was associated with the phases of the Moon. Such calendars are called lunisolar.

In Rus', the calendar was called a monthly calendar. Every day, the month book covered the entire year of peasant life, “describing” day by day, month after month, where each day had its own holidays or weekdays, customs and superstitions, traditions and rituals, natural signs and phenomena. The cyclical nature of the calendar is reminiscent of human life, where spring is youth, summer is heyday, autumn is the time of harvesting fruits (it’s good if there are some, otherwise you can live your life without collecting fruits), winter is the time of wisdom and peace. This cyclicality and rhythm determined the way of life of the farmer. The folk calendar was an agricultural calendar, which was reflected in the names of the months, folk signs, rituals and customs. Even the determination of the timing and duration of the seasons is associated with real climatic conditions. Hence the discrepancy between the names of the months in different areas... Next: Folk calendar...

Personal prayer

It is very important for a Christian to learn to pray correctly, since prayer is the core of spiritual life, living communication with God. We need to start with the simplest thing - the “Our Father” prayer, which the Lord Jesus Christ gave us. Despite its apparent simplicity, this prayer is very deep in content and actually covers a person’s entire life. “Our Father” is a prayer that every Christian should know by heart.

Of course, you can pray in your own words, asking the Lord for what you need for your soul and body and thanking for your mercies. But it would be correct to resort to the centuries-old prayer experience of the Church, which is contained in various prayers written by the holy fathers. Special collections - prayer books - have been compiled from such prayers. They contain morning and evening prayers, prayers that are read before Holy Communion, and many others. Having started with regular reading of the “Our Father” in the morning and evening, and having consolidated this activity as an obligatory spiritual activity, you can begin reading morning and evening prayers from the prayer book. It may be difficult to read all the prayers at first, so you can add them a little at a time.

The prayers are written in Church Slavonic, which can create certain difficulties at first - the texts may not be entirely understandable, and in some places even completely incomprehensible. In this case, it is worth turning to explanatory prayer books and analyzing the prayers using a parallel translation. Mindlessly repeating incomprehensible words and expressions does not bring any spiritual benefit. Prayers are not conspiracies or incantations, but a reverent conversation with God. Obviously, you need to have a meaningful conversation, otherwise there is a chance of not being heard. It is also necessary to remember that the essence is not the mechanical reading of prayers, but the prayer itself, with attention, concentration and understanding of what is read.

Fishing calendar for every day

The fishing calendar should not be taken as an absolutely indisputable truth. Fish biting is greatly influenced by a whole range of natural factors, as well as the influence on the nature of man himself. You must not forget that the fish’s bite depends and is determined not only by the calendar dates and biological cycles of their life, reflected in the calendar, but also, no less, by the state of their habitat; the bite also depends on weather conditions: air and water temperatures, cloudiness, wind direction and strength, etc... Next: Fishing calendar...

Participation in worship services

Prayer is not only personal, but also public. The Church is not only the building of the temple, which we are accustomed to call that, but, first of all, it is a body of Christians led by Jesus Christ. We are taught by the Lord and the apostles to gather together to pray and give thanks to God. Therefore, one of the practical aspects of the spiritual life of Orthodox Christians is participation in joint worship. Orthodox worship is incredibly interesting and deep in its content. It is very symbolic, not a single action occurs “for beauty”, everything contains a deep meaning. As we study the composition and structure of the service, an understanding of the depth, meaning and greatness contained in the liturgical actions comes. There are many manuals available in different formats for studying church services.

You should not be embarrassed by the fact that at first the language of the service is incomprehensible, because it is performed in Church Slavonic. It, like any language, requires in-depth study to be fully understood, but at the first stage it will be quite sufficient to study the translations of liturgical texts with explanations for them.

The main Orthodox service is the Divine Liturgy. It is also called the Eucharist, which translated from Greek means “thanksgiving,” because thanking God is the main content of this service. During the liturgy, the true Body and true Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ is given to believers under the guise of bread and wine for the forgiveness of sins and eternal life (John 6:48–54). The Savior Himself set an example of the first Eucharist, celebrating the Last Supper with his disciples and giving them communion for the first time.

It is with the liturgy that you should begin your acquaintance with Orthodox worship. Participation in the Eucharist is a vital matter for an Orthodox Christian. Traditionally, Christians gather for joint prayer on Sunday, which is called Little Easter, and partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ during the Divine Liturgy.

Orthodox calendar about every day

Orthodox calendar: Orthodox, Church and Christian holidays.

The church year is an alternation of weekdays and holidays. On weekdays, a person is called to work “by the sweat of his brow to earn his bread.” Holidays are given in order to feel liberation, to rise above the bustle and routine of the world, to feel involved in the highest of worlds, “where there are no illnesses, sorrows and sighs, but endless life.” Since ancient times, holiday cycles have been associated with the seasons. The pagans associated them with the worship of the forces of nature, the cult of which in the Old Testament was replaced by gratitude to the Creator for the universe. And although the connection between holidays and the seasons has not completely lost its power, since God is present in everything, in the plant and animal world, in human works, it nevertheless faded into the background, giving way to a spiritual foundation built on the Sacred Scriptures. The history of Orthodox holidays dates back to the times of the Old Testament. Each of the Orthodox holidays is dedicated to the remembrance of the most important events in the life of Jesus Christ and the Mother of God, as well as the memory of saints... Next: Orthodox calendar...

Studying the foundations of the Orthodox faith

The spiritual heritage of the Church is incredibly extensive - dogma, canons, works of the holy fathers and much more. In-depth study of theological disciplines is a task for clergy and theologians, but it is also quite accessible to everyone. A new Christian risks getting lost in the abundance of information if he begins to grasp at everything at once. No matter how interesting and attractive to read the information offered in various sources may be, you need to start small. You can’t immediately feed your baby solid food; he first grows on his mother’s milk.

An independent study of the foundations of Orthodoxy should begin with the “Creed” and its explanations. The “Creed” is a brief and precise statement of the fundamentals of Christian doctrine. It consists of twelve members (sentences), and each of them contains a special truth, or, as they also call it, the dogma of our Orthodox faith.

Next, it is worth delving into the study of information about the Sacraments of the Orthodox Church. It has already been said above about the Eucharist - this is one of the seven Sacraments. It will also be useful to become familiar with the Orthodox calendar - holidays, fasts, lives of saints.

The most reliable education is systemic, the most valuable is full-time, which includes catechetical conversations and Sunday school classes for adults. In addition to knowledge, they introduce a person to the community of believers. There are also distance courses, among which are the Educational courses at the Sretensky Theological Seminary.

Manuals for beginners can be found in the Catechesis section of our portal.

We also recommend using the ABCs of Faith library. It contains thousands of works, so it’s worth starting with the section “What to Read for a Christian.”

Russian folk calendar for every day

The word “sign” comes from the word “notice”, i.e. observe. As a result of observing what happens around a person every day, he accumulates life experience. This knowledge was passed down from generation to generation, carefully preserved and people trusted it as a sacred book. Many signs have come to us from the depths of centuries without losing their knowledge. Each of us is free to choose: to dismiss all this as an absurd superstition or to take a closer look at the signs and take the centuries-old experience of generations more seriously. Most of us, when taking exams, ask them to scold them, boasting about some kind of good fortune or luck, spit so as not to jinx them or knock on wood, take a detour if a black cat crossed the road, are afraid of the number 13 and much more. And who among us does not have lucky things, numbers? Who has never resorted to the help of fate at least once in their life, who has not believed in secrets? It’s as if everything connected with signs is hidden somewhere deep in our subconscious. Often we remember them mechanically, unconsciously, or just as a joke. But, undoubtedly, the signs contain a lot of accurate knowledge and practical wisdom of our ancestors. They cover all the characteristic, often difficult to perceive, natural phenomena. Signs have preserved a lot of what was in old folk holidays and customs; they help predict the weather, grow crops... Next: Folk signs...

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One elder said: “There are many good and pious priests, but one in a thousand can correctly guide a person’s spiritual life - this is a special gift of God.”

The author of the advice and instructions collected here is Father Valentin (Mordasov). He devoted all his free time from divine services to the flock. As if to an inexhaustible source, people who were suffering and seeking spiritual admonition or simply life advice were drawn to him.

1. Does our salvation depend on external circumstances? Our salvation does not depend on anything external: what matters is not whether someone is noble or not, rich or poor, but whether he is virtuous, whether he believes, whether he cares about spiritual success and whether he loves God (St. Clement of Alexandria). 2. How to live to be saved? Every deed of piety and Christian love: reading holy books, good thoughts, useful conversations, holy obedience, thanksgiving in temptations and sorrows, forgiveness of offenses - bear the stamp of prayer and are fragrant before God. Still, you need to force yourself, test yourself in everything and block the paths of pampering, then hard work and piety will turn into a habit (Elder John of the Trinity). 3. What are God's greatest gifts? Repentance and Communion are the greatest of all the gifts of God. Some of the sacred books can also be included here (St. Barsanuphius the Great). 4. What should a spiritual person beware of? An ascetic of virtue must in every possible way avoid thoughts that please his mind and heart. Satan is very inventive in his atrocities: when he cannot distract people known for piety from their precious life and behavior and persuade them to do what he pleases, he tries to defeat them in another way. He praises them as people who have achieved perfection, then glorifies them as saints, pleases them as having already become friends of God and having reached the extreme of all virtue. And thus, having generated in them the passion of pride, it incites them into enmity against God and, finally, uproots them, like some plant. Therefore, as I said, we must remove ourselves from thoughts that please us in our minds and hearts (St. Cyril of Alexandria). 5. What is the most important thing for a Christian? The most important thing is to learn the true faith (St. Ambrose of Milan). 6. How to get a righteous mindset? The beginning of a righteous way of thinking is listening and reading the Word of God and [the works of] the holy fathers (St. Ephraim the Syrian). 7. What should we know? We should all know the will of God and which deeds are virtues and which are sins. And whoever does not do this sins before God. And it turns out that whoever keeps himself in darkness and illiteracy sins twice: both in that he does not know the will of God, and in that he does not use the means to know it and deliberately “keeps himself in the dark” (St. Theophan the Recluse). 8. How to strengthen yourself in the Church? The guidance of the spiritual father, constant communication with him; frequent resort to the sacraments, careful preparation for them, attendance at divine services, home prayer, daily reading of the Gospel, reading books of religious content, observance of holidays and fasts of the church year, friendship and communication with believers and church people. 9. Does God always send people to me? No, sometimes it is not God, but the devil who sends them to us. 10. How to learn spiritual life? Living in solitude, I test the Divine Scriptures, according to the commandment of the Lord, and their interpretation, as well as the apostolic traditions, lives and teachings of the holy fathers, and I listen to them; and what, according to my understanding, is for the pleasure of God and the benefit of my soul, I copy and study for myself: in this is my life and breath. I advise you to do the same. I give this advice for the good of the soul, offering what I consider useful for myself (Venerable Nilus of Sorsky). 11. How should the scriptures be read? In order for reading the Scriptures to be useful, you must: first, before reading, call on the grace of the Holy Spirit to help you; secondly, read slowly, repeating several times what is not clear to you; thirdly, do not worry about reading a lot; fourthly, beware of reading miscellaneous books. 12. Is it possible to learn spiritual life without studying in a theological school? Although the ascetic Jerome did not study in theological schools, he educated himself through spiritual reading and conversations with spiritual elders and experienced religious people. 13. What religions are considered false? All religions existing in the world, except the true, united Orthodox, are false and do not save a person. False religion is a mockery of people. After death, it will be revealed immediately how solid that on which someone based his hope is... What a terrifying and tearing state will be the one who then sees that he has been deceived (St. Theophan the Recluse). 14. Why is it important to surround yourself with edification in your home and everywhere you go? Because every object in the world and every impression from an object evokes in a person certain thoughts, feelings and desires, this or that activity, consistent with these impressions. That is why you need to surround yourself in such a way that everything edifies you. Even if something does not produce bad thoughts and feelings, it distracts from the main thing - the salvation of the soul and the desire for God... For example, a Christian’s room used to edify everyone. On the walls were nailed sheets of paper of various sizes with prayers and sayings from the Holy Scriptures; many icons, a picture of the Last Judgment, photographs of elders, confessors, schema-monks, ascetics, monasteries and temples. 15. How to be guided in spiritual life in our time? For recent times, the later holy fathers offer more guidance from the Holy Scriptures and the writings of the fathers, without rejecting very careful advice with modern fathers and brethren, while carefully maintaining the spirit of humility and repentance in thoughts and feelings. This is the work given by God to our time; and we are obliged to reverently use the gift of God given to us for salvation (St. Ignatius Brianchaninov). 16. In what cases are external labors useless? There is no benefit from all external labors if through them we fail to achieve inner kindness. 17. Why should we read the Psalter? Do not neglect the psalms, because they drive away evil spirits from the soul and infuse the Holy Spirit into it. 18. How should the life of a Christian be governed? The life of a Christian should be governed by conscience and reason, that is, by reasoning with the advice of experienced people. The devil succeeds there, where people trust their own minds, their own reasoning and do not ask their confessor for advice. 19. How should the days of fasting be spent? During fasting, we must deviate from the bustle of the world in order to think about our sins, cry before God and prepare a sincere confession that cleanses us of sins. The days of fasting should be devoted to fasting, visiting the temple of God, reading the Word of God and to works of mercy: visiting the sick, mournful and poor in order to help them. 20. What does God require from man? From all Scripture I see that God’s demand from man is concentrated in the following: that he humble himself before his neighbors in everything, that he cut off his sinful desires, that he constantly beg God for mercy and that He give him a helping hand (St. Simeon the New Theologian). 21. What does it mean to “withdraw from the world”? To withdraw from the world means to leave morals, customs, rules, habits, demands that are completely contrary to the Spirit of Christ. 22. How do you know if you are addicted to something? Sometimes a person has a sinful addiction to a thing, for example: he admires it, gets angry with others, starts an argument, and when he is deprived of it, he grieves over it. 23. For what reason do you sometimes have blasphemous thoughts against God, the Mother of God, holy icons, and the Holy Mysteries? Let's stop judging and condemning our neighbor - and we won't be afraid of blasphemous thoughts. No one should think that he is guilty of blasphemous thoughts if he does not want them and does not agree with them, and should attribute them to demons. Try not to pay any attention to them (Venerable John Climacus). 24. By what deeds is God's favor acquired? There are five deeds through which God's favor is gained. The first is pure prayer, the second is reading the Psalter, the third is reading the Divine Scriptures, the fourth is recollection with contrition of one’s sins, death and the Last Judgment, the fifth is handicraft (monk Evagrius). 25. What is the benefit of the Jesus Prayer? The prayer “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me,” constantly performed in the heart, dries up fornication, tames rage, drives away anger, takes away sadness, removes insolence, destroys despondency, drives away laziness, enlightens the mind, gives birth to tenderness, and brings tears. 26. For what reason should one leave one’s place of residence? The elders said: The ancient fathers did not quickly move from their place of residence; if they moved, then for the following three reasons: firstly, if someone was angry with them in vain, and they could not reconcile him to themselves with all their efforts for reconciliation; secondly, if they were glorified by many; thirdly, if one of them had the misfortune of falling into fornication. For these three reasons they left their place of residence. 27. How should priests be venerated? More parents need to honor priests. “Do you know,” asks St. John Chrysostom, “who the priest is?” And he answers: “Angel of the Lord.” And therefore, he says, one should honor shepherds more than parents, for they are the servants of Christ on earth, and whoever honors them honors Christ. 28. What are the sins against the Holy Spirit? Firstly, excessive hope in God's mercy; secondly, despair in one’s salvation; thirdly, obvious opposition to the established truth and rejection of the Orthodox faith; fourthly, envy regarding the spiritual benefits that neighbors receive from God; fifthly, remaining in sins and stagnant in malice; sixthly, negligence about repentance until the end of this life. 29. Who should you not have friendship with? Do not make friends and do not have an alliance with the enemies of Christ’s Church, with heretics, with schismatics, with those who do not observe the fasts of saints. One must run from those people who do not fear and do not honor God (St. Seraphim of Sarov). 30. How is faith strengthened? Listen to the Word of God, sermons and teachings, read the Word of God, [the works of] the holy fathers and elder books, search and inquire, talk and communicate with believers, rich in faith; pray, cry out to God for faith, live by faith, confess more often and partake of the Holy Mysteries (St. Theophan the Recluse). 31. How to treat your neighbor? Always imagine your neighbor in your place, and yourself in your neighbor’s place. 32. What is important in spiritual life? Try to have a spiritual father throughout your life, reveal every sin and thought to him, use his advice and instructions. “Salvation,” says the Wise One, “is in much advice, and a man without advice is his own enemy.” 33. What pleases God most? Nothing pleases God so much as suffering or bodily deprivation for His sake; and nothing attracts His love for mankind more than through tears. 34. How to deal with passions? A Christian should try to do the opposite of passion, for example: passion forces you to argue, but you force yourself to remain silent; passion compels you to overeat, but you don’t allow yourself to overeat, etc. 35. What saving thought should you have? If a person does not affirm in his thoughts that he has been dead and buried for three years, he cannot correct his virtues. 36. How to look at celebrating holidays? The Lord says in the Bible: “My soul hates your holidays,” that is, when religious holidays are celebrated in drunkenness, revelry, overeating, etc. In general, on holidays (not celebrated spiritually) this is wasted. what was collected during the days of labor. 37. How to avoid temptations? 1. Do not look at what people do, no matter what they are, but listen and heed what the Word of God teaches. 2. Imitate the life of the Savior and His saints. 3. Turn your ears and eyes away from indecent things, for through them, like doors, all evil enters the heart. 4. Stay more at home (who has no temptations) and solitude. 38. How to teach a child the fear of God? 1. Teach the child to bow to the ground before the Holy Cross and icons, to kiss them. 2. Bring (or bring) the child to the temple of God more often. 3. With his hand, place candles in front of the images, give remembrance, give alms, put a coin in a mug. 4. Frequently receive the Holy Mysteries of Christ. 5. Give prosphora and holy water before meals. 6. Teach prayers. 7. Bring under the blessing of a priest. 8. Accustom to singing and reading at home. 9. In the presence of a child, conduct pious conversations about God and the salvation of the soul. 10. Teach him to share delicacies, even his own piece of bread, with brothers, sisters and strangers. 39. How to skillfully punish children? Children should not be subjected to reprimands or punishments in temperament with the use of rude words, so that such methods do not lead children to think that they are being punished only because their parents are in a restless spirit. 40. How to teach children about the divine? Children should be taught the Gospel with affection, in the form of stories, sowing the Word of God in their hearts. 41. What drives away the Spirit of God? Know that the Spirit of God is not driven away by anything more than empty conversations. 42. What is important in works? What is the use of our labors - fasting, reading the Holy Scriptures, etc. - if we have not learned to humble ourselves, forgive offenses, love our enemies, pray for those who offend?! 43. How to use time to save the soul? Time is a precious gift of God, for which an account will be required at the Last Judgment. The saving use of time is when a person spends time, firstly, in prayer, in conversation with God; secondly, in reading the Word of God; thirdly, in visiting the temple of God; fourthly, in pious conversations; fifthly, in thinking about the life of Jesus Christ, about death, about the Last Judgment, about eternal torment and eternal bliss; sixthly, in doing good deeds and labors. A soul-destroying way to spend time is in empty conversations and activities, in games (cards, checkers, chess, lotto) and other amusements, in drunkenness, in reading empty books, in overeating, partying and sinful pleasures, especially in spectacles. 44. How to deal with sinful thoughts? The most powerful weapon against all sinful thoughts is prayer, especially the Jesus Prayer. However, there are other methods of fighting. Against thoughts of vanity and conceit - remembering the decomposition of your body; against pride - remember that pride alone eats up all good deeds; against rancor - pray for the enemy; against condemnation - reproach yourself for pride, remembering your sins, pray that the Lord will correct the one who has fallen into sin and have mercy; against blasphemous thoughts - do not pay attention to blasphemy and attribute it to demons, confess (in general) in confession, read a prayer to the one against whom the blasphemy is spoken; against vain thoughts - read the Holy Scriptures and reflect on God and the divine; against prodigal thoughts - remember the Last Judgment, eternal torment. 45. Which elders and spiritual fathers should you ask for advice? A great saving task is to ask the elders for advice, but at the same time, Saint Anthony the Great advised to make sure of the elder’s right-mindedness and experience, and then trust his word and unquestioningly accept his advice. The sign by which this can be recognized is the agreement of his words with the Word of God, interpreted by the holy fathers. 46. ​​What does it mean to be “spiritually negligent”? Archbishop Arseny responds to this: “This means praying lazily, being inattentive to your heart, not crying over sins, not resisting bad thoughts and feelings.” 47. What is attention, alertness and sobriety? He who is contained in the heart is collected, and he who is collected is in the heart. Around consciousness, the heart must gather with all its strength: mind, will, and feeling. The gathering of the mind in the heart is attention, the gathering of the will is courage, the gathering of feelings is sobriety. Attention, vigilance, sobriety - three internal activities by which self-assembly is accomplished and inward abiding acts. Whoever has them, and moreover, all of them, is within [himself] (St. Theophan the Recluse). Composure makes it possible to see thoughts, desires, passions, and feelings in the heart. 48. How to read divine books wisely? It is good to listen and read the divine, better - mutual conversation, and even better - the word of the most experienced. The most fruitful is the Word of God, and behind it are the writings of the fathers and the lives of the saints. The Lives of the Saints are best for beginners; fatherly scriptures - for intermediate students; The Word of God is for the perfect. Before reading, remove the soul from everything; turn to God in prayer. Follow what you read with your attention and put it in your heart. Whatever doesn’t reach your heart, stay there until it does. You should read very slowly. Stop reading when the soul no longer wants to feed on reading - that means it’s full. If a place strikes your soul, stand there and do not read further. The best time for the Word of God is morning; lives of saints - after lunch; Holy Fathers - shortly before bedtime. There are texts of Holy Scripture that warm the spirit, act on the heart and evoke tenderness and tears. Therefore, such places must be written out and stored in case of need, to excite the spirit. 49. Which is better: spending money on a temple or tolerating theft? It is equally good to spend your money on decorating churches and suffer a loss, thanking (for everything) the Provider of salvation - God. 50. What tears are saving? Only tears from grief, from resentment - these are not useful, but for the fact that I am lazy, offended, and do not have true love for God - these tears are useful, and we must pray for them, so that the Lord will give them. 51. What two vices are especially harmful to the soul? All kinds of vices are evil and harmful to the soul, but more fierce and destructive are self-justification and love of argument; Therefore, the devil forces people to contradict in self-justification, for he knows that if they endure and do not justify themselves, then they will be justified by God (Archim. Theophan of Novoezersk). 52. What is the best thing for peace of mind? Having experienced a lot in life, I have not found anything better for the peace and tranquility of my soul than eating in moderation, staying in one place and diligently studying God’s Word (Hieroshim. Stephen). 53. What pleases God? God is pleased with the affectionate bypassing with people, the calming of the angry, the intercession of the offended, the disgust of eyes from bad objects, the confrontation of bad thoughts, forcing himself to prayer (archim. Theophan Novozersky). 54. What are these "gravers of youth"? Seven graves of youth: disbelief in God, drunkenness, profligacy, anger, disruption of parents, bad partnership and idleness (trifle). 55. When is prayer put into sin? There is no greater sin, how to pray to God without fear, attention and reverence; pray with a tongue, and with the mind with demons to have a conversation (St. Theophan the Recluse). 56. How to strengthen love for Christ? In total, it strengthens and strengthens our love of Christ with cordial thought about the suffering of Christ. For this, it’s good for every day to choose one of the suffering of Christ in the morning, thoroughly thinking and more often recalling Him throughout the day. From this we always get the gift of patience, meekness and love for Christ. 57. What do people want worldly from us? People living in the spirit of the centuries corrupted and unbelievers harass the fact that instead of the will of God they surrender to their will, and want to distract us from the kingdom of God. 58. How to deal with extraneous thoughts? During prayer and spiritual reasoning, beware of taking any extraneous thoughts; With the prohibition, say your thoughts: "In the name of God, I forbid you!" - And the thought will certainly listen. Jesus prayer and the sign of the Cross, all the power of the enemy will conveniently drive away (Archim. Feofan Novozersky). 59. What are the obstacles in prayer? There are many obstacles in prayer: sleep, despondency, body layering, circle of thoughts, impatience, relaxation, uprising of demons. 60. Often advised to eat more. How to relate to such advice? Do not listen to the advice of self -lifting people who made themselves slaves of the womb and carnal passions. In general, afraid of evil tips more than enemies (St. Ephraim Sirin). 61. Explain the action of Adamov Nature. A Christian must resist Adamov to a sinful nature. St. Ephraim Sirin in his teaching says: “Adam's nature - I don’t want to study, but I am glad to teach; I do not want to obey, but I love to subordinate to myself; I do not want to work, but to bother the hunting; I do not want to provide honor, but I wish to be honored; I can’t stand reproaches, but I love to reproach; I do not want to humiliate me, but I like to humiliate me. I am wise to give advice, and not to fulfill them yourself; What should I do - I say, and what should not say - I do. If my brother sins, I delight him with pleasure, and if I sin myself, I do not accept the conviction with pleasantness. ” 62. Why should you avoid communicating with worldly people? There is no need to have addresses with non -fear of the fear of God, because they do not say anything useful, do nothing for the Lord, they do not talk about virtue, nor about reverence, nor purity. Their speech is a mortal network; Their advice is the abyss of Adova; Their community is the mental Paguba (St. Ephraim Sirin). 63. How should people welcome? We will not expect to be welcomed before, and after that respond to a greeting. This is a sign of the mind of arrogant and reckless. On the contrary, the former will always welcome both a friend and the enemy. 64. What should mostly pay attention to with asceticism? Stop your attention at the least on external exploits (for example: fasting, bow, lying on hard, etc.). Although they are necessary, they are the essence of the help. The building is built in the middle of them, but they are not a building. The building is in the heart. Pay your attention and pay attention to your (that is, in order not to be annoyed, not offended, not condemn, forgive, reject thin thoughts and sinful desires, etc.). 65. What if there is no leader? N. tells the truth that now there are no real leaders. However, one should not remain with one scripture and fatherly lessons. You need a question! Elder Paisiy decided so: two or three unanimous will compose an alliance, and ask each other, leading life in mutual obedience, with the fear of God and prayer (St. Theophan the Recluse). 66. What alms happens? A Christian can provide alms and help not only financially, but also with his knowledge, labor, advice and others (St. Theophan the Recluse). 67. What is the best way to ask the elders: one or many? You should never ask different leaders about the same business and not ask the same again, because the very first answer comes from the Lord, and the second from the reasoning of the person in the old man ... Every questioner takes on a sign of humility, and this imitates Christ . 68. What is God's thought? God's thought is in the thoughts of the holding of any truth: incarnation, cross, resurrection, omnipresent and others-without any direction of thought (St. Theophan the Recluse). 69. What managers should you ask? St. Peter Damaskin says about himself: "I have done a lot of harm from inexperienced advisers." Therefore, it is very good to question everything, but experienced; And inexperienced ones are dangerous because they have no reasoning. 70. How to represent God? In the sky, in yourself or what else? No way. To acquire the skill to stand in the conviction that God is everywhere and, therefore, in you, and sees all your secrets; And in this belief, keep yourself reverently before the invisible God, without any imagination. But they pray that God himself taught you this (St. Theophan the Recluse). 71. Which sacrifice is the main thing? The main victim to God is the spirit crushed. God will not despise a contrite and humble heart. 72. What do you need to know about conversations? Conversations require great concern: in what spirit and direction do you have to say, at what time and what exactly, and for what purpose ... the loving to say all this should remember, and the silent already performed and fulfilled (St. Demetrius Rostov). 73. What is piety? Under piety, strict Orthodoxy must be understood, connected with a strict life according to the commandments of God. 74. What sins are considered mortals? Mortal sins are heresy, schism, blasphemy, apostasy, witchcraft, despair, suicide, prodigal sin, drunkenness, sacrilege, mate, robbery, theft and all cruel mercenary resentment. The mortal sin of the Orthodox, not hesitated by proper repentance, exposes the eternal flour (St. Ignatius Bryanchaninov). 75. What should be done and what should not be done on Sunday? The Holy Kosma taught Christians: on Sundays, not to trade, do not go to the bazaar, do not engage in work, and also not to go for berries, mushrooms, hunt, engage in fishing, but go to church and listen to the Holy Service and God's Word. 76. How should the Holy Scriptures interpret? Do not dare to interpret the gospel and other books of scripture. The Holy Spirit interpreted him through the Holy Fathers ... And there is a word of God, the word of salvation for his daring interpreters, the will in death, with a sword of mutual, with whom they will qualify themselves in the eternal destruction (St. Ignatius Bryanchaninov). 77. What is the strongest remedy against sin? No feat is so expelled by sin, with such convenience and strength as a daily confession to the elder (St. Ignatius Bryanchaninov). 78. What should be preserved to protect yourself from sin? Mind - from thin, evil and empty thoughts; The gaze is from worldly charms. The heart is from evil desires and offering. Hearing - from vain and ridiculous conversations, and most from the slander on the neighbor. Language - from condemnation and murmur. The stomach is from voluptuousness and from excessive wine. All of oneself - from triumph. 79. Should I be frank with everyone? It is impossible to be completely frank in all and in everything, you can’t talk about everything, otherwise you need to keep silent, hide. 80. What is generosity? Greatness is when we are not embarrassed among the misfortunes that have befallen us, we do not lose heart, transfer them without despondency, murmur, with devotion to the will of God. 81. What excites passions? World poetry, music and singing are excited only by passions (Ep. Peter). 82. How to purchase kindness? If a person does not notice the vices of his neighbor, then with the help of God the kindness is born in him, which is beneficial to God (Avva Dorotheus). 83. What is “self -deepening” (removal inside yourself)? Self -deepening is the main virtue necessary in order not to have fun by the influence of the world, to block the opportunity to excite passions - this is a renunciation of the world (St. Isaac Sirin). 84. What is important in work? When you work, look at the spirit with which the work is done (with a murmur or anger, dissatisfaction, idleness, with bad thoughts or with prayer and humanity, etc.). 85. What prayer does not like the evil spirit? The devil, seeing how, through smart work, who perfectly succeeds in who in the commandments of Christ, uses every effort to exterminate all the books about Jesus prayer and interrupt the activity of smart work through unusual people (St. Theophan the Recluse). 86. How to behave with your neighbor? Welcome with pleasantness, answer with a bright face, be favorable to everyone, accessible, do not let yourself into your own praise, do not force others to say about you, do not accept an indecent word, how much you can hide your advantages, but accuse yourself and do not accuse yourself and not Expect denunciation from others. Not to be difficult in reprimands, not soon, and not with a passionate movement, do not blame for the unimportant, as if you yourself are a strict righteous. So much attach the efforts not to be glorified from people as others try to be glorified (St. Basil the Great). 87. What bliss awaits in the future life of pious people? If anyone is in a word and combines all the happiness of people from the time of their existence, it will find that this does not equal even the slightest part of the benefits of a future life (St. Basil the Great). 88. How to serve the soul of another? Not to the body, but also to the soul of the other: enlighten, give the advice, indicate the good book, console, reinforce (St. Theophan the Recluse). 89. What is the main thing for a Christian? This is a concern for the salvation of others. The Christian contributes to the salvation by a prayer for salvation, the creation of salvation: in word, and eyes, and deeds, so as not to seduce, instruct, reason, strengthen, especially the spread of the Divine Scriptures (St. Theophan the Recluse). 90. What are the disadvantage of the marriage of a Christian with an unbeliever? The ancient teacher Tertullian, calculating the disadvantage of the marriage of the Christian person with the pagan, said: “Where is the memory of God? Where is the calling of Christ? Where is the eating of faith by reading scripture? Where is the rapture of the spirit? Where is the glorification of God? " 91. What should not be in the house? The struggling helps a lot to have nothing in the room that causes godless thoughts and feelings, for then he is out of the danger of double battle: internal and external (St. Nile Sinai). 92. In the case of need, is it possible to reduce your prayer rule? In the case of great need, you can reduce your rule, namely: in order to serve the neighbor for the sake of God (Elder Nazariya Valaam). 93. What is more important: godson or teaching at school, institute? The main thing is our business is a godson, and scientificity is a subordinate quality, accident, suitable only for the time of real life. And therefore it should not be that she would take all attention and absorb all the care. There is nothing more poisonous and more disgusting for the spirit of Christian life, like this scientific and exceptional concern about it (St. Theophan the Recluse). 94. Why are we not afraid of future torment? That is why we are not afraid of the eternal basic torment that we do not think about him, we do not deepen our minds in the essence of it, we do not try to achieve this with labor, although we often hear and read about eternal torment. 95. How will we steal time? Do not steal your own time, given to you to save the soul. We will steal the time of nothing in a non -alnius, idle talk, curiosity, idle dream, many sleep. Reveal how much we would do if we had not spent time without time. 96. What is the unity of the spiritual father with his child? Everything that happens between the old man and his spiritual children should be a secret equal to confession, otherwise the enemy will upset their spiritual unity of the Lord. 97. What is the "world"? The word "world" means people hostile against all the divine and religious; From here, under the word “world”, “worldly”, of course, everything sinful, vined to us by the enemy of salvation: sins, vices, passions. 98. Service affairs - vain or not? The affairs of the service is not vanity - this is God's work. Just do them always for God, and not for anything else. As well as family life, you have a duty ... to perform it is not a vanity. Just do such things in consciousness that you fulfill the will of God. Pusteness - cases of satisfying passions, as well as unnecessary and useless (St. Theophan the Recluse). 99. How does a meeting on a person work? Even a short rapprochement with another person leaves an imprint, that is, you will either benefit or harm to the soul. 100. What brings us closer to God? We are brought together with God sorrow, tightness, illness, labors, if we reasonably transfer them. Do not grumble at them and do not be afraid of them.

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Holiday calendar, dates and events of the year

All state and professional holidays in Russia, including significant World and International holidays, and other equally interesting holidays and events about every day.

The holiday has always kept pace with the history of mankind. Social time can be divided into three types: everyday life (weekdays), weekends and holidays. Everyday life is a series of practices repeated day after day and every day (work). Weekends are regular breaks from the rush of everyday life. It is believed that on weekends a person should restore his strength after working days. Day off, non-working day. A holiday is a day of celebration established in honor or in memory of someone or something. A day or series of days celebrated by the church in memory of a religious event or saint... Next: Calendar...

Prayer book, Orthodox prayers for every day

Prayer is the most powerful means for healing all illnesses - both physical and mental. Prayers can be laudatory or grateful, petitionary and repentant. If we have offended God, sinned, we must ask Him for forgiveness, that is, repent. Such prayers are called repentant prayers. If everything is fine with us, if we and our loved ones are healthy and prosperous, if we have a place to live, something to wear, something to eat, we must glorify and thank God for this. Such prayers are called praise or thanksgiving. If some misfortune, illness, trouble or need happens, you need to ask God for help. Such prayers are called petitionary... Next: Orthodox prayers...

Zodiac, astrological, eastern calendar. Zodiac signs

In ancient times, to establish the calendar, priests used knowledge of the positions of all the planets. Before the reform of Peter 1, the New Year was celebrated on the Day of the Autumn Equinox. On this day, according to ancient legend, the most peaceful treaty was concluded between the Great Race (ancient Slavs) and the Great Dragon (ancient Chinese) and it was approximately 7518 years ago... For the ancient Slavs, the calendar month corresponded to the lunar cycle from new moon to new moon, taking into account such Thus, the relationship of the entire annual cycle with astronomical and natural phenomena. There was no coherent calendar system. The main natural phenomena are still considered to this day to be the days of the solar equinox and solstice - the Slavic holidays Maslenitsa, Kupala, Ovsen and Kolyada. But during the time of Peter 1, all ancient Slavic calendars were abolished and a new Western European calendar from the Nativity of Christ (Julian calendar) was introduced, while the beginning of the calendar was moved to January 1. The Julian calendar (old style) did not take leap days into account and accumulated one extra day every 128 years. After the October Revolution in 1918, the Gregorian calendar (new style) was introduced in Russia, according to which an amendment of 13 days was introduced. The calendar of the ancient Slavs was based on two planets: the Sun and the Moon. And now they don’t use anything at all. The calendar has become static. There is no such thing as the calendar, it turns out, resting on some planet. Nobody even knows about it. There are just some standard numbers, there are months and holidays. The calendar is based on the Sun and Moon. Why is this so? Because these two luminaries influence the Earth. The Earth revolves around the Sun, and the Moon revolves around the Earth. And these two luminaries create the atmosphere on the planet. From here the calendar is built... Next: Astrological calendar...

Repentance as rethinking and changing life

When starting a Christian life, a person should think about how he lived up to this point, and how he should live further. The criterion for such comprehension of one’s own life is the Gospel, the teaching of Christ. By accepting Christ as Savior, a person also accepts the conditions of salvation. God saves us, but not without our participation. The conditions of salvation are repentance of sins, correction and life according to the commandments of God. You cannot persist in sin while calling yourself a Christian. Sins should be confessed and try not to return to them again.

The Sacrament of Repentance (Confession) makes it possible for a Christian to receive forgiveness of sins from God for subsequent correction. Confession is accepted by a priest who is a witness of a person’s repentance before God. After hearing the confession, he makes a visible sign of absolution - he reads a prayer of absolution.

Dream books online, interpretation of dreams

A dream book is nothing more than an interpreter of dreams and dreams, a translator of dreams. Since ancient times, people have been using dream books; dreams have always been given great importance, and people have often noticed the prophetic properties of some dreams. The dream book can become your faithful assistant every day and throughout your life, thanks to the dream interpreter you can always make the right decisions, the dream book will help you resist temptations in time, and will warn you against wrong steps and frivolous actions. Further…