Hieromonk Gregory (in the world Hadziemmanuel Panagiotis) was born on the island of Metilene in 1936, graduated from the Faculty of Theology at the University of Athens, then studied patristic theology in Strasbourg. Returning to his homeland, in 1966 he took monastic vows, was ordained a deacon, and a month later - a priest, and went to Mount Athos.

In 1968, following the holy elder Paisius and Archimandrite Vasily, Fr. Gregory settled in the Stavronikita monastery. In 1971, Fr. Gregory was ordained as a confessor and carries out this obedience to this day in Greece and Germany. Since 1980 Fr. Gregory lives with his monastic community in the holy Kutlumush cell of St. John the Theologian.

Are all diseases the result of our sins? Of course not. Sometimes the Lord allows illness to educate or sanctify His beloved children. As it is said in the “Response of the Holy Great Elder Barsanuphius to the novice brother who was sick and could not patiently endure this sorrow,” “there is an illness that is sent for testing. And this test is given to make us worthy children of God. A husband who has not been tested by temptation remains inexperienced and immature. He who has been tested by adversity is experienced and skilled, like gold refined by fire. BecausePatience brings experience, experience gives hope, and hope does not shame (Rom. 5:4-5) the one who has it.” In these cases, a person gains a heavenly reward through his patience. Christ assured us that every believer, when he has spiritual fruit, is pruned like a vineyard to bring forth more fruit. (see: John 15:2). And, as St. Cyril of Alexandria writes, “if some pruning of branches on the mental vine is done, this will not happen without pain... Because our merciful God guides us through pain and suffering... But this small suffering makes us blessed, for it presents Divine guidance. And this is witnessed by the prophet David, who says:Blessed is the man whom You admonish, O Lord (Ps. 93:12).”

God is love, and His guidance is wonderful and unknown. The Venerable Elder Paisios gave a very clear example when he was asked why the Lord gives many tests to some people, but does not give others: “What does he say? Holy Bible? The Lord loves him and punishes him (Prov. 3:12). For example, some father has eight children. Five live at home with their father, and three leave home and forget about their father. If the children living with their father are guilty of something, he can pull their ears, or slap them on the head, or, if they are reasonable, caress them, give them a chocolate bar. But those who live far from their father have neither affection nor a slap on the head. God does the same. If people who live with Him make a mistake, He punishes them with a “slap on the head,” and they pay for their sin. Or, if He gives them more “slaps on the head,” they accumulate heavenly rewards for themselves. And to those who live far from Him, He gives long years of life so that they will repent.”

Other causes of illness

While exploring the causes of disease, we must not forget that characteristic our time is despondency and stress. Our life is full of sorrows. A person who approaches the difficulties of his life without faith and hope in God lives in constant stress. On the contrary, the one who entrusts his life to the love of God lives in peace and tranquility. Saint John Chrysostom says that “the cause of our anxiety and worries is not a sudden change in external circumstances, but ourselves and our thoughts. If we have them right, then we will always remain in peace and quiet, even if countless storms arise from everywhere.”

Thus, it is completely natural for a person who does not resort to God to suffer and be in constant worry, to complain about everything and everyone around him, and in the end all this can result in some kind of physical or even mental illness.

Saint John also speaks about the causes of bodily illnesses - “gluttony, drunkenness and inactivity.” All this “also produces disease.” Indeed, it has been observed that a pampered person who lives in luxury is more susceptible to illness and lives less than a person who loves work. Thus, the multiplication of various diseases is natural for our time of striving for an easy life and pleasures.

* * *

Finally, there are cases among holy people when a person himself asks God for an illness. He asks to atone for his sins, or to respond to the great love of God, or to help other people. Those who asked for such a gift from God were motivated by great love for Him and for people. And this love made them beloved children of God. We must be careful not to try to imitate them while we are on a much lower spiritual level. Because there is a danger of grumbling against God, who allowed us to be tested, although we ourselves asked for it.

Elder Porfiry of blessed memory said: “I thank God, who gave me many illnesses. Often I tell Him: “My Christ, Your love is limitless!” It's a miracle that I'm alive. Among my illnesses is pituitary cancer... It hurts terribly. But I pray, patiently lifting up the Cross of Christ... Very severe pain, I suffer, but my illness is beautiful. I perceive it as the love of Christ. I am moved and thank God. This is for my sins. I am a sinner and God is trying to cleanse me. When I was sixteen years old, I asked God to give me serious illness, cancer, so that I could suffer for the sake of His love and glorify Him in suffering... God did not forget my request and sent me such a blessing after so many years! Now I am not asking God to take what I asked Him for. I rejoice in what I have, so that, out of His great love, I can share in His suffering. God is raising me.The Lord punishes whomever he loves (Heb. 12:6). My illness is a special favor of God, which calls me to enter into the mystery of His love... That’s why I don’t pray for God to make me healthy. I pray that He will make me good.”

Benefits of diseases

Let us now consider the benefits that illnesses bring us. Illness is a visit from God, it is an expression of His love for the sake of healing our soul from the disease of sin. “God gives illnesses for the health of the soul,” says St. Isaac the Syrian.

Saint John, speaking about the paralytic who had been waiting for his healing for thirty-eight years, notes that his illness “revealed God’s love for mankind. Truly, the very defeat of such an illness and the continuation of the illness for so long is a matter of the greatest care of God. Just as a goldsmith, throwing gold into a furnace, leaves it to melt in the fire until he sees that it has become pure, so God allows the souls of people to be tempted by disasters until they become pure and bright, until from this temptation will gain great benefit. And this is the greatest blessing."

The words of St. John may seem to us an exaggeration. Then we must examine why illness is considered a blessing from God. The answer to this question, according to the God-bearing holy fathers, lies in the paternal love of God, who with love and wisdom finds a way to heal our sick soul. Diseases, as well as other sufferings that God allows in our lives, are, as St. Theophan of Nicea writes, “medicines for our soul and for the eradication of sin that has been strengthened in it for a long time; These medicines are bitter and unpleasant, but they have the power, greater than all other means (fasting, vigils, etc.), to cure the soul.”

All the saints of our Church experienced the spiritual benefits of bodily illnesses. That is why, when the Lord visited them with illness, they did not ask for deliverance from it, but for the strength to endure it.

One old man, who suffered from dropsy, said to the brothers who were caring for him:Fathers, pray that a similar illness does not affect my soul. But regarding my bodily illness, I pray to God not to heal me quickly, for although the outer man suffers, the inner man is renewed day by day. (see: 2 Cor. 4: 16). That is, this holy elder felt, following the example of the Apostle Paul, an increasing benefit to the soul from this serious illness.

The holy elder Paisios, after a severe test, said: “When the body undergoes suffering, the soul is sanctified... Christ would have done me a great honor if for the sake of His love I had suffered even more. If only He would strengthen me so that I could withstand this pain. But I don’t need retribution... I received such benefit from my illness that I did not receive from the entire feat of asceticism that I performed before I got sick.” “Health is a big thing, but the good that illness brings to a person, health cannot give him! Illness brings spiritual good to a person. Illness is a great blessing. She cleanses a person from sin, and sometimes collects heavenly rewards for him. The human soul is like gold, and illness is like the fire that purifies this gold. Look, Christ also said to the Apostle Paul:My strength is made perfect in weakness (2 Cor. 12:9). The more a person suffers from illness, the more pure and holy he becomes - as long as he endures and accepts the illness with joy... After all, physical illness helps in healing mental illness. Physical illness brings humility to a person and thus eradicates his mental illness.”

Sayings of the Holy Fathers ABOUT DISEASES*

* Spiritual warfare. M, Pilgrim, 1993. P. 28-303.

DThe enemy tempted zealous Christians with tormentmi, and the current ones - with illnesses and thoughts.

Prp . Ambrose Optinsky

TOjust as medicine benefits the body, so and illness - to the soul.

Hthen she’s sick, it doesn’t matter: sinful peoplethis is purification; how fire purifies ironfrom rust, just as illness heals the soul.

Prp . Anatoly Optinsky

Billness relieves many mentalpassions. The Apostle Paul says: ...if our outer man... is smoldering, then our inner man... is being updated.

(2 Cor. 4, 16)

Git not only strikes the soul, but also those lo.

In other cases it is quite obvious; Vothers, although it is not so clear, but the truth remains I share the truth that illnesses of the body are all and allyes from sins and for the sake of sins. I commit a sinresides in the soul and directly makes it sick, butSince the life of the body comes from the soul, then from a sick soul, of course, life is not healthy.

Already one but the fact that sin brings darkness and darkness(cm. grieve– approx. A.P.), must but has an adverse effect on the blood, inwhich is the basis of bodily health. But when you remember that he is separated from Bo ha - the Source of life and places a person indiscord with all laws in force andin himself, and in nature, then still marvelit is necessary how a sinner remains alive after sinHa. This is God's mercy awaiting repentance tions and appeals.

Therefore, the patientbefore anything else, we must hurrycleanse yourself from sins and in your conscience withmake peace with God. This will pave the wayto the beneficial effects of drugs.

From it is known that there was some significant doctor who did not begin treatment,until the sick person confesses and receives communionXia Holy Mysteries; and the more difficult the illness was,the more insistently he demanded it.

St. Feofan the Recluse

BIllness is a mercy for a person God's.

And if a Christian accepts like Bohomo sent for the benefit of the soul and the goodit will be good to endure his painfulstanding, then he goes straight to heaven...Diseases - threshing: the more blows, theThe more grains will be knocked out and the richer the grind will be.Then you need grain for the millstones, then flour in mixing the dough and leavening it, then inin the form of bread - into the oven and, finally, for the meal God's

St. Feofan the Recluse

Bthank God that you are on good terms ty: your illness is a great gift from God. Dan but nightly for this and for everything you praise and goodgive - and your soul will be saved.

Elder Arseny of Athos

TOwhen will they bother you inconvenientlypain or painful suffering, or somethingor similar, then try not to missfrom the memory of the words of Holy Scripture: Mno With these sorrows it is fitting for us to enter Tsarst Vie Heavenly.

Prp . Ambrose Optinsky

Bog does not require the patient to perform heroic deedsforest, but only patience with humility and thanksgiving

Prp . Ambrose Optinsky

TOwhen, for example, the patient settles downbear your illness complacently and not carries...

The enemy, knowing that in this way he utbelieves in the virtue of patience, he begins to upset such goodwill. Formany things begin to come to his mindgood deeds that he could do,if I were in a different position. ANDtries to convince him that if he were healthy,how well God would work and how muchI would bring zy to myself and others: I would go to church, have conversations, read and write inedification of neighbors and under.

Noticing that suchthoughts are accepted, the enemy brings more oftenbrings them to mind, multiplies and colors them,reaches the point of feeling, evokes desires and impulsesto business topics, imagining how well things wentif he had this or that business, and excitingpitythat is bound hand and foot by disease nuyu.

Little by little, with frequent repetitionI love such thoughts and movements in my soul, I wishdissatisfaction turns into dissatisfaction and annoyance.

The former complacencypatience, that's how it iszom, gets upset, and the disease representsno longer as a medicine from God and a fieldfor the virtue of patience, but as something notcommitted to the cause of salvation, and the desire to masterthe fear of it becomes uncontrollable, still in the form of obtaining through this space for doing good and pleasing God in every way.

Having brought it to this, the enemy steals from his mind andhearts this good goal of desire to get betterniya and, leaving one wish for health ashealth, makes you annoyed to look at illness not as an obstacle to good, but assomething unpleasant in itself. This causes impatience, which cannot be cured. good thoughts, takes power and moves into grumbling, and deprives the patient of his former peacefrom complacent patience. And the enemy rejoicesthat managed to upset him.

Invisible abuse

Bwhether you are old or poor, be patient.

Neither What does God require from you other than patience?By enduring complacently, you will not beuninterrupted in good deeds. Whenever he looks atGod will see you, what you do is goodro or remain in goodness if you are complacentbut you endure, whereas a healthy thing has moreSome come at intervals.

Why [therefore],wanting a change in your situation, you wantedeat to exchange the best for the worst.

Invisible abuse

Blonely and poor - don’t complain and don’t murmurcabbage soup to your fate, to God and people, not forsee other people's happiness, beware of despondency andespecially despair, submit completely to the Providence of God.

One old man who suffered from water sickness nuyu, spoke to the brothers who came to him with a desire to treat him: “Fathers, moTake care so that you don't get sick like thisneither my inner man, but as for the real illness, I ask God that He does not suddenly free mefrom her, because how much our outer man ...smolderingso internal...updating (2 Cor. 4, 16)

Prp . Seraphim of Sarov

ABOUTone old man spoke about poor Lazar:“Not a single virtue is visible in him, buthe would have done. And only one thing is found dil in him - that he never complained aboutLord, as if he were not showing mercy to him you.But he endured the illness with gratitudehis own, and therefore God accepted him.”

Patericon of Athos

INIt’s a great feat to endure patientlyillnesses and among them to sing songs of thanksgiving to God.

WITHtarets to his sick friend grandsonshal: “We need to pray more often: “Lord! mi Here is patience, there is forgiveness."

EIf you've had enough here, you won't tolerate itin the next world of eternal torment, but, on the contrary, you willenjoy such bliss in front ofFor whom present happiness is nothing.

INverily, bodily illnesses of the souldraws closer to God.

St. Gregory the Theologian

Psomehow came to visit Fr. Abbot Anthonyone is sick with his legs and says: “Father,My legs hurt, I can’t lay downus, and it confuses me.” O. Anthony answeredtold him: “Yes, the Scripture says: son,give me a shoutMi heart, not nose."

Prp . Ambrose Optinsky

NSome woman has an illness in her chestdi, called cancer, and hearing about Abba Longinus, she was looking for an opportunity to meet him.

He lived nine miles from Alexandria to the westdu. When the woman was looking for him, it happenedblessedtherefore to collect firewood by the sea;and, seeing him, the woman says to him: “Ab va“Where does Abba Longinus, the servant of God, live?” –not knowing that it was himself. He said: “What what do you want from this deceiver? Do not goto him, for he is a deceiver. What do you needBut?" The woman showed illness. Elder,signifyingsign of the cross that place, released her, saying: “Go, the Lord will heal you. Longinus cannot help you.”The woman left, believing her word, and would soonLa is healed. When did I tell someabout this the signs of the old man spoke, they learnedthat it was Abba Longinus himself.

Patericon of Athos

Nekill

By the way, they also kill lies.chi from ignorance of the patient’s illness, drinkgiving him harmful drugs.

Those who do not want to be treated or treat pain also killnogo who needs the help of a doctor.

Ubi are those that irritate a patient for whom irritation is fatal, for example, a person susceptible to consumption, and thereby accelerate it death.

They kill those who do not serverum of time, due to stinginess or otherwisegood reason, medical benefits hurtmu, bread to the hungry.

BRat asked Abba Arseny: “There is someone those are good people. Why are they on time? death are subject to great tribulation, beingstricken with bodily illness?”

“Because,” answered the elder, “so that we, as if saltingHaving finished salting here, we went there clean.”

Patericon of Athos

ABOUTDean of the parish priests didI am sick, and, already approaching death, seemade his bed surrounded by demons whowere preparing to kidnap his soul and bring him down to hell.

Then three Angels appeared. One of themstood at the bedside and began to argue about the soul withthe most cunning demon who held froma full book in which everything was written downsins of the priest.

Meanwhile a friend camegoy priest to admonish a brother.Confession began; sick, directing hisfrightened glances at the book, pronounced his sins with selflessness, as if spewing them outfrom myself. And what does he see? Sees clearly thathardly uttered any sin like this sindisappeared into the book, which left a gapinstead of recording. Thus, confessionhe blotted out all the sins from the demonic bookhi, and, having received healing, spent the rest of his days in deep repentance, telling his neighborshim for their edification, vision, sealednew miraculous healing.

St. Ignatiy Brianchaninov

Eshe also said (blessed Syncletikia):The devil has many sharp weapons.

When it's not okay he poor the soul with poverty, brings richessusceptibility to seduction.

Didn't overcome her with insults andvilification - lavishes praise on her and glory.

A person is not defeated by health - thoselo he is affected by diseases. Because you couldn'tto seduce him with pleasures, attemptsto seduce the soul with involuntary labors, it’s timepresses a person with serious illnesses due to the fact thatthrough this, in the careless, the love for God.

But whenever the body is struck yours or ignites with a strong fever,also languishes with unbearable thirst - if yousinner, then bear it, remembering the boo future punishment, oh eternal fire and executions by court and don't neglect real [punishment yami] ( Eur. 12, 5). But rejoice that God hasTil you, and repeat this beautiful sayingtion: The Lord punished me severely, but death didn't betray me(Ps. 117, 18). You are iron and fire will cleanse your rust.

If you, boo being righteous, he fell into illness, then through this from With less you succeed with more. Yougold - and through the fire he became purer.<...>

Are we losing our eyes? - let's move it withoutburdens, because through this we are deprived of opgans of gluttony and enlighten ourselves internally with early eyes.

Have we gone deaf? - We willthank God that we are completely sweatingthey heard vain rumors.

Are your hands weak? – But we have hands inside ourselves, destinedready to fight the enemy.

Weakness will prevail whole body? - But because of this, on the contrary, ageThere is health according to the inner man.

Patericon of Athos

WITHthe taret said: like unheated wax and unsoftenedcannot accept cash on deliverythere are stamps on it, so is a person, if notthe child is tempted by labor and illness, cannotaccept the power of Christ. That's why Lordsays to the divine Paul: pretty for you of My grace, for My power has perfected is in weakness.And the Apostle himself boasts,vorya: And therefore I will be much more willing to praise pour out your weaknesses so that you may dwell in the power of Christ to me (2 Cor. 12, 9).

Patericon of Athos

WITHthe Tartar said: “Do not be faint-hearted whenmay bodily illness befall you. Because, esIs it the Lord's pleasure that you should suffer in body,then who are you, burdened by this? Isn't heis everything about you? Isn't it Him you live by?

So, bear the disease and pray to Him, yes yesHe works everything for your benefit, that is, according to His will;sit (in the cell) patiently, eating alms."

Patericon of Athos

ABOUTfather will not give children stones instead of breadand snakes instead of fish.

If natural father doesn't do that, especially since he won't do thatdo Heavenly Father. And our petitionsoften resemble the request of a snake and a stone.It seems to us that “this” is the bread and fish that we ask, but the Heavenly Father sees that what we askthere will be a stone or a snake for us - and it won’t give requested.

Father and mother pour out before BoGod's warm prayers for his son, may he arrange the best for him, but at the same time they also express the fact thatconsider it best for their son, namely,so that he is alive, healthy and happy. StateGod hears their prayer and arranges fortheir son is the best. Just not for the conceptshining, but as it really is fortheir son: sends a disease from which you die son barks.

For those who are running out of thingsreal life, this is not hearing, but dedefiance or provision of face, oto whom they pray, his fate; for believersbut real life is just in preparationto another life, there can be no doubtknowledge that the son for whom they prayed was ill anddied precisely because a prayer was heardand that it was better for him to leave here,than to stay here.

You say: so what?and pray? No, you can’t help but pray, butIn prayers about certain objects, one must always contain in one’s thoughts the condition: “If,Lord, You Yourself find this saving.”

St. Isaac the Syrian advises shortening every prayer like this: “To you, Lord,I know what is good for me: createwith me according to your will.”

Set. Feofan the Recluse

Nsomeone lived somewhere far away in the desert.

Behind his insides ached: whether his lungs, orheart, or liver, or all together. Pain, at leastdie. There is nowhere to expect human help,I ran to God with all-powerful prayer.

Us the Lord heard. One night, falling asleep, he sees such a vision. Two Angels came with butpressed, cut it, took out the diseased parts,cleaned them, washed them and lubricated them with something. Then they put everything in its place and sprayedsomething, and - everything grew together, as if there was no call.

Having woken up, the elder stood uphealthy, as if I had never been sick,new, like a young man in his prime.

St. Feofan the Recluse

... Rgreat harm to the soul in both cases - andwhen the flesh is rebellious, from excess healthindulging in violent impulses, and whenexhausted from painful illnesses, relaxed on and motionless.

Because the soul is therethe state of the body does not have time to transportgazes at grief, but when necessary, is occupied with the sensation of pain; and weakens, suppressed by the suffering of the body.

All Let life be a time of prayer.

St. Basil the Great

Z“Health is a gift from God,” said St. XieRafim Sarovsky, - but this gift is not always useful: like any suffering, illnesshas the power to cleanse us from spiritual filth,make amendssins, to humble and soften oursoul, make you think again, realize yourweakness and remembering God. Therefore the diseaseneither we nor our children need.

BIt happens that illness seizes to awaken a sleeping soul.

Nit is impossible that when we walk the pathtruth, sadness would not have met us,the body would not be exhausted in illness and labor,and remained unchanged, unlessWe love to live in virtue.

BIt happens that God covers others with illnessfrom trouble, which they could not avoid if they were healthy.

INillness, before any other matter,must hasten to be cleansed of sins in Tathe ministry of repentance and accept in your conscience fight with God.

St. Feofan the Recluse

IN dangerous diseases, take care first of clearing your conscience and peace of mind of your soul.

Bour illnesses for the most part is happeningfrom sins, why the best remedy to preprevention and treatment from them consists ofso as not to sin.

INall the most severe sorrows and misfortunesare carried more easily by people than serious illnessesbodily. An undoubted expert in the field of tormentsuffering, torment of people - Satan - before the face of God Himself testified that the bodynew diseases are more unbearable than all othershappiness, and that man, courageously and innocentlyhe who endures other calamities may weaken in his patience and waver in his devotion to God, having undergone severe pain. climb.

GThis is why the Lord sends illnesses,to remember death and from memory newsso that the sick person is concerned aboutend, and preparation for death.

MThe Lord heals many diseases throughdoctors and other means. But there are diseasesfor the healing of which the Lord imposes forrushes when he sees that the disease is more necessary forsalvation than health.

TOwhen illness weighs us down, there is no needwe must grieve that from pain and ulcers wewe cannot sing psalms with our lips. Becauseillnesses and wounds serve to destroy lust ny, and both fasting and prostration are prescribedWe need us to conquer passions. If illnesses also drive away these passions, then not about than to care.

Billnesses reconcile us with God and indraw back into His love.

St. rights John of Kronstadt

BSome people need to console themselves by readingDivine Scripture and the suffering of Spa holder.

TThe Lord accepts the patience of illnessthen fasting and prayer.

B uduchisick, don't force yourself throughstrength to church, and lie under the blanket and yours ri Jesus Prayer.

Prp . Anatoly Optinsky

ABOUThowever, at those hours when he goes to churchyou service, it’s better not to lie down, but to sit onbed, leaning, if infirmity overcomesyes, to the wall, and so pray intelligently and heartily,with full desire and cheerfulness of spirit.

St. Feofan the Recluse

Bhaving killed the weak, and the rule, as I canyou eat it, fix it, even at ten o’clockemov. When the head is unhealthy, bow to the ground don't put new ones.

NDon’t grieve if sometimes you don’tyou can fulfill the prayer rule, andthank God for the disease, for it is the sameWhat is prayer if without grumbling and with gratitude? we tolerate nothing.

Elder Arseny of Athos

Gthe main cause of cowardice and murmuring on God in days of suffering many people havelack of faith in God and hope in HimDivine Providence. True chrisTheanin believes that everything that happens toWhat we do in life is according to the will of God; Whatwithout the will of God and a hair from our headsdoesn't fall to the ground. If God sends him suffering and sorrow, then he sees in this either punishment sent to him from God for his sinshim, or a test of faith and love for Him. And therefore he is not only not cowardlyand does not grumble against God for this, but humbles himself underthe mighty hand of God, still thanks Godfor not forgetting him; what about merciful diyu With all God wants temporary sorrowwe replace the eternal ones for him; affectedsorrow, he speaks to the righteous David:It is good for me, Lord, for you have humbled me, so that I'm studying your justification.

Hwe eat more in this life we ​​suffer fromillness, persecution, enemy forces orpoverty, the more we will inherit rewards in the future life.

Blzh . Jerome

GGod sent you illness for a reason, and notas much as punishment for previous sins, asout of love for you, to tear you away from a sinful life and put you on the path to wellnessSenia. Thank God for this, who takes care of you.

Hegumen Nikon (Vorobiev)

ABOUTthe ease of fasting for the weak is permissible according to the church rule (Apostle, 69th rule).

St. Filaret, Metropolitan of Moscow

BIt happens that some patients useThey eat fast food as medicineand then they repent of this, whichthe diseases violated the rules of the Holy Church aboutpost. But everyone needs to watch the actionact according to your conscience and consciousness... Better of lean food, choose a nutritional supplement for yourselffresh and digestible to your stomach.

BSometimes there is temptation when you are sick.Prp. Simeon New Theologian says: "DuhSha cannot free himself from temptationwhat, as calling on Jesus Christ and runningto the spiritual father."

INI do not want to show bodily illnessesthere is sin, but there is humility.

Prp . Barsanuphius the Great

EIf you are sick, then invite an experienced doctorcha and use the remedies prescribed by himstvami. For this purpose, they arise from the groundso many beneficial plants. IfIf you reject them out of pride, you will speed upyour death and you will become a suicide.

Eif you are in long-term painclimb and have any consolation fromserving you, then look at those who those inside suffer grief and sadness, outsidethe lives are covered with wounds, and have no one to help themserved, fed, gave drink, raised, washedwounds - and they endure.

St. Tikhon Zadonsky

Bbeware lest the hater of goodnesslure you into ingratitude or murmuring, thenyou will lose everything.

St. rights John of Kronstadt

Eif a person grumbles about illnessnor sorrow, will look for the culprit for thissorrows among people (bewitched, made), demons, circumstances, will become all meanswe try to avoid them, then the enemy will helphim in this, will show him the imaginary culpritskov (bosses, orders, neighbors, etc., andother). Arouse enmity and hatred in himtowards them, the desire to take revenge, insult and about what, and through this will lead the soul of such a person century into darkness, despair, hopelessness, desirego to another place, hide even underground, just not to see, not to hear imaginaryenemies, but actually listening and delightinghis actual mortal enemy -the devilwho inspires him with all this and wishto destroy him.

Gout of love the Lord sends usthe strength of each illness and sorrow, but also gives them patience, so that we too may participate kami From my suffering; who is not scared heregave for Christ's sake, he will have remorse in the next century, because it was possibleshow your love for Christ by patience I eat illness and sorrow, and [you] did not do this, trying to evade and avoid anysorrow... Not in anger, not for punishmentThe Lord sends us illnesses and sorrows, and from love for us, although not all people and do not always understand this.

WITHsuffering, if it makes you more embitteredgo, without transforming it, without giving goodnessno reaction [corrections and thanksgiving] –only pure evil.

WITHIt should also be mentioned thatThese fathers offer to sanctify what is receivedmedicine: yes, Venerable Barsanuphius VeLykiy recommended to one student to takemother's medicine - rose oil with holy waterdoy. The same old man does not advise against illnessesstrenuously ask for healing, for we do notwe know what is good for us.

IN illness, don’t wish yourself death - it’s sinful.

TOwhen we see someone who is sick, we won’tbefore explaining to ourselves the cause of his illness, but we will try to console him.

Pvisiting the sick on their beds and delivers those possessed by the sorrow of the flesh fromthe demon of pride and fornication.

PVisit the sick, may God visit you.

RThe sick person and whoever serves him receives the same reward.

Prp . Pimen Multi-painful

EThere are severely ill patients (after surgery,severely exhausted by illness, with overworkNoah nervous system etc.), which gravitateare eager to visit and suffer when people visit themask questions, inquiries, etc.more talk. Therefore, before youto treat a patient, you need to find out firstfromclose to him, will they be pleasedvisiting a sick person.

XIt’s also a good thing to care about painnykh and visit them, but you need to have ajudgment: where the mental structure is damagedIf you appreciate it, then the matter will work out without you.

GLord, the lack of our good deedsreplenishes either illnesses or sorrows.

St. Dimitry Rostovsky

WITHthe best gratitude to God for yourecovery from illness is toserve Him the rest of your life to the fullestignorance of His commandments.

Korytko E. S.

At all times, starting from ancient times, many thinkers, and then scientists, paid great attention to the issue of diseases. This issue was not ignored by thinkers and theologians such as the world-famous doctor and archbishop St. Luke (Voino-Yasenetsky), St. Theophan the Recluse, St. Ignatius Brianchaninov, teacher. John Climacus and many others. etc. The essence of their theological thinking boils down to the following.

Illnesses come as punishment, as admonition, as a test of patience and faith. But they all have our sins as their basis, starting with original sin. Experience shows that sin and passions destroy the health of the soul and body, and victory over passions brings peace to the soul and health to the body.

Thousands of years before scientific development, the Bible made the connection between sin and disease simple and clear. “A man with evil tongues will not be established on earth; evil will drag the oppressor into destruction” (Ps. 139); “A gentle heart is life for the body, but envy is rottenness for the bones” (Proverbs 14); “A merry heart does good as medicine, but a depressed spirit dries up the bones” (Proverbs 17); “The crown of wisdom is the fear of the Lord, which produces peace and unharmed health” (Sir. m1:18), etc.

In the 20th century illness began to be understood narrowly, usually only as bodily suffering, and in the old days, they say, the doctor greeted the patient with the question: “How long ago have you taken communion?” - and did not begin treatment until the patient confessed and received communion. Let us try to analyze the relationship between sinful passions and the somatic and mental illnesses that result from them. Let's start with gluttony. The concept of this sin includes abuse and excess in nutrition (overeating, breaking fasts, drunkenness, delicacy), smoking and, in general, any immoderate pleasure of the flesh. Holy Scripture repeatedly warns about the harmfulness of gluttony. “A well-bred man is content with little, and therefore he does not suffer from shortness of breath on his bed. Healthy sleep occurs with moderation of the stomach... Suffering from insomnia and cholera, and pain in the stomach, the Wise One emphasizes, occur in an insatiable person” (Sir. 31).

It is an obvious fact that this sin is one of the causes of obesity, gastrointestinal diseases, metabolic disorders in the joints, diseases of the cardiovascular system, alcoholism, respiratory diseases, etc. According to statistics, the average life expectancy of obese people decreases by approximately for 7 years.

The sin of fornication is organically connected with gluttony. Skin and venereal diseases, AIDS, infertility, impotence, accompanied by neuropsychic disorders in most cases stem from sexual perversions and sexual promiscuity. Such people destroy both bodies and souls, both their own and others. The sin of fornication entails the sin of infanticide in the womb. Its consequences are various complications of abortion, infertility, inflammatory diseases of the reproductive system, etc.

The sin of love of money seriously disfigures the image of God in man and harms health. The biblical example of a money lover is Judas Iscariot; classical literary examples - Gogol's Plyushkin, Balzac's Gobsek. Archbishop Innokenty of Kherson paints the image of a money-lover, consumed by anger because of his neighbor’s wealth. The pallor of the face, the grave-like hue of the eyes and lips, the merciless heart prove that the whole order of mental and physical forces is perverted. Truly, “vigilance over wealth exhausts the body, and care for it drives away sleep” (Sir. 31).

The behavior of someone obsessed with the love of money depends on many social factors and manifests itself in various forms of antisocial behavior (theft, extortion, racketeering, bribery, etc.). Such people often develop various neuropsychic disorders (neuroses, depression, psychoses). All this eloquently testifies that money lovers, like other sinners, are spiritually sick people.

One of the most harmful sins to health is anger. Modern Swedish and American researchers have independently shown that angry and power-hungry people, if due to objective circumstances they do not fully express their passions, are prone to developing hypertension. Also contributing to sharp surges in pressure are aggressive personality traits that cannot find an outlet (suppressed hostility, rancor, hidden and unforgiven resentment, etc.).

Apparently it is not without reason that the Bible says: “Jealousy and anger shorten the days, but care brings old age before its time” (Sir. 30).

In the same chapter of Wisdom there is another wonderful instruction regarding another sin: “Do not indulge in sadness in your soul and do not torment yourself with your suspiciousness; the joy of the heart is the life of a person, and the joy of a husband is a long life... comfort your heart and remove sadness from yourself, for sadness has killed many, and there is no benefit in it” (Sir. 30). Sadness and despondency are accompanied by laziness, idleness, lack of faith, doubts about God, and idle talk. Clinically, sadness and despondency appear as asthenia, various forms of depression (apathy, melancholy, anxiety), etc.

Depression reduces immunity. It, like smoking and alcoholism, increases vulnerability to cancer, provokes gastric ulcers and duodenum, neuropsychiatric disorders. The Apostle Paul distinguishes between “Godly sorrow” and “worldly sorrow.” The first produces repentance leading to salvation, and the second produces death (2 Cor. 7; 10).

Along with worldly sadness and despondency, vanity and especially pride have a catastrophically adverse effect on health. Their manifestations: lust for power, selfishness, excessive conceit, contempt and humiliation of people, unbelief and blasphemy against God.

Six hundred years before Christ lived the richest and very famous king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar. He was famous for his military victories, colossal power and magnificent buildings (for example, one of the seven wonders of the world - the so-called Hanging Gardens of Babylon). Historical fact - on all the bricks preserved in the stone ruins, the only inscription “Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon” is read. The book of the prophet Daniel tells how he never ceased to admire his greatness. God punished the proud man. For 7 years, in fits of madness, the king considered himself an ox. Truly, the Monk John Climacus is right: “The punishment of the proud is his fall, and the sign of his abandonment by God is insanity.”

Vanity and pride are risk factors for cardiovascular diseases, primarily coronary heart disease, hypertension, and neuropsychiatric diseases. Angina pectoris and heart attack are a typical result of stress; inability to respond adequately, “without scenes”, without outbursts of anger and rage, injured pride and ambitious ambitions to others and oneself. People who treat their loved ones in a Christian manner, all other things being equal, are less susceptible to cardiovascular diseases.

Thus, we see that many diseases have among their causes an incorrect (in theological terminology - sinful) lifestyle. But illness itself is not a sin, but its consequence. A doctor, having a correct understanding of the spiritual roots of an illness, has no right to blame and condemn a sick person. The spirit of the doctor's Christian attitude towards to suffering people Many holy fathers of Orthodoxy teach. They advise that when we see someone in suffering and illness, do not slyly explain to yourself the cause of his illness, but accept it with simplicity and selfless love and try to heal it as you would heal yourself. Orthodox medicine based on mercy, love of humanity and love of Christ. It is combined with the ability to competently apply medical knowledge, as well as take into account the influence of God’s Providence on health and illness.

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Literature

St. Luka (Voino-Yasenetsky). Spirit, soul and body / St. Luka (Voino-Yasenetsky). Simferopol. 2005.

Zorin, K.V. Do you want to be healthy? Orthodoxy and healing / K. V. Zorin. M.: Russian chronograph. 2000.

Priest Valentin Zhokhov. Christian attitude to illness and healing / Priest Valentin Zhokhov. M.: Danilovsky evangelist. 1997.

Priest Sergius Filimonov. Church, hospital, patient / Priest Sergius Filimonov. M.: Society of St. Basil the Great. 2001.

It is generally accepted that health is the norm of human existence, and illness violates this norm. Orthodoxy views the problem of illness and health differently. The Holy Fathers believed that illnesses and sorrows could serve a person’s spiritual growth and help him get closer to God.

Alexy Baburin, Valentin Zhokhov
priests

Christian attitude to illness and healing

From the Orthodox point of view, illness is the norm of earthly life, since in the fall of the ancestors Adam and Eve, human flesh changed its qualities - it became weak, prone to illness and old age, death and decay. Illness is a natural phenomenon also because a person, voluntarily or unwittingly, falls into sins, which also lead to illness.
“The cause of illness is sin, one’s own will, and not any necessity,” stated the Monk Ephraim the Syrian. “Are all illnesses really from sins? - asked Saint John Chrysostom. – Not all, but most of it. Some are due to carelessness. Gluttony, drunkenness and inactivity also produce disease.” “Illnesses come instead of penances. Be patient with good nature: they will be like the washerwomen’s soap,” said Saint Theophan the Recluse. The Monk John Climacus wrote that “diseases are sent to cleanse sins, and sometimes in order to humble the ascension.”
It is known that saints also had illnesses, often incurable. The Apostle Paul, for example, writes: “... a thorn was given to me in the flesh... to afflict me, so that I would not become arrogant” (). Some saints prayed to God that illness would be sent to them as a test, giving them the opportunity to perform a particularly spiritual feat.
Thus, the holy fathers did not consider illness as revenge for sins, but only as a means of correcting sins.
In the twentieth century, illness began to be understood narrowly, usually only as bodily suffering. This is an expression of the general wrong attitude to man as a clot of thinking matter, or to life as a movement of matter. The Orthodox understanding of illness is broader than the medical one.
“I am sick, brothers, together with you,” says St. Cyprian in the Tale of the Fallen. “It does not at all console me in my illnesses that I myself am healthy and unharmed.” For the shepherd is wounded by the ulcer of his flock...” (quoted from “At the Parish”, T. S. Tikhomirov, M. - 1915). Not only sin, but also pregnancy, for example, was called a disease back in the last century, and on the other hand, childbirth is salutary for a woman in the same way as labor by the sweat of his brow is for a man. IN Old Testament often “labor and illness” () stand side by side, and in magnification of the holy apostle and evangelist John the Theologian, the church people sing: “... and we honor your illnesses and labors, in the image of which you labored in the gospel of Christ...” This means that illness can serve as a preaching of the Gospel.
A special disease, even from a medical point of view, is old age as a process of gradual physical decrepitude of a person with a general weakening of all bodily functions. Often in this state, personality traits (the soul and spirit of a person) are revealed in a special way, which, in contrast to physical decrepitude, can have extraordinary strength, attractiveness and beauty: before us is not an old man, but an old man who evokes a pious feeling. Such Christians with iconographic faces can most often be found among the Orthodox. Beauty, however, does not come by itself, but is a consequence of their labors and patiently endured illnesses. The external and internal beauty of such individuals makes one think about their holiness and the truth of the Orthodox ways of saving the soul.
We believe that the death of a Christian is a transition to a new existence, new reality – eternal life human soul with God. What is the significance of bodily health in a person’s temporary, earthly life from the point of view of his eternal destiny?
From the Orthodox point of view, bodily health is of less value than spiritual health, for it is obvious that with the underdevelopment of the Christian worldview, bodily health can be disastrous for the soul, since it is easier to break some commandments of the Law of God when being healthy than when being weak. Physical health is certainly a good thing, and we are called to preserve it. The Old Testament sage advises us: “Before illness, take care of yourself...”(). But in the Orthodox understanding, illness is also a good thing, because it can serve to save a person’s soul by making a moral revolution in him, turning him to God. For non-Orthodox people or non-believers in Christ the Savior, the assessment of the “benefit or harm” of suffering is beyond the limits of human understanding.
In the story “Living Relics” (“Notes of a Hunter”) I.S. Turgenev described a man whose incurable illness gradually led to internal renewal. The peasant woman Lukerya, smart and the first beauty, found herself bedridden. At first, by her own admission, she was “very languid,” then she “got used to it, got over it,” and even began to regard her situation as better than those who had no shelter, who were blind or deaf. She thanks God for what she sees, hears, smells of flowers and herbs, and for the fact that she always has “spring water stored up.” In her wretched situation, she comes to the conclusion: God knows best what she needs. “He sent me a cross, which means He loves me...” - this conviction allows her to maintain inner peace and endure suffering for Christ’s sake. “They said,” writes I. S. Turgenev, “that on the very day of her death she heard everything bell ringing... However, Lukerya said that the ringing did not come from the church, but “from above.” She probably didn’t dare say: from heaven.”
Illness can serve the spiritual growth of a person, but only when it becomes a free suffering - a feat in which the sick person consciously, in accordance with the Divine will, agrees to endure suffering. Thus, a person discovers the virtues of patience, humility and obedience, which do not remain without reward: firstly, the Lord, through the prayers of the sick person and his loved ones, alleviates the suffering of the patient until the miracle of healing; secondly, the Lord sends a doctor.
The desire to recover should include spiritual feat - prayer, fasting (many diseases, especially in surgery, are treated by limiting certain types of food or even hunger), as well as turning the sick person to the Sacraments of Confession, Blessing of Anointing, Communion of the Body and Blood of Christ.
Some patients (usually monastics) limit their desire to improve their health to this, refusing medical help, relying in everything on the will of God. Such a decision, if made without the knowledge of the confessor, is sinful, since in relation to ourselves we do not always correctly understand the will of God. In addition, the existence of doctors and healing methods already indicates the will of God: “Give a place to the doctor, for the Lord created him too, and let him not move away from you, for he is needed.” (). So it is necessary to be treated, what is important is how and from whom.
About healing methods and the Orthodox attitude towards them.
Until recently, our country had one system of healing, which we call scientific. It is based on scientific discoveries in the fields of biochemistry, biophysics, microbiology and other natural sciences. Medicine, as a science about a sick person, unfortunately, does not have a theory that reveals the essence of health and illness; it remains at the experimental level - the level of collecting facts and their statistical analysis, deriving average indicators of health standards and the boundaries of pathology with very probabilistic assessments of the prognosis of the disease. Practical purposes are satisfied by the empirical level of science, modern technology allows for a fairly deep analysis of the patient’s condition, but synthesis and prognosis, thank God, are still the responsibility of the doctor. Today, scientific medicine as a whole does not contradict Christian morality, so there is no reason to refuse the possibilities of science.
Methods and methods can be successfully used to heal diseases. traditional medicine. Experience gained different peoples on the use of medicinal herbs, rational nutrition, therapeutic methods of physical influence on the patient, including those used in the East (for example, acupuncture), can be used for healing, but this valuable experience is compromised if it begins to be associated with philosophical and pseudoscientific ideas derived from various eastern, pagan or non-Christian beliefs.
Finally, in last years There is an emergence of healers who do not have any knowledge or experience, but only have unusual healing or diagnostic abilities. Usually such people are called psychics. Few people are interested in accuracy in determining the properties of these individuals, and they themselves do not object: a magician or sorcerer sounds less modern and less euphonious. Often, healers and healers of this kind actually have the ability to influence a sick person, mainly through his personality. Unfortunately, most often the healers themselves cannot say anything intelligible about where such abilities come from - we are usually talking about biofields, connections with the cosmic mind or with the incomprehensible Absolute. These abilities are advertised using scientific terminology through media mass media. Everything is used in order to impart a scientific touch to one’s activities and increase the significance of one’s person. Among psychics there are simply mentally ill people, there are charlatans, there are people who call themselves Christians, there are even those who, as a precondition for “treatment,” may demand to perform the Sacrament of Baptism, light three candles in three churches, or partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ.
Turning to a shrine not out of faith and piety, but out of superstition, brings enormous spiritual harm! Saint John Chrysostom, in his teaching “On those who are cured of illnesses by sorcery,” strictly warns that it is better to die than to go to the enemies of God. The one who went to them “deprived himself of God’s help, neglected it and placed himself outside of providence...” This kind of pseudoscientific healing is always an appeal to the spirit of lies, that is. the enemy of God, and is thus a serious transgression of the commandment, a sin and aggravates the disease. As a result, even the captivity of the soul by an unclean spirit (demon) is possible: partial, with the preservation of self-awareness and the ability to morally evaluate one’s actions, with the need to resist, but the lack of strength for this (demon possession); or complete captivity, in which a person loses all self-awareness, his moral sense and will for good are suppressed, and resistance to communication with God arises (possession).
The activities of various kinds of psychics, sorcerers, magicians, etc. are harmful, and in some cases – criminal. In Moscow, almost every oncologist has experience in treating patients who were “treated” by a psychic for a long time and, therefore, surgical treatment of the tumor was unsuccessful.
However, the methods of scientific medicine, especially those newly introduced into practice, as well as the goals of turning to them, require attention and moral assessment from both medical workers and patients. There is a fashion for various new techniques, which are often attributed non-existent advantages or their effectiveness is exaggerated. Humanity has always dreamed of a “panacea” - a cure for all diseases, and best of all, for both old age and death.
To the person searching for meaning life, the history of these fruitless, often tragic searches speaks of the unearthly destiny of man, whose earthly life is a preparation for eternal life.
At all times, “heroic efforts” have been made, on the one hand, in denying the immortality of the soul, and on the other hand, in inventing means and methods of achieving eternal youth. I will give two examples from my personal medical practice, without naming names.
About 20 years ago, medicine began to use the method of treating diseases with gas mixtures with a high oxygen content under excess pressure in special pressure chambers (hyperbaric oxygenation). The method, especially among patients, was attributed with many missing advantages. Among others - cleansing of the blood and the whole body (it is not entirely clear what exactly the cleansing was from), rejuvenation, etc. And here is a famous pop singer who had creative success even in old age, he tries to preserve not creative activity and youth of spirit, but a spectacular appearance and youthful appearance of the body. Twice a year she is prescribed 10–12 sessions of hyperbaric oxygen therapy. She really becomes more active and even more popular, but it all ends quite badly - after a few years, the patient develops dementia against the background of a generally good physical condition. Her life ends in a psychiatric hospital with stomach phlegmon and an attempt at an “operation of despair” that had no chance of success. One can, of course, argue about how beneficial or harmful the excess concentration of oxygen in the blood is for brain cells, but it is absolutely clear that the purpose of turning to the method fashionable at that time, the focus on bodily rejuvenation, was immoral, in Orthodox terms, sinful .
Another example is indicative of non-Christian behavior in a condition that is not currently considered a disease, but which has led through medical manipulation to illness.
A young woman who had loving husband and everything needed for a life of contentment was barren. This condition is usually experienced by a woman as defective and is often a reason for divorce. In previous centuries, infertility was treated primarily spiritually, namely through prayer, donations and contributions to monasteries and churches, and making pilgrimages to holy places. Currently, medicine offers us many different methods for diagnosing and treating this condition, based primarily on its social significance, but the use of these methods is on the conscience of the doctors and the patient. IN in this case Almost all the methods available in the doctors’ arsenal were used, and the patient paid money for most of them; some of the methods were used clearly for the purpose of profit, for example, massive hormone therapy. Before the most modern techniques such as in vitro fertilization (Russian Orthodox Church regards this method as sinful, contrary to Christian norms) the matter, thank God, did not come to fruition. But it all ended badly - the patient developed tumors in both mammary glands due to uncontrolled use of hormones; the diagnosis was made late, but there is still time for repentance.
Archpriest Thomas Hopko in “Fundamentals of Orthodoxy” writes: “If we bear our infirmities righteously, courageously and patiently, with faith, hope and even joy, then we become the greatest witnesses of God’s salvation in this world. Nothing can compare with such patience, for the glorification of God in suffering and weakness is the greatest of all offerings that only a person can create from his life on earth.”
Remember, Lord, all Your foolish servants in Your Kingdom. Amen!
Caring for the soul of the sick
The physical illness and suffering of the patient, without a doubt, are in close connection with the state of his spirit and soul. Archbishop LUKA (Voino-Yasenetsky) in his book “Spirit, Soul, Body” writes: “The powerful influence of the patient’s psyche on the course of the disease is well known. The patient’s state of mind, his trust or distrust of the doctor, the depth of his faith and hope for healing, or, conversely, mental depression caused by careless conversations of doctors in the presence of the patient about the seriousness of his illness, deeply determines the outcome of the disease. Psychotherapy, which consists of the verbal, or rather, spiritual (my type – V.Zh.), influence of the doctor on the patient, is a generally recognized method of treating many diseases, often yielding excellent results.”
No two people suffer the same way, so each patient is a unique patient. In the last century, the founder of the Russian therapeutic school, Professor of Moscow University M. Ya. Mudrov, said that it is necessary to treat not the disease, but the patient. These words, like a spell, are repeated by modern doctors, but their original meaning has been lost - both the doctor and the patient place all their faith in a pill prescribed routinely 1x3 times a day, but it does not reach the soul. Modern healthcare is characterized by the alienation of the doctor from the patient: in addition to the barrier of paper, which has existed for a long time, another barrier is being erected - all kinds of equipment, which so far dulls the doctor’s intuition, and turns the medical art into a craft.
The patient, called to the feat of patience and humility, receives almost no spiritual support. The word as a healing factor is gradually disappearing from the arsenal of a medical worker, who usually “doesn’t have time” to talk with the patient, and yet until the twentieth century, all medicine stood on three pillars, which were the Word, Herb and Knife. And if we talk about the fact that the word was a healing factor, then in addition to human words of condolences, consolation and hope, the healing process also included the Incarnate Word of God - Jesus Christ, taught to the sick in the Sacraments of the Church, called to help the sick themselves, their relatives and even attending physician! It is known, for example, that ophthalmologist V.P. Filatov, surgeon V.F. Voino-Yasenetsky (later Archbishop LUKA) prayed before the operation.
When stating the fact of the spiritual degradation of modern medicine, which is occurring against the backdrop of technological progress, one should not fall into despair and despondency, or into useless and even harmful gossip about who is to blame and what to do. Orthodoxy teaches in any difficult spiritual situation to start with myself, to understand to what extent I am guilty and what should I do. This is the basis for repentance - a change of mind (thinking) and way of action, a condition for correct activity, capable of introducing the unspiritual to the Kingdom of the Holy Spirit.
A “return to the roots,” a way out of the severe spiritual crisis in which modern medicine finds itself, can certainly happen, but not on the basis of general appeals and propaganda, but as a result of the personal efforts of each person. “A change of mind” and a change in the way of action is necessary, first of all, for medical workers, whose work (especially at the patient’s bedside) should be a service, a kind of sacred act, because serving the sick with the Lord Jesus Christ is equated with serving God: “I was sick, and you visited Me... just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did it to Me,” He will say on the Day of Judgment (; 40). To elevate the work of a health worker spiritually and morally - this will be a return to the roots, that is, to the lost Christian traditions Russian medicine.
Caring for a patient is an area of ​​very responsible spiritual work that should be carried out by professionals, best of all clergy, but the conditions of modern life are such that this ideal cannot be realized, therefore some preliminary work can and should be carried out by the patient’s relatives and friends. The purpose of this work is to prepare the patient for a meeting with the priest. Religious medical workers can also do this kind of work with a sick person very effectively.
We can talk about different forms of spiritual help for the sick, depending on the conditions. The simplest (and rarest now) option is in which the patient is a church person and his relatives are Orthodox. They invite the priest, who most often has known the patient for a long time and heals spiritually according to the canons of the Church. Other situations are problematic and occur much more often: the sick person was baptized, but actually fell away from Orthodoxy and does not know what and how he believes, and his relatives - Orthodox Christians - are eager to help him spiritually. Or - everyone seems to be believers, but they go to church only once a year, on Easter procession. There is a very great danger of a superstitious attitude towards shrines.
It is impossible to provide precise recommendations for each specific case, but the experience of the Church shows that the Lord admonishes a person, sends him “good thoughts” and even meetings with the right people, if only a servant of God who is in grief turns prayerfully to God with an awareness of his imperfection, with a cry for help. Therefore, PRAYER is the beginning of counseling for the sick. Saint righteous John Kronstadsky in the book “My Life in Christ” writes: “Do not miss the opportunity to pray for any person at his request or at the request of his relatives or friends for him. The Lord looks with favor upon the prayer of our love and our boldness before Him. In addition, prayer for another is very useful for the person praying for others: it cleanses the heart, confirms faith and hope in God, and kindles love for God and neighbor.” Of course, the believing patient himself must pray for himself, but, as St. John of Kronstadt: “In illness, and in general in bodily weakness, as well as in sorrow, a person cannot initially burn for God with faith and love, because in sorrow and illness the heart hurts, but faith and love require a healthy, calm heart.” Consequently, the relatives and friends of the patient bear the special feat of prayer.
How to pray? Home prayer Orthodox Christian consists of a certain “rule” - a sequence of prayers, read in the morning, throughout the day and evening. There is such a rule in the Orthodox prayer book. This rule can be changed by the confessor: increased, for example, by supplementing the rule with the reading of canons and akathists, the Psalter, or decreased due to circumstances. It follows from this that any person who has a desire to pray for a sick relative should go to church to see a priest, preferably to confession, so that after confession he can receive a blessing from the priest for a special prayer rule, for example, reading a canon for a sick person or a canon Mother of God, Akathist. Prayer for others requires a certain spiritual state, therefore, if the confessor blesses, then you should partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ after confession. In prayer you should be persistent, stubborn and demanding of yourself, relentlessly do what you decided to do out of your free will, pray “in secret,” that is, not for show, humbly, combining the prayer of petition for your neighbor and for yourself with the prayer of thanksgiving to God for everything His good deeds.
They especially pray for the sick in the temple, according to the words of Jesus Christ: “... if two people on earth agree to ask for anything, then whatever they ask will be done for them by My Heavenly Father.” (). Saint Theophan the Recluse gives us an example of the feat of prayer: “God listens to prayer when they pray with an aching soul for something... But do you yourself attend prayer services? If not, then your faith is silent... You ordered, but, having given money so that others would pray, you yourself have thrown off your worries... There is no one who is sick for the sick... Attend prayer services yourself and hurt your soul for the sick... In church at the liturgy, you hurt during the proskomedia. And especially when after “We sing to you...” they sing the Theotokos hymn “It is worthy to eat...” Here the living and the dead are remembered for the newly perfect sacrifice...” Therefore, when praying for the sick at home, we should not leave the temple prayer for the Sunday liturgy; it is necessary to submit notes with names sick people for proskomedia, for prayer services, and give antidor or prosphora and holy water to the sick person with reverence.
The history of Orthodoxy knows a huge number miraculous healings, accomplished through prayer to God, the Mother of God, and the holy saints of God. But here is the testimony of a foreign doctor, laureate Nobel Prize Alexis Carrel: “The results of prayer can be established with certainty only in cases where any therapy is completely inapplicable or turns out to be ineffective. Medical Center in Lourdes (a city in the south of France, one of the world's famous centers of worship of the Mother of God, the place of Her repeated appearances, has a spring, the water of which is recognized as miraculous - author's note) rendered a significant service to science, proving that such healings really do exist. Sometimes the effect of prayer takes on, so to speak, an “explosive” character... We knew patients who were cured of serious illnesses almost instantly. In a few seconds or a few hours, the symptoms of the disease disappear, and the anatomical damage is corrected. The miracle is characterized by an extraordinary acceleration of the processes of normal recovery” (quoted from the True Book of the Priest, vol. 8, p. 297).
Unfortunately, modern domestic medical scientists are exploring the “abilities” of psychics with public interest, being very skeptical about the healing effect of prayer and the grace-filled gifts of church shrines.
Common prayer in church during the liturgy, at prayer services presupposes SACRIFICE and SACRIFICE as a special spiritual state, together with prayer, as if on two wings, lifting the mind and heart to God and producing that necessary “warming of love for one’s neighbor,” in response to which the Lord heals and soul and body. A note for a proskomedia is a sacrifice; alms, albeit modest, but from the heart - a sacrifice; work, even the simplest, but for the good of the church community or neighbor - sacrifice! What is more useful: cleaning the room, washing the patient, changing the bed linen, or sitting by his bed and scolding the government for the lack of nurses in the hospital? For the sake of Christ, good done turns to the good deeds of other people, changes the general mood, and elevates a person. Gossip and idle talk harm peace in the soul, peace is lost, a person becomes weak and vulnerable to the spirit of malice.
Of course, now we are simply poor materially. But let us remember that the poor widow, who put two mites into the church mug, put in more than anyone else, as the Lord Himself said, because she put in everything she had, all her food. Let us turn to the example of Christians of the first centuries. “Those who could not give from their earnings subjected themselves to deprivation in order to be able to give as alms what they saved through FAST (emphasis mine - V.Zh.). Already in “The Shepherd of Hermas” the shepherd teaches Hermas how he should fast. He must abstain from drink and food, and then count from the expenses of other days what he has saved, all of which he must set aside and give to the benefit of widows, orphans and the poor. Such fasting will be a pleasant offering to God. In the “Apostolic Constitutions” a similar instruction is given: “If anyone has nothing to give, let him fast, and give what is intended for the day to the saints,” and in this place we mean Christians sentenced to hard labor.” (Quoted from “Christian Charity in the Ancient Church”, G. Ulgorn, St. Petersburg, 1899, p. 144)
It is very important to take care of the patient’s growth in PGODNESS, which is “useful for everything” (). Piety is usually understood as a whole complex of qualities of a Christian personality, which are gradually cultivated if a person lives an internal church life. In this case, we can initially talk about two or three qualities. This is faith in God, even if vague, at the level of feeling that there is something holy in the world; fear of God as awareness of a more or less expressed responsibility before God and, finally, recognition of the immortality of one’s soul. Piety is incompatible with a superstitious attitude towards God and is one of the conditions for the actual participation of a Christian in the Sacraments performed in the Church.
It is impossible to give specific advice on how to convert a person to piety. Through prayer, the Lord puts the necessary word into the mind of someone who cares about his neighbor, especially since in illness a person is more often visited by the thought of death and he becomes more sensitive and less hard-hearted. Be careful! If the patient starts talking about death, then under no circumstances should you change the topic of conversation or convince him that such thoughts should be driven away from himself. On the contrary, you need to keep the conversation going, but thoughts about death and words about it must be contrasted with words and thoughts about the immortality of the soul, and then about resurrection of the dead. Such conversations should arise naturally; they should not be started on purpose unless you are sure that the patient is ready or willing to discuss this topic. Next, it will be natural to start reading the Gospel, preferably selectively - about healings, Sermon on the Mount, parables. Then it is necessary to arouse in the sick person thoughts about his sins and create the need to confess them. Growth in piety can occur in another way, the main thing is to make the patient aware of his sinfulness, and bring his thoughts to the Sacrament of Confession (if the patient is not baptized, to the Sacrament of Baptism), that is, to a meeting with a priest. Usually, personal experience in the Sacrament of Confession of the action of God’s grace deepens piety and naturally leads the sick person to the Sacraments of Anointing and Communion of the Body and Blood of Christ.
How to behave at the bedside of a dying person? In my village, they said about a dying person that he was “working”, and they created a special environment around the dying person: noise was strictly prohibited, conversations were conducted in a low voice, bright light was screened out, it was forbidden to disturb the dying person, call him or even pronounce his name loudly. A lamp was lit in front of the icons, neighbors who came in briefly prayed and silently spent some time at the patient’s bedside. This situation had a particular impression on the children: the noisy ones became quiet, the naughty ones became humble. A dying person was never left alone.
This folk experience shows that we once had a pious attitude towards death. Currently, most deaths occur in a hospital, that is, not at home, not in the circle of family and friends, and the agonizing patient is usually taken to a separate ward, which has a bad reputation throughout the hospital. In this chamber with bare walls, for some reason always cold and with a clearly uninhabited spirit, the mystery of the transition from temporary life to eternal life takes place. And, as a rule, there is no one to support a person working his last earthly labor in these difficult hours and minutes...
It would seem, why sit next to a patient if he is unconscious, cannot speak or even drink water? Unconsciousness, however, does not always mean that a person falls out of touch with sensory world. There are cases described when a dying person recovered and accurately conveyed what was happening around him, and often those around him were ashamed of his behavior.
A terminally ill person should be left alone as little as possible, and an agonizing patient should not be left alone at all. It is necessary to pray with the patient, and if he is not a believer, then you can tell him something like this: “You don’t believe in God, I believe in Him. I need to pray now. Please be patient for a while, it’s impossible to pray in a hospital corridor...” It is unlikely that after such words the patient will express a protest. A reverent prayer or reading of the Psalter, the canon of the Mother of God, will certainly find a response in the heart of the patient, which can grow into a real religious feeling.
Children must be brought to the dying. This is spiritually useful for the sick, and even more so for children, who should know about death not only theoretically from horror films, but have their own personal experience communicating with a dying person in an appropriate and dignified environment. You must be prepared to answer their questions, of which there will be many. The opinion that communication with a dying person can be a psychologically traumatic factor for a child is false; such experience is necessary for children for their future life.
We dedicate this modest work

surgeon, State Prize laureate Professor GLEB POKROVSKY, his wife MARFA, Vladimir Petrovich and Galina Georgievna MISHENOV and all pious donors and parishioners of the St. Nicholas Church in the village of Romashkova near Moscow.
(The article is abridged).

Illness is a school of humility, this is where you see that you are poor, and naked, and blind. (St. Ambrose of Optina)

You must definitely go to church services, otherwise you will be sick. The Lord punishes us with illness for this. It happens that illness seizes to awaken a sleeping soul. (St. Ambrose of Optina)

The Lord sends illnesses for this reason, in order to remember about death and move from memory to so that the sick person finally attends to preparing for death. Our illnesses mostly come from sins, which is why the best way to prevent and heal from them is not to sin. It happens that God, through illness, protects others from trouble that they would not have escaped if they were healthy. (St. Theophan the Recluse)

The Lord makes up for the lack of our good deeds either with illnesses or sorrows. (St. Demetrius of Rostov)

The brother asked Abba Arseny: “There are some good people, why do they undergo great sorrow at the time of death, being stricken with bodily illness?” “Because,” the elder answered, “so that we, as if we’ve had enough salt here, go there clean.” (Paterikon Athos)

Illnesses reconcile us with God and bring us back into His love. (holy right. John of Kronstadt)

If you have endured it here, you will not endure eternal torment in the next world, but, on the contrary, you will enjoy such bliss, before which present happiness is nothing. (St. Theophan the Recluse)

The Lord, out of love for us, sends illness and sorrow according to the strength of each, but also gives them patience in order to make us participants in His suffering; whoever did not suffer here for Christ’s sake will be remorseful in the next century, - after all, it was possible to show his love for Christ by enduring illness and sorrows, and did not do this, trying to evade and avoid all sorrows... Not in anger, not for punishment, he sends us The Lord of sickness and sorrow, but out of love for us, although not all people, and do not always understand this. (Venerable Pimen the Many-Painful)

God determined what to give to whom, but only through prayer, as through some kind of instrument; for example, determined to give to someone long life, but not without food; determined to give the sick person health, but not without medicine; determined the abundance of the fruits of the earth, but not without the labors of the peasant; similar God has determined to give other things to everyone at His discretion, but not without prayer.