Priest Andrey Dudchenko
How to learn joyful belief? I set this question to myself for a long time because it is obvious to me: the belief in the Christ should be joyful. The Gospel begins with pleasure announcement: «be not afraid: I announce to you great pleasure», — the angel speaks to shepherds at Jesus Christmas (Lk 2:10). «They have bowed to It and have come back to Jerusalem with великою pleasure», — so the Gospel (Lk 24:52) comes to an end.


About that it is impossible to know that there is God and not to rejoice, father Alexander Shmeman liked to repeat. He writes in "Diaries": «the Grief about a sin does not rescue from a sin, the pleasure about the Lord rescues». Really, if all in this world can become "reflected light" of the Kingdom of Bozhija the life gets other measurement. As at apostle Pavel: «Any more I live, but there lives in me the Christ» (Gal 2:20).

But the aspiration to joyful belief meets comprehension of the imperfection, sinfulness and impossibility to overcome it up to the end. After all anything will not enter into Tsarstvo Bozhie nasty. And the practical church life has actually forced us to reconcile that we "sinners". Thank God, we can avoid too obvious, heavy, so-called "mortal" sins which are incompatible with stay in Church: such as murder, fornication, a denial of the faith. But what to do with sins "small", repeating almost day by day?

Actually obligatory confession before each communicating, it is as though frequent occurred, leads to understanding of that, how many you repented, can be assured that so-called "daily" sins will repeat. Eventually, the habit to constant "sinfulness" leads to inability to distinguish a real and far-fetched sin and to притуплению feelings of a real sin.

For whom and what for it is necessary? To god Who calls to Itself not slaves, but free, and shows in an image of the Father from a parable about the prodigal son what is ready to accept us only as The children, but not slaves or mercenaries? To Christians which instead of «always to rejoice and for all to thank», plunge into an infinite heart-searching in trifles? Or, maybe, it is favourable only that who aspires not to graze herd Christ's, and to dominate over it? After all people in whom the fault complex is installed, it is easier to operate. Me always surprises, when this or that preacher inspires to people that they "rubbish", anything, «to a creature foul» which good cannot make anything., Fortunately, it is not a lot of such preachers, but "tonality" of their sermon meets the response in modern to environment.

But what will be with people if it constantly to inspire, what they anybody and anything, «where will step - there and will sin», anything kind cannot make, any virtues and did not start to have never? Mentally healthy people simply will not apprehend such suggestion and will try to steer clear of its source, or if they have to go to a temple where it broadcast with амвона, not begin to pay attention to words. But people more inspired become very dependent on "pastor" and rather operated.

And now tell, whether it was necessary to you to meet arrivals where here such dependent and suppressed people and define "atmosphere" церковности? Whether you met such «воцерковленных» in especially heavy form from which normal healthy people naturally jump aside?

Spiritual infantilism and the self-abasement, is false given out for humility, is promoted also by "rupture" in modern understanding of sanctity. The first Christians: all for each other «sacred brothers». It is clear that believing in the Christ and 2000 years ago were not innocent. Apostle Iakov wrote: «all of us much согрешаем» (Iak 3:2), without separating itself from those who «согрешает is a lot of». Comprehension of the imperfection did not prevent to name to the first Christians each other sacred and to aspire to live piously, corresponding to that gift which have received and receive from Lord Jesus.

With a current of centuries development of honouring sacred and everything, than "acquired" this honouring (especially occurrence of lives sacred as the verbal "icons" far from a reality) has led to other relation to sanctity. Though sacred also are not innocent (at times far are not innocent), but these are sacred, and we who? Though during a liturgy on дискосе where taken out of просфор particles represent an image of all Church led by the Christ, particles in memory of the sacred lie near to that represent live and deceased Christians, in a practical life the situation is different. Between the sacred and simply believing the great precipice is put. Also there are, for example, arguments such: Cyril and Mefody translating divine service for Slavs, were sacred, and now it is impossible to translate, because there is no modern Kirillov and Mefodiev. But who from sacred considered during lifetime itself(himself) as a canonization subject? Whether is better to modern Christians to aspire to sanctity, instead of to justify not-sanctity the divergence? After all the epoch sacred in Church does not stop, and all of us still continue to live during an epoch of Fathers.

But how to be what we after all indeed sin? How on the present to overcome a sin, present, instead of decided? How to get rid of a complex of constant fault which is inspired to us by all system church фарисейства? How to find original itself and pleasure about the Christ?

Probably, first of all it is necessary to understand that we cannot absolutely cease to sin. If differently, we would not require the Savior. But also it is the extremely dangerous to think that it is possible to live somehow, and the Christ will make all for us. Yes, I know that I the sinner - from experience of the errors and failures. But I know that I and sacred - after all such words address to me the Gospel and Church during a liturgy. Sacred not in sense made, but entered a family of rescued children of Bozhiih, a member of the Body Christ's. There are precepts from which execution of Christians nobody released. Also there is a pleasure of the Good Message - Jesus Christ has come to cover our sins and to grant us a pardon and a life eternal. However, to accept this gift, a gift, it is necessary to want it, and not words only, and all effort of a life - lives under the truth Christ's. And then participation in Sunday Evharistii will be again and to be endured again as a holiday - a feast filled with pleasure of Tsarstva Bozhija.