Divine Feasts in April. Bright Easter week

- What is addiction?

Addiction must be viewed as a special spiritual problem, because it puts a person in a state of humiliation: a person who, by nature, should be free, becomes dependent on sin. By addictions we mean addiction to bad habits, bad actions, bad actions. In our life, almost everyone is faced with this. The most common problem is alcohol dependence. Today in the world and in Russia this problem is in the foreground. The experience of the first sample of alcohol is now observed at a very young age: there is official statistics that children from the age of 7 are introduced to alcohol - to beer, to various low-alcohol drinks. These are statistics for the last five years. Unfortunately, it is not disseminated in the media, because the state is the main monopolist in the sale of alcohol. Very large excise taxes, large budget replenishments in our country are formed through the sale of alcohol. If money is made on their own problems, then such a state becomes shaky, not fundamental, because if a person starts drinking alcohol from an early age, it means that an alcoholic is already being formed by adulthood. A person who is dependent on alcohol is, by and large, disabled. If we can help a person with the first and second stages of alcoholism, then the already formed third and fourth stages of alcoholism are quite problematic so that a person can get rid of alcohol addiction.
Nowadays there are many addictions associated with drug addiction. There are many people who use seemingly harmless substances - smoking mixtures (spice), but people die from this.

A question from a TV viewer from Rylsk: “I would like to take a vow of sobriety. How can I do that? Are there certain days in the temples for this? "

In the Church there is a certain rite so that people who wish to take a vow of sobriety can make such an act of goodwill. You can go to your temple and talk to the priest. The priest will conduct this rite, and you will be able to take a vow of sobriety before the cross and the Gospel, before the miraculous icon and secure the vow with your signature. One copy remains in the church with the priest, the second with you, so that it is a reminder that you have done an act of goodwill, refused alcohol. Here you will need the prayer support of your confessor, your priest. You yourself must pray, partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ, confess and lead a spiritual life.

- There is such a concept: "moderately drinking person." Is this also an alcohol addiction?

Of course. This is the first or second stage of alcohol addiction, no matter how regrettable and sad it may sound. A person who cannot decorate his life with spiritual moments: worship, reading spiritual literature, walking in the park (in the city), cannot entertain himself in other non-sinful ways, but who touches strong alcoholic beverages, is addicted. You can understand such people: they experience very great external pressure, tension, and a person knows that vodka and other spirits are quite affordable antidepressants. The trouble is that they have a big problem: they are addictive, decompose the human personality and the human body, and increase depression. They do not relieve a person of depression, but drive it even deeper into it. A person gets stuck in this swamp so that it becomes very difficult to get out of it.

- If a person breaks this vow of sobriety, what to do?

Yes, this happens very often, and the person feels guilty. He sometimes departs for a while from the Church - for a month or a year. But every person has a soul, and the soul, by its nature and essence, is a Christian, and a person cannot live without God. Some everyday circumstances, problems that arise in life, bring him back to the temple. When you start talking to someone, you find out that he was in a settlement, in a monastery, carried out some kind of obedience, got rid of his habit of alcohol or drugs and had progress for a certain time. But there are circumstances that force a person to use alcohol or drugs again and lead him to the state of the fallen. Such a person has to be raised again and started all over again. Nothing new can be invented here. Our task as shepherds is to approach the problem correctly. People should know that if a shepherd is strict by nature, then he is a very good spiritual doctor, because if the shepherd indulges, then a person will simply drown in sins. The task of the pastors of such people is to identify, make them spiritually understand and realize the essence of the problem that they have, and help them participate in the spiritual healing of their personality.

What other addictions are there? Are there age-specific addictions - for example, in adolescents?

Teenagers have a lot of addictions: both alcoholic and drug addictions. Now there are young drug addicts who use smoking mixtures. Tobacco smoking is also a kind of drug addiction. I have already told in one of the programs about the sin of smoking and about why a person develops nicotine addiction. Teenagers are highly addicted to various computer applications and devices. They are prone to gambling addiction, gambling addiction. Having such devices as minicomputers, telephones, they are in another world - the world of this virtual, computer deception. What problems can arise because of this? First of all, these are quarrels and misunderstandings in the family. The teenager does not socialize in the family, he has no contact with his peers, he has no spiritual contact with his parents, he is often aggressive. There are even cases when the grandmother or parents tried to remove the child from the game and the child used force against them, and there are even cases of murder when the child commits this against his relatives.

- Does the child put play above relationships with people?

Of course. And it all starts small: social networks, computer applications. All this makes people spiritual zombies, people become inadequate. When you start telling them to raise their cultural or spiritual level, you get only a negative answer. The problem is serious, and above all spiritual.

- A question from a viewer from Samara: "We are talking about sobriety, and tomorrow at the litiya we will say:" Multiply wine and oil in this world and in this temple. " How do you compare this? It doesn't add up to me. We also allow wine and oil during fasting. "

A very interesting and correct question. The caller of the TV viewer mentioned the lithium, and sometimes it seems to me that people do not understand well the Slavic terms that the priest pronounces. Here a person quotes from a prayer for the consecration of the breads, where there really are the following words: "Sanctify, O Lord, sowing bread, wheat, wine and oil." These are the ingredients of the Christian Lenten Table. It should be pointed out here that wine in the Church has a Eucharistic reason for using it in fulfillment of the words of Christ the Savior. But among the Jews it was contraindicated to drink intoxicating drinks, and the wine that Christ used was diluted three or four times with water. It was, first of all, a mineral, vitamin, delightful, amusing drink, but not intoxicating. We know that Christ was a man in everything, except for sin. Drunkenness is a sin. Can we really admit that Christ violated the commandment of God, violated the ordinance of Holy Scripture and was in a drunken state?

The first Christians ate what the land gave. Bread and vineyards were grown in Palestine. There was also cattle breeding in order to collect wool, make clothes, and on special days to celebrate Passover, to slaughter a lamb (in the time of the Old Testament). During the year they ate light food, fish, and meat was like medicine in order to restore human strength. We know that grapes are grown on the land. When the abundant fruit was gathered, it was impossible to preserve the grapes because it sour. Humanity has learned to make a special product that was preserved in a certain way, in a certain place. People noticed the properties of this product and began to use it. But if you use it in a concentrated way, then it intoxicates, and God does not want a person to intoxicate himself, change his consciousness. Empirically, it was found that wine does not intoxicate if diluted with water. In the ancient Jewish tradition, which has already passed into the monastic tradition, wine contains 3-4 degrees of alcohol. If an ordinary sweet wine, which has up to 19 degrees, is diluted four times with water, you will get a drink like this. Therefore, the Church blesses the use of wine for the needs of the meal, primarily the Lord's meal, in fulfillment of the Covenant of our Lord Jesus Christ. But we must remember that we need to refrain from drunkenness, from various alcoholic substances that can change consciousness.

- A question from a TV viewer from Mytisch: “My 13-year-old daughter suffers from computer addiction. If we remove the computer, then aggression, hysteria comes from her side. He does not want to do his homework. Advise how to be. "

The problem is very common. It is necessary to remove the computer for at least one month. Aggression is indeed possible, so the daughter may need the preventive help of a child psychologist. If the child is spiritless, does not go to the temple of God, then the mother will face a certain problem. In this case, it turns out that the child's level of virtual socialization is very high. It is necessary to find out with whom the child communicates, what applications he is interested in, what films he watches. As a result, a lot can be revealed new, ugly and even sinful. Therefore, do not be surprised if you come across something like this.

Why remove the computer for at least one month? It is noticed that if a person does not come into contact with an irritant, then at first a peak of aggression will occur, but after a week it will decrease. A big mistake is made by those parents who give their child a computer, give him money for the Internet - and the child is in this dependent virtual world, where he can find a company, and not at all for his age. This problem is deep, I am studying it, and I would like to draw your attention to the fact that parents very often lose their children at the age of 13-14. Then they are surprised that they have children with problems, with certain perversions. Subsequently, they come to the Church and ask what to do. Of course, a computer is needed - as a means to print something, in order to use it as a new means of information technology, but a certain culture is needed. As we can see, the child does not have this culture; parents do not know how to educate. If you don’t know how to educate, then now protect. And the level of cortisol, which will be released in the child in response to the fact that you removed the computer, will decrease in a week. During this time, you can consult a child psychologist, if you go to church, then with a priest. And of course, you need to pray. Parental control required.

In my opinion, there must still be a weighty alternative to a computer. You need to understand what the child finds in the virtual. If he has communication, and he has no other source besides a computer, then he needs to be provided with an alternative in life - to expand his circle of communication, take him somewhere, change the environment. Perhaps the child lacks a sense of independence and freedom, so he finds this freedom and independence in the fact that he controls the computer characters on the screen and in this he finds satisfaction. It is necessary to understand the essence of what the child lacks, and provide it to him in real life.

The bottom line is that the child is spiritless, and the parents, most likely, are also spiritless. Culture is needed. A person inherently strives for stronger stimuli, which can be both with a plus sign and with a minus sign. Stimuli with a "plus" sign can bring the release of endorphins: watching a movie, is in an application - this causes a state of calm, satisfaction, that is what these applications entice. It seems to such a person that he is developing in this world, but to look at his level of development, to conduct primitive tests, it turns out that he does not know history, he does not know the rules of the Russian language. By and large, he only knows how to poke buttons. For example, at the age of 12-14 I could cut something, I could make an airplane, I went to an air circle. I went to the temple of God regularly. He attended circles, sections, was engaged in self-development. I knew how to do something, and it still helps me.
- What to offer him?

Suggest a one-to-one conversation with your parent, with a priest, pay attention to the spiritual state. If this is not done, then nothing will work.

- And if the conversation is not crowned with success?

Here we must try to make sure that the conversation is crowned with success. There are specialists for this: child psychologists, priests who deal with child problems, and teachers. It so happens that parents have dogs, fish, parrots and read a large amount of literature on how to properly breed parrots. But among these books there is no book on how to properly raise a child. At certain age periods, the child requires a certain amount of attention to himself and a certain pedagogy. If a child goes into the virtual world, it means that there was no pedagogy on the part of the parents. If parents do not pay attention to the spiritual state of their child, they will lose him.

- The parents themselves need to learn. Maybe the child lacks love ...

Love is, first of all, a sacrifice. We are used to understanding love as lisp, various emotions, emotional experiences. But mental things are impermanent, they always require reinforcement. A person can receive spiritual reinforcement only when everything is in order with his spirit, and if he does not receive spiritual nourishment from the Sacraments of the Church, from prayer, then where will he get spiritual reinforcement? He will first look for him in a closed world, for example, in the theater, then he will get tired of it. And then what? Then - emptiness. And with any everyday problem, such people end up either with alcohol, or with drugs, or with suicide.

- It turns out that the original reason for addiction is spiritual emptiness?

Yes. In the "Foundations of the Social Concept of the Russian Orthodox Church" it is very well said that the reason for the flight of people into the illusory kingdom of pleasure is spiritual emptiness. If we want to see certain Christian values ​​in a person, then they must first be put into him.

Question of the viewer: “My husband is addicted to alcohol and also smokes. I'm codependent. Previously, he still suffered from gambling addiction. Now I got rid of it. Tell me how to get rid of dependencies: separately - first from one, then from the other, or should it be done simultaneously? My husband and I are married in marriage, receive communion, confess, but these passions do not let go. "

A common problem. People think that if the marriage is married, then there should be no problems. A wedding is when the Church of God prays for family life, so that the Lord would send the family goodness, peace, patience, love, as the Apostle Paul says about this. But if people who live in a married marriage do not want to live as the apostle says, then there are a lot of problems from this, primarily spiritual.

If a person is addicted, then why does he receive communion so quickly? A certain penance must be imposed on him, the approach must be with pastoral pedagogy, because a person commits a sin, and he must realize this sin. Apparently, the shepherd who allows people to commune does not know that alcohol dependence occurs at intervals: there are intervals when a person is in a binge, and there are intervals when there are remissions, sometimes long. The priest must impose a penance so that a person understands his sin, he can spend a month or three months under a penance. Such people need to be removed from the Chalice of Christ, because people usually think this way: I have sinned, I will come to confession, I remember, the priest will cover my head, whisper something, baptize my head - and there is no sin. There is sin. What is repentance? Repentance is self-correction, you need to look at yourself from the outside, realize your sin and feel the stench of this sin. And in this case, this does not happen.

First of all, here it is necessary even to demand penance for oneself: every day for a certain time to perform the prayer rule - the Canons to Jesus the Sweetest, the Most Holy Theotokos, the Guardian Angel and the Canon of the day - this is mandatory for the period of penance. Also, morning and evening prayers are obligatory. There should be a compulsory attendance at worship services. Pour out all the alcohol that is at home (no matter how expensive it is), throw away all the tinctures that are on alcohol. It is necessary to change the way of life: usually such people like to visit friends, share a meal. Friends should be teetotalers, if friends make you drink, they are not friends. You need to arrange a life for yourself at home as in a colony. The woman says she is codependent. The person himself is to blame for codependency. Such women are usually afraid to contradict their husbands. First of all, you need to create a spiritual core in yourself - not to be afraid to tell the truth. For example: “From today, from this moment on, we stop living this sinful life, we change everything in the bud. We throw out everything that reminds of alcohol and smoking and start a new stage of life. "

There is a very good note of determination in your words. Because all the throwing, unresolved moments pull the person back. Such determination, firmness is the way out. The vow of sobriety that we talked about is another incentive for this.

A question from a TV viewer from Smolensk: “The girl is 16 years old. How to explain to her that she must confess and receive communion? From the age of two we received communion, and before she went to church, confessed, but recently it has become a problem. Perhaps this is due to the computer addiction that was. How can I help her? "

First of all, a mother should help spiritually with her mother's prayer, because a mother's prayer will reach from the bottom of the sea. You also need to look at your spiritual life, because the mother is the authority for the girl at this age. If the mother is irresponsible herself, then she will have to take up herself and start living in a Christian, spiritual, Orthodox channel. Accordingly, urge the child to do the same. 16 years is the age of hormones: a girl sees around a lot of beautiful boys, beautiful cars, so many things that you can quickly get if you do certain sins. Children are now taught on films, Internet resources and know about it. Therefore, you need to change your spiritual life. Introduce a home prayer rule, which must be attended by both the daughter, and the husband, and you. Schedule a day for yourself - how you should live. You need to see who your daughter is talking to. Until the age of majority, the mother must look after the child: this is her direct responsibility - both social and Christian. When the child grows up, let him go to his own bread free. But your daughter will be a Christian only when you change your life today, now. Otherwise, nothing will work. Spiritual issues, spiritual problems are solved only by spiritual methods.

There are people with intense professions, for example, doctors. Often doctors drink, smoke - this relieves stress. Is it addiction or not?

Addiction, of course. What do these doctors have to do with you?

- I just see that a person smokes, therefore, he seduces those who are around.

Now doctors do not smoke in hospitals, it is prohibited by law. However, it is, of course, an addiction. And lack of spirituality. We, Christians, spiritual people, should know that we are in the world of evil. Now this is happening all over the Orthodox world, "in monasteries - as in the world, and in the world - as in hell." At the same time, a lot depends on the person himself. I advise you not to look at these sins, but if you have seen, then cross yourself and pray for the person so that the Lord will admonish him. Those people who are trying to relieve depression in this way should know that alcohol destroys nerve cells, the nervous system, and causes nervous diseases. Smoking also causes many diseases. There is no formula or medicine for everyone. A person must find the ways of his salvation very often himself. He is given a direction, a vector of movement, and a person must choose: to go in this direction, to follow this vector or not.

May God's blessing, the Protection of the Heavenly Queen and the prayerful intercession of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker be with you all.

Host: Denis Beresnev
Decryption: Nina Kirsanova

A complete rejection of alcoholic beverages is optional for an Orthodox person. But as alcoholism has become a serious social problem, the traditions of sobriety vows are being revived in many Orthodox communities.

As a personal choice, complete abstinence from alcohol does not contradict our faith, and for people with alcohol dependence, according to narcologists, this is the only way to return to normal life, to keep their family and work. And since alcoholism, which was a serious social problem in Soviet times, has become a national disaster in recent decades, claiming hundreds of thousands of lives every year, the number of supporters of this choice in the Orthodox environment is constantly growing.

History of vows

Apparently, the tradition of taking vows of sobriety is not found in any other Local Church. The practice of vows in Russia arose spontaneously in 1858-1861. It all started with a protest against the ransom system. In thirty-four provinces, peasants and city dwellers in protest stopped drinking vodka, closed taverns, and sometimes smashed them. And some of the protesters came to churches and told the priest that they wanted to make a vow to God for a certain time not to drink vodka by the whole world, kissed the cross, and the priest certified that such and such parishioners had taken a vow of sobriety.

The government reacted negatively to this practice and even asked the Holy Synod to find out if there were any cases of compulsion to vows by priests. In response to this, the Synod in August 1859 issued a decree in which it indicated that it considers it a necessary duty of a priest "to be a living example of his own life and frequent preaching in the Church of God on the benefits of abstinence to promote the good determination that has arisen in some urban and rural estates to refrain from drinking wine." ... But in 1862 the ransom system was abolished, and the spontaneous sober movement gradually came to naught.

The second stage of this movement began with the activities of the teacher Sergei Alexandrovich Rachinsky (1833-1902). A professor at Moscow University, head of the department of plant physiology, in 1872 he returned to his native village of Tatevo, Smolensk province, where he built a rural school with a hostel for peasant children. Contemporaries called Rachinsky the apostle of sobriety. In 1882 he established a sobriety society in a narrow circle of his disciples, and in July all members of the society took a vow of sobriety in the church. But the story had a sequel, which few people know about. Bishop Nestor (Metaniev) of Smolensk was informed about the acceptance of the vow, and he expressed his displeasure to Rachinsky, referring to the absence of such vows in the church charter. Rachinsky turned to his old friend, the Chief Prosecutor of the Synod, Konstantin Pobedonostsev, with a request to resolve this problem. On the initiative of Pobedonostsev, the Synod worked out an official form for taking a vow, adopted a resolution that legalized it, and published a brochure "The Rite of the Vow of Sobriety."

The Vow of Temperance and the Spirit of the Gospel

Probably not a single priest practicing vows of sobriety in his community can be accused of violating church rules. Still, the Synod's decree is not a decision of the Ecumenical and even the Local Council. During the Synodal period, there was much controversy in church history. The very fact that the rite of the vow was legalized by the will of the chief procurator, whom a friend asked about it (a great teacher and pious Christian, but not an unconditional church authority), is more likely to cause bewilderment and certainly cannot be a valid argument in favor of the vow. It is not surprising that this story is almost never written about. But in pre-revolutionary sobriety societies, which everyone who has studied the history of the Church's social activity considers one of the best church social projects, this vow became widespread. The holy righteous John of Kronstadt and many other wonderful shepherds blessed to take vows of sobriety. That is, this canonically faulty decision has borne fruit.

Modern opponents of vows recall the Savior's words from the Sermon on the Mount: “But let your word be: yes, yes; no no; and anything beyond this is from the evil one ”(Matthew 5:37). Thus, one can doubt the canonicity of monastic vows or the oath taken by deacons, priests and bishops at consecration. But in the previous three verses there is a clarification of exactly how you should not swear: “But I tell you: do not swear at all: not by heaven, because it is the throne of God; nor the earth, for it is His footstool; nor Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King; Do not swear by your head, because you cannot make a single hair white or black ”(Matthew 5: 34-36). According to many respected modern theologians, there is nothing in the tradition of vows, including vows of sobriety, that contradicts the spirit of the gospel. “The concept of a vow was in the Old Testament times and was never abolished in the New Testament times,” says Archpriest Boris Levshenko, head of the Department of Dogmatic Theology of the PST GU.

The meaning and benefits of a vow

“I am convinced that when a religious component enters a sober life, sobriety becomes more stable, long-lasting and, most importantly, joyful,” says Igor Bachinin, a cleric of the Novo-Tikhvinsky Convent in Yekaterinburg, spiritual father of the Sobriety Society. Father Igor is convinced that sobriety, chosen not only for himself and his loved ones, but also for the sake of God, brings true joy to a person. He himself, baptized as a child, consciously entered the Church in the early nineties. In May 1995, the Yekaterinburg First Orthodox Society "Sobriety" was created, in which Igor took an active part. In 2002 he was ordained and soon after his ordination he became the spiritual father of the society. The first vows were made in society on May 18, 1998, on the feast of the Inexhaustible Chalice icon of the Mother of God. Igor wanted to take a vow, but the spiritual father of "Sobriety" did not bless him. “Why, when you already live soberly?” He wondered. Then the Orthodox teetotalers of Yekaterinburg took their first steps, there was no experience, and the priests who worked in society believed that making a vow only made sense to dependent people. But exactly one year later, on May 18, 1999, Igor Bachinin took a vow of sobriety for the rest of his life.

“I experienced great joy then from the realization of responsibility before God,” recalls Father Igor. Today in "Sobriety" vows of sobriety are given not only by dependent people, but also by their relatives and simply sympathizers, and, which is especially pleasing to Father Igor, many teenagers who have never tasted alcohol. This, the priest believes, will help them keep from unfamiliar sin, which is easier than fighting their passion. He does not bless dependent people for vows right away. “I suggest that they first live soberly for themselves. If it doesn't work out, we talk, we try to understand why it didn't work out. And if it works out, the person regularly confesses and takes communion, we can talk about the next step - a vow to God, ”Father Igor shares his experience.

According to statistics of recent years, vows of sobriety in "Sobriety" are given on average by two hundred people a year. Most of those who have taken vows keep them. “If a person has broken a vow, my pastoral task is to understand the reasons. Of course, he is deeply worried, but whoever was tempted can then help the tempted. As a rule, after the fall, people open up deeper, tune in to a sober life even more seriously and return to the vow. "

Dependent people start with short periods of time - from several months to a year, then either give for the same period, or increase it slightly, but there were isolated cases when, after several years of sobriety, they made a vow for life. According to Father Igor, the percentage of remission and its quality are higher in those who took vows.

The same is said by the co-chairman of the All-Russian Alexander Nevsky Sobriety Society, Doctor of Medical Sciences, cleric of the Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist in the village of Yucca in the Leningrad Region, Deacon Grigory Grigoriev. Since 1988, about 125 thousand people have been treated in the society. All of them were immediately offered to go to church, but no one was forced. About 40 percent go to confession, some of them later go to church. Father Gregory claims that the quality of remission in those who have become churches is higher than in those who only wanted to receive medical assistance. And among those who have become churched, the quality of remission is higher for those who have made a vow. True, in the Alexander Nevsky society, vows are given only by those who are not addicted to alcohol. Fr.Gregory calls the promises not to drink given to God by dependent people vows. This, in his opinion, is a more competent definition. A vow is a promise to do a good deed, and a promise not to do bad deeds is a vow. As for the practice of vows (vows), while in "Sobriety" and most other Orthodox communities, the sobriety of dependent people is prepared for them, in the Alexander Nevsky society many give vows at the very first confession. Father Gregory is convinced of the effectiveness of this approach: “I call all those who feel their weakness and need God's help to make a pledge. Precisely need, not faith ("I believe, Lord, help my unbelief" (Mark 9, 24)). This is the first state of repentance, the most powerful. Then we work with them, and with the result comes faith.

A vow of sobriety for drug addicts

Father Grigory himself began to drink in high school, and on submarines, where he served as a military doctor, he became seriously addicted to alcohol, but at 24 he decidedly gave up. It was in 1980. Only two years later he was baptized, in 1988 he organized the Alexander Nevsky Society, where in 1990 he gave a vow of sobriety for life. Convinced of the effectiveness of vows, he does not force anyone to do them. But when he worked with heroin addicts, he took on treatment only those who agreed to give a vow of sobriety. "For drug addicts, this is a must, because while they are taking drugs, they do not drink much, and when they stop taking, they begin to increase the dose of alcohol and eventually return to drugs."

The head of the coordination center for counteracting drug addiction of the Synodal Department for Church Charity and Social Service, Bishop Methodius (Kondratyev) of Kamensk and Alapaevsk, also practices vows of sobriety when working with drug addicts. “Any drug addict is a potential alcoholic. In no case should he drink. And we explain this to them in the process of rehabilitation. When it comes to them, we propose to take a vow of sobriety. As part of the prevention of a concomitant potential disease, ”he explains. Father Methodius considers the vows of sobriety to be a preventive measure that is not suitable for alcoholics: “The system of vows initially spread as primary or at least secondary prevention, but not tertiary, as it is today. There were few drunks in the village or village (usually one or two people), and then the rest of the population, in order to prevent alcoholization, took a vow. It was accepted by people who drink little or a little abusing, but not drunk. And these people defined life in the area. If in today's drunken and dying village one non-drinker takes a vow of sobriety, there will be profanation. And the alcoholics themselves are hardly ready to keep the vow. They are seriously ill and need serious and long-term treatment. For some, perhaps, this vow will help keep from a breakdown, but in general it is not a panacea. A vow is a good preventive measure to heal society (prevent alcoholization), but not alcoholics. If in some church community people abuse a little, they can take a vow. The alcoholic must be treated. "

Why make a vow if there is no addiction?

Many do not understand what is the point of taking a vow of sobriety for people who are not addicted. Vladyka Methodius and Father Igor Bachinin have already answered this question. Father Grigory Grigoriev recalls the words of the Apostle Paul: “For the sake of food, do not destroy the works of God. Everything is pure, but bad for a man who eats with temptation. It is better not to eat meat, not drink wine, and not do anything that makes your brother stumble, or is tempted, or exhausted. " (Rom. 14: 19-20). He does not deny that the Orthodox faith allows moderate consumption of alcohol, but this use, in his deep conviction, can become a great temptation for addicted people sitting at the same table with us. And especially if these companions are our loved ones (and who has no dependent relatives in Russia?), It is better, according to Fr. Gregory, to give them an example of abstinence. Largely for this reason, the deputy chairman of the All-Russian John the Baptist Brotherhood "Sobriety", Deacon Ioann Klimenko, in June 2006, refused alcohol. He sometimes liked to drink a glass of good wine, but he never got drunk in his life, and no one in his family had a problem with alcohol. But his brother, who was building a temple in Yakutia, married a Yakut there, they had a daughter. It is known that the northern peoples have a different genotype, alcohol is contraindicated for them even in minimal doses - they immediately drink too much. Father John, a candidate of chemical sciences, understood perfectly well that in terms of alcohol dependence, his niece was at risk from birth.

Three times he took a vow of sobriety for a year, and in 2009 he gave for life. “It was not difficult for me to refuse wine as a pleasure. But in our society, sobriety is not understood. You come to a holiday, they pour you a drink, and when you refuse, they are perplexed, they ask if you are a sectarian. After making a vow to God, it became easier to explain to people their position, without condemning others, ”says Father John.

From the editor:

In the Orthodox sobriety societies operating in the parishes of the Tobolsk Metropolitanate, taking vows of sobriety is also practiced. The one who makes a vow asks God for help and undertakes to abstain from the use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs; not using it yourself, not suggesting it to others; refrain from profanity and participation in gambling and other objectionable games. Most often, the vow of sobriety is given for a limited period - from several months to several years.

17. R. B. Dmitry : Re: What is "vow of sobriety"?
2019-02-28 at 15:05

Not to say that I am an alcoholic, but at one time I also wanted to take a vow of sobriety, but the elder did not bless, he simply recommended not to touch alcohol, without a vow. And then, he says, if you break it, you won't get off the glass at all))). I haven't drunk for six years now, thank God. I condemn drunkenness, but I do not stick to people who drink alcohol in moderation and I don’t climb into my soul. And in general I do not impose my position on anyone, well, except for those whom I have to educate - my wife, children)))
I have an extremely positive attitude to teetotal movements, vows and all kinds of jogging! A very useful and charitable work! Well done!

16. Shevchuk Denis : Answer to 14., M. Yablokov:
2019-02-28 at 13:45

According to your logic, Christ was a drug addict and established the sacrament of the Eucharist for drug addicts. You are a blasphemer, Denis.

13. Alexander Shunin : Answer to 11., Shevchuk Denis:
2019-01-13 at 01:24

alcohol is a legal drug

12. Kirill D. : Answer to 11., Shevchuk Denis:
2019-01-12 at 22:50

And what, at the Last Supper, too, a company of Bukhariks gathered?

11. Shevchuk Denis : Answer to 10., M. Yablokov:
2019-01-12 at 21:25

If you don't know how to drink, don't drink. Not everyone is like you. Why judge everyone by themselves?

9. Shevchuk Denis : Answer to 7., Nick Likashin:
2018-11-28 at 10:40

Likewise, a layman. As a typicon, three krasovuli (three glasses of tris each) - is not forbidden, or I misunderstood?

8. Shevchuk Denis : Answer to 6., M. Yablokov:
2018-11-28 at 10:38

for the feat of abstinence

6. M. Yablokov : Answer to 5., Shevchuk Denis:
2018-10-04 at 18:22

Apostolic rule.

51. If someone, a bishop, or a presbyter, or a deacon, or even from the sacred rite, moves away from marriage and meat and wine, not for the feat of abstinence, but because of abhorrence, forgetting that all good is evil, and that God, creating man , Husband and wife created together and thus slanders the creation: either it will be corrected, or it will be rejected from the priestly order, and rejected from the church. So is the layman.

5. Shevchuk Denis : Answer to 4., Silvio63:
2018-10-04 at 17:01

Let it be in a faceted glass ...

The Concept of the Russian Orthodox Church on the approval of sobriety and the prevention of alcoholism, adopted at a meeting of the Holy Synod on July 25, 2014, says:
“The Holy Fathers often set an example of absolute sobriety in their lives and called for it.
... the duty of the Church is to revive in the public consciousness the attitude towards sobriety as a moral value. Christians are encouraged to be an example of a sober life ...
The Church blessed the adoption of vows of sobriety, supported the creation of sobriety societies. The Holy Synod in 1859, by its decree, blessed the clergy "with a living example of their own life and frequent preaching in the Church of God about the benefits of abstinence to promote the determination that has arisen in some urban and rural estates to refrain from drinking wine."
... The affirmation of sobriety as a form of social service to the Church includes the prevention of alcoholism, as well as the rehabilitation and readaptation of persons suffering from alcohol dependence.
The work to assert sobriety ... is aimed at ... establishing the ideal of sobriety and a sober lifestyle in modern society, especially in the family, where personality is being formed.
... The Church considers it her duty to take care of the spiritual health of a person, and in this situation she intends to do everything possible to promote the establishment of sobriety in society and the prevention of alcoholism. "

The Easter of Christ is a celebration of celebrations. The Church in sacred hymns calls Easter the great, opening the doors of paradise to us, Holy Week, the bright Resurrection of Christ, calls to her glorification the earth and heaven, the world visible and invisible, for "Christ is east, eternal joy."

The Easter service is celebrated especially solemnly both on the first day of Easter and throughout the entire Bright Week.

Bright Resurrection of Christ. Easter. Sretensky monastery. Easter Matins, Liturgy. Choir of the Sretensky Monastery. Recorded in 2010.

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From the evening (on Holy Saturday) in the church, the Acts of the Holy Apostles are read, containing the immutable testimonies of the Resurrection of Christ, followed by midnight office with the canon of Great Saturday. After the 9th canto, when singing (to katavasiya) irmos: Don't cry to Me, Mati there is a censing around the Holy Shroud, then the priest lifts it to the head and carries it (with his face to the east) to the altar through the royal gates, which are immediately closed. The Holy Shroud rests on the throne and is there until the Passover - in remembrance of the fact that Christ the Savior after His Resurrection stayed on earth for 40 days.

Since the times of the Apostles, the Church has celebrated the Easter service at night. Like ancient Israel, which was awake on the night of its deliverance from Egyptian slavery, the new Israel - the Christian Church - is awake “on the sacred and saving night” of the bright Resurrection of Christ - heralding the day of light of spiritual renewal and liberation from slavery to sin and the devil.

The beginning of Easter Matins is preceded by a solemn procession of the cross around the temple (with the singing of the stichera) in order to meet Christ outside it, like the myrrh-bearers who met the risen Lord outside Jerusalem.

In the narthex with the closed doors of the church, Easter begins. matins exclamation Glory to the Saints and singing from the Easter order.

When singing after Glory, and now the second half of the troparion of Easter ( And bestowing belly on those in the coffins) the church doors are opened, the clergy and worshipers enter the temple.

After the great litany, it is sung , compiled by St. John Damascus (VIII century). The opening words of the irmos of each song are sung in the altar, and the choir continues the next words of the irmos. Each song ends with the repetition of irmos and the chanting of the troparion thrice.

Censing is performed on each canon song. Kadya people, the priest greets those praying with the words: "Christ is Risen!" Believers answer: "Truly he is risen!" and, looking at the Cross in the hand of the priest, they make the sign of the cross. There is a small litany for each song.

Ipakoi is sung after the 3rd canto

According to the 6th canto - kontakion, and ikos:, then - (three times) and (three times).

According to the 9th canto - exapostilarius (three times).

After singing the praising stichera and May God rise again the primate reads the catechism of St. John Chrysostom: in which, on the basis of the parable of Christ the Savior about those who worked in the vineyard (Matthew 20: 1-16), everyone is called to enjoy the Easter celebration and enter into the joy of the risen Lord, after which the troparion of St. John Chrysostom: (the only hymn of the saints in the service of Easter).

are sung both on the first day of Easter and throughout the entire Bright Week. Easter clock is a very special kind of watch. They do not consist of ordinary psalms, but of Easter chants, the same for every hour, and are sung.

Is done liturgy St. John Chrysostom

Liturgy on the first day of Easter is “I’m hurt, labor for the sake of bdennago”.

Easter antiphons are sung (,).

Input Verse: In the churches, bless God, the Lord from the fountain of Israel.

Instead of the Trisagion - The elites were baptized into Christ ....

The main feature of the Easter Liturgy is that the Gospel, 1st conceived by John, tells about the Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ ("In the beginning, the Word ...") is read by clergy in different languages, especially in the ancients: Hebrew, Greek and Latin, which was inscribed on the Cross of the Savior. This reading reminds us that the apostolic preaching spread throughout the whole earth, among all nations.

Instead of Worthy - .

Involved Receive the body of Christ, taste the immortal source.

Instead of Blessed is the Coming One in the Name of the Lord, Videhom Light True, May our lips be fulfilled, Be the name of the Lord and the 33rd psalm is sung.

Artos, bread with the image of the Cross or the Resurrection of Christ (), is consecrated by prayer behind the ambo. It symbolizes the invisible presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. Artos is worn during religious processions; throughout the entire Bright Week he stands on a special table in front of the icon of Christ the Savior, to the right of the royal gates. On Friday evening, the artos is broken up and on Bright Saturday after the Liturgy it is distributed to those who are praying.

At the end of the Liturgy, the Christians are christened with the people. When kissing and greeting, Christians have given each other red eggs since ancient times. The egg is a symbol of life. The egg, painted with red paint, also reminds us that our life has been renewed in the depths of the Holy Sepulcher and this new life has been acquired by the Most Pure Blood of Christ the Savior. The custom of giving Easter eggs, according to ancient church tradition, owes its origin to St. Mary Magdalene, who, having appeared before the emperor Tiberius, offered him a red egg with the greeting: "Christ is risen!"

The royal gates of the main altar and all side-altars are open throughout the entire Bright Week.

In the evening it takes place vespers. Entrance with the Gospel, the great prokeimenon and the reading of the Gospel by a priest at the Royal Doors facing the people. The Primate celebrates Vespers in full vestments.

Great Tuesday of Holy Week.

Saint Eustathius the Confessor, Bishop of Bithynia.

Great Lent continues.

Great Wednesday of Passion Week.

Saint John Climacus, Abbot of Sinai.

Great Lent continues.

Maundy Thursday (Maundy Thursday).

Saint Jonah, Metropolitan of Kiev, Moscow and All Russia, miracle worker.

Great Lent continues.

The week before Easter for Orthodox Christians comes Great (Clean) Thursday. During services on this day, one of the most important events of the Gospel is remembered: the Last Supper, at which Jesus Christ washed the feet of his disciples, thereby showing an example of brotherly love and humility. According to the Gospel, at the Last Supper, Jesus Christ established the Eucharist rite - Holy Communion. We wrote about the traditions of Maundy Thursday earlier. Preparations for Easter begin on Maundy Thursday.

Good Friday (Good Friday).

Remembrance of the Holy Saviors of the Passion of the Lord.

Monk Euthymius, Archimadris of Suzdal, miracle worker.

Great Lent continues.

Great Saturday.

Saint Titus the wonderworker.

Icons of the Mother of God "The Key of Understanding".

Great Lent continues.

Easter - Bright Resurrection of Christ.

End of Lent.

On this special day for all believers, having consecrated festive baskets, families gather at a common table, realizing the sacredness of this day, trying Easter cake, delicious dishes after Great Lent and remembering the meanings inherent in this holiday, important for all believers.

Monday of Bright Week.

Venerable Joseph the Hymnographer.

Celebration of the icons of the Mother of God "Gerontissa" and "Redeemer".

Tuesday of Bright Week.

Celebration of the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God and the Icon of Odigitria Shuiskaya ..

Transfer of the relics of Saint Job, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia.

Wednesday of Bright Week.

Memorial Day Equal to the Apostles Methodius, Bishop of Moravia.

Venerable Platonida of Syria.

120 Persian Martyrs.

Celebration of the Kasperovskaya Icon of the Mother of God.

Thursday of Bright Week.

Saint George the Confessor.

The Byzantine Icon of the Mother of God.

Friday of Bright Week.

Icons of the Mother of God "Life-Giving Source".

Saturday of Bright Week.

Martyr Epsychius of Caesarea.

Icons of the Mother of God "Caesarea".

Red hill.

Week 2 after Easter, Anti-Easter or Fomin's day.

Martyrs Terenty, Pompius, Africanus, Maximus, Zinon, Alexander, Theodore and others 33.

PriestMartyr Antipas, Bishop of Pergamum of Asia.

2nd week after Easter.

Radonitsa, commemoration of the dead.

Murom Icon of the Mother of God.

Hieromartyr Artemon, Presbyter of Laodicea.

Fasting day.

Saint Martin the First, Confessor, Pope.

The Vilna Icon of the Mother of God.

Apostles from seventy Aristarchus, Puda and Trophim.

Fasting day.

Martyrs Agapia, Irina and Chionia.

Ilyinsko-Chernigov and Tambov icons of the Mother of God.

Week 3 after Easter, holy myrrh-bearing women.

Venerable Zosima, abbot of Solovetsky.

Icons of the Mother of God "Redeemer".