The Church of the last times will be alive and blessed. Church in the face of retreat
Archbishop Feofan (Bystrov, 1872†1940) of Poltava and Pereyaslavl:
“The general conclusion from all the materials that I have about church life both here and in Russia under the yoke turns out to be terrible. But, of course, among the general darkness there is also a “graceful remnant,” by which the Orthodox faith is still kept both there and here.
“Our time is like the last. Salt is suffocating. – In the higher pastors of the Church, there remains a weak, dark, confused, incorrect understanding of the letter, which kills the spiritual life in Christian society, destroys Christianity, which is a deed, not a letter. It is hard to see who are entrusted into the hands of the sheep of Christ, who are given their guidance and salvation. But this is the permission of God. Let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains!” Such words once characterized the state of contemporary church affairs by the great Russian saints - Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow and Bishop Ignatius (Bryanchaninov), about sixty years ago. Is it not with great right that we can repeat these formidable words of theirs at the present time!?” (December 9, 1931).
“Regarding church life, in the speeches of the Savior, it is indicated for us, as one of the most amazing phenomena of the last times, that then the stars will fall from heaven (Matthew 24:29).
According to the explanation of the Savior Himself, the stars are the Angels of the Churches, that is, the bishops (Rev. 1:20).
The religious and moral fall of bishops is thus one of the most characteristic signs of recent times. Especially terrible is the fall of the bishops when they fall away from the dogmas of the faith or, as the apostle puts it, when they want to turn the gospel of Christ (Gal. 1:7). The apostle commands such people to pronounce an anathema: whoever preaches to you something other than what you have received, let him be anathema (Gal. 1:9).”
“The judgment of God is approaching over the nations and hypocritical Christians, starting with heretical and lukewarm hierarchs.” (April 31, 1936).
“The times of quiet, calm are over. Ahead of grief awaits people and severe suffering. First of all, there will be a world war, as it is said in the Gospel: nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom (Matthew 24:7). For the multiplication of iniquities, for the apostasy, which the Lord called the abomination of desolation, standing in a holy place (Matt. 24:15), in other words, this is the Church [which stopped offering prayers for the Anointed King, for the Incarnate name of God!], for sins [renunciation of his God-anointed Tsar], first of all, the episcopate, and then the priesthood, as well as the ruling persons in the state, for all this the Lord allows [a Jew to scour the Russian Land with a scorpion, plunder its shrines, close the churches of God, execute the best people Russians, so that the Russian people come to the mind of Christ"
“... In the Church, disasters will come to the point that only two, many - three hierarchs will remain faithful to God. I don't speak for myself. And what I heard from the inspired elders, I conveyed ... "
“The Lord will have mercy on Russia for the sake of a small remnant of true believers. In Russia, the elders said, by the will of the people, the Monarchy, Autocratic power would be restored. Russia will be a powerful State... The Lord has chosen the future Tsar. This will be a man of fiery faith, a brilliant mind and an iron will. He will first of all restore order in the Orthodox Church [as its Head], removing all untrue, heretical and lukewarm bishops. And many, very many, with few exceptions, almost all will be eliminated, and new, true, unshakable bishops will take their place. He will be from the Romanov family.
Even people who are far from the Church are interested in predictions about wars, disasters, global catastrophes... But, unfortunately, few delve into the essence of the prophecies of the lights of Orthodoxy about church apostasy, etc. "Eighth Ecumenical Council". But it is precisely the deviation from the true faith, from fidelity to God, that is the root cause of earthly disasters. So, what does the word of God and the Holy Fathers warn us about?
In previous issues of the information bulletin "Orthodox Cross" it was reported on October 31 this year. in Moscow of the conference "The Eighth Ecumenical Council" and its questions" and the speech of the chairman of the "People's Council" of Ukraine and Novorossiya, Igor Mikhailovich Druz, and the report of Anna Safronova, a student of the St. Petersburg Orthodox Institute of Religious Studies and Church Arts, were published. Today we offer for reading the text of the current speech by Anastasia Sorokina, editor-in-chief of the Voice of the Orthodox People portal, on the topic of the prophecies of the Holy Fathers and ascetics of piety about apostasy in the Church and the “eighth ecumenical council”.
The fact that our time is not easy, some kind of unusual, is felt today, probably, by everyone. Technologies, transport are developing rapidly, we are surrounded by new means of communication, the Internet is penetrating everywhere ... Such a flow of information and fuss has not been observed on earth before. And it seems that such situations, such challenges as now, have never happened in the world; that the time is special, and therefore the way of life must also be somehow special. Maybe that's why Orthodox people are tempted to make some concessions to modernity, adapt to the demands of this world, whose prince is we all know who. However, we also know that the Lord is always the same - like a thousand years ago, a hundred years ago, now, in the future, and until the end of time. And in order not to stray from the right path in these evil times, to discern evil masquerading under the guise of good, a believer needs to turn to the experience of life and the soul-saving instructions of the Holy Fathers and ascetics of piety, including modern pillars of faith, to whom the Lord revealed the destinies of men and peace.
Even people who are far from the Church are interested in predictions about wars, disasters, global catastrophes... But, unfortunately, few delve into the essence of the prophecies of the lights of Orthodoxy about church apostasy, etc. "Eighth Ecumenical Council". But it is precisely the departure from the true faith, from fidelity to God and His Holy Church, according to her teaching, that is the root cause of earthly disasters. So, what does the word of God and the Holy Fathers warn us about?
In the gospel Lord speaks of future events, predicting that the time will come when Christians will be persecuted and killed, thinking that in this way they please God (see: John 16, 2) So, at some point, people who call themselves believers (Orthodox?) will begin to oppress and destroy true Orthodox. Why? Obviously, because these "believers" in reality will deviate far from faith, deviate from its purity.
In the Divine Revelation of the Apostle John the Theologian, containing a prophecy about the kingdom and the church of the Antichrist, it is said that all the inhabitants of the earth, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, will worship the “son of perdition” (Rev. 13, 8). In general, reading Revelation is very sobering for a person's soul, but: “Who is reading the Apocalypse now? - exclaimed at the end of the 19th century Venerable Optina elder Barsanuphius.- He who will read the Apocalypse before the end of the world will be truly blessed, for he will understand what is happening, and, understanding, he will prepare himself. While reading, he will see in the events described in the Apocalypse, certain events contemporary to him…”.
In Holy Scripture we also find an important prophecy holy apostle paul referring to the end times: The Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. For when they say, "Peace and security," then sudden destruction will come upon them, just as childbirth comes upon a woman in her womb, and they will not escape (1 Thess. 5:2-3). And we see that the unification of all "churches" is being imposed today on the Orthodox just under the pretext of achieving "peace and security", confronting military conflicts, various human threats. But here's what "Serbian Chrysostom" said about the real opposition to evil on earth Saint Nicholas (Velimirovich):“It is impossible to equate the Good News with other beliefs in the name of “tolerance” and in the “interests of peace” between people and nations. Because this is the beginning, the birth of wars and revolutions, unheard of before in the history of the world.
The so-called. The "Pan-Orthodox Council", as well as other similar initiatives, according to the statements of their authors, allegedly pursue missionary goals - they are called to testify about Orthodoxy "in the secular world." But Orthodoxy throughout its history has testified to itself without crafty intermediaries, and the Ecumenical Councils were not convened for this at all, but for the sake of affirming the unfalse Church teaching and overthrowing the heresies that shook the Church. There were seven Ecumenical Councils that once and for all imprinted the truth in their resolutions, and at the beginning of the 20th century another spoke about the fact that the eighth was no longer needed. Optina elder - Nectarius. When asked whether there would be a union of the Churches, he replied: “No, only the Ecumenical Council could do this, but there will be no more Council. There were Seven Councils, like seven Sacraments, seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit. For our age, the fullness of the number is seven. The number of the future age is eight. Only individuals will join our Church.” Please note: the elder said “to join”, and not to unite, which is what the ecumenists hope for, in their speeches blaspheming the Holy Church, as if “having sinned with the sin of separation.”
Also at the beginning of the 20th century Confessor of the Royal Family, ascetic of piety, Archbishop Theophan of Poltava to the question of whether the “eighth ecumenical council” would take place, he answered: “I still do not know anything about the “eighth ecumenical council”. I can only say in the words of Saint Theodore the Studite: “Not every assembly of bishops is a Council, but only an assembly of bishops who stand in Truth.” So Vladyka Theophan made it clear to all the faithful that they have the right not to accept, to reject the non-Orthodox decisions of the bishops' meetings.
The impending retreat was predicted with amazing accuracy Rev. Kuksha of Odessa. In the middle of the last century, he said that the last times were coming: “Soon there will be an ecumenical council called “saint”. But this will be the same “eighth council”, which will be a gathering of the godless. On it, all faiths will unite into one. Then all fasts will be abolished (we note the word “then”, that is, not necessarily right at the council, but, perhaps, soon after it), monasticism will be completely destroyed, bishops will be married, the new calendar will be introduced in the Ecumenical Church ”( i.e., in fact, in the prophecy of the saint of God, topics from the agenda of the upcoming "Pan-Orthodox" meeting are listed). Further, the monk warns: “Be vigilant! Try to visit temples while they are still ours.” And the most formidable words: "Soon it will be impossible to go there, everything will change."
It is known that in the middle of the 20th century the most active figure in the ecumenical movement in Russia was Metropolitan Nikodim (Rotov). Among his flock and students, he planted the ideas of Eucharistic communion with Catholics, the need to introduce renovation innovations, including the replacement of the Julian church calendar with the "new style", according to which the papists serve. On this occasion Elder Hieroschemamonk Stefan (Ignatenko) warned his children: “If they introduce and serve according to the new style, in no case do not go to this temple. Not all even bishops will switch to the new style. So hold on to those who remain faithful to Orthodoxy. While there is a possibility, go to the temple. There will come a time when it will be impossible to go to church. The church will go into the catacombs. But the Lord will not leave His faithful servants. True priests and bishops will remain, who will also go into the catacombs. There will be terrible confusion. People will run in different directions ... ".
In 1948, another pillar of the faith sounded a formidable accusatory prophecy, Reverend Lawrence of Chernigov: 
“Do not be surprised when you hear that in the temples someone prays in different ways (obviously, the saint warned about the reformation of worship). As in the “golden hats” they say not to read the Psalter, and then the clock, then the Lord will be patient, patient, but how shy! ..». Let us recall how much the divine services have already been reduced in many churches - the All-Night Vigil in some parishes lasts only an hour and a half, or even less! The Monk Lawrence also warned against much concern about the external construction and improvement of churches to the detriment of internal work, calling such constructions pre-Tichrist: “The domes of both churches and bell towers will be gilded, and when the main one is finished, then the time will come for the reign of the Antichrist. See how insidious all this is being prepared? All the temples will be in the greatest splendor, as never before, and it will be impossible to go to those temples, since the Bloodless Sacrifice of Jesus Christ will not be offered there.
Understand: there will be churches, but an Orthodox Christian will not be able to attend them, since there will be all the “satanic gathering”! I repeat once again that it will be impossible to go to those churches: there will be no grace in them! To understand these frightening words, one can cite a historical example with the “living churchmen”, the renovationists of the 20th century: many priests, for various reasons (for false beliefs, under pressure from the authorities ...) transferred to the “communist church”, while the faithful fathers did not bless visiting it . And in one of the prophetic visions Holy Righteous John of Kronstadt the temples of the renovationists were shown as places where the abomination of desolation reigns.
In his prophecies, the Monk Lavrenty assigned a special place to Ukraine, as well as Belgorod elder Seraphim (Tyapochkin). 
The latter, in particular, strictly warned that those of its inhabitants who oppose an alliance with Russia - even if they consider themselves believers - become servants of the devil.
Let us recall the names of other modern ascetics of piety - Archpriest Nikolai Rogozin, Hegumen Guriy (Chezlov), Schema-Archimandrite Christopher of Tula. They also warned their spiritual children about the coming times of persecution of the Orthodox and apostasy from the purity of the faith, about the creation of a single global kingdom and a single church of the Antichrist. But, what is characteristic, in all the instructions and prophecies of these luminaries of Orthodoxy, there is an indication of the inadmissibility of leaving the Church as a red thread. They taught: one must beware of deviating into heresy, but one must not go into schism either. It is necessary to fight for the purity of faith inside the church fence, to the end!
Returning to the predictions of St. Lawrence, let us single out another important topic - the secularization of the clergy and monasticism. The Holy Father predicted: “The last time is coming, when the clergy will also be carried away by worldly vain wealth. They will not think about their own salvation, much less about others. They will have cars and dachas, they will visit resort places, time will be spent cleaning large beautiful monastery premises, and the Jesus Prayer will be taken away. They will forget about her! Then they themselves will go the wrong way, which they need to go, and they will lead the cowardly people behind them. But you be wise and prudent. Listen to their beautiful words, but do not follow their deeds. However, the saint’s prophecies are crowned with a comforting promise: “All heresies and schisms in Russia will disappear thanks to the Tsar, but only for a short time, for then the Terrible Judge will come to judge the living and the dead.”
Many Orthodox also know a vivid prophecy regarding the same problem, Reverend Seraphim of Sarov. Having seen through the revelation of God the deplorable state of mind of the bishops and priests of the last times, Father Seraphim cried out: “It would be better if I be deprived of the Kingdom of Heaven, Lord, only have mercy on them!” But the righteous Lord answered the monk that this was impossible, for these people voluntarily chose their fate, departing from the true faith and teaching the people "the doctrines and commandments of men." According to the father's "servant" N.A. Motovilov, Seraphim of Sarov also predicted that since by the end of the centuries “the Russian bishops will become so impious that they will surpass the Greek bishops in the time of Theodosius the Younger in their wickedness, so that even the most important dogma of Christ’s faith - the Resurrection of Christ and the general resurrection will not be believed,” then the Lord He will raise him up, as it were from a dream, for the affirmation of the truth of the resurrection of the dead.
“The reigning serenity worries me,” said another great ascetic, Elder of the 20th century Paisius Svyatogorets. 
– <…>The apostasy has come, and now it remains only for the “son of perdition” to come (see: 2 Thess. 2, 3).<…>If the Church is silent so as not to come into conflict with the state, if the metropolitans are silent, if the monks are silent, then who will speak?! The ascetic saw the growing indifference of people to God, leading to indifference in all areas of life. The elder taught his children to have “good anxiety”: “Earlier, if any pious layman or priest, or even more so a monk, cared about what was happening in the world, it was believed that he should be locked in a tower, in prison [for repentance] . Today, those who do not care about this must be locked in the tower, because the enemies of Christ want to destroy everything. How relevant these words are today, when many priests say to parishioners zealous for the purity of Orthodoxy: “You are not doing that! Don't worry, it's none of your business! Pay more attention to your spiritual life! Father Paisius lamented this pseudo-spirituality: “Oh, if by prayer they reached such a state that they would not apply care to anything, then I would kiss their feet! But no, they are indifferent, because they want to be good for everyone and live happily ever after.” And then he reproaches those who propose not to denounce heretics, allegedly out of love for them, saying that this comes “from a falsely understood kindness.<…>So, wanting to show their "highest nobility", they end up bowing to the two-horned devil. “Let there be one religion,” they say and put everything on the same level<…>. Today they are trying to destroy faith, and in order for the building of faith to collapse, they are slowly removing stones. But we are responsible for not letting the enemies of the Church ruin everything,” the God-wise elder sternly warned.
He also spoke about the main reason for church apostasy Rev. Anatoly of Optina (Potapov):“And now, as a result of the impoverishment of piety, heresies and schisms will go on in the Church, and then, as the Holy Fathers predicted, there will be no experienced and skillful people in spiritual warfare on the thrones of hierarchs and monasteries. From this, heresies will spread everywhere and deceive many. The enemy of the human race will act with cunning to incline even the elect to heresy<…>. Heretics will take power over the Church, they will place their servants everywhere, and piety will be neglected.
He is echoed by the recently glorified by the Georgian Church Saint Gabriel (Urgebadze): 
“In the last time, the supporters of the Antichrist will go to church, will be baptized and will preach the gospel commandments. But do not believe those who will not have good works. Only by deeds can a true Christian be known.”
The outstanding Serbian theologian of the 20th century tells us the same thing. Saint Justin (Popovich) of Cheli:“In general, the question of preparing and convening a new ‘ecumenical council’ is not new.<…>. This question was already raised during the lifetime of the unfortunate Patriarch Meletios (Metaxakis) of Constantinople, a well-known vain modernist and reformer, the creator of a schism in Orthodoxy, at his so-called “pan-Orthodox congress” in Constantinople in 1923…”. That is, the "eighth ecumenical" has been in preparation for more than 90 years! At the same time, as St. Justin further notes, 
the catalog of his topics was constantly modified, invariably remaining "a scholastic-Protestant series of dry humanistic theorems." The Holy Father appealed to the archpastors of his day with a convincing request to abandon the idea of holding such a forum, since “only one thing can be expected from him: schisms, heresies and the death of many souls.<…>Such a Council, instead of healing, will open new wounds on the Body of the Church and create new problems and suffering for her.”
So, on the basis of all the above predictions of saints and ascetics of piety, we can conclude that the preparation for the "Pan-Orthodox Council" is a consequence of apostasy processes in the Church and the world, approaching the reign of the Antichrist. And we, the Orthodox people, as God's saints instruct, should not only know our faith well, but live it, look at everything that happens with spiritual eyes - in the light of Divine Revelation.
I would like to end with the following prophetic instructions. Let's not forget that, according to the words of St. Lawrence, only "the Tsar will cleanse the Church from all heresies and schisms." And further - Saint Theophan the Recluse designated: "The root elements of Russian life: Orthodoxy, Autocracy, Nationality - that is, the Church, the Tsar and the Kingdom." And the Monk Anatoly of Optina warned: “If there is no Tsar, there will be no Russia either. Like a man with a severed head, so Russia without a Tsar will be a stinking corpse. Bishop Theophan of Poltava, and Blessed Mother Matrona of Moscow, and Elder Sheikhumen Jerome of Sanaksar, and the light of our time, Metropolitan John ( Snychev), and the revered father Nikolai Guryanov from Zalit Island ...
Lord, through the prayers of the holy Royal Martyrs and all Your saints, and especially of our Sovereign Lady Theotokos, preserve the Orthodox faith, which is attacked by the heretical! Amen.
"ORTHODOX CROSS" №2 January 15, 2015
Apostasy
Apostasy (Greek αποστασία - apostasy, betrayal, falling away) - apostasy, betrayal of the Christian faith and falling away from it.
In the Greek text of the Old Testament (Septuagint), the word apostasy occurs in the meaning of apostasy from God (Jer. 2:19, Jos. 22:22), and has a clear religious meaning. In the New Testament, the word apostasy means apostasy or departure from the Christian faith (Luke 8:13, 1 Tim. 4:1-3, Heb. 3:12, 2 Pet. 2:20, 3:17).
Since the time of St. Cyprian of Carthage, the Church has encountered the concept of apostate (Greek αποστατης - apostate), which is applied to Christians who fell away from the faith during persecution.
Apostasy as a world phenomenon was prophetically predicted by the Apostle Paul, who considers it one of the main signs of the eschatological events preceding the Last Judgment (“for that day will not come until the apostasy first comes” - ή αποστασία, 2 Thess. 2:3).
Christianity gave civilization everything: the concept of personality and the concept of the right and freedom of the individual, the concept of social security, and much more. It is thanks to Christianity that people live satisfyingly, for a long time, with comforts. And so - the idea arose that now everything is in order, and therefore God is no longer needed. Apostasy is mass apostasy. Marina Zhurinskaya
Abbot Sergius (Rybko) in his youth had the nickname "Terrorist". He is friends with rock music to this day.
Successful hieromonk Elijah loves to pose. It turns out that he does not have this chariot alone. By chance (after a severe accident) it turned out that there was another Mercedes - an SUV.
The ill-wishers did not fail to immediately slander on the Internet ...
But hegumen Timothy (he served in the church of Elijah the Prophet on Ordinary Lane, near the Cathedral of Christ the Savior) has a more modest car - a BMW Z-4 sports car
But friends are very famous. They are even allowed to ascend the solea with a “surrogate” baby after baptism…
Priest John Okhlobystin. Stages of the glorious path ...
The priest must have a beard
To all - a pastor's greeting
Apparently, there is no need to introduce this figure ... A half-naked biker girl sat on this motorcycle a little later and made a trip around Sevastopol with a flag fluttering behind.
For tea with blasphemers. The masks have already been removed...
- Is it true assertion that in eve of the arrival of the antichrist there will be no spiritual fathers (elders) and Christians will forced take care of your own salvation?The last times are the time of the great apostasy. The Holy Fathers tremblingly describe the terrible scale of humanity's apostasy from God. But at the same time they testify that the Christians of the last times will be higher than the martyrs of the period of the first persecutions of the Church. God will give them greater grace.
And here a question arises for me: how can they achieve such a high spiritual state without the Church? No. The Church of the last times will be alive and blessed. The Apocalypse also testifies to this.
And once there is a Church, there will be bishops, priests, monks and laity. The fact that there will be few of them and they will be persecuted is not so important. The Savior Himself told us, “Fear not, little flock.” Even in the last terrible times, the Orthodox will be able to find a foothold and receive support from spiritual fathers. I believe that the Lord will take special care and comfort Christians. Including through the confessors who will be next to them.
Such a phenomenon as apostasy can harm many of us, but only those who will not live spiritually and have a real connection with God. Those who have a thirst for Christ, a desire to be with the Lord, the Grace of God will never leave.
Let's remember the Soviet era. In published books, we read how few elders and confessors were able to support the Orthodox people. But despite this, the laity, who longed to be with the Lord, had spiritual mentors! Despite huge and seemingly insurmountable obstacles.
- At the same time, even in our time, many Christians, referring to the fact that there are no real elders and confessors left, do not have a permanent spiritual leader.
This state of affairs carries great danger. This is a deadly delusion!
We must find not the great elders and confessors, but ourselves. We should humbly ask the Lord to give us a spiritual mentor. And no matter how small he is (in virtue, in fame…), the Lord will bless and direct our spiritual life through him for our humility.
It is not the absence of elders that is to blame, but our lack of desire to truly live a spiritual life. If we sincerely want to be with Christ, the Lord can raise confessors and elders from stones.
Sometimes people come to our monastery and ask: are there on Athos today people like Elder Paisios the Svyatogorets? But it is wrong to ask the question this way. And today there are many elders and ascetic monks. But the problem lies within us. Can we simply and humbly ask what interests us? Can we be obedient?
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Lay people and monks of our time should strive to listen to their spiritual father with humility and obedience, and not spend their lives in search of great elders.
This is especially true for monks. According to the Holy Fathers, there are only three reasons why a monk can leave his monastery and look for a new spiritual mentor: if the abbot is a heretic, if the monastery is open to women or small children live in it.
- What should be the place of the hesychast tradition in the life of monks and laity today?
The Hesychast tradition is the quintessence of the Orthodox Church and the basis of the life of an Orthodox Christian.
Let us recall the life of St. Gregory Palamas. Once in the Berean desert, he made friends with one simple old man, the silent Job. He, once listening to St. Gregory, who expressed the idea that not only ascetics, but all Christians should pray unceasingly, did not agree with him and objected that unceasing prayer is the duty of only monks, and not laity. Gregory Palamas, not wanting to offend the elder and not liking verbosity, fell silent. But as soon as Job returned to his cell and began to pray, an angel appeared to him and said:
- Do not doubt, old man, in the truth of the words of Gregory - he spoke and speaks the truth; so think also you, and pass it on to others.
The hesychast tradition includes not only the creation of mental prayer (“Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner”) but also the entire spectrum of spiritual life. This is the struggle for purification from passions, and the acquisition of virtues opposite to them.
If we lose contact with the hesychast tradition, we (laymen and monks) will go astray from the path of salvation. Let's wander into a hopeless dead end of various Western Christian doctrines.
For example, let's dive into pietism - the doctrine according to which we will be saved through our good works. The fatality of this approach lies in self-justification, which hinders our salvation.
Or in the denial of the inspiration of Scripture and Tradition. Or into serenity. Or in many other currents that flooded the Western Churches.
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Nowadays, some monks write theological works. But this is not an ordinary and even more important thing for a monk, as St. John of the Ladder clearly points out: we (monks) will be judged not for not theologizing or missionary work, but for not weeping over our sins. The business of a monk is repentance.
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- Father Luke, how necessary is the creation of the Jesus Prayer for the laity?
The great Russian elders of the 18th-19th centuries persistently urged the laity to create intellectual prayer and immerse themselves in the hesychast type of ascetic life.
In modern Greece, many lay people also say the Jesus Prayer, although forty years ago there was nothing of the kind. In turning Christians to the hesychast tradition, the merit of Mount Athos is undeniable.
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In Russia, in my opinion, the dominance of atheistic ideology contributed to the break with the spiritual tradition of hesychasm. The connection with the living patristic heritage of the 19th century was lost. But I hope that with the help of God, the laity will again be able to touch the amazing beauty of the spiritual tradition of hesychasm. Restore connection with the legacy of Sergius of Radonezh and Paisius Velichkovsky.
In fact, the creation of the Jesus Prayer for the laity is a simple matter. Wherever they are and whatever they do, they can repeat the words "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner." Every day they face many problems and difficulties. If during each trial at least several times they turn to the Lord, their whole day will be filled with prayer. Parents can pray for their children. Children for academic excellence. Young for the older generation. All together for our Fatherland. There are many reasons to pray!
