The Chosen One. Interpretations on Ps

Archpriest Valerian Krechetov, rector of the Intercession Church in the village Akulovo, Moscow region.

- Father Valerian, how old have you been under the Protection of the Mother of God?

If we say "under the Protection of the Mother of God" - then from infancy. Because we are all under the Veil. And the temple in Zaraysk, in which I served since the age of six, Annunciation, is also consecrated in honor of the Mother of God.

The veil extends over everyone, moreover, over the whole world. Another thing is that when the Pokrov appeared, Andrew for Christ's sake saw that the Mother of God, praying for everyone, for some, looking at them, rejoices, and for others - weeps, although she still covers them like the Mother. Children are different, and She still cares about everyone, sometimes even more about those who just disobey and behave in the wrong way.

Therefore, we are all under the Protection of the Mother of God. And already the veil stretched itself out over my priesthood. The Church of the Annunciation, in which I grew up, has two chapels - the Archangel Michael and St. Sergius. So, I was ordained a deacon in the Church of the Archangel Gabriel in Moscow in Telegrafny Lane on the day of the Archangel Michael. And in the Lavra of St. Sergius, in the academic church of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos - already in the priesthood. I served for about a year and a half in Peredelkino - in the Church of the Transfiguration with the side-chapels of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul and the Great Martyr Barbara, and I was transferred to Akulovo, to the Intercession Church. But the holy Martyr Barbara left me under her cover - because the founder of the Intercession Church in Akulovo was Varvara Petrovna Sheremeteva-Razumovskaya, who owned this land and built a stone church.

I have been serving directly in the Church of the Intercession for 46 years, therefore, of course, this is a special grace of God. In general, a person lives under the Protection of God. As it is said in the 90th psalm: "Alive in the help of the Most High in the roof of the Heavenly God ...". In the roof - it means “under the roof” of the Heavenly God. And there is also the Psalter of the Mother of God: "He who lives in the help of the Mother of God under Her strong roof will be installed ..." (Kathisma 12).

These psalms begin almost the same way: the Protection of God, like the Protection of the Mother of God, extends over the whole world. But, as they say in the prayers of the all-night vigil, when bread, wheat, wine, oil are sanctified, "... sanctify the faithful who eat of them." The veil is manifested in a special way in the faithful, in them the Mother of God reveals the sign of her veil.

Many spiritual fathers have experienced this Shroud. In particular, Father Tikhon Agricov, in schema Schema-Archimandrite Panteleimon, during the war, fleeing from the bombing, lay down in some kind of shelter so that the fragments would not hit him, but suddenly a bomb exploded nearby and covered him with earth. He cried out to the Mother of God: "Mother of God, I will serve you, leave my life!" And the next bomb that fell next to him swept the whole earth from him. He remained alive and after that he became a monk. This is one of many examples of the intercession of the Mother of God in the war, and, accordingly, the fruits of this miracle.

From our kind

- There is an opinion that the Mother of God especially protects the priestly families ...

The point is that it is said: Jesus Christ, the God-Man - the Bishop, the Founder of the Orthodox hierarchy - “was named by God the High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek” (Heb. 5:10).

And the Mother of God is His Mother. Why do the bishops wear a panagia, which marks the special Protection of the Mother of God. And when at the Ecumenical Council at one time it was decided that Saint Nicholas acted insolently, giving a slap in the face to the blasphemer Arius, the Mother of God returned the saint's omophorion to Nicholas the Wonderworker.

And besides, what kind of mother would not love those who love her children? How can Her not love the one who loves the Son of God, Her Son? John the Theologian - the one who especially loved the Savior, His beloved disciple - was adopted by Her at the Cross: “Wife! Behold, Thy son. Then he says to the disciple: Behold, thy mother ”(John 19: 26-27).

God is love. As the Monk Justin (Popovich) wrote, "love is not a property of the Divine, love is the essence of the Divine."

Therefore, love and everything that is connected with love - the Divine - is always connected with the Mother of God.

We know the history of the icon "Unexpected Joy", when a sinner used to bow before the image of the Mother of God, bringing her the Archangel's greeting: "Rejoice, Blessed One! The Lord is with You, "- and continued to sin. And one day he saw on the icon the blood flowing from the wounds of the Infant. Falling to the ground, the sinner cried out: "Oh, Lady, who did this?" "You and other sinners," the Mother of God answered him, "crucify My Son again." The shocked sinner asked the Mother of God to beg Her Son to forgive him. And She twice turned to the Savior with a request for mercy on the sinner - until he was forgiven, after which, of course, he corrected himself.

There is an unwritten church tradition among the monastics, about which one confessor who went through prison told me about: when at the Last Judgment the verdict is already pronounced, everyone will stand at the right hand of the Savior, the Mother of God will beg for those sinners who have called upon Her, and the Lord will still separate some condemned to hell and have mercy.

Mother dear

Your father, priest Mikhail Krechetov, was also a confessor. The past summer marked the 30th anniversary of his death. Receiving the priesthood in years of persecution is, of course, a feat. But a feat, including that of your mother, who married a convict ...

You know, this is like in war: the feat of those who fight is visible. They sacrifice their lives, defeat the enemy, defend their land. But without the rear, without sisters of mercy, food, support, the army cannot exist. While some fought, sat in trenches, others worked for days in production to provide the army with weapons, ammunition, and food. They collected warm clothes and handed them over to the front. The rear is just that strong foundation, sometimes imperceptible, in the ground, but on which a building is built that is beautiful in its victories.

My mother, when my father went to war, wrote him a letter, which he, already worn out, carried with him all the time. It contained the following words: “Wherever you are, no matter what happens to you, if you are without arms, without legs, I will always find you. And you don’t think, we will live, go do your duty ”.

They were wives ... Yes, and she was such a bride that she married a convicted, "political", so-called "enemy of the people" (although he was not an enemy at all - but was the very people). And she, with three small children in her arms, wrote: don’t worry, we will live.

Now we are saying: who will provide them? And she raised us - dad studied at the seminary, and there was no scholarship to feed the family. Modern people do not understand. And then it was precisely a feat of faith.

She was a psalmist, and fed from the garden. And when she was summoned and asked why you take your children to church, she answered: The Church helps me to bring up my children. And when I was in Zaraisk this summer at the feast of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker of Zaraysk (the city turned 670 years old - Ed.), I heard the story of one servant of God, Olga Vladimirovna, whose father worked as a teacher in our school, about how her dad in his At home, he was broadcasting conversations in the teacher's room at home: they say, it would be possible to give medals to the Krechetovs, but not, because they go to church. And only now I found out about it.

- Today you can hear: the Orthodox are worse than the atheists - they get married and disperse, families fall apart.

Nothing of the kind! Not certainly in that way. Who ran these statistics? It's just that now many families are falling apart. And the Orthodox are also in a multi-confessional society, brought up in an atheistic spirit, and even under the influence of the media, where the spirit of decay of chastity, corruption and family suicide reigns in the form of so-called "same-sex marriages", even forced from abroad. As the prophet David said, “you will be reverend with the monk, and you will be innocent with an innocent husband, and you will be chosen with the elect, and you will be corrupted with the obstinate” (Psalm 17: 26-27). Unfortunately, young people are weak, it is difficult for them to resist all these "temptations" of the world. Here you can rather be surprised that in the midst of this sea of ​​temptations, something still remains and lives, as in the time of the flood and Sodom and Gomorrah. After all, the emergence of "civil marriages" is just the fruit of atheists. In this, perhaps, are they better than the Orthodox? Or excommunicating parents from raising their own children through appropriate laws?

When both people are truly Orthodox, the family does not fall apart. It is not Orthodox families that fall apart, but semi-Orthodox or "half Orthodox", when one side thinks so, and the other - so, each has its own "Orthodoxy".

Therefore, my father's confessor, the grandfather of the rector of PSTGU, priest Vladimir Vorobyov (1876-1940), said: take a wife so that she is a Christian, like flint. And so that the Christian family is a pearl from it. That is, to have Christian family foundations. The conversation took place at the altar, he took the Pope to the Heavenly place and said: “The Lord will give you a wife who will take you and lead you to the Kingdom of Heaven. Do you think - are you going? No, she leads you. "

Therefore, at the end of his life, dad said about mommy - precisely for her patience, for humility - by your name, taco is your life. And she was Love.

Cover - over the family

- Is there a special Protection of the Mother of God over large families?

The Mother of God is the patroness of motherhood. After the Intercession, weddings began among the people. Since ancient times, the veil has been associated with the patronage of the family - there is such a folk legend. And in our ordinary earthly life, the Mother of God intercedes for us: She is both the "Helper in childbirth", and "Seeking the lost", and "Joy of All Who Sorrow", and "Unexpected Joy" ...

Childbearing has always been a blessing of God. And how can there be God's blessing without the blessing of the Mother of God? Of course, this is inseparable ...

- Can we say that the veil in the family is realized through a woman?

Perhaps now more often - yes, through a woman. Although in the Old Testament it was a little different: the blessing was taught mainly to sons. Isaac blessed Jacob: “... may God give you from the dew of heaven and from the fatness of the earth, and plenty of bread and wine; let the nations serve you, and let the nations bow down to you; Be lord over your brothers, and let your mother's sons bow down to you; those who curse you are cursed; those who bless you are blessed! " (Gen. 27: 28-29).

Righteous Joseph the Beautiful (the 11th son of Jacob, sold by the brothers to Egypt, but occupying a high position at the court of Pharaoh - Ed.) Was a slave. But God's blessing went through him to his owners and to the whole house. True, the enemy wanted to destroy him through the wife of the courtier Potiphar, but the Lord glorified him.

The blessing of the righteous saints Joachim and Anna, to whom the Lord sent the Daughter, turned out to be special. She became the Mother of God. Here came the testimony that “there is no male or female: for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 4:28). That is, the female sex, through the Mother of God, received a special talent to receive the blessing from God on their descendants. We know how much godly wives have done in Christianity. Moreover, the myrrh-bearing wives were the first to come to the Savior's Tomb on Sunday.

Indeed, there is some kind of special Providence of God for a woman. Apparently, there is a fulfillment of the prophecy that the woman's seed will erase the head of the serpent (see Gen. 3:15). Through the woman - Eve - sin entered, and through the Woman - the Mother of God - the incarnation of the Son of God took place, the salvation of mankind. This is such a depth of the incomprehensible ways of the Providence of God!

During the time of the persecution of the Church, it was women, “white handkerchiefs,” who filled the churches. Now the flow of men has already begun, but all the same, women, perhaps, are still in the majority. This is because a woman's property and a special gift is to live by feeling. A person lives with his heart, not his mind; the mind is the working force of the heart. A woman is given a special spiritual gift, if, of course, she does not spend it on the earthly, carnal.

Woman in power

What do you think about the woman in power? For example, about the new Minister of Education - Olga Vasilyeva? Or mothers of six children, mothers from Penza, founder of the local Pokrov Foundation Anna Kuznetsova, who became the President's commissioner for the rights of the child?

It's like asking if the Lord can do something through a woman. I’ve already done it. Even in the Old Testament there are such examples, which means it can. Pilate said to the Savior: “... Do you not know that I have the power to crucify You and have the power to let You go? Jesus answered: you would not have had any authority over me if it had not been given to you from above ... ”(John 19: 10-11).

Here it is given to her, therefore, to become a minister ...

Well, we had empresses: Catherine the Second, a very wise woman (although Suvorov won the victory in her reign), Elizaveta Petrovna, a deeply believer. Moreover, our Christianity began with the Equal-to-the-Apostles Olga. Vladimir Krasnoe Solnyshko is already her grandson. There are other examples: myrrh-bearing wives, Equal-to-the-Apostles Mary Magdalene, noble princesses, Equal-to-the-Apostles Nina - a girl who enlightened the Georgian people - mountainous, warlike ...

But you cannot entrust everything to a woman. It wasn't like that from the beginning. Rather, it is an exception to the original rule that does not override the rule itself. Apparently, for the correct harmony, the "state orchestra" must first of all have real "musicians", as I.A. Krylov. That is, so that their true essence stands behind the words. If we talk about the family, then the royal martyrs are a vivid example for us. Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, of course, was unanimous with the tsar in all matters.
A woman is placed in obedience to her husband, such is the will of God. When a husband lives according to the will of God, he is a real head. Otherwise, can he be the head?

- If the neck is correct ...

Yes, if the neck can turn its head. It also happens. As the Monk John of the Ladder says, "he who does not take offense at insults is a great man, to whom praise does not harm is a saint." Therefore, power is dangerous for any person if he is far from the true faith. And not always outstanding personalities were at the head of states. There were cruel rulers, and when they prayed - why is he like that? - The Lord answered: "I was looking for a more cruel one, but I did not find it."

Sometimes God puts someone (a woman or a former slave) in order to understand that it is not people who rule, but the Lord. David, the former shepherd, became king. In addition, he is also a "Godfather", as the Church praises (Dogmatist, ch. 4. - Ed.).

If the Lord acted only through men, then women would be silenced. And so God exalted them. Remember the example of Macarius the Great, who pondered: who is worthy to be found and will give me a lesson? And now he sees: a harlot is coming. He asks: “Why are you looking at me? I am a monk. " And she says: “I was created from a male rib, I can look at you. And you were created from the earth, so go and look into the earth. " So what is there - how to say: a woman is not a woman. Just like a man to a man.

School of life: obey, do not be lazy, do not get along with bad friends

Father, autumn is not only the time of "Pokrovsky" weddings, but also the beginning of the new school year, children go to school. What should be done for your children at this important moment?

Not at this moment - at the moment you will not do anything. You need to do it earlier. We prepare for school, but the highest school is the school of life. And so children need to be prepared for it. Our mother in our family prepared us for life.

Here it must be remembered that, firstly, a person cannot do this on his own: "If it is not the Lord who builds the house, he who works in vain" (Psalm 126: 1). If the Lord does not help, you will not do anything, you will not grow anyone. Moreover, some hear our words, while others do not. Children walk somewhere, communicate with someone. And what will lie on their hearts, how the Lord will take them away from something - everything is in the hands of God. Therefore, the most important thing is to pray, teach children to pray from childhood and pray for them ourselves. And children, being at school, should be Christians, not to communicate with bad friends. “With the saint you will be reverend, and with an innocent husband you will be innocent, and you will be chosen with the elect, and with the obstinate you will be corrupted” (Ps. 17: 25-26). And be, naturally, obedient and not lazy. This should be taught from childhood - to obey, to work. We were taught: how not to obey? It was impossible. Once they tell you, then you need to do it. And they worked: from spring you start digging, planting, weeding, watering - and so on until autumn. Then clean up. You need to chop wood, clean the snow, do something all the time. When I went to the virgin lands with such a Christian upbringing in 1956, among 50 people I was in first place in terms of indicators.

Modern children, unfortunately, are no longer in the habit of working, because they live on everything that is ready. There is no physical or even mental labor - children watch TV, have fun. Therefore, the most important preparation for school is not to read and write, but to work. And children should understand this. And when children are taught to do this, then they understand.

My daughter, who has nine children, says to her son, my grandson: "You will soon go to school, they will ask you there." He looks at her in surprise: "Mom, but at school they have to teach, and then ask." The fact of the matter is that you need to teach. He understands that he was taught at home and there must be taught, and then ask. I came to school - they didn't ask me, they taught me. I started my studies during the war. What kind of preschool training was there, when we were only in the occupation, under the Germans - we were glad that we were still alive. Went to school - no boom boom. And he graduated from school, then institute, and then seminary, academy.
So at school, children should obey, not be lazy and not get along with bad friends. That's all.

Waiting for winter

- And if time is wasted, you didn’t teach your child to work, not to be lazy?

We'll have to catch up. So what to do? Now you just need to pray and somehow still influence - by personal example.

- Father, sometimes parents pray for years, but nothing changes.

Little, then, for years, maybe for decades. Remember this example, when one ascetic says to another: "You succeed, I cannot." And he answers: "Patience is needed." - “What is patience? You endure, you endure, but nothing changes, it's like carrying water with a sieve ”. - "And you wait for winter." When winter comes, that is, some harsh circumstances, people begin to think. Unfortunately, if a person does not set any framework for himself or somehow does not force himself, then he is forced either by circumstances or by illness.

- Many mothers are worried about the performance of their children at school, their grades ...

Assessments, in fact, are very difficult things. Real knowledge - those that have become a skill, passed through experience. And so this is information, information about something. Moreover, even Aristotle said: "A lot of knowledge does not presuppose the presence of mind." Therefore, the assessment - what? Mind or knowledge? What knowledge? And is this knowledge? But there are also talents ... Pushkin had a low mark in mathematics, but otherwise he was a genius person.
As a rule, the school assesses what a person can say on a given issue at the moment. Precisely - at this moment, because if he thinks, then maybe he will think of it ... Suppose a child has a gift, and he also worked - this is one assessment. And if he worked, but he was not given?

Once the dean of the mechanical faculty of the Forestry Institute, where I studied, used to say: “Excellent students are not always good specialists or leaders afterwards. Conversely, mediocre students sometimes turn out to be the leading managers of enterprises. " Here, apparently, another talent plays a role - organizational.

Therefore, an individual approach is important - Konstantin Ushinsky spoke about this. But an individual approach requires a special pedagogical talent. There should be not just a teacher who transfers some knowledge mechanically, but a teacher, educator.

In addition, earlier in the certificates there was also an assessment for diligence and behavior. Today many children are simply lazy, do not want to study, that's all. But again - a person may not understand something - precisely because he is not given. Sometimes a child does not understand, but he is forced, scolded, and he begins to hate what is taught to him ... Just because he cannot understand ...

- Today many adult children under 30 cannot understand what is given to them, what is their vocation ...

Because there was disorientation in society, the scale of values ​​turned upside down. Those who drive a car and have money are considered successful and successful. We do not think about what means this money gets, where does the drug trade, all kinds of betrayals, etc. come from. There was a disorientation of young people - people do not understand what is important and what is not important; what in life, as they say, devalues ​​and what does not.

- And what does not devalue?

Only the personality of a person, its qualities, does not devalue in life. If he is a good person, he will always be good. Now there are two primary problems - a person and a professional. Moreover, the human problem is more important. Because it concerns everything - family, service, work. Today it is often impossible to rely on a person - he can betray, sell, cheat. And the problem of a professional, a specialist, arises because they think not about the quality of work, but about how much to earn.

- Apparently, children should be told about the correct scale of values ​​from a young age?

These things need to be discussed in the family. And the press should do this, television, cinema. And they show a "beautiful life" - easy, free, free. Unfortunately, almost everyone in the house has a TV. This TV channel is pouring in, and people are brought up on this. But this must be contrasted with family education. My seven children grew up without television, but in the Church and in fellowship with serious people.

After all, in essence, what is education? This is the re-creation of the Image of God in man. Education begins to fall apart, I think, because it ceases to serve its purpose - to recreate the prototype in man. What is it for then? Without God, not to the threshold. You will say: there were atheistic times in education. But it must be remembered that many teachers in those days were believers, even monastics. Thanks to them, the spirit of Orthodoxy was preserved in education. I saw some of my professors in the Epiphany Church.

Christ - the Light of Truth. Ministry of Education. These names themselves indicate that there should be spiritual enlightenment. And when there is no spiritual enlightenment, education begins to fall apart, turn into some kind of conglomeration of separate disciplines.

Breeze of silence

- Father Valerian, what would you wish the readers of "The Intercession" on the feast of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos?

There is only one wish for everyone: that people pray to the Mother of God, because the prayer of the Mother of God can do much. Yes, and the prayer of a dear mother, as it is said, reaches from the bottom of the sea. Therefore, we wish that they pray and remember that the Mother of God loves us more than ourselves and loves all our children. She is comforted when we live our lives.

There is such an expression: children are cognized in the absence of parents. When they are alone, then the way they were brought up will be fully manifested.

Sometimes some moments are hidden, but in any case, the joy of the mother brings the honest, kind life of the children. Therefore, one must not only be consumers, but also bring joy - both to one's parents and to the Mother of God. One must live so as not to offend the Majesty of God and the intercession of the Mother of God ...

- Do you think there is some distinctive feature of the Mother of God feasts?

These holidays differ in the way that distinguishes the Mother of God from the whole human race: "... Like a lookout for the humility of His servants." Holidays of the Mother of God are quiet, peaceful. For example, at the Dormition of the Mother of God, it is sung: “The Apostles from the end copulated here in Gethsemane and bury my body. And Thou, Son and My God, receive my spirit ... ”In these chants there is a special, as it is said in the prayers of unction, the seal of quietness, that is, the seal of silence. And this is precisely the Spirit of God, because when the Lord appeared to the prophet Elijah on Mount Horeb, it is said that at first a strong wind blew: “... the Spirit is great and strong, destroying the mountains and crushing the stone in the mountain before the Lord, but not in the Lord's dusa”, - then - an earthquake and a fire: “... and the coward is in every way, and the Lord is not in a coward; and fire is on the coward, and the Lord is not into the fires ", and then already:" the voice of the cold is thin, and there is the Lord "(1 Kings 19: 11-12).

That is, the spirit of silence is the special spirit of the feasts of the Mother of God.

Selected, selected from some large number (about published works). Selected Works of Lenin.

3. only full The best, the most outstanding, the selected. Library of selected writers. Selected Society. Selected circle of people.

4. in meaning noun chosen, chosen, units. No... People who stand out among others by social status, mental development; chosen ones. This piece is for a select few only. Expensive pleasures are available only to a select few.

Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary... D.N. Ushakov. 1935-1940.

Antonyms:

See what "Chosen" is in other dictionaries:

- (Eng. Chosen One, Eng. Chosen Few) Meanings Chosen in the universe "Fallout" Chosen or Chosen in the game "Fallout 2". Chosen in the wizarding world of "Harry Potter" Harry Potter. Chosen in the Star Wars universe Anakin Skywalker ... Wikipedia

See reliable ... Dictionary of Russian synonyms and expressions similar in meaning. under. ed. N. Abramova, M .: Russian dictionaries, 1999. the best chosen, reliable; selected, re-elected, elite, privileged, pre-elected, selected, ... ... Synonym dictionary

Chosen, oh, oh; an. 1.full On works of literature, art: selected from their complete composition. A volume of selected poems by Pushkin. 2. Better, eye-catching than n. among others, privileged. I. circle of people. For the elite (noun). | ... Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary

the chosen one- the chosen one; short form an, ana ... Russian spelling dictionary

the chosen one- elected, c., short. f. elected, elected and obsolete elected, elected, elected ... Dictionary of pronunciation and stress difficulties in modern Russian

- @font face (font family: ChurchArial; src: url (/ fonts / ARIAL Church 02.ttf);) span (font size: 17px; font weight: normal! important; font family: ChurchArial, Arial, Serif;)   =  noun (Greek ἐξαίρετος, έπίλεχτος) chosen, ... ... Church Slavonic Dictionary

the chosen one- adj., noun A / pr see Appendix II Information about the old norm of stress: The stress chosen / n corresponds to the old norm, it is found in poets: But there are two chosen / nes between you, Two unadorned flowers: Their names, given to them by the heart ... Dictionary of Russian stresses

I m. 1. The one who was elected in the election process. 2. transfer. The one who was preferred to everyone else. II m. A particularly gifted, outstanding person, capable of activities inaccessible to others; elect II. III app. 1. The one who was elected in ... ... Modern explanatory dictionary of the Russian language by Efremova

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Books

• The Chosen One, Maxim Zamshev. When the fate of a huge country is at stake, when a global crisis threatens to send all of humanity to Hell, They enter the arena of struggle. They are called the Chosen. Their life and mission are shrouded ...

I will love Thee, Lord, my Fortress. The Lord is my confirmation, and my refuge, and my deliverer, my God, my helper, and I trust in him, my protector, and the horn of my salvation, and my intercessor. Praising I call upon the Lord, and I will be saved from my enemies. You have possessed me with mortal diseases, and the floods of lawlessness have crushed me, the diseases of hell have gone around me, preceding me with the mortal net. And always grieve, the calls of the Lord, and to I cried out to my God, hearing my voice from the temple of His holy, and my cry before Him will enter into His ears. And it moved, and the earth was trembling, and the foundations of the mountains moved and moved, as if God was angry with her. Outward smoke will be with His wrath, and fire will kindle from His presence, coals will be kindled from Him. And incline the heavens, and from below, and darkness under His feet. And ascending to the Cherubim, and summer, summer to the windy krill. And put thy cloak of darkness around his village; dark water is in the clouds of the air. From flashing before Him, clouds came, hail and fiery coals. And the Lord and the Most High will give His voice from Heaven. I sent down arrows and scattered, and multiply lightning and crush me. And the sources of water appeared, and the foundations of the universe were revealed, from Thy prohibition, O Lord, from the breath of the spirit of Thy anger. She sent me down from above, and my friend, they will receive me from many waters. He will deliver me from my strong enemies and from those who hate me, as if they have established themselves more than me. Preceding me on the day of my bitterness, and the Lord is my confirmation. And he drove me to the latitude, relieve me, as if delighting me. And the Lord will reward me according to my righteousness, and according to the purity of my hand he will reward me. For you keep the ways of the Lord and do not wickedness from my God. For all His fate is before me and His justification has not departed from me. And I will be blameless with Him, and I will be kept from my iniquity. And the Lord will reward me according to my righteousness and according to the purity of my hand before His sight. With the reverend you will be reverend, and with an innocent husband you will be innocent, and with the elect you will be chosen, and with the obstinate you will be corrupted. As you save the humble people and humble the eyes of the proud. As you enlighten my lamp, O Lord, my God, enlighten my darkness. As if by you I will get rid of temptation and by my God I will knock down the wall. My God, His way is blameless, the words of the Lord are kindled, the Protector is all those who trust in Him. Who is God, is it the Lord? Or who is God, is it our God? God gird me with strength, and make my way blameless. Do my noses, like Elena, and deliver me on high. Teach my hand to fight, and thou hast laid the bow of the brass in my arm. And thou hast given me the protection of salvation, and Thy right hand will receive me, and Thy punishment will correct me in the end, and Thy punishment will teach me. Thou hast widened my feet under me, and my mold is not fatigued. I will marry my enemies, and I will comprehend, and will not return, until they die. I will offend them, and they will not be able to, they will fall under my feet. And thou hast girded me with strength against battle, thou slept, all who stood up against me under me. And you gave me a backbone of my enemies, and you consumed those who hated me. Having cried out, and do not save: to the Lord, and you will not hear them. And the truth is I like dust in the face of the wind, like the clay of the paths I will stroke. Deliver me from the wrangling of people, put me at the head of languages. People, they are not known, are working. Listen to me in the ear. Son of stranger lies. The son of a stranger is promising and lame from his path. As the Lord lives, and blessed be God, and may the God of my salvation be exalted. God grant me vengeance and subjugate people under me. My deliverer from my wrathful enemies, lift me up from those who rise up against me, deliver me unrighteously from my husband. For this reason, let us confess to Thee in the town, O Lord, and I sing to Thy name: magnify the king's salvation, and show mercy to Christ His David, and his seed to everlasting.

With the reverend you will be a reverend. A person's happiness depends on their environment, says Illinois-based neuroscientist Moran Cerf. Relatives, friends, loved ones, colleagues, all those with whom we spend significant time have an impact on our personality and soul. What significance is attributed to a person's social circle in Church Tradition?

Spiritual diffusion

In childhood, our parents said to all of us: "Don't mess with this, he will teach you bad things ...". We still made friends with those with whom we wanted, got involved in history, and sometimes listened to our parents, listening with caution to the "initiatives" of dangerous friends. The simplest example of the "bad influence" of the environment is smokers. There are often contrite questions from people who are determined to end their bad habit of self-poisoning, what if friends and coworkers smoke? Another example: falling into the sin of gossip, condemnation, being in the company of lovers of bone scraping. No, no, yes, and you will give an assessment on the general wavelength.

Christians, perhaps, better than others understand how it is to be in the company of people who transmit certain passions to the world around them and, the saddest thing, are trying to draw others into it. I know (from experience and stories) how people, knowing about the religious beliefs of an Orthodox interlocutor / friend / colleague, literally begin to “test” his loyalty to God with insidious questions, sinful topics, and direct provocations. Remained a residue - just about the spiritual consequences of such "communication".

People influence each other very strongly, their spiritual world, when interacting, seems to undergo diffusion, and each unconsciously "takes away" something from the interlocutor.

Another example: after all, you noticed that, having closely communicated with a person, you involuntarily begin to use his phrases and corporate words in speech?

The desire of the holy ascetics at all times to move away from people is quite understandable: the hermit remains alone with God and himself, excluding the possible influence of other people on himself. In a negative way, of course.

Church about the environment

“Do not be deceived, bad communities corrupt good morals” (1 Cor. 15:33) tells us the apostle Paul. The saint warns Christians with whom "it is not worth getting around."

The first psalm begins with the words "Blessed is the man, where he does not go to the counsel of the wicked ..." (Ps. 1: 1)... And without interpretation, after carefully reading the text, you can understand what is at stake. Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk writes about the first words of the Psalter, that "If we want to be partakers of bliss, then we will reject" the wicked advice "... Another line from the psalm confirms the words of the meaning of the environment for a believer even more:

"You will be innocent with the reverend, you will be innocent with an innocent husband, and you will be chosen with the elect, and you will be corrupted with the obstinate."(Ps. 17: 26-27).

Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov notes that a conversation with a neighbor seriously affects a person. “A conversation and acquaintance with a scientist gives a lot of information, with a poet - a lot of lofty thoughts and feelings, with a traveler a lot of knowledge about countries, about the customs and customs of the people. Obviously: conversation and acquaintance with the saints imparts holiness, ”the saint concludes.

A wicked person is called obstinate, “corrupted” means “you will change, and obviously not for the better. No matter how much they criticize modern methods of personal growth, there is a healthy grain in them. Professionals who have achieved success in their business constantly notice that the influence of relatives, loved ones, friends has tremendous power on a person's decision-making. There is support and motivation - and there will be some lightness in your soul, and the wind will blow into the sail towards the goal. There are regular reproaches and ridicule - a person can generally give up under their influence all attempts to achieve something in the desired business. And he will undoubtedly suffer in the future.

The cause of salvation is no exception, every Christian in his life has certainly been subjected to pressure and everyday “persecution” for religious beliefs from relatives and friends. "Why do you need this?", "Where to get up at such an early morning?"

The Christian community is a vivid example of how the environment of an Orthodox person should look like - from like-minded people. There is no paradise on earth, but the parish, as a rule, becomes a second home, also due to the unity of like-minded people.

Archpriest Andrei Tkachev spoke very succinctly and accurately about the ecology of the Christian's environment: “There is no need to communicate with those with whom it is difficult for you to communicate ... And do not arrange experiments: I will go specifically to the place where I do not love anyone, and I will exercise patience. It won't work. Do not go where you are not loved, and where you do not love anyone. Here you are annoyed with them, they are with you: well, that's it, well, goodbye. You don’t go there, they don’t come to you: everything and there is no sin ”.

Perhaps the holy hermits excluded society from their lives, including for this reason? No communion - no sins caused by communion.

With the chosen one you will be elected

Our loved ones, colleagues, other people with whom, due to the circumstances of kinship and labor relations, are not able to easily break off communication, are part of our life. And, obviously, they are our cross, a test, a school of humility and love. And for them we can just become preachers of God's word, and above all with our peaceful response, kindness and warmth. But in life there are situations when we can be drawn into this very "advice of the wicked." And here you need to have reasoning and in every possible way to avoid lawlessness and participation in it. Wherever it comes from. Well, in order to raise the level of spiritual life, of course, you need to strive in a community of similar Christians, overwhelmed by the thirst for God. Reasoning, enthusiastic, experienced, passionate.

After all, faith, like a Blessed Fire, ignites from one candle, and is transmitted to millions.

St. Athanasius the Great

Reverend will be with the reverend... You justly vouchsafed me Your good deeds, because You are righteous, you know how to be a reverend with a monk. For if I were in sin and indulged in complete corruption, then I know that You yourself, the great Judge, would pronounce Your judgment on me, according to the measure of my sin. But since I kept Thy ways, then Thou, Who is reverend with the reverend and innocent with the innocent, did not stop looking at deviating from the truth, which was with me for a while, but repaid me in Thy judgment for life, which I led afterwards, and for the deeds I have done in truth.

Interpretation of the psalms.

St. Ignatius (Bryanchaninov)

Conversation and the company of neighbors have a very strong effect on a person. A conversation and acquaintance with a scientist gives a lot of information, with a poet - a lot of lofty thoughts and feelings, with a traveler a lot of knowledge about countries, about the customs and customs of the people. Obviously: conversation and acquaintance with the saints impart holiness. You will be reverend with the reverend, and you will be innocent with an innocent husband. And with the chosen one you will be chosen.

On the reading of the Holy Fathers.

Blzh. Theodorite of Kirsky

Art. 26-27 You will be the monk with the monk, and you will be innocent with an innocent husband, and you will be chosen with the elect, and you will be corrupted with the obstinate

With the heartfelt disposition of people you will adjust your rewards, Master. You give to the monks what is worthy of their reverend; innocent and free from sin, that they are, respectively, chosen and perfect, which is perfect, but for those who have perverted from the right path and walk the opposite path, you arrange that they also find an end consistent with this path. How and how?

Euthymius Zigaben

Art. 26-27 With the monk you will be the monk, and you will be innocent with an innocent husband, and you will be chosen with the elect, and you will be corrupted with the obstinate (you will be changed)

A saint is usually called one who is pious before God; the innocent one who is pure in soul before people; to the chosen - one who is perfect in virtue; obstinate - a crafty man. - The above words can have their application to everyone and contain a very instructive meaning: they just mean that what is the one with whom you live together or address, so you yourself will be, changing in accordance with the properties of a person close to you. Corrupted otherwise you will change; you will be righteous (in the company of a reverend, innocent, chosen one), you will change your evil thoughts to good ones. But some also refer these words to God himself and in this case give them the following meaning: You, God, as it were, according to them, says the prophet, you reward everyone according to his dignity, being yourself a righteous being. You sanctify the monk, justify the innocent, distinguish the chosen one, change the obstinate to the good, preventing him from doing evil. Explaining this place in this way add that here in all cases the prophet used, instead of a participle, a verbal adjective, and this is a kind of idiom of the language, for example. reverend instead of reverent or sanctifying.

A.P. Lopukhin

Art. 26-27 You will be the monk with the monk, and you will be innocent with an innocent husband, and you will be chosen with the elect, and you will be corrupted with the obstinate.

The Lord acts with everyone as he deserves

The Lord acts with everyone according to what he deserves: He rewards the pure, righteous, and punishes the evil one.