Foundations of Christian Aesthetics. -Kiril Mikhailov
By Kiril Mikhailov
“One must try everything in life!” This slogan is repeated, as if by the hypnotized, by nearly everyone. Television has ingrained this in us, and we no longer even think—we simply try, as long as the opportunity is there and no punishment follows. Moral and internal restraints are gone. After all, television teaches “lack of inhibitions.”
But if one is to try everything, why not try, for example, going to church, praying, fasting, doing good for one’s neighbor, helping the poor, the elderly, or the sick? Why do people instead try debauchery, drunkenness, and drugs? Why do good children become lustful cynics, callous brutes, and unrestrained narcissists?
Two Directions of Sensuality
Young people often live not by reason, but by feelings and impulses. This in itself is neither good nor bad—after all, wisdom is gained through experience. But in ancient times, the young would heed their elders, gaining wisdom from them, and this helped smooth out the folly of youth. Today, obedience and family hierarchy are hardly even spoken of, and what wisdom can modern parents teach?
Sensuality has two directions: elevating and corrupting. Higher emotions include the joy of virtue, sincerity, mercy, and compassion. Even greater is the pleasure found in fulfilling one’s duty, in defending honor, in noble service to others, to one’s homeland, to the Church; in heroism, dispassion, and the overcoming of one’s weaknesses and vices. The highest of all is the bliss of God’s presence in the soul, the awareness of His will and love.
Corrupting sensuality, on the other hand, consists of bodily pleasures (drunkenness, smoking, debauchery), pleasures of the lower soul (self-satisfaction, a thirst for originality, self-exaltation, reckless thrills). Sensuality that kills the soul begins with “I want.” Naturally, descending is far easier than ascending. Thus, if one does nothing with oneself, a descent into beastliness is inevitable. For some, this manifests at the level of the heart (rudeness, obscenity, cruelty, malice); for others, at the level of the mind (shallowness, vanity, egotism); for yet others, at the level of the body (drunkenness, smoking, drugs, debauchery, gluttony). And for some—on all these levels at once.
And so, when people speak of “trying everything,” they generally mean complete lack of restraint in thoughts and feelings. Wherever the current takes them, they go. And naturally, the current carries them downward.
Beastliness disfigures a person. First, it happens imperceptibly and gradually; second, it originates from within (and we trust ourselves, not suspecting our own innate corruption); third, it provokes no external criticism, for modern culture ceaselessly insists: “Don’t hold back!” “Live for the moment!” “Enjoy!”
Only Christians speak of the inadmissibility of such an approach to life. Christ teaches that for true Enjoyment (of which, according to St. Augustine, even the brightest earthly pleasures are but pale shadows), one must deny oneself. One must cast aside the corrupt animal nature and in its place receive from the Lord a New Life. This is called Repentance, and it is the starting point of one’s entrance into the Church of Christ.
Try instead what is best—what elevates and ennobles. That which is Christian morality: purity, goodness, love, faith, sincerity, responsibility, diligence, courage, self-control, care, compassion, mercy, and piety. How this manifests in daily life, each person knows for himself. These bring true, sacred joy. For in serving your neighbor, you serve the Savior Himself. For there is nothing more important than the salvation of the soul. And the soul rejoices at every step you take toward the Lord.
But what is evil? Lust, intoxication of any kind, madness, malice, envy, cowardice, hatred, cruelty, selfishness, cynicism, greed. And the worst thing is that the lower one falls, the harder it becomes to wake up and be renewed. The more one sinks, the more one comes to enjoy the life he has embraced.
Yet the Lord gives strength to everyone who finds even a shred of sincere repentance for his sins and a genuine desire for the Kingdom of Heaven. Even if one has no strength left for correction, a heartfelt plea to the Savior already places him on the path out of the abyss of sin and despair.
Modern Mass Aesthetic Priorities
Something has happened to mass aesthetic consciousness—especially among the youth. Some kind of rupture has occurred. A fascination with filth and chaos has come to dominate among those young people who consider themselves more developed than those around them.
In the 19th century, Nietzsche created a new philosophy and way of life—nihilism (from the Latin nihil, meaning “nothing”). Nihilists waged war against the surrounding Christian system of values. Of course, in 19th-century Europe and Russia, Christianity had largely become formal, a mere “civilizational feature.” Yet even so, everyday communication, justice, mass culture, and official politics were still built upon the norms of Christian morality. And then Nietzsche (who called himself the Antichrist) proclaimed, “God is dead!”—meaning that all values founded on faith in the Christian God were declared false and empty. Nihilists rejected law, legitimacy, and norms of decency, gravitating instead toward provocation in art and literature. Artists and writers depicted the most repulsive bodies, places, and situations. By the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the goal of “elite” culture had become to incite people toward vile emotions—toward disgust and hatred. At the time, this made sense: the spirit of the Antichrist, working through his young and reckless disciples, was waging war against the inertia of Christian culture.
But what about now? It cannot be said that today’s youth are entirely unread and undeveloped. Yet what captures the interest of modern intellectual youth is, at the very least, concerning and perplexing. First and foremost, they have all turned away from their native Russian Orthodox culture. And yet, what could be more appealing to someone who wishes to stand apart in today’s conformist, virtualized, Americanized, and globalized world? Turn to the roots of Russian culture: read the Gospel, study Orthodox Church teaching and worship, explore medieval Russian literature and philosophy, iconography, chant and folklore, church architecture, and ancient Russian life. The icons of Rublev and Dionysius, the ancient churches of Kiev, Vladimir, and Novgorod, The Tale of Peter and Fevronia, Russian epics and laments, The Book of the Dove, spiritual verses, church hymns—what could be more anti-modern for those who despise the primitiveness and soullessness of today’s mind-numbing mass culture?
Yet—No! The intellectual youth of today are fascinated by books and films about perverts, skinheads, schizophrenics, murderers, and maniacs. Everywhere you look: they have not read Gogol, but they have read Murakami and Sorokin. They have never watched Andrei Rublev or Stalker, yet they are thrilled by Natural Born Killers and Fight Club. Very few can boast of having read War and Peace or Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka, but the most widely read author among the youth is Chuck Palahniuk, whose protagonists are almost exclusively perverts, homosexuals, cultists, Satanists, and sadists.
In music, too, young people primarily value not talent but posturing, contortions, and shock value. Rammstein performs lewd acts on stage, Marilyn Manson openly blasphemes Christ while glorifying drug addiction and perversion, black metal musicians call for burning churches and worshiping Satan, death metal bands propagate sadism, while nu-metal and darkwave cultivate hatred and psychopathy.
Music videos are filled with filth—toilets, feces, blood, entrails, spiders, snakes, knives, syringes, naked and disfigured bodies, bulging eyes, convulsing tongues, contorted figures, grotesque faces, and satanic symbols. It is as if they have broken free of their chains!
If mass culture has replaced values with debauchery, drunkenness, sensual indulgence, idleness, rudeness, and mindless contortions, then in what calls itself “elite” culture, chaos, perversion, blasphemy, madness, and filth strive for dominance.
This is what is so perplexing: in the 19th and 20th centuries, youth used shock tactics to rebel against the remnants of Christian culture. But today, against what is this rebellion directed? There is no Christian culture around! It seems as though the very traits once characteristic of the Russian people—disgust for filth, honesty, straightforwardness, a love of order and beauty—have entirely vanished. Can it be that our thoughtful and inquisitive youth are now drawn only to ugliness, depravity, crime, and madness? These are no longer considered “vile things”—now they are called “self-expression,” “originality,” and “the search for oneself”!
The prophet Jeremiah foretold the ideal world of true worshippers of the Lord:
“I will put My laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they shall be My people. And no one will teach his fellow citizen or his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know Me, from the least to the greatest among them.” (Jeremiah 31:33–34)
This is the defining characteristic of a Christian world: the Law of God is inscribed in hearts and minds.
Naturally, the mark of the world of the Antichrist is the opposite: nothing is inscribed in the heart. All true values—those intuitively clear even to an atheist or non-Christian—disappear. Instead of order, there is chaos; instead of beauty, ugliness; instead of the pleasant, the repulsive; instead of wisdom, madness; instead of goodness, indifference; instead of determination, weakness; instead of self-denial, self-admiration; instead of service to one’s neighbor, mockery of him; instead of respect, derision.
Is This Great “Phase Shift” a Sign of Our Spiritual Degeneration? Has our youth truly become so corrupted from childhood? Or are the values of beauty and order so universally ingrained in our society that the only form of “freedom” left is the glorification of filth and chaos? Can it really be that Yukio Mishima is more appealing to the Russian young reader than Dostoevsky, and that Tarantino is more inspiring than Andrei Tarkovsky? If this is the case, then there remains but one option—to flee from this perverse generation (Acts 2:40). To escape from a people incapable of spiritual rebirth and of returning to their Christian roots.
Or should one wait until such a people destroy themselves?
Or should one, up to his neck in filth, struggle like an epic warrior toward his Heavenly Jerusalem, preaching Truth and Resurrection by word and example?
Or should one simply sit and hope that the propaganda of filth and chaos is nothing more than another foolish and fleeting trend?
I propose an answer. Here are the words from the Gospel of Mark:
“And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes. And when He was come out of the ship, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains: because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones. But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped Him, and cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with Thee, Jesus, Thou Son of the Most High God? I adjure Thee by God, that Thou torment me not. For He said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit. And He asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many. And he besought Him much that He would not send them away out of the country. Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding. And all the devils besought Him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them. And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea.” (Mark 5:1–13)
Saint Maximus the Confessor teaches that the allegorical, hidden meaning of Scripture does not negate its literal, historical interpretation. In this passage, I see an allegory: the chains and fetters represent the restraints imposed by society upon the insane. That is, madness is a state of being at odds with the norms and boundaries set by society. But is this society itself pure?
Everyone knows that the Jews, to whom the Savior first preached, categorically refuse to eat pork. So where did these swine come from? Clearly, in the country of the Gadarenes lived either apostate Jews or Gentiles who were ignorant of the Law of God.
And what happened after Christ cast out the legion of demons?
And the herdsmen fled and spread the news in the city and in the villages. And the people came to see what had happened. And they came to Jesus and saw the demoniac sitting there, clothed and in his right mind—the very one who had been possessed by the legion—and they were afraid. And those who had seen it told them how it had happened with the demoniac and about the swine. And they began to beg Him to leave their region. (Mark 5:14–17)
Apostates, for whom their earthly existence is the highest priority, are incapable of healing a soul tormented by an unclean spirit. The most such a society can do is to restrain the madman. Chains and fetters. Only Christ the Lord can remove the chains and fetters. Only He truly frees one from madness.
Now, let us connect this allegory to our modern age. Mass culture promotes the degradation of man: sex, gluttony, self-obsession, and spiritual emptiness. And against this mass culture rise madmen, preaching hatred, drug addiction, insanity, and Satanism. This is not merely an issue of, say, death metal musicians or shock-seeking writers. It is a symptom of the profound spiritual sickness of a godless society. This godlessness is not expressed in the declarations of philosophers but in how ordinary people approach their lives, their neighbors, their enemies and friends, their colleagues, and even strangers. When everything and everyone is focused solely on existence “here” and “now,” voices of the mad begin to call people away from the meaningless monotony of daily life. These self-proclaimed radicals seek to destroy the world of primitiveness—they despise it—but even the faintest remnants of the old Christian way of life are unbearable to them.
And yet… Among the swine-loving townspeople, the Lord converted no one except that one madman. The only miracle He performed before them filled them with terror. They did not want such a miracle; they wanted peace and for the enemies of their way of life to remain bound in chains. And so, the paradox arises: the blind rebellion of madmen sometimes brings one closer to the Lord. For the true, consistent madman places his hope in nothing and no one but the Lord alone. Absolute disillusionment with the world is the foundation of the Christian New Birth, of which traditional baptism by immersion is the image. That is why the Apostle Paul writes that we, Christians, are seen as madmen by the world.
However, those who preach savagery and perversion are, in reality, not enemies of the utterly godless System. They are merely its harmful clowns. And their so-called “rebellion” is purely performative, aimed not at liberation from the banalities of worldly life but at purging even the last remnants of memory about the Lord, the last traces of Christian moral inertia. That is why all these professional Satanists and drug addicts earn millions of dollars—none of them are in chains, all of them are free to prance about and make a spectacle of themselves.
That is why so many thoughtful young people are captivated by figures like Marilyn Manson. Because it is not enough to think—one must struggle with oneself and rise above oneself.
What happened after the Gadarenes asked Christ to leave?
“And when He was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed begged Him that he might be with Him. But He did not allow him, and said to him: Go home to your own people, and tell them what the Lord has done for you and how He has had mercy on you. And he went and began to proclaim in the Decapolis what Jesus had done for him. And all marveled.” (Mark 5:18–20)
Here, I do not propose my own interpretation but invite you to think for yourself. To be like everyone else or to stand alone? And if the latter, then should one be consistent or hesitate when the Lord’s calling demands renouncing all that is familiar and pleasurable?
What values should one choose?
The Lord will judge the Christian by how much he was truly a Christian. On the Day of Judgment, we will be held to a greater account than non-Christians. If pagans, who have never known Christian doctrine, will be judged according to the moral law that the Lord has instilled in all, then for Christians, it is not enough simply to “be good people” or “have God in the heart.”
For a Christian, it is not enough to be baptized. It is not enough to accept church teaching intellectually or emotionally as correct and necessary. One must not simply believe but have faith. Faith must burn from within. This inner fire (or at least a sincere desire to acquire it) is the mark of a true Christian. For a faith that burns within compels one to live according to faith.
Observing many young Christians today, I have noticed a sorrowful tendency—they are ashamed of being Christians. Many of them, without realizing it, envy the world and try to imitate it in their behavior, habits, and preferences. The more educated among them can use Christian language to discuss the “great liberating mission” of Marx. The less sophisticated are in awe of some King Diamond, arguing that he is “not really a Satanist,” that his music “enlightens,” “awakens,” and “makes one think.”
In the end, this creates an unviable hybrid. Young Christians often fail to understand that worldly trends, styles, and genres arose precisely because of the spiritual deficiency of their creators. Simply put, because of their unbelief and godlessness. There was a need to replace the Sacred—hence the emergence of various philosophers “transforming the world,” writers-“humanists,” musicians who “changed mass consciousness,” artists who “slapped vulgar public taste in the face.”
Living in the world has always been a challenge for Christians, a source of discomfort. The Apostle John writes:
“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.” (1 John 2:15–17)
If a person is a committed Christian, then worldly values and principles naturally repel him. Some he outright rejects (godlessness, violence, debauchery, perversion, madness), while others arouse his suspicion (humanism, tolerance, religious pluralism, liberalism). And this attitude extends to the cultural forms through which these values are transmitted to the masses—such as musical genres or dance styles.
Accordingly, the world is hostile toward Christians who dare to filter the reality around them. And so discomfort arises in all aspects of life—from casual conversations with friends and debates with professors to seeking a life partner and finding true friends. Living in such discomfort is an essential feature of the Christian life in the world.
The Savior Himself prayed for help for His followers in this contradiction of life:
“I have given them Thy word, and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.” (John 17:14–16)
The life of a Christian is a spiritual war. And war always leads to a victor and a vanquished. That is why there are those who leave the world (monastics), those who remain Christians within the world, and an overwhelmingly great number of those who become worldly. Worldliness is more dangerous than mere disappointment in faith, for it happens slowly, imperceptibly. Moreover, the primary cause of Christians losing faith has been precisely their immersion in the world, their captivity to worldly culture.
The great, luminous, and inspiring works of secular art, literature, and music are the product of talent given by the Lord and by no one else. However, a person may use his talent as he chooses—not according to God’s will. It is undeniable, for instance, that Nietzsche was far more gifted by the Lord than many of his contemporary Christian preachers. But how did he use his talent?
Furthermore, even if a talented unbeliever acts in accordance with God’s commandments yet does not believe in Him, his creativity will always remain limited, relative, and obscure. Fragments of the holy and pure will remain only fragments. They will not form a single, salvific whole. The only salvific whole to which we can truly attach ourselves is the culture of the Church.
And here arises the question of preference. Young Christians—both those who read and those who do not (which is already a mistake in itself)—begin to feel uncomfortable in the world: they have no music, films, or books of their own. The onslaught of the world is a terrifying force! It envelops, gradually seeps into the heart, and erodes even the fundamental Christian resistance to the spirit of the world. (And indeed, such resistance exists only in truly committed Christians, whereas many young people, even after being baptized and beginning a regular church life, are still only at the beginning of their path to deep personal transformation.)
And under the world’s pressure, young Christians begin to split. Some simply accept everything worldly without even considering its spiritual content. Soon enough, the world captures them from within, and they leave the Church—either because their views change or because they fall into sin, drawn in by the softening, sensual influence of worldly culture.
Others adopt the external forms of worldly culture and attempt to fill them with “their own” content. For example, they create “Christian” heavy metal bands or rap about “edifying” themes. These Christians are more inspired by the form itself than by what they hope to put into it. In the end, instead of preaching, they comfortably settle into a worldly niche, standing alongside unbelievers, drunkards, and the depraved.
Still others begin “searching for pearls in the muck,” extracting from the works of unbelievers those elements where they believe a “divine spark” is present. At first glance, this seems like a reasonable approach—one supported by some of the holy fathers (such as St. John Chrysostom). But the real question is this: what drove the young Christian to turn to the secular in the first place? It is one thing to desire to speak to “worldly people” in their own language, using contemporary words and symbols. It is quite another when the worldly simply appeals to them, and the young Christian defends and justifies it: “They may seem like Satanists, materialists, or atheists on the outside, but on the inside…”
And here is where personal preferences begin to take effect. If the worldly appeals more than the Church, then something is not right with the soul or the mind. A Christian should feel a natural aversion to anything that stands against the Lord, His Church, and His teachings. It is unacceptable for a Christian to be captivated by that which leads him away from the Kingdom of Heaven.
This is a deeply personal matter, an internal indicator: if a person’s heart gravitates toward the secular rather than the sacred, it means that he is not fully committed in his Christian life. If a Christian does not find within the Church enough to inspire and engage him, and instead feels drawn toward the world, then his integration into the Church is incomplete, unfinished.
It is one thing to bring the sacred into worldly forms—to create Christian culture. It is another thing entirely to drag the secular into one’s Christian consciousness. There should be no division; the Christian mind must be whole. If a Christian finds pleasure in something worldly, then what is sacred and ecclesial should bring him even greater joy. It should inspire him more deeply.
This does not mean that a Christian will never listen to Aria or read Tatyana Tolstaya. The issue lies in one’s preferences. If there is a “king in the mind,” then the best of the secular will be discerned and harmoniously integrated.
“The King in the Mind”
Christian feeling must be the foundation of behavior. The faith of Christ is not merely a set of worldview principles. Man is, by nature, a unified being—spirit + reason + emotional sensitivity of the soul + physical sensitivity of the body. But sin results not only in the prioritization of the physical over the spiritual, but also in the very fragmentation of man into different spheres. This division happens subtly, imperceptibly. It has become the foundation of modern mass culture, and many Christians fail to notice their own deep internal dissonance, even as they turn to Christ. Such are the symptoms of our demonic era of Great Godlessness.
Even in the sixteenth century, the Russian thinker Ivan Peresvetov noted that it is not enough to live by faith alone. “The devils also believe, and tremble,” writes the holy Apostle James (James 2:19). One must live by truth—that is, to manifest faith in every aspect of life, both outward and inward.
Yet many young people, upon entering the Church, mistake their youthful zeal for a complete transformation of their nature, for a total conversion into a true Christian. And then, when the initial euphoria of joining the Church inevitably fades, they begin to struggle—precisely because of the fragmentation of modern consciousness. The Apostle Paul spoke of this struggle:
“For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: but I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” (Romans 7:22–24).
A Christian must always remember this inner fragmentation and strive to gather himself into a whole. To achieve this, first and foremost, one must not allow a division of life into separate spheres: “As a Christian, I am against lying, but as a student, I lie about not cheating.” Faith, conscience, and actions must be united, and anything that contradicts the principles of faith must not be tolerated—whether in daily life, at work, or in casual conversations with friends.
Secondly, a Christian must diligently work on his emotional and sensual nature. The desires of the body must be brought into submission to the desires of the soul. Through consistent effort and self-discipline, the body must be tamed. This is precisely why fasting exists, why regular prayer (both personal and liturgical) is necessary, why acts of mercy and charity are essential, and why Christian ethics must guide behavior.
The conquest of the body by the spirit will gradually lead to a personality completely imbued with Christianity, in which the hidden corners of the untransformed, sinful, passionate, and demonic nature will eventually disappear.
Of course, this is the ideal! G.K. Chesterton wrote: “There are two kinds of idealists. The first idealize the real. The second—who are far fewer—strive to embody the ideal.” A true Christian is an idealist of the second kind. For him, it is not crucial whether he fully realizes his ideal in this life. What matters is the striving toward the great goal—the completion of the formation of his self in Christ. It is by this striving that the Lord will judge each of us, and especially Christians. For what has been entrusted to us cannot be placed on the same level as even the greatest worldly achievements, nor can it be set aside into some separate domain. Christ is the Sun of the world.
Integrity, consistency, and steadfastness—these are the marks of a Christian.
How often do we, who call ourselves Christians, dedicate time and effort to attending church services, to receiving Communion and repentance, to reading the Bible, to prayer and fasting? Alas, almost at every step, the response we hear is: “I don’t have time,” “I’m too busy,” “When I find the time, I definitely will!”
But when will this opportunity arise? When a child is young, parents, denying him a Christian upbringing, say: “He is still too little for this. Let him be carefree for as long as possible. When he grows up, he will understand everything on his own.” And so, a person is left without God in the best years of his life.
He grows up, and without proper upbringing in our corrupted world, he becomes overly self-assured and self-centered. Offer him the Word of God at this time—he is too proud to accept it. Besides, young men and women are already preoccupied with their own concerns: studies, romantic affairs, and endless wild amusements, which they call relaxation but which leave them more exhausted than work itself. And so, a person remains without God in the most vibrant years of his life.
The Remembrance of Death
Time passes… When you invite a mature adult to the Church, he is too busy, too burdened with family and financial worries. Where is there room for God in a life where the primary concerns are earnings, household matters, food, and leisure? Thus, the years slip away from a person, turning into dust, into nothingness, disappearing into the past, leaving behind only a trail of foolish mistakes, unnecessary experiments, and aimless pursuits. And what fills the soul of a person who has crossed the threshold of forty? A weight of insecurities and second-hand opinions, the hardened habits of sin, and an inflated sense of self-importance. And so, a person remains without God in the most productive years of his life.
And what comes next? Next, a person becomes too old to receive the seed of faith into his soul. His soul has already been occupied by the deeply rooted superstitions, prejudices, and stereotypes accumulated over a lifetime. Often, he is already too weak and too fearful to undergo the divine upheaval necessary to turn to the Loving and Waiting Creator. Some elderly people tremble before the face of impending death, yet they cannot shield themselves from this fear with the armor of all-powerful faith—for they have become accustomed to treating faith with indifference and contempt. Some even rage against themselves for not having walked with Christ throughout their lives, and they transfer this resentment onto Christianity itself, for deep down, they sense that only in Christ could they have truly fulfilled their talents and their purpose. And so, a person remains without God in the final years of his life.
And beyond old age—it is too late to do anything for the salvation of the soul. The grave awaits the body, and the soul faces the unquenchable fires of hell.
One day, it may also become too late for us—if we do not, right now, push aside all our distractions and dedicate the years of our lives to the One who gave them to us.
If only we sincerely desire to make room in our hearts for the Lord, it will surely come to pass. And do not think that you are “too busy”—this is a fatal illusion!
“Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them.” (Ecclesiastes 12:1)
Repentance
There is no death! There is only the dying of the material body. For the godless, this is the end of life, because they do not separate their consciousness from the body. To them, the destruction of the physical self is the cessation of existence, and the problems of the body are the most vital concerns. This is why the godless fear anything that threatens life, and the end of material existence terrifies them more than anything in the world.
The death of the body is indeed frightening. In our time, few fortunate souls are granted a peaceful and quiet passing in old age. The nightmarish, ever-growing health problems that come with age turn every moment of life into a step toward death. Many cannot bear this realization and plunge into various forms of madness, seeking to numb themselves and avoid sensing the inevitable approach of their final hour. For the godless, there is nothing more terrifying than the death of the body.
Yet, there is something far more terrifying than physical death. Something so dreadful that in comparison, the fear of bodily death fades into insignificance. This is spiritual death.
The unbelievers of all times and nations have always been astonished at the incredible attitude of Christian martyrs toward death. They were boiled in oil, sawn in half, quartered, crucified, roasted on iron grates—yet they prayed for their executioners, they faced bodily death with serenity, and some even rejoiced in it. Scripture describes the death of the first Christian martyr, Saint Stephen the Archdeacon (c. A.D. 33):
“And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.” (Acts 7:59–60)
He was not afraid, for just moments before his death, he had said to his killers:
“Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.” (Acts 7:56)
When one fears spiritual death, physical death loses its terror. The most dreadful thing that can happen is eternal dying in hell. Since the human soul is, by nature, immortal, its destruction by the forces of hell will be endless and unceasing. The demons burning in the fires of hell rejoice at every soul, especially every Christian soul, as they drag it into the abyss and doom it to ceaseless, indescribable torments, the worst of which will be “everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power.” (2 Thessalonians 1:9)
There is only one way to escape spiritual death—repentance. To repent of your entire life, of everything you have done and how you have lived. To recognize the complete wrongness of your godless ways, to acknowledge your inability to live without God. To completely renounce yourself and turn to our Lord Jesus Christ and His Church. To cast aside everything from your past and begin a new life—a holy life, a righteous life.
Our earthly journey, our life in the material body, is a test, an examination. Your eternal destiny is determined by its outcome. And you are the one who determines it—there is no fate. Either eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven or eternal death of the soul. Reality will be revealed when the body perishes. Make sure it is not too late. If you are still alive, then you still have the chance to rise above this vile, godless world. Cherish this time. How much of it do you have left?
True Christianity begins with repentance. If you do not repent, you will perish. Truly.
Determination
The Good News is addressed to a person, not to a slug. Paradise is not for a lazy, self-indulgent idler. People often ask, “Where was your God when… (insert situation here)?” We want to live as we please while expecting God to act like some kind of Santa Claus. Like in a Hollywood movie, He is supposed to appear occasionally—charming, blessing everyone—without disrupting the familiar rhythm of our worldly lives. A pleasant addition that makes life more interesting and comfortable. You have no objection to such a God. But to a God who demands something of you—you do object.
The outstanding preacher of the early 20th century, Old Believer Bishop Mikhail (Semyonov), said that the moment one begins to move toward salvation is the moment of Encounter. It is the participation of both sides. The Lord is always turned toward you. But what have you done for Him? Or at the very least, for your own soul? Even from a selfish perspective—what have you done for your salvation? You cannot enter Eternity reclining on a couch.
The key to salvation is faith. And most importantly, not just to believe, but to have faith. As St. Ephrem the Syrian wrote, even the demons believe; they certainly know about God, about paradise, and about the salvation of the soul. But they have no will to be saved. Do you? And if so, how does it manifest? By occasionally stopping by a church to light a candle when it’s not too inconvenient? By claiming “I don’t kill or steal”?
Not long ago, a woman who called herself a Christian told me that she didn’t understand anything about doctrine and that belonging to the Old Believer Church did nothing to solve her problems. I told her the same thing I am telling you: “You must live as a Christian—read the New Testament daily, pray in the morning and evening, observe the fasts, attend church every Sunday, at the very least memorize the Ten Commandments, and so on. And then your problems will begin to be resolved.” She objected, just as most readers of this text would: “I don’t want to!” Well, that’s up to you. Your problems! If you refuse to make an effort, you will not be saved.
“Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners, and purify your hearts, ye double-minded.” (James 4:8)
Lack faith or feel you don’t have enough? If you have the will, faith will come. The Lord does not refuse those who ask for what brings them closer to Him. The most important thing is to want it! If you want to have faith, if you thirst to be with the Lord, if you passionately strive for the salvation of your soul—it will happen.
There is a work that the Lord fundamentally does not want and cannot do. He has given us free will, and so the first step toward your personal salvation must be taken by you. The Lord has already done everything. He took on human flesh, was crucified, and rose again, granting both me and you the possibility of Eternal Life. All that remains is to break free from the cocoon of self-love and accept His Sacrifice as a sacrifice made for you personally. And to become worthy of that Sacrifice.
You must exert yourself. Modernity has conditioned us to be consumers who want to do nothing. But “the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force” (Matthew 11:12). And if you do not want to tear through your cocoon, to struggle and change yourself, to destroy within yourself everything that stands in the way of salvation, then you are poor soil—the seed of God’s Word, falling into you, will either not take root at all or will be choked by what you love and cling to but refuse to abandon.
Faith is an act of radical trust. Faith is an act of liberation from oneself—or rather, from what one considers to be oneself. To be strong and turn all the passion of the soul toward the salvation of the soul itself. To have the courage to give up—if necessary—everything you possess, everything you love, everything you live by, in order to follow Him. To have the bravery to deny yourself pity. To have the ability to laugh at yourself. To despise yourself when you see yourself captured by habits, attachments, and doubts. To have the fury to cast away sin, even if it seems that without it, nothing will remain of you. To have the eagerness to find the roots of sin within yourself—and to ruthlessly destroy them.
If there is will, there will be faith. If there is faith, there will be salvation. It takes place here and now.
The most important thing is to want it!
Steadfastness
Spiritual weakness is one of the greatest afflictions of modern Russians, especially the youth. No one cares about the soul at all, and even if someone does wish to tend to it—how should they begin?
A true Christian is a transformed, reborn, new person. At baptism, a person is even given a new name. A Christian completely rejects the works of the flesh, the ways of the world, and begins a new life—in the Holy Spirit, a righteous, ecclesial life. But how does one become such a person? Undoubtedly, preparation is necessary for transformation. Old Orthodoxy has preserved a very important practice of the ancient Church—the community of catechumens, those preparing for Holy Baptism. Catechumens observed Christians, studied the Holy Scriptures and the teachings of the Church, and examined themselves to determine whether they were ready for new birth in Christ.
The Savior taught: “Whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. … Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.” (Matthew 5:39–40, 44)
Spiritual weaklings nod at these verses and mutter, “That’s impossible! How can one become like that?”
It is possible! One can come to inner transformation. With simple steps.
Quit smoking and drinking. Stop indulging in fornication with others or by yourself—keep yourself in purity. Stop watching films that incite lust and aggression, and stop browsing pornographic or idle websites. Remove foul language from your vocabulary, and idleness from your daily life. Dress as a Christian should—modestly and in a way befitting your sex. Stop engaging in vulgar, obscene, angry, and meaningless conversations. Begin filtering your social circle. If your friends are true friends, they will understand. And if they refuse to change in your presence—are they really friends? Do you need them?
Train yourself in prayer. At the very least, constantly pray inwardly, in your own words, asking the Lord and the Most Holy God-bearer to preserve you and help you in your struggles and sorrows, and give thanks for your joys. In addition to this, read the morning and evening prayer rules, and memorize the most important prayers. Teach yourself to fast—restrain your stomach on Wednesdays and Fridays and during the multi-day fasts. You won’t die; you will get used to it. Attend church services and strive to understand their deep symbolism and the Church Slavonic language. Read the New Testament regularly.
Devote more time and effort to your soul. It is difficult, but the reward is immense.
Summon the courage to go to confession. You are not confessing to a man, but to God—though the priest has the power to absolve your sins if you have truly repented. Deep, heartfelt repentance is where Christianity begins, and one must prepare oneself for it. The steps outlined above are necessary to cultivate discipline in the modern soul, which has become slack and scattered.
Of course, these steps are only the first, the simplest ones. Beyond them come more important ones—learning not to allow pride, lust, malice, envy, laziness, and self-love to take root even in the mind. But at least begin with something small. Take care of your soul! It longs for God, though your spoiled body and corrupted mind try to ignore it. Grant it this longing.
“For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. … Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these: fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. … And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:17–25)
Love
Which is greater: faith or love? At first glance, the answer seems obvious—if we are speaking of Christian faith, then faith must be the most important. But the Apostle Paul tells us that of the three greatest Christian virtues—faith, hope, and love—love is the greatest.
It is in this relationship between love and faith that the essence of Christianity lies. Every religion speaks of the necessity of faith. But in non-Christian religions, the core is submission, reverence before the object of belief; nowhere is love spoken of as the Way.
Faith is a complete conviction in something that requires no proof. But love is a profound sense of belonging. If faith places a person behind the shield of his trust, then love goes much further. In love, I perceive myself as part of something that is not me, something greater than myself. In love, a person breaks free from the cocoon of isolation and self-centeredness and reaches outward. This is why Christianity is a religion of deep transformation. If I truly love the Lord, who was crucified and risen for me, He will give me the strength to believe, to hope, and to shine amidst the darkness of this world. But within myself, I do not have the strength to do this. “Only through the power of love can one go beyond the boundaries.”
But how can one love God? Immersed in the world and its evils, we do not see Him, and often, we see only His apparent absence in a world of wickedness, suffering, and filth. Where is God? The Savior Himself answered this question when speaking with the Jewish law teachers—the Pharisees—who claimed that salvation required only adherence to the Old Testament Law. Christ came and said: no! Ritual alone is not enough for the soul to break free from its suffocating demonic chains and reach toward the Father of Light. What is needed is a revolution of the self—a union with the Lord, a becoming part of Him—love. And love for Him begins with love for one’s neighbor:
“If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?” (1 John 4:20)
Learn at the very least to respect, value, understand, care for, and have compassion for those whom life has placed on your path. If you sincerely desire this, you will succeed. But if a person does not want to be transformed—to love his neighbor, to love God, to ask Him for strength in this very transformation—then that person does not truly desire the Kingdom of Heaven.
“And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.” (1 John 4:16)
No religion apart from the Christian faith demands not just confession, not just ritual, but a new birth in love. This is a difficult path, harder than in any other religion. But it is the only true Path, because this is the Path of God:
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
Christ did not merely give an answer—He fulfilled love!
It is a difficult path, but the Lord will help those who truly desire to love—not with a thirst for possession, not with self-interest, not with hypocrisy or cowardice, but with a love that sees beyond oneself, even beyond the instinct for self-preservation. To love as oneself, and even more than oneself. This is the Royal Path.
“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.” (1 Corinthians 13:1–8)
Sobriety
This slogan is repeated today, as if by the hypnotized, by almost all young men and women: “You have to try everything in life!” The television has trained us well—we don’t even think anymore, we just try, as long as there’s an opportunity and no immediate punishment. The moral, internal restraints are gone. After all, television teaches “being free of complexes.”
But if everything must be tried, then why not try going to church, going to confession, praying, fasting, doing good for others, helping the poor, the elderly, the sick? Why is it that people eagerly try debauchery, alcohol, smoking, and drugs? Why do good children become lustful cynics, reckless brutes, and uncontrollably self-absorbed?
Young people live not by reason, but by feelings, by impulses. This is neither good nor bad in itself—after all, true wisdom is acquired through experience. But in ancient times, the young listened to their elders, learned wisdom from them, and this helped smooth out the folly of youth. Now, obedience and family hierarchy are not even spoken of, and what wisdom can modern parents pass down?
Sensuality has two directions—one that elevates and one that corrupts. Higher emotions include the joy of virtue, sincerity, mercy, and compassion. Higher still is the fulfillment of duty, the defense of honor, the noble service to one’s neighbor, one’s homeland, and the Church, as well as heroism, steadfastness, and the overcoming of one’s weaknesses and vices. The highest of all is the bliss of feeling the presence of the Lord in one’s soul, of perceiving His will and love.
Corrupting sensuality, on the other hand, is the pursuit of bodily pleasures (alcohol, smoking, debauchery) and the indulgence in the lower passions of the soul (self-satisfaction, the craving for originality, self-promotion, thrill-seeking). The kind of sensuality that destroys the soul begins with the words “I want.” Naturally, it is much easier to fall downward than to climb upward. And so, if one does nothing with oneself, brutalization is inevitable. For some, it will manifest on the level of the heart (rudeness, vulgarity, cruelty, malice), for others, on the level of the mind (shallowness, self-admiration, selfishness), and for others still, on the level of the body (drunkenness, smoking, drugs, debauchery, gluttony). And for some, it will take hold at every level.
When people speak of “trying everything,” they usually mean complete indulgence in unrestrained thoughts and emotions. Wherever the wind carries them, there they go. And of course, the wind always blows downward.
Brutalization successfully disfigures a person. First, it happens gradually and imperceptibly. Second, it arises from within (and we trust ourselves, not suspecting our own innate corruption). Third, it provokes no external criticism, for modern culture tirelessly whispers: “Don’t hold back!” “Live in the moment!” “Indulge yourself!”
Only Christians speak of the unacceptability of such an approach to life. Christ teaches that for true joy (in comparison to which even the purest earthly pleasures are mere pale shadows), one must deny oneself. One must cast aside the corrupt animal nature and, in its place, receive from the Lord a new life. This is called repentance, and it is with this that a person’s entrance into the Church of Christ must begin.
Why try everything? Try what is best—what elevates and ennobles. That which is Christian morality: purity, goodness, love, faith, sincerity, responsibility, diligence, courage, self-control, care, compassion, mercy, devotion. Each person knows how these virtues manifest in daily life. They bring true, sacred joy—because by serving your neighbor, you serve the Savior Himself. Because nothing is more important than the salvation of the soul. And the soul rejoices in every step you take toward the Lord.
And what of the evil things? Lust, intoxication of any kind, madness, malice, envy, cowardice, hatred, cruelty, selfishness, cynicism, greed. Worst of all—the deeper you sink, the harder it is to wake up and rise again. The more you grow to love the life you’ve settled into.
Yet the Lord gives strength to anyone who finds even a drop of sincere repentance in their heart, who sincerely desires the Kingdom of Heaven. Even if one has no strength left for change, a heartfelt cry to the Savior—and already, one has taken a step out of the abyss of sin and despair.
In life, we must choose the best!