What kind of faith is there in Armenia? Armenian Apostolic Church and Orthodoxy

One powerful Shah had the habit of walking around his possessions, dressed in the dress of a dervish. And one day he spent the night in the hut of a poor woodcutter.

Your affairs, as I see, are not going well! - said the disguised Shah.
- No, dear, what are you? I trust in God and by his grace I sell firewood. Enough for food.
- What would you do if you couldn’t sell your firewood?
- I would still trust in God and would look for another occupation with which to feed myself.

“You are eternal, and unless you reach the level of spiritual bliss, you will never be satisfied, no matter what sense pleasures you experience.”
A.C Bhaktivedanta Свами!} Maharaj

Returning to the palace, the Shah issued a decree that woodcutters should not appear in the city. A couple of days later, having changed into the same dress, the Shah came to visit the woodcutter.
- Well? It seems that fate itself overheard our conversation. What are you doing now?
- I make all sorts of things from wood and sell them to city shops. Enough for food.

The Shah returned to the palace and ordered a ban on the sale of wood products in city shops. And again he came to the woodcutter:
- Fate is pursuing you, oh unfortunate one! Now you can't sell your crafts. How will you live now?
- I got a job as a peddler at the market. Everything is fine, dear sir! Trusting in God, I will always earn money for food.

Trust in God, and don’t make a mistake yourself!
folk proverb

The Shah came to the palace and ordered: to take all the market peddlers as soldiers without pay and without standing. When he visited the woodcutter again, he had a pot bubbling merrily over the hearth, and he was whittling something out of a piece of wood.
- You, I see, are not discouraged? - asked the disguised Shah.
- No. After all, I trust in God. I was recruited as a soldier and was not given any money or housing. And I pawned my sword and bought food.
- Unhappy! What if it opens?!
- Then we'll see what happens. In the meantime, I will plan a wooden sword. It will be just like the real thing.

“Don't take anything personally. Everything people say or do is a projection of their own reality. If you develop immunity to other people’s views and opinions, you will avoid useless suffering.”
Miguel Ruiz

The next day, the Shah ordered to call a detachment, which included a woodcutter. The soldiers lined up in front of him. The woodcutter did not recognize the Shah - after all, he was wearing rich clothes and a crown!
- You, come forward! - the Shah pointed to the woodcutter. - Now you will carry out the sentence imposed on the traitor!

The woodcutter turned pale, but stepped forward and pulled the sword out of its sheath. A man sentenced to death knelt and prayed:
- God, I trust in you! Make this sword turn into wood, for I am not guilty!

Everyone around cried out in surprise when the wooden sword fell from the woodcutter's hand. The Shah was so amazed that he elevated him to vizier. Soon the court acquitted the “traitor”, as evidence of his innocence was found. And the Shah chose the words as his motto: “I trust in God!”

P.S. When the bird is alive it eats the ants, but when it dies the ants eat it. Circumstances can change at any time: today you can be strong, but tomorrow time can change everything: it is stronger than you! The only thing that remains eternal and unchanging is the connection of every soul with God. This is exactly what you need human life- develop a relationship with God.

They have enormous authority even among those who are biased towards religions. Ordinary people Those who feel the gravity of their situation often resort to seeking consolation and hope within the Bible texts. Many people want to correctly understand the meaning of the phrase “The ways of the Lord are mysterious.” To do this, it is necessary to trace the history of the appearance of the aphorism and its church interpretation.

Interpretation of meaning in Orthodoxy

For the first time, the phrase “The ways of the Lord are mysterious” (Investigabiles viae Domini) was voiced by the Apostle Paul in the Book of the New Testament. The expression forces people to accept on faith the power of the most just Almighty Father, who knows all events at all times. This phrase has the greatest ability to provide comfort in times of unhappiness.

Read about biblical texts:

Bible, Holy Scripture

Rational materialists believe that this phrase is not a pure answer to the mystery question because it does not increase the degree human cognition. They believe that hidden here is a simple statement about the impossibility of true knowledge of things and concepts.

About the Orthodox faith:

To correctly comprehend this aphorism, a person needs to understand what is said with the soul, and not with a restless mind. There are several interpretations that explain the essence of the expression:

1. The person does not have greatest mind, in order to realize the absoluteness of existence, in contrast to the Almighty, who, even recreating the universe, does not waste his infinite energy.
2. It is impossible to know the path (destiny) that God has determined for each person existing in nature.
3. The Church understands this phrase in one more way: the desire to know the future, always hidden from us by the veil of mystical prohibition, is terrible sin. Therefore, Orthodoxy has always condemned fortune telling and other tests of fate.
4. Human pride, which provokes great troubles, is constantly punished by the mighty right hand of the Lord. It is a mistake to think that performing any actions without the permission and help of God is permissible.

Every believer must rely on the Almighty and sacredly honor his omnipotence, and also show gratitude for the smallest good that he receives. If fate has presented the most difficult trials, you should show patience and courage by reading the prayer rules daily. The Lord reveals the veil of His secrets to those who with a clear conscience walk the individual path without despondency or blasphemy.

In the past, the Almighty was revered better; most people firmly believed in Heavenly Father and they knew that the fate sent to them was fair, and asking for another life was blasphemous. Believers understood: the righteous path given by the Almighty Lord certainly leads the soul to purification and reunification with the Absolute.

The Lord never leaves his children, giving everything necessary to complete the goal

Today people have been taken over by pride, which encourages them to think that higher power they don't decide fate. Most of humanity hopes only for own strength, I completely ignore scriptures and the existence of the One Creator. Proud people make plans that concern only their ego. However, when fragile hopes are shattered by the waves of the universe, people begin to look for support and comforting words.

Important! The source of this great aphorism about the ways of the Lord is the words spoken by the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Romans. The saint here is amazed at the boundless greatness and endless wisdom of Divine Providence.

The Lord never abandons his children, rightly granting them everything they need to complete a specific goal. The Apostle said that the ways of God cannot be traced, cannot be comprehended with the mind, there is no trace in them that could enable us to recognize the great plan.

Parables to help understand the meaning of the saying

“The ways of the Lord are mysterious” is a paraphrased expression from the New Testament, which is moral consolation for a person in difficult moments of life. These words of support are often heard from the lips of wise and calm people, priests.

A person must rely entirely on the Creator, without getting entangled in useless speculation, because the most sorrowful incidents can turn into great joy, and vice versa.

The Lord reveals himself to those who walk their path with a clear conscience

Parable about justice

Once upon a time there lived an old man who had gone through a long path of suffering and fleeting pleasures. He did not want to put up with worldly injustice and with an inner voice cried out to God, demanding an explanation. One day an angel appeared to him and led him to climb onto the crown of a tree and watch everything that was happening on earth.

Soon the elder saw a horseman who had lost a bag of gold. The next morning, this wealth was discovered by a simple peasant resting under a tree. On the third day, a beggar came here and found lunch left by a happy farmer. However, the cruel horseman soon returned and killed the homeless man with one blow of his sword, believing him to be the one who stole the gold.

The old man came down to earth in deep disappointment and decided to renounce his Father because of the cruelty shown. The angel mercifully explained the essence of what had happened. He made it clear that the horseman is a cynical tax collector whose job is to ruin the people. And the beggar is a former robber who prayed to the Lord for forgiveness of his monstrous sins. With the help of this money, the farmer was able to pay off his debts and feed his family.

About Orthodox symbols:

Parable of the Hermit

For many years, a lonely and righteous monk prayed in his cave. His mind was restless, he wanted to penetrate the mysteries of existence and gain sacred knowledge. Came to a monk in a dream a strange man, who invited him with him. The road lasted three days and brought only grief, as it seemed at first.

In the first hours of the journey, the monk's companion took a golden cup from the house of a simple peasant - a gift from a neighbor in honor of the long-awaited reconciliation. On the second day, the guide burned the hut of the poor man who had sheltered them. And in the last hours, he threw into the river a young man who volunteered to be his guide.

The monk was indignant, but his companion was unshakable and referred to the phrase “The ways of the Lord are mysterious.” Soon the plot of the incident was revealed: the golden cup was cynically poisoned; on the ashes of a hut, a poor man will discover a treasure hidden by his ancestors; and the dead young man would have become a bloodthirsty robber at the instigation of his cruel father. The latter changed his views after the death of his only son and took the righteous path.

After awakening, the monk realized the power of the Supreme Mind.

Video of a conversation with the priest. God works in mysterious ways

There are phrases that help you better understand this world. Thanks to such words, people can act more correctly and can also gain a correct understanding of the world. Many often hear the Lord’s mysterious ways, but do not always think about what this means and how it applies to each individual.

Before analyzing the actual phrase, the ways of the Lord are mysterious, the meaning of which we will consider further, let us turn to the primary source, which is the Bible, or rather New Testament, Epistle to the Romans from the Apostle Paul.

As is known, this supreme apostle, who was also called the “apostle of the Gentiles” for his preaching to many nations, wrote various Epistles that became part of the canonical scripture.

These Epistles include many wise thoughts and clarification of faith for various nations.

The source of the phrase in question is the following line (Romans 11:33): “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How incomprehensible are His destinies and unsearchable are His ways!” In fact, the word used here is inscrutable, which can also sound in Russian as inscrutable, the meaning is almost identical.

Expression propagation

Similar thoughts may well be found in various proverbs and folk sayings. The idea contained in this phrase is based on the following postulates:

• One should not try to understand the whole world with a simple human mind, this is not possible;
• attempts to understand the world completely are futile for a person;
• in everything there is some kind of global plan that is diverse and inaccessible to understanding;
• people sometimes do not understand the causes and results of various events; many relationships are beyond human understanding;
• It is better to accept the diversity and complexity of this world than to try to thoroughly understand everything.

Note! Only by special grace and the most devoted ascetics can the Lord lift the veil of secrecy. He endows some saints with the gift of clairvoyance, and as a result, such people can predict certain events or recognize something hidden. However, even such people do not have comprehensive knowledge; on a global scale, they have only grains, although a little more than others.

The thought in question appears in the culture of many peoples, and this is not surprising. When people reach a certain level spiritual development, they acquire similar thoughts and worldview, because it is natural, this is how the world works, you just need to understand some facts. The translation of the phrase is common in various languages:

• in English - God moves in a mysterious way (this phrase is used in various songs of English-speaking poets, there is a verse with the same name) or The ways of God are inscrutable, it is also possible to say Mysterious are the ways of the Lord;
• in Latin - Investigabiles viae Domini or Viae Domini imperceptae sunt;
• in Ukrainian - the paths of the Lord are incomprehensible;
• in Spanish – los caminos de Dios son inescrutables;
• in French - les voies de Dieu sont impénétrables.

Why are the ways of the Lord mysterious?

The Apostle Paul and other holy ascetics, who later repeatedly used this expression in their own sermons, simply talk about the scale of this world, in which both molecules and planets move according to the will of the Lord.

Moreover, they move and act not just in concert, but based on a global plan, arranged by the Lord. Therefore, if a person strives to understand this plan, then he simply strives to compare with the Almighty and considers himself capable of truly becoming equal to Him.

Saint John Climacus writes well about this: “It is disastrous to be curious about the depth of God’s destinies, for those who are curious sail in the ship of pride.” Thus, you need to understand the word inscrutable, that this indicates fundamental inaccessibility and incomprehensibility. Moreover, such inaccessibility is not at all a reason for sadness, especially for a believer.

Attention! The Lord arranged the world wisely and for the good of man. Therefore, the believer, although he cannot understand His ways, has a clear confidence in the ultimate goodness of this world. A good example here is the well-known expression: “Every event is done for the better.”

Initially, a person, with his primitive perception, cannot understand what some event or situation means, but in everything there is a certain providence that arranges things in the right way. Accordingly, sometimes it is wiser to simply rely on such an extraterrestrial will of the Creator.

Fatalism and faith

When describing what the phrase in question means, it is necessary to note one more semantic emphasis, which is also very significant. This emphasis should be expressed in the words: “No one knows his fate, only the Lord.” Only the Lord really knows about the fate of this world and each person individually.

Therefore, an individual should neither complain about fate nor try to guess something significant and have 100th confidence in something. Ultimately, the determining factor is the divine principle, which puts the whole world in order.

Should a believer then completely surrender to fatalism (a concept in which every event is considered predetermined and human choice does not matter) and do nothing? Of course for Orthodox question is banal and rhetorical and the answer to it is clearly negative. After all, everyone knows about free will and what this means is the need for everyone’s personal choice.

Note! The inscrutability of the Lord’s ways is also a reason for joy. After all, this fact emphasizes the diversity and amazingness of this world, which is something much greater than the spectrum that is accessible to human understanding, and every person is part of this amazing creation.

In particular, each individual chooses whether to go to the salvation of his own soul or succumb to passions and sins. Of course, the ways of the Lord are inscrutable, but people are given a choice between winning the Kingdom of Heaven and inaction on this path.

Useful video

Let's sum it up

The expression considered here does not at all indicate fatal predetermination. There is a divine plan in this world, and it is good, but also in this world there is Satan, who with his demons is capable of tempting a person, and this is also part of the plan. Therefore, no one has canceled the personal efforts of the believer; they simply should be directed not toward understanding the ways of the Lord, but toward cleansing one’s own soul and cultivating faith.