Death has brought so many people to various religions that it can safely be called one of the main enemies of atheism. The memory of death haunts us, because it is difficult to forget that you will die. And every person seeks consolation in religion, for the afterlife of the soul is the main hope.
Is there a person who would like to limit himself only to earthly life? No. We all latently know about eternal life when we think about our finitude or are sad about the death of loved ones.
The Bible does not give details about the afterlife of man and the role of death for him. But the holy fathers wrote a lot about death. Let's get to know their thoughts.
According to Orthodoxy, a person dies because of the sin of Adam and Eve
It is wrong to believe that after death there is no longer a person. He continues to exist in the form of a soul. In the end, Orthodoxy promises him a bodily resurrection.
Then why is this meaningless procedure of death necessary? Why can't the lifetime be continuous? The saints also answer this question. They talk about death as payment for the sin of Adam and Eve.
Orthodoxy teaches that death arose due to the sin of Adam and Eve (diptych by Dürer). Photo: upload.wikimedia.org
Saint John Chrysostom writes:
“For sin, the Lord graciously established death; Adam was expelled from paradise, so that he would no longer dare to touch the tree that constantly supports life, and would not sin endlessly.
This means that expulsion from paradise is more a matter of God’s care for man than of anger. Although the first parents lived for many more years, as soon as they heard that they were: “You are dust and to dust you will return” (Genesis 3:19), they became mortal, and from then on it could be said that they died.
In this sense, it is said in Scripture: “on the day that you eat of it, you will surely die” (Gen. 2:17), that is, you will hear the verdict that from now on you are already mortal.”
John Chrysostom
theologian
The Holy Fathers do not know exactly what life after death is like, but it will definitely be happy
Although Orthodoxy has been thinking about death for more than one century, there are still unresolved questions. The saints, of course, wrote about life after death, but the details of their reasoning conflict. It is clear that it is human nature to make mistakes.
Here we will omit various experiences of clinical death, regressive hypnosis and other methods of remembering past lives. Mortal memory is capable of working miracles, and all these cases need to be analyzed separately.
What interests us now is precisely what the holy fathers said about death and life after it.
According to the Bible we know that there will be a Judgment. Moreover, there are two of them: posthumous and terrible. At the second Judgment, some additional circumstances will be taken into account, for example, Orthodoxy allows for the possibility of saving the deceased by the power of someone else’s prayer. However, this is a debatable issue.
In the end, God will determine the fate of all souls. He will take the righteous into the Kingdom of Heaven.
Saint Gregory of Nyssa writes about it this way:
“The path that elevates human nature to heaven is nothing other than retreat and flight from earthly evils;
and the means to avoid evil is nothing else, I think, than becoming like God; and to become like God means to become righteous, holy, good and all the like.
If anyone, as much as possible, clearly imprints in himself the features of these perfections, then, as if by natural order, without difficulty he will move from earthly life to the heavenly land; because not local what is the distance
between the Divine and humanity, so that we would need some kind of tool or device to introduce this heavy, burdensome and earthly flesh into a non-physical and spiritual way of life.
But, according to the reasonable separation of virtue from vice, it depends on human will alone to be a person where he desires.”
Gregory of Nyssa
saint
Yes, like many others, he avoids specifics. Because how can you write about something you haven’t seen?
Cyril of Alexandria urged not to be afraid of death, for it opens the door to a happy life in eternity. Photo: seletskiy.ru
But still there is consolation for a person. Cyril of Alexandria is convinced that death interrupts everything bad for a person and opens the door to everything good:
“By death the Lawgiver stops the spread of sin and in the very punishment he shows his love for mankind.
Since He, giving the commandment, connected death with its crime, and since the criminal was subject to this punishment, He arranges it so that the punishment itself serves salvation.
For death destroys our animal nature and thus, on the one hand, stops the action of evil, and on the other -
saves a person from illness, frees him from labor, ends his sorrows and worries and ends suffering. With such love for humanity the Judge dissolved the very punishment.”
Death is the road to eternity; with faith a person can make this eternity happy.
Tikhon Zadonsky describes how to correctly cross this threshold:
“From the hour of death a person will either be eternally blessed or eternally poor. Here the doors to eternity are opened for everyone, and he will go either to a happy or unhappy eternity.
From this moment a person begins to either live forever or die forever. Where are those who lived before us now and lived in luxury, pleasures, and impenitence?
They have departed from this world, and have left all their pleasures, and remain in their places, and await the final judgment, where they will fully accept their deeds.
Therefore, before this hour has yet come to us, let us turn with a pure heart to our God, and be reconciled with Him through repentance and faith, so that we may receive eternal life.”
Tikhon Zadonsky
saint
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About death
The Optina elders always consoled those who suffered the loss of relatives and friends, found words of love for them, and gave advice on how to properly remember the dead.
God's destinies are incomprehensible
Death can befall anyone at any time. The Monk Anthony wrote to his spiritual daughter about the unexpected death of her father:
“As for your sadness that your parent allegedly ended his life without a farewell message, we don’t know this; maybe he died as a martyr, which completes all rituals; for it is known that the Venerable Athanasius of Athos was crushed by the church building, but his soul was established in good things with the Lord.
Many people still die from thunder, lightning, from fire, from water, from fumes, from accidental falls, etc., and all of them die a martyr’s death, in which sins are cleansed with their blood, and our holy church has a special petition for them to the Lord.
Therefore, calm down, mother, and do not consider the death of your parent unfavorable; since the fate of God is incomprehensible to us sinners; for the Lord God, in the depth of His wisdom, philanthropically builds everything and gives useful things to everyone. We, in our madness, impute the death of some to dishonor, and they will finally be among the sons of God, that is, the righteous. So our old father G. was alive, cheerful and healthy, and glorified Christ who was born, and suddenly fell ill, and soon ended his days. Verily, man is like grass, and his days are like the flower of the field!”
Our life consists in the will of God
The Monk Leo wrote about death like this:
“Holy Scripture shows us what we lose through death in this life and what we gain in the future: we gain eternal, painless life - a life in which there is no confusing passion, no withering envy, no offending troubles, in which there is no decrepit old age and infancy. weaknesses, but an ever-blooming state, not subject to any changes, a blissful stay, without any limits; an immaculate life, removed from all worldly temptations. Imagining this in his lofty thoughts, blessed David cried out with joyful delight: “Lord of hosts! The blessed ones who live in Your House will praise You forever and ever! Better is one day in Your courts than a thousand.”
Where we must also renounce: they, the dead, only precede us and make us feel how short our life is. Moreover, it consists in the Will of God, to which I advise you to surrender yourself.”
The elder reminded us of God’s Providence, which governs people and arranges everything for their benefit:
“You write that the betrothed son-in-law is so ill that he is near his deathbed. The Creator Lord created everything, everything exists under His power, He kills and brings to life. I am sure that you believe this and accept the words and teachings, which are taken from the Holy Scriptures, as coming from God. The Holy Scripture shows us that God’s Providence controls us, of which I will give you one text as proof. The Lord says in the book of the prophet Isaiah in chapter 49, verse 15: “The wife of her youth will forget to eat, even if she does not have mercy on the offspring of her womb, and even if the woman forgets these things, I will not forget you.” From these words you see how the Lord cares for us. If it is useful for your betrothed son-in-law, then the Lord will give him health and raise him from the bed of illness, which is what I wish to see.”
Everyone ends the time of his existence when it is assigned to him by God
Comforting his spiritual child, the Monk Leo advised leaving the fate of those close to him to the Providence of God:
“I see in your letter that you have become faint-hearted due to your mother’s illness and are afraid that she will die. I advise you to surrender your mother’s fate to God’s providence: God foresees people’s affairs and circumstances, and their reasons, and arranges everything for the good. You hear the voice of the Lord saying that He dresses the villages and not a single bird falls without the Will of the Heavenly Father. He cares more about us than like a mother. And so you see - the Lord is strong and can save your mother for many years.”
The Monk Macarius also taught to surrender oneself completely to the will of God:
“Did you think that A. would move into eternity so soon? And about those who are sick and expect imminent death, they live a long time. Leave this opinion and believe in God that by His wave and will everything happens to us from involuntary, and, of course, for our benefit.”
And he also wrote:
“Death is necessary for all of us, but we don’t know when. And everyone ends here the time of his existence when it is assigned to him by God; and you be peaceful and calm, surrendering to the will of the Creator of us! ...Commit it to the will of God; Only those appointed at this time will die, but you will live.”
The memory of death will teach you to listen to yourself
The Optina elders had mortal memory. The Monk Leo wrote that mortal memory teaches an attentive life, teaches one to remember the commandments and one’s sins:
“The memory of death will teach you to listen to yourself. Often in blossoming years one is delighted from this life to eternal life, and even more terrible if suddenly. For us, close to the door of the tomb, can we really put off our lives for many years? Let us repent and be alive in soul forever.”
Elder Macarius reminded us that time passes unnoticed by us, and often we worry about the mortal body and forget about the eternal soul:
“Time flows insensitively; and we don’t see how it flies, measured in seconds, minutes, hours, days and beyond, and every second brings us closer to eternity. Knowing this, we are not very concerned about how to appear and give an account to the impartial Judge. Sensuality darkens our mind. All our care and thought is to bring peace to the body; but we care little about the soul - we do not eradicate passions, and we do not even resist them; and from this we are deprived of peace and peace of mind.”
The elder wrote about our earthly life as a drop in the ocean, and reminded us of eternity and the Day of Judgment: “We are troubled, we hesitate, we are confused; and everything flows like a river, and carries away everything that has passed, as if it never happened; history and private narratives leave very little as a memory of the past. This day ends 66 years in my life, and tomorrow 67 will begin. But what does this have to do with eternity? Less than a drop in the sea. But what eternity will be like, we must now think about this and ask our merciful Creator and Redeemer, may he be merciful to us on the day of judgment and make us worthy to stand on the right hand. But somehow we think badly about this, as if there will be no eternity. This is how we spend our lives – we break the commandments and have no true repentance. Lord have mercy!"
The Monk Macarius often said to his disciples: “It’s time, it’s time to go home!” Sometimes they did not even pay special attention to these words of his, perhaps partly because the thought of death, as one of the spiritual deeds, never left him.
The Monk Isaac I, having acquired the memory of death, often repeated: “Oh, how to die!” The fruits of this constant remembrance of death were sometimes expressed in tears of repentance and tenderness, in which some of the brethren found him if they came suddenly.
The memory of death and the fear of death should be separated
The Monk Joseph taught to separate the memory of death and the fear of death, and advised to believe that the Lord “will not capture a soul that is not ready” if a person cares about salvation. The elder wrote to his spiritual child, who was confused from mortal fear:
“In the morning and evening, make three bows with the prayer: “Lord, deliver my soul from the fear of the enemy.” The fear of death that you write to me about is a consequence of morbidity. You don’t need to think too much about this, but try to drive away this fear from yourself. Pray to God, always bring him repentance for your sins and entrust yourself to His mercy and trust that the Lord, not wanting the death of a sinner (Ezek. 33:11), will not capture your unprepared soul. Pray to the Most Holy Theotokos for this, and do not indulge in confusion.”
Optina elders often knew the date of their death
Once, a landowner very close to Elder Macarius, the pious old woman Maria Mikhailovna Kavelina, fell so seriously ill that, as it seemed to her, she was on the brink of the grave. Out of her faith in the elder, she asked him to pray to the Lord so that He would extend the days of her life for the sake of a meeting with her beloved son, the Optina hieromonk, who was away from the monastery these days and did not know about his mother’s illness.
The elder told her firmly: “You will recover, but we will die together.” The elder’s words came true. The landowner, who was in danger of dying, recovered, but after that she told her loved ones: “Be afraid of my death, the life of the old man is connected with it, that’s what he told me.” This prediction of the elder’s death shows that he received a secret notification from the Lord about the time of his departure from this world.
The importance of repentance, confession and communion of the Holy Mysteries
The Optina elders advised preparing for death in advance with daily prayer, abstinence, confession, and communion of the Holy Mysteries. Reverend Anthony wrote:
“Some prepare themselves various clothes and coverings for burial; and we will prepare ourselves with frequent prayers, abstinence, humility, confession, communion of the Holy Mysteries every Lent, and with tears of repentance we will wash away the blackness of sin, so that we may depart in peace. If the young do not boast of negligence; then in the elderly it is even more reprehensible.”
Saint Joseph also recalled the importance of repentance and confession as preparation for the hour of death:
“You explain that a dog bit you, and you are afraid that it is rabid. Rely in everything on the will of God! The Lord said that without the will of your Heavenly Father, no hair will fall from your head (cf. Luke 21:18). Everything is the will of God. Of course, for peace of mind it is necessary - confess, partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ and be special. After that there is no need to be afraid of death, because someday you have to die.”
“Death will take its toll, even if you visit all the doctors. Therefore, if you are afraid of death, then you must try to prepare for it, and cleanse your sins through repentance and confession.”
St. Barsanuphius, teaching about the importance of receiving communion before death, gave the following story as an example: “Once, it was in St. Petersburg, a priest from the church of St. Sergius, on Liteinaya Street, told me: “They call me in the evening to administer the Holy Mysteries to a sick person. I come and ask where the patient is. An elderly man, seemingly completely healthy, comes out to me and says that he invited me for himself.
“It is impossible to blaspheme this great Sacrament,” I answer, “I was asked to advise a sick person, but you are completely healthy.”
“I haven’t been to confession or communion for 20 years,” he answered, “suddenly some voice authoritatively tells me: “You are going to die today,” that’s why I disturbed you.
- If so, then we will confess.
Confession begins, and what a confession it was! His soul was, like leprosy, covered with all kinds of sins. Finally, I put on the stole and read the prayer of permission.
- So, all sins are forgiven, and I can take communion? - he asked.
- You are forgiven, and I will now give you communion.
I have prepared everything, I read prayers and want to give him communion, but his teeth are clenching, and, despite all his efforts, he cannot unclench them. Then he goes to his office, takes pliers and wants to open his mouth with them, but he cannot. So he died without receiving the Holy Mysteries. His sins have been forgiven, but why the Lord did not grant him Communion is the inscrutable mystery of God.” And receiving the Holy Mysteries is a great thing. If one of the communicants died before 24 hours after Communion, his soul would go to Paradise. Demons cannot approach such a soul, scorched by the radiance of the Body and Blood of Christ.”
And he added:
“The Lord is infinitely good. The sacrifice made on Golgotha is so infinitely great that the sins of the whole world are “like nothing” in comparison with this sacrifice. It's the same as if someone took a handful or a handful of sand and threw it into the sea. Would it get cloudy? Of course not, it will remain unperturbed as before. But even this handful can destroy us if we do not consider ourselves sinners and do not repent before the Lord. Communion of the Holy Mysteries burns away all sins; Why, especially among ordinary people, are they always asked: did the sick person receive communion before his death? If they find out that the deceased has received Holy Communion, they joyfully exclaim: “Glory to Thee, Lord!”
Temptations at the hour of death
The elders warned that before death there are often temptations. The Monk Barsanuphius wrote about one such temptation: “Father Benedict, the hieromonk of our Skete, told me: “They called me to admonish the schema-monk Father Nicholas (Lopatin). This was two days before his death. The patient was fully conscious and memory. Before Communion, I asked his neighbor in his cell, the monk Father Pior, to go to the church to see the sexton for warmth. He left. Having confessed the sick man, I gave him communion. Father Pior comes and through the partition of his cell angrily says: “The sexton did not give warmth!” I replied that I would do without it and give the patient boiled water from the samovar. I explain that Father Nektary did not give warmth, as Father Pior, who had just come from him, said, and therefore we will have to wash down the Holy Mysteries with water. Father Nikolai says: “I don’t hear anything!” “How,” I ask him, “don’t you hear? Father Pior says that Father Nektary refused warmth.” “No,” the patient answers, “I don’t hear anything!”
I was surprised. But at that moment the door of the cell opens, and Father Pior enters, carrying a vessel with warmth in his hands. We ask him: has he now come to his cell? “No,” he answers, “I didn’t come.” Came here straight from the sexton!” Thus, the enemy wanted to confuse the dying man after receiving the Holy Mysteries. Father Nikolai was dying of consumption, and, like all consumptives, he was very irritable, especially during his dying illness. But the Lord did not allow the enemy to tempt His partaker, closing his ears, so that only I heard the demonic words.”
How can loved ones find solace?
The Monk Macarius reminded us that excessive sorrow is displeasing to God. The elder advised his loved ones to find consolation in the remembrance of the departed, in prayer for them, in alms done in their memory: “You write that on the fortieth day they commemorated your father, and that you were sad. I feel sorry for him, and I feel sorry for you for your cowardice. Prayer for the departed brings them benefit, and it gives consolation to those who remain that they have the means here to benefit him there. And excessive grief is displeasing to God: as if we are contradicting His providence and orders for us. I won’t praise your mother for this, but my sister; I already wrote to her that this grief comes from selfishness. God forbid for this that she remembers him well and gives him alms and consoles the peasants - she sends all this to him there.”
Our reverend fathers, the elders of Optina, pray to God for us sinners!
