Ordeals of the soul: what awaits the soul and the number of ordeals in Orthodoxy

In the Orthodox tradition, it is customary to remember a deceased person on the third, ninth and fortieth day after death. This custom is very closely related to the Church’s ideas about the ordeal of the soul. It is believed that in the first three days after completing the earthly journey, the intangible essence of the deceased flies around all the places dear to her and is close to loved ones. On the third day, it is customary to bury and perform a funeral service for the deceased. At this moment, the soul, accompanied by a guardian angel, goes to Heaven. Until the ninth day, she contemplates and experiences all the delights of the Paradise abode. Then the soul appears before God, after which it will have to pass the most important exam. From days 9 to 40 she will be in hell and go through the stage of ordeal.

What are ordeals?

These are the tests that the soul must go through on the way to the Heavenly Kingdom. They represent meetings with demons, whose will the deceased carried out during his life and for whose glory he committed sins. The word “ordeal” is literally translated as “customs”. Thus, the soul, as it were, passes through customs posts, at each of which special demons (mytniks) collect a duty for a certain type of sin. Her fate at the Heavenly Court, which takes place on the fortieth day after death, depends on how successfully she passes this exam.

A person is saved by faith and... good works

If on earth a person still has the opportunity to repent and confess, then in the afterlife this will no longer happen. But what to cover? According to Orthodox teaching, good deeds are opposed.

The heroine Yulia Voznesenskaya was repeatedly saved by such pious actions. For example, she did not fast in the sense that we now understand it. But during her stay in prison (she was a dissident), she shared the latter with other prisoners.

Paradoxically, while going through the ordeal, the demons tried to “attach” her with a case of paper theft (it was impossible to get it then). But, despite its sinful form, this act was beneficial: one day Anna published letters from a prisoner bishop from Solovki to his spiritual children for an underground Christian magazine.

The pages of this publication “lit up with a blue flame,” causing the demons to flee. The Monk Nicodemus the Holy Mountain also writes about how important it is to reinforce faith with actions:

For those who are thorough and force themselves to do every good deed without regret, the Lord multiplies His gifts of grace here and prepares a blissful life in His Heavenly Kingdom

The number of ordeals of the soul in Orthodoxy

Different Christian sources talk about different numbers of tests of the soul. Some Church Fathers claim more than 30 sins, passions and mental illnesses, for which the deceased must answer before the Almighty. Blessed Theodora spoke about 20 posthumous ordeals through which the soul passes:

Idle talk and foul language. This is the very first stage of testing, at which the soul is responsible for speech filled with swear words, verbal desecration of sacred things, talking beyond measure, gossip, anecdotes, rumors, conversations on unspiritual topics.
Slander and condemnation. At this “customs post” the soul is tortured for false promises, giving untruthful testimony, hypocrisy, insincere obsequious praise, and derogatory opinions about others.
Lie. Here the soul holds account for one of the most terrible sins. Making false statements, deliberately distorting the truth, and fighting the truth are in direct contradiction to the Ninth Commandment.
Gluttony. Demons torture the soul for pleasing their stomach at the expense of the soul and spiritual development. The sin of gluttony includes not only an addiction to rich, unhealthy and tasty food, but also secret eating, replacing lean foods with meat substitutes during fasting, gourmetism, regular and excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages, smoking, drug addiction and other vices associated with the lack of desire or will to limit yourself in something.
Pride. At this stage of ordeal, the soul is tortured for lack of work on its spiritual development, rejection of God, and contempt for other people. Pride is considered one of the most dangerous passions. This is due to the fact that its reason lies not in the material, but in the spiritual world. A person subject to this sin enjoys his fallen ego, asserts himself in his exclusivity in opposition to God and his neighbor.
Laziness. The soul is subjected to tests associated with a lack of desire to work, falling into despondency, passivity and indifference.
Theft. This ordeal is very difficult for those who during their lifetime were involved in robbery, appropriation of someone else's property, extortion, and receiving payment for work that they did not perform.
Love of money and stinginess. This stage subjects the soul to tests for greed for money, insatiable increase in material wealth, passion for accumulating and preserving wealth. The love of money is considered a grave sin that violates the second commandment, which prohibits the worship of the “golden calf.”
Covetousness and bribery. The soul has to answer for bribery, usury, speculation, extortion, abuse of power, and deception in transactions and trade.
Envy. For people who during their lifetime were sad about the good of their neighbor, this will be a difficult part of the ordeal. The 10th commandment of God warns against the sin of envy. This is an insatiable feeling that kills love for loved ones. At the same time, vice does not bring the slightest satisfaction to the sinner.
Vanity. A soul that has reached this stage of posthumous ordeal encounters demons who test it with the passions of arrogance, love of glory, delusions of grandeur, extreme selfishness, intransigence, and disdain for other people.
Anger and rage. Mytniks torture the soul for strong indignation, indignation, irritability, actions imbued with hatred, gloating, disgust. According to the teachings of the Church, anger is one of the eight most destructive passions.
Grudge. The soul is interrogated about actions when it did not forgive the offenses caused. This is a difficult test for vindictive people who constantly sow discord and division. The Church considers rancor to be a rejection of love and a renunciation of God.
Robbery. From this stage the most severe tests begin. The soul is called to account for causing injury to someone, including oneself, intentional poisoning, attempted murder, intentional abortion.
Magic and sorcery. This is the ordeal of spiritualism, which is a mystical belief in the possibility of communication with dead people. They also ask from the heart for the sins of fortune telling, calling demons, and gambling.
Fornication. Souls who were engaged in fornication without being legally married, and also committed the sin of temptation, indecent behavior, shamelessness, sexual immorality, vulgarity, and a vicious lifestyle, are subject to torture.
Adultery. Tests await those who have not maintained marital fidelity throughout their lives, as well as souls who promised Christ to keep their purity, but broke their vow.
Sins of Sodom. We are talking about sinful thoughts or acts aimed at attraction to members of the same sex, and other sexual perversions.
Idolatry. This is the ordeal of heresy, in which demons torture a person for beliefs that contradict the teachings of the Church, blasphemy, superstition, desecration of sacred objects, and deliberate persistent opposition to God's Truth.
Unmercifulness and cruelty. This ordeal of the soul may turn out to be the most impassable. The list of passions with which the deceased is tortured includes the sin of callousness, refusal to help, and bitterness toward one’s neighbor or God.

In Orthodoxy, saints who have accepted martyrdom are not subject to ordeals of the soul. They go straight to Heaven. Moreover, according to the teachings of the Church, souls do not undergo trials alone. They are accompanied by angels who help a person undergo torture by evil spirits. Help is also provided by the prayers of priests, relatives and friends. Therefore, it is very important for the relatives of the deceased to pray intensely for 40 days after death in the name of saving his soul.

The answer for every sinful “little thing”

In the book “My Posthumous Adventures,” Yulia Voznesenskaya shows in modern language and using the example of modern heroes what trials await the human soul after death.

The main character Anna was luckier than many people. Her grandfather is a priest who was martyred for his faith. Therefore, he is present during the passage of air obstacles and, together with the Guardian Angel, supports her, stopping the demons in time.

At the ordeal, a person needs to give an answer for all his unrepentant sins. How serious this is is demonstrated by the example of the book’s heroine. At the first ordeal - idle talk - Anna had to answer for everything, starting with the children's teasing "Kolka the Fool smokes tobacco." Do we think about such “little things”?

Especially for modern people, the following episode is given: the demons decided to count how much time the heroine spent talking:

Four years, eleven months, five days, six hours and thirty-six minutes were spent in empty telephone conversations with girlfriends alone. Our account is as accurate as in a bank

But to us it all seems so nonsense!

Yulia Voznesenskaya, as best she could, tried to portray the abomination of demons and their same behavior towards humans. As in the testimony of St. Theodora, demons try in various ways to push a person from the stage of ordeal and immediately drag his soul to hell.

They intimidate, shout, and invent sins that never actually happened. Anya’s grandfather tells her how to behave: “Don’t be afraid, don’t get into arguments and pray.”

At every ordeal, demons remind you of the sin they are investigating. For example, during the test of gluttony, the crafty spirits resembled either fat sows or skinny demons with white collars who were waiting for tasty food.

What happens 9, 40 days and six months after death

After death, everything that happens to the soul is not subject to its will: the newly deceased remains to reconcile and accept the new reality meekly and with dignity. For the first 2 days, the soul stays next to the physical shell, it says goodbye to its native places and loved ones. At this time, she is accompanied by angels and demons - each side is trying to lure the soul to its side.

Angels and demons fight for every soul

On the 3rd day, the ordeal begins; during this period, relatives should pray especially a lot and earnestly. After the end of the ordeal, the angels will take the soul to Paradise - to show the bliss that can await it in eternity. For 6 days the soul forgets about all worries and diligently repents of sins committed known and unknown.

It is best to dine on the 9th day with kutia flavored with honey, symbolizing the sweet life under the Lord God. After the 9th day, the angels will show the soul of the deceased Hell and the torment awaiting those who lived unrighteously.

Pastor V. I. Savchak will tell you about what happens to the soul after death on each day:

On the 40th day, the soul reaches Mount Sinai and appears before the face of the Lord for the third time: it is on this day that the question of where the soul will spend eternity is finally decided. Remembrances and prayers of relatives can smooth out the earthly sins of the deceased.

Six months after the death of the body, the soul will visit its relatives and friends for the penultimate time: they are no longer able to change its fate in eternal life, all that remains is to remember the good things and pray earnestly for eternal peace.

Soul of a Suicidal Man

From time immemorial, suicide has been considered a grave sin - in this way a person violates God’s intention by taking away the life given by the Almighty. Only the Creator has the right to control destinies, and the idea of committing suicide was given by Satan, who tempts and tests man.

Gustave Dore. Suicide Forest

A person who has died a natural death experiences bliss and relief, but for a suicide, the torment is just beginning. One man could not come to terms with the death of his wife and decided to commit suicide in order to reunite with his beloved. However, he was not close at all: they managed to revive the man and ask him about that side of his life. According to him, this is something terrible, the feeling of horror never goes away, the feeling of internal torture is endless.

All people who were saved after death from suicide describe terrible pictures. The soul is in an endless fall, which is not possible to interrupt; the tongues of hellish flames tickle the skin and become closer and closer. Most of those rescued are haunted by nightmare visions for the rest of their days. If thoughts about ending your life with your own hands creep into your head, you need to remember: there is always a way out.

The Simplemagic channel will tell you about what happens to the soul of a suicide after death and how to act to calm a restless soul:

An incentive to think about your own life

According to the Christian concept, a soul that gets stuck in some kind of ordeal and fails to pass it goes to hell. The heroine of Voznesenskaya's story faces a similar fate because of pride. But what supposedly saves her is a sincere personal prayer to the Mother of God, the sign of the cross done with faith, and the especially fervent prayer of her grandfather-saint. God does not want the sinner to die, so he gives everyone alive a chance to pray for those who are in the other world. The final decision - heaven or hell - will be made only after the Second Coming.

Yulia Voznesenskaya was able to put the facts, gleaned from the Orthodox teaching on ordeals, into a form that is understandable and memorable for the modern reader. Of course, this is by no means a theological treatise and an unquestioning interpretation of dogmas. This is, first and foremost, a literary work.

But after reading it, many think about their lives and come or return to the Church. People realize the importance of repentance and confession. And the stimulus for this is the private experience described in the book, a literary work partially based on real events and the teachings of the Church.